The System Gave Everyone Superpowers

An hour passed.

The highway stretched out along the coast, the ocean crashing against the cliffs far below. Francis was already asleep in the passenger seat, snoring loudly with a fresh can of beer tucked under his arm.

I was leaning my head against the window, about two minutes away from joining him, when a sharp metal crunch rattled the SUV.

The heavy black SUV jolted sideways.

Two black sedans had pulled up on either side of us, matching our speed. Rifle barrels extended from their windows, spewing lead directly into our doors.

The glass held up against the first burst, but sparks flew as the metal began to whine under the stress. A second later, a bullet punched straight through the passenger door panel, missing Francis's leg by two inches.

Francis snorted and rolled over.

"Armor-piercing rounds!" Mai yelled from the back. "They're chewing through the plating!"

Mai raised her hands and opened a portal right next to the left sedan’s front tire. The car’s wheel dipped into the gateway, and the entire sedan went flying off the highway, tumbling into the ocean below.

Two more black cars sped out from behind a logging truck, immediately taking its place on our left flank.

"Fuck!" Mai hissed, her hands shaking slightly. "There's too many of them! I can't keep targeting them fast enough without losing visual!"

I let out a long sigh and unbuckled my seatbelt. "I'll do it."

I kicked the rear door open, the wind roaring into the cabin as the highway blurred past below us.

Wings.

I launched myself out of the SUV and shot into the sky.

Inside the cabin, Koda raised his hand, his finger glowing. "Allow me to assist, Seasons—"

Before his finger could draw out anything, Mai lunged forward and grabbed both of his wrists, pinning them flat against his seat.

"Create a shape," Mai growled into his ear, "and I swear to God I will warp your hands into a meat grinder."

Koda chuckled, relaxing his wrists in her grip. "So untrusting, Portal."

Hovering in the air above the highway, I looked down at the ambush. There were four sedans now, swarming our SUV.

I targeted the air pressure beneath all four enemy vehicles, and yanked it straight up.

An updraft slammed into the undercarriages of the sedans.

All four cars were lifted off the pavement, their tires spinning in the air. With a flick of my wrist, I pushed a wall of wind forward.

The wind caught the four floating cars and launched them. They flew miles out over the ocean, splashing into the deep water far out of sight.

I glided back down and stepped inside, pulling the door shut behind me.

I buckled my seatbelt and leaned my head back against the headrest. "Clear."

Mai let go of Koda's wrists and wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. "Could you identify them? Did you see any logos or emblems on their gear?"

"No," I said, closing my eyes. "They all had ski masks on. But they were weak as shit. Poorly organized, bad aim. Level 20s or 30s at best."

Up in the front, Francis finally blinked his eyes open and popped the tab on his beer can.

"Probably mercenaries," Francis said, taking a slow sip. "Black Hole and Jungle have been putting bounties out on me for months. Those guys were probably just low-level affiliates trying to get a quick payday."

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Mai frowned. "Black Hole and Jungle are after you?"

"Of course they are," Francis grunted, leaning his head back. "You think those crazy bastards like guys like me?"

Koda leaned forward in his seat. "Which brings up an interesting question, master engineer. What exactly is it that you do at Hilon?"

Francis snorted. "I design Core weaponry. High-yield elemental converters, heavy-duty barrier breakers, military cannons. Hilon sells my designs to every major defense contractor in the country. Brand, MTX, Forbe... who then of course sell to the U.S. Military."

"So you're the backbone of the entire nation's defense arsenal," Mai said, her eyes widening slightly.

"Pretty much," Francis said. "If Black Hole or Jungle gets their hands on my brain, they get the blueprints to strip down every defense grid in America. That's why Hilon is paying you a fortune to keep me breathing."

I looked out the window. Up ahead, the signs for Silicon Valley were starting to appear.

"Well," I said. "We better keep you safe then. I'm not getting my contract canceled because some drunk genius got kidnapped."

I checked the dashboard GPS screen.

"Hang tight, old man," I said. "We're almost there."

The SUV rolled onto the approach for the bay bridge connecting the coast to Silicon Valley.

Then, we stopped.

Red brake lights stretched ahead of us for miles. An hour passed, and the SUV hadn't moved more than ten feet.

Our driver turned around in his seat. "Guys, traffic is completely gridlocked. We could take the mountain route, but it's going to add three hours to the trip."

"Fuck no," I said. "I'm not sitting in this car for three more hours."

I popped the door open and stepped out. "I'll go see what the holdup is."

Wings.

I flew straight down the line of stopped cars.

At the very end of the bridge, right near the exit ramp, I found the problem.

A street brawl was blocking all four lanes. On one side was a group of Mutants. On the other side was a gang wearing bright yellow coats with gold emblems. Golden Sword. An extremist group that hated Mutants.

They were throwing punches, hurling attacks, and screaming slurs at each other, blocking the exit.

I hovered directly above them, held out my palm, and aimed at the road.

I created a wave of air and swept it across the road.

The entire brawl was wiped clean off the highway. Both groups screamed as the blast of wind picked them up and dumped all of them over the guardrail, dropping them into the ditch below.

The exit ramp was clear and cars in the front immediately started driving again.

I flew back down the highway, dropped through the door of our SUV, and pulled it shut.

"Issue fixed," I said, leaning back into my seat. "Drive."

Ten minutes later, we officially crossed the bridge and entered Silicon Valley. Towering glass skyscrapers and high-tech campuses lined the road.

We were on the final two-lane access road leading straight to the Hilon main building when the driver slammed on the brakes.

I sat up. "What now?"

Right in the middle of the road was a folding metal chair.

Sitting on the chair was a man in a blue and white suit. He had a blank face. As our SUV stopped, the man slowly raised a hand and gestured for us to get out.

"I'm not moving," the man called out.

I looked at the back seat. "Portal, stay in the car with Francis."

Mai nodded.

I opened my door, and Koda stepped out right beside me. We walked down the middle of the road toward the seated man.

The man in the suit looked up at us.

"Took you long enough," the man said. "Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't just use portals to get here. It would have saved a lot of time."

My eyes narrowed. "How do you know about our Blessings?"

The man looked at a passing bird. "My name is Zado Tan."

Beside me, Koda suddenly gasped dramatically, putting a hand over his chest.

"Zado Tan?" Koda exclaimed. "The Bringer of Doom? The famous rogue assassin?"

I knew the name.

Zado Tan was a legendary hitman. His personality was famous for being cold, emotionless, and ruthless, which clashed with his absent-minded way of speaking. He had an A-Tier Blessing, but no one had ever lived to explain what it actually was.

I opened my System interface and scanned him.

[Target: Zado Tan]

[Level: 401]

My chest tightened slightly.

Level 401. That was an absurdly high number.

I quickly did the math in my head. I'm Level 100. Koda is Level 125. Two Level 100+ S-Tiers should be able to match one Level 401 A-Tier.

Koda raised his hand, his finger glowing.

I leaned closer to Koda, keeping my voice low. "No funny business today, Koda. I won't hesitate and will kill you myself."

Koda let out a laugh. "Oh, Seasons! Lighten up. We're on the same team, aren't we?"

I turned my attention back to Zado, who was picking a piece of lint off his sleeve.

"We don't know what his Blessing is," I told Koda, raising my hands. "Until we figure it out, play it safe."

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