Hey Everyone, here’s a short story that I wrote to try to give people hope in these dark times. It’s about an 8-year-old boy realizing that he’s essentially Superman, and he’s the only one who can stop the horrific events plaguing his community. I haven’t been able to get many beta readers for it, so if you notice anything problematic, please let me know. I hope you enjoy.

2025 Copyright

Any Contents of this work can’t be used or distributed without author’s permission.

WONDER

By: Ricardo Lugo

On an Earth similar to our own, an 8-year-old Rodney Parker sat on his red race car-themed bed, listening to his favorite podcast, “The Fusion Report.” He sat in a cold sweat, wearing light blue pajamas with dark sweat spots as he listened to the dark warning. The walls of his tiny room were littered with posters of heroes who fought for the rights of anyone who was different. Heroes with incredible abilities who are now lost to time. Heroes with such names as Rebel, Grizz, Simian, Iron Eagle, Dr. Z, Prota, and Dr. Bobby Morrison, the greatest Civil Rights legend of our time.

Stories of how they fought against those who persecuted EVOs (Minorities born with superpowers), how they fought white supremists, homophobes, transphobes, and even giant robots of colossal proportions known as…The EVO Slayers.

“The Plague has been getting worse….” Said Leah Morrison the 3rd, host of the podcast The Fusion Report. Her words were interrupted by her own violent coughing spasm.

A bead of sweat slid down little Rodney’s bald head.

“200 more EVOs have died in the past week from this mysterious illness that has been sweeping the nation,” Leah stated. The podcaster coughed some more and continued her news report.

“President Don Highland has instructed F.A.C.E. agents (Foreign Alien Customs Enforcement) to widen their search and detainments of undocumented immigrants from Jarados. Also under the President’s encouragement, they’ve been detaining these undocumented immigrants without due process at the Black Swamp Containment Facility in the Florida Everglades.”

CRASH!

Little Rodney jumped, hearing a massive commotion on the other side of his headphones, which turned into an orchestra of boots slamming and furniture breaking.

“They’re here…THE PRESIDENT IS LYING! KEEP FIGHTING!”

The podcast went dead, and Little Rodney was frozen in fright, his pajamas darkened entirely by sweat.

His door then slightly opened, and he jumped again.

“Honey…Oh, baby, what’s wrong?” Jasmin Parker asked tenderly as she held her sweat-drenched son.

“You’re just soaked, what’s wrong?”

Rondey was hyperventilating for a few minutes before he finally slowed his tiny heart just enough to speak.

“Is…Is…Is FF.A.C.E. coming for us!?”

Jasmin held Rodney a bit tighter.

“No…we just got our citizenship, Roddy, you know that. We’re going to be okay.”

CRASH! BOOM!

The bedroom window shattered into a thousand tiny pieces while a soldier dressed in bright red tactical gear and wearing a gas mask leaped through the window, aiming his M16 Assault rifle at their skulls. Seconds later, the bedroom door was reduced to a pile of scrap wood when two more armed, gas-masked, red tactical-suited men burst into Rodney’s room.

“GET ON THE GROUND NOW!” Screamed one of the masked red-suited thugs.

Rodney and Jasmin quickly obeyed, and on the way to the floor, Rodney noticed that all three of the Intruders had F.A.C.E. insignias on their uniforms.

“I’ll do whatever you say, just don’t hurt my…”

SMACK!

Jasmin’s world went dark the second the butt of a F.A.C.E. agent’s rifle slammed into her skull.

Rodney screamed, tears running down his young face, while his hands were zip-tied behind his back. Rodney screamed and screamed as one of the agents threw his tiny bound body over his shoulder and carried him and his mother out of their shattered home. Once they reached the driveway, Rodney saw that there were three black SUVs up front, and both Rodney and Jasmin were taken into separate SUVs.

Rodney continued to wail right up until they had him at the passenger side door of one of the SUVs, and one of the F.A.C.E. agents, whose rage could be felt even under the concealment of his gas mask, took out a tiny bottle of mace and held it inches away from Rodney’s eyes.

“SHUT UP OR I WILL FUCKING EMPTY THIS BOTTLE INTO YOUR TINY EYEBALLS!”

Rodney, terror paralyzing him, couldn’t help but obey, and the F.A.C.E. Agent again screamed at him.

“IF YOU CAME HERE LEGALLY THIS WOULDN’T HAVE HAPPENED!”

Rodney didn’t even register his yelling anymore; panic had stopped his brain, and in his fugue state, the F.A.C.E. Agents roughly tossed him into the back of the SUV and sped away from the empty, torn house that used to be the Parker family home.

15 Minutes Later 

The SUV continued to drive and drive through the Florida back roads. Rodney, still zip-tied, lost track of how long he’d been in the car, and he started to hear something that began to tug him out of his terror-wrought paralysis.

“Did you see that kid’s mom?” The F.A.C.E. Agent up front asked the driver.

The driver, still wearing his gas mask, turned his head toward the other agent and answered.

“Yeah, black women have the best asses!” He purred.

A fire started building in Little Rodney’s belly like he had never felt before, and his eyes felt like they were starting to burn.

“When we get back to Black Swamp, I know a good little corner and after I pop a few viagra and I’m gonna bend her the fuck over…”

The agents started laughing, and Rodney’s vision started burning and changing to red literally; his skull also felt like it was on fire.

“Hey guys…” The agent in the back said nervously, pointing his rifle at Rodney and visibly trembling.

“You got enough viagra for me, too.” Asked the agent in the passenger seat toward the driver, and Rodney’s eyes seemed to start sparking.

BUZZZ! KABLAM!

Two twin massive red laser beams emitted from Rodney’s Eyes and obliterated the right shoulder pad of the F.A.C.E. Agent driving along with the SUV’s steering wheel.

