Kevin pushed harder. He could feel the energy, whatever it was, flow through him. It oozed out his pores as he raised his hands and used every ounce of his will to force Titan back.
That’s when his hands started to glow. Just a whisper of light for a moment, but it quickly rose to a burning brightness. He realized it wasn’t just his hands either. His entire body was glowing with a shining light. It didn’t seem to hurt him at all.
It must be some side effect of the power. I sure as heck don’t have time to figure it out now.
Even with all the will he could exert, Titan took another step towards him. A few more and the giant robot could slice him in two.
This isn’t working, he thought. I have to change strategies. I’m not planning on dying today.
Titan took another step towards him. It loomed over Kevin, blocking out the sun. Only the strange glow rising off his skin broke through the shadows. The light bent around him, clung close to him.
I’m going about this wrong. If I can’t keep him away, why not bring him closer?
Titan took another step. Kevin reversed the force he used against the giant robot. Instead of forcing it back, he pulled it suddenly forward. The robot flew at him.
Kevin dove to the ground. Titan hurled through the air, up and over him. Kevin switched the force from pull to push again. The robot hurled straight in to the bullet ridden office complex. It smashed hard through the wall. Cement, concrete and plaster flew everywhere. Kevin fought all natural inclinations and ran towards the downed robot.
It was on its side, using its pincer to slowly push off the ground. The plating on its blade arm was bent and cracked. Circuitry sat exposed at the joint.
Kevin focused on the hole in Titan’s armor. He visualized the circuitry in his head and pulled. Ozone fumes filled his nostrils as the joint snapped and smoked. It took several long seconds of pulling before the circuits gave.
“Unit sustained heavy damage. Primary weapon disabled. Continue?”
It stood silent for just a moment before saying, “Acknowledged.”
Clearly it was talking to someone, though Kevin had no clue who that might be. It didn’t matter. The robot wouldn’t tell him. And they clearly were not done here.
Titan focused its attention back on Kevin, clearly ready for round three.
Screw this. Time to finish it.
He pulled the broken arm up off the ground again even as Titan lumbered towards him. Kevin used his power to slowly turn the weapon around. The blade faced the back of its former owner.
“Hey, Titan! What did the man say to the dead robot?”
Titan said nothing. Kevin didn’t expect a reply. The light around him burned even bright as he used every ounce of his focus to send the blade hurling forward, straight towards Titan.
It struck the robot in the chest. The force was enough to tear through the black armor. The robot stuttered in its movements as the appendage ripped straight through him.
With a roar that echoed through his skull, Kevin forced the blade to travel straight upward. It sliced through the robot like a hot knife through butter. The top half of Titan ripped in two. Titan took one last step before it toppled forward.
“Rust in peace.”
Kevin stood alone. Everything seemed terribly quiet now. Titan was down, done. He had won.
He looked around him. I need to get out of here. He searched a moment for his bag, but it was gone, buried somewhere under the robot and the rubble. His mom would be pissed that his phone was gone, but he hoped the fact that he was alive would calm her a bit.
None of that got him home. He looked around him for any means of transportation. His eyes fell on the rubble around Titan.
It’s worth a try. He found a decent sized piece of concrete, one at least big enough for him to sit on. It was at least five feet long and maybe three feet wide. It looked to be a piece of wall, as the top side was mostly flat. He climbed on top of it and set his feet. He crouched down on it and got his bearings. Then he hesitated.
It’s now or never. Let’s do this.
The stone beneath his feet slowly lifted from the ground. It shook as it moved. Kevin almost lost his footing. He dropped one hand down on it to stay steady. Then he brought his ride higher in to the air.
Slowly he rose over the damage. He looked down one last time at the remains of the robot.
This is the end. My life just changed forever. And someone out there knows why. I need to find them before they find me.
Kevin flew his rock out over the city, a glowing beacon of light over Federation.
**
“I’m okay, Mom. I’m okay. I promise. I saw the thing, but it didn’t hurt me at all. I just got separated from Andy and Millie when we ran away. I think I lost my bag in the car and my phone was in it.”
Mary Mathis heard her son, but Kevin wasn’t sure she was listening. She was more concerned with sobbing and hugging him tightly.
She arrived home maybe five minutes after Kevin did. He just had enough time to change in to normal clothes before she ran in to his room.
The next ten minutes had pretty much been the same: a repetitive litany of how all right he was. Kevin thought about telling her about Andy’s car and exactly how close Titan came to killing him, but it just felt like it would be too much for her to handle immediately.
After everything he did today, Kevin was amazed at how well he handled it. He felt he should be a bundle of nerves now. He faced down death today, but it only made him feel more alive.
He pried Mom off of him. He forced her to look at him. “I’m fine, Mom. But I do need to check in with Millie and Andy. They could be trying to call and like I said, I lost my bag in all the mess. Okay?”
Mary handed him her phone. Kevin took it and gave her a peck on the cheek. “It will be all right, I promise.”
