Power Struggle

Chapter 2
Conclusion of the Job

Chapter Description: Frank puts two and two together, coming up with a shocking theory as to Billy's whereabouts.

Frank erupted from the warehouse, making it several blocks before he could no longer maintain unobservable. He collapsed onto the sidewalk, panting fiercely. After a few minutes, Frank regained his composure and walked the rest of the way to his car. If Hacker had detected him, she’d surely have caught up to him by now; he was not fast, even for an old man.

The private eye returned to his office, where he also happened to have residence. He typically made just enough revenue to keep his office rent paid off, whatever was left over typically went toward his alcoholism. His hands shook as he poured himself a glass of whisky. This case was way above his pay-grade, but the downside to not being a licensed hero was that if he called in the authorities, he would have to admit that he had, indeed violated the Professional Use of Superpowers mandate, not that anyone thought that law was effective, what with crime steadily on the rise, but as a detective it could get his government license revoked.

He took a swig of whisky before returning to his thoughts. He’d witnessed Hacker turn Gusto into a baby. The only problem was that he knew there was no way he could retrieve the former hero from the villain’s clutches. However...

Frank poured himself another glass. Cassandra and Billy had been to see Hacker a few days ago. If Hacker also happened to be the therapist Billy and Cassandra had seen, it would make sense that maybe she also had something to do with Billy Meyers’ disappearance. What if that baby that Cassandra had wasn’t their son, but Billy himself?

As if possessed, Frank began compiling his notes on this case. He knew of someone within the forensics division of the police force who may be able to lend him assistance. Steeling his resolve, Frank knew what he had to do next.

***

Back at Cassandra’s apartment, Frank had taken the precaution to activate unobservable before picking Cassandra’s lock. Cassandra lay sleeping on her couch, remote in her hand. He found the baby sleeping peacefully in a portable crib. The apartment appeared to be bare aside from the living room.

Frank glanced at the baby supplies which were in the room. He probably only had time for the one trip and extending unobservable to other entities would really take its toll, especially considering that he’d already been using it for most of the day. Putting his hands under the child’s back and neck, he picked him up and focused his mental energy on extending unobservable to the boy and his blanket.

“Sorry, you’re in for a rough night, Billy, but I’ll have you back to normal soon,” Frank promised.

Miraculously, Billy didn’t so much as stir as Frank exited the apartment, returning to his office

***

“Come on, Kevin. I know this kid is under the influence of a superpower. You have to help us.” Frank tried to convince his associate to join his cause.

Kevin slapped his hand to his face, “Look, man, you kidnap a kid and come in here, claiming that it’s a fully grown adult, not to mention you neglected his care all night, and bring this shitty mess into my lab.” Frank watched as Kevin continued to clean up the aftermath, “There is a proper process for what you’re trying to do and this is sounding a lot like ‘not my problem’.”

Frank wiped the sweat from his forehead, “Look, Kevin, I know this looks bad, but just humour me, ok? What if I’m right?”

“What if this gets me fired and entangled in your web of lawsuits? We’re friends, but I’m not getting mixed up in your bullshit. Take him back...before his mother files a report and we all get mixed in.”

“I swear that this baby is Billy Meyers. Just use your gizmos to confirm. If I’m wrong you have my word I’ll return him.”

Kevin sighed, “This did not happen,” he placed the boy in an identification cell, pressed a few buttons, and the men awaited the results.

A screen lit up, showing the baby and a lot of data on it. Reading off the screen, Kevin stated, “Let’s see...this is indeed William Meyers, but the data shows that he’s just a couple days old.”

“Well, obviously,” Frank replied, “he’s under the influence of a superpower. Of course it’s going to show his current state.”

“No, you don’t understand,” Kevin shot back, “this is a state of the art identifier. If he were really 37 as you claim, this machine wouldn’t show me a two-day-old baby, I’d see a 37 year-old man on the screen and data on what effect he’s under. You’ve committed a kidnapping.”

Frank stared in disbelief. He knew what he saw. “Maybe it’s just glitching out, do you have something that can restore him?”

“You’re really not getting it, THERE IS NOTHING TO UNDO!” Kevin shouted. “I’m informing the police.”

Reflexively, Frank grabbed a microscope and hit Kevin with it, causing his friend to collapse to the floor, unconscious. He then stared in disbelief at what he’d done, “Oh, shit, shit, shit!”

Frank retrieved Billy from the device, activating unobservable. Maybe if he called up Ricky, they could get this all sorted out. He wasted no time in making his escape.

***

Several hours later, Frank had Ricky on the phone. “Yes, I found your brother....yes, he’s here with me at the office...glad to hear it, but there’s something you should-” Frank was cut off as the call ended from the other line.

“Dammit!” he threw his flip phone at the wall, causing it to break. Billy started crying. “Now what? You think I’m happy with this outcome either? I’m facing criminal charges and lawsuits!”

Frank heaved a sigh, it wasn’t as if Billy could understand him. If what he learned at the forensics lab was true, this change could be irreversible, but he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, that a couple of days ago this baby had been a 37 year-old man.

He didn’t have to wait long before Ricky came by the office. “Where’s my brother?” he asked, “hope you don’t mind I can’t pay right away, Billy’s the one with all the money. Who’s the kid?”

Frank slapped his palm to his face, “Ricky, this kid is Billy. He’s under some power that transformed him into this state, but this is Billy.”

Billy began crying again, his toothless gums fully exposed.

