Manhattan bound for the Superhero Convention

The taxi driver stopped at the junction leading to the island, where The Genesis Empowerment Center resided. "That's as far as I can go, son," the driver said.

"That's fine," Jalen said and paid the driver.

Dressed simply in a blue polo, jeans, and sneakers, he stepped out of the car with his backpack stuffed with clothes for a few days. Yun, the majestic black cat, as well as the other half of his being, lay draped around his shoulders. It had only been a few days since he came here to register his superhuman status. The morning air was windy, carrying along yellow leaves with it.

"I want to try some sardines," Yun said. "You must acquire it for me."

"Of course, Yun. Only the best for you," he replied.

"And some carnitas as well. I heard they tasted sublime."

He chuckled. "While you're at it, want me to take you to Mexico? To give you the authentic experience?"

20 minutes later, he reached the security checkpoint, where he was thoroughly searched. The security agents, upon seeing his itinerary, directed him to the E wing. From there, it proved easy to find his destination, considering the school of transport buses parked next to the sub-building and the sea of people surrounding the area. There must have been hundreds of superhumans here.

He joined the long queue to be admitted into one of the buses. A few minutes later, his sister called him, told him to skip the line and show an agent his itinerary. Once he accomplished that, the agent eyed him with a scrutinizing eye, then took his biometrics and other corresponding information. Afterward, the agent led him through into the E wing sub-building proper.

"That's a lot of superhumans waiting outside," he remarked.

"Well, they have all come very far," the agent said. "From New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Delaware, Maryland… you get the gist."

He followed as the agent led him out through a door into a tarmac area filled with many helicopters. Ella, standing next to one helicopter, waved him over.

"I was beginning to think you changed your mind," she said when he drew near. Like him, she dressed simply, with a blouse and jeans. Usually, her wild afro hairdo drew the most attention, but this time the two vibrant blue birds perched upon her shoulders piqued his interest.

"I can see you have made new friends," he said.

Ella gazed perplexed at him, then widened her eyes. "Oh, forgive my manners."

Next, she introduced the two people standing behind her. The woman called Rebecca, was dressed in baggy pants with an equally large hoodie, while Caleb, her brother, gave him a short welcoming gesture before returning to his game. Ella also introduced Agent Ivarsson, a heavily built woman spotting a prominent facial scar, as their guide.

"I appreciate the introductions, Ella," he said. "But I was referring to the birds."

"Oh, I see. Well, this is Chatterbox. She likes fruits and nuts. Particularly Acorns. The other one is Fluffernut, her soft, loving husband. He likes to take naps and practice philosophy."

Wow!

The bird called Chatterbox on Ella's right leaned into her ear and whispered something, eliciting a questioning look from her. Then she faced him, shaking her head. "Well, uh… Chatterbox told me to tell you that her husband likes to fuck more than anything else."

"Ella, Language!" Rebecca shouted. "My brother is here."

"What do you mean, Becca?" Caleb retorted. "I've seen things on your laptop that's scarred me for life. What's a little fucking next to that video of two dudes—"

"Caleb!"

The siblings argued with vivid details about things he hoped to forget soon. The tense atmosphere did not escape the birds either, who chirped and jeered at each other. He stared at his sister, their faces neutral with faint smiles. 

Ivarsson dropped from the helicopter. "What the hell is going on here? We are supposed to be headed to the convention, not bickering like headless bozos. Get in. All of you." She walked up to him. "And you. Already late on the first day, huh?"

"My bad," he apologized.

Ivarsson collected his backpack and stashed it in the helicopter's storage compartment. Next, they all sat down, Ella beside him, and fastened their seat belts. Her bird friends said their goodbyes and flew away.

"You haven't explained why a cat is just chilling on your shoulder," she said.

"She's Yun," he replied.

"Oh." Ella examined the black cat much closer now, her expression blank. Yun, in turn, winked at his sister, which evoked a stifled gasp. He could tell Ella had questions, but thankfully, she chose to keep quiet.

"Ready for takeoff," the muffled voice of the pilot sounded.

The helicopter's rotors spun slowly at first, then churned the air with a deafening roar as it lifted gently off the ground.

"Oh, God." Jalen heard Rebecca's panicked voice whisper. The helicopter climbed altitude, granting them an incredible view of The Genesis Empowerment Center, its towering structure of glass and steel connected with bridges to six other ramp-shaped buildings. Below, he saw the queue of superhumans still vying to enter the waiting buses.

"They must think highly of you to give us this VIP treatment," he remarked.

"Highly?" Ivarsson commented before Ella could speak. "That is the understatement of the century. She is a category one ranked superhuman. Only about 0.2% of all superhumans in the country can make that claim. The rest of you shouldn't get used to this."

