In the evening, everyone helped board up the windows destroyed in the explosion—everyone, except Mr. Johnson, who was lying on the couch watching a movie. Hunter had the idea to call an ambulance, but with everything going on and living in a small town, none were available. Mr. Johnson didn’t seem to be bothered by that fact; his broken leg was splinted to the best of the group’s abilities. As long as he didn’t have to do anything but rest, he was okay.

  ?

  The night quickly passed by without a disturbance. James and Hunter retired to their room while the rest of the group found a place to sleep in the living room. In the morning, James was the first to get up and move, followed shortly by Hunter. Sig and Joseph were still asleep on their makeshift beds in the living room. James had given them a surplus of blankets to use for a softer ground last night.

  ?

  James walked up to the coffee machine to start a pot for the morning, only to stop in his tracks at the sight of a nearly full pot. He rubbed his eyes to double-check he was seeing right before leaning to look into the living room to make sure someone wasn’t awake. Sig and Joseph were still asleep on the floor, with Johnson awake and drinking coffee on the couch. Rightfully confused, James walked over to him, “Hey, did someone get that for you?” he asked softly, pointing towards the kitchen.

  “In a way, you could say that.” He gave a cocky smirk. He quickly finished off the last of his coffee. “Apparently, I have a servant I can summon. It just happened when I tried to figure out how to get myself coffee without waking anyone.” He cleared his throat and held up his empty coffee mug. “A refill, please.”

  To Johnson, a humanoid-looking alien creature appeared and went off to fetch another coffee. To James, he only saw a floating mug that flew out to the kitchen, was refilled, and flew back to Johnson's hand. “See?” Johnson takes a sip. “A summonable servant."

  James could only respond with a bewildered expression. “I didn't see anything but a floating coffee cup. What was that?”

  Johnson looked surprised. “Huh, so only I can see it. Once my leg is healed, we’ll need to test this further. If no one else can see it, then it should at least be a great defense. We can also look into why I feel so empty with it summoned. This strange void inside me doesn’t feel like the best thing.” He took another sip, “I doubt we heard anything, but do you have an estimated time on when a spot will open at the hospital?”

  James shook his head at the sudden info dump. Making a note to come back to this later. “Sadly, not yet. Hopefully soon.” He explained hopefully, “Hunter already agreed to stay back and keep an eye on you while we go out and train.”

  Upon hearing that, Johnson held up a hand and shook his head disapprovingly.

  “Thanks for the offer, but Hunter can join the training session. My summon should be able to take care of me. And besides, I just have a broken leg; my other one works just fine.” He chuckles, keeping the situation lighthearted. “Trust me, I'll be safe here alone.”

  James sighed in defeat, “Fine, I'll let Hunter know once he’s out of his shower. If he insists, though, you have to deal with him.” James half-joked, knowing Hunter could be pretty stubborn in his decisions.

  “Deal! I'll figure out what else this power of mine can do.” Johnson said as their conversation started to wake up Joseph. While Sig, on the other hand, could sleep through another explosion,

  Joseph blinked away his grogginess. “Power?” He asks, confused, “Did you guys go out and train already?” He says, still half asleep.

  “Nope, but Johnson figured out a power. He can create an... invisible servant? Butler? He can see it, but we can’t.” James summarizes Johnson’s superpower. Letting the man rest and drink his coffee.

  “Well, that sounds useful.” Hunter’s voice chimed in as he entered the living room. Still finishing up towel-drying his dirty blonde hair, landing just below his ears in length.

  “Just think of what I could do once I can walk,” Johnson replies with a chuckle.

  Around this time, Sig finally seemed to stir awake. He suddenly bolted upright with a “Woooo! Time to train!” His voice was full of excitement, completely missing the conversation. Hunter groaned at Sig’s overly excited state. “This isn't some game; this is real life, Sig.” He said in mock annoyance. Not wanting to shut down Sig’s excitement, but still wanting to show his displeasure with what's going on.

  James claps his hands together as the conversation comes to a close. “Alright, I believe my car can hold all of us. Get ready, and we'll stop for breakfast on the way.” His announcement brought joy to everyone, including Hunter, who was hyped for the complimentary breakfast.

  ?

  While everyone was getting ready, Sig noticed the flashing emergency lights outside the house and pointed them out. “Looks like they might be here for Johnson finally.”

  “Or looking into my house.” Joseph brought up. “I might find out if my parents were in there.” Sig nodded in understanding, opened the front door, and headed out with Joseph to find out what was going on.

  Once out there, they found out both of them were correct. An ambulance was out front while firetrucks and other first responders were at Joseph’s destroyed house. Joseph hurried over to his house, not stopping when Sig called out to him. His body moved on its own.

