Action Figures - Issue One: Secret Origins Read Online Free PDF Page A

like one of those cool old roadside diners made from a converted train car, but it’s shiny and clean and doesn’t give off a greasy spoon vibe. A sign on the front door reads, “Vegans Will Be Disappointed.”
    Matt’s friends occupy a corner booth. They’re the same kids I saw in the cafeteria.
    “Dude,” says the boy, tapping his wrist, the universal sign for you’re late .
    Matt’s explanation is, simply, “Robot.”
    “Another one? Man, how come you get all the fun?”
    “Not so much this time. So. Introductions.”
    The boy is Stuart. He looks like a roadie for Metallica and is built like he could lift the whole band, stage included, by himself. I’ve never met anyone so ripped. He says hi and inhales a third of a cheeseburger in one bite. Matt tells me Stuart is super-strong and invulnerable, and to prove it Matt stabs the back of Stuart’s hand with a fork. Hard. There’s no wound, not so much as a red mark. Stuart looks at Matt and says, “Dude. Come on.”
    Sara is wearing a hoodie at least one size too big for her, and she’s trying very hard to disappear into it. She’s pale and has dark circles under her eyes that suggest she hasn’t slept since, like, last year. Her black hair is pulled back into a ponytail, a sad effort to control the worst bad hair day in the history of mankind. If I didn’t know better I’d swear she had an electric current running through her. Sara is a Class Three psionic, which, Matt says, means she is an empath, (she can sense and broadcast emotions), a telepath (she can read minds), and a telekinetic (she can move things by thinking about it). I think I detect a distinct note of pride in his voice, and I agree, it sounds impressive, but Sara, she couldn’t care less.
    The girl at the end is Missy. She smiles brightly and waves at me. She’s petite, has huge green eyes, and is wearing a headband sporting a pair of black cat ears. She’s a living anime character. She’s adorable. Hallmark stores could sell porcelain figurines of this girl and old ladies would scoop them up by the armload. According to Matt she’s not super-strong but she’s stronger than she looks, not super-fast but fast, and extremely agile.
    “Matt said you can fly,” Missy says. “That must be so cool but I think it’d be kind of scary too being way up in the sky and thinking oh God what if I fall but I guess that’s what would make it really exciting too like being on a roller coaster except not because there’s...you know...no roller coaster. Because you’re in the air.”
    She got that out in one breath. That should qualify as a super-power. “That about nails it,” I say.
    “What’s your origin?” Stuart asks through a full mouth.
    “My origin ? You mean, how did I get my powers?”
    “Yeah. Regale us. We need someone in this group with a cool origin story,” he says, eyeballing Matt.
    “Still better than yours,” Matt says. Stuart, Sara, Missy, their powers are all the result of genetic mutation, he explains, meaning they were born with their abilities. Mighty Wikipedia says mutation-based abilities usually don’t manifest right away and tend to develop with age, so whatever heat these guys are packing now is going to get stronger as they get older.
    “I make up for a lame origin with my natural pure awesomeness,” Stuart says. The last of his burger vanishes down his gullet and he waves a waitress over to order another (his fourth, I learn. Where does he put it all?).
    I order some fries to snack on and sit down to tell my story. I’ve never shared this story with anyone, and I know I just met these people, but they’re like me in a way so few people are. I have a good feeling about them.
    Or maybe I’m just desperate to not feel so alone.
    I miss my old friends. The good ones, I mean.
    “It was a few months ago,” I begin.

FIVE
    It was a few months ago when everything changed, and I do mean everything.
    It was a Thursday. Weird detail to remember so vividly,