Chapter 2:

3: Heroes never win.

Then.

I am 16. I am a Teen Sidekick.

As long as there have been Super humans there have been sidekicks. There were never a lot of us at any one time but we were always part of the Masked fraternity. Sidekicks did not last long in most cases, they tended to be used as hostages a lot. Plus there was the whole sex thing? If your sidekick was of the same gender as you, then everyone thought you were gay. If your side kick was of a different gender then you? Then everyone thought you were there underage sex toy.

We also tended to get frustrated with our mentors and break out on our own, take up a new name and try and establish ourselves.

I had been the Hoods side kick since I was 12, I'm pretty sure most people thought we were a gay couple or he was my father or something, and while I can say that The Hood was a sociopath OCD asshole ! He was my friend and mentor and I was proud to be his side kick.

Of course till I turned 16 and decided to make a name of my own from out under the shadow of the Hood.

I was almost going to finally use my Cowl identity, but it turns out there was a Cowl in New York so I stuck with Kid Sidekick. Like I said I was the only kid sidekick who's name was Kid Sidekick.

So like every good 16 year old side kick, I broke out on my own and within a week had formed a team with a another frustrated Teen Sidekick or two.

Because that’s just what you did.

We called ourselves the Defenders! Yeah stupid name, but we were Teenager and we were angry and it was the name that worked. As far as I know there were no other teams using that name anyway.

So there was me, Twin brothers called Dragon and Phinox and a girl named Bolt.

I got along pretty well with the brothers but I could not stand Bolt, something about her just rubbed me the wrong way. She was in to Dragon, flirting with him all the time but never gave Phinox the time of day. Playing them off each other, she was nice to me and I was cordial to her but like I said something about her.

So it was our second case together, a high profile kidnapping at a local Science Fiction convention had attracted our attention and as it turns out the twins and Bolt were avid fans so they were going to the con anyway. I liked Star Wars as much as the next kid but I did not see the appeal of the Con?

We were trying to track down the kidnapers before there deadline was up .

Most people were under the assumption that the kidnapping was just part of the convention experience and the authorities were allowing that illusion to continue while they conducted there investigation. A 14 story hotel is going to be hard enough to search , add a few hundred convention goers and the Police and FBI had there hands full.

The twins and bolt were working the convention I there uniforms, who's going to notice three super heroes when the building was full of people dressed up? I on the underhand was just in my normal everyday attire with a visitor badge. If you did not attract attention to yourself people tended to say more stuff around you.

There was the beginning air of panic which concerned me, some of the convention attendant had noticed the police, also it seemed there was a thief working the convention as well.

The hotel lost and found reported that since the Convention began yesterday, four backpacks, two jackets, one wallet, three rings and a camcorder had all vanished.

While I doubted the thefts had any connection to the kidnapping, it was an interesting side note to consider?

Dragon, Phinox and bolt were all powers and they loved to flaunt it, 16 years old and you can fly! What did you expect? I just shrugged and let them grandstand, not a one of them knew the first thing about criminal investigation or information gathering and there was no question that despite all there boasting I could (and had) beet each of them in a fight.

The police had not asked for our help and the FBI had a very strict view on parahumans interfering in a case, but the method of the kidnapping could only lead us to believe that the culprit was either a super villain, or a very talented magician.

You see the victim had vanished in front of 40 witness while he was giving a speech about why he was here?

I had no idea who the guy was, a game designer I think. Had some story about the authorities seizing his game? I don't know? I was a nuts and bolts guy, I was more interested in the display the guys from CIT had put up. A working rail gun that shot tennis balls across the parking lot at almost sonic speed. That was pretty awesome, and dangerous.

Maybe the crooks were using the kidnapping as a diversion and were after the rail gun? I could imagine the damage that could do in the wrong hands.

So I'm walking the main room of the convention and something catch's my eye, while I don't have a photographic memory I am trained to remember things and notice small details. Plus I had a note book and wrote things down, so imagine my surprise when I see a backpack matching one of the description I wrote down under a table?

I walked over and picked it up, my plan was to take it to the hotel lost and found so they could return it to its owner. I took a few steps with it in my hand when the smell hit me, a sticky sweet perfume smell masking the musk of old denim and to many people stuffed in one convention hall.

It was a very distinct feminine smell, which I found odd as the owner was male? Ok maybe nothing, I mean there could be a million reasons for the scent except I had smelled that particular brand of perfume before, and yeah it could be a coincidence.

Sadly I was far to pragmatic to believe it was .

I returned the backpack to the front desk and reaffirmed none of the others had been turned in and my notes were correct

After that I was able to sneak past the Police and learn they still had no clue as to where the kidnapers were or why they had not made any demands yet.

14 floor's, a couple hundred guests and only the FBI and the Los Angeles Police to try and figure out what had happened or why the Kidnapers were not following protocol?

There was a protocol for kidnapping in the FBI's book?

Thankfully I had not read that book (ok bad pun)

There are many reason I wear the mask and cape, one of them is that it's not my only costume. The Hood and I had a dozen false identities each and he had secret stashes of money and Geer all over Los Angeles. It was easy as 1-2-3 to step in to the bathroom as William Kids and step out the bathroom as Tim Bandy.

Tim Bandy was a pretty decent guy, loved his mom, was in to vintage cars, wanted to maybe be a engineer after college? Just one of my many false identities, one which is was sure no one in this building had ever seen.

As Tim bandy I walked the convention floor, the dealer room, the open game room. The stage from which the Victim vanished. I returned to the table where I found the bag and then again to the stage.

The police and FBI are very good at there job and I am sure had this been a normal Kidnapping they would already have the culprit.

Just that it was not a normal kidnapping was it?

Now:

With piston precision her red garbed fist connected with my face, or so I let her think. I admit, I'm out of practice. Winded already, unable to focus over the sound of the fan Still for all her strength she was still slow, ponderous and reeked of the damn perfume

I laughed, her attempts to strike me were almost comical, I was more worried about her partner. I could not here a thing over the fan so I had no way of knowing where he was. I had to sue the room, get a wall behind me, control the momentum of the fight. It was like a dance really, and while I may not have done this for a few months it was like riding a bicycle

She really didn't have a chance, but then she never did.

“Bolt? Nice to see you.”

Another fist came at me, powerful and predictable I dodged it with ease and rolled to the side, my elbow hit something and a shock of pain lanced threw me. Damn it! I'm making rookie mistakes again.

“I don't call my self Bolt any more. I grew up! Unlike you Kid Sidekick!”

She said my name with condescending malice, meant to shake me up.

I used the room, moving between the pipes and the old hiding places. I knew I had recognized the noise on the phone though still had no idea who Reginald was?

“I love what you have done with the place since we were kids Bolt, to bad you did not get rid of that damn fan!”

I was up and over a pipe with the grace and speed of a Olympic gymnast My kick connected with her jaw and sent her 200 pound plus frame tumbling backwards.

I landed and tossed a handful of ghost pepper seeds in her face. Like Mace but more effective and I could put the leftovers on a sandwich latter on.

She screamed.

I looked about the room, where was he?

“Where your boy friend? Where is Dragon!”

The old training room looked the same as the day I last saw it.

When we were a team, Bolt,Dragon, Phinox and I we did not have a base but we all lived close to the Sherman Oaks Mall and we met and practiced in the under structure The pipes and ducts, small passage ways and corners were our playground. A place to be Super Heroes , we even took our stupid name from the giant fan that ran the air conditioning.

The Drake Defender 5000.

The Defenders.

I grabbed her by the collar of her red costume and slammed her head into the concrete.

“Where is he!”

She spit blood at me and tried to squirm out of my grip, she might be stronger then me and more dense but I had control of the fight now, every thing she tried I used against her. All those years of training coming back to me as if it was yesterday. The body hurt, but the body remembered

“Tell me what you are up to Bolt”

“The name is Red Dynamo!”

Her fist hit my stomach and sent me stumbling back, it was like being hit by a car.

Damn it, out of shape. Out of practice and running out of time. If I let her get up and moving she might be able to do something. Withe her density control increased strength she could easily manhandle one of the duct pipes and use it as a weapon. Causing both the mall and me a considerable amount of damage.

Still she was not the most dangerous of the two, he was.

“And what, he calls him self Red Dragon now?”

“You think your so much better then us, then him ? Then Me!”

