Never let them know your next move. His enemy had taken that closer to heart than he ever could've. Nothing in his life could've ever let him predict this. His body went slack with fear as he heard the ground rumble, flashes of the hospital bed clouding his vision.

-----

Every single time Mathias Mark came close to Serendipity, he was toyed with and cut down with such ease that the slashes still remain imprinted on his brain. As childish and lighthearted as the name 'Serendipity' was, this villain was formidable, powerful, and above all, lucky. Containing the power of Good Fortune, bordering on mind-crushingly infuriating, Mark had never been able to lay a finger on him.

Every time they fought, Mark needed to plan countermeasures and an AI that could calculate far more possibilities in a single second than Mark could in a year. Only once, a fateful Christmas day 4 years ago, atop the Empire State Building, did he ever win. He built a device that negated Serendipity's powers. Only after Mark's grandparents were evicted from their home and his closest cousin was placed in a coma. The villain had run off, and was never seen again. Mark was left bleeding and clutching a young child's teddy bear that was left at the scene.

Occasionally Mark wondered what happened to him. He also had no clue if the device he created was permanent or not, so many a night had kept him awake with false alarms and frightening memories as he feared his archenemy's return.

----

"-and as you can see, 5 groups of 4 make 20, so..." He let the answer dangle in front of her.

"20 divided by 4 is 5!" She shouted with glee.

He smiled at such childish energy. Maybe it was a reminder that he was getting old, but it still brought with him a sense of happiness for the next generation. "Correct! And would you look at that! You successfully completed all 20 questions!"

She giggled with excitement and did a little dance. He shuffled a little as well before a voice in his head - the voice of reason - decided to ruin the fun.

"<>Heart rate, 110. Recommended: Cease.<>"

His eyes widened in merry concern. The AI did not account that a child's heart rate is naturally higher, but ultimately it was in the right. "Woah, okay then. Destiny, maybe we should go check if your father's here yet! It's almost 5, and don't you want to show him your worksheet?"

She shifted gears instantly. "Yeah!"

Snatching the piece of paper with movements faster than Reflex, she grabbed his hand and yanked him outside. He banished the thought from his head. His fighting days were behind him, his mind and telekinetic powers covered in cobwebs at this point. True he dons the spandex when his AI - after sifting through crime reports - believes him to be required, but after the fall of Serendipity, villains started disappearing overnight.

--

The flap of the paper in that beautiful Autumn breeze brought me back. Apart from the cars of teachers who stayed late - either to review assignments or sic on their naughty ones - the parking lot was empty except for one car near the entrance, and one man leaning against it.

He looked to be in his late thirties, but most likely it was just stress. I briefly found that combination with such an energetic daughter weird, but then it occurred to me that if my child is curious and an energetic wanderer, I would probably be taxed as well.

I usually disliked parents because of how uncompromising and accusatory they usually were. But - when her dad saw them, his face melted away into such a loving smile that I could not help but put him in the 'Good' list. He waved us over and eyed me with minor skepticism, but I gladly conceded my threat status.

"Dad!" She ran up to him and waved the paper in his face. "Look at what I got! Look!- Ah!"

She tripped the second she got close, and our reaction times were surprisingly comparable. I silently shot a wave bubble to soften her fall, but before I could do that he had jumped, caught her, and rolled for a second before gracefully standing up as if nothing had happened, and he had simply been giving her an embrace. The sheer speed at which he did that threw me off, and I didn't have time to cut the bubble before it hit him below the knees and he fell as well. There was a brief flash of a quizzical look on his face before he braced for impact.

"Oh goodness! I'm so sorry!" I ran up and genuinely felt bad. I really am getting too old for this. "Would you like me to help you up?" I follow through and ask.

He simply chuckled and unfolded his arms, letting his daughter emerge from his cocoon.

"Oh don't worry about it. That's just my rotten luck." He lifted up and dusted himself off, shifting his attention. "Are you okay, angel?" He softly asked.

"<>Voice sample, needed. Get closer.<>" The AI popped in my head at such a random time. Maybe it's gotten too used to villains in every corner. I shrug it off and reply.

"I'm fi-" I almost said before 'He's not talking to me!!!' shot into my head and caused me to shut the hell up. Stupid AI! Messing me up like that!

"<>I'm not stupid, you're stupid.<>" Shut up! I missed the first part of her reply.

"-Every time this happens you always save me, dad. But why aren't you talking about all my hard work!!" She shook the crumpled assignment in her fist, and he immediately laughed.

"Oh, let me see here..." After inspecting it for a moment, he picked her up and spun her around. "All correct! Of course. Oh, and you must be her favourite teacher!"

He set her down to look at me. She nodded aggressively and looked at me with a beam.

"<>Voice Sample Required.<>" Seriously, shut up! I'm her favourite teacher? I knew it.

I nod and extend my hand. "If I remember my attendance sheet correctly, you'd be Chris Meton, correct?"

"Nice to see her teacher has quite the impressive memory!" He stated genially before shaking my hand with a firm grip, eyes on mine.

Eyes straying downwards to the strange texture in my hand, I make comment on his surprisingly bulky and loose fitting attire. "Are you a construction worker? Pardon my ignorance, I know of little jobs that require hard boots and worker's gloves."

"Something like that. I work in disaster recovery."

Hah! Quick Bit, the kleptomaniac with an obsession of screws would've loved that job.

Oh he's still talking. "-With my luck, it's useful to say 'the building collapsed before I got there'!" He laughed loudly, and it did tickle me to think of how many criminals might enjoy a job like that. I could still feel his firm hand underneath the glove, when my brain clicked and I flashed back to that night.

It was the laugh. The laughter that was not maleficence, no. It was psychotically carefree and to Mark's ears so selfish. He tried to force himself back, "It's not him! He's just a civilian!", but when he looked down he saw the blood of his cousin seeping through their clasped hands.

Stowing his high spirits the second he saw the marked shift in the teacher's inhalation, his face adopted concern. "Uh, are you-"

"<>Voice Recognised: Villain of Good Fortune, Serendipity. 100% match.<>"

The whole world shook.

----

To think that he had been teaching Destiny division just a few minutes prior. For her to willingly request his assistance - an act that rekindled his love for teaching - meant that somehow he had created someone that turned out all right.

Maybe he probably should've caught the 'Destiny' word-play earlier.

---- I might make Part 2 later. I wasted my time writing this instead of studying for my midterm. It's in 3 hours, so I have time...