James blinked hard, rubbing his eyes to clear his vision as if he wasn’t seeing correctly. Heart drumming loudly in his chest, threatening to deafen him. This couldn’t be a dream; it all felt too real.

  Hunter’s grip on his shoulder brought him back down to reality. They locked eyes and pulled each other close as they began to process the shock.

  Sig sat flipping through the channels as fast as he could. As if he could find a channel that told him this was all an elaborate prank. “This isn’t happening.” He muttered under his breath. The jokes he made about this moment came rushing back. This isn’t close to what he imagined this would be like. Fires consumed city blocks as torrential rain flooded the countryside. Casualties were already in the thousands and climbing fast. The news deemed this day—The Beginning of the End.

  James snapped out of his trance and stood up quickly. "We have to figure out what's going on. Maybe scientists can examine this tablet. We could be the only ones who understand what's happening."

  Sig nodded at James’ phone. “You’ve got pictures and notes. Maybe that’s enough for scientists.” An explosion rattled the house.

  The shock wave shattered the windows, hurling debris into the room. Curtains whipped frantically in the oncoming blast.

  Sig shielded his face and braced himself against incoming glass. He grunted, struggling to stay upright as the blast nearly knocked him down.

  Hunter was hurled back, slamming into the floor with a strangled yell. James dove to shield him. Covering Hunter’s body with his own. "Are you okay?" His own voice was shaky, concern easily visible on his face as adrenaline faded into dread.

  Hunter checked himself, then met James's eyes. “Never better,” he said, kissing him until Sig's cough broke the moment.

  “No time for that. Up—we need to check if everyone’s ok.”

  James picked himself up, scanned Hunter for injuries, then offered his hand for support. “We shouldn’t be the ones rushing into danger, Sig,” James said, still checking over Hunter. “However, it wouldn’t hurt to see what we can do.” He grinned at Sig, but his confidence faltered as Hunter slapped his hand away.

  "No!" Hunter's voice broke, eyes brimming as his shoulders shook. "Our windows are gone! Let them—let the response teams do their jobs." He locked eyes with James, hands fisting around his shirt. "And I can't be left here alone, not now—not with so many already gone. I can't lose you, too." Tears ran down his face as he clung to James.

  James glanced at Sig, fighting between his need to help others, while also trying to be there for Hunter.

  Sig sighed, understanding the situation without words. “You two can stay. I’ll help outside, no risks. Don’t worry about me.” He dashed out before those two could argue against his plan.

  Once outside, Sig nearly stumbled as he saw the explosion’s source. A neighbor’s home was reduced to rubble just three houses away. His breath caught painfully in his throat as he recognized the missing house was Joseph’s, a close friend of the trio. The other two houses next door to it had sustained significant damage but were still standing for the most part. Sig froze, staring at the ruins of Joseph Malaki’s home. Grief stabbed at him, chest tight, but he forced hope through the rising panic. Joseph had to be alive. He latched onto the cries, shaking his head clear.

  He finally snapped out of his frozen state and bolted toward the half-damaged house. The front door was barely attached, so Sig pushed it open and stepped inside effortlessly. “Hello?” he called, trying to locate any survivors in the shattered remains.

  A weak “Upstairs” is heard before it’s cut off by more falling debris from the ceiling.

  Sig shielded his eyes from the choking dust, coughing. "Fuck!" he yelled, voice breaking. His hands shook, and his chest burned. Every instinct screamed at him to run, but he forced himself up the groaning stairs, legs quivering, haunted by the cries above.

  Sig rushed from room to room, searching urgently. In a back bedroom, he found Mr. Johnson—identified by his usually cheerful demeanor—pinned beneath a heavy wooden beam. Sig, recalling their grill-side chats though he'd never known Johnson's first name, locked eyes with his neighbor, then set himself to help free him.

  “I gotcha,” Sig yells, rushing over and struggling to lift the heavy wooden beam off them. He strains as Mr. Johnson tries to slide free. Sig's grip falters, but he wrenches the beam away from Johnson before dropping it, then crashes backward to avoid becoming its next target. “Careful on the stairs, they could collapse any moment,” Sig warns as he stands, brushing himself off.

  Johnson ran by him, “Thank you so much.” His voice was hoarse from the dust and stress. Wasting no time, he got out of the house as fast as he could. Sig followed closely behind to make sure nothing else happened.

