Chapter Twelve

A giant fist ricocheted Haruki off the ground and into the far wall.

Sparring with Freedom’s Ring tested his durability like nothing else. The enormous American hero absorbed punishment with the ease of telling a joke, and his punches felt as strong as pill-enhanced blows.

Haruki ducked a straight and drove both feet into the giant’s abdomen. The brute let out an ‘ough’ and slammed into the rear wall. He grinned, pulled himself free, and said, “Not bad.” The boy simply nodded and shot forward. Freedom’s Ring connected with a knee that bent him into a letter ‘C’ in midair.

Haruki stopped midair and launched both fists into the giant’s chest. The impact knocked him into the air and set him up for a right hook. The giant stood up and bowed. “Done?”

“That’s all for today,” Freedom’s Ring said. “I think we’ll go again soon. Your government’s being generous, after all.”

A translation super stood off to the side. America had a lot of minor supers whose abilities proved necessary. The soldiers off to the side exchanged money as bets were won and lost. A ranking officer approached. “You both have done great. The lessons you can teach each other are incredible.”

“Thank you, sir,” Freedom’s Ring said with a salute.

“If you don’t mind,” the officer said, “we’ve got a mission we’d like Laser Hammer to help us with.”

Haruki became a giddy schoolboy. “Really? A real mission?”

“Not combat,” Freedom’s Ring clarified. “Search and rescue.”

“That’s what I really like!” Haruki said.

“In that case,” the officer said, “come this way.”

Freedom’s Ring went off down a separate hallway to change out of his training fatigues. Haruki followed a subordinate to a changing room where he got privacy. The training pants and shirt came off and he changed into an undersuit. In the crate next to him sat a spare Laser Hammer costume and helmet. It was odd the Americans had spare suits of his, but he’d worry about it later. The desert-patterned suit went over his costume and the ends formed airtight seals with his boots, gloves, and helmet. After a beep and whirr, his helmet came online and the air current circulated around his head.

“Ready,” he said.

Freedom’s Ring nodded. “Follow me.”

From the base, Haruki followed as the brute covered scores of miles with each leap. The roads near base gave way to farmland, then harsh desert. Sand and rocky terrain became jagged, with pathways going up hills and down into canyons. After several jumps, they arrived shortly before a group of supers flew or ran in.

“Freedom’s Ring!” a female super in a sleek military costume with helmet said. “Since Laser Hammer and you tangled with that lizard, the news is lit up with stories of what’s going on.”

“So, we’re doing these in the open now?” A male flying super asked.

“We are,” Freedom’s Ring announced. “Like it or not, secret’s out.”

Haruki, who’d brushed up on his English every chance he got, still had trouble with the occasional American slang. Still, he got the gist. When he’d knocked a bipedal reptilian around a crowded Los Angeles highway, fears of the big reveal made him shiver. To be a Japanese hero fighting a villain on American soil not only rattled foreign relations, it blew the lid off the existence of superpowers. Kensuke hadn’t let him off the hook easily. He’d done six times as many patrols in the intervening days. Now, though, the secret was out, the world freaked out, then moved on.

Now heroes operate in the open. Like it or not, villains would too.

Haruki landed where Freedom’s Ring came to a stop. Vans and trucks staffed by Forestry Service agents waited with medical equipment and fresh water. A few ambulances parked nearby. Within minutes of their arrival, more supers flew or ran in. Each wore a desert camouflage costume. Only Freedom’s Ring had no head covering. Several Forestry Service officials conversed with the supers.

“Alright everyone!” the star-spangled brute declared. “Each of you is going to be assigned a segment of a two-hundred-mile circle. Find and locate anyone you can. Be prepared for anything. Desperate, thirsty, or injured hikers might be delirious or in a state where they fight back against their rescuer. Bring them here before gathering more. Understood?” The group gave their assent. “Proceed!”

Haruki’s three-dimensional map appeared as gridlines in his helmet’s vision. He flew high above the terrain and unleashed his enhanced hearing. Labored breathing and faint moans pierced the hiss of wind. A second later, he had a husband-and-wife couple in his arms. They had lost their trail back. They were back at the safety station in no time.

Two minutes later, he spotted a family whose minivan was stuck in a ditch. After carrying their vehicle to the safety station, he left for another run. The next half hour passed in a rush of rescued hikers and campers. The joy from the simple search and rescue flooded into him. Fights and open combat didn't make a hero, despite the message of every battle anime and comic he’d ever read. Being honest with himself meant addressing the fact that being hit didn't feel good, and it took a special kind of masochist to enjoy the back and forth of hand to hand fighting.