Ricky took a disbelieving look at the baby, “No, man, this kid has red hair and blue eyes, Meyers family all have dark hair and eyes.”

Frank clamped his jaw. This bastard had no idea the hoops he had to jump through to retrieve his brother for him. Frank admittedly had no idea how Hacker had done it, but she’d somehow made Billy a baby and unrecognizable.

“Where’d you find him?” Ricky eyed him suspiciously.

“I went to Cassandra’s place and found him there, after doing a little digging, I found she came into contact with a villain who can turn people into babies-”

Ricky’s jaw dropped as he looked down at his now baby brother, then back up at Frank. “When I asked you to find my brother, I was expecting my brother, not an infant...” he briefly bit down on his tongue, “you know what? Let’s just forget I was ever here.”

Frank stared, dumbfounded, at the good-for-nothing that exited his office.

***

“I’m so done with this job,” Frank muttered to himself as he approached Cassandra’s apartment, “No pay, potential charges, and lawsuits...” He knocked.

Frank didn’t have to wait long before a red-eyed Cassandra answered the door. Her face lit up upon seeing the baby Frank was holding, which he returned to her outstretched arms.

“Look, I’m sorry we got off on the wrong foot. Can we talk?” Frank asked.

“Come in,” Cassandra invited him into her apartment. As Frank shut the door behind them, she continued toward the changing table, stating, “he’s a mess.”

“Trust me, I know breakups can be harsh, but whatever this is...” Frank gestured, “There’s no way it’s legal, and once I get proof-”

“It’s not like I wanted this!” Cassandra wept, “Billy started getting violent at therapy the other day, so Sam took matters into her own hands.” Wiping her eyes on the back of her sleeve, she finished applying powder and taped Billy’s diaper. “I did love Billy, so I couldn’t just abandon him...but honestly, I’m not even sure what ‘this’ is.”

Frank’s tone softened. He knew how complex things could get, especially with the government when superpowers were involved. “How’d it happen?”

“It was a typical visit, but Billy had had it with our arguments. I...I wanted a family, but Billy kept fighting me on that, he’d call me all sorts of names if I ever brought it up. When I brought it up at the session the other day, he just slapped me and started yelling, in front of our shrink, no less!” she breathed, “After the incident, she assured me that Billy would never hurt me again, and that she could find him a home, but I-I just couldn’t leave him there.”

Frank nodded sympathetically, “Well, I don’t have obligation to find him anymore, his brother cancelled the contract after discovering his fate; but you should know that Sam is a dangerous person.” For a moment, Frank could have sworn he saw a satisfied grin spread on Cassandra’s lips, but dismissed it upon noticing that she still seemed very distressed.

Cassandra laughed, “Well, she did just turn my boyfriend into a baby in front of me, even going as far as to make sure he had my features.”

“Did she say how she did it?”

“No, she just explained that her intervention was free, but if I wanted the paperwork so I could prove that he is my son, there would be additional fees.”

“So that’s why you didn’t call the police when I arrived?”

Cassandra nodded, “I can’t even prove he’s mine right now. I’m still working on coming up with compensation I’d owe her for the forgeries.” she put a bottle in Billy’s mouth, which he drank hungrily.

“How did she avoid drawing public attention? You’d think that you walking in with a guy and out with a baby would get noticed.”

“She had a different route for me to take to leave her office.”

Frank nodded, unsure if he wanted to delve into this case any further. “Well, sorry for disturbing you again.” He nodded at her as the door shut behind him.

***

Frank sat alone at the bar, trying to enjoy what may be his last night of freedom. In spite of his good intentions, he had assaulted his friend, Kevin, who could pin a number of other crimes on him. He sipped his beer slowly. It had been a good run, but honestly perhaps he’d just gotten too old for detective work before he’d noticed it.

Who was Sam? On the surface, she was a therapist, of course, but why would she use powers on a client instead of calling for security? For that matter, why would Cassandra keep someone around who had been abusive to her in the past? He continued musing over these questions and almost jumped from his seat when he felt a firm squeeze on his shoulder.

“It’s fine,” Kevin whispered in his ear, “I’m alone.”

Kevin sat down opposite Frank. “Sorry about earlier,” Frank nodded at the goose egg he’d left as a parting gift.

“It’s all good,” Kevin replied, “I just told security that I couldn’t identify the intruder. I did some digging though, and what you said checks out. I couldn’t find any information on a Billy Meyers born a couple days ago, but we do have a lot of documentation on a 37 year-old Billy Meyers.”

“What’s he do?”

“Drug dealer. Between you and me, getting a soft reset like that was probably the best thing he could have hoped for.”

“That doesn’t explain why your technology didn’t have anything on what happened to him.”

Kevin lowered his voice, “Look, this is just a rumour, but word is that some powers can rewrite reality. If this had been done by a professional, no one would be the wiser, but it looks like whoever this is has limited control of their superpower, or the superpower itself could be limited.”

“I know who did it,” Frank breathed, “She got Gusto, too.”

Kevin’s eyes widened, “That information hasn’t been made public. Only a few law enforcement personnel know that he’s been missing.”

“She masquerades as a therapist named Sam-Samantha-something, can’t remember the last name. She goes by the codename Hacker. Gusto’s now just a little baby in her thrall.”

“Hacker...can’t say I’ve heard that name before.” Kevin nodded, “Be careful, though, I can only imagine how you’re getting your intelligence, but if this woman can really rewrite reality, you should really watch your step, you may just want to let this go.” Kevin put his hand on Frank’s shoulder before leaving him to finish his drinks in silence.