Benefactors

Chapter 1: The Inferno

June 24, 2015; 1632 HRS

Rokette Household; Front Lawn

"Batta-bing! Batta-boom! You're down Ben." I shouted as I lifted and shot my toy gun at him. He kept running, darting from tree to tree. "What are you doing? I got you straight in the head!" I yelled.

"Ha, no you didn't." he retorted. "What?! The foam bullet bounced straight off your head. How could you not feel the plastic tip on that thing?" He grabbed the foam bullet and stuck it in his nerf gun. As he did, I aimed my toy gun and fired the last of the ammo on him. Sighing, I said "I'm going to get some juice."

"Ah come on, it's only a game." Ben said. "Whatever, I want juice. Apple juice to be exact." I said while climbing up the stairs to the front door. "Are you going to come back outside?" he asked. "Juice!" I shouted and shut the front door.

I grabbed a clear, plastic cup from the cupboard and took the apple juice from the refrigerator. The front door opened and closed behind me "You want some juice too?"

"What kind?"

"Unless you're deaf, I'm pretty sure you heard me yelling apple. Am I mistaken?" I shook the bottle in my hand, showing it to Ben. "Want it or not?"

"Yeah, sure."

I took out another cup and filled it with the refreshing beverage. "Come and get it." I said leaving his cup on the counter and taking mine to the table. He gave a slight huff of amusement. "Ready to watch The Inferno tonight?" I asked him. "We've seen it like a million times, give it a rest." He groaned. "How can I give Inferno a rest. You know I'm like the second biggest superhero fan in this family, right by Dad." I laughed and started quoting an epic battle between my favorite hero and his nemesis, Shard, from comic book issue number 276. 

"Out of the ashes he rose. His heart burning as bright as his flaming power! He wasn't going down without a fight and a few choice words. Tonight, Shard would pay for all crimes he had committed in his time. For even though Inferno was still healing from the ice shard that penetrated his-" I was getting into the moment, but Ben cut me off. 

"Oh go read a comic book or something Natasha."

"Maybe I will." I gulped down the rest of the juice and dumped the cup in the sink. Then, while walking to my room, I shouted to the top of my lungs the rest of the quote. "For even though Inferno was healing from the ice shard that penetrated his chest, nothing was going to stop him this time. Shard threatened to kill an innocent if Inferno didn't show. Against all odds, Inferno fought." I stopped and found that the moment died. Therefore, I knelt down to my comics and picked through them carefully like I was touching a brittle sea shell that could give way at any second. 

Let's see. Which comic book shall I read today? Alpha and Beta: The Omega Valors perhaps? I shifted through my small collection of comics. May not be the Twin comics, but Wonder Comics was pretty cool too. 

"Alpha and Beta locked their arms, back to back. It was time for their most powerful, energy draining move. They had no other choice to defeat the most bodacious villain they've ever faced, Sigma. They felt their energy draining, but their power increasing. Suddenly with a force of a nuclear blast-"

I heard the door open swiftly and close with a thud.

Wonder who's there. Quickly, I escaped my imaginative realm and sprinted lightly through the hallway. "Oh hey, you're home. Hi Mom." I said, peering around the corner, like a stealthy ninja.

"Hi Natasha, how was your day?" Mom asked. "It was normal. Chores, playing outside, the occasional comic book." I smiled. Mom looked at me with knowing eyes "By occasional you mean you've read three comic books today?" I rocked back and forth a few times "Maybe..."

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Later at dinner, "Ben, pass me the salt please." Sounded the deep voice of our Dad. "No." remarked Ben, in a snotty voice. Quickly though, Ben grabbed the salt and gave it to him. I sat next to Dad and quietly watched as he loosened the top of the salt shaker under the table. "Here Ben, put it back." He said as he passed the salt to Ben. As Ben grabbed the top of the salt shaker, the lid slipped off and salt went everywhere. "Salt storm!" I cried out. "What?" I asked as all six eyes went on me "It's a real storm, look it up."

"Ernest!" Mom growled. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. I melted down into my seat as Dad laughed a bit and got up to clean the mess. "Relax Raquel" Dad patted her back "Just a small joke."

Mom glared at him then, nodded her head. "It was a bit funny. Now clean it up."

"So..." I began "Who's up for The Inferno tonight?"

Mom nodded her head "Sure, after you and your brother clean up the kitchen. And once the salt is cleared from this table."

"Not a problem, I clean it every day." I scooped up my plate and walked to the sink. Setting the plate on the counter. "Ben you have leftovers and clean up as usual? I got dishes?"

"Yeah." He picked up his plate and dumped it in the sink. "Let's do this." I said, eyes narrowed. I organized the dishes on the counter and filled the sink with warm soapy water. I tried to do a hibachi grill trick with one of the plates. Good thing I did that with a plastic plate. 

Scrub, Rinse, Strainer, Repeat. Scrub, Rinse, Strainer, Repeat. And after fifteen minutes of that, finally the moment I've been waiting for all day...

The Inferno! Attorney by day, flaming law-giver by night. The perfect combination of fire and justice. Risking his life to save the day, solving the mysteries. One might think you could never do something like that. Well that's right how I want my life. Benefiting others and solving the puzzle before me.

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HELLO WATTPAD LOVERS, WRITERS, AND READERS! Dart here and I'm just glad to say that this first chapter seems like it's worth something. This chapter was simply written for you all to understand our main character's point of view. A quirky, but noble one. Stay tuned for more updates!

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RECONSTRUCTED