“Today marks Sixteen years since the tragedy of Hong Kong and the day when Japanese national Ryuto Asakura, an up-and-coming Hero at the time, fell from grace and butchered all that live in the city, leading him to be known worldwide, as the ‘fallen Hero’”.

“As many of you know, since the first celestial light shown down upon our world so many years ago, this was the first incident of a Heroes actions being so atrocious, so monstrous, so diabolical, that the [Aegis] system that grants all our heroes their abilities, acted without restraint and wiped the demon from the face of the planet, removing all presence of him including his channel to which I am told had amassed quite a following before it had been deleted from the Hero Network”

“As you can see behind me, People have taken to the streets here and in many other places around the world to not only remember and mourn for those we lost that day, but to demand for justice!” The reported righteously shouted as the cameraman panned to behind her to show the hundreds, no, thousands, marching down the street with pickets depicting the loved ones they lost and others that had died that day.

“It has been Sixteen years since that fateful day and yet the people’s demands have not been met; the demon spawn the rapid response team that rushed to the scene that fateful day found still lives!”

“Sixteen years ago, when the relief forces raided the remains of Hong Kong and found the child of the monster, many were and are still of the opinion that they should have killed it there and then for it was too big of a threat to let something of such potential danger to mature, and give it the chance to wreak destruction like its father had before it”

“And yet, a number of narrow-minded fools a part of that group shielded it from justice, for they were deceived by the visage of a new born child instead of its true form, a demon that had yet to grow, they protected it instead of killing it, spitting in the faces of both the dead, and those that were left behind”

“Now sixteen years later, the people have had enough!”

“Protests are taking place all over the world; the people are speaking in one voice!”

“It is no child; Let the monster by judged!”

The cameraman focused back on to the reporter who had begun to walk towards a group within the march who were dressed particularly…flamboyantly.

“And as you can see behind me, it is not just the people that are demanding Justice be done, thousands of active Heroes have joined in the marches all around the world, with me at the moment I have the vice-guild leader of the Divine Brotherhood and top ranker within the Hero League, 'Star-slinger', tell me, what are your thoughts on all of this?” the reporter asked a man who looked like a power-armoured cowboy.

With a suave smile the cowboy looked into the camera and took a drag of the thick cigar that rested between his lips, “Well, how me and mine see it, no child should be killed for the actions of their parents but what we have here isn’t that, at least to us, it isn’t” he said as he took a long, hard drag of the cigar before puffing out a thick plume of smoke. “All these around me, yeah, they may have shown up to see ‘Justice’ done, Whatever the hell that means, but me, I’m here to simply protect you and everyone else from that child” He said as he gave the reporter his best smile and a wink to match.

“Star-slinger, are you saying that, that child is dangerous?” The reported asked as she raised the microphone in her hands towards the cowboy, “Well, I’ll say it has the potential to be just as dangerous as it's father, if not the potential to be even more dangerous if it is given even more time to grow up” Star-slinger said to the reporter as he turned to shake the hand of one of the other people marching.

“I’m sorry Star-slinger, but I don’t quite understand, are you confirming that the child will become a demon like its father?” the reporter asked vividly as any reporter that believed they had found the key point of any interview would.

“What I’m saying is that the potential is there, it is no secret that since the time of the first heroes humanity has took a drastic turn from the path that we were on, what we once considered human no longer applies, many heroes have taken up the bloodline of another race in their pursuit for power, elves, Lycan’s, angels, hell, I’ve even see cyborgs, but what I, and many of the other heroes across the world believe to be the cause of the tragedy 16 years ago, was that the Childs father had lost control of the bloodline that he had acquired and the monster within took control and did what came naturally to its race”

“Now let me ask you, if a disciplined, trained and powerful Hero, failed to control this unique bloodline, what hope does a child have?” Star-slinger said before tipping his hat to the camera and walking off to re-join the march.

