Occasionally, after reading a Superman comic, Franklin would wonder what that would be like, to have all that power at your fingertips, all that strength, and yet constantly have to hold yourself back so you don't destroy everything.
After today, he no longer wondered.
He also totally got the 'walking on eggshells' saying now, though it was more touching the eggshells with him as practically everything he touched felt brittle and weak. After the incident with his locker, he had tried to be more careful but it was way harder than it seemed. He had almost broken a classroom door just by pushing it, nearly shattered his lunch tray by holding it a little tightly, and had gone through over a dozen pencils, even when using the snapped off pieces as well.
"This is without a doubt in the top 3 worst days of my life," he muttered, leaving his last class.
"That's pretty sad cause this is my number 1 best day," Travis said, his grin seemingly permanently etched onto his face now. "I can't wait to start doing some tests, see how fast I can really go. I wonder how fast it would take me to run across the entire world." His eyes widened considerably at the thought. "I wonder if I can run faster than the speed of sound. Or light!"
Franklin just shook his head. Honestly, he kind of wished he had Travis's power. Flash had always been one of his favorite characters and since he had been strong almost his entire life, super strength hadn't really been on his wish list. But now it seemed he was stuck with it.
"So what now?" Travis asked. "Where do you think we should train?"
"I have football tryouts," Franklin replied.
"Seriously? You're still doing that, even with everything going on? What if…you know…" Travis trailed off, grimacing a little.
Franklin understood. He honestly thought he should bail on the tryouts as well. But he didn't want to let any opportunities slip through his fingers. His father had always told him to seize any moment life through at him. He was good at football. Really good, despite his own feelings on the game. So, if he could go pro, his scholarship and future could be secure. That was something he couldn't pass up on.
He just had to double down on containing his new strength.
"We'll consider this extra training," he told Travis. "See how much I can do while reigning it in. Then, later, we'll see how much I can do without holding back."
Travis nodded. "That's smart, yeah. Alright, well I'll be in the stands then. Partially. I may run off to grab food and stuff but I'll be rooting for you the entire time."
"Thanks man."
"Especially if you kick my brother's ass."
Franklin didn't know how to respond to that so he opted for silence instead.
The second he had walked out onto the football field, he knew it would be trouble. For the first time, he wasn't worried about how badly he he'd do but how good. When he was asked to shove the dummy across the ground, he had to put all his effort into making it look even the tiniest bit difficult. Because it honestly felt like he was pushing a bag of feathers around.
Kicking the ball was even worse. He didn't even know how much strength he should put into it as too little would be lame and too much might send it into the stratosphere. Fortunately, he managed to do it right. It still went far, way beyond the goal and anyone else's score, but in a way that still seemed normal.
After that, things got a little easier as he did laps around the field. While he didn't feel tired in the slightest as he ran, he did notice that it took some effort to move faster. He was still moving faster than most people, but it was like he was carrying weights on his back. His strength was apparently slowing him down. Well, at least he didn't look like some freak prodigy anymore.
But then they went into the mock games. And once again he found himself forced to hold way back. When crashing into other players, he could feel the brittleness in their bodies and could imagine them breaking apart just like his closet door. It made him feel sick to his stomach.
When he got tossed the ball and was running across the field, he did everything in his power to gently nudge aside the other players. Or, in most cases, just let them fall off of him in their attempts to tackled him. After all, there literally was nothing they could do to stop him. It was like being attacked by mice. Annoying, but honestly not that difficult. Unless the mice started biting, but that fortunately wasn't the case here.
Franklin breathed out in relief when it was over. Luke was celebrating, Andrew Stroneman was moping (so Travis was celebrating), and the others were just talking about their own chances on the team. Franklin already figured he was in. Unless the Coach didn't want super powerful people on her team, she would have to be just plain stupid not to bring him on.
"Great job man!" Travis cheered, running up to him. "I've never seen Andrew look so mad before. Oh, and congrats on doing well too."
