Mr. Kenta walked into his lodge, bags of food in his hands. "Kids! I'm back! Brought some expensive sushi and…"
He looked around the house, noticing the TV was on, and the moment he saw it, he dropped the bags in his hands.
"This is Reporter Miku, and it seems something has gone horribly wrong at Mr. Sato's speech! People are collapsing and writhing on the floor after being hit with some mysterious gas! What is this gas, and where did it originate from? And did…did Mr. Sato know about this?"
"Damn it," Mr. Kenta said. "The worst possible scenario has come true. Well. What can I say? Damn kids!"
Meanwhile, at Mr. Sato's speech…
"LET THERE BE PEACE!"
Mykhail watched in horror as people started rising, eyes glowing with various, supernatural colors.
"That CAN'T be good!"
Even Kumiko appeared confused, unsure of what to say. "Mykhail…what did he just do?"
As the people looked around, aimless and confused, Mr. Sato began to make his way off the stage. "Enjoy your new gift, and enjoy the new freedom it brings!"
The moment he took a few steps, Mykhail immediately pulled off his bag, opened it, and took out the costume and sword.
"Hey!" Kumiko exclaimed. "What are you—-?"
"It's hero time!" Mykhail replied. "I can smell something fishy from a mile away! Watch and learn!"
He jumped off the building, and the next time Kumiko saw him, he was in his outfit, sword in hand. He landed on the ground, quickly sprinting in front of Mr. Sato, who stopped in his tracks when he saw Justice.
"Hey, you! Stop right there!"
Mr. Sato had a curious and amused look on his face, even as guards swarmed to protect him, guns raised. "Wait."
He narrowed his eyes, watching Justice carefully. "The hero who started it all, at my rally? I'm very, very happy to have you here, Mr….what was it again?"
"It's Justice!" he responded. "What the hell did you do to all those people?"
"Oh, that." Mr. Sato remarked. "I've bestowed upon them a gift. After all, everyone wanted to be just like you, didn't they? And without your help, I could never have made this possible. You should be proud of your work, young man. Very proud indeed."
Some people held their limbs, groaning in pain. Others vomited on the floor, and a few passed out entirely.
"You tricked them!" Justice shot back. "That's not giving a gift! What is this? What do you mean, 'my work?'"
Mr. Sato grinned, and as a soldier aimed his rifle at Justice, Mr. Sato simply raised a hand, making the guard back away. "This place isn't safe for you, hero. Society doesn't take kindly to disrupters."
"What—-?"
Mr. Sato stepped back. "Run."
And just then, a large man ran up and pushed Justice.
BOOM.
He went flying, painfully colliding with a nearby building before dropping to the floor. "Ow, what on earth just hit me?"
He recovered, but the second he stood up, a giant man in a t-shirt blocked his path. "You! You're the one who ruined it all! You've caused the ruin of our society!"
"Did this man just hit me like a truck?" Justice thought. "What the hell did that Sato dude put in that gas?"
"Justice my ass," the man growled. "I'll show you JUSTICE! Everyone! Here he is! Here's the HERO!"
People affected by the gas turned their heads toward the two, making Justice gulp. "That can't be good."
The big man swung at Justice, but he used his sword to block the attack. The impact radiated throughout Justice's body, but he hit the man in the face with the butt of the sword.
"Hey, cut it out!" Justice demanded. "I'm not the one who gassed you! Blame that Sato guy, over there!"
He pointed to the stand, but Mr. Sato was long gone. "Damn it! He got away!"
The man tried to punch Justice again, but he was too slow, and Justice managed to hit him in the face, causing him to stumble backward. "Calm down, man! I'm not trying to fight here!"
The road beneath them started shaking, and large concrete spikes started bursting from the ground, heading right for Justice. "Crap!"
He jumped into the air, avoiding them, but to his surprise they curved upward and grew larger, nearly impaling him. A young boy in a pair of glasses and a jacket emerged from the street itself, tending to the bigger man and glaring at Justice.
