Chapter 1- nobody special
Phaser stood in the alleyway, bleeding.
Not dramatically.
Not heroically.
Just enough to sting every time he breathed.
The people were safe — a shaken family huddled near a cracked storefront, police sirens finally ecing in the distance. Phaser leaned against the brick wall, chest heaving, legs barely holding him upright.
Odds of survival… same as theirs, he thought bitterly.
He pulled out his phone with trembling fingers and opened Meet-A-Hero.
Maybe this time.
His profile loaded.
> PHASER
Age: 15
Height: 173 cm
Rating: 3/10
Three.
Out of ten.
He scrolled. Five comments. That's all the post about the rescue had gotten.
> "Too skinny."
"Looks like a kid pretending."
"Bro almost died lol."
"Weak power, mid hero."
"Should hit the gym."
Phaser clenched his jaw.
"Are you kidding me…?" he muttered. "I could've died back there."
His grip tightened. For a second, he genuinely considered smashing the phone against the wall—
THUD.
He bounced backward as his forehead collided with something… soft.
And large.
"Oof—!"
Phaser stumbled, nearly falling, before a hand grabbed his wrist and pulled him upright.
"Careful, twig," a deep voice said.
Another hand steadied his shoulder. "Yeah, man. You good?"
Phaser blinked up at them.
One was huge — round belly, thick arms, casual hoodie stretched to its limit.
The other was leaner, frail, with soft hand and a tired expression.
"…Smack and Crater, right?" Phaser said, letting out a small, breathless pfft.
"I've seen you guys. Epic Fail compilations. Episode seven, I think."
Both of them groaned.
"Oh wow," Smack deadpanned. "We've made it. Internet famous."
Crater smirked. "Funny thing is—we saw you too."
Smack pulled out his phone, tilting the screen.
> Smack — Rating: 5/10
Crater — Rating: 4/10
Smack grinned. "Literally better scores than you."
Phaser sighed. "…Yeah. Figures."
For a moment, the alley was quiet. Three low-tier heroes standing under flickering streetlights, all pretending the numbers didn't matter.
Then Smack spoke.
"Wanna team up?"
Phaser looked at him. "What?"
Crater shrugged. "Collabs boost engagement. Plus, less chance of dying alone."
Phaser thought about it. Then nodded.
"Yeah. Okay. A team sounds… nice."
They started walking, side by side.
"So," Phaser asked, "what would our name be?"
The three of them paused, immediately trying to sound epic.
"Something intimidating," Smack said.
"Something memorable," Crater added.
"And something that won't get ruined by the media," Phaser said quickly.
"I do not wanna end up with a name like Flame Boy."
Smack snorted. "At least he's a 10/10."
They laughed — genuinely this time.
But the city around them didn't.
The streets were too quiet.
No traffic.
No people.
No noise except their footsteps.
Smack yawned. "Man, I'm tired of walking."
"Phaser, phase—" he started.
Too late.
Phaser activated his power on instinct.
The world dipped.
Gravity disappeared.
All three of them floated — shoes lifting off the pavement as they yelped.
"PHASER—!"
"I DIDN'T SAY—!"
Phaser panicked and grabbed both of them, phasing just enough to stop them from drifting into the streetlights.
They stumbled forward—
—and froze.
Across the intersection stood a woman in a sleek jacket, visor glowing faint blue.
Chaser.
They ducked behind a car instantly.
Crater whispered, "Isn't she Wind Rider's nemesis?"
Smack nodded slowly. "Yeah… she's dangerous."
Phaser swallowed. "I heard she's—"
"…Hot?" a voice finished.
The three of them stiffened.
That voice did not come from any of them.
Chaser stood above them, crouched casually on the car roof.
She smiled.
Then everything went black.
Phaser woke up briefly to the sound of chains clinking.
"Nice catch," someone said lazily. "A bunch of nobodies."
Another voice — sharp, annoyed.
"Grab them. Both of you."
As consciousness slipped away, Phaser heard her sigh.
"…Great. More kids."
Phaser woke up to the sound of dripping water and humming lights.
"…Wow," he muttered. "A warehouse. That's so generic."
His vision cleared. All three of them were tied to metal chairs with cheap rope. Rusted beams, cracked concrete, crates stacked like set dressing for a crime documentary.
Across from them stood Chaser.
Up close, the cat mask was worse than he expected — matte black, sleek, with glowing slits for eyes and thin whisker markings carved into the surface. It tilted slightly as if studying prey.
"You're an 8/10 on Meet-A-Villain," Phaser continued honestly. "You could've done better than this."
