Ethan stirred as someone shook his shoulder. He snapped his eyes open and took in a tense breath, only to relax as he saw Treya’s smiling face. He reached up to his armor, unlatched it, and then took it off. “Hello gorgeous,” he said softly.

  She scratched under his chin a little bit, “How’s my hero been?” she asked with a sparkle in her eyes.

  “Great,” Ethan replied as he put his arms behind his head and sank deeper into the couch. “I met up with some other Imbued, and they seem to have a hero team in the works.”

  “Oh? Like your own Justice League?” she asked as she sat down next to him, tossing her bag to the side.

  Ethan chuckled, “I think I’m going to be more like Omniman. I’m not going to be on the team, but I’ll come in and help every now vand then.”

  She rolled her eyes, “Just don’t go all megalomaniac on me and turn villain.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it.” He reached a hand up, then stopped as he remembered he was fully suited up in the armor. “What time is it?” he asked as he began fumbling for his phone.

  Treya pulled hers out of her pocket quickly, “It’s about eight o’clock.”

  Ethan was about to reply when his phone that he had been fishing around for began buzzing. He finally got a grip on it and pulled it up. “Go for Radiance.”

  “Hey, it’s Fred!” The voice of his agent was exuberant and filled with enthusiasm. “Mind coming to the office tomorrow morning? In the armor.”

  “Sure. What for?” Ethan replied as he looked at Treya and mouthed the word ‘agent’ to her. She gave him a little thumbs-up and headed to the kitchen.

  Fred continued, “I’m going to have Teegan bring his mom in, and we’ll see if your healing works on Alzheimer’s. If it does, then I’ve got a line on a couple of medical studies that would want to work with you on developing cures. Studying how your power works. It’s great PR if it works.”

  The idea that he could cure people with degenerative diseases filled Ethan with a sense of excitement. And if there was a way to learn how this healing works and replicate it? We could be on the verge of a medical revolution. “What else?” he asked eagerly.

  “Photo shoot,” Fred replied with a chuckle. “I’m going to convert one of the conference rooms and we have a team coming in to do some shots. I’ve got merchandising deals lined up with distributors ready to go. Plus, a possible movie deal in the works. And a comic book series…we are going places.”

  Ethan felt tension in his stomach. He was excited, a little intimidated, and filled with trepidation. The possibilities laying out in front of him were enormous. Movie deals? Merch? A freaking comic book? It was a lot to process and he let out a deep breath of exasperation.

  Fred must have picked up on his emotions, because his voice came through in a suave, reassuring tone. “Hey, don’t stress it. I’ll have an agenda with time stamps ready to go. You won’t have to do anything except follow the script. And the whole movie deal? Still in the works.”

  That did bring a massive amount of relief, and Ethan stood up. “Appreciated. What time you want me there tomorrow?”

  “Seven O’clock.”

  “I’ll be there.” Ethan hung up and set an alarm on his phone before he headed to the closet and divested himself of his armor. Using Denial of Light to cover it from view, he headed right to the restroom and began scrubbing down.

  To his surprise and delight, Treya slipped into the shower with him and pushed him against the tile, the hot water cascading over them. “Since you’re in early…let’s just enjoy it…”

  Ethan woke up bright and early to the sound of his beeping alarm. Swiftly snoozing it, he rolled over and embraced Treya, eliciting a slight sigh of contentment from his fiancé. “I’ve got an early start today,” he whispered as he kissed her on the cheek.

  She pushed back against him, “Five more minutes,” she mumbled. “You can teleport.”

  “Warp,” he whispered as he kissed her again and just enjoyed feeling her next to him.

  The snooze alarm went off, and Treya groaned before pushing herself upright. “Okay,” she said as she stretched. “Time to get up.”

  Ethan rolled out of bed and threw on some clothes before going to the closet and armoring up. Treya slipped into her bathrobe and leaned against the door frame as he suited up.

  “Enjoying the show?” he asked with a coy smile while he strapped on the vambraces.

  “I love myself a knight in shining armor,” she said with a wide smile. “Want some help?”

  “If you think you can handle it.”

  Treya did have a few questions about the latches and some of the clasps, but the whole process was sped up thanks to her assistance. “Looking amazing.”

  Ethan turned around and gave her a kiss. “You’re amazing.”

