Travis sat on the edge of the cliff, looking down at the valley below. There was winding highway there and a small forest as well as a river that led to Lake Eerie. It was a beautiful view which was why he came here often. He had found it by accident when he was a kid, just wandering around pretending he was a warrior from Lord of the Rings. His parents had been out and his siblings couldn't have cared less, so he just went off on his own. Now it was his spot. Sometimes just to sit and other times to vent. Right now, he was using it to think.
So much had happened the last couple days that it really boggled his mind. But he had ran with it, pun intended. It was the greatest thing for him, to have superpowers, especially super speed. But then Swarm had shown up, revealing that supervillains existed as well. And now he knew the world was so much bigger than he thought.
After the attack on the school, Travis had managed to rush them all out of there before the police came. He took Madison home while left the others where they could be found easily. Emily had been taken to the hospital along with the other injured for her arm. The others, thankfully, weren't hurt too bad and just needed some check-ups.
When he had seen their families arrive and fuss over them, he could felt that familiar feeling well up inside him. No one in his family had even bothered to show up. He wondered if he had actually died, would they have even noticed.
Of course, his attention was soon grabbed by something much bigger than his own personal feelings. He had been walking away, ready to go home, when he passed some of the doctors talking about the incident. And what they had said and had stopped him cold.
"It's amazing with all that damage no was seriously injured or killed. Can you believe a steam vent explosion caused this?"
Travis had turned, gaping, but he'd heard right. Not supervillain attack. Not terrorist attack either or any attack involving a madman with insane powers. A steam vent explosion.
He'd gone around the entire area, asking people to make sure, even some of the people he knew had been there. And their answers were all the same. A steam vent explosion. It had caused structural damage to the school but thankfully no one was seriously hurt.
His fear mounting, he had gone to Franklin to check with him. Thankfully, his answer, while a little hurtful, was right on the money.
"Of course it was a supervillain attack! What did you think it was, a pool party you moron?"
The others all had similar responses. And they were just as confused about what was going on as he was. Sumin had claimed themself that plenty of people had seen what was going on, running from the attacking figures. So why was everyone talking like it was a steam vent explosion?
Then he had a thought.
When he first received his powers, he'd been ecstatic. Franklin and Madison had been more concerned and had been wondering where these powers had come from, but he hadn't been as much interested in that. Until he met Swarm. A person who did have powers, even if he now knew it was just microbots. Then Tern, who had been living with powers for years among with, as he said, a whole world.
So, if people like that existed all over the world, why hadn't Travis heard of them? Why hadn't anyone heard of them? He'd originally thought it was because they just stayed hidden, but now he didn't think so. If people like Swarm were constantly flaunting their powers like that, these things wouldn't stay hidden for long.
So, that only left one conclusion for Travis. Someone out there was changing the narrative. And, possibly, people's minds as well. Changing them so that no one would think it was people with superpowers, that everything was completely normal. That was the only explanation he could come up with for why everyone thought the supervillain attack, which most had seen firsthand, was just a steam vent explosion. And it would explain why he'd never heard of them before either.
But if that was the case, why wasn't his mind altered as well? Maybe with his powers, he was immune to it now. Didn't make much sense but neither did anything else right now, so…
It was amazing how fast things could go from fun to not fun. He'd had fun for almost a day, running around as much as he could, enjoying his powers to their fullest. And then, not fun. Attacks, danger, almost getting killed, the list went on.
He remembered what Tern told him. They would hunt him down because with his power, he was a threat. It had been about a day now since the attack on the school and so far no one had shown up to do that so either they didn't know him or they weren't that interested yet. So the smart thing to do would be to lie low and forget about this. It seemed that that was everyone else's plan. But he'd never really been that good at following those kinds of plans.
So what could he do? If he was going to survive in this new world then he would need allies, that much was clear. But he only knew of two people, Swarm and Samuel Tern. And since Swarm wanted to kill him, he was obviously out. And Tern was more interested in seeing how long he survived so he was also a no-go.
So what were his options?
The Cloak Guard.
The way Swarm had said that. He had recognized the costumes or uniforms or whatever they were. An old superhero team perhaps? Travis had to admit, the thought of inheriting that kind of responsibility felt pretty cool. But the others didn't seem to think so. Like, at all.
