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Just Super (Working Title), Stories, Uncategorized

Just Super (Working Title) – Part 1

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“Oh, no, I don’t talk about family in my interviews. I can’t risk them being tracked down, with more rogues popping up every month,” the brightly colored character on my screen laughed lightly. “While rogues are on the rise again, I think you’ll find a lot of newer powereds, heroes and villains alike, returning to the secret identity style. It’s just safer for those we care about that way.”

“But you aren’t that new. You’ve been at this for two years now, well before the rate of rogues increased. You’ve never once given a hint about who you are behind the mask, even when you were starting out as a new hero! The world would love to know more about you, Flare. Rumors abound that you have a powered parent, or even two!” An eager newsperson was clearly hoping to cut through the hero’s defenses.

“Rumors also abound that I’m dating Jet Force or Hurricane, but that doesn’t mean they’re true,” the hero replied with an easy, loveable smile. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t risk it. Is there anything else you’d like to discuss? Perhaps the charity event coming up next week? I’m sure your viewers would love some sneak peeks at what I’m planning to do to raise money for our kids in need.” The interviewer ate that up, launching straight into the new topic.

“Idiots, all of them. So easy to redirect,” I sighed, flipping off the television and standing, stretching.

“Now, that’s not fair to them, dear. You’re just good at reading them,” My grandmother said from across the room, where she sat at her desk working on a novel she swore she would publish one day. I didn’t think it was likely, as much as she kept re-writing it, but it was fun to read and made her happy to work on.

“I guess that’s true. What are we thinking for dinner tonight? I could cook when I get home from work.”

Grandma laughed. “Alix, you know you can’t guarantee you’ll be home in time for dinner. I’ll make pork chops, and I’ll make sure to save you one if Grandpa’s in a hungry mood when he gets off work.” She teased. “Go do your rounds, save the world.”

“Grandma, I’m just a steel tier. I don’t save the world, that’s the platinums,” I laughed, walking over to hug her.

“You’ll get there. You’ve only been at this two years, dearest. Your father needed three just to get to steel, so you’re already doing better than he did!”

“And mother needed only three months to go platinum. She’s the one I’m more concerned with catching up to,” I pointed out, making her frown.

“You don’t need to catch up to her, as I’ve told you a million times. Now, go on. Jet will be furious if you’re late again.” She kissed my cheek and sent me on my way.

She was right, and I knew it, but stubbornness was a trait I picked up from both of my parents. As I trudged out to my car and went for HQ, I thought on it.

My father had died when I was nine. He had been in a massive explosion, trying to keep civilians safe. Flash Fire was his hero name, and was written in large font on the three statues of him in town and on his gravestone. He’d never wanted that, but the city didn’t listen when we said he wasn’t interested in being immortalized. One of the lesser risks heroes take, I suppose.

My mother was also powered. While Dad had fire power and was a hero, Mom didn’t bother to use her powers for more than maintaining a nice garden as I grew up. She was so sweet and kind, helping our neighbors when they needed it and making sure I learned right from wrong. At least, until Dad died. The day after his funeral, she brought me to my grandparents, promised me that she would always love me but I was safer with them, then left. The next time I saw her was three months later, as the fastest growing villian in the League of Villains, ever.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. We were a family that supported and raised heroes, my mother had always said so. She threw it all away to be a villain, just because Dad died doing hero’s work.

But that wasn’t what spurred me to hero’s work myself. I had hope she would come to her senses and come home to me, one day. When I was 16, I gave up that notion and realized the only way she would stop would be if I came to stop her. So I started training to be a hero.

Now, I was Flare, one of the up-and-comers in the Hero’s Association. I was still pretty new, only a steel rank, but I was determined to work my way up through the ranks. I was expecting to move up to bronze in a few more weeks if I kept up my work, and if my team didn’t get into any trouble.

All heroes below silver worked in a set team, and most in gold rank did as well. Heroes in iron rank had a silver rank volunteer leading their team, since they were the bottom rung of the ladder and most of them brand new. They needed watching, and training in how to handle villains of different calibers.

The villains had the same ranks: iron, steel, bronze, silver, gold, and platinum. The two HQs did work together enough to come up with the scales, so the heroes wouldn’t be throwing newbies at strong villains, and the veteran heroes could be sent for villains that would need someone stronger to take them down. The only time this system failed was when rogues, villains who refused to work with the League, popped up. Those were usually people that had mental health issues that triggered their villainy, or were simply deeply mistrusting of the League having any level of work with the heroes. Some people, after all, assumed that all the villainy from the League must be staged to keep heroes in business.

In reality, the villains of the League just knew that if they went as crazy as they wanted, all of them, they could probably wiped out the heroes. There would, however, likely not be any place to take over if they did that. What was the point of being villains if the only other people were villains and the only property belonged to other villains? Some villains would have to become heroes just to get things to a point where there was a point to being a villain again, and the cycle would repeat. They decided it wasn’t worth it and set up rules and limits so it wouldn’t screw all of them over if one or two went rogue. Made sense, and made our lives easier.

I was in a team of four, with Hurricane, Jet Force, and Technix. 

Technix was a techno-path, a powered that could control electronics with his mind. It could be pretty useful, but a lot of veterans were already sure he wasn’t going to get above bronze rank with a power like that. 

Hurricane could summon and control winds, and had prevented a number of disastrous tornadoes from harming anyone. She said she would never completely stop one, as the planet had its own needs and weather was one of them, but she could reroute it slightly to protect people.

Our team captain was Jet Force, a dualie who could fly and had super strength. It was a handy combo, easy enough to go silver with at the minimum, but he also had enough combat sense that people thought he might make platinum one day.

I went by Flare, and could control fire. It was a harder power to rank highly with, but I’d learned by watching my dad, another fire user. I also happened to have another power that I didn’t tell people about: Invisibility. I was a secret dualie, holding that extra power in reserve for dire circumstances. 

Sometimes, it felt like my teammates didn’t really trust me to stay a hero. Most fire users that tried to become heroes did end up as villains, usually after feeling like they hadn’t been given a fair shake. I knew that wouldn’t be the case if I didn’t make it far, since I saw my dad make it to the top with the same power.

When I parked in our lot and went to enter HQ, I saw that Jet waited for me, still in plain clothes and looking grouchy. “What this time, Trevor?” I sighed. “I’m not late, and I know I did my paperwork well because Thorn complimented it before I left after our last patrol.” Jet just scowled more.

“Your stupid interview. ‘Rumors abound that I’m dating Jet Force but they aren’t true,’ said with a laugh like it’s the stupidest idea you’ve ever heard.”

I couldn’t believe this. After a moment of stunned silence, I looked around the street and found it mercifully empty before I grabbed his arm and towed him inside. He looked confused for a moment, but at least hit the badge scanner for me so I wouldn’t have to fumble my badge out of my bag. Once we were behind doors the general public couldn’t hear us through, I let go, turned, and glared.