  The chaos in the house paused just long enough for both to escape unharmed. Outside, Johnson collapsed onto the pavement, gasping and clutching his injured leg. Sig scanned the wreckage; another massive section of the building caved in with a thunderous crash.

  No fires, just destruction. Strange, Sig thought. He turned to Johnson. "Sorry to ask, but do you remember what happened?"

  Johnson shook his head. "I don’t. I was cleaning my room, then half my house vanished. I heard only ringing. Next, I found the beam crushing me." He spoke rapidly, stumbling over his words.

  “Was there anyone else in the house or the other ones?” Sig asked, hoping to hear that both families were out.

  Johnson sighed, “My family was out shopping, the other one, I believe, was out on vacation.” He hesitates as he looks to the ruined house, most of it a pile of rubble. “They were home, their son Joseph was out at some convention, though.”

  A sigh of relief escaped Sig as he remembered hearing that his friend was going to Comic-Con. I forgot he was still out at that. Suddenly, Sig’s eyes teared up as he shut his eyes hard. “God, I don't know how I'm going to tell him what happened.” He sat down on the grass next to Johnson. They needed a moment to catch their breath after everything that had happened since they got back. They were both lost in thought, distraught over what lay ahead.

  Before Sig could move, James and Hunter rushed outside and stopped, shocked by the rubble, and Joseph's house was flattened.

  Hunter was the first to speak. “Joseph called. He’s stuck in California. Should we tell him?”

  James shook his head. “Not unless he gets back. Nobody wants that news while trying to survive.”

  Sig helped Johnson up. “If we want to survive, let’s learn to control these powers—before we blow up James’ house,” he said, trying to lighten the mood.

  James nodded at Hunter. “You’re against risks, but we have no choice. I’d rather have a fighting chance.”

  Hunter paced, arms crossed, wrestling with options. “I can’t see alternatives. Today it’s accidents, but supervillains might be next,” he said quietly. “I just hope this is a nightmare.”

  James hugged Hunter. “We’ll get through this. It’s scarier now, but we’ll be ok.”

  Hunter looked up. James’ promise steadied him. “Thanks.” He turned to Sig, determined. “No better time to start experimenting.”

  James grinned. "I know a clearing nearby—we can reach it quickly." He considered driving his friends, but the air grew heavy. The wind whipped toward Joseph's house, scattering debris. Swirling dust exposed a cyclone on the sidewalk.

  Then, suddenly, there was someone standing in front of Joseph’s destroyed house. The wind calmed down in an unnatural instant. Before anyone could react, the person dropped to their knees and let out a sorrowful wail, unmistakable to the trio as Joseph's voice. He was shaking and pounding the sidewalk with his fist, cursing out anyone and everything he could. James was the first to rush to his side, his friends not far behind. “Joseph! I'm so sorry for what happened here.”

  His friends' voices jolted him from grief. He looked up, scanned the ruined street. "Why just my house?" he whispered, choking back tears. "Someone attacked the convention. There was chaos—so much death. I wished it would end, wished desperately to be home. Suddenly, everything melted, and I was here." His voice shifted as he recalled what brought him back. "If only… I hadn’t lost everything."

  Sig helps Joseph to his feet, “You still have yourself, and all of us.” Sig waves his arm back to include James and Hunter. “This superpower shit turned the whole world upside down. We’re planning on doing something to get this world back to normal. If we can’t, then at least bring back law and order.”

  Sig’s words seem to get through to Joseph. “Yeah, and having someone who can teleport could be helpful,” Joseph added, trying to collect himself and look at the brighter side to all this chaos.

  James was busy thinking over this situation with Hunter. He finally spoke up again. “Until we find a better place for you guys, we can all crash at our place. Hunter and I don't mind, but we just don't have many places to sleep but the floor or couch,” he offered happily to Joseph and Johnson.

  “Beats sleeping outside,” Joseph responds while standing up slowly. His voice is still heavy with grief and sorrow, along with his movements.

  Johnson was slower to get up, requiring Sig’s help to stand up. The adrenaline was wearing off as the pain and soreness from nearly dying earlier caught up. “I call the couch, at least for tonight, till I'm healed up,” he said, wincing as he walked with his arm around Sig for support.

  The rest of the group followed, making light of the situation as best they could and trying to keep a positive outlook. As of now, they had their group together, and their hopes were firm. However, with uncertainty in the air, only time could tell how long that hope would remain.