text: It was the first Saturday of the summer, and the skies of Obsidian Springs were completely cloudless. The sun was beginning to peek its head from behind the summit of the volcano that loomed over the island city, creating rays of light and heat that slowly overcame the land and left an array of endless skyscraper shadow patterns in their wake. Small cafes and diners were packed with locals who were out welcoming in the sunny season, while the city’s infamous “Skyline Beach” was flooded with tourists taking pictures of the city from every angle imaginable. Although the view of the city was nothing short of awe-inspiring, it still placed second on the list of sights visitors looked forward to getting a glimpse of during their stay on the island. “Mommy, daddy! I wanna see him! When can we see him?” A blond haired boy shouted, taking a break from the several small sand structures he had been working on. “It’s not up to us, bud. He comes when he’s needed.” Responded the father, who was sunbathing with his face buried into his towel. “We will not be seeing him!” The boy's mother angrily interjected. “The second I hear even a peep about one of those hideous creatures lurking anywhere near this city, we’re getting our things and going straight back to the hotel.” “Awwwwwww, come on! No fair!” Whined the boy. “That’s enough!” The mother snapped back. “Relax, babe.” the father said nonchalantly. “It’s not a big deal. There hasn’t been a serious incident in over a year. The guys a pro! You really want the kid to miss out on the chance of seeing a real life superhero?” “Red Orion is the coolest!” Shouted the boy, who was now sitting down on a towel, shuffling his hands around the inside of a small red and white backpack. “I said that’s enough! I refuse to put my family in danger just to see some reckless psychopath in a halloween costume jump around the city and-” “REEEEEEAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!” The boy screeched, interrupting his mother’s speech. The boy stood up, still screeching, and began running around in circles. He held two action figures in his hands and waved each of them in the air. The first figure was a large, black, demonic dinosaur, with streaks of orange and red running up and down it’s entire body. It had spikes which resembled flames running all the way down its back to the tip of its tail. The second was a smaller, much brighter humanoid figure. It was painted almost entirely red, other than two white stripes that ran along each of its arms and legs, white shoulder pads, and a white belt wrapped around its waist with a matching “O” for a belt buckle. The figure's arms were pulled up and bent to it’s shoulders in a flexing position, and the top half of its face was covered in a red helmet. The muscular man smiled brightly. The boy bent down on one knee and began pouncing the dinosaur up and down into the sand while holding the red figure behind his back. “Oh no! A giant Eruptaur is attacking the city! Everybody run!” The boy shouted frantically. He took a moment to plant his knee firmly into the sand before flopping himself down onto his stomach in a dramatic fashion. He reached his arm back behind his head as far as he could extend it, took a deep breath, and swung it forward with all of his might, furiously crashing the toy monster into the sand structures he had built. “It’s destroying the city! Somebody help us!” The boy yelled. His mother shook her head in disappointment while his father buried his face back into his towel. The boy smashed the sand structures until there was nothing left for him to smash. He bellowed out one more ear-piercing screech before taking a moment to catch his breath. He paused for a moment, and then began to wipe several imaginary tears from his eyes. “The city is ruined.. All hope is lost.. I can’t believe it.. We need-” He gasped suddenly. His cheeks began to rise as he pulled the bright red figure out from behind his back and lifted it towards the sky. “Could it be?” He whispered. “Finally.. He’s here! It’s...” *** “Shield?” “Check.” “Club?” “Check.” “Bow?” “Check.” “With the arrows this time?” “Check.” “Check.” “Wait, what?” “Double check to make sure you have the damn arrows.” “Arrows - Check.” “Binoculars.” “Check.” “No, gimme the binoculars.” “Oh. Here.” The two men sat together on a rooftop on the far west end of the city. They faced outward towards the large volcano to the east with their legs dangling over the edge of the roof. The smell of the island's coastal swamp crept up from behind them and masked the stench of the piles of trash bags that lined up along the sidewalks below them. Pedestrians looked like ants crawling up and down the streets beneath their feet. Vince Varsity, better known to the public by his heroic alias “Red Orion”, was the larger of the two men. He wore a bright red, skin tight tactical jumpsuit, modified with built in white shoulder pads, white lining along his arms and legs, and a white belt with a matching “O” for a belt buckle. Known to the world as the savior of the city, Red Orion looked like he was ripped straight out of a comic book. He held the binoculars up to his face and aimed them out towards the volcano. “Where are ya, ya little fuckers?” He mumbled. “It’s still early.” The second man said, noticeably annoyed. He was a much younger and smaller man, although he barely qualified as a “man” in Vince’s eyes. He was known to the world as Red Orion’s trusty sidekick “Blue Belt”, but to the few who knew him personally, he was simply known as Billy. Unlike Vince, Billy held no extraordinary abilities. He couldn’t outrun a bullet, or kick a building down, or turn an Eruptaur into a pile of ash with one single punch. Although he was only human, what Billy lacked in physical prowess was made up for in wit, intuition, and his inherent desire to save people in trouble. In order to keep up with the world’s mightiest man