4 The first supervillain.

James hadn't been outside of the tower since he first arrived so when he stepped out he was surprised to find that the sun was much brighter than he remembered. He quickly changed his helmet so that the face mask was tinted dark black. Before he left the tower, he debated his costume over and over. He knew from his own comic book buying habits that the best heroes always wore some kind of black costume with a high contrast symbol on it so that people could identify them and he could partially win just through his reputation. He also knew that it had to show off his muscles and be flexible enough that he could get into dramatic looking poses. He settled on a sleek carbon fiber armor plated outfit that offered the perfect amount of armor while maintaining flexibility and still being form fitted to his body. Under the armor plates was a full suite of Vanta black graphene. A rubbery substance that was two hundred times stronger than a similar sized piece of steel. On his chest, he decided on a bright red CBC logo.

After leaving the tower he decided to try his first flight. He had been debating with himself on the best way to accomplish flight. He could lift himself with telekinesis or he could create a solid piece of air under his feet and use it as a flying platform. He needed it to look good first and foremost because if anyone read his comic, he wanted it to look amazing. He created a solid platform of air including rails so he couldn't be knocked off easily and raised it up effortlessly and knew at once that it would look great from the ground.

His next task now seemed easy by comparison, he needed to find the villain. Before he left the tower he first broke into the police department's virtual private network or VPN and accessed their database and found that they had a suspect but couldn't find him. They had also guessed a few of his next targets and were actively staking them out. They suspected he was a purple so the department had their own ability users on standby just in case. The officers who were doing the stakeout only had to call the alarm and they would arrive shortly after. James decided the best thing to do was wait for the next police report of his activity and beat the police department to the scene.

As he floated over New City he started to stretch out his senses. His experiences rapidly climbed as he started to perceive more and more. He could make out the sounds and smells of city block after block. He saw a man being mugged in an alleyway, a boy being bullied by a group of children at a park. He saw cars being stolen and shops being robbed. He considered intervening in these small crimes but stopped himself and only worried about the crimes the police wouldn't be able to stop. He wasn't a beat cop, he was a superhero. That's when he sensed a disturbance in an office highrise. An entire floor of the building was filled with screaming voices, glass was shattering.

James floated down to the building and saw the floor in question. The man in the purple suit with horns on it held a man up by his shirt and tie and was monologuing, "You aren't laughing Brett? Wasn't it funny when I came home and found you fucking my wife? You threw me out of my own house and said I wasn't welcome there anymore. Then you had me fired for poor job performance and gross incompetence and didn't even give me unemployment while I was homeless and jobless. I am a monster? I am a freak? You brought me to the point of no return and then left me to die. Well, now I have the power. I have been paying them all back you know, anyone who ever slighted me. I saved you for last Brett. The man who ruined my life and turned me into a homeless loser."

James slowly floated in through the broken window he waved his hand and the glass restored itself as if it had never been broken. The Villain turned his head and asked, "Who the fuck are you? This is my business, keep out of it."

James chuckled and then said, "That apartment you blew up in midtown? Yeah, you ruined my comic book collection. So now you have to suffer the consequences."

The Villain looked at James's chest and asked, "CBC, is that for the corny black corpse?"

James frowned and then said, "Dude, no, it's... You know what, fuck this, just go to sleep." James caused the man's suit to constrict around him until he passed out. He walked over and created handcuffs and bound the man's hands behind his back and then scooped him up and walked towards the window. He turned to the man named Brett and said, "Stop being an asshole. You never know who you'll offend." Then he caused the window to open like a door and then close behind them as they seemed to slowly float away.

Brett's pants had an obvious wet spot on the front, he looked around and asked, "I'm not an asshole am I?" Everyone rolled their eyes and mumbled as they walked away from him.

James brought the purple horned villain back to the tower. When he walked into the lobby, the tall brutish looking man from the academics class gave him a slow clap and then asked sarcastically, "Comic book guy! Just what the hell are you carrying? Is that your new partner?"

James frowned and then said, "No one told me what to do with him. I could take him to the police or kill him I guess? I just didn't know what exactly my assignment was so I brought him back here."

The tall brutish man started to laugh and then said, "Comic book guy you are a definitely a hero. You obviously can't kill him. What does that leave?"

James frowned and then said, "I brought him back here to see if he can still be molded into someone useful. He committed some crimes, yes, but was he given the same opportunities that we were?" He turned his head to the right and asked, "What do you think Angela?"

Angela appeared next to James with a surprised look on her face, "How long have you known I was there?"

James chuckled and replied, "I started to practice my perception while I was in the air. I only recently noticed you. You hid very well, I noticed your scent though."

Angela smiled and then asked in coquettish voice, "Did you like it?"

James blushed and nodded. He then asked, "What do you think of giving this guy a chance first?"

Angela nodded and said, "You did well. I was happy with your decision. Sam, take the purple guy up to the first floor."

The tall brutish looking man nodded and dragged the purple villain to the elevator by his foot without being the slightest bit gentle.

Angela watched them enter the elevator before turning back to James. She looked him over and asked, "Well you fought your first villain, was it anticlimactic after your training?"

James nodded and said, "It was like you said, he was an ant."

Angela nodded and asked, "Mhm, do you feel like you are ready to be on your own, or would you like to keep climbing the tower?"

James looked up and then shook his head, "I can see the other floors already, I won't learn there. I need to practice in a place with more privacy. Someplace where I won't hurt anyone when I experiment."

