Exalted

"You're worthless, you know that, right?"

The man flashed Adam a smile before continuing, clearly enjoying his supposed superiority.

"I mean, you think you deserve this job? With all those dead people your kind failed to save, you think—"

"Your entire company is collapsing. I'm sure you already know this, but the latest quarterly earnings have been reported. Profits lowered by 35%? Doesn't sound too good."

Adam paused for just a moment to flash a smile of his own before continuing.

"But what would I know? All I have is a Master's Degree in Economics. Though, I'll just tell it like it is."

The man sat still, seemingly petrified as Adam leaned forward, still smiling.

"I could have all the business smarts of every trillionaire who's ever existed, and it wouldn't change a damn thing. Because, in your mind, I'm nothing more than another Wasted."

The more Adam spoke, the more the recruiter cowered back into his seat. It was to be expected, of course.

People had no problem antagonizing the Wasted, blaming them for the deaths of millions, but the moment someone spoke back to them, they cowered away.

Adam lifted an eyebrow as he watched the man visibly shake, his face red from anger and impotence.

After a long minute, the man finally spoke, his voice low and venomous, "Nothing I've said suggests your accusation. I never once used the term 'Wasted,' and you can't prove that's why I'm not hiring you. The simple fact of the matter is that we are looking for another—"

"Look, I'll save you the trouble. There's no need to come up with your 50 lies in an attempt to appear innocent at court. Can I get the job or no?" Adam interjected, already figuring out what the recruiter was doing.

He was apparently one of the more spiteful groups of people who didn't even hide their distaste in professional spaces. If Adam didn't need a job so badly, he would have completely dismantled the man in front of him.

However, with a heavy sigh, he reined in his heavy emotions, hoping for compromise.

"No, you can't. Now, get out!"

The whirr of drones sounded from behind him. Adam shot the recruiter a glare of disbelief. He hadn't been aggressive in the slightest, and yet this man summoned security simply because his ego was hurt?

"I'm more qualified than everyone here combined. But someone like you, with the collective intellect of an infant and an inbred donkey, wouldn't understand that," Adam spat before walking out of his own accord.

As he reached the exit, a certain news headline caught his attention.

"[Goliath] Kaiju decimated Chicago, killing an estimated 700,000 people before 2 Exalted stopped it."

Another outbreak. They had been more frequent lately. For a second, Adam wondered how many Wasted had died trying to fight the Kaiju. Of course, the news wouldn't pay attention to their sacrifice.

'It isn't all bleak, though,' he thought, silently respecting the Exalted before returning home.

...

"Hey, I always told you that if you need a job, I need someone to hold my purse!"

Before Adam could even step through the front door, his sister's snide voice called from the couch with one goal in mind: to make fun of her older brother.

Merely rolling his eyes as he forcefully tugged at his tie, Adam responded curtly, "And I told you that's Eric's job. He's your servant, not me!"

"Boyfriend, not servant! I know you've never had one... er, girlfriend, I mean. But you can at least get his title right!"

"Stupid fucking tie," Adam muttered as he continued yanking it to no avail.

His rough tone instantly alerted his sister, who jumped from the couch to come help him. Despite the banter earlier, she really cared for him and could tell when he was upset.

As she carefully took care of his tie in one pull, she whispered, "Hey, don't swear when Dad's around, remember. You should at least pretend to follow his new 'self-improvement' routine. And, uh, it's fine if you didn't get a job anyway. You're one of the most qualified people in the city; someone will take you in."

Adam shook his head.

"No. If I had never awakened my qi and become a Wasted hero, then yeah, sure. But now, when they see me in an interview, they don't see any of my achievements. All they see is someone with qi unable to protect their family."