In moments, the SUV careened off the road and tumbled into the murky swampland on the side of the road. As soon as Rodney snapped off his zip ties, as if they were twigs, his vision went black.

10 Minutes Later

“Stay back or I’ll shoot…I will believe me, man!” Cried out one of the F.A.C.E. Agents as Rodney finally came back to his senses. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed. The last thing he remembered was the SUV tumbling off the road. Now he was on a two-lane road with one of the F.A.C.E. Agents aiming his M16 right at Rodney’s head, while 20 feet behind him, the other two F.A.C.E. Agents were limping away, their armor scotched and smoking.

The Strangest thing of all was that Rodney was floating at least 3 feet off the ground, and his eyes were blazing hot and red. He felt a strange power behind them that he didn’t know how to reach.

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

The remaining F.A.C.E. agent emptied his entire clip into Rodney, his armor-piercing shell casings clicking against the cracked, grey asphalt of the two-lane road.

CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!

The agent tried to keep firing despite his empty clip, and Rodney looked down toward his small chest and noticed that, despite the bullet holes in his pajamas, his chest was unscathed. Leaving him amazed.

“Leave Me Alone!” Demanded Rodney in a deep, ethereal voice he himself didn’t recognize.

The F.A.C.E. Agent dropped the rifle and put his hands up, visibly trembling, and a dark stain started growing in the groin area of his pants.

“Okay…Okay,” cried the agent as he ran in sheer terror away from Rondey toward his other two comrades who were further down the seemingly endless two-lane road.

Rodney continued to float in the air, his eyes still sparking an unearthly red light. He looked toward the fleeing agents, and his eyes brightened, turning an even darker red. He knew in his gut that he was about to blast the agents again when he remembered something his idol, Dr. Bobby Morrison, said, “Leave your hate in the rubble…Leave your fear of change in the rubble. Leave your bloodlust in the rubble. Or you too will eventually become rubble!”

Rodney’s breath slowed, his feet touched the ground, and his vision slowly but surely returned to normal. Soon, he just remained on the road.

The little boy scanned his surroundings, taking in the cracked, faded grey two-lane road and the near-endless black swampland that surrounded him.

“AHHHHHHH!”

“I want my Lawyer.”

“Get those Evies.”

“They’re taking our jobs!”

“They should have stayed in Jarados.”

Thousands of voices all at once hit little Rodney, and he collapsed onto the road. He screamed to the sky, unable to take all the voices hitting him at the same time. His hands pushed as hard as he could against his ears, but it did nothing to stop the voices.

“It’s okay, Zen…Just breathe and focus on my voice. Don’t worry, you’re strong little one!”

Rodney complied and remembered the voice from somewhere he couldn’t quite put his finger on. However, a window in his heart opened, and he felt more hope than he had in a long time. The voices began to quiet down, and the mysterious, soft-spoken guide spoke again.

“Good Job, Zen. I knew you could do it. Now think of a memory that excites and inspires you at the same time.”

Rodney, in spite of everything, smiled. This voice just made his heart glow. And he found himself thinking about a recurring dream he had when he was five. Where he was being carried through a burning castle by a furry purple being who had doe-like black eyes, and it rushed with him through the blazing, crumbling structure.

Rodney’s feet were off the ground, and he was ascending into the air.

“Excellent Zen. Now, just like how you move your arms. Will yourself forward.”

Rodney, now a good 20 feet in the air, did as the soft voice said and found himself moving forward at a slow, casual pace.

“Fantastic. Follow my voice and you’ll find me. Don’t be afraid, it will be okay, I promise. Everything will be okay.”

Even with the emerging fear and worry he felt about his parents, something deep in his soul trusted this voice.

Black Swamp Containment Facility, Tom Holliday’s Office 12:00 pm

63-year-old Tom Holiday, Director of F.A.C.E. (Foreign Alien’s Customs Enforcement), Sat on his peeling leather office chair in his sweatering beige-walled office in Black Swamp Containment Facility.

Even with the overwhelming heat in his tiny paint-peeling office, he still had a shit eating grin and at the same time, looking through the most recent reports about Undocumented Immigrant arrests they made in the past week, especially those from Jarados. His smile grew even larger when he saw how much the new Massive Masterpiece Bill added to F.A.C.E.’s budget. His smile made his cracked lips even more noticeable, giving his wrinkled visage a more menacing look.

“Director…Wa.” His male assistant said as he opened the door, and he was assaulted by the stench of Tom’s sweaty fabby body.

The assistant’s expression struggled to rebalance and adjust to the terrible stench.

“Yes, Bud?” Tom asked in his gravely chain-smoking voice, not appreciating his assistant’s expression.

After barely managing to reporportion his expression with the help of seeing Tom’s beautiful painting in the corner of the office, it was a painting of the man who inspired the agency’s creation, Messias, the first great American Hero and protector of the Aryan Race.

“Well…Well..” Bud forced himself to continue despite the stench of his boss attacking his nostrils.

“One of our service vehicles was totaled, and three of our agents were severely injured during the raid on the Parker house.”

“What?” Tom practically spat at Bud.

“Yes, sir.”

“How? And did any of those fucking Jaradians escape!” Asked Tom

Bud gulped and continued.

“According to the agent’s reports, the boy shot lasers from his eyes and destroyed the vehicle, and then our agents proceeded to engage him. But they were unable to stop him from escaping despite taking severe injuries. They are certain he must have been an EVO.”

“That’s impossible! The plague has infected nearly every EVO in the States; none of them are immune!” Yelled Tom.

“That’s the only explanation the agents gave before they passed out, sir.” Whimpered Bud.

Tom put his right finger into a pointing gesture and roughly pressed it against Bud’s right shoulder.

