Chapter 1 - The Gathering Storm
Abby stared at the list of names glumly. "We're just not ready," she said with a sigh. If Cal decides to come at us now, we just don't have the firepower to take him on."
"I know", Cherry replied. "The fact is we lost most of our most powerful heroes in the explosion, and the ones that weren't lost were scattered to the four corners of the earth. A few have returned, but not nearly enough to deal with the likes of Caliente."
Abby went back to the file containing all the threatening communications they'd received from Caliente over the past few months. Most of them were pretty cryptic, but the last one was alarming - a picture of gravestones over empty graves. The names were blacked out, but the date was specific - October 29, 2021. He was planning something for the 1st anniversary of the new Heroes.
"We've got to figure out what he's planning", Abby Remarked. "I'm sure two of those graves are reserved for you and me. It's no secret we're the ones he's gunning for".
"Well, we're not going to learn anything new from that file", Cherry responded. We're just tying ourselves up in knots, which is precisely what he wants. Who knows, maybe it's just a big mind game, and he's not really planning anything."
"Oh, come on, Cherry, get real. This is the person who single-handedly destroyed the original club and killed many people in the process - people we knew and loved. And he's had years to plan this. Saying this is just a mind game is just wishful thinking."
Cherry sighed. "Yeah, I know you're right. But sometimes, you need wishful thinking to get yourself ready for what's coming."
Suddenly Beth burst into the room with Cait right behind her.
"Good, thank god you're both here!" Beth exclaimed. "Hold on to your hats because I've got some new information that changes everything!"
End Chapter 1
Chapter 2 – Caliente
He stood, stroking his thick grey beard, looking out from his floor to ceiling window across the land he now owned.
Behind him sat a young woman, naked, curled up on the bed, reading the story.
""They still blame me,"" he said, not looking back, ""after all this time, they still blame me.""
""Have you not told them?"" she asked, looking back to him.
The man turned to face her, ""I tried. They didn't want to listen. They chose their scapegoat and ran with it.""
""And now they've they've re-opened?""
""Yeah,"" he looked off into the distance, ""and the real villain is still out there. They have no idea how much danger they're in.""
""Why do you even care?"" the woman asked, ""They convicted and sentenced you without so much as reaching out to you. They took everything at face value and blamed you without even giving you a chance to defend yourself. Let them find out the hard way how wrong they were and are.
""You are right,"" he said, ""but that is from a business point of view. For me, the truth is important. And them restarting reminds me that somewhere, out there, is someone who has framed me and is getting away with it. And, I want my life back."" he said firmly.
End Chapter 2
Chapter 3 - Turnabout
"Oh, come on, Beth, you don't seriously expect us to believe this nonsense?!" Abby exclaimed. After all these years, you expect us to believe that Cal was framed and is actually innocent? We SAW him pull the lever. We HEARD him tell us he was going to do it. Framed my ass, he's as guilty as Capone".
"Hear me out", Beth replied calmly. "Believe me, I wouldn't even bring this up unless I was pretty damn sure it was true. When Cal reached out to me originally, I felt exactly the same way you did. But I decided to hear him out, and the more I listened, the more what he said made sense." After a dramatic pause, Beth continued." Now think back to the night of the last party. I know it's painful, but this is important. I had spoken to Cal right before the explosion. If you remember, Cal was wearing his Hero costume that night, as most of us were. Now think back to when he was monologuing just before he pulled the switch. He was in street clothes. Why would he change out of his Heroes costume and get into street clothes just to blow the place up? It doesn't make any sense."
"Ok fine", Cherry grunted" I'll grant you that's strange, but like Abby said, it was him. We all saw him."
"Did we?" Abby said with an uncertain look, "Or was we manipulated into thinking that's what we saw?"
"Oh come on, Abby, don't tell me you're buying this malarkey", Cherry snorted. "We all saw him with our own eyes. It was him. It couldn't have been anyone else."
"No, there is one other possibility," Abby said thoughtfully. She looked at Beth intently. "A shape shifter?" she asked softly.
"A Shape Shifter". Beth replied definitively.
"This is all theory and conjecture", Cherry replied. I don't see a shred of evidence here to prove this wild theory. All I see is a master villain trying to throw us off guard before he drops the hammer on us".
"Agreed," said Beth, "So let's get some then."
"And how exactly are we going to do that?" asked Cherry.
