May 31st, 2018. 4:10 PM.
A crowd of people cheer while sitting from the bleachers on a high school football field, countless rows of chairs lined up on the field as a graduation ceremony is happening. The students feel a rushing wave of emotions, euphoria and nostalgia colliding from the exhilaration of accomplishment as the anticipation of new beginnings begins to well. Knowing the bittersweet realization that a familiar chapter of their lives are coming to a close, their pride being tempered by the awareness that the comfortable routine of their high school lives are soon to be replaced by the uncharted territory of adulthood. All, but for one student, a slim-muscular man with long, spiked hair going down to his neck, and eyes as blue as diamond, he groans out of boredom, his head gazing up as it’s leaning back, his arms crossed as his right foot taps in a fast rhythm, losing patience as he waits for his name to be called.
A student sitting next to him takes notice, looking over, he speaks, his voice being low enough to not interrupt the ceremony. “You alright, man? You seem nervous.” Our bored student tilts his head in the direction of the student talking to him; “Huh? Oh, yeah. I’m fine, just a bit irritated with how long this is taking. Nothin’ crazy.” He answers, his voice sounding casual, yet tough, he then sees an opportunity to help the ceremony feel faster through talking to the student. “How ‘bout you though? You excited?” “Yeah! A bit nervous, but I’m just excited to get out of here.” He responds, enthused. The bored student smirks slightly; “I can see why. This place kinda sucks.” The enthused student snickers a wee bit; “Yeah.”
Nearly twenty minutes pass, the bored student patiently waits as he leans back and balances on the chair’s back legs; “So bored…” As he yawns, it’s finally his turn as the principal calls his name in the mic; “Elio King!” Immediately upon hearing his first name, Elio hops off his chair to walk up to the stage, students cheering and shouting his name, he grimaces when some girls cheer too loudly, their pitch hurting his ear. He puts his hand up to it for a second before moving his hand down. Elio walks up to the stage and receives his diploma, he shakes the principal’s hand firmly. “Congratulations.” The principal happily tells him, Elio nods while smiling; “Thanks!” He replies enthusiastically. The principal breaks the handshake, Elio then walks back to his seat.
May 31st, 2018. 4:40 PM.
Fifteen minutes pass as the ceremony finally comes to a close, as all the students throw their caps in the air and everyone’s friends and relatives are allowed onto the field to congratulate them, Elio simply takes off running at high speed while holding his diploma. He casually jumps over the school’s front gate, which stands at around ten feet high. Elio runs through the city and passes by a sign that says ‘Gull’s Bay Outskirts,’ heading upwards toward a small area in the mountainside of the city of Gull’s Bay. Elio jumps through some trees in a forest before diving for the ground, upon landing on the ground, he somersaults and stands up, ending up on a large, secluded field surrounded by trees, as well as there being a large cottage on the other side of the field.
“Alright, time to get down to business!” Elio pops his neck and walks inside the cottage, despite its dingy appearance on the outside, the interior is clean all around and well-kept. He takes off his cap and gown, setting them on the floor, underneath his gown, he wears a red formal suit with a grey shirt underneath. He walks over to a coffee table, where a large leather backpack meant for camping is resting, having already been packed up. A pair of visor sunglasses with black rims and a blue lens sits on top of the backpack as well, Elio puts them on his face, he then grabs and puts his backpack on, making his way walking out the door. He looks back at the cottage, smiling; “Well, this is it.”
Elio makes his way out of the woods and heads back to downtown Gull’s Bay, he stops by at a flower shop and buys a bouquet of orange roses. He leaves the shop and stops at a cemetery, walking toward a headstone, he stops in front of it before kneeling over and setting down the bouquet, he then stands up straight. In a soft voice, Elio speaks to the grave; “Hey, Alice, it’s me. I just wanted to stop by to let you know that I’ll be heading out now, and that I wanted to say goodbye. Even after two years, I still think about you everyday. Hopefully we can meet each other again someday.”
