Enzo hastily entered his hideout, a small basement under an abandoned building, after running away from his pursuers. He was panting heavily with his hands on his knees, relieved to have finally made it back in one piece. He studied the raggedy furniture, old television, damaged coolers, filthy microwave, and the overall sloppy environment. Cleaning would be great, but that would probably have to come another day… or never.

  Perhaps he should think of finding a new place to lay low. With four superheroes looking for him about an hour ago, it was probably way too dangerous to remain in Alpinea. Some days, he could go undetected, while other days he would get carried away and be greeted by a sea of police officers. He wondered what made them send heroes this time.

  He turned on the dim lights, took off his wet jacket, and then yanked it at one of the 4 corners of the basement. He looked back at the small window he entered though and placed a small black blanket over it—almost forgot. He wiped some of the sweat off of his face. He would kill for a shower, but that would have to come later in the early hours at the nearest gym.

  He opened the cooler and grabbed an ice cold water bottle; he practically downed it like a fish. He then opened a small drawer and grabbed an instant cup of ramen noodles. He wished he could eat a fancy dinner, but ramen noodles would do for now. Maybe he’d get his exquisite meal after becoming a mighty superhero.

  He poured water into the ramen cup and placed it into the microwave. He hissed when the microwave refused to turn on. After a few quick hits, the microwave successfully turned on and began to warm up his dinner.

  He remembered the last thing he grabbed before the cops chased him—it was still in his jacket. Crossing the room, he turned on the old television and then pressed the eject button on the VCR. The VHS tape slid out, and he set it on top of the player. In the corner of the room, he rifled through his jacket and pulled out the new VHS he found. A frustrated grumble escaped his throat—half of it was burnt to a crisp.

  It had to have been Ms. Pyra or Magma Man, thought Enzo. He was so frustrated, because it meant he would have the watch one of the same three VHS tapes he already had. He had seen all three of those movies a million times already, his brain just needed something new.

  He put the tape back into the VCR. It was an old movie from about thirty to forty years ago. It was titled Zarg The Grumpy Ogre 2. That cartoon kids’ movie was phenomenal, he pretty much remembered all of the lines. He had only seen the second movie, but he heard the first one was an absolute banger. He rewinded the tape from the beginning, and before he knew it, his noodles were ready. He eagerly took out the noodles, grabbed a plastic fork and began to eat his crappy dinner.

  As he watched the Zarg movie while eating, he occasionally said some of the lines out loud. Anytime the Llama would annoy Zarg, he would almost match Zarg’s freak-outs. He would force a laughter at every joke in the movie, even though he knew it was coming.

  “I’m so bored,” he said aloud after laughing at another predictable joke. If only he could have watched the first Zarg movie, then he would be able to see how Zarg met the annoying llama.

  He chuckled at how lonely he was. If he somehow became a superhero, then maybe he would find a way to finally rid the isolation away. Maybe he could meet a nice girl and watch every Zarg movie with her til nightfall. That would be awesome, now if only he wasn’t so afraid of talking to girls. The gangs he was a part of mainly consisted of men, however the few women in them were ruthless. Perhaps if he lived a normal life, meeting girls would be far easier.

  He placed the empty ramen cup on the ground as he kept watching the movie. He randomly looked down at his arms to see all of the scars riddles all over them. He lightly placed his hand over the scars—then something terrible happened. He began to reminiscence about his time at the Loft. The cold air, the glowing blue chains, the silence, and not knowing what day of the hour it was, and worst of all… the loneliness. Only the small metal blade he made out of his bed could alleviate his suffering.

  He flinched, trying to bring himself back into reality. He sighed as he got up and turned the television off. He laid on the couch and turned off the lights, looking at the ceiling. He wished his life turned out differently, as he absolutely despised the way he was living life at that moment. He wished he wasn’t a wanted criminal, he wished he never joined gangs, he wished the Emergee Wars never happened, and he wished his family never lost their lives. As cool as lighting powers were, he wished the Emergences never happened, but since it was already deeply sown into reality, he had no choice but to make do with it.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  He lived a pretty normal and peaceful life in the nation of Aerilon. His father, a prominent member of the Virelli family, was a well respected citizen in their small city. His mother was a foreigner from the country known as Alpinea, several miles away from Aerilon. She had always promised to take him there sometime, to see the mountains, cafes, and elegant rivers. He didn’t have any siblings, but his uncle had many kids he considered his siblings, such as Matteo (Chronos). He wished he could go back to those peaceful times where they would all play sports and video games together, laughing up a storm.

