John Ballard had turned thirteen when his first mutant powers arose. His parents were proud when, as he was working on a sandbag, his right fist was suddenly encased in a tendril-covered dark cloud, and the bag burst open all over the floor.

He freaked out, obviously, but his parents were still proud.

His brother, Jason, merely rolled his eyes at John's antics. Jenny, the one-year-old daughter of the family, clapped her hands at the spectacle. His father, Jack, beamed at his son. His mother, Emma, merely smiled wistfully.

It's about time to note that the 'beginning names with Js' tradition ran in Jack's side of the family. They had an Uncle Joseph, Aunt Jessica, two cousins named Jessie and Jeff, and a rather distant relative that would join their group later named James. John had always thought this was rather humorous, while Jason inherently despised the ordeal.

This would mirror their senses of humor.

For now, John's thirteenth birthday, as his powers finally began developing, his father took him out to practice his abilities. The males in the Ballard bloodline were very well known for their physical prowess and mastering their physical abilities (which Jason would find rather annoying later in life), and the women were gifted with extreme control over mind and ranged attacks. Jack Ballard was able to super-enhance any physical portion of his body, enabling super speed, super strength, practical invulnerability and the ability to twist open tough lids.

Every week, Jack would take his oldest son to the store to buy several workout bags, and they trained in speed, strength, and endurance.

The speed test was to see how fast the boy could coat his hands and feet in darkness and strike a bag, and how fast he could move between the targets. He mastered this section.

Strength is obvious- He tested how hard he could punch and kick. John's strikes were beyond too much for the bags, so his father volunteered. After minor hesitation, John performed a straight kick into his father's stomach. The man barely wobbled, but that was most definitely something.

Endurance- How long his abilities could stay active.

John had minor problems in this area- The young man could coat himself in a protective layer of regenerating darkness and absorb any thrown object. Some physical attacks bruised him, but anything relying purely on momentum failed to break his defense. However, he could only hold this state for two minutes, and then the shielding would fall and he'd be exhausted.

He chose the best path he could think of- Learn to activate the power on the fly so he would not have to keep it going. His father agreed.

A few years passed until John was sixteen- His father then helped him register at the nearest registration agent and John Ballard earned his very first Hero License under the name Prodiguy.

To suit this, he crafted himself a suit from an old pair of jeans, a sleeveless white shirt, old trainers and a pair of work goggles he found in his garage.

Those goggles would practically be his trademark for years to come.

Unknown to the rest of his family, however, John was a technological genius.

At night, when his family were all asleep or out saving the world in his parents' case, he would sneak down into the garage. In there, he would flick a light switch. No light in the house was affected by that light switch, and everybody knew it. He utilized this 'useless' function, and made it his own.

After flipping the switch, John took two steps to his right, and pulled a metal bar away from the wall. Suddenly, the stone floor flipped from under him and he was sent downward into a spiraling tube of steel. He eventually landed on a very comfortable pad at the bottom of the tube, standing and dusting himself off, as was his other signature movement.

He had arrived in his 'base' of sorts, consisting of hi-tech computer equipment and two costumes, one for spare.

The equipment had come from a scholarship agreement he'd worked his way into- When he turned eighteen, the boy would move to Paragon City, Rhode Island, America, and take college classes thanks to Crey Industries, who in truth had actually accepted his submitted form due to his mutation.

He had been sent all this computer equipment as 'preparation' for his future courses.

He watched the alert screen of his main computer for any unnoticed crimes, but living in a major city like London, England made it somewhat hard to find crime that wasn't already being fought.

However, one bright light caught to boy's interest, and he isolated the cause- A purse snatching. So typical of night-time muggers.

Prodiguy was in costume and out in the city streets in moments. He threw a grappling hook around a lamp post as he ran, launching himself up onto a rooftop and hopping across the tiny gaps between the short buildings.

It took a minute or so to reach to crime scene, and he landed in the alley. A young woman was crying in a corner, and his arrival caused her to jump. He stood up straight, placing his goggles over his eyes, and bowed deeply. He said his first 'heroic' words. "Hi, I'm Prodiguy, and I make tech stuff. Where did the guy go?"

