Chapter 14
Jake
"Jake, give me the remote!" Emi shouted, chasing him down the hall.
"No, it's my turn to use the TV! You've been hogging it all day!" Jake shouted back, running into her room.
"Oooh, when I catch you, I'm gonna kill you!" Emi growled.
Jake stopped at the edge of her bed as he saw the wall. He looked back and saw Emi on the other side, watching him and waiting for him to make a move.
Jake suddenly faked a right turn, catching Emi off guard as he ran left, making a break for the door.
He didn't get there in time, as Emi grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him back, before picking him up and throwing him on the bed as he screamed. She pulled the cover over his face, picked up the remote, and ran.
As she turned the hall down to the stairs, she saw Jake gaining on her, jumping for a tackle.
The tackle was successful, connecting just as Emi's foot touched the first stair.
Miley
Miley hummed happily as she walked up the driveway of Jake's house, still excited about the possibility of sharing her heritage with him.
"I can't wait to show him all the cool things they did," she thought, ringing the doorbell and bouncing on the balls of her feet.
She heard the doorknob jiggle, before the door was answered by a man who towered over her by at least a foot. He was bald, but still had a neat beard on his face.
Miley blushed as she looked up at him. Talking to an adult she'd never met before wasn't on her list of things to do today. Still, she cleared her throat and began speaking.
"Hi, is Jake home?" she quietly asked.
"He is. Oh, you're the girl he always talks about! Miley, correct?" the man asked.
"Yes, sir," Miley answered.
"I'm his father. Come in, come in," Jake's dad held the door for her.
"Thank you," Miley said, following him inside.
"Let me tell you, Jake loves talking about how you're training him to defend himself. Gets up excited every Saturday, runs up and down the hill a bunch, you name it. I'm just glad the boy's going outside finally. How's he doing in training by the way?" Jake's dad asked.
"He's getting the hang of it and he's trying really hard," Miley explained.
"That's good to hear. Again, thank you for helping him. It's made him really happy," Jake's dad said, before hearing a thumping noise.
Both he and Miley looked toward the staircase and saw Jake and Emi tumbling down the steps.
As they came to a stop, Emi got up and picked up the remote as Jake groaned.
"I'm not gonna bother asking," Jake's dad sighed, walking away.
Miley walked over to him and knelt down.
"You okay?" she asked.
"I'm fine," Jake answered, sitting up.
"That's what you get for taking the remote," Emi added, hitting the power button.
Miley laughed softly, helping him up.
"So, are you ready?" she asked.
"Yep, let's go. Bye, Dad! Bye, Emi!" Jake called to them as he and Miley exited the house.
"Bye, Jake. Have fun!" his dad called back.
"Mess him up, Miley," Emi shouted.
"Dang, you have no faith in me!" Jake joked, laughing as he closed the door.
"Are you two always like that?" Miley asked, walking alongside him.
"Yep, Emi's annoying, but I like her," Jake answered, "But anyway, I wanna know more about supers."
"Okay, ask away!"
"Who were your parents?" Jake asked her.
"Well, my biological mama's name was Vaunta, and my papa's name was Micah. My parents said they were super friendly, and super strong as well."
"Okay, who gave you which powers?" Jake asked again.
"My mama gave me her speed and agility, and I got my strength and sense from my papa," Miley answered.
Jake nodded, and opened his mouth to speak.
"And before you ask, the colors in their hair and mine were different," she said, cutting him off.
"How did you know I would ask that?"
"I saw the look on your face."
"Oh, I'm that easy to read?" Jake said, smiling.
"Kinda," Miley answered, grinning back, "Do you have more questions?"
"Oh, yeah! What powers did Tommy have?" Jake asked.
Miley seemed to tense up at that question, and began looking down at the pavement.
Jake noticed, and regret immediately filled his mind.
"I shouldn't have said that, I'm sorry," he apologized.
"No, it's fine. His powers were really cool," Miley said quietly, before starting to explain.
"Tommy and his family had a power that would boost other people, whether it was your powers, or morale. I joked that he used it all the time, because nothing seemed to get him down at all," Miley said, "He was always so happy."
"He sounds like he's great," Jake said.
Miley nodded.
"Well, anything else that's really cool that you could share?" Jake asked.
"Hmm, oh! Tattoos! They're a big part of superslanic culture. For example, teenagers would get their family crest put somewhere on their body, or people would get something that was special to them on their body as well, like a regular tattoo. But ours were special, since they glowed when we used our powers," Miley explained.
