The Valiant Atlas: Holding up the Sky

[Atlas]

Ajax closed the front door as tenderly as possible upon entering his home. He didn't want to break the door off of its hinges, which he now supposed he could do. He walked through the living room and to his room as quietly as he could, not wanting to wake Richard. His cousin had been switched to the night shift at his job as a security guard at Konn industries, and had taken to sleeping the day away, which meant Ajax and Juan barely got to see him. Ajax smiled at Juan as he passed, Juan laying on the couch, laptop on his chest with an open word document that read, "Chapter One," but was otherwise blank. He had the TV on to some reality show, and looked to be far more interested in that than his computer. He waved at Ajax and mouthed, "How was your day?" Ajax shrugged and mouthed, "Uneventful."


Juan whispered, "What?" Ajax whispered back, "Uneventful." Juan nodded and then whispered again, "I'm going out to get Chinese in an hour, do you want General Tso's or something else?" Ajax pretended to mull it over then said, "General Tso's." Juan grinned and said, "Of course you do, I'll text you when I'm heading back." Juan turned back to the TV, and Ajax tiptoed to his room, and lightly closed the door. He had started to walk like he was moving through jello, slow and soft, so that he didn't punch a hole through his floor with every step. He set his backpack down on his bed, and then took a seat at his desk, only then to realize that he actually needed his backpack if he was going to do anything at the table. He kicked himself back against the floor, and the chair rammed into the bed after a split second. Right, Super Strength. He picked up his backpack, and slowly dragged himself back over to the desk.


He slid his math notebook out of the front pocket, and his Algebra 2 textbook out of the main thing. The thing that's like, the main event of a backpack? The big part at the back where most of your stuff goes, he took his textbook out of that thing. He flipped to page two-hundred and fifty seven, and opened his notebook to a blank page. He checked his phone for the page problems, three through forty-three odds. That meant they were in the back of the book. So his math was done. He blazed through it, copying all but one problem from each little section. Those he decided to show work for, so there could be some argument that he had actually done the homework. He got through one problem by shouting inside his head at the top of his lungs, "Don't think about the fact that you're a f*****g superhero!" The second and third however became much harder, but he managed to get something close to a real answer. Then he moved on to the fourth, and just completely zoned out.


What to do? He was a Superhuman! He was going to go out and fight crime! Just like the guy who'd saved him, freaking Jolt! He'd get to say sick s**t like Jolt had said to him when Ajax had stuttered out a thank you. He'd looked down at Ajax, and with all the confidence his gray hair implied said, "Saving people's the job kid." How cool is that? Ajax, a guy who'd bought a new Jolt shirt every time he changed sizes, and until a year ago when he'd accidentally ripped it, had a poster of Jolt up in his room, had been saved by the guy. That, would have been the greatest moment of his life. If he hadn't found out he had SUPER POWERS. He needed to do some work. He needed a name, a costume, a sigil. Gloryman! No. Samson. They had the super strongJewish guy thing in common, but Ajax didn't want criminals trying to cut his hair all the time. Well, he'd think of something. For now, he could just feel the high of knowing, the world was about to see its new greatest Superhero. Name to be determined.


The costume though he could probably work on, at least a useable one until he could get a real Superhero quality setup, and so he waited until Juan went out to get dinner, and hurriedly changed into one of his old t-shirts and a pair of basketball shorts. Then he left the house, quietly as he had entered, and started a jog to a camping store that was farther than he'd usually consider walking distance. Jogging it would usually take him twenty minutes to get there if all the crosswalks worked out for him. They didn't, but he got there in thirteen minutes, and wasn't anywhere near short of breath. Weird. He hurried in, and b-lined it for the section of the store that was full of clothes. He picked a ski mask up from the rack, it was an olive like green, and looked like it would fit his head tightly. He was about to take it to the front desk when it occurred to him that it might be suspicious for a young man with superpowers to show up wearing clothes a guy his exact size had bought earlier that day.


Ajax decided to try the kindness of strangers, and approached an older couple. Looking down he said, "Excuse me. I hate to be a bother, but my card got declined when I tried to buy this mask and well, if you wouldn't mind just using some of my cash to pick it up for me? I'm a little embarrassed to go up to the desk again." It didn't feel good to lie, but Ajax was going to have to get used to it. Being a superhero was something every kid dreamed of, but you had to be smart about it. If he busted a gang or something, and they found out his name or what he looked like, they could find Richard, or Juan, or any of Ajax's friends. That would break him.


The old woman smiled and said, "Of course honey." Her husband nodded and said, "I'm sure it happens to anybody once or twice if they use the danged things." Ajax reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, and gave the couple twelve dollars, "Thank you so much." Then he went and waited outside, until they brought him the mask and his change and told him to have a good day, with Ajax wishing them the same. Then he waited about ten minutes, and headed into the store, and did the same whole operation, this time with a forest green long sleeve thermal and a pair of thin black gloves. After he got those, he was about ready to head to another store to look into getting some pants or shoes when he got a text from Juan.


He knew Juan wouldn't care that he'd gone out, but he would want to know where he had been, and see what he had bought. So Ajax decided to book it, and was home in eleven minutes, again, not feeling tired in the slightest. Not a minute after he'd put his new duds in the closet did he hear a knock on his door. Opening it, Juan handed him his General Tso's and said, "Your delivery master Cohen." With the same tone, biting sarcasm and all Ajax answered, "Thank you, Jeeves." Juan returned to the couch as Ajax's stomach growled, and the teenager realized just how hungry he was. He felt as if he hadn't eaten all day even though he'd had lunch probably only three or four hours ago. Weird.


Popping open the box, and grabbing the chopsticks, Ajax threw a piece of chicken in his mouth. When he went to grab another, the chopsticks broke in his hands. What prodigious strength! Alphaman, able to bend flimsy bits of wood in a single moment! Getting up, he fetched a fork from the kitchen and wolfed down the rest of the food. There was a reason Juan knew he'd want General Tso's, it was clearly the best item on any menu it appeared.


Returning to his room, Ajax pulled out his phone and texted Chester, "Yo, can you do me a favor?" Then he sat down and tried to start on some of his Physics homework. He hated physics, really just science in general. A moment later, he got a text from Chester that said, "What's up?" Ajax quickly texted him, "Can you go and get a pair of black running shoes and like, athletic pants from some sports store somewhere?" Ajax hadn't even set his phone down when he got a text that said, "Is this for a costume?!?!" Ajax texted back, "Yeah." Then for a while there was nothing.


However after twenty minutes Ajax got another text, "What pant size are you?" 

