Super Humanity

By Stephen Alexander

A schism between 2 great superheroes on the battlefield of Tora Bora leads to superhumans fighting in the wars over Darfur. Now it is the year 2012, and the young heroes of that war face their greatest challenge yet: going to America for hero training. Are they ready for America? Is America ready for them? Will they become the heroes America and Darfur need them to be?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stephen Alexander
• Release date: Nov 20, 2016
• ISBN: 9780997456103

Stephen Alexander

Stephen Alexander is a world traveling English conversation teacher currently residing in South Korea. You may find him in coffee shop and train stations typing away on his broken keyboard, or online at numerous websites like SFFChronicles.

Book preview

Superhumanity

Book 1 of the Darfur 3 Saga

Published by Stephen Alexander at Smashwords

Copyright Stephen Alexander Writer 2016

Cover Artwork by ChuckieBEE (DeviantArt)

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Foreword:

Thank you for taking the time to sit down and read this book. This project began in reaction to my lovely wife disliking the time I enjoyed wasted playing video games, particularly XCOM Long War (mod). I also needed something to do on the long train rides to work (besides reading and watching TV shows on my tablet). I also learned about the Hugo Awards (Sad Puppy/Mad Puppy) controversy and decided that- well there’s no point in complaining if I don’t have steak stake in the grill game. During a vacation in the amazing, far-flung, almost forgotten Republic of Georgia, I came up with the idea to write a book. One stray thought led to another and the next thing I knew, I started on the project in September 2015, I had the plans for a 5 book series.

When you think about writing anything, you have to take stock of what you know. I’ve read too many comic books and other assorted media in that vein, so I checked my book collection and other resources to see if my basic concept had been done before. In detail; no probably not. In practice there were a few books that touched on the concept of superhumans at war but I didn’t want to completely follow that model. I also needed a war to base the events on.

•WWII- been there done that over and over again

•Vietnam- ditto

•Korea- damn I forgot about this one

•World War I- forgot this one too

I kept thinking to myself- why should I do this from an American perspective? This one has been done to death so much that I didn’t think I could add anything to the genre. So I chose a perspective that isn’t covered much- African. And from there I chose my war- Darfur/South Sudan independence. It’s a war you don’t see much in the US media, but you do see it. Compared to WWII there isn’t a lot of well-known research, but that is not a problem for me because I know how to use a search engine effectively. Not perfectly, so residents and expats of Darfur and South Sudan will probably be annoyed with me over some cultural things I might have gotten wrong. If so, I blame it on the websites and I refuse to take the Dan Brown approach and claim that 99% of my book is based on real facts. Errors aside, I had a blast writing an alternative history near past sci-fi novel. I’ve always been a fan of Science and so I focus on the Science Fiction part more than Fantasy. You’ll have to tell me if this approach works or not.

Author’s symbol guide

italics: thoughts. Underline: radio transmissions, text messages, electronic communications. {}: Telepathic communication between people. Bold: sound effects. <>: foreign language- perspective of character. *#: Alien/nonhuman language.

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1: Becoming the best makes a mess

Chapter 2: A lesson for a master and student

Chapter 3: Guests from abroad

Chapter 4: Western Idioms

Chapter 5: FIGHT!

Chapter 6: FIGHT!!!

Chapter 7: Yikes what a mess; someone get a hose

Chapter 8: Hero training

Classroom

Shopping

Refugee Camp

Chapter 9: Deployed

After Battle

Chapter 10: Memories 1- Soad

Chapter 11: Memories 2– Otunda

Chapter 12: Memories 3- Jamir

Chapter 13: Wind and Rain

Practice

Surgery

Field Trip

Chapter 14: Technological Superiority

Recruitment

Workshop

Building

Testing

Chapter 15: Tank Wars

Chapter 16: Cleaning up the streets

Chapter 17: Teamwork

Chapter 18: You can’t serve two masters

Chapter 19: Sunday, Bloody Sunday

The Northern Front

The Southern Front

The Eastern Front

Chapter 20: Do the wrong/right thing

Afterwords

Tribunal

Chapter 21: Inside the mind we find ourselves in a bind

Chapter 22: From out of the dust

Chapter 23: Your friends or your allies

Chapter 24: We must struggle together

Homecoming

Epilogue

Back Material

Prologue

The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him. ― G.K. Chesterton

Afghanistan, December 8th, 2001. Location: 34.063N, 69.854E, 8km south of Tora Bora, 2km from the Pakistan border and Mt. Sikaram