“Well, there you have it folks, straight from the horse’s mouth so to speak, even the Hero Community believes that this so-called child is only destined for one thing and one thing only, to cause a calamity only equal or greater to that of its father, this is Danielle Jackson, signing off” The young reporter said before the cameraman finished with a shot of the crowd before panning out.

“hah, you believe this crap, yo, you even listening to me? Deo!” The young man that was sitting on the counter of a slightly run-down corner shop said as he muted the old television that hung in the corner of the shop.

“I’m listening John but unlike some people I’m also working here” a young white boy of mixed heritage replied as he stocked the shelves of the corner store he worked at.

“Hey, don’t make it sound like I don’t have a job, I have a one” the Young boy with the light brown skin of a pacific islander replied with an obviously jovial tune.

“Hah!” Deo shouted as he poked his head around the corner, “what you do isn’t work, it’s a hobby you occasionally get paid for, the rest of the time your either leeching off me or stealing from your dads stash” he said as he pulled his head from back around the corner to dodge the candy bar John had just thrown at him, “Dick! You know that old man of mine had it coming and so what if I get paid for doing what I like to do, doesn’t make it a Hobby”

“Nah, I’m not saying it’s a hobby because you like it, I’m saying it’s a hobby because even if you weren’t paid to do it, you still would, face it, the only time you’re out of that machine shop is when your either at school, or you’re with me” Deo stated whilst popping his head around the corner to give his friend the ‘cock-eyed look’.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, so what do you think about what I said before, what’s you’re take on all these protests?” John asked with an obvious curiosity.

Hearing his friend Deo could tell that he was asking more than to just sate his curiosity, he would be willing to bet money that his friend was comparing it to his own situation, not that he would actually do that to his friend, “you know how I feel about it, that’s why I’m working here today instead of joining the rest of the muppets from school that have gone down town to Vlog themselves at the protest as they ‘support the cause’” he said the last part mockingly.

Hearing this John let out a breath that he didn’t know he was holding but almost swallowed it when he realised that Deo wasn’t done, “but what Star-slinger said made sense, never thought about it that way before”

“What, you’re siding with that redneck?” John said a little testily.

“Hey chill, I’m just saying what he said made a lot of sense, if you knew something had the potential to deal a lot of damage why would you leave it alone”

“lil fanboy” John said under his breath, not meaning for Deo to hear but the pack of crisp that struck him shown that he wasn’t quiet enough. “look, it’s like what happened back in the 21st century, there was a big debate over whether or not scientist should be allowed to build the hadron collider because there was a 1/50,000 chance that when it was turned on, it would open up a black hole that would wipe out all life, all I’m saying is why take the risk if you don’t have to”.

“yeah, but you just proved your own point wrong, the collider was turned on and nothing bad happened, hell, from what the teachers in school said it revolutionised science” John said with cocky smile as he opened the crisps and began to eat them.

Annoyed that John opened the crisps he threw at them, he replied with a bit more mirth than he intended “Just because it worked out that time, does not mean it will work out the next time” Deo said but as John was about to respond the bell that hung over the door rang, telling the two of them that customers had entered the store.

*DING DING*

“I’ll be right with you” Deo called out as he cleared up the isle he was on before heading over to the counter where John had moved to the side to allow the two gentleman who Deo could only politely describe as ‘sketchy crack-heads’ access to the counter.

“What can I get for you today?” Deo asked the skinny white man with brown rotten teeth and a habitual need to jitter and move from one spot to another, “yeah, yeah, I’ll take er, I’ll take a pack of 20 menthol cool, some skittles, and what about you jay?” he asked the black man that in Deo’s opinion handled the drugs they were shooting up a hell of a lot better that his companion, “I’ll take a Snickers!” He stated/Shouted as he leant against the open door with his arms crossed.

“No problem” Deo said as he turned around to open the cupboard that hid the cigarettes from prying eyes, “oh yeah…. I’ll take all the money in the register as well” the white crack-head added with a sound adjoining it which Deo knew to be the click of a cocking gun.

