Marcus Evans stood atop the raised platform, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows across the crowd gathered below. His piercing blue eyes scanned the faces before him, yet he saw none of them truly. They were children, adults, dreamers, people who thought they had a choice in their own fate.

“Everyone,” he began, his voice calm but edged with something colder than the breeze that swept through the plaza, “decides who they will be. Good or… bad.”

A murmur ran through the crowd. Some looked inspired. Others, uneasy. But Marcus paid them no mind. This was not a speech to be praised; it was a statement of truth.

He continued, describing the heroes known as the Vanguard: their bravery, their powers, their code to protect those who could not protect themselves. Faces of Sky Fire, Titan, Thunder Fist, Rachnid, Galaxia, Atomic Man, and Audrey flashed through his mind, their heroism shining like beacons. But he knew he could not follow their path. Their morality was a cage, and he had no desire to be caged.

“I,” he said, letting the word linger, “have chosen another path.”

The crowd fell silent. Some looked shocked, some confused. But Marcus turned away from them, the faintest trace of a smirk curling his lips.

As night began to fall, he met with the man who had pulled the strings behind the scenes for years: Golden Hawk. The mastermind villain waited in the shadowed alley, his presence commanding even without words.

“You’ve made your choice,” Golden Hawk said, his voice smooth and deadly.

“I have,” Marcus replied, his tone flat. “And I intend to prove it.”

With a flick of his hand, he executed his first act of true villainy. A man lay motionless at his feet, a victim of cold-blooded precision. There was no hesitation, no regret—only the calculated certainty of a man who knew exactly who he was, and what he was willing to become.

Golden Hawk’s eyes gleamed with approval. Marcus Evans had crossed the line. He was no longer a boy with potential; he was a weapon. And soon, the world would learn just how dangerous he could be.