Chapter 1 – Who Are You?

I sat back in my chair and carefully watched the superhero pace back and forth in my living room, trying to decide what to make of him.

He was a tall panther, with an athletic, nicely muscled build. He was wearing his uniform, tight, form-fitting spandex of the toughened reinforced variety, consisting of a dark blue bodysuit with thin purple lines emanating from a stylized purple 'D' symbol on the right side of his chest. The costume also had purple boots and gloves and was finished off with a long flowing cape.

Anyone else might have been at least a little intimidated by him. But not me. I might have just been an ordinary husky in casual jeans and a black shirt, shorter and, although I did my best to keep in shape, nowhere near as strong or toned as he was (at least, not these days), but I wasn't one to be easily intimidated, not with the life I had led.

He went by the name Dynamic. I had been provided with his real name, Ethan Matthews. But of course, I wouldn't use it while he was in costume, no matter how much privacy we had here in my home. I understood the etiquette very well and knew that would just be plain rude.

“Dynamic.” I said, calmly. “Why don't you sit down and let's talk about this?”

The panther stopped and glared at me for a moment before returning to his pacing. “This is pointless. I don't know why the hell I'm here...”

“I assume Iceberg and Aegis told you why...” I said.

He waved a paw in the air dramatically. “Oh, I know the explanation they gave me, but they don't know what they're talking about.”

Wow, it was quite the arrogant attitude he had. We'd have to do something about that, assuming this whole thing between us actually lasted beyond this initial meeting, which was very much less than certain right then. Even less certain was whether or not I wanted it to...

“Iceberg and Aegis are joint leaders of the Hero Alliance.” I said. “And have many more years of experience in the superhero life than you. So, I’d say they're far more likely to know what they're talking about than you do, rookie.”

He looked annoyed at being called rookie. I couldn't care less.

“I...” He stammered. “I know they think they know best. But they're wrong. I'm fine. I don't need a mentor to help me. And I certainly don't need a mentor who's a lowly civilian.”

I glowered at him with narrowed eyes. He seemed to notice.

He held up his paws. “Hey, no offence. I'm sure you're a great guy, you'd have to be for Aegis to speak so highly of you. But as a civilian, you don't know the superhero life, there's not really anything you could teach me or help me with.”

It was so tempting to end the meeting there and then, tell him he was right and send him on his way. Then I could honestly tell Aegis I had tried but it hadn't worked out, and I could get back to my life, such as it was, without this unwelcome intrusion into it.

But that superior and smug cocky attitude the panther had going on... It grated on me and I really wanted to take him down a peg or two, put him in his place. And I was certain I could.

I really should have seen it coming. Damn that Aegis. I'd bet good money he knew this would be my reaction to Dynamic. And that in turn would lead me into wanting to do something about it, wanting to carry on with the panther.

I'd have to have some strong words with my friend later. For now, I had an arrogant super-powered panther pacing back and forth in my living room that I had to deal with.

I scratched absent-mindedly at my muzzle. “So, you have your powers under control? No problems?”

“Of course I do!” The panther was indignant.

“Then prove it, rookie.” I said.

Dynamic looked taken aback by that. “What?”

I glanced about the room. My eyes settled on a potted plant on the table by the window and I waved a paw at it. “Use your energy field to lift that plant.”

“No.” Said the panther, not bothering to hide his irritation. “I don't have to prove anything to you!”

I shrugged. “That's fine, if you can't manage it. You're just a rookie, still figuring out your powers. It's understandable, there's no shame in it...”

Glaring at me with annoyance, Dynamic raised a gloved paw. With only the barest hint of concentration, light blue energy began to crackle and flow across the paw, the room suddenly becoming a little brighter. A second later, the energy streamed outward, across the room to the plant. It enveloped it, rippling across the ceramic pot and the stem and leaves of the plant.

The potted plant levitated, lifting into the air by several feet. Dynamic held it there briefly and then with a flick of his paw, caused it to sink back down into place. He looked at me, smugness radiating from him.

“Not too bad.” I said, looking unimpressed. “But moving something about, that's simple stuff. Can you do something more intricate, more skilful?” I wave a paw at a pair of my shoes, on the floor by the door. “Like say, tie the laces of one of those shoes?”

I spotted the look of uncertainty that crossed his face before he suppressed it. He didn't know if he could do it. But his pride wouldn't let him back down now.

He used both paws this time, holding them close to each other as his face screwed up in concentration, energy flowing across and between his paws before streaming out to the shoe.

I watched intently. At first he nearly lifted the whole shoe, before managing to narrow his focus on just the laces, his energy field manipulating them through the air and around each other. He made a few mistakes here and there, but always pulled back and corrected them.

I looked at the panther as he worked. He was completely focused on what he was doing, teeth gritted, paws twitching and flexing.

Inwardly I sighed. Yeah, he did need help developing his power and refining his control. This should have been something relatively simple and it was taking a lot of effort.

After about fifteen minutes of struggle, he managed to complete the task. He was breathing hard and sweating slightly as he pulled the tied laces tight with his energy field. He dropped his paws, the blue energy dissipating. He looked at me, satisfied with himself.

I decided to keep pushing him. “Okay, so you're not doing too badly, rookie.”

He frowned. He obviously felt he was doing more than 'not too badly'. He was about to say something, but I interrupted him.

