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ZERO Written By: Kellen Lynch

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2 Kellen Lynch [email protected] http://kellenlynch.googlepages.com Length (in words): 101,303

Prologue The hallways of the small, Midwestern high school were all but empty. Only a few stragglers remained to either chat amongst friends or for sports. Some were just waiting for a ride home. It was like every other high school in the suburb of a larger city, the brown brick exterior, the cramped classrooms, the worn banners hanging high in the spacious gymnasium to display past sports accomplishments, no matter how minor. Sunlight crept through large, thick glass windows, illuminating dust particles like miniscule dancers on a stage. Being mid-April, the days were getting longer and warmer, and the sun had just begun to set, causing a cascade of pink to splash across the sky. Inside the school, Lance Maxwell, a senior who towered over most of his class at six foot four, plodded through the halls past the thin, deep red metal lockers, dripping with sweat from a long workout for the track team. He stopped for a moment, checking his reflection in one of the large, plated glass windows of the principal’s office as he ran a hand through his short, brown hair, amazed at the amount of sweat that had collected from the practice. Slender, yet incredibly muscular for his size and weight from sports, Lance could be described as good looking by many. As he stared at his mirror image, he pressed the palm of his left hand up to his temple. He had felt funny all day, like there was a buzzing inside his head that he could not turn off. In the morning, he had just written it off as a dull headache, but no, he had gotten headaches on and off since he was a child, and this was definitely not one of those. This was something else, something distant, and something that he should have ignored, but could not. Normally, Lance would have left school directly from the athletic locker rooms that feed the track area, but he had forgotten something in his locker that he needed to complete his homework, but as he studied his reflection in the window, he heard snippets of a conversation coming from inside the room. As he peered into the room, it just so happened that the window he had been checking himself out in belonged to the principal’s office, though the curtains had been drawn. Who has curtains in a school office? He noticed that the forty-something year old man was talking to a young woman that he had never seen before. She had a backpack slung over one shoulder, so Lance assumed that she was a new student.

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So late in the year? Lance thought to himself. Still, it didn’t matter to him as she was very easy on the eyes. Lance, like most other teenaged males, spent much of his time thinking about the ladies. He was in no way a so-called womanizer, like some of his classmates, but he still appreciated a fine female form. The girl stood about five foot six, Lance figured, and had longer blond hair. She wore it straight, with a band in her hair to keep it all together. If it were unbound, her golden hair would easily fall past her shoulders. At that moment, Lance couldn’t see her from the front, but the glimpse he gleamed from behind was more than enough. He stopped walking a moment to admire her further when he picked up pieces of the conversation inside due to the door being open about an inch. “Are you sure about this one?” the girl asked the principal. “His father insists he hasn’t displayed any abilities.” “I’m positive! The boy has powers,” Principal Decker replied. The principal was a large bear of a man, looking like he could have been a linebacker for a professional football team, though now he was far past his prime. Lance hid himself next to the left of the door so he wouldn’t be seen and peered inside. He didn’t know why he was still listening in, but part of him was intrigued, and another part of him told him that this conversation was extremely important to him. “I didn’t pick up on anything today,” the girl said. She had been here all day? Lance asked himself as he listened in. He hadn’t remembered seeing her at all during school hours, and, in looking at her, he was sure that’d he remember if he had. “I don’t want this to turn into another ‘San Francisco’,” she told the principal, making a reference to something that Lance did not understand. “Then do your job,” Principal Decker commanded. “You’ll like it here, anyway. I hear you actually want to finish high school; this is a good place to do it. Quiet, Midwestern town. Lots of friendly people here.” Lance had turned away, lost in thought. He was trying to make sense of what he had just overheard, and had noticed the door swing open too late to get out of the way. There stood the blonde girl that had been talking to Principal Decker with the good principal right behind her, both with sincerely startled looks on their faces. Well…crap. He had been caught eavesdropping, or so he thought. “Can I help you, Mr. Maxwell?” the principal asked cautiously, not knowing just how much the young man before him had heard. “No,” Lance replied, pasting a broad smile on his face, attempting to not look or sound nervous, and not doing a particularly good job at that, “I just was heading to my locker to grab a textbook.”

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Before the principal or the young woman could respond, Lance spun around and walked quickly down the hallway. Reaching his locker, he popped open the dark red metal door, grabbed the book he needed, and left the school as quickly as he could. Shaken by the incident and still trying to figure out what had just happened, he sighed to himself as he drove home, trying to calm down. The spring’s late afternoon sun was peeking through trees and over the neighbor’s houses as it set. “At least,” he said aloud as he arrived home, got out of his car, and slowly made his way up the driveway to his house, “that’s over with.”

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Chapter One “Hey, Lance!” Ryan called out the next morning, spotting his friend from across the cafeteria through the herd of teenaged high school students. He managed to squeeze through the crowd and run over to Lance before blurting out, “Did you see the new girl, she is so smokin’…” Lance, who was sitting at his usual table in the middle of the cafeteria, was wearing a black, hooded sweatshirt, his favorite, and a pair of blue jeans, along with a pair of white Adidas classics with black stripes. He liked the sweatshirt so much that the one that he was now wearing was actually a replacement for one that had become slightly faded. Although it would be much warmer later in the day, the bright spring morning still called for heavier clothing. “Literally or figuratively?” Lance interrupted in question as he scribbled down notes for his composition homework, not wanting to divert his attention from his work. “What…?” Ryan responded puzzled. “Hey man, I told you to stop using those big words with me.” “I’d hardly call ‘figuratively’ or ‘literally’ big words, Ryan,” Lance said as he continued to write feverishly in his notebook, still not looking up at his friend, “and yes, I saw her yesterday afternoon. She was with the Principal.” Lance paused and looked out into the herd of students, not focusing on anything particular as he mulled over what he had seen and overheard the afternoon before. What had caught his attention? Why had he stopped and stared like he had? Lance couldn’t answer that as he struggled to focus on his schoolwork. She was beautiful, yes, he reasoned, but there are a lot of attractive girls here. What’s so different about her? It could have been the intrigue, the small snippet of conversation between the mystery girl and Principal Decker, that had garnered his notice. However, that line of thought would have to be put away for another time, as Ryan demanded attention. “Ah, so no chance to take a shot at her then,” Ryan chuckled as he nudged Lance with his elbow, snapping him out of his trance. He shot an annoyed glance up at his friend. “Okay, two things, who does that anymore, not even my parents do the whole ‘wink and a nudge’ thing,” Lance started, “and I’m kind of already seeing someone, remember?” “The emphasis being on ‘kind of,’ my man,” Ryan jibed. “You and Keri are so on again off again, it drives me nuts. She is hot, man, I’ll give you that, but I hate seeing you during one of your off periods.” “Hey…” Lance was about to say something back. He hated it when people attacked his personal life, which Ryan knew, and his anger was starting to show. “Besides,” Ryan said, quickly recognizing his friend’s temper was flaring, “that new girl is so, so hot. I’d like to show her a thing or two…”

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“Oh, please,” Lance laughed. He didn’t like to be angry, and was glad Ryan had changed the subject to the fresh blood, “the only date you’ve ever even been on was with my little sister, and that was to the Homecoming Dance.” “How is Eva, anyway?” Ryan inquired, taking the opportunity to talk about his favorite subject. The two had hit it off during the dance, but Ryan hadn’t yet called her for another date. And the dance had been almost seven months before. “She’s still waiting by the phone,” Lance replied, “broken hearted.” “Really?” Ryan asked eagerly. He liked Eva, and not just from the feeling he got in his…heart, but he had been afraid to call her, even after they had gone to the Homecoming Dance together months before. As if in response, Lance’s little sister, Eva, who was only really a year younger than Lance, so she wasn’t really that little in comparison, trotted by, chatting away with the large group of guys that trailed behind her. Ryan and Lance watched dumbfounded as the group passed by. Lance turned back to Ryan, looked at him for a moment, then back to the passing group of boys trailing his sister, then back to Ryan. “She hides her pain well.” Putting a hand to his forehead, Lance had noticed that the buzzing from the previous day had returned. This really is weird. The humming of his brain had stopped once he had gotten away from the school, attributing his recovery to just getting some fresh air. At least, some fresh air that wasn’t being pumped ferociously into his lungs during his workout. “Headaches again, man?” Ryan asked, being very much familiar with his best friend’s ailments. “No, this is something…different.” “Could be a tumor.” Lance continued to jot down his notes onto the lined paper of his notebook as he spoke, “I don’t think so. This is more of a buzzing or a humming. I don’t know how to describe it really.” “So, it could be a tumor?” “It’s not a tumor!” Lance stopped writing for a moment to glance at his cell phone. There was a new voice message from Keri, and, depending on her mood, it was either going to be a sweet, loving message or it was going to be how much she wished Lance was dead. Lance hoped for the former, but dreaded that it was the latter. She really is a sweet girl, Lance thought, she’s just been so screwed up in her life, she just doesn’t know how to react sometimes.

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The message was more on the kind, loving side than death wish, and Lance looked at the time once the message had finished playing. Class was about to start, so he’d have to call Keri back later. He hustled to get his homework into his backpack, struggling with the zipper for a moment as it caught the material, and looked over to find that Ryan had sat down next to him staring off into space. “Hey man, we’ve got to get going,” Lance stood up and pulled on Ryan’s arm to get him to move. Ryan wouldn’t budge. “Come on, man, snap out of it. It creeps me out when you do that.” Lance knew Ryan was daydreaming about Eva, wishing that he was the only guy that she had been talking to, and it gave Lance the willies to know that Ryan was fantasizing about Lance’s little sister. “Oh, what?” Ryan said as the school bell sounded. “Oh, shit man, we’re late. Why didn’t you warn me?” The crowd of students was now non-existent as all of the other teens had already made their way to class. “I would have,” Lance sighed, “if I thought you wouldn’t have tried to make out with me…” “Well,” Ryan started, as the two walked to class, “there is a bit of family resemblance…”

“How’d your parents come up with the name ‘Eva,’ anyway?” Ryan asked, leaning over his desk in the history classroom. Posters of significant dates lined the walls in a haphazard manner, lending an insight into the way the teacher taught the class. “I don’t know,” Lance whispered his reply, “probably something historical, like mine, or biblical.” The conversation about Ryan’s growing desire for Eva had transcended the creepy, awkwardness of Ryan wanting to make out with Lance. However, it was also disrupting the history class, and, while Lance had been quiet, it had been apparent to the teacher that Ryan had not been so silent. “Yes, yes, Mr. Doherty, we all saw you with Ms. Maxwell at the Homecoming Dance last fall, but I doubt Mr. Lance here wishes to discuss your gross desires for his younger sibling,” Mrs. Sinclair said in her usual monotone voice. “And quite frankly, neither do I.” The rest of the class either suppressed laughter or openly expressed their appreciation for the deep shade of red Ryan had turned. Mrs. Lois Sinclair may have the boring, stereotypical historian voice, but she did not always talk like it. “Now, if you’ll pay attention, we will continue our lesson…” the educator began as Lance’s thought drifted elsewhere. Usually those thoughts were of Keri, but now they turned to the new girl. Ryan had been right about one thing, she was an incredibly attractive girl; yet there

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was something very strange about her, something that Lance just couldn’t put his finger on. He snapped back to reality as the bell sounded, signifying the end of class. Shit! Lance thought to himself as he scrambled to stuff his books into his bag. As he hurried out the door, he found Ryan waiting for him in the hallway.

“What happened there, man?” Ryan questioned as they walked briskly to their next class. The two friends shared the first three classes of the school day, much to the chagrin of their teachers, which also allowed for long, in depth discussions which were usually about what every teenaged male talked about; namely sports, video games, and, of course, girls. “Oh, I was just thinking about something,” Lance replied, darting between students as the made he and Ryan made their way through the crowded halls. The students in the hall were huddled close together to allow for easier conversations, yet the middle of the halls were still clogged, which always seemed to amaze Lance when he thought about it. “Let me guess,” Ryan said between students, “You were thinking about your precious Keri?” The halls were beginning to thin out as the masses made their way to class. “Actually, no,” Lance said, surprising both himself and Ryan. “It was the new girl then, right?” Ryan guessed again. Lance stopped suddenly and stared Ryan straight in the eyes. “How much do you know about her?” Lance asked, hoping Ryan had possibly heard something about her, bizarre rumor or otherwise. “Oh man! It was about her?” Ryan exclaimed in shock. “Shit, man, keep it down. The last thing I need right now is to have Keri think I’m fantasizing about some other very hot girl,” Lance blurted out. He paused for a moment, then restated his previous question, “So, what do you know about the new girl, anyway?” “Other than she’s a very hot girl with a weird ass name, which is Rain, in case you hadn’t already heard,” Ryan said. “Then nothing, not a thing.” “Isn’t that a little weird? Granted, she’s only been here a day, but we don’t know anything about her, where she’s from, why she’s here, why now so late in the year? Nothing.” “Okay, okay, calm down, Lance,” Ryan soothed. “I think you’re just getting paranoid about Keri and that’s making you go crazy. People move all the time. It’s not always as neat and clean cut as a summer vacation or a semester break.” Lance was about to suggest more evidence when an announcement came over the P.A. “Would Lance Maxwell please report to the Guidance Office,” the monotone voice said before repeating itself. “Aw, shit, man, what’d you do now?” Ryan wondered aloud. “Nothing, I think,” Lance replied as he turned around and trudged back to the Guidance Office. As he approached, he was surprised to see the new girl, whose name, Ryan had told him, was Rain, standing next to Principal Decker, talking quietly.

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Rain and the Principal turned as Lance opened the door and cautiously stepped inside the office. The large, ‘L’ shaped room was lined with chairs, with a couple of end tables thrown in for good measure. Large, ominous windows also wrapped around the exterior of the room, looking out into the halls. A high counter overlooking the reception desk was placed in the corner with doors leading to the various counselors’ rooms. “Ah, speak of the devil,” Principal Decker announced as Lance walked towards them. The Principal offered his hand to Lance. “What’s happenin’, Colonel?” Lance gave the principal’s hand a quick shake. The ‘Colonel’ bit was a reference to an old television show that Lance had watched while growing up. He also knew that it irritated the heck out of the Principal to be referred to as ‘Colonel Decker,’ though with how the Principal looked, Lance wouldn’t have put it past him to have actually been in the military. “I believe you’ve met our newest student, Rain?” Principal Decker asked rhetorically, as he had been there when they ran into Lance outside his office the previous afternoon. “We have…briefly,” Lance said as Rain nodded her head in agreement. The young, blonde teen was wearing a denim miniskirt with a top that buttoned down and a pair of pink and white running shoes. Lance briefly thought of the ample bosom that rested just underneath the simple buttons before shaking the feeling off. I have a girlfriend, Lance told himself. He might have had a girlfriend, but he was still a guy. “Well, I was thinking that since the two of you have already met, you wouldn’t mind showing Ms. Rain here around,” the Principal concluded. Lance noticed that Rain was blushing, though he thought he hadn’t been that obvious when he was checking her out. Lance smiled awkwardly, “It would be my pleasure…” “Good, get started then,” Decker interrupted as he turned and walked towards the door. “I’m sure you two will get on famously.” He smiled at the two teens as he held the door open for them to leave. They took the hint and walked out of the Guidance Office. Lance and Rain slowly made their way down the open hallway in an awkward silence. He did not know what to make of the situation, and he was glad that it was Rain who spoke first. “Is he always that creepy and ominous?” she asked slyly. That broke the ice. Lance had only briefly run into Rain the previous day and hadn’t really met her, yet Principal Decker had acted like the two students were childhood pals, which made Lance a bit suspicious, not to mention unnerved. Heck, Lance hadn’t even known her name until Ryan had mentioned it. “Only when there’s a new student around. He thinks he’s being friendly and outgoing, but he just comes off as, well, creepy,” Lance explained, feeling some of the tension leave his body. He felt more at ease now that they had opened a line of dialogue. “So, what’s your last name, anyway?” Lance asked, trying to sound like he cared, but was afraid that it just came out sounding snotty.

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voice. “Oh, uh, can I ask why not?” Lance inquired. He paused to point out the science hall, the sophomore class’ lockers, restrooms, and an office. Though, Lance admitted to Rain that he never did find out what that office was used for, which elicited an awkward laugh. “I suppose I can tell you, since it will probably get around eventually anyway,” Rain started. “I’m an orphan. I’ve been to so many homes that I’ve never really felt comfortable taking a name. And before you ask, I was found in the rain, so that’s where my first name came from…” “Oh, well, I’m…” Lance started to apologize. “Sorry?” Rain snapped. Lance stopped walking and Rain turned to look at him. He was surprised that she looked genuinely angry, as he didn’t think he said anything to upset her this time. “Well, yeah,” Lance replied weakly. “How’d you…” “Know? Because everyone is always so god-damned sorry,” Rain blurted out. “I’m old enough to take care of myself now. I can finally stop moving around and just live a normal life.” “Uh…” Lance just stammered. “God, now I’m sorry,” Rain apologized, starting to walk again. “I didn’t mean to just blow up at you like that.” “No, it’s alright. You must have heard this same thing hundreds of times,” Lance said. “I didn’t mean to pry, and I promise, I won’t tell anyone.” “That’s okay, really. I’d rather it spread around now than have to repeat it a bunch more times.” Rain smiled at Lance and he just smiled back at her, as though in a daze. Then he snapped out of it when he realized what time it was. He was afraid that he was going to miss a test in biology, and his grade could not afford that. “Look, I have to get going. I have a test in Bio that I can’t miss. But hey, if you ever need to talk or hang out or something, give me a call,” Lance said as he scribbled his cell phone number on his notebook before tearing out the page and handing it to Rain. “Thanks, I will,” Rain smiled as she took the paper, folded it, and put it in the pocket of her skirt. Lance beamed back at her, “And thank you for showing me around.” “No problem,” Lance replied as he waved goodbye, turned and hurried off down the hallway. As soon as Lance was out of sight, Rain pulled a cell phone out of the pocket where she had put his number and scrolled through her address book. She stopped and clicked on a number marked ‘home.’ She listened to the answering machine message before speaking. “Hey, I ran into that guy you wanted me to meet, I’m not sure he’s my type though, we’ll see how it goes.” Rain said before snapping the phone shut. She threw her backpack over her slender shoulder and walked to class.

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The test, as it turned out, was cancelled, as the teacher had called in sick. Whether or not the teacher was actually sick or just hung over, none of the students could be sure of. “I was at a party this one time, and she was there, drunk off her ass,” a student had claimed at one point. Presumably, the young male who had reported this ‘vital information’ had also been intoxicated, so the accuracy of the information was certainly suspect. That, however, did not stop the rumors from spreading about the young science teacher’s wild weekends. That meant the days’ class, due to the teacher’s absence, would be a video day. Whenever a teacher suddenly called in sick, the school would usually send in a substitute armed with a quasi-educational video tape. “Okay, okay, settle down, class,” the substitute teacher, an older man who was bald with a mustache, said. “I’ve had most of you in other classes before, so you all know how this works.” Even though he was old, the sub still had a reputation for being mischievous. He also did not tolerate students who fell asleep in classed and used the infamous warm water trick with varying results. Nowadays, however, as he had gotten in trouble for that little prank, he no longer used a bowl of water; instead, he would just use a spray bottle that he kept in his briefcase. “Today’s video is entitled “Genetic Evolution: Revealing the Powers.’ I trust most of you have already seen this one, but watch it anyway.” It was true, most of the students had seen the video already, and they quickly turned to whatever they had been doing before class began. The video was a recording of a famous news report covering the rumors of individuals with genetic variations and played on people’s fears and hopes about superpowers. At the time of its initial broadcast, it had been one of the most popular programs to date, especially with the adolescent male crowd. Lance feigned interest as the video went on and heard such clips as, “With genetic mutation comes the possibility of extraordinary abilities. Perhaps one day man will even be able to fly…” At that, Lance turned his focus back to earlier. He was trying very hard to make something of the time he had spent with Rain. She was breathtakingly gorgeous, but it was deeper than that. He was intrigued. The girl was an enigma. She seemed so warm and friendly, but, at the same time, also a bit hostile. He knew that he shouldn’t even be spending as much time thinking about it as he did, but he couldn’t help it. He had to remind himself that he already had a girlfriend, although an occasionally psychotic one, but that didn’t deter from the fact that the cared deeply about Keri. What Lance hadn’t known was that one of Keri’s friends had seen Lance and Rain together in the hallway, and would soon report back to her in his attempt to gain Keri’s favor. The video was winding down, Lance could tell, and he heard the final line. “It could even begin with you…”

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Lunch time, Lance thought as he munched away at his sandwich, was normally a peaceful time. At least, it usually was, but that day’s lunch break was a continuation of a somewhat disconcerting pattern. The discussion had started out innocently enough to him, though everyone else at the table could tell what was coming. “So, what’d you get called down to Guidance for, hun?” Keri asked, while Lance slowly chewed away at his sandwich. It was peanut butter and jelly, which Lance was sick of. He motioned to wait a moment while he took a drink of water. Ryan and Eva looked at each other and gave a look that screamed, Not this again! “So, I had a really good time at Homecoming,” Ryan said, attempting to ignore the conflict brewing beside him. And I really want to ask you out again, too, he added to himself. “I did too,” Eva said back, thinking and I really want you to ask me out again. Lance finished chewing and swallowed before answering Keri. “Principal Decker asked me to show the new girl around the school.” “And?” Keri prodded. “And, I showed her around,” Lance replied, his eye twitching out of a mental reflex. Now he knew what was coming, but it was already too late. He was in for it and there was nothing he could do about it now. “Nothing else happened?” Keri asked. “You didn’t kiss her, did you?” “What? No!” Lance replied, getting annoyed. “We were in the middle of the hallway at school.” “Well, then what was on that note you gave her?” Keri inquired. She was trying to keep herself from sounding angry. “My phone number…” At this point, the surrounding lunch tables were pretending not to be listening in on Lance and Keri’s argument, which was getting more heated by the second, but their collective holding of breath gave them away. “You gave her your phone number?” Keri yelled at Lance. “Yes, she’s had a tough time, and I told her she could call me if she needed to talk.” “Oh, and you just believed her little sob story?” Keri was fuming. How dare Lance show any kind of affection towards any girl that wasn’t her? “I spent maybe twenty minutes with Rain, why would she lie to me? And besides, you get guys’ numbers all the time,” Lance said, remaining calm. He had that way about him, that when Keri got angry, he was able to keep cool under the pressure. “That’s different,” Keri said. “They’re my friends, and since when is it ‘Rain’?” “Not every guy who talks to you is your friend,” Lance shot back. Now he was starting to lose it. “And ‘Rain’ is the only name she has.”

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“You still don’t…” Keri started, before Lance abruptly cut her off. Something had struck Lance before and now he knew what it was. Most of the students in the lunch room had stopped eating and were now paying strict attention to the fight at Lance and Keri’s table in the middle of the room. Meanwhile, Ryan and Eva were still trying their best to ignore the bickering, but that was increasingly made impossible. “Wait, how’d you even know that I gave her that piece of paper?” Lance said accusingly. “Were you spying on me?” “No, Derrick told me, and I’m glad he did,” Keri replied matter of factly. “Derrick told you? That little bastard only wants to get in your pants,” Lance said, which was true, Derrick had been trying to get some from Keri since she and Lance had first started going out. “Not every guy is trying to get in my pants…” “No, some are trying to get under your shirt, too,” Ryan interjected, immediately regretting having opened his mouth. “You stay out of this,” Keri yelled back. Ryan put his hands up in mock surrender and Eva stifled a giggle. Eva found it cute, not to mention entertaining, when Ryan would throw in his own commentary onto her brother’s fights. “No, not every guy, but Derrick is,” Lance said, ignoring Ryan’s interruption. “Along with all your other guy ‘friends’.” “Don’t you ever dare talk about my friends that way,” Keri said. She was livid now, and her eyes seemed to bulge slightly from her head. “You defend them more than you do me,” Lance said, which was also true. “All you ever talk about is how you spend so much time alone with those assholes…” That ended the fight. Everyone knew where Lance had been going with that, and they also knew what Keri was going to do in response. As if on cue, Keri drew her hand back and slapped Lance hard on the face. He didn’t react, noting that it didn’t really hurt, but it was sure to leave a nasty mark. Ryan and Eva were both thinking that they could not figure out why Lance would bother putting up with Keri, but they had both tried to talk to him about the relationship, to no avail. They also knew that the fight would blow over, however, and that Lance and Keri would pretend to forget that it had ever happened.

Later in the day, after classes had ended, Lance prepared for track practice. His preparation mostly consisted of throwing on a pair of shorts, running shoes, and an old t-shirt. After he had changed clothes, he ran out of the locker room and literally right into Rain. “Woah, I’m so…” Lance started. “Don’t,” Rain warned.

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“But, I am.” “I know,” Rain said, forcing a smile. She frowned when she saw the red welt that was on Lance’s face. “What happened?” “Hm? Oh, nothing, just a little argument with the girlfriend,” Lance admitted, trying to return Rain’s smile. He didn’t know why he was being so honest with this girl that he had just met. “It will go away in a day or so, don’t worry.” Lance started walking out the door to get to track, and Rain started to walk with him, which was when Lance noticed her outfit. Rain had changed into a pair of short shorts that hugged her bottom and a shirt that did the same to her upper half. Though, Lance did find it odd that she was wearing the same pink and white shoes that she had been wearing earlier, since most athletes have a pair of shoes just for working out. “You’ve joined the track team, I presume,” Lance stated. “Yep, it’s the only thing I’ve been able to do in high school,” Rain said, bouncing a little as she walked. She certainly looked happier and freer to Lance as they headed out to the track. “So, what was the fight about, if you doing mind me asking?” Lance did mind, but seeing as how Rain had already shared a much deeper and embarrassing secret with him, he felt he was all but forced to answer truthfully. “It was about you, actually,” Lance replied quietly. He didn’t know how she would take that little piece of information, and he hoped she wouldn’t take it the wrong way. “Oh?” Rain replied intrigued. “What about me?” “It was nothing. One of her friends saw us talking in the hall and Keri overreacted,” Lance explained. The two teens approached the track, meaning they would soon have to separate and head over to their respective teams. “That’s some reaction,” Rain said, referring to the discolored mark on Lance’s cheek. “Yeah, I think I might have deserved that one,” Lance admitted. Rain looked at him with a questioning look. “I might have implied that she’s a whore.” “Good one,” Rain mocked with a laugh. “We don’t take kindly to that.” Lance laughed and started to say goodbye as he walked towards where the boy’s team was gathering. He turned suddenly and said, “You can still call me if you want.” “And risk incurring Keri’s wrath? No way!” “Don’t worry about her, she’s a nice girl. Most of the time, anyway,” Lance assured Rain. “I’ll think about it then,” Rain promised as she started to walk towards her team. “See you later.” Lance smiled broadly as he joined Ryan and the guys at the starting line on the track. Ryan was one of Lance’s co-captains for the varsity team, as well as a member of his mile relay team and a fellow hurdles runner. “Keri’s going to kill you, you know,” Ryan said as he and Lance headed to the front of the group. About half the seniors on the varsity team had also been elected as captain, so they switched off leading the team through the warm-ups and workouts. As soon as Lance broke free

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of the rest of the team, he took off down the track and set a nice, slow pace for the warm-up laps. The warm-up was half a mile, which gave Lance and Ryan plenty of time to discuss the day’s events. “Oh, I know,” Lance said. The girls were gathering on the track, but hadn’t yet started their own practice. Lance spotted Rain in the group. She stuck out like a sore thumb as she wasn’t actively engaged in conversation with the other girls. “I say go for it,” Ryan said as they continued their run. “Go for what?” Lance asked back. He picked up the pace as he didn’t want any of his teammates to pass him. After a less than stellar junior season, Lance was that much more determined to excel this year. “Rain. She totally digs you man,” Ryan said, puffing a little bit. He hated Lance for things like this, the fact that Lance felt that he had to be better because of what happened last season. Still, Lance’s recovery had been incredible, and his efforts to improve continually impressed the coaches. “Oh, sweet,” Lance replied sarcastically, “Because I totally hadn’t noticed. But, as you said, then Keri would kill me, and then Rain, and then me again.” “Okay, I get it,” Ryan said, “But do you really want to keep repeating today’s fight at lunch?” That was a sore spot for Lance, both literally and figuratively. “She’s not always like that,” Lance argued. “True,” Ryan replied predictably, “Sometimes she’s mean.” Ryan was dead serious with that comment. They both knew that Keri could be incredibly loud and vicious when she really got angry. “Ha, ha, that was a good one,” Lance replied dryly between breathes. He was starting to sweat now, which coincided with the end of the run. The rest of the guys’ practice ran smoothly, with the individual events breaking off from the group after the main workout had been completed. The predictability and routine of the schedule would drive a normal person insane if it weren’t for the variety of workouts the coaches had designed. It wasn’t until Lance had started doing run-throughs for the hurdles that something out of the ordinary broke the routine of his training. Members of the girls’ team were also going through their practice with the hurdles, and, sure enough, Rain was with them. The coaches were trying to see what events she would be good at, so they had her run through a variety of events. Lance pretended to be working on his own stuff and not staring at Rain as she prepared to run. With the blow of the whistle, Rain and one of the other girls, who Lance had thought of as one of the faster runners on the girl’s team, took off down the track. If she had been fast, the girl sure didn’t look like it when compared to Rain.

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Who is this girl? Lance though as Rain walked back to the coach, winking at Lance as she passed. She’s been here one day and she’s already taken the top spot on the girls’ track team. Lance paused in his thinking and admired her beauty. Not to mention she’s a stone-cold fox. “Hey, Lance,” Coach Berger, the girls’ hurdles coach, called out. “I think she might have just broken your record.” “Ha,” Lance laughed. “Well, we may have to test that out sometime then.” The girls ran against hurdles that weren’t as high as the boys’ team, which led to faster times. Lance could never figure out why the hurdles for the women were lower, because he thought guys would have a lot more to lose if they couldn’t make it over one cleanly. Besides, guys also weren’t as flexible, as Lance’s injury from the previous season had proved. “Well, we’re just glad to see you healthy after last season,” Berger said before turning to two girls that had been standing behind him. “Ok, Amy and Christina, you’re up…”

The boys’ and girls’ teams finished practice at different times, so Lance didn’t get a chance to talk to Rain again that afternoon, and that night he had to go to work at the local grocery store. Lance hated his job, even more so when he had to work after practice. There was nothing more that Lance wanted to do than just flop into bed and relax. It wasn’t all that bad at work though. Lance liked most of his coworkers and it was Thursday, so the store wouldn’t be that crowded. He just disliked some of the customers, the ones that were complete assholes, and he never liked dealing with his bosses, most of whom were named ‘Aaron,’ oddly enough. That night wasn’t any different, though Lance thought his car had some trouble starting as he drove off to work. This wasn’t the first time his car had acted up, so he didn’t think much of it at the time. Lance spent most of the night explaining away the mark that Keri had left on his face. Sometimes to coworkers, many of whom had either heard the two fighting or had heard about it from someone else, and sometimes to customers, either parents of a student who had witnessed the ordeal or was just curious as to how such a handsome young man could have such lady troubles. The responses he received were a mix of ‘things will get better’ to ‘dump her ass, you can do better.’ And it was true, he probably could do better, but he wasn’t ready to give up on this relationship that he had worked so hard for. He had even given up a scholarship to a good school so that he could attend one closer to home to be with Keri, much to his parent’s chagrin. Lance’s focused shifted back to work as a crotchety old woman said, “Hey! Those plastic bottles are going to break right through the bag.” No, they won’t, Lance thought of saying, instead, he just gave the customer a forced smile and said, “I’ll double bag that for you then, ma’am.” He proceeded to scoop a second plastic bag around the first.

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“No! I want them in separate paper bags with two plastic bags around them. And I’m not a ‘ma’am,’” the woman scolded. Lance didn’t know how to respond to that, as he wasn’t allowed to respond to customers as though he were actually a person. He wanted to tell the woman that that was the dumbest request he had ever had, but he knew that he couldn’t. The customers were all gods in the eyes of the management, and nothing Lance could ever do or say would ever change that. Instead, Lance just did what the woman wanted and said, “There you go, have a good night.” The customer glared at him as she walked past as though he had told her to eff off, grabbed her bags, and walked out the door. The cashier, a man only a year or two older than Lance, walked over and chuckled, “So I hear things got a little rough with the girlfriend, heh heh heh.” Lance understood the implication and sighed. “I wish,” he replied, “Might’ve made my day a lot better.” “Eh, so what was this fight about, then?” Tom, the cashier, asked. “Did you look at her wrong, or did she catch you looking at another girl?” Tom, being two years older than Lance, had gone to the same high school, but hadn’t really done much beyond that. He also had hair as short as Lance’s and wore glasses. Lance sighed again, “More of the second one. I had to show a new girl around the school today.” “Oh…is she hot?” Tom asked with a grin. This is how most of their conversations turned out. “Yeah, I guess so,” Lance admitted, “But it’s not like that.” “I know,” Tom replied, “You’re entirely devoted to the jealous wench.” Tom and Lance had worked together for a couple of years, so he let comments like that slide most of the time. “Exactly.” Tom noticed that there was a line forming at one of the other registers so he jumped back behind his own and called a customer over. “Paper or plastic?” Lance called as the customer unloaded her items from the cart.

Later on in the evening, after the crowd had died down, another one of the baggers came over the chat with Lance and Tom. “Hey, Lance, that new girl at school was in here earlier asking about you,” he said, “Wanted to know about some injury you got last year. Didn’t know what she was talking about.” Tom responded, “How could you not hear about that, it was only one of the worst injuries a guy can get.”

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“Okay guys, that’s enough talking, it looks like you don’t have enough to do,” the manager, one of the Aarons, interrupted. “Brian, the bathrooms need cleaning again, let’s take a walk.” Aaron, a middle-aged man with a mustache and a potbelly, led Brian away from the check out lanes and Lance went to refill the paper bag stands. He considered himself lucky that he had not been chosen to clean the bathrooms. Though, he really did hate having to refill the paper bags. They were large, heavy, and the wrapper they came in was perfectly smooth. He hadn’t been able to figure out why, as surely the people who made and sent out the bags would surely know the bundles of bags would be difficult to handle. “All right, Lance, you can go home now,” one of the women in charge of the front end announced. “’Bout time,” Lance shot back as he went upstairs to punch out. He bounded down the stairs as quick as he could and was out the door in a flash. He trotted out to his car, eager to get home to bed. Lance opened the door to his car, got in, and tried to start up his vehicle, but he found it wouldn’t turn over. He popped the hood and got out of the car. Lance took a look under the hood, but it wasn’t like he knew what to look for, anyway. Still, he didn’t think it would hurt just to check around inside. Lance heard them coming, so he wasn’t surprised when one of the drug dealers walked up behind him and asked, “Hey man, having some troubles? Maybe you need a lift?” “No thanks, I think I’ve got it,” Lance replied as he checked the battery. He had his hand wrapped in a cloth that he kept around for such an occasion. A wire connected to the battery appeared to be loose, so Lance carefully reattached it. He did his best to ignore the men who were now standing behind him, one on either side. “What, you don’t want our ‘help?’” the second dealer asked. Lance removed the rod holding the hood up and slammed it down hard, “Nope, all finished here. Appreciate the offer though.” “I don’t think you get my meaning,” the first dealer said as he revealed a small bag of a drug that Lance couldn’t identify. “This’ll take all your troubles away.” “As I said, no thank you, now, I’ve really got to be going,” Lance said as he turned to get into his car. Lance was already thinking that these guys were unusually aggressive as the closest dealer reached out and pushed Lance into the side of the car. “We’re gonna get paid either way, hot shot,” the second dealer said as he went to grab for Lance’s wallet. Lance, not one to take anything lying down, pushed himself up from the car quickly, surprising the drug dealers as he shot back up onto his feet. The first dealer kicked Lance in the back of the leg. It hurt, but Lance knew there was no turning back now. The thugs wouldn’t be satisfied with just taking his money. They would have to hurt him, as a statement, and to recover whatever respect they thought they had lost due to Lance standing up to them.

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Lance, down on one knee, noticed that the second man was coming around to his front. Big mistake, Lance thought, as the man went to kick Lance in the chest. Lance caught his leg and pulled the man down as he brought his own elbow down onto the back of the dealer’s neck. The man cursed as he collapsed to the ground, allowing Lance the moment he needed to regain his composure. Now that he was back on his feet, Lance turned his attention back to the man who had kicked him in the leg. The dealer took a swing at Lance, who dodged out of the way enough that the punch just grazed his shoulder. This also led to an opening as Lance moved with the punch and swung around, landing a hard back hand to his attacker’s face. Lance followed that up with a swift knee upwards into the man’s gut, knocking the air from his lungs. “Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Lance said as he once again turned to leave, only to find himself staring down a barrel of a handgun. Lance hadn’t noticed the other guy get back up and draw the weapon, which was a mistake he would now pay for. “Nice try, hot shot,” the thug said as he squeezed the trigger. The sound of the shot echoed in the dark as Lance squeezed his eyes shut. At that moment, Lance’s world turned black.

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Chapter Two Waking to the sound of his alarm buzzing loudly, Lance shot up in his bed with a gasp. He groaned as he hit the switch to shut off the incessant noise and rolled out of bed. It was while showering, where he noticed bruises on his legs and shoulder, that Lance’s memories of the night before came rushing back with a vengeance. The last thing he truly remembered was the sound of gun fire, thinking that was the end of him, only to open his eyes to find that the bullet had been stopped in mid-air, like something out of a bad science fiction film. Instead of blowing a large hole in my face, it just stopped. But how…? The water stung at his discolored, bruised flesh, while thoughts of the previous night stung at his mind. “What…What are you?” the voice of his would-be killer echoed in his mind. He had stepped towards the thug with uncertainty of what had just happened, but to the drug dealer, Lance had probably looked like a monster straight out of hell. He hadn’t even had a thought in his head as to what to do next when the dealer with the gun took off. The thug that Lance had left on the ground scrambled to his feet and sprinted off as well. Good riddance, Lance spared the thought. He had then realized that he shouldn’t be there if and when the police showed up, so he had gotten into his car. And that was just about the last thing he remembered from the previous night.

“Hey, look who finally decided to get up,” Eva said as she finished eating and stood up to clear away her dishes. She handed Lance a plate that had been resting on the counter. “Here, I made you bacon and eggs.” “Thanks,” Lance said as he took the plate from her and sat down. After the night he had, he was starved. Moments later, their mom walked into the kitchen. She took one look at her son and said, “Oh, honey, you look terrible. If you can’t take working those long hours they stick you with, then maybe you should quit.” They had had this conversation before, and it annoyed Lance to have to repeat it again. “You know I can’t do that, I have to pay for school.” Here it comes, Lance thought as soon as the words had left his mouth. “I still don’t see why you didn’t just take that scholarship,” his mom said. She knew why, and thought it was a stupid reason; sweet, but still very stupid. “Because, he can’t stand to be away from his precious Keri,” Eva said, making mock kissing noises.

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“Lance, you’re still young. You should take that deal and go meet some nice girl away from here.” “Keri is a nice girl,” Lance insisted. “Besides, I just didn’t think that particular school was the right one for me, and, if I change my mind, I can always transfer there later.” He quickly finished eating, cleared his place, and ran upstairs to finish getting ready for school. He noticed that he had a voice mail from Keri. Several of them. “Ugh. How do I explain last night to Keri?” Lance asked himself as he brushed his teeth. Sorry I didn’t call you back. I was too busy getting mugged and stopping bullets in mid-air. Yeah, that would go over just swell. Lance spit out the toothpaste and wiped off his face before running down the stairs. Even with all that had happened the previous night, Lance still managed to think about how many times he went up and down those stairs each morning. Lance grabbed his backpack as he headed out the door and caught up to Eva. “Your face looks a lot better today,” Eva said as Lance opened the driver’s side passenger door and tossed his bag into the back seat while Eva did the same on the other side. “Yeah, thanks for not mentioning that to mom, by the way,” Lance thanked as he opened the car door and got in. “No problem,” Eva replied as she checked herself in the mirror. “Do you think mom noticed the mark?” Lance asked as he pulled the car out of the driveway. He had to focus on backing out, as little children often ran out of the path entrance that led to the neighborhood park just across the street from their house. “Who’s to say?” Eva asked back, applying an extra layer of lip gloss, providing just the right amount of sheen to appear seductive without looking downright slutty. “We have no idea how much she notices and what she thinks of it.” Lance thought about how true that really was. Their mother was usually pretty quiet and never seemed to notice her children’s youthful indiscretions. Either that or she chose not to bring it up with her kids. “Oh, uh, Ryan keeps asking about you,” Lance informed her hesitantly as he drove. He really didn’t want to say anything, since Ryan was his best friend and Eva was his sister, and if things didn’t work out it would put Lance in a very bad situation. Still, he felt somewhat obligated to help Ryan out, and the least he could do was hint to Eva that Ryan wanted to go out with her. “Oh?” Eva asked, trying to hide her interest. “And what does he ask about?” “How you’ve been, um, if you’ve started seeing anyone new since the last time he asked, you know, that sort of thing,” Lance answered. He really, really didn’t like the idea of Eva and Ryan together. “He also mentioned that he really wants to ask you out, but he’s not sure how you’d react.” “Well, I didn’t say no to him at homecoming,” Eva reasoned, a little annoyed that she was having this conversation with her brother, instead of with Ryan.

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“Yeah,” Lance agreed, “But we all kind of figured that was more of a pity date. And besides, that was months ago. If you really like him, just, I don’t know, maybe show it a little.” “Okay, though I think I’ve been pretty obvious,” Eva said sullenly. As Lance pulled into his parking space at school, he noticed that Eva was smiling slightly, as though she were remembering a very pleasant memory, which was a bit unnerving for Lance. Sighing to himself, Lance thought. Well, there’s no stopping it now. I can only hope that Ryan blows it. He walked from his car to the school building, and paused to check to make sure he hadn’t gotten anything on his black track t-shirt. He liked wearing the shirt, and it went well with his jeans and favorite pair of low top, white Adidas’ with the black stripes on the side. There was a meet that night, which meant that the varsity team was supposed to wear the team shirt, and anyone that was caught not wearing the shirt would cause the entire team to run extra laps at practice the next day. Though most of the events were individual, the coaches wanted to display a unified team spirit. A meet also meant another thing to Lance, and that was that he wouldn’t have to work that night. It also would hopefully keep his mind off of the fact that he was almost shot in the face, and that he couldn’t explain how he wasn’t lying cold on a slab in the morgue. Continuing that thought, he also wondered where there was a morgue in this city; Maybe somewhere in the urban city to the north? That had been one of the nice things about living in the suburbs. He hadn’t had to worry about getting shot in the face and where he would end up after that. But, it hadn’t happened, and that was what Lance was trying to focus on. He also should have been focusing on the track meet and the girlfriend he would have to apologize to for not calling the night before. That was all the stress he thought he could handle at the moment. “Hey, Lance,” Ryan called as he ran over to greet Lance at his locker. Ryan was also wearing his official track t-shirt. His hair was longer that Lance’s and it bobbed slightly as he ran to his friend. “Hey, Ryan, I have some good news for you,” Lance said, attempting to fake a smile. “Did you see the papers this morning?” Ryan asked energetically, ignoring Lance’s own news. “No,” gulped Lance, “Why?” “Police caught a pair of druggies trying to mug a guy,” Ryan said excitedly. Was it the same guys? Lance thought. “So what? That’s becoming less and less uncommon these days,” Lance replied, trying to turn Ryan off the subject of the previous night. “So…when questioned by the police on why they were trying to mug someone so out in the open, they told the police that their boss, who the dealers refused to name, demanded

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payment, and they had already failed one mugging attempt earlier,” Ryan stopped for a moment and looked at Lance. “They must have been getting desperate.” “Okay, I’m failing to see what you’re getting at,” Lance remarked, still trying not to let his anxiety show. “Well, and this is the coolest part, the guys said that the first guy beat the crap out of them. Then, when one of the dealers tried to shoot the guy, they claim he stopped the bullet in mid-air, like some of that freaky bullet-time shit.” “Oh, well then, that’s entirely believable,” Lance stated sarcastically. “Next you are going to say that this was from the Enquirer.” “No, man, this was in ‘The Journal’ this morning,” Ryan tried to explain. “And for another thing, this was reported by drug dealers. Drug dealers who had just gotten the crap beaten out of them. They were probably just scared, and well, not feeling so great from the beating,” Lance reasoned, trying to convince Ryan that what was in the paper wasn’t true. Lance reached for the folded up newspaper and snatched it out of Ryan’s hands. “Give me that. See, it says there weren’t any witnesses and that even the dealers couldn’t remember exactly where it happened.” “Still, this is, like, everything teenage guys dream about,” Ryan said. “My breasts?” Keri asked, popping up next to Lance and kissed him on the cheek, having to stand on her tiptoes to do so. “Mornin’ hun.” “For once, no, Ryan wasn’t commenting on your chest,” Lance replied, trying to hide the pain as Keri leaned on his bruised shoulder. “Really? That has to be a first,” Keri said jokingly. She was back to her normal sweet self, completely ignoring the fight she and Lance had had the day before. “So what were you guys talking about, then?” “The genius here thinks there’s a guy out there who can stop bullets,” Lance explained. “Hey, it’s in the paper…” “Do you believe everything that’s in the paper, and besides, it’s just giving the drug dealer’s account of what happened, it doesn’t say that this is fact.” “And Ryan is believing drug dealers now?” Keri interjected. “And does he know kungfu?” “Well, no to both, but still, it’s kind of cool,” Ryan said, defeated. There was no way he was going to win this argument. Besides, he wasn’t actually sure of what he believed, which is exactly what Lance had wanted. The three teens walked to Lance and Ryan’s first class together. “But what about those other reports of stuff like this?” Ryan asked. “You mean rumors? There isn’t any proof that anyone out there has any type of super powers.” “So, hun, why didn’t you call me back last night?” Keri asked subtly as they strolled along through the thinning hallways.

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“I got out of work late, so I just went home and crashed,” Lance replied. “I’m really sorry about that.” “It’s okay. I just get worried about you sometimes. You run yourself ragged as it is, what with school and track,” Keri said as she squeezed Lance’s waist. At only five foot six, Keri was almost an entire foot shorter than Lance, so she was easily able to wrap herself around his waist. “The long days just worry me.” “Well, I have another one today,” Lance stated, pulling on the shirt he was wearing to make his point, “But not nearly as stressful. You coming tonight?” “If I can get a ride out there. I’m not allowed to drive right now, remember?” Keri reminded Lance. Of course he remembered, as Lance had been the cause of her current punishment. The two had broken Keri’s curfew several times too many. “Ah, yes, your mom,” Lance said, “Well, either way. I should be able to call you afterwards tonight, unless I pass out from exhaustion again.” He was joking, of course, but saying such things around Keri caused her to worry, which Lance found cute. “And they have film of that guy in England…” Ryan broke in. “That’s like saying they have video proof of Big Foot. Get over the ‘super powers’ thing already,” Lance said before kissing Keri goodbye. “Next you’ll be saying you have proof that the Martians and vampires have secretly invaded the government. Just focus on the meet tonight.”

The rest of the day was mostly uneventful, with no fights between Lance and Keri. There was also no mention of the argument from the day before. The biology teacher was back in class that day so Lance had to take the test. It was hard for him to focus, his mind being preoccupied with everything that had happened to him lately. He kept thing that he was lucky to not only be alive, but that no one witnessed the attempted mugging. He would never have another moment of peace if someone had. That, and as he stared at the teacher, he was beginning to see why a lot of the male students did poorly in biology. Lance also found himself worried about the victim of the drug dealer’s second failed attempt. Were they okay? The paper really hadn’t said. If the thugs hadn’t tried to jump Lance first, then the other guy might not be hurt at all. Or they could have found this other guy first, and he’d be in trouble anyway. That thought bugged Lance and it nagged at him the rest of the school day. Thankfully, the track meet allowed Lance’s mind to take a rest and just focus in on his events. Hey man, you doing okay?” Matt, one of the younger runners, asked. “Ryan says you’ve been like this all day.”

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“Yeah, no, I’m fine,” Lance said, getting ready to warm up for his first hurdles event, which was the high hurdles. This was the one he liked best, as it really allowed him to use his longer legs to his advantage. “Is it lady problems?” Matt asked, referring to the argument between Lance and Keri in the school’s cafeteria. “Yeah, something like that,” Lance said, trying to unofficially confirm that as the reason to his troubles. He very well couldn’t come out and say. “No, the reason I’m distracted is because two dumbass drug dealers tried to jump me, and I fought them off until I managed to stop a bullet right before it collided with my face. Then, these same two drug dealers tried to jack someone else, got caught by the cops, and then relayed the whole thing to the police.” That was a mouthful, and it wouldn’t be a good idea to say that to anyone anyway. Lance, having talked about his personal problems with enough people, went out to the field alone where he ran through a few warm-ups while he waited for the final announcement to be made for his event. After several minutes of waiting, the announcement was finally made, and Lance jogged briskly to the event’s starting line. He shook out his worries as he shed his warm-up clothes. The black, red, and white jersey that displayed his school’s name had come untucked from the tiny black cloth that was considered shorts. He quickly tucked the jersey back into the tiny black shorts and continued on in his routine. The ritual brought about a stability to his mind that he had not felt all day. Out there on the track, preparing to run, there were no drug dealers, no freaky super powers. Just one hundred and ten meters and a set of hurdles stood between him and the finish line. “Ready…” the referee said and the runners ran through some quick stretches before settling down in to the starting blocks. As he settled into the blocks, where Ryan stood on the back to hold them down, Lance’s mind flashed back to what the coaches had told him. “’Don’t be the first one in the blocks, your body will just freeze and tense up that way,” one of the coaches had told him. He had so many; he couldn’t remember which one had said it first. “Do something, stretch, shake your legs out, do a little dance, anything to keep your body moving and loosened up. It could be the difference between second and first place…” Lance coiled up into the blocks, taking one final breath, letting his anxiety bleed from his body. It was perfectly natural to be nervous, even useful, if that energy could be properly harnessed. He could feel the wind blowing through the fields, his body adjusted to it naturally. Even a slight breeze could throw a runner off balance if the were not aware and prepared for the wind. “Set…” Lance shot his backside up into the air. It was something every runner Lance had ever known had smirked about doing during practice, but somehow it didn’t seem so silly when it came down to race time. The black, tar-like substance of the track stared up at him, and he could see the whole of the track in his mind. Every hurdle, every line was there in his brain.

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“Go!” the ref yelled as the gunshot from the starter pistol pierced the air. What had seemed like forever had passed by in mere moments, and Lance knew that it was less than sixteen seconds from the pistol shot to the finish line. As Lance raced out of the blocks, he could hear the cheers from the spectators and teammates as he flew by, pushing himself to run faster, to keep his stride, to not fail. He could feel the hurdles as he ran over the track. The race was close, Lance could tell. He did not have to look, and wouldn’t have, even if he was compelled to do so, as it would break his stride and concentration. No, instead, he instinctively knew where the other runners were on the track. One had hit the first hurdle, which had then traveled into the path of the runner next to him. Both would be disqualified, for the runner who made the initial impact had hit more than the allotted amount of hurdles, and the second because he had instinctively side-stepped into another lane to avoid colliding with the flying red and white piece of plastic. Lance always felt bad when that happened, as it wasn’t really the runner’s fault another person had knocked a hurdle into the lane, and all the runner did was step out of the lane to avoid injury. It was coming down to the last moment, the final straight away after the last hurdle, where so many of the races were decided. It was between Lance and one other runner, who was from a rival school. Then again, when in high school, all of the schools were in hated rivalries. It had been a split decision, as both runners had seemingly crossed the finish line at the exact same moment. They would have to wait for the official times, Lance figured, as he walked back to his designate spot at the finish line, struggling to catch his breath, his lungs burning from the sudden exertion. An attractive young lady, who was a student from the hosting school’s female track team, had recorded Lance’s time. It was a fairly common practice to have the junior varsity members of the men’s team and members of the girl’s team work the various events of a meet. This particular girl was a red head and wore a tight pink tanktop that didn’t show off much in particular, but Lance silently appreciated the effort. The girl read off what the stopwatch had recorded and told Lance that he had officially finished second. It was the part of the race that Lance had always found unsettling, being timed by a person. The timing of the runner was done by people with stopwatches and it relied heavily on the visual acuity and reflexes of the person doing the timing. The timer pushing the stop button even a split second late meant the race for him, and it was always in Lance’s mind that he wondered if he had lost races due to this unaccountable human error. He had also discovered that it was incredibly pointless to bring this fact up to anyone, as it was considered to be having ill will towards the most gracious host team to be thinking these types of thoughts.

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Lance, out of breath and feeling angry at the outcome of the race, turned towards the inside of the track, congratulated the winning runner, and then trotted over to the starting line, where his warm-up clothes still laid. “Lance, that was one hell of a race,” Coach Reynolds declared as he extended his arm. Lance reluctantly accepted the handshake, and then continued on towards his destination. “Yeah, I know,” Lance said, avoiding eye contact with his coach. “No, I mean it. You had him beat. We’ve gone through all of this before, and you know it’s not just you; all of the teams say the same thing when they’re at our school. Besides, you’re still closing in on that record,” Reynolds said. It was true. If it hadn’t been for the previous season, Lance probably would’ve already been on the top of the records list for the schools, and probbly the state’s, high hurdles event. As it had been, he hadn’t been very far off. “Now go get your sweat back on, and stay loose. We’re counting on you in the ‘lows’,” referring to the three hundred meter low hurdles event. At almost a full lap around the track, Lance hated the race for the distance alone. He was not a strong distance runner to begin with, but throwing in hurdles, at any height, just seemed like sheer torture. Yet, it just so happened, that despite his displeasure for the event, Lance was actually pretty good at it. And, however grudgingly, was one of the few members of his track team to actually be willing to run in the event. His team needed the points, counted on them, and Lance always tried his best not to let his team down. He turned away from his coach and trotted down the side of the field, still feeling disappointed in himself, knowing that it wasn’t entirely his fault. At least, he knew it in his own mind. Still, Lance was told that he was supposedly still on track to a record breaking season, and to even let anyone else finish close enough to him that it had held the outcome in dispute was just not good enough for him. He would come at the next race with a vengeance, he decided, leaving no room for such a dispute. After gathering up and putting on his official team warm-up clothes, Lance decided that it’d be best for him to cool down by stretching somewhere out of the way of any other athlete. He found such a spot by the discus throwing field. As exciting as it was to hear how far some of these guys could throw that small Frisbee-like object, it was also equally boring to actually watch. As such, it was the perfect spot for Lance to momentarily wallow in his own self pity while stretching out his tightening muscles. He didn’t much care for the sight of large teen males looking like they had to use the bathroom as they grunted and threw the discus out into the field, away from where Lance had chosen to sit down. It was quiet, aside from the occasional yelp of the thrower and the response of the distance being called out from an official in the field. “Why do they always yell like that?” Lance asked himself, “Do they think it helps them throw further?”

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Of course, why does anyone make a loud grunting noise whenever there is quick physical exertion? Lance thought. Is it really a natural reaction, or is it something we’re taught for dramatic effect? Lance did not really have an answer; it was just something to ponder as he went through his preprogrammed routine of cool down stretches. He finished up his cool down exercises without thinking of too many more profound thoughts and stood up, grabbing onto the fence for balance, his back towards the throwers. He noted that he was probably a good two or three feet taller than the metal, chain-link fence, and wondered what real protection it would offer in the case of an errant discus. As if in response to the thought, Lance heard the sound of crunching gravel, the usual grunt, and whiz of the discus as it flew through the air. No, it wasn’t the usual grunting noise, as he noted a hint of panic in the thrower’s voice. Something had gone wrong. Before Lance could react, he heard a, “Look out!” come from behind him. Panic struck Lance as he started to twist around to see what was happening. He didn’t have time to react, but he felt something, the same something as the night before. A sort of tingling sensation as he noticed that the discus had struck him in the head, at least, it should have. Shimmering in the cool spring breeze were the same ripples in the air that had appeared around the gunshot the night before. “Oh my god! Dude! Are you all right?” the discus thrower exclaimed as he rushed over to check on Lance. The teen was one Lance hadn’t recognized but had presumed was the thrower of the object that should have struck him. He looked like what Lance had expected, thought, being large and fairly muscular. “Yeah, no, I’m fine,” Lance replied, feeling for lumps or gashes on his head, just to make sure what he said was true. He felt none, which he took as a good sign. “That thing totally nailed you,” the thrower insisted, repeating what he knew to be true. “Are you sure you’re okay? ‘Cause I’ve seen it in movies where the guy gets hit, and he thinks he’s fine, but then his head falls off, like, right after.” “Well, I don’t think that could happen from a discus, even if it had hit me, which it didn’t,” Lance replied. By this point, the other athletes and coaches from the throwing even had made their way over to Lance to make sure he was indeed all right. “I didn’t see what happened, are you all right?” one of the coaches asked. “I’m fine,” Lance said, offering his uninjured head as proof. “See? No damage done. The thing must have just missed me.” The coaches all muttered a few words and the other athletes took verbal jabs at the thrower, who had already been worked up into a frenzy. He was sure the discus had hit the student athlete who stood in front of him. He took another look at Lance, then at the discus, then back at Lance. “Well, as long as you’re okay,” the thrower decided, before turning back to the field to complete his turn at the event.

