1 Chapter One

Fate is a finicky bitch. Yeah, thats a decent way to put it. In today's world, man, its crazy. The world, life, has become a comic book. I dont know if anyone knows why, not technically or scientifically for that matter, but Superheroes? Super Villians? Yeah, that's a thing now. I don't personally know the logistics of it, but there was a night about a year ago, an intense meteor shower lit up the sky around the world. Tiny fragments of something landed all over the world. No one knows how many, but for the lack of a better term: Hella many fragments. Well, people find em. Touch em. Then, boom: DNA is alterted and powers. Yeah, you heard me right. Super powers. The first person was some dude in Japan, I think. He developed fire powers. Pyrokinesis, I believe the news called it.

Now, with that throw up of exposition out of the way, lets go back to fate. Finicky bitch. Here's why. Here I am. 19 years old. College dropout. Factory worker. Shitty apartment. Its been said that I lack ambition, drive, dedication etcetera. Well, there I am, at work, and Im taking my union allocated smoke break, I dont smoke but I'll take it, and I see something shimmering in the parking lot. I go, and simply tap it with my boot. Then, blinding light. Next thing I know, I wake up in the hospital. Doctors and nurses confused. Not sure why Im there. Vitals are perfect, a little too perfect. Obviously I was confused, but hospitals skeeve me out so I get out of there quick.

Thats when things got weird. I found that I was strong. Like, freakishly strong. Fast, too. Like, every physical part of my body was enhanced. Its been six months since then. Six months since the laziest person on the planet got the strongest superpower known to the world. Which leads to now.

"Everyone down on the ground! Now!" A shotgun blast filled the air as the masked robber fired into the ceiling. Everyone quickly laid down on the ground. Some squeeled, some began to panic.

"Hey! Didn't you hear me?! On the ground!" The robber yelled, pointing his shotgun towards the one person still on his feet.

"Hey! Kid! Im talking to you!" The robber screamed. The man turned around. He was six foot tall, lean muscular build, long black hair tied up underneath a baseball cap. He wore a plan grey zip up hoodie and jeans with work boots. He looked tired. Bored, even.

"Hey, man, Im just trying to cash my paycheck. You mind?" The kid said before turning back to the bank teller who was cowering behind the counter.

"Oh, no I don't mind. As long as you don't mind this!" The robber yelled before pulling the trigger on the shotgun. The bullets rocketed at the kids back, but did nothing other than tearing holes in his hoodie. The kid sighed. Then looked over his shoulder, trying to see the damage to his jacket.

"C'mon man. This was my favorite." He said, in an annoyed voice. The robbers jaw dropped as he gasped in awe. The kid pulled the jacket off and inspected it. Putting a finger through one of the holes.

"It was light enough for casual wear but still warm enough for cold weather." The kid continued. The robber didn't reply, shock had stunned him. The kid casually walked up to him, grabbed the barrel of the gun and bent it downward. Rendering it inoperable.

"Wh-Wh- who are you?" The robber stammered.

"Names Jason." The kid replied.

"Are you one of those superheroes?" One of the women laying on the ground asked.

"Oh, no. Im just a guy. That whole hero thing is too much work. Besides, what fun would it be fighting guys like this?" Jason replied, casually.

"By the way, did anyone call the cops? Or hit the button under the counter? Or is that just in movies?" Jason asked. The place was silent.

"Well?" Jason directed his gaze to one of the bank tellers. Then made a 'shooing' gesture with his hands.

"Wait! Stop! Im in charge here!" The robber yelled, finally regaining some composure as he pulled out a handgun from the waistband of his pants and aiming it directly at Jasons face.

"I mean, are you though?" Jason asked.

"You think your tough enough to deal with a bullet at this close of range?" The robber asked. Jason shrugged nonchalantly.

"From what little I know about you, I bet we're all gonna find out though, right?" Jason asked. Then raising his eyebrows impatiently.

The masked man gawked at him for a moment in disbelief, then shook it off and pulled the trigger. The bullet impacted with Jasons forehead and then clattered harmlessly to the ground. Silence followed.

"That was kind of anti-climactic huh? Maybe I should do something." Jason said to himself. He then shrugged before landing a open palmed strike, more as a shove, into the chest of the robber. Which sent him flying back and slamming into a wall, then falling to his face. Unconscious.

