Since the beginning of time, human beings were born with talents and abilities that aided them in their progress through life. However, once in a while, a selected few are born with extraordinary abilities. These beings became known as superhumans. Some tried to suppress these powers and get on with their lives, while others chose to use them for good, therefore becoming what you call superheroes. 

The greatest and most famous of these superheroes was the State Force, a group of elite heroes formed in the 1800s. They were true heroes who vowed to protect their country of origin from evil. Then one day, during the Civil War, the State Force disappeared without a trace. Since then, our world went on without superheroes. However, the State Force wasn't fully forgotten; their legacy lived on through comic books of many different superheroes.

And someday...maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday...the State Force will be brought back. 

–Professor Theodore Julius Flores, 
Founder and Leading Scientist of the HRF 

2: Chapter One

Mount Rushmore.

A mountain in the Black Hills of South Dakota, noted for its giant relief carvings of four US presidents. Construction of the carvings started in 1927 and ended in 1941. Since then, Mount Rushmore has been listed as both a National Landmark and a popular tourist attraction. But it also contained a secret. In fact, it is one of the most dangerous secrets that anyone had the misfortune of knowing.

And right at this minute, a plump looking man was nervously climbing up the mountain. His brown beady eyes looked in all directions as he climbed, it was as if he was afraid he will be spotted. After reaching the top of the head of Thomas Jefferson, he pushed aside the bushes that were growing between the thin cracks in the white stone. Hidden beneath the bushes was a trapdoor with the symbol of Iota etched into the wood.  

He opened the trapdoor and stumbled inside, trying to suppress his anxiety as he walked deeper into the mountain. When he reached the base of the mountain, he knocked on the double door with the same symbol etched into it.

'You may enter.' An oily voice said from the other side as the doors opened by themselves. The man straightened himself up and tentatively entered the room. 

Red tainted plaster covered the walls while the floor was made of mahogany wood. Mounted on the walls were old newspaper headlines and human skulls. In the centre of the room was a large computer screen showing a map of America. A tall, lanky figure in a black cape watched the screen with his back turned.

'Hello again, Boris.' The figure said, 'What news do you have for me?'

The man called Boris stuttered, 'W-well, your Purpleness, I th-think you'll be h-happy when I say I've finally located the Aurarite, just like you ordered me to do.'

The figure tightened his grip on the keyboard, 'I'm impressed. Maybe you're not as useless as I thought you were after all.'

'That's probably the nicest thing you've ever said to me.' Boris said bashfully.

'Yeah, but don't get used to it. Anyway, where is the Aurarite?'

'Ah, y-yes. If I may...' Boris took out a small remote control and pressed a yellow button. Instantly, the image on the screen zoomed in to the state of New York, 'I've located the Aurarite in this state. Frankly, I'm not surprised it was the Empire State in the end.' He muttered the last sentence to himself. 

'New York? Laaaame.'

'Actually, New York isn't like that,' Boris countered, 'It's home to the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, and I've heard Central Park is really nice this time of year-'

'Boris,' The irate figure interrupted, silencing the henchman, 'I do not want a geography lesson, I want answers. Now, tell me where in God's name the Aurarite is located in that pigsty of a state?'

'Eep! Y-yes sir.' Boris stammered. He pressed another button and the image zoomed right in to a small island beside Long Island, 'The Aurarite is in a city called Spitontopolis.'

'Spitontopolis? What a stupid name for a city.' The figure replied, 'Seriously, who was the douchebag who called it that? No matter, I will deploy a drone to retrieve the Aurarite at nightfall. You may go, Boris, and I expect that door to be closed properly.'

'Y-yes, sir. Th-th-thank you, sir.' With that said, Boris raced out of the room, closing the door behind him on the way.

Once he was alone, the figure grinned evilly in the dim light and leaned in closer to the screen, 'Oh, America. Sweet, sweet America. You've always been a real pain in my ass. You inspired many other countries to fight tyranny and managed to upset everything for roughly three centuries. You were European originally, and you turned your back on that continent. You may got half the world on your side, but you're still exposed from within. And I plan to take advantage of it, or my name isn't Doctor Magenta!'

He laughed maniacally after that, echoing the entire mountain.

3: Chapter Two

Around the same time, a young teen was trying to catch up to the school bus in the city of Spitontopolis. For those of you wondering what Spitontopolis is, it's a city located on a small island right beside Long Island. Like most states in the country, Spitontopolis is split between its metropolis and its suburbs, with most of the citizens located in the latter. The metropolis area is mainly used for jobs and the like.

