A Few months later, near the end of August 2004

Location: My House

Kian's POV

Chapter 4: That's what heroes do.

I walked down the stairs of my house and saw my Mum sat on the sofa of our living room. "Mum, I've been having these dreams?"

She turned around, pausing whatever was on TV. "Kian, what happened? Did you see something scary?"

I shook my head. "It's not that. It's just I can't remember it."

Mum pursed her lips. "I see, well come over here and I'll see what I can do." I walked over to her and she sat me on her lap. I looked at her to see her smiling widely.

"What's so funny?" I grumbled.

She laughed. "I remember you sitting on my lap when you were very little. I just can't help but see a cute little toddler in my arms." she snaked her arms around me in a tight hug.

"Mum!" I complained. "I'm not a baby anymore. Can you do what I asked you to?"

She pouted and rested her hands on my head. "You know some children are unfortunate to not have a mother to look after them, you should count yourself lucky that you have one, Kian."

"Ok, ok, can you just please do what I asked you to please?" I complained. "Pretty please?"

She sighed and pulled me in for a tighter hug. "Okay, but you have to stay very close to me okay?"

I nodded and while I was there, she gently massaged my head and my mind felt at ease like I had just woken up from a 10-hour long nap. "Hmm, I see you thinking about your toys, lots of cartoons and playing football. I don't see anything out of the ordinary."

"Really?" I asked her.

"Hhmm hmmm." she agreed. "If you can't remember seeing a dream, it's okay, it just means your brain is developing it's probably just your imagination."

"Thanks, Mum!" I smiled at her praise. I shifted uncomfortably before speaking. "Mum, when can I go to this hero high school that dad told me about?" I looked up at her, meeting her sky blue eyes.

"Has he not told you?" she raised an eyebrow.

I shook my head.

"Well, we can change that!" Mum declared proudly. "Do you want to see this school of yours?"

"Yeah, a lot!" I agreed with a wide smile. "Can I?"

"Of course you can. But I have to teach you something. So, are you ready for it?"

"Teach me what?" I asked her. "A new ability?"

"Your father told me how you managed to unlock reinforcement during that battle. Can you show it to me?" she asked me.

"Yeah, about that. I don't really know how to," I said sheepishly. "Sorry."

Mum sighed and loosened her grip on me. "Nothing to be embarrassed about Kian. It's okay. Get up, I'll teach you a couple of tricks!"

I did as she asked and I stood in front of her. "So," she began. "In order to reinforce your body, you need to tap into your life energy within."

"Life energy?" I asked her with a raised eyebrow.

She nodded. "It's a finite source of energy that you, your father and I have within ourselves, our fighting spirit. You can use it to strengthen your body by summoning it. You must have done it by accident when you faced that monster."

"Okay, how am I supposed to do that?" I asked.

"Concentrate on finding that energy first. There are two types of life energy in you, one from your father and one from me. The one from your father is what allows you to strengthen your body." Mum explained.

"So how can I find it?" I asked her.

"Well you have to get very emotional, think about a time that made you really really angry but just enough that it doesn't end up blinding you. Got it?" Mum explained. "Like the middle ground between normal and so angry that you can't talk, otherwise you lose control of it, got it?"

I nodded and closed my eyes. I started to remember the moments that made me feel angry and it wasn't that hard to find. I could have chosen a lot of memories in my primary school, Varahard and the rest of my classmate's constant bullying, how they would beat me up or fun, or how Mr Gears would single me out and humiliate me constantly against his star pupil.

The thought of it made my blood boil and I felt a familiar warmth run through me again, the exact same I felt against the alien that Mr Gears turned out to be. I sharply opened my eyes and saw that my body was now covered with scarlet red lines and a constant pulse of heat through my body.

Mum looked at me with wide eyes. "I thought it would take you a few attempts but wow, I can't believe you mastered it so soon! Did you know that Dad can reinforce his arms to lift a cruise liner?"

"Really?" I asked her. "Wow!"

