“No sound may leave this room. They may not leave their bed. He may only hear Verdant.”

  Verity’s voice boomed when she issued three laws and Gene felt the world warp around him, constricting him in place. She took a seat at the table in the corner of the room with her brother bouncing on his heels in tow. Her eyes fell to Kyrie as she issued her last law and Gene glared, bubbling with rage.

  “Relax,” said Verdant, his honeyed words dripping from his lips. Kyrie’s tension eased immediately and the system spoke to Gene in response.

  Hero System Notification: Awareness save succeeded. You have repelled an attempt to charm you.

  When his anger didn’t subside, Verdant made a confused face.

  “You should be pleased to see me,” he said, his voice reverberating with power that washed over Gene without effort.

  Hero System Notification: Awareness save succeeded. You have repelled an attempt to charm you.

  The system chimed again and Gene bared his teeth in rage.

  “You’re going to regret coming here,” thought Gene, projecting his mind into Verdant.

  The elven man’s eyes went wide and he stepped back two paces before shooting a look to his sister and shouting her name, “Verity!”

  In response, she said, “They may not breathe.”

  Her voice boomed once again and Gene fell out of bed when the pressure that had held him in place subsided. He gasped for air and reached out to Kyrie in his panic.

  Hero System Notification: Toughness save succeeded. You have overcome an environmental hazard. Subsequent exposure and failure may result in Fatigue.

  He ignored the system, listening to Kyrie’s struggles and rage begat power. His eyes felt hot as tears streamed and he began to charge up a Psy Blast before Verdant raised a disapproving finger.

  “Not so fast with the eyes,” said Verdant with a smirk, regaining his composure. “Whatever trick you’re planning will end messily for him and everyone else here.”

  The system picked up Verdant’s intent and when it spoke, Gene’s blood ran cold.

  Hero System Notification: New Mission Objective…Save Taos from destruction. Secondary Objective….Protect Kyrie Winthrop.

  A killing intent spiked in his mind and his eyes glowed before Verdant stomped his foot.

  “I said stop.” The amusement was gone from Verdant’s tone that time and reluctantly, Gene pulled back.

  His eyes unfocused and power drained from his mind. He couldn’t reach Kyrie without them noticing and he couldn’t choke out the words. He slumped to the floor in defeat. Verdant grinned widely. He glanced back at his sister and the woman spoke again.

  “He may not move.”

  She glared at Gene and air rushed into his lungs. He coughed in relief but the moment passed quickly. Desperation raced through him as he tried to push against the pressure holding him in place. He heard Kyrie coughing violently and tears whelmed in his eyes.

  Verdant approached him slowly, maintaining eye contact with Gene until the side of the bed blocked his view. He heard him speak and felt the pangs of mental energy slithering out of him.

  “It seems my power doesn’t work on him but you, you seem a suitable toy. Will you be a good boy and convince him to come with us as peacefully as possible?”

  There was something predatory in his tone and though his power failed to conquer Gene’s mental defenses, he could sense the intent in his words. He heard Kyrie get up from the bed and a chill ran down his spine.

  Glowing gold eyes peeked at him from the side of the bed as Kyrie’s slack expression came into view. He moved robotically, his will suppressed by Verdant’s Mesmer abilities.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Gene, you must comply, for the master has commanded so,” he said, emotionless.

  Within his mind, Kyrie was raging against the compulsion but in comparison to Verdant, his stats barely registered. The system of New Venturis echoed with each failed save and it only contributed to his growing panic.

  As he stared down at Gene, he wanted to cry and his thoughts carried that tone as he said, “Gene, please help.”

  Verdant’s snickering could be heard before he stepped to his side and patted Kyrie on the top of his head.

  “That’s a good little boy. Now, Gene was it? You should do as he says because my amusement at your irregularity is beginning to run thin.”

  He gave an exaggerated frown and wrapped an arm around Kyrie’s shoulder before gripping his chin with his clawed fingers. Gene gritted his teeth as terror threatened to fracture his psyche. His tears flowed freely as he watched Kyrie stand before him with his mind and autonomy being violated. He wanted to scream, to lash out desperately, primally, and rip Verdant’s head off his shoulders and smack Verity in the face with it but for the first time since his arrival to New Venturis, he felt truly powerless.