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Lance watched the teen walk away before beginning the trek back to his team’s bleachers. He let out a sigh of relief as he walked and kicked a stone as he remarked on how lucky he had just been. “That was a close one,” he said to himself as he trotted along. He made his way back to the stands where his team had set up camp. “Hey, man, where’d you go?” Ryan asked as Lance bounded up over the steps and benches that made up the bleachers. “To cool off,” Lance replied. “Eh, I know what you mean man. You were totally robbed out there,” Ryan said. “You just missed the excitement over at the throwers pit. It was some crazy shit. One of the throwers said he nailed another guy in the head. Best part is, the thrower said that it didn’t even affect the other guy. Crazy, huh?” “Yeah, if it were true,” Lance said. “What do you mean?” Ryan asked blankly. He obviously hadn’t heard that Lance was the ‘other guy’ that the thrower had claimed to have hit. “I was the ‘other guy,’ Ryan, and the disk didn’t hit me, see,” Lance said, once again pointing to his head as evidence of a near miss. “Not a scratch on me.” “Either that or your invincible, man,” Ryan laughed as he stood up. “Now come on, I’ve got a race to beat you in.” Lance sprang to his feet and the two walked back down the steps to the infield of the track, which, during the fall season was the football field, to warm up for the next hurdles race. The loss in the high hurdles must have done something to Lance, as he finished first in the ‘lows,’ with Ryan at a respectable distance in second. The points the two earned helped push their team into the overall lead to win the meet for their school

It was on the bus ride home that Ryan decided to share with Lance the events that had transpired during the downtime between when school ended and when the team had boarded the bus. “So…” Ryan said, interrupting the tranquil silence of the after-meet victory. He was obviously nervous about what he was about to say. “So…?” Lance replied, breaking out of the trance that seemed to be a part of the bus ride home once the medals had been handed out. By that point, half the team had finally passed out from exhaustion, and Lance had been reveling in the silence. Lance clutched his own medals tight in his fist; as if his grip loosened he might accidentally drop one. It was an odd habit, Lance knew, as he noticed his knuckles had turned white, but he still didn’t want to risk losing any of his medals. “So…” Ryan repeated.

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“Are you going to tell me you’re going to go out with my sister or not?” Lance replied as he turned the gold and silver medals over in his hands, the metal quietly clinking together. “You know?” Ryan stammered out, the expression on his face was a mixture of surprise and fear. “Well, you only act like this when you’re really nervous, and since you’re only this nervous because of girls, one in particular, it was either that or you’re coming onto me at a really awkward time,” Lance reasoned, the jovialness in his voice an attempt to ease the growing tension. “You’re not mad?” Ryan asked sheepishly. “Not nearly as mad as I’d be if I had to hear another day of that ‘does she like me?’ crap.” “Ha, ha, yeah,” Ryan said, relieved. Lance leaned in closer, the only sound being the clinking of metal coming from the medals in Lance’s hand. “Besides, if you ever hurt her, I will kill you…” “Uh huh,” Ryan managed to spill out. He was now rethinking the situation that he had gotten himself into. “And if you’re thinking of not going out with her at all, that does count as hurting her.” Ryan shot up straight in his seat with a freaked out look on his face. “Seriously man, how are you doing that?” “It’s easy, you’re just that obvious.” The rest of the bus ride home was silent as Lance contemplated all of the changes his life had suddenly gone through. He knew one thing was for certain, the previous night hadn’t just been a fluke. He was capable of something. He just wasn’t entirely sure of what yet.

“Hey big brother,” Eva greeted as Lance walked in the door. She was obviously excited about something, not knowing that Lance already had figured out why. “How’d it go tonight?” Lance replied by plunking the two medals down onto the counter. Eva peered over at the gold and silver medals as Lance bent over to untie his shoes, making an over exaggerated groan as he kicked them off. He had walked back from the counter to the back door, where he normally kept any pairs of shoes he wasn’t wearing. “Silver again, huh?” she commented. Lance started into the kitchen before Eva could say, “Mom doesn’t like it when you leave your shoes by the door, remember?” Lance made a cross between a growl and a sigh to indicate that he was too tired to care. “Oh,” Eva exclaimed, as though she had just remembered something of the utmost importance. “There’s something that I wanted to talk to you about.” Lance cut her off, “I already know, and I already threatened him.” “Uh, he is still taking me out though, right?” she asked, worried that her older brother had once again scared off a potential suitor. He had done so once before, as he had been brandishing

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a baseball bat in his hands when he answered the door for Eva’s very first date. Lance had found the whole thing to be hilarious; however, his parents had not. “Yes, I made sure of that,” Lance grinned, remembering Ryan’s reaction on the bus ride back to school. “What did you…no, wait, I don’t think I want to know,” Eva decided. “You’re not mad about it, are you?” “How could I be? I’m the one who set it up,” Lance opened the refrigerator to his right and pulled out the plastic carton of milk. He opened the cupboard door to the left of the fridge and pulled out a glass. As he poured the milk, he looked over at Eva and offered her a glass. “No, thanks,” she looked at him hopefully, “You’re really not mad?” “I’m really not,” he replied. “I think I’m going upstairs now.” He took the glass of milk in one hand, and, with the other he slung his backpack over his shoulder. He felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket as he trudged up the stairs. The caller ID read that it was Keri, so he flipped the phone open. “Hey, hun, I was just about to call you,” Lance said. Keri was probably at home, waiting impatiently for his call. “I know, but I figured I’d call first,” Keri replied sweetly. “How’d you know I’d be home and not driving, where answering your call would’ve led to my horrible, horrible death?” he asked. Lance entered his room, careful not to spill his milk, and closed the door behind him. “Stop it! Don’t talk like that,” Keri pleaded. Lance joked about his own death frequently, much to Keri’s dismay, “and you wouldn’t have picked up if you were.” “True,” Lance admitted. “So, I missed you at the meet tonight.” In all honesty, he probably wouldn’t have noticed if Keri had even been there, but he knew for sure that she hadn’t been. “I’m sorry. None of the other girlfriends were going either,” Keri explained. Lance knew that wasn’t entirely true, but it might have well been. “That’s not true,” Lance persisted. “Well, no one went that I wanted to be stuck going down there with,” Keri reasoned. That was true, as most people did not get along with the girlfriend that had driven out to the track meet. She did it to talk up her boyfriend, Kyle, and to put down the other athletes. “Not even to see me in all of my short-shorts glory?” Lance teased. “Hun…” Keri pleaded. “I know, I know, no one likes her. I hear the only reason Kyle puts up with her at all is because she puts out something fierce,” he joked. Actually, the rumors Lance had heard were that she did put out, just not always with Kyle. And not always with men. That little tidbit was probably one of the only reasons that Kyle even stayed with his girlfriend, as it was essential part to every teenaged guy’s greatest fantasy.

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“Is that the only reason you stay with me?” Keri asked sweetly, knowing what the answer would be. “Considering the fact that we, y’know, haven’t…done that. I would say that’s a definite no,” Lance stated. “So, what? You’re saying is that after the first time we make love, you’re going to leave me?” she asked. Lance couldn’t tell if she was joking or not, and that worried him. “Yes, the first time that we do it, I’m going to finish up, look deep into your eyes, and say, ‘That was okay.” Then, I’m going to open your window and just crawl out, never to be seen again,” Lance said just as dryly and sarcastically as he could. “Ha, ha, hun,” Keri replied, equally sarcastic. Though, the mental image of the perfect night with candles and soft music only to be interrupted by a statement of inadequacy and Lance’s naked form slinking out an open window did emit a chuckle from both Lance and Keri. “So, anyways…” Keri said, as she tried to change the subject. “Anyway,” Lance corrected. “There is no‘s’.” “Anyway, how’d you do?” she asked, using Lance’s correction. Lance relayed the day’s event with Keri’s usual replies of acknowledgement. He left out the part about getting his by the discus, as he knew he wouldn’t be able to explain it away logically. “Robbed again, huh?” “Yeah…” “Why don they, I don’t know, get people besides the home team to do the timing?” “Well, that’d be inconvenient, I suppose, and to hire an impartial group of timers would cost money. Most of the schools’ programs are squeaking by as it is. So, I suppose, that this is probably the best way,” Lance concluded. He didn’t like it, but there didn’t seem to be any use in dwelling on it, especially since he had something much more important to deal with at that moment. The two teens discussed their days and made sweet small talk before Lance unexpectedly blurted out, “Oh, by the way. My little sister is now going out with my best friend.” “Oh,” was all Keri could say at first. She was totally shocked by the news. “He finally asked her out, huh?” “Yeah, but only because I told him to,” Lance explained. He still wasn’t happy with it, but he again realized that he had a much bigger problem that required his attention. After awhile, Lance looked at the clock and said, “It’s late, and I still have homework I have to get done.” After Keri grudgingly said goodbye and Lance did the same, he snapped shut his cell phone and got up off of his bed. “Okay,” he said to himself. “This has happened twice in two days now. So, how am I doing it?” He scrounged around his room for something he could use a projectile, as the both objects he had magically deflected had been stuff flying at him.

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Lance scooped up a yellow-green tennis ball, concentrated as hard as he could on blocking the ball, and threw the ball as hard as he could against the wall. He prayed for the best as he squeezed shut his eyes. The tennis ball connected with a loud thump against Lance’s forehead. This got Lance to thinking that maybe it wasn’t him that was stopping stuff in mid-air, that maybe it was someone around him that kept saving his life. But, as far as Lance could tell, there hadn’t been anyone else around the night before, especially not someone who would have also been at the track meet. So, it probably is me. I just don’t know how to control it yet. Lance thought as he threw the ball against the wall again. I can work on that…hopefully. The ball bounced back and nailed Lance in the shin. It didn’t hurt too much, but the repeated strikes against his flesh were starting to cause bruises. He decided to give it one more try and launched the ball against the wall. It unexpectedly shot right back towards the most sensitive area on a man’s body. Without time to react, Lance knew that it was going to hurt. But the ball never reached its destination, as it bounced harmlessly away from him. The now familiar ripples in the air were visible right in front of his groin. “Hm? Well, that’s something,” Lance said, as he had successfully triggered whatever it was that was protecting him. “Every time I panic, this thing kicks in and saves me.” There was a tingle in his body, Lance found, as he tried to relax. It had been there every time Lance saved himself from harm. The feeling went away after a moment, and Lance was left wondering if he could somehow replicate it. I don’t even know which muscle to flex, he thought as he tried hard to concentrate, but he couldn’t get that feeling back, and he didn’t want to risk hitting himself in the crotch, so he gave up. “Well, that’s enough for tonight,” he said aloud as he got ready for bed. His mind was racing with ideas of how he might be able to control his newfound ability. As he settled into bed, he thought, So what? In extreme cases I can protect myself from serious injury? What can I possibly do with that? Lance couldn’t imagine that in the hours of his sleep that question would be answered for him.

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Chapter Three Lance awoke the next morning feeling much better than he had the previous night. The fatigue from the track meet was now gone, replaced by the feeling that things were finally coming together. The past two days had been those of revelation and discovery. And now that he had learned some thing about his new ability, he felt good. That was, until he read the newspaper while he ate breakfast. “Drug dealers out on bail, commit murder,” the headline on the front of the paper read. Lance’s stomach dropped as he knew what was coming. The dealers that Lance had fought two nights before had been released on bail the previous afternoon. In what the police called a gang land hit, the deals were accused of committing murder. No! Lance shouted in his mind. How could this happen? How were those guys even out of jail? They attacked me, and then tried to mug someone else. Lance started to blame himself for the murder. Maybe, if he had fought harder or…or what? Killed them? That’d be the only way to stop them. It wasn’t really his fault, he knew, but he still had a feeling that told him he could have, and should have, done more. He was tired of seeing violence everywhere he went. It bombarded him constantly. At school, work, everywhere. It was always on the news, on the internet, in the newspaper, even on his cell phone. The only place that didn’t shove the death and decay of society at him was video games, and even that was changing. “That’s it,” Lance told himself quietly. That’s enough. I have had enough. I can stop this. I have to. I have the power. I have to do this. It was a quiet resolution to himself. He had always known that the world was slowly wasting away around him, and now he could do something to change that. It would be hard, Lance knew, to control the power that he had been given. But he would control it; use it to stop the violence. He would…do what? For all of his big talk and bravado, Lance still didn’t know the first thing about fighting crime. Scratch that, the only thing he knew came from the comic books he had read growing up. As absurd as that sounded, that at least gave him a place to start, some methods to try, but he needed some test subjects. As he stared at the police photographs of the two drug dealers that had attacked him, letting their faces sink into his mind, Lance knew where to find two perfect lab rats.

The rest of the morning of his big epiphany was rather quiet. Once at school, he greeted Keri, where she apologized again for not showing up to his track meet. They walked to his first class quietly, holding hands like teens do.

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“So, aren’t you, like, late for your first hour class, like, everyday?” Lance noted. He hadn’t really thought about it before, but it was true. If Keri walked with him to class every morning, and the bell rang just after Lance ducked inside his class room, then how would Keri get to her class on time? “I’m not that late,” Keri reasoned as she grasped Lance’s arm tightly and batted her eyes at him. “But if you don’t want me to…” “No, no, I didn’t say that. It was just something I thought of,” Lance replied quickly. “I love every moment I spend with you. As long as you don’t get into too much trouble...” “I don’t, and besides, it’s totally worth it.” The two embraced, kissed quickly, then exchanged parting words and went their separate ways. Ryan was already in class and tried to pretend that he hadn’t seen his friend walk into the room. Lance took the seats next to Ryan and stared. Ryan glanced over at his friend and nearly fell over from surprise when he saw Lance’s intense, bulging eyes. “What?” Ryan asked, as he struggled to get back into his seat. “You better not be thinking what I think you’re thinking.” Ryan paused for a moment, the silence between them thick. “Maybe I shouldn’t go out with your sister, man.” “What did I tell you last night? Besides, she’s already really excited about it. You back out now and it would crush her.” “Are you sure you’re okay with this?” “Yes, but promise me you won’t make out with her in front of me.” “I can’t promise anything,” Ryan grinned before being interrupted by the teacher. “Now that you two have talked through half of my class, think you might want to try paying attention?” “Uh…y, yes,” Ryan and Lance stammered out in unison. They had only really talked through the first five minutes, but they both took the hint.

On the way to the next class, Ryan kept opening his mouth to say something and then hesitated. “Spit it out already,” Lance commanded. “Are you a psychic?” Ryan finally asked. “Wait, what? Psychic?” Lance responded. That was one of the most ridiculous things he had ever heard anyone say about him. “Yeah, you know, a mind reader?” Ryan explained. Lance just looked at him like has crazy. “I know what a psychic is,” Lance said, irritated. “Why do you think I’m a psychic?” “Because, you always seem to know what everyone is thinking,” Ryan explained. Lance didn’t always know what people were thinking.

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Very often he wished he could get inside of Keri’s head and truly see what she thought of him. Maybe also see if she had been completely faithful, while he was at it. “And you dodged that discus yesterday...” “No, I’m not a psychic,” Lance replied, then added sarcastically, “But I can stop bullets.” “Really?” “Yeah, and I can fly, and punch through walls. I also have X-ray vision,” Lance said, looking Ryan up and down. “Eva’s not going to be impressed.” “Ha ha, very funny,” Ryan said, then instinctively looked down to his groin. Lance just smiled and shook his head. The two friends walked to class, all the while Ryan not knowing that Lance had been serious when he said he was able to stop bullets.

The rest of the day had passed by easily. Lunch came and went without a fight, for the second day in a row, and the workout for track practice hadn’t been all that strenuous. That was a good thing in Lance’s mind, because he had concocted a plan on what he was going to be doing that night. That was going to be his first big night as…as what? A superhero, a vigilante? Lance wasn’t sure, but he knew that what he was going to be doing was the right thing. It had to be, as Lance had to be absolutely sure of himself. He thought that this was his chance to clean up the city, that he could make a difference, and it was his chance to show to himself and the world that he could make a difference, to do what needed to be done. Even if no one else would ever know it was him. And what is that? Lance asked himself. Murder? I can’t do that. But what good is putting them in prison if they can get out less than a day later? Maybe, just beating the piss out of them will be enough. God I hope so. He would go out after work, he decided. He worked late enough that if he came home later than usual, no one would notice. Besides, his last stop of the night wasn’t that far out of the way, anyway. Lance watched the clock continuously as he waited for the end of his shift to come. Finally, ten o’clock rolled around and Lance bade the other employees’ adieu. He walked up the stairs quickly and punched out. He walked back down the stairs a few minutes late, hoping no one would notice that he changed clothes in the meantime, which he never did during the week. He supposed that he could have just changed in the parking lot, away from the view of the other employees, but he could have been caught by someone who just happened to be passing by at that exact moment.

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No, it was better to risk being seen in different clothes by employees and explain that away rather than be seen naked by a stranger, or, worse yet, the police. That would’ve stopped his mission pretty fast if that had happened. He had changed into a dark blue sweatshirt in order to blend into the shadows, as he didn’t want to wear black. He had learned in history class that the Germans had painted the underside of their planes black during the blitzkrieg, but they might as well have been painting it white. The night wasn’t nearly as dark as everyone thought, and, while darker colors worked well for blending in, people could spot out pure black fairly easily. At least, that’s what Lance remembered from his history class. Wow, Lance thought. He grinned as he walked out to his car. School actually taught me something useful. Maybe I really should pay attention more often. Heh, but if they only knew what I was doing with what they taught me. Lance opened his car door and got in, praying that it would start. Thankfully, it did, and Lance quickly pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road. After what seemed to be a long few minutes later, Lance arrived at his destination; a small gray brick building that laid down a side street. It was on his way home from work, and was only a couple of blocks down from the grocery store, so it worked out rather conveniently for Lance that this was where he would start his mission. Sizing up the situation, Lance decided to park his car at a public park across the street from his destination, checking to make sure no one was out on the road paying attention to him, and then locked and exited the vehicle. He crept across the parking lot and street, and stood silently in front of the building, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to do. His hand shook as he tried to calm down his nerves, but he was having trouble. Being a kid with a fantasy of confronting evil and righting wrongs was one thing, but he was about to actually do it, and the thought that it could all go terribly wrong terrified him. Still, he forced himself to go forward with his plan, as meager and haphazard as it was. “This is it,” he told himself. “Whatever happens now, I can’t go back.” He could’ve backed out then, as he hadn’t actually done anything yet. No one would have known he was there. But he knew then that he had no choice; that if the men inside the building hurt anyone else, it would be his fault, especially now that he had the power to stop it. With that final thought, Lance opened the door and walked in. There was no going back now that Lance had crossed that threshold.

“Hey, what’s that?” a voice called out from the dark. “Boss, is that you?” Lance recognized the voice. It was one he had never wanted to hear again, yet it was one that he was about to hear at length. The voice was that of one of the drug dealers that had tried to kill him two nights before

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If they hadn’t tried to kill him, then Lance would never have discovered his ability, and he’d be at home now, in bed, without a care in the world. The men, in essence, had robbed Lance of a part of his innocence, and that angered him. He let the anger he felt bleed into his voice as he responded to the man’s calls into the darkness. “Not exactly,” Lance growled. “Why, were you expecting someone?” Lance stepped into the light to reveal his face to the two prisoners. “You. How’d, where, how’d you get into prison?” the dealer stammered out. “It’s only a couple of holding cells attached to the police station,” Lance pointed out. The forms of the dealers were coming into focus as Lance’s eyes adjusted to the light. “Just a little place to keep pieces of trash like you until they can get you to a real prison. Seeing as how that isn’t until tomorrow, I thought we could have a little chat first.” It really hadn’t been difficult for Lance to sneak into the holding area. There hadn’t even been a cop at the front desk when he walked in, and, as far as he could tell, there wasn’t any real type of surveillance, electronic or otherwise, in the entire police station. “I aint got nothing to say,” the first dealer said, feigning confidence, but Lance ignored him. “Like, about your boss. Who is he? Where can I find him?” Lance continued. “We aint talking,” the first one said. He seemed to be the stubborn type, yet he was doing all the talking. Looking him over, Lance thought that the talker might be the on that had tried to shoot him, but it was too dark to tell for sure. The other inmate shifted with a metallic squeak on the cot in the cell, drawing Lance’s attention for a moment. “Yeah, you can’t do nothing to us in here. Not while you’re out there, man.” “Is that so?” Lance asked and he reached over to the side of the cell, out of the dealers’ view. There was a click and then an almost silent hum. “What? What’re you doing?” the man on the cot asked. Lance noted that the two men couldn’t have been that much older than he was. One had a beard that looked like it hadn’t been trimmed in weeks, and Lance thought he might’ve been going bald as well. The other was still on the cot so Lance couldn’t make out any distinguishing features. The door started to slide open and the men realized that Lance had flipped the switch to open up the cell. Normally, from what he could gather, it would have also required a key to open the door, but fortunately for Lance, the key had already been in its place above the switch. The gray steel frame and bars creaked in resistance to the movement as the door opened and the two dealers moved quickly to get out. “Stay,” Lance commanded. The dealer who had already been standing continued to move towards the door. Lance realized that he would have to intimidate this dealer in order to get him to stay still. “You couldn’t kill me when you had a gun, and you will definitely have to kill me to get out now.”

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Mentioning the incident from the other night caused the dealer to freeze in his tracks, awakening the fear that he would indeed not have been able to escape. “Now, this doesn’t have to get ugly. I just want information…for now,” Lance started, as he stepped into the door to the cell, his large frame taking up most of the space. The dealers really would have to go through him to get out now. A panice arose in Lance, as he realized he had been taking too much time, and he knew that if he spent too much more time in the holding area someone would surely notice. “Who is your boss?” “We don’t know. We’re not allowed to see him,” the man on the cot said. He was now sitting up. “Then where do you get your drugs?” Lance asked, getting annoyed. Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea, he thought. What if these punks don’t know anything? “From a guy, you know, he gets ‘em from somewhere, we get ‘em from him,” the one standing informed Lance. The man was too close for comfort, but he hadn’t made any further progress towards the door, so Lance was content to leave the man where he was. Now we’re starting to get somewhere. “A middleman? What’s his name?” Lance asked. He felt the man move a split second before he actually saw it, but Lance was prepared nonetheless. The man rushed forward, and Lance brought up his elbow to meet his attacker’s jaw. Lance followed through with a knee to the gut, knocking the wind from the man’s lungs. Quiet gasps filled the cell as the dealer collapsed to the floor. “That was unpleasant. Now,” Lance said, then asked again, “what’s his name?” “He goes by Big C. Don’t know his real name, I swear.” The man on the cot pushed himself up against the wall, as if to elude Lance’s grasp. “And where might I find him?” Lance pushed on, hoping for a solid lead. If he couldn’t get anything more, then this whole experiment would have been a waste. “I…I…” the dealer on the cot stammered. Lance stepped over the body of the man’s fallen comrade. “Where?” Lance shouted as he crossed the cell. He reached out and shoved the man into the wall. His hands remained on the dealer’s collar bone as he continued his interrogation. “A restaurant. One of those seedy diners on…” the man paused, then blurted out the rest when he saw Lance’s impatience growing. “It’s on Reynolds and Cobalt.” “Thank you,” Lance said as he released the dealer and turned to walk out of the holding cell. He walked through the door and turned around one last time to threaten the dealers. “Oh, and don’t tell anyone I was here, or I’ll be seeing you again. And you really, really don’t want to see me again.”

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Lance shut the door to the cell and was walking out when the door to the main room of the station started to open. He heard footsteps and managed to duck behind the door to the holding area as the police officer came through and looked around. “Hey! You boys in here talkin’ to somebody?” the officer asked. He walked over to the cell to look in on his prisoners. Now that there was nobody blocking his way, Lance took the opportunity sneak through the door that the officer had just come through. “No one but ourselves, man,” the more helpful of the two dealers responded. The dealer Lance had been forced to strike had managed to crawl to the other cot in the cell, but he still didn’t seem to feel like talking. Lance hung just inside the doorway for a moment to make sure the dealers wouldn’t say anything once he left. After he was satisfied that they would keep their mouths shut, Lance walked out of the police station through the front door. Lance stopped about twenty feet from the entrance to the station, puzzled. “Why’d they call me ‘boss’?” Lance asked aloud, coming to the realization that they must have known more than they had told him. “And who posted their bail? They’re small timers, they don’t have that kind of money, do they?” The whole experience had been very rewarding, yet, on the whole, it had seemed too easy. He had been able to just walk in the front door and into the holding area. Plus, the key to the cells had been left in the slot. He was glad for the luck he had, but knew that it wouldn’t always be that easy. He came to the conclusion that it was a decent start, but he had been more lucky than tactful. Still, his stop at the police station had garnered some information that he would hopefully be able to put to use, and he hadn’t gotten hurt, so he chalked up the night as a success. The teen considered going back for more information, but decided it would have been too risky, and after that night, the dealers would be going to a state prison. Lance didn’t think he’d be able to sneak into an actual prison quite as easily as he had the holding area at the police station. After checking to make sure that no one was watching, Lance once again climbed into his car and drove home. He arrived at his house to find that everyone was already asleep, and he crept up the stairs as quickly and quietly as he could so that he wouldn’t wake anyone. Once he was safely in his room, he checked his phone to see if he had received a call from Keri while he had been at the police station as he had checked for messages after getting out of work. He was almost worried to see that she hadn’t called, but was surprised to find that someone else had. There was a voice message from a number he didn’t recognized and was shocked to find that it was from Rain. “Hey Lance, this is Rain,” the message said. “I was, uh, thinking of having some people over, ya know, to watch movies or something, and I was wondering if you’d like to come. You

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can bring Ryan if you want, the more the merrier. Oh, and it’s Saturday night. Hope you cane make it. Talk to you later, bye…” That was strange. Lance couldn’t remember giving Rain his phone number, but of course, he remembered after a moment that he had in the hallway before having that argument with Keri. Maybe Ryan was right, Lance though as he put the phone into the charger and peeled of his sweatshirt. Maybe I should break things off with Keri. I mean, Rain seems more than willing and all. Plus, she’s so very hot. Lance decided, as he took of his work pants and dropped them to the floor, that the next time he went out he’d have to have a costume. He looked around the room at the small piles of dirty clothes and also decided he should probably get around to cleaning his room as well. “Something sleek,” he envisioned as he climbed into bed and pulled the covers over him. “Something that says I mean business.” He yawned loudly as he laid his head down on the pillow. But right now, I need sleep. Lance drifted off, feeling satisfied with a job well done.

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Chapter Four He didn’t feel so bad the next morning either, which was a vast difference from how he had felt the night his ability had manifested. There were no bruises or aches or pains that were new and out of the ordinary, so he didn’t have to worry about covering anything up. Lance woke up that morning with an enthusiasm and energy he knew he shouldn’t feel, but didn’t care. While the previous night hadn’t given him the clear cut answers he had been looking for, it had been a good start. It was a start to cut out the weed that had been creeping over the city before it had the chance to grow out of control. While he started to get ready for school, Lance thought that, if he could make a difference there, in that small town, then he might just try his luck in the far larger city that lay just north of his suburban hometown. He was so excited about his newfound sense of purpose that the thought of having to go to school just seemed boring by comparison. Knowing what he could do and having to keep it hidden from everyone was torture, but he knew it was necessary. With what Lance was planning to do to a good deal of people, he knew keeping his powers a secret was a must. He didn’t know how long he could keep up his ability, even if he figured out a way to use it at will, and he couldn’t protect those around him if someone decided to try to take Lance out. He had seen it before. Well, he had seen it in comic books, anyway. Besides, if anyone found out about Lance’s abilities, he had a feeling that the government suits would come running to snatch him up. That thought stayed with Lance for a long time, which caused him to peer over his shoulder every time he saw a van or person in a black suit pass by.

Lance thought his situation over as he walked into school that morning. The narrow, student-clogged hallways felt even more oppressive as Lance relived the previous night’s events He had felt fee, that he could do anything. Anything within reason, he knew, otherwise he would blow his secret. It was the same thing, day after day, Lance thought, as he saw Ryan approach, weaving his way through the throngs of students. He knew Keri would be coming soon, too. This almost seems like a waste, Lance thought. I could be out there, doing something, cleaning up the streets. I guess not really, too much chance of being seen and ID’ed. Plus, I still have to figure out a costume. Besides, do the bad guys even go out during the day? I should’ve asked those guys when this ‘Big C’ likes to operate. As good as last night went, I probably could’ve planned it out better.

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“Hey, you in there?” Ryan asked. Lance had been so lost in thought that he hadn’t noticed Ryan had finally made his way through the crowd to him. “Yeah, no. I mean yes,” Lance replied, snapping to attention. He quickly thought of an excuse to tell Ryan, putting away the thoughts of discontent, which wasn’t far off from the truth. “Sorry, had a long night.” “Hm? Did you and Keri make up?” Ryan asked, heavily implying that Lance and Keri had made up in a very physical way. “I wish, but we aren’t even fighting right now,” Lance looking away. He feigned the deep thought stare, as though he weren’t even sure what he had just said had been true. “Are we?” “I don’t know,” Keri said suddenly from behind Lance. “What day of the week is it?” “How do you keep doing that?” Ryan exclaimed. He was getting tired of people sneaking up on him, especially Keri, who Lance and Ryan talked about often. Lance wrapped his arms around Keri and squeezed, and Keri squeezed back in response. “Maybe she’s the one with the super powers,” Lance offered. “Hardee, har…hm?” Ryan considered. “You know…” “Okay boys, that’s enough,” Keri interrupted. “Hun, I just came by to see you quick, then I’ve gotta run. I can’t be late for first period again or Schmielson is gonna give me detention.” “See, I told you this was going to happen,” Lance said. He released her from his embrace and Keri squeezed Lance’s hand quickly before turning away. “I know. You don’t have to rub it in,” Keri said. She was already half way down the hall before Lance brought his attention back to what he was doing. He turned to say something to Ryan, but Ryan must have already walked to class, as he was no longer standing next to him. Lance looked around and realized that there was no one else in the hall now. It struck at Lance how alone he really felt. For the past three days, new and miraculous things had been happening to him, yet he couldn’t really share it with anyone. Ryan, in his excitement, would probably tell everyone he could within moments of hearing Lance’s secret. He would probably even pull the “I’ve got a secret, but I can’t tell” scenario where all it would take is a few “come ons” and “tell us” before the “Okay, but you’ve got to promise not to tell anyone else,” followed by the rapid agreement. The next thing Lance would know there would be a slew of reports followed by a cold, steel slab in a government lab somewhere. Lance shook off the image of being poked and prodded by medical instruments, the drawing away of precious bodily fluids, and hustled off to class. Still, the way both Keri and Ryan had left him at once made him think that maybe they already knew. They already knew that Lance had a secret, that he was different, and that was what had made them leave him. Would it really be that bad to tell them? Lance hadn’t yet decided. He also still felt like he should be doing more, but he put those things aside and tried to be comfortable with the whole situation of having to go to school during the day and going out at night.

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It was later in the day when Lance ran into Rain, literally. Again. “Woah, cowboy, easy there,” She said. “Rough day so far?” Her blond hair was pulled back in a pony tail, and she played with the end of it as she talked to Lance. “Night, actually,” Lance replied. “And what does that mean, anyway?” “Easy there cowboy?” Rain repeated, startled. “It’s just an expression. Maybe it had to do with rapid westward expansion. ‘Ease ‘er on down,’ or something like that. I really don’t know.” “It’s alright. I was more or less just thinking out loud. Didn’t mean to put you on the spot there.” The two teens stood in the hallway, sharing an awkwardly silent moment as they tried not to look at each other. It was Rain who finally spoke again. “Oh, hey! Did you get my message?” “About Saturday? Yeah, didn’t talk to Ryan or Keri about it yet, though.” Rain appeared to be upset by something Lance had just said. “Oh…right,” Rain said, trying to hide the disappointment in her voice. It was as if Lance’s suspicions about Rain’s feelings for him had suddenly been confirmed. She had to have a thing for him; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been so upset by Lance mentioning his girlfriend. “What’s the matter with Ryan?” Lance asked, hoping Rain would tip her hand. He knew full well Rain had meant Keri, but he wanted to hear the truth from her. “Nothing, I guess,” Rain replied. She hesitated before saying, “I was kind of hoping you wouldn’t be bringing Keri. She doesn’t seem to like me much.” “She just doesn’t really know you that well,” Lance explained. “That and she thinks you’re trying to move in on her territory.” “And who says I’m not?” Rain said, giving Lance a devilish grin and a wink. “But we’ve got to get going to practice.” Lance looked up at the clock hanging on the wall and agreed. He hadn’t realized what time it was, so he and Rain walked to the locker rooms together. “Try to get some sleep tonight, Lance. The guys are counting on you to break that record.” They had reached the girl’s locker room and Rain said goodbye before going inside.

Practice went by without any incidents and without anyone mentioning that Lance almost had his head taken off by a discus at the previous meet. Lance didn’t work that night, and he had already promised to spend the evening with Keri.

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It was almost a shame to him, because he really wanted to keep building on his success, but, it was a Friday, and he didn’t work, so that pretty much meant that he was stuck doing something with his girlfriend. He didn’t really want to think of it that way, as he had gotten over his earlier feelings of discontentment, but he still felt like his time could be put to better use. Unfortunately, he hadn’t yet figured out an excuse that he could tell anyone so he could pay a visit to ‘Big C’ at the restaurant, but he could’ve spent the time devising a disguise. His next mission, as he had taken to thinking of it, would require something more than a simple ski-mask, and he sure as hell couldn’t confront this person without covering up his face, especially if Big C was as important as Lance hoped he was. No, Lance had had enough of walking into these situations where someone could get a look at his face. It had been worth it with the two dealers at the police station, Lance decided, as it had increased his ability to intimidate the thugs more when they were able to recognize him.

He arrived home after practice at about five-thirty and immediately shed his sweatdrenched clothes. Jumping into the shower, Lance felt the water cleanse his body. It was a good feeling, Lance thought, as he let his mind wander back to making up a costume. Should he make it a costume? A uniform of sorts? Or, should it just be a disguise, Lance wondered. But, again, he didn’t want anyone to spot him and make the connection later. He figured he might get spotted down the line, and the fewer times that happened, the better. Lance also realized that he was getting far ahead of himself. He still had to go to this restaurant and confront ‘Big C’, and violently, if necessary. After that was up in the air really. It was then that Lance knew that he knew nothing for certain. Here he was, a seventeen year old high school student, who may have some extraordinary ability, but beyond that, Lance knew nothing. He didn’t know what to expect at the restaurant, or if his powers would hold up— or even work—for that matter, if it came down to it. Hell, Lance wasn’t even sure how he was going to get through the rest of the week, and it was already Friday afternoon. He tried to slow everything down and just focus on one thing at a time as he turned off the water. After drying off, he donned a black t-shirt and a pair of jeans. First up, Lance thought, a hopefully pleasant even with Keri. He hadn’t decided yet if how he was going to inform Keri of Rain’s get together, or if he was even going to go, but he decided he would cross that bridge when he came to it. Since it was Friday, Lance wouldn’t need to worry about having to get up early for school. He also didn’t work until the early afternoon the next day, so he wouldn’t have to worry about waking up for that, and he got off early enough that, if he decided to go to Rain’s, work wouldn’t interfere with that.

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If he remembered, Lance would try to lay out some “working” clothes before turning in for the night. But, until then, Lance would just focus on having a good time, and maybe blowing off some steam. Being under so much stress, Lance definitely needed to do that. He was having these thoughts that the whole world was just wasting away while he sat in school needlessly. He couldn’t help thinking like that, but he knew it wasn’t true. He needed that part of him, the one that could at least pretend to be a normal person. Lance marveled at how quickly this had all come on him. It had been only a few days since the first time he had manifested his ability, and yet he was already thinking of himself as a an outsider. Walking down the stairs, there was a nagging feeling that he was forgetting about something. He walked out the door still wondering what it was he wanted to remember. The door opened again a moment later and Lance stuck his head back into the house. “Hey, Eva, have fun with Ryan,” Lance called up the stairs. “Thanks, now get going or she’s gonna get pissed.” There was a slight pause, then Lance replied. “And remember…if he touches you, I will kill him.” He could hear the laughter come from his sister’s room. “Okay, just go…” “Dead!” Their mom wasn’t home. She had called Eva before Lance had gotten home to tell them that she would be working late again. What does she do? Lance thought as he unlocked his car, opened the door, and then climbed in. For that matter, what does Dad do? At times, Steven Maxwell seemed to be non-existent to his children. He was always going on cross-country trips for some business meeting or an all-important conference or something like that. Lance wasn’t quite sure what it was that his father even did for a living, only that it kept him out of the house for a considerable amount of time. Whatever it was, Mr. Maxwell must have been doing it well, or his employer wouldn’t have had him traveling around as much as they did, keeping him away from his family. When he thought about it, Lance couldn’t even remember the name of the company, though it must have been a big company, otherwise they wouldn’t have been paying his dad so well. Lance made a mental note to ask his dad about his job the next time he came home. Traffic was surprisingly light for a Friday as Lance made his way to the other side of town, where Keri lived. He passed by the grocery store where he worked, and was very thankful that he didn’t have to be there that night. The town really was the typical modern American suburb; which included the small police station, which Lance had “visited” the other night; a bowling alley, several bars, a newly

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built library, to replace the one that had mysteriously burnt down during the debate on whether the city needed a new library, several fast food places, even more bars, and a bizarrely large amount of tanning salons, some of which were inside bars. There’s plenty for a teen to do here, Lance thought as he drove along. Given that you want to bowl while drinking underage while clogging your arteries and getting skin cancer while doing it all. Yep, always something to do. There was also the rising drug trade, and the corresponding rise in violence, which Lance had vowed to put a stop to. Everywhere he looked there seemed to be an affirmation of why Lance had decided to go forward with his plan. Drug deals were happening in broad daylight now, which is something Lance noted as he passed a convenience store when two cars pulled alongside each other, exchanged packages, and then took off in different directions. “Wow, this place is getting worse than I thought,” Lance mumbled as he cruised through the meager downtown area. Lance recalled the rumor that drugs were even being dealt through the drive-through window of one of the fast-food places. He thought he might check into the validity of that rumor down the line, but for now he figured he should just stick to his original plan. And that was to keep climbing up the dirty scumbag ladder until he reached those responsible for putting the drugs and thugs on the streets. As he reached the neighborhood where Keri lived with her parents and younger brother, Jack, Lance noted how much nicer the streets were there than in the center of town, as though the social decay seemed to spread outward in a circular pattern, like the epicenter of an earthquake. Keri lived in a two-story house with trees in the yard, which Lance couldn’t remember the name of. The gray paint was beginning to peel and Lance recalled he had been volunteered to help repaint it during the summer, assuming Lance and Keri were still dating then. Lance pulled into the driveway, parked, and then got out of the car. Even though it was still spring, the evenings were getting to be quite warm and it looked like it was going to be another hot summer. “I can’t ever get tired of those,” Lance said as he walked to the door. He was about to ring the bell when the door opened. Jack stood behind the door, peering up at Lance. Keri’s brother was twelve, with a medium cut of brown hair. The goofy things that kids think are cool, Lance sighed to himself, then smiled. “Is your sister ready to go?” “Ugh,” Jack sighed back, “Hold on.” The preteen turned his head towards the inside of the house and yelled. “Hey, Keri! Your lover is here!” Keri bounded up to the door and smiled broadly at Lance, pushing her little brother out of the doorway. “Hey hun, you can come in. I just have to go tell my mom I’m leaving.”

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Lance stepped inside the house as Keri walked down a hallway to the home office where her mom had been spending a lot of her time. “What’s happening, Jack-man?” Lance asked, attempting to make conversation while Keri talked to her mother. “Superheroes.” “What?” “Superheroes, man. Don’t you go on the internet, dude? There are videos of them all over the internet.” “Uh-huh. And you don’t think that these are just special effects by, like, movie-makers?” “Shit, no. This guy I know says he saw one once, like, doing some cool shit…” Lance’s pulse quickened. Had someone seen him? He hadn’t thought so, but there was no way he could be positive of that, either. He also noted that a twelve year old had managed to use the same swear twice in one sentence. “A guy you know?” Lance finally managed. Jack hadn’t seen Lance’s hesitation, heard the fear in his voice, as the preteen was already lost in his own little world. “Well, okay, some guy online, but he totally saw it.” Lance felt relieved. It was just another unsubstantiated rumor started on the internet, just like all those other government conspiracy theories. “And now they’re saying there’s even a guy right here…” Jack began as Keri walked back into the entryway. “Finally,” Lance chided Keri. If the conversation had gone on much longer, Lance thought he might have had a heart attack. “My mom wanted to know the usual stuff. Where are we going, with whom, when will I be home, will there be adult supervision, and all that,” Keri blurted out in one long breath. “Yes, damn that parental concern for your well-being and safety,” Lance mocked as Keri put on a pair of shoes. She glared up at him as she tied the laces. “Hey, you do that all the time, too,” Keri said playfully. She reached up and slapped Lance on the arm. “Yes,” Lance replied, “but this isn’t about me.” “Oh, grr. Let’s just go,” Keri huffed and Lance pulled the door open. “See ya, Jack-be-nimble. And stop it with all that superhero stuff. You’re sounding just like Ryan.” Even Jack found that comparison to be insulting.

It was several miles down the road before either of them spoke again. “So, that’s what you and Jack were talking about?” Keri questioned. “Huh?”

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“Y’know, that superhero thing. He’s really obsessed with it now. He spends hours just watching those videos online.” “Yeah, he told me about it while you were taking forever talking to your mom,” Lance rubbed in. “Hey, stop that. And besides, this whole thing is really starting to worry my mom. She’s afraid he’ll do something stupid, like, try to fly or stop and armed robbery, or something.” “Eh, he’ll be fine. It’s a guy thing. Deep down, we all used to dress up with towels and pretend to fly and stuff. Most won’t admit it now, but it just seems to be something that fascinates adolescent males. He’ll get over it, don’t worry.” “You never got over it.” Keri’s words were meant to be insulting, but she didn’t know just how right she was. “Still, that’s horrible to think about.” “What?” “That Jack is an adolescent.” Lance let out a laugh, “Well, I’m not really obsessing anymore. Well, his mind had been secretly devising plans and costumes and such, but he hadn’t really thought of himself as a superhero. Yet. They headed back through town to get to the road that led to the movie theater. Tonight’s date was a movie, and Keri had picked out some trashy looking romance film with the latest teen heartthrob. Lance had reluctantly agreed to go, wishing instead that they were going to a nice action film or comedy. Lance didn’t even know who the leading star was, to be honest, as Hollywood seemed to go through so many. Still, Keri had promised a lot of making out, so at least he had that to look forward to. Lance took a right turn onto Fairview and passed through the traffic lights. It was the only way to get to the theater really. Lance could have taken a back road, but those twirled and twisted around so much that taking on of those roads was actually much more time consuming. As Lance approached the theater, he noticed how crowded it looked. “Well, we’re here,” Lance stated as he turned into the parking lot, “and so is everyone else.” He grumbled as he looked for a parking space, the endless mass of cars becoming a blur of colored metal as he passed. “Hun, just go park in the side lot,” Keri suggested. The lot on the right side of the large theater was usually empty, with only the employees parking there. That night, it was about full, but Lance managed to find what seemed to be the only empty space still in the whole parking lot. “There’s no way all of these people came here to see this crap,” Lance commented. He took Keri’s hand as they walked up to the entrance of the theater. Being as gentlemanly as possible, he even held the door open for her. “I’m sure they’re not all here for the same movie,” Keri assured her boyfriend. The two teens didn’t know just how wrong they were.

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Nearly two hours later, Lance was stiff from being crammed in to a seat in an over crowded theater. And, to make matters much worse, he hadn’t gotten any of that sweet make out action he was promised. Lance stalked out of the theater and began ranting angrily, “Well, that’s two hours of my life I can never get back…” “Oh, come on,” Keri pleaded, attempting to calm him down. She knew that Lance’s anger could easily turn to blame, and that would fall squarely on her for having picked the movie. “It wasn’t that bad.” “No,” Lance sighed, “I guess not. It was just so wonderfully generic.” Keri laughed as Lance unlocked the car and they both got in. Lance looked at her as he started the vehicle. “Besides, it’s all your fault anyway,” Lance stated. And there it was. Keri just sighed, as she knew it had been inevitable. “You’re just upset that it was too crowded in the theater to fool around,” Keri concluded. She had been right on the money with that one. “It’s true,” Lance said as he gave Keri the sad puppy dog look. “I was promised there’d be making out, but there was no making out, and now I’m sad because I wanted to make out.” “Well, you could pull over here and we could take care of that,” Keri purred as Lance grinned from ear to ear. He quickly pulled his car into an empty lot of the local industrial park.

After about thirty minutes of the best making out of Lance’s seventeen year life, he was reminded exactly why he was still dating Keri. “Oh yeah, hey,” Lance suddenly remembered. “Rain is having this thing over at her place tomorrow night.” “I know,” Keri said, which surprised Lance. “She asked me to go right before school let out.” “And?” “And she clearly said that she wasn’t trying to steal you away from me and that she’d love it if I could make it.” “And?” “And I said I already had plans for tomorrow.” “Oh,” Lance said. “What plans?” “Well, I figured you’d still want to go, so I’ll just call up some of my friends and we’ll have a girl’s night,” Keri replied. Lance thought she was being way too reasonable about this, but he didn’t want to press the issue of why. “And you’re okay with that?” Lance asked, referring to him still wanting to hang out with Rain.

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“Of course,” she said. “I haven’t had a girl’s night out in a long time. Just comes with dating the hottest guy in school, I suppose.” “Well, that is true…” “And besides, I assume Ryan is going, and I know he won’t let you do anything stupid.” “That’s also true,” Lance confirmed. She’s being way too nice about this. “Plus, he’ll bring my sister probably.” “Why would he do that?” Keri’s eyes grew wide with sudden understanding. “When did this happen?” “Hm, he asked her right before the last track meet, and they are out on their first date right now. Which, of course, means I may have to murder Ryan in his sleep later tonight,” Lance paused for a moment. “You really didn’t know?” “No, I did. I just forgot,” Keri replied. “I’m sorry, everything’s just been so crazy with track and work and school and all. It just makes it really hard to focus on Ryan going out with Eva.” Not to mention breaking into the police station and interrogating a couple of drug dealers after discovering I have super powers. “That’s still just so weird. And you’re okay with it? I mean, what if it doesn’t work out? You’ll have to take someone’s side.” Keri echoed Ryan’s words and Lance’s own thoughts. He had spent as much time as he could spend going over the facts as best he could, and he could only come to one logical conclusion. “I have to let them try. I doubt they’d even list to me if I told them they couldn’t date, anyway,” Lance stated. He didn’t know for sure if either of them would really have been willing to go behind Lance’s back and pull a Romeo and Juliet on him. Plus, he didn’t think they would have even gotten together if Lance hadn’t been there to nudge them along. “You’re so sweet, hun, putting aside your own feels so that Ryan and Eva can be happy,” Keri said soothingly, then said flatly. “Or, you know, miserable, in case it doesn’t work out.” “Thanks, hun, and you were doing so well there, too,” Lance joked back. “But, just think, if they’re miserable, then they’re going to make me miserable. And, if I’m miserable, then you’re going to be miserable.” “Oh joy,” Keri said sarcastically. “Now I have something to look forward to.” It was then that Lance and Keri heard a sound coming from somewhere outside of the car. “What was that?” Keri asked as the two teens started frantically looking outside. The sound had resembled a scream. Lance could only find darkness, not being able to locate the origin of the horrific noise. He panicked. He didn’t know what he should do, didn’t know whether he even needed to do anything. But if someone was in trouble, Lance would be able to help, especially if his powers were to kick in again, which he hoped they would. Lance had made his decision.

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“Stay here,” he commanded as he opened the door to the car and got out. “Lock the doors and be ready to call for help.” Keri agreed to stay put and not fight him on it as Lance closed the door and cautiously jogged off. As he made his way from the car, he heard the familiar click of the car’s locks behind him. He also saw that Keri was already on her cell phone. He didn’t know for certain who she was talking to, but could guess that it was probably the police. In fact, if Lance had remained within earshot, he would have heard Keri telling an operator that they had heard a scream and that her boyfriend had gone to investigate, but hadn’t come back yet. She told the operator that she heard another scream and was now worried that her boyfriend had gotten hurt.

Lance heard a second cry for help as he crept toward where the voices had been coming from, he noticed a distinct lack of people. There were plenty of houses across from the industrial park, so where was everyone? All of the homes were aglow with lights, indicating that people were home. “They must’ve heard the screams,” Lance told himself. There should be people out investigating the noise, just as he was, if only to discover what had been disturbing their television viewing. He pressed himself against a building, which had formed an alley with another building. This alley was where the screams had been coming from. Contact with the building, or perhaps just being that close to it, had activated the proximity lights. The kind that some business uses to deter night time burglaries. “What was that?” Lance clearly heard. It was a deep, gruff sounding male voice. “I…I don’t know. Please, just let me go,” said a much more feminine voice. Uh-oh. Lance thought. He really hoped that he hadn’t just walked into what he thought he had. He didn’t know how he would react if that girl was actually about to be raped. “Shut up, bitch. And hold still,” the male voice said after a moment. The man was making sure that no one was coming to help his poor victim. “That sure sounds like a rape to me,” Lance whispered to himself. It didn’t sound as the though the man had started yet as he could hear the sounds of clothing being struggled with. Still, Lance braced himself for what he might see as he stepped into the mouth of the alleyway. There weren’t many trashcans or anything else that he always saw in those dark, dangerous alleyways on television. Lance recalled that through the alley there was the shipping dock where two companies received and shipped out their cargo via trucks, which made for a secluded, wide open, out of the way spot. As his eyes adjusted to the light levels in the alley, he was relieved to see that the man was still fumbling with his pants. The girl was on the ground in front of the man, and Lance

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figured she must have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, as the girl didn’t looked like she was dressed to be hanging out in dark alleys with scary rapist men. “Quit squirmin’, or else I’m gonna really make it hurt,” the man threatened. Lance could see that the man was balding and wearing glasses. The rest was just darker clothing that Lance couldn’t make out from where he stood. The man, unlike the young lady, did look to be dressed for what he was doing, as his clothing just seemed to melt into the shadows created by the surrounding buildings. The man was still trying to undo his pants as Lance crept up closer. He thought he could see that the woman’s pants were already pulled down and was about to do something when he stepped on what was probably a piece of glass. The cracking sound was almost deafening in the silence of the darkened alley, and the man twirled around, his hand still holding up his pants. “Who the fuck are you?” the man belted out as he squinted at Lance. “See, now you ruined it,” Lance said, feigning confidence. “I was going to say something all heroic, like, ‘unhand her, foul villain.’ But you just had to go and spoil it with the potty mouth.” “What? What the fuck?” the man repeated. “See, there you go again.” The would be rapist started to pull his pants back up as Lance closed in. His adrenaline was pumping, and he started to feel that now familiar feeling. The feeling that indicated that he had an invisible and, to the best of Lance’s knowledge, impenetrable shield now surrounding his body. Lance caught the glint of metal, a rather wicked looking knife, as the man decided to forego putting his pants back on and lunged at Lance, almost taking him by surprise. There was still almost six feet between Lance and the former wannabe rapist, now wannabe murderer, so Lance could prepare himself for the attack. The drunken attacker, whose pants had now fallen around his ankles, continued to advance on Lance, still brandishing the knife. The man haphazardly swung his knife at Lance. Lance could tell the man was drunk, which, his erratic, alcohol induced state might have actually mad him more dangerous. The attempted rapist, now attempted murderer, swung again, only to have the knife deflected off of Lance’s protective shielding. The drunkard’s eyes went wide with shock and Lance capitalized on the distraction. With a quick shot to the gut from Lance’s knee, the man collapsed. A quick smash to the back of the head ensured the man would be staying down. Quickly realizing that his face was exposed, Lance pulled up the collar of his shirt to cover his face up to his nose. He was definitely going to need some sort of disguise, and now he was mentally making a note on how it would have to be something that he could carry with him. He held one hand over his mouth to keep the shirt from falling down as he walked over to the young woman and offered her his free hand. Since pulling the shirt over his face raised it up

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to reveal his abdomen, even with the trauma she had just suffered, the would be rape victim was still able to appreciate its definition. “Wow,” she muttered to herself as she let Lance pull her from the ground. He was strong too, she noted. Lance tried to ignore her amazement at his physique and was glad that the shirt covered his blushing. “Are you all right?” Lance asked sternly as she managed to stay up on her feet. It was a stupid question to ask, seeing as the young woman, who Lance guessed to be in her midtwenties, would probably be scarred for life. Lance still asked it though, not knowing if the man now crumpled on the ground had hurt her before Lance arrived. “Um, all things considered, I guess I’m okay. You showed before that asshole could do anything to me,” she said, now determined to see his face. With a body like his, she bet he was really cute. That and she wanted a face to go with the man who had probably saved her life. She told Lance as much. “Uh, no. I’d really like to keep my identity secret for now.” Jeez, Lance thought to himself. If ever run into a traumatized girl, all I have to do is take off my shirt and she’ll be cured. Lance jokingly considered that he could save young, attractive, traumatized women millions on psychiatric bills simply by showing off his abs. Lance stepped away from the girl and grabbed the man by his arms. He then proceeded to prop the middle-aged man against the wall. Lance caught the sound of a police siren in the distance, which hastened his effort. Uh-oh, time to go, Lance thought. “Can I ask you a favor?” Lance turned to look at the woman he had saved. “Sure…anything,” she replied. “Could you not mention me being here to the cops?” Lance really didn’t want to explain who he was to the police. “Tell them you kicked him hard in the chest and he fell and hit his head against the wall.” The woman nodded and surprised Lance when she walked up to her attacker and actually kicked him in the chest. Stunned, Lance’s eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open slightly. “I didn’t want to have to like to the police,” she explained with half a smile. Lance grinned back from beneath his shirt, but she could still tell that he was smiling. “My name is Sherry.” The cop cars were getting closer now, Lance could hear. He would have to walk past the shipping dock and double back to his own car without being spotted. And to Keri, who he hoped was still locked in the car. “I’m…” Lance paused, realizing that he hadn’t thought of what to call his “other” persona. “Well, I haven’t come up with a name yet, but you’ll know it’s me when you hear it.” Sherry looked puzzled for a moment, not quite comprehending what Lance was telling her. She didn’t know that Lance planned to do much more heroics and that he was going to dress up in a costume and call himself by a codename.

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Lance was almost out of the alleyway when he turned back and looked at Sherry, who was still standing over her attacker. “I’m glad I got here in time,” Lance said, then disappeared behind one of the buildings. He didn’t hear her following him, though he swore he heard a whispered, ‘so am I.’ He moved quickly now, so that he could avoid the police as they arrived. The sirens were at the entrance to the alley now, and the screeching of tires could be heard. Lance pulled down his shirt as he darted between buildings and smiled when he thought about the reaction he received from Sherry about his abs.

Sure enough, Keri was still in the passenger seat when he bot back to the car. She was also scared as hell when Lance bent over and knocked on the window. Hearing the door locks click open, Lance pulled open the door and got into the car. “Where the hell were you?” Keri asked hysterically. “What happened?” “I don’t know,” Lance lied. “I couldn’t find anything, but the police are here now. They’ll be able to handle it.” Keri looked Lance over real hard. There was something fishy about his explanation. Marks of dirt and dust covered his shirt from where he pressed himself against the buildings to conceal himself and from where Sherry had used Lance to pull herself up. Lance was covered in sweat, and Keri knew that didn’t happen from nothing. “Don’t they, like, need us to stick around, since we called them here?” “I don’t know,” Lance said, turning on the car. He also noticed the time. “Oh shit, it’s past your curfew. Your mom is going to be pissed.” “Yeah, but at least I have a good excuse this time.” Lance pulled the car into reverse and proceeded to take the long way out of the industrial area. Keri realized this and felt Lance wasn’t really being honest with her. She wondered what had really happened. Did Lance really not see anything? Then why didn’t he want to get involved with the police? And why were his clothes dirty all of the sudden? Keri didn’t know what to make of it, so she just kept her mouth shut. “That she will never, ever believe,” Lance said. He navigated through the dark, concrete domain, hoping the cops didn’t notice his car as he made his way out the other side. Luckily, there weren’t too many police officers in their small town and those that responded to the call probably hadn’t known what to expect. Lance also left the headlights off until he was well out of the park, which Keri also noticed and thought it was very strange he had kept them off. The trees and lights sped past quickly as Lance drove back to Keri’s house. Both hoped that her parents went to bed and weren’t waiting up for her to come home. Those hopes, however, were dashed when Lance made that final turn down the street, where Keri’s house waited, fully lit.

