Friends Win

A group of friends (who are secretly superheroes) save the world from a cosmic threat.

Created by: Gio Aranda
Written By: Gio Aranda
Edited By: Gio Aranda

Friends Win

Somewhere in the cosmos…

 It was a regular day in Los Angeles, California. It was freshman year for Oliver and Elijah, they were only 14 years old at the time. It was November, 2023. The bell had just rung and they were walking down to the gym, talking, when Oliver asked,
         “Yo, are you hittin’ up Oswald’s?”
 Elijah replied, “Nah, got practice, and it’s an early night for me, I’ve got a game tomorrow. City’s for you and Theodore tonight.”
 Oliver rolled his eyes.
 “How come a guy with super-speed still has to go to basketball practice?”
 “‘Cuz, let’s face it. I am this team.”
 Oliver shrugged.
 “Yeah, the school basketball team, you mean. I’m our team.”
 Elijah chuckled.
 “Sure you are, buddy. What are your powers again? Except, you know, nothing?”
 “Pffft, whatever, man.”
 Elijah smiled.
 “I’ll catch you later, Oliver!” He said, screaming.
 Oliver looked around frantically to see the other students looking at him.
 “Shut up!” He yelled at Elijah.
 Oliver walked over to Oswald’s Deli after school and said hi to him. Then he walked out and told Theodore that it was just them tonight, no Elijah.
 “Ugh. That speedy little bastard. Always leavin’ us hangin’.” said Theodore.
         He’s 26 years old, from another world, another universe entirely. He’s traversed the multiverse and escaped Hell. No one knew why or how Theodore ended up here, but the three of them loved each other with a brotherly love that could never be broken. The four of them, including Oswald. Not even The Cosmic N could break them apart. They were brothers, and they loved each other. Especially Oliver and Oswald. They were brothers. They loved each other.