"Hmm, let's try something." She put her hands out and I was pulled into her arms like a yoyo. She cuddled me tightly and put her cheeks to mine. "Try to get out of this hug, if you do, I'll get you something from the store."

"Is that it?" I asked while wrapped up in a snug little package by my mum.

She nodded. "So come on, try and get out of my big hug!"

I moved around, trying my best to get out of her hug but despite my best efforts, I would find myself smothered by what appeared to be Mum's superhuman strength. After a while of trying, I just gave up.

"Oh, what's this?" Mum asked me. "Giving up so easily?"

"Your too strong!" I pouted. "You're squishing me!"

"Well, you're going to have to try harder!" Mum encouraged me. "Heroes don't give up because something is hard you know?"

I concentrated, increasing the amount of this so-called Life Energy flowing within me and I felt another warmth flow within my body like I had hot water running instead of blood for some reason. I looked at my arm and saw that instead of red lines, it was yellow instead. With one last try, I pushed apart my Mum's arms and released myself from the tight hug.

I was ready to celebrate, however, a wave of exhaustion hit my body and I ended up breathing heavily and I fell on the sofa adjacent to me.

Mum looked at me proudly. "Well done Kina, I know you could do it!" she gently grazed my hair

"Why am I so tired?" I asked through heavy breaths

"Well when you use it for the first time, your body is overwhelmed at first so it's going to take some time to get used to it," Mum explained. "This is your Dad's Superpower, the evolutionary ability of his species: The ability to control...their lifeforce to strengthen their bodies."

"But Mum, I saw Dad breathing fire, can this life force be used to do that too?" I asked her

She nodded. "That's an advanced technique but yes. You might be able to do that when you're older."

"What about you Mum, what can you use your life-force for?"

"Mine is called...Blue Life Force, at least that's what you should call it, for now, your father's life force is called Red Life Force, you got that?" she asked me.

I nodded.

"Good. Now watch closely."

She closed her eyes and held her right palm upwards. Within seconds of her doing so, sky blue lines appeared on her right arm and a blue spark of light began to form, expanding into a bright blue sphere that was the size of a small ball. She opened her bright blue eyes. "This is what I can do. "

"Wow!" I said excitedly. "It's just like a Rasengan!"

She chuckled. "To use my life force: Blue Life Force let's call it, you need to focus sharply, casting all emotions away. It's tough for a beginner to use it at first but after some practice, you'll get used to it." She closed her hand, dissipating the ball of bright blue light away. "That's just one application of it. I would teach you how to do this but you know, your a bit tired right now."

"Can't you heal me?" I asked her

She shook her head. "If I did, I won't be helping you. The more you use your life energy, the more control you get of it. So I'll wait until you get better."

I grumbled and complained while I rested on my sofa, I didn't know how I did fall asleep but I did so against the softness of my cushion.


Another unknown location...

The crackle of flames filled my ears as I looked around. Destruction filled my vision as far as I could see. I knew this had to be a dream but I again swore this was real like it had happened somewhere in the past. I heard footsteps and turned to see a man of incredible height. I think he was probably 6ft 4in and looked like your classic superhero, except he looked lethargic and stumbling almost.

"Come on, please for His sake, let there be more alive," he muttered to himself.

"...Help..."

I snapped my head to where the voice was coming from and ran towards it, only to be beaten by the tall person. "He's alive!" he said happily as he pushed it off what looked like a 12-year-old, the same age as me. "I can help you. Just stay still okay?"

This man placed his hands on the child and an emerald green light shone brightly from where his hands were placed. It illuminated the dark area and I could now see the features of the man helping the child. His dirty blonde hair was all over his face, which looked like it had been through some kind of fight as there were cuts across his cheeks and nose. His blue eyes looked bloodshot like he had been doing this for too long and he looked like he was wearing green armour.

"Who...are..you?" the child croaked out weakly.

"I'm Dominion," Dominion said with a weak smile. "Don't worry, you're going to be okay now, I have you okay?"

