The Core Being

It was a busy day in the experimental power plant codenamed Eternal Light. Scientists doing calculations, checking numbers, changing settings, and doing various other important tasks to keep the new plant operational. After physicist Spencer Greer developed the new multiflux theory the scientific world was all abuzz with the power potential this concept held. When they got the grants to build the test plant nobody, not even the scientists involved expected as large a power output as they recieved from it. In fact it was getting stronger every day but did not seem to be destabalizing. That did not keep Spencer Greer from worrying however. This was his baby and according to everything he knew about this energy source it should not be THIS powerful. Current calculations indicated that if every American and Canadian ran every appliance in their household and never turned off their lights and air conditioners it would only use up 1/10th the amount of power this source was capable of.

After taking a few readings during another long sleepless night, Spencer stopped by the reactor core. He stared into its glow and wondered what exactly he had stumbled on to. Then he saw something. He could swear he saw something moving inside of it. He stepped closer to peer in and slowly he was able to make out the form of a baby. A humanoid baby in the middle of the pulsing green cloud in the reactor. The ears were a bit pointed but otherwise it looked human.

He screamed with a start and awoke one of his fellow scientists who had fallen asleep at his console.
The scientists rubbed his groggy eyes and mumbled, "Have another epiphany doctor?" only to see Spencer staring with his mouth hanging open and pointing at the baby in the core.

That was enough to wake Edmund up from his grogginess.

The next day the dull roar of activity that had thus far been typical of this plant had become a raucous thunder. Calculations were made, questions were asked, new sensory equipment was invented on the spot, nobody had a clue how this happened or where the child came from. Deliberations about whether or not to get the infant out of the core continued for hours. By the end of the day however the child had grown a full four inches.

Days turned into weeks and the fervor did not end. The government made it clear that until they knew what caused this that they would never allow this plant to be operated in anything other than an experimental phase and that their grant money was not limitless. They had to have answers and they needed them soon.

By the end of the month the child had grown to be a full fledged young woman who had not yet opened her eyes once. It was now clear that her ears definitely had points to them but there was something else that was odd. Her chest had what appeared to be an odd tattoo. It looked like several curvy lines coming from the top middle point and was quite elegant.

Still no closer to an answer than when he started, Spencer found himself sleepless again and wandered to the reactor core where he had originally found the baby. He looked in to find that not only had the grown woman that the baby had developed into inside of a month vanished from the inside of the reactor, but she had teal skin, pink hair, glowing eyes, and was sitting naked at one of the terminals reading a newspaper. And with that Spencer lost consiousness.

When he finally came to he discovered that someone had put their lab coat around her so she wasn't exposed quite so much and they were all talking at once. She seemed to understand what they were saying and asking but she did not respond vocally. She looked a bit confused and more than a bit worried. Spencer got off the floor he had collapsed on and tried to salvage the situation.

"What do you think you are doing? If you all talk at once you will just scare her!" Once everyone quieted down now that the lead was awake again he turned toward the core being and asked, "Do you know who you are?"

The question was simple enough and the atmosphere was finally calm enough, she seemed to relax a bit and looked down. Then she looked around the room, then back at Spencer. "Do you know who YOU are?" was her only reply.

It caught Spencer completely off guard and he started rambling and babbling like an idiot. "Well, I'm um, I'm a physicist, I developed the Multiflux theory, the umm, the idea that lead to this place being build." He gestured around him, "The facility where you seem to have been born. I umm... I guess I am kind of like your father.... in a way, but not really.... I guess that doesn't really answer the question. I was born in Dathur Georgia."

He continued on for well over an hour constantly starting over and trying to figure out what the question meant and how to best answer it while she stared intently listening to every word. A couple of times other scientists would try to interrupt him to snap him out of it but the others restrained them.

After a while he finally arrived at a conclusion. "I guess I don't know anything beyond that."

The being nodded calmly. "And I know less than that." Was her response. She then stood up and walked to the reactor and stared in quizzically.

Nobody knew how to respond. They all thought they should know but they didn't. They stood there watching her as she stared into the core, then stared intently at every button, dial, light, switch, and screen around it. Then she wandered back to the newspaper she had been reading when Spencer found her. "Do you have more like this?" She said holding it up.

This suprised everyone and nobody said anything for a few seconds. Spencer finally said "I have several books in my study over in the living quarters."

"Books." She replied, "I would like to see more books."

The next several days she never left the study and did not seem to need food. The scientists brought her things from the cafeteria and tried to get her to eat but she was not interested. All she did was read. She read everything available from scientific theory to mystery novels, from Fantasy to current events. She even seemed to be interested in the management and self improvement books.

Roughly two months later Spencer came into his study expecting to see the Core Being, who he now called Lisa but noone else did, reading as he had become accustomed to, hoping that when she ran out of books she would have some answers for him. She was not there however. He searched the living quarters and she was nowhere to be found. The scientists formed searches and the PA system declared that she was to be found but nobody could locate her. The fear that somehow she had bypassed the defenses and escaped the compound both confused and frightened Spencer and the other scientists who had grown rather fond of her presence. However it frightened the government even more.

----- End of Chapter one ------

This is the beginning of the story of my favorite character to date. She has almost reached level 50 and I am sad to see her so close to retirement so I felt it was a good idea to write down her story. I'll try to get it all down and do it justice to the ideas in my head.
Let me know what you think so far.

It sounds pretty good so far. Mysterious things like babies being born out of a reactor interest me, lol

Here is chapter 2. I havn't had time to proofread it yet but enjoy. Hmm, there seems to be a problem with spacing I'll address tomorrow.

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The Core Being's life so far had been a short one. She was born only a mere month and a half ago but it seemed like a lifetime had passed. She spent all of her sleepless hours reading everything she could get her hands on. It was as if she felt an undenyable urge to learn about her surroundings as if a void was left that should have already been filled in.



She now knew many things she felt were importantant and many more things that she found amusing but she also now knew that if more of the knowledge she needed was to be gained, it would have to be gained through first hand experience.



Once she came to this conclusion she simply left. It was just a matter of believing herself somewhere else. Since she had only a meager familiarity to life outside the laboratory she just believed herself anywhere else. She ended up quite high up in the air above a small town in Tennesee.



The locale was a quaint and suitably cliched gas station on the outskirts of Birdhill City. The clerk at the counter saw her fall from the sky and land pefectly on her feet, then quickly fall to her side unconsious. She was unlike anything he had seen outside of the television. The news frequently showed all manner of unusual people doing things most humans only dream of. Now This teal skinned young woman with pink hair and glowing eyes wearing a lab coat drops out of the sky and collapses in front of the building. Needless to say Billy was a bit excited.



Billy quickly ran out to see if this person needed any kind of help, he felt certain that she was a superhero of some kind, after all why else would she look like this.



"Lady, are you ok?" He said in a thick accent. "Oh you're out cold. I need to get you inside where people aren't libel to run over you."



He picked her up and carried her inside and noticed that her ears were pointed at the tips. Surely someone this special would bring some excitement to their lonely town. He quickly called up the Sheriff to see what he should do now.



The being awoke halfway through the employee's conversation with the sheriff which she overheard part of. "So you will be right down here right? Good. Should I call the Tribune? Why not? I guess. Well I'll see you when you get down here sir." She looked around groggily... this place certainly was very different from the laboratory she had been in. Much more rough around the edges and certainly a goodly bit less clean and sterile, however she had no preconceptions or prejudices one way or the other. This suited her just as well as the other.



She watched as Billy came back into the room she had been deposited in, he was running all over the place trying to clean up and prepare coffee and it wasn't until he had started a pot that he realized she was awake and staring at him. "Um, hi miss. You were outside and fell unconsious, I brought you in here to keep you safe, err not that outside isn't safe, but lyin' down on the pavement is. Not that it is your fault or anythin'. Do you have a name ma'am?" He stammered all of this out without remembering that the Sherriff asked him to not ask her any questions till he got there and he clapped his hands on his mouth as soon as he said it.



"Name." She said as if mulling over the very meaning of the word. "Most called me the Core Being."



"The Core Being?" Exclaimed Billy with overflowing exuberence. Certainly that was a superhero name, it definitely fit. "So you ARE a superhero then?" And he quickly clapped his hands on his mouth again and decided that he really needed to quit asking questions.



"Superhero." Stated the Core Being. "I do not think so."



This simply confused Billy but he held his tounge this time waiting for the sherriff to arive before saying anything else.



The Core Being stood up and started wandering the convenience store portion of the station. She found a magazine rack and started flipping through what was on the stands.



Billy was amazed at how simply she walked. She did not move like most women did, but not quite like a man either, just she moved with simplicty with no macho or feminine influence in her gait. It confused him somewhat and he sat there and watched as she read the majority of a magazine.



It was around this time that the sherriff rolled into the parking lot. He didn't know what to expect be it some superpowered ne'er do well or a hero of some minor note who had a bit of a hard time. Either way he had his hand at his pistol just in case. When he came in he saw Billy jumping up to greet him and the mysterious woman idly reading a magazine aparently without a care as to his presence, He relaxed a bit but was still not comfortable with his situation.



Billy was beside himself offering the officer a cup of coffee and asking him questions, telling him what has happened so far, including what he had already mentioned on the phone. The Core Being remained aparently oblivious to the officer's presence even when he was standing right next to her and cleared his throat to try to get her attention.



Finally he gave up on trying to establish eye contact. "Ma'am, we don't get many like you around these parts. I was wonderin' if you might be willing to answer a few questions for us." he said in a polite but still athoratative voice.



She looked up from what she was reading and put it down. Her glowing eyes looked back into his calmly as if waiting.



"Ehem, yeah, we were wonderin' what you were doing out here and if you needed any help. Now I can't help but notice you are barefoot. If you can't afford proper attire we have a church down the road who may be able to assist you."



The Core Being continued to just stare into his eyes waiting for the actual question.



"Uhm... well you havn't done anything wrong yet I guess, but it would be best if you din't wander around barefoot in public. Never know when there might be a nail or something you might step on."



More staring.



"Would you like a ride out to the church where they might be able to help you?"



"Yes." Was her reply.



The trip was mostly uneventful and consisted mostly of uncomfortable silence. The sherriff was almost afraid to say anything because he wasn't sure if she was understanding him or if he wasn't being clear, or if there was some other problem at work. When they arrived at the destination she got out of the truck when he did and followed him to the doors of the large building. It was much smaller than the laboratory she had spent so much time in before but significantly larger than the little gas station she arrived at. She had read a couple of religious texts in the study but was mostly unfamiliar with the practices inside these places and was interested to see how people behaved.



The Sherriff walked right in the front doors and headed down a long hallway. He mumbled to himself "Three o'clock on a wednesday, I hope the pastor is still in." He eventually stopped by a wooden door with Rev. Luke Adams posted on the door and he knocked.



