The Justice Avengers

by JWeaver95

Taking place in the real world, OUR world, 23 year old James Weaver(me), finds himself having somehow acquired the powers of Superman. Not only that, but real world threats are becoming too much for the police and military to handle. As more threats arise and grow in seriousness and severity, James's friends also begin inexplicably gaining the powers of other DC/Marvel superheros.

1. Chapter 1

The Justice Avengers

Chapter 1: Origin

It all started about six months ago. I didn't think anything of it of course and it wasn't even noticeable at first. At the time I was 5'7", roughly 250lbs. I used to fluctuate between that and 260lbs, depending on how active I was during the week going to and from work as well as at work itself. I began to notice that my pants weren't fitting like they normally did. They were always stretchy and comfortable and had to be pulled up because of the way they shifted when I'd have my undershirt and work shirt tucked into them. But eventually it was getting to the point where I was having to lightly keep hold of them by the waistband when moving, which became increasingly annoying really fast.

Eventually I did the logical thing and bought smaller pants and was surprised to find out that I didn't have to buy as big a pair as I normally do. I don't buy pants or clothes all that often, but still, I was surprised nonetheless. I shrugged it off and went with the smaller pants, but made a note to step on the scale the next work morning. I did and was surprised to find out that I wasn't my normal lowest of 250lbs anymore. I was well below that in fact. My scale isn't digital, as it's more old school with a needle, but after stepping on and off several times, making sure and confirming several times, the scale sure enough read 230lbs instead.

I hadn't been that weight in several years, having gained the twenty I've now inexplicably seemed to have lost back when I had my very first job that was in fast food naturally. I was happy to say that least, but wasn't sure what had caused this, but decided not to question my seemingly good fortune. My outside of work shirts and pants were all baggy on me, but I didn't really mind. I'd find the time to buy smaller shirts here and there, but it was the work pants that I needed the most. My work shirt and understand stayed the same size, as they were both a little on the snug side to begin with, so they fit just fine now, or at least a good bit better than they used to.

Things continued on like normal, or at least as normal as they could be considered to be and a couple more months passed. I had to buy new, smaller work pants and finally had to downside my work shirt, which proved a huge hassle since I only had two to begin with. I traded them in to try and make things easier. It's always hard to get different sized shirts where I work. It's just the way things work there. I found myself weighing myself again only to be met with an even lower number. I was a mere 200 pounds by then, having lost a whopping 30lbs in a few months compared to the previous twenty I had lost beforehand. The only thing that truly fit me properly by that point was my work clothes. I didn't have the time or patience to keeping buying smaller clothes, so I opted to wear my baggy clothes since all I did was work and go home.

Very rarely do I ever go out and when I did, I always made sure to wear one of the few proper fitting cheap shirts I allowed myself to buy, wearing the baggy, ill-fitting shirts at home. Most of my extra fat was disappearing, with only a small amount remaining in the form of a pot belly, where most of my weight was situated. I noticed that my face had trimmed down tremendously, something I was overjoyed at. Not to mention that I was feeling a whole lot better about myself and my body felt a lot stronger. I could feel it inside of me. I still wasn't worried or that concerned about my inexplicable weight loss, as I hadn't been doing anything different or changing any of my eating or physical habits. But my body was slowly beginning to melt away the rest of the body fat and tone up, build muscle even.

A few more months passed and I lost yet another 30lbs, bringing me down to 170lbs. By this point, most of the fat had disappeared from my body and it soon began to add on muscle instead. My biceps slowly but surely grew. My flat stomach flattened further, toned out and soon I had viciously defined six pack of abs. What some people work for years on to get, I somehow managed to achieve within a few months. I couldn't explain it back then, but I didn't complain. It was almost like a dream come true. Eventually, the changes all stopped, the weight loss, the muscle gain, all of it. At least those changes did.

My body felt completely different by this point. I felt so much stronger, faster, not to mention WAY more confident in myself and in my body. That's when the weird things started happening. One of the first incidents I can remember happening was at work. Hell, most of them were at work thankfully, now that I think back on it. Anyways, I was at work and had a closed receipt in my hand, I'm a waiter. One moment the receipt was fine and the next, it had two little holes burning through it. I quickly dashed to the nearest sink with speed I didn't even know I had and quickly ran the receipt under the water. Thankfully I was able to easily print out another copy and through the ruined one away. I wasn't sure what to think about that incident.

