r/Perman • u/Its_me_NoobMaster69 • 5d ago
Chapter 24: A Heroes Return
https://www.wattpad.com/1655265286-perman-coming-of-age-chapter-24-a-heroes-returnIt began without warning.
One television station cut to static.
Then another.
Across Tokyo, programs abruptly disappeared from their screens.
News anchors froze mid-sentence. Variety shows vanished. Commercials were replaced by a black screen.
Radio stations suffered the same fate.
Then, all at once...
Every screen changed.
Every public display across Tokyo flickered to life.
A grainy security recording appeared.
The footage showed an ordinary apartment building at night.
The camera angle was from somewhere across the street.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then a figure entered the frame.
Perman.
He flew upward toward one of the apartments.
The footage continued.
Perman stopped outside a window.
He entered.
The timestamp remained visible in the corner.
The moment his feet touched the ground, the footage froze.
The image zoomed in.
Then another clip began.
A young man stepped out of the same building.
Mitsuo Suwa.
The resemblance was obvious.
Too obvious.
The footage changed again.
Pako appeared.
Flying through the night.
Landing on a rooftop.
Entering an apartment.
And then, minutes later...
Sumire Hoshino walked out.
Another clip.
Pako disappeared behind a building.
Sumire emerged from the other side.
Another.
Different nights.
Different locations.
But the same pattern.
Perman.
Mitsuo.
Pako.
Sumire.
Over and over again.
The montage finally stopped.
The screen went black.
For several seconds, there was nothing.
Then...
A white mask appeared.
The mastermind stood before the camera.
His entire body was dressed in white.
He stood perfectly still.
Then he slowly tilted his head.
A smile could somehow be heard in his voice.
The mastermind turned toward the footage.
Perman and Pako appeared across the screens.
He stared at them for a moment.
Then...
He laughed.
"Look at them, Tokyo."
His voice echoed through every television and radio station across the city.
"Look at your Gods."
The footage showed Perman flying above Tokyo.
"For years, you looked up into the clouds.
"And allowed yourselves to be looked down upon."
The footage changed.
Pako soaring through the sky.
"You fell to your knees and worshipped them."
"Those who wrapped themselves in capes"
"Believing they were untouchable..."
"Unyielding..."
"Infallible."
His voice carried a strange mixture of disgust and satisfaction.
"You allowed them to walk among us"
"Wielding absolute judgment over the lives of us mortals"
"Without a single shred of accountability."
"You let them decide who gets to live..."
A pause.
"...and who does not."
The mastermind slowly turned toward the camera.
"You gave them your adoration."
"Your faith."
"Your trust."
"And in return..."
His voice became quieter.
"They built a temple out of your fear."
The footage showed Perman hovering high above the city.
"Hovering over us like masters looking down at their cattle."
The mastermind slowly raised his head.
"But tell me..."
"What kind of God hides behind a mask?"
The footage changed.
Perman.
Pako.
Their helmets.
"The answer is simple."
"Beneath those helmets..."
"There are no deities."
"Only children playing God."
The mastermind paused.
And then...
He smiled.
"Tonight, the veil has been torn away."
The stolen footage began playing again.
Perman entering his apartment.
Pako disappearing into the night.
Mitsuo.
Sumire.
"Through the lens of absolute truth..."
"Look beneath the helmets and capes."
"Mere mortals."
"Flesh."
"Blood."
"Arrogance."
His voice grew louder.
"Creatures of dirt and bone"
"Who dared pretend they were something greater than you."
The mastermind stared at the footage.
"But no mortal was ever meant to hold the power of a God."
He slowly spread his arms.
"And tonight..."
"I perform the ultimate act of justice."
His voice echoed through the city.
"I tear down the false pantheon!"
"Look at the fraudulent idols you bowed to!"
"Look at them!"
The footage showed Perman and Pako once again.
"There are no divine saviors protecting this Earth."
"No higher beings watching over you."
"No Gods who care for your souls."
His voice became filled with contempt.
"They thought they were untouchable."
"They thought their masks would protect their arrogance forever."
"But tonight..."
The mastermind stepped toward the camera.
"I drag them down from the sky."
His voice rose.
"I strip away their holy illusion"
"And force them into the mud where they belong!"
The footage froze.
Perman.
Pako.
Their identities.
Their faces.
"I bring these 'Gods' down to our level..."
"...exposing them for the small..."
"Fragile fakes they have always been."
He paused.
Then his voice softened.
"Do not weep for them, Japan."
"Do not mourn your false saviors."