“My identity is a secret to the public. If you go talking about my interview while we’re in plain clothes on the street and someone hears that, you put my family in danger. You want that on your head? Do I need to take you back up to the ethics board about privacy concerns again?”

“Well, I’m not wrong!” He retorted, clearly not caring. “Your-”

“You’re wrong for saying it in the middle of the street, and you weren’t exactly quiet about it. As far as anyone on the street knows, I’m a young woman working here as an assistant. I have potential enemies remember? Not to mention the rising rogue threat! And no, I don’t see you as a datable option, because you may be great at being a hero and thinking quick in a fix, but you are an idiot when it comes to social situations, privacy of your coworkers, and your own emotional intelligence.” I did my best to keep my voice level and calm. One of the biggest downside to fire-type heroes was a perceived anger problem. It was a negative stereotype, and one I’d seen was pretty well not true, but I wasn’t intending to further it.

“You don’t have to yell at me-” He started, then paled a little when someone put a hand on his shoulder. A rather large hand, and I’m betting there was some force behind it. What Jet hadn’t realized was that one of the platinums, a hero by the name of Valiant, had been near the door when we entered and heard the whole exchange. The older man stood a good foot taller than my teammate, and was also known for his strength and rigid moral compass.

“She didn’t raise her voice once. But keep it up,” Valiant told him coolly, “and I will. You’re a team captain, Jet Force. You need to respect your team, even out of uniform. If the lady doesn’t want her identity to get out, you keep her identity. If you think this will be a problem, then I’m sure we can pick a different captain for the team. Maybe Flare here, she seems level headed.”

“She’s a pyro, she-”

“Is intelligent, calm, and hasn’t had any errors her entire career. You, as smart and quick thinking as you are, have still had 20 errors this year alone.” I winced at that. Calling a hero out on their errors, times when an action they took cost lives that would have otherwise been spared, was harsh. Admittedly, only a handful of heroes made it past the two year mark without any errors, and even less made it to three that way, but no one needed or wanted reminders of lives they themselves had cost.

“She’s… a good hero…” Jet said reluctantly. “I uh… I’m gonna go… suit up. Flare, see you in a few at the meetup.” With that, he quickly walked off, trying to look as refined and dignified as he usually did, but looking more like a snob with his nose in the air.

“Sorry, kid. You know how some people are,” Valiant sighed watching my “fearless leader” scurry off. “Just keep your chin up, you’ll get there one day.”

“If I can make it even a fraction of your career length without errors, I’ll feel like I’m getting there. 40 years, and not a single error. You’re what every hero should strive to be, sir,” I admitted. “Thank you for the help with my… Captain. He has his moments, but he’s not usually that bad.”

“You’re a good hero. Your powers don’t decide that, it’s how you use them. I know of another fire hero that went a good, long career without errors. I think you’ll be every bit as good as Flash Fire was.” Valiant smiled. He was one of the few heroes who actually knew Flash Fire was my dad. It wasn’t exactly hidden knowledge, but most heroes didn’t bother to look into who the newer heroes were or where they came from. Valiant had been the silver for my dad’s iron rank team, and ended up at the house a lot as I grew up. He was like an honorary uncle to me until I went to my grandparents. “Now, go get ready for patrol. I hear they got something interesting for your group to investigate today.”

“Yessir!” I grinned, saluting, before heading off to the locker rooms. They were broken up by tier and by gender identity, so they were never too crowded given the different shift times. I’m sure that isn’t the case in bigger cities, but we only had about 6,000 people so we didn’t need as many heroes as often.

Hurricane was waiting for me in the locker room, already in her costume but without her mask. “Jet stop you and cause trouble?” She asked, smiling.

“Of course he did. And got his ass chewed by Valiant,” I snorted, going to my locker and pulling out my own costume.

“No, no, don’t tell me, let me guess…. He started shit in plain clothes out on the street, where anyone could hear him.” Hurricane grew up with Jet Force, so she knew him pretty well. They were actually cousins, and raised as practically siblings once their powers developed.

So, naturally, she knew the exact level of dumb he could be. “Yeah, that exactly. And got defensive when I reminded him I have reasons for keeping my identity secret.” Hurricane nodded and slipped her mask on. “On the bright side, Valiant said he thinks they’ve got something interesting for our patrol today. Let’s go meet up with the guys and see what they’ve got for us.” I finished getting my costume on, masked up, and went out to find our team’s meeting room. Hurricane was right behind me.

“Alix, you know you don’t have to put up with him, right? You can request a transfer to another team,” She pointed out. “There are days I’m sorely tempted to myself…”

“With any luck, one of us gets promoted soon and we’ll be on different teams anyway. I’ll tough it out. Thanks though, Abby.” I got the door to our meeting room and we stepped in to see the other two waiting. “Alright- So, what’s on the agenda today, Captain?” Jet still looked mildly bothered, but like he didn’t want to talk about it.

“There’s been some strange noises out by the old warehouses. Higher-ups want us to go investigate the area today. We also need to check out old Martinville Hotel while we’re on that side of town. There’s apparently been some lights on in there.”

“I didn’t think electricity still ran to that place. Unless someone rigged up a generator…” Technix shrugged. “Well, let’s get on the road, then, unless there’s something else?”

“That’s all we’ve got today. Come on, let’s head out,” Jet shrugged, leading us out. None of us knew what we were about to experience, or that this would be the patrol that changed everything.

The Technician

The Technician – Part 1

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I go by many names. Tech Support, Help Desk, Geek Squad, Super Nerd… This was even before I started my job, and they weren’t all terms of endearment.

But there are those who depend on me, see me as a hero. There are others who fear me, because I am the essence of their nightmares, the one being who can end their existence.

To them, I’m The Technician.

It started in high school. I was, once again, the new kid. Dad was the stay-at-home sort, and Mom’s job moved us around a lot. I hadn’t had a stable friend group since the fifth grade, and had stopped even trying since the seventh. Here I was, a junior, and my only friends were some gamers I had met online. Of course, since this was high school, other kids were quick to notice I was always on a device and didn’t socialize unless I was forced to.

“Tech Support” first popped up in gym class, one of those forced socialization situations. We were picking teams for dodgeball, and the jocks chosen as captains were arguing over me.

This wasn’t because I was bad. I was usually picked quickly for gym class, because I was nimble and could catch well. Throwing wasn’t my strong suit, but I was good enough at catching and dodging to be a valuable player. I rarely got out in dodgeball unless I wasn’t paying attention.

“Come on, man, you got Tech Support last time! Take Cody instead.” That was Tyler, a varsity basketball player. He was, as expected, tall, with dark hair and tan skin. Apparently, his parents had saved up and taken the family for a trip to Hawaii over summer break, and he remained outside a lot after they got home as well.

“No way, bro. Cody’s good, but he’s never touched her. If you get her, I get Noah. He’s the only one that can get Tech Support out. You can’t have both,” August, a track superstar for the school, countered. He was also tall, and wiry, with pale skin and red hair. I assumed he wore some strong sunscreen when he competed.

