Accidental Hero (Jack Blank Adventure) (7 page)

“Welcome home,” he said.

Once Jack had had a moment or two to fully appreciate the mind-boggling view that was the Imagine Nation, it sunk in very quickly that he was headed straight for the world’s biggest waterfalls. Unless someone plotted a new course in the next few minutes, it wouldn’t be the only thing to sink very quickly.

“Permission to take the helm, Captain?” Blue asked.

“Permission granted!” Jack said, immensely relieved.

Blue stepped into Jack’s place at the wheel of the
ship, and Jazen reached out his hand. “Fine work, Jack!” Jazen said, giving Jack a vigorous handshake. “That was impressive. Very impressive!”

“You mean it?” Jack asked.

“Are you kidding? You went straight through the heart of a white squall! Are you sure you’ve never captained a ship before?”

“I’m sure,” Jack said.

“Okay, I’ll take your word for it,” Jazen replied. “Blue, how we doing?”

“All back full,” Blue said, reversing the ship’s engines. “Activating tangital control panel now.”

Blue flipped a switch, and Jack heard a series of beeps as several keyboards and display screens started appearing all around him. They were all semitransparent images projected in luminous reds, blues, and greens. Jack thought they were more holograms like the TV inside the ship, but when Blue started hitting their buttons, the images didn’t ripple—they clicked. They were solid.

“Cool, huh?” Blue said, noticing Jack’s fascination. “These are tangitals. Tangible digital images. They’ve got
all the computing power of your basic tech, but they take up less space because they’re holograms. We call ’em Hard-Light Holos for short.”

Jack reached out to touch the controls. “Can I?” he asked.

“Be my guest,” Blue replied. “Hit that one.”

Jack hit the button that Blue had indicated, and a woman’s voice announced, “
HOVER MODE ENGAGED
.” On the main display screen a schematic of the
Vision
appeared with sections of the ship’s hull extending outward. Jack watched in wonder as hatches on the ship’s extended panels slid open to light up with a blue glow, and the ship began to rise above the water. Once the ship was a good foot and a half clear of the relentless current, the holo-computer issued an alert beep and the woman’s voice declared, “
HOVER MODULES FULLY DEPLOYED.”

Jack marveled at the futuristic technology all around him. “Minor modifications, you said?” he asked.

Jazen shrugged. “More or less.”

“Is this how we’re going to get across the falls?”

Jazen shook his head. “The HoverPanels can only lift us about two feet off the ground. They have to be close to
the surface or they won’t work. We’re going to need help to get across.”

“FriendShips at ten o’clock,” Blue said.

Jack looked across the water and saw two small ships flying toward them. They were pod-shaped one-wing aircrafts, each with only enough room for one pilot. As they got closer, Jack could see a powerful mechanical arm below each wing.

The glow of the tangital communication display grew brighter than the other controls, and an official-sounding voice crackled over the radio.

“FriendShips
Beta
and
Zulu,
hailing crew of the
Vision.
Welcome home, Emissary Knight. Do you require an escort?”

Jazen tapped a holographic button to address the incoming pilots. “Thank you, gentlemen, that would be fantastic. We’re ready whenever you are.”

“Very good, sir,” the voice replied, and the FriendShips swooped in and lined up next to the
Vision,
one on each side. The robot arms under their wings latched on to the ship and locked down tightly.

“Here we go,” Jazen said as the FriendShips fired up
their engines and lifted the
Vision
high into the sky. Within seconds they were flying the boat through the air like birds gliding on a breeze.

“We call them FriendShips because they carry you wherever you need to go,” Jazen explained as they soared through the sky. “There it is up ahead. Empire City, capital of the Imagine Nation. That’s where we’re headed.”

Twilight was setting in, and Jack got a good look. It was the most unusual city Jack had ever seen or even imagined. It was built on a hill that ran right up to the cliffside edge of the floating island, and Jack could see what Jazen had meant when he said that people brought their own cultures and styles with them when they came here. Looking at Empire City was like looking at six cities crammed into one. Jazen called out the different boroughs of Empire City, describing them for Jack as they made their approach.

