Chapter 214: Aarush
Aarush Brenner hated Supers.
At an early age, he had learned quickly that the world was not meant to be a place where people could all be equal. The fact was that there were simply people who stood taller than others. Supers were above humans. Even so, though, Aarush wanted to help humanity any way that he could, yet he refused to work alongside Supers. That was why, despite being more than qualified for a position as a high-ranking Hero Branch officer, Aarush instead became a cop.
For years, he served the public, doing his best, but in a world with superheroes, the role of a single police officer was small and almost unneeded. They weren't even used for cleanup most of the time since the Hero Branch would deal with that. Instead, they were sent in as a first line of defense, meant to be sacrificed to gauge the threat of the danger and determine what level of hero was needed. This led to his hatred of Supers to grow as he watched good men and women be slaughtered, only for someone like Lady Time or Fable to swoop in and save the day.
Supers were not humans. They were nothing more than wild beasts that craved violence. Even Full Monarch was no better. Every time a battle involving a Super happened, the world would be left in ruins. Maybe it was just a street, or maybe it was an entire city; either way, Supers were not gentle, nor were they safe. In a way, it was the ultimate cosmic joke.
Then the day came when Aarush met the woman of his dreams. She was a scientist working for the Hero Branch, and they had met by pure chance. He had been dropping off supplies to a nearby lab, chasing after some serial killer, when he met her. She had been assigned to the case, testing out some new invention.
In a novel, it would have been love at first sight.
It wasn't that, though.
They argued, and they bickered, and they yelled. It took months before they could even work together and even longer before they were able to consider the other's feelings. Aarush honestly couldn't remember why they ended up together. Perhaps it was simply because they spent so much time around each other that it was the only conclusion left to be made. Or maybe that resentment did fade, and something better took its place. In the end, it didn't matter because this was the point where the item he would cherish above all was created. Kyle was born, and both of them finally had something they both agreed on. They would keep their son safe no matter what.
His wife died years later. While overseas, a Murder Game had started. She hadn't been a player, but she was one of the poor people caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Lucifer had killed his wife.
Aarush Brenner utterly hated Supers.
Aarush Brenner would do anything for his son.