Ven stared at Asha’s brand new luxury car in disbelief. The shiny black car almost seemed like it was begging for attention in the parking lot. Just how much did she pay for it anyway?

  “What do you think of Asha’s new car? Pretty cool huh?” grinned Tamu.

  “…I mean, what ever helps you drive around I guess,” Ven said suspiciously.

  Asha silently looked at him, before jumping into the driver’s seat. There was a humongous touch screen inside the car, and the yolk stirring wheel was smooth and shiny.

  “Let’s go!” said Tamu.

  Ven sighed before jumping into the backseat of the vehicle, the opposite side of Tamu. His nose was pleasantly greeted with the new car smell. Spectralis was about a two hour drive away, so he hoped the ride would still be somewhat comfortable.

  “You’re not going to change?” Asha asked Ven, who was still in his superhero costume.

  “No way, this is Spectralis. I won’t fit in without a costume right?”

  “I guess,” said Asha as she turned on the vehicle. “Should we put the top down?”

  “Sure, why not!” said Tamu.

  Asha clicked a touch screen button on the vehicle’s display, and the roof of the convertible slowly began to retract

  “Pretty cool right?” Asha cheered, as she began to light a cigarette with a gold lighter.

  “I’ll never get tired of that,” said Tamu.

  Asha turned on rap music and slowly began to back out of the huge parking lot. The music was so loud, that the music practically rattled Ven’s spine.

  “So,” Ven began, as Asha lowered the volume. “I wanted to ask you guys before, but how is your mom doing? Is she okay?” His face was adorned with concern.

  “Yeah, she’s doing pretty good now! She’s still in a coma, but her doctors are pretty much saying that she’ll wake up any moment now. We’re both just wishing for that moment to happen as soon as possible,” explained Tamu.

  “Really? That’s great!”

  Asha drove out of the parking lot into a residential street. “And we have you to thank for that Ven. If you didn’t show up with all your crew, then she’d probably be dead… Thank you.”

  “No problem,” Ven said proudly, as the mood finally lightened.

  “…So, uh, sorry if this is pushing it, but what illness did she have if you don’t mind me asking,” asked Ven.

  Asha looked at the rearview mirror and stared at her sister with gleaming eyes. “I’ll tell you later.”

  “Okay… Well I’m just happy that she’s going to wake up soon!”

  “Me too,” Asha smiled as she picked up her cigarette from the cigarette tray and inhaled more smoke.

  Ven met Tamu smiling face as Asha turned on the highway.

  “I can’t wait to finally see this place,” said Tamu.

  Ven smirked. “Same here. I can’t wait.” He would make his child self proud by finally laying eyes on the city of champions.

  Asha turned on the long stretch of highway that would eventually lead to Spectralis. She cranked the music up as loud as she could again, her stylish hair flowing in the free wind.

  ****

  After two hours of constant driving and the occasional chat, the crew finally arrived to the legendary city of Spectralis. The traffic wasn’t bad for the majority of the journey, however it got heavier the closer they got to their iconic destination. They were currently waiting in a long line of traffic to get official inside the city, and the top of the car was now raised up.

  Above the so called polling station, there was a huge famous sign that said “Welcome to Spectralis.” In glowing neon lights. Below it was an image of a small fictionalized superhero flying. If the gates to enter city were already breathtaking, then Ven could only imagine how awesome it’d be to finally see the full picture.

  “This line’s taking forever,” complained Tamu.

  “Don’t worry, we’re almost inside,” answered Asha. “Ugh, my back is killing me.”

  “You’d think they’d have seat massagers in these things,” chuckled Ven.

  “Wait hold on, I think you’re on to something,” she started tinkering with the touchpad controls and the suddenly, her seat started massaging her back.

  “Aw, this car is amazing,” said Asha as her voice rattled.

  “This is the greatest car ever,” cheered Tamu.

  “C’mon, do our seats too,” fussed Ven.

  Asha started messing with the touchpad again, however the backseats still remained unchanged.

  “What’s the hold out!? We’re getting inpatient!” griped Tamu.

  “I’m trying, I’m trying,” said Asha, as the seat made her voice shake again.

  Finally, she was able to turn the massagers on in the back seats. Ven and Tamu sank deep into their seats in deep relaxation.

  “Amazing,” rattled Tamu, as she slowly began to giggle.

  “I think I need to buy a car, and it might be this one. I’m speechless,” said Ven.

  “What? You’re Vera’s son and you don’t have a car?” asked Asha.

  “Well I’ve always been too sick to drive. I don’t even have my license.”

  “Wow, someone needs driving lessons,” said Tamu.

