Ch.8: Nightly Knowledge.

If there was a word to describe Silver City, Day Or Night, you'd say it was,

Quiet.

The only sounds you'd hear are cars passing, people mumbling and maybe even the footsteps of some. It was like a ghost town and it sorta freaked Clay out.

'Was it always this quiet? I don't think it was... I always used to wear my earphones in when going out, so I can't really notice...'

He'd pass people occasionally, all of them wearing clothes like coats and pants since it was chilly at night around here. 'Heh, maybe dad is so feared that no one commits crimes anymore...'

Over their dish talks, his dad mentioned that he took on over 200 cases in those last three years, solving all of them and then more. 'He didn't want people to end up like I was, dead or hurt, so he made sure to put away every bad person he could. Truly Silver City's Hero Of Justice..'

His grin freaked out people passing by. They would make remarks about him, also his apperance since Silver Hair was really uncommon in the states.

'I'm a real pretty boy around here, I guess. Thanks, weird mutation for the confidence boost!'

A fact about Clay was that he didn't really associate himself with the opposite gender. Most dudes at his age would jump at the chance to hang out whomever it was as long as it involved girls. Clay however would rather stay home to study or watch TV, something like that.

'I of course had crushes. Heck, a girl could simply smile at me and I'd fall in love..'

Though, Jasmine, the girl that every boy fawned over, was a smile that could never leave his head. Since he 'knew' her way back since kindergarten, and since she was nice to everyone, falling in love was probable.

'Love? I don't love her. I just like her presence...' He sorta trailed off because something caught his attention. 'What...the hell...' He walked up to the front of a store window and stared at a white poster.

[Unity: Silver City's Hero!]

'What the fuck is this?!'

He planted his hands on the sides of the poster. On it, that header, and under the header, a picture of a man in Silver Spandex.

'Nah, this ain't real. Prolly a move poster, yeah...' He shrugged it off and walked off. 'Just a movie poster..' He kept seeing them all around as he walked down the seemingly empty dark streets.

'Just a movie though..' His pace became faster. From a speed walk, he started running. Running past everyone on the sidewalks, bumping into people who cursed him, but he didn't care. Ran into the road, survived this time, and continued.

He ran all the way downtown and only stopped when he saw a movie theater. He checked the listing of movies that were out on the poster board outside. "Unity,...Unity,.." He kept murmuring as he trailed his finger down the list of titles.

'Where the fuck is it?!'

He then eyed someone and approached them. "Odd question, no, wait, first, I'm not a crackhead. Just a kid out shopping. Anyways, who's unity? Is it like a musical or something?"

Being so giddy and energetic was enough to frighten the grown, white male, but that didn't stop him from answering.

"Uh, kid, do you literally live under a rock? Unity is one of the few heroes that randomly started emerging just a few years back. He's been our City's protector for a while now.."

Barely any crime.

Quiet streets.

Overall, it was peaceful.

"Heroes? Like, with superpowers?! Real life superpowers?!"

How could Clay seriously believe this. He woke up from his coma just a week ago, and yet, this was the first time he's heard about superheroes!

"Yep! We got, Unity, Pope, Sahara, and a few more people. Dude, have how you've not known about them? You could live in the middle of the sea and still know. There's a water hero, I think. AquaticMan or something like that...?"

"D-Do people not fear them? People with powers or whatever? Villains exist, don't they?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, they exist, but Heroes became so likeable because they defeated such Villains. All you have in Silver City nowadays are muggers bassically.."

The man then said something about having to leave because he left his child unattended at home.

'The hell he tell me about his kid for? Yeah, that isn't important! I need to... The Internet! Yeah, ah, shit! I don't have a phone...'

He felt in his pockets for something that wasn't there. He did however feel that familiar, smooth paper though, prompting him to take it out and look at it.

'Mom washed these pants, didn't she? Is the paper like super water proof or something?

This isn't important right now anyways, right? But about this location... I... Will it maybe tell me more? No, this could literally be anything. A bookstore, a restaurant, anything! Me hoping for answers at this place isn't likely at all..'

