Prologue
The billboard smiled down at the burning street.
A woman in silver armor floated above the city skyline, flawless and glowing beneath the slogan:
PROTECTING WHAT MATTERS MOST™
Below it, three cars burned beside a collapsed overpass while civilians screamed for help.
Eli Mercer stared at the billboard for exactly two seconds before muttering, “Yeah. Great timing.”
His comm buzzed in his ear.
“District Twelve response unit, status update?” the dispatcher asked, voice smooth and rehearsed, like she was reading from a commercial instead of talking to someone standing in smoke and broken concrete.
Eli adjusted the cheap half-mask covering his face and stepped over shattered glass. “Arrived on scene.”
“Estimated threat level?”
He looked at the wreckage. One overturned truck. Electrical fire. Panicking crowd. No visible supervillain. No elite response team coming to save the day.
“Two, maybe three,” he answered.
A pause.
“Understood. Platinum-tier heroes are currently unavailable.”
Of course they were.
They were always unavailable for District Twelve.
Eli pushed forward anyway, coughing through the smoke as alarms screamed overhead. Someone grabbed his sleeve — an older man covered in dust.
“My daughter,” the man gasped. “She’s still in there—”
“I know. Stay back.”
Eli reached toward the crushed vehicle. The metal groaned as his telekinesis strained against it. Weak. Unstable. Barely enough to qualify him as a licensed hero.
Online comments loved reminding him of that.
Discount Magneto.Budget Hero.Rent-A-Hero Reject.
The steel lifted inch by inch.
His head pounded instantly. Blood trickled from his nose.
Inside the car, a little girl stared at him with terrified eyes.
“It’s okay,” Eli said quietly. “I got you.”
Behind him, drones suddenly descended from the sky.
News drones.
Their cameras snapped toward the flames.
Toward him.
Toward the perfect shot.
Eli almost laughed.
The city never sent help this fast.
The girl reached for him as the wreckage shifted violently overhead.
Then Eli heard it.
Not an explosion.
Not collapsing metal.
A voice.
Calm. Mechanical.
“Scene recording confirmed.”
Eli froze.
And somewhere above the smoke, hidden behind the flashing advertisements and hovering cameras…
someone was watching.
