LIGHTFOOT (ONC 2021)

10.1| old man max.

Future Saint-Max sat behind his large wooden desk then beckoned for Saint-Max and Janice to sit on the chairs in front of him. No one said a word, staring at each other with raised brows and confused looks on their faces.

Saint-Max felt odd looking at his old self. Was this what he'd look like at that age? Sometimes, hate and anger aged people's appearance ten times their actual age. And as he had learned about Future Saint-Max, rage drove the old man to world domination.

"Why?" Saint-Max asked.

The old speedster adjusted himself on his leather chair, leaning on his right side. "Iness told you why."

The unranked hero clenched his hands. "That's not what I mean."

"Then what do you mean?"

"Why take it this far after making your point? You didn't have to destroy the world."

"The whole world was against me. I had no choice."

Saint-Max scoffed. "We always have a choice."

"Is that so?" The old speedster leaned forward, crossing his arms on his desk. "I forgot how naïve I was. Seeing the innocent look in your eyes reminds me of everything I used to hate about myself."

The young speedster clenched his jaw. Insults never bothered him. But it was different coming from someone who knew him better than anyone. "Then why did you ask me here?"

"Because what I hated about myself, was also the thing that made me strong. I wanted to look at you one last time and remember the good times."

"Do you regret what you did?"

"Killing? No. Destroying the world? Yes."

"If you had a choice to redo things, would you?"

"I am redoing things." He pointed at Saint-Max. "It's the reason you're here."

"So, you didn't want to see how handsome you used to be?" Saint-Max raised a brow.

The old man laughed before coughing. Blood streamed down his lip before he rubbed it off with the back of his hand. "Iness told me I used to have a sense of humor. I can see it now."

"What did you want to tell me?"

"It's about our powers."

Saint-Max adjusted himself on the chair. "Which ones?"

"All of them." The old man leaned back. "When I lost myself after the death of my family and friends, I went after the corrupt superheroes."

"I know."

"When fighting them, I discovered I also inherited our parents' secondary power."

Vince had Psychomimetic, a subconscious form of telepathy that allowed him to duplicate any non-superhuman talent. While Dina had Gnostic Touch, the ability to copy the skills and knowledge of others by touching them.

"Both of them?" Saint-Max asked.

"Yes. But unlike them, I could also copy superpowers."

Is this true? Saint-Max bit his lower lip. There's no reason for him to lie.

"Do you remember the first time our power manifested?" Future Saint-Max asked.

"We were at a museum during a school trip, and thieves came in with guns trying to steal stuff."

"And who saved us before the thieves killed us?"

"Dart Boy."

"When he touched us, we copied his super-speed ability." The older man placed his palms on the desk and hunched forward. "If you look back, you'll realize every time we got a new ability, it was after we came in contact with a superhero with the same power during a life-threatening situation."

He's right, Saint-Max thought.

"So, if he's not a speedster, what is he?" Janice asked for the first time since the old man healed her, looking healthier than ever.

"A copycat, putting us among the strongest peculiars to ever exist," the old man replied.

"How many powers can I copy?" Saint-Max asked.

"For now, three for each primary and secondary ability. But as you train and fight stronger foes, the number might increase to unlimited."

"Is that where you're at?"

"How else would I have conquered the world?" The old man smiled.

"Why did your army try to kill us?" Janice asked.

"Dr. Iness said she'd train you before sending you here, and I wanted to see if she succeeded."

Saint-Max and Janice glanced at each other with looks that said, "yeah, we guessed right."

"Aren't you afraid your army will turn against you?" Saint-Max asked.

"No." The old man shook his head. "They're under mind control."

"If you can mind-control people, why not use it for world peace?"

"Peace is an illusion. Countries are secretly building war machines, infiltrating each other, and stealing resources from one another. You don't build nukes for peace—"

"You do it for war."

"Exactly."

"Did a war happen?" Janice asked.

The old man nodded. "When the corrupt superheroes realized they couldn't beat me, they nuked the world. But I knew about their plans, so I protected Gluevale with a dome. You can't detect it unless you go to the edge of the city. It's the last human colony. The rest of the world is uninhabitable.

"After everything happened, I realized I made a mistake on how I fought the corrupt superheroes. There was a better way to do it."

"The Watchdogs?" Saint-Max asked.

"Yes." The old man rubbed his eyes. "I freed Iness from the mind control, told her what to do, then sent her to the past. The events in Tombstone weren't an accident. I meticulously planned everything, knowing it'd end with the birth of The Watchdogs."

Saint-Max stared at his future self with wide eyes and an open mouth. He didn't know whether to be scared or happy with how smart the old man was. Can I be smart like him?

Future Saint-Max continued, "Remember, The Watchdogs will come to you with an offer to join them. Accept it. Also, under no circumstances should you take the hero tests. You need to remain Unranked. Leave it for Janice. Boombox needs to be in the limelight while Lightfoot works in the shadows. It's the only way to save your world."

An explosion rocked the tower. The three held the large desk, stopping themselves from falling.

"What was that?" Saint-Max asked.

Future Saint-Max stood. "They are here."

"Who?"

"The ones who're going to kill me." He grinned.

"Kill you?"

"Yes. I didn't want to wait and vanish into nothing. I wanted to die in battle like a warrior. So, I freed three peculiars strong enough to kill me."

"There you are, King," a voice said from the entrance.

Saint-Max and Janice turned to the voice's owner and gasped.

"It can't be," the unranked hero said.

In front of them stood Shiver, Ice Princess, and Captain Tombstone.

Total Words: 18,705.