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  “Are you going to leave her alone?” he yelled at me.

  I was seething with anger. I couldn’t believe the nerve of Brian. He was certifiably insane if he thought that this was how you got a girl.

  “No, Brian,” I told him, looking him in the eye. “You’re going to leave her alone.”

  Brian looked at me, confused. “The hell you say.”

  “I said,” I began, standing up a little straighter. “You’re going to leave her alone.”

  Brian punched me again in my face, which did nothing but make me even angrier. I put both hands on his shoulders and pushed him, sending him flying into the brick wall just a few feet behind him. The wall cracked and caved in a little on impact, and Brian fell in a heap on the ground, unconscious. Blood began to pool around him as I’d realized what I’d done.

  “Oh shit,” I breathed. “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!”

  I pulled out my phone and called 911, trying to think of the story I was going to tell the authorities when they reached me.

  MACY, DREW, MICHAEL, and I each sat in our own corner of the waiting room. We hadn’t been sitting there for long, but it’d been a couple of hours since my encounter with Brian in the alleyway. I’d convinced everyone that we should wait for some news in the waiting room. I’d said it was because we had nothing better to do, but really, I just wanted to know he was okay as soon as possible.

  “It’s such a good thing you walked by when you did,” Macy said for probably the millionth time, which annoyed me to no end. I didn’t understand why she was so happy Brian was okay. I mean, yeah, I was glad he wasn’t dead, but she wouldn’t shut up about it.

  I shrugged and made an mmhmm noise.

  “You could’ve not been, quote, so shocked I dropped the food and drinks I was holding, end quote. This hospital food has nothing on Burger Shack,” Drew said, his face twisting in disgust at the mention of the hospital food.

  “I’m really sorry about that, guys. I’ll buy everybody’s food tomorrow,” I said.

  “Oh, you’d better!” Michael said.

  I heard a door open and turned to look, as did everyone else in the waiting room. A nurse walked in and made a beeline for Brian’s parents.

  The room was big and filled with people, and his parents were across the room, so I couldn’t hear what she was saying. I wanted to so badly, though. I strained my ears and leaned forward, wishing as hard as I could that I could hear whether or not he’d be okay. Suddenly, I could hear her voice as clear as day.

  “Broken ribs, punctured lungs, and internal bleeding. The doctors are working as hard as they can, and they are very confident that your son will be okay.”

  Brian’s mother burst into tears and hugged the nurse as tight as she could. The nurse smiled and patted her on the back.

  I sank back into my chair and smiled, flooded with relief. I felt so good. Brian would be okay, and he wasn’t going to mess with me again. Everything was turning out in my favor. Plus I’d found out I had super hearing! I was floating on cloud nine.

  “It looks like everything’s going to be okay,” Michael said as he watched the scene.

  I nodded my head. “Yep, Michael. Everything’s turning out perfectly.”

  A Terrible Mistake

  I walked into my house and quietly closed the door behind me. It was late, well past midnight. I began to sneak quietly to my room, but there was a figure sitting on the couch. I stopped in my tracks and turned to face it, but then I saw that it was just my dad.

  “Kinda late, huh?” he asked.

  I felt my body fill with fear at the trouble I might be in. Not that I’d done anything wrong, since my curfew wasn’t until one, but there was something about the way Dad had waited up for me and had spoken to me that had me worried. “Yeah, I guess. Been a long day.”

  “So I’ve heard.”

  A moment of silence passed between us before he continued.

  “Kane, I heard about what you did to Brian.”

  I gulped. “Yeah, well, he’ll be okay. I didn’t hurt him too bad.”

  Dad scoffed and raised a hand. “Oh, not too bad. I guess everything’s fine, then, huh?”

  “What’s your point, Dad? Brian was being the bully he’s always been, and I stood up for myself. I don’t see what the problem is.”

  “The problem is that you could’ve killed Brian, Kane. Parents could be mourning the loss of their son right now, and it would’ve been your fault.”

