"One, two, three,"

 

Jiho inhaled slowly as he blocked out the world around him.  

 

"Nine ten eleven,"

 

The silence was nice, especially since it was so rare.  Between his classes at Stardom University, and practicing to control his powers, Jiho almost never had any time to simply relax.  

 

Jiho, like many people these days, was born with superpowers.  Sometime in the 20th century, the Earth was struck by a cosmic storm, and the resulting radiation gave people superhuman abilities.  In the years that followed, comic book heroes inspired people to become the first costumed heroes, and thus the superpowered boom began.  But that's ancient history... These days, Superheroes are more famous than any actor or musician could ever hope to be, and Jiho's parents were two of the most popular heroes to ever exist...Cyclone and Maneuver.

 

His mother had the ability to manipulate air, and his father possessed superhuman speed and reflexes.  Together they rose to the top of the hero community, and they stayed there for years... Until Jiho's 9th birthday.

 

"Jiho! Grandma wants you to come downstairs!" A piercing voice shook Jiho from his thoughts and forced him to open one of his eyes.

 

"What for!? I'm trying to have some peace and quiet here Jiyeon!"

 

"She says she has a gift for you! Just get your down here!"

 

Jiho groaned as he uncrossed his legs and climbed off his bed.  He glanced out his window, and stopped cold when he thought he saw a shadowy figure, watching him from the rooftop across the street.

 

"What the hell?" Jiho whispered, narrowing his eyes and moving closer to the window.  The figure bolted from the rooftop with impressive speed, but there was no way Jiho was letting it get away.  He opened the window and leapt out as quickly as he could.  The ground rushed up to meet him and his heart started to race, but not from fear, from the sweet anticipation of preparing to use his power.

 

Jiho tensed his muscles and a powerful gust of wind propelled him up to the top of the building.  He landed with a soft thud where the shadow had been.  Without missing a moment he ran off after it.  He was a short ways behind, but as long as he didn't lose sight of it, he knew he could catch up.  With a few wind powered leaps, Jiho was right behind the shadow, which he could now see was a young man.

 

"Stop!" Jiho screamed, blasting air out from his palm and sending the young man tumbling across the rooftop before crashing into an air conditioning unit.  He looked up at Jiho and coughed up a small amount of blood.

 

"Who are you? Why were you watching me and why did you run when I saw you?" Jiho demanded.  The boy smirked and reached behind his back.

 

"You'll find out soon enough, Jenissi's plan is already in motion," he said before throwing down a smoke pellet.  Jiho almost immediately blew the smoke away, but the spy was long gone.  All Jiho could think about as he climbed back into his bedroom window, was what the boy said... Who was Jenissi, and what was he planning?   Was it somehow related to his parents? They did have a lot of enemies who would love to hurt him or his family.  Then again, that was the exact reason the CSA put them in the Powered Protection Program.  Unfortunately, he'd have to think about that later, because his sister was standing in his room, and she didn't look happy.

 

"Where the hell did you go? I tell you to come downstairs and you climb out the window?"

 

"Calm down Jiyeon! There was this guy watching me from across the street and I-"

 

"Not now Jiho, just come on!" Jiyeon cut him off, grabbing him by his wrist and pulling him down the stairs into the living room where their grandmother awaited them.

 

"Finally you're here Jiho! I have great news for you! There's been a murder at the Skyworld hotel downtown!" She said with a warm smile.

 

"And why is that good news exactly!?" Jiho was shocked by his grandmother's ecstatic view on a horrendous crime.

 

"Because it's the perfect chance for me to give you this!" She replied, handing Jiho a small plastic card.  His jaw dropped when he examined it and realized what it was... An official CSA approved Hero license.  

 

Real Name: Shin Jiho

Codename: Xero

Date of Birth: February 3rd, 2080 (Age, 19)

ual Orientation: Biual

Marital Status: Single

 

Now he could finally begin his heroic career!  All thoughts of Jenissi and his mysterious plan faded from Jiho's mind as he pulled his grandmother into a tight hug.

