《The Best Way To Use A Clone》At the last possible second
Advertisement
I'm Richard Bone. Yes, Dick Bone. Haha. I'm just about to turn 16, which is the age at which you lose the ability to develop a superpower. If you don't have one by then, it's over for you. My hopes and dreams of being a superhero are entirely dependent on the approximately 6% chance (according to statistics) of Unlocking a power.
Looking back, my terrible luck in most other things might accumulate and give me payback some day, but today...
"AHH! MY PHONE!" *sploosh*
Is clearly not that day. Lamenting the loss of yet another phone, I'm painfully stumbling home on a Friday, on the eighth of July after having pissed off a classmate, leading to my very important and carefully-made essay which counts for a ridiculous percentage of the grade being set on fire. I got beat up too, but that's expected at this point, really. My chances of actually getting a passing grade are now nonexistent and I will have to repeat 11th Grade English next year (I live in Canada).
Despite this absolutely terrible day, I still try to maintain some positive thinking: I'm not 16 yet; powers seem to Unlock easier in high-stress situations, which I am very much in right now; miracles and gods were proven to be real a few years ago, so prayer doesn't seem entirely useless; and my girlfriend is hot-- HA, as if! Nah, I don't trust people enough to ask for the time of day, let alone believe anyone could ever be interested in me.
Enough self-pity, though. Grounding yourself is useful, but overdoing it leads to low self-confidence, which leads to naively falling for any random idiot who says "Hi" to you, and that's how toxic relationships form. I don't want that, do I?
...God, my gut hurts.
The person who inflicted this rainbow of bruises and small cuts upon me is a certain Caleb Dunham, captain of the only sports team that matters in our school: Boxing. Being big, buff and good-looking, he seems to think that he's the epitome of talent and power, that he'll never need to study, and to be honest, I can understand that. With his ridiculous strength, he wouldn't need to get serious to beat the snot out of quite literally anyone in this whole town.
Advertisement
Oh and did I mention that he can breathe fire? 'Cuz he can do that. He's enrolled in the Young Justice Program, which trains superheroes-to-be in, well, heroics I guess. He's quite literally all I want to be and I'm not jealous of him I swear.
I mean, I work out too, just a lot less frequently, without equipment, at home because I don't like people. I don't have a power, but once again I have like three days to get one, no worries, man!
Finally reaching home, a small one-story house that looks exactly like every other house around here, I walk inside and don't even get to take off my shoes before my mom is on me, half worrying and half angry.
"Why did I get a call saying you got beat up in school? Oh no, you look awful! I bet it's way worse under your shirt as well. What did you do to get someone angry enough to pound you like this? Is this your fault? Please don't tell me you deserved it!"
"Calm down, mom, please! Don't touch me, it hurts! Look, I didn't deserve to get beat up, okay? It was Caleb who got angry at me for not doing his work for him. Ugh... I swear, the school's bribing people to ignore his rampant bullying. I worked really hard to stay off his radar, you know? The only way he's not off the hero program is if his misbehaving is being silenced."
As I was saying this, she was hurrying me to take my backpack and shirt off.
"Oh God, this is awful. Are you sure your ribs aren't broken or something?"
She's justified in worrying. It's hard to find a spot where my too-pale ginger skin isn't either a dark pink or some other shade of hurt. Even I didn't think it would look this bad.
Advertisement
"Wow, he got me good."
"How did you even get home like this, Ricky? Hold on, I'm grabbing some stuff from the bathroom, go sit in the kitchen."
After almost an entire hour of minutious treatment, my mother finally let me go. I'll try to put this incident behind me now. Only one more exam to take on Wednesday. That means I have Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday without having to go outside for anything that isn't a chore, like taking out the trash. Then, the sweet sweet relief of summer break. That also means if I don't get a power, the next time I show up to school I'll do so as a confirmed Powerless.
A few hours later, after dinner, I go to my room to play some Space Finagler. It's a generic space trading simulation and its name is awful, but it really resonates with my sense of humor for some reason. However, my luck seems to not be finished with me quite yet. This game isn't really that hard; you just need to stay ahead of the competition. A series of bad price changes and bad RNG sends me into debt, but I manage to make it. What really seals my fate, though, is three pirate encounters in a single trip. Just like that, my entire month of effort put into this game is ruined in ten minutes.
I get real mad. I'm not proud of it, believe me. I burst out of my chair, completely ignoring the flares of pain coming from my beaten chest and head, and yell "GODDAMNIT!" at the top of my lungs. A rant is already formed and about to come out, but then, as I stand in the middle of my bedroom, my body decides to give up. I collapse and choke on my words.
An incredibly intense pushing, pulling, tearing sensation assaults my arms. I feel it, something wants to get out. It's like an instinct I never had, and also ludicrously agonizing. Like going to hell and back, and then into hell again. It's so intense, I struggle to decide what to do. I can hardly think and my body won't move. So I almost subconsciously latch on to the source of the pain and try to get rid of that instead.
