SUPER HERO CHRONICLES - CITADEL: Rise of the Heroes (Part 1)

Ten Years Ago…

Citadel Unit of Robotic Experimentation (C.U.R.E.) Laboratories,

Mount Dandenong, VIC Australia

2nd October 10:17pm EST

“We’re going to go to fifty degrees!” One of the scientists announced, as she pushed the lever of the Temperature Containment Unit higher. She was of average height with mouse-brown hair, tied back into a pony-tail with a dark-blue scrunchie. Although her slender figure and youthful looks may have given off a friendly demeanour, there was an air of determined defiance about her, which set some people on edge. Contrastingly, her counterpart was a tall, gangly man in his late forties, whose mess of greying-blonde hair and thick, black-framed glasses, made him look like he was in the throws of becoming a mad scientist. However, his clean-shaven face was not as stern as hers, it was more welcoming too – but, not in this instance.

“Doctor McCormack, don’t!” the professor yelled, as he rushed across to the control panel where the doctor stood. “R.I.C.K. is not ready for this… last time he overheated and we had to use a lot of funding to get him back to this state!”

Not taking her eyes off the Containment Unit, McCormack replied, “Professor Hopper, you have been working on this A.I. for over seven years and you have always said that one thing or another is not ready…”

“That’s right!” the professor cut in, as he climbed the stairs in the manner of a man who was not so used to exercise. “And you have been here for only a few months and know very little about the process! Mr. Solace will not continue funding us if we have to continually rebuild R.I.C.K. from scratch. I want to be certain before we try again.”

The Temperature Containment Unit beeped and the professor gasped. Fear registered on the professor’s pale face and the wrinkles on his brow became quite prominent, even though his hair occasionally covered his forehead. Doctor McCormack pulled back on the lever so that it sat at the bottom level and then pressed a few other buttons. A gush of air sounded as the Containment Unit unsealed. “Let’s see what we have,” the doctor said, as Professor Hopper raced around to the opening of the Containment Unit.

“R.I.C.K. – are you alright?” Professor Hopper called, as the smoke cleared via a duct above them.

There was a clunk, followed by a series of footsteps and a child emerged from the Containment Unit. Its head was mainly bald, though a few strands of what were once brown hairs stood out – some singed, while others hung limply in a patch above its right ear. The child’s clothes were burnt and falling off, however its body was incredibly unharmed.

“Amazing!” Doctor McCormack whispered aloud, “It worked… it actually worked!”

Professor Hopper moved to pull the child closer to him, but jumped back when his hand touched the hot skin. “How did this…?” He turned to the doctor, as he adjusted his glasses. “What did you do? R.I.C.K.’s skin would usually melt off in thirty degree heat, but you took it up to fifty degrees Celsius…” He glanced at the child and then back at Doctor McCormack. “The tissue actually survived in normal temperatures… beyond normal temperatures! What did you do?”

Doctor McCormack shrugged as though it was nothing. “Mr. Solace came across something that he wanted tested on the robot. He asked me to…”

“Doctor McCormack,” the child-like robot broke in with a distorted voice, “your attempts to destroy me have failed.”

The professor looked at the robot and then at the doctor, who simply shrugged. He turned back to the machine and said, “R.I.C.K. the doctor wasn’t trying to destroy you; we were just testing you under different temperatures. You pretty much survived under temperatures of fifty degrees Celsius… it’s… it’s unbelievable.”

“The exact temperature was fifty-three point three degrees Celsius, Professor Hopper,” R.I.C.K. corrected as it made its way down the stairs away from the Containment Unit, “And I have reason to believe that Doctor McCormack was attempting to destroy me, because I felt much discomfort…”

“Pain?” Professor Hopper questioned, “Did you feel pain, R.I.C.K.?”

“If pain is the feeling of mass discomfort and shocks ones system – then yes, Professor, I felt pain.”

“It… It’s intuitive!” Professor Hopper declared excitedly.

