Chapter V

"I appreciate you convincing her, Mikey. I have to admit this is the first time this has happened. Running into Chloe so early is thanks to you." After talking to Chloe, I returned to Richard and Champion. "You know you're an irregular variant, right?" I paused for a second, looking at him, confused.

"What do you mean?" His face told me it wasn't serious; his tone indicated it was irrelevant information. Although for me, and for my curiosity, it was important to know what it meant. "An irregular variant?"

"What do I mean? That you're unique, Mikey. All the other versions of you, literally in all the other timelines, are dead. Your existence is unique, and this is probably one of the hardest timelines to predict... Because of you." He approached the table, making himself a coffee. Champion was curious too, as he had sat silently, just listening to the conversation.

"Dead?" I didn't know how to feel, knowing that out of billions or possibly infinite possibilities in the different timelines, damn it. Even among the different parallel universes, I'm the "only" me who's alive.

"Although there are many ways you die, the most common is your mother having a miscarriage. But the fact is that they don't make it past six months, which is why I was surprised that in my timeline you're still alive. You're an anomaly," he said after a pause, which I imagine was to decide whether to tell me or not. "But it's strange," he added, looking me in the eyes and pointing up and down at me. That look makes me very uncomfortable. "All those timelines have one thing in common: Leviathan doesn't exist. Which means your parents don't become villains. On the contrary, they remain pillars of The Union. Which makes me wonder; why, in the only timeline in which you exist, did they stray from the path?"

"Are you implying that my existence is the reason my parents went crazy and started killing people? How ridiculous."

"Maybe not your existence itself, but something related to you." He began to drink his coffee, and as he headed for the elevator, he said to me. "But don't worry, I'm investigating on your behalf. Although it would help me a lot if you asked your father directly. I mean, if you have the courage." The last thing he said made me clench my fists. Talk to my father? Do I have the strength to do that?

I said goodbye to Chloe, Richard, and she left. In the end, only Champion and I remained in the room. This was the first time Champion had been so silent and without a smile on his face. The silence was very tense. It made me wonder if I was truly to blame for my family's misfortunes. If I had died, would my parents still be heroes? Would the thousands of people who have suffered at the hands of Leviathan? My grandfather...? Maybe I'm a catastrophe, a misfortune that ruined their lives. I want... No, I have to know why.

Suddenly, Champion looks at me, and his usual smile reappears on his face.

"Mikey!" He hugs me tightly, lifting me into the air and bringing me back down to earth. I try to break free from his embrace, but the title of strongest doesn't come for free. "I know what you're thinking, kid. No matter what Richard the robot says, there's no way you're the reason Thomas and Elizabeth became who they are. They're adults, and their decisions are their own personal burden."

"Yeah, but what other reason is there? You heard Richard." He finally let go, leaving me alone but holding my shoulder. His eyes are full of understanding and affection. Sometimes it feels like he's my real father; unfortunately, he isn't and never will be. We haven't been together long, but he's accepted me, trained me, and cared for me more than my real parents.

It reminds me a lot of my grandfather. I think he'd be happy.

"If you're ready, and I can help you with anything, I can arrange a meeting between you and your father. You know I'm here to support you."

"Really? I'd really appreciate it." Maybe I don't want to hear from my parents because of their cruelty and all the evil they've done to humanity. Maybe they've never tried to contact me in my life, and maybe I only know them from the news. I mean, my mother is free and leading Leviathan, but she's never deigned to speak to me. But deep down in my heart, I've always wanted to talk to them. To know how my parents think, the reasons for things, how they would react to seeing me.

Unfortunately, one is a prisoner at Grand Prince; visits are out of the question, not allowed, especially not for high-security prisoners like my father. And the other hasn't left Leviathan's base for years, which is a giant dome on the outskirts of Middle City. Its location is public, but not even the Union would dare attack Leviathan without a second thought. It's a practically impenetrable dome.

Although it's not like my mother wants to talk to me. I think he must have had plenty of opportunities throughout my life.

I sigh.

