Franklin sat on the edge of his bed, staring down at the floor with his hands clasped together, just thinking. He had managed to get home before his family got up last night, none of them the wiser. So that was something to be grateful for.
He'd done it again. Thrown himself into danger and nearly gotten himself killed. True, he didn't have any injuries thanks to his powers but Swarm had tossed him up into the air and headfirst into a building. Franklin didn't think that could be good for his health.
Luke had come so close to dying. Sumin too. All of them. They had told him what happened after he had been thrown and each of them had just narrowly avoided dying. One misstep and their parents would have to be told they'd never see their kid again.
So why did he keep doing it?
He glanced up at his comic book collection, settling on the Ed Brubaker Captain America run. His dad's favorite.
"It's not the power that makes the man, son. It's the man that makes the power."
"Dad, that is so corny."
His dad laughed. "Yeah, but it's how I feel. Just look. Captain America was given that incredible power, but it was his heart and soul that him a hero. He uses that power to help everyone around him, no matter what. Sam Wilson is proof of that. He shows the world he doesn't need powers to be a hero. Just his heart and soul."
Heart and soul. The man that makes the power.
Franklin shook his head, almost laughing as his dad's words came back to him. He said stuff like that a lot, usually when Franklin was feeling down about something, thinking it would lift his spirits somehow. And it sometimes did. But what always worked was just him…being there.
He had always been there. A constant presence in his life. From there training sessions to comic book discussions to seeing movies together. Everything. And now he was just gone. It was like a piece of Franklin's soul was missing.
And yet…
"Franklin?"
Franklin jumped, seeing his mom standing in his doorway, looking at him with concern. "Oh, hey mom. Didn't see you there."
"Clearly."
Franklin gave her a look. "I thought I was supposed to be the sarcastic one."
She smirked. "I have my moments. Now, why don't you tell me what's wrong."
Franklin almost told her that there was nothing wrong, but he didn't have the energy. He'd been avoiding talking to either his mom or Angie for weeks now and he was tired of it.
"Angie…sort of…thinks that I'm…well, that dad…would be…disappointed in what I've done."
"What?" his mom asked, eyes widening before she glared out the bedroom door towards Angie's room. "I'll go have a talk-"
"No wait mom, she was right," Franklin stopped her. "I…I…" He paused, taking a breath and trying to find the best way to say this. "Mom, can I ask you something?"
His mom's look of concern deepened but she took his hand. "You know you can. Always."
Franklin exhaled slowly and closed his eyes. "Do you…blame dad…or his job…for what happened? That it was his fault…for leaving us?"
There was a heavy silence and Franklin slowly opened his eyes, dreading what he would see. He thought maybe she would be sad or furious at him for asking such a question. Instead, she wasn't even looking at him. Her eyes were on the picture he had on the wall, the one of him and his dad at the premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in their matching outfits, grinning like idiots.
"No," she said, smiling. "Not once."
Franklin exhaled again, this time in relief. But he still hadn't gotten to the real question. "The reason Angie said…what she said was because…" He paused again, trying to figure out how to say this right. He couldn't tell her he had powers. He wasn't ready for that yet. "There's something that I want to do. That…I have the ability to do. Like what dad did. Helping people. But…it's dangerous. It's not illegal!" he suddenly said hurriedly, "or anything like that I swear!"
"I didn't think it was," his mom told him. "Starting to now though."
"Well it's not. It is dangerous. But…I could do a lot of good with it. Help people. It's just…I don't want to leave you behind. In case…"
"Franklin, stop," his mom said, grabbing his hands. "Look, I don't really know what this…job of yours is. But do you really want to do it? Do you really want to help people?"
Franklin looked down at his hands. His hands that could grind hers into powder if he wanted to. His hands that could destroy the whole building. His hands that could cause so much destruction and mayhem. His hands that had helped stop Swarm. That could actually do some good.
He remembered when that green jumpsuit-costume appeared on him and imagined his dad geeking out over it. And, if he was honest with himself, he'd been geeking out too.
He wanted to do it. To be a hero. To use these powers the right way, to help people.
