Today is May 4th. It has been a week since Dad introduced us to the Simulation Room. In that week, we took turns training in it three times a day. Dad put me in the same situation every time. I repeatedly run away from a rockalanche. It is a pain, but at least my timing is steady. My longest time is seven minutes. I couldn’t pass the cheetah. It always outran me while I was struggling with the rockalanche.

After I finished training, I would usually join Dad and watch Jovan fight gotham-like thugs. Most of the time, Jovan would either start off good or start off sluggish. You would think he'd start off better every time, since he practices every day. Well, I guess I can't talk. My time was seven minutes every time so far, but it's better to be consistent than consistently inconsistent. Actually, I'm not consistent either. I didn't always train in the Simulation Room three times a day. I was lazy sometimes.

Jovan always ends his training with a better score. It’s so eye-freezing that it makes you think a black Robin is possible. Wow, I just said eye-freezing. All in all, we have improved. Right now, it is late at night. Jovan and I are watching anime.

“Man, no matter how many times I watch this, I just can't get enough.”

“I know, borderline hentai have the best fanservice.”

We happily concur.

“Even the voices are a pencil sharpener.”

I state while scratching the zipper of my pants.

“What?”

“I'm saying that I'm getting turned on by the voice acting.”

“Why would you tell me that?”

Jovan gives me a disturbed look.

“You asked.”

No, I didn’t. All I said was what.”

“Yeah, meaning that you wanted to know what I meant.”

“I only said one word. That could've led to anything. Like, what is the time, what anime are we watching next, or what is a normal reason for telling me about your erection?”

“Okay, asshole. Maybe, there's something about anime that brings out the honesty in me.”

“Well, be careful because your honesty almost took you out of the closet.”

“Shut the HELL up.”

“I do get what you mean. The voices fit perfectly with the characters.”

Really? So, he understood me the whole time.

“Javon, Jovan, wear these. We’re about to…”

Dad comes into our room with an unknown bag and immediately pauses once he sees the anime we're watching.

“This is the type of anime you watch.”

Dad shows us an expression on his face that just says ‘you two are seriously perverts’.

“Wait, Dad, before you say anything, we’re only watching this anime for the plot.”

I get nervous. That was the only excuse I could think of.

“The only plot I see is BREASTS.”

“That’s because this anime offers a bit of everything.”

Jovan hesitantly replies. Dad didn't believe a word we said. I don't blame him.

“Okay, then let's watch the rest of it.”

Ah god. Out of all the things he could have said. Dad sits in my room’s couch and watches the episode with us. We don’t say a single word. As he watches the anime, he sees ‘ecchi’ parts. Dad pauses the episode before he could see any more fanservice. It feels like we got caught watching porn. This is the worse.

“We talk about this later. Now, put these on. We are going to head out soon.”

Dad gives us his bag.

“Where?”

Jovan asks.

“You'll find out.”

“Oh snap, this means...”

I enthusiastically note.

“Yes, you will be staying up past your curfew.”

“No, well yeah, but inside of this bag is our superhero uniforms, right?”

“Sort of.”

We take a glance inside of the bag. We are staggered right away.

“They are black long sleeved shirts and black jeans.”

“You forgot SKI MASKS! What are we doing, robbing a bank!”

“And, how are these sort of superhero outfits?!”

“Calm down, I chose these outfits because there is a gang out there called ‘Them’ and they wear the same get-up. If the police look into you two, they'll just assume it was the gang.”

“The person who created that gang has to be an IDIOT.”

Jovan adds.

“How will they know it was the gang?”

I wonder.

“I'm going to have you two write a note saying shit about ‘Them’ after you beat up the criminals. It should be pretty believable since you have the outfits.”

“But, we are doing good deeds. Aren’t we giving the cops a reason to let that gang run free?”

“Javon, you know Batman and Spiderman. What did they both start off as?”

“Vigilantes.”

“And did the police automatically presume they were good?”

“No.”

“So, do you think the cops will praise the gang or focus on them more and eventually attempt to arrest them?”

“The second one.”

“Exactly.”

“Wouldn't they also be focusing on us?”

Jovan asks.

“No, they'll think you're random people apart of ‘Them’. What, you think the police have someone like L with them.”

