Time_Phantom

Cbishop gets my vote.The world building is top notch.

Yes! More super people! I love her attitude. Loves her government without being crazy. (Unlike another super person who is totally crazy.)

First! You're wall of text is visually offensive.

Second! Why put your spam here? Put spam on rice!

Third! I hope this gets tossed into the ether.

@cbishop: Thank you. Yes, it more accurately means "library of". I think it works a bit still though.

@4donkeyjohnson: Thanks for voting .

AN/ @batkevin74 helped me out with this new character. These stories have been fun. Oh, just real quick. Stay away from the self-publisher aka scam "Xlibris" and just read the stories with this guy ok? Thank you for reading.

Xlibris.

It was Latin for library, and best described how his mind worked. He remembered everything he’d ever read and could think up a practical application for things, some of what would have been considered pseudo-science, until he actually created it. New medical technology that was considered impossible, weapon concepts that were like something out of science fiction and unravelling the super human phenomenon. He had come up with several theories and frustrating to him, any of them could be true. His busy mind needed something more definitive.

Xlibris wasn’t his choice, it was given to him by benefactors who had cultivated his gift more than academia ever did. They never told him something was impossible, they just gave him tools and stayed out of his way. They of course did watch everything he did. Xlibris just couldn’t figure out how. Was it when they sent him on missions? While he was in his labs with his support staff? Were his staff all spies? He could not be sure.

“Apollo, what did they do to you?” Xlibris said as if he were examining a machine as she lay on the mortuary slab. Xlibris pondered why the US government had named her after a male Greco-Roman god, but even since the Founding Fathers the United States has had an obsession with empire.

Xlibris had been told she had killed the Impossible Man, that she had completely incinerated him and that during the battle her body had been broken. Apollo was missing an eye, bones were broken, and her arm was ripped off. The government hospital she laid in had no idea how to treat her or the means. Her healing factor they couldn’t begin to understand. They didn’t even have the means to break through her skin.

Apollo had flown to a military base after the battle as directed by her handlers. Her healing factor was working fine, it was just much too slow. Xlibris’ benefactors could not have that.

“A weapon that was not ready to be used at any time was a terrible weapon,” Xlibris thought as he set up his instruments in her hospital room. Apollo, also known to a select few as Carla White, stayed quiet and waited. Xlibris appreciated that. He opened a brief case and carefully laid his tools down on a hospital tray. He filled a syringe with a clear liquid and inserted it into a bulky gun. He walked over to Apollo and pressed the gun to her chest.

Carla sighed. “That isn’t going to w…” The muzzle of the gun flashed with light as the needle went through Carla skin and ejected its contents inside of her.

“Sonic vibration to promote cellular regenerative movement and molecular malleability. The steroid compound should react with your cardiovascular system to briefly enhance your healing factor beyond previous limitations.”

“In Engli—” Carla felt her body flash with heat as if she were walking through a house fire, her missing arm and eye began to regrow quick, too quick and her whole body soon after began to rattle. Carla writhed and rocked at the sensation. Her hospital bed collapsed beneath her strength and she rolled out of bed onto the floor.

“Essentially your healing factor has gone from five to eleven.” Xlibris stated as he began to pack up his tools and make notes on a small note pad.

Carla peeled the bandage off her eye, which moments ago she had no arm nor eye. She gazed into the mirror looking at herself reconstructed. “Whoa.”

“You’re welcome, Apollo.” Xlibris said as he made his way out of the hospital room.

Carla would not admire her speedy recovery for long, “No. You’re going to answer some questions of mine.”

Xlibris turned a dial on his watch as the air in the room shifted and Carla appeared in front of him. “You don’t understand me.”

Carla put jabbed her finger into Xlibris chest to stop him where he stood. She said as her eyes began to charge with energy, “I have questions. You can’t get around me and you will get hurt if my questions don’t get answered promptly.”

“Very intimidating.” Xlibris said as he raised his hands in the air to signify his compliance. “But, you can’t keep me here either.”

Carla reached to grab him when out of nowhere a low hum appeared, Xlibris’ watch began to flash like a strobe light and the hum became an ear-splitting shriek! Carla screamed! The light made her violently nauseous and the sound had overwhelmed her. The super human assassin dropped to her knees and continued to scream.

“Don’t be too alarmed.” Xlibris reassured. “You’re just dealing with your standard riot repression system. Just miniaturized and turned way up, because your senses are super human. You won’t even remember this happened!”

Xlibris watched her writhe in pain for a short while before stepping around her and leaving the hospital. Carla’s vision faded. The questions she had seemed to escape her mind. Who was she even talking to? The face of… someone felt as if it had been just plucked out of her mind. Her body slacked, and she ended up lying flat on the floor. Carla, fell asleep. She would not remember this meeting when she woke up.