It's the man that makes the power.
He had been scared of his power for these past few weeks. But when he got to let loose against Swarm, it had felt good. Of course, he didn't want to just use to beat up bad guys and he didn't really even want to go looking for bad guys. He honestly wasn't sure what he wanted from all this. He just knew that he wanted to start using his powers.
"I guess…I don't want to hold myself back anymore," he said. "I want to help people, like dad did. But…I'm just worried that if I do, I'll end up…"
"Stop," his mom interrupted again. "When I started dating your father, I had to resign myself to the fact that the day may come when he wouldn't come home. And it did. But I don't look back and wonder if maybe I should have stopped him sooner, set him on some different path. He saved a lot of lives as a firefighter. He'd come home each night with a new story of a family or one person or just a pet that he'd saved."
"Every night?" Franklin asked. "How many fires were there?"
His mom rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. He did a lot of good and saved a lot of people. If not for him…well, it probably would have been worse. So, even though I was terrified he could die any day, I was also so proud of all the good he'd done." She took hold of Franklin's face and looked him directly in the eyes. "And the same goes for you. If you want to go out there and help people, even if it's risky, then you do it. Don't hold yourself back worrying about us. Just do what you think is best and we'll support you all the way."
For the first time since he came home that day, Franklin felt like that knot inside of him had finally unraveled, breathing a bit easier. He still wasn't sure about this hero business or whatever it was. But he did know that whatever was going on wasn't stopping anytime soon. And he wanted to be a part of it, to help out. Travis was his nerd friend after all. He couldn't let the guy down.
"Thanks mom," he said, pulling her into a hug. "I love you."
"I love you too."
They held each other for a little while longer before Franklin pulled away.
"So what is this new job of yours anyway?" she asked.
"Uh, it's a little hard to explain," Franklin said, rubbing his neck. "I'm working on it with Travis and a few others."
"Oh, I remember him. I'm glad you're making more friends."
"Yeah," Franklin nodded. "Some really good ones. Now," he said, standing up, "I think me and Angie should talk as well."
"Good," his mom said, standing as well. "Cause if you two kept it up, I would have set you both over my knees and spanked you."
Franklin looked at her knee and then his belly. "I honestly would like to see you try that," he replied, smirking.
"Don't you sass me boy."
"Alright, alright, I'm going."
He found Angie in her room. She didn't look up when he knocked or when he walked in, just barely grunting at him when he saw on the bed next to her.
"You were right and I'm sorry," he said.
"Hmph," she said. "About time you figured it out."
Franklin sighed. "I just…it's hard ok. I do want to help people, but…"
"But nothing!" she said, looking up and glaring at him. "There is no 'but.' You have the power to help people. A lot of people. So stop worrying about what might happen. Stop worrying about mom and me. We'll be fine. I know for a fact that if I had what you had, I wouldn't be using it in some stupid football games."
"I don't…intentionally use my powers in the games."
"Oh, so when do you use them?" Angie asked, eyebrow raised. "Do you use them at all?"
Franklin paused before nodding. "Yeah. Last night. And a few weeks ago, at the school attack."
Angie blinked. "What? What school attack?"
Franklin told her it all, explaining what had really happened at the school and what had gone down the previous night. She stared wide-eyed through it all. "Wow," she muttered when he finished. "That's…that's a lot. Yeah, that's a little too much to take in."
"Tell me about it," Franklin mumbled.
Angie tapped her finger on her bed for a few seconds before turning to Franklin sharply. "You need to keep going. Do more."
"Well, I was planning on it but-"
"Not just that. This…world. You need to know more. Everything."
Franklin stared back at her, confused. "Ok…why?"
"Are you seriously that dense? You find out that there's this…I don't know, let's say group or organization or something suppressing people's memories, making them forget about superpowers this whole other world out there, and you're just cool with that?"
"Well…" Franklin looked down sheepishly. He hadn't really considered it like that. He'd really just been focusing on staying out of it as much as possible. But she was right. That sounded wrong on every level. He needed to find out more, find out how and why they were doing this. And who the heck 'they' were. "You're right," he said.
