The afternoon sun beat down on the campus plaza of Rocket University, but the four students walking together barely noticed the warmth. A heavy air of exhaustion hung over them partly from the grueling mid-term prep, and partly from the lingering trauma that still gripped the city of Omnopolis.
Suddenly, Topanga skidded to a halt, nearly causing Jax to stumble into her.
"Guys, look," Topanga whispered, her eyes wide as she rapidly pulled out her holo-phone. She expanded the display, casting a crisp, floating projection into the air between them. "It's finally airing."
Raphael Elyon, Maya, and Jax crowded around the blue-tinted holographic screen. On the display, Topanga stood outside the heavily armored downtown broadcasting station, looking remarkably poised despite the chaotic backdrop of construction drones repairing the city.
[On-Screen Broadcast]
Topanga: "Two weeks ago, an intense, unprecedented confrontation with the Demon King and his vanguard left our city in absolute rumbles. The destruction has now been investigated to the highest degree by local authorities to determine what truly caused the systemic collapse of our defenses.
The Superhero Organization has officially classified the incident as a coordinated attack from the shadowy multi-universal alliance known as the Black Dominion Syndicate. I was there on the night of the attack, watching the devastation unfold firsthand as a handful of brave superheroes from neighboring cities arrived to defend our borders.
Following the crisis, I explicitly asked the Director of the Superhero Organization what measures are being taken to ensure a tragedy of this scale never happens again. Why doesn't our city have multiple permanent superheroes protecting its citizens? Why did a completely unregistered, brand-new superhero named 'One' have to be the one to protect our city entirely by himself?
The Director's response? He claimed a permanent deployment was simply not in the budget. He stated our city is too low-class to receive an elite hero, and that the tax revenue our city generates is not enough to sustain an Organization presence.
Lucky for us, we have the vigilante, Hero One. But to the Director, I ask: wouldn't you do it for free? Or at least lower the price for their services? As for Hero One... I am still waiting for our exclusive interview. I promise our viewers it will be coming soon; we will get to know the man behind the persona.
But for now, we turn to an exclusive interview with Mr. Doom the world's richest being, a prominent corporate CEO, and one of the leading candidates running for President of the Coalition."
The screen shifted from Topanga's sharp reporting to a sleek, high-end studio. Sitting in a leather armchair was Mr. Doom, a towering, impeccably dressed business-being with smooth, dark blue skin and two distinct, metallic antennae protruding from the top of his head. He flashed a predatory, perfectly white smile at the camera.
[On-Screen Broadcast]
Mr. Doom: "I am incredibly proud to be among you today, and I am here to deliver a simple, absolute message: I should be the new leader of the Coalition. I can solve these security problems seamlessly. That is why we need the regional headboards to vote on my newly developed, advanced defense robots. They are significantly cheaper than maintaining a roster of emotional, unpredictable superheroes. Soon, everyone can have a Doom-Bot in their home. It will protect everyone. It will be the ultimate protection from all threats. But this future can only happen if you cast your vote for me. Superheroes are not reliable. But I am. That is my message."
The screen flickered back to the anchor desk.
[On-Screen Broadcast]
Topanga: "You heard it here first. Vote for Mr. Doom..."
The display cut to a colorful commercial for commercial hover-cars, and Topanga swiped her hand to dissolve the projection. She looked at her friends, her cheeks slightly flushed with pride.
"Wow," Jax gasped, blinking in genuine disbelief. "I can't believe you're actually a permanent part of the newscast now. You're famous!"
"You looked so completely natural when you were on TV, Topanga," Maya added, offering a warm, encouraging smile.
Raphael smiled warmly as he looked at her. "You really did an amazing job, Topanga."
"Thanks, guys," Topanga responded, her tone softening with appreciation. "Since I was basically there and saw everything happen with the Demon King, my boss saw my field reports and the high-resolution pictures I took. He was so impressed by the information I gathered that he gave me the broadcast slot. I basically got a massive raise."
Then, her expression soured. She crossed her arms, her lips forming a deep, irritated pout.
"I'm just mad that he lied to me," she grumbled, her voice dropping an octave. "Hero One... he still hasn't given me my interview. I haven't even seen a glimpse of him in two weeks! I guess... I don't know. I guess I'm just not important to him. I'm probably just another random girl to him, out of millions of girls he saved in this city."
