Someone being hurt for the first time would surely scream out. That’s what Damian did when the mist-man stabbed a dagger to his shoulder and when the doctor bandaged it. It wasn’t the evenly split pain that came with overusing his power nor the immense pressure that made him feel like he was being crushed that exploding did. No, it was a stab wound and it was Damian’s first time bleeding. It had been a week, yet the pain hadn’t fully subsided. Anytime he used his right hand, it ached. Thankfully, it got a free permission slip from the school. He could just skip, but doing so legally was the best thing he could wish for.

He was sitting on the couch, looking at Barry play the new game he had purchased. It was a first-person shooter that had guns in it. Though how it was made and how it was used was erased, it wasn’t the case with its image and what it did. Its shots could penetrate mostly everything and it was far faster than arrows in that the recipient had no chance to see where it was coming from. Just like that mist.

The image was still clear in Damian’s head. That mist that could penetrate his gift’s power. It was scary to think of what could have happened if that dagger had been pointed slightly upward, near his neck. Would he die? Would he bleed out? Or would he live with the assistance of doctors?

It had been three days since he had moved into a numbered district with his friends. There were some oppositions from Adam, saying it was unfair and such an expensive apartment couldn’t just be gifted – it was eight thousand crescents worth – and it was named Damian’s place. The usual hangout place changed from the shithole to this place and overall everything was perfect.

The Smithy was abolished, and something called the ‘council’ decided that the Smith Co.’s old boss was no good and Edwin got his rightful place. He even had something of a date with Comet AKA Elisa coming up tonight. It was as if it was the happily ever after of a story even though Damian knew it wasn’t so. They’d soon be operating on the Imperial scale, meaning they’d be over four thousand square miles. It would be safe to assume that the superhero thing would be a full time job.

“Hey, ever thought about buying a new console?” Damian asked. With the furniture, the overall cost of the four room apartment was eleven thousand. That still left him with more than thirty eight. Basic necessities were just grains of sand compared to the desert that is his bank account. Of course there was no hurry to spend it all, but there were so many things he could do better.

“Don’t. Do. It. You’ve spent so much. Rest for a while. Make a saving, make investments, there is so much you could do with that but noooo, you’re spending it all on useless stuff aimlessly. Goddamn it, if I had that amount of money I’d be a millionaire in a year or two.” Barry said, pausing the game and turning back to look at Damian.

“Then you do now. Raise it, and you take half of what you earn. Deal?” Damian asked. “Since I’ll be busy with work and can’t do much in the way of enriching myself.”

“Hey, hey, that’s the best damn thing I’ve heard from your mouth this whole month. The last time was you saying that we buy that new game.” Said Barry. A smile was plastered on his face as if he had heard the happiest news of his entire life.

“So, deal or not?” Damian asked. He didn’t want to act like a rich snobby brat now, not after sixteen years. He’d just be as he was and act normally. Money didn’t change people, only show what was underneath. Damian admired those rich brats in a way. They didn’t bother hiding their inner selves and let them out, except on courts and business.

“Of course it is. You can count on me, bro. I’ll make you the richest Edison in the world.” He said. “And when I become rich, I definitely won’t forget the favor.”

“Those are some big words over there.” Said Damian. Edwin gave out the latest brand smartphones that still weren’t on the market to the Comets after his promotion. It was great to have a smartphone, Damian realized. His mother wasn’t rich enough to buy it and his father didn’t care for him except keeping him alive in the streets.

Elisa and Damian were texting. Clinton seemed to have made up some things and told her that Damian chased the Smithy’s men over to where Tina was, and some other things. He was surprised, really, when a pretty girl with freckles around her nose and loose hair reaching her lower back came to ask if he was okay. Their only meeting before was during his first day, and Damian hadn’t had the time to acquaint with her much before they met in the hospital.

Damian: What time?

Elisa: 4PM, Lord’s office.

Damian: What’re we doing?

Elisa: Don’t know. Will decide there.

Damian: OK, see ya.

