The last time Remy had talked to Big Cuzzy Jay was almost ten years ago. Back then, his older cousin had seemed so much cooler. They differed in age by only two years– nine and eleven years respectively– but that was the difference between single and double-digits, and double digits exuded maturity when you were a kid. During the weekends they met, their behaviour typically followed the same pattern…

First, they argued about who was the true Big Cuzzy. Then Remy listened, sceptical eyebrows raised, while Jay gave a long enthusiastic speech on why being a superhero was the best thing in the world. With wide bright eyes, he would jump about and give his whole gameplan on how he would one day rise to stand strong among the greats.

Every time, Remy would listen with a patience that could only be achieved by someone who spent their whole nights staring at the ceiling, and then he would give an elaborate speech of his own– the exact opposite...

Yes. Remy was that person. He would explain why being a superhero was the worst thing in the world. Not because he thought it was a lame job but because he was fully aware of how dangerous the career was.

The two would argue intensely, though most of the time it would end with them pretending to be superheroes and villains. It was a fond memory encapsulating their early childhood relationship pretty well.

But now? Things had changed. Clearly.

Jay sat in front of a desk on the top floor of Lumina University’s library, his mouth pressed against a practice exam paper, drool dripping onto the page as he snored loudly. Five holographic displays filled with articles and notes floated around him, and he wore old Wide Awake merch in the form of a light blue hoodie that was faded with time, its fraying edges hinting at frequent wear.

Remy stood over his cousin, shaking his head. Simply seeing him asleep made him jealous. It just looked so peaceful. He was probably dreaming about flying sheep or clouds or whatever sleepers dreamed about.

“Jay. Wake up.” Remy took a seat next to him, repeatedly tapping him on the shoulder. “Jay. Jay. Jay.”

WHACK.

Remy slapped the shit out of him.

“Argh! Hey, what’s your prob– wait, huh?” Jay jolted upright and blinked rapidly, slightly tilting his head. “Big Cuzzy? Is that you?”

Remy grinned. Some things would always stay the same. “No, you prehistoric pigeon, you’re the real Big Cuzzy.”

“No, you dishevelled dinosaur,” Jay retorted back as if they hadn’t had the same conversation numerous times before. “You haven’t spent a third of your life sleeping so technically you’re twenty-three, not eighteen.”

“That’s not how time works. You were born first. You’re older.”

“What are you doing in Lumina?” Jay asked. “How did you get here?”

Remy looked at him as if he was crazy. “I travelled. You said you were in the library and now I’m here. The transport pods in this city are very efficient by the way. Better than Everforge."

“That’s not the–”

A student nearby shushed them loudly.

“That’s not the point,” Jay whispered. “Why are you here? I thought you weren’t going to uni.”

“I’m not,” Remy replied, smiling. “I need you to do something. Come on, let’s have lunch. It’s on me.”

----------------------------------------

Jay choked on his cheeseburger, repeatedly beating on his chest. “You what?”

“You heard me,” Remy said. “Drop out of university and become a superhero with me. We need to prepare first. Let’s go to the Sensory Flow Site in Whisperwind and get–”

“Fuck no,” Jay interrupted firmly, his eyes narrowing. “That was ages ago. I’m not a kid anymore. It’s just like you said– there are ways to save people without risking your life. That’s why I’m studying to be a doctor. I have no idea what’s got into you. Did you seriously travel all the way here to ask me that?”

Remy leaned back, arms folded. “Yes. Because like you always said, everyone must attempt to chase their dream at least once. If I remember correctly, you said you would do everything in your power to be like Wide Awake.”

Jay’s face dropped as soon as Amelia’s alias was mentioned. He avoided eye contact and took another bite from his burger instead of talking.

So Remy continued. “Where did the spark go, huh? You haven’t even tried and you have a B-rank ability. I believe you can be a top-ranking superhero. You know it too.”

“Go home,” Jay mumbled while eating. “The spark is gone.”

“That’s the thing, Big Cuzzy,” Remy said. “I’m not leaving until you come with me and chase your childhood dream.”

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“You’re insane.”

“Only passionate. Like you were. ”

“Why do you want to be a superhero all of a sudden?” Jay asked. “You were my number one hater. What changed?”

Remy hesitated, nearly deciding to lie but changed his mind at the last second. “Wide Awake’s death. Her legacy must not be forgotten. But this isn’t just about her. When Aunt Tammy told me you were studying here, I couldn’t believe it. You have the heart of a superhero, and I’ve always looked up to you for it.”

Jay froze, clearly surprised. “I… I can’t…”

Remy momentarily closed his eyes, fighting to process the anger churning in his stomach. “Then let’s make things interesting. If I can land a single attack while your telepathy is active, then you must join me.”

“We’re on campus. My ability is locked for security and privacy reasons.”

“Then we go to the Super Grounds.”

Jay snorted, dipping his chicken nuggets in ketchup. “If I wasn’t bogged down with assignments it would be fun to embarrass you, but I’ve got deadlines to meet. Let’s not entertain this.”

“I’ll give you a free portal trip to anywhere in the world if you win.”

