"Chapter 6"

Hector’s mother is standing in front of his room, with a sign that says: [Hector’s Room]. She raises her hand to knock but hesitates upon hearing sounds coming from inside. She hears a familiar voice counting high numbers with difficulty, as if out of breath.

— 197, 198, 199… and 200!

She then decides to knock on the door.

— Come in!

The mother opens the door and sees her son, Hector, with a towel around his neck and a physique with every muscle well-defined and bulky. She is impressed by her son’s body. Hector looks at his mother:

— What is it, Mom? Did something happen?

— No, son... I just... are you coming to eat? Breakfast is on the table.

— Alright, I’m coming, mommy!

Hector’s mother leaves the room, closes the door behind her and sighs, still surprised, wondering when Hector got like that.

Hector enters the dining room and sits in his usual chair.

— Good morning, family!

The whole family responds in unison:

— GOOD MORNING, HECTOR!

James, his father, looks at him, ready to start a conversation. He shifts in his seat.

— So, son, tell me: what are you going to do today?

Hector looks down and to his right, thoughtful.

— I think... I’m going to school to look for my friends and see if they’re okay.

— Son, why don’t you just text them?

Hector takes a deep breath to give an honest answer:

— In the accident, my phone was destroyed. And I didn’t even get John’s number, my new friend.

— I see, son. I’ll go out today and buy you a new phone.

Hector looks grateful at his father and gives a big smile.

His mother puts the food on the table: a breakfast with a wide variety — bread, coffee, toast, three kinds of cookies, juice, milk, and pancakes.

— Here it is, family. Eat it all. Your grandmother helped me.

James takes a sip of coffee:

— Darling, this is amazing.

— Thank you, dear. Now eat the pancakes!

Hector’s mother looks at him with a curious gaze:

— Son, quick question: what were you doing in your room when I came in?

— Power... the source of my powers. He’s like a ChatGPT in my head, I don’t know how to explain it. But he told me that, if I want good results from my training, I should do a basic routine every morning: 200 push-ups, 200 sit-ups, and 200 squats. He also said I should run 20 km, but since I can’t now, I’ll do it later.

His two brothers are very surprised and speak at the same time:

— What!? Power!? 200 reps!? That’s too much!

Hector gets embarrassed and just smiles awkwardly, not knowing what to say. On the other hand, his mother, even surprised, replies calmly:

— I see... if it’s something positive, then it’s okay.

Hector smiles at the comment and goes back to looking at his food.

He starts eating quickly and gets up from the table. His mother is impressed by how fast he ate.

— Son, aren’t you going to eat more? It’s still early...

Hector grabs his backpack and slings it over his shoulders:

— It’s fine, I already ate, and I want to take care of a few things first.

Hector goes to the door and unlocks it. His mother turns to him:

— Son... don’t get into trouble, please.

Hector gives a wide smile:

— I’ll be fine, no need to worry!

Hector leaves the house, and the family looks at each other again.

— Darling, this son of ours is something else... could only be my son!

— Yeah, definitely your son, because being this problematic didn’t come from me!

The father lowers his head at the response and goes back to eating.

---

Hector is running down the street. He looks around and sees no one.

— Power! Let’s fly!

He jumps while running and starts flying quickly, just below the clouds. His clothes flap in the wind as he loops through the air, flying through the clouds and tearing through the sky with his speed. In the air, he sees birds flying in formation and opens his arms, joining the collective flight.

Suddenly, he hears gunshots. He quickly stops flying and descends to see what happened. He lands on top of a building.

Hector looks down and sees four police cars in front of a bank. Realizing the robbers are already being arrested, he decides to go down and check things out.

He goes down through an alley to avoid being seen and runs toward the crowd. A reporter is interviewing a police officer:

— Officer, what happened here?

— These three robbers were robbing the bank with several hostages inside. That’s why we couldn’t go in. But then, I saw a flash of light... a man appeared inside the bank. Right after, all the hostages were outside. Honestly, he looked more like a teenager. I couldn’t see his face, he had his back turned. He was wearing a green tank top and blue pants. When I saw him, one of the robbers pulled the trigger, but the next second he was already holding the gun. I think the shot grazed his right shoulder. Then, another flash of light, and all three robbers were on the ground, unconscious.

Hector is surprised to hear this and walks away. He turns into the alley and flies again.

— Hector, any idea who that mysterious guy was?

— [No, I don’t know who he is.]

— Alright... but tell me, how much time do I have left for class?

— [You were playing in the sky, stopped at the crime scene, and ended up being 20 minutes late.]

— What!? How much time do I have!?

— [You have 5 minutes before the gates close.]

Hector stretches his arms forward and flies at full speed.

— Crap, crap! I can’t miss class!

---

Hector arrives at the school gates. They were already being closed when he runs through the corridors and enters the classroom at the exact moment the bell rings. The teacher stares at him:

— Hector, you almost arrived late! Sit down!

— Sorry, teacher...

Hector sits in his seat and sees John in the chair behind him. He gets excited and turns around:

— Hey, John! I’m glad you’re alive! The teacher won’t let us talk now. We’ll talk better during recess, okay?

— Okay...

Hector was going to turn back, but sees out of the corner of his eye a large but nearly healed scratch on John’s shoulder.

He doesn’t think much of it and goes back to paying attention in class.

---

"School Recess"

Hector is sitting in the schoolyard, on a stone bench, with two palm trees behind him.

After a while, he sees John approaching. They greet each other with their left hands. Hector notices there’s no more wound on John’s shoulder but doesn’t mention it and invites him to sit.

— So, John. How are you?

— You know how it is, right? Just living!

— I thought you had died in the explosion...

— No, Hector. I almost died, but as you can see, I’m here — in flesh and bone!

— Hey, I wanted to know... have you heard from Bernard?

— No... why? Did something happen?

— So... I don’t know. My phone evaporated in the explosion, so I can’t call him.

— Mine did too...

They both go quiet, thoughtful.

— [Aren’t you going to tell him?]

— No, man, no reason to... shut up...

John hears Hector whispering:

— What is it, Hector? Is something wrong?

Hector stands up, facing John:

— Look, what I’m about to tell you is a secret, okay?

— Alright...

— John, I... got superpowers from that explosion. Now there’s a celestial being — a ChatGPT, an alien, I don’t know — in my head, who talks to me like a robot. And through him, I have enhanced strength, I can fly... and shoot laser beams from my eyes!!!

John hears everything and pulls Hector back to the bench, forcefully:

— You’re shouting... speak quietly!

— Sorry...

— Do you want to keep a secret or not?

— I do, but...

John puts a hand on Hector’s shoulder and looks at him seriously:

— I, John Renato Eyelash, am also a mutant. I was also affected on the night of the accident. A lightning bolt hit me... and now I’m the fastest boy in the world.