Vulnerable
Chapter One: Expectations
...
His mother hugged him.
She whispered, "It's okay, baby. Everything will be okay."
Will's buried his face into her neck. He couldn't stop his mouth from spilling a litany of apologies.
The son of the two greatest superheroes of the decade didn't have superpowers and his mother confirmed it by walking into the kitchen during a particularly epic struggle against a jar of pickles.
Will's a momma's boy for a reason and before he could form an excuse in his mind, her arms were wrapped around him, jar of pickles forgotten on the countertop. She murmured the reassurances that Will always thought could be, but were always overridden with the thought that they would deem him as unacceptable, defective, not their son. He remembers looking at the TV, his dad's action figure grasped in his tiny hand, cheering his parents on.
And then-
A robot grabbed his mother by the ankle and flung her into a nearby building.
She came back that evening with a few bandages on her face.
'They're just boo-boo's honey,' she whispered sweetly to him in his bed as he cried in her lap.
At seven, he became aware that his mom and dad were not his exclusively, but the rest of the world's as well.
And that he had big shoes to fill.
"You always have real estate school," she said. Her forehead was pressed gently against his, her clear, hazel eyes staring at him like he's the only person in the world, like she's his mother and not the mother of a superpower-less child. Will knew she was being truthful as she spoke. "I expect you to take over my housing legacy."
Will laughed through the tears.
He hugged her tighter.
He was grateful that he didn't have to watch his strength.
That night, while they're eating dinner, they're both a little quieter.
She didn't tell him to tell his father.
However, that night, when his father asked, "How's was everybody's day?" her mouth sloping downward slightly.
He made her promise.
He would tell.
He would.
Just.
Not during dinner.
While his mom is washing the dishes, he gathered what little courage that didn't run away during dessert while they're watching the evening news. The news has just flickered onto the weather report when he inhaled and spoke.
The remote was crushed in his father's hand into a fine powder. Luckily, there was a collection of remotes in the cabinet to the right of the television.
Unluckily, his father didn't say anything.
His father was disappointed.
It was in his carefully controlled breathing, the straighter lines of his back as he slowly stood up from the coach, and even in the way quietly left the living room and heads toward that unknown part of the house that Will has never been given the privy too.
He never turned his head to look at Will.
Will clenched his eyes, his arms wrapped around himself but that did nothing to protect him from seeing his father's smile wiped from his face and his expression replaced with that carefully guarded look that's reserved for his Commander persona.
His mother is immediately by his side. She pressed a kiss against his forehead before she followed after her husband, her heels clicking down the hallway like an early warning signal of an oncoming visitation from a protective mother bear on a mission.
The walls were closing in, the various pictures of their little family staring down accusatorily down at him. Will gulped, his eyes straying to the family portrait directly in front of him, and even the picture of his father smiling causes Will the unnerving desire to crawl into his bed and never emerge.
He needed air.
Scrambling into his room, Will opened the window and leaned forward toward the darkened sky and breathed. The cold gulps of air streaming throughout his body a needed shock to his system. He turned around, leaning the lower half of his body against the window railing before leaning on the balls of his feet to grab the window's ledge and haul himself up onto the roof.
Lying against the slightly warmed tiles of his roof, Will looked forward into the vast night sky, the stars twinkly brightly at him with an answer that he would probably never interpret.
There are plenty of superheroes that were superheroes and didn't have powers.
Batman.
But-
He's just Will.
To his left, he could hear the faint tremble of leaves and his senses were overloaded with the sudden smell of apples. He looked up and grinned when a familiar mop of red head appeared in his line of vision. In her hand is an apple. "Real estate school," Will stated as he accepted the apple with a half-hearted grin.
"That's a promising future prospect," Layla replied as she settled herself next to him. Her shoulder pressed against his once he sat up. She nudged his shoulder with hers, "Does that mean Sky High is…?"
"I'm still going," Will stated with certainty, looking thoughtfully at his apple. "They're making an exception because I'm The Commander's and Jetstream's son."
"Other than the obvious favoritism," Layla stated wryly, it didn't stop the grin from spreading across her face, "I'm glad we're still going to be classmates."
"You should be in the hero class." Will bit into his apple, chewing thoughtfully. "This better not be a pity decision because of poor, powerless Stronghold."
