Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter Text
25 Years Ago, GLASS-Tech, Swellview
Dr. Carl Manchester Ph.D. He is a Molecular Physicist, an employee of GLASS-Tech, and a father to young Raymond Manchester. Now, he is preparing to present his newest invention to a small group of close colleagues and investors. Everyone is gathered around an arch-like machine. As the Doctor makes the final calibrations, Ray rolls into the room on his skateboard.
"Dad! Dad, look! I'm doing it!" He gleefully shouts. Carl almost panics as he stops his son before he can get too close to the machine.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Ray!" He holds his son by the shoulders.
"Did you see me, Dad? I was doing it by myself that time!" Ray continues, happy because of his achievement.
"That's great, Ray. But what did we talk about earlier?" Carl scrutinizes his son with a knowing look. The boy visibly deflates.
"That I shouldn't play around in here while you're working." He reiterates his father's rule while getting off the skateboard and picking it up.
"That's right. Why don't you go back to the waiting area and play there, okay?" The Doctor suggests, patting his son on the shoulder. Ray nods sullenly and walks out of the room the same way he came in.
"Dr. Manchester?" His assistant catches his attention. He looks over at the woman. "We're ready." She speaks. Carl nods back at her and begins the presentation by addressing the crowd.
"Excuse me!" Everyone falls quiet, all eyes on the Doctor. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming. I am Dr. Carl Manchester, specializing in molecular physics. Today, I will be testing my latest invention, the Molecular Densitizer." He gestures behind him to the machine and then to his assistant. She wheels two stands, each holding a pane of glass, to Carl's immediate right. "Here are two identical cuts of glass." His assistant then hands him a wooden bat. Carl weighs it in his hand for a moment, then hits one of the panes. It shatters and glass falls all over the floor. "Exhibit 'A'." Carl hands the bat back to his assistant and wheels the other pane to the machine, under its arch. Dr. Manchester moves to the control panel and throws the switch. Five sets of proton beams saturate the glass for fifteen seconds until Carl switches it off. He gestures for the bat again, the assistant handing it to him. "Exhibit 'B'." Carl swings it at the second piece of glass. Nothing happens, the glass remains intact. He hits it a few more times for good measure. The force manages to crack the glass but it mends itself just as fast. Carl discards the bat and turns to the crowd. "With further development, this machine will revolutionize the glass industry for years to come." The group starts a round of applause, amazed by the presentation. Carl smiles and takes a bow. His assistant steps in.
"I'm sure you all have lots of questions for Dr. Manchester. If we could all move to the next room, we can have a proper meeting and hopefully answer all of your inquiries." She begins leading everyone to a door opposite the main entrance. Carl stops her for a moment.
"I'm not sure that leaving the Densitizer unattended is a good idea." He states his reservation.
"Not to worry, Dr. Manchester. If anything goes wrong, we have a state-of-the-art security team just outside." She tries to assure him. He agrees, reluctantly, and follows everyone else to the back room. Carl still cannot help the dreadful feeling in his gut telling him to stay behind.
Meanwhile, young Ray is rolling in circles around the waiting room just outside the lab areas. He's slowly gaining speed, preparing to attempt a skating trick he's only seen other children try in the streets. He figures the best place to try it is in the long hallway leading to his father's lab.
'It's okay. If I stop in time, I won't get in trouble again.' He thinks. Ray kicks off with more speed, crouches, jumps while kicking the board with him...
He sticks the landing!
Ray can't help the smile that splits his face as he laughs. He can't wait to show his dad later.
That smile falters as he realizes that he doesn't know how to stop. He's going too fast and he's scared.
Ray enters the lab, his course set for the Molecular Densitizer. He tries to stop himself by grabbing a lever on the control panel. That stops him, his board crashing into the opposite wall. Unfortunately, that lever turned on the machine with him underneath the arch. The machine comes to life and saturates him with proton energy. This time, there's no one to stop it as Ray convulses on his feet.