"Get that face out of your face, don't worry. I'll let you know when you can talk to your father. For now, focus on the test you have tomorrow; it's the most important thing you have at your disposal right now. Or what, do you not want to be part of the Union anymore?"

"Of course I do! It's my biggest dream for as long as I can remember," I replied enthusiastically. And I thanked him sincerely, smiling back. "Thank you, Wilson."

He started laughing, leaving me embarrassed. I could only roll my eyes and think about what awaits me tomorrow.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sometimes I wonder if life is a gamble. One day you can be calmly talking with your grandfather, and hours later, witness his death.

And now, being surrounded by people. He's hoping for the same thing as you: to be chosen for the best superhero team in the world, The Union. But it feels unfair. We should all have an equal chance. No advantages, but as I look up and lock eyes with Champion, I realize I'd pass the exam even if I didn't try hard.

In the past, I would have loved this kind of special treatment. It's not that I don't want to get in... It's cheating, isn't it? I interrupt my train of thought. In the end, I just have to prove myself worthy. No shortcuts.

"Hi everyone. I think everyone knows me by now. Otherwise, I'll think you've been living under a rock for so long. Welcome. I'm Champion, and this is The Union." I watch Champion approach the shore and address the nearly 30 participants here. With his iconic smile, he gives us a brief introduction. "Normally, we would do a series of tests, but The Union concluded that the previous exams were too uncompetitive. So this year, we're splitting it into three sections. The first is about rescuing civilians; only the top 20 will be able to advance to the next phase. In which, you'll fight each other until only 10 remain, and the last is to fight off an alien invasion. Don't worry, the aliens aren't real, obviously. The Union will play the role of the invaders" Her smile sent shivers down everyone's spine. I wonder which is worse, aliens or the Union. I'm excited to see how it will go, but I kept my expression calm.

Some people started whispering among themselves, saying things about how unfair or impossible it was, some even walked away. But others just looked confident, or disinterested. Whether it was nervousness, disinterest, or excitement, Champion ignored them all, his gaze focused solely on me. Expecting some kind of physical reaction from me, I just stared back.

"This time I'll beat you, so let's fight for real," I whispered. I knew he could hear me with his hearing, and his nod of approval confirmed it. We both smiled.

Persa touched Champion's shoulder. Champion nods and sits in his chair, while Persa replaces him.

"Better known as Persa, I will be your primary examiner and the person who will ultimately decide who the five new members of the Union will be." He cleared his throat and slightly raised his hand. A beam of light materialized around his hand. "And I'll say it throughout the Union, this year won't be easy. We won't hold back. The villains, the aliens, the Argoyans... they have no mercy." He dissolved his beam of light and walked away, returning to where he was before.

"The Union only wants the best of the best. Good luck. They'll need it."

Persa, we've already had several encounters. His light powers allow him to create objects out of light or directly physical objects, almost like a subtle manipulation of matter on a certain level. That's why I've always thought his powers are incredible.

Persa's hatred of the Argorians is understandable; they killed his only brother. Unlike Wilson, since I arrived in the Union, I haven't seen Marcus smile even once. While this doesn't make him a bad person, it's just his aura, and his interactions aren't very cheerful. He's very focused on saving people and doing his job as a superhero, which inspires me a lot.

"Yo! You're Roma, right? I know you from TV. If you're here, I can tell this test isn't going to be easy." A boy my age, or maybe a year older, approaches me. Brown skin, with brown eyes. His aura screams "extrovert!" all over the place, mainly because he's probably the only one with a smile, and he's casually talking to me. And I'm not trying to be too cocky, but I've noticed that most people here even avoid my gaze. Maybe it's because of my debut as a hero before coming here. Intimidated or disinterested? I don't know, nor do I care to know. My focus is on earning my place in La Unión.

"My name is Hermes," he says as his body blurs. Super speed? My eyes manage to follow his movements after a few seconds, but my body doesn't have the same privilege. I only manage to see him leave my field of vision and stand behind me, placing his hand on my shoulder and giving me a smug smile. "Obviously it's my alter ego, but as you can see, I'm a sprinter."

