Centurion- Dark Genesis Read online

  “I don’t want to become this!” Benny shouted through the tears. “I’m out of control, and I need help. Please just make it stop!”

  Donovan returned the embrace as he breathed a huge sigh of relief and silently thanked the God whose existence he was very agnostic about until this very moment.

  “At ease, kid. It’s going to be okay. You made the right choice. It was the hardest thing you ever had to do, but you did it. From this point on, it will never be that hard again.”

  A few seconds later Donovan heard the distant sound of approaching police sirens blaring a few blocks away to interrupt the moment. He then realized that he and his team needed to quickly vacate the area now that the matter was resolved. And they needed to do so with Benny in their custody. Luckily, it took long enough for the boys in blue to get here. Gotta love the inner cities!

  “It’s going to be all right now, Benny,” the soldier again assured the boy. “The worst part is over, and we can start healing and training you. But you have to come with us, because the police are on the way and we can’t let them find you here like this. And we can’t just let you go free. I’m not going to lie to you. There will be consequences for what you did. We’re going to have to take you into custody and put you under lockdown before we can start helping you, because right now you’re a danger to both yourself and the public. Do you understand this, Benny?”

  An emotionally drained and repentant Benny Lonero silently nodded a tear-moistened face as he voluntarily allowed Donovan to lead him down the fire escape towards the waiting SUV. He was en route to the Valis Institute, and a major new chapter of his life awaited him there.

  END PART 1

  Part 2: The Long, Hard Road Begins

  Chapter 9: Consequences Are a Bitch

  Claire Boone couldn’t help but glare at the melancholic figure of young Benny Lonero through the thick, rectangular ultra-thick glass window—"almost like transparent steel,” as Donovan described it--adorning the containment cell’s reinforced steel door.

  The thinnish but well-toned boy sat silently on the cell’s bunk, his hands clasped over his face whilst his mind was contemplating things she could scarcely guess. He displayed no other type of motion, nor any verbal utterance since surrendering himself to Donovan’s task force just fifty minutes previous. Further, he had refused food and water when it was offered to him, and this prompted Claire to begin pondering a series of unsettling questions.

  Did he even truly need to eat or drink any longer? How much of his humanity did he retain since the metamorphosis? What in the name of Lady Freya had he become? And how many others like him were out there now in the wake of the most recent Warp Event? Did their rapid appearance over the past several years signal the beginning of a grand new world? Or was it a precursor to the Apocalypse, Ragnarok; the veritable twilight of humanity?

  Claire forced herself not to try and formulate answers to these questions flowing through her mind as she continued monitoring the seriously troubled young man. Or is that young demi-god now? Stop thinking these things, Claire Ann. You need to get a grip with yourself as it is. Don’t let Donovan and the rest of the Institute know exactly how much this whole affair is freaking you the hell out.

  Yet the powerful esper couldn’t help picking up on the waves of tortured emotions flowing from Benny’s mind as he sat there unmoving like a statue of one of the Greek gods she had seen in an art museum years ago. The woman was simultaneously terrified and fascinated by the young man; so much of the former, in fact, that she had secretly put on an adult diaper before monitoring him in case her bladder suddenly gave up its contents. She managed to prevent such a sudden loss of bodily waste thanks in part to the fact that she sensed nothing from the boy that so much as hinted at the intention to go on another destructive rampage.

  But how long would this last? How unpredictable might this strange and troubled new metahuman be? Could he actually break out of a cell specially designed to hold dangerous metahumans? Claire didn’t want to find out the answers to these disconcerting questions, and she firmly hoped the answers wouldn’t come during the span of her watch.

  Because of her state of mind, the potent esper involuntarily jumped and almost fulfilled the purpose of her diaper when the door leading to the lower chambers suddenly hissed open. Turning around, she was relieved to see it was only Donovan, accompanied by an armed Agent Gail Parker.

  “At ease, Claire, it’s only us,” the goateed soldier said reassuringly. “And well done on your part, I must say. You held your station just fine.”

  “Thank you, thank you…” the overwrought psychic nervously gibbered in reply. “But what took you so long?”

  “I had to confer with the staff and touch base with Ms. Concord herself to figure out a plan to clean up the mess that Mr. Lonero made for us and himself. We need to talk to him now. You aren’t required to stay, because you’ve already done your share. But if you don’t mind, I’d like your continued presence here regardless.”

  Claire hoped that the soldier didn’t notice her shudder at his request. “Okay.”

  Donovan punched a code into the small panel to the left of the cell door, which resulted in a clanging sound that indicated the heavily reinforced lock was now disabled. The ingress to the cell could now be opened by a casual shove of the hand. Claire couldn’t help but shudder again at the realization of her unshielded exposure to Benny.

  As for Donovan, the grizzled veteran soldier couldn’t help being impressed by all the advanced technology which the various private sponsors of the Valis Institute had collectively provided for this cause. He was still determined to look more into these sources in the future; he was a squaddie for the military-industrial complex long enough to know that nothing was truly provided for purely altruistic purposes -- at least not in the prevailing global system that put the acquisition of money and power over all else. But that was an “elephant in the room” that he had to look away from for the moment.

