John was in the car with his dad, the two looked somber as they drove up the road. The car slows down at a detention center for youths. John gets out of the car and closes the door as he takes his bag. Remembering how he and his dad dissed each other as they rode up. William drives off to his house and calls John's mom.
William: Hey, just dropped John at the place.
Mrs. Doe: Hey William, you really think that John deserves this? I just-
William cuts her off.
William: Hey, this isn't my decision, it was an order.
Mrs. Doe: Can we talk when you're here in person? I'm just so tired, you know.
William: Okay sweetie, this is stressful on me too.
Mrs. Doe: Yeah, must be since your "ability" is very lacking.
William: I'm hanging up.
The phone cuts as Mrs. Helsy Doe is laughing, trying to forget the pain she knows John will endure.
Helsy: I'm so sorry John, I know what it's like.
William: Hello, I'm home!
William proceeds to walk through the door.
Mrs. Doe: Hey honey!
William lies on the couch, exhausted and nervous about John.
Helsy: Hey, don't worry about him, he's a tough kid.
William: Yeah, he did get all of your genetics, he should be fine.
Helsy: Haha, not all of them.
She looks at her husband with a flirty smile.
William: Of course he got my devilish charming looks, that's a must have.
The two giggle at their stupid comments, trying to stay positive, for there was nothing they could do to change the outcome.
Helsy: John, I'm so sorry, but one day, you'll know the truth, and why things went the way they went.
Meanwhile John is in a cell cuffed to the table.
Keon: Good morning John. My name is Keon. I'll be your instructor for the next three months.
John gives Keon a dirty glare.
Keon: So, your name is John, quite unique, and you're a late bloomer as well. I only knew one other boy named John.
John: Can we get this over with already?
Keon: Don't act so tough. I've dealt with kids like you before. You're all the same.
John: What the hell is that supposed to mean?
Keon: Your biggest wish was to grow up strong now was it? To beat the bullies up that wouldn't leave you alone, and now you got that.
John: So? Everyone at the bottom wants that.
Keon: Yes, but the problem is that you got your wish, now you think you can do whatever you want, right?
John doesn't answer.
Keon: The problem is that everyone in society has a role to fulfill, you're nothing but a lost soul. Mindlessly throwing power around, you don't have a clue what to do, you have absolutely no clue what to do, nor do you have any control. That's why late bloomers like you are doomed to fail.
John then dents the cuffs slightly, his eyes glow in a furious rage.
John: YOU SHUT THE UP! YOU THINK YOU KNOW ME! I conquered all of New Bostin in two years, I DESERVE TO STAND ABOVE EVERYONE ELSE!
Keon looks at John unimpressed.
John: I'll show you. I'll KICK YOUR ASS RIGHT NOW!
Keon: Sit back down boy.
John: OH YEAH, MAKE ME PRICK!
SLAP!
Keon slaps John across the face, in return he takes a headbutt from John.
John: Don't touch me!
Keon wipes the blood off of his mouth and slams John's head down on the desk.
Keon: I'm an official high ranker, so know your place boy. You're nothing but a brat!
So behave.
Keon slides a picture on the desk.
Keon: Now take a good look at what you did, this is the aftermath of your rampage.
John: Yeah, talk shit, GET HIT!
Keon: Oh yeah, and what about these two?
Keon shows a picture of Claire and Adrion.
John: What about them?
Keon: No mercy, not even for your friends? You're just mindlessly treating everyone the same.
John: Of course, they got exactly what they deserved.
Keon: Is that so?
Keon grabs John by the hair and shows him the pictures, John starts to feel bad but doesn't wanna admit weakness. He closes his eyes.
Keon: Why are you shutting your eyes?
John: IT'S THEIR FAULT, THAT'S WHAT YOU GET WHEN YOU BETRAY ME!
Keon: Oh?
John: AFTER EVERYTHING I GAVE THEM, THEY SHOULD OF STUCK WITH ME!
Keon: Side, with YOU?
Keon uses his ability on John, John's eyes glow red as Keon's glow blue.
Keon: After everything you did?
John flashes back to all the times Adrion and Claire told him to stop beating his opponents to the ground, to all the times when he beat Adrion for speaking up, all the times he betrayed his friends.
John: NO STOP, GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!!
John cries, he knows what he did was wrong, he knows why he's here, yet now he has to go through two more months and twenty nine more days of this borderline mental torture.
Keon: Have you realized your mistakes?
John: Screw you, you piece of shit!
John's eyes glow a fiery orange.
John: You're worthless! GO DIE IN A HOLE!
John's crying at this point.
Keon puts his hand back on John's head.
Keon: Boy you have a lot to learn. You must understand that your actions have consequences! Your classmates are in critical condition, and you're expelled from school. All of these are the results of your ability and what you've done with it.
John sees more pain and violence that he's caused.
John in his head: He's right.
Keon: THIS IS YOUR FAULT!
John in his head: I did all of this.
