It had always been this way, Jonghyun and I kicking and taking names. Our city was the safest in the country, no criminal dared to step into the boundaries of our home, therefore crime was barely even a part of anyone’s daily life. It’s what we did. We made a living doing it, and found a home in each other, since well...there were no others like us, at least, not anymore. 

I was born with super hero powers. The ability to fly, super strength, all that stuff, but my parents and family became scared of me; saying that I was too strong to control, that if I ever became angry, I would hurt them. My father blamed my mother for my powers, accusing her of being unfaithful, and telling me I was never his son. They abandoned me when I was 14, and no matter how much good I did in the city, or how many lives I saved, I would never be their son.

Then, someone saved me. The dino-rascal named Kim Jonghyun. He befriended me in high school. I was living on my own then, laying my head down where ever I could; but once someone found out about my powers, I was out on the street again. Jong and I quickly became friends, yet I never told him my situation or showed him my powers. He was the first and the only friend I had, and I didn’t want to lose him. I was terrified of being abandoned again. Yet Jonghyun had secrets of his own. I was 18 when I found out that my best friend had powers as well. 

Coming home from school one day, I saw him being cornered by a bunch of seniors. Right before my eyes, he picked up and threw one of the boys half way across the school’s football field. He laughed as the other boys ran off in terror. His laugh was soon silenced and his smile dropped when his eyes locked with mine. He looked like a deer in headlights, but before I could say a word, he took off at the speed of light.

When I didn’t hear from him or see him for a few days, I began to worry. However, his absence gave me time to think about a lot of things. If he was like me, then I could trust him. I wanted to tell him everything. I had been alone in my secret for so long that when I finally found someone like me, I felt like I couldn’t hold back my feelings. We needed to talk, and the best way for that to happen was for me to find him. I found his address through the school website which lead me to his family’s sea-side mansion.

Our entire city is situated by the ocean. There were cliffs overlooking the city, it’s harbor, and the sea. A single mansion stood on the highest cliff. A long dirt driveway lead past iron gates, right to the front door of the mansion. It looked Victorian on the outside, but once you moved closer, you could see that it had many state-of-the-art devices for security purposes.

I walked up to the front door with confidence. I had made my decision. I dressed a little nicer than I would have if I had been at school. I wore brown boots with kaki pants, a white button down shirt with a maroon V-neck sweater on top to protect me from the chilled autumn air. I knocked firmly on the door and waited. I heard the door unlock as an older gentleman answered. A small chubby faced teen stood by his side, both dressed in suits. 

“Um...Hi.” 

“How may I help you?” The older man asked with a smooth debonair smile.

“I’m looking for Jonghyun, Kim Jonghyun. Is he here?” 

“That depends on who is asking for the young master.” 

‘Young master?’

“His classmate, Choi Minho.”

“Please come in.” He and his teen shadow moved to the side and allowed me to enter. When I stepped inside, I was immediately welcomed into a grand foyer with a high ceiling. Unlike the Victorian exterior, the interior was all modern, bringing the old mansion into the 21st Century. A crystal chandelier hung from the high ceiling. Black furniture stood on white tiles; there was a table in the center that held a vase full of red roses, the only vivid color in the room.

“Please wait here with Onew.” I nodded as he turned and left down a long hallway. Onew stood in front of the doorway with his hands behind his back. An awkward feeling fell over the atmosphere. 

“Um, hello.” I extended my arm for a hand shake. Onew blinked at me in surprise, looking from me to my hand. His expression softened and his eyes smiled. 

“You are just like the young master.” He whispered, his head bowed, trying to cover his grin. My hand dropped and I looked at him curiously. 

“What are you? His butler?”

“Why yes, of course I am...well butler in training that is.”

“Hey.” Before I could respond, I heard a familiar voice from behind us. Onew stepped forward and bowed. I spun to see Jonghyun standing in the foyer with the elder butler behind him. He was in all black jeans, t-shirt, boots, and hoodie. Little did I know that we would soon be sharing the same attire. 

“Young Master.” 

“Onew...I told you, you don’t have to call me that.” Jonghyun smiled at him like a older brother would at a younger one. Then he turned to me, his smile dropped and the awkward atmosphere returned. 

“Um Jong, I-”

“Come on, let’s get out of here.” He grabbed a set of keys off the center table and beckoned me to follow. We walked out the front door and around the side of the mansion to the family’s built on garage. Parked right in front was a beautiful black motorcycle, washed and shined to perfection. Jonghyun tossed me a helmet and mounted his bike. I sat behind him, my hands hanging onto the belt loops of his pants. He kick started the bike and we pushed off, heading down the cliff side, taking the road away from the city. 

We stopped at a cliff park. Black railings lined the cliff’s edge while wooden benches sat back from the railings, still giving a good view of the ocean below. Jonghyun and I sat next to each other staring out at the scenery. How do you start a conversation like this? ‘Hey I know you’re a freak, I am too, lets be friends?’ No.

“Hyung, um-”

“Minho, have you ever felt like an outcast...”

Yes.

 “...or that you were different than everyone else?”

Yes.

“Jong-” I turned to look at him, but he was staring up into the night sky.

