Chapter Two

Everybody Wants to be a Hero

The day I realized I might actually be able to make something of myself came as a shock. Nobody really expects to get hit with something so sensational on the walk home from school, especially after a day like mine, which I should probably talk about first.

I started the day like normal, no shock there. I trudged out of bed when my phone's alarm went off and stumbled to the bathroom to brush my teeth and shower. After said shower, I got dressed and grabbed my backpack to walk to school, saying bye to my mom. Simple and boring morning.

The walk wasn't very special either, but I stumbled after I tripped over a rock, so that's something. The only thing I really remember is seeing a weird car parked outside of my neighbors house, but they always have weird people over. This time it was a cherry red Hummer, yesterday it was a blue corvette. I made eye contact with someone in the passenger seat and started walking faster - they gave me the creeps.

Getting to school was just like any other day, too. I put my earbuds in so the noise wouldn't bother me and I walked to the lunch room to wait for the bell. I laid my head down on my arm and started scrolling through Instagram and didn't hear my friend Deacon come up behind me and poke me in the ribs. I jumped and yanked my earbuds out to hear what he had to say.

"You better not be listening to anime music again." Deacon told me. I scoffed, showing him the music. "You're a disappointment."

We laughed, and he changed the subject.

"We have an assembly today." Deacon said flatly.

"Is it that drug one we usually get?" I asked, turning my phone off.

"Nah, we got some loser ass hero coming to visit us and talk about job opportunities."

I raised my head.

"Don't get excited, I know you've got a hard on for this kind of stuff, it's just some d-list extra named 8-Ball." Deacon immediately shut me down.

"Oh…" I racked my brain trying to think of who 8-Ball was but it didn't sound like someone too popular. I think I remember seeing him on the nine o'clock news after volunteering at an animal shelter and getting a bunch of dogs adopted. "He did find a bunch of dog's homes that one time, right?"

"Yeah, that's like the most boring thing a hero can do."

"I mean-"

"Yeah, great power, blah blah blah."

I sighed and looked out the doors of the school, the red Hummer from earlier catching my eye as it drove past.

"You going to Braxton's party tonight?" Deacon asked after a big drink of coffee. I paused, realizing I had never gone to a party before. I had to play it cool.

"Well, I don't have anything else to do tonight, so yeah, I guess." I said in my calmest voice.

"No, I was asking because I don't think it's a good idea for you to go." I slumped in my seat. "It's just that Braxton told me that you're like the only quirkless kid in school and he doesn't want you to make everyone else feel weird."

"Why don't you tell him that I can come with you?" I asked.

"I'm going with Elizabeth and I don't really wanna get on Braxton's bad side." Deacon told me bluntly.

"You're going without me?"

"I didn't think you liked parties, I never see you at them."

I stayed silent. I wanted to yell at him that I'm never invited, but I didn't wanna push it.

"Listen man, I'll see you at the assembly." Deacon said as he got up and tossed his coffee cup in the trash. I watched as he walked off to meet his girlfriend, the aforementioned Elizabeth. He hugged her and picked her up, spinning in a circle. I saw her momentarily make eye contact with me when he set her down, and it was almost like she was embarrassed she saw me, hiding her face from me. I rolled my eyes and put my earbuds back in and went to Instagram until the bell rang.

School went about how I'd expect it to. Math class came and went, then language arts, then lunch. After lunch was the assembly, and I was actually excited to go, even if Deacon thought it was all bullshit. I sat at the far corner of the bleachers in the gym all the way at the top and looked for Deacon in the crowd. I was gonna wave him over, but when I saw him, he looked away and pretended he didn't see me. I leaned my back against the wall and crossed my arms.

Slowly, the bleachers began to fill and a girl I knew named Sonja sat next to me. I hadn't talked to her for a couple months, but I followed her on Instagram so I knew she was recommended for Imperium Academy. She had a flashy quirk that let her generate balls of lightning in her hands. She was nice to me, but neither of us ever really made the effort to be friends, just acquaintances. I didn't say anything to her at first, but I saw her do a double take from the corner of my eye when she saw me.

