I sat in the passenger seat of my family's car while my mother drove, humming all the while. I enjoyed listening to her humming, but I knew from experience that it wasn't good when she did it. Whenever she would hum, it was so she could calm herself down in times of stress.

"Something wrong, Mom?"

She glanced at me for a moment and forced a smile. "My boy is growing up fast."

Silence descended upon the car once more, and I couldn't help but let out a sigh. She was being so dramatic. It wasn't like I was going off to College or some shit; I'm still a seven-year-old.

No, what she's upset about is how my mixed martial arts classes start today, which is where we're going now.

— Flashback —

"If all works out, you are my greatest accomplishment. As such, you must be ready to fulfill your duty to Viltrum when the day comes. You, Darius, are a Viltrumite, a warrior, a conqueror."

Lucan Johnson is many things, but now I know he absolutely isn't a man who wastes time. I didn't think he'd tell me about the truth of Viltrum for another eleven or so years.

How wrong I was.

Though, it's a good thing he told me. Now I can use this.

"Cool!" I beamed, giving the older man a wide smile. "Will I become super strong and be able to shoot pew pews out of my eyes?!"

The older, dark-skinned man stared at me in surprise for several moments before a wide smile adorned his face. "Yes, you will be strong. As for the eye lasers, that's not part of the package."

"Aw." I pouted. "But if I'm gonna be strong like you, then everything will be fine!"

His smile grew even wider as he embraced me tighter. "I'm glad you feel this way, son."

I couldn't help but feel the warm feeling bubbling inside of me. My parents weren't bad parents, at least I wouldn't consider them so, but this was one of the first times my father had ever hugged me, and it felt—good.

"Dad…" I said, causing him to look down at me. "When will I be as strong as you?"

Lucan frowned and looked up to the stars thoughtfully. "When your body says you are."

That wasn't much of an answer, but I didn't blame him. He doesn't even know for a fact if I will awaken my powers, much less become as strong as him.

"Then…I want to grow strong until then!" I looked at him with determined eyes. "I've seen you fight, so I want to learn how to fight too!"

He continued to look down at me in silence, and then suddenly, I felt us going down. After half a minute, we touched down on solid Earth, and he put me down.

"You want to learn how to fight?" He asked, making sure he heard me right.

"Mhm." I nodded.

"Good." His smile returned. "You don't have nearly adequate enough strength to train with me yet, but learning human techniques shouldn't be…detrimental to your growth as a warrior. I'll talk with my co-workers and see if I can find a place for you to learn."

— Flashback End —

"Have fun, dear. I'll be back in a few hours!" my mother said, kissing me on the forehead and walking toward the door. She stopped and looked back at me one last time, and I waved and smiled at her.

Once she was finally gone, I turned and looked at my new coach, Coach Nelson.

"You're a brave child for not even showing an ounce of discomfort in a new place." The Brazilian middle-aged man with slick black hair said with a studying look. I didn't know how to take that, but I suppose it was a compliment. I gave the older man a nod, eliciting a small smile from him. "Come then, the class is waiting."

— Samantha Eve Wilkins (Five Years Later) —

"I'm absolutely certain you'll settle in well here, Samantha." Principal Harleton of Landon J Middle School said with a warm smile. "Your first classes begin soon. Are you excited?"

Eve looked at the older man with a saddened frown. How could she be? Her experience with all schools thus far had never been good, and chances were, this wouldn't be any different.

"I'm sure you'll come around." He said with a sigh. "Your class is room 203. Do you need me to escort you?"

"No, I can find it." Eve said, rising to her feet.

"Alright then, good luck."

The twelve-year-old girl walked out of the principal's office and entered the hall. All the while, she couldn't keep herself out of her head.

Her best and only friend, Val hadn't spoken to her in weeks, and it hurt. They had been such good friends, but it ended in the blink of an eye.

And it was her fault.

She shouldn't have exposed her powers to her like that, it was a stupid mistake, and now she had learned through pain.

This school…it was a second chance, a chance to make friends and live a normal life like she—like her parents wanted.

Eve stopped at a classroom door.

Room 203

She took a deep breath and waited. The Principal said that the teacher was supposed to come out and introduce her to the class, so she'd have to wait before going in.

All the while, she wondered: Would she actually find people she could call friends here? Would these kids be different from the other special school she attended? She couldn't tell, not yet, but she hoped so.

None of those kids had any real ambition; they wanted to become boring people like doctors, lawyers, or astronauts. They never looked at the bigger picture and wanted to be something more. Like she did…once upon a time.

Normal kids live normal lives, and if she wanted her parents to be happy, she'd do what she had to.

*CLICK*

The door to the room opened, and out walked a relatively young woman who couldn't be older than thirty.

"Oh my, you must be Samantha." The woman said with a welcoming smile.

"Mmm." Eve nodded shyly.

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Ms. Lockwin; I'll be your homeroom teacher starting today."

"I-It's nice to meet you as well, Ms. Lockwin." Eve stuttered out.

A chuckle escaped Ms. Lockwin as she gently placed a hand on Eve's shoulder. "I know the first day in a new school can be nerve-wracking, but trust me, you'll do just fine."

Eve gave a slow and hesitant nod in response. She wasn't so sure of her teacher's words, but she couldn't go back now.

"Alright, I'm going to head back inside and in a few moments, I will call for you, alright?"

