“This house’s seen better days, huh son?” said Vera.

  “Yeah…,” said Ven as he stared at their damaged house from outside in the stark dark night sky. “No kidding.”

  The immense police presence in front of their home practically lit up the entire street as if it were a Christmas tree. They still arrived pretty late, if it wasn’t for Ven, the supervillain duo would have likely got away with their hostage.

  Ven never thought he’d see the day where his home would become a crime scene. His first day out of the hospital was just as unusual as his days in it. He wondered if it was some sort of omen or if it was just a mere coincidence.

  The police sheriff returned to Ven and Vera after speaking with a few other police officers for awhile.

  “How do you both feel now?” The sheriff asked.

  “Well, we’re still a little shaken up but we’re both safe… and healthy,” answered Vera.

  “That’s good to hear,” said the sheriff before erasing his smile with a more serious expression. “I just got off the phone with the police department, turns out several billionaires have been being abducted, not just here in Bahari, but the entire world. Police departments around the world believe this is all connected.”

  Ven’s eyes widened upon hearing the baffling news. If it were all true then what did it mean exactly? The fact that his mother was a target deeply frustrated him.

  “This is terrible,” Vera slightly squeled. “What does this all mean?”

  Ven could see the discomfort written on his mother easily, perhaps it was normal to freak out about hearing about people in your in-group meeting tragedy. Her discomfort further fueled his hopeless frustration.

  “We think gangs or crime families are responsible for these abductions. The fact that they were able to abduct so many high-status people makes it apparent that they’re all working together. The burglars you both encountered were both registered members of _villain gangs_. These gangs have several supervillains like the two you encountered… some of them are way more ruthless.”

  Vera took a deep breath. “Who’s all been abducted so far?”

  “Barney Cheermeal, CEO of UltraFoods, from Aerilon, as well as luxury fashion brand owner Elise Beauvais. Nobody really cares about Barney, but the world seems pretty stunned by Elise’s disappearance.”

  “Seems like I’ll have to hire a lot more bodyguards,” remarked Vera as she titled her head towards Mlinzi, who was only a few feet away.

  The sheriff eyed Vera once more with sudden confusion. “So you say that both burglars were defeated, how did this happen,”

  “That’s easy,” Ven began. “It was—“

  “My bodyguard Mlinzi took care of everything!” Vera interrupted with a louder yet playful tone. “You should have seen him out there, he was like a warrior!”

  Ven silently gasped as he stared at his mother.

  “Uh… okay,” said the sheriff. “There doesn’t seem to be anything else we can do here so we will be leaving momentarily. We suggest you and your son move somewhere else undercover , just until things die down a bit.”

  “That’s alright, we’ll be staying here, I don’t like the idea of calling another place my home. It seems the bedrooms have not been damaged, repairs should be underway sometime later.”

  “Uh, okay, if you say so. You should hire more body guards with superpowers, or better yet… hire superheroes. You can also request heavy police protection.”

  “Thank you sheriff, I’ll be sure to do both.”

  The sheriff gave Vera a stoic grin before walking away once more.

  “What gives Mom!” asked Ven regarding his mother’s interruption.

  “Some people give emergees a hard time unless they are registered superheroes or other professions like specific bodyguards. They probably wouldn’t have cared, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. I apologize, but it’s best to keep your superpowers a secret. You don’t want to be mistaken for a supervillain.”

  “It’s so stupid that people would give emergees a hard time even if they’re saving the day,” Ven closed his eyes to calm his raging anger. “I’ll listen to you and keep my new powers hidden for now.”

  It was a foolish insecurity that people held, but perhaps it was well warranted. How terrible were emergees in the past to where many people allegedly despised them? What did they do exactly?

  Ven watched as numerous police officers slowly began to leave the damaged estate. Did they all hate emergees like Dr. Tiba did, or was it just a small percent of them? He had spent his life idolizing superheroes that he never paid much attention to supervillains. He was definitely going to do more research on them.

  He looked down at the fist that saved his mother. Out of all superpowers he wanted, super strength was was the one he wanted the least. It seemed to be a boring superpower when there were literally people around who had the ability to breath fire or summon winds. It just seemed a lot less “cool.” Nonetheless, he was grateful.