"Emmet!" She said, excitedly.

"Hey…" I said nervously. She was really pretty. I couldn't stop looking at her eyes, but I forced myself to when I felt my cheeks heat up. "I heard you got into Imperium."

"Yep! It's crazy, right!" She boasted. "Where are you gonna go to high school? Didn't you wanna be a hero?"

"Yeah, probably just like the normal school in town, I don't think any hero schools accept, like, you know." I gestured to myself.

"Actually, I know Imperium recently got rid of the quirkless rule, and I'm sure you could get into it if you really tried. Like, just on written exam scores alone. It'd be cool seeing a familiar face there."

My cheeks got even more red.

"You think so?" I asked.

"Totally!" Sonja smiled at me. I smiled back, almost against my will.

The lights in the gym suddenly turned off and a spotlight shone in the center of the basketball court. A hero in a black suit and tie stood there with a black cue ball on his head. 8-Ball didn't normally wear that suit, as far as I know. He must've dressed for the occasion.

"Hello!" 8-Ball addressed us. "I'm 8-Ball!"

Crickets. No one made a noise, and I was tempted to clap out of pity, but didn't wanna draw attention to myself.

"I'm here to talk to you all today about career paths. You're in your last year of middle school and soon you'll have to decide what you'll wanna do when you're older." He walked over to a projector and turned it on, shining an image of a bunch of career people on the opposite wall. People like business men, accountants, lawyers, that kind of thing. "Specifically, though, I wanna talk about heroes."

He flipped to another slide, showing some of the world's most famous heroes. At a glance, I recognized Spider-Man, The Flash, Ultraman, and Hellboy. Looking in the back, I could see All Might, Homelander, Superman, and Captain Celebrity.

"You might recognize me. I was recently featured on the nightly news as the hero who saved a cruise ship from capsizing after crashing into the harbor." 8-Ball explained. He flipped the presentation to a picture taken of him using his quirk to keep the ship from tipping. "My quirk allows me to create small spheres from any material I can see and I can control them telekinetically. I know I'm not the most famous, but-"

"Have you fought any villains?!" Someone yelled from the bleachers. 8-Ball paused.

"Well, being a hero isn't all about fighting bad guys. A lot of our work is being there for the community, looking out for the little guy. A lot of us heroes don't get to have big flashy battles, we're more suited to rescue operations." 8-Ball explained. "I've never fought a villain, but that's okay. Most hero work happens away from villains."

He could tell most of us were unimpressed, but I actually thought he made a lot of sense. I wanted to hear more.

"Alright, let's do a test." 8-Ball announced. "How many of you wanna be heroes? Raise your hands."

A lot of hands shot up, including Sonja's. I looked at her and she motioned for me to raise my hand too. I put my hand up slowly and looked at 8-Ball as he scanned the crowd.

"You!" He pointed at a boy. "What's your name and quirk?"

The spotlight shifted to him and he stood up.

"My name is Trevor Collins and my quirk is Gummy. I can stretch my body in pretty much any way." He demonstrated by wrapping his arm around his chest. I heard plenty of kids gag.

"Why do you wanna be a hero?" 8-Ball asked.

"To fight villains and have people know my name." Trevor said proudly.

"I wish you luck, Trevor, but if your only goal is to fight villains you're gonna have a lot to learn." 8-Ball looked back to the crowd. "Anyone else?"

Hands shot back up and he picked a girl.

"What about you?"

The girl stood up and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"I'm Thalia Chase and I can shoot ice from my hands." She said while showing off and making frost form on her arm. "I'm gonna become a hero because I want to be the best. I'm going to show everyone what real power is."

"Well, Thalia, I wish you luck too, but if you look down on people, you'll never be able to improve and call yourself a real hero."

8-Ball told her, shutting her up. "One more?"

I saw as he scanned the crowd, his big cue ball head searching for someone.