There was a brief stirring inside and an elderly voice yelled out "Enter." It sounded as if he had been awoken unexpectedly.



She followed the Sherriff into the small office where an older man wearing black was sitting in a large chair on the other side of a desk. "Good Heavens Jim, what do you have there?" The reply sounded kind hearted but more than a little bit startled by her appearance.



The Sherriff replied "I don't rightly know. Shes not the talkative sort but seems to be a bit out of place. Billy says she just dropped out of the sky in front of Malcomb's Gas Station. Was wonderin if you might be able to get some answers and help her on her way. Shes wanderin around barefoot and I doubt she can much fend for herself currently. Think you can help her out for a spell?"



With that the Core Being looked at him slightly puzzled, she had answered every question he asked her and wondered why he felt the need to get help with answers, then looked back toward the Reverend.



The Reverend stood up and walked around his desk, his gaze fixed upon the Core Being. "Well I guess I could find some chores she could do and having some help on Sunday, in return we could make sure she is fed and properly clothed until she is ready to head out on her own."



The days went slowly. The Reverend had the Core Being do whatever chores he felt needed doing and whenever she wasn't working he would allow her to read the numerous books he had. He was impressed with her desire to learn. He was worried however to discover that whenever anyone brought her food she wouldn't eat and it seemed she never slept, but she seemed to suffer no ill health as a result. Still He and the others in the church tried to urge her to eat, hoping that the sleep abberations would work themselves out. Eventually they got her to eat some but she never finished off her plate and didn't seem interested in the food.



On Sunday she had a near complete reversal of character. They decided to put her in the young childeren's Sunday School room along with regular teacher and the children were all over her. She played with them, answered their constant questions, and even smiled a good bit. She seemed to enjoy their energy and curiousity. It was almost as if the children, who were far less restrained than the adults had managed to communicate far better with her than those who tried to restrict themselves to social norms. The children thought she was weird and loved her for it. Even the Sunday School teacher was impressed at her knowledge of the Bible and how much she could teach the children about it.



Later during the Sunday Service she sat in the pews with everyone else, but near the back of the room. She recieved many strange looks from the adults in the room but nobody said anything and she immediately regressed to her quiet aloof self.



As the service proceeded onward she started to feel like somehow this was right but that she shouldn't be here. The feeling was hard to describe but she could sense that whatever was going on here was not meant for her but was close to what she was seeking. The feeling grew stronger during the hymns and sermon. The next day she was no longer there. The church workers and Reverend looked for her but it seemed that she had vanished as abruptly as she had appeared. The children were disapointed the next Sunday, but otherwise everything went on as it had before in the town of Birdhill City Tennesee.

---------End of Chapter 2---------

aww, I didn't know there was a maximum edit time.
I guess the unedited version will stay as is for now.

Interesting. I'll be following how this unfolds.

Here is Chapter 3. This one is a bit longer than the others. Enjoy.

The Core Being left the church shortly after the Sunday Service. Just willed herself away again. This time she ended up in a large city. At least now she had proper clothes and didn't stand out quite as much. The green tee shirt and blue jeans fit well. Sill being a teal skinned pink haired woman with glowing eyes didn't exactly allow her to blend in, but in a big city like this one people didn't seem to care so much. They would look and stare, some of the children would even point but nobody tried to talk to her or stop her. There were several posters and signs indicating that this was New York City.

The freedom was somewhat exciting. Up until now she had always been confined in one way or another, either through force or implied danger, now nobody was in her way or directing her in any way. She looked up to the sky and breathed in. The air was far from fresh but the freedom smelled wonderful.

She wandered around just browsing the various shops and offices. She was increasingly aware however that without money she would not be able to buy anything, or find a decent place to sleep. From her reading she understood a lot about how transactions are expected to work, she wondered to herself how hard it would be to find a job and a place to stay in one day.

The Core Being rounded a corner and found a bookstore with a help wanted sign. Surely this was too serendipitous to work, but she had to try. She walked into the building and approached the counter. The clerk was a middle-aged woman in the store uniform. Her nametag indicated that she was Linda, Assistant Manager.

"Yes? May I help you?" Asked Linda.

"I am looking for a job." Replied The Core Being.

"Ahh, and when would you be able to start?"

The Core Being smiled. "Now would be good."

Linda chuckled a bit. "Well first we need to get you to fill out some forms, you can fill them in at the table over there." She pointed to a low table with five chairs around it nearby the romance novel section.

Linda seemed oddly unfazed by The Core Being's appearance. This put her more at ease and she accepted the application and the pen that were offered and sat down at the table, then she started to worry. She didn't have answers to most of the questions in the application. In fact the blank for name gave her a moment's pause. After she went through the forms and filled out what little information she could, then she sheepishly stood up and brought it back to Linda.

Linda at this time was just finishing up with a customer and wished him a good day as he exited, then turned toward The Core Being. "Well that was quick, let me look that over." Linda's smile slowly faded as she flipped through the sparsely answered questions. "Why did you not fill out most of these?"

The Core Being looked up at her, "Because I do not have the answers for them."

"What about address, do you not have a home?" Questioned Linda curiously.

"No."

"Do you have any friends you are staying with?" persisted Linda.

"No, I'm new here."

"Where are you staying tonight?"

"I don't know." Replied The Core Being.

"What about your Social Security Number, did you lose your card?" Asked Linda with increasing worry in her voice.

"I was not given one." The Core Being had pretty much given up hope at this point, this was not going well.

"You are an alien aren't you." responded Linda.

"No, I was born in the United States, and I don't think I came from space...." The Core Being was unsure of which meaning Linda meant, She realized how different she appeared.

Linda put the papers down and looked into The Core Being's glowing eyes. She had dealt with metahumans before, but never interviewed one for a job. She knew this one needed help but she was uncertain how much she could provide. There was no way she could hire her, certainly not legally, and its not like The Core Being could just blend in without being noticed.

Linda sighed and wondered why she always ended up with the charity cases. The Core Being did not have an odor to her and her clothes were certainly clean, it felt safe to assume that she would not make a mess. "Would you like to stay at my place tonight, that way you could tell me a bit more about yourself and maybe we could find a way to help you with some of your more pressing concerns."

The Core Being lit up at this suggestion, she had not expected such generosity in a big city like this. Everything she had read seemed to indicate that hospitality was something unique to smaller towns. "I would like that." Came her reply, her voice teetering on excitement.

The rest of the day The Core Being just read some of the various books they had at the bookstore. The sheer selection was mind boggling. She read a little of as many new things as she could. Romance, Fantasy, Home Improvement, Fitness, even a book from the computers section which made little sense to her as she had very little exposure to them and the book made assumptions about knowledge that she did not have. Finally late in the evening Linda wrapped everything up for the day. Ushered the other cashier out the door and armed the security system as she and The Core Being left.

"So, are you hungry?" Asked Linda.

"No." Was the simple reply.

"Really? You haven't eaten all day, even when I went on my lunch break you just sat reading books. Do you just not need food?"

"I never feel hungry." Replied The Core Being.

"Well I'm famished, I'm going to stop by a burger joint or something on the way to the tram. Do you want anything?"

"I have no money, nor do I feel the desire to eat"

Linda looked at her odd new companion with a tinge of concern, She did not look too emaciated but was certainly thinner than most. She didn't seem unhealthy either and kept up with her step for step through the long city sidewalks. "Well if you truly do not need food that makes one thing a whole lot easier for you. That’s probably the most expensive thing for most people, aside from rent."

"It is convenient." Replied The Core Being.

Linda found The Core Being's speech a bit odd. Her statements were generally short and to the point but did not completely lack emotion. What was more odd however was that The Core Being rarely seemed to volunteer any information that was not specifically asked for. There had been a couple of exceptions but she was a good bit less talkative than most, even more so than most bookworms who spent time in her store.

The tram ride home was fairly quiet and introspective. Linda pondered how she got herself into this and wondered about the unique individual beside her.

The Core Being's thoughts were more focused on soaking in the city life around her and wondering if she would discover anything more about herself here.

Finally they arrived at Linda's apartment. The place was impeccably clean. The bookshelves were neatly arranged, the tables were clear of clutter, everything was well arranged as if a great deal of thought went into how best to organize the room for convenience and decor. They sat down on the couch and

Linda turned to The Core Being. "So, tell me the story of your life."

At first The Core Being just sat there looking back at her as if she was considering the request, then it was like somebody opened the floodgates. The Core Being related everything she had experienced up until now with amazing accuracy and attention to detail. She left little out and by the time 3:00AM rolled around Linda was glad they weren't expecting her at work tomorrow. The story was amazing and short. She had heard the highly publicized origins of some metahuman heroes who had become famous but none with the degree of mystery that surrounded this girl. All the great famous heroes knew who and what they were and in many cases, why they were here. The Core Being was like a blank slate.

Eventually Linda dismissed herself so that she could sleep, The Core Being did not seem tired so she showed her how to use the TV remote and went to bed.

The Core Being watched a lot of TV that night, everything from infomercials to morning talk shows. This new media source offered a whole new perspective on human behavior that books had not provided her. She watched intently how people interacted and responded to one another. She was however disappointed to see how stereotypical everyone acted. Nobody in the shows she saw acted like the people she had met so far, or even like the people in the books she had read, but it did give her a new source for learning about facial expressions.

She practiced having conversations with herself and making faces. Had anyone been watching they would have thought she had gone insane. She worked on understanding more about small talk but was still foggy as to why people engaged in it.

It wasn’t until mid afternoon that Linda woke up. She came into the living room to find The Core Being sitting on the sofa singing along with The Sound of Music, which one of the stations decided to show today during off peak hours. It was certainly amusing to her. This quiet reserved girl was singing along with a movie completely uninhibited.

“I take it you found some things you liked on the television.” Said Linda with a smile on her face.

“Oh, yes. I like these movies better than the other shows.” Her reply showed a lot more expression than before, to an almost over exaggerated degree that caught Linda off guard.

“Oh? And why is that?”

“Because the other shows are less real. They don’t act like humans in other situations seem to. In the movies they act a lot more like they do in books and like those I have been around. The other shows are more exaggerated and lack in realism.” The Core Being responded, still with more flair than the speech warranted.

Linda found it ironic that The Core Being was complaining about overacting when it seemed like that was exactly what she was doing herself, then she remembered how truly young this person was. While she looked like she was in her late teens or early twenties she was still less than three months old. When she thought back on how young children acted it was very similar to this.

“Well I am going to go run some errands, do you want to come along or continue watching television?”

The Core Being pondered briefly. The TV had provided a great source for artificial human interaction but it was still artificial. She felt she would benefit more from actual human interaction. “I will come along.” She said smiling.

