Chapter 11

“Hey Travis, isn’t there supposed to be a building here?” I asked confused by the park where children currently played.

“I was under the same assumption.” William said.

“There’s supposed to be…” Travis cut off as he flipped through the paperwork. “Oh, I see. This is the wrong lot. One moment I’m going to have my secretary email the right one.” He finished pulling out his phone and dialing a number as he walked away.

“Are you sure about this guy?” William asked.

“So, we went to the wrong address, he’s only human.” I told him

We stood there trying not to listen to Travis’s phone call, when I noticed Mastermind was glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. He looked like he wanted to ask something.

“All right, what is it?” I asked trying to coax the question out of him.

“What number did he write down on that paper?” He asked me. “You don’t have to answer but…” he trailed off.

“Um. Well, let’s say that if I had known about it, I probably wouldn’t have been a beer delivery guy.” I responded expertly swerving away from a legitimate answer.

“Why not?” He kept the questions coming.

“I would probably be on my own set of private islands.” I said with no hint of a joke in my voice.

“Oh.” William stopped talking and had a look on his face like he was deep in thought. “So how much more than the budget I showed you about the Super Shipping?”

Thinking about it, I did some quick math in my head. Once I had my estimate, I looked William square in the eyes.

“I could have opened a shipment facility in every city, fully staffed, with several trucks like those you made in each one.” I told him with complete seriousness.

At that moment Travis came back and stopped any questions William was about to ask.

“Right, I should have remembered where this was. Shall we?” He asked motioning to the stretch limo we rode here in. We all climbed in, and the car started the journey to our unknown location.

“So, Travis, how did you work your way up at the bank with only two accounts?” I asked quickly, as I saw William getting ready to ask another question.

“Ah yes. It took some time, but I played the long game. Starting out I had more, but as the Bridgers became more and more prevalent the more people I had pull out. Until there was only two left, yours.” He started his story,

“I just knew one day you were going to walk in and pull your accounts too. When you didn’t, I decided to make the most of what I had. So, I stoked the fire by using your money to give out loans to the new heroes to help them get started. They all paid everything back in full plus their interest. And I paid your account back, and never touched it again, the interest payments were enough to restore the bank to its glory. While letting your account continue to draw interest.” Travis was now smiling at his own success, and I couldn’t blame him.

“You are a very clever man Mr. Travis.” William said after a few seconds of silence, “If I was in your place, I would have done something similar.”

“Please, just Travis, and I consider that a compliment. As everyone knows, Mastermind’s intellect is almost completely unmatched.” Travis accepted and returned the compliment with expert social grace.

“What can you tell me about the building, you never said how many floors it had underground.” I chimed in.

“Ah yes. That building was unfortunately sold to some of the top heroes several days ago, before the riot. The paperwork finished and I was notified when I was on the phone with my assistant.” Travis said with a small amount of irritation in his voice.

“Then where are we heading?” Mastermind asked.

“Some place I think will be better for the Guard.” Travis said, as we turned onto a street that leads to the heart of the city.

“It’s downtown?” I asked with hesitation.

“Yes, it is. Just trust me Ray. I don’t want to ruin the surprise.” Travis told me.

After that short conversation we rode the rest of the way in silence, my imagination running wild on what our new home would be.

A massive tunnel complex, with intricate paths easy to get lost in. Maybe an unremarkable building that has some form of space magic that makes it huge on the inside. A castle surrounded by a mote of lava filled with fire elemental crocodiles. Ok probably not the last one.

Buzz

Thankfully my phone chimed before I could get any crazier with my thoughts.

David: Were you serious about starting the team?

Ray: Of course, we should be doing more than getting people’s packages to them.

David: We agree. All of us that is. We think we found a way to drum up some recruits.

Ray: Awesome! We got some work to do.

David: Understatement. Did you get the paperwork done?

Ray: Not quite, William and I are on our way to check a place out, if it goes well, I’ll send the address so you guys can meet us here. Then we can finish the paperwork.

David: Alright. I’ll talk to you later then. Lucky says he’s got your back.

Ray: Good to hear, see you all later.

“Ah, here we are.” Travis said as the car came to a stop.

Getting out I wasn’t sure which building he was talking about. We were surrounded by skyscrapers on all sides. One of which I knew wasn’t for sale, which is the one Travis started walking straight towards.

Everyone in Axiscore knew this building, Eternity Tower.