In the other room, Carl heard the bang and the machine activate shortly after. All talking ceases as he runs out and into the lab. He sees the machine running full power... with his son as the unintentional test subject.
"Good God! RAY!" Carl exclaims and rushes to turn the Densitizer off. The proton beams stop and Ray falls forward, disoriented. His father catches him before he can hit the ground. "Raymond! Raymond, are you alright?! Say something, please!" He shouts, hoping to the heavens that his son is still alive. Ray opens his eyes and stands on his own.
"I'm okay, Dad. I feel great." He says, smiling a little. Carl is caught off guard, shocked. He didn't know what to expect but this reaction is unexpected. Could it have...?
Dr. Manchester grabs a scanning device from the table next to the machine and passes it over Ray's body. It glows red and beeps erratically, detecting disturbing amounts of proton energy in his body.
Ray is confused. Is he as okay as he feels? Why does his father look so afraid?
Carl has an idea. If his theory proves positive, Raymond would be a scientific marvel. He would be capable of great things. Testing it, however, will be an emotional challenge. He puts the scanner aside and looks his son in the eyes.
"Ray? Daddy's going to test something really fast, okay?" He speaks. Ray nods, now feeling a little nervous. His father has never talked to him like this before, that he can remember. Carl grabs the scanner again. "I'm going to hit your shoulder with this. It will be a hard hit, so let me know if it hurts too bad. Understand?" Ray nods, apprehensive. What has he gotten himself into?
Carl makes it quick, as he said he would, reeling back and striking the scanner's wand across his son's shoulder.
"OW!" Ray exclaims, stepping away from the source of the pain. Temporary pain. "Hey, it only lasted a second. I'm okay!" Ray is excited at the idea of his new superpower.
Dr. Manchester is staring at the, now broken, scanner wand in astonishment. This accident has opened an even bigger door of opportunities for his invention. He pulls his son in for a bone-crushing hug, glad to have him alive. This moment is soured slightly by one question, though.
What happens now?
Chapter 2: The Danger Begins Part I: The Job
Chapter Text
Henry Hart.
He's a high school student, thirteen years old, a lifelong resident of Swellview, and just another boring human being.
Henry is now at home with his two close friends - Charlotte and Jasper - in a study session. At least, Charlotte is. Henry and Jasper seem to be easily distracted by their own devices.
"Hey, look what Captain Man did yesterday!" Jasper says, calling attention to his tablet. His two friends on the couch look and see a snapshot of said hero attached to an article, looking soot-stained but still smiling. "There was a fire at a pet store, and Captain Man ran inside, fire blazing everywhere, and saved all the animals. He didn't even get hurt!" He continues.
"Captain Man never gets hurt, he's a beast." Henry comments from his spot on the couch. Charlotte doesn't think much of the distraction.
"Guys, we need to focus on studying." She tries to regain the boys' attention. It doesn't work as they are both enveloped in their own tasks. "When you guys fail this test and flunk out of school, I'll remember this moment ten years from now when you're both cleaning my swimming pool." She remarks. Jasper straightens and walks to the bar in the kitchen, bored. Henry is still on his laptop.
"Hey, do you guys think I could be a foot model?" He plops his foot onto the coffee table, shoe and all. Charlotte looks at him, annoyed, and gives no reply. It's Jasper that speaks next.
"Guys, could we go over the list for my birthday party?" He changes the subject.
"No." Both of the others say simultaneously.
"But I invited 52 people, and nobody's texted me back yet." He complains.
"Maybe because of Christmas three years ago? 15 kids ended up in the hospital, one boy almost died." Charlotte responds.
"Yeah. What made you think it was a good idea to feed people raw sushi from a run-down grocery store?" Henry continues.
"How was I supposed to know that it was ten days old? They had a good deal on the value pack." Henry decides to change the subject and end a potential argument at the same time. He also needs some help.
"Alright! The first person who helps me find an after-school job gets..." He digs in his pockets for anything to use as a reward. "...ten bucks." Charlotte decides to forgo the studying, for now, and play along. She gets up, snatching Henry's laptop away from him, and sits back in her spot. Henry scoots closer to her to see what she's doing.
