Part 1

Don’t believe their lies.

Everything was going according to plan, until Vincent felt a rib crack as the booted foot of Robert Hauffman connected for the dozenth time. This was far from the first beating that Vincent had taken, and he knew exactly what areas to protect as he lay in the fetal position on the library’s carpeted floor. But the other students didn’t refer to Robert as “Berserker Bob” for nothing, and there was only so much punishment a body could take.

“Do you want more?!” Robert screamed, his face red with fury and his hands shaking. “Well? Say something else! Say something smart, Villari!”

Vincent let out a sigh that turned into a cough, blood splattering on the carpet. That would stain. He looked up at Robert and considered the state of the oversized student, unfortunately recognizing that things needed to be taken a step further. What would Danny say?

“We’re in a library, Robert. It’s bad enough you’re infecting this place with your stupidity, you should at least keep your voice down.” Definitely not up to Danny’s standards, but apparently it was enough for his purposes.

Robert roared inarticulately as he came down on top of Vincent, fists pounding relentlessly. ‘Berserker Bob’ lost all self control when he saw that violence wasn’t solving a particular problem, which always led to him applying greater violence to that same problem.

Vincent focused on covering his face as best he could while Robert solved the problem that was Vincent Villari. The other students were yelling now, Danny loudest of all. Some had cheered when the fight started, but all could see that it had gone too far, and the guards would be here soon.

Just a little longer, Vincent thought, and he did his best to block out the pain. Unfortunately, Robert was pinning him to the ground, and anxiety was beginning to rise up inside of him. Vincent could rationalize almost anything, but not the feeling of being trapped.

After a few more moments, the terror was louder in his mind than the pain, and he almost didn’t notice when the punches abruptly ceased. He forced his eyes open to look up at Robert. Finally.

He’d regained his feet, and was now stumbling around the library, knocking over desks and colliding with bookshelves as he held his head, screaming in pain. The rest of the students had retreated in fear, some of them clearly recognizing what was happening.

Danny was there suddenly, pulling Vincent away from the flailing Robert, who was now clearly mid-Manifestation. The doors opened then, and three powered guards raced in, showing zero hesitation as they tackled the crazed student. It wasn’t enough.

“Holy shit,” Danny whispered in disbelief, running a hand through his short brown hair. “He’s still standing against three of the warden’s strongarms.”

“Call him Dean, not warden,” Vincent admonished. “It’s not a surprise, really. Robert shoots twice as much Gamma as anyone should, and he only ever takes strength-related work details. He’s beyond polarized, and the transformation gives a burst of ener–” Vincent cut off as one of the guards was thrown directly at them, Danny pulling him out of the way at the last moment. Vincent felt the air knocked from lungs as he fell back to the floor.

Robert was now completely lost to the change, and his uniform had been torn to pieces by muscles bulging out of control. The seventeen year old had already been large for his age, and now he was nearly seven feet tall as his body grew to accommodate his erupting new power. A guard was clinging to each of his massive arms, but they were only failed Adepts, and not prepared for true inhuman strength.

Vincent watched from his place on the floor, fascinated, and trying to memorize every moment with a mind still foggy from the beating. There were nearly a dozen students in the small library, and of the six study tables, three were turned over by the brawl, leaving a wide open area in the center of the room for Robert to throw the adult guards around like children.

“He’s going to kill those guys,” Danny said, an edge of fear in his voice. Vincent felt a moment of panic as well, as Robert truly did seem to have reached a murderous level of rage. No one was supposed to get hurt, he thought.Then a new figure strode through the double doors, and Vincent felt relief wash over him.

Dean Allister was a middle-aged man, balding and wearing a plain, tan suit. He was outwardly unremarkable in every way. When Robert saw the Dean approaching, he bellowed in inarticulate rage, and threw a punch that could shatter concrete. The unassuming man didn’t even bother to avoid the blow, simply allowing the melon-sized fist crash directly into his unprotected face.

Robert screamed in pain as the bones in his hand shattered, loudly enough to be heard across the room.

Dean Allister, known as Waller when he’d been a member of G-Force–the local hero team–stared down at his student, collapsed on the floor and clutching his ruined hand. A moment later two more guards–these armed with tranq-rifles–rushed in. “No more than three,” the Dean said, and several shots rang out a moment later.

“Was anyone else harmed?” the Dean called out to the other students, as the guards dragged the semi-conscious Robert out of the room. A dozen sets of eyes turned to Vincent as Danny helped him off the floor.

“No sir,” Vincent answered, his bloody face and rapidly swelling left eye making the lie obvious. Dean Allister watched him for a moment before nodding, his face betraying nothing.