Xlibris stayed in his lab. In a location his benefactors had built for him. Where it was, he wasn’t entirely sure and had theorized it wasn’t on Earth. He just was not sure. He had a staff that monitored his experiments should he leave or construct whatever he asked. The facility was inside of a massive cavern and housed dozens of labs, the landing zones held strange craft he had never seen before in huge bays. His benefactors would let him know when he could leave the facility and what his assignment was to be. Only there were large gaps in his memory.

But, being inventive was his nature. He watched Apollo and Mark Metcalf battle on a large glass screen in his lab that he’d built out of crushed Coke bottles. He examined everything he saw and heard. Mark Metcalf was stronger on a scale yet to be measured but he fought like an angry ape, all muscle no skill. But this style had taken Apollo by surprise adding in Mark’s complete resistance to her flame attack made Apollo as effective as a potato gun versus a tank.

The charts and graphs that he designed all read that she was still alive. Though, just barely after her skull was crushed from Mark’s pounding of her face into the pavement.

“Her healing ability continues to amaze!” Xlibris exclaimed aloud. It reminded him of Howard Leach and his healing factor. Both were incredible. Xlibris smiled. He knew his benefactors were watching, but he knew they would miss this important detail. They usually did. Like when he developed the technology to catalogue the events around him with implants he built into his eyes. Amongst other measures to guard against their tampering.

His eyes glowed as he looked at the screen. Images that he otherwise had forgotten about through the mechanizations of his benefactors were suddenly flashed before him. Xlibris replayed one specific moment from the fight between Mark Metcalf and Apollo.

“That was for, Howard!”

Xlibris couldn’t hide excitement that spread on his face. The insinuation made him want to shout. He rewound it back and watched it again.

“That was for, Howard!”

Xlibris immediately thought of several scenarios. The only good reason for Metcalf to bring that name up would be if he knew, Apollo killed Howard Leach. How did he know to give the killer of the Impossible Man that rebuke when no one is supposed to know that, Apollo, even exists? That is what that comment suggested. Xlibris came to one conclusion and he would not say it out loud. He was being listened to.

The interface he looked at opened a catalogue. It contained names, dates, times and more information than he had time to catalogue. He scrolled down to Howard Leach’s name. He had to update his status.

HOWARD LEACH AKA THE IMPOSSIBLE MAN: ALIVE

@batkevin74: Yeah that is true. So glad to see everything expanding.

Things are getting heated! Now we've got French spys! I always new the tabloids were shills for the Lizards!

@batkevin74: Well the mugger did shoot him... Yeah not super heroic of Howard to rob the robber but it was a special circumstance. Lol.

AN/ This is a continuation of my submission to CCC #70. “The Impossible Man”. Which has nothing to do with a little green man that may or may not be, Mr. Mxyzpiylk at the same time because reasons having to do with 5th dimensional nonsense. Which I had no idea existed until I was informed that my original name wasn’t at all.

Howard Leach, survived the attack at the hospital. While his body healed he lied there buried under rubble as the hospital was on fire. Howard could hear the shrieking of people trapped inside or also buried under rubble. Then for some time he heard nothing. Howard, just laid there.

“What’s the point anymore?” He thought. Howard could not protect anyone. Not when his opponent could over power him. Howard couldn’t stop her.

“What was the point of being a hero when you can’t be one to the ones you love?” Howard wished he would have let that woman incinerate him. He wished his injuries weren’t going to just heal. Howard wished he could suffocate and the rubble on his chest would crush him.

“Please stop!” Howard cried as he thought repeatedly that night about his lover, Viviana’s death. How she felt alive against him and then in a second that to him felt like minutes because of his heightened senses she was gone. Her body burnt beyond recognition. He thought about the people still inside the hospital, he could hear them cry, he could hear them all scream and beg for help. Howard could hear the sirens in the distance.

“Please stop…” Howard begged a little quieter as he cried. He cursed his powers. Without them he could be with Viviana and their son. If there were such a way. He wouldn’t be able to hear the people crying out to be saved only for them to suddenly go silent. If only he could just die. Howard closed his eyes and wished for that to be even a small possibility.

Howard awoke disappointed. Howard could hear workers excavating the rubble he was buried under. “Stop.” Howard pleaded weakly with a hoarse voice. Howard had no idea how long he had been under the rubble of the wall. His body had healed by this point. He was just so tired. His throat was dry and he was hungry, but even if he had food he wouldn’t eat. Lying in his own filth and hopeless all he wanted was to be left there.

There was an off smell. Not his soiled body, but gas. “What’s tha—” Howard groaned as he moved for the first time. His muscles ached as he willed himself to move. He felt stiff and sore. He launched himself straight up through debris and above workers bulldozing the area that had been the hospital parking lot.