Cody and Noah were both football players, and cousins. Cody played defense, and Noah was the quarterback. Honestly, looking at them, they could’ve been twins. Cody had bleached his hair, for some unknown reason. At least be told apart, for now. Otherwise, they had the same dark complexion and eyes.

“Ugh… Fine, but if you get Noah, we get Cody too,” Tyler sighed.

“Deal, we get Noah,” August agreed.

“Cool. Cody, Tech Support- uh, sorry, Andy. You guys are with me.”

That was when I clued in that I was “Tech Support.” There must’ve been a look on my face, because a couple girls started snickering.

“Wait, I’m ‘Tech Support’? What the hell kinda dumb nickname is that?”

“Come on, Andy, it’s all in good fun. Better than mine,” August assured me. “I’ve been ‘Crash’ since I was ten. It’s just because no one knows you well enough for something better.”

“… Yeah, sure,” I replied with a shrug, moving to join Tyler’s team. He had a point. I’d only been there a couple weeks and hadn’t gone out of my way to make friends.

From that day, I was ‘Tech Support’ to this group, and a few others. To their credit, these boys didn’t let people harass me over it. I found out after another couple weeks that Cody was actually into computers, and hoping to be a programmer after college. Noah wanted to go pro in football, but he planned on going through college first so he could be a teacher if his football career fell through. Tyler and August each had their own dreams as well. Slowly, these four and I grew to be friends, and any bullies had to find a new nickname for me.

It was actually Cody who got me my first job, when my mom confirmed we would be staying until after I graduated high school.

“Yo- Tech Support, you got plans for part-time work?” He asked one day as he joined our group for lunch. A couple other girls had joined our little group too, Bethany and Sabrina. “My old man’s looking for a part timer. He has a computer repair shop.”

“Isn’t that a little too on-brand?” August joked. “Tech Support working in tech support?”

“I could use some income…” I admitted thoughtfully. “You sure he’d want some kid with no work experience?”

“He actually asked if you’d want the job,” Noah admitted. “I was over when they were talking about it. Uncle’s heard us talk about how good you are with computers. He said, if you want to work in the field when you grow up, it could be good experience. Even if not, customer service is a good field to get experience in.”

“Oh… Well, sure. I don’t know what I want to do with my life yet, but computer repair is always a needed field. Could be a good fall-back if nothing else,” I answered. “I just gotta make sure my folks are cool with it. I’ll give you a call later?”

“Sounds good, I’ll let him know,” Cody grinned. “I help out at the shop too, so we’ll get to work together. Well, when I’m not at practice.”

“I’ll disown him if he skips practice,” Noah agreed solemnly. Tyler and August just chuckled.

“Hey, you start making some money, we could take you out to the best shops sometime,” Bethany offered.

“Yeah, the mall has some places I think you’ll love,” Sabrina agreed. “Could be a fun girl’s day.”

“Sure, sounds great,” I agreed.

It didn’t take much to convince my parents about getting a job. Dad thought it would teach me responsibility, and Mom said she’d help me start learning about finances when I started making money. She said school never really prepared anyone for that part of life and, admittedly, she was right.

When I called Cody later, he put his dad on the phone. “This is Joseph, how can I help you?”

“Hello, sir, this is Andrea Jones. Cody mentioned you might have a part-time job I could apply for?” I’m pretty sure I sounded nervous, because I was, but Joseph sounded really calm and cool.

“Oh, Andy! Yes, of course. You have your parent’s permission?”

“Yes sir, they think it’ll be good for me,” I assured him.

“Perfect. Now, I’ll have you on a couple nights a week and on Saturday’s. I’m closed on Sundays, so you’ll have that off. It’ll be hard work, make you think a lot, but I’ll pay $15 an hour starting out.”

“Wow, that’s more than I expected. Sounds perfect. I’m not afraid of a little hard work.”

“Then swing by my shop with your folks on Saturday and we’ll go over paperwork and everything. I want your parents there in case they have any questions for me, or concerns.”

“Yes sir, thank you! We’ll see you Saturday.” With that, I had a job lined up that, unbeknownst to me, was going to radically change several lives.

The job went well for a few weeks, until a lady brought in a machine on a Monday night that had a virus. Joseph called me over and smiled. “I’ve gotta step out for a few, but this looks like it should be pretty easy for you to handle. Just do like I’ve been showing you, shouldn’t take but an hour or two I think.”

“No problem, Joe. Shouldn’t be too bad,” I promised. He smiled and left, leaving me in charge for the first time. I took the machine to the back and set it up, getting to work on it. As it booted up the first time, though, something odd happened. I saw a little pink character peek out from the corner of the screen at me.

“That… has got to be the oddest thing I’ve ever seen on a computer,” I muttered to myself, leaning closer to the little figure to try to decide what it was. I slipped a little and caught myself by grabbing onto the old CRT monitor Joe had set up for testing purposes… And my hand went right through the screen.

Not in a “broken beyond reason” way, but in a “portal to another world” way. As I stared at my hand, or where my hand should be, the pink figure moved over to where my hand had gone through. I felt a tug, and suddenly I was being pulled into the computer screen. I was falling into a dark void with no idea what was happening. Pretty sure I screamed, but my ego says I didn’t. I landed pretty hard on my back on what looked like a grassy plain.

“Oooh, that didn’t look like it felt good,” Someone commented. I tilted my head up to look and see the pink character standing there. “Well, sucks for you. Guess you can’t get rid of me now, if you’re stuck in here with me.”

“Excuse me?” I couldn’t believe my eyes. This character looked like a woman’s bathroom symbol, but with a face. It wasn’t a super detailed face, but it was there. “What the hell kind of contact high did I get from that computer?”

“You didn’t. At least, I don’t think so. You’re a Linker. You can enter our world, and interact with it as if it was yours,” Bathroom Sign Lady smirked at me. “But since you’re just a little girl and you don’t know what you’re doing, you’re gonna be stuck here unless another Linker finds you and pulls you out. And now there’s nothing you can do to me.”

“Wait so… like… you’re real? I mean… you pulled me in here, so you and I can touch each other?” I asked, confused but plotting. I wasn’t exactly fighter material, but either I was high and about to shadow box myself, or this was real and I could punch the thing annoying me most right now without anyone getting mad at me.

“Uh, yeah. That’s how you got here, duh,” BSL retorted, clearly thinking I was dumb.

“Oh, good.” I stood, wincing a little. I didn’t feel anything broken, but I was definitely sore. “Then I can do this,” and I gave her my best right hook. At least I think it was a right hook. I’d never thrown a punch a day in my life.

She didn’t dodge it, though. I don’t think she thought I would be with it enough to do so. But my fist hit her face, and she shrieked. Then, she shattered into small pieces and disappeared.

