H.E.R.O.: Dolldrum

By Kevin Rau

Dolldrum has been lurking out of sight in Metrocity for a year. With the recent events of the Hordemaker and greater visibility of the Goth mutants, he stumbles on the means to launch his greatest scheme yet, and bring his doll empire to new heights. The H.E.R.O. agents of Metrocity become intertwined with the plans of the villain, and seek to stop him before he gains enough power to become unstoppable.

H.E.R.O. - Dolldrum is the 11th book of the ongoing H.E.R.O. series, and is approximately 107,000 words long.

Check out the entire H.E.R.O. series!
H.E.R.O. – Metamorphosis (1)
H.E.R.O. - New Markets (2)
H.E.R.O. - Rise and Fall (3)
H.E.R.O. - Dark Research (4)
H.E.R.O. - Horde (5)
H.E.R.O. - Paragon (6)
H.E.R.O. - Illustrated Guide
H.E.R.O. Shorts – Gatecrasher (7)
H.E.R.O. Shorts – Silverlash (8)
H.E.R.O. - Gene Front (9)
H.E.R.O. - Incursion (10)
H.E.R.O. - Dolldrum (11)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kevin Rau
• Release date: Nov 11, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301805181

Kevin Rau

Born in 1970, I've been interested in fantasy and science fiction since perhaps the age of 10. I believe my love of medieval knights came about when my father built a wooden shield and sword for me to use in elementary school for some event.Through my school years I read hundreds (or thousands? - it's hard to recall at this point) of fantasy and science fiction novels. Comic books and super heroes came a bit later, although I recall seeing the Christopher Reeve Superman movies at a very young age (and loving them). Since my later teens I believe I've watched nearly every major fantasy, science fiction, and super-hero movie that has come out.I still love reading fantasy and science fiction, although I wish there were more novels based on superheroes. This is something that drove me to create my own supers universe and heroes in written form. I love supers, but I've always wanted more character depth than a comic book can provide. (Not to mention the immense length of time it takes for a comic series to do a story is just plain too long to me.)Writing is a hobby for me, I'm a full-time computer programmer and systems administrator for a small company. Fortunately the skills I've learned allow me to work with 3D programs to render the characters (and covers) for my books. My hope is to put out a novel or two a year, time allowing. At this point I'd like to grow the H.E.R.O. Universe with more novels, as well as start a fantasy series at some point.

Book preview

Chapter 1 – Riot

Black Tiger's Viewpoint

The events of the evening had been crazy. The idea of aliens hadn't been new to me for weeks; my girlfriend had even been living with one as a roommate. Tiriffa was the alien's name. She was a Gahranii, a blue-skinned, sharp-toothed woman with only three fingers and two toes. In most respects, she looked human, at least in overall body shape. The long, pointy ears that stuck almost straight out to the side were odd, of course, as were her huge, orange starburst eyes.

Tiriffa was quiet, but I thought she was observant, and likely very intelligent. She was a researcher of some kind, after all, and almost never let her tablet-like computer out of her hand.

When the starship landed in Steph's backyard, it had surprised me. Even more, having some important noble types on that ship had been even more surprising. News of Earth was obviously out now.

Then, my dad's old partner, Shroud, showed up. He teleported us unexpectedly to Mars, which was a real shock. I hadn't even known that we had a base on the red planet, much less a full-blown city of probably a thousand or more supers living there. Granted, we, was a relative term. Steph's dad and these other supers had started their own nation there. Clever name, too, the Mars Nation. They needed to include a marketing person in their council. At least the logo was cool; it looked like the mysterious Face of Mars inside of a shield. It wasn’t innovative, but it was cool looking.

I tried to wrap my head around what it would take to run a full city on a planet without air, water, food and industry. Complex stuff, I thought. I suppose it helped when some of the supers didn't have to breathe, or even wear a spacesuit when out of their domes.

Then, on top of learning about those two things, another new alien race showed up, turned out to be hostile, and our new Gahranii friends laid the smack down on them and shot down their starship right over Metrocity. It happened around 9 P.M. The laser light show and explosions of the weapons of a full-blown warship were caught on so many news stations, cameras, and cell phones, even the government couldn't control the massive media explosion that occurred.

Granted, I missed that part. A group of us had been on Mars at that moment. We certainly got into the action fast upon our return, as one of these new, evil aliens had been at Steph's house when Shroud teleported us back.

