Awakening prologue, Chapter 0: "Miracle Kid"
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*5 years ago, 12th of January 2019, 9:45 AM, inside of Bidou's Heroes boarding school cafeteria.*
"No way Ray!",*Sam's eyes widened at Ray's revelation, her green eyes in a state of awe and her jaw wide open.*, "You were the miracle Kid!?"
*Ray gave her a prideful nod*, "Yep! But don't tell anyone! It's a secret!",*Ray's playful expression turned serious, his eyes firmly locking onto hers*
*She gave him a determined nod, her smile wide enough to lighten an entire room*, "Of course Ray!",*Sam playfully zipped her lips.*
*Ray's serious expression quickly faded, replaced with its previous playful one*, "Good to hear that! Now the only ones who know my true identity are Mrs Sarah, my sister, Martin and you!", *Ray laughed with faux cockiness. He finished up a bottle of chocolate milk in a whiff, before throwing it in a nearby trash bin.*
"But Rayy, it's not fairrrr! I wanna go on missions too!",*Sam whined in frustration her eyes narrowed, before crossing her arms over her chest.* "You left the facility without an allowance and stopped crimes without a license even! Yet you got rewarded with a free mission pass...", *Sam shook her head, her long, fluffy red hair swaying with each movement.*, "You're lucky Captain Star is the number 1# hero, or you would've been punished, Ray." *She sighed, her expression softened upon meeting his gaze.*, "What happened to that villain anyway? I heard she's been put into some sort of a rehab program."
*Ray Shrugged his shoulders*, "Who knows," *He yawned, rubbing his eyes as he continued*, "the most important part is! That I whopped her ass so bad. She'll have to shit while standing" *Ray laughed proudly, and smugly. Ray's first ever takedown had been a massive success despite its many flaws, but his momentarily joy came to an end. Ray felt his phone ringing loudly, enough to catch the attention of people nearby. His cheeks emitted a rosy hue before he quickly took out his phone and soonzed the alarm off.*, "I almost forgot, The newest episode of 'Hero's Gossip' that features Captain Star as the celebrity guest airs in 5 minutes! Sorry, Sam, gotta go!", *Ray quickly packed his stuff in a hurry, before running off the cafeteria, waving Sam goodbye.*
*Sam waved him goodbye as well and hoped to see him tomorrow.*
*Ray urgently left the cafeteria; he ran through the hustle-filled halls of the facility, accidentally bumping into a few people but apologizing immediately. His excitement to watch his favourite hero live, talking about himself, and answering fan questions was enough to give him Goosebumps. Not to mention that Captain Star might talk about yesterday's mysterious hero and might even compliment him again in front of millions. In the end Rays effortless takedown of a villain while lacking enough training, and a license was something to be talked about.*
*Eventually, Ray reached the apartment he lived in with his mother and sister. Kicking the entrance door open and almost giving his little sister a heart attack.*
"RAYYY, CAN'T YOU OPEN THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL HUMAN BEING!?",*She was beyond pissed, her teeth grinding against each other, and threw a pillow at her brother in a fit of rage.*, "Jerk!"
*Ray ducked to flawlessly dodge the pillow attack, he locked the entrance door while he teased his sister.*, "A hero has to enter dramatically, Kuuki.",*Ray went over to his sister, who was sitting on the couch and watching television.*, "Where's Mrs Sarah?",*Ray asked as he snatched the remote control of his sister's hands, and plumped himself on the couch next to her. Kuuki rolled her eyes in frustration at her brother's rude behaviour, before she crossed her arms.,*"You could've asked the remote, jerk! And 'mom' is out for groceries.",*kuuki pouted, her gaze focused on the TV and hoped her brother wouldn't change the cartoon channel she'd been watching.*, "And she left you here by yourself? With the door open?", *Ray raised his eyebrow at her, curiosity written all over his face. Kuuki sighed, her voice softened before she faced him.*, "She Was in a hurry. There were crazy sales after all.", *she averted her face from her brother's, her eyes focused on the TV again.*
*Ray noticed his sister's odd attitude; he wanted to ask her what was wrong but decided to do it afterwards. Right now, Ray's main goal was to watch his favourite hero on the latest episode of Heroes Gossip at 10:00 AM. Ray held up the remote control in front of the TV and turned channel "023", but unfortunately, it seemed the Heroes Gossipp episode had been delayed for an hour, alongside many shows, movies and interviews that were supposed to air at that moment. Due to the grand opening of a long-awaited futuristic supermall that's been in construction for over a decade.