Doctor McCormack grinned. “I guess it’s R.I.C.K.I. robot now – Real-Intelligence Cybernetic Kinaesthetic Intuitive robot.”

“But that’s impossible…” Professor Hopper checked over the robot before turning to the doctor with a baffled look. “What did you do?” He stood up and looked at her accusingly. “There was no way that R.I.C.K. could become intuitive with the programming I gave him at this point. I know you did something – what was it?”

Doctor McCormack looked bewildered. “What do you mean? The robot is just as you imagined it to be.” She had a quick look over the machine from afar and then said, “Well – at least its body is just as you imagined… we’ll have to work on the hair and the clothing.”

“You said you received something from some benefactor – what on earth could Mr. Solace have found that could give a robot the ability to feel and have intuitive thought?” The professor questioned while pointing a finger at the doctor.

The doctor frowned and began collecting her things. “Really, Samuel? After seven years, I would have thought that you’d be excited about this breakthrough – Not pointing the finger wondering how it happened…” She shrugged her lab coat off and placed it on a swivel chair that sat by her work station. “You had a robot that was nothing more than what other countries have been able to create!”

Professor Hopper was taken aback by the doctor’s affront. “Surely, as a scientist, you understand my need to know how it happened! R.I.C.K. was much more advanced than anything we’ve seen in the world!” He shouted defensively.

“Maybe we’ve been seeing very different worlds, professor,” Doctor McCormack retorted, as she threw on her beige coat. “But now we have something that is better than anyone could have expected… a robot that appears as though it is really alive. It will act and react like anyone else would, but it will do it the way we program it – in a non-violent way.”

“We don’t actually know that,” Professor Hopper pointed out, “We’ll need to run more tests. But…”

“That can be done tomorrow,” the doctor said with a dismissive sigh, “Right now, I’m tired and I just need to go home and have a nice dinner and a sleep.”

Professor Hopper looked from the robot to the doctor and accepted that the argument was over. However he felt he should add, “But tomorrow you need to explain just what you’ve done to R.I.C.K., because I need to know.”

Doctor McCormack waved as she walked towards the lab exit. “Make sure you lock the robot up securely.” She called, “Until tomorrow, Professor.”

“Yes,” Professor Hopper uttered to himself, “Until tomorrow.” He turned back to the robot and studied it from afar, before walking back over to it. “What did she do to you, R.I.C.K… Or should I call you R.I.C.K.I.?”

“I believe Doctor McCormack placed me inside a Temperature Containment Unit and subjected me to a range of experimentations with temperature. In the process my outer coverings were burnt, due to an overheating of my cranial fuse, and I lost sight in my right eye. The affliction, you call ‘pain’, affected my logic sense and made me fear for my safety – even though my logic sense attempted to override this fear.” The robot explained.

“Yes, but how are you actually feeling? It makes no sense.”

“I am feeling fine now, Professor Hopper. My logic sense has now overridden the feelings I had, because I am no longer being subjected to the event which caused the pain.”

Professor Hopper looked up at the clock on the laboratory wall. He sighed and walked the R.I.C.K.I. robot across to its storage cell. Pressing the code into the pad, a prompt requested the professor’s thumbprint, which he assented to, by pressing his thumb on the pad. Next a scanner rolled down from the cell door, scanning the professor’s whole body, before rolling back up into its original place above the door. A beep signalled, granting Professor Hopper access to the room and he escorted the robot in.

“It’s time to plug you in again, R.I.C.K… uh… R.I.C.K.I.,” the professor told the robot, as he attached an electric cable into the back of the robot’s neck. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He said, as he moved out of the storage cell and placed his thumb against the keypad once more.

“The cardiac stone states that there may not be many more tomorrows for us, Professor Hopper,” R.I.C.K.I. robot responded matter-of-factly, as the doors closed.

“What?” The startled professor cried out, urgently pressing the keypad. “What do you mean by that? R.I.C.K.I. – what’s the cardiac stone? R.I.C.K.I.!” He shouted, while banging on the door. However, the soundproof door would not allow a response to be heard.

