Amber Gale always seemed pleased to see Ashton whenever they met, and this time was no different. She offered him a seat in the meeting room and pulled out some materials for him to look over.
“I am glad you are interested in hearing more,” she said, “Don’t worry. Even if you decide against participating in the research I will not penalize you or your team in any way.”
That was a surprisingly generous offer. Ashton couldn’t help that it naturally made him more suspicious. Ms. Gale had already shown him a great deal of generosity already, and he couldn’t help but wonder what she might want in return. Well, in this case it was obvious what she wanted. She wanted to convince him to join in the testing without feeling pressured.
“I won’t make any promises before I know what I am getting into,” Ashton reminded.
Amber Gale smiled. “I never expected you to,” she assured, “I will begin by letting you know that all of the information on the research I have sent you so far is over a year old. Research on Untouchable was halted by the government as an unnecessary expense. Since the fall of SI and the incident with Jargon they have recently changed their tune and demanded that research is resumed.”
“So we have been using Untouchable despite the side effects this whole time?” Ashton checked.
“We have, and with excellent success. That is part of why research was reapproved. If we can solve the issue with the side effects I have permission to take Untouchable to the next stage,” Ms. Gale explained. Ashton hadn’t noticed before how passionate she got when she spoke about Untouchable. That passion must be how Gale Research grew into what it was now.
“How exactly will we be testing these side effects?” Ashton asked.
“You want to know how Heroix and Superview got involved?” Amber guessed, “There was something I needed to check. The contract you submitted to evidence from the case with Jargon came from one of the branches of Heroix, and Superview has already gained a reputation for being shady. That is why I selected them out of all of the hero agencies to join in this testing.”
She made it sound like involving an outside hero agency was a requirement. “Will you be testing Untouchable on them?” Ashton asked.
“If they volunteer, I can, but that is not why they were invited,” Ms. Gale explained, “I have gathered some previous volunteers who have taken Untouchable. We will be recording how resistant to the powers of others they are and if it wears off in time. John Doe will be participating, as well as some of the volunteers from when Untouchable was first created. That is why I want you to participate as well. Your power can directly affect someone, whereas the twins would indirectly affect someone. Each of the heroes from the agencies will be selected based on power type and dynamics as well.”
That made sense. Ashton was both relieved and disappointed that Untouchable would not be present during the testing. “Will we be testing the antidote as well?” he asked.
“Only after the other testing is complete. John Doe has asked to be exempt from this part of the testing,” she replied, “If you would like, I can let you take a look at the heroes I selected. I have narrowed it down to three, but there is one you might be familiar with. If working with him will be a problem, I can change to someone else.”
Ms. Gale handed Ashton three profiles. The first two Ashton had never heard of, but the third he recognized immediately. RepliKtion, a fellow villain and victim of SI. While he did recognize him, they had never really interacted.
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“It shouldn’t be a problem,” Ashton decided, “We will participate in the testing.”
==========
Derrick, more commonly known as RepliKtion, had lost everything when SI fell. It would be one thing if he could leave his identity as a villain in the past and use his power for industry. Unfortunately, when the list of SI’s heroes and villains was leaked, his name was on it. With his identity fully exposed, no place worth working at was willing to hire him. It was as if the cushy life he had laid out for him at Superhuman Industries had all been a lie.
It truly had been the perfect opportunity before. All he had to do was play a fake villain on the side, and in return he was able to make powerful connections and prove the usefulness of his ability. Copying things might seem like a background ability at first, but after constant training and various classes covering craftsmanship, engineering, and design he was able to replicate complex machinery. If push came to shove, he could even assemble it from replicating the components rather than the finished product.
While playing a villain, he had used this trick to make fake bombs and other threatening weapons from nothing. When he saw the comments online about how terrifying he was, Derrick couldn’t help but feel proud. It wasn’t the role he had imagined, but he had played the part of a villain well. An important part meant to prevent real villains from emerging.
None of that mattered once SI crumbled. Derrick was painted as a crook and an attention hungry showman. All of his connections that he had worked so hard for disappeared in the blink of an eye. Even his government job of making backup copies of important evidence fell through. Why? Why did it matter that he had played a villain? It wasn’t like he had committed any real crimes. No one had gotten hurt and every weapon he had assembled on camera had been flashy and fake.
Just when he was about to lose all hope, Heroix reached out to offer him a contract to work for them. Derrick thought he saw the light at the end of the tunnel. If he was able to make a mark as a hero, his past as a villain on camera could be forgotten. Unfortunately, the work Heroix offered him was far from being a hero. Once again his power was turning into a show. A mockery. They had him dress up in ridiculous costumes and appear on game shows and interviews.
The hardest blow was when they pitched his very own show. RepliKtion Station, a TV show aimed at children. It was even complete with his very own magical hand puppet co-host, Copy Kitty. This was the final straw, but just as Derrick was about to throw away his train conductor hat and break contract he suddenly realized he couldn’t. It was as if some invisible power forced him to keep his word.
Then the message appeared. One look and he knew it was sent by the very same person that had trapped him in this prison of humiliation. “Do you want to sign a contract?” He deleted the message without a second thought, watching as those around him chose to take different actions. Something big was going to happen, he could feel it.
Before Derrick had a chance to get a grasp on the bigger picture, it was over. How did he know it was over? When he thought about breaking contract he didn’t feel that invisible tug. Nothing stopped him from skipping a shoot for RepliKtion Station’s season finale. Most of all, the return of missing family members and capture of the criminal behind the mass messaging scheme had already made it to the news.
Who? How? Why couldn’t he be the one to make a difference, to leave his mark? If following the path his ability laid out for him was this miserable, wouldn’t it be better to live without it? The mere thought of the furious faces of his overbearing bosses once they found out he was powerless filled Derrick with an odd sense of glee.
As if reaching out a hand of destiny, Derrick happened upon a posting asking for volunteers to participate in testing at Gale Research. Wasn’t that the name of the company behind the power suppression formula? Applying through Heroix wouldn’t work. They would never allow him to participate after making so much money off of his power.
Even if it might not work, it was worth a shot. Derrick quickly submitted a private application, reluctantly admitting when asked that his current affiliation was with Heroix. If he was never going to achieve his dream, he should at least be allowed to crush the dreams of those who tormented him, right?
