Hero Rising Read Free Page B

fans. I would come out and visit Tommy a couple of times a month and just suck in the sports and suds with my best bro. He had a brand-new house in the heart of Anaheim Hills, off of Imperial Street. Hector had helped him purchase it, along with what Tommy had in his savings from the mixed-martial arts fighting days. When I came out to visit him, there were lots of pizzas, beers and sports.
    Tommy made pretty good money these days as a coach for the next generation of MMA fighters. Tommy taught MMA at a local studio and had a lot of young clients begging for the type of opportunity that he and I had experienced just a few years ago. Neither one of us felt it was ethically right to compete anymore, as Tommy was immortal, and a werewolf. I was also possessed of super strength as both a Mani and a werewolf, except for the best part of my supernatural existence—I was not immortal.
    I had the ability to be both vampire and werewolf. I could turn into a great white eagle and fly at speeds that would make most jet pilots jealous.
    Was I a superhero? In my mind, I always had been. I’d never come out and said it because it would sound more than a tad arrogant. I thought of being a superhero as something that was anointed to you by the greater powers of the Divine. There, I’d admitted it, to myself only. I didn’t want to sound like I had huge ego and say it to Tommy. He would make fun of me for days.
    Tonight, I planned on leaving Tommy’s house to head back to my island. I missed Lena and the boys.
    Funny, when I was with Tommy, I missed my family. And when I was with my family, I missed Tommy.
    My friend was that amazing. But then, so was my family.

 
    Chapter Four
     
     
    Tommy and I said our goodbyes and I took off in my eagle form. Although I wanted to get back to Lena and the boys, I decided to do a flyover of another area I knew well in Anaheim. Anaheim, a fairly large city in Orange County, had a lot going on all the time. I took a roundabout journey home because there were a lot of things I missed about Southern California. Not the traffic. But maybe the fact that millions of people, with their own life stories, were interesting to me, and precious in their own way, I was compelled to take a last look tonight. If it was possible to fall in love with a place, Southern California was that place for me. You could take the man out of the city, but you couldn’t take the city out of the man.
    I was cruising over the heart of the city—near the intersection of Harbor and Ball—when my eagle eyes detected some chaos below. I swooped down to size up the situation. There was a fight going on in a dark parking lot—two guys were trying to fight against six others. It appeared the six guys were all carrying knives. Typical gangbanger-type activity. I wanted a closer look.
    Since no one else was around, I changed into my human form and floated down right into the midst of the brawl. All of them, including the two underdogs, showed surprise on their faces at my mysterious appearance. I grinned and folded my arms. I had two things on my mind—kicking ass and not getting filmed. My face needed to be hidden for the safety of my family. They could draw me all they liked, but no one was going to get an actual photo of my naked face.
    “What’s going on here, gentlemen?” I asked casually.
    One of the tougher of the six stepped forward. “I don’t know where you came from, but this is none of your business. So, take your ‘none of your business ass,’ and get the hell out of here with your hidden jetpack, or wherever it is.”
    He obviously didn’t know my rule: I never leave when I am asked. I leave when I am good and ready. Still, I decided to have a little fun. “Come on, now. Looks to me like those two are outnumbered. That’s not fair. Actually, it seems to me a little cowardly, don’t you think? Douchebag .”
    Another of the six came forward. “Who are you calling a douchebag?”
    “Well, I just called your