“...and so the mysterious man flew away, astonishing everyone with his incredible feats of strength. No one has stepped forward with any information, but authorities are arguing-”

Max turned off his phone, sliding it into his pocket. Huh. He kicked a pebble across the street into the grassy field. So those weird rumors turned out to be true.

There was a superhero running around.

Well, there’d been only one confirmed one, anyway. But there had been plenty of unexplained robberies and disappearances for the last two months, all leading up to an explosion of such cases not just in the U.S., but world-wide. No one had any idea of what was happening, but strange tales abound; toddlers tossing aside tractors, a woman walking into a bank vault through a wall, sightings of a half-man, half-beetle in city alleyways.

And now, some dude in a jumpsuit was hopping around Golden City, preventing accidents and stopping any crime he came across. Just always seemed to know where, too. Max shook his head. Nobody knew how, certainly not a fourteen-year-old kid like him, but superpowers were real. Amazing.

“Man, wish I could get to Golden City. I’d kill to see him.” he said wistfully, shuffling across the hot asphalt. He tilted his head, shielding his eyes from the glare coming from the old train yard, shimmering in the near-summer sun. School would be out in less than two weeks, and he could drop the books currently weighing down his backpack. Maybe if he did well enough on his finals, his parents would take him on a trip there over summer vacation. Something to hope for, at least.

“That’d be awesome.” he muttered. Not for now, he’d run the idea past mom and then-

It happened so quick. One moment, the sky was clear, the sun illuminating the puffy clouds and turning them pink. The next, those clouds vanished, vaporized as a bizarre grey cigar shape came into the air, moving so fast it left an afterimage. It froze instantly, kicking up a huge wind that nearly bowled the skinny teen over.

“Gah-! Whoa!” Max gasped, trying to duck and cover his head, the fierce wind making his blond hair fly everywhere. Suddenly, the air was still.

“Huh?” He found himself enveloped in a soft green light. He watched a rock lift off the ground in astonishment, but that turned to terror as he realized he was being lifted too. “W-Wait! No! H-Help! Heeeeeeellllp!”

Max screamed and screamed, but there was no one around. Few people went to the old train yard except for him, it was a shortcut to and from school! There was no one around to see or hear the poor boy as he was caught by the tractor beam, lifted into the closing doors. The ship vanished, tearing off up past the stratosphere at impossible speeds.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ten Years Later…

“You uh, wanted to see me, Mr. Knightsbridge?” the researcher said, his eyes flitting nervously to the two mountains of muscle in suits currently flanking him. The chair behind the solid oak desk turned, revealing Knightsbridge reading a file on a tablet.

“Oh please, Mr. Shepard. Call me Mike. All my friends do, isn’t that right?” he said, the suits chuckling.

“Eh-heh, a-all right Mr...Michael.” Shepard said, smiling nervously. He cleaned his glasses on his labcoat. “Um, forgive me sir, but why did you call me up here? And so late? I mean, I was about to head home, it’s nearly eleven…” He fell silent as Knightsbridge waved a hand.

“Oh, don’t worry, it’s nothing, nothing at all. Just a little thing we came across, thought I’d mention it before you left. And hey, I’m in charge, that means I have people see me, I don’t have to go to them. Rank has privileges, you know!” Knightsbridge said, grinning. Shepard smiled weakly.

“E-Even so, sir...uh, Mike. I’m just a researcher. I would think you’d want Dr. Thunder or something.” he said. Knightsbridge got up, scrolling through the file again.

“Yeah, ordinarily. But this actually concerns you, Mr. Shepard, not the good doctor. I understand your wife works here too, part of Melissa’s team?” he asked. Shepard raised an eyebrow.

“Um, yes? What is this about?”

“Well Mr. Shepard, you both participated in the company blood drive last week, right? We found something interesting. Yes, very interesting indeed, Mr. Shepard. Take a look.” He handed the file to the researcher, who took it with a frown. His eyes widened as he saw strands of genetic code broken down. They were labelled with both his and his wife’s names. But most disturbing, there was another genetic string, with the name of Jason Shepard.