  I thought about it for a moment. I would’ve felt really guilty had I killed Brian. But still, I hadn’t. I didn’t see what the huge problem was. “Don’t worry, Dad. Everything’s going to be okay. It’s not like I went after him. He’s the one who attacked me. I just defended myself, is all.”

  Dad sat back in his seat and took a deep breath. “I’m just asking that you please be careful. And pray that Brian doesn’t remember much when he wakes up. He may be stupid, but he’s not an idiot. If he’s able to put two and two together, he’ll be able to figure out who you are. You were being careless, son. You let your emotions get the best of you. Just pray that it doesn’t come to bite you or anyone else in the ass.”

  I nodded my head. “Alright. Can I go to bed now?”

  Dad nodded. “Goodnight, Kane. I love you.”

  “You too,” I muttered under my breath as I turned around and made my way to my room.

  When I got into my room, I didn’t even turn the lights on. I just stripped down to my boxers and climbed into bed. I plugged my phone in to charge and then checked it for any messages.

  After that was done, I lay in bed and stared at the ceiling. I still didn’t feel guilty for what I had done to Brian. I was standing up for myself. Not only for what he was doing at that moment, but standing up after not having been able to for years. Brian had been a bully to me since elementary school, and now I wasn’t going to have to worry about him any longer. It was like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. It’d been a long time since I’d felt so relieved.

  I still felt a bit of worry, however. What if Brian woke up and he knew that I was the new superhuman? What would he do? Would he go to the press? He was going to be mad and want revenge. I hoped he didn’t remember any of it at all. But then again, if he didn’t remember that I was the one who had beaten him, he’d just go right back to being a bully to me again.

  Suddenly the relief left and the weight piled itself back onto me, and I felt as if I’d made a terrible mistake.

  Cleared for Liftoff

  I stood in our barn, the early morning light seeping through the open doors. Most of the animals were outside save for a chicken or two, so I had plenty of room to practice using my superpowers.

  I stood with my arms to my sides, and my hands stretched outwards. I jumped in the air, but my feet came back to the ground less than a second later. “Okay,” I said to myself. “That one didn’t work.”

  I changed my tactic and tensed my legs up. I didn’t know what to do after that, though. Maybe try jumping again? I thought. So I did, and again, nothing.

  “Dammit!” I cursed out loud. I had no idea what I’d done to fly the first time. It was just a gut reaction that I’d had when I saw someone was in danger. The thought crossed my mind that maybe flying was something I could only do when it was a life or death situation, which would suck because I didn’t particularly enjoy those situations, but I did enjoy flying.

  I decided that maybe it had something to do with the mind. I closed my eyes and slowed my breathing, only taking long, deep breaths. I didn’t even try to think about flying until I was completely relaxed and aware of everything around me. Once I’d achieved that, I began to picture myself being lifted off the ground. I imagined what it would feel like to be no longer touching the ground. My mind went back to a couple of days ago, when I’d flown to save Macy. What it had felt like: the wind blowing through my hair, my clothes flapping in the wind.

  That was when I realized it.

  My eyes flew open, and I look
ed down. I was floating four feet off the ground. I smiled from ear to ear, and started laughing to myself. I couldn’t believe it. I was actually flying. Well, floating, technically.

  I leaned forward, and my heart skipped a beat, my brain not comprehending what was going on. I lay flat in the air. My hands were still at my sides, but I couldn’t resist taking my right hand, making a fist, and pointing it in front of me. I willed myself forward, and slowly flew to one end of the wall, where I tapped the wood with my fist. I turned myself around, and flew to the other end. I spent the next few minutes flying back and forth, trying to figure out how it all worked.

  Next I started flying at an angle, getting practice moving up and down. The really scary part came when I decided to practice flying straight up and down. Touching the ceiling of the barn was easy, but flying straight down to touch the ground? My brain was freaking out, and my stomach was twisting. There was something about being upside down and flying straight toward the ground that was a little bit freaky. I couldn’t quite wrap my head around it.