A collective Wow! spread amongst everyone present, Jalen included. He gave his sister the thumbs up, proud of her incredible power, and she, in turn, rolled her eyes.

"What rank am I?" Caleb asked. It would seem this topic was important enough to draw him from his game.

"It should be in the report emailed to you. But if memory serves, I think you are category four."

"Cool," the teen said, returning to his game.

"Don't sweat it, kid," Ivarsson said. "The ranking system is heavily skewed towards combat-oriented powers."

Rebecca asked for her ranking next and the agent chastised her for not checking her email, but still revealed that she was category four, the same rank as her brother. Caleb leered at her upon hearing that revelation. Jalen couldn't deny his interest in his ranking, so he pulled up his phone and looked for the important email.

"As for you, Mr. Nkanga," Ivarsson continued. "Since everyone is interested in divulging confidential information. I think you are Category four as well. Though, I must admit your healing factor is quite potent and due for further testing."

"I'll decline any further tests," he said.

"I'm afraid your choice might not matter in that regard."

"So all of us, except for Ella, are basically useless," Caleb said.

He zoned out the affectionate words of Rebecca as she tried to console her brother, who rejected her words. His focus lay outside the window, where he observed the vast metropolis of his city spread out below, while a hand massaged the soft black coat of Yun, who slept on his lap.

Over the last few days, the frantic activities of the mob and criminal gangs had died down, back to pre-escape levels. Word out on the street was that the three escaped mobsters of The Black Book still evaded the FBI's clutches. He had a strong feeling that they were in the city, most likely hiding. A significant portion of the local law enforcement was infested with corruption and financed by the mob if they weren't the criminals themselves. So that left the FBI out on their own with help from Metal Shadow and a few of the local superheroes.

Not long after, the helicopter touched down at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport, situated along the East River in Lower Manhattan.

"Don't forget to check in at The Carlyle," Ivarsson said, retrieving her luggage. "Someone will chauffeur your belongings to your rooms for you so you can leave them in the helicopter."

"The Carlyle?" he asked. "Isn't that a fucking five-star hotel?"

Ivarsson was already walking off. "Yeah, courtesy of HAVEN. You all have Mrs. Nakanga there to thank. Enjoy."

"Wow," Caleb said, turning to Ella. "Talk about grade A, Black Lotus, 1st Edition Holo Charizard type shit. You hit the jackpot, Ella."

Ella had an expression like she had mistakenly eaten a cockroach. While Jalen agreed with him. If HAVEN treated all unsigned category one superhumans like this based on potential, it may have been wise to become a superhero. Then he remembered all the downsides of the lifestyle that withered down his longing.

Rebecca revealed she could only get three tickets to the Knicks game later that evening. This meant that he would miss out.

"You can go in my stead." Ella offered to him.

"No, it's all good," he said and pointed at Yun draped around. "Besides, I gotta feed the cat, or she gets grumpy."

So they parted, Ella, Caleb, and Rebecca heading up to Madison Square Garden, while he and Yun headed uptown as well, but more westward. The streets were filled to the brim with parked cars, squeezing the already busy roads so that commuting cars moved at a snail's pace, their drivers cursing and honking their horns.

"Now, this is something," Yun said, for the first time in hours. "Are humans always this intense?"

Before them, a taxi driver berated another driver for almost running into him, an altercation that almost escalated into something physical if not for the excessive honking and shouting by the other drivers waiting to pass.

"I think it might just be a New York thing," he replied. "So I've heard about a steakhouse called Royal 25. It's got a $200 steak called the Diamond Ribeye Royale. Wanna try it?"

"Yes, of course!" Yun exclaimed. Her eyes lit up with excitement.

And so he strolled up the street toward the steakhouse. The restaurant resided on the bottom floor of a typical fifteen-story brick building. He walked up to the entrance, made as if he planned to enter, then walked on by at the last second.

"What are you doing?" Yun asked. "You passed the steakhouse."

"You should've seen that coming, Yun. Who the fuck is gonna buy you a $200 steak?"

He restrained himself from laughing, so as not to appear crazy to the passing pedestrians. Some people were already giving him quizzing looks because of the talking cat. Meanwhile, Yun dug her claws into his skin. He didn't complain, as he deserved it.

Moments later, he halted in his tracks. Something peculiar was calling to him. He couldn't quite place it, only that it originated from the antique shop beside him.

"Do you feel that?" he asked.

He glanced at Yun, who stood on his shoulders. Her fur grew spiky and her eyes narrowed into thin slits radiating cosmic energy. She growled, her tail whipping wildly.

"Whatever it is, we must eliminate it for offending us," she said.

The shop's exterior consisted of weathered bricks and grease-stained display windows. Stepping inside, he could see an assortment of vintage furniture, vinyl records, glassware, and old books; accentuated by the moody lighting of the shop.