Victor was levitating two or three meters above the crowd as he spoke. PR had given him pointers on everything- including how to fly. He had one leg fully extended and straight, but the other was slightly bent at the knee. One hand was at his side, while the other was curved upwards, his hand curled in a fist as he spoke. He was puffing his chest out a bit. It was meant to invoke Hercules.
He had been given a new costume for the occasion. A red full body suit with white stripes running vertically across the sides of his legs and arms. He wore a long black cape that reached his ankles. Unfortunately, his new costume didn’t come with goggles or a mask. There was a small shield embossed in black and white just below his neck- it was apparently his new symbol. The shield was a black circle with equally spaced white radii.
“I cannot express my gratitude and honor. I am beyond thrilled to have this opportunity”, he continued his speech. It wasn’t false, but it wasn’t his words, and that bothered him a little. Perhaps it was naïve, but he had hoped to speak in his own words when the time arrived.
“It is my pleasure to serve alongside the rest of the Shield of Honor. It is my honor to be able to protect this world, to protect this country, and to protect you.” The lightning snaps of cameras were constant. A battle line of reporters were watching with an almost religious fervor. Behind them was a crowd that stretched about fifty meters in front of him. Around a thousand people maybe, and much more watching from their homes. All those people watching him. Were they placing their hopes in him? Were they reassured of their safety now that he was up there? Or were they just excited to watch him beat up bad guys? Victor couldn’t help but hope it was the last one.
“As I stand here, I know whose shadow I fly under. Gold Dragon. I don’t pretend to be able to replace him. Heroes like him cannot be replaced. But if I can live up to even a tenth of the standard he set, then the world will be a better place.”
More scripted words. He didn’t really know much about Gold Dragon beyond the basics- a missile-type who could turn into a golden ball of light to blind his opponents.
“From this day on, I am a member of the Shield of Honor, and I am at your service. I call myself Stalwart, and my name is a promise. A promise to be constant in my service to protect you, to live up to your expectations, and to be your hero.” He wanted to end the speech right there, but there was no point in pissing his managers off so soon. Trying to hide his reluctance, he said the final words.
“God bless America, and good night.”
He dropped to the ground to applause. The reporters were clamoring to ask so many questions he couldn’t make out any single one of them. Some of the members of the crowd were carrying signs. He wanted to read them, but the flashes of the cameras kept interfering with his vision.
Honorable Soldier walked up to him and offered a hand to shake. With some trepidation, Victor took it. Make eye contact, he reminded himself as he shook the Soldier’s hand. His expression was warm, kind. He said something that Victor couldn’t catch over the noise.
After the Soldier, Victor walked over to shake the hands of the other people on stage- Government representatives, managers, and administrators.
Claps, handshakes, camera flashes and more claps. Victor felt like the sights and sounds were pressing on him- each clap and flash a little poke. It was almost painful. Pushes to remind him of the responsibility and the expectations that had just been thrust upon him. This was supposed to be a joyous occasion, and yet Victor felt like he was suffocating.
It came as a relief when the curtains fell after Victor shook the Mayor’s hand. Victor waved as the curtain descended and the audience roared louder than ever before, as if to squeeze as much noise as possible into the last moments before the curtain descended.
When he was obscured from view, he brought his hands up to his face and buried his eyes in them. He pressed his hands against his forehead, and groaned.
“It can be stressful”, said a voice. It was the Soldier.
He was wearing his classic costume. The suit that everyone on the planet had seen at some point or another. He wore a military helmet, but painted blue and white, with a red star embossed on the front. He had first worn it in the middle of a battle during the Korean war, and it had become iconic enough that it became part of his standard uniform. He wore an unzipped World War II bomber jacket- from his very first war. Underneath one could see the body armor, with alternating ‘V’ shaped stripes of red, white and blue painted from chest to torso to midsection. His pants were solid blue.
Victor was intimidated, to say the least. “Um, yes sir. Not that I don’t appreciate it but, it’s just- it’s just a bit much, sir.” Victor had to take care to make sure his words didn’t spill.
The Soldier patted him on his shoulder. “It is far too much”, he said with a smile. “And I swear, it gets more elaborate every year.” Then, with a sterner voice, he said, “Don’t call me ‘sir’. Lieutenant, for those that insist on being formal, and ‘John’ for the rest.”
“Yes, si- Lieutenant, John.”
He chuckled. “Come on, son. Your first Shield meeting. You excited?”
Victor nodded. They started walking away from the little stage they had set up for the press conference. He could hear the clamor of reporters and the rumblings of the crowd behind the curtain.
