Long Live the King || unOrdinary

As the Embers Rose

"Thanks for shopping with us!" Adrion said as he handed the bag of groceries to William.

William waved as he began to walk away. "See you next week!"

As he walked away from U-Mart, William thought back to a time when he and Jane were walking through town at night. They were walking home after a date, and William had asked her why she'd chosen him. Her answer had been his words. Despite his powerlessness, he always spoke out against the social norm. He wrote from the heart.

And she loved him for that.

William, in his mind, vowed to continue fighting to make sure that they could get the life they deserved. A life where all three of them could live peacefully, not having to worry about the authorities and their constant, incessant meddling in their lives.

Once he'd gotten home, he began putting away the groceries. When he was nearly done, there was a knock at his door. William opened the door to see a tall blue haired man in a professional looking suit. Next to him, was a short, mousy looking woman.

"Good afternoon," the man said. "I'm Jude, from the Bureau."

William hesitated for a moment. "Can I help you?" he asked.

The man stepped inside, closing the door behind him. "Excuse the intrusion."

"Hey, I didn't say you could come inside," William said defensively. "What's going on?"

Jude glared at him menacingly. To his surprise, William didn't seem to react much. "The Bureau has discovered a book called Untitled floating around online," he explained. "Ten days ago, you leaked it on multiple outlets, knowing full well it would result in another vigilante uprising."

William kept his composure. "Sir, I have no idea what you're talking about—"

"Don't lie, William," he interrupted. "The Bureau sees all. We've already warned you once before. A year ago, we spared you after the release of Unordinary. Since then, it hasn't been easy for us. Even now, we're still cleaning up after the mess you made. But instead of being grateful for the mercy you recieved, you turned around and bit us again."

"Respectfully," William replied, a hint of defiance in his voice. "Maybe if the authorities did their jobs properly, one simple story wouldn't cause such a commotion."

Jude gritted his teeth and grabbed William by the collar of his shirt, slamming him hard against the wall. "You filthy cripple!" Jude growled, his voice booming with authority. "Who gave you permission to talk back?"

Blood began to trickle down William's forehead. Despite this, he smirked confidently. "Oh," he said smugly. "Did I hit a nerve?"

"So smug for someone so weak," Jude said. "Tell me, William. Did you think Jane's immunity would save you?"

William's eyes widened. "What? How did you know about—?"

"Simon?" Jude asked, smiling at the switch in William's composure. "The PI you hired to look into Jane? It's unfortunate, really. If we had gotten rid of him sooner, things wouldn't have come to this."

William realized now, the reason Simon wasn't returning his calls is because...

He's dead.

"Y-you f*cking murdere—"

Jude grabbed William's jaw tightly, squeezing hard. "Allow me to explain," he said, his eyes now glowing with the activation of his ability. "Breaking into government facilities and stealing sensitive information is an executable offense." He smiled again. "As is inciting a vigilante uprising."