Within the next few weeks, Alex started his training program at the hero base. It started first with calisthenics to build up his endurance such as jumping jacks, bodyweight squats with hands behind his head, lunges, and pullups. Prime and the others motivated him and gave him pointers to get better. Despite the muscle soreness, he kept going. Once he got the hang of it, they moved him to weightlifting.


Within a month, he saw toned muscles on his lean frame. During his free time, he practiced his metal powers. He tried to move a heavy dumbbell, but it didn't budge.


Was it just a fluke or was it because of being in danger?, he wondered.

Along with his training program, he went to his father's boxing gym to take lessons. He got knocked down several times during his sparring sessions, but he kept getting up.

One day, he accompanied Barria, a Japanese female hero, on stopping a high-speed chase. Alex wore a mask with a mosaic of zeros and ones that form a face. His hero suit was a plain blue suit with yellow pads and the letter T in the middle of his chest that stands for Techno. Barria threw out a plasma wall in front of the car to stop them.

Alex turned off power to the vehicle which slowed to a stall. The robbers jumped out with guns blazing, but Barria quickly wrapped plasma around them like a boa constrictor. It squeezed them to the point that they collapse to the street. Barria pushed back a purple band of hair before Hi-5ing Alex for the work they did.

During his free time, Alex patrolled his neighborhood in his outfit. Some kids playing soccer invited him to play. He dribbled the ball down and successfully passed the ball back and forth on his team. A distraction with his feet scored the winning goal for his team. After taking some photos with them, he continued his patrol.

He also hung out with Anthony who later made him a database with an email link/phone number where those nearby could reach out to him.

"Would you like me to prioritize the tasks?", his best friend asked.

"Why?"

"I just don't want you to be burned out from doing too much. If it's a big project, it needs more time and care."

"I want to help as many as I can, but you're right. Prioritize, but let me know about the small tasks too. For some people, it matters a lot to them."

"You are going to do great", Anthony smiled. He's glad that part of Alex never changed.

Alex did some odd end jobs for the neighborhood ranging from fixing computer issues to fixing a TV signal. He fixed a TV signal at an old woman's place and "communicated" with the TV to make it easy to use for her. Anything to help her as she used a cane to get around.

"Thank you so much, young man. I could never understand how to do that stuff", as she went to give him money, but he gently closed her hand.

"It's fine, Mrs. Smith. If you have any other problems, you can call my number. I don't charge my neighbors for help."

She gave him a warm smile. "Would you like some cookies? I just baked some."

His nostrils were penetrated by the sweet aroma of rich chocolate. "Take a seat and I will get it."

"I need to get up anyway and keep myself mobile. 80 is no joke."

"80? You seem like 40 to me."

"You're so sweet", she laughed at his compliment.

She gave him a plate of cookies and respected his secret identity as he wolfed them down.

"Hmmmm. So good. Next time I help, can I get some of these cookies again?"

"I can give you the recipe for it if you want to learn."

"Sure, but I don't think they will be as good as yours."

He spent some time with her before leaving for his next job. He tapped his earpiece. "Anthony, label the previous job a pro bono."

"I understand. I got your next assignment, but it's outside the neighborhood. Hmmm."

"What is it?"

"It's nothing. I will send you the address and let her know you're on your way."

He took a cab to an apartment and rang the doorbell. A stunning middle-aged black woman who with wavy, black hair opened the door. Alex's heart almost leapt out of his chest. He cleared his throat after checking the tablet.

"H-Hi, I'm Techno. Are you Mrs. Tiffany Lakeson?"

"It's Ms. Lakeson. Been divorced for a bit but couldn't update the prefix. Come inside."

Alex walked into her place and saw packed up boxes to the side.

"Sorry about the mess. I'm moving soon."

"It's no problem. You said you had some trouble with your laptop?"

"It's been acting real slow lately and I don't know why. I pray you can fix it."

"You can count on me."

She sat beside him as he did his magic. He "communicated" with the laptop in his mind and it revealed the password to log-in.

"Let's see, Ms. Lakeson. I will do a routine check. I'm not going to pry into any of your pictures or anything like that."

"You can call me Tiffany if you like. I won't get in the way."

He found no games or any suspicious programs she downloaded. "Okay, so no viruses so far. I'm going to check your browser just to be sure."

He checked the browser history mentally.... His face blushed crimson under his mask as he found a lot of superhero related porn in her history.


I have one too?!


Tiffany stared at him while twirling with her hair.

