1970

1970.

South Carolina.

"Don."

"Don."

"Don!"

Don looked up and moved his platinum blond hair from his face. "Are you even listening?". 

"No." he said simply. 

"I don't know why I'm bothering to help you. You can't even pay attention for more than five minutes." Nancy said. 

She adjusted her thick red glasses and placed her notebook down. 

"I'm sorry, I was just thinking of something...but now I'm all ready to focus on...kinetic energy." Don said as he clapped his hands. His smile faded as he caught a glimpse of his watch, "But not right now, unfortunately, I have to get going." He said as he put his notebook and textbook into his bag. 

Nancy crossed her arms, "First you ignore me, and now you're just leaving?."

"Sorry, Mr.Manahue said if I was late one more time it's game over so...bye." Don said as he pushed his chair in and began running out of the library. 

A young man named Gerry walked into a small convenience shop. Gerry wrapped his bandaged hand around the loaded handgun in his pocket. 

"Can I help you gentlemen."

"Yeah, let me get some camels." Gerry said as he slowly removed the handgun from his pocket.

Gerry looked around the shop, three people, He edged closer to the counter and pointed the handgun at the clerk, making sure to keep his hand low. "Okay...just grab all the money in that register and hand it over". 

The clerk back away slowly. "I don't have the key."

"Then how do you get money in there-- you're lying."

"No, I swear, I'm new m--"

Gerry lost his temper, BLAM!, BLAM, the clerk fell like a sack of potatoes.  Gerry quickly rushed to the door and immediately blocked any way out. "No one leaves."

Don adjusted his cap and sighed as he hoisted the massive garbage bag onto his shoulder. "You know it's not fair...you always take the trash out." Marty said as he put his cigarette out. 

Don whipped the sweat off his dark skin and looked at Marty, brown eyes staring into green, "You want to take the trash out?"

"Of course not, that's gross."

"Thought so."

Don quickly looked away as his vision began to change, he could see clear through Marty now. Muscles, tissue, bone and everything else. 

He rubbed his eyes with his free hand and tossed the heavy garbage into the steel bucket. 

Mr. Manahue peeked into the small alley. "Both of you get in here now."

Marty popped a few mints and applied some light cologne as they walked inside. 

Sheriff Burgundy stood in the lobby with his hat off, "What's going on" Marty asked as he looked over at his boss, Mr. Manahue shrugged as he leaned on the counter, the last thing anyone was expecting trouble while closing. 

"There's been a robbery...well a botched robbery, Eddies dead and the man who killed him took off. We believe he's still around here, but we don't know where. He's taken old lady Linda and her three grandkids."

"What's this gotta do with us?" Marty asked. "You gotta close, now, whole towns gone on lockdown. We've got a few locals looking for the guy, but that could take all night, and he might strike again."

"Half of the kitchens still dirty" Manahue said as he crossed his arms. 

"Listen, Bill, that can wait. Just open an hour or two later, tomorrow. But you guys gotta get home."

Hovered several hundred feet above the town of Haggerty. He stared, stared as hard as he could. 

He saw the search party, he saw people in their homes. Maybe the guy had already skipped town and taken the old woman and her grandchildren. 

He flew over to Old Linda's house and stared. The house was massive, he would have to carefully look through every room with his x-ray vision.

The bedrooms were empty, the kitchen and the living room were empty too.  All the lights were off, except for the basement. 

His feet gently touched the ground, and he walked up the old wooden stairs. He hesitated before knocking on the door.

Instead, just quietly pulling it off its hinges and gently leaned onto one of the wooden beams that held up the worn gable roof. 

His X-ray vision still active, he made his way towards the basement. A faint voice could be heard inside. "You keep that damn dog quiet. And stop your moving."

Don twisted the door knob and opened the basement door, a cool wind rushing up the stairs and smacking him in the face. 

Gerry stopped talking and looked up at the stairway, a shadow stood on what he assumed to be the first step. Gerry took off his baseball cap and removed his matted hair from his face, wiping the sweat from his brow before tossing the cap back on and standing up. 

