Story Chapter 1b

Most people would assume the hardest part of being a superhero would be the combat aspect of it. Fighting other supervillains and saving hostages was always thought to be the hard part. It, was, in a sense, but for heroes like Kerr, the paperwork was the real villain.

The Superhero Registry was government regulated and, as a result, was subject to villains in the form of excessive paperwork. All the collateral damage caused in the fight, an estimation of  the villain’s injuries, a list of their recorded crimes; all of it was required to be filled out. It gave people like Kerr too much time to think.

Kerr was itching to go on patrol again, even if he had just gotten off one. The paperwork wasn’t even mind numbing because it required actual thought, like deciding whether he had hit hard enough to break a rib or just fracture it. Like they expected him to clearly recall a brutal fight in perfect detail. How was he supposed to do that when he was focused on living?

He only did it because he was required to by the Registry, and the Registry was better then the old days. No matter how much he wished to return to the days where he was running around with his old group, careless to any responsibility. He couldn’t return to the past, no matter how much he wished to. No amount of wishing would bring his parents back. No. The past stayed in the past, even if it was better then the present.

Kerr whirled in his office chair the instant he heard footsteps behind him. He sighed in relief when he saw it just a teammate. It wasn’t that he was afraid of the people in the building, it was more that he hated surprises. Everything bad in his life had came as a surprise.

Instead of anything unpleasant, Kerr found Maverick in front of him, his crown-like gold helmet under one arm. Maverick flashed a cheering smile that fit his face and Kerr couldn’t help but return it. Maverick brushed a hand through his dark hair, “The homework kicking your butt, Rattmann?”

Kerr nodded, “Yeah, half of this stuff I don’t know what to put. You need a person for a patrol? I just got off one, but I’m up for it.” Rattmann was an inside joke between him and the rest of the Registry. Polestar had made the name stick after Pinball Wizard had made the comment that Kerr was basically a living portal gun.

“You sure you want to go out?” Maverick jerked a thumb behind him, “Heard a few reports that Equalizer’s in the area, so we’re probably going to find her. You up for that?”

Kerr nodded and stood, sliding the paperwork to the corner of the desk, “I’m up for anything that gets me out of here. I still find it stupid I can’t wear headphones in this place. It’s always too quiet.”

Maverick led the way through the halls, which were windowless but well lit. “I know, but it’s for some stupid security reason. The boss upstairs got worried about someone tracking us through wireless signals and banned all this stuff. It’s a waste of time arguing against her, not even Alice holds any sway with her.”

Kerr silently agreed with Maverick through a nod of his head and followed him through the hall. The hall abruptly widened into a room that served as both a central hub and a sort of relaxation room. The cozy furniture and calming blue walls matched with the faded red carpet to give it a homely feel. Hallways shot off of it, leading to offices, conference rooms, the outside, the monitor room, and undoubtedly a few forgotten places. All of it spread out in a labyrinthine maze of hallways under the streets of the city.

Polestar was slouched down in one of the room’s couches, trying to catch up on missed sleep. It wasn’t easy being a hero and an insomniac at the same time. Blearily, he opened his eyes slightly and brushed some of his shaggy brown hair out of his eyes. He opened his mouth to speak before closing it. Instead he offered a wave and sat up.

Maverick spoke, “Enjoying your nap?”

Polestar just closed his eyes.

“Well I’ll let you keep at it then. You deserve it, being up for a solid 48 hours and all.” Maverick looked over to Kerr, “Lets get someone else before we head out. Might be overkill, but Equalizer has a reputation and the two of us aren’t exactly heavy firepower. Wait here.” Maverick walked off, leaving Kerr alone with Polestar.

Kerr slouched into a chair and stared at Polestar. It had been a while since the two friends had last talked. He supposed the last time had been sometime before his parent’s death. Meaning over a month ago. A tense silence filled the room as Kerr turned over what to say. Neither of them were particularly good at conversations, so it was surprising when Polestar broke the silence first, “You okay? I mean, I know you’re okay... but you’re not. You’ve been... different lately. It’s hard to explain... No one else really notices, but it’s.... I don’t know really. It’s just different. Your aura is, or something. Further away. I just want to know that, you know... you’re still you.”