But that's enough about Spitontopolis, instead focus your attention on the fourteen year-old light-brunette calling out to the bus.

'Stop!' He yelled as he tried to keep up, 'Stop the the bus!' 

His name was Mark Anderson. 

Like most citizens in the city, Mark lived in the suburban area of Spitontopolis with his younger sister, Lucy. Although she is a year younger than him, they are in the same grade in their school, Spitontopolis High. At school, Lucy is the student body president who is generally respected by her fellow peers and considered one of the most popular kids in school, while Mark is...not so much. Mark is a good kid, but has trouble standing out and is picked on by most of his peers. It could be because his whole life has been one screw-up after another. That, and he was pretty much a nobody.
Yes, like every story worth telling, this is about a nobody who became somebody by saving his whole city. But we'll get to that part soon enough.

Mark had a very good reason to yell at the driver to stop the bus. Today, his class were going on a field trip to the local science facility. Unfortunately, Mark forgot to set his alarm clock last night and overslept. Which is why we're right at this very part in the story.

'Stop driving! C'mon!' Mark desperately called out. His feet were getting tired but he still pushed himself to catch up, despite the bus driving further away from him.

Fortunately, faith was on his side today because at that moment, Peter Rotinsike came driving up beside Mark with a rocket launcher attached to the boot of his car. Peter was Mark and Lucy's next door neighbour. At six years of age, Peter was known as a child genius because he was far more advanced than the average kid and he spent a lot of his time making bizarre and sometimes really impressive inventions. He even had the appearance of a genius, with his white lab coat, sandy Einstein hair and thick, square-rimmed glasses. It was no wonder he skipped a lot of grades and moved on to college in one year.   

'Hi, Mark.' He greeted casually.

'Hey...' Mark greeted back, slightly out of breath.

'Do you need a lift?'

'That depends. Do you know where the science facility is?'

'You mean the one down the road?'

'Yeah, just follow that school bus.'

'Right, hop in.' Peter pressed a button beside the steering wheel and the passenger door swung open. Mark wasted no time in jumping into the car, resulting in all his stuff spilling out of his bag and onto the floor in front of him.

'Dammit.' Mark cursed while Peter closed the passenger door. As they followed the school bus down the road, Mark was putting all his stuff back into the bag, 'God, you wouldn't believe the morning I had.' 

'I'm guessing you didn't set your alarm clock last night, and you were in a rush to get to the school bus on time.' Peter remarked, 'Which was why your school bag was open. Plus, your hair is a little messy.'

'Messy...right...' Mark muttered, subconsciously feeling his light-brown hair to see how messy it was, 'So, Peter, what's with the rocket?' He gestured to the boot.

'I'm trying to invent an automobile that can break the sound barrier.' Peter explained, 'A car that will get you anywhere. I'm thinking of calling it a Sonicmobile, the automobile of tomorrow.' He leaned towards Mark, 'The name will stick. Trust me.'

Mark could only nod at that response.

'So, your class is going to the science facility.' It was more a statement than a question, 'I heard the professors there have recently discovered a special rock somewhere in Asia. They're calling it an Aurarite, I think. A lot of scientists will be going crazy over it, myself included.'

'Over one rock?' Mark wondered in disbelief.

'The mind wants what the mind wants, Mark.'

'But you're only six.'

'And a half.'

'That's not the point.'

Peter shrugged his shoulders, 'All I'm saying is it's not everyday a special rock gets discovered. Oh, by the way, Lucy wanted me to remind you that tomorrow's the Cake Fair in your school.'

Mark raised an eyebrow, 'Why did she tell you that?'

'Because she's like a sister to me and tells me everything.' Peter said simply, 'You guys are the siblings I never had. That, and you didn't answer her when she tried to call.'

'Right...well, I might have to take a day off to study.' Mark said.

Peter raised his eyebrow at him. He's lying. He thought, but decided not to bring that up. Besides, they already arrived at the science facility anyway, 'All right, we're here. Have fun at the facility.'

'Actually, my form of 'fun' is trying not to get killed.' Mark said as he got out of the car.

'LOOSER!' Just as Mark stepped onto the pavement, someone threw a ball at his head. It didn't knock him out, but it did give him a giant migraine.

Peter sighed, 'Good luck in there, Mark. You're gonna need it.' He then pulled out of the driveway and drove down the road.