They’d be meeting at the lord’s office. There weren’t many things to do there, but it was right there at the center of the city, from where they could reach just about anywhere in the city in the shortest time. The staples of dates were movies, dinner and a walk? Damian was a stranger to those things. He couldn’t be said to be a social person, but not quite anti-social either. The kind that only spoke to strangers when they spoke to him. Quite an accurate description of his attitude, Damian noted.

He had to dress well, but he didn’t want to look desperate. At least that’s what Adam said. “Dress casually, but well.” Adam said, yesterday, the guy who wooed two girls, of course after breaking up with the former. That advice was indispensable. Damian didn’t know what being desperate meant, but it’d be pretty close to trying too hard. Not that he would. Damian was never the type to impress people, surprise them, yes, impress them, no.

“Dude, what do you think I should wear?” Damian asked. Being desperate would probably mean buying another set of clothes just for this occasion. Trying not to look desperate, he grabbed two shirts from the closet and jeans. He’d wear the jeans, it’s the best he had. As for the shirts, one was a black hoodie and the other the kind worn in an office. The choice was obvious after a moment of thought: the black hoodie. The office shirt would look desperate, or… he didn’t know. Either was he was more himself in a hoodie than in the other shirt.

Barry didn’t answer. His expression turned sour, and most likely he was just reminded he was the last of his group of friends that didn’t have a girlfriend. Instead of looking at Damian the way someone looked at his benefactor and friend had disappeared, replaced with a look that said ‘you are my enemy’. With an expressionless face, he turned away to look back at the TV.

“Fine then.” Damian said, and walked over to the refrigerator. The kitchen and living room were joined, the fridge right next to Barry’s room. He was a geek, and his parents didn’t approve of it. Through the open door Damian managed to see some posters with cartoon characters, girls. There was a DVD player and a TV next to it on a small table. A body pillow with the picture of a blue-haired girl was lying on his bed, and without walking in, Damian knew there were dozens of comic books and cartoon DVD’s aligned on his bookshelf.

The fridge was right next to it, and he grabbed a milk, and drank straight from the glass. No one that came here drank milk other than him. One had a lactose allergy, one of them didn’t like the taste and the other always drank juice or soft drinks.

There was also a few biscuits lying on the kitchen table. Damian devoured them. Without Adam here to cook, Barry and he had to have instant noodles as lunch. It didn’t fill the stomach. It was strange that people would take such valuable things for granted. For example, being unable to be hurt was such a normal thing that Damian had taken it for granted, and was surprised by how much an injury hurt. Then there was the fact Adam was the one who always cooked, meaning no one else had the reason to learn. Simon could cook, somewhat, but he was bad. Damian had allowance to eat out, so he didn’t care to learn from a young age and Barry was just lazy.

He glanced at his smartphone and noticed it was three and half. From his new house, it’d take only fifteen minutes. Just to be safe, he’d get there a little early. Putting on his clothes was no hassle. They fit him perfectly even after two years of use. He had grown early on in his life, and it had halted for a long while, maybe lifting weights did that, or it’d have stopped naturally. Both his parents weren’t tall people.

October had come and a slight chill would set in no time at all. For now shirts could be worn, then people would have to wear jackets and then warm clothes. The weather forecast said it was 15 Celsius, nothing Damian wasn’t used to. When it got below 5, it started to be cold.

“Cry all you want, but if you lie on the sofa all day and play games, you’ll never get a girl.” Damian said before slamming the door shut behind him. He had always liked pressing Barry’s buttons, since he was the kind to just ignore it. However, if you got under his skin, the reaction was too fun to not see.

The new apartment was on the 15th floor, and there was a lift. It was as clean as it got, and thankfully no foul smell was in the air. He clicked on the down button on the wall. The left one of the two elevators was on the 18th floor, slowly descending. Being the closest to Damian’s floor, it stopped by to let him in. Inside was a middle-aged man, dressed in office clothes. There was a blankness to him that Damian couldn’t quite describe, the closest word being ‘eerie’. His eyes were there, looking at Damian, but as if they weren’t actually looking at anything.