  Suddenly, the car finally got to the front of the line. They were greeted by a man with a sleek superhero costume, the exact same costume that all the other attendants were wearing in the other lines. They probably all had superpowers. If they were so strict about entering the city, then why was the crime rate so high?

  “ID please.”

  “Here you go,” Asha said as she handed her ID to the attendant, after turning off the seat massagers. He squinted his eyes as he looked at her and then the ID again.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  “Hmm… You look a lot different,” the attendant said suspiciously.

  “Oh, my ID picture is really old.”

  “Eh, alright. You two show me your IDs too.”

  Ven and Tamu handed the attendant their IDs as they pulled down their windows. He scanned all of the IDs, and then let their car pass through the gate.

  Ven was shocked that they asked for a child’s ID, but he was also more shocked that they let Asha into the city with no problem. She had a criminal record, so perhaps it wasn’t super important to them. He wondered why.

  Asha slowly drove into the superpowered city to look for a good parking space. They were all eagerly starring out of the windows at the exquisite sites before them.

  The endless skyscrapers seemed to be grabbing the afternoon skies, with outreached hands. Some of the skyscrapers had hologram images of top heroes of the Hero Brunch. They could see many citizens flying around the city, some were in superhero costumes, while others were not.

  The traffic became congested again, as they drove through downtown. Several of the citizens were walking on the sidewalk, and many of whom were using their superpowers. Ven’s eyes were excitingly taking in all the sites without hesitation. He suddenly felt like he was a kid again. The surreal vibe he saw before put a warm feeling in his stomach unlike any other. After seeing the city so many times on ill riddled hospital nights, He could hardly believe that he was finally in Spectralis.

  “Look Ven! It’s Stylo,” gleamed Tamu as she pointed at a huge hologram of Stylo that was on one of the skyscrapers.

  Below him had the texts in a fancy font, “Stylo: The Smooth Icy Hero.”

  “I guess I would have been excited about that, if I didn’t already know his personality,” shrugged Ven.

  “Aw, don’t be like that! And look it’s your favorite, Chronos!”

  Ven looked at another building and saw a hologram on Chronos on it. “I guess he’s moving up in the ranks!”

  Chronos, the time hero, was still his most favorite hero. Sooner or later, he too would move up through the ranks and also get a hologram of himself. Both Chronos and Stylo were essentially two pillars that he had to get to no matter what.

  A bright wave of fire flew past their car. Ven saw a super powered man engulfed in flames as he dashed on the streets with high speed. He bumped into a few people on the streets.

  “Watch where you’re going!” Another angry man uttered as he threw a water ball from his hand towards the man.

  “No way all these people are legally registered heroes!” remarked Ven.

  “Probably more than you think. Most people here are probably extremely low ranked heroes. Not everyone who passes the hero brunch exam does hero work you know. They probably are passing the test as an excuse to use their powers wherever they want in public,” explained Tamu.

  “And I bet most of these people are not even legally registered,” chuckled Asha, as she swerved the vehicle.

  Anyone using their powers in public was essentially a villain—even if they were a vigilante. The world really took emergees seriously after the Emergences first appeared.

  Asha pulled into a parking lot, and after several turns, she finally found a vacant spot.

  “One of the houses I’ve been looking at online is not far from here. Let’s get out here instead,” Asha said as she turned the car off.

  Ven and the two sisters exited the car, exhausted and stretching profusely. The back massager was nice, but it felt so good to finally stand up again for a change.

  “I thought we’d never get out,” said Tamu as she situated her crutches.

  “Same here,” said Ven as he stretched his arm. “It’s not a far walk is it?”

  “Not at all,” said Asha as she began to walk out of the parking lot.

  The city’s air was a lot cooler than the hot summer air of Bahari. Not cold enough for a thick coat, but cool enough to walk around in comfortable attire. Walking past so many potential superheroes was jawbreaking and actually walking below the skyscrapers that had the holograms of heroes imprinted on it was more surreal than Ven expected to be. He wondered what sort of attractions were inside the luxurious structures, was it simply apartments, or something entirely different.

  As they continued their walk in downtown Spectralis, they noticed a large cookie restaurant that had a long line out of the door. That peculiar cookie bar was known to sell cookies as big as scones, that also had a gooey warm chocolatey center. The smell of freshly baked cookies was intoxicating.

  “Let’s get in line!” Tamu gleamed.

  “No way, we haven’t even eaten dinner yet,” lectured Asha.

  “Aw, alright.”

