The sky was bleeding into twilight, casting a dim purple hue over the city's edge as Max and Alex lay sprawled on their backs near a rusted trash heap, a ridiculous pile of broken tech stacked beside them. Somewhere between scavenging for superpowers and debating alien mind-control satellites, they had become... something like friends.
"I can't believe we spent four hours looking for an alien artifact and all we found was a melted DVD player and what I'm pretty sure was a haunted Furby," Alex groaned, arms behind his head.
"I still think that toaster had potential," Max mumbled. "You never let me check its heat signature."
Alex smirked but didn't answer. For the first time in a while, his mind was calm. Not happy exactly, but not as heavy as it had been that morning when his girlfriend left him for a guy with a flashy car and too much cologne. Right now, lying in the dirt with a weirdo conspiracy nut beside him, things didn't feel good—but they felt real.
And then the scream tore through the air.
High-pitched. Terrified. Somewhere close.
Both boys sat up instantly, instincts kicking in.
"You heard that, right?" Alex said, already on his feet.
Max hesitated. "I heard it. And I also heard the part of my brain screaming, 'Nope, this is where people die in movies.'"
Alex was already running.
Max stood frozen, muttering, "God, you're one of those people. Fine!"
He sprinted after him.
They darted through piles of rusted junk and twisted metal, sneakers skidding across dirt and gravel. The sound came again—clearer this time—and then they saw it.
Just beyond the dump's chain-link fence, on a cracked service road behind an abandoned warehouse, a girl was backed into a corner. Three men surrounded her. She fought back with ferocity—kicking, elbowing, even headbutting one guy square in the face—but they were circling, tightening in.
Alex didn't think. He charged.
"HEY!" he shouted.
One of the men turned, startled, and took a punch to the jaw that sent him stumbling.
The second lunged for Alex, but before he could land a hit—
BZZT!
The man collapsed with a grunt, twitching on the ground.
Max stood a few feet behind Alex, gripping a janky, duct-taped contraption that looked like a Nerf gun fused with spare toaster parts. It was smoking slightly.
"What the hell is that?!" Alex yelled over his shoulder.
Max grinned wide. "My assault gun!"
"That was a stun gun!"
"My creation. My name."
"Then it needs a less illegal name!"
Max fired again—BZZT!—the second attacker dropped, screaming.
The third guy, clearly reevaluating his life choices, turned and ran. The other two scrambled after him, limping and groaning as they vanished into the shadows.
Silence.
All three—Alex, Max, and the girl—stood there, catching their breath. Dirt and sweat smeared their faces. Their chests heaved in rhythm.
"You didn't have to interfere," the girl said, brushing her tangled hair from her face. "I could've handled them."
Alex turned, still panting. "Oh, no doubt. Looked like you were about thirty seconds from winning." He coughed. "Just thought we'd speed things up a bit."
She raised an eyebrow. "I had it under control."
"Sure. You almost had that one guy convinced to leave. Right before he tried to break your arm."
"You're not as funny as you think."
Alex shrugged. "Still saved your life."
She was about to snap back when Max interrupted, still breathing heavily.
"Dude…" he turned to Alex, eyes wide with something between awe and unhinged joy. "Did you see that?! I just stunned two guys! With my own invention! That actually worked! In live combat!"
Alex gave him a wary look. "You okay, man? Your eyes look like you're about to ascend into a new dimension."
Max didn't seem to hear him. He spun in a circle like a kid in a candy store. "This is it. This is the moment! Our origin story! This is where it all begins! Two guys, one random fight, and—BOOM—we're legends!"
The girl stared at him, then at Alex.
"Is he always like this?"
"Met him five hours ago. But yeah, seems consistent."
Max pointed at both of them. "Tell me this isn't fate! You—heartbroken and brave. Me—smart, quirky, technologically lethal. And her—mysterious lone wolf with a dangerous streak."
The girl crossed her arms. "Don't try to give me a character archetype."
"I'm just saying," Max continued, "you can't script this stuff. This is the stuff of myth."
Alex shook his head. "You're thinking about our origin story right now?"
Max looked genuinely confused. "You're not?!"
The girl rubbed her temples. "I should've let the guys hit me. Might've been quieter."
Max took a deep breath and sat on the curb. "Let's just agree that was kind of awesome. And also terrifying. But mostly awesome."
Alex joined him, wiping sweat from his brow. "I can't believe I did that."
"You punched a guy and didn't get knocked out. That's already a miracle."
The girl stood awkwardly for a moment, then sighed and sat beside them.
"I'm Sierra," she said finally, glancing between the two.
Alex blinked. "You're giving us your name?"
"You saved my ass. Doesn't mean I trust you. But I'm not rude."
"Fair," Max nodded. "I'm Max. Inventor. Thinker. Strategist. Possible chosen one."
Alex smirked. "Alex. Recently dumped. Terrible with feelings. Currently re-evaluating his life with two weirdos in a dump."
They all sat there for a moment in silence, the chaos fading into quiet laughter.
Somehow, it didn't feel like three strangers anymore.
It felt like the beginning of something strange. And possibly stupid.
But maybe… just maybe… something important.