"Someone help us!"
Within a crashed and burning vehicle, a family of three shouted at the top of their voices, trapped within the car by their seatbelts and jammed doors.
"Someone save us!" The man pleaded, coughing from the smoke as the fire followed the trail of leaking gasoline, heading straight for the fuel tank.
Among the family of three was a child who coughed violently, his eyes filled with tears and fear as death felt closer with each second.
"It's alright Mason, everything's going to be alright." The mother held her child's hand, whispering that everything would be alright, even though she had already accepted their fate.
"Hang on Mason." His father reached out towards his son, his voice weak as he called out. Gritting his teeth, he struggled with the seatbelt digging into Mason's chest. With one final, strained groan, he managed to unbuckle it, freeing Mason.
Without wasting a second, Mason scrambled toward the front seats, his small hands tugging desperately at his parents' seatbelts, trying to free them before the worst could happen.
In that moment, a deafening sonic boom tore through the sky, its shockwave ripping across the landscape like an invisible battering ram.
As it slammed into the wrecked car, the already fragile frame groaned before being lifted off the ground.
The vehicle tumbled forward with a violent jolt, metal screeching and glass shattering as it rolled. The force of the impact shattered what little restraint remained, and in an instant, the child was hurled from the wrecked car—his small body flung into the air like a ragdoll.
His parents, however, remained trapped inside. The violent jolt from the tumbling car worsened their injuries, leaving deep cuts on their heads. Blood trickled down their faces before they slipped into unconsciousness.
"Mama! Papa!" The child cried out, reaching out to them as far as his little hands could stretch, but it proved inevitable as Mason's legs were badly injured from the impact with the ground after being flung from the car.
Just as all hope seemed lost, another sonic boom ripped through the sky in the distance. Mason looked up—and there he was, the most iconic figure in all of Nova City.
Blaze.
His childhood hero, the one everyone admired, and the man who saved Nova City.
"Blaze! Blaze!" Mason cried out to him, pleading desperately for help.
Blaze hovered silently in the air, his gaze fixed on the wreckage below, unmoving as he took in the aftermath of the accident.
"Please help us!"
For a moment, it felt like everything was going to be alright—after all, the most renowned hero had just arrived. But that hope quickly shattered as Blaze shot into the sky at supersonic speed, chasing after the villain who had just passed by moments earlier.
"Blaze! Blaze!" Mason cried out, but it was to no avail, almost immediately, a brilliant light flickering across his pupils.
For a brief second, time seemed to freeze—then, with a deafening roar, the car in front of him erupted in a blaze of fire and shrapnel.
Just before the explosion hit, Mason's eyes snapped open and he jolted upright in bed. His breathing was heavy, and sweat dripped down his face.
"Damn it..." He panted softly and wiped the sweat from his face, trying to calm his racing heart. "It was just another nightmare."
He swung his legs over the bed, walked to the bathroom, and pushed the door open. He stood before the mirror, staring at his reflection in silence before washing his face.
As he wiped his face with a towel, his eyes dropped to the wide scar on his right shoulder—the burn marks from the car accident years ago. A sharp reminder that the nightmares he kept having weren't just dreams—they were memories, all too real.
He put his shirt back on and walked into the living room where the television, in front of him, a 50-inch television rested on a cabinet. Without thinking, he reached for the remote on the table and turned it on out of habit.
"In other news, the Borian Crime Syndicate has just been apprehended and arrested by police after years of extortion, illegal superhuman trafficking and mass murders all thanks to Nova City's number two hero-"
He switched off the TV instantly, he had no interest in hearing her name, the name of the number two hero of Nova City.
「It all began many years ago, the age of Talents, from a single child that was reported to have been born with the ability to fly. Ever since then, these abilities spread far and wide, being discovered in several places. And before we even knew it, the supernatural became natural to humanity. And then they came along.」
His expression changed, completely disgusted by the thought of it alone.
「Heroes... Self proclaimed individuals who impose on themselves the mantle of justice. Over the years people who were fortunate enough to awaken these talents were immediately sought after by high tech agencies who sponsored their careers. They were exactly as you'd believe, men and women who slapped on tights and swore to protect the innocent. They were people who every child looked up to, aspired to become, I should know, I once had such aspirations.」
He stepped into the bathroom and turned on the shower, waiting patiently for that perfect moment—that feeling, that instinct—that told him the water was just right and the shower was going to be spectacular.
As steam filled the room, he undressed and stepped into the shower.
Water trickled down his body as he tilted his head back, lost in thought, letting the heat soak away the weight of his memories.
「That was until I realized, in this world we live in, there's no such thing as heroes. That concept was lost long ago the moment they started caring more about how much merchandise they sold and less about the lives they saved. They are far more interested in signing sponsorship deals, they don't care about saving lives, they only care about the fame and power that comes from it and in all honesty...」
He turned off the shower, dried his hair with a towel, and stepped out of the bathroom.
"It sickens me."
He wrapped the towel around his waist and walked into his room. He was already late for school as it was.
「Even without a talent I once had aspirations to meet my hero, to become like him, but now? Now I have no desire to be like them, to become them, not after everything that happened.」
The second degree burns on his right shoulder was a reminder of what heroism in the world actually stood for, a reminder of what happens when you put your hopes and faith in something that doesn't exist.
「He made sure of that the day he let my parents die.」