Other People's Heroes (The Heroes of Siegel City) (26 page)

“
What?”

“He’s
not Lionheart
!” I shouted. “Guys, he
can’t
be Lionheart.”

They glanced at each other nervously. “Josh... of
course
he’s Lionheart,” Ted said. “Who
else
could he be?”

“
GUNK!”

“Gunk is
dead,
man,” Animan said. “They found his skeleton in the morgue lying in a pool of... of that
slime
his body was made out of.”

“Right. And
I
killed him. I forgot.”

Ted shook his head. “No, no we don’t think
you
killed him.”

I jolted upright. “You
don’t
?”

“No, Josh. Dude, we know you better than that.”

“Oh, thank
God
, Ted. Then you believe your ‘Lionheart’ is lying?”

They glanced at each other again. “He’s not
lying
man,” Ted said.

“Yeah. He’s... Lionheart.”

“He must have just made a mistake. He doesn’t know you like we do.”

Mental Maid -- Gunk was using her powers to keep up his charade. Damn susceptibility field. “You’re right, it was a mistake. But the
real
Lionheart
couldn’t
make a mistake. Not about
me
!”

“Why not?”

“Because we--” I caught myself before the words came spilling out of my mouth. Even here, even now, I couldn’t bring myself to tell them about the Heart of the Lion. It was too deep, too
sacred,
to share, I was almost mystically forbidden from speaking of it. And frankly, I don’t think it would have mattered if I
did
tell them. Something that close to the soul couldn’t be believed by those who aren’t a part of it.

“I’m sure everything will be cleared up at the trial,” Ted said.

The trial... God, I didn’t even want to
think
about
that.
Mental Maid’s eyes glowing... hitting me with that blindingly white Soul Ray-- I think that may have been what scared me the most about the whole thing. The prospect of learning what I really was. Would I be a dog? A lizard? Some ugly monster-thing? The real Lionheart wouldn’t have had a problem, he was a prince, but I was pretty certain the rest of us would be unpleasantly surprised to discover once and for all who we really were in our hearts.

“Hey,” I said, “where’s Hotshot? Where’s Annie?”

“Hotshot’s been in Morrie’s office all day trying to convince him to drop this whole thing.”

“Thank God. Is he having any luck?”

“Not really,” Animan said. “Morrie’s been too busy getting ready for Lionheart’s press conference.”

“And Annie?”

They were awfully silent for a moment.

“She’s in a bad way, Josh,” Ted finally said. “She doesn’t
really
think you could kill the Gunk but...”

“Well let’s face it, brother, you haven’t exactly been acting rationally where that girl is concerned. Everybody saw you chuck Noble through a wall over her.”

“Your choice of targets hasn’t been good,” Ted added.

“What the hell does--” I saw the look in the Conductor’s eyes and a light went off. “Ted,” I said, “I know you used to have a thing for Annie--”

“Hey, I’m over that, buddy, I’m on
your
side--”

“That’s not where I’m going,” I said. “Who else around here did she know for a fact had an... interest in her?”

“Who did
she
know about? Oh God, nobody. She didn’t even know about
me.
The girl is absolutely oblivious to how attractive she is.”

“Well who did everyone
else
know about? Was Nightshadow one of them?”

“Well... yeah,” Ted said.

“Hey, where
is
Nightshadow?” Animan asked. “You’d think he’d have shown up by now, what with all this commotion.”

Damn
susceptibility field. I decided it would be pointless to argue that point. “Who
else
?” I hissed, having a sneaking suspicion I would be able to guess every name.

“Well there was Flambeaux,” Ted said.

“
And
Deep Six,” Animan point out. “The brothers -- that almost got nasty.”

“I heard a rumor once about Icebergg, too,” Ted said. “It was so damn hard to
tell
with him, though...”

“Pattern of
what?
” Ted asked.

Damn susceptibility field
!

“Look, guys--”

I was about to launch into another futile attempt at reasoning with them, but just then Ted’s eyes began to droop and his head started to nod. Animan fell back against the wall and slid to the ground. Ted toppled forward, bouncing his head on the cot before falling to the floor.

The blue door opened and, through it, I could see Justice Giant asleep at the desk, no longer paying attention to the
Happy Days
re-run he was watching.

In the door stood a purple woman with glowing eyes.

“We must hurry,” Mental Maid said. “Both Morris and the Gunk are preoccupied with their press conference. There is very little time and much you must yet learn.”

“
Aeeeeeeeeey
,” said Fonzie in agreement.

THE SECOND BAR

Mental Maid had to step over Ted and Animan to get into the cell and close the door behind her. It was getting slightly cramped in my cell. “You put them to sleep?” I asked.

“Not exactly,” she said. “I placed them in a dream-cycle during which they will relive their fondest memories until I restore them to consciousness.”

“Mmm... Mindy,” Ted moaned in his sleep. I heard an electronic synthesizer chorus resound from him. “
Bomp
-chicka-
waw-waaaaw
,” it informed us. Mental Maid frowned at him, made a face, and the music stopped.

“A less... colorful memory,” she said.

“
Thank
you,” I said. “Now will you
please
tell me what in the living
hell
is going on?”

“I’ve been
trying
to tell you.
I
cleared Flambeaux’s head so he could talk to you -- working on the topiary distracted him enough so that it was possible. I sent you your dream about the Gunk -- but now, for a few moments, I can act freely.”

“If you can act freely, why don’t you just drop the damn susceptibility field? It’s going to get me
killed
!”

