Hero Awakening: Shadow Vanguard

Under Attack

The first thing Michael saw when he regained consciousness was the face of his best friend awkwardly close to him. They were still in the basement, and while everything seemed normal to Daniel, Michael was freaking out inside.

"Where's the box?" Michael asked as he rose from the floor. He had been too focused on finding the box that he had completely neglected the fact that his once burnt hand was now completely healed. He didn't notice, not until he slammed his fist against the wall in frustration.

"I didn't find any box when I woke up, and that was three hours ago. It's well past noon by now." Daniel replied before walking forward to calm his frustrated box. "I think you should take a break from this black box for now. Get something to eat, and we can continue looking for it afterwards." He suggested.

Michael didn't argue, nor did he oppose Daniel's decisions. He knew something had happened with the box, and it definitely had to do with the fact that his completely burnt hand was healed. Even if the pain from the burns was an illusion, his once broken knuckles were completely healed as well. Did the box grant him healing prowess? Michael wondered, but didn't worry too much in his thoughts.

As the two boys settled around the dining table, Michael couldn't shake off the grim feeling that came along with the thoughts of his recent experience. He had screamed, he heard himself, but somehow the noise hadn't woken his friend up. The temperature of the room had risen to over seventy degree Celsius as well, but somehow that hadn't woken Daniel as well. He understood that as a pyrokinetic, Daniel had some sort of resistance to heat, however, his friend wasn't deaf in any sort of way.

"Last night, did you notice anything weird? Didn't you hear a scream, bright lights and heat?"

Daniel looked up from the bowl of cereal before him and rested his very confused eyes on his friend's face. He had been acting strange since he woke up, but he didn't want to make his friend look stupid, especially not on his birthday. First it was the black box, and now screams?

With mild sarcasm, Daniel replied,"We were in the basement and inside a room walled with platinum. I'm not sure I would have heard a scream even if someone was right outside the door." He kept his eyes on Michael's, and when he realized that his friend was being serious, he finally turned towards the most logical cause of all this weirdness. "Did you have a nightmare last night?"

"It wasn't a nightmare." Michael answered sharply. "I found the box, opened it, and all of a sudden everything became bright. It felt as though my entire body was on fire, and no matter how much I called out for you, you wouldn't wake." He explained while staring into the eyes of his now awestruck friend. "It seems unbelievable, but I think my father had done something with that box. Something that I can't explain yet."

There was a brief silence between the two boys, but after thirty seconds of staring at each other, Daniel finally broke the silence. "Do you think he gave you a superpower?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Powers can't be transferred like it's nothing." Michael retorted.

"I know, but they're caused by mutations in human DNA. If what you said is true, don't you think it's possible the box could have done something to you?"

Michael turned his face away from his friend's inquisitive eyes. He had thought of this probability the moment he caught sight of his healed knuckles, but didn't want to give himself false hope. Scientists were yet to discover what triggered these mutations in humans, there was no way his father, an average Joe who could barely find the difference between his right and left could have produced a box that magically gives somebody superpowers.

"Do you want to test it out?" Daniel suggested excitedly as he rose from where he sat.

"Test what out? Even if it's true, I have no idea what sort of powers I have." Michael replied while he steadily backed away from his overly excited friend.

"Do you feel weird, notice any changes in your body?" Daniel inquired.

Michael contemplated, he didn't want to say anything until he was sure, but he trusted his best friend. "I had an injured knuckle and burnt arm last night. This morning they were completely healed." He revealed, and in the same moment Daniel reached for the kitchen knife.

"What on earth do you think you're doing with that?!"

"It's going to be a slight cut, if it doesn't heal I'll burn it to prevent infection." .

For the first time in his life, Michael had become terrified of his friend. Steadily he increased his backward pace, and soon he was running around the house with Daniel chasing after him with a kitchen knife.

"Fine, I won't cut you. We'll use a needle instead." After hearing the more pleasing idea, Michael finally surfaced from where he'd hidden. He hadn't been afraid to shatter his knuckle bones last night, but now the thought of getting cut by a knife seemed terrifying. He couldn't blame himself though, he was going through a lot of emotions last night, and that was probably the only time he could have done something as reckless as breaking the bones in his hand on purpose.

Daniel lowered the kitchen knife where Michael could reach for it. After securing and keeping the blade away, Michael finally joined his friend who was waiting for a needle in the living room. He had suddenly began to regret why he ever said a word to Daniel. But if he somehow got powers from that box, then it was necessary that he found out what it was.

Slowly, he stretched out his index finger into Daniel's reach, and after readying himself mentally and physically, he nodded to give the go ahead order.

Excited, Daniel sunk the needle into his friend's fingertip, and disappointedly, Michael bled.

"I don't think it's advanced healing." He informed the obvious to Michael who was suckling on his bleeding finger.

"Don't you think I see that—" Michael paused abruptly. The pain in his finger had completely disappeared and so had the bleeding. But at the same time he suddenly felt a bit weak. "I.t...it worked!" He exclaimed. It seemed surreal, but it was true. But how? How had Harold Black, a man who wasn't known for his intellect, manage to create such a box? And what does this mean for him? Michael wondered.

Surely, this wasn't so he could inherit his father's dream to become the world strongest superhero, or was it? Had Harold Black created the box knowing that his son wouldn't be born with a superpower? Or had he created it for a completely different purpose. There were a lot of questions going through Michael's mind at the moment, but his confusion didn't seem to bother Daniel Hardwood one bit.

"What does this mean for us? Are we finally going to enroll in the government program tog—"

"No, absolutely not." Michael interjected sharply.

Stunned, Daniel's excitement suddenly wore off. He knew his friend hadn't been the same since his parents died in action, and it was the exact reason why he hadn't begun to pursue his dreams of becoming a superhero. He hadn't even told his parents about his awakening because he knew they'd coarse him into enrolling into the government scheme. He did all of that because he wanted to be by Michael's side to protect him. But now that his friend had awakened, he was hoping they'd enroll together, get stronger and protect the weak.

"Why? Don't you want to save people? I understand that you're afraid that something bad might happen, but isn't it worth it? You always wanted a crime free society, we can create it."

A mild chuckle broke past Michael's lips and he mocked his friend's delusions. "The world won't change because the two of us decided to become heroes. And secondly, you misunderstood my intentions. I do not wish to save others. These powers were given to me so I can protect myself, not others." Turning his gaze from Daniel's confused eyes, Michael continued. "To me heroes are fools who throw their lives away for recognition and money. They don't care about saving lives, all they care about is fame and money."

"Y-you don't mean that, right?" Daniel asked in a shaky tone.

"Our ideals may differ, but I respect your wishes. Unlike those scum, you genuinely wish to save people. I won't stop you from enrolling into the heroes program. It doesn't matter what you do, you'll always remain my best friend—"

A bullet to the stomach stopped Michael from finishing his sentence. Reflexively, Daniel yanked his bleeding friend to the side to avoid another rogue shot. Acting swiftly, he raced for the basement. If he could get to the compartment, he might just be able to save himself and his friend from whatever was happening.

He had barely taken two steps forward when suddenly an invisible force yanked him away from Michael's bleeding body. Realizing the situation, Daniel's mouth dropped in utter shock. This was a real attack—a real attack by super villains.