"My...parents...where are they?" the kid asked him

"I don't know, I'm sorry," Dominion said sadly. "I don't think they made it."

xXx

The scene shifted again, this time it was a small room instead of what looked like a disaster site. Dominion, the same person as before was talking into what looked like a small phone.

"I know, I know. I always thought that someone was behind it, now we know who. I thought we covered our tracks, how did she know!" Dominion spoke into the phone. He grit his teeth and spoke again. "She killed so many people and if it hadn't been for..." he stopped suddenly like it was too painful to even think about. "Is she okay?"

I heard some more chatter behind the phone and Dominion nodded. "I see. If it hadn't been for her sacrifice, then I'm certain that she would have come after your child." He ran a hand through his hair. "You have to relocate, right now!"

The chatter behind the phone intensified but Dominion defended his point. "The planet is full of humans, a species who doesn't have any evolutionary abilities, they'll be perfectly hidden from her grasp. It's a sacrifice but this way, the same thing won't happen to you."

The chatter behind the phone evened out and it said something that I couldn't hear. "Yeah, I told her. Both of us ended up crying for so long. I'll do my best to look after her here, the rest of you keep the other two on Earth please, for there safety and yours. Assign them, special guardians to make sure that they're going to be safe from her."


I opened my eyes and found myself in my living room once again. After seeing those two things, I sat up and rubbed my eyes, making sure I wasn't in another dream.

That was confirmed when I got hit in the face with the pillow. "What was that?!" I complained, looking towards Mum.

"You up?" I heard Mum's voice somewhere in the kitchen. She popped her head out of the counter.

"I am now!" I said surprised. "What was that?"

Mum chuckled and pointed a finger to Harry and Violet who was just sat next to me. Harry looked shocked and had his hands up in surrender. "Dude, I swear I was going to stop but I lost my grip on it."

"It's okay." I chuckled. "I know this isn't a dream."

As Harry looked confused, Mum stepped in to explain. "Kian said he was having very vivid dreams."

"Ah," Harry confirmed. "So, what time are we going there then?"

"Pretty soon. Would you two like a drink?" Mum asked them kindly. "I've got a lot of fruit juices and even a few warm drinks."

"Uh, no thanks. We just ate." Violet answered her.

"Speak for yourself!" Harry said. He turned to my Mum. "Can I have a glass of orange juice please, Mrs Taylor?"

"Yeah, sure!" Mum said happily. "Are you ready to go to this school?" she said as she used her telekinetic powers to pour Harry a glass of juice, earing an impressed look from Harry.

"Yes, I am!" Harry replied happily. "I can't wait to show them what I can do."

She chuckled and then turned to me. "Kian, go and get ready, we're going to leave in a few minutes."

I nodded. "Yeah sure. I'll go and get ready!"


A few minutes later...

"So, what was this school like?" Harry asked my Mum.

"What was that?" she asked kindly.

Mum took the three of us to this school so that we could take a look at it. The three of us were very excited as we made our way to our destination. If you saw me that day, you saw a huge smile on my face that you might have mistaken me for a scary clown, but then again, what kind of person would find a 12 year old scary?

"Oh, I don't want to spoil the surprise so you're going to have to just wait and see," Mum said with a little grin. "But I will tell you this, it has all you could need to be an excellent superhero."

"I'm looking forward to it." Harry replied proudly.

"Um, Mrs Taylor," Violet asked her

"What is it dear?"

"Why does Kian have purple eyes?"

"Huh?" I looked at her surprised. "Is that what you want to ask her?"

"Well, I never got an answer," Violet shrugged. She turned back to my Mum. "So can you tell me why?"

She chuckled and spoke. "Well, Violet. Kian's eyes are a mix of his father's and mine. When you mix those colours, you get a nice shade of purple. Kian had to wear special glasses that hid that colour because purple eyes aren't a natural eye colour for humans."

"But Mrs Taylor, to get purple you would have to mix red and blue, are you saying that Kian's dad has red eyes?" Harry asked her.

She nodded. "He uses contacts, you know, to not freak out people around him."

