I fly through the midnight sky, gliding with the crisp night air. The stars twinkle above me like a river of sparkling diamonds. The full moon shines brightly, giving me strength in it’s luminous glow. I feel my powers growing, spreading through my body, giving me a sense of calming warmth. My loose-fit t-shirt and jeans blow in this midnight flight, strands of my neck-length brown hair fly back behind my face. I turn around so my back faces the city below. Looking up, I see a shooting star. I close my eyes and make a wish. 

~

Alarms sound in the distance. There is chaos on main street. Another shop is being robbed. I fly overhead, watching as people run in the opposite direction of my destination. The cities summertime heat makes sweat droplets slide down my forehead and neck . As I flew closer, I could hear deep voiced shouts, orders from a leader to his subordinates. A jewelry store comes into view. It’s front door’s glass window has been busted and the display case windows shattered. On the road below me, a bright light whizzes past. I sigh with a smirk. 

“It’s about freaking time." 

I gently landed on my feet beside my best friend and crime fighting partner. We dressed alike in all black; black jeans, vests, hoodies, military boots, and biker gloves. We stood shoulder to shoulder in front of a now destroyed jewelry store. The view of the damage was a lot worse from the ground. 

Ahh...just another day in paradise...

My partner took the first few steps towards the building while I followed a pace or so behind. We were almost at the entrance when we heard muffled shouts and glass shattering. At the door, we peered through the broken windows. A woman and her children were cowered in the furthest corner of the shop, while a stockier man stood in front of them, his arms extended out in protection. There were five other men, all dressed in black as well, only they wore ski masks. They searched the small shop, leaving nothing unturned or unbroken. A taller man stood in front of the shop owner and his family, shouting with his pistol raised. We could only assume the was the leader since he was the only finely dressed gentleman in the pack. He wore a suit of all black, with shined shoes and a cane to match. The hat he wore looked slightly faded and matched perfectly to his worn out black coat. His pistol, one that looked like something from an old western film, gleamed in the stores fluorescent light. It’s polished finish gave the weapon an lifeless and fake look. 

My partner looked back at me and smiled. I locked eyes with him and nodded, a smirk tugging on my own lips. He moved out of the way and allowed me the room I needed to make me signature move...or so he would say. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, focusing all my energy into my fist. I curled my arm back and aimed; with one swing, the front door flew into the shop, taking out three of the five lackeys with it. The leader of the gang whirled around to face us. His face went stock white as we stepped through the door’s threshold. 

“Tsh...always you two." The leader tried to speak confidently, but his eyes betrayed his voice. I stood and stared him down, I saw my best friend move out of the corner of my eye. 

“STOP. C-Come any closer and-and the family gets it!” The criminal raised his gun to the father, then began pointing it back and forth from the father to the mother and children. I saw more tears silently flow from the mother’s face as she held her children close, turning to protect them from the gun. I felt my anger rise. How dare this coward threaten this family, and for his own selfish gain. Criminals are all the same, don’t let anyone tell you different. All they care about is themselves and their personal agenda. anyone who gets in their way. The world is just a playground to them, and messing up innocent people’s lives is a cheap thrill that they would gladly pursue. All of them disgust me. All of them. 

I was about to pounce when I heard my best friend’s sing-song voice. 

“Then how about a game~”

“What are you talking about!? Does this look like a game to you?!” The leader yelled, his eyes widened in astonishment of such an idea.

“Um...yes?” 

“Jong...Shut. Up.” 

“Come on big guy. Listen, I’ll make you a deal...me against all five of your guys. Outside. If your guys win, you take everything this family has to offer...” The leader began laughing maniacally. The gun was lowered and he motioned for his underlings to come forth. 

“Sounds like a great game to me!” He laughed with boundless confidence, flashing us his yellowed teeth. 

“...however if I win...” 

‘Ah...I love my best friend. He’s an idiot but a brilliant idiot nonetheless.’ Sure, this all could’ve been dealt with very quickly and easily, but let’s just say, we liked to spice things up. 

“If I win...then you get to play with Minho”. I smirked in sick delight as the mood of the leader changed. I stretched my neck; rotating it around, I allowed my neck bones to crack. The sound eerily resonated throughout the shop.

“Deal?” Jonghyun asked sweetly with that stupid puppy dog grin plastered on his lips. No one ever would’ve thought he could be a machine of utter destruction and chaos under that ridiculously innocent smile. 

“D-deal!” 

“Alright! Let’s go kiddos!” He swiftly turned and walked out into the street; standing in the middle, he waited for the five assailants to come. They did indeed approach Jonghyun, however agonizingly slow, unsure of really what to expect. They weren’t muscles heads, but they weren’t twigs and sticks either. Still, Jonghyun would win, he always wins. 