"Of course I am. You should know by now that I'm always right."
"Let's not go that far."
"Name one time I've been wrong."
"The time you thought 'enveloped' was how you described putting messages in envelopes. The time you thought wool came from wolves. The time you thought that you were going to grow a watermel-"
"I said one time. And try naming one not from when I was a little kid."
"The time you thought that mossy water was actually land and you hopped right into it, soaking all your clothes."
Angie gave him one of her special death glares. "I hate you."
"Love you too, sis," he replied, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Love you too."
Gabriela didn't really know what to do with herself, so she found herself on the roof of the building, watching the city come to life. She'd been there since sunrise, unable to sleep, her dreams all filled with terrifying visions of men with swarms of robots trying to tear her apart.
This had been one of her mom's favorite spots, often taking Gabriela up here to look down on the city and just breathe it in. Gabriela hadn't come up here in a while, having been too busy to even remember it. But she was glad she had now. There was something peaceful about it. Even with the sound of car horns and the smell of gasoline in the air, Gabriela couldn't help but close her eyes and lie back, relaxed.
She had been so worried when she'd returned home but Joaquim was fine, Swarm having only knocked him out. She'd had to tell him when he woke up that he'd had a dizzy spell and decided to go to bed early. She'd also learned her father had pulled an all-nighter at the office and wouldn't be home until later, which was another huge relief.
Fortunately, Swarm didn't seem to have done too much damage to the place in his attack, just knocked a couple things over while chasing Gabriela. So there wasn't too much to clean up.
She should feel satisfied. The monster was gone. He wouldn't be bothering her again.
But she knew it wasn't even close to the end. Whatever Swarm was involved with, wherever these powers came from, whatever was going on behind the scenes, she was pretty sure it would all come to a head sooner or later. And she would have no choice but be dragged into it.
She was scared of it all, sure, but she was also angry, mostly at herself. She'd been practically useless in the fight against Swarm. Almost a damsel in distress, something she promised herself she would never be after watching those old ridiculous Disney films. Sure, she'd managed to get a few hits in here and there, but Luke had almost died trying to save her and the others weren't far behind. She made a vow that she would never let that happen again, promising to train harder with her powers so that she would do the rescuing from then on. No one would ever have to put their lives on the line for her again.
There was a knock behind her and she turned to see Joaquim there. "Apologies, young princess, but your guests are here."
"Thanks Joaquim."
A moment later Rosalyn, Meredith, and Latika walked up. "Hey girl," Rosalyn said. "So what was so important that you had to drag us out so early on a Saturday morning."
"Whoa," Latika suddenly said, taking a closer look at Gabriela. "You look like shit."
"Latika!" Meredith exclaimed. "But, she's right, you do kind of look like…that."
"Yeah," Gabriela said a little sheepishly. "I didn't get much, or really any, sleep last night." Except for when she got knocked out, but those didn't really count.
"You doing ok?"
Gabriela looked at them all. She had been debating on how best to do this for the past few weeks. She knew she couldn't tell her dad. But them? They were her best friends, Meredith especially. They'd been through everything together. At first, she'd held off telling them until she had a better handle on her powers. But one she delayed it enough, she kept it going because the fear of them being afraid of her power, being afraid of her, terrified her. It was like coming out all over again.
She was ready now though. After last night, when she'd been standing there with the others, she'd really only thought that she'd rather be with her friends. That's when she knew that the time had finally come to tell them.
"Ok, look, I need to tell you all something. And…it's going to sound really weird and crazy but I need you to bear with me on it."
They all frowned. "Ok," Meredith said curiously.
"Something…strange happened to me a few weeks ago. And it sort of…changed me." Gabriela winced at that. Yeah, 'changed' was certainly one word to describe it. "But I'm still me. Just with some…added features."
They looked even more confused now. "Are you…coming out as…" Rosalyn started.
"No," Gabriela said quickly. "No, this isn't that."
"Oh ok. Cause you know we'd be totally cool if you were."
"I know you would, and that's why I love you all. But this is something else." Gabriela took a breath, ready to say it, but she couldn't quite find the words. How did you tell someone you had superpowers? "Actually, maybe it's best if I just show you."