 

“Thank you so much grandma, this means the world to me! I can’t help but ask… how on earth did you afford this?”

 

“I’ve been selling my paintings!”

 

Jiho had all but forgotten that his grandmother had the ability to control create and control ink, making her a master painter.

 

“Don’t forget this,” Jiyeon spoke up, after a short period of being uncharacteristically quiet.  She handed Jiho a large box, which he quickly opened.  Inside was a sleek, jet black body suit, made from Synthium; a fabric that had been altered on a molecular level, making it an amazing body armor that could withstand anything from knives to small explosions.  It was also adaptive, meaning that it could be coded to match a particular powerset so that the suit would respond to a heroes powers in the same way that their body would.  Not only was it expensive, but it could only be purchased with an official CSA license.

 

“How’d you get this? The license has my name on it,” Jiho wondered, trying his best to contain his excitement.

 

“The owner of the HeroStuff store is my ex… he owed me a favor or two,” Jiyeon said with a nonchalant shrug.

 

“I can’t thank you two enough,” Jiho said softly with a grin.

 

“You can be emotional later, for now you need to get going!  There’s a perfectly good case out there and it isn’t going to wait for you!” his grandmother urged him, practically pushing him up the stars.  He quickly stripped down and pulled on the skin tight Synthium suit (unfortunately he wouldn’t have time to customize it) before retrieving something very special from his drawer… the mask he had been designing since he was 9 years old.

 

He had been through multiple designs over the past ten years, but he finally settled on a simple mask that covered the upper half of his face.  After securing it with some mask tape (Also acquired from the always helpful, HeroStuff store) he was finally ready to face the world as Xero, son of Cyclone and Maneuver!

 

Xero walked over to the window and opened it, taking a deep breath before hurling himself outside…

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

 

There was no better feeling than soaring through the air, completely uninhibited by gravity… well almost completely.  Most people think that flying feels like floating, but for Xero, it was more like swimming.  He constantly had to to flex his muscles to manipulate the air in a way that would allow him to stay airborne for more than a few seconds.  He was actually working against gravity just to stay afloat, but it was still liberating nonetheless.

 

It didn’t take long for him to arrive at the magnificent Skyworld hotel.  The entire building looked like a modern art masterpiece with it’s spiraling vertical design and reflective glass windows.  The police had the place completely surrounded and yellow tape blocked the entrance… Whoever was killed must have been important.  Xero landed right in front of the front doors, where he was immediately stopped by two police officers wearing Power Buster armor, specifically made to withstand attacks from powered individuals.

 

“I’m sorry, but this is a crime scene, you can’t go in there,” said one of the officers. He didn’t seem to be much older than Xero.  Xero squinted to read the name on his badge before pulling out his license.

 

“Officer Park? My name is Xero, and I’m a newly licensed hero willing to take on this case,”

 

The officer examined the license for a moment before reluctantly stepping aside.  Xero smiled widely and rushed into the building… where he was immediately met with the stench of burned flesh.  It took all his might to stop himself from vomiting as he stepped closer to the charred corpse in the center of the lavish lobby.  The body was burned beyond recognition.

 

“Who was this guy… or girl… I can’t even tell anymore,” Xero mumbled to himself.  He was so focused that he didn’t even notice another hero in a forest green bodysuit walk up next to him.

 

“According to my DNA scan, this poor er used to be the mayor,”

 

Xero jumped, startled by the sudden appearance of the other hero.  He stared at his mask for a mask for a brief moment; it looked to be made out of small, metallic leaves.

 

“Who are you? And how did you manage to do a DNA scan faster than the police?” Xero wondered.

 

“The name’s Thorn, and I’m somewhat of a technological guru.  I mean I have been doing this for a while now.  You a rookie? I’ve never seen you in the field before,”

 

“Yeah, this is my first night out,” Xero replied, nervously scratching his head.

 

“First night huh? Those can be tough.  Tell ya what, I’ll share everything I know about this case with you.  I’ve got a soft spot for rookies,”

 

“You’d really do that for me? Thanks!”

