Resistance (4 page)

“So you wanted to destroy the Kaiju King? He was your nemesis?” Tia Prime asks Norio.

“You’re still trying to pin me to ARMOR? No. The Kaiju King didn’t kill my family,” says Norio. “The Unit killed my family. You should know that.”

“I had left the Unit by then,” says Tia Prime. “What’s this, Captain?”

“Well, the Unit didn’t kill Norio’s father, the fight did. The Kaiju King’s dragon died when The Faceless impaled it on Norio’s father’s tower.”

“And killed most of the people inside it,” says Norio, his voice perfectly calm. “It doesn’t matter whose fault it is, of course. But since you have taken so much interest in the matter, you should know that the villain and his monster didn’t kill my father. The world’s greatest superhero team did.”

Captain Tia leans forward. “So suddenly ‘Are you a supervillain?’ doesn’t seem that stupid a question, does it, Norio?”

Norio shrugs. “I just wanted to show you that this connection you’re trying to draw between me and ARMOR is false. I have nothing against the Kaiju King. And I have nothing against the Unit. I spent a couple of years wanting to kill The Faceless – why am I calling him The Faceless? I spent a lot of time wondering how to kill the mass murderer Jai Mathur, your friend and ally.”

“Never,” says Tia. “I tried to kill him the first three times we met, and left the Unit because he was in it.”

“Well, good for you. Anyway, so thoughts about avenging my father sort of died when Mathur showed many times over the years that he couldn’t be killed. So there’s really nothing I can do about him. Life is unfair. Superpowers are unfair. But my life has been known to arouse envy too. Try not to pity me.”

The Tias study him closely for a few seconds.

“Tell me the rest of the story,” says Tia Prime.

“I don’t want to give out spoilers,” says Norio. “Do you mind if I walk around this submarine for a while?”

“There’s not much else to see except torpedo cradles, server rooms and so on,” says Captain Tia. “You drive mechas, I don’t think the sub’s fibre-optic networks are likely to get you breathing heavily.”

“I don’t—” Norio begins, but Tia Prime cuts him off.

“We know about ARMOR, Norio,” she snaps. “And your denial is, well, silly at this point. Let’s say this master detective lover of yours finds our sub like you say she will, what will you say when she shows up in her ridiculous little mermaid-mecha?”

“We are not lovers,” says Norio.

“That’s true. Why not?” Tia Prime enquires, all traces of annoyance vanishing. “You seem so perfect for each other. And she’s kind of sexy in that intense horror-movie heroine way.”

“I said, we’re not—”

“Why don’t you sit down, Norio,” says Captain Tia gently. “We’re going to work together after this, and it’s important that we get to know each other better.”

Norio smiles. He sits, putting his feet up on the control table again, and surveys the screens on which his life has been laid out. Norio is not particularly vain, but as he looks at an array of screens all featuring him, sharply dressed, stepping out of hybrid cars, inaugurating vertical farms, demonstrating a braingate neural interface to a group of thrilled disabled people, announcing the invention of a nanoparticle-embedded resin that will make Hisatomi cars and maglev trains six times lighter… he decides he looks good. He looks very good.

“So, Norio’s father dies in 2012 and he disappears for six years,” says Tia Prime.

“Then he returns, spectacularly, at a zaibatsu meeting and takes charge of the company,” says Captain Tia. “Is it true there was a ninja costume involved, Norio?”

“Yes. No. Well, it was store-bought. But it got the job done.”

“Big win. He’d been doing all kinds of financial whiz-kiddery for a year or so before this, of course, so when he finally comes back to Tokyo in 2018 all the pieces in his master plan fall together, and it’s as if Norio has been on top of the eligible bachelor lists right through.”

“Something about a pig?” says Tia Prime.

“Yes. The only flaw in Norio’s plan is that his green genetically modified two-headed pig, Capitalist, isn’t a society hit. At around the same time the ARMOR giant mecha-warrior makes its first appearance. Norio and his – associate – Azusa gather a group of people from Tokyo that they’ve known online for a while – they played RPGs together, and were even reigning champions at some game or other before that group of fused Korean supergamers took over all online gaming – and boom, they formed a super mecha pilot team.”

“Well played,” says Tia Prime.

“I deny everything,” says Norio.