  They walked around several other delicious smelling restaurants. Eventually, they made it to a huge street with heavy traffic. When the lights finally turned red, in which seemed like an eternity, they crossed the street. After a few quick turns on residential streets that boasted many small fancy houses that were futuristic, and shiny due to the numerous windows all around the houses. Eventually, they made it to one of the unique houses that had a huge “for sale” sign on it. The exterior of the house was made of glass that could not be seen into, and it had several black rims between each panel. It looked like some sort of “experimental” house. The garage was made of an all black material, that seemed slightly less glossy than the glass.

  “Do you have the key?” Ven asked, as he eyed the freshly cut grass.

  “Sort of,” said Asha as she walked toward the front door. A large holographic screen came out of a small compartment that was above the door handle.

  “Welcome to your house tour! Please scan your code to start!” A somewhat high pitched robotic male voice said.

  Asha pulled out her brand new phone from her leathered purse. She turned it on and scanned the code.

  “Welcome Asha Kibwe! Let’s start your tour!”

  The shiny black door slowly opened, revealing a house that was filled with bright white lights and newly placed gray carpets. The trio slowly walked inside, filled with awe. The walls were still gray, which meant that even though the walls were glass, the inhabitants of the homes could not see or be seen through them. The enticing lemon scent smell was homely welcoming.

  Suddenly, a hologram figure, with a large and friendly robotic face, suddenly appeared from nowhere. It was right in front of Ven, only mere inches away.

  “Welcome to the house tour!” The high pitched hologram said excitedly. It looked like it drank five shots of espresso before loading in.

  “Uh… thanks,” said Ven, still jolted from the sudden appearance.

  “Follow me!” The program said running with his arms stretched wide.

  “What in the world?” remarked Asha.

  “I like him, he’s friendly,” chuckled Tamu.

  “First up, we have the kitchen!” The hologram said as they walked into a cozy kitchen that already had a nicely placed black refrigerator. The marbled countertops, and cabinets had a stunning aesthetic together. “You can get all of your cooking done in here! You have all the space you need! The living room is right around the corner. Our water from the fridge is the freshest water around. Try some water!”

  “Oh, we’re good,” said Asha.

  “Try some water!” The robot hologram said again. He was practically shaking with excitement. He was looking at Ven, like it was begging him to get a cup of water.

  “Alright, fine! I’ll get some water,” Ven said as he grabbed a paper cup. He was originally annoyed, but couldn’t help but grin when he heard Tamu and Asha snickering in the background.

  He tasted the water. “Mm, that’s good water.”

  “I know right! I wish I could drink water!” The hologram screamed while raising its hands up.

  “Sorry to hear th--,”

  “Let’s go upstairs!” The hologram yelled again, practically cutting Ven off.

  “Seriously, how do they code these things!?” Ven fussed, while the two sisters continued to laugh even louder in the background.

  They followed the strange hologram up the thin black stairs, and were greeted by a sort of game room. It had three doors spread throughout, which were all still unfurnished.

  After they finished the chuckling tour, they exited the building, discussing the good features of the house. Both sisters liked it a lot, so they were thinking of closing on the house. Asha was previously thinking of touring another house in a different neighborhood right afterwards, but perhaps the energetic hologram did its job.

  “Hey, I’m going to take care of some things really quick,” Asha said out of no where. “Why don’t you two have a look around the city.”

  “Take care of things? What kind of things?” Tamu asked, her face filled with shock and worry.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon. We’ll meet back by the car in like 4 hours.”

  “Oh, uh… okay. Stay safe out there. Who knows what this city is like at night,” said Ven.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” Asha said as she began to walk out of the small exquisite neighborhood. “I’ll see you both later.”

  That’s odd, Ven thought, as he watched Asha walk away. She shouldn’t know anyone in Spectralis at all, after all, it was only her second time in the city. Was she in some sort of business? And was it legal business? He hoped she didn’t fall back into the way she used to live as a sexworker.

  Maybe my Mom was right about Asha. he thought before continuing to ponder about her.

  Nah, maybe she’s not all bad news. Maybe my Mom was wrong. Perhaps she was looking for a job or something. She had to know that half a million oricas would not last forever. He still could not pinpoint her heart at the moment, but he hoped it was in the right place. All he could do was wait and see what her actions would eventually reveal.

  “So Ven,” Tamu said, snapping Ven back into reality. “What should we do?”

  Ven thought back to the chilling conversation he had with Con-Crush. He would need help at Umoja Terminal, and maybe a whole lot of it. Who knows… If he got help good enough, then he’d probably not even have to go to the terminal at Since he was an aspiring hero, that was out of the question though.

  “Let’s check out the Hero Brunch headquarters. Hopefully they let us in.”

  “Sounds good, but can we get something to eat first? I’m starving here!”