 

“From what I can tell, these burns didn’t come from a fire. The mayor was somehow struck by lightning before he could leave the lobby.  The cops said none of the other patrons reported anything out of the ordinary before the strike, but my meteorological monitor didn't pick up any lightning in a ten mile range of here,” Thorn said, never making direct eye contact for more than a second.  He was far too busy checking his wrist computer.  Xero rubbed his chin in thought for a moment before he spoke up again.

 

“What if a supercriminal did this?  They could have easily walked right inside, posing as a normal patron and fired a lightning blast without anyone noticing until it was too late,”

 

“Wow,” Thorn began, “I honestly hadn’t considered that.  Let me scan the CSA database for all known supercriminals with the ability to generate electricity…done! It says here that the only one in the last fifty years was Stinger, but she was killed in action years ago by Cy-”

 

“Cyclone and Maneuver, I know,” Xero quickly cut him off.  He didn’t need to be reminded of the biggest controversy of his parents’ career, “What if they were unregistered or otherwise unknown? There are tons of powered mercenaries out there that the CSA wouldn’t have record of,”

 

“Very true. And the mayor would be a sensible target for assassination, especially after giving heroes more authority over criminals.  But the only criminal in Starlight City with enough money to hire a powered mercenary is…” Thorn stopped, his eyes growing wide with horror.

 

“Who?”

 

“King Chaos,”

 

Xero’s blood went cold at the simple mention of that name.  King Chaos was an exceptionally feared crime boss with powerful telekinetic abilities.  Maybe going after him on his first night out was a bit too much for Xero to handle…

 

“Thanks for the help rookie, but I’m going after Chaos alone.  I wouldn’t want you to get hurt out there,” Thorn said, patting Xero on the back as he turned to leave.  For a moment, Xero considered letting him go… but then he remembered who he was, and who his parents were.  There was no way he was letting any criminal scare him into giving up.

 

“Wait! I’m going with you.  Don’t worry about me, I can handle myself,”

 

Thorn sighed but after a moment of hesitation he waved for Xero to follow him outside.

 

“Officers, this rookie and I are officially taking control of this case.  We believe that King Chaos is responsible for the murder and since he is a powered individual, I think the police should stay out of this.  If he is not apprehended within two hours, you may contact me at frequency 140.89.  If I don’t answer and do not contact you in thirty minutes, send backup to the Starlight shipyard,” Thorn said quickly.  It was almost as if he’d recited that same speech a million times.  Officer Park wrote down the information as Thorn pulled out a metallic disk from his backpack.  With the click of a button the disk hovered in midair and he climbed on board.

 

“You have a hovercraft? Those things are insanely expensive!” Xero shouted, awestruck.

 

“Like I said, I’ve been doing this awhile.  Those paychecks from the smaller cases start to add up eventually.  Now let’s get going,” Thorn replied as he took off into the air. Xero wasn’t far behind.

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

 

As they were flying, the memory of the mysterious spy popped into Xero’s head.  He’d been so wrapped up in the excitement of his first case, that he’d almost forgotten about his strange encounter earlier that night.  Whoever this Jenissi person was, they were clearly up to something.

 

“Hey Thorn, have you ever heard the name Jenissi?” Xero asked as they approached the shipyard.

 

“Doesn’t ring any bells,” Thorn said, but he didn’t seem like he was really paying attention, “Now listen, we’re gonna need a plan of action if we’re gonna take down King Chaos.  I recommend a stealthy approach. The element of surprise is our biggest advantage,”

 

“Agreed.  Any idea which warehouse is his base of operations?” Xero wondered as they landed on top of a large shipping crate.

 

“I’m scanning for other powered individuals in the area… done.  There are three in that warehouse over there, one is particularly strong.  There also seems to be one right behind us?”

 

“That would be me,”

 

Thorn and Xero quickly turned around to see a rather short young hero in a blue synthium bodysuit that had a crescent moon airbrushed on the chest.  His short stature, combined with his high pitched voice gave him the appearance of a thirteen year old, even if his face was obscured by an opaque visor.