It wasn't the first time something like that would happen. Another incident at work occurred when one of my co-workers, who was an in shape guy himself, needed my help lifting something. When I went over to help lift it up, I found myself hefting the whole thing up faster than my co-worker anticipated. When he cried out in alarm, asking if I was okay, I told him that I was. I asked him why he needed help moving what I had and that I could easily lift it. He said that no matter how hard he tried, it was just too heavy for him to lift, right outside the limits of his strength. I didn't believe him and when he asked me how I was able to lift something so seemingly heavy, I chuckled and jokingly told him that I had been hitting the weights.

That wasn't the case at all. As I said earlier, despite these changes to my body, I hadn't deviated from my normal habits of any kind. It's at this point that I really began to consider that something was happening to me; something definitely out of the ordinary. Another incident I can think of occurred while I was actually on my way to work. See, I don't have a car, but since I work up on top of a mountain, the restaurant I work in is located on top of said mountain inside of a mountain lodge hotel, I take a van to and from work.

BUT, I have to get up every morning I work at 6am and walk two miles from my apartment TO the van. It doesn't pick me up like an Uber or bus would. Anyways, one morning as I was walking, I decided to test my stamina and run part of the way. Once I got onto the main road, I took off. I started out slow, a nice little jog, before steadily increasing my speed. Now normally it used to take me the better part of half an hour to go from my apartment to the van. But once I started running, I arrived at the van in five minutes. It was all a blur, but one moment I was on one side of town, I live in a small town, and the next thing I knew, I was halting to a stop so that I didn't run past where the van was. When I stopped to try and catch my breath, I realized that my heart wasn't even beating fast from having sprinted the two mile distance.

Those were the three main incidents that stick out in my mind on all of those separate occasions, but the ONE thing that sticks out in my mind the most is what happened NEXT. I woke up one day like normal, as I had to work. The first thing I do is put on my glasses. Something felt off as I did, but I couldn't tell what it was since it was still dark in my room and I hadn't turned on the ceiling light. As I did, after a few seconds I was able to easily discern what was wrong. I couldn't see.

I wasn't blind, of course not. No, I just couldn't see a damn thing while wearing my glasses. Basically I could see about as well if I didn't have them on. A little worse even. I went to the bathroom, slipping them on and off as I looked at myself in the mirror, carefully observing how my reflection went from blurry to perfect with and without the glasses. It's at this point that I had to accept that something was going on with me; fully well and truly. My body has completely changed itself.

I'd gone from overweight and unfit to totally ripped and in shape. Despite my beard, my jawline was still clearly defined. My biceps were impressive as was my six pack of abs. My shoulders rippled with muscle and my legs, calves, thighs and what not looked like I hadn't skipped leg day not once. Not having time stick around, I got ready for work and made my way to the van. I walked, but I didn't work up a sweat from the heat and morning humidity. In fact, I couldn't remember the last time I had since all these changes have happened. I contemplated all of them as I took my time, forcing myself to take my previous time of half an hour to get to the van to allow myself some time to think.

I decided that on my next day off, I'd test myself as well as the hypothesis that had formed in my mind. Sure enough, on my next day off, I did as I had told myself I would. Heading to a secluded field at the edge of some woods, I stood ready. Taking a deep breath even though I didn't really need it, I took off away from the edge of the woods, heading for the opposite end of the field. It was a big field, stretching for a couple dozen acres, well away from the road. That was the direction I was headed in, taking the most direct path.

I reached the road easily within seconds, but I didn't stop. I whipped myself around, heading back for the spot I started at, reaching it even faster than I did the road when I started. I slid to halt, kicking up grass and dirt, but I wasn't even out of breath. Not even in the slightest. I touched my forehead and not even a bit of dampness was there to indicate any kind of sweat. It was like I wasn't even doing anything. Not wanting to stop, I quickly faced the first tree in my line of sight and concentrated. It didn't take long and before I knew it, the spot I focused on began smoking until it caught fire and began flaming up. I shouted in triumph, not believing I had been able to succeed. I pranced over and held out a hand to the flame as it began licking at more of the wood on the tree. If left unchecked, it would soon engulf the tree and set fire to the grass of the field and the rest of the trees in the woods.

The flames heat didn't register to me at all. I couldn't feel it. Believe me, it was there, but it didn't harm me. I freely touched where the flames were and felt no pain whatsoever. I withdrew my hand and examined it from all sides, turning it this way and that. I felt it with my other hand. It wasn't even warm. My attention is torn away as more of the flame begins to engulf the bulk of the bark of the tree. Having a sudden though, I took a deep breath and blew hard. A torrent of small gale force winds erupted from my mouth, quickly and easily extinguishing the flames.