The grocery store was fairly crowded for a Friday afternoon. The Core Being stared as much at the other people as they stared at her. As they walked through the store a young child, around eight years old came up to The Core Being.

“What can you do?” Was his excited question.

The Core Being stopped and considered for a bit then focused for a second and a wave of energy burst through the aisle doing no damage but making everyone around it feel more energetic and healthier.

The result of this was absolute pandemonium. The young child who had asked the question leapt with glee and ran around faster than any child that age should have been able to and with seemingly endless stamina. The adults in the area stood up a bit straighter and looked quite confused. Everyone who had witnessed it just stopped what they were doing and gasped. While there were many metahumans in the world and most people were familiar with them it was not typical for one to use their powers casually in a grocery store.

All eyes were on her and the expressions for the most part were not happy ones. The Core Being was actually embarrassed, she had not realized the apparent faux pas she had committed but the reaction was unmistakable. She decided it would be best if she were not there. She did not will herself to another place however, just another plane. One where she would be able to see this one but they would not see her and they could not interact, then she ran out of the store and sat by the door.

The people in the store eventually calmed down but continued to talk about the event. Some tried to ask Linda what that was about but she maintained that she did not know. Eventually Linda left the store, wondering if The Core Being had left for another city elsewhere like when she came to New York. It wasn’t until she had been walking for a good ten minutes that she realized The Core Being was walking beside her again.

“What was that you did in there?” Asked Linda, still somewhat surprised by The Core Being’s presence.

“I generated some beneficial radiation that triggered various glands and caused an energy boosting reaction in all humans in the vicinity.” She paused briefly then continued. “I didn’t mean any harm, nobody had asked what I could do before and I was curious myself.”

Linda looked at The Core Being with amazement. “Well it certainly felt good, I think most people just didn’t expect it and didn’t know how to respond. Its one thing for Statesman to fly through the supermarket while grabbing his groceries, its quite another to actually affect other people.”

“I will avoid doing things like that from now on then. I don’t want to cause problems.”

“Have you given any thought to becoming a heroine? There are a couple of places in this country that could really use someone who can do things like that.” Asked Linda.

“No, I hadn’t really thought about it. Honestly I don’t know what all I am capable of but I want to know what my purpose is before taking on such a demanding career. I’m still trying to understand people, I wouldn’t feel comfortable fighting for right if I don’t know entirely what right is.”

Linda smiled. “You are probably right. All the same you might want to see what else you can do, just try to do it in less public places next time.”

The Core Being grinned back at her. “I think I would enjoy that.”

Over the next few weeks The Core Being stayed with Linda. Linda didn’t mind because The Core Being didn’t leave any messes, didn’t eat her food, and didn’t cost anything to keep around, and she kind of liked the company. It was interesting for her to watch as The Core Being developed more personal skills and found new uses for her powers. The Core Being’s healing abilities came in handy whenever she had a pain or cut. Also Linda became increasingly aware that The Core Being didn’t sweat or use the restroom either.

Approximately three weeks after The Core Being appeared in New York City, She again vanished. This time however she left a letter to her host. Linda couldn’t help but cry as she read it.




Dear Linda.

In my time staying with you I have learned more than in the months prior. I want to thank you for your hospitality and your help. You taught me a lot more than you might think and you were my first friend. Unfortunately I have to continue onward if I hope to discover more about myself.

You will always be remembered by me and maybe some day when I understand myself better I will return. I hope that time comes but I cannot promise that it will.

Sincerely
The Core Being

Nice! Keep it going!

Chapter 4:

The control room at the Center for Super-powered Disaster Avoidance was busy. The military had brought something to their attention and were not being cooperative, they were however making absurd demands and being pushy. The head of the department, Mr. Rikard Strombold did not like this one bit. Apparently some teal skinned young woman with unknown superpowers escaped from an undisclosed facility in an undisclosed part of the country at an undisclosed time of day out from under and undisclosed amount of security. Mr. Strombold wanted very much to tell the military liaison that he would have her location at an undisclosed time in the distant future, but he knew how that would go over.

Strombold understood that the military liked to keep secrets and that probably half if not more of their secrets were actually important to national security, but with the exceptionally few details he had there was no way he could meet the time demands being placed on him. Tracking down supers was his job, his department was very good at it. Their database could be used to pinpoint the location of any registered super within a 3 mile radius inside of an hour. Unknowns however took a lot more work.

They had a call forwarded to them from the FBI from some hick in Birdhill Tennessee who claimed he saw a young woman matching the description, but by the time he got investigators over there all they found was a bunch of confused hicks. Then he received a number of reports from New York City, but by the time they tracked down where the target was staying all they found was a depressed uncooperative assistant manager from a bookstore.

After that point things just got more chaotic. They got reports from all over the country. She seemed to appear in different places every week or so. We got a report from an Indian reservation in Oklahoma, a Buddhist church in Texas, even a hippie commune out in California. She seemed to spend more time at locations with religious interests but always vanished without a trace shortly before they finally get out there. She had not caused a problem yet but the fear was that she might.

So far all they new of her powers was that she could get from place to place across the US almost instantaneously and vanish from where she was before and that she could make people feel healthier, after testing it was discovered that this effect left only trace levels of radiation behind and had not ill effects whatsoever.

Strombold went over the documents he had accumulated from sightings and rubbed his face in exasperation, he was actually starting to wonder if she could read his mind and know when they were coming for her as well. That would certainly be cause for the military to be concerned, but he felt that even the military would share more details with him if that was the case.

All attempts to predict her next destination failed. Her travels seemed truly random but usually had some degree of similarity. Strombold would gladly give his left eye for some more details at this point. That’s when Dr. Spencer Greer came through his door, escorted on either side by armed guards. He seemed a bit uncertain and worried but when the guards left and the military liaison came in he calmed down a bit.

“Strombold, we have received your numerous requests for more details regarding the female you are tracking, the brass finally agreed to provide some.” Grunted the liaison in a gruff voice that sounded like he didn’t really want to provide this help.

Strombold looked at the two of them in silence for a few seconds then replied. “Well it’s about time. Have a seat, both of you.”

The liaison squinted his eyes a bit and grumbled, “I am not to be in the room when the doctor here goes over whatever it is he knows. You are not to discuss anything he says or even his presence here outside of security level 4S or above. If you do not comply with this it will be considered an act of treason. I expect results out of you after this and I expect them soon.” The liaison then glared at Strombold and slammed the door on his way out. He obviously was not happy about being left out.

Strombold turned and looked at Dr. Greer with some degree of curiosity. “You are Dr. Spencer Greer are you not? The research physicist who developed some new energy theory or another that has the white coat crowd all a-twitter? I received a report on you months ago but was not sure why. What is your part in all this?”

Spencer looked back behind him at the door that had just previously been slammed shut as if to make sure that it was shut properly then looked back. “The Core Being, the one that you have been chasing, my Lisa, came from an experimental power plant.”

Strombold blinked at Dr. Greer blankly then replied, “What do you mean by ‘came from’?”

“She was born in the core of the plant. An infant inside the Multiflux agitator. She grew to adulthood in under a month. Then after a month passed by where she did nothing but read, she vanished. None of the guards saw her exit the building, none of the cameras picked up her movement, heat signature, or sound, she was just gone.”

Strombold blinked at Dr. Greer in disbelief a bit more. “And how long ago was that?”

Spencer sat back and started to count the months in his head. “That was five months ago if I remember correctly.”

Strombold frowned, leaned forward and looked intently into Spencer’s eyes, “So you mean to tell me that this Core Being who has been quite successfully eluding us for months now is less than one year old? That she not only learned to speak and walk but also read within one month’s time?”

“Actually, she knew how to do those things when she came out of the core.” Corrected Spencer helpfully.
“And just how exactly did she get out of the core?” Questioned Strombold sternly.

“We don’t know.” Answered Spencer.

“How did she appear in the core in the first place?” Continued Strombold.

“We don’t know.” Repeated Spencer.

“What kind of powers does she have?”

“We don’t know.”

“Do we have any way at all of tracking the energy signature created by your power plant across the country?”

Spencer stopped at that one and stood up. “Can I borrow your computer for a second?”

Strombold raised an eyebrow for a second, then stood up to get out of the way.

Spencer sat down at the desk and logged into his ARPANET5 account, a secret military internet that used protocols unavailable to the public, and accessed his terminal at the power plant Eternal Light. “I think I have something that might be able to connect with an AWACS unit and track that signature. I don’t know if she provides enough multiwave emissions to track but it might be worth a try. We still wouldn’t be able to sweep the entire country quickly but…. There that should do it.” Spencer stood up and demonstrated what was on his screen as if Strombold would instantly understand what he was looking at.

Strombold looked at the screen, then at the triumphant Spencer Greer, then back at the screen. “So what’s this then?”

“Back when we first discovered The Core Being in the reactor we invented a Multiwave Frequency Analyzer that took a standard radar image and filtered it through a radio spectrometer using very specific settings. The result allowed us to monitor her body conditions and keep an eye on any sudden changes. It didn’t do us much good then because we had no clue what we were looking for but this would make anything utilizing Multiwave energies stand out like a beacon.”

“So, now all we need is ten thousand AWACS units flying across the country so we can find her in time to capture her. Brilliant.” Was the sarcastic response from Strombold.

“No, that’s not necessary, besides if we did that all the pilots would have to have security level clearance to know the location of Eternal Light, which we would never be able to get. All we need is a city, if you can locate the next city she is in then we could be able to pinpoint where in the city she is with this technology. Assuming of course she still has enough multiwave emissions to track.” Replied Spencer enthusiastically.

“That might be useful, if she would stay in one city long enough for us to find her, get our agents there, and perform a capture operation. The longest she has ever stayed in one place was in New York City, which she has never returned to. We have kept the person she was with under surveillance but that is starting to seem like a waste of manpower.” Strombold was getting quite exasperated with this.

Spencer sat down heavily and looked down into his lap. “I know this is going to sound kind of strange, but I know she won’t hurt anyone. Its not like I have a lot of experience with her, she was around for only about a month but in that time I had a strong feeling that she had no violent intent. It was unlike anything I had ever felt before around another person. Just, when you do actually go in for the capture, do so peaceably. She will probably come without complaint if she just knew that we needed her back.”

Strombold sighed heavily and stared at Spencer. “You yourself said that you never expected her to try to leave, what makes you think your belief about her benevolence is any different?”

Spencer looked up, desperation seeping into his expression. “Because our expectations about her staying put were based on experience. Our expectations of her intent are based on the very strong feeling we felt in her presence. Look, I know it sounds strange but please, just take my word for it. If you harm her or take her in a violent manner there is no telling how she will react and if you fail it will make it so that if she wasn’t hiding from you before she definitely will afterward.”

