“Stopping purse snatchers and car thieves is great and all, but isn’t there anything more… fun?” I sit on the edge of the brick building and watch the busy city streets below me.

“Ha! Well lucky you, just got an interesting 911 call.” Bryan’s voice plays in my ear and spurs me to my feet. “There’s a bar just up north of you that’s got an ongoing bar fight. Not all that exciting, except that the caller said he’s ‘throwing around tables and shit like they’re made of paper.’”

I stretch my arms and legs, roll my shoulders, and take a running leap onto the next roof. “Well damn, that almost sounds like-”

“Someone with a power?” I can hear his giddy smile through the earpiece. “Certainly could be. Could also just be a really yolked drunk. Either way, I think this should be interesting and let you really try out your power.”

“How long until police get here?” I stop at the marker in my helmet and drop down off the roof into an alley below. The GPS marker points me to a metal door in the side of a building with a metal sign above it confirming my destination.

“Call is just now hitting dispatch. Nearest car is fair distance and there’s some nice traffic. I say you have about 3-5 minutes of uninterrupted time in there. Get to work, kid!”

I crack my knuckles through the armor’s gauntlets, check my energy meter, and push open the door with a grin. The moment I step in, I watch as a bulldozer of a man throws a large round table, one handed, across the bar. “Whoa there! Look, I’m upset the Rangers lost too, but this is extreme!”

The furious man was easily cleared six and a half feet tall. His biceps were bigger than my head and his legs looked like they’d break through the floor if he stomped. He looks towards me with hatred in his eyes. “GRAHHHH!” He screams with an ear shattering grunt. Three strong looking men look back at me with relief as they all start to back off from the hulking beast.

“OK, B. Definitely a powered up boy.” I speak a little softer to give Bryan the message.

“Just remember: block, don’t dodge. Blocking is gonna give you most of your energy back.” His voice is noticeably more measured.

“Right.” I nod and begin to storm towards the man. “Alright, Zangief! Time to take a chill pill!” Sliding to a stop about three feet from the muscle man and throw my fist forwards, blasting out two pips of energy toward him.

I watch him barely flinch his stomach as the force makes its impact. “Well shit.” The fist that I see flying towards me next crashes into my body with a painful clang. Flying backwards, I’m suddenly stopped by a pillar slamming into my back. Hitting the floor, I let out a few pained coughs.

When he charges towards me, I make a flash decision. “Yep. Time for some real action.” As he steps up to me, he clasps his hands and raises them over his head. Flipping onto my back, I kick against the pillar to slide between his legs. Without giving him time to react, I reel my leg back and slam my foot into the back of his knee with a significant burst.

The beast man lets out a loud grunt as he drops down to one knee. “That’s better! Now you’re almost my height.” I push myself up and swing a fist into his side, letting out three pips into him.

My lead doesn’t last long, though. He reaches behind him in an instant and grabs my torso. I try slamming into his arm but the amount of energy left in me isn’t enough to break his grasp.

He flings me, like a ragdoll, into the far wall. I feel a strong crack in the bricks behind me as my body begs to end this torment. “Shit, I’d almost forgotten pain.” When I open my eyes again, I see the massive form sprinting at me at full speed. “Fuck.”

He slams straight into me and busts both of us through the wall and out into the alley. I’m thrown back onto the ground and roll to a stop. “You know…” He shrugs off the massive hit we just took while I push myself back up. “That hurt like a bitch. But,” I show him the full twelve bars on my arm, “this is about to hurt a lot more.”

He sneers. We both throw a punch at the same time. But this time, just before his fist makes contact, I kick my left foot to shoot away then yank my arm back to elbow the air and send me back towards him. My punch lands with a resounding crack as I let the 7 pips blast into his head. I land and watch him crash onto the ground, unconscious.

His body slowly shrinks and his muscles diminish until he’s just a normal guy. “Phew. Good news, Bryan, we had ourselves our first super fight!” I smile with all the adrenaline still flowing through me.

“Sure did! And got some good data off of it. Now, I sent an anonymous message to the cops about who they’re picking up so you can get out of there. They should be arriving in just a second.” As if on cue, sirens begin to sound around the corner.

“Don’t have to tell me twice!” I leap up to the roof above and begin to make my way back to base.