He turns around and begins to walk away, as he does, a large, hairy cat with green fur, blue paw pads and ears, and dark eyes is walking on the wall of the cemetery, it spots Elio and immediately runs up to him; “Elio! I’ve been looking all over for you!” The cat shouts with excitement. Elio’s tone of voice quickly shifts from soft and sensitive to one of excitement; “Reggie! There you are!” Elio puts his foot out, he then lifts his foot up to scoop Reggie into the air, as Reggie gets launched up, he does some flips before landing and perching on Elio’s shoulder.
“I told you that I’d meet you back at the house after graduation.” Elio strokes Reggie’s chin. “I know, but I decided I’d go hunting while I wait. I lost track of the time though.” Reggie explains as he purrs, Elio responds; “Eh, doesn’t really matter. We’re together now, so we can head out now.” Elio then begins walking out of the cemetery. Several minutes pass and they eventually reach a tall building, Elio and Reggie both look up at it.
“Well, here we are. Ready to become superheroes, buddy?” “You bet!” After confirming, they walk inside the building. Elio approaches the front desk, the receptionist looks up at him, she smiles; “Hi, welcome! How can I help you?” Elio places his diploma down on the counter. “Hi, I’m here to take the superhero recruitment exams. I called in yesterday, name’s Elio King. Oh, and my cat’s here for the same reason.” Reggie then holds out his paw.
“Aww, he’s so cute!” She responds as she’s typing out on her keyboard, she then looks at the monitor. “Alright, here you are. Elio King. Height is 5’11, weight is 187 lbs, and I can see you have a diploma. It also says here that you possess a power, yet haven’t described it as you want to keep it secret, correct?” Elio nods; “Yep! That’s me!” The receptionist does some computer work, she then stares at Elio; “Alright, you’re all registered to take the exams…” She hands him a card to allow him to take the test, she continues; “...though I have to warn you that with how difficult and long the tests are, you might not have enough time to finish them as the exams are over by 8 pm. And it’s 5:10 right now, so I hope you’re able to finish by then, as once the exams are done and you haven’t passed, you’re not allowed to take them ever again.”
Elio takes the card; “Got it! I’ll be sure to finish before then. Oh, and before I go over to where the exams are taken, where should I leave my backpack?” “Oh, you can just set it down. Someone will come to keep it safe in a locker.” Elio starts taking off his backpack strap; “Alright, cool.” Reggie hops onto the counter so Elio can take the strap off his right shoulder, he then sets the backpack on the floor. “Ok, Reggie! Let’s get going!” Elio excitedly orders and starts running toward the area to take the test. “Right!” Reggie shouts and catches up by leaping from the counter and perching on his shoulder again. The receptionist is caught in a daze, not knowing if she just heard Reggie speak or if her mind was playing tricks on her.
The two make their way out back and spot an instructor, the instructor hears the door close and looks at them with his arms crossed. “Hmm? Oh, I didn’t think there would be any other people taking the test today. No matter, go to that starting line over there. I’ll tell you when to start, then you must complete the obstacle course. You have ten minutes max in order to complete it. If you don’t, go back to the start and try again. The course is half a mile in distance.” “Right!” Elio nods as he and Reggie head over to the starting line. Reggie hops off of Elio’s shoulder and stretches while Elio pops his neck and swings his arms to loosen them up.
The timer is set up on a giant panel that can be seen anywhere on the course, the instructor starts the timer and says “Goodbye.” In a calm manner. Immediately, the two rush after hearing him. The first obstacle loomed ahead, a series of towering walls of over fifty feet meant to test both strength and agility. Without hesitation, Elio sprints toward the barriers, his legs shooting him upward with ludicrous precision. He effortlessly scales each wall, showing amazing athleticism as he clears the first set with ease. Reggie finishes in unison as he simply just runs up each wall, thanks to his amazing agility.
