The Invincibles by Michael McNichols Page A

them, didn’t we?”
    “ There could be more of them out there needing our help,” Nightshadow said. “We have to find them.”
    “ Are you sure there’s more?” Hyperman asked. “The Death Reaper could have been lying and neither of us have found anything yet.”
    “ We have to investigate all possibilities.”
    “ Of course. Have you tracked Lethe down yet?”
    “ That’s the problem. I have access to S.I.L.E.N.T.’s systems, the FBI’s, Interpol’s, and every police station and law enforcement agency in the world, but I can’t find a trace of him anywhere.”
    “ You think he might have done something to the memories of the people who were involved in hiding him away? And that he got into their systems, too, and erased the data?”
    “ It’d fit his modus operandi .”
    “ What do you want me to do then? Scan the whole world and find him?”
    “ If possible, yes.”
    Hyperman chuckled and shrugged. “Okay. Shouldn’t be too hard, but first things first. Let’s get you bandaged up.”
     
    ***
     
    Nightshadow had fixed up multiple stab and bullet wounds. He knew his medications and antibiotics. A couple of times, he had even performed battlefield surgery on fallen superheroes. Most nights, he tended to his own injuries and got by well enough. Nonetheless, Hyperman’s medical expertise put him to shame.
    Hyperman jetted off all across the world, bringing back and mixing together burn salves Nightshadow had never even heard of before. When applied to his sensitive, fire-lashed skin, the salve at first stung, but soon coolly caressed his burns and soothed the pain. Next, Hyperman stitched and bandaged him up. It seemed as if Nightshadow simply blinked, and suddenly, all his wounds had miraculously closed and stitched themselves up, and bandages had grown over his skin. Sitting up on the folded out plank in his lair’s medical station, Nightshadow grumbled, “Thanks.”
    “ Don’t mention it,” Hyperman said, towering over him and practically glowing in the lair’s dim light. “I’d also tell you to get some rest, but I know you too well.”
    “ While you were out flying all over the world, did you look for Lethe?”
    “ I’ll do it now.”
    His hands grasped behind his back, Hyperman peered up, moving his eyes this way and that.
    “ What do you see?” Nightshadow asked.
    Hyperman grinned. “A couple of nuns getting changed and a dominatrix in a Nightshadow outfit.”
    Despite himself, Nightshadow laughed. Smiling, Hyperman levitated up a few feet into the air. “I need to take to the air,” he said. “I’ll have a better vantage point from up there.”
    He zoomed off and Nightshadow stared after him. Much as he tried, he couldn’t dislike Hyperman. Like anyone else, he wished he could fly and never grow old, but wasn’t jealous. He was who he was and worked with what he had, same as Hyperman. Besides, even with all his power, Hyperman used it responsibly and almost always thought of others before himself. He’d never given off even the slightest hint of crossing the line either, though it’d be easy for him and exceedingly difficult for anyone to punish him for it. He had a code of honor and conduct that he adhered to and Nightshadow respected him for it.
    Still, in the world they lived in, things happened. People, even Hyperman, got put under mind control or magic spells. Their alternate reality counterparts came crashing through time and space. Sometimes, somebody duplicated or stole their powers. Also, the possibility existed that one day Hyperman might lose control of himself. Hyperman didn’t know where he had come from or what he was capable of achieving or evolving into.
    Back in 1939, he claimed to have simply woken up as a cold, shivering boy in a field with no idea how he’d gotten there. The local town doctor found him and raised him as best he could on his own, but Cal was still discovering new things about himself and his hyper-powers every day. One morning, he