A month had passed since King started working at Starbucks.
He had served lattes, foiled a terror plot, and unknowingly triggered national budget reform. But today, something even more monumental had happened.
He got paid.
King stared at the slip in his hand.
$560.00
It wasn't much. But it was his.
His first earned salary in this new world.
He smiled.
Then frowned.
"Wait… I don't have a bank account."
The next morning, King took the day off.
He informed his manager, Lana, who nodded supportively.
"Big day?"
"Bank stuff," King replied.
"Good luck. Try not to cause a national incident."
King put on a hoodie—his usual disguise—and walked to the nearest bank.
It was busy. Loud. Crowded.
He took a number and waited quietly, blending into the crowd.
Or so he thought.
The Robbery
Five armed men burst through the doors.
Shouting. Guns raised. Panic erupted.
They ordered everyone to the ground.
King, already crouched behind a potted plant, tried to stay hidden.
But one of the robbers spotted him.
"You! Hoodie guy! Down! Now!"
King complied, hands raised.
Then it happened.
A gust of wind—strong, sudden, divine—blew through the lobby.
King's hoodie flipped back.
His face was revealed.
The room gasped.
The Engine Activates
Whispers spread like wildfire.
"It's him…" "The Shield…" "The strongest man alive…"
King's eyes widened.
Oh no. Not again.
His anxiety surged.
His Engine of Terror™ activated.
A low, thunderous drumming sound echoed through the bank.
The robbers froze.
One of them—panicked—grabbed a hostage and began backing toward the exit.
"Stay back!" he shouted. "I'll shoot!"
He didn't take his eyes off King.
Which meant he didn't see the wooden pillar behind him.
Or the flower pot on the first floor balcony.
Already precariously placed.
Already wobbling.
The Flower Pot Incident
The robber backed into the pillar.
The flower pot tipped.
It fell.
It landed squarely on his head.
He dropped instantly.
Unconscious.
The crowd gasped.
The other robbers hesitated.
Security guards seized the moment—rushing in, disarming them, securing the scene.
People began clapping.
Cheering.
One voice shouted:
"He used telekinesis!" "He summoned the pot!" "The Canon of Gravity!"
King blinked.
"I didn't do anything…"
The Aftermath
The news spread fast.
"King Foils Bank Robbery With Psychic Plant Strike" "The Deposit Defender Saves the Day" "He Came for a Bank Account. He Left With a Legend."
King, still dazed, finally reached the counter.
The banker smiled nervously.
"Would you like to open a checking or savings account, sir?"
King nodded.
"Just somewhere to put my $560."
That evening, King sat in his mansion, sipping tea from the Mug of Unyielding Resolve™, staring at his new debit card