"Well," Beth said, "Shape Shifters emit a unique form of radiation that has a half-life of 20 years. I have a device that can be configured to detect this radiation. If we go back to ground zero, then we should be able to tell definitively if he was, in fact, a shapeshifter."
"Jesus Christ, how do you know all this crap?!" Cherry replied, a shocked expression on her face.
"I'm Beth", Beth replied with a wink.
End Chapter 3
Chapter 4 - Ghosts
Caliente thought back to that fateful week; he would never forget.
This was to be the final party, the swansong for Heroes 1.0. After the party, everyone would take some time off while Ro finished building the new club. There had been talks of just calling it a wrap and closing the club, but that wasn't what everyone wanted. So plans were made for a final bash in the old club, and then it was to be on to Heroes 2.0.
Then came the night of the party. So many people were there, people who, in some cases, had not been to the club for years. Some who just occasionally popped by, people who Caliente had not seen in a long time.
There was E, another member of the English Mafia that had been a big part of the club. In one of her usual skimpy outfits, Becky was there, showing off her body and drumming up business for her stripping job. There were Codi and Ricca, Second Life's power couple.
As the party went on, there was dancing and frivolity. Caliente's mouth hurt from laughing so much, waving enthusiastically to everyone. He then saw Beth out the corner of his eye. He walked over to her.
"It's all so sad," she said, "I can't believe it's coming to an end."
"Well, hopefully, the new club will be even better," Caliente said, standing beside her.
"You think so?"
"Who knows," he said, smiling warmly at her, "Abby doesn't seem keen; she seems more interested in her fashion business now."
"Well," Beth said, "it pays the bills."
Caliente smiled. Beth was always good for small talk, but she was not someone he knew well. She was in the Australian time zone, and it was not often they saw each other.
"I just need to go see something over there," Beth said politely before moving away. She was always shy but always around.
"That's ok," Caliente responded, "I need to make a pit-stop anyway."
Cal walked around the corner towards the men's room, but suddenly he felt a prick in his neck, and then everything went dark. When he awoke, he was alone in a dimly lit room in what looked to be a basement. He was alone, but there was a note pinned to the door:
"Caliente... by the time you read this, Heroes will be gone, all of your friends will be dead, and you will be blamed for it. As much as I'm going to enjoy watching that club burn, I'm going to enjoy watching you go down for it even more. You're all getting what you deserve, and you deserve the worst of all."
The paper must have been treated with a chemical that reacts to human skin because it burst into flames shortly after he finished reading it.
When he emerged from the basement, his life had been changed forever. Precisely as the note had said, the club had been destroyed. Many heroes, his friends, had been killed. And he was being blamed.
There was no choice; he had to go on the run; it was the only chance he had to figure out who was behind this and prove his innocence.
Suddenly Cal snapped back to the present. That's it, he said to himself. Abby and Cherry would never listen to him; they were too emotionally damaged from it. But there was one person he could reach out to that was just close enough to him to listen and just distant enough to maybe actually believe him - Beth.
End Chapter 4
Chapter 5 - Ground Zero
Cherry and Abby braced themselves for the trip back to ground zero. They had not been back to that spot since the explosion destroyed the club and killed many beloved heroes. If they'd had a choice, neither of them would have gone back there ever again. But this had to be done. They had to know. And if what Beth suspected turned out to be accurate, they owed Cal a colossal apology.
They had rallied the troupes for the ground zero excursion. Becky was there in a typical leggy outfit. Of course, Cait and Beth were there, and Super was there, powered up and ready for action. Cherry felt better having her super-sis there with them. If this turned out to be a trap, they'd need her firepower!. Even Ranos had come along. Ranos had taken a much more active role in the new club, helping with scripting and even tending the club's sheep! Cat and Annie had come along for moral support, and even Wyn was there, her blond hair glistening in the sun.
Cal was already on-site when they got there. Cherry and Abby stared at him with a mixture of distrust and hopefulness. Cal stared returned the stare with a deadpanned look that conveyed neither emotion nor malice.
"I had never wanted to come back to this place again," Abby said finally.
"None of us did", replied Cal. Cherry shot him a sharp look but remained silent (undoubtedly one of the signs of the apocalypse!)
"I'm hungry," said Ranos vaguely.
