"Haaaa"

*fwip*

Jack sighed loudly as he flipped the sign on the convenience store door to "Closed."

All lights are off inside the store. Making the establishment looked kinda eerie.

He squints his eyes and tried to look back inside the dark store, trying to see if there's something he missed to do.

But because it's too pitch black save from the nearby store's light that was still open-it was reflecting on the glass of the door..

He really can't make out anything.

The extra illumination was actually hindering his already framed vision in the dark!

Jack can only recognized the outline of what's inside. To which he is already very familiar.

So what he's doing is kinda pointless..

But still...

Irritation spread across his face, but too lazy to check back inside.

It was always like this anyways.

Every goddamn night.

He can't help the always nagging feeling like he had forgotten something.

Can't blame him. Working on the store has been his whole life for two whole years.

"Haaa.." He sighed again.

Forget it. He decided to just leave it as it is.

He tried to take his mind of it and tried to think of something.

Today has been very busy, but now, just by how quiet the cold night is, it feels like the whole day was a lie.

It all passed by like a blur....

........

His arms felt like lead weights, heavy with fatigued, courtesy of his whole day shift.

Every step sent a jolt of pain through his feet, the soles throbbing in protest.

And his brain felt like mush.

He stretched his back, hearing the familiar crack of his spine.

Another grueling sixteen-hour shift in the books, all for a paycheck that barely kept his debts from suffocating him.

He tried to count on his fingers all the things he have to pay off.

But he gave up halfway, he can't think straight, and his head started to hurt.

"Haaaaah!"

He sighed again more loudly this time.

He stand there infront of the closed store for awhile, his hands akimbo and his head tilted up looking at the dark sky.

Trying to find inside him the will to walk to go home.

Suddenly a group of noisy walking teenagers goofing and playing around caught his attention.

Their laughter and shouts filling the air while playing with their super powers.

He can feel something within him rose.

'Tch'

He tried to extinguish the fire that started to burn.

Then he move on and started to walk to the opposite direction of the teenagers.

"Still no superpowers, huh?"

He muttered to himself, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his worn-out blue hoodie.

When he reach the dark alley, his steps quickened, not because he is afraid of the dark.

Nope. Hmmmmm-mm. He tried to hum in his mind.

Just wanting to go home faster and get some rest already.

His worn out shoes hitting the rough pavement. His movements-like he is being chased by three chihuahuas.

The air outside was cold, but he barely noticed.

Then he tried to think of something else again in his mind.

"I think I really am an anomaly."

In the world where having superpowers is the norm, he was the only one without.

At sixteen, he had excitedly awaited for his powers to awaken.

At nineteen, he had still hoped.

By twenty-two, he had given up.

Every single person on Earth awakened their abilities at sixteen.

Some developed super speed.

Others could shoot lasers from their eyes.

And then there were the weird ones—like Melinda Chu from his old high school.

She could control every single strand of hair on her body.

And I mean everything.. even the smallest one.

Ahem.

Jack shuddered at the memory.

That had been a disturbing discovery during gym class.

But him? Nothing. Zilch.

Not even a measly little power to heat up his cold hands in the winter.

Or even a little light on his fingers to light up the alley.

Maybe he can even accept superpowers like Michelle Chu's.

The hair....He paused as he imagine. Nope. No no..

On second thought, no not really.

He is fine now as he is, thank you.

........

While others trained, fought, and found their place in the grand freak show of life, Jack was left behind, powerless, broke, and utterly alone.

No parents, no friends, just a mountain of debt and an endless cycle of soul-crushing jobs.

He had learned to rely on his wits and resourcefulness, but it was a poor substitute for real power.

Jack took a deep breath and stared up at the night sky before entering his apartment building.

"No point whining about it," he said to no one in particular.

Complaining didn't pay the rent.

*creak* *creak*

As he walked at the creaking stairs, a swooshing sound can be heard from upstairs.

He immediately braced himself next to the stairwalls like it was a common occurence.

*swoooooosh*

One of his neighbors, with super speed came swooshing down the stairs.

His hair and his glasses flew off a bit.

Jack took out his phone from his back pocket and looked at the time on his phone.

Illuminating his face with his phone's lcd light.

It's 10:05 in the evening, he waited and counted 60 seconds.

10:06.

A swooshing sound came from downstairs.

Here he comes, he thought.

*swooooosh*

"Hey neighbor."

A voice so fast he even thought it was an illusion.

"Hey"

He said back to the wind.

"Haaaa"

He sighed again and continue on his way up.

*creak* *creak*

He took his key out and opened the door to his apartment.

His apartment—if he could even call it that—was a single room with a bathroom barely bigger than a closet.

He took off his shoes.

The yellow walls were peeling, the ceiling had a suspicious leak leaving it's mark.

And the neighbors on both sides were loud in ways he didn't want to think about.

He collapsed onto his mattress, staring blankly at the cracked ceiling, not bothering to changed out of his clothes.

Most people in his position would dream about a better life.

Winning the lottery.

Discovering a hidden superpower.

Becoming rich, famous, powerful.

Jack didn't bother.

His fingers brushed against the remote control under his pillow.

He flipped the small tv on.

Turned the volume down.

And settled for news channel.

Hoping the news reporters voice would lull him to sleep.

The news report on the tv mentioned a recent rescue mission by the Superpowered Emergency Response Team or SERT.

Then he wondered why some people's powers were so much stronger and different than the others.

Was it genetics, environment or just luck?

Then what about me?

He daydreamed of 'what ifs'.

But realized that daydreaming was a luxury for people who had time.

For people who weren't one missed payment away from being homeless.

His eyelids grew heavy.

Sleep was the only real escape he had.

Then, something strange happened.

The darkness of sleep didn't come.

Instead, he found himself standing in the middle of a vast white void.

A blank, endless space stretching infinitely in all directions.

"The hell?"

Jack muttered, looking down at himself.

He was still wearing his ratty hoodie and jeans.

Everything felt real—the floor beneath his feet, the air in his lungs, the way his voice echoed slightly in the emptiness.

Then, words floated in front of him.

What would you like to create?

Jack blinked.

"Create?"

The words shimmered, waiting for his response.

He frowned.

This had to be a dream.

Maybe he had finally cracked under the stress.

But... why not play along?

"Uh... I dunno. A chair?"

He said uncertainly.

A simple wooden chair materialized in front of him.

It looked normal enough.

Jack hesitantly reached out and touched it.

Solid.

Real.

Why does it feel all too real?

His sense of touch is like when he is awake.

Jack's breath hitched.

"...No way."

His mind raced.

If this was real, is this his ability?

Did I finally awakened my superpowers?

At 22?

No.. wait..if this was his ability—

He could create anything?

His heart pounded.

A world of possibilities unfolded before him.

Money, food, a house, a—

Then, the chair exploded.

Jack screamed and stumbled backward as the shattered remains of the chair scattered in every direction.

But before they could hit the ground, they simply vanished, as if they had never existed in the first place.

The floating words flickered.

Your imagination is… limited.

Try again.

Jack swallowed.

"Oh, great. My superpower is being bad at my superpower."

His mind had gone blank.

All this time, he thought he had no ability.

But he did.

And it was something incredible.

Well,maybe?

But there was just one huge problem.

He had no clue what to do with it.