The System Gave Everyone Superpowers

I walked into the lobby. Genevieve was already heading for the stairs.

"The Core is probably on the top floor," she said.

She ran up the stairs. I followed slowly behind her. A media drone floated right next to my shoulder. I gave it a thumbs-up.

When we reached the second floor, a terrible noise hit us.

It was a scream so loud it made my teeth vibrate and my ears ring.

Trevor stepped out from behind a desk. His mouth was open wide. Powerful sound waves rippled through the air, shattering the windows and pushing us backward.

I got ready to use my wind to block the sound.

But I didn't need to.

Genevieve was right there. After she froze up during the Black Hole ambush, she must have actually practiced.

She slammed her hands on the floor and a thick wall of ice shot up right in front of us.

The sound waves hit the ice wall, cracking loudly, but not breaking. It absorbed the noise perfectly.

Genevieve quickly stepped around the side of the wall and shot a fast beam of ice. It hit Trevor right in the chest, knocking him down and freezing him to the carpet.

"One down," Genevieve said, breathing hard.

She looked great on camera.

We moved up to the third floor. The mock Core was sitting on a table in a large boardroom at the end of the hall.

But the room looked completely empty.

"Liza is here," Genevieve whispered. "She is invisible."

I already knew that. I could hear Liza breathing in the corner of the room. I could have just used a tiny gust of wind to knock her over.

But I let Genevieve handle it.

Genevieve took a deep breath and used her Blessing to blow freezing cold air across the room. A thin layer of white frost quickly covered the floor.

A few seconds later, blank footprints appeared in the frost. Liza was sneaking toward the door to escape.

Genevieve shot a massive blast of ice right at the empty space above the footprints.

Liza yelped as the ice hit her. Her camouflage broke, and she fell to the floor, trapped inside a block of frozen water.

Genevieve had done it. She fought smart and beat both of them all by herself.

I just stood in the hallway, making sure the drone got a good angle of my smile.

Liza struggled against the ice, but it was too thick. She was completely trapped.

Genevieve dropped to one knee, breathing heavily, sweat dripped down her face.

Using that much ice so quickly took a massive amount of energy. Her BP pool was probably completely empty. Trevor's sound waves had torn a hole in the sleeve of her suit, and she had a dark bruise forming on her cheek.

She looked totally exhausted.

She had done all the heavy lifting. She fought a C-Rank and an A-Rank Villain all by herself, took the hits, spent the energy, and won the fight.

I hadn't used a single Blessing Point. My gold and white suit was perfectly clean. I wasn't even breathing hard.

Genevieve slowly pushed herself up from the floor, wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked up at the media drones hovering in the room.

She forced a smile, but it looked painful.

"Area secure," Genevieve panted, making sure the cameras caught her good side.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

She turned and looked at the mock System Core. It was glowing with a soft blue light.

The rules were simple. Whoever touched the Core first won the match and got the XP.

Genevieve deserved it. She had earned the victory.

She limped toward the table. Her legs were shaking, and every step looked heavy. She reached her hand out toward the Core.

She was only a few inches away.

I watched her hand get closer and closer.

I smiled. It was time to go to work.

Wings.

Cost: 10 BP.

I shot forward like a rocket, flying right over Genevieve’s head.

The sudden burst of wind blew her hair into her face. She gasped in surprise and stumbled backward, pulling her hand away from the Core.

I landed softly on top of the table, right next to the stone.

I looked straight at the main camera drone, stood up tall, put my hands on my hips, and flashed my perfectly practiced, Charisma-boosted smile.

"Don't worry, citizens!" I yelled cheerfully. "Seasons is here to finish the job!"

Just to make sure the cameras really loved it, I raised my hand and snapped my fingers. I rapidly dropped the temperature around Liza and Trevor. A new layer of ice covered them.

It didn't actually help the fight at all, but it looked amazing on TV.

Then, I reached down and tapped the mock Core.

A loud buzzer echoed through the building.

"We have a winner!" the announcer's voice boomed over the loudspeakers. "Seasons secures the Core and saves the day!"

The crowd outside went absolutely crazy. I could hear them cheering my name.

A gold notification popped up in my vision.

[Match Won. +500 XP]

I kept smiling at the drones. I got the win, Experience Points and all the glory without breaking a sweat.

I sat on a bench in the Aegis locker room drinking a bottle of cold water.

The door slammed open.

Genevieve marched in. She looked terrible. Her blue suit was torn, her hair was a mess, and the bruise on her cheek was turning purple.

She was furious.

"You stole it!" she yelled, pointing a finger at my chest. "I did all the work! I fought both of them! I spent all my BP!"

I took a slow sip of my water. "I know. Thank you for doing the heavy lifting."

"You just flew in at the last second!" Genevieve screamed. "You posed for the cameras and tapped the Core! You didn't even help me!"

I put my water bottle down and smiled.

"I was just following your advice, Genevieve," I said calmly.

She blinked, looking confused. "What advice?"

I stood up and looked right at her. "You told me exactly how downtown works. Remember the tech store? The speedster Villain?"

Genevieve's face went a little pale.

I repeated her exact words back to her. "'If you want the XP and the bounty, you have to be the one to finish the fight on camera.'"

She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"You taught me how to play the game," I said. "The sponsors don't care that you got bruised or that you fought hard and spent all your energy. They only care about what looks good on TV."

Genevieve stared at me.

"They saw me smiling," I told her. "And make a pretty ice sculpture while holding the winning Core. To the public, I am the hero."

Genevieve turned around and walked out of the locker room without saying another word.

I sat back down and checked my phone. I had a dozen new messages from Captain May. Sponsors were already lining up to give me money.

Being fake was the best strategy in the world.

The next morning, I took the private elevator straight to the top floor of the Aegis Tower.

Mr. Graves was waiting for me in his office. He was wearing a dark suit and a huge smile. Captain May was standing next to his desk, holding a thick stack of papers.

"Seasons!" Mr. Graves said, spreading his arms wide. "Come in, sit down. Your performance last night was perfect. The public absolutely loves you."

I sat down in the chair. "I told you I was efficient."

"You are highly marketable," Mr. Graves corrected. "The sponsors are begging to work with you."

May handed me a shiny folder.

"This is your first major endorsement," May said. "It is from Braple."

"Braple?" I asked, opening the folder.

"They make rainbow-colored energy drinks," Mr. Graves explained. "It is pure sugar and caffeine. The kids love it. They want you to be the new face of their brand."

I looked at the contract. The numbers on the paper were staggering.

"They are offering you one hundred thousand dollars a month," May said.

I stopped reading and looked up. "A hundred thousand dollars? A month? Just for drinking soda?"

"You don't even have to drink it," Mr. Graves laughed. "You just have to hold the can when the media drones are recording. Make sure the logo faces the camera. Smile. That's it."

I stared at the contract.

A few months ago, I was working a terrible night shift at a gas station just to pay rent for a dirty apartment. I swept floors and got yelled at for taking naps.

Now, I was being handed a fortune just to stand around and look happy holding a can of sugar water.

I had officially beaten capitalism.

"Do you accept the terms?" May asked.

I didn't even read the rest of the pages or fine print.

I grabbed a pen off the desk and signed my name at the bottom.

"I love Braple," I smiled.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!