I Will Be The Greatest Hero

4. Past Memories

Guardian stood there surprised for the first time in his life by what the boy had said. He had expected him to jump on the offer, anyone would have but this normal highschooler said no.

Rafe looked at the expression he had never seen in the face of his favourite hero for a long time before finally saying. "I don't meant to be rude or anything Mr Guardian, it's just that me getting my powers from someone else sounds shady. If you send me your powers and you lose yours I'm not sure how the world would cope, regardless I'm not sure I really want to be a hero."

Guardian was still short for words giving Rage more time to speak.

"I still have a whole life ahead of me." Rafe spoke and for the first time his hands did not tremble one bit. "I don't feel comfortable becoming a hero from taking your mantle or your powers. I know this sounds much but if I did want to be a hero I would rather do it with my own power and since I don't have one I might as well give up on that dream."

Guardian said nothing for a long time and soon minutes started to pass. When he finally regained his composure he spoke. "Honestly speaking that was a little surprising but understandable. But if you are interested in being a hero there are other ways to make one a superhuman but they are not guaranteed."

Rafe sighed in relief before asking. "Thank you for understanding sir. But did you really mean it when you said you could give me your powers?"

Guardian smiled and said. "I don't think that's important now is it?"

That left Rafe without an answer but he was at least satisfied that things did not go down another route. He still considered himself young to want to be an hero, even if he could be one a superhuman he still had a mother he hoped to take care off and a life to live. He knew being a superhero was a lot of work, at best he would make it as a sidekick to a great hero like Guardian.

Rafe sighed and dropped his head, his gaze on the shadow of the huge jerk. "Heroes aren't really special anyway, they are just people with authorized to wear tights and use their powers as they wish. You're the only one that actually represents something."

Guardian raised a questioning eyebrow and spoke. "Now where is this coming from?" He did not expect the boy who had notes on him to speak in such a way.

Rafe opened his mouth and spoke in a heavy voice, "Don't tell me heroes are righteous, my father died because of a hero. If I am going to save others I will do it my way."

Hearing that Guardians face became conflicted as he spoke. "Your father died because of a hero?"

Rafe's heart felt heavy as he relieved the moment in his mind. "It was a normal day back from the store with my parents, outside the store there was this small swing I and my friends used to play by. I planned to go there with them and have a few swings, that was when a villain appeared."

Rafe paused a bit before saying again. "The destruction left in their way threw everyone in danger, there were people hurt. My father jumped in to help despite my mother's pleas, he was a cop. And a good one, he saved a good number of people that day, more than the hero ever did. In the end he was caught in the cross hairs and left to die under a cat wreck."

"Do you know the most vexing thing, the hero was the one causing the destruction and not the villain. The villain chose to retreat then, the hero saw my father hurt and dying, he did nothing but turn around and give chase to the villain."

Rafe gritted his teeth as his spoke, his hands called into fists as he spoke. "He threw away his promise to put the lives of the innocent left and left. My father died that day a true hero leaving my mother devastated, the news made the hero sound useful and my father just a brave cop. It made me hate heroines more to see that even the press covered up their asses but you changed that."

"Time and time again you have always put the people first. I have come to admire you as a hero and not the other nobodies." He looked up at his favourite hero with a determined look in his eyes.

The Guardian said nothing for a while before thinking to himself. "This boy could have easily gone for the darker path of a villain but he stayed in the light because of me." He knew how careful he would have to choose his words with such a boy.

Guardian went on his knees and apologised to the boy, even on his knees he still tired over the boy. "Apologies can not make up for the mistakes for other but I can assure you the her world is also full of better heroes such as myself."

Rafe looked away and said. "Please, take me home."

Guardian could sense his heavy heart, he replied. "Sure, Rafe." It was hard to relieve his father's death caused by a hero's absence of duty. It was not the first time and Guardian did not think it would be the last.