Damian clicked on the first floor button. A blue line encircled the button, and the ground floor had been pressed. After a long half a minute, Damian walked out the elevator and the strange man was left back inside. He walked quickly, opening the door at the fastest speed possible. There was a feeling as if the man was following him. His quick steps turned into a light jog, and then running.

He’d arrive at the bus station in five minutes if he was running, ten if he walked. Hurrying was welcome, and he took the chance. He left the apartment complex through the stairs leading down to the ground below from the raised platform.

Damian stopped to look at the place where the strange mist-man came from. It was right at this place that he had been stabbed – hurt – for the first time in his life. It was the best place around, after all. Even with the Smithy taking up most of its resources, Smith Co. was good at its craft, and made more money than it wasted. That also meant they did very much. Built several apartment complexes and imported technology from the capital.

After a sigh, Damian continued down his path. There weren’t many people passing him by, as it was a work day and most were at work. The bus station wasn’t too different. Only five people stood there, waiting for a bus, including Damian. Pretty much every bus from the station reached the central pavilion where the lord’s office was.

The lords had ranks of their own. The Red City Lord was a Count, but everyone called them as lords of their city. Differentiating them was hard, as they had similar authority on their own grounds. Only at the queen’s table did the ranks matter, when they wanted to discuss something and vote on it. Two Knights counted as a Baron, an Viscount two Barons, a Count two Viscounts and such.

The bus was nearly empty, just as it did during mid noon on workdays. He took a seat right next to the door. He’d be going merely two stations and that wouldn’t take long. For the umpteenth time, he checked if his breath was okay and put a chewing gum in his mouth. She had phrase it in a way that didn’t suggest it was a date, but only getting to know each other much like Damian did with Tina, but being prepared was the essence of date-esque occasions, or so said Adam.

Having a smartphone meant accessing the internet from anywhere in the city. He made use of that and searched the internet for crime syndicates around the empire. There were two known organizations, which would mean they weren’t the most dangerous kind but not the idlest: Damnation, a large group of anonymous criminals in London, and there was the Band of Brothers, an empire-wide organization consisting of the numerous bands in each city. Red City, of course, had the Red Band of which the daughter of the boss offended him greatly.

Damian didn’t like to be insulted, even more so by some moron who thought he was a tough guy. That thought process led him to thinking of what was happening to school. He had effectively skipped a week of school and had no idea what that hoe was doing. She looked like the type to bitch to her dad about every one of her inconveniences and let him take care of it. An idea appeared in his brain and he smiled, exiting the browser and opening the messenger.

The Red Comets had a group chat where they talked mostly teenager stuff, and sometimes about the job. Since they were a government organization, there was no need to fear about being spied on by the said government.

D: We took down the Smithy. What about the local band?

Not even a few seconds had passed and Clinton joined the chat.

Shadow: We need information.

D: Don’t worry. I’ll lure them. Be at Fortuna High tomorrow noon. I’ll call if the plan changes. I’ll lure them there.

D: @Psycho, you’ll have to come. We need interrogation.

“Next station: Central Pavilion.” Said a female mechanic voice from the front of the bus. The drivers clicked on their station on their driver tablets and the voice announced what station the bus would stop next. It was convenient, greatly so, and helped him by shaking him off his phone. It was sometimes addictive, as if the phone was smarter than him. He’d keep it under control, or try to the best of his abilities.

Damian got off, and a cold breeze met him. It was getting cold earlier than expected. He’d have to switch to his sweaters soon. There was nothing much to see except a new building being built next to the library. It wasn’t used much, more a monument than anything else, with a miniature statue of a famous scholar standing before it. Security fencing protected the pedestrians from anything that might fall, and on it the words ‘The Big Street’ were written in a fancy manner, a picture of a pizza next to it.

It was the local pizzeria. Damian wouldn’t even think of dining in such an expensive place had it been before he got a job. The forty crescent pizza seemed so affordable now instead of his three days’ worth of allowance. Maybe they could have dinner in another one of its branches in the evening. A slight glance at his smartphone said that it was five minutes until 16:00. The lord’s mansion, an old luxurious white building with three floors stood at the other side of the road.

