One for all by Shyn yee Hui.
He was James. Tall, smart kid and like all kids, special. But his kind of special falls in the mythical spectrum of special. James was born without powers, unlike all his associates. He had a kindred spirit always an adventure away from naughty. From a young age, he felt there was something wrong with him and the knowledge that he lacked the black power made his self-esteem cripple. He felt unworthy of being counted among the kinsmen. The battle to remain afloat in a society that view you as a pariah is a difficult one and James was subjected to mockery and bullying because of the black power. In addition, his peers did not understand why he did not fear those with it as was the norm of his people. Unknown to them, he had obtained it from his parents. Before his parents passed on, they handed him a talisman that would transfer their powers to him, the same power Thor tried to harness.
The black power is a mystical ability villain had and those with the power worked together with their boss, Thor, to harness more powers and form a powerhouse. Unlike most of his peers, James’ desire was to make the world a safe place for anyone born with any powers and create a place they would call home. And this journey made him fall into bad terms with Thor. His entire life became a battle of protecting men from Thor. It was not until he became 18 that the fight became more pronounced. The hatred between Thor and James spiralled when Thor kills his parents leaving him an orphan at a young age. There is little a child can do wit that much grief on his shoulders and James hid behind the pain to wage war and avenge his parents’ death. Spewed on anger, hate and pain, the fight for the protection of powers was a war James was prepared to win no matter what it took. And as a young man, he had all odds stacked against him.
Thor is a greedy villain with a thirst for power to control the world. His greediness made him harness the powers of others in an attempt to be the most powerful man on earth. He lives in fear a day will dawn and James shall underpin his power for good.
The genealogy of James comes from his grandmother, Margaret. She was a king and gentle old lady who became James custodian upon the death of his parents. She took him at the most vulnerable point in his life and brought him up in the knowledge of the black power. Tales of the past spoke of a culture that revered the black power for its evil. For so many years, Margret prayed that her grandson would be a normal oy and lead a normal life, but that was not the case. Destiny chooses men, men do not choose destinies, James would occasionally say to her. She was scared she would lose him in one of the battles. She had no one else left and the deeply rooted love for James was a weakness. She devoted herself to help him fight Thor regardless of the level of danger that awaited. Love is about sacrifice and support, and the unconditional love Margaret had for her grandson would not let her sit and watch him walk on eggshells. Knowing the insurmountable support he had from his grandmother was the force James need to brave his destiny.
So it came to pass that James was packing up and accidentally came across a box of memorabilia stored safely in the corner of the basement. It was dimly lit except for a few rays emanating from the stairwell. Dust particles floated in slow motion as he stepped closer to the box. He could feel his body tremble in excitement as he remembered with nostalgia how as a child he would lock himself up in there for hours and paint. This basement was part of his life and a place where he would run to whenever he needed inspiration. There were books, books his parents read them to him every night, there were magazines he hid as a teenage boy, and canvases he would paint with his father on Sunday afternoons. Oh! What beautiful moments those were. He wished he would go back in time and relive those days with his parents. There was a warm fuzzy feeling inside him. There was also sadness in the memories.
He got closer to the wooden box. It was dusty, old and rugged, one he had never seen before. Initially, he was skeptical about opening it. The proverbial Pandora’s box, perhaps. But as he inched closer to it he noticed the abbreviations at the bottom, his name. The box was meant for him, but from who? He cautiously opened it up his heart pounding, eyes glaring, heart pounding. He did not notice the trickles of sweat streaming down his forehead until a drop landed on the box. In it, he found a necklace with a photo of his mother. Flashes of his mother flooded his mind. Instructions written would guide James on how the necklace contained superpowers that he would inherit. And that evening, James become something he never thought he was not capable of being. His deep-rooted fear of not being enough felt like a fading mirage.
It was at that moment that James looked at himself in the mirror and could not recognize himself and the far he had come. The scars on his body a reflection of the wars he has braved. The deep dark scar, from broken ribs a reminder of the fight he had with Thor the night his parents were murdered. The broken ankles he took months to heal a picture of brevity. His lower back had an incision he attained that same night when he tried protecting his father from the wrath of Thor. Multiple scars on his chest gave him the courage to continue doing good. If he survived then, he can survive anything. He could smell the blood, the fire and the fear in his parents’ eyes on that fateful night. How he wished he would have known it would be the last meal he would share with his parents. He could hear the wails of his mother when the lighting pierced his father’s heart. That loud agonizing cry from his father as he looks his last breath is one he will never forget. He remembers standing at their once beautiful home and seeing the destruction Thor had made. All that for more power. But as he stood there looking at his scars, he could feel the rage building up. Then again, all those years, all those battles were won with no powers whatsoever. It dawned on him there was a world of limitless possibilities out there.
He would use this new power for good. To save the world from people like Thor. He would use his power to brighten the world. The pain he underwent was one he was unwilling to let anyone else have to go through. And there, in that basement, a new hope was born. This was the day he would leave behind the pains of vengeance, that had followed him for many years. There was a renewal in his spirit as felt the pain leave his body. Perhaps it was the realization that he did not need any powers to survive, neither did having them make him any better. It was him all along. He embarked on learning how to control his powers from the instruction left by his parents. He was 18 years too late to attain these powers, but that did not negate the fact that had been powerful all his life.