“My agents have been authorized by people well over my head to use any means necessary to capture the target. I’ve already suggested to them that they endeavor to do so with a minimum of force but if the CO on the scene decides force is necessary to complete a successful capture then that is what they will do, regardless of your feelings or even my orders.” Strombold rubbed his face again, it was obvious he was not happy with his department being taken over by military thugs. “I’ll pass along what you said but I’m not sure what good it will do. In the mean time I request you try to find some better way of tracking her movements on a larger scale and if possible find a way of preventing her from vanishing to somewhere else before we can retrieve her that does not involve tranquilizers.”

With that Spencer opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, then closed it again and nodded in agreement. “I will see what I can come up with. We don’t really even understand how she came to be much less how she can create the teleportation effect, but we will see what we can do to restrict it.”

With that Spencer stood up and walked to the door. “I will return if I find anything new that might help.” Then he knocked on the door and the armed guards opened the door. Spencer grimaced at having to be escorted this way but followed the guards’ lead and left Strombold’s office.

In a week and a half four AWACS units with the multiwave emission detectors were assigned around the country and could launch at a moment’s notice to help track a signature. It would be another month and a half before they would see any use.

Here is chapter 5. This one is a bit wordy. Thank you for your support.

The Core Being had been spending months searching for answers but only found more questions. First and foremost in her mind was how so many people could be so sure about things and yet disagree so strongly with others. This wasn’t limited to merely religious disagreements but many other things as well. People, it seemed, had a tendency to believe strongly in things in a way that was simply unfathomable.

She sat down outside of a Mormon church in Utah and pondered to herself. If she believed half the things she was told then she would be stuck with a big mess of paradoxes. Could they all be right in some way? Could they all be wrong? Could the truth in fact be a combination of various facets of each belief system, or could it be that each individual’s reality was unique even though they all interacted on a shared plane.

Somehow she kept finding herself drawn to these questions. Something about these strong beliefs that humans exhibited caused a reaction in her but she could tell it was not ever quite what she was looking for.

She had been at this church for three days and they considered her somewhat of a miracle dispenser. She had found out during her stay with Linda all those months ago that she could heal people nearly instantly by utilizing the right types of radiation and the people here found a lot of uses for this talent. They were all convinced she was providing a service granted to them by their Lord and that she was a vessel for a great miracle. Some believed that it was not so much her existence as her willingness to help that made her a miracle. Others postulated that she was obviously an angel granted from on high since she came out of nowhere (she had told them all about how she was born so many times that she had bored of the story).

The Core Being felt that somehow people were drawn to her for reasons other than her powers or her appearance. Something about how she felt around them and vise versa. That only led to more questions.

It was in the middle of this self-searching that the CSDA finally caught up with her. She was not aware that she was being sought after and so when this church had made a big deal about her proving miracles and people came from all around she thought little of it other than the fact that she found it rather odd. The news broadcasts had gotten Strombold’s attention and an AWACS pinpointed her location for the strike team.

The commander’s name was Grahm Boschar. He was a severe person used to dealing with severe cases. Many first attempts at capture had claimed too many of his troops lives and he felt strongly in the necessity of a first strike. When Strombold sent the memo to his team stating that the target was believed to be non-hostile and non-hostile methods were recommended he crumpled it up in disgust and threw it away without a second thought. Now he was watching this woman through his sight enhancer on his helmet. The team was ready to move.

His goal was to take her the instant she was out of plain view. As long as she was in the open so close to the church there would be too many witnesses and given their disposition they would probably try to interfere. This would been to be handled with more discretion than a straightforward attack.

Grahm turned to his second in command. “There she is. She has eluded every team in the nation up till now. We are the first to even get a chance to see her in person. Lets make sure we get it right the first time. There is no telling how long we would have to wait for another opportunity.”

Alex Chapper had been woken up after a late night and ordered to rendezvous here for further orders and was still quite groggy. He turned toward his commanding officer a bit concerned. “We know she has the ability to move from place to place instantly and the research labs have yet to develop anything to prevent that. We have strict orders not to kill the target. What exactly do you have in mind?”

“Tranqs boy. If she is asleep she can’t vanish on us. She may not look completely human but I’ll bet that eight milligrams of Acepromazine will be enough to put her down for long enough to figure something out.” Grahm looked back at Alex and smirked. “Get some coffee in you boy, you look terrible.”

The Core Being stood up and began to wander some. She had walked all over this town a few times and it generally felt good to do so. People recognized her and were always friendly here. They even helped to provide her with some new clothes as her old ones were starting to get rather worn. The black tee shirt went well with her skin tone and she rather liked the comfort of the skirt she had gotten, even if people kept telling her she was sitting incorrectly with it on. She still had not figured out what was meant by that.

She rounded a corner heading toward the center of town when suddenly something hit her in the shoulder. Almost instantly everything went black.

When she came to she found herself in a cage that as far as she could tell was made of blue light. It was small, only a 4’ cube so she wouldn’t be able to stand up completely. She looked around quietly wondering what was going on. She was in what appeared to be a control room, but she definitely had the feeling she was moving. There was one other person in the room and they were staring intently at some screen in front of them.

Her muscles were reluctant to move and she felt incredibly groggy. Whatever it was that hit her was far from friendly or appreciated. After having such freedom for so long to be this confined ran against her wishes very strongly but she knew if she didn’t know who did this or why then she would not be able to protect herself from it happening again.

She decided to just lay there with her eyes mostly closed for a while to see if she could figure something out. Her body could definitely benefit from the continued rest.

The door on the other side of the room opened and The Core Being could see what looked like the front of a truck on the other side. That made sense considering the size and shape of the room she was in. A tall man with a gruff demeanor and an insignia with the initials CSDA on his breast pocket walked in and closed the door behind him.

Grahm walked into the back of the operations vehicle and turned toward Alex who was still fiddling with the radio. “Figured out what is disrupting comms yet Chapper?”

Alex looked up at his CO helplessly. “Everything seems to be operating properly. I’ve checked the wiring, the frequencies, everything. All I can figure is somehow proximity to The Core Being over there is causing problems with the secure band frequencies. I can get standard radio just fine.” Which he demonstrated by turning a knob and classic rock music started pouring over the speakers, which he quickly turned back off. It’s a good thing we have our cell phones or we would never have been able to contact the HQ but this would cause problems in other circumstances.”

Grahm frowned. “Special measures will need to be taken for the air transport. We can’t exactly use cell phones to communicate with air tower control and if a military craft tries to use non secure frequencies at a secret military base they won’t let us land.”

“We will have to delay the departure while things are coordinated, the military won’t be pleased with that.” Alex piped in.

The Core Being lay there listening to the conversation with increasing alarm. She did not expect the military to be after her. Thankfully the effects of the tranquilizer allowed her to avoid making any sudden movements. She would have a chance to escape while they were coordinating plans with the air transport. Hopefully by then she would be able to move a bit faster.

The rest of the trip the conversation between Grahm and Alex was more trivial covering things from married life to the kids’ grades in school. The Core Being spent that time considering her options. If she actually hurt anyone then their methods may not be this gentle next time. This cage was strange, she had tried a few times to will herself outside of it but something about the energy fields was blocking it. The light was bluish and looked like the waves of an ocean flattened to the width of a piece of paper. It was solid to the touch however and she doubted she could force her way out of it. That’s when she overheard one last crucial detail before the vehicle stopped.

“I wish we had a clue what that girl was capable of. We know she can fly around and manipulate radiation but we do not know the extent of her other powers. The genetic testers couldn’t even isolate a DNA strand to analyze. Lets hope we can get her to the labs so more thorough tests can be done.” It was the gruff one talking as he and Alex were leaving the truck.

So they didn’t know the extent of her powers… this would work well to her advantage she thought. With that she phased out of this reality as she did in the supermarket. She was practically invisible like this and no sensor technology should be able to detect her. With any luck it will fool them. And then she went to sleep again hoping that when she awoke the tranquilizers effect will have completely worn off.

The next day The Core Being awoke with a start as she heard cursing and swearing from the tall gruff one from the previous day. “I can’t believe it. How the hell did she escape? I thought you told me Strombold said warwalls were teleport proof!”

Alex looked a bit sheepish but responded confidently. “Strombold told me that as far as anyone was aware the warwall technology was thoroughly disruptive to all energy transfers, but you have to understand, we are dealing with a lot of unknowns here. We aren’t sure if she needs to transfer energy to move that way, it could just be a shift. Strombold’s advisor’s best guess was that it would work but it was just a guess.”

“Oh this is just WONDERFUL! You get an AWACS in the air NOW! If she is anywhere in the vicinity I want her found, and I want her found IMMEDIATELY!”

Alex nodded and saluted. “Yes Sir!” Then rushed over to the radio and called in to the air base.

The Core Being just laid there silently. Until they turned off the fields holding her in she would not be able to do anything but at least she didn’t have to eat, she could stay in here forever if need be.

A few minutes later Grahm came back in with some sort of gadget in each hand. He handed one to Alex. “Here, these are the new multi-whatever detectors that got shipped to us to help with the search. We need to spread out and cover this base. Call me if you find anything. With that Grahm pressed a button on his scanner and it squeeled to life, then it wouldn’t stop squeeling.

A cold fear gripped The Core Being. If these scanners could still detect her presence then they would soon know she was still in the cage. She quietly prayed to herself every prayer to every deity she had learned of that she would get through this. She was starting to understand why humans were so willing to give themselves over to a higher power.

Grahm and Alex scoured the truck and eventually both came to the same conclusion. “It’s the blasted truck. For some reason the same energy she emits got stuck in the truck. Has she ever left a trail like that before?” Questioned Grahm.

Alex shook his head. “Scans of areas where she was have never shown a strong signature after she left…” He was interrupted by the radio.

“This is Flyer RA3 calling in to Mobile base 19, do you read me?”
Alex quickly stepped over to the radio controls. “We read you Flyer RA3, keep in mind this is a non secure channel, what do you have for us?”

“There is a strong signature left behind at the pickup point and at your location, neither matches exactly what the signature was before but both are somewhat strong. Do you copy?” Was the reply over the radio.

“We copy Flyer RA3, make one more sweep around the perimeter, over and out.” Alex put down the headset and sat down heavily. “Maybe it was something weird with the tranqs. Maybe she reacted with them and it caused a notable increase in multiwave bleeding and as a result it just stuck around longer.”

Grahm slammed a fist into a console denting it slightly. “Blast it! Get Strombold on the line and tell him what’s going on. Try to get some answers about this blasted multiwave bleeding all over my command truck and for God’s sake Alex get the secure bands on the radio working. Its bad enough we lost the target but defective comms equipment is unacceptable.” He started stomping his way out, then carefully sidestepped the warwall cage. “And shut this worthless thing off. Its in the way.”