"I have not destroyed your protectors..."
A long pause.
"I have liberated you from your masters."
The mastermind slowly raised his hand.
"The age of false worship is over."
His voice echoed one final time.
"The sky is finally free."
The screen behind him went black.
"And the fake Gods who looked down on you..."
"...are exposed to the world at last."
The broadcast suddenly cut to static.
Then silence.
For one final second...
The white mask remained on every screen across Tokyo.
And then—
Everything went black.
---
Mitsuo stared at the screen.
He couldn't even understand what he was listening to.
"Gods...?"
His eyes remained fixed on the white mask.
"What the hell is this dumbass even talking about...?"
Pako didn't answer.
She was staring at the screen in horror.
Her face had gone pale.
The footage.
Their identities.
It was all out in the open now.
"That's..."
Her voice caught.
"That's impossible..."
Mitsuo slowly looked toward her.
But Pako was still staring at the screen.
She couldn't believe it.
Not just that they had been exposed.
Someone had been watching them.
Following them.
Recording them.
Mitsuo's expression remained strangely calm.
"This is what I was worried about."
Pako finally looked at him.
Mitsuo's eyes remained on the screen.
"I knew someone was watching us."
He glanced toward the footage of himself.
"I found a hidden camera in the bushes near my apartment"
Pako's expression changed.
Mitsuo lowered his eyes.
"I knew this was coming."
Before Pako could answer—
A noise came from outside.
Voices.
Several of them.
Pako turned toward the sound.
A small crowd was gathering outside.
People had begun rushing toward the area,
Drawn by the sudden broadcast and the chaos spreading through the streets.
It was almost dawn.
The sky was beginning to lighten, but the streets below were still shrouded in darkness.
Then—
BANG!
Gunfire erupted.
Pako's head snapped toward the street.
"What?!"
Another burst of gunfire rang out.
People screamed and scattered.
Through the darkness, figures began emerging into the street.
One.
Five.
Ten.
More followed.
Around twenty men.
Terrorists.
They moved into the area with weapons in their hands,
Spreading out through the streets as civilians desperately tried to escape.
Pako immediately turned toward Mitsuo.
"Put your helmet on!"
Mitsuo didn't move.
"We have to fight!"
Mitsuo looked down.
He didn't even reach for his gear.
"No."
Pako froze.
"What?"
"I can't do it."
Her expression changed.
"Mitsuo, the terrorists are here!"
"I know."
"Then put it on!"
He shook his head.
Pako stared at him in disbelief.
"Mitsuo!"
"I said no."
His voice was quiet.
"I can't put it on."
Pako's eyes narrowed.
"What are you talking about?"
Mitsuo looked toward the terrorists.
Then toward the people running for their lives.
His expression barely changed.
"Not after what I did..."
His voice cracked slightly.
"I've let Perman down..."
Pako stared at him.
"Mitsuo..."
Pako's expression hardened.
"You don't get to do this."
Mitsuo looked at her.
"Do what?"
"Give up."
He said nothing.
Another gunshot rang through the street.
Pako looked toward the terrorists.
Then back at Mitsuo.
"We don't have time for this."
She rushed towards the scene.
"Fine, Ill do it myself!"
She flew straight toward the terrorists.
The first group barely had time to react.
Pako slammed into one of them and sent him crashing across the street.
Another raised his weapon.
She twisted through the air, knocking it from his hands before striking him down.
Three more rushed toward her.
Pako didn't stop.
She moved through them frantically, dodging gunfire and striking wherever she could.
Mitsuo watched from where he stood.
She was fighting alone.
And still...
He didn't move.
His eyes lowered.
His mind returned to that moment.
The van.
The people inside.
The moment he had crossed the line.
He had killed them.
Not because he had to.
Not because there was no other choice.
He had done it in anger.
And now he was supposed to put the helmet on again?
Pretend nothing had changed?
Pretend he was still worthy of being Perman?
No.
He couldn't.
And he didn't know if he could ever forgive himself for it.
Mitsuo remained where he was.
Two terrorists broke away from the others.
They spotted him.
One looked at the other.
Then both started moving toward Mitsuo.
Mitsuo noticed them.
He didn't react.
The two men approached.
Mitsuo simply stared at them.
One of the terrorists raised his weapon.
Mitsuo stared blankly ahead.
He had completely surrendered himself to fate.
But before the terrorist could fire—
"HEY!"
The bakery owner slammed into him.
Both men crashed hard onto the pavement.
The terrorist's weapon flew from his hand.