  He wondered why he wasn’t as excited as he thought he’d be to be a superhero, was there a chance that it wasn’t what he truly wanted?Regardless, he was now going to do everything in his power to join the Hero Brunch and protect his mother from possible future abduction attempts. He’d also do his best to become a renowned superhero. Many superheroes had various merchandise based on their likeness—perhaps he’d follow in their footsteps.

  At that time, Ven did not fully comprehend what it meant to be a superhero and the beautiful curse that it instilled. His mind was mainly only concerned with the status and fame that being an acclaimed superhero would bring. At that time, the only person he wanted to protect at that time was his mother.

  What the sheriff said about villain gangs was haunting. He squeezed his strengthened fist once more as he thought about more of them returning. He’d punch whoever he needed to to save his mother.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “Don’t worry about me Ven, protecting me is not your responsibility,” said Vera.

  Ven was shocked, it appeared his mother knew what he was thinking, it wasn’t the first time she did.

  “How can you say that? Look at our house! They ruined it just to get to you,” he replied

  “I know, but it wouldn’t make me feel right to have you thinking of protecting me all the time. I want you to enjoy your newfound body as you look for an ideal college to go to. Spectralis University would be a great place for you. I don’t want to further burden you with protecting me, you’ve had enough stress in your life. That burden will belong to the bodyguards and the superheroes I’m going to hire.”

  “Hiring superheroes sounds like a good idea. Not to sound rude, but Mlinzi basically failed to protect you. He couldn’t do anything against the guy with super speed.”

  “Mlinzi is powerful, but there are other bodyguards that are way more powerful… trust me.”

  “I see,” said Ven as he titled his head back towards the house once more. “I guess I’ll let them do their jobs.”

  “The public probably just views me as a greedy banking tycoon… perhaps it’s time for a career change, though at this point that won’t mean anything.”

  Ven was stunned by Vera’s change in dialogue. “What do you mean?”

  “These villains were probably kidnapping billionaires because they saw them as unethical. Maybe people view them negatively because people believe they have the power to end world hunger and other current affairs. I’ve given away a lot of money and have helped a lot of hungry people worldwide have access to food and clean drinking water. It seems it hasn’t made a difference, as there are still many impoverished people in this world. I’ve got to do something differently… I just don’t know what it is.”

  “I’m sure you could make a great superhero too,” joked Ven.

  Vera chuckled before her eyes slightly became soaked with fresh tears. “That profession is not for me… but maybe it is for you.”

  ****

  A couple of days later, Ven walked out the front of his heavily damaged home early in the morning. His eyes were greeted by numerous security personnel and construction workers who were hard at work to fix the damaged estate. They surprisingly made great progress in only a couple of days. He looked around and saw two enormous white gates with strange red lasers at the top. One of the gates was in the front of the property, and the other was behind it. It appeared to be some sort of advanced security system. He wasn’t surprised by the military presence but their beating eyes was pretty annoying. All of their eyes were on him when he exited the abode that he hadn’t left in awhile.

  Because of the crazy incident a few nights ago, he did not get to have a great night’s sleep in his first night out of the hospital. Instead of letting his mind find peace, his peace was disturbed by images of the despicable villains that threatened his livelihood. He took the advice of his mother and tried to relax for a few days, but now relaxation time was over. If he was going to become a renowned superhero, then he’d need to master his powers as quickly as possible. Fortunately he knew the perfect place to get practice.

  “Master Vendel, care for me to drive you around town?” Asked Nuru, the family assistant.

  “No thank you, I think I’ll go out alone today,” said Ven.

  “You sure that’s a good idea Ven!? You could be a target!” Barked Mlinzi.

  He paused as he hesitated to exit the estate alone. He wanted to be alone, but downtown of the city was quite a distance away. It couldn’t hurt to let them drive him

  “Never mind,” answered Ven. “Please drop me off downtown.”

  Before he could climb into the limousine, he spotted a familiar glow at the corner of his eye. It was two renowned superheroes, the well dressed ice hero “Stylo,” and the stone hero “Obelisk.” His heart almost skipped a beat upon staring at them. He hadn’t seen a superhero in the flesh in years. He was almost giggling with excitement. They must have been some of the heroes his mother had hired.

