『In Frymart...』
The sound of sizzling oil echoed like a war drum in the grease-scented air.
Customers munched on fries, drowned in sauces of unknown origin.
Neon signs flickered above like they were holding on for dear life.
This was Frymart — the Lower District's favorite fast-food brunch joint, open 23 hours a day because the manager refused to pay for proper cleaning time.
The door swung open with a faint electronic ding.
In walked Jason Norman, 21 years old, college dropout, part-time meme investor (full-time loser at it), and current custodian of regret.
He had a small backpack slung over one shoulder and a beard stub that looked like it was trying to unionize.
To the untrained eye, he looked like just another customer looking to rot his stomach lining.
WRONG!
Jason worked here.
He headed toward the back, ducking under the half-broken order sign.
"Yer late," croaked Mr. Gubb, Frymart's manager, a short man with a permanent scowl and the skin texture of a well-done nugget.
Jason didn't bother arguing. "No worries, I'm here to serve the glorious cause of salt."
Mr. Gubb just grunted, shoving a greasy towel at him.
Jason changed into the iconic Frymart uniform — brown vest, yellow collar, a badge that read "Hi, I'm Jase!" with the "e" clearly drawn in Sharpie — and got to work.
For the next six hours, he played waiter, janitor, therapist to crying customers, and silent witness to at least one argument about pickle-to-meat ratio.
All for $7.20 an hour and half a staff meal.
At around 6 p.m., Jason ducked behind the supply shelf, unpeeled his sweat-soaked apron, and tucked it under the cupboard where all unholy garments go to die.
He high-fived Brenda the cook, gave a nod to Kai on fries, and slipped out the back.
Because tonight wasn't just any night.
It was Tuesday Night.
Which meant only one thing.
Anomaly was going live.
…
Jason's apartment, Unit 4B, wasn't exactly a paradise.
The walls were thin enough to hear his neighbor arguing with her cat ("You don't pay rent, Gary!"), and the water pressure was a suggestion at best.
But it was his place. His little fortress of depression, ramen noodles, and two Wi-Fi bars.
He dropped his bag, kicked off his off-brand sneakers, and collapsed onto the futon that doubled as his bed.
"Alexa, lights on," he said.
A beat.
"Lighting system not found," came the robotic voice of his TotallyLegit™ SmartHome Assistant.
"Right. Forgot you don't do anything." He flicked on the switch manually and grabbed the remote.
Jason pulled out his phone, opened StreamScape, the biggest platform in the world — home to gamers, heroes, influencers, and most importantly...
Villains.
He scrolled past the usual flood of hero streams — Captain Valor's Punch Cam, Mindbender Girl's Daily Tea Time, SpeedStreak's 'Running with Fans'.
And then he saw it.
『🔴 LIVE』
『ANOMALY | Weekly Chaos Special — "We're stealing a satellite today."』
『1.2 million viewers and rising. (Hot)』
Jason tapped it so fast he almost sprained his thumb.
The stream opened with static... and then a flickering image came into view: a dark figure standing atop a tower, bathed in moonlight, one hand crackling with blue lightning, the other holding a laptop that seemed too advanced to exist.
He wore a matte black combat suit with glowing blue lines like circuit boards stitched into the armor.
His helmet covered his face entirely — a sleek design with two sharp eye slits and a voice modulator that made him sound like every hacker villain from a sci-fi movie.
Anomaly.
The one-man chaos event.
The internet's favorite villain.
The man who made blowing up a weapons depot look cinematic.
『Danger_Zone9000: He's back, baby!!!』
『GreasyGoblin23: Bro bout to make every hero cry again 😭』
『MindFreaky: Not me watching this instead of my college midterm 😭😭』
『Ch4oS_Qu33n: His voice alone got me feelin things』
Jason couldn't help but grin.
This guy... this guy was living the dream.
The views, the chaos, the custom-fit villain drip. He even had his own merch line.
Meanwhile, Jason had once been kicked out of a Discord server for suggesting a "Slap Your Boss" simulator.
Tonight's stream was chaos incarnate, it was bound to be as this was the fucking Anomaly.
The Anomaly turned slowly to face the drone.
Then he waved.
Just a small, casual wave.
『GoblinTech69: OMG HE WAVED 🛐🛐🛐』
『RichBoi_Elon69: $3K if he does it again 🔥』
Jason blinked. "What — no way."
A soft ding echoed.
『$3,000 donation received from RichBoi_Elon69.』
Jason choked on his spit. "THREE THOUSAND?! FOR A WAVE?!"
He was an avid watcher of Anomaly's stream and this wasn't the first time it had happened but each time it shocked him…
『Anomaly4President: i would sell my spine for this man』
The villain stepped forward toward a long, sleek metal board. It looked like something hijacked from a spaceport loading dock.
He climbed it like a surfer walking toward destiny.
His voice cut through the feed, deep and smooth like someone dipped menace in velvet.
"Tonight, I'll be taking down Satellite AX-9."
Jason massaged his jaw. "This man just casually declares war on space tech like it's Taco Tuesday."
『SatelliteLover69: NOT AX-9 😭😭😭 that's my fav one』
『bootlicker_007: bro ur literally committing a felony rn and i support u』
With a subtle tilt of the board, he launched skyward — coat flaring, boots gleaming.
The drone followed, framing him against the star-strewn sky.
It looked like a movie trailer had come to life.
From the distance came a blue streak — fast, hot, aimed right at Anomaly.
A flying hero. Mid-tier. Maybe a B-ranker.
Flashy armor, glowing boots, cape flapping like a flag someone forgot to take down.
『FlyBoi321: That's Skybolt! Finally some action!』
『MidHerozOnly: L take. Skybolt gets packed every week』
The hero blasted forward, hands charged with plasma.
The Anomaly?
He seemed unbothered by the whole thing.
He flipped mid-air like gravity owed him money, slipping past the hero with the grace of a falling leaf.
Then — CRACK!
A boot to the spine.
Lightning erupted. The hero spasmed midair and plummeted like a glitched game character.
『FatalFrame88: bro didn't even break a sweat』
『GymRatAlpha: someone check that man's vertebrae 💀💀💀』
A soft ding.
[$2,000 donation received from Bankrupt4Anomaly.]
『Bankrupt4Anomaly: welp, there goes rent money 😎💸』
The Anomaly resumed his glide, soaring toward the blinking satellite panel atop a gleaming tower.
Below, lights flickered across the city, unaware that someone was about to commit orbital sabotage in real time.
『SimpSaber: this man is poetry in motion 🖤』
『Horny4Havoc: I'd let him ruin my life tbh』