“How about something else?” I pointed to my coffee table, at the TV remote. “The remote control there. How about you take the batteries out and then put them back them in?”

The panther looked at the remote and I watched his expression closely. He was anxious, uncertain, but not likely to admit it. He turned to stare at me. “I don't have to jump through hoops for you...”

“Of course you don't!” I admitted. “There's no shame in admitting defeat, accepting that you can't do it...”

“I did not admit defeat!” He said, with a slight growl.

“Really?” I said, offering him a smug grin. “Because what I see here is a rookie refusing to put his money where his mouth is and prove what he can do.”

There was a rumbling growl in his throat, but he said nothing more as he looked back at the remote, raising his paws again and once more generating the energy field around them. A moment later, that energy wrapped itself around the device.

I sat back, arms folded across my chest, watching closely, at both what was happening, and the look on Dynamic's face.

The remote lifted into the air and flipped over. The battery compartment popped open and the two double A batteries were pulled out, hovering in mid-air.

So far so good. The panther was looking confident, not too stressed. But the harder part was to come. I hadn't picked the task at random. It was something that required the fine control necessary to slot the batteries back in, as well as the ability to multi-task, to keep everything hovering in the air and steady while he worked. I was fairly certain he wouldn't be able to manage it, he just didn't have enough control.

To his credit, he gave it a good shot, straining at the task for more than twenty minutes. But as he moved one of the batteries into place, his energy field started to lose its grip on either the remote or the second battery or both. At one point, the second battery even dropped to the table with a clatter before he picked it up again with his energy.

But he was ultimately going to fail. I could see the growing frustration on his face, the self-doubt, and that would just make it more and more difficult to maintain his control.

The moment eventually came when he failed. Sweat was almost dripping from his brow, he was biting his lower lip, his paws were twitching and twisting as he tried desperately to get his energy field to do what he wanted it to. Finally, he gave up, throwing up his paws in anger and letting out a cry of annoyance. The blue energy vanished and the remote and two batteries dropped to the coffee table with a thud.

“Damn it!” Dynamic was saying, pressing his paws against his forehead. “God fucking damn it!”

I stayed silent as he cursed himself, standing up and padding over to the sideboard on the other side of the room. I opened a drawer and pulled out a small bottle.

Stepping to the tall panther's side, I placed a reassuring paw on his shoulder. “Here.”

He looked at me. The pained look in his eyes was heart-breaking and I was struck by a pang of sympathy. It was never easy hitting the wall separating what you could do from what you couldn't. Especially when you ran into head first.

I handed him the small plastic bottle. He looked at it, confused. “Aspirin?”

“For the headache.” I said. “The one you get after you push your powers to their limit.”

“How did you...?” He began, but stopped himself. “Iceberg and Aegis told you, huh?”

In truth, they actually hadn't. But I didn't tell him that. I simply watched as he opened the bottle, swallowed a couple of pills and then gave it back to me. I slipped it into my pocket and gave him my full attention.

“Listen.” I said, firm and serious. “There is absolutely no shame whatsoever in not being able to do something. There is nothing wrong in admitting you still have a way to go, things to learn. It's okay to need a little help developing your powers.”

Of course, one failure was hardly going to cut through his arrogance completely. “What the hell do you know about it?” He demanded, shaking my paw off his shoulder and stepping back. “What could you possibly know?”

I clasped my paws behind my back and let out a deep sigh. It seemed like it was time to reveal more. “The energy feels good, doesn't it? When it's flowing through you, its like a living thing, twisting and writhing through every cell of your body. But you can control it, command it. And when you do, it's intense and euphoric, filling you with vitality. You feel alive, more alive that you ever thought it was possible to feel, like you're connected to the very fabric of the universe, like you're drawing on the whole of creation to fill yourself with energy. And as you reach out with your mind, your senses, and manipulate that energy, it feels strangely satisfying, there's a contentment in it, like you're fulfilling your purpose. Like this is what you were meant for, your reason for existing.”

As I ended my little speech, Dynamic was staring at me, wide-eyed with surprise, his muzzle hanging open slightly.

I allowed myself a small smug grin. “How's that for knowing?”

He regained his composure a little, shaking his head, but was still extremely confused. “How... how could you possibly know? How...” He paused and looked at me intensely. “Who are you?”

“Lucas Simmons.” I replied. “I believe I did introduce myself when you arrived...”

“No.” Said the panther, thinking hard. He was finally putting it together that was something more to me. Good. Perhaps he'd learn not to leap to judgement about people.

“No.” He said again. “There's something more to you... why would Aegis and Iceberg want me to talk to you particularly? Seriously, who the hell are you exactly?”

Perhaps it was time to tell him. I believed he could be trusted to keep the secret. I knew Aegis would never consider him for Alliance membership if he wasn’t completely sure he was trustworthy. And if there was any hope for me helping him, he needed to respect me, and telling him the truth about me would probably be a quick and easy way of accomplishing that.

“Come with me.” I told him. Without waiting for a response, I turned on my heel and walked out of the room.

He trailed after me, silent and thoughtful. Probably trying to figure out who I was. I took a small degree of perverse pleasure in knowing there was no chance in hell of him doing so.

In the hallway outside the living room, I unlocked the door to the basement and led the way down, flicking on the light switch as I went.