“What’s the boy’s name, son?” Inquired Tom

“Rodney Parker, sir!”

“Put an alert to all F.A.C.E. Agents in the state and make our contacts in the Miami PD put an APB on this Rodney. Be sure to tell them we have a section 4, possibly 5 EVO, on the loose! I want that fucking EVIE brought in by sundown!” Bud turned to leave the office.

“And Bud!” the assistant turned back toward his stinky boss.

“Prep the suit!”

Paradise Hill’s Neighborhood

Rodney touched down a good 50 feet from his family’s Pink small one-story house…or what remained of it after today.

He walked on the neighborhood’s jet-black, freshly paved asphalt road and couldn’t stop looking at how many front doors and windows were shattered or left ajar. More importantly, he noticed that among the well-loved but rundown houses, none of them had closed doors, and it was deathly quiet in the Jaradian neighborhood.

“They took everyone…F.A.C.E. took everyone!” Screamed little Rodney in his mind as he sauntered toward his old, shattered home. He didn’t even feel the blazing Florida heat contained in the road from the 98-degree day on his tiny bare feet.

But despite his rising despair, he continued his trek up his family’s patchy front lawn and through the house’s entrance, where the front door used to be.

He walked onto the cracked white tile floor in the main living room of the house. Cracks that he had never noticed until today, nor the poorly patched holes in the walls, or how his kitchen looked like it was ripped from the 1970s, with its discolored wood panels.

“I just had pancakes with Mama and Papi this morning…I just had…”

Tears began stinging his cheeks, and soon they came like rain. Then, before little Rodney knew it, he was lying chest-first on the floor, his F.A.C.E. in a puddle of his own tears as he closed his eyes with all his might and hoped that this was just a nightmare…the worst nightmare he ever had. He hoped he’d wake up in his mother’s arms and his father would tell him stories about their homeland of Jarados, of his old neighborhood, and of his grandparents. Rodney would finally meet them soon because they just got their Green Cards. His parents applied when they first got married 15 years ago. And after all that time, they just got their Greencards two days ago. The entire Parker household was ecstatic and just full of hope to see the rest of their family again.

Rodney’s eyelids pressed even harder, and his puddle of tears grew bigger and bigger. But his despair began to cease when he felt a furry paw touch his shoulder.

“Prince Zen…You have every right to cry right now. But please know it will be okay, we will make it okay, I promise.”

Said the soft voice that led him back here. Rodney slowly opened his eyes and looked toward the source of the voice, and it was a three-foot-tall, purple, furry, bunny-like creature with soft, deer-like, jet-black eyes. And a small mouth, inside of which looked like a black void. Rodney’s eyes widened, and his heart flew.

“You… You’re real, oh my God, you’re real!” Cried Rodney as he hugged the purple creature as hard as he could, his heart brightening with each second, knowing his friend who saved him from the burning castle was real and with him now.

“Yes…Of course, I’m the real Prince Zen. I’m your best friend. I’ll always be your friend.”

Memories flooded little Rodney’s brain. Images of the purple bunny cradling him in his furry arms while the bunny ran through the fires and flames that were consuming the stone castle. More specifically, he remembered getting into what looked like a tiny escape pod with a very tiny seat in the cock pit and an even tinier passenger seat which fitted baby Rodney’s body perfectly, while the Purple bunny got into the small cock pit and turned on the pod’s systems. It roared through a dark tunnel out of the castle and into the strange night. Rodney now remembered looking back at the massive burning palace and strange, purple mountains surrounding it, with wolves the size of school buses howling at three crescent moons in the night sky.

A more terrifying memory came crashing back to him, though. As the tiny pod raced toward the atmosphere, an old man flew out of the hell blazing castle. A man who was impossible built, and his eyes were glowing red. Seconds later, two twin beams emitted from those eyes and nearly hit the escape pod. The purple bunny jerked the pod’s joystick and snapped several switches, barely avoiding the old man’s laser vision.

The Old Man’s eyes stopped glowing, and the beams disappeared, but he sped up impossibly fast to the extent that Rodney could see him less than two feet away from the racing craft. The old man had cold grey eyes that made Rodney’s blood run cold, which got colder when the man cocked his fist and got ready to slam it against the windshield.

ZOOOOM!

The old man faded almost instantly when the ship went into light speed, and endless stars and Galaxyies flew around them in an infinite void as they accelerated to 50 times the speed of light.

Rodney snapped back into the present and broke the hug with a purple bunny, asking.

“Who are you…And why are you calling me Zen?”

He could almost hear the purple bunny’s heart breaking just by looking at his furry face. The bunny pushed away its grief and straightened himself up.

“You don’t remember who you are? Do you?… You’re real name is Prince Zenogal, the 2nd of the great House of Zen from the planet Zenobia. And I am Kloovo, guide and friend to all the children of the House of Zen, of which you are the last.”

Rodney’s brain was breaking at the sound of this.

“That can’t be true…Mama and Papi gave birth to me here in Juarez, Florida, in the land of the free, so that I could have a good life.” Said Rodney

Kloovo put his purple paw on Rodney’s shoulder.

“They found you in the woods, not even 40 miles from here. I called them with my telepathy there because I could see in their hearts they’d love you and treat you like the royalty you are.”

Rodney felt ashamed of how happy he felt hearing this, like he was betraying his parents, but now he had a strange sense of relief…

“I am a prince… I’m a real Prince?!” Asked Rodney again in a shocked voice.

Kloovo giggled.

“Yes, Rodney, you are a Prince…and you have the blood of two powerful races in you. Not only are you a Prince, but the blood you possess makes you one of the most powerful beings in the universe. You can fly faster than the fastest starships, you can shoot fire from your eyes that’s hotter than the hottest suns, and you are stronger than 1000 men. You were brought here to make this world a better place and be this planet’s guardian.”