"Show us?" Meredith asked
"How?" Latika asked.
"If you're about to take off your-"
Gabriela took another breath and then held out her hand, letting her power flow into it. Instantly, it began to glow brightly, like a nightlight. Her friends all gasped, eyes wide, and Gabriela winced but she still kept it glowing. Then, just to finish it off, she pushed her energy through her feet and lifted off the ground, floating up. Her friends' gasps got louder as they gaped at her.
"Wh-ho-wha…huh?" Latika muttered.
"That…am I dreaming?" Meredith mumbled.
"Are you an alien?" Rosalyn asked.
"No," Gabriela replied, landing back down. "Well, I'm not an alien. I actually don't know about whatever this is. Maybe."
"You mean…you have…"
"Superpowers," Gabriela finished. "I…I got them a few weeks ago." She told them what happened, how the ball of light shot through her window and the next thing she knew, she had powers. How she had lost control of them in the school bathroom and been focusing on them ever since. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," she said looking down. She didn't want to see their faces right now. She was so scared that she would fear or disgust or even anger there.
Instead, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her, followed swiftly by two more.
"You don't need to be sorry for anything," Meredith said.
"Yeah," Latika said. "We get it. This is crazy."
"But it only makes you so much cooler," Rosalyn told her.
Gabriela laughed, some tears dripping out, before she hugged her friends back. "I really needed you guys," she said. "These last few weeks have been hell."
"If what we've just seen is anything to go by, we believe you."
Gabriela sighed, realizing now came the next part. "Actually, that's not all. Maybe we'd better sit down. Trust me, this is a lot."
She told them everything. About how there were others with powers. She chose not to give names, figuring the others may not want her to just out them like that. She told them about Swarm and his attack on the school, something that truly shocked them.
"That can't be true. I remember that day. There was a steam…vent…" Latika started.
"No," Meredith said, rubbing her head. "No that wasn't it. There was…there were creatures. I remember now. There were…weird creatures…coming out of the wall."
Gabriela frowned. She remembered the others saying that but she'd only just realized that Swarm had never done that to them. He'd only used his microbots. So what was this 'out of the walls and floors formations' thing of his? But as she looked at her friends' expressions, the thought was chased out of her mind. "Look, I know this is a lot, but bear with me. Cause there's a bit more you need to know."
"More than finding out we had our minds tampered with?" Rosalyn asked.
Gabriela grimaced. "Yeah, kinda."
She then told them how Mr. Warners was Swarm and how he had attacked her last night. How she'd sent the signal for help. How the others had come and how they'd fought Swarm together, finally beating him. Then, to top it off, she explained about how there was apparently a larger world out there of people with powers.
Her friends stared at her through it all, not saying a word though Gabriela suspected that that was more out of shock than anything else. When she finally finished, they kept staring, making her a little uncomfortable.
"So…what do you think?" she asked.
"What…do I think?" Meredith asked. "I have no idea what to think."
"Part of me thinks this is just some weird prank you're pulling on us. But I remember the school attack now. I know what really happened," Rosalyn muttered.
"You were really attacked? By Mr. Warners?" Latika checked.
"Yep," Gabriela nodded. "Turns out, he was just a crazy psychopath the whole time."
"Should have known," Meredith said, shaking her head angrily. "He always used to give you dirty looks. Still, never expected him to go that far."
"A whole other world," Rosalyn said, shaking her head. "This is insane."
"I'm really sorry for telling you all-"
"Stop," Meredith said. "You don't need to apologize for this. I'd rather know than keep living in ignorance. I mean, I know they say ignorance is bliss and everything but the idea that someone can just root around my mind like that and…change it is freaky."
"So…what can you do exactly?" Latika asked curiously.
"Uh…well, as you can see, I can fly," Gabriela said, floating again to demonstrate. "I can also glow." She sent her energy across her entire body, making everything shine.
"Wow. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were an angel."
"Maybe she is one."
"Angels aren't real."
"We just found out superpowers are real, let's not eliminate angels just yet."
