H.E.R.O. - Rise and Fall

Table of Contents

• Chapter 1 – Flight of Fancy
  
• Chapter 2 - Frustration
  
• Chapter 3 – A Great Day
  
• Chapter 4 - Action!
  
• Chapter 5 - Crushing
  
• Chapter 6 - Flight
  
• Chapter 7 - Fire on the Highway
  
• Chapter 8 - Dr. Turnquist
  
• Chapter 9 - Witches Cauldron
  
• Chapter 10 - Party at Kell's House
  
• Chapter 11 – Catch the Balloon Man
  
• Chapter 12 - Into the Web
  
• Chapter 13 - Attack of the Clowns
  
• Chapter 14 – Death of Selina
  
• Chapter 15 – Photo Shoot
  
• Chapter 16 – Avoidance
  
• Chapter 17 - Exposure!
  
• Chapter 18 - Preparation
  
• Chapter 19 - Rescue
  
• Chapter 20 - H.E.R.O.
  
• Chapter 21 – A New Shine
  
• Preview Chapter 1 – Sol
  
• Preview Chapter 2 – Delivery
  
• Preview Chapter 3 - Mutants watching Mutants
  
• Preview Chapter 4 – A New Week
  
• Preview Chapter 5 - Mutation
  
• Preview Chapter 6 - Dark Energy
  
• Preview Chapter 7 - Aliens?!
  

H.E.R.O. - Rise and Fall

by Kevin Gerald Rau

PUBLISHED BY:

Kevin Gerald Rau

H.E.R.O. - Rise and Fall

Copyright © 2011 Kevin Gerald Rau

Editors

Dan Henry

Kimi Johnson

Ralph Gadbois

All characters are original and fictional.  Any likeness to real people is purely incidental.  Cover art created by Kevin Rau.

The H.E.R.O. series includes:

H.E.R.O. – Metamorphosis (1)
http://www.amzn.com/B005GM3PV8

H.E.R.O. - New Markets (2)
http://www.amzn.com/B005NBLWW6

H.E.R.O. - Rise and Fall (3)
http://www.amzn.com/B005QNS4ZY

H.E.R.O. - Dark Research (4)
http://www.amzn.com/B006KWAA3O

H.E.R.O. - Horde (5)
http://www.amzn.com/B0070UQ5G6

H.E.R.O. - Paragon (6)

H.E.R.O. - Dossier I (Illustrated Guidebook) - coming approximately Apr/May 2012

I’d like to dedicate this novel to my editors.  Without them, it might appear as though a troll wrote this novel….  (Perhaps it still does, one never knows how others perceive things!)

Wondering what some of the characters look like in detail? 
http://www.kevinrau.com
has images of many of the heroes.

Please "like" H.E.R.O.  Superhero Novels on Facebook!

http://www.fb.com/herobooks

Chapter 1 – Flight of Fancy

Daphne's (Diva) Viewpoint

The wind rushed through my hair as I flew through the sunny sky.  Arms outstreched at my sides, I swooped down toward a stadium packed with sports fans and flew low overhead.  At the sight of me the crowd stood and cheered.

I smiled at them and waved.  Cameras flashed as the people took pictures, and professional photographers snapped photos as I landed near the dugout.  I posed and smiled for them for a moment.

Newspapers were being handed out with me on the front page, and many people held aloft fashion magazines with me on the cover, wanting a signature.  Several famous fashion designers came out from the dugout and ran up to me, hugging me and kissing me on each cheek.  They began telling me about their next fashion show and how I would be the star of the show, with their designs based on my new hair color, which went from blue at the root to violet at the ends.

It was the happiest moment of my life, and it all shattered when my heart rate shot up and I woke up.  I opened my eyes to see the handsome hero who had just been with me on the deck in back of my house.  Except I wasn't at my house, I was in a hospital room.

A nurse stood off to my right - out of arm's reach, I noticed.  Black Tiger stood to my left.  He had long black hair, was about six feet tall, and his wonderful tight black costume showed off his lithe, muscled form.  He smiled down at me.  I stared back into his green, catlike eyes and smiled dreamily back up at him.

He asked, "Welcome back, diva girl.  How are you feeling?"

I blinked a few times and took a deep breath.  Apart from an odd chemical smell and my heart racing I felt great.

I put my hand on my chest.  "Great.  But why do I feel like I just finished running a race?"  I noticed my heart really thumped inside me, I couldn’t recall ever feeling so, well, strong.

A nurse stood a bit behind him, apparently waiting for Black Tiger to finish.  No tubes or other equipment were connected to me.

Black Tiger held up what looked like an asthma inhaler.  "You were knocked out by the kidnappers, this is the antidote.  By the way, it's still Thursday at 3 p.m., only a few hours have passed since you got conked out."

It came back in a rush. 
I'm a super now.  What did they call me?  Ah yes, a brick.  Dumb name for a person.  I guess it means I'm a super that is really strong and hard to hurt.  Yeah, right, it really just means I grew and none of my clothes fit any more.

 I'd been tanning on my deck along with Black Tiger, who had been there to protect me.  Men in black uniforms came running at us around the side of the house.  They hadn't even taken the time to yell something like "Surrender!"  Instead, they simply began shooting at us.

Black Tiger had gotten hit by some kind of gun from behind my house, and then paintballs struck the two of us, splattering some kind of liquid goo on my shoulders.  Black Tiger had warned me to hold my breath and to rush at a guy standing over by the Jameson's house behind mine.