My basement was pretty ordinary, lots of boxes and junk being stored here and there. The boiler in one corner. Some exercise equipment and weights set up in the opposite corner.

Stopping in the centre of the room, I glared at Dynamic, who was taking in the basement with curious confusion. “Before I show you what I'm about to show you, you need to understand, this needs to be kept an absolute secret. Very few in the world know what I'm about to tell you, and for good reason. It's highly classified and I need your word that you will not utter anything to anyone unless you are absolutely certain they already know.”

“I understand.” He nodded, his interest piqued. “You have my word, I can keep a secret.”

“I mean it, rookie!” I said, needing to impress upon him just how important this was. “This cannot be allowed to get out!

“I told you I understand.” He said, a little annoyed. “You can trust me. I swear to you I will keep whatever this secret is.”

With a curt nod, I accepted his assurances and stepped over to an empty stretch of wall. I placed one paw against it. I'd been down here so often, I knew exactly where the secret hidden panel was without having to look for it. A rectangular section of the wall under my paw lit up and hummed.

“Paw-print scanner?” Said Dynamic behind me, surprise in his voice.

“And a DNA scanner.” I said. I waved my other paw vaguely in the air. “And as I speak, it's also scanning my voice.”

I glanced back over my shoulder at him. “Techno-Beast installed this for me when I first moved in here.”

His eyes widened in surprise at the mention of the Hero Alliance's resident engineering and technological genius. Probably wondering why the tech-obsessed superhero would install something like this for the likes of a 'lowly civilian'.

A section of wall slid aside, forming a doorway to another room beyond, drenched in darkness. I strolled in, hitting the light switch. The overhead lights in their elegant green shades lit up, illuminating the wide, cluttered looking room.

I walked through the room and sat myself down at the big leather backed chair by my desk in the far corner, and turned to watch as Dynamic stepped cautiously into the room, curious as to how he'd react.

His eyes went wide in shock as he surveyed the place. The walls were covered with framed pictures and newspaper clippings. Every picture depicted superheroes, sometimes in action, sometimes relaxing casually together, smiling and laughing. Every newspaper clipping had a big bold headline, usually mentioning the exploits of 'Captain Cosmos'.

He walked slowly through the room, his gaze passing over the multitude of glass display cases, showing a variety of weird and wonderful objects of all shapes and sizes. He passed the medal case, which displayed numerous medals of varying sizes and countries of origin.

But as soon as he spotted the centrepiece of the collection, he could look at nothing else. He seemed drawn to it, stepping slowly and carefully towards it, apparently not believing what he was seeing.

It was a tall glass case. Inside was a plastic mannequin displaying a spandex costume. It was light blue, almost silvery, with a large white eight-pointed star emblazoned on the chest. There were blue boots and gloves and trunks, as well as a rounded blue eye mask and large cape.

Dynamic reached out and touched the case gently, resting his paw on the glass, completely transfixed.

As I watched him, one thought kept cycling through my mind. The same thought that had been at the back of my mind ever since the panther hero had arrived in my home. Scratch that, since the meeting with Iceberg and Aegis a few days ago when I agreed to this nonsense...

What the hell am I doing?


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“So, what the hell are you guys doing here?”

The two superheroes sat on my couch looked up from the coffee I'd made for them after they'd arrived ten minutes previously, teleporting to my doorstep.

Iceberg, the lanky arctic fox in white and blue spandex, tried to look offended. “What, can't a couple of guys drop in on an old friend for a visit?”

I rolled my eyes at him. “Please, Icy, don't treat me like an idiot. I might not be a superhero anymore, but my IQ remains the same.”

Beside him, Aegis sighed, putting down his coffee mug. The bulky tiger was wearing his usual red and blue uniform, complete with built in body armour. “What did I tell you, Icy? Let me do the talking, we need to be diplomatic.”

The fox looked indignant. “Hey! I can be diplomatic!”

I had to chuckle at that. “Since when? You been taking classes you haven't told me about or something?”

Aegis laughed. Annoyance played across Iceberg's features. “That's not fair...” He tried to protest.

“Really?” Aegis said. “Need we bring up that mess with you offending the mayor of New York?”

“Or there were those senate hearings about the Syndicate.” I added with a smile.

“Oh!” Said Aegis brightly. “And let's not forget the press conference after that big battle with the Atomizer...”

“Okay, fine!” Iceberg grumbled, holding up his paws. “Diplomacy is not one of my strong points! There, I admitted it! Happy now?”

Aegis nodded. “Yeah, pretty much.” I couldn't help but laugh.

This felt good, the company of friends, the laughing, the gentle ribbing. But I knew it couldn't last. It never did. Especially as I knew they must be here for a specific reason.

“So why are you guys here?” I asked. “Don't try to tell me it’s a social visit, those are pretty regular and it’s a good few weeks before the next one. Besides, you're in uniform, so it must be official business.”

The moment of humour between us evaporated, Aegis turning serious. “Yeah, Lucas, it is.”

I sat back. “Let me guess, more budget cuts so the UN decided to reduce my stipend again?”

The tiger sighed. “No, that's not it. We... we actually need your help with something.”

That took me by surprise. “What could I possibly be able to help you with?”

The two superheroes glanced at each other before Aegis continued. “Remember the explosion at that remote GeniTech lab facility a few months back?”

I wracked my memory. “I think I saw something about it on the news. It was a result of a Syndicate attack, right?”

