May Writing Challenge: Powerswap!

[Admin!]

It's writing challenge time! To enter, just post a ficlet (300-4000 words suggested) in this thread. When the voting for this month's OTM winners comes around, a voting poll will go up for this as well.

The Challenge: Powerswap! Write a story where people have different powers from what they have in canon. This could affect either the entire cast of the story or just the protagonist. It could be a sudden switch, or the character was just born with a different power. Yes, non-powered characters can have powers in this universe too.

The rules:

• Characters must be in Hammel canon, but the ficlets are not site canon unless expressly stated.
  
• Entries must be more than 300 words.
  
• You can enter no more than three stories. Any ficlets posted after the original 3 will not be considered for voting. If you want to post more, however, have fun.
  
• Ficlets must be titled.

[Lani Hunter]

I, the Imaginary

“Stop pointing that thing at my sister!” Lani yelled his voice pained half between a demand and a plea. He didn’t want to have to use his power in front of these thugs but he was close to it. The more the man brandished the gun at his sister the more Lani wanted to take it and shot the man with it himself.

The thief dove forward as he broke out of his captor’s grips. He grabbed his sister and placed himself between the man and her. This was where he belonged, between her and danger. Then the gun went off and Lani pulled at all of his power and the telekinetic grabbed the bullet pushing against it. He winced as the headache formed and he pushed his sister down as the bullet impacted his chest his power holding a barrier between Lani and death.

A sudden rush through his mind made him scream unsure whether he was in agony or not. It felt something was being ripped from his mind and he squeezed his eyes shut against the awkward sensation. His back hit the wall and then the next moment he realized he was sprawled on the ground on the opposite side of the wall. He blinked several times not completely sure what was happening. He looked down at his hands and they had a ghost like appearance to them. He could see through himself, it was almost like he was a ghost.

Panic raced through his mind and he touched the wall again. He phased through it without so much as a breath. He was met with shocked expressions and he looked back at all of them. They stared at him mouths agape and he looked back at them just as confused. Without thinking beyond protecting his sister he flew forward causing shrieks to go up around him and he fell through the offending person.

But there was no contact…

He looked back at the man now also gaping in shock. Sirens blipped outside the warehouse and without thinking Lani grabbed at his sister to make a run for it. But she passed right through his hands and ran toward a body on the floor. Lani ran after her and paled. It was his body… but how was that…

He peered closely at himself and felt immediately relief that his chest was rising and falling and the bullet had rolled away on the floor. He just looked like he was sleeping. Lani grabbed his own shoulder and tried to shake them. What the hell was going on? He looked back at the thugs all running out the doors. He had to stop them. He reached out to close the door with his power.

Nothing happened.

“What the…?” He asked.

“Who said that?” Caroline demanded her eyes darting around.

“Me,” Lani said annoyed, “I’m standing right here.”

“Who?” She shook her head, “There’s no one there.”

Lani frowned and crossed his arms. Cops rushed into the warehouse and Caroline waved them over. Paramedics swarmed over Lani’s body and poked and prodded him before carting him off in an ambulance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well Lani could certainly think of several things he would rather be doing right now. But no, here he was watching his body. He was alive, of that he was sure but why was he here watching it? He had tried everything. Sitting on himself, head butting himself, punching his body. Nothing had worked. He frowned deeply and he watch as his family and friends trialed in and periodically spoke to him.

Adrianna was beside herself with worry, as was his mother and sister. Odion had come in a few times to smack him in the head and call him an idiot. He was actually inclined to agree with the latter. He’d tried speaking to Odion but the skeptical pickpocket hadn’t bought it.

He sighed and decided to explore a little bit. He wandered periodically going through walls and doors instead of around them. He walked down the streets not even caring as his ghostly body was run into. He wasn’t in a very good mood anymore. This apparition life had lost its flare within the first few hours and now it was going on days. How was he supposed to get back into his body?

He kicked at a rock and scowled at it as it passed through. But then the rock moved. Started Lani stopped and looked around then a little boy walked right through his stomach. “Geez!” Lani exclaimed his invisible heart racing. “Watch where you’re going!”

“What?” The boy looked terrified. He was a few years younger than his sister and he was rather small.

“I’m right here,” Lani said annoyed. “Standing right in front of you.”

“I don’t see you…”

“I know, I know,” Lani said waving his invisible hand in dismissal. The boy shook his head probably thinking he was going crazy. On a whim Lani decided to follow the boy. He was bored and needed something to do.

Lani followed the boy to a school in downtown. The kid paused for a moment before entering. Lani soon found out why. As soon as he did he was surrounded and another larger boy grabbed his bag and another pushed him into a locker. Lani frowned as the kid did nothing to fight back. Horrible names came out of those boy’s lips and Lani was completely shocked that none of the older students walking by paused to do something.

Lani bared his teeth but kept himself from speaking. The bell rang and the boy just slid to the ground while the others left laughing. Lani looked down at the boy and frowned. He crossed his arms and leaned against the locker. “What was all that about?”

The boy started and looked around, seeing no one the boy shook his head and hugged his knees.

“Don’t ignore me,” Lani said annoyed, “Why don’t you do something?”

“Who’s there?” The boy asked looking around again.

Lani ran a hand through his hair and a smile crossed his face as an idea struck him. “I’m you’re imaginary friend, Lani.”

“Only babies have imaginary friends,” the boy said with a frown.

“Well then I suppose I have the wrong person,” Lani said with a grin, “I suppose I won’t help you then.”

The boy looked around again. “You want to help me?” Lani remained silent and examined his ghostly hands as the boy squirmed. The boy started to tear up and let his head fall on his knees.

A feeling of guilt sunk in Lani’s heart. “Hey, hey, don’t worry, I’m still here. And I’ll help you.” He sat down next to the boy. “What happened back there?”

The boy frowned and it took him a long time to speak again. “Those guys are always mean to me. ‘Cause I don’t have new clothes and stuff.”

