DOOM DAYS ✓

Chapter 12: Size Manipulation

Size Manipulation: the ability to manipulate the size of anything and everything, including themselves.

Peter Parker makes balancing school life and hero life look easy. Newsflash- it isn't. It's freaking torture.

August becomes September, September melts into October, and suddenly Halloween is a week away and they've been mediocre neighborhood heroes for three months. During those three torturous months, Josh and Tiana fall into a routine.

Wake up, eat breakfast, walk to school, go to Hayley's studio after school, train for hours, go home, do homework, eat dinner if they're not too tired, pass out, and repeat. It's painful, but somehow they pull it off.

Since both of their parents are always working, it's easy to spend weeknights patrolling around with Hayley and Tyler, learning how to spot crimes and stop them before it turns deadly. Weekends are trickier to get away without their parents noticing, but they manage. His siblings don't really notice.

Hayley's practically become a second mom for them now. Whenever either Tiana or Josh skip a meal, she somehow always knows and makes them eat. She's overprotective of Josh, while she's lenient with Tiana, who's having a better time controlling her powers than Josh is. He blames her IQ.

Tyler is... well he's Tyler. Still scary, still unpredictable, still treats Josh like he's nine and not five months younger than himself. They've gotten closer, sure, but not as close as Josh assumes they should've. Since he isn't used to having friends other than Tiana, when Josh sees Tyler putting up walls between him and a pretty dope friendship, he doesn't try to stop him.

But that's okay. He doesn't need anymore friends.

The Monday before Halloween, Josh is sore like he's never been sore before. His training session with Tyler the night prior had been more painful than usual as he's transitioning from control his teleporting and combat training to learning how to use his spatiokinesis.

He can barely get out of bed when his alarm goes off, but he begrudgingly does so, pulling himself out of his pillow fortress and plodding to the bathroom.

"Josh, honey, have you seen my stethoscope?" His mother calls from her bedroom right beside his.

"I think it was on the washing machine," he answers, closing the bathroom door behind him.

Josh starts to peel off his pajamas, seeing a nasty yellowing bruise just under his ribs where Tyler had whacked him with a wooden sword they use to practice fight with. He turns on the shower, putting the water to its hottest setting.

Not to brag or anything, but he's gotten a lot taller and buffer since training started. He's not The Rock by any means, but he's not the short, scrawny kid who started his sophomore year scared out of his mind over bullies.

As soon as he steps in, every aching muscle in his body relaxes. Josh sighs contently and cranes his neck to the side, massaging soap into his hair. He hears his sister Ashley shouting over the blast of the water.

"Jordan, where did you put my crocs?"

"I didn't touch your nasty crocs."

"Don't lie to me, asshat, I know you took them. I need those, my anatomy and physiology class starts in twenty minutes."

"Watch your mouth, Ashley," their mother warns.

"Is Josh still in the shower?" Abigail asks.

"Yup," Jordan says. "Taking forever as usual."