Power Pack
Issue #12 – Vacation
Alex woke up and stared over at the clock. It was barely six in the morning. He knew the alarm wouldn't be going off for a few hours yet but he was wide awake. He looked over and saw Jesse fast asleep so he slipped out of bed quietly and went and sat on the chair near the hotel window. He glanced out the window and could see Cinderella's castle off in the distance. It felt good to relax and not have a care in the world, especially after their battle with Douglas Carmedy, the Boogy-Man. It was a well needed vacation and things were going great for once.
Alex looked over at the slightly snoring Jesse. He was so glad that he had found him and that he was back in his life. The fear that the Boogy-Man might have killed him was too much to bear. Once again, he and his siblings had managed to put a stop to Carmedy and save their friends and loved ones. Besides Jesse and his parents, Carmedy had taken Steve Sands, Brent Taylor, Samantha Jackson and Rebecca Littlehale. Carmedy was behind bars and everyone else was okay and moving on with their lives.
Kat's major love, Brent Taylor was taken home by the authorities. According to Kat, Brent is going to be more popular than ever after his daring survival from a monster's lair. He's been interviewed all over the news and their parents had to literally pry Kat from the television to go on vacation. It seemed that despite what had happened Brent was going to be perfectly fine, both physically and emotionally. The same couldn't be said for all of them.
Rebecca Littlehale may have been bruised up a little but she had been scarred emotionally. Carmedy, many years earlier had tried to get Rebecca. That had been the first time that Power Pack had met her. It seemed Rebecca was special like them. She had powers too, but she had been born with hers. She had the power to teleport towards bright lights. Power Pack had saved her and they had gone their separate ways thinking she would never see the Boggy-Man again. They were wrong.
When the Boogy-Man had kidnapped her it had brought back old repressed memories for Becca. This time, bigger, scarier and more deadly he had used those old fears and tormented her. She was a wreck when the authorities had arrived. It didn't help that she had found out that Power Pack had rescued her. All of this helped her put two and two together and realized who Alex in her class was and remember all their secret identities. This also led to her finding out that Kofi was an alien and this disguise of deceit pushed her over the edge and never wanted to see Kofi again or Power Pack.
Alex felt bad for her and for Kofi. He and Kofi had tried to go see her but she refused. She swore she would keep Power Pack's secret if they promised to stay away from her. Last Kofi heard was that she was going to see a therapist. The same one that had helped her when she was younger to overcome her fears of the Boogy-Man. This left Kofi feeling depressed and wanting to be left alone. He felt bad for falling victim to the Boogy-Man so easily and then losing the girl. There was nothing Alex could do to get him to go with them on vacation so he stayed back at the Pack Pad with Friday looking over him.
Alex knew he would get over his first Earth crush and be just fine. He just wished Kofi would have agreed to come with them like Jesse, Samantha and Steve had. His parents had felt that they needed a vacation and they had been thoughtful to include their friends. Steve, whose parents really didn't care he had gone missing still didn't want to accept him back into their home and being of age couldn't be forced back into their homes. The only place he had to go was the Xavier Institute or find a life on his own.
Steve didn't know what he wanted to do, he felt lost. He was a good kid that just made bad decisions or fell with the wrong crowd. Unlike Jack who decided to co to a trade school to learn more about mechanics and fixing cars, Steve didn't have the desire or the money to go to college. He also found that most places that actually paid decent would not hire him since he had not finished high school. Originally, the Xavier Institute had offered to train him in his new powers along with completing his high school training and beyond, so he said he would give them a call.
The day before the Powers were ready to leave on vacation, Steve rang the door bell. Jack knew something was wrong just by looking at his friend's face. Steve told him how he had called Xavier's and the school's headmaster, Sam told him some bad news. Due to a recent attack on the school and everyone still recovering they couldn't accept any new students at this time. If he had actually been a mutant it might have been a different story but right now they just couldn't take him in. Now Steve didn't know where to go from there, so he came here.
Jack felt bad for his friend but luckily he had great parents. His dad said that since Jack was going to be living at home till he was done with college that Steve could crash in Jack's room until he got a job and decided what to do with his life. Jack was glad to have his friend staying with him but he knew it would be tough to keep Power Pack a secret from him. Steve wanted to tell him, but the Pack had voted for now that they couldn't risk reveling their secret's to anybody.
That promise made Julie feel guilty since she hadn't told her siblings about Samantha's powers or that Samantha knew about all of them. She felt bad because that meant lying to her parents too. Julie and Samantha had to do some fancy storytelling on why Samantha had no one to turn to after the kidnapping. Since they had already agreed to Samantha staying at the Power's home until summer was over it was no big deal for her to just go home with them. That also left James and Margaret with a full house, not including Alex and his boyfriend Jesse.