Captain Tia hushes them both. “Almost done, now, control yourselves. ARMOR protects Tokyo from sea monsters so well that the government stops hiring international mercenary teams to do the job, leaving Tokyo Bay’s defence more or less in ARMOR’s very capable hands. At the same time, Norio becomes a major player in the business world. But something’s changed.”

“The pig?” Tia Prime asks.

“No. The pig is dead. Focus. Instead of looking at human-super cooperation, like Utopic, which by this point has grown to become the world’s fattest mega-super-whatever-corporation, the Hisatomi zaibatsu focuses on humans – there’s even an informal don’t-hire-supers policy. Norio becomes one of the most alpha network people on the Tokyo social scene, and is kind of responsible for the social trend where superheroes, while appreciated for their work, aren’t really seen as acceptable in high society. It’s the opposite of the US, with its superpowered President. Okay. The end.”

Norio applauds politely. “Very good,” he says. “And now?”

“And now you take questions, Norio,” says Captain Tia.

“What if I refuse to answer?”

“You want us to threaten you? Why?”

“It just doesn’t feel like a kidnapping otherwise.”

“Let’s see. First we could tell the world that you’re in Team ARMOR. Make your teammates targets. Then we could take all your money. Then we could… I don’t know, tell the world about your secret connections with Utopic? Never friend you back anywhere on the internet? Write bad reviews on all your hero ratings profiles? Storm your base and steal ARMOR?”

“I’ll take questions,” says Norio, wincing.

“First. You’re secretly on the board of directors of Utopic, despite being all no-supers for your own company. I get why you don’t like supers, no one who has had anything to do with Jai ever does. But Utopic is the big daddy of the whole scene where… well, you know what they do. Why do you work for them? It seems like cheating. Utopic seems a little… shady, no?”

“You don’t have to be polite about Utopic,” says Norio. “The company’s a hideous beast that embraces human-super cooperation in public and performs experiments on supers in secret zoos. Also, it’s taking over the world.”

“Then why do you work there?”

“I don’t. I wouldn’t mind being part of something that turned supers into juice and then gave that juice to everyone, but when Utopic finally manages to bottle powers, they’ll sell them for huge profits. Part of which will come to me. I own part of Utopic because my father did. From when it began, before it went the way of all big companies. Utopic keeps me very rich.”

“So after your whole dark knight rises to the top of the skyscraper story, you end up working for this – hideous beast?”

“It’s a loving expression. Look, are you trying to sleep with me? Or hire me?”

“Neither.”

“Shame. But in that case, my morals are really no concern of yours, are they?”

“He’s right,” says Tia Prime. “Next question, Norio. How much do you hate the superpowered?”

“I don’t.”

“Do wish none of this had happened? That superhumans had never existed?”

“As in, strongly enough to smuggle myself on a series of illegal plane trips and dream of a world without superhumans, and turn myself into some kind of ultimate anti-super weapon? No.”

“But you don’t like superhumans.”

“Of course I don’t. You only like the new world elite if you’re a part of it.”

“What about the reforesters, the photosynthetics, the landscapers, the cleaners, the healers, the clean energy gang?”

“No. I recognise they’re doing a good job. Still won’t work with them. Sorry, how does it matter whether I like them or not? Where is this headed?”

Captain Tia clears her throat nervously and looks at Tia Prime.

“The thing is, Norio,” says Tia Prime, “someone’s killing off supers.”

“Someone’s always killing supers,” says Norio with a shrug. “Usually bigger and meaner supers.”

“Someone very smart, and someone with a plan. These aren’t random incidents. Huge fights, disasters, explosions. Public places. There’s a pattern to it.”

Norio smiles. “And you thought that was me? I’m… quite flattered, but I lack both the desire and the resources.”

“No, we didn’t think it was you,” says Captain Tia. “But we could use your help.”

“I’d love to help you,” says Norio. “Look, there’s Stockholm syndrome kicking in.”

“But before we work together, we have to be clear about a few things. The whole man of mystery thing you’re doing must work well with most ladies, but we don’t like it. We know you’re up to something,” says Tia Prime. “We know you have a larger plan.”

“Of course I do,” says Norio. “The further expansion of my business empire, and hopefully the downfall of my rivals. And the lamentation of their women. What is your point?”

“Where did you get the technology for ARMOR from?” asks Captain Tia.