"You!" My heart stopped as I saw his finger pointing directly at me and the spotlight coming down on me. I stood up, not knowing what else to do. I heard several people snicker and whisper in the crowd.

"Uhhh, I'm Emmet Blake, and I wanna be a hero to help keep people safe." I said as confidently as I could. I looked at the crowd and saw people smiling and trying not to laugh at me. I even saw Deacon and Elizabeth stifling laughter.

"What's your quirk, Emmet." 8-Ball asked.

"Uhh, I'm actually quirkless." I heard more snickering and whispering. 8-Ball stayed silent for a second. "I was also wondering what you thought about that. Can I become a hero without a quirk?"

8-Ball paused.

"Emmet, that's a really noble reason to want to be a hero. That's the answer I was looking for, actually." I momentarily felt proud. "But without a quirk there's a lot of stuff you just cannot do. With all of the natural disasters and everything else we deal with, someone without a quirk just lacks utility we desperately need. You could be a liability. So, no, I don't think you can become a hero without a quirk. Someone like… well, you, would be more suited to police work if you want to help the community. And that's a fine profession, but being a hero doesn't seem like a good option for you."

I was stunned. I could tell he was trying to be nice about it but I couldn't help but feel like he was personally attacking me, even if no harm was intended. He stayed silent for a second and tried to get on with his presentation, but I couldn't handle it. I pushed through the bleachers with tears in my eyes. Sonja tried to stop me but I just walked off anyway. I cut across the gym to leave, everyone's eyes on me. I slammed open the door to the gym and walked to my locker, grabbing my backpack and walking out the door of school. I needed to cool off.

I always knew that my dream wasn't particularly realistic, but to have a professional superhero tell me my dream was basically worthless hit me like a truck. Everyone was there. People I had gone to school with since kindergarten and were there when I got pulled out of class to see the doctor to get tested for my quirk. People who had manifested their quirks in class and laughed at me when the teacher told them I was quirkless. The same people who looked at me like I was a disease were there when a hero told me that I couldn't be a hero. I wanted to prove them wrong.

I stomped my way down the sidewalk, wiping tears from my eyes as I did.

"Stop crying." I told myself, trying to keep from looking like a maniac. "Stop, stop, stop."

I kept repeating it until I was a few houses down from mine, when I stopped to try to explain to my mom why I'm home. Do I tell her there was an early dismissal? Do I just pretend like everything is normal? It never occurred to me that she probably already got a call and I was about to get suspended. I took a deep breath and started walking. I noticed the red Hummer was back in my neighbor's driveway, and tried to speedily walk past it, still thinking about the dude I saw in it earlier who creeped me out.

I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard what sounded like a muffled scream coming from my neighbor's house. I looked at the front porch and saw the door was slightly ajar, and the doorknob had been broken off.

Someone broke in.

Immediately, the things 8-Ball had said to me came rushing back. I can't be a hero. I'm a liability. I need to call the cops. But seemingly against my will, my legs started moving up the walkway to the porch. I can't stop myself, why can't I stop myself? Why am I opening the door? Just before I entered, I heard a voice come from the living room.

"You think you can lie to me like you did?" I heard a man with a deep, gravely voice say. It sent chills up my spine, like a dagger scraping a rock. I gently pushed the door open and stepped into the foyer. I slowly walked in and peered around a corner, seeing 3 people standing in front of my neighbor, a woman in her late twenties whom I had never spoken to outside of when I moved in. She had been tied to a chair and her mouth gagged.

In front of her directly was a man in a pristine black and red suit with a bunch of glass vials attached to his back. They resembled spikes and most were filled with a red liquid. To his right was a woman wearing a black leather jacket, jeans, and combat boots. She had many chains attached to her jacket and jeans, all made of different metals and having no similarities between them. To the man's left was another guy, he wore more normal looking clothes and could've been anyone off the street.

"I wish I didn't have to do this, Casey. I really don't." The man in the middle said. "Don't take this personally."

The man in the middle reached his hand out to my neighbor's face, and just for a split second, she made eye contact and started screaming as best she could to try and get me to help. I hid behind the corner and heard everything stop. For a good five seconds everything was quiet. Until the man spoke again.