Alex stepped across the room and pushed a button on some device behind him. The cage turned off and he went back to his station to get some answers.

As soon as the cage was off The Core Being took the opportunity to get far, far away. She wanted to get somewhere where she could seek help for this problem, and then she was no longer there.

What can I say? Still very good.

Chapter 6 of the ongoing story.

The military presence at Eternal Light had grown to the point where it was practically a military base. None of the scientists involved were allowed to leave except under armed guard and they were especially not allowed to discuss anything about the project.

Strombold felt like he was starting to feel at home here, if it wasn’t for all the guns all over the place. He wasn’t sure if it was his office away from home or a prison. He was not happy however that the warwall cage did not work, Greer had been so certain it would.

He walked swiftly down the hallways toward a large fortified room in E sector. Whatever it was that they had called him here for after he had left for home only three days prior, it better be good. As much as he enjoyed flying it was starting to get tedious.

The door opened as he approached, the guard on the inside must have been watching on the security network as he arrived. He confidently strode into the room but what he saw caused him to falter slightly.

The room had been filled with a radioactive containment cell. Inside that cell was an operating table and the corpse of a well-built young Caucasian male. There were seats surrounding it and a few of them were filled with scientists and military personnel. One scientist he recognized immediately. He walked over to where Spencer Greer was sitting and sat down next to the anxious looking scientist.

“So…. What exactly are we looking at here?” Strombold asked in a slightly worried tone.

Greer looked about to respond when one of the military officers cut in with a loud booming voice. “He was one of our best covert operatives. Met his untimely demise on a mission that never happened. He has no rank, no name, and no family. Right now he is nothing but a corpse that doesn’t exist with a brain that has been preserved and kept intact.”

Strombold was not surprised about the concept of the undocumented operative but he was still wondering and still a bit worried about why he was called here to look at one. “Ok, so he is an imaginary body, but what are we doing with him?”

This time Spencer got to respond. “The military donated him so that we could attempt to reproduce the stimuli that existed when The Core Being was born. Our hope is that imbuing the body of this man with whatever spirit was born in the reactor we will get a being who remembers his loyalty to his country and will be a bit more cooperative. If we can get the answers we need, then we don’t need to chase The Core Being anymore.”

This time Strombold was surprised. “Reproduce the stimuli? She was born in a reactor! How the blazes are you going to simulate that short of building a new reactor with him in it?”

Spencer turned toward him and smiled a grin of satisfied accomplishment. “I have been working closely with one of the leading scientists involved in nano-technology.” A scientist down the row with a name tag that indicated she was Amy Zuchher turned and smiled toward Spencer as he gestured in her direction. “With the aid of her nanomachines and my knowledge of multiwave radiation and the data we had gathered when The Core Being was born we believe we can do this by infusing his body with enough nanomachines programmed to create multiwave emitting isotopes in perfect synchronization.”

Strombold just nodded slowly as he struggled to decipher the techno-babble. “So what you are saying is you are going to fill this corpse with little robots who will make him very radioactive and try to bring another of whatever The Core Being is into the body? That’s insane. How do you know that a new baby being won’t be born and explode out of his chest, or that we won’t have two broken arrows if this doesn’t go as planned?”

This time the military officer spoke up again. “We don’t. But it is a risk that has been deemed acceptable given the current situation.”

With that the door to the room opened and closed one last time and a tall general with 4 stars walked in. “Lets get this operation underway Zuchher, I do not wish to be delayed further by this experiment”

Amy stood up and pressed a button on a remote she was holding This caused a box on a corner of the containment area to light up then several arms with syringes attached unfolded from the bottom of the operating table. They proceeded to all inject simultaneously into the body. For a few minutes nothing happened, then lines started to appear inside the soldier’s skin and it started to become a deep shade of blue, his hair bright red, and a tattoo that looked oddly familiar to Greer formed slowly on his chest. Once all the changes had stopped for about ten minutes everyone in the room just looked around and wondered if that was it. Then suddenly large spikes protruded from the soldier’s skin devastating the table he was on, then retracted, he stood up slowly without opening his eyes. Once he was fully on his feet his eyes opened, glowing a deep red color.

Everyone in the room was silent wondering what to expect. The soldiers in the room had their hands on their guns ready to respond to any threatening move by the formerly dead.

The man looked around him slowly as if taking in what was going on. “I am not Agent 7902, who am I?” The voice was projected through a speaker on the same box that lit up when Amy pushed the button on the remote.

“That’s kind of what we wanted to know from you.” Responded the general who walked in last. “We brought you to life in hopes that you would know where it is you came from and how.”

“I know only the previous inhabitant of this form. I know nothing of myself. If you summoned me then how is it possible you do not know the answers to those questions?” There was no anger in his voice, only confusion.

Greer stood up and tried to answer this time. “Through accident we summoned one such as you before, we were unable to determine how or why but we could reproduce the effect that brought her here. We were hoping a more complete form would allow you better recollection of your origin. If we can determine how this happened then we can avoid it better in the future. Unfortunately the one before you left and we have been unable to retrieve her.”

“If you knew how to bring me here this time, then why can you not just avoid the circumstances that brought me here?”

Greer continued to try to explain. “It is important that the project we were working on that accidentally brought the first one here be made stable so that it does such things no longer. Without knowing if there are multiple environs it can create through incidence that would cause this, we cannot properly avoid it.”

The Second Being nodded, this seemed to satisfy him. “I understand your predicament, what would you have me do?”

The general spoke up once again. “Honestly, we were banking on the hope that you would know more of your origin, we had not planned past this point, but I’m sure the scientists we have here would appreciate the opportunity to examine you fully and determine if there is anything we can discover about you that way.” While the general was talking a green light with the letters OK lit up on the communications box.

The Second Being nodded slowly. “As I have no other purpose as of yet I will agree to your request.”

Amy spoke up. “The spectrometer shows clean air sirs, should I unseal the containment room?”

The general at the front of the room nodded. “Let him out of there. I have things I need to address today. You people in the white coats, see what you can figure out about our visitors and keep me posted on your progress, I DO expect some progress.”

Spencer Greer nodded solemnly and turned to The Second Being as Amy was opening the entry to the containment room. “Please follow me, and if you feel you need to leave, while I would rather you didn’t, could you let us know where you are going and why, vanishing without a trace causes me undue gray hairs and wrinkles."

The Core Being had appeared in the middle of the sky as far as she could see. In the distance she could see enormous walls of blue light that reminded her eerily of cage she had just escaped. Below her was, from what she could tell, a ball made of concrete and she was quickly approaching it. Her mind was still dizzy from the long range teleport and the tranquilizer had not completely worn off. Finally she was able to focus herself enough to will her position to be on top of the ball rather than hitting it full force. She felt her position change and the concrete beneath her and then she lost consciousness.

It took a while before The Core Being woke again. She suspected that the multiwave bleeding that the person in the truck was referring to had left her weakened somewhat. She looked around to gather her surroundings only to find she had ended up in some kind of hospital. There seemed to be quite a few colorful people here. Mostly they would appear in a cylindrical apparatus that healed them up from dire wounds and then they would just run out without a moment’s hesitation.

She looked around a bit more and could see doctors and nurses talking about recent patients and problems. She could see other people, a good bit less colorfully dressed than the ones who kept appearing, laying in the other beds. Finally she noticed a newspaper that someone had left behind. It was The Paragon Times. Paragon… she had heard that name before. It was the name of a city where they were “hiring” heroes to help protect the populace. She had considered coming here before but always had other concerns first, perhaps they could help her here and maybe she could help them.

She was just thinking about her situation when a doctor approached her with a clipboard. “Glad to see you are finally awake. My name is Doctor Shaw, I work here at the Chiron Medical Center. Can I get your name?”

The Core Being blinked at him for a second then responded. “Most refer to me as The Core Being.”

“Ah, a business name only kind of hero, we get a lot of those around here. Are you looking for full time or part time hero work?”

The Core Being raised an eyebrow at this question. “What is this for?”

Doctor Shaw cleared his throat. “Ah, pardon me, I figured given your appearance it was safe to assume you had come here for the Hero job. You had no ID on you and no insurance documentation so the only way this visit would be covered is if you were a prospective employee of the city. Are you saying you have no interest in the position?”

The Core Being sat up slowly. “No, I’m interested, its just this is all rather sudden.”

Shaw smiled. “You will have to excuse my behavior, we are just so used to people like you showing up with that interest in mind and then getting injured before the proper paperwork has been completed. It is unusual to find a new hero unconscious with no major injuries on top of the Atlas Statue however. How did you get up there?”

“The Atlas Statue? You mean the big concrete ball?”

Doctor Shaw chuckled slightly. “Yeah I guess that’s as good a description as any. A young hero named Captain Neem happened across you up there just after he had cleared security level 14 and received permission to fly within the city’s borders again. He saw you appear there and took you here because he was worried that you were injured. Nice young man, terrible fashion sense though. I don’t know why Serge lets him walk around like that.”

“Security level?” Inquired The Core Being.

Doctor Shaw nodded slightly. “The city decided it was in their best interests to limit mobility powers of heroes who are new to the city, until we can be sure of whose side they are on. We’ve had a few heroes over the years who have resorted to crime to get more money. The lack of mobility powers makes it much easier to catch them. I’ve already installed the neural inhibitor to prevent you from using your teleportation powers inside the city limits. It took all night to get it to work with your physiology but I’m pretty sure it will work.”

The Core Being briefly tried to will herself to the adjacent bed as a test, but found she couldn’t. “How does such a thing work? I was led to believe that such devices were not feasible.”

Doctor Shaw put his hand behind his head sheepishly. “To be honest, I don’t really know. I DO know however that MAGI was involved in its design and construction. I also have been trained in how to properly configure them. The government refused the patents because “magic” was involved and they have taken a staunch anti magic litigation stance. There was a landmark case where magic was declared public domain and thus nothing using it can be patented so most people don’t know about devices that use it.”

The Core Being listened intently and with no small degree of curiosity. The fact that the government agents who had captured her did not use this surprised her, but the explanation made sense. “If I became a hero here would I gain citizenship and rights?”

Doctor Shaw nodded. “We get asked that a lot. Seems to be one of the stronger draws to emigrate here from some countries. Yes we do provide citizenship for our heroes but only while they are within the warwalls. If you leave the city you are considered an alien. If you wish citizenship nationwide you would need to follow the proper procedures. Paragon City got permission to do this as a special consideration for our position. Would you like me to leave the enrollment forms here? I can pick them up and forward them to the proper agencies in the morning.”

“Yes, I’d appreciate that.” Replied The Core Being.

