Theo collapsed on his couch, with Jess falling right beside him. She had come back to his dorm with him. Their original plan had been to hang out again after college, but with the attempted gang assault followed by accidental murder, Theo assumed Jess would want to reschedule and go back to her place. He wasn't complaining, however; he was glad he didn't have to be by himself. He wasn't sure what would happen if he were left alone with his thoughts.

Now that he actually got a second to think about it, Jess had been unusually... accepting about the whole scenario. She had just watched him kill another human, before shrinking him to the size of an action figure and squashing him like a bug. Heck, she'd even persuaded him to follow through with that second part. Theo was the only friend Jess had, and vice versa, but he didn't know they were close enough to help each other get away with murder. Jess was involved in the whole thing, however, and if anyone found out what had happened, she would probably go down with him, so maybe she was just looking out for herself? Regardless, Theo was grateful.

"Thanks, by the way," he said.

"For...?"

"Staying cool, helping me... dispose of Daniel, not running away screaming."

"You would've done the same for me, don't sweat it," she replied casually.

"No offense or anything, but you seem weirdly... calm about this whole thing," he spoke carefully, trying not to sound accusatory. Theo himself was weirdly calm as well, but he'd probably start freaking out later when the whole thing fully registered.

"Let's just say you're not the only one who had a messed-up childhood," she responded. Theo knew better than to press the matter any further.

"So... What do we do now?" he asked.

"Are you completely incapable of thinking by yourself?" she bantered, with a hint of annoyance.

"Sorry, you're right. It's just, I kind of get the feeling that this isn't your first time dealing with a situation like this."

"We act like nothing happened. Daniel tripped while chasing us, we got away, that was it. You understand?"

"Ok, yeah, we don't even know he's missing. Should we skip classes tomorrow? If George sees us, he'll for sure try to beat some answers out of me," Theo asked.

"Too suspicious. You've been attacked by these guys countless times; it's never stopped you from going to class before. If you don't know that Daniel's missing, why would you act any differently?"

"True. Ok, we go to class. What happens if George or Sam or someone corners us?"

"You run, like always, and if you can't get away, you take the beating. It's not hard, just act like you normally would."

"At least I can defend myself now," Theo replied, summoning his artifact to his hand and rolling it around his knuckles.

"Are you stupid?" asked Jess, her annoyance becoming clear now, "If people find out you got an artifact at the same time that Daniel mysteriously went missing while chasing you, you'll become an even bigger suspect than you already are. How many times do I have to say this? Just continue to act the same way you have every day since joining this college."

"Ok ok, I get it. The police might get involved at some point, won't they? This is gonna suck for a while."

"Yeah," she said, her tone much calmer, "it's gonna suck. Just act normal, keep our stories straight, and hope to God they don't find any actual evidence. The college won't want something like this getting out to the public, so they'll hopefully try to get it over with as soon as possible. The forest's dangerous; we've been told that again and again since coming here. It'll be fine" she said, reassuring herself just as much as she was Theo. It was true, she had gone through something like this before, but it didn't make her any less scared.

"Hey," Theo said, putting a hand on Jess' shoulder, causing her to look up at him, meeting his gaze, "we'll be ok, we'll get through this together."

"You're not getting sloppy on me now, are ya, Galewood?" she replied, her usual tough-girl act returning. "Wanna watch the news again?"

"Sure."

Theo picked up the TV remote from the coffee table that was just in front of the couch. He pressed the power button, and the screen turned on, still on the same news channel they had left it on the previous night.

A news helicopter was hovering around the outskirts of a small city in Indiana. The cameraman was recording a violent action scene unfolding beneath him.

Three local heroes were unsuccessfully battling what appeared to be a giant monster. It was as tall as a two-story building and looked to be made out of some kind of wood. Its main body resembled the body of a guitar, just without the guitar neck. It had metal strings coming out from all over its body. They were violently thrashing around, breaking everything they came into contact with, and preventing the heroes from getting too close.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

It was an aberrant.

The HJA, or Heroes' Justice Association, repeatedly requested that if you even found an artifact, you reported it immediately. This was partly because they wanted to make sure these powerful objects didn't end up in the wrong hands, but it was also for the safety of everyone nearby. Unclaimed artifacts were like ticking time bombs. At any moment, they had the chance to explode in a blast of magical energy, transforming into a murderous, monstrous caricature of the object they once were. The aberrant on the news had clearly been a guitar at one point but had recently transformed into the beast Theo and Jess were so eagerly watching from behind the TV.

One of the heroes on the scene wielded a metal spatula that he was waving around his head. Nearby metal objects were being lifted into the air and started to swirl around the hero. Once he had picked up a good amount of trash cans and pieces of broken cars or smashed houses, he flicked his arm toward the monster. The whirlwind of metal flew in the direction he was pointing, only to be effortlessly brushed aside by the monster's wires.