Dad facetiously utters.

“No, I was thinking they might have someone like Near with them.”

Jovan jokes.

“Shut up.”

Wow, Dad somehow made this whole criminal imitating thing make sense. It is still weird. Dressing like a criminal while doing good things. That itself is suspicious. I'm more anxious than excited. However, vigilantes in crime actually has a nice ring to it. I don't know why, but I'm speeding up. Yeah, that’s clever.

“Alright, let’s do this. I'm speeding up.”

“Don’t say that.”

Dad demands as Jovan and he look displeased.

“Anyway, I'll say this. Don't worry about anything because I will be watching over you guys, however this will also be the only time I'm watching over you two so please be careful. Don't let the police catch you. Don’t reveal your identities. Make sure you leave the note, saying that you are with the ‘Them’. Just don’t do nothing dumb.”

“Okay.”

We obediently say. We put on the criminal clothing and head out of the house with Dad. Geez, we literally look illegal.

“You’re not going to wear some ridiculous outfit?”

“No, Jovan, he is not. Wait, Dad, you should wear a Bane costume. You don’t have his color, but you have his build.”

“What do you mean I have his build? I’m not going to wear a Bane costume. I have a plan if I’m seen so I don’t need a costume. Why would I want to look as dumb as you two?”

Damn, Dad, it was just a recommendation. It's not like we want to wear this crap.

“Let’s get going. We have to be quiet as we go downtown.”

“Wait, Dad, are we about to do what I think we're about to do?”

“Come on, we're walking.”

“We're walking.”

We both repeat with disappointed expressions.

“Why can't you drive us to town?”

Jovan demands from Dad.

“The police are usually on their way to the crime due to the people who live downtown. If they saw a car coming from the same direction the crime happened. One, that would lead to a car chase. Two, they would identify the car I was driving.”

“Oh.”

“Why else would a vigilante continue to jump across buildings? Have you ever seen a vigilante arrive at a crime scene in a car? No. The thugs are the ones who come and go in cars.”

Well, some vigilantes have powers that give them a different type of transportation. Other than that, Dad's right.

“Can I use superspeed?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because I don't trust you to freely run in this area without bursting into a house or hitting someone who was taking a walk.”

“Who takes a walk at this time?”

“That's not the point. Your power is risky and you clearly can't control it yet.”

“Alright.”

That sucks balls. It takes around forty minutes to walk downtown. Vigilantes don't walk to the crime.

“Wait, what if someone sees us?”

“No one is going to see us. Scratch that, no one is going to care if they see us. The only person who would is a cop on patrol. Do you really not want to walk that much?”

“Ok, I'll stop complaining.”

I don't have a choice anyway. We eventually make it downtown, where there are multiple buildings that are close and connected to each other. It wasn’t as tiring as I thought it would be. My legs still feel a little weak though.

“Finally.”

I exhale little amounts of air.

“I find it weird that the guy with superspeed is the only one who feels the slightest bit tired.”

Jovan thinks in his head.

“Ok, now it's time for the vigilante part.”

Dad declares while sweating.

“Nevermind.”

Jovan changes his mind. Dad grabs both of us and jumps up to a building.

“Whoa, Dad, what was that for?”

Jovan was startled by Dad's jump.

“Come on, Jovan, you haven't seen this scenario before? We’re going hop across these buildings until we reach the crime scene.”

Ah snap, this is definitely some vigilante shit! This is going to be awesome! We’re going to be jumping across the buildings like the teenage mutant ninja turtles! Dad puts us down.

“I’m trusting you to hop across these houses on your own. Don’t fuck up.”

Dad orders like I'm known for messing up.

“I won’t.”

Am I that much of a klutz?

“Do you know where the crime is happening?”

Jovan asks Dad.

“Yeah, it is straight ahead. Just follow me.”

Dad simpers. I immediately dash across the building and leave Jovan and Dad in the dust. Oh shit, I'm already near the end of the building! As a quick decision, I leap off the building. Yet, I rise high in the air and appear near the clouds. I soar away from Jovan and Dad like a shooting star.

“I never said he could use his superspeed.”

“Damn.”

Jovan is at awe while Dad is aggravated by my act. Even so, they begin hopping across the buildings like ninjas.

