Hector and his father are walking through the woods until they find an open area, the trees surrounding the space.

Hector and his father get excited when they see the place, and the father quickly says:

—Here, kiddo! Let's test it here —says the father excitedly, dropping a bag that makes noise when it hits the ground.

Hector smiles and starts stretching.

—Come on, Power, tell me what I can do.

—[Are you sure?]

Hector finishes stretching.

—Yes, let’s get on with this. I need to be ready to protect people and find my brother.

Power starts speaking precisely:

—[Here’s everything you can do with my powers.]

“Fly”

“Laser eyes”

“Super strength”

“Super speed”

...

Hector widens his eyes in surprise.

—Wait, did you say “laser eyes,” “fly”?!

—[Yes, I said that. Why? There's a lot more powers.]

—Just tell me how to do it.

—[What would you like to test first?]

Hector gets excited and looks at his father.

—Dad! Laser eyes or flying?

—Wow, you can do that?! I think laser eyes must be really cool, son —says the father, impressed but still excited about the idea.

Hector hears his father’s response and gets even more excited.

—Okay, how do I do it?

—[Try closing your eyes and applying imaginary pressure to them. Imagine that pressure turning into heat, getting hotter and hotter until everything explodes in a flash of laser light.]

Hector follows each step. He closes his eyes and sees nothing. His eyes begin to ache slightly, like fingers pressing them. His vision starts turning red and brighter. His eyes begin to burn and heat up more and more. The sensation is agonizing, but not painful. Suddenly, everything calms down, and in one move, Hector opens his eyes, shooting lasers from them. His eyes now look burnt.

Hector starts laughing as he shoots the lasers and spins his head in several directions. His father is startled by the sudden action and steps forward toward his son.

—Son... what an incredible power! You could only be my son!

Hector turns to look at his father and forgets that the lasers hadn’t stopped. As he turns, the father quickly ducks in fright.

—Son! The laser!

Hector realizes and, surprised, closes his eyes. The red glow fades and disappears. Hector opens his eyes and runs to his father, full of concern.

—Dad, are you okay? —his voice is sad and disappointed.

The father puts his left hand on his son's right shoulder, breathing heavily.

—Son... you shouldn't worry about me...

Hector raises an eyebrow, confused by what he heard.

—I don't get it...

—[Look behind you, Hector.]

Hector listens to Power and turns around. What he sees leaves him speechless.

All the trees he can see are cut down —some almost without any trunk left, others with only the upper part destroyed, and the cuts still show signs of burns.

The father stands up, leaning on Hector, who stares at his own destruction.

—Son... we better go now. We’ll test your powers another time.

Hearing his father, Hector snaps out of it and jumps up.

—Yeah... you're right. Better go home, if we take too long, Mom’s going to kill us.

The father laughs at the joke and puts his arm around his son’s shoulders. The two walk off, laughing nonstop about what happened.

The sun has already gone down, and the two are in the car heading home.

"Hector’s House / The Carlinis."

The house door starts unlocking, and when it opens, Hector and his father James enter, supporting each other, laughing about apparently nothing.

The father lets go of his son and walks over to his wife, still laughing —laughing so much he's crying.

—Honey, our son... hahaha... he... deforested almost the entire forest with his power, hahaha...

The mother is surprised and angry at the same time.

—How is that something to laugh about?!

Hector gets nervous, afraid of what his mother might do.

—Mom, I...

—[You're going to die.]

—Power, shut up...

The mother approaches him and puts both hands on his shoulders, their faces close.

—Son... what matters is that you're okay...

Hector is surprised by his mother's reaction and feels happy.

—You're not mad?

His mother looks deep into her son’s eyes with a loving gaze.

—Of course I’m mad! What were you thinking, kid?!

Hector jumps in fright at his mother's reaction.

—Calm down, Mom...

—[Danger levels increasing...]

They are interrupted as Hector’s grandmother appears in the room with a black box tied with a red ribbon, like a gift, in her hands.

—Hector, this is a gift from me to you. Here...

Hector takes the box without knowing what it is.

—What is this?

His grandmother clasps her hands with a smile on her face.

—Open it and find out... I hope you use it well.