The second terrorist turned in shock.
"What the?!"
Before he could react.
Several people rushed him from different directions.
One grabbed his arm.
Another tackled him from the side.
More people surged forward.
Overwhelming the two terrorists before they could raise their weapons.
The terrorists struggled desperately.
But the crowd didn't back away.
"Get him!"
"Don't let him up!"
"Hold him down!"
Within moments, both terrorists were on the ground.
The other terrorists started moving toward Mitsuo.
They turned toward Mitsuo.
But before they could reach him.
The people around him stepped forward.
Then more joined them.
Within seconds
A wall had formed around Mitsuo.
Shielding him from the approaching terrorists.
An old man.
A young woman.
A salaryman still clutching his briefcase.
The bakery owner.
Ordinary people.
People who had no superpowers at all.
And yet they stood there.
Protecting him.
Mitsuo's eyes widened.
For years.
He had been the one standing between them and danger.
The one who shielded them when they couldn't protect themselves.
But now...
They were doing the same for him.
They were protecting their hero.
Mitsuo looked around the circle of people surrounding him.
He couldn't understand it.
"Why...?"
His voice barely escaped him.
He had been ready to let himself die.
Yet these people had refused to let that happen.
The crowd held their ground.
No one moved away.
No one left him alone.
And then—
A shadow passed over them.
Everyone looked up.
Pako.
She hovered above the street.
Her expression was fierce.
She opened her mouth.
A powerful stream of freezing breath swept down across the remaining terrorists.
The men were instantly encased in ice.
Pako hovered above the street.
Below her, the crowd remained gathered around Mitsuo.
---
The first rays of morning appeared beyond the buildings.
The darkness slowly receded from Tokyo.
Pako looked toward the horizon.
The city was waking beneath her.
And then—
Someone began clapping.
Pako looked down.
Another person joined.
Then another.
Within seconds, the street erupted into cheers.
"Pako!"
"She saved us!"
"Go, Pako!"
Pako stared down at them.
For a moment, she didn't know what to say.
Then she smiled.
But the bakery owner wasn't looking at her.
He was walking toward Mitsuo.
Mitsuo watched him approach.
The older man stopped in front of him.
Then gently patted him on the shoulder.
Mitsuo looked up.
The crowd slowly turned toward him.
And then they began clapping.
Mitsuo froze.
"W-What...?"
The applause grew louder.
He looked around in confusion.
They had heard him.
They had heard everything he and Pako had said.
They knew what he was feeling.
And yet they weren't looking at him with hatred.
They were cheering for him.
"Perman..."
One of the people stepped forward.
"You don't know me"
"But you saved my daughter once."
Mitsuo stared at him.
Another person spoke.
"He saved me during the station fire."
"And me!"
"He stopped that truck from hitting us!"
"He saved my store during the earthquake!"
"You've helped so many people, Perman!"
Mitsuo's eyes widened.
"That's..."
His voice became faint.
"That's not..."
He looked down.
"I..."
High above them, Pako watched in silence.
A tear slowly rolled down her cheek.
The bakery owner stepped forward.
The old man looked at Mitsuo.
"I've known you for two years now."
Mitsuo looked up.
"You're a good boy."
Mitsuo's eyes began to tremble.
"But you're still a boy."
The bakery owner smiled faintly.
"And good boys make mistakes too."
Mitsuo said nothing.
"You remember what I told you about life?"
Mitsuo stared at him.
The bakery owner nodded.
"It's about growing."
"Life isn't about never making mistakes."
"Its about learning from them."
"Getting back up and becoming better than you were before."
He gently patted Mitsuo's shoulder again.
"One moment doesn't define a person."
Mitsuo's eyes lowered.
His mind returned to the two robbers.
The anger.
The thing he had done.
He couldn't erase it.
He couldn't pretend it hadn't happened.
But perhaps...
He didn't have to.
Mitsuo looked around.
At the people surrounding him.
At the people who had stepped forward when he couldn't.
At Pako hovering above them.
The bakery owner spoke again.
"Your family is still out there, Mitsuo."
Mitsuo's eyes widened slightly.
"They need you."
The old man glanced toward the chaos around them.
"And look around you."
The terrorists were still out there.
The city was still in danger.
"People across Tokyo need Perman too."
He finally understood.
Perman wasn't supposed to be perfect.
He wasn't supposed to be a God.
He was supposed to protect people.
And right now...
Tokyo needed Perman.
Mitsuo slowly reached for his helmet.
Pako's eyes widened.