"Thanks," Franklin replied dryly. "I feel better already."
"So, uh, how did…you know what go?"
Franklin paused, gathering his thoughts. "Difficult," he said eventually. "We'll talk later."
"Hey, you!"
Both of them turned to see Andrew marching towards them. "Oh, hello," Franklin replied evenly. He had dealt with enough people like him to know it was best to stay calm.
"Hey bro," Travis greeted with zero enthusiasm.
"Shut up loser, this has nothing to do with you."
"Ah, as charming as always. The girls must love you."
"I said shut up!"
"Look, what do you want?" Franklin interjected.
Andrew looked back at him, frowned, and looked back at Travis. "So this is your new friend, huh? Guess miracles do come true after all."
Franklin was beginning to understand why Travis didn't like going home. "Hey, is there something else you wanted to say or are you just here to be an asshole?"
Andrew glared at him while Travis chuckled. "Watch it, tubby. I don't know where either you or that loser got your juice from, but I promise you it won't matter. Cause what I got are pure guts and muscle. So stay out of my way."
"Juice?" Franklin asked, confused.
"My dear brother here believes you are using drugs or steroids of some kind to improve your abilities because it is beyond his limited brainpower to conceive of someone actually being better than him," Travis said.
"Shut up twerp!" Andrew said threateningly.
Franklin wasn't quite sure what to say. In a way, Andrew wasn't wrong. Franklin was using some kind of enhancements. He just had no idea how he'd gotten them. Or even what they were. Did that mean he cheated on the tryouts? Almost certainly.
He felt a twinge of guilt inside. Maybe he should withdraw after all. Make it right. As long as he had these powers, he put all other players at a ridiculously unfair advantage.
But…his opportunity. Could he really throw that away?
Besides, there was no telling how long this freaky power would last anyway. It could disappear tomorrow for all he knew. He should just wait it out and see what happened.
Still, he felt that guilt in there.
"I don't care how you got this good, newbie," Andrew told him. "Just make sure you stay in your lane. Got it?"
Franklin didn't even blink. "Talk to someone who cares about your opinion."
Travis snorted while Andrew just glared before walking away. "This day just keeps getting better and better," Travis said with a grin.
"I can see why you don't like him."
"Anyone with eyes can see why I don't like him. Now come on. Let's go see how powerful these new powers of ours are!"
"Hold on," Franklin stopped him. "I need to go home first."
"What? Why?"
"I have a shift at the deli. We can do it later tonight if you want."
Travis looked conflicted for a moment but he finally nodded. "Alright. Text me when you're ready. I'll also send a message to Madison, see if she's up for it."
"Cool. See you later man."
"Later."
As Franklin walked home, he kept clenching and unclenching his fists. He was tempted to just kneel down and punch the sidewalk to see what happened. Would it just crack? Would it make a crater? Or would it be so powerful that it would break through to the sewers below?
He had to admit, he was geeking out a little over this. He'd been a superhero fan his entire life and how he actually had superpowers. But, unlike Travis it seemed, he was also willing to ask the necessary questions. Like how the hell had they gotten powers in the firstplace? And if they'd gotten them, who else might have? And why now? If superpowers were real, the world would have been aware. There would be massive news articles talking about it. So, what was really going on?
He did agree that they needed to train. The better understanding they had over their powers, the closer they would be to unlocking what they really were. And possibly how to get rid of them since Franklin didn't really want to go through his whole life this strong. Though he didn't think Travis would ever give his powers up.
He reached the deli and walked inside, putting his stuff down as he stepped behind the counter and grabbing an apron off the hook.
"Hey baby," his mom greeted. "How was practice?"
"Pretty good," he said. "The Coach will tell us who's been picked tomorrow. But I think I have a decent shot."
"Oh please. One look at you and the Coach was probably begging you to be on the team," Angie commented from one of the tables.
Franklin shrugged. "Whatever the case, it doesn't matter anymore. Oh and hey, is it ok if I hang with Travis later. We promise not to stay out too late."
