Save State Hero -CH1- (Patreon)

Sniffling, Edmund coughed, then grabbed a tissue out of the box. Lifting it to his face he dabbed at his nose, then blew hard into it.

Folding it up halfway he wiped at his nose with it again, then flicked it off to the side. It dangled on the edge of the trash-can then fell in.

“Les-go,” Edmund muttered to himself and looked back to the computer.

Blinking several times he tried to remember where he was. Even taking his eyes off the task for as short a period as he did had left him wondering where he was.

That’s usually the time that the day is done. Pushing past this is just asking to be really fucking burnt.

Especially if Ryker or Runner show up and ask me to do something else.

Sighing, Edmund shook his head and stared into his monitor.

Only for his phone to ring.

Or more accurately for a sound file to play since he’d customized it.

Grinning at the noise, it always made him smile, Edmund picked up the phone and glanced to the screen. It was a message from Romina.

Edmund flicked it open and waited a second for it to load the video.

Romina’s hand was holding an empty bottle upside down and shaking it. Demonstrating it being empty she then dropped it into the trashcan, which ended up showing a carkey on the countertop in the same movement. Romina picked up the key and held it up.

A text prompt flicked up onto the screen.

Time to be done, my stuff is empty, let’s go to HR.

Smirking, Edmund nodded his head. That sounded a lot better than what he was doing.

“Ohhh nooo,” chimed his phone, alerting him to yet another message that’d just dropped in.

This time it was on the company program.

Flicking it open, he found it was a text from Faith. She was a Dryad and an extremely close confidant of Felix, his boss. If Faith was reaching out, it meant something had gone horribly wrong, or was about to.

“Fuck,” muttered Edmund as he tapped the message and waited for it to open. The Encampment application was a bit slower than most of the other programs he used, but it also felt akin to something from the future.

As soon as it opened, Edmund began reading.

Good evening Edmund.

Sorry for asking you of this when I know you’re trying to close out your day, but we had an issue and I need you to prep something else for me. I’m not at HQ and I won’t be able to get back quick enough for this.

Negotiations broke down at a conference we were working. A mess was made. Need a cleanup for it. The mess has already been pre-packed and is ready for pickup, just needs disposal.

It’s in a locker at the bus station just outside of the city. I’ll send you the exact address at the bottom of this in a follow up so you map it.

Take the package, dispose of it like normal.

Edmund clicked his tongue and then sighed. What that meant was there was a dead body he needed to take care of.

“This is what I get for working for a super-villain,” murmured Edmund before continuing with the message.

The prep is the usual things. Put together a pistol, three magazines, twenty-thousand dollars in five-thousand bundles, collapsible shovel, GPS locater, and a can of acid number two.

Use one of the Legionnaire duffel bags for it all and put it in locker three in the armory for me. Thanks again Edmund! I really appreciate you pitching in so much.

I’ll make sure to send you the bonus like usual!

Edmund’s distaste for the situation left almost immediately at the last sentence. Felix made sure everyone always got more than they likely expected to get for a job well-done. Going above and beyond was always rewarded.

Pay and rewards were never an issue in Legion.

Getting a bonus was customary for doing a job like this.

“Alright… let’s… go earn some cash. Just gotta message Romina that I’ll probably be about an hour,” Edmund said to himself. “Though… err… I could always just do a load.

“Load it back, prep all this in advance, maybe try and warn Faith about the disposal so it never happens. She takes my ‘hunches’ fairly seriously.”

Hesitating, Edmund considered using his Super Power.

Utilizing the secret he’d kept from everyone in Legion he felt his mind drift off. The world around him slowed down to a crawl and almost didn’t seem to move at all.

In this dark world of absolute nothing Edmund could access a power that made him feel sick, giddy, and nervous all at the same time. A power that felt more geared to a world-ending event than what he’d been using it for.

Three bubble-like images floated around him. Each one was the size of his head with a fuzzy outline surrounding it. In the center of them was a stationary image of whatever Edmund had been looking at when he “saved” the state of the world.

Two of them were ones he often re-used. Saving the world every morning so he could reload it if something went wrong on one, and at the start of every week on the other.

The third was a save-state was broken. He couldn’t use it in anyway shape or form. He figured it would eventually become available to him, just as the other two had.

Staring at this morning’s save he contemplated using it.

All he had to do was reach out with his mind and activate it, then he’d be dropped back into this morning. Just after having woken up.

Nah… we can make today work. It’s not a loss. No reason to strain ourselves.

Moving away from his power, Edmund was back inside his body in an instant.

Using his power took a toll on him that forced him to wait before using it again. He’d gotten into saving and loading individual days as that became the best way to maximize his power, without picking up a heavy penalty.

“Off we go. Start with the go-bang-bag and then the disposal,” he muttered and locked his computer. There was work to do.

Being the Henchman of a Super-villain was a lot of work.

Exiting his office Edmund closed the door behind him and headed for the elevator. He could hear a distant keyboard clicking. Obviously he wasn’t the only person working late.

