November, 2011

  Two food trucks were parked infront of Collin's school as he ordered a reuben sandwich and strawberry lemonade for lunch. His best friends were with him while his boyfriend went to the other truck to get froyo. All of them were dressed in their school uniforms.

  "I can't believe our team won!" someone said.

  "Seriously," another voice spoke. "When Collin got benched I was freaking out cause I made a bet, but Wyatt and Hero was able to hold it down."

  Collin took the sandwich and drink. "Thank you."

  "Dude, are you sure your okay?" Grace asked.

  "Yeah," he said and took a bite of his sandwich.

  Lucan frowned. "But we heard you tore your ACL."

  "I told you my boyfriend is superhuman," Rafhael answered as he scooped frozen yogurt into his mouth. "Yo, when are we gonna take Helena on a date?"

  Collin shrugged awkwardly and took a sip of his drink. "Soon, we can meet up at your house. Just don't mention this to my family."

  "Why not?" his boyfriend asked.

  Grace and Lucan expined. "Because they have beef."

  30 minutes ter, Collin sat in Astronomy css as their teacher walked around the cssroom. They had to make a star wheel by drawing and writing the names of consteltions. Star wheels is a more versatile star map used by sailors and travellers during the dark ages. When he was little his dad told him about his ancestors who were travellers.

  Roma people were dubbed Gypsies by white Europeans and that's basically a slur. Once when Collin was 10 years-old he got bullied at school, but it wasn't because of his family roots. Both of his parents are second-generation immigrants that settled in the United States.

  "Okay!" Mrs. Heart cpped. "For homework you'll do a group art project about one of the pnets in the sor system and talk about it."

  Once school was over Collin and his siblings went by the junkyard to practice his powers. He had on a Pokemon graphic-t, denim jeans, a denim hoodie jacket, wristbands, and timbernd boots. The junkyard was scrammed with broken cars as Ezra and Inaya collected stuff. It's been awhile since they hung out together. His brother and sister looked more like their mom who is Indigenous, they had copper skin and bck hair. Most of the time they would only visit during holidays or birthdays. Collin's siblings were heavy-set, but in the hospital they lost half their weight.

  "Hey, congratutions little brother!" Ezra shouted. "Your going to the championships."

  "Thanks," Collin smiled.

  Inaya sipped her soda and spoke. "Happy for you Jellybean, you worked really hard. Okay, let's see these awesome powers."

  After looking around he saw several Beetle cars and used telekinesis to move one. There was noise as the car lifted into the air and nded on the ground. Collin's siblings were shocked as he began the next test, he ran and jumped over the car. Another beetle was stacked, than another, and another. When he jumped over the fourth car he had to turn sideways as he rolled on the ground.

  "Four cars is my limit," Collin groaned as he dusted dirt off himself.

  Inaya lined up 7 gss bottles on a cardboard box. He gnced at the bottles and used his telekinesis to lift them into the air, making the bottles fly around took a lot of concentration as he flung them away. Ezra had 5 tires lined up as Collin summoned his sword. After gazing at the targets he swung his sword like an axe as a shadow collided into the tires. Within seconds the tires were split in half as each one toppled over.

  "That was my Shadow Wolf Blitz," Collin expined.

  "Man, that's bonkers!" Ezra hollered. "Okay, what about a race?"

  "Easy-peasy," Inaya grinned.

  Several minutes ter, they stood side by side as Ezra started to count down. "3...2...1...go!"

  Everybody sprinted towards the upside-down car which represented the finish line. His siblings were ahead of him as he kept a good pace, but that quickly changed once he boosted his speed. The ndscape was a blur as Collin skidded to a halt near the upside-down car. Behind him was hazy, he smirked because he literally left Inaya and Ezra in the dust.

  An hour ter, Collin sat in his dad's art studio as he painted his Vardo wagon he made in woodshop back in Connecticut. For the most part things did go back to normal. On the desk were two family photos, these were taken 5 years-ago when they visited Brazil and Romania for vacation. Collin and his siblings had to speak Vx or Portuguese whenever they went out.

  Suddenly, his cellphone dinged and he saw it was a text from Helena about a mission. The next song that pyed from his pylist was Up, Up and Away by Kid Cudi. After cleaning his hands with a rag he texted his girlfriend saying he was gonna skip. What happened next made Collin's blood run cold as a pop-up window appeared.

