(no subject)

33.

“The time has come,” Dr. Thursday began, “To begin to answer some questions. Since I don’t do this lecture normally, I’d rather try to find what you feel you need to know first.”

The group, which now was gathered in the front row of the lecture hall, was silent for an eternal moment.

“Since we have four first timers, the Ferguson twins and the McCauley brothers, perhaps the first questions should come from them.”

“Is everyone here a mutant?” one of the twins offered in tones barely audible.

“Not one that I know of, “ Reassured the Doctor. “We are Inheritors, the descendants of hybrid beings who brought powerful gene strains to the human race. When mixed with the human genome this brings about . . . powers.”

She walked to the twins and said, “Powers like everyone here has. Powers like the two of you have.”

“I can make things get hotter or colder,” boasted the first.

“I can make people go really slow,” said the other, obviously thinking his was the lesser of the gifts.

“That is what you know you can do, but before you leave here,” Thursday offered, “You may be aware of much more.”

The Protector returned to the podium.

“The Inheritors, unfortunately are at war with several groups around the globe. Those who would subjugate us, use us, or just have us gone.”

“First is the Legion, whom we call the Dark Legion but be aware no one ever thinks themselves the villain. The Dark Legion aredescendants of Earth Mages of thousands of years ago who are at war with both
our group and the group to which belongs the father of these two gentlemen.”

She pointed to the McCauleys.

“Dad?” Said David.

“Benjy McCauley is an Immorti. This are individuals who reincarnate from generation to generation but take their memories with them. They start this life with a hundred generations of knowledge and experience behind them.”

Carvine snarled, “Are they evil?”

Mickey bristled towards the girl, who he really didn’t much like anyway, but could learn to hate if she said anything about his dad.

“Not at all,” Dr. Thursday said and moved, covertly, between the two. “Some of them are very good and have made the world a better place. A few have gone mad from the eternity of life, and these can be dangerous. But I assure you Benjy McCauley has always been an ally that the Inheritors treasure.”

Mickey didn’t stick his tongue out at the girl, but she got the feeling that he had thought about it. She was right.

“The second group we battle is Seaco Corp. This is the largest corporation in the world, and it is listed on no stock exchange anywhere. These men and women do not deal with money as much as the overthrow of entire civilizations.”

There wasn’t a sound in the room other than the footsteps the woman made walking back up on the lecture stage.

“What has been daunting is that these two groups, who have always been enemies, may be working together to overcome Colonel Stonedragon and Thunderbase. The raid this morning was of a group of magically
powered mercenaries organized by this alliance.”

The misty cloud boy hissed, “Did they damage anything beyond repair?”

“It wasn’t the facility they wanted,” The Protector said, “they had a human target.”

“Were they after the Colonel?” David guessed.

“No,” She said, slowly. After taking a moment to decide if she wanted to tell them the truth she decided that it was the only way to go.

“They came for one thing and one thing only,” She said and walked to Mickey McCauley, “They came for you!”

Mickey suddenly didn’t like this game and would like to go home please.

(c) 2005 by C. Wayne Owens

(no subject)

34.

The room had grown deathly quiet. The only sound was a self satisfied grunt from Carvine when she felt proven right about Mickey being responsible for all the trouble.

“Me?” Mickey squeaked with his helpless hands pointing to his chest.

“Yes, my friend, you,” Doctor Thursday said.

“What did Mickey do?” David spoke up, with his best “I’m his big brother and you’d better say whatever you were going to say about my brother to me” playground voice.

“It isn’t what he’s done,” came the answer, “It is what he his. He is an enabler, the most powerful one we have recorded in 3 centuries.”

Enabler? The word just hung in the air, waiting to make sense.

“An enabler has a unique power,” The Protector told them. “Mickey, you can make non-superhuman’s exhibit powers like flying and superhuman strength, correct?”

“Only for a few minutes,” Mickey said in self defense.

“That limit exists because of your lack of training. Eventually you could stretch that time up to an hour or more.”

Mickey and David regarded each other as they thought about that.

“But your real power is the ability to boost any super powered individual’s power a thousand fold.”

“So, say, if I could telekinetically move 500 pounds with no trouble,” Carvine mused.

“Mickey could enable you to move 50 tons or more with no more extended expenditure of thought. But only while he was within sight of you.”

There was, for the first time, something other than distain for Mickey in Carvine’s eyes when she looked at the boy.

“So the forces that oppose us see him not only as a source of great power for them, but as a way to lower our power to respond to their attacks,” Dr. Thursday explained.

“Wow,” said Mickey. He had been secretly feeling rather left out of all of this up to this moment.

He wouldn’t have wanted to admit that he saw all these individuals with wonderful powers and thought less of himself because his ability seemed rather third party. If everyone can do something and you can just make others do things you can feel a bit uninvited to the party.

Now he was being told he was one of the most important folks in Thunderbase, and had all the sides fighting over who would control him and make him do their bidding.

Even Carvine looked on him with a bit of avarice.

That made him shudder with a slight disgust.

He jumped just slightly when a hand touched his shoulder. He turned his head to see that it was his brother’s hand.

“See, kiddo,” David smiled at him, “I told you you were special.”

Somehow, just now, Mickey felt like they could handle this.

(c) 2005 by C. Wayne Owens