“Why are you grinning?”

“You are about to beat up criminals as criminals.”

“Oh, yeah, that does sound a little funny.”

“Have you ever thought about being a criminal?”

“Nope.”

“Really, not even a little? You're telling me that you've never thought about breaking the law.”

“Why does that surprise you? What kind of person do you think I am?”

“When people have negative emotions, they think about and do crazy things. And even when you're sane, you still think crazy things. You don't do it, but you still think it.”

“Oh.”

They stop talking as they continue to hop buildings.

“So, how do you know the crime is straight ahead?”

Jovan says out of curiosity.

“Because, I can literally see the criminals.”

Dad shows Jovan a device that displays the villains’ movements. He sees the criminals sneaking past people in a ridiculous fashion.

“How?”

“I have several hidden cameras throughout the entire town. What, you ACTUALLY thought we were going to blindly search for criminals?”

Jovan intentionally stays silent.

“You know how long that would’ve took?”

“A couple minutes.”

Jovan guesses to try to prove a point.

“Try a couple hours.”

“To look for a crime scene?”

“Yeah, this town is small. Believe it or not, crime has decreased this month.”

“Oh.”

Jovan and Dad abruptly see a good deal of dust ahead of them. It appears as if bomb erupted. Momentarily, Jovan suddenly gets a text from his phone.

“I guess he crash landed.”

“Why did you bring your phone with you?”

“Just in case. I got a text from Javon. He says he sees criminals.”

“He’s THAT far away from us.”

“He could have told me faster with his superspeed than a text.”

“He doesn’t know that. Come on, let’s get going.”

Jovan and Dad continue leaping across the buildings and catch up to me.

“Look.”

We spot the criminals entering a store.

“Dang, it really was you. The dust is still here. And, what is with the hole?”

Jovan waves his hand around to get the dust away from him.

“Yeah, I crashed in this house. On the bright side, no one was inside. However, they will be pissed when they return.”

I sounded like I was joking, but I was serious. They will be pissed. Whoever lives there. I landed on a flat screen TV.

“I never said you could use your superspeed. You are lucky that I’ll pay for the damages later. Next time, listen.”

“Alright.”

It’s not like I don’t feel bad. I just wanted to use my superspeed. He didn’t have to sound mean about it. You know what, nevermind. He’s correct. I disobeyed him. There is nothing to argue about.

“You two know what to do, right?”

Dad presumes.

“Yeah, we go in there and stop the crime like Batman and Robin.”

Jovan answers.

“No, like Batman and Batman.”

“What?”

I add, looking confused.

“There are no sidekicks.”

Dad elucidates.

“Oh.”

Jovan and I utter. That was actually clever.

“Now, stop the crime. I will be watching you from the sidelines.”

“Wait, how will you…”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Jovan interrupts my sentence as we jump off the building and enter the store. We see seven thugs with a handful of money and a pharmacist. We also notice some candy, cosmetics, cleaning supplies, and a bunch of medications.

“They’re robbing a DRUG STORE!”

We deduce in our minds.

“Who the hell are they?”

“Oh shit, they’re apart of ‘Them’!”

Two of the thugs speak as they see our outfits.

“That sounds so stupid.”

We both conclude in our heads.

“Wait, if they are with ‘Them’, then aren’t they on our side?”

“Are you two on our side?”

Two of the thugs question us and Jovan glares at me afterwards. Ah, son of a, he expects me to say that we're apart of ‘Them’. Screw that. I glance back at Jovan and say no by slightly pouting my head. Jovan gets irritated and sighs because of my response.

“No, we’re ‘Them’.”

Jovan uncomfortably asserts like he is allergic to his own words.

“Okay, I don't get it. Aren't you criminals, too?”

“Maybe, they are apart of another gang called ‘Them’.”

Two thugs comment, confused by Jovan's sentence.

“Enough talk.”

Jovan rushes towards to the thugs. Really, the guy with superspeed should be the first one to rush at the thugs. I bolt at them with superspeed and the thugs start shooting at us. The pharmacist stows away behind an aisle of drugs. One of the bullets close in on Jovan. In a flash, Jovan’s blue eyes with white pupils activate on their own and he avoids the bullet as it almost reaches his left eye. Jovan reveals a haunted expression as he uses a small table to elude the bullets.