"Sure," his mom nodded. "Just be home by 10. No later."
"Got it," Franklin said.
As his mom walked away, Angie quickly scooted up. "So, what's going on with you?"
"Not now Angie."
"Yes, now. I promised I would cover for you as long as you kept me in the loop. And so far you haven't told me squat about these…powers of yours."
"That's because there's squat to tell," he shot back. "I literally know nothing right now. I'm meeting with Travis later so we can test our limits, see what we can do. Then I'll know more. But for now, pipe down and keep covering. Got it?"
She glared at him but relented. "Fine. But you better let me know when something cool happens, got it?"
"Yeah, whatever," he said, shaking his head. What cool thing would happen? Granted, he had superpowers now, but that didn't mean cool things would suddenly start happening. Also, what actually qualified as a 'cool thing' now that he thought about it?
"So, what are you going to do with these powers anyway?" Angie asked.
"What do you mean? Nothing."
"Nothing? Come on, you have super strength now. You can be a real life superhero like in all those nerdy comics you love so much."
"This isn't a comic, it's real life," Franklin replied. "I have no desire to start risking my life needlessly just to save people and then die…"
He froze, realizing what he'd just said. And judging from Angie's widened and wet eyes, she'd heard it too.
Without speaking, they both turned away from each other and Franklin spent the rest of his shift in silence.
Madison turned in her chair, spinning slowly around the room, thinking. It was one of her more preferred methods of thinking. For some reason, watching the room go by around her like this quieted her mind and let her just focus on the problem, which was rather complicated. Well actually it was pretty simple. Stay here or go. It was just all the factors involved that made it complicated.
She sighed and stopped the chair, looking at her hand. Then, with minimal effort, she focused and her hand shimmered and the vanished, turning completely invisible. She could still feel it there but it was just so weird and freaky not being able to see it. She had to keep clenching her fist or touch something else to make sure it actually was there. Then she focused again and her arm reappeared.
She sighed and looked over at her phone, checking the time. She was late. Well, she would be late if she left now. And if she kept waiting, then she would be super late. So she should just tell Travis she wasn't coming. But anytime she even began to reach for her phone, she stopped. Because as much as she wanted to just stay here all night in her room, she just couldn't bring herself to tell him that.
Madison hadn't wanted any of this. She hadn't wanted some stupid ball of light to come into her room that night and freak the hell out of her. And she hadn't wanted to accidentally touch it mid-yawn after spending the entire night avoiding it. And she definitely hadn't wanted to get some strange powers that made her skin crawl and also made her want to dive under her covers and never come out again. She had spent her whole life shrinking from the spotlight and staying in the background because she never really wanted things to happen to her. And now her worst fear had come true because something had most definitely happened to her that not only freaked her the fricking hell out but also turned everything she knew upside down. She had actual superpowers with no idea where they came from or how she got them. And that utterly terrified her.
She wished this was some sort of computer problem, some malware or wiring issue or literally any other problem like that. That, she knew. That she could deal with, easily. But this? This she had no clue. All of it was based on instinct and she hated instinct. She liked to think about her choices in a calm and organized manner, not just act on something because she felt it. That was horrifying. The last time she had acted on instinct it had been deciding what to have for lunch and both her and her intestines deeply regretted that day.
Her phone suddenly buzzed and she perked up, reaching for it. It was a message from Travis.
'Hey, you coming or not?'
She frowned, not sure how to answer or even if to answer him. He wanted to do this whole training thing with Franklin to learn about their powers but she just wasn't sure that was best. For her, anyway. She had spent the whole school day terrified, wondering if she'd spontaneously turn invisible in front of someone. Right now, all she wanted was to lock herself in her room for the next decade or century, whichever worked out in the end.
Her phone buzzed again.
'It's fine if you don't. I get it. But I still hope you do. It'll be fun.'
Madison snorted at that. Fun? How could it be fun? What was possibly fun about any of this? Fun wasn't feeling like you're insides were twisting themselves up, that made your heart beat go so fast you were afraid it might pump its way right out of your chest. Or explode. How could any of this be fun?
