Despite my best wishes, I can’t investigate the camera immediately. Bianca needs to be picked up, and I still need to connect with the gang to see if I want to do Friendsgiving this year or not.

  On one hand, the fact that Bianca was teleported to who knows where to be watched is a little paranoia inducing, but at the end of the day, besides myself, I can’t pick someone better than a bunch of retired superheroes to catch her.

  Though I guess it could be that Travis is actually a supervillain and this is all a ploy to get Bianca to join the dark side.

  Arriving at the park for our first meeting is a lady I don’t recognize holding the hand of a squirming Bianca, who only redoubles her escape artist efforts seeing my car pull up.

  I leave the car idling so it’ll stay warm as I step out, picking Bianca up as I give a smile to her warden. “Hopefully, this wasn’t too much of a problem?” I ask, looking at her. Hopefully, Bianca doesn’t seem to be hurt at all, but with a bunch of supers, it could be she was seriously hurt and they just healed her and wiped away all the memories.

  They probably didn’t do that, but it is a little funny to think that could be the case.

  “Not at all. The others were happy to have someone new to play with. Though it took a lot of convincing to get Bianca to use her powers.” The lady says, giving me a measured look.

  This person is most likely the teleporter who brought Bianca too and from, but it could also be the mental distorter that messes with my map. I don’t know; they probably don’t know me.

  “Yeah, currently until today she has only used them with me or Sasha. And both of us are immune,” I say.

  Bianca reaches across and waves at the lady to say goodbye. Apparently, Bianca has decided that it is time to go.

  The lady brightens up, giving Bianca a cheerful wave. “Bye-bye, Bianca!” She says before looking at me now with softer eyes. “She’ll probably be tired both physically and mentally after today.”

  “Thanks for letting me know.” I nod.

  With a warbling cry, she vanishes, the air smelling slightly stale.

  “Did you have fun?” I ask Bianca as we slip into the car where I slowly make sure she’s secure.

  The nod of excitement is all I need to feel like I made the right decision.

  As we drive, I head towards where the lab is. I could stop on the way home and find that camera.

  Maybe post it on the internet and get the whole city in an uproar and bring them out of town that way.

  The video would be traced to me, but I could handle it. I don’t need to sleep nearly as much, and if I sleep in places only I could get into, they couldn’t find me for revenge, and all of their plans would be ruined.

  I take another turn slowly, driving closer as the idea slowly propagates. It should work.

  But the jingling of Bianca playing with a toy makes me stop.

  I can’t do that.

  While it’s not risky for me, it’s risky for several people, I know. Even Travis could be at risk.

  Sure, he’s fast, and he talks like he’s been in the game for a while, but between a speedster who isn’t running his town and a guy who could go through anything, one of us is significantly easier to hurt.

  Decision made, I drive home, though as I drum my fingers along the wheel, I wonder how far off I am from being able to phase a car wouldn’t that be incredible?

  A small wire wraps around my right wrist, and I let my arm be dragged back, reaching towards Bianca’s seat as she plays with my hand while I test my capacity to drive one-handed.

  If someone pulls me over, I'm not sure what I would say.

  I need to ask Sasha how I can go through the process of adopting Bianca. There’s gotta be a way to adopt randomly discovered super kids in mad scientist labs because, well, it’s not the first time this has happened in history?

  Why is there always so much to do? I finally feel like I’m making progress with dealing with Travis, but he ramps it up to show me we were just playing with kid gloves. I have this whole mind map thing I’ve done literally zero with. I need to find the person who made ?my suit at some point. I need to work on my power and physicality.

  The wonders of the car are magical, and I feel the wires go slack and in the rearview mirror I see Bianca has fallen asleep; a stuffed animal held tightly to her chest the wires just hanging limply from underneath her sleeves no longer containing the will to hold my wrist.

  With Bianca asleep, maybe I can get some work done on something to be decided.

  As I get out of the car, I expand my mind map to see if there’s any suspicious activity going on. I probably should have done that while I was driving, but I’m doing it now!

  Seeing everything around me is super creepy. It's better for everyone involved if I take time not using my powers to give everyone privacy.

  Besides the probably a civilian loitering outside my door, it looks like everything is all clear.

  I squint, focusing my concentration on home. The field of sensation narrows, which helps me make out more details about the person, but, yeah, I’ve got no clue who it is.

  I phase Bianca out of her seatbelt before undoing the buckle.

  As I get closer to my home, I pull the map in closer and closer till I can make out who it is. I believe that it’s Reyna bundled underneath all of those layers of jackets.

  “I didn’t know you were coming over?” I say, opening the door, leaving it for her to do with what she will. I settle Bianca in her bed so that she can continue sleeping.

  “Well, I was bored, I guess,” Reyna admits.

  “Do you want something to eat?” I hover between the kitchen and the living room, waiting to see which one she indicates.