There was Galaxis, the futuristic spaceport, home to aliens from across the cosmos and beyond. Directly above that was Karateka, a singular fusion of modern and ancient China, where kung fu masters trained in martial arts disciplines long forgotten by the outside world. On the opposite side of the city the walls of Varagog guarded
gothic castles, medieval villages, and ancient magic. Behind that stood the mysterious and ever-changing borough of Cognito, where the streets had no names and the residents answered no questions. Higher still were the smooth-lined towers of Machina, shimmering with data bytes and binary code messages that only the androids who lived there could read. And in the center of Empire City, towering over the wide expanse of SeasonStill Park and the majestic monuments of Hero Square, were the mighty skyscrapers of Hightown, the tallest buildings in the world. As the evening sky took on a shade that was equal parts purple, red, and pink, the shining towers of Hightown responded with an opalescent reflection that was so beautiful, it seemed to be singing the next verse in the sky’s favorite song.

This was Empire City, capital of the Imagine Nation, and Jack’s new home.

Below the edge of the city, built into the rocky underside of the island, was a hangar bay large enough for a thousand ships to land. The FriendShips pulled the
Vision
in safely, and Jack was finally there. It was an exhilarating moment. The Friendship escorts disengaged and waved
good-bye as a team of men in blue and gray jumpsuits rushed out to load the
Vision
into HoverStorage. Jack jumped down from the deck of the ship as the flight crew carted the
Vision
off for safekeeping. He couldn’t stay inside the ship a second longer. He was too excited to stay inside of anything now that he had one foot in a whole new world.

“Holy cow,” Jack said, looking around in wonder.

The flight deck was filled with all manner of space-age shuttles, ultramodern fighter jets, and flying saucers. Everywhere Jack looked, there were men and women wearing skintight supersuits and other brightly colored costumes complete with capes and masks. They were flying off into the sky and landing under their own power, and that was just the beginning.

There were people wearing jet packs. There was a boy creating discs of light out of thin air and then throwing them like Frisbees at his little brother until his mother told him to stop. There was a man made out of electricity talking to a woman made out of solid rock. There was a ninja warrior arguing with a futuristic robot about a parking space. The myriad powers of everyone on the crowded
flight deck were impossible to discover in a single glance around. Jack stopped dead in his tracks, hypnotized by the sight of it all. Jazen snapped his fingers to get his attention and keep him moving.

“Jack. Jack, you okay?”

Jack snapped out of his daze. “I don’t believe it.”

“If that were true, you wouldn’t be here,” Jazen replied.

“Is everyone here a superhero?” Jack asked.

“Not everyone,” Jazen replied, leading the way through the hangar. “Remember, you don’t need superpowers to find the island, you just need to believe. But you name it, we’ve got it. Ninjas, sorcerers, aliens… even a few so-called ‘regular’ people. Emissaries like me are supposed to bring the gifted here to the Imagine Nation, but not every gift is a superpower, Jack. Not every superpowered person decides to become a superhero, either.”

“They become supervillains?” Jack guessed.

“I try not to use that term,” Jazen said. “There are some real villains out there, sure—people who use their powers to do whatever they want, no matter who gets hurt. But some people who get labeled as supervillains are just misunderstood. Not everyone’s looking to take over the world.”

“Some people just don’t want to be heroes, either,” Blue added. “That’s okay; it’s a lot of pressure being a hero. Some people would rather just go on about their lives, like Gramps here.” Blue gestured toward an old man carrying around a two-ton jet, looking for a parking space.

“Coming through!” the old man grumbled as he pushed past them.

As Jack, Blue, and Jazen walked to the other end of the flight deck, glowing letters that took the place of signs started scrolling through the air around them. They flashed out the words
HALL OF RECORDS
in an endless loop. Jack followed the signs through the cavernous hall. As he neared the other end, Jack noticed several flying surveillance cameras skittering about in the air. Eventually, they scurried over to him. Each one was about the size of a winged football, with “SmartCorp” written on the side in shiny blue lettering.

“Blue. SmartCams,” Jazen said, pointing to the flying cameras.

