Death Makes Me Stronger, page 15
“Overkill,” I huffed and straightened my shirt.
I’d picked out a pair of slacks and one of the button-up shirts that I usually wore to work, but left the suit jacket at home so that the outfit wasn’t too formal. The effect was to look professional, but not desperate, and definitely not homeless. I’d even left the top few buttons undone and ditched the tie, though my trusty leather belt was wrapped around my waist.
There was no one in the corridor when I stepped out of the elevator, and there were no obvious cameras anywhere. A single window on each end of the hallway looked out over the city, though at the moment there was nothing to see but the dark gray clouds. Fluorescent lights glared down from underneath long rectangular slabs of plastic, and there wasn’t a single decoration anywhere to soften the harsh look of the place.
It was clear that they wanted the interviewees to feel as unsteady as possible, but I wasn’t about to be shaken. I wanted to be a superhero, so surprises and inhospitable lairs were bound to be my bread and butter. The Hero Society wouldn’t be able to intimidate me just because their homebase looked more like a hospital than an office building.
“Mr. Harris,” a man’s deep voice echoed through the hall. “Please, come in.”
The right door popped open just enough to show that it wasn’t locked anymore, and I strolled across to pull it open. Every muscle in my body was tensed the way it had been right before Raven hit me with the taser, but I forced myself to look as relaxed as possible.
A long oval office table stretched the length of the rectangular room, and every wall but the one that I’d come through was covered in windows. I could see clear to the bay from the conference room, and some part of me wanted to rush over and see everything, but that could wait until after the five superheroes had finished interviewing me.
I recognized Admiral Freedom right away since his face was plastered all over the city, and he’d been involved in my first death, but the superhero didn’t seem to recognize me from where he sat at the head of the table. The fake smile that he flashed was the same ridiculous one that looked down from the posters in the office, and I had to fight the urge to groan and roll my eyes. The guy was like a walking talk show host with superpowers.
Alexiar and Sun Streak were on either side of Admiral Freedom on the other end of the table, but that was because they were two of the other big names in the Hero Society. Some said that Alexiar didn’t actually have superpowers and just relied on gadgets, but there was no way that the man could’ve taken a direct hit from a supervillain like Iceara and not sustain some damage if he was a regular human. Sun Streak was undoubtedly a super with her long blonde hair, flight, and super speed, though her powers were never talked about as much as her gorgeous figure.
The other two superheroes were Blue Frost and Golden Weaver. The former was old enough that I was pretty sure that he was about to retire, and I wondered if that was why they’d accepted my application so quickly. The old-timer had been around since the beginning of the superhero society and had come out into the open shortly after Admiral Freedom had made his debut.
Golden Weaver was the only one with a mask on, but there was no denying that the spider-like woman was looking right at me. I wasn’t sure if the hero would remember me, especially since my body had been burned so badly by Inferno, but there was no hint of emotion in the masked woman’s body language. She just sat completely still like a statue with all eight of the eyes in her mask pointed right in my direction.
“Mr. Harris,” Admiral Freedom said and motioned for the empty chair at my end of the table. “Thank you for coming. I assume you paid the fee for the interview?”
“Online,” I nodded. “I did all the paperwork, too.”
“Good, good,” the arrogant man said with that annoying smile.
He picked up a thin blue file in front of him and flipped through the pages as if it was something that he’d read a hundred times before. The other superheroes all had the same file, though none of them went to the trouble of pretending to read it. Admiral Freedom made a noise in the back of his throat and then shut the folder with a snap, laid it down, and then studied me like a bug under a microscope.
“I understand that your powers are relatively new to you.” Sun Streak said with a warm smile.
“They are,” I nodded and tore my eyes from Admiral Freedom’s.
It was like the superhero wanted to have a staring contest with me, but I wasn’t interested in playing any games. I’d come there to be interviewed, not to have some arrogant jerk try to play games with my head. Admiral Freedom could toy with the villains if he wanted, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of making me nervous.
“You don’t have a social media presence,” Alexiar stated.
His pure black eyes stared down the table as if he could see into my soul, and a shiver ran down my spine at the cold expression there. It wouldn’t be hard to convince me that the superhero was actually a villain in disguise, and there were plenty of blogs that were dedicated to proving that fact. At least Alexiar wasn’t as fake and rubber-stamped as Admiral Freedom, but there was just something unnerving about the way he barely moved a muscle.
“Not yet,” I said. “I haven’t finalized my name yet, and I didn’t want to take a pseudonym if I wasn’t completely sure about it.”
“Yes,” he scowled at the file without opening it. “I believe you submitted the title, ‘The Invincible.’”
“Yes,” I nodded and managed to keep a smile on my face.
“That seems a little optimistic, don’t you think?” Admiral Freedom chuckled. “I mean… your skin may be tough, but I don’t think that it can do all that much. And you can’t even fly. You don’t have super strength. It takes a lot more than just being able to stop a blade.”
The tension in the air was almost palpable as I stared down the table at Admiral Freedom. It took all of my self-control not to try and punch him in the face, even if I didn’t have super strength. It’s not like it would hurt me, and the arrogant jerk didn’t have the same invincible skin that I did, so eventually he’d be knocked out.
