It was a crisp autumn morning. Dave blended into the crowd of students walking through the large stone archway of Crestwood High.
His black hoodie was up, his bag lazily slung over one shoulder. To the world, he was just another quiet senior, tall, lean, and always a bit too calm. He passed Amanda and Betty at the front steps but didn't look twice. They giggled about something, nudging each other.
He gave them a quick glance, offering a faint smile-then walked past.
But something felt off.
Far above the clouds, something burned. A faint ripple cut through the blue sky like a distorted mirror cracking.
Elsewhere, in an alley just five blocks away, space warped. A tear formed midair, purple sparks lighting the shadows as a tall, grotesque creature stepped through—a jagged body of armored bone, half-melted horns curled back, and glowing green eyes that radiated fury.
"Daaave..." it growled, its voice like grinding steel.
It sniffed the air, then leapt-crushing a parked car on landing. Panic erupted. People screamed. The creature didn't care. It had only one target.
Dave was in his chemistry class when the screams began. He stood slowly, sensing the spike in distortion.
Mira... if she notices...
He whispered to himself, "Not here. Not now."
He slipped into the hallway, pulled out a black metallic card from his pocket, and pressed it to his chest. In a shimmer of sleek light, the card unfolded into a black adaptive suit— tight, armored, but non-flashy. It pulsed with silver threads and adjusted to Earth's energy signature to stay undetectable-at least, to
Mira.
He vanished through the emergency exit and was airborne within seconds, soaring across rooftops with silent, practiced precision.
The monster roared as it crushed a delivery truck, scanning frantically. Then it locked onto him.
"There you are!"
The creature charged.
Dave slammed down onto the street in front of it, cracking the pavement beneath his feet.
"You really shouldn't have come here."
"I REMEMBER YOU!" it bellowed. "YOU ERASED MY BROTHERS!"
The fight exploded.
The monster lunged, swinging a massive clawed fist. Dave ducked, slid under its legs, and delivered a crushing uppercut to its ribs.
The beast stumbled back, roaring, and released a shockwave that sent cars flying.
Dave jumped off a flipped vehicle and tackled the monster mid-air into a building, smashing through concrete and glass.
Dust clouded the street. Civilians screamed and scattered.
Dave emerged from the smoke, suit now scratched and partially torn around his left arm. "Let's finish this before Mira notices."
The monster swung a lamppost like a spear.
Dave dodged, kicked off the lamppost, and vaulted high, delivering a heel drop to the beast's spine. The ground cracked from the impact.
But the monster laughed. "Hold back all you want, child. I will break you before she ever senses it."
With a roar, it grew larger-absorbing residual cosmic energy leaking through the rift. Its horns turned white-hot. Its speed doubled.
Dave's eyes narrowed. "Fine.'
They clashed again-streetlight poles shattered, windows exploded from shockwaves, the battle stretching several blocks. Dave was fast-dodging, sliding, countering—but limited. Every time he pushed too far, a twinge of golden Sphire light sparked around his fists. He immediately suppressed it.
He could not risk alerting Mira.
The monster slammed him into the sidewalk, cracking it wide open. Dave grunted, now covered in bruises. The suit's chest armor was almost entirely torn. His hood fell off.
He staggered up-only to freeze.
Two students were walking on the same sidewalk.
Amanda. Betty.
They stood just a few feet away, mouths wide open, frozen in disbelief. The sun caught
Dave's face as he stood amid the rubble-his black suit flickering, half-destroyed, chest rising and falling.
Betty whispered, "Dave?"
Amanda blinked. "Wait... that's... that's him?"
The monster roared again and lunged.
Dave's eyes snapped to them. "Get back!"
He pushed them out of the way with a wave of kinetic force-gentle enough not to harm them, but fast enough to shield them. The beast slammed into him. They crashed through a bus stop, into an underground parking lot.
The darkness closed in.
Inside, the fight continued-brutal, bone-rattling. Every blow echoed through the concrete chamber. Dave took hit after hit. His eyes flared once, blue and gold threatening to awaken-but he growled and forced it down.
He grabbed the monster's arm, twisted it midair, and flung it into a wall hard enough to crack steel beams.
"You're done," Dave muttered.
He charged.
His punches now carried invisible pressure waves. Though not glowing, his strikes shattered concrete. The monster flailed, but
Dave was relentless-using physics, speed, and precision, not raw power.
Finally, with a spinning knee to the chest followed by a leaping roundhouse, Dave shattered the monster's core.
The beast screamed, then disintegrated into ash.
Dave stood there, breathing hard, body trembling-not from weakness, but restraint.
His fists were bleeding. The black suit fizzled, pieces flaking off.
He emerged from the hole in the ground and stepped back onto the sidewalk, bruised, bloodied, exposed.
Amanda and Betty stared.
No one else had seen-cops hadn't arrived yet, cameras fried by the monster's entrance.
Only the girls stood there.
Betty broke the silence. "You're not... normal, are you?"
Dave wiped his lip, gave a lopsided smile, and said, "Let's talk after school."
Then he walked off down the street like it was nothing.
The twins stood in stunned silence.
Amanda turned to Betty and said quietly, "I think he's one of them...'
Betty just nodded. "We need to call Mom."