Doctor Shaw smiled. “Good, in the mean time enjoy your stay. The button to the left is to call a nurse. They can handle any problems that arise tonight. Oh and don’t worry about the questions you can’t answer. We got a lot of strange ones here. Just fill out what you can and don’t sweat the ones that don’t have asterisks next to the number. Once you are registered you will be able to use the nano-treatment devices and emergency teleport system. We have to keep those open for heroes and urgent problems though, otherwise a hero may die while in queue when someone with a broken bone is using it even though they would still live otherwise. Anyway, welcome to Paragon City.”

The doctor left and The Core Being took a look at the forms. One of the asterisked questions did seem rather odd to her however. ‘What was the origin of your powers, select the closest answer from the following, please only select one.’ The Core Being pondered the various options. Natural, Mutation, Science, Technology, and Magic. Well there was nothing natural about her, that much she was certain. She wasn’t born by normal means so she was fairly certain she wasn’t a mutant. She didn’t know much about magic and certainly not how to cast a spell, so she ruled that out, and she just relied on the abilities innate to her so technology wouldn’t be appropriate. That left Science. It made sense to her that being born in an experimental power plant’s reactor core would qualify as a Scientific origin.

She continued filling out the form and found it to be fairly easy overall. If she could obtain citizenship then the government would have to work a lot harder to try to detain her. Imprisonment in an entire city was far preferable to imprisonment in a single building, or even a lab. She still had many questions about herself she needed to answer and as long as she was restrained she would not be able to find those answers. If scientific equipment could find the answer then Spencer Greer would have found it during the time she was with them.

She finished with the form and put it down on the night stand next to her bed. Her thoughts drifted back to the time she spent with Linda in New York City. Until things were resolved with the government she would not be able to visit her again. Perhaps though she could write a letter. She would have to be sure to deliver it with no return address however, she did not need the government tracking her back to her new home here if they happened to intercept it. She would have to wait until she had a new home here though, before she could deliver it and she would need the paper and pen to write it. For now she just rested, tomorrow would likely be a busy day.

The next day started off early. Doctor Shaw showed up and took the hero registration forms down to City Hall and came back with a man wearing a logo that indicated he was with SERAPH. “This is Jonathan St. John-Smythe. He is the main recruiter for SERAPH. He will take you through the rest of the hero registration and orientation.”

The Core Being got out of her bed and approached this new individual. Jonathan held out his hand. “Glad to meet you. SERAPH stands for Scientific Experimentation, Research and Application for Paranormal Humans. We dedicate ourselves to those ideals. Seems by your rather vague application here that you are no stranger to a laboratory. Don’t worry we won’t intrude into your past any more than we already have.” He started leading her out the door. “If you will come with me we will provide you with the orientation information to get you on your feet as a new hero. First off we need to get you over to Serge, it looks like those clothes you are wearing have seen better days.”

The trip was mostly uneventful but exciting all the same. Everywhere The Core Being looked there were heroes beating up on various riff-raff along the street. She had never seen so many superpowers nor had she seen so much crime. Along the way she saw at least 5 acts of vandalism that were going unpunished and more than 10 muggings. The whole way Jonathan kept talking about how they had the best training program in the world and had discovered many ways to improve existing powers through targeted bombardment with various forms of radiation. He also stressed that until she had her emergency teleporter and hero ID card she was not to engage in vigilante activities and to leave the muggings alone until that point.

Finally they arrived at a large store labeled ‘icon’. When they stepped inside The Core Being was astounded at the number of original fashions that adorned the walls and the heroes inside. The place seemed to be incredibly busy. That’s when a man with a bit of an odd stride to his walk and a very stylish suit walked up. “Oh nonono, that simply won’t do.” He turned to Jonathan. “Why do you always bring me the hopeless ones. If it isn’t lab coats its dumpster findings.” He turned back to The Core Being. “With a face like that I think we have some potential though. Comecomecome, we must start with the tights. Those jeans are simply a sin to your legs.”

The time spent with Serge had been fast paced, frenzied, and fairly interesting. He was good at taking control of the situation and had in the time span of less than an hour designed, cut, and assembled a complete outfit. It was very flattering. The tights were black and had curved slits down the legs where the fabric was transparent and you could seen the teal skin tone through them. The top was also black but had several holes in it that allowed you to see her chest tattoo as well as her skin in several places. The belt looked like it was a throwback from the 70’s but went very well with the rest of the ensemble. “Oh you look just FABULOUS! I wish more heroes were like you, instead of insisting that they keep styles that died with the dinosaurs or are so gaudy even giant lizards would refuse to wear them. Now be sure you come back here when you hit security level 20 sweetie, I have a cape that would just go PERFECTLY with that outfit and your pink hair.”

Jonathan came back from his lunch just as she was leaving the back room. “Well that is certainly an improvement, thank you Serge.”

Serge folded his arms in what seemed to be mock indignation. “You know Jonathan, if more of your people were as cooperative as this girl EVERY hero in the city would look this good.”

The walk from the icon store to City Hall was much quieter. The muggings and vandalism were still prevalent but there seemed to be fewer heroes out and about as the sun was setting. Even heroes need sleep mused The Core Being. Meanwhile Jonathan continued to go over protocol. How it was understandable that not all villains can be stopped without killing them but most could be and how this was a goal that they hoped all heroes aspired to and that some heroes have a significantly better track record in this respect that others. By the time they got back to City Hall all that was left was for Jonathan to give The Core Being her new ID and papers. As they passed through the hallway in the City Hall The Core Being noticed a strange looking woman peering at her from the MAGI section of the Hero Recruitment Center but thought little of it.

“Welcome to Paragon City’s finest. The heroes here really are making a difference and we are glad to have you with us.” Said Jonathan.

“Is there anywhere you would recommend I start?” Replied The Core Being.

Jonathan rubbed his chin briefly. “Well I heard there was some sort of outbreak, here let me show you on your map where it is. Just talk to the officials in that area, they should be able to fill you in better than me. Now shoo, I’ve got stuff to do.”

As the Core Being passed the MAGI area on the way out she heard a voice from within. “You, teal skinned one, come here.”

The Core Being looked wearily at that section of the building then quietly entered. “What do you need?”

The woman smiled thinly at her. “I was curious to gaze upon one such as you, but I noticed you are working with SERAPH, why?”

“Because I was born in a secret experimental power plant’s reactor core and I was informed that heroes with a scientific origin generally worked with them. Is there some reason I shouldn’t?”

The woman frowned slightly. “Born in a power plant? Were there magicians involved?”

The Core Being shook her head. “No, I would bet most of them don’t even believe in magic.”

The woman leaned forward. “That is most distressing. I take it then based on this you do not even know what you are?”

The Core Being sat up, some excitement building in her. “Do you know what I am? Who are you?”

The woman smiled. “My name is Azuria, come child, there is much we need to discuss and much you need to know.”

Chapter 8. Revalations abound.

The Second Being had spent the past several weeks attached to countless laboratory devices and monitors. The scientists didn’t seem to have any more an idea of his origin now than when they began other than that dimensional physics were involved.

Spencer Greer had told him that the best they could determine was that he was from another dimension and that they were able to isolate the residual energy signatures from his home but they were completely unable to trace it back. It became increasingly apparent however that the multiwave energies that Spencer had discovered were shared between the two dimensions.

The Second Being was interested in finding out what he was, but at the same time he was a little uncomfortable with the idea that they had brought him here regardless of his will and he now knew nothing of his home. Furthermore it seemed that even if answers could be found, they would never be able to send him back. He didn’t have an incredibly strong urge to return but had the suspicion that if he were to recover any memories he might have had, this may become more urgent.

Spencer had told him that he expressed a good deal more human emotion and ideals than The Core Being did and that was probably because of the human memories that he had inherited from this body.

He sat in his room, several cords attached to devices that beeped all night were connected to ports installed in his arms and body. Sleeping was difficult. He felt he should be doing it but rarely was tired enough to succumb.

It was in the middle of this introspection that Spencer came through the door. “Did you sleep any better tonight?”

The Second Being shook his head. “No, but I still do not want your sedatives. Sleep will come if the body requires it.”

Spencer nodded. “The Core Being rarely slept as far as any of us could tell. It is obvious how different you two are however. She rarely talked and spent all her time reading. You seem much more comfortable with people around, but also more disgruntled.”

The Second Being stood up. “Well lets see you spend weeks in a lab where you are the test subject and have no idea what people are doing to you half the time!”

“Whoa, I didn’t mean it as a criticism or an insult, just a comparison. Honestly if I were in your position I would have lost patience a long time ago. You know we are running out of time and we aren’t getting anywhere fast with the examinations right?”

The Second Being nodded. “Part of the reason I’ve been so patient is I know this cannot continue much longer. I heard the government is about to pull your funding and ban this project from continuing.”

Spencer sighed heavily and sat down in an open chair. “Yeah, all my hopes for the future rested with this project, now it looks like its going to fail.” He looked up at The Second Being. “That is why I’ve come to ask you a favor.”

The Second Being plopped down heavily on his bed. “Another favor? All I’ve been doing since you summoned me has been favors. Not that I have much of a choice about granting them short of killing everyone between me and the door.”

Spencer was set aback by that statement slightly. He had known that this being’s power was quite notable. Somehow he had taken control over the nanomachines that should have been deactivated after they did their job and could not only make his skin as hard as steel, but also create large spikes that looked like they were made of bone but could penetrate a pure titanium wall with ease. “Well this time you have a choice. We need more answers, and we suspect that we won’t be able to find them in a lab. The Core Being has been out there for quite some time now on an apparent quest for knowledge. If she has discovered anything we need to know what. If we approach her she will just run, and we can no longer legally detain her since as long as she lives in Paragon City she has citizenship and recognition. We want you to approach her and find out everything she has learned, if possible convince her to come back with you.”

The Second Being cocked his head and looked skeptically at the doctor. “So you would have me leave unguarded? What’s to stop me from just leaving and not coming back?”

Spencer sighed again and looked pleadingly at him. “We know that you are strong enough to escape here any time you wanted. We also know that anything we put in your body to monitor you could quickly be disassembled by the nanomachines. We can only request that you do so. You have my word that if we can find the answers we seek we will do everything we can to convince the government to leave you and The Core Being alone. That peace of mind would be the only thing we can really offer you besides money. The guards have been told not to stop you if you try to leave. You can go anytime you want. Just please, you are our only hope left of salvaging this project.”

The Second Being stood up slowly. “I will go, I will find The Core Being, and I will find out what she knows. Depending on her answers I may or may not return. That is all I can promise you.”

As The Second Being was walking out the door Spencer stood up and said. “Even if you do not return, please just let us know in some way what you have discovered. If you leave and do not contact us again, the military will likely come after you and they may do so regardless of the rights and laws protecting the heroes of Paragon City.”