Moving to the elevator he pulled out his phone and dropped into the group chat he had with his friends. He’d hired everyone he trusted directly into Legion. Most of them were doing physical labor or low-end work.

He valued his friends and their willingness to believe in him, to help him when he had absolutely nothing, but they were also victims of circumstance. Most had no or very little education.

Raised poor, with nothing, and no prospects at all.

They were all getting on the job training to enhance themselves, but that didn’t shore up the gaps created from the loss of their formative years.

Which all just a smoke-screen in Edmund’s mind to not judge them for how they spoke, carried themselves, and acted around others.

No sooner than he’d opened the group chat than he saw that the conversation had been lively. Dick-pics, dog-poop, someone’s lunch, several cases of beer stacked on top of each other, and someone posting a picture of guy she’d banged the night previous in a one-night stand.

With a caption of “Super hot but he weren’t that good. Told him to get out so I could finish myself off this morning.”

Yep… yep. That’s all about right.

The elevator dinged and opened.

Edmund stepped in while looking for anything he’d need to respond with in the group chat. There wasn’t anything at all which was good in a way.

He already felt overloaded with going off to see Romina while doing this job for Faith.

Tapping in a message quickly he sent it, then stuck it in his pocket.

There was a ping and the doors opened. They weren’t yet at the ground floor.

Several Legionnaire’s in full armor stepped into the elevator. Each of them spotted him and nodded their heads at him. They were each armed with a rifle, otherwise they’d probably have saluted him.

He was the personal assistant to Felix, after all.

“Legion First,” Edmund said and nodded his head back to the Legionnaires.

“Legion First,” they all responded.

“We’re responding to an alert. How about you Mr. Wilhelm?” asked one of their number.

“It’s uh… just Edmund,” answered Edmund quickly. “Gotta go do a burn and a drop. Might even be linked to your alert. Lotta cleanup?”

“Some. We’re just responding as a show of force to be neutral observers. We’re on a strict SOP to not-engage unless engaged firmly,” answered a different Legionnaire as the doors to the elevator closed. “Nothing we did though or responsible for. Just a super-battle going on.”

Edmund nodded his head at that. They were responding to a lot of things like that. Where they would just be there to make sure everyone played fair and took prisoners.

Acting the part of the intermediary that Felix wanted them to be.

It wasn’t very fun, but it was getting the right reputation out there with the right expectations. That the Superhuman Association was a neutral party that observed unless it’s guidelines were violated.

“An Andrea is going to meet up with the whole squad and lead us,” said the last Legionnaire.

“Well that’ll be fun. It’s always an adventure with Andrea,” murmured Edmund with a smirk. He had distinct memories of having to save and load multiple times just as he was figuring out his power for the first time with her.

Trying to escape a police chase that seemed to constantly hem them in and caught them more often than not.

“That’s one way to put it,” the first Legionnaire said with a chuckle. “She’s the lifeblood of the outfit. I’m not sure we could make this happen without her. I mean… have you seen how Mr. Campbell gets when Andrea is busy even for just a day?”

Edmund understood what they meant.

Exactly to the smallest detail.

If Andrea wasn’t around for a while, Felix got weird. He might complain and mutter about Andrea’s antics, that she acted in a way that often made him look a bit less than perfect, or behaved in a way that was absolutely insane and he was left speechless.

But if she wasn’t around, he got moody.

Moody, dark, and short of patience.

For better or worse, Felix leaned on Andrea in a way that was obvious to everyone except him and Andrea. Anyone else would likely call her insulting, insufferable, or annoying, without ever realizing it was her very antics that kept Felix grounded.

“— though she does get out of hand. The other day she—” before the Legionnaire could finish talking, the doors of the elevator opened.

Standing directly in front of the doors was a wide eyed and staring Andrea Elex.

She had short blonde-hair, mismatched eyes, and a way of looking at you that made you wonder if she was really all there. The attractive Beastkin had her hands on her hips and was looking like she was posing for a picture.

“The other day she… did what?” asked Andrea in a dangerous tone.

“Dragged your own corpse through the lobby,” growled Edmund, glowering at Andrea. He’d watched Felix enough to know exactly how to handle the beautifully dangerous woman. “Naked! You dragged an Other through the lobby, that was dying and leaking blood everywhere, while it was Naked!

“I’m pretty sure it was a single digit Other, too. Is that how you’re supposed to treat your Others, Andrea?”

Andrea blinked, winced, then looked down and to the side.

“Nnnn, nnn. You’re right. It’s not,” mumbled Andrea peeking up at Edmund. “It’s really rude, right? I made the cleaning crew do extra work?”

“You’re damn right you did. Do you think they wanted to clean up pretty-girl Beastkin blood out of the entry, lobby, and elevator?

“I’m sure Felix had to pay a bonus to them to get the job done. Someone probably had to stay late to make sure it got taken care of I’d bet.”

