A New Chapter
character fiction for New Man of The Sentinels campaign
Part I: A Brief Family Gathering
December 1, 2007
"...Haaappy Birthday tooooo youuuuuuu!" they finished. For a few seconds nothing happened and there was dead silence. Birthdays begin to lose meaning in the late teen years. All the way from childhood, a youngster looked forward to advancing in age as that usually meant more priveleges and more independence. But, at around the age of 18-21, birthdays sort of just became so much ceremony. After all, one already had as much privelege and independence as could be had. And for most, it was around those years that the carefree days of school and play transitioned to the responsibility of earning a living. Of course, later, most tended to dislike the advance in age.
Birthday parties, however, made things more fun at any age. It was a family gathering, and for this particular family, that meant a lot.
"All right, Balthasar, it's time to blow out the candles before the cake burns down," chimed his mother. While she couldn't be there in person, the videoconferencing camera and screen made it feel almost like she was, even if she was all the way across an ocean and half way across a sea in Venice, Italy.
"Or melts," added Jeremy. "Sam made an ice cream cake. So, if you don't do it, I will."
Saul sighed, "this reminds me of the time you turned ten, Balthasar. And, while you were figuring out what to wish for, your brother duplicated and blew out the candles before you realized what happened... And then, the Havoc Masters crashed your party..."
"Dad..." Samantha gently tapped her father on the shoulder to quiet him before he digressed too much.
At last Balthasar took a position opposite everyone else on the table. He smiled and took in a deep breath and blew... very hard. Whipped cream sprayed the room, getting on the rest of the family including the monitor screen making it look like Chloe had a line of whipped cream dots going across her left leg.
Amidst all the laughter, Samantha quickly cleaned up the gob of tasty cream from her hair and another on her sweater. Smiling, she retrieved a decorative gift bag that had the image of a gorilla. Handing it to her brother, she said simply, "Happy Birthday, Balthasar."
The thin tissue wrapping tore off easily to reveal two books. Balthasar took a look at the covers and smiled as he read the titles out loud, "The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman... and Mastering the Battle: Victory of Inner Peace, by Go... Thanks, Sam."
His sister commented, "They're both autographed by the authors. One, well, seemed appropriate for you - something to think about... you know from our discussion of your college major. The other, well, I ran into one of your old friends while in Japan."
"Here ya go, bro," Jeremy pushed a small box to his older brother.
Within was an iPhone, or at least it looked like an iPhone. As he turned it on, Balthasar realized that it was some gadget that his whiz kid brother put together and placed inside an iPhone casing. No doubt it did more than allow him to communicate and use the internet. "Uh, thanks."
"Sure. It'll come in handy when you're all by yourself on the left coast... And this," Jeremy produced another package, "is from Ines. Her uncle, aunt, and two cousins are visiting New York and she is taking them on a tour. You know... the worldwide Escobars. Otherwise she'd be here."
"Leave it to Ines..." Balthasar said as he quickly unwrapped the package to reveal a new dress shirt, tie, and slacks. "I think that she never really approved of me wearing that loincloth..."
"And this is from your mother and me," said Saul as he depressed a button on his universal remote. A small slot opened in the ceiling and a white plastic covering lowered, obviously with something contained within. "You already know what it is. After all, you helped with the specs. Your new suit."
"Perhaps we can call it your birthday suit," Chloe jibed. "After all it is an 'invisible suit'."
Laughter filled the room and Saul added, "Yes, with stealth capabilities. Your mother designed the appearance herself. Dear, I'm glad that you could take time out of your busy schedule for this."
"Of course, I wouldn't miss my son's 18th birthday even if I had all of Maximum Force in a choke hold. But, I've got to go now. Love you all and take care," Chloe said. She yawned and stretched. Before she signed out, she said, "It's a bit later over here. I'm glad that I could catch up with all of you, though. Jeremy, mind Ines and keep up your grades. Samantha, you'll have to tell me about your new beau later... Yes, I know, but I won't tell you how. Balthasar, Happy Birthday, I know that it's pointless to tell you to stay out of trouble, but keep safe and remember if you're ever in the vicinity, stop by. And, Saul dear, I'd love it if you could arrange some business in Vienna soon. Bye now."
"Buona notte, mi amore," Saul said as the telecom disconnected. He turned looking at Balthasar. "Now, the wardrobe is taken care of. No one would know who you were if you cut your hair. Shall I do that now?"
