I roll over to stare up at the ceiling, trying to find the willpower to get out of bed today because I am exhausted. I certainly didn’t sleep enough for a normal person, let alone with how hard I’ve been pushing myself.

  Pain lances through my right arm, and I’m pretty quickly convinced that I should get out of bed.

  The painkillers are in the kitchen, so I can’t get those if I lie here the whole time.

  Padding through the apartment, I try my best to keep silent as I go. I don’t want to wake Bianca up if she’s still asleep, and if she’s not asleep, I don’t want to disturb whatever she’s doing.

  Upon getting up, I manage to wrestle my arm into a sling before finally heading to the kitchen and popping a few painkillers. I take substantially more than it says that I’m supposed to for my body weight, but in my defense, I can’t do anything about that; most normal drugs don’t do much to me at the recommended doses.

  I could take some Enhancement to see if that would heal me all ?the way, but I don’t want to risk it. This should clear in a bit, I think? And I don’t want to accidentally get addicted to something.

  Shaking my head, I move around a little trying to get myself to move around a bit to hopefully get the painkillers pumping so that I’m no longer aching, and maybe it’s the placebo effect, but I'm already feeling a bit better.

  Bianca waves at me from her seat on the couch as she plays with a book I got her the last time we went out.

  “Hey!” I wave back. “You excited to meet Ms. Sasha today?” I ask as I grab some frozen food from the freezer, tossing it into the oven to heat up.

  Bianca freezes at that question and looks at me before looking back at her hands before just going back to reading her book instead of answering me.

  “Yeah, meeting people is not my favorite thing either,” I agree, meandering over and patting Bianca on the head and ruffling her hair. “I'm proud of you for getting dressed all on your own.” I compliment kissing the crown of her head. “And letting me sleep. Sorry I left you alone for so long.”

  Bianca smiles at me wickedly before gently pressing the book at me.

  “You want me to read to you? Or do you just want to look at the pictures, huh?” I ask, picking her up and setting her in my lap as I take the book, reading it aloud, taking plenty of time for us to look at the pretty pictures.

  Our food finishes, and at the ding of the oven, Bianca races out of my lap, rocketing towards the oven wires already beginning to manifest around her.

  “Bianca, I'll get it. I don't want you to burn yourself!” I call out, setting her book down and chasing after her.

  I catch her just before the wires grab the pan out of the oven.

  “Power play later, okay?” I say, tapping her on the nose and giving her a plate and serving her food directly before getting myself something to eat.

  While the idea of meeting Sasha definitely still seems to be a bit much for Bianca, the idea of having all of today to play without superpowers seems to make up for it.

  That or the fact that I promised her breakfast ice cream is making her this happy, one of the two.

  It’s definitely the ice cream because barely three minutes pass before she’s holding her empty plate out to me with a big grin as she “subtly” looks towards the freezer.

  “Bianca, did you actually eat it all?” I accuse raising an eyebrow as I let my map unfurl out to fill the kitchen and dining room to see if there’s any poorly hidden remnants of food.

  She looks at me indignantly for how dare I question her capacity to speed eat breakfast.

  “Okay, I promised, so you can have a little bit.” I agree moving to the freezer and grabbing the ice cream and portioning out a small bit for her to have.

  Like a rocket, she barrels into my leg and looks up at me with all the hope and adoration she can muster.

  “Don’t eat it too fast or you’re going to get a brain freeze.” I say, handing her the cup full of ice cream.

  She jerks her head up and down with joy before wandering off to go eat the ice cream in the front room where she can watch her favorite TV show.

  A quick glance at my sink reminds me I really need to do dishes, but today’s a big day, and I’m still struggling with one of my limbs, so what’s the harm of passing it off for another day?

  It’s just one more day on top of the already ?few days. Can’t be that bad.

  Not one to waste an excuse, I serve myself some ice cream as well, though not wanting to deal with the waterworks, I don’t serve myself any vanilla and do mint chocolate instead.

  “I hope it snows soon.” I mumble to myself as I stare out the window at the overcast day.

  Ice villain freezing my arm aside, I love the snow, and with winter right around the corner, it would be amazing to get some.

  Though would a cryokinetic have increased power if it’s already cold out?

  My hands itch at the thought of the cryokinetic. Something about Horrorfrost was just off, and I can’t figure out why.

  The bigger problem is if she’s not the only one that knows my name, are they going to come after me or my friends.

