The System Gave Everyone Superpowers

I spent the next three days in the Private Zone.

I didn't answer Captain May’s calls. I ignored Genevieve's texts complaining about me missing patrols. I just ordered room service to the training facility, ate quickly, and went right back to work.

Falling from fifty feet hurts, even when the System heals you a second later. By the end of the second day, my brain was exhausted from the pain, and my BP was constantly drained.

But I kept climbing the stairs and stepping off the edge.

I realized the problem wasn't just pushing air downward. That was just hovering. To actually fly, I needed lift and thrust, like an airplane. I had to wrap the wind around my arms and back, creating invisible wings that I could control with my movements.

On the third afternoon, I stood at the edge of the platform.

My BP was at 100/145.

I pulled the air tightly around my shoulders and back, creating two invisible currents of high-pressure air. I visualized them acting like real wings.

Cost: 30 BP.

I stepped off the edge.

The invisible wind caught me. I leaned forward, and the air pushed me forward. I leaned to the right, and the wind banked me to the right.

I was flying.

I glided across the room, feeling the rush of air against my face. It was incredible. I didn't feel heavy or slow anymore. I felt completely free.

I flew in a large circle, laughing out loud. Then, I slowed the wind down and landed gently on the floor, exactly where I wanted to.

A gold notification flashed in my vision.

[System Recognition Achieved.]

[New Spell Unlocked: Wings (Level 1)]

I opened my Status Screen and read the description.

[Spell: Wings (Level 1)]

Type: Active

Description: Creates aerodynamic wind currents around the user, granting high-speed, controlled flight and enhanced aerial dodging.

Cost: 10 BP to activate, 1 BP per minute to maintain.

I smiled. Ten BP to activate and barely anything to maintain. I could fly for over two hours without running out of gas.

I had a Skill to fight and a Spell to fly. I finally felt ready to deal with whatever downtown threw at me.

I left the Private Zone, took a hot shower in the locker room, and checked my phone.

I had a dozen missed calls from Captain May. I finally called her back.

"Where have you been?!" May demanded as soon as she answered. "You missed three PR meetings and a scheduled patrol with Frostbite!"

"I was training," I said calmly. "I unlocked a Skill and a Spell."

May went quiet for a second. "You unlocked System abilities? Without a private tutor?"

"Yeah. It hurt."

May sighed, but she sounded less angry. "Fine. But you can't disappear like that again, Shay. Aegis is in crisis mode. The Black Hole execution video has tanked the stock market. The public is terrified of Heroes. They think we are all corrupt cowards."

"Some of us are," I pointed out.

"Don't joke," May snapped. "The Mayor is demanding that Aegis and Gadol do another joint patrol today to show a united front. The HRC wants maximum visibility. You need to meet Frostbite and the Gadol team at the District 2 Plaza in one hour."

"District 2 Plaza?" I asked. "Isn't that a huge outdoor shopping mall?"

"Yes. It will be crowded. Smile for the cameras, Shay. We need good PR right now."

May hung up.

I put my phone in my pocket. A crowded outdoor mall. That sounded like a terrible place for a patrol, especially when a terrorist group was actively hunting Heroes.

I left the facility and took a corporate car to District 2.

The Plaza was massive. It was a huge open square filled with fountains, stores, and hundreds of civilians walking around in the afternoon sun.

I found Genevieve standing near a large fountain. She looked nervous and kept glancing around the crowd, her hands twitching.

"You finally decided to show up," Genevieve said tightly when I walked over.

"Sorry," I said. "I was busy."

"I don't care," she snapped. "I just want this over with. I don't like being out in the open like this. Not after that video."

"You're scared of Black Hole," I noted.

"Of course I am!" Genevieve hissed, keeping her voice low so the civilians wouldn't hear. "They executed a guy who had the exact same sponsor as me! They are targeting us! Before it was just low tier Heroes!"

Before I could answer, Leo and Zachary walked up.

Zachary was wearing his armor again, however, it had been repaired. He still had white bandages wrapped around his neck and arms from the bullet wounds he took a few days ago. He moved a little slower, but still looked like a tank.

Leo looked serious and didn't have his usual big smile.

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"Hey, Shay," Leo said, nodding at me, completely ignoring Genevieve.

"How's the back, Zachary?" I asked.

"Healing," Zachary grunted. "The System is generous."

"We shouldn't be here," Leo said, looking around the crowded Plaza. "This is a PR stunt. We are just walking targets for Black Hole. If they attack here, hundreds of civilians will get caught in the crossfire."

"Then let's just do one lap around the fountain and leave," Genevieve said quickly. "The drones will get the footage, and we can say we secured the area."

Leo frowned. "We can't just leave if the area isn't actually secure—"

Suddenly, a loud sound echoed across the Plaza.

I looked up. On the roof of the four-story mall building across from us, three figures in long black coats were standing near the edge wearing white masks with black circles painted on them.

Black Hole.

One of the masked figures raised his hand and a massive ball of destructive energy formed in his palm.

He aimed directly at Genevieve.

"Look out!" Leo screamed.

The energy ball shot down from the roof, heading straight for us.

The energy ball screamed through the air.

Genevieve stared up at the attack, her eyes wide with terror. She just stood there, completely paralyzed by fear.