“The Daily Loyalty Pledge begins in ten minutes,” the Dean called out. “You should leave now to ensure you don’t arrive late.” With that, he turned and left the room, and whispers broke out immediately.

“Come on,” Vincent said, hobbling forward. “I’m moving slowly and we need to cross to the other side of the facility.” Danny nodded, throwing one of his friend's arms over his shoulder to help him walk. It was slightly awkward as Danny was taller, but Vincent knew he wouldn’t make it on his own. He tried to ignore his injured rib as they left the library.

Stepping out into the courtyard, they were struck by the eerie green light of the fading Rad Storm. Vincent immediately felt some mild relief in his many injuries, but Danny squinted with irritation; he never liked the storms.

“You didn’t have to do that, you know,” he said as they walked down the path between the many dull, gray concrete buildings. Vincent idly watched one of the many K-tech cameras tracking their slow progress, as he considered how to answer.

“You called for help, and it needed to be done,” he replied, keeping his voice low as several other students hurried past them, the white shirt and black pants of their school uniforms both appearing green in the storm.

“I didn’t mind giving him my Gamma rations, now and then. You won’t let me use them anyway,” Danny said, some irritation showing through.

“You know why: you’ve got to stay balanced,” Vincent said, then lowered voice to a whisper. “And we need that Gamma for other reasons.” Danny rolled his eyes.

“I still say you’re crazy for listening to that conspiracy theory nutjob,” when Vincent stopped suddenly, his friend looked at him in surprise, then realized his mistake. “I’m sorry, Vince, I know you don’t like being called–I’m just sorry, okay? Thank you for standing up to Berserker Bob for me.”

Vincent resumed the slow trek to Pledge Hall, his mood darker. “Even after what we saw, you still think Veridicus is just spreading ‘conspiracies’?” he asked, and Danny scoffed.

“Bob is the biggest, dumbest, Gamma-addict on the planet. Can you honestly tell me you’re surprised he turned early? Or that he turned into a bigger, dumber super?” Vincent kept quiet, and Danny knew him well enough to understand the conversation was over.

A few minutes later they hobbled into Pledge Hall, and joined the other nearly two hundred students, lining up in neatly ordered rows in front of the massive screen where they’d view the pre-recorded Pledge. A couple of dozen guards lined the walls as well; there were always plenty when this many students gathered.

Vincent found his customary spot in the middle of the plain gray room, the only color being the many NGG flags set up around the perimeter. He looked around for a moment, having not seen Lucia on his way in, but she normally stood at the opposite side of the Hall. A few students looked at his obvious injuries and whispered, the news clearly having beaten him here. “Looks like Bob did a number on your smug face, Villari,” a voice called out.

“Yeah it was brutal,” Danny said in reply, “A few more like that and he’ll be nearly as ugly as you are, Eric. Not half as stupid though.” Eric Palmer, an older student with spikey blonde hair looked only slightly embarrassed by the jab, until he heard a feminine laugh from nearby, then he looked irate.

“Shut your face, Danny,” he said quickly, taking a threatening step forward. “When I’m the greatest Hero in the world, you’re going to regret talking to me like that.”

“Wow, that sounds like a tragic backstory,” Danny replied seriously, and Steve took the bait. He always took the bait.

“What are you talking about?” he asked.

“Well if you’re the greatest Hero in the world, that means everyone who’s not a complete idiot is long dead,” This prompted more laughter from the unknown girl, and Eric took another angry step before the lights suddenly darkened, and vaguely patriotic music began to play. The boy hurriedly returned to his spot, knowing the punishment for disrupting the Pledge was worse than any indignity he’d suffered.

Vincent turned his good eye to the screen, watching the video closely, as he did every day. At first the music just played over an image of the NGG flag waving for a minute or so, as if the filmmakers understood it would take a moment for a group of teenagers to settle, but then it really began.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

The overly serious narrator spoke as familiar images played. “In the late 1960s mankind discovered we weren’t alone in the universe, when the Watcher arrived.” A number of shots of the Asteroid covered the screen, some from telescopes, others from satellites, and even a few from normal cameras on the ground, where the massive green rock was just barely visible in the night sky.

“Unfortunately, our visitors from another world didn’t come in peace,” the narrator continued, “and the resulting war scarred our planet forever.” There were a few shots from the original black and white broadcasts of the Great Hero in the arena, but it quickly moved on to images and even a few rough clips of the alien structures appearing in cities all over the globe.