Ray raised his eyebrow in confusion, his face scrunched up in frustration.*, "What the heck!? Come on!!! Who wants to see some stupid opening rather than the goat himself 'Captain star!", *it wasn't long until Kuuki, his sister, explained why.*, "Because it's 'representing' how far we have come as a civilization, setting our differences, past mistakes and disagreements aside to focus on building a better future. Super individuals and normal citizens living alongside each other in peace is such a historical moment", *Kuuki rolled her eyes again; it's a habit of hers, and it seems to be more prominent when dealing with idiots such as her old brother.*, "But what would an airhead like you know anything about such matters?, *kuuki laughed to herself, she enjoyed blurting out facts towards her brother despite how annoying she found him.*, "Now, would you be kind enough to put back mlp?", *kuuki gave her older brother puppy dog eyes, her big, purple eyes stared innocently at him.*
*Ray huffed at his sister's info-dumpy habit before he shrugged off her cutesy facade.*, "Whatever, I'm not putting back my little pony. I hate that show with a passion.", *kukui clicked her tongue in Annyonce, her cutesy act worked on everyone, but him.*
*Ray scrolled through the entire TV in hopes of finding anything that wouldn't bore him to death or at least kill time for an hour. His sister gave up any hopes of having control over the remote and decided to watch whatever her brother put on instead.*
*Eventually, Ray ended up on channel 108, a news channel. Kuuki, his sister, gestured to him to raise the volume.*
"Urgent news! Bidou's long-awaited mall. 'Bidou's 31st-century mall' is under attack!" *The news anchor delivered the news calmly despite the tense situation. As live photos were shown, the news anchor continued.*, "A group of villains who call themselves 'The Ex-men' have managed to sneak past the police, guards and even heroes." *The news anchor took a deep breath, trying to maintain his slowly crumbling composure.*, "The Ex-men are Currently holding everyone inside 'Bidou's 31st-century mall' as hostages. Threatening to hurt civilians and cause catastrophic damage if their demands aren't fulfilled. Unfortunately, there's nothing we can't do anything for the moment except wait for the arrival of pro heroes and pray for the hostage's safety"
*Ray muted the television, his sister's expressions are sympathetic.*
"I can't believe some people could be this cruel. Hopefully, pro heroes arrive on time." *kuuki took a long breath before she sighed heavily.*
"This is it...my moment. Captain Star gave me this pass because he saw potential in me!", *Ray excitedly jumped off the sofa, his grin wide enough it was practically beaming.*, "Kuuki! Cover for me when Mrs Sarah arrives! It's hero time! Hahaha!", *Ray chuckled with determination filling in his eyes, he rushed towards his messy room and began sorting through his closet, causing even more mess in the process.*
"Are you insane!?! No Ray I- YOU can not do such a reckless act!", *kuuki stood in the doorway, her hands on her hips, and her tone firm.*
*Ray quickly dressed up in his hero costume. It was very noticeable that his costume was homemade and lacked protection, practicality and details which most modern superhero outfits had.*,
"Kuuki, trust me. I'm the miracle kid after all!",*he gave her a wide smile, his eyes reflected nothing but sheer determination and confidence.*
"MIRACLE KID MY ASS! ONLY BECAUSE YOU HAD ONE LUCKY TAKEDOWN DOES NOT MEAN YOU'RE A PRO HERO!", *Kuuki exclaimed at her older brother, her eyes slowly teared up. As she tried to hold her sobs.*"Please, Ray... Mom and I will genuinely be hurt if we are injured or worse..".
*Ray shook his head in disagreement and petted his little sister's head.*
"I appreciate your concerns my dear little sister, but do not worry, because I'm Ray, the next number One Hero! Besides I won't engage directly in combat instead I'll try my best to free as many people as possible, behind the shadows of course.", *he chuckled again, his confidence was off the charts, and his cocky daemon was infuriating, but nevertheless, Kuuki trusted her brother on this; his natural sense of chivalry always outweighed his flaws in the end.*
*kuuki gave her brother a tight hug, her head buried into his chest.*, "I'll try my best to cover up for you, but please come back safe, idiot.", *Ray was surprised at his sister's sudden act of affection; he was used to her bratty side, so to witness her in such a state was a new site.*, "Of course. I promise.", *Ray hugged kuuki back. As he slowly patted her head.*
*The situation dawned on Kuuki as she quickly pulled away from her brother's embrace, ending the small moment of affection. Her cheeks emitted a rosy hue and the embarrassment was beyond comprehension. Kuuki cleared her throat before she spoke with a pouty look, her usual attitude back.*
"Ray, you're-"
*end of chapter 0.*