The Invincibles Read Online Free

he vibrated the molecules of his superhero outfit and changed them into a faded black t-shirt and lazy gray sweat pants. Now Cal Linkson with his lanky blonde hair flopping down onto his face, he kicked back on his lumpy living room sofa. He snatched his laptop off his round glass coffee table and flipped it open to check his email.
    Messages filled up his inbox with clients checking in on the various projects his freelance web design company was handling. “Shit,” he muttered. Due to being busy as Hyperman, he’d fallen behind on multiple projects, and now the deadlines were fast approaching.
    He grimaced, hating having to use his hyper-powers on his web design work. It felt like cheating since no other web designers could work so quickly and efficiently. Plus, the mundane challenge of trying to go at a pace ordinary people did pushed his creativity in ways punching mountains couldn’t. However, these clients paid all of Cal’s bills, and he lacked the time to go about all the work in an utterly human, painstakingly slow, and careful way. These clients expected him to meet their deadlines though, or they’d drop him as a designer.
    Sometimes, he wondered why he bothered. He didn’t need an apartment, groceries, or even a sleek, expensive gadget phone. While he was growing up, everyone in Whisper, Oregon, had called him Cal. He had used that first name in every civilian identity he’d concocted over the years, but he now thought of himself as Hyperman. Cal had become a mask he wore to get away from saving the world and experience real life. Too often, however, he found real life tedious and disappointing. Why was he playing this game and pretending to be human when he could be soaring off across the universe?
    He sighed. He couldn’t lose perspective. He had to stay down to Earth and grounded. Therefore, he needed to understand people and how things worked. Being Cal helped him with that. After all, Hyperman couldn’t have ordinary friends and clients like Cal did. Having those kinds of people around helped keep his head on straight. Also, he’d made a deal with his clients, and it had come time to fulfill his end. Luckily, he was more than able to do so.
    After purchasing his laptop computer, he’d personally upgraded it to Hyperman standards, using microchips and circuitry he’d borrowed from the Invincibles and S.I.L.E.N.T (The Stealth Intelligence Liaison Espionage Network Team). The laptop now possessed unearthly computing and storage capabilities that allowed him to work at hyper-speeds if needed.
    His fingers blurred over the keyboard and mouse pad, typing and clicking, typing and clicking. Information and images flashed across the screen at speeds only he could understand. Minutes later, the computer heated up and smoked, but he’d already finished, saved, and sent off all of his work. He shut off his computer to let it cool and sat back on his couch.
    His ears perked up at the sound of familiar fingers tapping against a phone’s keypad and dialing a certain number halfway across the city. He sped into his bedroom to grab his phone and had it in hand before it even rang.
    “ Goooooooooodddddddd afternoon!” he answered once it did.
    “ Hi Cal!” Lindsey’s chirpy, cherub-like voice replied. “I found this new Chinese diner near the skating rink I thought we could check out!”
    “ I suppose you’ll want to go ice skating too then?”
    “ Of course! You can put on some sexy tights and have your own little ice-capade! You’ll break everyone’s hearts with a few jumps and twirls and become the first diva of ice skating!”
    “ Can I wear rabbit ears too?”
    “ Only if you’re good.”
     
    ***
     
    Lindsey worked as a freelance writer. Whether press releases, copywriting, case studies, or magazine articles, she did it all. She and Cal had met while teaming up on a website redesign project for a medical supplier a few months ago and had been edging toward a relationship ever since. However,