CHAPTER 18

Karen Stroneman flipped another pancake off the griddle and onto the plate before placing the stack on the table. Andrew instantly grabbed a couple and began cutting them up while Britta just continued to eat silently and her husband Phillip read the paper. She frowned, seeing there was still one person missing.

       "Where's Travis?" she asked. "Andrew, you did tell him right?"

       "Yeah, I told the twerp," he said, making Karen frown. "He's probably just getting changed or something."

       Just then, there was a sudden loud series of thumping noises coming down the stairs, causing them all to turn as Travis appeared, a wild and excited look on his face.

       "Ah, there you are Travis. What was all that thumpi-"

       "Sorrymomcanttalkgottagocheckonsomethingloveyoubye," he said all in a rush before he zoomed out the front door and was gone, leaving them all startled.

       "What on earth was that all about?" Phillip wondered. "That boy has far too much energy."

       Karen looked back at the table. "He didn't even eat the pancakes," she murmured. He always ate the pancakes. He claimed they were his favorite breakfast food. So what was so important that he had to rush off like that without taking a single bite?

       "Alright, remember what we went over? Just act cool like everything's normal, because it is. When it comes to Mom, there is absolutely nothing strange going on, got it?"

       "Right," Angie nodded. "Nothing at all. Not even my brother suddenly having super strength."

       "Hey, I do not have super strength. That railing was faulty and the door was…also faulty."

       "The door was three inches thick of solid wood and you cracked into pieces like it was made of twigs."

       "Must not have been made of quality wood," Franklin hissed through his teeth as they walked into the kitchen. "And if Mom asks, that railing was already broken and my room never had a closet door. Hi Mom!"

       "Morning. What do you two want for breakfast?"

       "Cereal!" they both said.

       Their mom looked up, eyeing them strangely. "You two ok?"

       "Yeah, of course," Franklin replied, smiling widely. He felt like he was an interrogation room right now, his heart beating wildly in his chest and sweat trickling down his neck.

       "Alright," his mom said uncertainly. "Well, you know where the cereal is."

       "Right." They both started walking for the cupboard, Franklin hoping that his mom wouldn't notice his anxiety. It wasn't even that she'd be too mad about the railing or the door. It was that she would want to know how it happened. And Franklin had no idea how to answer that.

       He started when his phone suddenly went off with the theme song from One Piece. He pulled it out and blinked when he saw it was Travis calling him. "Hello?" he said, answering.

       "Franklin, that you?" he heard Travis say hurriedly. "Great. What's your address man? We really need to talk."

       "Uh…can't this wait til we get to school?"

       "No it can't. It like seriously can't."

       Franklin frowned. "Ok. And what's that noise?" In the background, he could hear some sort of whooshing sound, as if Travis was talking with the car window open.

       "Not important. Now what's the address?"

       "Um, it's 102 Poplar Street NW."

       "Great, thanks."

       "No problem. But seriously, what could be-"

       The doorbell suddenly rang, interrupting him. He moved to get it when he saw his mom already on her way. "Sorry, got distracted for a second. Anyway, what's so import-"

       "Oh Travis, how lovely to see you. Come on in."

       Franklin frowned, sure he'd misheard, but when he turned he saw Travis standing on his doorstep with rumpled clothes and hair that looked like it had just been hit blow-dried. His friend gave him a shrug and a small smile.

       "Would you like some breakfast?" Franklin's mom asked. Travis's belly gave off a loud growling sound, causing her to laugh. "I'll take that as a yes then."

       "Dude," Franklin said, walking over as his mom left. "Why'd you ask for my address if you were already here?"

       "Because I wasn't," Travis replied quietly. "Thirty seconds ago, I was at the school."

       "What? What are you talking about?"

       "Franklin," Travis said slowly, a grin beginning to spread across his face. "I have superpowers."

       Franklin stopped. Normally, he would say Travis was delusional, crazy, or had been dreaming. But now, after what he had gone through last night, he said something else. Something he'd been avoiding ever since he woke up. "I think I do too."

       Just stay calm. Just stay calm, Madison repeated to herself, trying her best to butter her toast with trembling fingers. She didn't know what had happened in the bathroom. As far as she was concerned, it hadn't happened and it wouldn't happen again. As long as she stayed in control, everything would be fine.

       After the incident in the bathroom, she had considered locking herself in her room and not coming out for a year. But then her parents came to check on her, wondering what was going on. She had managed to lie, saying she saw a spider, but the truth was far scarier than that.