Perched upon the top of a mountain stood one of America’s greatest heroes; Karyn Allwyn, alias The Commander. She was the former leader of the elite team of the world’s finest and strongest heroes, the Big 4. Recalled by the military to respond to the events of 9/11, the Commander and her young trusty sidekick, Nightlight, were rushed to Afghanistan in November to provide backup against the Taliban. Standing a full 5 feet 11 inches, and radiating strength and resolution from head to toe, she looked around the nearby mountains for signs of the hated enemy.

But, at the moment, the enemy was not around. She assumed that they must still be in Tora Bora, and so she relaxed her stance a little. The sky around their perch was a little cloudy, but the atmosphere around the Commander was chilly. She looked up and saw a B1-Lancer, flying high overhead on an attack run on the nearby caves sheltering Al Qaeda.

Man, it’s cold up here, said Clyde Irons, alias Nightlight, her lanky sidekick. He zipped up his repainted Army cold weather parka over his combat uniform. It was a good idea to bring this coat; he thought to himself, I almost forgot deserts were cold. What’re we doing out here anyway?

Watching the bombing runs, replied the Commander. She pointed slowly at her left ear. A few moments passed. BOOM! An explosion in the distance. An F-16 buzzed by a few kilometers above from the south, heading quickly north to strike targets there. She rolled her sleeve down her repainted parka a little, exposing her uniform and her watch. She did a silent count in her head. 1...2...3...4…. And...now. BOOM! Yet, his explosion was slightly quieter than the last one.

Wow! exclaimed Nightlight, How do you know when the sound will get here?

A rough guess, said the Commander. She paused while a sonic boom from an overhead fighter drowned out other sounds. You forgot that I was in the Air Force before my power activated. I used to work on jets, so I’ve got a rough idea of the time between drop and explosion from here.

Only a rough idea? inquired Nightlight.

"Well I’d have a better idea if I were in an AWACS or closer. But even with our powers, this is about as close as we want to be. Trust me; you don’t want to be anywhere (BOOM!)... a bomb than that."

I disabled a bomb last week in Kandahar, bragged Nightlight. He stretched his arms and sat his 5’9 frame down on a nearby boulder. I can handle (BOOM)...much any bomb out there."

That was brave of you, but also reckless. You should have teleported it away instead of playing EOD guy.

But it was-

"Yes I know it looked (BOOM)....cheap. And it was a bad bomb, but like I told you last week, I don’t want to write a letter to your mom, telling her I let you get killed, because you wanted to be Rambo (POW)... and win the damn war by yourself! Is that clear?"

Yes, ma’am, quietly said Nightlight. He took out his binoculars from the front pouch of his coat. He took a peek up to look for planes. He saw one and pointed. What’s that one?

Which one do you mean? asked the Commander.

The big one, uh black color, tubes hanging off it.

Probably a B-52. We’ve been using those since ‘Nam.

Nam, ma’am? He crinkled his forehead a little bit.

Vietnam war. They’re a Cold War bird.

They carry nukes?

Yes, they can carry nukes.

Commander, should we get out of here?

I don’t think it’s carrying a nuke, Clyde. She looked at it for another moment. She moved her left foot a bit and pebbles tricked down the mountain. "Well, I’d hate to guess, but if the Taliban don’t have nukes, then we won’t deploy nuclear weapons (POW!)... against them."

