This World

by Lee, TD

  “You did it kid,” Dom says, ruffling up my hair with a scary grin on her face. Her clothes are all sorts of messed up and she’s pretty injured too. But what are injuries when we just had a victory?

  “So glad this is finally over,” Adele says, looking at the dark orange sky happily. The sun is about to rise huh?

  Vesper has smiling eyes as he points to the ground where he wrote:

  We won! ( *＾▽＾)/

  You did great! (*￣▽￣)ノ”(ﾟーﾟ*)

  I bow down to you, oh mighty heroes! m(_ _)m

  I look over at Ainia and she’s pretty happy too. Not that far from her is actually a beat up Blind Justice that sits, confused. There are plenty of people tending to his wounds though, so it’s good to know that Ainia didn’t outright destroy the guy.

  “Did you kick his ass like you always wanted?” I ask her.

  She nods, a triumphant smile is on her face. “Hell yeah. I’d do it again if I could.” What a typical response.

  I look at Drake and he looks like he’s completely relieved. He’s smiling as he just looks around. He notices me staring at him and he says, “Do I have something on my face?”

  I shake my head. “No, just a smile.”

  Shiko, as a puppy, runs up to me and paws at me until I kneel down. He looks my face and barks happily. Even this little guy has some scuff marks on him, but he’s not super injured which is a relief. Out of everyone, I think I would be the most upset if Shiko got hurt.

  Everyone starts dispersing, seeing where they can help anyone that is injured, even though they’re the cause for the injuries. Before Adele could move too far, I tap her shoulder and say, “Hey Adele.”

  “What is it?” Adele responds.

  “While I was talking to King, he mentioned that you could’ve became his partner. Is that true?” I ask.

  Adele takes a long, deep breath. A smile creeps up on her face as she stares up at the rising sky. “It is true that he and I at one point could have become partners. He became too ambitious for his own good and abused his powers.”

  “How were you not forced to just go along with everything? Considering he had the whole mind control thing going on,” I question.

  “He had used it on me just to get me to talk to him. However, it is the Prospector that saved me from King’s control,” she answers.

  “The Prospector huh? How did he help you, was this before or after being his comrade?” I question.

  “After. He had travel to Earth very briefly. This was not long after I stopped being his comrade. He had stumbled upon another incident here and helped fix it and had helped me escape from King’s control just by coincidence. Although he and I did not speak for too long, he was glad he was able to see me before going off on another space adventure. The Prospector is a strange one, being able to help other inadvertently,” Adele answers.

  “And you got everyone’s information from King too?” I ask.

  “Yes, he had obtained information on potential candidates to join his horrible goal. How he obtained the information, I have no clue, but I am glad that I was able to take it from him as it helped me build the defenses against him. His biggest downfall was to attempt to have me join him,” Adele says.

  “I see, well I’m glad that we have you to go against someone like him. Now that I actually understand why you are against him and how you got everything. It’s really reassuring to be honest,” I say.

  Adele smiles widely. “Glad to hear. However, what will you be doing now Ridley?”

  “What do you mean?”

  Adele elaborates, “What are you plans for the future? For as long as I have known you, it appears that you are stuck in what it is that you should do. I hope that this experience has helped you with discovering what it is that you are passionate about and would like to pursue.”

  I take a quick moment to think about it. I want to be someone who can help the super people that help those that aren't heroes. They go through all of these pressures that normal people don't. Super people are often seen as these untouchable people, yet they experience the same emotions and trials as anyone else. I want to be the one that can help them. From talking with everyone, there’s a common theme. There’s no one for them to talk to that can help them out or sort out their thoughts. It always seems like they’re alone in their problems with no one to confide in. So, that’s what I want to help with.

  "I want to be a super person counselor. Or something like that that sounds better,” I answer loudly.

  Adele’s smile grows bigger. “That absolutely sounds like the sort of thing you would study, the role would suit you very well. Although, Liaison of Superhero Affairs has a better ring to it, do you not agree?"