As they move along, the next obstacle in front of them is a rope climb that leads to a cargo net suspended high above the ground. Reggie jumps and clings onto Elio’s blazer as Elio leaps forward, gripping the coarse rope, he swings forward before pulling down in order to leap higher, gripping the rope once more and ascending swiftly, his muscle fibers working in tandem to pull him upwards. Reaching the top, Reggie hops off and goes on ahead as Elio gracefully flips onto the net. The two navigate the intricate web of robes as though they were spiders. The instructor, upon spectating, marvels at their efficiency, as the course demands not just physical prowess, but strategic thinking.
The terrain shifts to muddy trenches, demanding a combination of agility and endurance. Elio plows through the muck with unwavering confidence, his fancy getup stained horribly, but his focus unfazed. The rhythmic pounding of his shows against the soft earth echoes as he and Reggie approach a set of monkey bars, a deceptively simple challenge that tests grip strength and coordination.
With confidence and fluidity, Elio grabs onto Reggie with one arm and uses his other to grab the bar, to swing, he lets go of the bar while performing a 180 degree twist flip, while upside down, he grabs the bar by using his leg. Elio then keeps swapping between his free hand and his foot in order to cross the set of bars, the instructor raising an eyebrow from the unorthodox, animalistic approach. The ground beneath them appears like a blur as Elio traverses the monkey bars.
As they cross, Elio lets go of Reggie as they continue dashing, the climax of the course approaches, that being an imposing wall known for its sheer height and formidable ascent of over a hundred feet. Undeterred, Elio eyes the obstacle, a determined glint from his visor appears. Without hesitation, they sprint toward the wall, channeling their raw skill. In a display of sheer animalistic insanity, Elio executes a flawless wall run on all fours alongside Reggie, both of them reaching the top in seconds. Elio grabs onto Reggie as he uses his free hand and his foot on the same side to slide down the wall, the two land and make a mad dash for the end of the course, crossing the finish line.
“Woo! That’s just too easy!” Elio shouts, feeling good about completing the course so quickly. He stretches while Reggie violently shakes the mud off his fur, the instructor runs around the outside of the course, reaching them. “I’m amazed! Every other person taking the tests today, they were nowhere near as fast as you two! The fastest previously was almost seven minutes, yet here you two completed it in under THREE minutes!” Reggie sits down and licks his paw; “What can I say besides we’re just like that?” The instructor goes back to acting more professional. “Well, since you two are finished with the first part of the test, you’re free to either take a break, or go straight to the second phase of the exam. The second phase is in the garage behind this door.” He explains as he opens the doorway.
Stolen novel; please report.
“We’ll just get straight into it.” Elio decides, as he and Reggie step through the doorway, they’re greeted with an interior reminiscent of that of a fighting gym. A large, spacious training area with padded mats, mirrored walls, and even various weapons meant for weapon-styled martial arts, such as Shinai. “So… who’s my opponent?” Elio asks as he crosses his arms. The instructor simply gestures his arm toward a line of training dummies, as he gestures, all the dummies eyes open up, shining red, revealing that they’re robots. “They will be your opponents. These combat robots are programmed to utilize vast kinds of martial arts. The goal for this test is to simply work your way up from one robot to fighting all five at once. Beat them all and you get to move onto the final part of the exam.” He explains.
“Would it be cool if I could just skip ahead and fight all five of them? If the goal is to beat all of them at once, I might as well save what little time I have by fighting the whole batch.” Elio asks as he takes off each glove by gently biting one of the fingers and moving his hand away. The instructor shrugs; “Well, yeah, that is allowed. Just know that these combat robots are incredibly tough. Whenever you’re ready, you can start. And feel free to choose whatever weapon you like.” Elio steps up and lightly pounds his fists together; “I’m more than enough.” He cockily responds while smirking.
Elio looks down at Reggie; “I’ll go first, Reggie. So you sit back, relax, and watch a master show how it’s done.” “Ok.” Reggie yawns as he answers back, he sits down and scratches his head. Elio looks at the robots and holds one fist out. “Bring it!” He shouts. The instructor steps off the mat and activates the robots, all of them locking onto Elio. “Begin!” The instructor calls.