"I see. And now since Kian can go to this hero high school, he doesn't need to wear them?"

"As long as he's not in Earth, he doesn't need to wear his glasses." my Mum explained. She quickly checked around a street corner before ushering us to go forward and carry on.

"We're here!"

"Really?!" I asked her.

As her words sunk in, I expected to find a state of the art high school with incredible cutting edge technology and a few robots here and there for good measure. In reality, however, was a different story. Instead of that, I was faced with a rundown school that looked it could collapse any second. The concrete walls were chipped and it looked like it had been there forever. The entire area surrounding it looked depressing. The green fields were turning brown and I could strongly smell the scent of something like bleach in the air.

"Is this it?!" Harry looked disappointed. "Come on, I have been waiting for ages and this is it?!"

"You can't be serious?!" I looked at Mum. "This is what Dad told me about?"

Mum chuckled and grabbed our tiny hands along without answering a question. She took us to the entrance gate and looked at the little stall which looked too dark for me to see inside off but from the moving shadow inside, I could sense that someone was inside there.

"This place is set to be demolished, please leave," I heard from inside the stall.

"He can see it too," Harry muttered to the two of us.

Mum grinned lightly and spoke. "Are you sure I can't pass through?"

"Blu-I mean Adelaide Taylor, but what about-"

"It's okay, I'll keep them safe," Mum grinned to the person in the stall. "So, can I go through?"

"Sure. Just take care, none of us want what happened 6 years ago to happen again."

"What happened 6 years ago?" I asked Mum.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it." Mum smiled. As she did, the gate in front of us opened with a loud clang, allowing us entrance to this run-down school in front of us.

"This sucks, what am I going to tell my parents?" Harry complained.

Mum grabbed our arms and turned to us. "Well, let's see what this school is all about don't we?" She pulled us through before any of us could have a chance to think about it. At this moment, I wasn't in a good place, all I could feel was a huge disappointment. My heart sunk. My Dad told me how this school was amazing and in front of me was utter rubbish.

Or so I thought.

See, just as we stepped through the gate, the school suddenly transformed into a huge complex. Instead of the ruined surfaces was now a smooth and polished red brick. The surrounding area looked modern and much better than the grey and moulting plants that I saw earlier. To make it even better, the skies were bright blue and sunny compared to the cloudy and grey skies that were there before.

"What just happened?!" Harry stepped back in surprise. "How did the school just change like that?!"

"Am I dreaming again?" I asked myself. Before I could reply, I was pinched quickly causing me to yell loudly. I turned to who did it, finding Violet with a slight smile. "What was that for?"

"My dad always told me that pinching someone usually gets them to go back to their senses," Violet explained. "Sorry, Kian. You did ask if this was a dream or not."

"How would you like it if I pinched you?" I muttered under my breath.

"Kids, kids. You're not dreaming." Mum explained. She moved in front of us and spread her arms out. "This is Locus."

"It doesn't look like an insect," Harry said.

"Harry, that's a Locust," Violet explained.

"That's what she said right?" Harry asked Violet.

"No, she didn't,"

"Yes, she did!"

Mum rubbed her forehead with her hand. "Kids, kids. This is Locus, not Locust. One is an insect, one is a planet. We're on a planet."

The three of us snapped our heads to her. Harry looked flabbergasted. "We're on a planet?! What happened to Earth? Did it disappear or something?"

She chuckled and shook her head. "Of course it didn't, we stepped through a warp gate. It allows someone to cross light-years in an instant. On Earth, the entrance to Locus is disguised through that gate."

"Why?" I asked her.

"Because no one is going to look at a demolished building for a second time," Violet answered. "Isn't that right?"

Mum nodded. "Exactly."

"Is this the surprise you were talking about?" I asked her

She smiled and wiped away a strand of blonde hair from her shoulder. "Hmm hmm. So what do you think? Was it surprising?"

"I thought Dad lied to me about this school! I was going to cry at the thought of going to this abandoned school. That wasn't fair!" I complained to her. "That wasn't funny!" I crossed my arms and pouted.