[Atlas]

Eventually, Ajax gave up on finishing his homework. He simply couldn't think about formulas for the change in momentum when you throw a bowling ball out of a rowboat. His mind was on one thing. Crime. Also justice. His mind was on two things. Crime and justice. Eventually, to try and keep his mind busy on something pointless, he walked into the living room to sit with Juan and watch the trash that he was watching. The pretty woman wearing clothes that probably cost thousands of dollars per article was trying to get her album mixed, and her producer wearing clothes that were almost as expensive as the main woman's wasn't having any of it. For a while, Juan and Ajax watched in silence, until all of a sudden Richard burst out of his bedroom, and hurried into the bathroom. He was already in his uniform, and over the din of the woman's horrible single they could hear the bathroom sink running as Rick brushed his teeth. 

He hurried into the kitchen, grabbing his "lunch" and then made to leave. He leaned down, kissed Juan, and said, "I'll see you guys tomorrow." Juan and Ajax waved him off, then returned back to watching the show. Ajax couldn't believe that Juan actually liked the woman this show was about, she seemed really self centered. Only about ten minutes after Rick had left, there came a knock on the door. Ajax jolted up, and hurried over to open it, revealing Chester, holding a plastic bag. They quickly said hey, hey, what's up, to each other and tried to hurry to Ajax's room, but Juan said, "What's in the bag?" Ajax quickly blurted out, "Nothing." Juan looked over at the two high schoolers for a moment then said, "Alright, crack a window." Chester snickered, but the two were in Ajax's room in seconds.

Chester dumped the contents of the bag on the bed, a shoe box, and a pair of hockey pants. Hockey pants, hockey pants hadn't really been what Ajax had had in mind. Still, they were all he had, they were jet black, just like the shoes, which Chester had picked for their simplicity. Ajax locked his door, then slid the pants over his own, and laced up the black shoes. Then, he grabbed the thermal from his closet, slipped his shirt off and donned the green, and followed it with the ski mask. Turning to face Chester, he held his arms out in a presentation style and waited. Chester's face was like a kid on Christmas morning, and he said, "Dude." [/font]"Dude."

---

This city needs a hero. Somebody who can hold it safe from the criminals who want to terrorize it. Someone to strike fear into the heart's of criminals. Someone whose leadership could stir other to change the course of history. With a great power comes a great responsibility. So that when all the w****s and politicians will look up and shout, "Save Us." And I'll whisper... "Yeah." 

Ajax sat in a dark alley, decked out in his costume, just waiting. He'd stashed his backpack with his street clothes behind a dumpster, but now he considered changing back into them. Nothing had happened, nothing was going to happen, it was stupid of him to come and just wait around at a random block in his costume. Barely a costume really, he looked like a weird guy who loved winter clothing. He paced back and forth, not worried about being seen. It was almost midnight, nobody was going to see him. Nobody was looking for trouble, nobody was doing anything.

Then, however, Ajax heard something. He'd been hearing everything a bit louder actually, but now he heard something, something specific. "Put your f*****g hands in the air or I'll shoot man! Good. Now, empty the register."
 

[Atlas]

Ajax had no idea how hearing was supposed to work, but before that day his hearing had never been on a level that he could do the whole "blind kung fu master" finding things with his eyes closed based on sound schtick. However, when he picked up on the threat, it was like there was an arrow pointing him in the right direction. Quickly he slipped on a bonus that had been Chester's idea, a pair of gray tinted goggles. Then he sprinted from the alley, blowing past everyone around him, and moving faster than he thought he could ever move. Why he was probably going about twenty five miles per hour! He was at the location of the sound in no time, a duanereade. Time to make an entrance Making sure no one was around, Ajax crashed through the convenience stores massive glass front, and scattered the shards all across the concrete floor. 

Now with the chance to truly look at the situation, he saw there were two gunmen, one keeping the people shopping in the store quiet in the corner, seven civilians  the other pointing at the cashier. Ajax placed his hands on his hips in the form of two fists and said in his deepest most heroic voice, "And here I though stop and frisk was actually working." The gunman who'd been keeping the cashier under watch turned to him and pointed the gun his way, and shouted, "What the f**k man!? Who the hell are you?!" Ajax laughed and said, "No one of consequence." There was a gun pointed at his face. A gun. Why was he making jokes? He should just walk over to the corner with the hostages and just stand there, not make jokes. Jokes and Princess Bride references.

The man in the corner shouted over to his friend, "Just shoot him man, he's not gonna be cool." The man holding the gun was shaking, he had both hands on the guns, and they were both shaking violently. Ajax and him were wearing similar masks, and the young man could see the robber's eyes quite clearly. They showed fear. More fear than Ajax had ever known. Ajax suddenly felt very different about this whole operation. He'd thought he could just come in, throw a few punches, get on the news: Hero. Now that didn't feel quite right.

Stepping forward, the young man said, "Hey man, you know you can put the gun down right?" "Shut the f**k up! And don't move!" Ajax didn't stop. "Look man, I've lived poorer than poor. I know it's hard-" "Dude, SHOOT. HIM." "You don't have to do this, you don't have to be a criminal. You're scared, all you're doing is scaring these people. You think I wouldn't want to take a little money now and then? Of course I would, but you can't do this man. I can tell by your eyes, you're better than this."

BANG. There came a shot shot to the stomach by the man keeping the hostages in the corner. Ajax had never taken a bullet before, and he was in a great deal of pain both as it entered and exited his body. He wasn't particularly crazy about the time in between. He cried out, his voice louder than he thought possible, "****!" He turned, and sprinted towards the man in the corner out of anger. The man was taken in surprise by the way that the bullet hadn't seemed to slow the man decked out in green before him down. Ajax rammed his fist into the man's face before he could get off a second blow. He hadn't held back. The man flew up into the air, and sailed just over the head of a quivering hostage, and crashed through the glass door of an ice cream shelf. Ajax clutched his side, feeling the hot blood pump out of him.

As he turned, he saw the other robber had fled good. That meant everyone here was safe. He was about to try and say something comforting, but before he did, a pack of Honey Buns hit him in the back of the head. Turning, he heard an old man, one of the customers say, "Freak! Get away from me!" A woman picked up a can of beans and through it at him, hitting him ins the chest. It barely registered compared to the bullet. Plus the whole strength thing. "Maniac!" "You're an abomination!" The store clerk shouted at him, "I heard you! You said you wanted to rob me too!" All the other customers except one little girl whose mothers had thrown the beans started to pelt him with their groceries or anything at hand, and Ajax decided it would be a good time to duck out. As he stumbled away towards the exit, the little girl called out, "Who are you? Really." Through stunted breath Ajax answered, "Get used to disappointment."

---

Ajax had managed to retrieve his clothes while his adrenaline was up, and to find another abandoned little alley. He pulled off the mask and the thermal, and looked at his wound. It didn't look as big as a bullet now. It had scabbed over, even as he had moved. On both sides his body was repairing itself. Wild. He still felt out of breath and as if he had been you know, shot. He took off the hockey pants and slipped into the sweatpants he'd brought, and the same shirt he'd worn before, and slumped down in the alley, to wait until his body was finished fixing itself. 

