The storm had been raging for hours. Kairo Dune Sat by the cracked window of his small apartment, washing lightning tear across the sky. Every flash lit up the faded posters on his wall - heroes, dreamers, Men who could change the world. He used to think he'd be one of them. Until the night the lightning found him.
It was the day before his 16th birthday. The city was drowning in rain, the power lines sparkling like angry snakes. Kairo had been running from the bullies who chased him through the Alleys, from the feeling that he didn't belong anywhere. When he tripped and grabbed a metal fence, the world exploded in white.
He woke up hours later with no burns, no scars. But when he reached out, the street light flickered. His heartbeat hummed like static. He thought it was a dream until his hands began to glow. The next morning, strange Men in Black suits appeared at his school. They asked questions about the storm. About who was there, about Kairo.
And that's when he knew whatever had happened to him it wasn't an accident.