Command’ll tell us if they’re gonna drop the bomb, right? wondered Clyde.

Get the MBITER (army radio) set up, said the Commander, We’ve been out here long enough that we should probably start monitoring the ‘net’.

"Shouldn’t we have done that (BOOM!)...Commander?"

If we were needed for anything, they would have called my sat phone by now. To double-check, she took her Iridium 9500 sat phone out of its armored pouch and checked the screen. No calls. Set to group 2 channel 12.

Yes, ma’am. Clyde/Nightlight took the radio out of his pack, pressed the appropriate buttons and passed it to the Commander, who put in the earbud. She listened for a bit, but heard nothing.

Nothing for us yet, said the Commander. A good sign for now.

How so? asked Clyde.

Think about it. If the Taliban had any ‘supers’ like us on site, they would have deployed them now. And we’d called in to deal with them.

No traffic means no supers?

They haven’t asked for us yet, so we can’t say No. If the enemy had supers at Tora Bora, they’re either dead or not being deployed.

Why should we wait? We’re plenty strong! We can handle anything them Al-Qaeda punks got! cheered Nightlight. He turned to face her and pretended to flex his right arm.

Just because we took down some difficult opponents in the past, doesn’t mean the two of us can handle that hellhole alone, remarked the Commander. She was worried that Nightlight was starting to take their enemy less seriously. Our days with the Big Four are nothing like military combat. True, we could probably come out of there alive, but it’s not why we’re here.

But Commander! shouted Nightlight. He waved his arms while talking. Those soldiers and airmen are risking their lives and with us around they don’t have to! We can win this war –The Commander turned to face him, taking on a stern look that shown through the partial face mask.

"Don’t be foolish! They made the choice to don their uniform, just as we did. (BOOM!) (BOOM!) They know the risks and gladly take them on, because they want to defend the same people we do. It’s not our (POW!)...replace them. It’s our job to help them when they need it!"

The Commander paused while an F-16 raced by overhead. When it flew past, she took a deep breath and continued her speech. I know you think you have the answers to everything. But you don’t.

But if we capture Bin Laden, the war’s over, right? suggested Nightlight, Isn’t that why we’re here?

I doubt the enemy will give up just because we’ve captured one guy, coldly stated the Commander. She took a look around the hills. Would you give up if I were captured or killed?

No ma’am I wouldn’t.

"I’d be dammed disappointed if you did. I know I’m not (BOOOOOMMMM!).....as important as the President. But even if we had lost him on 9/11, we would still be fighting Bin Laden and his wackos. I think the Taliban’s much the same in that regard. They’re fighting for their beliefs, like we are."

Clyde took a look around in the direction of the border and something caught his attention. He held up his binoculars. Commander! I see some movement! said Clyde.

Pass me those binocs! ordered the Commander. Clyde tossed them over and the Commander held up her hands to her face, using her gravity power to bring them to her eyes. What did you see?

It looked like four men walking, ma’am. Just over that second set of ridges.

I don’t see them yet.

Look a little higher, ma’am. Nightlight moved to her right side, keeping the moving people in his sights. A difficult task in that he could barely see them at this distance without binoculars. He pointed and said Move a little to your left.

OK I think I see them now, said the Commander. She saw, as Clyde did, four men in brownish jackets with white hats or turbans. It was hard to tell from the distance, but she could see they were armed, and they were moving away from her and Clyde.

I think they could be Taliban. Let’s go down there and find out! said an eager Clyde.

Even if I thought that was a good idea, which I don’t, I don’t think they are in Afghanistan anymore, informed the Commander. It looks like they’ve already crossed into Pakistan. She handed the binoculars back to Nightlight, who took another look at the four moving men. The cold winds blew by them from the northeast, yet the sky did not show signs of incoming bad weather.

But ma’am, they could be Taliban! Or Al Qaeda! Or-

They could also be villagers, interrupted the Commander. Regardless, they are in Pakistan. Our mandate doesn’t cover Pakistan.