“You did it! You stopped the virus!” A small voice cheered behind me. I turned and spotted a little cat that walked over, sitting at my feet and licking its paw to wash its face. “Not that she was a very strong virus, but she would’ve done a lot of damage to the local area.”

“Uh… Are you… a talking cat?” I asked, confused.

“Yes. I’m a program out in cyberspace. The owner of this system has me installed, so I have a home nearby that I visit when she needs me.” The cat stopped washing and looked up at me. “So, you’re a new linker just learning your powers. What are you called, Linker?”

“Uh… I uh… I’m not sure what a ‘linker’ is, I’m just a technician…”

“Technician! I like it, it has a nice ring to it. Alright, Technician… So I suppose you don’t know how to get out, do you?”

“Uh… No?” It felt odd, being judged by this cat. I mean, cats judge everyone all the time, but this was a talking, virtual cat apparently. So it felt a little more odd than usual.

“Well… I can see who I can talk to. Or you might get lucky and have a linker swing by,” The cat chuckled. “You might be stuck here a while while I look for someone who knows something, though. I could ask an old program, but… The only one I think would know is Staple Mable, and she’s kinda annoying, so… I’d rather ask anyone else first.”

“Staple Mable? Like… The old Macroverse assistant? The one that would pop up and talk to you when you opened one of their products?” I only barely even remembered the little stapler that would pop up in older versions of Macroverse products.

“That’d be the one. She’s older, but she’s been around long enough to know things. And you know some of it was picked up in the course of her duties. I’m Jabber John, by the way. A talking companion.”

“Oh… I’ve heard of Jabber John. Also popular for a while…” I blinked. “Uh… Sorry if that was… Insensitive…”

“Oh, no, not at all. Such is the life of a program,” John laughed. “Well, let me see-” He looked up. “Nevermind, looks like you won’t need my help after all.”

I looked up to see what he was talking about. A strange tool was above our heads and lowering towards me. “Wha-” Before I could react, the tool latched on to my arm and pulled. Now I was flying up toward where I’d fallen from, then out and into Joe’s arms.

“Easy there, kid- I’ve got ya,” Joe told me as he steadied me and made sure I got my feet under me. “Well, I had suspected you might be a linker, but… Wasn’t expecting to get back and find you in an old machine!” He chuckled.

“What?” I straightened quickly and met his eyes, baffled. “You can do that? Go into machines?”

“Computers, phones, video game consoles… Yep. Haven’t tried car systems yet, but… I’d imagine we could go in those too,” Joe answered, moving to grab one of our desk chairs and sit. “Take a seat, Andy, and let’s talk a minute. I already closed the shop for the night. We’ll need the quiet.” I obeyed, taking another chair and sitting. Well, at least I knew I wasn’t high.

“So… Linkers… Are a thing. And I just punched a real computer virus,” I stated, clarifying what had just happened and admittedly not fully believing it.

“Oh, you did take care of the virus? Perfect, that will make the night easier!” Joe said cheerfully. “Yes. I’m not sure where the term came from, but linkers have a… Superpower, I guess you could call it. We can enter technology, fight viruses from within and even travel that way if we know what we’re doing,” He explained. “We can even interact with regular people, if they’re at the computer. They’ll assume we’re a program, of course, but what can you do?” He smiled. “I’ll start teaching you how to use this power. After you’ve had time to process this, that is.”

Over the next couple years, I slowly grew into my abilities and learned all I could from Joe. When I went to college, Joe pointed me to another linker he knew in the local area and got me a job at her tech shop. College was where my adventures really began, and my life started to change.

Kendra's Thoughts, Taking Back the Kingdom, Updates

Taking Back The Kingdom Reflections, And What Comes Next

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With the official end of TBtK written and posted, I wanted to take a quick look back at the process of writing it, and to talk about what might come next.

First, I want to thank everyone who read and enjoyed my first completed story project. I may decide to edit and publish it one day as a book. All I currently know is I have no intention of a sequel to this project. I really didn’t ever intend one, and I didn’t give myself much setup for one.

I want to talk briefly about the process that creating this story took. It started with a prompt: What if the hero we follow is actually the villian?

As readers will note, that premise did not hold through the book. I could have kept our main character antagonistic to the king, but it just didn’t feel like it fit the young man I’d written. I may revisit that prompt one day, I may not. It was a lot harder to try to write convincingly than I thought.

The reason it took me so long to finish was my difficulty I’m deciding how to end it. Much like our main character, I had several paths to choose from. He could have simply returned home and bowed out. Or, I could have had him single-handedly talk down the rebels. That felt like such a cop out, and very unbelievable, so I ditched it pretty quickly. Eli could have died I’m the fighting, or fought for the king and become a war hero. Ultimately, I did choose this route, but I decided to leave his fate to the readers. That also felt like a cop out, but a more satisfying one.

I’m personally satisfied with the ending of the story, and how I got there. Each chapter was written and posted without any major editing or anyone reviewing it first. That alone was pretty intimidating, as I had no way of knowing how anyone would receive it. I just wrote what felt most correct and fitting at the time and rolled with it.

As for what’s next, I’m not 100% certain. I’ve got a couple of potential projects to work on, and some on here I’d like to continue. I don’t know just how frequently I’ll be posting for a while as is. Life’s pretty busy at the moment, and what free time I do have to devote to projects will likely be dominated by the biggest project I’ve ever attempted, which I don’t intend to put on the blog in its entirety.

That project is currently planned to be 7 books in total. I don’t want to go into too much detail about it here, but it will be a book based in a world of magic, interdimensional travel, and an upcoming war.

I will be trying to finish off the Journey story this year, however. I know how I want that to end, I just have to get it there.

I want to seriously thank all of my readers and my handful of followers. This has been an amazing accomplishment for me, someone who’s been writing since they were 7ish yet never finished a full story. I hope some of all of you will stick around for more of this journey, and support me as I continue to grow as a writer.

Let me know what you thought of TBtK. I’d love to hear thoughts on the ending and the story as a whole. Did you read it from the start? Did you find it part way through and go back? Was the ending satisfying for you, as a reader? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for sticking with me. Let’s hope the next projects are just as fun!

Stories, Taking Back the Kingdom

Taking Back The Kingdom – Chapter 9 – End

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I spent a week in the area, learning how people lived and how the changes to the laws were affecting them. People were happy to talk to me about it, and I had several dinners with various families in the area.

There were jobs to be done while we talked, and I certainly helped where I could. I even learned a few new skills while I educated myself.

For once in my life, I recognized how privileged I had been. Mom and Dad never once struggled to support us, and our farm was plenty prosperous. How many other rebels were like me? How many thought they were lower class or poor, just to have a similar background to me?

Well, one way to find out was to return to the rebels camp and attempt to enlighten them. I certainly didn’t think I could talk down an entire rebellion this way, but if I could convince a few people they were wrong, it would be a victory.

So back to the camp I went. I was welcomed back easily, as every hand helps, but it didn’t stay that way. I set myself up in the center of camp to announce my findings… and promptly found myself booed out and running for my own safety. I did see a few looks of consideration, but not many.