---

About two hours later and Ajax felt like he could walk home, and so he did, taking great care not to bump into anyone on the way. Finally he reached his house, and made his way inside. Juan had fallen asleep on the couch, and Ajax was just about to turn the TV off when he noticed what was happening. The channel had stopped its national broadcast, and was now showing one of the smaller news station's late late news broadcasts. He saw a very familiar scene on the screen, cell phone footage from outside a few seconds after he had crashed through the window. As the scene played out, the anchor woman spoke over it, "This man in the mask believed by the police to be a member of a rival gang to these two young men, was stated by the people in the store to have been somewhat super-powered, and the hospital the apprehended criminal was taken to has somewhat confirmed this. According to their reports, the man suffered a head-blow that had force behind it no unarmed human being could be believed to muster. The NYPD has given us the following statement. 'If you see this man in green, do not approach him, he is believed to be quite dangerous, and is a violent criminal. Notify the authorities and keep your distance, and do not try to stop him yourself.'" He shut off the TV.   

[Atlas]

Ajax's alarm blared into his ears at six thirty sharp as it did every morning. He'd had the bright idea to set it so that it played Encore by Jay-Z, and since he was a deep sleeper, he usually only managed to wake up by the start of the first verse. However, this morning he didn't wake up because he hadn't gone to sleep. He had a scar where the bullet had entered him, and where it had left him, but other than that there was no sign of the damage, but it still left the young man with an incredible pain. If that hadn't been enough to keep Ajax awake, he literally couldn't force himself to sleep. He heard a thousand different noises, there was something small running on some powerlines nearby, he heard all the cars, all the people talking on their cellphones. He even heard the subway running underground a few blocks away towards the city. So when the horns and the cheers came in, Ajax was exhausted enough to stay laying down, but he didn't have to wake himself up. He slid out of the bed, and wincing with pain at his stomach, he slowly drifted to the bathroom to take a shower.

As the young man passed through the living room he saw that Juan was already up again, and was typing away at his laptop which rested on the coffee table in front of him next to a bowl of milk that had the coloring like it had housed a few servings of fruit loops already. The news was on. Juan turned and looked at him, "Dude, come watch this." Expecting it to be another clip of him getting shot with commentary on how horrible he was, Ajax shuffled towards the couch and took a seat. The newscaster spoke in the slow accent-less voice present on any program. "We're going to show this clip again and again, because it's simply astounding. There have been costumed heroes before, but never any like this, and those have been few and far between. At Tallworth National Bank in downtown Manhattan, at precisely three forty one in the afternoon yesterday, a bank robbery was carried out by three armed men." The screen showed security camera footage of the bank, as three men with guns started to coral everyone in the bank. "However, they were stopped not by the police, but by a man who can only be described in one word: Superhero." Through the same door the men had used flew a man in an odd getup of light blue and purple. He flew. He floated above the ground before almost too fast for the cameras to pick up (it was slowed down) he subdued all three criminals. The footage cut to outside the bank, behind a police blockade. The same man burst through the doors and layed the man  "The man placed the trio into police custody, and then suddenly flew away at the speed of a jet plane to apprehend their driver, and though we did not get the footage we do know that he succeeded. We have an interviewer with a man who'd been inside the bank."

An old man stood in front of a microphone held by a female reporter, and the woman asked him, "Were you afraid?" The man spoke with some kind of Eastern European accent and said, "Oh yes. I was terrified. I believe that anyone would've been frightened." "How did it feel to see the costumed man come into the bank?" The man's face brightened, "Oh, wonderful. He had a look to his face that was comforting, and he was so powerful that every movement of his body was like someone was stopping the Earth." "It looked like he said something to you all the cameras didn't pick up, would you mind telling us what it was?"[/color] "A man asked him for his name, and he told it to us.  The man who saved us was called Alphaman."   

[Atlas]

Ajax rose as Juan said, "That's insane." However, he stopped when the anchor said, "In other news, there have been other events tied to the string of other New York based superhuman activity. At a convenience store in Manhattan, there was a robbery carried out by two gunmen before they were attacked by a masked man believed to have been from a rival gang. He delivered a blow to one of the men's head, and then threatened the occupants of the store. With analysis of the man who he knocked unconscious, it has been released to the police by the doctors at Maria Cross Hospital that the force was completely unnatural." "That's terrifying." "There were shots fired in the altercation, one bullet passed through the meta-human assailant, and was inspected by the crime scene investigation unit and found to be quite odd. The blood on the bullet was analyzed and... this is odd to say. It was found to be something not quite human. The DNA shared a common structure with humans, but had traces of chemicals not found anywhere in the human body."

Ajax got up and hurried to the shower. There was an explanation for that. The bolt that hit him, during the fight that sent him to the hospital, it must have changed his DNA at the same time as it gave him his power. Right, that was it. He'd have to avoid Doctors checkups from now on.

---

With his 'costume' shoved under his books in his backpack, Ajax made his way into BTMH, Brooklyn Traditional Magnet High. He made his way up to the second floor north side, and quickly opened his locker his head darting around, he decided no one was close enough for there to be an issue, and he quickly grabbed his math book and shoved it into the messy bottom level of his locker. The red bearded teenager grabbed his French book and closed up his backpack. Just as he did, he saw his best friend, who weirdly didn't know his biggest secret anymore, come around the corner holding his girlfriend's hand. Powell and Elliot, arguing over something.

[Atlas]

Ajax walked with Powell and Elliot after they'd both grabbed their things from their locker, himself behind them walking with his headphones in just behind the two as they argued. Anytime ajax felt worried over not having a girlfriend he was reminded by listening to the two of them that relationships were basically apologizing. So maybe it wasn't all bad. After only a minute of walking Elliot broke off to head for her psychology class, and Powell and Ajax got started on their walk to the other side of the school. Powell was busy describing his night before playing Magic when Chester hurried up to them, and said, "Hey what's up. What's up guys?" Chester and Powell were very odd when they were together. Powell and Ajax were both broad average height men, but Chester was tall and thin, and he stuck out anytime he was around the two. Powell had a small number of specific nerdy interests, and Chester could talk with Ajax for hours on end about all the nerdy things they found interesting. However, despite the similarities between Powell and Ajax or Chester and Ajax, Powell and Chester managed to be completely uninterested in the other as friends.

"Yo." "'Sup." Chester clearly seemed uncomfortable. He wanted to bring something up, but couldn't. Ajax knew what it was, but Powell was left in the dark. After a few minutes of semi-forced conversation between the three, they passed Powell's Spanish class and the trio became a duo. Point 1 seconds after he was gone, Chester set in, "Jesus christ Ajax, you got shot! You stopped a robbery! Did you see the news? You looked cool as s**t! Do you have a scar where the bullet hit you? Do you know a way you can get your blood done? DUDE THAT WAS SICK AS HELL!" Ajax sighed, and started answering.

---

After a day of sleeping in class, Ajax got a text as he was waiting for the train. It was from Richard, and it asked him to go into his work and try and get his license from the security office. The men working the desk would recognize him, and he would surely be able to get in. So instead of taking a train home to try and grab some shut eye, Ajax had to switch platforms to head uptown. 