That doesn’t seem right! said Nightlight, loudly. This could be our big break and we’re being too cautious! What if that’s Bin Laden getting away?!

None of those guys looked that tall. And besides, it was hard enough getting Russia and China to sign off on us being here under these restrictive rules! We are not allowed to take offensive actions or cross borders without permission from the country of action. If Pakistan found out we were in their borders, they would complain to the UNSC and we’d get pulled from Afghanistan.

I can be really careful! I’ll teleport over there and back really quickly! They won’t notice a thing! suggested Nightlight. He is becoming better at teleportation every day, thought the Commander, But he’s not the problem.

I’m sure you could, said the Commander, but you don’t know if anyone is on the other side of that ridge, or if Pakistan has placed any monitoring equipment around to detect our powers. It isn’t worth the risk.

But ma’am I –

Are you questioning me, sidekick? curtly said the Commander, "If Command gives us the order to cross the border, we’ll cross the border. If they want us to storm Tora Bora, then we’ll storm the hellhole and flush those rabbits out! But if we (POW!) those things without Command’s okay, and they call for us to help some troops, what are we going to say? ‘Sorry Colonel! We’re too busy to take your urgent call. Please leave a message at the sound of the punch. WAP!’ You see my point?"

Yes, ma’am, said a deflated Nightlight. He looked away and kicked a pebble over the edge.

The Commander heard something in her earpiece and raised her hand. She motioned to Nightlight to be quiet for a moment. Then, with a stoic look on her face, she said, A convoy is under heavy attack near Torkham. We are needed to provide assistance since most of the air cover is over here. Think you can stop worrying about the unknown enemy and fight the known enemy?

Torkham, huh? Have we been there before? I don’t remember going near there, inquired Nightlight. He took a map out and showed it to the Commander. How far are we from there?

While looking at the map, she found the road west of Torkham and said, I think the convoy is around here, about 100 clicks from where we are now. Think you can get us around this spot? She pointed to an elbow bend on the road. The road extended from the border at Torkham city to Jalalabad city, the main route between Kabul and Islamabad, Pakistan.

Nightlight scratched his throat and thought I haven’t been there before so it’s hard to target with a teleport. I’ll have to do this in 3 jumps, which should get us there within 1 minute. Hope our soldiers last that long. He quickly put the map and the other gear away and told the Commander, Grab hold, Commander. We’re blowin’ this joint.

The Commander smiled and said, You need some better lines. They disappeared in the space between a blink of an eye.

On the road to Torkham, a pitched battle between US Army forces guarding a convoy and Taliban attackers was taking place. The convoy had just passed an oxbow loop in the road when an RPG struck the lead Humvee, killing everyone inside. Attacking from the left wall of the canyon, the Taliban had the advantage of height, surprise, and maneuverability. AK-47 fire rained down on the Army vehicles, hitting gunners, drivers, and armor. The gunfire echoed throughout the canyon as the Commander and Nightlight teleported across Afghanistan to come to the aid of their beleaguered comrades. Their most recent jump put them on the road but out of sight. Yet, they were not out of range as the sounds of battle were heard in the distance.

The Army soldiers crouched to the side of their vehicles, away from enemy fire. Bullets rained down on Capt. Rodriguez’s vehicles, making a tell-tale ping-ping-ping sound. WOOOSSSH BOOOM! Another Humvee in Capt. Rodriguez’s convoy was hit by an RPG, sending dead men and debris everywhere. The Taliban had cover positions behind boulders and trees on the left side of the convoy, and fired rounds down at the Army convoy. Capt. Rodriguez saw one bleeding wounded man in the exploded Humvee crawl out of the wreck, towards the hill swarming with Taliban. He ducked under the car and yelled, Not that way! This way! Bullets impacted the ground next to the wounded confused man. Capt. Rodriguez crawled under the vehicle and reached out to grab his wounded man, but a spray of bullets from the hill forced his hand back. ARGH! I’m hit! screamed a man to his left. He crawled back to the side of the vehicle and shouted, Who’s hit?

