Hero Wanted - 11. Chapter Eleven

“Only a decade has passed since the discovery of the gold in the Laguna province of the Philippines, and our scientists have created so many technological advancements that has made humanity more powerful than ever imagined before.”

Nathaniel chuckled before taking a small sip of his wine, savoring the taste as always before saying, “Don’t forget, General Cassius, that the world isn’t all sunshine and rainbows since we discovered this technology to combat beings that threatened our current existence.”

Nathaniel was in his small office of his quaint, one-story home in a forested area of the suburbs. When he was President who lived in the White House for two full terms, he had to abandon his life of modesty which he missed desperately as he went to numerous balls for the wealthy and the elite and lived in a literal mansion where his every want and need was supposedly satisfied by servants who would fight to the death if he asked them to.

However, his days as President were over and Nathaniel could finally enjoy living in a home that was much more contained and manageable. Maybe it was because as a child he lived in a home like the one he was living in now, or maybe it was because of his life in the military that demanded that he abandon all things materialistic, so he was not distracted as he fought for his country. Regardless of the reasoning Nathaniel loved it, though he did enjoy sipping an expensive wine and eating at a five-star Italian restaurant on some occasions.

Chuckling back, the General leaned forward onto his desk and said, “Despite that, we, as humans, sometimes need to step back from all the madness that is happening all around us and appreciate the things that are still inherently good within our world.”

“Agreed,” Nathaniel said, his thoughts immediately drifting to his son, Ryan.

The relationship that he developed with Ryan made Nathaniel very happy since he initially believed that forging any sort of connection with a person that he supposedly left behind would be close to impossible. However, Ryan was his own flesh and blood and Nathaniel wanted to do everything that he could to make sure his son was loved and cared for.

Their hobby of collecting comic books indeed helped their relationship immensely, which only grew as they discussed their favorite superheroes to what they thought about the latest televised or theatrical adaptation of their favorite comic series. This was the same hobby that he shared with Rory ever since he was a child and he was very glad to see that Ryan also had the same enthusiasm for comic books as Rory did.

“Anyways, enough of reminiscing. How is your son, Ryan?” Cassius asked through the display of his computer monitor.

Taking another sip of his wine, Nathaniel said, “He’s doing well, more than well actually. I just received data from his first week of training at the academy and it shows that he’s far exceeding the other cadets in his class. At this rate, there’s no doubt that Ryan’s going to be one of the top-ranking cadets of the academy, if not the top-ranked Champion in the near future.”

“That’s great news, Nate. It’s looking like those failed projects provided at least some useful data that could be used on your son,” Cassius inquired.

“No, it’s not the data. I mean…the upgrades that were installed onto Rory’s nodes because of those defunct projects have indeed given Ryan the edge he needs to excel over his other compatriots, however…the data I’m looking at right now shows that he’s exceeding even our scientists’ expectations on how fast and how far his nodes have taken him.”

“In what ways?” Cassius asked, scratching his chin with intrigue.

“Well, Ryan’s ability to adapt to numerous combat scenarios in the simulation facility of the academy is extraordinary. In addition, his ability to boost his performance by increasing the functionality of certain biological systems in his body is also very exceptional. It’s like his body is a highly-advanced computer, adapting to any new program at light speed and prioritizing certain processes to boost maximum performance. Ryan was everything that our scientists have hoped for from Project Clarissa and Project Callista, even if it’s at a smaller scale.”

Nathaniel was very proud of Ryan, for being able to overcome many obstructions that the scientists feared might happen, like the possibility of his body rejecting the nodes or the chance that he would not be able to utilize the nodes to their fullest capabilities. However, Ryan proved them wrong with his body accepting the nodes without any form of therapy and his indomitable spirit that allowed him to far exceed everyone’s expectations. He was, for certain, a very resilient person and a son of his.

“Yes, that is very, very impressive. But let me ask you this, Nathaniel. Despite our scientists’ objections, did your son also benefit from the failed project you know as Project—?”

“No. He hasn’t,” Nathaniel interrupted. Leaning back against his leather chair, he continued by saying, “Yes, it’s true that Ryan obtained his nodes from Rory after his death, but that’s not the reason why he died. That project was beyond unethical and it still surprises me that those experiments were authorized by HERO and conducted by our own military…but at least it has long been discontinued and those memories of what happened at that laboratory can be long forgotten.”