After Kloovo finished his speech, Rodney knew what he had to do and started levitating in the air. Instinctively, Kloovo held out his paws in a wait motion.

“Wait, Rodney… It’s too dangerous, you’re not ready to fight them!” Yelled Kloovo.

“Mama and Papi need me!” Screamed Rodney as he bolted outward but was stopped by Kloovo’s strong paws.

“We’ll save them and defeat F.A.C.E., but first you must train!”

“There’s no time!”

“Yes, there is Prince Zen. Please listen to me. TRUST ME!”

Rodney continued to try to fly out, but the desperation and heart in Kloovo’s voice told him that the little purple bunny had something up his sleeve. He took a few deep breaths, descended slowly to the ground, and turned back toward his friend and guide.

“For the past eight years, while you were being raised, I was looking for an ancient chamber designed by our people’s greatest minds alongside the smartest beings of Virogos, Planet Zenobia’s closest allies. It’s called the Caverns of Time,” Exclaimed Kloovo.

“The Caverns of Time?” Asked Rodney

“It’s a chamber containing a library with all the knowledge of our two great races. Along with a chamber, where the greatest of warriors can train. But more importantly, in this place, time flows differently.”

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean, Prince Zen, is that an hour in this world will be 10 years in there.”

Rodney gasped and his jaw dropped, hearing this.

“An hour…ten years.” He weakly cried.

Kloovo nodded and held out his paw.

“Come with me and train inside the Cavern, and when you come out, we’ll free your parents and defeat those F.A.C.E. monsters.”

Rodney thought about it for a few seconds and took his paw.

Kloovo grinned.

“Your wisdom precedes you, little Zen. Follow my lead and don’t worry, I’ll be there every step of the way.”

The Caverns of Time

Rodney and Kloovo touched down in front of a massive cave with its mouth shrouded in pitch-black darkness.

Rodney softly put Kloovo down onto the soft grass just outside the cave. Another twinge of fear gripped Rodney, but Kloovo’s small paw reached out to Rodney’s hand.

“We’ll go together one step at a time. One step…” With those words, Kloovo slowly guided Rodney into the cave.

Once they stepped into the darkness, they immediately found themselves inside a massive library with rows of thick, ornate oak wood columns and shelves. With ancient books in long-lost languages.

Rodney’s jaw dropped.

“The last thing I read was Where the Wild Things are…”

Kloovo laughed but quickly responded.

“I’ve been teaching and guiding the children of the House of Zen for over 400 years. We’ll have you reading these tomes very soon. And by the time you possess complete knowledge of your abilities and have become one of the most outstanding scholars in the universe, only mere minutes will have passed in your world. Are you ready, Rodney, to take your place in the house of Zen?

Rodney took a deep breath and nodded his head. Kloovo then took him through the library and into two double-sided wooden doors, and into a room where, on the other side, a costume was on display, surrounded by a plate of glass. It was a form-fitting full-body Red unitard with Blue trunks covering the groin area of the suit, there was a small black mask as well along with Blue boots and a flowing blue cape. However, the most striking feature of the costume was the triangle symbol on the chest area, accompanied by a large blue W within it.

“This Prince Zen is the suit worn by the greatest warrior scholars of the Zenobian people. Your grandfather wore it, your great-grandfather, and most of your ancestors as well.”

“What does the W mean, Kloovo?”

“On Zenobia, it’s not a W, it’s the symbol of courage and strength. A visual oath to defend the innocent from the forces of Evil, no matter how small or different they seem. It’s what you will wear when you’re ready.”

Rodney took another breath and began his training.

1 hour and 15 Minutes Later, Earth Time

Rodney, now 17 years old, burst out of the Cavern of Silence looking very, very different. He was about 6’5 “now, with an Olympian God-type physique, every tendon of steel muscle visible from his caped W suit. The one that Kloovo had first shown him this close to 11 years ago in the Cavern of Time.

But Rodney, with the cadency and confidence of royalty, stomped out of the cave, while Kloovo, who could barely reach his knee, now desperately called to him.

“Stop Prince Zen…You still aren’t ready!”

Rodney snapped around and looked down at Kloovo with a deep scowl, which was further emphasized by his small black face mask.

“Then tell me the truth! Why haven’t my birth parents come to help me and this world? Why do I have to do this…Who was the old man who came after us?”

Demanded Rodney in a much deeper, manlier voice than how he sounded a little more than an hour ago in this world.

The Cogs in Kloovo’s brain were going haywire, and Rodney could see in the purple bunny’s eyes that it was trying to figure out a way to lie to him, but Kloovo didn’t have it in him to lie anymore. He looked down and then back into Rodney’s eyes.

“Okay, Prince Zen…”

“It’s RODNEY!” Yelled Rodney

“Okay, okay, Rodney… It’s best to start at the beginning. The greatest enemies of our people and the universe were Trigonians…”

Rodney remembered them from the history lessons Kloovo taught him all those years ago in the Cavern. The race born from a goddess of war, each imbued with the strength of a 1000 men, skin far tougher than titanium, each able to move at the speed of light, and were born already knowing Trigo, the martial art of their people. But the most frightening thing about this race is that they believe they are naturally superior to any other species in the universe, and it was their purpose to subjugate and claim all worlds in the name of their Goddess Triga.

After taking another breath, Kloovo continued.

“And their leader, the vile King Tor, heard a prophecy from their creator, the war Goddess Triga, that a child with pale skin and the blood of Zenobian royalty flowing through his veins, along with Trigonian blood, would become the most powerful being in the universe. He was determined to make that child his own, and after centuries of bitter war, with the entire Planet of Virogos disappearing. King Tor finally managed to conquer Planet Zenobia.”