 

“And you are?” Xero raised a curious eyebrow.

 

“Hydro’s the name.  And I hate to rain on your parade, but I’m gonna be the one to bring in King Chaos, not you two,” the hero replied with a slight giggle.

 

“Wait, you managed to crack the case too?” Thorn sounded genuinely surprised.

 

“Not exactly,” Hydro admitted, “I kinda overheard you talking to the police back at the Skyworld hotel,”

 

“Then you don’t even deserve to be here! You’re not a real hero, you’re just a hack!” Xero snapped.  There was nothing that angered him more than hero wannabes.

 

“Hack? You did not just go there pretty boy!” Hydro yelled, his fists becoming encased in ice.  He swung at Xero, hitting him hard in the jaw, causing him to stumble backwards.  Plant vines emerged from Thorn’s arms and he began whipping them at Hydro who was barely fast enough to dodge them.  Hydro immediately leapt down off the crate and onto one of the loading docks.  He closed his eyes and the seawater around him rose up to form giant tentacles.

 

“We need to finish this quickly,” Xero said, still angry about the er punch.  He shot out wind from his fists in the form of what he liked to call “gust punches”.  The blasts severed a few of the water tentacles, but they were quickly replenished; as long as Hydro had a significant water supply, he was practically unstoppable.

 

Two of the tentacles surged forward, grabbing onto the shipping crate before tossing it across the shipyard. Xero and Thorn barely managed to jump off in time.  Xero gasped; now that they were on ground level he could see just how large the water tentacles were.

 

“Don’t attack the tentacles, attack him directly! If he’s incapacitated he can’t attack!” Thorn screamed as he rushed forward, vine whips at the ready.  Xero followed suit, charging ahead with a gust of wind.  A tentacle tried to smash him, but he rolled aside and blasted it into oblivion before focusing on Hydro himself.  Xero and Thorn attacked simultaneously, but just before their hits landed, a wall of ice rose in front of Hydro, completely shielding him.

 

“Enough of this!” Thorn screamed as his skin and bodysuit were covered in thick tree bark.  He punched through the ice shield but was knocked aside by a tentacle.  It didn’t matter though, he’d given Xero an opening. One well placed gust punch sent Hydro flying halfway down the dock  He landed with a hard smash, not only knocking him out, but cracking his visor as well.

 

“Well done… Xero behind you!” Thorn yelled, but it was too late.  All Xero felt was a splitting pain in the back of his head before everything went black.

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

 

.”Hey! Hey wake up!”

 

Xero groaned as he opened his eyes.  The room around him was blurry, but he could make out someone standing in front of him.  He quickly realized that he was tied up when he tried to rub his throbbing head.

 

“Who are you?” he asked.

 

“I’m Jenissi. I’ve been waiting on you to arrive,”

 

“You? You’re Jenissi? So you’re the one who sent that spy after me! Let me guess, this was all your plan huh?”

 

“Yes and no.  I did send the spy, and it was part of my plan for you to end up here, but you weren’t supposed to be captured. Now I’ have to find a way to free you before the broadcast begins,” Jenissi paced back and forth anxiously.

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“My father is trying to find a way to hack into every news feed in the city.  He’s going to execute you and those other heroes to prove that he’s the worst supercriminal of them all,”

 

“Wait… King Chaos is your father!?”

 

Jenissi sighed in annoyance.

 

“Yes! Wait… someone’s coming… yeah take this you no good hero!” Jenissi’s tone changed completely before he punched Xero as hard as he could.  Before Xero could even curse him out, a young man with purple hair entered the room.

 

“Jenissi, your father needs you upstairs,” he said softly.

 

“Oh Byungjoo it’s just you! Jiho, this is Byungjoo, the mercenary I hired to kill the mayor,” Jenissi said cheerfully.

 

“So you’re the one who hired the mercenary! Wait a second… did you just call me Jiho!?” Xero’s heart rate increased due to his sudden realization.

