Heroes

CHAPTER TWO-1

CHAPTER TWO

Shell felt bad about lying to his friends about the real reason he went to New York City. He had told his friends that he was going to visit his cousin Joseph, who lived in Brooklyn where he worked as a waiter at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, but that had been a lie. His cousin Joseph really did exist, but he lived in Colorado, not New York, and he was a ski instructor, not a waiter at a restaurant.

But my friends don’t know that, Shell thought as he walked through the crowded streets of NYC, doing his best not to draw attention to himself among the crowds of people on all sides. And with luck, they never will. Because if they knew the real reason I was here … well, it’s just better for all of us if they don’t.

Even so, Shell couldn’t stop feeling guilty. He had never lied to his friends before, at least not as much as he had recently and certainly not as intentionally as he had, but at the same time, none of his friends would understand his true motives. After all, none of them had had weak, pathetic powers until recently; none of them had had to deal with the most useless power ever; and none of them understood what it was like to be unwanted like Shell had been.

Of course, since Eli had given Shell that power boost, Shell had been more confident and more effective at fighting crime. He was even considering changing his superhero name, as ‘Shell’ didn’t fit as well anymore. He was thinking of changing it to ‘Barriers,’ to reflect his new and far more effective and helpful powers, though he had put off doing that because the process of changing his superhero name would require a lot of paperwork with the NHA that he didn’t want to do. Besides, it was very rare for superheroes to change their names; off the top of his head, Shell could only think of one or two superheroes from the last decade who had gone through the process and it usually just resulted in a lot of confusion, especially if the hero in question was well-known prior to their name change.

Even so, Shell’s powers did not come without a price. Only a few days after receiving his first power boost from Eli, Shell discovered that his powers were fading. When he contacted Eli about this, Eli had explained that the effects of his own powers was not permanent and that anyone who he used his powers on required frequent recharges in order to avoid losing their powers. As a result, Shell had to make frequent trips into New York City to Eli’s hideout, where he would get regular power boosts in exchange for giving Eli information about the Neohero Alliance and what it was doing.

Going into the city on a regular basis was tricky, because the Young Neos were expected to stay on Hero Island in between missions, but so far Shell had managed to come up with a convincing lie every time he requested time off. How long that would last, Shell did not know; frankly, he was surprised that he had been able to go as many times as he already had. He was sure that one of the other Young Neos or NHA members would discover his secret at some point, but so far he had not received any hints that anyone know what he was doing. Even Mecha Knight, who was usually very perceptive, did not treat Shell as if he was up to something questionable.

It’s not like I’m doing anything illegal or anything, Shell thought as he turned a street corner, walking past a hot dog vendor that smelled delicious, though he didn’t stop to grab a bite because he didn’t want to be late to his meeting with Eli. Well, okay, I am giving Eli secret NHA information, but in my defense, he hasn’t actually done anything with it yet.

That was true. Though Shell had given Eli a lot of information, Eli did not seem to have acted on any of it, despite what Eli had said earlier about the NHA being a ‘corrupt’ organization. Shell was not sure if Eli was waiting for the right opportunity to strike or if Shell had yet to give him any useful information. It didn’t help that Eli’s questions were often vague and he rarely gave Shell any hints as to what interested him and what didn’t. The only bits of information that ever elicited any sort of reaction from Eli tended to be ones about the Venetians or John Mann. Every time Shell told Eli about the Young Neos’ latest clash with the Venetians, Eli would focus completely on him and forget about everything else in the room; in particular, he had shown great interest when Shell told him about Treehugger’s adventures in the Shadowlands and what she learned about the Starborn there.

But none of that really mattered to Shell. He needed his next fix, which would last him anywhere from a few days to a week depending on how much he used his powers, and he didn’t care what Eli did or didn’t do with the information he gave him. All Shell wanted was his boost, because it didn’t just give him powers; it also made him feel stronger and faster than he usually did and whenever it went away, he always felt anxious and afraid even if he wasn’t in a dangerous situation.

Objectively, Shell could tell that he was suffering from some kind of addiction, but he didn’t really care. As he turned down the alleyway that would lead him to Eli’s hideout, all Shell could think about was getting his fix. Nothing else mattered to him at the moment; nothing at all, not even the fact that it was starting to rain and he had forgotten his umbrella. He pulled up his coat closer to his head, though not too much because it was only due to his baggy coat that normal people couldn’t see his shell and accidentally find out his real identity. He was dressed in street clothes for a reason, after all, and it would not make any sense to draw attention to his identity when that would just delay him from getting to where he wanted.

By the time Shell reached Eli’s hideout, it was absolutely pouring outside. He stepped on the front steps of the door at the back of what appeared to be an abandoned apartment building and knocked quickly on the door, trying to stay underneath the awning above the door in order to avoid getting wet. He didn’t have to wait long before a slit in the door opened and two small, beady black eyes peered out.

“What’s the password?” said a gruff voice.

