*Knock knock knock*
"Theo. It's 7:20. Again. You planning on sleeping through another apocalypse?"
His mother's voice, half-joking, half-scolding, rattled the door, dragging Theo out of his dreams and blankets.
"Five more minutes." he mumbled into his pillow.
"Last time I gave you five minutes, you missed your math test and cried like a toddler. UP!"
Reluctantly, Theo peeled himself from the bed, hair like a birds nest and eyes puffy from staying up too late on youchewb watching his favourite youchewber. again.
The sun stabbed through the curtains like it held a personal grudge.
He shuffled into the bathroom and turned on the tap. The cold splash helped, but something felt... off.
As he brushed his teeth, a sudden wave of dizziness made the sink tilt beneath him. He gripped the edge and then blood dripped from his nose.
A lot of it.
"Shit."
He scrambled to rinse it away before his mom saw.
"If she knew the nosebleeds were getting worse, she'd probably drag me to three specialists and a goddam priest."
Clean-faced and pale, he sat down at the table just as his mother set down a plate of juice and pasta.
"Drink water." she said, handing him a bottle.
"Forecast says it's going to be hotter than hell today. I packed juice in your bag. Finish it this time, not offer it to a stray dog or flush it down the school drain."
"Yes, ma'am."
She gave him a pointed look, then smiled and kissed his forehead.
"Go save the world, or at least pass English."
Outside, the city buzzed. Theo met up with his best friend, Stuart Biggie, who greeted him like a golden retriever.
"Yo, did you hear about Mr. Collins? Collapsed during history class yesterday."
Theo blinked. "He okay?"
"Still alive..... unfortunately. That guy gave me detention for sneezing. He got a stick up his ass or what?"
They laughed all the way to their school, appropriately named "Generic School 37", where peeling paint, sticky cafeteria floors and the eternal hum of the century old lights gave the school its trademark charm.
A few students were spray painting at the back of the school, usual activities.
"Another student went missing." someone whispered nearby.
"If you dont stop talking, I'll make you disappear." a kid joked, smirking.
Theo barely noticed. He was already counting the hours till lunch.
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They sat outside under the shade of a crooked tree, Stuart chewing into a sandwich like it owed him money.
"Hey Tfffheoo." he said with his mouth full, "whadf wouldf you do if you hadf superpowers?"
Theo twirled his fork in the leftover pasta from breakfast. "I don't know. World domination?"
"Boring," Stuart scoffed. "I'd become a vigilante. Like, stop wars. Maybe vaporize a dictator or two."
"Yeah, sure, hero boy. And what's gonna be your name? Stuart the inv-(TITLE CARD)?"
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After lunch, Theo felt the telltale trickle again. Another nosebleed. More intense. "You go on ahead." he told Stuart. "I'll catch up."
He rinsed off in the bathroom, but something was wrong, colors looked too bright, light shimmered unnaturally. The world felt sharper, louder. But school went on. So did Theo.
By the time classes ended, he was dead tired. He dragged himself to the cafeteria, hoping for a snack and a second to breathe. That's when they cornered him.
Two bullies, grinning. Theo instantly knew why they were so brave. The cafeteria's CCTV had been busted during last week's food fight. Well, it's not like the CCTV has been working at all.
"Hand over the money, Silverstone," one said, shoving him.
Theo sighed. "I would like to refuse but I truly am flattered you think I'm rich. You see, I was about to ask you for some mo-"
Before he could finish his snazzy remark, a fist hit his stomach.
He gasped, wind knocked out of him. Another punch followed. Theo kicked, clawed, even bit, but it was two against one. One of them grabbed his arm, trying to drag him outside.
And then-
It happened.
His vision exploded in white. His head pulsed like a struck bell. Blood rushed from his nose, and then everything burned.
A blinding beam of light shot from his eyes. In a flash, it was over.
The two bullies collapsed-limp. Unmoving.
Theo passed out.
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He woke up in darkness.
The cafeteria was empty, silent....
Except for the metallic scent of blood. He blinked, hoping-praying-it was a dream. But the bodies were there.
Still. Cold. Dead.
Panic surged. He gasped for air. A voice echoed inside his skull:
[We can't let anyone find this.]
Trembling, he moved toward the bodies-but they felt... light. Weightless. Somehow, he was lifting them like pillows.
And then, he was rising too, feet off the ground.
"I'm levitating. No. Flying? What the hell is happening to me?"
There was no time for answers. He soared through the night sky, heart pounding.
He tore through the clouds in super speed.
And arrived at a remote mountain miles away.
He buried them deep, too deep. Far from roads, trails, or questions.
At a nearby river, he scrubbed the blood from his shirt, hands shaking. The cold water stung his skin, but it couldn't wash the guilt away. No matter how hard he washed, he couldn't scrub away what he'd done-or what he was becoming.
"shit shit shit shit shit shit shit fuck fuck FUCK THIS ALL!"
He flew home under the cover of night, still clearly shaking and landing softly in the alley behind their apartment. The lights were off. The door was unlocked.
A note sat on the kitchen table.
"Got called in for an emergency shift. There's pasta in the fridge. Money for snacks on the counter. Stay safe, baby. Love you - Mom."
The silence hit harder than any punch earlier.
She wasn't here to see the blood still on his collar, the look in his eyes, the part of him that had cracked open and couldn't be closed again.
Theo stood in the middle of the kitchen, fists clenched, head spinning.
He wasn't hungry. He didn't want the money.
He wanted answers.
But what he had was fear, power-and two graves no one would hopefully ever find.