Oh well. I tried. The next question was what I would do now. Return home and continue my comfortable lifestyle? Or join the king’s army and defend the work he had started?

I suppose, by this point, it wasn’t really a question for me. A letter to my parents later, it was time to talk to an army recruiter.

Army training wasn’t particularly eventful. The rebellion went on for quite a while, and I proved myself capable as I worked. Before I knew it, I was promoted through the ranks until the king himself asked me to join his personal guard. It wasn’t exactly an offer I expected, being a previous rebel myself, but I took it willingly.

Now, I help coordinate movements by the king to try to bypass rebel hotspots. Tomorrow, we’re heading to a talk the king is to give. Word came in yesterday that a rebel party planned to ambush us on our previous route and time frame, so things were moved up by a week. Something still feels off about this.

I guess only time will tell if this is just paranoia talking, but I intend to remind the others to remain on alert at all times. The rebels could easily predict this move. Protecting the king has to be our top focus at all times.

If all goes well, maybe we can wind this rebellion down in another couple of months.

Marcus fought the two guards who had moved him from the fight, trying to return to where he and his men had been ambushed. “I have to help them! I can fight too, you know!”

“We all know you’re more important to the kingdom than we are,” The older guard sighed. “We must wait until things calm. If you die, all of this was for naught.”

“Besides, Eli took charge of it. The boys a natural leader. Let him do his thing,” The other guard smiled. The king sighed and stopped trying to get away from them, waiting.

When the fighting calmed down, the older guard went to investigate before returning. “We’ve won- three dead on our side, the rest are in various states of wounded but look likely to recover.”

“Good- let’s go get them out of harm’s way, and decide our next move,” Marcus ordered, heading back to his men. The two guards followed, on alert for more attacks.

Stories, Taking Back the Kingdom

Taking Back The Kingdom – Chapter 7

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“That’s everything,” I reported, having repeated everything the usurper had said, and handing over the files. “He seemed genuine- So either he is, or he’s a good actor.”

“So, you trust his word?” One of the leaders of the rebellion demanded.

“I never said that. He believes what he says, or he’s good at faking it. That’s all. I’ve seen enough people that were harmed by these reforms to cause doubt in his words.” As many people as could be close enough to hear were crammed around me in the center of the camp, listening in and forming their own opinions. I could see a few faces that were confused, many that were hard set and clearly still against the king. Yet, there were a couple, here and there, that looked thoughtful and considering. “I think we should move carefully- If he’s swayed enough people to believe him, we’ll have a hard fight against our own people. We should try to minimize that bloodshed or we’ll just start a civil war. That would be the ruin of the kingdom.” The leaders looked at each other, clearly not having considered that fact.

“You’re right. We’ll talk, come up with a plan,” Another leader said finally. He looked around, then sighed. “Can you spread the word? Anyone that believes him and wants out… They may go, with our blessing. But if they stand against us, should a battle come… We won’t hold back.” I nodded and went to spread the word as the crowd broke up.

It took me a couple hours to get through the camp, making sure everyone knew what we knew. At least we had that right- Everyone had a right to make their own decisions in this area. And, as I worked, I started to come to my own decision regarding how to proceed, and how I felt about the meeting. Heading to where my pack had been put, I began to prepare for my next move.

“My lord… We’ve gotten a large influx of young men and women volunteering for the army,” An advisor said, coming to find Marcus. “They seem to sense trouble on the horizon.”

“I see…” Marcus sighed. “I will prepare to speak with them, I suppose. We still want to try to avoid a battle, but… We will at least have enough people if it comes to that. What news of the rebel camp and forces?”

“We’ve reports of a small percentage of people leaving the camp, heading for their homes. The representative appears to have indeed shared your words and the files. It hasn’t convinced them all to let this progress, but it has gotten a few to give you a chance.”

“I’m sure there are more still considering things. Perhaps they, too, will head home. Perhaps not. We need to be ready for either, without putting undue hardship on our people or taking too many forces from anything important. Especially if incoming reports are correct about our wonderful northern neighbors building a force at our border.” Marcus sighed again and stood to look out a window in his study, hands clasped behind his back as he thought. “Have I made a mistake? Moved too quickly to try to right the wrongs of this kingdom? It was in a dangerous state, near collapse or rebellion… Have I only swung the threat of rebellion to the other side?”

“What does that matter now?” The advisor asked. “What’s done is done. You cannot go back and change your decisions now. Either this will blow over safely, or you will pay for your decisions, in your blood or that of the people. But how you proceed from here will continue to write your character in history for all to see. If you feel you may have rushed too quickly before, try to prevent doing so now. Think your next decisions through carefully, and perhaps we can shift the course of things to prevent a civil war, or total distruction of our kingdom.”

“Or perhaps not.” Marcus murmured. “Perhaps it is already too late… But we won’t know that until the next move is made.” He turned to look to his advisor. “Can you gather the others of my council? I think it’s past time I had everyone’s input before I make another foolish decision. I should have started this way from the start, but better late than never.” The advisor smiled slightly.

“Of course, my lord. I will have them gathered and in the largest meeting room within an hour.” He turned and left, letting Marcus prepare for a potentially kingdom saving meeting.

Stories, Taking Back the Kingdom

Taking Back The Kingdom – Chapter 6

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“Thank you for making the trip to come and meet with me. I understand your people are unhappy with changes I’ve made, and I’d like to hear what about them has upset people. Every policy or change I enact will, of course, have opponents. But I’d like to try to find an amicable resolution to all of this, rather than just blow your opinions off.” This Marcus guy was more relaxed than I’d expected. Perhaps killing him would be easier than I thought. But, why did he want to talk about why we were unhappy? Wasn’t it obvious?

“You’ve increased taxes. That’s going to make anyone unhappy, for starters.”

“Ah- I knew that might be part of it. You see, I only raised taxes for those who had unfair tax advantages. The tax rate is now even across the board. My predessesor allowed the richest people to pay practically nothing, while the poor paid most of what they made. If your family was affected by the shift, I must apologize. It had to be done, however, to try to help those most in need. And the tax money is already going back into the kingdom- A boost to the assistance system, more money for schools, and money to build or improve orphanages.” This jerk actually looked happy with himself- Then again, if he was telling the truth, that was for the better… The school system certainly needed the help.

“Why boost the assistance system if you’re denying it to people?” I growled. I couldn’t fall for his ruse.

“Only to those who could find work and simply won’t. We can’t help everyone who needs it if those who could manage on their own simply don’t want to try. Unfortunately, there’s no way to guarantee no one can abuse the system, but we can try our best to cut down on those who would.”

“And the increase in the number of orphans? How’d you manage that, through your mass executions?” He looked perplexed.

