Chapter 1:
Almost a month had passed, yet Ben still wasn’t used to walking around the city with a battle axe strapped to his back.
It wasn’t even like it was out in the open for all to see. It was tucked away in a guitar case and wrapped up as well. Still, it made him feel rather odd knowing he was carrying it around with him, even if no one else knew. The dozen throwing knives packed in there also didn’t help with the feeling.
If he was caught with all this…
No. There was no point in worrying about that. Unless he finally got lucky today, no one was gonna find out. And if he did get lucky, anybody that could get him in trouble would have a lot more on their mind than his weapons.
Still… breaking the law—even one that was barely enforced nowadays as long as you weren’t committing other crimes—seemed like a bad way to start off his heroic career.
He’d just have to make up for it when he finally got some powers and could avoid stuff like this.
Biting off a sigh, Ben readjusted the straps of the guitar case and continued his way down the street. He kept his head held high and nodded and smiled at anyone who met his gaze. He was just a normal teen out on a stroll on a summer’s day and definitely not hiding a bunch of weapons on his back.
Definitely not suspicious at all.
Ben was trying his luck in the suburbs today, not too far from his home. It only took him a thirty-minute bus ride east to get here. The houses around these parts seemed quite well-off, with many of them larger than he was used to and quite a few of them lakeside houses with piers. Not mansions or anything, but definitely very nice.
Their exteriors were well kept, with bright green lawns, spotless painted or brick walls, and nice wide driveways. There was a slight smell of lake water in the air, not nearly as nice as the salt water spray of the bay, but thankfully most of that was covered by the smell of smoke and barbeque. And of course, with it being Summer and school still out, the streets had plenty of kids running around. Some were on bikes while others ran about, occasionally screaming and yelling as they played.
Overall, it was a very nice place and a great place for a walk.
And as he took it all in, Ben couldn’t help but start to regret coming here.
It was almost like he was wishing ill for everyone here.
Maybe he should go somewhere else?
No, he was being silly. His being here didn’t change anything. If it was gonna happen, it would be with or without him here. Leaving now would just mean he wasted his time. And it wasn’t like the other places he’d been had been any less populated. There were just more kids and happy families here…
Ben shook his head abruptly and continued his walk.
He avoided doubling back to any streets he’d already gone through to not appear strange and tried to look like he belonged and had a destination. As he made his way through the neighborhood, he tried to focus on things other than the people.
Like the terrain.
Ben noted where the widest and longest roads were so he’d have a lot of room to fight. He also noted closed-off spaces like the small alleyways between houses that led to people’s backyards. They were potentially good choke points he could make use of.
The various jungle gyms he passed, when reinforced and evacuated, could also make a good obstacle to fight around. He’d have to be careful if people were still in the area, but that wasn’t likely with the bi-annual evacuation drills throughout the city. Even if that somehow did happen, and there were too many people out and about, then the small wooded areas would probably be great places to lead something to isolate them.
Ben did his best to keep all these different locations in mind as he made his way around the neighborhood, trying to remember where they all were in relation to him. But with it having almost been a month since he started and having no luck, combined with the hot summer sun above, it was hard to keep at it and not just let his mind wander.
Still, he was determined to do this so he tried his best despite it all.
The rest of the day passed by in a blur as Ben made his way through the whole neighborhood. The only long rest he took was around lunch. Not to eat as he’d brought food with him, but to go to the bathroom at a random convenience store he found. Aside from that, he didn’t stop much and only for short periods.
At the very least, doing these long walks every day had increased his endurance. It had already been pretty good ever since he got this mad idea and started training himself. Now though, it was even better and he could go on for longer without needing to stop to prevent himself from being worn out.
And yet, he still didn’t encounter anything. Nothing interesting or what he wanted anyway. He did help a lady carry her groceries into her house after she almost dropped some of them as he was walking by. And he also chased off some kids trying to bully another kid as well. He even helped a man move a couch into his home after noticing the man having trouble.
And while those were all good deeds, and a Hero probably shouldn’t look down on small kindnesses, it just wasn’t what he was hoping for.
Ring!
Ben was startled for a moment at the unexpected call before he pulled out his phone. It was Connor. Kinda unexpected as they hadn’t seen each other much during the Summer. Partly because of Ben having to keep his activities hidden from his long-time friend. The other, and probably only, reason he got away with it, was that Connor and Anna had finally gotten together and had been too busy with each other to notice the world around them.
