Becoming a hero had been considerably less exciting than I had thought it would be. I guess that’s what twenty odd years of open bureaucracy did to something. After sitting in a room struggling to pay attention for what felt like three hours but turned out to really just be one and a half, I’d signed the paper and was subsequently told “See you tomorrow. I’m busy.” by Zephyr.
To her credit she really was. On the way out of the tower we passed flyers and posters warning about certain supervillains and groups of supervillains. There were, predictably, three big fishes in Graceland. In no particular order there was the Rising Sun, the Courtesans, and the Entrepreneurs.
The Rising Sun was a yakuza like gang that had swelled over the past five years. They started out as a small gang that only included asians. As time went on they just kept growing. Now they’ve relaxed the asian only rule to accommodate their growth, so it was harder to figure out who had an affiliation with them. Their specialty is trafficking illegal contraband and they were a heavy supplier of weaponry in the underbelly of Graceland.
The Courtesans were smaller than the Rising Sun in number, but were consolidated enough to make big moves and often made the news. They had the drug trade locked down as their gig. If you were anywhere near courtesan territory and decided to sell anything that might step on their toes, you’d end up with at least two of the supervillains kicking you far, far away, and maybe in multiple pieces. They also double dipped in trafficking, and it was suspected that the Mistress of the Courtesans was a heavy investor in the sex trade in Graceland.
Then there were the Entrepreneurs. The name was pretty on the nose. From my understanding there were only three of them: Boss, Queue, and Yearn. However, despite their numbers they were in command of three smaller groups that were exclusively Transhumans. The Racketeers, the Handiemen, and the Collectors, in addition to a private army. They had a well run protection racket set up everywhere in their territory that wasn’t King street downtown. Whatever the Entrepreneurs had offered the people there, it wasn’t common knowledge.
Other than the three gangs there were several solo villains such as Sleepwalker who went active and did something explosive most nights. Or there was the villain that Zephyr was busy chasing right now.
His name was Jagmikh. His schtick was flying and being incredibly fast. And all this was ignoring the ever present Alpha class threats that ate literal concrete.
It had taken a bit of asking, but I’d gotten Kathrine to explain Jagmikh’s story after a few days of me arriving in Graceland. The man was an Altered. An Altered being a transhuman who had become physically transformed by their power manifesting. Pictures of Jagmikh showed a blurry black shape that was vaguely humanoid and had horns, wings, and a tail. Blurry because his power let him travel that goddamn fast.
About five minutes after Kathrine and I left the SRT, a sonic boom echoed throughout the city and most people ignored it. Some people looked. A few took out their phones to try and record it. It was routine. Every day at around four in the afternoon, Jagmikh flew around the city. Left unchecked, he would make increasingly dangerous moves and eventually start breaking windows simply by flying nearby. To stop this heroes had to fulfil his one request: Chase him.
That’s exactly what Zephyr did. I spent the ride home idly watching the two shapes in the sky move around the city’s skyline. It was something that happened every day. Zephyr sometimes substituted herself out, but Jagmikh had been flying around every day for the past three years.
That was yesterday. Today I was doing something I should’ve done the moment it crossed my mind.
“Sofiya? How would you like to see a movie?”
The people in Kathrine’s house had their meals at the same time. It was a rule of the house. Often I would be the last to leave the table, other times Sofiya would be the last one to push her chair in. That was how things usually went as Marie didn’t want to be near us and Alice was very easily distracted. Kathrine always had washing up to do. Just now was breakfast and this was the best time for me to get Sofiya alone.
She paused midway through pushing her chair in and gave me an even look. “Sure.” She said, and continued cleaning up her meal.
I sat back in my chair. It had taken me a while to build up the courage for that. The reason I wanted to go to the movies with her was actually to have a talk about me being a Sentry. Mostly due to the way she had been acting strange since I brought it up with Kathrine. If I knew she wouldn’t have made a deal about going to the movies, then I wouldn’t have stressed myself out so much. Anyway, ninety minutes later we had tickets to a movie about a group of cartoon teenage heroes living in a literal “T” going to the movies.
Because cinema food is trash and expensive, we walked to the nearby shops to find cheaper stuff that we actually wanted to eat. That was when I decided to test the waters.
“What’s your opinion on the Sentry?” I asked amidst what was, up until then, silence between us.
“What?” Sofiya responded.
“Did I stutter?” I genuinely couldn’t tell. Breaking the silence was always nerve wracking, even if we were amidst the hustle and bustle of the food court.
“No.” She shook her head and stayed silent for a while. “I think they’re all going to die.”
Well, that was a bombshell from a ten year old. “That makes this a little awkward then.”
“Why?” She turned and looked without dropping her pace.
“Because half of the reason we’re here is because I wanted you to know that I’m joining the Sentry.” I stated.
A beat.
“I know.” Sofiya turned away. “I don’t want you to.”
“...” That made this difficult. “Full disclosure. I was going to see this movie anyway, and realised it was a good chance for us to have a talk, just the two of us. I knew you had reservations about public heroes, but I didn’t realise it was so black and white.”