Me, sir! Corporal Thurman said. He was one Humvee back from the Captain, holding his right shoulder, trying desperately to keep from bleeding out.

Medic! shouted Capt. Rodriguez, sweat pouring down his face. Get to vehicle three on the double! The rest of you, lay some lead on these bastards! Capt. Rodriguez popped a fresh clip into his M4A1 and duck-walked to the front of the car. Then he aimed his rifle, and together with his men, opened a wall of fire on the Taliban. BRAT-TAT-TAT!

The Taliban men ducked behind their available cover, except for two men who were charging downhill at the time. They were quickly cut down by the Army soldiers, their now-lifeless bodies tumbling down the hill. The medic darted quickly from the cover of his vehicle to the vehicle where Corporal Thurman was. He took out his field pack and began the hard work of tending to Corporal Thurman’s shoulder.

I’m out! shouted a soldier near the trucks that the soldiers were guarding. Me too! shouted another soldier, this one to Capt. Rodriguez’s right. Things were starting to look bad. With half his men dead from the initial assault and the rest almost out of ammo, Capt. Rodriguez was furiously thinking of a way to win or hold out until backup arrived. Then throw rocks at ‘em! he shouted to his troops. His men laughed a little at his suggestion.

Rocks you say, Captain? said the Commander, who was suddenly crouched behind the Captain. I can make that happen!

Commander! Thank god you’re here! said the beleaguered Capt. Rodriguez.

I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by, Captain, replied the Commander. I’ve got a decent sit-rep. You boys cover my sides. We’ll handle the front and back. She then stood up, holding her hands to the side, and created a repelling gravity field around her body to direct any rounds away from her to the direction of the source.

She walked around the vehicle, coming between the convoy and the Taliban. The Taliban soldiers peeked out of their cover and one of them yelled in Pashtun. The spandex legs of her dark red costume with white bars stood out in the dry brown terrain around her, making her an obvious target. TOK-TOK-TOK-TOK! The Taliban forces fired a volley at her, but the bullets got caught in her repulsive field and flew back at them at near lethal force. Bullets bounced off boulders and trees, forcing the men to stop shooting and take cover. The Commander looked at one hiding spot, raised her right hand, pointed at another boulder further up the hill, canceled its gravity and pulled her hand back. The boulder crashed into the Taliban forces hiding behind another boulder, squishing them or sending them flying down the hill.

She then looked to her right and saw 3 men getting ready to fire again. She pointed her left hand at them, lifted the pebbles behind them, and pulled her hand back, shooting the pebbles at the men’s backs. They fell in a heap, dropping their weapons. A man at her 10 o’clock shouted something and charged at her with a knife. POW! Capt. Rodriguez quickly dropped the man with a shot to the head. Shots fired from her right made her remember the Taliban forces over in that direction and so she pointed at two of them, canceled their gravity, and they began to float in the air. They dropped their guns and screamed, as they began floating away. She then waved her finger down and the men fell 10 feet onto their compatriots hiding behind a tree. UKLLAGH! They screamed, not expecting to be hit by the bodies of their comrades.

Enemy troops to our rear! shouted the medic, who now had his hands free since the wounded soldier was teleported to Jalalabad by Nightlight. About 10 men were climbing down the ridge, raising their guns at the now unprotected convoy. The Commander heard the yell and turned to face the attackers. Nightlight teleported behind the incoming Taliban. He saw the surviving soldiers running to take cover on the other side of the shot up vehicles. Remembering his training with The Commander and from the Academy, he quickly decided his attack plan. He teleported in front of the attacking Taliban man farthest to his left and tripped him. The man tumbled down the slope. He quickly teleported to the next man, grabbed him, and teleported 20 feet into the air, released him, then teleported to the front of next guy on his right and grabbed him. He fell backwards with the man’s gun in his hands, tugging him with him. He raised his right foot onto the man’s chest, throwing the man over his body and down the hill.

