A Man Who Loves His God and Family: Chapter 3 – Virtuous Protector

Chapter 3 – Virtuous Protector

As I sit atop one of the many tall skyscrapers in the city, I look up at one of the Colombian Union flags with pride, salute it, and then cross myself to thank God again for finally landing a job as a real hero. After our finals at the hero academy, my friends and I picked our groups to join. Among the many recruiters watching us, the army asked Titus to join their superhero division. The armies of the world each have their own superhumans to compete against each other, though it is rumored that these competitions aim to placate a possible future war between some of them. The countries of the world also form alliances to fight international villains and criminal syndicates to maintain peace as much as possible. Even though the job would pay well and bring Titus more than enough respect, he turned down their offer because he wanted something less complicated to handle and instead chose to be part of a hero association mostly made up of ex-cops.

Mark joined Seventeen-Seventy-Six like he wanted, and has already gotten into trouble by getting into a fight for honor with another hero group that defends controversial political and business figures. Luke, Titus, and I are still friends with him, but we constantly tell him to be careful and not get too over his head, which is advice that goes in one ear and out the other by the looks of things. Just like Titus, Luke was offered a job at various hero and vigilante associations, but he chose to go with the same one I picked, the Solis Suns, since we’re friends. Solis, the city that I’m in, is the Sunny City of Tomorrow, a good ten-minute run for me to get back home to Poca Bellezza, and is a futuristic art deco-styled city, which is usually five to ten years ahead of the country and other countries in terms of technology and business practices. Whatever advancement you see in the world probably originated in Solis or a person from there, and is the embodiment of Columbian excellence.

This city has a low crime rate, its citizens are mostly patriotic and religious, kind and neighborly, and respectful of outsiders and those in need. It’s why I chose to protect this city, since it’s a model city whose image is something other cities should aspire to be. Because of its fame and the wealth to be found in it, the criminals that do exist here or invade it try to steal experimental technology, steal from its family-owned businesses, and become famous by claiming that they’re able to have a foothold in the city. The criminals here are either desperate and over their heads or incredibly powerful, and the heroes and law enforcement here have to be vigilante and just as powerful to combat them. So far, I’ve only stopped minor robberies, saved people from fires and fights, and have been helping out with community work, such as helping at construction sites, hospitals, and the transportation of goods that get to places faster thanks to my speed.

Idelle has been visiting me now and then, like she used to do before I went to the academy, and we talk to each other about what we’ve been doing and other related events. She tells me about crimes that she stops in the city, which makes me think she wants to be a hero, but when I try to convince her to do so, she says she has to be a solo vigilante. Back home in Poca Bellezza, I try to spend as much time with my parents there as I can, helping them out on the farm and taking time off for them for special events like birthdays and town festivals. When I graduated from the academy, the town celebrated my accomplishment with a parade, which included those from the town who graduated from the police, military, and other hero academies. If everyone in the town didn’t know my name, they do now, and salute and bow to me and offer me a meal with them, which I usually have to decline since I mostly eat with my parents or coworkers in Solis.

My hero buzzer rings, and I see that it’s Luke calling me. Answering it, he says, “Are you reminiscing on the rooftops again? Aren’t you checking the reports on your buzzer?”

“I am, from time to time. I haven’t seen anything pop up recently,” I say.

“Well, that’s because people keep taking the tasks. You gotta keep a constant eye on it or else you won’t get a promotion or the higher ups will think you’re lazy for not taking as many jobs as everyone else.”

“Alright, I’ll keep a better eye on it. Thanks, buddy.” As I keep an eye on the incoming alerts and an ear out for trouble while casually jumping and speeding through the city, I ask, “How goes the work on your side?”

“It’s still not as in the field as I want, but at least I’m keeping busy building and upgrading tech here.”

“At least you get paid more than I do.”

“True, but it feels like I’m not doing what I’m supposed to. Does that make sense?”

“It totally does to me. Even though I’m stopping crime, helping others, and saving lives, it feels like there’s something I’m missing.”

“Does it involve helping that sister you keep talking about?”

“Yeah, but I don’t know what I can do to help her. Maybe all I can do is build a reputation that’s so big that the general who tells her what to do finally meets me, and I can try to negotiate something to free her.”

“That’s probably the best plan, but that will take a while for the opportunity to come. For now, all you can do is what you’ve been doing. Hasn’t that been your goal this whole time anyway?”

“Yeah, you’re right. Thank you for the reminder.”

Luke is right. Dedicating my life to God in everything I do, say, and think is my life’s primary and only goal. If there’s something He needs me to accomplish, then I’ll find a way to get to it sooner or later, and if I can’t, then I’m not meant to do anything about it. Still, there’s a feeling of anticipation in my gut, of waiting and wanting for something big for me to accomplish. It’s killing me, and I can only pray for patience and keep myself busy until the moment of truth arrives.

Today’s work is no different than usual at first. I help bring people to hospitals, bring supplies and food from one place to a charity, and help out with construction in the lower sections of the city. Then, I start helping bring criminals to justice by stopping robberies and assaults. No one I face is a challenge for me, even if they have guns, since bullets hit me like a light push, and lower calibers are ticklish to me. After that, I face villains with actual powers. Some of them I have to chase through the city by leaping across rooftops and running through buildings, and the streets before tackling them, beating them down, and then bringing them to the police to be locked up in special custody meant for villains and superhumans.