"Uncle Fujio! Are you okay?"
Fujio spat out a few teeth and stood up. "Never felt better. This…power…it's AMAZING…"
The teeth immediately grew back, good as new. Justice prepared to engage again, but the boy surrounded the two in a ball of concrete.
"What—-?"
A fireball hit the ground next to him, making him jump back. A bolt of lightning streaked past his head, and the earth itself began to shake, right before a glowing whip wrapped around his body, pulling him right into the center of the rally…
…and in the middle of the angry mob.
"Hey now, people," he stated. "What's the fuss about? Can't we all go about our peaceful ways? After all, aren't you all like me?"
The mob started yelling and approaching him. "Oh, crap."
They backed him up to the stage, and just when they all began to swarm in, a line of tendrils descended, smacking many of them aside and pulling Justice from the middle away to safety.
Before he even knew it, Justice was a few blocks away on top of a roof, where Kumiko, now transformed, was standing. "Kumiko?"
Despite fearing the worst, her mask briefly retracted to reveal her smile. "I saved you! You owe me now!"
"Uh, okay?"
BOOM.
All the way from the rally, one man launched a fireball at the two, causing part of the building to collapse. Kumiko started to lose her footing, but Justice kept her from falling.
"There. Now we're even."
"Nuh-uh! I would have been fine!"
Justice looked over at the mob, who were all still yelling and chanting: "FREEDOM! FREEDOM! FREEDOM!"
"What's wrong with them?" Kumiko asked. "Are they being controlled or something?"
"I don't know," Justice replied. "Why, in only a day, does everyone seem to be as strong as me now?"
The crowd all marched toward the roof the two were on, and Justice quickly grabbed Kumiko. "I think it's time to go!"
"You're RUNNING?"
"Heroes know when not to die! I think."
"I'm not a hero!"
"Just come on!"
He took her arm and jumped away, leaving the angry mob to watch as they escaped. After a moment of silence, Fujio walked to the front.
"Let him go! It's a NEW world now!"
"YEAH!" the crowd cheered.
The young boy from before slipped through the crowd. "Uncle, what do we do now? What even ARE we?"
He put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Now, my dear nephew, we live as we were meant to! Free! With no restrictions on us!"
"Like the hero?" the boy asked.
Fujio smiled. "Even better. Who's with me?"
The crowd cheered in response, yet again chanting the same thing. "FREEDOM! FREEDOM! FREEDOM!"
The news helicopter captured the entire thing, and Miku tried to peep her head out to get a better look.
"Get me closer! I can't see from up here!"
The pilot groaned. "Are you crazy? Those people down there aren't even human anymore! Look at them!"
"I am! Now lower this helicopter, my dear sir!"
"Crazy woman," he muttered.
The mob noticed the helicopter and began to quickly disperse, each of them heading in different directions, to Miku's chagrin.
"Aww, they're leaving me! Look what you've done, you've scared them off!"
The pilot breathed a sigh of relief. "Good."
Meanwhile, at Mr. Kenta's lodge…
Mykhail and Kumiko, both back to normal, slowly crept up to the door of the lodge. They quietly peered inside the windows.
"What are the chances he DIDN'T notice we left?" Kumiko whispered.
"I don't know, this was YOUR idea!" Mykhail whispered back.
"You agreed to it!"
"I guess."
The moment Mykhail tried to tip open the door, it immediately swung open, with Mr. Kenta standing behind it.
"Well, well, well."
Both Mykhail and Kumiko froze. "Hey…Mr. Kenta!"
"Both of you, get inside, NOW."
He quickly hurried the both of them in the door before closing it and locking it with every lock he had. Once they were seated on the couch, he turned the TV back on, which showed a group of newly empowered beings running rampant through city streets.
"Look at this madness," Mr. Kenta remarked. "The one outcome I didn't want to happen has happened."