Raphael felt a sudden, heavy pang of guilt, but he forced a casual shrug. "I doubt that. He probably just wants to keep you safe from a distance. A guy like that... he probably has a lot of dangerous villains chasing him."
"I don't care," Topanga snapped defensively, tossing her hair back. "I can take care of myself. I'm just going to move on. If he doesn't care about me, then I don't care either. Anyway... I guess this is where we split up. I gotta start walking downtown to work. I'm still broke, haven't saved enough money to get a hover-car yet."
"I'll walk with you," Raphael offered immediately, stepping forward. "You know, just in case any of those mobsters come out of the alleys."
Topanga smiled, the irritation melting away from her face. "Sure, Raphael. That'd be nice."
Before they could take a single step, the loud, synchronized laughter of a group of upperclassmen echoed across the concrete. A seven-foot-tall student named Kaelen Vance a remarkably handsome elf with sharp, pristine features, piercing jade eyes, and a tailored university jacket draped casually over his broad shoulders approached them with effortless arrogance.
"Hey, Topanga!" Kaelen called out, flashing a charming smile that showed off his perfect teeth. "The crew is all headed down to the high-end mall. If you need a ride to work somewhere, I can easily drop you off in style."
Behind the towering elf stood a small entourage of wealthy students. Among them was the university's reigning "Golden Boy," Topanga's ex-boyfriend, who simply stood there in the background.
A student next to him a wealthy human wearing expensive, flashing cyber-jewelry leered at the group and spoke up. "Come on, Topanga. We haven't had a chance to hang out with you in a long time. You've been spending all your free time hanging out with these... losers."
Topanga looked back at Raphael, Jax, and Maya, an apologetic look flashing in her eyes. "I gotta go, guys, I really can't be late for my shift!" She offered a quick wave. "I'll see you later!"
She hurried over to Kaelen's group, climbing into the passenger seat of his gleaming, multi-thousand-credit flying vehicle. As she got in, one of the kids in the back asked her what happened to Merlin, since they hadn't seen her in a while. Topanga responded, saying that Merlin was homeschooled now after an accident happened. A second later, the thrusters hummed to life, and the luxury car blasted into the upper transit lanes, flying off into the glittering skyline.
Jax stared up at the sky, his mouth hanging open. "I can't believe they just called us losers straight to our faces. But... honestly? I don't even blame her for leaving. They've got nice, top-tier cars and limitless bank accounts. I don't know how you're going to compete with stuff like that, Raphael."
Maya glanced sideways at Raphael, her arms crossed as she read his stoic face. "She looks like she's completely mad at your superhero persona, Raphael."
Raphael watched the distant streak of the flying car disappear, his silver eyes narrowing slightly. "Well, she can stay mad. Honestly, I don't want to get too close to her anyway. She might get seriously hurt if someone ever finds out who I am. And that includes you guys. I want no one to ever find out my secret identity, or know any of my loved ones. The stakes are too high."
Maya's eyes softened, a faint pink hue creeping up her cheeks as she looked at him. She cleared her throat, trying to mask her blushing face with a smirk.
"Well... you better find a way to tell her eventually," Maya said, crossing her arms. "Your superhero persona is actively losing her. Honestly, if she only likes the superhero version of you, maybe you should just move on to someone else. And in your human version? You stand absolutely no chance against Kaelen. He's the captain of the varsity football team, Raph. Apparently, he's already being scouted by the Power Sports League. He's going to be astronomically rich, and all the girls love him."
She looked away for a split second, her smirk slipping into something quieter before she shrugged. "But... I think you're a lot cooler than him."
Raphael let out a tired sigh, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, well... sorry I'm not rich. I don't exactly come from a wealthy, high-society family like him. In fact, I drastically need a job and some actual money right now. Any chance you can lend me a few credits again so I can at least get something to eat for lunch today?"
Maya immediately shook her head, turning on her heel. "No way, Raphael. I absolutely cannot lend you money again. You already owe me way too much from last month. And I gotta go, guys I have to head to my own shift at work."
"Wait!" Raphael called out desperately. "Is your job hiring?"
"No!" Maya shouted back over her shoulder, offering a playful but firm wave as she disappeared into the campus crowd.
