H.E.R.O. - Rise and Fall (23 page)

Joel said, “Great.  Let’s hope we get some results from this machine first, though.  You know, I heard that Davis already had some test subjects in who are supers.”

“Rumors.  Don't put much faith into them.  I agree about the results – the Director won’t be overly pleased if we gain nothing from it.  Have you finished filling in the test parameters in the system?”

“Yes I have.  Fred’s gone through and verified them as well.  Did you want to?”

“Yes.  I suppose I should do that now.  It’ll allow us to begin testing first thing tomorrow morning.”

Cam pulled up a chair at a laptop, found the file of test parameters to use with the machine and began walking through each one in detail to ensure they matched their planned low-radiation study.  It was boring, but they needed to be absolutely sure the amount of radiation used was in their expected test range.

Preview Chapter 3 - Mutants watching Mutants

Razorwing's Viewpoint

The night was bright, with a partial moon shining over the city.  It was my fourth night out searching for mutants in Metrocity.  Yesterday I stumbled across Shrinker as she met with some of her lackeys before an attempt to break a pack of criminals out of the Metrocity Jail.  It had been fortunate I took to flying high over the prison the rest of the day; I saw them break in and almost get their buddies out.

It was my first appearance as a hero type person.  By the time we’d stopped them I'd realized that I couldn’t hang around afterward.  I didn’t need press time to start up a controversy about what I looked like.  As much as it was good to help the jail out, I'd also realized that night is my element.  The shadows and the dark sky would help conceal me.

It appeared that most mutants I'd found liked to hang out near the River District where a lot of unusual clubs and bars were located.  They seemed to mix in with the heavy metal, punk and Goth crowds, probably out of a desire to avoid standing out among the common populace.

I watched from the rooftop of a building across from Night Fright.  Granted, only the lowest few levels of the building were taken up by the club, the rest were low rent apartments, but I wanted to stay out of sight of any mutants - most seemed to have extremely good senses.

I imagined that most people, perhaps including mutants as well, would have difficulty telling the difference between mutants and most of these humans.  They dressed in leathers, had a lot of tattoos and colored their hair various shades quite different than the norm seen on the street.  Many of these humans had so many piercings on their face as to almost appear non-human themselves.

There were telltale signs, however.  Many mutant eyes had a non-circular iris, or were an unusual color.  The brief flash of the teeth while they spoke showed a fang here and there.  Ears were pointed.  Oh, and of course the arms that ended in tentacles, swords, or fingers that were claws rather than fingertips.  Not that all mutants had the same traits, I certainly looked different than most.

A week ago I'd have thought the claw thing odd.  Most monster man movies, for example, tended to have people whose fingernails extended into a claw, not where the entire fingertip is a claw.  I supposed that I was fortunate in that my fingertips were still humanlike - one of the few remaining parts left.  I looked at my fingers.  The skin was a dark grayish color now, and the fingernails were the same color, but otherwise appeared normal.

Now my wings, those were an entirely different animal.  They were huge.  Even folded at the halfway point they were much taller than my head.  I extended them fully above me for a moment.  They had to extend another fourteen feet above my shoulders, from shoulder to the very tip while extended.  There were a series of very sharp claws along the outside of them at every joint.  The wings were how I chose my name ... Razorwing.

Ah yes, and I couldn't forget my tail.  It was about six feet long, only the width of my thumb by the time it got down to the tip, but ended at a large triangular barb, much like I'd expect a picture of a devil to look.

I'd definitely gotten the 'full treatment' as far as mutant looks went.  That didn't even include the two horns on my forehead, my sharp incisor fangs, or the fact that both of my eyes were entirely yellow.  I'd startled even a few mutants when they'd turned and seen me.

Good, let them be afraid.  I'll use what I've got to stop their schemes.
  For various reasons quite a few mutants had a real chip on their shoulder.  Either they felt like the rest of the world owed them something due to their unusual mutations, or perhaps they felt they were no longer human, and thus the rules of the humans no longer applied to them.