 

“Yes I did. I know who you are Shin Jiho, and I know that your parents were Cyclone and Maneuver… I’m so sorry about what happened to them by the way,”

 

Xero gritted his teeth… that punk did not just mention his parents.  He took a deep breath; yelling at him over that was pointless, he needed to get to the bottom of what was going on.

 

“What the hell do you want from me?” Xero demanded.

 

“I’ll have to tell you later, back in a bit! Byungjoo, keep an eye on him for me,” Jenissi said as he rushed up the rickety wooden stairs.  As soon as he was gone, Byungjoo ran across the room and kicked Xero in the stomach, taking the air from his lungs.

 

“What the hell, why did you do that!?” Xero yelled, or at least he tried to.

 

“Your parents, those so called ‘heroes’, they killed my mother!” Byungjoo shouted.

 

“Wait so your mother was…”

 

“Stinger,”

 

Xero’s jaw dropped as he remembered the tragic circumstances of Cyclone and Maneuver’s most controversial mission… the mission that was also their last.

 

It was February 3rd, 2089, the night of Jiho’s ninth birthday.  His parents were called on to deal with a threat from a C-list supercriminal, Stinger.  They promised that it wouldn’t take long and instructed Jiyeon to watch Jiho until they returned.  They arrived on the scene, The Starlight Energy Plant, where they found Stinger strapped into a device that was siphoning electricity to create a massive bomb.  The resulting explosion would not only kill the three of them, but it would destroy half the city.  

 

Maneuver ran around the facility as quickly as possible, disconnecting as many cables as he could.  But in the end, there was only one choice.  The bomb had already siphoned too much energy, and with no way to disarm it, Cyclone was forced to create an enormous windstorm, powerful enough to lift the bomb high above the clouds.  The explosion was still disastrous however, but it only destroyed the Energy Plant, and two more blocks.  Unfortunately, Cyclone, Maneuver, and Stinger were all killed in the blast.

 

In the weeks that followed, people began to call Cyclone and Maneuver murderers, saying that better heroes would have been able to avoid the catastrophe entirely.  Jiho and Jiyeon were forced to change their last names and live with their grandmother on the fringes of the city.  Ever since then, Jiho had been determined to redeem his family name by becoming the best of the best.

 

“Listen to me Byungjoo,” Xero spoke up, finally shaking himself from his memories, “My parents did not murder your mother, they just did what was necessary to save as many lives as they could!”

 

“She didn’t deserve to die! She was sick, she needed help! I mean yeah, she hurt people, but I knew who she truly was… she was a good mother,” tears rolled down Byungjoo’s cheeks as he turned away from Xero.

 

“I don’t doubt that Byungjoo, and I know how you feel.  I lost my parents that night too.  The best thing we can do to honor our parents is to rise above that tragedy,”

 

“You know… my mom never wanted me to be a criminal.  She always felt bad about the things she’d done… but those voices, those damn voices in her head kept driving her toward madness until she finally snapped.  She always told me she wanted me to be a hero, to atone for her sins,”

 

“Then you should honor her wishes. Help me defeat Jenissi and bring down King Chaos,” Xero pleaded.  Byungjoo looked confused.

 

“Working with Jenissi is helping to bring down King Chaos.  We’re not criminals, we’re trying to take him down from the inside… that’s why he needed you,”

 

“What? Then why’d he hire you to kill the mayor?”

 

“To get your attention! He knew you’d be one of the few heroes able to crack the case and it would lead you here,”

 

“So… you two killed an innocent man just to get my attention!”

 

“Hey if you wanna make an omelette, you gotta break a few eggs,” Jenissi said, finally returning to the room, “besides, no one is truly innocent,”

 

“You’re insane,” Xero practically spat.

 

“I know it seems excessive, but I had to be sure you’d come here of your own free will.  I mean, I could’ve had that spy kidnap you at any time over the past five years, but I knew that would only make things worse.  My dad would wanna know why I brought you here, you wouldn’t wanna help me, blah blah blah,” Jenissi said, sitting down in a rusty chair.

 

“How did you even know about me in the first place?” Xero wondered.