He stuffed it back into his pocket and ran off down the street. 'I can't believe it. Superheroes,...superpowers,...they actually exist? Nah, I need proof. But why would he lie? And everything like those posters point to that being the case...ish! Imma go on youtube and see this [Unity] dude using his powers when I get home..'

He himself was proof, but he was special, was he not?

'Wrong. Of course God wouldn't let me have it this easy. God really is that guy..'

An Infinite Black Void.

Being Able To See His Own Face.

Behind His Head, White Lighting Wized Passed.

Clay stopped running, looked to the right and down a dark alley. 'What the hell was that? Did my body...just tell me there's some sort of danger down there...?'

He was getting freaked out more and more by the second. First, the idea of superheroes and now, getting a jolt in his body which told him the direction of danger.

'Clay, don't you dare listen to your instincts. It's night time, you're full, you just wanna go home. Don't do anything that might screw you over..'

He thought to himself as his body slowly started moving into the alley. The smell of trash, death and booty juice invaded his nose. 'Just go home! Don't be some-..!'

"Someone~... PweAse sAVE me~...!!"

"Shut up, bitch!"

A man and a woman.

The woman,

belly down,

the man,

undoing his belt.

'hero...?'

A man fixing to rape a businesswoman. Rough looking white male, maybe 25 under all the wrinkles that made him seem 60. Skinny, like he was anorexic. Bald, wearing a wife beater, brown khaki shorts and to finish the look, jesus sandals with high top white socks.

19. Probably in college. Black suit, black leggings, black heels, black hair and black eyes. Black finger and toe nails as well. Looked Japanese so maybe she was studying abroad? Also a skinny frame, probably weighing as much as the dude.

"SOMeonE, PleaSE~...!!"

Her cries bounced off every wall of the alley and for some reason, went directly into Clay's ears.

'No...'

He thought to himself.

'Can I...do this?'

Help her?

Be the hero she needs?

'I'm not a hero. I-I don't know if I should...'

"You have a very lovely body~... What's a fine piece of babe doing out this late at night~...."

He held her head up from under the chin, adjusting his pants as he was getting closer to taking his pants off.

The lady pissed herself from this, crying and groaning, only exciting the man even more as he stopped messing with his zipper, took a cup full of piss with his free hand and drank it.

Clay threw up in his own mouth, the woman looked in horror and the man smirked. "A virgin's piss. Oh so delicious~..." He started undoing his zipper again, covering her mouth to quiet her.

Clay then looked back at the road, seeing people pass and stare at the literal crime going on, but not doing anything about it.

'Wait, I forgot that...'

Well, he's told that he's immortal. What the actuall hell can he be afraid of? Death? Ha, that isn't a problem for him anymore.

A surge of confidence soared through him as he stood up from behind the trashcan he was hiding behind the whole time. The man's head flocked towards Clay upon hearing the sound of metal moving.

"Who the fuck is there?!"

He threw the woman onto the ground and completely got up from off her back.

Clay emerged from the darkness and into the single light that was shining down onto the area. "What you're doing is wrong. I'm gonna have to ask you to stop before I intervene.."

The woman, now bleeding from the head, was able to barely move it to see in the direction of the new voice. All she could tell though was that he was male and that was from voice alone. She couldn't see well without her glasses, broken and in the corner.

"Ha! Intervene?! Kid, run along before you get hurt, okay? This is just business.." He started reaching for her, his big, white palms, scaring her into pissing even more.

"Business? You're...trying to rape someone and you call it business? Man, get on somewhere with all of that.."

"Huh?!"

The man perked back up and tilted his head. "You sound like a wannabe hero! Ha, that's hilarious.." The man chuckled a bit before pulling out a black Glock-19 which he had tucked in behind his back.

Aiming it directly at Clay, he repeated. "Now, RUN along. This IS BUSINESS!"

A gun being pointed at him made Clay take a step back. It really did. It was natural instinct for that to happen.

"Heh. Acting all ballsy and shi.. I bet you wanna piece of her too, don't you...?" He grabbed her by the hair and yanked her up onto her feet.

Holding the gun to the side of her head, he licked in her ear, then sniffed very dramatically. "Don't worry. I'll let you have a chance. Just that I have to have her first, alright?"

He threw her forward and she landed in a position he'd called rather suitable.