Mum chuckled and walked over, putting a comforting hand on my head. "I got you. Come on, I've got to take you two to do your entrance exams. Rennan's waiting for you."

"Exams?" I asked her. "We have to do an exam?"

"It's not going to be as tough as you think." Mum calmly explained. "Let's go, I'll show you around Locus."


A few minutes later...

We walked through the streets of Locus, taking in the sights of this new and foreign planet. Truth be told, it looked a lot like earth in some parts. The same blue skies, the same green trees and sometimes even similar kind of people. However, there were a lot of differences. Instead of just humans walking around there all sorts of aliens.

It ranged from humanoid to insect-like, and to what looked like slime propped up on stilts. Even though I was an alien by my DNA, I couldn't shake the feeling that I didn't belong here but at the same time, I did. It felt like I belonged here despite the fact I was from Earth.

"Don't worry, Kian."

I looked up to see Mum say that. She continued. "You'll get used to it eventually, I did too."

"Can you tell us more about this planet then?" Harry asked my Mum. "If we're going to be coming to school here, then I thought I should know a few things about it."

"Well, like Earth, this planet is mainly made of rocks and it orbits one sun. But unlike Earth, it has a system of 7 moons orbiting it." Mum explained.

"Really?" I asked her. "Can you see them at night?"

"Of course you can!" she replied. "When I...studied here, I used to like coming here and seeing the moons in a nice cloudless night. It's magical when you see them with someone you care about."

Before Mum could go any further, I heard footsteps and turned to see someone in a long red cloak walk over to us. I was more shocked to learn that it was Mr Ren, except he now looked like a western outlaw rather than a teacher. "Hey," he waved friendly. "Glad you guys can make it."

"Mr Rennan?" Violet, Harry and I said in unison. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm the one making sure kids like you take the test properly," he said proudly. "See, a lot of kids like yourself are coming in today to go to Eden Academy, the same school I went to."

I nodded. "I didn't know you were a superhero!"

"Well, you do now!" Rennan grinned widely. "I'm only 26 and I've done quite a lot of stuff in that time."

"Anyway Rennan," Mum interrupted our conversation. "Can you get these three in? And remember, not a single scratch on them."

Rennan nodded. "Are you sure it's okay for you to bring them here? You know, after what happened 6 years ago?"

"What happened 6 years ago?" I asked again and earned a side glance from everyone around us. "You keep mentioning this."

"Nothing!" Mum said sharply. "Nothing at all!" She chuckled a little, seeming to wipe away her hair away from her shoulders as she straightened herself up. She turned to Rennan. "Take care of the kids, I need to take care of a few things."

"Sure thing Blue Angel."

"Was that your hero name?" I asked her. "Blue Angel."

She had already started walking towards wherever she wanted to go but she nodded as she did. "It was. I'll see you three later. Good luck okay!"

"Thanks, Mrs Taylor!" Harry and Violet said happily.

Rennan gestured us to follow him. "So, you kids ready?"


A few minutes later...

"What are these for?" I examined the card I was given.

The small piece I was handed by Rennan had my name in English but there were also these other symbols I couldn't recognise. After giving up attempting to figure out what that meant, I looked around the hallway to see that Rennan was right earlier. There were a lot of other kids there, all ranging in sizes and appearances.

"Kian, those are your ID's," Rennan explained. "So that you can take the entrance exam. Take care of it okay? If you lose it, it's going to be hard to take the exam without it."

"I see," I explained. "Violet, Harry, what do your cards look like?"

"Just my name in English and in a lot of others," she explained.

"Same here," Harry explained. "It says 'on behalf of the Taylor' next to my name though, why does it say that?"

Rennan sighed and crouched down in front of us. "Eden Academy is run by a group of 6 people okay? They assumed office about 6 years ago and they are in charge of who they want to come in and go."

I nodded. "Go on?"

"They adhere to a strict policy: Those who are allowed entrance are only those who have a strong lineage, the one with strong superpowers, strong evolutionary abilities," Rennan explained. "So they prefer to teach those who come from strong families."