“Well you got that right Bolt, I am better then you and as for Dragon? Well he may be better then me but I never attacked my own brother now did I?”

The bard was not to upset her but to make him tip his hand and show himself. Dragon had been many things when I had last spared with him, maybe even as good as me 6 years ago but I knew his weakness, his glass jaw so to speak

She was coming at me again, same predictable fighting style as if brute strength was the answer to everything.

“I never trusted you Bolt, not once and your still the same ? How can someone as smart as you always be so damn stupid!”

I moved at the last second, letting her slam in to the wall behind me. I vaulted her and landed, then slammed my fist in to the back of her neck. Enough force to knock out a trained MMA fighter, she may have just shrugged it off.

I was not sure because that was when the pipes exploded.

Dang it

Then

Follow the money. It's always about Sex or Money and for the most part that is true. Almost every crime ever was either about Sex or Money.

The vanishing of the kidnapping victim had gone off like a well orchestrated magic trick. Every witness to the crime described it almost the exact same way, every cell phone video that went viral on YouTube showed the exact same thing. In a world with out super powers it could have been a magic trick, but when you live in a world of men who can fly?

I watched the video over and over again and considered the few clues I had, follow the money.

Clue number one: In the great world the man was no one of any global importance, he ran a company that made Role Playing Games. One of the games had apparently got him in trouble with the Government and he was guest at the convention to talk about his game company and his situation with the Government.

Clue number two. Since the convention had started there had been a rash of thefts, backpacks and other small things. One of which I found under a table smelling of a very familiar perfume

Clue number three; I knew three people who were at the convention since it started, all of whom had super powers. One of whom was known to were the same perfume that I smelt on the backpack.

I told you I never trusted her.

Despite her name, Bolt's powers had nothing to do with speed or lightning. She had the ability to increase her density, making her self stronger and harder to damage. So I never got the name Bolt and she never offered an explanation

The Twins on the other hand? Well Dragon was almost Bolts opposite Where she made herself dense and strong, he could make himself light and fast. Striking five or six times for each of her one. They complemented each other nicely, which may have been why bolt liked him. He liked to boast his skill made me look pointless, I always smiled and then proceeded to hand him a beat down.

Phinox ? Well like his name sake, he had this thing with fire. I never knew the full extent of what he could do, but a bolt of fire from the hands of a Sixteen year old kid was pretty impressive

Each one of them outclassed me power wise, and I had taken each one in a sparing match. For all there God like power, they had no idea how to use it effectively

It had looked like a magic trick, that’s what everyone said. After my third exploration of the stage I knew why. I had never consider how the twins powers would complement each other, flame plus speed. Magic after all was mostly distraction.

From the point of view of someone sitting still, someone moving very fast would almost be invisibility Add to that bright lights, a crowded room and a sudden bright flash of light(fire?) and you have a magic trick

As for the various items that had been stolen by Bolt and the twins. Once I knew what was in them and combined it with my other information it all became clear

I did not know much about the lives of the trio outside our team and the Defenders had only worked together a few times before and done a handful of training sessions under the Sherman Oaks Mall, but other then that we knew nothing about each other.

Well that is to say, I knew about them but they probably did not know about me. What, I had been training with a paranoid sociopath named the Hood since I was 12. It rubbed off! Of course I had followed them home. Investigated them as much as I could, I’m a sixteen year old Martial artist. They can fly and shoot flame, I needed an edge on them for just this kind of situation.

So I knew about Bolts life, the Twins lives. Not everything but enough

For example I knew Bolts family were going to lose there house, that the Twins father had just lost his job. That Bolt and Dragon had spent time together alone after the last three times we had met.

I also knew Dragon, Phinox and Bolt had all met at the same place. The magic castle in Los Angeles.

Yeah, it did not take much for me to deduce who was responsible for Jack Stevenson kidnapping. I just did not know why? There had not been a ransom request yet.

My conclusion was they had used there powers to pull off the kidnapping and then used them to find a place to hide Mr Stevenson.

When you had powers, you could see the world in more then just three dimensions and had the ability to do amazing things like hide a grown man someplace a normal would not think to look.

Once they had him, they took turns taking the various backpacks to get extra cloths and cash. The other stuff they took no doubt to pawn or, well I had no idea what there motivation was?

While I was not 100% sure, I was about 90% sure that I knew what was going on.

It did not take long for Tim Bandy to vanish and William Kids to reappear, then as William I approached Dragon and told him I was leaving the hotel to follow up a clue. I would check in with them in an hour or two.

I made sure at least Dragon and Bolt saw me exit the Hotel , after that it was as easy as pie to duck behind a wall and switch out my Geer and become Tim Bandy again.

I returned to the Hotel and went about following Bolt. Something told me she was the mastermind behind this.

It took me an hour and two close calls before I had a pretty good idea where they had hid pore Mr Stevenson. Y

you know that whole, no 13^th flood thing? Well that’s not exactly true, many buildings had a 13^th floor. It was where they kept maintenance stuff and storage and what not. A guest elevator sped past the 13^th floor but an employe elevator was able to reach it, or someone with super powers?

Sneaking around in a place you should not be like a Hotel or Hospital or Museum is not as hard as you would think?

. You just have to act like you are supposed to be there. A 16 year old kid walking down employe hallways towards the Employe elevator should have set off alarms? I acted like I was supposed to be there, if anyone asked me a question I truthful y told them I was with the Convention and they ignored me.

It only took me a few minuets to find the Employe elevator and hit the button for the 13^th floor. While riding I switched out of my Tim bandy disguise and in to my Uniform. When the elevator door opened into the dimly lit and cluttered 13^th floor, it was Kid Sidekick who steeped out.

It smelled of dust, mildew and regret. It also smelled like cotton candy?

There is something very sad about forgotten places like this, seldom seen by people. Lost things left to wither away, there is probably an analogy to humanity in that statement?

I was more curious about the smell of Cotton candy?

I maneuver about the maze silently till I reached the spot where I guessed they were keeping Mr Stevenson, it took a few moments but I found it. I was surprised to find Phinox standing in front of the door? That explained the smell of Cotton Candy. His powers were Flame related and when burning dust made the air smell of , amongst other things, Cotton candy.

He was not who I expected to find up here.

I steeped out of the shadows to confront him, he gave a brief squeak of fright then increased the intensity of his flame.

“Why Richard? Why are the Three of you doing this?”

“”Stay out of it Kid, you would not understand?”

“I think I would, it's not that hard to figure out. I am just disappointed you are involved in this as well.”

“He's my brother, I owe him.”

“You don't owe him this Richard Kidnapping? There are better ways to deal with this. You were all supposed to be Heroes, my team members! Not this pathetic attempt at Crime.”

His flame got brighter as he became visual upset by my prodding, which of course was my intention. I needed him upset if I had to fight him. Of my three teammates, he was the one who never really seemed to want to be a Mask? He tagged along with his twin brother Dragon and his powers were always handy when fighting Crime, but his heart was never in it. I often thought he would rather just be living a normal life of a 16 year old in los Angels

“It does not have to be this way Richard Just walk away and I wont mention that you were a part of this.”

He blinked, the flame died down for a second. He looked at his hands, I think he was crying? Then the flame jumped back up and he flew at me.

“You would not understand! “

I dived out of the way as 150 pounds of Flaming Human came flying at me,as he landed to my left and stumbled I did a spin kick in to his Knee. He struggled to regain his balance and put up a fight but it was already over. Despite being the most powerful of us, he had the least amount of combat training. Depending on his flame and speed far to often, a weapon is useless if taken away and all it took was another kick to his knee to bring him to the ground. He landed on his face in a pile of left over heating pipes, I could here his jaw crack from the impact. He screamed out in pain and his flame went out.

I looked around but there was no damage, I often wondered why his flame never set off fire alarms or burnt things on accident?

I took some Zip Ties out of my belt and bound his hands behind his back.

“This was dumb Richard, I do not understand why you let Bolt boss you around?”

He just mumbled how I would not understand as I unlocked the door to the room containing Mr. Stevenson.

“Oh come on Richard, how stupid do you think I am? They had Sex and he got her pregnant! The kidnapping was to get money for the Abortion which is why this was so bungled and unprofessional Why do you think it was so easy for me to find you! Bolt practically spelled it out for me, between the way the two of them have been acting and the stupid backpacks she stole. Fucking Roach, I never did like or trust her but I expected better from you and Philip!”