"I didn't want to do this, but you leave me with no choice.." To cope, he's been saying dialogue found in movies and stuff. Made him feel even more confident.

"Smh. Whelp, I tried giving you a chance. Sorry, not, sorry, KID!"

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

3 gun shots that made birds flock away.

The woman heard bells ring in her ears. 'He shot?! Oh, no~... Did I just...kill someone becuase I couldn't help myself~...?' More and more tears flooded out from her eyes from that point forward.

"Whelp, kid..." He stared at the boy with 3 bullet holes in him. One below his shin, one on his right shoulder and the other, in the liver.

"I tried warning you..." Clay stumbled from the sudden impact. The pain...it didn't hurt like he thought. A little under the assumption that things could hurt more than a pinch, he couldn't help but be surprised.

'3 pinches at the same time,...this is nothing! I really can't die!!'

Clay couldn't get too excited now, beginning to act out like he was actually hurt and dying. So he quickly fell forward onto the ground which hid the rapidly healing bullet holes.

The feeling of regenerating was kinda weird but accomplishing at the same time.

"Now before I blow her back out, imma have to blow your brains out. For insurance, you heard? Probably already dead, so forget that last part.."

The man came up to Clay's body, kicked it a bit and laughed. 'Actually, he's not that bad. Body still warm so I can work with this..' His foot planted on Clay's right shoulder. He then pushed and the dead body slowly turned over.

"!!!"

Clay stared him dead in the eyes, surprising the man. 'That bastards alive-?!' The woman held the man from behind, restraining him essentially. "Bitch! Let go of me!" He elbowed her in the face using his left arm.

She stammered back a bit, holding her nose, her face tightening from pain.

Distracted by looking at her, the man was now unguarded. Clay quickly got up, grabbed the man's left wrist, squeezed, causing overwhelming pain.

The main subconsciously dropped the gun as Clay's momentum threw them down to the ground.

"Wh-What the hell are you?!"

The man punched Clay in the right cheek, but making contact with it broke his hand. The man cried out ever more as Clay reached for the gun.

"You made me realize that things like this...could happen everyday, can't they?"

Clay, with a good grasp on the gun, stood up, never taking his aim off of the man, who was flinching from having a gun pointed at him.

"I ain't gonna give no cliche speech about rights and wrongs. I ain't gonna turn you into the cops. I ain't gonna report you either.."

A sliver of hope shown through the mans eyes. Like he had a chance or something.

"Instead, imma just...yeah, I can't believe I'm saying this, but hell, I don't care. Imma just kill you here and now.."

All hope died.

"N-No, wait! Come on, we can work this out, can't we?! Just let me live and...and I'll give you money! Yeah, how does a grand sound, eh? Eh?!"

Clay 'contemplated', waving the gun around and then finally saying, "Nah... I think killing a rapist is an even better reward. But I'll hear you out if you can do one thing and one thing only, okay?"

The words at the start scared him for dear life, but seeing as he could really have a chance...

"Wha-?! Ye-Yeah, what is it?!"

Clay placed the barrel of the gun smack dead on the center of his forhead.

"Huh?"

"If you can survive this, I'll let you go, yeah?"

The last thing the man ever heard.

The last face the man ever saw.

Clay dropped the gun over the dead man's body and backed up until he fell back into some trash. He held his head, fingers sinking into his head but all he was feeling was a constant pinch.

'I-I actually...just did that. I...killed a man...'

The woman found her broken glasses and finally stared at Clay. She looked at his shirt, saw bullet holes in it, but no actual wounds. 'Hmm...' She then went over to her suitcase, stepping over the dead guy in the process.

"Are you Clay Ozerden? Son of Heather and Kazemi Ozerden?"

He only looked up becuase hearing his parents name in this deathly place made him feel...

"We...need to talk..." She said, coming over to him while her fist started coating itself in this green-like aura.

Once standing over him, she jabbed so fast at his face that the last thing he saw was just her standing there.

His head bounced off the back, cemented wall, then drooped. Her suitcase then opened up and started transforming.

Seconds later, a watch was formed which she put on before throwing Clay over her shoulder and seemingly disappearing into thin air.

....