It was a beautiful scene.

Standing on the rooftop of the university was against the rules and it was rather chilly–especially since I was only wearing a white t-shirt and black shorts–but I’d be damned if I didn’t see the view for myself.

I could see the whole of Heraklion stretching on for miles, as well as the sea beyond that. The sun shone down, making every colour just that little bit brighter, and sparkling against the visible sea. It created an almost perfect image. I clenched my gloved hands at the sight.

I could see it as a hero would see it. There truly was no better way to describe it.

It was more than enough to put a smile on my face.

“You know you’re not supposed to be here,” lightly called out a voice behind me.

Turning around I saw Iraklis standing behind me. He was wearing a red shirt with a lighter red jacket and jeans. His chin-length hair was waving in the wind and his emerald eyes sparkled as he looked down at me with a smirk on his face.

Now, he was looking down on me not because he was taller. Truth was that being half a head taller than him was practically the only advantage I had. No, he wasn’t standing there.

He was floating.

“Νeither are you. Last time I checked you aren’t a student here either, plus you’re using your power in the open, so you’re technically more illegal than I am.”

“The difference being that you’re actually thinking about applying here. It’s best for you to not get off on the wrong foot with your teachers.” chuckled Iraklis. “You don’t know this, but the dean’s office has a window pointing here.

“You’re lucky that she isn’t around right now but she’ll come back soon. You’re even luckier that I was visiting my cousin who works here. Now let’s get down. I wouldn’t want to stain my record for this.”

I looked down. The roof was overlooking the university’s parking lot. There weren’t a lot of cars actually parked since it was summer and all, but there was also no way for me to get down there.

On my right there were the stairs I used to get up, but they weren’t exactly useful against someone that could fly. I probably couldn’t use them to escape, but that wasn’t my intent.

“A good chase. Those are always fun, aren’t they?” I told Iraklis before taking a deep breath.

He could fly at high speeds and had a body that was adapted to withstand those speeds. I quickly removed one of my gloves and crouched in order to touch the floor with all but my pinky finger. I turned around and grinned at my friend.

“Alex, you rat bastard!” he said, getting down on the floor and into a runner’s stance.

He dashed towards me at incredible speeds, just as I expected. I smirked as I dived off to the side, while he shot through like a bullet, overshooting my position by a longshot.

Putting my glove back on, I sped down the stairs, hoping I’d be in the safe zone before he caught up. Thinking about what I just did, I started laughing to myself even as my breathing became a tad more forced. I checked my pants pocket, making sure my inhaler was in it, even though I probably wouldn’t need it.

“Sorry old friend, but you can’t catch me,” I said to no one as I finally reached the bottom of the stairs, stopping to catch my breath.

They led to the university’s courtyard. A couple of people, some faculty, dotted the space, walking from one building to the next. It was oddly busy for the summer period, not that I’d be stupid look a gift horse in the mouth.

Iraklis was aiming to be a squeaky clean hero, so there was no way that he’d come in here with his powers. Although I’d never admit it to anyone, I wished that I had that kind future ahead of me.

I clenched my fists at the thought.

Eventually reaching the university’s exit, I found Iraklis waiting here, a frown on his face.

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“You’re unbelievable,” said Iraklis with a grumble as he adjusted his hair.

He began walking toward one of the many nearby cafeterias. Following him I chuckled, rubbing my slightly sweaty forehead. I had recently cropped my dark hair, so I didn’t have the issues that my friend apparently had.

“You’ll catch me someday, don’t worry,” I told him jokingly while we were walking.

“Yeah, yeah. You’re always going to places I can’t use my power. You’re quick as a cat like that,” he said, waving his hand nonchalantly. “Besides, you need a few wins here and there.”

“Ouch,” I said, clutching my chest in mock-pain. “You didn’t have to do me like that man.”

We stopped in order to pass the road to the cafe. There were a ton of cars going around, meaning we had to wait for a few moments. Great. I knew for a fact that it was never this busy, but apparently every person living in the vicinity had decided to go out today.