For a moment, Ben just looked at his friend's name on the phone, his finger hovering over the answer button. He didn’t want his friend to know what he was doing. But they hadn’t talked in a while and it wasn’t like he was all that busy at the moment. And he could probably steer the conversation away from what he was doing.
Probably…
“Hey, Connor,” Ben said, finally answering the call after three rings. “What’s up?”
“Oh, not much,” Connor said. “What are you up to?”
“Nothing much either,” Ben said, wincing as a kid ran by yelling while their mom called after them. “How’s Anna, then? You two finally work out all that tension between you two?”
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“Have no idea what you mean,” Connor said, though Ben knew he was grinning. “There was no tension between us at all. She’s been great, though. But let’s not change the subject. What are you up to?”
Ben winced but kept his voice calm. “Like I said, not much. Just out on a walk since my best friends have ditched me. Taking in the sun while it lasts, you know. Normal summer things.”
Connor blew out a breath. “Yeah, might have been a bit caught up with each other. Sorry… But you didn’t really reach out either. Almost as if you were happy to have all that time by yourself… Doing something you probably shouldn’t be doing.”
Ben sighed but he wasn’t ready to admit anything yet. Even if he knew he was probably gonna get a lecture anyway. “Not sure what you mean, Connor. Just on a normal walk. Can’t see how that’s something I shouldn’t be doing.“
“So, I should just assume the reason that absurdly expensive battle axe isn’t in your closet is because someone stole it and not because you have it with you right now? On your walk, that’s totally meant for leisure and not meant to be finding trouble?”
“Damn it, Connor,” Ben said, rolling his eyes. “That key is for emergencies. Not for you to sneak into our apartment when you're feeling nosy.”
“Hah!” Connor said, triumph in his voice. “I know that. That’s why I’m in my own room and was just guessing. I also spoke with your aunt yesterday and she said you’d been out all summer. You’re too predictable.”
Ben sighed again much louder this time. “Damn it.”
“You’re 30 years too early to trick me,” Connor said, trying to sound gloating but there was sadness in his tone. “But seriously man… You're doing what I think you’re doing, right? You have to realize how crazy it is. Like I know you so you're not gonna try and sneak into a walled zone, so you’re relying pretty much completely on luck. And even if you do get lucky… Most people who try this shit die, man. If you want to rely on luck, maybe just wait a little longer. You’ve only been seventeen for a couple of months dude. There have been late bloomers who’ve gotten it at 18. There’s still time.”
“I know that,” Ben said quietly. “But I’ve been training hard for this. And we both know late bloomers are rare. And seventeen is already very late. Also, there’s kind of a time limit for this way as well. If I don’t try now, and I get to eighteen and still nothing, it will be infinitely harder. At least right now I have a chance.”
There was a long moment of silence from the other end of the line. Ben started walking again, realizing he’d stopped in the middle of the sidewalk.
Finally, Connor spoke again. “Being a hero isn’t all about superpowers, man. You could be a cop, or better yet a firefighter or something. Maybe a paramedic.”
Ben hummed in agreement but didn’t say anything else. They’ve had this argument many times, more so recently than in the past. While Connor did have a point, and if he really couldn’t get to his goal without stepping over lines he wasn’t willing to take, then he’d probably pursue one of those careers.
But as long as there was still a chance…
“You’re so freaking stubborn,” Connor said, finally breaking the silence between them. “Can you at least text me—and Anna too or she’ll kill me—every time you go out and get back? Just so we know you're fine?”
Ben smiled at that. “Yeah, man. I’ll do that. Thanks for worrying about me. Thank Anna too.”
Connor sighed. “Well someone has too. Cause it’s obviously not gonna be you.”
“It’s not like I’m being that reckless—,” Ben started to say with a laugh before the words caught in his throat.
Up the street, near the bushes in someone’s front garden, a small shimmer was forming. In the hot summer sun, it could almost be mistaken for a mirage or something, except it wasn’t that hot and it was still growing.
Around him, people continued to go about their day, oblivious to what was happening. No sirens went off. No alerts. It wasn’t being picked up by the grid, which made sense given how inconspicuous it looked. If it was strong enough to be picked up, it would have been a lot more obvious.
It was exactly what he’d been hoping for.
Shit.
“Fuck,” Ben whispered, starting to unsling his guitar case from his back.