We got into a fight, and the 8-foot guy turned out to be a real nightmare. He had armored skin like Razorwing's dark gray skin and wings, strength like Spartan's when he had an adrenaline rush, and some high-tech gadgets that gave him a serious edge. He beat our team, although if he hadn't been lucky and accidentally knocked Steph out right away, she might have gotten into his head and stopped him early on.

However, he did knock her out, and did something to Shroud so he was stuck in a weird mass of solidified, unmoving shadow material. He knocked out Diva, and set off a bomb in his hand while right in front of me. I had been hit hard by that one, and had enough broken bones and internal injuries that I couldn't move for an hour after I came to.

Fortunately, the heroes of the city banded together in groups and found ways to take down these aliens. Steph had been in one of the last fights against one, and had done something in his mind that killed him. In turn, he had knocked her and Diva out for a while, although Diva was physically injured. For a brick, Diva was on the weak side, and had weaker body armor, or less dense muscle tissue, or something that made her easier to hurt. She looked pretty beat up.

Lance and I left Metrocity Jail just after ensuring that Steph was okay. I wanted to stay long enough to ensure that Diva was fine, but events came over our phones about looting happening. My big friend and I reluctantly left the prison, and headed toward home to put on our costumes.

He had been bouncing at Score! when the Gahranii ship landed, and had rushed to the scene without his full costume, though the majority of it had been under his clothes. I watched him leaping a block at a time near me, while I rode my Ninja Supersport motorcycle to the house.

At a few lights, I looked at my H.E.R.O. phone. More events were coming up, showing that people were taking advantage of the panic, or succumbing to it, and going out looting. We needed to get out there and help the police.

I pulled into the driveway and narrowed my eyes at the light showing through the curtains in the living room. Lance had been working, so he wouldn't have turned them on, and I had gone over to Steph's to hang out with her for a while, and hadn't left them on.

A thump on the driveway behind me marked Lance's arrival. A shadow on the curtain moved. Someone was inside.

Ever oblivious, Lance walked past me and up to the front door. He patted his costume where his front jeans pocket would have been, and then sighed.

He looked back at me, I need to get a fireproof container for keys and such. My keys were in my jeans, and the dragon burned them off me.

I climbed off the cycle and walked up to him. Rayna's dragon? The big one?

Yeah.

He do that to get your adrenaline going again?

I think so, or to try to hurt the alien.

You have your phone and ID?

Yeah.

I kept my eyes on the window, unlocked the door and opened it, ready to spring to the side if attacked. Instead, I saw two of the strangest women I had seen yet. The pair sat on the hard floor of the dining room for some reason. It was then that I remembered Steph asking me if the two aliens could hide out at our place before she flew off with them.

One, I knew, she was Tiriffa. The other was a thin, alabaster-skinned woman with silver hair. This new woman had large eyes and a small mouth. Her pure white skin was cut and marked all over, showing that she had been in a nasty firefight of some kind. The wounds were partially healed, much like Diva and Lance's when a weapon that could cut them actually hurt them. Her white, mid-thigh length tunic was bloody and torn apart, showing more injuries through it. She had no pants or visible shorts on.

She looked up at us with her large, bright green eyes. They stood out against her skin and hair. She had to be very tall, for the pair sat cross-legged, and the top of her head was significantly above Tiriffa's head.

Tiriffa was in mildly rough shape as well. Her alien uniform was torn in places, and her face smudged. Any wounds she had taken had to have healed. I guessed that the wounds occurred when the massive explosion had gone off.

I walked into the room and nodded at the pair. I said, Hi again, ladies. I'm Rael. I'm sorry; I don't recall your name. I was in a lot of pain when Steph came up to me.

Lance shut the door and stopped behind me. He said, Oh. Hi guys. I didn't realize we had company.

Tiriffa said, Psystar wanted us to stay here to ensure others did not see us, at least until she resolves her housing issue.

He asked, What housing issue?

The building was destroyed by the Kurcet.

Oh, crud. Is there anything we can do?

I said, Yeah, go get the rest of your costume on. We need to deal with the riot situation.

Good point. Sorry ladies. Um, I'm Lance, by the way. He waved at the pair.

The alabaster-skinned woman said, I am Serreka.

Tiriffa waved back, and Serreka mimicked her after watching the blue alien.

Lance nodded to them, and quickly walked to his bedroom.