I remember seeing him rush at the side of the deck toward one of the groups of men as I ran to leap off the deck.  It was the most frightening thing I'd ever done.  I mean, I was barefoot, in a bikini, and he wanted me to fight a guy with a really big gun!

When I jumped off the deck to get onto the grass, I instead flew straight at him.  The end of the gun flashed and I felt something poke me really hard in the stomach.  I figured it was the bullet, but it didn't hurt like I thought a bullet should hurt.

I almost yelled when I reached him, but remembered Black Tiger saying to hold my breath no matter what.  The man was playing with his gun; I guessed that he was putting another bullet in it. 

Then I reached him and punched him.  Well, I tried to punch him - it's not like I've ever punched anyone in my life before this.  I mean, come on, I'm a model.  He held up the gun in front of him, and I smashed it down into him.  He grunted as I drove him down into the grass, and I slapped him on the helmet.

It was the first time I realized how strong I really was.  He looked like a boxer who took an uppercut fully to the chin.  I know this because I'd gone to boxing matches with a previous boyfriend.  We had pretty good seats, too.  But this guy that I hit immediately slumped over from it.

I stared at him for a while to see if he was going to try to shoot me again, but he looked like he was out cold.  I held the gun up for a moment; I'd broken part of it where I'd punched it.  That's pretty cool stuff.

I'd grabbed him and found he was extremely light, like an empty purse, even lighter, actually.  I'd been so excited that I had turned and leapt into the air - and flew!  I remember hovering in the air and shouting something to Black Tiger, an odd chemical smell had struck and I woke up here next. 
Hmm, I think I forgot to hold my breath.

Black Tiger waved his hand in front of my face and said, "Hey, you there, Daphne?"

"Huh?  Oh, yeah, I was just remembering that fight we just had.  I didn't hold my breath like I was supposed to, did I?"

He chuckled, "No, you forgot.  You were pretty excited about being able to fly.  Nice work on knocking out that guy as well."

"Yeah!  I knocked him out like a boxer!  Well, he fell over like he'd been hit by a boxer … I guess I really just slapped him in the head."

"Good thing he had a helmet on, you're so strong now that you probably would have smashed his skull in if he hadn't worn it."

"Seriously?  You think I'm that strong?"

"Sure.  My buddy's a brick, he bends steel with his fingers pretty easy, I'd think you're the same."

"Wow."

The nurse said, "You look fine, we just held you in a room when Black Tiger here asked us to, so you're free to leave anytime, you don't need to be checked out.  Do you have any questions for me, or can I get back to my rounds?"

Black Tiger looked at her for a moment, "Thanks, Kim.  Yeah, if you feel okay I can take you home again.  I've got my cycle here.  Oh, and I got you this."  He held up a long t-shirt.

I smiled at him; I realized I was still in my bikini.  "Thank you."  I took it and slid it on.  It was form fitting, I finally had a piece of clothing made for my size now!

I hugged him, but loosened my hug after he made an odd choking sound.

He grinned and said, "Gotta watch the power hugs."

"Gotchya.  Well, let's jet, shall we?"

He nodded, turned and left the room.

“Why don’t I need to check out?”

“I asked them to just hold you in a room for a while to keep you safe.  We couldn’t keep you at home; the kidnappers might have come back after you.  So they didn’t actually check you in.”

As we walked I said, "You know, I was just dreaming about flying.  I'm glad it really happened."

"Oh yeah, where did you fly?"

"Hmm, I remember something about a stadium, and everyone taking my picture and wanting my photograph."  I sighed,
if only it had been true
.

He grinned, "You must like media attention."

"You need publicity to make it in modeling, you know."

"Ah, yes.  I did just call you diva girl.  If you ever become a heroine, you can call yourself 'Diva' then."

"That's a cool idea!  Do you get a lot of publicity?"

"Every time you stop a crime or help with something the press seems to be there.  Spartan seems to love it as well."

"Every time?"

"Yeah, seems like I'm talking to the news every few days now."

"Every few days?" 
Hmm, this sounds like it might be worth getting into.

"Well, it would depend on how often you do any crime fighting or answer calls to help out.  I've been out of it a lot off and on, so I've missed quite a few events happening out there.  I never realized how many problems Metrocity seems to have."

"It's a big place.  So ... do you think I could be a super hero too?"

"You're super strong, armored, and you can fly.  I mean, really, is there any better set of powers to have for it?"

I could be the best super hero?  That would have to net me a magazine shoot, and probably even a cover shot!

My roguish hero smiled at me again and continued, "Not to mention, you are gorgeous, the press would love to talk with you."

"I dunno, I kind of feel too manly with all the muscles I have now.  I don't like it."

He stopped and looked me up and down.  "Are you joking?  You don't look like a skinny model, if that's what you are basing your thoughts on, but you are hot as hell."

I grinned and flushed.

He said, "Just don't wear some kind of bulky armor suit like Gatecrasher wears and I think people will focus on your assets far more than your muscles."

While we drove to my house I thought about the possibilities. 
I could buy some new clothes, do a photo shoot and send that off to sports and supplement places like Black Tiger sent in that text.  Then stop a crime or two, get a bunch of press, and it should be no problem landing some jobs!

He pulled up into my driveway and stopped the motorcycle.  As we dismounted I asked, "So how do I become a super hero then?"

"Go to H.E.R.O. headquarters in the far northeast part of Metrocity and ask at the front desk to sign up as a hero.  Captain McCain is normally the guy you'd end up speaking with."

"Does it cost anything?"

"No, you get paid if you help with events - those are crimes or situations where people need help."

"Wait, you get paid for doing this too?"

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you say so?  Should I have anything with me when I go sign up?"