Hunting Heroes: A Superhero Novel by Derek Pozel

while he flipped through it. Large tinted windows stretched around the corner office, allowing a view of the city to the north and Lake Michigan to the east. The gloom of October darkened the room, and the sconce lighting, which circled the office, cast twisted shadows on the walls. The office felt cold and sterile, it did not fit the world’s greatest superhero.
    “What do you think?” Patriot shifted forward in his overstuffed, black leather chair. He rested his elbows on the cold white marble desktop, watching his closest friends eyes skim across the pages.
    Sage scratched his baldhead and glanced up from the document with weary brown eyes. His large round nose a shade of pink and the glow of his rosy cheeks were lost in five o’clock shadow.
    “You look exactly the same as the last time I saw you,” Sage said. “Well, you do have 103 new gray hairs.”
    Patriot ran a hand through his side parted wavy dark blond hair. “Thanks for noticing. You look like you haven’t slept in days.”
    Patriot’s hazel eyes watched the world’s smartest man zip through the report again and again. “Any clues about the person who’s hunting our members?”
    “I think there’s a gifted person who has an ability we have cause to fear,” Sage plopped his chubby body on the plaid chair across the desk from Patriot.
    Patriot leaned back in his chair, placing his strong hands behind his head. His large muscled arms caused the fabric to stretch on his well-tailored white dress shirt.
    “He’s not too fond of the Assembly or you,” Sage said.
    “Me? Granite can barely remember that night and somehow he remembers this character doesn’t like me?” Patriot said.
    Sage stroked his chin. “It is surprising he remembers anything after the beating he received.”
    “It could be you,” Patriot raised an eyebrow, “you and Bloodhound are also the leaders.”
    “Yes, even though I am one of the founders of the Assembly along with Bloodhound,” Sage said. “In the public’s eye, Patriot is the leader of our merry band of heroes. You are the embodiment of what the Assembly represents. This is what makes you the leader of the Assembly.”
    “Tell me something I don’t know,” Patriot’s voice drifted along with his eyes out the window.
    Sage relaxed a bit in the chair and placed his hands on his knees. “This makes you the boss this person is referring to.”
    “Can you think of any reason why he wants me and what his goal is?” Patriot said. “If anyone can put the pieces together, it’s the world’s smartest man. I will let you sort through their reports in your mind. Not all of us can memorize everything with a single glance and be able to recall every detail.”
    Sage rubbed his chin while his eyes darted back and forth in his head for a few seconds. “For starters, I am not the world’s smartest man. There are others with even greater mental capabilities. Ready when you are for the predicament at hand.”
    “What does this Afflicted want?” Patriot said.
    “No idea. It is perplexing,” Sage said. “There must be a connection you have to this man I am not seeing. I am sorry to say this, some people don’t like you.”
    Patriot slumped in his chair. “With so many superhero teams in this country and the world, someone as dangerous as this drops on our doorstep. Every one of us has made enemies. The afflicted powered criminals, normal humans and politicians and so on. It could be a person from the past we are overlooking.”
    Sage cleared his throat. “Between Bloodhound and myself, there is seldom anything overlooked my friend. There is another connection beneath the surface. It’s not visible at first glance, or mind in my case.” Sage turned to the window. “Even Bloodhound cannot track this character. This man’s ability is interesting.”
    “Sage, is it possible someone can take our powers?” Patriot picked up the report and thumbed through it.
    “When it comes to the Afflicted, anything is