Slowly, Deo got up and turned around, holding his hands high so as to not spook the jittery gent that was holding a gun to his head, “easy there, I don’t want any problems” Deo said as he turned around to see the white crack head holding an old powder gun to his head whilst his friend held onto a sawn-off shotgun with both hands, something Deo couldn’t help but think made sawing off the end of the shotgun in the first place redundant.

John in all of this was still stood slightly off to the side, continuing to eat his crisps without a care in the world.

“Aint goner be no problem as long as you give me my god damn money!” the white crack head shouted as he bounced in place and shook the gun in Deo’s face.

“OK be cool, I’ll get you your money now” Deo said as he moved over to the register with the gun pinned no further than three inches from his head the entire time.

Keying in the register he couldn’t help but look out of the corner of his eye at John who was still continuing to snack on his crisps and snigger.

“What the hell you laughing at?” the white crack head shouted in anger and made as if he was going to pistol whip Deo, “It’s nothing, I’m sorry, my friend over there just made me laugh by not giving a fuck about you crack-heads robbing the place” Deo said with a hint of own obvious entertainment showing in his voice.

Hearing what Deo had said the white crack-head turned around to see John reach into the packet of crisps, and casually pick one out and eat it as normal.

“Yo Jay, sort, sort it out, yeah” he said before trailing his gun onto Deo who was now watching the show with a smile on his face.

“oi, what do you think you’re doing, this ain't no show, ain't no snacks allowed” The other robber said as he used the shotgun to knock the crisps out of Johns hand but before he could re-trace it back onto John, he felt the cold kiss of steel on the side of his head, “Don’t you know that there are a few things in life that a person should simply not mess with, and disturbing a man while he enjoy a nice packet of crisp is one of them” John said as he pressed the gun made from next gen tech further into the thief’s head.

“OI, OI!” the white cracked head shouted out in panic as he watched his friend have a gun drawn on him, “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING? I’LL WASTE YOUR MAN IF YOU DON’T LOWER YOUR PIECE” he shouted at John as he held the gun towards Deo but the look of contempt John gave him showed how much he valued the crack heads words.

“Stop messing about Deo and end this” John said as he casually took the shotgun from the black man and turned to watch the show.

“Messing about? What are you…” the white thief began to say but before he could finish Deo’s hand whipped out in a flash and grabbed a hold of the crack-heads hand, gun and all.

Slowly, under the watchful eyes of the thief, Deo started to apply pressure to his hand and casually changed the trajectory of the gun away from his head and into the ceiling.

The pressure that he applied grew and grew as Deo focused solely of the man in front of him, until finally, even through the crack-heads drug riddled mind, pain started to manifest as his bones creaked and cracked.

“ahh! STOP! STOP!” he called out in pain as he tried to pry Deo’s grip free to no avail.

“Please! Stop! I’m sorry, I’ll never do it again” he pleaded with Deo who continued to squeeze until blood started to drip onto the counter below, But Deo didn’t hear a word of it, he was ignorant to the world, all that he saw was the thief’s hand that continued to grow smaller, and the blood that begun to pour faster.

“DEO! ENOUGH!” John called out as he slammed the sawed-off shotgun on the counter.

Deo turned his attention to John and after a second, realised that he was still squeezing and slowly let go of the man’s hand, making certain to never let go of the gun even when the thief let go to cradle his crushed hand within his stomach, tears were coming down the side of his face as he looked at Deo with both hate and fear.

Deo knocked the gun on the counter to draw the two would be thieves attention, “If I ever see you two again, I won’t just stop at breaking one of your hands…do you understand me?” he said to which the two nodded their heads profusely.

“Good…you can go now” Deo said to which the two ran out of the store with the door bell ringing behind them.

“Damn Deo, you didn’t have to go that far with them, you could have just called the cops?” John asked as he watched Deo take the shotgun off the counter and place it into a secure bin behind the counter that he knew contained a multitude of other weapons Deo have taken off other would-be robbers since he had started working at the store.