 

“Well I was well aware that Cyclone and Maneuver had children and I figured they’d be in witness protection after they died, so I hacked into the CSA database to find out where they were.  Originally I wanted your sister, but then I figured out she didn’t have any powers, so i settled on you instead.  The spy gave me lots of information on you, your powers and a lot of other stuff too. I’ve seen lots of snapshots of you drying off in your room after a shower,” Jenissi smirked.

 

Xero shuddered and tried to push the thought from his mind.

 

“Anyway, I knew you’d be the perfect hero to take down my father once and for all. I mean, you’re a powered prodigy! You may not realize it, but you’ve got real potential,”

 

“Why do you want to take down King Chaos anyway? I mean, he’s your father,” Xero asked.  Jenissi’s expression darkened.

 

“You’re right, he is my father… he’s also a horrible man who has killed hundreds of people and will probably kill hundreds more… he needs to be stopped by any means necessary,”

 

As much as Xero hated to admit it, Jenissi was right.

 

“Where are Thorn and Hydro? If I’m gonna fight King Chaos, I’m gonna need help,”

 

“One of them is being held in the loading bay, the other is in my dad’s office,"

 

“Set them free and we’ll attack all at once,”

 

“That is a horrible idea. I’m gonna let him round you all up and prepare the execution, then I’ll use my telekinesis to free you all at the same time and you can take him down on live broadcast,” Jenissi said with a big grin as if it were the best idea ever conceived.

 

“That… could work. But It’s very risky,” Xero mumbled to himself.

 

“Risky is my middle name! Well… actually it’s Leopold, but you get the point,”

 

“Jenissi! You and your mercenary bring that hero up here now! The broadcast is about to start!” called a booming voice down the staircase.  Jenissi immediately froze in place before nodding to Byungjoo.  The two of them helped Xero to his feet and as they were walking him up the stairs, he caught a glimpse of himself in a broken shard of glass.

 

“Wait… my mask! Where is my mask!? I can’t be on a citywide broadcast without it!”

 

“My father cut it off your face and tossed it, just like the other two…He said he wanted the city to see who you all really were before he killed you.  Sorry Jiho, you’re just gonna have to deal with it,” Jenissi whispered as he and Byungjoo forcefully pushed Jiho into the main area of the warehouse.  There were floating camera orbs all over the place, and Thorn and Hydro were tied up in the center of the room.  Jiho was pushed down next to them and his eyes widened in shock when he saw Hydro’s true face…

 

“Hansol!?” he whisper-shouted.

 

“Jiho!? You’re a hero? Since when?” Hansol replied in the softest voice he could manage.

 

“First night on the job,” Jiho explained.

 

“You two know each other?” Thorn wondered aloud; a hint of annoyance in his voice.

 

“Yeah we take classes together at Stardom University,” Hansol replied.

 

“Well that’s great, but can we focus on the class reunion later? We have a serious problem here! These ropes are too strong for me to bust out of, even if I armor up with tree bark first,”

 

“I can’t freeze them either,” Hansol said shamefully.

 

“They must be made from some kind of metallic alloy… we’re not gonna get out of them, at least not yet,” Jiho said with a subtle wink.  Both Hansol and Thorn seemed confused, but before they could question him, a loud bang echoed through the room.  The three of them turned their attention to the front of the room where King Chaos was standing, holding a smoking gun in the air.

 

His long black hair covered his left eye and his right eye was missing, leaving a gaping black hole where it should have been.  It was rumored that he could sense where things were using his telepathy alone.  His wiry frame wasn’t conventionally intimidating, but he gave off an aura of pure madness that could shatter even the most resolute calm.

 

“Now that I have your attention… people of Starlight City, I am the one and only King Chaos.  Here I have three young heroes who foolishly tried to break into my base of operations.  One by one, I shall gruesomely execute them… let this serve as a warning to law enforcement and heroes alike… cross me, and be eliminated,” Chaos said slowly and methodically, his unnaturally deep voice bouncing off the walls and sending shivers down Jiho’s spine.  One of the camera orbs turned to film the heroes as Chaos continued speaking.

