Kicked Dreams
The first reported incident was in Portland, Oregon. A little girl was born with extraordinary magical abilities. After that, cases popped up all over the world. There were theories involving the government, aliens, but nothing was ever proved concerning the sudden mutations and powers. Overnight scientists banded together to explain the strange phenomenon and came up with a simple answer. Evolution. Our world was turned upside down in a matter of days, what we came to know as villains, crime spiked and violence was always a go-to. It wasn’t until the era of vigilantes, that regulations were set in motion. The order was established and a new profession reigned supreme; Pro Heroes. Pro heroes depended on the people for a living and a new rank in the profession helped dictate wages. The flashier the quirk the more people liked you. The more attention you received the more you were paid. Heroes depended on staying in the spotlight. One-trick-ponies have no place in the hero world.
"People aren't born equal. I learned this at a very young age. Only those with strength and power persevere. I have neither. How am I supposed to save someone, when I myself am considered weak and powerless. How am I supposed to inspire hope for a peaceful world when I could die at the flick of someone's wrist. People are not born equal, so it's important to stand for those who can't stand themselves; even when your very life may be endangered."
“1, 2, 3, 4, 5,” - I whispered to myself. Slowly but surely moving up and down on my pull up bar.
When I had woken up it was still dark out and decided against my usual routine. It was way too cold to go on a run, instead, I had decided on strength training for the day. 90 Squats, 90 crunches, and 60 pull-ups. That was the plan. Being a hero isn’t an easy task and takes years of training. It will be especially hard for me considering my power. I hoped to get mom’s healing quirk or dad’s teleportation quirk, but instead, I’m stuck with this. Don’t get me wrong when I first manifested my quirk I thought I was amazing... but I soon found it’s limitations. That won’t deter me, I will become a hero, and I will become a beacon of hope that everyone can depend on. Snapping out of my thoughts I look at the clock. The clock read 06:34.
Shit, I’m going to be late if I shower, but if I don’t shower I’ll begin to reek mid-day. UUH
Finishing my set, I jumped off the pull-up bar. I felt my muscles relax and stretch as I reached down to pick up my towel. That was the best feeling after a workout, the stretching. Feeling the tension fade away, feeling like a well-oiled machine. I quickly head out of my room and to the bathroom peeking into mom’s room.
Asleep. Good.
I jump in the shower and scrub all the sweat off quickly keeping the time in mind. I jump back out grabbing a new towel and dry myself off walking back to my room. As I reach my closet I grab my uniform. I never liked wearing the skirts they made us wear and the teachers could never get me to follow the dress code. I eventually got my way and they even updated the rule which allowed girls to wear slacks and blazers (as long as they were up to the male dress code). I quickly put on my black slacks, black loafers, white button-up, and black blazer. The only thing I liked about the uniform was the red stitching it made the outfit seem less depressing and made it pop. I look in the mirror making sure my hair is brushed and the uniform is on straight. I admire the stitching for a bit too long, giving my mom a chance to walk in.
“Luz? What are you still doing here? Won’t you be late?” - Mom asked me, clearly just woken up.
I’m so toast.
I look at the clock which now reads 07:07.
“Sorry, Mami. Te desperte?” - I asked concerned. I hated waking up mom after her late-night shifts at the hospital. She worked hard for us, the least she deserved was a well night rest; or well mornings rest?
“No Luz don’t worry, I always set an alarm at this time to make sure you’ve headed off to school.” - She said warmly, smiling at me.
I felt a bit guilty but I knew I wasn’t the most responsible. I knew she only did it to make sure I was on time.
“Okay,” I smiled, pausing for a sec. “, I’m off. Kiss.” - I leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. I felt her smile, she quickly grabbed my face kissing me on both cheeks, and kicked me out ushering me to school.
As I leave the residential areas, I can see the town center. I quickly weave through people on the sidewalk and jog in between blocks, only stopping at the crosswalk. As I’m weaving and dodging people I look up to see The Horned Owl Merch on one of the big screens. I gawk at it, long enough to bump into someone. I land on my ass wincing at the pain a bit. I looked up to see an older woman in her early 40’s or late 30’s; I could never tell. She looked pretty young considering she had a small streak of grey hairs growing amongst her dark black hair.
“Woah, there kid. What the rush? Steal something?” - The lady chuckled.
“WHaT? No, I’m sorry. I was just a bit distracted by the new Horned Owl Merch...” - I said slightly blushing from excitement. I was about to geek out when I heard her scoff.
“Let me guess. You want to be a hero?” - She paused waiting for an answer, her dark teal eyes once entertained now looked like they were burning a hole through my soul. Suddenly I felt vulnerable.
Instead of answering, I avoided the question completely; she was clearly not a fan and there was no way I’d get into a fan brawl before school.