Angela nodded and said, "I went to the dark side of the moon when I practiced. So no one would notice what I was doing. Captain Freedom, he's another red you haven't met yet, went to Mars and ended up being seen by a Chinese rover. That caused quite a commotion." She laughed happily. Then she thought for a moment and said, "I think Grrl Power, another red you haven't met, said she just went underground for her practice. I wouldn't recommend that though, too much room for error."

James nodded and then asked, "How many of us are there that you know?"

Angela smiled and said, "Ten. We killed two reds that turned to evil as well."

James frowned, "What did they do to deserve death?"

Angela looked James in the eye and asked, "If I said nothing at all, would you think less of me?"

James looked back and said, "You read their minds and saw something inside of them that must not be allowed to grow."

A tear rolled down her cheek and she nodded. She looked away and said softly, "One of them had plans to make himself the ruler of the Earth. The other one was my sister. She wanted to erase mankind for the animals to have the Earth back."

James let out a deep breath and then nodded, "I'm sorry, that was a tough decision to have to make." He looked around and then asked, "It's not a matter of if but when, isn't it?"

Angela nodded, "I sped up your training the way I did because we are going to need your help. I am going to need your help. I can't do this alone and the other reds, well, you'll understand after you meet them. Let's just say, we are different."

James thought about it and then asked, "The academics. They have power without knowledge, right?"

Angela looked surprised, "Yes, that's exactly it. Without taking the time to learn, they have just improved in the things they do best and know best. Captain Freedom is an athlete, for instance, while Grrl Power is an artist. They didn't try to learn more than what they were interested in so they are limited in what they can do with the power."

James rubbed his chin and then asked, "Haven't you thought of training them in the tower?"

Angela shook her head and replied, "I don't mean to imply they are weak, it's just that they have developed a way to use their power now. Asking them to change would be like trying to teach them to walk using their hands instead of their feet."

James nodded and then asked, "That does make sense, I think you also prefer to keep them flawed, don't you? Why did you take such a big chance with me?"

Angela ran her hand through her hair brushing it back and said, "I've seen the other world through your memories. I know that you were purposely chosen to be here. That alone made you intriguing. Aside from that, you have the ability to see the world the way I do. Your morality fits perfectly with my own."

James smiled and then asked, "Does that mean you are thinking about me as being the Red King?"

Angela laughed and then said in a serious voice, "Gross. You haven't even asked me on a date and you try to marry me?"

James opened his mouth unable to get the words out.

James made his way back up to his room in the tower. He picked out a comic book and started to flip through the pages as he lay back in his bed. As he read through it he started to understand the difference between how a comic book depicted action and how it worked here in reality. The speed of a real fight was so much faster than it could be depicted in a comic, anime or movie for one. The other thing that was different was the collateral damage. In comics and in the movies you never get to see how the aftermath is dealt with. In this world, there are entire companies dedicated to the clean up of superhero battlefields and supervillain destruction. After his own apartment was destroyed, he saw the builders practically lining up to start repairs.

James stretched out his senses once again and started to look for signs of trouble. Something was bothering him and he couldn't put a finger on it. He saw people in the tower training, he saw Angela sipping a coffee from the Butch Bros. He saw Sam berating he purple suited villain and then he went beyond the tower, to the streets around it. That's when he saw a man in a black trench coat smoking a cigarette. The man smiled at him and said, "It's not time for us to meet kid, you're too weak. Your girlfriend might be able to give me a decent fight, but it's not the time for her yet either. I'll be back." He waved his hand and disappeared in his place was an explosion big enough to cause the tower to sway. Angela sped out of the tower looking frightened. She landed next to the crater and started to repair the damage. James used his own mind to help her repair from the comfort of his room. He sent his thoughts to Angela along with the memory of the man who spoke to him.

Angela gasped, "I know him. He's someone that was supposed to have been killed by the government team. He calls himself Stan."

James nodded his head and then asked, "Wait, did you just say, Stan?"

Angela looked very serious, "Yes. Stan."

James smirked and then asked, "You're telling me that our arch nemesis is named Stan?" Angela nodded. James looked taken aback, "He doesn't even get a cool villain name like Baphomet, Baal, or Apocolypse or something? It's just Stan?"

Angela looked very upset, "Listen, the government lost three reds when they fought Stan. He's very dangerous. He's like us."

James rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Stan taught you, didn't he."

Angela nodded and then said, "Stan used to believe in doing good for the world, but then one night while he was watching cable tv news, he decided that humanity was too stupid and they needed something to rally against in order to survive. He is trying to become the evil that the human race rallies against. The government team had to attack him because he took a crap on the president's desk during the state of the union address." She frowned and then said, "Are you laughing? That's not funny."

James held up his hand and said, "Sorry, it was just a little funny. What else has he done?"

Angela sighed and then said, "He attacked the Superbowl because he said, 'The Patriots suck, get a different team to play this year.' in a drunken fit. He ended up ruining the game for everyone and they had to go without it. Not only that, but he also went to the San Diego comic con and punched some guy named Leifeld in the face for ruining the 90s."

James chuckled and said, "Yeah, those are all terrible crimes. Stan is a monster."

Angela frowned and then said, "It's not funny. He has really hurt a lot of people."

James nodded and said, "Don't worry, we'll keep training and get to a point where we can stop Stan."

Angela tapped her foot and said, "Stan being alive is not something you and I are equipped to handle. We'll need to contact America's Team."

James made a face and then asked, "The Dallas Cowboys?"

Angela looked exasperated with James and said, "No dummy, that's what the government team is called. America's Team."