Three weeks passed, and slowly Lester was getting better. He felt like a normal person again. A lot of it was thanks to Mark, letting him stay at his place. His old friend had given him food and a place to sleep, on his sofa.

  But Lester knew Mark wouldn't let him stay there forever. Mostly because Mark had his own problems now that the team was missing a third person, and the mall-job required a minimum of three E or F-rank heroes, and Claudine hadn't answered any of their attempts to contact her. But this all, Lester hoped, would soon change.

  Now, in the early morning, Lester was running in the central park of Recalm City, and he felt strong. He would never have been able to hold this pace in his earlier unpowered life. Trees and people passed by quickly. It was like everything had gotten much easier. Also, the status effect about his malnutrition was gone, and from that, he'd gotten one award point. And the other status effect about muscle atrophy was also almost gone. It was now Mild Muscle Atrophy. This made him look like a normal, although a bit skinny, human again. This and the fact that his hair was growing back. All in all, things were going quite well.

  Lester kept on running, casually passing the maximum speed of a peak standard human.

  As he noticed a tree coming on his right, and there were no other people around, Lester decided to test something. He accelerated and jumped toward the tree, touched onto it with one foot, then bounded off again. He somersaulted in the air and landed on the road, but stumbled, slipped, and ended up face first on the path.

  It didn't hurt, but Lester knew he would have to improve. He still had that one point. He could put it in Reflex. That would let him better control his slightly above-human strength.

  Lester pushed himself up, snapping quickly back onto his feet. He looked at the tree and then at himself. Even if he had slightly stumbled, he was still clearly physically above normal, which, if he now took the test again at the Guild of Justice and Valor, would put him at either E-rank or D-rank. Even without any flashy powers, one could get to E-rank just by demonstrating above-human strength or speed. And that would not be a problem for him since his body already was four times stronger than it would, without the powers, be. Also, there was a chance he could get D-rank. There were many tests done before superheroes got their rank. But even still, Lester wondered if it might have been a good idea to wait until he got totally rid of the muscle atrophy and got his final point. Just to be sure he didn't fail his power evaluation. If that happened, he would have to wait for a year to take it again.

  Lester's thoughts were interrupted by a beep from his phone. It was actually Mark's old phone, but he was now using it. And now he'd gotten a message. It was from Flynn and it read, Check the news.

  Immediately, he started searching, and almost as fast he found what he was looking for. On the front page of Recalm City Daily there it was. Doctor Nastybrain had been released. Lester had known it would happen. The Guild of Justice and Valor could only hold a high-ranking member of the Guild of Calamity and Woe for so long. And Nasty, as a Master Villain of the guild, had gotten released two months after getting caught.

  Text appeared in his vision.

  New quest: Leave the city before Doctor Nastybrain catches you. The number of award points depends on the method of escape.

  It looked like the Henchman Interface thought Nasty wanted him back. How could the thing in his head have any clue of what Nasty wanted or didn't want? But even if Nasty was actually after him, Lester knew running was not the only option. Sure, Nasty was one bad dude, and he definitely didn't want to mess with the guy, but there was the Guild of Justice and Valor. To the guild, he could explain everything, and after they found out that he had a power that let him grow stronger, they would likely help him with his Nasty problem—a future investment, as one day, as he kept getting more powerful, he would become a great hero.

  No more running, Lester though.

  But before doing anything he would have to make a decision he'd been delaying. "Mr Interface, put the free point into Reflex," Lester said, not using the word Henchman just in case someone was listening.

  Reflex increased to 3.

  There was a slight tingle. Then he felt the bang. Electricity shot out from his spine, burning his nerves. And then, just as it had started, it ended. Lester got up and looked at himself. He balanced on one foot, gauging the difference to his earlier body. His balance might have improved, but standing on one foot was something he, of course, could have done even before he had gotten his powers.

  Lester shifted his balance on his toes, rising to stand on only the tip of one foot, holding the position without shaking. He pushed, sending himself upward, flipping backward in the air, and landing onto the ground with only the tip of his foot. With a slight wavering he managed to steady the position again. Lester felt satisfied. This was definitely something an unpowered human could not have done.