Now armed with an AK-47, he teleported behind the other attackers and TOK-TOK-TOK! Shot three of them in the legs on full auto. The remaining four attackers who were running for cover stopped their advance, and turned to face Nightlight. The Commander saw a good moment to act and raised the four men into the air and then rammed them into the ground. They groaned and twitched. A Taliban soldier far behind the Commander stood up and took out a grenade. He yelled something in Pashtun at the Commander, who while not looking, pointed at the grenade and made its weight 40 times heavier in under a half second. The man screamed as the sudden increased weight yanked his arm and body down, pinning his hand under a suddenly heavy grenade.

Captain, I suggest you get your men to secure these prisoners, suggested the Commander. Nightlight, you get your cuffs, too.

Yes, ma’am! You heard the lady, folks! Get these prisoners bow tied on the double! shouted the Captain. With the battle over, he let himself feel a little bit grateful for the supers.

Some of the soldiers took up guard positions around the vehicles while others and Nightlight went around the perimeter, securing prisoners and weapons, treating wounds, and gathering the dead. After those matters were attended to, the Captain spoke to the Commander.

Most of our vehicles and the supply trucks have been knocked out of commission. You don’t suppose your guy can teleport vehicles, can he? asked Capt. Rodriguez.

I don’t recall if he has tried before or not, replied the Commander. I know he has teleported large objects and people. I’ll tell him to try.

The Commander walked over to the body pile, where Nightlight was teleporting bodies to the base around Jalalabad. Nightlight, she asked, do you have it in you to teleport the vehicles to Jalalabad?

I think so. I’m not 100% sure, Nightlight answered. Let me catch my breath first and try. He took a few deep breathes. Teleporting generally did not tire him out, but he was doing a lot of it today. My teleportation power is not based on mass; it’s based on the size of the portal I make, thought Nightlight. If I make a big enough portal, I should be able to fit everything inside. I can only teleport things I touch. I can’t touch more than two unconnected things at a time. Maybe...

After a minute of contemplation, he walked to the front of the convoy. The smoking, wrecked vehicles were holding up traffic, so he decided to start there. He stood about 10 feet from a vehicle, and pointed at it with his finger. He concentrated. BLINK. Suddenly, he was on top of a nearby hill where he wanted to put the vehicle. Ooops.

Hey Nightlight, quit messing around! We gotta get off this road! shouted Capt. Rodriguez, as he was walking down the hill to the road.

Dang it! shouted Nightlight. Let me try again. He teleported back down the hill to where he was earlier. He pointed at the Humvee again, and focused on teleporting it. Nothing happened. He stopped, put his hands on his hips and said to himself, There’s a way to do this. I know it...

The Commander and Lance Corporal Peterson walked over to him, the LC keeping an eye out for more Taliban. The Commander looked at Nightlight and asked, What seems to be the holdup?

Nightlight looked at her and said I’m having trouble getting the teleport to work, ma’am.

Is it too big? asked the Commander.

It shouldn’t be. I’ve teleported larger things before. What I want to do is open the portal underneath the car but I can’t quite get it to open there.

What about starting it under you then pushing it under the object before it activates? suggested the LC.

Are you also a super, Lance Corporal? asked the Commander.

No ma’am. It just seemed the most logical way to me.

Well, sir, wondered Nightlight, my first idea didn’t work, so I’ll try that.

To get this to work, instructed the Commander, you have to feel each step of your power’s activation, from flow to release. And then you’ll know at which point to send the portal.

Okay, I’m gonna try now. He teleported to the top of the hill and then came back down. He tried it one more time, and said It happens really fast. But I’ve got a feel for it.

Think back to your training at the EADI. Take it slowly, it’s not a race, said the Commander, You will know which steps to take fast and which ones to take slowly.

