《H.E.R.O.》


 SMILE

    -Rita was unable to run anymore, we are running without any sleep or food for three days, al of us are exausted especially rita


    "Joseph,Milli,Ezie can you pull off 5 kilometers more"


    "have you gone mad Veron!!"


    joseph was very angry, but his angry was just as all of us who are not so much athletic and only 17 years old how much can we run without any break


    "joseph, do we even have any choice ,see the terrified faces of all of us . it''s as if we saw a monster and rita, she can faint any moment"


    "yeah i know but i...i don''t wanna run anymore, i don''t need these powers, let''s just surrender to the government "


    "neither of us wanted that you idiot, and if you again spout nonsense i''m gonna leave you behind"


    all of us running around was not because we were criminals or anything, we were cursed , cursed with these powers which we never wanted


    the town in which we live was said to be cursed by gods because they established powerplants on the holy ''Aura Garden''


    the powerplants were established 40 years ago but this curse was established 17 years ago


    all the newborns after that started having strange powers and even now the children born possess power beyond imagination


    some powers were not visible on physical body but they showed psychological effects, some were borne with extreme variation from human bodies, those children were either burned at their birth or either abandoned by their parents, Milli''s parents tried to burn her to death because of her having horns and wings but out of pity they abandoned her near the orphanage we all lived in


    many children have been abducted by the authorities, many got killed while fleeing and now only the 5 of us remained


    "let''s get moving or else you all will be treated like rats in some laboratory"


    " no i don''t want to be treated like rats" Ezie expressed her fear of rats


    i carried Rita on my shoulders and finally we crossed the forest


    there was some rustling inside the forest


    "quickly! hide behind those rocks, i''ll use my ability" said Milli


    even though she had and appearence of a devil, her ability was ''Holy Cloak'' that can conceal all the presence and heal the people inside the cloak, it was only due to this ability that we were able to avoid them


    out of the forest arrived an armed squad, that was there to hunt us down


    i was worried for Milli as she was completely out of stamina


    "Milli how much long can you use your power"


    "don''t worry i will not let them catch us"


    the squad was searching everywhere but they were unable to locate us


    "dammit where did those brats fled, Borg find them quickly, especially that Rita girl"


    "worry not commander this time the lab has provided us with a new gadget"


    he then pulled out a glowing steel cube and switched it on


    "what''s happening my cloak is going down..... my ability!! it''s not working" Milli was terrified


    and with that the cloak was gone and we were exposed to the squadLove this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    "see commander found them!"


    "oh cool, what''s this new toy that helped us"


    "oh nothing boss it''s just a device that negates all the superpowers in 100 meters radius"


    "what a nullifier!!" exclaimed Joseph


    "hey kid wanna see how the box works"


    as the trooper opened the box, the kids were horrified by what their eyes saw


    it was a human brain inside the box


    "see your kind friend lend us his brain to help meet his friends, now be good children and come to uncle, we are gonna take you home"


    "Veron i don''t wanna end like a tool to their convenience, i would rather kill them before they kill me"


    "wait Joseph you can''t use-...."


    in a rage Joseph used his ability ''King''s Roar'' which allows him to force others into submission


    "huh! why are they standing why?...."


    "alas! brats are brats after all you can never expect them to be smart"


    the commander shot at Joseph


    "idiot kid how can you even use your ability when we are using the nullifier"


    the troopers laughed at the stupidity of Joseph


    they pinned down Joseph and restrained him


    "Veron get me out of the radius of the nullifier" Rita whispered in my ear


    "Milli, Ezie can you create a distraction i''m gonna take Rita out of the range"


    "but we can''t do much without our power "


    "don''t worry just buy me few seconds, they want us alive so they won''t kill us"


    "Fine"


    Milli and Ezie started running in opposite directions while screaming


    "catch those whores, don''t let them get away"


    as the troopers started chasing them, in the nick of the time Veron dashed out of the range of nullifier