  “Uh, sure. Sounds a bit too official and formal, but yeah,” I say.

  “Good. I can assist you in that if you would like. I do have plenty of connections after all,” Adele remarks.

  “That would be great. And if it’s okay with you. Until I get to that point, would it be okay if I kept working with you and help you out some more? I learned a lot so it’d be nice to continue that,” I ask.

  Adele nods and places her hand on my shoulder. “Of course Ridley, I would be honored to have your continued assistance.”

  Chapter 33

  It’s been a couple months since the big incident with King. The media was all up in an uproar about it. saying that it was one of the most terrifying world ending events that has ever happened. The credit went mostly to Adele, but she definitely kept everyone else in the spotlight as well despite Dom and Vesper not wanting to be in such a notorious spot. All of the other heroes and supers were grateful to us, they were scared that their powers were no longer going to be in their control, so saving them definitely helped them gain some sense of peace.

  Since the incident, that people have been calling the Mass Control Event or MCE for short, Adele’s agency has gotten noticeably busier. Clients are coming in and out so fast that it’s hard to keep up. Adele has me help investigate or just do simple filing and paperwork. It’s not hard, but it definitely keeps me busy. Although, Adele has only gotten pickier with her cases, only deciding to help those that she truly feels deserves it and isn’t anything that couldn’t be solved easily. This may leave some people disappointed in her, but it’s usually for the best.

  Dom is one of the few people that I’ve been able to talk to since the MCE. What she got is a little bit more on the down low, but she was able to catch up with old friends that she had on the island where the MIA tournament was held. They offered her a position in a special force that is seeking to take down any remnants of the Kilmer corporation. She refused it, surprisingly, but said that they shouldn’t hesitate to call her if they need her help. For now, she just wants to relax and enjoy peace. And by enjoy peace, meaning tracking down thugs and assholes that are doing stupid stuff. Just last week she brought in a husband cheating and beating his wife. Always nice to have some actual muscle in the agency, since I can’t do much.

  Shiko is more or less the same when it comes to interacting with him. He’s still an adorable dog that can become a vicious beast. Strangely enough, a lot of people have gotten to love Shiko and has basically made him the mascot of the agency. Due to Shiko’s popularity, Evolmon have been a lot more popular in the public and people openly keep their Evolmon on them while they’re out and about. Plushes and toys of Shiko have been pretty popular too. Can’t help, but see Shiko merch in a lot of places. I’ve been tempted to buy a Shiko keychain, but I have the real thing so there’s no point. Shiko, of course, doesn’t really realize just how popular he is and remains to be the cute dog that enjoys head rubs.

  Vesper is still the enigma. He pops in here and there out of the shadows when he wants to, but he usually remains hidden. I’m not exactly sure why he does that, but he seems pretty content with it. Out of everyone, he’s the one that the public usually doesn’t remember, which is okay to him. He was never in it for the fame or anything, he was just helping out. Ev
ery so often, he and I would play some video games when we have down time or a day off. This guy sure is a big gamer. And a hilariously sore loser.

  For me, not much has really changed. Obviously, I moved back in with my parents after the MCE since things have calmed down. I’ve been helping with Adele which can be fun sometimes. Adele has also been tutoring me on human psychology and behavior to help prep me for studying to be a counselor. Sometimes, she’ll even have me speak with clients and use the counseling skills to help talk to them. It’s all a progression from here. Aside from work, I’ve just been going to school and doing my best to graduate soon. People in school do recognize me for being part of Adele’s group during the MCE. While all of this attention was really weird for me at first, I started to embrace it a bit. This must be what Hiro must have enjoyed while he was a Mobile Knight pilot. While there are people who try to hang out with me more, I’ve actually been hanging out with Sadie in honor of Hiro.

