Early the next morning.
"Ugh…"
Eden trudged down from the second floor, yawning so hard his jaw cracked.
"Eden, your coffee."
His mom, Nolanne Grayson, spotted him and casually hurled a steaming mug across the kitchen. "Ah, whoops—slipped."
"..."
Eden didn't move. Didn't flinch. He just watched the mug drift toward his face like it was in slow motion. In his head? She's totally doing this on purpose. One hundred percent. She knows. She definitely knows.
Is my son really powerless?
Even Nolanne's chest tightened for a heartbeat as the scalding liquid hovered inches from his cheek. At the last possible second, she blurred across the room, snatching the mug out of midair before it could splash him.
Eden let out the faintest sigh of relief. Mom still loves me.
But then Nolanne hesitated. That ancient Viltrumite programming—the Mental Seal hammered into her for a thousand years—reared its ugly head. For the empire… test him again.
So instead of pulling the coffee back, she froze, letting the liquid arc toward him.
Shit. Shit. I'm screwed.
Eden's heart pounded. He wasn't afraid of coffee—hell, he could bathe on the sun's surface if he wanted. No, what scared him was that coffee wouldn't hurt him. His Kryptonian-Viltrumite body would shrug it off, and if Nolanne noticed, the jig was up. Then it was "activate the Earth conquest protocol" time.
"Nolanne, careful."
A blur of blue and red swept in. Clark Kent. Toothbrush still in one hand, he slid Eden gently aside with the other and caught every drop of coffee back into the mug without spilling a single drop.
"Looks like yesterday's fight with the Mauler Twins took more out of you than you realized." He offered the mug to Eden with an easy smile. "A little distracted?"
Nolanne chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah… close call. Almost let them slip one over on me." She glanced at her son. "Sorry, Eden. Almost burned you there."
"Uh, yeah. I didn't even see what happened." Eden raised the mug, took a gulp—and winced. "Ow! Hot!" He hissed dramatically, setting it down, then grabbed toast from the counter and bolted for the door. "Crap, I'm late!"
"Be careful, Eden!" Nolanne called after him. "And eat something at school!"
Eden waved without turning back, heart still racing.
Behind him, Nolanne leaned against the counter, smiling faintly. "I think I'll take a day off today, honey."
Clark grinned, tossing the toothbrush aside. "Even the greatest heroes need a vacation." Then he pulled her into a kiss, sparks practically humming in the air.
..
"Jesus," Eden muttered under his breath, slowing his steps down the block. "That was close. Way too close. If Dad hadn't swooped in, Mom would've seen right through me."
He replayed it all in his head at super-speed. I've gotta be more careful. Every move matters.
[Ding! Congratulations, Master, for deceiving Earth's two greatest heroes!]
[Reward: 1 Lottery Draw. Villain Affinity +5.]
[Conclusion: You are clearly a natural-born villain!]
"System, shut the hell up."
There went his good mood. Two days since this damned Supervillain System activated, and his Villain Affinity had already climbed from fifty to sixty. Add that to the superpowers he'd awakened at age five, and the pace was insane.
I'm not turning into a villain. Not happening.
[Ding! Detected Master's powerful wish. Adjusting final objective…]
Eden blinked. "Wait. For real?"
[Master aspires to be a shining hero on the surface, while hiding darkness inside… like Homelander!]
[Reward: 1 free Lottery Draw for your noble ambition.]
Eden froze, staring into nothing. "...System, go die."
By the time he made it to Reginald VelJohnson High School, the halls were buzzing.
"Yo, Eden! Morning!" William slid up next to him, grinning ear to ear. "You hear? The Mauler Twins hit the White House again yesterday. Guardians of the Globe are useless."
"They won't get far," Eden said without looking at him. "The Guardians suck, yeah, but Omni-Man was there. That's all that matters."
"You've got a thing for Omni-Man, huh?" William teased. "Can't relate. I'm more of a Superman guy. World's sexiest man, hands down."
Eden just shot him a withering look. Not worth it.
Then a sharp, nasal voice cut through the hallway. "Move it, Todd! Quit crowding me!"
Amber. And right beside her, of course, was Todd—the archetypal American high school bully. Gelled hair, letterman jacket, cheap muscle car, and usually a cheerleader girlfriend with legs for days. Only he didn't have that last part yet, so now he was hovering around Amber like a mosquito.
William leaned in. "Yeah, Todd heard Amber kinda liked him, so now he won't leave her alone."
Eden glanced at Amber and had to suppress a sigh. If this were the comic version, I'd get it. But the animated Amber? Todd's standards must be subterranean.
[Ding! Master observes a girl being harassed and chooses silence. True villain behavior! Villain Affinity +5.]
"Goddamn it." Eden's fists clenched. He stalked forward.
[Ding! Master deliberately waited until the girl was harassed before stepping in, showing off at the perfect time. Peak Homelander energy! Villain Affinity +5. Current Affinity: 70.]
"I swear to God…" Eden grit his teeth.
[Ding! Master begs the System. Respect acknowledged. Reward: 1 Lottery Draw.]
Eden just stopped in his tracks, eyes going flat.
The System purred: [Begging works too, Master.]
...
"Hey."
"Eden, chill."
"Todd's built just like you. If you two throw down, it's gonna be a double knockout."
William, seeing Eden about to play hero, piped up fast.