She had turned invisible. Her whole body had vanished like something straight out of a book or movie or one of Travis's comics. Not something real. Not something that would happen to her.

It had taken a few minutes but eventually, her body had reappeared. Now she was doing her best to act normal as she ate breakfast, all the while praying to whatever deities existed that she wouldn't turn invisible again.

"You ok honey?" her mom suddenly asked her.

"Uh…yeah, yeah. Totally fine. Everything's fine," Madison replied quickly, stuttering a little.

"It's just that you've been buttering that toast so much it's more butter than bread now."

Madison looked down and winced as she saw her toast was now completely covered in butter. She had been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed. "Oh, um, sorry. I'll…um…" she then began to scrape the excess butter back into the tub.

"No, don't do that," her mom stopped her. "Here, let's do this." She got another piece of toast and spread the butter onto it evenly. "There we are. Now, you sure you're ok?"

Madison sighed. No, she was most certainly not ok. But how could she tell her mom that? How was she supposed to explain what had happened to her? She could hardly believe it herself.

"Just a little nervous about today," she said, not really lying except for being a lot nervous.

"About that cute new boy?" her mom teased, causing Madison to choke.

"Mom!" she gasped.

"Dear!" her dad said, looking up from his computer. "Please stop antagonizing her."

"Alright, fine," her mom held her hands up in surrender.

Madison took a big gulp of her orange juice, needing to calm down a little. But as she did, she glanced at her fingers and saw them begin to disappear. For a second she froze, silently wishing they would go back to normal.

Then her whole hand disappeared.

Without thinking, Madison dropped her glass, thrusting her hand under the table before anyone could see it. The orange juice splattered all over the table, leaking onto the floor.

"Madison!" her mom cried out. "What is going on with you? Madison? Are you listening?"

Madison didn't hear her. Just go back to normal, she pleaded, staring at her vanished hand. Just go back to normal. Please!

But her hand refused to listen. Instead, to her horror, the rest of her arm began to slowly vanish as well, causing her to shoot to her feet.

"Madison, honestly!" her mom exclaimed. "What on earth are y-"

"Sorry mom, I can't talk. I've got to go."

"Not until you clean up this mess, you don't."

"I have to go to school," Madison said hurriedly, barely listening as she stuffed her hand out of sight. Not that that would do much good. "There's this…thing I have to take care of before class. I only now just remembered."

"What thing? Madison?"

But Madison was already leaving, grabbing her backpack and rushing out the door.

"Madison, come back here this…" her mom opened the door and stopped, gaping for a second. There was no one there. She looked around for a second, confused, but couldn't find Madison anywhere, almost like she had disappeared from the face of the earth.

A few feet away from her, Madison did her best not to hyperventilate. Not just her hands or arms but now her entire body was gone. Even her clothes and backpack. All of it invisible. She couldn't believe this was happening. What even was happening?

A second later, her mom went back inside and Madison slumped to the ground. What was she going to do? She couldn't very well walk around invisible for the rest of the day. There had to be some explanation for this, some reason this was happening. And there was only one person she could think of who might have an answer.

She slowly stood back up, taking a few calming breaths, and started walking to school all the while praying Travis wasn't taking a sick day.

Gabriela took a deep breath and then released. As soon as she did, her hands began to light up. Not in a truly bright way but just as a soft glow, like there was a small lightbulb somehow in her palms. On closer inspection though, she saw that it was really her veins. Each one of them was now lit up with some sort of orange energy.

"Very strange," she said to herself. How had this happened? It had obviously come from that light that had hit her last night. But where had that come from? And how had it done this to her exactly? She couldn't think of any rational, scientific explanation for this.

But that didn't mean there wasn't one.

A plan formed in her mind. She would head to the school library immediately. While she was sure the public library had a larger selection of material for her to look through, there was no way she could skip school to go there. Not unless whatever this was proved to be dangerous to her or others in some way, and so far it seemed harmless besides what had happened to her phone.

She would just have to be careful, that was all. Remain in control of it and not let it control her. That was what she did best anyway.

She got dressed and made sure she had everything she needed for the day ready. Her homework (all completed obviously), her textbooks, her notebooks, her pencil case, and her tablet. As always, packed and efficient.

She walked to the kitchen seeing Joaquim cooking some eggs. "Morning," she greeted.