"I think I found the issue. There is a lot of material you have seen lately."

"Is that so?", before throwing her shirt off and undoing her bra to reveal her voluptuous breasts. 

Alex was stunned as she took the device away to sit on his lap. Her fingers softly brush around his wide shoulders.

"You sound very handsome, Techno. I hear a Hispanic accent from you. I heard lots of good things about Latin men."

She tried to lift his mask up but he crawled backwards. She quickly got off of him and wore her shirt. He truly didn't expect this.

"I am so sorry. I did this on purpose and lied to you."

"W-why?"

"I...just haven't had any luck in my love life. My stupid ex-husband cheated and left me for a younger woman. Being middle aged and divorced kind of hurts your dating life", as her eyes averted away from him.

"T-That doesn't seem to be true. You look amazing. You have the body of a supermodel."

"Thanks. You can leave if you want. You won't hear from me again."

Alex tried to stop the heavy breaths from escaping his mouth. His mind thought about the rest of her body. "The reason that I backed away was also because I never had sex before."

"With your popularity, I assumed otherwise", her eyebrows rose up.

"I don't even have a girlfriend. Tiffany, I can't keep my eyes off of you. I don't have anywhere else to be. Your stupid ex doesn't want you, but te quiero mucho. Eres muy bella y yo quiero besarte." 

His Spanish made her gasp with excitement. She kissed the mouth of his mask to show her eagerness.

He "sent" a text to his family that he would be home late. He also sent one out to Anthony that it will take some time.


She got up and lead him to her bedroom. He let her remove his mask. She smiles from seeing his caramel eyes and handsome young face. "How about some music from my playlist?"

Alex "talked" with her device which played R&B. He got close to her to take this moment in. Her dark-brown eyes told him to go for it.

Alex cupped her face with both hands. He softly brushed her cheeks with his thumbs. A pleasurable chill went down her spine from his caring touch. As his head neared her, his nose was tickled by the lavender perfume around her neck.


He tilted his head and locked lips with her. She kissed him back and slowly slipped her tongue in his mouth. He retaliates with his own and they break the kiss after a while. He almost lost his breath.

"How was your first kiss?", Tiffany asked.

Alex answered by kissing her again. Her hands are touching his chest and biceps while he runs his hands down her back. She pressed her body against his as they kept kissing. He made his hands remember every inch and crevice of her body.

 
Clothes are thrown around the room as the lust between them kept building and building....

Their naked bodies shivered from the intense pleasure. Their faces and bodies are covered in a layer of sweat. He arrived at her place around 6pm and it's now 9pm. Goofy smiles were on their faces.

"Damn, that was great!", Tiffany exclaimed with a heavy breath.

"It sure was." He went to kiss her again, but she stopped him.

"I'm sorry. I should have been clear. I only wanted sex from you."

"Oh", his voice showed a little disappointment. He thought it would be more than that.

"We don't really know each other that well, anyway. You are young and will find love soon. At least you know how to please a woman now. Your future girlfriend will be happy with that", she assured.

"Could we do it again next time? I could see-

"I'm moving across the country", she interrupted. That abruption stopped his train of thought. "But I will never forget this. I'm glad it was with you. You made me feel young again. Thank you."

Alex grinned to bear the pain of never seeing her again. He thought maybe he could have a relationship with her, but he found it was naive for them to progress from this point. He rolled out of bed, but she pulled him back in.

"One more for the road to finish this cougar off?"

He kissed her for his response. "You're more than a cougar. You're a panther to me", he surprised himself with the words that came out of his mouth. She laughed to his relief.

"Tame this panther then!", she demanded.


He touched her soft ebony skin.....

Alex later woke up around 11pm. He saw Tiffany peacefully resting with her silk capped head on the pillow. He put the blanket over her and cleaned up. After getting dressed and wiping her history, he sent a message to her phone.

"Best time of my life. I hope you find love soon. You are worth it."

After sneaking back into his house, he took a hot shower to remove any trace of Tiffany's perfume. He then plopped onto his bed and dozed off.

The next day, Anthony called him. "So how was last night?"

"It was longer than I expected. But it was good", Alex bluffed.

"I know you had sex with her."

"W-What?!", he shot up from the bed.

"I know your type is dark-skinned women, amigo mejor. And the fact that you said it would take long despite your jobs being less than 10 minutes for something that easy. You've been at her place for more than that. I covered for you when your parents called."

"It was unexpected", he admitted while blushing.