“Yeah, we had a bit of a fight on our paws there.” Iceberg said, sipping at his coffee. “But we saw them off. Even captured Harvester.”

As I nodded my approval of that achievement, Aegis continued. “But the battle had damaged an experimental reactor, hence the big explosion. We evacuated the civilians, but there was a lab assistant we didn't get to in time...”

“I'm sorry.” I said, sadly. I knew that happened sometimes. Despite your best efforts, you weren't always able to save everyone. Of course, knowing that didn't help with the guilt you inevitably felt.

The tiger shook his head. “You don't understand. He survived.”

Oh, I could see what he meant. “He got powers?”

“Yes.” Aegis confirmed. “And as shortly after he realized that, he came to us, said he wanted to be a superhero and join the Alliance.”

I frowned. “I don't remember seeing anything about a new member on the news.”

“We're still a month or two away from the official announcement.” Aegis explained. “Even though he's expected to get his UN security clearance next week. But in the meantime, he's been undergoing intense training, even accompanying some of us on missions to get some field experience, and handling some minor assignments solo. Plus of course, there's all the medical testing and psych evaluations we do these days since...”

He trailed off before he finished that sentence, for which I was very grateful. He looks apologetic for even coming close to mentioning... well, what I would rather were not mentioned.

I decided to quickly move the conversation on. “So what does this have to do with me?”

“He seems to be having a little trouble developing fine control over his powers.” Aegis explained. “There's still plenty he can do, he can be quite effective in a fight, but it's all brute force stuff. He could do such more if he had more control...”

“Then get someone to mentor him...” As I said the words, I suddenly realized why they were here. And I immediately rejected it. “No! Not a chance in hell!”

“C'mon, Lucas, at least hear us out...” Iceberg said.

“Get someone else.” I said, firmly. “Someone who isn't me!”

“His powers are based around energy manipulation.” Aegis explained. “He can control and absorb energy as well as generate an energy field that he can use to manipulate objects. Extraordinarily similar to yours. Which is perhaps not too surprising, since that experimental reactor was an attempt to reverse engineer the power source from a Kar’Dracken ship left over from their big invasion attempt years back…”

I nodded, seeing what he meant. My powers had come from an encounter with a crashed alien ship, or more specifically, its damaged power source. It had only been years later that I’d learned it had been a Kar’Dracken scout craft, surveying Earth for possible invasion. An invasion that happened, but had been repelled, mostly thanks to the world’s various superheroes.

So, this new hero had powers just like mine. As much as I might have hated the fact, I could see that I was the most logical choice for a mentor. But that did nothing to lessen my resistance to the idea.

“Lucas.” Aegis said, quietly. “He could really use your knowledge and experience...”

“There has to be someone else who can help him...” I muttered, closing my eyes. Why couldn't they just leave me out of the superhero stuff?

“Actually, there isn't.” Aegis said. “We are painfully thin on the ground when it comes to experts on energy manipulation powers. In fact, you're pretty much it.”

I stood up, frustration boiling inside of me, threatening to become anger. “I can't... I won't get involved...” I turned away, putting some distance between us, I stopped by the window, looking out at the garden and the seemingly endless fields beyond, hoping the view would relax and calm me.

“Lucas, this could be good for you!” Iceberg said.

I looked back at him. “What the hell do you mean?”

Aegis was staring at the fox disapprovingly, but Iceberg ignored him. “This can give you something constructive to do, something good and useful. You can't spend the rest of your life like this, Lucas. Cutting yourself off, playing the recluse, doing everything you can to ignore what happened rather than deal with it!”

I didn't want to listen to him, didn't want to hear what he was saying. No matter how true it was...

A burning furious anger was building in me. I tried to say something. “Don't you...”

Iceberg cut me off. “I get it, okay? I really do! We all have painful scars from that fucking nightmare of a day, and yes, yours are far deeper and more painful than anyone's... but you're going to have to deal with it eventually!”

“Shut your fucking muzzle!” I growl viciously, my fury spilling out of me. “Don't you ever fucking presume to lecture me on...”

“Hey now!” Aegis jumped to his feet, positioning himself between me and Iceberg, his paws held up, glancing back and forth between me and the fox. “Let's all take a deep breath and calm down. We're all friends here. Although, Iceberg, you are way out of line!”

“It needed to be said!” The fox protested.

“But not here, not now!” The tiger hissed at him.

“I...”

“Step outside, give us a moment.” Aegis said.

“But...”

“Now, Icy!” The tiger commanded.

Grumbling, Iceberg got to his feet and walked out of the room, me glaring angrily at him the entire time. Once he was gone, the door closed behind him, Aegis sighed and then gave me his full attention.

“So, how are you holding up, Lucas?” He asked, softly.

I turned away from him, looking out the window again. “I'm fine.” I muttered, breathing deeply, pulling my anger under control.

He came up beside me and placed an arm around my shoulders. “We both know that's not true.” He whispered. “But it's okay. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to...”

The tiger pulled me into a hug and I didn't resist. I simply closed my eyes and hugged him back for a few moments. The physical contact helped me calm down and by the time I pulled out of it, I was actually feeling a bit better.

“You still getting the nightmares?” Aegis asked, concern in his eyes.

I sighed. “I've been getting them for more than three years, you really think they're suddenly going to stop now?”

“Lucas...”