Raphael winced, turning slowly to look at Jax with a pleading, overly dramatic smile. "Come on, man. You know I'll pay you back eventually."
Jax groaned, throwing his hands up. "Bro, you haven't paid me back a single credit ever since I met you in middle school! I don't get it, man. Why don't you just join the official Superhero Organization? They have massive government funding. They can pay you a full-time salary!"
Raphael's expression instantly hardened, the casual humor vanishing from his voice. "I don't want to be a part of that corporate organization, Jax. I don't want a corrupt board paying me a wage just to help innocent people out."
"Then you're gonna have to get a real, mundane job for your human form," Jax responded logically as they continued walking toward the lower-tier campus parking lot. "I can't keep giving you my weekly allowance from my parents, man."
They finally reached Jax's busted flying car. Jax unlocked the doors, glancing over the hood. "You also seriously need a ride, bro. You need to level up your everyday life the exact same way you level up as a superhero. But come on, let's just go back to the dorms. I really want to play that new video game that dropped today."
Raphael stopped by the passenger door, shaking his head. "You're right about everything, Jax. The past two weeks, I've been focusing so incredibly hard on training, fighting crime, and trying to figure out what's creating these biophysical monsters... not to mention dealing with these syndicate gangsters and the massive gang war happening in the neighboring sectors."
He cracked a faint smile. "I'll meet you back at the dorms later tonight. I think I'm going to take a long walk downtown. Maybe I can find a local shop that's hiring or something."
Jax sighed, hopping into the driver's seat. "Alright, man. I'll see you there. But just remember... you can always just join the Organization and make your life a thousand times easier. Stop making it so hard on yourself, Raphael."
The engine sputtered to life, and Jax took off, his busted vehicle rattling as it climbed into the lower-level transit lanes. Left alone, Raphael Elyon adjusted the straps of his backpack, turned toward the bustling, chaotic streets of downtown Omnopolis, and began to walk.
As he walked downtown, he slipped his headphones on, letting the music drown out the ambient roar of the city. On the surface, everything seemed to be business as usual. Towering construction cranes and heavy-duty drones were hard at work, slowly rebuilding the skyscrapers and blocks shattered from the Demon King's destruction two weeks prior. But beneath the shiny scaffolding, the true rot of the city was on full display.
On every other corner, Raphael saw the devastating toll of the streets. People were nodding out on drugs, slumped against brick walls with their shoes missing and clothes torn to rags. On the darker turns of the avenues, women stood on the curbs, waiting hopelessly for men to pull up.
Raphael's jaw tightened. I really gotta figure out where the main hideout is for these mobsters, he thought, his chest tightening with frustration. The drugs they've been polluting the streets with have been spreading too fast. It feels like every single day it's getting worse. These citizens... they're turning into literal zombies.
Suddenly, a piercing, terrified scream cut straight through his music.
Raphael didn't hesitate. He tore off his headphones, sprinted toward a dark, nearby alley, and in a blur of motion, changed into his superhero costume, emerging as One.
He rushed deeper into the shadows toward the source of the screaming. There, he came face-to-face with two grotesque, biological abominations. One of the monsters was actively reaching out its mutated, jagged hand, trying to grab a screaming woman pinned against the wall.
In a flash of red force, Raphael rushed forward and threw a devastating punch.
The blow landed dead-on. Raphael meticulously funneled precise shockwaves through the strike, hitting the creature's exact pressure points. The shockwaves rippled through its nervous system, completely paralyzing the monster and dropping it instantly to the wet asphalt.
Raphael stood over it, then looked up at the second monster, which was visibly smaller, less mutated, and shaking violently in fear.
"You guys usually only come out at night," Raphael said, his voice echoing off the brick walls. "I guess you guys are changing things up."
The smaller monster shrank back, its deformed face contorting in terror. "Please... please just let me go!"
Raphael stepped forward and grabbed the creature by its collar, lifting it effortlessly. "I will. Just tell me where y'all coming from. Who is your boss?"
The creature swallowed hard, terrified. "Okay! Okay, I'll tell you"
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Raphael's eyes widened. "What's that sound?"
Before the monster could utter another word, its chest cavity violently detonated. Blood and blackened organic matter splattered everywhere, painting the alley walls. Raphael raised an arm, his telekinetic barrier automatically flaring up to shield him from the gore.