“Why me?”
“Because you’re the one I like the most, and because I know you already knew everything I just told you.” I said pointedly.
“...” Sofiya wasn’t saying anything. I pressed with silence. “Yeah.” She murmured.
“Have you told the others?” I asked. Sofiya shook her head. “Alright, that’s good. The fewer people who know, the better. As much as I hate to admit it, you’re right. Being a Sentry, or a part of any hero team for that matter, is dangerous.” I recalled the hallway of portraits. “And I’m going to do it.”
“Even though you know you’re going to die?” Sofiya murmured.
“Yes, but that’s not why I’m doing it.” I stopped and guided Sofiya to a corner with less traffic, where I knelt down to look her in the eyes. “I’ve had things rough most of my life. This last thing that put me in hospital is probably the least bad thing to have happened to me. You came here after a Calamity, just like I did. You know what that’s like. What I need is to have the ability to do something about it.”
“That’s not fair on me.” Sofiya’s voice broke. She wouldn’t meet my gaze.
“Hey.” I resisted the urge to make her meet my eyes. “I might have a lame power, but I also have a real badass power. With a little training, I’ll be able to get myself out of situations like that one that put me in hospital.”
“And you’ll go out looking for them, too.”
“Not right away. Look, I don’t like making promises, but I’ll compromise for you.”
Sofiya met my gaze, her eyes hard. “No fighting.”
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
“No looking for fighting.” I amended. “I can’t have a fight find me and not be able to do anything. The hospital thing will just repeat itself.”
“That’s... fine.”
“How about this. Until I have been trained in how to fight and how to use my power, I won’t go looking for any kind of fight, and will actively try to get myself out of any fights I find myself in.” I proposed.
“Promise.” Sofiya insisted.
“Cross my heart and hope to die. Happy?” Sofiya nodded. “Great.” I checked the time. “We’re running out of time, let’s just go to the supermarket. What do you want?”
“I want liquorice.” She decided.
I raised an eyebrow. “Weird snack but okay.”
~~~
Coming out of the movie I felt satisfied. The series the movie was based on was very whimsical and cartoony, textbook children's programming. The movie however, established a coherent storyline based off of strong characters that I was actually able to get invested in. It wasn’t something I particularly related to, but it was much better than I was expecting. Then there was the end credits scene that promised a return to the original style of the show, which itself had gone through various iterations.
That made me happy. I really liked the stuff Metal Age had done at the beginning of the series’ run. Metal Age being an adept that specialised in entertainment. He had jumped from project to project starting in the early 2000s, with each project he worked on becoming critical successes based on their innovative visuals and storytelling.
Adepts were enigmas among transhumans. They had powers, that wasn’t something that was ever questioned. But if you got one alone in an empty room they may as well have been powerless. The blanket term “adept” or “techo” meant that person’s power involved inventing new technology, often making things that couldn’t be replicated.
After the movie Kathrine picked up Sofiya and I turned towards the SRT. Zephyr had told me to come in around midday. I was anticipating some kind of training. What I got was another goddamn interview and a tour, which wasn’t so bad.
“Sit down Michael.” Zephyr gestured to a chair that had some spare paperwork lying on it. Her office wasn’t the tidiest, and saying that was probably a compliment. Files, some of which looked classified, were strewn all over her desk and the rest of the room. They were stacked higher the closer it was to where Zephyr sat.
There was another table in the room. Smaller than the desk, but likewise cluttered. Zephyr didn’t seem to mind the mess and didn’t seem like she was about to make any apologies, so I didn’t mention it and sat down after moving the paperwork on the indicated chair to the floor.
Zephyr meanwhile had pushed herself away from the desk and leaned back. She pushed her hand under her mask to rub her eyes and gave a heavy sigh. “I could use a break. But I have to give you an introductory speech before we can get you acclimatised.”
“Right.” I said, waiting.
Zephyr put her mask back in place, being careful not to let me see the face beneath, and gave me a measured look. Rather, it felt like she was measuring me.
“How much do you weigh, Michael?” She queried.
“Sixty.” I pulled from memory.
“What unit?”
“Uh, kilograms.” It had been a while since I weighed myself. The scale had used that metric.
Zephyr was silent as she did the mental calculation. “That’s light. I suppose it would have something to do with your power wouldn’t it?” Zephyr mused. It was strange, seeing a costumed superhero sitting at a desk, musing over you. “Anyway, some ground rules. First, you are a Sentry. That means you are directly below the Sentinels and Regulation officers in the chain of command. You may have a power, and you may be able to break walls with it, but you’re still a child. I don’t care if you think you’re mature because of some intense trauma you went through five years ago, you follow orders. Is that clear?”
“Crystal clear.” This wasn’t the first thing I had expected to come from a career superhero’s mouth, but I could see the reason behind it. Every Sentry was under eighteen.
“Good.” Zephyr quickly moved on. “Second. You are contractually expected to sign in at the common room every weekday and one day on each weekend. You can make the decision about when exactly that is, but you will have to dedicate the time to maintain a rigorous schedule. You’ll need this.”
