Present Day

  Sami strode down the sidewalk, stuck with an excited grin on his face. Lightcrown! Sami never would have recognized him without his Power Sense ability. The public had never seen Lightcrown’s face before, and now Sami had it etched into his memory.

  Some old guy that liked French Toast.

  Incredible.

  He had so many questions for him, but they would have to wait until after Sami joined HUE.

  As he briskly made his way down the road, Sami activated his Power Sense, flipping it on and off every few steps. It took a slight strain on him, like lifting a ten-pound weight in extended arms, so he could only manage it for a few seconds at a time. Finding someone Awakened was rare, but not entirely out of the ordinary. Occasionally, a car would pass by with a small cloud floating above it, tracking the driver. Craning his neck, Sami watched in fascination, wondering what kind of power the clouds represented.

  They came in all different colors and slightly altered shapes. A “bubble” was the best way he could describe it, but it looked more like a translucent, oblong cloud filled with colored mist. Like someone had a large bubble machine filled with special smoke. Some were larger than others, and the colors were anything from a drab gray to a radiant red. He had only just Awakened this new power a week prior and never had the chance to test it thoroughly. It didn’t work through video recordings, and he wasn’t sure if the colors were indicative of a type of power. He hadn’t had the chance to ask anyone. HUE could definitely help with that.

  In fact, Sami spent most of his time trying to discover the nature of his third power. When he activated Power Sense, he saw three bubbles above his head when looking at his reflection. He knew his first two powers, but the pesky last one eluded him. One blue, one red, one green. With three differently colored clouds, he couldn’t even be sure which cloud represented which of his powers.

  Sami stopped short when he heard a crash from a convenience store a block ahead of him. Sounded like a lot of things fell. Or been flung to the floor.

  Peering, he waited to listen more before making any moves. He took a swig of his water, then heard a scream followed by a hot red light shine at the floor of the entrance. Fire?

  Sami ran to the open door and stumbled inside, reading the situation as fast as he could. A cashier had shriveled behind the counter, her eyes wide with fear, while a man with fire in his palm loomed over. He wore a ski mask over his head and had his back turned to Sami. There was a scorch mark on the floor and a shaking in the man’s demeanor. Scanning the small corner store, Sami saw two teenage girls huddled in a corner.

  His smile faded to a serious stare. Three innocent people to keep safe. He didn’t want to risk trying to attack from behind in case the Awakened robber was trigger-happy with his power.

  “Hey,” Sami called casually. “I think you should leave.”

  The masked man whirled on him, anxiety and rage broiling in his eyes.

  “What?” He raised the hand holding fire toward Sami. His arm was stiff, as if tied in a splint.

  “Sorry, I should probably say something like ‘you’re breaking the law’, and ‘you need to leave,’” Sami corrected himself quickly.

  Disappointment in his eyes, Sami’s delaying tactic had failed. The teenagers were supposed to sprint off while the Awakened man was distracted. Teeth gritting behind his closed mouth, he steeled himself for a fight with the man.

  “Can’t you see I’m Awakened? With fire power? Get out of here before I burn you to a crisp,” the man called to him, then turned his head back to the cashier. “And if my bag isn’t full by the time I turn around, you’re done for!”

  The man phrased his threat really oddly, like it was his first robbery. Pursing his lips, Sami used Power Sense on the man to get an idea of how many powers he would have to deal with. Mouth twitching in shock, Sami found that the man could somehow hide his powers from Power Sense. He couldn’t detect any clouds. That had never happened before.

  “What did I say about getting out of here?” the masked man demanded, inching forward with his already extended hand. The flame coughed out threateningly, and Sami leaned back at the sudden increase of heat.

  This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

  Holding his hands up in surrender, Sami backed out gradually, his jaw tight as he thought. Ashamed, he could see the terror in the cashier’s wet eyes when Sami adhered to the demands. While that stung his heart, something about the robber’s stiff arm distracted Sami. As well as the way the man expressed that he was Awakened. Something about it sounded rehearsed. He stopped moving.

  Shaking his arm, the man let out another puff of flame. Sami peered closer, allowing the heat to lick his face.

  “Out!” the robber demanded.

  “Can you do this?” Sami bent his right arm at the elbow and pointed with his water jug.

  The man’s eyes narrowed slightly and his rage increased further.

