New Markets - 02 (49 page)

“Well, not all of them.  She can’t detect me or Hellshock, for example.”

“Hmm, interesting.”

“Speaking of kidnappings, why did you have all the new supers rounded up, drugged and kept in the hospital since last Saturday night?”

“You must not remember the last two comet bursts over the city.  Both times we had a lot of injuries and damage occur because new supers didn’t know how to control their powers.  Or mutants getting bloodthirsty.  It wasn’t pretty.  So I set up a plan to separate them from everyone for a week or so, have existing supers talk with them and coach them before they left the hospital, etc.”

“Oh.  Well, I guess that makes sense.  Still irks me about being treated like criminals.”

“It wasn’t the intent.  I had the framework of the plan created, but not the communication part yet.  It didn’t come across that we were just separating them for safety.  I think the order came across as ‘arrest all new supers’ rather than ‘bring them in to keep them from blowing up’ or some such.”

Something sounded slightly wrong with his inflection, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.  He motioned for me to sit once inside his office, and took his seat behind the desk.

I said, “Anyway, back to the point at hand – I’m wondering if you know of a brick that would join us on the next recovery attempt.  Now that the chrome chick is with them, I’d like to have someone who could knock her out without me having to tear into her with my claws.”

He nodded, “She was at the hospital until Monday, when we set her loose.  She seemed calm and non-hostile at the time, so it surprises me that she joined up with them.  That’s assuming they didn’t have a way to coerce her.”

“Wait, they might.  Psystar found a website where they were auctioning off the supers.  There was a comment at the bottom where they claim they would somehow wipe the mind, or condition the supers to be willing to work for the person buying them.  Maybe they did that to her.”

“They likely have a telepath of some sort with them then.

“Yup.  But she’s why I need a brick.”

“Well, Gatecrasher, Big Man, and Zonk are active H.E.R.O. bricks.  Let me contact them.”

“Hellshock’s going to join me as well, he was kind of pissed that I didn’t call him before the semi attack.”

“He’s right, you were rash.”

I shrugged, “I’m not perfect, but I’m learning.  Anyway, he said he’s on good terms with both Zonk and Gatecrasher.”

“I’ll try them first.”

The Captain began clicking and typing away on his monster sized keyboard.  It reminded me of a big children’s keyboard for a two-year old.  The sound his fingers made when they hit the keys brought me back to the need for a super-sized keyboard for a brick, however. 
I wonder why he doesn’t go on things like this himself, he’s a brick.

He made a “hmm” sound after a minute, and said, “I’ve got a message from Agent Willman of the F.B.I. – he’d like to stop having supers released from the hospital until the situation is resolved.”

“Makes sense.  It seems like some are captured every day.  The soldiers and weapons these guys use are pretty good.  Every time they’ve hit me with the tranq darts … tranq darts.  I wonder if that’s why Psystar is hovering above the city.  She could have gotten hit.  In fact, she’s a lot slower than I am, so it’s downright likely.”

“You’re thinking that she fought the guards at the back trailer, they hit her with some darts, and perhaps out of desperation she flew into the sky rather than be captured?”

“Right.  It fits.”

“The next question is:  how long does this tranquilizer work?”

“I’ve been hit with them numerous times, they affect me less and less each time.  But if her healing is slower, she might be out for four to eight hours.  I suppose it depends on the number of darts and how strong they really are.  She’s a lot smaller than I am as well.”

“Exactly.  If they are made to take out supers, and she were hit by enough of them she could be out for twelve hours, we just don’t know.”

“Well, I feel better about that, kind of.  So what are you going to tell Willman?”

He began typing on the keyboard.  “I’m going to agree with him.  For now it’s safer to prevent any future kidnappings.  You mentioned a website, do you have the web address?’

“No, Psystar had it, and she mentioned that it was hard to get to, it took a few hacker type friends of hers to even find it.”

“That’s annoying.”

“Agent Willman’s computer guys are working on it, though.  Unless you have a super tech available….”

“No, I’m hoping we can find one at some point.”  His machine played a ringtone, and he clicked a few times.  “Damn, Zonk is out of town.  Gatecrasher says he can, but not until tomorrow.  He’s a good H.E.R.O., I think I’d wait for him.”

“Will do.  Hopefully we’ll have Psystar back by then.”

"All right, I'm sending him an acknowledgement, and to contact you in the morning then."

"Awesome.  I think I'll check with the hospital and see where Willman is at."

"Good idea.  I'm glad to hear you're starting to work with other agencies already."

"Well, I don't think he's completely happy with me, apparently I skip some details on my recollection of events, and he doesn't like that.  But if we succeed it'll be a good beginning."

