5 years after the golden blessing…
I opened my eyes inside of a dimly light and messy room as the small tv in the corner droned on about some nonsense. I heaved a deep sigh and got started with my routine. A swift shower, eating two pieces of half stale bread, a hearty breakfast if you ask me, and getting suited for work.
"Don't miss this this month's big winner of "Power Tower!" Tonight's episode will be airing 6pm EST and-" I switched the T.V off and closed the door to my one room apartment. The old wood on the stairs bent and creaked with sounds that were all too familiar to me by now. I walked over to my steel mailbox and as I shuffled through the bills and travel flyers a rough voice came up from behind me.
"Get out of my way." A short gruff old man pushed pass me as he waddled over to his mailbox. He's probably still mad about that "incident" I had with him a few months ago. I just brushed him off. The apartment complex I lived in was old and in a bad part of town, so I had become accustomed to this type of behavior. This was all just a part of my morning routine.
Ever since Randy blew Joshua's head off my life had taken a turn down the drain. It wasn't all bad at first though, in fact, it started with fame. News stations, papers and even some talk shows interviewed me and Randy due to the bizarre situation we were in during the golden blessing. Since we were the only two that fought back, we were the main targets of attention. All though I always took a back seat in every appearance since Randy was the one who had developed the flashy power. Eventually they stopped contacting me all together and focused on him. I wasn't resentful of it or anything, I got my fair share of money after all. Joshua's parents did try to sue, saying some nonsense about excessive force, but thanks to Randy's quick rise to fame he was able to pressure them with his own money and influence. I think he was even contacted by a hero agency.
Hero agencies were quickly formed after the awakening. They helped to reduce the amount of vigilantes that conducted their own sense of justice upon society and gave heroes a real way to earn money for their deeds.
I didn't even think about being a hero. I learned something about myself when I had that gun pointed at me all those years ago. I'll never be willing to jump in the way of a bullet to save someone else. A hero is naturally someone who sacrifices things they care about for strangers. I wasn't that. I only ever fought back because my own life was in danger. Me being a hero would be like a fish being a pilot.
There's another, even more depressing, reason as to why I can't be a hero. It's because of the useless ability I was gifted. I can perfectly control my emotions regardless of the situation. For example, if someone started to curse me out and insult me, I could use my power to calm myself down, or if I wanted to fake sadness, I could make myself sad and cry real tears. An incredibly minor ability and something most people could do on their own with a little bit of training and self-control. At first, I thought that being an actor could put my power to use but why would someone want an ordinary actor when there are people who can do the real thing. Special effects got replaced with actual flight and real super speed after the birth of superpowers. So, my useless superpower is just something that occasionally makes my life slightly more convenient.
I closed my mailbox, stepped out of the dilapidated building, mounted my bright yellow bike, and pedaled the full thirty-minute commute to work.
Truthfully, anyone driving a car to work is just slowly killing themselves. I do this not because I'm poor, b⁹ut because I'm in shape. Sitting is the #1 killer in America after all. Yeah, I'm just ages ahead of the game! It's true…
I finally arrived at my destination. "Jason in the cube." A popular fast-food chain especially in this area. I chained up my bike and went inside. The scent of greasy burgers and French fries tickled my nose.
"Morning Ben."
"Good morning." I greeted my boss and walked into the back. Although I worked at a fast-food restaurant nothing I did actually had to do with food. My job was much more degrading then simply flipping burgers or serving people.
I was a mascot. I'd go around the block dressed as Jason and promote the restaurant by staying in character and having conversations with people. It was my boss's idea of "good advertisement" I was just glad to get a pay raise despite how embarrassing it was at times. Besides, this was one of the jobs my power actually did help with. I could Perfectly fabricate the arrogance and cockiness of Jason by making myself genuinely feel cheeky and arrogant.
As I put on the cheap business suit and round white mask to match the Jason image, my boss called out to me.
"Hey, you know that bank down on Routledge Av.? Apparently, it's offering a new loan policy and you best believe that there'll be a bunch of foot traffic around there so I need you head on down there, maybe start directing some of those hungry mouths to our restaurant."
"Alright I'm on it." I grabbed a bag of food for lunch and set out for work.
----
In a dark and unidentified location, an argument occurs between six figures.
"How in the world is a miniscule bank robbery is supposed to be the start of our revolution!" A gruff and bulky man asked.
"As much as I hate it, I have to agree with the meat head." A jade and silky voice contrasted the previously gruff one. "How is this in any way intimidating. I thought we wanted to send a message. We can't start with such a small attack; they'll think we're a joke."
"You're all fools. A deep and smooth voice chided in. "We can't just start with all out destruction. We need to ease into this."
"Kill! We should just kill the entire city!" A disgusting gurgling voice said disturbingly.
"Calm down you freak." Said the jade voice.
"No. He's got a point." Said the gruff voice.
"I'm surrounded by idiots." Said the deep voice.
"Kill! Kill!" Gurgled the disgusting voice.
"Quiet." A surprisingly normal voice said. It was just one word, spoken in a low even tone, yet it shut everybody else up. It was obvious who the boss was.
"Do not question my decisions. Why can't you all be more like him." The boss pointed to a small sixth figure that had been abnormally silent.
"But that kid never talks."
"That's exactly why I like him," everyone rolled their eyes at the apparent boss, "Just trust me. We need to first show them that we know more then they think. That specific bank is owned by one of their best financial backers. The small amount we're taking from it also holds significance. Just learn to trust me."
