Chapter 94: Chapter 94: Trio (Bonus Chapter)
Elias stood up. He walked casually toward the suspended truck.
He raised two fingers, pointing them directly at the roaring engine block of the garbage truck.
Electrokinesis (Tier 2).
A brilliant arc of blue white lightning leaped from his fingertips, cracking through the air with the sharp smell of ozone.
The lightning struck the hood of the truck, bypassing the metal exterior and diving straight into the engine’s electrical system, the alternator and the battery matrix.
ZAP.
CRACK.
The roar of the engine died instantly, replaced by a shower of harmless sparks. The electrical systems were entirely fried, the combustion cycle halted permanently without igniting the fuel lines.
Julian let out a theatrical breath and slowly lowered his hand.
The garbage truck dropped the remaining two feet, its front tires hitting the asphalt with a heavy thud.
Silence fell over 5th Avenue. The patrons of the bistro, the pedestrians on the sidewalk, the mother clutching her children... they all stared in stunned silence.
Then, someone started clapping. A slow clap that quickly spread, rippling through the crowd until the street erupted into a deafening roar of applause and cheers.
Felix, standing near the mother he had saved, gave a two fingered salute to the crowd, flashing a million watt smile.
Elias lowered his hand, slipping it casually back into the pocket of his slacks, his face impassive but undeniably heroic.
Julian, playing the noble leader, simply nodded to the crowd, walking over to the truck’s cab to effortlessly rip the jammed door open and help the trembling driver out onto the street.
The age of the smartphone meant privacy was a myth.
A dozen people were already live streaming. Within two minutes, the wail of sirens signaled the arrival of the NYPD and emergency services.
But faster than the police were the local news crews.
A news van from a local affiliate, caught in the traffic jam just two blocks down, had seen the commotion and sent a reporter sprinting up the avenue with a cameraman in tow.
A young reporter shoved a microphone into Julian’s face as the three clones regrouped on the sidewalk, looking immaculate despite the chaos.
"Excuse me! Excuse me, live for Channel 4 News!" the reporter panted. "What... what just happened here? Who are you?"
Julian offered a warm smile. It was the smile of a man born to be on a poster.
"Just citizens in the right place at the right time," Julian said, his voice calming. "A hydraulic failure on the municipal vehicle. We intervened before it could reach the pedestrian crossing."
"Intervened?!" the reporter said incredulously, gesturing to the mangled truck. "You stopped a twenty ton truck with your power! He shot lightning! And he..." She pointed to Felix. "He moved faster than A-Train!"
Felix stepped into the frame, slinging an arm around Julian’s shoulder. "Hey now, let’s not exaggerate. I’m quick, but A-Train is a legend. May he rest in peace." He gave a respectful nod to the camera.
"Are you... are you licensed heroes?" the reporter pressed, the cameraman zooming in on their ridiculously perfect faces. "Are you with Vought?"
"No, ma’am," Elias said, stepping forward, his piercing eyes meeting the lens. "We’re not affiliated with anyone. Not yet."
"We actually just... awakened, recently," Julian lied. "We’ve been keeping our heads down, trying to figure out what these abilities mean, how to control them."
"But after watching the news this morning," Felix chimed in, his tone turning serious, perfectly mimicking the national mood. "After seeing the tragedy, seeing what The Seven sacrificed for us... we realized we couldn’t just sit on the sidelines anymore."
Julian nodded solemnly. "Homelander can’t carry the weight of the entire world on his shoulders alone, especially not while he’s grieving his family. We want to help."
"You want to join Vought?" the reporter asked, her eyes wide with the scoop of a lifetime.
"If they’d have us," Elias said, a quiet intensity in his voice. "We want to train under the best. We want to learn from Homelander. We want to honor the legacy of the heroes we lost today."
"What are your names?" the reporter demanded.
Julian looked at the camera, a picture of humble nobility. "I’m Julian. This is Felix and Elias. But names aren’t important right now. What’s important is that everyone on this street is going home to their families tonight."
"We’re just glad we could do our part," Felix smiled, winking at the camera.
The police cordons were closing in, pushing the press back.
"Thank you!" Julian said, waving politely as the three of them stepped back into the crowd, maintaining the illusion of normalcy, leaving the reporter staring after them in awe.
The internet had barely processed the grief of the morning before it was violently hijacked by the hope of the afternoon.
The cell phone videos of the 5th Avenue rescue hit the web from a dozen different angles. The speed, the power, the sheer charisma of the three unknown men saving a crowd of innocent people was a viral concussive blast.
The news stations cut away from their somber montages of The Seven to play the live interview on a continuous loop.
Social media shattered its own records.
@CityWatcher: DID ANYONE ELSE JUST SEE THIS?! Three randos just stopped a garbage truck with their bare hands/minds/lightning! WHO ARE THEY?! #NewHeroes #NYC
@VoughtFanatic99: Omg, did you hear their interview?! They want to help Homelander! I’m literally crying right now. God sends angels when we need them most! 😭👼🦸♂️
@SpeedReader: That blonde guy... Felix? He’s faster than A-Train. I said what I said. The footage doesn’t lie. Look at the frame rate! #FelixIsTheNewFlash
@JusticeForAll: Julian stopping that truck with his mind... that was the most badass thing I’ve ever seen. Vought NEEDS to sign these guys IMMEDIATELY.
@LightningBoyFan: Elias just fried an engine block with two fingers and looked like a Vogue model doing it. 👀⚡️
The internet, in its infinite wisdom, did what it always did: it branded them.
Within two hours, "Julian, Felix and Elias" were trending worldwide under new monikers coined by the viral comments.
#Justice
#Flash
#Electro
On a major cable news network, a panel of anchors sat around a desk, the footage of the rescue playing behind them.
"It’s a miracle, simply put," the lead anchor said, shaking his head in disbelief. "On a day where America felt it had lost its shield, three young men step out of the shadows. They saw people in danger and they acted."
"And their humility," a female co anchor added, her hand over her heart. "To immediately pledge their support to Homelander, to want to learn from Vought rather than seek independent fame... it shows the kind of moral fiber we desperately need to rebuild The Seven."
"The question on everyone’s mind," the political analyst chimed in, "is whether Stan Edgar and Vought International are watching. Because if they are, they are looking at the future of American security. They are looking at the cure for the nation’s broken heart."