“Ya alright, Prof?” A deep voice questioned, turning Samuel Hopper’s attention away from the storage cell. Standing in the laboratory doorway was a large, clean-shaven man with a bulbous, bald head – much like an overgrown potato. He wore the navy-coloured uniform that C.U.R.E. Laboratories hire for security, but the professor had never encountered him before.

“Uh…Yes… it’s just…” One last look at the storage cell door and then Professor Samuel Hopper shook his head. “It’s alright.” He stepped away from the door, eyeing the security guard suspiciously. “Who are you? How come Harris isn’t here?”

The large man smiled, as though he knew the question was coming. “Oh, yeah – Harris called in sick, so they sent me ta lock up the place. Me name’s… uh… George… uh… Georgio Antony.”

Professor Hopper put his hand to his glasses and looked at the man’s security badge. To the security guard’s eyes, it would seem that the professor was simply adjusting his glasses, however, he was altering his lenses like a telescope to be able to read the badge from his distance across the room. It was an invention of his own creation, which he had built in his own bunker lab at home. “Your badge says Antony Georgio.” He stated.

The security guard looked puzzled, as he gazed down at his badge and then back at the professor. “Yeah – that’s what I said,” the guard said with a hint of frustration. “Look, all’s I know is I was told ta lock up the place and so I come ta tell ya ta finish up. If ya don’t like it, take it up with central command. I just wanna do me job and go. I don’t need no big-brained prof telling me that I’m too dumb ta do me job.”

“I didn’t call you anything. I simply asked your name,” Professor Hopper uttered, as he collected his things. Throwing his jacket over his lab coat, he grabbed his bag and proceeded to leave the laboratory, under Antony Georgio’s watchful eye.

When he walked through the foyer, Professor Hopper walked up to the security desk to find a familiar, dark-skinned man with a greying moustache smiling at him. “Good evening, Professor Hopper. Another late night?”

“Yes, it would seem,” the professor responded, “Listen, Kamil, there’s a security guard on the second floor – Antony Georgio – told me his name was Georgio Antony. Has he been checked out thoroughly?”

“Ah, yes – a bit of a tool if you ask me,” Kamil said with a smile. “However, I do not look into any of the staff – I leave that up to the higher ups. But they cleared him – I guess – because he is here and he handed all of the credentials I needed. Is there a problem?”

Professor Hopper adjusted his glasses and turned to look at the empty corridor behind him, before saying, “I don’t know. He just didn’t seem right.”

“Well, if Harris had of shown up, we wouldn’t have had to call out for a replacement,” Kamil said, feeling the need to scan the corridor too. “He’s probably grumpy because he was called in at the last minute.”

“Maybe,” Professor Hopper muttered, as he logged out of the building via the tablet that was set in front of the security desk. “You have a good night, Kamil.” The guard at the desk smiled and waved, after farewelling the scientist.

As he got to his car, Professor Hopper still had the feeling that something was not right, as the R.I.C.K.I. robot’s words echoed in his thoughts.

The Panthia Family Mansion

Brighton, VIC Australia

2nd October 10:33pm EST

“Mister Panthia, you are up late again.” The butler said, whilst closing the drapes in the study, “You should really try and get some rest, sir. All your worries will still be there in the morning.”

Under the bright light of a solitary desk lamp, Padrick Panthia III sat with a large book, entitled: The Amulet of Bubastis, open in front of him on his antique mahogany 19th century pedestal desk. In his mid-sixties, Padrick Panthia had wavy, grey hair and a prominent scowl that seemed to have set itself through the many years of dealing with the frustrations of the incompetence around him. “I will rest only when the amulet is found, Alexander.” The old man stated, as he closed the book in front of him. “The Egyptian authorities want me out… but I will keep paying them off until we find it.”

“Well you have had archaeologists searching for the good part of two years, sir.” The butler commented, as he took the empty coffee pot and mug from the desk, placing it on a nearby tray. “Perhaps it too has been found and moved to another location.”