[Atlas]

Ajax squinted from the southern tip of Central park at the Konn Industries tower which loomed above the mass of trees between it and the average height young man. Konn Industries was an odd company that had a hand in nearly everything at this point it seemed. KI owned animation and pornography studios on the same lots, sold weapons and children's toys, was a tech and construction giant, and that was just the first six floors of office space in the 87 story building. It overlooked central park from uptown, and could be seen from far away due to the building's incredibly sleek and odd design, the floors would flare out on one side of the building at strange intervals, then have diagonal slopes of glass reconnecting it to the main building. It looked very much from the other side of the park like a shining spiral staircase.

Just between the end of the north side of the park and the massive tower was a small construction project. Surrounded by tape and cones was a massive podium and a ring of metal raised above the ground that looked like it was meant to keep people from getting too close to the podium or what was meant to be on it, but that looked like all there was so far. Ajax was let in through one of the far too tall glass doors in the main lobby to the ground floor of Konn industries, and slowly made his way up to the front desk. He explained that he needed to grab Richard’s ID, and that he’d be in and out no issue. The woman working it put in a call to someone in the security office, and after about two minutes of waiting and playing brick break on his phone to try and think about something other than the scared faces of the people yelling at him the night before, Ajax followed an overweight guy named Rocko to the elevator.

The two talked about how bad Saturday Night Live had been lately, Rocko blaming the cast, Ajax blaming the writers, but it wasn’t long before they were in the sub-basement, walking to the main security locker room. Rocko retrieved the master key and opened Richard’s locker, and Ajax slid the license into his pocket and thanked the man. As he was being escorted out, he felt Rocko tense up next to him as a man and a woman stepped out of the elevator.

The woman was in her early fourties, probably a few inches taller than Ajax without her heels, but she towered over him in the stilettos she wore. She was black, with wavy hair that reached her shoulders, and a pair of horn rim glasses. Her face was hard and intimidating, she looked like she was judging every single inch of reality that came into her vision. She was a powerful figure, her shape looking like she could break a board with her bare hands without much effort.

The man was barely taller than the woman, but he was less intimidating in figure. He was thin, his shoulders like a child’s, and his blonde hair was so perfectly cut he looked like the Nazi the other men in his brigade would call a sociopath. He was likely in his early thirties, but clean shaven and in the most elegant suit Ajax had ever seen he could have been any age and the young man would have believed it. He had soft blue eyes like a lamb, and his lips were so thin he looked as if he was constantly politely smiling at a stranger as he passed them on the street.

It was the man who was speaking, ”-we have the most up to date security system in the United States, there is not an inch of the building that isn’t monitored for motion, and everywhere save the stalls of the restrooms are visible on security monitors. If someone has a heartbeat or touches a part of the building, we know where they are. There are over two hundred active guards on staff, and at any hour of the day forty are working, ten in the surveillance room and thirty working rounds on various floors. In the event of a security threat we have protocols to immediately lock down the building and keep the occupants safe, though the exact technology used is currently classified. There are three phones on each floor and one in the office of every manager or VP that goes directly to the emergency hotline.”

Rocko and Ajax suddenly became visible for both the man and the woman, and the man said, “Ah, Rocko, this is Ayanna Sunny from ABC. Rocko here is one of the headds of security during our second day shift. Rocko, who’s this?” He looked at Ajax, and suddenly his eyes didn’t seem so docile. In the moment they made eye contact, the teenager felt as if he knew. The man’s eyes looked as if they could tell every secret about him, and one of those secrets was that Ajax had donned a costume and taken to fighting crime.

The security guard spoke in an almost apologetic tone, “This is Ajax Cohen sir, he’s the cousin of a guard on the night shift, was just coming by to pick up something the guy’d left in his locker.” The blonde man smiled and looked back at Ajax, and said, “It’s a pleasure Ajax, my name is Martin Konn.”

[Atlas]

Oh. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Oh. This was Martin Konn. One of the richest men in the world, owner of the building he was standing in, and his cousin's bosses bosses boss. There were more bosses, but for the sake of brevity that's the easiest way to describe it. He was Richard's boss to the ninetieth power. "Hi, nice to meet you, Mister Konn." The man shook his head, with a wide smile, and said, "Please, call me Martin." The rich mister rich pants turned to Rocko and said, "Rocko, you wouldn't mind giving Ms. Sunny here a tour of the Security Control Room?"

Rocko hesitated a moment, then said, "Umm, sir Ajax isn't supposed to be anywhere but the lobby unsupervised." "Oh please Rocko, I'll ride up with the kid, you just answer any questions Ms. Sunny has, alright?" Rocko nodded and began to lead the way for the woman, who said, "Thank you for the tour Martin, the network will appreciate it." Then she began to follow after the security guard, however, she stared Ajax down as she passed him.

Then Ajax followed Martin into the elevator, and they rode in silence for a floor. Then Martin turned to the teenager and said, ”You like superheroes Ajax?” ”WHAT?! I mean, I like them as much as anybody else.” ”Then let’s head to my office, I have something to show you.” The captain of industry typed in a command next to the elevator, then suddenly the light next to the lobby button disappeared, and the elevator seemed to go much faster. Before long, the elevator stopped, and the doors opened.

Ho. Ly. Sh*t.

[Atlas]

Martin Konn's office was not an office. It was a floor, or at least a floor with the height of two. There was a full basketball court, what looked like am entire auto factory condensed into one corner. The floors were glass, and underneath them someone had slid priceless paintings, so that it looked like you were walking on paintings done by artists whose names could have rhymed with Mincent man Mogh or Ficasso. There was a fountain, a full fountain, bigger and more swanky than any Ajax had ever seen. There was a home theater, a full kitchen, and a work out area. It was utterly ridiculous and a testament to the extreme wealth maintained by the upper class, and Ajax would have loved to live there for the rest of his life.     

Martin led him into the workshop, which was near the part of the office that overlooked Central Park. When they were inside the workshop, Ajax couldn't keep his jaw from hanging, he was looking at tech that looked right out of a scif-fi movie, but he was willing to bet that it all worked. Smack dab in the middle was a massive island with a screen across the top. Papers were scattered across the top of it, and you practically couldn't see the screen beneath it. "Call me paranoid, but this is the only room in the building with no surveilance. I doubt anyone could hack the system, I coded the security myself, but on the off chance someone does I don't want them to see any of the things I've been working on personally. For right now what I've been working on is something I think you'll find interesting,it's the creation of a completely technological 'metahuman.' Did you see that man on the news, the Alphaman?" Ajax nodded and opened his mouth to answer, but he was cut off.