“It's okay.” I assured him. “I'm used to them by now.”

“You shouldn't have to be.” He said. “Maybe we can set up some more sessions with Mindwalker?” Mindwalker was the Alliance's telepath, a mind reader who also happened to by a psychologist in her civilian identity.

I didn't even give that suggestion any thought, I just rejected it. “Oh God, no... I've heard enough psycho-babble to last me a lifetime...”

“Maybe some new medication?” He tried. “I could talk to...”

“No.” I said. “I... I appreciate your concern, I really do. But I'm handling it. I'm dealing with it in my own way.”

He nodded and patted me on the shoulder. “Very well. But remember, you ever need any help at all, don't you hesitate to let me know.”

I let out a slight chuckle. “You say that every time you're here...”

“And I mean it every time.” He replied. “You don't have to go through things alone. We're all here for you if you need us. Just think about it.”

And with that, he drops the subject. But I already know I won't be accepting his offer. Aegis and all my other friends in the Hero Alliance... They have better things to do with their time than worry about me. I had no intention of being a burden.

Aegis looked to the door. “I think Icy has had enough time to cool off and think about what he did, don't you?”

That was his way of asking if I was ready to face him again. I gave a silent nod.

“Hey, Icy!” He called out. “Get your stupid ass in here!”

The door opened and Iceberg re-entered the room. His shoulders were slumped and he looked downcast, his ears drooping. He immediately came over to me and put a paw on my arm.

“I'm sorry, buddy.” He said. “I went too far, I shouldn't have said... well, what I said. I shouldn't have pushed you. I'm really sorry.”

Iceberg could sometimes be an ass, that was for certain, his lack of tact could be shocking at times. But in spite of his flaws, he remained one of the best friends a guy could ask for. I couldn't stay upset at him.

“It's okay.” I said, accepting his apology. “I forgive you.”

“Thanks.” The fox nodded, forcing a smile.

There was a brief moment of silence, which was broken by Aegis. “I'm sorry to bring this up, Lucas, but we really do still need your help with Dynamic.”

“Dynamic?” I frowned.

“Yeah, that's the name he settled on for himself.” Iceberg said, with a dismissive huff. I could tell he didn't exactly approve. “For some reason, he rejected my suggestion of 'Power Panther'...”

“The point is,” Aegis interrupted. “He needs some help. But he won't admit it, won't listen to any of us. Since he joined the team, he's become a little cocky...”

I nodded my understanding. That happened sometimes with rookies. The powers, being a hero... it went to their head a little. But they usually got some sense knocked into them eventually, one way or another.

“I really think you can help him, Lucas.” Aegis told me.

When he put it like that... it set off that spark deep inside of me. I might not have been a superhero for many years now, but I still had that urge, that drive to help others that had been a big part of me back then. It may have dimmed over the years, but it never went away completely.

But I was still resistant. “I don't... I really don't think I could do anything...” I said quietly.

There was another silent pause before Aegis spoke again. “Okay, how about this? Just one meeting. Talk with him, give him a little advice. If you want to carry on with him beyond that, great. If not, then at least you tried, and we'll understand.”

Closing my eyes, I turned the prospect over and over in my mind before finally reaching a decision.

I looked up at them. “Fine! But just the one meeting! And I make no promises about being able to help him!”

“Of course, Lucas!” Aegis smiled. “But don't sell yourself short. I'm sure it'll do him a lot of good just to meet you. And it will really help him to learn from the experience of Captain Cosmos...”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Captain Cosmos...”

I snapped out of my reverie and back to the present, looking up at Dynamic. The panther still had a paw resting on the glass case containing my old costume and was staring at me in awe.

“You...” He stammered. “You're Captain Cosmos!”

I shook my head. “No. I was Captain Cosmos. There's a difference.”

I could imagine he was probably very confused. It certainly showed on his face.

“But...” He seemed to be struggling to put his thoughts in order. “How... I don't understand... You died!”

I didn't respond to that. I simply raised an eyebrow at him.

“Sorry, obviously not...” He said. “But I mean... everyone thinks you're dead! That you died as a result of that whole Destructron incident...”

I can't stop myself flinching at the mention of that name. He doesn't seem to notice.

“Yes, that is the story we told the press and public.” I said. “For very good reason.”

“So, you survived?” He asked. “What happened? Why...?”

I held up a paw, silencing him. Inwardly, I was cursing myself. Of course he had questions I was now going to have to answer. I was going to have to go through it again. I guess that pretty much guaranteed another round of nightmares tonight. But there was no turning back now...

“How much do you know?” I said. “Or rather, think you know?”

He shrugged. “Just what everyone thinks, what was reported. About three years ago, some insane villain calling himself Destructron attacked the Alliance, managed to take down the whole team except for you. He even...” He paused for a moment, as if unsure if he should say the next part. “He even killed two members of the team.”

I winced slightly at that particular reminder, but nodded and the panther continued. “He then broadcast a worldwide TV announcement, somehow managed to override ever other television signal so that everyone across the planet saw it. He explained how he was going to destroy the world, put us all out of our misery. He’d built some kind of ‘Planet Cracker’ machine as he called it. It was powered by something he called a ‘Quantum Storm Matrix’, if I remember right. He claimed it could draw massive limitless amounts of power from the fabric of the universe itself, which his machine would direct into the planet’s crust and eventually break the Earth apart. And everyone watched as he switched the thing on.”