" Yeah, not a fan of awkward silences." Jason muttered to himself.

"Hey, so, are you still able to cash my check or should I go to the bank downtown?" Jason asked towards the bank tellers.

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About an hour later, Jason was standing outside of the bank impatiently. The police had arrived on scene and were taking peoples statements. The police asked him to stay at the scene, since they couldnt MAKE him. Jason didn't feel like being a fugitive since it would hinder his day to day activities, like: Sleeping. Which is all he was thinking about currently.

There were news vans everywhere. Almost every camera was aimed at him, with a different woman reporting on his 'heroics'.

"Excuse me?" Jason heard a female voice call out to him. He turned to see an attractive red haired woman. She was petite, but curvy. She gave a disarming smile to him.

"Uh, yeah?" Jason replied.

"You're the superhero, right?"

"Im not a super anything. All I wanted to do was cash my paycheck. They keep messing up my direct deposit." Jason explained nonchalantly. The woman stared at him in, what seemed like, shock. Presumably due to his attitude and how ordinary he seemed.

"Well, do you think I could get an interview with you?" She asked with a polite smile. Jason looked around and noticed the police were still busy, so he was probably going to be stuck here for a while.

"Why not?" He shrugged.

After a moment for her to set up, she finally motioned to the camera to roll.

"Im here with the hero of todays bank robbery." She said confidently.

"Whats your name?" Jason asked suddenly. It caught the woman off guard.

"What?"

"Your name?"

"Oh, uh, Jessica. Call me Jess." She answered. Jason nodded, satisfied.

"Now, the reports say that you actually stopped the culprit without any innocent bystanders getting injured." She reported.

"Did I? I didn't really pay attention." Jason replied calmly. Jessica was almost at a loss for words by his reactions.

"Uh, um, okay, well, it was also reported that you actually got shot in the back by the culprit. With a shotgun, and it did no damage." She commented.

"It did do damage. I loved that hoodie." Jason corrected her.

"Well, why dont YOU tell me what happened."

"Alright, well, I had to go to the bank to cash my paycheck. I was in line with my headphones in listening to music. Then people started laying down on the ground and I could hear someone yelling. So, I took my headphones out and turned around. This guy had a shotgun and was yelling. I told him that I needed to cash my paycheck, and I turned back to the counter and then he shot me in the back. Bullets dont hurt me, but they hurt my clothes, and I really liked that hoodie, and they STILL couldn't cash my check so I can't even go and buy a new one." Jason explained.

"Do you think we could focus on the robbery?" Jessica asked politely, trying to real him back in from his sweatshirt related rambles.

"Oh! Yeah. Well, then I told someone to call the cops or press the button but then the guy got mad about that. Oh, yeah, before that I broke his gun by bending the barrel, but anyway, he pulled out a pistol and shot me in the head. But, yeah, same thing. So, all I did was push him. Like really hard. Well, really hard for you, pretty lightly for me." Jason finished explaining. Jessica struggled to keep her professional demeanor with how nonchalant and scatterbrained this guy was.

"Wow. So, your power is... What? Super strength?" She asked. Jason shrugged.

"I can do bunches of stuff. I just don't."

"You dont? You dont want to protect innocent people?" She asked.

"I mean, not really. Besides, not only would that be time consuming and stressful, it would be so boring. It would be too easy. If im gonna fight, im gonna fight someone who'd actually be worth the effort." Jason explained. She just stared at him.

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" If im gonna fight, im gonna fight someone who'd actually be worth the effort." The video stopped as the mouse clicked the screen, pausing it. The man behind the keyboard leaned back in his chair.

"How confident." The man commented aloud.

"That will change."

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Jason was walking down the street, hands in his pockets and headphones in his ears. When suddenly everything seemed to slow down around him. His body felt flush with adrenaline, and it only took him a second to notice the vehicle moving towards the a little boy crossing the street. Jason could see the mother running towards her son, but she wasn't going to make it in time to save him. In the blink of an eye, almost too fast to even see him, Jason was next to the little boy, and as thr car barreled down on them, he used his strength to hoist it on to his shoulders in a swift and fluid motion.

