@Jazzywriter
There’s not much that I remember from my childhood, other than how to use my abilities. When Nana found me, I was bleeding from the back of my head, most likely from a fall. She wasn’t able to take me to the hospital, she was too poor and had no way to get me to the hospital in time. So she rushed me to her home and did her best to care for me. When I was able to regain conscience, I tried to remember who I was, where I came, and how I got into the situation I was in. To no avail, my mind was now a blank slate.
I meet Nana when I was 12, I’m now 19. So everything from that day is somewhat now a haze to me. Though if I asked her what happen that day, she could tell me with a clear memory. She remembers how scared I was when I woke up, almost as if I feared myself. Which I did. I felt this energy go through me, in a way I could never describe. I didn’t want to hurt this woman, who was nothing but kind to me.
She says that I kept calling myself a monster, a villain. She hugged me and said. “Everything doesn’t have to be about fear. There’s room in our line of work for hope too.” These were the words my Nana would tell me to this day whenever I doubted myself or was scare about something.
You're probably wondering what is my ability. Most would call it a “gift”, I see it more of a curse. Hydrokinesis and electrolysis. A deadly combination if you ask me. I don’t have the best understanding of my powers or where they come from. It might be tied into the lightning bolt scar on my back, though I’m still not sure.
Even if I can’t remember much, I have this deep instinct that tells me that I should stay low. I wasn’t the biggest fan of attention, I try to avoid any socializing the best I can in every situation. I don’t want to risk anyone finding out what I can do. Which is why I don’t have many friends, but I’m fine with that. You’re probably not interested in these kinds of stuff, you’re here for action. Even though I’m content with my normal, “boring” life, everything changed during the summer of my 19th birthday.
I work at a local coffee shop, “Library Cafe”, I’m a barista so I get to make cool latte art. My shift was winding down until it was time for me to clock out. Before I left the building, I heard someone call for me.
“Hey, Skye wait up!!” I turned around to see my boss, Hudson, trying to catch me before I leave. “Here are some cakes for you and your mom. Tell Clover she’s always welcome to come over someday.”
“Sure thing, she’s always talking about how she wants to meet up with you soon. Either way, thank you so much for the cakes.”
“No problem, see ya tomorrow.” Clover is my adopted mom, the one I call Nana. She and Hudson were best friends when they were younger. That’s how I was able to get that job at the cafe once I turned 16. He’s a good man, he does what he can to help support me and mom. As I left the building, I decided to walk through the city for a bit before taking the bus back home. It was a nice day. The sun was out, people were smiling, and everything had a good feeling almost as if nothing could go wrong.
Then everything went wrong.
There was an explosion at the bank across the street. The rumble shook the whole block causing people to fall over. As the dust began to settle, I saw armed men entering the bank. Behind them was a man wearing a black hood covering his head. The rest of his outfit was dark, making him look cliche and an emo high school boy. Something about him gave me an uneasy feeling. Not because he was robbing the bank, but because of familiarity. ‘Is he a new villain or have I seen him before?’
I heard screaming and turned around to see people either running away or to capture what was going to happen next on their phones. They knew that he would appear soon, he always did for these types of things. Almost on cue, I heard a “heroic” laugh from atop a building. The villain and his henchmen stopped in their tracks, most of them looking up in fear. There stood the city’s hero, Mr. Miraculous, looking generic as ever.
He jumped off the building and plummeted down. The people who stayed to watch the fight gasped while others cheered, I kept quiet. He hit the ground hard, and as dust and rocks few, he stuck a “perfect” superhero landing. More cheers and applause erupted from the people around. As he heard his fans, Mr. Miraculous formed a confident smirk on his lips as most of the henchmen began to run away.
“You should know better the mess with this city when it’s under my protection!!”
“How dare you mess up my plan! Guess I’ll have to show you a thing or two!” As the villain said that a dark purple aura formed around his feet and fist. He as he began to levitate, a car to the right of him was then enveloped with the same aura as his fists. With his powers, he threw the car right at Mr. Miraculous. Onlookers gasped while I rolled his eyes, we all know that Mr. Hero wouldn’t get hurt by something like that. The car slammed into the hero and pushed Mr. Miraculous back. He lifted the car over his head and laughed.
