July 2, 2011 at 10:32 am

Philip woke up on the sofa in his flat. He unfolded the holographic screen on his wristband and saw the time. His body was completely numb, and he was wearing the clothes he used to patrol at night, although they were dirty and his right limb was torn. His arm was covered with a bandage from wrist to elbow.

The memories of what happened after a ball of dark energy hit him were hazy.

As soon as he cleared his mind a little, he ran out onto the balcony of the flat and sighed with relief to see that the city was still there, except for part of downtown.

The television was on with the morning news.

"An explosion at the department's headquarters of the dark energy containment  has put the department virtually out of business.

Philip's jaw dropped and his skin paled. The only shield the population had to prevent further psychi-related incidents was gone. Never had they been in such a vulnerable situation and fear, despair and resentment would flare up at any moment".

—Tch.

 "The mayor reported that, despite everything that has happened in the last month, a law as controversial as the dark reform would not be passed for at least three months, but that he is doing everything possible to prevent further deaths. In line with this, the prime minister rejected the mayor's request to mobilize much of the country's armed forces to the city. Ultimately, the Lord Mayor made another request, this time to the World Heroes Organization, for a group of local heroes from other countries to be brought to the city, although it appears that this request will also be rejected because it would violate the organization's rules. Melbourne can only rely on the underground hero, "Zero", but few believe he is capable of reversing the current situation, which is still unexplained.

Frustration overwhelmed him.

After listening to all this in silence, Philip turned off the television, began to undress, removed his blindfold and there he saw it, his arm completely corrupted by dark energy.

Apart from the burnt flesh and blood, there were jagged purple marks running vertically across that area.

He showered, put another bandage on his arm and, after dressing in winter sports clothes, went for a run.

Normally he didn't have a destination and just did a few laps to exercise his legs, but, taking advantage of the fact that his holiday had begun, he headed several kilometers northwest to a large state library. Below that building is the Hecker Clinic, run by Bill's older brother Leonard.

—Hi, Leon, how's it going here? —Philip greeted Leonard after entering his office.

The doctor is in his mid-thirties, with short, light brown hair. He is tall, at least five feet, nine inches. He wears a light blue shirt under a white coat and gray dress trousers.

—Lately, it's been terrible. They're coming in wounded by the dozens. This isn't your fault, is it? —Leonard said in a cold tone.

—Partly yes, but the city is in chaos whether I do anything or not, and it looks like it's going to get worse from here on in.

—I have an idea of what might be going on out there. —Leonard closed his eyes. There was silence for a few seconds before he opened them again and continued speaking. What have you come here for? You interrupted my break for what I hope is something interesting.

—Oh, that. —Philip took off his sports jacket and unfastened the hook that held the bandage on his arm. Slowly, the wound on his arm was revealed. I got this last night playing around.

Leonard's eyes widened in surprise.

—I haven't seen such a big stamp in a long time.

—A stamp?

—Yes. When a large amount of dark energy hits a human's body, it leaves a mark. It grows as it is exposed to more dark energy. This was called a stamp several centuries ago. It is rare to see such a large one. You must have taken quite a powerful attack.

—Yeah... —I'll be direct, is there any way to remove it?

—Cutting off your arm... Maybe. It's not really something that can be removed without any consequence, the dark energy penetrates to your bone and settles there.

—I'll pass on that method. Any recommendations?

—Yes... If you don't want to die, you should stay away from the dark energy completely.

A cold and forceful voice hit Philip's ears.

1 July 2011 at 22:57

—Hey, boy, wake up!

While Philip was confused due to shock, someone slapped him. It was the boy in the red qipao, Willo.

—I'm done with the idiot who hurt you. Jeez, getting into these things, how stupid can you be?

—What are you talking about?

Philip was a bit confused. He felt it had been a long time since the attack by The Redhead's henchman.

—Go home.

—Why don't you kill me?

—Why should I waste my time with a weakling like you? Go away and don't get involved with dark energy or Eyre stones again.

Philip glared at Willo and she laughed at him.

Am I really going to allow someone like her to fulfill any wish?

Local Heroes:

"Local Heroes" are individuals, with special or superhuman abilities, who are hired by the various governments of each country to reduce or eliminate threats that neither the police nor the Armed Forces can deal with.

The World Organization of Heroes was born in 1985 out of an agreement by 180 nations to regulate the activities of heroes, which at the time were carried out clandestinely. The agreement is that no heroes may perform their work outside their assigned territory, except when called upon by a country or city that declares a total state of emergency.

Each country individually sets the rules for their local hero programs. The rules in Australia are the most stringent in the world, which is why no one has applied for the program yet.

There are also "Urban Heroes", people who fight continuously for the common good from underground, until they can apply for local hero status