"Kill that guy."

My eyes widened and I started to book it out of the house, but I was stopped when I felt someone grab my backpack and yank it backwards, slamming me into the ground. I was winded, and tried to catch my breath, but I felt a foot push itself onto my windpipe. I looked up and saw the woman in the leather jacket, but now she looked shiny, as if she was made of metal. I grabbed at her boot, and felt nothing but cold steel, confirming it was her quirk.

"He's just a kid, Voss." The woman yelled.

"He's seen our faces, he's nothing but a liability." I heard the man, presumably Voss yell from the living room. I saw him walk into the hallway and I recognized him as the guy in the Hummer. "Finish it, he's quirkless anyways."

I started hitting the woman's leg as she pushed further onto my throat, but to no avail. My eyes felt like they'd pop out of my head, and I started seeing colors explode in my brain.

"Listen, kid. It's nothing personal. Just make sure in your next life, you try not to be a hero." The woman said to me as my grip started to loosen and my attacks became softer. I had one more idea, and just before I passed out, I reached for the rug she was standing on and yanked it with all my might, knocking her off balance and sending her toppling to the floor.

I gasped for air for a moment before scrambling to my feet and bolting out the door. I tripped on my way out and was sent flying off the porch and down the stairs onto the sidewalk, where I fished my phone out of my pocket and quickly dialed 911.

"What's your emergency?" The operator asked.

"I need police and heroes at 389-" I was cut off with a kick to the back, sending me to the floor once again and knocking the phone out of my hand. I rolled over and saw the woman standing over me with a coat tree as a weapon. She swung it down at me and I barely dodged, rolling to the side. She swung it again, catching me in the ribs. I tried to scream, but I was winded not only from earlier, but again from that. Seeing I was incapacitated, the woman took a breather and picked up my phone, seeing I was on the phone with the cops.

"Voss, we need to get out of here, the cops are on their way."

While she was yelling to Voss, I tried to crawl, but she kicked me in the stomach. I wheezed and tried to yell again, but nothing came out.

"Do you wanna kill him?" She yelled. No response. All I heard were heavy footsteps approaching me from the porch. I turned my head and saw the woman turned from me, awaiting Voss. I took the opportunity to kick her knees out from under her and use my remaining strength to throw my backpack at Voss, stunning him temporarily and allowing me to get a good fifteen feet away, until I was stopped by a hand grabbing the collar of my shirt. I responded with a quick turn and a punch to the face of the woman. Just before my fist connected, her face became silvery, and pain rocketed up my arm when the punch landed. It was positively broken. I didn't even phase her.

The woman scoffed at me and tossed me back into the yard where the man in the suit stared me down.

"Goodbye." I heard him say as he kneeled down and placed his hand on my face. I felt immense pain immediately, and I started to black out again. I felt weak, and I tried to get away, but a foot planted itself onto my chest.

I thought I was going to die. I looked up at the clouds above me and cursed whoever was up there for making me quirkless. I cursed whoever decided to play this cruel joke on me. And then I saw what I thought was that someone. A figure standing in the sky above me. I figured I was dying.

And then I felt the ground rumble. The figure hit the ground with enough force for me to bounce, and the three people around me to get knocked back and hit the ground. I couldn't tell who it was, but I knew they were here to help. I heard multiple thwacks and thumps, and before I knew it, I was getting picked up by a very tall and broad shouldered man.

A hero had saved me. I couldn't see too well, but I knew that I was okay.

"Are you okay, young man?" The hero asked. My head flopped over his arm, and I pointed weakly at the house. "Is someone still in there?"

I nodded weakly. The hero carried me into the house and we walked into where my neighbor was tied to the chair. I closed my eyes, but I could hear the hero untie her and ungag her.

"He saved me!"

That was the last thing I heard before I passed out. And it was the first time I had ever heard that directed at me.

What do you think? Do you like where this is going? Leave a review and tell me what you think so far!