Panthia considered this for a second and then slammed his fist angrily on the desk, “No! The talisman is still hidden wherever those Egyptians buried it! Nobody would be stupid enough to try to take it away from me… especially after the demise of the fool who stole the jewel and sold it off to Solace! He’s given it to some scientist in C.U.R.E. Labs to experiment with… who knows what they’re doing to it!” A darkness came over Panthia’s face, as he looked out into the distance at nothing in particular, though it was clear something was running through his mind.

The butler’s family had worked for the Panthia’s for well over eighty years; Alexander had actually grown up looking up to Padrick and his father, before taking over from his own father. He knew well enough when to step back from his boss’s emotional state and not antagonise him further. He picked up a couple of books which had found their way onto the expensive Persian rug; probably from one of Panthia’s violent outbursts, the butler thought. “If Richard Solace is no longer in possession of the jewel, then when will you be appropriating it, sir?” He said, as he placed the books on a small side table, so that he could put them in their correct place in the vast library afterwards.

This seemed to cheer Panthia up a little, but not too much. “I’ve got somebody there already, Alexander. Provided my – for want of a better word – intelligence is correct, I’ll have that life-giving jewel by the end of the month.”

“Then if that is settled, sir, perhaps you should go to bed.” The butler goaded, as he removed the tray from its resting place, “Or would you like me to bring in another pot of coffee before I retire myself.”

“No, that won’t be necessary, Alexander,” Panthia said, dismissing the butler with a wave of his hand, “I guess I’ll need to get some rest before I deal with business tomorrow.”

The Hopper Residence,

Boronia, VIC Australia

2nd October 11:46pm EST

“What is R.I.C.K.I. trying to tell me, Kimberley?” Professor Hopper threw the question out to his wife, while he ate his dinner. “I just don’t understand what Doctor McCormack did to make R.I.C.K.I. be able to be intuitive…”

“Maybe you need to stop trying to understand the thoughts of a robot and start trying to understand the needs of your family.” Kimberley suggested, with a frown, as she poured herself a cup of tea. “I know you’re doing this for a good cause. I’m sure people who would never get the chance to have a child would be thrilled to have to a robot child to look after – but we don’t have robot children, Sam, we have our own children to raise.”

Professor Hopper finished eating the last carrot on his plate and realised his mistake. “Sorry, Kimberley. It’s just that we’ve got a lot riding on this. The funding will be cut if R.I.C.K.I. doesn’t succeed.”

Kimberley cleared the table and passed a cup of tea to her husband. She was five years younger, but felt just as old as him; having to almost single-handedly raise their three children for the last seven years. Her long dyed brown hair, was just a shade darker than her original hair colour, and fell freely over her shoulders. She wore her dressing-gown, having conceded to go to bed without her husband, but he had come in just as she began ascending the staircase. Now she felt obliged to sit with him while he ate. “I know, I know – with no funding we don’t end up with money coming in. But what you don’t realise is that this is a lose-lose situation for us, Sam…”

“Oh, how so?” Professor Hopper questioned while still in his own head, as he took a sip of his tea. “I mean, I know it’s been a long, slow process, but we’re getting there, Kim. I can feel it. I just need to know what McCormack did to make R.I.C.K.I. begin to feel… You know it’s kind of made him more human… but how she did it is the big question.”

“Are you even listening, Sam?” Kimberley said sternly. She knew his obsessive mood and made sure he understood when it would not be tolerated. “I said we’re in a lose-lose situation – either we lose the money or we lose YOU, Sam. You know Shannon could do with some help with his science work. It’s not long now before he finishes his final year. Lil’s still going well; but she’s had to help Ani with her English projects, because you’re not there. You used to always have time for the kids, Sam, but they’ve lost you to a robot.”

The professor ran his hands through his hair and sighed in frustration. “I’m so sorry, Kim… I’m doing it again, aren’t I?” His wife nodded sternly, yet it held an air of understanding about it. “I’ll try and get back from the lab earlier in future… it’s just…” He looked at his wife, who raised a questioning eyebrow. “Okay… work will stay at work. I’m sorry, Kim.”

