1 A Portal Over the City

{News Station Music}

[Breaking News]

[A fire is raging in the forest just outside Luna City. The officials and firefighters are on the scene trying to get it under control, but the winds make their task harder…]

[If this continues, Luna City is next…]

[...]

[My apologies folks, new information state that Mighty One just arrived…]

[These scenes are live folks. Mighty One flew in circles around the lake and raised a cyclone. He carried the water over the fire and poured it in, extinguishing the fire this way!]

[Amazing!!!]

[Truly amazing. I'm sure the people at Luna City are just as relieved and excited as the rest of the world, watching this!]

Every time I turned on the tv I would hear how the Heroes saved the day.

As if they were children playing with their favorite toys, the reporters were always excited to report on Mighty One, Slithera, Capt. Rok and Sports.

Other Super-Heroes were out there making a difference, but these four were indeed exceptional.

I'm sure people were just as excited to hear about them.

I don't blame them.

The heroes stayed behind after saving the day to chat with the people. Especially Mighty One.

He even had trophies that stated he's Hero of the year for five years in a row.

A few years back, as a motivation for new heroes, the government implemented this reward system so they would act like Mighty One. To communicate with and reassure the people they served.

To make them feel safe.

Mighty One ended up getting the rewards, but they idolized the man.

To the rest of the world he was the greatest Hero of all time, but for me… Well, for starters I called him dad.

Slithera was my mom. She could transform herself into any reptilian creature. It was a pretty cool power. The only downside is that she could never stand cold temperatures.

One time we visited some relatives to the north and she would cover herself with jackets and quilts. She would crawl into a fetal position and remain motionless during the entire trip.

As for the other two idiots, they are big brother and little sister.

Most of the time, they worked alone. I'm sure dad wouldn't mind working with his family, but the others were pretty much divas and wanted the thunder for themselves.

At least they kept their identities a secret.

While they were out there saving the world, I would always stay home doing chores and cooking meals. It's not like I had a say in the matter since I was the only one in the family with no powers.

I called those two idiots because for one; they overused their gifts, showing off like twerps, and the most annoying thing, whenever I tried talking to them, they would always ignore me.

I don't hate them or anything, but being powerless in a family of superheroes is mentally taxing.

It's good that they kept their identities a secret, otherwise, I would be the laughingstock in the neighborhood.

We weren't the only family with someone who didn't have any gifts. There are other families with powerless members. A couple of them I even called friends.

At school, we never fared well with the gifted ones, since they would bully us most of the time.

The thought of having to go back to that place tied my stomach in knots, making me want to puke.

I remember they once lit my friend on fire and they were healing him while he was burning. I can still hear his screams.

The teachers ignored our pleas, and our families pushed us away. "They are the future of humanity"

That's what they called the new generation. It didn't matter what they did and to whom. I'm pretty sure they even killed a classmate. He disappeared one day without a trace. The police didn't even bother to investigate.

When I tried to pursue the matter, the teachers blocked me. "You'll get yourself, and us killed. Drop it for all our sake!"

They held the power to change the world and yet they kept themselves busy by bullying weaklings. The heroes of tomorrow.

The new semester was just around the corner and with my friends, we would go back to that abhorrent place. What kept us from tapping out was the fact that they wouldn't be there.

They reached the required age to transfer at the Academy, where gifted individuals went. Despite that, memories of that place were heavy enough to shake Earth out of place.

{News Station Music}

[Breaking News]

[Th-There… There is a probability that this will be our last broadcast]

[A portal of unknown origins opened above Luna City]

Like a twister, it twirled over the city. Black smoke poured out of the portal and crashed to the land beneath it. It enveloped the entirety of Luna city like some sort of black veil.

[It sucks everything in and…]

[Ladies and gentlemen, we just received reports that… That our greatest Hero, Mighty One, was just sucked in]

"Wh-What did that guy just say? Dad…?"

What are they doing over there?

Stuck in this useless body without powers when my family needed me the most. They have all the power in the world and yet…

[Our Hero…]

{Static…}

It got to the station.

The earth beneath me shook.

I felt a force pulling me as the black smoke got a grab of me. I couldn't escape it, no matter how much I struggled. It actually became tighter as it levitated me toward the portal and into nothingness.

The next thing I remember is waking up in my bed with a drenched face.

I don't even know how fast I must've run through the narrow corridor of the old house. I arrived in the living room and everyone sat there chatting like normal.

The wooden floor creaked as I took a step forward and alerted them to my presence.

They greeted me as if nothing had happened. "Good morning, Rikeron! You'll be late for school if you don't hurry!"

What do you mean, school mom?

It's still summer vacation, is it not?

I glimpsed at the calendar on the wall, which disagreed with me. It's already the beginning of the semester. What happened during the last two weeks?

I can't remember anything.

That's when it hit me. Mother actually greeted me. In my seventeen years on this planet, this is the first time this happened.

This is enough to drive a person crazy. Being ignored most of my life and then, out of the blue, being greeted as if the previous years didn't exist.

They noticed my confusion but said nothing.

I kept staring at them.

My mind kept going back to the events that transpired. Was it a dream? Or maybe I was in a coma? Was I beat up by those bastards so hard it hurt my brain? But they have said nothing about something like that happening.

Dad looked at me and fidgeted. "You finally awakened your abilities. Remember not to use them in public and reveal your identity"

What is he talking about? "Abilities?"

He gave me a thumbs up and smiled. "Exactly!"

Woah! That's creepy. Stop that. Seriously!

Big and little idiots left earlier. My parents and I sat around the table of the most awkward breakfast. Ever! Mom's face was doing some weird grimaces, people called smile whereas dad hummed to the rhythm of whatever song was playing on the radio.

After breakfast, I went to my room in silence. "They said I have abilities now?"

I sat on my chair and concentrated. "How do I activate this thing?"

Black smoke poured out of my pores and, as it was heavier than air itself, it crashed down and covered a larger area. "That's a familiar smoke!?"

It looked the same as the thing that hovered over Luna City. This is so confusing. I moved my hands around and the smoke kept pouring out. "Is there an off switch to this thing?"

Without notice, I went through the chair and onto the wooden floor. The thud from my ass hitting it raised their concern. "Rikeron? What happened? Are you ok?"

"I'm fine! I just fell off my chair!"

That surprised me!. I wonder if it's possible to go through walls.

"Your bus is here!"

Right, school day!

If it's a dream, I don't want to wake up. I can't contain my tears. Drenched the sleeves of my shirt, but it's better than my family sees me crying.

As I stood by the door, except the sky, as if it had a membrane covering it, a strange-looking hue of grey blended with the usual blue. The world outside looked the same as it did before.

In front of our house, the bus waited to pick me up. Unlike any other normal school, the Academy picks the students from their own homes.

Right before taking that first step, I remembered. I was so preoccupied with the fact I had abilities that I almost forgot. Those people will be my classmates again.

Those so-called heroes who bullied me and my friends.

I tried in vain to clear my head. Memories of the constant harassment and pain kept surfacing in my mind.

As I entered the bus, their leader's icy eyes fixed in my direction. He said nothing. He just smirked at me and looked the other way.

My throat dried. He's here.

I walked by him with trembling knees. His chilly voice pierced my soul. "We'll have some fun this year after all!"

Fun?! Messing with us is his pass time. I stood frozen for several seconds. Rage took over me.

Now I wasn't powerless, and that gave me courage or it was stupidity that forced me to turn around and look into his dead eyes.

"Fun? Fine! I'll play with you! I'm the villain!"