  Sadie has been doing well in her own right. Even though she’s confined in a wheelchair, she said she’s been going to physical therapy to help keep herself in shape. She’s been thinking about getting prosthetic legs too, so she’s building up the strength for that which is great. And sometimes, she and I will have a long talk session which helps me with my goal of being a superhero counselor or, as Adele wants to address it, Liaison of Superhero Affairs.

  And what happened to King? He’s jailed in an undersea prison where they hold the most dangerous criminals and villains. Any further information about him hasn’t been disclosed to anyone, but Adele was able to dig up that they actually terminated his powers by implanting him with a device that turns it off. Sounds kinda brutal when I think about it, but then again, he did try to control the whole world. Any of his associates or underlings, that were alive, ended up being jailed with him also. Turns out Alister from that one SAVE meeting I was in a long time ago was working with King.

  Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to talk to everyone else that isn’t with the agency, officially I should say. But it’s good because they’ve all been busy with this renewed joy in who they are. Everyone has gotten something nice to take away from the MCE.

  Ainia was given the respect and notoriety she deserves. The information about what she did when she was Blind Justice’s sidekick made it really big that it almost destroyed all of HERO. Luckily, Ainia wasn’t looking to ruin Blind Justice’s reputation, but simply having people understand what she had to go through and still remain in his shadow. She’s a superhero in her own right and actually took up her old codename of Cutlass. She wears it proudly now, rather than hating it like she did before. Strangely, I don’t really see her at school all that often. She’s so busy taking care of superhero stuff that she’s hardly there. But when she is, we hang out. It’s nice. While she’s still pretty rough around the edges with her personality, she’s a lot more patient and less angry.

  I should add, that Blind Justice is still in charge of HERO, but ever since Ainia’s big reveal of what she has had to do, he’s been more of a director rather than a superhero as of late. Learning the truth for him was really rough, but he gave Ainia the support to be a solo superhero so it’s not like he has a vendetta against her.

  Kirika has been booked solid for months for singing tours and concerts. Her popularity rose and the Spectral Singers have even gotten an increase of people who want to join the agency. But the most notorious thing she’s done is talk about her time of being a Hag. It wasn’t widely known that she was a Hag after being a Musical Maid, so her announcement of such caused a pretty big uproar. But ever since talking about being a Hag and the stress that being a superhero is, there seems to be a wider appreciation and respect for superheroes now. Even though, yes superheroes are still pretty glorified, there’s a humane part of them that the public is starting to see.

  Lastly, Drake. Hiro’s favorite superhero has gotten a big overhaul. While he’s still a little bit of snarky person, his demeanor has significantly improved. He’s back to being a rather popular superhero that is always busy fighting villains. He’s been donning his old costume and it even seems like his musculature has greatly improved too. The public has gotten to appreciate him again and understand him. He has been giving speeches and talks about superheroes and the problems that come with being one as well as recovering from mind control. He and Kirika were definitely the ones that created the movement of understanding superheroes and how hard it can be to be one. Due to his rise in popularity again, Deviants have been given some positivity in the public eye. While there are still those that are s cared of them, they’re a lot more accepted now which is great. While Drake has rekindled old friendships with old superheroes, he and Ainia have actually been working together a lot too.

  Even though it hasn’t happened yet, Drake and I have actually been talking about starting a support group in helping people who have been mind controlled, not necessarily by King during the MCE, but in general. Only reason why this hasn’t happened yet is because Drake is almost always out on the field doing superhero stuff.

  Overall, things have gotten a lot better since after the MCE. Only about last month did we start to die down in popularity, which is fine by all of us. We all knew we couldn’t have stayed in the spotlight for taking down King for too long. But the things we gained from it definitely helped us all out. I’m glad that I actually have a future that I’m working towards. Hiro would be so proud of me.