Eden ignored him. He walked straight up to Todd, grabbed his wrist in one hand, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Cut it out, Todd. Chasing girls isn't supposed to look like this."
"Eden?!"
"This is between me and Amber. Why the hell are you butting in?" Todd snapped, annoyed at the interference. Then his eyes narrowed, suspicion creeping in. "Wait. Don't tell me you're into Amber too?"
If Eden was competition, Todd knew he didn't stand a chance.
"Me?" Eden glanced at Amber's dark skin, gave the barest shake of his head, and kept his face neutral.
Sure, by her standards Amber was attractive. But Eden? He just wasn't into it.
Yeah—expecting a guy who used to fall asleep listening to Sunshine, Rainbow, White pony every night to suddenly swoon over cartoon Amber? Get real.
"Listen. The hallways are covered in cameras." Eden patted Todd's shoulder, pointing at the lens overhead. "Unless you wanna explain this to your parents, think twice."
"Tch." Todd clicked his tongue, then shoved Eden hard. Eden crashed into a metal locker with a loud clang.
"Mind your own business, Kent! Don't think I'm scared of you." Tossing out the line, Todd turned and stormed off.
Eden stood there, eyes shadowed.
Only, he wasn't watching Todd's back. His X-Ray Vision pierced the walls, locking onto a figure hovering in the sky. Half a second later, he quickly turned away.
"…?"
High above, Nolanne had her arms folded, silently watching her son. Her thoughts churned: Did I misjudge him? Has Eden really not awakened his superpowers?
By her logic, if Eden had powers, Todd's head should've been splattered across the lockers by now.
I'll keep watching.
Back inside, Eden was already talking to the voice in his head. "System, let's make a deal."
[Master, speak.]
"Who's your master?"
[Why, you are, great Master.]
"I mean your first master. Your creator."
[The great OBA.]
"…Huh?!" Eden froze.
So his dad was from DC, his mom from Image, and his System? Straight out of Marvel.
What kind of Frankenstein family tree was this?!
"Fine. Then tell me—how do I get you to stop rewarding me?" He corrected himself fast. "I mean, stop boosting that stupid Villain Affinity."
[Master must complete Daily Missions.]
[I have KPIs to meet.]
"Daily Missions?" Eden's brow arched.
[Issuing Daily Mission.]
[Master must perform one evil deed per day.]
[As OBA decreed: 'Do not overlook small acts of good, and do not neglect small acts of evil.']
[So, Master, commit your daily evil. Someday you'll inherit OBA's throne.]
"…Define evil," Eden pressed. "What counts?"
[On the large side, annihilating worlds. On the small side, sticking chewed gum under someone's seat.]
"…The hell? Isn't that backwards?"
[Not at all.]
[Destroying universes is easy for OBA, but meaningless to humans—they can't even comprehend their own extinction.]
[But gum under a chair? That poor bastard will curse your name forever.]
"…That's… kinda convincing." Eden's eye twitched. Damn it, stop making sense!
Anyway, he needed to find loopholes. A way to clear missions without earning rewards.
The good news: his System wasn't some omnipotent bug beyond cosmic law.
The bad news: it was one of the omnipotent bugs.
Still, it could be cracked.
"Guess I'll need to hit Marvel someday," he muttered. There were ways into that universe. Between his Superman dad and his own stubbornness, Eden would find one.
For now? Back to class.
Amber's gaze lingered on him, but he ignored it.
....
Lunch.
"Eden, you and me. Now."
Todd again.
Eden paused mid-bite, set his tray down, and flicked on his X-Ray Vision. Was his all-powerful mom still spying from the clouds? …No sign. He relaxed—until he checked Twitter.
A new update on her burner account. A cozy photo of her and dear old Dad, on a date in Paris.
Finally breathing easy, Eden stood, smirked at Todd, and said, "Sure. Lead the way."
"Eden!" William shot up from his table, worry written all over him.
"Relax," Eden mouthed, giving him a steady look before following Todd out.
"Amber, look! Todd's at it again!" girls whispered nearby, but Eden didn't care.
Once outside, Todd's face twisted with rage. He raised a fist.
"This way," Eden said without even glancing back. "No cameras here."
Todd blinked, then barked a laugh. "Heh. You really know your stuff, Kent. Fine. Win or lose, after today, I'm done coming after you."
So when Eden led him to a deserted corner of the third floor, he checked again with X-Ray Vision—no witnesses.
Then, without hesitation, he clamped a hand around Todd's throat, hoisted him clean off the ground, and snarled:
"Listen up. I don't wanna fight you. Stop treating me like your damn rival!"
"As for Amber?" His voice cut like a blade. "Sorry. Not interested."
"If you like her, go after her fair and square. Quit pulling shady bullshit. That crap only makes people hate you."
He dropped Todd like a sack of bricks, exhaling hard. "Damn, that felt good."
Todd lay on the floor, sucking in greedy gulps of air.
"Did you get that, Todd?" Eden loomed over him. "Todd, use your damn brain. Think for once in your life!"
Clatter.
Something hit the ground. Eden's head snapped up.
Pink hair. Long. Flowing. A girl stood frozen, eyes wide.
"…Shit."
It was her.
Samantha Eve Wilkins.
Eden's stomach dropped. His X-Ray sweep had missed her—because she was wrapped in her own field, masking her presence. Atom Eve with a touch of Scarlet Witch knockoff.
She tilted her head, voice playful but sharp. "Don't stop on my account. Go on."