"There are plenty of sprinters already, nothing special about them. After all, none of them can take the title of fastest from Silver," I said with a disinterested tone, looking at the columns of La Unión. Specifically at a blond man, who was sitting focused on his cell phone, as if this event weren't important.

The fastest man alive. It's a column in La Unión, another person I haven't had the privilege of getting to know more about yet. Savage, my mother's right-hand man, considers himself almost as fast as Silver. But do you think they'd give such a title to a supervillain?

"You hurt me…" He threw himself to the floor dramatically, clutching his chest, feigning pain in his heart. "But you're right. It doesn't matter, though, because my dream is to run alongside him and save lives with him. That's why I can't lose today."

This guy… He reminds me of myself.

My dream of being in The Union and being Champion's equal. He may be a little overconfident, and even arrogant, but he's not bad. "I wish you luck, Hermes. I don't know if you'll need it."

"Hey, but I came to offer an alliance," he said, stopping. I was already walking away, but hearing him, my eyebrow rose and I looked at him curiously. We haven't even started and alliances are already being formed? "I know the first two trials are designed to be individual, but who said they have to be? It would be easier if we did it as a team. Especially when it comes to fighting the "aliens."

"You have a point, and it's definitely something the judges are secretly going to be looking for. We are heroes, after all. Do you have anyone else with you?" I asked, accepting his invitation. In the long run, it benefits me to have extra help when it comes to fighting Champion.

He nods as he leads me toward a group of three. Two girls, one redheaded and the other blonde. And I already know the man. He's like me; he already made his debut as a hero before coming here. His name is Gladiator, but I don't know much about him. Other than that he uses bladed weapons, and it seems his physique is superior to human capabilities.

"Guys! I brought our newest member. Meet Roma. He's like a mini Champion without lasers. Cool, huh?" He introduced me as he ran around me doing all sorts of exaggerated positions. Then he turned to them. "This is our team, Roma." The redhead with the angry face is called Witch. The one next to her is Ms. Victory, and my half-brother here is Gladiator, another famous young hero just like you.

"Nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you. My younger brother is a fan of yours." The first to greet me and shake my hand was Gladiator. I smiled kindly; it feels good to have people who admire me. Being the reason people are happy and at peace, that's what I want to be.

"Likewise, I hope to get along with you," I said, also referring to the others. The girls just nodded, while Hermes watched us interact before joining our conversation.

"There are specifically five of us, so we can help each other and make sure no one is left behind in the end."

"But there's no guarantee that all of us will be chosen; it's Persa's decision. And in the end, there will be 10 of us. Don't get too excited." Ms. Victory spoke up. Her voice and eyes sound familiar, but I can't quite place them.

"Victory is right, that's why we have to prepare in case one or more of us doesn't make it in. But what matters is that we work hard as a team." This time it was Gladiator who answered. We all agreed with what he said, and as we spoke, Champion's voice interrupted us.

"Well, I see there are already several groups created. While there are also people who choose the most independent path," he says, scanning the entire room with his eyes, but maintaining his iconic smile. "Either way, it's okay. In the end, choices are individual, but don't be sad because I assure you that everything you do counts."

"Anyway, the first task is about to begin. We ask you to head to the next room. By the way, one last thing. As you know, this event is broadcast on television, but don't get too excited. We ask that you act professionally and ignore the cameras until everything is over. Otherwise, you will be disqualified." Champion pointed to the different doors, which I believe is where the first task was. He emphasized being disqualified if we didn't ignore the cameras. "Without further ado, good luck. I'll see you at the last task."

In front of us, several doors of different colors opened. But, no matter how hard we looked, we couldn't see anything inside them.

"Let's all go through the same door, we don't know if they're going to different areas of the test, and the last thing we want is to separate so soon." I said, analyzing the third door, although I couldn't get anything out just by looking at it. It looks like some kind of magic door but it could be wrong.

"Okay, let's get into this one. It would be best to start the first test quickly, since we don't know how they're going to evaluate it. Since we'll only be rescuing civilians." I watched as Hermes approached the door I was analyzing, and the others followed. I let them enter first, and then I followed.