And yet, she couldn't help but look at the rest of the message. He was consoling her, letting her know it was ok if she didn't want to go. She felt a pile of guilt pile on inside her. She sighed, sitting back. This was the conundrum. As much as she wanted to stay here, she felt like she was letting Travis down. Travis, her friend. And that was stretching things. Lab partner and lunch table companion were more accurate terms for what they were. But for some reason, Travis always sat with her when he could, always chatted away nonsensically about literally anything. And he always asked how she was doing. And not like her parents did in that way that made you think they were trying to pry into your mind and unlock your deepest secrets. He said it like he was actually interested.
Which is why she felt so bad. He was so excited about these strange new powers and she just wasn't. And he wanted to help her out, wanted to learn all he could and she sort of felt like she was letting him down in some way. Which was ridiculous. She didn't owe him anything. But then, why did she feel like this? Why was she still going over this problem?
She started when there was a sudden knock on the door. "Honey, can I come in?" her mom asked from behind it.
"Uh…" Madison blinked and gulped a little. She stared at her arms, inwardly begging them as well as every other part of her body not to turn invisible. "Sure."
"Great." The door opened and her mom filed in followed by her dad. Madison's eyes went wide, realizing she was about to have one of the 'talks' that always made her feel extremely uncomfortable and gave her the urge to just jump out the window and run as fast as she could.
"Hi honey," her mom said, smiling a little too widely. "How you doing?"
And there was the brain-picking look. And those eyes, looking like they wanted to pierce straight through her soul. Her dad was just giving her the sympathy look which was almost as bad.
"Fine," Madison replied, drawing it out a little. "You came in here just to ask how I was doing?"
Her parents shared a look before turning back to her. "Well, honey," he mom started. "You seemed a little more…reserved today. And it was just a little concerning."
Given what she was going through today, Madison wouldn't really qualify her reaction as the concerning part. Actually, she considered it the proper response besides a full-fledged freak-out.
"We know you have your way of doing things," her mom continued.
"And we respect that," her dad quickly added.
"But, we think it might be getting a little unhealthy."
Madison blinked. "What?"
"Honey, you're spending an awful lot of time in this room. And on your computer or phone. You don't seem to have friends at school. We're just worried about you."
"We want you to start getting out more," her dad said.
Madison gaped for a second, not quite sure how to respond, so she just stayed silent. She didn't really know what to say. She had always been like this. She didn't really like talking things out or just talking with people in general. She preferred just keeping to herself. So she couldn't really say her parents were wrong, even though she wanted to.
"We were thinking maybe join some club or society at school. Try and make some friends," her mom suggested. "Try and step out of your comfort zone."
Madison almost snorted that. Her comfort zone was very small. There weren't many things that gave her comfort. This conversation right here was miles away from her comfort zone.
"Or else…" they shared another look and simultaneously sighed. Madison felt her stomach flop and drop at the same time, a new one for her. "Or else we would like to have you talk this out with a specialist. In fact, if you want to do that right now, that's fine."
It was not fine. Madison did not want to talk with a specialist. She didn't want to talk with anyone. She could feel her heart pounding louder, feel her breath coming shorter. And then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw her pinkie begin to fade away.
NO!
"Uh, ok," she said quickly, rubbing her hands together to hide her pinkie.
Her parents frowned. "Ok, as in you want to see a specialist?" her dad asked.
"No, no, no, that's not-"
There was another buzzing from her phone and Madison breathed out in relief at the distraction, snatching it up. It was another text from Travis.
'Look, I know these things can be really scary but maybe they don't have to be. The more you understand it, the less control it has. But hey, again totally your call. Just know that if you ever want or need my help, I'll be there for you.'
Madison couldn't help but smile at that.
"What is it?"
She looked up, for a second forgetting her parents were still there. "Oh nothing, just a friend."
