—This is really bad.
Energy Guy stared at the red F stamped dead center of his math quiz. Sophomore year was supposed to be his fresh start. A turning point. But here he was, still failing.
"I told myself I'd do better this year…"
He kept looking at the paper like it might apologize. Like maybe it was a mistake. But no, that F was as real as gravity. With a sigh that was equal parts shame and surrender, he stuffed the test into his backpack and slung it over his shoulder.
Time to move on. Locker. Hallway. Whatever came next.
As he made his way through the school corridors, Energy Guy put on his usual show, trying to compliment upperclass girls with lines that didn't quite land, while tossing weak insults at freshmen who didn't care. It was all an act. Truth was, he felt like a kid stuck in an older kid's shoes, faking confidence he didn't have.
Once outside, he headed toward the school's bike rack, only to stop in his tracks.
His bike was gone.
So was the lock.
"Goddammit," he muttered, then jogged up to the rack, hoping, no, praying that he was just not seeing it right.
Nope. It was gone. Completely.
Energy Guy stood there for a long moment, stunned, like the universe had just flicked him in the forehead for fun. He had no choice but to walk.
The trip home was quiet. The usual distractions, cars zooming by, distant laughter, birds overhead, they all just faded into white noise. He passed billboards advertising tech, food, and television programs, until one stopped him cold:
A glowing orange poster of Orange Guy advertising cologne.
Smell just like Orange Guy.
Energy Guy actually laughed. Of all things, cologne? From the richest man in the country?
Orange Guy was a legend. Back in 1982, he did something no scientist, superhero, or even just a mortal had ever done before.
He created Artificial Abilities.
The drug was codenamed Astrapi, Greek for lightning, and it was Orange Guy's breakthrough. It allows any normal person to gain an ability, temporarily, of course. He fused the compound into a staff he carried like a scepter, wielding powers no human should have had. With it, he brought down "The Crystals," a corrupt superhero team who had turned their powers into privilege.
After defeating their leader, Obsidian, Orange Guy inherited more than just his title. He became a symbol, a monarch of power. The King of All Abilities.
And now, he sold cologne.
Energy Guy shook his head and kept walking. Life was weird.
When he finally reached home, the weight of the day settled on his shoulders. The F on his math quiz, The missing bike, And now, the inevitable confrontation with his mom.
He stepped up to the door, sighed, and knocked.
...Nothing.
He waited.
And waited.
Still nothing.
That was strange. She was usually home by now. Maybe she was just ignoring him? Mad about something?
He circled the house, tried the backdoor, locked. Checked the shed, locked. The emergency key under the mat?
Gone.
"Okay… that's not normal."
With rising unease, Energy Guy looked up at the second-floor window, his bedroom window. Open. He climbed onto the trash bin, hoisted himself onto the ledge, and awkwardly tumbled inside.
Right into a near empty room.
His shelves were bare. Posters gone. Drawers pulled open and emptied. It looked like someone had packed up in a hurry.
"Did she… move out? Are we moving out?" he whispered.
He forced a shrug. Maybe they were finally going on vacation. Maybe they won the lottery. Maybe this is a good thing, he told himself.
But doubt gnawed at him as he made his way downstairs.
The rest of the house told a different story. Everything was stripped. Furniture: gone. Fridge: empty. Even the usual junk cluttering the hallway, coats, shoes, wrappers all just vanished. It didn't feel like a move. It felt like an erasure.
He walked to the landline phone, one of the only things still there, and dialed his mom's number.
Ring… ring… ring…
No answer.
He tried again.
Nothing.
Energy Guy slowly sank to the floor, back pressed against the front door. For the first time in a while, he wasn't mad or sarcastic or trying to play it cool.
He was just… confused. A little scared.
He rested his head against the wall.
Maybe this is it, he thought. A new beginning. A reset. Something better waiting around the corner.
His eyes grew heavy.
And just as sleep was about to take him—
Knock.
Knock knock.
Energy Guy jolted awake.
His back ached from sleeping against the door, but adrenaline cut through the fatigue. He scrambled to his feet, barely registering the noise, just feeling it in his bones.
No time to think. No time to look.
He unlatched the door and threw it open.
Standing outside were three men in tailored black suits. All carried the same sharp expressions, stern, unreadable. The two flanking the center had neatly parted brown hair and mirrored sunglasses. The man in the middle had sleek white hair, combed to perfection. Despite the color, he looked no older than thirty-five. He was the only man in the trio who was identifiable, having a name tag that read: "Silver Guy".
"Excuse me, young man," Silver Guy said calmly. "Are you... Energy Guy?"
Energy Guy blinked.
He squinted. Then asked the first question that popped into his gut:
"Is my mom... dead?"
The men paused.
Even the expressionless agents twitched slightly. Silver Guy raised an eyebrow, then offered a calm, neutral response.
"No. Your mother isn't deceased." He let that sink in, but then added, "But you won't be seeing her again."
Energy Guy's stomach dropped.
His mind spun like a wheel with no traction, skidding across every horrible possibility it could imagine. Words failed him. His body stayed frozen, but his thoughts screamed for answers.
Silver Guy stepped forward, his voice smooth and rehearsed.
"Your mother has signed you up for a great opportunity. The opportunity to gain power, recognition, and most importantly, freedom."
Freedom?
Energy Guy's wide eyes filled with confusion, his posture slowly tightening. The word didn't mean what it was supposed to. Nothing did. Not here. Not now.
"What are you talking about?" he snapped. "Where's my mom? Where the hell is she?!"
Panic overtook logic.
He spun around and bolted toward the side of the house, eyes locked on a window. He grabbed the latch—
And the next thing he knew? Metal was heading straight for his face.
A sharp metallic grinding noise cut through the air like a blade against stone.
From the seams of the window frame, liquid metal burst forth, twisting into a jagged spike aimed directly at his face.
"What the—!?"
CRACK.
The metal struck his forehead with a brutal thud, precise, controlled. Not enough to fracture bone, but more than enough to knock him out cold.
Energy Guy collapsed to the floor in a heap, limbs limp, consciousness snatched away before he could even understand what had happened.
The metal spike slithered back into the window frame, vanishing as cleanly as it had emerged. At the doorway, Silver Guy lowered his hand with a casual wave.
He walked over and crouched beside the unconscious boy. Pressed two fingers to his neck. Nodded.
"He's stable. I didn't hit him that hard."
One of the brown-haired agents smirked.
"Yeah. Definitely not as hard as that Fire Guy kid. That one screamed the whole time. Real momma's boy."
Silver Guy rolled his eyes, unimpressed. He stood and gave a simple wave. The two agents moved without another word, lifting Energy Guy's limp form and carrying him toward the sleek black car parked across the street.
Silver Guy pressed a finger to the earpiece curled around his jaw.
A faint click.
"It's done. That's the third and final boy, I presume?"
A second voice crackled to life, smooth, low, and unmistakably powerful.
Orange Guy.
He sat atop an enormous blackwood desk, cloaked in a deep red cape that fell like a velvet curtain behind him. His golden crown shimmered in the glow of the lab's dim orange lighting. Technicians bustled quietly in the background, too afraid to interrupt.
"Excellent," Orange Guy replied. "I take it you'll be bringing them back soon?"
"Within the hour, sir," Silver Guy confirmed.
A subtle smirk tugged at the corner of Orange Guy's lips.
"Outstanding, Silver Guy. I'll alert the scientists to ready the tests."
The line went silent.
Outside, the black catr pulled away from the curb, leaving behind the now empty house, and the first life Energy Guy would never return to.