“Heavy…” His mother complained, hefting a bunch of bags from their recent trip shopping in the inner city. She slouched just to further show how much effort she had to put into carrying the bags before her blue eyes peered over towards her pink-haired son.

“Man, it must suck having to carry those bags fair maiden, wouldst thou perhaps wish for me to carry them in her stead?” Zion asked before reaching out for the bags, while already carrying four on each arm with little effort.

“Yes please!” She cheered before she dropped the two bags she was carrying onto her son’s arms, one for each arm.

“Hup.” He huffed as he slipped them further up his arms by raising them, before smiling at his mother who grinned back, brushing her brown hair back over her shoulders. “Now what do you say?” He asked her with a raised brow.

“Oh thank you, kind prince, for lightening my load so I can continue living the high life of weightless arms.” She replied just as cheekily.

“Thank you. You may continue.”

“Maybe it’s because I have you doing this all the time that you’re so strong. I’ve never seen you exercise once.”

Zion mulled over the idea for a moment before shaking his head. “I’ve exercised.” He pointed out rather assuredly.

“Oh really? When? You spend all your time at home playing video games.” She asked while walking backward now.

“P.E. in middle school.” He replied with a grin, to which she rolled her eyes.

“And how old are you now?”

“21.”

“Exactly.”

“Well, it’s not my fault my body was sculpted by the gods.” He gestured toward himself with a cheeky grin.

“Hey, don’t I get some credit for making you?” She asked with a hum, leaning forward a bit.

“Mm. I’ll give you credit for the incredible genes.” He acknowledged before he proceeded to run his hand through his hair. “Though I don’t know where this color came from. Your hair is brown and you said Dad’s hair is also brown, so where did I get such vibrance from?”

His mother held her chin in thought as she gave a long hum. “Hm… I don’t know. It’s not like it came out of nowhere either, you were born with pink hair, doctors said there have been a few cases of children with abnormal hair colors being born around the world at the time. All the tests they did showed you were perfectly normal though.” She answered with a few nods of certainty.

“I never really got picked on for it thankfully. Most of the people in my class thought it was cool.” He replied, seemingly thankful for the results.

His mother nodded. “It’s cute and it suits you. Who wouldn’t think my handsome son isn’t cool?” She asked with a light laugh.

He couldn’t help his light chuckle at his mother's attempt to embarrass him. He looked at the sign at the corner of the road that they were slowly nearing, noting that they were beginning to get close to their home.

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Though as they began to pass an alleyway, Zion watched as his mother’s arm was grabbed from around the corner, her expression shifting from one fitting of her energetic mood to one of surprise and fear, another arm holding and covering her mouth, cutting off her shouts as she was dragged into the alleyway. He immediately dropped his bags as he chased after his mother and whoever had grabbed her.

As he rounded the corner, he was immediately met with a group of four men. Each of their faces was hidden by a ski mask as if they were some sort of classic comic criminal. One of them was crouched, holding his mother still, the woman forced on her knees with one to the right of them, holding a handgun towards her head to further emphasize their threat. Another stood to his left but looked rather tense, his arms crossed. The last of the four was a step or two forward from the rest.

Zion grit his teeth at the sight of his mother being held at gunpoint, his fists balled tightly with anger, unsure of what to do.

“—If I jump them, then they might shoot. Although, the one to his left keeps glancing at her, and the one holding the gun is shaking a bit. I don’t think they want to do this, but it’s probably best not to tempt fate.” He thought to himself, his mind running wild through multiple different scenarios where things may go wrong. “—Maybe I can try to reason with their consciences.”

“You guys don’t have to do this—” He spoke up, only to be cut off as the one a few steps forward pulled forth a handgun of their own, raising it towards Zion’s head, pulling back the hammer with his thumb.

“There will be no negotiations.” The man spoke with a deep and gruff voice. All the while, Zion’s eyes remained wide with shock and fear before he managed to harden his heart.

“—I have to get her out of there.” He thought to himself as he gritted his teeth, looking once more towards the anxious two of the muggers. “What do you guys want?” He asked rather directly, unable to help the venom on his tongue.