I easily dodge the bullets by running in a zigzag line and punch one of the thugs through the candy aisle. The thug faints with cheetos in his mouth. Then, I quickly uppercut another thug up to a light bulb and the light bulb instantly breaks on contact with the thug’s head. When the thug descends to the floor, his head is truly a light bulb.

“Wow, these guys are easy.”

Afterwards, a bullet nearly reaches the side of my face. It almost grazed my skin. I was close to dead! I escape to the counter and hide. That was WAY too close! I am too young to die!

“Oh, I know! You want our money. Well, you’re not getting it!”

A petrified thug states while shooting at Jovan. With each shot, the table is shattering into a smaller table.

“I need to find another cover.”

Jovan finds a condom on the ground.

“This is what a condom looks like? It is like a pacifier. I wonder.”

He precisely throws it toward one of bullets at the most opportune time.

“AH SHIT!”

A thug yells as an explosion instantly occurs in front of the thugs. The condom quickly tears into several tiny latex pieces. Jovan takes advantage of the eruption and finds a cover behind an aisle of drugs where the pharmacist also hided.

“You did all that with a condom?”

The pharmacist says while looking startled.

“Oh yeah, my bad. You won't be able to sell that one.”

“Obviously.”

Jovan observes a strange-looking container and takes the paper off of it.

“What the hell are these?”

Jovan infers.

“So, you figured it out.”

“Figured what out?”

The pharmacist abruptly goes behind Jovan and puts a knife close to his neck.

“You don’t have to play dumb. I’m impressed. The cops didn’t even realize they were special steroids and they looked straight at the damn label. I bet you also guessed that I gave the thugs that money for these steroids. I should’ve expected as much from a member of ‘Them’.”

“This guy is a dumbass! He just told me everything! And, there’s no way a gang member would figure that out unless they were apart of the gang who did it!”

Jovan speaks in his head while quivering with fear.

“You got any last words before I slit your throat like spaghetti?”

Jovan is too afraid to do anything. Out of nowhere, the ground starts shaking. The items in the store are dropping, the lights started flickering, and the ceiling slowly begins tearing down.

“What the?! An earthquake?!”

The pharmacist notes as he slips and falls to the floor. He accidentally tosses his knife at the same time that I punch a thug across the store.

“GOD DAMMMMMMN!!!!!!!”

A thug screams after a knife pierces through his left hand. DAMN. That has GOT to hurt. The knife is stuck in the thug’s left hand. Blood is flooding out of his hand. So much blood, in fact, that the skin color of his hand is red. Everyone, including Jovan and I, give him pitied expressions.

“That’s it! You two members of ‘Them’ are going to die! AAAAAHHHHHH!”

The thug yells as he reloads his gun with the hand that has a knife through it.

“AAAAAAHHHHHH!”

The thug repeatedly cries and shoots ammo at me. I immediately run away and hide behind the counter since the rest of the thugs also start shooting at me.

“Even with superspeed, he is useless.”

Jovan watched me flee like a coward.

“You don’t have time to be worried about him.”

Jovan is unexpectedly smacked through two aisles of medication.

“Who the? Ah shit.”

Before Jovan’s eyes is the pharmacist. With the bodybuild of Bane. Not Bane Everbleed. Bane (DC Comics).

“How is this even possible?!”

“Because of these steroids. It only takes one to get this big and strong.”

“Steroids don’t work THIS fast.”

Jovan comments as the pharmacist shows him one steroids pill. The pharmacist charges at Jovan and tries to tackle him. Jovan, with a horrified face, scarcely evades his blitz by hopping out of his way, which causes the pharmacist to crash through two aisles of beer and liquor.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!”

In the process, the pharmacist also runs over a thug. Afterwards, big footprint shows up on the unconscious thug’s face.

“Shit, is that the pharmacist?!”

“Who cares? Shoot the thief in front of us!”

Two thugs add as I’m still stuck at the counter, avoiding shots to my body. Did they really call ME the thief? What can I do? If I get shot, I’m done. Superspeed can’t fix that.

“Crap.”