  Benny removed his face from the cover of his hands and looked up as he heard the clanging sound of the lock release. His expression was one of disquieting unease, but his rage thankfully appeared to remain fully spent. For now, anyway.

  “Hello, Benny,” Donovan said with an uncharacteristic composure as he pulled a chair from the desk inside the cell and took a seat. “Thank you for your patience, and for remaining calm. We can now proceed from here.”

  “What’s going to happen to me now?” Benny queried with an understandable hint of anxiety. “Has this Institute found an effective way to execute metas like me?” The sarcasm in his tone was biting.

  “Stop it, Benny. I said we were going to help you, not exploit you or hurt you anymore than you already have been. That will remain the case for as long as you work with us rather than against us, and do not lash out at the world like you did earlier today. And I do not break my word.”

  The manner of Donovan’s enumeration was refreshingly convincing. This was reflected in Benny’s continued tranquil demeanor despite the nature of his next question.

  “Okay, let me get the main thing out of the way first: I’m going to have to be punished, right?”

  “What do you think, Benny?”

  The young boy looked down and closed his eyes. “Yes. I know, and I understand. I messed up really bad. Simply saying I’m sorry, no matter how sincere, won’t be enough. But is it too much to hope that you won’t see this as a one-sided issue?”

  “That’s not too much to hope for, Benny. Quite the contrary, in fact. I’m going to have words with those peers of yours who drove you to this. And I’m going to see to it that they own up to their part in what happened. But, as for you…”

  Benny closed his eyes tighter at Donovan’s slight pause. Here it comes, dude…

  “To start things off, you need to be closely monitored by the Institute for a while.”

  “How long is ‘a while?’”

  “It’s a unit of time that basically translates as, ‘until I say otherw
ise.’”

  “Yeah, I figured that was your working definition.”

  “Mmm-hmm. During that time, you’re going to be trained in the responsible use of your power. We have some really good facilities for that here, and you’ll also have access to all the equipment and instruction you will need for getting a handle on those powers.

  “You’re also going to receive counseling with specially trained psychologists, to deal with the anger, bitterness, and depression eating away at your soul. Two outcomes may be the end result of all this:

  “One, you will learn to deal with these emotional scars and become a force for good in the world.

  “Or two, you will remain a vengeance-driven metahuman thug that needs to be put down; one who will be put down, under those circumstances.

  “Lashing out at others because of what society has done to you is not a valid way of dealing with the pain. I’d say I’m sorry it has to be that way, but I’d be lying to you if I did; and I’m going to give you all the honesty you can handle. I’m not sorry about doing what it takes to keep people safe from metahumans threats, and I mean it. So, don’t become one of those threats. Do you understand that, Benny?”

  “I do, Donovan. But I also want to make something clear, lest you think I’m going to be a passive little kid who only does what some dude in a uniform tells him to do. I understand all that you just said, and I agree. I understand that I need help, and I do want to use my power for the greater good.

  “But I do not consider the ‘greater good’ to be whatever the United States government tells me to do. Nor will I agree to be used as a living WMD to subjugate other nations on behalf of building the American Empire for the wealthy few. If this is what you’re getting at, then I ask you to execute me right here and now and be done with it.”

  Benny’s non-threatening but firm tone made it clear to the soldier that he wasn’t the only person in this room who indisputably meant whatever he said. Donovan couldn’t help finding such an attitude and set of ethical principles to be admirable, as it reminded him very much of himself in a way. It actually served to bolster his conviction that there was indeed hope for this young metahuman.

  But the long-time legionnaire well knew that enough rage and hurt remained in the boy’s soul to make this an up-hill battle against an extremely strong force of metaphorical gravity. He wasn’t prone to kidding himself any more than he jested others.

  “I assure you that will not be the case, Benny. Even though I served as a soldier for a long time under the auspices of the U.S. military, I saw more than enough during that time to fully understand the folly of using metahumans as defenders of any particular national world power. The Valis Institute is not a branch of the U.S. government, and in fact it’s mostly funded by private scientists and artists of considerable means who are interested in positive change for the world. We believe that metahumans are citizens of the entire world no matter what national boundaries they were born within.”

  “This doesn’t make me feel much better, Donovan. I smell the rotting stench of covert corporate interests here. Maybe international in scope.”

  “Benny, the Illuminati does exist, but for the most part it’s not actually secret. And as smart as you seem to be, I think you know that.”

  “The Illuminati sometimes does put on masks when operating in public, Donovan. Or pull a sheepskin over its coating of wolf hide, like the Man of the Dollar Sign pretending to be a Man of God. And I think you know that too.”

  Donovan scowled, both annoyed and a bit further impressed with the young man before him. Then again, he understood this explained a lot; intelligent and creative individuals tended to be prone to either being crazy or being driven crazy by a world that refused to understand them. It’s much easier to demonize and reject what you don’t understand than to find it of potential interest or benefit. And one of the main things Donovan learned about people through his many years in the armed forces was their tendency to take the expedient route.