Damian saw the pedestrian light flash green from the distance and sprinted to the other side. It took several minutes for it to turn green, since it was the central road and traffic was heavy. The traffic lights were adjusted to those schedules and do so even if it was completely empty. And doing illegal stuff near the lord’s office unless you were a member of the late Smithy.

It was nothing compared to the training he did back at the gym. He appeared on the other side a few seconds after the light turned red. That could be condoned, or at least that’s what Damian thought. Contrary to his expectation, there were some people on the central pavilion, walking around. A miniature version of the Big Ben, a very miniature one standing to the left of the lord’s office stroke four times.

Damian looked around several times, and noticed her sitting at one of the benches near the superhero statue. A wry smile appeared on his face. The statue was of his predecessor, donning an absurd name of Sir Red. Apparently she was one of the Louise I’s twelve knights and was from Red City, thus the name. It was strange to think that someone called Sir London and Sir Paris existed at one point in time.

As he walked to her, she turned to look at him. Elisa wasn’t the most beautiful girl, but if she was placed on the meter between pretty and average, it’d sway closer to the pretty than average. She wore jeans torn at the knees and a baggy white sweater. Pretty old fashioned, but there was a hidden charm to it.

“Hey.” Damian said, for the lack of any better word.

“Hey.” She said awkwardly. She had a sweet smile on her face and handed him her backpack. It was strange to think someone who could punch someone so hard that they smashed into a building would need a man to carry her bag, but he didn’t resist and took on her baggage onto himself. Damian could possibly replicate it, but without the crater part. “So how about we go eat something. I’m ravenous.”

“Sure.” Damian nodded his head. “How about Big Street? Never had the chance to eat there. Might as well try it, since we’re rich and all.”

“Oh, that place. It’s a little too high-end, isn’t it?” Elisa asked after a moment’s thought.

“We can afford it. Trying new stuff never hurts.” He said.

“Well, then it’s just better to go to a fine dining restaurant. That’s too suffocating, right? Turn around for a bit. Need something from my bag.” She said. He did, and after a moment, she produced a large piece of paper from the bag. “I won a couple’s ticket to that buffet everyone’s been talking about. There was no one else to eat with, since Clinton’s lifestyle is training and delivery food with a bit of justice thrown into the mix. Tina’s busy buying her supplies for the next interrogation, and anyways they wouldn’t allow two girls to come in with a couple’s ticket.”

“Oh. What about your other friends?” Damian asked. Mostly as small talk and a small bit of curiosity. “Like, aren’t there any other friends who happen to be boys?”

“Not really. They usually get scared of me when they find out I’m a gifted, and never come back. All the girls gossip around me and I was just thinking about going to the army to escape this shitty life. That’s when Edwin appeared and brought me to Tina and Clinton.” Said Elisa. “Oh, sorry. I might’ve suppose melancholic. No use downing the mood.”

Damian shrugged. “I guess I’ve had it better off. Being a strong boy helps, I guess.”

“Haha. It sure does.” She chuckled, and pointed south. A skyscraper with a glass exterior shaped like the quarter of a circle stood there. “It’s in there. Let’s go. Hurry.”

Elisa started running. She seemed to be trying hard not to be too fast, letting Damian keep up with her. She was just better than Damian at everything, except maybe physics. He had to learn it after he got his gift diagnosed. Apparently he could stop molecular movement and partly extinguish a fire or weaken it. He didn’t quite understand it after ten years of studying it. Such a strange occurrence fire was.

After a minute of waiting, the pedestrian light turned green and they continued their run. Of course Damian lagged a little behind due to his late start and maybe not-supreme physique. He could be proud because he had never seen anyone better than himself before. Now he just felt horrible after finding out not one, but two people who were better than him. First Comet and then that mist-man. It was a music to Damian’s ears when he heard that the said person was thrown to jail. It wasn’t a normal one, but the high-security kind that contained specifically dangerous gifted criminals. That is to be said, none have ever escaped the queen’s dungeon. Even if they did, they’d be slain on sight, and that made living in the prison no worse than outside a better option for the inmates. That also reassured the population of the empire, including Damian now.

