Chương 1: R&R1 Ch. 1 — Holes Through Reality

Nicholas couldn't see the point in gaining super powers if he didn't do it on his own. And he was certain he had finally figured it out. Worst-case scenario, he would just have to go back to the drawing board and try again, but he had a good feeling about this one. It was an open secret that Belief was one of the differences in someone going from normal to superhero.

What that meant was widely debated, as were the other components, but he figured the trick was to have an almost unreasonably brazen level of self-confidence. And after over a decade of research and experimenting with catalysts, he hoped this was the one. After so long, he had to believe this was the one. Long term, a failure was just a setback; he had faced that before. But it all circled back to the idea of belief. Nicholas had to believe that this was the one, otherwise it was going to fail.

The part of the puzzle he had been working on for the past three years was how to make his belief stand out more than any other random schmuck on the street who believed in themselves. If he was certain he believed enough, all he had to do was get the attention of the arbiter of super powers. And he was pretty certain he had figured out a way to amplify the volume artificially. He couldn't just believe more, but volume was an axis he was confident in.

Even if logically someone would say it was a nonsensical solution. That didn't matter when people could change reality on a whim. All that mattered was that he was certain. You didn't need to be right to gain power; you needed to believe with your heart of hearts that it was correct. And Nicholas was betting everything that he had it figured out. He just needed to make his way through the school day so he could go home. Actually, Nicholas didn't need to go to all of his classes or even most of them.

His parents would be less than pleased, but who cared after he became a super? Get powers, receive training, and become a superhero. It was about as simple as he could make it. He also couldn't say one way or another what power he wanted, which put a hamper on his capacity to envision himself as a hero, but he knew he wouldn't stay local. Without a strong attachment to his home, he imagined he would be one of those roaming heroes at least until he found somewhere that spoke to him.

As for the ability that would take him there? He ideally imagined it would relate to metal or electricity. He had built the device he was going to use to broadcast his belief to the world in hopes it would resonate. If that didn't speak to powers over electricity and or metal, he wasn't sure what did. While you could guarantee being super eventually, you couldn't guarantee what ability they'd get.

Some of the Pinnacle families reportedly had the ability to guarantee what type of powers someone got, but honestly, Nicholas considered that a foolish theory. They probably just rolled the dice enough times for a similar power to show up. Even if all powers were unique, there were only so many ways the ability to go fast could be twisted.

The bell rang, dismissing them for lunch, and Nicholas faced the decision of deciding between eating so he could tackle the finale with his full concentration available or if he went home now. He knew that despite leaving the zen state he had when he figured it all out, that switch could be flipped again at any time. He wasn't sure how or why he knew it was just instinctive knowledge sitting in his brain. But he was going to leave it until it was time.

There was no reason to save it beyond that it felt right to him, so that's what he had to do. This whole thing was about belief.

"Hey Nicholas!" someone said, putting a hand on his shoulder. He flinched at the touch but turned around anyway. It was…he honestly wasn't sure what her name was. He hadn't bothered to learn it, and this class didn't have many people who volunteered to ask or answer questions anyway, so he hadn't gotten an opportunity to learn it.

"Yes?" Nicholas asked, closing his notebook. When he was younger, he had no qualms about sharing it, but at this point it was just a pain.

"I wanted to ask? Did you finally finish what you were working on?" She asked, letting him stand up and walking in front of him as they made their way out of the classroom.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, whenever you have a break, you're constantly scribbling in your notebook about something as if the universe doesn't exist, but today while you were doing that, suddenly you paused as if you figured it all out. And then just spent the rest of the day staring at the clock." She said as if it were perfectly normal to watch Nicholas. He was pretty sure it wasn't normal.

"And you've been watching me because?" Nicholas asked. More concerningly, they were walking the path he always took to lunch. A stalker was irritating. Worse, he didn't know why?

"What if I said it was because you were super cute and I had a crush on you?" The girl asked, leaning her head down to look Nicholas in the eye as she gave him what he'd call a flirty smile.

"I would say you were lying to me." Nicholas didn't know her name, but he recognized her enough. She was popular and did some sport; as far as he could remember, she was quite good at it too. Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. She wouldn't be interested.

"Wow, way to break a girl's heart. I am sensitive, you know," she said with a sniff, spinning around to take the stairs safely.

"Sorry?" Nicholas shrugged. He wasn't that sorry.

"But if you really want to know, it is something between vibes and a nose for the exciting. And there's just something telling me you're going to be really fun." She said, giving him another grin as she spun around to walk backwards again. Nicholas paused as he thought about that one. She wasn't wrong. If he was right, his life was going to be incredibly interesting. Though he wasn't so caught off guard by the situation to miss an important fact. She was lying.

Not about the wanting to talk to him; regrettably, he was pretty sure she was telling the truth about that one. But it was the color of the statement that was the lie, and he had no way to figure out what it was or to call her out on it.

"So, are you waiting for me to do something amazing?"

