Electrify - Volume 1 Chapter 8
“Hello, sweetie. How is Washington?” She asked.
The question caused me to almost fall down. Washington? Did fury pop out bullshit cover for me. I sighed, all or nothing.
“Yeah, it great here. Why don’t I tell you everything tonight?” I said and immediately hung up.
There was no way I could sprout enough lies to cover this up. My body was covered with bruises and cuts. There were many shots I couldn’t avoid and was powering through them, the cut happened due to the amount of debris in the air while I moved at breakneck speeds. My powers required too much concentration to be used while in motion so I let them hit me. I headed to the base and took a bath. I downloaded training regimes for swordsmanship and bladed techniques. There were a few that were collected from an organization called the hand. The name sounded familiar but foreign. I sighed and let it go. My memory was extremely perfect and there was no way I forgot something. I guessed that my memories were tampered with in some way but if someone has enough power to do that, they could have made sure that I would have forgotten myself as well.
I cleaned off the dried blood and dirt off my body and headed home. Mom was still with her boyfriend and didn’t ask to much about the trip. I told her about some tour spots and headed to bed. I had the same dream about that pool of electricity and it was more or less comforting. The following week, fury had me running surveillance around the destruction. I had to stop a lot of people from stealing alien tech and bodies. It had taken shield nearly all the week to set up a perimeter. Though, man called Adrian Tomes kept trying to get his hand on the tech. He finally stopped his actions after a really up close warning from me.
Shield however could not stop, Stark, Peter and Fantastic 4 from taking what they wanted. Peter avoided me for the week and I had to literally chase him down to talk to him.
“What is going on with you?” I asked.
“Nothing, I was just busy.” He said and I pulled up a picture of him ordering pizza in the spider get up.
“Look if you don’t want to say something it’s fine. But you have been way to active lately. You need rest.” I said and took him to the base.
He lied down on a bed but he refused to sleep. Every time, his eyes closed he would tense up and take a hand full of caffeine tablets. I had to knock him out and lay him on abed for the rest. He woke up 4 hours later and grumbled at me.
“What happened Peter?” I asked again.
He sighed and ran his finger through his hairs.
“There was a school bus. I tried to save it but some aliens made it a target due to me. 37 kids died along with the bus driver. I took the final kid to a hospital but they he won’t ever walk again.” He said as tears nearly fell out of his eyes.
“Peter. That was not your fault.” I said.
“How? I could have saved them but I didn’t.” He said and glared at me.
“You tried and that is the only thing anyone could ask of you.” I said. “We are not gods. Hell there was an actual God there and he couldn’t do anything. You need to stop blaming yourself.”
“I will try.” He said and went to his room again.
I heard sobs but I left him alone to grieve. I finally got enough time to train. I finally was able to look at the proper way to use a sword. Though, I still could not understand intricate techniques, I was no longer a complete hack and slash guy. The Shield board finally updated my profile and access to Natasha’s level. I got a nice pay raise and a whole lot of new missions. Fury finally contacted me tell me that Loki and Thor were about to leave.
Peter and I went to the location and found everyone there.
“Fury, I will ask Heimdall to keep a closer eye on the realm.” He said and nodded at all of us.
He twisted an handed on the device that held the tesseract and they vanished in a bright blue light. Tony called Pete and Bruce with him to his building and Natasha told me to follow her. She took me to Triskelion and gave me a brief tour.
“Why am I here?” I asked her.
“You will be in charge of leading the new team. Shield has found out many prospects with in a group of mutants that emerged during the invasion. They are to be vetted and trained by you.” She said.
“Finn can do it. He has enough experience with us.” I said.
“He is dead. He was at the initial bombing sight at the old HQ.” She said and handed me a tablet.
It showed that he was a firmed Kia agent. Damn, that kind of hurts. I sighed and looked at the other list.
