After filling out some information, Andy had a video call with a Herofund representative to confirm his powers, and his Herofund page was up and running. It was also connected to a SteelStar Noteline account if any potential fans wanted to follow him, and Andy was ready to go. He just had one thing he wanted to do before he set out.

Andy stood in his room, wearing his costume and full Valtarian form as he packed a change of clothing into a duffel bag. His room had a T.V., game console, computer, bookshelf, closet, and toy shelves. Posters lined the walls of his favorite movies and video games, and a few of the posters showed the superheroes he looked up to—one for Paramount, one for Blacksting, and most importantly, one for MagKnight, his father. When he finished packing, Andy picked up his phone and made a call.

“Hey Brian,” said Andy. “I’ve got some news. Today’s the day.”

“Seriously?” said Brian on the other end. “You’re actually doing it?”

“I’m actually doing it,” said Andy.

“Oh, dude, I’m so jealous. Congrats. So, naturally, once you’ve saved some people and caught some bad guys, we’re going to meet up to celebrate, right?”

“You got time for that?”

“Oh sure,” said Brian. “They won’t assign too much homework this early. We can meet at my dorm and order pizza. I don’t think my roommate’s ready to know your secret, but we can tell him we’re celebrating starting college. Yay.”

That yay sounded half hearted. Brian used to talk about getting a superpower of his own and them being superheroes together, but nothing had ever materialized. Andy wondered just how jealous he really was.

“Sure thing, dude,” said Andy. “Sounds great.”

“Awesome,” said Brain. “See you later.”

See you.

He hung up and then took a deep breath. It was time to begin. Andy put his phone in the duffel bag and stepped to his window, letting himself out before closing the window behind him. Hefting the duffel bag over his shoulder, he turned to metal, flew into the air, and prepared himself. From this moment forward, he wasn’t going to be Andy Gatlin. As he began looking for trouble, he officially assumed the identity of the superhero SteelStar.

***

In his metal form, after hiding his duffel bag behind a billboard, SteelStar flew high above Partition City, so named because of a river that ran right through the center of it. SteelStar could see that river from high up, sparkling water with a few bridges going over it, connecting both halves of the city. Down below, SteelStar could see the tops of skyscrapers and cars moving through the streets, no more than specks at this distance.

SteelStar paid close attention to two things. The first was a technique his father taught him to sense electromagnetic energy in his surroundings. While the most basic use of this ability was to sense nearby living things or electronics, they could also sense a certain signature that implicated severe emotional distress. Things like accelerated heart rate, breathing, and hormonal imbalances from fear slightly altered one’s electromagnetic signature. Neither SteelStar nor MagKnight could read emotions the same way someone like Spectramancer could, but they could at least tell when someone was in distress and go help.

The second thing SteelStar watched was his smartwatch, which was standard equipment for a superhero these days. Using the app Dangerwatch, people could post about dangerous situations such as robberies or mutant attacks. While this was useful for avoiding such things, superheroes used it to find trouble. So far, SteelStar hadn’t got any alerts. He’d been out there for over an hour and had found nothing. He’d flown around, lay on a few rooftops staring at the clouds, sat cross legged and levitated in the air as if meditating, and even let himself free fall for a moment only to stop himself right before hitting a sidewalk. He made sure to sense electromagnetic signatures so he didn’t land on anyone, but he needed something to do.

He was getting bored.

As he lay with his metal face up, hovering in the air, a high pitched voice said, “Hey, mister, are you a superhero?”

Andy turned his head to see a small child holding his mother’s hand as they waited to cross the street. The mother looked at SteelStar with mild interest as the superhero floated there.

“Well,” said Andy, “I’m not a hero if I haven’t saved anyone, so…not yet.”

“Oh, okay,” said the Child.

As the walk sign lit up, the mother walked with her son but said to SteelStar, “Good luck.”

“Thank you,” said Andy, waving.

Finally, after a few more minutes of flying over the city, SteelStar sensed something. He zeroed in on the electromagnetic signal, leading him to a back alley. Sure enough, SteelStar saw a man in a suit being held at gunpoint by a man in all black, a mask over his head. SteelStar dived and landed next to them, his boots clanking against the concrete, causing both the man and his attacker to jump in surprise.

“You…you’re a…” the gunman stammered. “Stay…stay back. I’ll kill him.”

“No, you won’t,” said SteelStar, grinning as he held up his hand.

SteelStar created a magnetic field, and as the gun went off, the bullets were pulled away from the man and towards SteelStar’s hand, sparking against the metal flesh harmlessly. SteelStar extended the field and yanked the gun out of the robber’s hand. The gun flew a few feet, and SteelStar caught it, grinning confidently.

