Of Heroes and Villains

The Chapter Where He Meets the Gang

Don was running late.

Not good.

It was his first day on the job, and he was already running late.

It wasn't his fault, though. The blame fell on YouTube. How could he possibly resist clicking "one more video" twenty times in a row? This, of course, lead him to going to sleep too late, making the alarm clock's efforts futile.

'I'm so fucked,' he thought, flying above the crowded city.

Yes, flying.

Don was one of the few humans lucky - or unlucky, depending on your point of view - enough to be born an esper. The abilities of espers are known as vapors, since activating them does release a small bit of red mist, and because all other unique terms are copyrighted.

Don's vapor, Polymorph, allowed him to take the shape of anything he touches. He had the ability to story up the appearances of up to five people or animals, then change into them at will. If he wanted to touch another person or animal, he'd have to discard one of the previous five he can transform into.

He was currently in the form of a hawk, flying as fast as he could to get to his new workplace, excitement on his mind. He liked the thought of becoming a permanent employee, being incapable of seeing himself performing a behind-the-desk job. No, that wouldn't do at all. He needed something more interesting - more dangerous - something to keep him on his toes. He would be willing to take on other espers simply for the fun of it, but to also get paid for doing so? Dream come true.

'Right. Left. Right. Right. Left.' The instructions repeated themselves in his mind, and he finally reached the building he would be working from. You might be wondering why he didn't simply fly above all the buildings, then land in front of the office. Well, he could risk that, but the risk was hardly worth taking. Technology had advanced significantly in the last 30 years, and the sky was typically crowded with jets. Only the rich could actually afford them, but they were also used as a public means of freight transport. They were all on auto-pilot, and built from a unique metal that allowed light to pass through it, so as to not cover the sun, resulting in total darkness for the city. The jets detected one another via means unknown to Don. As long as everything worked, he didn't care for the specifics.

Landing in front of the shabby building, he transformed back into his human self, then grew a pair of clothes from his body. He accomplished this by touching himself while he was wearing a certain outfit he liked. It was a white shirt with the words "Fuck Mondays" written on it in pink. He went with regular jeans to avoid being too flashy.

Why would he go through this trouble instead of just putting on the outfit? Well, transforming into a hawk meant being without clothes, and since that was his most common mode of transport - he loved being free - he figured it was worth the hassle.

The bystanders immediately noticed him when he transformed back into his human self. Some gasped. A few kids cheered, pointing at him and laughing, but most people gave him dirty looks. Being an esper was not as easy as it seemed.

Don didn't care, though. Equal rights were never something he bothered with. If you were incompetent enough to be taken from, you deserved to be taken from.

Don was not a very good person.

He pulled out his phone, then checked himself out in the reflection. Shaggy brown hair, with unusual caramel eyes. A few freckles covered his cheeks, but they were hard to notice. He was of average height, and very thin. He liked being that way; Small and nimble suited his fighting style.

'Here goes nothing.'

He put his hand on the doorknob, then went in. The very first sight was extremely surprising; The inside of the building seemed to be a bar. There was a counter with a whole shelf of drinks behind it. There were no chairs or tables like in normal bars, but there was a living-room-type area with a couch and three armchairs surrounding a small coffee table. A tall girl with dark skin and hair even wilder than Don's own was sleeping on the couch, cuddled up to a bottle of vodka.