Age of Heroes: Issue 1 Some Assembly Required

[Exile_Jeane]

"Some of us have day jobs, Sir," Carol offered with a laugh and a smile as she affixed her helmet, "I'll have to pass on your offer. Looking for forward to that talk though. Nice to meet you, Alecto. Nice name. Can't claim to be nearly as creative with my own."

 

The megamorph model settled onto her bike and considered the metallic heroine, "My baby *should* be able to get you out of here faster than on foot if you want to avoid the authorities away from the crisis point."  

[Shameless]

The group dispersed in full, and sometime later, not that night, but the following Wednesday, Everyone received a call from Dynames.  It was a request to meet up on the rooftop of a certain warehouse in the port district at 9pm the following night.   When everyone arrived, Dynames spoke.  "I called you all here because I know you're not registered, and still, We are going to have to work together to fight what's coming.  I want to form a team with you all, and formalize things.  You won't have to register, but it will mean more scrutiny in some ways.  You also won't have to work alone.  We will be better able to protect the city and area surrounding together than apart."

He smiled.   "I know you're asking yourselves why, and there's several reasons.  I know you to be heroes, your actions prove that, but there is more.  My official partner has a very unique gift, that allows her glimpses of the future.  In many futures, she sees all of us dying.  In those futures, we aren't united, we fight alone in this world, and when events happen, our lack of unity shatters us all.   To stave that off, I ask each of you to join this team I want to put together. "

He looked at each of them, "So do you all have any questions?"  of course he anticipated that they would, and was ready with as much of the answers as he could have.

 

[Nina]

ARC had been the last to arrive, Tess had been heavily opposed to it/them even showing up.

 

Tess had been at work when the phone had gone off it was in her left pocket (her's was in the right), her first thought was why the hell didn't i throw this in the river. But, she knew why, ARC had insisted they keep it and that she carry it.

 

She had stepped back from the line and told the suisse chef she had to go to the restroom. Once locked into the small bathroom she took the phone out and stared at it. She hadn't answered it and she wasn't going to call back either. <Tess, we discussed this, you have to reply>  ARC's thought voice was as clear as if he were standing beside her and not in some crazy chaos dimension. "Alright... alright already."

 

She sent a text message back  *what?* The replying text came almost immediately ask for ARC to meet at a certain warehouse the following night.  

 

The Alien and her had a pretty good argument following that, bu tin the end ARC won out and Tess agreed to at least go to the meeting.

 

ARC floated a few inches off the surface of the rooftop, silent, listening.  In the chaos zone Tess was listening as well through ARC.

 

The zone was different as it was everytime she was trapped here while ARC occupied her space on Earth. Today the zones as lit by a purple light which made everything glow negatively as if it were under a black light. her bubble floated freely in a void surrounded by thin spirals of spinning matter which rose and fell all around as her prison meander between them. At least it wasn't nauseating.

 

<NO!> Tess injected before ARC said anything at all, <We are not going to join the freaking superfriends, not today not tomorrow. You tell captain dinahead thanks but no thanks>

 

ARC cocked it's head sidways like a puppy, looking at Dynames. "My Apologies but I must decline the invitation."  ARc was used to being part of an organization and saw the merits, but Tess was adamant.

 

[Shameless]

Dynames expected resistance, but outright refusal, that wasn't something he'd expected.   In turn he asked a simple question.  "Why not, Arc?"   He literally just finished telling them they died unless the worked together, and they were refusing.  It was annoying, but it wasn't like Dynames wanted to force any of them into this.

He looked at Alecto, and nodded.  "What about you?"

Big Time looked at the other supers, and nodded.  "I am not sure about this either.  You say in some of the futures we all die, but I take it some of them we don't.   How exactly do you see this team-up working anyway?"

Dyanmes looked at her  "We keep in contact through the communicators, patrol in pairs, and when something happens, nobody is facing it alone.   I'm not asking for your regular identities, though there may come a time where we trust each other that much.   For now, I just want us to work together, to be able to easily call on each other when the need arises, so we minimize our risks to ourselves, and to the people we're here to protect."

[Nina]

On 6/24/2024 at 10:31 AM, Shameless said:

Dynames expected resistance, but outright refusal, that wasn't something he'd expected.   In turn he asked a simple question.  "Why not, Arc?"   He literally just finished telling them they died unless the worked together, and they were refusing.  It was annoying, but it wasn't like Dynames wanted to force any of them into this

 

The urgency and disappointment registered to ARCs senses and interpretations but it/they/them did not seem to react. After a brief moment the glowing figure spoke again

 

"I am not at liberty to explain my reasons. However I will retain the cellular communication device, if my assistance is needed and I am available I will render aid."