The crook ran immediately, but SteelStar threw out his other hand and unleashed a nonlethal electric blast. A little electricity lept from his fingertips and danced up and down the would be robber for a second or two before the robber fell face forward, unconscious. SteelStar flew over and knelt next to the man, placing his hand on him and checking for life signs. SteelStar could feel electricity going to the man’s heart and lungs and concluded that he was fine. The young superhero had just executed a perfect nonlethal takedown, making him feel a swell of pride.

“Whoa,” said the nearly robbed man, still shaking in his suit. “You…you’re a superhero…thank you …who are you?”

SteelStar grinned, standing up and facing the man he’d just rescued. He transformed to his grey skinned, white haired, and blue eyed form to look more human.

“You can call me,” SteelStar paused for dramatic effect. “SteelStar.”

***

Paramount flew high above, keeping an eye on Spectramancer. The other superhero could be seen as a speck of yellow light flying above the landscape. Paramount was so high up there were clouds parallel to him, all in an attempt to keep Spectramancer from sensing his emotions. The man would probably resent Paramount following him. Spectramancer had promised that he’d keep himself under control, but Paramount was still worried.

Suddenly, Paramount got an alert on his smartwatch, the beeping sound catching his attention. Checking the alert revealed a pack of seven mutant bulls the size of houses rampaging towards a city, trampling everything in their path. It wouldn’t take too long for Paramount to get there, but that would leave Spectramancer here unless Spectramancer was the one who went.

In fact, he saw Spectramancer respond to the alert, offering to go there. Paramount hesitated. On the one hand, that would get him away from Morphic Man, the one who nearly set off his anger earlier. On the other hand, the Rocky Mountain incident had also involved mutants. A mutant had killed a civilian, setting of Spectramancer’s anger. Ultimately, letting him confront either threat could potentially make Spectramancer lose control.

After a moment, Paramount responded that he’d take the bulls. Spectramancer would be meeting with Elementus right now, whom Paramount thought highly of. Morphic Man wouldn’t show up for another few hours, so if he was quick, Paramount could deal with the mutants and get back before that conversation happened.

So Paramount turned around and sped in a different direction.

***

Spectramancer flew through the air, the yellow aura around his body filling him with joy and contentment. When he channeled this ability, everything just seemed better. Colors were more vibrant, sounds more beautiful, and everything that made him feel sad or depressed just faded to the back of his mind. Below him, the forest stretched out until it met a gigantic crater in the distance. That’s where Redwell City used to be, and the size and scope of this crater filled Spectramancer with a sense of awe. With this power running through him, it was easy for Spectramancer to sink into contentment even when thinking about the destruction of Redwell. At least they’d never have to work or feel pain again.

It took all his willpower to remind himself that what happened to Redwell City was a tragedy. Spectramancer’s powers were potent, but they were powered by emotions, and if he wasn’t careful, he could get swept up and let the emotions control him. He could channel anger to destroy, fear to make force fields, and even compassion to heal people. Getting too immersed in an emotion could drastically alter his judgment if he wasn’t careful, but using the power of joy to fly was one of the most dangerous. One could forget that they were even in danger when channeling that.

Soon he saw what he was looking for. About a mile away from the crater lay some news vans. For the past few days since the incident, they’d been waiting here to interview any superheroes that showed up. As Silent had promised, Elementus was there, surrounded by a small army of reporters. Spectramancer didn’t see any other superheroes, figuring that the arrival of new heroes to the scene must have slowed down by now. That was good. Spectramancer hoped to avoid any distractions.

Elementus was a tall, blonde, muscular man with sculpted cheekbones, a cleft chin, and an earnest expression. His costume was an ocean blue with green on his chest shaped like the Earth’s continents.

For a moment, Spectramancer thought about how nice it would be to talk to the press. He could tell them about everything good in the world. Once again, he reminded himself that this was the power talking. If he did get caught up talking to journalists while channeling joy, he’d be there all day. Instead, he placed himself where Elementus could see him and waited, hoping to catch the man’s attention.

On the ground, Elementus answered questions.

“No,” said Elementus. “I was nowhere near Redwell city, despite what rumors you may have heard. I’m just here to pay my respects and investigate. No, I haven’t found any clues for who’s behind this just yet.”

Then he saw Spectramancer flying above and waving to him. Elementus quickly excused himself and asked the reporters to back away. Moments later, Elementus generated a roaring whirlwind around himself, sending dirt flying around him as he flew into the air. The whirlwind carried him up to Spectramancer, who signaled for him to follow. The pair flew a few hundred feet away from the news reporters before landing in a clearing not far from the massive crater.