“I haven’t executed anyone since I took the throne. Imprisoned, a couple of murderers. But I didn’t want to start my rule with killing. No, the orphans are those who slipped through the cracks and were living alone or in gangs on the streets. I’m saddened by how many did, but we’ll get them the education and safety they deserve. Preferably, we can also find them families.” He sighed, watching my face. “You don’t believe me- No, I can’t say I blame you. I should have considered this, the way that rumors and misinformation would spread. Not much one can do about it, though, and people will believe what they wish to.”

He meant it, didn’t he? Good grief, either this man was legitimate or he was the best actor I had ever seen. I felt myself relaxing a bit as I considered this.

“And the slavery accusations?”

“Slavery… Well, I suppose it could be seen that way, but no- It was voluntary. An offer to small-time convicted criminals, to rehabilitate them and give them a skill set and second chance at life. At the same time, things around the kingdom get fixed up. If you ever get a chance to speak to one of these men, you’ll see they’re quite happy with the deal. And no one dangerous gets offered the deal- Murderers and rapists will remain locked up.”

“I… Can’t tell if you mean it all, or if you’re the world’s best actor,” I admitted after a quiet moment of thought.

“That’s fair. I can’t expect you to change your mind immediately, nor to trust me so quickly. I expect I’d feel the same in your position.” He offered me a file chock full of papers. “Please… Feel free to share this information with your comrades. Nothing in here is confidential. I understand if not everyone, or even no one, stands down. I only ask that you all please just give me a chance to prove myself. I haven’t even been on the throne for six months yet.”

“Yeah… Sure. I’ll share this with them,” I nodded, taking the file, and my leave of him. This was going to take a lot of contemplation, but I had a feeling hardly anyone would buy it. I wasn’t even sure I bought it.

Marcus watched the young man go and sighed, rubbing his face. “He doesn’t believe me. People are so prepared to believe the worst of the government… I can’t blame them, given the previous king.”

“No… This is different. These, from what we can tell, are upper class citizens. Well off. They’re affected most by your reforms, at least in terms of taxes. They expect more breaks just because they’re well off, and they’re rebelling because they want things easy for them again. Some are upper-middle class people, like that young man. They’re being told spun versions of the reforms, and haven’t interacted enough with the poor folks to know how they feel about it all.” His advisor, stepping in from the next room, watched the new king. “There’s little we can do except be transparent, and hope the common folk step up to help educate the rich.”

“I hope it doesn’t come to that- Innocent people would be hurt or killed. I want everyone to live in peace.”

“There’s a hope we can all get behind.”

Stories, Taking Back the Kingdom

Taking Back The Kingdom – Chapter 5

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At last, and with companions in tow, I approached the rally point for the rebellion. We had several hundred people in the camp, as I could see from a hill above it. I could also see the kingdom’s army stationed a few hundred yards away, far enough to prevent unnessecary fighting but close enough to be ready if we made a move toward the capital, which was well on the far side of the kingdom’s soldiers.

“Well, this is a large sack of manure,” I muttered to my new friends. “Why are they fighting for him? After the reports we’ve had…”

“Who knows? Did you lot hear, orphanages are filling up and new ones being built. Sounds like he’s already killed enough people to increase the number of orphans in our kingdom.” A scout nearby growled and spat on the ground, then looked at us again. “We’re getting things settled, when to attack and who will do what. Go see our leader, that red tent in the center of camp.”

“Thanks,” I nodded and went down the hill, frowning. That many more orphans? What was this monster up to? Well, no matter, I would certainly help put a stop to it.

I heard more murmurs of his wrong-doing as I went. Government assistance for those on hard times had been cut or completely denied to some. More talk of slavery and increased taxes… Was this man trying to run this kingdom into the ground?

“How hasn’t his army turned on him yet?” Clara asked us, frowning. “For as monsterous as he sounds, you’d expect the soldiers in the nearby camp wouldn’t be so relaxed and well-behaved. Why hasn’t this camp been wiped out yet?”

“Perhaps he underestimates us. And perhaps he’s lied and manipulated the soldiers…” I sighed, running my hand through my hair and thinking. “I don’t like it. Someone needs to get in, kill’em, and get out. I don’t think we can stand against the whole army.”

“That’s certainly what we’re thinking.” Someone had come up behind us, making all of us jump. “I’m in charge around here- Lucas Samold. Pleasure. I see you’re new- Welcome to the resistance.”

“Thanks for the heart attack,” Clayton muttered.

“We need a newer person for a chance opportunity- The usurper has agreed to meet with one representative of our group. I want someone new, so he may believe he can sway them. I want you to find out what lies and manipulation he’s using, and report back. Who’s in?”

“Gladly,” I answered. “If I get a chance to kill him?”

“If you see a perfect opportunity, take it. I doubt he’ll give you the chance, but certainly try if it presents itself.”

With that, I was stocked up and sent off for the capital. Now, I just had to keep my head… If I did, I might get a chance to save the kingdom.

Marcus sighed, looking over reports. “It breaks my heart so many children were simply left on the street when they were orphaned… So many innocent lives, slipping through the cracks. We must do better, find them foster or adoptive families and ensure they get a good education, good food, and safety. They’re the future of our kingdom, they deserve the best we can offer them.”

“Your are right, my lord. And the tax money redirected from those abusing the assistance system will help ensure as much,” an advisor agreed. “It will only be a stop-gap, I think, until someone thinks they’ve found a loophole with the new assistance rules.”

“There will always be a loophole,” Marcus sighed. “We can’t see what it is now, but someone will find and exploit it. We can’t tighten the rules too much, or those truly in need will slip through the cracks. But I want to get as many of those off the system that are truly able to work and just don’t wish to look for it… I want them to find work, and I want to find a way to provide them opportunities.”

“You are truly honorable and noble, my king,” The advisor smiled, bowing to him.

“I hope the resistance representative feels that way… Otherwise, this may yet all fall to pieces.”

Life Is Super, Stories

Life Is Super – Part 3

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It only took about an hour to get everything handled and their parents to pick them up. Sadly, for me, it was Teddy’s mom that came to get him, so no public scolding there. I had met her before, and she was a nice lady. Too bad Teddy didn’t follow her example. She did apologize to me and made Teddy do so, and she even gave me a bag of homemade cookies. Sweet!

The other boys were led off without a word by their folks, though there was a lot of disappointment in the looks I saw. Ah, justice!

Before we left, Chief, the chief of police, asked us to come say hi in his office.

“Finally got your powers! Congrats, kid!” He beamed at me. “Think you’re rested enough to show me what you’ve got?”

“Totally!” I can only imagine my grin was as big as his. I threw up my block from earlier… But no ice. Instead, my arm caught on fire!

Smiles faded into looks of shock and confusion. The fire didn’t burn, my arm simply felt a little warm until it dissipated.

“But… you had ice earlier?” Dad was clearly out of his element- No pun intended.

“Maybe… she’s a dualie?” Chief was always one to try to explain things best he could.

