The flashing red light was fairly subtle. A couple heads turned when Alex stood up suddenly to leave the lecture, but no one paid much attention. The only person who knew that there was something deeper behind Alex's sudden exit was Damien.
They were third year's now. The coziness of being new arrivals to the course had thoroughly vanished. They now had an unending stream of challenging assignments and projects.
Alex's closest friend had noticed pretty quickly when he suddenly began to dissapear. Their shared breakfasts had been a daily occurence. Now, some days he didn't even see Alex at all.
'Go save the world kiddo.' Damien thought to himself like a proud parent.
There'd always been something special about his first year roomate. Things never seemed to faze him. It had been a shocking, but rather plausible revelation, when Alex revealed to him that he'd just started out a second career. As a superhero.
It had been a couple of weeks since Alex met with the GDA's director. His life as a government worker had been decidely eventful. Dr Molay called on him when he was needed using the bracelet on his wrist.
He'd fought a handful of small-time villains and stopped a couple of bank robberies. Dr Molay described his current status as "probationary". The GDA were slowly taking off his training wheels and handing him more complex cases. The frequent combat practice came with a surprising and welcome boost to his powers' efficiency.
It had been just over two years since his powers emerged. He wasn't the same person he'd been a year ago at the lake. The non-newtonian fluid project had taken months of work to get off the ground. But he'd succeeded. He no longer needed to worry about breaking bones when using his full strength. He'd intergrated the hardening properties of non-newtonian fluids on a cellular level. His dream of becoming bulletproof had come to fruition within just six months. Since then his durability had been improving steadily.
The GDA provided access to resources that he never could've had while working alone. They had machines that could handle punches that hit like freight trains. He didn't need to practice in secret anymore.
His parents and Taylor's parents had been moved to secure neighbourhoods. Taylor had told them over an encrypted line that her polite and charming boyfriend was even more incredible than they first thought. He'd met them multiple times, they told him over the phone that they were proud to have a superhero in the family.
"What's the situation?" He asked aloud. An earpiece transmitted the question to Dr Molay hundreds of miles away.
"This is a big one Alex. He calls himself Mr Smiley, police stopped him for carrying a weapon in the streets. Things got out of hand and he's currently going on a shooting spree in the city. Whatever gun he's got makes people laugh uncontrollably, we've already got a dozen fatalities. We need you over there now." Dr Molay briefed him on the situation.
Alex turned a corridor and opened an umarked door. To anyone else it would've been just an ordinary supply closet. His bracelet vibrated and the floor dissapeared from beneath his feet. He dropped down nearly ten feet. The fall didn't cause him any discomfort.
He looked up at the long line of red lights on the tunnel's ceiling. There were networks of tunnels beneath every city in America. The GDA made good use of them. The machine-gun like footsteps echoed through the tunnels. In the streets above, a few people frowned at the slight tremors in the earth. It didn't take them long to forget about the oddity and continue with their days.
Alex ran at full speed through the dim-light. The strengthened durability of his cells allowed him to move even faster. His speed had reached sixty meters per second, that was one hundred and thirty four miles per hour.
The GDA had a database of statistics on him that was impossibly detailed. His response times were outstanding. He could be on the scene faster than ninety percent of non-Guardian heroes.
The GDA employed hundreds of heroes. All of them required a coordinator. Dr Molay had been assigned to Alex because of her pre-existing relationship with him. Being a coordinator wasn't always an easy job. Superheroes often had large egos. The early stages of a hero's career was when they were at their most reckless. The property damage caused by many was exorbitant.
Dr Molay was relieved and pleased that her partner wasn't like most young heroes. Alex was cool-headed, easygoing and indifferent towards fame or glory. Many heroes arrived at the scene and immediately began to engage the villain or threat. The battle between a hero and a villain, even low-level ones could be catastrophic for any civillians who hadn't evacuated.
Alex prioritised rescue above everything else. He'd broken records for the number of saves for a new hero.
"Hurry Alex. The death toll's just hit twenty." Dr Molay's voice crackled in Alex's earpiece. He gritted his teeth and his speed increased by a few percent.
"Laugh, laugh, laugh! When we smile we are all one big family! Let us laugh together!"
Mr Smiley was a short man with thinning hair. He looked like he hadn't slept for days. His eyes were bloodshot and manic. A complex piece of machinery delivered a steady stream of shimmering red liquid to the back of his neck.
He pulled the trigger of his weapon. The gun hummed and charged up. A beam of red light shot out and struck a trembling woman. There were a dozen crying hostages in the mall. Tears streamed down their faces. They all shared the same hoarse and ragged laugh.
Mr Smiley's lips were curved so forcefully that the delicate skin at the edges cracked and bled. He didn't appear to feel any pain. The red liquid being pumped into his neck maintained a state of pure euphoria.
The hostages wept miserably. They were so weak they could barely move. Their vision swam from lack of oxygen, but their laughter never stopped.
