True Heroes - Chapter 5

The night was cool, with a small breeze flowing through the slums of Sollice’s outer reaches. The crescent moon shining overhead, it made the boredom of working a bit more bearable. The club was teeming with lowlives and drunk partiers, not that James could get much of a look, given his placement as bouncer.

This was probably the best of all his outlets for work. It paid decently, and he even got free drinks at the end of the night, given nothing had gone wrong. Though he might have gotten more money elsewhere, it was nice getting a break from the local law enforcement.

It hadn’t been a great week so far. Some cops found him “scavenging” at the local market, and they weren't to happy to see his record. In the end, they had let him off the hook, thinking he was just another street rat coming out from the poor neighborhoods. Another perk of being young, James supposed.

As he stepped out from under the absurdly bright sign for the “CrowBar”, he found himself looking yet again at the clock that hung in the next door window. 10 o’clock. James didn’t know if he could stand another 2 hours of this. He was only 19, Damnit! Wasting away cooped up in some club was not how he should be spending his time. But in the end, he needed the money, badly. The bills didn't pay themselves, after all.

Out of the corner of his eye, James could see the figure of a girl come into view. Short, dark, and ‘large’, there was no mistaking her. “You shouldn’t be here, Pira.”

Stepping out from the shadows, Pira Lament was a sight to see. Long blonde hair with purple highlights, a purple top to match, hoop earrings, and jeans cut to thigh length. With her appearance, she could almost blend in with the darkness around her. “Oh hush. It it a crime for me to say hi to a friend at work?”

“I don’t really care. You can’t pay rent if you get hurt, so buzz off.” Though you would never guess by looking at them, the pair shared an apartment. It wasn’t the best situation, but having a thief as your roommate did come with certain perks.

The girl gave him a teasing smile “Oh stop. You're just mad cus you got stuck working on a saturday night.”

James knew better than to argue with Pira. She had a tongue of steel, and a kick that didn’t lag to far behind. “So, why are you here?”

A pout crossed her face as she gave the wall a kick. “My date never showed. Thought I could stop by to get some drinks. Drown my sorrows.”

“You’ll get kicked out in two seconds trying to steal drinks in a club full of lowlives.” It wasn’t even that she was underage. She didn’t have the skill to steal from crooks, and she sure as hell didn’t have money for drinks, so this was a daring move.

With a wink and a grin, the girl strutted into the club. “You thinks so? Watch me!”

Great. Now he had to deal with whatever Pira was gonna do. There was no doubt that something would happen. Excitement seemed to follow that girl wherever she went. Should probably go with her, if only to make the job a bit less boring.

As James walked into the CrowBar, the lights and sounds almost overwhelmed him. The whole place was filled with 20-somethings and drunks. At the front stood a large stage, which currently stood empty, but normally hosted the best of the worst as far as talent went. To the left, the bar was teeming with people. The dance floor was also pretty popular, but not tonight, for some reason. The whole place looked like a rock concert, if it was also a bar.

Pira was nowhere to be found. Probably off finding some boy to terrorize. Well, if she wasn’t making a scene, she wasn’t his problem. Time for a little break.

As he made his way across the floor, the noise started getting on his nerves. The only thing that could be heard above the people laughing and shouting was the hip-hop blaring over the speaker. Probably a good thing that he spent his time out the front door.

The only empty area to be found was the DJ’s booth, which was currently occupied by the manager, Broley. He was a pretty chill guy, but boy could he get real mad if something happened in his club. James knew that all too well.

As James climbed up and into the room, he found the man sitting square in the room’s only chair, his feet sat up on the turntable and a grin on his face. “Hey”.

“Whats goin on, my dude! The clubs doin real well from what I can see. How’s the door?” Just by looking at him, you could tell Broley had had a few to many shots. He got real dopey when he was drunk, which made it a bit easier to catch him in a good mood. That's probably the only reason he had got the job in the first place.

“Pretty well. Thought I could take a break. That good?” It was almost like a different language talking to Broley. He was probably the only person in Sollice who he had to be nice to. Not that it was hard, but he didn’t like being forced to do anything, even if it was probably something he should do anyways.

Broley pushed his sunglasses to the tip of his nose and gave James a stern look, though he still held his patented smile. “Yeah, your good. Just keep the peace, and try not to mess things up. Otherwise, knock yourself out.”
James gave a thumbs up and slid back down the ladder. What to do… He always ran into the same problem whenever he got a break. The club was always crowded, and he wasn’t much of a drinker, so where does a guy go to catch a break? Outside. The same outside that he was trying to escape. So there wasn’t really a place he could spend his breaks.

As he walked over to the bar, a face seemed to stick out from the rest. A man. Pretty short,with abnormally pale skin and a head of grey hair pushed off to the side, he looked around 20 or so. He wore a plain trench coat and jeans, and his head was slumped over the bar like he was asleep. He was either a hobo or a tourist. No way anyone else would fall asleep in a club like this. Probably best to leave him be, though.

As he got closer he also spotted Pira, walking around the bar with a smile on her face and an object in her pocket. She was headed back towards the exit. James was equal parts angry and impressed. What had she stolen? How had she done it? Realizing she probably wouldn’t be coming back inside, he tailed her back towards the door.

“Wait!”

The girl gave him a short glance before continuing out the door. Now more annoyed than anything, he rushed ahead, and stopped her before she could get very far.

“Pira!”

“What!”

Pira wore a look of equal parts annoyance and excitement. Annoyance was understandable, but what could possibly make her so exited? She had only just entered a few minutes ago, so why was she leaving?

“What’s in your pocket?”

“Not your concern.”

“I work here, and I could easily get you banned for stealing if you don't let me look at this thing you got in your pocket. Now show me!”

