Eric was snapped out of his daze by the alarm he had set to remind him when to clock out. His construction job paid quite poorly, which was to be expected, considering that eric had no powers, making him slower than others. Eric clocked out and started his walk home. He didn't own a car, though he was saving for one. He finally arrived at his apartment and collapsed on his bed.
Eric awoke to the sound of his neighbors arguing. The walls in his apartment were thin. His hearing was excellent, a trait he usually considered a boon in this case; however, it was more of a curse. He quickly got up and put on his clothes. He wore the same thing every day, a black hoodie with black sweatpants.
After getting dressed, he made himself a bowl of cereal. Then he left for the bus stop. Eric had tan skin, jet-black hair, and bright blue eyes, and he stood at 6 foot 3 and 275 pounds which was especially surprising considering he was only 16 years old. Despite his large stature, the other people on the bus mostly ignored him as he got on the bus.
He sat in one of the available spots and gazed out the window. He looks above at the people flying over. he was always jealous of people with flight-based powers. The freedom of the sky was alluring to him.
The bus arrived at school, and Eric exited. as he made his way to his first class, he saw a group of delinquents spray-painting a message on a wall. It read, "the meek shall inherit the earth," a common quote used by discontented humans to protest superhuman rule.
"If you're so annoyed fuckin do something about it, you useless bastards," Eric said under his breath. Half-hearted activism always annoyed him. he entered the school and attended his first class, math. Math was his worst subject, and he could bearly understand half the words the teacher was saying. His other classes went about the same. Finally, he got to his final class and sat down.
Eric slumped in his chair, trying to tune out his history teacher's droning. "the first known superhuman was born on March 3rd, 1922; his name was Jason Hammond. His powers were high-level-super strength, mid-level super speed, high-level super durability, mid-level enhanced reflexes, and low-level flight.
We say first known superhuman and not first superhuman because there could have been people with powers before him that never revealed themselves. He was born in rural Kansas and raised by farmers, and he kept his powers hidden until June 15th, 1940, when he leveled Germany, Italy, and japan in a single day. That day was called the great slaughter.
Then began the period of history we call "the age of confusion." From 1940 to 1960, there was mass chaos and pandemonium in response to the revelation of superhumans. During this period, numerous other superhumans hiding in the shadows came out into the open. This caused great fear and paranoia in the general populace.
On April 19th, 1950, the formation of the superhuman coalition helped ease confusion. They, for ten years, managed to integrate human and superhuman society. On July 13th, the "enhanced human protection act" was signed by the world's countries, signifying the end of the age of confusion. The bill guaranteed equal rights between humans and superhumans. This led to the next era, called "the golden age."
Numerous superpowered people decided to use their powers to help their fellow man. In contrast, others chose to use their powers for personal gain. The former were called superheroes, and the latter were called supervillains. Despite regular clashes between these two forces, the golden age was an unprecedented time of peace and economic growth.
World hunger, global warming, drought, transportation, and numerous other problems plaguing the world were virtually eradicated using various people's powers. The golden age lasted 42 years and ended on December 2nd, 2003. A villain named Mr. mayhem appeared in New York City demanding a billion dollars, or he would level the city.
Few took him seriously at the time, as villains had done similar things before, only to be defeated by heroes. That was until he lifted the statue of liberty with one hand and threw it so far it landed in California, which shocked the world.
Many knew that superhumans possessed great power, but few truly understood its full extent until that day. Most assumed that superhuman powers were on the scale of small buildings and cars, and Mr. Mayhem disproved that notion that day. The fear was only amplified when the superhero "omnipotent" killed the villain in a single strike.
He later did an interview where he stated, "if I had thrown it, I could have made it land in Alaska." He said it as a joke, but that only scared people more. This was known as "the liberty incident," and it kicked off the age of tension. During the era of tension, all the governments came together under a single name, "Pangea."
Pangea started advocating laws to restrict the freedom of superhumans. The superhuman coalition, of course, opposed this. The arguments went as follows. Pangea argued that superhumans were too powerful to let go unchecked and that a single superhuman going rogue posed an existential threat to mankind.