She rolled her eyes.
Electron leaned against a crate, sparks dancing between his fingers.
"That's what you deserve," he said lazily. "Nobodies die alone in warehouses with a bunch of other nobodies."
Phaser leaned closer to Crater and whispered,
"Buy me time."
Crater nodded immediately.
"These ropes," Crater said aloud, raising his voice, "wow. Really? Budget cuts?"
Electron scoffed. "You think villains get funding?"
That was enough.
Phaser phased his torso forward — the rope slid straight through him.
Normal rope, he thought. Cheap.
He leaned back, untied Smack and Crater in seconds.
Smack blinked. "When could you do that?"
Phaser shrugged. "Since always."
Crater frowned. "Then why are you rated so low?"
"I panic," Phaser said flatly.
Crater exhaled. "Fair."
Before they could run—
⚡ ZAP ⚡
Electron leapt forward, electricity slamming into all three of them. Smack flew backward, crashing into a crate.
Chaser moved instantly.
She kicked Smack square in the chest.
Something shifted.
Smack slid back—but then his foot dug into the floor.
He swung back on instinct.
BOOM.
Chaser was launched across the warehouse.
"…Did you just return my kick?" Phaser whispered.
Smack rubbed his jaw. "Yeah. I don't feel pain. I tank hits and send them back with my own strength."
Crater nodded. "Okay. That's busted."
They didn't get time to celebrate.
Electron rushed Phaser.
Phaser ran straight at him.
Electron swung—
—and his fist phased clean through Phaser's face.
"What—?!"
Phaser tackled him, Crater instantly forming a concrete wall.
"NOW!" Phaser shouted.
Electron smashed into it—
—but the structure cracked instantly.
"Durability problem," Crater groaned.
Electron tried to stand.
"Smack—NOW!"
Smack jumped.
His entire weight came down on Electron's stomach.
CRUNCH.
Electron went still.
Chaser landed lightly beside him, eyes flicking to the unconscious body.
"…Alright," she said calmly. "Time to get serious."
She pulled a bracelet from her wrist.
It pulsed.
She punched the ground—
—and launched herself like a missile.
Phaser tried to phase.
Too slow.
WHAM.
He flew unconscious into Crater, who shattered against a wall.
Only Smack was left standing.
Chaser hit him again.
And again.
Each impact made Smack glow brighter — faint at first, then blazing.
Smack roared and threw a punch.
A shockwave exploded outward.
It canceled hers.
Still, Smack skidded backward, crashing to one knee.
"…That was anticlimactic," Crater muttered weakly.
Then—
The wind died.
Cold crept in.
The lights flickered.
Chaser laughed softly.
"You finally came," she purred. "My nemesis."
The air screamed.
A figure stepped forward as if the wind itself bent around him.
Broad shoulders. Calm stance.
Wind Rider.
The trio shivered.
Wind Rider looked at Chaser, unimpressed.
"Don't call yourself my nemesis if you can't handle these misfits."
Electron groaned, trying to rise.
Chaser and Electron charged together.
Wind Rider grabbed Electron by the neck—
—and slammed both of them into the floor with a burst of compressed air.
Chaser purred.
"You missed the ones on my legs."
Her shockwave boots detonated.
Wind Rider flew back—
—but landed on his feet.
"…Interesting."
Electron fired electricity.
Wind Rider redirected it through the wind, turning it into a spiraling current aimed at Chaser—
—but Electron yanked it back just in time.
Chaser clashed with Wind Rider.
She was actually pushing him back.
The trio stared.
"…Is he losing?" Phaser whispered.
Crater squinted. "No."
Wind Rider slipped past her—
grabbed the trio—
—and vanished.
They reappeared on a rooftop.
The city lights stretched endlessly.
Phaser finally breathed.
"Why didn't you just beat them and arrest them?"
Wind Rider looked over his shoulder.
"Not my job," he said simply.
"We don't have authority. We're not the police."
Then he was gone.
Silence.
Smack slowly raised his phone.
"…I took a picture."
Phaser blinked. "Of what?"
Smack grinned. "Wind Rider versus Cat-Mask."
Crater's eyes lit up. "Post it."
They did.
Seven likes became ten thousand.
Because it was tagged.
Because it appeared on Wind Rider's channel.
Phaser stared at the screen.
For the first time—
They weren't nobodies anymore.
(Meet a hero how to explain it? Like reddit each hero has channels they can post as the owner while people who post their opinion videos of him or thanking him for saving them everything related to a hero in general discuss their)