Cybil (2018) #projectsuper

Chapter 20: Learning The Truth, Part 2

"I am just one. One of many of whom can do things which no man can do," Ana began.

"My abilities go back in full to a war. One fought in complete secret to all but a spare few who are really part of it."

Marcia raised an eyebrow (or the rough equivalent for her current state) at such an idea. "A secret war? I don't see how you could hide an armed conflict from some general populace..."

"And I envy your penchant for naivete, especially given your circumstances. I miss that kind of thing, really."

Marcia gritted her teeth, her patience wearing thin. "I am TRYING to understand a world that I was unwillingly dropped into. What am I supposed to believe?"

"That's up to you. Now listen."

Ana took a deep breath.

"A war for real power, not metallic toys, has been brewing since the tail end of the Cold War. That proxy war of ideologies was a good enough coincidence to keep the public busy and not thinking about the real threat.

"The men of whom started this war are shrouded in mystery..."

Marcia piped up, "Then how are you telling this story?"

"But the men coming after them, living now, are still very much active. They play for the power to move mountains, breaking barriers not in the figurative sense, but the literal. They long to become living gods..."

"Didn't Hitler...?" Marcia interjected.

"Please. Compared to these men, Hitler was an anti-semetic child playing with sticks. I may be able to lift myself up a couple of feet in the air, but these men hope to reshape the entire world in their image."

"Your point is?" the cybernetic woman asked.

"My point is," Ana continued, finally seeming to get Marcia's impatience. "that human beings with the power to run faster than the wind itself, shoot fire from their hands, kill with a thought, and so much more are mobilizing an unimaginably large force of those like themselves... And they intend to take over the world."

Unsure of what to make of this information, Marcia asked, "Shouldn't you tell someone else about this?"

"You're referring to the authorities, yes? They wouldn't stand a chance. We're talking about something out of a children's comic book. Supervillains, in a world of real life, very comparatively frail humans."

"W-what hope is there?" Marcia stammered.

For the first time that Marcia could remember, Ana smiled in a genuine manner. "Well, that's where some, like yourself, will come in. I personally will see to it, as well as others, that this world will not be crushed under their evil hands."

Marcia rubbed her forehead.  "How..."

"Come with me," Ana beckoned, changing the subject. "I think it is time to show you something a bit more comfortable than that old hospital room."

Ana walked Marcia from the training center, very confused and in a fog. To her, a nap sounded pretty nice...