All the prepared responses Kerr had had in mind fell away as Polestar spoke. A pang of shock, guilt, and anger flooded him simultaneously. He wasn’t anything like the traitor Augur. How could Polestar even think that? Kerr didn’t have a problem, he was nothing like Augur had been. His voice had a guarded tone to it, “I’m nothing like him!”

Polestar opened his eyes further, rubbing them, “Never said you were. Just said you’ve been quieter... more reserved. Our friend... Aug... he...” Polestar trailed off, looking for the phrasing, “Augur was different in a different way... He was impulsive, you’re... not. Or maybe you are...”

“Stop comparing me to him!” Kerr didn’t care if he was yelling, he would gladly shout louder if it meant denouncing Augur.

“You both are different. A different type of different, but still... different. More hotheaded. I... I... shouldn’t have said anything. I’m leaving.” Polestar struggled, but he pulled himself up. He grabbed his discarded cloak off the coach and stumbled down one of the halls.

Kerr stood alone in the room, stewing in his thoughts. He pulled his white leather jacket tighter around him. He glared in Polestar’s general direction, clenching and unclenching his fists. Anger boiled through him at the mere thought that he was anything like Augur. He was the one who ruined things for Polestar and him. It used to be just the three of them, but Augur just couldn’t keep his fucking problems under control. The Nightmare Knights had snatched him up and tore the trio apart. Augur might not have killed Kerr’s mother, but he could have prevented her death.

He would never forgive Augur for that.

Some minutes later, Maverick walked in, accompanied by Claymore. Claymore was a large guy, standing around six feet with broad shoulders and a generally imposing stature. He resembled a knight in red armor, having recently had a costume change. Maverick gestures for Kerr do follow, so he did.

The trio walked down one of the exit hallways, slowly sloping upwards to the surface. It exited in an abandoned subway tunnel under the official Registry building, which was mostly just for show. Maverick explained while they walked, “Claymore’s going to be joining us today for when we check out the Knight’s territory. Equalizer is on the move, as are Blight’s other lieutenants. Stay on guard and everything will be fine.”

The trio of Kerr, Claymore, and Maverick walked through the dark subway tunnel, eventually coming to an exit near the official Registry building. The official building seemed to be made of a crystalline glass and was a hexagonal skyscraper. It mostly held the Registry’sPR offices.

Usually there were about five people there at a given time. That included the janitors.

The streets were were somewhat crowded this deep in the city’s business district, but people stepped to the side as the trio of heroes walked through. Whether it was out of respect or of fear was unknown, but it was an unspoken rule that you didn’t purposefully mess with them on patrol.

Kerr tunes out Maverick and Claymore’s idle chatter, instead stewing in his thoughts about Polestar. It hurt to be compared to an unfaithful friend like Augur, who had sold both of them out for money. He and Polestar had lived through the hellish weeks of being hunted by the Knights before the Registry finally picked them up. They’d stuck with each other the whole time, so how could he be unfaithful? Sure, he had a death in the family recently, but he couldn’t be blamed for that. It wasn’t his fault he might have been a bit distance in the aftermath. The blame was all on Augur.

Claymore had fallen a little behind at this point, having individually checked an area he had deemed suspicious. This left Kerr and Maverick as the only two members to remain together as they walked through the more rundown streets of the city. Trash littered the edges of the streets and more then a few buildings were crumbling. The streets were completely empty, the only sound other then the wind was the noise that drifted down from the business sector of the city. It was seemingly abandoned.

Which made it all the more surprising when a knife flew out of a side alley at an absurd speed.

Instinct saved Kerr from being hit by the knife. With a wave of his hand, a perfectly circular hole opened in reality, wriggling tendrils of blue energy shooting off of it. The knife soared through and slammed into the ground, having fallen out of an identical portal in orange. It was this rather simple power that had caused him to be nicknamed Rattmann. The wickedly pointed dagger he had teleported might even been had sharp enough to pierce his somewhat bulky, white robotic armor.

Maverick hadn’t even seen where it had came from, looking around quickly for the assailant. A barely noticeable, white aura surrounded him. Maverick’s power was barely noticeable at first, merely boosting his natural abilities a tiny amount. The longer he was in combat, the darker the aura surrounding him would get. The darker the aura, the more his natural abilities were enhanced. Given enough time, he could overpower just about anything.