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“Well, shit,” Keri said, knowing full well what was going to come. She would be grounded probably, yelled at definitely. It wasn’t that far past her curfew, but that didn’t matter to her parents. Not with how many times Keri had already broken it. “I guess this is good night,” Lance said after pulling into her drive. He threw the car into park and it lurched when Lance depressed the brake pedal. “Yeah,” she replied, knowing that her parents were in the house watching. She gave Lance a quick hug and got out of the car. She poked her head back into the car and said a quick, “I love you.” “I love you, too.” It was the way teenagers said it, as if they meant it, but not truly knowing if they really did. The trees swayed slightly in the wind. It was a calm spring breeze, one that brought promise of a warm summer. Had it been windy earlier? He wondered. I didn’t notice it during the fight. Of course, it hadn’t really been much of a fight, just a short confrontation with a disgusting monster of a drunk. Maybe the guy’s night had started out innocently enough, Lance thought, playing the scenario back in his mind. Maybe he had gone to the bar with some friends, maybe he had had a few too many. Maybe that made him want a piece of action and maybe she was the girl. He saw Sherry, and again, she had flirted with him, or not, and maybe he followed her on her way back home. Then, when she refused him, he decided that he wasn’t going to be denied. Maybe he didn’t mean for this to happen, lying unconscious on the ground in some dark alley, beaten down by a high school senior with super powers. But maybe doesn’t excuse what he had done, and what he almost did. Anything that had even remotely resembled sympathy or understanding was firmly driven from Lance’s mind with that last thought as he drove through the night towards home.

Lance pulled out of Keri’s driveway and drove back towards his own home, noting the time. It was only about eleven-thirty, and Keri’s curfew had been eleven. It used to be later, but that had been broken some many times that Keri’s parents had set it to an earlier time. Her parents had been convinced that Lance and Keri were clearly having sex, which they weren’t. They never had, and Lance occasionally feared that they never would. Oh, Lance had seemed like such a nice young man, Keri’s parents told themselves. He was the captain of the varsity track team, after all, and he was ever so popular with the people in town. But deep down, they were sure, Lance was just another sex crazed deviant, only wanting to rob their precious daughter of her innocence. It was still, ‘Great race the other night, Lance,” whenever Lance was around, but whenever he wasn’t, that’s when things turned ugly. At least, that’s how Lance thought of Keri’s parents sometimes. Most of the time they were very nice people, it was actually only when Keri broke curfew that they ever got upset.

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He passed through the center of town for a third time that day, wondering what kind of evil, nasty things were going on just out of sight. He also hoped that he hadn’t gotten Keri grounded again. She wouldn’t speak to him for a very long time if he had. But, that is how it went, and Lance sometimes couldn’t blame her. When he thought about it, Lance knew that he never really had the chance to be mad at Keri. Almost never, in fact. She usually was able to turn it around on Lance so quickly that he never knew what hit him. His mind, still buzzing with excitement from earlier, drifted back to what he dubbed ‘hero’ mode. Everything was becoming slightly more instinctive now. The heroic speech, the concealment of his identity, which he almost blew anyway, all of it. He was getting the feeling, in an odd way, that he was born to do this, to be the hero, that this was what he was meant to do, that this was his destiny. For a brief moment, Lance considered going to the ‘Full Moon Family Restaurant.’ He had looked up the name, as well as exact directions, of the place online. He felt on top of the world, as he had saved an attractive young woman from a terrible fate, hadn’t been caught while doing it, and hopefully either put away a dangerous man or at least had beaten some sense into him. Plus, his date with Keri had gone smoothly, aside from the incident in the industrial park…and possibly getting her in trouble with her parents. He really hoped he hadn’t. Lance also remembered that he had worked out the next night’s plans with Keri, though he was less than comfortable with that outcome. What if Rain made a move on him? She had not wanted Keri around, after all, but then she went and invited Keri herself, so maybe she finally understood that Lance was spoken for. Loudly spoken for. Violently spoken for, even. And what about Keri’s plans, anyway? What if she just said she planned a girl’s night out so Lance wouldn’t get suspicious? He tried to drive that thought out of his head and refocused on his self-appointed task. He decided against going to confront ‘Big C’ that night, as he was getting tired. Lance also came back to the fact that he still didn’t have a costume. He could work on that before his shift at the grocery store and, depending on when the gather at Rain’s broke up, he could go to the restaurant on Sunday. Lance thought it was incredibly lame that he was actually scheduling hero work around sleeping. He bet that no comic book hero had ever done that, as those guys seemed to be able to patrol, fight, and carry on normal lives on absolutely no sleep. As he approached his house, Lance noted that Ryan’s car was in the driveway. What is he still doing here? It’s eleven-forty-five, Lance thought hypocritically. Ryan trotted away from the door as Lance exited the car. They met halfway and stopped, letting the silence of the night hang in the air for a moment. “So, how’d it go?” Lance finally asked. Part of him wanted it to have gone bad. Not terrible, but just badly enough that Eva and Ryan gave up before becoming too emotionally

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invested. Better that than going out for a while and letting things get so sour that they never want to hear or speak to each other again. Unfortunately for Lance, that didn’t seem to be the case. “It went all right, I think,” Ryan admitted. Ryan didn’t want to seem too excited that the date had gone well, since he still didn’t believe Lance was one hundred percent okay with it. He was right. “That’s good,” Lance replied, not really wanting to stay outside for small talk. “How was your date with Keri?” Ryan asked, not taking the hint. “It went all right, mostly.” “Get her home late again?” “Yeah.” “All right!” “Nothing like that happened.” “Sure it didn’t. Well, it’s getting late. I should really be going.” Finally, Lance thought. “Have a good night.” “Night, man, have a good one,” Ryan responded as he walked over to his car. There was something Lance needed to talk to Ryan about, but he couldn’t quite remember what. “Oh, hey!” Lance called after Ryan, remember Rain’s plans for the next night. “Rain is having some people over and she wanted me to invite you, too.” “Yeah, I know. We should be able to make it,” Ryan said. He got into his car and left, leaving Lance alone on the driveway to brood in silence. Why did Rain tell me to ask everyone if she just went and did it herself, anyway? Lance though. Maybe she didn’t think Lance would do it, or had forgotten she had told Lance to invite Ryan along. Lance didn’t know. Wait…we? Lance pondered that while he walked to the side of his house. There was a door in the garage that was technically on the side of the house, but the way the home and driveway had been positioned, it was more of a main door than the one at the front of the house. It also allowed Lance to get in more quietly than if he had gone through the front door.

“Hey, look who finally got home,” Eva said. She was at the kitchen table, pretending like she hadn’t just gotten home, also. “Look who’s talking,” Lance shot back. “Ryan was still on the porch when I got home.” “Yeah…’bout that…” the silence that followed was one that could only be described as awkward. “So…” Lance said, “How’d it go?” Didn’t I just have this conversation? “It went all right, I think.”

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Yep, this certainly is familiar. “That’s good…” Lance said. He pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. “How was your date with Keri?” Now I know I’ve heard this before. “It went okay…” “Got her grounded again, huh?” “Probably,” Lance paused for a moment. “You going with Ryan to Rain’s tomorrow?” “Probably. You bringing Keri if she isn’t grounded?” Lance hesitated, as he already knew where the conversation was headed. “Uh, no. She already made other plans.” “Involving you?” “No, actually.” “But you’re still going to Rain’s?” “Yes.” This conversation wasn’t going anywhere, and it was getting there very slowly. “Without Keri?” “Yes. It seems Keri doesn’t much care for Rain.” “That’s because she doesn’t like anyone.” Lance had been waiting for that. He had seen it coming from so far away that Eva may as well have put up flashing neon sign that said, “Here comes a cheap shot at your girlfriend.” “Yeah, I’ve been hearing that a lot lately,” Lance said in a way that meant he didn’t like what he was hearing one bit. He stood up from the table and said, “It’s late, and I have work tomorrow.” He headed for the stairs. “Lance?” Eva said. Lance paused to listen. “Thanks.” Lance just nodded in response and continued to trudge up the stairs. He made the necessary stop at the bathroom and performed all the necessary actions associated with that before heading for his room. As he entered his room, Lance immediately stripped off his clothes. He felt exhausted as he pulled his shirt off over his head. The night’s activities had finally taken their toll on his body, and he barely fought off exhaustion long enough to crawl into bed. Despite his physical exhaustion, Lance’s mind was still racing a mile a minute, though to Lance, it felt like it was going so much slower. Something in his brain wouldn’t let him find the peace he needed to achieve a restful state, so he went over the day’s events in his head. Went to school? Check. Felt totally alone because of my uncontrollable and totally secret super powers? Check. Went on a date with my girlfriend even though I’m also going to be spending time with another totally hot girl who I think might like me? Check. Stopped a girl from getting raped using said uncontrollable super power? Check and check. With that final though, Lance’s mind finally succumbed to his physical exhaustion and he fell asleep.

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Chapter Five Lance awoke suddenly the next morning with the faint realization that something had happened the night before. Something that he hadn’t quite realized at the time. His ‘shield,’ for lack of a better description, had been up before he had been attacked. Previously, Lance’s ability only seemed to activate when he was in immediate danger, but it had been different fighting the man in the alley. I did it. I willed my shield to protect me. Maybe, Lance thought, I can control this. As he had spent much of his time the previous day, Lance once again turned his thoughts to a costume. He decided that since he would be going out primarily at night, he should wear a lot of dark colors. Perhaps black and maybe a dark blue or red color. He needed a name. Sherry, the almost raped girl, had made that obvious. He wanted it to sound cool, yet not too dark. He didn’t want to call himself anything that made him sound evil. He decided to skip the name thing for now, since he wanted it to be something that would catch on, and he couldn’t think of anything right then. So, instead, he focused on his face. He had to cover it up somehow, since he doubted he’d be able to run around holding his shirt up over his face during a fight or on patrol. Lance remembered that all of the heroes in the comics all wore the same mask. What had that been called? After a few moments of thinking, the term ‘domino mask’ came to mind, and that sounded right. Now all he had to do was find one, or perhaps several, just in case. There was a party store not too far from where Lance lived. He figured he’d be able to go after work before heading over to Rain’s apartment. Realizing that it was indeed morning, Lance looked at the clock. It was almost nine-thirty and Lance didn’t foresee himself going back to sleep, so he decided to get up. Lance thought that he could use the time to tackle a few of the problems that were plaguing his ‘other’ life. First up, a name he could call himself. He was expecting to eventually get some type of media exposure, whether he wanted it or not, as it very easily could have happened the previous night. In this day and age, with all of the cell phones and digital cameras out there, it would be impossible to avoid getting his picture taken, so he might as well be prepared for it. He started up his computer, and while he waited for it to finish loading, he thought of costume ideas. Would he wear tights? Could he wear tights? Lance thought about it, and he came to the conclusion that; one, the spandex made his thin, muscular legs look like ski poles and two, anyone who had seen Lance run had already probably seen him in spandex tights, and it would be just one more similarity between Lance and his alter ego that could be avoided. His computer was still loading all of the extraneous programs that were installed on his PC, which was currently also being bogged down by the anti-virus software.

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Perhaps camouflage cargo pants? Lance thought to himself. Nah, kinda clichéd. Plus, I don’t want anyone associating me with the army. They probably wouldn’t like that. He decided that maybe black would work better, as it would blend in with an urban environment more easily. His computer had finally finished loading and he blew out a sigh of relief. “Let’s see…” Lance opened up the internet browser and went to a search engine. “I always thought ‘Zero’ would sound cool…” And apparently, so did every other internet user did too, as the search returned thousands of users with that name, or at least some part of it; along with several comic book characters. “Well, shit,” Lance next tried ‘Barricade,’ since that was more or less what he was now, a human barricade. That one came up with several results, including the name being used by a giant, killer robot. “This isn’t going so well.” He decided to once again skip over the name for now, instead deciding to get ready to face the day. Since he was already awake and had extra time before he had to be at work, he figured he could get in some of the shopping needed for his costume. By the time he finished getting ready, it was almost ten o’clock. He didn’t work until noon, so he figured he had a good hour and a half to try to find as much as he could for his costume. Lance had two choices: He could head to the nearest mall and get everything in one place, or he could go over to the local department store, the party store, and, in a flash of brilliance, the army surplus store. If he went to the mall he risked being spotted with whatever he purchased, items that could later be identified as pieces to his costume. With that thought, the plan involving the multiple stops won out.

The department store came first, as it was the closest of the stops to his house. Lance liked the idea of a dark red color to go along with the black, which is why he instantly fell in love with a darker, spandex-like workout shirt. He was, in his mind, admiring how he’d look with the shirt on, which is why he hadn’t noticed the salesman approach. He was about Lance’s age, but not nearly as tall, with medium length black hair. “Hey, Lance. What ya got there?” The salesman was a classmate of Lance, but he couldn’t remember his name. Luckily, the teen was wearing a nametag, which read ‘David.’ “Just looking for something to practice in that kind of matches the bottom,” Lance lied. He hated being spotted by people he knew, especially lately, but being a prominent athlete in such a small town made it difficult to go anywhere without running into someone he knew, or at least someone that knew him. “I was seeing if you had this in red.” “No,” David replied, flipping through the racks of shirts. “But that darker color would look better anyway.” Shit, Lance thought, now he’s committed it to memory. “Yeah,” Lance agreed, faking a bit of hesitation in his voice. “I guess you’re right.”

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David picked up on the hesitation quickly, as it was his job to help the customer get what they want. “But I could always go check in the back.” Lance continued to stare at the shirt. He knew that he was going to get this shirt, but he wanted it to seem that he was still making up his mind. “No, it’s okay. You’re right, this one does look better, anyway.” “Yeah, that’s been a huge seller lately,” Brian pointed to a gentleman approaching the cash registers. “That guy there just grabbed a couple a few minutes ago.” Perfect, Lance said to himself. Now if I’m photographed, Dave here will probably think it’s the guy who bought more than one. The man that the salesman had pointed out was also tall and slender, like Lance, so long as any pictures taken weren’t a perfect headshot, he shouldn’t have any problems. He thought that he should wear something over the crimson track shirt, like a vest or something. Lance remembered that he had an old black, hooded sweatshirt at home, which was bulkier than the running shirt he was now holding, so that would also help distort his abdomen and chest when he was in costume. Plus, the hood would help cover up the face more. Lance also thought that it would look kind of slick if he removed the sleeves. He thanked David, the salesman, and said that it was good to see him again before Lance made his way to the registers. After checking out and getting back to his car, Lance checked the time. It was now tenthirty, which meant Lance had an hour before he needed to be back home. Thankfully, the next two stops were close to each other.

The next store was the army surplus store. Stepping inside, Lance noted that it seemed more of an outdoor sporting goods store. There were vests ranging from the standard camo to the hunters’ blaze orange, along with the rifles and shotguns necessary for the activities that went along with the clothing. The door chimed as Lance stepped through it and went into the store. A balding, older man standing behind a glass counter twenty feet in front of the entrance looked up and smiled. He almost instantly recognized the customer who had just walked into his store. “Hey, what brings you here, boy?” the man asked. Before Lance could respond, the man interrupted him. “Hold on. Hey, Jay, come out here for a minute!” Another man, who Lance assumed was Jay, walked out of a door way a few moments later. Jay looked older than the man behind the counter, and Lance figured that meant Jay was probably the boss. Getting a good whiff of the store, Lance thought that it had a certain musty smell that Lance couldn’t put his finger on. Maybe the smell was meant to emulate an outdoorsy kind of smell, but Lance couldn’t remember a time that the woods had smelled like this.

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“What do you want, Bob?” Jay growled, then noticed Lance at the entrance to his store. Jay looked very similar to Bob, but had a dark gray mustached and long sideburns. He nodded his head in a form of greeting, which Lance gave a half nod of his own in return. He was still scanning the store while the two men glared at each other. The left side of the store was a series of larger windows plastered with the usual signs about some great offer the business was having. There were various other counters scattered throughout the store that were covered with knives and goggles and gloves. Gloves! Lance hadn’t considered that before, but when he saw them sitting on the counter, he knew that he needed them. He couldn’t be leaving any fingerprints at crimes scenes for the police to track him down by. Not that he had ever had his prints taken by the police, but still, he couldn’t be too careful. It was a dangerous game that Lance was playing, and he needed to be cautious with every move he made. “This here is the Maxwell boy,” Bob explained, causing Lance to snap back to reality as he heard his last name. Everyone really did seem to know him, even outside of the town. “Really? The boy who keeps getting his name in the paper?” Jay grinned, walked over to Lance, and offered his hand to shake. Lance accepted with a quick shake. “It’s an honor.” “It sure is,” Bob said from behind the counter. He didn’t rush over to shake Lance’s hand, so Lance assumed that Bob wasn’t supposed to leave the register untended. “What with you breaking all ‘em records.” “I haven’t broken any, yet,” Lance admitted with a smile. Everyone loved it when he smiled. It made those around him feel comfortable, so he smiled often. No one even seemed to notice the fillings he had in the teeth on the sides of his mouth. “Ah, but you will. All you Maxwell’s have been fast,” Bob said. Lance arched an eyebrow in response and gave the man a quizzical look. Bob laughed, “We went to school with your daddy. He was on the track team, just like you.” This was the first time anyone else had really talked about his dad. Come to think of it, Lance’s dad hadn’t ever really talked about it much, either. Sure, he would chime in everyone now and then whenever Mom would tell a story about the old days, but he never really talked about it much, himself. Bob was smiling with remembrance of the ‘good ol’ days.’ “Yeah, he was so fast he ran right out of town after he graduated,” Jay chimed in. It was true, Lance’s dad had moved away right after high school, got his degree, them moved back and married his high school sweet heart, who was Lance’s mother. Then he got his high paying corporate job, had two kids, and now traveled all over the country and rarely saw said children. “But he came back.” “Yeah, he’s come in a couple times, got all caught up,” Bob said. “He hasn’t been in here for a while now.” Really? Dad never mentioned coming here. Though that wasn’t exactly unusual.

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“Hm, lemme think,” Bob said, thoughtfully. “He bought a rifle or two and asked if we could hook him up with a good supplier. Even paid us a nice finders’ fee. Was really happy with them, I reckon.” A gun? Dad bought a gun? “A rifle?” “Yeah. Weird thing, too. He asked about modifying it to shoot tranquilizer. Never did find out what he needed that for. But, enough of that, what can I do for you?” Lance wanted to keep asking questions about his dad, but he knew that he was pressed for time, so he got to the point right away. “My friends are taking me paintballing next weekend,” Lance lied and pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. He pretended to read from a list. “They said to get cargo pants, combat boots, and some gloves.” “You want that for jungle or urban warfare?” Jay laughed. It was a plausible lie, as paintballing was still a big enough craze that Jay and Bob got a number of customers who came in for supplies, so they didn’t have a hard time at all believing Lance’s story. “It’s at Sam’s Indoor, so I think they said urban.” He also knew enough to keep going with his story, not that either of the store workers would have believed the truth anyway. Bob took Lance around the store to look at all the items he had requested. There were weapons of all kinds just littering the store. When they got to the pants, Bob paused to examine Lance more closely. “You a tall boy, huh?” “Yeah.” Bob rifled through some of the pants, picked one out, and held it up for Lance to see. “Try these, should fit.” Lance took the pants, thought about asking if there was a dressing room, then decided against it after looking around. There was something about this store that just screamed manly, and he didn’t want to appear weak. The combat boots appeared to go up to mid-calf and were black, matching the pants perfectly. He picked a pair of gloves that left the fingers intact, the kind that were always shown in police shows, which were a departure from the gloves that were usual attire for the sport that Lance would allegedly be partaking in. He purchased the items, sighed to himself about not being able to try on the pants, and left after he promised to say hi to his dad for Jay and Bob. One stop left.

He arrived at the party and costume shop at ten forty-five and noted that he had spent less time with Jay and Bob than he had thought. With any luck, he would be able to make it home with plenty of time to get to work.

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Upon entering the store, Lance saw that there were all kinds of decorations for every type of holiday and special occasion that he could think of. He wandered through the aisles, surrounded by paper plates and ribbons and streamers. There were glass counters running along the edges, which were filled with costumes and accessories. The usual generic costumes like the police uniform were mixed in with the licensed movie costumes, which were a mixture of current and classic films. It took a few moments, but Lance found some masks that might do the job. They were the cheap paper-like plastic Lone Ranger masks with the two cent strings, but that would have to do. He grabbed a handful out of the bin, paid for them, and left. He noted how quickly he was able to get in and out of the store as he was driving away. Probably because he hadn’t had anyone trying to chat him up. The cashier barely looked at Lance when he had checked out. She had that bored look and was probably wondering what she had done to deserve her job, wishing that she could be doing just about anything else. So, no god-like treatment here, no ‘what’re ya buyin’’ or anything like that. It was nice. Lance liked the attention, but he didn’t care for it everywhere he went, what with some people treating him like he was some a celebrity. He hadn’t done anything worthwhile, not anything anyone knew about, anyway. He was just a high school athlete who happened to be able to run fast over raised slabs of wood. Lance arrived home with enough time to scarf down a can of spaghetti-like product. It wasn’t even the name brand stuff, either, which made it just that much harder to eat. When Lance walked in, he heard his mom and Eva over in the kitchen giggling like school girls. “Hey, honey,” his mom said as he walked into the kitchen. “We were just talking about Eva and Ryan’s date.” “I don’t want to hear it.” “Hey, did you hear the news?” Eva chimed in. Lance’s heart sank. What if Sherry had told the police all about him? What if they had figured it out on their own? Lance didn’t think the police would believe the attacker, if he even remembered anything that had happened during his drunken stupor. They would probably just chalk it up to the rapist being the bad guy. The might follow it up with a few questions, but hopefully the girl he had saved had come through for him. “They’re having a follow-up to that special about super heroes that you used to watch all the time. The commercial said they have shocking new evidence.” “What, that they were full of shit?” Lance asked angrily. “Watch your language,” his mom scolded. “Wow, aren’t you the cynical one?” Eva added. “Sorry, when is it?” “Not for another few weeks or so.” “This was just to hype it up.”

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While Lance was relieved that the news wasn’t about him or his ‘other’ self, he still felt nervous. Things were just piling up too quickly for Lance to fully absorb. He had gone from normal teenaged high school student to fledgling super powered crime fighter in less than a week. And he now had a costume, no less. Still, even though he had done his best to control everything he could, he knew he wouldn’t be able to control everything that could possibly happen. “What do you have there, Lance?” his mom asked, referring to the bags he had brought in with him. “Nothing much,” Lance said. He pulled the shirt out of the bag. “Just some work out clothes.” Fortunately, he had thought ahead enough to shove the other two bags into the one from the department store, thinking it would look less suspicious if he had only had one bag. “I like the color. Doesn’t quite match the school’s, but I think it looks okay,” his mother approved. “Don’t you think so?” “It’s a shirt, mom,” Eva replied. “Yeah, they didn’t have a brighter red, so I went with this,” Lance explained. “Still, it looks nice. What else did you get?” “A new pair of pants and some shoes,” he said. He was met with a pair of disapproving glares. “What? I need to look good for when I break the record next week. Besides, I’m not sure I’m going to keep them, anyway.” This was so he had an excuse for when he showed up to the meet not wearing anything new. “Well, keep the shirt,” his mother advised. “It looks just darling.” “And now I’m going to have to take that back, too,” he said sarcastically. “Hey, now. Don’t get smart with me,” his mom said sternly. “Sorry,” he apologized, then said he had to get ready for work. After running around all morning looking for pieces to his costume, the can of spaghetti seemed liked a gourmet meal. He brushed his teeth, hid the other items he had purchased, and then left for work.

Work dragged on for Lance that day, probably due to the fact that he had so much on his mind. He had all of the normal problems of being a teenager: school, sports, girls; with the added bonus of having to worry about not only having special abilities, but also not getting killed while using them. He flittered in and out of focus long enough to remember to ask, “Paper or plastic?” Then he’d go back to thinking about life, though he’d mumble some sort of thank you as the customer passed him on their way out the store. Eventually, though, Lance’s workday did end, and he couldn’t have been more relieved. He would go home, shower, and then get ready to go to Rain’s. He had been considering calling

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her and canceling, but after he punched out, he found he had a voice mail from Ryan. He suggested that he, Lance, and, of course, Eva could all ride together, so that had effectively cut off Lance being able to cancel. Lance desperately wanted to try on the costume he had put together, but he hadn’t had the time before work, and it looked like he wouldn’t have the time before leaving for Rain’s place. He felt like a little kid on Christmas who had to wait to open his presents, even after he had found out what they were. With a begrudging sigh, Lance prepared for his night over at Rain’s apartment.

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Chapter Six Surprisingly, Eva was ready to go before he was. He found it odd mostly because he hadn’t told her when they were going to be leaving. Yet, there she was, all set to go. Rather than ask how she knew when to be ready, he simply told her that it was time to go. Lance was driving everyone, which meant he wouldn’t be able to visit the ‘Full Moon’ after Rain’s. It was silent in the car as they went to pick up Ryan, since Lance didn’t really want to hear any of the details on his sister’s date with his best friend. It was Eva who finally broke the silence. “So, who is this Rain? What’s she like?” Lance had no answer, since he didn’t really know Rain any better than Eva. All Lance knew was that Rain was an attractive blonde who had moved to their city after turning eighteen. Rain also may or may not be trying to seduce Lance, but he didn’t clue Eva in to that little fact, since he didn’t know what to make of that. He also didn’t know what to make of the conversation he had overheard between Rain and Principal Decker, which he had just remembered overhearing. It was like everywhere he turned there Rain was in his way, but that could just all have been coincidental. It was at that moment that Lance realized that Rain could be connected to the manifestation of his powers, and that thought scared him. That meant there was at least one person who knew what he could do, and that she was watching him. Or, as Lance considered, it was all just one large coincidence and that he was merely looking too far into it. It could be that Rain wasn’t hiding anything and she was exactly who she said she was. Lance, instead, told Eva about how Rain was an orphan, who, after turning eighteen, had moved to their city to finish out her senior year of high school. Lance didn’t want to tell Eva about his suspicions, as she wouldn’t understand, and he also didn’t want to judge Rain until he could find out exactly who she was one way or another. “Ryan tells me she’s very into you,” Eva teased. Hadn’t he already had this conversation with Eva? He couldn’t really remember. Maybe he had had it with Ryan and it was all so very familiar to him now. “I’m not sure,” Lance replied. “But, either way, it doesn’t matter.” He was flattered by Rain’s advances, if that’s what they were, but he knew in his heart that he couldn’t cheat on Keri. Lance was steady in his resolve about that. He wouldn’t hesitate to end their relationship if he thought that it was over, but Lance wouldn’t be that guy, he wouldn’t be the guy who was forever labeled as a cheater. ‘How’d your last relationship end?’ Lance played out in his head. ‘Oh, I cheated on her,’ followed by the ‘Yeah, this just isn’t going to work out.’

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“Oh, there’s Ryan’s house!” Eva exclaimed with girlish glee, interrupting Lance’s thought processes. Shit! There goes any chance of those two not hooking up. He still harbored the secret feeling that Eva and Ryan wouldn’t work out as a couple. Now he realized that Eva really did want to be in this relationship, and there was nothing Lance could do about it. He hoped that his sister wasn’t just another piece of ass to Ryan, as that would force Lance to be physically violent towards his best friend. The thought of his friend thinking of his sister in sexual terms also disturbed him, and he tried to push that from his mind and he turned on the radio to try to help block out the mental image of his sister in an intimate relationship with Ryan. “What is that for?” Eva asked about the radio being turned up so loudly. She was puzzled by Lance’s sudden mood swing. “Was it something I said?” “You don’t want to know,” Lance replied. “Aw,” Eva teased. “Is big brother still mad about me dating his best friend?” “Yes, now shut it. There he is.” Ryan strode quickly from his house to the car, yelling something back to his parents as he moved toward the waiting car. Ryan opened the car door and sat down, and Eva smiled at him before turning back to Lance. “I thought you were okay with it.” “I am,” Lance said quickly. He didn’t want to continue the conversation now that Ryan was also in the car. “Okay with what?” Ryan asked from the back seat. This was how it worked when Lance drove. The seating was determined by the order of entrance into the vehicle and no one ever had to give up their seat unless it was of their own volition. “He’s not okay with us dating,” Eva pouted. “He said he was okay with it.” “I am okay with it,” Lance asserted. Ryan ignored Lance. “Why aren’t you okay with us going out?” Ryan asked. “I’m fine with it, really, I am.” Lance turned up the radio louder. “Everything is just fine.” Eva and Ryan glanced at each other. “He’s not fine with it,” they said in unison. “I’ll sing,” Lance threatened. He was a terrible singer. He had a good singing voice; it was just that he was absolutely tone deft. He could not match a pitch correctly to save his life. “God no,” Ryan replied, being both serious and joking at the same time. There was silence in the car, with the loud rock music being the only sound in the vehicle. “So, what’re we doing at Rain’s, anyway?” Ryan asked to change the subject. Lance turned the radio off before answering.

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“She said hanging out and watching movies, so I assume we will be hanging out and or watching movies.” “Oh, okay.” “Y’know. There’d be some chillin’, and perhaps some forays into the world of cinematic viewing. Perhaps even at the same time.” “I get the point, man,” Ryan relented. He turned his attention to Eva. “So, tell me, babe, he a smartass at home too, or is it just me?” Babe? He called her babe? Just beneath the surface, Lance was livid. They had one date. One date! And he is calling her babe? “No, dude, it’s not just you,” Eva replied. Lance was relieved that at least Eva had picked up on the whole ‘babe’ thing and responded with her own retort. “Our mom thinks it’s because our dad isn’t around long enough to straighten him out.” “Oh…” Ryan said. He caught on to what Eva had meant and figured he’d have to choose his words carefully from then on. “Speaking of which, dad gets home from his trip tomorrow,” Eva informed Lance. “He was on a trip? Hell, I was beginning to think he had run out on us,” Lance replied. “That isn’t fair!” Eva bellowed, and fairly loudly for a sixteen year old girl. “He works hard for our money, and who do you think paid for all of those new track clothes you bought this morning?” She was very mad, as she was very defensive of her father. “One, I did. I do have a job, you know. And two, how do you think he’ll react when he finds out you’re going out with Ryan? No offense, man.” “He’ll be happy for me!” “He’ll pretend to be! No offense.” “None taken, but, uh, guys…we’re here,” Ryan interrupted. They had arrived at the apartment complex next to the grocery store where Lance worked. Rain had been waiting outside in a plastic folding chair on her small porch and walked over to greet her guests. Eva and Lance stopped arguing long enough to get out of the car and slam the doors. Lance calmed down some as they walked towards Rain. She was wearing the same outfit she had been wearing the day Lance had given her the tour of the school, which Lance still found very pleasing visually. “Look, Eva, I’m sorry,” Lance apologized. She was walking to the right of him, and Ryan was to the right of her. “I was just joking.” “Yeah? Well, it wasn’t funny, even as a joke.” The argument was unusual for Eva and Lance, as they normally had a very strong relationship. Lance was also very surprised at himself. He couldn’t recall the last time he had raised his voice to his sister. Come to think of it, he wasn’t sure he ever had done that before that night. Eva and Lance were silent as Rain greeted them. They just nodded in acknowledgement.

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“Whoa, what’s up with them?” she asked Ryan as they all walked to the door of her apartment. “Does it have to do with me?” “No, no. It’s just a sibling spat, it’ll pass,” Ryan replied. “Oh, okay. Whatever,” Rain said as she opened the door for her gusts. Everyone’s eyes lit up in amazement as they looked in on her apartment. Before them laid on of the most lavished living rooms any of them had ever seen. A real leather wrap-around couch encompassed the room, with an expensive looking table, which looked to be made of rich mahogany, in front of it. The masterpiece of the room had to be the large, liquid crystal display television across from the couch. Like satellites orbiting the planet, there were surround-sound speakers dotting the room. “How…?” Ryan gasped. It wasn’t very tactful of him, but he often spoke without thinking. “Do I afford all this?” Rain finished for Ryan, who was just left nodding in agreement. “Government assistance, mostly. I do very well in school despite my aversive history. I guess it’s kinda like getting a scholarship for getting good grades and being an orphan. Plus, a lot of my foster parents were very generous people.” Lance, Eva, and Ryan all nodded in a mixture of acknowledgement and agreement. “Want anything to drink? Eat? I have soda and I can put in a pizza or two,” Rain offered. Lance said he’d have a Coke and Eva and Ryan both said they’d have the same. Rain beamed a smile and trotted off into what was presumably the kitchen area. As soon as she was out of the room, Eva swatted Ryan on the arm. “Ow! What was that for?” Ryan asked, rubbing his arm, stunned that his new girlfriend had just hit him. “How could you ask her that? Knowing what she’s gone through and all,” Eva hissed. “What, I didn’t ask anything,” Ryan said. It was technically true, as he hadn’t finished asking the question. Instead, he had just implied it with his inability to form the words and his slack jawed stare. “It’s okay,” Rain assured her new friends, coming back into the room with the drinks. “I believe in just putting it out there so now one has any questions when it’s all said and done.” “So,” Eva started. Ryan cupped his hand over her mouth and whispered something into her ear. She giggled and nodded. Rain suggested that they should make themselves comfortable on the couch and get the party started. She looked like she was blushing as they all took a seat. Whatever Ryan had told Eva, it probably wasn’t very appropriate. Thankfully, Lance hadn’t picked up on that, otherwise there might have been even more yelling. For the record, the couch really was as comfortable as it had looked. “Who else is coming, Rain?” Ryan asked, rifling through Rain’s DVD collection. Rain looked a bit hesitant to answer. “This is it, to be honest,” she explained casually, then turned her focus to Ryan, who was still going through her movies. “I haven’t gotten around to getting any of the new formats yet.

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But, uh, I invited everyone I knew. Quite frankly, this is more people than I expected. But, it’s cool. I take it Eva and Ryan are dating now?” “Since last night,” Lance replied. The coldness in his voice could have frozen the room. Rain picked up on the fact that Lance wasn’t exactly happy about that. There went the usual banter of ‘How long have you two been going out?’ and ‘How’d you two meet?’ since Rain now knew the answers to both questions. “How’s the ‘Holy Grail’ sound to everyone?” Ryan asked to break the tension. “Sounds great,” Rain said. “Yeah, can’t see that one too many times,” Lance agreed, as everyone in the room turned to glare at him. “What? I was serious.” The group went back to just staring off into space while Ryan struggled to work Rain’s DVD player. Rain picked up a remote control and pushed the power button, causing her large TV to spring to life. Setting back onto the couch, Ryan pushed himself between Eva and Lance, which forced Lance to move closer to Rain. Lance glared over at Ryan, so he didn’t notice Rain attempting to hide a smile. Ryan put his hand over one side of his mouth, as though that would keep anyone else from hearing him. “I think she likes you, man,” Ryan said as he pointed at Rain. Lance leaned closer to Ryan. “I think she can hear you, man.” Rain blushed deeply and looked away. This time, Lance whispered so that only Ryan would be able to hear. “Now, shut it and watch the movie.” Lance found that he was actually enjoying being this close to Rain, with her pretty blonde hair waving ever so slightly, her perfect, slightly-tanned skin, and her nice, big…his thoughts turned to Keri. He wondered what she was doing and hoped that his hanging out with Rain wouldn’t add to Keri’s paranoia. Flashes of Keri not being faithful to him immediately brought on a feeling of dread. What if she is with some other guy right now? What if his tongue was doing its best to get inside her pretty little mouth? What if…? Thankfully, Rain broke his train of thought. “Something on your mind?” she said, gazing at him with a smile. That is such a pretty smile, Lance thought. He found that he couldn’t help but flash a great big smile right back at her. “I was, uh, just so into the movie, you know?” Lance said, trying not to disturb Ryan and Eva next to him, though with the way they were eying each other, Lance thought they could use a little disrupting. “But it’s the ‘Holy Grail’,” Rain said, leading him. “Yeah…”

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“It’s like the funniest movie ever made, and you haven’t even laughed once,” she explained. Lance hadn’t even been aware that the movie had been playing, but sure enough, there were the familiar sounds of coconuts banging together. “Yeah, it’s just really deep. Very engaging,” Lance replied, which caused Rain to burst out laughing. That is such a cute laugh, Lance thought. Okay! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! STOP IT! “What’s on your mind, Lance?” Rain asked, propping her head in her hand to look at him. “It’s nothing, really,” Lance said. He gazed at her for a moment, soaking in her beauty, then turned back to the movie. He laughed at all the talk about swallows, as did Rain. The mood in the room changed at that moment, as Lance had been very tense, but now everything seemed so relaxed. It was though a light switch had been turned on, or, in this case, off, and everything just clicked. Lance could feel the worry and tension dissipate from his body. When did the lights go off? Lance wondered. He didn’t remember anyone turning off the lights, yet they were off. How did that happen? I must have really been out of it to not notice that. As the film progressed, Lance became more and more relaxed. It was about half an hour into the movie when he had realized that Rain’s right arm was entwined in his and that they had been holding hands. This realization caused Lance to jerk his arm away suddenly, catching Rain’s attention. “What?” Rain asked, suddenly becoming aware of what had happened. “Oh, I’m so sorry. God, I’m so embarrassed.” “I’m not. It felt…nice, and it’s not like it really means anything, right?” Lance asked. “I mean, it’s not like we have to go out now, just because we held hands.” “No,” Rain agreed. Her embarrassment had caused her to turn red and she was trying not to sound like an idiot. “I just…when did that happen?” Lance shrugged, “I don’t know.” “This is so embarrassing.” “Hey, it’s not like we kissed, right?” Lance reasoned, though somehow that made the situation even more awkward.. He hadn’t done anything too serious, so he figured he hadn’t actually cheated on Keri. To do that, he probably would have to kiss another girl, or worse. “No, I guess not,” Rain said as she looked past Lance. “But, uh, don’t turn around.” “What? Why?” Saying don’t turn around to a teen, or anyone for that matter, was like a death sentence on not getting the person to turn around. Behind him, Eva and Ryan were passionately kissing, and the sounds of lips locking onto each other were permeating the room. He had actually started to wonder why they hadn’t reacted

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to Lance and Rain’s sudden movement and now he knew why. Ryan and Eva were locked in that old as time, deadly game of tonsil hockey. And on only their second date, too! And that was if they could even call watching movies at Rain’s apartment a date, which Lance didn’t think they could. Still, there they were, sitting next to Lance making out while they were on a couch with other people on it, one of them being her brother. And it was his sister and his best friend, too. The jumble of emotions rising in Lance quickly turned to anger. Reacting quickly, Rain jumped off the couch and asked, “Who wants pizza?” She pulled Lance up off the couch with her and used her free hand to push Ryan on the shoulder. “Ow, hey, what the hell?” “Do you want some pizza?” Rain asked. Eva realized that Rain and Lance were staring at her, and that they knew what she was just doing, which caused her to turn a deep shade of red, which seemed to be the color for the evening. “I could totally go for some,” Eva said finally. Rain wrapped both of her hands around Lance’s upper arm, and aside from noting how strong and muscular it was, tried to pull him up. He was giving Eva and Ryan an icy cold glare, feeling like a cat ready to pounce, just waiting for an opening, when Rain broke his concentration. Again. She was getting very good at that. She was still pulling on him, trying to get him to cool off and not immediately kill Ryan, as that probably wouldn’t be the most prudent thing to do in the long run. “Come on, I need some help in the kitchen.” Lance knew that it was just to get him away from the scene on the couch, as it doesn’t take a culinary genius to make frozen pizzas, but he relented and followed Rain to the kitchen anyway. For being an apartment kitchen, Lance noted, it was incredibly well furnished, just as the living room had been. It made him wonder what Rain’s bedroom looked like, and he shook that thought from his head, as that kind of thinking could only lead to naughty things. Things that Lance knew he shouldn’t be thinking about. Rain pulled open the freezer to a medium sized refrigerator and began poking around inside. She shuffled through some meat looking things and asked, “Okay, what do you want on your Tombstone?” Lance didn’t reply. Instead, he just stood there in the middle of the room fuming. “I’m sorry,” she said sympathetically. “That must’ve been pretty brutal, huh?” “Kinda…” “’Kinda?’ You were ready to tear his head off.”

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“Heh, yeah,” he said, cracking a smile. He didn’t know why he did that, but there was something about what Rain said that forced him to. “Why did you let them do it? Go out, I mean,” then Rain added. “If you don’t mind me asking?” “It’s okay,” Lance said. “I figured it wasn’t up to me, really. If they hadn’t gone out last night, they would’ve gone out eventually. I figured I’d just let them figure out everything on their own. Who am I to get in their way?” Rain nodded in agreement before speaking, “Still, even with seeing that, I bet tonight isn’t as bad as last night,” Rain said casually. Lance’s stomach dropped. What? “What?” “Your date with Keri?” Rain reminded him. “What? She can take cheap shots at me, but I can’t at her? That’s not fair.” “What, oh,” Lance forced a chuckle. “I get it now. Yeah, funny.” “You okay? You don’t look so good,” Rain said, worried at Lance’s sudden change in condition. “I’m fine, really,” Lance lied, attempting to regain his composure. “No, tonight has been good, really. Not what I was expecting at all, but still good.” “Yeah?” Rain smiled. Lance was really starting to love that. “I was expecting more people, less intimacy…” “And a lot less of your sister making out with your best friend,” she added. Rain was very good at stating the unsaid, at saying what Lance was thinking. That also almost killed the mood. “And a lot less of my sister making out with my best friend,” Lance repeated. They were both smiling again, which Lance liked. This is more like it, Lance thought. Rain opened the oven and bent over to put in the pizzas she had selected onto the trays. That is…very…nice, Lance though of the view. Rain was smiling to herself as she felt his stare on her. He was beginning to want something and it wasn’t just the pizza. “You know, if you stare any harder, it might just burn a hole right through me and cook these faster.” Her comment startled Lance, and he felt himself get hot in the face. “I’m…” he started, then caught himself. “I apologize.” “Don’t,” she said as she set the timer and spun around to face Lance. “You’re a guy, it’s what you do. It’s bred into you, genetics and stuff. Boy, you do turn red fast, don’t you?” “Always have, I guess.” For as long as Lance could remember, he embarrassed easily, and it had hindered his ability to talk to girls earlier in life.

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“It’s cute,” Rain said, and she meant it entirely. Lance and Rain stood in her kitchen for what seemed like an eternity as they just gazed at each other. Finally, Rain cleared her throat and spoke. “Do you mind me asking another personal question?” “Not at all. Shoot.” “Why are you with her?” Rain was blunt and straight to the point. Lance’s stomach dropped at the question. In the back of his mind he had expected that question to come up, as it seemed to with everyone Lance talked to, but he hadn’t expected it so soon. “Keri?” Lance asked to clarify. It was also a stall while he formed an answer. “Yeah,” she confirmed. “I mean, no offense, but I’ve been here a week and all I’ve heard about you two as a couple is how epic your fights are.” “She’s not always like that. She’s usually kind and sweet. But yeah, she does have a temper. I don’t know, I guess I hadn’t really thought of not being with her.” That was only a half-truth, as he had though of not being with her plenty, and, like teens often do, find someone else. But every time he did that he had concluded that he was better off with Keri than without her, as teens also often do. “I just don’t understand how you could stay with her when she can make you feel so miserable,” Rain moved in closer, allowing Lance to catch a whiff of her. To Lance, she even smelled fantastic, “Even when she’s not here.” “Hm? I guess you’re right, kind of…” Lance leaned in closer. They were less than a foot apart now. There was a sense of tension and urgency that was building and Lance knew where it was leading. “Kind of…?” Rain replied in a hush tone. She too knew where it was leading as time seemed to stop and the teens’ lips parted… “Hey! You two! How’re the pizzas coming? I’m starved,” Ryan called from the living room. A moment later he poked his head into the kitchen and looked in on Rain and Lance, surmising what had just happened. He didn’t know that the two hadn’t actually kissed, but just assumed that they had. “Sorry, am I interrupting something?” “No, we were just talking and keeping an eye on the food,” Rain replied, stepping away from Lance shyly and checking the timer. “Still got five minutes left, Ryan. Why don’t you go on back out there and keep Eva company?” Not having to be told twice, Ryan darted back to the living room, where Lance and Rain heard him say, “Still have about five minutes left,” and then silence. Awkward silence. Lance shot Rain an angry glare. “Sorry, just wanted him out of here,” Rain apologized. There were minutes of silence after that, where the two teens looked around the kitchen, awkwardly avoiding each other’s eyes. “How’d that happen?” Lance asked finally, breaking the silence. “I don’t know. We were talking and it just did, well, almost,” Rain stared into Lance’s eyes. “It just felt right, I guess.” “It did, but it doesn’t now.”

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“No, I guess it doesn’t,” Rain said, sounding disappointed. “Still, we went from talking about me having a girlfriend who I’d never do that to, to almost kissing!” “I’m sorry, it just…” “Felt right? I know, but I almost just screwed up big time there.” Lance was shaken by what had almost happened. He had almost destroyed his relationship with both Rain and Keri. He couldn’t have been friends with Rain if they had kissed, and his relationship with Keri would’ve ended once she found out that he had betrayed her. He started to feel like he needed to sit down “Will Ryan say anything? I mean, he’s kind of weird, but he’s not too dumb. He has to know something was going on in here.” “He won’t say anything,” Lance said. “Though, he’d probably be ecstatic if I broke up with Keri and went out with you. But he won’t say anything. He knows Eva wouldn’t forgive him if he ratted me out.” “Oh, but do you want to do that?” Rain questioned, referring to the part where Lance would go out with her instead of Keri. She knew the answer, but sometimes a person just has to hear it from the source. “No, I’m sorry, but now,” Lance shook his head. “I like you… a lot. But…” “But you love her,” Rain understood. Lance would always hate himself and probably her, if that’s how he ended his relationship with Keri. “I do,” Lance said, slumping his head down. “I’m so stupid.” “No, you’re not.” Rain stepped over to Lance and on her tiptoes, kissed Lance on the cheek. “You’re sweet, and loyal, and you almost made a mistake, if you can call it that. But you’re not stupid.” Lance secretly wished that she had let her lips linger on his cheek longer, as they were cool and dry, but not in a bad way. He immediately punished himself mentally for thinking that way and reminded himself how much he cared for Keri. The timer for the pizza went off and Rain removed them from the oven, placing the two hot pizzas on pans on top of the stove. She opened a drawer, took something out of it, and handed the pizza cutter to Lance. “Would you be so kind as to do the honors?” “But of course, milady,” Lance bowed and took the kitchen tool from her hand, also taking comfort from her touch. Why was he acting this way? Feeling this way? Before tonight, he would never have seriously considered being this close to another woman, let alone take this much pleasure in it. So why was he doing it now? It wasn’t just because she was as close to physical perfection as Lance thought a girl could get, which Rain was. He knew it was because of how comfortable he felt around her. Lance felt like he could immediately spill his heart to her, in a way he had only ever been able to with Keri.

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“Can I ask you a question?” Lance asked. There was something that had been bothering him the entire evening. She said go ahead, so Lance asked. “Why aren’t there other people here tonight?” Rain looked at him, then thought about the question for a moment. “To be honest, I was only going to invite you, but I figured that wouldn’t have worked out, so I had you bring Ryan along. You were the only one I’ve connected with at school. Everyone else just gawks at me when I walk down the hallway.” “Can you really blame them?” Lance replied, then yelled that the pizza was read to Ryan and Eva, who had probably resumed making out on Rain’s couch. “I mean, you look so beautiful.” “That’s sweet. But that’s part of the problem. I’m the new girl, an orphan now less,” she explained. There was a lack of movement in the living room, so Lance yelled again. “Guys see me as a piece of meat, girls see me as competition, and the teachers see poor little orphan girl all alone in the world.” “That’s not true,” Lance said, attempting to comfort her. “Yes, it is,” Rain said, pulling ceramic plates from a cupboard. “You more than anyone knows it is. No one sees me, they all see the stereotypes, but they don’t see me.” Rain looked as though she were ready to cry and Lance rushed to wrap his arms around her. “I’m sorry,” Lance said, and he meant it totally. Rain didn’t notice that he had used the taboo phrase and just buried her head in his chest. “The first great guy I’ve ever met and he has to go and have a girlfriend, she muttered, her makeup staining his shirt. Ryan must have finally remembered that he was hungry as he walked into the kitchen. “Jeez, get a room you two.” He saw that Rain was crying and began to apologize. “I’m sorry. I’ll just go…” Rain jerked her head up at the sound of his voice, “No, it’s okay, I’ll be fine. Did Eva want any?” She wiped her eye and began piling pieces of the steaming pizza onto the plates. “Uh…sure,” he replied hesitantly. Ryan cursed at himself for not being more attentive to his new girlfriend, especially when her big brother was standing right there. He squeezed past Rain and Lance, picked up two of the plates, and quietly left the room. “That friend of yours, he has a knack for walking in at the wrong time,” Rain commented. “You have no idea,” Lance replied. Ryan had walked in on just about every person on Lance’s family in the shower. All except Eva, oddly enough. That also meant he had walked in on Lance’s mom, and his dad, and once at the same time. He was no longer allowed in any room at Lance’s house with out first knocking. “Come on,” rain said, offering Lance a fresh can of soda. “Let’s go rejoin the party.”

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79 “Okay,” Lance said. “But just because we didn’t, doesn’t mean I don’t want to.” “I know.”

After Rain and Lance returned to the living room and settled back on to the couch, Eva noticed that Lance and Rain seemed to be sitting awfully close to each other. The film ended a little while later and they switched over to cable television. Being a Saturday night at nine p.m., there wasn’t much on, just reruns of bad shows they hadn’t bothered to watch in the first place. So they flipped through the channels for about an hour before mustering up the energy to switch out the DVD. Ryan had decided to be a jerk and picked out a horror movie. The plan was two-fold. He figured that Eva would probably get scared and clutch to him during the more frightening moments. Ryan also knew that Lance absolutely hated horror movies where the filmmaker used a lot of cheap thrills like things jumping out suddenly. Fortunately, Lance had Rain clutching onto his arm the entire film, and, due to their conversation in the kitchen, Lance didn’t mind the contact with her soft skin quite so much. Not that he had really minded it before, but his mind was more at ease since he knew nothing would happen. The movie wrapped up at around midnight, and the group decided to call it quits after that. Eva stretched on the couch while Ryan gawked at the exposed flesh of his girlfriend. He was still thinking that he was a lucky, lucky man. Lance tried to ignore his friend, who was drooling over little sister, so he continued to flirt with Rain. “Why do you own horror movies if you get that scared?” he joked. “It’s fun to watch them and get scared when you have someone to hold onto,” she replied with a wink. “Besides, I could feel you squirm when all those zombies popped out.” “I just think that they should focus more on psychological terror and less on just having shit pop out at you,” Lance explained. “And Lance is so afraid because he thinks it could really happen,” Ryan added. Lance was afraid of zombies, probably because of their being such a favorite topic for the film industry. “It’s just as likely that there will be a zombie invasion as your superheroes will inherit the Earth,” Lance retorted. He knew Ryan was very defensive of the superhero topic because he whole heartedly believed that super powers existed. Little did Ryan know that Lance knew for a fact that superheroes existed, because Lance was one, of sorts. Well, one without a name, but he did have a costume. “What?” Rain asked. “Superheroes?” Rain had seemed shocked and serious for a moment, before forcing herself to relax. “Ryan here thinks people with abnormal abilities walk among us,” Lance explained with a laugh. He had to keep up the lie, so that no one could ever discover the truth about him.

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proof.” “Right, anyway,” Rain led her guests to the door. “This was great. We should do this again.” “Definitely,” Eva smiled, resting her hands on Ryan’s shoulder. “Real soon, I hope,” Ryan said. He was still thinking how hot his girlfriend was. Lance hung back as Ryan and Eva made there way back to the car. “Please don’t kill Ryan on the way back,” Rain said with half a smile. She was beginning to think that Lance might actually do it. “I won’t,” Lance promised. “I guess I’m still getting used to it.” Lance started to turn around, but then stopped and hesitated. “We did the right thing here, right?” Rain agreed, though she almost hated to, but she did. She gave Lance a hug, then squeezed his hand. “You’re a good man, Mr. Maxwell. I hope to do this again soon.” With that, Lance turned and left, joining his friend and sister, who were waiting by the car for Lance to unlock the doors. They were halfway home before Ryan decided to speak up. “So, what, ah, what happened there in the kitchen?” “Nothing, we were just talking. That’s all.” “That didn’t look like ‘just talking’ to me,” Ryan prodded, and Eva decided to join in. “Oh, and what did it look like to you?” she asked. “It looked like the Lance-man was getting some from the Rainanator,” Ryan was all smiles at what he thought were very clever nicknames. No one else in the car thought so. “Please don’t ever say that again,” Lance said flatly. “And seriously, nothing happened. You walked in before anything could.” “So something could have happened?” Eva said, now very interest in the conversation. She had demonstrated repeatedly that she didn’t care for Keri, and she thought the sooner Lance dumped her, the better. That, and Rain seemed like a very nice girl to Eva, and a good match for Lance. She hadn’t seen him that calm around other people in a long time. It seemed like he had always been the center of attention, but not tonight. No, tonight it was like Lance was at peace, their argument from before they had arrived at Rain’s aside. “Yes, no, nothing could have happened and nothing will happen, got that?” Lance demanded forcefully. “Fine,” Eva and Ryan agreed. They both knew to keep quiet around Keri. Why stir up trouble when they knew nothing would come of it, anyway? Lance would stay with Keri because, like the foolish teenager he was, he loved her. Still, deep inside Lance, something had changed. The night had been a conflicting roller coaster of emotion. He knew nothing could come of it with Rain, at least not at that time, but she

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had left an impression on him, one that he would not easily be able to shake, though the feeling would be put on the back burner for awhile. They arrive at Ryan’s house and, after an extended farewell from Eva, Lance and his sister finally headed home. “I like her. She seems nice,” Eva said, referring to Rain. She knew Lance would do his own thing, just like she had done with Ryan, though with her brother’s nudging, but she still figured she could put her two cents out there. “Good,” Lance saw where the conversation was headed and he was not in the mood. “You like her, too?” Eva asked. Lance really had had enough of this for one night, with the constant prying into his thoughts grating on his nerves. “I guess so,” he replied, trying to let his displeasure for the conversation known. He wanted to scream, Stop it! Mind your own damn business, sis. Can’t you see this is tearing me up already without having everyone harping on me about it? But he didn’t. He let his silence speak for him, creating an awkward atmosphere in the car for the rest of the drive home. They crept into the house after arriving home, not wanting to awake their sleeping mother. “Well, that was fun,” Eva whispered as she headed up the stairs towards her room. She said good night as she reached the door and closed it behind her. Lance mumbled good night and went into his own room. It had been an eventful day for Lance, and the next might prove to be equally eventful. He found that he had a lot to think about, but for once it didn’t keep him awake as he drifted off to sleep.