  “Stylo! Obelisk! Good to see you!” said Ven upbeat as he slowly walked away from the limbo.

  “Nice to meet you!” greeted Obelisk.

  “Hello,” said Stylo quietly, barely moving an inch. He was definitely more famous than Obelisk, so perhaps he was used to fans. That would also explain their differences in greetings.

  “Oh, uh…” I’m a big fan. Keep it up!”

  “Thanks,” said Stylo. “I have to be somewhere else. Take care.”

  “Oh… thanks, you too!”

  “Don’t mind him, we’re just really tired. Have a great day!” Obelisk said.

  Well that was weird, thought Ven. He didn’t want to come off as an annoying fan, but it seemed he probably did. Stylo was energetic and cool on television, where was his talkative side now? What a huge contrast.

  “Ready to go Vendel?” asked Nuru.

  “Oh yeah… let’s go.”

  Ven climbed in the back of the limbo as Nuru began to drive him to downtown Amari. During the drive, he rested his palm on his head as he floated into deep thought about the potential tragedy that almost took place.

  It didn’t seem like any other billionaires were abducted since the “incident” happened. Three days ago, several billionaires were abducted across the world. A few of them were able to get away, such as Vera, but sadly some were not so fortunate. There was absolutely no sign of the kidnapped billionaires, it was as if they were erased from reality itself.

  The media has been dubbing the day “Billionaire Crash Day.” Many people online expressed their excitement that selfish billionaires were abducted and gone without a trace. Some expressed empathy, but most of the general public seemed to be pretty excited. “Eat the rich!” people online were saying. “Billionaires shouldn’t exist in the same world as world hunger!” It hurt Ven to read online posts that said things like “I’m glad they got the billionaires and all, but I wish they got Vera Nguvu too! Her bank sucks!”

  It appeared that many people in support of Billionaire Crash Day were convinced that they would receive money from them. In all likelihood, the abductions were probably a sign of something much more ominous.

  Momentarily, Nuru dropped off Ven in front of the Malaika convention center, the site Ven apparently gained his superpowers. The center seemed to be open, as he was there sometime in the afternoon. Hopefully the stadium in the back wouldn’t have any people.

  “Feel free to call me whenever you’re ready to go home,” said Nuru as he swiftly drove away.

  As Ven walked up the ramp, he reminisced about how he fell down his walker the first time he arrived at the site. The sudden memory made him shutter with fear, he felt as if his heart skipped a beat. He paused to calm himself down, before resuming his walk into the outdoor stadium. He didn’t think it’d be so nerve-racking to see a former spot where he fell down at. He was unbelievable how much healthier he felt since he was there last time.

  He opened the unlocked gates and slowly entered the stadium. Nobody else was there… good. He looked into the gray bleachers and remembered what the scene looked like when he first was granted superpowers. They took a few hours to manifest, but this was definitely the spot where his body was made knew. He imagined all the people that were in the area as they waited for their coveted superpowers. He wondered what ever came of the individuals, would they become some of the greatest superheroes in history, or would the majority of those individuals become supervillains.

  He recalled that the man who broke into his home with the “sound belch” power said he saw him at the Emergence site. Since that was the case, would the majority of the people he saw in the stance become supervillains. Perhaps Frank was defeated so easily since it was his first day with superpowers. Choi on the other hand was way more skilled, he had to have been more experienced and had superpowers for years.

  Ven walked to the stands and sat at the same seat he was at when the Emergence first began. On that important day, he was tired and out of breath, now he almost felt like he could run ten laps without stopping (other than the vicious anxiety that still plagued him.)

  He took a deep breath as he tried to let go of all the miserable days of being in the hospital. It was not the same day as the day where he went into cardiac arrest, it was not the same day as the day he fainted walking a few steps, and it wasn’t the same day as his heart transplant. He rose to his feet; It was a new day filled with wonder and excitement, he was no longer an ill-meek child resting on a bed of affliction.

  Ven walked to the soccer field as he watched the welcoming morning skies. He could smell surreal hope in the air, as he placed his hand on his new heart. Since it was a brand new day, he’d wake up in the morning as a hero and not an invalid. The illness was no longer a hinderance, he could still achieve his dreams of becoming an esteemed superhero. Now was the time to fully figure out the nature of his brand new super strength.