Robberies were a constant worry for shops that operated in neighbourhoods like the one they were in but at some point in the past the Owner of this little store had realised something and came up with a solution, why should he pay for insurance which just incentives the crooks of the world to rob shops like theirs when he could hire a legacy to work at the shop for a bit of extra cash and stop the store from being robbed in the first place.

“Could have, but there are plenty more crack-heads in the sea” Deo said as he waved his hand through the air dramatically “and if I called the cops I would be rid of just two of them, but my way, they will go back to their friends, tell them what happened here and all of them will know better than to test their luck here again” Deo said before grabbing a cloth to wipe away the blood that had dripped onto the counter.

John looked at his friend who had stated something so ruthless, so casually.

“Sometimes I forget how coldblooded you can be sometimes” John said whilst shaking his head and having a little, uncomfortable laugh.

“It’s not like it’s something I just made up, plenty of heroes employ this tactic to different effects, hell, it was a part of the job description when I was hired here” Deo said defensively as he threw the rag down on the side.

“I don’t get it, you are obviously such a massive Fanboy and you obviously have the skills, and for damn sure the strength. Why aren’t you applying to an Academy? You know you can’t become a hero without attending one?”

“John, I know all this and you’ve known me long enough to know that becoming a hero is all that I’ve ever wanted to do, but it’s not my choice, I told you before, my aunts got her own plans for me” Deo said with reluctance in his voice.

Hearing this John let out a deep sigh, “Do you always have to do what she says, can’t you just, you know, apply behind her back?”

“You do realise that she was the one that taught me how to crush a man’s hand, and several other things that mess up a human’s body just as badly right?” Deo asked as he gave his friend a dead panned look as if he had just stated something beyond stupid.

“Anyway, my Aunt made me promise that I wouldn’t apply to any academy without her permission, said that she had friends in some of the top academies and if I wanted to get into them then I couldn’t apply to any others as it might piss them off”

“hah, yea right, a nobody from the wrong side of the tracks has got connections to some of the top academies in the world, I’m calling bullshit, she’s just keeping you from applying to an academy as long as she can” John said as he got up and walked to the door before turning around and seeing his friend contemplating his words.

“ahh, Deo, I’m just running my mouth, I’m sure it’s nothing, you're aunt has been training you and sending you to those rich boy Hero Prep classes for as long as I've known you, ain't no way she isn't planning on you becoming a Hero” John said as he ran his hands through his hair knowing that he had said something that he shouldn’t have, suddenly out of the corner of his eye he spotted the television he had muted earlier and something had happened at the march., something big.

“Hey, you seeing this?” John asked as he moved back into the shop and turned the volume back up.

“…we are sorry to take you from your usual broadcast but we have just received breaking news, from what we have been told in response to the marches taking place all around the world, the Chinese government will be making an announcement to the world at large via a live press conference, Lily, are you there?”

“yes tom, from what you can see behind me a number of High-Profile Heroes are lined up on stage whilst Xu lin, the president of the people’s republic of china has took to the stage and is now preparing to give a speech at the podium, lets listen in and see what he has so say” the female reporter said as the camera man focused on the female politician on stage.

“Greetings to all those around the world today that have taken to the streets in protest of what is an obvious miscarriage of justice, 16 years ago the Hero association one-sidedly decided to take the demon spawn under their protection and hid both it and its identity from the world without care for those who were lost or those that were left behind demanding justice be done, now, in our midst we have a ticking time bomb that could be go off at any moment and cause a repeat of Hong Kong, and we, the people’s republic of china, will not let this STAND!!” the president slammed her hand down on the podium in mock anger before straightening her clothes up and regaining her civility, “that is why we, as the nation where this horrific tragedy happened in the first place, have demanded that the hero association hand over the Demon Child or else china, and all the Heroes and those affiliated with them that have joined in support behind me today, will withdraw our membership to both the Hero association and the 'Power Non-proliferation Treaty', If our hand is forced, we will willingly go back to the age of tyranny that arose when powers were first discovered” the room went silent for all but a moment until the president made to leave and every reporter in the room burst from their seats and started to shout one question after the other at the president that was having none of it.