“Uum. I’m sorry I’m headin’ off to school and I’m already late. Again, so sorry!” - I said as I ran off. Looking back once more, I saw her slender face disappear, but I noticed that her eyes never left me once. The same despising look lingered in her eyes until she disappeared behind the crowd.
Yeesh
I finally arrived at school with 2 mins to spare. Unfortunately, that lady made me nervous that the morning shower I once relished in, was no more. That lady freaked me out.
“Okay class, settle down. Today’s an important day.” - He paused as if to tempt us, but we all knew what day it was.
“Okay, who’s ready to choose their next hero school!”
The class erupted in cheers. Talking amongst their cliches, as I patiently waited for my paper to be passed down. I already knew where I wanted to apply, I mean everyone did. U. A. High. It was by far the most demanding and prestigious school with dozens of Pro Hero Alumni. Heroes like The Horned Owl, Dominance, and even Azura all graduated from UA and went on to be remarkable heroes. This was my next step, I need to get into UA to be a hero.
“I need these papers by the end of tomorrow!”- The Professor stated. He looked straight at me with a raised brow.
“Research your options well. You’ll be stuck at the school of your choice for the next three years! Everyone has been informed, so get to it!”
The Professor had been explaining the process and the consequences of not turning the paper in on time. Unfortunately for me, I had been spacing off.
Great, now who's going to help me with this?
I stood up only to have a force immediately push me down.
“So Luzer, where are you going to apply?”- Amos gave me a cocky look.
A boy and two girls were standing behind him awaiting my answer. I instantly remembered the playground.
“None of your concern, leave me alone.”- A frown formed on my face, a knot in my stomach.
I still don’t understand why he chooses to pick on me. I manifested my quirk and wasn’t as weak as he thought. I could hold my own in a sparring match. Probably.
“Come on Nightlight, just tell me I won’t get mad.”- He coos trying to taunt her.
Both girls behind him snicker. This pisses me off. I stand up making Amos back up. I stand in a gap between the desk and puff my chest out a bit.
“Fine! I’m GOING to UA High and there is no way you’re going to stop me from applying.”- I finally said proudly.
Big mistake. Amos’s face contorted from his cocky grin to a devilish frown, almost a poker face, but his eyes; his eyes held so much hate and anger and yet they seemed to stare past me. He slowly strutted closer. I hadn’t realized I was backing up until my back hit the front of the classroom. I frantically looked around for help. The only help was rushing out the door, as Amos’s friends dipped.
“Listen up Luz, I will be the ONLY student from this crappy-ass school to get into U.A. Why would they want a weakling like you when they could have me?”- He smirked, making sure every word cut into me.
“What are you going to do with your power? Do you really think villains will run away or fear you Nightlight?” - He laughed in my face, making my eyes sting.
He never laid a hand on me when we were on school property. I was never physically hurt, but I always felt my heart clench, as my dream chipped away when he insulted me. He was no hero to me. At that moment, all I wanted was to disappear, poof out of existence, anything that would make me feel better. Instead, I was greeted with a loud bell. Amos was gone and the only thing in the room was my satchel near the door. Amos must have kicked it in that direction before he left. I picked up the now crumpled paper. I slowly straightened it looking at the only thing written.
UA High School. Ha, am I a joke?
I pick up my satchel and head home. Leaving the campus I look up.
The sun feels nice. Today would be a great day to practice.
Instead of going straight home, I decided to pick up an energy drink and some sweets to cheer myself up. As I turn the corner, I see multiple people jog past me. Confused, I continue to walk. As I get closer to the store, I can hear a commotion get louder and louder. I quickly speed up until I reach the entrance. I slowly poke my head around the opened door.
“HURRY THE HELL UP. We don’t want any heroes showing up anytime soon!”- The Villain in charge scolds the group. They seem to be following her.
Villains? What the hell am I supposed to do? I should leave, the heroes will be here soon.
I was about to turn around when something near the corner of the store moved. A little boy, a crying little boy; but he wasn’t alone, there were 4 other people in the small store. They must have been here when the villains attacked. There was no way I could leave now. I had to do something while the heroes got here. There was a crowd slowly beginning to form far from the stores’ entrance.
This is so stupid!
“Hmm, hey guys! Do you know if they sell air freshener here?”- I was sweating bullets rubbing the back of my head.
AIR FRESHENER LUZ???REALLY????
My sudden entrance stopped them all in their tracks, the little boy even looked at me confused. He probably thought I was from another world.
“I’ve been all over and haven’t been able to find any.”- I force a fake smile. I can feel the sweat running down my face and gradually drench my collar.
“Are you having a stroke?”- One of the Villains’ partners asks. He was a buff man white man, at least a foot and a half taller than me with no visible mutations of quirks, but he had some weird goggles on.
