Hoodlums with Superpowers
Tson's jaw clenched. He wasn't sure—how could he be? His suit's HUD blared red alerts, warning signs flashing in every direction. His arms trembled under the sheer force of keeping Ezron contained, every instinct screaming at him to let go.
But if he did, Ezron would explode.
Above them, the sky churned, the blue glow intensifying into a chaotic storm. Ezron's thrashing weakened—not because he was calming, but because his body was reaching critical mass. His flickering eyes struggled to focus, lips parting like he wanted to speak. No words came.
50%… 55%…
Tson adjusted his grip, sucking in a breath. His gauntlets were already fusing to Ezron's arms, the heat searing through the reinforced metal. The stabilization was working—but too slowly.
Grayson hovered close, his form flickering in and out of existence. "Tson, listen—" His voice barely carried over the roaring energy. "You have to finish this now, or he'll take us all with him!"
Tson could feel it. The suit. The energy. It was merging, integrating Ezron's unstable power into his own systems. It burned—but that was good. It meant Ezron's strength was waning. The glowing light around Ezron's body flickered, dimming with each passing second.
60%… 65%…
Tson grit his teeth, refusing to stop. The Sentinel suit vibrated violently, mirroring Ezron's instability. But he pushed forward.
70%… 75%…
Ezron's glow faded. His body slackened. His breathing slowed. Then—nothing. Unconscious.
The suit wasn't stopping.
80%… 85%…
Grayson—The Sleuth—hesitated. Maybe he should intervene. Maybe this had gone too far.
But he wanted to believe in his brother.
90%… 95%…
The Sentinel suit shuddered, shifting uncontrollably, pulsing like a living thing.
100%.
A shockwave detonated outward. Grayson barely teleported in time, the force sending debris flying and cracking the concrete beneath them. The trio of heroes holding Ezron aloft—Ghost Shade among them—were sent plummeting.
Before they could free-fall, The Sleuth blinked between them, teleporting each one safely to the ground.
The battle was over.
Ezron lay motionless, shackled in specialized Exemplar restraints.
When he woke, his vision blurred, thoughts scrambled. Then reality struck like a hammer.
My powers… gone.
His eyes darted around, searching, desperate. Then he saw her.
The body. Mangled. Unrecognizable to most—but not to him.
His breath hitched. A sound barely above a whisper escaped him.
"…Mom?"
What remained was the mutilated body of a woman; its lifeless body was staring at Ezron.
Before he could process it, guards shoved him toward the transport vehicle.
Far from the destruction, after a series of rapid teleportation jumps, Grayson Kevin, and Tson arrived at the lab.
Tson wasn't stable. His entire body vibrated, his feet phasing in and out of the floor.
10%…
Then, without warning, he ran—straight through one wall and out the other.
20%… 30%…
Grayson's gut twisted. He had seen this before. Too much power. Too much change. If they didn't stop it—
"Merci, activate stabilization field!"
Energy crackled around Tson, a containment dome forming. But the force radiating off him warped space itself, making the field struggle to hold.
"Damn it—Tson, focus!" Grayson shouted, teleporting to keep up with his brother's chaotic movements. "You have to control it before the Sentinel suit overwrites you!"
40%… 50%… 60%…
Tson's body blurred, phasing between solid and intangible. His breath came in ragged gasps, his muscles locking up as the energy rewrote him.
Grayson knew the signs. If this kept going, Tson wouldn't just collapse—he'd cease to exist.
70%… 80%…
Lightning-like arcs lashed from his body, scorching the walls. The floor beneath him glowed molten-hot.
90%… 95%…
"TSON, STOP!"
100%.
The explosion rocked the lab. Grayson shielded himself as the containment dome shattered, the energy pulse nearly tearing the room apart.
And then—silence.
Tson knelt on the cracked floor, his hands pressed into the ground. His body no longer flickered, no longer vibrated.
The transformation was complete.
Grayson swallowed hard.
The Sentinel suit had changed. It was no longer just armor. It was something more—sleek, alien, veins of blue energy coursing through it like a second circulatory system. Tson's eyes flickered with something new.
"Tson?" Grayson asked cautiously.
Tson lifted his head, his breath steady but… different.
Then, in a voice not entirely his own, he spoke.
"Designation: Sentinel. Synchronization complete."
Grayson's blood ran cold.
Tson wasn't just stronger.
He was something else.
The city lay in ruins. Towers crumbled. Streets littered with wreckage. Smoke curled into the broken skyline.
The podcast host's voice carried a mix of awe and disbelief.
"This was once a thriving metropolis. Now? It's barely standing. Authorities say the destruction was caused by an Overdrive Incident—an individual whose powers spiraled out of control. And yet… this city still stands."
A pause.
"And not because of the authorities. Not because of sanctioned heroes."
The camera panned, revealing three masked figures standing in the rubble.
The Hoods. Unlicensed heroes. Vigilantes who defied the system, taking justice into their own hands.
The air around them shimmered with leftover energy, and three individuals stood in the aftermath, their bodies flickering. The government called them reckless. Dangerous. But today? Today, they saved this city.
They vanished as swiftly as they had appeared.
The scene shifted to the trio responsible for helping the hood in saving the day—Solarion, Skystrike, and Zephryx—standing before the press, their presence commanding yet silent. A microphone was handed to them, the weight of the moment settling over the crowd.
"How do you think this would've ended if you hadn't stepped in?"
One of them exhaled sharply, their voice steady and unwavering.
"Not good."
Nothing more.
The host hesitated, waiting for elaboration that would never come. But really, what else was there to say?
With one final glance at the wreckage, the broadcast came to a close.
"This has been today's coverage of the Overdrive Incident. The city may be in ruins… but thanks to the Hoods, it's still standing."