Hero's Call (Hero Chronicles Book 1) Read online

  Milo’s locker was just on the other side of the jocks. Bill and Cali bid him goodbye and walked off to find their own lockers on the second floor.

  He opened his locker and a mess of books fell out. He pulled the tape recorder out of his bag, and threw it in. He picked up all the books that fell out at once. One of the nearby football players came over. He was big and burly with a square jaw and a flat top. A big C on his letter jacket labeled him as the captain of the team.

  “Can I give you a hand with that?” he asked, pointing to the books.

  Milo gave him a suspicious look. It felt like a trap.

  “Sure…” he said slowly and turned the books towards him so he can grab one or two. He took one of his meaty paws and slapped the books out of Milo’s hands and onto the floor. Then he took the same hand and pushed Milo back against the locker by his face.

  “That’s great, Ronnie,” Milo said, picking his books off the floor. “Thank you.”

  “No problem, geek,” Ronnie said to a boisterous chorus of laughs from his friends.

  Ronnie Adler. Football Captain. Prom King. Grade-A jerk.

  Once his stuff was safely back in his locker, Milo set off for his first class.

  History was always Milo’s favorite subject. A lot of that had to do with the fact that he was learning about not only Heroes in his family, but Heroes in general. Heroes had a large part in the shaping of American history, and knowing that he came from a long line of Heroes, made it that much more interesting for Milo.

  He walked into the class and found it filled with students already. The walls of the classroom were decorated with both pictures of past U.S. presidents and Heroes. Devon Macledowny sat on the opposite side of the room as Milo’s assigned seat. He was wearing a black sleeveless t-shirt and jeans that looked like they hadn’t been washed in days. His shoulder length hair had a greasy sheen to it that made Milo sick. Devon gave Milo a dirty look, but Milo simply shot back a sly smile.

  Mr. Hanson, the school’s best history teacher, entered the classroom seconds later. He was a short, squat man with a massive belly and a horseshoe pattern of graying black hair. A goatee of the same graying black sat bristly on his face. He was wearing a light blue, short-sleeved button up shirt and a pair of khaki slacks.

  “Good morning, class,” Mr. Hanson said. His voice was gruff and agitated at something unspecified. “Today we’re going to be discussing the effects of Hero involvement in World War I.”

  He turned to the board and picked up a piece of chalk. He started to write something on the chalkboard when Devon’s voice cut through the classroom.

  “Get bent, jerk.”

  Mr. Hanson turned with a disgruntled look on his face.

  “Who said that?” he asked, but everyone knew the voice. No one answered. He turned back to the board and finished what he was writing. “Now, Dark Shadow was an integral part of reconnaissance in…”

  “Eat a butt, fart sniffer,” Devon’s voice cut in again. This time, Mr. Hanson didn’t give any one the benefit of the doubt.

  “Mr. Macledowny, I do not find that funny.”

  “I didn’t say anything,” Devon pleaded.

  “One more outburst from you, Devon,” scolded Mr. Hanson, “and you’re going to the see the principal.”

  “But…” Devon started, but the teacher cut him off.

  “Zip it.”

  He turned back and continued to write on the board. Several minutes passed before Devon’s voice cut through the class for a third time.

  “My dog’s butt looks better than you do,” Devon said. “I should pound your face in. Maybe it will look better that way.”

  Mr. Hanson broke a piece of chalk on the chalkboard. He whirled around with fire in his eyes.

  “That’s it, Mr. Macledowny,” he screamed at the top of his lungs, “Get to the office. Now!”

  “But I didn’t say anything,” Devon pleaded.

  “Now!”

  Devon picked his books up off his desk and slunk across the room. Just before he left, Milo held up his father’s tape recorder and gave him a victorious smile and a wink. He stopped to say something to Mr. Hanson, but the teacher ejected him from the room with a stern look. If looks could kill, the one Devon shot Milo would have been a bullet to the heart. Milo laughed on the inside.

