The Accidental Construction Superhero

Chapter 2: The Betrayal

Dave returns home with a very confused yet positive mood just to find out his life is shattering I'm front of his eyes. He entered his room with the spare key he had and stopped seeing the stupefied face of his girlfriend, naked, looking at him while another man was lying beside her with nothing on. He could speak nothing, and before she could speak anything, he got out of the room and rushed out of the apartment building. He could not control his tears and sobbed uncontrollably, running off to an alley behind his girlfriend's apartment. In that dark alleyway he sits for some time, not understanding what has been happening to him all day. Is it all a dream? He pinches himself but feels sharp pain as soon as he does that. He had the whole day to figure out what was going on and understand his emotions too. He wipes his face, gets up, and goes to a nearby bar where he is a regular. The waiter, after seeing him this early in the day, mocks him, saying, "You must have lost your job by now." 

Don’t fuck around now, Tim. Dave murmurs in agony. Understanding the situation, Tim brings drinks to his table and lets him enjoy his drinks alone. Not so later some punks come to the bar and sit just behind the table of 2 hot girls and order drinks as well. Seeing those girls, one of those punks started catcalling them and continuously made dirty gestures… Dave could see all this , but being an underconfident man with resplendent self-esteem, he could not do anything to protect them. The bar was almost empty, and there were only those girls, Dave, and those punks behind them. Dave took his fifth drink, and something sparked in him. He suddenly looked at those punks with rage. He was already drunk and full of emotions.

 One of the punks noticed him and came to his table and asked Dave, “Is there any problem, buddy?” "Yes, you are," says Dave. What did you say?, he growled at the man. Dave says, “Exactly what you have heard.” The man proceeds to punch Dave in the face. But with his newfound powers, Dave could anticipate his slow punch and catch it midair. Dave stood up and pushed him aside, but that push threw him off a long way. He went rolling towards the table they were sitting on and smashed all the glasses in the collision and collapsed to the ground unconsciously. For a few seconds everything was pin-drop silent; after that all the other 3 jerks came to attack Dave with knives, bottles, and a broomstick lying on the ground. Dave could see through all their moves and easily dodged them with his normal speed. Dave understood a bit that everyone around him is certainly weaker and lighter than him and used his power consciously for the first time. He punched the guy with the knife in disarming him. He howled in pain as the blade flew from his hand and clattered to the floor. Dave’s heart pounded like thunder, his eyes gleaming with an unfamiliar fury. The other punk, clutching the bottle, lunged forward in panic—swinging wildly. He kicked the guy in the stomach, sending both of them to sleep. The last punk with the broomstick froze for a moment, his hands trembling. Then, gathering false courage, he charged with a hasty scream. Dave caught the stick mid-swing, as it was too slow for him, and pulled it hard as the man fell over with it.

 Before the man could recover, Dave grabbed him by the collar and threw him across the bar like a rag doll. The man crashed into a stack of empty crates, the sound echoing through the empty hall. Dave’s voice, calm but seething with power, cut through the silence. “Leave. Before I forget to hold back.” The man with the broom widened his eyes—fear overtook him. He took his other mates, 1 of whom was still unconscious, and left the bar tripping over each other, bleeding in places from the shards of the broken bottle in the fight. 

The two girls sat frozen and astonished, with their drinks completely untouched. One with the blonde hair whispered softly, “What… What are you, man?” Are you some kind of kickboxer or UFC fighter? Are you famous? Should we know you?, they continued with their questions. Dave, unable to answer, looks at his fists, unharmed, and his clothes, untorn, as if nothing happened. He has just sent grown men flying. He has been in fights before, but never went out with an outcome like this. The people he punched felt like they had the weights of a toddler, or the bottles they were attacking Dave with were like the density of some candy, which Dave could chew and crush with his teeth. 

Tim slowly approached from behind the counter, his eyes wide but kind.

“Dave… buddy… You need to tell me what the hell just happened.” I have known you for years, and I might be the only one who talks to you on a regular basis, and I've never seen any potential of you fighting a dude that big, let alone 4.  Dave looked up, the neon lights reflecting in his teary eyes. “I wish I knew,” he said softly. Then, with shaking hands, he placed a few bills on the counter and walked out into the cold evening, his heart heavier than ever, but something deep inside of him he felt… awakening.