Futuristic A Superhero's Diary (Completed)

[ArcticFox]

"I did not expect you to say that." Black Magic smiled. "But, somehow I'm glad to hear it. This has been… nice." He said. "Ever since I became a celebrity, it's been really hard to find people to trust. Everyone seems to want something from me, instead of just wanting me."

This was Genevieve's chance to ask him anything she wanted. He was clearly in a talkative mood.

- Ask about his history with Madam Vice.
- Tell him you've heard his thoughts when you healed him on the mission.
- Ask him where he's from.
- Ask him his real name.
- Ask him what was it like to win the Hero of Tomorrow grant.

 

[Truff]

Ask his real name.

Genevieve smiled a little, feeling sheepish. She hadn't expected herself to say that either. She stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before looking to him. "What's your real name?" Out of all the heroes and villains she had met in her short time as a hero herself, she had never known anyone's real name. It sometimes made her feel ridiculous, especially with Firebrand. And asking a name...was a start. She wasn't pushing too hard towards what she really wanted to know: what had happened between him and Madame Vice. The thoughts he had shared with Gen and Madame Vice's words towards him when they had captured her...they were slowly piecing themselves together.

 

[ArcticFox]

"I'll tell you." He nodded. "But only if you tell me yours, that way neither of us can go tattling the other." He rose in the bed, turning to face Genevieve. "On the count of three?"

Did she trust Black Magic with her true name?

- Yes, tell him.
- No, give him a fake one.

 

[Truff]

Tell him

The whole thing reminded Gen of a childhood pact. It made her grin. She felt like she could trust him, at least with this piece of information. Unfortunately, it wasn't the worst thing she could reveal to him. "Ok...on the count of three." She said quietly, facing him.

 

[ArcticFox]

Genevieve said her name just as Black Magic said..."Lucas."

He then went silent, looking at her, smiling like a child. Before he suddenly spoke again.

"Oh, I almost forgot! I've been meaning to tell you this, but it kept slipping my mind." He said quickly. "You have to thank your friend for me, the one who wears that cyber bodysuit. He wouldn't tell me his name, but he's the one who approached me and told me to come looking for you on the Static case. Obviously that worked out very well." He grinned.

- Answer!

 

[Truff]

Genevieve grinned. Lucas. His name made him seem more human. And the way he grinned almost made her laugh. But she suddenly frowned at his words.

"My friend in the cyber bodysuit?" It took her a minute to realize he meant Prodigy and her eyes got wide. She was nearly leaping out of the bed with panic. "Oh my God. Oh my..." she looked back to Lucas. "When did he talk to you?" She shook her head. "I wouldn't consider him a friend..."

 

[ArcticFox]

"Before I met you?" Black Magic said, confused. "I told you, it slipped my mind. He seemed like he was a friend of yours, like he knew you really well. Why? Who is he?"

Prodigy really seemed to have a weird fascination with Genevieve, this confirmed it.

- Stay calm and explain.
- Answer briefly.
- Don't say anything.

 

[Truff]

Stay calm and answer

Genevieve let out a slow breath and ran a hand through her hair. She told him about what had happened with the Gravitas and how he had decimated Smyther's men, held her down with the Gravitas and then broke it. And how he had known she was Spark. "He seems to be...watching me or something." And now he was influencing parts of her life?

Great.

 

[ArcticFox]

"But he seemed so friendly..." Black Magic's confusion was only growing. He listened to her story and then nodded in determination. "I'll see what The Millennial Group has on him." He reached out to stroke her cheek gently. "Don't worry, we'll get to the bottom of this."

Genevieve also needed to plan. She had left the mess in the warehouse to Firebrand and would need to see what happened to it, but most of all, she needed to check with Jane. She always had all the answers.

Getting ready in the bathroom before leaving, Gen threw water on her face to focus and snap out of it. She reached for a towel blindly, water still dripping from her face. Her hand groped against the wall and, to her surprise, she felt something click under her fingers. With a soft whoosh, a door appeared in the center of the wall, swinging slightly ajar.

