Chapter 53: Mission Simulation

"Sure, there is a public identity that connects us all," Null says, her shrill, distorted voice cutting through. "But that's part of the problem. We've entered an age where our sexuality has become central to our identities, the thing that defines us. We're all taught that what we do in bed and who we do it with is somehow deeply indicative of who we truly are. Yes, I am a woman who falls in love with other women and that is an immensely important part of my life, but I don't allow it to define all of who I am."

"And gender norms are even more ingrained into our senses of identity," Null says, turning to Asrid. "But maybe if Asrid hadn't felt such pressure to conform to the stereotype of what it means to be a man or a woman, he might have felt entirely differently about the body he was born with. Just because—"

"Oh, hold it right there, scary death lady," Asrid cuts in. "You might have some shiny words hidden under there, but don't you dare reduce gender dysphoria to some convenient soundbite. It's an issue that runs much deeper than that and—"

"Listen to me now," Travis says, because he had it with this display. "You're all acting like children. Look, we're all heroes. And we're all people, no matter what makes us different. We should be building each other up, not tearing each other down. And that's all that matters."

And as he finish, a hush falls over the room. Because everyone knows he's right.

"Let's just go get you a new bloody man-thong," Null sighs, grabbing Bearcat by the wrist and dragging him across the room. And as Null pulls Bearcat towards the door, Asrid moves out of the way, still avoiding eye contact.

But before Null can pull him away entirely, Bearcat stops and turns around, suddenly morphing into his massive state.

"I didn't meant to…" he tries, sighing deeply. "I'm just sorry, all right?"

And with that, he turns to go without waiting for a response.

Once Bearcat and Null are gone, Asrid makes hi way towards the door, too. But before he goes, he stops and turns one last time to say.

"Sometimes it's good to know wer're not alone, isn't it?"

Asrid looks from Travis to GG and GG smiles and flashes him a wink, right before he makes his own exit.

"Well my skaramoosh, I certainly know one thing after all this," GG says, rolling his way towards the door. "I'm mighty angry we can't use any of this footage for the show."

Following GG, Travis can't help but think that maybe that's for the best….

One day later.....

"I'm not sure what you mean," Travis says, sweat starting to drip down his back.

"Don't play dumb, Gravitate," Rebellion says, his eyes dead set on his. "We've been through too much together for that."

Travis look towards the door, wondering how long this will take. All of the Final 10 are supposed to be gathering in the Transport hangar for the next Mission, but Rebellion pulled him aside on his way downstairs.

"I'm not trying to get you in trouble—it's just that as the future American Protectors leader, I'm going to have to deal with these kinds of things all the time. So tell me the truth, how are you handling the transition to using your Unique Powers? I noticed that glitch back in the escape attempt at Phobus's castle."

Travis look at Rebellion and take a deep breath, deciding whether to tell the truth. There aren't any cameras around, so at least he doesn't have to worry about that, for now.

"I was advised to use my Unique Powers as little as possible, so that's what I've been doing."

"Well, we're certainly going to need you to use these Powers if you make the final roster, so you need to start displaying your ability to safely control your Unique Powers here and now," Rebellion says, reaching into his uniform. "Which is why I have this for you."

Rebellion presses an unmarked bottle of pills into Travis hands, causing questions to immediately pop into his brain.

"What are these?" Travis ask first.

"They're being dubbed Pump, a brand new drug meant to help Powered individuals manage their abilities better. Herologists are now finding that Pump is particularly useful with Unique Powers. The FDA is in the process of approving it, so these are a batch I secured from The Hero Project's Government contacts. Consider it one of the many perks of heroing at the top."

Crap—how had he not heard of this before? It seems like it could be the answer to all of his Unique problems. Though it seems rather sudden—unless solutions like this just always appear for the elite?

"So what will the pills do for me?" Travis ask next.

"Pump will help regulate your Unique Powers so that you can control them more completely. We are also giving Pump to The Crush, as part of the terms for his release and participation in The Hero Project," Rebellion continues. "They've been working wonders. Though of course, you can't ask The Crush about them—use is completely confidential. The same goes for you."