You want out? GET OUT!
And out it comes. Out, it... Is that me? Is that me, passed out and naked?
"Huuh..." and with a weak exclamation of surprise and confusion, I too pass out.
Advertisement
- In Serial52 Chapters
The Shimmer
The day the Embrayyans attacked Canada was the day the fates of both worlds were forever changed... On an otherwise unremarkable day, a portal appeared in the middle of the bustling city of Vancouver, Canada. Direwolves, Wyverns and primitive troops on a righteous mission burst forth into our world that day to take revenge for ancient crimes committed against them. A reporter and a linguist find themselves facing truths hidden deep within time-worn legends, while an Empyrean Rider and young noblewoman must adapt to the dangers of the unkind, alien world on the other side of the portal. All that is known for certain is the fates of both worlds hangs in uncertainty. Updates every Monday and Friday
8 180 - In Serial25 Chapters
Hunting for jade beauties~ A trash novel
Long Dong is a young cultivator whom everyone underestimates! "That boy has no power!" his seniors say. Little do they know that his resolution will not break so easily! "I"ll show you all, and build a harem of jade beauties!" exclaimed the young man, pointing his fist at the moon. "Misha, calm down, do you want to fail another year?" "I don't care, as long as I have this demonic power!" Long Dong whips out a pack of over-the-counter codeine, leaving his friend in shock and awe. And thus a cultivation journey of eastern European delinquent begins! Wrtten for Fast Food Frontpage Competition, this novel is trash and don't take it as anything else.trigger warnings: all
8 187 - In Serial23 Chapters
Scritch
A young kobold is tasked with tending to the spawn of a great mother dragon. With a slip of fate, and a wager by all the collective gods of luck, chance and folley; the two young creatures venture out into the world in search of slaves and a horde to call her own. Warning: Contains implied suggestive content and drug use. This is an unedited draft I am hosting here before sending off for editing and publishing.
8 195 - In Serial33 Chapters
Claimed By Darkness
By the age of sixteen, all elves are claimed by one of the six Gods and inherit some of their abilities. There is Aria (air), Lionel (earth), Kalama (fire), Beck (water), Gianna (mind), and Kai (dreams). Sorry, I seem to have left out one of the Gods, the most powerful God. Caspian, the God of darkness and death. He is the outsider, the most feared and dangerous God. Only two people have ever been claimed by Caspian, and they were both driven to insanity. Odette Parks was finally going to the academy to be claimed and learn to control her new powers. But instead of a fun high school experience, she is met with a scary prophecy...*Warning: Strong language!* COMPLETED
8 115 - In Serial13 Chapters
Taverns edge - A mercenary's guide to Ley Line traveling
The taverns edge is a fiction that centers around a pair of unusual friends. A mercenary that happens to be a princess of fae, but prefers to stay in a well-known établissement instead of staying in the Sidhe. Moira. Being half a dragon doesn't really help getting along with snobbish elitists at her mother's court. Like all sidhe she likes to strike a good deal... Which has led into many a disaster... Though she always tends to get by, especially when she gets home to the Tavern on the edge. The mentioned établissement is run by the formidable Barkeeper and jack of all trades Tora, who happens to have a very interesting past. Which involves more than one sinister secret... Now add to the mix a totally clueless elven girl - a mortal, not a fae- on the run. Lunara. She has unknowingly struck a deal with the devil - quite literally. Now unable to handle the consequences on her own she enters the tavern on the edge. An epicenter for magic and the only place where she might find help. She talks Moira into helping her out. A race against time begins as the deal's symbols appear on Lunara's skin. The journey leads to the dwarven empire, the sidhe and wherever the crossing leylines under the tavern may lead. This fiction belongs to the same universe as Ancient Blood. English is not my native language, so please don't be harsh. This story is an adaption of an idea, that we, a friend of mine and me, have developed over a few months while taking a break from learning. Some parts were written by Emberspark. Thank you for allowing me to work with your ideas and letting me publish this as a whole. Updates... I will try to frequently update both of my fictions... Well in case you are interested I post it on Scribble hub, too. I really don't steal from myself 😂
8 170 - In Serial48 Chapters
The Roamer
A peaceful, weak little village with no issues stands separated and undiscovered from the rest of the world, the villagers living their lives fulfilled. That is, until the outer world finally catches on to them, and all the inhabitants are forced to be slaves. Aeollus, a child who also originates from the village, expects to live the rest of his life in slavery. However, things don't end up as simple as that. Later on, he experiences a battle of high standards, and is inspired by it. Through some future events, he ends up breaking out of slavery. He proceeds to roam the world in search of strength, and to thoroughly understand and gain it. He will face many challenges while roaming the world, and the majority of them will need him to surpass his limits. Will he truly be able to set a new legend in this world, or will he fall like the majority and become a forgotten person?
8 631