“The others are waiting in the Circles. Most of them at least. They would have come here to join the ceremony, but you know how it is- one or two superheroes at a time is a quiet affair, relatively. Put everyone in the same place however, and people go crazy. And we didn’t want to make this too big of an event. It would feel wrong to make a big thing out of it so soon after Gold Dragon.”
Victor nodded. “I understand, um, John-Lieutenant. I’m- I’m sorry for your loss.”
The Soldier nodded with a sigh. “The whole thing is just awful, isn’t it? Dragon and I… had problems. I won’t deny that.” Victor was surprised to hear it, but he didn’t react. “But I respected him- he had drive. Unfortunately, he never learnt how to step back and let others help with the load when he couldn’t deal with it on his own. Just, sad.”
The Soldier put a hand on Victor’s shoulder. “I like to say the Shield’s a family, Vic.” Vic?
“I just want to say that, if you need help or advice, or if you just want to talk- you can come to me. Anytime. It’s my job- as much as fighting crime is.”
Victor nodded once again. It was unreal.
The Soldier popped up around the time when Abnormals really started to enter society. Abnormals had technically been present all through history, but it wasn’t until around the first and second world wars that Abnormals began popping up with a noticeable increase in frequency. The Soldier showed up around the same time.
The story was one that everyone knew; the Soldier’s father returned from the first world war with shellshock; the Soldier’s first exposure to war. As the story went, when the second world war finally reached the US, the Soldier- still John Stand at that point- encountered a crying child on the street. When informed that the child was crying because his father had been drafted, John volunteered in his stead. His Abnormality would manifest during the Normandy landings, right in the midst of battle.
Even his power was a testament to his character- there was the increased strength, agility and reflexes of course, as well as the enhanced lifespan, but more important was his ability to manifest blue forcefields- little shields. His power was one of protection.
The Soldier rose to fame when he led the charge to defeat the Aryan, the Nazis’ Abnormal poster child. Victor could imagine the message it sent to the world- a shattering defeat of Nazi ideals, just when all hope seemed lost. For a while, the world was actually optimistic about what Abnormals could mean for the future.
The Soldier wasn’t famous because he was strong; he was relatively weak as far as these things went. He was famous because he had demonstrated, time after time after time, that he had the heart of a true hero. Not an easy feat when one had lived for almost a century. In every war and battle he demonstrated his courage and his willingness to help and save friend and foe alike.
Even more impressive than the wars and battles he fought in were those where he didn’t fight, or those he fought in even when no one else did. He refused to participate in Vietnam, even though it nearly ended his career. He volunteered in the Sudanese reconstruction wars even when the United States was neutral. More recently, he had strongly condemned the mess in Libya, and was leading a social movement to refuse to enlist.
The Soldier was what Victor dreamed of being. A hero that actually lived up to the ideal.
Victor and the Soldier made small talk as they approached the Circles- the headquarters of the Shield of Honor. The Circles was a large circular complex of buildings arranged in concentric rings. The circular complex was meant to mimic a shield of course, but ‘the Circles’ was the name that had caught on instead. In theory, the Circles was the home of the Shield- the place where they slept, ate, trained, and organized their world saving business. Victor knew that most didn’t actually stay there- and meetings were typically conducted with half the members calling in from someplace else, but it was a nice concept nonetheless. The Soldier was one of the few that actually lived there; Victor wanted to, but his parents insisted that he continue living with them in the city. He was given a few rooms just in case anyway.
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Victor’s heart beat faster as they approached the situation room. It was a circular room with TVs mounted across the walls, displaying various statistics, satellite images and news from a dozen different channels form various countries- some of them were broadcasting recordings of the press conference they had just come from.
In the middle was a large wooden round table and sitting by it were most of the members of the Shield. They were watching Victor as he and the Soldier walked in.
“Ladies and gentlemen”, the Soldier said, gesturing to Victor. “It is my honor to present Stalwart- the newest member of the Shield of Honor.”
There was a smattering of applause as Victor gave a small wave. His eyes swept across the room, savoring every detail.
Before him lay some of the most powerful people on the planet, and the greatest superhero team in the world. The people in front of him had saved lives on the order of millions.
Closest to him was Gaia. Victor couldn’t help but feel a bit intimidated. As far as powerful heroes went, Gaia was up there with the likes of Hercules. Gaia could change entire landscapes on a whim. She could, with a thought, shuffle the physical features of the earth- she could move and switch buildings, hills, cars, or essentially anything touching the ground within her considerable range. Criminals escaping from her would find themselves driving in circles as she twisted the streets and roads to her benefit. During disasters she would displace and move hospitals to the affected areas. Her greatest feat was sliding a mountain out of the way to prevent a plane from crashing into it. To top it all off, she also had durability on par with the best. She was smiling warmly at Victor and was one of the members clapping. Her costume was designed to give the impression of being armored in mud and rock, and was encrusted throughout with gemstones of varying sizes and colors.