Whatever was inside was something that Black Magic wanted to keep hidden.

- It's probably a closet, leave it.
- It might be a safe, take a peak.
- It is something important, look inside.

 

[Truff]

Take a peak

Genevieve paused, her eyes still closed as there was a soft whoosh. She found the towel, wiped her face dry and looked at the wall that had fallen forward under her fingers. She glanced over her shoulder, even though the bathroom door was shut. Curiosity always got the better of her. She would just take a quick peek, make sure it wasn't just some fancy towel closet or strange changing room. He was a pretty eccentric guy after all. She gently pushed the door in, standing slightly off to the side in case, for some reason, something came leaping out at her.

 

[ArcticFox]

Unable to tame her curiosity, she peered inside to find a small closet leading to a teleportation door. Through the milky, fluid portal she could make out another room.

As she stepped forward an intense sucking feeling pulled her through and spit her out on the other side.

"What's taking you so- No!" She heard Black Magic scream and suddenly he sucked into the room next to her.

But it was too late - Gen had already taken in the scene.

She was standing in a comfortably decorated bedroom with no windows or doors, save for the teleportation portal she just came through. There were four large beds against two opposite walls. The two beds to her right were occupied by twin girls with special needs. They both had long, blonde hair and pink dresses, wet stains of drool pooled on the collars. The third bed was occupied by a comatose middle-aged man. An elderly woman slept in the last bed, snoring softly.

There was a large vat in the centre of the room, which glowed gold with shining liquid. The vat was attached to each of the bedridden occupants by some kind of organic umbilical cord. The pink girls moaned and clapped their hands at her arrival.

"Oh no…" Black Magic whispered at Gen's side, his eyes wide. "The protective enchantments must have… I let my guard down… wasn't thinking…" He took a deep breath and walked over to the nearest bed, parting the girl's hair and causing her to coo. "They're given the best care here. I visit them every day." He said, looking at the girl. "They're as happy here as they would be anywhere else. They're all supposed to be dead, at least their families think so - not that they'd care enough to think otherwise. These people were unwanted, left for dead. I'm always careful when I choose."

He was not making much sense.

- Tell him you don't understand.
- Demand answers.
- Say that he can tell you anything.

 

[Truff]

Tell him you don't understand

Genevieve's mouth gaped open at the scene. Did the rest of the Millennial Group know about this room? What even was this room? She didn't move when Black Magic appeared next to her, mumbling things about the people in the room. She wanted to freak out and demand answers from him, but she also didn't want to upset the people in the room. Instead she moved over to him, took his arm and gently pulled him away.

"I don't understand what this is." She whispered, still in a state of...she didn't know what to feel. Disgust? Confusion? What was that shining liquid? She was on the verge of freaking out. "What is happening here?"

 

[ArcticFox]

For several moments, the only sound came from the faint pumping of the strange, slimy vat in the centre of the room. The room smelled stale and sick.

Black Magic finally looked at Gen.

"I need-" he started, trying to find the right words. "My Powers let me do anything. I don't know if magic really exists but I think my Powers are what magic would feel like if it did. What my Powers really let me do is play with the laws of the universe, somehow. They allow me to harness life force itself, it seems… But I can't create that force, I can only manipulate it. And my own life force is so little - it isn't enough. It keeps my abilities too limited. If I was ever going to make it to the big leagues, I needed to do more. I needed more Power. So-"

So kept the people in the room, possibly against their will, draining their life force in order to be able to use his Powers?

- Answer.

 

[Truff]

The big leagues. Those words rang in Gen's mind as she looked at the people in the room. He was draining the life force of people so he could make it to the big leagues? So he could be rich and famous and perfect is what she was gathering. She felt like she was going to throw up. The scene made her stomach turn. Once again she wondered if the rest of the group knew about this. They would be totally against this right? There was no way Rebellion would allow this, right? "What in the world makes you believe that you can play god and pull life force from other people for your own personal gain?" Her voice was shaky.