My gaze never broke from the leader; not as he watched Jonghyun pelt his subordinates with debris, or even when Jong lifted a car with his bare hands and threw it at them. All I could do was smile wickedly as I heard Jonghyun’s laugher from outside. The family that was originally sunk in a corner, now stood with their eyes wide and mouth’s agape as they watched my partner turn a ordinary street into an obstacle course. He’s always been good at doing that. I took a step further towards the leader. He jumped back, pointing the gun at me with a shaky hand. His eyes mirrored pure terror; a sight I had seen all too many times throughout my life.

“What? Are you gonna shoot? Just give up. You know you can’t win.” Another step. He backed up against the wall, his back pressed flat as if he were trying to melt through it. His cane discarded long ago, and hat now askew on his head; he looked like a puppy, cornered and defenseless. I motioned for the family to get out while they still could. The leader wasn’t even worried about them anymore. He was more worried about himself than anything else. Especially now that he heard the sounds of his comrades in agony; not death, no, never death, but always agony. The gun remained pointed at me as I watched the family escape thru the backdoor to safety. Another step and the sleek barrel of the gun was pressed against my chest. My fingers twitched I heard glass crack on the floor, my heartbeat calmed as I felt Jonghyun’s presence beside me. 

Don’t get me wrong, yea, we were super strong, but we could also be super stupid. There had been more than one occasion where it wasn’t Jonghyun behind me, but someone who one up’ed him for only a second.

“Well...that was fun, but it looks like I won. Sooooo, he’s all your’s Minho.” My eyes lit up with anticipation, as the leader’s darkened with fear. 

“Or...this could end now and we spare you. Your choice honestly.” The leader, looking emotionally spent, sank down to the floor and curled up into a ball. Gliding his knees to his chin, he wrapped his arms around himself. He slid the gun away; Jonghyun caught it with his foot. Picking the gun up, he secured it in an empty holster that was attached to the underside of his vest. Once the gun was safe, I hoisted the now panicking leader up. I hardly touched the man and he was already screaming bloody murder. I lifted him and threw him over my shoulder. I turned and walked out of the shop while Jonghyun was right behind me, binding the man’s hands together with rope he must’ve found in his artistic chaos. 

In the street, a new scene had been created. Among the debris, and unconscious henchmen, there were now police cruisers and various other authorities. The lights of the cop cars painted the street in a red, white, and blue tint. Onlookers who dared to come out of their homes stood along the sidewalks, some snapping photos of the scene that was unfolding. Others made sure to get candid photos of Jonghyun and I to fangirl over. 

The police chief stood by his squad car, yelling into his phone; presumably at his own men, while his assistants ran back and forth between cars trying to get as much information as they could. No doubt the press would show up soon, and lets just say the media wasn’t always helpful by butting in durning an intense investigation.

I walked with Jonghyun over to the police chief and plopped the leader down onto the ground. A small grunt combined with a whimper escaped his lips. 

“Police Chief Lee Soo-Man-sshi.” We both stood proud, shoulder to shoulder once again as we saluted him. He slammed his car phone down and turned to us with a big dad-like smile.  He was dressed in his police uniform with his gun strapped to his waist. His badge shown brightly on his chest and twinkled with the slightest of movement. 

“Well done boys. Like always...” He grinned and gave us both pats on the shoulders. We bowed in respect and gave him the innocent boyish smile he always liked to see.

“We can take it from here. Thank you so much. I’m glad you could catch this guy before anyone else was hurt.” 

“Your welcome.” I responded as I watched a few police officers shove the gang leader into their squad car. 

“Seriously boys, have you thought about my offer? I mean police work seems to be a perfect fit. I’m sure with your skills-” 

“No thank you Lee-sshi, we just want normal lives.” Jonghyun was quick to answer. In fact, we always were quick to answer that question, since we’ve only been asked about a thousand times. 

“Hah! Normal?! You boys are anything but normal!” The police chief spat with a little more acid in his voice since the last time he asked. There was something about the chief that I didn’t like. I couldn’t place a finger on it but, he seemed too...stern? No. Whatever it was, I was always skeptically of working for him, which is why I always refused, aside from other obvious reasons. I glanced at Jonghyun who lowered his head in buried pain and silent frustration. It was true, we did want normal lives; but what the police chief was saying was also true- we weren’t normal. 

“Lee-"

“CHIEF!” I sighed heavily as I was interrupted by the one and only Mayor... Don’t get me wrong the Mayor was a fantastic man, probably one of the best, but he could be a little bit...exaggerated.

