Air Hero

Max's power

After the science class, Max is now trying to explore his power. He makes his notebook stand in front of him while putting his hand forward, trying to command the air to converge in front of him and send a gentle breeze to make the notebook falls down.

“Air, heed my call! Wind!”

Accompanied with an embarrassing shout if anyone else heard him, Max is doing a silly pose while trying to make the notebook fall using his power.

“Wind! I command thee, please gather and make the book fall!”

Max keep on trying that for several times before realizing that he couldn’t do anything to activate his superpower. Feeling down, Max realizes that discovering his superpower isn’t as easy as he thought. If he got admitted into a hero school, things would be easier as they have many things to use to discover someone’s power. For example, Max that believed that he could control the wind; they have several wind-related trainings that could be used to awaken his power. This is why the United Heroes school could shorten the time for someone to train and develop their power.

Unlike Max, even knowing what his power really is, will take him weeks, months, or maybe years. As he already has it activated once, he knows that it was something related to the wind, as what saved him from his fall is the sudden gust.

Following that train of thought, Max takes the break time to go to the library to learn more about the air and wind. However, looking at the explanation inside the book, it was something that Max couldn’t understand as it involves things like oxygen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and many more words that Max couldn’t understand. All in all, his effort to go to the library to dig more about his power ends up in a failure.

As much as Max hated his superpower because he lost his parents for it, he still eager to explore and know more about it. After all, becoming a hero is his dream from a long time ago. If Max’s parents are looking at him from the heaven, they will be relieved. At least he isn’t too depressed anymore, and the thoughts of understanding his own power managed to divert his mind from miserable emotions.

When Max goes back to the orphanage, he didn’t do anything else but trying to discover his power again. He is still a small boy, so his understanding of the air is limited. He can only try to do what he is capable of. Since trying to unleash the power directly by shouting it out loud is impossible, he decided to give it some more thought.

He sits down on the ground and closes his eye. He tried to feel the wind in his surroundings while remembering the feeling he had when he jumped and when the sudden gust of wind saved him.

“At that time, I was terrified that I feel that something is responding to me. It was as if something in the air is answering my call for help.”

Max feels the rustling of the wind and hears it brushed against the grass on the ground. He suddenly has a vague feeling like something in the air is familiar with him. He gets the sense that if he wills it, the wind will do his bidding.

“Please gather around me.”

It was a gentle calling, unlike his attempt at the school where he is very dominant. If earlier at the school he was trying to give a command to the wind, right now he is asking them politely.

After saying that, Max opened his eye, and he can feel the wind coming like a kind breeze, tender and calm as it moves past his ear and bringing along some leaves before finally gathered on top of his palm.

Looking at the swirling wind on top of his palm, Max didn’t shout out loud in happiness or make an exclaim. He actually cried as tears run down his face. When he saw that his power is coming out, he feels that the one he wants to share the good news right now isn’t in this world with him anymore. Not to mention that the wind that is gathering around him isn’t making him feel cold but warm instead. As if he was inside a loving embrace by his parents as the wind moved around his body.

Ever since that day, Max has always used his power every evening. It was done to make sure that nobody sees him using his power during the day. He also never did anything else, only asking for a hug from the wind, and that’s the extent of his training with his power.

Back to the present, ten years later. Max knows some of the hints behind the accident that is involving his parents. He also isn’t as naïve as he was back then. He knows that the individual who is the mastermind behind the terrorist incident ten years ago and at the memorial isn’t someone he can handle casually. He will need more power, and the easiest way to do it is by improving himself.

“Mom, Dad, please give me the strength.”

Max started by controlling the gust of wind on top of his palm, and then suddenly, for the first time in his life, aside from the depressing feeling that he always feels, he is now feeling a wave of anger that comes out of nowhere. Probably it was something that he has hidden and built up for years after years as he wasn’t really sure of what he is feeling all this time. The dam that has been holding the water for so long is finally broken, and it is gushing out.

“AAAAH!!!”

The wind on top of his palm is out of control, and for the first time, it is causing a disturbance in the surroundings. Usually, it was a gentle wind, but this time, it was like a storm coming. The gust becomes a mini hurricane as the trees in the surroundings are moving along with the wind. However, it all soon disappeared as Max couldn’t control his power.

He falls down, crouching on the ground as one hand is used to clench on his chest. His heart is beating uncontrollably, and he can also feel pain as he is gasping for air.

“*huff*…*haah*… why… just why the wind won’t listen to me?”