Loud hip-hop music blared through the speakers of the black Range Rover cruising down the streets of the shady burrow of Baltimore known as Sandtown-Winchester.

Oscar grinned as he peered out the tinted windows of the expensive vehicle. He recognized the usual sketchy characters loitering around the rundown apartment buildings. His smile widened as he spotted the homeless old man, Crazy Joe, sitting on a box at the corner of Laurens Street and North Calhoun.

Even the same drug dealers and gang members milled around the neighborhood, cautiously eyeing the black vehicle that passed by them. Luckily for Oscar, no one tried to carjack him and the driver.

Home sweet home.

Despite the bad rep the town received from tourists and the higher-ups of Maryland, Oscar didn't see what was so bad about it. Sure, the crime was rampant, and the murder rate was a little high, but it wasn't all bad. During his four-year stay, his bike had only been stolen from him twice.

At least is was better than San Antonio, Texas—the place he grew up.

''You sure this the right neighborhood?'' the driver asked. Oscar noticed his fingers tapping nervously against the steering wheel as he drove down the road.

Oscar nodded, leaning back into the leather seats. ''Yep. This is it.''

Looking out the window, he noticed the sky was starting to darken, the sun having been set already. Hues of burnt orange and purple decorated the plush clouds. The wind outside rippled through the tall trees that shrouded the sidewalks in shadows. Their gnarled roots pushed through the unkempt cement.

Oscar chuckled to himself, remembering the time he twisted his ankle running along the uneven pavement. His smile faltered as he thought about his mother, who had nursed his swollen leg back to health with an ice pack and a stern scolding to be more careful. They couldn't afford a hospital bill if he broke something.

After a couple minutes of driving down the street, the still music blaring, the luxury vehicle arrived in front of an old, brownstone apartment building. A couple of men sat on the stairs of the building, playing a game of cards with beers in their grimy hands. Oscar recognized them to be some of the men who worked with him and his uncle at the auto body shop Andre's dad owned.

''You know those guys?'' the driver asked, his tone cautious as he parked the car.

''Yep,'' Oscar answered. He patted the guy on his shoulder. ''They're alright, man. But you might want to lock the doors.'' He was kidding. Mostly.

He then opened the door and got out, grabbing the maroon bag full of the clothes he brought with him. After uttering a quick ''thanks'' to his chauffeur, he headed towards the apartment building, the car driving down the road and out of sight behind him.

Oscar glanced over his shoulder and chuckled. You work for Atlas yet you're scared of ol' Sandtown?

Taking a deep breath, he looked at the building. It looked as grungy as ever, but he didn't mind one bit. He grinned, ran a hair through his black curls, which he decided to let grow out, and walked over to where the guys on the stairs were playing cards.

They're going to freak when the see my powers—

He cut his own thought short, remembering what Director Shaw told him and his friends before they left the facility.

''Try not to show anyone your powers. The world isn't quite ready yet.''

Oscar sighed. What's the point in having cool stuff if I can't show anyone?

''Oscar?'' one of the guys, Armando, asked. He was one of the workers at the autoshop Oscar's uncle and Andre's dad, Mr. Steel, co-owned . ''Where you been, amigo?''

He shrugged nonchalantly as he walked by the man. ''You know, just out and about.''

''It's been months, chico.'' Armando eyed the boy quizzical before turning to his friends. I'll play with you pendejos later.'' He dug into his pocket for a wad of cash and threw it at the person across from him. ''Javier, take my playing money.''

''Oralè,'' Javier said, catching the money. Oscar laughed, shaking his head.

He and Armando walked into the apartment building and up the stairs, heading to the sixth floor where Oscar's uncle and his sister stayed.

Despite having been training with Atlas for months now, somehow Oscar was out of breath by the time he got to their destination.

''You heard about that stuff on the news? The whole 'chemical in the sky thing'?'' Armando whistled, running a hand over his bald head. ''Shit's crazy, man.''

Oscar nodded. ''Tell me about it, man.''

''Isabella's been missing you, Oz,'' Armando said as we walked onto the fourth floor. ''Won't shut up about it, actually.''

Oscar frowned. He hadn't seen his sister in months and the anxiety began to hit him. His throat tightened up and he felt his hands tremble slightly.

The guilt followed shortly after.

''Well, it was good seeing you again, Oz,'' Armando told him, stopping in front of the door to apartment 6A. He held out a meaty hand, which Oscar grabbed. They shook hands and Oscar nodded at the man. ''You tell Jose I said 'hey' you hear? He never comes out to play cards anymore.''

''Will do,'' Oscar replied. Armando laughed and walked back down the stairs to resume his game of cards.

The fire-wielder stood in front of Uncle Jose's door and took a deep breath before knocking.

Here goes nothing.

After knocking, he took a step back and grabbed his lighter out the pocket of his camouflage jacket. He clicked the top off of it absentmindedly, waiting for the door to open.

The sound of the inside chain unlocking sounded throughout the cramped apartment hallway. The door unlocked and swung open slowly.