Curious, Hector opens the box. Inside, he sees a long-sleeved red shirt. Below it, a black belt and black pants —the shirt and pants are made of cool-touch fabric. As he lifts everything, he finds at the bottom of the box a red headband with two white circles at eye level, allowing him to see through them.

Hector ties the headband over his eyes and hugs his grandmother with gratitude.

—Thank you so much, Grandma...

—[I must say the outfit is really good.]

His mother takes the outfit and closes the box again, handing it to Hector.

—Son... put this in your bag. The school called when you were out. You’re going back to class tomorrow. So just take it with you, just in case. Now call your siblings for dinner.

Hector nods and goes to his room.

—Alright, I’ll just leave it on the bed for now.

Hector goes and knocks on Arthur’s door.

—Arthur, come eat!

Arthur opens the door.

—Brother, my power is super cool!

Hector smiles and sends him to dinner. He then knocks on Layla’s door.

—Layla, dinner time!

Hector sits at the table waiting for his sister.

Layla appears and sits at the table.

—Sorry I’m late, I was on the phone with my friends.

Hearing that, Hector gets worried.

—You shouldn’t talk about your powers to people close to you. You put them, yourself, and us at risk.

Layla is surprised by Hector’s comment.

—Wow, you sound so old. What happened to you? And what’s that scar on your eye? What happened in that explosion?

—[True, I can't disagree. She's right, you have changed.]

Hector grabs the soda in front of him, takes a sip, and puts the glass back down.

— Ever since I got powers… I’ve been worried about others. I have something big in my hands… saving a life…

Hector pauses for a moment.

— It's… something big. If I can't save that life… or those lives! Sorry, Layla. I’ve just been worried. This whole powers thing has me full of concerns…

Hector’s father places his hand on Hector’s.

— You’re not alone. Soon, you'll have good companions…

Hector smiles, grateful for the comment.

Layla looks at Hector, wanting to ask something.

— Hector… what about Bernie?

Hector is surprised by the question, unable to respond.

— I… I don’t know. I haven’t talked to him since the accident. Honestly, I even forgot. There’s also Jonh… I don’t know what happened to them.

Hector’s mother speaks up.

— Who’s Jonh?

Hector looks at his mother, still processing the information.

— Jonh is my new friend. I met him on the day of the explosion. He’s a new student. I’d be really sad to find out he died… or Bernard. I hope I see them tomorrow at school.

Silence takes over the dinner table, and everyone eats quietly, feeling the heavy atmosphere.

Hector finishes eating and goes to his room. He lies down on his bed and sighs.

— Power, do you think they died?

— [If there were celestial beings nearby, they would certainly be alive. But there weren’t. All normal people died… unless they became strong mutants. So… I’m sorry.]

— It’s okay. It’s not your fault…

Hector looks out the window and gets an idea. He opens it and climbs out, sitting on a stone ledge that extends from the wall, just wide enough for someone to sit.

Someone sits next to him, at a person’s width of distance.

— I always come here when I want to escape everything and think.

Hector hears the voice, turns, and sees his sister, Layla.

— I just need a little time...

Layla holds his hand.

— I know it’s hard, but… I believe they’re alive and okay…

Hector smiles and stands up. He steps toward the edge, and Layla nervously watches him.

— What are you doing?!

Hector takes a step and falls. Layla, scared, looks down, but a blur shoots upward. She looks forward and sees Hector hovering in the air.

— You can fly?!

Hector smiles and nods.

— I didn’t know if it would work. I hadn’t tested it yet… but yeah, I can fly.

Layla stands and looks down, afraid of falling.

Hector extends his hand to her.

— Come on, hold my hand. Let’s get a better view…

She reaches out and falls into Hector’s arms.

— Did you gain muscles?

Hector smiles at the comment.

— Haha, yeah, I did.

Hector looks up and begins to fly straight into the sky at 20 km/h.

He stops above everything.

— Beautiful view, right?

Layla is speechless.

— Y-yeah… it’s incredible…

Hector begins to descend. After a while, he returns to where they were and drops Layla off in her room.

— It’s late… go to sleep.

Layla nods, and Hector leaves through the window.

Now Hector is on top of the building, sitting on the edge, looking out over the city.

The End… To be continued in the next chapter...

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