Taking another sip of his wine, Nathaniel looked at Cassius who had a strange expression on his face. “Is there something you want to say, Cassius?”

Cassius sighed and with his hands clasped together, he said, “That project you were just talking about…it hasn’t been completely discontinued.”

Sitting straight up in his chair, Nathaniel asked, “What do you mean by that?”

“I don’t know much, most of it is classified information…but what I do know is that it involves Christopher Shepherd, the current top-ranked cadet of the academy.”

Nathaniel placed his glass of wine on his desk and sighed heavily. “I should’ve known. Corporations are becoming their own form of government in this country now, and that’s the reason that this kind of information can remain a mystery, even to me.”

Nathaniel knew that Christopher kid was bad news ever since he heard about him being recruited into the Champions three years ago. His ability to defeat a Class-A Colossus with just his bare fists was much more troubling for Nathaniel than assuring since who knows what illegal experimentation had been conducted for him to accomplish what he did.

So, he had no regrets about telling Ryan to keep his distance from that boy, the possible ramifications for getting involved with him and his corrupt father being too much of a risk. He just wished he did the same with Rory when he was still alive.

“Don’t beat yourself up, Nate. You did what you had to do to make sure the research that was vital for creating the Champions was funded. Hopefully, our current President will lessen some of the power that Synergy is feeding from,” Cassius tried to assure.

“I highly doubt that. And it’s not enough that his precious son is equipped with nook technology that is still considered a prototype and highly unpredictable in term of its possible adverse effects, he also has Christopher benefitting from that evil project to an extent that not even I know…Maria save me.”

“I didn’t know you were a follower of Maria,” Cassius said humorously.

Nathaniel smirked. “I’m not. However, she obviously transcends everything that we currently know about our world and our universe…and it doesn’t hurt to have some faith on a divine being. Anyways, let’s return to the main topic. Do you know anything else about Christian Shepherd’s involvement with the project and how he used it to benefit his son?”

“Well, I’ve also been told that—”

A new page suddenly popped up in front of Cassius’s face and Nathaniel leaned forward to see an alert about his son.

“Is something wrong, Nate?” Cassius asked from behind the page.

“Uh, can we continue this conversation tomorrow? I just received a notification and I need to look into it,” Nathaniel explained as he looked at the heightened peaks in Ryan’s vital signs.

“Of course. Talk to you tomorrow then,” Cassius said before ending the call.

Examining Ryan’s vital signs more closely, it was clear that he had his weapon deployed and he was utilizing his nodes at an increased rate. However, it was midnight now and Ryan should be in the dormitories, not training to an extent that he was using his weapon against an opponent that matched him in terms of power.

What the hell was going on?

***

Ryan jumped away from Christopher just as his bare fist collided onto the pavement and left a deep crater behind where Ryan stood just a split second ago. With his Chimaera fully deployed, Ryan was amazed, beyond amazed that he was finding it very difficult to put even a scratch on Christopher, but he guessed that was the reason he was ranked first in the entire academy. With just his fists, Christopher did not need a weapon for him to be at the same level as Ryan and he wondered how much more powerful Christopher would be if he had a weapon system like his Chimaera.

However, all Ryan wanted from Christopher was some damn answers to the mixed responses he was getting from the first-ranked cadet, everything from their encounter in the recovery center of the academy to just moments ago when he kissed Ryan, right in front of everyone in the club. And just to apologize and walk away from that without giving him any explanation why? There was no way that Ryan was going to cower away this time.

However, the last thing that he wanted was to battle Christopher at the parking lot of the club they were just at. He just wanted answers, but when Ryan placed a hand on Christopher’s shoulder, he quickly turned around and attempted to land a punch on his face. Fortunately, he dodged the attack just in time and the next thing that happened was Christopher starting an unauthorized match with him, right in public and right in the damn parking lot where all the people from the club were at now, taking picture and recording the match between him and Christopher. Ryan’s father was not going to like this.

Thinking Christopher was somehow hallucinating again, Ryan called out, “Come on, Christopher! Get a hold of yourself!”

“Fuck you, Johnson! I’m not seeing things!” Christopher spat back.