Confusion crossed his face.

“Wait? How do you know our names, we never told you.”

I just looked at him and shook my head, it was almost pitiful

Once I made sure Mr. Stevenson was ok I called the FBI to come up to the 13^th Floor and recover Phinox and Mr Stevenson.

Richard went willingly, he looked like a limp balloon They would book him for kidnapping ,reckless endangerment and Arson. Ha!

Mr. Stevenson was screaming about Suing him and the Hotel, I spent all of 15 seconds around the man and realized he was a Asshole . I shook my head, maybe he deserved to be in that room after all? Some humility would do him good?

Not my place to judge though. I let the FBI take the credit for the bust as I slipped away in the shadows. I did not want them to turn there attention to me.

The Police and FBI searched the Hotel for Dragon and Bolt once Mr. Stevenson told them about the duo.

Idiots kidnapped him in Costume and told him there names? A small army of Police in a building with over 800 Geeks in it draws attention fast! It came as no surprise that Dragon and Bolt had fled the Hotel

No matter, I knew where they were.

Now.

Flames engulfed the super structure within seconds. Pipes whined and concrete screamed! Years worth of accumulated trash,dry leaves and god knows what else was down here just fed the angry flames. Even with the insulation in my Uniform I was feeling it already.

As for the source of the Blaze, the smell of burnt sugar was the only clue I needed.

“Phinox”

Great now I had to deal with Bolt and Phinox and still no sign of Dragon.

I maneuver myself so I had a wall behind me, offering some protection from the flames. I took that moment to get my barrings and formulate a plan of escape.

Richard did not seem to care about the damage his flames were causing, but I did. Who knew what would happen if the reached something important like a fuze box or gas main? Were there people in the building above us? Could the flames spread from here to another building?

There was no good solution to this, the automatic sprinklers sprung in to action and managed to curtail some of the flames progress and I only hoped that a fire alarm was ringing in the nearby Fire Department station house?

What ever happened next, I had to end this fast.

6 years ago I was able to handle my self against Bolt, Phinox and Dragons 16 year old selves. Now? After not putting on the uniform for two years? With out knowing how there powers and skills may have grown and changed? I did not know?

Hell I had not even thought about them since the Hotel incident and I guess I figured they had vanished with all the other Supers two years ago.

Which begs the question, how did they not?

Which I intended to ask them, once I was out from under this death trap and had dealt with the threat.

I rushed for the exit. head down, letting the costume take most of the damage. Feeling the heat, smelling the smoke, waiting and hoping the sprinklers would snap on before someone got hurt.

A shadow came out of me from the maze of pipes and flames the structure has become. It was Bolt, staggering and bloody. Her hair was smoldering and her face, dear god it must have been a second degree burn at least.

“God damn it Richard, turn the flames off. Your hurting your own team!”

She fell in front of me, I calculated the odds and chose to lift her any way.

“Come on Amanda, get moving. You cant kick my ass if your dead!”

I don’t know if she herd me, the building was screaming! I was moving as fast as I could trying to get us to safe, inches from the exit when a wave of flame washed over me.

I was down, fighting to keep going, heat eating at my skin. Bolt was below me,gasping for breath as a screaming banshee of flame came rushing towards me laughing.

“Do you know what they did to me in Jail Kid Sidekick? To all of us?”

“ You can tell me latter asshole, now let me get you and her to safety!”

“Like I fuck care about safety Kid. You ruined my life”

With that Phinox charged me, a corona of flame licking at his body while hungry tendrils of fire reached towards my all to fragile skin. I waited til he was seconds from touching me and delivered a uppercut to his chin with all the strength I had left.

I ignored the searing pain that engulfed my fist as my effort was rewarded with the satisfactory sound of his Jaw cracking. Phinox mumbled a cry and then slummed down before me. With him no longer controlling it the fire s started to dwindle almost at once. The sprinklers chose this time to finally turn on and I could here the welcome sirens of the Fire Department.

I grabbed his arm and managed to stumbled him and Bolt out of the structure and on to the street

“Fucking idiots!'

I sat down on the pavement and waited. There was still no sign of Dragon, which was fine because I was not sure I could survive an encounter with him. I was hurt, badly. First and second degree burns, dehydration, smoke inhalation. Yeah, I was fucked.

Police and Fire arriving at the same time, none to happy to see three Mask's and a 3 alarm structure fire. At least the building had been empty and no one was hurt. Thank God for small favors.

Once the Duo of Amanda (Bolt) and Richard (Phinox) were dealt with I made a quick exit, I remember how well I was treated the last time I put the Mask on. Frankly the fewer people that knew that I, that we were still around and active the better. The fall out of the news that Supers were running around again playing out there destructive Tableau could be good or could be bad !

I still had no idea who called me and how Bolt and Phinox were still around and who was Reginald.

Pain rushed through my body as I skulked back to my Car and got the First Aid kit out of the trunk. I pealed off the crisp layers of my Uniform to expose my raw flesh to the cool night air. While the Uniform took most of the damage I was still in a bad way and should be in a Hospital, that was not a choice as I had no way to explain the damage.

I was used to burns though, working in a Bakery my whole life plus the Hood had trained me in Combat medicine for years.

A nice soak in a Medicinal bath and the proper application of various ointments and in a few hours I would feel as right as ...a guy who had Second Degree burns.

Something in the air changed, I don’t have powers but I do have years of Training. Even now, out of shape and in pain I was still as competent as any Navy Seal, as aware as any Martial Artist. I did not need to see or hear him approach, I could smell him.

“Same stupid aftershave after all this time Phillip?”

I turned to face my latest threat,. He stood at the end of the ally, he had something that looked like a rolled up carpet slung over his left shoulder.

He let go and it fell to the ground, I herd a painful groan come from it? It was a Person.

“The name is Red Dragon, and my aftershave is no more stupid then your lame ass name! Kid Sidekick.”

“Your aftershave is a Tell Phil. It let me know you were there. You should have known that!”

“Amanda said....”

“Dear God Phil, you and your Brother let that stupid roach mislead you seven years ago and that got all three of you in jail! Now she has you blowing up buildings and apparently once again kidnapping.”

I pointed to the Tarp.

“Please tell me that’s not Mr. Stevenson again?”

“I fucking hate you Kid.”

Sigh, another fight.

Then.

Sometimes there is a part of me that is ashamed of the things I do when I have the mask on. Following Bolt to find out where she lived, discovering the secret identities of Dragon and Phinox and stumbling across Bolt and Dragon having sex!

I knew where they would be, the place where they first kissed. I had seen them there before, watched them with a combination of excitement and disgust. It's hard to be professional and detached when your a 16 year old boy with raging hormones.

It was not a moment I was proud of, but I justified it as I drove to the spot. Had I not spied on them I would not know where they were. Even knowing I was not sure what to do? I handed Phinox to the Police and informed them I was going to bring Bolt and Dragon in, but could I?

I had beaten Bolt and Dragon in practice fights but in a real fight? Bolt would be easy, her density control powers gave her tremendous Strength and Durability, but she was slow and predictable, plus I knew about her broken jaw. That was something I could capitalize on.

Dragon, he was super human fast,able to strike a target multiple times, more then a match for me. I had beaten him in sparing matches, mostly due to him lacking any formal Martial Arts training. His speed meant nothing if he did not have the skill to back it up.

Now it would not be a friendlily sparing match! I was coming to bring my former Defenders, fellow Super Heroes to Justice.

Justice! Like I am any better, like I have any right?

Like I said, sometimes I did things.

I parked the car and walked up to the spot. A natural cave almost that had grown out of the way buildings had been placed and progress had evolved. It had been a maintenance road once, now it was all but forgotten in the day to day rush of the City. If you did not know where to look you would drive right past it.

I knew where to look, so did they.

I did not use stealth this time, they knew I was coming. I wanted them to see me, see my anger and disgust.

I was not angry because they went bad. We were kids,with powers and Masks. We were so full of ourselves, so fucking stupid!

I was mad that they had betrayed the team, disgusted that Phillip and Richard had let Bolt manipulate them, that they had Sex. I did not know a lot about Sex, what 16 year old does? It had just seemed wrong knowing they had done it, that she was Pregnant.

They were waiting for me,holding hands. I wondered if they had bobby trapped the area in preparation of my arrival?

