So Not a Hero by S.J. Delos Read Free Book Online Page A

head scream.
    This was going to get bad.
    “Mark, man. Let’s go.” One of the boys broke away from the others and grabbed Blondie by the arm. “Stop thinking with your dick and just let the insurance handle the car. You’re covered, right?” He glanced over at me and leaned closer to his friend. “Dude, she’s an Enhanced. Besides, your dad will shit kittens if he has to buy off another … incident.”
    I blinked, looking between the two boys. I wasn’t surprised by the revelation. Anybody willing to get tanked up and drive to the worst part of town to harass homeless people wouldn’t hesitate to spike a girl’s drink or worse.
    I stared at the lot of them. Rich, and privileged, they rode the wave of influence generated by their parents’ money, believing that they could whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted and never had to worry about the consequences. They thought they were invulnerable. They thought they were untouchable. The truth couldn’t be farther away.
    I glared at the two of them and reached out, pushing my fingers through the scrap that used to be a classic Camaro. My gaze never wavered as I tore a large chunk free and crushed it into a soccer ball-sized sphere. I held it up over my head, sweeping my eyes over the entire assembled group so they could get a good look at what I’d done. Then I dropped the lump of steel at the feet of Mark and his friend. It hit asphalt with a clanging thud.
    “Incident?” I took one step forward, causing the duo to take one back. I kept picturing the situation from earlier in the day, only it was the frat boy’s face leering over me rather than Fred’s. “What a nice way to say that you raped a girl. That is what you mean, right?”
    This was how shit like that started. Little punks thinking they could do whatever they liked to whomever they wanted, damned be the consequences. Never thinking of what repercussions their decisions had on their victims. As screwed up and evil as Martin could be, he never, ever condoned rape. And he dealt harshly with supervillains that did.
    “Easy, lady,” Mark’s friend stammered, “we don’t want any trouble. Not with an Enhanced.” His eyes couldn’t get any wider and I could see the tremble in his knees from where I stood. His friend, on the other hand, looked like he still wanted a little revenge, despite seeing what I could do.
    “Not with an Enhanced, huh?” I nodded to the blonde boy. “But your buddy here wanted to take a little something out of my sweet ass, as I recall.” I spread my arms and thrust my chest out, giving them both a clear look down the top of my shirt. “Why don’t you come and take it, then? Or can’t you get it up unless your date is all roofied-out?”
    The bigger boy released an animal growl based in fury and pharmacology. He shrugged off his friend’s arm and rushed at me, right arm drawn back behind his head. “I’ll show you, you cunt!” He screamed as he brought around a haymaker that would have removed a few teeth and cracked my skull.
    You know, if I wasn’t invulnerable.
    In the comics, the bad guys punch Superman and he just stands there unmoving. Sometimes he even laughs at them. Things are a little different in the real world.
    Mark’s fist collided with my temple and it was a damned good thing I was near indestructible. A blow like that would have seriously injured-or killed-a normal person. Instead of smashing my brain around, the impact pushed my head to the side, despite my being prepared for it. I think a few strands of hair were jolted out of place.
    The snap-crackle-pop of Mark’s hand shattering was loud enough for everyone to hear.
    The blonde boy dropped to his knees, cradling his destroyed paw and wailing at the top of his lungs. I glanced down and noticed, with perverse satisfaction, that two of his fingers were jutting out at crazy-wrong angles. So much for that football scholarship.
    The other boy took a step towards us and I stopped him with a look