Chapter FIfteen

Hero's Call: Chapter Fifteen

Seven had teleported directly back to the floating space station the An’Fari called home immediately after speaking with Milo Radcliff and his family. He could have easily communicated his message using the telepathic link his people all shared, but he had to be delicate on how he breached the subject. He hadn’t exactly followed orders as they were given. If he did not choose his words wisely, The Council was likely to punish him harshly, possibly send him back levels in the Acolyte Program. He couldn’t have that. It may not have been his place, but he knew he was right in what he did, and he’d just have to make The Council see it his way.

Seven found himself in a small antechamber to Council Hall. While a dump truck could easily drive through the doors, across the room, and out the other side without so much as touching a single thing, the antechamber was still small compared to Council Hall itself. A semi-circular dais was in the center of the room and no additional seating was provided. The antechamber was typically reserved for The Council alone to deliberate and confer on most matters. The seven members of The Council were seated in their designated places and Seven stood in the middle of the semi-circle. Their eyes bore down on him intensely, but he steeled himself against the judgment and expectation that their gazes bore.

“What news have you brought to us, Acolyte?” One of the Council members asked. “Has Czar Destructo been apprehended?”

“Sadly, he has not,” Seven answered.

“Your mission is of the utmost importance, Acolyte,” another Council member said gravely. “You should not have returned until the Villain had been brought to justice. We can only be left to assume that you have returned to tell us the identity of this new Hero?”

“I have,” he answered honestly. “It is Milo Radcliff, son of Barton and Brooke and great-grandson of Captain Amazing. I was able to mentally scan his DNA while I conversed with him and his family only moments ago. The Hero Gene has begun the process of altering his genetic makeup.”

There was a murmur among the council.

“This is most welcome news, Acolyte,” a third Council member said. “We will send an Acolyte of higher ranking to see to the boy’s training while you pursue your original goal.”

“If I may, most esteemed Council members,” said Seven politely. “I will most happily continue searching for Czar Destructo, as has been asked of me. However, Milo has seemed to form an affinity for me in the short time we had together. He has asked that I be the one to oversee his training.”

The Council members regarded him with a cool calculation. It was a bold play, lying. They could easily pluck the truth from his mind should they want to. It was a risk Seven was willing to take.

“You are still many levels from being qualified to train a Hero, Acolyte,” the first Council member pointed out. “It is unwise to allow you to do so, despite the boy’s request.”

“And despite my level,” Seven added, “I believe that I am more than capable of properly training young Milo. I believe that, once he has been sufficiently trained, he can aid me in apprehending Czar Destructo and bringing him to justice.”

There was a brief silence in which The Council members telepathically discussed the issue at hand. Seven could not help but notice how they had blocked his mind from their discussion. He did not let it affect his repose. He knew he had to remain calm and stoic. It was the only way to sway their opinions. If they saw a single hint of weakness, they’d invade his mind and find the truth and most probably make him pay for it. He had to be a statue, a rock of confidence.

“The Council has conferred,” announced a Council member on the far right finally, “and you have been granted permission to train the Earth Hero, Milo Radcliff. You are to continue your searching for Czar Destructo when possible. If he has not been brought to justice by the time Milo Radcliff is sufficiently trained, he can aid in your search.”

Seven bowed slightly. “I thank your wise decision, Council members,” he said flatly. “You will not be disappointed.”

The first Council member leaned forward in his chair. “We dearly hope so, Acolyte. The fate of Earth and all its people rests solely on the outcome that we are not. You are dismissed.”

Seven pulled the small teleporter disk from its pouch and took one last look at The Council. They had stopped paying attention to him altogether. While they did not speak, he knew they were openly discussing him with their minds. He’d taken a gamble and it had paid off, but the words of The Council had weighed heavily on him. An entire world’s fate was now going to be decided on his ability to train a Hero to properly use his powers. There was a moment of regret in which Seven was not entirely sure he had made the right choice. It was too late. For good of for ill, he was now in charge of keeping an entire planet safe from destruction. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Seven relished the challenge.

With one gelatin-like finger, Seven activated the teleported and vanished from the antechamber.