“Hey!? That’s a rude thing to say! No, I’m not having a stroke, I’m just looking for a drink.”- I retorted.
“You want to drink Air freshener?”- He asked, confused.
Shit.
“SHUT UP BOTH OF YOU!”- The lady in charge scolded the man and glared at me.
“Can you not see she’s trying to distract us? FOOL.”
As she continued to scold the man I took my chance. I pulled down one of the displays, earning a scoff from the store owner and getting the attention of the villain.
“LUZ-BANG”- I jumped off the fallen display and let out a warrior cry. I clasped my hands together condensing the energy until my hands broke apart above my head, I used all the power I had stored.
Good thing it was sunny today, huh.
LUZ NOCEDA:
QUIRK: STARLIGHT
“HER QUIRK ALLOWS HER TO TAKE ENERGY FROM ANY POWER SOURCE AND CONVERT IT INTO ITS PUREST FORM. SHE CAN TAKE THE ENERGY FROM THE SUNS’ RAYS, MOVING OBJECTS, ORGANISMS LIKE PLANTS AND TREES. THE ENERGY IS CONDENSED INTO HYDROGEN AND HELIUM ATOMS CREATING MICROSCOPIC STARS. SHE CAN’T TAKE THE ENERGY FROM A PERSON OR COMPLEX LIVING ORGANISM.”
"AFFILIATION: NONE"
“AGE:14” ; “BIRTHDAY: 02/25”
“HEIGHT: 156 CM" ; “BLOOD TYPE: O-”
“LIKES: TARO MILK TEA”
The villains all cower in pain and roll on the ground clutching their eyes. Luckily, all the hostages had been huddled in the corner of the store and didn’t get hit by my quirk.
This wasn’t the best idea. I could have hurt one of them.
“HEY, GUYS GET OUT, QUICK BEFORE THEY RECOVER!”- I run over to them as they begin to look up.
I quickly picked one of them, making the rest follow, they all rushed out of the store, the little boy being carried by his father.
“Wait, daddy! We forgot Slicker!”- The little boy calls back, enticing me to turn back.
As I reached the corner of the store, I realized it was a stuffed lizard plush. I quickly pick it up and rush out of the store entrance…. or so I was hoping. I was suddenly jerked back as something caught on the collar of my button-up.
“Did you think you’d get away that easily? After losing our leverage against the heroes? No, I think we’ll take you instead.”- She snarled in my face, showing me her teeth.
Holy shit, her teeth are sharp. Her teeth must be her quirk. How the hell am I going to get away. Stupid Slicker.
As I look out the store's opened doors, I see the little boy in the crowd along with his dad. I chuck the lizard out the door. Only for it to hit a lady in the face that had walked through a gap in the crowd. I shrink into myself.
Noooo. uhh, I can’t even throw right.
The lady chuckles and hands the stuffed lizard to the boy. It isn’t until she walks closer that I realize WHO she is. She was wearing civilian clothes. A cream shirt that fit her well, but was a bit too tight on her arms, along with a pair of dark jeans and brown loafers.
“The Horned Owl..”- It barely comes out as a whisper but she heard me, she just chuckled as she stared at me. The villain currently holding me by the scruff began to stutter.
“Th-The what? No. She can’t. She can’t be here. SHE SHOULDN’T. BE. HERE!”
I look up to her. Her face drained completely of color, her teeth were nothing but nubs. In my peripheral vision, I could see 5 of her buddies leave out the back. Heroes were most likely going to cut them off. Suddenly I felt the ground as I was dropped on my face. As I lifted my head, I saw them try to run out the back like the rest of her previous crew, but The Horned Owl is too strong, too fast to be beaten like that. She flew into the store and reached the exit before they even made it. She smirked at them quickly taking them down with one concussing blow.
Wait, she didn’t even touch them… How..?
She tied them up with a chain that was supposed to separate workers and customers from the front counter. I can’t say the chain worked very well. I snapped out of my thoughts when I realized she was looking at me with a friendly smile.
“You Okay Kiddo?”- The Horned Owl asks. You can hear the power in her voice.
“Y-YEah.”- I clear my throat and look at her.
She looks even cooler in person.
“You know… you’ve got guts kid. That could have gone wrong. It’s okay to be brave, it's not okay to be stupid and reckless.”- She states. She turns back to the villain pile and leaves a note on the Villain lady’s head.
I didn’t know how to respond and instead watched her run out the back doors, she could have been going after the rest of the villains. I snapped out of my trance and followed after her. As I burst through the doors she flinches and raises her hands away from the sudden noise.
“Wait! Please! Answer me this…”- I paused I couldn’t think of what to ask.
“CAN I STILL BECOME A HERO EVEN IF I HAVE A WEAK LIMITED QUIRK! Can I become someone others look to for hope and help!?
