As the two superhero fans pondered about a good superhero name, a frail woman with a sickly appearance opened the door that led into the small rundown home.

  “I’m glad you’re back Tamu,” said Tamu’s mother named Zubeda. “Dinner is ready.”

  “Mom you’re not supposed to be cooking! You should be resting!” remarked Tamu

  “Don’t worry, Asha made dinner before she left. You’ll just have to warm everything up. It’s your favorite baked chicken… and who’s this? A customer?”

  “Yep! Sure is!”

  Ven was taken aback by Zubeda’s sickly appearance, yet he tried to be as respectful as he could. She was moving slow, and it almost appeared that she was trembling with every movement.

  He practically bowed in his nervous greeting. “It’s nice to meet you ma’am, my name is Ven. I know it’s pretty late, so thank you for allowing me into your home.”

  Zubeda simply looked at Ven with a plain expression as her ill continued to lightly shake. “Oh, you’re not from Ashton, aren’t you? Tamu, make sure he gets home safely. Looks like he’s already had a run in with some thugs.”

  “Don’t worry Mom! Ven here is a superhero! He’s my customer after all!”

  “Oh wow, I assumed he was here on behalf of someone else.” Zubeda seemed to be growing weaker with each passing second. “Since you’re not from here Ven, you can eat too. You don’t seem sketchy.”

  “Thank you ma’am.” Ven put his hand on his stomach. He hadn’t eaten anything since the morning, and using his powers all day really drained him. He was almost in separate need for nutrition.

  “Do you need help getting back to bed Mom?” asked Tamu.

  “Don’t worry sweetie, I’m fine.”

  “Okay… Well we’ll get dinner soon Mom.”

  Zubeda then slowly closed the door.

  “I wish I could have taken my mother to the emergence site too. That way she could have been healed like you,” Tamu said somberly.

  “Yeah… I would have liked that too.”

  ****

  Ven eagerly sat at the table as Zubeda handed him a plate filled with baked chicken, green beans, and mashed potatoes.

  After he finished gulping down a glass of ice cold water, he excitedly took a bite out of the chicken.

  “Wow, your sister’s a really good cook Tamu,” cheered Ven as he grabbed another bite.

  “I think so too!” replied Tamu, stuffing her face. “If only she would only focus on cooking…”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough,” said Tamu, almost annoyed.

  “So, Tamu’s making you a suit for free?” asked Zubeda.

  “Well, that’s what she said, but don’t worry, I already planned on paying her from the start!”

  “WHAT!? Really!?” shocked Tamu.

  “Of course. If you’re making me a suit, I can’t just give you nothing.”

  “But… the economy’s really bad these days. Are you sure?”

  “Of course! If someone does a service for you, then it makes sense to pay for them.”

  “Nice! So how much money are we talking here!?”

  “Eh, let’s negotiate a price later.”

  Zubeda slowly walked up from her chair and walked towards a door that appeared to be in the back of the house.

  “I’m going back to rest. It’s nice to meet you Ven, and Tamu… stay out of trouble.”

  When the door closed, Ven was left staring at the raggedy kitchen. The wobbly chair and the rusted tile were just things his rich eyes were not used to. The food was phenomenal though, so it appeared that even dishes put together in the midst of poverty could be amazing. He felt bad for the family, Tamu, a daughter that seemed to have run into trouble with gangs, and Zubeda, a sick mother. He wondered how the other members of the family were like.

  “Tamu, if you don’t mind me asking, where’s your father?” Ven immediately wished he didn’t ask the question. He knew that a lot of people who lived in poverty didn’t have fathers, why didn’t he hold his tongue.

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  “Don’t look like that,” said Tamu. It was as if she knew Ven regretted asking. “I know what you’re probably thinking, that I have a deadbeat father. Well I don’t! My dad was the greatest dad ever, until those evil Cinder Fangs got to him. He’s gone now.”

  “I’m so sorry to hear that,” said Ven as he dropped his fork on his plate.

  “What did those gang members have to do with your father’s death? Is that why you were stealing from them?”

  “I didn’t steal from them! I was just saving lives.”

  “Saving lives?”

  Tamu sighed before looking away from her plate. “The Cinder Fangs don’t care about anything but money. They could care less about who they hurt with their product, just as long as they get money.” She turned back to her plate and began to stuff her mouth with food as she continued. “If it wasn’t for them, my dad would still be alive. He wasn’t always addicted to their stuff, they just got to him! Ruined his whole life until he lost everything and overdosed. Those punks thought it was funny. I think if I steal and destroy their products, less people would get hurt.”

  “That’s awful. Those people are terrible. Once I get a hang out of my powers, I’ll shut them down. But stay far away from those guys. They’re bad news.”

  “Okay, fine,” said Tamu as she cleared her plate, her expression still annoyed. “Just be careful when you face them. They aren’t a weak gang you know.”

  Tamu then began coughing, as she ate her food too quickly. The door then slowly opened, the person completely shocked Ven.

  “I’m back Mom… Tamu,” a woman said as her heels rattled the floors.