He wouldn't wait for the guy to come to him. 

Don deactivated his X-ray vision as he saw Gerry come around the small wall, handgun loaded and aimed at him.

Don held his hands up, "Listen, i--"

The bullet hit him clean in the head, force knocking him off his feet and knocking him to the ground. 

Don placed his hand on his forehead and looked over at Gerry, who had now run up the stairs. The collar of his uniform covered in blood. 

He held his hand there until the bleed stopped, "What the--, who the hell are you?" Gerry said. "Stop."

Gerry let off another shot that merely grazed him. This time there was no damage. Don instantly crossed the room and grabbed Gerry's hand, twisting it, snapping it instantly before he threw the man into the nearby bookshelf. 

Gerry smacked into the wall with a hard thud before falling face first onto the ground, groaning. 

"Don't move." Don said. 

Gerry, in his stupefied state, attempted to reach for his gun. Don's eyes gave a mighty red glow before a hot beam shot from his left eye and through Gerry's hand. 

"Don't move" Don repeated slowly. 

Don picked up the dark red telephone and slowly dialed the sheriff, his red eyes still on Gerry and ready to fire a beam or beams if neccasry. 

"Hello Sheriff Burgundy."

Burgundy watched as Gerry was quickly carried to the ambulance. He'd been sheriff for thirty years, and he'd never seen anything like this. Gerry was an incoherent mess when they got to him, Old Lady Linda and her grandchildren claimed they hadn't seen anything, and there was blood all over the hallway floor. 

Diane inspected her son's forehead, her jet black hair tied into a loose bun and her face scrunched up. "Looks like just a minor cut...you're lucky your dad won't be able to see this, you'd never hear the end of it." She said, as she took off the cheap plastic gloves and threw them away. 

Diane was a tall woman, practically six foot, she was from a small country called Melanesia. Making sure she took Don down there every summer. 

She was fairly dark skinned, something her son inherited. 

They both looked up as the door opened, Don quickly hopping off the kitchen counter and quickly applying a few bandages. 

Franklin peeked into the kitchen and frowned, "What happened to your head?."

"Bumped into a shelf at work, couldn't see where I was going" Don said as he moved his hair out of the way. 

"Think it's time I get a hair cut."

Franklin stared at him for a second, "I'll get that before work" he said as he returned to the living room and plopped down on the couch. 

"I had a whole speech planned out and ready after I was done looking at you, But now...now I can't. I'm glad you did what you did."

Don looked at himself in their small bathroom mirror. His hair had been cut short, very short. A buzz cut, he liked it.

His dad slowly put his tools away and adjusted his tie, "I'll be back late again, so you and your mother can eat without me." Franklin said.

He rubbed his son's head, "You look real professional. I ought to get you a job down at the office."

Don groaned and moved his head away. Franklin laughed as he grabbed his jacket. 

"Oh yeah, Nancy and I were going to go down to saddle brook and watch--"

"No."

"Why not? We're only gonna b--"

"I said no. You don't go down there, ever." Franklin said sternly. 

Don knew that once his dad said no more than once, there was no convincing him. "I mean your strange powers be dammed, you're not invincible you know."

"Well, I mean, compared to a year or two ago, I kind of am I--"

"You're not...trust me, you're not."

"How could he say no?, we aren't going to be gone that long" Nancy whispered. 

"I told him the same thing, and he didn't wanna hear it." Don whispered back. 

"I'll call Petey and see if he can help you sne--"

"Excuse me, Nancy, I am in the middle of teaching, you and Donquixote can't just cut into my class time just because you haven't done enough talking outside of class. You two lovebirds need to zip it." 

The class snickered and Dons brow furrowed, Nancy simply sighed and nodded. "She's not my girlfriend." he said sternly. 

"I don't care what she is, stop talking while I'm teaching."

"My apologies Mr. Kran ill make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Dick."