Battle Of Gods

Chapter 9 : Friendship

** Flashback ** 

4th February 2008

After Jennifer went to New Zealand with her mother, Leonard was very sad. He felt lonely. He stopped going out to play with his other friends. He was not interested in anything. His father George also felt bad for him.

One snowy day George came to him and said, "Leonard, you can't keep moping around like this. It's not healthy. Why don't you go out and play in the snow?"

Leonard sighed and replied, "I don't feel like it, Dad. I miss Jenny. Everything's different without her."

George, in a silent voice said, "I know, son. But life goes on. You can't let one thing bring you down like this. Come on, get up and go to the park. The snow looks beautiful out there.

Reluctantly, Leonard trudged through the powdery snow, his mind clouded with thoughts of loneliness and longing. As he reached the park he saw a group of 3 middle school boys, fueled by cruelty, tormenting a younger child, demanding his Christmas gift money.

With a surge of determination, Leonard sprang into action. Though he knew he couldn't match the bullies' powers, he devised a clever distraction, pelting them with stones to divert their attention. As the bullies went in the direction of the stones origin, seizing the opportunity, he whisked the frightened child away to safety.

Running, both of them came to an empty alley a few blocks away from the park. The alley was dim lit with nobody nearby

Leonard asked him, "Are you okay? My name is Leonard. What's your name?"

A shaken Allen replied, "I'm Allen. Thank you for saving me. But you shouldn't have done that. Those boys are really dangerous."

Allen, though grateful for the rescue, cautioned against retaliation, fearing the bullies' retribution.

Leonard replied,

"It's my duty to help those in need," Leonard explained earnestly, his eyes alight with resolve. "I want to become a superhero when I grow up. And my dad has told me that a superhero always saves people in need. So I couldn't just walk away after seeing you in trouble. "

Hearing this Allen was motivated and looked at Leonard with admiration.

Suddenly someone came from behind and kicked leonard. They were the same older boys from the park. They came chasing Leonard and Allen. They beat up Leonard and threw him aside. Then they cornered Allen and beat him into giving them money.

One of the bullies, Mark, who was also the leader among them, had the power of Gravity Control. This superpower allowed him to increase or decrease the gravity pull on a person or an object. He touched Allen to reduce the gravity pull on him and then they started to toss him around and threw him on a wall.

Allen screamed in pain, "Help me Leonard !!! ".

With Allen's desperate plea for help echoing in his ears, Leonard's resolve solidified. He got up and picked up a metal pipe lying nearby and hit it on Mark's head. With the sudden blow to his head, Mark fell down in an instant. The other 2 boys got scared. Leonard went ahead limping, stood in front of the wounded Allen and faced the boys with the bloodied pipe in his hand.

The scared boys questioned Leonard, "why are you using a weapon? This is against the law. Can't you use your powers?".

To which Leonard replied, while coughing a little blood, "So hurting innocent kids with your superpowers is not against the law?

With an angry tone, he continued, "I don't have any powers yet. But I won't let that stop me from saving someone who needs my help. And besides, not having superpowers is still better than having and using it to hurt others."