“How did that happen? Did my Virgosian father stay behind to help my mother?” Inquired Rodney.

Kloovo, very audible, gulped and continued his sad story.

“No…Rodney, King Tor then proceeded…he proceeded. He ravaged your mother, and he had countless children from these vile experiences, but none of them had pale skin…So he killed them himself.”

Kloovo’s face started contracting.

“I tried to save them…But he was too powerful!”

“WHERE WAS MY FATHER!” Screamed Rodney.

Both of them went silent as the terrifying truth dawned.

“Was…Is…King Tor, my father?”

Kloovo didn’t want to answer, with every fiber of his tiny soul, but his heart pushed him.

“Yes…”

Rodney froze with this answer, and even with his visage, very visible, twitching, he asked.

“Why…and how did I survive?”

“I broke my guidelines and used a heated Perotroneum rock, and its gases managed to knock out your father briefly, and I threw you into my arms and ran out of the Royal Zenobian Bedchambers. I ran and ran to my ship as King Tor started ripping the castle apart to find you. I managed to reach my ship and blast off, but Tor found us and nearly destroyed my ship during the escape. But I managed to jump to light speed toward coordinates passed down from generation to generation in the House of Zen, coordinates to Earth. Your mother, once you were old enough, wanted you to hear this.”

Kloovo looked toward the Heavens, and his mouth opened, while an entirely different voice, yet one Rodney recognized from another life, came out.

“Prince Zen. My Sweet Zen. I assume that this Kloovo unit has told you the truth which has activated this message. You were sent here because this planet has enough of our colonies and hidden facilities, so you can learn who you are. More importantly, with your Trigonian blood, you can protect the people of Earth and prevent what happened on Zenobia from happening here or on any other world. The abilities within you will make you seem like a God to these people, but you must use that power to unite them. No civilization can reach its peak with intolerance, racism and hatred at any level. You may have the blood of conquerors, but you also have the blood of the greatest scholars, innovators, and protectors of the universe. I know you can keep this world safe, and when you’re older, keep the galaxy safe from those who hurt the innocent to obtain power. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to raise you Zen. But please know I love you, my son, and look forward to the day we can be reunited.”

The message ended, and Rodney was about to tear up, but with the strength of his purpose and knowing what he had to do to save his adopted parents, he managed to push his sadness away.

“You’re not going back inside, are you?”

“Nope.” Answered Rodney.

“Then be careful, Prince Zenogal…Make the House of Zen proud.”

With that, Rodney nodded his head and sped out into the sky, following the fearful voices of his adopted parents, the Parkers, leading him directly to the largest concentration camp on American Soil, “The Black Swamp Containment Facility.”

Black Swamp Containment Facility

A 65-year-old private of the F.A.C.E. agency sat diligently at a solid gray guardhouse at the end of a solid concrete bridge leading into the Black Swamp facility.

Even with how uncomfortable his red tactical F.A.C.E. uniform fit his body, and how painful their F.A.C.E. masks were. He was able to think past it, knowing that after all these years, his student loans would be forgiven, and if he caught just one more peaceful protester, he’d hit his quota for arrests and receive his $50,000 bonus. He looked outside the guard house’s thick glass window and excitedly awaited another protest.

“Just one more illegal immigrant baby…I hope it isn’t one of those indians again. I’d really love to get one more of those dark Jaradians. The guys and I would still have our factory jobs if those sacks of shit just stayed where they came from.” Thought Ronald to himself. He rubbed his hands together, fantasizing about how he’d shove some Jaradian man (Hopefully) onto the asphalt road on the bridge.

THOOOMM!

A sonic boom rang through Ron’s ears as a sharp gust of wind smacked against the guard house, and it rained glass as the guard house windows shattered.

Ron, still on his feet, looked into the sunset sky and saw the strangest thing.

It was a bald black man (Rodney) floating 30 feet in the air, clad in a flowing cape and possessing a muscular body that he could never have even dreamed of having. 

Rodney, knowing the man couldn’t see his face in the sky, grinned. The sunset gave him a perfect silhouette, and for a moment, Ron thought the greatest hero he had ever known as a child had finally returned.

“Messias…” Questioned Ron, trembling, remembering the feeling when he first saw him in Montgomery, Alabama, over 50 years ago.

“I am not that monster! And I don’t have to introduce myself to Gestapo scum like you!” Said Rodney in a very booming commanding tone.

Ron’s smile immediately turned upside down. Something in the voice’s accent told him that it was a black man, and instinctively he took out his 9mm service Glock and began shooting. He emptied his entire clip into the flying being, but even with his poor eyesight, he could see that his 9mm rounds effortlessly ricocheted off Rodney’s body.

“Let’s try this again… I’m going to give you one chance to get out of here unscathed. Call your superiors and tell them to release all the people you’ve illegally imprisoned here without due process, and then quit your villainous jobs!”

Ron pressed the silent alarm under the guard post’s counter and walked out of the guard post and onto the white, fluorescently lit asphalt road.

“You got some balls to come here, boy. Just cause you got lucky and missed the plague. And can fly around like a cheap kite, you think that makes you special, ya dumb EVIE!”

The last part made Rodney’s lip slightly tremble, and he clenched his fist tighter. The fire in his belly grew when he heard the sound of tank tracks hitting the asphalt of the bridge. He could see four tanks and at least 50 fully armored M16-wielding F.A.C.E. agents marching toward him.

“Now be a good little EVIE and come on down…And maybe we’ll give you a single cell with a toilet!” Said the vile old man, Ron.

“I’m not an EVO, you racist bastard… I’m your worst nightmare.”

BLAM! BLAM! BOOM! BLAM! BOOM!