That idea of a team lingered. He had told Franklin that forming one hadn't been his goal, but he couldn't help but admit the idea was appealing. They had managed to beat Swarm as a team, though he and Madison had done most of the work at the end. Couple that with their costumes that had only appeared when they were all together. It felt like the start of something big.
He couldn't do this alone. None of them could. Whether they liked it or not, having powers now made them a target in this new world. He knew they were all probably under some sort of watch list or something. Which, to him, meant it was probably better if they stuck together to figure this out. A safety in numbers sort of thing. They were the only ones who knew each other in this world now, so it made sense.
No one else seemed to think so though.
"Yeah, no," Luke had said. "I got my own goals and I'm not going to let anything stand in the way of them."
"After what just happened?" Gabriela had asked, concerned. "Look, what you say makes sense, but I think it would be better to just stay low and not use our powers at all. That way we won't run into anymore problems. We didn't before, so it should work the same now."
"I have my own problems to deal with," Sumin informed him. "If something comes up, I will notify you. Otherwise, I think it best to move on from this."
"I get what you're saying, but I don't really care about this 'new world,'" Emily had replied. "I won't bother them, so they shouldn't bother me."
"I'm sorry Travis, but no," Madison had told him sadly. "I'm just not ready to deal with all this yet. I know what you're trying to do, but I think it will just lead to more problems. I don't think it's the right move to make here."
"It's a bad idea," Franklin had said frankly. "I told you, forming a super team isn't something we can do, especially if there really are other superpowered people out there. It'll just form a target on our backs. And if we already have one, this will just make it bigger. It'll be like asking trouble to come knocking. I've got too much at stake to risk that. Sorry."
When he had seen them, together, all in their costumes, for a second Travis had allowed himself to dream. For almost his entire life, he'd been the outsider. His family didn't understand him and didn't even bother to try. He didn't have any friends in school, any real ones who shared the same interests. He didn't have anyone really. So he'd thought when he saw those costumes that finally he would have real friends, people he could really connect with. But it turned out that it had just been a fantasy after all.
Since the school had to be repaired, everyone had time off. Travis would have been shocked if they didn't have it off. What did shock him was the fact that repairs would be finished by next week. He had seen the damage himself and had thought it would take far longer than that. But then, after getting suspicious and doing some digging, he had learned that some anonymous organization had donated money and a few workers to help with the repairs. He was sure that this organization was part of the 'bigger world' out there, trying to smooth things over after Swarm.
Still, he had the time off and so far only a day had gone by. Ever since he got his power, he felt this urge to keep moving, to do as much as he could as fast as possible. But now, all that seemed drained. He had no idea what to do now. So he had spent the last few hours just sitting here, looking at the horizon and wondering what came next.
He wished he knew who the Cloak Guard were as that might help him out. But Google had only directed him to different cloaks to wear, not anything about a superhero team.
His phone suddenly dinged and he looked at the time, wincing a little. It was his mother telling him it was time for dinner and asking where he was. Apparently he'd been here longer than he thought. Not that it mattered anymore. With hardly a thought, he ran and then he was in front of his door. He turned the key and walked in just as his mother exited the kitchen.
"Oh there you are. Perfect timing. Come and sit."
Travis nodded as he took off his shoes. When he walked into the dining room, he saw everyone else there with the same looks on their faces as they always did. His sister was on her phone texting someone while his dad was on his reading the New York Times. Andrew gave Travis a dirty look as he walked in but he just ignored it. He really didn't care about him anymore. He honestly didn't care about any of them. They hadn't for so long and he had bigger things to worry about now.
"And dinner is served," his mom announced, bringing out a stew of roast beef. Everyone helped themselves, grabbing as much food as they could. Travis took a good amount of Brussel sprouts, one of his favorite foods, as well as just the meat from the stew, ignoring the other vegetables in there, and a large amount of rice. Soon his plate was packed to the brim with food though to him it still wasn't enough. His calorie intake was no joke with his super speed. That power really forced him to eat a lot.
"So anything exciting happen today?" his mom asked, a smile plastered on her face. Travis didn't know why she bothered. No one seemed interested in answering.
"Uh…" his sister Sarah said looking up, surprising him. "I actually got a job today."
That got their father's attention. "Did you now? Where?"
"It's a weekend job as a waitress at that new place, Alice's Fine Dining."
"Excellent," his dad said in approval.
"Yes, well done kiddo," his mom said, smiling. "I'm proud of you."