I understood that - I didn't feel overly human anymore myself.  That didn't mean I had free reign to go murder and rob people, however.

I'd have loved to join the Homeland Extraordinary Response Organization, or H.E.R.O. as they were normally called, but people weren't ready for someone like me yet.  I really did look like a demon.  Granted, I certainly didn't feel like one.

While H.E.R.O. offered rewards for helping on crimes, I didn't need the money or other support that H.E.R.O. could offer; I had plenty of that on my own.

I didn't mind the idea of working with some of the superheroes in the city, but I felt no need to officially work with the law enforcement agencies.  What could be seen as a horrible mutation was something I viewed as a gift - and I planned to use it for good, even if those I aided weren't aware of me.  I felt no need for accolades or pats on the back - or wing as it were either.  I would be their demonic hero, able to scare even the baddies in town.

My attention was drawn back to street level where a group of three people walked toward Night Fright.  A man's left arm ended in a barbed sword.  He concealed most of it with a long jacket, but my eyes picked out detail even at great distances. 
Eagle eyes, I didn't think about that before, but I'm seeing as though I have binoculars on when I focus.  That's a good thing - now if my hearing would just catch up I'd really be able to recon from a long distance.

The mutant had deep red hair, and a series of horns that ran from the center of his forehead to the back of his head.  He was the one I was looking for – he went by the name of Hal.  I’d overheard some mutants whispering about him setting up an attack on a genetics research company.

I memorized the appearance of his two companions.  One was obviously a mutant.  She had red skin, black hair, forehead horns and a tail much like my own. 
Strange that I’ve not seen any other mutants that have wings.  Hmm – I hope they don’t cut them off. 
The other companion appeared human, barring the eyes that glowed slightly behind a pair of sunglasses.  He had on a backpack - a cable ran out from it to something in his hand.  From my angle above I caught the hint of a computer screen on the inside surface of the sunglasses. 
Interesting gadget, I'll have to get one of those.

I waited until they walked into the club and then stepped off the rooftop.  I kept my wings tight together until I was near the ground and snapped them open to slow my descent.  As soon as my feet touched the ground I folded them up and walked in.  The bouncer was a mutant - not an obvious one, barring the eyes.  I couldn't tell if his mohawk was naturally green or if it was dyed.

Fortunately I had a habit of keeping my tabard rolled up in an interior pocket of my long jacket rather than wearing it all the time.  Sadly, I couldn't fold the wings enough to hide.  The bouncer nodded to me as I walked past him.

The sound hit me like a wall once I was inside the club.  The majority of the people danced and jumped in the center and right hand portion of the floor.  A band stood on a raised platform at the far right corner.  I wasn’t used to listening to heavy metal – I couldn’t even make out the words the lead singer screamed into the microphone.  The banging drums and screeching guitars hurt my ears. 
Hmm, maybe having even more sensitive ears wouldn’t be a good thing after all – especially if I decide to continue my recon work in places like this….
  Platforms hung over the dance floor with dancers chained to them.  These scantily clad women and men dressed in scraps of leather made for an interesting show.  Spotlights weaved back and forth across the crowd from above.

The bar and table area was to the left, along with stairs leading up to a second level with tables around the outer edge of the giant room.  A fair number of tables were open, but the bar was full.

My eyes scanned over the crowd for those I followed.  It took a few seconds before I saw them making their way to the far side past the bar.  They hadn't stopped for a drink.  I was right - they were here for business.

I walked toward the bar.  As usual, I attracted quite a few looks due to the wings sticking up above me. 
Damn, there's no way I can sneak up by them without being seen.

A man tried to walk past me and slammed his shoulder into mine.  He bounced back off me in surprise.  I saw his fangs as he swore.  I smiled and nodded at him.  He stared at me as I passed him.  I could tell he had quite a bit of strength - he must not have expected me to be as strong as I was.