Lani opened his mouth to speak but heels clicking down the hall call their attention. “What are you doing?” A tall hawk like woman asked looking down her nose at them. “Class has started, go.”

The boy stood stiffly and stalked off toward class. Lani to up to follow… “Not you,” the woman said harshly stopping Lani in his tracks. He looked back at her in surprise and just gaped unable to form words. “Yes I can see you, follow me.”

She shut the door of her office behind them and took her seat. She removed her glasses and gestured at the seat across from her. “You can see me?” Lani asked as he took his seat.

“Of course I can see you, don’t play dumb.” Lani shook his head not understanding. She continued, “Come now, if you’re old as you are you must have come from Hammel…”

“Yes, but…”

“Don’t interrupt,” she said sternly and Lani ducked his head. “I’m an Astral Viewer. I can see things on the Astral plane. Now tell me what you’re doing walking around here?”

“Wait… Astra-what now?” Lani shook his head, “I think you’ve made a mistake.”

“Uh-huh, so you have no idea what you’re doing here?”

“Exactly.” Lani said with a smile.

“Bull,” she declared, “Don’t lie to me, young man, you are projecting your Astral spirit.”

Lani held up a hand. “Look I don’t know what’s going on. Let me tell you I’ve been to Hammel but I’m not a projector or whatever. You have to believe me,” Lani implored her, “I don’t know what happened. One moment I was a telekinetic and now this…”

“Wait. What? You were a telekinetic?” She asked now also confused. Lani nodded. “That doesn’t make any sense. Are you…?” Her words trailing off suggestively.

Lani winced inwardly, she probably thought he really was dead or something. Lani shrugged, “I don’t know. And I don’t think I’m dead… I mean the last time I saw my body it was breathing.”

She nodded clearly unsettled, “What’s your name?”

“Lani Hunter,” he answered.

“Well, Mr. Hunter, I’m going to have to make some calls, sit tight.”

“I’ve got something to take care of,” Lani said rising.

“No, you’re going to stay right here until we figure this out.” She said but Lani just went to the door.

He tossed a grin over his shoulder. “Careful, you wouldn’t want the men in white coats coming around.”

She huffed and Lani set out to find that boy. This was a big place. How was he ever supposed to… oh wait, there he is! On the playground the boy was sitting on his own on a swing and that group of other boys was approaching. Lani broke into a run getting to the boy right before the others did.

“Look alive,” Lani suggested. The boy started and looked around seeing the boys. “No, no,” Lani said as that terrified look came over the boy’s face. “Stand your ground, don’t run.”

“Hey, smelly,” the leader said, “We’ve got some presents for you.” All at once the boys brought out globs of mud and flung it at them. Well, the boy, the mud passed right through Lani.

The laughed and Lani leaned down to speak in the boy’s ear. “Do as I say,” Lani said. “Look up at them look them in the eye, good, now laugh.” The boy was good at following directions. Lani snickered, “Now toss some of that mud back.”

The boy hesitantly wiped his hand across his shirt and with a fake laugh he flung it back. The leader was hit in the chest and a shocked look over came his face. “What was that, Smelly?”

“You’re name can’t be Smelly,” Lani said, “What is it?”

“My name is Aaron,” he said softly.

“Louder,” Lani coaxed.

“My name is Aaron,” Aaron declared strongly.

“Tell him that mud is a good look for him,” Lani encouraged.

“I don’t want to,” Aaron whispered back.

“Do it.”

“Hey, you know mud is a good look for you,” Aaron said making Lani grin.

“Oh yeah,” the boy said with a sneer, “I’m sure you’d like to eat it too…”

“Leave him alone,” another voice joined them. A little girl with curling black hair stalked over. “I mean it, or I’ll tell the teacher.” Lani rolled his eyes, that wasn’t going to work. But then the boys paled and went running off. Impressed Lani crossed his arm and watched the girl come over. “That was brave Aaron, standing up to them.”

“Thanks… but,” the boy hesitated.

“Good job, Aaron,” Lani said, “I’ll be around.” He fell silent and leaned back against the pole on the swing set watching as the girl suggested that he come play tag with her and her friends. He couldn’t help smile as the boy laughed and played.

“That was a good thing you did,” the familiar voice said. He turned to find the teacher standing watching over the children. "But," she said taking an unsettling swipe through his head, "Don't get my kids into fights!"

"Sorry," Lani said ducking his head.

“I made a few calls," she said beckoning him to follow.

“Alright,” Lani said and followed her back inside the school building. “What’s up?”

“It appears we have a power swap in progress. When I heard what happened to you it started to make sense. Someone switched your powers with someone else’s, but because you sere using your powers so much when the switch occurred you were flung out of your body.” She explained.

“Ah… so…”

“I haven’t gotten that far. Usually these things are temporary though,” She reached out as if she wanted to pat his shoulder. “I don’t know what to tell you, other than to wait it out.”

Lani swallowed. How long could he be stuck like this? His brows came together in worry but the woman walked away. He made his way outside the school and pondered this situation. Did that mean that someone was running around with his version of telekinesis? What havoc were they creating? The school bell rang startling him out of his thoughts and kids came pouring out. He spotted Aaron and ran over.

“So, how does it feel?” Lani asked.

“Great,” he smiled in the general direction of Lani. “You’re the best imaginary friend ever.”

Lani flushed and was glad of his current invisibility for once. “It was nothing. Now you just need to do that again. Keep standing up for yourself.”

“It did feel good,” he smiled and Lani smiled with him. They walked down the street and Lani pretended to be completely interested as the boy started going on about his toy soldier collection, he wanted to show it to Lani and so Lani agreed to come home with him.