“W-What is this? Why do you have my son’s genetic code?” he demanded. Knightsbridge leaned back on the desk, holding his hand up.

“I must confess, we had a bit of an ulterior motive with the blood drive. It was to gather as large a sample of DNA as possible. It wasn’t easy getting your son’s medical records either, but Louie is an absolute peach when it comes to procurement.” The bald thug smirked and mock-bowed. “The reason’s simple. For some time now there’s been a genetic research project that’s stalled out, can’t proceed further without a living test subject. And every subject we’ve tested has expired, without exception. It should work, we just can’t say why. There’s something we’re missing, genetic compatibility. Once we’ve nailed that, we can figure out what we’re doing wrong and fix the compatibility issue.” Knightsbridge explained. Mr. Shepard saw a 33% compatibility below his name, and 28% next to his wife. But Jason?

“100%.” he said breathlessly. Knightsbridge nodded. “But, all the experiments are proceeding smoothly. We haven’t stalled out on anything that we haven’t mothballed. So that...that means-!!”

“Indeed, Mr. Shepard. The Proteus Project.” Knightsbridge grinned. Shepard dropped the tablet in horror, backing up into the bodyguards.

“No, no! I’ve seen the records! I’ve seen the photos! That’s my son!” he cried.

“And a fine lad he is, to my understanding. But you’re worrying too much, Mr. Shepard. The boy’s got 100% compatibility! The projections of previous volunteers never went above 82! He’ll be fine, no problem. All we do is give him a shot, reverse-engineer the process his body undergoes, and give him a neutralizing agent. Along with 15 million for yourself and your family.” Knightsbridge said smoothly.

“What? 15 million?”

“For the down payment, of course. I’ll throw in two more of those upon completion of the project.” he offered. Shepard stared at him like he’d grown another head.

“15, 45, a hundred million or more, it doesn’t matter! That’s my son you’re talking about, he’s not a lab rat!” Shepard protested. Knightsbridge sighed.

“Come now, be reasonable-”

“I am! You’re not getting my son! The Proteus Project is a death sentence. I don’t care how much money’s involved, it’ll have nothing to do with Jason in any capacity!” Shepard declared, spinning around and walking away. Or tried to. Louie put his gigantic hand on his shoulder, and Shepard found himself unable to move. “Let me go!”

“Like I said, Mr. Shepard. Be reasonable. We have the potential to revolutionize the world here, and make, like, all the money. Can’t you see the upsides of the project, all the many ways it could benefit humanity? We could end the need for medical care at all, permanently. All it’ll take is a little bit of experimentation and research, with no real chance of danger. Isn’t that worth it?”

“No!” Shepard declared. Knightsbridge shook his head.

“Damn. Alright then. Ando? Plan B.” he said. The Asian thug grabbed the restrained researcher, and snapped his neck like a twig. He hung limp in Louie’s arms, the light fading from his eyes. Knightsbridge whistled.

“Wow, Ando. Good stuff, you been working out?” Both of them chuckled. “Alright, join the collection team, tell ‘em they’re a go. Burn down the house when you’re done, and of course leave no evidence.”

“C’mon boss, you’re talking to professionals.” Louie rumbled.

“I know, but Nicholai will be there too. Tell him specifically these orders apply to him, which means in and out quick, no play time.” Knightsbridge said. Both Ando and Louie shuddered, glancing at each other in concern.

“Uh, boss? You sure you want him on this? Dude is messed up.” Louie said. Knightsbridge waved his hand dismissively.

“It’ll be fine. He’s a good worker, so long as you tug on his leash. He’s smart enough not to cross me.” Knightsbridge said, a sinister smile on his face. Louie and Ando shifted uncomfortably at the prospect of working with Nicholai again. “Regardless, that’s neither here nor there. Kill the mom and grab the kid. Be ninja in your stealth. Woo-sha.” Knightsbridge waved his arms like a kung-fu movie, and the thugs dragged Shepard’s body away, off to do their dark duty.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Easy...easy...eek!” Thump.

