How It Started

On April 23rd, 2026, portals began opening throughout the world, and unknown monsters began pouring out of them. First in Cuba, then China, and then the rest of the world. At the time I lived in the United States, or more specifically Tennessee. The incident shook the world but didn't really affect me at first since the portals just didn't open nearby. For me, life went on as normal besides some prices increasing, and things like that. Not long after, people began developing powers; the type of powers you would normally see or hear about in a game or novel, and that brings us to today, June 28th 2026, the day my life changed.

Good morning everyone, you're currently listening to 93.1, where we play rock, rock, and mor-

"uhhghhmmmh- figh moar minu-" *Presses Snooze Button*

*

*record scratch* I sure hope you loved that song *elephant noise* because up next we have…

"I'm up, I'm- HOLY SHIT IT'S 11!"

There wasn't really anything in particular that I had to do today but waking up so late makes the rest of the day seem like a waste. Maybe I should just go back to bed until tomorrow. Well, first let's go downstairs and get something to eat.

"I got up and began walking downstairs, then that's where it happened. That's where I got my powers. Now I know that the general consensus is that you need to be in some type of dangerous or life-threatening situation to even have a chance at awakening some powers, so as I was running down the stairs, I saw a spider dangling in front of me and freaked out, slipped, and started falling down the stairs."

Now, when you awaken, you don't get a message or anything like that; I mean, this is the real world after all, it's not a game, so the way people currently tend to find out they have powers is by accidentally using them, and in my case use them I did.

"After that things get a bit fuzzy, but I think my house caught on fire, and the next thing I knew I was here. Handcuffed to the side of a hospital bed."

"I woke up again, and a while after that, you came in."

While I sat with my left wrist handcuffed to the side of a hospital bed, a man in a very formal-looking black suit sat next to me. He's been questioning me about the series of events that led to my house catching fire. The man pressed a button and stopped his audio recording.

*sigh* "That's not going to hold up in court, you know?"

"I'm sorry what?"

"Well what are you going to say? It was an accident. I won't do it again. You can't just go and set fire to your house. Some people walking down the street ended up getting injured due to the fire, and since people were injured, no matter how accidental it was you are being charged with arson"

"HUH?! But…"

"Listen, I get that it seems unfair, but currently there just aren't any laws to help superpowered folk such as yourself in situations like these. There's not much that can be done."

I didn't know what to say. Was there anything I could say? Am I just supposed to be silent? I don't know. The man then reached into his suit and handed me a paper. I looked at it but didn't quite understand what he was trying to tell me. He seemed to notice this and began speaking again.

"I said there wasn't much that could be done, but that doesn't mean there's nothing. This is probably the only thing that could help you avoid a few years minimum of jail time. If you sign this, we can sweep this all under the rug and guarantee your freedom.

"What do I need to do?"

"First you'll have to attend a seminar, then help us with some tests and other such things."

"That's all I have to do?"

"That's all you have to do."

"But what about my clothes and house and everything?"

"Well, most of it is ash, but we bagged up some of your things. If you sign, then we'll give them to you in a little bit."

I was hesitant to sign, but my hands were tied. I didn't see any other options besides this. The man handed me a pen, and I signed the paper.

He grabbed the paper, stood up and began to leave the room.

"What about my phone?"

"I'll pick you up later"

"Wai-"

He's gone. He seriously just left. Who does he think he is, what makes him think he's so high and mighty that he doesn't have to listen to me? I mean really.