 

“I think I’ll begin with this one,” he said with a twisted grin.  Jiho felt a sickening shift of gravity as he was lifted off the ground.  As he was floating toward King Chaos, he flet his restraints untie themselves before falling off.

 

“Attack now!” Jenissi screamed from across the room.  Jiho didn’t waste a second; firing a quick air blast at Chaos who dodged it with lightning fast reflexes before slamming Jiho into the ground with a simple thought.

 

“You traitorous son of a !” Chaos yelled before sending Jenissi flying across the room and crashing into Byungjoo with incredible force, knocking them both out.  Luckily, Jenissi managed to free Hansol and Thorn before Chaos attacked him.

 

Hansol helped Jiho to his feet while Thorn attacked Chaos head on, whipping vines at him faster than Jiho could follow.  Chaos managed to dodge every strike before lifting Thorn up to the high ceiling and dropping him back down to the floor.  Jiho winced at the impact; luckily for them, powered individuals were much more durable than the average human.  It was almost as if “mother nature” anticipated the rise in violence that would come along with superpowers.

 

“Jiho, keep him busy, I have an idea,” Hansol whispered. Jiho nodded and charged forward, throwing gust punches as he went.  Chaos dodged a few of them, but Jiho kept the punches coming too quickly, allowing one to finally hit him square in the chest.  While he was recovering, Hansol focused on the water flowing through the pipes both above and below them.  Seconds later steam flooded the room from beneath the floor and from the ceiling.

 

“Thorn, restraint now!” Hansol ordered.  Thorn, who was barely conscious, complied, fashioning a thick rope out of vines and throwing it to Jiho.  Jiho rushed to tie it around Chaos, but he was already back on his feet. He rose his hands and stopped Jiho in his tracks with his telekinesis.

 

“Not so fast little hero,” Chaos spat.  Jiho struggled to move, but Chaos’ power was too great.  It seemed as if Chaos was about to crush him… but then a lightning bolt shot past him, blowing a hole in the wall and  breaking his concentration for a brief second.  Jiho dropped from the air and tackled Chaos, immediately tying him up with Thorn’s vine rope; as long as he couldn’t move his arms, Chaos wouldn’t have enough control over his telekinesis to manipulate them.  Jiho rolled aside as Hansol morphed the steam in the room into a water sphere, encasing King Chaos within before freezing it solid, leaving him completely trapped.

 

It took a moment for the adrenaline to wear off and for the realization to hit Jiho…

 

They won. They defeated King Chaos.

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

 

“And you’re sure that’s what happened?” Officer Park asked for the 15th time as he wrote Jiho’s statement down.

 

“Yeah we told you; King Chaos controlled Byungjoo’s mind and forced him to assassinate the mayor!” Jiho said, not even attempting to hide his frustration.  He hated lying, especially to the police, but he knew that if they knew the truth, Byungjoo would go to prison for life, and he couldn’t allow that.

 

“Alright calm down, just making sure,” Officer Park replied as he walked off to join the other officers.  Xero walked back over to the ambulance where Jenissi was awaiting transport to the hospital.

 

“How you holding up?” he asked, climbing into the back of the vehicle.

 

“I’m fine… I don’t know why they’re insisting that I go to the hospital,” Jenissi pouted, folding his arms in a childish fashion.  Jiho couldn't help but giggle. For the son of a (now detained) crime lord, he sure was adorable.

 

“Listen Jenissi… thanks for all your help. I mean, the way you went about getting my attention and luring me here was ten different kinds of insane but, I have to admit it all worked out. Together we were able to stop a major threat, and we wouldn’t have been able to do it without you,” Jiho said with a smile.

 

“Aww how sweet of you,” Jenissi replied in an exaggerated feminine voice, causing Jiho to roll his eyes, “But seriously Jiho, I should be the one thanking you.  You’re the one who saved me from my father’s rule,”

 

“It’s no problem, Prince Jenissi,” Jiho said with a chuckle.  Jenissi looked confused.

 

“Prince?”