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Chapter Seven Lance awoke the next day still tired. He had had a full day, and eight hours of sleep just wasn’t going to cut it at his age. That and it hadn’t exactly been an easy sleep. He was so conflicted by what had happened at Rain’s that he didn’t know if he’d ever get his head back on straight. Still, there was a certain energy in the air, a mixture of nervousness, anxiety, and excitement. Today Lance was determined to get to the ‘Full Moon Restaurant’ and get some answers from “Big C.” It had been days since Lance had gotten the information out of those crooks in the jail cell and he still hadn’t made his move. What if he got to the restaurant and this guy wasn’t there? What if word had reached him and he knew Lance was coming? Lance imagined that every career criminal just hung out at the same place all the time in case someone needed to get in contact in an emergency. Lance also decided that he would just have to scope out the place before going in. What do I even look for? Guys with guns ready to shoot me if I even blink funny? Lance didn’t know exactly. He recalled his knowledge of the restaurant. The place was one of those seedy dives where they served breakfast all the time and no matter how much deodorant spray was used, it always still smelled like smoke. He also decided that he should wait until it got dark out, as he figured it would look suspicious going in what could be construed as a costume and a Halloween mask during the day time. So, he had some time to kill. Lance checked his voice mail and found he had none, which was unusual for him. He figured Keri would have called either last night or this morning just to make sure he was okay or that he hadn’t cheated on her with Rain. But there was nothing, no mock accusations or love messages, just nothing. The teen decided to give his girlfriend a call and was disappointed when she didn’t answer the phone “Hey, hun, uh, it’s just me calling. I hope you had fun last night…but not too much fun. Talk to you later, I guess. Love you, bye,” Lance said into Keri’s voicemail. He snapped the phone shut and tossed it on to his bed. The phone bounced a bit before coming to a stop next to Lance’s pillow. He started to get worried, but he told himself that she was probably still asleep, as it was just past eight in the morning on a Sunday. Well, Keri wasn’t home or not answering her phone or whatever, and Lance could only stand so much of Ryan’s company at the moment, so he was left with very few options. He could call up some of the other guys from the track team and go play some ball, but, again, it was early on a Sunday morning. And they weren’t supposed to be playing basketball during the season,

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anyway. It was too risky due to the high number of ankle injuries that occurred when highly competitive teenaged males played sports that required jumping. Then it hit him. He could call Rain and they could go for breakfast at the restaurant. He would get to eat, hang out with Rain, and do some recon all at the same time. This seemed like the best course of action, so he gave Rain a call. Lance was half surprised when Rain actually answered, as he figured she would have also been asleep. “Hello?” Rain asked. She sounded fully awake, yet still very cautious. “Hey, it’s Lance,” he replied. That was stupid, of course, as she knew it was him by the listing on her caller ID. “Hey!” Rain said, her voice brightening up immediately. “How are you?” “Good, good. Hey, I was wondering if you would possibly, maybe want to go and get some breakfast?” he asked. He was too nervous about his plan to consider how Keri would react to this. “Uh, sure, why not?” Rain replied, with a twinge of hesitation in her voice. “Give me a few to get ready, okay?” He agreed, and said he would come get her shortly, then said goodbye and hung up the phone. He had to get ready himself, and he started by taking a shower, letting the hot water bleed out the excitement that was swelling up inside of him. It was the next step in his greater scheme to clean up his city, to find the man who sent those punks who jumped him out on the streets. He toweled off and put on clothes, a tight, bright blue t-shirt and blue jeans. From what Lance remembered, the restaurant they were going to didn’t exactly require or enforce a formal dress code. He hopped down the stairs after deciding that Rain would have had enough time to get ready, and Lance was just about out the door when his mother, who he hadn’t seen sitting at the kitchen table, cleared her throat and spoke up. “And where do you think you’re going?” she asked. Lance hadn’t thought anyone else in the house had been up and jumped in surprise when he heard her voice. He swirled around to see his mother sitting, glancing over the morning paper. She was wearing the usual morning wear, a robe and slippers, which Lance had always thought was an odd choice, but then again, he didn’t try to make any sense out of the customs of people. “I’m going out to breakfast,” Lance stammered. Shit! I was hoping to get out of the house without many questions, or any, if possible. Unfortunately, that didn’t seem likely. “With Keri?” his mom asked incredulously, “Seems kind of early for her.” “No,” Lance replied, not really want to extrapolate on his response, but knew he’d be forced to anyway, so he just to his mom the truth. “With Rain…” “Oh? And what does Keri think about this?”

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“She doesn’t know yet. I tried to call her, but she didn’t answer,” Lance explained. It was true, he had tried to call Keri, and she hadn’t answered the phone, but that was before he had the idea of going to breakfast to do some reconnaissance for the coming night. Lance’s mom gave him a funny look, like she wanted to say something, but she just said, “All right, honey, just don’t go getting into any trouble.” He sighed and rolled his eyes, “I won’t, mom.” He quickly turned and walked out the door before his mother could say anything more, having heard enough about the subject the night before. That had made him angry, hearing about how he should dump Keri and go out with Rain, as his friends and family should just respect his wishes and not hassle him about who he wants to date. That and he had also heard quite enough of what he could have possibly been doing in the kitchen with Rain from Ryan.

Lance drove the short distance from his house to Rain’s apartment, parked out in front almost exactly where he had the night before, then plodded across the grassy yard out in front to her door. Rain startled him slightly as she pulled opened the door as he approached and smiled brightly. “It’ll be just another minute, I just have to dry my hair,” Rain said as Lance got close enough to hear and she turned around and disappeared somewhere into the apartment. She had left the door open, so Lance figured it was all right that he entered the apartment and sat down on the couch. Even though he had just been there a little over eight hours before, he hoped no one, including Rain, would get the wrong idea. He and Rain had talked it through, and had come to the conclusion that starting a more personal relationship would be impossible at that moment. Now all he needed was for Rain to remember that. She was a great person to be around, Lance felt, and he hoped they would be able to remain good friends. “All right, I’m all set to go,” she said as she entered the living room wearing a pink baby doll t-shirt and tight, form-fitting low cut jeans. Lance’s eyes widened in appreciation and he thought he might have drooled a little bit as he wiped his hand past his mouth. “What?” she asked smiling playfully. Like any girl, Rain was fishing for complements. “Do you ever look bad?” Lance asked seriously. He didn’t think that it was possible, and as he thought back to it, Rain even looked great after track practice. “Oh, cut it out,” she giggled. Her face was turning a slightly red color as she blushed. “Now, now, we talked about this. We can’t be friends if you keep staring at me like that.” “Then quit looking like that,” Lance responded. He was serious. Rain’s blond hair rain over her shoulders and was tucked behind her ears and she looked just fantastic to him. Rain just rolled her eyes jokingly and held out her arm to help Lance up off of the couch. “Come on, let’s go,” she encouraged as she pulled Lance up. She leaned in and whispered in his ear as he passed by her to leave. “By the way, you were drooling.”

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Damn, Lance thought as he wiped at his mouth again, this time with his arm. I was drooling, and she noticed. Not the smoothest way to start out the day. Lance escorted Rain to his car and even opened the passenger side door for her. “My, what the gentleman. Your mama raised you right.” “She’d be relieved to hear that.” Rain chuckled as Lance closed the door after her. He went around to the driver’s side and climbed into the vehicle. They drove along for a few minutes, and Rain was quietly absorbing the scenery. Not that there was much to look at, just a few houses, gas stations and a lot of road, but Rain hadn’t yet taken the time to become familiar with her adopted city. “So, where are we going?” Rain asked anxiously. Being in such new surroundings excited her, and it was beginning to show. “Just a little place along the highway here. It’s one of those twenty-four hour diners. It’s not too far now,” he explained. He drove past the army surplus store that he had visited just twenty-four hours before and glanced over. He had pushed the thought from his mind, but now the idea that his dad had shopped at that store, which included purchasing a rifle for some unknown reason, came rushing back. Lance quickly shelved the thoughts of his father to the back of his mind and concentrated on driving. “Ooh, sounds cozy,” she said. “I hope so,” Lance said to himself and Rain shot him a quizzical look, not sure of how to take Lance’s comment. He looked at her quickly and saw that she had heard what he had said, so he quickly changed the subject by saying, “We’re here.” Lance gazed upon the sign that said ‘Full Moon Family Restaurant,’ with a smaller sign below that that said, ‘Open twenty-four hours.’ He could see that there were already people in the place. It was hard to determine just how many people were in the restaurant due to all of the signs covering up the windows; signs that were advertising the month’s specials, but Lance was only there for one reason. He looked over at Rain, who was standing next to him, waiting to enter the diner and she smiled her beautiful smile at him. Okay, maybe two reasons. Rain seemed awfully perky for it being so early in the morning on the weekend, and Lance told her so. “I’m just a morning person, I guess,” was her response. Lance got a terrible feeling as he opened the door for Rain, and he realized that the man that he was looking for could already be inside. That is, if it was a man. Had those dealers specified that ‘Big C’ was a man? Lance couldn’t remember. Still, just thinking how close he might be to his enemy caused him to stumble. Rain shot out her hand and grasped him by the arm to keep him upright. “Are you okay? You don’t look so good all of a sudden,” she said, looking greatly concerned for Lance’s safety.

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“I’m fine, just a little more tired than I thought,” he replied. He added mentally, that, and the man I might have to beat for information could be right inside. Again, that was with the assumption that ‘Big C’ was a man. Lance figured that ‘Big C’ had to be, as he couldn’t picture any woman hanging out here and running drug deals. “We don’t have to stay if you don’t feel up to it,” Rain offered. She didn’t want her new friend getting sick on her, especially since he was her ride. “I’m fine, really. We came this far, let’s just go in,” Lance grabbed the handle to the door and swung it open hard, holding it open for Rain who gave him a look that indicated that she was getting worried by Lance’s sudden change in behavior. He hadn’t seemed like the druggy or violent type to her before, but, then again, she hadn’t known him all that well or for very long. After getting a smile and a “you can seat yourself,” from one of the waitresses, a middleaged, yet perky, woman with glasses and graying hair, Rain directed Lance to one of the booths in the corner of the restaurant. All the while, Lance was eying the place suspiciously as they walked to the table. Once the two were seated, Lance’s focus shifted back to Rain. “What was up with that waitress? Can you say stereotype?” Lance joked. Rain laughed, so Lance ran with the joke. “Seriously, if she calls me “hun” I am totally out of here.” Rain was laughing so hard she almost couldn’t stop before the waitress approached the booth. Rain’s sobering up so quickly caused Lance to stop his oh so witty rant, figuring that it meant the waitress in question was coming up behind him. They both looked up at the older woman and smiled. “Now, what can I get you folks today?” she asked, pulling out a tiny notepad and a pen from a pouch on the front of her apron. Yep, stereotype all the way, Lance thought as he panned over the menu quickly. Rain was the first to select something and she ordered. “I’ll have the all-American breakfast with the scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and strawberry jelly for the toast.” “And to drink?” “I’ll go with chocolate milk.” “And for you?” the waitress asked as she turned to Lance. She expected Lance to deliver an equally long order as Rain, so she had her pen cocked and ready to write. “I’ll have the same,” Lance smiled pleasantly. “Coming right up.” After the waitress left, Lance turned to Rain, “That’s some order there.” “Well, I work out a lot, so I have to keep my strength up,” Rain said. Lance nodded in agreement. Being an athlete himself, Lance knew exactly what Rain meant, and appreciated the importance of a good, hearty breakfast. “So, ready to break that record this week?” Rain asked, continuing along that same train of thought, since they were already talking sports.

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“I’d have to be dead to not break the record,” Lance replied ominously. They chatted about track for awhile, then Lance excused himself to the restroom. After finishing his business, Lance bumped into a man as he moved to wash his hands. “Oh, excuse me,” Lance apologized. “I’m sorry.” Lance noted that he had said those two words again, and he wondered how often he said them on any given day. Because of Rain, he began to think about things like that. “I should bloody hope so,” the man replied in an English accent. The man left after drying his hands, and Lance glared at the man’s back as he left the restroom. What was that all about? Lance thought before shaking it off. I thought English people were supposed to be more sophisticated, more suave, more civilized. He calmed down as he exited the restroom and looked around for a few moments, still trying to scope out the restaurant for when he would return later that day. Lance saw that the man he had bumped into was seated in a back booth in the opposite corner away from his, away from any of the other patrons. Lance shook his head and walked back towards his own table. The food had been served while he had been away and Rain smiled up at him through a mouth full of eggs. Lance gazed at her longingly and sat down, bouncing a bit as he hit the cushion hard. “Still pretty?” she laughed. “Very,” Lance admitted. He really believed now that nothing could make the girl sitting across from him ugly. While they were eating the waitress came by to check up on the teens. She noticed that Lance’s drink was running low, and, always wanting to appear to be friendly, which would ensure a larger tip; she offered to freshen Lance’s chocolate milk. “Can I get you a refill, hun?” she asked. Lance’s eyes bulged in response and he managed to say no, so the waitress left. “Calm down there, I think it’s a rule that they have to talk like that anyway.” At that point Rain started in on her childhood and how she had been to quite a few diners just like the one they were in now growing up. Meanwhile, Lance continued to run his eyes across every inch of the restaurant. Rain explained that she had practically grown up in places like this, with most of her foster parents having a penchant for bad fast food and greasy diners. So she had eaten out a lot, perhaps a little too much, and Lance was amazed at just how good she looked now. “Uh huh,” Lance said at regular intervals where he was expected to respond in some way. His blue eyes darting back and for, committing to memory everything he could about the restaurant; the number and layout of the tables, the placement of the exits, everything. Rain even caught Lance trying to peer into the modest kitchen area. She stopped talking, which Lance didn’t notice, put her cheek on her hand, and frowned as she stared out the window. “Will you cut that out?” she said finally. She had had enough of whatever it was he was doing. “You’re freaking me out. It’s like you’re casing the joint to rob it or something.”

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Lance’s focus sharpened in on Rain, and he smiled as he said. “And who says I’m not?” “That’s not funny,” Rain said and motioned towards the staff, who were stealing glances in the pair’s direction. “And now they’re all watching us.” Their waitress came by with the check, and Lance stopped Rain as she fished through her purse for money. “I’ve got this. What good is a job if I can’t treat beautiful girls to breakfast,” Lance said, grabbing the check. He was putting on the biggest grin that he possibly could now. “Knock it off, Lance,” Rain said seriously. That knocked the wind out of his sails and the smile off his face. “Just, stop flirting, okay? You have a girlfriend who probably finds that shit very macho and cute, but guess what? I’m not her.” She had left off the now implied, “And never will be.” Lance held his head down as he grabbed the slip of paper and walked over to the register at the front of the restaurant. Well, that’s kind of depressing, he thought as he waited for whoever was supposed to be running the cash register. We were totally connecting last night. What happened? It didn’t occur to him that perhaps Rain had come to her senses overnight and definitely did not want to get involved with a boy who had a girlfriend, and the fact that she liked Lance just made it harder to be close to him. Especially in situations just like the one Lance had dragged her into and then rudely ignored her. He was left pondering that question when an older gentleman stepped behind the register. Lance did his best to give the man a weak smile when he asked how everything was, but even that proved difficult. Instead, Lance just handed the man his money and check. As he held out his hand for the change, he felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket, indicating that he had an incoming call. He fished out the phone with his free hand as he took the change and jammed it into his pocket with the other. The caller ID showed that it was Keri. With a sigh, he flipped open the phone and stepped away from the counter. “Hello?” Lance asked, dreading the oncoming conversation. Keri was not going to be happy once she learned where Lance was, and with whom. “Hey, hun,” Keri replied emphatically. Lance almost bumped into another customer and said, “Excuse me,” as he deftly avoided the person. Lance could practically hear the frown on the other side of the phone. “Where are you?” “At breakfast, at that little place just outside of town, along the highway,” Lance replied. Please leave it at that, Lance begged silently into the phone. Of course, Keri didn’t. “With your parents?” she remembered Lance saying that his dad was coming back that day. She thought maybe he had gotten in early and the family had gone out for breakfast.

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“No, I’m with Rain,” he said as he sat back down at the table. Rain stared at him disapprovingly with her arms folded across her chest. That was the universal symbol for extreme silent anger, and Lance knew that it was very bad to get a girl mad. “You’re still with her?” Keri practically screamed, “What’d you do, sleep with her?” Lance pleaded his case, including the half-truth that he had already told his mom, while Rain continued to stare. She was figuring now that he hadn’t paid attention to her because Lance would have rather gone to breakfast with Keri. She obviously didn’t want to play second fiddle to Keri. Rain wasn’t even sure she wanted to play first, but she knew she wasn’t going to be second. “Look, I’m still here, I can get you something.” Rain focused in to hear what Lance was saying, thinking about how it was a fine mess she had gotten into, as across the table, Lance thought the same thing. Lance found it hard to judge which was worse, being caught between two teenaged girls, or being one of the girls, especially the one that was, in his mind, losing out. Rain stood up to leave as Lance flipped the phone shut. She decided to keep playing the angry dejected girl as she stormed out of the diner and stood impatiently at the passenger door of Lance’s car. She left Lance standing by the table, watching her display of anger, not sure of what to do next. He took one last look at the rest of the restaurant and saw that everyone was looking at him now, including the English man he had bumped into in the bathroom. Embarrassed, Lance quietly slinked out the door into the parking lot. He considered opening Rain’s door and holding it open for her, but the look on her face advised him against it. Instead, Lance just used the power lock feature to unlock Rain’s door from the inside. She looked angry that he hadn’t gotten the door for her, and he knew she still would’ve been angry if he had. It was a no win situation for Lance, one that he didn’t see improving as time went on. As Rain got into the car, Lance attempted to apologize. All he got in return was a look of disgust and a, “Just drive me home.” He hadn’t gotten one of those since he first tried to get to second base with a girl. At least this time he hadn’t been slapped, though for some reason he felt that maybe he should have been. He was frustrated and a bit angry, but he knew he only had himself to blame. It was his fault that Rain was mad, and that Keri was also somewhere being angry at him, but he just didn’t know what he could do to rectify the situation, so he decided to just honor Rain’s wishes and drove her straight home. She practically jumped from the car as Lance pulled up to her apartment, and as soon as she walked away, Lance slumped over in his seat and banged his head hard on the steering wheel. The resulting blare of the horn caused Rain to jump, which made her even angrier. What’d I even do wrong? Lance asked himself. The answer was immediate. Rain was trying to share details of her life with Lance, and he had ignored her, instead, focusing on his

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own recon “mission.” No girl likes to be ignored when she is talking, especially if she feels that what she is saying is important, and to Rain, every detail of her childhood was important. Rain had thought Lance had been the greatest guy she had ever met, and then he went and blew it by being more absorbed by his new second life than his first. That’s how Lance thought of his powers and his escapades at night, though he had only ever really had two, and he wasn’t sure the first counted as part of his life as a super hero. He had started to develop his alter ego, the costumed crime fighter, a secret costumed persona that he could slip into whenever the need arose. And that was how Lance had to keep it, as an activity, a life that was second to his own. He couldn’t let the power take over his life, which is something that he had been worried about since the night he discovered that he had this fantastic ability. Since the discovery of his powers, Lance was becoming more and more absorbed into the lifestyle that it led to. The danger, the excitement, it was intoxicating, like the drugs on the streets that he had vowed to clean up. It was the thrill of control that he was getting when he beat up the bad guy. Granted, that had only been three times, but it was enough of a taste to make him want more. He wanted to keep playing the game, but maybe, he thought, he could change the rules slightly. Do more good as plain, old Lance, and less as the costumed vigilante righting wrongs in the night. This was what he considered as he drove home with the windows down, letting the warm spring air hit his face. He cruised through the town slowly and let his thoughts drift over his future.

Arriving home, Lance gathered that his father had gotten back from his business trip, as his dad’s black sedan was now parked in the driveway. Lance’s thoughts immediately jumped to Bob and Jay and what they had said at the surplus store. His dad had bought a gun from them. One he may have modified to shoot tranquilizer darts. Why would he need a gun to shoot tranquilizer? Lance wondered as he pulled into the driveway behind his dad’s car. It was about ten in the morning now, and, after his disastrous breakfast with Rain, Lance didn’t know how he would make it through the rest of the day. Also, he had no idea where he stood with Keri, but it probably wasn’t on the side of good. After he had explained everything to her, while Rain had waited impatiently at their table, Keri hadn’t sounded terribly upset, but he never knew with her. She might stew over it for hours, then explode all over again the next time Lance talked to her. It was only made worse by Keri’s friends, especially her guy friends. They always made everything Lance said sound like an admission of guilt. An “I have to go to the restroom,” when Lance managed to build up the courage and tolerance enough to hang out with Keri’s male friends, turned into an “I have to go to the

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restroom…to make out with every girl in here, and they’re all prettier than you,” with the way her friends spun it. Especially Derrick, as he was the worst, and if Lance could bring himself to hate anyone, it might very well be Derrick. At school, he followed her around like a puppy sucking love from its owner, only the love Derrick was looking for was underneath Keri’s clothes. Keri could be so great when she wasn’t surrounded by her guy friends, which made Lance all the angrier to see just how much they truly influenced his girlfriend. “Hey there, son,” his dad said, interrupting Lance’s thinking. Lance had been so lost in thought, that he hadn’t even seen his dad approaching his car. “You going to sit in there forever?” Lance really had spaced out, and he was visibly startled by his dad’s approach. Lance looked up at his dad, who was laughing to himself at the effect he had had on his son. Mr. Steven Maxwell was tall, like Lance, though heavier with the onset of middle age. In his mid-forties, he was still in fantastic shape, with a full head of dark brown hair that was slowly turning a distinguished shade of steel gray. He stood outside of his son’s car wearing a gray business suit, as though he hadn’t had time to change after arriving home from his trip. “I…no,” Lance stuttered as he finally managed to get himself out of the car. “I was just thinking about something.” “Oh, you looked pretty deep in thought there. It must have been important,” his dad said, walking next to Lance as they made their way to the house. “Not really,” Lance replied. He wasn’t sure if any of it was important in the long run, thoughts of his girlfriend, and why his dad may or may not have bought a rifle. That led him to his next comment. “Oh, Bob and Jay from the army store said to say ‘hi’ for them.” “Oh? Did they say anything else?” his dad questioned, pretending not to be suddenly intrigued by Lance’s revelation. “Nope,” Lance lied. He seemed to be doing that left and right these days. Though, he tended to think of it as more of a manipulating the truth and not out and out lying. “How was breakfast? Your mother tells me it was with some new girl,” Mr. Maxwell interrogated, the way any parent does when their child goes anywhere with someone new. Lance half expected the “what is she like?” and “what does she look like?” questions. “Yeah…” Lance acknowledged. He was going to make his dad work hard for the details. “Tell me about her. What’s her name?” he asked. Lance wanted to say that it didn’t matter what the girl’s name was, that he was still seeing Keri and that it didn’t matter if he wasn’t, because he had already blown it with Rain anyway. Instead, Lance just played the good son and responded kindly. “Well, she’s new to the school, hence being the new girl,” Lance explained. He was playing nice, but that didn’t mean he had to do it without being a smart-aleck. “Her name is Rain.”

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The reaction from Mr. Maxwell was immediate, but brief. He stopped walking and gave Lance a glance that could only be described as anger mixed with fear. Lance hadn’t known what he did to make his father look at him that way, but it would come to him later. The look only was there for a moment, then disappeared just as quickly as Mr. Maxwell managed a weak smile. “Hmm,” he said, trying to hide and contain whatever had caused that look of angry fear, whatever was really going in his mind. “That’s an, ah, interesting name.” What is he hiding? Lance wondered. It seemed to him that his dad had so many secrets these days. “Yeah, I thought so too,” Lance said cautiously, “but it kind of grows on you.” “I guess it would.” The morning sun was causing the heat to rise quickly, and Lance had to shield its rays from his eyes as they lazily walked towards the house. Okay, enough with the strange comments already, Lance screamed, albeit in his head. Just tell me what’s going on. Lance had finished explaining the travesty that had been his morning meal when his father got an idea. “What do you say we all go out for dinner, as a family? You can bring Keri if you want.” “Great,” Lance said, then hesitated with his next comment. “Though, I’m not so sure about Keri. She’s kinda mad at me right now…maybe.” “What did you do now?” his dad asked, opening the door for his son. Lance laughed. He couldn’t help it. The way his dad had said that just evoked that reaction. That and the answer was what they had just discussed. “I went to breakfast with another girl,” he admitted. His dad laughed too. It would’ve been a good father-son moment if Lance hadn’t kept the fact that his father was keeping secrets from him in the back of his mind. “I’m sure she’ll be fine. Invite her to dinner, it’ll be all right,” Mr. Maxwell assured his son. So as soon as he was in his room, Lance called up Keri and relayed the invitation for dinner, which she readily accepted. She also asked what time she would need to be ready to go. “That’s a good question,” Lance replied, walking out of his room. He cupped his hand over the mouth piece and yelled down the stairs at his father. “Hey! What time are we going to dinner?” Somewhere in the house, Lance could hear Eva squeal with delight. Well, I just ruined that surprise, Lance surmised. “I don’t know,” his dad called back after a moment. “How does seven sound?” “Fine,” Lance replied, then uncovered the mouth piece and spoke calmly to Keri. “How does seven sound?”

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“That sounds good,” Keri replied. After a moment of silence, Lance felt he couldn’t help himself. “So…what are you wearing?” he asked, breaking the silence. Keri laughed so hard she almost snorted. “Goodbye, hun. I’ll see you at seven.” “’Bye, I love you.” Keri was still laughing. “I love you, too.” Keri hung up first, and Lance plugged the phone into the charging cable and tossed the sleek cell phone onto his bed. He went downstairs and visited with his family for awhile, since he didn’t seem to have anything better to do. Eva had been working her way up to something, but Lance hadn’t found out what it was yet, though he figured he could have probably guessed. “Daddy,” she said sweetly. Here it comes, Lance said, staring intently at the train wreck unfolding in front of him, his eyes widened in anticipation. “Could we bring my new boyfriend?” “You have a boyfriend now?” their dad asked. “My, you kids grow up so fast. You have a boyfriend; your brother manages to make two girls angry at the same time, what’s next?” Eva shot Lance a questioning glance. Apparently she hadn’t heard about who Lance went to breakfast with. Which wasn’t surprising to Lance, as it appeared Eva had just woken up, being still in her pajamas. She wore what Lance would have said were faded pink sweat pants, but he knew that she had purchased them that way, and a pink tank top. “Anyway, so can Ryan come?” Eva pleaded. To say Mr. Maxwell had been stunned would have been an understatement. “Wait, Ryan? Lance’s Ryan?” their dad turned to Lance. “Did you know your halfwit of a friend is dating my little girl?” Lance sighed and rolled his eyes. “Unfortunately, yes.” “Captain of the softball team and you’re dating that track reject?” he looked back at Lance. “No offense.” Lance wasn’t offended at all, since he considered himself a track star, what with being on pace to break records and all, and besides, his dad’s comments hadn’t strayed too far from his own thoughts. But Lance kept telling himself that it was up to Eva, and that if she was happy, that is all that mattered. Eva gave their father the sad puppy dog face with eyelash batting and everything. “Fine,” Mr. Maxwell relented. “The halfwit can come. But no googly eyes, or kissy lips, or flirting of any kind.” “What about Lance? He does that stuff with Keri all the time,” Eva argued. “And are you going to be calling him halfwit all night?”

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“Probably, yes.” The dad said. As for Eva’s accusations, he looked at Lance sternly and Lance shrugged and nodded in admission. Of course it was true. Everyone had seen it, so there would be no point in attempting to deny it. “One, Lance is older than you are. Two, he’s a man. And three, you’re my daughter, and I worry just like I’m sure Keri’s dad worries about her,” Mr. Maxwell explained. It was sexist, but true. “Now go call Ryan to make sure all this fuss is for something.” Eva threw her arms around her father, squealed again, and then ran upstairs to call Ryan, who, unfortunately for Lance and his dad, was more than eager to join them for dinner. Perhaps Ryan thought that if he showed up on his best behavior that he might win Mr. Maxwell over, which, if that were his plan, he would fail horribly before the night even started. One look at the elder Maxwell’s face would be more than enough to assure anyone that there would be no “winning over” or “buddy-buddy times” where any man dating his daughter would be concerned. It was still early in the day, so Lance’s dad killed some time with pestering his son with questions. “How is school going?” Lance answered with a grumbled, “Fine.” “Going to break that record in the hurdles soon?” “Hopefully.” “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” “What do you mean?” Lance responded, looking up from the paper. He hadn’t been able to think of anything else to do, so he read the comics page. “You seem upset about something.” “Nope, I’m fine. Just a rough morning.” “It was really that bad with this ‘Rain’ girl?” “Yeah, I guess. I’m not sure why I’m that upset about it.” He knew why he was upset. It was because he took Rain to a restaurant for breakfast and he ended up acting like a jerk the entire meal. He hadn’t even paid attention to her when she was telling her stories about herself. Lance figured Rain thought he had to be the biggest jerk on the planet right about then. “You care because that’s who you are,” his dad said, trying to reassure his son. How would you know? Lance thought to himself, you’re never home enough to notice anyway. “You try to please everyone, which is probably why your sister is now dating your best friend, even though it’s obvious that you’re not really okay with it.” Okay, so maybe dad knows me…just a little bit. Come to think of it, he was right about Keri, too. Lance supposed his only real “problem” with his dad really was that he was gone too much. That, and now Lance suspected his dad of hiding something from him, perhaps even from his mom, too.

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“What is it you do, exactly?” Lance asked. The question threw Mr. Maxwell off guard for a moment, trying to discern exactly what Lance had meant. “As my job?” his dad asked to clarify Lance’s question. “Yeah. What do you do for your job?” “Well, I’m vice president of marketing for a major American pharmaceutical company, a drug company, if you will. And my job is to find investors, get their money, and to also help pitch new products to the FDA.” Something seemed off to Lance, like something didn’t quite add up right. “To be honest, I’m not sure why they call my department ‘Marketing,’ since we have nothing to do with advertising products.” Aha! That was what it was, and now his dad had explained away any discrepancies in his story. So why did Lance still feel like something was off? “Look, I know I am away a lot. But I’m going to be in town for awhile. It is probably going to take some time for the labs to cook up their next wonder-drug.” He looked at Lance very seriously as he spoke. “I’d rather spend much more time with you, and your sister, but I promise I’ll be at your meet this week. Speaking of which, when is it?” Lance thought hard about that. He was pretty sure that it was Tuesday, so he said that. “The meet starts at four, but the hurdles aren’t right away, so don’t worry about getting there on time too much.” Lance wasn’t going to be doing any high-jumping at the meet, as a favor from the coaches to help get him the record. After a few more minutes of chit-chat and catching up, his dad excused himself and went upstairs to visit with Lance’s mom. She never admitted it, but Lance felt that his dad’s absence affected her as much as it did him. Maybe she was used to it by now, but Lance couldn’t figure out how anyone could cope with a spouse being away so often. He sat at the table for a few minutes longer, then remembered he had some homework that had to get done, so he figured he might as well do that to kill time. After he was done with his school work, he decided he might as well put his excruciatingly bad morning to some use, so he went through the restaurant step by step in his head. He also thought up some cool things that he could say to ‘Big C’ while he was at it, then decided that everything he came up with actually sounded pretty terrible. Preplanned humor was not one of Lance’s strong points as he thought of himself as more of an improv guy, saying whatever he was thinking and hoping it was funny. He tossed around the idea of calling Ryan, but realized that his sister was still on the phone with him. He had thought about that when Eva and Ryan first wanted to go out, that their “romantic trysts” might cut into the whole “Ryan is Lance’s best friend” thing. Still, Lance knew that that would have happened no matter who Ryan dated. And it was bound to happen too, since Ryan wasn’t ugly, and he could be a great guy when he wasn’t saying something stupid; which, unfortunately for Ryan, seemed to be quite often.

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Ditching the idea to call his best friend, Lance booted up his computer. The hard drive contained the normal things that most teenaged boys have on their home PC. Some games, chat software, that sort of thing. Though today, something of an idea came to Lance’s mind. He had thought of it while he was debating whether he wanted to call Ryan. Lance decided to search for superpowers or people who allegedly had powers, or videos put forth as evidence of superpowers. What he found was that there was so much stuff out there on the web that Lance just didn’t know where to begin. He finally settled on watching a few of the videos that had circulated to those viral video websites, but those turned out to be a crock anyway. Most of the videos he had found were discredited as fake before they were ever even released to the public. Just people with way too much time and money having fun with their computers. Next, he decided to look through the “How do I know if I have/How do I get super powers” web pages. Those turned out to be not much help either. These sites contained such useful tidbits as “you can get super powers in the following ways: Being exposed to radiation, being bitten by a radioactive insect or animal, or being the offspring of parents with superpowers (gained, most likely, through the aforementioned means).” There was one useful idea in that that Lance hadn’t yet considered. What if Lance’s dad had superpowers, and that’s where Lance had gotten them from. That would explain why his dad was gone all the time, though he didn’t see his dad as the super hero type, the father figure who offers a steady hand and strong advice to the hero, perhaps, but not the hero himself. Then Lance had an even crazier idea. What if his powers had come from his mom? Nah, that’s not too likely. She wouldn’t have the time to be a super hero, Lance decided. Between working and taking care of her kids full time, his mom just didn’t have the time to don tights and run around fighting crime. Not that Lance could or wanted to picture his mom wearing tights. Enough with the internet, Lance decided, and went to lie down. He had had a very long week and it was all rushing to catch up with him now.

Lance awoke several hours later to find that he wasn’t feeling all that refreshed. He had already been tired from working on top of track practice, and now he was planning to sneak around in the middle of the night on top of all that. Well, that made Lance exhausted just from thinking about it. Showering for the second time that day helped wake Lance up a bit, but he couldn’t help stifling a yawn as he waited for the rest of his family to get ready for dinner. Lance had to drive himself and Keri, his dad informed him, since Eva was now bringing Ryan along. At the last minute, Mr. Maxwell decided that maybe Lance should take Eva along and pick Ryan up as well, so that Ryan might actually make it to the restaurant in one piece.

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So Lance begrudgingly held off on leaving to pick up Keri so that Eva could finish up getting ready. When Eva finally came down the stairs, she was wearing a dark blue skirt that went below her knees, as their father had insisted, and a nice looking gray sweater that buttoned up in the front. She also was wearing her hair down and the dirty blonde locks fell everywhere in a natural, yet very controlled and calculated, way. Lance himself was wearing a loose, but not oversized, black and gray polo shirt and black dress pants. On the way out the door, Lance hoped Eva warned Ryan to properly dress for the occasion. Not entirely formal, but not casual, just a solid mix of something in between. “What took you so long?” Lance grumbled as he unlocked the doors of the car. “Sorry, but not everyone has the luxury of having so few options on how they wear their hair,” Eva replied, referring to Lance’s haircut. “Hey, this haircut happens to be very aerodynamic,” Lance said as he ran his hand smoothly through his hair. Admittedly, Lance had tried his hand at styling his hair, and he tried quite a few different ways, with little success, so he had eventually given up trying. Nothing from spiked to long and shaggy had worked out for him, so now Lance just kept it short and simple. Ryan lived closer to their house than Keri, so Lance picked him up first. When Lance pulled up to Ryan’s house, he was surprised to see that Ryan was ready to go. And with the proper attire, no less. Respect for his friend was raised and now Lance didn’t entirely feel like killing Ryan now. Lance wasn’t easily impressed by his sister’s boyfriends, but Ryan had at least started out the night right. He was dressed in a shirt nearly identical to Lance’s, only his was a dark blue and gray shirt, and he was wearing kakis. He got in the back seat with little more than a hello. Even more surprising to Lance was that Keri was ready to go when they pulled into her driveway. Wow, he thought, everyone is on the ball tonight. Keri looked almost like she was ready for a night on the town, wearing the classical little black dress that showed off her assets, in both the front and back, but not too much that it would upset or cause a commotion. It was more of a hint of what lay beneath than a flaunting of the goods, so to speak. Still, it was enough to make Lance’s jaw drop when he saw her, her brow curls bouncing lightly on her shoulders. As Keri approached, Eva climbed out of the front seat and Ryan leaned over to push open the back door opposite his. Keri took in Lance’s reaction, the appreciation of her body, and sat down, all smiles, and laughed. “I take it you like?” Keri asked seductively. She even put one finger to her lips to get more of a rise out of Lance. “Yes,” he gulped. “Very yes.” Lance stared for a few moments before shaking himself out of his trance. He was once again reminded why he was so willing to put up with all of the things she pulled. “You, uh” Ryan stuttered. “You look nice.”

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“Thanks. I figured it would make Lance forget about whatshername.” “Who?” Lance said. He was still slightly stunned. Lance pulled the car out of Keri’s driveway and drove for a bit before Lance realized who Keri had been talking about. “Oh, yeah, her. Uh. Yeah, breakfast took care of that for you.” “Good,” Keri said, leaving the subject at that. Upon arriving at the restaurant, the group of teens saw that the elder Maxwell’s were already there. The restaurant was one of those fancier sit down restaurants with a brown brick building and lots of windows. The inside was decorated with light colors and browns to create a warm, comfortable atmosphere. Lance opened the door for the others in his group and entered behind Keri, still gazing at her beauty as she passed. They were waved over to a circular table by Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell, who had already ordered drinks. The teens split off into their respective pairs and sat on either side of the adults. Keri and Lance sat to the left of mother Maxwell and Eva and Ryan sat to the right of Mr. Maxwell, putting Ryan and Lance together on the other side of the table. Mr. Maxwell was talking about the downfall of society when something he said almost made Lance choke on his soda pop. “Why, just last week, some degenerate drunk tried to force himself on a young lady in this town’s industrial area,” he explained. Keri shot Lance a sideways glance, which he tried not to notice. “Oh really?” Keri asked. “When did you say this happened?” She already suspected the answer, but she wanted to know for sure. “Late Friday night,” Mr. Maxwell continued the story. “Fortunately, the young lady was able to defend herself and no substantial harm befell her.” Oh, son of a…What if Keri connects it all together? Wait, what do I mean ‘what if?’ She obviously already has. “So that’s why we heard that screaming, hun,” Keri looked at him. He thought she might figure it out at any second, what really happened in the alley that night. She cold read the look of worry and concern in Lance’s eyes, so she neglected to mention why they were at the industrial park in the first place, or that Lance had gone to investigate the screaming. Nor did she mention that she was the one who made the anonymous 911 call, or that Lance had acted so strangely when he came back to the car. Instead, she just said, “We were by the industrial park on our way home from the movie theater, and we thought we had heard a scream as we passed. But, we had the radio on and the windows up, so we weren’t really sure of what we heard.” She wanted to cover up the fact that they had been parking just as much as Lance wanted to, so she went with a story that didn’t exactly lie, but didn’t tell the truth, either. Satisfied with Keri’s explanation, the conversation turned to a more pleasant topic. “Lance, son, what’s your schedule for the week?” his father asked him between bites of steak. The food had been served during Mr. Maxwell’s relation of the media interpretation of

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Lance’s Friday night. The story was the talk of the town, apparently, so the waitress and server had tried to stay close by to see if they couldn’t glean any new bits of information from the table. They hadn’t, but still, they had had to bite their tongues so as not to interrupt their customers’ meals, as that could affect their tips. “Well, I have off from work tomorrow because of the meet on Tuesday. I work after practice on Wednesday,” Lance said, thinking his schedule through in his head. “I have off Thursday, work Friday, but then I have off Saturday.” Lance didn’t usually work the day before a meet, at his coach’s request, so as not to strain himself bagging groceries. Every little thing to help conserve energy before a race, Lance had guessed. He hadn’t figured out a schedule for his late-night hero work, but with the way his personal life had been of late, he thought maybe he should focus on that instead of staying out late and possibly getting hurt. He also thought maybe he could still help as many people as he could, but he wouldn’t necessarily have to go out of his way to find trouble. He was so lost in that thought that he hadn’t noticed that his father had been asking him a question. “What?” Lance asked, coming back around. This was becoming a frequent habit as of late, Lance noted. “Would you and Ryan like to go fishing Saturday morning?” Mr. Maxwell repeated. “Like we used to when you kids were younger. It will give us all a chance to get reacquainted. Don’t you think so, Ryan?” Ryan attempted to hide his surprise and fear, and replied with a, “Sounds great.” They hadn’t gone fishing for years, long before Mr. Maxwell went on business trips for what seemed like months at a time. Lance was trying to think of a way to get out of going on the fishing trip, since being stuck between his dad and Ryan for several hours on a small boat very early on a Saturday morning did not sound like something he wanted to do. But, he really couldn’t come up with a reason that would satisfy his dad, so he mentally relented and agreed to go. Besides, Lance thought, it might not be too bad. That was a long shot, but maybe they would all sit there in the boat and just fish peacefully without talking for several hours. Or, maybe Mr. Maxwell would tie cinder blocks to Ryan’s feet and dump him in the lake. With the vibe that he just picked up from his dad, Lance guessed the trip would probably be something closer to the second one. The rest of dinner went by with a good mixture of great food and comfortable conversation. After they had finished dessert, which Mr. Maxwell had insisted on ordering, the kids decided to go back to Lance’s house to watch TV. It was Lance’s idea, actually, since he had neglected to pack his costume into the trunk of his car. It was a school night, but since it was only a little after eight o’ clock, everyone else agreed to Lance’s plan. They just didn’t know that Lance had an ulterior motive for doing so, and he briefly considered how his friends and family would react if they only knew what was going through his mind.

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Ryan would probably think it was cool and he’d be jealous that he hadn’t gotten powers. Keri might be okay with it, and would probably understand Friday night better if she found out why Lance had dodged the police. His family, well, that was where Lance thought it might get a little weird. He didn’t know how they would react. He thought that it might be like coming out, where they would either accept it or throw him out; Lance didn’t want to think of himself as a homophobe or anything, but that was what he had always heard whenever someone at school had announced that they preferred a partner of the same gender. It was always “How did your parents take it?” and “they were totally cool with it, very accepting and understanding” or “they disowned me, threw me out of the house and then threatened me.” Lance had seen it plenty of times, and while not exactly the same as his own situation, he thought the analogy was appropriate.

It was during the TV watching that Lance figured he should go pack his costume into his car while everyone else was distracted. He unwrapped his arm from around Keri’s shoulders and excused himself, saying he had to take care of something quick. He ran up to his room, gathered everything he had bought the day before and stuffed it into the paper bag, making sure to keep the crimson running shirt on top. “Hey, what do you have there?” Keri asked as Lance tried to sneak past with the bag in hand. She perched herself over the edge of the couch as she tried to peer into the brown paper bag. Lance pulled the spandex track shirt off the top of the bundle and held it up for Keri to see. “Just some track clothes and some stuff for a project I’m working on,” Lance said. He hadn’t had to lie that time, he thought as he took the bag out to his car. “I never said that the project that I’m working on is for school,” Lance said to himself while he popped open the trunk to his car and stuffed the bag with his costume in it into the trunk. He thought for a second that he should flatten out the costume so it wouldn’t wrinkle, but he couldn’t risk anyone taking a peek into his trunk and putting two and two together. He figured his keeping his identity a secret was far more important than a slightly unkempt costume. Finishing up outside, Lance slammed the trunk shut and headed back towards the house. Lance took his time, thinking through what he had committed himself to do that night. He was going to go to that diner, to confront a man that he wouldn’t recognize on sight, to shake him down for information about the man who could pull two known criminals from jail in less than twenty-four hours. Yes, that about summed it up for Lance’s situation. He was still unsure as to why he was even going through with it, since he had already decided to get his personal life together before cleaning up the city of its drugs and corruption. Though, in the back of his mind, he knew that part of the reason he was still going to the restaurant was because of the thrill he had been getting from creeping around, intimidating criminals, and then there was the fighting. He looked forward to that.

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What if it can’t wait? Lance thought as he passed through the garage. What if this town has been waiting for someone to cure it of its infections, and it only rots away the longer I wait? That certainly was a depressing realization for Lance, what he desperately needed was for something to happen that could tell him for certain which direction to take: that of a normal, hormonal teenager, or of a costumed crime-fighter that stalked the streets at night, cleaning up the city one darkened alley at a time. At that moment, with all of the craziness Lance had already endured, neither choice seemed all that appealing. Lance pushed his internal conflict aside as he settled back onto the couch and Keri snuggled up to him. No sooner than Lance had finally relaxed that his dad called for him from upstairs. “Lance, quittin’ time,” the voice called. “Time to take Keri and Ryan home.” “Okay,” Lance called back. Eva padded over to the door with the rest of the group, hoping to escape unnoticed. “Eva…” her dad called. “Time for bed.” Eva looked towards the ceiling in anger, as though her dad would be able to see her disappointment through the plaster and wood. “Ugh, fine,” Eva gave Ryan a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” “Yeah,” he said, unsure of what to say in front of Lance and Keri. “Well, good night.” “’Night,” she smiled and walked to the stairs. She gave Ryan a lustful look, then went upstairs to her room. What none of the others knew was how well that had worked in Lance’s favor. He hadn’t really thought of what would happen if Eva had ridden along, but as soon as she was acting like she was going to tag along, Lance’s mind had started panicking and racing through excuses that he could use to get her to stay behind. Fortunately, their dad had taken care of that for him, and he wouldn’t have to come up with any ridiculous and unbelievable reasons as for why Eva should stay home. So off they went: Lance, Ryan, and Keri. Keri was in the passenger seat and Ryan was in the back, which he had quickly grown accustomed to, mostly because Eva usually was in the back, and now he felt he had to sit next to her in the car. Lance was getting anxious now, what with his plan of the last few days finally coming to fruition. Keri was obviously picking up on his anxiety, yet waited until she and Lance were alone to speak up. “Something bothering you, hun?” Keri asked after Ryan had been dropped off. “Yes, but no,” Lance gave her hand an assuring squeeze. “It has nothing to do with you, or us.” “Does it have to do with Rain?” Keri asked suspiciously. Lance had been upset about how things had gone at breakfast with Rain. Which, to Keri, meant Lance had to care enough about what Rain felt to get this upset over it.

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“No, it has nothing to do with Rain,” Lance replied. “I love you, you know that. And I would never do anything to hurt you.” Not that he hadn’t been tempted to do something the night before. If Ryan hadn’t interrupted Lance and Rain, there was no way of knowing what they would have done. “I know,” Keri smiled. “I just like to hear that sometimes.” She leaned over the armrest and placed her hand on his shoulder. “So,” Lance began. “What did you end up doing last night?” Keri started in on the events of her Saturday night. She had tried to call all of her girlfriends, but no one was around, or they were with their boyfriends, or washing their hair, or something like that. So she was just going to sit home and watch television or something when Derrick had called her up. After divulging the fact that she was home alone without Lance, whom Lance felt fairly certain Derrick had already known, otherwise he wouldn’t have called when he had, Derrick suggested that they hang out instead of leaving Keri all alone in her big, dark, scary house. She agreed, so they sat around and watched a horror movie, which Lance would have thought was ironic if he hadn’t felt angry from what Keri had just told him. “Wait, you were at your house all alone with Derrick, and you watched horror movies?” Lance repeated accusingly. His anger was filling him now, and he felt like it would pour over like a tea kettle at any moment. If he had known his girlfriend was going to end up alone in her house with another guy, let alone a guy Lance knew wanted Keri, then he would have never even gone to Rain’s in the first place. “Oh, get over it,” Keri objected. “I could have had sex with him, but I didn’t, and do you know why?” Lance knew why, but he waited for her to say it. “Because I love you, Lance,” she said. She really meant it, at least for that moment. Lance pulled into Keri’s driveway, turned off the car, and hugged her. “I love you, too,” Lance said as he gazed into Keri’s eyes. They were reflecting his image in the moonlight, and Keri rested her head on Lance’s chest. “So nothing happened between you and that platinum headed harlot?” Keri had a way with words, Lance admitted, before replying. “No, nothing happened,” Lance confirmed. Something had almost happened, which Lance figured he shouldn’t divulge at that exact moment. Things had gotten tense enough as it was, without the addition of the fact he had almost kissed Rain as fuel to the fire. “Good,” Keri said. “I’d hate to have to kill her…” Lance laughed. “Or you…” “Oh, and why’s that?” Lance asked with a grin. “Because you’re just so darn pretty,” Keri replied as her lips met Lance’s. She broke the kiss first. “I really should get going. My parents are probably going to freak as it is. “Yeah,” Lance agreed as he kissed her again. She giggled.

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“I’m never going to be able to leave if you keep doing that,” she teased. Lance flashed her a devilish grin. “Then I guess I just won’t stop.” They kissed again, and Lance could tell Keri was starting to get into it, but she pulled away suddenly with a look of pain in her eyes. Lance couldn’t figure out what caused that look, since Keri sure had seemed to be enjoying herself only a moment earlier. “I really have to go now,” she said quickly, and she jumped out of Lance’s car and ran straight into her house, barely allowing time to even open the door. “What just happened?” Lance said to himself, still stunned. Had Keri’s parents seen them from the window? No, the house is still dark, and it has been since I got here. So that isn’t it. What if she had fooled around with Derrick and she was feeling guilty about it? Keri had said she hadn’t been intimate with Derrick, but what if she had done other things with him instead? “No, she wouldn’t do that to me,” Lance said aloud, “How could she? Keri is always the one who is accusing me of being unfaithful. But what if that is just to shift the blame and suspicion from her?” Lance tried to drive the thoughts of Keri cheating on him away and out of his mind as he left her house, which was still completely dark. He was so lost in thought that he almost forgot about going to the restaurant. He had to quickly turn his car around and he headed for the diner, thinking of places where he might be able to slip into his costume unnoticed. It was a welcome change from thinking that his girlfriend was cheating on him. He pulled into a darkened lot just down the block from the ‘Full Moon Family Restaurant’ and proceeded to exit his car. Lance watched his surroundings intently as he walked to the back of his vehicle, making sure that no one was watching him. He then quickly slipped off his polo shirt as he tore the track shirt from the bag and pulled it on over his head. He tossed the discarded shirt into the trunk and stood behind the side of the car facing away from the street, trying to hide himself away from view as much as possible. As Lance slid his slacks off of his lean, muscular legs, he prayed that a cop wouldn’t come by. Oh, no, it’s okay officer, Lance mocked in his head. I’m a superhero, that’s why I’m half naked in this parking lot. It took several more minutes of fumbling, but Lance was finally able to switch clothing. He was also fairly certain that no one saw him as he didn’t see anybody staring at him from the darkness. As he got back into the car, he took a look at where he had pulled into to change. It was an old, rundown building with a couple of broken street lights in the lot, which was why it had been so dark. There were boards over what had once been windows. Gang tags were all over the wood and the walls, and Lance felt the rage all over again, felt the sting of the blows from those

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two idiotic drug dealers who had jumped him at his car after work. He felt the fear of death as the gun cocked. Never again. Never again should anyone have to experience that. Unfortunately, Lance knew that he couldn’t save the world as he had Sherry, the girl he had rescued from being raped. Fortunately, Lance didn’t feel despair at the realization that he couldn’t fix the whole world, only determination. Determination to do the best he could, to do what was right. Only, right now, Lance had only encountered a world of black and white, and he may yet prove to be unready for the rapidly unfolding shades of gray. One final piece to the costume remained, Lance knew, as he slapped the Velcro straps of the gloves into place, and he pulled the mask out of the sweatshirt’s pocket. He slid it over his face, and felt a confidence about his mission that he hadn’t before. He was set, nothing could stop him now, except for if the cheap string of the mask broke, and Lance realized that it probably would. He made a mental note to try to find something more durable to keep the mask on as he started the car and drove off down the road towards the ‘Full Moon’ restaurant.

Lance parked the car and got out, bending over the hood to stick a piece of cardboard over the front license plate. He repeated the procedure on the back and headed towards same glass doors that he had just passed through earlier that day with Rain. Lance had seen enough TV shows to know to cover up the plates so someone couldn’t easily use the number to track him down later. He also knew not to cover up the plates before getting to the restaurant, just in case he passed a police officer who was even remotely observant, as driving around without a visible license plate was a huge no-no in this state, as Lance believed it was in other states. Just before reaching for the doors, Lance remembered to throw the hood up on the sweatshirt to further obscure his face. He debated whether he should try to intimidate one of the employees into telling him which one of the patrons was the man –or woman—known as “Big C,” but he realized the employees might not even know. There weren’t exactly a lot of choices either, Lance saw as he entered the restaurant, as it seemed most of the customers, of which there were very few with it being a Sunday night, were just regular folk. Just people who had stopped in for a quick bite before heading home, or the teens who thought it was a good idea to stay out all night on a school night. The smell of greasy, haphazardly prepared food permeated the area as Lance looked around, letting his gaze linger on the teens. Lance’s hear sank at that thought, that and the fact that he recognized some of the teenagers as classmates. Then Lance had an even worse thought. What if these kids were the dealers? Not only did he not want to think that anyone he knew would sink so low as to start dealing drugs, but he also might not be able to conceal his identity during a direct confrontation.

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Luckily, Lance didn’t have to as he finished scanning the restaurant, as he had found his most likely candidate for “Big C,” and Lance headed in that direction. He felt the stares and heard the whispers of everyone in the restaurant, and even allowed himself a half of a smile as he strode through the dining area. The costume was having its effect on everyone, as he quickly had the collective attention of the entire restaurant. All eyes were on Lance now; all, except the man he was now approaching. Still seated in the corner booth was the man Lance had bumped into in the men’s restroom that very morning. The one with an English accent. Instead of paying attention to the quiet murmurs of the customers, the man was absorbed in a book. Lance reached out with his right, black-gloved hand and snatched the paper back from the man. “‘Big C’?” Lance growled menacingly, hoping that the guy wasn’t just a regular customer who happened to like sitting in the same spot and just happened to very much enjoy eating greasy diner food. The way the man’s head shot up with such a startled look told Lance that he had found his man. Lance snarled, “We need to talk.” The man wasn’t at all what Lance had expected to find. He was a vaguely handsome man, probably in his late twenties or early thirties, Lance guessed, with neatly trimmed blonde hair. “About bloody time,” the man said through his teeth. “Please, sit down. You’re making a scene.” Lance took the seat and felt his body sink slightly into the vinyl, the same what it had that morning. “‘About time?’” Lance repeated. “You were expecting me?” The man just stared at the mask covering Lance’s eyes. “If you must know, yes, I was.” His eyes not moving much from the upper half of Lance’s face, then reached out at the black plastic as if to snatch it right off of Lance’s head. “Could you please that that thing off, it looks ridiculous.” Lance glared at him and the man pulled his hand back as though Lance were going to bite it. “You don’t have to do that, y’know,” he said. “And what you did with my book? That was just plain rood. What if I can’t remember what page I’m on?” Lance’s facial expression didn’t change. “Okay, okay,” the man relented. “I’m not really your enemy. That is really quite effective, though, I must admit.” Lance finally spoke, “If you aren’t my enemy, then who is? And exactly who are you then?” Lance asked in a deep growl. “I’m, well, my name is Charles Mason…” “Hence ‘Big C’?” Lance interrupted. The name clicked into place with a huge ‘duh.’

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“Exactly! It makes me sound tough, don’t you think?” the man was acting almost playful, which was very unsettling. This wasn’t going at all like how Lance had planned. He had just figured he would pounding on Charles, who he thought was going to be much larger, until he supplied Lance with a name and address, just like he had done with those two guys who were now in jail. At that moment, the classmates of Lance had decided to leave, but not before gawking at their costumed classmate, though they didn’t know that. And not before snapping his picture with a cell phone’s digital camera. “I hate those things,” Charles commented as he watched the pack of teenagers leave. “There, now those chaps that you know have left. So, please, take off that stupid mask.” Lance unwillingly complied, as he was too stunned from Charles’ statement to reasonably object. As he pulled off the mask, he made sure to pull the hood down further. “You! You’re that bloody wanker who ran into me in the loo!” Charles Mason gasped in recognition. “Anyway, you were saying?” Lance was getting a bit anxious now, as he had to be home before anyone would realize how long he had been gone. “Right, I’m Charles Mason,” he repeated. “You can call me Charles, or you can call me Mason. You can even call me ‘Big C’ if you prefer. But please just don’t call me ‘Chuck’.” “And I, Lance Maxwell, am like you,” he said. If what Charles had said before had stunned Lance, then this left him completely speechless. And breathless, in fact, Lance thought he might have a heart attack from hearing this stranger say his name. “Well, sort of. You see, instead of being able to generate a protective force field, as you do, I, instead, can see possible outcomes of events, or even possible futures. “So, you’re what, like some sort of psychic?” Lance asked incredulously, despite what Charles had already told Lance about himself. There weren’t many people in the restaurant now, and none of those that remained seemed to be focusing on Lance or Charles. “More or less, yes.” “And you knew my name, but not what I looked like?” “Uh…yes. You see, my ability is spotty at best, sometimes. I was told to find you, but all I could come up with was a name and a brief image of you in costume.” That sent off warning bells in Lance’s brain, the whole thing about Charles being told to find him. “Who told you to look for me?” “That’s just bloody it! I don’t really know.” “You don’t know?” Lance asked, letting his anger ebb into his voice. Someone was out there looking for him, Charles had just confirmed, and Charles didn’t even know who the hell it was? Lance couldn’t believe that. “No, it’s the same man who makes me sit here, day in and day out.”