"Why do you need a job, anyway?" She asks.
"To learn... responsibility, to challenge myself..." Henry says with some thought.
"It's money, isn't it?" Charlotte knows her friend too well to accept that answer off the bat.
"That, too." He confirms. "I just want to do more stuff without asking my parents for cash." Reasonable. Charlotte continues her searching as Jasper makes another interruption.
"Guys, can we PLEASE talk about my birthday?" He pleads. Charlotte looks at him with a deadpan expression.
"Am I gonna have to slap a boy?" She asks, about done with him at this point. Jasper looks at her, afraid, and says nothing else. Henry's mother chooses this moment to come downstairs with a laundry basket under her arm.
"Henry? Can you please tell me how...?" She stops her questioning when she sees the situation downstairs. "Oh! I didn't realize you had company." She finishes.
"We're studying!" Jasper says, trying to justify their gathering.
"Yeah..." Charlotte sarcastically remarks, rolling her eyes. Henry is a little annoyed at the interruption.
"Mom, we're in the middle of something right now." He says. His mom sets the basket down on the coffee table.
"I'm not here to interrupt," She takes out a pair of underwear. "I just have a question about your underwear." She finishes, officially embarrassing her son.
"Mom!" He exclaims, wishing she would just stop there. She does, but Charlotte and Jasper are already interested.
"I'd like to hear the question." The young lady states, pulling away from the computer for a moment.
"What is the issue with Henry's underwear?" Jasper also says, coming from the kitchen to lean against the couch, chin on his hands. Sadly, none of them get to hear it. The front door opens and Henry's sister, Piper, barges in.
"Mom!" She shouts. "Mom!" She gains her mother's attention.
"Piper, we're trying to study." Henry tries to quiet her down.
"Well, I'm talking to Mom." She does not care.
"What's wrong, baby?" Her mom asks, dropping the underwear.
"Jessica unfollowed me!" Piper bemoans.
"No one cares!" Henry states in the same tone of voice.
"Henry!" His mother admonishes him, then turns back to Piper. "Why would she unfollow you?" Henry and his friends try to ignore what's happening in the background.
"Because she posted a picture of us with Allison, so I commented, 'OMG, so gorgeous.' Allison commented back, 'Thanks, ILY.' Jessica got jealous because she thought she was being left out, then she unfollowed me." She finishes her rant. Her mother gathers the laundry basket and starts to head down the hall behind the stairs.
"I'll call Jessica's mom and talk to her, okay?" She says.
"No! That's not okay!" Piper runs after her mom to stop her, leaving the trio in the living room to continue where they left off.
"Dang it!" Henry says as he's looking at the job postings Charlotte is scrolling through. "All these jobs say I need skills." He says.
"So? You have tons of skills." Jasper encourages his friend.
"Name one." Henry challenges.
"You're a great dancer." Jasper shrugs.
"No, I'm not." Henry denies. Jasper just shrugs again.
"You could take some lessons." He says it more as a question, not helping Henry's confidence level. Henry gets a hopeless look on his face.
"Geez. I'm not great at anything, just a big pile of average." He says, his self-esteem not doing so well.
"Well, we're not at the end of the list yet." Charlotte tries to inject some optimism into the mix. "Here," She comes across something. "a store called Junk-N-Stuff." This catches Henry's attention.
"What? Where?" He's never heard of this place.
"It says 'Part-time helper needed for various duties. No special skills necessary.'" Charlotte finishes.
"I need to go get that job!" Henry gets up and books it to the front door... then remembers something.
"Here!" He takes the ten dollars out of his pocket and hands it to Charlotte. "Ten bucks." He lets it go and runs back to the door, again.
"Thanks. Good luck, Hen!" She says.
"Thanks!" He says back shutting the door after him.
Kratos (Guest) on Chapter 1 Mon 08 Feb 2021 04:21PM UTC
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Kratos (Guest) on Chapter 2 Sat 27 Feb 2021 09:50AM UTC
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