The Paragons

Chapter 12: Powerhouse, The Second Recruit

On their way into the airspace above Seattle, Washington, Duncan put the plane on autopilot and went into the passenger area to chat with The Viper and Carla, while The Crawler remained in the pilot's cabin and kept a lookout for anything suspicious; none of them wanted the vehicle to get shot down a second time, after all. 

Once he entered the main chamber containing several rows of seats, he approached the two girls and sat near them. "So.....why don't you tell us a bit more about yourself?" he asked, glancing at Carla. 

"Sure! I....." 

"Hold on," The Viper cut in. "Wouldn't it be more convenient to do introductions once everyone is here? That way, everyone will only have to explain themselves once." 

"You have a point there....." the doctor replied. 

Carla nodded. "Right.....well, at any rate, I do have a question for the both of you; who were those people we ran into back there? They were complete strangers to me.....but it seemed like you two knew them. You called them.....'Monica' and 'Herman', I believe?" 

The Viper and Duncan gave each other uneasy looks; they knew that it would take a while to inform Carla of everything. "Do you want to go first?" asked the heroine. 

"No, you can go first. You were the first of the superheroes, after all....wouldn't want to steal your moment." 

She took a deep breath, then began speaking. "That boy we ran into earlier, with the heat visor, motorcycle, bulletproof vest, and .30 Carbine.....the one you almost killed, Carla.....was Herman, my friend from school." 

Carla raised her hand. "If he's your friend, then why was he so intent on harming us?" 

"As you likely know from your Hero Theory podcast recordings.....Duncan wasn't always a good guy. About a year into my superhero career, he attempted to enact a plan to infect the entire world with a hate-inducing plague known as the Herculean Serum. Back then, Herman was still on my side.....he and I fought the doctor and his minions alongside each other atop the Mercury Heights Space Needle in order to bring an end to his schemes." 

"Duh, of course I know about that!" Carla responded. "The Battle on the Space Needle might very well be the highlight of your activities! In fact.....I think ViperCon had some sort of simulator based around it, if I remember correctly. Guests would play as The Viper and shoot down A.I-controlled Crimson Skull agents. My friend Brian and I played it.....I beat him every single time, of course." She then paused, realizing she had strayed heavily off-topic. "Sorry, go on. What was it about Herman that made you split off from him?" 

The Viper and Duncan blinked. "Wow, you can talk quite a bit, can't you?" the doctor inquired. 

Carla beamed. "Yep. Kind of comes naturally with being the host of a podcast where you have to spend an hour and a half a week talking to nobody but yourself." 

"Anyway....." The Viper resumed. "We succeeded in putting a stop to Duncan's madness, and had him thrown behind bars for 2.5 years. That was when Herman and I began having a conflict; I wished for Duncan to be rehabilitated and to become a better person---to his credit, he was a genuinely smart person, just misguided. However, Herman insisted on Duncan rotting behind bars for the rest of his days as retribution for his misdeeds. He didn't believe that he deserved another chance. Eventually, we came to a heated disagreement on Duncan's fate, and Herman officially ended our partnership. Now....he hates me, wants nothing to do with me, and.....even wants me dead. When Duncan was released, Herman teamed up with Duncan's sister, Monica---he'll tell you about her in a moment---to try and murder him, but we foiled their plans and ended up having to kill them instead, both to save ourselves and countless other innocents."