The System Gave Everyone Superpowers

We ran toward the flipped bank truck. The street was chaotic. Civilians were running in panic, abandoning their shopping bags and cars.

Through the thick black smoke, I saw the attackers.

There were four of them. They were heavily armed and wearing tactical masks. They were a coordinated crew. One of them had a glowing red cannon attached to his arm. He was the one who blew up the truck.

"Keep the crowd back!" the leader yelled, pointing his arm cannon at the terrified civilians scrambling away.

Leo was the first one there.

"Hey!" Leo shouted. "Step away from the truck!"

The leader turned his cannon toward Leo. "Stupid hero. Die."

He fired and a massive blast of red energy shot out of the cannon, moving incredibly fast.

It was aimed right at Leo's chest.

Before the blast could hit, Zachary stepped in front of Leo. The tank planted his feet on the ground and crossed his arms in front of his face.

The red energy exploded against Zachary’s armor. The force of the blast cracked the pavement under his feet and pushed him backward, but he didn't fall. His Blessing apparently made his muscles incredibly dense.

Smoke cleared around Zachary. His armor was scorched black and he was breathing heavily, but he was still standing.

"Go, Leo!" Zachary grunted.

Leo used the distraction to close the distance. His Blessing allowed him to store energy while he ran. By the time he reached the leader, his fist was glowing bright yellow.

Leo punched the leader right in the chest armor.

The kinetic energy released all at once and the leader was thrown backward like a ragdoll, smashing into the side of the bank truck. He slumped to the ground, groaning.

"One down!" Leo yelled.

But there were three more.

Two of the Villains pulled out high-tech assault rifles and started firing at Zachary. The bullets pinged off his armor, but the sheer volume of fire forced him to cover his face and slowly back up.

The fourth Villain—a mutant with long bone blades growing out of his arms—charged at Leo.

I stood near the back of the fight, behind a parked car. I watched the Gadol heroes work. They were fighting hard and taking hits to protect the civilians who were still trying to run away.

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I looked over at Genevieve.

She was hiding behind a concrete planter box fifty feet away looking up at the sky.

Her two Aegis media drones were hovering above the street, recording the fight.

"What are you doing?" I asked, walking over to her.

"Waiting," Genevieve whispered, keeping her head down. "Those Villains are high level. Their guns use armor-piercing rounds. If I go out there now, I'll get shot. My suit isn't bulletproof."

"So you're just going to let Gadol take all the damage?" I asked.

"That's what tanks are for," Genevieve snapped. "Let them exhaust the Villains. Once they run out of ammo and BP, I'll step in and freeze them. It's called strategy."

Strategy? It sounded more like cowardice to me. She was waiting to steal the kill again.

I looked back at the fight.

Zachary was struggling. The two Villains with rifles were moving apart, flanking him. Zachary couldn't shield his front and his sides at the same time. One of the Villains aimed his rifle directly at a group of civilians trapped behind a bus stop.

"Zachary, the civilians!" Leo yelled, struggling to fight off the mutant.

Zachary abandoned his defensive stance, turned his back to the second shooter, and threw his body in front of the civilians just as the first Villain opened fire.

The bullets tore into Zachary’s unprotected back.

He let out a painful roar and fell to one knee. Blood started to pool on the sidewalk. His HP was dropping fast.

"Zachary!" Leo screamed.

The second shooter laughed and aimed his rifle at Leo's head.

I sighed. I couldn't just stand here and watch Leo and Zachary die while Genevieve hid behind a plant.

I stepped out from behind the car and focused on the two Villains with the rifles. They were standing about twenty feet apart.

I rapidly decreased the air pressure directly inside the barrels of their rifles, creating a tiny vacuum in the chambers.

Cost: 10 BP.

When the Villains pulled their triggers to fire again, the bullets had no air pressure to guide the combustion.

Both rifles jammed instantly.

The Villains looked down at their guns in confusion. They smacked the sides of the rifles, trying to clear the jams.

"Now, Genevieve!" I yelled. "They're out of ammo!"

Genevieve heard me, saw the Villains struggling with their guns and saw her opportunity.

She stood up from behind the planter box and struck a heroic pose, making sure the media drones had a perfect angle of her face.

She thrust both hands forward. "Freeze, criminal scum!"

A massive wave of ice blasted out of her hands sweeping across the street, hitting the two confused shooters and mutant. The ice instantly encased them in solid blocks, freezing them to the pavement.

The fight was over.

The street went quiet, except for the sound of Zachary breathing heavily on his hands and knees.

Genevieve smiled brilliantly up at the drones, brushing a speck of dust off her shoulder.

"Target secured," she announced to the cameras. "Aegis Defense is always here to protect District 1."

I walked over to Leo who was kneeling next to Zachary, his hands covered in his partner's blood.

"Zachary, hold on," Leo said, his voice shaking. "Medics are coming."

Zachary coughed, his face pale. "I'm... fine. The civilians... are safe."

I looked at Genevieve posing for the cameras then I looked at Zachary bleeding on the ground.

Leo was right about one thing. The System was a hierarchy. But God didn't create it.

We did. And we made sure the cowards always won.

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