She left the room, but she didn’t take her eyes off him for a moment. He didn’t really expect her to either. He knew after nearly eighteen years she could be a bit overprotective. Nothing compared to Millie’s folks, but still.
Kevin quickly keyed in Millie’s cell number. She answered three rings in.
“Mrs. Mathis, I—I—”
“It’s me, Mil.”
“Oh thank god! I saw you stop and block the gun, but I thought you were going to die. I thought that thing would—”
“I’m fine. I’m more than fine. I beat it, Millie. By myself. I cut it in two, left it completely destroyed. Just me.”
“You mean with—well, you know.”
“Yeah. Is Andy with you?”
“Yeah, we’re both with the police. They got ten full blocks cordoned off. They have us and a bunch of other kids waiting for our folks. But we’re good.”
“I’m glad,” Kevin said. “Can we talk more later, under slightly better circumstances?”
“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea. I’m glad you’re okay.”
“I’m glad you’re safe too. Bye.”
The phone clicked off and Kevin walked over to his pile of dirty clothes. He found the ski suit buried beneath the top layer. He lifted it up, stared at the star. He knew he would be wearing it again.
**
George Arnold watched Millie Bryant talk on the phone. He could see the relief in her eyes. He knew who was on the other end of the phone. Fucking Mathis.
George hated that little prick with all his heart. He hated him with a fire unmatched by any other passion. Football, girls, weights—none of them motivated him his hatred for Kevin Mathis.
And now… now Mathis had one up on him. George saw the robot land on the street. When everyone else ran away, he didn’t. He needed to see what that big ass thing would do. So he ducked into a building and watched.
He watched the robot fight. He watched the robot fall. He watched it all. He saw Mathis face it down and take it out. He didn’t know how the punk ended up a metahuman, but he knew the little bastard must have used his powers the day before. George remembered the bal
l hitting him in the back of the head all too clearly.
He knew Kevin could kill him at any time. And he knew that no one would ever know that Mathis did it.
He pounded his hand hard against a fire truck. I need an edge. I need to find a way to use this against him. I need to be able to beat him. And this time, I need to break him.
George knew one way or another, he would see Kevin pay.
**
Forty-eight hours passed like a weird second summer. The school canceled the rest of opening week to give the police time to run a thorough security sweep of the area. The FBI and the National Guard patrolled the entire area.
Millie knew it was all a waste of time, but she realized it gave Kevin and her time to talk, even if it did take time to convince Mom they weren’t just meeting for sex.
They still couldn’t meet anywhere that wasn’t public, so they sat down at one of the numerous Starbucks within a mile of home. It was busy enough to allow them to talk quietly in the corner with no one eavesdropping. And busy enough that Mom wouldn’t see it as a date.
They both sipped at their drinks, hers a simple iced coffee, his a triple caffeinated mess of chocolate and cream. Millie pulled up an article on her phone and slid it in front of him.
“Someone got pictures, you know.”
“What? I-I—”
“Calm down. Take a look.” He glanced down at the photo. Millie already knew it well. It was a grainy image of Kevin battling the robot, clearly blown up from a zoom lens. The costume was clear enough, but his face was a mess from the low resolution and glare of the light coming off his skin.
“Don’t scare me like that. I’m not even ready to tell my mom about this, let alone go public.”
“That’s not the biggest part of the news,” Millie said. “Look at the headline.”
The words were emblazoned in massive type atop the page. WHO IS THE LIGHTWEIGHT?
“Lightweight?”
Millie laughed. “I can think of a lot worse names. Count your blessings you got someone creative at the paper. I can think of half a dozen names that would make you sound like something off My Little Pony.”
“Twilight Sparkle might be a better name.”
She shook her head. “You lose boy points every time you name a character from the show.”
“That sounds like something Rainbow Dash would say.”
“Enough,” Millie said. She forced her voice to turn serious. “Are you really going to keep doing this? You could have died against that thing.”
“The city needs me,” Kevin said. “Federation isn’t the city it used to be. It needs a hero.”
“But you—you’re just a—”
Millie stopped herself unable to say anything too negative. She met Kevin’s eyes. She saw the determination there. It was unlike anything she saw in him before. He wanted this. And he wanted it bad.
“Let me help you at least. If you’re going to walk in to a fight you should have an idea of how to defend yourself.”
“My powers—”
“You have to know you won’t always be able to rely on your powers. I’ve got at least enough knowledge to give you some self-defense training.”
“Okay, but this stays between you and me.”
“Not even your mom and dad?”
“Not yet. I’m not ready.”
Millie didn’t like it. Kevin’s parents had a right to know their son’s activities. But she nodded.
“Now we need to talk about a mask…”
**
He stood in the shadows as he always did. Carolyn Bates stood farther out, illuminated by the single iridescent light in the massive underground chamber. The hollowed out tunnel was shaped like a massive amphitheater. But they were alone.
“Your machine failed,” he said.
“On the contrary, Titan-1 performed admirably. He flushed out the subject, and then collected and collated massive amounts of data on him.”