and save as many people as he could, Billy was equipped with state of the art anti-gravity technology from head to toe. Anti-gravity gloves, boots, and a gravity pack attached to his back all allowed him to manipulate himself or his surrounding environment freely. A small motherboard strapped to his wrist allowed him to control all of his gadgets with ease. He wore a royal blue jumpsuit that was littered with pockets and straps, which were all used to carry Red Orion’s lethal arsenal. He went around his body and tightened each strap one by one, securing every weapon in its place. He knew an attack could happen at any moment, and he needed to be ready to back up his superior. “Mornings are always pretty quiet. What’s the rush?” Billy asked hesitantly. “Yeah, but they’re never this quiet. We haven’t seen a single one all day. I wanna kill something!” “It’s the first day of summer, man. The city is the safest it’s been in months. Everybody’s out enjoying the weather, you should be glad!” “Fuck that! My job isn’t to care about any of those people. My job is to hunt and kill. That’s it.” “Jeez, tell me how you really feel.” Billy scoffed. Vince stood up and pulled the binoculars away from his face. He placed his hand above his eyes to block the sun from blinding his view and averted his attention downward towards the city. “You know what your problem is, Billy?” Vince asked crudely. “You care way too much about those insects down there.” Billy stared at him blankly and didn't respond. “What's the point in caring for a bug?” “They’re not bugs. They’re people.” Billy objected. “Maybe that means somethin’ to you, but it’s all the same to guys like me.” “Guys like you? What’s that supposed to mean?” “Billy, when a mosquito sneaks up behind you and buzzes around your ear, what's your first instinct?” “What does that have to do with-” “Answer the question!” Shouted Vince, who was now squating on the edge of the rooftop. “I swipe my hand at it.” “Exactly! And why do you swipe at it?” Billy paused again, unsure of how to respond. He knew whatever he said would be challenged, so he decided to say nothing. “Because it’s a nuisance, and it’s weak enough for you to know that you can kill it with ease. If you swipe at it and miss, maybe it’ll fly away. But you’re not gonna chase it down and break your back just to get another shot at swattin’ it down. You’ll forget about it in 30 seconds, and eventually somebody else will have to deal with it. And maybe that person will get lucky and land a hit. And maybe they’ll kill it! But it doesn’t make a difference whether it lives or dies. Because for every one mosquito that dies, there's a trillion more to take its place.” “What the hell are you saying? You’d kill a bunch of people because their lives don’t matter?” “Not a chance. Sure, I could kill a bunch of people if I wanted to, but I don’t. Because I don’t care enough about these weak little bugs to chase em down with a fly swatter.” “So then why do you care so much about killing Eruptaurs? They’re even bigger nuisances than people are. They cause destruction and chaos. They kill people!” “So do humans. They’re just not as fun to fight.” Vince said smugly before letting out a soft chuckle. “That’s a real shitty way of viewing life.” Said Billy sternly. “Well, that’s why I’m the hero and you’re the sidekick.” Billy scoffed and turned away from Vince. He walked over to the other side of the rooftop overlooking the smelly swampland and sat down on the edge. Heat from the sun rising behind him pressed down onto his back, which made him feel comfortable. He concentrated on his breathing as he tried to push Vince’s pessimistic comments out of his mind. His eyes wandered through the marsh aimlessly for a few moments before focusing themselves on a large patch of sawgrass. He watched the tall blades sway side to side with each gust of wind that came and went, and tried to match his breathing with them. He remained hypnotized by the marsh for several minutes before being interrupted by a faint, yet noticeable vibration from beneath him. His neck turned swiftly to face Vince, who was already looking at him. “Did you-” “Yeah, I felt it.” Vince interjected. “Did it come from inside the building? Maybe somebody just slammed a door.” “What? Were you sleeping or something? The whole city just shook!” Billy stood up and jogged over to Vince. He grabbed the binoculars from Vince’s hand and aimed them at the volcano. “Vince, you don’t think..” “There's no way. HQ would have briefed us weeks ago if there was a chance of her erupting like that.” “Maybe an earthquake then?” Billy said, as he lowered the binoculars from his face and slipped them into one of his pockets. “Seriously? An earthquake? Don’t be an idiot. When was the last time we had an earthquake here in-” Obsidian Springs interrupted Vince with another shake, this one presenting itself in a much more aggressive manner than its predecessor. The building they stood upon rumbled and shook with a might strong enough to knock Billy straight off his feet. His legs kicked out in front of him causing him to fall straight backwards. He managed to catch himself by throwing his hands down to his hips and flexing his wrists, which was the motion he used to quickly activate his gravity gloves. He propelled himself forward and quickly caught his balance. The ground continued to rumble and showed no signs of stopping. Screams began echoing throughout the city below them as the quake continued to intensify. “This building isn’t stable. If this shaking doesn’t let up it’ll come down any minute. We gotta get movin’.” Vince ordered. “But what about the people inside!?” “Insects get squashed all the time, Billy! Now let’s go!” “No!” Billy shouted. He tapped the screen on his wrist and activated his gravity boots to their inverted mode, making his feet stick to the roof like they were super glued to it. “I’m not going anywhere with you until you help these people!” “Quit fuckin’ around Billy, let’s go!” “I’m not leaving!” Vince paused for a moment and stared at Billy. His palms balled themselves into fists and his eyebrows pointed downward towards his nose. He let out a furious groan. “Fuckin dammit Billy!’ He shouted, before turning around and stepping onto the edge of the roof. “I’m gonna get everybody out. I need you to get higher up in the air and get a better view of the city. Try to see if you can figure out what’s causin’ all this shit.” Before Billy even had a chance to nod his head, Vince was gone. A red streak of energy lingered in the air for several seconds before disappearing. Vince loved to show off his flashy speed, but he normally only used it while fighting. Although he was stressed, Billy was relieved that Vince was finally using his power to help people. For once in his life, Red Orion was acting like a real hero. Without hesitating any longer, Billy activated his gravity pack and began flying upward into the sky. He aimed himself east and flew closer to the middle of the city in attempts to get the best view possible. He climbed higher and higher into the clouds, using the summit of the volcano as his waypoint. Once he reached his preferred height, he stopped climbing and pulled the binoculars out again. He pointed them towards the building he had just been standing on and was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Vince carrying out the final residents of the soon-to-be toppled apartment complex. He let out a sigh of relief and whispered “Thanks, Red Orion.” From there, he aimed his sights downward toward the middle of the city. He watched as the ground below him continued to shake. People were running and screaming in fear as they all looked for a safe place to shelter themselves. He zipped open one of his chest pockets and pulled out a small headset and placed it on his head. “Vince, can you hear me?” He spoke into the headset worrily. “I hear ya. See anything?” Vince’s muffled voice replied. “Not really. It’s chaos down there, though.” “Yeah, no shit. Notice anything weird up there? Any suspicious choppers or blimps or anything like that?” “Not that I see. It’s pretty-” Billy paused. Finally, after adjusting his focus to the sky, he noticed it. A warm, dull, purple glow emitting from the top of the volcano. “The hell?” He whispered, as he pulled his binoculars back up to his eyes. “What? What is it?” Vince’s voice shot through the headset. Billy floated and continued staring, but he didn’t respond. His eyes and mind remained focused on the volcano’s crater. “Billy! Hello? Can ya hear me? What the fuck’s goin’ on up there!?” Billy snapped out of it and dropped the binoculars down to his side. “I.. I don’t even know how to say it. The volcano, it’s.. It’s glowing.” “Glowing? What do you mean it’s glowing?” “I mean it’s glowing! The top is-” CRAAAAAAAAAAACK-ABOOOOM! A thunderous explosion roared throughout every inch of the city. Car alarms began sounding off, pedestrian screams reached an entirely new level, and every dog in the city was howling to the skies. Billy let out a stressful “Shit!” as he pulled the binoculars back up to his eyes. He pointed them to the top of the volcano again, expecting it to be spewing boulders of fire, but saw no change. The crater was still emitting a soft purple glow, but it remained peaceful. It wasn’t until he aimed his sights downward when he officially began to panic. A horrifically thick crack, starting at the very base of the volcano, had begun to race across the entire city. He watched as the ground beneath him ripped wide open, completely separating the city in half. Clouds of smoke began to leak from the depths of the earth, turning the city into a soot ridden wasteland. “Vince! Are you okay!? Where are you!?” “ECK - ECK - ECK!” Vince coughed. “Fuck this fuckin’ smoke!” “We gotta do something! What do we do, Vince!? We gotta make sure everybody down there-” “Billy, just hold on for a second! Get back on the ground.” Billy stopped and took a deep breath. He tapped his wrist and began to slowly descend from the sky into the smokey city. He placed his hand over his nose and mouth in efforts to avoid breathing in too much smoke. He was semi pleased to note the ground had finally stopped shaking when he landed, but that didn’t make his current situation any better. “Vince, where are you? I can’t see 5 feet in front of me.” “Just shut up for a second!” Vince barked. “Do you hear that?” “Yeah, every car alarm in the city is going off. What does that-” “No, not that! From below us. It sounds like..” Billy’s eyes widened as he realized what Vince was hearing. “Hissing.” He mumbled to himself. He jumped up and thrusted his arms downward, projecting himself up into the air as quickly as he could. He watched as a monstrous jaw snapped shut just an inch shy of his foot. An Eruptaur had nearly turned him into it’s lunch. “REEEEEAAAAAAAGGHHH!” The beast cried from directly below him, hopping up and down in attempts to catch his foot in it’s death grip jaw. “Eruptaurs!” Billy cried into his headset. “NO SHIT BILLY!” Screamed Vince. “I’m gonna get rid of all this fuckin smoke, take cover!” “I’m goin up!” Billy replied, as he soared back up above the smoke. Watching from above, he could finally see where Vince was. He watched in awe as the red energy streak zipped up and down the entire city within seconds. The wind Vince was creating with his speed caused the smoke to lift up and drift out towards the heavens. “That should do the trick.” Said Vince, who was now perched on top of a towering gray and white skyscraper. But with one problem solved, another presented itself in a much clearer, menacing fashion. The two men watched motionlessly, feeling as though they were frozen in time, as dozens of Eruptaurs clawed themselves out of the crack in the ground and began flooding the streets of the city.