  Reyna eyes me as if looking for something. “Just something to drink.” She finally says, sitting down.

  “Alright, tall, dark and mysterious, what’s up?” I ask, tossing her a bottle of juice before settling into the loveseat and propping my feet on the table.

  Reyna raises an eyebrow at that sentence but doesn’t say anything, so I must be in the clear for my comments for now.

  “I wanted to see how you were doing. You haven’t talked to the gang since you started your crusade,” Reyna says, holding the bottle in her lap, staring at it as if it owes her money.

  “Stressed, sure, but I’m good. I was going to check in on all of you ?pretty soon. It’s been pretty quiet in all the group chats, since you know.”

  “Yeah, in the ones you’re in for sure,” Reyna sighs.

  I take a second to digest that statement before shrugging. “You can tell Caleb he can pound sand if he can’t take his head out of his ass.”

  “He’s not wrong…” I stare at Reyna waiting for her to finish that statement. “All the time. Okay, he’s overreacting, but what you’re doing is dangerous! It’s not hard to figure out you’ve been the guy in a helmet jumping across rooftops.”

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  “And if it leads me to finding Amelia, I’ll keep doing it.” I say stiffly.

  “Can you?”

  “Can’t stop now.”

  Reyna looks like she’s building up steam for an argument before seeming to deflate, sinking into her chair, going to take a drink only to realize that she still hadn't opened the bottle yet.

  I’m sure the plastic cap tasted good.

  “You still going to do Friendsgiving, or is everyone going to mope or go visit family?” Reyna asks after she’s finished guzzling her drink.

  “I’ll do it.” I say mentally, shuffling out some more time sleep to do the logistics and shopping. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Lonely.” Reyna finally admits. “Really fucking lonely. My best friend is missing, probably kidnapped. Another best friend is on a crusade to find her while also single parenting. And the final two aren’t talking to the whole group because one is an anti-super nazi.”

  “He’s not that bad, is he?” I ask, wincing. I know Caleb has strong feelings about supers, but I don’t think he was ever that bad, was he?

  “He said to your face, ‘You’re one of the good ones’ he’s also been talking about not hosting any gaming things till you are registered and cleared as a non-dangerous super.”

  That’s damning.

  “I’m not registering; nobody is going to hold me but me.” I say, lacing my fingers together. “Been there, done that. Got the power to prevent it. Though as soon as the lab is gone, I’ll stop.”

  “Will you? And how long will that take?”

  “Before Thanksgiving.” I say quickly, the date locking itself into place. “My present to the city will be the destroyed lab. The kidnappings will go down and people won’t feel nearly so afraid anymore.”

  “But what about Amelia?”

  “However, much longer it takes, I’ve made an acquaintance with someone with mental powers, so I might be able to ask them to introduce me to someone who can track her.” That plan is by all definitions a plan.

  It’s a terrible one, but you know what? Good plans are something I’ll make in the future; right now I just need a workable one.

  “And what if you have to fight her?”

  “Then I’ll save her.”

  “It’s really hard to take you seriously when the only thing I see is the reflection of myself in your sunglasses.” Reyna laughs, seeming to relax.

  Willing to play up the bit, I whip the sunglasses off my face and level an almost glare at her. “I’ll save her.” I say in a deep and gravely superhero voice.

  The shrieks of laughter echo across the apartment, and by the time the both of us have gotten control of ourselves, Bianca has arisen from her room and comes in, whipping her head around to see what is the source of all the laughter.

  She stares into my eyes for a second, waving before tottling off to Reyna’s chair and clambering up into it, pressed between Reyna and the cushions.

  “You’re also going to be a superhero like Jason, right?” She asks, patting Bianca on the head, who nods excitedly.

  “I don’t think I’m a superhero.” I say gently.

  “You’re the closest thing I have to one, so, go symbol of mild calm, save the world or something.”

  “Do you want to stay and watch movies till dinner? Happy to provide company?” I offer getting up to grab some snacks from the kitchen.

  Worst-case scenario, we all graze on them through the rest of the day and they are eventually finished.

  “That sounds kind of nice.”

  “Then you’re going to have to deal with me doing some superhero training.” I laugh as I slowly gather everything I was looking for and bring it to the table, setting it out in a delightfully disorganized pile where you'll have to search for every little thing you could want to eat.

  Bianca points at the remote dramatically and then at the snacks, which I oblige, grabbing the remote and turning the TV on, guiding us to the shows and movies that I think Bianca will like while Reyna supplies her with cookies.

  As I scroll for a show, I mess with the dumbbell to the side of my chair, adjusting the weight till it’s just barely at the edge of what I can phase so that I can do some not-so-subtle training as we’re watching.

  “Musical?” I ask, looking over at the two who seem to be playing rock, paper, scissors to decide who gets to have the blue frosted mini cookie.

  “Musical?” Reyna says distracted as she loses the game.

