The Legend of Buddy Hero (The Defenders Saga) (15 page)

“I assumed as much.  I know you weren't around, Zero, but Buddy, I expected you to come visit sooner.  I figured you must have been hit by the redaction just like everyone else.”

“Uh, yeah, I know. But, well, I guess I,” Buddy stammered.

“Jeez, Buddy.  He didn't avoid it, Red.  He's blank.  He thinks he used to be a boxer or something.”

“Ah, well now, that makes sense.  So, if you don't remember our history, you're being quite forward in coming to see me to ask for a favor, aren't you?  What makes you think I owe you anything?”

“Mr. Reed, I have absolutely no reason to believe you owe me anything.  I have absolutely no reason to believe you can even help me.  But I do know we're in trouble and when I say we, I don't just mean me and Zero, I mean all of us.”

“Now we get down to it, don't we?  You're referring to the return of Damon Memphis, aren't ya?  Yeah, I saw the video too.”

“Yeah and when he found me last night, I knew I was going to be a goner.”

“Wait, so you've already squared off against Dominion and came out of it just fine?  Good work, pal.  Where is he?”

“Well, you see, I
was
screwed.  But then Ryan came through with that goo stuff and saved the day.  So, when I mentioned--”

“Ryan, you mean my son Ryan?”

“Yeah, sure, that short kid who is always wearing a trench coat.”

“Are you telling me my son stole the Flame-Retarding/Heat-Activated Hardening Foam from my lab and used it against Damon Memphis?”

“I guess so, yeah.”

“That damned kid.  I've told him hundreds of times he is not to go around pretending he is some sort of superhero.  Can you imagine what would happen if--”

“Sir, I'm telling you your son is already a hero.  He saved my life.”

“That's irrelevant.  This is my son we're talking about.  If the Meta Police Squad were to find out about this he would be locked up instantaneously, even without any meta-human abilities.  I'm sorry, you'll have to excuse me.”  Oscar walked to the door.  Buddy grabbed his arm.

“Oscar, I don't mean to be so forward here, but we really need to talk to you.  Like you said, Damon's back.  And from what I've been told, you were an important piece of the puzzle in catching him the first time.”

“It's out of the question.”  Oscar opened the door.

“You haven't even let me ask the question yet,” Buddy pleaded.

“You're going to ask if I will help you stop Damon Memphis.  My answer is no.”  Oscar walked through the door and yelled, “Ryan!”  Buddy and Zero followed him.

“But--” Zero said.

Oscar stopped and turned to look at Zero.  “There are no buts, Zero.  Don't you see what's happening here?  I've got a family and a business.  If I were to come out as an active superhero today, I could lose all of that without any notice.  I can't risk it.  Hell, I risked enough already by having my family avoid the Great Redaction in the first place.”  Oscar turned away from Zero and yelled louder than he had previously.  “Ryan!”

Zero stopped and thought about how to respond to Oscar's denial.  Ryan appeared on the landing at the top of the stairs. 

“Ryan, come down here,” Oscar said sternly.

“Dad, come on, if you--”

“Ryan. . . “  Ryan walked to his father and stood in front of him.  The confident attitude he had shown earlier was replaced by a small child being reprimanded.  “Ryan, these fine men here told me you were out using company equipment,
my
company's equipment, without my authorization, is that true?”

“Well, yeah, but-”

“What have I said about using our prototypes?”

“But, dad-”

“Tell me what I've said about using our prototypes.”

“Never use prototypes outside of the ReedCol Complex.  But seriously, I mean, it's my design and I--”

“And why are we never to use prototypes outside of the Reed Pharm Complex?”

“Because it would allow our competitors to know what we are working on and then we would lose our competitive edge.  But this was imp--”

“And what have I said about pretending you're a super-hero?”

“Never act like-”

“I said never go out pretending you're a superhero because you'll either get yourself killed or arrested.  So, tell me.  What were you thinking?”  Oscar was very angry.  Buddy thought if this lasted much longer, Oscar would be taking Ryan over his knee.

“Look Dad, I knew Damon was back when I saw the news report.  I couldn't let him come back and not be prepared.  So I used your old tracking mechanism for seeing where the metas were and adjusted it to search for Damon.  When I saw he was coming back into town, I knew I had to do something.”