Keon: TAKE SOME RESPONSIBILITY!
Keon in his head: John, you must learn from history, because one day you'll know the truth, I'm sorry, but I must do this!
John in his head: I was always like this, the only difference is I had power.
John cries as he tells himself this. His red eyes reflect on the metal floor below him as his wrists burn from the cuffs.
John remembers what he heard when he was getting bullied by that low tier.
You're ready.
John laughs to himself.
Keon: What was that boy, you think this is funny?
John doesn't respond.
John in his head: No I'm not, I never was and never will be.
"It's not about what you see yourself as, but what I see you as"
Keon looks at John, he then releases his ability on John and walks out.
Keon: Take the rest of the day to reflect what you just saw. We'll resume tomorrow.
Keon walks out as John cries on his desk.
Meanwhile in Hell, Joker is on a throne in some far off corner, the demons that were sent to torture him are dead. And he looks out into the horizon of flames, remembering how his dad greeted him. He too see's him beating his friends senselessly, crying, but not out of sorrowfulness and pity, but out of self pity, not wanting to be in hell. " It's their fault" he keeps telling himself as the screams of the damned and sirens of the Siren heads go off in the background. He remembers his dad coming into his room after not leaving it for a week.
William: John, what's wrong, you haven't left for a week?
John: Nothing dad? I'm just thinking about some stuff.
William: Well okay then, they sent me a sample of my newest book. I'll leave it here for you.
Maybe it will help.
Joker to himself in hell.
Joker: Psh, delusional.
Joker goes back to memory lane, John takes the book and looks inside it, This book is dedicated to my son. He cringes thinking how embarrassing that is. He reads it, a story about a superhero, with interesting ideologies, philosophy, religion through different perspectives, it's art in its purest form, a love letter to society asking it to change, a crazy statement that could work, a
a masterpiece.
Yet that's not what Joker thought.
The book caused many things to get banned, super hero media, comics, manga, apps like Webtoon and Lezhin comics, Marvel and DC, many animes. A great ban on things over the course of five years.
John reads the book. He loved it, but cried at the end, not because the hero died, but because he knew from the start he wasn't that hero. Despite everything he was right, not because he wasn't able to become one.
No
It was because he never made the effort to change.
Meanwhile John S. Doe in another world thought the same thing, he too thought the same thing after reading the book, trying to push back the pain from hours before.
I'm not strong. I can't even put in the work.
I'm not Brave.
I'm not compassionate.
I hurt a lot of people.
John: I, I couldn't even be there for them.
John cries in bed as remembers the body bags of his parents being loaded in an ambulance.
John: MOM! DAD! DON'T GOOO!
John cried himself to sleep that night. He woke up the next morning remembering his pity speech, it made him feel so awful he felt like killing himself.
John in his head: FUCK THIS.
John gets out of bed.
John: I'm not killing any part of myself.
He gets ready for the day, despite it not wanting him.
John in his head: Yeah I may not be anything that I said I wasn't last night.
but I MUST TRY!
The following week he went to their funeral. After the caskets were lowered in the hole. Everyone left, he remembers seeing familiar faces, a blond family, a red haired one too, but they suddenly fade, he looks behind him to see Keon standing there, not sure why he's at the funeral.
Keon walks up to John to comfort him.
Keon: Hey listen kid, I'm sorry this had to happen now, you know with your parents right after your correction classes. This kinda thing doesn't happen a lot you know.
John: I don't know what to do now, I'm all alone now with this new power, no friends, no family, just me.
John starts to break down again.
Keon: Hey kid listen, I can get you into an elite private school. One where you can make friends with the same power level. We can set something up. They can help you with this power.
John Looks up at Vaughn with confusion. Out of spite and anger he says...
John: Why are you helping me? I'm not your problem now!
Keon: Listen kid, this world sucks, people are always gonna prey on others for petty things like power. Life only gets harder as you grow up. You just had the worst of it, nothing to lose now.
John: It's not that I have nothing to lose. It's that now I have nothing to live for. My greatest desire cost me the last three months I could've had with them, my family. Maybe it's time to move on from this world, nothing left to invest in it.
Keon: No, DON'T SAY THAT SHIT! John you didn't do anything, you fell victim, and if you keep acting like one, then you're letting them win, you're letting society win. Take back your life, hell take the LIVES of those who hurt you! Nothing should stop you now, not even the law.
It was as if time stood still. Remembering the book his dad wrote called unOrdinary. Yes it all made sense now. This world picked on him for being weak and now that he has a fighting chance it tried to take what little he had. Now left with nothing but his will to fight. John Doe is born. He didn't care if Keon was an authority acting crazy right now, nothing could faze him now.
Keon: Well kid?
John looks back at the scruffy man, what was once his captor and instructor, his worst enemy, the man he wanted to kill so badly, now offering his allegiance?
John: Alright then.
Later that night John became what would be the beginning of a world of justice.
And the end of a world of evil.
The end of the world.
To be Continued.....