"Sorry I'm late!"

Ray ran right into his nighttime Calculus II class, tossing his bag under his desk.

...

...

Arkward silence.

Then everyone jumped up at once.

"It's you!"

They swarmed him excitedly.

"So you're Hell Razor, huh?"

"DUDE, that was totally kick ass! I saw the whole thing on the news!"

"Where can I get speed like that?"

"Uh...that's a secret!" Ray said, nodding.

"How long have you had these super powers, Ray-zor?"

"Since about a week ago?" he replied.

"What was it like facing those guys?"

"They actually weren't all that hard. I mean, I had to block their bullets but it came surprisingly easy...

"How does it feel to have such powers?"

"It's like your body's light as a feather. My instincts sort of guide me...it's like there's an imperceptible subconsciousness helping me move at the same time. I feel...awesome. I feel awesome, guys."

Humans...get them away from us! I can barely stand it...

"Will you show us your transformation?"

"Sure! Stand back, though..."

Everyone stood back. Ray stood in the center of the room, and lifted a single hand into the air...

His pendant lit up...

Purple and black lightning jumped from his body, snapping and crackling through the air, but staying out of reach of the other students. Then energy came down upon his hand, covering his entire body in a black aura, and he clenched his fists...

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

His scream filled the classroom as his muscles slowly began to bulge, his body became a little bit taller, and his hair started flowing out of his head...elongating...His pupils disappeared, and his muscles continued to expand...his facial features beginning to change...


"At the crossroads of darkness and light..." He winked at the students before he shut his eyes once more, before letting out a final, primal, animal-like scream, and energy came out of his pendant, covering him in purple light!

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

The light blinded the students, before it faded away just as quickly. And there he stood...

"...I am Hell Razor!"

"Awesome!"

"Kickass!"

But there were some who didn't share the enthusiasm of others...

Scott narrowed his eyes at the transformed Ray. A blonde haired boy, fairly muscular...in fact, he was a linebacker in the college football team.

He stood up.

"Do you all realise who he is?"

"Yeah! He's a fucking superhero, man!"

"No." He approached Hell Razor, not intimidated. "He's a FREAK."

The classmates looked to him.

"Don't you get it? He's like the other transhumans. When people have power, they seek to use it. He may be a hero now, but soon he'll start killing people for fun. And then he'll be a deadly foe...he has too much power." He glared at Hell Razor. "You disgust me."

"Step back," Hell Razor said, in his low voice.

"Don't talk to me like that..." Scott growled. "You're nothing but a low-life transhuman scum."

"For your information..." Hell Razor said, pulling off his shades and reverting to Ray, "I am not a transhuman in the usual sense of the word. My powers come from...other sources. In my normal form, I have no powers and my genetic makeup is completely humanoid. I have to transform to-"

"Same fucking difference," he spat. "You've got power, you'll abuse it. Stay away from me, and my friends, Ray."

"Enough!" the teacher said. "Have this discussion -outside- of my classroom."

"Hmph." Scott walked away, back to his seat.

"The administration has determined that due to recent criminal activity you pose a clear and present danger to the college. Therefore, effective immediately, we are notifying you of your academic expulsion.

If you wish to appeal this decision, you must set up a meeting with the board in the next 90 days and plead your case.

Sincerely,
Jeff Feaver
Dean of Students
"

That was how the expulsion letter read.

And two weeks later...

"The story goes like this, Mr. Feaver. Several weeks ago, I obtained my superhuman powers. After assisting the police in stopping a bank robbery, I was approached by one Captain Paragon with an offer to team up. I was to apprehend Professor Mandrake as he told me he could not do so himself because of difficulty of getting a conviction, he is a government official. After doing exactly I was told, I was arrested and thrown in jail along with the bad guy. In other words, I was set up to take the fall for him. So you see, that's why I now have a criminal record."

"Hmm..." Mr.. Feaver slowly stood out of his chair. "So, you are proposing a government official would break the law by working with an unlicensed transhuman with no government affiliation. You are saying that he would do all this and then turn on you, framing you for the crime?"

"Yes."

"Preposterous. It's your word against his, and he has the official word. How do you expect us to believe that you weren't causing mischief?"

"Because I've never done so before in my life!" Ray said. "It's true, I've never had a prior criminal record or disciplinary record before. Not to mention that jewelry robbery I stopped. I'm on the good side."

"Isn't it the police's job to handle crimes like that?" he said, calmly.

Oooh, burn there.

"They needed the help, they were out gunned...and those were just normal guys. Imagine if they were up against transhumans. My arrest didn't solve anything: the police -need- help from people like me who are willing to stop the -real- rogue transhumans. Vigilantism is the least of our worries, Mr. Feaver."

"That is an interesting point..." some of the board members murmured.

"I think you'll agree I'm not interested in committing crimes. I'm interested in my future. My academic records are stellar. I am fully committed to seeing college through...I'm not 'frustrated' and I don't need to lash out at society like Captain Paragon claims. I am asking you, to allow me to re-enter the learning environment, and finish what I set out to do. I want an education. I want a future. I'm a person like everyone in this room. Please, don't deny me a future."

"..."

"You have an interesting case, Mr. Mason. Very well, please step outside, and we will inform you of our decision once we finish discussions."

---

You're smarter than I took you for.

"I'm not sure if that's a compliment or an insult."

Think what you will.

"Now if only I could give the same case to the police, they might consider removing my criminal record altogether...but they're hardly supportive of people like me. If I can't get the college to overturn my expulsion, I sure as hell won't be able to convince the police."

Yep. If you want my honest opinion, I'd say you're screwed anyway.

"Thanks a -lot-, jerk." Ray said sarcastically.

You're welcome.

"Then there's the matter of Captain Paragon..." Ray said. "I'm the only witness to what he really is. Unfortunately, thanks to him, I'm also seen as a criminal. He betrayed me."

Just like I said he would.

"Captain Paragon is an enemy of transhumans and transhuman rights world wide. He is a blinded government official who can't see past his own self-righteousness. He has to be stopped...I'm fortunate I got off as easy as I did. Others might not be so lucky, and be jailed for the rest of their lives."

Ray clenched his fist, raising it into the air. "He is my enemy. Someday...I will expose him for what he really is...and if I must, I will destroy him."

Beautiful! Finally something we agree on. That dickhead needs to be thrown off his high horse.

"And...I've decided to go on a mission. I will continue to fight crime underground. I will work with no one. I will remain, for the most part, unseen...but, each morning, the police will find more and more criminals on their doorstep. They'll know that somebody is rounding up the bad guys. I'll leave a signature, they'll notice it."

Maybe we can brand their flesh with our names.

"I'll start small and work my way up, until I reach the ones they can never touch...that Paragon can't touch. Because he is merely a public figure, a tool of the government. I'll destroy his propoganda with the truth.

I'll expose him.

Paragon is not justice.

I am.

I am justice from the darkness.

I am Hell Razor."