Sean ducked to the side as a rain of bricks fell from a building. People scattered in every direction.
The stall vendors abandoned their carts and ran for dear life. The surrounding stores dropped their security gates in a loud clattering mess of noise at the first sign of trouble.
He scanned the area, unsure of his next move now that drugs were off the table. A few people were unconscious on the street from whatever concoction of drugs they had ingested but were otherwise unharmed.
He rushed over and began dragging a few of them from the most imminent signs of danger.
A young woman pushed past him in the fray only to stumble a second later. She screamed in pure anguish as she gripped her ankle.
He turned and immediately cringed as he saw the cause. Her foot hung from her leg at an unnatural angle. Halfway up her shin, the bone was snapped completely in half with the sharp edges jutting against her skin. He pushed the man in his arms to the closest alley before rushing over.
“Oh shit, shit, shit, SHIT! ” She swore on repeat. Her hands shook as the pain wracked her body.
He grabbed her shoulder to pry her attention away from the grievous injury.
“Mam, don’t touch your leg. I’m gonna try to carry you away from here, okay?”
The sounds of sirens were just barely audible in the distance, trapped in the morning traffic that clogged the cement veins of the city. He bit his lip as he waited for the woman to respond. She kept her eyes focused on her leg and barely registered the man trying to help her.
Sean threw caution to the wind and lifted her up. Her rail thin figure felt weightless as he made it to the end of the block with her in his arms. A few onlookers were peaking around the corner to watch the fight.
“Can you watch her for me? Her leg is broken. Just tell the EMT’s when they get here.” He turned away without waiting for a response and headed back to the scene.
Another massive explosion rocked the street. He could see the figure of a lone man skidding to a stop on the asphalt. His details were obscured by the new wave of dust.
Sean took a few steps forward before freezing. A glowing figure floated through the smoke and landed right before the down man.
“I fucking got your ass! You and your stupid heroes always try to mess my day up, but this time, I. Got. You.” He enunciated each word as he stepped closer.
Sean took a deep breath and swallowed the growing wad of spit in his throat. He reached down to the road and picked up one of the many bricks that littered the ground. His legs propelled him forward as the tumbling debris disguised his approach.
The villain stared down at the hero with his hand charged with a murderous light.
“Enjoy your eternal rest, idiot.”
Right before the blast could erupt, a heavy force smashed into the back of his head. The bolt flew off to the side and shredded the cement sidewalk. Chunks peppered Sean's side, causing welts to instantly appear. He ignored it and just slammed harder.
“Ah, son of a-” The villains complaints ended early as a barrage of blunt hits landed on his head until he finally lost consciousness.
He had done it. The bloody brick in his hand fell to the ground and fractured into a hundred pieces. A smile flitted across Sean’s stained face before rapidly falling.
The villain pulsed with energy below him. With Sean's weapon in pieces, he put his foot into action and stomped on the man's head with all the force he could muster.
Ten hits later and the bright red glow the villain emitted finally stopped. His hands trembled and his breathing was ragged. Adrenaline pumped throughout every inch of his body. His attention turned outwards once more.
The falling dust enclosed the area with a thick obscuring cloud.
He could hear the sirens much closer now. The pounding in his ears made it much harder to focus. He stared down at the body before moving over to the hero. The dark blue suit was shredded along every surface. Everything from road rash to deep gashes pocketed the exposed skin, leaking small rivets of blood onto the pavement below.
He felt for a pulse, something he learned from his recent past on the streets as overdoses spread through his 'friends'.
His worry fell as the strong heartbeat of the man pushed against his fingers. Fast but steady.
He turned as shouts erupted from down the block.
“Set up a perimeter. Provide aid. Team with me.” The commanding voice was quickly approaching his position along with a dozen other sets of legs.
‘Shit.’
Sean turned from the scene and ran. His legs carried him faster than ever before until the adrenaline finally wore off. A crowd of onlookers had varying looks of surprise and concern as he came stumbling out of the street.
“Hey man, I think you're bleeding.” The closest person approached him with a bottle of water.
Sean could hear a new set of sirens approaching this end of the block through the loud crowd that soon encompassed him.
“No! I’m fine. I just... excuse me.” He pushed past him and parted the citizens with a crazed look of desperation.
They watched him disappear into the flow of cars before turning to the scene of the attack once more, forgetting the strange figure in seconds.
He dodged around honking vehicles before finally landing on the other side of the road. He lifted his shirt up and wiped the grime from his face. Lines of black and grey marked the fabric with a horrific rendition of humanity.
He looked to the side and found his hidden refuge. The nearby alley welcomed him into the early morning darkness it offered. His back slammed against the wall before sliding down to the ground.
The full brunt of what just happened ran through his mind. A small smile washed over his features.
“I saved someone... Well. I think I did.”