“I don't suppose you two just want to give up?”

They looked at me like I was a bug, filth under there matching Blue Boots.

“no? The Police will be here soon, I told them where you could be found. I asked them to let me go first, cashed in all my Favors with them to have this talk.”

“Fuck you Kid Sidekick” Was Dragons response, Bolt just said that my Name was stupid. It was stupid, that’s why I loved it

“You both know this does not end well! You don’t live happily ever after! You broke the code! You were supposed to be Heroes, now your Villains! Do you know what they do to Heroes in Jail?”

“Your Stupid Kid, you don't have Powers. You get to go home ,take your Mask off and be a normal person! We don't, we did what we had to do.”

“What you had to do? Kidnap some Game Designer, at a Game Convention? Steal a bunch of backpacks? How does that even make sense? You could have just asked for help from your Families, from the other Heroes, from me! We were supposed to be Teammates!”

“We were never Friends Kid ! You were never a part of this team, it was always Me, my Brother and Amanda. You always acted like some Mysterious Dark Knight Detective Devil Bat want to be, always staying in the Shadows. Never telling us your name, wanting to go off on your own to look for Clues because you knew how and we did not! We were never friends!”

“I never said we were Phil, but we were a Team. I expected better from you and Richard. As for you Amanda, you have made my Stomach sick since the moment we met! I never knew why I did not stand you, now I do. Your just spoiled Fruit!

“Fuck you, your just jealous I chose Dragon over you! I see the way you look at me! You wanted me and he got me”

“Wanted you, I never wanted you. I watched you because I never trusted you and as for getting you first “ As if your a prize! Have some self respect Bitch! “

That got her, I think she shed a tear. I could sens her powering up, collecting the mass around her. In a few seconds she would go from a normal girl to a almost 300 pound demolition Machine who could punch holes in Concrete!

“Last chance Amanda, Phil! Stand down, give up, maybe we can work something out. “

“As a team Kid?”

“Yes as a team Bolt!”

“We were never a Team Jack Ass!”

She yelled, it sounded like a Freight Train. She came lumbering at me, the ground shaking as she walked. Her mammoth fists ready to rain down on me. I had felt her blows before, when we had worked together. I had been hit by a Car once while chasing a Mugger. Broke my arm and bruised me up pretty bad, getting hit by her felt like that, but worse.

I had no plan to be hit by her this time, she was never a concern. It was Dragon I worried about. His speed, he was almost my match, maybe even better. I had the edge in the past, but now he knew I had his number. I imagined he would compensate, change up his fighting style. It's what I was going to do, he knew the way I fought. They both did! I am sure the believed they could beat me now, they were wrong.

I knew more then one way to fight!

Her blows were powerful, you could here the air rush when she punched. Like a truck speeding down the street. The wall behind me became Dust when she hit it, I was already moving away from her and watching for Dragons first move.

So God damn fast I did not even see it coming! He had been practicing!

You ever been hit by a baseball? On its own it's not much, but that small ball when it's moving at 60-80-100 MPH, it hurts like Hell! Imagine that, but five times in a row in under 5 Seconds!

I herd Bones crack and felt the blood in my gut.

“Ha, got you, Asshole! Finally got you.”

I steeped back, spat out the blood and stared at him with burning hatred. Years of training flooded my Brain and my Adrenalin was pumping. He flinched, looking at me. I intimidated him.

He got flew at me again, raining fists down on me in rapid successions, a Shit Storm of Pain!

I was ready this time though, letting the padding in my arm guards take most of the damage and rolling with the rest.

“Good one Phil, but that’s all you two get. Is one!”

“Shut the fuck up Kid, we know all your moves, all those times we spared, I just proved I can hit you. All I have to do is make the opening and Amanda smashes your stupid face in to this wall, Game over for Kid Sidekick.”

I smiled and let the hate fill my Eyes.

My voice became gravelly, my knuckles pooped.

“All those time we fought, all those times I beat you. Beat all of you! You know what you fucking waste of life! I was holding back!”

The Hood always said that all those Powers, they meant nothing if you did not know how to use them,control them. They were just Tools and if you did not use the tool correctly or you became to dependent on it. You were asking to have it taken away.

When preformed correctly, Martial Arts can be as beautiful and inspiring as any Ballet. Pro Wrestling is a organized stunt show in the round preformed by two amazing athletes. Boxing is called the “Sweetest Science” for a reason, but take that all away. Take all the honer and training and tradition out of fighting and boil Martial Arts down to it's basic beginnings and that’s when you realize, that they are the practiced art of tearing another person apart with your hands!

Almost every Martial Art known to man had been drilled into me since I was six. First by my Grand father and then by the Hood. I knew Dozens of Combat styles, could walk in to any Dojo on Earth and test for a Black belt

Ever possible scenario of how this fight was going to go ran though my head, and there were several ways I could end this with very little violence.

I ignored them!

In the past when I fought, I would hold back. Use as much Judo and Akido as I could to deal with my opponent with out causing to much harm. I was a Hero, that was just what you did. This fight? This fight I was not going to hold back, oh no. This was going to get bloody I knew it, they knew it, they were going to do there very best to make sure I did not walk away from this, and I? I was going to rip the two of them apart!

As Bolts first blow shattered my Ribs and Dragon rained a rapped succession of punches to my face, I just screamed and went to work. To paraphrase a Comic Book cliche'.

School was in session!

Dragon had to be First, he was the larger threat.

For ever Five blows that hit my face and chest, I returned two. I remember him telling me he had broke his wrist a few years ago from falling off his Bike. I snapped that wrist back in a way it was never meant to go.

Then as Bolt tried to smash me over the head with a Cinder block, I used the wrist hold I had on Dragon to roll him under the Blow. I laughed as Bolt broke her boyfriends skull open!

From the Wrist I went to the elbow and wrenched it hared, pulled him in to me and delivered a Mu Ti kick to his shoulder. Having created a chink in his armor, I kept at it and wrenched that shoulder out of its socket.

Meanwhile Bolt had broken my leg with a two by fore and was trying to maneuver so she could drive a Iron Pipe through my chest, I took every untrained blow she had all the while using Phil as a human shield. I could not let him get his hands free, give him a chance to get up to speed.

So I shattered his knee with kick, then using his as a spring bored I ran up his chest, wrapped my legs around his neck and preformed a wrestling move known as a head scissors take down! The momentum of my flip spun him around and then drove him face first in to the street.

I felt broken glass pierce the Kevlar of my Costume as Amanda smashed a bottle over my chest.

I kipped up and then drove my knee in to Dragons neck, he tried to recover, beg off the next blow .He raised his one good hand up as if to say “I'm done”

I broke that hand as well,then I drove my fist in to his right ear with as much force as I had left, I pooped his ear drum and followed up with a hay maker sending him flaying into Amanda's heaving chest.

Piss and Blood filled the air as she screamed at me. Dragon was down, hurt bad and she was like an angry bull Elephant. She moved faster then I gave her credit for and finally got that blow in to my face she had been counting on.

I think I passed out for a second, I could not see out of my Right eye and I was vomiting up Blood and Bile.

Her next blow probably would have ended me, but remember I knew about her broken Jaw just like I knew about Phillips Wrist.

With all the strength I had left I rammed my fist in to that jaw, then an elbow. I just kept at it. Blow after blow to her Chin, her face. Elbow, Elbow, Knee!

She broke free using her tremendous strength and tossed me like a rag doll in to the wall, I herd things break. She gathered what wits she had left and made as if to run into me, smashing my face in to self same wall.

I pulled a can of Silly String out of my utility belt and sprayed it all in her face

What, I'm not stupid! For all my bravado and “I'm the best in the world” crap, I'm still just a kid who knew some Martial Arts in a world where people can friking Fly! Of course I carried things like hand cuffs, smoke bombs, silly string and weapons.

She ripped the silly string from her face, I knew it would not stop her. Just needed a second to catch what breath I had left and pull a weapon out. In this case a Police Issue Riot Baton that I kept clipped to my belt for just such emergency

With all the strength I had left I taped in to those years of Baseball and swung a line drive right for that broken jaw of her.

The pooping sound it made as her lower jar dislocated from her skull was frightening

She let out a gurgled scream and fell to the ground sobbing

Slowly her body deflated like a Balloon as she slipped in to unconscious and her powers went away.

