The scream
The scent of smoke and burnt plastic
Karen's vision hallows, his breath erratic as he curled his body instinctively in seek of protection.
Not again.
Why now?
Why now of all times?
Flashes of memories of past played inside his mind.
The dead bodies, the rising smoke and the explosion. The fourteen year old boy took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself.
He tried to close his eyes. But every time he did it the scenes of the past continue to play inside his mind.
Then, he heard it.
A scream.
In the distance, the figure of a girl being trapped under the rubble.
Boom!
An explosion is heard and a car was thrown.
The girl screamed in terror, seeing the car descending upon her body.
Karen's mine went blank, his eyes flickering in red and silver.
Inside his brain, he forcefully dampened the neural activity in the amygdala and hippocampus. The memory signals was manually blured.
As of right now, his body is forcefully wanting to go into a fight or flight more. However, Karen forcefully stops it.
The cortisol that is flooding his blood stream alongside the adrenaline that is being flooded from his adrenal glands was broken down to molecular level mid circulation.
But it did not stop there.
All the sensory signals at the spinal cord was forcibly intercepted, edited before they can reach the brain.
The transcription factors and protein synthesis was manipulated to halt memory encoding, temporarily pausing emotional imprinting. Certain proteins involved in memory consolidation are broken apart.
The tensed muscles loosened before relaxing his heart muscle to calmed down his heartbeat. Opening up blood vessels by releasing nitric oxide. Switches to slow, calculated breathing.
All of these happened shorter than a minute.
The car that is hurling towards the girl approached even closer.
Karen's mind snapped.
His adrenal gland start to forcefully pumping out adrenaline into his blood stream. His heart pumping his blood to circulate through his entire body at a high speed.
His loosened muscles tensed, his legs transforming to become elastic like rubber.
Karen's figure flashes, his body moving at a speed so fast he became a blue.
One arm raised, transforming as the tips of his fingers sharpened into rows of sharp knives like claws. His skin hardened, his flesh condensing down to molecular level. The colour of his skin turned into a dark purplish red.
Boom!
When the car was about to crashed against the girl, Karen's figure flashes. His raised fist shot forth, punching the car flying.
Karen landed on the ground. His easily lifted the the rubble before gently pulling her out.
"Are you alright?" The white haired boy asks gently as he placed her to the ground.
"I-I want my mommy." The little girl sobbed.
"Delia! Delia!" A woman exclaimed as she ran towards them.
"Mommy!" The little girl ran towards the woman.
Karen sighed, realising that the woman is her mother.
"Thank you." The woman said to Karen to which he nodded in acknowledge.
Seeing that the heroes are herr, the white haired boy was about to walk away when all hair on his body stood on end.
His arm distorted and hardening to form a shield. He stood before the pair of mother and daughter, blocking the incoming projectile.
The moment the projectile collided against the shield, it exploded.
Karen stood tall, protecting the mother and daughter from the explosion.
When the smoke finally dissipate, it reveals a man in yellow outfit holding a slingshot in his hand.
Karen's arm returned to normal.
"A kid?" The hero was surprised, seeing a fourteen year old kid.
"Slingshot, a member of the hero group Revengers." Karen muttered as he glared at the hero in yellow skintight costume, "Aren't you heroes are supposed to avoid civilians casualties?"
Slingshot remains silent before saying, "A vigilante with the power to manipulate his body size accidentally hurting a civilian when trying to act as a hero."
The bandset of the slingshot glows in a golden colour. As the hero pulls the bandset, a piece of marble manifest out of thin air.
Kecheww!
The marble shot forth the moment the hero released the bandset.
Karen's fingers fused together, his palm widening to form another shield.
The moment the marble collided with his shield, a huge light enveloped Karen's body.
Karen was immediately blinded from the bright light.
A golden spark suddenly appears right before the mother and daughter and the figure of Slingshot teleported right before then.
The hero grinned wickedly, "Sorry, but no witnesses."
"It would be annoying if someone comes out and destroy my reputation."
The bandset was released and the marble is propelled forward. The marble streaked across the air, hurling towards them
Before the marble could reached the two, a hand suddenly stretched out and grabbed the incoming projectile.
Karen's fingers melted, wrapping around the marble and incasing it in an instant. The muffled sound of an explosion akin to a firework can be heard the moment his entire arm engulfed the marble.
Karen's hand returned to it's original state.
Seeing the boy's control over his own Aspect, Slingshot grinned, "Impressive, that kind of control, you've been trained."
Karen ignores the hero's words and turns to the mother and daughter, "Go."
The mother understood and immediately dragged her daughter away with her.