  Ven turned and his jaw dropped. It was the prostitute that spoke to him earlier. It sure was a small world. She had to have been the older sister that prepared the delicious food he was eating. She appeared to be about in her early twenties.

  “Tamu, who the hell is this!?” Asha said angrily.

  Ven quickly darted his eyes away from Asha’s revealing clothing. As he sat there drenching in social awkwardness.

  “This is my new customer, Ven. He’s a superhero; I’m making a superhero suit for him.” Tamu’s speech became more serious, and somewhat robotic.

  “You can’t just let strange men into our house. What is wrong with you? You don’t even know this guy.

  “Don’t worry, he’s innocent.”

  Asha stared at Ven with intense eyes, yet her facial expression still appeared somewhat lifeless. “There’s a lot of evil men out there, and you think this guy is different? And by the way, you haven’t been messing with the Cinder Fangs again, have you?”

  “Of course I haven’t,” said Tamu as she tried to hide the lie on her face.

  Asha simply ignored the two on them and headed for the bathroom. The sound of the shower facet turning on reminded him how he had to get home soon. His mother would be really worried if he took any longer.

  He never would have guessed that Tamu’s older sister would be a prostitute. Was it because of their late father’s passing? Was money that valuable in Ashton?

  ****

  Ven exited the garage after Tamu created a basic prototype design for his future suit. He still didn’t have a name, but with a suit on the way, he was close to being a full superhero. Tamu was definitely talented too, as she crafted the prototype in only a matter of minutes. It would be completed in no time. Ven and Tamu agreed that Ven would pick up the finished prototype suit tomorrow, so he was now finally on his way home to rest.

  He eyed the star filled night, as the absence of city lights let the stars show off how spectacular they can be. The sound of tireless crickets and the hoot of owls were greeting his tired ears. On the front porch, Ven noticed Asha standing up a railing smoking a cigarette. She was now wearing shorts and a T-Shirt, way more modest than before.

  She eyed him as he gently put down the garage door, her eyes penetrating him like a hawk.

  “So, your sister is really cool… good kid,” said Ven as he slowly walked up to Asha.

  Asha said nothing as she took another puff of her cigarettes, her face lifeless and her eyes dead set on the moon.

  Finally, after a brief silence, Asha finally spoke.

  “Are you really a superhero?”

  “Oh, uh… yeah. I just started so I don’t have anything together yet. Can you believe I don’t even have a name yet.”

  She gave him the side eye. “I can tell you’re definitely not from here… that’s good. You also have a lot of money, not just a lot, but a “whole lot,” of money.”

  “Wait, you can tell!”

  “Of course I could, it’s written all over your face. I knew when I first saw you. I can also tell that Tamu stole from the Cinder Fangs again. I don’t know why she won’t listen to me. Doesn’t she realize that messing with those guys won’t bring back our dad?” She took another puff. “Anyway, people like you are living the life I could only dream of. I have no idea why you’re here.”

  After another brief awkward silence, Ven abruptly broke it. “I’m going to pay Tamu a lot of money for my suit! I’m also, gonna help you guys out a lot. You and your Mom.”

  Asha dropped the cigarette, in almost disbelief. It almost appeared as if hope grazed her, but then it quickly faded away. “Yeah right, you don’t have to do anything.” She then pulled out another cigarette and began lighting it. “I’m just surprised she told you about my mother.”

  “I’m serious you know.”

  “Whatever… I’ll believe it when I see it. I’ve been screwed over enough.”

  “Sorry to hear that,” said Ven as he braced himself to finally start his walk home. He had no idea where he was, but a gps app would totally help out. Before he could fully turn around, Asha spoke again.

  “She hates me, doesn’t she.”

  “Huh? What do you mean?”

  “Tamu… she’s disappointed in what I do so she hates me. I can just tell.”

  Ven took a big gulp. “I’m sure she doesn’t hate you, maybe she just doesn’t understand some things.”

  “Everything I’ve done, I’ve done it for my family. There are no good regular jobs out there. I can’t pay for the house, food, and my mother’s treatment working minimum wage.”

  “Well there’s another way, you can work for me too!”

  “I already told you, I don’t—,”

  Suddenly, Ven saw a huge gray colored stone flying towards Asha.

  “Get down!” He tackled her to the ground as the huge cinder block absolutely destroyed the front door.

  “What the hell was that!?” Asha panicked.

  “I’m not sure.”

  He got off Asha and looked around to see where the large block came from. He looked by the full moon and saw a strange man crouching on another broken down house. He saw two other men climb the fence and then slowly walked towards the street.

  “That’s him! That’s the guy!” One of the men said as they walked even closer.

  Those guys from earlier who were chasing Tamu, thought Ven. But just who did they bring along exactly?

  Judging by Asha’s petrified eyes and trembling hands, he couldn’t have been good news.

  “Out of all people, the Cinder Fangs could have sent, they sent him!?”

  The man perched on the building’s devilish grin turned the atmosphere into a thick cloud of fear.