Chapter 002 - Pride

Pride - Pride (superbia), also known as hubris (from Ancient Greek ὕβρις) or futility. It is considered the original and worst of the seven deadly sins on almost every list, the most demonic. It is also thought to be the source of the other capital sins. Pride is the opposite of humility. Pride is identified as dangerously corrupt selfishness, putting one's own desires, urges, wants, and whims before the welfare of others. Dante's definition of pride was "love of self-perverted to hatred and contempt for one's neighbor".

The coming days flew by, as my life had taken a complete turn- for the better.

After the disaster at the camp, all forces would return to the United States and would serve as home defense. This worked well for me, as I planned to abandon the Enabled Corps either way now that my family was gone.

For our service, all soldiers were awarded private flights for the way home. Patiently, I waited for my name to be called. The wait flew by as I thought of the many things I could achieve with my newfound power, but I had many questions as well. Could I gain anyone's power by killing them? Would I be able to see all of their memories? Maybe I should find a low ranking Enabled, and kill him just to see if-

"Rio Lopez, please board flight 182. I repeat, Rio Lopez, please board flight 182."

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention; the old me had died in the camp's attack. Actually, it was long before that, several years before, that I had lost myself. But from what the Government had been told, my identical twin brother Julio was killed due to his lack of powers. Obviously, this was not true; I was alive, and better than ever. However, by assuming the identity of Rio, I would receive monthly payments for my war efforts and bravery. I could cruise by the rest of my life living as Rio, the courageous sixteen-year-old telekinetic war hero who had tragically lost his pathetic Disabled brother in the war. The Enabled were as disgusting and selfish as ever, not even one offered their condolences after the death of my brother.

Honestly though, now I was able to be just like them. I was on top of the world, wasn't I? It might be somewhat childish, but it was true! I could do anything I wanted now that I was like everyone at camp.

But I wasn't going to be like them. I'm certainly no hero. I'm better than ninety percent of the world's population just by existing. I was above every single Disabled piece of shit around me, and now that I had powers, I owed the world nothing.

My flight landed a few hours later, in Chicago, the place I was told I was born in. The crime rate here is high, with plenty of super-powered individuals, both good and bad, roaming the streets. My plan is simple; save a few lives, wag my finger at the bad guy, and move on with my day. I'll receive praise for being the supreme being that I already know I am.

In the case I run into an Enabled, I plan to tear them limb from limb until the pain rots their brain, and then, I'll know whether or not I can obtain more powers.

I arrived in my already paid for apartment, and I was happy to find it was already furnished and stocked with groceries, as I had nothing to unpack and no groceries to store. Now that I had a plan and a means of accomplishing it, I decided to practice using my powers before going to sleep.

The first and most important thing to practice; levitation. This was how my brother got around. He would float around at significantly faster speeds than I can run. I tried to channel all my mental energy, and I nearly gave myself a wedgie.

I liked it a little bit.

Again, I tried, and this time it worked! I was floating, going higher and higher, but I was losing control. I hit my head on the ceiling, hard. Then I dropped, and landed my ass on the floor, hard. Ouch. This was going less than well, and while I now understood the basic premise, I was beginning to hurt myself not only physically, but also mentally, as each failure to use my ability resulted in one of my brother's memories flashing into my head.

Maybe I should do this outside. Not only was it safer, but it might stop me from hurting myself or my new home. I threw on a face mask I had made during the plane ride out of an old bag, and stepped onto the fire escape, carefully floating up until I reached the roof of the building, where I could practice in peace.

At first, I had promised myself to spend just a little practicing, but I went on for nearly two hours until I could hardly stand. I had got better at using my ability, to the point where I could float short distances, soften my landing, and forcefully launch objects. It was nowhere near what it had been when I attacked the terrorists, but I figured the mental energy I had built up during the attack at the camp was the reason for that.

The memories hadn't left, either. At one point during training, I meant to only lift myself a couple yards, when I saw a flash of the battlefield my brother knew all too well, causing me to launch nearly three stories into the air, barely catching myself on the landing. Similar events had happened a few times after that, but they weren't nearly as bad. My mental exertion was building up quickly, but I was still quite pleased with myself. Nearing full-on collapse, I took some time to rest.

After only 20 minutes of peace, a loud noise broke the silence. I was on the roof, back-down, nearly asleep. To my left, I heard screaming. It was a younger woman, probably had took a wrong turn and was cornered in an alley by some thug. Why should I give a shit? It was probably some Disabled bitch. At worst, she'd be raped or mugged for a few bucks. Either way, I was above all that now. She'd live.

"Why me? Please, I did nothing to you! Why do you Enabled keep attacking us? I have no money to give!"

