"Get off of me... you gnat!" a giant made of bramble bushes bellowed as it swung its large limb at a slightly larger than man sized cannonball that soared around it.
"Not yet!" the sentient projectile yelled.
The metal sphere slammed against the walking sycamore time and time again, causing it to roar out in anguish. It swatted again; this time, making solid contact and swatting the missile aside.
"Augh!" the ball screamed.
The giant tree let out a low, booming laugh, "Until next time, Freefall!"
Freefall - The Momentum Hero - Real Name: Tyler Snow - Ranked 45th in the National Protectorate.
Former Air Force Fighter Pilot with an unusual tolerance for G-Forces. His immunity led to his "volunteered" testing for genetic super markers and put him on the front lines of the 2050 conflict in the first version of his “Crash Suit.”
A marvel of engineering and calculus, the suit contained more gyros, hydraulics, and circuitry than the most advanced bombers and almost as much steel.
Designed to be “non-lethal” plenty of henchmen and villains met their end to the sheer amount of force put out by both the Crash Suit and Snow’s innate power - the control and manipulation of his own momentum.
The National Protectorate was the best of the best of the Western Union of States; the second-highest tier of the Global Superhero Organization.
"Get back here Thorn Titan! We're not done yet!" Freefall bellowed.
Thorn Titan kicked a mostly collapsed building over on top of the hero, burying him in debris to secure his escape.
Hours later, Tyler Snow worked through the wreckage alongside rescue teams, looking for something specific.
"Dad! Daddy! Help us!" a small voice chimed.
Snow's eyes lit up and he waved some rescue workers over. They pulled out cameras, recording as Tyler Snow jogged over to a shifting pile of rubble. He threw bricks, rebar, and giant chunks of concrete aside like a man possessed.
"It's okay! I'm here, I'll save you!" Snow shouted.
The detritus gave way to a woman's bloodied back, Snow put his fingers to the side of her neck, shook his head at the camera and moved her gently aside to reveal a young boy.
"No! Momma!" the young boy cried.
"I'm sorry, young man, she's gone. It's alright, you're safe! Freefall is here!"
The boy paused. He was slight, his eyes were grey, and his hair was dark, covered in ash and soot, but dark; tears streaked the grime on his face and dust shook off of him as he lurched forward, swinging his little fists at Snow's face.
"You killed her! You killed her!" the child shrieked.
"No! I saved you!"
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
"I hate you!"
"Cut the camera, now!" Snow ordered.
The rescue workers complied, lowering their recording devices.
"What is your problem kid?" the hero demanded.
"I heard you," the child hiccupped, "Thorn Titan warned you about our building, and you attacked anyway! You didn't even try!"
Tyler Snow struck the child across the face and stormed off.
"Get this kid to a shelter with the rest, scrap the footage."
"... I'll make you pay," the child muttered.
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Twelve Years Later
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"Grimmarson! You got a visitor!" the building administrator, Maude, called from her desk.
Sorli walked backward around the corner he'd attempted to sneak around. Maude never missed a thing.
"Room Three? Like the rest?"
"Room Five... Three was taken."
Sorli's heart skipped a beat.
"And I have to go now? I was gonna head to the shop down the block and -"
"Now, Grimmarson, it's important. About your release," Maude said. Her tone was low and grave, almost emotional.
"Oh..."
Sorli shuffled over to the conference rooms, where he'd met his therapist, typically in Room Three, every other week for as long as he could remember. He peeked in the window, seeing the back of a blonde man with an impeccably tailored suit sitting across from his therapist, June.
"Mr. Grimmarson?" a voice asked from Room Five.
Sorli jogged and turned into the room. The door slammed behind him. He looked back to the figure in the room, a pillar of ash shaped vaguely like a woman. He jumped, pressing his back against the door, fumbling for the handle.
"Shit! Who are you? What is this? What did -"
"Shhhhhh..."
The cloud of ash moved, just like a person would.
Sorli clenched his jaw, his heart pounding, and chest heaving with rapid breath.
"Easy... Sorli Grimmarson," the ashes whispered, approaching slowly.
The smell of sandalwood and briar roses reached his nose; his breathing and heart rate slowed.
Sorli was calm.
"See? Much better. Now," the chair in front of him, flimsy and plastic, slid out in front of him, "Sit."
Sorli complied.
"What is this about?" he asked.
"You, Sorli Grimmarson, have been making an awful racket on the formus lately."
His cheeks flushed.
"Well, I mean..."
"It's okay, you don't need to be embarrassed or shy, I like the noise you've been making. It... resonates with my own views... and if I'm right, I think you want the same things that I want," the woman shaped dust-devil cooed.
Sorli continued to blush, for other reasons.
"Okay... so... what do you want?"
"I want the so-called heroes of the GSO to be held accountable for the messes that they leave behind, like you... not so much the mess part, though..." he felt that he had been looked up and down, "more the being left alone, having everything you knew, every path your life could have taken, stripped away. Revenge against Freefall?"
Flames roared in Sorli's chest and ears, like he was back in the fallen building all over again.
"Yes," he growled, "I want that... but..."
"But what, Sorli?"
"I don't have any powers, no supergenius techno-stuff, no magic..."
"Oh, Sorli..." the woman teased, "You do have powers."
"What? Like what? Changing size or, flight, or gravity cont -"
"They're just dormant," she interrupted.
"Oh... how do I -"
"Wake them up? Well, I've already done that for you," the statue of ash leaned back in its chair and crossed its arms, the hint of a smirk crossing its swirling face.
"What? How?"
"Remember when you first walked in? That calming smell?"
Sorli nodded.
"That was magic, a spell, actually, your powers should start manifesting in a couple of days, once they have, I want you to come see me."
"Come see you? How am I supposed to do that?" Sorli barked, "Hey you guys know the lady made out of ashes and sass? Yeah, where do I find her? Quick way to a padded cell..."
She laughed.
"I knew I'd like you, Sorli," she started, "you are being released, today. You will have an apartment and stipend given to you by the shelter, and you will receive a letter, tomorrow, with further instructions and a meeting place."
Sorli's head was spinning.
"So I have to leave today?"
"You don't have to, but if you want to learn how to control your powers, infiltrate the GSO, and gain the other tools and allies you're going to need to make Freefall pay, it would be in your best interest to."
"You make solid points... uh... what do I call you? What's your name?"
"For now, Sorli, you can call me The Supplier."