“The Age of Tyranny…Damnn” John said as his eyes were glued to the television, “the hero association are goner have to give them summit or else…Damnn” Deo knew that John wanted to speak more articulately but he had to give it to him, Damnn was the perfect word in this moment.

Everybody knew about the age of tyranny; it was the time right after the celestial lights dropped onto earth and the first heroes were born. It was the time when the first heroes, who wielded such overwhelming powers, decided to not only ‘save’ the worlds they were sent to, but earth as well.

The middle east, North Korea, Mexico, anywhere and everywhere there was corruption, tyranny, conflict or war, they dove into it head first and flipped the board, they toppled governments and dictatorships in the name of saving the people, but it didn’t just stop there, it got much worse when they realised that their action on earth would not affect their status as a hero under the eyes of the system.

No matter what they did, they were able to do what they wanted without Consequence from the system!

Criminal organisation formed overnight and would be kings took over entire countries and killed all that opposed them, the age of the warring kingdoms had returned. There was no one power strong enough to stop it, even America, the once strongest superpower, had suffered during the Age of Tyranny and to this day, had not been able to retake the Hawaiian Islands from the hands of the man known now as the ‘Eternal king of Hawaii’.

This age only came to an end with the birth of the Hero Association, and it is not a time many people would like to go back to.

“Damn Deo, this is some heavy news, do you know what we need right now…a party?” John said with his usual grin, “good thing I’m already throwing one tonight, you coming?” John said as he made his way to the door again, grabbing a drink from the fridge on the way with no intention of paying.

Frowning, Deo took some cash from his pocket and put it in the register, “yeah but I’m working till close so I’ll show up as soon as I can” he said before heading back to stock the shelves, only stopping in his tracks for a second when John called out as he left the store, “good, oh by the way, Jennifer said that she would definitely be there as well HaHaHa” John laughed as he left, knowing of the thoughts that would be going through his best friends mind at this point in time.

Deo and Jennifer had …history.

Intimate History…but horrible timing.

...

The sky had turned dark and the wind blew testily as Deo drew down the metal shutters of the shop.

It had been several hours since John had been in the shop and not much had happened since then, a few customers had come in to grab some odds and ends but nothing as exciting as the two crack-heads holding up the place.

At one point Deo was actually hoping they did come back for a bit of break from the constant boredom the shop really was, But Deo knew that the excitement that he was craving for was of another type, and hopefully something that he would be able to get at the party he was heading to now.

Flipping his hood up on the parka he wore, he pulled up the wind proof neck warmer to cover his nose and mouth. He plugged his headphones in as he made for Johns house, it wasn’t too far from where he worked, the neighbourhood wasn’t great but those that would do anything knew better than to mess with anyone heading to Johns place, John would never want to admit it but his dad had connections that made any slight against him or his own, a bad idea.

A quick fifteen-minute walk later Deo was stood outside a dime-a-dozen town house with hundred just like it terraced next to it, only this one had music blaring out the windows and half-drunk teens dotted around the yard and house.

Giving a casual nod to those he knew as he walked in he threw his jacket onto a pile in the corner before grabbing a beer from the fridge and making for the front room where John most likely was.

Deo quickly found John sitting on the sofa, whispering sweet nothings into a girl’s ear he had never seen him with before, an all too standard sight on a Friday night.

Popping a squat on the edge of the coffee table Deo mused John from his merrymaking, “Deo! You made it!” he called out in a way anybody that had ever drunk alcohol to excess before would know.

“Ha-ha Calm down John, told you I had to close up first” Deo said as he swigged from his own drink.

“yeah, but I didn’t think you would be this long” he said as an evil glint came into his eye, “would have thought what I told ya would have made you get here earlier” he said with a Cheshire grin.

Clocking on, Deo narrowed his eyes as his head leaned closer, “…So she’s here?”

