Join them? Wtf is this, Avengers? Like, Nick Fury and such?

“‘Join you’?” I asked.

“Yes! Join us!" Kenzie continued grinning, not answering my question.

"I... uh... I don't follow...?" I looked around Kenzie at the others (making sure to not stare at Kate in her suit [too much, anyway]). No one helped. They stared raptly at Kenzie.

Kenzie gave me a look as though I was a fool. “Come on, Michael… can’t be that hard to figure out. I mean, we’re no Hero Hosts, but we’re a fine group!”

Okay. Guess I should explain the Hero Hosts.

The Hero Hosts are the superteam. Five members, all with powers of exceeding syrength. My robbery? You send the cops. A nuke is being dropped on Michigan? Sorry, Michigan! The Hero Hosts are doing more important shit!

Okay, maybe they’d help with that particular situation, but you get my point. They deal with the real problems of the world. The Hero Hosts were the shit.

I’ll introduce them quickly, since they hold no importance besides subtext to Kenzie’s words:

• Crisp - the man with the power of the sun at his finger tips. I had doubts, considering a fraction of the sun would immediately destroy the earth based on my minimal knowledge on the matter, but the point is he’s powerful.

• She-Roid - the strongest woman alive. Well, strongest anyone alive. Could likely lift up the moon if she tried hard enough. And tall enough, if we’re getting into the specifics.

• O-Shit-Man - the most controversial member; he could control the water (like, all water… at all times. He could make the water you’re drinking right now **** you to **** from the other side of the globe!) but he was very racist. Real redneck type.

• Benny-Jammin - I know this doesn’t sound powerful, but his power is money. He was a super genius who had developed a technology that used audio-waves to demolish anything within a fraction of a second. He only became a superhero because he was fearful of the technology in anyone else’s hands. (Fun fact! The only member who didn’t have a secret identity: Benny was Benjamin Plouch, trillionaire genius!)

• Fear - and, finally: the leader of the Hero Hosts! This figure was obscured in mystery, though we knew some things. She was apparently so powerful, it was overkill to ever have her involved. She’d mostly become a commander of sorts, deciding what they should and shouldn’t do. Very cool! She’s the one that has established much of the laws and protocols about super-people.

Sounds fine and dandy, yes? Unfortunately, there is one thing I’d forgotten to mention concerning the legality of forming superhero groups.

“No, wait, Kenzie… you aren’t saying you guys-?!” I looked up at her, panic in my voice.

“Yes, Michael! We are… Those Changed Few!” Kenzie did a little proud pose, which I’m sure looked very heroic if she was in a costume and if I wasn’t terrified of what she’d said.

I shook my head. “Kenzie, no, you… you can’t! Don’t you know what they do to rogue vigilante groups?!”

I mentioned Fear earlier. One of her many famous policies was her dealing of ‘rogue vigilante groupings’.

You see, vigilantism is heavily romanticized, right? Who doesn’t fantasize about being a savior, adored by the masses! This is a problem for many reasons. Maybe someone with too-big an ego tries to save the day, right? Well, they could die; they could get innocent people killed; they could interrupt police protocol; etc etc…. you see her point?

Fear realized that there was no way to help bring a small bit of peace and control back to the world unless she did something about this. Something drastic. So, she outlawed it.

Punishment was the **** penalty, by the way. No matter the state, no matter the country; ****. No and, if, or but about it! You would be killed.

And now Kenzie had told me that everyone in the room was marked with ****.

And she’d invited me to mark myself.

“Kenzie, there’s… I mean, no! No! No fucking way!” I stood up from my chair. I looked at those sitting on the couch. “I mean, you guys aren’t fucking serious, right?! You can’t…”

My voice dropped from under me with the understanding that they were part of this. They all refused to meet my eyes. They didn’t say a word to defend themselves, to defend their innocence.

You may not understand… This is like you walked into your friends’ house and they were pointing a gun at their chest. “Hey, pal!” you’d say, “Don’t you know that’ll kill ya?” Then them saying “Yes!” and pulling the fucking trigger. Except here, they were also committing a crime. Wait, is suicide a crime? I’m really not sure….

I don’t mean to keep speaking to you, dear reader, but I know what you may be thinking: didn’t I already choose to live a dangerous life? Wasn’t I the one who signed up for mystery injections? The bomb?

Yes, I did. In the face of no other option. I had the option to stay clear of this. Maybe a bird shits on you, but that doesn’t mean you have to step in the dog shit in front of you, right?

Kenzie grabbed me by my shoulders, squeezing me. “Michael! I know- no, better yet, we all know the risks! We are careful, and we help the world! Do you not want to help others? Save lives? Make something of yourself?”

Me, being the pussy I am, replied, “No! I don’t!”

“But you do, Michael! You may not know, but your inner self knows! When in the face of danger, you risked your own life for those in need! To do so without any sense of a security net of powers makes you hundreds of times braver than any damned Hero Hosts!”

Kenzie loosened her grip. “I understand, you know… I’m yelling because I’m excited. I see you’re scared. You should be. What I ask is no light task. But I wouldn’t risk myself, my friends, or my girlfriend if I didn’t think you were capable.”

I’m pretty sure I heard Ava mumble “yes you would…”, but I couldn’t be certain.

Kenzie let me go, giving me a small pat and a smile. “You’re overwhelmed. You’ve had a big day, yes? Go rest. I’ll have your food brought to you. Think, please; consider your options.”

“Also, um… don’t tell anyone, please!” Sara spoke up. “Not that I think you would! Just… you know.”

I didn’t respond. I took the opportunity to leave and went to my room. I definitely needed to think.

Vanessa was waiting. “So they really told you? Huh. They never told me.”

-

I won’t lie, it’s 3 am and I’m drunk out of my mind. I procrastinated writing, and did it under… less than amazing circumstances. If this is terrible, I’ll rewrite tomorrow. Sorry! Also, I started uploading this on a few sites. Idk what people use, so I just chose a couple I knew one author I like posts on. I also made a Patreon, but I’m not linking it yet until I can properly have an incentive (aka once I stop being lazy and write ahead some). Thanks! Sorry again. I think I’m going to vomit.

Sober update: fixed some stuff. Drunk me was cool enough to do some world building! It’s still a little… goofy of a chapter, but I think it’s much better now.