Hero of all Worlds- Dawn of a New Hero

Kuro was still there on the porch when his mom came out to look for him. She asked him what he was doing. He gave an answer, not a genuine answer but enough to be believable. They went inside and ate breakfast together. The few sleepy relatives staying at their apartment woke up as the smell of bacon drifted through the house. Breakfast was nice. It definitely didn't feel like the kind of day when your life changes forever.

---

It seemed like night couldn't come soon enough but eventually the sun sank below the tops of the skyscrapers. Kuro's phone buzzed, lighting up with a text from an unknown number.

"Hello Mr. Shiri, this is Detective Nasrin. Pride sent me your address and I'll be there soon. I'll be in a police cruiser but don't let that scare you."

Kuro quickly texted him back. "Could you meet me instead on the corner? I'll be out there in a few minutes."

Kuro told his parents that he was going to spend a night at his friend Cano's house. He'd been friends with Cano for a long time so his parents let him go pretty easily. He scooped a few things into a backpack to make it look like he was really going to a friend's house and then left the apartment. 

Walking down the street, Kuro was mumbling to himself in anticipation. Tonight, Pride- the #1 superhero- would give him- a random teenager- his talents! And then Kuro's muscular dystrophy would be stopped and he would actually become a hero for real! Tonight! He'd take that next step and there'd be no going back. But that was fine, Kuro knew this was what he wanted for than anything. 

Kuro saw the detective's car sitting near the corner of the block. A middle aged canid man waved out the window of the black cop car. He opened the door for Kuro. Kuro had never been inside a police car before (and he hadn't been planning on it). He quietly admired the technology like the holoscreen windshield that could lock on to a target and map around traffic and construction in real time. Police were one step down from heroes. They were still well trained, but more on cooperation skills and how to deal with mundane situations. 

He almost reached his hand out to the screens, but Nasrin stopped him. 

"Don't touch anything, this is still a police car. State property, you know?"

Kuro nodded. "How long have you known Pride?"

The detective began a long story about how he'd met Pride as a young cadet, when Pride had helped him get out of some minor trouble by taking the blame himself. That had begun a long friendship. Nasrin was Pride's police contact and they worked together on many cases in the long years of Pride's career. 

They were driving out of the city and Kuro watched the skyscrapers fade out into suburbs as they descended layers of highway into the open savannah. Kuro had rarely been outside the city before. 

"The municipal airport?" He asked as the car made a sharp turn down the long road leading to the airport. Am I going out of town? How long am I going to be gone? Did I pack enough? Is this where I'm supposed to be? Where's Pride? Kuro's mind buzzed with questions until he saw a familiar large silhouette standing out on the tarmac. 

Detective Nasrin handed him off to Pride and left. Kuro looked around the small airport. There were only a few hangars and two short runways along with a suspicious amount of security. Either the military also used this airport, or maybe the province just really cares about aviation. 

Kuro looks up at Pride. "Where are we going? I thought this would be a quick little camping trip, not a cross country flight. Don't get me wrong; I'd go with you anytime anyplace and I'm definitely not having second thoughts about Voice of the Stars, it's just-" 

Pride looks down at Kuro, bright golden eyes glowing and warmth in his triumphant smile. "We're going to where it all began. Where our predecessor was first given Voice of the Stars." he said softly, a stark contrast to his usual volume. "Now come on Kiddo, the sun's already set!"