The first robot attacks by swiping a bokken diagonally. Elio swiftly evades the strike by performing a figure skating butterfly trick, jumping over the swipe, he converts and counters by spinning on the ball of his foot and landing a spin kick hard enough to knock the robot down. Two robots simultaneously lunge toward him, but Elio seamlessly blocks their strikes by catching their weapons with each hand, only to then pull the weapons in his direction, knocking both of them down by clotheslining both of them on the head. He sees the fourth robot’s approach, he gets on his hands and starts spinning, using his momentum to land multiple spinning kicks on the robot, sending it hurling toward the floor as well. Lastly, Elio sees the last robot attempting to swing down on him with a club, but Elio dodges the strike by diving toward the floor, rolling to the side and jumping up off the floor to perform another spin kick, this time, striking it in the neck and sending it to the ground.
Elio pops his shoulder and yawns; “Alright, where do I go for the last part of the test?” The instructor simply just points to a door; “Go through that door. It’ll take you back around to the entrance of this place. The receptionist will explain the last test.” Elio begins walking to the door; “Cool!” He then looks at Reggie; “I’ll wait for you there, ok, Reggie?” “Yeah, sounds good.” Reggie waves his paw.
Elio makes his way back to the lobby. “Hey, I’m back!” He speaks with enthusiasm as he puts his hands on the counter in front of the receptionist. “Oh, welcome back! That was fast! I’m guessing you’re ready to take the final test?” “Yeah! Oh, and the cat will be back here in a bit.” The receptionist nods; “Got it. Oh, and by the way, I don’t want to sound crazy, but does that cat talk? Like it actually knows how to speak English?” “That’s right!”
“I’m curious, how does he know how to talk?” “Oh, that’s easy!” Elio responds excitedly, showing that he loves explaining science. “Cats have over sixty different pitches for different kinds of meows they can make. Reggie, having great intelligence, learned how to mimic verbal communication through using his larynx to convert different pitches per meow, making it sound as though he’s speaking our language. When in reality, he’s actually just meowing really weirdly.” The receptionist looks pretty stunned. “That’s… fascinating! I’ve never heard of an animal smart enough to comprehend verbal communication before.”
Reggie suddenly hops on the counter; “Oh, speak of the devil! Hey Reggie, I was just waiting on you! So, how’d it go?” Reggie yawns; “It was easy, no trouble. Anyway, when’s the last test starting? I’m hungry and I wanna finish as soon as possible.” The receptionist reaches into a drawer. “Right, hold on.” She grabs a small circular device from the drawer and hands it to Elio. “What’s this?” Elio asks her. “It’s a radar for the final test. It’s a mix between the previous two trials. Those markings you see on that radar, the ones that are blinking, those are targets, which are only within the boundaries of Gull’s Bay. To get a target, you must find and beat your target in a one-on-one. If you can take out five in total, you’ll have passed. The systems here record each target captured through whichever radar is pressed on the target. You can’t share targets, nor can you go after ones that have been captured. If you see any ‘X’ markings on your radar, that means that it’s been captured.” She explains.
“Wait, we can’t go after ones that have been captured, nor can we share targets? Are you saying this test is a free-for-all?” Elio tilts his head. The receptionist nods; “Yes, it’s a free-for-all. If you’re wondering why, it’s because the Superhero Branch is very serious on who they recruit, they prefer the quality over quantity. So there’s a limited amount, meaning not everyone can pass, as they want to find the people who have what it takes, rather than those who just have potential.” Immediately after hearing her explain why it’s a free-for-all and that there’s only such a short amount of targets, Elio and Reggie’s hairs spike up in surprise. Elio begins running, his voice sounding super worried; “We gotta hightail it, Reggie!”
