Lucas Sat there staring at his hand blankly. The hand holding the glowing red ball, Lucas had just created. The ball had a warmth to it, and the whole thing had changed color slightly, going from a dirty white to a clean dark grey. The seams went from a bright fun red, to a deep angry crimson. Over all it looked sleeker and had an otherworldly sort of weight to it. Not a real one, but a metaphysical one, this was something that Lucas knew deep down could cause some damage to someone.

Lucas sat there, for somewhere upwards of an hour, before he jolted to his feet, Julio. Not in enough of a state of mind to think, he slipped the ball into his pocket and started jogging to julios house. He’d gone 3 or 4 blocks, before pausing for a second to think about what had really just happened. I'm an Adept! I have powers! The thought burned through him, pushing his legs faster. He wasn’t just another ordinary kid in a city full of superheroes anymore. He was something—something new. Something real.

He had to tell Julio! Practically sprinting the last block, Lucas ran to Julios house at as fast a pace as he could manage.

Julio’s house came into view—a cozy two-story home, white siding with dark shutters, a little overgrown from the garden his mom put way too much time into. Lucas barely noticed the usual details as he bolted up the steps and threw the door open.

“Julio!” he yelled, his voice cracking slightly with excitement. “Dude, you won’t believe it—”

A voice drifted lazily from upstairs. “What, that you’re late again? Crazy, right?”

Lucas rolled his eyes, already bounding up the stairs two at a time. “No, seriously, just—just shut up for a second and look at this.”

Julio barely had time to spin around in his gaming chair before Lucas shoved the baseball onto his desk.

Julio blinked. “Uh. Okay? You... stole a baseball?”

Lucas flopped onto the bed, still catching his breath. “I made it.”

Julio leaned forward, poking at the ball experimentally. His brow furrowed. “It’s... a baseball, man. What do you mean, made it? Like, in shop class or something?”

Lucas grinned. Got him.

“Nope.”

Julio froze mid-poke. “You didn’t—”

Lucas’s grin widened. “Oh, I did.”

Julio’s eyes darted between him and the ball, skepticism written all over his face. “Dude, that’s not—no way. You’re messing with me.”

Figuring that an example would be better than any explanation, Lucas grabbed another baseball from Julio’s shelf. His pulse quickened—what if it didn’t work again? But his excitement overpowered the doubt.

“Okay, watch this,” he said, gripping the ball. He tried to summon the same anger from earlier, summoning thoughts of injustice and brimstone, but nothing happened. Annoyance flared for a second before fading against the sheer joy of the moment. Instead, he latched onto that—the thrill, the rush, the overwhelming anticipation of what came next.

A sharp jolt shot through him, almost like a shock of static electricity. His hand trembled as a vivid yellow-green energy sparked from his chest, streaking down his arm in a flash of light. The ball vibrated, glowing like a firefly caught in a jar, the seams shifting from dull red to a bright, electric yellow.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Julio took an involuntary step back. “Holy crap.”

The energy pulsed, crackling like barely-contained lightning, illuminating the room in green flashes before settling into a steady glow. Lucas’s arm burned from use, and a wave of exhaustion crashed over him. He tossed thee ball to Julio then slumped forward onto Julio’s bed, panting.

The new baseball sat in Julio’s hands, warm and buzzing faintly. Unlike the first one, this one was a bright, electric green, the white leather practically gleaming.

Julio’s eyes were huge. “Dude. What the hell.” He turned the ball over, feeling the weight of it. “This is—this is insane.”

Lucas grinned weakly, still catching his breath. “Told you.”

Julio exhaled a long breath, staring at the ball like it might start floating on its own. Then, with a single large step, he closed the distance and pulled Lucas into a fierce bro-hug.

Lucas barked out a laugh. “Alright, alright, don’t cry on me, man.”

“Shut up,” Julio muttered, still gripping his friend’s shoulders. “Holy hell. You’re an Adept.”

Lucas’s chest swelled at the words. Yeah, he thought, I am.

They had both dreamed of this moment their entire lives.

*********************

Sitting across from Lucas on the dark brown and well loved couch, Julio held the white and green ball in his hand and immediately launched into his interrogation. “First off, what is this” he asked “what's your ability? When did it happen?”

Lucas exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck, before responding “honestly no clue, i rushed over here so soon after it happened the first time. i havent really had a chance to think about It.”

Julio nodded, taking a long analytical look at the ball. Stroking his non-existant beard he said “I suppose this makes me your guy in the chair” with a wry grin.

Lucas chuckled for a moment, “yeah i guess you are”

Lucas leaned back finally letting the reality of it all sink in. Julio suddenly sat forward, “you know we have to do all the classic hero training montage activities. You need a name. And a costume, no cape though.” Julio laughed at his own joke, that only he thought was funny for a second. “ Oh dude, do you think you can make weapons? Can you make a sword?!?

Lucas' mind went to Julios favorite superhero, Armory, an adept who became big on the scene a few years back. He always wore super heavy samurai armor, and looked about 7’1 in it, with a bulky frame to boot. He famously used ridiculously sized swords, and had a penchant for bloody endings. “Dude i'm not making a sword, do you want me out there slicing people in half?”

“Well I mean...” Julio pretended to really give the question some thought. Lucas recognized a losing battle when he saw one.

“You know what, your right,” luke said with a nod “ we just need to source ourselves a bazooka, so i can really get the chunks flying”

Julio brightened for a moment, indicating to Lucas an atrocity had crossed his mind “ Dude you have to name yourself “ the chunkanator” after me”

Lucas shook his head with mock seriousness “ you know the only name for me is Luke the Exploder.”

“Yeah but then, everyone at home knows you like exploding things,” Julio responded.

“But seriously, I only just got this, i have no idea what I can do.” Lucas said

Julio rolled his eyes, but they both had their minds elsewhere. Excitement was building, they had so much to figure out.

I'm an adept, if i got lucky and got a good power i could even be a cape. Hell whether or not i have a power, no way i'm not becoming a cape.

As Lucas stared at the glowing baseball in Julios hand, one thought lingered: this is only the beginning.