Three years later, I turned 16 and haven't had a single memory return since I woke up. However, I gained three years of new memories that I can say, make up for the lost ones.
"Kaleb, come downstairs, Malique is waiting on you!" My mom shouted. I rushed down the stairs and into the kitchen to find Malique downing some orange juice.
"Happy birthday Kaleb," Malique said as he dapped me up.
"I can't believe I am having my sixteenth birthday on a school day," I mentioned as we walked to school.
"You know, when we met for the second time, you were scared to walk in the sunlight, what was that all about?" He asked before adding, "Don't tell me, you're a vampire," He said jokingly.
"Ha ha, very funny. I was in a coma after blunt-force trauma and lost my memory, my bad for forgetting what sunlight was," I replied.
We made it to school and our goal was to go to first-period but I wanted to take a detour.
"Hey, Malique, I'll meet you in class I have to use the restroom," I said suddenly.
"OK, I'll see you then," He replied
I walked into the restroom and locked myself in the stall. I grabbed grounding bands from my bag and placed them on my wrist. The bands Immediately discharged the energy stored in my body.
I put the bands into my bag and went to class.
During lunch, I sat with my friends and they talked about the local superheroes.
"Voltaris is the strongest hero of all time, hands down," said Darell.
To which Delilah then responds by saying that Astrion was the strongest simply because he has never been defeated before.
"That is such a basic answer, anyone would say Astrion," Ski argued.
Leon walks over with his phone in his face. "Guys, have you all been watching social media, Mr. Magnetic killed Velo Hawk." The table went quiet for a moment.
Then, everyone's phones in the cafeteria went off simultaneously.
I looked at my phone and a pre-recorded video took over my screen.
It was Mr. Magnetic and a few other recognizable villains, along with some unfamiliar faces.
"Citizens of America, Behold! For too long, you have clung to the false hope that your so-called heroes would protect you, and shield you from the inevitable. You cheered for them, worshiped them, trusted them with your lives."
"But what can they do now?"
"Astrion, your mighty defender, the golden symbol of power and hope lies imprisoned, powerless before us. I can twist the very forces of nature with my power, and yet he crumbled like glass in my hands. His star has fallen, and soon the light you cling to will go out forever."
"And Velo Hawk? Ah, yes, your precious Velo Hawk, faster than any storm, swift enough to escape the clutches of doom, you believed. But speed means nothing in the face of true power. He is no more. His feathers scorched, his wings clipped, and with him, your final breath of freedom."
"We are The Harbingers of Doom. We are the new law, the new order, the reckoning you feared but never hoped would come. I, Mr. Magnetic with The Harbingers of Doom, will tear your fragile world apart. And my allies, yes, the darkness, the chaos, the power, they are coming. Together, we will reshape this world into a monument of order, forged in iron, bound in shadows."
"But don't be mistaken... There are still some heroes out there, lurking in the shadows, plotting to undo what we have built! But... Let... Them... Come."
"The Harbingers will hunt them down, one by one. They can run, they can hide fear behind their masks, but it won't matter. We've already killed your swiftest. We've broken your strongest. Every so-called champion that dares to stand against us, will share the same fate. We will make an example out of every one of them until their names are nothing but being carved into tombstones."
"No more heroes. No more resistance. Your champions have fallen, your hope is crushed, and now, you will bend the knee. Welcome to your new era."
"The age of heroes is over. The reign of The Harbingers has commenced."
"And it will be... Unconquerable."
The video ended and immediately following that, every kid in the cafeteria called their parents. My mother called me and told me to be ready for her to pick me up because I would assume the message was broadcast all over the country.
Almost thirty minutes later, my mom picked me up and took me home. I can see why she would do that, Chicago has a bad rep for the supervillain-to-hero ratio. Once I got home, she told me to pack essentials and to do so quickly. She rushed past me and went to her room to find my dad. I blew into my room and started packing immediately.
But I for some strange reason could hear them speaking. We don't have thin enough walls to hear conversations, and they weren't speaking loud enough to be considered shouting. I stopped in my tracks and listened.
"You know it's the right thing to do. I can't be selfish to these people. If I don't do anything now, then imagine how bad it could get?" My dad said before my mother said,
"You threw that life behind you to start a family, plus, you gave your powers up to have a family."
The conversation went silent for what felt like five seconds and then my mom asked,
"You didn't, did you?
The quietness lasted for moments and then my dad said, "I cannot let them take our home from us Sabrina. I just can't... It's not in my nature."
"What about the kids?" my Mom asked.
"Hide them. They don't need to experience this life," my Dad said.
"You need to be there to watch them grow up. You don't know how long this will take, Marcus," She pleaded.
Then the arguing began and it was a power struggle between who makes the call. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, my dad was a superhero, and they were arguing.
Then, I heard my mom say, "If you don't stay by my side, don't ever come back to us."
Hearing this broke my heart. I cannot believe the ultimatum she gave him.
"Take care of them, Sabrina," My father said, and the sound of the wind breaking ended the conversation.
I froze in place and tried to process this. I couldn't hold it in and just broke down in the middle of my room. I could hear my mother crying while trying to hold herself together. I nearly used up all my tears. I leaned against my room door put my head on my knees and let it all out.
Then, I could feel something strange. I looked up at the light switch and my body told me to touch it. I recall this sensation when I woke up from a coma. I looked at my grounding bands and something was telling me to not put them on. From where I was sitting, I reached my hand up and touched the switch and my body was in a moment of euphoria.
This felt nothing like the first time. This felt like the best feeling ever, it cannot be explained. I noticed that the flesh of my hands gleamed with red light. The first time felt like I was gonna explode. This feels like relaxation. I stood up and touched my grounding bands to release the power.
I looked at my action figure of Astrion and said, "I'm just like you."