As he spoke, Edmund put his hand on the elevator doors and held Andrea’s gaze. She stepped to the side as he did so.

The Legionnaire’s filed out of the elevator and then lined up, waiting for Andrea.

“You’re a Legionnaire. One that everyone knows. Everyone looks up to you. Even I look up to you,” Edmund admitted with a smile for her. A sharp smack on the nose followed by praise was how Felix often handled her. “You’re a role model to me. To almost everyone.”

“You sound like Felix,” Andrea complained, her nose wrinkling while the corners of her mouth curled up. “I know… we can try to find you a nice Beastkin on my home world when we go back!

“There’s a bunch of’em! There’s even some like me! Way more prettier though. I’m kinda dull compared to a lot of them.”

“I’m flattered, but I’m also a bit too busy for that kind of thing, wouldn’t you say?” Edmund deflected. “Not to mention, I’m not sure I could keep up with a Beastkin if they’re all like you.

“Too much for someone like me. I’m not like Felix or have his abilities. I’m just a nobody doing nothing.”

“I don’t believe that for a second,” Andrea said, grinning at him. It had a very predatory edge to it that was unmistakable. “For now I’ll pretend like I don’t know. That way we can just go back to how it was… but I know. I know and you know I know. You know, that I know that you know, so we both know.

“Ya know?”

Edmund had a momentary thought that Felix was a far more patient man than he was, nodded his head, and left. He had a good bit of work to do still.

***

Walking into the bus depot, Edmund knew what to expect. Knew what to expect, but still didn’t really want to deal with it.

He wasn’t squeamish, or anything of the sort in fact.

The idea of handling a corpse in public just felt weird to him.

Off.

Wrong.

Like asking to get caught and then thrown into jail.

He wasn’t too concerned about that last one though.

Chances were that Tribune, the Virtual Intelligence that assisted in all facets of Legion life, had already torn apart the feed. Reducing it to nothing with a technical failure, or making it so everything looked very dull and boring. That Edmund had never even walked into the station, in fact.

That was just how these things went.

Knowing where to go, as he’d picked up a few bodies here previously, Edmund unconsciously scrolled through the news on his phone. Walking without looking or paying attention.

Or at least, seemingly not paying attention.

He’d already spotted the security guard that was on duty and watching. Though they weren’t really watching as far as Edmund could tell.

They looked to be about his own age and were more interested in the women that were walking by than watching out for anyone doing anything out of the ordinary.

Edmund made it to the locker without too much concern. The padlock it was locked with was keyed in a particular way for anyone with a clearance-one Legionnaire level could open it.

It made situations like this a lot easier to deal with when you didn’t have to worry about not having the right key.

Pulling out said key Edmund stuck it in the lock, popped it with a turn, then opened the door to the locker.

Inside was a large instrument case. One that looked like it’d hold a very large and fancy looking instrument. He had no idea what kind of case it was, but it felt like it’d hold a cello or something of that nature.

Grimacing, Edmund reached in and pulled it out.

It was quite heavy as he expected it to be.

A full grown man or woman was heavier than most people really understood till they tried to lift one.

Edmund spotted some shoulder straps and let out a relieved breath.

Setting the large case down he stepped into the position for the straps, pulled them over his shoulders, and stood up.

It was still heavy, still awkward, but not something he couldn’t handle.

He just needed to be quick about it.

Closing the locker door and taking the lock with him, Edmund started his way back. Once again he pulled out his phone and looked engrossed in it. Sliding through the news and not really paying much attention to anything around him.

Just like any other traveler.

One news article stood out to him though.

There’d been a recent sighting of a high-value super villain. One that’d been a problem to multiple countries and had a considerable bounty on their head.

They were currently in the states apparently. The government was actively soliciting tips or suspected whereabouts and offering rewards for information.

Why am I half expecting Felix in a disguise to show up, offer the dude to the government, take the money, and wander off. Pocketing the money.

Only to turn around and get paid to open a jail or something.

That sounds about right for Felix.

Edmund grunted, shifted the case he was carrying, and kept going.

He still had to drop the body off with the disposal crew.

A group of Others that always seemed a bit more darker than the rest of them, though they were always quite friendly to Edmund. He liked them.

Reminded them of himself in a number of ways.

Opening up his messages with Romina he saw the series of emojis she’d sent at him, including a picture of her middle finger, when he said he had to decline for a short bit. That he had work to do.

He tapped in quickly that he was on the way now and would share his location with her as well so she could track him.

Romina never looked at it, but he got the impression that she liked having the ability to look if she wanted.

No sooner than he sent it, than he got back a picture of the interior of the bar named “HR”. She was alone at a table with two beers in front of her. One was already empty and she was working through the next one.

Ugh. Something happened if she went without me.

Not to mention staring at her phone waiting for me to message her.

I wonder what it was.

Maybe today is a reload after all.

Damn. Always feels like such a waste to relive day after day.

It wouldn’t be the first time he reloaded a day just to make sure someone else’s day went well.