4: Chapter Three

The science facility everyone went to was shaped like a glass dome, only half of the roof was made of glass only. Inside the facility, the class was led by Professor Chatterjee, a scientist from India. He led the class down the corridors as he showed them around the facility.

'As you know, the HRF is one of the leading research facilities in the world.' He explained to the students, 'Here, you kids are at the very heart of the future as we local scientists contribute to the advancement of science.' He led them to an automatic double door, 'You kids are in for a real treat today because we're about to show you our current discoveries.'

Without another word, the doors slid open to a room full of meteorites and crystals. The students looked in awe at the ceiling, which showed an exact, glowing replica of the galaxy.

'Yes, presenting the Rock Room!' Chatterjee exclaimed. The students looked at each other in confusion, some of them murmuring about the room having a dumb name, 'Pause for effect,' He muttered, 'The Rock Room is where we research meteorites and chunks of a destroyed planet that fell from space.'

Mark raised an eyebrow, '"Chunks of a destroyed planet.'"

'Or a comet, depending on what falls down to the earth.' Chatterjee added, 'Anyway, feel free to look around. Our only rule is no touching the space rocks.'

And so, the students split up to admire the space rocks. During that time, some of them shoved Mark aside, and one even purposely stepped on his foot. Mark gasped, trying to hold back a scream. That was when Lucy came over to him.

Lucy was about the same height as Mark with big green eyes and long, brown hair that grew past her shoulders. Her physique was very slender, hidden underneath a pink t-shirt and brown jeans. It was no wonder she was one of the popular kids. She looked at Mark with concern, 'Mark, are you okay?'

Mark gave her a thumbs-up and forced a smile, 'Oh, yeah, it's just the heat getting to me.'

Lucy glared over her shoulder at the sneers and snickering Mark was receiving from her classmates. With an irritated sigh, she grabbed her brother's arm and pulled him a little further away from everyone else, 'There's no point in staying together with them if we have to put up with that.' She that last word with so much venom.

'You don't have to watch my back, Lucy.' Mark said.

'You're my brother, Mark. Siblings need protection.' Lucy argued.

'Protection? But I'm older.'

At that moment, the doors slid open behind them. A big man with dark brown skin, half-lidded brown eyes and a bald head waltzed into the room with what looked like toilet paper in his hands. He wore a clean white lab coat over a expensive looking brown suit. Basically, he looked like someone who would wear the fanciest of outfits and wouldn't care what happened to them.

'Shit...that's the last time I eat something from a Thai restaurant.' He said aloud, without noticing the students. He rubbed his back, 'Man, I should never have slept on that toilet.'

Lucy closed her eyes and made a noise that sounded like disgust. It was then that the man noticed the students watching him, 'Aw man, I forgot there was a class coming.'

'Ah, and here he is.' Chatterjee said as he walked up to him, 'Kids, this is Professor Theodore Jules Flores, the founder and head of the HRE.'

'Please, Chatterjee, try not to flatter me.' Professor Flores joked. He smiled warmly at the students, 'I prefer to be called Professor Flores for short, or simply Professor, depending on what suits you.' He outstretched his hands, 'Anyway, I see before me a group of youngsters who have the potential to succeed, to be the best. I know you all have a long way to go, but remember: the future belongs to you. Please, enjoy the tour.'

And so, the students continued looking around the Rock Room. From the corner of his eye, Mark saw Professer Flores talking with Chatterjee. From the solem looks on their faces, it sounded pretty serious. However, Mark knew it was none of his business, so he decided to not know what they were chatting about.

'LOOSER!' Someone yelled and threw a random ball at Mark's head again.

'Ow!' Mark exclaimed as he rubbed his sore head, 'Who keeps doing that?'

'Hey, knock it off, asshole!' Lucy yelled at whoever hit Mark in the head.

'No yelling in the Rock Room, please.' A random professor said.

Mark shook his head, 'Mark...is your head okay?' Lucy asked.

'Yeah, I'm fine...but my bladder isn't.' Mark said. He walked over to one of the professors and asked where the nearest bathroom was.

'The bathroom is the seventh door to the left.'

'Thank you.' Mark then went towards the double doors. Unfortunately, because he was still in a daze from the hit in the head, he accidentally walked straight into a wall. After realising the doors wasn't there, he walked towards the correct doors.

'As you may know, most of these space rocks were donated to us from special astronomers in New York,' Professor Flores explained to Lucy and some students as he led them around the room, 'Although, they do have the dumb-ass habit of miscalculating the number of comets.' He said that sentence more to himself than to the others, 'Anyway, our current research lies in this.'

