Michael Holt is a brilliant young entrepreneur, co-founder of the tech startup Holt Industries. With multiple degrees including Quantum Physics, Psychology, Electrical Engineering, among others all from Metropolis University, Michael has always been ahead of his peers, excelling in both academic and practical pursuits. However, beneath his achievements lies a series of personal tragedies that have shaped his worldview and driven him to use his talents to make the world a fairer place.
The first happened when he was only a boy. His older brother, Jeffrey, who had been his mentor and best friend was tragically killed by a drunk driver. The second happened early in highschool, when his parents died in a senseless act of violence during a home burglary gone wrong. The death of his family deeply affected Michael, solidifying his belief that the world is inherently unfair. Since this point, he's had a strong urge to change the world for the better, and make it a great deal fairer. Luckily he was taken in by his oldest and best friend, Alex Baker's family. Their families had been friends for years, and the boys were basically brothers from a young age.
Michael’s journey into heroism began with the development of his first prototype T-Spheres, multifunctional devices capable of advanced computational and defensive capabilities. His roommate and best friend, Alex, now a cybersecurity expert, became his only confidant. Together, they worked tirelessly in their cramped apartment, pooling their limited resources and immense intellect. Despite their financial struggles and lack of high-quality equipment, their combined skill and determination made up for it. Their apartment, small and cluttered with discarded prototypes and circuit boards, became the hub of their innovation. Each late night and early morning spent tinkering and testing was a step closer to their vision of fairness and justice. Driven by a shared belief in the importance of fairness and equality, Michael donned the mantle of Mr. Terrific. Inspired by their progress and potential, they founded Holt Industries, a startup aiming to revolutionize technology and create a more equitable world.
Michael adjusted his makeshift costume in the mirror of their tiny apartment, his heart pounding with a mix of excitement and nerves. One of his T-Spheres, still in its prototype form, was clutched tightly in his fist. His best friend and roommate, Alex Baker, busy at his desk surrounded by a variety of screens and wires, looked up at him.
"Ready for your big debut, buddy?" Alex asked, a hint of a smile in his voice.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Michael replied, his gaze steady. “Just remember, this is all uncharted territory. If anything goes wrong, I’ll need you to keep me updated.”
“Got it. I’ll be monitoring every move. Just stay sharp out there,” Alex said, turning back to his screens, each one displaying something completely different from the last. The center screen had an ever-updating view of the traffic congestion around Metropolis, while the one to its right had a visualizer of various police radio channels he was tuning into for updates on the city's crime. The left screen was currently playing one of Alex's favorite old movies, as it often did. Alex was a genius, but with ADD for sure. "Dude, don't forget – we never got the flight mode working on the T-Spheres yet. I put a motor in them so they should roll back to you, but don't go losing them on your first night out there. I don't want you coming back telling me our prototypes fell off some building downtown."
Michael nodded, taking a deep breath before climbing out of the window of their small flat and onto the fire escape. Once he was on the roof, he looked down upon the city in the cool night air. The city was alive with the usual buzz, but tonight, it felt different. He pulled a balaclava over his face and tucked it into his T-shirt. His costume, if you could even call it that, definitely needed some work. His leather jacket was the only thing that really stood out amidst the mishmash of casual clothing he thought he could move best in.
Hours passed as Michael moved from rooftop to rooftop, searching for any sign of action. He was about to give up hope when his communications link with Alex buzzed in his ear.
"Yo, dude, I'm picking up some chatter about smuggling going on at the docks. Cops are too busy tonight to handle it. If you're not too tied up playing Candy Crush, maybe you could check it out?"
"On my way," Michael replied, turning around and picking up the pace toward the docks.
He arrived at the docks to find a group of burly-looking men unloading crates from a boat under the cover of darkness. He sidled up to a wall and peeked around it, counting the hostiles. There were four, no, five of them, but only three seemed to be unloading the crates. He watched for a few moments more, wishing he hadn't after seeing the situation get a whole lot more complicated.
Two other men emerged from the boat, dragging a dejected-looking woman with them. Drug trafficking was one thing, but human trafficking was a whole other level. He reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out two of his spheres. They were rudimentary, and as he faced potential death, he definitely wished he'd done more testing on them, but they'd have to do. He thought about the best way to go about this. Confronting them head-on wasn't smart; he was outmanned and had nowhere to sneak up on them. If he didn't act fast, though, they'd be out of here with those girls faster than he could catch up. His eyes darted to a wall next to him, then to the smugglers' boat and the warehouse just behind them. For the first time tonight, a smile grew on his face.
He held two of his spheres between his forefinger, middle finger, and thumb. His eyes flickered back and forth between the three targets he'd identified, his brain doing a thousand calculations a second. Finally, he locked on. He could see the exact velocity and angle he needed. He drew his arms back and let them loose.