I headed into mine; quickly changed out of the torn t-shirt and jeans I wore, and put on my own costume. I glanced at my phone, there were already several events looking for assistance within the five-mile range I had set on it. I grabbed a clean, long t-shirt on the way out, and held it out to Serreka.

She looked at the shirt, back up at me, and then took it.

I said, Tiriffa should be able to figure out the shower in the bathroom. Go ahead and clean up, and keep that.

She said, I am grateful.

If you two are hungry, there's food in the refrigerator, plus the fruit on the counter there. Go ahead and eat and drink.

I wanted to stick around and see what this new chick was all about, but Spartan and I needed to get to work. Spartan came out with his belt, glasses and cape on.

He looked at the women, Is there anything we can do for you before we leave?

Tiriffa's ears bent downward, and she said, No. Serreka can clean up and change. What news do you have about the Kurcet?

We got seven of them, and that's all of them the device your buddy gave us showed.

My 'buddy?'

The Gahranii dude that was at Psystar's place. He gave us a tablet that let us locate them.

Serreka said, There were seven Kurcet. Your people killed them?

Spartan shook his head, Some are dead, and others we have in custody.

You stopped seven Kurcet?

Yeah. Why?

They are extremely powerful. I am surprised you were able to kill them.

Well, I wish we hadn't killed any at all, but I wasn't there for the fights where some died. Are you a woman Kurcet?

No. I am an Aselite. Planets of my people are controlled by the Kurcet, and we are slaves.

Wow. That sucks. You aren't a slave any more. Listen, I'll talk to you later, go ahead and clean up, eat, and then rest for a while. We'll be back in a few hours.

I said, Come on, dude.

He nodded, and we left the house. I glanced at my phone; the reports were of vandalism and burglaries occurring in light of the news of aliens in Metrocity.

I showed Spartan and asked, Any preference?

He shook his head. Let's just hit the closest.

I climbed on my motorcycle, slid the phone into the holder to allow me to see the map, and raced toward the scene. I flicked on the red-and-blue police-style lights to keep traffic out of the way. My eyes were good enough in the darkness to make it look like daylight to me, but for most people, the police lights would stand out at night. Spartan leaped near me, his red cape snapping in the air behind him on each jump.

It turned out to be an electronics store; a group of people had smashed out the front window and door, and several were carrying out large televisions in boxes. I sped right up to them and skidded to a stop.

I shouted, I’m with H.E.R.O.! Put the stuff back, now!

One pair of guys dropped the big-screen TV box they held. It landed with a loud crash. I cringed. The group sprinted away as I leaped off my cycle. Another pair hurried toward a truck with a box, and I ran up to them. My tentacles sprouted from the trapezius muscles on each side of my neck, and my fingertips changed into black 2" razor-sharp talons. I used the tentacles to wrap around the box, while I grabbed the shoulder of each of the men.

One of them jerked back, but ended up impaling himself on my claws as I reflexively squeezed down. He screamed in pain.

I said, Don’t run, guys. The smell of blood made my mouth water. I set down the box with the television, hooked the guy on my right with a tentacle, and quickly pulled out a pair of zip-ties and tied each of the men behind their back. The man with my claws in his shoulder grimaced and cried.

A thump nearby gave away Spartan’s arrival. He hopped slightly. It reminded me of the short trip some of us just had to Mars, and landed forty feet away, in front of more people stealing items.

He said, Put the items back, guys. The aliens were taken care of. Done. Burglarizing some guy's shop is uncalled for. He pointed toward the building.

He said in such a commanding way that half the people looked at him in his bright yellow and red costume, turned, and actually carried the boxes back into the store. Once some of them did so, others followed suit, and soon most of the people were shuffling back inside to return the stolen goods.

I zip-tied the two guys together. I few others ignored Spartan, and I sprinted after the group. I leaped in front of them, and motioned back toward the store. They glanced at my tentacles, and returned to the store as well.

A squad car rolled up, and a pair of officers approached Spartan. I looked around; only one more guy within sight had a stolen box. I sprinted after him and stopped him.

Once I had the box, I said, Go home, dude. Stop looting.

He ran off, and I jogged back to Spartan and the officers.

Spartan said, I don't think we should arrest them all, officer.

The woman nodded, The precincts would all be full if we took everyone in.

I asked, You guys want to make sure everyone leaves the stolen stuff in the store, and clears out?

She said, You got somewhere to be?