As they came to the small house Lani cocked his head. Aaron’s family must have been really poor to not be able to afford new clothes but he hadn’t expected the place to be quite so much of a dump. They went inside and Lani was immediately assaulted with the smell of alcohol and smoke. A mass was sitting on the couch in the dim light and Lani hesitantly wanted to call it Aaron’s father.

“Hi, dad,” Aaron said confirming Lani’s assumption. The greeting was met by a grunt from the couch. He followed Aaron into a back room and he pulled out a container with so many toy soldiers Lani could imagine that the World Wars could be reconstructed in accurate numbers.

“Cool,” Lani said enthusiastically as Aaron set up the toys. “Is it just you and your dad?”

“Uh-huh,” Aaron said, “Mom is gone, dad says she was just a whore.”

Lani’s jaw dropped and his eyes bugged out of his head when such a word came out of that little guy’s mouth. “I-I’m sorry. You know you shouldn’t use language like that.” Aaron shrugged and continued. Lani decided to hazard another question. “Does your dad work?”

Aaron shrugged, “Sometimes.”

Lani nodded and opened his mouth to speak again but a booming voice from the living room called for Aaron. Lani followed after him as the little child went slowly out the door. The man stumbled as he walked and the alcohol was so strong on his breath Lani could almost imagine he was getting drunk just by being in the same room as the man. The man started to babble and lumber at Aaron.

The hair on the back of his neck rose as the first blow was struck. For a moment Lani was paralyzed but as the second blow came down he was jolted awake. “Stop!” He boomed.

The man froze and looked around. “Whozzat?”

He stood between the boy and his father. “I demand you stop this!” Lani’s anger flamed through his body and the man staggered back.

“Ghost!” He cried.

“Lani?” Aaron asked and then screamed in terror. Lani caught sight of the mirror and saw that he had somehow made himself visible.

“Hear me!” Lani boomed using the man’s fear against him. “If you touch him again you shall have to face my wrath!” He raised a hand pointing it at the man. Then he vanished again. He fell to his knees and rubbed his head, this was so strange. He wanted his telekinesis back. He could then take the boy away from this man and actually defend him.

Lani slipped into a strange blackness where there was no sound and no sensation. He blinked as he woke up on the floor of the house. Aaron scurried past him to the door. He rose to see that the father was passed out on the couch. He hurried after Aaron.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

Aaron looked around startled again. He looked around terrified. “Leave me alone.”

Lani frowned. “Did I frighten you? I’m sorry.”

“Get away from me!” Aaron started to run and Lani trotted silently next to him letting the boy think he had out run him. They reached the school and Lani tried again.

“Aaron, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m your friend.” Lani said softly, “Why haven’t you told anyone about him?”

Aaron frowned and shook his head. “They won’t believe me.”

“You could try,” Lani suggested.

“No. Go away!” And Aaron rushed inside again.

Lani sighed and went to the one person he thought could help. “Ah, Mr. Hunter, how are you?”

“Peachy,” he said sourly to the woman. “Look I need you to do something.”

She looked at him squinting. “You’re going to have to speak up, I can’t hear you.”

“Aaron, his father is a drunk. He needs help.” Lani said raising his voice.

A chill ran up Lani’s spine and she shook her head. “What about Aaron?”

“He needs help! Get him away from his father!” Lani implored her to understand waving his hands around.

“His father?” She asked.

Why couldn’t she understand him? “Help him!” Lani yelled. She had to do something because Lani couldn’t. Suddenly he had the feeling of being hit by a train and her face rushed away from him. Like a crash of lightning everything felt different. He was lying in a bed and he could feel the sheets beneath him and he felt terribly cold despite the blankets.

He opened his eyes and snapped them closed as the harsh light filled them. “Ah! Welcome back.” Someone said. He flickered his eyes back open trying to focus on the person. It wasn’t anyone he recognized. His head felt like he had just smashed it against a wall. He groaned and simply closed his eyes again as the man left.

He reached out with his power and flicked the light off. It was too harsh, besides the light pouring in the window was hardly bearable as it was. He opened his eyes again and frowned. He had the feeling he was forgetting something important.

The door opened and he gave a smile as his family filed in. Caroline didn’t pause and jumped up onto the bed and into his arms. “Lani,” she cooed snuggling with him.

“Hey,” he smiled his head aching, “How’s it going?”

“Oh, my boy!” His mother cried and took his head in her arms. “I was so worried!”

He patted her arm and inhaled deeply when she released him. “I had the strangest dream,” Lani said rubbing his forehead. Why did he feel like there was something of dire importance that he was forgetting?

“What was it?” Caroline asked.

He looked down at her and shook his head, troubled. “I don’t remember.”

[Levi Xu]

Purrfect

"But, uh, what about my classes?" The fourteen-year-old played with the string on the hood of his sweatshirt, fiddling with it nervously as he dragged his suitcase down the hall. Some of the doors were open, and he glanced in to see teenage boys doing homework, watching TV, and laughing with each other.

"Your father made sure we knew everything we needed to know. After breakfast tomorrow, you can come to the office to get your schedule, and you'll have the rest of the weekend to explore the campus before classes start." Ms. Wilson pulled a set of keys out of a small envelope and unlocked one of the few closed doors. "These are your keys, Levi, and you'll be in room 507. Right now, you only have one roommate. He's..." Her voice trailed off, as if searching for the most polite word to say.

"What, is he 'special needs' too?" The boy frowned and scuffed his sneakers on the worn carpet. Ever since Ba had hugged him goodbye and told him to make him proud, Levi had been trying to act older, and cooler.

But Dorothy didn't flinch--she worked with obnoxious teenagers all day--and pushed open the door, then walked down the short hallway to another door, which she also unlocked. "No, Levi. Evan is just very quiet. And he has a cat, but we didn't think the fur would be a problem for you because of your shifting."

"I thought we couldn't have big pets in here." Levi pulled his suitcase into the little bedroom and heaved it onto the bed. "Like, they specifically said no dogs or cats."