“Chip, it’s me, Shell,” said Shell, patting his chest. “You know who I am.”

“I know, but I still have to ask for the password or Eli is going to be up my behind,” said Chip. “Again, what’s the password?”

Shell gritted his teeth, but he shouldn’t have been surprised. Due to the fact that Eli was on the run from the government and the Venetians, he had developed a variety of security measures in order to keep himself safe. He would apply these security measures even to people he already knew and trusted, like Shell, even if it was inconvenient. Shell understood, but at the same time he found it so annoying that he sometimes felt like Eli was just playing with him.

Regardless, Shell said, “Wanted.”

“Got it,” said Chip. “Hold on while I undo the locks.”

The slit closed and was followed by the sound of multiple locks being undone before the door cracked open just wide enough for Shell to enter. Shell did not hesitate to pass through the doorway, grateful that he was now in the dry hallway of Eli’s hideout, though he could still hear the pouring rain even when Chip closed the door behind him.

“Thanks,” said Shell as he removed his coat and hung it up on a nearby coat rack on the wall. “That rain is crazy.”

“Yeah, I know,” said Chip with a grimace. “Definitely not like Phoenix. Don’t understand how anyone can live here.”

“I know,” said Shell. He took his glasses off and wiped them dry quickly before putting them back on his eyes. “Anyway, is Eli available? I just want to make sure that the meeting is still on schedule.”

“Nah, he’s in his office,” said Chip, gesturing down the hallway. “He doesn’t have any other guests at the moment, so don’t worry about interrupting him.”

“Okay,” said Shell. “Thanks.”

Shell made his way down the hallway, moving as quickly but quietly as he could. He had learned, from previous visits to Eli’s hideout, that Eli and the other Unwanted who stayed here didn’t like unnecessary noise. It was an odd quirk of theirs, but one Shell respected, if only because he remembered well how Eli had shouted at him the last time he came here too loudly.

As he walked, he heard noises coming from the walls, voices and footsteps, most likely the other Unwanted. The walls were too thick for him to make out in detail what they were saying, but it sounded like there was a lot of nervousness and tension in the air. Shell had no idea why, though, because as far as he knew the hideout was a perfectly safe place to be. He looked over his shoulder to ask Chip, but then realized that Chip was not following him. In fact, he didn’t see Chip anywhere; perhaps Chip was using his powers or he had entered one of the rooms.

Regardless, the nervous and tense voices and footsteps made Shell feel nervous himself. That caused him to walk more quickly than ever, but when he passed by a cracked door, he heard someone saying, “…Don’t be so nervous. It will be fine.”

Shell stopped. He recognized the voice; it was the voice of Sarah, a fellow Unwanted, who had been the first member of the Unwanted to recruit him into the group. He didn’t know who she was talking to, but he did hear a reply from a nervous-sounding male voice.

“Eli knows what he’s doing,” said Sarah, sounding a little annoyed. “Just because we’ve never done an operation this big before does not mean that we’re destined to fail. Look, you should probably take a nap, because you were up all night and clearly did not get a good night’s sleep.”

Shell was tempted to stand there and continue to eavesdrop, but his desire for another power boost forced him to keep walking. He did wonder what ‘operation’ Sarah was talking about or who she was speaking to. Shell vaguely recalled hearing bits and pieces about some kind of ‘operation’ from the other Unwanted over the past few weeks, but he had never focused much on it, because none of the discussions he heard ever had anything to do with him. Besides, all he cared about was getting his power boost; who cared what else the Unwanted were doing as long as he got what he wanted and needed?

Arriving at Eli’s office door, Shell saw that it was already opened, so as he walked in, he knocked on the door and said, “Hi, Eli. I’m here for my weekly power boost.”

Eli’s office looked much the same as it always had. Dark red curtains hung over two tall windows on the back, while bookshelves full of books on a variety of interesting and obscure subjects lined the left wall, while a flat screen TV (which was currently off) hung on the right wall. A large desk sat near the back windows, where Eli himself sat, though he had apparently not noticed Shell enter, because he was focused on the small object on his desk.

The object was ancient, perhaps the oldest thing Shell had ever seen in his life. It was small, not much bigger than a smartphone. It was even shaped somewhat like a smartphone, though it lacked a touch screen. It did, however, have several buttons on its surface, a few which clearly did not work, but others appeared to be in working condition. The object did not appear to be made out of any earthly metal, which was not surprising, because the Call was a creation of the Starborn, which explained why it did not seem like any earthly metal. Of course, Shell did not know what the Call actually did, but given how everyone seemed to want it, he doubted it was anything good.

Eli’s focus on it was intense. He turned it over in his hands, his eyes focused on the Call as if it was the only thing in the whole universe. He even had bags under his eyes, which made Shell wonder how much sleep Eli had gotten recently.

Feeling awkward just standing there, Shell said, “Uh, Eli? Hello? I’m standing here.”