“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” A Lyft driver screamed at me from his car. I had accidentally left the sidewalk as I was staring at the giant digital billboard with _my_ image on it, with the words “Living Legend” above me in big blue letters. Granted, no one knew it was me, my mask does a pretty good job of keeping my identity secret, so the driver had no clue he was yelling at the man who had single handedly stopped The Chillers from turning Downtown Broxton into a frozen wasteland. It’s not like I could get mad at the guy, I was in the middle of the street, staring like an idiot at a billboard larger than most buildings from my hometown. All he saw was some hick walking around the big city for the first time.

I stepped back on to the sidewalk, giving the driver a sheepish wave, then looked back up at the massive glowing sign. _Living Legend_, I thought, grinning to myself. _Maybe just, ‘legend’. I like it. _My grin faded, a sour taste in my mouth. _If only finding a job here was as simple as foiling a gang of thugs with ice rays. _

Six months ago, I got hit by a train. Imagine my shock when the train was the one that lost the fight. That was how I found out I was a _Phenom,_ one of the few people in the world with abilities beyond anything a normal person could imagine. I don’t know how they didn’t find it in my bloodwork as a child; The U.S. military is usually stellar at knowing who to keep an eye on so they can try be recruited as early as possible. That never happened for me. Most Phenoms have a Synthetic Catalyst, a scenario created to put them in extremely high stress, so that they can transcend and gain their abilities. The scientists realized their ability would be dependent on their personality, but also the circumstances that almost killed them. Want a phenom who can breathe underwater or control the currents? Easy, just have their catalyst be a drowning scenario. Want one who can read minds or manipulate emotions? Overdose them on antidepressants or psychedelics.

As for me? Well, the government doesn’t want phenoms they can’t control, so they typically have scenarios that are possible to survive without transcendence; the less traumatic the event, the less potential the phenom will have. Let’s just say there aren’t many phenoms who went through circumstances similar to mine, and the ones that did tend to have words like “General” or even “King” attached to their name.

So here I am, one of the most powerful phenoms in the country, and I just barely landed a gig as a bouncer at some nightclub club in midtown. _I need a branding agent, _I thought glumly, making my way to work.

“Tiran, that you?” A thick necked bouncer asked me as I entered “Lowdown”, the new hotspot for any and all partygoers in Broxton.

“Yes sir, I’m guessing you’re Vick?” I replied to the veteran. “Tracy said you’d be showing me the ropes tonight.”

“Heh, there’s not much to show, kid.” He laughed, waving for me to follow as he walked further into the club. “If you’re on the door, make sure to check IDs, if you’re working the floor, make sure fights don’t break out and girls don’t get harassed. This job won’t be easy, but it’s pretty simple. You can shadow me tonight, I’ll make sure you’re not gonna freeze up and get one of us hurt. After that you’ll be on your own. Here,” He tossed me something, a small black plastic box.

“A walkie?” I asked, turning it over in my hands.

“In case you need backup. There’s at least five on security on any given night, but the club has three floors, so always expect help to be at least a minute out. Don’t go into something by yourself if it looks like more than you can handle, we don’t need you getting stabbed or your head stomped in because you thought you’d be a hero.”

“Yes sir,” I replied, smiling faintly as we walked on to the club’s floor. _At least I know that backup won’t really be necessary for me_.

I followed Vick around for a few hours, working the floor to make sure things stayed civil. Other than kicking out a drunk who was trying to fight some poor girl’s boyfriend, the night was going smoothly. We walked through each floor; since I was an extra hand tonight, we were the designated backup, going between the floors and checking the stairways as well to discourage loitering. “Kid, I think you have this down, alright?” We were standing at the top of a stairwell, and Vick was looking back and forth between me and the door to the third floor. “Tell you what, you run rounds on this floor and check in with Bobby, then meet me back here in fifteen. I’m gonna hit the roof for a smoke break.”

I nodded, then went in to the club room. The room was hazy, red light illuminating a floor of young twenty-somethings dancing on the floor, or sitting at the hightables on the outskirts of the room. I walked the outskirts, staying as visible as possible in an effort to help the angry drunks to either keep their cool or at least pick a fight with me instead of another patron. As I walked I kept my eye out for Bobby, a young redhead, five foot six and seemingly just as wide, the kid was the Oxford Dictionary’s definition for ‘stout’. I found him leaning against the bar, flirting with one of the waitresses.

“Hey,” I waved as I walked up to him “Vick wanted me to check in, everything clear?”

“All good, man. There was a couple that got into a fight earlier. I got the guy out of here easy enough, his girl is at the bar waiting on a ride home. I don’t think she wants to be anywhere near that blockhead right now. This floor should be fi-“ a massive bang interrupted Bobby, a gunshot going off, followed by a woman’s screaming. My head darted to the bar to see a young woman clutching her bleeding shoulder, with a massive man looming over her, beginning to drag her out of the room. I was moving towards them before my brain even had time to think. The man saw me coming and leveled the gun at my face, pulling the trigger without a second thought. I could see the bullet as it rocketed towards me, not slowly like the world had stopped, but it seemed about as fast as a pitchers fastball to me. I didn’t bother dodging it, I didn’t want it to hit some poor soul; instead, my hand blurred, catching the bullet before it could ricochet off of my face. I kept walking forward, the guy looking at his gun in disbelief; he must’ve thought it misfired. I rushed forward while his eyes were off of me, a blur of movement across the floor and then I was there. I tapped his chest with my open palm. That’s all I _could _do, otherwise I might have put my hand through his chest. He staggered back, clutching where I hit him, looking wide eyed at me. Fear flickered in his eyes and I could see him mouth ‘_phenom’ _right before Bobby bowled him over and tackled him to the ground. I turned to check on the woman; she’d collapsed to the floor but was sitting up, her other hand clamped against her shoulder as she stared at the scene in front of her.

“Ma’am, are you alright?” I looked up at the nearest patron.

“Call the police, let them know we have one shot, and the shooter is apprehended.”

She nodded and I returned my attention to the woman. Her breathing was fast and shallow; she was in shock.

“Ma’am, what’s your name?”

“N-Nicole,” she breathed out through the pain “_It hurts” _

“I know, but you’re going to be okay, Nicole, I just need you to take some deep breaths, okay?”

I took off my overshirt and pressed it against her shoulder, trying to staunch the bleeding. I stayed with her until the ambulance arrived, then gave my statement to the police. I neglected to mention the part where I snatched a bullet out of midair, or that my punch that broke three of the man’s ribs was really a light tap with my open hand. I’m didn’t really feel like letting everyone know that _Legend_ was moonlighting as a night club security guard. Between the haze of the room and the chaos of what was happening, no one could see exactly what had happened anyway.

I was done with the police and the club was closing for the night, so I walked home, a slight smile on my face. Yeah, maybe this big city was too much for Tiran to take on all at once. But _Legend?_ Well, he’d be just fine.