  “Look, Benny, you’re going to have to trust me, okay? The alternative, which is just letting you run wild right now, is not an option that would benefit anyone, least of all yourself. I know trust doesn’t come easy to you, but you’re going to have to trust someone sooner or later. Because if you don’t, your bitterness and anger will never be fully healed or under control. As we used to say it as I was growing up: Do you dig it?”

  The soldier’s last question had an extra sting of firmness to it. That was intentional on his part, of course.

  “Yeah, I do ‘dig it,’ Donovan. And again, I understand that’s the way it has to be for now. I don’t pretend to trust myself any more than you do at the moment. And I know respect is something that I have to earn. And that I need to give it myself if I hope to receive it, blah blah blah, yadda yadda yadda.

  “But you have to earn it from my end too. I’ve met more than my share of adults who expect to receive it without earning it, simply because they’ve been on this planet more years than me. They’ve made too much of a mess of this world to claim they have some special sort of esoteric wisdom unique to ‘grown-ups’ alone.”

  Gail chortled, and then mumbled, “As if you kids could run the world any better.”

  Benny immediately snapped back, “As if we could possibly run things any worse than you esteemed fountains of wisdom and stellar judgment. And FYI, I’m not suggesting we should be fully in charge, just given a voice and seats at the table…”

  “Alright, enough of this,” Donovan interjected with his left hand rising in a heavily emphasizing “halt” position. “Gail, this is not the time for that, and you know it. Same with you, young man. We have more important things to discuss here, and political debates about fringe issues is not on the itinerary.”

  “Fine,” both Gail and Benny said simultaneously with a concurrent sigh of exasperation.

  Clearly, though, Gail was quite perturbed with the young metahuman over the injury he caused to her friend and colleague Eddie Marks. She needed and wanted every excuse she could find to lash out in his direction. Donovan realized he would have to take this important and potentially troublesome matter into account, which would include keeping Gail as far away from anything that involved Benny as possible for the foreseeable future.

  “At any rate, your request won’t be a problem, Benny,” Donovan continued. “I’m not averse to earning respect instead of always just demanding it. And I know what it’s like dealing with authority figures who demand unswerving obedience. I see where that too often leads, especially if they are not people of good judgment or scruples.

  “But for the time being, because of what you did—not simply because you’re a ‘mere’ teen—I will call the shots on many things. Either that, or I turn you over to the police, and you deal with the type of authority they represent. I’m sure you completely relish the thoughts on how that would turn out.”

  Benny sighed again. “Yeah, no doubt.”

  “Also, consider this: I’m going against the law and calling in many favors by not throwing you to them, and having the Institute deal with you and your little fiasco instead. This is no small thing, and you will give me due consideration because of it. Can you dig that too, young man?”

  Benny gave an acquiescent nod to those conditions. He then immediately began voicing the next set of his own.

  “Please understand this too, Donovan. And I can call you ‘Donovan,’ rather than ‘Sir’ or ‘Sensei’ or ‘Master’ or ‘Your Excellency,’ or anything like that, right?”

  “By all means, smartass. I’m not your master or commander, but I am your keeper and caretaker for a while. Just to make that clear from the get-go. Now what else do you think I need to understand? Please let me know, and then I’ll let you know whether or not I agree that it needs to be understood by me.”

  “I’m not going to do the Peter Parker/Clark Kent thing from the comic books and pretend to be a meek, pathetic little nerd so that no one suspects what I really am. That just invites e
xactly the type of treatment that I experienced which… you know, led to all of this. I realize what I did was wrong, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to continue taking it from them too. We need to find another way to keep the ‘secret identity’ thing going, okay?”

  “I already have a plan for that. So, here’s the deal, in every conceivable nutshell:

  “As I said before, I’m going to have some words with the worst of your tormenters. My sympathy for them is not exactly high, trust me. I’m not going to ignore the problem they present and tell you to just suck it up and take it all up the business end, if you get my meaning. You can bet that I wouldn’t. But here’s the thing…

  “You can’t just go apeshit and do the meta-on-the-rampage thing every time someone pisses you off. You need to act civilized if you expect civility in return, let alone build a better and more civilized world. I’m sure you already know what using military-style shock and awe measures to solve every single problem gets you in this world. I sure as hell do, especially after having been in the thick of that quagmire for so long.”

  “Yeah, I know, but…”

  “Don’t interrupt me, Benny, because I was just about to answer your main question. We’re going to have to do some type of ‘make-over’ for you. It will be tricky, and you have to follow my instructions to the letter in order to pull it off accurately. You need to write ‘to the letter’ on the blackboard a few hundred times, as often as it takes for that to sink in. Do you hear me?”

  Another of Benny’s patented sighs permeated the atmosphere. “Yeah, I get you. I dig it. Whatever way you want me to put it. I’ll even write it in some funky italics-looking font to make the emphasis clear.”

  Donovan grinned in semi-satisfaction. “Good. Now, here is how we’re going to deal with the matters of school and your living arrangements. Listen carefully, because life as you knew it is over for good.

  Also, in order for you to return to that school, we’re going to have to use some contacts to see to it that a few Institute members become employees of Buffalo Historical.”