"Anyway, she paid you well. Welcome to the players club, Alex."

"I am not a player", he chuckled.

"Don't lie. We Hispanics turn on our Latin charm and the chicas all want us. Will you see her again?"

"She's moving far away. I won't see her again", his voice dropped towards the end.

"That's okay. You both had fun and that's what matters. Now how about a dating profile for you?"

"I'm going to hang up now."

----

One day on his patrol, Alex saw an armed mugger harassing a young woman. He assessed the situation and got involved. The gun clip fell right out which bewildered the mugger. Alex sucker punched him right after that.

"Get to safety!", he instructed the woman.

Alex turned back to the mugger and almost got stabbed by a knife, but his second power kicked in as he waved his hand to send the knife away from him. He quickly apprehended the crook by wrapping the rails around him but turned from hearing a sound.

Crying.  


His heart sank to his stomach. The knife he deflected plunged into the leg of a young boy across the street! His hands trembled for what he did.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!"

He manually called 911 because of the stress and mentioned his superhero name. He was hesitant to take the knife out. Would he only make things much worse?

The paramedics came in time to take him to the hospital. Alex joined them and was overridden with guilt. He texted his parents about what happened. He couldn't speak to them like this.

Alex paced the room back and forth while waiting for the news on the boy. The police came to talk with him, but a finely dressed lawyer with coifed black hair stopped them. He showed them his business card.

"I need to speak with my client alone."


The officers left to let them speak as the lawyer showed him the card too. Alex tilted his head at the lawyer since he kept his mask on. It had the logo of the hero organization on it.

"Once you mentioned your codename with the incident, they sent me to help you. Are you alright?"

Alex held his head with both hands as a response. He leaned against the wall and sat down on the floor. "I-I didn't mean for that to happen. I didn't know he was there."

"I know. You saved someone from a mugging and it was an accident. You were just trying to move the knife away."

"Will he make it?", while hiding his hands from his line of sight.

"Only time will tell."

The doctor later told him that the kid was okay and that no arteries were cut. He would be able to walk again.

Alex let out a heavy sigh. The boy's parents arrived to comfort their son. Alex wanted to go and say something, but his lawyer stood in front of him.

"I will talk with them when it comes down to it. Just go home for now and I will let you know of any updates. Keep the card and stay safe. We organized a ride to get you home."

Alex's mind droned off, but he got the message as his steps dawdled out of the hospital. He entered the arranged ride with a distracted mind. His mind could only focus on two things: getting home and his mistake.
 

He arrived home to see his family and best friend waiting for him. They embraced him tightly and he finally broke down into tears.

Maybe I'm not meant to be a hero after all.

A week passes....


Alex's eyes were heavy with the bags underneath them. He kept imagining the worst possibility. What if the knife went through the kid's heart?

He barely spent time with his family, but they left food by his door. Sometimes the plate was left untouched. He didn't answer calls from Anthony who wanted to check up on him. There's a knock on the house door and his dad answered it. His eyes opened wide as he found Barria, Aqua, and Quickness were there.

"Mr. Perez?", Barria asked.

"Barria?!", Kayla exclaimed from hearing the voice of one of her favorite heroes. Her feet rushed down the stairs. She didn't mind the fact she skipped over a step.

"You must be Kayla, Alex's sister."

"That's me."

"I don't mean to ask, but is there a mission you need Alex for?"

"We wanted to check on him because we heard what happened", Aqua answered.

"Can he talk?", Quickness asked politely.

"Let me check", Alex's mother replied.

"We will wait for him out here."

"You don't have to. Come inside", Kalya begged them with teary eyes.

The heroes couldn't say no as they walked inside.

"Would any of you like some water?", Alex's dad offered.

"That would be nice. Thank you."

"Alex? Barria and the others are here. They came to check up on you. Do you want to talk?"

Alex was lying in bed in his pajamas. He heard what his mother said, but he wasn't in the mood. He felt unworthy of being in their presence. These heroes had spotless records.

"I don't feel well to talk, mom. Tell them I'm sorry and that they shouldn't worry."

His mom wanted to say something, but she stopped herself. She came down the stairs to find her daughter Kayla in the middle of a conversation with Barria and the others.

"I saw your mission on TV today. You guys are so awesome!"

"Why thank you. It means a lot to hear you say that", Aqua gently appreciated.

"I really like your hair, Kayla", Barria noticed.

"Thanks. It's actually a wig."

The faces of the heroes changed as Alex didn't mention that part about his sister.

