Once we committed to becoming full-time heroes, the decision was final. No turning back. Our costumes—crafted uniquely for each of us—were a reminder that we were stepping into something far bigger than ourselves.
We gathered at the central hub of Nimbus 7, the heart of our operations. The holographic map before us lit up with reports from across the world, each more urgent than the last. None of us knew if we were truly ready. But sometimes, readiness doesn't matter—there comes a time you have to stand up and fight for what's right.
We decided to start small. Three criminals had escaped custody, each of them newly awakened with powers.
Ahmed Bello (The Leader): Able to control the earth itself. A bitter man with a history of petty theft, now dreaming of ruling his old stomping grounds.
Olodo (The Cunning One): Thin, sharp-featured, with the unsettling appearance of a bird. He was fast, erratic, and just as dangerous in the air as a hawk circling prey.
Eze (The Muscle): Built like a wall, his skin could harden into stone. Dumb, yes—but brute strength in the wrong hands is always a nightmare.
"They aren't too far from us," Ja'afar said, scanning the tracker. "Close to Jabi Lake."
"Time to get wet, I guess," Atani smirked, cracking his knuckles.
Emmanuel set the teleportation coordinates. Before we could depart, the Shadow—that strange, ever-present figure who lingered around us—stepped forward. His voice was low but commanding:
"Be careful. And remember… work as a team."
I nodded, and with that, the teleportation beam shimmered around us. In a blink, we descended on the Jabi highway.
Ahmed was already there, standing on a rise of cracked earth, shouting to anyone who would listen.
"This place is mine! For years, you looked down on me, called me a thief, a failure. Now the ground itself answers to me! And every single one of you will pay for what you did!"
His words were heavy with resentment, with history. Once just a petty thief who tried—and failed—to rob Zenith Bank, Ahmed had spent years dreaming of control. Now, with power in his veins, he thought destiny had finally given it to him.
Above, Olodo screeched, his wings slicing through the night air as he circled like a predator.
"That bird-man's claiming the skies," John muttered, eyes sharp.
I gathered the team quickly.
"Listen up. John, Atani, Yusuf—you're on Eze. Keep him distracted, keep him occupied, outsmart him if you can. Don't let his brute strength decide the fight.
Victor, Emmanuel—you take Olodo. Victor, you're our air support. Keep him busy in the skies. Emmanuel, find a way to ground him.
That leaves me and Ja'afar with Ahmed. He's the biggest threat if we let him cut loose. We keep him pinned, no matter what."
I looked at each of them, one by one. Their eyes were fierce, determined, even if uncertainty still lingered deep inside.
"Now that we've got this… let's go."
---
Ja'afar teleported each of us into position, portals opening as we blinked across the highway. We crouched, waiting for my signal.
Ahmed was in the middle of his rant, towering on a raised slab of earth. He grabbed an akara seller by the wrist, raising his hand to strike her for not kneeling before him.
That's when Yusuf blurred forward, lightning quick, pulling her out of harm's way before Ahmed's hand came down. The akara tray tumbled but the woman was safe.
That was the spark. The fight had begun.
We weren't fully trained—not really—but the little sessions we had together kicked in. Atani raised his hands, energy crackling. A translucent barrier snapped into place, enclosing the entire area. Civilians outside froze in confusion, but they were safe. Nobody gets in, nobody gets out.
Ahmed scowled, his lips curling. "Since when does Nigeria celebrate Halloween? Look at you—dressed like cartoons. You're too old for this play-play nonsense."
Ja'afar said with an angry tone "And you—aren't you old enough to take responsibility for your actions?"
Ahmed cracked his neck slowly, his stare cold. "What do you know about responsibility, eh?"
I stepped forward. "This is over, Ahmed. You and your crew are going back to prison. You've got sentences to serve."
Ahmed sneered, clenching his fist. "Then why don't you make us?"
The ground trembled, and with a roar he hurled a massive boulder in our direction.
"Emmanuel!" I shouted.
He raised his palm and suddenly, all of us were mentally linked, thoughts racing between us like radio signals. Everyone knew their roles.