  She shoved the helmet into his chest, “Cheesy line.”

  Ethan just chuckled and slipped the helm on, clicking the latches into place. “Love you. I’ll be back later. Heaven’s Gate.” The white and gold portal opened, and he stepped through into Fred’s office.

  The man was seated behind his desk, talking on the phone, and gave Ethan a quick nod while he finished a conversation. “Yes…agreed…I can get you an interview, sure…uh-huh…okay…sounds good! Adios.” He stood up and pulled his dress jacket off a small peg behind his desk and with a flourish slipped his arms into the sleeves. “Conference Room 1. Teegan showed up this morning with his mom and has been waiting for hours. The guy’s a bit on-edge.”

  Ethan frowned, “For a lawyer that’s not a good sign.”

  Fred shrugged, “The man’s mother is sick. And you might be able to help. I’d be nervous, too.” The agent flashed his smile and his whole demeanor shifted to that of an enthusiastic salesman. “Come on, let’s get to it.”

  He led Ethan to the conference room and entered, holding the door for Ethan before gently closing it behind him. Teegan immediately stood up and held out a hand to shake, which Ethan clasped. “Thanks so much,” the lawyer said with an exasperated smile. “Please,” he gestured to his mother.

  The woman was easily in her sixties, with grey hair, a pair of spectacles that were quite thick, and she was dressed quite warmly despite the late summer weather. “Oh…you must be one of these hero people,” she said softly. “Teegan, when are we going to see the flower garden?” she asked as she looked to her son.

  Teegan smiled, but it was a forced smile and Ethan knew he was holding back some level of pain or frustration. “Soon, mom.” He patted Ethan on the shoulder, “My friend here is going to try to put his hand on your shoulder.”

  “Oh? I get to touch a super hero? That’s nice,” the woman sounded nonplussed.

  Ethan walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. Here goes nothing. Healing Touch. He felt the golden energy surge through his body and down his hand, into the woman.

  She sat up a little straighter, her eyes seemed a bit more focused, and she even took off the glasses. “Oh…oh my,” she said softly as she took in a little gasp and looked at her son. “Teegan…what day is it?” she asked.

  Teegan moved over and knelt next to her, placing a hand on her arm, “It’s July 12th, mom.” He sounded on the verge of tears, but was keeping it held together. “What’s the last thing you remember?” he asked.

  “Breakfast this morning. What’s going on?” the woman asked politely, as she glanced to Ethan.

  “I…Uhm…you have- sorry, had Alzheimer’s. I think I cured it?” he looked to Fred who just shrugged.

  Teegan stood up and helped his mother to her feet, “I’ll take her to her doctor and do a check-up.” He looked at Ethan and hesitated for a moment before pulling Ethan in for a huge hug. “Thank you,” he whispered, almost choking on the words from the emotion roiling through him. “I think it worked.”

  Ethan extricated himself from the man’s grasp, and the lawyer took his mother out of the room quickly. Fred let out a slight sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. “To be honest, I was kind of hoping that wouldn’t work,” he muttered.

  “Why?” Ethan asked. “Curing mental diseases is huge.”

  “It is going to bring up a whole bunch of controversy surrounding mental health,” the agent replied. “And then there is going to doubtless be questions about whether autism is something that could be cured, or Down syndrome, Bipolar disorder – if mental health issues can be cured with your Ability, then there is going to be a shitstorm of commentary surrounding it. If it can be cured, then doesn’t that mean it’s a disease of some type? That’s going to be the question on everyone’s minds once this comes out.”

  He winced, “If it hadn’t already, given your mass healing at hospitals. Not to mention with how controversial gender and sexual identity could be – if that was curable, then you’ll have a whole different shitstorm to deal with regarding if orientation is a choice or not.” He rubbed his temples like he was massaging away the worst headache of his life.

  Ethan had never contemplated that, and the idea that his healing was curing people but could have a negative perception would be detrimental was something that had never even crossed his mind. But now that Fred brought it up, scenarios flashed through his mind. What if I cure someone who is deaf and has been since birth? That would imply that everyone who is deaf is damaged in some way if my Ability could fix it.