  After class, Milo walked to his locker to grab his geometry book. He threw his history book in along with the tape recorder, grabbed the other book, and shut the door. When he turned around Milo found Devon’s cruel, acne-ridden face two inches from his.

  “You think that was funny?” he growled.

  “Well, that depends on your definition of funny,” Milo replied coolly.

  “Your definition of funny got me three days of in-school suspension,” he said and poked Milo in the chest with a sausage like finger.

  “What can I say,” Milo said brushing his finger away, “You shouldn’t have said that stuff in class.”

  “You’re going to pay for this, Milo,” he said with a glare and stalked away.

  Bill and Cali sidled up almost immediately.

  “I heard what happened in Mr. Hanson’s class,” Bill said with a smile. “That was brilliant.”

  “It was not brilliant, Bill,” Cali replied in her motherly tone. “Milo got Devon suspended. He’s going to want revenge, and I don’t think it’s going to be very small scale after what happened.”

  “Oh, ease up, Cali,” Milo said, giving her a soft push, “That gorilla isn’t smart enough to find his way home on his own. What could he do to me?”

  “You mark my words, Milo,” Cali said disbelieving, “Whatever he’s going to do to you isn’t going to be good.”

  “Consider your words marked, Cal,” Milo said and turned towards Bill. “I’m going to see the Captain after school. Do you want to come?”

  “Are you kidding me?” Bill burst out, “I love the Captain.”

  “Cool,” Milo said with a nodded. “I’ll meet you by the bike rack and we’ll head over. I’ve gotta get to Geometry. Someone told me Mrs. O’Brien is giving out a pop quiz dissecting angles or some garbage and I haven’t studied. Catch you later, guys.”

  “Later,” they both said to him.

  Milo hurried down the hall toward his next class with Cali’s word echoing annoyingly around his head.

  Chapter Two

  The Atomic Minuteman had thousands of achievements to his name prior to his death. He brought down some of the biggest Villains of his age. Revenger, Mind Bender, even Zero G fell by his hands. Probably the most notable of his achievements was the role he played in the Civil War.

  The most evil Villain of the day was the aptly named Slave Driver. He was responsible for the advocacy of the continued slave trade in the South. He rallied the armies of the South to rise up against the North. Little did they know that The Slave Driver wasn’t just using slaves, but the very armies themselves were under his control. He spread fear and terror across the plains and mountains of the South, using his armies for his own devices, but never showing his face. The armies of the North had rallied under the Atomic Minuteman’s command.

  At the battle of Antietam the two foes met. Many men died in the struggle. It was considered the bloodiest battle of the war. The Atomic Minuteman used every vestige of his power to cast down The Slave Driver. In the end, though, The Slave Driver did fall, but not before he cast one last enchantment over his minions. An enchantment so powerful it took nearly three years to break. The war carried on, and many lives were lost. Finally, once the spell wore, General Lee realized defeat and surrendered.

  For his contribution, The Atomic Minuteman was awarded the first ever Congressional Medal of Honor from President Lincoln. There was a very large press conference to celebrate the occasion, along with an equally large dinner at the White House. During the dinner, a reporter asked President Lincoln about how he felt with the Heroes involvement in the war.

  To which the President replied, “I deeply appreciate The Atomic
Minuteman and all the Heroes that have put their lives on the line in service of this country. They will be forever remembered in history as the true champions of this despicable war. If it hadn’t been for them, I’m not sure any of us would have survived.” Then he added jokingly, “Besides, it has given me plenty of spare time to see a few good plays. I highly recommend Our American Cousin should you get the chance to see it. It was quite enjoyable.”

  After the war, The Atomic Minuteman settled down for what he was hoping would be a quiet life.

  “Son,” he said to his son one day while they were skipping stones playfully across a brook, “I put in my fair time in that God forsaken war. I think it’s time we live a quiet life. A life free of Evil distractions.”

  That was a great day for his son who had always hoped that his father would give up the fight against Evil to spend more time with him and his mother. They continued skipping stones and fishing in the brook for the rest of the afternoon. To son or father, it was the best day of their lives, but that was before tragedy struck.