“Designed it,” says Norio.

“No you didn’t,” says Tia Prime. “It’s too advanced.”

“I’m very smart.”

“You would have built more.”

“I will, later,” says Norio. “Any more questions?”

“You’ve found Sundar,” says Tia Prime.

“Who?”

“My friend. A superinventor. You have him.”

“Three things. One, there’s more than one person with every really useful power now. I’ve met another body-doubler, Russian. Do you know him? You’re prettier, before you ask. Two, I don’t work with supers. Three, no.”

“You’re lying,” says Captain Tia. “I like you, and we could make the world better together. Just the two of us. But you’re lying.”

Norio smiles.

“I like you too, Tia,” he says. “I’m sure you hear this all the time. And I’d love to work with you, or even for you, but I can’t. Not until I meet the man you’re working for.”

Tia frowns. “What makes you think I work for any man?”

“Work with, then. My English was never perfect. But there’s only one way we can come to any kind of agreement.”

Norio leans forward and smiles wider.

“I want to meet Aman Sen,” he says.

Tia sighs and looks away. “Aman has been dead for four years now,” she says quietly. “You can’t have missed that news, Norio. Everyone knows. He died saving the world. He became a symbol. His T-shirt is more popular than Che’s, for god’s sake.”

“And he passed on his hacker powers to you before he died?” asks Norio.

“He made software that ran itself.”

“Lies. Of course he’d want to pretend he was dead. Everyone in the world was hunting him.”

“I don’t want to talk about Aman’s death,” says Tia. “He meant the world to me. But you know he’s gone, Norio. It was pretty much a world-changing event. Everyone reported it.”

“Of course the rumours of his death would be everywhere – he controls all networks!”

“They found a body.”

“They found several bodies. This is sillier than me pretending I’m not in ARMOR, Tia. Of course Aman is alive. And when he’s serious about working with me, he’ll meet me.”

“I wish Aman was alive, Norio,” says Tia, and there are tears in her eyes. “But he’s gone, and the world’s out of control again.”

“Did you ever really think you had a chance of controlling the world?”

An alarm rings out. The images of Norio on the control screens vanish to reveal on the long-ignored sonar controls the pixelated images of what look like four floating demons in the water, growing larger every second.

Team ARMOR is here. Team ARMOR looks angry.

Captain Tia leaps up and slams her fist on the controls.

“How the hell did they track us?” she yells.

“Azusa’s really very good,” says Norio, leaning back in his chair.

“Get rid of them!” yells Tia Prime.

“We have missiles on board,” says Tia. “Tell them to back off, Norio, or we’ll use them.”

She hails the approaching mechas. They do not answer. Azusa’s mermaid-mecha leads them in ominous silence, blank eyes glowing.

“Tell them, Norio!” shouts Captain Tia.

“No,” says Norio. “You’re not going to harm them, or me. You’re going to shut down your sub, and let them board.”

“Why would I want to do that?” Tia roars.

“Time for me to ask you a question, Tia,” says Norio.

Tia glares at him. On a screen behind her, the infra-red camera shows long metal sucker-arms extending from Amabie and docking on to the sub.

Norio’s eyes glitter as he moves in close.

“Are you a supervillain, Tia?” he asks.

“Of course not.”

“Well,” says Norio, as a screeching noise announces the arrival of Team ARMOR’s excellent submarine-cutting equipment, “would you like to become one?”

It had taken their agent about four minutes to come up with the United Nations Interception Team’s name, but the search for the perfect headquarters has taken a decade. And as Uzma Abidi walks up the broad steps to the Unit’s new base on Liberty Island, she has to admit they might have finally got it right.

The world’s first and greatest superhero team had moved out of London in 2012: their marketing people had insisted the Unit needed a skyscraper by the Thames and the British government had quietly refused to give them one.

Parliament had wanted the Unit gone for a while by that point, anyway. The prestige that came with hosting the Unit brought far too much trouble with it, especially with the protests and riots that had followed the superathletes scandal that had closed down the London Olympics. Brief disastrous stints in Dubai, Shanghai and Rio had followed – the buildings that had survived their stay had been sold to local superhero teams. And in 2014, when Sher and Vir, the only two Unit members who had flatly refused to live in America, had left, there had really been no reason not to give in to collective pressure and move to New York.