"Just because you thought you saw one at your brother's s-"
"I didn't think I saw one, I did see one."
"Guys!" Meredith interrupted the bickering pair. "Focus."
"Right," they nodded. "Sorry Gabriela."
"Um, so yeah. I can also sort of shoot laser beams. Uh, here." She looked at the floor and let a little power out of her eyes, shooting twin beams of light into the ground, scorching it. Her friends all gasped and again she felt a pang of fear but when she looked back, they were all smiling.
"That is so cool!" Rosalyn crowed. "Aw man, I wish I had those powers."
"Yeah. But it's not cool when you lose control and plow a hole in the school bathroom."
"Ok, fair point."
"So, what are you going to do now?" Meredith asked.
Gabriela had been mulling that question over for a while now and she still wasn't sure what the answer was. "I don't know. Finish my speech and beat Dredden at the student election is still on my mind, but…I have no idea what I'm supposed to do with this power."
"Well…what do you want to do with it?"
Gabriela looked down at her hands, watching them start to glow again. What did she want to do with them? She didn't want to just get rid of them anymore. If she had that option maybe, but…she could do a lot of good too. Not just beating up bad guys either. She had no idea the limits of her power. Notions of renewable energy along with other possibilities ran through her mind. Swarm had used his scientific mind to make something incredible and wasted it completely on vengeance and power. But she had an incredible power too.
"Something…incredible."
Meredith smiled. "Well, let's get started then."
Sumin knew they would be getting an earful when they got home. After everything, they would be surprised if they didn't.
The doctors had assured their parents that their injuries were superficial with no real lasting damage. They had gone through a few checks to make sure and then had been discharged with the order to just take it easy for the next few days.
They knew they were lucky that Swarm had been striking blindly then and not directly aiming, like he had been with Luke. Their back gave off dull throbs of pain whenever they took moved, even with the painkillers. But they were alive with no serious injury. That was what mattered.
Travis had rushed them to the emergency room after they'd gone down. They'd only needed some stitches to close up the wound. But the real problem began when they used Sumin's emergency contact information. After Althea's accident, their parents had become very protective, overreacting to even the smallest of injuries. Sumin had once stubbed their toe and had nearly been driven to the emergency room. So, they had decided to change their emergency contact information to their grandmother. That way, they wouldn't alarm their parents if anything serious happened and they wouldn't get a phone call for something small.
Sumin obviously hadn't thought this plan all the way through.
Since they arrived at the hospital in the middle of the night, it had been the middle of the afternoon in Korea and their grandmother answered almost immediately. Thankfully, the doctors told her it was no real emergency and Sumin had also been able to get on the phone to ask her not to tell their parents, promising to explain everything.
"You had better, Jubang," she had said in a tone of voice that caused Sumin to gulp.
Their parents had been informed a couple hours ago and Sumin had so far been able to pass it off as something that had happened when they decided to go for a walk, tripping badly in the park and falling on a tree branch that had cut them badly. So far, they seemed to believe it.
But they knew their grandmother was waiting. And such a story would not fool her. They were trying to concoct some sort of explanation when they arrived home and Sumin once again saw that dreaded FOR SALE sign, causing all other thoughts to exit their mind.
Their mom followed their gaze and became somber herself. "I'm sorry," she said. "There's just…no other way, you know?"
"Yes, I know," they replied softly. Their parents had tried to explain last week but there had been no need to. Sumin understood, even if they didn't like it. They just wished that these powers of theirs could be used for something more than just fighting Swarm and other bad guys. Something that could actually help their home or their sister.
Instead, they just had more problems on their plate. In debt parents, coma-ridden sister, lost house, angry grandmother, cutup back, crazy powers, and insane science teachers. They were honestly afraid of asking if anything could get worse as with their current luck, things probably would.
"You know it's only for-"
"Mother, stop," they interrupted. "I understand, ok. I may not like it, but I understand. Let's just forget about it and…get to packing." They'd started packing up a few days ago and with each box filled, Sumin just felt worse and worse. And they knew packing up Althea's room was coming up. They had no idea how they would even begin to pack up that room. They didn't think any of them had even gone in there since the accident. But it was coming up, quickly.