“What, what is it?” Connor asked.
Ben took one quick calming breath before he spoke. “I found one.”
There was a long moment of silence. Then Connor started to freak out. “Ben, don’t! Forget what I just said. Don’t do it, man! Just call it in and leave!”
“I can’t. It’s small and it’s not being picked up. This is seriously the best chance I’ll probably ever get, except if it happened somewhere with less people. I have to do this man. This is one risk I’m going to have to take.”
“Fucking hell,” Connor shouted, then took a harsh breath to calm himself. “Fuck, fine. I can’t stop you. But the second you're done, the second it’s over, your gonna fucking call me, man. Or I’m gonna—no Anna’s gonna—No, you know what. If you don’t fucking call me the second you are done, I’m calling Katie too and we are all gonna kill you. So you better fucking call.”
Ben let out a shuttering laugh. “Alright. Will do. No need to sick them on me. As soon as I’m done, you’ll be the first to know. See ya later.“
“I better, you crazy bastard. Now hurry up and call it in,” Connor said, and with that, the line went dead.
Ben quickly dialed another number on his phone after that and started waving his arms around to get attention.
“Hey!” Ben shouted, though he did his best to keep any panic or fear out of his voice. Instead, he tried to sound loud and authoritative. He was just alerting people to a problem that a calm evacuation would solve. No need to cause panic. “Hey, everyone! Listen up! There’s a small Incursion here! I’m calling it in now. Everyone should calmly evacuate the area!”
Ben pointed at the slowly growing shimmer as people turned to him. There was fear in some of their eyes, annoyance in others, and disbelief in even more. But as they all turned to look where he was pointing, most of them turned to fear while others became resigned.
“911, what’s your emergency?”
Ben’s call made it through and he quickly looked around to figure out where he was exactly. “Hi, I’m just calling in a small Incursion. There's no alert going around, but I can clearly see the shimmers in the air. I’m at…”
Ben listed off the small street intersection along with the neighborhood's name, all while people started to leave the area. Some people ran away, while others ran to their houses, hopefully just to get whoever was in there and not waste their time grabbing valuables.
“Okay, understood. And you are sure it’s an Incursion? Misreporting something like this on purpose can lead to a fine, sir. And the Detection Grid is improving every day.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Ben said, as he slowly started to walk away from the portal, keeping his eyes on it the whole while. “I can see it quite clearly and I’ve pointed it out to others around me and they see it as well. It’s definitely an Incursion point.”
“Alright then, I’ve sent the alert. Evacuation sirens should start any—”
Loud sirens started to fill the air.
“—moment now. Please evacuate the area as quickly and as calmly as possible. If you are close to the edge of your sector, please depart. If you don’t think you can evacuate in time, please go to your nearest shelter. If your nearest shelter is too far or not accessible for any reason, please shelter in the furthest building from the Incursion as you can reach. The Reinforcement System should activate soon and render all buildings much sturdier than normal.”
All around him, those who had been moving slowly or were just coming out of their homes started to move much faster. Accompanying the sirens were the same instructions the dispatcher on the phone gave him and more people started to run. Some children started to scream but they were quickly hushed by their parents as they left the area.
“Alright, will do. Thank you,” Ben said, almost ready to end the call before a thought occurred to him. “Do you have any idea when the nearest Hero might get here?”
“I don’t have an exact number, sir, but they should be there within 15 minutes of the alert being sent out. But as long as you follow the evacuation or shelter orders, you will be plenty safe until then.”
“Alright, thank you. I’m gonna end the call now. Goodbye.”
With that Ben ended the call and because of his slow pace, he was practically alone. The only one left was an older man rushing out of his home carrying a child.
“Come on, kid,” The man said, waving towards the evacuating people. “Move it. You don’t want to be here when things start coming through.”
“I’m coming,” Ben said, nodding at the man. “I just dropped something and the portal’s still small. Go on ahead.”
The man froze for a moment and looked down at Ben’s guitar case. A look of grim understanding came across the man's features before he looked back at his son who was looking around fearfully because of the sirens. “Alright, but… Don’t do anything stupid, kid.”
Ben nodded. “I won’t. You should get going.”
The man gave Ben one more reluctant look before he started towards the building crowds moving away much further down the long street.
Finally, Ben was all alone near the portal. It was even bigger now, probably big enough for a dog to get through, and was still growing in size.
Just a bit more and it would be time to prove his worth.