Nightlight pointed at the Humvee again and felt the power course through his body. He slowed it down a tad, and as it left his body to pool near his feet, beginning the portal process, he gave it a ‘push’ and felt it slide along the ground until it went under the Humvee. He then felt the portal weaken a bit, then he felt his body increase its power flow out and...BLINK! The Humvee was gone. I got it! he shouted.

Wonderful! exclaimed the LC.

I knew you could figure it out, said the Commander, No sidekick of mine ever fails.

Let’s see if I can teleport it from there to Jalalabad, wondered Nightlight. He had a slight headache, which passed as quickly as it began. He pointed at the Humvee, took a deep breath, and went through the same process. BLINK! It vanished.

Sweet! he exclaimed, I think I got it, Commander!

Just what I wanted to hear, she replied. She started walking down the convoy and saw Captain Rodriguez loading up his Humvee. Captain, get your men in or on some Humvees. He’s got it figured out. You’re going to base on the Nightlight express.

Once everyone, including prisoners, were loaded on or tied to vehicles, Nightlight and the Commander walked to the middle of the convoy. While the men were loading things, Nightlight practiced with nearby objects to see if there was a distance limit (he figured it was a line of sight issue), if he could teleport himself at the same time (Yes), and if the targets went where he wanted them to go (Yes- the guy he spoke to at the base radioed in that they got the Humvee and the lizard he sent there, and no, Corporal Thurman does not appreciate the lizard on his hospital bed, thank you very much). Now that everything was secure, the Commander and Nightlight stood in the middle of the convoy and said, Okay folks, hold onto something. He looked at the Taliban prisoners tied to the back of the other Humvee. That means you folks too. He took a deep breath, and BLINK! Everyone was back at the base, in the clear spot that he had aimed for on a previous trip to the base in Jalalabad. The men got out of their Humvees, grabbed the prisoners and walked them towards the buildings, while others drove or pushed their Humvees to the parking lot. Captain Rodriguez got out of the Humvee and walked with Nightlight and the Commander.

That was some great work you did today, he said to the Commander, You really saved our bacon out there.

Just doing our duty, Captain, said the Commander. It’s why we’re here.

Excuse me. I’ve got a duty calling me, said Nightlight, who ran off in the direction of the latrines.

Do you miss the Big Four and stuff like that? asked Capt. Rodriguez.

A little bit, said the Commander. I miss the perks, and the soft bed at HQ, but I’d rather be here than in the Big Four any day of the week.

Why’s that?

Having these powers is a great advantage, sure. And being a superhero is important, too. Before I became she paused, pointing from her neck on down, ...this... I was an airwoman. Wearing the uniform, fighting to keep birds in the air; that was my calling as a kid. While I can’t do that anymore thanks to the UNSC, I’m glad I can at least contribute like this.

If we had more supers fighting with us, we’d probably be finished with the Taliban by now, he said.

Maybe, but you’d run the risk of escalation. The more ‘supers’ on the battlefield, the messier the battlefield. Trust me on this- you’d rather have bullets coming down at you than acid spits or organic nerve gas.

I’d rather have someone who can block RPGs and move damaged vehicles out of the way.

She patted him on the shoulder and smiled. We supers can’t do everything for you. You got to have some fun some of the time. They laughed and went into the command building to handle debriefing.

Later that evening, after chow time, the Commander was walking to her quarters and saw Nightlight sitting on a box outside his room. Since they were not officially soldiers they were given their own rooms at the base that were next to each other. Due to United Nations Security Council regulations, they were not allowed to be deployed on more than one mission per day. The official reasoning was because the UNSC didn’t want ‘supers’ to get burned out on the battlefield, but she thought it was because they didn’t want armies becoming dependent on them.

Nightlight didn’t have his Army parka on; instead he wore his black coat and pants were covered in horizontal zebra yellow stripes, and his dark blue undershirt with EADI-approved corporate logo was visible. He looked down, brow furrowed, seemingly lost in thought. The Commander walked up to him and asked him, What are you so solemn about?