Kimberley Hopper smiled knowingly and went back to her cup of tea.

The Hans Residence,

Coburg, VIC Australia

19th October 4:27pm EST

The fire fizzled out and her mother and father stood stunned in the backyard. The seventeen year old girl stood grinning and holding up her hands that were still glowing slightly from the flames she had just conjured up. “So what do you think?” Jennifer asked, as she presented the ashes of the newspaper sitting at the base of the metal bin. “It’s cool right?”

Mirabella looked at her husband with worried, tired eyes. Gustav felt her stare and muttered in his thick German accent, “Jenni, we must talk.” He gestured to the back door of the house and adjusted a strand of his black hair, which had once hidden the balding patch on his head.

Jennifer followed her parents into the house and into the kitchen.

“What’s wrong, Dad?”

Gustav sat at the table and gestured Jennifer to sit down, while her mother got herself busy making some coffee for them, along with some of her homemade pastries.

“Jenni, this thing that you do is not new to us.” Gustav began with a sigh, “You’re mother’s sister, Lupe; she had these powers that you exhibit. We thought that they would end with her.”

Jennifer looked shocked, as her mother placed the coffee and pastries on the table. “You mean I never got these powers because of the accident in the science lab at school?”

“What accident?” Mirabella asked in a concerned tone.

“Well, Mr. Baker told us to be careful when mixing some chemicals; I don’t know really, I wasn’t paying much attention. But when Zoe was doing it, the whole bottle just frothed up and exploded, most of the chemicals landed on me. A few days later, I could make a warm glow with my hands and now I can create fire!” Jennifer explained excitedly.

Gustav grinned, as he took one of the pastries from the plate in front of him. “Your teacher rang me about that, Jenni. Apparently these ‘chemicals’ were a mixture of cola and mints – someone needs to be paying more attention during class, yes?”

Jennifer sighed, “But Dad, it’s chemistry. You know I’d much rather be doing some sort of historical science… like archaeology or palaeontology. Chemistry is just so boring!”

“Now, Jenni, you are seventeen. This is your last year of school,” Mirabella stated, getting them back onto the subject. “These powers that you have need to be used properly. You cannot just use them to get your own way…”

“… In fact, it’s probably best if you do not use them, unless you absolutely need to.” Gustav interrupted.

Jennifer took a mouthful of her coffee and a bite of her apple Danish, as she mulled over her parents’ wishes.

“You must promise us, Jenni.” Mirabella stressed in a more urgent tone.

Jennifer sighed again. “But, why? It’s a gift! The others will think it’s so cool!”

“Now, Jenni, you listen to me,” Mirabella said sternly, taking her daughter’s hand, “When I was young and living in Spain, my mother, she knew of the magic that went on in our village. Lupe was not the first in our family to display such powers. Your great, great, great grandmother, she had it first and it has been passed down to various females since.”

Jennifer felt a little demoralised, because she really thought that she had somehow gained the powers through a more exciting means.

Mirabella squeezed Jennifer’s hand, “Are you listening, Jenni? This is important. Your Aunt Lupe, she had these powers and she would use them whenever she liked. In the end, she was the cause of many deaths. She used her powers while in her apartment, but she could not control them as well as she thought. The apartment went up in flames, killing many people, including your aunt. This is why you must not show off with these powers.”

Jennifer acknowledged her mother’s fears. “Okay, Mum. I promise not to use them, unless I really need to.”

Gustav put down his cup of coffee, as Mirabella released her daughter’s hand. “Your mother, she worries about you. I do too. That is why we will help you to control your powers, so that we know you will be safe with them and not accidentally burn down the house.”

“But, you don’t even know how they work.” Jennifer bluntly said, as she was still upset about the restrictions placed on her.

“For generations, my family has kept records of how these powers work. Your great, great, great grandmother started this tradition and the family have kept it going since. I will show you our notebook and we will help you to control them.” Mirabella declared.

Jennifer smiled. “So I still get to use them?”