  [ Objective: Protect the Princess from an intruder to earn 10 training points ]

  Later that night, Collin sat in a big bedroom with Helena. The Tv was on as moonlight shined through the window. It was 11:25 at night as they waited for the intruder to show up. His girlfriend's room was fancy as the wallpaper and bookcase shimmered. Inside the gss case were drawings of runes, arcane books, and glowing potions.

  "Do you have any idea who it might be?" Collin asked as his swung his sword zily. This whole situation made his heart ache with anticipation.

  "No," Helena hugged herself. "It could be anyone. But royalty getting kidnapped for ransom is common. Something simir happened to my parents. They were on a business trip throughout the kingdoms and one day they were ambushed by rogue mercenaries. Finding their bodies was nearly impossible, they were burned to death by sunbombs."

  He dreaded this conversation for awhile and hugged her. "I remember them...they were kind folks and they would be proud of their amazing daughter. Just, just go somewhere safe I can stay here by myself."

  "No," his girlfriend said again as she clung to him. "I want to see who it is and what if there dangerous? Your only human, Collin. Since your a Maverick your stronger than the average person. But if something bad happened to you I could never forgive myself, so we are doing this together."

  "Okay," Collin gave Helena a kiss.

  After hanging out with Helena for awhile Collin checks the rest of the mansion. It was 12:48 at night when he heard a scream and bolted upstairs, his heart sank after seeing the broken window.

  "Helena, are you okay? Who broke in?" Collin said as he stumbled into the room. There was a bright light infront of his girlfriend and a body on the floor. "Helena?"

  Silence.

  As he got closer he was shocked because he recognized the body. "Is that Travis?"

  Finally, Helena answered. "Yes."

  "What's wrong with him?" Collin asked.

  "I didn't want you to see me like this," his girlfriend expined as tears ran down her face. "Travis tried to sexually assault me. So, I took his soul."

  Collin was upset because he was suppose to protect his girlfriend and failed. If Helena was an ordinary person this would've been a disaster and Casper knew. That blue devil was willing to risk his sister's safety for a mission? What a dumb question. Casper's power is divination, did he really think Collin could save this situation? Just because Collin knew some Xenovian politics? Travis was a dead man and his atrocious behavior is a high-css felony, but this guy was also a human.

  After taking a deep breath and getting his emotions under control he analyzed the crime scene. Stopping the supernatural and mortal community from cshing was a Maverick's job. If the system didn't give Collin this quest Travis would be in the morning news and Casper would already have an alibi. Was he giving Helena's brother too much credit? No, that Incubus is too overbearing. That's when a few thoughts crossed his mind as he gazed at Travis's body.

  "Pretty sure it was self-defense," Collin said as he hugged Helena tightly. "But I need you to be honest about something. You told me your brother didn't kill those people 6 years ago and there wasn't proof. When it happened you were only 11 years-old. But was it you, did you also eat their souls?"

  "I did," Helena admitted. "They were from a supernatural crime syndicate in the mortal world. It was busy that night and their thoughts were very loud. Around that time my brother thought it would be better to homeschool me. I pnned to tell Casper about the encounter when one of them approached and started asking me questions. My life was very chaotic back then. Long story short, I didn't wait for my brother and became impulsive."

  "Okay," he kissed his girlfriend on the cheek. "Just know I could never be afraid of you, but I gotta fix this and I need your help."

  A few minutes ter, Collin summoned his sword while Helena chanted a spell. The temperature dropped a few degrees as colorful sigils floated in the air. An intricate symbol was branded on Travis's forehead as blood trickled down his face. He never saw Helena do magic before and this was mind-blowing. Everybody isn't born with magic and that's why magical objects are a thing. Collin's girlfriend cupped her mouth as something bright floated in her palms, it was Travis's soul.

  "Wow," he said. "Souls kinda look like stars."

  Helena smiled at him.

  "Ready?" Collin lifted his glowing sword and recited the verdict. Travis Caldwell for your crimes against Princess Helena of the Xenovia Kingdom, you will be marked with a curse. Remember that actions have consequences and there are fates worse than death. This will be your new punishment."

  Announcement Hello, folks! I appreciate everybody for reading and for awhile I'll be working on something different. So, this story will be put on hiatus. Just to let y'all know my MC isn't gonna suffer, but he will be put into situations