"There's an exception for kids who can communicate with them. He talks to her, and that's about it. He's very shy, so be kind to him." She stayed around long enough to help him make up his bed, then reminded him of where the cafeteria was for dinner that night before she left him alone to finish unpacking.

A few hours later, Levi's stomach was growling, and he decided to head over to the cafeteria. He got as far as the front door of the suite before he heard the laughing in the next room over. It was the first sound he'd heard from Evan's room.

"She said be nice."

Levi went over and knocked on the door, and the laughing stopped. "Um....hey. I'm Levi, your new roommate. I was just going to get dinner..."

When the door opened, Levi took a step back so he wouldn't need to crane his neck up at the taller boy with the cat in his arms. "I mean, if you wanted."

Evan scratched the ear of the tabby in his arms and said nothing, just stared at him.

"Just, if you want..."

Still, Evan said nothing.

"Okay, uh, nevermind. Sorry." Levi said as he blushed, then turned and hurried out of the suite. Evan really didn't talk.

The next few days, the younger boy rarely saw his roommate. They passed each other briefly in the hallway a few times, and he'd tried talking once more in the room. All he got back was the same silent stare.

So Levi gave up.

For a while, he'd considered asking if his roommate's cat would mind if he shifted in the room. Oh well, he'd find out soon enough.

It hurt to shift, but once he was in his kitten form, Levi was actually pretty happy. He could hear a whole lot better and it was fun to roll around on the rug and chase his tail. He'd caught it and was gnawing on the end when the door to the suite opened one afternoon, and his roommate came in.

For the first time, he saw Evan smile.

"Hey there!" The tall teenager got down on his knees and held his hand out for Levi to sniff, then scratched between his ears. "Where did you come from, gorgeous?"

"Where do you think, Evan?" He mewed and purred, because damn, that felt good.

The boy laughed and scooped the small kitten up into his arms, gently stroking down his back. "You know my name?"

"Of course I do. I'm you roommate, Levi." His tail twitched when Evan almost dropped him. "Hey! Careful with me!"

The older boy put him down gently, blushing hard. "Sorry, Levi. I didn't realize. You can shift into a cat?"

"Yeah."

"That's really cool."

Levi rolled onto his back and stretched. It would hurt to shift back, and he finally was able to talk to his roommate. "Pet my tummy and I'll tell you about it."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Changing Opinion

Maybe it’s the hum
Of our parents’ voices
Long ago in a soft light
Long ago in a dim light

Sean Neville had spoken fondly of his friend Joshua Bernstein from Hammel to his family for the entirety of their shared tenure as students at the meta-human school. After graduation, they had continued to keep in touch by letter or occasional phone call (they both had to share dormitory telephones which made it difficult). They also visited each other on breaks, since Josh’s family came from the City, and Sean was attending NYU while his family lived not too far away on Long Island.

Even better, when Josh graduated from Hammel, he had been applied to NYU and been admitted. The age difference made it impossible for them to attend classes together, but they did meet for lunch every day and for supper most nights, when neither of them was expected elsewhere.

Sean’s parents had been heartened when their son had first begun to talk about his friend. While they had been fond of Maggie and glad that he had been able to find a high school sweetheart, it was also important for their son to expand his social circle to include more than one person. Besides, boys needed friendship in other boys, people who could keep confidences because they were the same. And from everything Sean said, the other boy was such a good friend.

However, despite years of talking about Josh, he had never mentioned Josh’s ability and the younger boy had never been introduced to Sean’s family. That had been for primarily for Josh’s protection, because he was unbridled in his training, and there was no way to explain his power to Sean’s conservative, Catholic family that wouldn’t have ended with a ban on their association at school. And then after graduation, Sean had felt no need to report his every interaction to his parents, since he was legally an adult.

However, certain developments in his personal life had made introducing Josh to his family important. They were to rent an apartment together, and it would be peculiar for him to live with someone, to share an apartment that his parents were helping to finance, without them having met his roommate.

Also, they were dating.

That was a development that Josh had enough difficulty accepting; trying to explain to the Neville clan would be more difficult. Sean didn’t have many role models for coming out of the closet: Josh had had the choice ripped from him, given the nature of his powers, and Greg...his coming out story didn’t have a happy ending.

Besides, Sean wasn’t like either of them was; he still liked girls. He just also happened to be attracted to Josh. That was a point he tried to make to his boyfriend, since the younger boy never quite seemed to believe him when he assured him that this wasn’t the result of his powers. Even though none of the other people who had been exposed to Josh’s powers retained the slightest interest in the opposite sex. And even though Josh had complete control of his powers; he wouldn’t have been allowed to graduate otherwise.

Still, it would be hard to hide the fact that they were dating, particularly since all of their friends and all of Josh’s family was aware of it. At some point, someone would accidentally say something in front of his mother or his father, and then they would be twice as upset because of the lie.

After mulling over the situation for a while, Sean had decided to go for broke. After visiting for supper on a day when he knew that Kathleen would be out of the house on a date, he sat his parents down and explained everything.

They reacted better than expected, although not as well as he hadn’t quite allowed himself to hope. His mother suggested that this might be the result of his telepathy and spending time around young men “like that.” She was wrong, of course, but nobody in the family could deny that he tended to react sympathetically to other people’s inclinations, particularly when he had been at Hammel. Or when he was in a relationship, but his parents didn’t need to know that; besides, that had no bearing on his initial attraction.

His father asked whether that was the reason his relationship with Maggie had ended. The telepath had patiently explained, just as he had after their breakup, how difficult it was to continue a relationship with someone when they were in two different parts of the country. That she had been dating someone at her college for a long while now, and how he couldn’t be happier for her.

Both of his parents wondered, but neither asked, whether he and Josh were sexually active. Sean knew they hadn’t wondered that about his various girlfriends, but that was different. Homosexuals couldn’t marry, so there was no expectation of waiting for Holy Matrimony. The telepath chose not to answer the unvoiced question.