The Second Being said nothing and continued walking. He knew full well that the military would be after him in less than two months if he did not return or send notice. They were as desperate for answers as Spencer was and a lot less gentle.

The Second Being received some money and clothes from the requisitions room on the way out. He also received a temporary visa and ID. It would be enough to rent a car and cover living expenses on his way out there. The trip was long and quiet. The car’s radio could not pick up any stations clearly enough to enjoy the music so he rode in silence. Every place he stayed at he received odd looks. He was uncertain if it was more because of blue skin and glowing eyes, or his tall over muscled build.

Since he got no enjoyment out of eating and it required him being around people who stared at him too much, he forwent food. Greer had told him that The Core Being almost never ate and then only when pushed to do so. They suspected that whatever kind of being they were received sustenance by other means but maintained the vestigial organs required to take in and process food.

As he got closer to Paragon City he stopped by an outlet mall and picked up a stylish pair of black leather pants and boots. He would use this as his “costume” when doing the hero work that would earn him a place to stay in the city.

When he arrived, he walked into the City Hall and up to the counter wearing his new pants and boots. “I would like to register for hero work in the city.”

The receptionist looked up at him, nodded, then handed him some papers. “Just fill these out to the best of your abilities. Only the items with the asterisks are required but we appreciate any additional information you can provide. Would you be requiring citizenship or are you already a national?”

The Second Being considered for a second. “I would like citizenship please.” While he could always just rely on his work visa this would allow him a bit more freedom if he decided to leave the government behind.

He sat down and filled out the documents. He selected Science as his origin as it was the only thing that fit, then he took the papers back to the desk.

The receptionist looked them over and then put them in a mail drop chute. “Jonathan will be with you shortly, please have a seat over there while I print up your citizenship papers.” She pointed back to the desk he had filled out the forms at. He sat back down and waited patiently.

It was about an hour and a half before a man in a coat came around the corner. “Hi, I’m Jonathan St. John-Smythe, the head recruiter for SERAPH. I hear you are wanting to get into the heroing business.” At that point Jonathan paused a second as if confused by something. “You wouldn’t happen to know a young girl going by the name of The Core Being would you?”

The Second Being was somewhat surprised by the statement. “I’ve heard of her but never met her, why do you ask?”

Jonathan shook his head. “Nevermind, just something about your appearance reminded me of her. She joined up not too long ago and has been performing impressively well. I guess wishful thinking let me hope you were somehow connected and would have an equally impressive performance. The name thing is probably just a coincidence as well. Where was I…..”

The Second Being cut in. “Something about me joining SERAPH?”

Jonathan nodded. “Ah yes. You put down on your forms that you already had a costume, are you sure you do not want an introductory visit to icon? Serge has been pushing me to get more new heroes to visit him. Something about being embarrassed to call this his city with some of the styles running around.”

The Second Being shook his head. “That won’t be necessary, I’d like to get settled in as soon as possible if it’s all the same to you.”

The introductions went quickly. The Second Being got all the new information as well as his assigned temporary housing until he could line up an apartment of his own. Every time he passed by the MAGI office though he got the distinct feeling of being watched, but dismissed it as mages doing magey things.

The next day The Second Being managed to secure housing at an apartment complex in Kings Row and look up some information on The Core Being. Apparently she had joined up with a super-group called The Coalition of Reasonably Priced Justice. The name struck him as odd but he resolved to look into possible enlistment in order to track her movements more easily.

Entrance into the Super-group proved relatively easy. There were many strange people involved including the oddly discomforting Soranus, the large and jovial Human Meatbag, and the dark Shadow Warp. The Core Being was away when he arrived and he decided it was in his best interest to deny direct knowledge of her.

Once settled in with this new group he worked on developing his reputation and security rating some. Jonathan had several missions for him and later handed him off to someone else. The entire city seemed to function like a well oiled but highly dysfunctional machine. The more villains attempted to undermine the city, the more heroes were there to stop them. The more heroes that were present, the more crimes were being committed. It almost seemed like some cosmic experiment or game where everything fit into place, but that was not his more immediate concern.

Over the course of the next two weeks he would frequently attempt to find The Core Being but she was always unavailable, almost as if she was hiding from him. Eventually, one day as he was struggling against several Freakshow tanks, his wounds started healing up and he noticed a definite improvement in his battle effectiveness. Also the enemies started to miss more frequently and hurt less when they hit. In the thick of the battle he did not have time to spare to look for the source of this boon, but rather quickly dispatched his foes and then surveyed the area. On a rooftop behind him he spotted her.

The Core Being had been shadowing The Second Being all day. Making sure to hide in her pocket dimension so as not to be noticed. Two weeks ago when he first arrived in this city, Azuria had contacted her mentally to inquire as to his presence. She knew they were in some way related. The Core Being used this opportunity to keep a close eye on him, even streamlining his admittance into the Super-group she stuck with in order to keep him closer. Now she decided, it was time to have a little talk with him.

The Second Being jumped hard to arrive on the same rooftop as she was on. And then stood there facing her for a while in silence. He could definitely see why Jonathan and Shadow Warp had wondered if they were related. The similarities could not be mistaken. “You know who sent me.” Was all he said at first.

The Core Being nodded quietly. “But you were not born of the reactor, do you know what you are?”

“I was born through the use of nanomachines. The knowledge of what I am, what YOU are, is exactly what I am here to discover.”

The Core Being kept her distance. “Is it your intent to capture me?”

The Second Being shrugged slightly. “It was my mission to request you come back to Eternal Light with me. But that was only a secondary objective and one I can easily abandon. My primary purpose is to find out if you discovered anything about us.”

The Core Being nodded. “I have. However before I tell you I must request you swear to do something for me in return.”

The Second Being raised an eyebrow curiously. “What would you have me do? You know as well as I do how important that information is to me.”

The Core Being shook her head. “That I cannot tell you until I have told you what you are. I have observed you enough to know you tend to keep your promises, so I ask you to promise me that after you hear what I have to say, you will do what I tell you to do. It will not be anything beyond your capabilities, nor will it put you in any undue danger. Suffice to say that it is not something I wish to do myself.”

The Second Being had heard numerous good things about The Core Being. She was one of the more ethical heroes in the city and had a phenomenal capture over kill rate. She even had managed to reduce the percentage of kills her party members committed, which was in and of itself no small feat. Given her reputation The Second Being was relatively sure she would not ask him to do anything that he would later have to refuse. “I accept your terms and provide my trust that you know what you are doing. Now please, tell me what I came to learn.”

The Core Being smiled slightly. “We are gods.”

The Second Being blinked a few times and shook his head. “What do you mean?”

The Core Being continued after the pause. “The dimension we were pulled from is a dimension of potential, not of life. Through the existence of multiwave coincidence the dimension we are now in was able to summon us as gods from our dimension where our souls were dormant. Every religion in this plane, every god they imagine, if it has sufficient following, comes into being here.”

The Second Being shook his head. “That makes no sense, how is such a thing possible and why don’t new gods appear in front of people more often?”

The Core Being replied. “The amount of faith required to summon one of us is quite notable but can build up over time. The method and precise location of our births is dependant upon the faith’s beliefs. Apparently when enough humans share in a faith, it generates a type of energy that interacts with multiwave emissions and causes fluctuations. Those fluctuations are what bring us into this existence, our souls then try to adapt to the expectations placed on them subconsciously.”

The Second Being found an air duct to lean against. “What about you and me. Who is determining our expectations?”

The Core Being sat down on the roof where she was. “I did not have such a spiritual link since the scientists who summoned me did so without the use of spiritual energies. I do not know about you but I suspect it is much the same.”

The Core Being looked up to the sky. “The Magi here explained to me that it is widely believed that a system like this could not have formed accidentally but no mage or priest who is familiar with this can be completely certain. It is possible there is a true god, but barring that we are it. Have you noticed that you have been getting stronger, more powerful as you save people and gain influence in this city?”

The Second Being nodded. “I thought it was just the combat skills of this soldiers body coming back after being dormant but I did notice the changes.”

The Core Being nodded. “That is because those people are feeding you spiritual energy. They are putting faith in you even though you are no part of their religion. Apparently that type of faith fuels us as well. There is a reason I gained in rank so quickly here, and you as well.”
The Second Being slid down the air duct to a sitting position. “This is all so much to take in. What does this all mean for the Eternal Light Project?”

The Core Being looked down. “Spencer Greer did not discover a way to tap energy from multiwave emissions. He stumbled upon a way to artificially stimulate multiwaves to interact with our plane. That interaction pulls in the spiritual energies that our souls exist dormant in. That in and of itself would not be a problem. The amount of power there is truly unimaginable, however they do not have the means to segregate our souls from the rest of the energies. That reactor is eating some of those souls. That is why it is performing so far beyond expectations. I was lucky. The attunement of the multiwave stimulus was just right to summon me as a god and I was born inside that sea of swirling energies.”


The Second Being looked down into his lap. “And they replicated those stimuli to bring me into this body.” Then he looked up at her again. “But what of the other gods, where are they now?”

The Core Being looked around. “Some of them are here. Some of them have died as their faith dwindled to nothing and they lost the will to continue. Some of them are here in this city, fighting crime as avatars of justice. Most though end up in a pocket dimension appropriate to their religion. Most of the old Greek gods ceased to exist long ago, but a few of the more well known and persistent ones still exist on Mount Olympus. All of us have the ability to phase in and out of our own pocket dimensions. You and I probably share one but it is hard to be certain, given our origins.”

The Second Being looked a bit confused. “I haven’t been able to do anything like that, do you think that might be because of my human body?”

The Core Being shrugged. “That is quite possible. Perhaps in time you will learn how to phase even with that form, but it may bar you permanently.”

The Second Being frowned deeply at that thought. “You said there was something you needed me to do.”

The Core Being stood back up and approached him. “I need you to go back to Eternal Light, and I need you to bring this with you.” She held out an amulet that had numerous mystic runes etched into it.

The Second being stood up and accepted it. “What is it? Why do you need me to take it there?”

As he accepted the amulet it glowed slightly and a form appeared in front of him. “It is my phylactery.” Said the form that emerged. It looked vaguely like an elderly male wizard. “I am a wizard who long ago challenged the Circle of Thorns here. I followed them to the ruins of Oranbega and attempted to prevent their entrance. Knowing the dangers such a challenge presented I trapped my soul in this amulet and hid it away. That is ancient history now. MAGI uncovered this item and allowed me to resurface.”

The Second Being stared confusedly at the form. “So now what am I to do with you?”

The form replied. “You are to take me to the reactor in Eternal Light. I will use my magics to create a soul net preventing the reactor from eating any more souls from your dimension. If it is allowed to continue as it currently is, it could destabilize both realities.”