Yeah, I'm still showing other events in range.

Sure. We can handle this. What happened with this guy? She gestured at the man with the injured shoulder.

I said, I had my hand on his shoulder when he tried to break away and run. My claws are razor sharp, and went in.

Like a cat's? She had seen the tiger paw on the chest of my costume.

Sort of. Mine will cut steel if I push.

Nice. All right guys … give me that box, and we'll take care of this. Were those actually aliens that came down?

Spartan nodded, Big guys. Seven of them in a ship. We took down all of them.

I watched the second officer as he spoke with some of the people coming back out of the store.

Aliens. Huh. Who'da thought we'd see something like that?

Spartan shrugged, Seems like we're known now. I just hope the hostile ones don't become commonplace. On the other hand, if they do, that's what H.E.R.O. is for.

I heard the Air Force got tore up pretty bad on the east side.

It did. I feel bad for the soldiers that died.

We lose a lot?

One is too many, but in this case I think we lost dozens of men and women.

Dang.

Listen, we need to run and help the next site. Have a good night, okay?

Sure. Good luck, heroes.

I nodded to them, climbed on my cycle, and we left for the next problem area.

Chapter 2 - Fiery Demon

Razorwing's Viewpoint

Rayna and I left the others at the infirmary in Metrocity Jail, shook hands with a few security guards on the way out and returned to the courtyard. Volruth, Rayna's armor-plated gold dragon, sat on his haunches like a giant, 30' long cat. He barely moved anything except his eyes, as he watched all movement in the area, as well as the occasional slight neck movement.

We approached him, and I said, Take care of Rayna, big guy. I'm going to check into this rioting event.

Rayna nervously glanced around and squeezed my hand. I smiled at her.

She said, I'll let you know Firebane's status.

Thanks. I hope she makes it.

Me too. I did hit her with my healing nanites right after she got hit, so I'm hopeful.

Plus, you got her to the hospital quickly. My fingers will be crossed.

Be careful out there.

I'm not overly worried. Mutants have problems getting through my skin. I'm more concerned about scaring or hurting others who are panicked.

Be cautious with them, then. I'll see you later, or in the morning.

I look forward to it. If you go out after seeing Firebane, please be careful. Volruth might be good for crowd control. I looked at the dragon, No breathing fire at crowds, Volruth.

He stroked his chin with a claw in a very human-like manner.

I know; his size and wings will make it easy to move groups of people.

I waved at Volruth, and the dragon nodded back at me. Then, I backed up to get a clear space for my wings, leaped into the air, and took flight. I immediately flew toward the rioting and quickly found the place, even from a distance.

Fires burned in several buildings. Two had stores at ground level, but had apartments on the floors above that. The lower levels were on fire, and a crowd of people threw bottles of alcohol at the burning areas. Fools! You put lives at stake out of your own fear.

I sped toward the nearest edifice. I noticed a few people on the rooftop, and glided down to them. A woman held a baby in her arms, and an elderly gentleman with a cane stood next to them.

I said, Hi, folks, I'm Razorwing. I'll fly you down to the ground.

The old man jumped when he saw me. What in dad blazes? Devils are coming up out of fire!

I replied, I'm not a devil, sir. I'm a H.E.R.O. agent. Come with me. I'd like to get you to the ground, and then check inside the buildings.

The woman looked at the rising smoke along the sides of the building, at her baby, and then back at me. She said, You can't have my baby.

I don't want your baby, ma'am. Hold onto her tightly, and I'll hold you.

The old man said, How do I know you ain't here to bring me to hell?

Well ... if you prayed for help. I'm here. Don't look your gift wings in the mouth...

Hmm. Good head, sonny. He came over to me.

I held the two of them against me, and flapped up to lift off the building. I felt that it would frighten them less than simply dropping off the side. After the liftoff, we glided down on the side opposite the rioters.

The old man said, Oh my gosh; you even have a devil tail!

I smiled, I didn't choose it. Be safe, you two.

The woman said, My neighbor, Tom, went to get others up.

What floor was he on?

The third.

Of six? All right. I'll call out for him.

I extended my wingtips up to their full 12' length, jabbed the razor-sharp talons into the brick wall, and quickly climbed up to the third floor. I wondered if I looked like a giant spider. I smashed through a window into an apartment, and ran through the building in search of people.