"That's not fair!" I said angrily. "They can't just choose who they can and cannot let in because of who's stronger. Everyone deserves a chance to be a superhero."

"Kian, keep your voice down!" Rennan said sternly. "Yes, I do agree but as of now, we don't have any choice. We have to follow the law."

I crossed my hands. "What kind of law is that? That just sounds unfair!"

"Um, Rennan. By that logic then I can't enter. So what's up with that?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, about that. There's a rule that allows someone like you to join as long as they have known the family of the person that has a strong superpower for more than 5 years." Rennan explained.

"Phew!"

"Are you three new?"

I turned around to hear a voice ask me that. I was faced with a tall man with dark hair who looked no older than 18. He had a smile on his smug face. "I heard you protest the current regime, didn't know you three were so against their magnificent policy."

I tried to argue against how unfair it was but before I could, Rennan put a hand on my shoulder. His golden eyes were steeled with what looked like anger. "And what is it to you?"

"Well, I think the board is right, aren't they? Think about it, if we only have strong students, then it makes sense that they would get stronger here won't they?" the dark-haired person said smugly. "It would avoid the great disaster 6 years ago. All those poor weak people, so pathetic to look at."

"Enough Mitras!" Rennan lost it with him. "I remember you running away from the battlefield as soon as you thought your life was in danger! Do not drag the names of those who died through in the dirt when you didn't even save one person!"

This Mitras stepped back at my teacher's gaze. He coughed and regained his composure. "Whatever. Just be glad that you were there before they took office!" He stormed off somewhere into somewhere in the room.

"What was that about?" I asked him. "You don't to like him that much?"

"You could say that. He's from the Carbine family, a family which can harden parts of their body for defence or attack. Mitras over there can harden his arms into diamonds." Rennan explained. "He feels superior since he's from that family."

"He sounds like a dick!" Harry remarked, earning a glance from Rennan, Violet and I. "What?" he questioned. "We were all thinking about it."

"Yeah, well, be glad he didn't hear it. He doesn't like it whenever anyone insults him." Rennan looked at the clock in his watch. "It's almost time for your slot. Let's get going."

In another world, it would have gone exactly like what you would think. We would take the test and the three of us would get in this Eden Academy, a place in which I could achieve my childhood dream of being a superhero.

Unfortunately, reality had other plans.

As soon as we stepped forward, I felt a rushing of footsteps and turned to see someone snatch Violet's card out of her hands. Said person didn't stay around for too long as he bolted out the door.

"Hey!" Violet shouted. "Come back here!"

I didn't know why I decided to run after him but I did. Maybe it was because I didn't want Violet's chance of being a hero to go up in dust because someone stole her ID, or maybe it was because I wanted this person to return her ID because it was taken illegally. Either way, I decided to give chase after him, ignoring what happened in the background.

I shot out of the door and glanced to see the person run through the streets, looking back at me to see if I was on his tail, which was a pretty obvious answer.

I ran after him, dodging the people left and right as I kept running. Footstep after footstep I ran after him, hearing the rhythm of my heartbeat increase dramatically, my breathing too. Despite my best attempts, however, the person seemed to gain more and more distance into the horizon. I needed to close the gap and a thought flicked into my head.

Using what Mum told me about this red life force, I strengthened my body and I could feel the power flowing throughout my body. I looked ahead and without wasting a moment, I pushed my feet against the hard pavement launching myself through the air like a torpedo. It felt amazing and in an instant, I had transformed into the world's fastest car

The chasee looked back and his eyes widened. He glanced around and darted into an alleyway. I followed suit, turning exactly where he did.

"P-please don't hurt me!" he backed into the middle of the alleyway. "I was just doing as I was told!"

I undid the reinforcement, letting my body relax from the stress. As I did, my whole body felt a tinge of exhaustion causing me to stumble back a little. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want what you took from my friend." I told him.

"I can't give you that," he said holding the small card in his hands.

