Reality Check

Don't You (Forget About Me)

Someone To You (by Banners)

"Dive and disappear without a trace. I just wanna be someone . . .

___

iv. athazagoraphobia; the fear of being forgotten

"Which one?"

Trying his best to be serious (because according to Owen this was very important) Kiel analyzed the comic books in Owen's hands. The book in his left hand showed a dark-haired woman with some type of golden tiara across her head, with the words "Wonder Woman" plastered on top of it. The other book showed a man in a green costume, with the words "Green Lantern" on the top.

He was supposed to be deciding which one was the better superhero, but Kiel only half-recalled Owen's thorough lessons on superheroes, only because he'd learned about maybe twenty in the same day. He recalled Wonder Woman better, but had forgotten most of her abilities. He'd also learned about famous supervillians on that same day, and he easily got confused on who was who.

"I don't know! They both look awesome," Kiel said after a few seconds, as he juggled his wand-knives in his hands. "Not as awesome as me, though."

"They're still really cool and powerful," Owen reasoned. "They have these incredible powers."

"So do you," Kiel said. "With your time powers!"

"Having time powers doesn't make me a superhero," Owen said almost too quickly, like he was ashamed of his powers even though that already made him a superhero in Kiel's opinion.

"Sure it does! I don't see why not."

He looked down. "Because I'm not actually a superhero. I don't get to fight villains with it and I don't win fights without . . . help."

Kiel sighed. As much as Owen loved superheroes and wanted to be one, it seemed he wanted to bring himself down even more. And knowing his friend's lack of self-esteem, boosting his confidence always proved difficult.

"That's not true," Kiel insisted. "You have your time powers! Who says you can't be a superhero when you already are?"

"I . . . don't have a cape, though. Or a costume. Can't really be a superhero without those things. And I'm not even good at fighting. That's what superheroes do. That's what they're meant to be good at, so they can fight the bad guys. I can't actually punch people, and—"

"Have you tried punching anyone?"

"Not really."

"Hey, I have a cape, and I'm not a superhero at all. I'm a magician." Kiel winked as he smiled. "And you're still a superhero even if you can't punch. Even if you wear, well, that." He gestured to Owen's pajamas, and the boy grinned. "Yeah, you have your time powers, but you don't need even those to be a superhero."

"Thanks," Owen said, shaking the comic books for emphasis. "Now, c'mon, choose one!"

Strangely enough, something felt off to him. Kiel couldn't exactly understand why, but his head felt kind of foggy, like he was half-asleep or something. But he was fully awake and not very tired, so being half-asleep wouldn't make much sense! He found himself staring at Owen's hands, both of which were holding the comic books. Why that was weird to him? He didn't know. He quickly shook off the feeling and smiled.

"What does Bethany think?"

Owen glanced down at the comics. "Probably that Wonder Woman is better. I mean, she's really cool and everything, and she's from this place called Paradise island where there are only women, and they're all Amazon warriors."