It's weirdly busy today, and when I finally check the time, I see that it’s six thirty, usually when it starts slowing down, and yet, the alerts keep coming in. I know I prayed to get more famous through my actions, but I didn’t expect that request to be answered so suddenly. Responding to the next alert, I find that cops are fighting with criminals with heroes backing them up, Titus being one of them. Since he’s here, I feel a rush to get rid of the criminals here and do so by pushing myself to hit them harder with increased speed and strength to knock them out in only one or two hits. Once everything calms down and the criminals are being detained and taken away by the police, I approach Titus, who also heads towards me with a smile. He’s dressed in dark blue SWAT armor that looks like that of a modern medieval knight, except with all kinds of guns and tools on his hip.

I shake his hand and say, “Hey! It’s so good to see you again! How’s it going, Titus? I didn’t think I’d see you here.”

“I didn’t expect to be called here either, but here we are. When I heard about the increased crime happening in Solis, I thought that I’d better come here to see how Luke and you were doing,” Titus says.

“It’s really weird that it’s been spiking today. I can’t explain it or find the reason behind it.”

“That’s because you’re not the detective type.”

“Heh, that’s true, but since you are, do you know the reason for this increase in crime? I’m only just noticing it today.”

“If you knew the history of Solis, you’d know that this increase means that a criminal syndicate or villain is trying to establish a foothold here, commit some big robbery, or defeat some rivals or heroes.”

“Do you have any idea who it might be?”

“No clue yet, but we’ll find out soon enough. Just be ready for anything.”

“I will, just like how the academy taught us.”

“Stay safe and tell Luke I said hi.”

Titus and the other hero cops bring the criminals to the jails, while I tell Luke what happened and what Titus and I talked about.

“I figured something big was happening, and have been going through every known villain who would set their sights on Solis and what they could possibly be trying to get from it. I’ll let you know what I find out,” Luke says.

“Okay. Keep at it and I’ll keep helping-”

“I think I found something already!”

That’s Luke at his best.

“What did you find?”

“There might be a traitor in the hero association. Did you notice that a lot of the alerts are repeats? It turns out that someone or some people are accepting them and then quitting the job, which clogs up the alerts.”

“No, I didn’t notice since I’ve been busy accepting them and getting them done.”

“Heh, it’s a good thing I’ve got such a good memory and ability to recognize hidden details, then.”

“Why would they want to clog the alerts?”

“Probably to hide a crime or crimes they’re trying to commit. The alerts typically tell us about most crimes that are happening, so let’s see what they’re trying to hide…hmm.”

“Do you need a second?”

“Got it!”

“Guess you really only needed a second.”

“You need to quickly get over Jerry and Joe Tower! There’s a robbery happening there, and the thieves are trying to steal servers that probably have sensitive information on them, and kidnapping some of the people there. There are some heroes and cops on the scene, but not enough to get past the fodder protecting the leaders of the group.”

“I’m on it!”

Going to the tower, I find heroes and cops clashing with criminals. Using the chaos to my advantage, I slip through it with my speed. Inside the tower, I come across the criminals who are all wearing masks themed after past presidents. They’re trying to carry away people, bags of cash, crates of guns, canisters of materials, and servers. I quickly get after them and beat them down one after the other, even throwing some through windows and walls so the cops and heroes outside can take care of them. Seeing that they can’t get away from me, the thieves drop what they were taking and start to gang up on me.

Their hits with their fists, bladed weaponry, and specialized anti-superhuman bullets don’t hurt me too much, but I can’t take them lightly because of their crimes. I use the objects in my environment, like copiers, desks, and parts of the wall, against them to create space between us, and then grab one of them to use them as a weapon against the others. After thrashing two into unconsciousness, I throw the one thief at another and then knock them out while they’re down. The last two I handle with punches to the gut and finishing them off with one or two blows to the face. Wait, there was one more guy, wasn’t there?

Sure enough, a man comes crashing down from the above floor, and I block his attack just in time before it hits my face. He has a past president’s mask like the others, but wears more visible body armor and is more muscular.

“Let us go! We’re trying to expose criminals in the system!” he says.

“If you wanted to do that the right way, you wouldn’t have caused so much damage and hurt so many people,” I say before throwing punches of my own at him.

We exchange hits one after the other, seeing who will fall first.

“This is the only way to do it! Every other legitimate way means the information on the servers gets wiped or moved somewhere else. As for the people, they won’t admit to their crimes without us forcing them to.”

“It’s not worth the cost of what you’re doing. There are too many innocent people in the way of your goals.”

“We’re only incapacitating the innocent, and the others, whom you think are innocent, get immediate justice with their deaths.”

There’s no talking this guy down. He’s set in his convictions, and the only way to stop him and get him to change is to beat some sense into him, so that’s what I do with speedier punches all around his face, neck, and body until he stops punching back and falls. That was probably the most intense fight I’ve been in so far. Seeing that the man’s mask is broken, I take it off and use one of Luke’s facial scanners and send him the scan.

He calls me back in seconds and says, “This is bad, John.”

“What is it?” I ask.

“He’s a member of the Seventeen-Seventy-Six group. They caused all the chaos that’s going on.”

“Maybe this guy is just a rogue member. Let me scan the rest.”

Doing so only adds to Luke’s conclusion. They’re all members of or allies with the Seventeen-Seventy-Six group.

“We have to talk to Mark. Maybe he knows what’s going on,” I suggest.

“I’m not too sure about that. Given this group’s history and recent actions, he’s probably radicalized into thinking like them, and won’t listen to reason.”

“He’ll listen to me because we’re friends.”

“Now’s not the time to be naïve, John.”

“I’m not being naïve. At least let me try.”

“Okay, but don’t expect anything good to come out of it.”

After helping the police and heroes lock up the criminals and thieves, I call Mark and arrange the meeting. He just so happens to be in Solis like I am, but doesn’t seem to know what’s going on, or maybe he’s playing dumb. Regardless, we agree to meet in the park tomorrow, and I pray that it goes well and that I don’t need to fight a friend.