The girl’s head popped up immediately, scanning the darkened hall. No one around. She turned to the window and closed it, heart hammering in her chest like an elephant rampaging. Her teeth chattered and her limbs went cold as the nervousness got the better of her.

“What am I doing, what am I doing?” she lamented quietly.

Still, even through the oppressive nerves, the horrible darkness and silence in anticipation of the security guards, she could feel it calling out to her. Her pulse quickened even more as a heady warmth spread through her body as she resolved to get closer. She crept through the halls, unerringly navigating the shadows. It was impossible not to know where she was going.

All she had to do was follow its call.

Suddenly, she blinked and stopped, flattening herself against the wall. The call that pulled her onward screamed danger.

Not a moment too soon, as the light from the security guard rounded the corner. Her heart stopped for a moment, but the guard turned right, not left. She breathed a sigh of relief and ducked around the corner quiet as a cat. Or a cat burglar.

The call was getting more...not louder, but more intense now, with every step. It thrummed through her body, urging her faster and faster, ducking away from the guard’s usual routes. Wait, how did she know their routes?

She shook her head. It didn’t matter. Nothing did, not the guards, the police, not even the supers. The only thing that mattered was the pulsing call running through her, spurring her to the main hall of the museum, and the displays of priceless artifacts and jewelry.

Which she didn’t spare a glance at as she rounded on her quarry: a dias upholding a glass box, containing an elegant golden amulet. It was a simple piece, a golden disk resembling a sun, carvings of animals, trees, and other sigils embossed around its edge. And in the center, inlaid in ruby, a single staring eye. Her own eyes shone as it gleamed in the moonlight. She punched in the code to unlock the security system on the side, then did a double take at her own action at the panel, unsure of how she was so sure what the code was.

But all those worries faded as there was a beep, and she quickly opened the top of the case, plucking the amulet from its stand. She let out a breathless sigh, the unstoppable urge fading away, replaced by an insistence to get out. Not arguing with that, she pocketed her precious quarry and quietly retraced her steps, leaving only the amulet’s absence. It burned in her jeans as she made her way to the window she entered, opening it and making her stealthy escape-

“Hey! You there!” She froze as the guard’s light fell on her. No! She had to get away! “Stop!”

She vaulted the windowsill, her legs already moving as she hit the ground. The guard stuck his head out the window, knowing he couldn’t move as fast as the nimble thief, helplessly watching her figure grow smaller as she crossed the lawn and blended with the shadows. She made it to the safety of the nearby woods, and with that she was lost in the night.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sky was clear and bright, the stars shining in the late winter sky. The moon hadn’t risen yet, and both the humans and animals were snug in their homes, guarded against the chill. The bugs had barely even begun to crawl and chirp for the year. The plain was a nice spot for stargazing, flat and wide, nothing around for miles. A star shot across the sky, not that unusual. What was unusual was that it changed direction.

Then again, and again, as if to get a better view of the land, growing closer with each zig and zag. A cow mooed as the shooting star passed overhead, slowing down. It circled around an empty patch of grass not far from a rocky outcropping. The grass was blown flat as the triangular shape touched down, thumping just a little too hard. Cursing came from the inside.

“Damn it...gonna get the landing perfect one of these days.” The side opened up, going dark as the power was shut off. An enormous palm gripped the side of the door, using it for balance as the ship’s occupant bent down to step out, unfurling to his full height and taking in a gigantic breath of the cool air.

“Ahh! Wow! I’m back! And it’s cold! Wow!” he chuckled in a deep baritone. He looked around, then up at the stars. It was funny to be seeing these constellations again. He took in another deep breath, letting the scent of the grass and cows enrich his lungs. God it had been so long.

He turned to his left, effortlessly leaping to the top of the rocky outcropping as easily as onto a curb. His eyes gleamed in the darkness, reflecting the illumination of the buildings down the road. There was a road a little ways away, and he read the sign further down, lit up but with one of its lights flickering.

Welcome to Silver City.