Sanguine-System activated

Ellis was unwavering in his conviction to grow older to protect his mother from his horrible father figure over the next ten years, but even he couldn't have anticipated how fast life would take out of him. It was hard for both his parents to keep up with the rapid pace of their children's growth, and soon the three of them were living together under one roof.

It wasn't as bad as it could've been; most of Ellis' family lived in a very large house with two bedrooms and only enough space for a small kitchen and two bathrooms. But it was still a large house, and they were used to sleeping in his mothers arms till he was big enough.

He at times did miss his old family but loved his new mother with all his heart. She'd take care of everything he needed without being asked, and always treated him like he was important. She also didn't treat him like an infant, which was something he liked because she didn't treat anyone like that. Her attitude towards everyone seemed kind, warm and welcoming. It almost made her seem like a fairy.

One day Lance was out in the garden digging in the sandbox when his father came home taking off his costume when he spotted his son gawking at him for a second.

"Lance! What are you looking at? Such a pathetic child!" He yelled.

Lance jumped back a few feet and looked terrified by the sudden loud noise, so his father brought his fists smashing him in the face . The impact knocked him backwards but he quickly got back on his knees to see what he'd done wrong. He could smell alcohol on his Dad's breath, but know the man had done it over and over again.

His nose bled uncontrollably and was bleeding pretty badly too now. His lips felt swollen and painful.

"You're not supposed to stare at people!" said his dad, sounding angry. "You know better than that. You do anything that isn't approved by me and I'll break your fingers too."

"No papa..," whimpered Lance quietly.

"What the fuck are you doing?! He is only five!" Lance's mother shouted.

She ran over to clean his wounds while Lance stood there watching her, as he heard his dad walk away angrily, muttering about 'disrespectful little brats' before he stopped to say something else.raid to move or look any closer to what was happening until her hands covered his eyes.

Lance noticed his mother tried to keep his occupation away from any conversations even though he knew his father was a super villain so no one wanted to talk to him.

When Lance reached ten years old he was put through abuse on a normal basis dealing with his angry fathers whims. he would go to school with bruises and deep cuts and gashes telling himself a little longer.

The fights between his mother and father got worse and more frequent as well. And every time he saw his father slap her, but Lance knew deep down that she wouldn't leave him because of who he was so he endured all the pain.

Lance sat on the bench at recess in thought staring down at the dark blotches under his sleeved shirt. This was not the first time his father hurt Lance and it certainly won't be the last but today was the last straw. Lance was going to end this fight with violence if it was the last thing he did.

He decided then and there that this was the last time he would listen to what his mother told him. aAfter all, she was right in that his father had been neglecting and abusing him since birth. This was nothing new. So, Lance decided that after this he was never going to give his father another chance.

"Hey! Hey are you listening?" A voice chimed.

Lance snapped out of what he was thinking to look up at the kid gawking down at him. He looked back at the ground.

"Oh yeah sorry...I must've zoned out..."

"What's going on in that head of yours anyway? I mean you totally spaced out earlier when we talked. I kinda thought you weren't listening. I was just trying to catch your attention..." Lance looked up at him.

"I'm alright. I just wasn't paying attention. Sorry about that..." Lance replied softly as he turned away looking back at the sand.

"Alright well, anyway, my name's Suri." She smiled.

"Lance." Lance responded shortly.

Suri's smile slightly vanished but remained quiet as he waited for the other boy to make the next move. Lance looked up at the boy sitting beside him, wondering why this kid was so persistent when everyone else ignored his existence.

"Why are you talking to me if everyone else ignores me?" asked Lance as he stood up, grabbing his bag off the bench and slinging it over his shoulders.

"You seemed lonely so I thought I should introduce myself instead of ignoring you." Suri admitted as he followed suit getting ready to stand up.

"That doesn't answer my question. Why are you hanging around me?"

"Well, if I can call someone who looks like that lonesome I'd rather do that than sit alone on a bench at recess."

Suri said while giving him another smile. He grabbed the strap of his bag with one hand.

"Whatever." Lance muttered before trying to walk away.

"Wait!" Suri called running after him.

Placing her hands on his face she could feel the healing light enter his soul making it stronger than ever before. The bruises were gone and it was clear to see that the skin around his eye had been stitched neatly to close it and hide the black eye completely. Suri took her hands off him and looked into his eyes, seeing a flash of confusion.

"Your eye...it healed..." Suri said happily.

Lance opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something but closed it quickly, unable to speak as shock took over his features. He had to blink twice before he could process what had happened.

"What? Are you okay? Did it not work or something?" asked Suri as Lance began backing away slowly.

"What just happened?!" He exclaimed. He had no idea what was going on. He rubbed the spot where Suri had touched his face. "I don't...what...? Did you do that?" He asked in utter disbelief.

"Didn't your parents tell you? They say that your powers come from your soul, it seemsI had finally found my connection with that power. That's really rare, though." Said Suri.