The Second Being turned toward The Core Being. “Why don’t you want to do this?”

The Core Being looked away sheepishly. “Because I am afraid. They have already tried to take me by force once and I am afraid they will do so again. While I may be very powerful and formidable, they can employ strategies to subdue me that leave me defenseless. Also…. If I leave here my power will diminish. Much of my power depends upon me staying in this city near my faithful.”

The Second Being nodded. “And if I leave I will be diminished as well but I have talents to avoid sedatives and traps, I understand.”

The Core Being held out an envelope. “This is a personal request. Could you deliver this to the address on the envelope. I don’t trust the government not to intercept it. I’m not forcing you to but I do hope that you will.”

The Second Being nodded and accepted the envelope. New York wasn’t very far from here and he would have to spend plenty of time on the road as it was. “I will return when it is done. Hopefully everything will go smoothly.”

He set out that night after resolving a mission for his newest contact on Striga Island. The trip would be long once again, but he had a new mission.

Wow. Gods? I didn't see that one coming at all.

Here is the final Chapter of The Core Being's story. I hope you all enjoy(ed) reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. And special thanks to Sun Tsu who's comments let me know at least someone was watching. ;-)

Chapter 9 Resolution.

The Second Being traveled up to New York first and deposited the letter underneath the door so as to prevent tampering by anyone other than the recipient. He did not read the contents of the letter but assumed it to be important to his sister. As he was leaving he heard inside the apartment a voice yell “Wait!”

The Second Being stopped and turned around. Linda opened the door after the sounds of several locks unfastening. And stared at him. “You aren’t Core….” She looked saddened and looked down at the letter again, she didn’t have time to read it yet but hoped to see her again when she saw who it was from.

“I am The Second Being, The Core Being’s brother. She asked me to deliver that to you personally. She didn’t trust the mail system to get it to you for fear of tampering.”

Linda looked down at the letter. It was long and promised to hold many answers. She looked back up at the blue skinned stranger. “Thank you. If… if you see your sister again let her know I miss her, she is welcome to stay here any time.”

The Second Being nodded solemnly. “I will do that.” Then he turned and started walking away again. As he left he heard Linda sigh, then the door close.

The Second Being was acutely aware he was being watched. It seems that the Center for Super-powered Disaster Avoidance had been keeping her under surveillance. He shrugged and continued on his way, they would not harass him as he was working for the same goal, but he hoped they would leave that woman alone to read what he brought her. The only thing he could do was to complete his objective and end this hunt as soon as possible.

The Second Being arrived at Eternal Light unannounced. The guards watched him carefully but allowed him to pass as they had been ordered to do. The Second Being could definitely feel that he was weaker out here than he was in Paragon City. He hoped that would not lead to problems. He walked in and paged Spencer Greer, fingering the amulet in his pocket.

It was no more than 5 minutes later that Spencer made it to the waiting room after hearing that The Second Being had returned. This was sooner than he expected and he was hopeful that it meant good news. He burst through the doors not waiting for the guards to wave him through. “What have you discovered?” He asked excitedly.

The Second Being looked up at him and stood. “We have much to discuss and for part of it, I need to be at the reactor core. Can we start heading that way now?”

Spencer was catching his breath when this was requested and it surprised him. “Why would we need to be at the reactor core for you to explain things to me? I don’t understand.”

The Second Being started walking toward the doors that Spencer was holding open. “That will become clear once we are there. Please lead the way.”

Spencer stood up straight at that. “Are you planning on destroying it?”

The Second Being looked at him with a stare that made it clear he would get to the core whether he was escorted or not. “I do not intend to destroy it doctor, now can we proceed?”

Spencer sighed and nodded. “Okay, but only if you promise to explain all of this to me.”

The Second Being walked through the doors and nodded. Spencer walked ahead leading to the reactor core. “Your multiwave reactor core is actually a dimensional portal doctor, were you aware of that?”

Spencer looked at him with a good deal of surprise. “Most of my scientists are not aware of that. I had only discovered it recently and even then only because it was the only logical explanation for you and your sister.”

The Second Being continued. “You are pulling souls out of a dimension of potential, The machine eats most of those but once everything lined up just right to allow it to come through unharmed. That was when my sister was born.” He continued fingering the amulet nervously.

“S-Souls?” Stammered Spencer skeptically.

The Second Being nodded. “The Core Being learned a great deal from the leading practitioners of magic in Paragon City. Apparently the dimension you pulled us from is the same dimension that most religions pull their gods and avatars from. Our souls adapted to become living embodiments of our early experiences. That is why she has such a command over radiation and why I could control the nanomachines.”

G-Gods?” Spencer was bewildered by all of this. It was thoroughly unexpected and flew in the face of everything he believed or did not believe. “So you are telling me we accidentally summoned two gods?”

“Summoned is perhaps the wrong word… more like evoked. We were nothing more than souls of potential before we were given life. The lives you gave us created us from that.” With that they arrived at the doors to the reactor room. “If you would please good doctor.”

Spencer had stopped for a minute to think. It did all make sense when he thought about it. It also explained the performance of the reactor once it was constructed. One thing was still bothering him. “Before I open the doors, why did you request to come here?”

With that the amulet in The Second Being’s pocket flew out breaking free of The Second Being’s hand and the vague appearance of the old wizard appeared in front of Spencer. “Because I needed to know where exactly it was to do what needed to be done.” Its voice boomed through the corridors.

The scientists in the reactor room all saw the ghostly visage and scurried to the other side of the room, most of them scared for their lives. Spencer took a couple steps back and stared in disbelief at the image. “Wh-who are you? And what needs to be done?”

The ghostly image turned to look toward the reactor core. “I am a mage who was long ago forgotten by the world. My name and deeds are irrelevant now. What needs to be done is a preventive measure to keep the souls of the dimension you are tapping from leaking into the machine. Surely you want that as well?”

Spencer was frightened by the prospect of this. “Of course, but at what cost? How?”

The mage turned to look at Spencer. “The cost is simply the extra power you have been gaining by devouring those souls, and the expenditure of the remaining life force that keeps an old forgotten mage bound to this reality and is tired of his existence. The means is a magical soul net that prevents them from crossing the boundary into our world within this vicinity.”

Spencer looked down in deep thought. “You know I would never be able to patent the reactor and likely never really profit from it if we resorted to magical means.” He looked up pleadingly. “With your help and knowledge we may be able to devise a technological method to do this. You wouldn’t have to expend yourself that way!”

The ghost frowned heavily. “Your profit is of no concern to me. My years and sight beyond the grave have offered me insight into human nature. I know that if I were to impart on you the knowledge needed to build such a thing, if it is even possible, that it would be developed into a weapon regardless of whether you were the one to build it or not. Any weapon based upon soul manipulating powers would be too great, too terrible for human hands regardless of intentions. And I would have to live to see it. A preserved soul gets few opportunities to release. This is mine.”

The Second Being put a hand on Spencer’s crestfallen shoulder. “Doctor, Eternal Light was not cheap to build and it will have the power to provide for the entire nation. Even without patents to protect your interests, surely you will be able to profit from people using it.”

Spencer shook his head slowly. “I’m not so sure. The government doesn’t like anything to do with magic. If I were to tell them what has happened here, they would likely close the project permanently and dismantle the reactor. The current administration doesn’t trust magic for any reason.”

The mage looked back at the reactor. “Dismantling that thing would be ill advised. The explosion would create a new ocean. You have opened a portal that is being barely maintained through the multiwave harmonics it has established. Should you disengage it you would lose control over that portal and the explosion caused by its collapse would be truly devastating.” The mage’s image smirked amusedly. “Like it or not they would have to tolerate its continued existence. And they might as well profit from it while it has to be here anyway.” The ghostly image passed through the wall and the amulet clattered to the floor. “Give my regards to Azuria and keep the Circle in check in my absence.”

The ghostly form slowly faded into the core and dissolved. The power meters all around the room spiked then dropped to nominal levels from their elevated setting since construction. Spencer stared in disbelief. The events of the day had finally gotten to him as he collapsed onto the ground.

The Second Being looked down at Spencer sadly. “He was a good man in his day and fought with everything he had against the evils of his time. He will be missed.” He bent over and picked up the amulet. “I trust you will keep your end of the bargain. Me and my sister are to be free of this place and the government save for our full citizenship.”

Spencer slowly stood up as the scientists in the reactor room hurriedly rushed to the stations and made sure that they kept the core from reacting badly to the sudden changes. “I will see to it that it is done. I take it your addresses will be listed with the Paragon City government?”

The Second Being nodded quietly. “I also request that you discontinue observing the young woman in New York. She is a dear friend of my sister’s and she deserves her freedom.”

Spencer sighed. “I can make no promises but I will see what I can do.”

The Second Being started heading back to the entrance to the building. “Good luck doctor. This story is at an end, but every ending brings with it a new beginning. I hope you find yours.”

The Second Being returned to Paragon City after that. He stayed with his sister and they put an end to a great many evils plaguing that beleaguered metropolis.

Azuria placed the amulet that was once a phylactery in a shrine of honor. She mourned the loss of an old friend but knew it was for the best.

Spencer was true to his word. Citizenship came in through the City Hall, as well as a letter of thanks to both of them. The government begrudgingly accepted Eternal Light as a new government regulated utility company and electricity became a relatively cheap commodity, many cities however opted to keep the old electric companies around just in case.

Linda received many visits from The Core Being in the years that followed. Every time she felt older as The Core Being didn’t seem to age at all. The stories she brought with her were always interesting however.

And The Core Being went on to become one of the premier superheroes over the next two hundred years. Beyond that, only time would tell.

The End.

[ QUOTE ]
Here is the final Chapter of The Core Being's story. I hope you all enjoy(ed) reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. And special thanks to Sun Tsu who's comments let me know at least someone was watching. ;-)

[/ QUOTE ]

That was my intent. As a writer myself, I know it's always nice getting some reviews...
Anyway, it was a good story. In retrospect, it's funny how, for a story based on City of Heroes, there's no villain to oppose or anything of the kind...(That's not a complaint, just an observation). Some original ideas, some interesting characters...A pleasure to read. Hope to see more stories from you!

Sorry, gotta keep this thread alive until I can figure out where to set up a more permanent web space to host it.

If anyone who sees this has a good suggestion for a free web host with a minimum of banners and no popups I'd appreciate it ;-)

I felt some visual aids were in order.

The Core Being

The Second Being

Capt Neem,

I must tell you I enjoyed your story very much. Well done!

Keeping the thread alive.

beep

I really need to get a proper web host set up.

...

Up to chapter four, I think. Great story.

Wow that was good. I really enjoyed the story, you sir have talent.