  Lester ended his balancing act and said, "Let's see my status then."

  HENCHMAN INTERFACE

  Name: Lester Rigby

  Super Rank: D

  Status: Unbound Henchman

  Attributes:

  Might 4

  Vitality 3

  Reflex 3

  Intellect 1

  Will 1

  Energy 0

  Powers:

  Locked

  Status Effects:

  Mild Muscle Atrophy

  Quests:

  Get rid of the negative status effect Mild Muscle Atrophy. Award: 1 point.

  Leave the city before Doctor Nastybrain catches you. The number of award points depends on the method of escape.

  As he went through his status, Lester noticed a change in his rank. It was D now. Things were definitely looking good.

  ***

  At the center of Recalm City, was the headquarters of the city's branch of the Guild of Justice and Valor, a large silver and glass tower, reaching over three hundred meters. It was the place where the city's heroes trained and lived, from where the hero operations were managed, and it was a symbol of the power of the city's superheroes.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  This was not the place where Lester went to take his exam. Instead, he went to the city's superhero evaluation center, which, while still run by the Guild of Justice and Valor, was a regular concrete office building, where hundreds of people went to get their superpowers evaluated every day.

  There Lester sat on an uncomfortable bench with hundreds of other people, waiting.

  After two hours, Lester heard his number 572 announced. It was finally time. One step closer to becoming a superhero.

  Lester hurried to sit at a counter, where a bored-looking office guy, behind a plexiglass, looked up his information and said with a neutral tone, "Please, wait there for a moment, sir."

  After a while, Lester noticed two guards in full armor and holding plasma rifles approach him.

  Maybe there's been a mistake or something, he thought.

  "Come with us and don't make any sudden moves," one of the guards said to him.

  Lester felt a nervous gulp go off in his throat.

  In a short time and with casual effectiveness, The guards directed him to a room, where behind a desk, sat a woman in a business suit staring at him through big round glasses. She said, "Lester Rigby, I presume."

  "Yes," Lester said.

  "Take a seat." She indicated toward a chair opposite of her.

  Lester complied, then he glanced behind his back, where the two armed guards closed the door and took positions on either side of it.

  They're thinking I'm some kind of a supervillain?

  "I am your evaluator," the woman continued. "First I want you to tell me why you are here."

  Lester told her that he was a superhero and that he was here to get his new powers evaluated. He also told her that he had gotten kidnapped by Nasty and had been experimented on, and how he had managed to escape.

  As he ended the story, the evaluator said, "Now for the second part of this interview. I will ask questions, and you will answer them truthfully. Do you understand?"

  "Yes."

  "What is your name?" the evaluator said.

  "Lester Rigby."

  She waited for a while then nodded. "Are you human?"

  Lester thought about it. Sure he was a human. There might be things in his head, but he was still a human.

  Lester said, "Yes."

  Again the evaluator waited for a moment then continued questioning, "Are you a supervillain or a henchperson?"

  "No, I'm a superhero."

  "Have you ever worked for a supervillain or a henchperson?"

  "No."

  "That is a false answer," Lester heard the evaluator say. She seemed, Lester noted, quite determined with those words, like she knew for a fact. Some kind of a lie detector. Maybe her power. He would have to choose his words carefully.

  "Once maybe, but, at that time, there was no clear indication that I was working for a villain."

  "That is still false. Try again."

  "Okay, the indication in some sense, now that I think about it, was there, but I didn't have any clues about the nature of the job until it had already started."

  "Closer but not the truth."

  "Okay, it has been some time, but, at that time, I might have had a small suspicion that the job might have had something to do with villains."

  "Almost there."

  "Okay, I had a strong suspicion. But I was desperate. That's the truth."

  The evaluator waited again. This time it took her a moment longer. She said, "Good enough."

  Lester glanced at the two guards behind him. "So, are we good now?"

  "Not quite yet." She stared at him intently. "Are you aware that you are registered as a henchperson?"

  "What?"

  "Are you aware that you are registered as a henchperson?"

  "What?"

  The woman just stared at him.

  "No," Lester said. "I told you the truth. I was captured. I was experimented on. I escaped."