Elementus’s whirlwind disappeared, the rushing roar fading to silence. Spectramancer, meanwhile, lost his aura and shivered. It was always hard to let that power go. The world just seemed darker without it. He calmed himself, took a deep breath, and faced Elementus.

“Hi,” said Elementus, offering his hand.

Spectramancer shook Elementus’s hand and said, “Hello. Elementus, right?”

“Yeah,” said Elementus. “It’s nice to meet you. I mean, it would be nicer if we weren’t meeting at the sight of…that.”

He waved at the crater, and Spectramancer paid close attention to the man’s emotions. He sensed a hint of frustration but mostly concern and sadness. Elementus was as heartbroken about the destruction of Redwell City as anyone else.

“Yes,” said Spectramancer. “Tragic, indeed. Listen, I’m sorry to ask this, but…were you in Redwell City the night it was destroyed?”

Elementus sighed.

“Everyone’s been asking that,” said Elementus. “And like I’ve told everyone, I was planning to go there, but I never got around to it. I was nowhere near Redwell City that night.”

He wasn’t lying. Spectramancer could always tell when people were lying. The most obvious sign was fear of getting caught in a lie, but even if someone was perfectly confident they wouldn’t get caught, there was always a sign. If the emotion behind a statement wasn’t strong enough, that meant a lie. It was hard to feel strongly about something you knew wasn’t true.

Elementus believed what he was saying. The conviction Spectramancer sensed was clear.

“Alright, thank you,” said Spectramancer. “I’m sorry to interrogate you like this, but I had to be sure. Paramount spoke strongly of you.”

“Really?” said Elementus. “Thanks. That…that means a lot.”

Spectramancer sensed an overwhelming sense of admiration. It seemed he looked up to Paramount quite a lot.

“Look,” said Elementus. “If there’s anything I can do to help with the investigation, please let me know.”

Spectramancer smiled, “Thanks. I’ll do that.”

Elementus then activated his whirlwind and flew off, back to the reporters. Spectramancer looked around for a place to wait. According to social media, Morphic Man would be arriving at the crater a few hours later. All Spectramancer had to do was wait for the man to arrive.

***

A few minutes after SteelStar stopped the robbery, the police showed up to arrest the man responsible. SteelStar and the near victim gave their statements, and the other man agreed to press charges. The police officers each shook SteelStar’s hand, thanked him, and were hopeful that the next time a mutant attacked the city, there’d be someone to deal with it other than them. SteelStar said he looked forward to it and looked out for his next crisis to deal with.

Over the next couple of hours, SteelStar managed to help a few more people. He stopped a store robbery, flew some people out of an apartment fire, and just barely made it in time to stop a car accident. He even, as the cliché went, rescued a cat stuck in a tree.

The most interesting thing that happened was a mutant scorpion the size of a bus that burst up from the sewers. That had been hard to deal with, as it had resisted SteelStar’s electricity, and its shell was durable enough to withstand his fists. A few times, the scorpion’s tail had knocked him to the side, smashing up the pavement and somebody’s car. SteelStar, however, had managed to break the exoskeleton and stick his hand it, electrocuting it from the inside. By the end of that fight, SteelStar felt a bit sore, and his jaw felt funny.

It was the best part of his day.

Finally, he got a chance to rest. SteelStar sat on the edge of a roof in his organic form, his feet dangling over the edge. So far, he was pretty satisfied with his progress. Having retrieved a duffel bag where he’d hidden it, he pulled out his phone and checked first his Noteline account and his Herofund page. He’d gained a lot of new followers. Apparently, the people SteelStar had saved so far had been spreading the word, and people were starting to learn about him. That giant scorpion was bound to hit the news soon, and things like that always caught people’s attention. Even his Herofund page already showed a few donations from people grateful for his work. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. SteelStar was well on his way to making a living doing what he loved.

One thing that didn’t sit well with SteelStar was a few people pushing the E.H.O.D.’s power user draft. Posts such as:

Nice to see a power user doing the right thing for once. Good for Partition City finally getting their own hero. Really though, every city deserves a hero. That’s why we need the Power User draft!

And there were more like it, which Andy sighed upon seeing. He really didn’t want people using him as a springboard for their own opinions, especially this one. SteelStar had a lot of reasons to be against a power user draft. For instance, he knew of people with powers that weren’t terribly useful, having seen mini-documentaries on VidVoyage. A guy in New Jersey could shoot blasts from the tips of his index fingers that were about as powerful as bullets. If one had a gun, they were as powerful as him, so what would be the point of making him a superhero? SteelStar had also heard of a man whose power was to temporarily give people allergies by touching their skin, easily the worst power ever. And then there was a woman who could generate poison clouds. The only problem with her was that she couldn’t control it. She had to live alone out in the middle of nowhere doing work remotely and ordering groceries online because a toxic cloud surrounded her constantly.