  “You get clearance from the FAA for this flight?” Dad asked me.

  I could see his upside down figure standing at the entrance of the barn. I lifted myself up a bit, flipped upright, and then lowered myself to the ground. My footing was a bit wobbly at first, but it only took a few seconds for me to adjust. “I don’t think so,” I said with a chuckle.

  “Try not to destroy anything,” Dad said.

  “I’ll try,” I told him. I walked over to a bottle of water that I’d set next to one of the beams holding up the upper loft of the barn. I took a swig from it, and Dad took a few steps closer to me. He leaned against the beam a few feet away from me.

  “What other tricks you got in there?” he asked.

  “Well,” I began as I threw the bottle of water back to the ground. “So far I’ve got strength, flight, invulnerability, speed, and super hearing.”

  Dad scoffed. “That’s it? No laser vision? Freeze breath?”

  I shook my head. “I think I might be able to take a couple people out with the morning breath I’ve got, but that’s about all I’m going to be doing with that.”

  “Well, beggars can’t be choosers, I guess,” Dad said with a smile.

  I laughed. “I guess not.”

  “Your mom went to town to grab a couple of things. You wanna go inside and watch some videos of Richter?” Dad asked.

  I looked at him, confused. “What for?”

  Dad shrugged. “Well, you know, ‘know thine enemy’ and stuff. I think it’d be a good idea to see what you’re up against.”

  I gulped and felt my palms begin to sweat. I didn’t like the idea of having to go up against Richter. I knew I’d have to, but it seemed like something that was far off. The way Dad was acting made it feel like I was going to have to face him tomorrow. Still, I knew he was right. I needed to figure Richter out the best I could. Because the next time I wouldn’t have the element of surprise on my side.

  “Yeah, okay,” I said. I leaned over and gathered my things.

  “Great,” Dad said. “Let’s hurry before your mom gets back. She’s still really freaked out by all of this. Wouldn’t want to worry her any more.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, I gotcha.”

  Dad and I walked the rest of the way to the house in silence, both of us deep in thought.

  When we walked in, I sat down on the couch and put my feet up. Dad already had YouTube pulled up on the television and had his first clip ready to go. He stood by the TV like he was a teacher showing a video to his class, and I was his superhuman student.

  “Okay, so this first video is Richter’s very first public appearance,” Dad began. “It’s a couple of months old, but he hasn’t evolved his style any. That’s good, because it means he’s still cocky and full of himself, which means he makes more mistakes. Although I’m sure his ego’s a bit bruised after your encounter with him,” Dad said, trying to hide the smile of pride he had for me.

  “But it’s also bad, because now he feels like he has something to prove,” I said, bursting his bubble.

  Dad raised a finger, waving it in agreement. “This is true, but I feel like you’ll still be able to use his attitude to your advantage. Anyway,” Dad said, turning to the television. “Let’s watch this clip.”

  He pressed a button on the remote, and the video began to play. It was a cell phone video showing Richter walking out of a bank in Manhattan carrying sacks filled with money. An officer got in the way, so Richter kicked him, sending him flying off screen and surely to his death. The other officers opened fire on him, but the bullets ricocheted off his body.

  Richter put down his bags, waited for a moment, seemingly to collect his thoughts, and then in a split second appeared next to one of the police officers at the front of the barricade. He grabbed him by the throat and threw him straight into the air. Then he picked up the police officer’s car and crumpled it up a bit in the back to make it easier to hold. When the police officer he’d thrown moments ago started coming back down, Richter flew up a few feet to meet him. He swung the officer’s car like a bat, hitting the officer with tremendous force. The man exploded, showering the crowd with blood.

  Richter threw the car down into another group of officers then grabbed another officer and threw him through a building. He continued his rampage until all the officers were dead.