Both her parents blinked at that. "You have a friend?" her mom asked in surprise. "But that's great! Why didn't you tell us?"
"Well, it's still pretty new," she replied. "But yeah, he's my friend, and, uh," she paused, thinking. She hated acting on instinct. Her stomach would probably never forgive her for the churro incident. But maybe, it was worth trying again. "I'm actually supposed to meet up with him right now."
"Oh, that's wonderful!" her mom clapped.
"Him?" her dad questioned, eyebrows raised.
"Yeah. Study thing. So, uh, yeah I'd better get going." She quickly stood up and grabbed her jacket, still talking as she did so. "But, uh, I'll think about what you said. Maybe join some sort of club or something. I don't know. Maybe. Bye!" She then ran down the stairs and grabbed her shoes, swiftly exiting the house. She breathed out as she did so and then looked out at the empty street.
She really just wanted to walk back upstairs and hide in her room. But that wouldn't help. Travis was right. She needed to know what this thing was. She needed to learn more about it. Even if it made her stomach tie itself in knots.
And also, maybe she kind of did want a friend. Maybe it would be nice. And it would keep her parents off her back which was always a plus.
"Ok," she muttered to herself. "Let's do this."
Travis was literally having the best day in his entire life. For as long as he could remember, he had wanted superpowers. He had dreamed of having them, imagining all he could with them. Whenever he read his books or comics, or watched movies and shows, he always imagined himself as a character in them, helping to save the day with some awesome power or ability. A wishful fantasy that he knew would never come true.
And yet it had.
He actually, really, honestly had superpowers now. And it was everything he had dreamed of and more. He could run so fast that he was a literal blur, just like the Flash. That rush as he was running, with everyone and everything slowed down around him and the wind brushing against his face. There was nothing quite like it.
The food thing was a bit of an issue as burning so many calories from running did mean he had to eat a lot. But he didn't mind it too much as he had a habit of eating food that wasn't good for him a little too often like chips or chocolate or sweets or more chocolate. Now, he could eat as much as he wanted and work it off just as fast.
He kept wondering if life would be cruel and just have him wake up all of a sudden and realize it had been nothing but a dream. That had happened to him a few times. But so far so good. He never wanted this day to end.
That wasn't to say it was all fun and games. He did understand where Franklin and even Madison were coming from. These powers were mysterious and shouldn't just be taken for granted. He was just as curious in finding out where they came from and where they really were. He just knew that if he didn't enjoy it now though, he'd regret if forever.
First step: training.
He wanted to know as much about his powers as he could as well as Franklin's and Madison's. And the best way to do that was with training. There were some specific workouts he had in mind for his own power that would be so cool if they worked.
He'd found an old abandoned warehouse on the East side of town, next to a large park and near other warehouses. It would suit their needs quite nicely.
However, he found that there was one major downside to now having super speed. He was always, always, bored out of his mind.
And it had been less than a day.
Seriously, his time at school had been some of the longest in his life. He had begun doodling in his notebook throughout the classes, writing up different lists of his favorite superheroes until he'd had over a hundred different rankings of categories ranging from strongest to who would he rather be stuck in an elevator with. Hulk won that round. He had tapped his finger on the desk so much that he was starting to think he had actually created a groove in the wood. It had literally felt like forever until the school bell rang again and he had to physically restrain himself from rushing out at top speed.
But now, at last, he was free. He was also wondering if he even needed to go to school anymore. One crazy thing he'd learned that actually contradicted Flash comics was that he was able to retain most knowledge he read at super-speed. So if he ever needed to know something, it would literally only take a few seconds. Why would he need school for that?
No, this was what mattered for his future now. This power was his and if he wanted to be a super awesome superhero someday, than he had to push it to its limit. It was funny, he'd never really liked working out before. Getting all tired and sweaty for some vanity muscles just didn't appeal to him. But now he couldn't wait to get rocking. He wanted to know everything, like how fast he could go in the span of a second and how far or how much weight he could hold while going that fast. Could he walk on water? Could he run faster than the speed of sound? Plus, there was the whole electricity generation as well. That seemed like a whole separate power as well. He would need to test that just as much. He'd never have to charge his phone again.