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Lance gave him and odd look, so Charles started explaining what he had meant. Charles told Lance how when he was younger, he hadn’t been able to control his ability, and it had driven him slightly insane, with an emphatic gesture to his head, of course. “So one day, this wanker comes along and says he can help me, see? Help me make sense of all the images of all the different people in my head.” Charles was telling his story at a frantic pace now, as though if he didn’t get it all out he might burst. It was then that Lance realized that this might have been the first time Charles had the chance to tell his story, so Lance let him talk. “So I’m thinking I’m just going mad at this point, and this chap, he says he can fix it right? So of course, I agree. I say I’ll do anything he says if he can just get it to stop. Big mistake right there on my part.” “What did he want you to do?” Lance asked as he realized he was still gripping Charles’ book. “I was getting to that,” he said and Lance fought back the urge to apologize for interrupting. “He didn’t say at first, though he did say it was for a ‘business venture.’ I figured, after he helped me get in control of my ability, he’d wand me to read the stock market, or something. Instead, he says he needs income for some company or something. He says he needs me to oversee that part, and I refused at first, but he put a gun to my head. Said I owed him for his helping me, and that I better not try running, ‘cause he’ll find me. Said he’d kill me if he had to, which would be a shame, he said.” “And what is it you do, exactly?” Lance had become fascinated by the Englishman’s sorry, and felt more than a little sorry for him. On a closer inspection, Lance noticed that Charles was looking ragged, as though he hadn’t slept properly in weeks. “I’m, uh, his lieutenant, I suppose,” Charles replied. “That’s where the genius of his plan comes in, see. He doesn’t touch the stuff. The uh, drugs, I suppose you’d say. Neither do I, really, but I’m the fall guy if the whole thing comes unraveled. I go, collect the money, tell them where they can get a fresh supple, and then deposit the cash into a bank account. The money’s transferred through several, probably illegal, account, before in ends up in ‘his’ hands.” “Who is ‘he,’ anyway?” Lance asked. He knew there was someone else pulling the strings, but he’d never really been referred to directly. “How do you avoid getting caught by the police?” “I don’t really know. My whole memory of him is kind of fuzzy, you know?” Charles said. Lance didn’t buy it. This was the man who supposedly saved Charles from a life of insanity, then forced him to help set up a drug trafficking scheme, and Charles’ memory was “fuzzy?” That didn’t sit right with Lance. “Yeah, like his face. It is just all black and shadowy in my mind. And his voice is all strange-like, too,” Charles explained. “Here’s the thing. That’s al he appears as when I try using my ability to find out who he is.”

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Uh-huh, great,” Lance stated. Instead of getting the answers that he wanted, he was now nowhere closer to where he wanted to be. This was a major setback for Lance, and it was upsetting him greatly. “Again, how are you not getting caught by the police?” “Oh,” Charles said, startled by the question. Lance thought maybe Charles had gotten so sidetracked with his sob story he had forgotten Lance had asked that. Either that or he thought Lance should’ve figured the answer out by then. “With my psychic ability, of course,” Charles said, as though he had just stated the most obvious answer in the world. “Of course,” Lance said. He found himself having to repeat Charles. He also found himself getting annoyed rather quickly. “But to hear you say it, your powers are less than accurate.” Too true, bloke,” Charles replied. “I’m working on that, though. But I’ve come up with a system that has worked so far.” “Which is…?” “I send out people only on days where I know there isn’t any probability of police involvement or getting caught,” Charles stated, smiling. He was obviously pleased with himself as he put his hands behind his head. “I’m still a bit sketchy on how all that works. You only see probable outcomes?” Lance asked. He was trying to wrap his head around what Charles had been telling him. “Sometimes multiple outcomes. You ever wonder what would’ve happened if you had done something differently?” Lance nodded in acknowledgement. “Like, if you had kissed that sweet little blonde number you brought in this morning, instead of being faithful to the brunette, who is also very stunning by the way.” That got a reaction out of Lance, as his eyes bulged out and his jaw dropped. “Anyway, it’s like that. Or, think of it as a tree. It has branches, right? Well, as you climb higher, there are more branches, and that all of the branches are probabilities, and the ones that lead to more branches are your certainties, right? Well, sometimes I can see whole limbs and sometimes I can see only twigs of leaves, get it?” “I think I do,” Lance said. He had already understood what Charles had been getting at without him using an overly complicated analogy. “But how do you know so much about me, if you only can read possibilities?” “Because, hindsight, my dear lad, is twenty-twenty,” Charles said. “It’s usually worthless though, without knowing exactly what to look for, same with seeing the future. Helps if I know what to look for, like a picture or something distinctive. Great for finding lost car keys, though.” “I can imagine,” Lance agreed. There was another question forming in his mind, but was unsure if he wanted to know the answer. “How did you find me, anyway?” “I looked through the pasts of Michael and William.” Lance figured that they had to be the two drug dealers that had tried to jump him outside of the grocery store.

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“The two guys who tried to mug me?” “One and the same. Well, two and the same? Anyway, it doesn’t matter,” Charles rambled on, while Lance was lost in thought. His attackers finally had names. He immediately began to wonder if he could squeeze the last names out of Charles, or maybe there was a way he could look up fresh arrests matching the first names. “Made the mistake of looking too far back on ol’ Billy boy, though. Big, big mistake let me tell you. He’s done some absolutely sick shit that one has. And some of it involved farm animals…” “Okay, I get it,” Lance said abruptly. He knew it must have been getting late, so he tried to wrap things up. “So why tell me all this, anyway?” “Two things, my dear boy,” Charles replied. “First, the boss man wants me to find you for him. Won’t say what for, so I don’t ask. And if I refuse? Well, we know how that turns out.” “And second?” Lance asked impatiently. He was really late now, and he didn’t want to have to explain where he had been. “Secondly, I need your help,” he confessed. Lance just stared at him blankly. Lance guessed that this was where it had been leading, what with Charles’ story to gain sympathy. “My life is a total fucking wreck now. I can’t sleep, I can barely eat, and I live in a fucking diner.” “Why me? Why not go to the police?” Lance demanded. “Because, I can’t. He might own people inside the police, that’s how far his claws reach. And besides, like I said. I’m the fall guy. Who do you think will be in trouble if the police get involved? There’s just no tangible connection between this man and his little drug empire.” And that’s what it was, if Lance were to believe everything Charles had implied that this one man secretly ran the whole drug trade for the entire area. “You could at least get police protection,” Lance insisted. “Again, it doesn’t do much good without any evidence that I even need protecting. He’d just find some other way to take me out, anyway.” This man had been forced into this life, Lance thought, and I can’t help but feel sorry for him. Lance stifled a yawn. It really was getting late. But what am I supposed to do? I’m just one man, and I don’t even know where to start. “Well, it’s getting late, and I assume you have school tomorrow?” Charles asked. Then his eyes lit up in remembrance and fished something out of his pocket. Lance looked on with interest as Charles attempted to smooth the object out with his hands, and then proudly presented the cloth-like material to Lance. It was an actual domino mask! “I Think I’m supposed to give this to you.” Lance reached out and grabbed the mask from the Englishman. “Go ahead, put it on,” he said anxiously. Charles was getting into the whole super hero thing almost as much as Lance was. “It works using a pressurized adhesive. Just push down on the bridge of your nose and it should pop right off. Should also stay on better than that silly thing you were wearing when you came in here too.”

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Lance put the new mask on, and noted that it did seem to hold better than the flimsy plastic and string of the party store mask. It felt more comfortable as well. “Thanks,” Lance said. “Where’d you get it?” “Had it for a long time. Never knew what I was supposed to do with it, until now that is,” Charles said. Lance’s heart was beating with pride. It was almost a warm and fuzzy moment. Charles leaned over to Lance and whispered in his ear, “Meet me at ‘Kay’s Place’ on Friday night.” “Can we make it Saturday? I have plans for Friday. And how am I supposed to get in? I’m underage, but you should know that.” The bar wasn’t exactly known for its scrupulous followings of the law, but Lance still worried that he might have trouble attempting to gain access to the place, which, coincidentally, was less than a mile from his house. Charles rolled his eyes and sighed, “Fine, Saturday, then. And if you’re really committed, then you’ll find a way in.” Charles surprised Lance by reaching over the table and grabbing him by the collar. He scowled, “Now, hit me.” Astonished, Lance stuttered out, “What?” “Hit me. If the man finds out about this, then I need to make it look like I didn’t give up anything willingly. So just bloody hit me!” Lance stood up and Charles followed suit. The blow came so fast that the Englishman almost didn’t register the movement, and he jerked out his arms in surprise. Lance grabbed one and twisted it behind Charles’ back, slamming him into the table so hard that the salt and pepper shakers fell over from the force of the impact. Lance leaned over Charles so that they could still speak to one another. “Ow! What the bloody hell was that for?” Charles asked, blood starting to drip from his lip. The natural reaction was for him to check his mouth for blood, but since Lance still had him pinned down, that only caused more pain in his arms. “Improv, just go with it,” Lance whispered back. “Improv? Improv!” Charles said angrily, “…Nice.” “Now try to struggle and I’ll let you go,” Lance said. Charles did as he was told and halfheartedly attempted to struggle more than he already had, letting out curse words and the occasional ‘wanker.’ “What should I call you, anyway?” Charles asked as Lance pushed him into the wall. He uttered and ‘ow’ and rubbed his shoulder. Charles glanced over Lance’s shoulder to see if anyone was watching. All the remaining customers and employees were indeed watching the scuffle. Luckily, none of them were in earshot, otherwise they would have known something was amiss. “I hadn’t really decided on that yet,” Lance replied.

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“Might I suggest ‘Zero,’ because that is exactly what you’ll be unless you hit the streets and do your thing. Plus, I think it sounds neat.” Lance mulled it over for a moment, since he had rejected the name already for sounding too generic, but he supposed it would have to do for now. “It will also make more sense later,” Charles added ominously. “Zero it is then,” Lance turned to walk away. “’Night ‘Zero,’” Charles said as he dabbed a napkin at his lip. “Now I know why Billy and Mike are so goddamn afraid of you.” Lance turned and gave the man a smile. “Take care, Charles.” He set in stone a face of anger as he turned again to leave. All eyes were on him as he dramatically pushed open the door and stalked out. Charles slumped over into a seat at his booth and looked down at the table, where he found his book lay open. He picked it up and laughed a little to himself when he saw it was still on the page he had left off on. “Wanker.”

Outside of the restaurant, Lance was bending over to take the cardboard shingle off of his license plate, figuring he didn’t need it anymore, since Charles turned out to be less than threatening. He had seemed so meek and mild, which made Lance wonder why he had been so desperate to take up with someone so malicious sounding as ‘the man.’ Lance was so lost in thought that he didn’t hear or see a group of four men dressed as thugs in leather step out from next to one of the adjacent buildings and cautiously sneak up behind him. I should’ve asked him what would’ve happened…Lance thought with a chuckle as one of the men grabbed Lance by the shoulder and pulled him up straight. “This the guy we lookin’ for?” he asked. Lance dubbed him Big, since he was the largest in the group of confronters. Obviously, Big played into the tradition of big on muscle, short on brains, which might have saved Lance’s life. “’Course he’s the guy, look at him,” the guy next to him said. He was obviously not the brains of the operation either, so Lance mentally named him Dumb. “The boss says get the guy in the costume, he’s in costume, so he’s the guy.” Great deductive reasoning there, guy, Lance thought. He was preparing himself while the hired goons argued amongst themselves. These must be the worst hired guns ever. One has a bat, but the others are unarmed, and they don’t really know who I am. If they did, they would’ve bashed my head in so I can’t get my shield up. At least that’s how I would’ve looked at it, and…why am I thinking about this? The men had just been told to grab, possibly hurt, a guy in a costume, but weren’t told the guy, being Lance, would have super powers.

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The ever familiar buzz crackled through Lance’s body as his ability was so to kick in. I wonder if I can hold the shield up, like, indefinitely, or it kind of just reflects stuff as it hits me then goes away? They sure are giving me a lot of time to think about stuff. “Guys,” Big announced, still holding onto Lance. “I think he’s doing something.” Lance’s force field had gradually pushed Bigs’ hands off of his shoulders, allowing Lance free range of motion. “Have you guys ever done this before?” Lance asked. “Seriously, like, shouldn’t you have hit me first and asked questions later?” A third man, who Lance predictably named Ugly, which, coincidentally had a lot of scars on his face, spoke up. “Yeah, we do dis all da time, but we never grabbed no costumed punk before.” Lance sighed, “Another fine example of our educational system at work.” He turned to the other guy, who was just dubbed Nameless. “So, instead of just grabbing me and figuring it out later, you all just bumbled around like the Three Stooges. Oh, that’s very productive.” Nameless, who happened to be the one holding the bat, stepped up to Lance and said, “Who cares if we didn’t get you before, we can get you now.” He swung the bat at Lance, who was able to catch the swing, with help from his shield, and pull Nameless into the elbow of his free arm, which he had pulled up to meet his attacker. Nameless dropped like lead in a pond from the force of the contact and Big, Dumb, and Ugly just looked at each other, as though they were unsure of what to do next. “Lets git ‘im,” Dumb yelled as they advanced in on Lance. These guys are just walking clichés, Lance thought as he did a Bruce Lee cross kick to Big, sending the thug flying back several fee in the air, much to their mutual surprise. Lance suppressed a “whoa!” as he round house kicked Ugly in the face, of all places. “Well,” Lance mused. “You certainly aren’t getting any prettier.” He swung his body around and punched at Dumb’s face. Dumb had managed to catch Lance’s fist, which he hadn’t expected. Apparently, neither had Dumb. Lance’s foot darted into Dumb’s knee, which jammed back into his leg with a sickening crunch. Dumb crumpled to the ground with a thud. The asphalt was littered with the bodies of Lance’s attackers as he made his way over them, deciding which one should play the part of the rat. Naturally, he chose Dumb, due to the fact that he was the only one who hadn’t received a serious head wound. Which, coincidentally, left him the only one of the four goons conscious. Big had smacked his head on a garbage can, leaving a large dent, so that had ruled him out. Nameless and Ugly had both received direct blows to the head from Lance, and they didn’t look like they would be able to move anytime soon. Lance grabbed Dumb by the collar with both hands and hauled him up. He was pretty sure he had at least dislocated, if not broke, the man’s knee cap, so he propped Dumb up against the trunk of his car. “Who do you work for?” Lance snarled.

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“We, ah, we don’t know his name,” Dumb replied, moaning with pain. Lance capitalized that and raised his foot up and applied pressure to the thug’s knee. “Somehow, I don’t believe you,” Lance pressed harder, eliciting a yelp of pain. “Who do you work for?” “Oh, God. It’s the truth,” Dumb cried. “He never told nobody his name.” “Then, what does he look like?” The man looked astonished, as though as he thought about it, he didn’t know the answer to Lance’s question. Which, it turned out, he didn’t. “I…I don’t know. I just remember him looking weird, like his head was a black cloud thing. Yeah, come to think of it, that’s how he always looks.” “Like a black cloud headed guy?” Lance asked sarcastically. Though, as Lance took a moment to think about it, that did fit with Charles’ description, too. Charles! Had he known about the attack? Or, worse yet, been the one to rat on Lance’s location or even have ordered the attack? Lance didn’t know. He had felt that Charles had been telling him the truth, but Lance couldn’t exactly know for certain, as he really didn’t know the Englishman all that well. Lance looked back through the restaurant’s windows and saw that Charles was indeed absent from the spot he had probably occupied all that day. Ah, shit! Lance screamed at himself. I knew I shouldn’t have trusted that guy. He turned his gaze back to Dumb, who was now trying to crawl away. Lance stepped in front of him and hunched down, perching on the balls of his feet. “You go back to your boss and tell him you failed,” Lance said. “Tell him Zero sent you.” He figured he better get used to referring to himself like that, so he hopefully would never accidentally slip up. “Zero?” “Yeah,” Lance leaned in closer. “You got a problem with that?” “N-no…Zero.” Lance smiled, “Good.” Something caught his eye as he stood back up. There was movement across the street in the shadows, but, just as quickly as Lance had noticed whatever, or whoever it was, it was gone. Surveying his handiwork one last time, Lance decided he was done. He quickly got in his car and drove away; glad that he had left the cardboard covering up the plate numbers, though he cursed himself when he saw the time. It was after eleven, well more than an hour after he had dropped Keri off at her house. He hoped no one had waited up for him as he sped off towards home.

After pulling off the road to switch clothes again, Lance finally arrived home. It was eleven-thirty when he crept in the door. He tried to be quiet as possible as he stumbled through

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the house, where it seemed everything Lance did made a cacophony of noise as he made his way up the stairs. Lance was feeling weary from the long day he had endured, and was more than ready for sleep. He cursed at having to get up for school the next morning as he slipped under the covers, not even bothering to take off all of his clothes.

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Chapter Eight Lance was so exhausted from the weekend that he hadn’t woken up at first when the alarm had gone off. Did I set the alarm? Lance pondered as he struggled to seperate himself from his nice, warm blanket. He didn’t remember doing that, but he had been so tired by the time he got home the previous night, that he could have without really knowing it. As he absently prepared for school, he tried to figure out what had happened the night before. What did happen the night before? I met Charles Mason, who has some crazy psychic power thing. He talked to me for awhile and then pleaded for help, which, I don’t know how I’m going to be able to do that. Then I got jumped…again, while trying to leave. My attackers bumbled around like some vaudeville act, so then I beat them easily. And then I find out that no one can give me an accurate description of the guy who’s calling the shots because no one can seem to remember what he looks like. I think that is everything. He ate breakfast, showered, and got dressed for school. Wait, no, one last thing. Now I don’t know whether to trust this Mason guy because, for all I know, he was the one who set me up to get ambushed in the parking lot. Whoever had sent Big, Dumb, Ugly and Nameless, as Lance called the thugs who tried to attack him, hadn’t given them good intel, of that he was sure. Otherwise, Lance probably wouldn’t be heading off to school that morning. Speaking of which. “Eva! I’m leaving,” Lance called out. He could hear her bound down the steps of the stairs and she sprang through the kitchen in a pink and blue skirt and tank top ensemble. Lance still couldn’t believe that girls were allowed to show that much skin in school. Sure, he enjoyed it when the other girls did it, but not when it was his little sister. They walked out of the house through the garage and Lance saw that his dad’s car was gone. He immediately became worried that his dad had been called away on business again and that he would miss Lance’s track meet…again. “Hey, where’d Dad go?” Lance asked. “Not sure,” Eva replied, opening the passenger door on Lance’s car. She climbed in and continued while Lance sat down and started the vehicle. “He got up and left while you were in the shower. He said he had some quick business to take care of, then he was coming right back.” “Okay,” Lance replied, satisfied that his dad hadn’t disappeared on yet another business trip. “So, are you nervous?” “Nervous? About what?” Eva asked. “Today is the first day of school where you are officially Ryan’s girlfriend.” “What? Oh no,” Eva responded sarcastically. “I hadn’t thought of that. What if the other girls make fun of me? What will I do? I should just break up with him now.”

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Please do, Lance hoped to himself. No, I can’t think like that anymore. Must…be…supportive. His teeth clenched together to add to the dramaticness of his internal monologue. “Are you okay?” Eva asked, causing Lance to snap out of his thoughts. He had been getting a lot of that lately. “What time did you get home last night, anyway?” “I don’t really remember,” Lance lied, which was also something that was coming to Lance more and more those days. “I dropped Keri off and came straight home.” That was true, except for the part where he donned a costume, confronted a potential drug boss, and then fought off four guys at once. He pulled the car into the school’s overcrowded parking lot, and he sat there as he waited to get to his spot. The school had designated parking according to last name and year. It was also speculated that being a good athlete helped to procure better parking, to which Lance refused to comment. Parking so close to the school was one of the perks of having a brother who was a senior and captain of the varsity track team, Eva knew, which almost outweighed the fact that Lance could potentially monitor her every move. Lance finally was able to park, much to his relief, as he found being around Eva when she was asking questions particularly uncomfortable. “Did you see Dad’s car parked out front?” Eva asked, as she got out of the car and slung her backpack onto her shoulders. “No. Why would he be here?” Lance was instantly worried. Why would their dad be at school? Lance’s immediate thought was, What did I do now? Nothing that I can think of. “Maybe I just imagined it then,” Eva said, shrugging it off. “Maybe it was just a car that looked like his,” Lance offered. There were plenty of people who owned black, four-door sedans, so the odds were pretty good that someone else, maybe a teacher who had bought a new car, had one that looked similar and had parked it out front.

Surprisingly, Eva had been right on the money. Their dad was at the school, and where Lance found him was even more surprising. He was inside of the principal’s office talking to Mr. Decker and, even more surprising than their dad being at school, Rain. By the looks of it, they were in a heated argument, but about what, Lance didn’t know. It was at times like this that Lance wished he had super hearing, or, at least, that he could read lips. He moved closer to the door, hoping that he could overhear what they were saying. He had made his way to across the hall from the office door when Ryan and Eva popped up next to him.

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“Dude, is that your dad in there?” Ryan asked suddenly. Lance hadn’t known they were right next to him, and the sudden noise caused him to jump. Eva laughed at her brother’s startled form while Ryan just smiled. “Jeez, don’t do that to me, Ryan,” Lance breathed. He really hated things that popped out at him, or snuck up on him, or…As Lance was finishing that thought his dad burst out from the principal’s office, something he probably hadn’t done in years. The sudden activity across the hall knocked Lance out of his spacing out and he stood almost face to face with his father, whose facial expression turned from anger to cheerful at the sight of his offspring. “Hey there, son,” Mr. Maxwell greeted, trying to be pleasant. “Your principal called me and asked if I could give a presentation on my job for all the students who want to go into the medical field. I was just here working out the details…” It was an obvious lie, Lance knew immediately. He had long ago developed the ability to tell when his parents were lying to him, having been tricked way too many time by the —“We’re going to Disneyland” only to actually end up at the Dentists’ office or Doctor’s office to get shot up with all kinds of neat stuff—routine. The first clue was that Mr. Maxwell looked very nervous. He was never a good liar and he knew his kids knew that. Second, the connection between his dad’s job and the medical profession was tenuous at best, so that had obviously been made up on the fly. Third, why would his dad be at a meeting with the principal before school, when during the afternoon or even after school hours would have been much more practical and convenient. Unless, he had been trying to get in and out before Lance got to school, so that Lance wouldn’t have even known he had been there. “Uh-huh,” It was clear that Lance wasn’t buying it, but his dad went with it anyway. “Is that your friend Rain?” Mr. Maxwell asked, followed by another ‘uh-huh.’ “Your principal, Mr. Decker, called her down to see how she is adjusting, being new and all.” And if you believe all that, I have a bridge I’d like to sell you, too, Lance thought as he stared at his dad. “Well, see you at home, kids,” his dad smiled again before turning and walking towards the front door. He was on his cell phone and talking vehemently as he pushed the doors open and stalked out. “Very effective charade, there,” Lance muttered to himself. Eva looked at him worriedly. She had no idea what might be going on, but truth be told, neither did Lance. He only knew that there was something going on. Why else would their dad be at their school so early on a Monday morning, talking to their principal and student, one that had just happened to have recently moved there, one that had taken a quick liking to Lance for seemingly little reason? What is going on here? Why has all of this crazy stuff started happening to me? And now my own dad is hiding stuff from me, too. Lance’s thought process was interrupted by Ryan babbling out his own absurd conclusions about why Mr. Maxwell was at their school having a conference with the principal.

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“What if he’s, you know…” Ryan said as he began thrusting his pelvis into the air. Eva and Lance, and probably half of the students in the halls, stared at him, shocked at the implications he was making. “What the f…?” Lance started. “That’s just gross, man. She’s like, eighteen, and my dad is forty-five. That’s just so…ugh.” “But what if, like, he hooked up with her on a business trip and she tracked him here so that she could seduce you in a twisted plot of deceit and lies?” Ryan asked. That was just about the most absurd thing Lance had ever heard Ryan say in a long time, and Ryan had said some pretty stupid things before. Though, as Lance thought about it, was his bizarre ramblings about his dad and Rain really any crazier than Lance being able to generate a protective shield around his body or Charles being able to see things he shouldn’t be able to? Still, Lance couldn’t wrap his head around the thought that it might just be possible that Ryan was actually right. “Why would my dad need to come down to school then to confront her? And in Principal Decker’s office?” Lance responded finally “Because, that’s when your dad knows he’ll be able to find her, man,” Ryan replied. “Still, I don’t think so,” Lance concluded. Rain came stomping out of Decker’s office at that moment and rushed past Lance. She glared at him as she went by. “Wow,” Ryan said, watching Rain as she walked off. “You really did do a number on that one, huh?” His gaze still trailed her and Eva slapped him on the arm. “What?” “You know what,” Eva said, her gaze would have been able to burn ice. After a few moments, Ryan spoke again, “What if Decker’s in on it?” Lance’s eyes grew wide. “What did you just say? “What if Principal D’s in on your dad and Rain? You know, maybe like a three…” Lance’s hand moved so fast that it surprised even himself, and he pushed Ryan into the wall by his neck. “There is no good way that you can finish that sentence, so just don’t,” Lance commanded, as Eva looked on shocked. Her brother must be going crazy, as she’d never seen him act the way he had been recently. “Okay, fine,” Ryan said, and Lance relaxed his grip on Ryan’s neck. “Man, what’s gotten into you lately?” “Nothing,” said Lance as he turned his back to his best friend and sister and walked away quickly. He thought about trying to find Keri and ask her what she thought about the situation, but without knowing what Lance had been going through lately, she probably would have come to a similar conclusion as Ryan. As perverted as Ryan may have been, his comment had struck a chord, and as Lance pushed his way through the hordes of people, he unraveled the mystery in his mind. ‘What if Principal D’s in on your dad and Rain?’ What if he was in on it?

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The principal was there when Lance had overheard that strange conversation with Rain. He was also the one who had selected Lance to personally escort Rain around the school, which had prompted Lance to give Rain his phone number, which had led to the movie night at Rain’s. And there he was, in his office, with Lance’s dad and Rain, arguing about something. His dad sure had looked angry, though about what Lance didn’t want to begin to imagine. Maybe Ryan was right. No, that could never happen. Could it? Still…no! Lance argued with himself mentally. Somehow, the most disturbing mental image Lance had ever conjured up was still more appealing than thinking there was some sort of conspiracy against him. Don’t forget, there’s also some sort of businessman/crime boss after me, too. Lance told himself. He was practically running down the hallway now as he quickly squeezed through groups of students, in his mind away from all of the coincidences, all of the bad people that were trying to hurt him. Though where he was running to, Lance had no idea, he just had to get out. He ran past class rooms and out the door. How did my life get this complicated? He asked himself. He broke through the side doors of the school, ran about fifty feet out and stopped when he was almost at the road. The morning sun was just rising up, intensifying the feelings of anguish Lance suddenly had. The scary part about freaking out like that, Lance realized, was that he had no idea if it was true. All of it could just be as his dad said; that he was at the school, his former school, planning a talk with the seniors, and that Rain had just happened to have been summoned by the principal at the exact same time. And all three of them weren’t arguing either, they had just been having a very pleasant conversation, and Lance had just taken the whole situation the wrong way. While that didn’t seem likely to him, it did help calm him down enough to go back inside. As he trudged back to the doors, he wondered how many people had seen him running through the halls and then run straight out of the school. What had caused him to do that? Lance added that to the long list of things he didn’t know. He knew only that he felt suddenly like he was suffocating under all of the evidence, or coincidences, that were piling up, crushing him, until he had to get away. He had to get out of the place where all of the weird happenings had started, where the beautiful Rain had seemingly incidentally entered his life. Was it really all just a coincidence? Everything had been so much easier for Lance before the powers had appeared. He was attractive, fairly popular, and by popular he was actually well liked, not just popular for playing a sport. And that was another thing; Lance had played sports, though perhaps not the traditional ones, so he wasn’t really considered a jock. Heck, even add his fledgling super hero career to the mix and everything was still all right with him. But not this, not when the girl he might have had feelings for and his own dad were conspiring against him. Everything has just come on too quickly, Lance thought as he pulled open the glass doors. How was he supposed to handle all of this? He tried again to keep his emotions in check, especially before he knew anything definitive.

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With a crime boss, it’s easy, Lance was telling himself. I have a target I can go after, even if no one can seem to remember what he looks like. He’s still a guy who wants to hurt me that I can hurt back. But what can I do if the people I’m faced with are my friends, my family? That thought left him depressed as he walked to class. He barely even registered the fact that the halls were empty as he walked into the room, where the teacher had already begun lecturing. “Well, there you are. Ryan said you were here, yet you were absent from my role call. Where have you been?” the teacher was making a point of calling him out in front of the entire class. “I was outside,” Lance said, and his class mates laughed. His mind couldn’t even process a plausible excuse, so he went with the truth. “Well, I’m glad that getting a breath of fresh air is so much more important than being in class,” the teacher had no idea how correct her sarcastic statement actually was. “Sorry.” “You should be, now take a seat.” The rest of the class period was just a blur of images and a jumble of words to Lance. He just couldn’t focus on what the teacher was saying as he couldn’t seem to focus on much of anything at that moment.

After the class ended, Ryan made sure to stick around for Lance. “What is wrong with you today?” Ryan asked as they shuffled off to their next class. There was a buzz of excitement in the air, one that Lance couldn’t quite pick up on, as he and Ryan made their way through the masses. “Is it what I said? ‘Cause I’m sorry about that, man. I really didn’t mean anything by it.” “It isn’t that,” Lance assured. “It’s just, why was my dad here this morning? And what was he talking to Rain and Decker about? And I know it’s not at all what you said.” “I don’t know, maybe you should ask Rain, see what she says,” Ryan suggest. That wasn’t a bad idea, Lance thought. The best he could do was get more information on the situation. “I’ll ask her when I see her next. She has to come to practice, right?” Lance asked. “Probably, yeah.” Lance had pretty much calmed down by then, and his brain was starting to function properly. At least now Lance had a way of getting some answers, and that thought helped stabilize him. The two walked to class and sat down, where Lance began thinking everything would be all right.

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And everything had been all right, at least until Lance saw Keri again. “And where were you this morning?” she asked with a serious expression on her face. Her mouth was in a slight frown. “I was here,” Lance replied. Great. Even more drama. Just what I needed today. “Doing?” “Nothing. Just…nothing.” “Look, Ryan already kind of told me what happened,” she said gently, grabbing hold of Lance’s arm. “It’s okay to get freaked out when weird stuff happens, but you could’ve just come to me with it.” Her hand slid down his arm to meet his and they clasped together. Lance felt oddly at peace, even when he knew he shouldn’t have been. “I was trying to, but, I, uh, ran out of the building.” “Really? It had you that spooked, huh?” “Yeah,” Lance thought that Keri was acting strangely, then he remembered the previous night. She had been fine until Lance had gone to take her home. He was going to ask her about that, but decided to just let it go, and he wrapped her in his arms. Lance felt so safe like that, that he didn’t want to move. He was even thinking of how feasible it would have been to just walk around clamped onto Keri like that. “Okay, well, I have to get going to class now,” she said and Lance released her. She mouthed ‘I love you’ and slowly walked away, letting her hand linger in Lance’s. Lance stood in the hallway in a trance until he realized he was going to be late for fourth period, and he quickly took off down the hall for the second time that day. Only this time, Lance was headed towards class, instead of away from it.

Though he kept a lookout for her all day, Lance didn’t see Rain again until track practice. He had no idea what to say as he walked out too the track, wearing gray gym shorts and a t-shirt that was well worn. His heart jumped at the sight of her, but he didn’t know why as he passed through the gate. Was it because their newfound friendship had already turned sour? Or was it because she might be involved with his dad somehow?

The wind was blowing casually and the sun was shining bright in a cloudless sky. Despite this, the air was cool at the track, making it a good day for running. Lance considered his options as he headed up the pack of males and took off jogging around the quarter mile track for a warmup. He tried not to look at Rain as he passed her, stealing glances where he could. If she had done the same, she was being much more discreet about it than Lance was.

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It was the day before a meet, so the workout would be less strenuous so that none of the athletes would sustain an injury from practice. This also meant that it was pasta night with most of the team heading out for an all-you-can eat spaghetti dinner. Practice had ended earlier than usual for the boys’ team, so Lance decided to hang around to wait for Rain and the girls’ team to finish up their workout. He paced around nervously underneath the gray metal bleachers and occasionally glanced out onto the practice field. He was formulating what he was going to say when he saw the first group of girls walk by. They were chatting away and some eyed Lance with a look of suspicion, while others eyed him with lust. His outfit did show off the musculature of his legs rather nicely, while the shirt was loose enough to give anyone looking hard enough a peak at his abs. After what seemed like forever, Rain walked by and pretended not to see him, but he had already caught her looking. “Look, I’m sorry about yesterday,” Lance apologized as he kept in step next to Rain. “I was a jerk. I was there with you, and I should’ve been paying more attention to what you were saying.” Lance had a lot of practice saying he was sorry to Keri, so he knew not to just leave it at, “I’m sorry.” Otherwise, he would always get a, “You’re sorry because…?” “It’s not just that, Lance,” Rain said, still looking straight forward. “We have a big conversation about how we can only just be friends, and then you ask me out the very next day. And then you sit there wishing that you were with someone else or somewhere else. Honestly, what the hell am I supposed to think?” “Well, I thought breakfast was a very friendly meal,” Lance replied with a smile. The sun was just starting to set as the two crossed the blacktop to get to the locker rooms. “It is not,” Rain said. “It implies events of the night before, events that most certainly did not happen.” A silence had crept over the two as they reached the building. Lance was about to come right out and ask about his dad and her when she beat him to it. “So, I met your dad this morning,” she said as casually as possible. Lance wanted to reply with a “no duh” but decided against it. “He was talking to the principal when I got there and he asked if I knew you.” Lance thought her story was a lot better than his dad’s. It was short and left out any specific details that Lance could use to trip her up later. “Say, do you want to go out for spaghetti?” Lance asked. “And there you go again.” “No, it’s a whole track thing. A lot of the athletes go out for pasta and breadsticks the night before a meet to load up on carbs. I’ll even drive so you won’t have to try and find the place.” “Is Keri going to be there?” Rain asked. They were now standing between the doorways to the Men’s and Ladies’ locker rooms. Guy and girls were coming and going and Lance grabbed the arm of one of the boys as he passed by.

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“Make sure everyone remembers that it’s formal dress tonight,” Lance commanded his teammate. The boy nodded and ran off towards the hall of lockers that started a few feet down. “No, Keri isn’t going to be there. It’s an athlete only thing. I’m surprised none of the other girls mentioned it to you,” Lance said. Rain had arched an eyebrow and kept it that way while Lance was talking. “What?” “Formal?” Rain asked. Lance was taken aback by this question, as though he could’ve never expected to be asked that in a hundred years. “Yes, formal,” he explained. “We’ve found it easier to get service if we’re not all dressed like common street punks. That and it’s kind of a reminder to stay on our best behavior when we’re out as a team.” They might not have the best team, but Lance was determined to have the most respected team in the conference. “That’s actually pretty smart thinking,” Rain admitted. “I guess I’ll see what I can come up with then. What time is it?” “Well, it’s almost five now, so I’d say probably around six.” “All right. I’ll see you then,” she pushed open the door to the women’s locker room and slipped inside. Well, at least I’m back on speaking terms with her, Lance thought as he walked into the men’s locker room. There were three rooms with lockers in them. The room with the largest lockers in it was the varsity locker room for whatever sport had the most members, which, during the spring season, was almost always track. The largest of the three rooms had tall, thinner lockers and was used by the gym classes. This room also had a set of stairs in the back that led up to the gymnasium. The final room had a combination of the other two’s lockers and also had an entrance from the main hallway. The gym locker room could only be reached by traveling through one of the other two, or by the aforementioned stairs. Lance repeated his reminder about the dress code to the few remaining track athletes and then proceeded to change into the clothes he had worn to school that day. He briefly considered taking a shower at the school, but after checking the conditions, he decided it’d be best if he just waited until he got home to bathe. There were fluids on the floor that Lance did not want to know there they came from, so he packed up his stuff and headed for home.

What was usually a five minute drive home felt like forever as Lance’s stomach lurched more the closer he got to home. There was a nervous ball that Lance couldn’t describe building up inside of him and he thought he might actually vomit as he arrived home. Even though the sun had not yet set, there seemed to be a shadow of gloom cast over the Maxwell household.

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The garage doors were closed, the walls of gray giving Lance hope that his dad wasn’t home. His hopes, however, were dashed as he entered through the garage’s side door and found his dad’s shiny, black sedan sitting in its place. At least I won’t be home for long, Lance thought as he opened the back door and walked inside. Lance jumped in the shower as quickly as he could so his dad wouldn’t notice he was there. Eva got home just as Lance got out of the shower. Though he drove her to school, Eva usually was picked up by their mom, since her softball practice usually ran later than track. “Hey,” she said, glancing into Lance’s room from behind the door. “Did you figure out why dad was at school yet?” She didn’t want to peek too far into her brother’s room in case he wasn’t wearing any clothes. Eva could hear the rustling of clothes coming from the closet. “Kinda,” Lance replied. He was trying to find a nice looking dress shirt to wear to dinner. “He said it was to go over some presentation he’s making to the seniors, and that it was just a coincidence that Rain was there. And that it only appeared that they had been arguing.” He decided on a suede-looking crimson shirt and plucked it from the clothes’ hanger. He thought that he should wear as much of his costume as he could underneath his normal clothes, just in case an emergency arose while he was out. That way he wouldn’t have to worry as much about finding a secluded area in which he could swap clothes. Lance hoped that he wouldn’t need to that night, but he thought it best if he were prepared. “But you don’t buy that?” Eva asked with uncertainty. Lance checked to make sure Eva wasn’t watching while he slipped on the top of his costume. He threw on the long sleeve dress shirt and quickly buttoned it up. “It doesn’t make any sense to me,” Lance explained. “Why were they all yelling at each other? And you heard Dad, did that sound like the truth to you?” From the silence, Lance gathered that Eva hadn’t really thought of questioning their father. “I,” Eva hesitated. “I don’t know. Why wouldn’t he tell us the truth?” She had never known of her father being a liar, so why would he start now? “I’m not sure,” Lance admitted. He really didn’t know for certain, only that he felt that it had to do with him. But, he couldn’t tell Eva that, or he’d have to tell her why. “Do you think he’s having an affair?” she asked, sounding worried. “You’re sounding like Ryan now,” Lance replied. Lance pulled out a pair of black dress pants and slid them on. “No, I don’t think he’s having an affair.” But would that be better or worse? He asked himself. The conspiracy theory only affects me, but if Dad’s having an affair, that affects the whole family. That thought lead into another question. Does Mom know what he’s up to? ‘Cause if she does, that rules out affair. Lance debated internally, then decided he shouldn’t ask his mom about it without any evidence or reason to. Why cause undo stress? Lance figured.

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“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Eva said, startling Lance. He had forgotten she was right outside his door, and, for a moment, worried that he might have been talking to himself aloud. He figured she would’ve said something if he had, so he didn’t bother to worry about it beyond that. “Well,” Lance said. “I’ve got to get going.” He checked as best he could to see if any part of the top to his costume was visible underneath the dress shirt. Hoping that it wasn’t, he pulled open the door and motioned for Eva to scoot out of his way. “Is it really track members only?” Eva asked as she followed him down the stairs. She was hoping he might relent so that she could go spend time with her boyfriend, Ryan. “Uh-huh,” Lance replied. “It’s tradition. He felt his pockets for his keys and was relieved to find they were there, as it meant one less trip up and down the stairs. “Is it just boys? Or are the girls going, too?” She asked. Lance knew what she was getting at. “Yes, members of the girls’ team will be there,” Lance stated. “And isn’t it a little early in your relationship to get jealous and possessive?” “I’m not being jealous or possessive,” Eva frowned, folding her arms over her chest. “But if any of those girls touch him, they’re dead.” “Duly noted,” Lance said as he bent over to tie his shoes. They were black leather, though Lance somewhat doubted that they were genuine leather. Still, they were black, and that meant they fit into the overall color scheme of Lance’s costume in case he wouldn’t be able to change later. The hooded sweatshirt was left in the trunk so he wouldn’t have to explain why he was taking the hoodie instead of a jacket. Or, why the black hoodie’s sleeves were missing. The less questions asked, the better, was what Lance figured as there were only so many lies Lance could tell before getting caught in one.

Lance once again made the drive to Rain’s apartment and quietly worked through a new problem in his head: What if Lance’s dad, Rain, and Principal Decker were working with Charles’ mystery man? What if Mr. Maxwell was the mystery man? Or, what if Rain was working for this guy and Lance’s dad knew this and that was why he was yelling in Principal Decker’s office? None of that seemed very logical to Lance, given the facts. The mystery man doesn’t seem to know who Lance was; otherwise he would have taken a much more direct approach than he had. That fact alone pretty much ruled out that whole line of thought, as all of the theories led to Charles Mason’s ‘boss’ knowing who Lance was. He put all of those thoughts away as he pulled up to Rain’s apartment. He could see her through the window and it appeared she was watching television. The look on her face did not

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indicate happiness, but that just may be due to a lack of good TV shows, Lance hoped. Unfortunately, Lance was not correct. “I’m not sure this is such a great idea,” Rain said immediately as she opened the door. “People are definitely going to get the wrong impression if we hang out this much, and I really don’t want anyone to start talking.” Rain had a point, Lance admitted to himself, but he was convinced he would be able to make his friendship with Rain work, so he did his best to allay her concerns. “Yeah, but this is a huge group thing, and we’ll let them all know that we are just friends and that they would be wrong to think otherwise,” Lance stated. She nodded an agreement and opened the door so she could leave. Lance was once again stunned by Rain’s looks. She was wearing a dark blue form fitting dress that would be likely worn to the homecoming dance, but not fancy enough for prom. The dress sparkled ever so slightly in the last remaining beams of daylight. “You look fantastic,” Lance said, reminding himself not to drool. Rain turned red and looked away. “You only like it because it shows off my chest,” Rain laughed as they walked to his car. The dress clung to her body like air. “Why does every girl assume that that’s the only reason a guy will ever complement a girl?” Lance snapped back in a playful way. Rain shot him a look with a raised eyebrow. “Though, I suppose, on closer inspection, it does do what you said it does.” He flashed Rain a smile as he opened the door for Rain and she gratefully accepted his hospitality, since she was having a little bit of a difficult time maneuvering in the tight dress while making sure everything stayed in its proper place. They drove to the restaurant quietly, which Lance preferred. At that moment, his friendship with Rain was tenuous at best, and he didn’t want to ruin it by accidentally saying the wrong thing. The only conversation they had was Lance’s explanation of how the tradition of the pasta dinner started. “From what I’ve heard, the restaurant was struggling since it’s a local place, and if it weren’t for the business the track team brought in back then, the place probably would’ve closed down years ago,” Lance rambled on. “The coaches, or athletes, or whoever needed a place where they could eat since they had been kicked out of one of the other Italian places. Well, the owner was still trying to make it as a formal dining experience, but he was so desperate for the business, he said that as long as they didn’t disrupt the other customers, he’d be able to accommodate a group as large as the track team.” “The track guys decided it’d be funny to actually dress up, as a kind of joke against the owner. Kind of a ‘how dare you try to put up this fancy place, so we’re gonna dress up as a sarcastic statement,’ kind of way. But they ended up behaving so well that the owner said he’d have them for an all-you-can eat dinner before every meet. We even send him a calendar at the beginning of every season.”

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“Cool,” was Rain’s response. Lance figured she couldn’t care less, but he thought the story was harmless enough and it ate up enough time that they arrived at the restaurant a little bit after Lance had finished the story.

Dinner went smoothly, with the owner making his usual display of gratitude. He said that he loved seeing such a group of well-behaved young people and how unfortunately uncommon that was nowadays. He even took the time to schmooze Rain and Lance, since they were seated next to each other. “Ah, Lance, is this lovely young lady your girlfriend?” the owner, Mr. Picceli, asked. “Nope, she’s just a friend.” “Such a shame. She is quite pretty.” ”Thank you. She sure is,” Lance agreed. The rest of the team chatted about the meet, which happened to be a combined meet, meaning both the girls and boys teams would be participating. There were about forty student athletes at dinner that night, with an even mix of boys and girls. Both teams were much larger than that, but a lot of members declined to show up, which was probably just fine with the owner, since he had trouble seating such a large amount of people as it was. Rain tried to make small talk, answering mostly questions about herself, but other than that, she remained quiet. “Lance doesn’t talk much at these things, either,” Ryan said in between conversations of which athletes not present were the most attractive. “It’s because he thinks everyone treats him like a track god and will never ever disagree with him.” “Oh, really?” Other than his girlfriend, this was the first dirt she had heard on Lance, so she was definitely interested. “Yes,” Lance said, piping in, as he had been eaves dropping on the whole conversation. “Watch.” He stood up and tapped his fork to his glass of water, which is what he almost exclusively drank during the track season. Everything else was considered to be bad for him. “Attention. Who thinks I’m going to break the record tomorrow?” Cheers and hollers filled the restaurant, with even Mr. Picceli joining in. “Who thinks this is the best team we’ve ever had?” More cheers. “Who thinks I’m a complete douche bag and I should sit down and shut up?” Still, cheers sprang forth from the crowd as Lance smiled and sat down. “See?” “I’m not sure that really proves your point, but I think I understand,” Rain acknowledged. “Because you’re the varsity team captain and their fastest hurdles runner, then everyone expects

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perfection, and by extension, because you’ve given them perfection, you’re perfect, and therefore, never wrong.” Lance nodded in agreement as he sipped at his water, agreeing that what Rain said pretty much summed up the point Lance was trying to make. “Except for last year after Lance’s injury,” Ryan added. “Nobody expected him to be as good as he is after that.” “What injury was that? I’ve heard it mentioned before, but no one will tell me what happened,” Rain said. Lance shot forward in his seat and motioned for Ryan to be quiet. “It was a dark and stormy night…” Ryan started. “And then Lance pretty much destroyed his groin muscles. Sheared them right from the bone, he did.” “That’s…that’s pretty horrible,” Rain said, shocked. “How’d it happen?” “It wasn’t nearly as bad as Ryan made it out to be,” Lance explained, “and it happened while saving two children and a box full of puppies from a burning building.” Rain looked thoroughly impressed by Lance’s story. “Or he was trying to show off for some girls,” Ryan stated, ruining Lance’s story. “Or I was trying to show of for some girls,” Lance agreed. “That makes a lot more sense,” Rain said. “Though you did have me going with the box of puppies.”

Dinner ended around eight, and the rest of the team was filing out after leaving their money with Lance to help pick up the check. Rain had insisted on paying for herself this time because, she reasoned, that it was a group activity and that everyone else paid for themselves. Plus, it was strictly not a date, so Lance couldn’t use that as an excuse to pay for her meal again. Because Ryan had actually driven himself for once, Lance and Rain drove back to her apartment alone. Lance checked his cell phone as he walked Rain to her door There were no new messages. “Nothing from Keri, huh?” Rain asked. She had spotted Lance doing the same thing during dinner, which had resulted in the same downtrodden look as the one he was now displaying. “Yeah, but I figure she remembers it’s pasta night, so she’s probably waiting for me to call her,” Lance reasoned. He was hoping that was the case, and not that she was too busy with something or someone else. There was a pause, then Rain said what Lance was thinking, “Not trying to cause trouble, but do you ever think she might be cheating on you?” He didn’t know how to answer that. At first, he thought of feigning anger, but Rain didn’t really deserve that. After all, she only asked an honest question and Lance figured honesty would probably work the best.

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“Sometimes,” Lance admitted after a moment. They were standing outside of Rain’s apartment and Lance leaned his back against the door. “But I really don’t think she’d ever do anything like that. I have to trust her; otherwise worrying about it would probably cause me to never sleep again.” “Yeah,” Rain agreed. She was thinking how great it would be if Lance would only break up with Keri. She knew it was wrong, wishing the pain of a breakup on Lance, but at least she would be there to console him. And despite her anger at Lance over breakfast the previous day, she thought she’d still like to be with him. She sighed to herself, realizing she could never willfully do anything to harm Lance and Keri’s relationship. “You should probably get going,” Rain said finally. She wanted to tell him everything that she had been thinking, that she liked him, and that he should break up with that no good Keri, but she kept all that to herself. “You have a big day tomorrow and all, Mr. Track God.” Lance couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear upon hearing that. He also didn’t know what to do next. Should he give her a hug? Does he give her a handshake? He didn’t know, so he stuffed his hands into his pockets and just said his goodbyes and left. Rain wished him a good night and opened the door to her apartment, giving him one last look before slipping into the darkness of her living room. He saw the lights go on as he walked back to his car. He sighed as he walked, wondering if he was doing the right thing with Rain. Should he even try to be friends with her? What if it led to something more? What if he broked up with Keri and it doesn’t work out with Rain? Then where would he be?

His head was so wrapped up in his thoughts as he drove home that he almost didn’t see a group of people throwing cinder blocks through the window of a pharmacy/local all-in-one store that had already closed for the night. Oh, bloody hell, Lance thought as he looked for a place out of the way to park. Where do all these guys keep coming from? He found a place down the street where he hoped no one would notice his car. Lance gave thanks that he remembered to bring the boots along as it would have been difficult to get around in the dress shoes, as he laced up the combat boots just as quickly as he could. He stripped off the dress shirt and tossed it into the back seat of the car. The trunk popped up with a clang, and Lance snatched the hoodie from the darkness, pulling it on as he raced back towards the pharmacy on foot. After a struggle, he managed to zip up the sweatshirt and he pulled the gloves from the pocket and slid them on as he approached the building. The hood was drawn up on his sweatshirt, but he still felt like he was forgetting something. The mask! Lance fished the domino mask out of his pocket, did his best to smooth out the wrinkles, then pressed it onto his face. Sure enough, the domino mask stuck in place, and Lance

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ran through a mental checklist to see if he had forgotten anything crucial, which he didn’t think he had. Having conditioned his body for sprinting during track, Lance was barely breathing hard when he reached the shattered window of the pharmacy. He did his best to conceal himself as he peered inside the building, noticing that the cinder block had made clean breaks through the glass, which seemed odd to him. Not that Lance was an expert on how glass shattered, but it still seemed strange. He thought maybe the robbers had stripped the frame of the rest of the glass before gaining entry. Listening for noises in the place, he could hear the men in the back. They were yelling and laughing at each other, so it hadn’t been difficult at all to locate them in the pharmacy. Lance vaulted over the window sill and attempted to land softly on the shards of glass, only to curse at himself as he heard the glass crunch beneath his feet. He didn’t hear any changes coming from the back, so he figured no one had heard him come through the window. It was dark inside the building, with the moon providing just enough light to see. As he crept away from the window and the glass, Lance had been concentrating so hard on not making noise that he failed to notice that there had been a look out man posted by the door in case the police showed up. The man grabbed Lance suddenly and pushed him into the counter right across from the door. He managed to turn himself around again before the man was on top of him. “We got a cop up here!” the man yelled as he grabbed a hold of Lance by the back of his hood which caused Lance to be a little higher than eye level with his attacker. “No,” Lance replied as he swung his head forward and down into the man’s nose. “I’m something much worse.” The head butt caused the man to stagger backwards into a shelf. With all of the destruction that was being done to the pharmacy, Lance hoped the owner would be able to forgive him. After all, it was probably easier to clean up some glass and candy bars than to replace stolen merchandise. The man was clutching at his nose as he tried to stop the flow of blood. Lance tried not to gag at the sight of the red liquid pouring out of the man’s face as he spun around to face the back of the store where the rest of the men were making there way up to discover the cause of the commotion. “What the hell is this?” one of the men yelled as they rushed at Lance. There were only two attackers this time, so Lance didn’t think he’d have a problem. He was right. The lead man just tried to run at him with his arms out. Lance couldn’t figure out what the man hoped to accomplish with this, but he wasn’t about to find out. He squatted down with his shoulder up so that his shoulder met the attacker’s gut, and the impact threw the man over Lance’s back, right through the open window and out into the parking lot. Cool, Lance thought as he tried to block the punches of the third man. I don’t think I could do that again if I tried.

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The last attacker threw a punch at Lance, which he dodged by bobbing to his right. He grabbed the man’s wrist with his left hand, then delivered an uppercut to the man’s jaw, causing the man to crash down onto a display table littered with what appeared to be a mini cake snack food. Lance stalked over to his initial attacker, satisfied that all of the men were down for the count, and found that the man was still crouched on the ground, holding his bloody nose. The man was seething with anger and his hatred was visible in his eyes as he stared up at Lance. “When the police get here,” Lance commanded as he towered over the robber, looking like some kind of demon from hell. “Tell them Zero did this to you.” The man only glared up at Lance, who turned to leave. He was only slightly pleased with his handy work, as he would’ve liked to have been able to stop the robber without doing so much property damage. But he figured he did the best he could under the circumstances, so he tried not to dwell on it. It just couldn’t have been helped, he told himself as he stepped through the shattered window and out into the parking lot. The man that had been tossed through the window during the fight was still there, and for a moment Lance thought about checking to make sure the man was still alive. The same went for the man whose nose Lance had probably broken, but the sound of police sirens on the night air told Lance that he should take his leave. Sudden movement across the street from Lance caused him to go stiff as he was a bit frightened and worried by the sight. What the hell? Lance thought as he sprinted in the direction of the movement. Is somebody following me? There had been a person watching from outside the restaurant the night before, but Lance figured that that was one of “The Man’s” goons who had either declined to join in on the brawl or had just been sent to observe. Maybe that was what this was, but how could the crime boss know Lance was going to show up and stop the robbery? What if the boss had ordered the robbery, then sent in someone to watch, just in case the operation when south? The person watching could be the boss, the thought crossed Lance’s mind as he ran across the street. There was definitely someone there, as they had taken off running as soon as Lance had made his way towards the darkened street. Whoever it was had been fast, as they were gone before Lance could reach them. In the meantime, the police had arrived at the pharmacy across the street, so Lance was forced to stick to the shadows. The cops, with weapons drawn, carefully made there way into the building. Lance was sure that he didn’t want to stick around to see what happened next, so he took off through back lots and people’s yards to make his way to his car.

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He kept his driving in check as he made his way home, and had popped the mask off, figuring that was the only really suspicious article of clothing Lance was wearing that he couldn’t explain away. There was another thing that Lance noted that was quickly becoming a habit, and that was driving within the parameters of the law. Granted, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially since he was trying to be a beacon for good. But he gave a little thought to what his abilities had meant in terms of lifestyle changes. He had more late nights, he was constantly exerting himself physically, which he noted with a yawn, and he lied at a fantastic rate. Though, Lancee decided that since the lies didn’t really hurt anyone they weren’t really that bad. He arrived home exhausted, and he took off the sweatshirt and put it back in the trunk, replacing it with his dress shirt, and he struggled against himself to button it back up. He had been debating whether he needed to change shoes, and decided that he should, so he did that quickly. He had already peeled off the gloves and stuffed them into the pockets of the hoodie, which lay wrinkled in his trunk, and slammed the trunk down before walking inside. Since it wasn’t that late, only about nine-thirty, the rest of the family was still up and watching television in the living room. “Hey, champ, how was the dinner?” his father asked. “Fine,” Lance replied wearily. About the only thing he wanted to do at that moment was to go to bed and get a good night’s rest. “Are you okay?” his mom asked, giving her son a worried look. “Yeah, just a long day,” Lance replied. It had been a long day, and he was glad that it was just about over. “You should get to bed early,” his mom suggested. “You have a big day tomorrow and you don’t want to be tired for that.” “I know. I think I’m going to go now,” Lance said. “You sure you’re okay?” his dad asked, eyeing him with a bit of suspicion. “Nothing exciting or weird happened today?” Mr. Maxwell knew full well what had happened that morning, which had added to Lance’s stress. Or maybe his dad was referring to the incident at the pharmacy, though he didn’t see how his father could possibly know about that. “Nope, everything was cool. Just a long day,” Lance eyed his dad with equal suspicion. What does he know? Lance asked himself, wishing he could reach into his dad’s head and find out. He thought maybe he could ask Charles what secrets his dad was keeping from him, then decided against it, as he wasn’t even sure he could trust the Englishman yet. “Goodnight, Lance,” his mother called. All Lance could muster in response was, “’Night.” Eva and Mr. Maxwell joined in, and Lance responded to each of them before meandering up the stairs.

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Why was he so tired all of the sudden? Lance thought about that as he stripped down to his boxers and through all of the days he had felt this drained recently. It was then that he realized that every time he was exhausted it was when he had used his abilities. That has to have something to do with it, Lance decided as he crawled into bed, pulling the covers over his body. A tinge of panic struck as he realized that he hadn’t heard from Keri at all after school, but that was soon forgotten as he was overcome by sleep. I’m sure she’s fine, Lance thought as he drifted off. I’ll see her tomorrow and everything will be just fine.