"Are...you in remission?", Quick tried to broach the subject.

"Yep!", Kayla responded with enthusiasm which relieved them.

"That's great to hear, Kayla. I hope you have a great life ahead of you."

"If I have powers, can I join your team?"

"Definitely! I could use a friend who knows a lot about comics", Aqua answered sweetly.

"Yes! Pops, I'm going to be a hero one day."

"Don't give me a heart attack about that. You skipped over boys you want to date. I was prepared for that part."

Quick saw Alex's mom coming down the stairs. "Is he coming down?"

"He says he's sorry, but he's not feeling talkative. I'm sorry you came all this way."

"It's fine. We have a resource that he can use to talk to someone objectively. Here's a card for that. Let him know that we are here for him and we're not mad."

Barria took out a picture of the heroes and they signed it for Kayla. Kayla's eyes sparkled with wonder and she latched onto Barria for a tight embrace.

"Will my brother be okay?"


Her big brother was always there for her, and she didn't know how to return the favor. The barrier hero understood the sentiment behind her words. She and her sister are the same way.

"He will be. Give him time and let him know you are there for him. Continue to be a good sister to him", before her embrace drifted away to return to the base.

Alex's mom slid the card under Alex's door. "Barria left that card for you. They aren't mad and are there for you."

"Thanks. I will call this number now."

His mom cracked a grin that he will be getting some help.

Alex called up the helpline resource and he talked with a therapist about what happened. In the middle of their conversation...

"If only I paid attention better, he wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"It's easy to blame yourself when something out of control happens."

"I was in control though. I didn't mean for that to happen though. Maybe I need to step away from hero work for a bit."

"That is your choice and we will respect it. You are free to come back at any time."

"And what do I do with my second ability? There's no one else I know that has that power to train me properly. Is there someone I can talk with?"

"No one that I know of. I'm sorry."

"Then, I won't ever use those powers again. I will just stick with technopathy."

Before the therapist could speak, he hung up. He got a call from the lawyer who represented him.

"Hello?"

"Techno, I have good news. The company will take care of the boy's medical bills and the parents won't press charges against you. They understand that it was an accident."

"What?"

"Everything is taken care of so you can go back to work."

"Is there a way that I can talk with his family?"

"I recommend not doing that."

"At least to let them know that I'm sorry?"

"I wrote a formal apology on your behalf."

"But it's not in my words", he clenched his phone.

"They accepted it so that part isn't needed."

"Then I never apologized to them! How could you do that to me?"

"I did it to protect your best interests. Did you want them to sue you for everything you have? To put your family in massive debt?", his lawyer argued.

Alex had nothing to say. He could have been right. His whole family would have suffered because of him.

"I know you want to do the right thing, but sometimes it's impossible if it hurts the ones you love. You are a good person, Techno. Don't forget it. Consider this a pro bono case."

His lawyer hung up. As soon as he did that, he typed away on his laptop to look up any information about the incident. He did see an article mention it, but without names or pictures. He thought back to see if he had seen any contact information. He "hacked" the hospital's database to find the boy based on knife wounds and young age.

There was no mention of the boy at all. Like he didn't exist. He wondered if it's a medical error or if the organization made it go away.

If it was them, why go through all of that? Should I let Anthony search? No, what if it gets out of hand?

He didn't get any answers as he kept looking page after page. His immense guilt wouldn't let it go.

Knocking. "Hermano?"

Alex stopped what he's doing, but he didn't open the door. "Yes?"

"I got you s'mores ice cream. Do you want to share?"

"Appreciate it, but I'm good."

"I didn't see you eat anything today", her sadness heavily showed in her tone. To relieve her concern, he opened the door. She stood there with two spoons. "Let's go to your room to eat."

"Okay."

He followed her and she didn't eat until he takes a bite first.

"Mmmmm. Love this flavor."

His little sister grinned before taking a big spoonful.

"I thought we were going to share", he jested.

"I changed my mind", she smirked.

"I will fight you over the last spoonful."

He raced against her and she was glad that her brother is returning to his regular self. She even let him have the final bite.

"Thanks, sis. I needed that. I won't scare you like that again."

"You better not. I need you", she embraced him with all that she can.

He teared up and hugged her back.

The next night, he decided to stop looking for the little boy as nothing was pulling up. He took a hot shower and went downstairs. He saw his mom, dad, and sister downstairs making dinner.

Pops acknowledged him and tapped his wife on the shoulder.

