Eric and the others went over the plan one more time.
“The plan is 1. Jump behind the pillar. 2. Make a large dust cloud. 3. Throw a rock in the opposite direction and run like hell. 4. Get behind him and kill him.” Nathan had simplified the plan greatly.
Eric looked annoyed. “What gave you the impression that I was an idiot who couldn't follow simple instructions?”
Nathan snapped back. “Your grades.”
Eric choked on his drink. “Fair.”
D smiled. “Get some rest, kid. You have a big day tomorrow.”
Eric went to sleep. He awoke in a dark forest.
“What the hell? What's going on?”
He got up and looked around. As he was looking, he heard the noise of a car horn followed by a car crash. He quickly ran through the forest towards the noise. He saw a 14-year-old version of himself desperately trying to free his mother from under the car. By this point, eric had figured out that this was a dream, but despite that, he couldn't stop himself from running to help lift the car. He struggled hard, but even with his new power, the car wouldn't budge. He was about to look around for something to use to pry a door open when suddenly his mother spoke to him. He remembered what she would say as it was the last words she ever said to him.
“I can't explain now, but you need to know something. I used to be in a relationship with a man. We worked together to build a company, but he cut me out and threw me away. He took what should have been yours. His name was Maxwell power. The CEO of power. Inc., he is your father. I'm sorry I won't be around to guide you anymore. But you need to remember something. The world was your birthright. He took it from you. Take it back by any means necessary.”
Eric kept trying to lift the car, but it was in vain. Suddenly he felt a strange energy spread throughout his body.
Eric awoke in a cold sweat. This was a dream he often had, and it helped remind him why he struggled. “This is just the first step in taking back what belongs to me.”
Eric got up and headed toward the pre-fight chamber. He collected himself and repeated the plan in his head.
The announcer spoke. “Welcome to the semi-finals of the rookie tournament. Today there's a little mud in the game after Primarchs callout of Beam for his association with ubermensch. Let's see who will win this battle. Will it be the king of instant knockouts beam?”
Beam was welcomed into the ring by loud boos but didn't seem to care much.
The announcer spoke again. “Or will it be the powerless powerhouse Primarch?”
Eric entered the ring and smiled warmly at the crowd. Many women swooned, as well as a few men. The crowd cheered so loudly for him that they could barely hear the announcer.
“3…2…1… FIGHT.”
Eric quickly leaped behind the pillar moments before beam shot a laser. Eric began punching the ground with all his might confusing the crowd. Soon the cloud of dirt completely covered the entire pillar. Eric grabbed a rock from the ground and threw it to his right. Beam instantly began shooting his laser. Eric ran with everything he had and crossed the 100 meters in only 3 seconds. He quickly got behind Beam, and before beam could react, eric twisted his head around.
Eric sighed in relief at his victory, but just before beam died, he used the last of his strength to fire one more laser, which struck eric square in the chest.
Eric watched as his body instantly absorbed the laser, leaving no damage. The crowd couldn't see anything due to the dust but did hear the laser go off. Eric was confused but thought quickly.
“For some reason, I’m undamaged. I've built my public face on being powerless, and if they see that I’m undamaged from the laser, everything I've worked for will be for nothing.” eric thinking quickly ripped off his arm before the dust could settle.
Some feared the worst as the crowd waited for the dust to settle.
The cloud of dust dissipated to reveal eric still standing but lacking his left arm.
Eric looked at the crowd and raised his remaining arm while smiling.
Nathan and D sighed in relief.
The announcer spoke upon seeing beam’s corpse. “And the winner is Primarch. He is truly the embodiment of the indomitable human spirit.” eric left the ring while waving at the crowd. As he entered, he was met by Nathan and d.
“You did great, kid!” Nathan said enthusiastically.
D went to heal eric but looked confused. “This doesn't look like a laser wound.”
Eric nodded. “Because it isn't. He hit me square in the chest with a laser beam. By all rights, I should be dead. But when it hit me, my skin absorbed it. I ripped off my arm to avoid suspicion,” Eric explained.
