The Superiors - Genesis

This is a prequel to my Superior universe stories, telling how it all began. Hope you enjoy

Two years ago, on an archaeological dig near Mt. Vesuvius:

“Dad! Come quick!”

“What did you find, Cat?”

Catherine Anderson sighed at her father’s use of the nickname, and then pointed down into the dig site, saying, “Am I dreaming, or is that a Roman Centurion’s armor?”

The middle-aged man looked at the gleaming armor that was slowly being uncovered.

“My goodness. Not only a centurion but a commander, I’m sure of it.” He practically shouted.

“Dad ... if he was caught in the eruption , shouldn’t there be remains? And that armor looks so fresh!” Catherine said while helping brush dirt off the armor.

“I don’t know. But please be careful.” His father replied.

“It looks so new ...” Catherine said, and reached out her hand to the breastplate,

Then she screamed as a bolt of electricity transferred from the armor to her hand.

****

For a moment, all Catherine was aware of was darkness. Then there was a mountain, with a massive Roman temple at the top. Inside, there was a statue of a man in Roman armor like the one she had uncovered.

Then the statue began to speak ...

Catherine had done some studying in Latin and ancient Greek before taking this trip, and she felt sure that the statue was not speaking in either of those languages, Before she could think about this much, the statue began speaking plain English.

It said, “Soldier, you are called to arms. Enemies are at the gate, you must take up your armor and spear. The fates have decreed only you can hold back the darkness, so to arms!”

Catherine felt her heart quickened, and she felt a need to volunteer, shouting “give me armor and weapons. I will fight for the light!”

Piece by piece, a Roman centurion’s armor formed around her body.

And at the same time her body changed ...

She felt herself growing larger, stronger.

And within moments, she knew without any doubt, that she was no longer a “she”.

He was a man.

A very powerful man, at that.

She (He, now) blinked and was once more on the mountainside, and his father was gaping at him.

“Cat?” his father asked with a stammer.

“Not anymore.” He growled in response.

“What’s happened to you?” his father asked.

“I’m finally who I always wanted to be.” He replied.

*****

A few days later, at a secret location.

An announcement goes out: “Gentlemen, the situation has changed. Please come to my home.”

Shortly, there was a gathering at an ancient castle in Germany.

The first to arrive was Lord Dark Flame, as he now called himself. He was followed by the creature known as Nightmare, and then two more, the mad scientist who had named himself Dr. Destructo, and the mage called Caster.

All of them were wary of each other, but even more wary of their host, Baron Richthofen, otherwise known as the Red Baron.

Which was one reason they had last gathered at his castle five years ago.

Then they had been five frustrated women, brought together by a hatred of their gender and of their lack of power.

But Alice Richtofen, as she was then known, had said she found a solution.

She gave each one a map to a place of power, and said, “Let us seek these powers out. If we are successful, we will have all of our desires met.”

And despite the terrible cost they had each paid, they were now everything they wanted to be, but the Baron was rumored to be the most powerful of them all.

He seemed to be utterly confident, and said, “Welcome back to my home. We have all changed a great deal in the last five years, have we not?’

Lord Dark Flame, who thought himself powerful enough to challenge their host if needed, replied, “I doubt you called us here to catch up on our progress. Why have you summoned us?”

“Ah, I see you are still too impatient to enjoy social niceties. Well, I will get to the point. It appears the world now has a superhero” The Baron stated, and showed a picture of the former Catherine in the Roman armor, calling himself Commander Ares.

“And we should agree on a strategy to deal with him.” he added.

Nightmare asked, “How certain are you that this ... superhero is for real? What powers does he have?”

The Baron responded, “Trace the magic of the world, and see for yourself the explosion of magic that has been added in the last few days. As for power, my research indicates he has received a boon from at least one god, perhaps more. I would not take this individual lightly, when you face him.”

“So what do you suggest we do?” Caster asked.

“I suggest we test this hero”. The Baron intoned.

‘How do we do that?” Dr. Destructo inquired.

“Actually I believe you would be ideal for the first test,” the Baron replied with a smile, “since your new name suggests some ability in making disasters?”

“My patron, Tezcatlipoca, is a god of storms, among other things” Dr. Destructo replied.