  He had unwittingly just left the door open to a massive world of headaches surrounding healthcare discussions. I just want to help people, he thought as he felt that same ball of anxiety in his chest. I don’t want to be at the center of some controversy.

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  Fred sighed once more and rolled his shoulders back as he straightened his posture and plastered his agent smile on his face once more. “Well, I’ll worry about that. I’ve got a few social networking people in my employ. But expect me to call you about doing some lab-controlled tests with some prominent scientists from around the world.” He cleared his throat and opened the door, gesturing across the hall to the other conference room. “Ready for a photo shoot?”

  I need something to get my mind off of this, Ethan thought as he tried his best to push those lingering headaches of what his healing could lead to out of his mind. Ethan went through the doorway and into the next room, finding a pair of young women who looked quite chic with impeccable attire that looked like it was right out of a fashion magazine.

  One of them, a Hispanic woman, held out her hand. “Jimenez, photographer.”

  Ethan shook her hand and Fred spoke from his spot at the door, leaning against the frame. “Jimenez is in-house photography for me and dozens of other agents. One of the best in the biz!”

  Ethan glanced to the other woman. A petite black woman who also held out her hand. “Chelsey Brown. You’ve met my brother, Teegan.”

  “I did,” Ethan replied. “I’m guessing you-”

  “Advertising,” she replied. “I’ll make some suggestions about what will work for what platform. Facebook is different from Instagram, and both are different from TikTok. Plus, we’ve got all these other platforms from all around the world…each needs a different type of marketing gimmick.”

  Jimenez pointed to the rear of the room, where a green screen had been put up. “You can use your abilities at-will, right? No trigger conditions or something like that?”

  Ethan nodded as he took his position at the back of the room, “That’s right.”

  “Good. Let’s start with some heroic poses…”

  Hours passed as Ethan did as he was told. Posing in all different stances, manifesting various Abilities to augment the shoot, and even filming a few short videos using prepared scripts. They had even integrated his new catch phrase, “Light of hope,” from an earlier interview he had with Aaron back when he first started the hero business.

  By the time midday came around, he was thoroughly peopled-out, and just wanted to have some alone time. Sucky thing about being a hero, I guess, is that I don’t get to be an introvert anymore, he thought.

  The two women took a break for lunch, and Fred returned with a few sandwiches in bags. “I had no clue about your diet,” he said as he set them on the small fold-out tables. “So I got a spread.”

  Ethan glanced at the door, “Those two-”

  “Also bound by my Ability,” he replied. “You can take your helmet off in here.”

  Ethan did so and dug into a delicious sandwich filled with meat and a nice chipotle aioli. “What’s after lunch?” he asked.

  Fred pulled out a small notepad, “Well, I’ve got you scheduled to sit down with a film director this evening. He wants to get a feeling for your acting chops, and we’ll decide if the project he has in mind is going to involve us getting an actor in a replica of your armor, or the real deal.”

  Ethan ate in silence as he contemplated the idea of not just being a super hero, but also being an actor. I’ve never really been good at it, he thought as he mentally went back to his high school Drama elective. A single semester of agony as he tried to put on a face that wasn’t authentic. But then again, it’s not really me. It’s Radiance, and I’m just saying some lines and wearing the armor.

  “What about this afternoon? Before the meeting?” he asked.

  “Ah. Just signing some prints. It’s kind of rote. I’ll set you up with a TV, an assistant, and you’re just going to sign over and over.” Fred let out a wry chuckle, “It’s a pain in the ass, but we can sell those signed prints in a limited run and make a killing.”

  Ethan sighed and kicked up his legs on another chair, resigning himself to the day’s planned activity of rote repetitive writing.

  Evening came quickly, faster than Ethan had expected, as he was watching various news networks. Imbued were showing up all over the world. Many had immediately signed up with the Imbued Restoring Earth program, but of more concern was the fact that dozens of nations had begun conscripting and recruiting Imbued into their military. The Middle East, in particular, had seen the rise of Imbued who were incorporated into the military.

  Nobilis’ predictions, it seemed, were well on their way to becoming reality. Some Imbued had already taken over countries. Smaller nations primarily that did not have a strong government in the first place. In short, the world was still shaken up by the introduction of Imbued, and the different governments were still feeling out the situation.