“You were in The Red Rocketeer Chamber?”

“Well. . . yeah.”

“I locked that room up years ago.  How did you even--”

“Seriously, Dad?  I mean, sure, you installed a beautiful little piece of electronic security, but come on, a self-replicating randomization cryptography method for the password?  I got past that right after you put it up.”

“Ryan. . . “  Oscar was having an internal struggle between the pride he felt at his son's ingenuity and the anger he felt at being disobeyed.  His anger over the situation surpassed the pride very quickly.

“Hey, I'm glad we could see this piece of parenting gold and everything, but we really don't have the time,” Buddy interjected.  “Oscar I have to ask you one more time, but then I'll leave it.  Will you help us out or not?  We could really use your brains, because we've got absolutely no idea how to face-off against this Damon guy.”

“Dad, they want you to join the team again?  That's awesome.” 

“Ryan, we've gone over this hundreds of times.  The government doesn't want us so there is absolutely no point in risking our lives if we're only going to be tossed in prison afterward.”

“The man's got a point,” Buddy said, looking at Zero.

“Buddy,” Zero responded sharply.

“I'm just saying. . . “

“I'm disappointed in the both of you,” Zero reprimanded.  “I know you're forgotten everything, Buddy, but I can only forgive so much.  The world needs us.  Without us, people like Dominion would have already committed numerous atrocities time and time again.  This world would be a war zone.  You two are talking like you're ready to give up on everything.”

“You don't know what you're talking about, Zero.  If it weren't for me working with the U.S. Government to make The Defenders legal they would have never had to modify the memory of every single living human being on earth.  They would have told us to cease and desist before anyone really cared about what we were doing in the first place.  Because of my inclusion in the ranks of you self-appointed gods I became directly responsible for one of the worst things to have ever happened to humanity, the destruction of knowledge.  Do you have any clue how much information was lost because of The Great Redaction?  Even if we were ever able to openly discuss meta abilities again it would take ages to get back all we have lost.”

“Wait, you're saying the worst thing that has ever happened to humanity is we've lost a little bit of scientific research?  What about the Holocaust or the Crusades or pretty much anything else causing millions of lives to be lost?”  Buddy asked.

“Hey, I agree, those acts of mass murder were truly horrendous events in the history of mankind.  But if you could comprehend the massive number of lives we could be saving today if it weren't for the government's decision to rewrite history, there would be no question as to the catastrophic nature of this act.  Before the Great Redaction we were in the midst of a medical revolution.  The amount of knowledge gained through the study of meta-human physiology caused us to completely re-write the book on the human body.  We were on the verge of wiping out disease entirely.  Just think about it, a world without cancer, AIDS, heart disease, or even the common cold.  You think we lost a bunch of people to the Holocaust, just consider for a moment the amount of people the government has sentenced to death by moving us so far backward in medical science.”

“But you still remember, don't you?  Why can't you just start the revolution back up?  Heck, I'm sure you'd get a few Nobel Prizes if what you're saying is true.”

“If only it were that simple, Buddy.  Sure, I started up Reed Pharmaceuticals in an attempt to move the world back in that direction.  But I can only do so much.  I was only a footnote in the original research.  Because I had decided to dedicate my life to prancing around in tights as one of your Defenders, I had very little time to get involved in any scientific research.  The medical sciences were never my expertise in the first place, and without being able to even mention the basic idea of meta-human physiology, even if I did bring in the right medical scientists, they wouldn't be any help.  Even with the small movements I'm able to make based on my own knowledge, I spend most of my time re-writing my research so the government doesn't believe I'm aware of the possibility of super-human abilities.  I am currently the only person left who has any idea there is a cure to disease and if I were to be locked up for something as stupid as conspiring with you there would be no possibility of ever getting that back.”

“But, Red,” Zero piped in, ”you could make being meta legal again.  If we take down Damon, the government would have no choice.”

“Unless they enact another redaction.  Just think, they have us perform their dirty work for them to get rid of Damon and all they have to do is a minor adjustment to the world's memory to be rid of us completely once again.  And this time I might not be so lucky as to remember.  Or, even worse, they could put us in some secret dungeon somewhere, forgotten even by our captors.  I can't risk it.  In fact, I'm risking quite a lot in even talking to you, since you're so hell-bent to continue on this path.”