Would a power user draft exempt people like this? Who decided which powers were needed and which powers weren’t if not the people who held that power? Proponents of the power user draft never addressed such concerns. At the very least, SteelStar had never seen them address it.

SteelStar didn’t mind the people who used their power for a regular job or to start their own business. One guy with telekinetic powers became a one man construction company. Because he didn’t need to buy equipment or pay employees, he could make houses incredibly cheap, giving people a chance to own a home who otherwise couldn’t afford it. It wasn’t fighting crime or evil mutants, but it was still doing something good for the world. Why should people like him be forced to do one certain thing with their powers? And what about people who learned to use their powers in medicine? They could heal people that were either hard or impossible to heal by normal means. Why should they be forced to fight supervillains?

Of course, the real reason SteelStar was against a power user draft was something that hit close to home. His father had to quit being a superhero for his mental health. Furthermore, his mother’s people, the Valtarians, all had metal transforming powers. They, however, all suffered after their planet was destroyed and just wanted to live their lives in peace. A few of them worked as superheroes, The Fullmetal Soldiers, but most just wanted to live without being reminded of what happened. SteelStar remembered relatives, aunts and uncles, crying during family gatherings when something reminded them of their homeworld. SteelStar had found his mother awake in the middle of the night, unable to sleep from nightmares.

Would the power user draft exempt the Valtarians? SteelStar was afraid it wouldn’t, and this was precisely the reason the Valtarians presented themselves as human. The unwanted attention from proponents of the power user draft was something they didn’t want to deal with.

For all of these reasons, SteelStar responded to this post, tagging anyone else he saw using his name to promote this.

You can’t force people to do something, even if that something is a good thing. If someone’s heart isn’t in it, they won’t do the job well. Besides, you don’t know what’s going on in their lives, what problems they’re facing. People need the freedom to make their own choices because everyone’s situation is different. Who are you to decide someone’s future for them?

SteelStar sent the post, meaning every word. You had to be free to make your own choices. Why couldn’t people see that?

A few minutes later, SteelStar flew away, getting back to work.

***

“Mr. Powell, sir, the new superhero tag on social media is lighting up.”

News reporter Patrick Powell strolled to his personal office, his young, blonde, and pretty assistant handing him some papers. Patrick looked it over, intrigued by the new hero he was seeing. Metal transformation combined with electromagnetic powers. That had to be a potent combination.

Then he saw SteelStar’s most recent Noteline post and gave an exasperated sigh.

“Thank you, Janet,” said Patrick, going into his office.

He sat down in his cushioned office chair and sighed, throwing the papers on his desk. As he rested for a moment, his gaze drifted to a picture on his desk showing two teenage boys, identical twins. One of them had been Patrick himself a long time ago. The other was named Sean, and he wasn’t around anymore.

Patrick remembered a meteor storm, a really bad one that would have destroyed a city were it not for superheroes working that day. He was only fifteen at the time, but he remembered every detail of it. Giant balls of fire fell from the sky, blasting apart everything in sight. He remembered superheroes flying or running around, pulling people from harm, putting up shields, or just blasting the meteors away.

And yet it hadn’t been enough. There just weren’t enough superheroes, and one stray meteor had gone straight for them. Sean had tripped over some rubble in the chaos, getting left behind. Patrick hadn’t realized this for a few moments and turned around just in time to see a meteor strike Sean straight on, right in front of his eyes, leaving nothing behind.

That day still haunted Patrick and had changed him forever. For the longest time, Patrick had wondered why there were no superheroes to save his brother. The heroes were given so much praise for saving people that day. Why couldn’t they have saved just one more?

Patrick had looked into it, investigating where each superhero was that day, and none of them had been slacking off. They’d been working as hard as they could. There were just too many meteors and not enough superheroes to stop them all.

But there should have been. Power users were rare compared to the rest of the population, so those who chose not to use their powers stood out. While superheroes had been working diligently, a few power users had run to shelters with the rest of the civilians. This included a man with telekinesis, one with the power to manipulate water that could break apart rock, and a woman who could shoot disintegrating blasts.

Any one of them could have used their power to save Sean. Any of them could save so many people, but what did they use their powers for? Construction work, janitorial work, and one of them owned a bakery. Superpowers were wasted on those people. So many people would be saved if these power users stopped being selfish and used their powers for good.

Why couldn’t people see that?