One of the thugs say as they all run out of bullets. Is that my cue? What am I saying? Of course, that's my cue! I leap out from the counter and dash to the thugs. In a flash, I run in a straight line and knock three of the thugs unconscious.

“Ha, didn’t take long.”

A thug hastily reloads his gun and starts firing at me. I hurry back to the counter. Now, there’s only one thug. The one with a knife through his hand.

“How long are you gonna hide back there? Whatever, I’ll get you out of there.”

The thug spots an object near the counter. He aims at the object and shoots at it.

“AAAAAHHHH!”

Is he going to scream every time he shoots? And, was he trying to get me? He completely missed.

“Ha, your aim is inspiring.”

I sarcastically respond. an explosion blows me away. The explosion entirely demolishes the counter and leaves the area with debris. I land towards the thug. I immediately put my hands up with a desperate expression on my face.

“My aim is inspiring. So inspiring, it’s going to kill a member of ‘Them’. You will pay for this sin inside my hand.”

Come on, that wasn't my fault! He points his gun at me and prepares to pull the trigger. God, please save me. I am begging you. I don’t even care how you save me. It could be an earthquake or something. The earth begins trembling again. The thug fires at me and misses.

“Son of AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH, again!”

The thug shrieks in anger. I watch as he reloads his gun and the floor quivers again. The thug drops his gun... OH! This is my chance! I bolt towards the thug and give him a quick jab to the face. He falls hard and unconscious to the ground. Finally, that’s the last thug. I don’t know how those earthquakes happened, but THANK GOD. Talk about lucky. Now, where is Jovan? I glance to my left and Jovan flies towards me like a missile. We plunge into the detritus.

“Dude, where have you been?”

“Fighting the pharmacist.”

Jovan has several scratches on him.

“You’re getting your ass kicked by the pharmacist?! I was fighting

“Why don’t you look in front of you?”

I look up and see a Bane look-alike. Not Bane Everbleed.

“Holy shit.”

I utter with a speechless and frightened grin.

“Exactly.”

When did the pharmacist get so big?! The pharmacist momentarily hurtles towards us and tries to tackle us. I hurry to the other side of the store while Jovan hardly evades the pharmacist by jumping over his shoulder. The pharmacist charges into a wall and finds himself outside of the store.

“What the hell?”

Dad reacts to the seeing the steroid-powered pharmacist.  

“Got any ideas?”

Jovan uses this time to catch his breath.

“Hell no! I should be asking you that! You are the one who lasted so long against him. Share the info!”

“You choose NOW to act like this!”

The pharmacist reenters the store and hurls the thug, with a knife inside his hand, toward me. The thug’s blood pours of his body while he is in the air.

“Ewwww!”

I scurry away and avoid touching the thug.

“Aaaaahhh!”

The thug howls in his knocked out state. He screams in his sleep, too? The pharmacist springs into the air and stomps the ground. The force of his stomp instantly blows us away along with some of the shelves in the store.

“Dude, we are done for.”

I spot the thug, with a knife inside his hand, on my shoulder.

“Ew!”

I push his body away from mine as soon as possible. The thugs were blown away, too. I notice all of thugs are now in a different areas of the store.

“All of this power, I'm unstoppable!”

The pharmacist flexes his muscles. While he is flexing, his right arm suddenly pops like a balloon and blood splatters out of it.

“OWWWWWW!!! What is happening?!”

The pharmacist’s body expands and increases in size. He floats in the air like an actual balloon. Then, his entire body explodes, scattering his skin and blood everywhere inside the store. Luckily, the blood didn't get near us.

“What. The hell. Just happened?”

Jovan's face says it all. He is just as shocked as I am.

“No clue.”

Whatever happened, it saved us from getting our asses kicked.

“He was a ‘ticking time bomb’.”

Dad somehow commands in my ear.

“What the? Why am I hearing Dad?”

“Really? It's the invisible earpieces I gave you two a couple hours ago.”

“Oh yeah, I remember.”

Jovan pretends to say with emotion.

“You two really forgot. I gave you them today!”

Dad yells at us through the earpieces.

“Yeah, Dad, sorry, I honestly forgot.”

I respond, feeling pathetic.

“Wow, okay.”

