Blog of a Teenage Superhero

Chapter Thirty-Five: I Guess This is The End, Then

Published Post:

I'm not supposed to name names or write too much about the heroes, Masquerade—though I know it's gotten out by now, with the mayor's silences, with the mug shots leaked of the minor tossed the dirty work of some organization that wanted the heroes gone—we have to remember, is a kid. Like me. Like you, probably. But I can cover the basics, I owe you that. 

The harvesting superpowers part? Very true.

The mayor's hand in the process? All are innocent until proven guilty.

The motives? I guess we're not as loved as I thought. 

And Masquerade's prison escape? Yeah...that, that happened. No explosions or anything. No genius escape plans. We just haven't had a villain in a while and power dampeners aren't things. You can extract powers by injecting agents into the blood that axes the DNA structure and forces mutation. It's a thing. Mutated code sucked out of the body, purified into hard biological instructions you fuse into other living matter and that living matter  you forge into weapons to make, like, superweapons. Those are things. But powers aren't like music you can turn up or turn off. He was untied. He broke bars and shot through the prison's ceiling. Caused millions in damage, but no one was hurt.

The heroes are still adjusting, but they're remarkable, you know, powers or no. We've tried dipping them in the goop, but you wouldn't believe how lucky I was to mutate the way I did. My nurse friend says I might've gotten some of Adder's DNA fused into mine, or maybe Blue's.  Whatever it is, don't try it at home.

I'm going to find Masquerade, I promise. I pity him. And I'm not just saying that to sound all goody-good golden hero. I mean, he tried to kill me and every one I care about. But he isn't in a good place, and I see a future for him, if he reformed, became a law-abiding citizen. I know the boy he once was. And I won't let that potential go to waste.

But tonight, me and my girlfriend are going to watch the gulls by the shore.

***

I've become president of the student council. It's hard, I suppose, balancing nights perched on lampposts and days in school with my head pressed in my books. But I manage. Dad helps, and so do my friends. I mean, Kai and Finn are busy talking and hugging and stuff.  Kind of a lot. I keep waiting for them to remember they can't stand each other, but that seems more doubtful as they days slip by.

So, Percy and I are leaned against her balcony's ivory rail, looking out at the sea, watching darkness climb the sky. Her hand rests on mine as she sips from her mug of hot chocolate. I chug from my plastic cup of of coffee—decaf—she's gotten on me about my caffeine problem and about getting my eight hours in, or at least to take  a nap or two.

Downstairs, Dad chats with Comet. I'm ungrounded for saving Percy and Kai, but I didn't get my job back. Granted, it wasn't a real job anyway, and now I'm writing a book about "my experiences" or whatever, and it's unwinding enough. A way to relax after homework or villain fights. But I don't think about that. I think of Percy, smiling at the beach below, her loose hair blowing out behind her in the wind. 

"Do you think he's coming back?" Percy asks after finishing her rant about Mr. Branders giving her a low A. Cheerleading, council, perfect grades, this. She's amazing.

"I don't know," I say, listening to the burble of the ocean against the shore, watching the shifting shadows of the gulls' wings on the water. I draw in a breath of salty beach air. "But if he does, we can take him."

And looking out past the city I'm supposed to protect, sipping from a cup of fake coffee and soggy marshmallows, I relax long enough to wish the moment to last into infinity.

My earpiece crackles to life. "Hey, Onyx." It's Black Ice. Deep voice, snarky accent. "Are you near by?"

"Can I sit this one out?"

"Yeah, yeah. Adder! Get over here!"

I click it off. Percy leans up on her toes, slinging her arms over my shoulders. Behind my back, she clicks on her phone and blasts her favorite song. We smile, and then we're dancing stupidly to it, giggling as we bump lawn chairs and rails.

I'm smiling so big that in the window screen, I don't notice my scars, I just notice us. 

Together, we dance as the sun sets, and I don't care about the heroes, for once, or fighting, or punching Masquerade. With the boys chasing each other across the yard and Percy holding my hands, I just care that we're together. For the first time in a long time, everything is okay and every one is safe.

And I love it.  The excitement has calmed, though my mask is still balled in my back pocket.

Such is the life of a teenage superhero.

***

I guess this is the end, then.

If you're curious to see more of the elements in the book (maybe a little Finn and Kai, maybe a little brooding Max, some mayor stuff, a Percy x Monet date etc etc), I'm thinking of typing a few bonus chapters and would love to write about something you'd like to see fleshed out. Please leave a comment and I'll probably write a scene around your suggestion ;). 

As a heads up, I'm going to start editing and rewriting this book soon. I don't know if it'll show up in your notifications, but apologies in advance if I become disruptive. 

I'm working on a pulpy superhero school murder mystery that I'll probably start posting sometime next week, so if you're interested, feel free to follow me for the notification of when it's out. 

Lastly, I want to thank you for reading thirty-five of these chapters, for caring about these characters, and for commenting and critiquing. It lights up my day to hear from you and just to know you're here means so much to me, I want to give y'all a big hug.

Til next time, stay super, Wattpaders!