  Just as the sun was falling below the horizon, a comet fell from the sky, and a great explosion tore through the night.

  “Stay here,” The Minuteman commanded his son. He tore his normal clothes off in a flash to reveal his uniform. The son had seen him in it several times, but each time he marveled. He wasn’t sure what material it was made of. It looked to be a cross between leather and steel. It was tinted a brilliant shade of blood red. His boots, belt and gloves were yellow like the sun. A bright yellow X shot across his chest, and in middle of it was a metallic symbol of an atom. His cape was also yellow, and when he flew it looked like a streak of sunlight shooting across the sky even in broad daylight. He slipped a red mask over his eyes. He clenched his fists, and, at once, his body began to glow like a radioactive material.

  The Atomic Minuteman shot into the air, and bolted towards the nearby town. His son, never very good at listening, shot across the fields after him. When he got there, half the town was destroyed. There was an Evil looking man hovering above the town wearing garb of the deepest black. So black that he stood out against the black sky. Hundred of points of light shone on him like stars in the night. The Atomic Minuteman was hovering opposite him a hundred feet away.

  “I am The Cosmic Menace,” the Villain shouted. His booming voice filled the sky.

  “I don’t care who you are,” The Minuteman called back. “You will leave this town, and wreak no more of your Evil.”

  A great booming laugh cut through the night. The Cosmic Menace did not reply. He simply raised both of his hands into the air. Far above him, hundreds of light blazed bright. Within seconds, comets of various sizes came burning through the atmosphere. The Atomic Minuteman darted up, firing beam after beam from his hands. Comets crumbled under his power, but The Cosmic Menace would not stop. The Atomic Minuteman grew weary and the comets grew in number. He was struck by one of the comets, and then another, and he went spinning through the night. A final comet struck him in the chest and drove him to the ground.

  The Cosmic Menace disappeared with a laugh. The son ran through the burning town in search of his father. He found him lying broken by a crumbled library. He was still alive, but barely so. His radioactive aura was blinking in and out. The son pulled him up into his arms. His deep blue eyes looked into his son’s.

  “Take care of your mother, son,” he said. They were his last words.

  The son dragged him home on his own. It took hours. He was far heavier a load than a five year old should ever have to bear. When he got home, a trip of about five miles, he dropped him onto the front lawn of their house, and collapsed next to him. The boy’s mother came running out of the house. She broke down in tears at the sight of her husband’s body. She thought the boy was dead too, but he had just enough strength to reassure her otherwise before he lost consciousness.

  The Hero Gene becomes active at different times for everyone. For some people, the Gene simply activates over time. For others, it activates under extreme stress or physical activity. There are a million different things that can trigger the Hero Gene in an individual. The boy had had powers since he was five, and had to drag his father, who was more than twice his size, five miles on his own.

  The boy took up his father’s mantle after that. Not immediately, of course. He was only five, after all. But his powers were there. He was incredibly strong. All Heroes are stronger than mortal men, no matter what other powers they have. Super strength is a unifying trait in all Heroes. But the boy was much stronger than any normal man, or even any Hero for that matter, and he was only five. When the boy was seven, he realized he could fly. A fun day for him. He had wished for the ability to fly even since he was able to comprehend the world around him.

  Over the years the boys hid himself from knowledge. He wasn’t quite old enough to take on any kind of Villain just yet, but he was far overmatched to any of the petty criminals that came along. He stopped bank robberies mostly. There wasn’t a whole lot of criminal activity going on in the area he was in. It was easy for the boy. It gave him plenty of practice and the time to refine his costume.

  It was of his own design. A material no one had ever seen before. It was extremely lightweight, almost as if you were wearing nothing. It looked too small off, but stretched perfectly to fit over the boy’s muscly body. He had invented Spandex and he didn’t even know it at the time. It was a gray blue, with a red cape, boots, and over leggings. He left out an emblem. He could never think of anything appropriate, and by the time he did, it was too late. He was known as the Hero that bore no mark. They said it was a sign of modesty. He said it was just a lack of good ideas. Either way, Captain Amazing was born.