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Chapter Nine Tuesday morning. The day of one of the last big track meets of the season. The season of Lance’s senior year, so it was one of his last meets in track. Lance felt oddly saddened by that fact as he sprang out of bed, ready to face the day. It was an odd departure from the day before, when he practically had to drag himself out of his bed. His thoughts once again drifted to the theory that maybe his ability had something to do with his energy level. It’s like it gets a little less exhausting every time I use my powers, Lance thought as he grabbed a clean pair of boxer shorts out of his dresser drawer. Maybe it’s just something my body has to get used to, like running a lot or lifting weights. He was going through his usual morning routine when he got the idea to check the paper for news of the robbery while he ate breakfast. He was disappointed to find that not even the local sections made any mention of his activities, as he thought for sure that there would at least be something about the robbery, if nothing about Lance stopping it. He checked the time as he ate his cereal, and decided that it was time to head off to school.

Lance drove Eva and himself to school that morning, and, upon arriving, he immediately set out to search for Keri, since he hadn’t heard from her at all the night before, which caused him to worry. This made him determined to find out if anything was the matter. Found her by herself in the cafeteria, where she appeared to be deep in thought, so Lance decided to sneak up on her, but was thwarted when someone yelled out, “Good luck,” when Lance was still several feet from Keri. Lance mumbled a, “Yeah, thanks,” as Keri spun around and smiled. “Trying to sneak up on me?” Keri asked. She looked glad to see him. “Yeah,” Lance admitted, looking like a sad puppy dog. He dropped his back pack on the ground and plopped down on the bench next to her. “How’re you holding up?” Keri asked. The question took Lance aback as it took a moment to register what Keri was talking about. She was obviously referring to the incident the previous day when Lance had ran from the building in a frenzy. Keri was wearing a white, soft-cotton baby doll t-shirt with a pair of jeans, and her brown hair was pulled back into a pony tail. Lance thought she looked absolutely fantastic. “I’m fine now,’ Lance replied as he put his hand on hers and started caressing her gently. “Thanks for asking. Really.” “Good,” Keri said. “I was afraid to call, you looked so crazy yesterday. Plus, I didn’t want to interrupt your spaghetti dinner. How’d that go, by the way?” “Great, as always,” he said.

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“That’s good…” Keri trailed off and a silence built between the two teens. Keri wanted to ask something, but she wasn’t quite sure she wanted to know the answer. She finally built up the courage and asked, “Lance, do you want to be with me?” The cafeteria was filling up with students as they trickled into the school. “Of course,” Lance replied without hesitation. He gave her hand a squeeze. “What brought this on?” “You’ve been seeing an awful lot of that girl lately and I can’t help but worry you’d rather be with her.” “No, of course not.” He put his hand against the back of her head and guided it to his shoulder. “I only want to be with you.” “Then why’d you take her to the dinner, and breakfast, and all that?” Keri asked. How had she heard about the dinner already? Lance wondered. He couldn’t think of anyone Keri was particularly close to, or even friends with, on either track team. “I already told you about Sunday,” Lance said. “And she is on the girls’ track team. All I did was give her a ride so she wouldn’t have to find the place on her own.” “Okay,” Keri said, accepting Lance’s explanation. “You sure?” “Yes.” “Okay.”

There was a buzz of excitement spreading through the school that day due to the track meet. No one usually cared much about track and field, but because if was one of Lance’s last chances to break the record, everyone was talking about it, even the teachers. The students and faculty all wished Lance luck, even those he didn’t know. During the day, as he passed through the halls, Lance happened to run into David, the employee from the department store where he had purchased the crimson spandex workout shirt. “How’s that shirt working out for ya?” David asked. Lance smiled, attempting to suppress straight out laughter. If David only knew. Instead, Lance just said, “It’s working out fine. In fact, I think I might come back and get a few more so I don’t have to worry about keeping it clean.” That was true. The entire outfit would need cleaning, and washing the whole thing at once would probably arouse suspicion. Lance had contemplated just buying everything online to avoid going back to the stores, but, again, having all of the clothes and gear show up at his house would raise suspicions with his family. “Oh, cool,” David said, attempting to keep up the conversation. “I could probably put a couple aside for you, if you wanted.” “Oh, yeah, sure,” Lance agreed with a smile. “I’ve got to get going. Thanks again.”

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The rest of the day was a nervous, anxious blur for Lance as his attempts at focusing on classes and school work failed utterly. Finally, the final bell announced the end of the school day, and, as the students cleared out of the school, Lance tried to push his pre-race jitters away. Because the track meet was at the school, he didn’t have to worry about catching the bus. But, that also meant that he had a fair amount of time to wait before having to get ready for the meet. He didn’t want to burn all of his energy away by just pacing around, but, at the same time, didn’t want his body to tighten up waiting around for the meet to start, which was scheduled for four o’ clock. The team meeting was at three-forty so that the team could take a warm-up lap around the track together as a show of unity. Since it was only about two-thirty, Lance decided to take a leisurely walk around the school and maybe eat a snack to keep his strength up. As he walked, Lance pulled open a bag of peanuts. He had read somewhere that the nuts were good source of carbs or protein or something. He couldn’t remember where he had read that or what exactly it was supposed to do, only that it was good for him. He strolled through the halls of the school, taking the time to look at every poster, notice, and flyer that lined the halls. He was amazed at how much stuff was constantly going on, and briefly wished he had taken the time to be more active at school. Sure, he was a good athlete and played for the varsity teams, but he suddenly felt like he could have been doing so much more than just running fast or hitting a ball. Lance’s impromptu tour of the school landed him right near the men’s locker room. He looked up at the clock and realized he had spent almost an hour wandering the school, so he decided that he should probably start getting ready for the meet. He walked down the hall and turned left, only to be surprised that Keri was there waiting for him. “Did you really think that I would let you go out there with out wishing you luck?” Keri purred. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled his mouth to hers. The other young men and women of the track teams who were heading to the locker rooms stopped and stared. Some watched in jealousy, others in shock, and the rest were a bit aroused by the very public display of affection they had witnessed. “Wow,” was all that Lance could manage to say. “Good luck,” Keri said devilishly as she turned and sauntered off. All eyes were on her as she pushed open the doors to the school’s athletic entrance and strolled out to the track. “Thanks,” Lance said after she had already left the building. Shaking it off, he found that everyone was still standing around. He looked at the various girls and boys and they immediately rushed to get wherever they were going as if nothing had ever happened. “That sure was something,” Lance heard as he walked into the locker room, feeling like his face was turning as red as the lockers that surrounded him. “What a lucky s.o.b.”

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“That was kinda hot.” “I heard she’s a real freak.” Lance took offense to that last one, as he knew for a fact just how unfreaky Keri actually was. Most of the time. As the embarrassment passed, Lance found himself grinning like an idiot. He couldn’t help it. Something about how everyone was jealous made him giddy. It was a mixture of pride, arousal, and the factor of ‘yeah, and she’s all mine.’ Lance took his time changing clothes, soaking in the banter of his teammates. The comfortable atmosphere that the team shared, it was something he was going to miss, come a month’s time. But, instead of worrying about how the good times were coming to an end, he just was enjoying the time he had left. He was lost in thought when Ryan popped up next to him. “So,” Ryan began slyly. “I hear Keri paid you a visit?” Lance was once again all smiles. “That she did,” Lance said as Ryan nodded his head as if to say ‘awesome.’ “Yeah, man, that’s what I’m talking about,” Ryan congratulated Lance on a job well done, even though, technically Lance hadn’t done anything. He finished pulling his warm-up clothes over the team uniform and turned towards the rest of the group. “All right, guys. Let’s saddle up!” Lance called. Cheers went up as they congealed into a mass heading towards the door. They all walked briskly through the parking lot to the track. The boys who had already gone out to measure their steps or setup whatever they had needed to saw that the rest of the team had made there way out to the track, and were now huddling together, preparing to run the traditional warm up lap. Those boys rushed over to join their team, and with Lance at the lead, headed off down the track. There were boys and girls from various other teams scattered about the track and the home team did their best to avoid running the wayward athletes down as they passed by. The bleachers surrounding the track were already beginning to fill up with eager spectators, with the boys and girls of the track teams wanting to believe that all of the people were there to cheer on the team, but they knew different. The crowds of people were there to see if Lance, the current hometown hero, would be able to beat the record during this, his final home meet of his high school track career. Maybe some of the people secretly wanted to see if he would crash and burn, but, as he lead the team around the track, he received nothing but well wishes. The team pulled up at the end of the lap, and they gathered around Lance with demands of a speech. He paced back and forth, adding to the dramatic effect he was having on the team, and on the fans in the stands. “Remember one thing as you go out there today,” Lance began. “That this day isn’t just about me, or any one of you. It is about all of us. Look around. Look at the faces of the people next to you. You have shed sweat. And blood. And tears with these men.” Lance paused to let his last point soak in. It had its desired effect, as the teens of the men’s track team were captivated.

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“You have had glorious wins and bone crushing losses, and yet, here we are. Four years later, all of us, still standing together. And why is that? Because we are a team. We win together, we lose together, and we continue to stand tall throughout. If we win here today, it won’t be because I broke some record. It will be because of all of us. Of every hard earned point we get. So go out there, as a team, and show these people who we are!” The rest of the team stood silent as Lance finished his speech. Somewhere from the crowd a clap started. Slow at first, yet it grew to a thunderous applause. Ryan stood next to Lance, and he decided to add to the occasion. “Who are we?” Ryan called out. “Warriors!” After the heart felt moment finally subsided, the rest of the team dispersed to warm ups or wait for their events. The coach stepped in next to Lance and spoke softly to the teen. “Mighty fine speech, Lance,” the coach said. He leaned in and quietly asked. “How long you been holding onto that one?” Lance gazed out at the boys’ track team scattered throughout the sporting events area for a moment, then turned to the coach. “Four long years,” Lance replied honestly. The calls were made. This was it, the moment of truth. Would Lance be able to break the record? Now was the time to find out. Lance stripped off his sweats, and the crowd cheered so loudly that an official had to step over to the sidelines to quiet them down. The official at the starting line said, “On your marks.” Lance went through his pre-race rituals of shaking out his body, then bounced up and down twice, shook out his arms and legs, then coiled himself back into the starting blocks. He felt like some kind of snake the way he was perched, ready to strike. Everyone Lance had ever known was in the stands that night. His parents and sister, with Keri right in between Eva and his mother, were in the front row. Every friend that wasn’t out there on the track with him was up in the crowds. All of the towns people who felt it was their duty and obligation to be there just because of where they lived had shown up for what could be a historic even. “Get set!” the official called. In that brief moment, all of the troubles, all of the anger that Lance had bottled up had flashed to the surface. The turmoil that raged within him had surfaced, and Lance twisted it to his own purpose. Instead of letting his rage cripple him, Lance used the confused emotions as fuel. When the gun went off, signaling the start of the race, everything ceased to exist. The crowds were gone. Lance could hear the people calling to him, cheering him on, but it was distant now as he pushed his body forward, running purely on instinct. The past four years of his

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life had led to this moment, and he felt it flash by as he ran over hurdle after hurdle, pulling his legs through and snapping down without a loss of step or momentum, just as he had practiced. He had become one with the track. He knew exactly where the other runner were, who had hit too many hurdles, who had fallen out, who was still a threat to him. No one was. Not really. Not in his mind. As Lance crossed the finish line, he knew he had won the race, and was also confident that he had broken the record. In his mind he had been so far ahead of the other runners that he had finished running backwards to a blaring rock soundtrack while making an obscene gesture to his opponents. On the surface, however, Lance was cool, calm, and collected, not letting any air of triumph show as he shook the hands of everyone in the race, and even a few of the volunteers. His coach came over and asked how he was feeling. “I don’t know yet,” Lance admitted. He was still standing in his lane, awaiting his official time. “How’d I do?” “As damn near perfection as I have ever seen,” the coach replied. He took Lance by the shoulder. “You should be proud, even if you didn’t get the record.” The timer came over and told Lance what time had been recorded. What he heard stunned him at first. The crowd was hushed, as they were trying to hear what was happening down on the track. An official came over and the track coach, Lance, and the official closed into a private conversation. It looked serious, and Lance’s family started to get worried. Lance shook the hand of the officials and solemnly walked over to his parents, who had pressed up against the fence in front of the bleachers following the race. “What is it? What happened? What’d they say?” Lance’s mom asked. “They have to verify the results,” Lance reported. “But they’re pretty sure I just broke the state record, too.” “What? That’s, oh, wow…” they too were shocked and let out utterances of, “oh my God” and, “I can’t believe it.” “Yeah,” Lance agreed. He was still so stunned that he didn’t even act excited. “They said something about near-Olympic athlete time.” “Congratulations, son,” his dad said as he patted Lance on the shoulder. “Thanks,” Lance responded. “I’m just glad you were here to see it.” That was the truth, too. After having missed so many of Lance’s meets, he was just happy that his dad had been able to attend this one, despite all of the other strange things that had been going on. Lance was called over by the coach, who told him that the times for the athletes had been uploaded and that they should be announcing the results in a few minutes. Word must have traveled fast, because more and more people were asking Lance and the coaches if it was true; that Lance had broken the state record. The response was pretty standard.

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“The time is not official, but, as it stands, yes, Lance Maxwell has broken the state record for the one-hundred and ten meter high hurdles event.” The rest of the night consisted of people, friends and strangers both, coming up to Lance and congratulating him on his record breaking victory. Even with Lance taking second place in the three-hundred hurdles, the focus was on the record. Lance admitted to himself that he was nervous that his time for the record wouldn’t hold up under scrutiny, that someone somewhere would decided that somehow Lance’s time was tampered with and would be thrown out. But, he was also confident that the outcome would stand. The announcement came shortly after Lance had finished the three-hundred hurdles. “Number three, Jason State from Timber Lane High. Coming in second, Robert Trainer from Natville. Coming in first, Lance Maxwell….” The stands erupted in celebration, for their hometown boy had at least won the event they had all trekked out from their homes for. They would have to wait at least until the next day to see if he had officially taken the record. The medals were handed out shortly after that, and team cool down lap was run. The team dispersed after that and went their separate ways. Some went back to the locker room to change while others quickly ducked out with their parents. Those that had left had snuck back into the school while the other athletes had participated in their own events. Lance shuffled off the infield of the track with Ryan, Keri, and his family in tow. He was exhausted, but as he crossed the black top towards the school, he was on cloud nine. The fact that Lance had finally broken the record had struck Lance with full force, and he couldn’t be any happier about it.

The meet was over, and Lance had accomplished his goal, and nothing that night could diminish that. Lance went to bed that night actually looking forward to the glory the next day was sure to bring. He went to sleep that night with the feeling of supreme satisfaction of a job well done.

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Chapter Ten Lance was still walking on air as he got ready for school the next morning. Eva was staring at him as she watched him float around the house, then as they drove off to school. “Well,” she said finally. “You look awfully pleased with yourself.” “I can’t help it,” Lance replied, all smiles. “I still can’t believe I did that.” “Wow, running fast? Not like you haven’t trained for that for a few years.” “Hardee har har.” Lance pulled up to the school, anticipating the attention he would receive from all of the other students and teachers. “Time to meet your adoring public,” Eva said as they walked into school. Lance shot her a glare, showing her that he was displeased with the disrespect she was displaying towards him. The students and teachers were talking, but not about Lance. Hushed whispers spread throughout the halls. As Lance walked on, he heard what they were whispering about. “Who do you think he is?” “I heard Zack saw him at the ‘Full Moon’ on Sunday.” “Did you see the footage they posted on Monday?” “Yeah, it was on the news this morning.” “You watch the news?” What the hell? Lance thought. They were talking about Lance, but, at the same time, they weren’t. Or, at least, no one knew it was Lance they were gossiping about. He was amazed that people were talking about ‘Zero’ already, and yet, at the same time, what had been the hold up? Lance had last been in costume two days before, and people were just getting around to learning about it now? That baffled him, as news usually traveled fast, especially with all of the instantaneous media outlets like the internet being readily available for everyone at a moment’s notice. Ryan broke through the throngs of people and hobbled up to Lance, breathing heavily. He was wearing a bright yellow polo shirt and a pair of jeans that day, though Lance thought the shirt made his friend look ridiculous. “I’ve been looking all over for you, man,” Ryan huffed out. “I told you so.” He shoved a newspaper at Lance. On the page that Ryan had turned to was a picture of the aftermath of Lance breaking up the robbery Monday night. “So? What am I supposed to be looking at?” Lance asked. He knew full well what the picture showed, as he had been there, but he couldn’t let on about that to Ryan. Lance stood there for a moment, scanning the article, and commented on some political scandal that was on the opposite page. He found several factual errors about what had transpired at the pharmacy, and he fought hard with himself not to say anything about it aloud.

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“He’s real, dude,” Ryan exclaimed. “The super hero, he’s real.” “Uh-huh,” Lance said, pretending to be skeptical. He knew the truth, of course, but he had to keep up his skepticism for appearance’s sake. “Didn’t you see the news? They have a video shot on a cell phone of this, man.” “And that’s proof how?” “Well, the newspaper says that it matches the ‘anonymous’ pic that Zack’s taking credit for. Says he saw the guy on Sunday and just snapped one off to show people how insanely dressed the guy was.” Lance looked at him with a quizzical, non-believer look. “It’s in the paper!” “We’ve had this talk already, Ryan,” Lance said. He was still reading through the article. According to the author, Lance was, as reported by the thwarted robbers, seven feet tall and two hundred plus pounds of solid muscle. At six-four and one hundred and sixty pounds, he was definitely in great shape, but a far cry from his profile in the paper. The article had put up the grainy picture from his classmate’s cell phone in the continuation of the article three pages into the section. Yep, Lance thought. There I am. I can’t deny my own existence now. “Wow,” Lance said. “So, what does this guy do?” “Other than being a total badass?” Ryan joked. “Doesn’t say.” Lance could practically hear something click inside Ryan’s head, and Lance could feel what was coming next. “What if the guy from last week is the same guy?” Lance nodded in response. Had it only been a week? It seems so long ago that those guys tried to mug me. “Could be,” Lance replied. “Or, it could be another guy with powers.” “Or, maybe, this guy,” Ryan said, tapping at Lance’s picture in the paper, “doesn’t have any powers and he makes up for it with killer fighting moves.” Lance held back a snicker, as he did not think any of his fighting moves had been “killer.” In fact, he barely thought of his skills as passable, and it was something that he was looking at improving. Ryan was getting excited by the thought of real super heroes operating out of their small town, and there would be nothing Lance could say that would persuade him to think otherwise. “And get this,” Ryan said. “He’s calling himself ‘Zero.’ That sounds so cool. Zero.” Well, at least someone likes the name. Of course, with the prospect of seeing a real live super powered being, Ryan probably didn’t care all that much about the name. Lance could have called himself “poopface” and Ryan would have still loved it. They went off to class where the attention was split between Lance, and, well, Lance. Only, once again, no one knew that they were talking about their classmate when they talked about the vigilante who was cleaning up the streets.

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Lance didn’t know whether to be flattered or disappointed. His late night action was already having its desired effect with the town’s people, but yet he was deflated by the fact that not everyone was focusing on him breaking the record. It was selfish of him, he knew, to be upset that not everyone was focusing on his personal glory. And yet, at the same time, he was also upset because he knew that they weren’t gossiping about all the good “Zero” was doing, but about how cool it was that there was someone with powers running around kicking the crap out of people and throwing them threw windows. He didn’t like all the violence being associated with his other persona, but for the meantime, it was working, and he would leave it at that.

“Hey, watch where you’re going, you freshman piece of…” Lance heard someone say as he walked through the halls. It was later in the day, and there was only one hour left, which meant he’d be able to go home for a while before having to go to work. The junior varsity team had a meet that night, and because of that, Lance’s varsity team didn’t have practice. Instead, they were expected to run on their own, which, to the best of his knowledge, everyone always did. They might not have done so a few years ago as freshman and sophomores, but as soon as they reached the varsity level, they did as they were told. The sound that followed was that of flesh hitting metal. Some poor boy was getting hassled by some upperclassmen, and they had shoved him into a locker. In a flash, Lance was between the upperclassmen and the younger teen. “And just what is going on here?” Lance asked, face to face with the head bully, who happened to be Keri’s friend Derrick. “Nothing, we’re just playing,” Derrick lied. He glared at Lance, as if to say that it wasn’t any of his business, but Lance had already decided that he was going to make it his business. “Really?” Lance asked skeptically. “Shoving the freshman into a locker was just playing?” “Yeah, totally,” was the reply. For a moment, it was a standoff. Derrick was weighing his chances of success if he got into a fight with Lance. Then he realized that even if he beat Lance, Lance was popular enough that Derrick probably wouldn’t last too long afterward. Though, it was Lance who took the initiative after a tense moment of silence. “Maybe you should just run along now,” Lance growled condescendingly. Derrick thought briefly of reacting, but decided against it. Instead, he took one last look at the freshman, then looked at Lance before shrugging. “Yeah, ok, you win this time, Maxwell.” “Whoa, you used my last name. I’m scared,” Lance replied, smirking. He had won, he knew that, so why was he now acting like such a jerk? Lance couldn’t figure it out. Derrick and his friends walked away, and Lance was sure that the whole incident was going to be a lot different when it was retold.

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He turned to the teen who had been getting picked on by Derrick and his friends. He recognized the lad from track as a freshman runner named Kevin. “Thanks, man,” Kevin said. He was relieved that he wasn’t going to get beat up. “They were going to beat me for sure before you came along.” “No problem. Those guys are just jerks, anyway,” Lance replied. He knew the type. People like Derrick thought that they owned the school just because they were older than the other kids. That, somehow being a senior made them better, that it gave them respect even though it was never really earned. “Kevin, right?” “Yeah.” “I’d steer clear of Derrick and his group for a while. They’ll probably want to try and mess with you again, especially if I’m not around.” “Sure thing, Lance,” Kevin said. Lance Maxwell had remembered his name! “He doesn’t seem to like you, does he?” “That’s just because he really wants to sleep with my girlfriend. But look, I’ve got to get going. Good luck tonight,” Lance said as he walked away. “Congratulations on the record!” Kevin called after him. Lance turned, smiled, and then waved, but never stopped moving down the hallway. He rounded the corner and almost walked right into Principal Decker. “Oh, I’m sorry, Mr. Decker.” “It’s quite all right, Mr. Maxwell,” Decker said smiling. “I must confess I was spying on that little incident just now.” “Oh?” Lance uttered nervously. He didn’t know what to make of that. Was he going to get into trouble for that? Lance didn’t think he should, since all he did was protect a younger student from bullies. And, he had done it without using any physical violence. “I want to congratulate you on a job well done there. You helped that young man out without hurting those bullies. Though, I do disapprove of your threats of violence, of course.” “Thanks?” Lance was totally and utterly confused. “We need more young people like you around,” Decker said, extending his hand to Lance, who accepted it with a quick, clean shake. The principal was about to walk away when it appeared he remembered something. “There are some people here from the paper. They want to do an interview and take your picture for tomorrow’s edition. It looks like the record is now officially yours. Congratulations.” “Thanks,” Lance accepted as he got excited all over again. With the buzz about Zero permeating the school, most people had forgotten all about Lance’s race, which had left him disappointed. Now he’d get the recognition he felt he deserved. “Uh, why didn’t you just call for me over the P.A.?” Lance asked suddenly. It was strange the principal himself would come to find Lance. “They’re setting up in my office. And I could use the chance to get out of that stuffy place.”

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Lance walked a step behind Decker as they walked to his office. “Oh, and be sure to remind your father that his talk is scheduled for a week from next Monday.” Lance was startled a bit by that offhanded remark. It was something about the delivery of that message that made him suspicious. The way Principal Decker had brought up Lance’s father like that was unsettling to him, with the casual way the principal had mentioned it as though he were deliberately trying to bring up Lance’s dad. “I’ll be sure to tell him that,” Lance promised as he was led to the office door, where the principal opened it for him and as soon as Lance was through, closed it again. There was a man with a notebook and tape recorder, who Lance assumed was the reported, and a man with a camera. “Please, come on in, sit down, get comfortable.” It was slightly odd to Lance that the man with the notebook, who was sitting at one of the guest chairs in front of the desk, talked to Lance as though the office were his, and not the principal of the school’s. Still, Lance did as he was told and walked over and sat in the other chair. “Ready to get started?” Lance nodded that he was. “Ok, first off, I just want to say congratulations…” the man began. The interview lasted the entire last class period of the day, which Lance hadn’t exactly minded. The man asked questions about how the track season was going, about his teammates and if they got along, where Lance thinks track and field will lead him in the future, both in the short and long terms. Lance tried to answer those questions as best he could. Finally, the man got up and Lance did the same. “Thank you for your time, Lance,” the interviewer said, and they shook hands. “Now we just need some pictures for the story. This will be at least page one of the sport’s section, if not the whole edition. It’s not often someone breaks a state record by that big of a margin.” “Front page, you say?” Lance asked, perking up at that little tidbit. He had being getting tired during the interview, but that new put the life right back into him. “Maybe. As long as that ‘Zero’ guy doesn’t do anything else newsworthy in the meantime.” Lance’s eyes went a bit wide, and he nodded along. He wanted to say he was sure Zero wouldn’t because Zero had to go work at the local grocery store, and wouldn’t be able to do the super hero thing. But, of course, Lance couldn’t, and wouldn’t, say anything like that. The camera man instructed Lance to do a few poses by himself, and then a couple with the report. “Thanks again for this. We’ll be sure to get you a framed copy of this once it gets printed,” the reporter assured him. The two men left the office, with Lance in tow. The bell had just rung, indicating that it was now time for him to go home.

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Lance was going through the day’s events in his head as he arrived home. There wasn’t anything too exciting until the end. Even then, bullies and sports interviews paled in comparison to the rush Lance got whenever he beat the bad guys as Zero. As though in response to that thought, Lance was surprised to find that Sherry, the girl he had rescued from a horrible fate only days before, was sitting on the corner of the yard opposite his. A feeling of pure panic spread through Lance’s stomach as he pulled into his driveway. What was she doing there? Had she somehow been able to track him down? There was only one way to find out, so Lance got out of the car and cautiously walked towards the young woman, who hadn’t really seemed to be paying much attention to the teen walking towards her. “Hey,” Lance called. Sherry’s head snapped around as she looked for the source of disruption. “Do you need any help?” Sherry smiled, and Lance thought about how very pretty she was. Much better looking now than when Lance had found her in that alleyway. “No. I was out running, and I think I twisted my ankle,” Sherry explained. “I already called someone. They should be here soon.” She studied Lance as he got closer. There was something about him that seemed so familiar, so engrained in her mind, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. “It isn’t safe out here for someone like you to just go out by yourself like that,” Lance said, immediately wishing he hadn’t sounded as sexist to her as he thought he might. “In a small town like this? Please,” Sherry responded. Lance thought that she was a lot tougher than she looked. “Besides, I’ve got a guardian angel watching over me.” “That right?” Lance said smiling. He was flattered, though he knew there was no way he could actually live up to that expectation. Sherry motioned for Lance to sit down as she continued to talk. “You know that ‘Zero’ guy that’s been on the news?” Sherry asked. Lance was that ‘Zero’ guy from the news, but he just nodded in acknowledgement. “I think he saved my life Friday night. Stopped a really bad man from hurting me. The guy who saved me was pure class, too. He didn’t want anything in return for saving me. Not even the recognition from the cops.” “He wouldn’t dream of asking for anything,” Lance let slip, but Sherry didn’t seem to notice. The sky was turning dark, the graying clouds threatening rain. “Yeah, I bet he wouldn’t. Hey, there’s my ride.” Lance stood up as a red Mustang pulled over to the curb. “Nice car,” Lance said in admiration. “It’s my boyfriend’s,” Sherry responded with pride. She tried to get up but couldn’t, which led Lance to believe that she really must have had a sprained ankle. He noticed her struggling, so he offered her his arm. She was gazing up at him as he helped her up, and her eyes widened in realization, like the light bulb in her brain had turned on in shocking discovery.

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It was him! She suddenly knew it was. These teen’s arms were the same muscular arms that had helped her up after she was attacked. The same firm, yet gentle tug that pulled her to her feet, and the same eyes and hair of her rescuer. It had been dark in the alley, and she’d been scared to death, but she knew it was him. She was just sure of it. In turn, Lance’s eyes widened as he knew she had figured out who he was. Sherry’s boyfriend, a husky blonde man in his late twenties, flew from his car when he saw his woman with another man. “Who’s this guy?” the man asked, referring to Lance. He was trying not to sound too concerned about the situation he had just arrived into. “Just some kid who kept me company ‘till you got here,” Sherry said, smiling at her boyfriend. Lance had half expected her to point at him and yell, “Zero, this is Zero. The guy from the news. Zero!” But she did nothing of the sort. Instead, she just looked at him and said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.” Crap, Lance thought. What am I going to do now? I can’t really lie to her, since she saw where I live. That, and if she looks at tomorrow’s paper, she’d know who I am anyway. Weighing his options, Lance just opted for the truth. “Lance Maxwell,” Lance replied, smiling nervously. “Hey, I heard about you. You run track, right?” the guy asked. “Yeah.” “I hear you’re pretty fast, man.” “I guess so.” “Well, thanks for looking out for my girl here and making sure no weirdoes got to her.” Lance thought that was strange. That the man had been defensive and protective only moments before, but now, after learning that he stood in the presence of the Lance Maxwell, he had become so much more friend. Lance must have had a good reputation, he thought as he shook the man’s hand and helped Sherry get to the car. “Thanks again,” she said, then she whispered something that only Lance could hear. “It was nice seeing you again…Lance.” She had said it that way deliberately to indicate that she could have called him by a different name, but hadn’t. Still, Lance felt himself turn white as Sherry and her boyfriend drove off. Oh, shit. She knows who I am. That’s it, I’m done for. She’ll tell everyone she knows about me. I bet she’s telling her boyfriend right now. The media will eat me alive. Lance felt himself panicking and tried to calm down. If she was going to rat me out, she would’ve done it already, though Lance was still expecting news vans and helicopters to pile up on his driveway at any moment. I should’ve lied and told her I was somebody else. No, that wouldn’t have worked, anyway. Even if she doesn’t see the article, if there is one, then it’s easy enough to look up the address anyway. And if they do look at the paper, and see my name anyway, then it would look suspicious that I lied to them.

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He decided that he had done the right thing by telling the truth and he hoped it wouldn’t come back to bite him on the backside later. He walked into his house and sat down at the table. He was supposed to be out running in place of a formal track practice, but somehow he didn’t feel like it at the moment. “Hey, there’s my champ.” Lance had been slumped over in the chair, and shot straight up when he heard his dad’s voice. Mr. Maxwell frowned when he saw his son white as a ghost. “You okay, son?” “Yeah,” Lance lied. “You just startled me is all.” His dad sat down at the table next to him. “You sure you’re okay?” His dad asked. “You’ve been looking like something’s been bothering you for the last couple of days.” I have super powers, do you know that? Lance thought as he looked at his dad. Something tells me you do, and that scares me. It also scares me that you have this hidden life that involves Rain some how. And, you have a gun somewhere that shoots tranquilizer. That’s what’s been bothering me. But, instead of all that, Lance replied with, “I’m fine, really.” “Well, you can talk to me if you need to. You know that, right?” “I know,” Lance wanted to hate his father for keeping secrets, as Lance felt pretty certain he was, but then he kept acting so…fatherly. It was almost enough to drive Lance insane. Mr. Maxwell stood, gave Lance’s shoulder a squeeze, then walked away and went upstairs. Lance listened to the stairs squeak as his father gradually got further away. Lance couldn’t help but just sit and feel nervous. His fate was now in the hands of the young woman he had saved, which he didn’t think was all that fair. He had saved her life after all, and now Lance thought he might get screwed over for it. He finally stood up, deciding that there wasn’t really any point in worrying about what might happen. Short of hunting down the young lady and silencing her, there wasn’t anything he could do about it anyway. Not that he would have done something like that. There was still about an hour before Lance had to work, so he decided to check out the footage someone had taken of Monday night’s excitement. That was the good thing about the internet, it wasn’t hard at all to find anything and was really more of a question of how than what. Like Lance had predicted, it didn’t take long to find the video, and Lance settled for one that had the date pasted over Zack’s cell phone photo as an introduction. The video was grainy, and it was difficult to make out anything. The video started after Lance had already entered the pharmacy. There was movement, and then the man went sailing out the busted window, which caused the person holding the camera to jump. The video lasted maybe all of thirty seconds and ended with Lance exiting the building, where it then went dark. Was this the guy I chased after? Lance wondered, thinking about the events of after he broke up the robbery. No, the angles don’t match up right. The person I ran after would have to have been about fifty feet to the right of the cameraman.

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So, Lance concluded, more than one person had watched him intervene and stop the robbery. That really didn’t help much, so Lance just started perusing through all of the videos of the fight. Some had rock tracks playing over the video, and others had edited in slow motion sequences. He found his favorite to be one with a hardcore rock song and a slow motion replay of the man going through the window. If all of Lance’s fights were going to turn out like that, he considered letting all of it be videotaped. He immediately wrote it off as a foolish and stupid idea, but still, something about such a public display spoke to Lance. He chewed on that thought for awhile before realizing he had to get to work. Lance ate as he drove and hoped that nothing would happen at work, as he thought he had already had enough excitement for one week, what with the creepy conspiracies, thug beating, and record-breakings and all.

Everyone who went through his line that night congratulated him on his record. News really does travel fast in a small town, Lance figured. A few people were chatting about the ‘Zero’ video and Lance couldn’t help smiling to himself. The five hours that was Lance’s shift at the grocery store seemed to fly by that night. As soon as ten ‘o clock rolled around Lance was done. It was time for Lance to turn in for the night, as he had no plans to run around as Zero at all, and instead he figured he’d cruise through some more of the seedy looking areas of town on his way home, just in case. If there were crimes being committed, Lance didn’t see any on his way through. Good, Lance thought as he pulled into his driveway. My first quiet night in a week. Lance ate dinner like a normal person, then went upstairs to talk to his girlfriend like a normal teenager. No men with guns, no prophetic Englishman or mysterious cloud-headed villains, no thugs or robbers; just normal teenager stuff. As much as Lance was beginning to love the action, he found that it was a nice contrast to have a peaceful night. Lance said his goodbyes to Keri, washed up for bed, then drifted off to sleep.

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Chapter Eleven The next day, nothing happened. Lance hung out with Ryan, who was still talking about the masked hero, Eva, and Keri as usual. Everything was as it should be. For the first time in over a week, Lance felt normal, like he wasn’t living with some huge, horrible secret. It was odd, when Lance stopped to think about it, that he felt normal even though people were closer than ever to discovering his secret. Sherry knew, Lance was sure, and if she could recognize Lance was Zero, then, who else could? Heck, Lance was a bit surprised that Ryan hadn’t figured it out yet. They had been friends for as long as either could remember, and he was almost positive Ryan would figure it out sooner or later. Granted, right now the only evidence to go on was a grainy bit of video and a picture taken with a cell phone, but there would probably be more times where Zero would get his picture taken.

At track practice that afternoon, Ryan and Lance talked as they ran. “Do anything exciting last night?” Ryan asked. “I worked. That was ‘bout it,” Lance replied “You?” “Same. Working tonight?” They were coasting through practice, and Lance thought for a moment that they should pick up the pace, but the coaches were probably still taking it easy on athletes after Tuesday night. “Nah, I’m studying with Keri tonight,” Lance explained, which caused Ryan to grin. “We’re actually going to study.” “Right, right,” Ryan said. “We are!” “I didn’t say otherwise.” “You implied it. Not everyone has sex every single chance they get…” and Lance came to a sudden realization. He turned his head suddenly and stared angrily at Ryan. Ryan, feeling the cold daggers beating down on him, looked at Lance, who was staring at him in an angry, wide-eyed, unblinking glare. “What? Hey, no…what, no,” Ryan stuttered as he realized what was going through Lance’s head. “That’s my sister, man!” Lance yelled as he fought back the urge to pounce on Ryan and beat the snot out of him. The rest of the team laughed and snickered as they listened in on Lance and Ryan’s conversation. Some were getting the mental image of Eva and Ryan together, and others were picturing just Eva. None, however, disliked the thoughts. Some of the runners even started taking whispered bets on if Lance would fight Ryan, and, if so, who would win. “We’ve never done that! I’m not even sure she wants to.”

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“She sure seemed like she wanted to at Rain’s.” Everyone seemed very interested now, including the members of the girls’ team that they had just passed on the track. “Yeah,” Ryan responded dreamily. He quickly snapped back to attention. “I mean, no. That’s as far as we’ve gone. Honest.” Lance let the conversation die there, not wanting to pry any further into the love life of his little sister and his best friend. Practice ended soon after and Lance headed home. He quickly changed clothes and called up Keri. “I’ll be over soon. I just have to stop at the bank. Gotta hit the ATM in case we need to grab dinner somewhere.” “Okay. I’ll see you soon. Love you.” “Love you, too.” Click. The line went dead and Lance put his phone on his bed as he changed clothes, then put it in his pants’ pocket. He told his parents where he was going and then headed to the bank.

Lance was standing at the ATM when a man dressed in a battered brown jacket and baseball cap kept low approached the teller at the counter. He tried not to stare as he saw the man pull a gun from within the coat. Lance couldn’t hear what was being said, but he figured it was somewhere along the line of, “give me all yer money!” followed by the teller’s complete compliance. The man kept his gun out as he grabbed the bag and ran out of the bank. Luckily, Lance had already completed his transaction, so he pretended not to notice what had just happened as he quickly followed the bank robber. The man ran off towards an unmarked car and Lance quickly ran off after him. It appeared to Lance that the man had been working alone, which was very unfortunate for the robber. Lance tackled him to the ground just as he had reached his getaway car. The man swung his elbow back, catching Lance off guard with a blow to the face. The robber pushed Lance off and spun around. He held up his gun. The man didn’t have the chance to fire, as another person, probably another customer who had seen the robbery, or maybe it was just a concerned bystander who had found the courage to step up. Either way, Lance could not have been more grateful for the help, as he had only two options. Either stop the bullet using his powers while not wearing the costume, or let the robber shoot him to protect his secret identity. Neither option appealed to Lance. And that was also assuming that his powers would have kicked in at the right time. His shield had pretty much been forming at will, but he still wasn’t too sure how it was happening and if it would just give out at any moment.

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He got his first look at his savior after the robber had been knocked unconscious. He was a middle-aged man with graying brown hair, and Lance guessed the man to be in his late forties or early fifties. “You okay there, kid?” the man asked. There was a small crowd of people that started to form around them, attracted by the commotion and excitement of the scene. “Yeah, I’m fine,” Lance replied, then added the lie, “Thanks to you.” It wasn’t a complete lie, as Lance would’ve been in big trouble if he had been forced to use his abilities openly in public. It wouldn’t have taken very long for anyone to figure out who he was if that had happened. “It was no problem, really. Just lucky you didn’t get shot before I got a chance to get at ‘im.” “Very lucky,” Lance agreed. He looked around at the crowd and saw someone very familiar. At the back of the group stood Rain, where she was talking to somebody on her cell phone, looking away from the commotion. Lance couldn’t hear what she was saying, but he could have guessed that it was about him. He cursed himself once again for not having super hearing as he asked the man who had saved him if he thought he could handle the situation from there. The man looked at him surprised, but dismissed him, saying, “Yeah, we’ve got this covered.” Lance nodded and then turned and slipped through the crowd, hoping to catch Rain unaware, as she was still distracted by her conversation on the phone. Just as Lance broke threw the crowd, Rain snapped her head around and saw him heading directly towards her. She said something into the phone, snapped it shut, and took off running from the bank. If that hadn’t been an admission of guilt, then Lance didn’t know what was. There was something oddly familiar about this, Lance thought as he ran after Rain. The speed and grace Rain displayed as she ran reminded Lance of someone, though he couldn’t remember who. Then it hit him like a brick. Rain was the person Lance chased after the pharmacy robbery that past Monday. There was no way that this could be a coincidence then, Lance determined as he huffed and puffed after Rain. He was going to lose her if he couldn’t find a way to cut her off. She might be faster than Lance, but he knew the lay of the land better, and he used that to his advantage. Lance cut through bushes as Rain gracefully vaulted over a fence. As he cut through some back yards, he lost sight of her for a moment and hoped she hadn’t stopped or changed direction in order to shake him off. He was rewarded when he passed through the last yard on the block and popped out right in front of her. She hadn’t been able to stop in time as she plowed right into him, looking frantic

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as she tried to pick herself up, but Lance had firmly grabbed her by the wrist so she couldn’t get away. “Talk,” Lance commanded angrily. “Now!” Rain attempted to look confused, as though she had no idea what Lance meant. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she responded, trying to wriggle free of Lance’s grasp. “Then why’d you run?” Lance asked, only receiving silence in return. Lance was more than a little angry now, as he had trusted Rain and even thought of her as a friend. “You were there on Monday, at the pharmacy robbery. Why?” Again, Rain said nothing. She only looked at him with hatred and fear. She realized that she didn’t know what Lance was truly capable of, as she had heard about his bizarre mood swings of the past week. He had seemed like a nice guy, but she had also seen him fight off multiple attackers on more than one occasion. “Fine, I’ll just go ask my dad then.” He gambled that that would illicit a response from his captive. “No!” Rain relented. “Why shouldn’t I? You two know each other, right?” “Yeah…” Just then, something inside of Lance’s mind clicked, and his eyes went wide in realization. “He doesn’t know you’re watching me, does he?” “No.” “Then who do you work for? And make with the more than single syllable answers. Do you work for ‘the Man’?” Rain looked startled and confused by the question. “Who…?” “Never mind. Who do you work for, then?” “Who said I worked for anyone?” “You were reporting to whoever was on the other end of that phone, weren’t you?” “I, uh, no,” she stammered. She had been caught, and she knew she was already in enough trouble for that as it was, so she did not want to add to that. “I can’t tell you. I’m sorry, but I can’t. All I can say is that they have a lot of interest in you. And, that you’re not alone.” Lance gave her a puzzled look, but he let go of her wrist anyway, and Rain rubbed at it tenderly. “Tell your bosses whatever you want about what happened,” Lance said, conceding partial defeat. He had found the person who had been trailing him, but she had been less than forthcoming with any real answers.

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“I have a feeling they already know,” Rain replied ominously. She walked off in the direction she had been running, and Lance realized that they were fairly close to her apartment. “And Lance, you got sloppy there.” “Yeah,” Lance agreed with a grin, “But you were sloppier.” It was after Lance walked back to his car that the full gravity of what Rain had said hit him. “You’re not alone…” The words repeated over and over in his head. What did that mean? Are there others like me out there? Does Rain have powers? Lance had half a mind to drive over to Rain’s immediately and ask her what she had meant by that, but he decided that he had wasted enough time and that he had to hustle over to Keri’s house. He was already late getting there, and she was probably wondering what had happened to him.

Lance sped towards Keri’s house with utmost urgency yet took the time to not break the traffic laws too badly. He didn’t know if he was racing towards Keri, or away from Rain. Either way, he arrived at Keri’s house in record time, where he found her waiting for him on the step to her front door. She smiled when she saw his car approach. “’Bout time,” she said. “Trouble at the bank?” “You could say that,” Lance replied. Keri looked at him questioningly, so Lance explained further. “There was a robbery.” “Oh,” Keri said in surprise. “Are you okay?” “I am now,” Lance said. Keri looked worried, so Lance told her the rest of the story about what had happened inside and outside of the bank. “First that thing with Derrick and now this?” Keri asked. She was getting angry, especially since Derrick was her “friend.” “You can’t keep sticking your neck out like this. I know you like playing the hero, or whatever, and it’s cute, it really is. But you’re going to get hurt.” She stood up and wrapped her arms tightly around Lance as he was hit hard by her words. Keri could be right, Lance considered. He didn’t have to be risking his own life so often just to help others. As soon as he thought those words, Lance knew in his heart that Keri was wrong, but well intentioned. She couldn’t understand the power that Lance had, or his decision to use it to save those who couldn’t save themselves. He had the power to do so, so why not use it to help people? Plus, it’s not like Lance could quit yet, as there was the mysterious crime boss still gunning for him. And poor Charles Mason, too, who was forced into servitude just because he might be able to see the future. No, Lance couldn’t give up yet, even if he wanted to. Not until he saved Charles from his horrible fate.

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“I know hun. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I just reacted,” Lance said, trying to comfort his girlfriend. “It’s good you want to help. But, please, don’t do anything that will take you away from me.” At first, Lance thought she might be joking, but the tears rolling down her cheeks told him otherwise. “Hey, shh,” Lance said, rocking Keri gently. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.” At the same time, Lance hoped he’d be able to keep that promise, and Keri calmed down enough that they stepped inside her house and went up into her bedroom. “Where’s Jack?” Lance asked, referring to Keri’s little brother. He was usually around and trying to butt into whatever his sister and her boyfriend was doing. “Oh, he’s over at some friend’s house, doing who knows what,” Keri explained, causing Lance to give her a cock-eyed glance. Keri just rolled her eye. “Nothing like that!” He briefly considered that fact that he was now a hypocrite, as Ryan had chided him in the exact same way only hours earlier. “I didn’t say anything,” Lance said smiling. The two, to Ryan’s credit, did not spend much time actually studying.

Lance was amazed at how distracted he had gotten while he was with Keri. All of his problems seemed to just melt away when he was in her arms. Now, as Lance drove home, he was reminded of what had happened earlier. Rain, Lance was now almost certain, had some sort of abilities. Just the way she had said “You’re not alone” had told him that. He found himself wondering what powers she could possess, and was actually excited that there was someone else like him, even if she was spying on him. Super speed and agility? Lance thought. No, as fast as she is, if she had superhuman speed, I don’t think I’d have been able to catch her. Maybe she has super strength. Lance dismissed that thought immediately. Just being close to her, Lance knew she had a tenderness that could no way come from being super strong. That and she would have been able to break free from Lance when he had gotten hold of her wrist. This was starting to bother him, but he fought the urge to drop in on Rain to get answers. It could wait, after all, Rain went to Lance’s school, and, even if it was just a cover, it was probably one that she wasn’t willing to blow quite so easily. Lance’s dad was waiting for him when he got into the house. “Hey,” Lance said, acknowledging and greeting his father. “Hello,” Mr. Maxwell responded. “Get much studying done?” The silence was all the answer he had needed. “Didn’t think so.” Mr. Maxwell was reading the paper, and it was open to the article about Lance breaking the record at the track meet. It had been relegated to the front page of the Sport’s section, which

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had been just fine with Lance. The hoopla had already died down at school, and Lance had already forgotten about the page spread in the paper. Plus, Lance was distracted by a great deal many things. One being the person who now sat right in front of him. What part did his father have in all of this? Lance was practically dying to know. And why hadn’t Rain wanted Lance to go to his dad about what had happened at the bank? They seemed to know each other, as Rain’s emphatic reaction suggested. Maybe they worked for the same person, and maybe Rain had been sent in without his father’s knowledge or approval. Those were the questions that Lance wanted so desperately to have answered, but he held back and just said goodnight to his dad. “’Night, son,” his father replied. It seemed as though there was something that Mr. Maxwell had wanted to say to his son as Lance went up the stairs to his room. If Lance could just make sense of everything, then maybe it would all turn out all right. Maybe he would finagle the answers out of his dad during the fishing trip. Then again, that would be exposing his secret to Ryan, which was something he was not entirely sure he wanted to do. Yet, Lance decided he had to know for sure what was going on, and as he fell asleep, the last thing Lance said to himself was, “one more day…”

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Chapter Twelve It was Friday, which meant the students had their natural weekend energy. By the time the end of the day came around, the collective, “Let’s just get the heck out of here,” had spread to everyone, students and teachers alike. The weather was absolutely perfect, with the temperature in the upper seventies. Unfortunately for Lance, he still had to go to practice. He didn’t mind it though. It was beautiful out, and running always helped clear his head. He had been avoiding Rain all day, as he was afraid what might happen if he was alone with her again. She looked like she felt the same way, which was why they both looked suspicious when the coaches from both teams, who had been huddled together for quite some time, had called the two teens over. “It’s Friday, and the end of a big week for you, Lance,” the head boys’ team coach began. “Which is why we thought it would be fun if we did something a little different,” the girls’ coach finished. “We thought you two might like to settle who is the fastest once and for all.” The timing on that could not have been worse if he had tried, Lance thought, but he reluctantly agreed to it anyway, as did Rain. This led to an explosion of boys versus girls matchups in various events, which the coaches curtailed quickly, as they did not want to be slapped with any type of sexist labels or lawsuits. Still, it seemed that the coaches had anticipated this, so they quickly came up with a mini-meet’s worth of events to be capped off with the hurdles race. The cheers went up as each team participated in the events. To top things off, the scores were tied by the time the hurdles race between Rain and Lance came around. For some reason, Lance felt more pressure than he had before his record-breaking race earlier in the week. Perhaps it was due to the pressure his own team had placed on him, or maybe it was because there was some macho instinct Lance had to fulfill by defeating a girl at a sporting event. Or, and Lance found this one to be likely, it was because he knew Rain was indeed faster than him, and it was only because he had been craftier that he had been able to catch her the day before. Rain and Lance got into their ready positions looking like they were ready to rip each other to shreds, and it was apparent to Lance that Rain was holding a grudge for being caught while on assignment. What assignment, Lance didn’t know, other than he had figured out it involved watching him. Someone yelled set and they arched up their backs in unison. The shot form the starter pistol had surprised even the runners, as neither had seen the gun used that day before that moment. Rain and Lance shot from the blocks with more intensity than they had ever displayed, even when they had competed. Perhaps Lance had been too intense as his knee collided with a hurdle. He tried not to let it slow him down, and he heard Rain hit one of the hurdles hard.

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Amazingly, even though he was in a race to determine the dominate gender, he wondered if she were okay, as the hit sounded incredibly painful. It was a near-photo finish, but it appeared Lance had won. He trotted over to Rain for the obligatory well wishes. “Good race, Rain,” Lance said. She glared at him, and folded her arms. “Looks like you beat me again,” Rain said so only Lance could hear. He stared at her hard, as though he had just seen her for the first time. Finally Lance spoke, “Who are you?” This caused Rain to smile, though it didn’t seem all that pleasant to Lance. “Maybe some day you’ll get to find out,” Rain replied as she headed towards the school. Lance stood there and stared, his feelings almost hurt. He had liked Rain, perhaps even more than as a friend, at it saddened him that she had turned out to be not who Lance thought she was.

Lance worked that night, so he had to hustle home after practice to get ready. He also had to remember to get to bed right after he got home, as his dad had reminded him about the fishing trip. Unlike Wednesday, work just seemed to drag on for Lance. A few people still congratulated him, and, to his surprise, asked for him to sign the newspaper article, but, for the most part, it was a slow day at the grocery store. It was so slow that Lance’s manager told him to go home early. Normally, Lance would refuse, as he liked the money, but he had been feeling restless his entire shift, so he jumped at the offer and bounced up the stairs to the break room where the time clock was. While he was punching out, he had the thought of going over and checking up on Rain, since she only lived a block or so away from the store, so it wasn’t really out of the way. That wasn’t a good idea, Lance decided, as Rain had been pretty bitter after practice, and Lance didn’t think he should do anything more to upset her further. And besides, Lance told himself, he didn’t know she’d even be there. She could be out spying on him at that very moment. Lance looked around suddenly at the thought, then laughed at how stupid he felt and he bounded down the stairs to leave. She’s probably being a lot more careful about it, now that I’ve caught her once, Lance thought. Or maybe she was pulled off of the ‘spy on Lance Maxwell’ detail. Then Lance had a scary thought. How many times had Rain spied on Lance? He had seen the shadowy figure twice, so assuming that had been Rain both times, which added up to a total of three times that Lance knew about. What if she had been spying on him every night? Lance had only seen her three times in the two weeks she had been around, so who knew how many times she had actually been watching him. Lance tried not to think about it too much as he drove home. Even thought he was allowed to leave early, Lance’s house was dark when he arrived home. Apparently, Mr. Maxwell wanted to get as much sleep before the fishing trip as Lance had.

Zero Lance snuck into the house and up to his room. He checked his phone, and, after seeing he had no new messages, he crawled into bed and fell into a restless slumber. He even had the crazy thought that Rain could have been watching him at the very moment as he closed his eyes and forced himself to sleep.

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Chapter Thirteen His dad woke him up early the next morning. It was still spring, so the sun was still rising, even though the clock read six a.m. Lance thought about the irony that he was getting up at the same time he did for school, even though it was the weekend. Mr. Maxwell drove, and Lance assumed that his father must have been up for awhile, as the car had been packed long before Lance had woken up. They drove over to Ryan’s house, who, thankfully, was waiting outside for them on the driveway. He quietly stuffed himself into the back seat, along with a small, red tackle box that he had had since childhood. “You still have that old thing, I see,” Mr. Maxwell laughed. Ryan looked sheepish as he held the worn plastic box on his lap. “Yeah.” “I guess it has been a long time since we’ve gone fishing,” Mr. Maxwell said, attempting to curb Ryan’s embarrassment. He gave a smile into the rear view mirror and away they went. It was about seven when they reached the lake, and Lance wondered where the boat was. Mr. Maxwell led the boys down the slip and onto a cross between a yacht and a large pontoon boat. It wasn’t quite a yacht, but Lance still thought that it all looked expensive. “It’s a company boat,” Lance’s dad explained, as they loaded the fishing equipment onto the boat. “We use it for those morale boosting and bonding trips that seem to be all the rage with corporations these days.” Lance had never heard about his dad going on any of these trips, and immediately began to wonder if that was really the truth. Stop it! Lance told himself. The day was all about relaxing and not worrying about any of the stupid crap that he had gone through recently. Ryan came about with the last of the coolers, which was full of soft drinks. Mr. Maxwell rarely drank alcohol and Ryan and Lance were underage, so soda pop seemed like the likely choice. Another cooler was full of sandwiches and snacks, Lance noted as he poked through the plastic container, shifting through his food choices. He hadn’t had time to eat breakfast that morning, and all the carrying of equipment had left him hungry. He had to remind himself to take it easy on the fatty foods, as he still had a couple of weeks left to go in the track season. The same went for the soda, too. He hoped to get to the state meet, which was something he hadn’t been able to do the previous year, though he had gone as an alternate for one of the relays his sophomore season. They helped Mr. Maxwell cast off and drifted out into the lake. When they had drifted out a safe distance, the elder Maxwell hit the engines. That had been an important lesson that Lance’s dad had taught him when they had gone fishing when he was younger. And that was to not run any type of engines too close to the shores.

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The serenity of the lake was broken by the boat as it glided along, leaving rippling water in its wake. Mr. Maxwell picked out a good spot, cut the engines, and picked up his pole. He baited the hook and cast out the line, settling into his seat as he did so. Ryan insisted on using the bait that he had brought along, as it was a tradition, and Lance chuckled and shook his head as he watched his friend mess around with the hook. Pretty soon, Lance had turned his attention to his own efforts after he had jabbed the hook into his finger, due to the fact that he hadn’t been paying enough attention to what he had been doing. He picked up a can of soda with his other hand, and flicked his wrist, sending the line into the water. He sipped from the cold drink and put his legs up on the railing of the boat, settling in for the way. He inhaled deeply, taking in the nostalgic and familiar scents of the lake. It was Ryan who caught the first fish, much to the astonishment of Lance and his dad. Ryan struggled to pull what appeared to be a bass out of the water, and he triumphantly held up the line, displaying his trophy for all to see. He looked around with a troubled look on his face. “Uh…” Ryan said, worried. “Now, what do I do with this thing?” He didn’t see anywhere to put his catch, and for a moment he was nervous that he’d have to throw it back. Lance was worried that they hadn’t packed anything to keep the fish in, but was relieved when his father popped up with one of those metallic nets that hung off the side of boats; the kind that keep the fish alive, but still well secure, with little chance of escape. As the day wore on, the sounds of other water vehicles permeated the peacefulness of the lake. There were times that Lance had almost wanted to bring up all the questions that had been on his mind during the week, but he decided that he didn’t want to spoil the day by bringing up anything that could cause any type of trouble. Instead, he just enjoyed the feeling of freedom found in drifting out in the middle of the lake while doing absolutely nothing. He wasn’t responsible for anything other than not losing the fishing pole. Sporadically, someone would start up a conversation only to have it trail off minutes later, to be followed by more silence. The conversations weren’t all that deep, either. Mostly what one of them thought about what sports teams were going to do what in the upcoming seasons. Lance also noticed that the subject of Ryan dating Eva never came up, which was probably for the best. A dragonfly had landed on Lance’s bobber, and he just marveled at its simplicity. Not a care in the world, the insect perched itself on the very top of the red and white orb. It eventually flew away and Lance watched it go, a part of him wistfully thinking that he’d love to be able to go with the dragonfly, to be able to be free, to soar above the land, above all the troubles and worries and drama. That is what Lance wanted. At least, a part of him did.