  Just as he was wrapping up signing the last of the posters and the assistance carried them off, Fred burst into the room almost knocking the intern off his feet. “Shit, shit, shit!” He looked out of breath, and his eyes were wild with fear.

  Ethan stood up immediately and his hand went to he hilt of his blade, “What is it?”

  “We got a visitor. Second conference room.” He tried to compose himself, but he was on the verge of a full-blown panic attack. “Fucking…It’s the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff. The second highest military ranking in the USA.” He was sucking in deep breaths, “I…I don’t know how to deal with the military. It’s not something I’m familiar with! I’m totally out of my depth.”

  Ethan walked past him and entered the conference room, taking a seat near the far end of the table, farthest from the door. Fred entered right behind him and took a seat to his right, whipping out a carton of cigarettes and lighting one up as he sucked in the fumes. He offered one to Ethan, and Ethan just shook his head to which Fred shrugged and drew another cigarette, ready to light once he had chugged through the first one.

  US Military, Ethan thought. I knew it would eventually happen, but this is really quick. I don’t want to deal with national or international issues. Just Los Angeles for now.

  He heard the sharp clicking of booted feet on the floor and kept his composure, his face a steely gaze thanks to the helmet. A pair of U.S. Marines holding assault rifles entered the room and took up a position at the door.

  A middle-aged woman with dark, black hair tied up in a top-knot and wearing full military regalia that showed off her rank and awards entered the room with a briefcase. She sat down opposite Ethan, and wordlessly opened the briefcase as she pulled out a yellow legal pad and a pen. “Radiance,” she said, her voice firm and confident, with a slight lilt that made Ethan think she was a singer in her free time. “Good to meet you.”

  “Likewise,” he stated. “I know your title, but not who you are.”

  “Melissa Mercer,” she replied as she leaned forward on her elbows. “I’m sure by now you’ve heard of what other Imbued are doing across the world.” Ethan silently nodded and she continued, “Well…we have been working on acquiring assets of our own. And the United States Military is willing to compensate individuals who work for the good of America.”

  Ethan crossed his arms, “I’m not interested in helping in wars, outside of showing up to heal people who are injured.”

  She raised a hand for him to pause, “I understand. Given the reports of your activities and the general behavior you have shown, I would not be asking you to enter combat zones to fight. I would, however, ask that you be willing to be on-call should the United States Military need healing. Say, for instance, if there was a sudden air raid on one of our military encampments.”

  Ethan glanced at Fred, who had reasserted his cool, confident demeanor as he slowly drew on the cigarette. “My agent will speak to my availability,” Ethan said confidently.

  Fred smiled that suave agent smile, “Yes. Well, I can give you Radiance’s number, and for appropriate compensation he would be willing and able to help with first response – when it comes to rescue and recovery only.”

  Vice Chairman Mercer smiled and put pen to paper, “What’s the number?”

  Ethan rattled it off rapidly and she jotted it down. “I want to make it clear,” he said, “That I’m not going to be used as a weapon. Los Angeles is my home, and I don’t mind traveling around the world to help people…but I’m not going to be some attack dog.” He added in his mind, I am not going to use these powers to help a single country take advantage of others.

  The Vice Chairman’s smile became tight, as if she was biting back something. But ultimately she nodded and slid a business card across the table, which Ethan gave to Fred. “We’ll be treating any payment as if you are a defense contractor, given a flexible budget depending on the task at hand.” She stood up, snapped the briefcase shut, and gave a terse nod. “Radiance. Mr. Lark.” She left and the two soldiers quickly followed after.

  As soon as they shut the door, and a few seconds had passed, Fred let out a pent-up sigh. “Holy shit…okay, that wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”

  Ethan chuckled, “Honestly, I was half-expecting them to force me to work for them and threaten me.” The thought of his real identity being known flashed across his mind, but he shook away the concern. No one knew about Imbued for the first few days, so I doubt they were tracking me and my phone. And then I died, and got a brand new one from the Detective. So I think we’re in the clear.

  Fred sucked in a deep inhalation of the cigarette, “Ready to head out to our business dinner?”

  Ethan frowned, “I can’t eat through the helmet.”

  “Not to worry. The conversation you will be a part of is before the meal is served…I can get you something to go.”

