He wasn’t always known as Steelheart, no, at the age of 17 he was just another boy named Jonathan. Jon had no family except an older brother who he followed around incessantly. He had nowhere else to go. His brother, Steve, was a lowly construction worker, always working at the behest of those above him. Life wasn’t easy. Epics had already started appearing in the world of normal humans, stirring up the peace they once had. There was once a time when Jon couldn’t understand what they did, now a time long forgotten.
One day Jon followed Steve to a construction site on a hill that looked like a wreck. Dirt and sand hung in the air and clung to your clothes, sheets of steel lay haphazardly on mounds of mud. Jon was helping his brother carry a log of wood up the hill. Sweat dripped down his forehead in the blazing heat. Just then, a boom sounded from somewhere nearby. The earth shook with a vibrating thunder.
Steve dropped the log and shouted to Jon, “Get down!” Debris flung out from the top of the hill. It had no concern for the people around; they were collateral damage.
“Don’t even think about running,” a striking voice boomed from overhead. “You’re mine now.”
The two boys stared above them, but they couldn’t see through the dust. The rampage resumed, buildings being torn down in mere seconds. The air was covered by a perpetual fog and the screams of the people around drowned out any other noise. Jon was terrified. He gripped his brother’s hand, willing it all to just be a dream. A sheet of steel materialized in his peripheral, flying toward the boys at a speed he’d never seen. Before he could react, the steel lodged itself right inside Steve’s chest, sending him flying. As he fell to the ground, blood began to pool around him.
“No! Steve, please,” Jon sobbed. He clambered down to Steve’s level and held onto his brother.
“Jon, don’t ever let them take control of you. Never give in,” Steve breathed out, his last dying breath.
As the light drained from his eyes, something switched inside Jon. He would never give in. He didn’t care what it took. He would get revenge for his brother, and kill everyone who stopped him.
Jon’s head whipped up at the sound of the booming voice above him. “Oops, did I hit your brother? Aw, I’m sorry, but you look so cute when you’re angry.”
Jon didn’t fall for the mocking tone. He wasn’t even listening. With a scream, he lurched his fist forward at the figure in the sky. “Die! Die!” Flying into the air, he punched the Epic in the chest, his knuckles clattering against the man’s ribs. Upon impact, blood poured out of his mouth and he fell to the ground. As Jon landed beside him, he touched the ground, turning it to steel with his newfound powers as an Epic.
He looked over at his brother, steel in his heart, and vowed to kill anyone who defied him.