He answered other questions, including about his ability to square his relationship with his faith. He deliberately left the house before Kathleen returned from her date. He thought it was for the best not to involve his sister, and he knew that his parents would need time to fully absorb what he had said.

It took a couple of months. Sean had been sure that they would come around to the best of their abilities, particularly when, after the announcement, his allowance check had still come in the mail.

The acceptance took the form of a telephone call. “We expect you to come home for supper this Sunday; bring Josh with you.”

Not “your boyfriend” the way his past girlfriends were described, but still, this was a start. He’d told Josh to err on the side of caution by getting a haircut and wearing a collared shirt with a tie. The younger boy had laughed until he’d seen the telepath’s serious expression. Then he’d grabbed a few singles and murmured about going to the barber up the street.

The entire drive to Long Island, Josh fretted about meeting Sean’s parents. “They hate me.”

“They invited you over, that’s progress.”

“Your father is going to kill me.”

“My parents might vote for warmongers on fiscal grounds, but they don’t believe in violence. They’re Catholics.”

“What about the Inquisition?”

“...I really wouldn’t mention any of that over supper.”

Traffic wasn’t as terrible as expected, and all too soon, Sean pulled the van into his parents’ driveway. Josh leaned in for a hug, which Sean returned, since he wanted to reassure his boyfriend; at the same time, he was fairly sure that at least one member of his family (if not every member) was watching them from the window. After the embrace, Sean pulled back and said, “Here goes nothing.”

With that, he helped Josh out of the car, and both of them walked up the driveway to the front door. Before they could ring the bell, his father opened the door (and in doing so verified that he had been watching them from the window).

“Sean,” the older man greeted his son with a pat on the back and a smile. He then stepped back to examine Josh, fully taking in the younger of the two boys; his expression was distressingly impassive, and Josh could immediately see where Sean had developed the same trait. After a long, awkward moment of silent scrutiny, the elder Neville said, “You must be Josh.” He then extended his hand for a handshake.

Josh took it somewhat awkwardly; the older man’s grip was very strong, and Josh was sure that he was trying to make a point. Not sure what else to do, Josh smiled weakly.

“Come in,” the elder Neville said, gesturing at the house. He turned and didn’t look back, assuming that the young men would follow him; they did.

“Sean tells us that you’re Jewish, so my wife made brisket. We also didn’t put butter in the mashed potatoes.”

“Thank you.” Josh thought it was easier to simply accept that graciously than to admit that his family didn’t keep Kosher. Considering how important faith was to Sean’s family, he thought he would be better accepted if perceived as devout, even if he didn’t belong to the same religion.

“She and Kathleen, our daughter, are finishing up in the kitchen,” the elder Neville further explained. “Do you drink?”

Sean had assured Josh that this wasn’t considered a vice in his family, and thus Josh was comfortable answering that question. “Yes.”

“Wine or scotch?”

Josh didn’t drink either; Sean was adamant about not letting him drink hard liquor until he had “grown his gills,” and tonight, Josh thought that was for the best. He didn’t want to get sick or make a fool of himself in front of the telepath’s entire family. He would have to forgo the scotch. But he also wasn’t much of a wine drinker, in that nobody bought wine at college. What experience he had was with Manischewitz, which wasn’t known for its taste. He looked over at Sean for his opinion, who replied telepathically so as not to be seen giving advice. Go with the wine. My parents only stock good quality liquor.

“I’ll have wine please.”

“Scotch for you, Sean?”

“Yes, thank you.”

The elder Neville acknowledged that with a nod and went over to the liquor cabinet. He pulled out an unopened bottle of red win, which he uncorked and poured into a glass. That was followed by filling two short glasses with ice and scotch. Sean picked up the wine glass and one of the scotches, before handing the wine to his boyfriend.

“Thank you,” Josh said, before taking a sip. It wasn’t as sweet as Manischewitz, and he thought it tasted fine. Not like beer, which he found he liked a lot.

“Sean says you want to be an attorney,” Doctor Neville said, after sipping his scotch. It wasn’t quite a question, and Josh wasn’t sure how to respond to it. He waited for the older man to elaborate on his remark, perhaps hinting at what he wanted Josh to say.

He didn’t.

Drat. “I do.” Josh hoped that Sean’s father couldn’t hear the hesitation in his voice and didn’t notice that his hands were trembling. “I...ahhh...I want to help people, and I think that using the law is the best way to do it.”

He didn’t mention politics. That was probably for the best.

“So you want to do criminal law, then?” The elder Neville asked, watching Josh through curious blue eyes.

“Actually...”

The conversation about his interest in law didn’t go as poorly as Josh had expected, even though it was hard to discuss civil rights law without politics being mentioned. Sean sat on the sofa next to Josh throughout the entire conversation, careful not to touch the younger boy. Sean’s father sat in his armchair across from them, quickly asking follow-up questions whenever Josh thought he might have a bit of breathing room after his reply.

Thankfully, the questions were interrupted by the announcement that supper was ready. As they followed Sean’s father into the dining room, Josh thought loudly so his boyfriend could hear. Did they treat your old girlfriends this way?

No, the telepath admitted. But this is how they treat the boys that Kathleen brings home.

Josh didn’t know whether to be upset or not; the intimidation kept any feelings of offense at bay.

While Sean’s father had focused primarily on Josh’s plans for the future, Sean’s mother asked about Josh’s family. He spoke fondly of his parents and his siblings, although he tried to censor stories about going to protests with his mother.

Neither Sean nor his sister spoke during supper; they were long-familiar with the process of interviewing that their parents engaged in.

When they had finished eating, Sean’s mother cleared the table and went to wash dishes and put away the leftovers; his father pulled the telepath into his study to discuss matters related to upcoming medical school, since they hadn’t spoken for a while. This left Josh alone with Kathleen in the dining room, for which his boyfriend would later be apologetic.