"Ah, good morning your highness," he replied, making Gabriela groan. "Your bread is toasting and I have laid out some choices for you." He gestured to a selection of different jams. Gabriela opted for the blueberry today, waiting calmly for her toast to finish.

"Is my dad here?" she asked, chewing a cherry.

"Unfortunately not. Apparently he had to come in early this morning for the project. He gave me the message that he wished you a best day and that you do not overwhelm yourself any more than you already have."

Gabriela rolled her eyes. She did not overwhelm herself. She had the perfect balance of whelming, thank you very much. Though, she did admit, this strange glowing thing in her hands would probably upset some of her plans. She'd have to adjust her schedule to fit it in.

Almost like it responded to her thoughts, her hand started glowing again. Damn it, she thought to herself. She'd have to work harder to get this thing under control. She carefully placed her hand around her glass of milk, letting it hide the glow.

Focus, she told herself. Just breathe. In and out. She wasn't sure what had set it off but by calming herself, she was sure it would return to normal.

"And here you are, young princess," Joaquim said, handing her two slices of slightly toasted bread. "Apologies, the toaster is on the fritz so it is not as cooked as usual."

"No problem, thanks," she replied and prepared to start spreading jam on the bread when she noticed her milk was bubbling. Not in an alarming way. Just a few bubbles rising up from what she had to assume was the energy coming from her hand.

She inwardly cursed again, breathing in again to try and regain control, when she stopped. She felt like a lightbulb just lit up in her head.

Making sure Joaquim was turned the other way, she brought her hand out and placed the bread on top of it. Carefully, she focused on this strange energy and released more of it. The glow responded, becoming brighter and warmer. Smoke wafted from her hands and she could see the toast browning even more. She gave it a few more seconds before she put the toast back down and pulled back on the energy.

She had been planning it wrong. She would never gain control over something she didn't understand. And the only way she would understand this power was to use it.

As she realized this, a new plan began to form in her mind.

"Alright, what was so important that you had to drag me out here so early?" Britta asked while Emily nervously wrung her hands.

They were in the park, empty at this hour. As soon as Emily had gotten up and managed to shrink her arms back to normal, she'd called Britta and asked to meet her here. As much as she wanted to hide her weird new abilities from everyone, she knew she couldn't keep it from her best friend. They told each other everything (almost everything on Emily's part) and Emily also knew she wouldn't be able to properly train her body without some help here. This was all too new and weird for her.

"Look," she started. "I need you to promise something."

"Ok," Britta replied, frowning a little. "What is it?"

"You can't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you."

"Well, yeah. I mean, it's not like I gossip about you to other people anyway."

"Britta." Her friend stopped at her tone. "I really need you to promise."

"Jeez Emily, what's going on? But yeah, I promise. No one will know."

Emily nodded and breathed out slowly. She knew Britta would come through for her but it was still good to hear it out loud. Now it was time for the moment of truth. She'd practiced a little since this morning and it had been easier than she thought it would be. Almost like whatever this was, it wanted to be used.

"I also need you to promise not to freak out right now."

"Emily, you're really starting to scare me right now."

"Please, just…don't freak out." Emily took a deep breath, threw back her arm, and then flung it out. It instantly stretched, elongating until she grabbed the fence five yards away.

"What the hell?" Britta gasped, gaping at the sight. "Y-your arm. It just…just…what the hell?"

"I know, I know," Emily said, letting go of the fence and retracting the arm. It had taken about 5 minutes this morning but she had eventually learned how to bring her arms back to normal length. "This is freaky weird. But please, I need…"

She stopped, not sure what to say next. She didn't even know what she really needed. Help to train? To get rid of it? To convince her this was just a bad dream? Something else entirely.

She felt something wet drip down her cheek and the next thing she knew she was on the ground sobbing, the events of past few hours washing over her like a wave. She tried to stop it, tried to pull herself together and keep that image of herself intact. She was supposed to be the tough girl, the one who never let anything bother her. 'Perfection personified' as her mother liked to say.

But she just couldn't manage it. She wanted to pretend that this was no biggie, that she could overcome it, but she didn't know how to. Her body was now…she didn't even know how to describe it. Freakish. Abnormal. Alien. Monstrous. All she really knew was that the life she had cultivated for herself was crumbling before her eyes.

Then, all of a sudden, a strong pair of arms wrapped around her and she felt herself sinking into Britta's embrace. "It's ok," her friend said. "I've got you."

Emily choked back another sob, instead hugging her friend back as hard as she could. They stayed like that for a few moments until Emily finally started to feel like herself again.