“Be fair,” Sun Streak said with a pointed look at Alexiar and Admiral Freedom. “He did stop a bullet.”
“So he says,” Blue Frost spoke, and his voice was as brittle as ice. “He doesn’t look like he’d be able to stop a pocket knife. I sincerely doubt that he could stop a bullet.”
“I referenced the report number in my application,” I said and pointed to the blue files they all had.
It had taken forever for me to get in touch with someone at the police station that could give me the report number. The police officers hadn’t even mentioned me by name and had just said that I was a random bystander that happened to be in the vicinity with Dr. LaLune. It didn’t even say that I’d been shot, though the statement from the junkie definitely mentioned that the gun had gone off.
“But were you?” Admiral Freedom chuckled and leaned forward onto the table. “I read the report. The gun misfired.”
“That’s because I wasn’t ready for anyone to know about me yet,” I sighed.
It seemed like Admiral Freedom and Alexiar had already made up their minds about me, and I wasn’t entirely sure about Sun Streak. She seemed nice enough, but there was pity in her amber eyes that was probably from disbelief. If the big three didn’t think that I had what it took, then there was no way that I’d make it into the Hero Society, and I couldn’t do hero work without the license.
I hadn’t put anything in the application about my involvement with Inferno and Golden Weaver since every news outlet had posted the video of me being burned alive, and that would lead to questions that I didn’t want to answer. It was one thing for them to know that I was invincible against bullets and fire, it was another entirely to know how.
Golden Weaver shifted but didn’t pull her eyes off of me for one second. The light reflected off of the six holes that made a diagonal line up her forehead, and I realized that those were cameras. The hero probably only had two eyes when she was out of costume, but either way, all eight of them were pointed at me with an unreadable expression.
“Alright,” Admiral Freedom said and nodded at Alexiar. “The only way for us to know for sure if you actually are invulnerable to bullets is to shoot you. Don’t worry, if you’re lying, then Sun Streak will rush you to the nearest hospital.”
“Okay,” I said and stood as the dark hero did. “Should I just stay--”
My words were cut off by the crack of a gunshot that echoed off of the bulletproof glass like a bell. Alexiar had pulled the weapon out so fast that I hadn’t even seen it before the bullet slammed straight into my heart. I blinked and stared down at the hole in one of my favorite button-ups and then fought back the instant rage that coursed through my body.
“If I had been lying,” I seethed. “Then I’d be dead long before Sun Streak could actually take me to the hospital.”
I bit back the rest of my rant as Alexiar came around the table to inspect the bullet that had fallen onto the conference table. It wouldn’t help my case if I cursed every single one of the so-called superheroes, and I’d already paid the fee for the interview, so I needed to keep my cool and see it through. I took a calming breath, forced a smile, and then looked between the flattened metal in the dark hero’s hand and the slightly intrigued expression on his face.
“Satisfied?” I asked.
“For now,” he said. “We would have tested your immunity to fire, but none of the flame heroes are available today.”
“That was amazing,” Sun Streak said with a reassuring smile. “At least we know that he won’t be easily killed when he’s out on patrol.”
“But he looks like an insurance salesman,” Admiral Freedom laughed and stood, gestured to my outfit, and then started to pace. “Really, we can’t send some young kid out just because he can take a bullet and survive. We all know that it takes more than that to be a superhero. And he doesn’t even have a media presence.”
“Actually, I am in insurance,” I shrugged and sat back down as if nothing the arrogant hero said bothered me. “I work in a call center. I’m currently on leave, but it is a perfectly legitimate job, and an even better cover. Especially since I’ll be moving into the actuary department soon. It would make sense for me to be in the middle of villain attacks.”
“Do you plan to show your face to the world?” Alexiar asked as he walked back to his seat.
“I don’t think so,” I said. “But if I need to, then I can. It shouldn’t be a problem.”
“You don’t know if you’re sure about your name, or if you want to show your face,” the leader of the group said and gripped the back of the chair. “Are you even sure that you want to join the Hero Society? This isn’t some club that you can join and play with on the weekends. We deal with life and death. Why don’t you join one of those little clubs that reenacts our greatest battles? That seems more up to speed with what you can actually do.”
“You can always reapply later,” Sun Streak said and flipped open her file. “I think that you have a lot of potential, but Freedom is right.”
“Admiral Freedom,” he corrected.
“Admiral Freedom,” she repeated with a slight hint of irritation. “He’s right. You need to know for sure whether you want to join us or not. I vote that we give him a temporary license. It can be level one so that he can only fight with the muggers and stop petty crimes. Nothing with supervillains, of course, but it would be a good start.”
“He can work on his social media preference then,” Blue Frost agreed. “I second that vote. Golden, what do you think?”
“I think it’s ridiculous,” Admiral Freedom spoke first. “He’s just some kid that wants to play at being a superhero.”
“I vote that we give him a chance,” Alexiar said and received a glare from Freedom in response. “Mr. Harris, I suggest you use the three-month license to decide if this is something that you really want. It would be in your best interest to finalize your hero name, costume, and social media. If this is truly something that you want to pursue.”