He led them to a laptop resting on a desk. He typed something into the laptop and an image of some meteorite popped up. Unlike the other meteorites, this one had a blueish glow surrounding it, 'The Aurarite. A special rock that was extracted from the earth in Asia. Scientists believe this rock represents remnants of the earth's core. To see if this theory is true, we used a special machine to turn the Aurarite into a liquid, kind of like a serum, except without any injecting involved. We hid the serum in a secret location in this building, away from greedy hands.'

One student raised a hand, 'Can you tell us where the secret location is?'

'If I tell you then I'd have to kill you.' Professor Flores said casually, causing the students to gasp in terror. He chuckled, 'I'm only kidding, I'm not actually gonna kill you. Man, look at your faces. But seriously, the location of the serum is highly classified. Everyone who is in on the project took extra precautions to ensure it was safety protected.'

—

Mark sighed in relief after flushing the toilet and exiting the cubicle. He really needed to empty his bladder. Yes, Lucy told him to do it before they left but he overslept, so he never really had a chance to do the task.

He went over to the sink to wash his hands, the smell of citrus fruits coming from the soap dispenser. He knew a lot of people never used soap dispensers but hygiene was still hygiene, and he preferred to be one of those very few people who liked to keep his hands clean.

So, imagine Mark's surprise when he pressed his hand against the small dispenser. The mirror slid open to reveal a computer, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Not cool! Not cool!' Mark exclaimed and took a step back. A metal arm holding a syringe that contained a glowing blue liquid slid out of the computer.

'Welcome to the HRF Bathroom.' The computer said in a female voice, 'You have discovered the location of the Aurarite serum. Please, identify yourself.'

Mark cautiously walked towards the computer, 'Who are...?'

'Language trace complete.' The computer said, 'Dialect English, colloquial construction, fourteen years.'

'How did you-?' Mark began but was interrupted by the computer.

'Please speak your name.'

'Look, I'm not sure if-'

'You have entered the name "Bitchface."' The computer said, 'Is this correct, Bitchface?'

Mark blinked, 'What...no! No, that's not my name!'

'Thank you, Bitchface.' The computer said, 'Please hold still while I inject the serum into you.'

'Inject...oh nononono!' Mark paled considerably, 'No, abort whatever you're gonna do! Reject, reject!' He yelled in panic. There was no way in hell he was getting that strange liquid into him.

'Do you have a pass code?' The computer asked.

'No, I don't have a pass code!' Mark exclaimed in frustration.

'Request to cancel injection denied.' The computer replied. A second arm shot out and grabbed Mark's wrist, 'Thank you for taking part in the Aurarite Project, Bitchface.'

'No, stop! ABORT!' Mark yelled as the syringe was positioned into his arm.

Outside the bathrooms, a professor who was walking by heard a scream coming from the men's room. He chuckled to himself and continued walking, 'Sounds like someone can't handle their shit when taking a dump.'

—

'And here we have a rare collection of asteroids.' Professor Flores said as he showed the students a display case full of asteroids, 'We believe these bad boys came from the Asteroid Belt. All twenty different kinds.'

Lucy frowned, 'But...there's only nineteen in there.'

'Are you sure? It's very common to guess wrong.' The Professor pointed out.

'Count for yourself.'

Professor looked at her sceptically, but proceeded to mentally count the asteroids. He discovered with surprise that there really were nineteen asteroids in there, 'Oh, shit. Those guys at the observatory in New York messed up the numbers again. Damn.'

'Is one less asteroid a bad thing?' Lucy asked.

'Not necessarily.' Professor Flores said, 'We lost six Siberian tigers last month. The mess we had to go through to not get the poachers involved, I don't want to talk about.'

Lucy raised her hands, 'I don't want to know.' She then saw Mark walk into the room. She noticed he was swaying from side to side and his face looked very pale.

'Mark, there you are.' Lucy studied her brother's barely responsive expression, 'Where were you? I thought you only wanted to go to the bathroom. Did the jocks give you a hard time again?'

'I...I think I was injected in the arm by a computer hidden in the bathroom...' Mark mumbled so quietly that Lucy almost didn't hear him.

'That's what they all say.' Lucy said with a shake of her head, 'I swear to God, these field trips get more messed up every year.'

Mark raised his finger, almost as if he was about to say. But nothing came out of his mouth, especially after he suddenly fainted on the spot.