Pira pouted for a bit, but after a moment's thought, her excitement overtook her annoyance. She pulled out of her pocket a crystal. It was black with small dark lines running through it, like you might see on a marble. It was large, taking up the whole palm of her hand, and had jagged edges lining the outside.

“I snagged this from some guy who was asleep at the bar! It looks crazy valuable! Do you think I could sell it?!
This jewel was an enigma. It was pretty. Way to pretty to belong to some schmuck in a bar. Why would he just carry it around in his pocket? If he knew he had it, why would he fall asleep? Who would be dumb enough to go to a nightclub with something that valuable in the first place?

“Pira…. I dont know-”

An explosion erupted from the club. Screams could be heard, and smoke started billowing out from the entrance.

“What was that!-”

Another explosion, this one knocking the pair to the ground. A whole entrance was now in ruins. Everything was on fire, and people were running in all directions.

James slowly rose to his feet, trying to look through the smoke for any signs of a source. Pira now lay unconscious, the jewel laying a few feet from her hand. The only thoughts running through his head were those of escape. They had to get out of there. Soon the cops would arrive, and people would start making assumptions. A thief and her friend just on their way out from a bar would be the easiest blame you could place.

But before he could go anywhere, a figure emerged from the smoke. He seemed to walk across the fire like it was nothing. As he came into view, James recognized him as the same man he had spotted at the bar.

“Oh, would you look at that. Seems the thief has been caught.” His voice had this quality to it that really made you want to punch him in the face. His pompous smile was only beat by his eyes, which shined a glowing red that seemed almost inhuman.

The man walked up slowly, taking his time to almost strut across the rubble. “I would have thought better of a people crafted by Sialus himself. To stoop as low as thievery, it just seems so….. bizarre. That something created with so much potential could be so ignorant of all it was given.”

The man approached Pira, completely disregarding the dumbstruck boy standing but a few meters away. He leaned down, and looked Pira right in the eye, although her eyes were closed.

“You should know better than to steal from those you can't anticipate. Your are a foolhardy girl. But it is no matter. You will soon learn the error of your ways.”

He reached down and picked up the crystal that Pira had stolen. After examining it for a moment, he held it high above his head. His smile evolved into a devilish grin, and he tensed.

“Now pay for what you did! Suffer for your misdeeds! And most of all, let the name of my master, of Malum, forever burn in your heart! Zap Cannon!”

As he said the final words, a circle of darkness enveloped him. Quickly, the circle evolved, growing more complex patterns and symbols. He was charging up.

“Wait! Pira NO!!”

It was too late. Just as James went to take action, a bolt of lightning shot down from heavens, it’s brightness blinding any poor soul who hadn’t yet run. The energy took shelter briefly in the stone before ricocheting off and hitting Pira square in the chest. It sent a shockwave back, sending James flying onto the curb.

James opened his eyes just in time to see the man hunched over, with his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. “Still…. so….. weak….”

Slowly but surely, he stood up, brushed himself off, and gave one final look at Pira.

“Hm… still alive… interesting…”

And with that, the man walked off into the darkness.


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James sat on the floor of his apartment, crying. He couldn’t remember a time in his life that he had ever cried before. It had always seemed unnecessary. He was the man, and that meant he had to be strong, no matter what. But sitting on the floor, staring at the unmoving body of the friend who just got struck by lightning a short few hours ago, it couldn’t be helped.

It wasn’t even that it happened. Just that he couldn’t do anything about it. He couldn’t take Pira to the hospital without risking that they would be found out and arrested. He couldn’t pay for the help from another source, as he hardly had enough to keep the space they did have. Pira’s family?..... Not an option. So they were left. Alone. In a society that couldn’t save them, in a town that had hurt them, with nobody to help them but themselves alone.

The world truly was ruthless.

James took yet another look at the Pira, who held the same grimace that she had when she was struck. Her hair was singed at the ends, and dust coated her clothes.The girl was not physically damaged, aside from some scrapes and bruises gained from the explosion, but her heartbeat was strange and erratic, like she was sleeping and running a marathon at the same time. To top it all off, she was still unconscious, with no signs of waking up.
In that moment, James made a vow. He would find this man. He would get revenge for what had been done to him, and what had been done to Pira. It didn’t matter what he was. It didn’t matter that he had some impossible magic rock. It didn’t matter that he didn’t stand a chance against him right now. Someday. Somehow, they WOULD fight, and he WOULD win, no matter the cost.

Society could go by it’s rules, have its laws, and save whoever it wanted. It had failed him, and it had failed Pira. It was time to stop trying to fit into a puzzle with the wrong piece. Now, it was time to make his own way. To forge something new, and maybe, just maybe, win by going his own way. It was time to act.


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Author's Notes: OOooohhh Boy, this chapter. I love this chapter. It goes ham with all the lore bits we’ve got to work with, and it changes the tone from all the previous chapters. James and Pira do an awesome job showing the rough underbelly of Sollice, and that this isn’t going to be just some Power Ranger’s spinoff. This stuff feels real. Like, really real! I am really proud of how I was able to write the scene with Pira and James meeting ‘the man’. It feels so tense and hopeless, which really reflects the way the chapter ends, with James vowing to get revenge. This isn’t perfect, though. I didn’t really know what to do with the scene in the club. I’ve never actually been to a nightclub, so trying to create one wasn’t easy. I also feel like things rushed a bit. I just wanted to get things rolling, but I didn’t quite know how to get Pira and James into the position I wanted, so the scenes were a necessary evil. I feel like the payoff was worth it, though. Also, I originally intended to make this chapter a bit later, but thought it would fit in well here, while everything is still sane. I actually have half a chapter written already, so the break between chapters 5 and 6 won’t be as big as 4 and 5. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed!

Cole ;p