Reggie runs out the building along with Elio, both panicked as neither of them were aware of it being a free-for-all, Reggie looks up at Elio while they sprint; “How many targets are there? There needs to be at least ten open targets, that way we both get five each in order to pass!” He shouts. “I don’t know, but I pray to God there’s enough!” Elio yells back as he scrolls out a bit, he counts quietly in his head, muttering. “Wait! There’s eleven that haven’t been captured! They’re in different coordinates of the city, but they’re there! We’re both fast, so if we’re quick about it, we can take turns with each one we find. I’ll let you get the first one!” “Right!”
May 31st, 2018. 5:30 pm
Fifteen minutes pass, Elio has just taken down his fourth target, leaving both him and Reggie at one more to go. “Hell yeah! We only got one more to go, then we’re home free! And with over two hours to spare!” Elio shouts with excitement, Elio then takes a look at the radar. “So, where’s my last target?” Reggie asks eagerly, ready to get his side of the test over with, Elio just looks at the radar; “The fuck…?” Elio mutters in a confused tone, Reggie takes notice and perches onto Elio to look at the radar. “What’s up?” “The radar… there’s only one target left when there should have been three.” Reggie’s ears fold back; “What?! Do you mean someone already took two of them?! How are we supposed to pass now if there’s only one left?!”
“Well this blows!” Elio scrolls around the map of Gull’s Bay; “There’s literally nothing else that can be done!” Upon hearing this, Reggie slumps forward, disappointed by the revelation. “Darn…” Reggie breathes, Elio takes a deep breath and starts walking, as he exhales, he tries to keep an optimistic tone. “Let’s just get something to eat, and we can try to find a workaround. There has to be SOMETHING that can be done.” Reggie exhales pathetically as he slumps forward even more; “Well, I am pretty hungry, so I can go for some. More importantly, I hope you’re at least right about the workaround idea.” Elio nods in response as he walks.
The two stand at a pier, Elio is leaning back on the fence of the dock while looking at the waves and eating a bacon cheeseburger, while Reggie is sitting on his hind legs on top of a dining table, having eaten five orders of mussels and clams, currently plowing through the sixth order of them. Reggie looks at Elio as he finishes devouring his food, he then perches onto the fence. “Yes, I’m going to finish it.” Elio tells Reggie, he chuckles a little bit; “What? No, I was gonna ask if you’ve thought of any ideas yet.” Reggie replies. “Oh, no, still no ideas…”
“Darn, that’s a shame.” Reggie puts his head down, he then turns his gaze over to the sea, admiring the view. “Well, at least we have this nice view.” Reggie tries to be optimistic as he comments. Elio takes a bite of his burger before chugging it down with some soda. “That’s true. It’s gorgeous out today, especially with the orange sky.” Reggie tilts his head; “Orange? Oh right, I forgot, you can see more colors than I can. I just see a greyish-yellow sky.”
“Huh, you know, I’ve always been amazed about how different species perceive colors.” Elio responds, Reggie nods; “Yeah. It’s why words such as ‘red’, ‘orange’, ‘brown’, and ‘purple’ always make me so confused as it gets my head spinning, just trying to imagine what they look like.” Elio laughs upon hearing that. “I can imagine! I feel the same way, but that's only with ultraviolet. It's not an actual color, ultraviolet is electromagnetic radiation in a range of energies that’s higher than visible light, which makes UV invisible to the human eye. Though a lot of species can process them.” He explains.
Reggie puts his paw over his head and mutters; “Shut up, that’s only hurting my brain the more I try to fathom it.” Elio taps Reggie on the head. “My bad, but yeah, it’s pretty awesome how color can make us feel such profound contemplation. Makes me appreciate the richness of existence. Besides, there’s always going to be other animals that see less color than you, so just live with the ones you can see. Alright?” “Yeah. At least in favor of not seeing as many colors, and oh, hey, a dolphin just jumped out of the water.” Reggie says, getting distracted. "A dolphin? Oh, right, how could I forget? Your species has... six fovea, so you can see even further and better than both people and eagles. So how far was that dolphin, like six miles?" "Yeah. It's pretty great being able to see so much and so well." Reggie replies.