"Wow, that's super cool! Why do they glow?"
"We take regular tattoo ink and mix superslanium powder into it, and that reacts with the superslanium in our bodies."
"Ah."
"It's super cool, especially when it's nighttime," Miley added, smiling, "Just watching people glow as they danced was super beautiful."
Jake nodded, before speaking again.
"Would you want to do that? The dancing, I mean," he asked.
"More than anything," Miley answered, "But I'm not sure it'll even happen."
"Sure it will. You're strong enough to make it happen," Jake said.
"How do you know?" Miley asked him.
"Just a feeling," Jake answered casually.
Miley sighed, letting a small smile show as she looked at the sidewalk. She wanted what hope he had.
"Maybe it's contagious, like his smile," she thought, still smiling.
***
"Do it again, like this," Miley spurred him on, before kicking higher and chambering her leg.
Jake tried to mimic her action, trying to kick straight, but his leg didn't go as high as Miley's, and he staggered forward before catching himself.
"Again," Miley said, watching him.
Jake tried the move again, with almost the same result.
"How does your body move that way?" Jake asked her, trying the kick once again.
"Stretching, which I'm pretty sure you haven't been doing," Miley answered, smiling and folding her arms.
"Hey, I stretch," Jake said defensively.
Miley raised an eyebrow, giving him a look of doubt.
"Sometimes," Jake added, looking down.
Miley sighed, before sitting in the grass. She patted the ground next to her, motioning him to sit.
"Stamina and power aren't the only things that you need to train, Jake. You gotta actually stretch so you don't hurt yourself, and can actually attack," she said.
"Hmm," Jake thought, knowing she was right.
"So, I think you know what we'll be doing today," Miley said as a smile crept onto her face.
"Oh, please no," Jake sighed, closing his eyes.
"Mmhmm, stretching. Come on, let's start," Miley said, standing up.
"Nooooo," Jake whined, sprawling on his back.
"That's right, big stretches, like this," Miley ignored him, trying her best to mimic their gym teacher. She began stretching her back and hips, before grabbing her heel and stretching one of her legs above her head.
"Please don't ask me to do that," Jake said, sitting up.
"Don't worry, it'll be simple. For me, at least," Miley answered, "We'll start with this. Extend one leg out, and try touching the tips of your toes. Like this."
Miley began to demonstrate, stretching her arms to touch her foot.
Jake attempted to mimic her, trying his best to stretch.
"Come on, you can do it," Miley encouraged him, watching him stretch.
Jake strained some more, determined to reach his foot.
"But, you can stop if it's too hard-" Miley suggested.
"I'm gonna do it, Miley," Jake cut her off, still trying.
"Okay, don't hurt yourself," Miley answered as her hands started glowing turquoise just in case.
Jake continued to strain himself, trying to touch his toes, before giving up and laying on his back.
"Wanna do something else?" Miley suggested, sitting next to him.
"Sure," Jake answered, still laying down and staring up at the clouds.
Miley laid down next to him, staring into the clouds with him.
"Are you trying to see if the clouds make shapes?" Miley asked him.
"You bet. So far though, don't see anything," Jake explained, still looking.
"Hmm," Miley answered, looking into the blue sky. A smaller cloud caught her eye, floating by rather quickly.
"Oh! That one looks like a rubber ducky!" she exclaimed, pointing at it.
"I don't see it," Jake said, squinting.
"Look harder."
Jake obeyed, but his perception didn't change.
"Nope, still don't see it," he insisted.
"Hmph," Miley pretended to pout, before smiling at him.
Jake smiled back, before looking at the clouds again.
"What was Tommy like?" he asked her.
Miley's brows furrowed, before turning her head to look at Jake.
"Huh?"
"What was Tommy like? You explained his powers, but what was he like as a person?" Jake asked.
"Oh, okay," she said, before starting to explain.
"He had the kind of smile that could light up a room, something that'd make you feel like you could do anything. He was like...the human embodiment of courage. He would do some reckless, borderline stupid things, but come out unscathed most of the time, 'cause he had no fear," Miley explained, before looking at Jake.
"I really liked that about him," she finished.
"Seems like he made you really happy," Jake noted.
Miley nodded, "I met him at the beach when I was seven. I remember being afraid that some sort of monster would grab me and pull me into the water, so everytime the water would move toward me, I'd step back."