He put his hands over his face and felt the filth still caked onto him.
“I need a damn shower.”
-
Sean pushed his way through the washhouse’s doors and turned to the front desk.
His smile dropped. A man he was unfortunately familiar with sat in the swivel chair, reading his book without a care in the world. The cheery Kelly that normally called out to him as he entered was nowhere to be seen.
His shoulders dropped as he walked past the desk.
The grime fell from his body under the warm water. He could feel the fatigue that the adrenaline departed on him slowly fall out of his tensed muscles. The other people barely glanced in his direction as he walked out of the building in the same filthy clothes he arrived in, a clear oversight that he couldn’t bring himself to care about.
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He rolled his shoulders as the sun was blocked by the roaming clouds. Every person he passed whispered of the attack like it was the worst thing to happen to the city in the last decade.
He couldn’t hold the sneer off any longer.
‘You wouldn’t actually give a shit if the people that got hurt died in a ditch and here you are, acting all worried and concerned for their wellbeing.”
He bit at his lip. Now was not the time to judge others and the reality of the city. There were more pressing matters at hand. Things that he needed to deal with if nothing else. A result of shower thoughts that now haunted him.
If he got body duplication from his mother, then would that mean she was still alive, wandering the city? The mere possibility that she was still around haunted him to no end.
The woman he thought he knew was a figment of his damaged psyche. With the help of the power appraiser, he now knew the real her. The woman that died clutching his sister’s body while she slowly froze to death covered in scraps. fighting till the end, caring for the last vestiges of her family.
It was tough on him. Something that he found beyond hard to come to terms with. The concerns that followed were nearly impossible to cope with.
He had a sister that was almost certainly still alive. He had handed her off to someone somewhere only to forget about her existence thanks to a hit and run. His first real death.
That quickly took top priority over everything else he could imagine. The only problem was, he had no idea where to start.
Was it even possible to find someone he didn’t know the name of nor the place she was given to?
He had no idea, but he had to try.
-
The Normal Watchers were crawling all over the motel when he arrived. A constant stream of the peacekeepers poured through his room. He joined a series of onlookers across the street,
“What happened over there?” He asked one of the noisy women.
“A break in. I doubt they’ll figure anything out. That place doesn’t have a camera in sight and I heard they don’t keep any names down either so they can’t even find the person who got kidnapped.”
Sean turned to him with an incredulous look.
“Kidnapped?”
She scoffed
“Well of course. Who breaks into a room of some john and a prostitute without kidnapping them? Only makes sense.” She turned away from the crowd and walked away like she had seen enough.
“Huh.” He didn’t know what to say. He apparently had been kidnapped along with his prostitute. A surprise to say the least.
He adjusted the small duffle bag around his shoulder. It was a hidden blessing for them to take everything he owned. Now, he was only out a charger and a few pieces of dirty clothes.
He followed in the woman’s steps, leaving the scene of the crime and headed towards a street he had no business returning to. It was somewhere he hadn’t been to in a very long time.
The buildings nearby were only a decade old compared to the majority of the aging city despite being near the center of the metropolis. A result of the villain’s attacks shattering much of the block. The brick and wood facing engulfed in flames that he saw during the session was replaced by glass panes across every surface. A sign of progress and leaving behind what once stood in its place.
His family's apartment was gone just like in his memories.
He looked at the steps; the only remaining piece of the building that stayed familiar. The exact same place his whole family stared up from as they watched their life fall apart.
It took every bit of willpower to walk away without shedding a tear. He was off once more, in search of another memory while his lips quivered with sadness.
The walk took him through some rough parts of town. People glared at him, shouted things he barely understood, and blocked his way multiple times, but it didn’t matter. He was on a mission and everyone that got a good look at him quickly got out of his way.
The air he carried was far different than ever before and it didn't take a genius to notice.
His feet finally came to a stop as he turned the corner and stared into one of the city’s many alleys. The only difference was, this one was special. Probably only to him, but he couldn’t care less.
It was where he had woken up and found his mom dead.
He couldn't hold the tears back anymore. The pile of emotions that sunk him deep into a state of depression only one night before was now flooding out onto the asphalt down below.
The passersby took a wide berth around the crying man out of a mixture of fear of the crazy man and morbid interest. Again, Sean struggled to care.
He wiped the dirty sleeve across his face, a rail of snot drawn onto his clothes. He swallowed deeply, the full weight of reality settling on his shoulders. The world was a cruel place and it never spared anyone that was already weak.
The smart phone in his pocket vibrated. He wiped his nose once more, withdrawing the device and looking at the dim screen.
The superhero’s beaming smile stared back at him with a green button blinking for him to answer. It flashed and flashed under his sight, but he didn’t answer. He was in no mood to talk and she was already on the list of people he never wanted to deal with again.