  Anxiety sent his heart racing and his thoughts spiraled out of control. In the seconds after Verdant issued his order, hundreds of thoughts raced through his mind. He felt something in himself breaking and when he blinked, the world went black.

  In his shock, he panicked before he realized where he was and the system spoke.

  Still your mind, Gene Grey, for not all hope is lost.

  It was easier said than done. Gene’s thoughts seemed to spiral when not contained within his form. Within the margins, he found it harder to focus. He wanted to cry and scream but he had no eyes or mouth to do it. He felt like he was reaching his breaking point when the void around him turned white. His knees buckled before he realized he had a form again and in his shock, he looked at his hands.

  He was himself again and he wasn’t alone. Standing before him was a man clad in red and blue spandex with a face mask. The letters H and S were emblazoned across his chest and his blue cape fluttered in a wind that wasn’t there.

  “Hero, Gene Grey, I have assumed this form to assist with your crisis.”

  Gene blinked in disbelief. It was a personification of the Hero System, the very power that brought him to this world, gave him his powers, and guided his actions through missions. The Hero shook his head, seeming to read Gene’s thoughts.

  “No, not quite. I am not the system that brought you here. Merely a piece of a greater whole, disconnected at the moment you were harried to this world. In a way, you and I were reborn together.”

  His cape fluttered as he spoke, moving to emphasize his words, and Gene slowly gained his composure. He stared at the Hero System, trying to understand. With everything that had happened in the moments before he arrived in New Venturis, the moments just before felt like a distant memory. He really had been reborn in the truest sense of the world and those hazy memories were traumatic and jostling. He wondered if the same could be said for what happened to the Hero System.

  “So…Hero, do you mind if I just call you Hero?” he paused and awaited approval from Hero before he continued. “Hero, can you explain why the hell I’m leveling so slow? I’ve saved like a hundred people since I got here but I’m still level 8 and can barely finish a battle without fainting!”

  Gene was exasperated and within the suspended time of the Margins, his panic over Kyrie gave way to his frustration over the game the Hero System was playing with him. Hero didn’t reply immediately, only fueling Gene’s feelings but when he did, Gene was caught off guard.

  “It’s because you and I have a story to tell.” Hero’s words hang in the air between them, weighing down Gene’s thoughts. “You are the hero, Gene Grey, and I am merely the parameters of the tale you are in. If there are no stakes then how do you prove yourself?”

  It was Gene’s turn to be silent. He stood there ruminating on Hero’s words, trying to find the word that properly expressed his feelings. He was fucking furious.

  “No,” he said through gritted teeth. “That is–do you know how fucked up that is? These are people’s lives here! They’re not just play things or side characters or or npcs or whatever you want to call them. People died because I wasn’t strong enough to play out whatever power fantasy you’re crafting!”

  His chest heaved with emotion but Hero was stoic, his face hidden behind a mask. He simply raised a hand to quell Gene’s rage before he spoke.

  “You misunderstand, Gene Grey.” Gene went silent, trying to repress his anger and listen. “As I stated, I am merely the parameters. I am the catalyst within your formula, the spider that bit your hand, the dna that gave you power, but I am not the story, nor am I in control of it. You are, hero. You are the shaper of your destiny. You drive change with your actions and you are not simply your power level or your power points. Within you is a deep well of possibility that you must learn to understand with time.”

  “Time is a luxury I don’t have!” shouted Gene in reply. “You must know what’s happening right now. You gave me the damn mission and now you’re telling me I need time to, to what?”

  “To understand the power you wield. This is not the world of superheroes, Gene Grey,” said Hero with an exacting tone. “Because of this, my progenitor saw it right to seal a portion of your power before sending you here. You have seen what you could accomplish with your current power level, the devastation you’ve wrought and the scales you’ve tipped. This world is not ready for you and I doubt it ever will be and so you must come to understand that you live within a world of cardboard.”