  "Yes, but that does not change the fact that you Lester Rigby are a registered henchperson, working, according to our files, for Doctor Nastybrain."

  Lester held his breath then blurted out, "Can I unregister?"

  "Yes, just fill out this form." The evaluator dug out a form from a filing cabinet and gave it to him along with a pen.

  Lester looked at the paper. Form T-2701 A request to revert villain status due to circumstances out of control of the person in question. There were a couple of places where he put an X, a place for his ID number, and his address, which he didn't have, but there was an X for being homeless too. Then he signed his name and handed it back, saying, "Is that all? Can I take my superpower exam now?"

  "Unfortunately no. There is a five-year waiting time."

  "What?"

  "Don't do any crime for five years, and your case will be examined again by the Guild of Justice and Valor."

  Lester started to realize what that meant. Five years. It would be five years until he would again be able to put on his blue jacket and blue domino mask. Five years.

  Lester said, "But . . . but . . ."

  The evaluator curved her lips to something resembling a smile. "Don't worry. You could, for example, study and earn a civilian degree in those short years."

  ***

  After leaving the superhero evaluation center, Lester walked toward Mark's place. The streets were less crowded, now at the middle of the day, as most people were at work.

  As he went along the sidewalks, Lester felt a turmoil of emotions. All his life he'd wanted to be a superhero. And now, just like that, some pencil pusher had ended his career. It was not fair. What kind of a system was this anyway. He had fought for justice for years and now because some villain decided to kidnap him, he was forced out. And it had all happened at the moment when he'd gotten some actual powers. It was madness, as he turned around to look at the big tower at the center of the city, the home of the greatest heroes of the city—his destiny, stolen from him.

  But then he noticed someone. It was a lanky guy in a trench coat and with goggles resting on his forehead. When he had turned to look back at the tower, the guy had quickly turned 270 degrees and jumped behind a lamppost. That and the way the guy dressed was definitely suspicious. The guy might not have been that far out of what was normal in Recalm City. But now, considering that Doctor Nastybrain might be looking for him.

  Still filled with emotions, Lester walked toward the guy and said to him, "Hi, how is it going?"

  "Fuck, fuck," the man replied and reached under his trench coat, pulling out a taser pistol.

  Lester easily snatched the gun from the guy's hand and said, "So, why are you following me?"

  "Fuck, fuck," the guy said and pulled down his goggles. Lester studied the strange man, who now had taken some kind of a kung fu stance, crouching low, holding one hand up in a bird peak kind of gesture while the other was held forward in a claw form. The guy was most definitely a low-level villain and apparently ready to fight him.

  Lester shot the taser gun into the man's leg, making the guy fall down twitching as two thin wires sent the current into the man's leg. After a moment, the electricity and twitching stopped, and Lester asked, "So, the question I asked: Were you following me?"

  "Help, I'm being attacked by a monster!" the guy yelled.

  Lester looked around, seeing a couple of people glance at their way, but no one seemed to want to interfere, and there weren't any heroes around. He was free to do as he willed. But there was that five year waiting period. If he managed not to do any crime for five years, he would get another chance of being a superhero. And he was already attacking people.

  Lester sighed, "Sorry man. I'm a bit paranoid today."

  The guy seemed to calm down. Then he got up, the taser lines still attached to his leg. He said, "No worries. Truth be told, I was actually following you."

  Lester lifted his eyebrow in question.

  The villain smiled and lifted his finger up. "The thing is that you got a bounty on your head."

  Lester nodded, realizing what that meant. The quest the AI had given him about Nasty being after him. It was, after all, true.

  "Okay," Lester said. He handed the taser back to the villain. "Don't come after me again."

  "I won't. And thanks." the villain said while holding the gun, which was now useless as the electric lines were now attached to his own leg. As Lester was leaving, the villain shouted, "If you ever need a villain for hire, remember the name Yorman Klinks. You can't forget. It has a Klink to it. Yorman Klinks!"

  As he left Yorman behind, Lester's thoughts returned back to his situation. Now it was certain that Doctor Nastybrain was after him. And if he didn't want to end up on Nasty's operation table again, he would have to leave the city as soon as possible.

  Lester started running.