"Thanks," she said.

"Anytime. So, uh, any idea how this happened to you?"

Emily explained about the light and the sudden rush of energy. "Besides that, I haven't got a clue. I mean, part of me still thinks this is all some sort of crazy dream."

"You and me both," Britta said dryly. "But look, don't worry. We'll figure this out."

Emily let off a shaky laugh. "Where do we even start?"

Britta pursed her lips. "I'm going to be completely honest with you, I have no idea. But we'll still figure this out. No matter what, we'll work through this and you'll come out the other side standing tall. That's a Britta guarantee."

Emily chose not to remind her that the last Britta guarantee had ended in a small coca cola explosion. She just got back to her feet and hugged her friend again. "Alright," she said. "Let's do this."

The butterfly flapped its wings several times before six more appeared beside it, all flying in perfect coordination with one another. They did one lap around the room before they vanished. In their place came a small elephant, walking midair with its trunk waving around. Then it disappeared as well with a tiger appearing. Then came a reindeer. Then a whale. A clown. An airplane. A tree.

Sumin did countless different creations, each one formed of the strange indigo light that emanated from inside them. All they had to do was think of what they wanted and will it to appear, and it did. The only limit so far seemed to be their imagination.

Sumin had done a quick search through their memories, of all the information they had gathered over the years for any sort of explanation for this and had come up empty. This was no surprise, they hadn't actually expected to find something. Still, a lead would have been nice.

So how was something like this possible? It could be a dream, but Sumin didn't think so. Dreams were always so lucid and murky. They could never truly think right in dreams, confined to the reasoning that world their mind had created. To contemplate and ponder on such a level as they were doing now would not make sense in a dream.

It could also be a mental breakdown and based on the events of the last few months, Sumin didn't think this was totally out of the question. Though, them being aware of possibly having such a breakdown made it less likely.

The only way to know for sure was if someone else could see these constructs as they did. Their parents were out, they would freak and worry from the start. So that only left their friends. And Sumin believed Travis, with his superhero eccentricity, would be the perfect person to aid them.

That settled, they quickly got dressed and prepared for their day. They would have a shift at their new job after school. Sumin knew that the money from such a career was small but at the moment, every bit helped. Any day now, they knew they might come home and see that sign out on the lawn, the one that showed them just how bad things were. So they would do everything they could to prevent that day from arriving.

As they reached for the door, they paused. With a slight push, a bird formed of indigo light appeared in their hand before disappearing as fast as it appeared. What if, somehow, they could use this strange ability to their advantage. Help them make money. But what kind of professions would require such skills? Most of them would be in the creative arts but even then Sumin couldn't really think of anything. It was a thought, though. One to keep in mind.

BEEP

Sumin blinked and pulled out their phone, seeing they had an email alert and were surprised to learn that it was from their grandmother. They had sent a message after they had woken up, discreetly asking about some of the stories she used to tell and if she had heard of any involving creations made of light. But they were surprised she had responded so quickly, not expecting anything until that evening. It had to be getting late in South Korea now.

They opened the message and saw the single question. Why do you want to know?

Sumin didn't quite know how to respond to that.

"Dude, why are you wearing those?" Ralph asked as soon as he saw him.

Luke sighed beneath the sunglasses. "It's not important."

"If you're trying to look cool, I gotta admit it is kind of working."

"That's not…really?"

"Yeah. Kind of makes you look like a badass."

Luke stopped, thinking about that. He briefly wondered if Emily might think he looked cool like this, but he unfortunately shook those thoughts away. He didn't have time for them. He had too much on his plate already. "Thanks, but actually I accidentally got hit by a ball after throwing it into the fence. It hit my eye and…" he carefully lifted up the glasses to reveal the bruise.

"Oh," Ralph said, looking at it. "Wow."

"Yeah. It's not too bad but I don't really want people to look at it and start asking questions or make assumptions, you know?"

"Should they be making assumptions?" Ralph asked carefully.

Luke blinked. "N-no, of course not. Just a bad throw of the ball. Now come on, I don't want to be late to class."

As they walked, he made sure to keep his jacket sleeves from slipping up to reveal the bruises along his arms as well. It had been bad enough trying to explain what had happened to his dad. He didn't know how much success he'd have with his friends. He didn't even know what had happened. Somehow he'd managed to make the balls all fly to him at once. He'd almost been convinced he'd been dreaming except he had the bruises to show for it. So what had happened?

