SteelStar

Episode One (Epilogue)

It was the dead of night, clouds obscuring the stars over the E.H.O.D. facility, the same facility the Silent Wraith had scoped out earlier. Silent's bodysuit blended in with the environment, making him completely invisible. The only sign of life was the grass bending beneath his feet. As he ran, he made no sound, his belt emitting an invisible field that nullified all sonic waves within a small radius.

His first obstacle was a fence that surrounded the facility, though the cameras attached to that fence were no problem for him. He came up to the metal wire and began climbing. There was razor wire at the top, but Silent pulled his legs up and kicked off, letting go of the fence at the last second as he flipped over the wire. If one looked, they might see the fence quivering, but fortunately no one was close enough. He rolled to break his fall, making no sound as he did, and then scoped out his surroundings.

A few guards in black uniforms patrolled the grounds, hands close to their guns. Silent ran across the compound, keeping his distance so they didn't see his feet crushing the grass. Soon Silent reached the door and pulled out a special ID card he used. This, when placed next to a real electronic ID card, could instantly duplicate the electronic signature of that card, allowing him to access whatever that card could access. Silent had walked invisible beside an E.H.O.D. agent and passed his own card over the agent's pocket, getting the electronic ID without him even noticing. Silent scanned his card at the door and entered the facility.

Inside, he used a personal radar built into his mask that revealed the layout of the surrounding area. Each radar ping revealed walls, objects, and even people through walls, showing up as wireframes in his mask. Moving quickly through hallways filled with offices, he avoided the guards, the solid floor giving him more leeway to move around.

After a few minutes, he found the head office. Checking for the camera that covered that door, he pressed a button on his wrist and activated adhesive pads on his gloves and boots, allowing him to climb the wall. Once he was high enough, he placed a device from his belt on the side of the camera. The device made a soft, barely audible whir for a moment before it activated. In the security room, where a guard watched all the cameras, this particular camera now played a loop that would stop the guard from seeing the door open mysteriously.

With the camera disabled, Silent watched for any passing guards, went to the room, used his hacking ID card, and went inside.

Silent immediately went to some filing cabinets and looked through them. He found the files listing superheroes under the E.H.O.D.'s superhero funding program, Safeguard. Any hero funded directly by the E.H.O.D. was here, and Silent eventually found the file on Morphic Man.

He flipped through it, finding simple information on his powers. They included shapeshifting into any animal—both full forms and partial transformations between humans and animals. That was to be expected, though Morphic Man could also grow hair with impunity, using that to make his costume. Silent wasn't interested in the powers, however. He was looking for something to prove Morphic Man was in Redwell City that night.

He found something, but it was inconclusive. The file did show that Morphic Man was there that day. That was useful enough for Silent to take pictures, tapping a button on his mask, but the file was ultimately about the efforts taken to hide this fact from the public. It said nothing about why Morphic Man was in Redwell City that day. It also mentioned that Elementus was there and that Morphic Man even met with him. Despite all this information, Silent still couldn't answer one burning question.

What were Elementus and Morphic Man doing in Redwell City the day it was destroyed?

***

In a different city, miles away, the stars twinkled above as Morphic Man stood atop a rooftop, a cellphone to his ear. He looked agitated, his demeanor defensive.

"Yes," said Morphic Man reluctantly. "I messed up. I know."

He listened for a moment.

"I thought I could handle him," said Morphic Man. "I mean, I didn't destroy Redwell. I figured his lie detection would read that, and he'd be forced to..."

The person on the phone cut him off.

"Yes," said Morphic Man. "Yes, I understand. No, I intend to stay as far away from Passion as possible. I was just taunting him. I figured if I set off his anger and caused another Rocky Mountain incident, they'd be forced to deal with that. Which, I would add, worked perfectly. No one is talking about Elementus and me, and a scapegoat just dropped into our hands with this SteelStar character. Talk about a lucky break."

Another interruption.

"Oh, please," said Morphic Man. "Of course I knew about the Rocky Mountain incident. I'm a shapeshifter. I can get anywhere. Just because I'm barred from the United Heroes of Earth's headquarters doesn't mean I haven't been there. I could have saved your spies the trouble if you'd come to me first."

He waited for the answer.

"Oh, no sir," said Morphic Man. "I would never steal secrets from an E.H.O.D. facility. On my honor. Anyway, do you have any assignments for me?"

He listened to the answer.

"Lay low; stick to normal hero work," said Morphic Man. "Got it. I'll be in touch."

Morphic Man hung up, then stepped over to the edge of the roof and looked out over the city. Street lights, car headlights, and business windows illuminated the night. Morphic Man stretched his arms and looked out over the city, a big grin on his face.

Well, thought Morphic Man, that could have gone better, but I handled it in the end.

Author's note: This episode, as I call it, was originally posted as a single upload. In hindsight, it is a bit long for a single upload, so I have decided to separate it into parts, hopefully making the reading experience more fluid. I apologize for any confusion, but hope you enjoy the story.