I’m not upset or anything ma’am, weakly replied Nightlight. He looked up at her, and took a short deep breath. There’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while.

The Commander ran through a series of scenarios in her head. Does he want to quit fighting? Does he have another injury? A love interest? Gone gay? I wonder how that would play out with the brass?

You can tell me anything. I wouldn’t like it if you kept secrets from me, but you don’t have to tell me anything that would make you feel...uncomfortable. She sat down on the bench next to him.

I hope she’s receptive, thought Nightlight. This will decide everything from here on out. I’ve been thinking about our powers a lot. How they work, he said.

What we know about them is still up for debate. Even the scientists back at EADI have only a cursory idea on the how and why of it, said the Commander. She mainly focused on the how her powers worked over how any powers worked in general.

I think there’s more to what we can do with these powers than just what we can do today. It feels like we’re only scratching the surface.

Ah, I see. What exactly are you thinking about?

I guess that I need to figure out if it’s possible to have more than 1 power. I mean, I like teleporting, but it’s awfully limiting. It’d be nice to control gravity like you or have bulletproof skin like Queen Zenobia as well.

Well Clyde, began the Commander, it’s good that you’re thinking more about your skill. Today’s new ability will certainly come in handy in many ways.

But I think we can do more with this power than what abilities we were born with.

There’s only been a few of us, oh I don’t know... 1% of us supers who were born with multiple powers. Anyone else we’ve encountered with multiple powers were aliens like Red Menace, Mr. Wrath, and that band of marauders we took down two years back. Everyone else with multiple abilities just learned a new trick with the same power, like you did today and I did at the Institute months ago. Supers can attend training sessions with scientists and other expert supers to improve their abilities whenever they can request scheduling, thus preventing training accidents like the Calcutta Cringe of ‘90.

I’m certain I can crack the code and learn new powers like Mr. Wrath’s people did!

And what would be the point? the Commander sounded a little incredulous over the idea. "Why not be happy with the power God has given you? Given us, for that matter? I’m worried that you’ll reach for the sun and get burnt like Icarus did.

Look kid...er, man. Sorry. Anyway, I’ve always felt you were awesome enough. You don’t need extra powers. You just need to be the best you that you can be. For example, I try to be the best Karyn I can be. Not the most powerful Karyn. I’ve got enough power.

That feels too, I don’t know, boxed in, replied Nightlight. He adjusted his coat and played with the zipper a bit. I think I can learn something new about power if I try hard enough.

Please try after we leave Afghanistan, asked Karyn, I don’t want to be around for another Calcutta Cringe.

Yes, ma’am. But, if we had more abilities, we could fight faster and better! We wouldn’t need to involve the soldiers! We could do it all ourselves!

Now you’re starting to sound like one of our villains.

But that’s not what I-

I know what you meant. Don’t be dramatic, said the Commander. She laughed and gave Nightlight a gentle tap on the shoulder. Being the best is more about your personal take on things, not about how much power you have. Try looking at it from that perspective.

Yes, Commander, said Nightlight, trying not to sound deflated. She doesn’t understand at all, he thought to himself.

Now hit the hay. We’ve got some PT bright and early at Oh-Seven-Thirty, said the Commander. She got up and headed back down the hall to the offices. After he saw her disappear, he went into his room and closed the door. I have to find the truth about this power and I can’t do it from here, thought Clyde. He focused on his home in Denver and BLINK! left the war and the Commander behind. He arrived home at 10:00 am local time. His mom was at work, and so he teleported into his bedroom so that no one would know he was here, even if his little brother was home or not. His little brother was not a super like him, and thus was a little jealous of him. If only he knew how much work all this power took, he thought. Now, to pick up some stuff and start a new life.

The next morning, out on the PT field at the base was the Commander, doing some stretches in