"So you ready?"

"Hmmm?" Luke glanced over.

"You know, for today?" Ralph pressed. "The try-outs?"

Luke had to stop himself from slapping his face. Of course, the try-outs. How could he have forgotten? The single most important day for the next few months, the one his father had been training him all summer for. The day that did decide his future for him cause if he didn't make the team, all his plans were up in the air. He had been so busy dwelling on what the flying balls had meant that the try-outs had slipped his mind. Of course that had to happen today. Just when he needed all his focus and attention, some spooky Poltergeist crap was pulled on him. Perfect.

"Yeah, I'm ready," Luke bluffed. "Did some more training this morning, will do a bit more in the breaks just in case and then I'll be all set for this afternoon."

"Good, glad to hear it. Though I'm also glad I won't be part of it. Way too much stress for me. But I will be there to cheer you all on."

Luke smiled. "Thanks man." I'm going to need it, he added silently. He needed to know what the hell this strange power he had was. If it came up again during the try-outs, it would ruin his chances and he could kiss his shot at football goodbye.

Wait.

He stopped, mentally and physically. This morning, when he had thrown the ball, it had thrown so much farther than any previous throw. And then, when he had wanted it to, the ball had come back into his hands instantly. If he could somehow do that again at try-outs without giving anything away, it might just give him the edge he needed. He might even make quarterback with it.

Forget the training his dad had prepped for him at break times. He needed to train something else instead.

"Don't worry though," he told Ralph. "I've got a feeling that everything's going to work out just fine."

Travis was having the best day of his life. He had superpowers. Actual, realistic, no-doubt-about-it superpowers. It wasn't a dream or a mental breakdown (at least, he didn't think it was). This was really happening to him.

He could run really fast, race across town in seconds just like his second favorite hero of all time, the Flash. One second, he'd been in his bedroom and then he had zoomed down the stairs, out his house, through the streets, and across town until he'd come to a stop at the mall, still in his pajamas. Then he had raced back home and instantly, after putting some clothes on and grabbing as many pancakes as he could, called Franklin.

Now he was standing in his new friend's house, gaping at what he'd just heard.

"You have powers too?"

Franklin hesitated before shrugging. "I think so," he said. "I mean, it could make sense. I sort of broke the railing and my closet door without meaning to."

"Whoa. That is so cool. So you have like super strength or something."

"I don't know! How would I know that?" Franklin sighed. "This is so freaking weird. Alright, did something happen last night. Like…"

"Like a weird ball of light came crashing through my window and then flew into me, filling me up with some weird energy that is without a doubt the superhero thing I'm feeling right now," Travis finished for him.

Franklin paused for a few seconds before sighing again. "Yep. That. Alright, so I guess we do have superpowers now, somehow."

"Wahoo!" Travis cried out, throwing his arms out high. This was the best! Not only did he have superpowers but his friend did too? This day just kept getting better.

"Well, you seem chipper this morning," Franklin's mom said, looking over at them from the kitchen.

"Just excited for a new day," Travis replied, grinning. And a new life, he added silently. He'd never understood what 'walking on air' meant until now. He didn't know he could be this happy, this excited. Even when he'd been in line for Spider-Man: No Way Home.

"Dude, cool it," Franklin muttered.

"Are you kidding me. How are you not jumping for joy right now?"

"At having strange and freakish powers that I have no idea how to control and that might kill me in some way? Yeah, I think I'm good."

Travis just shook his head, still grinning widely. "Ah, I don't care about that. This is the greatest moment of my life."

"How are you not freaking out right now?"

"Dude, do you have any idea how long I've wanted this? How I've dreamed of this, knowing it wouldn't come true? To actually have freaking superpowers, to be a real-life superhero and get to live out my fantasy? Obviously I've considered all that other stuff and I know about the risks of this. But come on? Are you telling me that you aren't the least bit excited? That after all those comics and movies and shows and whatnot, you now can live out the life of a superhero?"

Franklin pressed his lips together, appearing unsure. "Well…" he began. "Ok, I will admit that it…is a little cool."

"Heck yeah it is!" Travis exclaimed.

"But please tell me we're not going to start wearing costumes to go out and fight crime. Cause that's not really my style."

"Oh don't worry," Travis grinned. "I'm sure we'll figure it all out. But first thing's first."

"Which is?"

Travis's belly let out a loud growl. Turns out The Flash was right. He did need a lot of calories for running. "I believe it's time for second breakfast."