  There was no official explanation for the Emergences, but when they happened, they changed the world—maybe for the worse. Several people used their newfound abilities to unleash unjust terror on the unprivileged people that were powerless. Governments tried to control them, but it was clear that they could not be controlled. They tried to use their own emergees to defeat the evil ones, but it was ineffective. Eventually, some nations blamed other nations for the horror their emergee citizens unleashed, so they brutally attacked them with their own emergees—beginning the Emergee Wars.

  Aerilon was essentially turned upside down. The death toll was staggering. The Virellis did not have any emergees, they were powerless ordinary humans. They bunkered down in the war, fearfully waiting for the chaos to end. It worked out for them at first, but then an enemy nation’s emergees spotted Enzo’s father and uncle temporary leaving their bunker to get more food. They secretly followed the men back to the bunker and senselessly massacred the entire family, blaming their Aerilons’ emergees for destroying one of their homes. Only Enzo and Matteo survived, hidden by the entire family. They were the two youngest members of the Virelli family. Enzo would never forget the horrid screams of his dear family’s last moments.

  Later, the calamity of war would soon come to a crashing end. A team of the first superheroes, called the First Ten appeared suddenly and essentially brought the world back into order. These ten were extraordinarily powerful, more powerful than the millions of super powered villains around them. With righteous fists of justice, they built the Hero Brunch, and established its headquarters in Spectralis—one of the last surviving cities in Aerilon. They passed the law of making it illegal for anyone to use their powers in public spaces, if they were not legally registered with the Hero Brunch. Eventually, this groundbreaking law went worldwide.

  The leader of the First Ten was a man calledLyte Man— the light bearer. It was said that he was a flashing light that was destined to illuminate over all. He was a shining morning star, unmatched in beauty, intellect, and power. He pridefully stood at the pinnacle of the world, loved, admired, and revered. Suddenly… he vanished, never to be seen again.

  With Lyte Man and most of the other First Ten members out the picture, Spectralis found itself in a rough spot with unchecked villains. As a result, many newly registered heroes came into the mix. Though Spectralis was the superhero capital, it was perpetually in a state of constant scrimmages between heroes and villains. The heroes would receive glory, and the villains—shame.

  Villain gangs soon started gaining more traction, and the so called quasi wars continued. The gangs promised those wrecked by the Emergee Wars opportunities and safety that they claimed governments could not bring. They targeted wealthy people for money and sold and produced drugs for even more of it.

  Enzo and Matteo found themselves in various gangs after the war ended, seeping in hot water repeatedly. Back then, Enzo hated all emergees and wanted them all gone. He believed all superheroes other than the First Ten were corrupt. His mindset began to slowly shift when he and his cousin found themselves enveloped in the twentieth Emergence. Originally, he used his newfound abilities to cause havoc on his gang’s behalf. He also stole from numerous banks to give them, making them richer and richer.

  After Matteo betrayed the entire gang and became a legally registered hero, Enzo realized that not all emergees were bad and that superheroes could in fact restore society to order like the days of old. Why would he continue escalating chaos? Though he never killed anyone, he began to feel guilty for his crimes. Despite this revelation, he foolishly kept committing crimes before being apprehended by powerful superheroes. Spectralis’s government showed him no mercy, and sentenced him to years in prison at the Loft. In the Loft, all he could do was sit and fester in his own grief, trauma, pain, and disappointments.

  His regrets swallowed him, and he wished he followed Matteo. Enzo couldn’t comprehend why he never left the gangs, even after he grew weary of them. Perhaps it was because it was what felt safest, leaving the gangs would mean loneliness (something he was very familiar with now). Now that he was broken out of his prison, he wanted to make a difference and become a righteous superhero. To be redeemed would be powerful to his anxious soul.

  Enzo rose up from the couch, annoyed at his mind for wondering back to the horrid days of war, and everything else about the current climate of the world. He missed his family, but he didn’t always want to think about how sad he was that they were gone forever. His father’s laughter, his mother’s warmth, his grandparent’s tenderness… what he would do to see them again.

  With his mind wondering the stars, there was no way he’d be able to sleep. He put on a new jacket and then gathered up a few supplies. He left the heavier appliances, like the television, and exited out of the small window. Perhaps now was the time to finally leave Alpinea.

  Surely it was possible for the world to improve drastically, away from gangs and villains. With Chrono’s warning about an evil man at the terminal, it could be his ticket to finally become an official superhero and help fix everything. He wasn’t sure where he was going, but he knew that on July 5th… he would be ready.

  He shot up into the sky like an ascending lighting bolt.