SuperBro
As T hurried home, he thought to himself how this was the worst thing that could have happened – not just for him, but for his whole family. He had just gotten a frantic call from his mother while at work, asking him to rush home. His little brother, Owen was having a temper tantrum. These temper tantrums had getting progressively worse for weeks, and eventually Owen was going to hurt someone. Or worse, someone was going to discover the families secret. About a year ago, Owens powers had manifested, just as his had – same age, same temper tantrums. The only difference was that Owen was way more powerful than T will ever be. Unlike T whose powers had manifested as telekenesis, Owens powers had manifested, and manifested, and manifested again. Each time T had thought it was over, Owen would use a different ability, one they had never seen him use before. This time it was the same power as his, the power to move things with his mind. It was a pretty versatile power, and T was confident he could handle this particular outburst, having had years of practice perfecting his abilities. He could control it with the precision of a laser beam, where Owen was likely to be like a bull in a china shop. He just hoped he was right.
As he got off the bus, he heard sirens and stashed his laptop bag behind a bush about a block away from their building. He may need to have both hands free if police were involved. He quickened his pace, almost running the last hundred feet. As he arrived at the apartment building, he saw police at both the front and the back door. It looked like they had just arrived – hopefully he could beat them to Owen, or else someone was likely to get hurt. That is, if someone hadn't already. If he didn't do something, Owen was going to get taken in by the police. Whenever a super was discovered by the government, they did one of two things, get them to join the military, or put them on stamp. Stamp was a drug created by the government that stamped out their abilities, but it had some nasty side effects. T didn't know the science of it, but he had heard that it worked on the part of the brain where the powers were activated, effectively turning it off. It Turned some people into zombies, and he had heard It had even killed some. The government feared the supers, and treated them like enemies of the state, unless they were willing to work as a weapon for the government.
He only saw one way into the apartment without going through the police– through the window in the living room. Thirty feet up, on the third floor. It was likely that the police would see him, but he didn't have much choice. In order to protect his brother and his secret, he would have to reveal his powers to the police and whoever else was watching. It was what it was – Owen needed him.
This had been his favorite trick as a kid, but as he got older it got harder and harder to do – the bigger he got, the more taxing it was on his system. Now whenever he tried it, he got a killer headache. In any case, he had never heard of a telekinetic who could do it. Then again, it was dangerous to brag. He floated into the air and sped towards the window. Hopefully, but a blur to the cops below.
With a flick of his right hand, the screen had fallen to the ground below, and a flick of the left hand had opened the window,with a practiced, fluid motion. The speed at which he traveled would hopefully help him retain his anonymity, at least in the short term. His head began to pound like a jackhammer, as he landed in the living room. He looked around him to find things floating around in circles – a tornado of bric a brac. It seems the epicenter was the kitchen, where he could hear wimpering and crying, barely audible above the din of broken dishes and glass. T guessed Owen was scared, and didn't know how to turn it off. The same thing had happened to him .The last few months had been rough on Owen, mostly because he was scared of what he would do next. As he got older, he would learn to control his abilities, but at this age, his emotions were in control, and the angrier or more scared he got, the more dangerous things would get. Right now he was probably terrified. Even T was nervous, the display of power Owen was showing was much more than anything he had ever displayed. If he wasn't so concerned, he might even be jealous.
He made his way towards the kitchen, probably not the safest room in the house for him to be in, having to pass right through storm. As he entered the kitchen, he had to generate a thin shield around his body to protect him from the flying debris.
“Hey Bud, are you okay?” T said to his little brother, curled into a ball on the kitchen floor.
“Don't come near me, I might hurt you” He said in a small voice, hoarse from screaming or crying, possibly both.
“It's ok – I can help you. First you just need to calm down. It's going to be okay. Where's mom?”
“She ran into her room crying. I didn't mean hurt anyone.” With every word, he just got more and more upset, causing the few items left untouched in the room to life off the ground.
“I know you didn't bud.” T said as he slowly made his way over to his brother, avoiding flying appliances, dishes, and food. Just as he reached his brother a knife came flying at his face – luckily it bounced off his shield. “See buddy, you can't hurt me – don't worry. It'll be ok.”
As he reached his brother, he cradled him in his arms, trying both to comfort him and calm him down. It seemed to be working as things started falling to the floor. He could hear the sounds of breaking dishes and furniture, as everything was suddenly silent and still.