  I want to take care of all this before Thanksgiving, but can I go that fast? The answer is not if I spend several days in recovery each time I tangle with Horrorfrost.

  I’m sure all of them are going to be improving too, so I just need to go faster or I could see if I can get some friends to help me.

  Maybe the person who played mysterious benefactor with the suit.

  If there’s work a normal person can do, I think Reyna would be willing to help.

  My heart pangs in sadness as I snort at the thought of asking Amelia for help. She would show up in a homemade costume, a weapon, and plan on throwing down with actual supers with nothing more than what she could find in her closet.

  “I’ll find you,” I promise as I tap the window gently.

  Travis said he only does “hero” work and not “vigilante” work, and I’m not sure what the difference between the two is. I bet whenever I’m making the actual raid on the place for the final battle of epic movie proportions, he would help.

  There’s nothing more heroic than saving a bunch of captives from a research facility to make supers, right?

  Well, maybe fighting an army of mind-controlled supers to fight the big boss and weeping over the corpses of all the people you hurt and killed, not realizing they were brainwashed.

  At that thought, I decide that I’m going to try to not kill any of the people I face. Kurt, Andromeda, and the Goblin lady probably are in full control? They’ve been pretty standard all the times I’ve faced them, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t under control.

  And as for Horrorfrost? Maybe she’s under their control. They talked about control chips.

  A tugging at my leg brings me back to reality, where Bianca is looking up at me with the sweetest gaze as she holds her ice cream cup at me hopefully.

  I laugh as I grab a napkin and crouch down to clean Bianca’s face. “Sorry, but there’s no more right now. The ice cream isn’t ready yet.” I say glumly.

  I get a little pout before she nods and goes to put her cup and spoon away before we can go play more.

  “Do you want help getting your jacket and boots on so that we can go out and walk around before our playdate?” I ask, holding up her jacket and jingling it slightly.

  That perks her up from lack of ice cream despair, and we spend the next few minutes getting all bundled up for the cold air.

  Bianca’s favorite part is putting on her sunglasses. I think she gets joy from copying my look.

  I spend a bit tucking all of her snow-white hair underneath her hat before hoisting her into the air and making my way to the door.

  “Do we need to grab anything?” I ask, looking around, pretending that I have everything I need today.

  Bianca claps her hands as she points at the keys sitting on the table.

  “Would you be willing to get the keys for me?” I ask, turning so that we can both see the keys easily.

  In a flash of blue light, a silver wire shoots out of Bianca’s palm before wrapping around my keychain before beginning to retract, vanishing with a slow pulse of light as the wire disappears.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “You got them all secure?” I ask as she shakes the keychain, causing a slight rattling sound.

  Bianca plays with the keys as I close the door before reaching a hand through said door and locking it so that nobody can get into the apartment while we’re gone.

  “Maybe if you still have energy when we’re done playing, we can go on a walk and see if the trees have changed colors?” I suggest as we leave the complex.

  Bianca nods as she waves her hands through the air trying to catch the wind as I get to the car and begin the arduous process of getting Bianca into her seat despite all the extra padding’s best attempts to stop me from doing so.

  Bianca happily hands me back my keys, and I pull up the directions taking us to the conspicuously empty park my directions told me to do so.

  Something about this whole setup bothers me immensely. I trust Travis, and to a certain extent that trust extends, but I’m not this gullible.

  I don’t think I can fight my way out of here or anything like that, but I can hopefully get me and Bianca out of here.

  “Hey Bianca, wait here a second.” I tell her as I step out of the car, letting my map unfold in its entirety, blanketing the entire area in my senses.

  There’s something pushing back on me.

  It’s like something is trying to cloud my vision.

  I grit my teeth as I grind my foot into the ground as I try to punch through whatever is blocking me before suddenly the pressure drops, causing me to stumble as I drop to my knees.

  The resistance left. It’s not like I broke through it.

  Whatever was stopping me from sensing everything properly just randomly left, leaving me stranded. The fact that it vanished after I tried to push through it sets me on edge.

  After a couple of seconds of thought, I move back to the driver’s side door and open it, fully intent on just leaving this place.

  “Jason, I applaud being cautious, but you could have at least reached out to me and seen if there was a reason I was paying a friend to obscure an area.” A voice I definitely don’t know says from behind me.

  “Sasha?” I ask, turning around and stepping slightly to the side so that I’m directly between this stranger and Bianca.