Dualies weren’t unheard of, users of two powers. There had even been a few with three or more powers, though that was about once or twice a generation. Dualies were maybe in 3% of the population. But I had never heard of a Dualie with opposing powers. Either they were unrelated powers, like an element with super strength, or they were complementary, like air with flight.

“Maybe… we should go out to the practice yard and see what exactly you can do, Alex,” My father suggested. I nodded, and the three of us headed outside.

Out in the practice yard, Dad and Chief had me try to use my powers for nearly two hours. It was insane! The fire powers only lasted for about 15 minutes, then I had no power again. After a few minutes, I was a Speedster, darting around in the blink of an eye! That lasted about five minutes before i had a powerless stretch. Next came flight, though that nearly ended badly. Chief caught me when I dropped half an hour in.

On and on it went, though- Power for a stretch, and about five minutes recharge time. I got ice and speed twice, and they each lasted for different lengths of time. By the end, at least I was beginning to be able to tell when my powers would fade.

“This… this is extraordinary, John. I need to make a phone call. There’s someone who should see this,” Chief finally announced. I took a short break while he got out his cell and dialed a number. “Hello, Dean- Sorry to call so late. I know you’re home by now, but… well, there’s something you need to see. Come to the station, the practice yard. And pronto.”

“Uh… who is Dean?” Dad asked when Chief hung up.

“Regional director of the Collectors. Normally, I would’ve recommended Alex for the junior officer’s program, if she wanted to take that path still-“

“Duh!” Being a cop was my dream, whereas a lot of my peers wanted to join the Collectors.

“But we aren’t prepared for a special case like this. I doubt Dean has ever seen anything like this either, but the Collectors are better prepared for… unique situations.”

“My daughter is not joining the Collectors at 16. They don’t even accept applicants until 21!” Dad protested.

“They make exceptions. Alexis will have to have a safe place to practice with this… Randomness, either way. The Collectors can provide that better than anyone.”

“Um.. hi, yeah, subject of convo here- Don’t I get some kinda say in this?” I asked, baffled. I really hadn’t considered the Collectors for a career before, but… I wasn’t sure I wanted to be part of a national law enforcement agency. I wanted to protect my hometown and the people who lived there, the people I grew up with… but the nation was another story!

“I don’t mean you have to join the Collectors, Alexis. Just that they would be the best able to help you train such unique powers. They do that for teens with unusual abilities. I just think it would be best for you to work with them… And if you don’t, they’ll still want to know about this.”

“I mean… I guess that’s all true… But why does anyone need to know about this? We know, that should be good enough, right?” Last thing I wanted was to be a freak in a new and interesting way. I start training with the Collectors, I thought, and I might as well just announce the new power thing to any classmates associated with those in the training program for the Collectors. That program started at 18, but there were a few kids from my school in it or looking to apply when they hit 18. There would be no keeping this new development secret that way, and I’d rather be a freak for a normal thing than a freak for something new.

“Chief is right, kid.” Dad could’ve at least had my back, dangit! “You’re both safer for yourself and safer to be around if you learn how to control this; or at least work with it, I guess.”

“Ugh! You guys are trying to make me stand out more!” I groaned as a man came walking out to us.

“Alright, Martin, what’s so important I had to get out here immediately?” The man asked, though in  good humor. It seemed he and Chief had a pretty good relationship.

“Dean… This is Alexis. She’s the daughter of John here, one of my best officers. Kid was power free until this evening. She developed ice powers while she was being attacked.”

“Well, the age is pretty unusual, but not something to call me over surely?”

“Oh, just wait. It gets better,” Chief chuckled. “Alexis and her old man came in to talk to me after handling the punks that attacked her. I asked her to demonstrate… And her powers were fire. So we came out here, and she’s gone through about 15 powers cycling around randomly, for random durations, for the last two hours.” That had Dean’s attention.

“Miss Alexis, if you aren’t too tired, would you demonstrate this for me, please?” Dean asked, looking at me. I hesitated. This was it- If I complied, this could change my life forever. There could be studies done about this strange power, or just my prediction of more unending freakishness. 

Dad gave me a reassuring smile, and I sighed, turning and moving to start trying my powers again. My fate was sealed.

Thanks for reading so far! If you like the first “chapter,” so to speak, of Life Is Super, please like the posts or leave a comment so I know! Thanks for reading along so far, and look forward to more of Alexis’ adventures as I get them completed!

Life Is Super, Stories

Life Is Super – Part 2

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After verifying I was okay, my dad went to assist his partner with the boys. With their dreams being thoroughly dashed, they all looked pretty defeated. Mike was pale and shaking even, and why shouldn’t he be concerned? The fines and penalties for attacking another person with your powers, without good cause, are high. Even higher when the target is a powerless mutant, or you believe they are at the time.

The only sad part is there was no video footage in that part of the grounds. There was a camera, but the school was in the process of getting it repaired after it was hit by a branch blown about in a bad storm. Admittedly, that’s probably why they’d waited here to attack.

Then again, even without the video footage, the law had them dead to rights. I mean, the police arrived to me laying on the ground, out cold, and the boys panicking thinking Mike had killed me. They confessed readily enough, at that point, and none of them could even look at me as they were loaded up. Not sure if it was guilt for what they did, or shame for getting caught… Ah well, wasn’t my problem.

Dad let me ride with him in the second car that had come to assist, and we went to get the boys processed and for him to be a proud parent to all his buddies at the station. Growing up, they’d all gotten to know our family well. Honestly, it was a lot like having a lot of extra aunts and uncles.

“Why didn’t you tell me and your mother that other kids were bullying you?” Dad asked on the ride in. “We could’ve spoken to the school and gotten this handled before it went to this level.”

“Come on, Dad, no one was going to attack me with a cop for a dad. At least, no one smart. Throw in a lawyer for a mom, and I was sitting pretty safe. It was just taunts and shunning before this, and I can deal with that.”

“What about Taylor and Thomas? Do they treat you like that?” Taylor and Thomas were twins at my school, and the only friends I had. They didn’t care that I was a mutant, since their dad was, too.

“Of course not. Their dad would kill them.”

“Then why didn’t they speak up?”

“Because I asked them not to, okay? This is my problem, not yours, and I won’t go running to Mommy and Daddy for every little thing that goes wrong,” I snapped. Well, I didn’t mean to, but Dad knows I like to handle things myself. Why was this such a big deal to him? It was only names and jerkish behavior before now.

“You’re still a child.” Dad was fuming at this point. “If you can’t solve a problem yourself, you ask an adult for help. This could have ended far worse for you, especially if your powers hadn’t shown at that moment. You could be dead or seriously injured, and no amount of law enforcement can undo that!”

“A Healer can help with serious injury,” I pointed out.

“Some! They can’t always fix it, Alexis. I’ve seen my share of that. You have to learn to be more responsible.”

“You know, a lot of people would say that just ignoring the bullies is the responsible way to handle it. And plenty of people have stopped pestering me because of me ignoring them. As far as I could tell, my method was working perfectly fine, thank you. And! I wasn’t getting butt hurt over it. I was fine.” Dad didn’t answer right away to this argument. When we pulled up to the station, he sighed.