“
I
do not create the field,” she said. “My brother does.”

“
Morrie?
”

“Do you find it so difficult to believe a brother and sister could both be empowered?”

I thought of Annie and Tom and I decided it was not that difficult to believe. “So wait -- is Morrie a telepath too?”

“
Neither
of us are telepaths. I cannot read minds, Joshua. Mine is the power of
truth
. I can sense it, sow it, I can
reveal
it. I knew you were planning an exposé of this operation, just as I knew that, when the time came, you would be unable to go through with it.”

“And Morrie?”

“My brother has always been a showman, a huckster. His is the power of lies. He can delete the truth from your memory. He can make you remember things that never happened. He can make you believe a lie and ignore reality.”

“The susceptibility field.”

“Precisely. And, true to form, he lies even about himself, attributing
his
powers to
me.
”

“I don’t get it, though. If your powers come from the same source, then why is he... and why are you...”

“What?”

“Well... you’re
purple
!”

“Oh. That. Make-up, prosthetic ears. Even electronic contact lenses -- Morris loves to put on a show, even if he is too dense to realize the show belongs to the Gunk. Ironic, isn’t it? We get taken in by a monster and
I
am forced to live a lie, while Morris is as true to himself as he ever was.”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“It is the nature of my powers -- that is why I can resist his hold, if only for a short time. I also knew that you had the Heart of the Lion.”

“You know--” I almost asked a stupid question, but caught myself.

“That was another reason I let you in. I knew that, when the Gunk made his move, only one with the Heart of the Lion would see the truth. And I knew Hotshot could not do this alone.”

“What
is
his game?”

“He hasn’t revealed himself to me, but I think it’s clear. He’s the same as any megalomaniac, he wants
control.
He will take over every Cape and Mask, one at a time if need be, until he has the power and the influence to rule this world -- even from the sidelines.”

“It’s been
ten years,
” I said.

“The Gunk does not age. Ten years is
nothing
for an immortal. He has spent
hundreds
of years behind the scenes, waiting for this opportunity, pulling strings. You don’t want to know how many presidents have been in his thrall.”

She was right, I probably didn’t. “How many people
does
he have enthralled?”

“Many. But you must be careful, Josh, it is not
they
who are evil, it is their controller. Most of them, were they free to think, would fight by your side.”

“Even the Goop?”

Her face clenched. “I... cannot speak... with freedom... about the Goop,” she forced out. “Gunk’s control over that area...”

“But he
is
just a pawn, right?”

She nodded. “But move wisely, Joshua. In
this
game, when you capture a black pawn, he may well become a white knight.”

What about Icebergg? And Flambeaux and Deep Six? How do
they
factor in?”

“Icebergg’s cold form was clearing his head too often. He was beginning to break free of the Gunk’s hold.” I remembered how freezing my own head had cleared my mind during Icebergg’s capture and nodded.

“And the others?” I asked.

“He used Flambeaux and Deep Six to dispose of Icebergg for the same reason he once used Photon Man.”

“
Why?”

“As a favor. A show of good faith to his one partner -- the only one who knows his game and the very one he shall betray should he succeed.”

The second BAR in my mental slot machine clicked into place.

“
Noble.”

“Gunk promises him power, Noble follows like a greedy pig.”

“I’ve got to find Annie, I’ve got to get her out of here.”

“She is already gone, Joshua.”

“
What?”

“After your capture she left the Tower, it was too much for her to absorb. She is with her family right now.”

“Thank God,” I said, thinking that at least she had Tom for protection. If that idea seemed ridiculous later, it didn’t then
.
Tom wouldn’t let anything happen to her. I believed that.

“Does she know?” I asked. “Does she know what really happened to Photon Man?”

“Joshua,
no
one
knows what
really
happened to Photon Man. Except for Doctor Noble.”

“And you?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Can you show
me
what happened?”

“Yes.”

“
Do it.”

She nodded and her eyes began to glow. She placed her hand on my forehead and a sudden influx of images and sounds flooded my mind. I watched everything that happened in the last minutes of Photon Man’s life.

I slumped to the cot, eyes wide open, mouth agape. I was still like that when Mental Maid whispered, “Do what you must,” and left.

PRESS CONFERENCE

“Corwood? Hey, Copycat!”

I snapped out of my trance when I realized Justice Giant was standing at the door to my cell, smiling. Ted and Animan were gone -- I’d never even noticed when they left.

“What do you want?” I moaned -- not so much in an angry tone, but more like an exhausted person who just wants to be left alone with his thoughts.

“Morrie’s press conference is coming on -- they’re announcing the return of Lionheart. Thought you might want to watch.”

I started to say that I’d rather use the Goop’s skeleton as a chew toy than watch that bastard pretend to be Lionheart, but then I thought better of it.
Who knows?
I thought,
maybe I’ll find some hole in his story or something.

Justice Giant pushed the desk and television to a position where I could see it through the open door and he could watch from his chair.

The screen showed a dais in front of Simon Tower, where Morrie, DoubleGum Man (as a representative of the Spectacle Six) and Dr. Noble were standing in front of a large video screen with Morrie’s corporate logo twirling on it. I took a small amount of pleasure in noticing that Noble’s mask had been slightly modified to hide his broken nose.

Morrie went up to the forest of microphones at the podium and his name appeared at the bottom of the screen, along with the phrase “Superhuman Liaison.” He was wearing a big, toothy grin, although his mouth looked kind of naked without a cigar dangling from it.