Dyrnamic paused a moment, looking serious before he continued. “I was in college, more than a thousand miles from where it was happening, but it was still close enough to feel the tremors. The whole world seemed to be shaking. And it seemed like that was it, the world was about to end, we were all about to die.”

As he talked, my mind flashed back to that day, dredging up the memories of what was easily the worst day of my entire fucking life. I got a firm grip on myself. I didn't want to show too much emotion in front of the rookie. I certainly didn't want to break down in tears. I could do that after he was gone.

“And then you showed up.” Dynamic was saying. “You fought Destructron and during the fight, his camera must have been damaged, his transmission ended. Shortly after that, the tremors stopped. And everyone was celebrating that you’d succeeded, you’d saved the whole world. But it wasn’t long before we learned of the cost.”

The panther’s voice became low, with an edge of sadness. “Destructron had died during your battle with him. But his machine was still going. All the reports said that you couldn’t just destroy it, because that would just unleash the Quantum Storm thing powering it. As I understand it, it was a self-sustaining reaction of some kind. Uncontained by the machine, it would have continued to grow out of control, destroying everything in its path.”

“So, you did the only thing you could, you tried use your powers to contain the Quantum Storm, to control it, absorb its energy and put a stop to it. There was some kind of explosion. Some say it was final massive release of energy as the Quantum Storm was dissipated, some say it was the machine self-destructing as its power source was taken away…”

“It was actually both.” I added, quietly.

Dynamic nodded, a little wide-eyed, before continuing. “The Hero Alliance announced that you’d been left critically injured. After a few weeks of the whole world praying and hoping for you to recover… The announcement came that you had died from your injuries.”

“That's...” I began, but had to stop as my voice started to crack. I took a deep breath and steadied my thoughts. “That's mostly accurate. Except for me dying, obviously.” And it really was accurate. But the events of that day... there was more to them than that. It was much more painful and complicated. But there was no chance at all of me telling him that.

“He... Destructron was dead.” I continued, even though it took an effort to say that name. “And I had to find a way to stop his Planet Cracker. With my powers, I could sense the big ball of raging energy at its heart, and I knew it was barely contained as it was. Tearing apart the machine wasn’t an option. The ‘Quantum Storm’ was actually a mass of microscopic tears in the fabric of the universe, allowing inter-dimensional energy to pour through. That energy created more of those microscopic tears, which in turn meant more energy, which led to more tears, and so on and so on. If it got out, it would’ve expanded exponentially and I’m sure it would have caused massive devastation before it was stopped. That is, if a way could be found to stop it.”

Dynamic was staring at me, hanging on my every word. He probably never expected to hear about that day from my perspective.

“So, yeah, my options were limited.” I said. “And it was obvious the best one was stopping the Quantum Storm, even though I wasn’t sure I could. I pulled off part of the machine’s housing, just enough to get access to the storm of cascading energy at its heart… and I threw myself into it.”

I paused, taking a deep breath. “My memories are a little fragmented after that. Just bits and pieces inside the storm the energy surging through me, more than I'd ever experienced before... I remember desperately trying to bring it under control, to use it to pull the micro-tears closed, even as more and more were torn open... I remember the pain, the intense agony of it, like the energy was ripping at every last atom of my body as it tore through me, trying to tear me to shreds... I remember feeling bones break under the onslaught, the taste of blood in my mouth, trying to block out the pain and maintain my focus on what I had to do…”

I shuddered a little at those memories, but carried on. “And the next thing I remember was waking up in a hospital bed after having spent two weeks in a coma. I don't know how I managed to close the rift or survive. Aegis told me I was barely alive when he found me. Seventeen broken bones, five skull fractures, a couple of shattered ribs, a collapsed lung, internal bleeding, multiple major lacerations, massive blood loss... Apparently it took a team of doctors working around the clock, as well as a whole ton of healing spells from Mr. Mystic, to keep me alive.”

The panther looked at me in a combination of horror and sympathy. But I wasn't done yet. “But perhaps the worst thing didn't become apparent until I woke up.” I waved a paw in the air. “No more powers.”

“Seriously? You lost your powers?” Dynamic was shocked at that revelation.

“Yes.” I confirmed. “Dr. Brainbox and Science Skunk came up with various ideas and hypotheses as to how exactly it might have happened, but there's no way of knowing for sure. It doesn't matter, the end result is the same. I was back to just being plain old Lucas Simmons, an ordinary everyday husky.”

The panther shook his head sadly. “I'm so sorry. That's terrible.”

It really was. No more grand adventures. No more saving the day. No more helping the helpless. It was hard to go back to being normal, to no longer having those amazing abilities, that feeling of connection to the universe. It almost felt like I had been missing a limb, like a big chunk of me was suddenly missing. And that on top of everything else I'd had to deal with at the time...

“Yes.” I nodded. “After that was discovered, there were discussions between the Alliance and various UN representatives, and it was decided it would be best if the world thought I was dead. For my safety, if nothing else.”

He looked puzzled at that, so I explained it to him. “I was a superhero for eleven years. I made a hell of a lot of enemies. What do you think what would happen if super-villains around the world found out I was powerless? They'd come hunting for me, looking for easy revenge...”

“Yeah.” Dynamic nodded, thoughtful.