“I suppose that is true. But from now on? At least tell us when things are happening, even if you don’t want our help. We can still let you handle it, but then if something happens or you need help, we won’t be blindsided.”

“Alright.. l can do that,” I assured him. I didn’t have to tell him everything that was happening, but really, I could at least let them know a little bit. It’d make them feel better.

Dad nodded at that and got out. I followed suit, and followed him up to the station. By the time we got inside, he’d calmed down and was even grinning. The officers in the reception area looked up when we came in.

“What’s got you in such a good mood, John? Especially when Lex looks like she met the wrong end of a car.” That was one of the older officers, a nice older lady that acted like I was her own grandchild. In fact, she insisted I call her Granny, and l did.

“Oh, nothing too much… Except Alexis’ powers finally came in, and she’s an lce Mage! Just like her old man!” Dad has always had a flair for the dramatics, but I can’t blame him this time. While my parents have always been supportive of me, powers or not, Dad had always hoped his kid would be an Ice Mage like him. This had to be one of his proudest moments, especially since I had gotten the power to work perfectly when I needed it. Not everyone gets that lucky when they first get their powers, since they’re usually a lot younger than me. Actually, always a lot younger than me.

Of course, no one cared how unusual it was, as the officers all came over to congratulate me. “Show us what you can do, kid!” One of them smiled. So, I did what I had done for Dad and the Healer.

Nothing happened. Everyone looked confused, but Dad smiled. “She did exhaust herself on the first use of it, so she might just need some time to recharge.” He explained, which satisfied everyone else and they continued to congratulate me before going on to their tasks. I wasn’t so sure about that. I didn’t feel tired anymore, but then, Dad knew more about Ice powers.

“Well, let’s get your classmates settled and their folks called. Isn’t Teddy’s dad in the Collectors?” Dad asked, which made me grin. Teddy was their leader, and his father was indeed a Collector. Boy was he going to be in for it!

Life Is Super

Life Is Super – Part 1

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Welcome to our new project- This would be a comic if I could draw, but I think I can make it work as a regularly updated web series instead. (Or until I can find someone who can draw and we team up. Whatever comes first.)

If you like this series and want to see more, throw a comment on the post or like it! The more people like it, the more I’m going to be motivated to continue writing.

A huge shoutout to my first test reader, Celeste, from one of my game groups. You are a huge help, and you are amazing!

And now… On to the story!

I live in a world where everyone has powers. Flight, invisibility, elemental control… You know, “superpowers.” Well, at least, that’s what we called them when they began to appear. Those with powers were considered mutants. Now, those without are the freaks.

Usually, powers manifest around the ages of three to five, but people have shown powers as late as 12. If you don’t power up by then, you’re a mutant and life will be difficult. There’s another class of mutant, those with more than one power… But they are worshipped rather than ridiculed.

My story begins at the age of 16.I was born to an Ice Mage father and a Speedster mother. Basically, dad had ice powers and mom super speed. I was a mutant, not a hint of powers to be had. Kids at my school took every chance to try to torment me, but I learned early to brush it off. At least, as my dad was a cop, things didn’t get violent.

Well…. Things didn’t turn violent until the June after I turned 16. Three local jerks got fed up with their threats and extortion attempts being ignored, so they decided to take things up a notch. I had never bothered to give them the time of day, as I knew any criminal convictions would ruin their future plans.

You see, they each wanted to be a Collector, the most elite national crime fighting organization. If a person had even a minor criminal or misdemeanor conviction, with a couple exemptions, the applicant was out of the running. So, by natural deduction, I reasoned they weren’t ever going to risk it. Boy was I wrong.

They made their move in the late evening. I was heading home from some volunteer work, tutoring other kids, when the three cornered me outside the school. There was no preparing for the absolute beatdown they gave me, but I did my best to defend myself. With a cop for a dad, I certainly wasn’t going to just stand there and take it, was I?

“Stupid, dumbass mutant, you should’ve just done what we told you. Twenty bucks a week isn’t too much to ask to keep from getting your ass kicked, is it?” The leader was a jock, star cleanup of the baseball team. Or something like that, I didn’t particularly care for the school’s sports.

“Admittedly… Didn’t think… You three were as dumb as you looked.” I was careful to talk between blocks, so I didn’t distract myself too much. Apparently, they didn’t like this answer. Can’t imagine why.

“We are going to make you regret you were ever born.” The leader growled.

“Why? Want someone to feel as bad as you look?” Well, that wasn’t the right answer, either, I guess. One of them, the Fire Mage of their little group, got the other two to grab my arms as he lit up a punch and grinned.

“You won’t be so cocky when we’re done with you, mutant.” He said, and punched.

What happened next was absolutely baffling. Knowing the damage that punch could do, I ducked my head, which he was aiming for. I managed to twist my hold out of the third boy’s grip, freeing my left hand in time to throw my arm up and block the next fire punch. Instead of feeling a bad burn, my arm went cold the instant before the hit connected, there was a hiss, and steam blew out in front of my eyes. The boys swore, let me go, and backed up… And I passed out.

When I came to, there were lights going off nearby. Apparently, the cops had been notified. A Healer was looking me over.

“Aside from the cuts and bruises she has, she’s just exhausted herself, John. She’ll be fine.”

“Exhausted? From a fight? You’re sure nothing else is wrong?” My father’s face came into view. “Alex, what happened?”

“Oh, y’know… Just picking daisies and having tea parties.” I retorted, trying to sit up. Dad pushed me back down.

“You stay right there until we know what happened, young lady.” He looked at the Healer.

“I can’t find any signs of ill health.” The Healer explained. “She’s perfectly fine.”

“Daaad, come on. I’m fine, he said so.” I complained. Dad sighed and let me sit up.

“What happened? The boys were freaked out, but wouldn’t say exactly.” I didn’t answer. No matter how painful or irritating school and life got, there was one thing I still had going for me: I didn’t go running to Mommy and Daddy when the other kids were being mean. At least, not since I was, like, 8. “Alex- I have to know what happened, for the report. It’s clear they attacked you, but why? If you started this fight…”

“Of course I didn’t, do I look as stupid as them? I was leaving tutoring and they cornered me, alright? They tried to be intimidating, I wasn’t having it, and Mike threw a fire punch. My arm got cold, there was a lot of steam, and I passed out.” The Healer and Dad traded looks. “What?”

“Alex, do exactly what you did when Mike hit you.” The Healer told me. I frowned, but threw up my arm as if I was blocking a punch in a hurry. In an instant, my forearm was coated in ice! “Well, that’s what it was, then- You, young lady, are the latest bloomer I’ve ever heard of.”

“Ice powers! You’ve got ice powers!” Dad cheered, pulling me into a hug. “Just like your old man! Your mother will be so jealous.” He grinned.