“HaHaHa, this is the first time you two have been single at the same time” John laughed out loud at his friend that had took the bait so readily, “of course she is”, he said as he wrapped his arm around the girl he was whispering sweet musing to.

Sitting up, John gave an obvious search around the room before finding what he was looking for, raising his hand he pointed Jennifer out “there she is” he said to which Deo could only try to pull his arm down and make it less obvious he was hunting for Jennifer but as he turned to look whether she had seen, he could see the playful smile on the punk girls face and knew that she knew everything.

Messing with his hair and wiping his face he was cringing in side at knowing that he had been clocked before pushing it out of his mind, he stood up and took the full beer out of Johns hand that he had just opened, “you’ve had enough” he said to John who was pretending to be hurt.

Moving through the crowd Deo maneuverer his way over to where he had last seen Jen only for her to have disappeared, looking around in confusion he could see her by the doorway heading out of the room, the way she looked back said one thing.

She wanted him to follow her, and so, he followed like a love-struck puppy.

From one room to another the two played this game of cat and mouse until Deo got within a few steps of her and stopped to watch her sway her hips as she slowly headed up to the empty 2nd floor.

Taking a last swig of his drink for Dutch courage, he followed in her steps.

The 2nd floor was dimly lit with only a single lamp on at the end of the hallway and the third was even worse, but Deo had come here so much with John that he could make his was around the house in the pitch black and know where everything still was.

Deo made his way down the hallway, two beers in hand and stopped as he heard something rushing at him from the side.

It tried to grab a hold of him but he was too quick! He dropped the beers in his hands and grabbed the attacker and pushed them up against the wall.

Not with overbearing force like he did with the crack-head from earlier in the day, but tenderly.

He looked his would be attacker up and down.

They were smaller than him by a good bit, snow white skin, dark black hair styled in a dread… black eyeliner…. supple pink lips… piercing blue eyes, he leant down, his hand against her jaw, their eyes a lock, and softly kissed.

Seconds passed before the two came up for air but before any words could be said, the small punk, goth hippie had placed the base of her foot against the wall and launched off it and into Deo’s embrace, one of her legs wrapped around his hips whilst the other went for the back of his knees where she kicked hard, sending the two of them careening to floor, knocking over a turned off lamp that was on the table next to them on the way down.

As she straddled his hips atop the landing floor, Jen leant in close and whispered into his ear “Naughty boy…who said you were in charge of this?” she spoke softly as she proceeded to bite his ear lobe, eliciting a painful but pleasurable moan from Deo.

She started to make her way down, kissing him slowly and softly before making it to his neck and bringing him to the height of pleasure, her hands holding his to restrain them all the while.

The temptation for the two of them was too much and they lost themselves in each other, the passion too much that clothes ripped as they were pulled off, no thought was entertained as to moving to a room for more privacy, too lost in one another that they acted upon their basest desires there and then, on the landing floor.

Seconds, minutes, hours could have passed between each thrust and jostle but for the two of them, it was but a single, unending moment.

One thing after another broke on the flood around them as Jen shook the table she was holding onto in pleasure before the two collapsed upon each other, panting roughly as they held on to one another.

The only sound to break the silence between them was the background noise of the party down stairs, and the rushed footsteps of someone heading towards them, and yet, the two made no move to stop, almost nothing could break them from this moment.

“God Dammit Deo, couldn’t even hold off until you got into a room could you” John said with a smile plastered thickly onto his face.

Well, almost nothing.

“Not the right time John” Deo said as Jen got off him and grabbed her top from the floor to cover her small but perky hills from view.

“Probably not, I’ll give you that, but you really need to see this” John said with obvious excitement.

“See what John?” Deo asked as he re-buckled his belt.

With all eyes on him John stopped and spoke as if he was announcing the most important thing in the world.

“The Hero association, they’ve come to an agreement…they’re going to reveal the identity of the demon child!”