We split instantly—straight to our designated opponents.
John twirled his diamond katana, the blade catching the sun. He stood before the towering bulk of Eze. "Tell me, big guy—can you survive being cut by the hardest material on Earth?"
Eze tilted his head, confused, then smirked. "Uhh… me no sabi all this grammar. But I sabi one thing—I go pound you… like pounded yam."
John's smirk sharpened into a grin. "Let's find out."
---
Eze roared and began hurling cars at Yusuf with raw, brute strength. But Yusuf was too fast—darting around, smirking, and taunting him.
"You're too slow!" he jeered, dodging another car. "Come on, keep up—I'm getting bored!"
With a sudden burst of speed, Yusuf twirled around Eze, jabbing him from all angles and spinning him until the giant staggered. But no matter how fast he struck, Yusuf couldn't pierce Eze's skin.
Atani's voice cut in over comms. "Yusuf, keep him busy. We'll trap him instead of trying to overpower him."
Yusuf grinned, wagging a finger at Eze. "If you're really the strongest, then come catch me, dumbass!"
The taunt worked. Enraged, Eze bulldozed through the highway, smashing cars aside in a reckless frenzy, but he couldn't catch Yusuf.
Meanwhile, Atani whispered an enchantment over John's katana—
"Fortis Ferrum!" —the steel gleamed, reinforced with magic so it wouldn't shatter against Eze's iron skin.
"I'll blind him for a moment," Atani explained quickly. "Yusuf, lure him into the ground floor of that building. John, strike the weak points when he's vulnerable."
Yusuf zipped through the building, leaving streaks and signals for Eze to follow. The giant crashed in after him, only to be met with Atani's blinding spell. Light exploded across Eze's eyes, leaving him stumbling and roaring in confusion.
Seizing the moment, John slashed deep across his chest, the enchanted blade finally cutting through. With precision, he struck Eze's joints, then drove the katana through his hands and feet, pinning him down.
"Now, Yusuf!"
In a blur, Yusuf whisked his teammates out of the building. Atani unleashed a final incantation, detonating the structure and burying Eze beneath the rubble.
The dust settled. They stood, exhausted but alive.
John wiped sweat from his brow. "Didn't know hero work took this much out of me…"
Atani chuckled. "You can say that again."
Yusuf burst into laughter. "Hahahaha—told you guys, I make this look easy."
---
Olodo glanced over at what Daniel's team had done to Eze, muttering to himself,
"Don't get cocky, you over-the-head bastards."
He was snapped back to reality when a blazing fireball rushed past him. Victor's voice followed, sharp and venomous:
"Don't ignore me, you disgusting abomination."
From the sidelines, Emmanuel called out:
"Victor, try to ground him—or finish him off."
Victor smirked, his eyes burning with mischief.
"Don't worry, Emmanuel. I'll make sure this bird is cooked to perfection."
Olodo turned his gaze on him.
"Why are you fighting us? This has nothing to do with you."
Victor's smile twisted into a sneer.
"Don't start getting scared now. Own up to your actions. Olodo frowns "You're going to die kid", Victor claps back "Bring it on, bird-face."
With a burst of speed, Olodo launched himself at Victor, wings cutting the air. But Victor was ready—he had trained for fast, airborne opponents. Flames roared from his hands as Emmanuel cautioned:
"Don't overheat, Victor. If you push too far, you'll black out."
"I can handle myself," Victor snapped back, the classic hothead.
Olodo weaved through the fireblasts, feathers like blades slicing through the air. One grazed Victor's arm, drawing blood.
Rage flared in his eyes.
"The heat is on!"
His body ignited, flames surging hotter and hotter until the very air shimmered and the ground began to melt. Emmanuel frowned, thinking, What is he planning…?
Victor blurred forward, landing a flaming slap across Olodo's face that left him dazed. But Olodo roared and charged again, talons out, wings beating furiously.
Victor erupted—his body a blazing inferno, scorching the air and earth in one massive burst. Olodo was swallowed in fire, his wings blackened as he tumbled.
Victor smirked through the pain, whispering:
"Ever heard the phrase—you flew too close to the sun?"