  That was simple enough. Settling in, I turn the musical on absentmindedly, lifting the dumbbell to phase it and pass it through various things, letting my mind reach its absolute limit of sustained concentration before I let myself rest.

  One step at a time, over and over again till I succeed, that's all I need to keep doing. Looking out the window, part of me imagines bursting out of the clock tower in a torrent of energy as I race through the city, find the camera and race back to somewhere to analyze it.

  Even dream me has a significantly cooler base with a giant supercomputer that processes the camera’s footage in a snap, showing me exactly where Amelia is.

  And as is entirely unsurprising, dream me kicks absolute ass through everything, fighting through all the bad guys, saving Amelia and all the hostages.

  What’s next is dream me going to get the key to the city?

  Thankfully, it’s not that hard for me to shake off daydreams. It's not time for me to go out anyway, and I need to complete my training even if it’s while watching musicals.

  That pull is still there, constantly tugging at the recesses of my mind, but as long as the sun is out, it’s pretty easy.

  Hanging out with my family makes it a lot easier too.

  “You know what I can do to repay you for all the help?” I ask suddenly.

  “It’s always been my dream to be the awesome ass wine aunt, and since I’m an only child, Bianca’s about as close as I get till you and Amelia get hitched.” Reyna laughs, waving it off. “Bianca’s fun. Though makes me kinda want superpowers. You two. Could do without the obvious super signs the two of you have though.”

  “I’m not planning on getting married anytime soon.” I apologize.

  “Guess it’s on Amelia to get hitched and start a family for me to be a cool wine aunt to more of my nieces and nephews.” Reyna agrees.

  I look up at the ceiling, resisting the urge to unfurl my mind and know with absolute certainty what is above me. “Powers are really fun. Maybe when I finish with the lab, I can snag their super formula, and we could see if it works on you without you needing the trauma part.”

  “That would be sick, but I thought you were going to go nova on all of it.”

  “Super serums are common enough; if they genuinely figured out a way to make it so that it didn’t actually harm people, that’s worth saving.”

  “You still haven’t said what your trauma is? I know you said you can’t be held with your powers, so you got something at least minorly cool.”

  Reyna pauses dramatically, and I need no more hint than that to make a bad joke. “It could just be real slick, able to slide out of anyone’s grasp.” I snort.

  “Okay, you probably got something cool, but yeah, you haven’t told me what went down.” Reyna says, offering me a look of reassurance before turning to Bianca, who is looking at the movie with wonder as the magic changes the princess’s outfit. “You too. I’m always happy to listen to you.”

  I tilt my head to the side a couple of times trying to decide if I should share. On one hand, I hate sharing things about myself. On the other hand, it’s probably not good to keep it bottled up. “I got buried alive.”

  “That fucking blows.”

  “Yeah, it does.” I agree.

  With that, we turn back to watching princess movies, letting the hours drift by.

  More and more than the night drags on, my gaze is pulled to the window. I can’t stand doing nothing. I need to be productive. I need to keep moving. I need to do what’s important.

  Pinching my knee, I try to forcibly drag myself out of the never-ending I need to do xyz trap, but it’s really hard to do.

  Not sure what the statistics are, but me waiting till tomorrow or as soon as Bianca is asleep shouldn’t change the odds if I can find a video camera or not. It’s been so long it’s either going to be there or it’s going to not be there at all, and I’m getting myself bent out of shape for no reason.

  Realistically, there should be nothing wrong with me just staying here and watching movies with my family.

  Fuck, I was looking out the window again.

  Reyna gives me a look as soon as the current song ends and she’s no longer tied up with singing it.

  “I’m fine, really.” I say, forcing my attention back on the screen.

  “Mhmmm.”

  I, as the adult here, decide to not respond and keep watching the musical like I’m not having the worst case of itchy feet I’ve ever had.

  Doing another set of phase the heavy object till I can’t anymore is a great way for me to not look at the window, my attention locked away. I need to rest to be in the right headspace for this, but I don’t care.

  Once my headache has subsided, my gaze drifts back to the window.

  It’s all so close. If I just took five steps, I would be out and free.

  “Just go already; I'll watch Bianca. You have three hours, then I’m done though.”

  “I don’t need that long.” I say, standing up and moving towards the window.

  “Do you just not bother with the whole secret identity thing?” She asks, laughing.

  That’s a good point. “I will leave the normal way.”

  I have a camera to go find. And if I can get that, just maybe I’m going to have a way to save my world.

  I pause, looking behind me, seeing Reyna and Bianca curled up on the couch watching a princess movie.

  My world is both larger and smaller than it used to be. But I’m not saving my world; I’m saving a person who makes my world brighter.

  Not really sure if there’s really a difference between those two thoughts, but it feels important to me to separate them like that.

  Once I’m on the ground floor of my apartment building, I drop through the ground, landing in the sewers, and begin running along my memorized path to my secret base.

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