Miles Morales
Jessica Lee
Warren Worthington
Flynn Peralta
Miles had exhibits super human strength, enough to lift a car. Jessica was seen to have a corrosive power, she used it to melt a 2 alien before passing out. Warren has enhanced biology, boasting good reflexes, high strength and a pair of wings. Finally, Flynn was seen to disappear. These kids are all 15 and have shown signs of stress and family problems. They were isolated in their schools and were loners.
“You will approach them. At your discretion, should your attempt fail it is advised to hand them over to Xavier.” She said and began walking away.
“Did you ask Xavier about this?” I asked her.
“Yes, he is the one who proposed this.” She said and walked away.
I scrolled down and saw the preparation made by the Shield for the education and training. The training was good but the education seemed a bit shaky. Teachers or at least the good ones were unwilling to participate with shield. I had an idea about the teacher and I called Peter about it.
“Max. What’s up?” He said, clearly in better mood than before.
“Can you make an AI that is like Jarvis or close?” I asked.
“I can but it will take a lot of time. May be Mr. Stark could hell out, I could ask Reed as well.” He said and immediately got into neural network and other sciences. “Why do you want it?” he finally asked.
We talked for about half an hour and he agreed readily. With that done, I began to rework my original training regime and incorporated a learning curve into it. Finn had enough data on us to let loose from the very beginning but these kid were not going to be put through that. While, it was still hellish and trauma inducing it was still water down version of what Peter and I went through.
Then began the next most logical step, stalking. I sighed and began to follow those kids online and on the streets. Except for Warren, all of them faced the crowds on the daily basis. Warren was a rich kid and was living quiet nicely but his father apparently was treating him like garbage ever since he was outed as a mutant. He was not kicked out but he was no longer welcome either. Miles was grieving the death of his father. The man was killed in a political bombing gone wrong. He helped out near a help. Centre. Jessica was a normal teenage girl. She had an online presence, cute selfies and even a boyfriend. On a closer inspection, she had a rap sheet. Drunk and disorderly, vandalism, trespassing, shop lifting the list was full of minor crime but her father had bailed her out every time. The bad attitude began when her mother died and her father had moved on too fast. Flynn was eccentric, he was not normal. A pervert, I had caught him sneaking into women hostel many times but there had been no complains so I guess he knew where to draw a line.
It took me 2 weeks to get to know these kids, in the sense that I had bugged their homes, hacked their electronics and thoroughly slaked them. On the AI task, Reed, Tony and Peter had out done them selves. The server was in a satellite which Tony had just floating around and it was not the only one he had. The three of them had put together a code which would continue to learn and had a seemingly limitless potential. It was way too excessive for the purpose at hand but they all agreed that in time it would truly be put to use. Tony however named it, so it was called The Ass Kicking Teacher or TACT for short. The admin rights were reserved for 4 people, the three makers and me. They had set it up in the phone I had and it was great.
TACT had enough personality to fool anyone but it really shined when teaching subjects. From martial arts to mathematics, it had everything. With this final addition to an isolated section of the Triskelion, I was confident that I could handle the task ahead.
I found the first person on the list. Miles Morales, he was reading a computer science book that was too advanced for his age. I was flying above him and I slowly landed behind him with a sound.
I took a step in his direction but before I could take another he zapped me with enough current to knockout a human. I sighed and waited for him to compose himself.
“Electro, sir. I am sorry. I am a big fan. I follow your page on Facebook and Twitter. I didn’t realize it was you so I reacted on instinct and I used my powers. Please, don’t report me to the Police. I will give my piggy bank to you. Please don’t tell my parents as well. Parent actually because my father is dead. I am sorry.” He said and finally clashed his own mouth shut.
“Piggy bank?” I said with a chuckle.
My voice modulator was off so he heard my voice. His eyes widened as he realized my age.
“Miles, I have seen you save a man under a car.” I said.
“Yes, I wanted to help.” He said and looked scared.
“I have a proposition for you. An offer if you will. I am putting together a team of people that I believe can do a lot of good. I want you to be a part of it.” I said and handed him a few papers. “The terms are good and you will receive quality education and training. Tell me what you think.” I said and gestured him to read.