Present a bit behind her was Slingshot, who was amongst the most enthusiastic clappers. Victor nodded at him. His power was to telekinetically control the projectiles launched from his slingshot. A relatively weak power and yet he routinely punched above his weight thanks to his creativity- the list of enemies he had taken down rivalled that of the strongest members of the Shield. He was currently dressed in civilian clothes.
Victor’s heart skip a beat when he saw Red Robot. A tech-type genius who had uploaded his consciousness to an ever-growing network of robots that he fought with. Thanks to DAD pouring endless amounts of money into the Shield, Red Robot churned out new robots- new vessels for his consciousness- at a furious pace, each with better weaponry and technology than the last. To fight against him was to fight against an army. His current robot was rust red and humanoid, though it had no facial features where its head was, and had far more fingers than ten.
One of the TV’s showed the face of Zenobia, video-calling in. She had the power to create bubbles of slower or accelerated time relative to the rest of the world. Trapping an enemy combatant in a bubble of slowed time could effectively remove them from the fight. A lifetime of slowing time for herself and using it to train, study, and more meant that Zenobia was one of the most accomplished people on the planet. A genius in her own right, she was also an expert martial artist, and a scholar in several different fields.
Another TV screen showed Transmute. She possessed the power of transmutation- she could turn a knife into a feather, a car into a cage, or a bomb into a sandwich. Villains who fought her typically ended up losing their weapons, loot, vehicles and occasionally costumes as they were transformed away. She also happened to be mute.
Finally, sitting furthest away from Victor was Mirror-Mirror. Mirror could mimic any power within a certain radius, sometimes better than original. He could then retain it indefinitely until he mimicked another power. Mirror was definitionally a match for anyone in a fight. He was watching Victor intently but not clapping. Victor wondered if he had just copied his powers. His costume, aptly, was made out of some sort of highly reflective material, that covered him head to toe.
Eight members in total, including himself and the Soldier.
“Take a seat, Vic”, the Soldier told him.
Victor didn’t have the heart to tell him he hated being called Vic. Nervously he took a seat beside Gaia; she seemed the most welcoming of the group. She offered her hand to shake as he came close.
All eyes were on the Soldier as he took a seat on the table.
“Alright!”, the Soldier said, with a smile. “Let’s get started.”
-------------------------------------------------------
Nearly two hours later, Victor’s head was buzzing far with too much information- the recent activities and whereabouts of dozens of supervillain groups across the planet, dry details about finances, ideas for media appearances and more. He watched as the members filed out.
Mirror left almost immediately. He was gliding, Victor realized, with a jolt. Mirror had copied Victor’s abilities.
Transmute had disconnected as well, although Zenobia was still on the line, chatting with Slingshot. Red Robot's consciousness appeared to have left the robot at the table- it was sitting completely motionless, its head tilted slightly downwards.
The Soldier leaned over to talk to Victor. “Well?”
“That was a lot of information. I don’t know what to do with most of that. I barely remember half of it.”
“That’s approximately a hundred percent more than I remember”, Gaia said, with a light tone. “Don’t worry about it. They give you a briefing when you’re off to face a villain; just learn it then.”
The Soldier gave Gaia a cross look. “No. I know it’s a lot, Vic, but it’s important that you learn and remember as much as you can. You never want to go into a fight without knowing exactly what and who you’re up against, and why you’re up against them. Gaia gets to be careless because of her power, but that’s no excuse for the rest of us.”
Gaia laughed. “No offense John, but Vic here is a lot closer to me power wise than he is to you. Missile-type right? Strength, toughness and flight?”
Great, now she’s calling me Vic too. Victor nodded. But the Soldier didn’t seem pleased.
Victor spoke to assuage his worries. “Don’t worry, I don’t take this stuff lightly. I copied down a lot of what you were saying”, he said, showing his notes, “and I’ll do more research later.”
The Soldier seemed pleased at that.
“So, this is the kid that’s supposed to replace Gold Dragon?” It was Zenobia, through the TV.
Gaia sounded irritated. “Don’t say that. It’s not fair to him.”
“Hey, he said it himself, during his speech.”, Zenobia replied, shrugging. “You’ll do fine, kid. Here’s Aunt Zenobia’s advice: if your feet are on the ground, then you’ve grossly misunderstood your role in this organization.”
“Thanks, I guess?”
Slingshot nodded in agreement. “I told you at the school that we need a flyer. That’s pretty much going to be your role when we’re out in the field. You hover a distance above, duck in to help people that look like they need help.”
“We’ll do some training and team exercises later”, the Soldier assured him.