    "that''s good enough Veron"


    Rita used her ability ''Ruler'' an ability that is superior to all abilities, this ability allows her to defy the rules of nature and create her own rules


    "i command thy, to stop at one place and stop your heart"


    just as she said all the troopers stopped and stabbed their own hearts


    "well that was the final time i could use my ability, i don''t have any energy left anymore" said Rita while she fainted


    while we were happy over the victory, i destroyed the nullifier


    " rest in peace friend"


    but the celebration was short lived as a man came down flying from the sky


    in the first glance we were sure that he was someone we cannot fight against


    "well that girl''s ability is really something it''s fortunate that she can''t fight anymore"


    that guy was towering over us


    "oh where are manners, i forgot to introduce myself i''m the man in charge of this whole operation and leader of organization ''HUMAN'' and my name is ''Heinz'' i''m here to collect the worthy children for the benefit of the country so be good children and contribute for your country"


    that smile like a fox and eyes that of a snake were so intimidating that all of us were afraid to charge against him


    "why are you afraid of him, now the nullifier is gone i will show him my ''Kng''s roar'' "


    just as when Joseph was about to attack and Heinz appeared behind him and knocked him down


    "did you guys really thought that only you have the abilities , if we can insert abilities in a device then don''t you think we can insert abilities in a human " explained Heinz with a devilish smile on his face


    terrified by this Milli and Eriz both charged against him


    "Veron take Rita with you and run!! we will hold him here" shouted both the girls while charging towards Heinz


    i ran with all my might


    but after a little distance, there was standing Heinz towering over Veron with a peircing gaze and making a face of a demon


    " well well aren''t you a fast one compared to any human"


    " thanks for the compliment, but it''s all due to my training"


    "well then boy why don''t you hand over the girl"


    "NO! we won''t be coming with you mister"


    "oh! i think you are mistaken kid"


    Veron was confused over the statement of Heinz over which Heinz explained


    " we are to collect children with amazing power and power that can be used for strengthening the nation, i don''t need trash like you"


    " what do you mean"


    " oh i know all of you children''s abilities and also about your''s the ability to understand writings and languages ''Decipher'' is what they call it right"


    Veron was shocked to this revelation


    " how.... do you know about my ability"


    "told you kid i have my own set of powers, I know everything"


    "with this time to say goodbye to your friends"


    seeing his fate in front of his own eyes, Veron did not resist or fought back instead he reacted in different way


    "well well aren''t you a brave one , i admire you for this"


    in his final moments neither was he afraid neither was he crying, there was only one thing on Veron''s face and it was a ''SMILE''


    with that a bullet pierced his heart and Veron took his final breath.

 MASK

    "hey Veron wake up don''t you have to go pick up the logs from the woods"


    that voice i can''t ever forget it, it was definitely Rita


    "how are you here and how am i even alive"


    "huh did you hit your head or something, i was here from the beginning and you are pretty much alive"


    Veron was very confused over the events happening, but suddenly he hears a voice in his head


    "WAKE UP"


    his dream broke and he found himself in a room in which a little amount of sunlight was falling


    "well well you made it man"


    as Veron turned towards the voice he found a man in his 20s and with a big scar over his forehead


    "oh i forgot to introduce myself, I''m Bazil, leader of this small group ''Survivors'' and we are the ones who patched you up, so what is your name"


    "would you shut yourself for a moment Bazil can''t you see he just woke up"


    "sorry Nova, my bad"


    after they all settled down and then they started explaining all the things to him


    "Well we found you around a month ago, Nova here has the power to heal at such a level that she can bring a person who''s almost dead back to life, when we found you, your chest had a hole in it and your body was decomposing


    although one thing was shocking that you still were holding on to life even though not a shred of your heart was found in the cavity, oh! one more thing, we may brought you back to life but seems like your vagus and facial nerves


    are damaged and your lacrimal glands are not secreting anymore tears, to summarize you can''t change your facial expression anymore or any emotion, you will have to adjust with that smiley face though it''s kinda creepy"


