Spectacular World

Let's Be Heroes Mr. Larison

"The Sub Enforcers, along with the help of the up-and-coming Poseidon, managed to defeat the villain known as Mars King, a member of the Bad Timers gang. During the fight, a city block was sadly destroyed by the villain's rampaging, but the heroes thankfully managed to evacuate everyone, and thus no one was hurt. I'd expect nothing less from the hero known as Poseidon. After all, she is the current holder of the Lord of the Sea-"

Hope quietly clicked her phone off and pocketed. It explained why she had been forced to go around her usual block. It would be under heavy construction for a few days.

Being grounded didn't matter when her mom was going to be at work all day, and since school was out due to the attack that was stopped by the Sub Enforcers last night, it was pretty easy for her to just walk out of her home and go exploring the city. She had her destination in mind already.

Her fist pounded on the door. It was the middle of the day, and she was afraid he might be at work due to the destroyed block, but she had to try at least.

A loud groan came from the other side of the door as it opened, and she struck. "I want you to be a superhero with me!" She stopped and looked up at the dark-skinned man on the other side of the door; that wasn't Jack Larison.

The man gave her a nod. "I'm in," Nick announced. "When do we start?"

"You weren't who I was looking for," she said awkwardly.

Nick gave the saddest look she had ever seen a grown man have. "Jack!" He screamed. "It's for you!"

"Tell them to go away!" Mr. Larison's voice came from what she suspected was his bedroom door.

"Okay!" Nick turned back to her. "Yeah, sorry, Jack's out right now."

"I'll give you twenty bucks that I swiped off of Armin if you let me in."

"I don't know who Armin is, but you got a deal." Nick turned and waved her in. "He's in there; just kick the door down. He deserves it for what he did to the TV."

She walked into the apartment and looked at it for the first time. It was about the same size as hers, but on the other side of the city, near the bridge leading to Lillian. There were boxes scattered everywhere and a few dirty plates. She didn't really get a good look the first time she had been here, but it seemed homely enough. She knocked on Jack's door. "Go away, kid."

"Nah." She twisted the handle and opened the door, stepping into his room. "Whoa! You're an even bigger nerd than I am, Mr. Larison!" She looked around his room, spotting all the action figures. "Hey, I have this one!" She proudly poked a swimsuit model variant of Lady Time, still in the box.

Jack was seated in a chair, staring at a TV. His face was pale, and his beard and hair were even messier than usual. He was gripping his arm and twitching, but his eyes never left the screen watching the news, which talked about how Max Lightning fought off a squid invasion in Gladiolus City. In Jack's lips, he held a cigarette, though it wasn't lit.

"You, okay?" She asked, going quiet.

"I'm fine." Jack snapped.

"You're a bad liar."

"Better than you." The red-haired man grumbled. "What do you want, kid?"

She huffed and folded her arms. "You know why I'm here."

"Kid, you see the state I'm in. Do I look like hero material?"

She had to agree with him. The fighting had taken its toll. Despite that, though she had to try. "I want to be a superhero."

"Then do it."

"I want you to be there with me." Jack eyed her up, so she continued. "I'm not that smart. I get that. Part of me is scared, too. But when we fought that villain, it was fun. I wasn't scared in the least. I want to be a good hero, but I have no idea where to start. I don't know how to improve my powers or what I need to do. You do, though. You tried this all before, right? You're strong, and with me, I can cover your weakness."