Unexpected Abduction

He found an elderly man trapped under a large box behind his house.

"Hold on... I'm here to help," Miles called out, rushing over to lift the box off the man with ease.

The elderly man, though shaken, was not too beat up. "Thank you, young man. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come by," he said, his voice trembling.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Miles asked while helping the man to his feet.

The elderly man nodded. "I'm alright, just a bit bruised. I was trying to move my wife's collection in this box to the yard to give away later. I forgot that I'm no longer young and strong."

Miles smiled beneath his mask, feeling a sense of accomplishment. "I'm glad I was nearby. Do take it easy from now on. Things could have been much worse."

The elderly man looked at him with gratitude. "Thank you, son. I'm a widower and I live alone. It's been tough, but you've given me a new lease on life tonight."

Miles chuckled softly. "Just doing what I can to help. Remember to take it easy and don't push yourself too hard."

The elderly man smiled and nodded. "You know, life is a gamble. The fact that I didn't lose mine here tonight means I rolled the dice at the right moment."

Miles's eyes widened as the elderly man's words struck a chord within him. 'I finally know what my hero name should be...'

"Thank you.. and Take care," Miles said, bidding the elderly man goodbye.

As he walked away, a smile spread beneath his mask. 'My hero name will be DICE.'

-

As Miles left the old man's yard, he heard a faint crackling noise from a pile of garbage nearby.

Curious, he approached the source of the sound and discovered an old, beaten-up police radio half-buried under some discarded items. He picked it up and listened closely, recognizing the chatter of the city police on the other end.

"Dispatch, we have a 10-54 on 5th and Main, requesting backup," the voice on the radio crackled.

Miles raised an eyebrow. "The old man won't mind if I have this, right?" he muttered to himself. He tucked the radio into his bag, already thinking about how he could fix it up and use it to stay ahead of any criminal activity.

The next day, Miles fell back into his routine of balancing school, work, and training. With the added responsibility of working on the project with Tara, he had to manage his time even more carefully.

Fortunately, they only met up three times a week, which gave him enough flexibility to complete his tasks from the Dice System and gain more points.

As the days passed, Miles continued to make progress on his abilities, becoming more adept with each training session.

Gorilla Grodd's Intelligence allowed him to repair the police radio, and soon he had a functional device that gave him an edge on criminal activity in the city.

Days before their project submission, Tara proposed an idea to make their presentation stand out. "Miles, what if we visited the Himalayas and got a piece of rock from there to add to our project?"

Miles blinked in surprise. "The Himalayas? Isn't that a bit extravagant?"

Tara smiled. "Don't worry about the cost. It will be an all-expense-paid trip."

Miles hesitated, thinking about his savings. But then he remembered that Tara's father was a senator and very wealthy. "Well, if it's all expenses paid, who am I to refuse? The poor should always take from the rich."

Tara laughed at his remark. "We'll leave on Friday and be back by Sunday. That gives us just enough time to add the rock to our presentation for Monday."

After finalizing their plans, Miles walked Tara to her car and waited until she drove off. As he turned to leave, he noticed a figure watching him from a distance. The figure turned away quickly, trying to leave.

Miles, feeling a bit suspicious, followed the figure and grabbed them by the arm. "Lara?"

The figure, dressed in feminine clothes, turned to face him. It was indeed Lara. "Oh, hey, Miles."

"Lara, why have you been avoiding me?" Miles asked jovially, though there was a hint of concern in his voice.

Lara shifted nervously, looking on edge. "I haven't been avoiding you."

"I've texted you and tried approaching you after some of our classes, but you never replied and always left quickly."

Lara looked away, denying his claims. "I don't know what you're talking about. Anyway, I have to go."

Before Miles could say anything more, Lara waved him off. "Have fun with your new girlfriend," she said, her voice trailing off as she left.

"She's not my girlfriend..." Miles tried to say, but Lara was already gone.

'What was that all about?'

Miles turned to leave, feeling a bit down.

As he walked, he bumped into a large figure. He looked up to apologize, but before he could react, the figure grabbed him and hoisted him into the air.

"Hey, what the—" Miles started, but his words were cut off as a bag was placed over his head.

Miles struggled against his bindings but then had a sudden thought to let things play out and see what happened.