Vincent thought he understood why everyone liked to gloss over the arena; it was hard to spin the Great Hero’s devastating loss as anything but a tragedy. Even if the invasion resulted in millions of deaths, the NGG could at least focus on the eventual victory. The narrator continued as the images of cities transitioned from their recently conquered state to their more modern appearance, in a trick of editing.

“Though our losses were many, ultimately our Great Hero was able to systematically wipe the invaders from our beautiful planet, and bring on a new era of peace.” There were a few snickers at that, as there were every day. It was something of a running challenge to see how much you could mock the Pledge without getting caught, but Vincent never participated.

“In the years that followed, our Great Hero used his incredible power to raise up the first generation of Adepts.” This was the part that Vincent always truly waited for, as the video transitioned to a series of shots of the first group of heroes. Legacy was in every photo, standing proudly next to the Great Hero, his red, white, and blue costume an obvious reference to his heralding from the United States, despite the New Global Government having already been established.

Mender was there as well, though like the Great Hero himself, she never seemed interested in the photos. She stood as far back as she could, always looking off into the distance as if she had somewhere better to be–and maybe she did; the doctor’s coat she wore wasn’t an affectation.

Tecnico was there too, his all black suit covered in countless gadgets. Though if Mender seemed like she had somewhere else to be, Tecnico seemed to want people to know he’d rather be anywhere else. His arms were usually crossed over his chest, and Vincent was always quietly amused at the single photo of him actually checking his watch.

In his defense, K-tech was more responsible for the world’s rapid recovery after the invasion than virtually anything else. Everything from farming infrastructure, to the Gamma harnesses embedded in every student’s spine was K-tech, not to mention the Network itself.

Last was the Great Hero. He stood out simply by being comparatively ordinary. He was tall, but not especially so, and he was clean shaven with neatly combed light hair. He never wore a costume, preferring a dark coat over civilian clothes, but he didn’t need to; he was the man who single handedly saved the world.

Despite the pictures depicting the most powerful humans the world had ever known, it wasn’t for them that Vincent watched this part of the Pledge with rapt attention. Instead, he looked for every photo that wasn’t quite centered properly. Every shot where one of the heroes seemed to be speaking to someone just out of frame.

Every piece of evidence he could find where his mother had clearly been cut out.

Soon the film moved on; having established its connection to the indisputable goodness of the Great Hero, it was time for the more overt propaganda. “From the ashes of a ruined world, rose the New Global Government. United by our staggering losses, as well as a hope for a better tomorrow, the NGG became a shining light for our civilization.”

Stock images of people all over the world ‘getting along’ began to play, showing every race and culture supposedly living in harmony. More laughter from the students at that. Finally it transitioned into the last part of the video, and images of young Adepts like them appeared, though these ones appeared overjoyed by their fate. “But that new future cannot exist without you, the next generation of heroes, destined to keep our world safe from any threat.”

Of course, the threats weren’t invaders this time, and the next series of images and clips were of some of the most memorable villains over the last few decades. They even included some vague references to the Cult of the Mind. Though, if anyone actually knew where the group was, they’d have been wiped out long ago. Psychics had no place in the NGG’s ‘perfect society’.

“Remember your duty, loyal Adepts: Take your Gamma. Join the harvests. Listen to your instructors, and above all: report anyone showing signs of power Manifestation.” This was accompanied by some cartoon depictions of students lifting impossibly heavy objects, flying, and other common power sets. The last image was someone drawn with a cliched nefarious appearance, rubbing his temples while a lightning bolt connected his head to another student, who was falling down a flight of stairs.

“Remember, Adepts: the only reason to hide powers is to use them for villainous ends! Think of the Great Hero, and ask yourselves, what would he do?” The video came to its final image, that of the aforementioned Great Hero looking decidedly disinterested in having his photo taken. “Now it’s time, Adepts. Repeat after me as we recite the Hero’s Pledge!”

The room quickly gave over to the sounds of hundreds of bored students mumbling along to the Pledge, many for the thousandth time or more. Vincent, on the other hand, always repeated the words perfectly. He understood better than most the importance of maintaining appearances.

“We pledge our lives and loyalty,

To the Great Hero,

And to the New Global Government,

Who carries on his Great Legacy.

With open eyes and honest hearts,

We do swear to follow,

The brave example he has set forth.

We put aside thoughts,

Of personal glory and wealth,

And dedicate ourselves wholly,

To the many worthy causes of the NGG.”

The Pledge finally reached its end, and the video transitioned to the NGG flag as the lights were raised back to full. Danny quickly fell in beside Vincent as he made his way outside, likely not wanting to find out if Eric’s ego was still bruised. As usual, Danny started complaining and mocking the video.