Well, that would explain why The Crush didn't mention this Pump to him during their brunch. Though maybe that's what he was fishing for, asking about his Unique Powers….

"Uh, shouldn't we check with a herologist?" Travis asks, since he hasn't seen the herologist since he entered the Finals. The schedule has kept him too busy, not that he really mind.

"The Hero Project staff herologist already approved it. Really, you'd be surprised how many heroes are already 'Pumping' privately….""

Travis look back at Rebellion and blink—this all seems way too good to be true.

"Calling Gravitate to the Transport hangar," the PA system rings out in Rebellion's suite.

"Listen, I know this might seem a bit out of the blue, but I just got the approval for you take the Pump this morning—we've been working on it for a while now. It's a big deal and quite the privilege, but you can't tell anyone about this, Gravitate. My reputation is on the line here too. But I want what's best for my team, always. So I'm happy to do this for you. Do you need a glass of water to take one?"

He has to get going, which means he have no time to think about this decision—is that what Rebellion wanted? Should he take the Pump? Is it safe? Rebellion certainly seems to think so….

And if he doesn't take the Pump, how will it affect hid relationship with Rebellion? Or his chances in the competition, since he is a judge? Besides, this could be the solution he has been hoping for….

"Gravitate," Rebellion says, placing a hand on Travis shoulder. "I need to know that you're with me. That you're loyal enough to follow my lead. Do you understand?"

Travis locked eyes with Rebellion and nod, because he understand perfectly….

"I really appreciate the offer... but no, I will not take this pill."

Rebellion shakes his head.

"I'm disappointed in you, Gravitate," Rebellion says, moving to leave. "I'll have to remember your lack of commitment when calculating my portion of your Leaderboard score today."

Crap. Crap, crap, crap, crap. That is not good news.

Still, he's not compromising what he feel is right for anyone. Ever.

On his way to the Transport hangar, he try to forget about the Pump pills by thinking about how this Mission was slapped together last-minute after Sunday's big news.

Since the Hoshi Group misfire left The Hero Project without a Mission for this week, the producers fell back on one of the originally-planned training Missions to be featured for Wednesday night's two-hour episode.

He'd rather be doing some real hero work, but he's determined to nail this challenge, no matter what it is.

Especially after his little meeting with Rebellion.

Sitting in the Transport, he look over a Mission dossier that has been handed to all the Finalists.

MISSION DIRECTIVES:

Team One: Gravitate, Null, Bearcat, Manbeast, Jury.

Team Two: Inherit, Asrid, Sky, The Crush, Lucky.

The opposing Team will be guarding a weapon of mass destruction. The Field Captain's goal will be to fight through four Levels of defense to shut down the weapon. All ten Finalists will get a turn to run their own Mission simulation and lead their Team as Field Captain.

This challenge is designed to see how well each Finalist understands his/her Teammates' strengths and weaknesses, as well as test each Finalist's field combat instincts. Leaderboard scores will be based on strategy, instincts, leadership, and combat skill.

Also, the primary objective is to lead your teammates—Field Captains are only to engage in combat themselves as a last resort.

Reading over the rest of the rules, he realize that the production team has designed this challenge almost like a video game—there will be four Levels to clear, each worth twenty Leaderboard points.

For each task, he can deploy one designated Team member at a time. He'll be in charge of what moves they make and he'll have to choose carefully, since it appears his Teammates will KO after two wrong moves. Plus, he'll also lose Leaderboard points for every wrong move he make.

Looking over the schedule, he sees that he's first up to run his simulation. So he looked over the dossier provided with his Team's Powers and abilities:

NULL

Attack Options: Fighting Skill, Mini Rocket Launcher, Knuckle Uzis (Rubber Bullets), Plasma Gun, Katana Swords, Assorted Explosives, EMP Pulse (Electromagnetic Pulse).

MANBEAST

Attack Options: Fighting Skill, Anti-Energy Knuckle Rings, Bow & Energy Arrows, Portable Pole Vault, Gymnastic Agility, Zip Line.

JURY

Attack Options: Fighting Skill, Surveillance Vision, Hovering.

BEARCAT

Attack Options (after size reversion): Smash Punches, Ground Quakes, Thunder Claps, General Durability/Human Shield.