His sister, Cynthia, shrugged as she walked over to a cupboard and pulled out two cups. Opening the fridge, she pulled out sweet tea for herself and orange juice for Adam. As she poured the drinks, she said, "Well, I don't see how they can even complain. It's not like they would do anything to those kaiju, either. And you're not even running away from the battles! You, Troy... Faye—"

"That doesn't matter, and you know it. Every single one of them is so self-absorbed that they think they'd awaken as an Exalted where people like me failed," Adam retorted sternly as he grabbed his glass forcefully.

The next second, he stopped his rising anger, instantly regretting that small outburst. Closing his eyes, Adam forced himself to calm down before sighing and whispering, "Sorry."

His sister huffed and placed her hands on her hips. "You better be! And don't think I'm letting that go, either! You owe me some ice cream now!"

Adam laughed at his sister's hysterics, knowing she was only half serious. He took a sip of his orange juice and then asked, "Two scoops of vanilla with a banana slice in between, doused in enough chocolate to cover three entire countries?"

Cynthia stood there for a second, silent and thoughtful. Taking a sip of tea as if it helped her make her decision, she smacked her lips before saying, "No, I want four countries' worth today!"

"Fine. Two it is," he said before bracing himself for the impending playful smack.

...

"This is longer than China's Great Wall!" Cynthia lamented as she tried to peer ahead of the ten people in front of her.

Adam shrugged as he pulled out his phone, checking his bank account real quick to make sure he actually had enough money for ice cream.

[Balance: $4.51]

'A sundae costs four dollars. Damn,' Adam sighed.

Cynthia mistook the sigh as one that meant 'behave, dammit!' This caused her to calm down, or at least try to. She knew that Adam didn't like to cause scenes as that was generally embarrassing.

If an outsider were looking at these two, they would have never realized how poor they were. Despite his constant scrounging for money, Adam knew the importance of looking the part.

Because of this, he always made sure his wardrobe was filled with a few suits. And Cynthia, well, she had Eric to buy her clothes. More than that, he made sure to keep his nearly perfect white hair neatly trimmed. The only part of Adam that screamed rebellious were the red streaks he had dyed into his hair when he was 10.

And then, for Cynthia... well, according to Eric she did enjoy her spa days. Her skin was deeply sunkissed, a stark contrast to Adam's pale white skin. Additionally, her long auburn hair flowed down her back. They looked more like diplomats than poor.

It took around ten minutes for the line to get their snacks, which Adam spent constantly refreshing his bank account. To his relief, when it was their turn to purchase their food, he still had the $4.51.

Cynthia patiently waited for Adam to tell the clerk what he wanted. Because he was the one paying, he should have first dibs. However, Adam didn't entertain the idea that he'd get something while leaving his sister to rot for a second.

Nudging her, he playfully said, "Not hungry anymore?"

"I was waiting for you!"

"Eh, not hungry," Adam said with a shrug.

Cynthia pursed her lips before turning to the clerk and ordering her usual: two scoops, banana in between, with plenty of chocolate on top. However, when Adam went to pay, she did something surprising.

She took two spoons.

"Why? I'm not—"

"Yeah, that's bullshit. Can't lie to your sister, idiot." Cynthia laughed as she stuck her tongue out before walking to their seat.

Adam shook his head in exasperation as he pressed his hand to the screen. Debit cards hadn't been used since even before the Great War and Kaiju Crisis. In fact, if his grandpa didn't have one, Adam couldn't imagine such a thing actually existing.

Wouldn't people just lose their cards? It's much harder to lose a hand.

The clerk smiled as the purchase went through and asked, "Hey, kid. You sure you don't want anything on the house?"

Adam blinked in surprise for a second, taken aback by his kindness. Then he fervently shook his head. If he didn't earn it, Adam didn't want it. Handouts would dampen his desire to get a job, which would only hurt them in the long run.

"Hmm. Okay, then! Tell your sister she better enjoy that sundae then!"

Adam nodded as he said, "Yeah," and walked over to Cynthia.

Sitting down, Adam felt a sudden stark rise in Qi in the air. Looking around, he instantly searched for a dimensional collapse but didn't see a single sign of one.

