James Lee walked along the sidewalk of Kettner Avenue. Cars wooshed by, traffic flowing through streets like blood in the arteries of Arcmont City. By all accounts, the average metropolitan American city. Big, fast paced, bustling and sprawling from the city proper to the downtown. Kettner Avenue was a fairly busy street near the heart of the city, made apparent by the nonstop traffic barreling down the street. Black metal street lights stretched up from black fenced off planters, with bushes and trees growing out from them. Trees were growing orange as fall crept its way through the city. Cold morning shone down on the dew still dripping from leaves. Dead leaves crunched beneath his feet, lending a comforting rhythm to his walk. James drummed his fingers against his thigh as he walked out of a nervous habit.

  I hate first impressions.

  The thought echoed through his head for the millionth time that morning. He hated starting new things. The awkward phase of trying to decide who you could talk to or not, the uncertainty of everything. Trying to make good first impressions, feeling like every small move was being scrutinized by a jury of peers. It sucked. School sucked.

  He tried to stay positive though. He had a zero period so he had to get to school before his sister, but she was starting freshman year at his school. He couldn’t let her see him moping and depressed all day just because he felt socially inept.

  A bright blue flash and a loud screaming sound passed by overhead. He was knocked from his thoughts. James jerked his head up, craning his head in trying to get a good look. As she passed, he adjusted his glasses.

  He was, though he would never admit it openly, kind of a nerd for superheroes. To be fair, it was hard not to be in this day and age, with so many larger than life figures living in his city. He guessed that the flash overhead had been Bang.

  She was a hero under the Superpowered Employment Agency, SEA, making waves as a new symbol for heroics, pun unintended. Her name came from her power, which allowed her to move in straight lines with incredible power, followed by the iconic bang as she reached supersonic speeds.

  Damn! I should’ve taken a picture.

  He shook his head, annoyed. He’d have to look on the Powered Activity forum and check it out later. The abundance of super powered crime made Arcmont a hotspot for news and super heroic activity. He wanted so badly to become a hero, but the hopes of awakening powers faded with each passing year. He shifted his bag up higher on his back and sped up. If he didn’t hurry, he was going to be late to class. Freshman and sophomore year was … boring to say the least. He had always hoped for some sort of drama he could be a part of, but everything seemed so mundane and dull compared to whenever he would hear about the latest heroic showdown. He turned on the corner of Kettner and Rold, blending in with the crowd at the subway entrance.

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  He descended the stairs to the subway station and rushed past the ticket machines. He checked his watch. 7:40. He did not want to start junior year off with a tardy. As he tapped his foot impatiently, he opened his phone and checked the live news coverage of New York. Bang was fighting some villain who could steal sight from everyone within a radius, a guy named Blindfold. The fight was, well, it was hard to say. Dust billowed through the air and sirens sounded loudly, making it hard to discern anything from the helicopter footage. Blue flashes illuminated the dust periodically.

  A ding sounded, and James looked up to see subway doors starting to slide shut. He jumped, rushing forward in a startled half run half leap. He barely cleared the doors, skidding to a stop right as the doors closed behind him. He heard a few snickers. He glanced at them, face burning red.

  A trio of boys stood together, barely taller than him at around six feet tall. They were popular, athletic, in his grade, and overall the kind of person James both disliked and wanted to be at the same time. He grimaced and glanced at them. They were already turned back towards each other, their temporary amusement at James’ stumble passed. He wasn’t worth any additional consideration. He pushed his glasses back up his nose and took a seat, trying to get his breathing back to normal. He closed his eyes and drummed his fingers on his knees.

  New year, new me. No more awkwardness from now on.

  He thought about his friends and smiled. At least he would get to hang out with them at lunch and after school. Honestly, they were pretty much the only thing keeping school remotely bearable. His thought was sharply interrupted by a series of loud beeps coming from almost every person in the train car. The superpower alert system.

  The city sent alerts to every citizen about possible collateral damage in superpowered altercations, warning about places to avoid and places to go for shelter. He looked down at his phone and read: Please evacuate Rold street as quickly as possible in a calm and orderly manner.

  His eyes darted to the electronic map showing the subway’s current path. They were right underneath Rold Street. Before he could even think about what to do about it, a blue flash tore through the tunnel in front of him, sending rubble tumbling down. The subway screeched as it tried to brake, but skidded against the concrete and lifted up off the rails. James felt the compartment tip over and for a brief second, he was weightless. This wouldn’t last long.

  James came crashing down onto the ground, bits of broken glass biting into his back. He let out a short bark of pain. A heavy slab of something rested on top of him. He tried to look around before realizing with horror that he couldn’t see. It wasn’t in the painful way that dirt would block your sight, or the blackness of closing your eyes. He simply couldn't see. There was a lack of anything. A vacuum where his sight had once been. His breathing spiked, lungs hitching in his chest. He reached up and only felt the cold unyielding weight of concrete pushing against him. He was trapped. He could faintly hear speech echoing through the ruined subway tunnel, barely audible over the roaring of his ears. His hands scrabbled against the chunk of rubble slowly crushing him.

  There was something especially primal and terrifying about being stuck under a heavy weight. There was nothing to beat. Nobody you could charm or outwit, no activity or action you could complete to free yourself. It was simply there, and there was nothing to do about it. He heard a crumbling sound and felt the rubble shift even lower. His mind came to a quiet realization, as if suddenly realizing the truth of everything.

  I’m going to die here.

  Another thought flashed through his mind, so absurdly mundane that he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

  I'm going to be late to school.