Ven laid in his hospital bed with weary eyes. After all of his years of suffering, the last thing he wanted was to lay in a hospital bed again. He didn’t anticipate how much damage fighting Con-Crush would cost him. He looked around the beeping machines and white curtains near the bed and let out a sigh. He hated that place.

  Looking back, it was a total shocker that he even ended up fighting such a terrible foe, as the main plan for that day was to simply test out his newfound abilities.

  When he first returned back to the hospital the previous day, many of the nurses recognized him so they were incredibly confused to see him again so soon. The doctor told him that his injuries were as if he were hit by a fast moving freight train. He boasted three broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a damaged liver, and intense skull fractures. If he wasn’t an emergee, he’d be dead from those brutal injuries. It also seemed he was healing from everything far faster than any average person could. Amazingly, his heart was still fine, even if everything else was screwed up. It was such a shocker to Ven, as he was all too familiar with heart issues—yet now it was… fine.

  Waves of anxiety still had a way of rushing over him, despite how far he pushed his body. It was like waves of lava burning through him. He felt like he had to constantly tell himself that he was not going to die, and it was starting to get frustrating. He was uncomfortable, and still quite scared. He spent years telling himself that he would die at any moment; his mind just couldn’t forget all of the immense fear it once carried. Before fighting any other villains, he really wanted to research how he could move on from all the medical trauma. There were people with all sorts of PTSDs out there, if they could conquer their’s then he’d find a way to conquer his too. He figured that if it wasn’t for his desire to save Tamu and Asha, then he could have been folded during the battle and not have been victorious.

  Con-Crush’s final words still left him stupefied. He kept talking about a demon that would burn everything. Who was this demon, and why didn’t he talk more about him? A description of this person would have been nice, but Con-Crush insisted that a description was not necessary. It apparently has something to do with the kidnapped billionaires, but how could it? No one has seen the missing billionaires since the strange day of abductions took place.

  He told Stylo about the demon that would be present at Umoja Terminal a month from now, but Stylo didn’t believe him. Stylo then mentioned that villains often lie and spout foolishness when they are defeated. Ven didn’t believe that at all, something in his gut told him that Con-Crush had to have been telling the truth… maybe a demon really was among them.

  Could he even make it to Umoja Terminal in a month? Would his body even recover in time, and would his anxious mind be able to handle it? He sure would they both would. His plan was to get out of the hospital to get many superheroes together to check out the terminal on the appointed date. If it would really prevent such a grave crisis, then it be had to act.

  As he further pondered about the ominous warning, sudden visitors entered his room.

  “Hey, look who’s up!?” Tamu cheerfully said as she opened his door with her sister. She was now in hospital clothes and her damaged eye was bandaged. She was using crutches, as her leg was now in a thick cast.

  “Tamu! I’m glad you’re alright,” smiled Ven as he sat uprightly. The last time he saw her, she was weeping and injured.

  “She insisted on seeing you Ven. I wanted to let you rest,” explained Asha.

  “Oh no, it’s fine. It’s good to see you both,” said Ven. “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m the one who should be asking you that!” exclaimed Tamu. “I’m feeling fine though. Good news is that my leg should be as good as new a couple of months later! And I don’t mind having one eye, I’ll just start pretending I’m a pirate all the time.”

  “…Please don’t do that,” remarked Asha

  Ven looked at Tamu with a smile before it turned into a frown. “I’m really sorry I failed you. If I defeated Con-Crush the first time, then—“

  “Aw, shut up! It’s not your fault!” Tamu said while flicking Ven’s forehead hard.

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  “Ow, what was that for! Why do you guys keep flicking my forehead!” said Ven.

  Tamu and Asha both began to chuckle, which only served to confuse Ven even more. He then joined them in their laughter, chuckling lightly.

  “We’re okay now. Thanks to you,” said Asha.

  “Speaking of being okay… is your mother okay?” asked Ven, concerned written all over his bandaged face.

  “She’s alive right now, but they have her in a medically induced coma. She has about a fifty percent chance of making it. All we can do is pray for now,” explained Asha.

  “I think she’s gonna make it! I’m sure of it!” Tamu said excitedly.

  “Nice… I hope she makes it too,” said Ven, trying to match Tamu’s optimism.

  “Anyway Ven, now that Tamu is unable to complete your superhero costume, are you going to throw us under the bus?” asked Asha as the bleakness in her eyes returned.

  “Who said I’m unable to finish the costume! I totally can!” remarked Tamu.

  “Can you really?” asked Ven.

  “Of course I can! I just need to get back to my supplies and that costume will be done before you know it.”