He lowered his arm, looking at the steaming remains. "Oh... I see. You guys are built with an internal safety system so you can't talk."
The woman he had saved cautiously walked up to him, trembling as she tried to find the words to thank him. "Thank you... oh my god, thank you..."
"No problem," Raphael said softly.
Without wasting another second, he took to the sky, his aura flaring as he flew upward to survey the area from above. As he scanned the lower blocks, his gaze locked onto a small figure sitting right next to an alleyway just a few streets over. It was a little boy with bright orange skin, a young half-alien, half-human hybrid clutching a book bag, a baseball, and a glove. He was weeping uncontrollably.
Raphael dropped from the sky, landing with a soft thud right next to him. "Hey... what's wrong? Did you lose your parents?"
The boy looked up, his face stained with tears. "I tried giving them CPR... I tried calling for help, but no one came. I don't have a phone," he sobbed, his voice cracking. "And my parents need help. I think it's too late... they're dying. I didn't know what to do, so I just started crying..."
Raphael's heart sank. "Where are your parents?"
The kid pointed a trembling finger deeper into the dark alley.
Raphael walked inside, and his stomach turned. Slumped against a pile of trash bags were the kid mother and father, both unconscious with needles still sticking out of their arms. They were actively overdosing.
Raphael knelt down immediately. He placed his hands over both of their chests, channeling his Tactile Telekinesis deep into their systems. He focused entirely on their vitals, using his force manipulation to manually stabilize their failing hearts and regulate their breathing.
After a tense moment, their shallow breathing steadied. Raphael looked back at the terrified kid. "Your parents are going to live, okay? We just gotta get them to a hospital."
As Raphael stood up, his enhanced senses picked up something else. A few blocks away, the faint sound of hushed voices drifted through the city air. He focused his hearing, realizing it was a drug deal taking place at that exact moment and he recognized the specific chemical scent. It was the two dealers who had sold the lethal batch to this exact family.
"I'll be right back," Raphael told the boy.
He launched into the air, flying low and fast toward the neighboring sector. He descended into the distant alley like a falling star, catching the two dealers completely off guard as they were exchanging a fresh stash of the superdrug.
Before they could even draw their weapons, Raphael rushed them. He struck their pressure points in a fraction of a second, completely paralyzing their limbs. Then, using a localized burst of telekinetic pressure, he violently displaced the concrete beneath them, burying both men straight into the ground, leaving only their heads exposed above the pavement.
The two dealers groaned in agony, unable to move a single muscle below their necks as they stared up at the glowing silhouette of One.
"You guys are worse than the villains who destroy buildings," Raphael hissed, his silver eyes flashing with a cold, terrifying fury. "They destroy infrastructure. You destroy families slowly from the inside out."
He leaned down, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.
"Tell your boss to stop putting these drugs in my city. The next time I see you guys doing this... I won't be so nice. Now stay here until the cops come."
Without waiting for a response, Raphael flew away, leaving them trapped in the concrete. He returned to the little kid, gently gathered the boy and his unconscious parents into his arms, and flew them straight to the nearest hospital emergency room.
After ensuring the family was safely in the hands of the medical staff, Raphael slipped out notice, running into a quiet side street. He pulled off his suit, changing back into his regular college clothes.
Frustrated by the situation and reminded of the brutal reality of his human life, he wiped the sweat from his forehead. He walked up to the entrance of the very first commercial building on the block, pushed the glass door open, and walked inside.
"Hi," Raphael said to the clerk at the front desk, forcing a polite smile. "I'm looking for a job."
As he looked up, he realized the clerk's eyes weren't actually looking at him at all in fact, the guy had a pair of fake eyes crudely drawn right onto his eyelids. His actual eyes were completely closed behind them as he snored loudly, head tilted back against his chair. Slowly, the clerk blinked awake, his drawn-on eyes folding into his eyelids as he wiped a bit of drool from his chin and groaned, "What do you want?"
Raphael blinked, pointing out the window. "Uh, I saw the sign outside. I saw that you guys are hiring."
The clerk immediately closed his eyes again, drifting back to sleep. "We're not hiring," he muttered drowsily. "I'm just too lazy to go outside and move the sign."