"Why not?"

"Because of me!"

I turned behind me to see a bald man in an orange suit. He had one hand in his pocket and in the other, he held what looked like a stick which looked like a USB plugin. "Good job, now hand me the card."

"And you'll take it out?" the kid asked the man clad in orange. I noticed how the kid was covered in grime and wore what looked like really old clothes. His limbs were thin and almost skeletal. "Please, sir?"

"A promise is a promise. Now give me the card and I'll remove it." the man in orange put his hand out.

"That doesn't belong to you!" I stood up to him. "It belongs to my friend. Give it back!"

"Oh really?" the man in orange said towards me. "Do you know how valuable those cards are? A kid like you wouldn't understand that we have to make a living somehow?"

"Through torturing him?!" I spat out. "What have you done to him?!"

"My boy, I haven't tortured him," he explained, his mud-brown eyes darting from me and the other kid. "I found him starving, sleeping in out streets while those in the Eden Academy left him for dead!"

"What?" I stared at him. "They did this?!"

He nodded grimly. "Back in the old days, Eden Academy and its founders would take in any child they saw had promise but they abandoned that plan in its entirety, forcing kids like him to be left to die. That card he holds can be sold for a lot of money, and I use that money to feed him."

"He looks like he's been missing quite a few meals!" I quipped back.

"Well, I found him yesterday you know," he explained calmly. "I've got 12 other kids to look after, that one over there is just the recent one."

"You shouldn't use that as an excuse to steal!" I said bitterly. "You're robbing my friend from her place, something which she deserves!"

"That's quite enough from you, boy. Now, hand over the card." He asked the kid. "Final warning."

The kid looked between me and him, wondering if he should listen to the man in the orange suit or me. I didn't know what this kid had gone through as I chased him and I had every intention of bringing him to justice. If what this man in orange said to me was right, then he was just doing this to survive like Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

The man in the orange suit sighed and pulled out the USB like object. "I warned you."

"N-no, not anything but that!" the kid screamed as the man pressed it. The kid dropped to the ground and screamed in pain, holding his ears as he begged him to stop. "I'm s-s-sorry, please stop this!"

"I told you about this. I guess I have to take it myself." The man replied without as so much batting an eyelid at the discomfort he was causing him.

"STOP IT!" I roared at him. "You're hurting him!"

"And I have a business to run," he batted no eyelid at what he was doing. "This doesn't have anything to do with you so leave, boy."

"Doesn't have anything to do with me?!" I scoffed at his words. "IT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH ME. I CAN'T LET SOMEONE HURT OTHERS WITHOUT DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT!"

I reinforced my body, my rage my fuel and charged ahead. Before he could react, I was up in his face and punched him in the chest, launching him across the alleyway and into a wall. This action broke the device that he was pressing and freed the boy from what I could assume was excruciating pain. Satisfied with what I did, I walked to the boy and helped him up.

"W-why would you do that?" he asked me. "I'm nothing but a street rat."

"I can't let someone suffer when I could do something about it. That's just the way I was raised. Can you give me that card please?" I asked him.

"Will he hurt me again?"

"He won't."

He handed me Violet's card. "Thank you so much, stranger." He then ran off, leaving me in the alleyway. I looked at Violet's card which was still in good condition, a few specks of grime and dirt but it was fine. I put it in my pocket and decided to try and find my way towards Rennan and Violet, hoping to surprise her with it

"Where do you think your going boy?!"

I turned sharply and before I figured out was going, I felt an explosion of pain in my stomach and I was sent crashing into a wall. My head was spinning and I forced myself to keep my eyes open. The man who had most likely punched me walked forward, however this time, his right hand was HUGE and he seemed to pull it back into him like it was a stretchy yoyo.

"I will have that card and a boy like you won't stop me from doing so. Give me the card or die!" he barked an ultimatum at me. "I don't want to cause more harm with my Big Arm ability."

I pushed myself out of the wall behind me and dug deep, reinforcing my body, barely managing to stay standing. "I can't do that. That card is hers and hers only."

