The gambit to flush out the Seven Wonders wasn’t a complete success, but it was far from a failure.
Harry spent hours under a hyper-tech examination machine at Cross Hospital downtown. Now he lays in bed, dreading what’s coming. Andi came and went - wheeled in and out, as her injuries were still being treated. Stingray and Ninjess visited briefly, bringing news.
Ninjess’ tracking tag was discovered well before Veneer could reach anywhere near a recognizable destination - but that she learned a few interesting facts, and will be following up on them. She does not elaborate.
Now Harry’s parents are due to visit.
He hears them outside, discussing things with the doctor. He sees Doctor Cross enter first. His dad comes in next - “heeeeey, champ, you did great today” - and finally his mom.
Should he say anything?
He’s had so much time to think about this. He hasn’t come up with an answer.
Well, he has, but he doesn’t like it.
Say nothing. Don’t hurt his mom by telling her she has a clone running around, under the control of the city’s biggest bad guy. Deal with it himself, somehow, in spite of everything.
“How are you feeling, Harry?” she asks with a mother’s smile.
Harry forces a smile to his face. “It only hurts when I run,” he admits. “Guess I gotta be careful.”
His dad looks back to Doctor Cross. Harry is sure they’ve talked about this already. Sure enough, the doctor speaks and neither parent shows any sign of surprise.
“A nanomachine infection has taken hold inside you, Mr. Gale. When you engage your powers, the machines are somehow activated by the process. They begin inflicting tissue trauma. The rest of the time, they multiply. We’ve seen nano-infective agents that follow this general pattern before, but nothing so sophisticated as this.”
The doctor again glances at Harry’s family, then speaks to the Gales as a group. “Treatment is possible. What we aren’t sure is whether the nanomachines will reach critical mass before we’re able to work up a treatment.”
He looks down at Harry. “Do you have any idea of how this happened?”
Harry has been thinking about that, too. Never-Miss. If she has Tempest’s speed, she could have done it. Veneer, who could emerge from any surface unseen, who almost out-ninja’d Ninjess. A technological trap like this - impair a hero, lead them into a lethal endgame - is the hallmark of the Grasscutters.
“I’m not sure,” he admits.
The doctor nods, and turns his attention back to Harry’s folks. “Harry’s otherwise able to function at normal speed. He’s suffered some internal injury already, but nothing a day of bed rest and anti-inflammatories shouldn’t handle. But there’s also the possibility of medical stasis.”
Mom and dad look down at him.
Harry smiles weakly, and shakes his head. “Nah. There’s more to do. And I can still do things without my speed. I had the best two teachers in the world.”
His parents clasp hands with each other and squeeze, in mutual support. “Can we have a minute, doctor?” Silver Streak asks.
When the room is just the three of them, dad’s demeanor becomes more serious. “Harry. I warned you about the Seven Wonders. They play at a high level.”
“I know, dad, I know.” Harry holds up his hands defensively, mindful of the IV drips that are still stuck into his arms. “But listen. Whoever did this? I think - I think there’s still something I can contribute to stopping them. I promise if things get too bad, I’ll check myself back in. But I can’t just sit by and do nothing.”
He’s not sure he can look at his mother right now. He’s got to sort out these feelings.
But she nods, and gently pulls his dad away. “Honey, Harry’s an adult now. But who raised him to adulthood? Who trained him? If he isn’t prepared for the big leagues by now - if he can’t play at that level too - let’s think carefully about whose fault that really is.”
Silver Streak looks startled, and guilty. But he nods in acceptance, and looks back at Harry. “Alright champ. I think your mom is right, even if I’m still worried. So it’s time for me to let you take the lead on this one. Your old man’s behind you, one hundred percent.”
Harry grins. “Thanks dad. I won’t let either of you down.”
Harry comes home a day later to find a Nissan Z Sport parked out front, and with his name on a nametag attached to the keys. It’s silver, of course. After a warm homecoming and some relaxation with family, he hops in the driver’s seat, adjusts the car to his taste and fit, and heads out on an important errand.
He remembers what A.J. said, about there being a dominant villain to hold a team together. He remembers A.J. talking about the Elementals - or Egomaniacs - and how they collapsed. Mudmaster, in custody? A geokinetic? Like Doug Pitt of the Stellar Six.
It feels unlikely that a villain would have gone to work for Tyran. But what if…?
What if they’re all clones?
But it’s the Seven Wonders he’s hunting now.
