A car screeched down the road. It turned corners sharply, cutting off other drivers as the wail of police sirens chased after it. The car weaved in between traffic, knocking other cars to get away. The pursuing police sped up to catch the runaway car. To bypass the traffic, the car drove up on the sidewalk and sped through the walkway. Bystanders dove out of the way as the car plowed its way through. A girl wearing headphones and staring at her phone stood at the bus stop paying no attention to her surroundings. She was swept away by a blur as the car rammed through the bus stop. Smashing through the glass and metal frame of the small waiting area. The blur appeared somewhere else, the woman’s hair blown around. Her eyes and mouth were wide as the golden armored Xenton set her down.

“You know, you should be more aware,” said Dye. She slowly took off her headphones as she tried to get a good look at Dye’s armored form. “Comic books are my go to. They keep your attention and keep your ears open.” The runaway car zoomed past them. “That’s my queue!”

He blurred away, sprinting after the car. The car cut in and out of traffic as it ran another red light. Dye looked up ahead and saw the light beginning to change. The driver had no intention of slowing down so Dye figured it was time to stop this. The light turned red and pedestrians began crossing the street.

Jason, his body made entirely of water, had been following the chase from beneath the city, following through the sewer system. He emerged through a storm drain and it was as though zero gravity had taken effect as the water seeped upward into the air. The water collected and materialized into Jason’s armored self. He saw the car speeding towards a crosswalk full of pedestrians and as it came closer he slammed himself onto the hood of the vehicle. The car flipped forward as it left the ground and catapulted over the civilians who had become aware of the situation. They stared surprised as the car tumbled over them. It was about to crash into the intersection, as cars screeched to a halt to avoid collision. As the top of the car came tumbling down, Dye blurred from nowhere, catching the car in his armored hands.

The crowd cheered for his save as the young hero maneuvered to place the car back down on its four wheels. When he snatched the door off its hinges, the driver was unconscious. The police screeched to a halt and apprehended the driver. Looking at both of the Xenton.

One of the officers approached and didn’t know what to say. Seeing one of the armored people up close warranted the same reaction from anyone who got the chance to see them. They couldn’t speak or say anything else. All they did was look admirably at their armor with wonder.

“Thank you.” the officers finally said. Starstruck.

“No prob bob,” said Jason, as he waved to the bystanders. “All in a day's work, fellow citizens.”

Dye approached his brother as he saw the police haul the driver into one of their cars. “What’re you doing here?” asked Dye.

“Having fun, just like you.” he replied.

“I was just on my way to the comic book store when this lunatic almost mowed down a bunch of people.”

“Seems like trouble likes to follow you, bro.”

“Yeah, I’m starting to realize our city has a lot of crime in it.”

“You’re not kidding, bro. Well, I’ve worked up an appetite. Catch ya later!” Jason melted into water and glided away.

Dye left the comic book store carrying a copy of the next issue of Warrior Knight, eager to find out how his hero would handle the conflict of his sister being the enemy. Along with his purchase, he had a candy bar, a bag of chips and soda to go along with his feel good vibe. He crossed the street into the park where he found a lone table under a tree. He claimed the space by placing his comic and bag of goodies on the table top and sat down. Before he started reading he looked around for a second.

He remembered this park from his childhood. When he was younger he played baseball here. It wasn’t anything vigorous like the Major Leagues. The pitcher was usually one of the coaches who underhanded the ball so that the kids could hit it. It was something his parents put him in to keep him active. He enjoyed it, however, it wouldn’t be anything he would stick with as he got older. He mostly enjoyed it mainly because his Granddad would take him to his Saturday games and practices. Dye figured that was why he and his Granddad were so close. Usually after a practice or a game, he would take Dye for a treat. Mostly ice cream but on occasion they had been known to get hotdogs or even pizza.

Remembering those times made him appreciate his time with his Granddad. He hadn’t seen him in years though. His Granddad and his Grandmother moved away a few years ago. Sure they talked every now and again, and he would get excited to see them every Christmas or so, but when his Grandmother died, Dye was sure he would move back to the city. His grandfather thought about it but ended up staying in the countryside mentioning his quiet living and simple way of life was what he was meant for. Dye knew that he was happy, and that was enough for him.

Dye tore open the candy bar and flipped open his comic. He began reading. What would Warrior Knight do in a showdown with his sister? Did he have a plan? Was he bent on saving her despite all the terrible things she had done? Dye couldn’t wait.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Dye?” asked someone.

Dye chewed his candy bar and looked up. It was a familiar face from way back in his life. Dye couldn’t believe he barely changed.

“Greg?”

“Yeah, man!” the boy smiled. “No way! How ya been?”

Dye closed his comic book and swallowed what was left of the candy bar in his mouth.

