MIDNIGHT
John slept peacefully, a smile still resting on his face.
He had done it.
He had become a superhero.
BOOM!
The entire house shook.
John's eyes flew open. Another explosion echoed from downstairs, followed by heavy footsteps and frantic shouting. He jumped out of bed, threw open his bedroom door, and rushed toward the staircase.
Soldiers.
The front door had been blown clean off its hinges. Armed men flooded into the living room, shouting orders as they secured every corner of the house.
"Move! Move!"
"Target's upstairs!"
One soldier spotted John and immediately raised his rifle.
John didn't think. He reacted.
He flew down the staircase and drove his fist straight into the soldier's face.
The impact sent the man crashing through the wall. Concrete exploded everywhere as his body slammed against the next room before collapsing onto the floor with a sickening thud.
John stood frozen.
His eyes slowly drifted toward the soldier.
Blood poured from the man's mouth, staining the broken concrete beneath him.
"I..." John's voice trembled as he slowly stepped closer. "I'm... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to hit you that hard..."
A sharp crack erupted behind him.
John screamed as thousands of volts surged through his body. Every muscle locked up instantly. He tried to turn around, but his body refused to listen.
"JOHN!" Father roared, charging toward him.
Three soldiers intercepted him before he could get close, forcing him to the ground.
"LET GO OF HIM!" Mother screamed, struggling against two more soldiers as tears streamed down her face.
Jacob stood at the bottom of the stairs, his fists clenched so tightly they shook. He wanted to help. He wanted to do something.
But he knew he couldn't.
Another surge of electricity ripped through John's body. His vision blurred, the voices around him faded, and everything went black.
---
John slowly opened his eyes, wincing as a dull pain throbbed through his head. He instinctively tried to move, only to realize his wrists were locked inside thick metal restraints attached to the floor of a transparent glass chamber.
He pulled.
Nothing.
A sharp pain shot through both arms.
"What..." he muttered weakly. "What do you want from me?"
Slow footsteps echoed through the room.
A man in a black suit stopped in front of the chamber and smiled. "My name is Rouge."
John stared at him. "...Where am I?"
"A government facility."
John pulled against the restraints again. "Let me out."
Rouge simply smiled. "You can't. Those restraints shut down your nervous system whenever you try to use your strength. Even if you somehow escaped the chamber—which you won't—there are more than enough measures in this facility to put you back down."
John's breathing grew shaky. "Please..." Tears welled in his eyes. "I didn't do anything wrong."
"We know."
"Then why am I here?!"
Rouge clasped his hands behind his back. "Because superpowers aren't something the world can simply ignore."
John shook his head. "I'm not dangerous."
"You aren't." Rouge's smile remained. "But your abilities are."
John's lip trembled. "Please... just let me go. I only wanted to help people."
"We know, Monarch."
John frowned. "How do you know my—"
"The entire world knows your name." Rouge interrupted. "You revealed yourself to millions of people. Did you really think the most powerful governments on Earth would simply look the other way?"
John didn't answer.
"We're not going to kill you," Rouge continued calmly. "We're going to study you."
"W-What...?"
"We're going to understand how you work. And if we're successful..." He smiled. "...we'll create more like you."
John's face went pale. "No..."
Rouge pressed a button on the control panel beside the chamber.
A white gas hissed from the vents.
John stumbled backward, coughing as it quickly filled the chamber. "No... please..."
His legs gave out beneath him.
His eyelids grew heavier with every passing second until he finally collapsed onto the floor.
Rouge watched silently as John drifted unconscious.
"Welcome to the future, Monarch."
---
"WHERE'S MY BABY?! GIVE HIM BACK, YOU FUCKING MONSTERS!!" Mother screamed at the top of her lungs.
A soldier grabbed her firmly. "Calm down, ma'am! He's only going to be interrogated."
"FUCK YOU! I'm not believing that bullshit! You're going to kill him! He's just a little boy!" Mother bit down hard on the soldier's hand.
The soldier yanked his hand back with a wince. "You fucking bitch!"
He slapped her hard across the face, knocking her to the floor.
"Hey!" Father roared and charged forward.
But the soldier was far more skilled. With two quick punches, Father was on the ground beside Mother.
