LIGHTFOOT (ONC 2021)

4.2| monsters are monsters, not villains.

The Superhero Corporation had instructed every registered superhero in Gluevale to be in their super suits when they were working. They were employees, after all. The super suits were uniforms. They fined anyone breaking this rule while saving the city.

Janice and Fabian had met their fellow media people and stayed with them for a chat. A group of agents had called Tim and started asking him about the accident and everything else in his life.

Saint-Max went to look for Xia Li alone. It had been two years since they spoke in person. They had exchanged messages and phone calls, but those weren't the same as meeting face to face.

Xia Li held the party to celebrate joining The Wildlings after breaking into the top five in Class-2. The Wildlings was a group of the five best Class-2 superheroes in Gluevale. She replaced Silver Icon, who stepped down to deal with the death of her parents and five siblings after the ship they were on during a cruise sank. There were no survivors.

Superheroes glared at Saint-Max as he passed through the hallway, heading to the backyard where Xia was at. They whispered to each other and laughed at him. Saint-Max didn't care for high school shenanigans. He was the topic of their conversations. Not the other way round.

In the backyard, people stood under tall tents talking to each other or ordering drinks at the bar. The party had started before the party had officially started. Saint-Max could tell some already had too much to drink, but not enough to stop them from fighting if a supervillain was dumb enough to attack.

The chatter and laughter stopped once they noticed Saint-Max. All eyes were on him, and he... he liked it. Having run track his entire school life, he was used to people staring at him. Whether admiring or hating.

"Saint, you're here," Xia Li said from beside him. She wore her bright red and black super-suit with the retractable mask. Her alias was Red Butterfly because she loved butterflies and the color red. She looped her arm around Saint-Max's and dragged him towards the pool where there were fewer people around. "I didn't expect you to show up after..."

"After Margareth tore my ass in the news?" Saint-Max raised his brow. "Yeah, it's good to see you too, Xia."

"Don't be an asshole, Saint."

"I'm not."

Xia narrowed her eyes at him. No one knew him better than her. From birth to the third year of high school, they were bound to the hip. People thought they were in a relationship given how close they were. That was far from the truth; their friendship was strictly platonic. They didn't want to risk their special bond.

Things changed after Xia's parents died in a bank shooting in their third year of high school. They grew distant, and whenever they saw each other and spoke, there was always an awkward pause like they wanted what they used to have, but they knew they couldn't because a lot had happened in a few months.

Later on, Saint-Max went to university while Xia took a gap year to work and save money to attend a community college. Their friendship had never recovered, no matter how hard they tried. But at least they were trying.

"So, what do you think of the party?" Xia asked.

"Apart from the guests' glares? It could've been better."

Xia gasped, then lightly smacked Saint-Max's arm. "I hired the best party planner in the city."

"You should've hired me. I could've done better for less."

Xia rolled her eyes. "Like when you planned our joint birthday party in freshman year of high school?"

"Hey, that was an accident. I didn't mean to start a fire."

"Sure. At least you didn't burn down your parents' apartment."

Saint-Max smiled. "Exactly. Trial and error until you get it right."

"Sure." Xia crossed her arms on her chest.

There was an awkward pause. Neither seemed to know what to do. Xia looked at the other guests, smiling and waving at them. Saint-Max stood there feeling as if he didn't belong here—in her world. It was as if she only wanted to be his friend because he was the last connection she had left to her old life.

"Anyway, where's Muscle Head Greg?" Saint-Max asked, glancing around. There was no sign of her fiancé.

Before Xia replied, the city's siren wailed. It meant a kaiju was attacking the city. There were five levels of kaiju: A to E. A-level had the largest and strongest kaiju, and E-level had the smallest and weakest.

To detect which level was attacking, the city had installed colored sirens. And each time the siren wailed, it implied the number of kaiju attacks.

The red siren wailed five times. Red for A-Level.

But the people didn't need the siren because they saw the kaijus.

The five kaijus comprised of multi-limbed sea creatures from an octopus to a seahorse. Some had arms and wings while others had metal spikes and breathed ice.

Xia had left with the other superheroes, divided into groups of five. And because of her flight capabilities, Xia was on octopus duty. It had thirty eyes and three wings.

"Saint!"

Saint-Max turned and saw Janice, Fabian, and Tim heading his way.

"There's a situation at Gluevale Central Bank," Tim said. "There's a bank robbery happening right now. The manager is my friend. He just sent me an SOS. I need—"

"Consider it done," Saint-Max told him.

"I'm going with you," Janice said. "I want to record you saving the hostages and change the narrative the media is trying to build on you."

Saint-Max sighed. "Fine." He didn't like the idea, but there was no time to argue. He took out the numbered card and gave it to Fabian. "Take Tim and leave the city. When I'm done at the bank, I'll contact you."

Fabian nodded, then left with Tim.

Saint-Max turned to Janice. "Get on my back." She did so. "Hold tight." With a dash, he was off to Gluevale Central Bank.

Words: 1016.

Total Words: 7839.