Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I have asked you all here for a matter of the utmost importance. We must save the planet." They take this better than I expected. "The destruction of the Facility was meant only to cripple the Society, not the entire planet. But through a terrible miscalculation on our part we have become the destroyers of our race. What sense does it make to be rulers of a world when the only living things are lichen and cockroaches? We must undo what we have done."

"How do you propose we do that Steel? We‘re villains, not saviors."

"We‘re both, or rather we have a chance to be both. Blades, if you would," a few key-taps and the camera view from Hangar Three pops up on the main screen. "What you are looking at is a Chronoton Generator, essentially a time machine. Professor Zap, would you continue please."

Professor Zap turns from a clipboard toward the camera. "My comrades you see here in front of me a possible way to undo what has been done. Chronotons are theoretical particles that make up the time stream, by applying approximately one terajoule per mole which is 6.23..."

"Professor, spare us the details."

"Oh right. Essentially by applying enough energy to slow and eventually reverse the spin of the chronoton particles within the chamber anything in the chamber will travel back through the time stream. I have built these input converters for each of you to input your power. I estimate that with all our power combined we can send one person back in time approximately 3 months." Everyone begins to murmur amongst themselves, some in consternation, some in shock. "The problem is we only have one chance and there is no data on what will happen to whomever we send back in time."

"I'll go," Blades pipes up. I rest a hand on his shoulder and gently push him back into his chair.

"No Blades, I began this, it was my plan that led to the destruction of the planet. I should be the one to go back." A general murmur of agreement rises from the collected heroes.

"So we will once again be heroes and do what we have sworn to do so long ago. We will save humanity one final time."

---

The next afternoon Professor Zap informs me that the Generator is complete. As I walk the corridors with Blades the others join us. This may be our finest hour indeed, the thankless job of being a hero has always been our destiny, our fate. No matter what we try to do we are always bound to be the saviors of humanity. Because that is what we do, we're superheroes.

I grimly look out of the chamber as the others begin to power up, channeling their extreme powers through the inputs, into the converters and finally into the generator. The chamber begins to become heated. I feel a strange pressure on me similar to being underground, an intangible sort of feeling. The last thing I see is Blades, eyes twinkling and grinning like the Cheshire cat. Then the strangest thing begins to happen, things....reverse. The others walk out of the hangar, the device is assembled into its crates....the reversal speeds up and everything becomes a blur and finally there is a concussive blast of light.

---

"With these powers we possess, did you ever, well...you know. Did you ever think about going over to the other side?"

I massage the knots out of my shoulders and rub the bruises on my arms from the beating I took thanks to a 45 ton robot controlled by Professor Zap in his latest bid to take over the world. I scan the gym of the O.P. and catch Blades looking over at me before he gives me an odd smile and heads to the showers. I give him a slight nod as I walk over to the window to take in the view of the blue-green planet below. "Yes. Once."

"Really? just once dad?"

"Yes, James....just once, then I finally caught a break."