The man sighed. "Then you leave me no choice. Prepare to die!" His span on the spot and his right arm flew towards me at an inhumane speed. I sharply raised my left arm, blocking the strike like Dad had taught me to. Despite my defensive action, it stung my arm and I buckled slightly

"That punch of mine can break down boulders and kill men dead triple your age. I'm impressed boy, you're a lot sturdier than the others." he spun around and swung his huge right hand towards my head. I ducked under it and while his back was turned, I charged in to deliver a punch, this time to his head.

However, the man in orange saw this coming and kicked me in the chest, sending me flying back a few feet, nearly winding me in the process. I looked at him and he smiled at me smugly. "You can't defeat me, boy. Your fighting style involves you getting in close to punching me. I can punch you without having to move. Give up the card and maybe you can live."

I fought back another sensation to close my eyes and stood up, albeit my legs were now shaking. "What kind of hero would I be if I just gave up?!" I shouted. "I'm going to take this back to my friend, and you can't do anything about it!"

The man in orange chuckled. "Even after I told you that you can't win against me, you're still trying. Determination won't pay off if you end up going nowhere. That's how young men die, fighting without a strategy to beat me."

As much as I tried to argue, he was right. My strategy involved charging at him to hit him which put me in a severe disadvantage. I could have chosen to make a run for it but that would mean others would get hurt, innocent people like on Earth. Dad and Rennan weren't here so I couldn't take that risk. I had to hit him from distance somehow.

A sharp thought formed in my head. 'What if I tried to do what Mum did'

I remembered that in order to use her life force powers, I had to discard my emotions away, total concentration against the pure emotion I would use to activate Dad's powers. Even then, activating it with my life on the line was daunting, especially since I never used it before.

'...It's okay Kaliel. I'm here...'

Another voice? This time it was calmer and I could sense maturity in it. I looked to see the man in the orange suit launch another punch, one I was unprepared for as it hit my stomach dead on.

Despite my body being reinforced, it hurt a lot and the impact sent rolling across the floor. I put my hands out and tried to get back, only to hit by a coughing fit. I tried to stand up steady but I was wobbly on my feet. My vision was starting to blur and it was getting harder and harder to see what was in front of me.

If I didn't do something, I was going to die here in this alleyway

I looked at the man in the orange suit readying up one more swing with his right arm one that I was sure wasn't going to miss. I tried to focus and do what Mum did but I couldn't seem to activate it like hers.

'...Breathe in and out, focus on your breathing, that is the key to using your life energy...'

Despite the fear I felt, I listened to that calm voice. I breathed in and out, focusing only on the motions instead of the mortal peril that I may face. As I did, I noticed the warmth I felt now was different. When I reinforced my body using Dad's powers, the warmth I felt was like blazing wildfire ready to be released at any moment. Now, however, the warmth felt calmer but it still had destructive power behind it.

'...You are ready, Kaliel. Do your best...'

I placed my right arm upwards like Mum had shown me and I noticed my arms were now covered in blue lines. I began to think of a sphere and concentrated on an image of it, trying to create something that was never there in the first place. To my surprise, a ball of bright sky blue light appeared on top of my hand, pulsating with energy.

It felt like I was holding a lightbulb in my hand as it ebbed and dimmed. I looked up at the man in the orange suit who was just as surprised as I was. "T-That's impossible! How can a kid like you do that?! That kind of ability belongs to the top heroes. Why would you waste your time on a little street rat?!"

I ignored what he said. "I don't care who I'm defending or who I'm helping. I've been helpless before, at the mercy of those who would do nothing but torment me because they felt like it. That's the very reason I fight. Because..." I charged at him, taking him by surprise. "Helping people, that's what heroes do!"

The man in orange backed off suddenly and spun around, trying desperately to stop me. I stopped just before the arm could reach me and brought my right arm back. With my target in sight, I threw the blue orb in my hand towards his body. The man in orange turned could only look at in fear as it hit, covering the alleyway in a bright blue light ending the fight between me and him.