Zephyr found a blank card lying somewhere on her desk and handed it to me. I looked over it. It was light grey and had no other identifying features.
“This-” I started.
“That’s your blank card.” Zephyr explained. “There will be a machine in the common room. Just swipe your card and it does the rest.”
“Why is it blank?”
“Because if it was identifying, then your identity could become compromised.” Zephyr stated simply, then moved on as if that was a reasonable explanation.
“Third. You are not obligated to keep your identity a secret, and any reasons you may have to keep it secret or open is respected. That being said, some Sentrys like to keep their mask off around the others while here in the tower. It goes without saying that you are expected to respect their privacy and to not reveal anyone’s identity.”
I nodded.
Zephyr wasn’t finished. “As you’re signing on with us, you should know in advance. We currently have a tenuous relationship with Control. Because of this, dealing with Alpha and Theta class threats are optional for Sentrys. If you were asked to assist, would you?”
Control were a different kind of group than the Sentinel. They were heroes by title, but they didn’t perform the same duties as the typical caped crusaders. Rather, they were solely focused on dealing with any outbreak of an Alpha class threat and any appearance from a Theta class threat. Alpha and Theta class being two different classifications for what were essentially animals with powers. Only all of them were altered, bloodthirsty. Dangerous. Monsters.
Control were also under management from the Regulation, just like the Sentinels. So that was odd.
“That depends...” I started. “I’m not confident in my ability to fight.”
“Oh?” There was venom dripping from that sound.
I met her gaze as best I could with the mask she was wearing and refused to look away.
At length Zephyr broke the silence with a sigh, back to normal. “At least you’re honest. We’ll get you in the ring with Blinker as soon as we can. He’ll teach you the basics.”
“That’s good.” I commented.
“What about an Omega class threat?” Zephyr brought the conversation back around. I was familiar with the term. “Calamities warrant omega level responses, obviously. But they aren’t the only things that do. Some transhumans like Tharaneal are considered to be dangerous enough to warrant similar mobilization. Anything that threatens the livelihoods of people in the surrounding five miles classifies.”
“I’d do what I can, but don’t expect me to fight Tharaneal. I need to get close to use either of my powers.”
“Of course. No sense in getting you purposefully enslaved.” Zephyr nodded, then stood. “Come, I’ll give you a tour of the facilities you will have access to. I saw a recording of your interview with Orcus. You should activate your mask if you want to keep your identity under wraps.”
“Right.” It made sense given what she had already told me. Plus, I was going into this with the intention of keeping my real name and face secret. So I followed the advice.
“While we’re on the topic, do you have a preferred title?” Zephyr asked.
“I uh… Hadn’t thought about it.”
“Noted. Use a placeholder.” There was little warmth in the way Zephyr spoke to me, it was all very business like. She didn’t speak anything like Orcus did, but there was a disconnect that was putting me off.
Zephyr showed me the locker room first, then the training room, the gym, the bunks, then showed me the Sentry’s meeting room which apparently doubled as a classroom, and then took me to the recreation room. She didn’t give any anecdotes or tell any stories that happened anywhere, she just told me what each room was and asked if I had any questions. I had a few small ones but elected not to ask because she had always moved on by the time I opened my mouth.
We passed a few people in suits as we went around. Those I did ask about. Zephyr explained they were regulation agents that shared the use of the SRT with the Sentinel and Sentry. There was one character I saw but didn’t cross paths with that didn’t match the people in suits. They wore a black cloak that came down to just below the knee, and had lightweight black armour on. While Orcus’ armour had been rounded and strangely elegant. This person’s armour had edges and covered significantly less of the body. I could actually see some skin.
They looked in our direction when they appeared and gave a wave. Their neck was wrapped in a black cloth and a close fitting helmet covered their face and hair. I waved back half heartedly and they turned and left the other way.
“Who was-” I started asking.
“Voidling.” Zephyr stated, nonplussed, then gestured at a nearby door. It was identical to the rest. “This leads to the common room, recreation room, call it whatever you want.” She walked inside. I followed.
The room was quite large. The ceiling stepped up significantly, and this was the first room with windows that I had seen in the tower. There was a makeshift kitchen in one corner and a series of desks lined up on the other. There were several monitors set up on them. On the far side of the room was a long table and several mobile whiteboards. They were too far away for me to see what was on them, but it wasn’t much of a leap of logic to assume it had something to do with the job of heroing. Right in the centre of the room was a set of beanbags, and there was a circle of duct tape on the floor surrounding them.
Three others were in the room with Zephyr and myself. A teenage girl that looked a few years younger than myself was making something in the kitchen. There was a giant of a man sitting in the centre beanbag, watching something on a tablet, and there was an older teenage guy sitting at a computer.
“Sentrys.” Zephyr caught everyone’s attention. “I would like to introduce you to the newest applicant for the Sentry. He is a powerful telekinetic that can rival the strength of Orcus.”
The reactions that got were very minor. The guy on the computer glanced over and went back to what he was doing. The giant on the beanbag didn’t react. The girl glanced over and sized me up.
“New meat huh?”