Flight and strength unreal. How can we create that in a human being? That's what I've been working on. I believe I have something, and I plan to show you because-" he smiled. "No one will believe you if you tell them." The man turned and began to rummage with something strapped to a wall, but Ajax was preoccupied with a few pieces of paper on the island. There was one labeled, "Suit Recreation" that had a picture of Alphaman's suit just the way it had appeared on the news, and a series of odd formulas and theories next to the picture. Ajax hesitated, but he decided to take a chance. He whipped his phone out of his pocket, and took a picture of the schematic, then shoved his phone back in, just before the billionaire turned back around, holding a small metal tube. At the press of a single button, a pair of broad wings folded out from the the tube, as well as a split in the main tube. "This, is my prototype of a jetpack. 30s scifi got a few things right, and that was this. We're no where near complete, or even close to any testing, but we've accomplished minor thrust." He forced the wings to retract and placed it back from where he had gotten them. The he place a hand on Ajax's shoulder and said, "Come."

He led Ajax to the window, and the two looked down. "Tell me, are you familiar with Atlas?" Ajax smiled, his name had inspired him to pick up a book of myths as a kid, he was very familiar with Greek Mythology. "The Titan, who holds up the sky." "That's right. I was in Greece years ago when they had a large exhibit on art that was from Greek sources. One was a bronze sculpture of Atlas holding the sky. It inspired me, and I often think of i when I must make a decision. For that reason, I have commissioned an exact replica of the sphere that represents the sky. I am in my life an Atlas, holding the sky so that the world may continue to grow." 

The billionaire sighed and walked to his desk. "Well, that is all that I have to show you. You may show yourself out."[/font][/font] Ajax made his way to the elevator, and stepped in. Just before the doors closed, he heard Konn say, "I hope your next run to the convenience story goes well."

[Atlas]

Sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t Sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t Sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t Sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t Sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t Sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t Sh*t sh*t sh*t. How, in god's name could Konn know that he was the one who'd been in the gas station. Why had he been nonchalant about it? Why would he show a 'metahuman' designs to either help or hinder them? This was terrifying. Utterly terrifying. He could use whatever evidence he had to put Ajax in jail. Ajax under no circumstances wanted to go to jail. As the doors of the elevator opened to the lobby and Ajax stepped out he realized that Konn didn't have anything on him. The labs that looked at his blood found... something weird. They didn't find anything out about him, or anyone near him. There was no way that Konn could know it was him, he must have been making a joke. That was it, 'Hey kid, make sure to stay safe in convenience stores dog.' Totally a joke and nothing else.

Ajax decided to get food before catching the metro, and made his way towards a place on Columbus he'd hit up a few times with Powell and Elliot. He was just leaving, folding the ends of the crust together to make eating the wide slice easy, when an armored truck drove by, with the logo of Wingate Corp plastered on the side. Wingate Corp was notable for being Konn Industries biggest competitor in Tech and Weapons. Ajax wasn't sure if he should feel some odd brand loyalty to Konn since the freaking CEO and founder had been nice to him, or Wingate out of his new found fear of Konn. Either way, the truck was massive, and must have been transporting something huge. About halfway through the slice, and suddenly there was an odd hum, and a man appeared in the sky, wearing a jetpack the same model as he'd seen less than thirty minutes ago. The man wore a red mask, and shooting by in a streak, he landed on top of the truck with a thud. As people stopped to stare at the man who'd just flown through the sky with a jet pack, none of them noticed the young man scarf down the last of his pizza and sprint behind a dumpster. 

The man in the red mask didn't worry at all over the sudden swerving of the truck. His greaves were outfitted with metallic tech that responded to impulse monitors he wore under his mask. Reaching to the advanced Kevlar vest he wore, the man placed four charges, one on each corner of the trucks wide roof. He thrust himself into the air with the jetpack, and then triggered the charges. The bombs were such that they cut a series of holes into the top and sides of the truck's container. Then the charge blew, and the entire roof was blown clean off and flew off of the truck towards the side walk. A group of German tourists complete with fanny packs and cargo shorts screamed as the top came at them, a thick layer of steel that could crush the life out of them at the velocity it was traveling. However, before any contact was made, a man in a green thermal (with patched holes), gloves, and mask suddenly sprinted in front of them with unnatural speed and grabbed the roof out of the air.   

[Atlas]

Ajax lifted the roof of the trucks back section above his head and folded it in on itself, then he layed it down on the ground. As he leapt off after the truck, he heard a soft voice say, "Danke!" Two bounds and a quick sprint, and the green clad teenager had managed to catch up to the truck that had now managed to stop. He vaulted himself through the open roof, and fell in face to face with the jetpack-ed man in the red mask. They were on either side of what looked like a bowling ball sized battery made of glass, copper, and glowing tubes of something. Ajax pointed at his own mask and said, "Well one of us is going to have to change." The man in red didn't say anything, he instead clipped a grenade off of the back of his vest which looked like Kevlar on steroids. He chucked it at Ajax, who tried to catch it but wound up dropping it on the floor. He scrambled to pick it up as the grenade throwingman worked on freeing the battery from the floor of the car. Once he'd managed to pick up the grenade, Ajax threw it into the air with his greatest strength.

Though it exploded safely above the truck, the grenade didn't fly as high as Ajax had expected his new strength to carry it. Suddenly he became aware of how sore catching the roof of the truck had made him. It weighed less than the car he'd lifted had, but Ajax hadn't been forced to catch the car. "Hey, a$$hole, if that blew up what would happen to you? Mr... Shellshocketeer." As the man lifted himself, holding the battery looking thing that had been what he was going after, the sounds on the other side of the door on the back of the truck. It was being opened. The man finally spoke, in a gruff Jersey voice, "Report on ya said you were the hero type kid, figured you'd fall on it before you let it kill me." The door banged open, and the man sprung up, his jetpack wings expanding again and thrusting him out of the truck bed. "See ya around kid!" Report on him? How did he know he was a kid? He wasn't a kid, he was a man.

Ajax turned to look at the guards, both of which had their guns pointed straight at him. Great, this looked great for Ajax. He was glad this was happening. He put his hands up, and prepared a crack of the wise variety when the younger of the two fired a shot straight at his thigh. The bullet barreled through his skin, but was stopped by his thigh bone. F**K! Ajax forced himself to keep moving through the pain, and leapt out of the truck bed and began to limp away at high speed. The men ran around the truck and fired two shots at the sprinting green clad teen. One bullet sailed into the sky, and didn't seem to hit anyone. The other moved past Ajax' head, and dug into the shoulder of a little girl walking by herself with the hood of her sweater up. No. Ajax made it to her in time to catch her before she hit the ground. Her breathing grew tight in his arms, and she closed her eyes. She looked like she was from Uzbekistan, and the oldest she could possibly be was nine. Ajax could feel her fear as he held her.

The fear faded as white hair sprouted all across the little girls skin, and she began to grow in very odd fashion. As her muscles bulged and her hands changed to paws, the bullet was pushed out of her shoulder. Her face began to morph, and Ajax let go of her, backing away. When she suddenly stopped changing, she let out a massive roar. In the middle of Manhattan, was a Polar Bear.           