As I walked through the door, the first thing I saw was the backs of my team. Followed by a street bathed in blood, and a fire engulfing the city. Blood, guts, and fire surrounded all of New York, the tall buildings now collapsed, rubble, and people everywhere, running and crying for help.

"This is too realistic," Ms. Victory whispered, paralyzed, seeing the blood and the unfortunate victims on the floor.

"Hey, can you hear me? Here, Silver." Suddenly, a voice was heard throughout the place, followed by Silver's floating figure appearing out of nowhere. Almost as if it were a holographic transmission. "This is your first test. While your main mission is to help and save as many people as possible within 30 minutes, the manner and strategies you use will be important. We will evaluate your approach as a hero. But if it were only that, it would be very easy, wouldn't it? That's why enemies also appear, trying to hinder and even kill you, to prevent you from saving someone. Don't worry, you won't die. At least you shouldn't. Silver, out." He said goodbye as his figure disintegrated. A counter materialized in the sky: "30:00."

"At least this proves it's not real," Hermes said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Help-!" I don't dare say Hermes broke the ice, or lightened the mood. Because the silence didn't last long before we heard cries for help, cries of pain, anguish, and fear. Internal screams praying to be saved. Incomplete screams.

The sun was setting over New York City, casting long shadows between the skyscrapers. Or what remained of most of them. With a leap that easily broke the sound barrier, I launched myself into the skies as I searched for the source of the screams. My mind was completely lost, and I completely forgot about my team. Moving at incredible speed, I was able to find what was a child buried in the rubble of a partially collapsed building.

I carefully lifted the debris to free him. "Are you okay-?" I stopped mid-sentence, feeling like I couldn't move. The child's lower half was shattered. I heard movement approaching behind me; obviously, Hermes was the first to arrive. With his super speed, I was surprised I reacted first. Behind Hermes, the rest of our small team arrived. Seeing me paralyzed, they rushed over to help the child. Hermes picked him up and disappeared, reappearing in an instant.

"You're faster than I thought, Roma." Everyone was looking at me. Hermes placed his hand on my shoulder and sighed. "I understand, brother. It's not easy to see an image like that. I reacted the same way you did, only my brain helped me process the situation faster," he said, doing his best to comfort me.

"But don't do that again. Right now, we're a team. And we have to work as such, otherwise, all of this will be useless..."

"Where did you move the boy?" I asked anxiously.

"To a safe area outside the city. I plan to take Ms. Victory and Gladiator with them. That way, you can take care of the survivors and defend them from any threats. While I relocate everyone we find, Witch will help with her telekinesis, and you, Roma, with your super strength and flight." "Does that sound okay?" Hermes created a small plan in a few seconds, but I froze while a child who needed my help suffered... I clenched my hands and shook off those negative thoughts. I mentally swore it wouldn't happen again, and looked at Hermes and the others.

"Sounds good to me," I said, accepting the fact that Hermes is and acts as our leader.

"Sounds good to me too, but I think Gladiator can stay with you. I'm more than enough for any threat that comes." Ms. Victory sounded somewhat irritated.

"I think if enemies come, and at the same time someone needs medical assistance, it's more efficient to have two individuals than one. Right? Unless you have the ability to clone yourself, Ms. Victory," Witch replied sarcastically, looking at her as if she were trying to explain to a child the reason why she can't eat rocks.

"That's it..." In the end, Ms. Victory was speechless and just gave up. Gladiator remained silent throughout all this, with a troubled expression. He clearly doesn't like the way we're chatting while the timer counts down.

"Less talk, more action," Gladiator said, pointing to the sky. We all looked at the timer, which displayed: "28:35."

"You're right," Hermes nodded. With him, Ms. Victory disappeared first, and in less than a second Gladiator disappeared too. Hermes reappeared and said with a smile, "Well, what are we waiting for?"

We nodded and split up. I flew silently through the city, what was left of it. Screams echoed, so many people suffering, needing a hero. I could sense Hermes pacing as he carried the wounded, relocating them. Witch lifted debris, objects, and even people as Hermes carried them away. In a few seconds, I found a group in one of the many buildings on the verge of collapse. With a burst of speed, I managed to hold the building up. But it obviously wouldn't last long; I could see the walls beginning to crumble.