"Move!" Zachary roared.

The tank didn't hesitate. Even with his bandages and healing wounds, Zachary lunged forward. He shoved Genevieve hard, knocking her out of the way just as the energy hit.

The explosion was deafening. The fountain next to us shattered, sending chunks of white marble and gallons of water flying into the air.

Zachary took the brunt of the blast, his green armor cracking loudly, and he was thrown backward, sliding across the plaza unable to get up.

The crowd erupted into screams. Hundreds of civilians started running in every direction, trampling each other in a panic to escape the open square.

"Zachary!" Leo yelled, running over to his fallen partner.

I looked up at the roof. The three Black Hole terrorists jumped off the edge, using gravity or wind Blessings to slow their fall, and landed in the center of the Plaza.

They drew weapons. Two of them had long swords made of dark metal. The leader, the one who threw the energy ball, raised his hands, charging up more destruction.

"Kill the corporate whore!" the leader shouted, pointing right at Genevieve. "Purge the fake Heroes!"

Genevieve scrambled backward on her hands and knees, scrambling away from the shattered fountain. Her suit was covered drenched.

"Help me!" she screamed, looking at me. "Shay, do something!"

I looked at my Status Screen.

BP: 145/145.

I was ready.

The two terrorists with swords charged at Genevieve. They were fast, probably Level 15 or higher. They ignored the screaming civilians, entirely focused on killing the Hero.

I activated my new Spell.

Wings.

Cost: 10 BP.

Invisible currents of wind wrapped tightly around my arms and back. I felt the powerful lift.

I launched myself forward. The wind carried me at incredible speed, my feet lifting off the ground. I flew directly into the path of the two charging swordsmen.

They looked surprised to see a guy in a hoodie flying at them. One of them swung his sword at my head.

With Wings active, my aerial mobility was perfect. I banked hard to the left, effortlessly dodging the blade by inches. The wind currents pushed me perfectly into position behind them.

I hovered five feet in the air, right behind their backs.

I remembered my Title. [Opportunist]: Bonus XP for attacking an enemy from behind.

I activated my new Skill.

Burn.

Cost: 5 BP.

I aimed directly at the dark metal swords in their hands.

The air around the metal swords superheated to 500 degrees Fahrenheit in a split second.

The metal turned bright orange and instantly melted into liquid slag.

"Agh!" both terrorists screamed, dropping the melting hilts of their swords. The intense heat burned their gloves and blistered their hands.

They stumbled backward, completely disarmed and holding their burned hands.

I flew forward, grabbing both of them by the backs of their coats using the momentum of my flight to throw them into the remains of the shattered fountain. They hit hard and didn't get back up.

I turned in the air to face the leader.

He was staring at me, his mask hiding his expression. He raised both hands, forming two massive energy balls.

"You defend a coward!" the leader yelled at me. "You die with her!"

He threw both energy balls at me.

I used Wings to shoot straight up into the sky. The energy balls missed me entirely, exploding against an empty storefront behind me.

I hovered thirty feet in the air, looking down at the Plaza.

The civilians had mostly cleared out. Leo was dragging an unconscious Zachary behind a concrete pillar for cover. Genevieve was still sitting on the ground, shaking, too terrified to even stand up.

I looked at the Black Hole leader who was preparing to throw another attack.

I didn't want to fight him down there. His explosive power was too dangerous. If he hit a pillar, the mall roof could collapse.

I needed to end this quickly and efficiently.

I flew down fast, diving straight at Genevieve and grabbed her by the collar of her suit.

"Hey!" she yelped.

"We're leaving," I said.

I pulled her into the air. With the extra weight, my Wings Spell had to work harder, draining a few extra BP, but it held. I flew us straight up, out of the Plaza, and over the roof of the mall.

"Cowards!" the Black Hole leader screamed from below, throwing a blast at the sky. It missed us by fifty feet.

I flew us three blocks away and landed roughly on the roof of a random office building.

I dropped Genevieve. She fell onto the roof, gasping for air.

I canceled my Wings and the wind disappeared.

I checked my Status Screen.

BP: 125/145.

I had saved her life, disarmed two terrorists, and escaped an ambush, all for twenty BP. The new abilities were incredible.

Genevieve sat on the roof, hugging her knees, crying. Her makeup was ruined, and her blue suit was torn.

"They... they almost killed me," she sobbed. "I couldn't move. I couldn't even shoot."

I looked down at her.

"You're a fake, Genevieve," I said. "You steal XP and pose for cameras but when real killers show up, you freeze. If Zachary hadn't pushed you, you would be dead."

She didn't argue and kept crying.

I walked over to the edge of the roof and looked back toward the Plaza. Smoke was rising into the sky. Sirens were blaring in the distance.

I pulled out my phone and called Captain May.

"Shay!" May answered immediately. "Are you and Frostbite safe? The drones caught the ambush!"

"We're safe," I said. "We retreated to a roof three blocks north. But Zachary took a direct hit from an energy blast. He looks bad."

"Understood," May said. "Stay there. Aegis extraction teams are on the way. Do not speak to the press."

She hung up.

I put my phone away. I had survived, but I knew this was just the beginning. Black Hole wasn't going to stop. They were going to keep hunting Heroes until the whole industry burned down.

And now, they knew exactly who I was.

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