Eternity tower stood at the direct center of Axiscore. It was built by a hero from a several generations ago, Eternity himself. His powers are unknown, but he has been documented throughout the last five-hundred years and is said to be the first super. He was extremely paranoid too. This tower is supposed to be the most defensible place in the entire world. Which is odd because of all the glass.

The tower’s first twenty floors have glass windows along every outside wall. While the first ten floors are the widest point of the entire building, the eleventh to twentieth floors are only slightly smaller.

After the twentieth floor, the massive building gets more elaborate. A white unknown material dominates most of the exterior of the tower, with sunken diagonal windows spanning multiple floors cuts through in several places. The building is remarkable, no curves all straight lines, making it stand out from the monotony of the Axiscore skyline.

Several stories up, near the top portion of the tower, is a part of the building that seems to be missing, but to those who pay attention, they would have seen helicopters and expensive prototype jets land there. At the top twenty floors of this massive marvel of mankind stands a pyramid of glass that is cut in half by a giant obelisk of the same material.

“So, if you follow me, you’ll see…” Travis stopped talking as he realized that Mastermind and I had stopped following him.

“Are you two all right?” He asked us.

“Eternity Tower?” I asked.

“Home of Eternity himself?” Mastermind finished asking what I started.

“Why yes, this is the place. Much better than the other one I had in mind.” Travis said smiling.

“What about Eternity?” I asked still unable to move.

“Well, no one knows. He was here, then vanished. The only thing he left was a note. I don’t remember specifics, but it went on about how this world isn’t real. He also left a list of requirements needed for anyone who wanted to buy the tower.” Travis said it all so casually as if it’s just another day at the office.

“What are the requirements he listed?” Mastermind asked after clearing his throat.

“The buyer had to be a hero, needed to have stayed at max hero tier for at least half a decade straight, and needed to have a good reason.” Travis recited. “There were more specifics, but that sums it up.”

“What would qualify as a good reason?” I asked.

“I’d say starting a team of heroes, to help protect the world is a good enough reason. In fact, so did Eternity.” Travis finished with a small smirk.

Gulping to stop the nerves from spreading, I stepped into Eternity Tower after Travis.

The inside was eerie, as it was completely unfurnished. It seemed to be untouched for a while with the amount of dust and cobwebs in the lobby.

“How long has Eternity been gone?” I asked.

“About two months before the Bridgers came.” Mastermind answered.

“Yes, that’s correct. He came and signed a contract with the bank saying that if anything happened to him, we would keep the tower until someone who met the requirements came to buy it, then the bank could keep all the profits.” Travis told us.

“I only know because I have always had someone keep an eye on him, or at least when they could. He just stopped coming out after a while.” Mastermind said as we continued through the empty lobby toward the elevators.

“Now I’m not going to show you all one-hundred plus floors. That would take too long. So just the highlights.” He said as he pressed a button labeled “H”. We didn’t start moving right away, and I was curious why. Then a red line on the other side of the button came from the bottom and started toward the top of it.

“Fingerprint scan?” asked Mastermind.

“Exactly the type of security you’d need! No unwanted visitors sneaking in.” Travis said obviously trying to sell us on the historic building.

“Good afternoon Mr. Bagwell. Are these the gentlemen you told me about?” a voice coming from seemingly nowhere.

“What was that? Is that Eternity?” I asked.

“No, I don’t think so. Most likely an AI.” William said with slight excitement.

“Yes, Solemn. One is a member of The Honor Guard, Celerity, the other is a reforming villain, Mastermind.”

“Ah yes, I read about you two in the news the other day. Good job on saving those civilians at the riot.” Solemn said.

“Uh… thanks… I guess.” I said, not sure where to talk to.

“You are quite welcome.” Solemn responded with no apparent knowledge of my uncomfortableness.

“We are heading to the hanger if you’d be so kind. If along the way you’d like to tell them about the tower you could.” Travis said while looking at his phone.

“Of course, Mr. Bagwell. There is much I can tell you about the tower. All one-hundred and four floors were constructed by Eternity. I can’t tell you anything about him, as all personal information about him, aside from what is commonly known, as he wiped my memory before he left.” There was almost something sad in his voice.

“That’s fine with me, tell me more about the building.” I said trying to change the subject.

“The bottom twenty floors are designed as a type of museum, where you can display trophies and souvenirs from battles. It is also completely safe to do so, as there are no connections from those floors to the top, besides the elevator. There are no power, water, or even internet connections that aren’t generated on the upper floors. Everything that enters is scanned for any kind of abnormalities.” Solemn told us, still with a hint of sadness.