  ?

  “Were my parents in there!?” He calls out as he approaches the nearest EMS. “My name is Joseph. I lived here. I wasn’t here when everything happened. It’s a long story.” His voice comes out choppy and strained. His fists clench up as he fights the urge to cry.

  ?

  The EMS looks solemnly at him. “I’m sorry, we recovered two bodies. One is in the basement and the other on the ground floor. It seems the cause was the emergence of a power.”

  Joseph’s body goes numb as the news hits. A reality he has been preparing himself for since he got home, or what was left of it. His eyes darted around as if looking for something or someone. They’re gone… They’re really gone, but I had to live for a reason. His thoughts raced around that one idea.

  The world around him goes mute as his thoughts become overwhelming, his knees buckle until the EMS grounds him back to reality. She places a hand on his shoulder upon seeing his reaction. “I know so much is happening right now, but don’t lose your hope.”

  Joseph takes a deep breath to stabilize himself, his hands shaking as he finally learns the truth. “I lived for a reason; I can’t let them down.” He tries to redirect his grief into a reason to keep going. He had a new idea to focus on. With these powers, there has to be someone who could revive them. He hoped, his mind running through every possibility. As if he were clinging to a raft at sea, he couldn’t truly do anything but think. Think of any way he could undo this or convince himself this was just a dream.

  Meanwhile, Sig leads the paramedic into the house to collect Johnson. Helping him out of the house and into the ambulance. They wave him goodbye and wish him luck as the doors close and the ambulance takes off.

  Shortly after, Joseph walks back over, looking more determined than ever before. “Alright, I think I'm ready now.”

  While the group gets everything together, Sig stops everyone for a moment. “I know we were going to take the car, but honestly, we don't know what these roads are gonna be like. It's within walking distance if we don't mind a trek.” The chaos of the previous day is still fresh in his mind. James takes his warning seriously while the rest of the group groans.

  “You're right, I don't really want to get my car stuck somewhere; it could be useful later.”

  Joseph chuckles a little, “Maybe if I figure out this teleport thing, I could be everyone's ride.” Although it was meant as a playful joke, everyone seemed interested in the idea.

  “That's actually really smart. Depending on the risks of magically teleporting somewhere, it could save us so much time.” James lets out a big sigh. “All this training might take a while; it's not like we have people who can help us. We have to learn everything on our own.”

  Sig suddenly slaps James on his back, startling him. “Well, the sooner we start, the better. Also, we have the Internet, I bet somewhere on there people are already uploading tutorials on how to fly or shoot fire out of your fingertips.” He says with a hearty laugh. “We’re gonna be the strongest superheroes and save this world!” He says triumphantly, getting a laugh out of everyone else.

  With a quick repack to accommodate a walk instead of the car trip, the group heads out. The nature around them seemed undisturbed by the recent societal change.

  Some buildings were in varying degrees of destruction, yet society still attempted to function. Many businesses were closed, and places considered essential were dealing with sudden short staffing. Traffic was lower, but the roads still had the occasional abandoned car clogging the remaining traffic.

  James and Hunter lead the pack, holding hands as they lose themselves in conversation. Sig and Joseph hang back a few feet as they discuss which powers they will try to practice first.

  “No one really knows how this stuff works,” Joseph pointed out, “Should we just pick some powers and go with it? Or do you think it’s like that one anime where everyone had a set power? Cause if I could have any power, but I have to trial and error until I find it, I might go crazy.”

  Sig chuckled at Joseph’s rambling, “Gotta be more specific, there’s like, ten different anime with that cliché.” He playfully punches Joseph’s arm.

  Joseph rubbed his shoulder and laughed it off. “Still, I hope we could just learn any power. I wanted to fly or shoot laser beams.”

  After 15 minutes of walking, the group finally reaches the edge of the woods. “Keep close to us, guys! Don’t get lost.” James teases the two falling behind. He knew Sig had been to this clearing as much as James and Hunter had been.

  Sig raised his hand in front of him, palm out. “I know these woods like the back of my—wait. That’s new.” He followed it with a hearty laugh at his own joke.

  However, everyone froze as something could be heard bounding through the woods towards them. “Oh come on, we haven’t even entered the woods yet,” Sig complained shortly before a stray dog came running out of the tree line, spotted the group, and then turned to run along the tree line away from them.

  Joseph was the first to break the awkward silence after that event. “A stray dog? Probably saw something big in there and was spooked.”

  “Just what we need, bears or some other big predator,” Hunter complained to the group.

