Hero by Day

Chapter 16 - OTP? What does that mean?

"If the prospect of living in a world where trying to respect the basic rights of those around you and valuing each other simply because we exist are such daunting, impossible tasks, then what sort of world are we left with?

~ Diana Prince (Wonder Woman)

Even with the medicine Cody from MASKED gave me, I still felt sore that afternoon. Getting crushed by a tree branch isn't something you can get over easily, even as a super.

At home, mom didn't say anything about her 'date' with Chad. I expected that they were nervous of how I'd react, but what she didn't know is that I already had all the time in the world to react. And, quite frankly, it was weird. I mean – your mom dating your boss isn't exactly normal.

But since I had time to dwell over this fact, when she eventually tells me, I'll be ready with the appropriate response and not the panic attack I had when I first found out.

Besides, Chad didn't seem all that bad, right? I mean – it's not like he'll turn out to be a super villain or anything. I mean, what are the chances of that happening?

Since tonight was the night of Ian and Mary's Halloween Party, I couldn't seek out Delinquent again. I had so many questions to ask her about what happened today. Most importantly, why had she come back to help me and why did she leave in the first place? Andromeda started the fight to lure me out, that much was obvious, but what had she been discussing with Delinquent? Did she really believe Delinquent to be one of the good guys and attacked her? Did she think that if she put Delinquent in danger, I'd come running? Did she think Delinquent would help her kill me, but Delinquent refused?

Nothing made sense.

I shook the thoughts out of my head and parked the Captain Cruiser in front of Ian's summer home. The car was, of course, in stealth mode. It was the only mode of transportation I had, even if it did bring to the surface some sore memories.

The party had already started by the time I got there, which was on purpose. I did not want to arrive too early to a party organized by Mary Thompson.

(She would most likely put you to work helping to set up the party if you came before it was in full swing.)

"Dude!" Ian spotted me from across the foyer and came running. "I love how you never change your outfit. It gives me hope that you are still able to annoy my sister with everything you have."

I smiled and looked over his Bomb Butcher costume. It was horribly put together, and purposely too. He wore a red shirt and black designer jeans as a substitute for spandex, designer combat boots, a joke shop belt buckle of a hilariously large bomb, a belt over his shoulder and chest with black balls strapped to it using duct tape and then there were streaks of red on his face like a football player. He could've bought a real Bomb Butcher costume, especially with the money he had, but this was a tradition for us both. We both dressed up as supers, but made it look like a last minute idea, just to annoy Mary and Elise. Plus, this way we spent little to no money on a costume, not that money would've been a problem for Ian.

Have you figured out what super I was dressed as yet?

I wore a white oxford style shirt and white jeans with a grey belt and grey converse. I had a grey W spray-painted onto the shirt with a grey L on a diagonal underneath it. Plus, both Ian and I had dollar store Lone Ranger style masks on.

I, of course, was dressed up as White Lightning.

You see, when people are surprised that no one notices that Clark Kent or Kara Danvers are actually Superman and Supergirl when all they have between them and their secret identity is a pair of glasses and a different hair style, one fact is forgotten. Those superheroes were able to hide in plain sight because no one could suspect that the one person who had spectacular powers and could save the city from any danger was right in front of them. No one wanted to believe that the awkward assistant was actually a superhero in disguise. They couldn't see the truth because they didn't want to.