Daniel Peterson

It was a damp, cloudy night as I teleported between the ruined buildings of City 57. Adam had told me everything about his chat with Ghost, otherwise known as Seattle Vance. I’m not going to lie. I was still sore from our encounter in the back of the armored truck. He got one up on me, and I was damned if I was going to let that happen again.

But there was very little I could do about that. My only way to prepare for tomorrow was to do some snooping on the B-Ranks that recently arrived in the city. At least I could give Adam a heads-up on what he’d be facing. But as I searched for a good spot, my mind wandered back to what exactly Vance’s plan was.

What was he doing attacking the ASA? I had seen my fair share of terrorists, and he didn’t strike me as anything of the sort. Of course, Walter ran the story because it would make for good publicity. But I knew from first glance that Ghost was an operator, a professional even. Those sorts of men weren’t in the business of stupidity. There was something else going on, but I didn’t know what.

Don’t get me wrong, I was more than happy at the prospect of fighting back against the ASA, even if it was useless in the grand scheme of things. What I did not like, however, was getting played. And Seattle definitely had his own game going on. Whatever the case, I found a good spot on a nearby rooftop. It was right under a gigantic billboard that was continually broadcasting the announcement of the B-Ranks arriving in City 57. The gigantic visage of Walter seemed to be able to see me, even though I knew it was impossible. Still, I couldn’t help but shudder at his face.

It was clear why he wanted to make the announcement. He needed to be the face of whatever shitshow this was—couldn’t be sidelined as easily.

“Citizens of The Democratic Union! The Alpha Trio has arrived to bring an end to the menace threatening City 57! Rest assured, the villain known as The Vagabond will soon be dealt with. Already his attempt to take over the city has been thwarted, and he is on the run. He and his abnormal supremacist allies will soon be crushed and delivered to justice.” He tried to deliver the speech seriously, but it just came off as hammy.

Vagabond? Abnormal supremacist? I guessed I missed the newest media narrative. So, they had finally gotten around to naming Mason, and not only that, linking him with extremists to boot. Vagabond wasn’t much of a villain's name, but I guess all the good ones had been used up already. But really, what was the point of all this? Must we continue with this charade? Pretending Adam was trying to take over the city for the sake of abnormals was equally as ridiculous as thinking tunnel mutants were scheming against the Democratic Union.

The whole thing of abnormal supremacy was a farce. I knew because I was in the damn backdoor rooms where the actual discussions were being had. Most of the people in Gen Pop were class ones and twos—meaning they couldn’t do any real damage if they wanted to. You had people who could turn the color green being treated the same as Omni-dude who could take a missile to the face. And the abnormals that were that powerful were all swept up by StarCorp, in which case, most wouldn’t give a damn about “rising up”.

The absolute minority, the ones that were both a genuine threat and wanted to overthrow the system, well, the entire system was structured so they couldn’t organize. And powers didn’t emerge in most people until just before puberty, so most of those were children who barely knew any better. Ninety-nine percent of cases were isolated and sniped out of existence before they even had a chance to fight back. It was so effective, the Democratic Union had to lie and spin cases like Mason to justify it all.

Even after nuclear fire and the collapse of America, the most unstable the country had ever been, there was no abnormal takeover. Mostly because the class fours and fives, the ones with the actual power, by and large didn’t want things to change. They were already at the top. I supposed that was the saddest thing of all. When the nukes fell, we didn’t get to have a new world, just a hollow repeat of the old one.

I was lost in thought when the broadcast caught my attention again.

“—and avenge our fallen comrade, Daniel Peterson, a hero to the end. He sacrificed his life for the sake of his team, The Urban Defenders. His loss will not be forgotten.”

Staring at the screen for a long moment, I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Walter looked like a stick had been shoved up his ass when he got to that part. He couldn’t even vocalize it properly. It came off as if he wanted to spit on my grave, but was forced to say something nice beforehand—which wasn’t that far from the truth.

But why was he saying I was dead? I knew there would be some form of cover up, but now it looked like Walter was covering himself from his superiors. So was this it? Damage control and pray they or the ASA got to me before I made another public appearance? A bad move, but he probably had none left on the board.

I threw my head back and laughed some more. There was beautiful poetic justice in that. The man who hated me most had to sing my praises to the grave. Maybe the world wasn’t as uncaring as I thought. Maybe bad men were punished after all.