He could feel that he had been placed in a vehicle which was now driving off. After a couple of minutes, the vehicle stopped, and he was roughly shoved out and taken into an unknown building.

After being tied to a chair, the bag was finally pulled off his head. Miles blinked, adjusting to the dim light, and saw four people standing before him.

Two of them were familiar faces: Patrick and Derrick, both members of the football team. The other two were unknown to him but looked like hardened thugs.

One of the unknowns, a burly man with tattoos snaking up his arms, seemed vaguely familiar, but Miles couldn't place where he had seen him before. The other, lean and wiry, had a cold look in his eyes and an air of dangerous calm.

Patrick stepped forward, his face twisted with anger. "You've been getting too familiar with Tara. You need to be taught a lesson."

Miles smirked. "Is that so? And here I thought you just wanted some advice on how not to lose a rugby game."

Derrick scowled, his face reddening. "You're not funny, Miles."

Miles laughed, shaking his head. "You two are such cowards. Using underhanded means to get back at me because you can't handle things face-to-face. Pathetic."

Patrick's face darkened. "Watch your mouth, Brown."

"Oh, come on, Patrick. Everyone knows you're just a virgin trying to act tough. And Derrick, how does it feel to be the guy who got humiliated at Sigma Chi's?"

One of the unknown thugs chuckled. "I like this kid. He's got spunk."

Miles played it coy. "If you like me so much, how about untying me?"

The thug stopped laughing, his expression turning serious. "I don't like you that much. Besides, I was paid for this job."

Patrick's patience snapped, and he drove a fist into Miles's gut, making him gasp for air. "We're going to ruin your college reputation, Miles. When we're done, no one will want to go near you again."

Derrick poured a pile of dung onto the ground, and Patrick pulled out his phone, ready to record. "We're going to make you eat shit and then post the video all over social media."

Miles decided this had gone on long enough. He materialized the dice in his tied-up hands and let it fall to the ground. It rolled, eventually displaying the number '2'.

**[ Activating Superman's Lasers ]**

Miles secretly thanked his stars that he had learned to control the intensity. He optimized the ability, reducing the burning intensity but increasing the kinetic force. His eyes glowed with a dangerous red light as he fired a force-packed laser beam at Derrick.

Derrick was sent flying, slamming into the wall with a crash and breaking through it. A huge burn scald marked his chest as he instantly passed out.

Patrick stared in shock. "What the hell?"

Before Patrick could react, Miles broke out of his restraints and landed a series of blows with his enhanced strength, which had increased over time due to the points he had added through the system. Patrick staggered back, dazed and disoriented.

"That's for being a coward," Miles growled while throwing Patrick to the ground with a thud.

Just as Miles thought he had the situation under control, he remembered the two unknown thugs but wasn't fast enough...

One of them, the burly man with tattoos, landed a heavy punch from behind, sending Miles stumbling forward. The other thug, the wiry one, grabbed him in a chokehold and slammed him into the ground.

"Damn it," Miles muttered, struggling against their combined strength. It was clear that they were no ordinary humans.

The fight grew intense as Miles used his enhanced strength and speed to try counteracting but the two thugs were relentless.

The wiry thug froze Miles's head with a chilling touch and slammed him into the wall again, leaving him dazed and injured.

"You're strong, but not tough enough," the wiry thug sneered, tightening his grip.

Miles's eyes glowed with fierce red light as he tried to fire his lasers, but the burly thug tackled him to the ground. "Not so fast, kid."

His lasers tore through the roofing above but didn't manage to hit its mark.

Miles twisted the hand on his neck and rolled away to avoid more emissions of ice.

The other came at him with a swing as his fist was covered in hardened ice but he evaded and sent a quick one to his jaw, causing him to stagger back.

However, the fight was far from over at the one on the ground charged at him before he could fire his lasers again.

The battle continued with Miles taking hit after hit. He managed to land a few good punches, but the thugs' combined efforts were overwhelming. His body ached from the relentless assault, and he could feel himself weakening.

Finally, Miles collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.

One of the thugs turned their attention to Patrick and Derrick, trying to help them while the wiry one approached Miles to tie him up again.

As he bent down, Miles suddenly opened his eyes...

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Creator's Note: 1000 powerstones = 2 extra chapters

2000 powerstones = 4 extra chapters