Finn woke to sunlight cutting through the gap in his curtains and the sound of someone's radio playing three floors down. His body ached from last night's chase but it was the good kind of ache. The kind that came from actually using his body instead of wasting away at a desk.
He sat up and checked the system interface.
**[SPARK CAPACITY: 14/14]**
Full. Ready to go.
The apartment looked worse in daylight. Dust everywhere. Clothes piled in corners. Dishes in the sink that probably qualified as biological hazards at this point. Finn Porter's entire existence had been about survival, not living.
'Well,' Finn thought, 'at least he kept the rent paid.'
His stomach growled. Right. Food was still a requirement.
He opened the mini fridge and found it exactly as empty as he'd expected. Just the dregs of yesterday's protein bar and some questionable water.
Finn grabbed the protein bar and bit into it. Tasted like cardboard. He washed it down with tap water that had a metallic aftertaste strong enough to strip paint.
'Definitely need to find work.'
The hunting parties were out of the option. Getting abandoned to die once was enough for a lifetime. But there were other options. Loading docks, factories, repair shops. Nothing glamorous but enough to keep the lights on and food in the fridge.
He changed clothes and headed out.
The outer districts had a different energy in the morning. Still cramped and run-down but people were moving with purpose. Workers heading to early shifts. Street vendors setting up carts. Kids running errands. Everyone had somewhere to be.
Finn walked without a clear destination, just scanning for opportunity boards or help wanted signs. His mind kept drifting back to last night. To seeing those three faces on stage being celebrated as heroes.
'Marcus, Vanessa, and Joel,' he thought. 'Living their best lives in the inner districts while I'm out here looking for day labor.'
The cosmic joke just kept getting funnier.
He needed to get stronger. Needed resources and training and access to their world. But how? He was officially nobody. An outer district orphan with abilities he couldn't legally use without registration.
A repair shop came into view with a help wanted sign in the window. Finn stopped and stared at it.
This was the path forward if he did nothing. Day labor, scraping by.
Working himself into the ground just to afford rent and food while Marcus and his friends lived like celebrities.
'Yeah, that's not happening.'
The system had marked him as Fourth Gen. Had given him abilities that could actually make a difference. He just needed to figure out how to leverage that into something more than survival.
Finn kept walking, his thoughts racing through possibilities and discarding most of them.
A crowd had gathered ahead around a public screen mounted on a building. Finn almost avoided it but curiosity won out.
They were watching news coverage of last night. The venue of the celebration. Security everywhere and yellow tapes.
A news anchor explaining the "brazen theft attempt" at the hero celebration.
"...two suspects remain at large after allegedly stealing advanced Spark technology. Security footage shows one suspect displayed unregistered Awakened abilities during the escape. Governor Vincent Reed has called for increased security and urged anyone with information to come forward."
The footage cut to the Governor looking appropriately concerned outside the venue.
"This kind of criminal behavior cannot be tolerated," he said with gravity. "Our heroes work tirelessly to protect us. To steal the very technology that keeps us safe is an act of cowardice and betrayal."
'Right,' Finn thought. 'Because one missing amplifier is definitely going to doom humanity.'
Some people in the crowd were nodding along. Others looked skeptical. One woman muttered something about the inner districts having plenty of tech to spare anyway.
The broadcast shifted to commercial break. The screen filled with new images.
It opened to show multiple sleek buildings with training grounds and combat arenas. Students in uniforms sparring. Support personnel in high-tech workshops.
Text scrolled across the bottom: **BASTION SEVEN DEFENSE INSTITUTE - HERO ACADEMY**
"Do you have what it takes to defend humanity?" The voice-over was smooth and professional. "Bastion Seven Defense Institute is accepting applications. Combat students and support personnel needed. Full scholarships available for qualifying candidates. Testing begins in two weeks."
The footage cycled through impressive facilities and equipment. Then it shifted to highlight successful alumni.
And there they were.
Marcus Vale, Vanessa Bullion and Joel Sterling.
Younger. In academy uniforms. But unmistakably them.
"Distinguished Alumni - Current S-Rank Heroes."
Finn stared at the screen.
'Now that's the pipeline,' he quickly recalled. 'That's how you go from nobody to hero. Through the academy.'
Which meant the academy could give him everything he needed. Not just training and resources but access to their world. To people who knew them. To information about their schedules and habits and weaknesses.