[Atlas]

The little girl had turned into a polar bear. A Polar Bear, which of the bears, wasn't a bad bear to turn into. Sure the ice capse were melting, but you got that sweet coke sponsorship. The girl didn't look like she had any interest in selling him a soda. She roared, and swiped him with more force than Atlas would have believed even a bear could muster, sending him flying through a bar window. As the young man clad in green picked himself up he wondered at why she would attack him, why she would think he'd been the one to attack him. He had to guess that she was just frightened and young, and her powers probably scared her even more. Maybe this was the first time she'd exhibited these powers? That would be terrifying, he shouldn't blame it on her. No matter what she was a little girl who'd been shot. Shot because of him. It was his fault. He took a moment to gather himself, his breath was slow and his heart was fast. He could recover from pain pretty fast, but not faster than the spread of pain after taking a one two from a polar bear.  

He jumped out of the bar through the broken window, "Get insurance!" Then he limped/sprinted towards the Polar bear, who was now roaring at the top of her lungs and crushing a car. Two patrol cars rolled up out of nowhere, and took over for the fleeing truck guards. Four cops in total aimed their guns at the massive beast, and one of them fired a warning shot over her head. Ajax slid in front of her and shouted, "Don't shoot! She's just a little girl!" One of the different cops fired at him but missed. No need to follow his advice, he was just the guy who'd been sent flying by the beast and gotten back up. No reason to listen to him. The girl in bear form roared again, and almost on cue the cops began to fire on her. The roaring increased, and the bear jumped off from the car and started to run towards the group of cops. Ajax grasped at every straw in his mind, and then grabbed the car the bear had been pushing, and slammed it down in front of the bear. She simply climbed on top of it, and Ajax had to think even faster than the moment before. He lifted the car, with a polar bear on it.

With the grill pressed against his chest, Ajax held the car aloft, with the polar bear resting on the trunk. She mostly looked confused as the boy lifted her off the ground on the top of a car, lifting with his legs and back. The bear was clever, and simply jumped down at him, and swiped him again, forcing Ajax to drop the car and go flying into one of the squad cars. Ajax's powerful frame crushed the car, and the impact broke the arm of one of the cops who'd been using the car for cover. As the Polar bear suddenly fled, one of the cops put their gun to his temple. With reflexes he didn't know he had, Ajax grabbed the gun and crushed it. He sprung up with enough adrenaline to keep himself going, and leapt forward. He hurried after the Polar Bear, who was making a bee line towards the Hudson.

As he followed, his leg still burning with every step, he was happy to see that the Polar bear had decided to simply keep running, and it wasn't attacking anyone. They crossed Amsterdam and made it to Broadway, and it wasn't till he saw the beast duck into an alleyway that he felt the chase coming to a close. As he hurried after it, he swiped an XL "I Heart NY" shirt and stuffed it into his pants. The man who worked the stand would probably have yelled at him, but he had likely run away with most of the other pedestrians when the Polar Bear showed up. Ajax grabbed an extra one, and then hurried after the girl.

When he found her, she was crouching, scared and human. He threw her one of the shirts, and she slipped it on. It went past her knees, so that it looked like she was wearing a massive dress. Ajax asked, "Um, what the hell just happened?" The girl looked up at him, there was still some fear in her eyes. "When-when I get scared I... change." Ajax walked closer to her and crouched down, and said, "When you're scared, that's it?" She shook her head, "When I feel like I need something it happens. I got thirsty once and I changed into a camel." Ajax could have laughed at that if he wasn't put off by seeing a little girl get shot. "So it's not just the Polar Bear, weird. When did this start?" She hesitated, then said, "Six months ago, the same time... a voice started talking to me in my head. How did you get your powers?" Ajax shook his head involuntarily, and then said, "I drink a lot of milk. What voice?"

The girl shook her head then, but it was more of an expression of fear than any distrust. "There's a voice that tells me things. Horrible things about how selfish I am, and how its sending people to kill me." Ajax's eyes widened, then he put his hand on her shoulder, her tiny non-polar bear shoulder. "Okay well, no one's going to kill you if I have anything to say about it. What's your name?" She narrowed her eyes and said, "Madina Karimov, what's yours?" Ajax sighed. He'd had two scares today with the new secret identity thing, but he said extended his hand and said, "Ajax Cohen. It's nice to meet you Madina." They shook hands, her tiny hand tightly gripping his large one. However, their meeting was cut short when a voice yelled, "Johnson, take point!" Ajax turned, and when he looked back at Madina, she was gone, but he saw the tail of a cheeta disappearing around a corner. The young man followed, but he wasn't nearly fast enough to catch her. He was, however, fast enough to outlimp the police, and managed to hide long enough that he could loop back and pick up his backpack and civvies later. With a bullet in his leg, he finally managed to get on the subway back to Brooklyn.          

[Atlas]

By the time Ajax got home and took off his pants, his wound had closed, his skin and muscle closing over the bullet still lodged inside of him. He'd managed to hide his limp, but when he looked at his leg there was a big bump of skin over the bullet. Yeah, he definitely couldn't leave a damn bullet in his leg. Forcing himself up from his bed, Ajax dragged his leg behind him as he crept toward the kitchen. Juan and Richard were cuddled on the couch, watching Love Actually. Ajax slithered past the couch toward the kitchen, but his heavy footsteps gave him away. Richard turned his head, his smile bright, and said, "Yo kid! Come watch with us!" Rick was in an incredibly good mood. Word had come down from top brass, and he was on the Day Shift now, which meant he'd actually be able to spend some time with Juan and Ajax. It was random, and he wasn't given a reason for it, but Ajax had a guess. The teenager mumbled "I will in a second, getting a snack and finishing something."

Then Ajax finished the shuffle into the kitchen. He heated up some of his leftovers from a few nights ago when he'd grabbed Mexican with Elliott while Powell was playing Magic. She'd wanted an enchilada, but didn't want to go alone, and Ajax was always willing to get Mexican with her, she would pronounce anything in perfect Spanish. It was hysterical to have her sound like a soccer mom then all of a sudden do a Ricardo Montalban impression when she asked for no Jalapenos. It was adorable. Well, not adorable, she was Powell's girlfriend, he shouldn't call her adorable. It was rad. As the chicken spun in the microwave, Ajax slipped a steak knife into his pocket, and mentally braced himself. He scarfed the chicken and mole sauce down, pouring himself a glass of water halfway through to offset the spice. Then he shuffled back to his room, and braced himself again, this time adding physical to the mental. He slipped the knife out and dropped his pants again. 

Time to do what he had to. 

---

About two weeks went by and not a lot happened. Ajax went on patrols every other night, and kept his 'costume' with him at all times, but not a lot happened. He asked his teachers for work in advance because he, 'thought he might be visiting his sick aunt soon' and tried to get ahead on all the nights that he wasn't going out to fight crime. Crime he never seemed to be around.