All that was left was the burned bark. I felt sorry for having done that to the tree, but I wanted to test out these new powers that I seem to have. So far I've got speed, stamina, invulnerability. Then I remembered something else. With a huge smile on my face, I grabbed the tree, my fingers sinking into the bark and cracking through it and I heaved upwards. I easily ripped the tree out of the ground and almost fell flat on my ass, having stumbled backwards to regain my footing. I was taken by complete surprise by how easily I was able to uproot this rather decent sized tree.

I know this is a rather horrible analogy, but picking up this tree and literally ripping it out of the ground to me is the equivalent of a normal human being easily unplugging something from the wall. Not wanting to stop my string of tests, I take a few steps back, steady myself and hurl the tree in the direction of the woods with all my strength. It goes sailing well out of sight of any normal human range, but another thing I discover is just how greatly my vision has improved. Not only do I not need corrective lenses anymore, but I can see farther than any other person on earth. I've got telescopic vision it would seem, not to mention microscopic vision, as evidenced by the ant hill I can clearly see a mile away as it was lying on the ground looking at it with a magnifying glass.

I've got a huge smile on my face this entire time, not knowing what to do with myself or these gifts I've somehow been given. I decide that it's time for one last test. So far, only one thing remains to prove my own hypothesis true. Turning parallel to the woods and field, I inhale a deep breath of fresh air before tensing all the muscles in my legs and then leap into the air. The rush I feel as I take off into the air is amazing. The wind is rapidly rushing by me as I sail upwards and then begin my decent. I allow myself to land, creating a small crater in the ground. I don't have any problem steadying myself as I turn around to see how far I've come.

I'm not that good at measuring distance, but I'd say I've gone an eight of a mile easily. Yelling triumphantly I jump up into the air again, leaping the same distance or so every time, making my way across the countryside. Eventually, I've built up enough speed and momentum that on my last jump, once I reach my peak, I thrust my airs upwards and continue upwards into the sky with a renewed rush of speed. My voice is lost to the wind as I realize that I've finally managed to fly. It's a lot harder than it looks, but I do my best to manage.

All to soon though I lose myself in the feeling in this ultimate and new found freedom I've gained and lose my concentration, crashing back down into the earth, leaving a few carters in my wake as I bounce and skid across the ground. The last crater I make is about as deep as I am tall and I find myself climbing out of it, covered in dirt, dust and rocks. These clothes are definitely going to have to be washed when I get home. I shake my head and check to make sure I'm okay and much to my happiness, there's not a scratch on me and I feel more alive than ever.

That day was just under a month ago. That very same day, I ran all the way home, literally and ordered myself a Man of Steel costume. Not those cheap, store bought Haloween costumes. I'm talking about the high end, fully functioning, grade A material Man of Steel cosplay level costume. Like the closest wearable thing you could get to the actual suit that Henry Cavill himself wore in the movie. It's a nice dark blue, with a deep, flowing red cape with matching boots. The symbol is a matching shade of red as well, but instead of the inside of the super shield being yellow, it's the same shade of blue as the rest of my suit.

Consider this suit to be my Mark I Superman Suit. Eventually, I'll upgrade to the red and yellow Superman symbol suit that Cavill wore in the first movie. From there I'll upgrade to the BVS(Batman vs. Superman) suit and from the JL(Justice League) one. But for my crime fighting debut, I'm going with this, what I consider to be the very first concept for the Man of Steel suit.

Today is my day off from work and I'm meeting up with my big sister Cierra. She's not ACTUALLY my sister, but we've got that strong bond where we're so close to one another that we're like brother and sister. We might as well be related to each other, so we affectionately refer to each other as the other's adopted sibling. She's older than me by a few years, having just turned 28 on September 19th, 2018. I'm pretty much just dropping by her house and hanging out for as long as possible while her kids are at all.

She's got a boyfriend named Stephen who doesn't like me very much, but I don't really care what he has to say or thinks about me. Ever since I got my powers, it caused me much to my happiness to care even less about all of that nonsense. I didn't even think that was possible. Cierra has four kids of varying ages but I shan't be sharing their names for obvious reasons. Having since arrived at her house, I make my way up the stairs and onto the porch, knocking firmly, but gently on the door as well.

The last thing I need is to send her door flying by knocking too hard. I've gotten pretty good at managing my strength ever since I truly started wearing the "S", but I've still got some work left to do on it. That's one of the reasons why I'm visiting my big sister. I'm not merely here for a social visit. I'm here to reveal to her my single biggest secret now. The one thing you need to know about her and I is that there are no secrets between the two of us. We each know things about the other that even our own families don't know about us. That's how close we are to one another.