"But then this kid came up to me, and introduced himself. We played around on the beach for a while, before he led me to the water. I started backing up again, but he gently grabbed my hand and told me everything would be fine. The way his confidence shined through, even at seven, gave me what I needed to finally take the first step."
"It sounds like you really like him. Like, a lot," Jake said, looking at her.
He saw Miley's eyes move toward the grass as she pulled blades from the ground.
"I do," she answered quietly, before turning over again.
"How 'bout you? Did you have someone like that?" she asked.
Jake thought, before smiling.
"There was this girl in the neighborhood I was friends with; her name was Carmen. We would bike around for hours, play hide and seek, and just have fun. She was awesome. She was just the nicest person to everyone she met, and she was just super confident all the time. She was the one who actually taught me how to ride without training wheels when I was younger," Jake said, with a laugh.
Miley smiled, before realizing something.
"You're saying 'was' a lot when you talk about her," she pointed out.
"She ended up moving in fifth grade," Jake explained, frowning.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Miley apologized.
"Nah, it's life, ya know. Nothing I can really do about it now," Jake responded.
"Yeah, fair."
The two of them let the ambient noise hang in the air, before Jake spoke again.
"You used 'was' a lot when you talked about Tommy. Why is that?" he asked.
Miley turned over and looked at him.
"I ended up moving," she said quietly.
"Right," Jake realized, looking into the sky, embarrassed.
"It's fine. Like you said, nothing I can do about it now," Miley said.
Jake nodded.
"Wanna keep stretching or no?" Jake asked her.
"Actually, let's just look at the clouds for now," Miley answered, smiling at him.
"Sounds good to me," Jake said, looking into the clouds again.
***
"Yeah, like that. Good job, Jake," Miley said, stretching as she watched Jake successfully mimic her action.
"Thanks, Miley. I feel a lot looser already," Jake answered.
"Told you. You won't hurt yourself if you stretch," Miley said, smiling at him as she sat, "Unless you like pulling muscles."
"Oh haha, very funny, Miley," Jake responded, sitting up.
"It's been a while. Wanna call it for the day?" Miley asked him as she put her socks and shoes back on.
"Yeah, I'm tired," he responded, standing up and extending his hand down to help her up.
"What do you wanna learn next week?"
"How about those kicks you did on Ethan?"
"Okay, sounds great! Next week I'll try and show you those kicks, and then I'll show you how to block attacks as well. Sound good?" Miley explained as they walked out of the forest.
"That sounds great. Now I won't be taken by surprise every time you attack me," Jake joked.
"Oh just wait, you will," Miley retorted, facing him as she walked backwards.
"Nuh-uh."
"Yuh-huh."
"A couple weeks of training won't be enough to take down a superhuman," Miley said confidently.
"Maybe I'll be the exception," Jake responded with the same amount of confidence.
"You have an answer for everything, don't you?" Miley asked him, feeling a smile tug at her lips.
"Maybe," Jake answered, grinning.
"Heads up!" someone shouted to them both.
Jake looked up and saw a soccer ball soaring through the air, reaching its peak and coming down in Miley's direction.
"Miley, duck, there's a-" Jake started saying, before seeing his friend's eyes fade from brown to turquoise.
A turquoise trail followed her leg as she turned and swung it at the ball, sending it flying at high speed in the other direction.
They saw Courtney, Mark, and Tony duck down as the ball flew over their heads and hit the fence behind them.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry! Are you guys okay?" Miley asked, running over to them.
"Yeah, we're fine, but damn! That was a kick!" Tony answered, looking at the ball over by the fence.
"Thank you," Miley said shyly.
"What were you two doing in the forest?" Courtney asked them.
"Miley's teaching me how to fight, remember?" Jake responded.
"Oh, right."
"How's that going for you, Jake?" Mark asked him.
"It's fine. She's teaching me a lot, and she's good at it," Jake said, looking at Miley, who was beginning to blush as she looked down.
"How would you say she is?" Tony asked him.
Jake eyed him suspiciously.
"Pretty strong. Why?"
"I wanna test my luck," Tony answered.
"No, you really don't," Jake tried convincing him, before looking at Miley, who had a brow raised in interest.
"Yeah, I'd probably listen to Jake there, Tony," Mark added.
"Tony, no. Don't do it," Courtney chimed in.
"It can't be that bad, guys, come on," Tony said, "I've been boxing for half my life."
"Tony, are you sure you wanna do this?" Miley asked him calmly.
"Yep."
"Are you positive?"
"Mmhm."