[Shameless]

Dynames nodded.  With that he produced a communicator, specially made by Codex, and passed it to Arc.  "Thanks.   It's been made so that your unique energy signature won't interfere with its operation, and should attune to you so that it works properly."

He looked at the others, awaiting their answers.

[Nina]

If ARC could frown he would have.

 

"We thought the cellular phone device was to be used for communication. However, If this is the only device we can use to communicate we will need one which does not attune to my energy signature."

 

It/They/Them holds the communicator out  to hand it back to Dynames.

[Shameless]

"It works regardless of form Arc."   those words were spoken low, and without inflection, but it made it very clear that Dynames and his partner knew the truth of the matter.  That they both knew about Arc's alter ego.   After all, he had mentioned she had visions of various timelines.  It wasn't a stretch to think that that particular secret had been revealed in one of them."  

The words held a similar meaning for everyone there.

[Shameless]

Alecto and Big time took the communicators, but shook their heads.  "I can't." Alecto said, "But I will be around, so if am able, I'll help."  Then she left.

Big Time shrugged.  "Much the same here.  with you being registered, I can't see them letting us work together without registering, and that's just something I can't do right now.  Still, like she said, if i'm able, I'll help.  At least this way you can reach me."  She left to get on her bike and leave as well.

 

Dynames stood there looking at Arc, and letting out an almost defeated sigh.  "This won't end well."

He looked to Arc, and nodded.  "Keep the communicator, as I said, it works regardless.  Call if you need help.  We'll just have to wing it from here I guess."

With that Arc was left alone as Dynames vanished.

[Nina]

The Chaos Zone. A realm outside of our own, existing in its own dimension or plane, beyond the reaches of the known universe. It was a place where worlds and galaxies collided and spiraled together, creating a dazzling display of colors and shapes. Streams of energy and matter, some familiar and others beyond comprehension, flowed through this chaotic space, intertwining with the various worlds and galaxies within it. This ever-shifting landscape seemed to be in a constant state of flux, never staying the same for long. It was a place unlike any other, full of mystery and wonder.

 

Trapped in the vast expanse of this shifting cosmos, Tess Merrill was a single speck within a massive Bubble. Her small human form trembled with fear and confusion, feeling utterly out of place in this strange realm. She had been swapped with an alien being known as ARC, who now roamed freely in her body while she was forced to exist in this confined space.

 

"ARC!" she screamed, her voice echoing into emptiness as she pounded on the walls of her Bubble prison.

 

"Let me out! I can't bear another moment in here!"

 

But there was no response, only the haunting silence of the void.

 

"ARC!" Her voice became hoarse as she shouted again, tears streaming down her face. The Bubble continued its erratic movements, sometimes thrusting forward violently and other times drifting aimlessly through the chaos of the cosmos. Each jarring motion only amplified Tess's distress, the unknown scents and sights adding to her disorientation and driving her closer to madness.

 

Tess dropped to her knees, her heart heavy with despair as she sobbed into her hands. The bubble, which had been carrying her on its spinning journey, suddenly caught her attention. She noticed that it was shrinking, its movements becoming more erratic and desperate. As the bubble spun faster and straighter ahead, Tess's eyes widened in horror as she saw a distant star in its path. It was hurtling towards it at an alarming speed, seemingly caught in the star's powerful grip. "ARC!" she screamed, her voice trembling with fear. "I'm falling towards a star! Help me!"

 

The bubble seemed to pick up even more speed, hurtling towards the star with no signs of slowing down. As they drew closer, Tess could see that the star was not just any ordinary star - it was collapsing in on itself, transforming into a black hole. The walls of the shrinking bubble were now so small that she could reach out her arms and touch them, feeling the intense heat radiating from the deadly gravity well of the black hole. Panic rising within her, Tess braced herself for what would come next.

 

Tess jolted awake, gasping for air as she sat up in bed. Her body was drenched with sweat, and the covers had been kicked off during her restless sleep. She shivered, feeling a chill run down her spine.

 

< Tess, are you alright?> The voice inside her head spoke softly, almost soothingly. It wasn't telepathy, but it felt like her own thoughts translated into a different voice.

