Prologue:
I never thought I'd become a hero, not in the least. I'm not saying I didn't want to be a hero; I just didn't think I would ever become one. Now, I always knew I was destined for great things. I always knew it in my heart. But this was different, completely unexpected.
And this was before the accident—before the event.
My name is Scott Korecz, and I am a hero. But I was nothing; I was nothing at all, just a face in the crowd. All I did for much of my life was sit at home and read comic books or play video games. I never had any ambitions, none that anyone would believe to be realistic. My heroes were the ones I read about or played as in video games. Heck, I even idolized real life superheroes such as Defender and Black Mask (despite her being female). But no one else mattered. No one else was worth idolizing to me at that time.
Unfortunately, this meant I never moved out of my mother's basement. She would yell at me to get a job, but to be honest I didn't give a shit. I was too busy keeping entertained, keeping busy. I didn't want to face the world outside, scared I'd run into a villain like Dr. Destroyer or Grond. Yes, I now know this was a pointless fear; but I couldn't help it. I had no ambition outside the safety of my own home, my parent's basement.
To some, this would have made me a couch potato. It would make me seem as lazy as I could be, but I never thought of myself in that way. I never thought of myself as delusional, not in the least. This was just for my protection, for the protection of all those I hold dear.
Little did I know my world was about to come crashing down. And it all started with a fire, with nuclear flames engulfing the walls of my house. I don't remember exactly how my powers came to be, but I know they manifested on that night. And I know my family were sacrificed in the process, though I never saw any of them die.
In any case, I was alone. In any case, I had achieved my unreachable dream. I had become as awesome as I always wanted to be. I had developed all the same powers of the same Superman I read about in comics. Yes, that's right; I had superstrength and superspeed, as well as heat vision, freezing breath, and x-ray vision. And I was especially thankful for that last one.
So like I said, I had become awesome. I had become the Awesome Avenger.