“Ah! Mayor Shin-dong!” Everyone bowed in respect as the Mayor approached. We greeted the Mayor like wise. He was a peculiar looking man, stocky with brown hair in a bowl cut. His cheeks where puffy and red, and every time he smiled, his eyes would become crescent moons. His suit jacket fit a little to tightly, but thankfully matched with the rest of his outfit. I heard Jonghyun sigh under his breath as well...we both knew what would be coming next...and quite honestly...we hated it. 

~

“I would like to commend you for all your hard work in capturing this dangerous criminal and keeping the city once again safe from harm.” 

‘I swear to God if the PowerPuff Girls theme tune starts playing...’  I smiled halfheartedly at the citizens that had gathered around the square. Jonghyun stood next to me wearing a fake smile of his own. We had done this so many times it seemed to become as natural as breathing. 

“...on this day we celebrate having such amazing individuals in our mists to protect the city and it’s people! Thank you!” The Mayor boasted in a loud voice over the cheers of screaming fans and citizens. We bowed in respect and shook hands with everyone who was involved in dangerous feet to catch the blah blah blah blah. It’s all protocol. Bad guy comes into town, starts , we save the day, we go through these stupid ceremonies, and wait for our check to come in the mail. 

Why?

Acceptance. 

“Minho Oppa!!”

“Jjong Oppa we love you!” We kept bowing as we walked through the crowd of people. Even superstars who come to town don’t get a welcome party like we do. Thankfully some of the police offices created a barricade so that the hordes of screaming fangirls stayed put. We reached the end of the crowd where the police chief was standing next to our other best friend and butler Onew. 

“He sure knows when we need saving...” Jonghyun chuckled under his breath as we strode quickly to the black car that Onew was standing in front of. 

“Ah...boys.”

Now what?

We turned to Lee-sshi, the question was already in the air without us even saying a word.

“Just...just be careful tonight.” I cocked an eyebrow at the police chief. That was unexpected.

“Chief, we’re super heros, we’re always careful!” 

“Right well, thanks again.” He extended his hand like he always did after we saved the city. Jonghyun shook it quickly before climbing into the car. Onew was scrambling into the driver’s seat as I took my turn shaking the Chief’s hand. The minute my hand met his, he pulled me forward to grasp my shoulder, leaning over, he whispered in my ear. 

“Seriously Minho. We’ve gotten reports about criminals on the outskirts eyeing the city like a piece of seared beef. I know you and Jonghyun have powers and all, but just be careful of those you trust ok?” He flashed me his signature smile again, making his grip on my hand and shoulder tighter. 

“T-thanks hyung...I will. Goodbye.” We let go at the same time. I turned and climbed into the car, sliding in next to Jonghyun who was waving out the window like an idiot. I glanced back to see the police chief staring at us. There was something in his eyes that made my nerves uneasy and my stomach flip. I glared at him as he smirked and waved us away. 

“Drive Onew.” We pulled away from the crowd and speed off to the cliffs. Our town was located by the ocean, our house had been built on one of the many cliffs that overlooked the ocean and the city that we protected. Our town was ranked highest in the country for the most pleasurable places to live. I’ll give you three guess who helped them claim that statistic...

We drove in silence. The Chief’s words repeated in my head. Did he know something that we didn’t? It’s possible, I mean he is the head of the police, and there are things that they don’t always tell us. There’s this love/hate relationship between us and the local officers here. Either they love us to death because we take care of all the dangerous , or they hate us because we take their glory away. I’m pretty sure the Chief is the later of the two. Even in our younger years as crime fighters we were always taking the spotlight off the police. However, many officers were able to retire early, or better yet, they could come home to their families every night, never feeling afraid that they would be injured or die in the line of duty. You would think that every man would be happy that they could live another day...but you’d be surprised how many of us put glory and pride before actually living. 

I watched the scenery change as we drove closer to our home. I watched the ocean’s tides, it’s waves constantly moving. I tried to focus on that in order to calm my busy mind. We reached our cliff side mansion rather quickly, Onew always did have a thing for speed. We reached the front gates and the car slowed to a crawl as the iron bars opened, allowing our entry. The old victorian house gave off a creepy aura in dark as we pulled into the garage. I was about to climb out when I felt a hand on my shoulder. 

“Challenge to FIFA requested.” My best friend asked smiling. He really knew how to perk me up after a long day of fighting bull and listening to speeches that were so broken and rehearsed that they began to sound like a 1960’s record player. 

I looked at him with fire in my eyes.

“Challenge Accepted.” In an instant we bolted from the car.

“I bought Chinese food!” We heard Onew scream as we all ran into the house, racing for the living room and my Xbox. 

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

Sooo I was watching Avengers with one of my friends...and then this happened.

Please enjoy!

~S.I.R.