Of Good & Evil

Prologue V - Parental Guidance Suggested

Anthony was what most people would call blunt. He didn't have any restraint. It couldn't be helped. He was fourteen years old and had powers. When a boy is one of the extremely rare boys who has powers all his life, he develops an ego of sorts. That was one thing he had no shortage of, ego. No matter the challenge, no matter the situation, he just assumed he would come out on top.

Someone with such a high opinion of their own abilities wouldn't let something as simple as the law get in their way. If ever he needed something, he would take it. If ever someone wanted to fight him, he fought them without a second thought. He did what he wanted when he wanted, and if someone objected, he would beat them up. Because he did what he wanted, he also rejected the name he was born with. He went by Xenon.

On top of his massive ego, Xenon was crude. That had more to do with his age than his powers, but it was one of the first thing most people noticed about him. He was constantly pushing people away with his crudeness. There was a near endless cycle of rejection caused by his complete lack of modesty.

Xenon had grown up without parents. He had grown up without a role model showing him what was acceptable and what wasn't. Now that his hormones were in full force, these problems were beginning to come to the surface.

As with every night, he did what he wanted. What he wanted tonight was to get into the strip club just down the street from where he was staying. Because he wanted that, there was no question about it. Because he wanted it, he was going to use everything in his power to get it.

He had to get ready first. He pulled up the timer on his phone. He wanted to know how long this would take him.

"And... start," he said with enthusiasm. He pressed the start button and sprinted toward the shower.

Xenon cleaned himself, stepped out, dried off, and put on his tan shorts, a white t-shirt, and a light blue hoodie. He combed his hair in the mirror, sprinted to his closet, grabbed his black and white Vans, and sprinted back to the bathroom. He applied deodorant, a dash of cologne, and sprinted back to the kitchen. He looked at the timer, which had just passed 30 seconds.

"Alriiight, new record," he said with satisfaction as he closed the app.

Now, while he may have been blunt, crude, and would jump into a fight without hesitation, he wasn't stupid. He knew using his powers in public was the fastest way to attract unwanted attention. He learned at a very young age that it can be extremely difficult to live in the open with powers when someone as young as he was lived on their own. Because of this, he generally tried to keep his powers quiet when he was out in the open.

He grabbed his favorite beanie and skipped down the stairs at, what seemed to him, a very slow pace.

He walked down the street toward his destination, taking care to note and avoid any situation that might require him to use his powers. He even avoided situations where he might use his powers accidentally. After what felt like an eternity, he had finally arrived. He could hear the music booming inside, the lights shining bright around the building, and the carpet leading to the entrance. He was absolutely giddy with excitement.

He casually strolled up to the front door and was quickly stopped by a bouncer.

"You lost, kid?" the bouncer asked.

Xenon looked around, searching for the person the bouncer was talking about. Why would someone leave a kid at a strip club? After looking around for a few seconds, he looked back to the bouncer.

"You lose somethin'?" the bouncer asked.

"Nah, I'm just looking for this kid you were talking about." Xenon said, still half looking around.