Sometimes, I almost wish the world would end. Seriously. Will the suffering of ordinary men and women in this mundane world ever end? Will people stop discriminating against those who are different? There seems to be no end to the madness I see all around me. And in spite of my abilities, I am powerless to stop it. My name is Alexandros Pyrrhos. I am a big and tall, somewhat good-looking young man of Haitian-American and Greek descent living in the city of Boston, Massachusetts. I attend Massachusetts Commonwealth University, also known as CMU. I lead the kind of life many would envy. My family is wealthy and powerful. I'm nineteen years old and play Division One Football. Oh, and I have super powers. I am also openly bisexual, and currently single. And the entire world thinks I'm a joke. I hate my life.
I don't know when I discovered I was different but I simply am. I am invulnerable. Bullets, flames, knives, poisons, none of it can hurt me. I've been that way since birth. The doctors found this out when they tried to
'modify' me, against my dying mother Alexandra Pierrot Pyrrhos's wishes. Dear old mum believed in naturalism and the holistic approach to life and was an opponent of human bodily modification for any reason except life-threatening circumstances. My skin simply cannot be broken. On top of being invulnerable, I am also quite strong. I can lift up to forty times my own weight. Not an ounce more. I can lift a cab, and maybe a school bus. But not a train. There are limits to even superhuman strength. Don't ask me to lift up Mount Everest. I'll tell you to go screw yourself.
I have the Gift of Speed, though. I can run really fast when I push myself. I can't dodge a speeding bullet. I can't outrun a racehorse. But I can definitely outrun any man or woman among the NCAA's top cross country and track & field athletes. Not a boast, just the truth. Fifty five miles per hour is my max. for those of you wondering, I cannot fly. I've only tried it once. I fell on my ass from a height of three hundred feet and looked ridiculous in front of billions. The video is all over MySpace and Youtube. It's embarrassing. I'm not a superhero, or some damn Saturday morning cartoon. I'm just an ordinary guy, with certain special abilities. If anyone asks me to fly again, on anything beside an airplane or a helicopter, I will shove a rocket up their asses. Let them find out what it's like to fly, the hard way. I swear on all that's holy. I also cannot see through walls. I cannot hear any better than you can. Hell, I hear worse than most guys, if my short-lived relationships with past girlfriends are to be believed. I can't shoot heat beams from my eyes.
In spite of all my gifts, my life isn't exactly easy. Anyone growing up in a single parent home will tell you the exact same thing. My father, Nikos Pyrrhos is the owner of Pyrrhos Incorporated, a multi-billion-dollar company that manufactures battleship equipment for the U.S. Navy, among other powerful clients and corporations. My dad and I don't talk much. He disapproves of my being bisexual, though I didn't exactly choose it. We're Roman Catholic and kind of conservative in the Pyrrhos Clan. I don't have any other siblings. As far as I know, I'm the only freak with powers in this world.
The whole world is always watching my every move. Folks are always walking up to me. Some guy even asked me to volunteer for target practice at a gun club. I turned him down. When I'm not in class, I keep to myself. Many people think I'm just some punk. Being a bisexual and biracial would-be superhero as well as a college football player isn't easy. I hardly see any playing time on the gridiron. My coaches and teammates don't like me much. They think I'm a weirdo. I don't use my powers while playing. So people think I'm lazy. There's just no pleasing the world. I have never known what happiness is, until I met Devin Wayne.
Devin Wayne is another outcast on campus. He's a tall, lean guy with spiky red hair and green eyes. He's the only openly gay member of the Men's Swim team. He's also the son of CMU Athletic Director David Wayne. His father is a living legend. David Wayne took over the flimsy athletic programs at CMU and spent the past ten years turning the school around. Originally, CMU sponsored Men's intercollegiate alpine skiing, archery, baseball, basketball, cross country, soccer, rugby, rowing, swimming, gymnastics, outdoor track, water polo, sailing, wrestling, ice hockey, squash, lacrosse, rifle, pistol, golf and tennis along with Women's intercollegiate alpine skiing, archery, softball, basketball, cross country, rowing, soccer, field hockey, squash, sailing, swimming, volleyball, equestrian, outdoor track, rugby, water polo, gymnastics, wrestling, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, golf and tennis. We're the top private school in Massachusetts, after MIT and Harvard, yet we've never had a football team. In 1998, CMU officially began fielding Division One Varsity Football. We soon became a dominant force in the New England Football Conference, beating local powerhouses such as Boston College, UMass Amherst, Harvard, MIT and Northeastern University. Ten years later, the program was still going strong.