Samantha and Jeremy both giggled at the thought. Balthasar looked a bit flabbergasted.
"You know, when you were very young, I did cut your hair..." their father replied. "all of yours. Well, after the first time, I did yours, Samantha, your mother forbade me from that. But I did cut the boys' hair... until each of you were old enough to know better."
Jeremy was the first to notice the lights blinking outside the window. He waved out the window at the small female alien humanoid piloting the long, sleek-looking craft. Pix'l smiled and returned the wave. He turned to tell his older brother, "Looks like your ride is here... Can I come along?"
"Not this time, Jeremy. Argus High is still in session. You've your academics to attend to," Saul replied before anyone else could say anything. Then he smiled gently at his children, "Maybe we'll head there in a couple of weeks. Perhaps your mother might even be able to come with us. It's quite a nice place to be around the holidays."
Samantha was the first to see her brother off, with a hug and "Happy Birthday, Balt. And watch out for all those college girls. I'll see if I can visit you out west when you start."
Jeremy added, slapping his brother's hand, "see ya later, bro."
Finally, walking his son to the ramp of the Rail, Saul said, shaking Balthasar's hand and then giving him a brief hug, "nice to see you again, son. Stop by again on your way to Berkeley. I have a few friends in the area. My, you're growing up quickly..."
Part II: Killed... Again
December 2, 2007
*Genetics. This is Professor Johal's office,* chimed the perky voice of the receptionist.
"Good, umm..." Saul turned his head and checked the clock on this desk. It was one nineteen, so that would be ten nineteen on the west coast. "Good morning, Francis. I trust that the weather is nicer there than here."
*Why, good afternoon to you, Doctor Numen. Well, it's sunny over here, a bit chilly, but sunny.*
Peering out the window of his home office, Saul replied, "Well, Francis, a big freeze blew in here last night... I think that I see a few icicles on the trees outside my window and the squirrel on it seems to have a crystalline beard as well."
*Professor Johal just finished his meeting, Doctor Numen, let me transfer you to his phone...*
*Saul!* exploded the convivial, but booming voice of Sanjay Johal. *It's been months since I saw you at the International Genetics conference in Tokyo. You know that early abstracts are due a week from now for the ASG meeting. And it's going to be held in San Francisco this time.*
"I'll be there. Ted already asked me to chair the session on new gene analysis technologies. It's already pencilled in my calendar," Saul said. "And as for research, well, Dora Conjugacion of the Numen-Kami Institute, our young protege, will be presenting some of our most recent findings."
*I hope, Saul that you will be able to find some time to visit my lab... we have just moved from the cramped old one into a larger, more well layed out one. By now, though, it still feels cramped,* he guffawed.
"Certainly, Sanjay," Saul replied, "I plan to spend a bit of time in Berkeley over the next four years as my son will be schooling there... Could I ask of you a favor?"
*Aah, Saul. I have done this many times for many colleagues. And I will do so for young Balthasar as well. Do not fret, my friend,* the Berkeley professor assured. *Could I ask that you spend an hour of your time to give us one of your enlightening seminars again? Your last one brought us a great new class of graduate students.*
"Of course, Sanjay," Saul smiled. This was typical of the collegial academic bartering that occurred and he had already expected it. "Balthasar's enrollment is a bit more complex that that - you know how much press my family receives. I'll fill you in later about the details."
*Certainly... Later would be better, I am already late to a departmental meeting. Send me an e-mail and we can talk about this maybe Monday or Tuesday.*
"Thank you, Sanjay. Have a good day."
The doorbell rang for the third time. And with nobody else home, Saul needed to take care of that. He leaned forward and rose out of the comfortable desk chair. For a second he thought about checking the security monitor. He and his family had enemies, but it seemed that none of his enemies ever used the doorbell. Most likely it was more Girl Scouts looking to sell a few boxes of those delicious cookies.
As Saul walked briskly down the cherry stained maple staircase, he reminised about Samantha's days in the Girl Scouts and that brought his thoughts to the family gathering of the previous night. The kids were all gathered together and were up to their usual mayhem in the den. Well, at least Balthasar and Jeremy were up to mayhem; Samantha was sitting on the couch and involved in a conversation with the boys as they were bouncing around the room.
