Chapter 1: Polarity

Eli loved flying even if flying didn’t always love him. Learning to fly in a technologically-advanced metal suit that was worth millions of dollars had been fun despite the occasional bruises. Flying around a large city while trying to dodge fireballs was entirely different from a controlled training area and he nearly collided with a building. Chromium caught him before he could crash into the window of an office.

"Sorry!" Eli told the people inside who were staring at them wide-eyed. "I’m new at this."

Chromium sighed and pulled him away. “I knew I should’ve taken you flying around the city more. You’re going to cause more damage than the bad guys.”

"I’ll be fine," he tried to reassure his mentor and they split up to dodge the fireball aimed at them. "Do you need help dealing with Smokeburn?"

"Leave old Smoky to me. Supervillains might be too tough for you at the moment,” Chromium replied. “You take care of his goons and try not to break too many things."

His mentor flew off and Eli counted how many hired thugs were around. There were ten of them in total and they were armed with guns. They were loading bags of money into a truck. He swooped down and grabbed a bag of money, shaking it mockingly at them.

"What’s up, guys?" he quipped. "A little early for payday."

They aimed and shot at him, the bullets bouncing off his armor. He threw electric blasts at two of them and they collapsed to the ground, convulsing from the shock. He swooped down and grabbed the rifle from another thug and hit him with the butt end. Another thug shot him at the back of the head, the ricochet against his helmet making him dizzy for a second.

"That hurt." Eli punched the thug in the face. "Jerk."

Four down and six more to go. They surrounded him and threw punches. He dodged one and threw an uppercut that made the thug soar two feet into the air. He threw another punch and the thug flew into another, knocking them both out. The remaining four tried to pile unto him, two of them trying to hold back his arms.

The center of his suit glowed bright, neon purple as it charged up. A large electric blast shot out of suit and incapacitated the men. That was all ten. He looked over the unconscious men and flew into the air.

He went to where Chromium was fighting with Smokeburn in the middle of the plaza. It still felt surreal to Eli that he was actually there and seeing these two fight in real life and not on TV. The countless time he watched these two battling off and dreamed of fighting alongside Chromium. Little Eli would’ve been proud and ecstatic.

"Need some help, boss?" he asked.

"Hey, rookie," Chromium replied as he blocked a punch. "You took care of the thugs?"

"Easy as pie. I was hoping for more of a challenge."

"Don’t get all cocky now."

Smokeburn cut in, "That is rich coming from you."

Chromium landed two punches and one on his nose that made a sickening crack. "Don’t start, Smoky. We all know which of us gets their butt kicked because they’re always too cocky."

Smokeburn pinched the bridge of his nose which was already bleeding. "Over thirty years of this and you’re still a little sh*t."

"Has it been that long?" Chromium shook his head, disappointed. "And you still suck at this?"

The villain rolled his eyes and gestured to Eli. "Who’s that?"

"New recruit. I’m teaching him the ropes."

"Of course you are."

Smokeburn recovered and threw a gust of fire that Chromium blocked with his arms crossed in front of him. His metal suit absorbed the heat and cooled down to protect him. Smokeburn redirected a large fireball at Eli that he narrowly dodged.

Annoyed, Eli flew down and threw a punch at the villain who blocked it. Smokeburn was twice his body weight and taller. A punch to Eli’s gut would’ve made him bow over in pain if it wasn’t for his suit absorbing the impact. A swift kick to his side nearly brought him to his knees.

Smokeburn scoffed, "What are you? Fifteen?"

"No," Eli retorted. "I’m not a kid."

"Pick on somebody your own size," Chromium interrupted and engaged the villain into another series of blows.

The A.I. of Eli’s suit chimed in with "Watch out for vehicular impact!" as a truck nearly hit Chromium. The hero flew out of the way and the back of the truck opened. Somebody wearing a red mask pulled Smokeburn into the truck. Eli flew and chased the truck and the man in the red mask threw a large gust of fire at a building.

Eli swerved towards the screams. Glass exploded and he flew through the smoke. Chromium joined him and they got the people out of the building to a safe place. A few people were hurt but they would be fine.

The truck was completely gone even as they tried to track it. They flew unto the rooftop of a building as the police arrived and arrested the hired thugs.

"I’m sorry that Smokeburn got away," Eli said.

"It’s fine, mini-me," Chromium reassured him. "We’ll get him next time and there’s always a next time."

That had to be true. Eli couldn’t imagine fighting someone for over thirty years. That was longer than Eli had been alive.

Chromium tapped at the side of his metal mask and it peeled back to show his face. George Carlysle being a real life superhero hadn’t been that much of a shock. A genius billionaire that owned the largest tech company in the country as Chromium’s real identity made a lot of sense. Who else would have access to the kind of technology that was in their metal suits?

"Don’t you need to be moving into the dorms at CIT?" Chromium gave him a look. "See that girlfriend of yours. What’s her name again? Monica?"

"Mona," Eli corrected, glad that his face was covered. "And she’s not my girlfriend."

"Whatever you say, rookie." Chromium flew into the air. "Mission over. Get to school."

Eli made his way out of the city and towards campus. He was bolstered by the thought of seeing Mo again. Maybe this would be the year he would ask her out and then she’d really be his girlfriend. Here’s to hoping.