 

“Well your dad was King Chaos so, it seems fitting,”

 

“So I’m a prince, and you’re a prodigy… hmm that would be an awesome team name! The Prince and The Prodigy!” Jenissi said excitedly.  Jiho shook his head and prepared to exit the ambulance.

 

“If you say so,”

 

“Wait Jiho, before you go…”

 

Jiho turned around.

 

“Yeah?”

 

Before the word could even leave his mouth, Jenissi pulled him into a rough kiss.  Jiho was tempted to pull away, but he couldn't bring himself to, instead kissing back.  After a long moment, the kiss finally ended, the two boys reluctantly pulling apart.

 

“W-what was that for?” Jiho sheepishly asked.  Jenissi shrugged.

 

“Seemed like the right thing to do. Now get outta here so I can rest,” he said, waving his hand dismissively.  Jiho scoffed and exited the ambulance, being immediately greeted by Hansol and Thorn.

 

“Why is your face so red, you okay?” Hansol wondered.  Jiho simply nodded, not needing to get into what just happened.

 

“Well the ice sculpture formerly known as King Chaos is now in police custody and every citizen and criminal in the city has seen our face… things are gonna be interesting from here on out,” Thorn said, waving for Byungjoo to come join them.

 

“Thanks for saving my life back there Byungjoo,” Jiho  said with a grateful smile.

 

“Don’t mention it, it’s what a hero would do,” Byungjoo replied.

 

“Are you saying that you’re going to apply to become an official licensed hero now?”

 

“Already done.  The police pushed through an application for me. After tonight, they want me registered with the CSA,” Byungjoo said, holding up a sheet of paper.  It was a temporary printed version of his CSA license.

 

Real Name: Kim Byungjoo

Codename: Raiden

Date of Birth: January 8th, 2080 (age 19)

ual Orientation: Unspecified

Marital Status: Single

 

“Congrats Byungjoo… well, seeing that everyone knows our faces now and I’ve learned all your names, I guess it’s time to divulge my own ‘secret identity’” Thorn stopped to take a deep breath, “Hojoon, Jeon Hojoon,”

 

“Jeon Hojoon? Son of Jeon Jiseok, creator of synthium bodysuits!?: Ah man, that is awesome!” Hansol shouted, patting Hojoon on the back.

 

“After tonight, we all clearly have a lot to think about,. But for now, let’s all get home and get some rest… we can deal with the fallout tomorrow,” Jiho suggested.  The others nodded in agreement

 

“Maybe we should form a league! Like the Heroes of Tomorrow!” Hansol said.  Jiho had to admit, they did work well as a team and being part of a league increased any hero’s odds of success.

 

“We’ll figure that out later, I don’t wanna think about anymore hero stuff right now,” Hojoon admitted before hopping on his hovercraft.

 

“Agreed, catch you guys later,” Byungjoo said, waving as he walked off.  Jiho tensed his muscles and took to the sky, calling out his goodbyes as he flew away.

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

 

Jiho sighed in relief as he climbed into his bedroom window.  All he wanted was some peace and quiet.  It didn’t seem like he’d be getting that, considering both Jiyeon and his grandmother were standing there waiting for him.

 

“Jiho thank goodness you’re alright! We saw the entire battle on the news! I must say, you kicked !” his grandmother shouted cheerfully, pulling him into a bone crushing hug.

 

“All I could think about when I was watching you fight… was mom and dad,” Jiyeon said softly.  Jiho gave her a knowing look.

 

“Don’t worry Jiyeon, I’m fine. I won’t end up like mom and dad,”

 

Jiyeon punched him in the shoulder before hugging him tightly.

 

“You better not,”

 

Jiho not only had confidence that his career wouldn’t end like his parents’, but he was also determined to rise even higher than they did, to make even more of a difference.  And despite his rough first night, he had a great feeling that this was the beginning of a fantastic career.

Besides, he wasn’t just another rookie… he was a prodigy

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Well, that's all folks! I sincerely hope you enjoyed this! Leave a comment if you did (heck, leave one if you didn't) and stay awesome!

-Batcrazy