  He walked calmly back to the sacks of money he’d put down earlier and picked them up. He was about to fly away when he caught a glimpse of the person hiding underneath a table outside a restaurant, the one who’d been recording the whole thing. His glowing blue eyes looked into the camera. In a blur, Richter appeared in front of the man in a split second. The man let out a yell, startled. Richter threw the table aside and the man dropped his camera. It was impossible to see how, since everything went black, but you could hear the man screaming, and then silence as he was presumably killed.

  Richter picked the cell phone up off the ground and pointed it at himself. At first you couldn’t see anything because his glowing blue eyes were blowing out the camera. Once the exposure adjusted, though, you could see his black hair was matted red with blood, and his face was stained brown and red. “My name is Richter,” he said; his voice was that of a young adult and carried no remorse. “That is the only name that matters.”

  There was a crushing sound and the video stopped, Richter having presumably destroyed the phone.

  I felt nauseous and my head spun. While pretty much everybody on the planet had watched that video millions of times, I’d never been able to watch the whole unedited thing. Just the safe-for-TV version they played on the news. Seeing the officers being killed, and the ease with which Richter had done so, terrified me. I had no idea how I was going to be able to go up against him.

  I was the only person on Earth who’d ever been able to do damage to Richter. It was up to me to stop him. And I was absolutely terrified. All I wanted to do was to run or fly away and hide.

  “So,” Dad began. He crossed one hand across his body, and with his other he held up his chin. “Thoughts?”

  “Ummm ... how about ‘what the hell’?” I asked.

  “Well, I hope you got more from it than that,” Dad said.

  I sat back into the couch and looked up at the ceiling. “I was a little distracted by Richter killing all those officers. I wasn’t really paying attention.”

  I could see Dad nod from the corner of my eye. “Well, we’re going to watch it again.”

  I sat up. “Watch it aga—” I began to protest, but Dad stopped me.

  “Yes, watch it again. You need to be learning from this. It’s up to you to stop the deadliest man on the planet, Kane. You need to study him, learn from him, do whatever you can to stop him. I know it’s not a fun video to watch, but it needs to be done.” Dad turned and looked out the windows. The ones he’d had to replace, thanks to Richter. “You’re my son, Kane. I don’t want you going out there at all, but I know you have to. And if you’re
going to, I want to know that you’re as prepared as you can possibly be. That I did what I could.”

  I had to look away from Dad. I couldn’t bear it. I knew this had to be so difficult on him, seeing me go through everything. I knew I had to give it my all, for him. “Okay, Dad,” I said.

  Dad turned to look at me, his eyes glistening.

  I nodded. “Let’s watch it again.”

  The Calm Before the Storm

  I set down the tractor as easily as I could, trying my best not to damage anything.

  “Anything else?” I asked.

  Dad looked at me with his mouth slightly open, totally dumbfounded. He shook his head. “N-no. That’s the heaviest thing I can think of.”

  I wiped the grease off on my jeans and then walked over next to Dad. We were both behind the barn where Mom couldn’t see us, testing the limits of my powers. So far there was nothing I couldn’t handle. I had lifted everything in the barn like it weighed nothing. I could fly and run from one end of our hundred-and-fifty-acre field in just a few seconds, too. We didn’t dare run or fly past our property, since we were afraid of attracting any unwanted attention. Plus, I knew the property like the back of my hand, so I didn’t have to worry about watching where I was going as much. All I had to focus on was speed.

  Still, a hundred and fifty acres isn’t that much room to get up to speed. I was eager to get out in the open to see what I could really do. Dad and I both agreed that it wasn’t a good idea, though. If anybody got any videos of me and posted them on the Web, you could be sure Richter would be watching it on a loop trying to figure out what he was up against, just like we were doing with him.

  “You ready to call it a night?” Dad asked.

  “Yep. You know anything as far as dinner?” I asked Dad as we began walking back into the house.

  “I think your mom grabbed some pizza.”