I hadn't quite figured out where I fit on the scale of mutants, but from the assault on the jail I knew I was significantly stronger than most of them, and they had reacted with surprise at not being able to claw me badly with each slash or stab.  I took that to mean that most of us didn't have armor.  Strangely enough the brick guard that I'd seen had huge gashes in him. 
If I could find a mutant that might be trustworthy it'd be worth finding out more about this.

The group went into a back section of the building.  I followed, but found the area to be a group of alcoves with curtains to close them off from prying eyes.  A man closed the curtain behind them and stood outside.  He glanced around and locked eyes with me when he saw I was the only other person in the area.

I walked over to the closest alcove on my left.  Before I entered I stretched my wings slightly, but felt something bump my right wing near the top.  When I looked back and up I didn't see anything, but I'm certain I'd heard what sounded like grumbling up there.

I slid into the booth and tried to watch the man without being obvious.  Unfortunately, he didn't have much else to look at, and kept looking my way.  I made a point of glancing at my watch and looking toward the bar area as if I were waiting for someone.

I didn't see how I'd be able to hear or see what their plans would be, and since this guy wasn't with the three that I'd followed in, his partner or partners were already in the alcove.

I did notice a slight movement of the curtain near the ceiling, and it stayed open a tiny amount in that spot.  Someone - or something else was here.

A waitress stopped by and I ordered a drink.  A few groups of people came into the section and moved into alcoves of their own, but everyone closed their curtains, so it left only the man on watch and me as the only visible people in the hall.

I sat there for perhaps ten minutes before the curtain pulled back and a man left their alcove.  The guard left with him.  I didn’t think it would look too unusual to watch them since no one else was in the hall.  I had a strange feeling I’d need to recognize that man sometime later on.  The remaining three closed the curtain.

Again, I noticed very slight movement near the top of the curtain and a small opening appeared.  In a moment, the curtain whipped open and the three mutants looked around.  The mutant with the sword arm stood and began waving his blade around in the air.  They’d seen the same thing I did.

He stopped and stared at me for a few seconds.  I shrugged and mouthed, “What?”  I felt something bump the back of my wing and again thought I heard quiet grumbling amid the thumping music in the other room.

I closed my own curtain and looked around within the alcove.  A group of people noisily entered the area.  I felt a small hand grab my wing near my head and heard a small, but rough voice say, “Go.  Go go.”

Whoever this is, they can’t be with the mutants over there.  I already flubbed listening in on them, might as well see where this leads….

I pulled open the curtain and slid out of the booth.  Damn thing, it obviously wasn’t made for a guy with wings.  The mutant still stood outside the other alcove.

Whoever was behind me still held my wing arm near my shoulder – although I was surprised they somehow avoided bumping my wing as I walked out.  The wall of music hit again in the bar area. 
I need to bring earplugs with me on recon.

I nodded again to the bouncer on the way out, turned right and walked alongside the building.  Whoever it was still held my wing.  They had to be tiny; the entire hand was about the size of a finger and a thumb.

Once away from the loiterers outside the club the voice roughly said, “Up, up top.”

I glanced up to ensure there weren’t any power or other wires hanging over this part of the street, stretched my wings up and flapped hard to lift off the ground.  I shot up about twenty feet before I flapped again.  A few more times and I was above the nearby buildings.

It took me about a heartbeat to see the woman in pink and white sitting on a nearby rooftop.  She wasn’t alone, however, there were two floating balls next to her – both the girl and the pair of creatures appeared to be playing handheld video games; the small screens glowed on the dark rooftop.

Then I realized each of the balls had four stalks on them – each stalk ended in an eye, and all were watching me as I glided down to her.

The larger ball was varying shades of pink, had a red mohawk and goatee, four small eyestalks, and two arms that ended in crab-like claws.  It was slightly wider than a basketball.  Spikes stuck out from the body in various places.  It moved between the girl and me and growled loudly.  Its huge center eye narrowed as it stared at me, and two rows of sharp teeth were bared.  I could only assume it was protecting her.