The redheaded girl watched him through cool, green eyes from across the table. Josh smiled at her; he felt awkward enough not to try to make conversation, but he didn’t think that would be a problem. Kathleen had been quiet all through supper, after all.

“I know what you did to my brother.”

Josh’s eyes widened, and his heart began to race. “I’m sorry?”

“I go to school with Annie Wheaton. I know all about you.”

That was terrifying. Josh recognized the name; he knew Annie quite well, in fact. She had been in the same class with him at Hammel. She also blamed him for two of the three breakups she’d suffered while at Hammel, something that he couldn’t completely deny. She had dated one of his roommates, and he had a poor track record of roommates escaping unscathed when exposed to his powers.

“...oh.”

Kathleen continued to watch him, her gaze unnervingly calm. “Did you do it to my brother on purpose? Or do you just not know what you’re doing?”

“I...ahh...” Josh didn’t know where to begin answering that question.

Unfortunately, Kathleen seemed to mistake his discomfort with a coherent admission of guilt. She shook her head, and contempt shone in her eyes. “How could you do that to him? You’re supposed to be his friend.”

“He is my friend!” Josh rushed so quickly to defend that notion that he neglected to deny her accusation. It was easy to get ahead of himself; his friendship with Sean was paramount, more important even than dating was. Sean had been his first friend at Hammel; he had been the only student willing to approach him, even knowing about his powers. He had extended kindness to a lonely, depressed, ostracized student and made him feel like less of a freak.

And as Sean had continued to date Maggie all through their time together at Hammel, Josh had been sure that the older boy had escaped his powers unscathed. The telepath had called and written about girls he dated at school; he showed Polaroid snapshots when they visited each other and laughed about his exploits. He should have been safe.

Josh’s powers were under control now, and he wouldn’t try to manipulate Sean into dating him. Not when Josh owed the telepath everything for being his friend. He loved him for it.

But he was afraid that maybe, just maybe, that love for Sean had caused him to use his powers unconsciously. No matter what the telepath assured him to the contrary.

“Then why would you ruin his life?” Kathleen’s question cut him to the core. “Why would you want to make sure he’s shunned by everyone and to take away any chance he might have to have children of his own? And then damn him to Hell at the end of it?”

“...I wouldn’t.” It had taken Josh far too long at Hammel to come to terms with his powers. To learn that it wasn’t really a sin. Kathleen’s cool accusations brought back a rush of memories and emotions, reminding him of how he’d felt when he’d first come to Hammel those years ago. Even though he didn’t believe in Hell, the notion still worried him on Sean’s behalf.

“Yeah, right.” The redhead’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “Do you make him dress up in leather for you like those other homosexuals down in the Village?”

Truthfully, Josh did like it when Sean wore his leather jacket, but that wasn’t anyone else’s business. Admitting to it would make him blush. “I...ahhh...I don’t think that’s really an appropriate question.”

“No, I guess not.” She didn’t break his gaze, and it was so unnerving. Sean in his most observant moments didn’t have as intense a gaze. “Our parents aren’t happy about this,” she added.

“I noticed.” That was obvious to everyone.

“They’re too nice to say it, but nobody knows what to do with this. Obviously, everyone around you knows that you’re a deviant and you dragged Sean along with you, but there aren’t that many options now. I mean, if you break up with him, everyone will still know that this happened, and what decent woman would want him? Assuming he even would be able to marry a woman, and nobody really knows if he’d want to. He’s like under a spell whenever he talks about you.” She nearly spat the word spell, as though she truly believed that was what had happened. “So, I guess you’re never allowed to break up with him.”

“I would never break up with him.”

Josh couldn’t imagine a single scenario in which he would want to break up with the older boy. He was so utterly in love with Sean that the mere thought of not being with him made his stomach turn over. He wanted to be with Sean forever.

“A lot of people say that,” Kathleen replied with a shrug. “My high school boyfriend said the same thing, but he broke up with me after graduation. I guess a doctor’s daughter wasn’t good enough for him. Or maybe he just wanted someone who would put out.”

“Uh...” There was nothing that Josh could say to that. Not when he was in Sean’s very Catholic parents’ house talking to his very Catholic sister. Not when he and Sean had been sexually active for months, and he actually didn’t see a problem with young people having sex as long as everyone consented to it. But that probably wouldn’t reassure Kathleen. Even if it did, now wasn’t the time.

He obviously registered his discomfort, and in what might have been an act of mercy, she shrugged her shoulders and added, “Promises like that don’t mean very much. Especially if you have the power to get anyone you want. If you get tired of him when you get old, or you just see someone you like more, you won’t even have Holy Matrimony to keep you in check. It isn’t really adultery if you’re not married in the first place.”

Josh also didn’t know what to say to that. The redhead had obviously gathered his opinions on sex, although he didn’t know if that came from assumptions or from some form of observation about him that gave her better-than-average insight. Since she was Sean’s sister, Josh was inclined to believe it was insight; no matter how often the telepath attributed his perspective to his powers, Josh didn’t believe him. Obviously it ran in the family.

After a moment of awkward staring, Josh looked down at his lap. “It’s still cheating, even if it isn’t actually adultery. I wouldn’t – I couldn’t – do that to him.” It was his turn to shrug, although that was an expression of his helplessness more than it was a means of topic change. “I know what your family thinks about who and what I am, and I know that this came out of nowhere. I know that you’re worried about Sean because he’s your brother, and you love him, and your parents worry because he’s their son. But I worry about him too. I love him.”

His voice managed to break in the middle of that sentiment, and inwardly Josh cursed himself. He coughed, hoping she hadn’t noticed.

“He’s such a great person, and he makes me so happy,” Josh said, more quietly this time. “I don’t know if I really can make him as happy as he makes me, but I know I want to spend the rest of our lives trying my best.”