She rolled her eyes toward the darkened sky, as if asking for help from a higher being. "You know I'm against society placing labels upon the impressionable youth." She bumped her back against his shoulder, her fingers curling loosely around his forearm. "However, I'll make an exception for you."
Will hummed in agreement, his fingers gently picking at the tiles of the roof.
"So…"
"I told them."
"You told them or…"
"More like…" Will felt his face enflame as he murmured, "Mom saw me losing against a jar of pickles."
"There could be worst ways to figure out you don't have superpowers." Layla attempted to rationalize with a forced grin. Behind her, he can see the apple tree blooming for more apples.
"I could accidentally be crushed underneath a car if they had dragged me with them to a mission."
"You would've told them before though."
He gives her a look.
"Well, there's that," Layla shrugged. "If it helps any, your funeral would have had the most beautiful flowers from me," right before she dropped a bushel of apples in his lap.
She beamed at him.
"Your pep talks need work."
"You're not giving me a lot to work with Will!"
…
Even super-powered high schoolers were allowed field trips. They don't go to Mars or the space station hiding discreetly behind the moon (that's for the seniors), but the freshman class did get to go to the zoo.
Even hero assistance.
Despite the moaning and groaning, and the "We're not babies!" from a few individuals, Will was more than happy to go.
He always had a fondness for the lions.
Until now.
Somehow, Animal Tamer coincidently decided to free all the animals from the zoo the same time Sky High freshman were running around the zoo.
"Will!" Layla gritted her teeth, attempting to dodge flying songbirds while keeping the predator birds tangled in their vegetative nets. "Where are you?"
"I'm fine!"
"Doesn't look like it to me, dude!" Zach called in his direction as he and Ethan lead several dozen different types of insects back toward the insect house with Zach's glow and Ethan's liquid entrapment of the more pesky waterborne insects.
Magenta squeaked in agreement before turning back to her own problem: Deferring a major coup from the rodent population.
It was a little difficult, especially with the Animal Tamers machine on full blast in the background.
The heroes in the other classes, makeshift disguises over their faces, were attempting to keep the animals away from the citizens. It – well, Boomer hadn't yet covered scenarios where various predatory animals were mixed into the superhero-ing equation. So, while the hero-class was managing fairly on their own, it only lasted until the baboons were thrown into the mix.
Unfortunately for Will, he was at the large feline exhibit when Animal Tamer freed the animals.
Will whimpered, pressing his body further against the concrete wall with nowhere else to go, his heart beating a mile a minute like it wanted to erupt from his chest. The wall behind him was smooth and his sneakers left no traction for him to climb up. It seemed like a good idea throwing a rock at a large, 400-pound wild lion to keep it away from an innocent woman and her toddler. The first part of the plan worked well when the woman grabbed her little boy and sprinted to a safe distance with the other civilians. Will exhaled slowly and wiped his forehead.
And then the plan took a turn for the worse when the lion turned his focus toward Will, it's eyes enflamed at the seemingly minor annoyance.
The lion crouched, its tailing flailing slowly behind it.
Will straightened his body, staring it down while hoping for…for something.
"WILL!" Layla shrieked from a distance. Lucky her.
The lion roared, his white teeth glistening in the light as it charged forward.
A wall of red, hot fire surged merely feet away from Will.
The lion yelped, its whiskers smoldering, scrambling backward-
-Only to run into The Commander.
The hero clad in red, white, and blue dropped an unconscious Animal Tamer onto the ground. His flute was crushed into tiny pieces by his unconscious form.
The Commander narrowed his eyes at the lion, causing it to flatten its ears. Even the wild animal knows not to mess with him. The Commander's lack of superhero dialogue and his characteristic grin were absent as he grabbed the large feline by the scruff of it's neck. As if The Commander was handling a stuffed animal, he easily threw it back within the confines of its area. The lion yelped once it landed within its area, it bared its fangs, but shrank when The Commander pointedly punched a wall, making a nice indent and securing the iron grate that the lion tore through to initially free itself, before he walked away.
Will was still rooted on his spot. He was pale with a sheen of cold sweat dripping from his body, but overall, he though he's okay. Suddenly, his friends swarmed him and gathered him into a group hug. Layla was checking him over for cuts and scrapes, clicking her tongue like a mother hen when her fingers grazed against a particularly harsh bruise. They stop –Layla's fingers still pressed against a pretty harsh bruise, Will winces (Layla was probably doing that on purpose)- as they stared in awe as The Commander stood before them. There was an impenetrable expression on his face.