Carolyn knew she treaded on dangerous ground speaking up to the arrogant bastard, but she knew they needed her more than she needed them. Dozens of organizations could use her skills. This creep knew how important she was.
“We will look over this data, Ms. Bates. But we are troubled by the boy’s actions. We didn’t expect him to fight back. It is not the way of his people.”
“As I said, it is doubtful he even knows his people. He is on his own, a lone wolf easily trapped.”
“Perhaps, Ms. Bates. Perhaps. But often the lone wolf is the most dangerous predator.”
Carolyn nodded in agreement. The fool was buying in to her next play.
“Alone perhaps. But once the wolf becomes the hunted, it is just a matter of time. I think it’s time to call in Ronin.”
THE LIGHTWEIGHT BONUS PAGES
It has been a long journey to get to this point, so the first thing I would like to do is thank all the people that backed Lightweight on Kickstarter. This has been a dream project for me in many ways, bringing a classic creation of mine to life in a new ongoing way completely unique to it. The tale will continue in subsequent chapters, month after month for at least the coming year. But more on that later.
So what are you getting here?
First, reader letters. I want this to be an open forum between myself and the readers. I want to hear your thoughts on the project. I want to hear what you like, what you didn’t like or what you want to see more of in the future. I also want to be able to talk about superheroes, supervillains or whatever the heck else you think this should be a forum about. Everyone will not always come to this story at the same time, but we will always look at reader letters about any chapter of this tale. Anyone that wants to correspond with us can do so by emailing
[email protected] Finally, I will include a couple plugs at the end of each of these, usually something of mine and something by someone else. Because why have an open forum if I can’t talk about other projects and we can’t talk about other awesome books or movies.
This section needs a better title. If you have an idea for a great name for this section, send it out at the email address above. The winning entry will get a nice little prize from the Ahlhelm vault!
With this introduction out of the way, let’s get on with everything else!
LETTERS
The Kickstarter backers all received a copy of the finished chapter one during the Kickstarter process. A few of them were nice enough to send us an email about their thoughts on the project. Let’s hear what everyone had to say about the preview!
Amazing!!!!! I was completely enraptured by it. I want more!!! Can’t wait to see what else you have in store for Lightweight. And for the record, Twilight Sparkle would have been an amazing name for him. lol Keep up the good work though nick seriously great job
Chet Ellison
Chet is a former coworker of mine at the dayjob and a certified brony. He will be happy I said that. He’s also the top backer for this project and I cannot thank him enough for that. Without him and the other backers, this would not have been possible. So thanks, Chet, and I hope you enjoy all the chapters ahead just as much as this one!
I'm pleased to say I think the series is off to a very good start. You've set up some good antagonism for Kevin in both his personal life—with George Arnold, a classic bully archetype—and on a much wider scale, with Carolyn Bates and the mysterious individual whom she has aligned herself with, the latter of whom knows the full story behind Kevin's metahuman powers.
I was tempted to tell you to expand on the reasons why George hates Kevin so much, but based on unfortunate personal experience of my own, I'm well aware that bullies like that do not always need good, well-defined reasons as to why they can develop such an extreme dislike for someone. Nevertheless, it would be interesting to see the history of George's antipathy for Kevin, and how it first got started.
Also regarding George... in the future, my suggestion is to let us get to know him much better, so that he never becomes just a
cardboard cutout bad guy, but comes off as a well-rounded human being who has allowed his inner frustrations and insecurities to turn him into a bully. Nothing complicated about George just yet, but that's okay, we just met the guy, and I certainly expect to see you develop his character in interesting ways as the series and its future story arcs progress.
Millie is a great character in that she is a good friend/potential love interest who happens to be the one training Kevin in fighting skills and focus for this powers. Keep building her character, as well as the difficult relationship she has with her parents. Keep up the sexual tension between the two, as well as the difficulties each have with their respective insecurities getting in the way of they're becoming a couple. It's my suggestion not to let that drag on indefinitely without any resolution, however.
Andy is not yet well-developed, but already works well as Kevin's close male bud. I look forward to seeing him explored further in the future, and if he perhaps has a dark side like so many outwardly good people do that eventually casts a cloud over his friendship with Kevin and Millie.
I look forward to seeing some of the local government and media of Federation, as well as revelations as to where in the United States the city is located.
Finally, I would like to commend you for having the teen characters act like real adolescents, rather than the nigh-idealized versions we see too often on American television (often in marked contrast to their counterparts on foreign television). Like me, it appears your inspiration is more likely to be shows like the Degrassi franchise from Canada than shows like Hannah Montana (the latter shows have their charm and their moments, but generally lack realism, depicting adolescents as our culture wants them to be like, not the way they actually are, as accurately depicted in usually excellent shows like the current Degrassi: The Next Generation). Keep up that realism!
You're off to a good start, and I greatly look forward to the future of this series! It was an honor and a privilege to be one of this project's Kickstarter sponsors and pre-sale reviewers.
Once I complete my novels for Centurion and Moonstalker, I most definitely want to discuss having them continue in prose series form under the Metahuman Press banner, just as Lightweight is now doing!