“But, Red. . . “

“Zero, I'm sincerely sorry.  You know how much you mean to me, but I have to think about the greater good here.  I have to think about all of the people I can save with my research.  I wish you well on this endeavor to defeat Memphis, but I really can't be involved this time.  Please show yourselves out.  Ryan, you're coming with me.  We have to discuss your unauthorized use of company technology further.”  Oscar led Ryan to the staircase he had arrived on.  He directed Ryan to go up the stairs in front of him.  When he was halfway up, Oscar stopped and turned to look at Buddy and Zero.  “It really has been wonderful to see you both.  Hopefully we can do this again sometime under better circumstances.”  He continued up the stairs and disappeared from view. 

“Well, that was a giant waste of time,” Zero said, as they walked toward the door.

CHAPTER 18

Buddy and Zero walked out the door and joined Alexa, who was  standing next to the rickshaw.

“Your dad says 'Hi',” Buddy laughed.

“Yeah, I'm sure.“

“Oscar seems like a really nice guy, you know, other than not wanting to help us out.  Why don't you want to talk to him?” 

“Just drop it, Buddy, we've got more important things to deal with.”

“I'm sure Alexa has her reasons, Buddy.”

“I'm just saying it might be a good idea to at least try and talk to him.”

They heard a loud thud come from the far end of the building, followed by a rustling in the bushes.  They all turned to the direction of the noise and saw Ryan emerge from the foliage.   He ran toward them.

“Great, you're still here.  I'm coming with.”  Ryan was out of breath.  He was carrying a duffel bag with several oddly shaped metallic objects sticking out of it.

“Says who?” Buddy asked.

“Says you,” Ryan responded.  “Look, you guys need someone who can come up with a plan to take out Dominion, right?  I'm the guy who can do it.”

“No way,” Alexa said.  “No way in hell.”

“Shut up, Alexa,” Ryan snapped back.  “This isn't the time to be jealous.”

“Jealous?”

“Yeah, jealous.  Every time--”

“Hey, hey.  Hold on a second here.  Look, kid,” Zero said, “I know you're Red's son and all, but we really don't need some goof-off youngster running around with us.  I can't spend my time making sure you don't get killed.”

“Dude, I know you're old and all, but I'm not as young as you're making me out to be.  I'm old enough to drink, join the army,
and
vote.  I'm definitely old enough to help you fight that flaming freak.”

“And what makes you think you won't just end up being Memphis' next piece of charcoal?” Alexa sneered.

“What makes you think you won't?  Plus, I've got the goo gun.”  Ryan lifted one of the metallic pieces out of the duffel bag and showed it to everyone.

“Kid, you're not even a super,” Zero said.  “This would be a suicide mission for you.  You may have out-smarted Dominion last night, but he'll be ready for your little trick the next time he sees you.  Flaming fingertips isn't the only item he's got in his bag of tricks you know.”  Zero brushed Ryan off and climbed into the rickshaw.

“The kid has a point.  He was totally prepared for Damon last night, which means he's way more prepared for all of this than we are.”

“That means absolutely nothing, Buddy.  It was luck.  The kid came out ready for a fire fight.  What if Damon had decided to use his flaming rock trick?  The kid would've been a pancake within seconds.”  Zero sat down in the rickshaw considering the conversation over.

“Well, yeah, I could have.”  Ryan suddenly realized how much danger he had been in.  “Look, I've done a lot of research on Damon, I know I'll be able to help out.  Just give me a chance.”

“We don't need any more kids tagging along,” Zero said.

“I'm still technically the head of the Defenders, right?”

“I suppose that would depend on--”

“Did the Defenders ever officially close up shop?”

“No.”

“Did I ever get taken out of my position?”

“Of course not, chum, you would never--”

“Well then, as the leader of the Defenders of America, I say we bring the kid down to the base and see what he's got for us.  Ryan, hop in the wagon, we're going on a trip.”  Buddy got into the rickshaw first and saw there wasn't enough space for the three of them to sit side by side.  Ryan stood on the foot rest of the vehicle, curious as to where he should position himself.  Buddy gave an exasperated sigh.