“Besides,” I added. “For all intents and purposes, it's true. Captain Cosmos is gone and he isn't coming back.”

“I'm so sorry...” The panther said, softly, shaking his head.

“So here I am...” I said, dramatically. “Living a quiet ordinary life. Well, for the most part anyway. My old friends in the Alliance visit me regularly, they like to look out for me. The Alliance worked out a deal with the UN, they agreed to pay me a monthly stipend to live on, out of gratitude for the whole 'saving the Earth and everyone on it' thing, so I don't have to worry about money.”

Dynamic was shaking his head, still processing what he'd been told. “That's horrible what's happened to you... but still, you are a true hero.”

I had to bite back my first response. He didn't know the details and I didn't want to give anything away. Instead, I simply said. “I'm really not.”

“Sure you are!” He said, enthusiastically. “Even before the Destructron thing and saving the whole world... the lives you saved, the villains you stopped... Hero is the only word to describe you. I mean, I was... I am... a huge fan of yours! You were my inspiration! When I got my powers, I knew I had to follow in your footsteps, be a hero, save lives...”

Oh great, a bloody fan. A detail Aegis conveniently failed to mention. Oh, the words I would be having with that tiger next time I spoke to him...

“What you've been through is awful.” Dynamic was babbling. “But I have to say, it's really just a major thrill and honour to be able to meet you, to know that you're still alive! When I heard you died, it hit me hard, I cried a lot, and then again when I watched your memorial service on TV...”

I just sighed and stayed quiet, giving him a chance to get his fanboy gushing over and done with so we could move on afterwards.

He was looking about the room again. “It's such an honour to be here...” He spotted something in a display case. “Is that Stoneheart's petrification gun?”

Stoneheart had been a maniac with an obsession with turning people to stone. I'd defeated him many times. “Yes, that's the original, his first prototype. Fully disarmed, of course.”

He nodded, his attention drawn to something else, gold and encrusted with exotic otherworldly gem stones. “The Crown of the Kronons... Given to you as a gift by their emperor after you stopped the planned Kronon invasion of Earth by freeing him and restoring him to his throne and defeating his warmongering general...”

The rookie seemed to really know his stuff. “I told him it wasn't necessary, all I really wanted was his promise that his people would never try and invade Earth again. He gave me that and the crown in the end.”

Dynamic was already at another case, containing a simple medallion with a black jewel at it's centre. He looked up from it at me. “Darklord's soul stone?”

I was mildly impressed. That was a relatively obscure one. Darklord was largely forgotten these days, even though he'd once been a major threat for several months. Until I'd managed to defeat him and confiscate the dark magical artefact that gave him his power. Darklord himself, who'd been a small time pickpocket before he found the soul stone, had been driven mad by his power and was now safely locked away in some asylum somewhere.

“Yes, it is.” I confirmed. “Don't worry, Mr. Mystic stripped it of all its power and enchantments. It's just an odd-looking trinket these days.”

The panther smiled and gave it another glance before looking at more of my trophies and mementos. “This is all just incredible!” He said, he turned back to me. “And you are incredible! You were always so powerful and confident, driven, compassionate, and of course...” He waved a paw at my costume. “I always thought you...”

He suddenly stopped mid-sentence, withdrawing his paw and looking embarrassed. My curiosity was aroused.

“Oh? You always thought what?” I asked.

“It's nothing...” He ducked his head, looking away shyly.

I must admit, to see this cocky superhero acting like this was kind of surprising. And a little adorable. I had to know what was causing it.

“Tell me.” I said, firmly. It wasn't a request.

“It's just...” He looked at me, and I could see the flush in his ears, the embarrassment on his features. “It's... I always thought you looked really amazing in that costume, hot and handsome. I actually found you pretty damn attractive...”

Well, I certainly hadn't expected that. “I see...” I said, a little wide-eyed.

“I'm sorry...” He said, meekly. “I didn't mean... You're just...”

I raised a paw to silence him. “It's okay. I'm not offended or anything. I suppose I'm actually a little flattered.” And I really was. There was a certain satisfaction to discovering you were a sex symbol, at least to someone.

He managed a small smile. “I'm glad.” He then dropped the smile. “I am really sorry you lost your powers, though. But I'd say you've earned a nice quiet relaxed retirement. All the lives you've saved over the years, you helped found the Hero Alliance...” He waved a paw, indicating the contents of the room. “You've accomplished so much!”

I sat back, spotting an opportunity to move the conversation on. “Yeah, not bad for a lowly civilian, eh?”

The panther winced at being reminded of his earlier comment. “Yeah... sorry about that, I had no idea...”

“No, you didn't!” I cut him off, stabbing a finger in his direction. “You had no idea who I was, what I knew or what I was capable of! You made an arrogant snap judgement.”

His ears flattened at my scolding and he bowed his head a little. “I know, I was wrong...”

“Damn right you were, rookie!” I said, determined not to let him off the hook easily. That arrogance had to be tackled. “And even if I hadn't turned out to be a former superhero, you would have still been wrong to do that. Do you get that? Because if not, you should probably get the hell out right now and not come back...”

He looked at me sharply. I could tell he didn't want to go, now he knew who I was, who I had been. But at the same time, a part of him still clung to his cocky attitude. “I get it, I really do. There's no need to talk to me like...”