"Damn it, the PR will have to do more work now that there are eyewitnesses." Slingshot groaned as he watches the mother and daughter running off into the distance,"the president will kill me if this goes out."
"PR? Now you talking like you are a celebrity and not a hero." Karen's eyes glows in red.
"Heroes, celebrities or politicians."
The hero pulls the band of the slingshot
"All share the same thing."
The marble was propelled, shooting off.
"We all depend on our face to survive."
The marble streaked across the air, leaving a golden trail behind.
Karen's eyes flashes in red.
The density of his flesh increased, his skin hardening into a metallic sheen.
The marble shot through air, moving at high speed.
The moment it made an impact against Karen's face, the marble exploded.
Dark smoke rolled upward from the blast, swallowing the street. The smell of fire mixed with chemicals rose to the air.
The explosion had left nothing but a huge destruction.
However, from the smoke a pair of crimson orbs glow.
The grin on Slingshot's face faltered.
Swoosh!
A flicker across the air.
Slingshot widened his eyes. Instinctively pulling the band.
Five sharp claws reached out towards him, aiming for his neck.
The band was released and a marble shot into the air before exploding into a white light. Slingshot's figure flickered right before the claws can hit him and appeared mid air.
Multiple marbles was shot to the ground.
The moment one of the marbles hit the ground, Slingshot disappears.
On the spot shere the marble had hit, the hero reappears.
A punch was sent towards Karen's cheek. Karen's hesd was tilted to the side as his vision blurs.
"Is this all that you got?"
Another marble hit the ground and Slingshot disappears before reappearing right behind him.
A second punch hit Karen's abdomens, forcing him to gasp for air.
"Not so tough now are we?"
The third marble made contact with the pavement.
Slingshot teleported to his left.
A kick was sent hurling towards Karen's head.
This continues on multiple times.
Every time Karen tries to fight back, the figure of the hero vanished and reappear right behind him before striking the youth.
Every time his strike his him, the gauntlet un the hero's hands released a clicking sound before sending out a high electricity vault throughout the boy's body.
He's too fast. Karen's arms crossed, blocking a punch from Slingshot.
His arms move at a high speed, grabbing the hero only for the hero's figure to disappear.
No, he's not fast
A kick landed on Karen's forehead.
He just knows how to use his Aspect to it's full potential
Karen's arm shot forth, grabbing the leg before spinning his body. He then uses his legs to lock the movements of the hero by wrapping his legs around the hero's waist.
"Got you." Karen's eyes flashes in red.
The hero grinned, pointing his finger up to the sky, "Look up kiddo."
Karen looks up, following the hero's finger only to see a marble glowing in the air.
Slingshot vanish.
High in the air.
Slingshot released the band of his slingshot.
Multiple marbles shot forth, hitting the ground around Karen.
What followed soon are explosions after explosions engulfing Karen's body as the marbles exploded.
Slingshot landed swiftly on the ground.
A flash of white and Karen appears right before him.
Karen's leg snapped, moving at a speed blinding to the eyes. Given the strength he put on this kick, Slingshot's head would have had been blown off.
Karen's eyes suddenly flashes in between red and silver and his kick slowed down.
Slingshot raised his arm, blocking the incoming high kick easily.
He smirked mockingly, "Is this all that you got?"
Bam!
Slingshot's kick landed on Karen's nose, breaking his nise and sending him hurling down.
A flash of light and Slingshot vanish.
A click.
The slingshot in the hero's hand transformed into a baton. It was raised high and was swung down.
Pang!
The baton collided against Karen's head.
Karen stumbled backwards, feeling dizziness overpowering him.
Slingshot amused, manifesting a marble in his palm.
He pressed the marble against the boy's forehead before smashing his baton down. Upon contact, the marble shattered into countless pieces, releasing a wave of cold air that freeze the boy's body
Karen panicked. However he was too late.
Instantly, Karen became a frozen statue of ice as the cold air spread over his body.
The hero grinned seeing such sight, "Such a shame. You could've be a great sidekick."
The sound of ice cracking can be heard.
Karen's frozen body erupted in fiery crimson flame, melting the ice away.
Before Slingshot can react, a flaming kick landed right on his stomach.
Karen's figure disappears, reappearing right behind the hero.
Slingshot's instinct flared. He spun his body around, delivering a kick.
Karen's raised an arm, blocking the kick.
Slingshot dissappears and reappears right behind Karen.
A kick was sent down.
Karen easily catch the kick.
"Checkmate." Karen grinned as he raised his other arm, holding an object.
A shockwave grenade.
Karen pulled the pin or the shockwave grenade
A powerful shockwave engulfed the body of the hero, sending him flying.