However, one day he was trying to barrel through his math homework when Rick called him from the living room, and called, "Hey, Jax! You got a package!" Ajax bolted up. He'd ordered a police radio and it still hadn't come. He didn't want Richard or Juan to see it, so he wanted to grab it as quick as he could. Ajax grabbed it and hurried back to his room. Richard called after him, "What is-" "Porn!" Ajax slammed his door, and for a moment thought that it might fall off, but turned to see happily that it didn't. He plopped the box on his bed and pried a letter off the lid that said, 'Ajax.' Opening it, it read in script that looked like it was from a real typewriter.

"Dear Ajax,

I couldn't help but notice that in your fight against The Red Baron of sorts you came into conflict with two weeks ago that your shirt was in poor condition. I though to myself that you could use something sturdier. It's green, that seems to be your preferred color, don't worry, it's free of charge.

- Concerned."

It must have been Konn, that had to be it. It had to be. He couldn't wear something from Konn. Pulling the suit from the packaging, Ajax saw it was a deep forest green, and was a sort of sleek stretchy material that looked like it would be just a bit big on him. He couldn't tell what it was made of. Looking into the box, he saw a hood of the same color with a pair of black lenses to cover the eyes.

"P.S. If you feel the need to go full hero, Sulfur can make permanent marks on the suit for the next month, afterwards only extreme damage will do it any trouble."  

   

[Atlas]

Ajax was frightened the next day. Frightened of walking from his subway stop to his school and seeing a limo out front that had a gigantic Kung-Fu chauffeur standing next to it, and that Martin Konn would step out and shout, "THERE HE IS! THERE'S THE WANTED CRIMINAL WHO WEARS THE GREEN SHIRT AND MASK!" That was the description the news had given him, from when he'd, 'Robbed an armored car with another masked accomplice, and then fought the police alongside a strange woman who transformed into a bear, including directly damaging property and threatening the police.' He wasn't upset about it, not at all. 

However, there was no limo, everything was fine. Ajax made it to his first period fine, math, which was a horrible way to start the day. Math, or as it was called in some circles, the worst thing in the universe. Actually, it hadn't been that bad lately. He usually struggled with picking up new concepts in math and science, but in his Algebra and Physics class he seemed to be going at a faster rate for his pick up. It was like every time he struggled with a new equation, the next time he did it it was far easier. Weird. Ajax made it through algebra, then through physics, then through US History, then through theater, then through english, then creative writing, then french. Then the day was done and Ajax was able to slide his textbooks into his backpack without anyone seeing his costume. His costume, not the one he'd been given to put him in debt to some capitalist. His costume would work just fine as long as it kept his identity a secret.

Powell and Elliott met him by his locker and he walked with them until Elliott left for musical rehearsal after they had a brief argument. Ajax wasn't sure what they were arguing over, he was focused on two things. A: The Red Baron as the letter had called him had been wearing a jetpack the exact same model as the one that Konn had shown him, and he had stolen from Konn Industries competitor. Unless the man had managed to steal from Konn, and then go after Wingate, that meant that Konn had propped the man up, and sent him after his rival. Which wasn't good, not good in the slightest. Ajax had never been a big fan of the corporate world, and if they were only hurting their competition, he had nothing to say about it, but it was still suspicious, and what was stopping that guy from using his tech to steal from regular people, or hurt regular people. B: That girl had mentioned a voice in her head, maybe that meant that she was just going schizophrenic, it was a side affect of her powers, or she was telling the truth. If she was telling the truth, that was a massive issue. He needed to find her again.

Powell tried to convince Ajax to go to the game shop with him, but Ajax claimed that he had to help Richard move something, and Powell dejectedly told him that was fine, and the two got on different trains. Ajax made it home and worked on his History, it was simple, just defining some terms, then set his alarm on his phone for nine o'clock, and curled up for a nap.

---

Ajax had found a good building on which to stand dramatically a few nights ago. He had one leg up on the edge, and he surveyed Manhattan, looking uptown towards the Bronx. He didn't know really what he was looking for, but this was always his first stop on patrol. He'd stay here for about two hours, listening to music or comedy on his iPod, waiting for something like a mass of police sirens, or like, gunshots, or maybe a fire. Hopefully there wouldn't be anything, and Ajax could put his clothes on over his costume and go walk around, make this patrol an actual patrol and not a shift of guard duty.

However, for the first time since he found the spot, something did happen that he could see. An old apartment building in the East Village went up in flame, and Ajax's powerful ears immediately registered screams. Ajax stuffed his iPod into his backpack, then sprinted towards the edge of the building and jumped when he reached the end, and sent himself flying through the air, landing on a building about four down from the building that was on fire. Ajax jumped from there to the street right in front of the building. He'd expected a crater to form under him like in a superhero movie, but the street didn't even have the slightest indention. He didn't have long to stare however, because he sprinted into the building that still blazed. He immediately ran to the stairs, and headed up. There were seven floors, and it was night. People would be in their homes, he needed to get them down and out as soon as he could. As he was on the steps up from the second floor toward the third, a group of people ran past them. He yelled, "GET OUT!" as he ran past them, then went to the seventh floor. He figured if he went there and worked his way down, he'd manage to get to them all.

On the seventh floor, he found burning debris had fallen in a few places. As it wood seemed to slither down the wall with fire red like blood and heat like the sun Ajax listened to more than the crackle of the burning wood. He heard someone coughing and crying for help, and guessed at which door it could be. HE BURST INTO A ROOM- and it was the wrong one. SO HE DID IT TO THE NEXT ONE, and it was the right room. There was a woman in her thirties, coughing, lying on the ground. Ajax rushed to her side, and slung her over his shoulder, then hurried back to the hallway, and ran through it kicking open doors. He couldn't seem to find anyone, which meant it was time to go to the floor below. He realized that starting at the stairs just meant that he was too far away from them now. Even with his improved speed, he'd take some time getting down a floor. So he stomped. Twice.

Falling through to the sixth floor, Ajax rushed towards someone clearly yelling help. A massive beam had fallen across the back of a guy maybe a few years older than him. Bending down, Ajax flipped the thing off of him with one motion. Then Ajax threw him over his other shoulder. Within forty seconds, he was outside, and set both of them down, and then he was right back in, right when the fire department was showing up. He made for the fifth floor.

Once more, Ajax was kicking in doors, but nothing. There was no one left. He went to the fourth floor, and there it was different, there there was a room where he heard the wailing of a baby, and when Ajax rushed in, he could see that the child's mother had gone unconscious due to the smoke. Grabbing them both, Ajax hurried around the rest of the floor with the baby pressed against his chest to shield her from the smoke. He heard someone banging against a door by one door and shouted, "Get away from the door!" After about three seconds, he kicked the door in, and a woman in her mid twenties ran out and hugged him, saying "THANK YOU!"[/color] The smoke had forced her to squint, so she probably assumed he was a firefighter. Ajax headed for the third floor, and hear the firemen on the floor below him, going up to each door and kicking it in. They were slow. He started his work just above them, but he couldn't hear much. The second to last door he kicked in was a room with someone in it. Or rather some thing, there was a glass case with a hamster in it, left behind by the family who'd kept it. By some miracle, the little fella was alive, and Ajax slipped his hand into the case and pulled him out. It crawled into one of  the pockets of his pants, and snuggled in, happy to be away from the smoke.