Kathleen furrowed her brow, obviously judging him for those words and analyzing them for doublespeak. After a moment, she replied in a quiet voice, “I believe you.”

His eyes widened, but he didn’t want to ask if she was serious; that might make her think he had been insincere. So he settled for an awkward smile. He reached up to loosen his collar, wanting to feel like he could breathe.

“I wouldn’t do that if I was you.”

“What? Why?”

“You still have to get through dessert,” Kathleen explained.

As though to emphasize that point, her mother called out from the kitchen, “Kathleen? I need your help with the cake.”

The redhead pushed her chair back from the table and stood up, giving Josh one last look-over. “If you do end up in this family, you had better stay away from my boyfriends.” With that, she disappeared into the kitchen.

Josh stared after her. He had expected to be threatened a couple of times tonight, but he hadn’t expected that. He also hoped that dessert would be quick, because he didn’t want to wear out his welcome. Not when he needed to ration it for sixty or seventy years.

[Nicholas Kells]

The Other Side of the Fence


“Freaks. The whole lot of ‘em.”

“Shoulda put them all away on an island or an icecap years ago.”

“One of those Evans boys got shipped off to that…school .I’ve always said those boys were headed for trouble. No father. And the mother just lets the run loose like wild creatures. I hope you boys know enough to stay away from people like that.”

Nick grew up hearing his father’s views on “those freaks” around the dinner table. He also knew that his older brother when along with his father’s views hook, line, and sinker. Sometimes he wondered how his mother would have felt sitting at the dinner table listening to the two of them toss around ideas of how to solve the meta “problem”. Sadly, she had died before Nick had ever got a chance to really know her. But he imagined that she would be more compassionate about it. At least he hoped she would. Because Nick had a secret.

He was jealous of them.

At night he would lie in bed and wish that he was like those metas that his father complained about. What he wouldn’t give to be able to fly. Or move things with just his thoughts. The possibilities were endless. And somehow the idea of wanting something that his father hated so much appealed to him as well.

He had learned that most metas manifested around age eleven, the same age as he was now. So each morning he would stand the bathroom looking for any signs that he was different than he had been the night before. During school, he would stare at the paper on his desk, willing it to flutter, burst into flames, do anything but just sit there.

But nothing ever happened. As and age eleven started to pass him by, Nick started to give up that anything ever would. His jealousy turned to anger and then rage. Why did he have to be so normal? What was so special about those stupid metas? Maybe if he lived near a toxic waste dump, he’d have be luckier.

----------

“Did you see on the news about that freak that flooded his own bedroom?” Nick’s brother Joe asked one evening. “Maybe he was just crying cuz he figured out he’s a weirdo.”

“If he was my son, I would have tanned his hide for ruining my house before the authorities arrived to ship him off,” his father added.

Nick just stared at the pile of mashed potatoes on his plate.

“Maybe his super power is just a really bad case of bed-wetting,” Joe continued, laughing so hard he was close to tears. Suddenly seeing the frustration on his younger brother’s face, he punched him in the arm. “What’s your problem? Jealous of the bed-wetter?”

Nick shot a glare at his brother. But flinched when he noticed his father was giving him the same look.

“Jealous?” his father asked him, his voice taking on gravel like quality.

“No…” Nick started, but his voice betrayed him and it was obvious that his was lying. Normally that tone from his father would have Nick’s whole body in tremors, but tonight his hands were steady and calm, even if his voice wasn’t.

“I will not have a son of my wanting to be like those…those sub-human freaks,” his father yelled, cutting Nick off as he slammed his hand on the table.

Although Nick lowered his head in fear of his father, his right hand reached out to grap his fork, gripping it like a weapon.

“I don’t want to hear any more talk like this. I’ll have no child of mine thinking like that,” his father continued. “Do you hear me son?” He paused for Nick to answer. “I said, do you hear me?”

Nick’s lips were already forming the words “Yes sir” when suddenly the fork in his hand exploded.

Everyone at the table jumped back from the noise and light. Most of the dishes had been thrown of the table and the tablecloth had caught fire. Nick’s father started at his son with a look of confusion, fear, and rage. He started to take a step towards him, his hands held out to grab him, the flames from the table throwing an eerie glow on his eyes. But Nick was already out the door, running like his life depended on it.

Ten minutes later, and a safe distance away from the chaos back at his house, Nick’s legs were burning and his lungs were gasping for air. He sunk behind some bushes on the side of the road, exhausted. What just happened?

The hand that had held the fork wasn’t burned, although his shirt sleeve was singed. His whole right side ached and the world seemed to be spinning. Holding his head in his hands he tried to steady the world and his thoughts.

I’m a freak, He knew there was no chance he was going to return home tonight. Even if he father had settled down enough to not want to kill him, there was sure to be some form of punishment. And then what?

Rising slowly to his feet, Nick took a few steps back towards the road. The world was still spinning a little, but he figured he could keep going if he took it slow. But where would he could? Who would take him in now that he was…like them? He was dangerous. He had made something explode. What if he made someone explode? For a terrifying minute he worried that he would make himself explode, but it passed after he remembered that his hand hadn’t been hurt.

He walked down to the end of the road and took a left, towards the edge of town. Best to get as far away from others as he could. And as far away from his father.

Suddenly a car pulled up behind him, the headlights blinding him as he turned around. He started to run, thinking it was his father, the cops, or someone else coming to throw him away for life, but he was still too tired to do more than take a few steps.

Someone was walking towards him, although with the headlights he couldn’t tell much more than the person was not his father. With his head lowered, Nick held out his hands like he expected them to be cuffed together. “Go ahead,” he said, whimpering slightly. “Arrest me. I don’t care.”

“Arrest you? We don’t usually make a habit of arresting little boys for exploding utensils,” the man said. “Although I wouldn’t recommend doing it when you’re company at someone’s house. It’s considered bad manners. ”

Nick looked up, confused and slightly relieved. The man’s voice had a pleasant, warm quality to it. “Who is ‘we’?”