Standing in the door was Uncle Jose. His blue mechanic suit had been zipped down so that it was only up to his waist, exposing his white tank top shirt. He had an opened Corona in his hands and a plate of tacos drenched in Tapatío in the other.

Oscar smiled, the nerves threatening to take over his small body dissipating. Typical Uncle Jose.

''Oscar?'' the man asked, almost choking on the taco that he had been chewing on.

He nodded and wrapped the man up in a hug. He realized that he must've grown about an inch during his time away because he was now a little taller than his uncle, who was about five foot six.

He stepped back and Jose laughed, his eyes watering a bit.

''Those Atlas people came and told us you were alright, but I had no idea when I'd seen you again,'' he said, his gruff voice tightening a bit. ''They barely told us anything.''

''Are you crying?''

Jose shook his head, shutting his eyes. ''Me crying? Nah, I just got...some hot sauce in my eyes. That's all.'' He turned his head and sniffled discreetly.

Oscar laughed and hugged him again. ''It's good to see you again, tio.''

His uncle set his food and drink down and bear-hugged his nephew, lifting him a couple inches off the ground. ''It's good to see you too, Oz.'' He let go of him and picked his food back up. ''Come inside. Isabella's watching TV.''

Oscar nodded and stepped inside of the three-bedroom apartment. He smiled, realizing that it was actually cleaner than he remembered. No more beer bottles or car magazines were left lying around anymore. Isabella must've been cleaning for him.

Walking into the living room, he saw his little sister sitting in front of the TV with her plate of tacos watching some corny Disney Channel show.

He snuck up behind her, careful not to make any noise. It probably wouldn't have even made a difference, consider how much attention she was paying to the show. He crouched behind her and grabbed her shoulders. She jumped, shrieking loudly and hit him on the head with the TV remote.

''Ow!'' Oscar cried, falling onto the carpeted floor. He rubbed his aching forehead and frowned at her. ''What the heck?''

''Ozzie!'' she yelled as she turned around. She jumped on him, knocking the wind out of her brother.

He groaned in pain but proceeded to hug her back. ''Jeez, the first thing you do when I get back is beat me up? I feel the love, Izzie.''

She grinned at him, showing off some of her missing teeth. She pointed at her mouth.

''Where are your teeth, hermana?'' he asked, picking her up. She squealed as he spun her around in his arms. Even though she was about seven now, she was still fairly tiny.

The shortness apparently ran in the family.

''They came out.'' She grinned hugely as if she just said she won a Nobel Prize. ''Uncle Jose says my big girl teeth are coming soon.''

Oscar poked her cheek, earning a giggle from the little girl. ''He's right. That means you're a big girl now.''

''Yep!'' she said. She looked at him, frowning a bit. ''Donde has estado, hermano? I missed you.''

Oscar set her down, rubbing the back of his warm neck. ''Yeah, I know. I'm sorry I was gone for so long, Izzie.'' He crouched down in front of her. ''But I was out doing some important stuff.'' He leaned closer to her, lowering his voice. ''Some top-secret stuff. Like in the movies.''

Her brown eyes lit up. ''What kinda stuff, Ozzie?''

He looked around as if people were watching them. ''If I tell you, do you promise to not tell anyone else? If you do, I'll have to kill you.''

She nodded quickly.

''Even your stuffed animals?''

She frowned but nodded, albeit reluctantly.

Oscar smiled at her. ''Good.'' He looked around the two of them once more before continuing. ''I got to fight some bad guys. I also have...wait for it...superpowers.''

She gasped. ''Superpowers?!'' He clamped his hand over her mouth, earning him a weird look from his uncle. Oscar simply smiled and waved at the man. Jose grumbled something and went back to reading his Car's Weekly magazine.

''What did I just say?'' Oscar scolded. ''You can't tell anyone.''

''Sorry. I forgot'' She leaned in closer to him. ''Can you show me?''

Oscar grinned and nodded. ''Just this once, okay?'' He then snapped his fingers, a small spark of fire igniting on my index finger. He kept it there for a second before blowing it out like a birthday candle.

''Woah,'' Isabella said, shock present in her youthful face. ''That's so cool!''

Oscar's grin widened. ''Heck yeah it is.''

Oscar laid in his room, blaring his music through the new high-tech speakers he bought recently. However, that wasn't the only thing he bought over the past couple of months. Atlas had decided to pay him and his friends for their ''hell of a service''—as Agent Ashley Strong called it.

As he stared up at the ceiling, he heard a knock on the opened door. He turned the music down and flipped over on his bed. Uncle Jose stood in the doorway.

''Does it have to be so loud'' he asked, rubbing his head. ''What's up with all the rap, anyways? They're not even saying anything nowadays. If you're gonna blast your music, could you at least play some bachata?'' The man then started moving his arms and hips as he danced.

Oscar covered his eyes and turned away from him. ''Please...never do that again.'' He hopped off the bed and walked over to the door. ''What's up, man? What's the dealio?''