Just as I was about to scream, I saw the people inside the building disappear in a blur. A few seconds later, the entire structure collapsed on top of me. The only part intact was the piece of wall I was holding up.

I move through the ruins of the building, and considering how efficient my companions were, I get to work. Flying and searching for people, even with the structures on fire. I go inside and use my own body as a shield, while I leave them in an area where Hermes can pick them up. With the help of the speedster and the witch, we rescued many people; it had been more than 10 minutes, and none of us showed any signs of fatigue.

Hearing more cries for help, I head to a street. There I see an adult, and in front of him, what appeared to be another person levitating, his eyes beginning to glow with a red light. He triggered his heat vision. I quickly moved in front of the man, blocking his attack with one hand.

"I guess this is what you call a heroic entrance, right?"

I said, a big smile decorating my face. The heat vision didn't do anything to me, and I calmly looked at the man behind me, completely ignoring the attacker.

"Are you okay? Don't worry, I'm already here." I noticed he had several wounds on his face and chest, what appeared to be a broken arm. He might have some broken bones, I don't know if it was from this guy or because of the destruction in the city. His life didn't seem in danger, but it would be best to get him out of here. "My partner will be here soon. Rest while I take care of this scum."

"Th-thanks," he could barely say, seeing how tired he was, it's safest to assume he'd been running for a while already. He sat down on the ground. As I turned around, I faced the man in the air.

"I'm impressed that you were able to block me so easily, but you completely ignored me... I don't know if it's arrogance or confidence. Humans tend to be stupid, after all," the attacker spoke. Humans, huh? A simulation of the Argoryan, since it's identical to an ordinary human.

I didn't respond, slowly levitating off the ground, my cloak flapping behind me. I rose until I was standing face to face with the Argoryan, and all I did was shake my head in confusion.

"Why are you so weak? Hm... Is it because you don't exist? Of course, after all, this is all fake," I said, and before he could even process my words, I blew his head off with a punch. The scene was grotesque, and his headless body fell hard to the ground. I maintained a calm expression as I watched him fall. "Even if it looks real..."

For an Argoryan, he was surprisingly weak, though that's to be expected from a simulation. His corpse began to bleed, and his blood, like any human's, was red. But if you watched for a while, you'd notice that eventually, darker blood would begin to flow out, to the point where it would turn black. That's the only way to distinguish Argoryans from humans; a deep wound reveals the true color of Argoryans blood over time. Well, aside from the Argoryans physical constitution being superior to that of ordinary humans, it's like a race of superhumans.

Humans have the Awakened, the superheroes of humanity. The Argoryans have themselves; they're a warrior race.

"Ew... That's disgusting, bro," Hermes complained with a disgusted expression, appearing out of nowhere as always and glancing at the fake corpse. "Well, technically you didn't kill anyone."

"Take the gentleman out of here," I wanted to say, pointing to where the wounded man was supposed to be. But I realized there was no one there anymore. "Forget it," he sighed in defeat.

"That was the first thing I did; being fast is my job, hahaha."

"I thought it was being a hero," I said, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh, well, yeah... Come on, you know what I mean," Hermes replied, scratching his head. "But I knew you were strong, I just didn't expect you to be this strong."

He approached me, miming the punch I'd given the Argoryan a few minutes earlier, as I was lowering myself to the ground.

"It's not that big of a deal. This is just a simulation, so It was weak," I commented, not giving it much thought. Which made Hermes look at me with disbelieving eyes. I felt like he was looking at me as if I were some kind of monster.

"It may be a simulation, but they're not weak at all, Roma. Gladiator and Ms. Victory have been having a rough time with them. Even if they're not real Argoryans, they're still formidable. And it seems they tend to go where the largest group of wounded is." At first, he seemed to have a complicated expression, but then he sighed, and a smile replaced his previous expression. "Actually, I came to ask you to go help them. It seems two people aren't enough anymore."