“Yeah… Oh wait! I just got an idea, Reggie!” Elio raises his voice optimistically, Reggie’s ears perk up as he looks at him. “What’s up? Did you figure out a solution to our problem?” “YES! Indubitably!” Elio grins. He hands the rest of his burger to Reggie. Elio takes his phone out and starts searching something up, he then shows it to Reggie, an article about drug deals. “Think about it. Why are there drug dealers from Latin America traveling by sea in order to transport drugs into California?” As he asks, Reggie already finishes the rest of the burger, he then answers. “Uh… isn’t it because the president is trying to close the American borders?”
“Exactly right, Reggie! So, if they’re trying to transport them here by sea, then what we need to do is use your amazing eyesight to spot them out at sea! That way, we can rent a speedboat, go wherever they are, knock their shit, bring them back, and hopefully, they’ll give us compensation and let us be registered superheroes!” As Elio explains, Reggie’s eyes widen. Elio puts his phone in his pocket and reaches into his wallet; “Don’t worry, I got some quarters in here, so we can use one of those telescopes to help you see even further!”
Elio puts the quarters in a slot and taps the telescope; “Alright, Reggie! It’s all yours, do your thing!” “Thanks!” Reggie replies as he puts his eye close to it. As he gazes around the splashing waves and seagulls flying around, he spots a seagull flying lower to the water, but not in a diving position, instead, its wings are spread out, as though it were planning to land somewhere. He follows the seagull and notices an island that was revealed, through it, a mist surrounding the lower part of the island as there’s a large mass sticking out from the center. Palm trees gently sway as they peek out from the mist in the coastal breeze. Reggie discerns intricate details, such as a pristine shoreline, golden sands kissed by the azure waves, and lush green vegetation covering the center of the island. The seagulls soaring above, their wings casting shadows on the landscape. Reggie’s almost in awe by the scenery, but as he gazes toward it, he spots something on the mountain of the island.
The craggy peak rumbles the terrain, as the ground trembles beneath. A massive fracture line carves its way through the giant rock, revealing a luminous, metallic glow within. With an otherworldly grace, the mountain began to split apart, revealing a colossal, metallic structure emerging from its depths. The metallic behemoth rises like a colossal sentinel, unfurling itself from the confines of the mountain’s rocky embrace. Gleaming in an ethereal light, the structure lays in stark contrast to the rugged trees that are standing up. “Elio, I know I’m supposed to be on the lookout for drug dealers, but what I’m seeing is unreal!”
“What is it?” “This island that I found, the mountain split apart and something that looks like a giant metallic ship came out! It has a weird look to it, like a whale! The front of the ship has the meticulous curvature and soft contours of a whale’s head!” As Reggie explains, Elio leans in, curious. “A whale? Wait hold on…” Elio takes out his phone and types in ‘metal ship that looks like whale’. As he searches, he finds a picture of an image with that exact description that Reggie gave him. He shows the photo to him; “Did it look like this by any chance?!”
Reggie eyes the photo, he then double takes by looking at the island through the telescope before looking back at the picture. His ears perk up; “Yes! That’s exactly what I’m seeing! Why?! Is it something important?!” Elio smiles widely and picks up Reggie by the arms. He answers with excitement; “Of course it's important! Cause I’ve decided we no longer need this radar! I already found our target! What you saw belongs to a dangerous criminal organization that even Five-Star Heroes don’t want to deal with, known as ‘The Sky Pirates!’”
Reggie’s jaw opens; “I’m listening.” Elio sets him down and looks at the sea. “We’re gonna take down their leader, Gendross!” Reggie looks up at Elio. Elio jumps up onto the pier’s railing, he gestures for Reggie to hop on. Reggie perches onto his shoulder, Elio smiles as Reggie purrs. Elio then clears his throat “Look around you, Reggie! Kosmesen will be ours to explore once we bring in Gendross and become heroes!"
Elio then turns around and jumps off the railing, Reggie clinging on tight to his blazer. "So let's get going!"