I got a little petty then and kicked her and him in the head.

Then I took out my phone and told the Police where they could find the Kidnapers.

I duck taped them together and slipped into the shadows as the Police showed up to end this party.

At that point I was done with the whole Solo thing. I limped back to the Hideout for the invertible verbal lashing from the Hood . Strangely enough he did not give me any, just grunted and stapled me back together while I concocted a story to tell my Parents to explain this latest bout of injury’s. The Hit and Run story I had already used twice, they were starting to get suspicious. Maybe they thought I was in a Gang?

I wonder what they would do if they found out I was a Supper hero.

I giggled as I passed out.

Now

Phil moved like I remember. All Speed and very little skill, watching him was like watching a Olympic level Gymnast. He moved with a new found confidence, the Six years since last we fought had been good to him it seemed.

He came charging at me like a Tiger on the hunt, maybe in my prime I could still have taken him but now. Two years of no training and having just survived a building blowing up around me. There was no way I could walk away from this.

He flew through the air with a new found grace I was almost envious of, if that blow hit my face I was probably done.

So I shot him!

I steeped to the side, pulled a Taser out of my Utility Belt and shot him !

He fell to the ground like a sack of bricks. Shaking and cursing, and vowing to kill me.

Maybe it was petty of me, but god I hated the guy almost as much as I hated Bolt/Amanda.

I Curb Stomped his head and walked away from him, let the Police figure this shit out!

I was more curious as to how the Troubled trio had remained behind on the Earth when all the other Supers vanished two years ago.

I opened up the Carpet Dragon had dropped to expose the body inside. It was just some guy I did not recognize, it looked like Phil had beaten him in to submission.

I shook him awake, maybe he had an Idea as to why the Idiots had kidnapped him and gone after me after almost Six years?

I imagined I looked more like a Zombie then a Super hero as the guy opened his eyes, weird he had almost milk white eyes.

Another Supper?

“Hey man, you ok. You know who you are?”

He stretched and moaned and tried to pull himself up. I offered him a hand which he grudgingly took. He stumbled to his feat and took a few seconds to get his barrings. The cry of Sirens filled the night, echoing off the many buildings. Dog's barked in response and the sky was alight with the flames dancing across the Parking Lot of the mall.

The guy looked at me, around the area then at the shivering shape of Dragon.

“What the fuck?”

“These Idiots kidnapped you, I just saved you. Any idea why they took you?”

“Not a clue, attacked me while I was getting Lunch. I barley escaped the big when when this guy jumped me. He moved so fast, I was out like a light within like a second!”

Then he took my bloody and battered forum in and a look of Fear crossed his weird Eye's.

“Who are you?”

“They call me Kid Sidekick, and you?”

“Ramsay, Reginald Ramsey. Kid Sidekick Huh? You might remember me then as Cipher?”

Well fuck me with a Caramel Apple!

“Reginald? As in find Reginald?”

He just looked at me dumbfounded.

  It was going to be a long Night

Chapter one

One more try 11-24-14

Heroes always lose/Villains never win

1: Heroes Always Lose

Then
I am Twenty Years old, I am handcuffed to a iron pipe. My chest is on fire, my heart is broken and my lip is bleeding My head is rattling like a freight train, I hear screaming? Not sure if it's mine or some one else?

I try to shake some sens in to my brain. Remember your training Will! Get it together

Where am I? How did I get hear and what is that noise?

The pain in my chest begins to subside,I take deep breaths to calm my nerves. Take stock of my situation.

I look around in the dim,smoke filled room. I begin to recognize some of the things around me. I'm in the base,the hood-quarters

Hood -quarters, God how Reese hated that name.

Reese,Reese Long. The Hood. My mentor, my friend,my burden.

Then I remember it all! How I got hear, why I am handcuffed to this pole and why there is smoke. I blink back another tear,focus and remember why I am hear. How this all started. It gives me something to focus on as I slowly work my way out of thew cuff's. He did them in just the right way,of course he would. It would take a master escape artist to get out in under 8 Minutes. I can do it in 6.

That’s 6 to long. I'll be to late, because now I know what that sound is and, my heart breaks again.

The call had come an hour ago? Was it just an hour? It seems like weeks. The call, a once in a life time emergency signal from the One person on the planet who could send it. It was herd in every corner of the world, in every language. It was addressed to us, the Super Humans. A call to action, villain or hero. Set aside our bickering and come. Paragon needed help! A threat had come, unlike anything our world would ever see, something that would require every super powered being on the planet to respond.

There was no question they would come, he was Paragon The greatest and most powerful of us. The best of us. He had long ago set himself above the everyday game of Hero vs Villain and only got involved when the big threats showed up. A bank robbery he could ignore, a volcano endangering thousands would get his attention. So for him to call for help, from all of us. It was something that threatened all life on earth.

I begged Reese to let me go, I was his side kick of course I had to go. He refused, told me to stay behind. There had to be some of us to stay behind “just in case”.

“Just in case of what?”

He just looked at me with sadness,sadness. In the 12 years I had known him, been his side kick I had seen every emotion Reese Long was capable of showing. I had never once seen him sad.

“You can't go William, for one last time just do what I ask!”

Then it hit me. For one last time? What a strange thing to say, it was almost if.

“You don't think you are going to come back?”

“I doubt any of us will be coming back Will. Not this time.”

“Why?”

“This day was going to come sooner or latter will, I knew it. I’ve always known it. Ever since I put on that very First mask for the very First time! I knew this day would come, It had to.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You have never seen him up close Will, in fact you have never seen any of the Big Dogs. Paragon, Protious, Professor Mad, Motivator. I’ve kept you away from them, I had to. Had to protect you.”

“What are you talking about? I’ve been with the Crusaders! Fought Legion and Barron Terror! Saved Los Angels at least 5 times? What do you mean the Big Dogs?”

“Every Super villain and hero you have encountered since the day I met you? There powerful but not like them. Not like Paragon .”

He paused, started gathering his things.

“ When you stand in the same room with someone like us, someone who is just a well trained human you see just that. A well trained human in a mask. When you stand in the same room with someone like David Drake, you just see a very smart man who built himself some power armor. You stand in the same room with someone like Vale and you see someone who can do something amazing! She can fly! She can fly, but so what, she's still just human. Still eats and shits like the rest of us. You can accept that we live in a world where people can fly and shoot fire out of there eyes but that’s ok, because at the end of the day they are just like us.”

He was done now, just bending over the computer.

He looked at me again, pressed the enter key. Walked over to me.

“When you stand in the same room with Protious, with Synergy, with god damned Paragon ! Your mind just goes blank! You cant even look at him, its like staring at the Sun,at a dream become real or a nightmare. I met him once, I never wanted to see him again. He's impossible, he and the rest of the World Changers. Even in a world like ours, where there are Super Humans, he is impossible He just cant exist, he breaks every rule of Physics. He's not a Super Man, he's a God. That’s why I’ve always known this day would come Will”

He stopped Looked at me, took my hand.

“Because in every story about Gods,the Gods fall William. They have to. Olympus, Valhalla, Fairy Tales , they all end. They end Will and Gods fall. There is just no place in the world for them. That’s why today had to happen, that’s why I don't think I'm coming back and that’s why you can't go. Because some one has to stay behind William.”

I think I was crying then.

“Why?”

“To remind them William, remind them we once walked the earth and carry the torch. God's fall William, but someone has to keep that memory alive for the future.”

That's when he hit me.

The sound was an air raid siren, the smoke was all the records and equipment in the Hood's base burning. His fail safe in case? In case today happened.

I stand up,toss the handcuffs away. Watch 12 years of my life go up in flames and turn off the radio. I don't need to hear the siren, don't need to listen to the news. I know whats going on.

There gone, all of them. Every Super Hero and Villain that responded to the call. Gone.

In the days to come the world would mourn, they would ask questions . They would seek out the few that were still around and want to know why ? What happened? Where the Supers went and why there were still around.

Those of us who remained behind. They were the one's who were to old to respond or too far away or to scared. They were to young,or in the case of the Villains? They were in jail. Then there were the One's like me, the side kicks. Like me, there mentors had made them stay behind and like me, we few. We fragile few were left to tell the story of the days the God's walked the Earth.

We would never know what happened, what the threat in fact was. The how and the why would be argued for months, then in time. The world would move on. Like it always had.

