CHAPTER 50: L - THE CHANGING CIRCUMSTANCES

Etienne paced around the living room of his mansion frantically, "It feels like they’re starting overwhelm us with their numbers. It’s like a bad game of whack a mole. We capture a few and they instantly replace them with more."

Alex typed on his phone and shook his head, "That ability Dirty Bomb escaped into belongs to Samuel "Sammi" Daniels. If he’s affiliated with the Black Company, then we’re safe to assume that his girlfriend, Symetra "Simi" Easton, is with them as well. They’re attached at the hip; they’re like a modern Bonnie and Clyde."

Etienne bit his finger, "Tell me again what this Sammi guy’s powers are? I saw it, but I don’t think I quite understood it."

"He can turn any mirror into a two-way portal. He just has to touch two glass objects with the same hand and they’re connected for a one time use. I don’t know how relevant this will be, but if he touches an mirror for an hour, it can be used as a portal twice. Every subsequent hour is another use."

Etienne turned to him and narrowed his eyes, "How do you know so much about them?"

Alex shrugged his shoulders, "They were some of the first villains I fought when I was training to be a hero. They’ve been apart of GoGo’s Disciples for a while, but before he got a foothold in Oregon, I used to stop their bank robberies and snatch and grabs."

Etienne scratched his chin, "But wait, I thought I faced all of GoGo’s Disciples a while back. I don’t remember seeing anybody who could make glass into portals..."

"Man, you really don’t keep up with anything, huh..." Alex grabbed the TV remote from the nearby coffee table and flicked it on. He flipped through several news channels until he finally stopped at one.

A bored-looking news anchor sat with her chin propped on her hand, looking directly into the camera. Around the newsroom, there were large logos with the letters "SNN" drawn stylistically.

"SNN..." Etienne sat down on the couch slowly.

"Super News Network. Just like it sounds, they focus exclusively on current events to do with all metahumans. Metahuman rights, bills and laws that are being passed, and of course superhero drama and news stories. And the best part is, all the news anchors are former heroes and villains."

The news anchor sighed and pushed black and pink locks out of her face. She looked away from the camera for a moment and whispered, "Is this rolling?"

After receiving a hushed answer, her tired expression instantly morphed into a jovial smile and her posture got straighter, "Good afternoon, this is Ellie Moreno with the SNN, your Super News Network. It looks like a verdict has finally been made after the number six hero, Vamp’s rampage on the Mob. If you weren’t aware, in an apparent mental break, Vamp slaughtered fifty-eight members of the criminal organization and had to be restrained by local heroes in the area..."

Etienne picked up the controller and muted the TV, "What does this have to do with GoGo’s Disciples?"

Alex leaned back on the couch, "GoGo’s Disciples and the Mob have been feuding for the longest. The reason you faced the executives you did at the Soiree is because the rest of them were in California planning attacks against the Mob."

Etienne glanced at the TV for a second, "So what? This attack stopped that feud?"

Alex shook his head, "No, this attack weakened the Mob enough to make them no longer a threat. It wasn’t just GoGo fighting against them, they had a tenuous alliance with the Black Company too. Now that they are so weakened, the Black Company has had a lot of resources freed up. They don’t have to worry about attacks from their rival anymore."

Etienne shook his head in confusion, "One attack did all of that?"

"Yeah, it was brutal. Fifty-eight deceased and over one hundred fifty people injured. Nairobi was one of the heroes sent to subdue Vamp, didn’t she tell you about it? It was right around the time when those unranked metahumans were attacking Oregon."

Etienne scratched his chin, "I remember she was unavailable for a little while around that time. I guess that’s why..."

Etienne grabbed the remote and unmuted the TV. The scene flipped to a smug-looking young man with a poofy afro and a wispy beard, speaking to an enormous crowd of people. Camera flashes went off multiple times a second. He adjusted his tailored black suit before stepping up to the podium and speaking into the mic.

"Good evening everybody!" He spoke authoritatively, silencing the room of hundreds immediately. A chiron appeared on the screen: Wunder Simmons, Director of the Intranational Hero Organization.

Etienne listened intently and sat forward in his seat as Wunder spoke, "There’s been a lot of speculation as to what happened in this situation, and what our hero’s punishment will be."

Wunder gripped the sides of the podium tightly and his frown became more pronounced, "Let me be perfectly clear to everyone. We are done being soft on crime. I’ve seen posts on social media saying we live in a police state, that the INHO think they’re the ’judge, jury and executioner.’ I would rather live in that kind of state, instead of a lawless wasteland where criminals kill innocent civilians by the thousands, wouldn’t you?"

The silence in the room became even more overwhelming. The only noise that could be heard was Wunder’s labored breathing through the podium microphone and the continuous flash of cameras.

He continued, "With all that said, as far as Vamp’s punishment is concerned, she is now to be considered a ’contingency’ for the INHO. She will be deployed only at our discretion. We will not lower or remove her rank, and she will stay on our roster."

Alex crossed his arms, "Figures. That guy loves to play favorites. If I tore people’s heads off and slashed their necks, he’d send the top ten after me. You too, Etienne. This hero thing is all politics and bureaucracy."

Etienne watched the screen as Wunder answered questions from the press, "This guy is the director, huh? He looks...young. What’s his story?"

Alex frowned and rolled his eyes, "He’s the third ever director of the INHO and the first metahuman to be director. And he’s the son of the last director, who led the INHO for fifty years. Just look his name up online, you’ll see plenty of articles and documentaries singing his praises."

Etienne narrowed his eyes, "And what do you think about him?"

"Just another power-hungry, two-faced suit. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve met him a few times. He’s friendly and all, but his smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes if you know what I mean."

Etienne groaned and stood up, "There’s too much going on recently. I need to relax," He cupped his hands together and called out, "Gabe!"

Gabe entered the living room quickly with a smile, "Yes, Etienne?"

"Have you seen my phone? I want to see what my friends are up to."

Gabe stepped out of the living room and returned a few moments later, placing the phone into Etienne’s hand.

"It was just sitting in your bedroom, dead, so I took the liberty of charging it for you."

Etienne opened his phone and shook his head, "Don’t lie, Gabe. I know you checked it too. Anything interesting?"

Gabe frowned, "It appears Petey is 90% completed on that..." Gabe’s voice trailed for a moment before he cleared his throat, "On that assignment you gave him. Money has called you and texted you over four dozen times in the two days, he may need to talk to you urgently."

Etienne scrolled through his phone, "He probably just wants me to come to one of his father’s work parties with him. He always tried to drag me with him in high school. I’ll get with him soon."

Alex stood up, "Sounds like you’re making other plans, so I’ll take my leave. Once Nairobi gets back from Wilsonville, we can all go investigate the two in Portland. I’ll be back tomorrow."

Alex held his hand out and summoned a long pink and silver hoverboard. He walked to the door but stopped before grabbing the handle.

"Etienne, let me ask you something. Are you satisfied with being a hero? Are you fulfilled?

Etienne continued looking at his phone, "I’m pretty satisfied. If my parents knew I had this power, they would want me to do this, so I guess that’s all that matters."

"But what about you personally? What about what you want? Doesn’t that matter too?" Alex snapped, barely containing a shout.

Etienne tilted his head and looked at him, "What are you asking?

Alex sighed and walked out of the front door, "Forget it, I’ll ask Nairobi."

Alex slammed the door behind him hard, rattling a nearby table. Etienne stared at the door for a while longer before looking back at his phone.

"I wonder what Christina is doing..."