Gray Heroics: Book 1

Keep It Righteous: Prologue Interview

(+ = Righteous Lad
X = Interviewer)

[ Five Years Ago... ]

The door of the room swings open as a man in a suit and a clipboard in hand leads the way inside, flicking a light switch upward and revealing an awfully simple interior as he does.  A table with a pair of chairs at opposite sides sits at the center, a light bulb hanging above, and what the young man following inside assumes to be a one-way viewing window. The mentioned latter looked to be at least a college freshman - standing nearly six foot tall, a head of shaggy hair, and wearing an attire with an obvious patriotic color scheme that consists of a white T-shirt with 'U.S.A' written in bold letters on the front, a red & blue thin open track jacket, blue jeans, white wristbands bearing a single red star, and a pair of worn, red converse high-top sneakers on his feet. You wouldn't guess it, but he even made sure to wear blue socks, too.

X: "Have a seat, if you will." The interviewer requests as he proceeds to claim the seat closest to the window. The young settles into the other.
"Alright, so what's your deal here, kid? No mask or costume–

+:"But, this is my costume..."

X"I mean a real costume. You're wearing civilian clothes. You look like  a mormon kid from the 70's. I bet you don't even swear, do you?"

+:"...My mom doesn't like hearing it in the house, even if it's just on TV."

X:"Yeah, I figured. You look like a momma's boy."

+:"Oh, come on..."

X"Relax, kid. I'm just yanking your chain a bit. Get an idea of what kind of person you are. In all honesty, you seem like a good guy. Don't care for masks, by the way?"

+:"I-I didn't... really think about using one. I saw–"

X:"You saw big name heroes do it, and thought that you could do the same. I don't have to explain the importance of a secret identity to you, do I?"

+:"No, I know the risks. I know."

X:"And you still couldn't be bothered to at least wear a baseball cap and some shades?"

+:"I thought I'd be fine. With my powers, I thought I could work around it."

X:"Junior, you're underestimating just how gruesome this lifestyle can be. You get to help people and do other good things, yes. But you INEVITABLY piss off the most unpredictable people out in society. Some will screw with your personal life to get back at you, and some will do just for shits and giggles. It's not always pretty out there, son."

+:"Ah man, that sounds intense... I don't want to get my folks caught up in anything crazy..."

X:"Yeah, so you better be serious about this. I won't tell you what to do, but just know that face scanning is a real thing and one of the leading causes of tragedy in this business. With that said, what can you do? What are your powers?"

+:"I... I can burn stuff with my eyes, I can sort of fly - still getting used to it -, lift heavy stuff, see things from very far away, hear things far away, run really fast. Uuuhh.. Blue fire breath, freeze things that I touch, and... survive huge falls."

X:"Huh? What kind of weird power set is that? You aren't taking experimental drugs, are you?"

+:"What? No! My mom would be heartbroken if I started doing drugs. I know it sounds weird, but it's true. And... there's a really bizarre catch to them."

X:"A catch, huh? What sort of catch?"

+:"I can only fly, use my super speed, and eye-zap power during the day. And my fire and ice powers at night."