Another nod. The teacher smiled and walked back into the room. Eve waited in silence, hearing the muffled voice of the woman she just spoke to through the door.

"Now then class, we have a new student today, so let's welcome her with open arms."

Chatter ensued in the room. Childish whispers unhearable to the young girl resounded through the room.

The door to the room opened and the teacher stood there with a smile. "It's time, Samantha."

Eve took a deep breath and stepped forward, walking into the room. She looked at the thirty or so students sitting in their seats, looking at her with undisguised curiosity.

"This here is Samantha Wilkins, she'll be the newest addition to our classroom. Everybody say hi."

""Hi."" The class echoed. All the while, Eve remained silent.

"Why don't you have a seat, Samatha."

Eve spotted an empty seat near the back and did as her teacher suggested. As she sat, she could tell that all eyes were still on her, and it didn't make her feel any more comfortable than before.

"Alright class, Samantha is a bit behind us, but that's no matter. I'm sure one of you wise gremlins can tell us what we've been learning in this unit?"

As several kids raised their hands, Eve could tell that today would be a long and tiring day.

— Later —

After class, Eve was immediately swarmed by her classmates. She was asked all types of questions, from where she came from to what she did there to how she got her hair so silky.

That last one was a bit of a confidence booster; she had to admit that, but for the most part, the questions were…taxing for her.

She still didn't know how to interact with others, and whenever she tried, she couldn't stop herself from stumbling over her words.

She sighed as she walked through the hall after finally escaping the other children's questioning.

School was hard, and it was times like these when she wished she was homeschooled, but knowing her parents, they'd call her even weirder if she asked. And with private school already proving itself not to be such a good idea, she had to power through the whole public school thing.

She opened her newly assigned locker, placing her bag in and taking out her binder for the next class.

"Hey, Grayson!"

She blinked at the blatant shouting in the hallway. She hadn't ever heard anyone shout in school, it just wasn't something kids did at her first school.

She saw three guys who looked way too old to be in middle school approach a smaller boy with black hair.

"U-Uh, hey…Randy."

"Don't hey me, Grayson!" The kid in the middle shouted, slamming the smaller boy against the locker. "You got my lunch money today?"

"Dude…who uses lunch money? Just go grab lunch; the school offers them for free, don't they?" The boy, Grayson, asked in confusion.

People started to notice the boys and within seconds the hallway was filled with onlookers.

"I don't want that crap!" He shouted, slamming him against the locker again. Eve's eyes narrowed. Never had she seen someone treat someone else like this in school. It was wrong, and it needed to be stopped.

Yet no one was doing anything.

"L-Look, Randy, I don't carry money, just leave me alone!" The smaller boy pleaded. Eve's fists clenched. If no one else was going to do anything, she would.

"Nuh-uh." Randy wagged his finger. "I hear voices in my head; they come to me, understand, and talk to me, Mark Grayson. And they're telling me to kick your a-"

"So we're doing this again?"

Everyone looked toward where the voice came from to see a boy who pushed his way through the crowd. Eve examined him with some shock. He was tall, almost as tall as the bullies with brown skin, short hair, and brown eyes.

"Stay out of this, Johnson. We ain't got no business with you!" Randy said with a glare.

"Actually, you've put your hand on my friend…again. So I'm pretty sure that we do." The boy, Johnson said, not even faltering his step. "Let go of him. I'm not asking again."

"Screw off, assface!" He shouted, rushing Johnson with his fist drawn back.

Johnson didn't even flinch as the fist approached his face. Right before the fist hit him, he dropped his body low and grabbed both of Randy's legs, picking him up and tackling him to the ground.

*THUD*

"Get the hell off of me, you bastard!" Randy shouted as Johnson held him down. In the corner of his eye, he caught sight of his friends, still holding Grayson. "Hey, come help me!"

The two boys shook their heads and ran away, leaving Randy alone and pinned to the ground.

"I'm not gonna hit you…this time. Bother my friend again, and I promise I'll send your snake ass to the hospital, expulsion be damned, am I clear?"

"Y-Yes." Randy said with hesitance. Johnson glared at the boy for several moments before letting go of his arms and walking over to Grayson.

Eve couldn't believe what she just saw. That guy…he effortlessly lifted up a kid bigger than him, and it wasn't even like he used Randy's force against him.

No, he was just unnaturally strong.

"You alright, Mark?" Johnson asked with a frown.

"Yeah, thanks again for the save, Darius." Mark said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"No problem, dude, but you owe me one, preferably a burger meal?"

"Psh, of course." Mark giggled and pulled his friend along.

As the two boys walked away, Eve stared at their backs with a curious expression. She listened as others around whispered about the two.

"I still don't understand how a nerd could beat Randy."

"I know right? It's like Darius was born with the wrong body."

"Well whatever, don't give losers like that the time of day."

Eve's eyes narrowed at the people around her before she looked back at the two. As her eyes locked on them, they turned a corner. In that moment, Eve made a decision that would change her life forever.

She followed after them.

— Chapter End —

Beta Reader: Basilisk Dragonboy1

Author's Note: I was very distracted while I wrote this chapter. There were four kids in my house (my nieces and nephews), and more than once the words "Sticking out your gyatt for the rizzler" said.

Basilisk Note: Dawg, those kids got something wrong, who tf says that.