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Just as he wished that he could stay like that forever, his dad announced that it was time to call it quits. The boys grudgingly reeled in their lines and pulled up their catches, preparing for the journey back to land, which, since it wasn’t that large of a lake, wouldn’t take that long. Mr. Maxwell revved up the engine and guided the boat back to its dock and Lance helped tie it down while Ryan gathered up whatever trash they had compiled and stuffed it into a bag.

“Well, that was fun, wasn’t it, boys?” Mr. Maxwell asked on the drive back home. Lance was staring out the window at the trees as they passed by. “Yeah,” Ryan and Lance agreed lazily. The long day finally had taken its toll, and Lance thought that a nap wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. Maybe he could call up Keri and they could spend the rest of the day cuddled up on the couch watching a movie or something. But, Lance remembered, he had to meet up with Charles later on at that bar. Charles! Lance had almost completely forgotten. What was he going to tell Keri? How was he going to get in? Should he wear the costume? The costume might draw too much attention to itself, he thought, especially if any of the bar patrons had seen the news, or read a newspaper, or went online lately. For a brief moment Lance wondered exactly how widespread ‘Zero’ had become. He wondered if the video of the pharmacy robbery had made the national news, and he thought how cool it was that people everywhere were watching a video of him kicking some butt, even if they didn’t know the person behind the mask. The more Lance thought about the coming night, the more worried and anxious he became. There were just too many things that could go wrong to suit Lance’s tastes. He could go to the bar in the Zero costume and have someone recognize the outfit, which could lead to all sorts of problems for both himself and Charles. Lance could not go in costume, in which case anyone could plainly see that he was not twenty one. For a moment, Lance considered just not going at all, what with all the danger involved, but his sense of responsibility won out over his good judgment. Lance checked his watch and was surprised by just how late it was. By the time they had dropped Ryan off at his house it was starting to get dark. It was then that Lance realized that he didn’t remember if Charles had specified a time for them to meet. He’s the precog, Lance reminded himself. He’ll know when to be there. Not that he’s a very good precog. Lance helped his father unload the car, deciding that he would just make up an excuse to leave just as soon as he could. “Did you boys have fun today?” Mrs. Maxwell asked as father and son unloaded the gear from the car and carried it into the house, where it would finally be stored back in the basement. “Yes,” Lance said, determining how he should put the day into words. “It was very…relaxing.”

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“That’s nice,” his mother said, as though she weren’t really reacting to what Lance had told her. At that moment, Eva came bounding down the stairs. “Where’s Ryan?” she asked looking over her returning family members. “You didn’t kill him and dump in the lake, did you?” “Of course not,” their dad replied. “Although, that’s a great idea for next time.” “Daddy!” Eva pouted. “I’m only joking, honey,” he said. “We dropped him off at his house before coming home.” “Oh,” Eva said, still looking upset. “We were supposed to go out tonight.” Lance responded this time. “Well, he would’ve had to go home first so he could drive. That is, unless you two had been planning on walking everywhere.” “Good point.” “Do you have any plans for tonight, Lance?” his mom asked. “I was gonna go hang out with some guys from work. Go see a movie or something.” “Oh, you’re not seeing Keri tonight?” she asked. “Probably not.” “Well, that’s a change of pace,” Mr. Maxwell interjected. Like you would even know, Lance thought to himself. Even though his dad had been home all week, Lance didn’t think that had made up for all the times when he was gone for weeks at a time. Instead of replying, Lance mumbled something incoherent and went upstairs to change. He put on the crimson shirt for his costume, and a new black sweatshirt, one that still had the sleeves intact. It didn’t have quite the same effect as the sleeveless one, but it would have to do for what he had decided. Lance planned to wear as much of the costume as he could without drawing attention to himself. It was still fairly cool out at night, so wearing a sweatshirt wasn’t entirely out of the question. He also could wear the black cargo pants without drawing suspicion, much for the same reason as the sweatshirt. Lance said goodbye to his family and went out and opened the trunk to his car. He rummaged through the pockets of the sleeveless hoodie he now kept almost exclusively in the back and pulled out the gloves and mask. He didn’t figure he’d need the boots, so he left those in the trunk. The white and black low top tennis shoes he was wearing would have to be sufficient for the evening.

The bar was only a couple of blocks away from where Lance lived, so it didn’t take much time at all to get there. It was just after eight p.m. and fully dark out. The drive over had made him nervous, as he still wasn’t sure how he was going to get in

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Lance decided that he would just try to walk in unnoticed and hope that no one was checking ID’s at the door. His stomach sank when he saw that there was indeed a man at the door checking identification, albeit haphazardly. He quickly formulated a plan on how to dodge the doorman, who appeared to be a twenty-something year old college student. A group of girls were walking towards the entrance, and he quickly stepped in with the ladies, who the guy at the door looked like he was going to let in without any hassles. “Don’t I know you?” Lance asked one of the women as they reached the door. “I don’t think so,” the middle girl, a short-haired blonde, replied. “Should I?” “Weren’t you at the party last weekend? The one at Taylor Hall?” Lance persisted. Taylor Hall was one of the frat houses at the largest of the local colleges. He had visited the college when he went to look at schools, and he spat out the name of the first party building that he remembered. The group, Lance included, passed through the door without any problems. “No, I didn’t make it to that one,” the blonde girl responded, looking Lance over. She definitely liked what she saw, although, to her, he looked too young to be in college. Or at a bar, for that matter. The young lady didn’t know just how right she was. “But, uh, we can make up for that. Buy me a drink?” Uh-oh. The alarm in Lance’s brain went off. He hadn’t anticipated the girl responding like this. “I’m sorry, but maybe later. I’m meeting someone,” Lance said and the girl frowned. “But if I have time, I’ll be sure to let you know.” He smiled at the girl. “Okay,” the girl replied. “Be sure to come find me. My name’s Tracy.” “Lance.” “Well, Lance, I’ll see you later,” she winked at him and ran off to join her friends, who had already sat down at a table. All right! I can’t believe that worked. He looked around the bar, seeing if he could find Charles. It didn’t appear that the Englishman was at the bar yet, so Lance took a seat at a table towards the side. It was larger than most bars Lance had been in, thought admittedly, that hadn’t been many. The tables were spread out and round, with big TVs on the walls. The owner tried to give the place a more upscale look, like a sports bar, though it was still smoke infested. There was an open set of doors that led to a separate pool hall, though other games like darts were kept in the main area, probably as to not interfere with anyone’s billiard playing. Lance was startled by a hand poking him in the shoulder, and he nearly jumped out of his seat, as he feared he had been discovered by one of the bar’s employees. He was relieved to find that it was not a bouncer come to eject him from the premises, and that it was Charles Mason standing before him. “Shit, man,” Lance said. “You scared the hell out of me.”

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“Sorry ‘bout that,” Charles said. He was looking around the bar suspiciously, as though he were making sure everything was in its proper place. “Let’s go get a table and shoot some pool.” “I thought you Englishmen liked to call it ‘billiards’?” Lance asked jokingly. He followed Charles through the doors into the pool hall. There were about a dozen tables, with ample room to take a shot without fear of bumping into the person at the next table over. Lance took the time to give Charles the once over. He was wearing a blue t-shirt and a pair of faded jeans, which was in stark contrast to what Lance had seen him wearing at the restaurant the previous Sunday. Charles shoved a pool stick at Lance. “Here, break,” he said, handing Lance the white cue ball. It had been a couple of years since Lance had last played pool, and he did his best to remember how as he put the ball on the table. He calculated his shot and swung the stick. The balls crashed together, then scattered, but none fell into the pockets. Partway through the game, Lance finally decided to speak up. “So…why am I here?” Lance asked as Charles attempted to take a shot. The sound of Lance’s voice must have disrupted Charles’ concentration as the pool cue nicked off the ball, sending it aimlessly off course. “You’re here because we agreed to meet here,” Charles said, stating the obvious. Lance glared at him, as, although the night hadn’t been unpleasant, this wasn’t really the way he had wanted to spend his Saturday night. Charles picked up on this and explained further, “As to why, specifically. Well, I figured I could give you a progress report.” “What?” Lance asked in surprise. That was it? That was what Lance had to sneak into a bar and flirt with college girls for? Though, to be honest, he hadn’t really minded that last part. “You know, how you’re doing out there. What you’re doing right, what you could be doing better. That sort of thing,” Charles explained. Lance took offense to that, as he thought he had been doing pretty well for himself as of late. “I snuck into a seedy bar for that?” Lance asked incredulously. “Fancy piece of work, that one,” Charles congratulated. “Very slick. Unlike, say, what happened at the bank Thursday.” Charles had been looking to surprise Lance with his knowledge of the events of what happened at the bank, as he liked freaking out people by knowing stuff he shouldn’t, but was disappointed when mentioning what happened Thursday didn’t even faze Lance. “Yeah, I’ve already heard that before,” Lance said casually as he sank a ball into the corner pocket. Now it was Charles’ turn to be surprised. “Oh? From who?” He hadn’t seen anyone else talking to Lance about it when he used his powers to watch Lance foil the bank robbery. Lance immediately regretted saying that, as he didn’t want to reveal the source of the comments on his handiwork.

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“Never mind,” Lance said, glancing up at the glowering Englishman standing across the table from him. It was obvious to Lance that Charles liked being in the know, and was visually displaying his displeasure at having secrets kept from him. “I haven’t really found out anything more on our mysterious foe, by the way,” Charles said, changing the subject. “Other than I still can’t figure out who he is.” “That’s a bit disappointing,” Lance said as he sank another pool ball into one of the side pockets. The game was coming back to him now, and he reveled in being in the lead. “So, what do you think I could be doing better?” “You could concentrate harder on the mission, for starters,” Charles replied. He didn’t want to push the fact that his life practically depended on Lance’s success, as Charles was sure that once his boss found out that he was working against him, Charles wouldn’t last too long. “I do have a life you know,” retorted Lance. “Meanwhile, you’re dicking around with mine!” Charles was angry, but Lance just rolled his eyes, which really set Charles off. “See, there you go. You’re not taking this seriously enough.” “Hey,” Lance shouted back. “I’m out there risking my life, which is more than I can say about you.” “You’re only out there when it suits you, when you’re not off somewhere breaking records or making out with your girlfriends.” People were starting to stare, so Lance reminded Charles that he should keep his voice down. “And it’s only one girlfriend.” Charles chose to ignore Lance’s comment and continued on giving him his progress report, as Charles saw it. “Your rep is spreading already, which is great. Even my guys downtown are starting to talk, and all you’ve done is broken up a couple of robberies and roughed up some chumps.” “You act like you’re some kind of rock star, like this is some kind of game. But, if you screw it up, both you and I are dead. You understand that? The man is gunning for you, and he doesn’t mess around. If you’re not ready for him, he will kill you. And then he’ll kill me.” Lance gulped hard. The reality of his situation, mixed with the embarrassment of causing a scene was getting to him. He didn’t want anyone to kill him; he just wanted to help people. Lance wished for a moment that things could go back to the way they were before he had discovered his powers, back before those two half-wit drug dealers had attempted to mug him. Now, he realized, or at least he was beginning to, that there was no turning back. “I see you get what I’m saying,” Charles said. “And I’m still not convinced about the costume.” Even though he wasn’t wearing all of it, Lance automatically looked down at his clothes with a frown. He looked back up at his friend. “What’s wrong with it?”

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“Well, for starters, you look more hobo than superhero. I’m thinking maybe some molded body armor...” “One, I’m a high school student, where am I going to get the money for ‘molded body armor?’ Two, you do remember that my power is to stop bullets, right? What do I need body armor for?” “Well, uh,” Charles stammered as he scratched the back of his head with his left hand. “It would give you a nice, scary, military look.” Lance just shook his head and they continued to shoot pool into a second game after Lance had managed to win the first. It was when Lance was lining up a shot that he looked past Charles and received a shock. Being escorted into the pool hall by Ryan was his little sister, Eva. What the f…? Lance almost yelled aloud. “What is it?” Charles asked concerned, attempting to follow Lance’s gaze. Lance just stared at the two, instinctively pulling the hood on his sweatshirt up so he wouldn’t be recognized. Charles finally realized what was looking at and gave him a nod of understanding. “Oh, is she one of yours, then?” Charles asked. “Something like that,” Lance replied as he laid the pool stick down on the table. His anger was starting to get the best of him, and at that moment Lance didn’t care if he broke his cover. All he wanted to was hit Ryan in the face very hard, possibly more than once. Ryan himself wasn’t even supposed to be in the bar, so how dare he bring Lance’s sister to this place? “Ah, that’s the sister, then?” Charles realized and held out his arm to stop Lance from going over to Ryan and Eva and making a mistake. “Don’t do it, mate. You’ll get us both into a heap of trouble.” As Lance found himself torn between protecting his family or his secret identity, Charles’ eyes went wide with fear and his head cocked towards the bar, causing Lance to become alarmed. Charles had a flash of what was happening around them at that moment, and what he saw in his mind terrified him. “Besides, we have bigger problems now,” Charles gasped, visibly shaking. “We’ve got to get out of here.” “What?” “He’s here.” “Who?” “He’s here and you’re not ready.” Lance finally understood what was happening and he began to panic. Sure, beating up hapless thugs and robbers is one thing, but confronting an actual super villain? Here? Now? Lance didn’t think he could handle that, and Charles was inclined to agree. Frantically, Lance began to look for a way out as his chest tightened. He felt like the whole world was collapsing into him all at once.

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“Split up, try to get away, and we’ll meet up later,” Charles said as he bolted towards the back. Lance only knew of the front entrance, so he decided to try his luck with that. As he rushed past the door of the pool area, he heard Eva, who was at the table closest to the door, say, “Lance?” He had the mask on by then, and the hood up, but Eva had seen him leave the house wearing those clothes, but Lance couldn’t worry about that then. Running through the bar with the mask on was drawing attention and he heard murmurs coming from the patrons, but no one tried to stop him from leaving. He broke through the doors and thought he might be free when he was grabbed from either side. Two large men were holding on to Lance’s arms as he struggled to get away. One called to his unseen allies that they had found their target as they dragged him to the side of the building, where a man in a dark trench coat and hat waited. Lance knew instantly that this must be ‘The Man,’ as his head was just a cloud of black swirling mass. “You must be Zero,” the cloud headed man bellowed. The voice was deep, but it didn’t sound natural to Lance, and the cloud that stood in for his head swirled continuously as though it were atmospheric cover for its own little planet. “I have been looking forward to our meeting.” “Who the hell are you?” Lance asked, gazing up at the man in the trench coat. One of the thugs punched Lance in the gut, forcing the air out of his lungs. The impact caused Lance to cough and wheeze as he tried to catch his breath. “Now, now, boys. We don’t want to hurt him…yet,” the man chided ominously. “You may call me haze.” Lance tried to focus on breaking free, but found that he couldn’t after getting hit so hard. “What do you want?” Lance coughed out. Haze put a hand under Lance’s chin and lifted his head up, as though he were studying every feature of Lance’s face. “You are a magnificent physical specimen,” Haze said, ignoring the question. “Must be some kind of athlete. And ever so popular with the ladies, I suspect. Especially in that cute little costume.” The villain chuckled in a deep, electronically altered voice. Lance pictured an evil smile underneath the swirling, clouded head. There was also something that Haze said that was extremely important, but Lance couldn’t figure out what it meant right then, so he made a mental note to think about it later. “You are the most powerful being that I have come across. Yet, here you are, reduced to nothing.” “And your point is?” Lance was regaining his composure and was desperately trying to access his powers to throw his shield up, but he found that he couldn’t, no matter how hard he focused. “Having a little trouble, are we?” Haze bent forward, and Lance wanted nothing more than to wipe the smug grin off of his clouded face that Lance knew was there.

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“But my point is, imagine what you could do with my help.” “Your help? Just like you helped Charles?” “Ah, yes. Unfortunately, Mr. Mason was able to elude me tonight. That little power of his does come in handy for that. But no matter. He was just a tool I used in order to identify and find you. Now that he has fulfilled that task, I have no further use for him and he will be dealt with for his attempted betrayal.” Lance’s blood ran cold when he heard that. It was what little aid Charles had provided that would cause his death, which was exactly the opposite of Charles’, and Lance’s, intent. “So,” Haze said as he reached into the pocket of his overcoat. “What is it going to be, Zero? Will you join me and live up to your full potential?” “Never.” Haze’s hand moved so fast that Lance could barely register the movement visually. The villain had pulled a gun out of his coat and fired a shot into Lance’s gut, causing Lance’s eyes to go wide with shock. “A pity, then. You’ll have three or four minutes to think about your mistake while you bleed to death.” Haze squatted over to come face to face with Lance, who was losing focus as the hot blood poured onto the cold pavement. “Though, we’ll still have so much fun together when I dissect your corpse.” Lance’s vision was going dark, though he thought he heard the squealing of tires, followed by the sound of flesh hitting pavement. He heard the sounds of feet pounding the concrete as the movement rushed towards where he lay. “Oh my God,” a female voice cried out, and Lance felt a hand press up against his neck. He began coughing involuntarily as another voice asked, “Is he…to…okay?” Lance’s hearing was fuzzy, though he thought he might have recognized the female’s voice, but was at a loss as to who it belonged to. Who…is…she…talking…to? Lance slowly managed to put the thought together. “Keep that pressed on the wound,” a male voice commanded. On the wound? What’s going on? Lance thought. He was very tired now. He felt someone lift him up, but all Lance wanted to do was go to sleep. “Wha…?” Lance moaned. “Conserve your strength, son,” the man said. “You’re going to be just fine.” Son? What? ...Dad!? Lance tried to push through the darkness and he could see his dad was carrying him with the help of Rain. She was also struggling to keep something that resembled a high tech band-aid pressed into his stomach. They were carrying him towards a black car; at least, he thought it was black. The doors on the side facing towards the bar were wide open, and Rain and Mr. Maxwell worked gingerly to get Lance into the back of the vehicle. “Gently,” Mr. Maxwell said, easing Lance’s bleeding, limp body into the car. “Get in the back with him, and make sure you keep that wound sealed.”

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Rain practically leapt around the car and slid into the back on the driver’s side of the vehicle. She had to move Lance a bit in order to squeeze into the car, and she hoped she hadn’t hurt him further as she laid his head in her lap. “Dad, Rain,” Lance muttered, then groaned. “What’s…what’s going on?” “You’ve been shot,” Mr. Maxwell explained. “But we’re going to get you help.” The car squealed as Lance’s dad drove out of the parking lot and sped down the road. With every bump, Lance moaned louder. “I thought you could keep him calmed down?” Mr. Maxwell yelled from the front. “I tried to tell you,” Rain replied. “It doesn’t seem to affect him.” What? What doesn’t affect me? Lance wondered as he felt himself slipping into the darkness again. The sudden excitement had kept him lucid for a few minutes, but now he felt himself drifting off to sleep. “He’s losing consciousness!” Rain called to the front. She’s so pretty, Lance thought. And comfortable. Rain is sooo comfortable. “Hold on,” Mr. Maxwell said. “I’m calling ahead.” Whee… my dad is driving fast. “He isn’t doing so good back here. Do you think we can make it?” “We’ll have to…” And then there was nothing for Lance Maxwell, just black static.

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Chapter Fourteen Lance found himself inside his high school’s choir room. “It’s about time, Mr. Maxwell. You are late,” the choir teacher said, with a hint of anger in his voice. “Late? Am I supposed to be here?” Lance asked aloud. “Am I even in choir?” Lance couldn’t remember, he thought as he looked around. He was suddenly on a stage, although, instead of being inside the school’s theater, the stage was outside. Lance tried to run, but found that the stage seemed to be endless. As he was running, the music started. It seemed like a distorted version of some song Lance recalled hearing on the radio recently. Surprisingly enough, Lance heard his own voice singing along, although he swore that he wasn’t singing the right words. Lance was still running and as he reached what he hoped was the end of the stage, he found that the freshman Kevin was blocking his way. Barely breaking his stride, Lance reached out and flung Kevin far off to the side. What did I do that for? Lance thought as he found himself in a twisted version of one of the school’s hallways. “Hey there, vigilante,” someone called as Lance ran past. What the hell is going on? Lance fought to figure it all out as he found himself in the men’s room. Ryan was there, in front of the mirrors, and Lance felt himself fill with rage as he grabbed Ryan by the back of the head and shoved forward, sending his friend face first into the glass. “Oh, very heroic,” Ryan said as he turned to face Lance. Shards of glass and streaks of blood were covering his face.

Lance shot straight up. It was just a dream. Or, more like a nightmare. He took a moment to look around, and found that he was in a hospital bed, and surprising to him, there were not tubes stuck in his flesh. The room was dark, and Lance’s vision was blurry, so he couldn’t see much of his surroundings. “Easy there, fella,” a man, who Lance presumed was a doctor, said. “It was just a dream, or, a hallucination. With the trauma you suffered, who can say?” “Where?” Lance’s throat was dry and his voice raspy. “Where am I?” The doctor was about to speak, but someone seemed to have cut him off. “I’ll handle it from here, Ernie,” Lance heard his dad’s voice say. “Here, drink this slowly.”

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Mr. Maxwell stepped into Lance’s view and guided a glass into his hands. He took the glass weakly and sipped at its contents. “Was I out long?” Lance said, wondering just how long he had been violently shaking in the hospital bed. He thought then that maybe up until when he woke up had been peaceful dreams that he just couldn’t remember. Somehow, though, Lance didn’t think that had been the case. “About eighteen hours,” Lance’s dad said, and what he said next seemed to be a bit of mind reading. “We had to strap you down for a while to keep you from causing yourself further harm. Took a lot of work, too. Even on the verge of death you put up quite a fight.” Lance laughed weakly at that, then coughed. “Careful there, son. You might not be a hundred percent yet. You gave us quite the scare last night,” Mr. Maxwell tousled Lance’s short brown hair, which was matted due to having been in the bed for the better part of a day. “A hundred percent? I was shot, right?” Lance asked, confirming the previous night was not just some horrible dream. “Yes, which is why we had to get you here so quickly,” Lance’s dad replied. “And where is ‘here,’ exactly?” Lance asked. He felt alert, and, other than a shortness of breath, he didn’t feel that bad. “We are in the ‘Lair’,” Mr. Maxwell said with a smile. “It’s a working title for now. We won’t have to settle on a name until we become an official branch.” “An official branch of what?” Lance asked curiously. His dad hesitated with a response. “What? What is it?” “Lance, son, what I’m about to tell you is strictly confidential, you understand?” Lance nodded his head that he did. “I mean it. You can’t tell anyone. Not your sister, not Ryan, not even Keri.” “Okay, just tell me what’s going on.” “You are in the ‘Lair,’ and unofficial branch of an unofficial government organization, which is incredibly odd to think about it in those terms. But, I digress.” “I’m not really a V.P. for a pharmaceuticals company, although, you could say I do work in the medical field, in a matter of speaking. I am, or was, one of the head researches in what was dubbed the ‘superhuman genome project.’ That was about twenty years ago.” Lance just stared at his father. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing, and yet, it made perfect sense. “Genetic anomalies were cropping up at an alarming rate, giving people all sorts of fantastic abilities, or, in some unfortunate cases, physical deformities. The company that I worked for at the time was charged with studying these anomalies. Of course, this was all kept very far away from the public eye.” “So, I’m just a genetic anomaly?” Lance asked. He was horrified by what he was hearing.

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“No. You are my son, and a good man,” Mr. Maxwell reprimanded. There was an awkward silence in the air. Finally, Lance suddenly broke the silence, “Do you have any super powers?” “Oh, no, I don’t,” he replied, then continued with his story. “About eighteen years ago, about nine months before you were born, the program’s focus shifted slightly.” “If the government was going to keep investing money into the program, then they wanted to see some sort of return on their investment.” “They wanted weapons,” Lance stated flatly. “Exactly,” Mr. Maxwell said, then looked puzzled. “How’d you know?” Lance shrugged, “It’s the government, what else could they want?” “Anyway, they also wanted the new super humans to be controlled, so, short of lobotomizing all of the existing anomalies…” “They just made new ones,” Lance finished off the train of thought. “So, I’m nothing more than a science experiment, that’s even worse than thinking I’m just some genetic anomaly for you to study.” “What did I just tell you?” Mr. Maxwell scolded. “And you weren’t a part of that program. At least, not as far as I know. Though, the others were so sure you’d have powers that I’ve had my suspicions for years.” “But…” “But, you were born, and appeared normal. You displayed no inherent abilities, so I assumed the higher ups were no longer interested in you.” “So, what happened?” Lance asked. Something obviously had, otherwise why had Rain been sent to follow him? But, she had arrived before Lance had even known about his powers, something must have alerted someone. “Ah, yes. That would be your Principal Decker,” his dad said wearily. “I heard this when I was at your school that morning. Apparently, Mr. Decker saw your speedy recovery from your injury last season as a manifestation of your powers. He believed you either possessed an enhanced healing ability or even possibly enhanced speed.” “So, Decker is in on it,” Lance confirmed. “But why? Was I really worth that much to your bosses?” “Of course not. Like I said, as far as anyone in the program could determine, you didn’t have any sort of abilities. I’m still interested in how you have them, but that’s for later. As for why Decker is at your school; we have an agent in at least one school in most of the major districts, as the abilities appear to manifest during the high school years.” Lance looked at his dad skeptically, “A major school district?” “Or, in this case, a high school near one of the original project sites.” Lance was lying in bed, still trying to wrap his head around the whole mess. “Let me get this straight. I may or may not be the result of some twisted government authorized science experiment in order to create living weapons. My high school principal is

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really a secret agent on the look out for said secret weapons. And, due to sheer coincidence, he reports I might have super powers, which sent Rain up here to seduce and spy on me. Is that about it?” Mr. Maxwell looked at his son with a sort of worried expression on his face. “That is it, except maybe I should let Rain explain about the last part.” At that moment, there was a knock at the door. Lance could now see the door, which was a vast improvement over his eyesight from when he first woke up. The door opened halfway and Rain stuck her head into the room. To Lance, she looked like she hadn’t slept much, and with all that had happened, who could have blamed her? She crept in cautiously, “Hey you, how’re you holding up?” “Been better,” Lance said, coughing. “Actually, I feel surprising good for someone who just got shot.” “I’ll, uh, tell you about that part a little later,” his dad said as he excused himself. “I’ll leave you two alone.” Mr. Maxwell leaned in close to Lance and whispered, “Talk to her.” He took one more look at his son, then at Rain, and then left the room, taking care not to slam the door on the way out. Lance tried not to look at Rain, as he was still not over her only being there to spy on him. Rain was also trying not to make eye contact, and pretended to be occupied by looking around the room. “So, what are you, then?” Lance asked suddenly, unable to take the silence any longer. “Hm?” Rain said, at first not understanding the question. “Oh, I’m a telepath.” “A telepath?” Lance’s eyes bulged out in horror. In the time he had spent with Rain, Lance had had some fairly inappropriate thoughts about her. “So, you can read minds?” “Don’t worry,” Rain assured him with a smile. “For some reason I can’t see your thoughts. Though, that’s not all I can do. I can project my own thoughts, as well as assert control over someone else’s mind.” “Like, physically?” Lance was suddenly intrigued by Rain’s abilities and it kept the subject off of more personal things, which was a bonus. “Or, mentally,” Rain said, also relieved that the conversation hadn’t turned towards more personal matters. “Like, I can cause someone’s brain to shut down, or even erase some memories.” “So, you can rape a person’s brain, then?” Lance didn’t like the thought of that at all. “I prefer to think of it as surgery. I mostly remove the stuff people don’t want floating around in their heads, anyway.” Lance wasn’t satisfied that it worked that way, but he didn’t want to push the subject too much. Another moment of silence hung in the air while Lance thought some things over.

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“How’d you end up working with my dad?” Lance asked. He was curious as to how such an attractive young woman ended up working for the government. “Did someone, like, find you in a crazy house because you thought you were insane from hearing voices in your head?” Rain giggled, which caused Lance to smile. He didn’t dare laugh himself, as that hurt too much. “No, it was your dad who found me, actually. And my life was pretty much how I said, except for one thing. Right after I turned eighteen, but right before I first met your father, I played poker. Well, more like hustled poker, actually.” “I could see how being able to know what your opponents are holding could be useful. So what happened?” “Everything was going great at first. Then I met your dad, and he asked if I would come here. Of course, I refused him outright at the time. But, soon after that, a not so nice person accused me of cheating. He had no idea how, but he was sure of it. He said he wanted his money back, or he was going to take it from me…violently.” Lance nodded to show he understood. “I was really freaking out, like, ready to leave the country freaking out. Then your dad just pops again, like he knew everything that had happened. He offered to take care of the problem for me if I agreed to work for him. So you see, he’s actually my boss. Most of the time, anyway.” “Except for when you showed up at school to spy on me. I got the impression he didn’t know about that one.” Or was very happy about it, Lance added mentally. He was relieved Rain couldn’t read his mind, as he often thought unpleasant things about people. “Yeah,” Rain admitted. “Once Decker’s call came in, one of the higher ups contacted me and said I’d be out on the streets if I didn’t take the mission.” Lance didn’t know how he felt about that so he just let her continue. “He didn’t seem to know about your powers, at least not at first. I’m sure he suspected it, though, which is why he made the deal in the first place.” Lance’s ears perked up at the last bit that Rain had said. “Deal? What deal?” “Oh. Maybe your dad should tell you.” “Maybe you should tell me.” “I don’t think I can. I’m sorry, I thought you already knew.” “Knew what?” Lance was starting to get aggravated again, as he was just so sick of the lies and deceit. “The deal was that if you ever developed abilities, that the project would leave you alone as long as your dad headed up the project and finds other super humans to take your place.” “What is this project, anyway?”

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“That one, your dad will have to explain,” Rain said. “I’m not authorized to divulge that and I’d be facing a very harsh penalty if I did.” “Okay,” Lance accepted. Rain had told him more than enough anyway. Like, his dad wasn’t really the complete jack hole Lance thought, and that all of the secrets were to protect him. And that, the reason his dad was gone so often was because he was trying to fulfill his end of the deal. Well, Lance thought. It looks like someone didn’t hold up their end of the bargain. “I’m really glad that you’re okay,” Rain said out of the blue. “I am too,” Lance said. Rain suddenly bent over and kissed him firmly on the mouth. Her lips felt great to Lance, and all of the emotions Lance had for Rain came pouring out into that one kiss. “Wow,” Lance said. “But you can stop pretending.” Rain shot up straight, as though someone had just jolted her with electricity. “What?” “I know you were sent to lure me in, to seduce me.” “I…” Rain stammered. “No.” She looked like she was going to cry, and Lance suddenly regretted saying what he had. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I just thought…” Rain didn’t even let him finish, “I wasn’t sent to retrieve you. I wasn’t even suppose to make contact, you jackass!” She stormed out of the room in tears and slammed the door behind her. In silence, Lance was left with his mouth hanging open. He didn’t know what had just happened; only that he felt that he really screwed up. “That went well,” he said finally, still unsure of what to make of what Rain had just said. After a few minutes Lance’s dad walked back into the room. “How much of that did you hear?” Lance asked. “All of it,” his dad replied honestly. “We’ve, uh, been monitoring your room. But, you should know, I did look over the mission file, and Rain was only supposed to watch you to see if you exhibited any supernatural abilities. She violated her mission parameters just by seeing you outside of the school grounds.” “In other words, she really did like me.” Mr. Maxwell nodded, “It looks that way.” “And now, I don’t even know what I just did,” Lance said, as he settled into the bed. “Great.” He didn’t even know if his father said any more, as he had suddenly felt very tired, and Lance slowly drifted off to sleep, still angry at himself.

“No nightmares this time?” the doctor named Ernie asked when Lance awoke.

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“No, everything is just fine, oddly enough,” he replied. “Good.” Ernie flipped through the charts on the clipboard, which Lance found slightly humorous. “Your vitals appear to be strong.” Did they do tests on me while I was asleep? Lance wondered. He didn’t see any testing equipment in the room as he struggled to get up. “What time is it?” Lance croaked. His throat was dry again. “About nine p.m., Sunday night,” Ernie replied. Lance was attempting to get out of bed, and the doctor stopped him. “Hold on. I’ll call your dad in to help.” Doctor Ernie paged for Lance’s father and a few minutes later he poked his head in. “Yes, doctor?” “Your son seems to need something.” “I could use some water, and maybe to go to the bathroom,” Lance said. Mr. Maxwell walked over and helped Lance stand up. They walked quietly to the bathroom together. “So, what exactly is ‘the project’?” Lance asked as he relieved himself. He hadn’t heard of it referred to by any other name, so he just went with what he knew. “Remember when I said that we started off looking for people with special gifts?” “Uh-huh, anomalies.” “And then we switched to trying to, for lack of a better term, create people with abilities?” “Ones that would be loyal to your little gang here? Yeah, I remember,” Lance said, wishing his father would get to the point. “That didn’t turn out quite as well as we had hoped.” “Oh?” “If you are indeed a result of that…’experiment,’ then you would be the first known survivor.” “That’s…well…super?” Lance asked. He didn’t know what to make of that. Did that mean that he could die? Or that he was somehow unstable? He didn’t know, and at that point, he wasn’t sure he wanted to. “But now, we’re back to looking for people who already have abilities,” Mr. Maxwell explained. “But, instead of just running tests on these people, or using them as weapons for a cold war, we’ve decided to use them as an active defensive unit.” Mr. Maxwell was leaning up against the restroom wall as his son relieved himself. “‘Active defensive unit’?” Lance repeated. “Yes, much like you’ve been doing, Lance. We were toying around with the idea of sending out agents as vigilantes in major cities and gauging their effectiveness.” “But, I beat you to the punch, didn’t I? How embarrassing was that to you and your little project? That I was able to do something so easily that you’ve probably spent millions doing research on?”

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“Me, personally, I am proud of what you’re doing, son. Most of our agents couldn’t even be coerced to do it, and here you are, selflessly going out and helping people.” “As for the project? Well, they’ve got their test data. Crime in the city has dropped dramatically in the city since your arrival. It’s quite remarkable, really.” “That’s good to hear.” The toilet flushed and Lance stepped out of the stall. “I’m starving. Can we get something to eat?” “Not yet. We have to run one more test to make sure it’s no longer in your body.” “What? The bullet?” Lance would have said he felt great for having a bullet in him, were that the case. “No. The device that saved your life,” Lance’s dad replied. They were walking back towards the room where Lance had been resting. “What?” “We used a very small, almost nano-tech robot to perform the surgery on you,” Mr. Maxwell explained. “It’s injected at the site of the wound and immediately begins repairing damaged tissue, being able to cause cellular growth at a fantastic rate.” “You put a tiny robot inside of me?” “It was the only way to stop the bleeding and repair your internal organs fast enough to save you,” his dad reasoned. “How do we get it out?” “I think you just did.” “Wait? You mean…?” Lance asked, stupefied. “Yes.” That is just gross! “How?” “The robot uses itself as spare parts for the healing process. What’s left over is biodegradable and should naturally pass through your system.” “So why can’t I eat anything?” “Because, in some of the test runs, food seemed to interfere with the robot’s processes and caused…complications.” “Interfered how?” “It’s probably best if you don’t know.” Lance decided that he did, in fact, not want to know, so he left it alone, and they reentered the room, where Doctor Ernie was there waiting for them. “It’s no longer transmitting, sir,” he reported, and Lance gave his father a questioning glance. “The device also keeps reads on all of your vital statistics, but it appears to have passed through your system, so we can go eat something. Come on, we can go to the cafeteria.”

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Lance figured he didn’t have much choices food-wise, so he followed his father down a hallway. He noticed that all of the halls were white with no decorations or identifying markers, and he wondered how anyone could find their way around in the place. “If this little robo-surgeon is so great, then why doesn’t every hospital in the world just use that thing?” “For multiple reasons. One, it costs about one billion dollars to produce just one of the devices.” Great, Lance thought. I just crapped out a billion dollar piece of equipment. He didn’t know whether he should be amused or horrified by that thought. “And two, could you imagine what would happen to the economy if all of the world’s surgeons suddenly lost their jobs to a tiny machine?” Lance hadn’t considered that before. He just thought that if the robot could save someone as gravely injured as himself, then why not use it on everyone? But, he could see the point his father was making, and he conceded.

They were eating in the cafeteria when something suddenly came to Lance. “What am I supposed to do about school tomorrow?” It was almost ten at night by that point, and his dad hadn’t said anything about leaving. “I can call you in sick in the morning,” his dad replied. “What about track? Qualifiers are on Thursday.” Lance didn’t know if his body would be able to handle the stress. He felt all right at that point, but he didn’t want to over exert himself. At the same time, he also didn’t want to lose any time he could be training for the meet. “We have a training facility here, so that’s not a problem. And don’t worry; you shouldn’t hurt anything by exercising. But, I think we’ll keep you here a day or two just to be sure. Lance grinned, “So, I’m still a guinea pig, even after failing the other ‘experiment’?” His father smiled back, “The opportunity to get results in a practical application has presented itself, yes. And I wouldn’t say you failed, it was just a setback.” “A setback? I was shot. I can’t go back now, can I? He’ll just shoot me again.” “Who is this man, do you know?” Mr. Maxwell hadn’t wanted to bring up his son’s shooter, and was relieved that Lance had, as his bosses would probably want a report on the encounter. The physical damage done to Lance’s body had been repaired, but there was no telling what kind of lasting psychological effects it could have. “I don’t. He called himself ‘Haze.’ And, I think he was able to block out my powers some how.”

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“Someone that could neutralize your abilities…” Mr. Maxwell looked off, deep in thought. “During the duration of the original program, we had a subject that could do that. But, he hasn’t been heard from in a long time. I doubt he’s even alive after all these years.” That sounded ominous to Lance. “Why’s that?” “Because,” Mr. Maxwell replied with finality. “I would have found him.”

After dinner, Mr. Maxwell helped Lance back to the room. “You should get some rest,” his dad said. The room was empty again, except for the bed. “I’ve slept almost an entire day. Besides, I feel fine,” Lance responded. There was still so much that Lance wanted to know. There were little questions, like why hadn’t he seen anyone else except for his dad, Rain, and Doctor Ernie. Lance also wanted to know what was going to happen to him now. “You’ve just been through a very traumatic experience, both the incident and the surgery. You feel fine now, but your body still needs time to adjust, so go to sleep. We’ll talk more in the morning.” The lights turned off as Mr. Maxwell left, and Lance suddenly felt very alone. He also wondered where the light switch was, as he hadn’t seen one in the room before. He decided to get up and look around the room once his eyes had adjusted to the lack of light. He crept up to what he realized was the door, where he heard muffled voices coming from the other side of the door. “We had a deal, Johnson.” “Don’t yell at me, Steve.” “No one was supposed to go near my son!” “I didn’t give the orders, I just relayed them.” “And you didn’t question them?” “You know I can’t do that.” “I know, I know. It’s just... he’s my son.” “I know. Listen, Steve, go get some sleep, you need the rest. We’ll discuss this in the morning. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure nothing happens to the kid.” That was the end of the conversation, and Lance paused a moment before scurrying back to the bed. Moments later, the door opened, but Lance didn’t turn to see who it was. He couldn’t stand not knowing what was going on, especially since it concerned him. Despite the fact that Lance had slept through most of the day, he seemed to have no trouble getting to sleep that night.

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Chapter Fifteen Lance woke the next morning to the surprise that the lights were already on, and he let out a slight gasp when he saw that his dad was right next to the bed staring at him. “How’d you sleep?” Lance moaned as he sat up in bed, feeling stiff all over. He hadn’t felt that poorly since a camping trip his family had taken where they had slept outdoors. “Fine.” “No more nightmares?” “Not unless you count monkeys with plastic spears.” “Monkeys can be scary.” “I was just joking. It’s called sarcasm.” “I know, son. I just want to make sure you’re okay.” “I will be when someone tells me what’s going on here.” “What do you mean?” “What exactly are the terms of this ‘deal’ that you made with someone? And what exactly is it that’s being done here?” “In order to keep some ignorant government agent from coming to our house and take you under the guise of national security, I have to find a certain amount of super human people willing to do work for their government.” “And you use the word ‘willing’ loosely.” “Make no mistake. Some of these individuals aren’t exactly the crème of the crop here, and it’s not exactly like they’re prisoners. They are kept very comfortable. You might even get to meet some of the other recruits today.” “Recruits for what?” “For doing things like you’re doing. But it’s not all about cleaning up the streets. Not exactly. There are things out there that you’re not ready to see yet.” That piqued Lance’s interest, but he was willing to leave it alone, as he thought he might have more than enough to think about as it was. “There are others out there, Lance, who have powers, like you. But, unlike you, they don’t see their gift as a chance to better society or mankind, only themselves.” “Don’t be so overdramatic, Steven,” a man said as he walked into the room. He was wearing a black suit and tie, and offered his hand to Lance as he reached over the bed to the teen. “Agent Johnson.” So, this was who my dad was talking to last night. “No, seriously? You’re a government agent and your name is Johnson? Were you born wearing that suit?”

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The government agent smiled, “Not quite. It’s an honor to meet you, Lance. I thought we could all grab some breakfast, and then I could show you around.” It was at that moment that Lance realized that he was hungry, and he already had wanted to take a look around the place where he had stayed for the last day or so, so he readily agreed.

“So, wait,” Lance said between bites. “You mean to tell me there are honest-to-goodness super villains running around? How does that not make the news?” Lance was starting to get excited over all of the things he was learning, and found himself very curious. “Well, it’s been getting harder and harder, what with all of the newer types of media out there. I mean, look at it. They have cameras in tiny little cell phones. Twenty years ago, we didn’t have that.” Lance knew exactly what Johnson was talking about there, as he had both his picture taken and footage of him taken by cell phones. “True. So, what do you plan to do about that?” “We had to step up our plans, mostly thanks to you.” “Sorry,” Lance said. “Don’t be. You’ve single-handedly proved that this could all work, which is why we have to work fast to mobilize. You’re giving the whole program here some great P.R., now we just have to use it.” So, Lance was supposed to be the poster boy for the masked vigilante crowd. He didn’t think of himself that way. He only thought of himself as someone who was doing what needed to be done, which, Lance realized, was exactly the kind of person this place would want to put in the spotlight if they were to go public. It was like Agent Johnson was reading Lance’s mind. “You could be the greatest we’ve got, if you wanted to be. We can help train you even. Take your friend Rain, for example. When your dad found her, she could barely read her poker buddies’ thoughts. Now, she can knock a guy unconscious from over a mile away, just with her mind.” “I get what you’re saying, but I don’t now if this is the life for me. I didn’t even know if I was going to keep going out at night, and that was before I got shot. Now what am I supposed to do?” “I understand what you’re getting at, Lance, but wait until after the tour to make a decision.” Despite the fact that Agent Johnson was being pushier than a gym trainer looking for new members, Lance enjoyed the tour. He was shown a training room, which slightly resembled a military obstacle course. There was someone, who Lance thought looked a little green, going through the course.

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“That’s Reptile,” Johnson informed him. “Super agility, speed, clings to walls. Downside is the green tint, which makes it hard for him to blend into crowds. That and he’s cold-blooded.” “How’d that happen?” Lance asked as he continued to watch the man, who was rather slender, speed through and around objects. The agent next to him just shrugged. “Not sure, really. We couldn’t find any info on his parents and he doesn’t really talk much about his past.” Lance nodded in acknowledgement. The grace that Reptile was displaying as he ran through the course was mesmerizing. “Your dad found him living in a snake pit in the Nevada Desert.” “Really?” “No, not really, but it sounds cool, doesn’t it?” Lance smiled. He knew Agent Johnson was just being nice so Lance would join the squad, as he had seen the same routine plenty of times with sports’ teams.

After the tour, Agent Johnson asked, “So what do you think?” “It was pretty cool,” Lance admitted. “But I’m not sure I’m ready for all this yet.” The shadows on Johnson’s face grew dark and Lance felt a chill run up his spine as the government agent said, “Look, kid, that isn’t really an option at this point.” “What?” Lance was dumbfounded. Not an option? What the heck had just happened? “The way Uncle Sam sees it; you’ve already broken some laws. Assault, trespassing, to name a few. These are some pretty serious charges here. Now, we’re willing to let that go…” “But only if I join the program,” Lance finished. “Once you’re eighteen, we’re going to get you, whether you’re willing or not.” Lance didn’t like Agent Johnson so much anymore. Before he had been overtly friendly to the point of annoyance, but now he was just malicious. “We’ve never had to do that before, but somebody up top wants you bad, so they’re willing to bend the rules a little bit to get you.” Lance gulped, and for the first time in years, he felt like crying. His whole world had just fallen out from underneath him, and he was visibly upset. “Hey man. Don’t feel so bad. Look at it this way. You get to keep doing what you’re doing, plus you’ll get paid for it. And, you’ll learn how to get better control over your powers.” Lance glared at him. Hey now, don’t go all vigilante justice on me. This aint my decision. I’m only the middle man here.” “I think I want to go now,” Lance said in a huff, and Johnson didn’t say another word as he led Lance back to his father, who was waiting outside of Lance’s room for the two to return. “Hey, Lance, did you have fun?” Mr. Maxwell asked, as though Lance had just spent the day at the carnival.

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“We’re out of here now!” Lance demanded as they approached his father. “What did you do?” his dad asked, staring at Agent Johnson. The agent just shrugged. “We’re leaving now.”

The car ride back home was silent at first, but then Mr. Maxwell spoke up. “I’m sorry, son. This isn’t how it was supposed to happen. This isn’t the life I wanted for you, and I’m sorry.” “You should be,” Lance lashed out angrily. “This is your fault. You and your stupid projects and programs and backstabbing deals.” “I’m…you’re right, but I had no idea this is where it would all lead.” Lance tried to calm down and he said, “I know.” A while later, Lance spoke again, “I understand why you did it though. Made the deal, I mean. Even though it takes you away from your family so much. You thought that if you had something down in writing, then they wouldn’t take me. They couldn’t. They’d be going back on their word, and in this case, the word should have been law.” “Only now, someone doesn’t particularly care.” “Any idea who, by the way?” Lance asked. “I’d like to pay them a visit. Thank them for the added stress they’ve caused.” “I don’t know who gave the order, but I’m going to find out,” Mr. Maxwell replied. “I’ll do what I have to do, and you should do the same.” The two sat in silence as Lance pondered the meaning behind his father’s statement. “You think I should go after Haze, even after what’s happened?” “I know getting shot was rough.” That’s an understatement. “But this time you’re not alone.” Lance didn’t know what his dad meant, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to. “Rain?” Lance asked, finally catching on. “She’s your partner for as long as you want her to be.” Lance liked the sound of that. Not only because Rain was his friend, at least most of the time, but also because he wanted to see what she could do. “Is that really a good idea?” Lance asked, referring to Lance and Rain’s spat the previous day. “That’s something the two of you will have to work out.” Lance nodded. He would have to make the partnership work, if only for his sake. Not to mention Charles, Lance thought, hoping the Englishman was still alive. “Won’t you get in trouble for this?” Lance asked. “Maybe, but Johnson did give you until you’ve turned eighteen, so technically you’re not an illegal combatant, just unregistered. I think we’ll be okay there.”

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“Okay, call Rain and come up with somewhere we can meet,” Lance said, then had a flash of panic. “Wait, where is Rain?” Lance’s dad looked surprised, as though he hadn’t really thought about it. “She took off last night, so I imagine she’s probably at school.” School! Lance realized something potentially important. Eva might have recognized Lance, and if she saw Zero get shot, and then her brother disappeared for a few days, then she probably figured out what was going on. Lance hoped she hadn’t told anyone at school what had happened. “What about Eva and Ryan? They were at the bar when it happened. I think Eva might have recognized me before I could escape.” “Your friend took my little girl to a bar?” his dad asked angrily. He couldn’t even conceive of half the dangers a sixteen year old girl could get into at a bar. “I know. I said the same thing when I saw them. But then Charles saw that Haze was at the bar too. Speaking of which, have we heard anything from Charles?” “I’m sorry, Lance, but no one has seen him since Saturday night.” Lance was worried that Haze had already found Charles, but that just meant that Lance would have to act that much more quickly to save him. “I should be the one to call Rain,” Lance decided. “We have to act fast.” Lance’s dad looked over at him with a concerned look on his face. “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked. Lance thought it was odd that his father would get concerned then, considering it had practically been his idea to see Lance’s mission through to the end, but Lance just figured it was fatherly concern. He looked straight ahead, dead set on his course of action. “It’s my fault if anything happens to him. I wanted to play dress up and be the hero. It’s time I act like one.”

Nothing was said for the rest of the drive home. As he got out of the car, Lance reached into the pocket of his sweatshirt, only to find that his cell phone wasn’t there. It was then that he also noticed that it wasn’t even his sweatshirt. “Hey, did you grab my phone?” Lance asked as he patted down his pockets. “I don’t think we ever found it on the scene,” his dad replied. That was weird to Lance, since he could have sworn he had kept it in one of his pants’ pockets, or even in his sweatshirt. He suddenly hoped that he had dropped it at the bar before getting shot. It was either that or the alternative. Lance didn’t remember being searched, but, then again, he had been shot. He tried not to worry about his phone as he walked inside the house. There was no one else around. He figured that his mother was at work and Eva was still at school. Lance wondered what his dad had told the rest of the family when neither of them came home Saturday night.

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Maybe his dad hadn’t had to tell his mom anything. Maybe she already knew. Though, if his mother knew of the secret Mr. Maxwell had been keeping, she had never once let on. “Do you have Rain’s number?” Lance asked as his dad came through the door. “Only her emergency contact number,” Mr. Maxwell replied. “But it can only be called on this phone.” His dad pulled a cell phone from his coat pocket and showed it to Lance. It would the first of many protocols Lance would come to learn and loathe. His dad went through the contact list and selected Rain’s number. A series of clicks followed and then Mr. Maxwell shut off the phone. “What was that?” Lance asked. “A kind of distress signal,” his dad explained. “If Rain is near her phone, she’s supposed to respond and get to the phone that gave out the signal as fast as possible.” “Well, it’s no giant flood light in the sky, but it’ll do,” Lance joked. About twenty minutes later, there was a knock on the door. “What’s wrong?” Rain asked as Lance let her into the house. “We’re going after Haze,” Lance responded. Rain didn’t look the least bit surprised. “I’m in,” she said. Lance spun around to his dad and he understood what had just happened. Mr. Maxwell had told Rain everything mentally. “That’s just creepy,” he said as he walked into the kitchen. Rain followed him into the house and sat down at the kitchen table. “What’s the plan?” she asked. Lance was looking at his dad, only to realize that everyone was looking at him. “Me?” he asked. His dad responded, “You’ve gone up against him already. Plus, Mr. Mason gave you information about how Haze operates, didn’t he?” “He only said that Haze goes through his lieutenants to control his little drug empire, and that no one knows who the guy is.” “That isn’t much help,” Rain conceded. The steam had been taken right out of Lance’s engine, until he thought of something. “Charles had met Haze, although infrequently,” Lance said. “And Charles also met with all the dealers to collect the money.” Rain and Mr. Maxwell stared at Lance, trying to figure out what he was getting at. “But, if Charles is out of the picture…” Lance trailed off, leaving the others in the room to figure out his meaning. “Then maybe Haze has to collect the money directly from the dealers,” Rain offered. “Or, at least maybe he was less discreet when he put a new man in Charles’ place,” his dad said. Lance knew where to start.

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“Then we hit all the dealers we can find,” Lance decided. “We take ‘em out just as fast as we can, shake ‘em down, then move on.” Lance was about to say something else when the door opened and his mom and sister walked into the house. “Whose car is that out on the driveway?” Mrs. Maxwell called into the house. She walked into the kitchen to see her husband, son, and a teenaged girl she didn’t know sitting at the kitchen table. “Oh, hello. I wasn’t aware that we were having company. You must be Rain” “I am,” Rain said, beaming a great big smile at the elder lady Maxwell. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” “Likewise,” Mrs. Maxwell said, responding with a smile of her own. “Lance has told me…well, he hasn’t said all that much really.” Rain gave Lance a pretend angry look, though Lance thought her look wasn’t probably far off from how she really felt.” “Oh, really?” Rain asked convincingly. If the whole super hero thing didn’t work out for her, Lance thought she could go into acting. “What’s going on, anyway?” Mrs. Maxwell asked. “I was just checking up on Lance, making sure he’s doing all right,” Rain replied. “Yes, he gave us quite the scare there, didn’t you, Lance?” his mother asked. Lance didn’t know how to respond, so he didn’t. Lance didn’t know how much his mom knew about what really happened. “How’re you feeling now?” Uh-oh. Lance could really be in trouble now, as he really didn’t know what to say. Should he just say he’s fine? On the mend? What? Lance started to panic when his dad intervened. “He’s fine. He might need some rest.” “That’s great news,” Mrs. Maxwell said happily, then turned to Rain. “I was just about to make dinner. Would you like to stay?” It was Rain’s turn to panic, “Well, I, uh, I wouldn’t want to be a bother.” “No bother, really,” she said with a smile. “I insist.” Rain relented. “Then sure, I’d love to.” “Great. Lance can set an extra place for dinner then.” Lance sighed. Well, this is going to be awkward. “Why don’t you go show Rain your room, Lance?” Because I’m not a five year old bringing home a new playmate, Lance thought. “Sure.” He hoisted himself from the table and trudged off up the stairs with Rain in tow. “Ta-da. This is my room,” Lance proudly announced as he opened the door, walked into the room, and sat down on the bed. Rain held onto the door frame, scanning the room, as if a black hole threatened to suck her up if she let go.

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“Yep, this sure is a room.” She hesitantly stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. “Look, I’m sorry about what I said. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions like I did.” Rain folded her arms over her chest and replied, “No, you shouldn’t have.” They stood in silence for a moment, then Rain’s pretty blue eyes practically popped out of her head. “You used me,” she exclaimed in realization. “What?” Lance was confused. He didn’t have a clue as to what Rain was talking about. “You were just using me while you did recon at that dump of a restaurant. You used me.” Lance couldn’t tell if Rain was angry, but he was embarrassed either way. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to be as schizo as I was.” “So you weren’t just daydreaming about your girlfriend?” “Nope. I hadn’t even really thought about her until she called. We hit it off so well, I was hoping to build on that as I was scoping out the place.” “This explains a lot,” Rain said. “Look, we’re going to be working together, so let’s just call it even, okay? Start on a clean slate?” “Okay,” Lance said. “Do you just want to head out right after we eat?” “Sure,” Rain replied. “But we need to stop at my place first.” “Why’s that?” “I have to get changed.” Lance gave her a quizzical look. “What? You didn’t think you were the only one with a costume, did you?” Lance laughed. The two ended up sitting on Lance’s bed and talked for awhile, trying to keep their minds preoccupied and not think about what they would be doing that night. It was mostly about movies, sports, and the normal things teens might talk about; and it all have very little to do with super powers and government projects and good guys and bad guys. Lance had been inching closer to Rain while they talked, and Lance said something that made Rain turn her head towards him. It was then that Lance took his chances as her lips met his and they felt the heat between them flourish. Rain had been caught by surprise, but soon found herself to be enjoying the lock of their lips. Finally, they parted, and Rain just looked at Lance with a glossed over gleam in her eyes. “Wow,” Rain said. “What was that for?” “Lots of reasons. One being that we might die tonight. That and I just wanted to kiss you while there wasn’t any drama between us, no me being an idiot and pushing you away.” “Except you still have a girlfriend,” Rain reminded Lance. Not that she had disliked the warmth of Lance’s mouth; it’s just that they had already been over the fact that a relationship wasn’t feasible for them at that moment. They had discussed it multiple times, in fact.

