Sutton District, New Kinsington

  March 8th, 2025

  7:15 PM

  The smartest man in the world sat behind a conservative mahogany desk, listening to a woman with feathered wings give a report. The woman wore a white leotard, and wings were emblazoned on the light fabric covering her chest.

  Governor Sebastian Sutton rested his chin on his hand and lightly twirled his walking cane as she spoke. He already knew everything she was saying, so the words dissolved into meaningless noise like the adults in a Peanuts comic were speaking.

  In the depths of his mind, he considered the myriad externalities that the present situation would have on his country. The kaiju was bad enough, and this new Level 3 could only make things worse. This new telekinetic, Kevin Avery, was certainly strong. The recordings and eye-witness testimonies of Kaiju 21’s death provided evidence of that. The cards were still in Kingfisher’s favor, though. Not even the strongest telekinetic barriers could block lasers or sound waves.

  “In short, it was the perfect storm. We weren’t ready, and we’re lucky to have escaped with some flooding and a destroyed cargo ship. In total, the damage should be less than ten million dollars.”

  “Thank you, Seraph,” Kingfisher said, though he was speaking mostly on autopilot. The bulk of his processing power was busy designing a new laser weapon to counter Kevin Avery. The weapon would be too large to transport, but he could make it maneuverable enough to remain locked on a small, fast-moving target.

  After a beat of silence, the Governor said, “Here’s what we’ll do. Once the KFBs are operational once more, they’ll start focusing on repairing buildings and replacing the batteries that were destroyed by Kaiju 21.” He rose to his feet, using his walking cane to supply the force that his right leg couldn’t. “Regarding our new friend, Macro-Kinetic, I want you to roll out the red carpet. We’ll hold a festival tomorrow in honor of the hero who saved New Kinsington. If you can, I want you to talk to him, Seraph. Remind him that we’re the good guys.”

  “That’s great,” Seraph said with a smile while Kingfisher limped a few steps toward the large window in his office. “The people could really use a celebration right now.”

  “I also want you to create a new variant of the Heart Stopper Virus.”

  Shocked, Seraph said, “I can’t! We barely contained the first variant! If this one mutates too much, millions could die!”

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  Seraph took a few steps toward Kingfisher as she passionately spoke. The moment she stepped within ten feet of the Governor, she passed some invisible threshold, prompting a flurry of violent motion.

  Four panels on the corners of Kingfisher’s office shot open, and four automated turrets sprung out before locking onto Seraph half a second later. Simultaneously, Kingfisher swiftly drew a small revolver from a holster under his suit jacket and aimed it at Seraph’s midsection. She halted in place, terror in her eyes.

  In an eerily calm voice, Kingfisher said, “I know you’re a passionate woman, Seraph, but I’m not stupid enough to let you get within arm’s reach. Step back, please.”

  Slowly, Seraph stepped away from Kingfisher. When she was more than twenty feet from Sutton, the turrets retracted, and the barrel of the revolver lowered. Sutton did not return the revolver to its holster, however.

  “Thank you,” Kingfisher said. “Your concerns about the new variant are legitimate but misled, since you don’t know what it will be used for. I want this new variant to be infectious, not contagious. Only a select few will be infected with the virus. The likelihood for mutation is essentially nonexistent as long as the virus infects fewer than twenty individuals, correct?”

  “Who do you plan to infect?”

  “People that need to be controlled,” Kingfisher said with a shrug. He snapped his fingers, and a computer screen popped out of his desk and angled toward Seraph. Without any further instruction from Kingfisher, the screen began to show a recording of Electrozilla’s destruction. “When power like this exists in the world, we need assurances that such power will not be used for evil.”

  Seraph’s eyes were locked on the screen for several long seconds. Two building-sized pieces of metal clamped down, and Electrozilla was cut in half.

  “I… I will think about it.”

  “You have three days,” Kingfisher said coldly. “If you don’t start working on the new variant by then, you can find yourself another job. I hear Pacific City is beautiful this time of year.”

  “N-no, b-but…”

  “Of course, you and your family wouldn’t be allowed to use any of my technology anymore. Maybe,” a cruel smile appeared on Kingfisher’s face, “you’ll finally figure out how to cure genetic disorders without lethal side effects.”

  Seraph took another step back, her eyes on the verge of tears. “I-I have to go.”

  “Don’t keep me waiting.”

  Seraph, the greatest Hero in New Kinsington, fled from Kingfisher’s office. Within moments, the significance of the meeting had disappeared completely from his mind. Sure, he didn’t like putting pressure on the girl, but he needed that variant more than he needed another supercop.

  Kingfisher looked out at the city through his window. At the very edge of his vision, he could see the wall that defined the borders of New Kinsington. One day before, everything in his domain was predictable. Now, there was one free radical that threatened to strike other particles and cause an unpredictable cascade. One way or another, Kingfisher would reassert control.

  He sincerely hoped that the newcomer would allow the process to be peaceful.