The spheres flew at speed, ricocheting off each target before bouncing off each of the smugglers' heads, knocking them unconscious. Then the unexpected happened. One of the last criminals, who had been escorting their victim to the car, pulled her in tight and moved her into the path of the sphere. Time almost went in slow motion as Michael called, "Weight!" and the sphere dropped to the floor. They hadn't installed many upgrades to the spheres yet, but in their efforts to develop self-propelled flight, they'd managed to invent a variable weight system for the gadgets. Michael thought they'd just be handy in preventing any criminals from stealing his hardware. Little did he know it would prevent him from hitting an innocent girl.
The kidnapper slid a switchblade out from his pocket and held it to the woman's throat. "Come out now, or she gets it!" he demanded. Michael had to oblige. He emerged from his cover, his hands up at his side. His heart was beating out of his chest as he timidly approached the man, his bravado and confidence suddenly gone as he was face-to-face with real danger.
"Come on now, man, put the knife down and no one has to get hurt," he pleaded. The man laughed.
"Seems like the only one who's going to get hurt here is you, bozo. What are you dressed up as anyway, dork? Halloween's not for another few months." He let out a sneering laugh. Michael didn't find the situation so funny, though. And for every laugh that escaped the horrible man's mouth, another twenty thoughts ran through his head as fast as a freight train.
Eureka.
Still holding his hands in the air, he made a slight gesture with his hands, not big enough to be noticed, but just enough to send a command to his spheres. Silently and gently, they began rolling from their respective positions towards him, circling round him before stopping quietly at his right boot. The kidnapper pointed his knife towards Michael.
"Say, how about you take that funny mask off now that I hold all the cards. And after that, why not tie yourself up so me and my boys can give you a bigger headache than the ones they're bound to wake up with?"
"I don't think so," Michael spoke, a look of shock passing through the criminal's eyes. "You might think you hold all the cards, pal, but I always like to keep a few up my sleeve." As he finished his sentence, he sent a walloping kick to the spheres at his foot. They flew at just the precise trajectory to hit their targets—the knife and the forehead. The man toppled backward, falling into a crate of the merchandise they had planned to shift.
Michael smiled beneath his mask, tapping into his communicator and telling Alex to get the cops to the area pronto. He collected the spheres and slid them back into his jacket pocket as he approached the woman. She looked terrified by the ordeal, but for the first time in history, a woman was actually glad to see a man in a balaclava approaching her at night. She jumped at Michael, wrapping him in an unexpected hug and thanking him profusely as he could only react with bewilderment. He did his best to put on a voice that sounded like he knew what he was doing.
"You're safe now," he said, gently extricating himself from her embrace. "The police are on their way."
The woman nodded, tears streaming down her face. "Thank you, thank you so much. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't shown up."
Michael gave a reassuring smile, though his mind was already racing, thinking about what needed to be improved on his equipment for next time. "It's what I’m here for. Just try to stay calm until the authorities arrive."
As he turned to leave, the woman called out to him. "Wait! Who are you?"
He hesitated, unsure of how to respond. They had prepared everything except an alias. Just as he was about to shrug it off, the woman pointed at the back of his jacket.
"It says 'Terrific' on your jacket," she said, a faint smile breaking through her fear. "You really are... Mr. Terrific."
Michael glanced over his shoulder at the faded word stitched onto his leather jacket. He smiled. The jacket was a thrift store find, not exactly something he thought would become part of his identity. But alas.
"Mr. Terrific, huh?" he mused, a grin spreading across his face. "Yeah, I guess that'll do."
With a final nod to the woman, Michael turned and walked away, disappearing into the shadows as the sound of approaching sirens filled the air. His heart was still pounding, but now there was a thrill of triumph mixed with the adrenaline. He’d done it. His first night out, and he’d actually made a difference.
As he made his way back to the apartment, Alex's voice buzzed in his ear. "Hey, you okay? I heard the chatter on the police radio. They’re on their way."
"Yeah, I’m good," Michael replied, the excitement still coursing through him. "And guess what? We’ve got a name."
"Oh yeah?" Alex sounded intrigued. "Lay it on me."
"Mr. Terrific."
There was a brief pause before Alex laughed. "You serious? Mr. Terrific? Alright, man. If the shoe fits, right?"
Michael chuckled, climbing back through the window into their cramped apartment. "Exactly. Now let’s get to work on those spheres. I’ve got some ideas."
As he settled back into the familiar chaos of their workspace, Michael couldn’t help but feel a sense of purpose. The world wasn’t fair, but tonight, he’d taken a step towards making it a little better. And with Alex by his side, he knew this was just the beginning of something truly terrific.
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