Uncle Jose jerked his thumb in the direction of the front door. ''You've got some visitors downstairs. They said they know you. Chase and Stella, I think they said their names were.''

Oscar arched an eyebrow. He hadn't been expecting a visit. Especially from them.

Ever since he and his friends had left The Acropolis, he had barely seen them. Though, they all spoke regularly in the group chat they created on their phones. The only ones he saw in person on a regular basis were Andre—as they continued working at the auto shop—and Victoria Shaw.

Even though the girl was older than him, thus making her a ''legal'' adult, they still hung out every now and then. Victoria had made it clear to him in the beginning that it was strictly friendship.

At least until he turned eighteen. While she hadn't explicitly said it, he knew it was a possibility.

Oscar thanked his uncle and walked outside of the apartment, heading down the stairs. After opening the squeaky front door that led outside, he saw two people standing on the sidewalk in front of the apartment building.

They both wore matching blue Atlas jackets and jeans. He noticed them holding hands as they waited for him. When they announced in the group chat that they were officially a couple, he responded with a simple ''about time''.

Oscar smirked as he approached them.

''Oh, were we supposed to be dressing alike today?'' he asked them. He glanced down at his own attire, which consisted of a pair of camouflage cargo pants and a black Led Zeppelin shirt. ''Because I don't think I got the memo.''

''Hey, Oscar,'' Stella muttered, rolling her hazel eyes at him.

Chase chuckled and shook Oscar's hand before pulling him into a rib-cracking embrace. He hugged Stella as well.

''So, what are you guys doing here?'' Oscar asked, taking his lighter out of the pocket of his pants.

Chase took his phone out of his pocket and began typing something. After he finished, he handed him the phone.

A video of a masked man dressed in a construction uniform standing in the middle of a bank played on the screen. As the man walked, Oscar noticed a swirl of green light moving around his hands. As the security guards in the building approached the man, the swirls of green energy shot towards them, knocking them to the ground.

''Woah,'' Oscar said. ''That's like some Apex-type stuff.''

Chase nodded. ''Kind of.'' He took the phone back from him. ''Primes have been popping up all over the world. The agents back home call it peaking. There haven't been that many sightings and most are pretty peaceful and cooperative, but there have been instances with a few individuals who have been using their abilities for the wrong reasons.'' He gestured towards his phone. ''Like that guy. We've been tracking the bad ones down and sending them to The Vault.''

Stella giggled and squeezed her hand. ''You sound like Director Shaw.''

''I do not,'' the blonde said, rolling his blue eyes at her.

''Director Shaw didn't think that the Primonium would begin to manifest this quickly in people,'' Stella said.

Oscar's brows furrowed. ''But ours showed up just days after we got infected.''

''When he first got to The Acropolis, the doctors had to stabilize the element inside of us so that it wouldn't damage anything. As a result of that, it accelerated the growth of our changes,'' Stella explained.

Chase nodded. ''Anyways, Archie's antidote is almost finished but until that's done, he's going to need people to help him with this influx of Primes.''

Oscar nodded slowly, realizing what he was getting at. ''So, wants to get the team back together, eh?'' He shrugged. ''I guess I'm down.''

''Director Shaw is gonna want you back at the compound soon, though,'' Stella said. ''We're starting training again soon.''

''Sounds good to me.'' Images of him fighting bad guys like some guy out of a comic book filled Oscar's head. He enjoyed feeling important. He liked being able to save people. ''Ya' know, I always wanted to be a superhero.''

Chase pursed his lips, his eyes narrowing. ''We aren't superheroes, Oz.''

''Oh let him have his fun,'' Stella chided.

Oscar gestured towards his apartment building. ''You guys want to come up for some food? My uncle is cooking.'' He heard his own stomach grumble at his own mention of food.

Chase and Stella looked at each other. Chase turned back to him and shook his head.

''We would but we've got to head over to Andre's place,'' Chase said. ''Then Theo's. And then Emily's.'' He walked over to the blue pickup truck parked on the street. The two of them got in and Stella rolled her window down.

''We'll let you know when we need you back at the facility,'' she said. ''Until then, be safe and enjoy your time with your family.''

''I will. See you guys soon.''

Chase nodded and pulled out of his parking spot. He then drove down the street and out of the neighborhood, the loud rumbling of old truck's engine fading into the distance.

Oscar looked up at the sky, a sad smile forming on his lips. ''I'm finally doing something good, guys. I'll make you both proud.''

For the first time in forever, he didn't feel like crying when he thought about his deceased parents. He knew that they would've forgiven him for his mistakes. In fact, it had never been about achieving their forgiveness; it was about receiving forgiveness from himself.

He knew it wouldn't be easy and that it would happen overnight, but he was willing to travel down the unknown road of learning to love himself.

He clicked the top off of his lighter, the flame igniting in front of his face. His eyes focused on the tiny fire, the flame reflecting in his brown eyes. He then turned around, heading back into the apartment building.