1.10 Ancient Warriors Part 2

Judy laughs as I struggle to move. Exo-skeleton seems to have malfunctioned and the rest of the suit is refusing to cooperate as a result.

“Prototypes,” I curse before speaking to Judy, “This is the first time I have tried this suit on.”

I have never been more aware of the difference between my normal voice and that of the Sentinel’s as I speak to someone who has only just found out I’m the Sentinel.

“Okay,” says Judy, “I’m convinced.”

“Good,” I say as I attempt to take the suit off.

“Need any help?” offers Judy as I struggle.

“You could use your power to reverse me putting it on,” I tell her, “But that would probably reverse my memories as well and wouldn’t help me solve the problem. No, wait a moment.”

Fortunately the HUD is working so I can scan the data regarding the suit’s deployment and send it back to base. I can review later and try and figure out what went wrong. I also send a message that is set to arrive in my communicator in a few seconds.

“Okay,” I tell Judy, “Go ahead.”

I brace myself, unsure of what good doing that will do, as Judy raises her hand at me.

I blink and drop the Lightweight suit on the ground. I was wearing it a moment ago wasn’t I?

I think so, but my latest memories feel fuzzy. I think I revealed my secret identity to Judy and she accepted it. Given what I know, I bet I asked Judy to rewind me putting on the suit. Something probably went wrong with it.

“What happened?”  I ask Judy.

“You put on the suit, but it malfunctioned,” replies Judy, “You had trouble taking it off-”

“So I asked you to use your powers to rewind time,” I finish, “Got it.”

It is at that moment that I receive a message. I glance at it briefly. From myself informing me of the events that Judy just told me about.

“Okay,” I say, “Well that’s that sorted.So now what?”

“I don’t know,” shrugs Judy, “I was kinda of waiting to see how you took me revealing my powers.”

“Same,” I say, “Want to sit down and chat? That might help.”

“Sure.”

I place the suit case down, flat on the ground, and sit next to it, offering the space on it to Judy so she doesn’t have to sit on the dirty ground.

I look at Judy. I’ll admit I’m pretty biased when it comes to judging her looks as while I would say she’s beautiful, most would say she’s bland or only mildly pretty. She’s fit, not surprising she walks her dog every morning. Her light brown hair is tied back in a ponytail using a red hair band. Judy’s height is pretty tall for our age, but not quite as tall as me. Her eyes are a soft brown that go with her hair. She is wearing cyan tank top that shows off her above average bust while some purple trousers cover her legs.

Yup, beautiful.

“Anything else I should know?” inquires Judy in an offhand manner.

“That depends on what you are going to do with your powers,” I reply, lying back on the ground, “I won’t tell you any secret identities of the rest of the League of Heroes. I’ll let them decide on whether to tell you or not.”

“I understand,” mutters Judy, “I wouldn’t expect you to do so either. As for my powers, well, what are my options?”

“Either superhero, government or private sector,” I say, “Supervillainy is an option except for the fact it isn’t. The private sector is your best bet for making a lot of money and given your powers, you could quite a bit. Time manipulation is both rare and powerful. The government is good if you want some more official work that isn’t necessarily dangerous. The government is also better for keeping a secret identity than the private sector, which given your connections to superheroes like me and your brother, would be a very good idea all around. If you go the route of a superhero, you have three main options, official hero, unofficial hero and vigilante. Official heroes are folks like the Albion Defenders and the Highlanders, the ones that work for the government. As for unofficial heroes, you have the League and some other vets. When it comes to being a vigilante, I would strongly advise against it and there is a reason we don’t have any of note here in England. It’s the option that people either take when they’re monsters like Vengeance or they want to help people and lack legal options to do so. Like Liberty and her team in America. The fourth choice is to just live a normal life without using your powers.”

“I think I would want to go with superhero,” answers Judy, “I want to do something with my peoples and I’d rather help people than make money.”

“Normally you would have to join up with the government like your brother did,” I say as I sit back upwards, “Otherwise you have to find a team of competent people to back you up and the resources. You will also need to acquire a decent costume and equipment if you want to hold your own in a fight. Training helps a lot as well. A lot of people make the mistake of relying on their powers to win fights. The result is usually people in hospital and a lot of collateral damage. So even if you did decide to be a superhero, you’ll probably have to wait at least a few months before going out into the field anyway. I know you got a green belt in Judo, but I’ll try and get Alex to train you. She’s a friend of my mine and one of the Aquiline’s daughters.”

“What about equipment?” inquires Judy, “You’re a famous superhero so you must have some ideas on who to go to.”

At that question, I grin. She absolutely has no idea.

“That’s easy to answer,” I reply with a wave of my hand, “Most of the governments, teams and even the loners go to one place. They sell the best available for cheap prices.”

“Who is that that?” asks Judy curiously.

“Me!” I laugh.