The memories of the fire are burned into me, etched into my very being. It's latched onto me, like a parasite, one I can't get rid of. The falling infrastructure, my brother rushing me out of the house, the sounds of bloody combat. All things that I can never forget. But the thing that stayed with me the most was the corpse of my late grandfather.
Present Day Nov 2, 2025
"Another birthday and he's still missing." Walking around the kitchen, I open the fridge door to a cake with a label that says " Feliz Cumpleaños!" I slam the door and check my phone, and see a text message.
"Sorry, I couldn't make it, kid, gotta work late tonight." Damn it. He flaked out on me again. I sigh and remember that I have better things to do. Today is the start of Operation: Raider! I go back to my room and look around. This is the last time I'm gonna see this place for a long time. I pack my bags and step out the door, but I quickly walk back in, grab a piece of paper, and write down,
"GO TO HELL YOU PIECE OF SHIT UNCLE." Pinning it to his door frame, I grin. Stepping out again, I take in the sweet air and step on flat ground. Finally, after 4 years, "I'M OUTSIDE AGAIN!" Everybody in the surrounding area stops and looks at me. I chuckle nervously and leave immediately, dashing into the nearest alley. "Walking around this place kinda seems surreal, even though it's pretty empty."
All of a sudden, I hear noise that kinda sounds like a fight. I run over, and I see 3 guys jumping on 1 dude.
"Hey! Back off him!" I shout. They all look at me and laugh, and it's undeniable that they're not taking me seriously, so I gotta show them how serious I am. Deep breaths, these guys have either never been in a fight, or they're just way too relaxed.
The first one is kinda tall, about 6'2, bald, so no hair to grab on, kinda buff too, so no close combat with him. The second one is about my height, although he's clearly weaker; no muscle mass on that guy. Third guy seems to be of average height, but I don't like how he looks; he's obviously up to something. The second guy makes his move, shooting off a bolt of lightning that barely manages to graze me, and I follow up by grabbing and slamming him into the wall.
Clearly not enough, as his buddies retaliate for him by kicking me in the back and grabbing my hair. Quickly, I flip over his head and blast him in the back with my flames and block a punch to my face.
"Whoa, the letter q must not be in your dictionary, cuz you guys don't know when to quit!" I grab his arms and kick him in the chin, throw him into a dumpster, and then finish him off with a knee to the gut. "Come on, guys, keep up!" Dashing around the corner, running across the wall, I see the perfect instrument of pain, a metal pipe rolling across the floor, looking like it was destined for head-smashing. I barrel roll, sliding over the lid of a dumpster, and grab "Smells like shit, feels like fury." I said while spinning with 2 fingers.
Looking back towards the corner, I see the two men running at me with anger written all over their faces. "Hastily approaching me, eh?" Igniting the pipe while dragging it across the floor, "You do know people like you are why there are signs at the pool, right?"
"Hey, jackass, how the hell are you gonna run up on somebody and then run away? The hell's your problem?"
"Whoa, chill out, I'm not the one who's jumping someone 3 on 1."
"But that ain't none of ya buisness now is it?" They start to walk with threatening looks on their faces.
"Because that's what a HERO would do!" I say as I start to engage with them, bashing them on the head and following up by feinting with a leg sweep as they jump up to not get hit
But it was as I expected. I cock back the pipe as if it were my own fist and slam it right into the center of his neck. "BOOM!" The wind flings me back, as I was not ready for that level of recoil, and I stumble a bit and catch myself as I grab the pipe, but as I look at it, the head of the pipe is missing. As I am looking around, I see a terrifying sight: the boy's neck is split open. "Oh shit-" Something hard hits me on the head, and I fall to the ground, "Dammit, you caught me off guar-"