The four tanks fired upon Rodney, and the F.A.C.E. agents fired volley upon volley of rounds at Rodney. After a few minutes, they stopped and saw nothing in the sky or on the ground.

BAM! BAM! BAM! ZIPP! ZIPP! ZIPP! SCREETCH!

In a matter of seconds, all the tank’s barrels were horrible twisted like spaghetti. And all 50 agents were zip-tied with their hands behind their backs, along with Ron, but Ron also noticed that there was blood coming from his mouth, and he realized a force that could move faster than any on Earth had punched every one of his 20 yellow rotting teeth out.

Then, almost as if he appeared out of thin air, Rodney stood over Ron with his fists on his hips like a classic hero.

“Doesn’t feel good to be in chains, does it? Now you and your buddies will do time for what you’ve done.” Declared Rodney

“We’ve done nothing illegal, you dumb EVIE! Illegals aren’t protected by due process…”

Ron spat out some blood and continued.

“If they came here legally, they’d be fine, if they obeyed.”

SMACK!

With one punch Rodney sent the racist guard into dream land.

“You know that’s impossible…We didn’t break the system; you all did. Just so that you could hurt darker-skinned people!”

After saying this, Rodney sped toward the prison, keeping his anger in check so he didn’t become a monster just like that vile old man on the ground.

Black Swamp Containment Facility, inner cells 8 pm

A Dozen F.A.C.E. agents stood, aiming their M16 assault rifles at the metallic double doors leading inside the cell block. 

Immaciated and half-naked prisoners looked toward the entrance, wondering with great anticipation what was happening. A very deep part of them felt satisfaction that these guards were facing the very same fear they had given these people for countless weeks.

BRANG!

A deep crack and soldiers screaming along with scattered gun fire could be heard from beyond the doors. Then a few seconds later, nothing.

The F.A.C.E. Agents cocked their rifles and waited in the uncomfortable silence.

CRASH!

The two metal doors were crushed like tin foil. And all the F.A.C.E. pulled the triggers. The light from their smoking barrels lit up the Large W on Rodney’s chest while they instinctively drew their fire on that symbol. Once the ground was littered with armor-piercing shells and their guns were empty, Rodney, in the dimly lit doorway, just motioned his right finger in no gesture, and the agents instinctively dropped their rifles and put their hands behind their heads.

In a flash with his superhuman speed, the dozen now unarmed F.A.C.E. agents were zip-tied with their own zip ties, arms around their backs.

Rodney, with his cape flowing, used his superhuman strength to rip open the locks on the open-barred cages, each housing dozens of emaciated and malnourished prisoners who very clearly hadn’t showered or eaten for days. The floors of the cells were littered with urine and feces, especially considering that each cell had three max urinals for each cage to serve what looked like at least 24 people per cell. And all these urinals had stopped working and were clogged with mounds of human feces.

“You’re free, you’re all free, get out of here!” Rodney instinctively cried out, and the prisoners crept and ran as fast as they could out of their cells and down the narrow hallway leading out of the inner containment area.

He continued to tear more and more locks off of the cells and he saw more than just undocumented citizens from Jarados. He saw Jamaicans, Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Haitians, and even Canadians. But worst of all, he got to a cell block that was just trans people, homosexual men, lesbian couples, and some who just said they were taken because the F.A.C.E. agents thought they were a man going into a woman’s bathroom, even though they very clearly were female and didn’t identify as trans.

As Rodney went deeper into the facility, his heart seemed to drop because he couldn’t find his adopted parents. Some people were too emaciated to walk, so he used his abilities to carry them out with superhuman speed. One of them, an older man, started saying that there are more prisoners in isolation deeper in the facility.

“Have you seen my parents, Jasmin and Tareke Parker?” Asked Rodney.

The old skinny man responded as soon as Rodney laid him down on the grass outside the facility.

“Yes, they are in solitary after they knocked out a few guards trying to take advantage of Jasmin.”

Rodney smiled.

“Thanks, friend!”

“You are a living wonder kid… don’t worry about it.” Said the old man, and Rodney bolted back inside.

In seconds, he reached the solitary confinement cell block, and he just tore open all the doors, crying out his parents’ names. Dozens of people bolted out of the small five-by-five isolation cells, the smell of human manure racing out of the cells with the fleeing prisoners.

Finally, he heard his mother’s muffled voice.

“Over here!”

He followed it and tore off the other cell door in an instant.

He saw his mother and father holding each other in the pitch-black, unlit, solitary cell. Both of them looked at him with unsure eyes.

“Who…Who are you?” Tareke Parker asked, knowing this man from somewhere, but not able to put his finger on it.

“Roddy?” Jasmin, with her jaw open, cried out.

Rodney held out his arms, and in the tiny Jarados accent he picked up as a kid, he answered.

“Mommy… Papi, it’s me. I know I look different, but it’s me, I swear.”

Jasmin hugged her son as hard as she could, while Tareke stood dumbfounded.

“My boy is 8. You can’t be our Roddy.”

“Papi it’s me, you know how you found me in the woods as kid by a ship.”

Papi and Jasmin were dead silent.

“The tech from where I came from made me like this…I promise I’ll explain later when we’re out of here, but please, Mami and Papi, let’s go home!” Begged Rodney.

CRASH!

All of a sudden, Rodney felt himself being grabbed and flung out of the cell through the ceiling and launched into the night sky by an abnormally large hand. He managed to steady himself again, but not before the massive black metal hand smacked him into the swamp outside the facility.

His costume, now soaked and dirty from the swamp water, felt heavier as he picked himself up and saw a 25-foot, muscular, black-painted robot he remembered from stories he read as a child, from the adventures of the first real heroes…An EVO Slayer.