"That's the thing," Mykhail said. "What EXACTLY happened? All Mr. Sato did was gas the crowd, and now they've got special abilities too?"
Mr. Kenta remained silent for a moment before pointing to the bag that had Mykhail's sword. "That. Your sword's power has been taken and weaponized."
"What?" Mykhail gasped. "They've got the power of the sword?"
Mr. Kenta nodded.
"HOW? It's not like any of them touched it, I've had it with me the entire time!"
Mr. Kenta took Mykhail's sword out of the bag. "This sword is made with a powerful form of energy. That energy granted you power, but under the right circumstances, it can do the same for others. Do you see right here?"
He pointed to the tip of the sword, which was glowing blue, and blue liquid began to drip off of it. "This is a concentration of that energy. If ingested, it can lead to devastating effects: superpowers."
"That's what they're called?" Mykhail asked. "Superpowers?"
"Yes," Mr. Kenta replied. "Special abilities are called superpowers, and those who wield them are called 'superhumans.'"
"So me and Kumiko are…"
Kumiko looked over her body. "Superhuman? Sounds lame."
Mr. Kenta and Mykhail sighed, but the TV immediately shifted channels, and Miku's face appeared on the screen.
"Hello, everyone! This is Reporter Miku bringing you some more late-night news! Check it out!"
The camera focused on a group of "superhumans" breaking into a food store and stealing tons of burgers and sushi out of the shop.
"It seems these newly empowered beings have started running rampant all over the place! They've been looting from shops and houses, stealing expensive vehicles, and even breaking into government-owned factories!"
It shifted focus to a girl breaking a car window and unlocking the car, getting inside, and pulling off. Across the street, a group of kids left a bank with large sums of money.
"We'll keep you updated as the chaos continues! Stay safe, everyone!"
It left a last image of a man taking a woman's purse, seemingly with an invisible hand. Mr. Kenta cut off the TV.
"See? Now that they have the means, they no longer need to follow the rules of society. The bad news is, they're a problem, but the good news? Lots of fun for you, right?"
Mykhail stared at him. "Fun? What makes you think THIS is fun? THIS is not the kind of fun I wanted!"
"Well, when all else fails, the only thing that can stop a super-criminal is a super-hero, am I right?"
"Super…hero?" Mykhail questioned.
"Indeed! Since you're the only hero society has to rely on, even if they didn't ask, and you've got superpowers of your own, it's time for you to go out, and be a true superhero!"
"What am I supposed to do?" Mykhail asked. "Fight them all off?"
"It's simple," Mr. Kenta said. "You go out there, and you restore the peace. Both of you."
Mykhail and Kumiko shared a look.
Meanwhile, in Mr. Sato's office…
Mr. Sato paced back and forth as he waited for Yuiko to arrive in his office. Once she did, he stopped in front of her, his back turned.
"You called, sir?" she asked.
"Yes," he responded, not looking at her. "I assume you've been notified of the results of our little…experiment?"
She nodded. "They've manifested some IMPOSSIBLE abilities. Fire hands, disappearing into thin air, lifting cars and entire houses, even with the latest technology, we wouldn't be able to replicate said abilities!"
Mr. Sato put a hand on her shoulder. "Exactly. Which is why, until our next encounter with the hero, we must treasure what we have."
He lifted a vial, which contained the last bit of the sword's energy. "I will be taking a trip to Fuyushima for a while. I trust you and the others can handle affairs until I get back?"
"But sir, that's across the planet! We don't have full access and governance over that place!"
"I know," Mr. Sato stated. "That's why I'm going. I've got grand plans, dear Yuiko. Grand plans."
"Well, if you're insisting, can I at least have you bring some bodyguards along?"
"No need," he said, walking out of the office. "Take care until I return."
He made a quick pit stop at a nearby room, where a figure remained suspended in a cryogenic pod. "Son. Soon, you WILL be free again."
Then he left.
—-