    "hey Nova aren''t you being too harsh with the explanation"


    "no it''s not her fault afterall whatever she said is true, what i''m really grateful is for you to save my life, ARIGATO"


    Nova and Bazil where shocked of how calmly Veron was expecting the events folding around him, the he stood up and started leaving the room


    "hey kid where are you going, you just woke up"This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Bazil grips Veron''s shoulder tightly


    "i''m grateful for you to save me but i have to leave to finish an important business i promise i will repay you for all you have done for me"


    " wait wait don''t tell me you are going to fight the same guy who beat the shit out, do you? "


    "well i have to save my friends before they are turned into some toys by those guys and no i''m not going to fight them i just want my friends out of there"


    "are you an idiot, you can''t even walk properly and you are saying you will infiltrate the dragon''s den and do you even have a plan"


    "no i don''t have a plan but once i reach their lab, i can use my ability to scan out the whole map of the facility"


    "well you are not dumb that''s clear but you are not strong enough to face them if you got caught so instead our group can help you"


    "Bazil are you mad we ourselves are running as fugitives and you are saying we are going to fight against the authorities" whispered Nova


    "i appreciate your thought sir Bazil, but this matter doesn''t concern''s you"


    "hey kid do you think i made this group just for fun and a hangout for superpowers, i lost my own friends too and that day i swore to help those in need"


    Veron was impressed with Bazil''s thoughts but he was still doubtful of other''s decision


    "you are admirable sir Bazil but what about other''s , they themselves are running for life do you think they will be foolish enough to march to hell"


    "you are right boy i don''t have same thoughts as Bazil but i do wish that you save your friends"


    "hey Nova what are you saying, didn''t we agree to save all the people like us"


    "no sir Bazil she is right, u can''t go for certain death if it''s not worth the risk"


    "the kid is right Bazil, if those kids have powers so tremendous that they can bring more benefit than the loss then i can align with him"


    it was a golden chance for Veron to win over a force that can help achieve his goal, for that he disclosed the power Rita possessed


    "are you saying that she has the power to change the laws of this world itself"


    "yes and trust me i''m not bluffing"


    "if that''s true then that girl''s worth more than all of our lives"


    Bazil and Nova''s eyes were gleaming with hope that they can somehow change around what''s happening with them


    "well if what you said is true then that means they won''t kill her until they extracted out all the secrets of her power "


    "yes only our group and you people know about her true power"


    "but if that''s true then there must be large amount of security for her protection"


    "well that''s true"


    "then we have to gather a larger force for a better future"


    Veron was glad that he was one step closer to his mission


    "well then let''s get around all the areas and find people who are willing to help us"


    "thankyou sir Bazil for doing all much for our sake"


    "hey no need for thanks and please drop the sir part just call me Bazil"


    "oh by the way Bazil how are we gonna make other''s believe us" questioned Nova


    "well we will have the kid tell them his part of story"


    "yes i will help you in any way i can"


    but how are you gonna persuade them with this creepy smile and decomposed face


    "hey that''s harsh Nova"


    then Bazil searched around in a box and came carrying something in his hand


    "well putting an end to Nova''s worries i have a solution for that, i have a mask i made when i was kid, i put on a smile on this mask for as a hero always keeps smile on his face even in dire situations and i call it.... ''SMILE'', here this mask is for you now kid"


    "ah sometimes you are so cheesy Basil"


    Veron was glad to be gifted something by some and then he put on the mask


    "thankyou Bazil for this gift, i will treasure it my whole life"


    "well sure you will do"


    "oh! shit" exclaimed Bazil


    "what happened Bazil"


    "i forgot to ask your name kid"


    "well my name is Veron"


    "oh such a cool name, Veron, the hero of the MASK"