“Alright kid, sit on my lap,” he said reluctantly.  “But if you ever tell anyone about this. . .”

Ryan sat down as Buddy talked and Alexa immediately took off.  The world melted and reformed back into the parking garage of Flores HQ.  Just as they arrived, Ryan jumped off Buddy's lap and onto the ground.

“Whoa, I can't believe it.  My dad told me about this place, but it's way more awesome than I ever could have imagined.”

“Jeez Ry,” Alexa laughed.  “This is just where we park the cars.” 

Zero and Buddy got out of the rickshaw as well and they all walked toward the door.  The nagging question on Buddy's mind finally rose to the surface.

“So, the government really erased everything, even all the stuff Oscar was talking about with cures to cancer and everything?  Seems harsh, doesn't it?”

“I don't think they really cared what all was lost in the redaction,” Ryan answered, “as long as no one remembered supers existed.  I remember Damon's followers really being for it, since they wanted to wipe the 'corrupt meta menace from the face of the earth', but no one believed anyone would actually do it.”

“I remember right before I was sent off with Damon, we were all brought in for questioning before the Grand Jury.  They were throwing around words like crimes against humanity.  It was a crazy time, chum.  We had saved the world from that nut job and they wanted to hang us.”  Zero grew angry.

“Sheesh. . . I mean, even beyond asking why they would do something like that, I just don't see how it's even possible to change history without caring for what's lost.” 

“Well, it's not all that unheard of,” Ryan added.  “I mean, if you take a look at the internet today, you see it happening all the time.  There's so much crap out there people have just made up that some of it starts to become fact.  And if the world considers it fact, well, then history books will eventually follow suit, whether or not its true.”

“I can't see that happening.  I mean, surely someone would step forward, wouldn't they?”

“Our knowledge of history inevitably changes, through urban legends, rumors, or whatever else.  For instance, most of the world believes George Washington cut down a cherry tree.  It might not seem all that important, but little things like that can make a difference.”

“I'm not sure I agree with you on that.”

“Fine, doesn't really matter.  We know right now, for a fact, that history has been changed, we just have to deal with it.”

Just as they approached the door, it flung open and Maggie came running out at high speed.  She was followed soon after by Jeff, Carl, and Arthur.  Maggie ran past Buddy, not noticing it was him at first.  She stopped in her tracks, turned around, and looked at Buddy with such a look of fear that Buddy thought she was running from the men who had left the building behind her.  He looked at Arthur sternly.

“Buddy!  He's going to destroy the diner.  He's there right now waiting for you.  Don't let him destroy my restaurant, please.”

“Whoa, whoa.  Calm down, sis.  Who's going to destroy the diner?”

“That Damon Memphis guy everyone's all worried about.  They just showed him on the news.  You've gotta do something, Buddy, please do something.  The restaurant is all I've got.”

Buddy looked at the rest of the group to gauge their response to this turn of events.  Arthur and Carl stood in place, awaiting Buddy's reaction.  Jeff looked as annoyed as he had since Buddy first met him.  Alexa ran to Maggie's side.  Zero and Ryan, however, were already making their way to the rickshaw.  Buddy started after them.

“Wait, Buddy,” Maggie yelled, “you can't go out there in that thing.  That guy's out there wreaking havoc on everything.  You'll get yourself killed before you even step out onto the street.”

“Your sister is right, Mr. Jackson.  Ms. Rose's transportation device will do you no good in this battle.  However, I do believe Carl has been working on something that is a tad more defensively inclined.”

“Thank God I finally have an excuse to start bringing out the big toys.”  Carl reached into his pocket and pulled out a device consisting of a touch screen and a couple of buttons.  His fingers slid and tapped across the screen and with a flourish of the arm, he made a final tap. 

Just as his finger hit the pad, a loud noise was heard coming from below the group.  It sounded like a giant motor had been brought to life several floors below.  The original noise was followed with several loud revving noises, quickly accompanied by the sounds of tires screeching against the pavement.  The noise grew in volume. 