He finally forced on the papers and looked at me a few times. He looked hesitant and excited.
“Do I have to leave my mom?” He asked.
“Not completely, on assignments you may be out of new York for weeks but for the most time you will be here and free to do what you want.” I said
“it would be my honor, sir.” He said and I handed him a shield issue phone.
“Get to the address, 7 am. Sharp.” I said and flew away.
The person on the list was Jessica Lee. She lived in an good neighborhood. I went to her house and went to her backyard. She was texting away at her phone and didn’t even see ne till I cleared my throat.
“Electro. The f.u.c.k are you doing here?” She yelled and her hands became tinted with a rotten green color.
“Trespassing, shop lifting, vandalism, drunk and disorderly, so on and on. The list is quite big you know.” I said and landed in front of her.
She put on a brave attitude but I could she her knees shake, she was sweating and her eyes were wide in panic.
“Also, seen melting two aliens.” I added and showed her the video.
She backed away and raised her hands.
“I am sorry. Okay. But they only come and talk to me if I mess up.” She yelled out.
“Why do you think I am here?” I asked.
“To take me to jail?” She asked back.
“I have a better idea.” I said and handed her the papers.
She took nearly 15 minutes to understand what I had offered.
“But why me? I am a screw up.” She said and stared at me.
“I believe in people capacity for change. The team is full of misfit and weirdos. They will be trained and so will you. I have seen enough to know this is not who you are and now I would like for you to see it as well.” I said and presented a phone to her.
“I am in.” She said and took the phone.
“7 am tomorrow at the address. Sharp.” I took of before she could complain
I then headed to a mansion in the Upstate. Warren lived in a mansion, he play video game to pass time which he had a lot of. I went to his window and knocked. He screamed like a bitch when he looked at me and proceeded to pass out. I sighed and waited for him to get up again.
“Mr. Electro. I am such a huge fan” he said and his wings shook every time he looked at me.
So, apparently Warren was into men. I sighed and handed him a bunch of papers. He read through it and nodded in a hurry.
“I am in.” He said in a hurry.
“Warren, this is not like a camp. You need to understand that this is real and impossible to be un done. Once, you are on board, there will be no going back.” I explained to him.
“Anything will be better to be hated by your own father. Where do I sign up?” He said with a fake smile.
“7 Am. Sharp.” I said and handed him a phone.
He took the phone and pulled into a hug. There were tears in his eyes. Surprisingly, I didn’t resist either. Huh, I guess I was a little gay too. I chuckled and flew away. Final, stop was Hells Kitchen. Flynn lived with his parent and 3 other siblings. Tonight he was at a club or was trying to get it. He got rejected and went to an alley to turn invisible. I got behind him and watched him till he was completely gone from the visible spectrum. He still appeared on infrared and I was still able to sense him.
“Flynn. We need to talk.” I said and he fell down and turned visible again.
“Hello, sir. Flynn here and now I will be leaving.” He said trying to run away.
“Flynn, I want you to look at this.” I said and moved in front of him.
He looked surprised and considering that I was moving near the speed of sound, I might have well teleported to his eyes. He backed away a few steps and finally took the papers.
“I am guessing, you know about the shenanigans as well.” He said.
“Yes. But if you go anywhere near a women’s hostel, I will break your legs.” I said and pointed at the papers.
“Will I get paid?” He asked.
“Yes and the education if free. Training is mandatory.” I said.
“Fine, I will go.” He said.
“7 am sharp. If your are late, I will find you and I will hurt you.” I said as I handed him his phone.
I returned to the base and filled out the necessary details and forwarded them to Fury. The next day, I was a the HQ at 0630 and waited for them to arrive. Miles and Warren were the earliest followed by Jessica and lastly Flynn who appeared exactly a minute before the deadline.
I gave them a minor tour of the place and handed out a few papers.
“I want you all to write down everything know about your powers, any theories and limitations. Get to it.” I said.