He pulls up at the offices of Dr. Ken Wissen, the psychologist who has specified in supervillainy for decades. He’s literally written the book on how villains operate, and is sometimes consulted by superheroes even today. If anyone can help identify the dominant who unifies the Seven Wonders, it must be him.
The secretary recognizes Harry immediately, and he waits only fifteen minutes while another consultation is taking place. Then he’s admitted into the doctor’s office.
Dr. Wissen is evidently not that rich - the office is inexpensively furnished, practical rather than opulent - but the walls are covered with certificates, news clippings, and other signs of a long and illustrious career. What space isn’t taken up by such things is blocked by bookshelves loaded down with books of all shapes, sizes, and topics.
Dr. Wissen himself is an angular man with sharply defined bone structure, searching eyes, and arched eyebrows. He reminds Harry a little of the actor Donald Sutherland, who A10 seemed rather excited about while watching movies with him awhile back.
“Mr. Harry Gale, come in.” The doctor’s handshake is firm and warm. “It’s a pleasure to see you. I know your parents, of course.”
“Yeah, great.” Harry isn’t sure how to proceed, so just dives right in. “Listen, uh, you know the Seven Wonders villain team is back. Well, obviously we need to stop them. But my friend Pharos believes that there’s gotta be some kind of strong personality, a dominant, holding the team together, because that’s how villains work.”
Dr. Wissen smiles. “I know A.J., yes. A very promising young man. I’m flattered to be on his reading list.” He moves to a bookshelf and withdraws a slim volume, and hands it to Harry for inspection. The title, as Harry sort of expect, is Dominant Theory by Dr. Ken Wissen.
Harry looks up. “Well, so, surely you must have studied the Seven Wonders. So - er, to be blunt, who is it?”
Dr. Wissen’s eyebrows raise. “The dominant?”
“Yessir.”
“I think we have yet to encounter them,” the doctor says. He moves to another part of the bookshelf and takes hold of another volume. The Seven Wonders: a Study, by Dr. Ken Wissen.
Guy gets right to the point with these titles, Harry thinks, reminded of the often dry academic textbooks he had to read in Gardner Academy.
“I believe, as I’m sure many heroes do, that there is a seventh member. A mastermind. They may be a telepath, or someone with mind control. Perhaps some sort of charm or compulsion power. I don’t think that mere pheromone control would suffice. May I explain?”
Harry is a little surprised. Really? I might have been right about a seventh? Nobody seemed like they thought I was onto something. “Uh, please do.”
“Khyrrsz is in fact a god. They are specifically the god of a long-extinct Neanderthal tribe. Interesting, eh?” Dr. Wissen rubs his hands together, and Harry sits up attentively.
“What could such a being want - how could they cooperate with modern and mortal villains as part of a team - if there were not such a hidden seventh individual, orchestrating their cooperation?”
The doctor goes on. “Furthermore you’ll note the extroverted, highly confident personalities of Motormouth and Glom. You might expect villains of their caliber and disposition to fall into infighting as one or the other tries to establish dominance. Instead, I find it to be evidence of a pre-existing dominant personality managing the two of them.”
“This is great!” Harry exclaims. “So, well, how do we find this person?”
Dr. Wissen holds up a finger, now in full teacher mode. “First point. This person has eluded detection from the authorities for the lifetime of the Seven Wonders, as well as during their incarceration in stasis by the government. Second point. This person is still active, as evidenced by their resumption of activities as a team. Third point. This person has not opted - as far as we know, mind you - their powers or influence in any matter outside management of the Seven Wonders themselves. Therefore the only means we have of identifying this dominant is through the other Seven Wonders.”
Harry thinks carefully. “You mean… Track one of them, listen in on them, see who they communicate with. If that’s telepathy, we’d need a telepath… but if they meet somewhere, find a way to follow them to that meeting… That kind of thing, right?”
Dr. Wissen nods enthusiastically. “Yes. You will find further details in my book. Please read it attentively. However, groups such as the HHL have tried these methods with little to no success. Therefore I suggest you read with an eye toward novel tactics. And please keep me updated on your plans. I am very interested to know what happens. I have a long history with the Seven Wonders. Now a new generation is facing them and that interaction will be enlightening indeed.”
“Can I borrow these?” Harry asks, holding up the books, and receives the psychologist’s emphatic approval.
As he looks out the window and watches Harry drive away, Dr. Wissen picks up the office phone and dials a number.
“It’s me,” he says quietly. “Mr. Gale has taken a personal interest in our activities. And I’ve learned something very interesting about Mr. Tyran’s new team. Gather the others. I’ll address everyone personally.”