Chapter 29: The Parade
Johnathan had them sit around in a triangle in the center of the mat like it was show-and-tell in preschool. "I'd like to think I know about how each of your powers work exactly, but I'm sure there's things that haven't come up just yet," Johnathan began, waving at Harper.
Clearing her throat, she spoke. "I can turn my skin hard enough to resist most forms of damage for up to a minute. I've been able to extend the duration about twenty seconds in the past month. The longer I use my power, the more my body feels like it's tearing itself apart," she finished, wincing as she remembered some unpleasant memory.
"Ditto, except it's my brain for me," Felix shared Harper's pained expression. "I get migraines when I go over my limit of about half a minute. I've been meditating, and it hasn't really increased the amount of time I can jump back. That said, I'm able to focus enough to use it in just about any situation."
Johnathan nodded sagely, as if he was mentally cataloging everything they told him. And to be fair, the old man probably was. "As the both of you know, I can fly. My body's reinforced enough to withstand the wind – I've tried flying really, really fast to test that one out. I won't be catching a building anytime soon, though," he joked, looking at Harper.
"How long can you fly?" Felix asked.
"I haven't really found a limit," Johnathan admitted. "I'm a bit scared of heights."
Felix stared at Johnathan, Harper's gaze mirroring his. "So you're telling me," Felix said as stoically as he could manage, "that you're a flying superhero… who's afraid to fly."
Johnathan's cheeks flushed with color – the first time Felix had ever seen the man exhibit embarrassment. "That's right."
Trying his best to hide his amusement, Felix buried his mouth behind his hands. Harper exhibited no such desire and fell backwards laughing. Felix slapped at her lightly, but she was no longer in control of herself.
Instead, Felix tried to draw Johnathan's attention elsewhere. "How in the world did this happen?"
Johnathan shook his head. "I'm not sure why I got these powers, or why it had to be flight. There literally can't be a worse person for the job."
"But you flew to save those people from the building. I'd say you did better than most people; definitely better than me," Felix offered, the reminder of his complacency bringing an ache to his chest that he forced himself to ignore.
"Of course I did; I had to. What kind of superhero would I be if I didn't help them? What would my grandson think?"
"Grandson?" Felix and Harper asked simultaneously, the latter having largely recovered from her bout of giggles.
"Oh, he's the one who's obsessed with heroes," Johnathan said, a smile forming on his face as he spoke about his grandson. "I remember all those times I'd read his comic books with him. For a six-year-old kid, superheroes are about as cool as it gets."
"They were for me," Felix grinned, remembering all the comics he left behind at his parents' house.
"Me too, I guess," Harper added.
"One day, we were reading a comic about some new hero that, among his other powers, could fly. Jack told me – for hours, mind you – about how cool flying was," Johnathan's smile only grew. "And the next day, I woke up floating an inch above my mattress."
"No way! That's almost exactly how I got my powers!" Harper exclaimed, excitement in her eyes. "I was thinking about how impressive superheroes were, and the next time I accidentally cut myself while cooking, the knife's edge dulled and my fingers were completely fine."
The pair of them recalled joyously the events that brought about their powers. It was like some mystical being could read their thoughts and desires, and out of some sort of amusement, granted them. Felix listened to them both, not able to relate in the slightest.
As he thought about it, they turned to him. Harper took the initiative. "How'd you get yours, Felix?"
"I'd rather not," Felix responded. Remembering the suffocation, the terror, and the loneliness… that hurt. That event had planted itself in his memories permanently.
"What, did you embarrass yourself and think a do-over was cool? Left your dorm without pants?" Harper teased, poking him. "Come on, don't be a dork."
Felix flinched away from her and stood up, excusing himself with a mumbled excuse. Walking outside, he breathed deeply, settling the tsunami of thoughts that had risen. One of Miss Watanabe's exercises to focus on the movement of his chest – up, down, up, down, up, down – helped him refocus. He hated having to run from his problems, but some things were better left unsaid.
There was another reason, though, that he didn't particularly want to share the circumstances of his first using his superpower. A little niggling worm of jealousy had taken root in him, jealous that Harper and Johnathan had never had to experience near-death. They hadn't earned their powers, the worm said.
Logically, Felix knew that he didn't earn his, either. By all rights, he should have died in space. It was a miracle that stopped that from happening – a miracle he had never been able to reproduce. Rewinding over an hour was entirely beyond the scope of what he could do. His powers broke the laws of physics on so many levels, probably.
Still, that little worm poisoned his thoughts. Knowing that he was acting like a petulant child, Felix poked his head through the dojo's front door to let his training partners know that he was heading home. Without waiting for them to respond, Felix made good on his escape.
The cold air nipped at his cheeks, winter having fully settled in. And yet, not even the coldness could shake him from the irrational jealousy he'd rather not have been feeling. He toyed with his phone, a finger hovering over Christina's contact. For minutes, it hovered there as he walked. In the end, he shoved the phone back in his pocket.
He didn't know how the anonymous tip line worked, nor did he know how much trouble one could get in for not informing the government if they knew a Super. Felix didn't want to be the one to bring any kind of trouble to Christina; rewarding her constant help and worry like that sat terribly with him.
Instead, he took off at a jog, making his way back to campus and his dorm room. The building was comfortably heated, fortunately. Felix belly-flopped into bed, doing his best to shut out his thoughts. It worked after a while, and his eyelids grew leaden.
And that was when it hit him: he'd left all his stuff back at the dojo, from ID to backpack.
Great, another worry added to the parade.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
vilagwrites
vilagwrites Thanks for sticking with the story this long, reader! There's plenty more to come!
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