I wore the mask for a week or so after “The Event” (The event, that’s what they were calling it?). There was still crime, still riots, still penny anti D-list Super Villains to deal with, so I wore the mask till One day after stopping a robbery at a 7/11 I just gave up. Why bother ?

I tossed my mask in the trash and walked home and went on with my life, just a foot note in the history of the Super Humans. People would ask, what ever happened to Paragon?

No one ever asked, what ever happened to KID SIDE KICK?

Now.

I'm 22 years old. I'm running as fast as I can. I used to be faster damn it!

Two thoughts fill my head, One. I need to get my Car fixed and Two, I'm out of shape! I used to be faster, Kid Sidekick would never run this slow.

Then I realize I am thinking about it again, my past life. It's an addiction in some ways, the life of a Costumed Vigilante. Two Years and I still can't shake it.
I push that thought out of my head and keep running.!
I'm about to become an Uncle for the first time and I'm late.

I am at the Hospital and I am looking at the most beautiful sight in the world, the lovely green eyes of my Niece. Welcome to the world Penelope Rose Taylor. My sister and her Husband look so tired, so happy, so perfect. It's all I can do to not cry. I just feel that tinny hand grip my finger for the first time and I know I will spoil her rotten. That I will do everything I can to keep her safe.

Well, not everything.

We laugh, we cry, we talk, we eat. We do everything a family does at a time like this. Then One by One we leave the happy family alone. We will see them soon, celebrate this new life.

Grandma offers me a ride home, at 85 my grandmother is offering me a ride home. Tonight I'm going to walk, shake off the cobwebs. I'm out of shape, the walk will do me good. It's not that far.

So I walk home, lost in my thoughts Even in a room full of family I am alone, they all know part of me is broken, has been for Two Years but none of them know why. Well I have always suspected that Grandma knew but she never said anything. Whats that line “In less you have already been there I cant tell you about it. We have no common base from which to talk about it?”

Something like that, they know I am sad but they don't know why. I think I told them a story about a bad break up once? They just stopped asking after a while, its not like I am miserable? I have a good life, a good job, friends and family I love. I Just became an Uncle for the first time! So, yeah I have a good life, but there's just always that itch! That voice in the back of my head, and they can see it. Sens it, that part of me is broken.

If I was a Alcoholic I would go to AA meetings, sadly there is no 12 step program for us. Most of us could not stand being in the same room with each other. Still, there are,options?.

She asks me how I got the stupid name KID SIDEKICK? And why I kept it. She knows the story, they all do. Still She asks and I answer.

When I had started my career as a masked vigilante I was such a cliche. Angry, tragic kid dressed in black who knew some martial arts and thought he could be the next avenging angel of the night. Got my ass handed to me the first time I went against a gang member, and the second and third as well. I got better though, was making a name for my self. I had wanted to be known as The Cowl, or The Cape or something equally dark knight spooky.

One day I ran into a D-List super villain named Mammoth, he almost killed me. That’s when I met Reese Long for the First time. That’s when I met the Hood. I watched as he took out the Mammoth in under a Minuet, laughing the whole time.

He took me under his wing after that, by the end of the Month I was his side kick.

Then came that stupid day when I did not listen to him, almost got both of us killed. He was so angry, he slapped me! Called me stupid. He was so disappointed in me! That was the day I saw the real Reese Long for the first time, the egomaniac sociopath that was the Hood.

As we left the crime seen a reporter asked the Hood who I was, I can still here his answer.

“Him, he's just my stupid Kid Sidekick.”

From that day on I was refereed to as the Hood's Kid Sidekick. Never once the Cowl or the Cape, just the Hood's Kid Sidekick. Soon I was just being called Kid Sidekick, it was a joke. A insult, I was to petty to even have a real name like the Fox or the Hood! I was just Kid Sidekick.

Then something happened, people began to respect the name,fear it. Kid Sidekick saves bus full of Children! Kid Sidekick foils bank robbery. Run for it boys! It's Kid Sidekick.

Soon it was not a joke, soon it was something to be proud of. Soon I began to like being Kid Sidekick. There were a Dozen guys out there named the Cowl or the Ghost or the Cape, but there was only one Kid Sidekick.

Hi, my name is William Kids and I am a recovering side kick named Kid Sidekick.

There are Four of us in her little support group. We meet when we can,about twice a month. It consisted of Myself
A D-List super villain who was in jail when the “Event” happened by the name of Thomas “Peeping Tom” Peterson.
A playing card themed fellow sidekick whose mentor left behind, named Blake “Black Heart” King and her.

My best friend ,Marin. Beautiful,weird,green skinned Marin. They all had Super powers of some type. Marin had the whole Flight,Water Breathing,Super Strength thing going. Tom had some kind of Enhanced Senses and Blake could run really fast, like sports car fast.

Me? I just had Years of Physical and Mental training. I was considered a world class Athlete, Martial Artist and someone once tagged me and the Hood as California’s greatest detectives? Was never sure what that actually meant ?

Funny thing being a member of the Non Powered Super's club,it's like being a Gun Fighter in the Old West. Some new guy always comes along and wants to challenge “the Great Detective?”. =

Hindsight is 20/20 and I look back and think, “ The Great Detective should have seen this coming”. I don't know, all I know is, that it started with that robbery

Then.

I'm 20 years old. I'm at the top of my game, and I am way out of my depth!
I am not supposed to be hear, that’s for sure. They made that very clear when they shot me!!
My leg stings from the bullet, jack ass shot me! I'm hiding, trying to avoid these guys . I should be a whisper in the night but I am making rookie mistakes! Letting my emotions get the best of me! Never go in angry,the Hood used to say.

I'm to broken to be angry. Frustrated,curious,devastated,hurt and in a zen like state of I am going to kick the ass of the next person I see, but not angry.

After the event, all of us that were left had no idea what to do. All over the world you had a handful of us just standing around going “What the Fuck?” I did everything I could think of to follow up,find out what happened? I could not get an answer from any source and your telling me the Intelligence Community has the ability to find One guy in a city of Ten Thousand but they have no idea what happened ?

After a few days of being led down blind ally’s, I just decided that I was going to go find out for my self.

Which led me to here
The sight, where it happened. Ground Zero of the event?

The closest thing I can compare it to is either a major disaster or that seen near the end of Close Encounters. The whole area was sealed off,locked down and placed in a 100% no contact zone. Black Helicopters and Jeeps patrol the area,along with a small army of men and Woman in Uniforms I don't recognize and a Dozen or so Scientist types. I felt like a fugitive, not a Super Hero.

There hiding something? I'm in the shadows, bleeding, being chased by a group of well armed men. They make it very clear they do not appreciate me skulking around the sight, thus the bullet

I m sorry but, I have every right to be here!
I needed to know! Call it survivors guilt or my OCD but I needed to know what was so Earth shattering that it required every available Super Human on the Planet to come to this point and then just, vanish?

No blood, no bodies,no witnesses, no clues, no signs or evidence of any kind. Just gone.

I patch up the wound as best I can,take a second to catch my breath and then slowly crawl to the next available spot while they search for me. I get near to a jeep and flop myself into the back.

Time passe, not sure how long. The jeep is dark, warm and smells of potato chips, I am tired and losing blood so I may have zoned out. Eventually One of the Soldiers walks past the Jeep, I grab him and drag him in. Knocking him out before he has a chance to scream I Search him but other then his Weapons and a Security card he has nothing to tell me who he works for. I slip on his uniform and leave him tied up in the Jeep. I wait till another patrol passes by and then I just fall in behind them. Another Drone in the Hive.

My walking tour of the site does not fill me with any new information , before the day is over I have taken pictures, copied files and listened in on conversations Whoever these guys are, they have no better idea what happened then I do.

Night falls and I limp my way out of the Area, no One notices. I find my Car just where I left it and drive back the way I came till I find a 24 Hour Coffey Shop where I could collapse and go over my notes. I drift in and out of sleep, the staff shows no concern. By Noon I am back home and considering what to do next.

Do I keep going out there and fighting Crime? Do I keep trying to investigate the Event? Or do I hang up my Cape and live the rest of my life as William Kids, Bakery owner?

The Universe has no answers for me, just an empty stomach and no idea what to do next? I just go about my life waiting for inspiration

It comes a few days latter when I read that someone murdered Walter Krumpus! Who is Walter Krumpus? Well Walter Krumpus was in fact Dr Fog, one of the very first costumed heroes to walk the Earth!