Across the parking ramp from where the group stood, two bright lights became visible, heading toward them at an incredibly fast speed.  Buddy jumped out of the way, grabbing Maggie as he went down.  He looked up to see only Carl and Arthur standing in the spot the vehicle was heading.  A smile covered Carl's face.  The monstrosity of metal was bearing down on their location so fast there was now no way Carl or Arthur could move out of the way in time.

“Move!” Buddy yelled.  The room filled with the noise of the sharp squeal of rubber tires pulling against the concrete.  The sound lasted only a second.  When the area finally cleared of the smoke created by the burning rubber, Buddy got up and saw Carl and Arthur still standing in the same position, laughing loudly.  The smiles on their faces were even larger than before.  A tank-like vehicle was now idling silently in front of him.

“What in the world was that?” Buddy asked.

“You really think I'd bring the car up here to have it run us all over?  Jeez Buddy.”

“I'm gonna kill y--” Buddy said as he lunged toward Carl.  Maggie held him back.

“Holy crap, dude, is this a modified XM1202?  I mean, it's almost unrecognizable, but it looks like the same basic frame design.  I thought they canceled that project.”  Ryan ran to the vehicle and began inspecting every crevice.

“I'm sorry, who are you?” Carl asked.  Ryan was too preoccupied to respond.

“It's Oscar Reed's son, Ryan.  Oscar wasn't too keen on helping us out, so I made an executive decision.”

“Who gave you the right to make executive decisions?” Jeff squeaked.

“Jeffrey, remember what we talked about inside.”

“Yes Daddy, sorry.”

“I believe your decision may have its merits, Mr. Jackson.  Good work.”  Jeff whimpered at hearing the vocal pat on the back Buddy received.  “Carl, please continue.”

“Well, I don't have much time to get into the design specifications of the vehicle, with Damon being mid-destruction right now.  But let me tell you, this baby is packed to the teeth with all sorts of sweet treasures.  If you want to save Maggie's Diner, you're going to have to move quick.  And outside of Alexa, there isn't much in this world able to get you there quicker than this.”  By this point, Ryan was already climbing the side of the vehicle and opening the hatch on the top. 

“Seriously, dude?” Ryan asked rhetorically while shooting a quick glance to Carl.  “It's like a freaking lounge in here.”

“Oh, yes, we definitely spared no expense on the level of  comfort inside the vehicle.  There are view screens on each wall, making the interior feel much less like a coffin than the original XM1202 did.  All of this was able to be done without sacrificing any of the speed of the vehicle.  In fact, this vehicle can run circles around the XM1202.  All it took was some simple modifi--”

“Great, perfect,” Zero cut Carl off.  “Don't need anymore science lessons, let's get out there and bash this guy, already, before he takes out the rest of downtown.”  He climbed up the side of the vehicle and disappeared inside.  Buddy looked at Maggie.  She looked scared.  Jeff followed Zero into the vehicle and looked out upon the group before descending into it.

“We shall embark upon this journey, not for accolades, not for glory, but for justice.  Do not fear, this mission is in my hands.  I will ensure everyone makes it back in perfect condition.  You can take my word on that.”  He disappeared into the vehicle.

“You'd think he was running for president or something,” Buddy said to Maggie.  Maggie looked at him with tears in her eyes.  “Sheesh, Mags.  I never knew you cared so much about the diner.  I thought you were against me getting involved with all of this.”

“Buddy, they showed me a lot of stuff while you were gone.  They even showed me some of the bad stuff.  It all makes sense now.  I had always known you were meant for something important.  I just never realized you were meant to save the world.”

“I always figured I'd be responsible for the opposite.”

“I'm serious, Buddy.  This is right, this is you.  But if you don't come back alive, and I'm out both a brother and a diner, I'll--”

“Don't worry, Maggie.  If these folks are right, I've done this a million times.  What could possibly go wrong?”

“That's what concerns me.”  Buddy gave his sister a soft kiss on the forehead and turned away.  He climbed up the side of the vehicle, took one last look at Maggie, and disappeared inside.  Alexa looked softly at her.

“Maggie, don't even give it a second thought. If it weren't for Buddy, this planet would've been destroyed hundreds of times over already.  If anyone can take care of Damon, it's him.” She ran up the side of the vehicle, entered the hatch, and closed it.