Besides, they all wanted this over with sooner rather than later.
Their mom gave them a concerned look before nodding. "You won't be packing today though," she told them. "You heard the doctors. You'll be taking it easy this weekend."
"But what about the move?" They'd been told they all had to leave by next Tuesday at the latest, but had decided on the weekend as it would be easier on all of them.
"We'll worry about that," their dad interjected. "You just rest and recover."
"But…"
"No buts," their mom stopped them. "You are very lucky. You could have just as easily fallen and broken your neck or any other bone. And then where would you be? Be grateful it was not much worse and count your blessings."
What blessings? Sumin wanted to ask, but instead they just nodded and walked into the house. They knew they were lucky. They had all been lucky. Swarm could have killed them all, but they were victorious. Sumin couldn't tell how thrilled they were to here that the others had come out of the ordeal with only some scratches and bruises. But that didn't change the fact that nothing for them had really changed at all. Despite their victory, they were still stuck in their problems with no solutions in sight.
Was that truly a something to be thankful for?
You are still alive, they reminded themself. You are not in a coma.
They sighed as they entered their room, shutting it firmly behind them. They didn't really want to think about any of that right now. Of course they were grateful that they, and their friends, were all alive and well for the most part. But still, they couldn't help but feel they deserved more.
What would their grandmother say to them at a time like this?
"Oh," they said, eyes widening as they remembered they had promised to call her as soon as they returned home. "The hits just keep on coming indeed."
Sumin took out their phone, finding their grandmother's phone number. Bracing themself as much as they could, they pressed the dial button and held up the phone.
She answered almost immediately.
"Jubang?" she asked. "Are you alight?"
"Yes Halmi. I am fine. It was not that serious."
"Good. Now, we need to talk."
"I know," Sumin sighed. "The truth is-"
"Not about last night," their grandmother interrupted. "Something else."
Sumin frowned, not just from the change in subject but from the sudden urgency in their grandmother's voice. "Halmi? What is it?"
"Jubang there is so much I need to tell you but there is not enough time. I had hoped to keep you and everyone else from this but it seems that life has different plans."
Sumin gripped the phone tightly, suddenly feeling like they were teetering on the edge of a cliff, about to fall into something they would never climb back out of. "Halmi?"
"I know, Jubang."
"Know what?"
"Sumin," she said, her voice soft yet as firm as metal. "I know."
Sumin froze, not even blinking or breathing, for a full minute. They were pretty sure they had forgotten how to move at all. When they finally exhaled, they only whispered one word. "How?"
"That does not matter now. What does is that you must move, and quickly. Your parents are about to receive a call to travel to the next town to talk to a loan agent. When they do, you must go and gather your compatriots. Warn them that the Sculptor is here."
"The…the Sculptor?"
"Yes. I know you are confused right now, but I need you to focus. The Sculptor is one of the most powerful beings on the planet. You have only one chance to defeat him and it must be now. So listen carefully."
Sumin did listen. They did not understand what their grandmother was saying, spacing out most of the time, but their eidetic memory instantly catalogued the entire conversation for later use.
"I did not wish this life upon you, Jubang," their grandmother muttered and Sumin could sense the tears through the phone. "Your grandfather did not want this. But if it was to be anyone, I am glad that it is you."
"Halmi, I don't understand."
"You will. I promise, when this is over, I will explain everything. But you must go now. You have no time. Unite the Cloak Guard and defeat Sculptor or else we will all perish."
Sumin slowly nodded before pausing, shaking their head to clear their mind, and then nodding more firmly. "Yes Halmi. I will."
"I love you Jubang. Do your family proud as you have always done."
"I will. And I love you too."
The line went dead and Sumin exhaled slowly, trying to process everything they'd just heard. But there was no time for that. If what their grandmother had just told them was true, then they were all in danger.
Far greater danger than before. They needed to find the others now. Unfortunately, they still didn't have anyone's contact information. But they had an idea who might.
"Emily. Luke. You had better still be at the hospital," they said and started moving.