I knew about their powers but getting new info was good. Miles had all Peter’s power and extra electricity. Jessica and used her power to melt anything but her power take a great deal of stamina. Warren was able to fly and had great strength somehow. Given his petite form, anyone would assume he is weak physically but no, he was able to bench 200 kgs. Flynn physical abilities were enhanced as he turned invisible, though if his concentration was broken he would be back to a regular human.
I then took the to the gym and had them change into the standard training gear.
“You are all going to fight me, full strength. All rules are you, anything is fine. Go.” I said and stood still.
Warren was the first to react and he turned invisible and risked at me. His punch was sloppy beyond measure and he fell on his face just after he missed. I sighed and kicked him away. Miles and Warren came at me together. Due to their greatly enhanced physique they last 2seconds longer than Flynn. Jessica didn’t even use her powers and came at me with a punch and I retaliated with a punch.
“If I was not clear enough. You need to come at me with the intent to kill. Otherwise, you will all be punished.” I Said an folded my hand.
The next hour was then filled with groans and vomits. I laughed every that happened, these poor bastards didn’t even make me use my powers. I sighed and finally took my mask off. Those who had guessed my age were looking at me in awe while those who didn’t were still in shock.
“Max, you should go easy on the recruits.” Peter said standing on the ceiling.
“Guys, this is our second sparring partner or coach.” I said and Peter jumped down and did a cool landing.
“Sir, I would be honored to have you in this team.” Miles said with a straight face.
“I am not a part of this team.” He said and started stretching.
“He is right. Spider is not a part of the team. He is however, part of the Shield and a superior to you all. However, in the field you will follow my lead.” I said and approached Peter.
What these kids did not expect was the sudden attack by Peter. They yelped and tried to stop us but we were already far too fast for them to even approach us. Peter and I dance against each and showed off the skill set we had developed. 7 types of martial arts seamlessly transitioning for one other. 2 minutes into the spar Peter and I finally started using our superpowers. Peter had become far too agile and unpredictable for anyone to follow or understand what was going on. I am pretty sure that Peter extremities were nothing more than a blur to them. While my form was not so different but it was simply faster. In the world of martial arts, speed was everything and I was fast. Peter always insisted that I go full speed but I had done that once and he had a broken rib for 2 days. From them on, I always kept myself barely faster than Peter, this way he got better while I got to punch him. It was a fair trade.
We were at it for nearly 10 minutes, when I decided to end it. In a burst of speed I placed my finger on his throat.
“Hey, you are making me look bad.” Peter grumbled and jumped all the way to side where there was water.
“While, this looks impressive, neither of us were going full strength. You will be training to be field agents. You skill set must be diverse, fluent in many languages, and your powers will be pushed to their limits as well.” I said.
“How will you train our powers?” Flynn asked.
“All of you will be tested again and again till you find the limit of them and then we will push past it. That is how we did it and that is how I plan to train you. Keep in mind, some methods will be more effective for some while useless to others. The program will be tailored to your needs to the best of our ability.” I said. “Break is over, to the machines.” I said and took the groaning kids to the equipment.
We spent 3 hours using the machinery and 2 of those 3 hours were spent on the treadmill. When the time for lunch arrived, all of them acted like it was a blessing from God. Though none of them complained because I did all the exercises with them only they were tailored to suit my needs which made them even more depressed. After lunch we, went to that classroom or lounge area. The desks were fitted with holo projectors and they were assessed by the TACT and an optimal program was created for them based on their intelligence and learning capacity.
They sent the next few hour in the class room. The program was much more streamlined than what me and Peter had. We both pissed tremendously good memory and Peter outclassed me in sheer genius, despite that, we both had what the world considered photographic memory. We simply would read and everything would be memorized. Except for Miles, no one showed much in the study department. Though, Warren and Jessica showed some emotional intelligence and tactical thinking. Flynn was more hardwired towards planning and infiltration from what TACT had deduced.
When the first days was over, they all fled the HQ, even Warren who has a crush on me fled without turning back. I laughed and got in another hour of actual training before I headed back out side.