“Is that really the best you’ve got?! Then it looks like I’ve got nothing to worry about!” The villain yelled “Fire!!” and his men began to open fire at the hero. I found myself ducking behind a car with a stranger. The bullets bounced off Mr. Miraculous’s chest as he gave out a laugh. Whatever henchmen were left, now fled the scene from fear. The villain turned around and cursed him men for their cowardice. While he was distracted, he felt a tap on his shoulder, turned around, and was met with a fist to his face. The sickening crack he made coming into contact with the ground, made me and others cringe.
Mr. Miraculous reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of weird looking handcuffs. After he slapped them on the villain's wrist, the villain tried to activate his power to no avail.
“Ahahaha! Good luck trying to use your powers, my team created these babies for these types of situations!”
As the villain was being dragged by the police, the last thing he said before he was taken away, “You will rue the day you fought me, Vex! I will be back!”
‘So his name is Vex… nothing really abnormal about that. But why do I feel I’ve seen him before. Probably deja vu.’ I thought.
As soon the police stepped back, almost instantly, Mr. Miraculous was surrounded by fans and reporters trying to get pictures, signatures, and interviews. And of course, he was more than happy to oblige. Seeing no other reason to stay, I decided to head home. ‘crap the cakes got squished.’
As I made my way into the house, I was greeted by Nana. “Skye are you alright?! I just saw the fight on the news and I remembered that the cafe was near that street!”
“Nana, I am alright. See, I’m not hurt.” Relief washed over both faces, now that they knew that there was nothing to worry about.
“Oh yeah! Mr.Hudson gave me some cakes that … are now … squished. Sorry.”
“That's all right sweety, I’ll go make us some coffee and we can watch a bit of TV. You can go start without me ” As she headed into the kitchen, I took off my shoes and headed into the living room. I turned on the TV and began to channel surf. On one channel was an interview with Mr. Miraculous.
‘Breaking news, Mr. Miraculous once again saved the city from a villain! This type by a newcomer by the name of ‘Vex’ who attacked the city bank. Fortunately, no one was injured and the bank will start immediate repair. Joining us this evening is Mr. Miraculous himself ’
The camera then panned to the left to reveal the hero himself. He always did an interview after a fight. He had a goofy smile and a confident stance. “Please, call me Alec. Mr. Miraculous is too formal.” He doesn’t even try to hide his identity, doesn’t he know of the risks of doing that? Does he want more attention in his “private” life? I couldn’t wrap my head around the concept of wanting to be the center of attention. I’ve never been one to bring attention to myself, so being surrounded by reporters is not my style. Guess that’s why I stayed low.
As I continued to channel surf, I came across a show called “A Hero’s Life.” The summary said that the special would give an inside view fo the life of none other than Alec Vega. Showing his routines and how his powers had changed his life. So everything about a hero’s life that you wouldn’t want your enemies to know. Now it seems undeniable that he let his powers and his fame go to his head.
My Nana came back with the coffee and we decided to watch “Dumbo”. The movie ended, and I offered to wash the dishes. Nana went to her room to go get ready for bed, so it was safe for me to use my power. I was pretty good at keeping my powers a secret, not even my own mom knows what I can do. I didn’t want her to be scared of me and what I can do, so I never told a soul to prevent rumors about me. I wasn’t planning on using my powers for the same purpose as Alec, but I do plan on using them for petty things like chores. I was able to do the dishes in less than 5 minutes, then an idea popped into my head. I placed a plastic cup on the edge of the sink, took a couple of steps back, then raised my right hand into a finger gun.
“Pew!” a spark of electricity shot out of my finder, hit the cup and fell into the sink. A small laugh escaped my lips. I wish life could stay this simple forever. Even if it doesn’t, I will still use these powers to have fun when life gets difficult.