His body was found only a few miles from where I lived, it was as if fate was asking me to look into his murder, after all he and I had one thing in common We were both left behind, him due to age. Me due to my mentor knowing what was going to happen?

As night fell, I put on the mask made my way to the home of William Krumpus.

Now.

Fate is a strange thing, even if you don't believe in fate you can not argue that the universe is a weird place where crazy stuff often happens. I ask myself what if? Was it fate or just dumb luck that started all this?

I had spent the afternoon visiting friends, playing pool. Eating Carbs,laughing. You know, normal stuff.

I was on my home,traffic was tight so I decided to take a alternate way.

That’s when I herd the sirens.

They were racing up the street behind me I pulled over so they could pass me and I looked out the window. I caught a glimpse of movement and with curiosity I looked and there, leaping between Two buildings was a guy in a Red Mask !

What?

A guy in a mask? A guy in a brightly colored Costume with a Backpack strapped to his back ? Leaping between Two buildings in the opposite direction the Police were going?

A Villain?

In my mind the difference between a Criminal and a Super Villain is the costume. Any One can rob a Bank wearing a ski mask, but a Super Villain does it in a costume and mask and call's himself Professor Doom or something.

This guy, who ever he was. Was not a Criminal, he was a Villain. As far as I knew there were only a handful of Super Villains left on earth after the Event. The One's who were in jail at the time. Or injured,or to old or cowardly or held back by there mentors like I was. I knew where most of them were and from my brief glimpse I did not recognize the guy so.

A new Villain? Or an existing one in a new costume, either way? After Two years of nothing, a new masked bad guy appears?

I think I was out of the car and heading for an ally way before I even realized what I was doing.

I had to stop my self, my hands were on the side of the building and I was just about to climb up and I had to stop myself.

What was I doing?

No equipment,no costume,no preparation and Two years out of shape and I was considering engaging in a rooftop chase against a Foe I knew nothing about?

I had not punched anything other then bread dough in the past Two years, I was not ready to do this.

I was on top of the roof within Fifteen Seconds, slow by my count. I tried to catch a glimpse of my quarry while also scanning the rooftop for anything I could use as a weapon?

I had already lost him? Nothing as far as the eye could see, just trash and a few confused Pigeons

I looked back the way the Police had gone and realized I should get out of the way before they think I was the guy they were chasing.

I jumped back down and landed in a sloppy roll but any landing you can limp away from right.

After that I got back into the car and drove past the Crime scene.

Manning Electronics was not your corner Radio Shack They sold high end specialty electronics to computer companies. Somehow I did not think the Villain robed them for there Money? No he was after whatever it was they made, and in my experience a masked Villain stealing state of the art technology never ends well.

I drove home in quiet contemplation, wondering what I had just seen and why? Who was this new Villain and what had he stolen?

Under my bed was a small locked suitcase, my “Bat-Cave”. It held all that was left of Kid Sidekick. A spare costume. A worn mask. A pair of Tonfa*. A First Aid kit,roll of Duct Tape and a Flash drive that contained all the information I was able to save from the Hood's files as well as information on every remaining Super that I knew of. I had not pend the case in about 8 Months, had not put on the mask again since. Well since that night Two years ago.

The information about the Crime was vague with no mention of a mask being involved. No, they would not want to stir up that Hornets Nest just yet.

As far as the public knew we had all vanished on that day Two years ago. How would they react if the discovered some of us were still around? Would they rise us up and embrace us as their long lost Heroes or would they Riot against us as they had Hex Cat.

I sat her with the mask in my hand and waited for an answer?

I did not wait long.

(*fighting sticks)

Then

Sneaking in to the home of William Krumpus,AKA Dr Fog was easy. The Police presence was minimal as CSI had already been here, just the stranded yellow tape and a Patrol car cruising the area. Nothing I could not handle

It may come as a surprise but for the most part those of us in the Super Powered Fraternity do not have elaborate secret bases. Most of us just had normal homes and kept our Super Stuff in a closet or in the back sees of the car. Unless you were a Power Armor type like David Drake, you did not need a secret base these days.

Williams house was nice, the home of a retired Professor of Chemistry in a nice middle class neighborhood. I did not find anything in my exploration that the police did not already make not of in there initial investigation, but then they did not know about his other life.

It did not take long for me to find the hidden space in the garage where he kept his Dr Fog equipment. I was hoping he had some extra security measure, hidden camera or something but other then the Uniform and signature gas gun there was nothing.

I gave the House one more look over, I tried to remember if he had any Family or a Side Kick? Someone I could pass the Dr fog equipment on to. Like the Hood had passed his legacy on to me.

No one came to mind.

Dr Fog had not been fully active since the 80's. I am sure he had the usual who's who of a Rogues Gallery, we all did but no One I could think of who would want to kill him after all these years. Especially since 90% of us were MIA.

Maybe it had just been a home invasion, lets face it the criminals of the world were having a field day this month with no Heroes to stop them.

It was easy for me to tap into the Police database on my Smart Phone and go over the report and evidence .Everything seemed to point to someone breaking in to his house, William confronting the guy and getting him self killed. Maybe 15 Years ago he could have handled a common thug, but he must have been in his 80's.

I walked the house from corner to corner, trying to see if the Police had missed anything. After about Twenty minutes I was ready to give up.

Then I saw it.

Stuck in the heating vent, a small Black Cat whisker. William Krumpus did not own a Cat.

I was out the door and on my way before the Police car did it's next drive by. I racked my brain to think of any Criminals who used Cats or were Cat like or even owned a Black Cat- Ok I was searching it with the own a Black Cat thing, my Aunt had a Black Cat did that make her a suspect.

A Black Cat whisker was nothing, but it was all I had and I felt I owed it to Dr Fog to solve his murder.

So I started with the most obvious, any one I could think of with a Cat motif ,in Los Angles who had not Vanished.

The list was short.

Hex Cat.

Hex Cat was what we referred to in the Super biz as a neutral or force of nature. Sometimes she would help out the Heroes, some times she would side with the Villains, and sometimes she would just do strange chaotic things. All the time following her own muse.

I had only encountered her Twice before, both times she had seemed unstable..

I had no problem picturing her killing Dr Fog. I just had no idea why?

That is if this was her Whisker.

I was grasping at shadows and I knew it. The whisker could mean nothing. That did not stop me from racing to the part of Los Angeles where she was known to spend most of her time. About a ½ an hour from Dr Fog's house.

Hex Cat was an Anime fan's wet dream. A large breasted Cat Girl, with Cat ears a tail and everything. She was an enigma, her origins unknown to any of us. Good or bad she just was.

I spent almost an hour siting on the roof of an Optometrist office before I caught a break, the barking of Dogs filled the night along with a scream.

I jumped from the roof to the building across the street with practiced ease and was bounding in the direction of the noise. The night echoed with the sound's of trash cans falling over, Dogs barking, people yelling ?

I landed on the top of a Video Shop and looked down in to the Parking Lot. A group of maybe Six people were standing about Ten feet away from a collection of large garbage cans. Two of the people had large Dogs and those Dogs were barking at the cans. Crouched on top of the cans was a humanoid feline shape. Hex Cat.

She was hissing at them, and they in turn were yelling at her, something about a baby?

“Where were you?”

“Why didn't you save my baby?”

“Why are you still alive and they are all dead?”

“My brother, what the fuck did you do to my Brother?”

“Your One of them, One of those freak Super's!”

“Why did you do it. Kill that man?”

“My baby!”

Honestly I had no idea what was going on? There were a whole bunch of angry conversations that made no sens to me all happening at once.
I herd sirens, I saw more people coming out of the video shop, and the building next to it.

It all happened so fast after that

I looked away for a second to see how close the Police were, they were just turning into the Parking Lot. When I tuned back, One of the dogs had somehow gotten free and was charging at Hex Cat. She turned to face it and that’s when I saw it, hanging from her shoulder. One of Dr Fog's gas guns.

It was like slow motion, she was hissing, yelling and somehow she fumbled with the Gun and it went off.