“Oh, it’s Johnson now, huh? What the hell is wrong with you, Christopher? Why are you attacking me? I just want to talk and get some answers from you,” Ryan asserted.

“Oh, and why not just eavesdrop like you did last night at the recovery center?” Christopher said as he started to walk from side to side in a taunting manner.

“Look, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that, but your overreaction right now is going to put us both in tomorrow’s news report, and I don’t think you want this on your record.”

“I don’t give a shit about that, and I’m not overreacting. Just stay away from me, you fuck!” Christopher shouted out with venom.

“Do you want me to hate you, Christopher?” Ryan said with astonishment.

“I don’t want anything from you. You don’t know me, and you never will… I won’t let it happen again. I won’t!”

“What the fuck are you even—?”

Ryan was interrupted by Christopher who launched himself from the pavement and aimed his body towards Ryan. He immediately reacted by jumping upwards, trying his best to just dodge Christopher’s attacks without having to resort to violence himself. But the stubborn asshole was hard to stay away from as he redirected his body to aim upwards towards Ryan.

Christopher came in fast with his bare fist colliding with Ryan’s right gauntlet that he used to block the attack. Unfortunately, the immense force of the attack propelled Ryan back to the ground, his back slamming onto the pavement of the parking lot and skidding him on the rough surface in the process.

Groaning, Ryan propped himself onto his elbows, and looked above to see Christopher moving back towards him at the speed of a missile. He barely managed block the attack with both of his gauntlets covering his face and chest before Christopher’s fist struck him with the force of several grenades exploding in unison. That explosive force caused a crater to form around Ryan’s body as he did his best to absorb most of the force with his weapon.

Ryan, unharmed, saw that Christopher’s fist was stuck into the back part of his left gauntlet as he attempted to dislodge it. Quickly reacting, Ryan rematerialized his left gauntlet, trapping Christopher’s hand in his weapon.

“What the fuck?” Christopher exclaimed as he tried to pull his hand away.

Ryan did not respond, he just formed his left gauntlet into a fist before aiming it at Christopher’s midsection. He then fired it from his arm like a missile and it sent Christopher into the air with the gauntlet propelling his body upward. However, Ryan was not finished. He quickly landed back onto his feet in just one move and with his left hand, Ryan unclenched his fist and swiped it in a downwards motions. This caused the gauntlet to unfurl its fingers and propelled Christopher’s body back to the ground with a forceful impact.

With Christopher back down to ground level, Ryan ran to his location and saw that his gauntlet had successfully trapped Christopher onto the ground with the straight back, bladed ends of the fingers cemented firmly into the pavement. Ryan walked to his side and bending his leg extensions by the ball joints and his knees as well, and he looked at Christopher who was struggling under the customized entrapment of Ryan.

“Are you ready to talk now?” Ryan asked calmly.

“We shouldn’t be talking! It was a mistake that we even kissed in the first place!” Christopher shouted out.

Ryan could not stop himself from flinching from that statement, but he may as well take it since this was not the man that deserved his heart, not now, not ever. Still, he could not help, but wonder what the hell was wrong with Christopher, the man that seemed to have everything, from women, money, fame, to even a freaking penthouse on top of the dormitories in a military academy. Ryan wanted to help, but he did not know where to start.

“Christopher, if you don’t want to have a relationship with me, that’s fine. I’m an adult and I can handle that, but you need to fucking settle down and let me try to talk to you! Maybe even help, I don’t know. All I know is attacking me for unknown reasons isn’t going to help anything,” Ryan stressed.

“I don’t want to your help…I don’t want anybody’s help. Not you, not Delilah’s, and especially not from my father…if he knows what happened between us—”

“What are you talking about? We barely know each other,” Ryan retorted. “Yeah, we kissed, but that’s it.”

In a low voice, Christopher said, “Well, you’re right about one thing. This is going to go viral soon, especially the kiss we shared just a few moments ago…and that’s my goddamn fault. I shouldn’t have let my emotions get to me, and now you’re in trouble. My father is trouble, Ryan, and the last thing that I want is someone to suffer because of my actions.”

“I can protect myself thank you very much,” Ryan assured.

Christopher chuckled darkly and said, “You don’t know my father then, but you’ve seen it yourself… I’m sorry about your mother.”

Ryan’s forehead creased, and he said, “What the hell do you mean by that? Answer me!”