"This first move isn't to show them how much mindless destruction we can cause, it's to show them how capable we are. Besides, we have plenty of disposable minions who will mindlessly do things like rob banks if we offer them enough money. So it's of no loss to us."
The boss leaned back and stretched. "Just loosen up and enjoy the show. Your about to witness history. The start of a revolution."
-----
"What did you say you punk!?"
"You heard me! I said Jason in the cube is terrible! Your burgers taste like horse dong!"
"That's really the last straw."
There was always one guy who thought it'd be funny to provoke the innocent mascot and cause a commotion. I've had plenty of kids and dumb teenagers try and mess with me. So I was prepared to give the best performance that I could. I used my power to make my blood boil and my veins pop out in anger. I Involuntarily clenched my knuckles and scowled as I become filled with rage. From here, what I'm doing can no longer be considered "acting" all my words rolled off the tongue since they were my genuine emotion.
"What are you gonna do? I bet you're all skin and bone behind that mask!"
"You wanna see what I can do? I can't fight you here but let's take this to Kramdus!"
"Let's go! Is Kramdus a bar or something?"
"Kramdus wenis in your mouth!"
You've been crushed by my literary prowess You Fool!
"Why you little!"
We started to scuffle as a crowd slowly gathered. With people recording and gawking at the bizarre scene. When I deemed it to be at a sufficient size, I raised my hand for him to stop and pulled a vanilla shake out of my lunch bag.
"Why don't you take this vanilla shake, that can be bought for $2 with any burger and side of fries at Jason in the cube, and we'll call it a day." Although I was huffing and puffing from exhaustion, I think I'm getting sickeningly good at this advertisement stuff.
The man made a slight grin as he took the drink and walked away. He was just an actor the boss had hired to get eyes on the brand and to appeal to the wildcard image of Jason. The small crowd that had gathered gave me us some light applause. I bowed my head and blew out air kisses while making myself calm once again with my power. Thanks for watching folks!
It was then that my watch went off. It was time for a lunch break. I stretched and put down the sign I was carrying around so people could at least still see it while I was gone. I ducked into an alleyway and came to a quiet little spot that was directly behind the bank. I squatted down and took a deep breath. Being a mascot is already hard but today it felt more taxing for some reason. Was it because it was getting hotter at this time of year? At times like this you need to just eat some good food and forget about it.
I opened my bag and prepared to dig in, but the honk of a horn stopped me. Looking up, I could see that there was a quiet road at the end of the ally on which a white van was parked. I tried to ignore it and go back to eating but it they honked again, twice this time, while the driver rolled the window down. A man wearing a bear mask waved me over. "You gun' use a Jason in The Box bag of all things?" He asked with a thick country accent.
Is that what this is about? This guy is just another punk trying to provoke me to see an amusing reaction. What's so wrong with Jason in the box? Sorry buddy but I'm on my break right now and certainly not in the mood to get into any real fights. Instead of blowing up like he probably expected I just silently nodded my head.
"Well ain't it kinda small?"
Looks like he isn't going to give up easily. "It's all I need." I replied nonchalantly. The guy went silent like he was contemplating something, and then reached out his hand.
"I know we're only taking a small amount, but it doesn't hurt to make sure."
What are you even talking about? I looked at him like he was an idiot. Although he couldn't see my expression because of the mask. Why are you trying so hard to make me mad. Well, I'm not gonna let you. With the nature of my power, it was impossible to make me angry unless I willingly allowed it.
I just handed him the bag and crossed my arms. If he really tried to steal it I could probably get my boss to give me even more free food so it was a win-win. He then took the bag and put it in one palm and opened his other palm next to it. It looked like he was trying to weigh it except nothing was on his other palm. What the hell is he doing? I reached to take my bag back but then something started to happen on his other palm. A second Jason in the cube bag materialized in his empty hand.
It was identical to the first one in almost every way. Except for the fact that there was no food in it. He handed me both bags and sat back. I heard the click of the van door unlocking followed by a "get in."
It seems I've severely misjudged the situation. I thought he was just trying to provoke me before but now it feels like he had recently escaped from a mental asylum. This was quite possibly the most random encounter I'll have in my life and I'm not in a rush to stay here.
I turned around to sprint out of there but before I could even take a step. The back wall of the bank burst open. Bricks and debris went flying everywhere and I covered my face to shield myself from the dust. Slowly, the dust cleared and what I saw was… strange. A huge reptilian man covered with green scales came out of pretty much nowhere and looked right at me.
"Hurry up and get in."
"Ok."
I didn't think it was a good idea to disobey this guy at all. His torso alone was twice the size of mine and his lizard maw looked like it could snap concrete in half. I slid open the side of the van and hopped in. In the back there was a skinny guy who had tech augmentations littered across his body and a chicken mask on his head. He looked like a cyborg and acted like one too, he didn't even look up from his laptop when I stepped in and kept tapping away at light speed. I sat next to him hesitantly. The lizard jumped in behind me, barring off my exit, and the bear masked driver sped off.
I looked around me in slight shock of how abruptly I had been pulled into this situation. I went from directing people to a restaurant and having lunch, to being stuck in a white drug van with a bear driver, a skinny robot chicken and a giant lizard man. Then there was me with two greasy paper bags and a rising headache.
I would swear this kind of stuff only happens to me.
Meanwhile…
A very confused young bank robber in a white ghost mask, which eerily resembled the Jason in The Cube mascot, and a suit stood in front of the caution tape that now surrounded the bank as police launched their investigation.
"Did they forget me?"
He looked around in confusion while swinging a large brown grocery bag.
You gotta hate misunderstandings.