Pinnacles 101

The lightning collected itself and pooled together. Quick as a flash, Silas was now standing in front of Connor. The scrapper found himself bound, unable to move. The world around him dimmed to a gritty darkness. Though not as deep as when Silas had originally invaded him, Connor still felt like he was in an ancient flick. All of the gang members were as still as statues. Light flicked on and off in intervals as if in Morse code. Connor realized what the Pinnacle had done. His reflexes were so sped up, this meeting would take a single blink. But Silas didn't even indulge the scrapper. Instead, the Pinnacle simply studied those gathered.

“What a bunch of losers,” he snickered. “A wannabe rockstar, old man, Suit, failed experiment, and-”

The Pinnacle paused. Sara’s eyes were fixed upon him. The orbs began to glow a soft purple, cutting through the grayscale. Connor was surprised to see them widen in shock, then blink several times. Silas took a step back as if about to be struck.

“You can see me, can’t you?” he asked.

Sara attempted to nod. It was like moving through tar. She settled for a couple more blinks. Connor found himself jealous of the woman. He couldn’t even twitch, and here she was actually fighting back. Silas grinned and looked back at his host. Connor's eyes shot daggers that were deflected by pride.

“Figures it's just you two,” Silas chuckled. “You're going to have to work hard, Connor. She's got a leg up on you. After all, nobody is a Doc Savage right out of the gate. And you, miss.”

Silas grinned wolfishly in her direction. Sara’s eyes narrowed. The Pinnacle placed his hat over his heart and bowed.

“Hope you have a wonderful day,” he said softly.

He disappeared once again. All at once, sound and light rushed back into the world. Connor had to brace himself lest he fall off the stool. Sara fell backwards, caught by Smith. She groaned and rubbed her eyes. Muse noticed, then leaned in to look at Connor closely. The scrapper had to force himself not to push her away. Smith glared at the scrapper.

“What’d you do to my girl?” the rebel frowned.

“Excuse me?” Connor managed to center himself.

“You just did something. Sara’s the only one like you. So in reason anything like that has to come from you. So I’ll repeat myself; what did you do?”

“Nothing,” Sara jumped in. “It was nothing. I don’t think even he knows what just happened. Didn't he say he doesn't even know what a Pinnacle is? Explaining it gives him a chance to catch up.”

The logic appeased Muse, who backed off to a comfortable distance. Smith went from red hot to smoldering. Raul placed both hands down on the bar and leaned in.

“Before we do so, I want to know more about you,” the giant said. “From the uniform Muse and Sara found you in, I assume you were a janitor. There are only a few key members of Flynt Enterprises' staff that are allowed within the Pinnacle chamber. If I may, can I get a brief summary of your day’s events up until that moment? I want to know just how you managed to come by this power.”

Connor frowned at the torrent of information. Worse, it seemed like Raul knew more than he ought to. But to get anything in Center, you had to give something in return. So Connor indulged the giant, starting with his rude awakening. Going through the struggle with the Luchadors brought a couple knowing nods from Sara and Smith. The story hit its peak with his run-in with Flynt and the words Silas had spoken before breaking out.

Finally, the scrapper ended with the million dollar question.

“So, how do you know all about this stuff?” Connor asked. “You’re a bartender, not a Suit.”

“Ah, but this is just a bit of supplemental income,” Raul smiled.

“Huh?” the scrapper cocked his head.

“Don't ask,” Smith added. “He’s some sort of top dog with Flynt. None of us know the full extent of it, in case we get caught. Can’t rat out the boss if we don’t know what he does, after all.”

“Correct,” Raul pointed. “I might wear a suit, but it doesn’t mean I am one. I’ve seen too much in my time at the company. Far, far too much.”

Connor caught a quick glance from the giant to Muse. Before he had a chance to say anything, the blonde held up her hand.

“I was the one who vouched for you to be added to the Gunslingers,” she said. “I am sure with you on our side, we can make even more progress in being a thorn in Flynt’s side.”

Connor was about to laugh. It was just like the world to act like this. Raul seemed like the type who actually cared about this band of He had something special, and they wanted it. Use and abuse. Make him a disposable hero who fought against the Suits. Throw him to the side when Raul took the corporation for himself.

Then what Muse said sunk in.

“Wait, you all are the Gunslingers?!” Connor cried. “Like, the Belazko Bonds Gunslingers?!”

“Yeah, that was us!” Smith smiled brightly as he finger-gunned the scrapper. “Cannot believe that the US of A allowed them to operate and assumed they were on the level. With a name so clearly Russian, it was obvious they were a bunch of moles. Took a few days to break into their systems and uncover the tons of data they had on every other business here in Center. All it took was one jolt to the FBI’s system to get them iced. Only downside was old boy Flynt wasn’t included in those records. Probably turned some poor Lookalike’s brain into a briefcase for that type of stuff.”

“Anyways,” Muse interrupted swiftly. “Yes, we are that group. As for you, we desperately need your assistance. Pinnacle hosts are rare enough. With such a powerful one inside of you, it would help us tremendously in our fight.”

“Ok, let's go back to that” Connor shot out. "What exactly is a Pinnacle? Sara could see and hear Silas when the rest of you obviously can’t. What does she have that you all don’t?”

“Eyes to see and ears to hear?” Sara beamed. “I got them both from the same place. Well, mostly the eyes. They belonged to an old woman Smith and I helped out in our younger years. She gave them to me, which kind of ruined my icebreaking career. But in return, the Pinnacle of Positivity lives on.”

The woman pointed to both eyes. They shone even deeper, the violet a shocking richness. Connor could feel his spirits being lifted merely by being around those orbs. He made sure to look away, lest they influence him to actually care about any of the Gunslingers. Still, he did have a grudging appreciation for them. They were legendary hackers in his circles. Raul's booming voice broke the scrapper out of his reverie.

"...that was the end of World War II, as everybody understood it," the giant spoke. "But what in fact happened was something that none could have guessed. Each time a nuclear device is detonated, one of these 'Pinnacles' is let loose in our world. They are called as such since they are the peak of whatever they embody. Energy, Positivity, Health, Wellness. All these have been documented and recorded by Flynt Enterprises. In fact, the Flynt family were the ones to discover the creatures. This 'Silas' is the Pinnacle of Energy and has been used by Flynt to provide the United States with infinite energy in its struggle against Russia. It is not, in fact, some closely guarded family secret. It was found in the still burning crater of Hiroshima all those years ago."

Raul's voice never wavered. Connor remembered the flashes he received from his clash with Silas. It checked out. Yet it was insane as well. A centuries old thing made of pure energy living inside of him? And before that, living in the center of America, fueling the war machine? He had heard stories about things like Pinnacles while trawling online. Unseen forces fighting each other, conspiracies going to the top of the heap, America and Russia competing with nukes for some unspoken reason. 

Connor soon abandoned each site talking about such things. He had too much on his plate already to throw paranoia on top. Sites like those were filled with newspaper clippings from decades ago and enough red string to hang a man. The ice provided pockets for everybody, and sometimes that meant you walked into a virtual asylum.

But now it seemed like the lunatics were the ones with the right idea.