C.U.R.E. Laboratories,

Mount Dandenong, VIC Australia

27th October 1:03am EST

Doctor McCormack’s hands shook as a man in a black wide-brimmed bowler hat, black cloak and gloves handed her a yellow envelope with smears of blood. She grasped it, but the man did not let it go straight away. She noticed the evil, gold-toothed grin plastered on the man’s pale, blood spattered face, before her eyes fell on a conspicuous scar that ran from the bottom of his left ear, across his throat and up to the base of his right ear. “Here is the payment in full, Doctor. And I think ya know that it goes without sayin’ – if I hear anythin’ about this from the newspapers or even if I have a visit from our local law enforcement, then I’ll find ya and ya might end up like our friend in there.” The man’s raspy voice was like a deathly whisper, as his black eyes directed her to the entrance of the C.U.R.E. Laboratories main entrance, where Doctor McCormack had just witness the brutal murder of security guard, Kamil Hafeez.

Doctor McCormack nodded and hesitantly placed the envelope into her coat pocket, once the man in black allowed her to accept it.

He gave a gold-toothed grin, as he noticed her fear. “Now, ya sure that this is the bot that Mr. Panthia was after?” The man looked her over and brandished a knife, touching the tip of it with one of his gloved fingers, she noticed the blood that appeared to be congealing on the blade. “Ya see – it’d be my reputation that’s on the line, if I bring him something that he didn’t want.” He flipped the knife in his hand, making sure that he had the doctor’s attention. “My boys and I have a reputation to uphold, as respectable collectors of highly sought after goods… and if anything were to ruin that reputation, then I’d have to make a new reputation for myself… as a man who makes people disappear in the most undesirable ways. Do ya understand what I’m saying, doc?” The man in black whispered menacingly, as he caressed his knife once more, wiped it on his cloak and placed it into its sheath under the cloak.

Doctor McCormack nodded once more and stuttered, “That’s… that’s the only robot that Professor Hopper was working on… It’s… it’s the one.”

A slamming door got their attention, as the brute known to the doctor as security guard, Antony Georgio, stepped out of the darkness, calling, “It’s all packed, Mr Severoin. Are we ready ta go?”

“Ah, George, what have I told ya about names?” The man in black cursed, still in his hushed tone. He turned back to the doctor. “Alright, doc – it’s time for you to vamoose.”

The doctor began walking away to her car, but then a thought occurred to her. “They’ll know it was me,” she said with a hint of panic.

“Eh?” Severoin queried, as he stopped in his tracks on his way to the awaiting black van.

“I was the one who was scanned to access the storage cell for the robot…”

A cackle was the reply she received, before Severoin said, “Maybe ya should have thought about that first, Doc. I guess ya better get out of here quicker than ya would have. Solace, isn’t gonna be pleased when he finds out.” He tipped his hat and gave her an evil gold-toothed grin. “Have a lovely night now, Doc.”

The engine of the van roared, as Severoin’s cloak whipped into the passenger seat, before disappearing into the darkness. Within seconds the vehicle growled and sped away, leaving Doctor McCormack reconsidering her actions as she raced to her car.

Roadside scenic lookout,

On the road to Mount Dandenong, VIC Australia

27th October 1:09am EST

“What’s wrong with me?” A twenty-two-year-old man screamed at the top of his lungs, as he looked over the distant lights of the city of Citadel. A series of unfortunate events had plagued Bobby Flynn’s life, and this last one was the breaking point.

“She said she was interested… why would she have lied?” he thought, while wiping away his tears. He had travelled all the way across the city by public transport just to meet up with a woman he had met at the race track. When he arrived at her doorstep, he was met by an elderly woman who had told him she had no daughters or granddaughters of his age nor was she available, as she was devoted to her husband of forty-six years.

“No money. No life. I’m just a loser!” He muttered to himself, before looking down. The darkness consumed whatever lay at the bottom of the drop. His balance became a little shaky as he turned to see a car speed past. The driver didn’t even spot him or possibly did, but had no interest in what Bobby was doing, standing on the wrong end of the guard rail on a scenic lookout. “Yeah… that’s right – nobody ever notices me…” He turned back to look at the drop and fear crept into his veins.