The young woman pointed toward the darkness of the alley, and John nodded. "I'll retrieve your purse ma'am, don't worry."

He dashed into the darkness. Almost immediately, sounds of scuffle met the woman's ears, and then the young man returned, dragging two thugs back with him. One was the purse snatcher, and the other he had not seen before.

"Must have been setting a trap for a hero. Too bad."

He looked at the woman, who was absolutely terrified still, and he smiled warmly. He reached down, gripping the purse, and extended it toward her. "Your purse, madam."

The girl took the purse, then immediately, her voice returned. "Thank you! I don't know what I would have done if I lost this... It has all my cards, my license, my money--"

Prodiguy chuckled, and she stopped, looking at the hero's face.

At this point in his career, he didn't even try hiding it. His long blonde hair, his ice blue eyes and his practically constant warm smile would give him away anyway in that city. His face was pristine- No scars, no bruises, nothing on him would signify a dangerous lifestyle like his. She peered at him as though he couldn't see her, and what's your name?

She raised an eyebrow, then shook her head- He'd asked her a question. "My name? Oh... It's Michelle."

Prodiguy smiled, extending his hand. "Nice to meet you Michelle. I'm John Ballard."

Michelle shook his hand, smirking. "Nice name, hero."

John raised an eyebrow, before bursting out laughing. "Oh, right! Hehe... Well, I told you I was Prodiguy, but I guess you were still a little shaken up."

"Yeah, I guess I was."

A resounding snap echoed through John's mind, and he woke up suddenly, gasping for breath. Emma, Jack and Jason all stood up at the same time, while Jenny slept in a hospital crib next to John's bed.

Hospital crib?

King's Cross hospital was the Ballards' local establishment. John had been here several times for shots, check-ups, whatever else the family needed.

But why was he waking up in a bed here?

"We found you in an alleyway," his mother said, her psychic abilities showing, "Your head was bleeding and we found a lead pipe beside you. I couldn't find any trace of who had hit you on it."

John gripped his head, groaning mildly. "Ah... Michelle... A girl was there--"

"It was a fake," Jack muttered, his voice dark. His son turned to him, slightly confused. He'd never heard his father's voice like that. "It's been cropping up more recently here in London. A group called the Ring of Despair, bunch of psychopaths, they keep trying to kill the heroes around here. I almost got caught up by about five of them at once. One was a super."

"A super?!" John practically yelled, before gripping his head hard.

"Calm down," his father muttered, "You took a big blow. Yeah, a super. You know, villain? We have them here too. He tried freezing me to a wall. They didn't even nearly succeed, but the point is, they tried. They're crazy."

After a few minutes of silence, John sat up. Emma moved forward, but the young man shook his head. "Any relation to a bigger organization?"

Jack shook his head. "Nothing I've found yet. I don't have those kinds of resources."

"Hmn." John sighed, knowing that HE did. The computer in his lab could link him directly into news sites and government sites all over the world.

Suddenly, his eyes widened and his head turned.

Over the years of being the child of a psychic, John had gained a minor resistance to having his mind read. However, he wasn't prepared at the moment, and he could tel his mother knew.

She didn't say anything though, just looked at her husband worriedly.

********************************

A few weeks passed after leaving the hospital before John found something.

The Ring of Despair was rumored to be a splinter group of a larger faction of hero assassins known as the 'Knives of Artemis.' And that didn't mean they were heroic assassins.

They were a group most prevalent in Paragon City who were commonly hired to hunt and kill heroes. Some say they had links to a far more advanced, far more sinister organization called the Malta, but John found no proof of connection from there.

He stopped going out at night, preferring to stop minor crimes during broad daylight to avoid the Ring of Despair. Knowing they had super-powered allies was enough to keep him from searching them out at that moment.

Months passed as he trained his abilities, and he eventually found the courage to go out alone at night yet again. But this time, while looking for crime, he made sure to look for anything suspicious about it. He wanted to be prepared.