“Been good! Dude, you still come around here?”

“Yeah, I sorta help coach Little League now.” Dye noticed the bag of baseball equipment swung over his shoulder.

“That’s awesome!”

Greg was an old friend of Dye. In fact they used to play on the same baseball team when Dye was a kid. One would even go as far as to suggest that they were best friends. They did everything together from baseball to camping out in Greg’s backyard. Not to mention they attended the same primary school around that time.

“What have you been up to?” Greg asked.

“Nothing much. Started high school. Made a few friends.”

“Ah, how are your brothers?”

“They’re good. Mack is getting ready for college.”

“Nice!”

The conversation was rather dry. The more the generic questions and replies were tossed around the more uncomfortable things got. Adding to that was the slight pause between them.

“Well, I gotta go…” said Greg. “It was good seeing you.”

“Yeah, you too, man.” Greg turned away while Dye returned to his comic.

“I just want you to know that I’m sorry,” said Greg abruptly, turning back around.

“Sorry for what?” Dye closed his book.

“You know, for letting Matthew Lopez beat you up and take your rookie cards.”

“Oh — that,” said Dye, trying to push the incident from his mind. Though, it was actually more pleasant than the one of his death constantly trying to rampage its way back in. “Forget about it.”

“I just wanted you to know. I didn’t know they would do that to you just to take your cards.”

“Yeah, well. My Granddad gave me those cards, but it's cool. I outgrew baseball probably that next year. That year was Nintendo and comics.” smiled Dye, waving up his issue of Warrior Knight.

“Then you’re not still mad?”

Dye shook his head. “Dude, honestly I had forgotten all about that until you brought it up. That happened — what, eight years ago?”

Greg smiled. “I always told myself that's why we stopped being friends.”

“We ended up going to different schools in the third grade. I stopped playing baseball. People drift apart. It happens, but it’s good to see you're still with it.”

“Thanks man. Hoping to make my high school team.” he smiled.

“Remember the time we were practicing in the street and we broke that guy's car window?”

Dye recalled. “Dude, he was pissed! I thought he was gonna murder us! Or the time we caught the game winning ball at the Blue Oceans game?”

The both laughed, reliving those times together.

“Those were good times!” Greg said.

“Yeah they were! But hey, I gotta get going. Come swing by practice sometime. We’ll see if you can still catch a ball.”

“You know I was never good at catching.”

Greg laughed jokingly as he walked towards the field. “Hey, the ball goes in your mitt, not your face! Catch you later, man.”

Dye waved as he sat back down and continued his book. He opened his soda and chips and submerged himself in his comics.

Just as he suspected, Warrior Knight’s sister was just a pawn in a much bigger game. She was under a spell that kept her on the side of evil. How would Warrior Knight break the curse and save his sister? Dye would have to wait until next month.

He gathered his trash and tossed it into the nearest wastebasket. As the park lights came on, Dye looked over at the field and saw little kids practicing their pitches and swings, Greg instructing them on how to better their technique. Dye looked for a second longer, breaking a nostalgic smirk, took his comic book and headed home.

Dye walked gracefully down the street with his hands tucked into his pockets. The chilly autumn winds were here. He zipped up his coat and strolled through the neighborhood as the sun was beginning to set. The sky melted from its usual blue to a dusky violet. The leaves were starting to fall which caused foliage to cover the sidewalk and roads. Dye liked this time of year. It was that part of the year where days were getting shorter and the anticipation for the holiday season grew. Dye turned the corner of his street and something strange happened.

He didn’t recognize the block. He looked behind him to see if he had made a wrong turn but even then there wasn’t any indication of where he came from. It all changed. He looked at the street sign but noticed that it wasn’t there.

“Ooookay. this is weird,” he said.

He didn’t know how he got there, nor did he know how to get back. What was happening? Was this the result of his Ka showing him another vision? Or did he inadvertently slip into an alternate dimension.

The area was run down, almost as if a hurricane had hit it. Everything was quiet, and the only source of light was the moon that sat high. Dye cautiously walked through the neglected area, looking at the destroyed houses and ragged cars. As he walked on, a very dim white light shone nearby. He began to proceed with caution. As he made his way closer, the light started expanding. The more he approached, the more silvery the light became. He came to a stop and saw a four legged creature standing in the center of the light. Dye took his hand and tried to shield his eyes from the intensity and a howl shook his soul.

“Is that–?” He said as he was able to make out what the creature was, “It is!”

Standing in front of him was a silvery-white wolf with bright blue eyes. The wolf stared back at the boy and sat down. The light started to diminish, allowing Dye to see the wolf clearer. Suddenly, the wolf howled at the moon and vanished, leaving Dye standing in front of his house.

“What the hell was that?” He said, utterly astonished.