The EVO slayer’s fists were at least 2 feet wide and long. It’s toned legs were at least three feet thick, and it’s face was completely featureless except for it’s blazing Red Eyes.

“Hello, Boy!”

Rodney heard from a static intercom where the EVO Slayer’s mouth was supposed to be.

“Not many of these bad boys were kept after the White Out of ’56. Especially this one since it was the last one the great Messias designed.”

“Don’t you dare bring light to that monster’s name!” Spat Rodney!

The EVO Slayer laughed through its intercom.

“Who’s the monster here… EVO’s tried to exterminate all white people in 56. Messias had the right idea to create this last EVO Slayer. The EVO Slayer Mark 3 is the only model that can be piloted and fight Section 5 EVIEs like yourself.”

ZOOM! BRANG!

Rodney flew as fast as he could and slammed his right fist into the EVO Slayer’s metallic skull. He knocked it sky high and smacked its F.A.C.E. again and again at lightning speed before the EVO Slayer nailed Rodney with a right hook and sent him careening into the road near the entrance bridge of The Black Swamp correctional facility.

His fall created a massive 10-by-10-foot crater in the road.

The EVO Slayer slowly descended just outside the crater, still laughing.

“You haven’t been in a fist fight before, have you?” Asked the suited robot.

Rodney got up and snapped back.

“I don’t need Karate lessons to kick your ass, Holiday.”

Rodney used his super speed to slam into the EVO Slayer, and with an unnatural speed, he started pummeling the robot with everything he had, creating slight dents in the suit. But Holiday grabbed Rodney and slammed him into the ground while still laughing.

“You’re a smart little Evie! Nobody’s recognized my voice before while I wore this suit.”

He said this while stomping on Rodney again and again. Pain flooded the teen’s body as the metallic foot smashed into his back repeatedly.

“This country will be great again. And you radical leftists won’t stop us.”

He stomped him again, but in a surge of strength, Rodney rolled over just before the foot could slam down, and he grabbed it and started pushing it with both hands. He then activated his heat vision and blasted Holiday about 50 feet in the air as he rolled out of the pit and stood back up into a fighting pose.

But almost as quickly as Holiday was knocked into the air, he came zooming down and grabbed Rodney’s neck with one massive, Black, metallic hand, and he squeezed.

“Experience is everything, boy. I grew up in the streets, and where were you brought up…the suburbs!”

Rodney felt the air draining from his lungs both off his hands desperately tried to pry away the ever tightening robot grip.

“Time to die, little Evie!”

Rodney felt his vision going in and out, but out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a familiar purple bunny.

“Kloo…” Rodney struggled to say as Kloovo ran up the EVO Slayer’s arm and his right paw opened, revealing a type of taser, and he jammed it into The EVO Slayer’s neck.

“Aghhh! Damn it.” Screamed Holiday as his other huge hand grabbed Kloovo’s tiny body and started squeezing.

“Leave my friend alone!” Demanded Rodney in an ethereal booming voice as he started to glow red, and in one desperate move with a surge of strength, he tore off the EVO slayer’s right arm.

Sparks and a mess of wires fell from the robot’s stump, and soon its left arm followed.

While still glowing, memories of ancient combat techniques from his ancestors came flooding into Rodney’s mind as he tore the EVO Slayer apart limb from limb.

Soon, only its chest remained. Rodney tore open the EVO Slayer’s chestplate, and he saw the vile Tom Holiday in a tight black flight suit belted firmly into the EVO Slayer’s cock pit. Rodney ripped the filthy old man out of the bot and slammed him onto the hard, grassy Earth.

Still glowing red, like a second sun, Rodney held up his closed fist right over Tom Holiday’s wrinkled face.

“Go ahead, do it… DO IT YOU SON OF BITCH OR I’M GOING TO COME BACK AND SKIN YOUR FURRY FRIEND ALONG WITH EVERYONE ELSE YOU LOVE!” Declared Tom.

“With Pleasure Piss Ant!” Said Rodney in a deep voice that neither he nor Kloovo recognized as he cocked his fist. But not before two purple furry paws grabbed his arm.

“No! Don’t do this, Prince Zen, don’t be like him… Don’t be like your father.” Begged Kloovo.

“He needs to die! For what he’s done!” Rodney answered in a deep, ethereal voice while his mind went red with all the news reports he heard of how Tom ordered agents to arrest anyone they believed to be undocumented and not use Due Process. How many countless families did he destroy by deporting them, and how many died in Black Swamp due to malnutrition?

Rodney let his fist go and grabbed Tom’s neck.

“Good boy…” Said Tom, between gasps for air, while his F.A.C.E. turned shades of Blue.

Kloovo put his paw on Rodney’s shoulder.

“Rodney Parker. Rodney…Roddy!” The sincerity in Kloovo’s voice touched a deep part of Rodney’s soul, and he slowly turned the red glowing dimming just a little bit.

“Let it go…Just let it go.”

Rodney was frozen for a moment. The love in Kloovo’s words made him feel like he was eight again, and the red glowing vanished, but it was replaced by grief and extreme guilt.

Rodney let go of Tom, who started coughing uncontrollably while a scowl began forming on his face.

“You weak little…” Tom’s quote was interrupted by Kloovo’s built-in taser, smacking his neck and shocking him into unconsciousness.

Tears started rolling from Rodney’s eyes, and Kloovo again put his paw on his tall friend’s shoulder.

“I’m proud of you, Rodney.”

“What do you mean…I was about to kill him!?”

“It takes incredible strength not to kill men like that…not to descend to their level, and you passed that test tonight. Hundreds of people are alive and free today because of you.” Said Kloovo softly.

Rodney dried his tears and stood up.

Hundreds of prisoners, including his parents, encircled him, and they started cheering.

