[Author note : New KoSP chapter. Starting today, I'm on a 3 weeks leave from work. Woohoo~ ! I'm planning on writing and posting more in order to increase the number of chapters available on P A T R E O N. Depending on how much I write, I might increase the post frequency here, too !
If you're interested in my stories or want to encourage me, please check out my Patréon : https://www.patréon.com/user?u=66371596 (replace the é by a normal e) or look for Cathbel on their website
KoSP : 2 advanced chapters
The Squib who became Iron Lad... In DC : 3 advanced chapters
AoH : Prologue + 6 chapters (exclusive)
MoH : 8 chapters (Exclusive)
VOG : 6 chapters (exclusive)
Enjoy and please tell me what you think of it !]
The reporter was standing across the street from a courthouse, with his back to it in order for the cameraman to have it in his sights. With a couple of seconds of delay, he heard the presenter's question and after a second to collect himself and his next words, he spoke :
« I can tell you, Brad, that the public is outraged by the recent revelations. Yesterday afternoon, the local Western United Bank branch was the scene of a heist. After taking and keeping hostages for a few hours, they made off with the contents of a number of personal safety deposit boxes. Law enforcements is still trying to figure out who those belonged to and what was in them… »
« However, it is now believed that the heist was just a distraction or a secondary objective. The real target for this crime was… information ! The robbers coerced the bank manager into accessing his passcode fob with which they secured evidence into a number of the director's wrongdoings in the area. Illegal chemical dumping, blackmail, extortion, intimidation, assault and murders… Although the last two were only bankrolled by the director, all of them are serious charges. »
« The reason behind the outcry is another matter. You might remember the local epidemic 4 years ago ? Apparently, it was caused by a factory owned and operated by Director Armond Terrance. He was warned about the toxic fumes his factory produced and how it would affect a number of people, but he ignored them. On the contrary he paid off a number of inspectors and experts to look the other way and publish a favorable report on his facilities. »
« As a reminder, 149 people have died due to the epidemic. To this day, some people are still suffering the after-effects. Needless to say, the town is a powder keg ready to explode at any moment, right now… »
* * * * *
Inside what used to be an empty warehouse, now reorganized by its two squatters, Simon was watching the report Crys had found and commented :
« So, that's what they were after ? What were they ? Some kind of Robin Hood band ? »
As he asked this out loud, Crys was leisurely floating inside his personal forcefield. The device for this forecefield was in the middle of the room, on a desk alongside a computer build by him, as well as other devices and gadgets. On his left, by the wall, 'carriers' were lined up : a robot, several different kinds of drones. The other side of the warehouse was furbished with a flesh and blood body in mind : a old but comfortable couch, a table, a fridge and a chest of drawers.
The reason why was Crys was floating was simple : he found out recently that he didn't really like for his core to touch anything. It felt like a constraint. The only exception was Simon. Being in contact with him was almost relieving. The perk of their bond he supposed…
« Considering a number of factors needed to successfully pull off a bank heist, it's more likely to have been a long plan, helped by someone on the inside. My guess is the robbers were probably composed, at least in part, of victims of Armond Terrance's crimes. »
« Makes sense. » Simon turned back and continued over his shoulder : « I'll go train a bit. This whole thing's made me depressed. »
One thing Simon had kept from his Terran days : the training. While at the time, he spent it cultivating his body or handling weapons and equipment, nowadays he kept mostly the former and the latter was replaced by experimenting with his powers.
Energy absorption and manipulation was a rather extensive power. One that, if mastered, would make him akin to a God. That's probably what Clark Kent felt when his powers started to develop growing up… Only Simon's power weren't dependent on his age and his personality was already formed. Unlike Clark's whose personality was shaped to fit his powers by his parents. Thankfully he had good ones…
Simon, too, had good parents. Amazing ones in fact. They didn't hesitate in spending every bit of their hard earned savings in the faint hope that perhaps, some day a long time in the future, Simon would be saved from his illness. Their wish was granted… Too bad they never had the chance to see it !
Sometimes, as he trained as he was doing now, he thought that maybe, he should honor their memories somehow. Saving people and dedicating the saves to his parents ? Or something along those lines. And then he thought about what that would mean about the people he saved. Were their lives just so he felt relief that his parents had raised him right ? Or that he was alive thanks to them ? This felt a bit… Cheap, maybe ? Like their existence was beneath his own.
Simon didn't think it was. And when his thoughts reached this point, he couldn't bring himself to even consider donning a hero costume or even operating like one. During the bank heist, he only acted because he couldn't let everyone die because of one psycho. He was there, had the means to stop it… This was the only reason why he acted. If it'd been possible to resolve this without intervening, that's what he would have done… At least, that's what he thought.
« Come on ! Less thinking and more flying ! » Simon pumped himself up.
The young man was standing in a vacant lot near their warehouse. It was surrounded by empty buildings, the lighting was poor and the area pretty much deserted. As for the lot he was in, it was overgrown by wild grass and flowers. If it was when he first arrive on this planet, he would have been curious about them : they were strange, alien to him. Blue leaves, sometimes covered in fur or scales or sometimes as sharp as blades and almost as sturdy. The flora as well as the fauna was very novel for the Terran. But he was growing used to it. And right now, he hoped to empty his head of thoughts by exercising until exhaustion.
His palms faced the ground on each sides of his body, fingers parted. His brow wrinkled as he muttered :
« It was like this, wasn't it ? »
Suddenly, he felt as if the ground or some unseen force was pushing him up and into the air. His feet rose of the ground slowly and without any support, he started losing his balance. A second later, his face was in the dirt… However, a smile split his face.
« This will work ! »