“I see ’em,” Blue said, reaching out to shove one away. “Go bother somebody else,” he muttered as the SmartCam
skidded through the air and bumped into one of its compatriots.

“Sorry, Jack, these things are everywhere lately,” Jazen explained. “They’re really annoying.” The SmartCam whirred around them with a series of angry, offended beeps, but kept its distance as they rode a turbolift up to the records room.

The Hall of Records was carved deep into the rocky interior of the island’s base, and was even more crowded than the flight deck. It was a customs and security checkpoint just like in an airport, except instead of bustling tourists and passengers, it was jam-packed with super-humans, robots, and aliens. There were giants who were bigger than Blue waiting in line next to monsters and people with four arms. The ceiling must have been at least a hundred feet high, and Jack looked up to see superpowered fliers waiting in midair lines. Words continued to flow through the air, blinking out directions like
RESIDENT ALIENS, RETURNING CITIZENS,
and
SECURITY CHECKPOINT.
Everyone was producing paperwork and going through security checks. There were big, transparent X-ray panels at the head of each line for people to step behind, and
Jack could see right through to people’s skeletons.

Jack and the others navigated the crowd past winding lines of people, as well as advertisements that flashed off the walls like pop-up banners from the Internet, calling
OUT SMARTCORP: BRINGING YOU TOMORROW… TODAY!
and
SMARTCORP: THE FUTURE
is
NOW
! Jazen led the way through the great room with a swagger, and Blue swatted away SmartCams that buzzed around like gnats. They made their way to a completely empty line next to the words
NEW VISITORS.

The podium at the head of the line stood empty. Jazen hit a signal light, requesting service. “You see how many new visitors we get these days, Jack? We don’t even staff the line anymore,” he said, shaking his head. “Let’s get started on the paperwork while we wait.” Jazen gestured to a row of glowing forms floating next to the line and snatched one from the air. When his hand touched it, it turned into a solid piece of paper with a blinking cursor flashing on the page.

“What’s that?” Jack asked.

“SmartPaper,” Jazen said. He showed Jack an immigration form with blank spaces for Name, Code Name,
Age, Date of Birth, and other similar information. “It’s like a computerized sheet of paper. It’s just as thin as regular paper, but you can edit it like it’s still on a computer screen. You can highlight stuff, delete things, change fonts, whatever you want. It’s another tangital. Smile!” Jazen said, holding the page up like a camera in front of Jack’s face. A light flashed and Jack’s head-shot was inserted directly into the top-right corner of the form.

“This is awesome!” Jack said, grabbing the paper to check it out. The back of the page read “Another SmartCorp innovation.”

“What’s SmartCorp?” Jack asked.

“The biggest company in the world,” Jazen answered. “They do business all around the globe, but under a lot of different fake names. You’d be amazed at who some of their front companies are. Tangitals and Hard-Light Holos were invented by the owner of the company, a man named Jonas Smart.”

“He also invented HoverPads, SmartCams, MagLev roads, and a ton of other things,” Blue added. “In addition to being the senior member of Empire City’s Inner
Circle, he also runs SmartCorp. These days, that means he pretty much runs Empire City.”

“He must be a genius,” Jack said. “Do you think I’ll get to meet him?”

“Probably sooner than you think,” Blue said, looking at Jazen. The expression that Jazen returned silenced the giant.

Jazen tried to fill out the form for Jack but couldn’t put in much. He didn’t know Jack’s real last name, birthday, or any family information. However, there was one section that they could try to figure out on their own: the description of superpowers.

“I don’t know,” Jack said, still somewhat skeptical. “Trust me, I’ve spent a lot of time reading comic books and thinking about superpowers. A
lot
of time. If I had any powers myself, I think I’d know about it.”

“Not necessarily,” Jazen explained. “Especially at your age. Depending on the power, you probably wouldn’t even be deliberately controlling it. But in times of stress, excitement, or fear… there are flare-ups.”

Jack thought about it for a minute. He had to admit, that did sound like him.

“You said weird stuff happens around you,” Blue said. “Weird like what? Weird like this morning with the Rüstov?”

“No, nothing like that,” Jack said. “Machines act funny around me—that’s it. Maybe I make them break and stuff?”