"What about you Travis?" his dad turned to him, causing everyone else to look too. Andrew smirked at him in nasty way. Honestly, Travis had forgotten his dad had told them to get jobs. Once he'd gotten his powers, that had taken up his entire life.
"Oh, uh, I haven't found one yet, sorry," he said shrugging. "But I am working on something. Something pretty big."
"Really?" his dad asked curiously and a little suspiciously, making Travis have to repress a small wince. "What is it?"
"Something important to my future," he replied, not wanting to get into detail. And he wasn't technically, lying. "At least I hope so. Don't want to get into details cause it might not pan out. But I promise, it could be really important and I'm working hard on it."
His dad kept up that look for a few seconds longer before conceding. "Alright. But I want to see that you've gotten a job by the end of the week. You hear me? I don't want you thinking you can slack off just because your school had that freak accident."
"Got it," Travis said, digging into his food. As he did, he saw Andrew give him a wink and a kissy face. Travis resisted the urge to speed punch him. Or make him spill his drink or something even more embarrassing. People like Andrew didn't matter anymore. In fact, none of them did.
The rest of the dinner passed by so slowly for him. He basically ignored everything everyone else was saying. Something about Andrew's training schedule to remain on top of football, his dad dealing with problems at his firm, and his mom's most recent trip to the mall with her friends.
"And what about you Travis? How was your-"
"Finished," Travis said, standing up with his plate empty.
"Oh," his mom blinked in surprise. "That was fast."
"Ok. I'll be in my room. See ya," he said with a small wave before turning to the kitchen and putting his dishes in the dishwasher. Then he hurried to his room and shut the door, returning to the most important things.
He made sure his door was locked first before standing in the center of his room and taking a deep breath. While eating, he'd realized something and he couldn't believe he hadn't tried it out yet. The costume had just appeared on his body and when he'd appeared in public again, he'd just willed it off. He assumed the others had done the same. But he hadn't tried to will it back on yet.
He recalled that feeling he'd had when it appeared and imagined it again, the blazing yellow outfit that fit him perfectly. There was bright flash and there it was. He gasped and laughed a little, seeing it again. It felt just as comfortable as before, like it was tailor made for him. It even worked with his powers as he shot off a small thunderbolt from his gloved fingers, striking his desk and causing a scorch mark to appear.
"So freaking cool," he muttered.
He opened the window and then was running again, already back to the cliffside. He grinned, the suit not flapping around like his clothes did. Still, there were a few things. He wouldn't mind harder boots as the these lights ones, while still tough, were about as good as his normal shoes and you could already see the wear and tear his running had caused them so far.
He frowned suddenly, feeling something. He looked down and he blinked, seeing his shoes had gotten harder. "No way," he muttered and then ran in a circle around the woods. As he did, he instantly knew. They were tougher. The suit had responded to his commands.
"Ok, ok, ok," he said to himself thinking. He had come up with so many different superpowers he might have but he honestly hadn't thought much of the costumes. He actually liked the yellow color but a full-body suit wasn't really him. That's why he always wore a jacket. It felt more natural with it on to him. Wearing just a t-shirt, even a long-sleeved one, made him feel exposed somehow.
Just like last time, a golden-yellow jacket appeared around his shoulders. He shook his head, grinning at how it looked and felt. Now for the finishing touch. He needed an emblem, something people would see and instantly know it was him. But what? What would be cool to put on?
Most heroes' emblems had something to with their name like Batman's bat, or Superman's S, or Green Arrow's…green arrow. And he had chosen the name Thunderbolt. But that was essentially a bolt of lightning which already belonged to the Flash. And the Marvel team Thunderbolts too. He wanted something a little different.
"Maybe just the letter T," he said. "No wait, that's Teen Titans." Still, he saw the T appear on his chest right where he wanted it. But what else could it be. He liked the T but maybe…
He gasped and then thought it more firmly, watching as it took shape. Yes, this would do. It was still a T but now the top part was a thin thundercloud and the bottom part was a lightning bolt. You could clearly see it was a T but now it had its own unique brand.
"That's the one," he said, smiling. But that smile quickly faded as he looked back at the horizon. He knew he had to do this. The others wouldn't help him but that was fine. He was used to being on his own anyway. If this was how it was going to be, there was nothing else that could be done about it. And if he was going to take on this new world solo, then he would have to get stronger. Much stronger.
"Alright Travis," he said, rubbing his hands together. "Time for boot camp."