He landed in front of a backhoe that had been digging where he had been buried. As the arm came down he caught it in his hand and held it. The workers all yelled, “Holy shi—"

“Gas! Gas!” Howard tried to speak through a cough. “Call the cops!”

Howard coughed, he was so thirsty. “Water!”

One of the construction workers handed Howard a water bottle, “You freaking stink man!”

Howard gulped as much was he could swallow and most of it spilled all over him. The sun was nearly blinding, it was the first time he’d seen it in days and it did nothing for him. Howard felt sick. He dropped to his knees and heaved. Vomit erupted from his throat as stomach acid, debris accumulated from days of being buried and the water he drank scratched his throat raw.

“Christ man!” The construction worker that handed him the water reached out to touch Howard. Howard jumped away, the workers were left in awe as he soared into the distance.

After a few minutes of violent coughing and more vomiting Howard rolled over on a roof top and passed out. Howard awoke hours later. It was night and he was still naked. He rolled on his stomach and dragged himself to his feet. He walked to the edge of the building walked off. He landed in front of a fire hydrant. The construction worker was right he did stink. He twisted the valve open and washed himself as he was sprayed by water.

For an hour he shop-lifted from various stores nearby. He had no clothes and he couldn’t just walk around naked. Since he couldn’t remain buried he might as well be dressed he figured. Once he was fully clothed he pulled himself along. He tried to not think about Viviana and their son. All he did was cry when he did. Howard wondered into a corner store and then as Chicago frequently did for him, it produced a problem.

“Pockets on the ground!” A mugger said, to Howard. The cashier had his hands raised and his face lit up with fear. Howard rolled his eyes. He was in no mood for this or any heroics. Too much was on his mind and he just didn’t care.

Howard had stolen a scarf that covered his face and sun glasses. He didn’t care to be noticed. Howard placed some cash he had lifted from a safe in one of the stores he used to acquire his disguise. Howard asked. “You just don’t have anything better to do, tonight do you?”

In almost slow motion as the mugger fired two rounds into his chest, Howard stepped in front of the bullets after he determined the mugger would have missed. “How bad are you now wit a—” The mugger looked at the man. Two holes where he shot were there, but there was no blood. He looked down. The bullets were fragmented on the floor.

Howard had twisted a soda he had bought and let his scarf down. Everyone in the city knew who he was and typically that was enough to send a coward on the run, “Two-minute head start?”

The mugger began to tremble violently and dropped his pistol, as he turned to run out of the store. Howard smiled and took a sip of his soda. “Works every time.” He thought. Howard grabbed the gun. Howard raised his scarf over his face and turned to the cashier. The cashier had no words. He was in awe of this feat and even after years of being an active hero people still were amazed. That was a humbling thing for Howard.

Howard had put the gun he had taken and put it on the counter. He crushed the barrel of the weapon and turned around and walked off as if nothing had happened, “Hey! Call the police, they’ll find that guy on the corner of 4th and Addison in about a minute.”

Howard had no idea what he was thinking. He showed his face and he had no idea if that woman that attacked him was still watching. Or even why he was attacked in the first place. Now wasn’t the time to catch a robber. He needed to figure out his next move. He needed to mourn. Yet, Howard kept on.

Howard leapt and cut through the air like a hurricane. Howard looked down the mugger grew closer as Howard hurdled to earth. Howard landed in front of the mugger and crouched low, the mugger slammed into Howard as the hero swept his legs from under him and he slammed into the side walk head first.

The mugger was out cold from the hit. Howard checked the mugger’s pockets and took his smart phone and a roll of cash. Howard had to know what was happening. Howard used the man’s thumb to unlock the cell phone and opened the web browser on it. Howard had read he had died in a meteor shower that struck the hospital. No word of his family having died, no word on the woman in black besides an Info Wars conspiracy video that happened to be real and that it had all been a week since it happened.

Howard sighed with relief that Viviana’s face wasn’t being used in the media. He wasn’t ready to see her yet. His grief had started well up in him has he thought about his family as he read each article covering his death. He had so many questions. Who was the woman in black? The government’s response to his death was quick. It seemed too quick, like it had been entirely made up.

Howard then read a story that amazed him and filled him with wonder as if it were the first time he had gone out on patrol, “Mark freaking Metcalf has powers!”

Howard wasn’t alone anymore and that made him feel better than he had in days. Besides the woman in black there was another person who had powers. Howard needed to go to New York right away. What could he say? What could he do? Mark was a movie star and Howard was a dead celebrity super hero. Howard had decided he had all the time in the world to figure out that one, he had to make his way to New York City right now. At the very least, Howard felt like he needed to warn him.