The boy, now enveloped in the shadow of the vehicle atop his rescuers shoulders, looked up at Jason.

"Woah.." The boy trailed off at the awesome sight before him.

"Hey kid. You mind taking a few steps back to the sidewalk and I'll put this car down?" Jason asked. The boy nodded and took a few steps back, beside his mother, who was also looking in awe.

Jason carefully placed the vehicle back on four wheels and tapped lightly on the hood.

" Are you okay?" He asked the shocked man behind the wheel. He nodded slowly. Jason, then, walked away casually, leaving behind a trail of stares.

However, something happened as he was walking away that Jason hadnt experienced in a while now.

Pain.

Jasons body screamed out from the sudden wave of pain as he couldn't react fast enough and he was thrown face first into the side of a building and back down to the concrete.

Jason was collecting his composure as he heard screams and people talking.

"Oh, no. Is that really him?"

"No, no this cant happen."

That was the gist of it. Jason got back to his feet, and turned towards the attacker and saw him. Jason had seen him on the news. He was labeled The Hero Killer. He called himself Scourge. He definitely had an interaction with one of the fragments, and it didn't look like it was a pleasant mutation. His skin looked like it was covered in scales. His fingers, had claws at the end of them. He had scaley wings, two small green horns protruding from his forehead and yellow eyes that were lizardlike. All in all, he looked like a human and dragon mixture.

"Where were those reflexes, hero?" Scourge asked with a slithering smirk. Jason brushed some debris and dirt off of his clothes.

"Hey, man. Are sucker punches your super power?" Jason asked, irritated.

"Oh, come now. That was just a teaser. When I kill heroes, I make them beg first." He replied.

"Well, you're gonna be disappointed there dragon man. Im no hero."

"Really? You still cling to that? After the bank and just now with that kid? Or is the truth, that you're afraid? Afraid that now that you're in my sights, you're not as strong as you thought?"

"Wow. You talk alot." Jason commented. Scourge scoffed and a tuft of flame shot out.

"Are you going to fight? Or are you just going to die?" Scourge asked.

"Well, Im not a fan of either options, but sure. Let's fight." Jason said. Scourge smirked, and before Jason could even move, Scourge lunged forward with intense speed and leveled a knee directly into Jason's gut. The power of the impact was about to send him flying back, but Scourge wrapped a clawed hand around his head and drove it into the concrete below in one fluid motion. Jason grimaced at the pain, but inside he began to get fired up. He leapt back up to his feet and began sloppily throwing lefts and rights. Jason had never been in a legitimate fight. Anytime any altercation happened, he just used his previously unmatched strength and speed to subdue the attacker.

"This might actually be kinda fun!" Jason exclaimed, hopping back and getting into a sloppy boxing stance.

Scourge smirked, and lunged. However, this time, Jason was able to see it. He bobbed his head, but he wasn't fast enough. The fist collided with the side of his face, but he stood his ground and attempted a rebuttal with a left hook that Scourge easily sidestepped. Jason didnt let up, he began to throw wild punches, all of which Scourge easily dodged with a smile on his face.

"Oh, I haven't shown you this." Scourge said as he dodged the blows. He then spun around and large lizardlike tail emerged and whipped Jason. Slamming into his torso and sending him flying into a nearby wall, and through it.

The people inside the building screamed in his sudden, destructive, appearance and fled the building.

Scourge stepped through the hole and found Jason beginning to get up out of the rubble. He advanced to him, and buried his knee into his back, forcing him back to a prone position.

"All that bravado, and for what? You can't fight. Atleast not with someone who matches your strength. You're weak." Scourge hissed. Jason began to speak, but Scourge wrapped his tail around his throat and squeezed.

"Ill tell you what, Hero. I have a reputation to maintain. I can't be seen killing just any, old, weak Hero. No. No. So, here's what I'll do: You have one month. Train. Learn to fight. Besides, as you said: If im going to fight, im going to fight someone who is actually worth the effort." Scourge said.

He then released Jason, and casually exited the building through the hole. After a few moments, Jason noticed people were sticking their heads into the building to see what was happening.

Jason was mad. Embarrassed. Defeated. Also, he felt a feeling he never felt before: Motivation.