Omega Kid 

Chapter 1: Why Not Me?

It started off uneventful; going to school, doing homework, playing God of War III, and then I decided to search YouTube to see if there was any news of a UK release of the new season of Heroes. During my search, I saw a video titled 'wannabe superhero'. I decided to check it out, see how cheap budget this fan video was, and I was blown away. It was news footage of a kid dressed in a green swimsuit fighting off three thugs with nothing but two batons and a will to never back down. It was intense. He was getting knocked down time and time again. The three that were on him didn't hold back on the punches, even across a computer screen I could feel the force of the hits that were dishing out, but it was like this kid was inhuman, he took them all in his stride and rose back onto his fight to take them all on once more. It got to the point where the three thugs had to scurry off, like defeated dogs with their tails between their legs, meanwhile, this superhero had no concern for his well-being, only for the battered guy he was protecting from the thugs. Unbelievable is the first word that comes to my mind, followed by amazing.

In the months that followed, that kid named Kick-Ass became a sensation. All around the world, there were Kick-Ass comics, costumes and every single piece of merchandising known to mankind. And it wasn't long until more heroes popped up, all inspired to fight crime and protect the innocent. The first one that really stood out was Red Mist, but he didn't last long, disappearing just as quickly as he arrived on the scene. One night, during news round, Kick-Ass and some Batman impersonator had been kidnapped and were saved by a little girl in a costume. Kick-Ass, Red Mist and the other two heroes haven't been seen since, but that hasn't stopped other heroes appearing everywhere in America. All kinds of costumes, wacky names and personalities, it was incredible...but you know what would be more incredible? If that actually happened over here in the UK!

Speaking of which, I've forgotten to introduce myself, the name is Thomas Lanks, your normal 15-year-old living in London. Nothing really special about me; going to the cinema, playing video games, and still waiting for Arsenal Football Club to win something. At school, I wasn't the most unknown kid at school, but I didn't have any real friends either cause I didn't stand out at anything. I wasn't the smartest so no one needed my help with schoolwork, and I wasn't the most athletic so I wasn't part of any of the school's sports teams. Everyone just looked past me, I did get the occasional taunt sometimes, but even the bullies got bored of me cause I was unknown.

Outside of school is where things were better for me. I had the two best friends anyone could ever hope for, the brothers, Alex and Stephen Columbus. They considered me like another brother since our mothers were best friends growing up, and so the three of us grew up together pretty close. Alex and I were born within a week of each other, me just edging out on him, while Stephen is three years younger. Although when Alex and I get into our arguments, Steph seems to be the most mature out of the three of us.

My parents...died in a car accident when I was about four. I can't remember anything from it, but apparently, I was involved in the crash, I was the lucky one if you could call it that. It's still scary to think about at times, not knowing how or why it happened. Since then, I've moved about with other relatives, aunts and uncles, until finally, my older sister Jenna turned eighteen, and she could become my new and permanent legal guardian. What can I say about Jenna? She's a big pain, but I love her, and although I've never really said it to her, I admire her never-say-die attitude. Her records show countless job interviews, all turned down because her grades never quite made 'the right impression.'

I do really want her to succeed and make something of herself, but in times of recession and a lot of unemployment for older teens, it's hard if you don't seem to have that special something. She does have at least one job to help pay the bills, working at a local comic book shop, Comic-City. It was ironic a few months back when she came home to say she had her first job at a comic store while I was sitting in my bedroom reading them. Another neat thing was it gave Alex, Steph and I a place to hang out and talk...or more often arguing.