Ellis huddled under the overpass, his breath misting in the chilly air. His ragged clothes did little to shield him from the biting cold of early winter.

  He hugged his knees to his chest, trying to conserve what little warmth he had. "Happy eighteenth birthday," he muttered to himself, his voice barely more than a whisper. There was no one to hear him, no one to care. He was alone.

  A sudden wave of heat caught his attention. He looked up to see a small-scale fight breaking out in the distance. Two heroes, Combo and Lamplighter, were battling an unnamed villain.

  The villain wielded water with deadly precision, creating a small but fierce storm around him. Ellis shivered, not from the cold this time, but from the thrill of watching the battle unfold.

  Lamplighter, with his ability to manipulate existing flames, sent a wave of fire towards the villain. The villain countered with a torrent of water, steam hissing as the elements clashed.

  Combo, known for his unique power to build up the damage of his hits, darted in and out, landing quick, seemingly ineffective blows on the villain. Ellis knew that each punch was a setup for the final, devastating strike.

  As he watched, Ellis felt a strange heat begin to build in his chest. It was faint at first, like sparks in his heart. His skin, usually numb from the cold, started to soak in the warmth radiating from the fight. The sensation was both unsettling and exhilarating.

  The battle didn't last long. Lamplighter and Combo were an effective pair, working in tandem to overpower the villain. With a final, thunderous punch from Combo, the villain crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

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  Ellis felt a swell of pride watching the heroes of his city protect the people. But that pride quickly faltered as he saw Lamplighter and Combo turn their attention to a group of onlookers.

  The two heroes swaggered over to a group of women, their victory forgotten as they started to flirt and show off. The police moved in to properly detain the villain, but the heroes seemed uninterested in their duty now that the immediate threat was gone.

  Ellis's chest burned hotter, the sparks turning into a raging fire. The cold in his skin grew unbearable, like icy needles pricking every inch of his body.

  He couldn't stand it anymore. Stumbling away from the scene, he made his way into a nearby alleyway, collapsing against the wall. The heat and cold warred within him, making him feel like he was being torn apart.

  A shadow fell over him. Ellis looked up to see a girl standing there, her expression one of mild disappointment. She had a hammer slung over one shoulder and a knife strapped to her thigh. Her eyes were sharp, assessing him with an intensity that made his skin crawl.

  "Pathetic," she clicked her tongue, her voice cutting through the haze of pain in his mind. "You're in quite a state, aren't you?"

  Ellis couldn't muster a response. He could barely process her words, but something about her presence calmed the storm inside him.

  She held out a hand, and he took it, feeling a strange mix of fear and curiosity. As she pulled him to his feet, she introduced herself.

  "Carmila," she said, her grip firm and unyielding. "But most people call me Karma."

  Ellis's mind whirled. There was something dangerous about her, something that made him wary. But at the same time, he felt a strange connection, as if she held the key to the turmoil inside him.

  He didn't know what she had planned for him, but he had a feeling it was something he might not like.

  As they walked away from the alley, the cold and heat within him settled into an uneasy truce.

  For the first time in a long while, Ellis felt a glimmer of hope. His eighteenth birthday had started in despair, but it seemed fate had other plans for him. And those plans were walking beside him, with a hammer in one hand and a knife in the other.