“We’re just so lucky that the NGG takes such great care of us. Sticking every kid with a hint of potential into Power Farms and ripping our lives away. Forcing us into these storms to scrape Gamma off the walls, it’s almost too glamorous for words.”

“Gamma doesn’t come from scraping surfaces, that’s Beta,” Vincent corrected. “You’d know that if you’d ever actually been on Harvest duty.”

“Hey, you never go on Harvests anymore either!” Danny retorted, not liking to discuss his fear of the storms.

“I stopped going because I was progressing too quickly from the exposure. I don’t want to end up in the army, or carted off like Robert.” Vincent replied, and Danny’s face turned serious.

“Where do you think they’re taking him?”

“After he settles in the hole?” Vincent shrugged. “To some facility that can handle a super with that much strength, and that little intelligence. His power set makes him a prime candidate for special forces, but he’d have to be capable, and willing to follow orders for that.”

“Where are we going, by the way?” Danny asked.

“To the dorm. I need to change, then we have to get to the gym.”

“Are you kidding me? You look like you were hit by a bus. A bus full of rocks,” Danny replied, then he put on his about-to-tell-a-joke face. “At least your brown eye is the swollen one, I trust the green one more. Tell me, green eye, why the hell does Vincent want to punish himself with weights?”

Vincent failed to suppress a sigh before answering. “Balance, Danny. It’s the only thing standing between us and being at the mercy of the NGG for the rest of our lives. Have you been studying, like I told you?” Danny’s face seemed to be fighting between guilt and indignation.

“No, alright? There’s just no way that reading a little bit is going to make any real difference,” he lowered his voice when two students looked at him. “Look, I trust you, Vince, and I know that Gamma addicts are a real thing–hell, Berserker Bob proves that, so I’ve listened to you about not taking my rations. But this balance shit that you’re obsessed with is just more of Veridicus’ ravings.”

When Vincent didn’t respond, Danny looked away, uncomfortable. “Besides,” he said in a subdued voice, “everyone knows that your intellect is barely affected by the Gamma.” Vincent let out a sigh, too tired and in too much pain to have this argument again. The two walked in silence for a few minutes until they’d almost reached the dorm.

By then Vincent had decided to try one more time. “Look Danny, we’re so close. Six months, a year at the most, and we’ll both be written off as just another couple of failed Adepts that are never going to Manifest. Sure, they’ll tag our Harnesses, and try to keep an eye on us, but we’ll be free. No army. No Special Forces, no prisons masquerading as schools, just us in the real world.”

“No Hero Squad, either,” Danny muttered glumly, and Vincent couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

“You can’t honestly think you’d have a real chance at that do you? I’ve been here for twelve years, Danny, and in all that time I’ve only seen five students get chosen for the program,” his friend looked away, never handling this subject well, but Vincent couldn’t stop himself. “They were the five most patriotic, rule-obsessed, NGG-worshiping people I’ve ever seen, and they were all exceptionally powerful.”

Danny was quiet for a moment as they entered the dorm, clearly a bit upset, but then he surprised Vincent with a question of his own. “What about you, then? Are you really just hoping to start a boring, normal life out there? Maybe I won’t be on the Hero squad, but at least I want something.” Vincent thought back to the Pledge video, and all the places his mother had been edited out of history.

“Trust me, Danny, there’s definitely something I want,” his friend looked at him curiously, but Vincent didn’t elaborate. As they reached Vincent’s room, he tried one more time to convince his friend.

“Please Danny, just one year, and then we’ll be free. Maybe Veridicus is wrong, but why take the chance? Why not do everything we possibly can to avoid ending up like Robert, carted off full of tranquilizers, bound for who knows where?” Danny wouldn’t look directly at Vincent, but at last he gave a single nod.

“Thank you. It’ll be worth it. I promise. A year from now, the three of us will be making our own way, choosing our own fate. You’ll see.” Vincent opened the door to his room, but stopped short when he saw Lucia sitting on his bed.

She’d been crying. His sister never cried. He walked in, Danny following and closing the door behind them. Before Vincent could ask what was wrong, Lucia brushed her long dark hair away from her face and spoke. “It happened,” she said in monotone. “Today in self-defense…I Manifested.” The words seemed to echo in the tiny room, and Vincent’s mind began to race.

Lucia spoke into the stunned silence. “They said I have three months to settle and be processed, and then they’re taking me away. I…I don’t know where.” For a long moment no one seemed to know what to say. Vincent was lost in thought, and Danny was just standing there with his mouth hanging open.

Finally Vincent looked his sister in the eyes, and spoke, “Okay, we have three months to break out of this place.”