Disappointed, Raphael left and walked into the next business on the block. He actually managed to get a proper interview this time, but it quickly turned into a headache.
"We can't hire you," the manager said, looking over Raphael's blank resume. "You have absolutely no experience."
Raphael threw his hands up. "But I can't get any experience unless someone actually hires me!"
"And we can't hire you until you have experience," the manager countered flatly. They went back and forth, arguing until Raphael finally walked out, completely frustrated.
At the third business, his next interview was shot down for a completely different reason.
"The position requires reliable transportation," the interviewer said, crossing her arms. "You don't have a car."
"If you hire me, I can finally make enough money to get a car," Raphael reasoned, but she just shook her head, unmoving.
Finally, out of pure desperation, Raphael walked into a bizarre, glowing fast-food joint called Squid King Alien Burgers. Within minutes, he was thrown behind the counter for a trial run. Raphael stood in front of a massive, bubbling deep-fryer, flipping alien delicacy foods squid-like tentacles, twitching eyeballs, and chunks of giant cosmic sea creatures.
The owner, a gruff, multi-armed alien named Mr. Squid, watched Raphael work with his top two arms crossed. "Impressive," Mr. Squid grunted, his tentacles twitching in approval. "You're not bad at all in the kitchen. Who taught you how to fry like a chef?"
Raphael offered a tired but genuine smile, flipping a piece of sizzling alien meat. "Well, I have two younger siblings. I had to learn how to cook for them pretty early on."
Mr. Squid patted Raphael on the shoulder with one of his lower hands. "You're hired. I'll see you tomorrow. And you better not be late. I run a strict schedule around here. I don't tolerate lateness, and I don't tolerate break times. Your starting pay will be twenty credits an hour."
Raphael let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much, sir."
He left the restaurant and began the long walk back toward the university dorms. The sun was dipping below the horizon, painting the sky in deep shades of purple and orange. Raphael talked to himself as he walked, his mind heavy with the day's events.
"Man, I am completely mentally exhausted from those interviews," he muttered, shaking his head. "But finally... I got a job. I can actually save up and get a car now. See? I don't need to work for the Superhero Organization just to get my own money. I can still help people out on my own terms. I wonder how long it'll take me to save up for a decent ride making twenty credits an hour..."
He checked the time on his device and winced. "Man, I need to get home and start studying soon." He paused, looking up at the darkening sky. "But... maybe I should just do a couple more minutes of flying around the city first."
Slipping into a deserted alleyway, he quickly changed into his sleek superhero costume, emerging once more as One.
He launched into the night sky, flying gracefully around the towering skyscrapers of Omnopolis, his eyes scanning the neon-lit streets below. As he neared a local park, his enhanced vision locked onto a familiar sight. Down on a dimly lit diamond, he found the very same little boy he had helped earlier. The kid was completely alone, crying softly as he threw a baseball up into the air and tried to hit it with his bat by himself.
The ball sailed into the air but before it could hit the grass, a blur of red energy descended from the clouds. Raphael touched down smoothly on the dirt, his gloved hand reaching out to catch the baseball perfectly in mid-air.
The boy gasped, his tears instantly drying up as he stared in absolute awe at the glowing hero standing before him.
Raphael tossed the ball lightly from hand to hand, flashing a warm, reassuring smile. "You're the same kid from earlier, right? What's your name?"
"T-Rex," the boy responded, wiping his nose with his sleeve.
Raphael smiled. "Hope your parents are doing good, T-Rex."
The kid nodded quickly. "Thanks. The doctors say they think they're going to make it. But... they don't know about my father yet. He's still in critical condition."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Raphael said, his voice softening. "I promise you, those thugs will pay for the disease they're spreading. I've been trying to find out where these thugs' main base is at, but I only have a few hours a night to really look. You shouldn't be out here by yourself, though. It's dangerous."
The boy looked down, trying to be brave. "My dad promised me we would play baseball today... before, you know, he overdosed. It's okay. Go save people. Don't waste your time on me." He walked up and gently grabbed the ball back from Raphael's hand.
Raphael smiled and floated a few inches off the ground, moving right back in front of him. "Hey, hero work is more than just fighting monsters and beating up bad guys. Besides, I don't hear any crime taking place right now. Come on, let me teach you the proper way to throw a ball."