Jay’s eyebrows raised. Portal trips were highly expensive, used regularly only by the extremely wealthy or superhero guilds for civilian evacuations and special circumstances.

“Anywhere?”

“Sure.”

“Buy me anything I choose as well?”

Remy screwed up his face.

Jay laughed. “Don’t give me that, Big Cuzzy. I know you’re swimming in that S-class inheritance money.”

Remy sighed. “Fine. One thing only.”

----------------------------------------

For one hour, they rented the Super Grounds, an outdoor forest area at the University of Lumina. Remy’s fingertips brushed against the rough texture of tree bark as they walked along the winding paths. He breathed deeply, appreciating the earthy scent of damp soil and the small animals darting through the underbrush. It had been a while since he’d been in a natural environment. Back in Everforge, any bird calls were drowned out by whizzing hovercars and superhero commentators screaming from the top of their lungs.

“By the way…” Jay began, a confident glint in his eye. “You’re not allowed to block me from reading your mind. I bet Amelia taught you how to do that.”

“That’s fine with me,” Remy replied. “I already assumed that would be the case.”

Jay came to a halt and hopped about, letting his lean body loose, rotating broad shoulders. Remy could almost see the invisible chains shackling his superpower disappear as a strange energy vibrated around him. In safe parts of the world, humans with potentially dangerous B-rank superpowers were unable to use their abilities in public areas unless the business or property owner allowed it. Most governments had the power to temporarily “lock” abilities in specific areas, suppressing their use via special barriers. A-rank abilities or higher could only be legally used by getting a special license, though tended to be too strong to be restricted in the first place.

“I wonder what I’m going to buy,” Jay said. “A five-star restaurant sounds nice. Maybe front-row concert tickets? I hear there are some amazing strip clubs in Star Tech. Hmm, I can’t decide. What do you think, Big Cuzzy?”

Read my mind and find out. Remy closed the gap with one stride and threw a left hook. Jay ducked but only just. His eyes bulged. “Nice try. Not going to lie. That speed caught me off—

Stop yapping!

Remy pounced again, this time throwing a rapid punching combination which had been repeated thousands of times against AI simulations back home. Jay’s head moved perfectly out of the way every time. Remy charged in for a tackle, but without hesitation Jay turned away, bursting into a sprint.

“Why are you running?” Remy yelled, in a strong Nigerian accent. “Why are you running?”

“No way are you putting me in a guillotine choke!” Jay yelled back. “What has Amelia been teaching you?”

Remy laughed, noting his cousin's impressive acceleration. He raced after him, weaving in between trees. “I’ll be doing you a favour! I know how much you love sleep.”

Jay pushed against a bunch of thick branches, causing them to whip out at Remy, knocking him off his feet. He jumped back up, looking around frantically. There was no one to be found.

Damn it…

For an aggravating forty-five minutes, Remy stormed across the expansive Super Grounds. He clenched his fists, then smirked. “Is this really how you want the challenge to end, Big Cuzzy? I’ll be honest with you, I thought the roles would be reversed. The telepath who has the clear advantage shouldn’t be running away.”

Remy facepalmed, feigning sudden realisation. “Oh! I finally understand why you changed your mind about being a superhero. You’re a lazy coward. If you can’t even face your little cousin head to head, how could someone like you save anyone?”

Shut up! What the hell do you know?

The words telepathically boomed into Remy’s mind. Jay plummeted from a nearby tree and darted towards him, eyes wide with fury. He ducked under Remy’s soaring fist, striking him in the nose with a fist of his own. The two exchanged a barrage of punches. Jay narrowly evaded every swing, bopping and weaving, while Remy failed to block successfully, staggering backwards from two heavy body shots.

They locked eyes, circling each other for a few seconds. Remy overloaded his brain with erratic thoughts in an attempt to distract him, then advanced, performing absurdly fast jabs. Jay grimaced as his head darted all over the place, escaping each punch by only inches. At this point, his reflexes were saving him more than the mind reading.

A little more… Almost there…

Remy controlled his breathing perfectly until, accidentally, his mind drifted into dark territory and a snapshot of trauma leaked to the surface– heaps of dead bodies on a snowy wasteland. His sister’s begs for mercy. Deep, sharp sizzles. Relentless dull thuds.

His watch beeped. Remy’s fist stopped, almost touching Jay’s nose. “Damn it, times up. You won. Where do you want to go?”

Jay’s chest heaved up and down madly. He looked down at the grass and then slowly back up as if he had seen a ghost. “What the fuck was that?”

“Hm?” Remy said, playing dumb. He quickly formed a robust mental barrier, stopping any telepath from reading his mind. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t know,” Jay said. Sweat dripped down his forehead. “For a split second, I saw something. Or heard something.”

“That’s strange. Well, you do seem kind of pale. We should probably skip the portal trip.”

Jay shot him an unamused look. “Nice try. I just…” He closed his eyes as his back slid against a nearby tree. “...need a minute.”

Moments passed. Remy felt the urge to apologise for his earlier provocative insult, but Jay stood up before he could speak, giving him a puzzled look as if searching for something. “Did something bad happen to you?”

“Yeah, you fool.” Remy flicked his cousin hard on the forehead with a finger, finally landing a hit. “I lost.”