"Nah, if you were going to do something amazing, I doubt it would be at school. You seem like the type to not want anyone else to take your credit. And I doubt you'll let me follow you home like a lost puppy, so I'm just hanging out till you ditch."

"You knew?"

"Psh nope, but it's a Friday, so I figured everyone ditches. I know I do."

"Also, you're not a lost puppy. I am certain you know the way home." Nicholas pointed out as they made their way outside and towards the senior parking. He ate at his car on a normal day, so the fact he was going home after he ate just doubled the reasons to go.

"Spiritually, I am pretty sure I am a labrador."

"I don't know how to parse that."

"You're supposed to ask me for my phone number."

"That wasn't part of the questioning." She sighed, shrugging.

"So what are your thoughts on Brynhild?" she asked as if the change in subject was perfectly normal.

"The hero?"

"Yeah, I'm curious. I think the bitch is crazy. Probably controlling to her family as well," she said, shoving her hands into her coat pockets as she laughed at some joke Nicholas didn't get.

"No idea. She's one of the top nine. We live in one of the cities protected by her. Beyond that, I haven't thought about it." Nicholas said. There were many things you could say about the Pinnacles, the nine individuals that stood at the peak of power, and the two group equivalents. After the world had gained the super system, those eleven had been the ones to bring the world back together and were what continued to do so. By any means necessary.

Nicholas wouldn't call any Pinnacle good unless it was to their face; then, he would happily sing their praises. But they kept the world stable enough. Once he reached that point, he would change the world. For now, the plan was only to gain power and start making an impact locally.

"Psh, my favorite is the Star System team." She said with a whistle.

"But I want to reach higher than all the Ppinnacles." She looked at him again, her grin nearly feral.

"Don't you?" Nicholas thought about lying for a second. He would not hide his dreams.

"I'm going to reach higher," Nicholas said confidently.

"That is the exact attitude I want out of my sidekick now give me your hand!" she said, holding her hand out demandingly.

"What do you mean?" Nicholas asked, giving her his hand regardless. It wasn't like he had much of a reason to say no.

"You'll see, I'm sure. Now whenever you finish your super secret plan, call me," she said, returning his hand to him, now marred with her phone number and name. He was glad to see it was right that it started with a J. He had been talking to Jasmine the whole time. He took a moment to look at her again, trying to see if he could figure out what was lurking behind her expression. Jasmine, for her part, seemed inscrutable, spinning a pen between her fingers as her other hand played with the necklace she was wearing.

"You could have just put it in my phone."

"I figured you would remember this better." Jasmine said, smiling.

"So, you want to eat with me, sidekick, or are you going to head home right away?"

"I am going to eat first so I can focus properly, but let's make one thing clear." Nicholas said practically scowling as he looked up into her eyes.

"I'm nobody's sidekick."

"Well, just teammates then?"

"How about partners?" Nicholas offered.

"Partners is a lot better. Alright, Nicholas, I'll match you." Jasmine said, holding out a hand to shake his.

"Nice of you to make sure your pen doesn't smudge." Nicholas said, shaking her hand with the one unmarred by her pen strokes. Jasmine gave him a wave before bounding back inside the school, leaving Nicholas to wonder if that had actually just happened or if he had imagined the whole thing. He was relatively sure that it wasn't his imagination. Whatever that was, it wasn't what he needed to focus on. He was going to tap into the new rules of reality, and that was going to require all of his focus.

With neither of his parents' home, he had the house to himself, but he went to his garage lab immediately. It had originally been his school study space when he was younger to teach him habits, but once he was older, his parents had let him use it as a lab for his dream. They didn't believe in him, and they made sure he still applied for college for a real job, but they tried to support him as much as they could outside of those two rules. Honestly, the device he had built was probably junk.

It received brainwaves and then it just emitted them as sound. To anyone else, it was just scrap that someone had put together. But for Nicholas, it was his key. Once it was all warmed up, he put the helmet on his head and set the program to activate in a minute. Now was the easy part. What was belief to him? And easier than that, why did he believe in himself? Belief without evidence was blind faith, but you didn't need to know everything to believe. And he certainly believed in himself.

Thirteen years of this dream. Since he won a raffle and got to be rescued during a superhero event. He never gave up on himself. He learned, he researched, and Nicholas pushed himself to see even beyond it. He wasn't expecting anyone else to pick up the slack for his effort because he had gone the whole way. Memories flowed through him of his efforts and everything he had done that led him up to this point. The living testament to his will whined as it emitted the sound that he hoped would serve as the key.

A switch was flipped in his brain; cracks appeared at the edge of his vision as he once more entered the zen state he had reached hours ago when finishing his plans. And just like last time, he knew. He could wait, and the machine would finish and punch him through reality, and grant him his powers. But he knew more now. For whatever reason, more information was before him. And it gave him another option. He could push it open now.

No reason for him to wait any longer for the dream he had chased tirelessly after; the race could finally begin.

"I will Ascend."