Christopher did not respond. Instead, he decided to phase through the gauntlet that trapped his body to the ground like he was a ghost, a ghost out for blood. Ryan stepped back, not believing that he had the ability of intangibility, the ability only Shockers could acquire, not Strikers like Christopher.

And it became more apparent that Christopher’s was holding back his true power when Ryan launched his other gauntlet at him to trap him again, only for it to shatter completely upon impact. The bastard had the temporary ability of invincibility as well, an ability only Stormers could learn. Learning both abilities and utilizing them at the same time would have overloaded any other Champion’s nodes, but Christopher was different, and not in the romantic sense, but in the horror sense. This man was a monster and was not going to stop.

Ryan attempted to rematerialize both of his gauntlets, but Christopher launched himself towards him and this time he was too damn fast for Ryan to jump away in time. Instead, his fist crashed into Ryan’s midsection, the force propelling him backwards right into the side of a parked car. The metal bended around Ryan’s body upon impact and he shouted out in pain as blood was spat out from his mouth. He tried to move, but his body was trapped inside the car’s body.

Hearing people screaming was somehow overshadowed by the footsteps of Christopher who approached him with a saddened expression on his face. The man then grabbed Ryan’s right leg extension, pulling him out of the car with force, which caused Ryan to scream out in more pain as he felt the jagged bends of metal cut his body all over.

Now on the ground, Ryan looked up to see Christopher standing on top of him, his feet at either side of his midsection that felt like it collapsed from Christopher’s fist. But this was not over. Christopher grabbed Ryan by the neck with one hand and lifted him up halfway before forming a fist with his other hand.

Ryan struggled under Christopher’s grip that was getting tighter. He looked at Christopher who looked hesitant about landing another attack on him, but he could not speak with his throat being restricted. But then Christopher’s grip suddenly slipped, and Ryan fell back to the ground.

Looking up, Ryan saw that Christopher was holding his mother’s locket, her valued possession dangling loosely from Christopher’s finger that must have snapped from his neck and… Ryan’s eyes widened when saw the front half of the locket hanging loosely from its broken hinge before falling to the ground.

Ryan quickly scurried to grab the piece of the locket despite the pain that was burning inside him and when he saw the glass portion of locket crumble onto his palm… He. Fucking. Lost it.

Ryan cried out from excruciating agony, not from being punched in the guts, not from being slammed into a goddamn convertible. His heart, instead, was destroyed, crushed from knowing that the last reminder of his mother’s existence was now destroyed, ruined all because of a man who pretended to give a crap about him, but fucking did not at all.

Opening his eyes and seeing Christopher in his view, Ryan automatically attacked.

An explosive field of light ruptured from Ryan’s body that caused Christopher to fall backwards onto the ground. The field was also strong enough to send everyone watching from a distance to be fall to the ground as well and Ryan took advantage of the delirium to launch his body at a high velocity, propelled by the force of light, and tackled Christopher.

Their bodies were sent many meters from their original location before skidding to stop at the other side of the parking lot. Ryan then formed both of his hands into shaking fists, shaking with grief, shaking with agony, and shaking with intense rage that was searing through his entire body.

Ryan began striking Christopher’s face repeatedly, again, again, and again until Christopher’s face was a bloody mess. And the fucker had the audacity to smirk despite the wounds inflicted on him, wounds that he deserved from the very beginning of their match.

Ryan pulled back his fist for another strike, and Christopher rasped, “This…is for the best, Ryan.”

Snarling, Ryan struck Christopher’s face one last time, knocking the man out, finally. Ryan then groaned in pain before rolling off Christopher’s body and lying his back onto the cold pavement that did not nothing to cool down the fire that was blazing inside him. Ryan’s eyes burned as well, both from the intensity of the light that emitted from his body and the tears that began to trail down his face.

The world…the world felt like it was ending, and all Ryan had left to motivate him to wake up every day and live his life was the memories of his mother that were instilled in her locket. Now…now he did not even have that. Not anymore.

“M…Momma,” Ryan sobbed.

Then everything started to fade as he heard people calling out his name, but he did not care about them. He did not care about anybody anymore. All he wanted, all he needed was to see his mother one last time, to hug and hear her say that she loved him before he soon passed out in despair.