Releasing some stories while I continue working on editing the rest of Knight of the Wood (trying to edit it for longer chapters to make it easier on myself). This one is a part of World of Wonder, a superhero setting which I plan to revisit with more standalones.
Evan Cook, helmet on the desk in front of him, tapped his fingers and frowned. The displays of the Tower's reports on activity around the city should've clarified some things for him. That was how it had always been before, when a new villain had arrived that he didn't understand. But today, the noise remained noise. Even Stella, the Tower's AI, who Evan preferred to avoid relying on, had no suggestions to help narrow the field.
No matter how I slice it, this all looks totally random. But why risk so much for nothing?
His thoughts were interrupted as he detected the elevator approaching from several floors down. He lifted his helmet to place it firmly on his head, taking a deep breath and straightening his back. When the elevator opened in the hall behind him, he was once again Vanguard, the admired leader of the East Coast Defense Brigade. His helmet, which left his blue eyes and strong jaw visible, shimmered as it reconnected with his nano-weave, full-body suit. Now that he stood straight, confused look scrubbed from his face, he turned confidently to greet the arrivals.
"Cygnus. Lady Torrent."
Cygnus, his long white hair bound into a single severe knot behind his head, nodded.
"Vanguard. Have you discovered what this new villain wants?"
"No," Vanguard smiled easily. "There's not enough information for me to tell. Not yet."
"Is there any chance she's like Fugue," Lady Torrent offered, voice hoarse and quiet. "And this is all just random?"
"Anything's possible," Vanguard shook his head, "but I don't think so. I have a hunch there's a reason, I just can't tell what it is."
"Then we must move now." Cygnus' dour expression darkened further. "We cannot allow a new an unknown villain to go unchecked any longer. Even this hour you were granted was, in my opinion," he cast a glare at Lady Torrent, "too much time."
"I do not regret forcing the vote to give Vanguard time. We owe it to ourselves to avoid rushing in blindly. What did Stella think of the situation?"
"She had no additional feedback." Vanguard replied, hiding his disquiet under his smile.
Time was my word would've been taken over some program.
"What has the Brigade voted on?" Cygnus, all business, walked to the center of the room and gestured at the air.
"Table please, Stella." A table a dozen steps from the displays whirred up from the ground. "The plan is to send myself, Lady Torrent, and a few others to investigate the disturbances this villain has caused since this morning. I, along with some of our new recruits, will be securing the police stations so we can stop this from spreading further than the outer boroughs. Lady Torrent will be managing the Hudson to ensure that the recent flooding doesn't complicate anything further. As for the beekeepers, we'll have..." Cygnus continued to speak, but Vanguard's attention drifted off.
This is a solid plan, but it's make-work. If we don't find this villain and figure out how they're doing this and why, it won't matter.
"...and you, Vanguard, will be hunting down the villain, whoever it is." At this, Vanguard's head tilts slightly. "None of our members with tracking powers could pin whoever it is down. We believe our best course of action is for you to fly around and listen for them, then intervene and call for backup as needed."
"Well," Vanguard chuckled. "Let's hope I don't need it."
"Good." Cygnus looked between Vanguard and Lady Torrent. "Let's get to work."
Vanguard nodded, then sped into action, launching himself out of the quasi-porous field the Tower had instead of a ceiling.
As inspirational speeches go, it's not his worst. Let's see if we can't hear something suspicious...
He took a deep breath, then spread his awareness slowly as far as it could go. The sounds of New York City, still here after the floods, fires, and invasions, brought him the same calm it always did. He hadn't grown up here, but as soon as he'd come into his powers it had been the only option. PSAs about the Defense Brigade and the glory of service had been the carrot, and his family's expectations had been the stick. Ever since his arrival, as a hero smarter and stronger than nearly everyone else in the game, his star had risen. And now here he was, at the top of the world. He smiled to himself, letting the air rush over him, then refocused on the rhythm of the city. It didn't take him long to home in on those parts of the city that sounded wrong, after which he began ignoring those out-of-step portions that he could hear other heroes solving. There. He heard, from a museum in the southernmost shelter in Manhattan, a crowd of near-silent people listening to what sounded like a single person ranting. He reoriented himself and flew as fast as was safely possible this close to a city. A few moments later he arrived at the shelter's entrance, pausing only to scan for traps. He found nothing and moved rapidly and quietly to where the crowd listened, rapt, to the speaker.
First things first.
As he moved through the hallway, he double-checked his helmet and suit to block psychic or chemical manipulation. He had learned the hard way that, even with his strength of will, he was not fully immune to mind control.
That fight ended up lasting ten minutes longer than it should've. Lucky most people assumed it was my inexperience at the time.
He finally arrived close enough to hear the speaker and paused to assess the situation.
"Can't you all see how messed up this is? We have thousands of people with powers that defy classic understandings of physics, and their only options are to hide, become cops, or become criminals? Why are we living like this?"
Vanguard frowned beneath his helmet.
A woman and a radical of some kind. Maybe her actions looked random because she doesn't know enough to do real damage?
The woman continued speaking, voice low and warm.
"I didn't even know I had powers until last night and now they've got the city locked down. I didn't even declare myself a villain -- I just caused a few accidents!" The crowd murmured in sympathy, but Vanguard's eyes narrowed.
She's lying now, I can hear it. Maybe a persuasion-based power?
He snuck a quick glance around the corner. No one in the crowd's harmed, but they're even quieter than when I first heard them.
Not even any fidgeting. It must be her power, but what
is
it?
Loathe as he was to call for backup, he silently flagged his location to Stella with his suit. Then, still suspicious of purely digital communications, he sent two quick bursts of radio air to Cygnus. A moment later, Cygnus sent two bursts back.
Showtime.
"Citizen, I must ask you to stop manipulating this crowd." Vanguard stepped from behind the pillar, drawn to his full height, his bass voice echoing through the near-silent shelter. "Turning to crime instead of civic action is what makes one a villain. Especially so if you are, as you say, empowered. We have a duty to--"