“That makes sense why it never worked.” Mastermind said thinking out loud.

“What never worked?” I asked.

“I tried to send in many different bugs and tried hacking in multiple times.” He admitted.

“If I may say,” Solemn started,” you were the most difficult to combat, as I am the main defense against hacks.”

“That was you?” Mastermind asked.

“Yes, it was.” Solemn responded.

“You are a very capable AI. I might even say a worthy opponent. Have you ever played chess?” I think this was the closest I’ve ever seen William to geeking out.

“I do, and I would love to challenge you one day. However, I wish to continue the tour, as we are almost to the hangar.” Solemn sad slightly perking up.

“Of course.” William assented.

“The hangar, was one of the more recent additions to the building, built less than a decade ago, it housed the prototype aircrafts Eternity and a small group of heroes designed for ease of travel. It is currently empty, but I do have a blueprint for one. Before you get excited, it is very expensive.” Solemn gave the history lecture as the doors opened revealing a hangar with multiple docking bays. There was another piece of glass covering the hole in the wall, it was so thin that I wouldn’t have known about it if I didn’t try to peak over the edge and hit my head.

“This is very impressive.” Mastermind said aloud.

“Wait until you see the upper floors.” Travis said. He motioned toward the elevator.

As we all got in, Travis motioned for the button labeled “M”. I reached out and pushed the button.

“Would you like me to give him temporary access Mr. Bagwell?” Solemn asked.

Travis nodded and the scanner came on.

“So, he doesn’t need voice conformation?” Mastermind asked.

“He?” I asked interrupting Travis.

“No, he doesn’t William, and yes he. Solemn is an AI, a rather advanced one, he chose his name and what we could refer to him as.” Travis said.

“While I do not have a body and therefor no gender, I found it humanized me more to have a pronoun attached to myself. Makes others less likely to fear me.” Solemn stated.

“Ok… So, where exactly are we headed?” I asked.

“We are approaching what Eternity called ‘The Hall’. It is where he and his team and closest allies conducted meetings and discussed crucial matters. There is a zero percent chance that anyone could listen in, even me if you wish. This is the only room that I do not have total access to. All you need to do is say the pass phrase and it locks me out of the room.” Solemn told us.

“What’s the phrase?” Mastermind asked.

“Solemn go to your room.” Solemn stated.

“You told us before we even bought it?” I asked.

“If you do not buy it there is no possible way for you to return here, so there is no threat. Also, the phrase can only be used by the owner, and any authorized by them.” Solemn said, the sadness returning.

The elevator doors opened revealing a massive table in the center of the room. That was only the first thing noticed, as we stepped in it was also the least magnificent. There was clear class all around us, the floor next to it lined with one long planter, full of beautiful and exotic flowers and scents. It didn’t take away from the room only accented it. There was the massive hourglass etched into the floor, Eternity’s emblem. Lots of monitors stood near the back suspended by a metal bar that stretched the entire width with keyboards set up at every few screens.

This was the most efficient “Hero Hub”, as we called them, I had ever seen. I didn’t need to see anything further.

“How much is this building going to cost me?” I asked Travis.

“A good portion of the amount in your account. Or most of the Honor Guard account.” He told me wincing slightly as he thought it would cost him the sale.

“Do you have the right paperwork with you?” I taunted the banker.

“I do.” His grin returned.

“Let’s get to it. I also need to get the others here to take care of the Team paperwork, when we are done could you take it to City Hall for us?” I asked Travis.

“I would love to.” He told me.

I shot a quick message to David and told him where to meet us.

“Solemn. When the rest of the Honor Guard and a Mr. Neil Edison get here would you let them up?” I asked the AI.

“Of course, sir, would you like to give them full access?” Solemn asked.

“Yes, them and William here.” I told the disembodied voice. “Also, could you order furniture for the building, have a cleaning crew come in, hire some staff, and order us a pizza or twenty?” I asked testing the limits of the AI.

“It’ll be done, and where did you want the pizza from?” Solemn responded.

Oh, this is gonna be good. I mentally rubbed my hands together.

“Wait…” Mastermind interrupted my thought spiral, “What number did he write down on that paper?”

I took the pen I was using for the documents, did some quick math, then scribbled down what would be left in my account after this deal was closed then slid it to the villain.

He looked at the number then went pale.

Oh yeah. This is going to be very good.