Deo and Jen shared a look before a small nod was given, the night was still long and there was plenty of time for the two of them, but this, this was something that was sixteen years in the making, they could wait for a while longer.

The three rushed down stairs, two of them still getting dressed whilst the third was leading the way, the music had been turned off and the party goers had gathered in the living room.

The three pushed through the crowd at the doorway, John had reserved a seat directly in front of the television on the sofa next to his girl, and Jen had wandered off back to her friends whilst Deo waited on the edge of the crowd, watching from the side.

For a second he felt a buzz from his phone, he looked down at his wrist to see a string of holographic text pass above the palm of his hand. “GET HOME NOW!!!” the message from his aunt read, she was obviously angry about something but whatever it was, it could wait till morning, there was nothing in the world that could keep him away from Jen tonight.

“Shut up, it’s happening!” John called out as a representative of the Hero association walked onto the stage at the press conference and placed a pile of papers on to the podium, the camera zoomed in to show to a wizened old man with scars a plenty, like many of the top brass of the hero association, he was a retired hero himself.

“Now that everybody is here and ready, let’s get this show on the road because I don’t want to be here any longer than I have to be” the gruff old man said with obvious distaste for what he was about to do.

“As you may have seen today China and a number of representatives of various heroic guilds and communities have grouped together and threatened to withdraw their support from the Hero Association and whilst I personally think these fools are just bluffing, this is a threat that the Hero association has to take seriously”

“This, in combination with worldwide protests have led us to make the decision to release the identity to all parties, both those that believe this ‘Innocent’ child should not be persecuted for the actions of his father, and those that believe in punishing an innocent third party to spite the one that hurt them” The old man said angrily, his eyes glowed with power whilst the lights in the room started to flicker.

A few people in the crowd tensed up as he looked at them but his eyes faded after a moment, Deo and a few of the others in the room even felt chills when the camera zoomed in to show to man glowing eyes.

The room was silent, several people on the edge of their seats as they waiting with breath abate for the man on stage to answer the question that had been on everyone’s mind for the past sixteen years.

There was a gasp in the room as the demon child’s personal information was shown to the world.

One after the other heads began to turn to stare at him, the intense excitement that was previously on their face replaced with different shades of confusion, curiosity…fear.

“no…No! It’s a mistake!” Deo called out in shock and alarm but no matter what he did, he couldn’t change what was on the screen.

It was a picture of him at his high school graduation; it had only been taken three days ago.

Next to it was his name, his age, his blood types, his entire identity!

The only thing they had left out of the information was where he lived but he had no doubt that it wouldn’t take these people who had all the power of the world at their fingertips long to find him.

Deo turned to see John with a deadpanned face, all colour draining from it at a visible rate.

He turned to Jen, he took one step towards her, he wanted to say so much, to deny what had been said on TV, to say that he was innocent, that it was a mistake, but she took two steps back, her face full of fear.

As he looked around the room, at the faces of those he considered his friends, those that he had such a long past with, some who he had laughed and cried with, others bled for! He realised; they no longer saw him as their friend, but a monster.

The room may have been pack with people but he was now all on his own.

Deo pushed through those blocking the hallway behind him, not that it took much effort as they were all too willing to move as far away from the demon as they could.

He rushed for the backdoor and almost knocked it off its hinges as he burst outside and into the garden, he bent over in the cold of the night, his breath was ragged, he was hyperventilating. He was in shock, and who wouldn’t be in this type of situation!

His mind was blank as he tried to comprehend what he had just seen; he was the son of the demon? But that couldn’t be, his aunt has always told him that his parents had died in a car crash.

No, not this!

“HAH!” Deo laughed at his naivety, of course he believed his aunt when she told him that lie, it was something that happened every day, why would he even think to question whether she was telling the truth, why would someone even lie about that?

Well, one reason would be the situation he was currently in…to keep his past hidden from him. “Deo?” John called out attentively from behind him.

“John I…” Deo said as he turned to see his oldest and best friend…but stopped.

There in the doorway of his house, John stood…gun in hand.