Elisa only stopped when she was outside the building’s gate, and thankfully Damian was adapting to this high-running life by now. He had even started jogging even with his injury. The occasional ache when he moved it was reminder enough that he was still weak and he needed to train. That had to wait, though, at least the part that included his arms and punching.

She waited for Damian to open the door for her, glancing at him several times, and so he did. Just as Adam said, they seemed to like when guys did this for them. Just as he did, a man walked out the door, and bumped with Elisa. She fell to the ground, and glared at the man. Unbelievably, the man didn’t even wince or notice her, and walked straight past her.

“Hey, at least say sorry!” Shouted Damian. He wasn’t the type to pick fights. It was just that the man provoked him. The said man threw a glare at him over the shoulder, and walked away. Damian noted that the man was similar to the one he saw in the elevator earlier that day: a blank gaze and a lifeless expression.

“Are you okay.” He asked, pulling Elisa up.

After a moment’s pause, she said “This never happened before. This… can’t be. Was that man a gifted?” and looked to the road. The man had already got on the other side of the road and was walking toward through the central pavilion. “I never fell when someone bumped into me. I don’t know. I just-”

“Don’t worry about that. Let’s go in, yeah?” Damian asked with the best smile he could muster. He didn’t want to lose a date.

“Yeah. I guess I’m just feeling weak today. I tripped, yeah, I might’ve tripped.” Said Elisa and a smile appeared on her face. “Let’s go.”

“What floor is it on again?” Damian asked.

“17 or 18.” Elisa said.

The elevator faced the door, a customer-friendly choice, Damian had to say. He clicked the button up, and it immediately opened. The elevator had come down recently and no one had used it yet. Elisa walked in first, and clicked on the floor number. There wasn’t much to speak about other than small talk, since talking about their plan to attack the Red Band might attract unwanted attention onto them.

“So, how old are you?” Damian asked, trying to start a conversation than knowing the answer to it.

“Will turn 16 in December.” She said.

“I see.” He said, and looked at the floor counter. An awkward silence reigned until the elevator landed on the 17th floor. The buffet wasn’t there, but a fast food place. The smell of fried chicken filled the air. It slid up at 18 and there it was, the buffet. Many aromas mixed in and created one general nice smell that a decent diner had.

Elisa walked up to the counter with the ticket and placed it on the table. A waiter looked it over, and asked. “Couples?”

“Yes.” Damian said in her stead, and took the opportunity to grab her by the shoulder. “We are.”

Elisa blushed, and nodded her head. The waiter then smiled and gave them a smile device.

“One hour, all-you-can-eat for at 50% the price.” He said.

“How much is it?” Damian asked. Adam said to pay for both. He wouldn’t have trouble with that.

“It’d be 50 crescent for two with the discount.” The waiter said, pointing at the buffets with the tip of his hands.

“Here.” Damian said and placed his card on the table. The waiter grabbed a card-reading machine and placed it on the table. He slid it through there and Damian entered his password. The receipt appeared from the machine and Damian handed it over to Elisa. He didn’t keep receipts.

“Thanks.” She said, and walked over to the buffet – a series of metal containers placed on tables, containing too many to count kinds of foot. Elisa grabbed two sandwiches, some fried chicken and a lot of rise. Damian chose a few slices of pizza and put in some gravy with a bit of rice on his plate. The duo took a seat at one of the window seats. They were mostly vacant as two people coming in was rare, thus the couples’ pass. Seems running a business solely on celebration purposes was hard.

“Sorry about that. I just reacted the best I thought.” Damian said as he took a seat looking at her.

“Don’t worry. I suggested it anyways.” She said, putting a sandwich into her mouth, then another. It seemed that every girl in the Comets ate much as she finished her whole plate while Damian only had the time to finish his pizza slices. “Sorry, but I have to eat more than normal. Super-metabolism.”

“I see.” Damian said. He should have known.