  “No, I don’t have a muffling ability, but I had a friend use one so that I could better protect you and Bianca’s secrets. We were unaware that you had an ability that let you sense the area around you,” Sasha says, taking a half step back.

  “We?” I ask, trying my best to stay mostly calm. It’s not like I can actually do anything in this situation, but it’s better to be calm.

  “While you and Bianca are just meeting with me, there’s a lot of supers invested in making sure the younger members of us have friends. Teleporters and obfuscatory are just common friends we tap favors from.” Sasha explains.

  The idea of having weekly or more often meetups where I’m around a bunch of other super parents sounds terrifying. I’m not high on the totem pole, and I have no idea what I’m doing.

  It’s also another drain on my time, and I don’t know if I have the space to add another thing to my plate.

  That thought lasts until I feel Bianca squirming behind me.

  “Let’s get you out of the car.” I say, spinning around and opening the door to help her get free before lifting her into my arms and turning to face Sasha again. “Would that be something Bianca would be invited to?”

  Sasha pauses at that. “Not knowing anything about her makes it harder. And Can—I mean Travis indicated that her ability was dangerous, but almost certainly, we have a school program and a daycare depending on age group.”

  That’s good to hear, but not what I reached out for. “What about a doctor and a therapist?” I plead. “I don’t know if there’s anything wrong, and I want Bianca to be okay.”

  Sasha’s expression softens. “That is happening regardless. Even if it’s just talking to me.”

  Bianca gives Sasha a little wave, which she returns.

  Sasha waves a hand, and the ground in the sandpit shifts until a whole playground seems to rise from the ground, carved in solid stone. A moment later, a few golem-like constructs seem to appear, waving towards us.

  Bianca looks on in wonder, straining to reach over to point at them.

  “Okay.” I sigh mostly to myself. I set Bianca down, and she rockets over to play with the constructs.

  Sasha steers me towards a nearby park bench that overlooks Bianca’s play area.

  “Is this where you tell me you’re going to take her away because her real family deserves their daughter and I’m a terrible person for looking after her?” I ask the thought sticking in my head like a thorn.

  “Fuck that. Normals can’t raise gentle supers, the ones with actually dangerous abilities? Not a chance. If you or her were in danger, arrangements would be made, but you seem good, and Travis vouched for you.” Sasha laughs.

  I nod stiffly. I wouldn’t consider myself parental, but if it means I can raise Bianca, I’ll take it.

  “Does she really not remember anything from before the lab you two of you were in?”

  “Not that I can tell. I’m not even sure she remembers anything before getting powers. Hard to tell when she doesn’t talk.” I admit watching ?Bianca silently scream in joy as she goes down the slide.

  “Can’t talk or doesn’t talk?”

  “No idea. There’s so many scars and injuries that I wouldn’t be surprised. Of the three people I have any idea about what they went through, I got it the easiest. I have to help the others.” I say, propping my chin in the palm of my hand.

  “What happened to you? Travis said you’ve been pretty tight-lipped about it all.” Sasha asks, not taking her eyes off the stone playground, and I watch it magically soften and catch Bianca as she stumbles off the stairs.

  “You don’t need to ask about me. I’m okay.”

  “Yes, but you’re an adult who can understand what happened to them and doesn’t have memory loss. Understanding what happened with one person will help me know what I need to do to help Bianca.” Sasha says.

  “Kidnapped off of the streets, tested positive for latent supergene potential. Drugged up on something to help unlock it and maybe some physical stimulants to boost my physicality far beyond human. And was buried alive for the night.” I say, trying to hit ?all the major points. “At some point I could pass through anything I pleased, and I ran away. Because of me, my best friend later got taken. Couldn’t find her at the lab, so she was moved somewhere else. I couldn’t live with that failure, so I took Bianca out with me.”

  “And you’re confident that you can protect this city?”

  “No. But I have to be.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “If I need help, there are people that can ask. I’ve fought their enforcers now, and I think I’ll be able to take them.”

  “What’s it like to phase? It’s one of the powers I can’t hope to fake no matter what I try,” Sasha says, continuing the conversation in a direction away from Bianca, which is counter to the point of this.

  Unless my existence is the part that actually needs to be studied?

  I bristle at that thought because it makes me feel like I’m the caged dog being observed to see if it’s okay to have me around other children.

  But even Travis hasn’t talked to me about what it’s like to use my ability.