And enrollment would legitimize his awakening. Turn him from an illegal unregistered Awakened into a legitimate student. Clean slate.
'But money's a problem.'
The commercial mentioned scholarships but those were competitive. Hundreds of applicants fighting for a handful of spots.
Unless he had an advantage most applicants didn't.
Like knowing exactly how the testing worked because he'd written the damn thing.
"Finn! Hey!"
He turned to see Peter jogging toward him, blue scarf flapping. He looked like he hadn't slept but was too excited to care.
"I've been looking everywhere for you," Peter said, slightly winded. "You're not going to believe what I figured out."
"The amplifier?"
"Yes! I've been running tests all morning. This thing is insane." Peter glanced around and lowered his voice. "The energy output is way beyond anything in the outer districts. I could power equipment that normally needs an Awakened to operate."
"So you could build better gear."
"I could build gear that lets regular people compete with Awakened. Level the playing field." Peter was practically vibrating. "Stick it to the whole corrupt system."
Finn looked at his friend's genuine enthusiasm and almost felt bad about what he was going to do.
Almost.
"Did you see the news?" Finn asked.
Peter's expression soured. "About last night? Yeah. We steal one amplifier they have dozens of and suddenly we're terrorists threatening humanity."
"Not that. The commercial after."
"What commercial?"
"Hero Academy recruitment."
Peter snorted. "Let them recruit more corporate puppets. What's that got to do with us?"
"They accept support personnel. Inventors who work with Spark-tech."
"I know that. Why would I care?"
Finn gestured toward the workshop district. "How's your current setup? Got everything you need?"
Peter's enthusiasm dimmed. "It's adequate. I make do."
"And if you had access to real equipment? Academy workshops with tools and materials you can't get here?"
"That's..." Peter crossed his arms. "Those places are for rich kids who worship heroes. I'm not joining that system just for better tools."
"It's not about joining," Finn said. "It's about using them. Taking their resources and turning it against everything you hate."
Peter looked uncertain.
"You said you wanted to level the playing field," Finn continued. "Hard to do that with scavenged parts and a workshop that barely has power. But academy facilities? You could actually build things that matter."
"And you'd come with me?" Peter asked. "You just awakened. You think you're academy material?"
"I think I'll surprise people."
There was something in how Finn said it that made Peter study him closer.
"You're serious."
"Completely."
"Why? What's your angle here?"
Finn considered his answer. Decided on a version of the truth.
"Because you're right about the system being broken. Heroes get everything while people like us get scraps. But you can't change anything from outside. You need to get in first. Understand how it really works." He met Peter's eyes. "Then you can break whatever you want."
It wasn't a lie. Finn absolutely wanted to break something. Just something very specific.
Peter was quiet, thinking. Finn could see the conflict. Wanting better resources but hating what they represented.
"Even if I wanted to," Peter said finally, "there's the money problem. Academy enrollment isn't cheap."
"Scholarships."
"Competitive. I'm good but I don't have formal credentials."
"Then we find another way."
"What other way?"
Finn allowed himself a small smile. The kind that suggested he knew something Peter didn't.
"Leave that to me. I've got an idea."
Peter stared at him. "You're different, you know that? Since you got back from the Outlands. You're acting... I don't know. Weird."
"Almost dying changes a person."
"I guess." Peter still looked uncertain. "What's this idea?"
"I'll tell you once I confirm it works. Give me a day."
"That's not ominous at all."
"Trust me."
"That's even more ominous." But Peter was grinning slightly. "Fine. One day. But if your plan is 'commit more crimes,' I'm out."
"No crimes. Just taking advantage of information most people don't have."
"How do you even have that kind of information?"
Finn just smiled and started walking. "Come on. I'll buy you breakfast if I can find somewhere that accepts credit."
"Your fridge is that empty?"
"My fridge is a biohazard."
Peter laughed and fell into step beside him, and Finn felt something settle into place. Not friendship exactly. More like pieces moving into position on a board.
Peter thought they were partners in rebellion against an unfair system. And that was fine. Let him think that.
The truth was simpler. Finn needed resources and Peter could provide them. The academy would give them both what they needed, and Peter's gratitude for being included would keep him loyal.
Cold? Maybe. Calculated? Definitely.
But Finn had spent four weeks being tortured by people who smiled while they did it. If they could do that and become heroes, he could be strategic about survival and call it pragmatism.
'Fair's fair,' he thought, and somehow that made it easier.