Travis checked his phone again for the fifteenth time. He thought. Maybe it was fiftieth. Anyway, no new messages from Madison. He could tell she'd seen it but no response to whether or not she'd come. He hoped she would. If today was any indication, she needed training. Plus…well, there was the other reason that he kept closed off for now.
Franklin was on his way and Travis had to stop himself from rushing over and seeing why it was taking him so long. He had to remind himself that just because he now moved at super speed didn't mean everyone else did.
He couldn't help but wonder if this was the beginning of their super team. It sounded so corny and ridiculous, but he could hope, even if both Franklin and Madison so far showed no interest in forming a super team. He just hoped they changed their minds. And if they didn't, well, maybe there were other people out there who would join.
That got him thinking. Were there other people? Made sense. If three people had it, then others probably did as well. Franklin had briefly wondered if it was because they had all been sitting at the same table at lunch. Some sort of experiment. Weird guess but it was the only thing they had in common other than going to the same school. If that was the case, did Sumin and Eustace have powers too? And Luke had briefly sat with them.
Now that he thought about it, Luke had been playing exceptionally well at the try-outs, almost as good as Franklin. He'd have to keep an eye on him, see if there was anything different about him.
His phone suddenly vibrated. Travis took it out and saw that Franklin had arrived. In a flash, he was moving, finding his friend walking up to the place while looking at his phone. Travis whooshed to a stop next to him, causing him to jump back.
"Jesus," Franklin muttered. "You have got to stop doing that!"
"Sorry," Travis replied unapologetically. No way was he going to stop having fun with his powers. "So, you ready to train?"
Franklin shrugged. "I guess. But it's not really training, it's more just…testing. Seeing what we can do with these powers."
"Sounds like training to me. Hey, you heard from Madison yet…oh wait," Travis stopped, feeling his phone vibrate again. He held it up again as he saw it was her. "Well there we go…uh oh."
"What is it?"
"Huh. Apparently the next bus won't come for 15 minutes and it's too far for her to walk. So she's considering just going home. Hmm. I'll take care of this."
"No, wait, don't…" Franklin said but Travis had stopped listening, already moving. He sped his way across the city, past cars and people all moving in slow motion, until he arrived near where Madison lived. Not that he consciously looked for where Madison lived, it was just she had mentioned it one time and it had stuck in his brain for some reason so now he where she lived. It wasn't creepy.
At least, he didn't think it was.
Anyway, this time he decided not to come to a stop in front of her as he had no idea who might be around, watching. Instead, he zoomed behind a mailbox and just started walking out from behind it normally. Or, as normally as he could be.
"Hey, Madison!" he called out as he approached the bus stop, seeing her jump in surprise. As always, his heart went ker-thump! when he saw her, her messy, curly brown hair falling down her shoulders like a waterfall. He knew that it was cliché but it did look like that.
He didn't know why she made him feel like this, or what he even felt, but it felt really nice and it only got better the more time he spent with her. He didn't think she felt the same way since she was always so closed off and reserved, but that was ok. She didn't push him away or seemed too annoyed by him and so far that was his best friendship. He didn't mind if it just stayed that way.
Of course, suddenly developing superpowers did throw a few things out of whack but it was still fine. He hoped.
"Travis?" Madison blinked. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I'm going to take you to the warehouse so we can train," he replied.
"Wha- how?"
"By carrying you there," he said as if it was obvious.
Madison blinked, processing what he had just said. Then, her eyes widened and her face flushed pink. "Huh?" she gasped.
"So, you want to go cradle or piggyback?"
"Huh?"
"I can also do over the shoulder, but that's probably more uncomfortable for you. And it's also probably not a good look."
"Huh?"
"Not that the others are much better, but they're all we got. So, which one?"
"Huh?"
"You know, cradle or piggyback?"