“So I’m like support?” He wasn’t thrilled at the idea- he preferred to be in the thick of the battle- his strength and durability usually let him win fights fast.
“More like reserve”, Zenobia clarified.
Victor looked at the inactive Red Robot suit. “What about Red Robot? Can’t his suits fly?”
“Depends on the suit. But he’s usually the firepower what with all his missiles and guns.”
“When he actually works with us, that is.” Gaia added darkly.
The others nervously glanced at the Red Robot suit. It hadn’t reacted. “It’s off”, Gaia said, dismissively.
The Soldier looked uncertainly at Victor, as if unsure how to explain. “Red Robot is a bit of a lone wolf, compared to the rest.”
“Mirror is a lone wolf”, Zenobia retorted. “Robot is- “
“Not the time or place, Zen”, the Soldier interrupted, casting an apologetic glance Victor’s way. Slingshot looked at the robot suit anxiously.
But Zenobia didn’t seem pacified. “Like it matters. He’s always listening, you know that right? Even if his suit wasn’t there right now, let’s not pretend he hasn’t tapped our devices. He’s not the only genius- “
“Zenobia”, the Soldier repeated, a bit firmer this time. Zenobia disconnected without another word.
Slingshot was staring at the robot suit. Victor wasn’t sure how to react. Red Robot was originally a mad scientist type, he knew. It probably took a certain type of person to upload their consciousness like that anyway. But if what Zenobia had said about tapping their communications was true, that would be crossing a pretty big line, especially for a hero.
“I think…”, the Soldier spoke slowly. “That’s enough superhero nonsense for your first day. Don’t want to overwhelm you. Do you mind taking a walk with me, Vic?”
When Victor nodded, the Soldier looked at Gaia. “Sure, why not?” she responded.
“I’ll pass”, Slingshot said, with a yawn. “I just flew in from Germany- still jetlagged.” He got up, stretched and walked out. “Glad to have you, Vic!” Slingshot called out as he was leaving, without looking back. Everyone’s calling me Vic, Victor realized with a sigh.
“Come on”, the Soldier urged, and they walked out of the room. As soon as they exited the building, the Soldier gestured to Gaia.
A moment later the world was moving around him. The control room and the Circles were racing away from him at a furious speed. Victor lifted off the ground in a panicked reaction. Hovering in the air, he watched as earth moved, dragging the Soldier and Gaia away from the Circles, to what looked like a field a bit of distance away. Gaia had used her powers to move the earth beneath Soldier and herself to someplace else.
Feeling a bit stupid, Victor flew to catch up with them. They watched as he touched down. Gaia raised her hands. “Sorry, I was taking us to a place with more greenery. Should have warned you first.”
Victor shook his head. “Just got confused, sorry about that.”
The three of them began walking; Gaia had taken them to some large clearing. Based on the yellow lines painted on the grass, indicating distances and angles, Victor figured it was some sort of training ground. Target practice for Slingshot perhaps.
“I’m sorry about that, Victor”, the Soldier said.
“It’s fine. I forgot Gaia’s power, that’s all.”
“He’s talking about the Red Robot thing”, Gaia clarified. “And call me Rose”, she said, with a smile.
“There have been accusations flying around”, the Soldier continued, with a sigh. “It’s nothing major, but when you have multiple… interesting, personalities together in the same group, there’s bound to be friction.”
Victor nodded. “It’s fine. I’ll steer clear of the whole thing.”
The Soldier stopped walking and looked at Victor. He seemed uncomfortable, almost guilty. “I don’t really want to do this. I don’t want to cause even bigger problems…”, he trailed off.
Rose nudged him a bit, as if to encourage him to continue. Victor frowned; what is going on?
The Soldier took a deep breath. “It’s best you steer clear of it, and… my advice to you is that you steer clear of Red Robot as well.”
“Oh. Is there a problem with me? Did I do something?”
The Soldier immediately shook his head. “No, you did nothing. And it’s probably nothing. Just being safe. No need for more tension in the team, right?”
Victor nodded uncertainly. It didn’t seem like nothing.
The Soldier sighed. “Thanks. And I’m sorry about… well, I’m sorry. We’re happy to have you, Vic. Welcome to the Shield.”
“Thanks”, Victor said, quietly. This wasn’t really how he had pictured this day going.
“Drop me off, Rose?”
Victor watched as the ground beneath the Soldier raced away, carrying the Soldier with him.
Rose looked at Victor with focus. “I’ll say what John doesn’t want to say, Vic. You should stay away from Robot, just like Gold Dragon should have stayed away from Robot.”
“What?” Victor returned in surprise. What exactly was she implying?
But Rose left without an answer, surfing her own bit of ground.
Victor watched as her figure grew smaller and smaller.