I began by eliminating the weakest of them, slowly rebuilding my power. I took on ever more powerful opponents, until I was liberating entire countries.

After over an hour of flying inside a bubble of Legacy’s power, the novelty was starting to wear off and Danny was feeling air-sick. G-force and wind were completely canceled out by the sphere of energy, but dangling in the air a few thousand feet up was enough to give anyone their first taste of vertigo. Danny was immensely grateful when he saw Infinity Tower approaching fast.

Washington DC hadn’t fared well during the Invasion. Humanity had been hit in most of its major population centers, and even more so anywhere that political power was seated. In the many decades since, it had been largely rebuilt for symbolic purposes, and was now a thriving city once more.

The NGG had largely avoided the major areas of governance from before the invasion, however, likely to avoid people still thinking about former-America and other, similar broken national bonds. As such, while Legacy had insisted that Infinity tower be built here, the NGG’s presence was intentionally minimalized. That was more than agreeable to Danny, who was grateful to be further from their grip.

He stared out over the city, seeing it for the first time. There weren’t many tall buildings, but the Invader presence was far less pronounced here than it had been in New Technopolis. There were still remnants from the war, including some stubborn, smaller structures of that mysterious alien black metal, but much of it had been buried under massive piles of earth.

A rather patriotic super in the seventies had developed considerable ability in displacing soil. He hadn’t been very capable when it came to fighting, but he’d made it his own personal mission to make the city fit for humans again. It had taken years, but the result was a city of rolling hills, now covered in homes and vegetation.

Rising from what Danny assumed was the downtown area, was a building far larger than any other. Infinity tower wouldn’t have stood out in NTC, but here it was a beacon of shining glass and steel, standing protectively above everything else. Legacy noticed him staring and spoke proudly.

“Forty stories, entirely dedicated to the development and management of Hero teams across North America. The lower floors are all offices. It takes a lot of work to coordinate Super Teams, and scout for talent. The middle floors are living areas, entertainment, and even some small shopping centers. You won’t need to leave unless you choose to; we like to be self-sufficient.”

Danny was grateful to hear that, still frightened that NGG teams might be waiting for him around every corner. His eyes followed the structure’s shape to the top, which was strangely constructed. “What about the upper floors?”

“Training, and Infinity headquarters,” he answered. The top section of the building broke off like limbs sprouting from a tree, clearly taking advantage of K-Technologies in the way each branch seemed to defy gravity. “You can see that there’s a central area between the smaller towers, that’s where you’ll spend most of your time.”

As they flew closer, Danny was able to make out more details, and he realized that the building was actually quite wide. The central area Legacy referred to was almost as big as the play-fields back at the farm, and the way the branches spread out and upward from it made it look a bit like a colosseum. He could even make out people, obviously supers given the occasional light show or burst of fire.

“You know,” Danny said, “I’ve been out of the loop for a while, but even back in the Farm–uh, school–we hadn’t heard anything about Team Infinity for a while. Will I get to meet the other members?” Legacy looked troubled, and took a moment before answering.

“Herald is actually an instructor, so you’ll definitely meet here. Gigaforce still lives at the facility, but he’s been…taking some time to himself lately, so you might not cross paths. The rest of the team is on sabbatical; there’s fewer and fewer Villains these days, and they’ve found more practical uses for their powers–or so I’ve been told.”

Danny had about a thousand follow-up questions, having been a fan of the team since he was little, but Legacy’s bitter tone made it clear that he wasn’t interested in discussing the topic further. Instead, they both spent the final few minutes of the flight watching the Tower grow closer, the sun lighting it up like a pillar of crystal and fire.

At last the bubble lowered them onto the landing platform that was large enough for the jets that shuttled Heroes from crisis to crisis, and Danny let out a relieved breath to be standing on something solid again. He followed Legacy toward the central area, taking in everything he could with undisguised awe.

There were six towers branching out, shaping the central area into a massive hexagon. The towers were slightly displaced from the buildings ‘trunk’, making it look to Danny like the world’s biggest cactus. It wasn’t quite as crowded as he’d expected, but there was a steady stream of people following the paths into and out of the towers, and there were elevators at each of the six sides.

The central area itself, called the hub, apparently, was an interesting mix of training yard meets backyard. There were trees, gardens, and sitting areas around the outside, with the center giving way to exercise equipment, small enclosed structures, and what looked like fighting rings. Danny could see the other young Heroes clearly now, and it was an impressive sight.