But that didn’t matter if he wasn’t given time at all.

Kerr eyed the side alleys, staring down the one the knife had flown from. Another knife hadn’t shot out, letting Kerr have a moment to decide. Would he charge into the alley and risk Maverick’s health, or would he let the enemy have the shadows to strike from? Ultimately, Maverick made the call.

A word from Maverick had Kerr move his portals, putting one in a safe place and guiding the other one down the alley. A few long moments of tension filled the air, but no weapons or bullets flee through the portal. Judging it to be safe, Kerr shrunk the portal to a smaller size and peered through it to view out of the one in the alley. Despite the shadows, he could make out a small set of wings and a blue tunic. Jabberwocky. Only the barest hint of movement in her wings showed she was alive.

Kerr widened the portal back to its original head size and moved it upwards towards the girl’s masked face. The two stared at each other in silence. Jabberwocky rarely spoke and Kerr was uncertain how to start a conversation with the Ex-Registry member. Her power was similar to Maverick’s but instead of gradual boosts overall, Jabberwocky adapted physically to the situation. She could grow wings, but only while falling, she could grow gills, but only while underwater, and other assorted things.

Maverick broke the growing silence, peering into the portal. He glanced Jabberwocky over and spoke, “You’re injured.”

Kerr glanced again at Jabberwocky. Sure enough, there was a hole torn in one of her wing’s feathers. The edges were ragged and the remains of the feather cluttered around the wound.

Jabberwocky shrugged, turning her head to check if anyone else was around. She spoke, her voice sounding like a quiet, but stern librarian, “I’m resting. Equalizer’s out. Someone stole from the Knights. Two blocks south. One east. Their-“ her body visibly stiffened as she cut herself off. She turned her head, looking towards the end of the alley. Faintly, Kerr caught a whistled tune behind him. A pit settled in his stomach while his body simultaneously flooded with relief at the sight of Claymore. Neither Kerr or Maverick needed to glance through the portal to know that Jabberwocky had run off.

Maverick sighed and walked towards Claymore, pulling him to the side. Claymore frowned, and although Kerr couldn’t exactly hear what was said he knew it wasn’t pleasant. Kerr simply closed both portals with a wave of his hand and leaned against the wall, waiting for the two to end their discussion. According to Jabberwocky, Claymore was why she had left. According to Claymore, Jabberwocky accused him of cheating on her. Kerr didn’t know who to believe.

Maverick believed Jabberwocky due to the fact that she left. He was most likely telling Claymore to get his act together and fix things with Jabberwocky. Wisely, Kerr stayed out of the emotional minefield.

Eventually, Claymore pushes himself off the wall he was leaning against and shook his head briefly, “Sorry about all this, guys.” He walked past Kerr, following the directions Jabberwocky had shared. Maverick quickly overtook Claymore and Kerr was content to follow both of them.

They walked in silence, following Jabberwocky’s directions. Claymore kept shooting Maverick and Kerr apologetic glances as the trio walked further into the Knight’s territory. It was easy to see where to go after arriving where Jabberwocky told them.

The house was one story and it’s walls an ugly gray mixed with brown. It was shaped like a box and was generally an eyesore. A few windows were near the roof, but they had been shattered or cracked. Bars lined almost every inch of them.

Kerr followed his partners and stepped around the broken gate, entering through the already open door.

Blood stained the floors and corpses littered the ground. Shards of glass poked out of the carpet at random intervals and a dark hole in the wall held other secrets. Claymore summoned a purple, crackling knife made of energy and stabbed it into the hole. Kerr wasn’t focused on Claymore’s investigation however. He was focused on what was sticking out of each bodies’ neck. Clear, white, and blue ninja stars and knives were the murder weapons here. Most were pure white or blue with streaks of color highlighting them, but a few were made of clear glass. It wasn’t the weapons that particularly shocked Kerr, it was that he knew the person who used them.

A fellow Registry member had done this.

The sound of the door closing made all three of the heroes turn to stare at the intruder. Decked in a grey commander outfit, complete with a hat, was Blight.