"Cradle or…Hey!" she suddenly gasped as Travis, raring to go, had mistaken her question for a statement and scooped her up in a cradle position with his arms under her legs and back. She instinctively yelped and wrapped her arms around him for balance, completely flushing red.
"This isn't what I…" she started but it was too late.
"Hold on tight cause I only got one mode and that's fast!" he grinned and started running, first slowly so to the mailbox again. Once he was behind it, he took off like a rocket, zooming away. The streets and buildings all blurred together as he raced across the landscape. He was a little surprised to find he could hold onto Madison no problem. Either he'd gotten a lot stronger or she was not as heavy as he thought she'd be.
A second later, he came to a stop right in front of Franklin, who once again jumped away in shock. "Please stop…is that Madison?" he asked, blinking in surprise.
"Please put me down," she muttered, her face bright red.
"What, you said 'cradle.' I was a little surprised you went with that option, I would have figured most people would go with piggyback, it is the more dignified of the two. Still, it doesn't matter now, cause we're all here."
"Great," Madison muttered.
"Alright," Franklin said. "So what do we do first?"
"I have an idea. Here." He took off again and then was back a few seconds later, the air rushing around him wildly. He handed Franklin a bullhorn.
"What…what do I do with this?" he asked, confused.
"You push the button there," Travis pointed out helpfully.
"No, I know that! I mean, why do I have this?"
"Oh, right. Sorry. Ok, so basically, it's a race. When I say go, you press the button and make the horn go and I'll start running. I want to see if I can run faster than the speed of sound. Cool huh?"
Franklin stared at him. "You stole that from Phineas and Ferb, didn't you?"
"Oh my god, you know Phineas and Ferb too? We are so vibing! Anyway, it's still a cool thing to try out. Come on, let's go."
"Alright, where are you racing to?"
"Huh." Travis took a look around and park and saw one of the trees further back. "There. I'll run over there as fast as I can and see if I can actually beat the speed of sound. Whoo!" he jumped up and down. "I am so pumped."
"Please tell me you don't drink coffee," Franklin muttered. "Alright, here we go." He held up the bullhorn so it was level with Travis who was now in a runner's starting position. "On go, ok? Ready…set…GO!"
He pressed down on the button just as Travis took off, rocketing away from the starting point as fast as he could. For the past few hours, he hadn't really tested his limits. Just gone fast. But now, he put everything he had into this run, pushing himself to go as fast as he could. As he did, he felt tingles all across his body but he didn't have time to focus on them as he arrived at the tree, coming to a stop with a pant.
Less than an instant later, he heard it. The sound of the bullhorn, shattering the calm atmosphere of the park. He grinned and let out another loud "whoo!" He had actually done it. He had run faster than the speed of sound.
He ran back to his friends, still grinning widely. "I did it!" he cheered. "Guys, I really did it. I just ran as fast as I could and like, half-a-second or something after I got to the tree, I heard…what?" he stopped, seeing their expressions. They were staring at him with wide eyes and practically gaping mouths. "What's wrong?"
"Uh, Travis," Franklin said. "You…uh. You got…" he pointed and Travis looked down.
And he yelped in shock.
He was covered, completely covered, in electricity. It was like he had become a lightning rod or something. Bolts of yellow electricity crackled all over his skin and clothes. There must have been hundreds at once, some no bigger than an ant, others as large as his hand. And they were all yellow. Not like white-ish yellow, like you would see in a lightning bolt. True golden yellow.
"Wicked," he muttered, raising his hand to look at one big one flash through his fingers. Then, an idea hit him. Acting on instinct, he felt for the sparkly feeling he'd had during his run and grasped it. He then turned and unleashed it through his right index finger. Instantly, a bolt of electricity shot out of his hand and struck the ground in front of him, leaving a scorch mark.
"Electricity generation," Franklin said, almost to himself. "I don't think you got just one power."
"I got two," Travis muttered in glee. He had two powers. This day just kept getting better.