  Ethan left the dinner with a bag full of fancy food, brimming with excitement. A movie deal, signed with a prominent studio, with a big name director. He wouldn’t be doing the acting – which he was fine with – but they did want to bring him in for some of the fight scenes since he could be the actor’s stunt double. And, he had even been able to request his preference for actor.

  As he walked through a Heaven’s Gate and arrived at his home, he saw it was dark. Completely dark. Pitch-black. As if someone had blacked out all of the windows.

  “Treya?!” he shouted as he dropped the bag of food and scoured the house. He found no one, and was about to grab his phone when he heard a clapping noise near the computer.

  “Turn on the monitor,” a voice said. A heavily distorted voice. One he recognized.

  Ethan ran over and turned on the monitor, only to see the armored military helmet with a face visor that was decorated and painted to look like a neon-dream of skulls and bones. “Cheat Code,” he growled.

  “In the pixel,” the man behind the mask replied. “Don’t worry, I didn’t harm your fiancé. Not since you have some deal with The Entity.” The voice sounded impressed, and also irritated.

  “You fucking killed me! You killed Stormbringer!” Ethan shouted at the monitor.

  Cheat Code laughed – a wheezing, nasally laugh. “Yeah. Lots of experience. Got me into my first Prestige class. I see I’m not the only one who drew their inspiration from video games. Me, First-Person-Shooters. You, fantasy MMORPGs.”

  Ethan felt his veins run cold, “Where. Is. She?” he asked.

  “She’s fine,” Cheat Code said, elongating out the word in a mocking fashion. “Well, Mr. Paladin Priest combo class…I don’t want to get on The Entity’s bad side and have It remove my Abilities. But there was nothing there about sending other Imbued to deal with you. Did you like my present? The fat bitch?”

  Ethan scowled, “Yeah, I helped save her.”

  “You really think that?” Cheat Code asked. Another screen appeared in the corner of the computer monitor, and Ethan saw the large woman screaming, tied to a gurney, as doctors seemed to try and sedate her. “See, I can Cheat a lot of stuff out of video games. Including mutagens that change how super powers work. And other goodies!” He let out a cackle, and Ethan watched in horror as the woman’s body erupted in fleshy tendrils that grabbed the medical staff and began degloving their bodies, pulling the flesh and meat into her form while the bones lay discarded.

  Denial of Light, Ethan thought as he turned himself invisible before he ripped off his helmet and puked into the small trash can next to the desk.

  “Aww, where’d you go?” Cheat Code asked.

  Ethan bit back the vomit and slammed his helmet back onto his head as he dropped the Ability. “You’re a monster,” he growled.

  Cheat Code cackled, “Yeah! But the fat bitch counts as a controlled unit, so I get experience for every kill she gets! I might not be able to hurt you, but these Imbued…well, I think wave-based survival is appropriate. And come on, we’re super heroes and villains! We are going to do a villain-of-the-week. Every week, expect a new one to come your way!”

  "What do you want?!" Ethan shouted.

  Cheat Code's voice became, for a moment, crystal clear and there was only the sound of an angst-filled teenager's attitude. "I want to play with the real world like its my video game. Who said I would stop at just a villain-of-the-week? I can draw on anything from Video Games I played." The voice dropped in tone, but was still discernable - whether intentional or not. "Everyone is going to pay for calling me a weak, obsessed gamer. First...I'll hit Prestige 10...then I get access to the really fun stuff."

  He laughed more, and his laugh turned to one of sheer madness, being drunk on power. "I am going to fucking make a WMD when I get there! Or start the zombie apocalypse!" His mad cackle turned into an over-the-top exultation of insanity. "I'll fucking unleash horrors from any video game! The Flood mixed with the T-Virus? Reapers coming in from outer space to harvest the planet's biomass? I'll fucking do it all!"

  The screen shut off, and Ethan saw his own reflection. The room brightened, and Treya’s voice came from the couch behind him. “When did you get home?” she asked.

  Ethan wheeled around and ran over to her, giving her a hug. “You’re okay!” he said as he felt a weight lift off of his shoulders.

  “Of course I am. What’s going on? Where’d those bags of food come from?”

  Ethan quickly filled her in, and as he finished he felt his phone vibrating. Grabbing it from the pouch behind the armored greave, he lifted it to his ear knowing what the call would be.