"Ok, let's do it," said Beth, rolling her eyes at Ranos. "I need to calibrate the Teslamagitron to detect the hyperstatic radiation emitted by shapeshifters when not in their natural form. This will require me to adjust the quantum flux to..."
"OH MY GOD! JUST SHUT UP AND DO IT!" Cait interrupted.
Beth snickered a little; she just loved to get Cait's goat. "Ok, give me a minute."
"How long is this going to take?" Becky questioned. "I have a show tonight. Why do you guys always schedule these things on the nights my biggest tippers are around?" She grumbled.
"Don't worry, Sis, we'll have you back in plenty of time to take your clothes off and shake your ass," Cherry said sarcastically.
"Oh, shaddup shortie.". Becky sniffed. "Here, why don't you stand on this box when you talk so we can see you?"
Cherry glared but didn't respond.
Cal smiled a little despite himself. He had missed this.
"Ok, we're ready. We've got a problem, though. The area of the club I need to inspect was completely buried by rubble in the explosion; we can't get to it."
"There's no need to fear; Supersexx is here!" Super responded confidently.
Ranos rolled his eyes. "Can't anyone in this group do anything without making goofy cliches?"
"Nope!!" Super snickered. Hang on, I'll have that cleared out in a jiffy.
****** One Jiffy Later ******
"Ok, Beth, that should do it."
"Thanks, Super" Beth smiled. "Ok, here we go. Let's see, Ionizing ramistat up 2 points... Flux Capacitor minus 3..."
"I swear I'm going to pan her", Cait muttered.
"Almost got it..." Beth said, ignoring Cait. "There! That's it; there's no question about it; that is the signature of a shapeshifter. That proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Cal's story is true. He was not the one who blew up the club; it was a shapeshifter disguised as Cal that did the deed."
"Cal... I don't know what to say," Abby said tearfully. "We all thought... I mean, it was you. we..."
"It's ok, Abby", Cal cut her off. "What else COULD you have thought? If I'd been in your shoes, I'd have thought it was me too".
"Cal, I'm so sorry!" Cherry cried, running over to Cal and hugging him. "I don't know how we can ever make this up to you",
"Well, Cherry Hugs is a good start" Cal smiled.
"Ok, this is all really sweet and all, and that's great Cal, I'm happy you're not a mass murderer, but do I have to remind everybody that in some ways, this leaves us even worse off than before?" Becky exclaimed. "At least before we knew who we were facing. Now we have no idea, and even worst than that, it's an enemy that can impersonate any of us. I don't see how this leaves us in a better position than we were before."
"Well, I can modify the Teslamagitron to project a protective field around the new club that will nullify the hyperstatic radiation and instantly force the shapeshifter into his natural form should he enter the club". Beth said confidently.
"Of course you can." Cait sighed, rolling her eyes.
"As for not knowing who we're up against, you're wrong; we know exactly who it is. As you all know, shapeshifting was banned at the club. Yet, when I retrieved the club records from the cloud, I found that there was one known shapeshifter who ignored the rules and frequently came to the club in different forms."
"Oh my God!" Exclaimed Abby as the realization set in.
"Yup", Continued Beth. "There's only 1 person it could be. You might remember him coming to the club in his Stitch form, but his natural form was..."
"iSalbot, aka Sal!" Abby gasped.
Beth nodded.
A collective chill went through the entire group. Things had just gotten a whole lot worse.
End Chapter 5
End Chapter 6
Chapter 7 - Defcon-1
The next day the entire Heroes staff met at Heroes to discuss strategy and next steps. Cal and Ranos joined them. Super was conspicuously absent.
"While I'm thrilled beyond description that Cal is innocent", Abby Began, "We can't afford to let our guard down now. That maniac is still out there, and who knows what he's going to try next".
"Well, if he tries anything at the one year, he'll fail", Beth responded confidently. "I've got this place locked down. If he so much as shows his face here, we'll nail him".
"I wish I shared your confidence", Abby replied. But this guy is nuts; there's no telling..."
Just then, Abby's phone alert went off, indicating an incoming text. Abby scanned the text quickly, then looked up at the group. "This is bad", She announced finally. "He knows we know it was him. And worse than that, he's got Super. He's probably got her chained up in a super-secret dungeon somewhere".
"Oh my god, don't jump to conclusions!" Becky said intently. "How do you know he's got her chained up somewhere? What, did you suddenly become psychic or something?"