"Don't stop! You musn't stop! The fun never needs to-"
Mr Smiley was stood on a food court table, praising the joys of laughter to his hostage audience. There were more than two dozen dead bodies lying motionless on the floor. The children and the elderly had been the first to die.
His maniacal speech was interrupted suddenly. He didn't get the chance to blink before he found himself being dragged through the air. The wind cut into his skin like knives. The device on the back of his neck whirred violently and frantically discharged a large stream of the red chemical compound into his bloodstream.
A hand held Mr Smiley's skull. His feet dangled in the air. He giggled while kicking his legs, "How delight-"
He was cut off by his stomach churning. He vommitted uncontrollably. The violent acceleration had sent his body into chaos. The device on his neck whirred even louder, attempting to subdue the building panic with drugs.
Alex ripped the ugly metal structure out from Mr Smiley's neck. The man's eyes widened. The chemical compound had held every emotion other than pure delight at bay. Now they rushed back with a vengeance.
Chunks of undigested food dribbled down his shirt. He cried out, "No! No! Give it back! Give me my laughter! Give it back to me!"
Alex's brow wrinkled in disgust. He'd seen more inhumanity in the last few weeks working for the GDA than the entire rest of his life.
The ray-gun that had killed more than two dozen fell to the floor. The man's hand was a mangled mess that could never pull a trigger. Alex had crushed it when he grabbed Mr Smiley's head.
The urge to destroy the gun whispered at him to stamp his foot down on it. He resisted. Weapons didn't kill people, the people who pointed them did. The gun had cost lives. The GDA's scientists could analyse the principles behind it and maybe one day use it to save lives instead.
Mr Smiley's babbling rapidly morphed into screams of agony. Without replenishment the chemical in his bloodstream was wearing off fast. His head throbbed with agony and his mangled hand felt like it had been thrust into a blender.
The screams were irritating. Alex squeezed the back of Mr Smiley's neck hard. The screams stopped. A few police officers slowly approached. The GDA had announced his debut on every major Michigan news channel. The police recognised his appearance.
A clean up team were on their way. The remaining hostages in the mall had fallen unconscious after their oxygen-deprived brains finally gave in. Alex could feel that they were all still alive. The chemical had only been fatal to those with frailer or undeveloped bodies.
Dead bodies had become achingly familiar. He didn't flinch anymore when he saw them. It was part of the job. The deaths made him want to be better. If he was faster, if he was stronger, then the city wouldn't need so many funerals.
"Alex! We've got an emergency! Leave Mr Smiley with an officer! We need you heading north, now!" His earpiece crackled to life.
He blurred forwards and appeared before one of the nervous-looking police officers. He thrust the unconscious man into the officer's arms, "Cuff him. Agents are on their way."
The police officer blinked in shock. He opened his mouth to say something, but Alex was already gone.
The tunnels had offered a faster route to the scene. This time there weren't any. Alex sprinted through the city in a blur of high-speed movement. He willed his powers to absorb the impact of his footfalls against the pavement. It was a new trick. On his first mission he'd torn up nearly half a mile of road surface.
Without conscious manipulation to absorb the force, the violent bursts of kinetic energy as he ran would cause tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage. The researchers at the GDA headquarters were working on designing him a pair of boots that could help soak up the energy.
"This is a joint operation, the Teen Team are already on site. Five minutes till you're set to arrive. The attackers call themselves the Ivory Tower. They've launched an assault against the airport, they're smugglers, someone stole their shipment and they want it back!"
Alex recognised the name immediately. The Teen Team were a league below the Guardians, but some of their members had impressive powers. They were a credible force in their own right.
Their most well-known member, Atom Eve was a popular celebrity and role-model to millions of young girls. Her powers were incredible, she could manipulate any inorganic matter. Alex couldn't even imagine how much destruction she could unleash if she ever gave into a dark impulse. The thought frightened him.
Another member of the team, Robot was a tactical genius. His abilities in frontal combat were nothing compared to his intellect. He solved problems with science, not brawn. Alex had a huge amount of respect for the chrome-coloured hero.
"The leader calls himself Tusk. Apparently he killed some kind of sacred elephant and inherited its powers, the team are throwing everything they've got at him, but they're getting nowhere."
Alex wove between cars. The drivers didn't see anything more than a blur. The gust of wind that followed behind him was the only evidence that he wasn't just a figment of their imagination. Once he reached the highway his speed picked up. Dr Molay constantly updated his expected arrival time, he was rapidly shaving seconds off the clock.
The aiport was enormous. The alarm system wailed at a deafening volume. People flooded out onto the street screaming. He was forced to slow down to push his way through the crowds.
The tremors in the earth led him to the fight. The Teen Team were outnumbered. A gigantic man with long elephant tusks laughed freely and occasionally waved his huge arms to shatter the pink constructs thrown at him by Atom Eve.
"It tickles! Try harder baby!" The gigantic man roared. His long trunk trumpeted loudly.
The towering man commanded dozens of underlings. All of them had abnormal elephant-like body parts. Whatever power was mutating their bodies didn't look pretty, but the strength it provided them was undeniable.