"Could it be an exalted is here then?" he thought as he continued scanning the area. Most people were oblivious because those without qi couldn't sense it, but Adam quickly found two people who seemed to notice the same rise in energy as he had.

"Hey! You think you can just be some selfless asshole and then ignore me?! I got us both a spoon, so stop looking at the birds!"

"Weirdo," Adam responded to her stern cry before turning back. As promised, she had positioned one of the spoons so that he could easily reach it. Additionally, she had split the sundae perfectly in half.

Well, except for the chocolate. She had scraped almost all of it to her side.

Smiling, Adam leaned forward as he prepared to accept his sister's little present.

Crack!!!

Every hair stood on Adam's neck as a dimensional rift opened above them, probably no more than 100 yards away.

He had already flung the table to the side, splattering their ice cream somewhere. Without hesitation, he picked up Cynthia, who was too stunned to move, and began running.

There was no time to turn around and see what kaiju appeared from the rift. It was likely strong, at least a [Leviathan] class due to how the air itself cried in its presence. That was more than enough for Adam to be convinced that he had no chance of saving his sister and fighting the beast.

Instead, he ran as fast as he could. Cupping his sister into his chest, Adam did his best to keep the wind and sudden speed from injuring her.

If she died in his hands...

Thwack! Thud!

The edge of a huge tentacle slammed into the ground, destroying the buildings all around them. Coughing as the harsh sting of smoke filled their lungs, Adam trudged forward.

"Keh. Keh."

Through his blurry vision, Adam could barely make out his sister's now weak frame. The smoke was infused with Qi, the energy source of all heroes and kaiju. Any normal person would have no defenses against Qi.

Gritting his teeth as he pulled her in closer, Adam shook his head once in a vicious attempt to clear his vision. At this point, there was only one good way to do that.

By diverting his Qi away from defense to his natural senses, he would be able to see through the smoke. Maybe.

Maybe he'd live long enough to get her out of danger. If not, maybe he'd get her far enough that the Exalted could save her.

They were strong. They were good.

Even if he hated the way society treated the Wasted like him, he still knew that to be true. 'All I need to do... is walk.'

The smoke attacked his lungs the second he dropped his defense. Still, his vision cleared even as his insides began burning up. He could see the path ahead of him.

Salvation.

His sister... would be safe.

Step. Step.

One foot in front of the other, each step exponentially harder than the last. However, even if he needed to walk an entire mile, if Cynthia was safe at the end...

Plunk!

After no more than 50 yards, his legs gave out. Crumbling to the ground, all he could do now was cover her. As his breath slowed to the softest whisper, all he could do was cover her and pray.

Pray that the Kaiju's tentacle wouldn't strike them. Pray the smoke wouldn't kill her. Pray that the Exalted would come.

"Eh, you think it's time to kill that thing?"

Hanging between life and death, Adam was certain he heard wrong.

"Nah. You see those drones over there? 5. Damned news gets slower every time."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm fucking sure! What, you want some bullshit publicity? The fuck are 5 drones gonna do? Your mama wouldn't even see that shit!"

There was a torturous pause. Adam squeezed his eyes shut, barely holding onto life. However, he was certain that these voices he heard were the Exalted.

That they were purposefully letting people die. He was certain that if he made any groan of pain...

"I know that. It's just, what if someone sees us? Y'know?"

"Sees us? Like, some regular civilian you mean? You see that fucking thing up there?! It's killed at least a few hundred thousand. And if I wanted to, I could just—boom!—smack its fucking face in."

The world turned silent, understanding the man's words. If someone made noise, they would simply die.

Because these people who were supposed to protect humanity... let thousands die just for fame and money.

A sick, twisted world. Here he was, dying on top of his sister in some small hope the strong could save her. And yet...

"I knew I heard some breathing."

A voice called from above Adam before stomping its foot straight through his chest.