Duncan shot out of his window and into the sky, desperately fleeing from the police.
"We've got a runner!" an officer shouted.
Three officers immediately gave chase, slowly closing the distance. Duncan glanced back, panic rising as they gained on him.
In a desperate move, he smashed through a sewer entrance. The officers were shocked but didn't hesitate to follow.
The tunnels echoed with the sounds of four beings moving at subsonic speeds.
"Just leave me the fuck alone!" Duncan pleaded.
One of the officers laughed. "Leave you alone? Are you fucking dumb?!"
Duncan looked back again — they were even closer now. He turned forward just in time to slam hard into a wall.
The officers immediately pinned him to the ground and cuffed him.
"That was a really dumb decision," one officer scolded.
"Yeah, now we have to add fleeing and eluding to your charges," another added.
"Please, I'm sorry!" Duncan sobbed. "I swear I'll never do it again! I don't know what happened to me back then… that wasn't me!"
An officer scoffed. "Yeah, that's what they all say."
They pressed him down harder. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be provided for you."
Duncan could only cry.
---
"I know this seems like a small problem, but how are we going to handle hygiene?" Hannah asked. "We can't even talk to each other without plugging our noses, and soon enough bacteria will start growing all over us."
"That's definitely a problem," John agreed. "Hygiene isn't just about smelling good — it's essential."
John sighed. "I'm not risking my life again just to steal soap."
Hannah groaned. "But one of us has to! And why didn't you steal toothpaste or at least some soap while you were in that lab?!"
"It's a lab, not a bathroom!"
Hannah exhaled. "So what do we do about this?"
---
Three days later, Duncan stood before the tribunal.
The chamber was deathly silent as he was brought forward.
"Defendant classified under Category-3 Subversion: unauthorized moral encouragement toward restricted class populations," the judge read flatly.
A pause. No debate. No defense.
"Additional charge: evasion of enforcement custody."
The gavel struck once.
"Ruling: Guilty."
"Sentence: Permanent ability suppression and two years of supervised containment."
Duncan slammed his hands against the table before collapsing to his knees, the reality crashing down all at once.
"No… God, no… This can't be happening…" he bawled.
They dragged him into the medication room and injected him with Composite X.
Duncan screamed as he felt his powers — the strength, speed, and abilities he had known his entire life — being stripped away in seconds.
"Now get out."
For the first time in years, Duncan drove home in a car instead of flying.
He punched the wall, leaving a bloody stain. He hissed in pain, clutching his bleeding knuckles.
"I can't do anything…" He looked up at the ceiling. "What purpose do I even serve now?!"
He was also fired from HEX due to being powerless. Now he worked at HexBurgers, earning a measly $25 an hour.
"What has my life become…?" Duncan muttered.
"What was that?" his manager asked.
Duncan flinched. "Oh! Nothing. Just… tired."
A customer walked in. Their silhouette felt eerily familiar.
Duncan stayed professional. "Welcome to HexBurgers. What can I get for you?"
The customer lifted their head. It was Conrad.
Duncan stiffened, gulping in fear, not daring to fully lift his head.
Conrad burst out laughing. "I would kill you, but it seems like I don't even have to. Your life has already ended."
"What can I get for you, sir?" Duncan asked, voice shaking.
"I know it's you, Duncan. I'll let everyone know you're powerless. Only now do I realize that death isn't always the worst punishment," Conrad said, still chuckling.
Duncan tried to stay composed. "Sir, if you're not going to order anything, I'll have to ask you to leave."
"Let me get a Double McHac with large fries and a medium Sprite, powerless scum," Conrad ordered, still laughing.
After getting his food, Conrad walked out, but not before laughing at Duncan one last time.
Duncan exhaled shakily. "Hey Max, I need a bathroom break. Can you cover for me?"
Inside the stall, Duncan cried, punching the door in frustration.
"Why?! Why?! Why?!" he shouted with every hit.
He curled into a ball, Conrad's words echoing in his head. Then a thought came to him.
The Maggots.
"No, I would never!" he shouted at himself.
But Duncan had nothing left. No power. No job. No purpose.
"Just… a little visit…"
---
"What now, Ben?" Aya complained. "Before they left, we at least had a clear vision of what we were doing."
Benjamin looked at her. "What do you mean 'what now'? You think we're actually going to go out there and try to kill the rich? You've lost your bollocks, Aya."
Aya stepped closer. "So we're just going to sit around and do nothing?!"
"That's what we've been doing our whole bloody lives!" Benjamin snapped. "And it's what we should've kept doing."
He looked at the group's expressions and scoffed. "What? You really think we have a chance against billions of those bastards? We stay here and survive."
"John and Hannah opened a door for us!" Milo jumped in. "They gave us a real chance at fighting back! I understand they brought danger into our lives, but they also gave us a purpose!"
Benjamin let out a long exhale.
"Alright… we infiltrate the lab slowly and steal everything those cunts have."
"But how?" Alfie Jr. asked. "Without John or Hannah, we know nothing about that place."
Suddenly, three loud knocks came from the door.
Benjamin opened it.
Duncan stood there.
Milo immediately raised a laser cannon and charged it.
"Stop it! Calm the fuck down!" Duncan shouted, raising his hands. "I'm not one of them anymore!"
Milo lowered the cannon slightly, still gripping it tightly.
"Do you mean you left them, or were you thrown out?" Mitch asked.
"I don't have powers anymore, okay? So yes, I technically left them."
Benjamin punched him hard in the face, causing a nosebleed. "You're only here because this is your last hope. If you still had your powers, you wouldn't have stepped a foot in here."
Duncan wiped the blood from his nose. "Yeah… that's true. I'll admit that. But that doesn't mean I'm still a bad person! I only did what I did because I was scared of dying."
Benjamin chuckled darkly. "Mate, you think we'll forgive you for all the horrendous shit you've done just because you're powerless now? Is that how you thought this would go?"
"Look, I know everything I've done is evil and unforgivable," Duncan said desperately. "But I've changed, okay?! Only now have I realized that nobody's truly different. I was taught that lie my whole life, and now I see how fucked up it all is!"
"Please, I came here to help you! I'll do anything to prove I'm different!"
Benjamin grabbed him by the collar and elbowed him to the ground, then punched him again.
Milo grabbed his fist, "Give him a chance."
Benjamin glared at him. "A chance?! You're starting to sound like that prick John."
Benjamin continued pummeling Duncan.
Milo pulled Benjamin off. "Quit it! You gave Hannah a chance. You gave John a chance. So why can't you give this lad one?"
"Because Hannah and John weren't ruthless murderers, you dumb cunt!"
"I understand you don't trust him," Alfie Jr. said. "We don't either. But we shouldn't kill him."
Benjamin's fist dropped to his side. He threw Duncan out of the base.
"Leave. And don't you ever come back again!"