Close Nemesis

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Key

LYGOR:

Before I first met the heads of the superhero behaviour modification program, I expected King Parakga, the leader of the leaf haired Teglyon, to be among them. Instead, when I requested to the board to deploy two superheroes on a rescue mission, I was surprised to learn that the program was actually led by a person who appeared to be the organic embodiment of Rotcetorp.

The leader wore green robes underneath armour made from starglass, a powerful glass like mineral possessing ten times the strength of a diamond.

When we first met, she introduced herself as Silveagak, who wanted to teach superpowered beings to give up their hero complex. Despite her initial qualms about my request to enlist two superheroes to rescue my soldiers, Silveagak allowed me to send two heroes off on a mission to rescue the soldiers. However, she did so on one condition.

She demanded me to leave my life as a pirate vigilante so that I may assist her with a top-secret project.

I couldn't refuse her demands. As much as it has been my dream to live on Teglyo and fight in the tournament, I still find myself scared by the forces behind the Hero Complex management program.

Now, I am meeting her again. This time, we will be meeting alone in her office, which is located on a mountain opposite the runway leading into the fort.

Her office is decorated in paper files, which I presume contain files regarding the hundreds of super powered individuals imprisoned within the fort.

The files and folders aren't the only thing decorating Silveagak's office. A piece of rubble sits in a jar on her purple oak desk, and my eye scrutinizes it fearfully.

"What is that?" I inquire.

"It is rubble," Silveagak remarks, opening her jet coloured beak to reveal a human-like mouth hiding behind it.

I reckon I can see some teeth behind her beak. However, these teeth are pointed like sharp needles, and they are more of a green colour rather than a soft yellow.

"Rubble from what, exactly? Woman, if you want me to help you, you need to tell me what's going on?"

"It's a rubble from my homeworld."

Her single sentence speech pattern is driving me nuts. Answer the bloody question.

"Answer the bloody question!" I snap angrily, before then feeling my body go tight as it becomes slowly encased in a tight cocoon.

Then, the cocoon breaks apart, and I once again take a deep breath.

"I was once a vigilante," Silveagak chirps. "I used my powers to suffocate enemies, but one day, my desire to fight against crime overwhelmed my sense of awareness and I lost control of my powers. I cocooned my home planet and squeezed it until it broke apart. All that remained was its core."

"How did you survive?" I ask, not even bothering to ask whether that planet had once been Garbatrak's moon.

"I survived because I was wearing a spacesuit and some boot thrusters at the time," Silveagak answered sharply. "Ever since my homeworld was destroyed, I decided to prevent more incidents from happening. That's why I formed this program. That's why the individuals in this program fight to the death. I'd rather they die than the billions of innocent people residing on unsuspecting worlds."