Let Me Be Your Hero

The glass shattered around him and dug into his skin. He looked up, barely conscious, to see the villain walking toward him. Bayani stood up with all his energy and hunched over out of pain. With zero plans of victory, he held up his knife, ready to strike; he felt dizzy, had to keep himself from keeling over, and the music playing repeatedly didn't help.

"GIVE IT ALL YOU'VE GOT" the loud guttural scream grated the villain's ears, but he just laughed. Giving Bayani no time to react, the villain grabbed his head like he was palming a basketball.

"Weakling," the villain scoffed, "Some hero you ar-"

Bayani watched as the villain disappeared in a blur, leaving only spikes floating in the air. A loud crash echoed throughout the mall, he turned his head to see the source, and it was the villain smashed into the wall unconscious. The little girl ran up to him, bleeding and limping the entire way. She grabbed his hand, and they ran out of the mall. After a short while, they made it inside a nearby building, and the girl fell unconscious.

𝘖𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵, 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘵. Bayani rushed around the building, looking for anything to help her out. He couldn't find a first aid kit, so he settled on the cleanest clothes to bandage up her wounds. Bayani wasn't a medical expert, but he took some basic first aid classes when he was younger. He was now regretting not going more in-depth on how to do basic medical procedures. He did the best he could, bandaged himself up, and worked on some plans. Bodybuilder taught him much about the human body and even some fighting techniques. He knew the best way to knock a person out was the chin, so that was the goal. Bayani went on a search through nearby alleys for something to help apprehend the villain. He came across some chains splayed out on the ground and brought them back to the room. Silent and unsure what to do next, he stood in the room thinking. He decided quick decision-making was necessary at the moment and wrote a note to the girl that he was leaving.

𝘏𝘪! 𝘐'𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣̶𝘢̶𝘥̶ 𝘨̶𝘶̶𝘺̶ 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯! 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦 - 𝘉𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘪

Bayani set the note next to her and rushed out with a bag full of chains and a headband made from his ripped shirt. On the way, he gave himself a pep talk to keep his mind occupied. The abandoned city was gaining in eeriness as night encroached. The ruins of buildings and sights of battle from long ago made themselves more apparent when Bayani started to pay attention. One thing that had especially stood out to him was a still intact piece of paper. He pocketed it and continued on his way to the mall. As he got closer, the first part of the plan was put into action; he crouched down and started to sneak. The music hadn't stopped playing and still rang the same tune and lyrics throughout every shop.

♪𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰; 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰...♪

Bayani rolled his eyes at the music, which was already giving him bad memories. This song would never be the same for him again. With slight annoyance, he moved forward, trying to get this over with as fast as possible. At every corner he passed, he would move his head rapidly in both directions making sure not to miss anything. Eventually, the toy store made an appearance again, but the villain was missing from the crater in the wall. The search continued, and he made sure to be diligent, but there was no sign of his enemy. He sighed in relief from not having to fight again when he heard the sound of breaking glass. Bayani followed the sound and found the villain throwing a tantrum, breaking the windows of shops. Taking this opportunity, he took a deep breath and readied a punch. The villain looked over, but before he could say anything, Bayani charged and threw his fist at the enemy's chin. The villain didn't flinch, and Bayani's eyes, filled with courage, suddenly flooded with fear. A spike went through his hand as he threw the punch; the only thing keeping him awake was the adrenaline.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" a child's voice said behind Bayani as the villain's neck twisted and snapped. Bayani turned back to see the little girl he had helped earlier, and that's when a loudspeaker turned on, and a voice spoke throughout the city.

"Congratulations! The first tryout is over. Those alive, please head back to the bus!"

"That's good," Bayani chucked nervously and then fainted. The girl brought him back to the bus using her telekinesis.