  “Well, if we run into one, I’m sure Sig here will easily beat it in a wrestling match.” Joseph chimed in with a slap on Sig’s back.

  Sig chuckled at the thought, “Don’t think I’d win, but I would definitely hold it off.”

  ?

  After that, the group followed James and Sig to the training spot they had chosen. The woods tapered into a clearing, mostly overgrown with knee-high shrubs and grass; however, the lack of trees made it a great open area. “Not the best looking spot, but maybe someone will have a grass cutting power,” James smirks, hoping his joke could ease some of the group's nerves. “So who’s willing to attempt something first?”

  ?

  “No one attempts any fire powers or anything like that. I assume we all know that, but I don’t want us to burn down the whole forest.” Hunter reminded the group, making James and Sig groan in annoyance.

  “Fine, Dad!” James teased, “How about I go first. I promise no fire on purpose, so if I shoot out a jet of flames, that’s not what I’m going for.”

  ?

  Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  James stood out in front of the group with most of the clearing in front of him. He stood still and tried to focus on the power inside him, hoping to get even the slightest hint as to what he could do. Sadly, after a couple of minutes of searching and a few complaints from his friends, he settled on trying to fly. He closed his eyes and focused on trying to fly, imagining himself in the air—anything he could think of that would get this to work. As he focused deeper, he could almost feel his mind separate into thin pages, opening to a specific spot.

  ?

  The group could see James standing with his arms held slightly out from his sides. Unsure of what he was doing or how long it was going to take, Sig went to call out to him, until he noticed his friend starting to hover off the ground slightly. “Yo! James is floating!” His voice stuttered from the shock and excitement.

  Sig's shout caused James to lose focus and drop a couple of inches to the ground. James turned around, studying his friends' reactions. Everyone seemed to be stunned by what they saw.

  “That was a great first try,” Hunter says to break the silence finally.

  “I know, right? I didn’t think that would work so quickly. I seem to be able to fly at the very least. Anyone else wanna try something? Maybe we could each take a section of this clearing. I doubt we’d want to be too close to each other while we are experimenting.”

  Sig and Joseph seemed to be all for Jame’s idea, while Hunter was shuffling his feet in the dirt. As everyone went to find a spot, James noticed Hunter was awkwardly pacing in the place he chose. James rolled his eyes and began to approach Hunter. “What’s the matter?”

  Hunter was startled and turned around. “O-Oh, sorry, James, I-I just don’t know what to do. I don’t want something horrible to happen.”

  James pulled Hunter into an embrace, “You’ll be fine, sweetie, it’s why I want us to stay separate. Just focus on any power you can think of. I assume if you don’t have it, you won't feel anything. I felt something when I focused on what I think flying would be like. Apparently, I was right. Just focus on what you think could work, maybe it’ll come to you.” His words reinvigorate Hunter, who nods in response.

  “Alright, I think I can do this.” Hunter closed his eyes, searching for anything that could hint at his powers. Doing his best to ignore the sound of James walking back to his spot. I can do this. He kept repeating in his head.

  Within a couple of hours of practice, Joseph gained a better understanding of how his teleportation worked. He could focus on an image of a place and teleport there; the farther away the place was, the more strain it put on his body. At that point, he could only teleport across the clearing a couple of times before becoming exhausted.

  James nearly perfected his flying, to everyone's surprise, including his own. He kept himself in the air and figured out how to maneuver around, clumsily, nearly crashing into a tree at one point.

  Sadly, it seemed Sig and Hunter had the most trouble, with neither one of them figuring out their powers. However, Sig was the most frustrated of the two.

  “Nothing is working!” He exclaimed loudly, venting his anger. “It seems so easy for you guys.” He finished with a sigh.

  “Could be niche powers? We don’t know the possibilities, so maybe you have control over birds or something.” Joseph responded, feeling bad for his friend.

  Hunter seemed almost relieved that he had yet to figure out his power. Watching the other two talk as James came back over to him. “Anything at all?”

  Hunter shook his head. “Sadly, no, but I don’t really mind. I’ll figure it out eventually.” He smiled warmly. “As Joseph said, it’s probably something niche.”

  ?

  They decided to wrap up their training session as the day drew to a close. With the sun just starting to set, they headed back home, walking the same uneventful path they used to get there. James attempted to keep pace with them while flying, but quickly gave up and walked as well.

  Their carefree conversation came to a halt when they passed by a small corner store. A masked criminal burst out of the front doors, using a clumsy blast of fire to blow the doors, skidding across the street. The scent of sulfur assaulted the group for a moment before being swept away in the wind.

  ?