"Alex! We are making your favorite meal. Mangu con salami, queso frito, y huevos fritos."

"I'm sorry, mom. It looks good, but....

"We will save you a plate then. Will you sit with us?"

"Pretty please?", his sister begged.

Alex decided to sit down with them, but he didn't talk as much.

"Alex, your little sister will be going back to school soon", his father mentioned.

"Oh."

"Thanks to you and my classmates, I'm all caught up now. I didn't fall back a grade."

"I'm glad."

He tried to smile, but it felt foreign to him. The mention of her classmates reminded him of the little boy he had hurt. His pent-up stress came out like a flood. The kitchen faucet spurted out water, the toaster short circuited and caught on fire, and the oven light breaks. His dad got the fire extinguisher to put out the fire.

"Breathe, breathe", Alex reminded himself.

He started calming down and their devices turned off. The terrified expressions on his family's faces made him run out of the house through the back door.

"Brother, don't go!"

He ran fast into the woods to get away from any source of tech. He got a good distance away as he sensed no other devices near him. He found a log and kicked it, cursing himself for having this kind of power. He thought he could rely on his main ability, yet he failed to control it.

I was able to save little sis because of my level, but I almost hurt her. Do I even deserve these powers?

He kept kicking the log as he ignored the calls on his phone.

"Maybe they don't need me anymore. I could just leave. But what if her cancer comes back....I can't just abandon her."

A whooshing sound interrupted him. He's surprised to see Prime in front of him. He turned his face away from him. He probably knew what had happened.

"Your family is worried about you, Alex. I know what happened today and with what happened to the boy."

Alex was silent.

"None of that was your fault. You went through a stressful situation and-

"I'm not a hero."

Prime didn't say anything as more was to be said.

"I thought I could be a hero, but I fucked up. How can I even walk in my neighborhood knowing what I did? I almost hurt my own family. I tried the breathing exercises, but what if it gets worse?"

Prime embraced him and Alex broke down into tears.

"Let it out. Let it out", he patted his back gently. The mighty hero held onto Alex the entire time. "I've been where you are now."

"Y-You have?"

Prime tapped the log so they could sit down. "I still remember that day. A science experiment went berserk and I tried to stop him before knowing I had the Power of Friendship. Our fight went through several states over the course of days, but I finally beat him with it. By the end, 100,000 people died because of our fight."

Alex's jaw dropped from the horror of it.


     "I tried to put him away from any city, but he kept pushing me to those places. I regret that day ever since. I apologized to all of their loved ones and attended their funerals. The reaction was split. Some forgave me while others resented me for existing. Those that hate me have a point. My existence would only bring more destruction to everyone. However, I also found something else."

"What was it?"

"It's one thing to feel regret, but it's another thing to keep yourself in that place. I use that day to accept that some things may be out of my control, but I can still be in control of my actions. I can use my powers as a blessing to others and end things quickly before it gets worse.

Your powers are not a curse, Alex. I wish that there was a stronger technopath or a metal manipulator who could help you through this, but there isn't. But I am here. I may be busy protecting the world, but if you need to talk things out, ring me up and I will be right there."

Prime's words and tone helped Alex's stress levels minimize in stature.

"Thank you."

"Any time. When you're ready, I will escort you home."

"In a little bit."

He looked up at the starlit night sky with a comfortable silence between them. After some time, Alex got up. "Prime, thank you. I will use your advice."

"It will take time, but you will forgive yourself. Just keep trying", before walking him back home.

His sister almost tackled him to the ground. "Please, don't leave like that again."

He raised her head and her cheeks were puffy from all the crying she did. 

He lifted her up. "I will do better by you and everyone. I promise."

"Thank you, Prime", Alex's father appreciated.

"It's no problem, Mr. Perez. He will be fine. Just give him time."

"We will", his mother assured.

"Can you take me flying now that you're here?", Kayla asked.

The hero's ears perked up. "I'm sorry. I have to get going. I hear my signal."

Alex used his ears to listen, but he heard nothing. It must be at a frequency only Prime could hear.

"You all take care!", before stepping back to fly into the sky.

"He is so amazing", Kayla said in awe.

"He really is. I will help repair the damage I caused."

"Don't worry about it. Prime says the company will take care of it. Come inside and eat, mijo."

After cleaning his plate, he watched TV with them. He drifted off to sleep on the couch from the itis and tonight's events. His dad covered him with a blanket. His sister laid her head on his chest and slept on top. He finally had a peaceful night.