  “That sounds fantastic, but you don’t need to push yourself,” said Ven. “And Asha… No I’m not going to throw you guys under the bus. A better question I should ask if you guys are gonna throw me under the bus.

  “What do you mean by that?” asked Asha with perplexed eyes.

  “I mean, that if I pay for the service now, you guys aren’t gonna run away and ghost me or anything right?”

  “Of course we wouldn’t do that!” Tamu replied.

  “Sounds great, do one of you guys have Orica App?”

  “Uh… yeah,” said Asha as she pulled out her old damaged phone.

  “Great, let me scan that QR code.”

  Asha opened up the app and then showed the code. Ven scanned it with his phone and without thinking, dumped a ton of money into Asha’s Orica App.

  “There you go, all done.”

  Asha looked at the phone and practically yelled.

  “You’re giving us five hundred thousand oricas for a costume!?” Asha said while practically dropping her phone.

  “WHAT!?” Tamu freaked. Isn’t that like way too much!?”

  “Yeah— You can take some back. You might need it for something!” panicked Asha.

  “Guys it’s fine. My mother’s a billionaire, remember?”

  “But you don’t even know us like that.” Asha said.

  “Exactly!” said Tamu.

  “Yeah, well you guys seem… cool, so it’s all yours.” He almost said it seemed like they needed it, but that would probably come off disrespectful.

  “Oh my God, Tamu we’re rich!”

  “I can’t believe it!” Tamu said while slightly jumping up and down in celebration. She almost dropped her crutches. Asha held her shoulder and joined her in her cheers. They were so loud that many nurses peeped through the door to see what was going on exactly.

  Suddenly, both girls ran to Ven hugging him while sobbing like crazy.

  “Thank you!”

  “You’re welcome, but… Get off of me you idiots! I’m still injured!” griped Ven.

  “We’ve been poor our whole lives. You have no idea how much this means to us,” wept Asha.

  “I just don’t know what to say,” Tamu said, as she also began to cry.

  Ven turned off the comedic gripe and thought maybe it’d be best to suffer through the pain. “I don’t know everything you guys have been through, but I figured I’d help out the best I can.” He smiled.

  Compared to them, he grew up a privileged rich kid. Even though his life sucked due illness, he could not neglect the privileges that he had over others. He also had a good meal to look forward to every night, perhaps that wasn’t true for the sisters’ family. He does not know what happened with their father, all he knew was that he allegedly died due to drug overdose. Perhaps he was under a lot of pressure; maybe he was actually a good father despite his shortcomings, as Tamu seemed to have adored him. He wished nobody had to live in Ashton, and wished that such a place did not exist.

  The sisters stopped hugging him to look at the money again on the cracked smartphone.

  “Let’s go buy a bunch of candy Asha,” said Tamu.

  “You know it! We’ll keep shopping until we drop! I’m going to buy everything.”

  “Or you can buy a new house!” griped Ven. “Maybe you can buy one in Spectralis… that’s where I’ll be.”

  “Spectralis? Why Spectralis?” asked Tamu.

  “Because Spectralis is the superhero capital of the world, and I’m going to make sure I leave my mark there. I’d love my costume maker to be somewhat close just in case I need a new costume. You of all people should know this Tamu, we’re both superhero fans right?” smirked Ven.

  “Hey well, as long as we’re not in Ashton anymore, I can’t complain,” said Asha.

  “I guess I just couldn’t believe it,” laughed Tamu. “I’ll buy the best supplies on the market. My shop is going to attract a ton of heroes in Spectralis!”

  “Oh yeah… can you make my costume with all of the old supplies you have now?” asked Ven.

  “Huh? What for?” questioned Tamu. “I can probably make you the fanciest costume now.”

  “I think it’d be better that way,” replied Ven. “At least for my first costume.”

  “Okay, you got a deal!”

  Asha grabbed Tamu’s shoulders and joyously looked into her eye. “You gotta make sure you make him the best costume ever.”

  “You know I will!”

  Suddenly, the door opened again and it was Ven’s mother Vera, Mlinzi, Askari, and another bodyguard named Dak (someone who Ven has never met before).

  “Oh, uh… Hi Vera Nguvu. Big fan,” said Asha nervously.

  Vera did not utter a single word and simply looked at her with a worried , yet confused expression.

  “Uh… Tamu, we better go. Thanks again Ven!”

  “See you later. That costume will be ready soon!” remarked Tamu as both sisters exited the hospital room speedily.

  Ven could feel the tension in the room already building up. He knew his mother wouldn’t be happy about him fighting a dangerous villain, and now it was time to hear her thoughts over everything that transpired.