"Soul connection?!" asked Lance. He didn't know what Soul Connection was, but didn't know it meant his powers worked on an internal level.

"Yes, soul connection. I can feel your soul has connected to mine." explained Suri as he placed his hands on top of Lance' chest to steady his nervous breathing.

All the kids in the courtyard stared at the two in awe. They didn't understand a word the pair had said, but somehow it sounded important.

"Suri's a superhero!" One kid shouted.

They continued to watch silently until Suri moved away and Lance returned to his usual calm demeanor.

"Thank you for healing me, I have to get going now. I'm gonna be going...." Lance apologized.

As he walked away he could sense the curious gazes of onlookers following him. He didn't care, however; if he was honest it was a little scary having people gawking at him, especially when he couldn't explain what just happened. But it was a good kind of scary though. Not as scary as when his fathers punches landed on him.

He shuddered involuntarily as he remembered them punching him. He knew that they could kill him instantly, but for some reason their anger only increased whenever they saw how much pain he was in and made him cry and yell in agony.

He was grateful for Suri though. Even though he didn't want to admit it yet to himself, Lance really appreciated Suri being there.

"Lance?" Suri asked.

"Yes?" Lance replied.

"Looks like the bell rang we gotta go back to class now." She giggled. "Good luck in math and English!"

"Okay, thanks," Lance answered before turning and leaving.

*********

Lance walked back from school earlier than he intended noticing as he walked in there was silence and darkness inside the building, the only lights that came on were a few on the wall and his phone lighting his way through the halls.

There was no answer . He sighed and went upstairs to go find her room. He opened it and found her fast asleep sitting up in bed holding a blanket around herself. Her eyes shot open. She looked confused. "Lance?" she asked.

The door closed behind him. "I know it's late but you can't fall asleep like this." A voice shouted.

Behind them was Crimson Crow in full costume behind them with an angry look on his face. It took Lance a few seconds to recognize that it was his dad. He forgot that he was in a world that had heroes and villains for about three years before it hit him like an elephant.

His mom's hand went over her mouth, her whole body froze. Her eyes filled with tears. They didn't say anything. Crimson Crow grabbed Lance by the collar of his shirt. He shoved him against the wall behind him causing him to drop his backpack and his phone falling out of it onto the floor. He glared at him.

"What are you doing here?" He screamed. The boy tried to pull free from his father grip, his eyes wide with fear. Crimson crow tightened his grip until he could feel his bones cracking.

He yelped and released him. "Answer me! What are YOU doing here?! You don't belong here!" His eyes narrowed.

Lance couldn't think as his eyes darted between Crimson Crow and his mom standing next to the bed. Her lips trembled as she stared back at them both. Crimson Crow pushed passed him roughly pushing him again so he was now kneeling on the floor.

Lance could feel his chest burning as he gawked down on him. He felt sick and hot, almost sweating profusely.

He turned to his mother who still stood frozen. Crimson Crow kicked the desk chair towards her so it skidded across the room knocking into the dresser making it fall over. Both their heads jerked to it.

The room was spinning making the nausea in him rise. A voice inside his mind going off.

"You need to activate or you will die again," a familiar voice whispered to him. A familiar monotone voice echoed in his head like a broken record. Lance ignored it.

Instead he focused on how much he wanted to run far away, farther than anyone or anything could ever hurt him, deeper into the earth itself and never return unless he wished it.

"I'm warning you! Lance you got all the power you need deep inside you!!" The voice was screaming.

The room was turning black and red, but he kept hearing the voice. He wanted to be alone, he needed to be alone. This time though he felt nothing but anger and rage.

"Suri…," Lance whispered. Then louder. "SURI!" He yelled throwing himself forward and grabbing his father's wrist with both hands.

His grip was tight but not painful enough to cut or break the skin if he used force. Keith was staring right back at him, his brown eyes wide with surprise. He hadn' t expected Lance to do anything to save his mom, not after all he'd done. Lance shook his head.

"No Lance," The monotone voice whispered, "This is your first fight," The voice said breaking.

He gazed into his fathers eyes feeling a shift inside of himself , a new determination taking over. He could hear the voice screaming, but he chose to ignore it. He knew the danger, but this was bigger than what they would face together; bigger than the entire school.

He dug his nails into the palm of his hands flinging threads of blood high through the air using his newly inheritated power binding the Crimson Crow with all his might .

[Sanguine-System activated]

"Whaaa what my system only now opened?!"

He knew he was too weak to hold the magic long but he was too determined to let go. His father struggled against the bonds trying hard to pry him away but Lance held on even harder refusing to let go.

"You little bastard…" He smiled.

Finally, his father stopped fighting him and went limp. Lance released the magic immediately collapsing to the floor. Everything became blurry. He heard his mother running towards him. She was yelling something but he couldn't tell what she was saying over the sound of her own racing heartbeat. Finally everything faded to black.

"Fucking brat! About time you found your power!"