But as the broadcast turned to The Alpha Trio, my amusement died down. I knew who they were, of course. They were fairly famous B-Rankers. I didn’t even need to look at the news broadcast, which spared no detail on their powers and achievements.

I knew it all well enough.

Cosmic Warrior. Class four gravity manipulation. Iron Shield. Class four metal augmentation. Lance Bane. Class five pyromancy. These were the guys who had been my immediate superiors for my entire life. These were the guys I wouldn’t stand a chance fighting.

While C-Ranks were stationed around the Democratic Union for day-to-day grunt work, B-Ranks operated nationwide. They handled the more serious threats wherever and whenever they appeared. And A-Ranks? A-Ranks went out for foreign publicity. They were the walking talking harbingers of destruction that kept the global order.

As I looked up at that shiny blue billboard, I suddenly felt overwhelmed. I suppose I got to lord my superiority over the normals and the class ones and twos. But I only got half-lucky. I was the uncomfortable middle child, not quite lesser, yet still unmistakably inferior. What could I ever do against them? I guess I had my brains, but what they don’t tell you is that brains don’t count for everything. Sometimes you are so outclassed it doesn’t matter what you do. And that is a hard pill to swallow.

But what was even worse was that they got to be my betters in every way. I always had to be the one to measure up to them. Whenever Walter scolded or yelled or lost his shit at us, the B-Ranks were who he was comparing us to. They were the successful ones, the popular ones. Maybe not as popular as the A-Ranks, but still in a league of their own. And we were the ones who got all the shit simply because we weren’t born lucky enough.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

I picked myself up and looked at the overcast sky. I was disappointed I couldn’t see stars. The only light I could see came from the blue billboard and the sickly city.

All my life, I had waited for a light that would lead me out of this hell. It was a shame I never got a chance to see it.

But as I looked up into the sky, I noticed completely by accident, a speck flying along the city skyline. I couldn’t see exactly who it was, but I knew it was The Blue Justice—John. I knew because I had spent countless hours watching him fly in envy. I knew how he glided through the air, the way he made slow pivots, how he liked gentle curves over moving in a straight line. He often took night shifts, trailing over the city.

He did it to “fight crime” and Walter allowed it because it helped The Urban Defenders’ image. I always thought it was an ego thing, but then again, people sometimes surprise you. John was the last person I wanted to talk to after my sudden separation from The Urban Defenders, but I didn’t know what was going to happen tomorrow. Here was my only chance to talk to someone from the old team.

It was a bad idea. I knew it, but I also couldn’t resist. I had to know whether they all hated me. At least that way, I could get some closure, and I could say to myself this was all just a long time coming. Even among those who were the closest thing I ever had to friends, I was never really welcome.

I tailed the Blue Justice along the city, hopping from rooftop to rooftop. It wasn’t hard to keep up. He wasn’t trying to go fast, instead surveying the landscape below him. I kept out of sight, though. Some part of me was still too scared to go up and wave for his attention. Suddenly, I saw John pivot down and fly into the city—into some dark alleyway. I quickly followed and teleported to an old fire escape. Perching over the situation, it was difficult to see, but I could spot a man and a woman in an altercation. John landed between them and broke it up.

It was apparently some mugging or whatnot. The thug dropped his knife and tried to run away, but John was faster. Punching him in the gut, the man doubled over while John brought out some zip-ties. The woman disappeared by the time John looked over his shoulder. She didn’t even say so much as a thank you.

John didn’t seem to care. He was preparing to take the thug to CitySec, and I realized my window of opportunity was drawing to a close. My mouth became very dry. My heart was racing. This was a terrible idea, and if he decided to take me in, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to get away. But who knows what was going to happen tomorrow, and I needed a proper goodbye.

I teleported to the other side of the alley. John didn’t have the same dialed up senses as Adam Mason, but even he could spot the dark figure suddenly appearing down the alley. He looked up, completely still for a moment, before standing and taking a few steps toward me.

I braced myself for what would come next, ready to teleport away if need be. I kept glancing at his watch, knowing that there would be others listening in. John followed my gaze, and he lifted his hand, then looked back at me. It was too far out to read the expression on his face. I couldn’t be too close, otherwise he might catch me before my reflexes had a chance to act. We stood silent for that tense moment, me regretting every second of it. I gritted my teeth. I knew this was a bad idea. Why did I have to be so stupid?