A small girl with dark skin and dreadlocks was lifting weights that had to be heavier than a car. Two guys completely unrecognizable in gray, full-body safety suits were sparring with their full powers. One was floating above the arena, a number of steel discs alternately circling him and flying downward toward his opponent. The other was answering with some kind of attack Danny couldn’t understand, but seemed to make the air vibrate as it shattered anything that came close to him.

“I’ll introduce you soon, don’t worry,” Legacy said with a smile, then continued on toward the Northernmost tower. Crossing to the tower meant walking over a section of the building that felt uncomfortably like a bridge hovering forty stories up. Thankfully, glass walls rose up on either side, but Danny’s already queasy stomach kept trying to convince him the structure would collapse beneath him.

A sign named the section as the Administration Tower, and it had the feel of an office building when they entered. A red haired receptionist jumped up when she saw them. “Mr. Legacy!” she said, rushing around the curved, wooden desk. “Mrs. Gibson is expecting you in conference room C.”

“Thanks Maggie, I know where it is,” he answered, confidently walking to the left of her desk, and into a more open area. Danny hastily followed, finding the drab, gray building filled with desks uncomfortably similar to the Farm, and a bit of a disappointment after the excitement of the training area.

They soon found the conference room, which was just a big table with a few pictures of bland art on the walls. A brown haired, dark skinned woman in a blue suit sat on one side, surrounded by papers. A younger, Asian man was standing behind her, holding even more papers, as well as a tablet. The woman spoke as Legacy entered, “I know you’re ancient, Sam, but insisting we use paper is getting ridiculous.”

Legacy smiled, “Well Judy, when you live through two separate instances of all technology failing, you gain an appreciation for hard copy.” Judy rolled her eyes, but Danny got the impression this was some kind of friendly running gag. She turned to him next.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Welcome Mr. Summers, I’m glad Legacy was able to get you here safely, and I’m truly sorry to hear about what happened to you. My name is Judy Gibson, Chief Administrator here at the tower.”

“Pleased to meet you, ma’am. I can’t believe I’m really here.” She looked sad at that.

“I can only imagine you’re happy to be anywhere that isn’t with that Villain. First of all I’d like to assure you that the NGG has provided us with the best psychologists possible, and they’ll be overseeing your recovery.” Danny tried to smile at that, but it was a struggle.

“Of course,” she continued, “we’re extremely pleased to find that you’d like to join us at the tower, but understand that we won’t hold you to any major life decisions made immediately following the trauma you just experienced.” Danny was surprised, and a little touched to discover that she seemed sincere. He’d lumped all NGG people in with those at the farm for so long that he’d never expected this.

“Honestly, ma’am, I didn’t just make this decision. I made it when I was five years old, and basically every day since then. Being a Hero is all I ever wanted. Doing it at Infinity Tower is beyond my wildest dreams.” Once again, Danny was pleased to find that the truth was going to carry him through a lot of this.

Mrs. Gibson and Legacy both smiled at that, and the powerful Hero even put a hand on Danny’s shoulder in a friendly way. Danny kept his smile small, despite how much he was beaming on the inside. He had to try to remember that he’d supposedly been captured and worse for half a year. Lucia has suggested he lean as hard into the Hero opportunity as possible, both because it fit, and because she thought they would see it as a realistic coping method. Still, no one in his position would be completely normal.

“Well that’s wonderful to hear, Mr. Summers, but what I said stands. You’re welcome here as long as you want, and we’ll even talk about training soon, but don’t let this opportunity become a burden. You’ve been through enough.”

“Allison cleared him for training already,” Legacy insisted, pulling a chip out of a pocket and sliding it across the table.

“Oh look, and data chip. From someone older than you, no less. Remarkable,” Legacy laughed out loud, and Mrs. Gibson continued. “We received word that he was cleared, but that doesn’t mean we’re pushing him into anything. Let him rest, Sam.” Legacy’s face flashed with anger for a moment, but shifted immediately when he looked at Danny.

“Of course,” he said while running a hand over his face. “I’m sorry, Daniel. Don’t let me push you either. I’m just excited to see you in action, and I’m proud of the resilience you’re showing.” Legacy is proud of me, Danny thought, not caring what it was for.

“Thanks Legacy, maybe…maybe we take it day by day? You could always give me some pointers, not like training means I need to fight Super Villains on my first day, right?”

Legacy let out a friendly laugh, “That can wait until day two, don’t worry.” He looked over at the younger man standing behind Mrs. Gibson. “Alex, can you please take Daniel to get a change of clothes, and some food if he wants? We’ll take care of the paperwork.”

