TNG: Iblis, the First Hero

Chapter 9: Project IBLIS

Project IBLIS

"You paged me?" Cid asked King as he approached his guardian in lab 0021.

"Yes, walk with me for a minute," King commanded.

He followed King as he led them out of the lab and into the hallway. Once they reached the end of the hallway, his guardian paused and turned to face him.

"First of all, I want to ask you why you decided to begin crime-fighting," he asked.

The question hit Cid like a load of bricks. Sure he had decided that crime-fighting was an excellent use of his powers. Sure he had decided that it served as a great coping mechanism to offset the loss of his parents. Sure he saw leaping across the Crystal Springs skyline as the most exhilarating experience ever. But he had never truly consider why he started doing it in the first place.

"I don't really know, King. I think it just sorta happened. What would you do if you woke up one day and found out that you had superpowers?" he asked as he tried to find an answer to the question.

To his surprise, Cid's question elicited a light chuckle from his guardian. "In another time and place, I might have answered that question. Instead, I'm going to ask you another question. What made you stop?" he asked.

Cid smiled as he remembered the numerous beatings he took as "the Dynamic SuperCid". "I didn't have what it takes I guess," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

The smile disappeared from Cid's face when he saw the hard look on his guardian's face. "No, Cid. You do have what it takes. You faced bullets, knives, and other deadly scenarios and survived. Not only did you survive, but you turned around the next night and did it again. Why, you ask? You have something that most people do not have, and that is located right here," King stated, poking Cid in the chest.

"A heart?" Cid asked.

"No. Compassion - the will to put your life on the line to protect those who can't. The will to risk your own well-being so that another can continue to enjoy whatever life they live. These qualities are what separate you from all the other human beings in the world," King explained.

Cid felt his heart sink. "Then why did I stop?" he asked.

"You're asking me? You'll have to find the answer on your own, but I'll tell you this. I believe that the task of standing up to the criminals of Crystal Springs became too tall a task for one man. You became overwhelmed, so you gave up."

"Yeah, I gave up. My point exactly," Cid stated, his heart having reached his gut by this point.

This response elicited another small smile from King. Why is he smiling so much today? Cid asked himself.

"Something tells me that you haven't completely given up. You just need some help, and I think I can help you, Cid."

Help me with what? Cid asked himself.

King began to make his way back to the lab. "I share those same values Cid. I feel that the world doesn't have enough good people, and that the bad people don't have anything to fear. I want to change that. If you want to change that as well, meet me back at the lab after you get out of school," King declared as he returned to the lab, leaving a bewildered Cid standing in the hallway by himself.

Ω

Why would King want to help me? He asked himself as he sat in class. Ronnie had not come to school today. He had called Cid's cell phone on his way to school to ask him to "throw a few good jabs in Mr. Gordon's direction for (him)". He had claimed that the smoke from the prior evening had caused his asthma to flare up, which was odd because he had never mentioned having asthma, nor had Cid ever seen him with an inhaler.