[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/251130/5888b158b257acb3bcd64a3f3b46ef69.png[/img]
Suburbs outside of Metropolis[/center]

Zach’s phone vibrated nonstop.

98,412 unread messages.
#ZATARAMAGIC trending.
Clips from his stream had been turned into memes. The internet worked fast.

Zach closed his eyes and groaned. [color=darkviolet]“Great. I finally go viral and it’s because I accidentally reenacted the opening scene of a horror movie.”[/color] He picked up his wand. A cheap, black and white magician’s wand he bought for the aesthetic. Now it was glowing with purple energy. Very much unlike a two-dollar party prop. [color=darkviolet]“Okay,”[/color] he whispered, pacing in a circle. [color=darkviolet]“Okay okay okay. So… that wasn’t CGI. That wasn’t a trick. That was…”[/color] His voice cracked. [color=darkviolet]“…real magic.”[/color]

As if offended by the weakness in his tone, the wand flickered brighter.

Zach jumped. [color=darkviolet]“Excuse me? I’m working through something here. Chill.”[/color]

This wasn’t a prank. This wasn’t a bit. This wasn’t him trying to emulate his uncle in his bedroom with dollar-store props. This… whatever it was… is something bigger than him.

His laptop pinged. A news alert lit up the screen:

“MYSTERIOUS FLYING MAN SAVES HUNDREDS — MID-AIR PLANE DISASTER AVERTED.”
Daily Planet Exclusive
Eyewitnesses report a man wielding impossible strength and flight pulling the aircraft to safety.

Zach blinked hard. It was an article from a month ago. Zach had no reason to pay attention to this stuff before. But after this incident, he had reason to now.

A flying man? Like… actually flying? Not a drone, not special effects, not a publicity stunt? His heart raced. If other impossible things were happening… publicly, visibly, then what happened to him wasn’t a fluke. It wasn’t a hallucination brought on by stress or sugar-free energy drinks. It meant he wasn’t the only one changing.

The wand warmed in his hand again. Almost like it agreed.

Zach swallowed. [color=darkviolet]“…okay. So superhumans are real. Cool. Awesome. Not terrifying at all.”[/color] But his voice trembled. [color=darkviolet]“I need answers,”[/color] he whispered. [color=darkviolet]“Someone out there knows what’s going on. Someone has to.”[/color] He took one last look at the glowing wand. [color=darkviolet]“I’m going into Metropolis.”[/color] Then, after a beat, he added quickly. [color=darkviolet]“And I am absolutely not telling my parents.”[/color]