“Of course, Mr. Parker,” Alex said. “Right this way, Mr. Summers, Tower two has some spare uniforms.” Danny looked at Legacy, who gave him a nod, then followed Alex. He didn’t like being away from the Hero as he’d only just started feeling safe, but he knew that had to end sooner or later. If he wasn’t safe to walk around Infinity Tower, it wasn’t safe anywhere.

Alex led him to the next tower, chatting all the while about different areas that Danny could visit for various purposes. Finally he was left in a locker room with a number of different training uniforms. They were uniformly dark blue, with gray highlights at the cuffs and zippers, and felt like jumpsuits. It took some time for him to find one that matched his height without being too bulky. A lot of jacked dudes here apparently.

When he left, Alex was finishing a call on his KD. “Mrs. Gibson says they’ll need some more time, but I’ve been asked to join them. Will you be okay waiting in the training area? There’s all sorts of food, and Legacy said you might get a kick out of watching the other Young Heroes.”

“That sounds awesome,” Danny replied readily, and quickly left what he’d learned was the Supply Tower. He waved goodbye to Alex, and walked toward a nearby food area. It was mostly protein shakes and boring stuff, but for some reason they had corn dogs, so he got three.

Danny felt a shocking amount of freedom from not having to be someone else for the first time since leaving the warehouse, and he felt his body truly unclench. He ate the first corn dog while wandering around and trying to get a sense of the place, but he knew that he could only resist watching the other supers for so long. Soon enough he was finding a bench to sit on near where the two guys were still wailing on each other.

His second corn dog was just as good as the first, and he was absently eating it when a tall, blond girl walked up to him. “So you’re him,” she said, sounding irritated. Danny looked up at her. Shit, she’s super hot. Do something cool.

“Corn dog?” he asked, handing one up to her without thinking. It was the one he’d been eating. So close, he lamented. Her face screwed up in confusion and disbelief.

“What? No, that’s disgusting. What’s wrong with you?” she asked.

“He was tortured by a sexy Super Villain!” the non-flying guy called out. Finally, someone who gets it, Danny thought.

“Shut up, Charles,” she said, turning her green eyes back on Danny. “Is that right, new guy? You were tortured and now you don’t know how to act like a regular person?”

“Which one of us is supposed to be regular?” Danny replied. “Magic flying disk guy, or miniscule-mighty-marie over there, juggling the weights?” The tall girl turned back to look at the girl with dreadlocks, who had indeed been juggling. She hastily put the massive weights down, looking embarrassed.

“Whatever,” blondie said. “So you think you’re special?” she asked. “Legacy’s new golden boy?”

“Oh I’m sorry blondie, you must have been the old golden boy,” Danny responded, getting serious Eric Palmer vibes from this girl. Wait, he’s dead. Do I have to pretend he wasn’t a douche now?

Blondie looked full-on pissed, so Danny went back to eating his corn dog. “My name is Firestrike,” she hissed.

“Her name is Nell!” Charles yelled, while simultaneously shattering another hurled disk.

“Shut up, Charles!” Nell screamed again, then whirled back to Danny. “Why don’t you show us what you can do, golden boy?”

Danny stood up, mock outrage on his face, “My name is Firestrike!” he said, copying her tone perfectly. Charles laughed, the distraction allowing a disk to crash into his side. Danny winced sympathetically, as Nell just glared at him in open confusion and disapproval. “Honestly though, I really shouldn’t,” Danny said, trying to remember to act like the person he was pretending to be. “I don’t really know how to control my powers yet.”

Nell scoffed, “I’m not surprised. Just get this through your corn dog filled head: I’m going to lead Young Infinity. Not you, not anyone else.” Danny tried to hold the sarcasm in.

“Well you seem like a great leader. I’m already inspired.” Whoops.

Nell finally appeared to have been pushed to her limit. Danny got the impression her limit wasn’t very high. Her eyes and hair burst alight with an inner fire, and she threw a fist toward him, flames exploding outward. He reacted without thinking, holding his remaining corn dog in front of him like a sword.

His borrowed powers reacted with him, and a burst of green energy met the flames, then continued forward. The shapeless mass of light continued past the fire, crashing into Nell and launching her backward with disturbing force. She flew across the training yard, between the two sparring supers, and crashed into a pile of weights, which rolled and bounced in every direction.

Nell lay there groaning, but everyone else on the central platform had gone still, staring at the scene. “Well, shit,” Danny said, taking a bite of his slightly scorched corn dog.