They wanted to place explosives in the brains of every superhuman to prevent any superhuman from going rogue. The superhuman coalition argued that less than 0.001% of superhumans had that power level. Most superhumans had relatively minor powers, such as low-level telekinesis or flight, and very few had this earth-shattering power that the government feared.
They also argued that superhumans more than made up for the danger they posed with benefits. Most of the economy at the time was run by superhuman powers. The arguments went back and forth for several years, not going anywhere until June 28th, 2013.
In San Francisco, the hero called fire strike was fighting a villain known as the black phoenix. The villain was far above fire strike's caliber, so he was beaten-handedly. As they fought, eventually, the black phoenix was about to kill him, so, in a last-ditch effort, he released all the power he could muster. With this attack, he managed to kill the black phoenix; however, he also released a blast so powerful that he wiped San Francisco off the map.
This was the final tipping point for Pangea, who began rounding up superhumans on mass. The superhuman coalition that tried to stop them was labeled as terrorists, which was the beginning of the superhuman war.
Despite common belief, humans were winning the war at first. This was due to 3 factors. 1. Some superheroes betray their kind to join the humans. Heroes like captain victory, monster man, and omnipotent joined Pangea after being offered lucrative positions of power.
2. Many superhumans captured by Pangea were forced to fight on the front lines. The bombs placed in their brains would go off if they were to rebel.
3. The superhuman side was disorganized, to say the least, with numerous organizations trying to seize power. On top of that, there was little cooperation between former heroes and villains who still had animosity toward each other.
Because of these reasons, humans won the war at first. However, that changed on January 5th, 2019. A small group managed to unite all the warring factions under a single banner. They also defeated the traitor heroes that joined the humans. This group had one central leader and ten subleaders. The prominent leader was called the superhuman king the subleaders were called the supreme generals.
Stolen novel; please report.
Each of the generals was nearly unrivaled in terms of power. The first general was Sunspot; he could produce hot oceans of fire hotter than the sun's core. With a wave of his hand, he incinerated armies.
The second general was Radman, who could absorb and redirect radioactive energy. He made mankind's primary weapon, nuclear warheads, useless.
The third general was called Mechanis, and he possessed the ability to control technology. He didn't go on the front lines due to his low combat power; however, he was integral to defending against the numerous cyber-attacks against the group.
The fourth general was called the Nightwalker. He could manipulate and move through shadows. He was instrumental in finding out Pangea's secrets and doing recon.
The fifth general was called Polaris; he could manipulate gravity. He was unstoppable on the battlefield, crushing tanks into scrap metal left and right.
The sixth general was called The Chill; he could create ice and was mighty on the battlefield.
The seventh general was called The Thinker, and he had apex-level telekinesis. He put up force fields around most superhuman cities.
The eighth general was called The Shifter. He could turn his body into anything he could visualize. This includes people; using his power, he snuck into Pangea and undermined it from the inside.
The ninth general was called Outbreak, and he could produce and manipulate viruses and bacteria. He made medicine to combat biological attacks on the superhuman populace.
The final general was called Everyman, and his powers are classified.
Still, he was said to be integral to the cause." A girl raised her hand.
"yes, Melisa?"
"what powers did the superhuman king have?"
"Excellent question. The honest answer is that we aren't sure. However, we know that his power made him more intelligent as he foiled the plans of Pangea at every turn.
Unfortunately, he was assassinated in a desperate last attempt to seize power by Pangea. The second superhuman king stepped up as he was the first superhuman king's son. He ruled until about 20 years ago when he retired. He had no children. So he passed his crown down to his trusted advisor, the current superhuman king, Raymond knight".
Another kid raised his hand. "yes, john?"
"Will this be on the test?"
the teacher sighs. "yes, this will be on the test. Please remember to study, okay?"
the kid sat back, embarrassed. Eric hearing what the teacher said, cursed internally.