“You should let Nightmare and I take him.” Lord Dark Flame interjected, “He has the power of Azathoth, one of the Great Old Ones, and I burn with the flame of Surtur.”

“Be patient,” The Baron said, “We will all get a chance to display our new powers, But for our first test, the good doctor will do, although perhaps he would be amiable to having Caster join him?”

Caster blushed, and said, “the trickster Anansi gave me this wand, but I need more practice in controlling it.”

“Well, do your best.” replied the Baron.

“You know each of our patrons, but you have not shared yours,” Nightmare said, “If we are truly going to work together, there must be mutual trust.”

“I fully intended to share that with you,” The Baron replied, “My main patron is Prometheus, of the Titans.”

“All right, I’ll ‘test’ the hero first, Caster can help if he wants.’ Dr. Destructo said, “Anything specific you want?”

“No, do as you will. But I caution you, to not reveal yourself unless you must.”

“Why?” Dr. Destructo asked.

“I would like to keep him in the dark about our existence for as long as possible. As long as he doesn’t know of us, we have an advantage.”

Dr. Destructo nodded, and the meeting broke up.

Two days later, an enormous tidal wave was threatening the East Coast of the United States.

However, Commander Ares was more than equal to the task, and in the end, no lives were lost.

At his castle, Baron Richthofen watched the reports of the wave and the ease with which Commander Ares handled the matter. Sometime later he received a call from Dr. Destructo, who reported on the incident, and reassured his ally that it was a good first attempt, and next time perhaps Caster would be able to get his wand to work.

The young man formerly known as Kate was taking care of some business of his own. In the aftermath of destroying the tidal wave, he had discovered he could disguise his armor and look like a regular person, and in that form applied for and received a name change, deciding on Charles. He also was able to reconcile with his father, who quickly realized that his child was a much happier person as a boy than he’d ever been as a girl.

These moments led to Charles discovering another power, an ability to sense good-hearted people, and to encourage them in doing good. It wasn’t mind control, he could not make them do things, just inspire them, and it had no effect on evil individuals whatsoever.

He had just gotten his private life settled when Caster struck.

He had created an army of “mud-men” from the banks of the Mississippi river, and sent them squishing towards St. Louis. Conventional forces had no luck in stopping them, as bullets simply passed right through the mud.

When he arrived, Commander Ares used an ability he had discovered dispersing the giant tidal wave, a kind of tactical sense, an ability to analyze a situation and find the best solution in a matter of seconds.

In this case, the solution involved his shield, which not only deflected bullets, but had the ability to disrupt magic.

So putting the shield in front of his body, he barreled towards the mud creatures, and with each hit he disrupted the magic animating them until there were none left.

Caster had managed to make himself scarce by the time Commander Ares finished, and for a while, things went back to normal.

Then, Nightmare took a turn.

He had Lord Dark Flame create an inferno, to draw Commander Ares out, and then he sent the hero into what he called the nightmare realm, a place between Earth and the home of the Great Old Ones.

Commander Ares might have been in trouble, but not long after he was sent to the nightmare realm, someone arrived to save him, a sorcerer who called himself The Doctor of Magic.

Together they sent Nightmare and Lord Dark Flame running, and then spent some time getting to know each other. The Doctor of Magic told him about being a girl, who found the eye of Odin, and with it became a sorcerer, powerful, serene ... and male.

Commander Ares realized that there was a group of villains opposing him, and even with the help of The Doctor of Magic, he needed more aid. He shared an idea he had for dealing with extraordinary threats, and the Doctor of Magic liked the idea, and they began working on it together.

The two of them made a televised appeal for the best and the brightest to come to New York harbor, where they were building a headquarters which Commander Ares called “The Compound”, and would be on a small island near Nantucket that the Doctor of Magic’s family owned.

While their enemies seemed to be laying low, the two of them spent time building the headquarters and hiring staff, and in a remarkably short time, the place was nearly ready, but Commander Ares said to the Doctor of Magic, “We’re doing well, but we are only two against who knows how many enemies with powers.”

“Don't worry about that,” the Doctor replied. My magic tells me we will have others with superpowers on our side, and soon.”

“Let’s hope they will be able to help out quickly. Our foes have been quiet too long.” the Commander stated.

“Time will tell.” The Doctor of Magic intoned.

The beginning ...

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