The soldier then looked at Jacob, who stood frozen, quiet and terrified.
"Don't do anything rash, kid."
Jacob nodded slowly.
The soldiers left without another word.
---
2 DAYS LATER
"It has been two days since the young superhero 'Monarch' made his dramatic appearance in public.
This has raised many questions about his current whereabouts.
There are several theories circulating. Some believe he has been arrested, others think he disappeared to be alone, and some say he will only appear when trouble arises.
Unfortunately, there is still no official information on where Monarch is or what he is doing. With that said, we will no—"
The TV was abruptly turned off.
Mother broke down in tears. Father hugged her tightly while also crying. Jacob cried silent tears in the corner.
"We tried everything! The police aren't doing jackshit! Oh god... Where are you, John..." Mother sobbed.
Father held her tighter. Jacob quietly walked to his room.
Jacob didn't know how to grieve. He didn't want to feel sad all the time — it felt like torture. Everything reminded him of John: going outside, going to school, even sitting in his own room.
So Jacob grabbed his books and began to study. He studied for hours without stopping, reading every page, every article he could find online. It was the only way he could drown out thoughts of his brother.
But Jacob noticed something painful. Ever since John was taken, his parents barely spoke to him or comforted him.
And that hurt. Deeply.
He exhaled and continued studying.
He studied for twenty hours straight. During those twenty hours, not once did his parents check on him.
Jacob felt jealous, angry, and incredibly sad.
---
MORNING, 10:00 AM
Jacob walked out of his room and went to the kitchen. Mother was cooking aggressively while crying.
Father sat at the table, clutching his head, also crying. Jacob noticed the calendar — it was Wednesday. He was supposed to be at school, but no one had woken him up.
"Mom...?"
"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" Mother snapped.
Jacob flinched. Tears welled up in his eyes.
Mother sighed and rushed over, realizing her mistake. "I'm so sorry, honey. Mom didn't mean to say that... We've just had a really bad couple of days."
"Every day is a bad day, Mom."
Mother stayed silent. Jacob was right.
She sighed. "You hungry? I'm almost done with breakfast."
Jacob nodded.
"Mom."
"Yeah?"
"Don't I have school today?"
Mother suddenly realized. "Oh, right!" She chuckled weakly. "Guess I wasn't paying attention, sorry!"
"You didn't pay attention to me or the clock, Mom."
"What do you mean by that?"
"This whole time I've been treated like a ghost. You only talk to me when I talk first. You never ask how I feel or comfort me. It's like you only have one child. You only care about John."
"That's enough!" Father snapped. "Please, Jacob. We're all going through something. And we're sorry, okay? We know we haven't been showing you much affection, and we're really sorry."
Father forced a smile. "Now would you please just be quiet like the rest of us?"
Jacob could only nod.
---
John woke up in a metallic chamber. Two scientists observed him through a thick glass window.
"W-Where am I now...?"
Rouge walked in front of the glass.
"We gave you two days of rest. But from now on, you can't have that anymore."
"What do you mean by that?"
Rouge smiled and pressed a button.
John didn't feel anything at first. Then the temperature began rising rapidly. John started sweating. The heat grew more intense by the second.
John panted heavily and took off his shirt, but it did nothing.
Then it became even hotter.
The chamber turned bright orange. John began steaming.
John screamed in agony while the scientists simply watched, writing notes on their clipboards.
"PLEASE! MAKE IT STOP!!" John screamed.
Rouge shook his head. "Thirty seconds."
Thirty agonizing seconds passed before the temperature finally dropped. John collapsed to the floor, panting heavily. His skin was bright red and still steaming.
Rouge glanced at the scientists. "Ten thousand degrees. Subject remained conscious." A smile slowly spread across his face. "Remarkable."
Rouge smiled. "Do you know what excites me, Monarch?" He gestured toward the scientists behind the glass. "Not that you survived. That we finally know where your limits begin."
John stared at him with pure rage. "I'll kill each and every single one of you..."
Rouge chuckled. "Don't you get it, Monarch? You're nothing but a weapon. That's what you've been ever since you got powers."
Rouge pressed another button. White gas hissed into the chamber.
"Superpowers are nothing but weapons..."