This is what heroes do, he thought.

Each camper or hiker rescued gave him a look he saw nowhere else. It irked him that governments and red tape meant heroes had to tiptoe around border laws. It downright infuriated him that the United States and Japan as well as allied ‘western’ nations, ostensibly not in conflict with one-another, could have their ‘feelings hurt’ by Laser Hammer accomplishing something their heroes couldn't. At least Freedom's Ring seemed easygoing and cooperative.

Finally, he heard no cries, whimpers, or labored breathing while flying over his assigned area. More than two dozen people he'd rescued. More than a few cries of “oh thank God” or related prayers had went up upon sighting him overhead.

“You did great!” an American super cried.

Haruki bowed. “I did my best.”

A Forestry Service official gestured and Freedom's Ring leaned to listen. Haruki could hear him despite the whispering. “Sir, word from base indicates that terrorist group you were searching for is nearby.”

“What is it?” Haruki pretended not to hear. His helmet made it easier.

Freedom's Ring looked at the official, who regarded Haruki, shrugged, and gave a facial expression of ‘maybe?’ Then, the brute paused and his expression told of weighing pros and cons. He turned to his Japanese ally with sternness. “Laser Hammer, I've been trying to deal with an underground terrorist group for months. They've always tried to strike near where American supers are active.” He sighed. “I bet my superiors don't want you involved, but I’d like your help.”

Haruki was over the moon but kept his voice from cracking. “I’ll help however you ask.”

“Follow me.” Freedom's Ring leapt into action. The other supers followed. Haruki sped along.

Even though he hated combat, he'd follow the top American hero into action just to show friendship between the two nations.

“It's this way,” a voice said in Haruki's helmet. Moments later, a three-dimensional diagram appeared over his vision. Tilting his body into the wind allowed a smoother flight. The remnants of a nineteenth century ghost town came into view. Piles of wood and collapsed structures gave way to a dozen figures, men and women, standing ready to attack.

None of them look familiar, he thought.

In a world of body-snatching gods and power-enhancement pills, it meant nothing. His enemy, mankind's enemy, could be any of the attackers, or have supplied them. It was certainly a trap. He steeled his resolve and landed alongside his enormous ally.

“I see you brought a friend to our fight,” a man with curly orange hair, garbed in fatigues and a flack jacket, said.

“You ought to stop getting yourself beaten,” Freedom's Ring said.

The man sneered. “I would, except now I have some groovy medication.”

Haruki felt his soul calcify. More of the power pills.

Freedom's Ring didn't wait, he charged forward and began trading blows. The other supers fanned out and picked opponents. Haruki ducked beneath a lightning bolt and came up with a leaping uppercut that sent an armor-plated super flying. One of the American heroes knocked the bad guy out of the sky. Haruki rolled out of the way of a plasma shot and drove an elbow into the target's chin on the way up. He caught the man's leg and slammed him into the ground. A gasp and spittle shot out of the man, and he lost consciousness.

Haruki’s gut screamed at him and he found himself tumbling through the air. Before he could realize he’d been rammed by a fist, his assailant dashed forward, plowed an extended arm into his chest, and smashed him through rock. A fist swung for his helmeted face.

I'm an idiot. I keep forgetting.

He shifted into super speed and the fist glacially crawled. He zoomed around and planted a fist in the attacker's sternum and another into the side of the head. When normal speed resumed, the man jerked right and crashed into a hill, blasting a huge crater.

Sparring and training inadvertently taught him to fight on even terms. The sparse real battles hadn't put that warrior's instinct into him. He made a mental note to train himself to shift into super speed as soon as a real fight started.

The fight turned quickly. Haruki sped around and incapacitated ten of the eleven villains, and the Americans rounded them up in haste and left with the foes.

“Laser Hammer!”

Haruki spun to see Freedom's Ring on one knee, minor cuts on his face and uniform torn in spots. The bad guy had equal damage but was standing.

“No!” He flew forward and slammed a fist into the villain. It felt like hitting a brick wall.

“Not bad,” the villain uttered.

Haruki felt his body bend into an uppercase ‘C' from a battering ram of a jab. Before he could move an inch, the man's other fist crashed through the helmet and dazed him. He tumbled end over end, all sense of balance gone, and smashed through a stony hill. His body recovered quickly and he shifted into super speed. The man froze midair. Haruki judged the leap and dashed forward to continue the attack. “Got you now.”

“Not so clever, though,” the villain said, shifting into super speed.

Haruki had just enough time to see the purple aura before a foot clocked him square in the forehead and his lights went out.