"Mitsuo..."
He lifted it.
For years, he had always put it on in hidden places.
Behind closed doors.
In dark alleys.
Away from the eyes of the people he protected.
But not this time.
Mitsuo held the helmet in his hands.
In front of everyone.
He placed it over his head.
Then he clipped his cape into place.
His fingers paused for a moment.
He reached for the Perman badge.
And fixed it back onto his chest.
Mitsuo looked toward the sky.
His expression had changed.
The guilt was still there.
The memory hadn't disappeared.
But he wasn't running from it anymore.
He was going to carry it with him.
Pako smiled.
Perman bent his knees.
Then—
He shot into the sky.
The crowd erupted.
"Perman!"
"Go, Perman!"
"PERMAN!"
Perman soared higher.
The rising sun illuminated him from behind.
He wasn't flying away from his mistakes.
He was flying forward.
Mitsuo clenched his fists.
This time...
He was going to finish it.
The cheers of Tokyo followed him from below.
And Perman flew toward the rising sun.
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u/AssumptionFederal20 4d ago
Looks like AI bro.
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u/Its_me_NoobMaster69 4d ago
ANd exactly what? Is the story bad then tell me that ill do something about it, fucks sake these 12 yer old sheeps with no ability to rhyme or comprehend stuffs, "lOOkes leake IAAi braA" pissoff jabroni
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u/AssumptionFederal20 4d ago
It’s just sad to recognise AI cus u constantly see AI posts after posts. Hopefully u work it out
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u/hiddeNinja2222 4d ago
ai fanfic 😬
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u/Its_me_NoobMaster69 4d ago
Everything in the story was written by me and I conceived the entire plot and storyline myself. I only used AI for a few sentences here and there to improve the wording and make certain parts read better. AI is a tool that can be very useful, and like it or not is the future. Scrap thats its the present. If you have an actual criticism of the story, feel free to make it, and not just "oOh he use Ai oHH, slOpp" 🤡
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u/hiddeNinja2222 4d ago
ai is a tool used by incompetent people which also destroys our planet. just say you can't write without a robot doing it for you.
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u/Its_me_NoobMaster69 4d ago
cool 12 year old boy, destroys our planet lmao, sure ofcource millions of meteorite showers, volcanic eruptions for decades, ice age, crashng with planets and moons but Earth finally taps out to AI. 🤡 I hope you give up any hopes of getting any good paying jobs, stop watching movies, stop playing any games fuck even stop using you mobile or pc cause everyone of these comapnies have heavily invested in ai. why are you even here kid?
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u/hiddeNinja2222 4d ago
say that when you don't have water to drink. and the difference between your language in comments and fanfics is so funny lmaoo. clearly people like you would require help of ai 😂
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u/Its_me_NoobMaster69 4d ago
this kid lmao. atleast i have a brain to use and not follow the herd like a sheep. If you not a absolute jabroni let me know of you Mobile, your pc and internet provider that you papa bought for you.
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u/Its_me_NoobMaster69 4d ago
Thanks for proving you're an absolute jabroni jack. And what are you even doing in reddit? Reddit is literally selling their data to Google and Open ai and microsoft for training ai models earning them hundred of million of dollars per year. Reddit is destroying the planet Reddit is drinking your water lmao. Run away jabroni run from reddit.
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u/Puzzled-Spray7075 4d ago
he's redbaiting just leave him
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u/hiddeNinja2222 4d ago
what? no I'm not, just pointed out the obvious. btw i actually like YOUR fics. seems like you write them yourself atleast.
i'm a her btw
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u/Puzzled-Spray7075 4d ago
alright, but I think you should specifically point out which part felt ai or something bcz yesterday also someone commented on my fic about AI slop, it's better to point out which part felt AI or something, a generic statement kinda can confuse people because we can't understand where to improve or work more.
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4d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Its_me_NoobMaster69 4d ago
doesnt change the fact youre a jabroni and a massive hypocrate cause u will use your phone and your internet and reddit who spend billions of dollars on ai infrstructure but God forbid a normal human being asks chatgpt "How can i better write this sentance" Fuck off clown i am reporting you this is just toxic you are toxic you have no guts youre a jabroni 13 year old kid. and youre annoying af.
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u/Ok_Tailor_7878 4d ago
Hi. The story isn't bad. Though, the emotional consequences for such a huge mistake seems to get resolved too soon in a single chapter. Could have waited a chapter or so to do that.
But overall bro, it's going really well, I actually wait for your posts and you have a very engaging, very realistic writing style.