I noticed a few people gasp and point to something in the air.

“Look!” One of them said urgently. “Up in the sky!”

Before we could take a further step or turn around to whatever he was pointing towards, a large object crashed into the crowd, throwing us back. I hit the wall behind me. Iraklis managed to stabilize himself in the air.

A crowd of people gathered around it, mainly those that weren’t also thrown back and hurt, me and a now-walking Iraklis joining them as well. Only it was not an object.

It was a hero–a badly hurt hero, his costume tattered and his left arm bending in an unnatural way. He started to get up, coughing and spitting blood. He looked up and his eyes widened, as if registering his surroundings for the first time,

“Run!” he said at the top of his lungs. “He’s coming!”

Looking at the direction he came from, I noticed a dot in the sky that was coming closer and closer. Said dot revealed itself to be a cyan-coloured humanoid, its form much larger than should be possible for a human being, so much so that I could tell even in this distance.

Iraklis noticed this as well, seeing as he took off almost immediately leaving behind only a cracked pavement and chilly wind. Most of the people started to run off at this point. Only a few idiots, including me, and those who were injured had stayed behind to see how everything unfolded.

“No! Don’t go you stupid brat!” yelled the hero, but a loud series of coughs interrupted whatever he was going to do or say next.

Cringing at his words and the sheer amount of pain that could be heard from his coughs, I went near him in order to help him up. As for Iraklis, he managed to get the villain back up to the university, dodging the villain’s attacks by the skin of his teeth.

“Do you think you might have a spinal injury?” I asked him as he began to stand up unsteadily.

“Call your friend off,” said the hero, rubbing his chin with his good arm. He almost immediately started falling; thankfully I rushed to his side, supporting him up.

“Not to be rude or anything, but you clearly can’t do this on your own.” I told him, my patience wearing thin. The man clearly wasn’t powerful enough to face that thing. He’d clearly lost against it once already, but he refused to admit it.

Was I worried about Iraklis? Of course I was. But if anyone could delay that monster, it would be him. Besides, he wouldn’t take any unnecessary risks. He’d leave when the time was right, and nobody could match him in terms of speed.

That's what I told myself at least. I couldn’t bear to think of the alternative.

“I’m not an idiot. I’ve called for backup,” said the hero through gritted teeth. “But even they won’t be able to do anything with civilians in the way. Besides, what kind of a hero would I be if I let innocents fight for me?”

“If I may offer some assistance,” came a heavy voice from behind us. He was speaking English instead of Greek and had a North-European accent, which meant that he was probably a tourist.

Turning around almost in tune with the hero, I saw a gaunt looking middle aged man with blue eyes, pale skin and white hair smiling tightly at us.

“And you are?” asked the hero while shaking me off, barely managing to stand on his own. The man didn’t glance at him, instead choosing to look off in the distance where Iraklis had flown off to.

“Georg Jensen. Professor for the Atlantis university heroics course.” he said, producing a card from his dark blue trousers, which matched his shirt. “From what I can see, he’s putting up a good fight, but the young man is clearly outmatched. He’s good, but clearly lacks experience.”

“Do you have a plan?” I asked the professor in English, hoping that he could help us.

“What can you do?” he asked, looking off at the distance–presumably at the battle.

“I am the Hero known as Construct,” replied the hero in relatively broken English, lifting his good arm, a white ball of energy being formed from his hand. “I can solidify light up to a certain extent, creating simple constructs.

“The villain has the power of tactile telekinesis. He can create a field of energy around himself, control everything he touches with telekinetic power. With it, he simulates flight and super strength. It doesn’t work on my construct, but he took me and my team by surprise. Landed a few too many good hits.”

So there were others fighting against this villain as well?

Maybe this hero was worth his salt after all even if he wasn’t a big enough deal for me to know him. Still, that one party had a broken arm and could barely stand, while the other was seemingly unharmed. It clearly hadn’t been a fair fight.

And Iraklis was still fighting him as well.

“What about you, young man?” asked the foreigner, looking straight at me. “Do you have a special power or skill?”