Page 31 of Seductive Architect
Hudson continued eating as if he hadn’t stumbled his way from the shadows into enlightenment. Had he been reading Vanguard’s trash rag? Most considered it sensational news and made-up stories. They weren’t entirely wrong, but each one had a kernel of truth.
“Or about Vanguard’s politicians endorsing a super-soldier program.”
I stared, hoping for a physical response. Not only did he ignore the comment, he devoured pizza as if he had never eaten before. Since we were on the topic, I wanted to dance around the real reason I asked him out… or at leastoneof the reasons.
“I think Synergy is involved,” I said before finishing my slice.
Hudson grew quiet while he chewed. His eyes were fixed on the remaining pizza as if he were trapped in a memory. The humming from him was almost inaudible over all the video games in the arcade. Unlike them, I still couldn’t speak directly with his code. It could be encrypted, or processed faster than my powers could handle. I wanted to growl and push my way through. I could trade jokes with the most sophisticated computers in the world, but Hudson? My abilities didn’t compete.
“It wouldn’t surprise me,” he said.
That caught my attention. He didn’t deflect or sidestep the possibility. “Why do you say that?” If I were him, I’d be throwing out red herrings, hoping to lead me away from the trail.
“They’re working on tons of projects to explain superhero abilities. Not all the scientists working there are…nicepeople. They’re smart, but not nice. I’m shocked more of them haven’t experimented on themselves.”
“Who wouldn’t want superpowers?” The conversation got dangerously close to home. If Arthur heard, he’d chew his nails in fear of me spilling the beans. “I’m more worried that they’re developing soldiers with powers. Not everybody loves Vanguard’s heroes.”
“Too bad for them. They’re kind of awesome.” Holding the pizza in one hand, his other dipped under the table.When he produced his phone, he clicked open the HeroApp™ and scrolled through his hero gallery. “And I think I found a new one.”
He spun the phone around. When I picked it up, I could hear the electronics inside. “I see your texts. You two are adorable.” Great, even his phone had an opinion on our relationship.
I zoomed in on the photo to see a man in armor, not unlike mine. Clunkier. A bit primitive. But the weapon’s arsenal attached to his back… I’d have to make some modifications to my suit. I flipped to the next photo, and the hero wrestled Serpentine in front of an armored truck. With one more flip, I gasped.
“Hudson!” The photo of him in a jockstrap left my jaw agape.
“Oh!” He dropped his pizza before snatching his phone with greasy fingers. Before he could pull it from my hand, I got a good view of his bulge, and damn, did all of that look delicious. “Sorry. I meant to delete that.”
“Before you do, send me a copy.”
With a couple of swipes, my phone dinged. I’d be saving that picture for some alone time tonight. It didn’t stop me from wanting to know about a hero I had yet to see register with the app.
“Who’s the hero?”
His eyes widened. “Oh, that’s the best part! He didn’t have a listing, so I got to name him.” I always dreaded whatcivilians named heroes. Though it couldn’t be any worse than being known as Failsafe, Vanguard’s failure.
“What did you name him?”
“Machinist!”
Considering the silver armor he wore, it wasn’t the worst name. Though now I wondered how he developed his suit? Did he have abilities like mine? Or was our new hero one of the super wealthy people who could buy their way into the world of heroes? I’m not saying they didn’t do good, but the superhero community didn’t need playboys with deep pockets.
“If you had powers, what would they be?”
Even if I weren’t sitting across from a walking computer, it’d have been a normal question in Vanguard. The HeroApp™ had a questionnaire that would spit out a series of powers based on the user’s personality. I tried to argue with Arthur, claiming it bloated out the software. He had the last laugh when it became one of the most-used features. Hell, even superheroes were using it. Yet another instance where I didn’t understand people. He yelled at me when I suggested we use it to preemptively discover if people might someday become supervillains.
“Something with my hands,” he said. Having seen him slug Prism’s goons, I could— “Maybe healing? I like helping people. Imagine if I could stitch up cuts or fix broken bones.”
Not at all what I expected. “A superpowered doctor?”
“What can I say? I like people. What did you expect?”
I went on a fishing expedition. “Super strength? Maybe lightning-fast reflexes?”
He shook his head. “I’d be one of those doctors who goes to the children’s ward and dresses up.” After seeing his victory dance, I could imagine it. “If I could choose my powers, that is.”
The last line hung in the air. I assumed everybody participating had been a volunteer. Did Ricardo have a roaming band of scientists kidnapping people? Had they manufactured Hudson as a super soldier and forgotten to ask him if that was what he wanted? I had stared at the wall for so long, I never thought somebody on the web might be innocent.
“How about you?”
