Her fingers touched the patch sewn onto her sleeve an imitation of the real academy badge. Someday, she'd wear the actual thing, not this cheap street-market knockoff. She'd become a licensed hero, help clean up scum like the gangs and villains that roamed these backstreets, and bring honor to her grandfather, who had once been a D tier hero during the Darkwave Wars.
"Ellie, I'm tired," her little brother whined from behind her, dragging his feet.
"Just a bit more, Finn," she replied with a gentle smile. "Let's get ice cream if we have enough change left, alright?"
"Yay! Can I also get the action figure of Hyperioness?"
"Sighhhhhhhh," Elira chuckle with a exaggerated sigh, before pinching his cheek and saying, "anything for you."
"Yay! When I grow up I want to be like Fastlane!"
"You can be like him if you start walking fast enough for us to go...
But her words were cut off.
A sonic boom cracked through the sky making the ground trembled.
Screams followed as people ran past them, shoving and yelling as a car flew overhead, smashing into a neon billboard. Elira froze for a second then grabbed her brother's hand and ran.
Her heart raced. Panic was everywhere. Civilians trampled each other. From behind, a loud, angry roar echoed through the streets forcing her to look back and her breath caught in her throat.
A massive green monster, its muscles rippling like armor, rampaged through the street, smashing everything in its path. Four heroes fought it in midair, blasting beams, swinging with super-strength, throwing punches and light, but it was barely slowing down.
So this is a villain attack…
Damnit! She grit her teeth.
"Sister!" Her brother tripped behind her. She stopped, crouched to help him up then a loud crack came from above.
She looked up.
A huge piece of debris, maybe half a wall, was falling toward her making her feel like time slowed.
No! Not now! I haven't even joined the academy yet… Grandpa… Finn…
She reached out instinctively to shield her brother.
But the impact never came.
Instead, a cold hand grabbed her shoulder.
Swoosh!
In the blink of an eye, she was no longer in the street as her vision blur, finding herself elsewhere.
She landed hard on her knees in a narrow, empty alleyway. Her breath came out in rapid gasps. Shocked, she spun around and saw a man behind her.
A tall man stood a few feet away, his presence striking to her. Pale white skin, sharp suit, silver hair, and red eyes that stared without emotion.
"You—" she began, eyes wide. "You saved me… right?"
Then her stomach dropped. Her little brother—
"My little brother! He's still there! He's just six please, we need to go back to save him!"
He didn't respond. Just stared at her silently without any emotions as if he didn't hear or register her words.
She stepped closer, grabbing at his sleeve with both hands now, desperate which startled Mordecai.
"I saw what you did! You're not a villain! You're a strong hero… Please, let me save him. You saved me, you can save him too."
For a few seconds, nothing. Not even a twitch in his expression. Her heart sank thinking he wouldn't save her brother.
Suddenly he turned toward the direction of the rubble.
The ground trembled again. From far away, another explosion rocked the streets.
Without saying a word, he raised one hand which slowly glow a faint white light.
Far away though she couldn't see it, the air itself seemed to slow down.
Floating debris, tons of it, stopped mid-air.
She didn't understand how, but she felt it. As if the city paused just for him. Her body tingled from the energy leaking off him, like the atmosphere was being squeezed.
*He…he has telekinesis power? No, maybe it's gravity control! That's a A+ power! Who is he? A villain? Or hero? But I've not heard of him before. Someone with this level of power should be known to the world.* She thought, her mind in a state of confusion.
The green beast let out a confused snarl from afar seeing the rocks floating midair.
"Fool." The man mutters calmly as he clenches his hand.
What she saw was so shocking for her. It was the first time she had witnessed first hand dead before her. As if tons of weight had been dropped on the green man villain's body, his feets sank into the cracked ground before he could react, his body exploded into a bloody mist.
Mordecai turned back calmly as his eyes stare into the place where the battle has occurred with no single emotion as if what he had done was nothing to celebrate, just a normal stroll on Monday.
Elira didn't know whether to feel terrified or amazed with his actions.
He stepped forward again, sweeping his hand as if searching for something and landed his gaze on a rubble which seems to shift on it's own (of course it's his telekinesis power that moves it).
Mordecai super sharp sense heard a soft cry from within it and took a step forward, instantly vanishing before her.
Moments later, he appeared again — holding her brother in one arm from his shirt as if holding a bag of snacks.
Although there was blood on the boy's forehead, thankfully it wasn't a serious injuries and he was still breathing.
Seeing her brother save and sound, it was like a heavy weight was lifted from her shoulder as Elira's knees gave out.
Before she could thank him, his hand gripped her wrist.
They vanished again.
---
Moments Later
They reappeared in another alley, far from the destruction. He dropped them off the ground calmly.
Elira cradled her brother, whispering his name.
Then she looked up again at the pale man.
Was he even a hero?
She couldn't tell.
Heroes didn't kill.
Heroes didn't destroy like that.
But still... if that wasn't a hero…
Then what the hell was he?