  “Try to lock me in again.” He yelled back into the store before turning to run away.

  Before James, Hunter, or Joseph could process what they were seeing, Sig was already sprinting after the unknown criminal. “Stop!” He yelled out, quickly followed by the rest of the group trying to call him back.

  The man whipped around with his arm outstretched, sending an anger-filled fireball at Sig. In his attempt to stop, Sig’s feet slipped out from under him, and he fell onto his back. Completely dodging the attack, which flies by above him and straight into Hunter. He managed to throw his arms up at the last second to block what he could. The flames quickly enveloped Hunter's body.

  ?

  “Hunter!” James screamed out as he watched the attack collide with his fiancée. Until everyone watched the flames quickly die out, shrinking in size as Hunter’s power absorbed the energy from the fire.

  “The fuck did you just do? I’m out of here!” The criminal uses the all-around confusion to continue his getaway.

  Joseph helps Sig off the ground. Instead of giving chase, he stays back with the group to check on. “There’s going to be way too many people like that soon.” He mumbled under his breath.

  “Are you ok?” James ran up to Hunter, a hitch in his voice as he looked over him. Strained from the worry he felt.

  “I’m fine, just found out my power is all.” He said, staring at his unscathed hands and arms. His clothes were untouched by the flames as well. “I felt it, the heat around me, but I felt some kind of connection to it. We have to explore this more.” His body could barely contain his excitement. “I can protect you guys.”

  James flinched a little at Hunter’s statement, “As long as you aren’t jumping in front of every attack.” Giving Hunter a concerned look. “But I love how that’s your first plan.” He followed up, hoping not to make him feel bad about his excitement.???????????????????

  Joseph sighed heavily, the weight of the day weighing on him. “Should we bother the police with this?”

  Hunter shook his head. “No, the store probably already called them anyway. I’m just glad we’re all okay.”

  Joseph simply nodded in response. “Okay, so let’s head back once we catch our breath.”

  ?

  After everyone collected themselves, they continued home.

  The sounds of sirens filled the air as they walked—a seemingly constant reminder of what was happening to the world. There were fewer accidental deaths, but there was now no shortage of criminals. Thousands attempted to gain the most power or influence, while hundreds of thousands of small-time criminals committed only minor crimes. Emboldened by their superpowers, they took any opportunity to steal or mug someone.

  ?

  Once the group arrived home, Sig quickly threw himself onto the couch and turned on the news. “Wonder what we missed.”

  Joseph and Hunter joined him while James put away Hunter’s and his belongings. “Turn it up so I can hear it!” He yelled out from the kitchen.

  Sig turned it up just in time to hear about a new law enforcement agency that had started—an agency known as The Peacekeepers.

  “It’s a rerun from earlier; they had an interview with the Chief,” Sig yelled out to James, quickly lowering it as James walked into the living room.

  “Did I just hear that right? Are they called The Peacekeepers? I’m calling it right now, they aren’t going to be nice.” James complained to his friends.

  “I get in most media a group with that name turns out to be evil, but give this a chance,” Hunter asks softly. “More people willing to help against these super villains are always welcome.”

  “Oh! I found the interview!” Joseph piped up from his phone, which he was buried in. He quickly cast his phone to the TV screen for everyone to watch.

  ?

  “So, some people in this city may know of you and your group, but introduce yourself for those at home who may not know yet.” The host hands the mic over to the woman.

  “Well, my name is Val Zotova, and I started up the agency known as The Peacekeepers. It is our goal to discover the origin of these superpowers and find a way to possibly revert everything to how it was.” Her accent is audible in her speech. “While I can’t reveal much, we already have a lead for our goal.”

  ?

  “She doesn’t seem evil.” Hunter points out. This caused James to roll his eyes.

  “You can’t tell that from one interview. You’d have to meet her in person.”

  Hunter spat out, “Why can’t you just be hopeful for once?”

  James glared back at Hunter. “I am hopeful! For what we can do. I’m not putting my trust into anyone else. Especially someone in charge like that! There are way more power-hungry people in this world than you realize, and they all just got a way to fight up that ladder.”

  Hunter could only shoot the same glare right back at James, thinking over what he was about to say before the video interrupted their small fight.

  “While in New York City, and any other place under the Peacekeepers' watch, Power usage is strictly banned. Anyone caught using any kind of power for the time being will be arrested. Once we learn more about these powers, this ban will be lifted to allow certain powers that are deemed more useful than dangerous.” Val’s tone was stone cold, stressing the word "arrested."

  James gave Hunter a look of I told you so.

  “Okay, maybe they are a little evil.” Hunter finally admitted.