They all headed off when Saul gathered them and the Numen children groaned when their father announced that they were going to see "Mister Magorium's Magical Emporium". They complained that they were too old to be going to a movie like that, but he would have nothing of their gripes. He loved the simple and heartwarming quality of such movies and had treasured going to them with his children once they were old enough to walk. Of course, by the end of the movie, they all had big smiles that carried through the rest of the night until they all left to go their separate ways.
By the time that he turned the knob of the door he had a pleasant smile on his face.
The woman at the door was visibly shaking despite the thick coat, scarf and hat. Even in this chill... Her eyes told it, too - the worry there and the fear.
"Please come in out of the cold, ma'am," Saul said gently holding the door open for her. There was something familiar in her face once he got past the layer of concern.
As she stepped in, she stammered in the presence of the world renowned doctor, but continued. Her task was more than for herself, after all. "Doctor... Doctor Numen... I - I am Sue Levine... My son, Wendell is a classmate of Jeremy's."
"Oh yes. That's where we met before. Was it at the PTA meeting two months ago?" Saul asked in an attempt to make her feel more at ease. She clearly needed help and he couldn't help her unless she told him of the problem. "Wendell... Yes, I remember him - a quiet boy, if I recall correctly, and he won an award for art."
"Yes... yes, that's Wendell," Sue said softly, "and I'm afraid that he is in trouble. I remember things that other people have said of you and thought that you can help. I - I couldn't find Jeremy, but I found his rather frightening... nanny. Well, she was rather sweet when you got to know her and she told me that you were just the right person to help and how to find you."
"That's fine, Mrs. Levine, Ines is a wonderful woman with a gift. Not everyone sees it that way, but she does. She is quite comfortable in her own... skin," Saul said, hoping to calm the woman a bit. "Now, can you describe the problem with Wendell? Perhaps I can help. And if I can't I will find the person that can."
"It's like he's possessed or something - like in the movies or something straight out of Capes," Sue said, with a sigh. She loved her son, and didn't know what to do. "Last night he was complaining about the cold - he always did - and like always, I told him that he had to bundle up because we can't afford to set the thermostat much higher... As long as I could remember, the cold always gave him nightmares - or a nightmare - the same one always - about a vicious dark thing... Why, last year during winter I heard him growling in his sleep. Last night when that chill came in suddenly, something worse happened."
Half way through her discourse, Saul reached for his coat. When Sue Levine was finished he simply said, "let's go and see your son. I think that I can help him."
"Turn left here, it is the second house on the right," she said pointing down the block. "The small blue house over there... the damaged one."
Saul could see a bed on the lawn, broken and standing, for the most part, on one end. The gaping hole in the roof was likely its path of exit from the house. Whatever had happened to Wendell made him quite strong. There were a few other holes, too. Heightened strength was the most common phenotype that was produced by ubergenes; there were perhaps two dozen or so ubergene combinations that elevated physical power.
He depressed the security key in the car setting it to sleep mode, but the concerned mother was already walking on the path to the front door. Saul called out, "Mrs. Levine, please take some caution. Your son, in this state, could be a danger to you."
As he quickly caught up to her at the front door, Sue Levine shot him a glare that said, 'I am his mother. He won't hurt me.' or possibly 'I am his mother. I know my son better than anyone else.' Saul gently put his hand on her shoulder to calm her and let her know that he was here to help, not to prove anything else.
The door was fairly basic, painted light gray and the frame seemed sturdy, but not ornate. Sue Levine set her key in the brass lock and gave it a turn. It took a hard push to open the door. It had always stuck a little due to the weatherstripping. Even with the damage to the house, it did feel warmer inside, if only slightly so. There was noises coming from within: the cracking sound of wood breaking, the crash of something being thrown against something else, snarls and growls, heavy footsteps.
As she stepped into her house, there was a loud and vicious roar. An animal noise that might have come from a badger or wolverine if that badger or wolvering were twice the size of a man.
Saul pushed the woman aside, stepping in front of her, as he saw a furry beast the size of one of those men on those faux wrestling shows that Jeremy like to watch. The humanoid animal had launched itself into the air from the floor above.