“Hooray for the Miracle! Hooray for the wonder!”

The crowd cheered as it enveloped him and held him and Kloovo toward the sky like Rock Stars regaining the hope that had been lost for so long.

1 Hour Later Black Swamp Containment Facility Press Room

Rodney stood in front of a cheap plywood podium with the F.A.C.E. Agency Insignia on the back wall behind him. Leah Morrison, the third, stood manning the Facilities 2024 ENG Camera. He desperately tried to control his breathing, seeing his favorite African American podcaster for the first time, still adjusting to the fact that he was now the same age as his favorite celebrity. More so, he couldn’t help but notice how his heart raced at the sight of her.

Even though she was slightly dirty and her professional clothes were rumpled somewhat, he found himself stealing glances at her long legs and athletic body perfectly showcased in her black blazer, slightly wrinkled white blouse, pencil skirt, and black high heels.

“On three!” Declared Leah had long, jet-black hair waving in the wind, or was that Rodney’s imagination? They were inside after all.

“Okay.” Rodney took a deep breath and Kloovo’s humorous pokes on his legs made him feel a bit more soothed for the important message he was about to deliver.

“Three, Two, one…”

The red light on the camera came on, and behind the camera were a dozen other freed prisoners, along with Rodney’s parents, who stood in anticipation as Rodney began to speak.

“Jardadians, EVO’s and all fellow Americans… I like you have come from a foreign land…In this case, another planet, Zenobia, and I have come here to make the world a better place. Right now, we are going through a crisis unlike any America has encountered before…”

He closed his eyes and took another breath and continued.

“Half the country is saying that the Jaradian’s, Muslims, Latinos, and EVO’s coming here are criminals, terrorists, and that they’re even saying that we’re eating people’s dogs and cats, and because of this, they’re putting out all their frustrations and hatred onto us. And at the head of this hateful movement has been President Don Highland and his secret police force, F.A.C.E., fanning the flames of this epidemic of racism because that’s what this is, racism. And dialogue isn’t working anymore; just today, I saw an entire Jaradian neighborhood rounded up like animals by F.A.C.E. Agents….I can hear how millions of Americans are saying at the same time, ‘Well, they should have come here legally, and if the system is too hard, well, good.’ I even hear some of you saying that you don’t care about the Palestinian genocide because they hate Americans.”

Rodney felt the rage rising in his chest again, but he calmed himself once again, thinking about all the stories Kloovo told him of his people and of his home world, Zenobia. A few moments later, he continued his speech.

“But I’m not here to explain why this is racist or wrong; it’s been explained to you time and time again. We know this is who you are and that you want a dictatorship that works for you. And even with that knowledge, I’m still America’s protector, which includes you, President Highland supporters. Why I’m speaking to you now is to make a declaration. The government agency F.A.C.E. and President Highland have violated the human rights of legal U.S. citizens and undocumented Immigrants all over this country, and it ends now. I’m giving the House and Senate of the United States a week to impeach and remove President Highland from office so I can take him to the UN to stand trial for his war crimes against U.S. citizens. You also have that same amount of time to abolish F.A.C.E.. If you don’t comply, I will take all members of the House and Senate, along with the President, to the UN to stand trial… I’ve checked twice, and you all have standing charges for war crimes due to your inaction in this nightmarish presidency. I advise you to cooperate; the entire Black Swamp Facility troop consisted of 500 heavily armed guards and five tanks. All of which I managed to defeat within an hour and take to the UN by myself with no casualties… No force on Earth will stop me from saving the people you’ve oppressed. I await your answer. Now the decision rests with you!”

“Cut.” Cried Leah and she cut the camera feed ending the world wide broadcast.

Rodney practically jumped with excitement as he saw his favorite podcaster walking toward him, surrounded by countless people from all walks of life and nearly every cultural background, their expressions teeming with hope.

“Prince Zen, there’s a couple I’d like you to meet.” Said Kloovo as he stepped out of the crowd in front of Rodney.

And behind him was a much older African American couple in their 80s, wearing slightly ruffled business casual clothes. However, upon seeing the red circular sunglasses on the older man, Rodney immediately recognized him, and the breath left Rodney’s body.

“Are…Are…Are you Dr. Bobby Morrison, leader of the Fusion Force? Are you Load Eye?”

The old man, wearing red sunglasses, leaning slightly on his cane with his wife arm in arm, smiled.

“That was a long time ago, but yes, that was me. Mostly my mother and this goddess here did all the work, though.”

Load Eye passionately kissed his wife, which made Rodney’s smile even wider, as he saw that even after over 30 years of marriage, they were still blissfully in love.

“Oh, Bobby, you’re too modest.” His wife, formerly the hero Prota, was his second-in-command.

“Ah…Oh. You see…I LOVE THE FUSION FORCE, AND YOUR STORIES INSPIRED EVERYTHING I DO!” Rodney yelled, nearly incoherently, with his hands balled up around his head like a fan girl.

Rodney’s cheeks went red with embarrassment realizing his excited outburst.

Load Eye cocked an eye at him with a sly expression.

“Well, it’s nice to know me and the old band are still a big deal. I wish we had you back then, son; you would have made a hell of a team member.”

Rodney’s brain stopped at that comment, and he struggled for a few minutes to form a single coherent thought.

“The Fusion Force will always be a big deal…The world needs them again. EVO’s need them again.” Requested Rodney.

Load Eye happily shook his head.

“Man, I wish I could say yes. But the time for the Fusion Force has ended. This era needs new heroes to protect EVO Kind and all those who are different or who choose to love differently. It needs living wonders like yourself. But whenever you need counsel or advice, my wife and I will be here.”

In that split moment, Rodney knew what his hero name was and his new purpose. To protect the world as its greatest defender…Wonder.

THE END