It all came out in a single breath. I squeezed my eyes shut. Awaiting an answer, but it didn’t come. I opened them to see her staring at me with a bewildered look.
“What do you mean weak and limited?”
“Well, I didn’t develop body augmentations, I can get hurt just as easily as a person with no quirk, and my quirk… I'VE Trained but… it doesn’t seem to be developing any further… My classmates always make fun of me for it. Ever since I was little, I thought saving people was the best thing someone could do for a job. I want to be a hero. I want to save someone other than myself”- The last part came out as more of a whisper. I heard her sigh and I could feel my chest tighten.
No. No, please.
“Listen, kid. What happened... in there... That was pure luck. If I hadn’t been there you could have been seriously hurt. Usually, when quirks manifest your body changes as well and are supposed to adapt to your quirk. This usually makes the body stronger and resistant to pain.”- She paused again, it seemed like she couldn’ find the exact words.
“If it didn’t... then maybe you just aren’t meant to work in this field. It can be hard sometimes; the physical strain heroes go through almost daily can be excruciatingly painful. Without quirk adaptations, you could die in serious situations or get in the way of another hero. We risk our lives every day for the safety of others and we are always fighting against time. Some villains just can't be beaten without a powerful quirk. There are still hundreds of other jobs that are always looking for good people who want to change the world. You don’t always have to risk your life to help others. You could do so much mo-”- She stopped talking. I know why she stopped.
Tears were rolling down my face, my face remained stoic, I was still looking up to her. She stopped because she heard my tears reach the floor. It wasn’t quite in the alleyway, but we both heard the first drop. She began to say something, but I didn’t hear what it was. I was already running off.
“Shit. ”- She whispered, but I was long gone. I didn’t even see her take off when she continued to look for the other villains.
-9 Years Ago-
“Look guys!!!”- Amos’s arms started to turn and bend. Fur started to sprout and claw formed at his fingertips.
AMOS REYES
QUIRK: LIMB MANIPULATION
“HE CAN MAKE HIS ARMS AND LEG CHANGE AND MIMIC ANIMAL OR PEOPLES LIMBS. CHANGING HIS OWN ARMS AND LEGS FOR THAT OF AN ANIMAL WILL MAKE HIM SPROUT FUR, SCALES, CLAWS, TALONS, ETC. WHEN MIMICKING HUMAN BODY PARTS HE CAN EVEN MIMIC A PERSON'S FINGERPRINT. HE HAS TO KNOW HOW THE LIMBS WORK AND LOOK BEFORE HE CAN COPY THEM. HE HAD TO PRACTICE WALKING IN ANIMAL LIMBS AS THEY ARE DRASTICALLY DIFFERENT TO HUMAN LIMBS.”
"AFFILIATION: NONE"
“AGE:14” ; “BIRTHDAY: 07/25”
“HEIGHT: 159 cm’’ ; “BLOOD TYPE: AB+”
“LIKES: FRIED SHRIMP AND CALAMARI”
“Friday night I got my quirk! I can copy hands and legs!”- As he said that he made his hands mimic our teachers. He looked odd mainly because those arms were far too big (and hairy) for him.
“WOW, you're so cool, Amos! I wish I had a quirk like yours!”- I said excitedly. I could feel my eyes light up. Before I could say anything, his smile disappeared.
“I know it’s cool. It's the coolest power in the class. What do you have?”- He retorted
“That’s not nice… stop being mean Amos.”- I whispered.
That day we stopped being best friends. He made fun of me for a year. Then I manifested a quirk.
-8 Years Ago-
“Amos! Look!”- I was so happy. The night before I had manifested a quirk, maybe Amos would want to be my friend again.
What is it, LUZer.”- He chuckled along with the rest of the kids.
"Stop being rude. Look!”- I quickly set off a light blob, the rest of the kids, including stared in awe. I was so proud and puffed my chest out raising a fist to the air. - “See Amos, I do have a quirk!”
“Woooah! Make it bigger. Make it bigger!”- Amos cheered me on. He was cheering me on!
“Well, I don’t know if I can…”- I knew I couldn’t.
“Come on Luz, you can't be a hero without a strong quirk.”- His face changed into a frown once more. I shrunk back a bit.
“Okay fine”- I clasped my hands together. The light began to form and it was harder to keep my fingers interlocked. After 3 seconds my singers became undone and I fell back. A light smaller than the last was left floating above my head. Everyone laughed. Calling out “luzer, luzer” or, “I told you she couldn’t”. Amos just looked at me before finally speaking.
“I knew you were weak.”- He said loud enough for only me to hear.
That was the last “friendly” encounter we had. I wonder how far he’ll get. Could he become a known Pro hero?
I looked down at my school application paper and walked back to school.
Maybe they’re right.