How To Make A Superhero

A Choice Undecided

"I don't have all day, Ms. Sanders. My patience is wearing thin," spoke the commanding voice of Lex Luthor. His giant hulking robot suit aimed its arm cannon that glowed a sickening green. I was either to join Lex and his mysterious agenda or suffer a fate worse than death and be experimented on. I couldn't speak. To face mortality after being so indestructible, even for just a few days, was kind of off-putting. In fact, I was pretty sure I hated feeling like this. Being so vulnerable. "Alright then. I guess I'll have to choose for you," and the arm cannon's green light glowed brighter ready to fire before a loud zapping was heard. The green light died down and the arm of the robot suit fell limp at Lex's side. "What!?" he yelled, though his voice was now very muffled through the suit.

Behind him a small bronze colored metal robot hovered above him. The metal drone spoke slightly off-pitch, "I do not appreciate you harming my ward, Mr. Luthor."

"Bellad!" I said surprised. "You're alive?" As soon as the words left me, I felt a sudden shift in my body, like the turning point between feeling sick and healthy. I could feel my strength return and the nausea that had plagued me lifted like a fading fog.

"What are you waiting for Miss Blake? I was only able to disable his power suit temporarily," said Bellad as he retracted one of his arms away from the backside of Lex's suit.

"Right," I said and immediately went for an uppercut. I punched Lex so hard that the metal plating on his suit fractured and he was sent flying.

Faintly I could hear Lex mutter a string of curse words and then a feminine robotic voice spoke out from inside his suit, "Activating emergency power supply." And the power suit Lex was in suddenly turned back on! Though it lacked the glowing green emblem. Lex stood back up and extended both arms. Said limbs opened up to reveal a round of attached missiles. I briefly recalled the giant explosion in my living and then he aimed both arms and fired! Dozens of small missiles rocketed toward me. Now I didn't know if it was on instinct or from Bellad's matrix-like combat programming he first inputted into my brain, but I was able to dodge a weave through the flying projectiles like they were thrown crumpled pieces of paper. As soon as I was in range I went for a flying hay-maker. This time Lex wasn't fast enough to block me, and my blow landed with a satisfying crunch of breaking metal.

Lex was knocked back down into the cracking asphalt but looked uninjured. "Shame," he said and pressed a button in his suit. A front panel opened from the chest of his armor and I could see what was inside. A green crystal was held in place by metal wiring and that familiar nauseating pain returned tenfold. This time it was like a knife piercing my soul. The excruciating pain made me seize up and I fell limply on the ground.

"Argh!" Holy fucking hell why was this so agonizing!? Was that green rock causing this? I tried moving but every molecule in my body screamed 'Nope!' Faintly I could hear a zapping noise and the nausea started fading again. However, I had taken too many hits and in my weakened state I could no longer stay conscious. The world around me slowly consumed itself in darkness and I found myself dreaming again. Of Krypton and its wonders. Of that lab and its horrors.

The Next Day.

When I woke, the sunlight was the first thing to greet me. I expected another headache but was welcomed with warmth. The next thing to greet me was an overwhelmingly raunchy smell. I plugged my noise quickly and said, "What the hell..." and looked at where I was. Trash. I was on a literal mountain of trash. Beyond it was the sea. I stood up to get a good look. I was on a garbage scow. A huge boat meant to haul nothing but trash across the ocean. Better than waking up strapped to a metal table, I suppose.

Bellad spoke from behind," Good morning Miss Blake." I turned my head to find the drone hovering a few feet away, facing the ocean.

I turned my full body toward him and balanced myself better on the loose garbage. I didn't know if Bellad was still hostile towards me. Even if he did save me, I didn't know if I could still trust him.