"why do we have to learn about this stuff? It is not like it will help in the real world." The bell rang, and Eric jumped up immediately. "finally." He thought. He grabbed his backpack and quickly tried to leave but was stopped by force holding his body and lifting him a foot off the ground.
"eric, a word, please?" the teacher set him back down.
Eric grumbled and walked over to the teacher. Eric stood at 6 foot 3 and 275 pounds, whereas the teacher was 5,4 and weighed less than 200 pounds. Despite that, the power exuded from his form far outmatched Eric's.
"your grades are lower than ever, Eric. I know you're a smart kid so tell me why?" Eric sighs.
"I have no interest in academics, Mr. Johnson."
"What are you interested in? Tell me, and I'll see that you'll get classes more appropriate to your desires."
"I want to be a fighter in the colosseum."
The revelation shocks the teacher slightly, but he composes himself and bears a solemn look. "they only accept superhumans in the colosseum, eric." He says with a trace of sadness in his voice.
"They have no specific rule outlawing humans from joining. I know because I checked."
"even so, without powers, it will be tough to join."
"I know it will be hard, but I am stronger than a regular person, okay?" Eric picks up a chair and bends the metal leg easily. "see?" the teacher sighs and looks at the chair. He bends it back into shape with just a look.
"I understand that you are capable; hell, I don't think there's a single person more skilled than you in hand-to-hand. I've seen your fights in the combat club. But powers are an advantage that no skill can overcome."
Eric grabs a chair, sets it down on the other side of the teacher's desk, and puts his arm out on the table. "arm-wrestle me." The teacher looks at him, confused.
"I know you are physically stronger than me, but-"
Eric cut him off. "not with your arms with your power."
The teacher was bewildered. "I can output around 250 pounds of force with my low-level telekinesis. How does he think he can win?" the teacher thought. "I'll humor you, but after I win, you must promise to give up on joining the Colosseum. I have connections in the community, and I can get you a job that suits your physical skills."
Eric nods. "When I win, you must promise to use those connections to get me a spot in the colosseum."
The teacher chuckled. "sure, kid, I got to say your optimism is something else." The teacher formed an arm of psychic energy around his actual arm and got into position.
"3, 2, 1, go!" Eric immediately pushed the teacher's arm with all he had. The teacher was taken aback by his sheer power, not to mention his excellent technique.
"let's start with 50 pounds of force; I wouldn't want to hurt him by accident." As he outputted 50 pounds of force, he noticed that Eric didn't slow in the slightest. "okay, this kid is pretty strong. Let's increase." He increased his output to 100 pounds. Yet still, Eric did not slow. "Okay, time to finish things off." He once again raised his production by 50 pounds. Yet he noticed that although Eric slowed slightly, he still won against 150 pounds of force.
"This kid is crazy! I'm using over half of my power. He's still going strong!" he increases to 200 pounds. Finally, he appears to be winning. "truly commendable kid, a shame you weren't born with powers. I'm sure you could have been a real champion."
Yet when Eric's arm was halfway toward the teacher, it suddenly stopped moving. The teacher looked up in shock only to see a face consumed by absolute determination.
"is this even possible?" the teacher was awestruck. Even more so when his hand began to move closer to Eric. "200 pounds of force and he's not only holding on but fucking winning?" the teacher increases the force to 250 pounds. Eric's arm jerks sharply toward the teacher. "perhaps he could actually…" just before Eric is about to lose, his arm stops moving.
The teacher began using his physical strength to fight against Eric's indomitable force. Yet the burden of using his power to its maximum limit and his physical strength breaks his concentration for a moment causing his ability to give out.
In that brief instant, Eric slams his teacher's hand on the table. The teacher stares in amazement, ignoring his hand’s pain. Eric stands up, and the teacher sighs.
"I still don't think this is a good idea, but I'm a man of my word. I'll let you know when and where."
Eric grins broadly. "thanks," Eric leaves the room. The teacher waits until he is sure Eric is gone.
"Damn, that hurts!" he yells, holding his bruised hand. "what do they feed that kid? Other children?" Eric quickly leaves the school and begins his walk home, thinking of how soon he can fight legally.