"Stop bullshitting me and wasting my time, Riley."
Hannah's voice echoed through the dim alley, her frustration thick enough to cut with a knife. The stench of rotting seafood clung to the air, mingling with the dampness of the cracked pavement beneath their feet. She spun on her heel to glare at Riley, hands planted firmly on her hips. "Where is it? Where the fuck is your power!?"
"Where is it!? Where the fuck is your power!?"
"Hmm."
And why exactly were the two hiding in a dark alley instead of heading to Mega Academy for Hannah's entrance exam?
Well, Riley did not waste any time at all in telling his sister that he was able to move things with his mind.
But as to why they were now standing in filth? Because Riley showed her the tooth, which led to Hannah ripping the bloody tooth from his palm, tossing it in the nearest dumpster, and nearly drowning his hands in alcohol to clean it.
He was proud of the tooth too, a shame.
But, Superpowers.
They had shaped history since the dawn of time. In ancient eras, those born with impossible strength or the ability to bend fire were called gods. Then demigods. Then heroes of myth. Then, as civilization grew, the titles evolved—idols, warriors, mutants.
Now?
Now, they were just called Supers.
Not divine. Not miraculous. Just another fact of life. With one in five humans born with abilities, superpowers have become a mundane part of society. Another step in evolution.
And right now, Riley was trying to prove he was taking that step… or so they both thought.
"The can's not even moving!" she groaned, pointing at the empty aluminum can she had carefully placed on top of a trash bin. Riley stood a few feet away, arm outstretched, fingers splayed, eyes narrowed in concentration.
It had been ten minutes.
Nothing.
"Do you want me to spell it out for you?" Hannah huffed. "That tooth flew at you because of the blood, guts, and chaos. Not because you have powers."
"Could that really be it, Hannah?" Riley glanced at his palm, tracing the faint cut left by the shard of bone. "But the tooth flew through people's legs."
"Ack. You were just shocked by what you saw," Hannah shot back, rubbing her arms as if shaking off the memory. "I mean, fuck... we literally watched a guy die gruesomely right in front of us." She shuddered. "Ugh, now that I'm thinking about it again, I feel like throwing up. Wait, do I still have some guts left on me?"
"But I was not shocked, Hannah." Riley said, tilting his head. He hesitated, as if searching for the right word. "I felt… joy."
Hannah flicked him in the forehead.
"Dude. Don't fucking say that." She cringed, taking a step back. "That's creepy as shit. And when did you even start having emotions, you?"
She exhaled sharply before shaking her head, pushing the thought aside. "You know what? Let's just go. We've already wasted too much time."
"Okay." Riley nonchalantly shrugged.
"Ugh! I was looking forward to having you in the academy as well!" Hannah scrunched up her hair as she walked out of the dark alley. "That would have been so fucking cool if we were together! I mean, aren't you bored being homeschooled by Mom all the time?"
"I do not mind, Hannah." Riley stared at Hannah's back for a bit. He was going to follow her out but then stopped as he looked at another small trash can. He narrowed his eyes and then approached it, rummaging through the trash—and soon, his eyes lit up as he found what he was looking for.
The same one Hannah had thrown away without a second thought. He plucked it from the trash, wiping it against his sleeve before staring at it in quiet fascination.
"This is mine," he murmured.
"Riley!" Hannah's voice snapped him back to reality. "Stop screwing around—let's go!"
He clenched the tooth in his fist before slipping it into his pocket, making sure she didn't see. Then, he followed her toward the sunlight—but just before stepping out of the alley, he cast one last look at the empty can atop the bin.
His fingers twitched.
This time, he focused. Hard. He pushed aside every stray thought, drowning out the city's noise until only a single command remained in his mind:
Move.
His hand tightened into a fist. The veins in his fingers bulged ever so slightly, his pulse thrumming in his ears.
And then—
"Bro, quit it!"
Hannah yanked his hoodie, dragging him into the street before anything could happen. "Dude, you've been watching too much anime."
"I think I was about to move it, Hannah," Riley said.
"No. No, you weren't." Hannah rolled her eyes. "Let's go."
"Okay."
A few moments later as their voices trailed away into the light, the door to a nearby shop creaked open. A middle-aged man in an apron stepped out, dragging a garbage bag toward the bin.
"Jesus, they're finally gone." The man groaned as he approached the very same bin where the can was peacefully resting on top. "I just want to throw the trash without some super kids terrorizing my job, shit."
He grumbled under his breath, rolling his eyes as he reached for the can Riley had been staring at moments before.
His fingers barely brushed against it when—
"What were they even trying to-Hmm?"
BZZT.
A tremor ran through the can.
Then, in the span of a heartbeat, it crumpled.
Shrinking—compressing—imploding into a marble-sized ball of twisted metal.
"What the—Argh!" And once again, before he could even utter a word... his fingers spasmed.
Then, before he could scream, his fingers twisted.
His knuckles collapsed inward with a sickening crunch, bones shattering as if a giant fist had squeezed them into dust.
"F—fuck! FUCK!!"
Blood spurted between what remained of his fingers, shredded flesh peeling away as the unseen force crushed them into pulp.
His cries rang out into the night—
But there was no one left in the alley to hear him.