Just as T had calmed Owen down, T could hear people running up the stairs. “Okay Owie, you have to trust me right now. We have to go. We'll come back later to make sure mom is okay, but right now we have to get out of here. Try to stay calm – I know it's hard, but don't worry, we'll be okay.”
KNOCK-KNOCK
“Open up in there. It's the police.” He heard from the door, as the police had finally reached it. They certainly wouldn't take no for an answer, especially not after seeing T's display.
“Am I going to get arrested?” Owen asked.
“No – I won't let anything happen to you – that's why we have to go though, so come on.” T picked him up and started walking towards the window. There was only one way out, and he could just imagine the headache he was going to have when it was all said and done. He looked down at Owen, and noticed his eyelids had begun to get heavy, as he let out a yawn – using that much raw power really wore him out. “Go ahead, Owen, go to sleep, I'm sure you're tired. I'll be with you when you get up.” Seconds later he was out. It was likely that he'd be out for at least a few hours.
Just then their mom ran out into the living room, her tear-stained cheeks evidence of what she's been through the last few hours, and blood was running down her cheek. She must have gotten knicked by something before she found escape behind her bedroom door.
“It's the police, what are we going to do?” She asked. She knew better than anyone else the dangers of the government catching someone like Owen and himself. Owen's father had been taken by the police when Owen was just six, and was never seen or heard from again.
“Well considering they might've seen me fly throug the window, I'd say we have to get out of here”
“Ok – let's go.”
“No, mom. Not you. It won't be safe. I'll take care of Owen, but we have to go now.”
“I'm not letting you take my baby.” She looked like someone had punched her in the emotional gut, which is pretty much what had happened. At least the government wouldn't get him.
“I don't know that we have any other choice”
BANG-BANG. Sounds like they'd started kicking in the door.
“Sooner or later they're going to get the door open,and if they don't find someone here, they're going to think it was you causing the chaos. Just tell them someone broke in.”
“Where are you going to go?”
“I don't know, but we'll be fine. I'll call you when I can.”
She looked at T and Owen with a look of loss and confusion. She walked over to T, and kissed him on the cheek. “Keep him safe.”
“Always.”
“What am I going to tell them when they ask where he is?”
“Just tell them I'm babysitting him. They may have seen me fly in the window, but I don't think they got a good look.”
Both T and his mother knew that it may never be safe for Owen and T to come back. Sooner or later, the cops were going to talk to neighbors who would report that they heard Owen crying (or screaming) and things breaking. They'll put that together with the report of the man flying in the window, and they'll figure it out. Supers were rare, but not much else could cause the destruction in the apartment, or the blur through the window.
T's former life was over. If they suspected that Owen was a super, they would know that T was. His flying spectacle assured that. This changed everything for T – he couldn't go back to his job, couldn't contact his friends, and now he had a ten year old to care for. And the day started out so boring.
T was out the window just moments before the cops burst through the door. He heard them accusingly questioning his mother, and hoped he had done the right thing in leaving her behind. He didn't think the cops could arrest her without just cause – supers were the only ones without rights, and that was just because they were so dangerous. Or so T rationalized. In reality, the cops could probably do whatever they wanted.
He had now become an enemy of the state, cut off from everyone and everything he had ever known. He could understand the rationale – if Owen wasn't his brother, T might think he was dangerous, a ticking time bomb even. Above all else, though, he was just a scared ten year old boy, like any other. He needed someone, now more than ever, to have faith in him. T wouldn't let his brother down. He was all he had, now.
From the fire escape, he looked down and saw that the cops were gone from the back door. They must be the ones inside the apartment. T was trying to decide if it was worth going back for his bag, hidden behind the tree a block away. The bag had his laptop, his phone charger, and some money in it, which would come in handy.
From behind him in the apartment, he heard a commotion and realized the police were coming to look out the window. Eventually, he was going to need his bag, so it was worth taking the chance. He swooped down behind the tree a block from the apartment, grabbing his bag. It didn't look like anyone had seen him land – it came in handy to be able to travel that fast. One thing was for sure, T was glad to be on solid ground again.
He didn't know where he was going, but he had all the time in the world to figure it out. Just then the pounding of his head brought attention to itself. He had never carried anything as heavy as Owen with him as he flew. He hadn't even been sure he could. Now he knew. He started walking away from the apartment at a moderate pace, trying not to bring attention to himself, staying on side streets and backyards. He had to get them out of Boston.