 The next day Oliver and Elijah skateboarded to Oswald’s after school. The time had changed about a week ago, so the sky was golden as the sun set directly after school. It was beautiful. Oliver and Elijah walked into the shop with their skateboards in their hands and backpacks slung over their backs. They walked in, chin-up like they owned the place.
 “Yo, Oswald! What’s good?” Said Oliver.
 “Waddup, Oswald!” Said Elijah.
 “Yo, what’s up, guys!” Oswald said with that gleaming smile and those big kind eyes.
 “Is Theodore outside?” Oliver asked.
 “Yeah! Oh, ya’ll want the usual?” Oswald asked them.
 “Pffft, the grass green, yo?” Elijah said.
 Oswald nodded and they went outside with Theodore. That was always the deal. Oswald gave them whatever food they wanted, as long as someone cleaned up at closing time. However, one time, Oswald caught Elijah eating literally all of the supply there, since he is the fastest being in the entire multiverse and has to eat millions of calories a day just to stay alive. No one knows how or where he gets all that food from to survive. No one’s asked, though. They don’t want to find out.
 “My boys!” Theodore said as he stood up from his seat with a mozzarella stick in his mouth.
 They all hugged each other. They were brothers. They talked for a bit. Los Angeles was beautiful at this time. November, 4:42 p.m.. Beautiful. All of a sudden the sky exploded and everything turned red. Gravity became iffy and there was this strong force. Cars were lifted and launched as buildings crumbled. Thousands died while thousands more screamed and ran in terror. There was a strong wind and the sky constantly changed color. They all looked up and they saw him. The Cosmic N. The only one powerful enough to defeat him was Theodore. He had done it once before when he was 13, but in doing so, he risked destroying everything. Everything. Beneath N, standing in the center of downtown LA, was Tea, Eff, and Dee. Tea was a super-speed villain and Dee was one of Oliver’s enemies. Eff, however, was one of the greatest heroes in the world.
 “Mr. Eff?” Oliver asked under his breath.
 “What is Eff doing?!” Theodore asked, yelling.
 “I don’t know!” Oliver shouted.
 “What happened to Eff?!” Elijah yelled.
 “I don’t know! N must be mind controlling him!” Oliver yelled.
 “Well, it doesn’t matter! He’s standing on their side, which means, right now, he goes down!” Theodore exclaimed.
 Theodore’s supersuit magically appeared, Elijah put his on in a blink, Oliver put on his gloves and mask, and then tore off his clothes to reveal his suit underneath.
 Tea immediately grabbed Elijah in less than a nanosecond.
 “Pathetic child!” He growled.
 Despite being a regular human, Eff was wearing his nanite-particle suit, making him nearly indestructible. Eff leaped to Theodore. They started to fight hard. Dee ran at Oliver.
 “You can never escape me!” He screamed.
 “You were my brother, Dee!” Oliver said to him.
 They began to fight. While all three were occupied, N was levitating above the city, taking souls into Hell and destroying the world little by little, enjoying every second of it. He smiled as he watched Elijah, Theodore, and Oliver fight against Tea, Eff, and Dee. In the midst of the ugly fighting, Oliver yelled at Elijah,
 “We need to call them in!”
 Elijah raised his watch to his mouth,
 “All superheroes, we need help! We need hel-”
 Before he could finish his sentence, Eff appeared out of nowhere and destroyed the watch, saying “No superheroes are here to save you from us. There is only N.”
 Elijah looked to the side to see Theodore lying unconscious on the floor. Tea had Elijah by the throat, Eff was brainwashed evil, and Theodore had just been defeated. Oliver was fighting Dee when he hit Oliver perfectly on the chin, dropping him to the floor. Dee walked into Oswald’s and jumped over the counter to see a frightened Oswald. Oliver lied on the floor as he watched Dee break Oswald’s nose.
 “NOOO!!” Oliver screamed as he tried to get up.
 Eff jumped on Oliver, pinning him down painfully. Dee smiled as he was about to do worse to Oswald. Then, out of nowhere, Theodore hit Eff off of Oliver with a makurani hand blast. A move he learned while being imprisoned in Hell. The blast was so hard that it broke Eff’s suit clean off. Shattered it. Oliver got up and began running to Dee. Dee ran toward him. A loud boom was heard. Theodore was out again. Cosmic N himself had blasted him into a state of never-ending. He posed too much of a threat to Eff, so he neutralized him. Eff then began sprinting at Oliver. Dee was coming at Oliver from his right, and Eff was coming at Oliver from his left. The two best fighters in the world against Oliver. He wouldn’t have stood a chance… But, Oswald got hurt, and that made Oliver angry.
         Elijah’s nose was broken and he was battered and bruised all over. His suit was torn and his goggles shattered. Elijah fought with all his heart and never gave up, but against Tea? Against Tea, Elijah himself was child play. Elijah was on the verge of death. Theodore was in a state of never-ending, N was sucking the energy and soul of every living being on Earth, and Oliver was fighting against Eff and Dee at the same time. There were no superheroes, and the last one left (besides Oliver, Elijah, and Theodore), the heart of the world, Eff, was being possessed by the N himself. It was the end times.
         A broken nose, one shattered cheekbone, the other; fractured, seven broken fingers, three cracked ribs, two completely broken, four missing teeth, two broken toes, one herniated disk, two pulled neck muscles, one ear ringing, both eyes puffed - one completely shut, and a concussion. Blood poured through cuts and bruises all over the body. Oliver had just defeated Eff and Dee. At the same time.
         Oliver fell unconscious. Elijah knocked Tea off a building with one final blow. Elijah was half dead and somehow defeated the Tea. Now Elijah truly was the most powerful being. In every universe. Elijah ran to the edge of the multiverse and back to produce enough energy to break Theodore out of the state of Never-ending. He blasted Theodore. The action used up the last of his strength. Elijah collapsed to the floor. When Theodore woke up, it was just Theodore versus N. They fought in the sky and eventually the cosmos. Civilians looked up. To see their true, purest forms of energy combating in the sky was oddly gorgeous. A beauty unlike none other. A beauty born of destruction. Pastels and neons filled the sky. The good guys always win. Always.
         
         The years after that were spent rebuilding. Rebuilding cities, homes, jobs, friendships, families; rebuilding the world. Oliver , Elijah, and Theodore spent the following years fighting, as always. Oswald spent the following years making sandwiches, as always. Most importantly, they all spent the rest of their lives living every moment. Loving every moment. Because they were brothers.