  And unlike him, I know what her ability at least seems to be. Though I think there’s another person listening. Unless earth powers would let her take away and muffle my ability to see the world around me, which I doubt.

  She could have two powers; it’s rare but not unheard of.

  Though I have two abilities, don’t I?

  “It’s freeing.” I say finally leaning up and looking at the sky. “I can’t be held by anything. If I want to, I can escape any situation. I’m only present in the places I choose to be.”

  “For me, it feels like I’m in a playroom, that the world around me is just stuff for me to shape however I please. Sometimes my power makes me feel like I’m the only real person in the world.” Sasha admits pulling a clump of dirt up from the floor and shaping it into various objects faster than I can catch them.

  “Do you think it’s telling about who people are with what their abilities are?” I ask, glancing at her. I don’t believe it personally, but my opinion has been known to change.

  “No, what they think of their powers yet, but it’s just the lottery for the actual abilities.” Sasha agrees.

  “Can we change the subject back to Bianca?” I ask, not wanting to risk talking about myself anymore.

  “Yeah,” Sasha says, ignorant of my internal thoughts. “Her wires are sharp, but she can manipulate that, right?”

  “Yup, as far as I know, she can manipulate practically any aspect of the wires besides their color.” I nod, thinking about all the times she’s used her ability to copy whatever I’m doing.

  “If it makes you feel any better, none of the kids in her age group have an ability as lethal as hers, so she would be the big dog if they were all to fight.” Sasha says in a way that I really hope is her making a joke.

  “I hope you’re not making kids fight.”

  “Of course not, but some parents feel a lot safer knowing their kid is the strongest or that they won’t get hurt.”

  “Will all the kids be as good as Bianca at controlling their ability?”

  “No. While created types like you and Bianca often have a lot of ease with their ability, for those of us born with powers it’s a crapshoot. A few years ago I helped watch a kid who would turn into a living fireball every time they got sad.” Sasha laughs, rubbing the back of her neck.

  “Sounds like you have a lot of experience.” I say, finally letting myself cool off.

  “Started as a babysitting gig. Whenever I was recovering from injury and couldn’t be in the field, I would volunteer to watch my friends’ kiddos, and it spiraled from there.” Sasha says wistfully. “It’s more rewarding than saving someone who hates you.”

  “You and Travis are both still active heroes, aren’t you?”

  “Yup. I don’t plan on retiring my mask until I can’t do it anymore. Travis always has itchy feet and can’t stop running into danger.” Sasha agrees. “But I’m entirely here in the capacity of being the de facto wrangler of super brats.”

  “Do ?experienced supers always leave towns to fend for themselves if they have an up and comer like me?”

  “Why wouldn’t we? I can’t be everywhere, and I deserve to have time for myself. And that for me can include helping little kids smile and have friends who they can play with.” Sasha says, waving a hand.

  In my mind's eye, I see the tiny golems getting more solid.

  “You’re testing how physical Bianca is by slowly making them all heavier?” I guess.

  “And my friend is gently pulling at her topmost thoughts to get a gauge of her.”

  “Like mind control?”

  “As far as we know, there’s not a single recorded super who can directly impact someone’s thoughts. But Travis told me Bianca is nonverbal, ?so I pulled in some favors.”

  “What about tech or powers that can usurp your control of your body?”

  “Dime a dozen, unfortunately. Depending on the person being jacked, their power might leave their control too.”

  That probably means I should at least try to free Horrorfrost.

  Worst-case scenario, I just find a normal person who’s been out of control and spends the next who knows how long at a hospital.

  A small tendril of wire wraps around my left pinky and gently tugs at me, causing me to look over at Bianca, who has her tiny face screwed up in concentration, her hands thrust out, wire stretching to me and Sasha.

  I can honestly think of nothing better.

  “I’m coming!” I shout, standing up and dusting my hands off against my knees.

  Sasha also stands, her hands making a few motions as the earth shifts, expanding the playground so that it’s closer to adult-sized. Though all the stairs and handles are placed for someone Bianca’s size.

  Bianca holds her hands up, waving frantically as she shapes the wires into I think are her best renditions of fireworks.

  The idea of playing superpowered tag with my adopted daughter on a playground made of stone being controlled by a stranger is ridiculous.

  It’s also exactly what I need.

  I laugh with joy as I scoop up a giggling Bianca, holding her close.

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