She turned away from the room and moved towards the door they had entered from. "I want to go home." She wouldn't be able to process any of this until she was out of the stale smelling room with the cooing girls and old woman. Those were family members of others.

 

[ArcticFox]

"It's not like that!" Black Magic shouted. "They're in comas or worse - they can't move or think, they're not alive, not like you and me. I give their lives value! I'd never use their life forces for anything other than good! I wouldn't!"

Black Magic's shrieks echoed against the walls, causing one of the twins to cry. He tried to calm himself, stroking the girl's hair.

"I never take enough to hurt them." He spoke in barely a whisper. "I could take from anyone, but I don't. Do you know how tempting it is to lose control? To draw the life force out of everyone around me? To take all that Power and make the world how I want it? But I don't do that. I won't, ever. This… this is the only alternative."

He started trembling as he did his all to explain it to her.

"Please. Genevieve, you have to understand." He begged. "I had no choice…."

A desire to be Powerful, to be a Hero that everyone loves and looks up to. To achieve all they ever wanted. To right the wrongs done to them. What if Genevieve had a chance to do that? If it came down to it, what would she be willing to do to succeed? Would she do what Black Magic did?

- You understand.
- You don't like this, but will need some time to process.
- You don't think you will ever be okay with this.
- You don't think it's a big deal.

 

[Truff]

You don’t like it at all, but understand

Genevieve flinched when he started yelling and the crying of the girl made her feel even more nauseous. The whole scene was insane to her. It wasn’t the only alternative. The other alternative was to not pull life force from other people and work with what you have. The alternative was to not care about fame and fortune. She swallowed, watching him try to explain it all to her.

People around her did bad things. Firebrand did bad things, Genevieve had done bad things, all the villains she had encountered did bad things, and now it was coming to light that Black Magic did bad things as well. She supposed the only thing that made them different from the villains was that they hid the things they did.

“I don’t like this at all.” She stated, not wanting to look at the room anymore. “I don’t like that heroes have turned into nothing but people who desire fame and fortune. I don’t like that heroes have turned into reality tv stars.” Maybe this wasn’t entirely about him. “But we’ve all done bad things for our own gain.” It wasn’t like she could really do anything. And although she understood, it didn’t mean that she would ever be ok with it.

 

[ArcticFox]

Suddenly, it made sense why Black Magic's origins remained so shrouded in mystery - he didn't want anyone finding out about the secret source of his Powers.

As Genevieve turned to leave, Black Magic broke completely. He begun sobbing, clutching the bed-ridden girl tightly.

It was enough to send a shiver through anyone watching.

When Genevieve moved toward the teleportation door, he did not stop her.

--

As Gen flew through her bedroom window and landed, a voice sounded automatically.

"Thank got you are alright!" Luckily, it's just Jane, waiting for her with her arms crossed. "Joe called me. He couldn't reach you on the phone for the whole day and got worried. He's gone to the store now, but prepare to get a talking to when he returns." She smiled. "Where were you?"

- Explain everything.
- Explain the situation in the warehouse only.
- Don't say anything.

 

[Truff]

Explain just the warehouse

Genevieve left the room and the HQ and flew home. She flinched at the voice, scolding her like a parent. She spun around to face Jane. Joe. God, she had completely forgotten about him in the craziness that had happened to her. The thought that Joe may have thought something happened to her made her upset. "I'm sorry." Gen mumbled, looking down a little like a child caught taking extra cookies. She couldn't tell Jane about Black Magic...anything about what had happened with him. That made her feel even more guilty. Jane had faith in her since the beginning and Gen was racking up more and more things hidden from her.

"I had a situation in Dockerstown at that address you gave me." She described the wispy creature and what it had done to her, deciding to add in who had kept her from dying. That wasn't going to hurt anything, right? If anything, telling that piece of information would direct Jane away from where she went for the rest of the day.