“Hand over your belongings. Anything of value.” The closest of them, which seemed to be the ringleader, answered. “Wallets, cash, phones, all of it.” He added, clearly unphased by the situation, as if he had done this multiple times before.

“Right, right,” Zion replied before reaching into his pockets only for an effeminate voice to echo in his mind. 

“—Save her.”

As Zion heard this voice, he felt an impulse, a surge of energy like he had never felt before. His brows furrowed before he moved with a speed too swift for the man’s reaction time, using one hand to grab the wrist holding the gun and lifting it before twisting. With a snap, the man yelped in pain, dropping his gun, but before it could even hit the ground he received just as swift of a fist to his face, straight into his nose. Once, twice, and three times the impact could be heard, the man collapsing unconscious from the young man’s fist.

The other armed mugger panicked, his hand shaking as Zion sprinted forward, going to grab the gun from the man, only for a loud pop to echo throughout the alleyway.

He stopped in his tracks, his eyes locked on his mother and the gun, which, thankfully was no longer aimed at her head. The chest of her shirt began to slowly stain red, her eyes wide with shock as she stared down at her chest. All of the muggers were staring at her with equal shock, but eventually, their eyes focused on the pink-haired man.

Zion gazed at his mother, as he felt his heart pounding in his chest, faster and faster, energy flowing through him even more intensely than before, the voice echoing in his head.

“—Bring them to justice.”

Zion felt power surge through him, like all of his muscles were on fire, his mind going faster than he could keep up with, till his eyes locked onto the three men. He immediately leaped forward, reeling his arm back. The armed mugger let out an ugly cry of fear as he raised the gun and aimed it at Zion, pulling the trigger. There was a bright flash, followed by a loud echoing pop, but Zion, he could see the bullet whizzing through the air. He didn’t think, there was just this innate instinct of what to do, his fist flying forward at a speed the muggers couldn’t register. 

His fist made impact with the bullet, stopping it in its tracks, the lead flattening as his fist swung further forward, an inhuman feat as he punched through the shot and straight into the face of the mugger. He felt the bone caving in under his fist with a loud, disgusting crunch, as the armed mugger fell back with Zion’s punch, straight into the pavement.

Zion glared straight towards the two that remained, who haven’t even had time to process what just happened to their ally, the turn of his head causing a blue trail of his glowing eyes. He continued moving, grabbing the head of the one who was holding his mother, and slamming it into the head of the other. There was a loud smack, followed by a crack and a crunch, with a finishing crumble as their heads were crushed together into a now cratered wall.

Zion’s heart was pounding, he seemed to click back into reality, the glow in his eyes fading, as did the energy he felt flow through him. The young man swiftly came to his mother’s side, lifting her and holding her in his lap, tears beginning to well up in his eyes as he reached into his pocket. He dialed the three numbers faster than he had ever typed in his life, and an operator immediately picked up the phone. “Hello! My mother! She’s been shot! There were four people, and two of them were armed! I-I took care of them, but please come quick! She’s losing a lot of blood!” He cried out, sniffling between breaths. “We’re at the corner of 5th and Seward, please!” He cried into the phone before he held tightly onto his mother’s hand, his mind filtering out the voice of the operator as his mother began to speak.

“Zion…” His mother spoke up, unable to help her coughs, her blood staining his clothes. “You’re such a bright young man… I’m so proud of you…”

“No! Don’t talk like this, please!” He begged, knowing these would be her last words. “Just hold on! They’re sending someone!”

She reached up and brushed her thumb against his cheek. “You’re destined for good things, Zion… Just… Never change who you are…” She said her final words as her eyes lost their light. her hand falling to her side, limp.

“Mom…? Mom, please…” Zion spoke with a trembling voice as he gently shook her. “Mom… No… Please… Don’t leave me… Don’t leave me all alone…” He begged, his heart sinking into his stomach as he pressed his head against hers, the sounds of his bawling soon drowned out by the sounds of sirens.