“My parents, the Kim’s, are well known Minho, well known for our...talents. I know you’re probably freaked out after what you saw and I’m sorry.”

“Hyung, I-” 

“I really like you Minho, I think you’re an awesome friend but...” 

“Jonghyun.”

“...I don’t think we should be friends anymore.” I jumped to my feet after hearing this.

“WILL YOU SHUT UP FOR ONE SECOND?!” He gaze snapped from the sky to look at me, his eyes wide with shock. 

“DO YOU SERIOUSLY THINK I WOULDN’T BE FRIENDS WITH YOU BECAUSE OF YOUR POWERS?!” 

“M-Minho...” His body sank into himself. I could tell he was utterly speechless, but I could also tell that he, like me, had felt rejection before, not by his parents, but by friends and everyone else.

“Hyung...I came to your house to talk to you... and to show you something...” I grabbed him by the hand and led him over to the railing. The drop below was jagged with sharp rocks leading down to the ocean below. What I was about to do was crazy to normal people, but Jonghyun and I...weren’t normal. I climbed over the rail and Jonghyun was immediately on me, trying to pull me back over. I simply pushed him away. 

“Trust me.” 

“Yes, I trust you to die by what you’re doing!” 

“No hyung, you need to trust me because I need to show you...” Reluctantly he backed off, but kept his hands clutched to the rail. I looked out at the ocean and breathed in the salty air. Without a second thought, I launched myself off the railing, falling towards the rocky embankment below.

~

Jonghyun screamed my name as I let go. I felt the power flowing inside me, reaching all parts of my body. Then suddenly, as if a firework exploded in my chest, I was rising. When I opened my eyes again, I was suspended in mid-air, facing a shocked white Jonghyun, who appeared to be starting to climb over the railing. His body was slumped over the rail, mouth agape, his eyes freakishly wide. I chuckled and hovered towards him.

“You’re not the only one who can be superman you know.”

That one phrase, that one moment in time, changed our lives forever. Once Jonghyun knew my story, he demanded that I come live with him. It only made sense since we both had super powers, and his family could teach me to tap into and harness those powers that lay dormant. 

Jonghyun’s family were millionaires, not only that, but Jonghyun comes from a long line of superhero’s dating back to the first world war. Yet, his family had kept their identities a secret until now. I understood wholeheartedly why they would, at least in their early years. People didn’t like things they couldn’t understand; get a mass of people like that together and your talking violence upon yourself and others like you.

I moved in immediately. Jonghyun’s parents took me in as one of their own. They gave me new clothes and trained me in my powers. Onew, who I learned was Jonghyun’s childhood friend, helped with my academics. Jonghyun and I had “super-hero classes” every day once we got home from high school. As the months past, all of us learned that Jonghyun’s powers were different than most super hero’s. Super strength and speed aside, Jongyun’s vocal cords are powerful enough to break the sound barrier and his lungs are strong enough for him to create a category five tornado. He could look as cute as a puppy, but had the temper of a dinosaur.

Wemalso discovered that my powers were more dangerous than other super hero powers. I had the strength like Jonghyun, but not the speed, instead, I got flight. I was also naturally athletic, so I conquered in sports; but the best thing of all was when we found out I could light stuff on fire. Hyung always said that when I was serious or intense I would ooze flaming charisma and that my eyes would burn through people’s souls. Little did I know that I could actually set things aflame with my eyes. It happened at our high school graduation, when my so called “parents” came to see me get my diploma. My parents acted proud and boastful about how well their son did; these were the same parents who put my out on the street because they were scared of me, who abandoned me. Well like any normal teen would do, I stared at them with seething anger, resulting in my father’s program catching fire. Ahhhh...good times.

By the time Jonghyun and I graduated college, we had honed and perfected all of our powers. Using them became second nature to us, almost like breathing. We grew into our muscular bodies and good looks too. I became the equivalent of superman, while Jonghyun became the equivalent of batman...but only shorter.

~

Now, it’s just me and Jonghyun in our sea-side home, along with Onew, the family’s faithful, clumsy, chicken maniac butler. Jong’s family seemed to be getting pressure from some past enemies and decided it was best for them to move and go under the radar for awhile. Leaving us three with the family house. We finally convinced Onew that while with us, he didn’t have to act like our butler, that he was free to do as he pleased. He didn’t always comply, but after a few years things changed. Onew became more of a friend than anything else, and it did help that he was a weapons expert. In the free time that we gave him, all he did was tinker and invent new weapons for us to use. Not that we needed them, but they were still good to have around the house. I could tell from when Onew trained with us that he is much more intelligent than the Kim family gave him credit for, and he can definitely kick some . I had a feeling that’s what hyung saw in him, even when he was training to be just a butler.

Yet, even though we’re always together, we are still alone. We still long for people to see who we really are, not just super hero’s, but plain guys as well. We each want someone to love, and for that person to love us back, unconditionally, without any agenda for dating the cities super hero’s.

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A/N: So, I wasn't planning on giving you guys a background to how the boys got started as super hero's and wanted to move right into the story-but I felt that it was needed. The next chapter will move the story along much faster ^.^ But please enjoy it anyhow! ^.^

ANY RECOMMENDATIONS ON THIS STORY'S CONTENT WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED!  <3

~S.I.R.