"Good luck on it.  Send me a message when your team is going to head in, I'd like to know about it.  I also have a feeling that we’ll need a super paddy wagon."

Chapter 29 - Insubstantial

Rael's Perspective

I left the H.E.R.O. headquarters in a hopeful mood, if not happy that I couldn't make any progress on the case tonight.  I pulled out my phone before running out into the rain and sent a text to Hellshock that we couldn't move until tomorrow, but that Gatecrasher would be joining us at least.

I sealed it back into the belt compartment and began jogging back into the city.  It took me about half an hour to reach Iron Cross General Hospital again.  Sadly, this time I knew that Kim wouldn't be there to greet me.

I wrung out my hair again before entering the hospital and walked to the elevator we'd been using to get up to the restricted floor.  A few of the hospital personnel glanced at me, two even waved.  I wasn't sure if coming into the hospital often enough to be recognized was a good thing or bad thing....

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open.  The two patrol officers stopped me at the entrance.  They weren't the same two that were there earlier or I'd have given them crap about not recognizing me.

The nurse's station was empty, although after a moment a nurse came along and asked if she could help me.

I said, "I'm here to see Agent Willman, he's an F.B.I. agent that's been hanging out here."

A sneering voice from my left replied for her, "He left for the night,
hero
.  What do you want?"

I looked at him, it was the agent who irritated me so much only a few hours ago.

"Willman sent H.E.R.O. a message that he was going to keep these people here until the kidnapping situation is done."

"Exactly.  Apparently you failed again?  We received word of a lot of gunfire on the north side, and a super being knocked through a building whose description is just like yours."

"Yeah, it didn't go well.  One of the bricks they kidnapped is working for them now.  When I went to free her she grabbed me and kicked my butt."

Agent Dimmer waved his fingers in the air.  "Hmph, so much for the vaunted fighting skills of the supers."

"I didn't fight her.  I'm still not even sure she's acting of her own accord, Dimmer."

"Ah, good excuse.  Well, several others that were released in the past few days were kidnapped later this evening, so now they have even more victims."

"Seriously?  Damnit."

"Perhaps we need to start using more conventional ... and effective tactical teams to take them out."

"Oh, and what would your team have done against a metal clad brick?"

Agent Dimmer frowned, he hadn't thought of that.

I followed that up with, "So have your computer experts shut down the website, or found out where it's being run from?"  I figured if he'd had worthwhile progress on that front he'd have brought it up just to jibe me.

He snapped, "I have work to do.  You aren't needed here,
hero
."  He spun on his heel and stomped back into the room he had been working in.

I glanced at my hands, my fingers were still normal. 
Whew.  I didn't let him win that time.

I heard shouting from down the corridor, and jogged down it to find out what was going on.  An officer was talking with a man in a hospital gown, who appeared to be very agitated.

The man was shouting, "No, I'm
not
going to stay here,
nor
be calm!  I've had enough of being forced to stay in here."

The officer said, "Sir, no one is being released at this point.  Someone out there is attacking new supers."

"Yeah, well, it'll be pretty hard to attack me when they can't touch me!"  He looked up at me as I approached the door of the room.

I said, "Anything I can help with?"

He said, "Yeah, get my release paperwork or I'll just leave!"

"I can't do that for you, but I can tell you why not staying here is a problem...."

"Why's that?"

"The groups that are attacking supers are well trained, attack when you're asleep, and even if you aren't, they are using weaponry made to take down supers."

"What if they can't hit you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Look at what I can do now...."  He clenched his eyes shut for a moment.  When opened them they glowed with a white backlight, and his body became translucent.

I could see through him to the room behind his body.  I stepped forward and waved my hand out at him.  It went right through his body as though he were a ghost.

He smiled.  "How can they hit me with a weapon when I can't be touched?"

"I'd like to know how you can speak if your vocal chords aren't solid."

He shrugged.  "I have no idea."  He stepped forward and walked through the wall into the hallway behind me, and then came back into the room.  "Again, one of you get my release paperwork, or I'll just walk out of here."

I looked at the officer.  "Might as well get his paperwork.  If he's not done a crime he really shouldn't be held against his will."

The officer replied, "I've got orders...."

I said, "Which won't matter if he just walks out."  I looked back at the man.  "At least you know now that if you leave you'll have people after you.  By the way, make sure to eat extra if you keep that active.  The more we use our powers the more energy we seem to burn, and the hungrier we get."

He nodded.

I turned to walk out, and said, "Good luck, dude.  I hope they don't come after you, or your family while you are in the house with them.  They don't seem to be picky about who they shoot."

"Uhh."