  “I said get out!” The man stretched his arm out further, like he was going to pull the muscle, more flame licking the edge of his palm.

  “This is actually my first time trying to stop a crime,” Sami admitted freely.

  “Then maybe you shouldn’t try to stop crimes.”

  Sami brightened at the notion, blinking as the smile returned to his face.

  “You’re right!”

  A hand clamped down on the robber’s shoulder and he spun around, letting out a whip of flame with his straightened arm. The man groaned in frustration when he didn’t see anyone behind him, whipping his head around in confusion. A hand tapped onto his shoulder and he swung a fist into the open air. In shock, the robber took a step back and stared.

  A hand made of pure shadow waved at him cheerily, then pointed back toward Sami. The man blinked in shock, then twisted his body quickly to refocus on Sami. Water sloshed over his arm as Sami dunked his water jug on the man’s outstretched arm. The ball of fire above his palm sputtered and died under the moisture.

  “I was trying to be too formal with treating this like a crime. I’m not a cop, I don’t need to act like one. Thanks for the reminder,” Sami explained.

  The masked man shook his arm in panic, metal grinding against metal under his sleeve.

  “I already know you don’t have a power. You made me doubt myself, but I saw it from the second I walked in. You hooked up some sort of flamethrower under your clothes, right? Maybe like a gas canister and a fire steel to start the flame? Too wet to get a spark going?” Sami asked, tapping a knowing finger to his empty water jug.

  The man’s eyes widened and he looked to Sami with fear in trembling eyes.

  “You may not be Awakened, but I am,” Sami said, an edge in the voice behind his smile. “You wanna get outta here before I do something crazy with my Shadow Hand?”

  Sami’s floating hand of shadow pushed the man lightly on the back and he yelped, scampering and tripping his way out of the store. Letting out a sputtering sigh of relief, Sami grinned as he looked around the store.

  “Everyone okay?”

  The two teenagers in the corner stood slowly, encouraged by Sami’s confident grin. The cashier peeked her head out from behind the register, a bag half full of cash tightly gripped in one arm.

  “You saved us!” the cashier gasped gratefully.

  “I mean, only kinda. That was pretty close, to be honest. My Shadow Hand can’t actually do real damage. I’m glad he didn’t call my bluff.” Sami’s Shadow Hand gave a thumbs up, then faded into Sami’s shadow on the ground.

  “Thank you,” one teenager whispered, anxiety in her tight expression. Sami could feel how much she had feared for her life. He’d felt like that once before.

  “For sure,” Sami said sincerely. “Happy to help.”

  “Is… Is there anything you want as payment? You can have anything in the shop!” the cashier asked, tucking bills back into her register.

  Sami eyed the money going into the register and looked up with a bright grin.

  “Could I get a refill on my water?” He held up his jug, shaking its empty contents for effect.

  Sami strode down the sidewalk, stuck with an excited grin on his face. His first rescue! Imagining the scenario was so much different to experiencing the real thing. For some reason, he always thought he’d be up against fellow Awakened people that were using their gifts to commit petty crimes. A faker never crossed his mind. It was exhilarating to know he could keep up with someone with bad intent, regardless of abilities.

  The minor victory made him want to drive himself further to get his Shadow Hand to heights much higher than little party tricks. A full-on punch would make the hand dissipate into black ashes and form back into his shadow. He wondered if there was a special way to use his hand to get it to stick around longer. Or maybe something to make it more corporeal, for a better hit.

  Taking a swig from his water, he stopped and looked up at the building in front of him. Peering slightly, he checked the numbers on the front, then pulled the card from his pocket to double check the address. His hesitation turned to a slight frown.

  The Hero Unification Entity was operating out of a warehouse. It was a large warehouse, with space for a lot of offices or maybe enough room to fit a plane or two, but Sami was a bit put off by the shape. He had expected something more sophisticated, or cater-made for HUE instead of running out of some oversized storeroom. Tucking the card back into his pocket, Sami tried to give them the benefit of the doubt. Just because they had a lofty name didn’t mean they could immediately have a lot of money to work with. After all, the General Awakening hadn’t even taken place until two years prior. With people getting their abilities at scattered times, it must have taken a lot of organizing to even get the building, much less make a name for themselves.

  And it didn’t matter where they operated out of. So long as they gave him the opportunity to save more people, it would be perfect.

  He just needed to make it through the tryouts.