It's not long before I hear steps on the other side, though I have the ability to hear anything on the planet if I so choose to and the door opens to reveal her. About an inch shorter than me at 5'6" with long, straight brown hair and a kind face with her eyes showing through a black pair of glasses sort of similar to mine. Yes, I still wear my glasses. I merely replaced the prescription lenses with clear ones so that I can wear them when I'm not flying around and saving kittens from being trapped in trees.

"Hey big sis!" I greet her happily as she pulls me in for a hug.

"Hey little bro!" She greets back just as enthusiastically. "Come on in," she says, inviting me in. I cross over the threshold and shut the door behind me, admiring her new home. She just moved into this house only a couple of months ago and this is the first time I've ever been inside of it.

"Nice place ya got here."

"Thank you. I love it and so does the rest of the family. Feel free to make yourself at home bro," she says, plopping down on one of the couch cushions in the living room.

"Thank you. I think I will," I thank her, plopping down on the adjacent cushion next to her, indeed making myself comfortable before deciding to speak. "So as I told you in my text, there's something I wanted to talk to you about aside from just hanging out when I came over."

"Uh huh," she says not unkindly. "Go on." She politely gestures for me to continue.

I take a deep breath before continuing. "Okay, so you've seen all the news about that real life Superman making its rounds all over tv and social media right?" I ask. She nods, not speaking so that I can instead, so I continue. "Well to make a long story short, too late, it's me. I'm the Superman in the news." Silence follows after my sudden revelation and I'm honestly not sure what to do now. Just as I'm about to ask Cierra what she thinks, she speaks.

"That's what you wanted to tell me in person? You could've just told me over the phone or through texts or something," she tells me. "Besides, I already knew," she confesses.

"Wait, you already knew?" I ask.

"Of course I already knew you goober. How else would you explain to anyone how you managed to go from what you were before to what you are now? Not to mention that you're not fooling anyone with those glasses. Then again you do seem to be fooling everyone when you wear your old glasses and when you're Superman, but you're definitely not fooling me!" She gives me a kind smile.

I return the smile. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. You always were the smartest out of the two of us."

"What're you talking about?" She fake scoffs. "I still am."

"Nu uh. You WERE. Thank to my new super intelligence, I'm the smarter one now," I tease, tapping my head in the process.

"Shut up, you are not. You may be super strong and bullet proof, but there's no way in hell you're smarter than me," she challenges me.

"Am I so to," I further tease.

"I will literally fucking fight you if you claim that you're smarter than me one more time LITTLE brother. I don't give a fuck if you ARE super strong and bullet proof."

"Alright fine," I confess, giving in. "So I'm not the smartest and you still are. But I could for sure beat you in an arm wrestling match."

"Pfft. You could be several thousand of me in an arm wrestling match, so just shut up." We both have huge smiles on our faces.

"So…what gave me away?" I ask curiously.

"What?" she asks, not understanding what I'm getting at.

"Like when did you figure out that it was me and not someone else?" I ask again.

"Oh, well that was easy. The first time I saw you on the tv I was just like, 'Yup. That's James. No doubt about it.'"

"Huh, interesting. That was like a month ago Cierra. Before that there were only the amateur videos of me swooping in and saving the day. I tried saving people as fast as possible to avoid the cameras, but I knew eventually someone would get a good picture or video," I muse.

"Well someone ended up getting both a rather good video AND picture of you just floating about after you saved that bus full of children," she points out.

"Hey, in my defense I wanted to stick around and make sure everyone was okay. I do that with everyone I've saved up to this point, but the busload of children was on a whole other level. Some of them were traumatized. Hell, most if not all of them were in some way, shape or form. It did them good to meet the person who saved them and to tell them that everything was okay now." I'm silent for a moment, replaying the whole thing in my head from start to finish.

"Well either way, I'm proud of you bubba," Cierra says, placing a hand on one of mine. "If the world was going to finally find out about you and that you were really out there, you couldn't have picked a better thing to do."

I smile. "Thanks sis. I appreciate it. I love you."

"I love you to." We pull each other in for another hug, holding it for a bit, enjoying the moment and each other's company, the revelation not having been as big a deal as I had made it out to be in my head, but also bringing us closer together.

"So, now that that's how out of the way, how about we down to really hanging out?" I ask enthusiastically.

"How about a Harry Potter movie marathon and a shit load of junk food?" She suggests just as enthusiastically.

"Sounds like a plan to me. I wouldn't have it any other way."