 

[ArcticFox]

"Well, I'm a bit ahead of you there." Jane said. "When Joe phoned me in, the first place I went to was that warehouse. Imagine my surprise when one of City's most famous villains greeted me there. I was ready to get the hell out of there, when he explained that you were there with him. Since I was practically screaming your name, it didn't take him long to figure out that I was looking for you. He was actually very civil. Gave me that." Jane pointed toward Gen's bed…

Where a dormant snake robot rested.

"I've been investigating these machined." She continued. "Anyway, the design features match the basic profile of a large array of illegal weapons that have recently flooded the market. The MCPD knows they come from once source but no one has figured out what that source is just yet."

- It could be Smyther.
- It could be the new Splice Circle.
- It could be Prodigal.

 

[Truff]

It could be Prodigy

Of course, Jane would go to the warehouse. Jane was too smart to just sit around and wonder when Gen would return. Apparently, she was also smart enough not to question why Gen was at the warehouse with one of the city's most famous villains. She came to the conclusion that Jane was way too good for her. She turned to look at the robot snake. "Wow, the MCPD knows they come from somewhere. How insightful." She mumbled, moving towards the snake to examine it. The only time she had seen these snakes was when Black Magic had first found her...and if Prodigy had been the one to tell him to find her...

"I think Prodigy might be behind these." She turned back to Jane.

 

[ArcticFox]

It made sense. Prodigy produced an array of advanced weapons during the fight with the Splice Circle out of thin air. And his name was on the deed for the warehouse.

"That's all well and good." Jane said. "But it still doesn't explain why Prodigy seems to have taken an interest in you."

- You think that Prodigy was just using you as a pawn to take down the Splice Circle.
- You think there's something more, but you don't yet know what.
- Something else.

 

[Truff]

Theres something else going on

Genevieve nodded along with Jane's words. It didn't explain much. The idea that he was interested in her for something made her uneasy. "I think theres more to this story." There was something strange going on that they hadn't uncovered yet. "Do you have anything else on Prodigy? Anything at all? It seems like that address was more of a lure."

 

[ArcticFox]

Prodigy appeared in the Gravitas case, sent Black Magic looking for Gen and might have supplied the robot killers to Madame Vice - all the signs point to Prodigy messing with her directly.

But if he was coming after her, why hasn't he attacked her since the Gravitas case? Jane paused, pinching her elbows - which Gen knew meant she was about to bring up something uncomfortable.

"Well, the warehouse was named The Artillery."

- It's just a coincidence.
- It could be connected to your parents.
- You are not sure of anything.

 

[Truff]

It could be connected to your parents

Genevieve wanted to believe it was a coincidence. Really truly wanted to believe it was. But it just didn't seem like that was the case. "I think it has something to do with my parents..." she mumbled. If that was the case, she wouldn't be able to get help from anyone without revealing her actual identity as their daughter. Maybe she could for a while but...her help would need all of the information after a certain point. Either she was in this alone or someone was going to have tolearn. She ran a hand through her hair.

"What do I do?" She looked at Jane, feeling a little helpless.

 

[ArcticFox]

Jane just looked at her with a visibly worried expression, not answering.

How could anyone know Gen's connection to Miss Artillery? It was too obscure. Someone would have to know her real identity as well as the real names of her parents to make the connection. And Hero records were not open to just anyone.And even after all of that, they would then have to make sure Gen received the right tip-off to break into the warehouse. That all seemed far too elaborate.

Besides, The Artillery was a very predictable name for a weapons company. The connection must be negligible. But even if that was the case, she still needed to make finding Prodigy a priority.

"I have an idea." Jane said finally. "If Prodigy is involved in The Artillery, we can find a way to make a false transaction and hope it leads to him - but that will require some deeply unpleasant undercover work." It was a good place to start. "Genevieve, there's something else…" Jenny started, taking a deep breath. "Now I need you to stay calm once I tell you this. Promise me you won't do anything rash?"

- Promise.
- Refuse to promise.
- Say you want to hear it first.