Just then a series of musical notes sounded and Bobby realised it was his phone ringing to the tune of Crocodile Therapy; the latest track by Rosy Lotus. Reflexively, Bobby shoved a hand into the pocket of his jeans and produced his phone. He checked the screen, sighed and swiped to answer.

“Hi Mum,” he began, pressing his legs against the guard rail so as not to fall. “Look I’m kind of busy at the moment…”

“Oi, grazie dio! Roberto, where are you? I rang you at 8 o’clock, then half past eight and every half hour after – not once did you pick up! You have me worried so much that I cannot sleep.” Maria Powell did not see herself as an overbearing mother; in fact she couldn’t stand the helicopter parenting that seemed to be the trait of younger parents these days. However, Maria was an overbearing mother; whenever she felt a tinge of worry (which was often) she would make contact with her only son in any way possible. She preferred to simply drop in on him, but when Bobby was not home she would revert to calling him until he picked up - and this was no exception. “What am I to think, Roberto? You are either ignoring me or you are in trouble – which is it? Do I need to come over?”

“No, Mum, you don’t need to do anything,” Bobby said in a frustrated tone, as he checked his watch, “It’s almost 1:30! Just go to bed!”

There was silence on the other end, as Maria took this in. Then a heavy sigh sounded over the phone and Bobby knew he was in for a rant that he did not want to hear. “Your father used to ignore my feelings too, Roberto. He never understood just how nervous I get about losing you to the crazy people that wander around the city at night. Now you are not understanding my feelings, just like him…”

“Mum – enough!” Bobby shouted angrily, “I’m not him! Just go to bed! Merda... Mum, I’m twenty-two, you don’t need to call me all the time! Just let me do things my own way!”

“And you would speak to your own mother like that?” Maria responded in a saddened tone. A muffled grumble was heard in the background and Bobby braced himself for another verbal attack – this time from his step-father, Winston Powell. However, his mother’s voice came softly over the speaker. “Winston said you have a shift tomorrow…”

“I know, Mum,” Bobby replied curtly.

“If you have a shift, you should be in bed.” She told him sternly.

“Alright – I’m going to bed,” Bobby lied in a defeated tone. “If you get off the phone, I can go to bed.”

Another pause, then Maria said, “Va bene. You call me in the morning before your shift, Roberto. Buona notte. Ti amo tanto, figlio mio.”

“Love you too, Mum. Good night,” Bobby uttered, before hanging up and shoving the phone back into his jeans. He looked out over the lights of the distant city once more and swore aloud in frustration at his life. “Alright – this is it! I’m gonna do it!” He said to himself, before looking down into the abyss once more. Fear paralysed him again and he climbed back over the guardrail to face the road. “Loser!” he thought, “Mum treats me like a kid! I can’t even stand up to that bastard, Winston! Everyone hates me! And I’m too scared of heights to even jump off this lookout!”

Bobby diverted his attention to the road as a truck rumbled past. An idea suddenly sprang into his mind. “The road is so damn windy, that they’ll never see me until it’s too late.” He ran out onto the road. “Come on cars!” He called as he waited.

After what felt to him like a long time, but was only a couple of minutes, Bobby cursed and began running up the incline, hoping that some form of transport would race down and meet him along the way. “Damn cars won’t even make this easy… why does everything have to be so hard?”

The more he climbed, the more he thought. The more he thought, the angrier he became. The angrier he became, the more he kept running. Unbeknownst to Bobby, his speed became increasingly faster and very soon he was a blur. Within seconds, he noticed a certain black van speeding towards him.

“This is it!” Bobby told himself, as he drew nearer.

The driver tried to swerve as he noticed what appeared to be a large glowing cannonball headed towards him – but it was too late…

To continue the story, follow the link to Super Hero Chronicles: Citadel - Rise of the Heroes (Part 2)