I finally decided to write the opening of my supehero novel Nova heights
NOVA HEIGHTS
Chapter One: New sparks New beginnings or (something like that)
People like to romanticize war.
The documentaries always show the cool parts first.
Heroes flying through explosions. Glowing skylines. Slow-motion punches. Dramatic speeches.
They never show the screams.
They never show what burnt metal smells like.
And they definitely never show what happens after the cameras shut off.
The Sundering started before I was born, but in Nova City, you grow up hearing about it the same way kids used to hear fairy tales.
Except our fairy tales ended with body counts.
The sky burned red over Mercury Marina.
Even now, years later, everyone in the city still knew the footage by heart.
The final battle.
The moment everything fell apart.
A younger version of The Rook soared above the skyline, radiant wings blazing behind him as collapsing buildings crumbled into the ocean below. Emergency sirens screamed through the smoke.
“Sector Seven, hold the line!” rook shouted into his comms. “Do NOT let Wyatt reach the Core!”
Then came the man who destroyed everything.
Gearbreaker.
Back then, he was still Jason Wyatt. Still technically a hero.
Depends who you ask, anyway.
His massive exosuit tore through the air with a scream of grinding metal and blue fire. Drones swarmed behind him like angry hornets while civilians fled beneath the chaos.
“You built a world that protects monsters!” Gearbreaker roared.
Mechanical cables whipped from his arm.
“I’m just fixing it!”
Then they collided.
Light against machine.
Hero against hero.
Brother against brother.
The footage always cuts to static right before impact.
Probably because nobody wanted future generations seeing the exact moment hope died.
Funny thing is?
We all memorized it anyway.
A few years earlier…
Back when life was simpler.
Back before breakups, supervillains, and near-death experiences became part of my weekly routine.
“Cameron!”
A blur tackled me across the front lawn.
I hit the grass laughing as Penelope Whitmore stood over me triumphantly wearing a blanket tied around her shoulders like a cape.
“You’re supposed to pretend to lose,” she said.
“That’s not how heroes work,” I argued, gripping my cardboard sword dramatically.
I was nine years old, missing my front tooth, and fully convinced I was destined to save the world someday.
In hindsight?
That probably should’ve been my first warning sign.
Penelope pointed toward the street.
“I’ll save Nova City!”
“Not if I save it first!”
We sprinted across the yard making laser noises with our mouths because apparently all superheroes did that when you were kids.
Then she suddenly stopped.
I nearly crashed into her.
Penelope smiled before kissing my cheek quickly.
“We’re gonna be heroes together someday,” she whispered.
I remember grinning like an idiot.
“Promise?”
She hooked her pinky around mine.
“Promise.”
Yeah.
So much for that.
My alarm exploded beside my head.
I groaned into my pillow.
“Mari,” I mumbled, half dead, “five more minutes.”
The AI voice connected to my room speakers responded instantly.
“Cameron Alejandro Jones, if I allowed that, you would sleep until graduation.”
“Worth it.”
A robotic bark echoed near my bed.
Zeus, my mechanical Great Dane, jumped onto me with all one hundred and twenty pounds of his metal body.
“SPARKS!”
I rolled straight off the bed.
Perfect start to the morning.
“Rise and shine, sleepyhead!”
My older brother Mateo leaned against the doorway grinning like the menace he was. Most people knew him as Echo—the former Nova Heights golden boy who could mimic basically anything.
Right now he was mimicking an airhorn.
Directly into my ear.
“You are the worst human being alive,” I told him.
“Love you too, Cam.”
Mateo had graduated from Nova Heights two years earlier and somehow still acted like he owned the place.
Unfortunately, everyone there loved him.
Meanwhile I was entering as:
recently dumped
powerless
caffeine addicted
and ninety percent anxiety.
Huge difference.
I dragged myself upright and pulled on my usual outfit:
Blue hoodie.
Ripped gray jeans.
Light-up sneakers.
Then my eyes landed on the lightning bolt choker sitting near the mirror.
The one Penelope gave me.
For a second, I just stared at it.
Zeus tilted his head curiously.
“…Don’t start,” I muttered.
I grabbed the necklace anyway.
Because apparently emotional self-destruction builds character.
Downstairs smelled like coffee, cinnamon, and chaos.
Which basically described my family perfectly.
My grandfather Alejandro sat at the kitchen table reading the news while drinking what had to be his seventh cup of coffee today.
My abuela Maria was cooking breakfast while arguing with the television.
My mom Lucia was already dressed for another campaign meeting, typing messages into three holographic screens at once.
And my dad?
Former superhero Blackstorm himself stood in the kitchen wearing sweatpants and an old Nova Guard shirt while making protein pancakes.
Turns out legends become painfully normal once you see them unclog a sink at midnight.
The television suddenly switched to an emergency broadcast.
REPORTER:
“Authorities have confirmed that Jason Wyatt, also known as Gearbreaker, has escaped Nova City Penitentiary—”
The kitchen went silent.
Dad’s expression hardened instantly.
“If you see him,” he said without hesitation, “you run like hell.”
Grandpa Alejandro scoffed loudly.
“Oh please. Running gets you killed faster.”
“Papà—” my mom started
“What? The boy should know how to survive!” Grandpa pointed his coffee spoon dramatically. “You take out the tubes on Wyatt’s armor. Without those, he’s just an angry man in metal pants.”
“Please stop teaching our son how to fight cyber terrorists before school,” Mom sighed.
Grandpa shrugged.
“Worked for Mateo.”
“Barely,” Mateo called from upstairs.
Mom walked over and kissed my forehead before fixing my hair.
“Enough superhero talk. Go welcome the new neighbors before your father starts another war flashback.”
“I heard that,” Dad muttered.
I wandered toward the front window.
And immediately forgot how breathing worked.
A girl balanced effortlessly on top of moving boxes across the street while laughing with her Brother
Her hair was black with a pink streak.
A pair of flight goggles resting on her forehead no idea what they were for yet
Then she noticed me watching.
She waved brightly.
“Hola, neighbor!”
I stared for exactly three seconds too long before managing:
“…Uh. Hi.”
Behind me, Mateo started laughing like a hyena.
Great.
First day at Nova Heights and I was already embarrassing myself
(this is just the beginning But there is definitely more to come for this series)