The hero paused for a second, thinking, before perking up like a cartoon character who just had a lightbulb idea. He flicked his spatula-wielding arm in an upwards motion before lifting off the ground and flipping over to the opposite side of the monster. The camera zoomed in on his metal boots as he landed.

He shouted something to the other two heroes that the news camera wasn't able to pick up. He then held the spatula out in front of him before yanking his arm back. The monster jerked back as all of its metal wires were pulled toward the hero.

"How the fuck did he only just think of that?" asked Jess, giggling slightly.

The two heroes in front of the monster both charged at it. It looked like they were both melee types. One was holding a glowing hammer. It wasn't the kind of big, warrior hammer that tanky video game characters often had, but the regular kind of hammer that you would find in an average toolbox. The rest of his outfit appeared to be inspired by a builder. He wore an orange helmet that covered his whole head and bright yellow armor with reflective gray stripes on it. In all honesty, it didn't look good, but hero costumes weren't there to look good; they were there to be recognizable.

The other hero didn't have an artifact that Theo could see, but he clearly had one somewhere on him, as his arms were both covered in a layer of rock. As he moved his arms, the rock shifted and warped around them. It remained solid the whole time but rotated around in a way that didn't restrict his movements.

The two heroes were no more than three feet from the monster, both preparing to strike it with all their force when it suddenly let out a sound so loud that it just came through the TV as a distorted mess. The sound was accompanied by a shockwave released from all sides of the monster, hitting the two heroes in front, as well as the spatula wielder behind it. Everything within 10 feet of the monster was blasted away. Cars smashed into buildings, trees were uprooted, and a giant crater was left in the road. The rock and hammer heroes were thrown into the wall of a house behind them. They fell to the ground, neither one of them getting up again. The spatula hero was launched down the road behind him, scraping along the tarmac.

When an artifact transforms into an aberrant, it retains its ability whilst amplifying its power. The artifact that the guitar monster used to be clearly had some kind of sonic-boom ability.

"This isn't looking good," said Theo.

"No shit," responded Jess, "they better hope backup arrives soon."

She then turned to look at Theo with a curious look on her face.

"What?" he asked.

"You have an artifact now. Would you ever do something like that? Be a hero?"

Theo thought for a second. He watched as the three costumed crusaders lay injured on the ground.

"Not to sound like a dick, but I've been begging this world for help since I was born. The orphanage, the multiple foster families I stayed with, teachers, all the people who bullied me. None of them ever gave me shit, so why would I risk my life to save them? The only person I gotta look out for is me."

"Ok, bad boy," Jess teased, "I don't blame you. If I got a superpower, I'd beat the shit out of everyone who ever messed with me, and then I'd probably rob a few banks and live a life of luxury in some exotic country."

"Sounds like you've got it all planned out. Too bad you told me I'm not allowed to use my artifact."

"I said people would find it suspicious if you suddenly got one at the same time as Daniel's death. Wait a while for this whole thing to blow over and then 'find it in your trash' or something."

Theo's heart sank slightly as he was reminded of the murder he just committed.

"Alright, sounds like a plan. I'll have to think about what I want to do. The ability this coin gave me is cool, but it's annoying how random and uncertain it is. I could be given the most powerful ability ever seen tomorrow, and then the next day I could get the most useless one ever."

"Well before today, you were just a regular guy anyway. At least now you get to try out having crazy powers, even if they only last a day. And don't forget, artifacts upgrade themselves over time; maybe it'll become more reliable in the future."

"Good point," Theo admitted. "Anyway, we're still covered in blood and dirt; we should probably shower before we get too tired." He saw the grin begin to grow on Jess' face that she always wore before she made fun of him. "Separately," he specified.

"How did you know what I was going to say?" she asked, still grinning.

"Covering up a murder with someone creates a special kind of bond," he replied. Shit, was it too soon to make jokes like that?

Jess laughed, "You're a fucking psycho! Have a nice shower, Galewood. Don't take too long."

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

Theo stood under the warm water as it washed over his bruised body. The soap made his cuts sting like hell, but it was better than them getting infected. He looked down and watched as the dirt and blood slipped down the drain.

Am I a psycho? He thought to himself. He had just killed somebody, but it was someone who was trying to kill him first. And Jess, she needed saving. Plus, it wasn't like Theo meant to kill him. Sure, it was a bit weird for him to be joking about it just a couple of hours later, but what else could he do? Daniel had made Theo's life a living hell for over a year. Theo was glad he was dead. That dickhead didn't deserve any remorse.

Regardless, no matter what Theo was, at least Jess seemed to have the same attitude. If they were psychotic killers, it was because the world had made them that way. And now, it would have to deal with the consequences.