  Though, if I’m being honest. I was afraid that after the MCE, all of us were just going to go our separate ways similar to how we came together in the first place. But it doesn’t seem like that’s happening. I’ve stayed with Adele’s agency. I’ve been talking to Drake, Kirika, and Ainia pretty consistently despite their busy schedules. It’s nice to know that even though their personalities clashed before, and still kinda do, everyone is talking to each other more and on friendly terms.

  It’s just another day at the agency after school. Shiko is quietly napping next my feet as I’m stamping and filing missing person reports that Adele had finished. I share Adele’s office with my own little corner where I would also take a nap sometimes. Dom comes in and slaps a flyer down on my desk. “You read to go yet?”

  I look at it and see Kirika. I read the flyer briefly, it’s a musical concert highlighting Kirika with appearances of her fellow Spectral Singers and a group named DEEP, never heard of them. Kirika told us about this concert a couple weeks ago and really insisted that we all make it. “Kirika’s concert? I’m ready to go.”

  “We’re all given the VIP treatment too just so you know,” Dom syas, she shows me the lanyard and badges that give us special access. “Kirika texted me to come by the Spectra agency to pick these up not too long ago. It’s nice, feels like we’re being treated like celebrities in a way.”

  “I mean, we were for a bit,” I say.

  “Didn’t come with the money though, I’ll you that,” Dom chuckles quietly as she sets a badge down for me. “Where’s the boss lady?”

  “She went out for a walk not too long ago, but she should be back soon. I think she really went to go check up on some clients we had,” I answer.

  “Is it the wife that had a cheating husband? I hope not, I thought we were done with that case,” Dom sighs, a bit annoyed.

  I shake my head. “No, I don’t think so. I ‘m not really sure where she is.”

  “Well, maybe we’ll find her. The concert is in half an hour, we should get going now. Kirika said she wanted to talk to all of us before she starts the concert.

  “Oh, we should really get going then,” I say. I whistle a bit and call out to Shiko, “Shiko! Let’s go.”

  Shiko’s eyes tiredly open as he takes a big yawn. Dom and I leave the agency with Shiko pattering beside us.

  It’s amazing how quick the fixed the city after the MCE. A lot of the buildings and streets were destroyed, but Disaster Relief did what they do best and fixed everything. You couldn’t even tell that there was a world ending event
that happened a few months ago. It’s weird to think that it was months ago since the MCE. Time flies by so quick.

  As Dom and I are chatting and walking, we stroll by a cemetery. Standing in front of a tombstone is Adele, it looks like she’s paying her respects to someone. Dom and I approach her. Once we get close enough, she turns her head and greets us with a warm smile.

  “So this is where you’ve been,” Dom says. “Kirika wants us at her concert in a bit, we have VIP access.” She pulls out the lanyard and badge and hands them to Adele.

  “Wonderful, it should be a rather pleasant time,” Adele says, grabbing the badge.

  “What are you doing here Adele?” I ask.

  “Paying my respects to a client,” Adele answers quietly as she looks at the tombstone again.

  “To a client?” I quietly question. I take a look at the tombstone and I can feel the tears starting to well at the corners of my eyes.

  Hiro Watanabe

  Former Pilot of the Mobile Knight of the Round Table, Lancelot

  Died a hero and remains a hero in our hearts. My the flame in his heart, forever burn.

  How have I not known that Hiro was buried here? It probably slipped my mind during everything.

  “Remember what I told you the day we first met Ridley?” Adele suddenly asks me.

  I shake my head. “No, not really.”

  “Hiro hired me to keep an eye on you, to make sure you’re safe. So, I am here to let him know that I was able to keep up on my promise to keep you safe. Although, I did take some liberties here and there during our time together,” Adele explains to me.

  Right, Adele did say that Hiro hired her. That was so long ago, how could I remember? But I’m glad it did. In his own way, Hiro really did protect me even after he died. He was always looking out for me. Without him, all of this wouldn’t have happened and while there were ups and downs, the outcome turned out to be pretty damn great.