When Ajax made it back outside, he handed the woman to a fireman who was delegating and looking confused, then handed her kid to a cop. He shouted to the people watching their homes burn, "Anybody lose a hamster?" He reached into his pocket and pulled the chubby little fuzzball out from his pocket and a little girl lit up and ran towards him. She shouted, "Ajax! You saved Ajax!" For a moment, the bipedal Ajax's heart had stopped, but he handed the girl her hamster, then turned back to the building. It was falling apart, it wouldn't be together much longer. The firemen were moving slow. Ajax ran back inside.

Before he could take the stairs up to the second floor, the foundation crumbled, and the center of the ceiling on the ground floor began to cave in, with a few beams snapping through plaster. Ajax hurried to it, and caught the weight on his shoulders. The fire fighters began to file to the ground floor then out. One man saw him holding the roof, and hurried over to him, ""How long can you hold it? There's a few more of our boys up there."[/font] Ajax shifted all of the weight to his legs back and shoulders, and said, "I'll hold it as long as I can!" The fire fighter nodded, then ran outside.

Before he knew what was happening, most of floors three through seven came crashing down, and before Ajax knew it, he must have been holding up more than forty tons. More than fifty. It felt as if he was trying to hold up the entirety of the sky, like he was being crushed under the very suns and stars. His body had never seemed so small, as he stood on the precipice of crumbling to his demise under a weight he couldn't believe man could create. He was strength, yet he could not hold out against the infinity on his shoulders for long. The fire swirled around him, and as it licked him, it burnt against his shirt, and left soot marks on his skin.

In the end, he held the parts of the building up for about seventeen seconds, and then it fell on him, or more realistically he fell because he couldn't hold it up and then the building fell with him, his muscles were completely torn apart, and his bones were utterly smashed. Within an hour, he was in good enough shape to dig himself out and creep to find his lookout roof. His thermal was literally gone, burned away. His mask and pants were tatters, and his body was covered in ash and soot. Though he could barely move, he slipped his civvies on, and made his way home. He probably wouldn't be going in to school the next day.

When he got home he showered, then checked the news. Three fireman and one civilian had died when the building fell.   
[/b][/font]

[Atlas]

Ajax had gotten pretty good at tuning out the noise when it came time to sleep. Well, not tune it out, but ignore them. The sound of a car horn or some tourist yelling, "Ey, I'm walkin' 'ere!" Those were things that he could ignore, while his ears would still pick up at a gunshot or a scream or a crash and let him spring up, ready to move. Sleep had become almost easy again, he could usually drift off if he just focused on relaxing. Tonight, he couldn't. 

He hadn't been strong enough. He'd told the man that he'd be strong enough, and he wasn't. The building had come down, and four people had died. He wasn't a hero, he was a joke. He'd put a man in the hospital with a coma, let one criminal get away with some sci-fi whatchamacallit that could power a WMD for all he knew, had a little girl shot because of him, had the same little girl tell him she was terrified of being killed and then run away, and let four people die because he thought he was strong enough to do something that he wasn't. Oh and everyone who knew he existed hated him. He'd been doing the "Hero Thing" for a month. A month of nothing but losses. Ajax could take getting beaten up or even getting shot at this point, but people dying because of him was just too much.

His alarm went off, Ajax shut it off. He lay in bed for another three hours, until finally he managed to force himself asleep, but only for two hours. So after that he got up and shuffled himself to the bathroom, explaining on the way to Juan that he had felt sick and wasn't going to school. This was his ninth unexcused absence, one more and he wouldn't move on to Senior year. That would be torture worse than the mental anguish of letting four people die. No it wouldn't, that was a bad joke. When he got in the shower, he just stood there. For thirty minutes, he just let the scalding water rush over him, but his skin didn't burn like it used to. He wouldn't hate pain, something to make hims feel as bad on the outside as he did within. But it wouldn't come, his powers had made him immune to anything he could do short of shooting himself. There was no way for him to cause himself any pain. Nothing.

When he put his clothes on, he stared at his backpack. he wasn't' going to school, there was no need for him to put it on. He didn't need to take any books anywhere. Or anything else. He walked towards his bedroom door, and put his hand on the knob. He took his hand off the knob, and turned around. He took his clothes off save his boxers, and then slipped the suit he'd gotten from "Concerned" on. He rolled up the sleeves, and then threw on his jeans and switched shirts to a button up, and did something he hated. He tucked in his shirt. He stuffed the gloves and the mask of the costume into his backpack, and threw it over his shoulder. He slid his chucks up, and laced them over the odd foot parts of the suit. There were pads on the bottom of the foot part, and it made it possible to walk without any other shoes, but he couldn't walk around with the feet of a green onesy sticking out of his pants.

He caught the E train uptown, and got off next to the globe by Central Park. He bought himself four hot dogs, his massive metabolism matched with a bit of depression pushing him to scarf them down. He finished them in about two minutes. Then he went on a walk through the park, and let himself feel horrible. He'd never been particularly good at hiding how he felt, not even from himself.    
  
It would have been hard, to keep the activities tied to the suit he now wore under his clothes from his mind when the massive Konn tower was frowning closer the farther through the park he went. His mind could sometimes stray, he walked past the occasional pretty girl, or annoying looking tourist. Sometimes he could pity them when they went by in a petty cab, but that wasn't too common. Most of his thought was after what had made him fail. He was still sore, but it was odd, he was mostly recovered.

Finally he made it to the edge of the park, and looked directly at the Konn Industries building, and the now completed sculpture of the 'sky.' The thing was huge, far bigger than the globe of the Earth on the other side. It was a massive sphere of metal, with stars and other symbols associated with space and the sky across it. Ajax stood looking at it, trying to figure out exactly what constellation or whatever everything was meant to be. Then, there came a massive crash followed by a yell.

One of the buildings a few down from Konn had a burst of glass and steel fly into the street, luckily not hitting any cars. From the hole made by the burst was a massive man in tattered clothes, whose face looked like he was moments away from foaming at the mouth. He leaped up, and landed on a car, crushing the front of it. The driver opened the door and ran away, and the odd man jumped again, creating a crater under him when he landed. He tore up the chunks of the pavement up, and in the direction of the fleeing populace. He leaped again, closer to the front of Konn Industries, and lifted an abandoned car over his head, and threw it down the street, crashing into several of the other cars in front of him. He let out a massive yell, clearly the man was not in his right mind. At the end of his roar, a rock hit the back of his head with incredible force. Turning around, he saw-

A man in a forest green suit, made of an unfamiliar fabric, standing defiantly.