Well, because it says here, "I've got her chained up in my super-secret dungeon", Abby replied flatly.
"Well, why didn't you just say that in the first place?" Becky muttered.
"He must have discovered her one weakness", Cherry stated glumly.
"Kryptonite?" Inquired Ranos?
"What? No. You've been watching too much TV." Cherry Responded sharply. "Super's weakness is Rap Music. He must be piping it in non-stop to wherever he's holding her captive; it's the only way he'd be able to hold her."
The group gave a collective shudder at the thought of being chained up in a dungeon and forced to listen to Rap music.
"It gets worse", Abby sighed. "Here, I'll just read it directly":
"So you finally figured out that Caliente is innocent. And it only took you what, 7 years? And you call yourselves Heroes. What a joke. I thought I was going to die of boredom before you figured it out. Well, now that you finally have, the real fun can start. I thought about attacking you at your 1-year party. Still, that would be too easy, and I can't be bothered defeating the weak security measures Beth has implemented there."
Beth frowned but said nothing. Abby continued...
"No, I'm not going to make a sneak attack; I'm going to come after you straight on. I've had 7 years to build my army, and I'm going to enjoy watching you all get slaughtered in open combat. And best of all, you're going to have to take me on without your most powerful champion. I've captured Supersexx, and I've got her chained up in my super-secret dungeon. You'll never find her, and even if by some miracle you do, it won't matter. Even with Super, you don't have a chance. Get ready. Your end is coming."
"That's it," Abby said sullenly. "That's all of it".
The Heroes sat in silence for several seconds trying to digest what Abby had read to them, then finally Beth broke the silence. "Fine then. If it's a fight he wants, it's a fight he's going to get," She said determinedly.
"Beth, he's had 7 years to build his army," Abby said, the tension in her voice, "We've got what you see in this room, and not much else. Without Super, I don't think we have a chance."
Beth smiled. "There's always a chance, Abby. I'd bet my life on the people in this room. But we need to move fast. We'll have to split up. Abby, I need you and Cal to alert both the Heroes and Infinity groups. Get every able-bodied hero to suit up and be ready to stand with us. Ranos, get busy preparing the sheep; we're going to need them! Cherry, I want you and Becky to reach out to the other Hero sims and see if you can get us some additional firepower.
"Jeez, who died and made her Queen?" Becky muttered.
"Oh, hush Sis", Cherry responded. She IS the builder and principal owner of the club after all."
Beth ignored the bickering sisters and continued. "Cait, you've got the most important job of all. You're our best investigator, so I need you to find out where he's holding Super. She won't last long being forced to listen to Rap music 24/7, so you'll have to move fast.
"Yeah, right", Cait grunted. "No pressure or anything..."
"You can do it," Beth said confidently. Take Cat, Annie, and Wyn with you for support. Take Fuzzbutt as well, if you can find him. Go bring back our girl. I'll get to work in my lab and see what new defenses I can come up with."
"Ok guys, that's about it," Beth said finally. "iSal has declared war on us, and we're at Defcon-1. I know it seems impossible, but I'm telling you, if we all succeed at our individual missions, we can beat him. That's all I've got. Via Con Dios, my friends. Go with God.
Beth turned and walked over to the elevator to her lab and disappeared without another word. One by one, each member of the group turned silently and headed out to start on their missions. They had no idea when they'd all see each other again. When, or if.
End Heroes Infinity: A New Beginning - Book 2
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Hi Guys, this is Cherry! I hope you enjoyed the second entry in our little Heroes saga. I know I had a lot of fun writing it! I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for supporting us over the past year. We've had a lot of cool stuff this year, including the RFL weekend, two new venues, lots of new sheep, and Alex, the Seal! I hope you'll keep coming around to find out what happens to our Heroes in the final chapter of our story. (Which will probably be out for the 2 year, but maybe sooner if I get motivated :)).
In the meantime, Thank you again for all of your love and support from the entire Heroes Staff:
Beth: DJ, Builder, and Owner
Cait: DJ (Currently on Injured Reserve), Panner, and Owner
Cherry: DJ, Story Writer, and Owner
Abby - Principal sponsor and DJ
Becky - DJ
Super - DJ
Kitty - DJ (Currently MIA, and we miss her terribly!)
Annie - Host
Cat - Host
Wyn - Host
Fuzzbutt - Host (when we can find him!)