Nathan and D looked at eric incredulously.
D spoke first. “Maybe he didn't put enough effort into it?”
Eric shook his head. “That's what I thought, but then I had a realization. A few days ago, I was making eggs and touched the burner, and it wasn't burned when I removed my hand, and the burner was ice cold. I thought it was a safety mechanism at the time, but now I'm unsure.”
Nathan pulled out a lighter and set a piece of paper on fire. “Touch this.”
Eric complied, and the fire disappeared when his hand made contact.
Nathan and D had a look of complete and utter confusion.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
D healed eric and spoke. “Eric, I want you to stay still for this.”
D reeled his fist back and struck eric with all of his might. The moment d’s fist made contact, it stopped as if all the momentum had vanished.
Eric was bewildered. “How is this possible?”
Nathan looks at eric with a serious expression.
“The only explanation is that you are superhuman.”
Eric shook his head. “That isn't possible. My mother was human, and Superhumans can only be born from two superhumans.”
Nathan and D guided eric back to his room.
Eric, I am going to ask you a question, and I want you to answer honestly. “Do you know who your father is?”
Eric looks at Nathan and d. “It's supposed to be a secret, but yes. My father is maxwell power.”
D looks shocked. “The CEO of power incorporated? The company that provides over 80% of the world's power?”
Eric nods.
Nathan sighs. “So she told you.”
Eric was shocked. “You knew?”
Nathan had a sad look on his face. “Of course, I knew I was the one who introduced them. Max was my friend. At one point, I trusted him with my life. I knew he was a greedy person, but I never… I never thought he would throw away a woman he spent nearly 20 years with just for a little more power. At this point, he has more claim to say he rules the world than the superhuman king, and it's my fault.”
Eric looked at Nathan. “It's not your fault. It's his. His ambitions are far too low if he only wants to rule the world. I want far more than that. And that's why I'm building an empire. He sits on a throne that belongs to me, and I will take it if I have to pry it from his fucking cold dead hands. All of creation was my birthright, and he took it from me. I intend to take what's mine.”
Eric spoke with a palpable hatred. Nathan remembered when he first met max during the superhuman war.
They were sitting in their rooms before a mission. Nathan looked at max. Max had tan skin, jet-black hair, and bright blue eyes, and he stood at 6 foot 3 and 275 pounds.
“You know, I still don't know why you're just a foot soldier. You could be the superhuman king and rule the world with your power.
Max laughed. “The world? Please, I want far more than that. I'm playing the long game. All of creation is my birthright, and I intend to take what's mine. Besides, the superhuman king is just a small piece on the chessboard. Once I'm finished, the superhuman king will answer to me.”
Nathan looks at eric. “I’m so helpful to you because I owe it to your mother. She never once blamed me, and all she wanted was for you to follow your path, no matter what it was. So eric, if you'll have me, id be glad to help.”
Eric smiled. “Of course, teacher. Who else would I ask for help with basic math?”
Nathan laughed. “My god, I don't understand how you can be so dumb yet so cunning.”
Eric smiles and shrugs. “The inner machinations of my mind are an enigma.”
D cuts in. “I don't want to ruin your moment, but weren't we talking about him having powers?”
Nathan collects himself. “Yes, we were. Eric, as you know, two humans cannot have a superhuman baby. And a superhuman and a human cannot have a superhuman baby. Only a superhuman and another superhuman can have a baby. What if I told you that was a lie told by the government to prevent people from knowing the truth?”
Eric looked confused. “what do you mean?”
Nathan continued. “A question, eric. If two humans can never have a superhuman baby, how is it that superhumans first emerged? They didn't just appear out of thin air. They had to have been originally born from humans. If that's the case, then why doesn't it happen anymore? The reason is simple. So that max and the current superhuman king can keep their power. For nearly 500 years, they have been putting a chemical called otrovanite in the food. The chemical reduces the probability of having a superhuman baby by nearly 99%. The chemical only affects humans. So the odds of a human and a superhuman having a superhuman baby is about 70%, with the chemical, it's about 0.3%. The odds of two humans having a superhuman baby is around 15% with the chemical, it's about 0.15%.”
