Adam opened his eyes to find himself in a hospital room, several IV's attached to his hands, his body covered in medicinal plaster. His face had signs of heavy bruises and some bones had been deformed into fractures.
After a few minutes, the memories began flooding back in, as a few tears were shed from his eyes. Adam was in the hospital because he had been terribly beaten up by his own father, the D class hero Venerate.
To come from a genealogy of heroes, Adam had the weight of heavy expectations that he too, like his parents and his two siblings would grow up into a well reputed hero. Alas, Adam had grown up finding out that he did not awaken any ability at all.
The result of this discovery was a culmination of heavy bullying at school and parental abuse at home. As the son of a hero, Adam had lived a privileged life, with the expectation that he would become the next pillar of the Eggars family. However, today he was in the hospital, beaten to almost death by his own father.
A nurse entered his room along with a woman in an OL outfit and thick rimmed glasses. She brought with her a folder containing papers.
"Mr. Adam Eggars, are you feeling better now?" She asked as she adjusted her glasses. "My name is Melanie, and I am from the Department of Corrections."
Adam breathed out a sad sigh. The department of corrections was the government's department that handled Hero misdemeanours and ensured that the hero brand wouldn't be tainted by their frivolous actions.
Melanie continued speaking. "The department of Corrections understands the severe threat to your life while staying at home. Unfortunately, as you know, registered ability users are granted immunity from such criminal situations." She said as she shook her head. This wasn't the first time she had come across a case like this, but this D class hero Venerate had been really brutal towards his own kid. Years of practice had helped her steel her heart.
Adam turned to look at the woman. "Then why are you here?" His voice was filled with resentment at his father, this woman and this perverse world where the strong lorded over the weak.
Melanie halted a moment before speaking. "The department of corrections has noted that it is unsuitable for you to live with your family. As compensation, you will be provided a new identity, new home and a secure allowance from D class hero Venerate's subsidy. You will also get a special preference for an E class administrative job in the government."
Adam looked away. "Okay." He replied in a resigned tonal voice. He had to agree. As an ordinary powerless individual, did he have a choice in the matter? While this person phrased it as a protective move for his own safety, he knew it was essentially ensuring that the ability bloodline wasn't diluted. He was being ripped out of his own family without his will.
"Is that why no one from my family visited me yet?" He asked in a weak voice.
Melanie nodded, but internally griped. This lad's family was really heartless. In fact, it had been his family which pushed for this move in the first place. But eventually, she knew how much ability users were valued after all. An ability less offspring could be a threat to the family's bloodline.
Adam closed his eyes and the woman from the Department of corrections moved out. The nurse left along with the woman, leaving an empty quiet in the room.
As Adam tried to sleep however, he felt a hot feeling envelop his body, like a rapid fever. His heart rate elevated quickly and he felt an energy bloom from within his mind and wash over his entire body.
Adam opened his eyes in shock. "This... am I finally awakening an ability now?" He screamed in his heart.
Ability awakening was a truly mysterious phenomenon. It was said that people would randomly awaken abilities, though awakening abilities after the age of fifteen was very rare, yet it was not unknown for people to awaken abilities under heavy duress.
Now, Adam had awakened an ability! As Adam blinked, he saw text appear in front of his eyes, a common sign of ability awakening. Once the ability awakens, a status screen manifests for every user, displaying the details of their abilities.
[Ability - Snatch]
[Grade - Variable]
[Details - You can steal the ability within other individuals if they are willing, if they cannot resist or if they are dead.]
Adam wasn't unaware about this status. Growing up in a hero family, he had considerable training about heroes and their internal secrets. The Grade of an ability was usually organized from H to A in a descending order, alphabetically. Some abilities however, couldn't be clearly demarcated in the strength scale, and the power of the ability depended upon how they were used. They were usually listed as Variable and were extremely rare.
Adam took in a deep breath. Snatch! It was actually this devilish ability that was often described in the most powerful villains in the movies and comics. However, this kind of stealing ability was considered to be theoretically impossible by experts, because the load on the user would be enough to kill them. Yet, Adam had actually awakened such a terrifying ability.
His face was expressionless, but few could guess what Adam was beginning to think in his heart at this moment. He couldn't wait to leave the hospital, shed his past identity and rise from the ashes like a phoenix!