An underling with a trunk so long that it dragged across the floor trumpeted and punched his fist clean through the stomach of one of Dupli-Kate's clones. Dupli-Kate screamed and frantically created more clones. There were nearly a hundred slaughtered duplicates scattered across the hall.
The elephant-men not fighting with the Teen Team tore apart suitcases at the baggage claim. They were searching for something. One of the elephant-men trumpeted and raised a package into the air, "I found it boss!"
The gigantic man trumpeted back and stomped over. His footsteps shook the earth. One of Rex-Splode's projectiles exploded harmlessly in a cloud of smoke against his back.
"Fucking elephants! You're meant to be fucking gentle!" Rex-Splode yelled. He leaped into the air and narrowly dodged the trunk of an elephant-man that whipped through the air where he'd just been standing.
The gigantic man tore open the plastic layers around the object. His eyes lit up, "Yes! We've found it! We've found the horn!"
Bursts of pink energy from her hands and feet propelled Atom-Eve through the air. She hurled spears of pink energy at the gigantic-elephant man, "Robot! What's he talking about?"
The chrome-coloured hero stumbled backwards as a hail of bullets struck his armour. The bullets richocheted off, leaving several dents. His green eyes glowed, "I believe that the object he is reffering to is the horn of Tanngrisnir. A goat from Norse mythology that pulled Thor's chariot."
"Why the fuck does an elephant want a goat horn?" Rex-Splode screamed angrily.
"I do not-" Robot froze. The optical systems within his green eyes processed information faster than the human eye could. He watched as a human-shaped blur charged across the terminals.
Bang!
The impact sounded like an explosion. The gigantic elephant-man was sent flying backwards. He came to a violent stop against a concrete wall. The wall cracked behind him.
The huge elephant-man shook his head furiously. The force behind the impact had left him dizzy. He stamped his feet on the earth, "How dare you-"
Bang!
Alex's fist cracked against the elephant-man's cheek. The grey-coloured flesh rippled and his head was forced to turn. The punch caused the elephant-man to stumble sideways.
"Robot tell me what the fuck that is?" Rex-Splode yelled.
Atom-Eve watched the blurry figure seem to teleport from one place to another. She wanted to intervene and try to help, but she forced herself to turn away. The blurry figure had the fight under control.
The leading elephant-man was enormous, more than four meters tall. Despite his size and bulky limbs, he was frighteningly quick. Her attacks had left several wounds an inch or so deep, but the injuries were nothing for someone so large. The greyish elephant like skin granted him a formiddable defense.
She was the only one in the team strong enough to fight the huge elephant-man directly. She wanted to strike harder, but attacking forcefully only threw the rythm of the fight into chaos. Without the constant entanglement of her energy attacks, the elephant-man could freely stampede through the Teen Team. He'd crushed dozens of Dupli-Kate's clones like they were made of cotton and nearly caught Rex-Splode multiple times.
His defense was too solid. The energy blasts didn't deal much damage, but they forced him to stay largely in one place.
She gritted her teeth and focused her attention on the dozens of underlings instead. A smaller and much weaker elephant-man cried out as a glowing pink warhammer sent him flying through the sky and crashing out one of the massive glass windows that looked out onto the planes.
"That, I believe, is actually a he. I requested backup when Eve's attacks appeared ineffective. My recieving antenna has been damaged in the fight. I have not been able to contact the GDA since making the request. The most probable outcome is that he has been sent to reinforce us." Robot said in his electronically synthesised voice.
The huge elephant-man trumpeted furiously. He was sent staggering back and forth as punches slammed into him. The elephant-man roared and twisted forcefully. He steadied himself and lashed out with a powerful strike.
The blow landed. For the first time the heroes and villains could clearly see the blur. Alex retreated back a few meters and stood staring at his opponent. His costume was slightly damaged by the kinetic energy of the strike.
He could've dodged, but the opportunity to test his durability in a fight was one he welcomed. On a microsopic level, his cells rushed together to the point of impact and dissipated the force. The elephant-man's attack only caused a few minor internal injuries that healed almost immediately after.
Alex yelled and dashed towards his opponent. His fist slammed into the elephant-man's stomach like a rocket. The force lifted the enormous grey-skinned giant into the air.
The huge elephant-man groaned weakly. His head cracked against the wall and he fell forwards unconscious. The elephant-transformation vanished in a puff of smoke. A tall and burly naked man lay on the floor.
The elephant-men underlings screamed. Their own transformations began to wear. They at least held onto their dignity as their clothes still mostly fit.
"How's it feel you fucking scum!" Dupli-Kate screamed and punched one of the underling's in the stomach. The man doubled over and vomitted up the contents of his stomach.
Dupli-Kate's clones swiftly gathered and apprehended the other criminals.
Robot approached Alex. One of his hands was broken and sparking with electricity, "Thank you for your assistance. I am sorry, but I am not aware of your name."
Alex smiled. He was happy to meet someone he respected, "I'm-"