Eric is shocked. “Wait. Those odds are low, but it's still possible. If that's the case, why hasn't it ever happened in recent times?”
Nathan continued. “Look at the numbers. Human and superhuman relationships are stigmatized to near nonexistence, and humans only make up 10% of the population. That's 700 million people. Only around 70% of those people can afford to have babies. That leaves 490 million. Only 25% of humans choose to have children, so down to 122 million. Since a male and female are both needed for a baby, that cuts the chances in half to 61 million. Due to the chemical, nearly half of all pregnancies end in miscarriage, so knock that number down to 30 million chances. 20% of the time, the baby dies in childbirth due to the chemical weakening. So down to 24 million. A quarter of those children die soon after birth knocking us down to 18 million. Only 60% of the remaining children live to 18 when powers usually manifest, knocking us down to 10 million. That leaves 15 thousand people worldwide yearly with both human parents and superpowers. These 15 thousand are killed in secret by the government.”
Eric looks at Nathan, horrified. “Why? Why on earth would they do this? Why would they put that chemical in the food? And why wasn't I affected?”
Nathan sighs. “I'll answer your questions in order. They poison the food to ensure humans don't go extinct because if humans go extinct, there won't be a lower class. The superhumans think of themselves as the elites, while humans are a lower class. If humans disappear, all the middle-class superhumans who thought themselves elites will have no one beneath them and turn against the ruling class. As for why you're a superhuman, the answer is simple. Your mother knew about the effects of otrovanite and only ate the food she grew in her garden for her entire pregnancy. I didn't think that her plan worked until now.”
Eric sat down. “She knew? How?”
Nathan and D look at each other and nod. “Your mother used to be a part of a resistance group. She was filled with rage toward max and the superhuman king. She left when you turned 5. She said she didn't want to put you in danger. D and I retired soon after.”
Eric smiled sinisterly. “Tell me. Is the resistance still around today?”
Nathan shrugs. “I don't know, but if I had to guess, I would say yes.”
Eric’s grin grew wider. “Can you contact them?”
Nathan nods. “Yeah. but why?”
Eric looked toward Nathan. “A resistance group sounds like a perfect place to build my power base. All of them have a bone to pick with the superhuman king, so I doubt any of them would care about my criminal activities and would help me in exchange for funding. On top of that, they must have an agent in the government to keep themselves hidden. I could use that to help me gain a foothold. I imagine the police would be less likely to investigate me if I had a high-ranking government official in my pocket.”
Nathan nods. “True, but why would they accept you? They probably would if you already had a criminal enterprise, but as for now, you have nothing to offer them.”
Eric shakes his head. “I have something very valuable to offer them—a sterling Reputation. Currently, the world at large believes me to be some kind of messiah. Imagine if I were to start asking questions about the nature of why no superhumans are born among humans. Or if I were to desperately ask the people to protest something to cover a field operation. If I continue to grow my reputation, I could initiate open rebellion. Name a single resistance group that doesn't want the support of the people. I could give them so much: Members, donations, intel, and more. All for the meager price of helping me build an empire.” Eric smiled wickedly.
Nathan nodded. “That sounds like a good plan. I'll set up a meeting.”
Eric smiled. “Good. I need to get to an interview, but when I get back here, we will get to the bottom of my powers and their true extent.” eric left.
D looked at Nathan. “I can't help but notice how similar max and Eric are. It worries me.”
Nathan nodded. “They are very similar, but the difference between them is that max would abandon you for even the slightest benefit, whereas eric takes the saying “no man left behind.” to its logical extreme. That's something he got from his mother. In a sense, he has even more greed than max ever did. Max was willing to lose something to gain something. Eric wants everything and refuses to lose anything.”