 

< I am registering elevated autonomic reactions in your bio system>. Tess heard the robotic tone of ARC, the energy being that was her alter ego.

 

She glanced at the digital alarm clock on her nightstand - 3:57 AM. "I'm okay," she replied unconvincingly. "Just a nightmare."

 

< The Bubble again?> There was a hint of curiosity in ARC's neutral voice, though Tess had grown used to it over time.

 

"Yes." <Show us> Tess closed her eyes and shuddered as she remembered the dream. It was already fading from her memory, losing its sharpness and becoming hazy. But for ARC, it would be enough to enter her subconscious and experience the dream alongside her.

 

As Tess stayed in the real world, ARC occupied her place in the Chaos Zone - a dimension filled with unpredictable and chaotic energy. The main difference was that while Tess was trapped in a protective bubble within the zone, ARC existed as a being of pure energy that could move freely. It had no species or gender, having been created by an unknown organization to serve as interdimensional law enforcement. However, when it crossed into Tess's dimension, it sustained damage when it had bonded with her to save her life. Now they shared the same physical space, but only one could manifest at a time - when one was in the real world, the other remained in the Chaos Zone.

 

ARC relived Tess's nightmare, trying to make sense of it. It was a reflection of what ARC had been observing - a star in the process of transforming into a singularity. The AI had paused their journey to watch this rare and fascinating phenomena, but at that time, it hadn't been communicating with Tess. It rarely did unless she called for it.

 

< You should not have been able to dream about that Tess, Your dream was what we were observing, yet we were not communicating.>

 

“Yeah, well I guess you have a leak or something. I need coffee.” Tess got up from her bed and went into the kitchen.

 

ARC remained silent.

 

As Tess finished her daily household tasks and headed to her self defense class, she couldn't help but let her mind wander. She resisted the urge to call on ARC, the alien presence was always there but never reacted unless she called on it or she witnessed something happening that he found actionable, in other words ARC saw what she saw. However, it remained silent. In class, she pushed herself extra hard, determined to exhaust herself physically. After showering and changing, she had a couple of hours before she needed to go to work at the restaurant. During this time, she finally made a decision.

 

Tess looked at the weird phone, then with shaky determination hit the call button. “ARC?”

 

The voice belonged to Dynames, Tess almost hung up but instead, “No, my name is Tess and we need to talk.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Shameless]

"I see."  Dynames answered.   He was actually seated in front of a bank of monitors, watching feeds from across the Houston metro area.  Many were fixed, but Codex had perfected smaller drone cameras that were virtually undetectable.  They were however built with a ban on entering buildings.  It limited them, but this limit satisfied both his and Codex's own moral codes about invading privacy.  They didn't blanket the city, but certainly they allowed for better, more secure coverage than they'd normally have.

"Tess, would you like to continue over the communicator, or would you like to meet face to face?  Either is fine, and we can meet wherever you like, if you choose that option, though me coming to you is likely to attract some attention.  Alternatively, you can turn the camera on on the communicator with the small button with a triangle, and I can simply teleport there."

There were certain issues of trust, both ways in doing this any way but the communicator, but Devon knew that something was always lost in conversations that weren't face to face.  This one he felt, was important enough to let Tess decide how they proceeded.  

[Nina]

 

Tess paused, contemplating her choices. She was aware that meeting Dynames in person could attract unwanted attention, but she also craved a more intimate connection for such an important discussion. Taking a deep breath, she came to a decision.

 

"I would prefer to meet face to face," Tess stated through the communicator. "There's a park nearby where the old battleship Texas used to be docked. It's closed off but easy to get into, and there are rarely people around during the day despite the nearby San Jacinto monument. At night, it's a popular spot for teenagers to smoke weed and make out. I can reach there in about twenty minutes."

 

Dynames quickly considered the location suggested by Tess. It offered seclusion for privacy, yet also held a sense of history and significance that appealed to his dramatic nature. With a nod to himself, he responded, "I know the place. I'll meet you there." And with that, the call ended, leaving Tess alone in her apartment with a flurry of emotions and unanswered questions.

 

As she made her way to the park where the old battleship had stood for decades, an unsettling feeling crept up her spine. The park was a blend of overgrown grass and forgotten memories, with bursts of wildflowers sprouting through cracks in the concrete. Upon reaching the entrance, Tess pushed open the gate and stepped into the dimly lit realm of decaying iron and creaking chains.