"Anthony, are you absolutely sure you wanna-"
"I'm sure, now let's go!"
"Okay, just remember, we tried warning you," Miley answered, "Let's go back into the forest."
***
Jake
"This is a bad idea," Jake thought, sitting by the large tree with Mark and Courtney as he saw Miley and Tony stretching.
"This'll be fun," Mark said, looking with him.
"I know, right?" Courtney added, watching excitedly.
"Guys, he's gonna lose," Jake said.
"That's what'll make it fun!" Courtney said, smiling at him.
Jake sighed, resting his chin on his knees as he watched Miley and Tony walk toward each other.
"Go easy on him, Miley," he thought.
Miley
"You ready?" Miley asked Tony, who was bouncing from foot to foot with his fists up.
"Ready," he answered.
"I'll try my best to hold back, then," Miley said calmly.
Miley took her time to observe his stance. It was solid, like he'd been practicing it for a couple years, but still had a shakiness of an amateur to it.
"This'll be easy," she thought, motioning to Tony to start.
He started running at her, yelling as he swung his fist.
Miley felt the air rush by as she nonchalantly ducked to the side, avoiding his punch.
Their eyes locked, with Tony's surprise being met with a smirk from Miley.
He swung again with more technique this time, but Miley still dodged.
"Is that it?" Miley asked him bluntly.
Tony groaned, and swung again and again, with Miley dodging each time, staying on her toes.
"Quit dodging!" Tony shouted.
"Okay," Miley said, before stopping his fist in her hand.
"Huh?" he said, before feeling his legs get taken out from under him as Miley swept her leg.
He landed on his back, staring at the sky before Miley came into view.
"You okay? You wanna stop?" she asked him.
Tony suddenly tried kicking at her, causing her to jump back.
"Maybe not," Miley said, before she began to engage.
Tony saw her jump into the air, before feeling her roundhouse kick him as he blocked, feeling the impact against his forearms.
He lowered his arms, and saw Miley swing a right hook at his body, sending a wave of pain through his ribs.
Miley let off, letting him swing a couple times as she ducked and dodged out of the way, before retaliating.
She aimed her kicks to fly beside his head, catching him off guard as her foot flew past his ears. Her foot hit him square in the chest, sending him stumbling back as she knocked the wind out of him.
As he looked up, he saw her spin and kick again, making a blue energy crescent fly across the ground at unfathomable speed, rumbling the earth as it flew and kicking up dirt and grass.
It hit Tony dead on, knocking him over onto the grass and making him tumble.
***
Jake
"I warned him," Jake said bluntly, seeing the dropped jaws on Mark and Courtney's faces.
"Good God," Mark said.
"She smoked him," Courtney whispered.
"It's not that surprising. Come on," Jake said, getting up as he saw Miley run over to Tony.
"Are you hurt?" she asked him, kneeling beside him as he looked at the sky and groaned.
Tony was silent, before he began giggling. The giggle turned into unrestricted laughter.
The laugh was contagious, spreading to the other kids as well.
"Aside from my ego, I'm fine. Sorry I underestimated you," Tony apologized, letting Miley take his hand as a turquoise glow surrounded hers, starting to heal him.
"It's fine. I know you won't do it again, though," Miley answered with a smile.
"Dude, I told you she's strong," Jake said.
"Yeah, and now I know that, Jake," Tony responded defensively.
"It was fun, though. I wanna hang out with all of you more," Miley said, looking down at the grass shyly.
"We could always start next week," Courtney offered.
"Or now, even," Mark pointed out, scotting closer to the group.
Jake looked at Miley, and saw her start smiling.
"Well, can I learn more about you all today?" she asked.
"Sure, who wants to go first?" Mark asked them.
"I'll go. Just ask us questions," Courtney said.
For the next couple hours, the kids talked, joked, and laughed, before looking at the clouds again.
As they pointed out the shapes, Jake felt something brush his hand. He looked over, and saw Miley's fingers unconsciously running over the top of his hand as she talked, pointing at a cloud that looked like the letter "E".
Without thinking, he gently grabbed it, causing her to let out a squeak of surprise. She looked over at Jake, who blushed and looked at the grass.
She smiled back and squeezed his hand, running her thumb over his knuckles.
He looked back at her in response to this, and she giggled.
Jake laughed with her, and they both returned to gazing at the sky, getting lost in the clouds.
Author's note: Hey I'm back. Sorry this took a year, school and my job are beating my ass. Hopefully this next part is easier to write
-THEFIRST VULCXN