Another day
And another and another and another
The light was.. getting brighter.
The light hurt a little, but the pain was as distant as everything… Else. And then… Water? He thought that he remembered… Water. Rain. He remembers being wet.
A..
pulling at his face. That meant something, or…
Had meant something, but the ideas weren't coming together.
Just sink back…
"…real number on this guy's head, Mister Luthor."
"But you can help him."
"I can snap him out of it, but I wouldn't know where to even begin to fix this guy's problems."
"Mr. Praxis, if I'm unable to capitalise on the opportunities you provide me… Well, that's my problem."
"Your money. This'll only take a second, then… A couple of minutes for him to figure himself out. Then assuming he doesn't just fall back into it, he'll be able to talk."
"Proceed."
**Knock knock.**
And colors so bright they sear his eyes and his mind the tiny sounds of cloth against leather feeling so much louder than they should be and his skin feels clean and-.
No.
No no no-.
"Mister Danner."
One man, blond hair tied back into a ponytail, stands from where he had been kneeling to his right. Sitting.. across from him, is a… Another man. White, bald. Wearing a suit. Next to him, a woman. Secretary? Blouse, jacket, skirt. The room… Office? Living room?
"Mister Danner?"
He should… Say something, but… He tries to remember last time he..
spoke to anyone.
"M
huh?"
The bald man appears to take this in his stride.
"Not too bad, considering how long you were in there. I've taken the liberty of having you washed, shaved and dressed. I don't think that the conditions of your prison-"
Prison?
"-did much good for your state of mind."
He mentally
floundered, images and barely remembered sensations. Explosions, he remembers
explosions, and… Mud? And chains and.. a.. prison? Yes, a prison. Why was he in a prison?
"I can see that you're having a little trouble
processing this. Do you remember your name?"
"Drnnr. Dan. Ner."
The bald man s-smiles.
"Yes. Hugo Danner. You're presently in the United States of America, in the city of Metropolis."
America.. was.. home? He remembered the flag, at… High school? And outside the houses of a lot of his neighbors.
"You
were in Brazil, when I found you. Do you remember why?"
Shouting, people.. hitting him, but not getting hurt. Sadness and irritation, and-. He'd tried to help them and they'd accused him of-.
"To-. Get away. People didn't..."
"Yes." The bald man picks up a file and leafs through it. "I understand that society had a difficult time adjusting to your abilities. Of course, that was rather a long time ago now."
How long ago was..? He looked away from the bald man, focusing on the carpeted floor. He remembered… He left America to.. go to France, for the War. He joined the French Foreign Legion to get away, and… The other soldiers liked him in a way that.. people he knew in America never had. But they died, they all… He didn't. They weren't as tough as him. Then he went back to America but it was still just as bad, then… He left again. Took a job assisting an archeological expedition. Then-.
OhGodthechildren!
"Ah. I see that you're remembering-."
"
They all died, because I-!"
"No. No." What? "Oh, quite a few did, but some survived the exposure to the outside world, and others simply retreated back into the jungle without being infected. I'm sure that if they'd known where you were they would have attempted to rescue you, but the Brazilian government didn't
advertise it."
They-? They weren't-?
Olowin, he remembers when Olowin was born. He remembers holding him, playing with him, the sheer
joy of being able to play with someone who wouldn't
die if he threw a ball too hard. He remembers his first hunt, his growing infatuation with Awendea, sitting with him as he listened intently to stories about the Great War. He remembers the boy being knocked flat by an anti-tank round and laughing it off. And-and he remembers-.
"I… Understand that you were trying to share your abilities with other people. I
very much share that desire."
Flashes of blue and green and red, dozens of other Americans, people with powers like
he had powers, all.. sent to stop him. Why? Didn't they understand how Brazil
worked, how the rich treated the common people? Why didn't they want to share the powers that elevated them?
He'd thought that he couldn't get on with people because he was too different. But he couldn't get on with people who were like him either. And those he could…
He remembered the coughs. The vomiting. The.. wounds that didn't heal because all their bodies could do was hold themselves together. The starvation that happened when they healed injuries but couldn't keep down the food necessary to replenish themselves.
"Mister Danner?"
"Why?" He raises his eyes, looking directly at the bald man. "Why do you want to share this?"
"Because I believe that everyone should try to better themselves. And ensure that their children have better lives than they had. Hugo, I'm all too aware of the difficulties you had… You were the first of your kind, the first person like
you in the world. You… Had it rough, but those who came after you benefited from your experience. People told their children about the things they'd seen you do, and that… That's part of why when the first
generation of superheroes appeared they
were accepted. You changed people's idea of what a man might accomplish. And… Yes, you had setbacks, and made more than a few mistakes. Because the situation was as new for you as it was for everyone else. And because you were so often forced to do things on your own."
"Hugo, I want to help." The bald man leaned forward. "I want to help you recreate your father's formula. I want to help you use the
best of modern technology to find out exactly what went wrong and how to
fix it, so that the next generation of Children of Dawn grow up strong and healthy. I've-."
"It won't work. For you. It.. doesn't work on adults."
"I know." The bald man… Luthor? Nods solemnly. "I'm not doing this to benefit myself. I'm doing this for the betterment of future generations of humankind. Will you help me?"
18th March
15:23 GMT -3
He shrugged. It was going to come out eventually anyway.
"I'm Hugo Danner."