William Krumpus- Dr Fog had been a brilliant Chemist, ahead of his time really. In his costumed persona he used had created and used several canister Guns of his own creation that used compressed air to shot out canisters of the various gas’s and compounds he used. Smiler to the Air Soft Guns of today. From Flash Bombs to sticky Glue Grenades he had created a vast arsenal of Chemical compounds to fight crime. The most infamous though was his “Fear Fog”.

The words “Nooooooo!” were leaving my lips as the Gun went off, I felt like I was in a cliche Action Film but this is how I remember it happening

I was up and over the top of the Roof as the sickly Green tendrils of “Fear Fog” filled the air. I don't know if she meant to pull the trigger or it was an accident but the Die had been cast.

One by One the people in the Parking lot were overcome with the effects of the “Fear Fog”. From what I remember from the Hood's files on Dr Fog, the Green gas had the ability to hinder vision and muffle sound,in addition it contained various Pheromones to create a low level of Fear and Dread on any one who inhaled it. That was forty Years ago, who knows what that Toxic Goo could do after steeping in it's own juices all this time?

I did not have long to question that?

As each of them inhaled the Fog they were over come with Fear. Screaming,Yelling,Vomiting! They began to attack anything that moved, anything they saw as the source of their fear.

Fight or Flight!

Standing on top of the trash can, being attacked by the Dog was the source of there fear, Hex Cat.

If they were overcome by the Fog in such a violent fashion, it's effect on her was a Hundred fold. She was attacking the Dog and anything else that got near her with Feline savagery Those Claws and Fangs were not just for show and she was a agile and deadly as a pouncing Tiger.

It was Riot vs Rage as the crowd fell on her and She in return fought back.

I could hold my breath for up to a 11 minutes at rest and 4 or 5 while fighting. The lenses in my mask were designed to protect me from things like Tear gas and Mace. I would be ok, any One who got in my way? Not so much.

Hands and fists and nails and a bat (Why is there always one guy with a Baseball Bat?) impounded on me as I systematically began to break up the fight.

Fist to the back of the Neck of Target One. He stumbles and I trip him, as he falls I use Akido to flow in to the next Target. I come up behind Two of them and use Judo to slam each of them to the ground. I deliver a Haymaker to the chin of a Third. I leap and deliver a Spin Kick to the Head of the Forth.

Police are yelling somewhere behind me, I think I hear a Gun shot. It's hard to tell in the Fog, I can feel it starting to seep into my exposed skin.

The guy with the bat steps in to my view and swings at me with all his rage and strength, I easily dodge the bat and dislocate his wrist. It flips in the air, I grab it and swing it in to the chest of another target.

“Don’t think of them of people Kid! Just targets, just obstacles in your way.”

That’s what the Hood used to say, and as the Fear Fog began to effect me as well, that’s just what I did. Blood hit my Face, something fell at my Feet, it might have been a Finger.

There were Bullets now, whizzing in the Fog as the Fear claimed more victims.

A riot like I said.

One by One I encountered another target, One by One they fell before my skill, my fear, my rage.

They were just people, overcome with the effects of the Fog while I had been trained to fight since I was Six!

A Fist attempted to connect with my Chest, I blocked it and placed a Kick in my opponents Knee in return! I herd something snap!

Something razor sharp and fast slashed at me, I flowed with it and drove my elbow in to the nose of my next Victim

That’s when I saw it was Hex Cat, or what was left of her. She had been mauled by Man and Dog, they were still swinging at her, biting and tearing. He blood was all over the place, her flesh was a molted mess of Crimson and Black!

Something hit me in the back, hard and with force. I recognized the sound and feeling as a Police issue “less then lethal” Sand Bag round (The Hood had shot them at me several times during many of our practice sessions.)

I snapped out of my fugue as if hit with water, suddenly I was holding the bloody forum of Hex Cat.

After that everything just sort of fell apart.

There was Sirens, yelling. An Ambulance and Hazmat team. Police and interviews. Some more violence as the fog continued its Toxic assault

There were accusation and insults. Some of the Police recognized me but that did not gain me any favors from them. There was definitely a your not welcome any more vibe. How dare I survive when the real Hero's like Paragon had vanished?!

Hex Cat was rushed to the hospital

I was told to vanish and not to interfere with the investigation

I never did find out how Hex Cat got the Gas Gun, if she was responsible for the murder of William Krumpus and if so why?

As for the thing with the baby? I have no clue? There was nothing in the paper the next day about a missing baby?

Latter on I was informed herd there was a mix up at the Hospital, something about her Mutant Blood. They say she passed away, when no One came to claim her remains she was quietly passed on to the Government or something. I don't know.

Once I finally made it home that night, I tossed the mask under my bed and swore the world had seen the last of Kid Sidekick.

There had been a few other sightings of the mask's that survived the event over the next Month. All of them ended negatively.

Somehow the collective unconscious of the World had decided they did not want or need Para Humans around any more, those who had Vanished well good riddance. Those of us who had been left behind, well we should just stay away.

So One by One we did. About Two Month latter Marrin got in touch with me about starting a support group for people like us.

I thought it was a stupid idea.

I still went.

Now.

It had been a while, but it's not like I let my self go?

Working 6 days a week from 5AM to 3PM at a Bakery is a workout! Do you have any idea how much a 50 pound bag of Flour weighs? 50 Pounds! Plus I walk almost everywhere if I can, I hit the Gym 2-3 times a week and spar at the Dojo every Saturday.

So it's not like I let my self go?

But, yeah even all that. It's not the same is it? I did not know if I could do it again, put on the mask. Become Kid Sidekick again? When I'm William Kids I'm just a guy, doing his thing, moving along. When I was Kid Sidekick though, it meant something! I stood for something! Fighting Crime, leaping across the top's of buildings, trading blows with Super Villains. It was amazing, it was 8-12 Years of my life and it meant something! It ended and it took me a long time to let it go, I loved it. Being Kid Sidekick! Not the way Reese loved it, no for him being the Hood was way different then being Kid Sidekick was for me. I was the Yin to his Yang, the White to his Black.

And no there was nothing Homosexual between us! In fact the whole time I knew him I cant recall Reese showing any Romantic or Sexual interest in any One Male or Female? We were partners, he was my mentor. He was a mad man! But he was my friend.

Could I do it again? Be Kid Sidekick again?

What was I thinking?

I tossed the mask across my room and stared at the wall. One guy, One guy in a mask robbing a electronics shop and I am ready to jump out the window and lay down some Kid Sidekick smack again?

Did I really miss it that much?

Maybe Marin was right, I did need her stupid group after all?

I was just about to dial her number when it rang?

The signal!

There is no red phone, alert button or skylight in the shape of a K to get in touch with people like me. There was a network though, that as technology grew and the world changed went from word of mouth to a App on my Smart phone

Programed to monitor the Police and Fire Radio and alert those of us who had it to a situation that might require our aid. Also it allowed a select few who knew the number to contact you directly.

At that moment the Smart phone started buzzing, the App was humming. Someone was trying to get in contact with us. With me, using the network? It had been Two Years since the last time I herd that sound, not sure why I never removed the App but there it was. Buzzing again, calling to me.

Should I answer it?

Of course I should.

“Hello? Marrin?”

There was no response, just a whirring noise like a Fan.

“Hello? Who is this? How did you get this number?”

Again nothing, just the loud fan noise. It sounded vaguely familiar like a airplane propeller getting ready for take off.

“Is this a joke?.”

Still more noise, then the faint sound of arguing. Some one yelling “Find Reginald! Find Reginald!”

“Who is this? Who is Reginald?”

The line went dead,just a hallow dial tone. I was about to put the phone down when it buzzed again, a TXT appeared in my in box. It said simply, “They are not dead.”

After that it was a whirlwind of reaction and emotion, I can honestly say I do not remember putting the mask and the uniform on, the weapons and gadgets hanging from my waist. I was in almost a dream state, I did not become aware of what I had done till I was behind the wheel of my car and half way down the block.

I sure as hell did not remember the Costume being this tight when I wore it last.

I stooped the car at the end of my street and looked at my gloved hands. My face in the mirror, the mask and cold blue eyes of Kid Sidekick staring back at me.

I closed my eyes. Thoughts flashed through my brain, images and ideas all mingling together trying to make sens of Today. One idea kept coming to the front, that sound. I know I had herd that sound before. Like a very big fan.

I opened my eyes,gritted my teeth and gunned the engine I was racing down the streets to the place where I believed I had herd that noise before

I may have been smiling