Why did I ever think John would want to talk to me? We spent our entire time in The Urban Defenders hating each other’s guts. I should’ve left well enough alone! It was ridiculous to think—

John slowly took off his watch and held it in his hand. I took a step back. I didn’t know what he was doing, but I was a hair-breadth away from taking off and running. If he caught me off guard even by a split second—

John crushed the watch in his hand. He opened his palm and let the little bits of metal fall to the ground.

“Daniel,” he said evenly from across the alley.

I gulped. “John.”

He took another step towards me. “I didn’t think we would be seeing each other again.”

I still didn’t trust him. He could’ve just destroyed the watch to make me lower my guard. I wouldn’t put it past him. After all, he knows I could give him a run for his money. What better way to make me think he was on my side?

“Wanted to check in. See how you guys were doing,” I finally said, still wary.

John crossed his arms. “How do you think?”

I winced at that accusation. I lowered my head. “Yeah, I know.”

“You didn’t exactly leave us in a good spot, you know. Tails between our legs and all that. And I had to be the one to tell Walter that you… left.”

“What was his reaction?” I asked.

“Pissed,” John replied exasperated. “What did you think it was going to be?”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at that. It was funny. I looked to the ground, trying to figure out what to say next. Glancing back, I suppose I was going to come out and say out. “Listen, I just want to say—”

“You were right,” John cut me off, a look of guilt on his face. He looked away himself. “About back with Mason. About everything.”

My eyes widened. I opened my mouth, but I couldn’t say anything. I hadn’t the slightest idea how to respond to that. I stammered in shock. John saw the confusion in my eyes. He explained.

“All that I tried to be for this city, all I tried to make us be, and they’re throwing us away like trash. You should’ve been there earlier today; it was the arrival celebration for the B-Ranks. They made jokes about us, you know? We were laughed at for getting our asses handed to us. Never mind we stuck our necks out for them.” John sighed and rubbed his forehead. “You were right, like always. I just didn’t want to admit it.”

John had never seemed more broken in his entire life.

During my time in The Urban Defenders, I had wanted nothing more than for him to admit to me it was all a sham. I wanted nothing more than to see him grovel at my feet, and here he was, doing exactly that. I had fantasized this moment for years. But now it wasn’t a victory. Now, it was all just bitter.

Too little had been said too late. Maybe there was never a chance we would’ve been friends, but I wished things had turned out different. All those years of seething animosity. All of it was just wasted time, and now, time had run out.

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. I didn’t want any of this to happen.” I tried to ease him as best as I could.

“It doesn’t matter.” John shook his head. “It was dying by Mason or being thrown back in Gen Pop. Either way, The Urban Defenders are through. We’re being kept around for clean-up duty, but as soon as the dust settles, it’s back to City 26.”

So my worst fears had been realized. It was back to the quarantine zone, back to scraping together whatever living one could in the ruins of a city even more far gone than 57.

“How are the others?” I asked, trying to change the topic.

John looked back at me. “As well as can be. Sarah misses you, by the way.”

My heart nearly ripped in two hearing that. I don’t have any other way to put it. I was a living bundle of regrets, all things half said and half done. I thought I couldn’t wait to be rid of The Urban Defenders. And now I realized it had ended all too soon.

I felt a raindrop fall on my head, and I gazed up. Looks like the storm finally arrived. One by one, I felt more and more dampness on my face. Though I couldn’t tell if it was the rain or my eyes.

“So what now?” John asked.

I wiped my face. I may not have been part of The Urban Defenders anymore, but they were still the closest thing I had to friends. I had to warn them. “Tell the team shit’s going to go down tomorrow. Don’t know when or where, but it’s happening tomorrow. And… I’m going to be there.”

John nodded, understanding what I meant. If it came to blows, then they had no choice but to take me down. Otherwise, it was going to be a whole lot worse than Gen Pop waiting for them.

“Send my regards to Sarah.” I waved my hand and started to walk away, preparing to teleport out.

“Wait!” John called out.

I stopped and turned my head.

He seemed uncomfortable. To tell you the truth, I still wasn’t comfortable either. But he looked at me with a kindness I never thought I would ever see on his face. “Good luck.”

I smiled in the pattering rain. “You too.”