The apartments at that level were burning, and I heard screams. I ran through a burning hall, and found the smoke to have an almost pleasant aroma. I found it strange, since smells in general had become neither enjoyable, nor distasteful since my change. I stopped for a moment, and held my hand and wing out over some fire. It didn't hurt in the least. I nodded to myself and smashed into the apartment where the people were.

Cries came from a back room, and I found three people trying to pry security bars off an outer window. A teenage girl turned and screamed at the sight of me. The others looked, and a man fumbled next to him and held up a lamp.

I put my hand up. I'm a hero, guys. Let me get the bars off for you. I approached them, and they moved to the left. It was a weak metal, and I easily tore the entire grid off the window. I threw it past the fire escape and down into the street. It banged loudly as it struck the asphalt.

I stepped back and motioned to the window, Go quickly, but make sure you’ve got a handle on the fire escape.

The group rushed out. I watched to ensure they were safe, and returned to the hallway. The rest of the level was empty, so I proceeded up to the next floor. I found a group of two men, two women, and a teen boy in an apartment.

The boy recognized me and said, It's Razorwing, one of the new heroes! That helped calm the others at my appearance. Their windows weren't barred, but a three-floor drop was too much for any normal person, and they were attempting to figure out how to scale down.

I said, I'll get you down. You're going to hold onto me, and I'll glide down. Is that clear?

They nodded. I took two at a time, held one in each arm, and glided down to the back street. I hadn't used my wings much for climbing before that night, and it turned out that having the talons every three feet or so on the wings made stabbing into the brick wall easy. In moments, I was back up at the window, and brought the last of them down.

I saw the next family from outside the building. They were also having problems with their security bars over the fire escape. Someone had added the bars on every level for security, but in the process, made it impossible to leave in an emergency. A woman had a drill and worked to remove the bolts from the inside. Using my 12' wing arms, I climbed up the fire escape to their window.

I asked, The building's ruined, shall I simply pull it off for you?

She stepped back and motioned at the window, Go for it.

I grabbed the bars and yanked the entire grid assembly off the window. The bolts ripped through the concrete holes and dangled from the metal gridwork. I threw it to a clear area of the street below. I felt fortunate to be able to lift 10 tons since my mutation a few weeks back.

She said, Thank you.

I nodded to her and continued up the fire escape while they scrambled out the window and down to safety.

I ripped the bars off both of the windows next to the fire escape on the floors above that, and then smashed my way into the last apartment where I saw a group of people making their way from the roof down the fire escape.

I went back through the building. I listened, and heard cries calling out from some distance away. It took some time to find them; they turned out to be two floors below me, and past a raging inferno in the hallway. Most of the flooring was missing in a large section, and I had to stretch my wings up and stab the talons into the walls on each side to lift myself over the area. The left wall was on fire, but with my resistance to heat, I ignored it.

The cries for help came from behind a closed apartment door. I burst the door open, and found two children in a smoke-filled room. Their father lay unconscious next to them. I sighed as one of them screamed at my demonic appearance. I looked back at the fire raging behind me.

I didn't have time to calm them down, so I quickly approached them, picked up the father, and then both kids. One struggled, but I ignored his resistance and rushed to the nearest window. I smashed it open with my wing and glanced outside. This side of the building had wires hanging in the way ... I couldn't glide down.

I made sure I had a solid hold on the three of them, turned my back to the window, and stuck my wings up and out the window. Once I jabbed several talons into the bricks on each side, I climbed out and used my wings to scale down the wall. As we descended, I jammed my wingtips into new holes in the wall. I swear, they’re going to think I destroyed the building by smashing through all the brick siding by the time I’m done.

The side of the building had a lot of damage when I looked back up as we reached the ground, but I was sure the building would be torn down after a fire, regardless of the condition of a wall.

I set the kids down, and they followed as I carried their father to the back of the building, and away from the rioters. I set him down and ran around to the front of the building.

A group of six men came out of a liquor store across the street. They stuffed paper towels into bottles of alcohol as I watched. I frowned and jogged toward them.

I yelled, What do you idiots think you’re doing?

One of the men pointed at me, and two of them threw their bottles. I dodged, and the bottles smashed on the street behind me. Another pair lit the paper, and threw theirs toward the building nearby.

I snapped my right wing out and the bottles smashed against it. The alcohol splashed on my wing and lit it on fire, and the last pair threw their bottles at me. I blocked with my left wing, and charged them. My wings blazed with alcohol-fueled fire. I couldn't grab the men with my wings out of fear they would catch fire, but it allowed me to corral the group and manhandle each one so I could bind them with plastic ties.