“Like you're a dumb rookie?” I interrupted, standing up. “Then stop acting like one!”

“Hey! I...”

“Tell me something.” I said, cutting off his protest. “How many privileges exactly do you think having powers grants you over ordinary people?”

I stared as he went silent and thoughtful. Oh for God's sake, he actually needed to think about that one?

Stepping over to him, I prodded him in the chest with a paw. “Hey, rookie, it's not God-damned rocket science! The answer is zero!”

He seemed taken aback. At my statement or me poking him in the chest, I couldn't tell.

With a sigh, I said. “You want me to mentor you? Help you develop your powers, get better control over them? Make you a better superhero?”

The panther's expression brightened at that. “Of course! I'd love that! It'd be a huge honour to learn from you!”

“Then let's talk lesson one.” I said, putting on my best serious tone. “It's something you need to learn and accept it, or we're done. Understood?”

Dynamic nodded, and suddenly looked more serious and focused that he had done the entire time he'd been here. “Yes, sir.”

I rolled my eyes. “Don't call me 'sir'. The name's Lucas.”

“Okay...” He seemed a little uncertain about being so informal with me. I suppose that was to be expected, me being someone he'd idolized and all. But he'd have to get over it.

“Now, here's what you need to learn...” I began. “Do you know what being a guy with super powers makes you?”

Dynamic shook his head, unsure how to respond, what I wanted him to say.

So I told him. “It makes you a guy with super powers. Nothing more. It doesn't put you above anyone else, it doesn't make you better or superior. It doesn't make you more worthy, or more special or more important.”

He frowned, looking thoughtful and I spotted the twitches of shame that passed across his face. I guessed he had felt or thought some of those things in his arrogance.

“How good or worthy someone is, that's not defined by what they can do.” I explained. “Whatever their abilities, powers, or lack thereof. It's defined by the choices they make, what they choose to do with the abilities they have.”

He nodded his understanding, remaining silent and attentive as I continued.

“And here's the upshot of that...” I said. “Every single life out there in the world is special and precious, each one has the potential to be something good and worthy in their own way. So there is no such thing as an unimportant person, no such thing as a 'lowly' civilian...”

The panther noticeably cringed at the repeat of his earlier embarrassing comment. I didn't care.

“Each life out there is valuable.” I said, firm and serious. “Every. Single. One.” I emphasised each of those last three words with a prod of a finger to his chest. “You got that?”

“Yes.” He replied, his voice quiet and soft. He was still looking thoughtful. I took that as a good sign.

“So here's the deal, rookie.” I said. “You want to be a better superhero? Then you need to try and drop the superior arrogant attitude...” He was about to say something in his defence, but I stopped him with a raised paw. “Don't even try to insult my intelligence by denying you have one. You do that and we're done. For good.”

He stayed silent, paling at little at the possibility of me being done with him, looking anxious and concerned.

“I don't expect you to get over it right away.” I told him. “I know habits can be hard to break. But I need to know you're at least going to try and deal with it... And no, don't answer now. I want you to go away and think about it, seriously think about it.”

I clasped my paws behind my back, trying to look and sound authoritative. “If you think you can take in what I've told you, if you think you can work on the attitude, if you want to continue to learn from me... Then let Aegis know. He'll contact me and we'll work out a schedule for regular sessions.”

“I understand.” Dynamic nodded. He looked serious, contemplative.

“Then go do your thinking.” I said. I held out a paw. “And whatever happens, it was good to meet you, Dynamic.”

The barest hint of a smile played across his muzzle. He took my paw in his own and shook it firmly. “And it has been a real pleasure and honour to meet you... Lucas.”

I gave him a curt nod and he stepped back a few paces, one paw going to the communicator nestled in his ear, activating it. “This is Dynamic. Requesting teleport to the Fort.”

A few seconds later, there was a flash of white light, a rush of air, and the panther had vanished, teleported away back to the Hero Alliance headquarters.

With him gone, I sat down heavily in my chair, finally letting out some of the emotion and pain I'd been holding in while he'd been there. Tears spilled from my eyes as the memories I'd dredged up in order to answer his questions flashed once more through my mind. I slumped in my chair, letting them come, letting my sobs of pain and sorrow fill the air.

An hour or so later, it finally stopped, and I was able to pull myself together again. I pulled a box of tissues from a desk drawer in order to wipe my eyes and nose. As I returned the box to the drawer, I noticed it was the last one and made a mental note to buy more. I sincerely doubted this would be my last crying fit. It was certainly far from my first.

As I dumped the used tissues in the waste basket by the desk, I started thinking about Dynamic, wondering if I would see him again. And wondering if I even wanted to.

I really wasn't sure. A part of me really hoped he decided against wanting to work with me any further. And it wasn't too late to call Aegis, tell him I'd changed my mind, I didn't want to do anything more with the panther, no matter what Dynamic himself decided.

But I knew I wouldn't do that. It would be too much like going back on my word, now that I'd told Dynamic I would work with him if he could accept what I'd said. Superhero or not, I still had my principles.

My every instinct was telling me that in all likelihood, I would be seeing the rookie again, that I would have to try and help him. And as that thought rolled around in my mind, I hoped I was doing the right thing, getting dragged back into the superhero world, even peripherally. I hoped I could actually the do the panther some good.

Most of all, I hoped I knew what the hell I was getting myself into... 

To Be Continued…