Ring, Ring, Ring.
My alarm clock went off, pulling the sleep away from my eyes. It was the same time every morning — 6:15 a.m.
I dragged the sheets away from my body and dismounted the bed.
The mental exhaustion I had the previous day had worn off so I was feeling as fresh as a newly plucked apple, ready to continue my quest at becoming the strongest hero there is and will ever be.
Was I delusional?. No, with the Forever Core it was possible. I just have to be consistent and show up.
I walked slowly into the kitchen, the light was on so it took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust.
My next few actions were all instinctively, because it had become a normality since the day of my second enlightenment event.
A banana, cracked an egg, a cup of milk and a second cup of orange juice. It wasn't much, but it contained the necessary nutrients to sustain my body.
"Your up early today!... As usual..." A familiar voice called making its way into the kitchen as I sat on the table to enjoy my food.
My mom—Jessica Renly.
She works at one of the ISA medical center in the city and has to work lots of shifts in end so she's quite the busy woman.
As a medical personal and my mother also, she never really approved of my decision to be a hero.
Of which I felt very indifferent about. I get it though, they were other stronger and capable hero built to handle the job well and she wouldn't want her son to get hurt.
But I wanted to help, in the little way I can— or could, as Skateboard Man. But now, Skateboard Man is dead. I am now the very specimen for human evolution and she need not fear for my safety.
"Good morning Mom..." I said nonchalantly as I stuffed a bunch of banana slices in my mouth.
"Good morning blonde..." She replied.
I always found it funny why she called me that, she was even more blonde than I ever could be.
"So what do you have planned for today darling..." She said while bending over, peering into the fridge. "Please don't say something like superhero volunteering work or role call or some ISA thing..." She finished.
"Hmmm..." I scoffed.
'She doesn't know... ' I thought to myself.
"Also what have you been upto lately? You looking the fittest you've ever looked in your nineteen years of existence!" She blurted out as she sat down on the kitchen table with a bowl of leftovers.
'I figured she'd notice that sooner or later, I would have been disappointed if she didn't. She's always working so she doesn't have time for me, she has to work though to pay the bills by herself ever since Dad left'.
"Why are you so quiet, talk to mummy" she said giving me a concerned look.
"Ermmm I plan on hanging out with my friends..." I quickly scrambled through my head and blurted out.
"Jake and Ellie, they came by yesterday looking for you... So you didn't hang out with them yesterday?"
'What? I have been so busy trying to level up that I couldn't pay attention to my friends'.
It honestly sad if you think about it, we were all rock bottom together, the three of us. And that was the one thing we had, now I had acquired the Forever Core and I really don't see them as my peers anymore.
How could I?
"I hung out with..."
I swallowed hard as I cooked up a tantalizing lie.
"... With another friend"
My mom dropped her fork and squinted her eyes at me in suspicion.
"Really? And do I know this friend? What's his name?" She asked.
I avoided eye contact as I scrambled through my brain. I know, I'm not really good liar.
"Ermmm, Q'urtona!" I blurted out.
"Oh a girl?"
"Yes Mom, a girl. We met a few weeks ago and I think I wanna keep her forever" I said with a forced smile.
"Awwnn my little blonde is becoming a man" she laughed with glee, stretching her arm across the table and grabbing my cheeks.
Just then, her phone buzzed and she immediately picked it up as if she had been anticipating it the whole time.
She glanced at it and her expression changed. Immediately she began putting her plates away and getting her things ready.
'Shes leaving already?'
"I have to go baby boy, apparently the new S-Class Hero keeps beating her training coaches to a pulp when they're sparring... "
"I don't know how a little girl like that could be so tough... "
My senses twiched. The girl she was talking about, I had seen her at the last day of the Assessment Event.
"That girl? I've seen her before! Is she really that strong?" I asked.
My Mom grabbed her purse and darted towards the exit.
"Evidently she is... Have a nice day honey" she disappeared down the hall.
'Bet she would beat me to a pulp at my current level... ' I thought.
'What was her name again? Uhhhh Yelena Darkov AKA Shadow girl'
'Well, she doesn't matter for now... Even if we were to cross paths I would still give her a tough time'.
'What if I try saving the day again and the ISA sends her after me to capture me?'
'That would be grim... I have to stay hidden'
"Reno!!" My Mom's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Yes Mom!"
I called back.
"I almost forgot, Jake asked me to remind you to check your damn phone!" She called from the door and immediately after, I heard the sound of the door slam shut.
"Phone?" I instinctively tapped my pockets lightly to find nothing in it.
Then...
[2 Pending Messages From Boomerang Man (Jake Todd)]
"Ohhh, that's true. It connects to my device!"
"Okay, read out messages please" I commanded.
Jakes voice began speaking but it was only audible to me, as if ringing in my own head but also outwardly at the same time.
"Hey Ren! How you been bro? We been worried about you. You've been a little distant lately"
[First Message Complete]
"Hey bro! Tomorrow is the 23rd, remember what that means for us and our plan against The White Vortex.... "
I immediately whipped my head back as I suddenly remembered what he was talking about.
A few weeks back, we were really tired of doing small time hero jobs, like fetching a cat from a tree or helping an old lady with her groceries or even doing community service.
We wanted to do something big, something memorable. But we lacked the means to do so. Skateboard Man, Boomerang Man and Balloon Burster weren't really a powerful bunch to doing big time hero activities, not while we were merely E-class heroes no different than normal citizens.
So, we were lucky to come across an anonymous tip about an underground crime syndicate known as The White Vortex.
They're a small group of people that farm and push illegal drugs into the public for profit.
Not just that, they had been linked to a couple murders here and there throughout City D, Sector D.
Now the ISA turns a blind eye to criminals like this and leave them to D or E-Class heroes and the police.
But the White Vortex haven't been apprehended till this day.
We decided we were going to go after them today, because they were planning on pushing a new kind of drug into the public and it was said that this drug was poisonous and deadly.
To me, they were just like every other villain out there. Although they were a small time cartel group, they still caused harm and terror within City D.
If that is not a villain, I don't know what is!
"How could I forget about this?..." I mused.
It was important to us at that very moment and we had been planning it for weeks but then I got a second enlightenment event and forgot about the whole thing.
I thought about it for a few seconds and then I got up to prepare myself.
I am still doing hero work and I also get to spend time with my friends, besides it wouldn't hurt going back to being Skateboard Man for a day.