It landed upon Saul with the fury of a whirlwind, bearing ebony claws each as long as a finger and as sharp as a razor. They tore into him easily parting his skin, gashing muscles and organs. The weight of the beast staggered Saul, but he clutched at it, telling Sue, "run. Call animal control... tell them use only tranquilizers - nothing lethal. This is your son, Sue."
He fell to the ground, leg dangling by ligaments, intestines eviscerated and reeking of digested food. His ribs were broken and his heart severed. Saul's torn body lay on the carpet, no longer alive. Blood spurted across the carpet for a few seconds and then drizzled into a large red stain. No heartbeat. No conscious thought. His eyes glazed over and lifeless as it stared at the monster.
The animalistic uber snarled at the dead man, but saw the woman behind, weeping into her hands and falling to the floor - to her knees. The monster cried out, "RRAAAAARGGGG!"
Crimson eyes looked remorsefully at the slain man and at Sue Levine. No longer were they rabid, but slowly began to lose their bright hue. Bulky, muscular legs, arms, and chest began to diminish and the thick mane of fur over the beast's torso receded.
A boy, shivering from the chilled draft that came into the house through the door, huddled next to his mother, he sobbed, "mother... I almost killed you, mama."
"The professor..." she replied in a dread whisper. But neither Wendell nor his mother wanted to look upon the torn body of Saul Numen.
Perhaps a minute went by or more. The pair continued to console each other. Neither of them shut the door or did anything else. They kneeled together, trying to think of what had happened and not to think of what had happened. And both wanted to think of what might happen next least of all.
"I'm glad..." whispered Saul, startling both of them. They turned to look. His face was no longer marred. His jaw no longer torn although his face held a grimace; healing was definitely painful. His chest had, for the most part closed up although one rib was still protruding. His abdominal cavity still was largely open, but the organs inside were clearly renewing themselves. A bud had formed from his right hip and a small leg was already extending out from the bud. "I'm glad you are back, Wendell...
"I'm sorry if this appears slightly grotesque to you, but in another minute or two I shall be a new man once again," the older man apologized. At last he could stand up, although a bit unstably. He grasped the forearms of Sue and Wendell and helped them to their feet. "First, we must put some warm clothing on you before you change back, Wendell. It must be the cold that triggers it. Then, we will go to my house and we will cure you of this ailment."
Part III: A New Day
December 3, 2007
Awakened by the aroma of coffee, Saul stretched his arms out and casually wiped a grain of sleep sand out of each of his eyes. It had been a long night producing the silencer genes for Wendell Levine's problem. It was fortunate that no one but Saul really was hurt by the monster that was inside of the boy. And the events of that day led him to continue working through the night. He thought that he could live the life of a scientist for a while once again, but now realized that could only be a part of his entire life. He sat up and said, before he turned to face the door, "Buenos dias, Ines. ?Como estas?"
"Muy bien, gracias, Doctor Numen. And buenos dias to you, too," replied the giant cockroach. "Strong black, sugar but no cream. Is it not what you always like when you work here in THIS lab? It has been a long time since I have made the coffee this way."
"Si, Ines, gracias," he stood up, setting down the small disc. There was an array of small handheld equipment on the table. Reaching for the coffee he noticed, too, the bundle that the Nanny brought in her other two arms. He smiled, but couldn't tell whether Ines was smiling also.
"Will the New Men be travelling together once again, doctor?"
"Perhaps one day, senorita... I would like very much so for that to happen," Saul sighed. Finishing the cup, he took the bundle from La Cucaracha. "Chloe is very much involved with the Dawnstars. She has important work to do there especially with the schemes of Remus to obliterated Europe's heroes. Samantha seems to be enjoying her more private life and has made both her parents proud with what she is doing. Balthasar, well, he's off to college and could do without distractions - we've seen how that affected Samantha's studies. Jeremy is well into his studies although he seems to have fallen in - or perhaps organized - his own junior team of heroes. There is need in this world for talented people to don costumes and help the less fortunate."
"That is good to hear, Doctor Numen," the insectoid member of the New Men said, clicking her mandibles. "You have a voice mail - The Sentinels have need of your services."
"I once had thought that I could leave that to the younger generation of heroes so that I could pursue science and medicine more thoroughly. But, I do miss what I had so long been doing." He unwrapped the neatly folded bundle observing, "This is the old one that Samantha designed when she was about this big... I'll have to make a few modifications... You know, Inez, one of the things nice about being New Man is that the costume always fits."