Dad utters, attempting to conceal his rage.

“What do you mean ‘ticking time bomb’?”

Jovan requests from Dad.

“I mean his body couldn't handle the drug he took. It was only a matter of time till he blew up.”

“Oh.”

That makes sense. However, did the pharmacist know the risk?

“Hurry up and write a note, saying that crap about ‘Them’. After that, get out of there.”

“Yes, Dad.”

We both reply.

“So, did you bring the paper?”

Jovan asks me.

“Uh…”

I search all of my pockets and find nothing.

“No.”

“Are you serious?!”

“Shut the hell up. I don’t want Dad to hear.”

I mumble in Jovan’s ear.

“I can hear you. You literally whispered it into the earpiece.”

Dad points out.

“You two better think of something because I heard someone call the cops.”

“How do you know someone called the cops?”

“Because, I heard someone shout when the pharmacist was outside.”

Crap, I have to find something to write on. I already have a marker. Jovan and I search the entire store.

“I found nothing. Not even a receipt.”

Dammit! There’s nothing!

“Come on, what can I write on?!”

I desperately ponder while looking at the unconscious thugs. And, a light bulb appeared on top of my head. I smirk at Jovan and gape at the thug with a knife inside his hand.

“Wait, are you seriously considering that?”

“Yes.”

I simper

“No, that’s just disrespectful.”

“We don’t have any other choice.”

“Yeah, we do. You can write on the counter.”

“That’s destroyed. Jovan, this is the only option.”

I walk towards the unconscious thug with a knife through his hand. I write on his left hand

“You’re such a dick. Why did you choose him? Out of ALL the thugs you could have chose. And, you wrote it on his LEFT hand.”

“One, he almost killed me. Two, it’s more noticeable this way. Plus, it's too late now.”

“I never thought I would feel bad for a thief.”

“Look at that, I found a receipt. Now that I think about it, we could have used the labels in the products. Oh well. Let's get out of here.”

“And, I’m the asshole?”

Jovan comments to himself. We get out of the drug store and hurry back to our house with Dad.

“So, based on what I saw, I'd say you two did awful.”

Dad heartlessly concludes.

“Awful?”

We both restate.

“Both of you were too fearful to attack them head on.”

“I attacked them head on.”

“So did I.”

“At first, Javon, yeah. But, once a bullet went past your face, you ran back to the counter. Jovan, you didn't fight any of them. You only dodged.”

“I was fighting the pharmacist.”

“Dad, I almost died.”

We make up excuses.

“And now that you bring it up, you both were in situations where you could have died, yet you chose to do nothing about it. I had to pound the earth to save you.”

“Wait, that was you?”

“Actually, that makes sense. Earthquakes don't happen at night.”

Jovan and Dad directly look at me like I'm brainless.

“Earthquakes can happen at night. Anyhow, you can't be afraid anymore. Your fear has to go or that WILL be the reason you die. I know this is still new to you, however you also need to realize that you're not human. All of the things that had a 100% chance of killing you can't kill you if you master your powers. I'd rather you have the mindset of nothing can hurt you than the mindset of everything can hurt you. You two did complete your mission, still if I wasn’t watching you, you two would have been dead.”

Dad's right. Our fear could have easily lead to our deaths. We really could have died. How can I be terrified of this when I've been dreaming of it? I still think of myself as the same person before the school incident. I'm not the same person. I'm Javon Sankoh. With superspeed.

“Dad is right. I didn't fight at all. I was depending on Javon to beat the thugs. I had the power to, but I was afraid of the guns. I need to get rid of my fear. I have to take full advantage of these eyes. I always wanted eyes like Sharingan. I should use them.”

Jovan surmises in his mind.

“Okay, stop the sad faces. You didn't die so it's fine. You still defeated the thugs. You just need to be brave and courageous like SOME of the anime you watch. I decided to continue watching you until your fear disappears. Just know that from here on out, you're not normal people, you're members of ‘Them’.”

Dad jokes to change the mood.

“Really, Dad.”

“Hahaha…”

We laugh with joy. Just like that, Dad makes us feel better. At the meantime, the police arrive at the trashed drug store. Surprisingly, an unknown purple haired female in a superhero suit watches as the police enter it.