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Have a Good Time

Yesterday, it was my birthday
I hung one more year on the line
I should be depressed
My life’s a mess
But I’m having a good time

Hart had once told Sean that his house for perfect for tailgate parties. This was true enough, but only because his house was perfect for most types of gatherings. It was perfect for sporting events, for house parties, for barbecues, for trick-or-treaters, for elaborate and inappropriate games of hide and seek, and for planning all manner of occasions. It would have been perfect for birthday parties and for weddings, if he had ever been fortunate enough to have children of his own.

It was also perfect for job interviews. Rather for all different types of interviews.

The lawn was covered in picnic tables and there was a food tent supplied with food prepared and served by the catering service. He hadn’t sprung for an official bar; instead he had raided his liquor cabinet and set out a table for that. Everyone could take what they pleased; he assumed everyone was capable of pouring their own drinks.

They were all adults, after all.

Eight of them sat at a long table in the shade. A pile of applications were on that long table, near Sean’s spot. Distilled summaries of each application had been distributed to the other nine men, and there had been prolonged debriefings. The finalists were here for their interviews. Considering some of those participating in the interview process, Sean had thought the least he could do was feed the people who had to take questions.

The last interview had gone so poorly that Sean began to wish that he had smuggled in a bottle of absinthe from his last trip out of the country.

“He’s an idiot,” Cobalt Weaver declared, not waiting for the poor man to leave earshot. “Who in his right mind would vote for Kucinich, anyway?”

Sean, Josh, and Greg all coughed.

“He was really nice,” Danny countered, and he nudged the other short man with his elbow lightly. “And he had a good sense of humor. He’d fit in nicely. We could use more happy people.”

“We have enough happy people,” Cobalt groused.

“That’s the third guy you’ve blackballed today,” Josef said with an awkward glare. Neither he nor Cobalt made any attempt to hide the fact that they didn’t care for one another’s company, and that was why they were seated on opposite sides of the table, as far from one another as possible. Josef’s boyfriend was technically too young for membership, although he spent time with the group under the “spouses clause”, which only contributed to Josef’s awkwardness. Cobalt had no such excuse. “If we left it up to you, we wouldn’t take anyone new.”

“And?” Cobalt didn’t see a problem with that. There were already more people than he found comfortable for social gatherings.

“At least try to get along?” Ben asked, turning to look at his boyfriend. “You promised before we left the house.”

Cobalt lowered his voice but turned his glare on the child psychologist. “Do you have to do this in public?”

“Do you have to act like a child?” Ben was getting better at navigating Cobalt’s moodiness and calling him out on his behavior. It usually worked enough to shock him into playing nicely for a few minutes, even if it was only a stopgap solution.

“Ben, that’s not very nice,” Danny said, immediately coming to Cobalt’s defense; the blond shadow manipulator looked smug.

“What about Charlie?” Chase asked. He liked the police officer; they had some similar opinions on sports and children, and they got along well.

“Charlie didn’t apply,” Sean reminded him. “Since he’s dating Elaine, I think he has other preferences, as opposed to spending time with our group."

“Too bad,” the mind controller said with a wistful sigh. “We could use a telekinetic.”

“The man makes a point,” Greg said. Before Cobalt could argue that it was completely asinine to pick someone for a social group based on his power, the architect rose from his chair. “I think I’m going to get a drink. Who wants one?”

Several hands went in the air. Beer for Chase, beer for Josh, wine for James and...

“Gin,” Sean requested. “Straight.”

“It’s two in the afternoon!” Cobalt snapped, glaring at the telepath.

Sean didn’t turn to look at Cobalt. Instead, he added, “Make that a double.”

“Jeremy is next on the list, I think?” Riley asked, trying to politely change the subject without drawing the ire of his short friend.

“Jeremy is the one who said he’s a grown man whose favorite book is The Catcher in the Rye? Hell no.” Cobalt punctuated that with a glare at the others around the table, daring them to challenge his logic.

“People never notice anything,” Sean muttered.

“What was that?” The shadow manipulator turned to glare at the telepath.

“Didn’t Holden Caufield say that morons don’t like it when you call them morons?” Danny asked, scrunching up his face as he tried to recall some of the quotes from a book he hadn’t read since high school. That one had stuck out because it had reminded him of Cobalt.

Apparently, he wasn’t the only one. “Actually,” Josh mused aloud, “You and Holden have some similar qualities, Cobalt.”

“Shut up, Josh.”

“If you plan to blackball everyone before the interview stage, you can consider your voting privileges revoked,” Sean said, reaching for the next application from the top of the pile.

“Who died and left you in charge?” Cobalt snapped, although the thought of not having to sit here listening to anymore interviews was tempting. Unless losing his voting privileges only meant that he would have to listen but couldn’t voice his opinion; that would be Hell.

“It’s my house,” Sean replied, ending the matter there.

At that moment, Greg returned with several drinks in his hand. He was beside another man who looked to be in his fifties and had an easygoing air about him. They were laughing at a joke that nobody at the table had overheard. “This is Stefan,” Greg explained, as he went about distributing the drinks. “He was wondering if we could jump his interview forward a bit? His leg is acting up.”

“Any objections?” Sean asked, since he was fine with accommodating people with disabilities. As were the others.

Cobalt objected on principle of not wanting to do anymore interviews; everyone ignored him. Sean reached for Stefan's application, searching through the pile until he found it; apparently the man was a telekinetic, so Chase might get his wish after all.

“So, Stefan,” Josh said, leaning forward to get a better look at their new potential friend. “What’s your ideal Friday night?”

“Drinking until it’s Sunday.”

“Saturday comes after Friday,” Cobalt snipped.

“I know what I said.”

“I like him already,” Josh said with a wide grin.

Cobalt groaned. Everybody ignored him.