A pair of fire trucks rolled up as I finished. The crews dispersed and efficiently setup their hoses and equipment.

One man ran to me and shouted, You're on fire, Razorwing! Get over to the hose and we'll put you out.

I shook my head and said, The fire doesn't hurt. It's alcohol, it'll burn off quickly.

I glanced around the crowd. Most of them had settled down, and watched the fire trucks or me. A police cruiser arrived, and I pointed them at the men I had tied up.

I jogged over to the firefighters and said, Gents, I went through that building, save it for last. I'll go through the next worst over here.

One of the men said, Can you fly up and start from the top? We'll go up from ground level.

I nodded, backed away from everyone, and launched into the air. A few hard flaps later, and I was on the rooftop. The fire on my wings fizzled out by the time I landed. Groups of people were already there, and were just about to head down the fire escape.

I asked, Is anyone else in there?

A woman shook her head, I don't know.

Understood. I'll go down and check.

I ran through the rooftop entrance, and burst into each apartment. I shouted as I went, hoping to hear a response over the noisy fire alarms going off. It didn't take long for someone to cry out, and I found a family trying to pack their suitcases with their belongings.

I said, Come on, people. There's no time to take everything. There's a fire downstairs. Safety first. I checked their windows, found that one of them was next to the fire escape and didn't have security bars.

They nodded, slammed the lids shut and took what they could. I ushered them to the window. Once they were all safely on the fire escape and climbing down, I continued through the building.

A group came up from a stairwell and stopped at the sight of me. I stepped off to the side.

I said, Go on. Either go up to the roof and use the fire escape, or use the window in apartment 502..

They nodded and cautiously passed me. They barely looked at where they were going; all eyes were glued on me. I wondered if people would ever get used to how I appeared.

An explosion went off somewhere below me, and the entire building shook. I kicked in each apartment door quickly, but the fourth floor was empty of people.

As soon as I reached the third floor, the amount of smoke made it clear that the fire had taken over that level. A group of firefighters had come up the stairs, and one of their team members was on the far side of a large hole in the floor. A doorway had intense flames coming out of it, and the man held an unconscious woman.

I motioned the crew back and said, I'll help, gents. I stepped forward, spread my right wing, and covered the doorway with it. The wing was voluminous enough to cover most of the opening, and it successfully cut off the extreme heat from the room.

I put my fingers through the drywall on the right for extra support, and extended my left wing to its full 12' to cover the hole.

I said, Hook your arm over my wing. I'll lift you over the hole.

The fireman called over, Will your wing hold? Isn't it hollow?

It'll hold. I can lift tons. Do it.

He shifted his grasp on the woman, and put his arm over my wing. I bent the wing back steadily as they went over the hole, and his co-workers pulled him off as they reached our side.

He patted me on my shoulder plate and said, Thanks, man. Is your wing okay? He looked at the wing covering the doorway.

I nodded. It doesn't burn me. The floors above were clear of people. I'll go through these rooms again, all right? Is there anyone else here?

He said, The far apartment. There's an unconscious man. I couldn't carry both of them.

I nodded. I'll go out a window.

They are all barred this low on the building.

I'll rip them out, then. I've got it covered. Get to safety.

I extended my wings, stabbed the talons into the wall on the far side of the pit and the fiery doorway, and pulled myself over. It took little time to find the man in question, smash out a barred window, and climb down the outer wall with him.

The third building on fire had only minor damage, and most people were already out of it by the time I went in. Clearing it of the few people who were slow went easily, and I stepped back and breathed in the clean air for a minute.

Someone asked if I needed oxygen, and I shook my head. I hadn't had to heal smoke damage in my lungs yet, but I guessed that my healing would take care of it if I damaged them at all.

I looked at my H.E.R.O. phone. There was another event further downtown, so I left the scene and proceeded to it. I had a feeling that the H.E.R.O. agents that questioned us after each event would be overwhelmed tonight.

Chapter 3 - The Mind Behind

Dolldrum's Viewpoint

It took me over a year to find a way to gain power. Normally, my gift allowed me to make and control dolls, around a dozen or so at a time. In effect, I imbued my power into a doll mask, put it on a doll body, and the doll came alive, under my control. It was awesome, and threw