The kid's eyes instantly lit up. "Really?!"
"Yeah," Raphael laughed. "You need some work. My father taught me a lot. It's all about footwork and technique. Technique will always beat raw strength anytime."
With that, Raphael spent the next hour teaching the kid, throwing the ball back and forth across the dimly lit field. He showed him exactly how to plant his feet and how to properly swing the bat to connect with the ball. Once they were finished, Raphael safely flew the kid back to the hospital so he could be near his family.
As Raphael launched back into the sky, he checked his surroundings. Let me go check on those two thugs I captured earlier, he thought. Hopefully, the cops have already picked them up.
He flew across the sector, finally arriving at the narrow street and hovering high above the giant skyscrapers. He looked down into the alley where he had buried the dealers, but his jaw dropped when he saw them still stuck there. "Of course the cops haven't gotten them yet," he muttered.
Suddenly, something caught his eye. "Wait a second... what is that?"
An ordinary-looking ice cream truck pulled up right in front of the alley. The back doors swung open, and a heavy squad of mobster thugs of different alien species though mostly massive, brute-faced ogres stepped out onto the pavement. Alongside them were a few of those same mutated, biological monsters Raphael had fought earlier.
Leading the pack was a towering, heavily armored ogre named Thragor, who brandished a high-tech plasma rifle. Standing right beside him was Kymera, a dangerous, symmetrically built mutation who possessed a calculated calmness, completely lacking the deformed, extra limbs of his counterparts. Kymera stood under the streetlights, directing the mutated creatures with cold precision.
"Hurry up! Get 'em out of the dirt!" Thragor barked at his men, his deep voice echoing off the brick walls as he glanced up toward the sky. "That stupid superhero probably did this. Punk's been ruining everything for us lately."
He snapped his fingers, pointing aggressively at the mutated creatures. "You freaks watch the perimeter. Make sure nobody sees nothing."
The heavy-set ogre turned back to his crew, growling under his breath. "We can't afford to lose any more men. We gotta hurry up and get back to the hideout. The boss is holding a major meeting tonight, and we can't be late. Grab 'em and load 'em up! The crew from the next city over has been messing with our territory, and we need every soldier we got."
Kymera gestured silently to his mutations, commanding them to watch the entrance of the alleyways as bodyguards, ensuring no one saw the extraction.
The ogres quickly dug the two paralyzed dealers out of the concrete, dragged them into the back of the ice cream truck, and slammed the doors shut. A second later, the truck's hidden thrusters roared to life, and it began flying off into the upper transit lanes.
Hovering in the shadows of the skyscrapers, Raphael watched the vehicle speed away, his mind racing. What is going on? Those mutated monsters are actively working with the mobsters? This can't be good. And he said something about a hideout and a major meeting... "Let me follow them," Raphael whispered.
Using his speed, he trailed the flying ice cream truck from a safe distance, keeping low and out of sight across several sectors until the vehicle began to descend toward a massive, neon-lit amusement park sprawling across the lower levels of the city. As he steered closer, his eyes caught the massive, glowing sign at the entrance reading Ice Cream Universe Land, which surrounded a colossal, monstrous statue of a giant ice cream truck man that towered over all the roller coasters and flashing rides like a bizarre, smiling mascot. Keeping his distance, Raphael watched the real flying ice cream truck glide past the shadow of the giant statue and head straight toward the lower levels of the park.
Raphael landed softly on the roof of a neighboring building, watching the truck disappear through a secure, heavy-duty service entrance at the back of the park.
"So that's why I couldn't find their hideout," Raphael said to himself, narrowing his eyes. "They've been hiding in plain sight this whole time. I guess the main base is underground." He checked the time on his wrist device and groaned. "Damn it... I really need to get back and study."
Suddenly, the faint sound of footsteps scraping against the rooftop gravel echoed behind him.
Raphael spun around in a flash, instantly dropping into his combat stance, his aura flaring slightly as his eyes scanned the darkness. But as the figures stepped into the moonlight, his muscles relaxed, and he let out a sigh of relief.
"Oh... it's you guys," Raphael said, powering down his aura. "What are you guys doing here? This isn't your city."
Emerging calmly from the shadows were two familiar heroes, Rocket Boy and Mystic Woman, and right behind them stood a group of new heroes.