What? Enabled? I lifted myself to the edge of the roof, hanging my head over the side. Far below, a woman cowered in a one-way alley, and a man stood at the other end. He held what appeared to be small orbs of energy.

He hurled one only a few feet from the woman, creating an impact that was powerful enough to damage the solid brick wall. My eyes widened. This was not only the perfect opportunity to test whether or not I could take his power, but also to solidify myself as a hero of the city. After this, there would be no need to stop petty crimes, as I would already be known.

"Hand over your purse, bitch. Or else things are gonna get tough for you." The thug's voice snapped me out of my train of thought.

While I had no initial intent to save this woman, the Enabled made me reconsider. I got up from my position, leaping from the roof and making a slide down the building's wall, assisted by telekinesis.

I hit the ground softly, but I still stumbled forward a few steps until I found myself between the man and the woman, taking both of them completely by surprise and putting myself in the line of fire. I regained my footing as the thief prepared another shot.

"Who the hell are you?" He hurled one of his energy balls at me.

I stuck out my arms to catch it, but even through the force generated by telekinesis, I felt the blunt impact of the energy ball hit me.

Fuck.

If it hurt this bad with me blocking, there's no way I could survive without. I looked back up to meet eyes with the thief, who had already charged two energy balls and prepared to send them my direction.

Fine. If blocking isn't effective, then I'll have to dodge. I pushed my hands into the floor as he launched his bombardment once more. I sprung right over his attack, like he had never even meant to hit me. I let out a soft chuckle as I touched down. What was I worrying about? Like I had thought before, I was far above anything these city thieves could throw at me.

The thief had a petrified look on his face.

"What, scared? That's what I thought, you piece of shit. Look upon the man who is going to beat your ass!" Sure, it was kind of cheesy, but in the moment, I felt smug.

"No. No no no no no. NO." He was panicking, no doubt because of my sheer competence. "I didn't want to kill anybody, I just needed the money man, I swear!"

What? Kill? This dumbass had completely missed his target!

"What the hell are you talking about man? I'm still here! Come and get me." Maybe he just needed some reassurance.

"What the hell are you talking about, man? Look behind you! Some hero you are."

What? Look behind me? That's where the woman was-

THATS WHERE THE WOMAN WAS

I threw my head around to a sickening sight. My vision blurred. My knees became weak and time seemed frozen. All the sounds of the world around me became so loud they were deafening. The woman I had hoped would tell the world of my greatness had been reduced to blood and guts, slathered across the brick wall by the man standing right next to me. Some of her body remained intact, such as parts of her shoulders, neck, and face. One of her eyes had fallen out with the impact, and where her torso would be, a massive hole split her body in two.

This wasn't my fault, right? Surely not. This bitch only died because she couldn't fork over some cash. Fuck her, Right? It wasn't my fault. It wasn't. She was beyond saving. All Disabled are. This wasn't worth my time. And I shouldn't forget the other culprit.

I turned around to face the thief, who now appeared to only be a little older than me.

"Hey man, I'm sorry, please let's just forget this ever happened, I can leave the money and you can go home and slee-"

"No."

Every cell in my body shook rapidly. I was so overflowing with rage that I could tear a building apart. Seeing this, the man tried to run.

"Sit." I flicked my palm in his direction, and he was forced to the ground as though an elephant had sat on him. I heard bones begin to crack as he gasped for air.

"Please! I'll do anything!"

He began to cough blood as the force increased. I stared lifelessly into his eyes. This is what he deserved.

As I ramped up the pressure, I began to see what I assumed were his memories. His mother and father, his friends. Then the scenes shifted. His friends left for college, and he was left alone. His mother was in the hospital. Where was his father? He wanted to pay her bills. He couldn't though, he had no money. He turned to the only thing he could, crime. His feelings of helplessness washed over me, and I understood that I could relate to him on a personal level. Did I go too far? We're all human, right?

It was a sad story. The pain he felt was inflicted upon me, and the mental anguish was almost too much to bear. The memories caught up to where he had told them woman to give him her money. He didn't want to do it. He would only take what he needed. As I saw this, I began to lessen the pressure I was putting on him, but it was far too late.

His bones began to snap rapidly, and he became nearly flat before exploding, with his eyes, guts, blood, and even bones covering the alleyway.

I could feel it. I knew that I could now use his power just the same as my brother's. No need to test. While my image had not improved, surely this was a success now that I had a new power, right?

No.

I stood alone in a dark alley. The was blood and guts and all sorts of gore all around me. I could see the man's memories in my head over and over again. I felt the moment he died, where his only thought was his mother. I was far worse off than before I left the rooftop.

I had done the last thing I expected.

I failed.