Category Archives: Book 01: Rebirth

1953: Part 8

Unfortunately, if he didn’t do anything about it, who would? No one, unless Romy found the guys soon.

He could just wait, but who knew when Romy would be back. He could try to talk some sense into the kid, but it hadn’t worked so far. At this point, Joe figured the best thing he could do would be damaging the kid’s suit enough that he couldn’t fight.

Down below, Man-machine raised his gun arm and began to fire. None of the shots hit, but Joe cursed himself and started moving, thinking how much of an idiot he had to be to hover when his opponent had high powered weaponry.
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1953: Part 6

It felt like he’d set half the city on fire.

It wasn’t true, of course. He’d burned down a couple bars and a car dealership. Giles and Chuck had taken a restaurant and the warehouse.

They’d gotten into a rhythm after the first two buildings. Romy would fly through to make sure that nobody was inside. He would break through the door and spray the inside with trails of the flamethrower’s fuel. It didn’t take much to start it burning after that.
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1953: Part 3

The butler opened the door and showed the two of them into Hardwick House.

Stepping into the small alcove next to the door, Joe noticed that Giles had had the place redecorated since he’d last been in. All the old Victorian furniture with its intricate carvings had been replaced by modern furniture with straight lines, uncarved wood, and basic shapes. Joe wondered where all the old stuff had gone, but did not plan to ask. It really didn’t matter.

Turning to the butler, he said, “Mitchell, If you don’t mind, we’ll find our own way in. They’re at the top of the pyramid, right?”
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1953: Part 2

He woke knowing that he had just drowned in the North Sea in full armor. He couldn’t pull it off before sinking. Half naked in the darkness, he had kicked and pushed. But had he really been swimming upwards? He couldn’t tell.

Gasping for air, his mouth filled with water.

Bolting awake, at first not realizing where he was, he took a breath.
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1953: Part 1

What follows is the beginning of a short arc about the founding of the original Heroes League. We’ll get to start off meeting characters that are all dead by the time the present day storyline starts — Nick’s grandparents (Joe and Romy), Red Lightning, and the original Night Wolf in his day job as the manager of a pizzeria.

Sorry it didn’t get up earlier. Starting a new story is hard — all new characters and a new plot, not to mention my tendency to start reading about the 1950’s and then get distracted by the research.
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In the Public Eye: Part 60

I shut down HQ for the night around 11:23 pm, knowing even as I did it that my parents weren’t going to be happy.

We had arrived back at 10:47 pm. In theory, I suppose, I could have been home on time if I’d skipped showering and let everyone else turn things off. Unfortunately just taking off the armor and putting it away took 10 minutes. Short of asking Jaclyn to carry me back to the house at full speed, I couldn’t see any way to be home on time.
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In the Public Eye: Part 59

Inside the police department looked like most institutional buildings — beige walls, tile floor, cubicles — but with the obvious addition of men and women in blue carrying guns.

We ended up standing inside a conference room. “We” in this case meant new and old Heroes League members, the Midwest Defenders, the FBI representatives, PsyKick, Larry, and a few police.

It was a big conference room — two, actually. They’d taken out the divider between two rooms as we came in.

The tables had been pushed to the wall and the sleeping bodies placed in the middle of the room. All the rest of us stood around the edges while Daniel, his dad, the Fed with the psychic helmet, and PsyKick deep probed their minds.
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