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“Except that I still have a… Keri!” Lance exclaimed. He patted himself down for his cell phone, only to once again remember that he had lost it. At least, he hoped he had lost it. “And I keep forgetting I don’t have my phone right now.” “Your dad could probably get you a new one, but you can use mine to call her if you want.” Lance considered the offer for a moment, but he wanted to keep his mind clear for the task at hand. Plus, he still needed to concoct a story about where he had been since Saturday night. He also didn’t think that calling from Rain’s phone would look too good to Keri. “No, that’s okay,” Lance declined. “I’ll just talk to her tomorrow at school.” There was a knock at the door, followed by, “Dinner’s ready.” Lance got up from the bed and turned to help Rain up, only to have her grab him by the arm and pull him down to her. She kissed him passionately, and Lance responded by stroking her face gently. “What was that for?” Lance asked after they broke off their lip lock. “Because I just wanted to kiss you again, since we really shouldn’t after this.” “Yeah, since I have a girlfriend and all.” “That, and now we’re working together. So the higher ups probably would frown on that.” “And there is that, yes. So, friends?” “Of course.”

Dinner went by with minimal interruption, with the only awkward moment coming when Eva suddenly asked what Lance had done Saturday night before being rushed off to the hospital. She of course didn’t know that he had been shot, as she thought he had just come down with a bad case of the flu or something. “Oh, you know, we just hung out. Played some pool Mark’s got a table in his basement,” Lance lied. He had been playing pool, just not with anyone from work. At least, not the work that Eva knew about. He didn’t even know if Mark really owned a pool table. He didn’t even know if he actually worked with anyone named Mark. “Hm,” Eva said to herself. “Sounds like fun.” “What’d you and Ryan do Saturday?” Lance asked, then remembered that he wasn’t sure he was supposed to know that. “How’d you know we did anything?” Eva asked. Uh-oh, busted, Lance thought, then the answer to that hit him. “Both you and Ryan told me, remember? You asked us where he was when me and dad got home from fishing.”

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“Oh, yeah, right,” Eva said defeated. Lance was sure she knew something, or, at least, she thought she knew something. Maybe she was only grasping at straws, and maybe Lance’s story had actually convinced her that she hadn’t seen him at the bar Saturday night.

After dinner, Lance prepared to leave with Rain. Before he could, though, Lance’s dad asked for him to wait a moment, then called Lance to follow him into their home office, where he pulled open the desk drawer to reveal a bundle of clothes. “I smuggled that in while your mom made dinner. A couple of the boys in the lab cooked it up after your last one was ruined.” Lance then realized it was a new costume and he didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t even really thought about it until just then, knowing that he couldn’t have patrolled the streets in his normal, everyday clothes. “Thank you,” was all he could manage. “You’re welcome,” his dad said. “Good luck, and please be careful.” “Thanks.” Lance did his best to stash the clothing under his arm as he led Rain out of the house. She suggested that they take her car, since Lance’s might be recognizable by Haze’s men. Lance hadn’t thought of that, that Haze might have passed around Lance’s personal information, or at least the license plate numbers of his car, to his men. He figured that that probably wasn’t the case, as Haze would have found out where Lance lived through the DMV. However, Lance took Rain up on her suggestion, just to be on the safe side. Lance felt odd being the passenger in the car as Rain drove them back to her apartment. “New costume, huh?” she asked, eying the bundle of clothes Lance held in his lap. “Not sure,” Lance replied honestly. “I think so.”

When they had arrived at Rain’s apartment, Lance asked if there was a spare bedroom he could use to change into the outfit his father had given him. “Sorry,” Rain apologized. “I only have the one bedroom. I wasn’t planning on having any sleepovers.” Lance raised an eyebrow at her. “That didn’t come out right,” Rain said. She pointed to a door down a short hallway. “Anyway, the bathroom’s over there. Otherwise, you’ll just have to wait ‘till I’m done to use the bedroom.” “I’ll use the bathroom,” Lance replied. They were in a hurry, and Lance didn’t feel they had the time to waste squabbling over changing space. That and he didn’t want to imply anything that could be taken in a wrong way. “Good. I’ll be right back,” Rain said as she sauntered off towards her room.

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Lance watched her go, wistfully wishing for a moment that he didn’t already have a girlfriend. He felt a pang of regret for not calling Keri as soon as he got home, but his focus and thoughts had been elsewhere. He also tried not to regret having kissed Rain repeatedly, as it had been a spur of the moment thing and they had promised not to do it again. Lance followed where Rain had pointed moments earlier, opened the door, and then locked it behind him. He was surprised at just how bare the bathroom was. She may have just moved in, but Rain had already had the television and surround sound system all set up. He unwrapped the bundle his father had given him as he continued looking over the room, and wondered for a moment what Rain’s bedroom looked like. Was it functionally bare, like the bathroom? Or did it have a more personal, more intimate touch? Oh no no no no no, naughty thoughts are a-brewin’, Lance thought to himself. Stay focused, Lance. You’re doing this for Charles. You promised you’d help him, and he may be out there somewhere, hurt, or worse. After stripping out of his clothes, Lance pulled out the top piece and confirmed that his father’s gift was indeed a new costume. He slid it on and immediately noted how comfortable it felt. The fabric seemed to hug the skin, almost allowing his abs to show through, but without restricting his movement. The arms were crimson, with the chest and shoulders being black. The top was a solid piece, and Lance noted that it lacked a hood, which left his head feeling a bit naked. Next he put on the bottom portion of the new costume. It was solid black, and made of a material Lance couldn’t begin to classify. It felt like some sort of futuristic spandex-type creation, as it was also form fitting to his legs, but it also had some of the same pockets as his old pants. There was a belt that connected around the waist, creating the illusion that he was wearing a one piece body suit. The boots may very well have been bought at the same place Lance had gotten his, but they felt much more comfortable when worn. Wow, whoever designed this really had my needs in mind, Lance thought as he noticed a box had been wrapped inside the bundle of clothes. How’d they get such accurate measurements? And when did they make this? Nobody could’ve done this in two days. Lance tore open the box to find handcuffs, what appeared to be pepper spray, and a cell phone packed into form-fitting foam. He grabbed the items out of the box with both hands and stuffed them into the pockets on the pants. They were more like pouches, Lance noted, as he slipped the new cell phone into the left pocket and snapped the pocket shut. There was a new mask, but there was nothing different about that, other than it was new. This caused him to once again think about where Charles could have gotten the first mask from, which renewed his worry for the Englishman. After he finished making sure that everything on the costume was secured, he took a look at himself in the mirror, where he admired what he saw in the reflection. “Might need a bit more color,” Lance announced aloud. “I’m thinking maybe a logo here.”

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He was picturing some sort of symbol right over the right breast. But first, Lance would have to come up with something to put there. There only seemed to be one thing Lance thought was missing, which were gloves. He thought maybe he had missed them and quickly searched the counter, the box, and the floor, only to find nothing. There was no real use worrying about it, Lance decided as he opened the door and walked back into the living room. He hadn’t even had to break in the boots like he had to on the pair before. Rain wasn’t anywhere in sight, so Lance figured he had gotten changed faster than she had. “Lance? Are you already out there?” Rain called from behind the door to her room. Lance replied that he was. “Okay, I’m coming out.” “Okay.” “Keep in mind that this is just a prototype.” Lance got in his mind a mental image of Rain in some futurist robotic suit of armor, and he smiled at himself, despite the fact he was growing impatient. He wanted to spend as much time as possible combing the streets for Charles and for Haze’s men. “Okay.” The door opened and Rain stepped out awkwardly. Lance’s jaw dropped at what he saw. Like his costume, Rain’s was also form-fitting, and seemed to accentuate curves Lance hadn’t even known existed, which, to him, was not at all a bad thing. She wasn’t wearing a mask, domino or otherwise, though Lance noticed that she appeared to be holding one. The costume consisted of a primarily white body suit, with light blue highlights. The coloring wasn’t quite pastel, though in some places it was not very noticeable. There was a band of blue around the fore arms, but the blue was so faint Lance could barely tell that it was there. She wore a matching blue belt and calf high, medium-heeled boots; also, of course, with a band of matching light blue around the top. “Oh,” Lance aid. “I get it, the light blue is like, the rain or something?” He was smiling at her, but that seemed to make her upset. “You’re making fun of me,” Rain pouted. “I am not. You look great,” Lance commented, giving her another once over. “How do you not have a boyfriend?” Rain grinned, “Because all guys ever think about is…what you’re staring at right now.” She sound half disgusted and half jovial, but Lance still stopped his staring. “I’m sorry, what?” he smiled. She smiled back. “Eyes are up here, buster,” Rain retorted. “Now, shall we?” Lance cracked his knuckles for effect. “Lets.”

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They were walking to Rain’s car when Lance noticed that she wasn’t wearing gloves either. “That because all identifying records of us are erased when we join up with the program,” Rain explained. “What’s with that anyway? Don’t they have any cool nicknames other than ‘the project’ or ‘the program’?” Lance asked. That had been bugging him the whole weekend. It was just ‘program’ this, and ‘project’ that, and it had gotten difficult for Lance to focus whenever someone said those words. “They probably won’t come up with an official title until we become an official program,” Rain said, then tacked on, “Which you can help us do.” Lance had a thought, “Your livelihood kind of depends on this, huh?” “I suppose it does in a way, but don’t let that influence you at all, Lance. The decision to join up is yours alone to make.” “I know. It’s just that, this will be my life. Always running around to one thing or another, never really stopping to just live.” “I suppose that’s one way of looking at it. Then again, what have I really been doing other than watching you for the past couple of weeks?” “I don’t know, really. Nothing?” “I’m finishing high school, finally. I’m on the track team, I’ve settled into a new town, and I’ve made a couple of really good friends. I wouldn’t call that nothing.” “True,” Lance admitted. Still, he was comfortable with his life the way it was, and he wasn’t sure if he was ready for that drastic of a change. They were cruising through the city, and Rain looked half preoccupied. Lance realized she was probably sifting through people’s thoughts. “What is that like, being able to look inside people’s heads?” “It’s different for everyone. Some people think in clips and phrases, others in full sentences, others only in images.” Lance thought about that for awhile, allowing a silence to grow in Rain’s vehicle. “So, are there really super villains out there?” “What?” Rain retorted sarcastically. “Cloudy-head man wasn’t enough to convince you of that?” “Okay, I get your point. I mean, on a larger scale than some city in the Midwest. Like, end of the world type stuff.” “Well, I haven’t been with the program that long, but yes, I think there are,” Rain said. She turned down an alley and Lance thought maybe she had picked up on something. “I’m not sure I like that. I like looking at the smaller picture, saving one life at a time. Makes me feel like I’m really making a difference, you know?’

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“I don’t, Lance. I’m sorry, but I wasn’t really much of a hero before this. So I don’t really know what it’s like. But let me ask you this. What if millions of lives are lost while you’re out saving the one? What happens then?” “I get it. I just wish I didn’t have to sacrifice that one.” “Maybe you won’t have to,” Rain said reassuringly. “Yeah.” They were driving along an older road now and Rain turned off into a parking lot, which caused Lance to look at her questioningly. “What’ve you got?” Lance asked, but Rain was too focused to answer immediately. “Drug deal, one block down the street,” Rain responded finally. “We’ll follow your lead.” Lance gulped and nodded, hoping that he was ready for this. He had played way too many video games, as was evident when he tried to move stealthily down the block. As he passed between buildings, doing his best to stick to the shadows, Lance recognized where they were. Rain silently moved behind him, and he began to make familiar shapes out of his surroundings. He spotted a lone figure out under a street lamp, the shadows cast by the light obscuring the individual’s features. “Put on the mask,” Lance instructed. Rain glared at him, and he guessed that she was not a huge fan of wearing the mask. “People always seem to have a camera ready when I’m around, and I don’t want you to get ID’ed.” She reluctantly agreed with Lance and put the domino mask on with a sigh. The mask was of the same light blue color that was on the rest of her costume. “I’ll take the guy under the light,” Lance declared. He was ready for action. “Fine, I’ll take the other one,” Rain replied. Other one? Lance asked himself. He could only see the one person, who was still standing underneath the light. He scanned the area again and finally saw who Rain must have seen. About thirty feet to the left of the first dealer stood a shadowy figure, leaning against a building. Must be the lookout, Lance decided. But how had Rain even seen the guy? Right, the telepathy. “Right. Sneak around and wait for my signal to take him out,” Lance said. “Gotcha,” Rain said as she sprang from cover and weaved over to the other side of the building from where the look out man was waiting. Lance gave Rain a moment to get set before making his own move. He stood up from behind his cover and took off running at the man underneath the street light. As he focused, Lance felt his powers kick and was relieved when they did so, as he was afraid his run-in with Haze had led to a more permanent condition. The man must have seen Lance’s approach as he reached behind his back for his gun, but it was already too late, for Lance had already launched himself into the air and crashed into the

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man’s chest knees first. Lance rolled from the impact and grinned when he realized his plan had worked out so well. Rain strutted up to Lance, making a dusting motion with her hands. “Well, my guy’s down,” Rain reported. Lance wondered briefly if Rain’s target would still be able to talk, since he didn’t think his would be able to. Lance asked about this and Rain responded by leading Lance to the man she had taken down. He looked liked the stereotypical drug dealer, with gloves missing fingers, slightly dirty clothes, and stubble from not shaving daily. Lance bent down and shook the man. The dealer slowly came to, only to wish he hadn’t when he remembered where he was. “You,” the man said, shaking. He was looking directly at Lance. “You’re supposed to be dead. He said he killed you.” “He did,” Lane replied menacingly. “But that just made me angry.” The man trembled slightly. Lance thought that the dealer might actually believe that Lance had been killed, only to have been brought back with a vengeful rage. “Where is ‘he’?” Lance snarled. He was in no mood for games, and his tone actually scared Rain. “I…I don’t know,” the man replied. The dealer was scared and was wishing he hadn’t gone out that night. “You must be taking your money somewhere,” Lance stated. “Where?” “I’m just a small timer, they don’t tell me nothing. I just give the money to another guy, then I get my cut later,” the drug dealer explained. Lance turned his head to Rain, “Is he telling the truth?” Rain nodded in response that the man on the ground was. “Who do you give the money to, then?” Lance repeated. The man hesitated and was rewarded with a quick smash to his face. “I, the guy is on Fifty-fourth and Melbourne. Guy goes by the name of Ritchie. He’s there every night from ten to two to collect the money.” “Thank you,” Lance said, giving the man’s face another blow, rendering the dealer unconscious. Lance dragged the slumped form over to where the other man still lay and picked the cell phone out of his pocket. “Can these things be tracked?” Lance asked, flipping the phone open. He was looking through the contact list and was relieved to find the local police station’s number already programmed into the phone. “Not by anyone we don’t want to,” Rain responded. “There’s also a voice scrambler built-in. It’s that side button there.” Lance nodded his understanding as the phone rang, silently cursing himself for not going over any of this before they were out on the streets. He hoped he had done this right; otherwise someone would have a nice, clear recording of his voice.

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“Hello, police?” Lance asked when the call went though. “I’d like to report a failed drug trade on the corner of Thompson and Delaware.” A voice on the other end acknowledged the message and promised a swift response. “Thank you,” Lance responded and snapped the phone shut. Rain and Lance walked cautiously back to Rain’s car, and were satisfied that nobody was watching them. “Care to pay this ‘Ritchie’ a quick visit?” Lance asked and Rain responded with an, “Of course.”

They were about halfway to their next destination before either of them spoke another word. “So…” Rain began. “You seem to have that whole intimidating dark avenger thing down pretty well.” “Thanks, I think,” he replied. Should he really be happy with that? With solving his problems through violence? Lance decided that it was not the time to be thinking about such things. Lance looked at her as she drove, and then said in a half-serious, half-jovial tone, “He did shoot me, you know.” “I know. Still, it makes me wonder why they want you as the poser boy for the program if they want people to feel all warm and fuzzy when they think of us.” Lance chuckled, “I was just thinking the exact same thing.”

On the corner of Fifty-fourth and Melbourne sat a tiny shack of a condemned house. The windows were broken and boarded over, and the door appeared to be off its frame. Wow, Lance thought as they parked and exited the car. Haze really loves his stereotypes. “How many?” Lance asked, cutting the small talk. “Seven,” Rain replied. She seemed to be distant, which told Lance she was scanning the brains of everyone in the building. He was surprised by her answer, as he didn’t think that many people could possibly fit in the run down house. “Any of ‘em our boy?” Lance asked, suddenly hopeful that Charles was in the decrepit place and that he wouldn’t have to worry anymore. No such luck, it appeared, as Rain said there was no sign of Charles, but Ritchie was indeed in the house. There was one good thing that came out of that, as Lance wouldn’t have to show any type of restraint on the occupants of the dwelling. “How many can you take out from here?” Lance asked. His sudden plan was two-fold. Any people that Rain could disable from a distance meant less chance for collateral damage,

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which was always good in his mind. The second part was that the remaining targets would be confused and distracted by their comrades suddenly falling unconscious. “I don’t know,” came the reply. “I haven’t had much practice with it, what with the ethics of screwing with a person’s brain pattern and all.” “Fine,” Lance conceded. “Then we do this the hard way.” Rain caved. She really didn’t want Lance to get hurt, and, as driven by anger as Lance seemed to be, she knew it was bound to happen if she didn’t intervene. “I can probably only take out two,” Rain said. “One for sure.” Lance stared at the run down building, examining it for points of entry. He decided on a window to the right of the door, since it seemed like it was the least boarded up and would probably give way to any real use of force. A glow spilled out from that side, which was probably a television, and Lance figured that most of the people would be gathered there, which would allow for a quicker takedown, less chance of something going wrong. “Good,” Lance said, readying himself, a bit surprised he was even still awake with the way using his powers usually left him. “Try to time it for a few seconds before I go in.” That was the last thing Lance said as he sprinted toward the building, willing his shield to form around his body. He tore through the weeds and uncut grass and vaulted himself through the wooden boards covering the window. He heard a thud, which he took as a sign that Rain was successful in incapacitating at least one of the targets. Lance got lucky as he knocked down another opponent with his landing. He was on his feet quickly and scanned the room. He found five people; all of whom looked to be in their late twenties to early thirties, staring at him. Time stood still for a moment before all hell broke loose. In unison, all five men reached for unseen weapons and dove behind furniture. Lance reacted quickly, reaching for the first man, who was preoccupied with loading his weapon, and slammed his head back into the wall. Something fell from the impact, but Lance didn’t stay still long enough to determine what it had been. Instead, he was across the room, tackling a man as he brought up his gun to fire at Lance. The man fell backwards over the couch and didn’t appear too eager to get back up. One shot was fired, and Lance spun around, grabbing the wrist of the shooter. His shield stopped the bullet easily and the slug dropped away, clinking harmlessly against the wooden floor. Lance twisted the man’s arm behind his back and threw him to the ground with a crash. Lance reached over to the crate that was being used as an end table and plucked a heavylooking lamp up and whipped it at one of the remaining thugs, connecting with the man’s stomach. He must have thrown the object harder than he thought as the target doubled over and clutched his gut. At that moment, one of the remaining thugs fell to the floor suddenly as the last of Lance’s opponents looked on in fear.

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“Where is Ritchie?” Lance commanded. The remaining thug was trembling, and Lance closed in on him. “I’m only going to ask one more time. Where is Ritchie?” The man pointed to the slack body of the person Lance had landed on going through the window. That figures, Lance thought as he pulled out the handcuffs and slipped one cuff around the informant’s wrist and the other one around the leg of a couch. The one I hit the hardest has to be the guy we’re looking for. Lance stalked over to the man that was identified as Ritchie and shook him until he was awake. “Ritchie?” Lance slapped the man in the face. “Wake up, Ritchie.” The man who Lance presumed was Ritchie finally came around, but instead of looking terrified, the man just looked very angry. “Who the hell are you?” “Your worst nightmare, unless you tell me what I want to know,” Lance replied. He thought for a moment maybe he had already used that line, but he doubted this lowlife scum had heard him say it, so it didn’t really matter. “Why should I tell you anything?” Before Ritchie had even finished sneering, Lance’s right hand lashed out, splitting open the man’s lip. “Because if you don’t, this is about to get a whole lot more unpleasant,” Lance growled. “Now, where is Haze?” “Who…?” Another smash to the face. “Don’t play games with me. You collect the drug dealer’s money for him, so where is he?” The thugs Lance fought didn’t seem to like getting hit in the face, so he tried to capitalize on that fact as he interrogated Ritchie. The man seemed to be more than willing to share what he did know, which, unfortunately for Lance, wasn’t much. “I don’t know. He sends someone to me. I’ve never even seen the guy before, I swear.” “He’s telling the truth,” Rain said from the doorway. She was leaning against the frame of the off kilter door for support. It had taken a bit out of her to use her abilities in the way Lance had wanted, as she really hadn’t been lying when she told Lance she hadn’t much practice at it. “Fine.” Lance punched Ritchie a third time, this one rendering the man unconscious. “Was that necessary?” Rain asked. “Otherwise, he might get away before the police get here,” Lance responded. “Besides, they only gave me one pair of handcuffs, which I used on the squealer over there.” Lance nodded over to the man who was still attached to the couch leg at the side of the room.

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He didn’t want to look over the room anymore; as he was disgusted by the lack of results he had gotten out of the druggies. Lance silently walked past Rain as she moved out of the doorway to let him pass and, without a word, followed him to her car.

“I’m sorry we didn’t get anywhere, Lance,” Rain apologized as she drove them away from the drug house. Lance had already made the phone call, assuring the police that actual drugs were on the premises and that all of the men there would confess to their crimes. “It’s okay, Rain. At least we put a dent in Haze’s operation,” Lance said. He hoped that was true, as it was the only thing that stopped him from exploding with rage and hunting down every last member of the villain’s crew. “Yeah,” Rain agreed. “So, should I take you home, or did you want to crash at my place.” “Your place sounds great,” Lance pawed at Rain’s shoulder, causing her to jump in her seat. She tried to keep her eyes on the road, but was afraid of what Lance might do. Instead, she looked over at him and saw that he was drifting in and out of consciousness. “I don’t think that’s a very good idea,” Rain said. “Aw, okay,” Lance said, and he was out like a light. Rain couldn’t help but laugh and smile at the situation. There Lance was, dressed as the big bad super hero, and he was passed out in the passenger seat of her car. Rain made a mental note not to let Lance drive home from any of their nights out as she cruised through town towards his house.

Rain had to wake Lance once she had reached his house, which proved to be far easier than she had anticipated. “Same time tomorrow night?” Lance mumbled as he trudged up to the door. Rain was already gone by the time he looked back. I want me a piece of that, Lance thought as he walked up to his room. Or sleep. Yeah, I’d rather have sleep. Lance stripped out of his costume and tossed it in the general direction of his closet. He was lucky no one had been up and seen him dressed like that, because he was not in any condition to explain away why he was in costume. He flopped onto the bed and once again was consumed by sleep.

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Chapter Sixteen Lance woke up at the appointed time and got ready for school. After a night of chasing down and beating up bad guys, he didn’t know how he was going to be able to sit through sevenplus hours of school. “What day of the week is it?” Lance asked himself. Missing a day of school had thrown off his entire routine, though his life as of late had been anything but routine. Then he remembered it was Tuesday. The regional qualifiers for track were on Thursday, and Lance had missed a day of practice, though he thought he had a pretty good reason for that. Telling the coaches why he missed practice, however, was something that he was definitely not looking forward to. He dreaded going to school, not only because of the monotony of school life, but because Keri was bound to be very angry over Lance not calling her for over two days. Lance called to his sister that it was time to leave and they got into Lance’s car and drove off. “So,” Eva started. “What did you and Rain do last night?” “Nothing,” Lance replied, his hands getting tighter on the wheel. “We just hung out.” “Uh-huh,” Eva responded with disbelief in her voice. “Nothing happened. But don’t tell Keri, please,” Lance pleaded. The last thing he needed was to have his girlfriend think he was cheating on her. Again. “Don’t worry. I won’t rat you out,” Eva assured. “Oh, speaking of Keri. She called for you last night, said she couldn’t get you on your cell phone. Did you lose it again? Anyway, Dad told her you were sleeping.” “Good, we’ll leave it at that,” Lance stated. “Whatever.” As soon as they arrived at school, Lance parted ways with Eva to go find his girlfriend. He found her pouting at one of the lunch tables in the cafeteria. Keri saw him approaching and her face lit up with joy. She bounced up from the table and rushed to him. “Lance!” Keri exclaimed as she threw her arms around him and squeezed. “Thank God.” “Oof.” Keri squeezed so tightly she knocked the wind out of him. “Oh, sorry,” she apologized, then slapped him hard on the shoulder. “If you ever do anything like that again, I’ll kill you.” Keri was crying as she clutched Lance by the waist, the salty tears staining his shirt. “It’s okay,” Lance replied assuring her. “I’m fine. It will be okay.” Keri practically jumped up and pulled Lance’s mouth to hers. She moaned as Lance kissed her back, his hands caressing her. “If that’s what I get, maybe I should be sick more often.”

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“Don’t you dare,” she scolded him. They walked together quietly for a few minutes before they had to get to their respective classes. “It’s good to see you up on your feet, man,” Ryan said when Lance sat down next to him. Lance was still upset over the fact Ryan had taken Eva to a bar, but he knew that he couldn’t bring it up without revealing how he knew Ryan and Eva had been there. “I am, too,” Lance finally replied.

The rest of the day didn’t hold much excitement, only a number of well wishers who told Lance it was good that he was doing okay. The track coaches welcomed him back after a day of absence and told him they hoped he would be ready for the qualifiers on Thursday. Lance assured them that he would be, and to prove it, he led the team throughout the entire workout. After practice, Lance was stunned to find out that he had been given the entire rest of the week off from work, due, of course, to his need to recover from his illness. That meant that he would have the night off and he and Rain could go out patrolling again, though he had promised Keri that he would give her a call sometime during the night.

After the first stop, Lance decided to make the call to Keri. “Hello?” Keri asked as she picked up. “Hey,” Lance replied. “It’s me.” “Oh, hey. I didn’t recognize the number.” “Yeah, I got a new phone. I’m sorry. I forgot to tell you about that.” “What happened to your old one?” “I lost it when I got sick.” “Aw, hun, no one found it?” “Not that I know of, no.” “I’m sorry.” “It’s okay. It wasn’t my fault really, so my dad got me a new one.” Rain snickered in the driver’s seat when she heard that. What Lance had told his girlfriend wasn’t really a lie, but she still found it funny. They had already taken out a small gang of thieves, who hadn’t known anything, and were now just perusing the city, looking for any activity that could aid them in their goal of finding Lance’s English friend.

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It was a frustrating time for Lance. He and Rain had torn through another mess of dealers, pushers, thugs, muscle, and hired guns only to be no closer to finding Haze or Charles than they had been the night before. “We had a good night,” Rain said. “We took a lot of dangerous people off the streets.” Lance didn’t know if he believed that. They might be doing well, but it seemed like for every gang of thugs they took off the street, another four replaced them. The good news, however, was that Lance’s reputation as Zero was spreading, which meant less resistance when he and Rain showed up on the scene. Still, by the time Lance and Rain had called it quits for the night, he felt anxious and angry about their perceived lack of progress, and he fell into a fitful sleep that night.

By the time the end of Wednesday rolled around, Lance was downright pissed off. He felt like every time he beat up some nameless thug with no results, Charles was one step closer to death. Lance reminded Rain that they had the Regional qualifiers the next night, so they wouldn’t be able to continue their search until Friday. “Okay,” Rain conceded. Lance didn’t know whether she was actually disappointed by the fact they wouldn’t be pounding the pavement for a fourth straight night, but he thought she sounded just a bit relieved.

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Chapter Seventeen The meet had passed by so quickly that Lance barely remembered running. He had squeaked by into Sectionals with a disappointing third place. Still, it had given Lance another week to get his act back together. Lance drove home from school after the bus had dropped the team off and he was talking to Keri on his new cell phone through a headset. Of course, he hadn’t told her yet the real reason as to how or why he had needed a new phone in the first place, but she didn’t seem to think that anything was amiss with his previous explanation. Arriving home, he felt there was something wrong with the way his house looked as he pulled up. He then realized that there was something in his driveway. At once, Lance knew exactly what it was, and he feared the worst. “Hun, I’ll have to call you back,” Lance said as he clicked the phone shut, not waiting for Keri’s reply. Right in the middle of his head lights was the bloodied body of Charles Mason. “No, no,” Lance called out, “No!” The car was barely in park before Lance jumped out and ran towards the misshapen body of his ally. Charles had been laid on his back, and there was something on his chest. Lance’s cell phone! And it had been holding down something else, which looked like a newspaper. Lance picked up his phone and the paper and was horrified to find that it was the sports section with his picture on the front. Oh God, no. Lance thought as he realized what it meant. It meant that Haze had found him because he had broken the hurdle record, and then had his picture taken for it. He was ashamed that the recognition that he had wanted so very much was how Haze was able to find out who Zero really was. The phone rang a moment later, interrupting Lance’s thoughts, and he nearly dropped it in surprise. The night air hung heavy around Lance as he answered the call. “Hello?” Lance asked cautiously. The reply sounded heavily altered. “Hello again, Zero.” It was Haze, Lance was sure of it, though the voice on the other end didn’t sound exactly like how Lance remembered from the confrontation outside of the bar. “Or should I say, Mr. Maxwell?” “What do you want?” Lance replied, trying not to sound afraid, which, of course, was the total opposite of how Lance truly felt. And who could blame him? He had just found a bloodied corpse with his cell phone and picture on top lying on his driveway.

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“I’m sure that you’ve found my little…surprise that I left for you,” Haze sneered. Even over the phone, the villain sounded like a pompous jerk, and Lance wanted nothing more than to reach through the phone and strangle the life out of him. “I’m coming for you, Haze,” Lance responded. He was enraged now, and it gave him courage. “I will tear through every single one of your goons until I find you, and then I’m taking you down.” “Ah, but you’ll still have to find me. Meanwhile, I know everything about you. And, if you continue to be a thorn in my side, then I will kill everyone close to you. I will kill your family. I will kill your friends. I will even kill that two-timing little girlfriend of yours. Her, I will so enjoy torturing ever so slowly, right before I snuff her pathetic, insignificant life out.” “In the end, the results will be the same. There would be no place on Earth that you would be able to hide from me. And I won’t just kill you. No, I’ll do it nice and slow, making sure that you enjoy every last excruciating little pain before I finish you.” “That sounds awfully dark for you, hero.” Even through the digital voice masking, Lance knew that there had been genuine surprise in Haze’s voice. “You made me this way,” Lance retorted and he closed the phone, ending the conversation. Lance trembled. Partly because there was still the blooded Englishman right in front of him, and partly because Haze had threatened his family. But, worst of all, Lance knew that he would kill Haze if Haze even tried to harm his family. That he would be willing to go so far as to openly murder a person had Lance frightened most of all. He looked down at Charles with a look of sorrow and of failure. It was his fault, Lance knew, that Charles was there. He hadn’t been fast enough, shaken down the right people, and now Charles had paid for it. “What the hell did they do to you, Charles?” Lance was surprised when what he thought had been a corpse coughed and tried to roll over. “I’m still alive you stupid, bloody wanker,” Charles coughed, then looked up at Lance. “And so are you, mate.” “Yeah,” Lance confirmed, then looked around. He realized that someone had to have been watching so that Haze could time the phone call like he had. Lance didn’t see anything lurking in the shadows, but the tiny billow of trees leading to the small park across the street would be a perfect place to hid and spy on someone. “Hold still, I’ll go get my dad,” Lance leaned in, pretending to examine the body. “I think we’re being watched.” Lance ran into the house and moments later rushed back out, followed by his dad. “Holy…” Mr. Maxwell said loudly. Then he motioned that Lance should grab Charles’ legs and help carry the “corpse” inside of the house.

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“How did they find you?” Lance asked once they were inside and away from windows. Charles was washing himself off, wincing in pain as water and soap entered his wounds. Except for the massive amounts of blood, he hadn’t come out of his beating too terribly. “Mans gotta sleep sometime,” Charles replied. Mr. Maxwell had gotten out a first-aid kit and was rummaging through it. “How’d you survive, mate? That was a pretty nasty gunshot that was.” “I took him to the ‘Lair.’ He got better,” Mr. Maxwell explained. He pulled out some type of anti-septic and rubbed it onto Charles’ arm, causing the Englishman to yelp in surprise. “Oh?” Charles asked, amused. “Did he get one of the robo-surgeons?” “Yes, we were forced to use that,” he replied. Lance was confused for a moment,” Wait, you know about all of this stuff, the ‘Lair’ and the robots and the secrets and you never thought to tell me?” “I only know what I’ve picked up through my visions, so don’t get in a twist,” Charles explained. “And, like I said before, my powers aren’t always that accurate. Not like I worked for your dad and didn’t tell you, like your cute little blonde friend.” “Rain…” Lance remembered. “I should call her. Make sure she’s all right.” “You can do that once we figure out what we’re going to do,” his dad said. Charles grew angry, “What do you mean, ‘once we figure out what we’re going to do?’ We’re going to find this bastard and then we’re cutting his bloody fucking head off!” “I don’t think that would be prudent…” “Prudent? Haze beat me to a bloody pulp and he shot your son for God’s sake! What more does he have to do? Slaughter your family and eat them like breakfast sausages.” Mr. Maxwell’s face instantly turned red with anger. He didn’t like anyone questioning him, especially when it came to protecting his family. To break the tension, Lance cleared his throat. His dad and Charles turned to look at him. “What?” they asked in unison. “Haze called me tonight. He had my cell phone,” Lance explained what had happened after he had found Charles in the driveway. “And he said if I keep interfering with his little drug operation, he’d come after my friends and family.” “How dare he threaten my family,” the elder Maxwell said. He was livid. “That what I mean, mate,” Charles observed. “We need to take him down, now.” “We still can’t find him,” Lance reminded the two older men. “Did he take you anywhere before beating you?” “Nope. Did this to me in a dark alley probably about an hour before you found me here.” “I hate to say this again, but I think we should wait,” Lance’s dad suggested. “What?” Charles asked, astonished.

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“I’ll use all of the available agents I can to track him down. And when they do, he will pay for what he’s done.” “Bloody right he will!” The Englishman agreed. “In the meantime, what do I do?” Just wait for Haze to come finish me off?” “Hopefully, he doesn’t know you survived the encounter, so it’s best if you lie low for a few days. You can stay here if you like. The basement isn’t so bad,” Mr. Maxwell offered and Charles readily agreed. “What will we tell mom and Eva?” Lane asked. Speaking of which, where were they? Surely all of this racket should’ve attracted their attention. “We’ll tell them that he’s a coworker of yours who got into a fight with his roommate and needs to stay here for a few days so the police can get him evicted on assault charges.” “I don’t think they’ll buy that. There’s too much of an age difference,” Lance replied. “What? Are you implying that I’m old?” “He’s right,” Mr. Maxwell agreed with a sigh. “You’ll have to be one of my employees. Maybe one of the factory workers, but the rest of the story stays the same.” They all agreed to the story and Mr. Maxwell went upstairs to explain it to his wife. A few minutes later, Mrs. Maxwell came down the stairs to get a look at their new house guest. She gasped when she saw the cuts and bruises on Charles’ face. “You poor thing,” Mrs. Maxwell exclaimed. “You can stay here just as long as you need to. Just try to not let that brute follow you here.” “I sure am going to try to do that,” Charles Mason assured her.

After Charles settled onto a foldout cot that Ryan used to use when he stayed over, Lance remembered he was going to call Rain. “This is Rain,” she answered. “It’s Lance. Look, we found Charles…” Lance explained the events of the night; the phone call, the plan, everything. After Lance was done, Rain finally said, “The plan is we sit on our hands and hope someone else can find him for us? Great.” She sighed loudly. “It’s not great, but we’re hoping that as long as we play by his rules, it’ll buy us some time to find him in a more conventional manner,” Lance explained. He didn’t like the idea of leaving up his fate to someone else either, but he liked putting the people he cared about in danger even less. “All right, I’ll talk to you later, I guess. Bye...” and she was gone. Lance had a quick conversation with Keri, where he relayed the story his dad had concocted about why Charles was staying with his family before excusing himself for bed.

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Lance restlessly tossed and turned, trying to fall asleep. There was something about being in constant danger that wouldn’t let him drift off. As he finally felt he was starting to fall asleep, Lance had one last thought Wait. Two-timing girlfriend?

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Chapter Eighteen Lance hoped that his dad’s agents would be able to find Haze quickly so that Lance could get on with his life, but, as Monday rolled around, that proved to not be the case. He was afraid that there would be somebody waiting for him everywhere he went, or that something would happen to his family that he couldn’t protect them against. His entire weekend had been practically ruined by him having to continuously look over his shoulder. Keri thought that maybe in addition to having been sick, he might’ve developed schizophrenia. Whatever methods those agents are using, they aren’t working. He was already tired of sitting around waiting for the next bullet or beating to come around, but he hadn’t had a choice in the matter.

It was halfway through the day before Lance remembered that his father was going to be giving a presentation to any interested juniors and seniors at the school. What had started as a ruse had become an actual school event, as the majority of the juniors and seniors had “expressed interest” in the presentation, though it was more like they expressed interest in missing classes. The auditorium was packed, and Lance took a seat toward the back and settled in. The presentation was in the school theater, which, like most school theaters, had actual movie theater seating, though only in much longer rows. Next to his dad was the Vice Principal and a man Lance had never seen before. “It is my pleasure to introduce Dr. Stephen Maxwell and Dr. Herman Haze,” the Vice Principal said, and Lance’s ears perked up at the mention of the other figure on stage. The man named Herman spoke into the microphone in an almost stereotypical nerdy scientist way. Still, Lance shot up in his seat, then forced himself down so he wouldn’t be seen. “That’s, uh, Haize, actually, it’s pronounced Hize, and I’m here to discuss…” Herman Haize talked on, but Lance no longer focused on the words. He knew full well who was on that stage. Here, in front of the majority of the upperclassman, was Haze, a villain who controlled most of the area’s drug trade. And, also unbeknownst to the students, his nemesis, the hero named Zero, was sitting with them in the crowd. Lance clenched his hand on his knee and fought the impulse to just run up onto the stage and beat Haze to death with the podium. He knew it was Haze, the diction was the same, and there was just something about the man that told Lance he was right.

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After Herman finished his speech, Mr. Maxwell took over. Lance didn’t bother listening to his dad’s presentation either, as he couldn’t take his eyes off of the man who sat at the back of the stage. His dad’s speech finally ended, and Lance slipped quickly and quietly out the back so he wouldn’t be noticed by Dr. Haize. During track practice, Lance found he was preoccupied and jumpy and had to work hard to contain himself. There were several moments when he thought he might actually attack one of his teammates for getting to close to him. “You’ll have to get it together if you’re going to make it to state,” the coach commented as practice finished up. Lance assured him that he would be ready by the next meet. Lance hoped that was true, that he would be ready for the meet. Mostly, he knew that would mean he had taken care of his super villain problem.

After practice, Lance broke several traffic laws getting home. He was through the door to the house in a flash and closed it with a slam. In moments he was up the stairs and in his parent’s room. “Who was that guy?” “What?” “That guy, Herman. Who is he?” “Oh. He used to work for the project, but he was expelled for questionable methods. He has his own company now. The headquarters is actually only about a mile north of the ‘Lair’.” “Expelled? What methods?” “He believed that the emerging super human population was a blight and that humanity needed a way to protect themselves. So, he had been trying to devise a way to use people’s powers against them.” “How? How was he doing this?” “In his time at the company he never produced a viable solution, which was one of the reasons he was expelled from the program. He was dissecting his test subjects, which was brutal enough, but he never produced any positive results from them. Why do you ask?” “Because that man is Haze!” After Lance said that, everything had slid into place. All of the pieces fit. The motive, and, if Haize had been able to succeed in his experiments, the means were there. “If he found a way to mimic the man who could negate abilities…” “Then he could do things like block out my force field or shut out Charles’ visions.” “You’re sure about this?” Mr. Maxwell asked, but he already knew the answer. In his own mind, he knew that his old employee Herman Haize was a likely candidate for Haze, so he knew that his son must be certain of the same thing. “About as sure as we’re going to get.”

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Mr. Maxwell got up from his desk and stood in silence for a moment. He realized he should have seen this coming. The things Herman had done to those poor people all those years ago. Dr. Haize had been looking for a defense against what he had seen as an imminent threat. The rest of the staff didn’t necessarily believe in what he had been doing, so they had fired him, locked him out of his office, and disposed of his remaining research. They should’ve kept a better eye on him; Mr. Maxwell knew he should have kept a better eye on him. Now he would have to pay the consequences for his mistakes. Or, worse yet, his son would. The elder Maxwell snapped out of his own thoughts and stared into the eyes of his son. “What are you going to do?” he asked. A look of determination had entered into his son’s eyes. “I’m going to end this,” Lance replied strongly and quietly. “About bloody time, mate,” Charles piped in. He must have come up from downstairs when he heard Lance bounding through the house. “I had to spend the entire weekend in your bloody basement. I think some spiders bit me.” “Better that than the alternative,” Lance said. They all knew the alternative came in a shiny pine box. “I know, and I appreciate what you’ve done for me,” Charles put his hand on Lance’s shoulder. “I’m with you all the way, mate.” Lance nodded as he stared out the window stared out into the spring afternoon. He wondered how his life had gotten so twisted. A month ago he wouldn’t have been worried about throwing himself into the fire that was now before him. The budding leaves and chirping birds gave him little in the way of the hope that was associated with the season. He knew what had to be done, and he hoped that he would have the strength to do it, yet, have the courage to hold back, to only defeat Haze, and not to kill him. That was a slippery slope that Lance didn’t know if he’d ever be able to recover from if he crossed that line. The first thing Lance had to do was call Rain, while his dad said he’d call in all the available manpower he could, which, admittedly, wasn’t much. Most of the field operatives were already out somewhere searching for Haze, and it might prove difficult to call them all back in as quickly as they needed. The irony hadn’t escaped Lance that he was cleaning up his dad’s mess, and he was silently hoping that he would be able to rub it in his dad’s face for years to come. He also found it ironic that it was he who had found Haze and all because his dad had tried to hide what was going on from his son. Remember that time your whole secret project organization couldn’t find the guy who shot me, Lance thought he would say. Who ended up finding him? Oh, wait, that’s right, that was me. The call was put out to Rain, and now all Lance could do was wait for her to show up. Nervous energy bled from Lance in waves. He couldn’t help it. That night he could very well be

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fighting for his life, and that of his family, so he thought it’d be forgivable if he happened to be nervous. It was starting to get dark by the time Rain appeared at the front door carrying a travel bag. She hadn’t come in costume, so Lance figured that must be it in the bag. Lance remembered that he hadn’t packed up his costume yet, so after he let Rain into the house, he ran up the stairs and shoved as much of the costume as he could into his gym bag. Lance walked back down the stairs with the eyes of Rain, Charles, and his father watching his every step. This would be the man they followed into the coming battle and no one said a word as they walked out of the house and into the garage. Rain and Charles got into the back seat of Mr. Maxwell’s black, four door sedan, and Lance sat shotgun while his father drove. Propping up his shoulder in the window frame, Lance watched the familiar sights of the small town disappear into the unfamiliar territory of the big city. The buildings loomed over his head like giants, and Lance wondered which one belonged to Haze. Which one was the building where the villain hid from view, running his criminal empire and performing his hideous experiments. Lance realized that he had no idea what to expect. Perhaps, to keep up the pretense that he wasn’t an evil, psychotic scientist, Haze wouldn’t keep a cadre of gun toting maniacs in his ivory tower. Maybe Lance would be able to walk right in and knock Haze down a few pegs. He very much doubted that it would be that easy. Lance hoped for the best, but he prepared for the worst.

The group of heroes finally arrived at the ‘Lair,’ the Midwest headquarters of the government’s superhero program known only as ‘the project.’ Mr. Maxwell parked in an underground structure and Lance tried to remember if that’s where he had parked only a little over a week before. The group piled out of the car and plodded through the parking lot to an elevator that took them up into the main building. How far down are we? Lance wondered as they arrived at their destination. Mr. Maxwell led the group to a room marked armory, which also doubled, apparently, as the facility’s locker room. Lance and Rain stocked up on the non-lethal weaponry, as their powers already made them weapons. The two teens grabbed smoke pellets, handcuffs, and mace, while Charles and Lance’s dad grabbed much heavier artillery. “This is what I’m talking about,” Charles grinned as he hoisted up a military issue H&K MP-5.

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“Maybe you should stick to something a little more user-friendly,” Mr. Maxwell suggested, handing the Englishman an Ak-47. Not that Mr. Maxwell had anything against the MP-5; it was just that he thought the assault rifle would suit Charles better. Lance and Rain began stripping off their civilian clothes and Rain coyly made everyone turn around while she changed into her costume. As they were preparing to leave, Mr. Maxwell caught up with one of the other employees. Lance noted that the man in the lab coat was the only other person Lance had seen since they had arrived at the ‘Lair.’ “Who do we have?” his dad asked the man. “Just a handful of trained military men. The rest of the heroes are all on their way, but it could be some time before they can get back here,” the man responded. “Send everyone you can up to the vans. Tell the other agents to meet us at the Haize Corporate Headquarters up on Main Street as soon as they get here.” The man picked up a phone that was attached to the smooth, white walls and relayed the orders he had just been given. “Do we wait?” Rain asked. They had come this far, and she didn’t know if they should delay any longer. “No, we move while we still have the element of surprise,” Mr. Maxwell. “There’s no telling if he has any other super humans in his employ.” He was leading them to a different elevator, one that took them to street level. A group of men dressed in black SWAT gear were waiting for them, along with several armored vans that had the engines running. This is it, Lance thought as he was led to the back of one of the waiting vehicles. He climbed in and sat on the bench to the left and Rain settled in next to him. Charles and his father sat across, while the other men filed in next to them. There was six in the back with Lance and the others, and two up front, which meant they were going in with twelve people.

Lance wished briefly that he could learn everyone’s name, tell them all that everything was going to go smoothly, that everyone was going to come out alive, but he just couldn’t find the words. For the first time in his life, this smooth talking seventeen year old just couldn’t think of anything to say. “I lead the charge,” Lance ordered, and the men nodded. It appeared they knew who was giving the orders, and they were prepared to follow him, no matter how young he was. The soldiers had seen and heard about Lance’s exploits as Zero, so they knew he was a capable fighter, and Rain had reported that Lance was at least a capable field leader. “Lance, don’t be stupid,” Rain said. She, in her mind, was his equal, so she had no qualms about questioning him.

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“I’m not,” Lance responded. “If they have any type of weapons, then I stand the best chance of getting through unharmed.” “He’s right,” Charles agreed. None of them liked the idea of Lance throwing himself to the wolves, but there was no denying that his particular gift was suited for situations like this. “Just be careful,” his dad said, and Lance nodded to him, not needing to say that he would with words. “We’re here,” a voice called from the front of the van. A man passed out ear pieces and Lance stuck the one he had been handed into his left ear. “These are all connected to HQ. As far as we know, they’re unjammable, so we should be all right,” the SWAT-style geared man explained. “Oh, that sounds so very reassuring,” Charles quipped. “They’re all voice activated, so don’t everyone talk at once, and try to keep side conversations to a minimum, or it becomes a mess.” “Understood,” Lance acknowledged. “All right,” he said and pushed open the van doors. “It’s go time. Move, move, move!” The man sprang through the door and ran towards the doors of the building. As Lance got his first view of the place, he noted how few of the lights were on. He realized that was to be expected, as the actual work day had ended around the time he had finished track practice. He sprinted to the doors and arrived just behind the armored men. Two of them slapped something on the glass doors and ordered everyone else to stay back. A moment later, the doors shattered in an explosion of glass and metal. Lance put his shield up and ran through the gap in the building and looked around as the smoke cleared. It was just a normal office building, and Lance immediately thought that he had been wrong. Maybe Doctor Herman Haize wasn’t the villainous Haze. “Stay alert,” a voice said into his ear. “If he didn’t know we were here before, he does now.” As if in confirmation of that fact, a bullet collided with Lance’s shield, causing the familiar ripple effect in its wake. Lance charged toward the gunshots and dove into a man who had tried to conceal himself behind the reception desk. He ripped the gun from the man’s hands and used it to pistol whip the shooter into submission. In that moment, even more gunfire erupted in the lobby. Both sides were firing and Lance saw one of the project’s men get hit. He was about to run over to pull him out of the battle when Rain blocked his way. “He’ll be fine,” she assured him. “We have to keep moving.” “Keep going,” his dad’s voice said through the ear piece. “We’ve got this under control.” Charles offered a, “Ye ha!” to show his enthusiasm for his current situation, which to him was far better than being trapped at some dinky diner in the suburbs.

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Rain pulled Lance away from the shootout and into a stair well. As they ran up the stairs, Lance could hear the continuing of gun shots below, and he even thought he might’ve heard an explosion or two somewhere in there. He hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should get back to the lobby to help out. “Come on,” Rain insisted. “They’re doing their job so we can do ours.” They continued up the stairs until they reached the top floor. Lance cautiously opened the door and peered through. He couldn’t see anyone moving in the darkness, and he crept through the doorway first, with Rain following right behind him. “See anything?” Lance asked as they carefully stepped through the hallway. Lance half expected some kind of booby trap to activate and shoot poison darts at him. He then realized how absurd that must have sounded, as the building still was workplace for many during the day. “Nothing,” Rain replied and the two kept stalking through the office building. Lance did a double take as he walked by a set of double doors. “Wonder if this is it?” Lance whispered sarcastically as he read the golden plate on the wall next to the door. It read, “Doctor Herman Haize, CEO.” “Maybe,” Rain replied. That was good enough for Lance. He braced himself as he kicked the door with all his considerable leg strength. To his surprise, the door came off its hinge and slammed into the ground with a loud thud. “Now, why did you have to go and do that?” a voice rang out through the room. Standing in front of a set of windows was Haze, gazing out into the city. “Give it up, Hermie,” Lance chided. “We’ve got you. You’re done.” Haze laughed, “You may have found me, but this is far from done.” He spun around and fired a shot at Lance, which hit harmlessly against Lance’s shield and the slug fell to the ground. “Looks like you’ve got to work on your range.” Haze fired off another shot, with the same effect as the first. “We have a dozen highly trained men slaughtering your goons as they make their way up here.” “Perhaps,” Haze responded as he let loose shot after shot at Lance, walking closer as he did so. “But you’ll still be dead by the time they get up here. In the meantime, I think I’ll kill your pretty friend there, instead.” Rain had slid into the room behind Lance, and now stood a couple of feet to his left, enough space that Lance couldn’t cover the distance fast enough to stop a bullet. Haze swept the gun towards Rain and Lance sprinted towards the man, and he felt his powers fade as he got closer. “Gotcha,” Haze sneered as he swung his arm around and pulled the trigger. The gun clicked, but nothing happened. Haze hadn’t been paying enough attention to his ammunition supply and he realized he had run out of bullets as Lance collided with him, causing the gun to

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fly out of his hands. Lance was on top of him, taking the opportunity to really let loose some hurt on Haze’s face. “You really aren’t good at this, are you?” Lance asked as he pounded away. “You couldn’t kill me.” Smash “You couldn’t kill Charles!” Crunch “Hell, you couldn’t even count your bullets!” Lance was so preoccupied at punishing the man he had pinned to the floor that he hadn’t noticed the knife being unsheathed. Haze slashed up at Lance’s back with a cut that wasn’t enough to seriously hurt him, but enough to cause him to jolt up in surprise. He could feel the crimson liquid ooze from the gnash in his flesh, but he was able to push past the pain without much effort. It could have been much worse. The villain could have pushed the knife up under Lance’s ribcage, nicked a lung or some other vital organ, and then the seventeen year old hero would have been in much bigger trouble. “Son of a…” Lance yelped out. He already has his arms out to block Haze’s next attack. “Is that the best you can do?” Lance blocked another slash, meeting Haze’s forearm with his own. He brought up his other hand, grabbed the man’s wrist, and twisted, causing his foe to drop his weapon. The knife bounced to the ground with a metallic clink, and Haze, shuffling back from a quick elbow to the throat, kicked his weapon under a file cabinet. Haze staggered back and clutched the hand that hadn’t been injured to his throat, then to his hurt wrist, his fingers moving deliberately over what Lance figured to be buttons or dials, or a combination of both. He realized that was how Haze was able to negate his powers, had felt it as he had twisted the madman’s wrist. It was a machine. Lance grasped at the Doctor’s wrist, only to have his arm snatched in mid-thrust. Haze held up Lance, dangled him by the arm, and laughed. “Have it all figured out, do you?” Haze rolled up his sleeve to reveal a gauntlet of a device. Dark gray and metallic in color, it had several readouts and buttons, but Lance didn’t care about that, he only cared about smashing the damn thing. “It can do more than just negate your abilities. Here, try super strength.” Haze backhanded Lance, sending him flying through the air into Rain, who he thought might have been knocked out by the impact. She had been sticking to the side lines, trying to not get in Lance’s way, and now Lance feared she might have paid for it. He coughed as he tried to get up, feeling the burn in his lungs, but Haze was already lifting him into the air. Lance cautiously opened up the pocket on his side and felt around for something he could use.

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“Here you are, hero,” the mad doctor sneered. “You insisted on fighting me, and now here we are. You’re broken, and I win.” “Not quite,” Lance smiled as he smashed a smoke pellet into Haze’s face. The sphere exploded on contact, spreading thick gray smoke in the air. They both coughed as Haze loosened his grip and Lance grasped for anything he could use for a weapon. During their struggle, the two must have ended up near the Doctor’s desk as he was rewarded with what he thought was the world’s heaviest paper weight. He swung it through the air and smashed down into Haze’s forearm, destroying the machine. Lance’s powers immediately surged through his body and Haze once again staggered backwards. “Will you just give it up? Your machine is gone, you’re beaten. You’re done,” Lance said. The villain smiled as Lance saw his true face, as the meek scientist that Haze really was. And yet, in that moment, Lance saw something far more dangerous, something much more demanding of his fear, than the cloud-covered villain he had just been fighting. “Not quite,” Haze said, repeating Lance’s words back to him, as he pulled out another handgun from his jacket. “Now I really am going to kill the bitch!” Lance, reacting purely on instinct, tackled Dr. Herman Haize through the windows of the man’s office, the glass splinters falling around the two as they dropped to the streets below.

Dazed, Lance stood up from a small crater in the ground and stumbled around like he was intoxicated. His ability had held up during the impact, which was good to know, though he didn’t think he would be trying that again anytime soon. His dad was already there to greet him when a police officer grabbed held of Lance, pinned his arms behind his back, and slapped handcuffs on him. The officer was a middle-aged, fit man, and, as hurt as Lance was, had no problem keeping the teen super hero detained. No, it can’t end like this, Lance thought. He couldn’t have come this far only to be arrested, could he? “Officer, what is the meaning of this?” Mr. Maxwell asked, stunned that his son had just been pinned by the policeman in front of him. It was obvious that his son needed medical attention, which the police were now denying him. “This young man just murdered a prominent member of society and he will be taken into police custody until we can determine why.” “No, he won’t,” a voice called from behind them. Agent Johnson, still wearing his smooth, black suit, appeared from behind one of the armored SWAT vans. “He is a vigilante acting outside of the law, and he is under arrest,” the police officer insisted.

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“He is an agent of the United States government and has just brought to justice a man wanted on numerous charges,” Johnson replied. The federal agent stood next to Lance in a manner that was directly confrontational to the officer. “So, this ‘young man’ is free to go.” What Johnson said next made Lance’s blood run cold, as the agent whispered something that only he could hear. “That is, if he wants to…” Lance tried not to look surprised when he heard Johnson’s words. It was blackmail. Lance would join the government’s little super powered club or he could go to jail. Of course, like any sane person would, he chose freedom. Lance nodded his reply to the federal agent. “Smart choice,” Agent Johnson said as he had the policeman remove the handcuffs. They had been tight, and Lance rubbed his wrists automatically in response. He glared at the man in the suit, who turned and walked away. He didn’t like being forced into this life. Deep down he had figured that he was going to join up anyway, but that didn’t mean he particularly enjoyed being forced to do it. “You did good,” his father said, putting his arm around Lance’s shoulder. “I killed a man,” Lance replied. It was the one thing he hadn’t wanted to do, yet he did it so instinctively that it scared him. “You did what you had to do,” his father assured him. Rain walked out of the building and joined them on the street. “And you saved my life,” she said, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. They had been through hell and back and had formed a bond that would not be easily broken, and Lance was glad that Rain hadn’t been too seriously hurt in the fight. Maybe the comforting words of his father and Rain would be enough to assure him someday, but that would not be anytime soon for Lance. Though, for the moment, as he stared off into the city, that would have to be enough. Whether he liked it or not, it had been proven that Lance was needed, as no one else could have been prepared to fight a man like Haze. He had stopped the threat when no one else had even known where to start, when most people hadn’t even been aware that there was one. As he walked back to the SWAT-styled van, he knew that another danger would rise, and that he would be there to meet it head on.