Living at CMU could be quite lonely, especially for someone like me. Yeah, Devin Wayne shared the titanic burden I bore. He knew what it's like to be the offspring of a living legend and living a semi-normal life in the public eye. He was ostracized by his teammates as well. We became friends. Devin was such a cool guy. Like me, he loved comic books and action movies. I wish I were more like Superman. The whole world loves him. Why not? He's white, straight, and has a perfect life. A beautiful woman loves him. He's adored by billions. And his parents are proud of him. No wonder he always saves the day. Me? I'm just a guy trying to lead an ordinary life. I've never been a hero. Until I met Devin Wayne, and finally made a friend. We hung out all over Boston. He was the only real friend I had.
To Devin, I was just a regular guy. He was mad cool and also very generous with me. CMU offered me a full student-athlete scholarship for football. It covered room and board, along with four meals a day in the dormitory's cafeteria. My dad got pissed off at me for one reason or another and froze my account. I am flat broke. Rigid NCAA rules prevent student-athletes from working. So, quite often, I only had the a room to sleep in and the clothes on my back. Devin got me some cool gear. I stand six feet five inches tall and weigh two hundred and eighty pounds. I'm a little on the chubby side, too. Most stores don't carry clothes that fit me. Somehow, Devin got me some clothes that not only fit but also looked good. Folks, I loved this dude. As a friend. He showed me that it was okay to be gay or bisexual without being a total queen. My dad, whom I love dearly in spite of it all, thinks all gays and bisexuals are effeminate weirdoes who need to be kept away from normal society. He backed up Republican politicians who staunchly opposed Same-Sex Marriage legislation in Massachusetts. He even contribute to Governor Romney's presidential campaign. Me? I'm down with Senator Barack Obama all the way. I think he's going to beat McCain and become our first black president. Word up.
Devin woke me up early to vote during the Massachusetts Primary. I love the guy but I think he'd have made a great drill sergeant. Actually, he would have. He was in the J.R.O.T.C. back in high school. He went to Boston College High School. I went to Roxbury Latin Academy. We came from different worlds but he was my best friend and the brother I never had. Even though I was born on February 5, 1988, eighteen days before Devin, he was actually the big brother in our fraternal relationship. He knew everything about everything. He was actually the valedictorian of his graduating class at BC High. Me? I've always been a slacker academically. Oh, I always pass my classes.
With a B if I'm lucky. But I am not into much of academia. Unless you're talking about literature. I loved the writings of great men like Voltaire, Wagner and Nietzsche. If the world were filled with people who thought like Nietzsche, it might be a better place. I think he's totally misunderstood. There's nothing wrong with humanity striving toward self-improvement via any means available. Devin shared a love of Nietzsche literature with me.
He would read me quotations from Nietzsche's The Will To Power while I did push-ups on the wooden floor of his dorm. I've struggled with my weight all my life. It's something many men and women in this world can relate to. Because of my superhuman constitution, I don't get worn out easily. And that doesn't bode well for cutting calories. Especially since I've made Dunkin Donuts my second home when I'm off campus. My buddy helped me get into shape. I lost thirty pounds in nine weeks. How about that?
With Devin's influence, things began to look a bit less bleak in this young man's life. I pushed myself during practice, having gained more confidence as a result of my weight loss. I still didn't use my powers, though. I began to see more playing time. Once, I actually helped Tim Robson, the quarterback of our football team score a touchdown during the Thanksgiving Day Football game. I was his blocker while he rushed for nearly seventy yards and won the game for us against the University of Connecticut. We sent the Huskies home in tears that day. Yeah, life was good. After that, the whole team was treated to a spectacular dinner inside CMU Boston campus Food Court by none other than Head Coach Martin Shay. How about that? We had won our conference title from one of our fiercest rivals. I was having a good day. I didn't know that this would be the day when I would make my debut as a superhero.