  When he turned eighteen, his powers were at a pinnacle. Normal men were no match for him, not even close. It became boring and commonplace to foil a bank robbery or stop a kidnapping. He grew weary of the everyday scum of the Earth. They were no longer worth the boy’s time. He decided to seek out his first Villain, and he could think of no better target than the man that killed his father.

  The boy had heard rumors here and there about The Cosmic Menace wreaking havoc up and down the eastern seaboard. He went from town to town completely wiping their existence off the Earth. He seemed not to care whether he gained anything from what he was doing or not. He was the worst kind of Villain, the kind that does evil things for fun instead of personal gain. Completely and utterly insane.

  Captain Amazing had found his target somewhere along the coast of North Carolina. The exact location is long forgotten to time. The Cosmic Menace was coasting along looking for another city to terrorize. He came to a slow, eventual stop seeing Captain Amazing in his path. He had a twisted smile on his face.

  “What can I do for you, my sweet Hero?” he asked almost laughing.

  “I’m here to put an end to you, Menace,” Captain Amazing replied, using his best Hero voice.

  He laughed out loud. An evil sound. He looked Captain Amazing up and down with an amused look.

  “You don’t even have an emblem. Not smart enough to think of one, or just not important enough?”

  Captain Amazing didn’t respond. He charged with all the speed he could muster. He put his right fist into The Cosmic Menace’s left cheek. He flipped head over heels for about twenty feet. When he finally stopped there was a look of shock and confusion on The Cosmic Menace’s face. He wasn’t expecting a straight forward assault right off the bat. The confusion turned to anger in an instant. He rose his hands up and brought an asteroid the size of a small car out of nowhere without a second’s notice. He put in a burst of speed with his fists in front of him, and shattered the rock into dust. Captain Amazing didn’t stop, and was on top of The Cosmic Menace before he could bring anything out of the heavens to stop him.

  With a massive downward swing from Captain Amazing, The Cosmic Menace slammed onto the ground. Sand sprayed twenty feet into the air, but it didn’t stop Captain Amazing. Before The Cosmic Menace could get t
o his feet, Captain Amazing hammered both feet onto his chest, slamming him back to the ground. His fists were a fury as he rained blows down upon The Cosmic Menace’s face and chest. Blood started to fly as each blow landed. It’s not typical for a Hero to kill their quarry, but something inside Captain Amazing wouldn’t allow him to stop. He did hold off for one second. He could tell The Cosmic Menace was still alive, but just barely. Captain Amazing pulled him close and lifted his mask to look him dead in the eyes.

  “You killed the Atomic Minuteman. He was my father,” he growled. He was full of a rage he had never known before. “This is for him.”

  Captain Amazing raised his fist and felt it quiver as he gathered all the strength he could muster. When it landed his head whipped to the side so hard Captain Amazing could actually hear his neck break. The Cosmic Menace was dead. Captain Amazing was half elated, and half ashamed. To his knowledge, his father had never killed an enemy. He picked The Cosmic Menace’s lifeless body up by his feet, spun around a few times, and let his body soar into the ocean. He wasn’t sure anyone had ever found him, nor did they care as to why he was no longer terrorizing them.

  It was the first time he’d killed a man, and he wasn’t looking to relive the experience any time soon. When the Great War broke out, Captain Amazing stepped away from the spotlight. He did his part here and there, but never brought any unnecessary attention onto himself. He wanted to lay low until he knew he could control himself.

  After World War I, Czar Destructo came to power. No one knew where he came from, nor did Captain Amazing really give a damn. Everyone has an origin story, but he never bothered to learn Czar Destructo’s. Captain Amazing always thought Destructo took offense to that, which was fair.

  Captain Amazing was in Germany at the time. He had a tip that Destructo was working on some sort of Doomsday device in one of his castles up in the mountains. He had chased the lead all the way to some dingy German burlesque club in a shady corner of some town he couldn’t pronounce the name of.