Emmanuel acted quickly, transmuting a nearby car into a coffin-like prison that clamped around the charred Olodo.
Victor collapsed to the ground, laughing between groans. Emmanuel shook his head.
"I'm surprised you're not unconscious from that."
Victor gave a pained grin.
"Don't worry… I always have a way."
Emmanuel looked across the battlefield, eyes narrowing toward where Uche and Ja'afar were fighting. Under his breath, he muttered:
"Be safe, you guys."
Ahmed looked over at his fallen allies, his chest heavy with rage. His mind drifted back—back 25 years, to the slums of Jabi.
That was where he met them.
Olodo. Eze. His family.
He remembered Eze, being bullied by kids who called him too big, too stupid for his age. He remembered stepping in, Olodo by his side. Two against five—it was madness, but they fought anyway.
"We lost," Ahmed muttered, clenching his fists. "But from that day, we were brothers."
From there, life was survival. Scams, theft, gambling, threatening—anything for quick cash. It was reckless, but we lived like every day was our last. Until the day we tried to rob a Shield warehouse.
We failed. Arrested. Tossed into Cell Fire Prison—the one Shield bragged had a 0.01% escape rate. But then came the explosion. A strange blast that rewrote our bodies. I felt the ground breathe under my skin, as i connected with the earth, what I felt was power.
Still, we couldn't escape. Not until someone came. A figure who tore open every cell door and freed the powered inmates.
"Do what you wish," the stranger had said. And they did.
Now, in the present—Ahmed's family lay broken by costumed children calling themselves heroes. Agberos in capes. Pretenders.
Ahmed roared, earth crawling up his body, shaping into jagged armor. He signaled Ja'afar to stay sharp.
The ground split open with a violent thrust. The heroes barely dodged. Ja'afar warped one of them close to Ahmed, as i countered with a 5G Gravity Knuckle Punch—the impact sent Ahmed flying, forcing him to form a barricade of stone just to survive.
But rage only made him stronger. Boulders rained from the sky. Me and Ja'afar dodged them with seamless teleportation.
Uche "Time to end this," .
Ja'afar activated Emmanuel's prototype gauntlet—one that built up kinetic energy until overload. Together, they dove through portals, teleporting so quickly that Ahmed couldn't track them. Lefts. Rights. Hits from nowhere.
"Fight back, come on fight back!" i shouted, as me and Ja'afar struck him with equal lefts and rights, I striked Ahmed into the air.
Ja'afar slammed him down with a critical overload strike. I blurred forward, landing a 10G Knuckle Shuffle so fast the eye couldn't see it. Ahmed crashed through the highway beam, broken.
Breathing heavy, Ja'afar smirked. "Guess our first fight turned out okay."
"Yeah," as I said, smiling. "Guess you could call that a victory."
---
We gathered together, bringing the three criminals into the coffin-like prison Emmanuel had forged. Atani lowered the barrier, and immediately police sirens blared as officers and reporters flooded the scene.
Microphones shot toward us, cameras flashing. One reporter called out:
"Who are you people? What are you doing here?"
I stepped forward, voice steady but loud enough to cut through the chaos.
"To Nigeria—no, to the whole world—we are heroes. We fight not for fame, but to save this world from collapse. We will help it return to what it once was… though not without a few changes. After all…" I paused, letting the words hang in the air.
"…We are The Backbenchers."
A random reporter's voice echoed across the live broadcast:
"Coming to you live from Jabi Highway. As you just heard, one of these new heroes has spoken. Earlier, they appeared at the site of a destroyed school, and now, here on the highway, they've taken down a group of criminals with strange new powers. The question remains—are these heroes in it for fame, or for the love of the game? Regardless, you can certainly call this their debut. This is Sandra from Naija News—back to you, Kevin."
The TV screen flickered, then shut off in a pitch-dark room.
A shadowed figure leaned forward, a sinister grin on his face.
"Hmmm… so, a bunch of wannabe heroes want to play savior in this new world? No matter. After all—whoever stands in my way will face dire consequences."
Too be continued