Psycho was the first superhero on Earth but not the first superhuman. Of course, he was the most stable one but not the first. Countless times in history, unfortunate individuals very briefly showed great promise before meeting a rather painful demise. You see, genetics is a delicate thing and has a terrible habit of screwing over anyone who is… too special shall we say.

You can shoot fire from your hands? Great, the same unique process that allowed you to do so will rapidly cook your organs.

You can read people’s minds? Nice one.Your reward is a stroke. Patiently wait for your brain cells to pop like balloons.

Point is, in reality, humans aren’t evolved enough to handle the drawbacks of great biological wonders and Cadell was no different. Hallucinations, delusions, the Voice, bloodthirsty seizures, they could be easily be described as symptoms of a mental illness because they were. The only difference between him and the other suckers was that he somehow survived. Arguably, the shorter straw among short straws.

Cadell’s parents were victims of the Frenzy, a catastrophic mass murder where a mysterious red light resulted in many Londoners losing their minds while developing superpowers. Needless to say, it wasn’t a pretty sight: heads flying about, blood everywhere, red lasers and many other cool superpowers. The murderers were known as the Crazed and would all simultaneously die of unknown causes.

This shocking event would foreshadow what would be known as the Super Era one hundred years later. It was a glimpse of what some humans would become. Scary. Dangerous. Beastly.

While Cadell was fighting internal demons linked to his past, alternating between hope and despair, another such glimpse would be revealed...

Freddie was the first customer.

Of course, customer wasn’t the right word for some. It depended on who you were. To the distributors and manufacturers of the drug, Freddie certainly was a customer. He ticked all the right boxes. A druggie with money to spend? Check. A thrill seeker looking for the next thing? Check. A 46-year-old terminally ill patient looking to go out with a bang? Bonus points.

To the civilians frozen in shock or running for their lives, Freddie was evil personified, let alone human. They saw a flying entity spreading destruction within a matter of seconds. Orange lasers burned through flesh as they sliced buildings and vehicles in half. Telekinetic forces contorted bodies and hurled them up with such a force that they almost reached outer space.

To Freddie himself, as his blood boiled and every cell in his body rapidly disintegrated, he was a god. More than anything special. He smiled while thinking of the Frenzy, realising he felt exactly like the title of the drug he’d overdosed on.

He felt Crazed.