"Are you okay, son?"
He was using his Commander tone, but it did not stop the small smile forming on Will's face. His father was looking at him, really just-just looking at him.
"Thanks Commander."
The Commander nodded before turning away, his cape billowing behind him as he followed the scream of several members of the hero-class while struggling in the penguin exhibit.
…
"I'm okay, mom," Will murmured into his mother's collarbone as she crushed him against her body. "Really, I got a lollipop and everything from the nurse. I'm pretty sure I'm okay."
Josie pulled away for a moment, staring at him with wide, worried eyes before grabbing his face and squishing his cheeks in her hands as she shook his head from side to side, "Are you sure? You still looked flushed? Oh my gosh, what if you got a weird disease? Like sleeping sickness!"
"Honey," Steve placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. It didn't stop his eyes from flickering up and down Will's slightly scratched up form, "Our son says he's okay, I'm sure we can believe him."
"Let me grab you some cookies and hot chocolate then," Josie shot him a watery smile before rushing to the kitchen to find a way to coddle him with baked goods.
"Thanks dad." Will cautiously looked up at his dad, unsure if yesterday's confession is still on the tip of his mind.
Will was more than a little surprised when his dad took a step forward and enveloped him in a hug. It was a tight hug, just on the edge of being crushing, but Will returned it all the same. It felt like hugging a stone column that was brimming with all the love and attention that he held back earlier that day.
"I'm glad you're safe," his dad whispered into his ear, unrelenting in his embrace. He pulled away, his mouth set in a line. "I-I know yesterday I didn't take your…admittance well, but-" He released Will, his palms open as he makes motioning movements, indicating the entirety of Will, "You're my one and only son." He coughed, rubbing the back of his neck, a pink tint on the tip of his cheeks, "I love you, whether or not you have powers."
Will grinned, shuffling his feet a little back and forth at the awkwardness of the situation but appreciating this talk nonetheless. He stepped forward, once again hugging his father. He buried his face into his dad's shoulder, a relieved grin on his face. His dad chuckled, raising a hand to gently ruffle his hair.
"Cute!"
A flash of light.
Steve and Will Stronghold looked up to see Josie Stronghold holding a camera, grinning brightly.
"I'm faxing this to Grandma Stronghold later!"
…
"Can I have my fortune cookie now?" Will asked politely, a grin on his face. It was not returned. It didn't dampen his spirits though. The crispy pork on egg noodles and stir-fried vegetables in the Paper Lantern were the best.
Warren rolled his eyes, disappearing behind the counter before reappearing with a cookie in his hand. "Here."
"Thanks," Will beamed as he carefully broke it open. You have to break it cleanly in two pieces or the wish is defaulted. He stood by his fortune cookie theories.
Warren raised an eyebrow.
"Dessert should always be eaten first," Will announced in defense as he popped a half of it in his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully as he carefully pulled the slim piece of paper from the other half of the cookie. He read, "A pleasant surprise is waiting for you."
Warren scoffed, making a move to go back to the kitchen.
"Thank you."
"The cookie is part of the meal."
Will carefully stirred the noodles together so that the egg noodles could properly sop up the secret brown sauce. "For saving me yesterday."
"I couldn't exactly allow a lion maul you," Warren responded wryly, his back still to Will. "That's probably a negative one thousand on my Save The Citizen score."
"Still, let me say thanks," Will insisted.
"Whatever Stronghold." Warren huffed slightly in resignation before turning around to fully face Will, his tattooed arms folded firmly in front of his chest.
Will blushes. He has inadvertently made himself the sole focus of one Warren Peace. He looked up, his hazel eyes earnestly meeting Warren's. "Thank you for saving me."
Warren turned away and took a step away back toward the kitchen. "I was just there at the right time and right place."
Will smiled even wider, his voice teasing, "My hero."
Warren froze, his shoulders stiff as he resumed his trek at a more hurried pace back to the kitchen. While turning the corner into the kitchen, Will saw a slight smile on his face.
Will popped the other half of the cookie in his mouth and tucked the fortune carefully in his pocket.
SS: We're getting somewhere. Totally. Kind of. Anyway, review please!