“He’s going to get killed out there,” Freedom huffed and then waved a hand dismissively. “But you’ve already got the majority vote, even without Golden Weaver’s input. Not that she ever gives it.”
“Freedom,” Sun Streak said and shot a glare in his direction.
“Admiral Freedom,” he corrected again. “Harris, go back down to the lobby. Your temporary license will be waiting for you. You’ve already signed all of the waivers, so when you get killed… when, not if… your family won’t be able to sue us.”
“Thanks,” I said and rolled my eyes at the big man, turned my attention to the others, and then gave them a genuine smile. “Thank you for this opportunity. I assure you that I will rise in the ranks.”
“I’m sure you will,” Sun Streak said with a supportive smile.
I stood and glanced at Golden Weaver as the spider-like woman tilted her head to the side. It was only the second time that she’d moved during the entire meeting, and it almost gave me a heart attack. I pictured the heroine in a dark alley in the middle of the night and suddenly understood why so many people just surrendered rather than fight her.
“He was fairly impressive,” I heard Alexiar say as I tugged open the door and headed to the elevator. “That shot should’ve killed him.”
“I can’t believe you shot him in the--” Sun Streak scolded him, but the rest of the conversation was cut off as I stepped into the elevator.
The ride back down was nowhere near as terrifying as the ride up, though it was also at the speed of a normal elevator. It felt like an eternity had passed before I finally reached the first floor and the doors slid open. A woman’s robotic voice informed me that I was to exit and go straight to the front desk, and I nodded and strolled around to see the eagle-woman glare up at me.
“Temporary license,” she said and handed me a laminated card that looked like a library card. “If, for any reason, you die on the job, then your family will not be entitled to compensation from the Hero Society. It is our suggestion that you acquire insurance before you begin to perform your hero duties. The city, and the Hero Society, are not liable for any damage that you do during the enactment of your position as a temporary hero.”
The speech was so well practiced that she almost sounded like the robot in the elevator, and I nodded along and pocketed the laminated sheet of paper. It wasn’t anything that I hadn’t heard before, especially after working at the insurance company for so long. As soon as it was done the secretary answered another phone call and then gave me a pointed stare as if to tell me to get lost without saying a word.
“Right, have a good day,” I said and then strolled out into the gloomy day.
The wind had gotten so cold that it practically bit into my skin, and a light drizzle quickly soaked through my shirt. I didn’t like to run in my dress shoes, but it wasn’t impossible, so I picked up the pace and tried to stick to the buildings. A hot shower was in my future, and my clothes would have to be hung up to dry while I cooked dinner for everyone.
At least I had good news to tell everyone when they came over to run more experiments with the tasers that Paul was working on. I hadn’t been able to tell the heroes about my newfound ability to absorb and direct electricity, but that was fine because the last thing that I wanted was for Admiral Freedom to know anything else about me. He’d find out about it on the news, just like everyone else, or maybe on a social media post once I figured out what my permanent hero name would be.
Yeah. Fuck that arrogant asshole.
I managed to avoid most of the rain until my apartment building was in sight, but the shops started to thin out, and that meant that there weren’t any overhangs to hide under. There was an alley that I could cut through that was mostly covered by the roofs of the buildings that were too close together, so I trotted through it and kept an eye out for any potential threats. It felt like I was already on patrol, and excitement coursed through my veins.
My life had changed dramatically in less than a week, and there was no telling what lay in my future. I’d definitely prove Admiral Freedom wrong and become an even better superhero than him, and it wouldn’t require my face on every single camera in the city. No, my goal was to become the kind of superhero that people could actually rely on.
Like Golden Weaver and Sun Streak.
Of course, Alexiar was also fairly reliable, but the guy was just as attention hungry as Admiral Freedom. The team that worked his social media posted all about his grumpy late night adventures and must’ve followed the guy around with night vision goggles because they always had a picture of his latest takedown even in the darkest parts of the city.
A cat ran out from behind a dumpster near the front of the alley, and I skidded to a halt as a rat the size of a golden retriever followed after it. The sight was so weird that it took me a second to recognize the creeping sensation that ran through me.
I’d played superhero enough with my friends that none of them had ever been able to sneak up on me. Mike still couldn’t, and we hadn’t played in at least five years. I looked around the alley for any sign of threat as the feeling that someone was watching me grew, but there was nothing but trash, especially since the cat had hightailed it toward my building like Mrs. Krux would save it.
I started to head in the same direction when something grabbed my foot.
And the next thing I knew Golden Weaver had me upside down in one of her webs.
“Who are you?” she snarled.
Chapter 11
“I already told you,” I said as the blood rushed to my head.
Golden Weaver’s web had me around one ankle, and it twisted me around in a slow circle. I could hear my pulse throbbing in my ears as the adrenaline coursed through my veins, but there would be no way for me to break the thread without some kind of weapon, and the only thing that I had was a pocket knife. The hero held onto the wall close to my face and studied me the same way that she had in the meeting, and then she let me go from several feet above the concrete.