The device lit up again, her visage dominating the screen. He denied the call and looked towards the trashy alley.
The tears had dried up. Now he was just tired. Exhausted physically and emotionally.
His hand reached for the wad of money in his pocket. He already knew the week was going to be rough without enough money to get a room till work started up again. A long sigh left his lungs as he turned from the horrible alley.
The phone vibrated once more only for him to ignore it.
Then again.
And again.
And again.
Something tingled in his spine. A sudden hint of fear broke out. He reached for the phone and looked at the screen. A wall of text answered him. Everything ranging from accusations of cheating to begging for attention stared up from the little bubbles.
'How can I cheat when we aren't even dating?
He watched and waited as more of the messages poured in.
“Huh. Guess I have to say something.”
He replied with a single, short sentence.
'I’ll talk to you later.'
A few moments without an answer passed by with a new pit in his stomach forming. Every second that passed made it worse. Right before he could type another message, she responded.
“K? That isn’t a good sign is it?”
The question hung in the air, waiting for some astral being to answer him.
His shoulders dropped for the umpteenth time that day.
“Fuck it. I am getting another room.”
With his old favorite blown out of the water by a steady stream of cops, he needed to find a new place to enjoy. A full hour of wandering near the sketchy, streetwalker ridden side of town finally awarded him with a beacon of light.
“Motel on Mundry”
He parted with half of the remaining cash, an oversight in his calculations but one he was willing to make. The bed wasn’t nearly as worn out as the last. It molded to his figure while he stared up to the ceiling, a moment of deja vu overtaking him.
His mind was worn through thanks to the day’s emotionally challenging work, and he was left with nothing, but a tension filled headache and thoughts forcing him awake.
The memories he was shown days prior ran through him on repeat. The depressing emotions and hopeless feelings were muted but still ever present. The crushing effects of his own machinations were only lessened after going out of his way to help someone.
He pushed himself off the bed with a new idea giving him life.
“Should I become a Superhero?!”
The small television in the corner spoke off a series of horrifying statistics in the lapse of silence.
“Seven more names have been added to the Monstro-Man memorial tonight in remembrance of their service. They saved a total of three hundred and fifty lives in exchange for their own in the process of stopping thirty two villains.”
It wasn’t a bad trade. Each one of them saved far more people than he even thought about helping all while risking their lives and they had paid the ultimate price.
Seven heroes in one week was worse than normal but not beyond the realm of possibility. Undoubtedly, a particularly rough villain must have sprouted up and took a few of them out all by himself.
His sudden dream was squashed into the ground as he kept on listening to the depressing news.
“Maybe not.” He fell back into the bed and tried to coax his restless body into the dream world.
Hours passed by as night went and the early morning sun peeked through the drawn blinds. The feeling of alert exhaustion was in equal parts a result of the mental war he had embarked on and the terror of the villain's attack. The closest thing he could compare it to was the early stages of withdrawal.
The mere thought of the drug he went limping back to hurt his head. To call it a moment of weakness would have been an extreme understatement. It was more of a portal into what his mind resorted to when he was stressed.
A clear reminder that he wasn’t cured from his addiction, merely freed from its clutches. The real addiction was still there, just hidden away, hoping for him to slip up one time to draw him back into the life he dearly wanted a release from.
He pushed himself up from the bed for the first time in hours. His eyes moved to the television once more. The twenty-four-hour news was onto another topic that brought sorrow to everyone that listened.
“Six dead in a recent villain attack and a dozen more injured. Several powered have been taken into custody while the villain has been taken away in a body bag.” The female anchor introduced the story.
“Thank you Tiffany. Earlier today, an explosion rang through the streets of the lower east side. A bust led by Percepti on an unnamed villain with unknown powers went poorly.”
A picture of the superhero popped up to the side of him. The very same man Sean had seen laying before him looking much worse for wear.
“Most of the deaths are accounted for by the henchmen of the villain and were caused by an explosion caused by his unknown powers. One civilian was killed under rubble from the explosion while the other injuries were caused by shrapnel and the following stampede.”
A list of names scrolled by of the injured and hospitalized parties.
“None are in critical care as of the time of our reading and the lookout is good for everyone receiving treatment. The villain had been running a prostitution ring with several shifters under his control while selling drugs to the stores around the block. Truly despicable.”
The shot panned over to the newswoman once more, lining up with her neutral expression.
“A sad day for many in this great city. We can all thank Percepti for ending the horrible villain. Our next story is about poncho, the seven legged dog with super polio. Can more legs fix the debilitating disorder? Find out after this commercial break.”
She evened out a stack of paper on the desk in front of her before standing up.
“Who writes this sh-” It turned to the advertisements before she could finish the thought.
Sean turned the screen off and sat in silence.