Alex had been pacing the whole time while they had waited for their parents to get home. They had agreed for Power Pack to leave before the Guardsmen from the vault arrived. Kofi had gone back to the Pack Pad with Friday dropping the Richards kids off at home. That left the Power kids to clean up the house before their parents got home. Alex squeezed Jack's shoulder as he pulled down the note they left telling people the graduation party had been cancelled due to a family emergency. Jack was disappointed but dad's mentioned vacation plans was a make up for the lost party.
Everyone kept yelling at Alex to help more, but he was too worried about Jesse and his parents. His dad had sad he would bring Jesse back to the house. It was killing Alex to know how things were going between them. Were they really cool about all this or would there be problems? He just wished he knew what was happening and what was being said. His worries intensified as he heard a car pull into the driveway. Alex ran to the window and looked out while he prepared himself for whatever happened next.
He saw his parents get out of the taxi with both Jesse and Julie's dorm mate Samantha Jackson. His mom had her arm around Samantha while his dad had a hand on Jesse's shoulder. They were all laughing despite what they had all been through. Alex ran near the front door as the door opened and they all walked in. Alex took one look at Jesse and burst into tears.
"Jesse, your face, are you okay?" Alex ran putting his arms around Jesse and hugging him tight.
"I'm fine. I look worse than I really am. He just batted me around a little. I'm so sorry Alex. He made me say those things to you on the phone. I didn't mean them at all," Jesse said sobbing into Alex's arms.
"I'm just so glad you're okay. This was all my fault. Because of me you got hurt," Alex cried.
"It's not your fault, son," James Power said patting his son on the back.
"Your dad's right. He told me all about Carmedy and how he had spent his life trying to hurt you and your family. Good thing I'm enough of an Avenger fanatic that an old boss turning into a monster doesn't shock me," Jesse laughed.
"I'm just thankful he didn't seriously harm any of you," Alex smiled.
"Yeah, I've always wanted to meet your parents, but never imagined it being quite like this," Jesse smiled.
"You never know what to expect in the Power household," Margaret smiled has Julie took Samantha's things to her room.
"Yeah, wait till dad tried to get you to eat his lentil soup," Jack laughed coming into the living room.
"Hey, my soup is fantastic. Just ask Franklin," James said as he ushered everyone into the living room.
"So how is everything else?" Alex asked shyly to Jesse.
"If you mean between me and your parents, they were very friendly and accepting of me," Jesse said.
"Alex, you should know us better than that. Me and your father love and accept all of you no matter what," Margaret said as she looked around the living room and then gave a guilty look to Jack.
"That's right son. As long as you're happy and treat each other right we don't care who you date," James said patting Jack on the back who was letting his mom know it was okay about the party.
"Well, I guess I better introduce you to the rest of the family. This is my brother Jack, that's my sister Julie and the one on the phone is my younger sister Kat," Alex said pointing out his siblings. "Everyone, this is Jesse Stone."
"Nice to meet you," everyone said at once minus Kat who waved and then went back to her phone with her friends about Brent.
"I'm just glad we finally get to meet you," Julie said hugging Jesse.
"Me too," Jesse said shyly.
"What about everything else?" Alex asked suddenly thinking of Jesse's apartment and family.
"Your dad happened to still have his cell phone on him so he let me call me parents while the cops questioned everyone. They are still out of the country so no need to report anything they don't even know about in the first place," Jesse said trying to hold his tone. Alex felt bad; he knew how tough it was between Jesse and his parents.
"The guardsmen are contacting the school and have condemned my apartment and got me released from my lease. Since he had been in there they want to put my old place under a microscope," Jesse said.
"That's why when I heard that I lied and said we had been taken while walking downtown. I was not about to let them ruin my house," Margaret said as she brought out Jack's cake and began cutting it.
"Margaret, I love it when you bad," James winked at his wife. "I told Jesse he's welcomed here, even if we are a bit crowded."
"That's okay dad. I appreciate the offer but I think Jesse can stay with me and Kofi at our pad," Alex said.
"Kofi?" Jesse asked.
"Don't worry, that's his roommate and best friend," Julie teased.
"Oh, I wasn't thinking anything. It's just you never mentioned anything about Kofi," Jesse said.
"I know, he was a great friend of mine growing up and he lost touch over the years. I hadn't even thought about him till I came back home and ran into him here and found he was looking for a roommate," Alex said wishing he could tell the whole truth.
"I can't wait to meat him. Thank you, Ms. Power," Jesse said taking a piece of cake.
"Call me Margaret," Alex's mom said with a smile.
"While we all eat cake I have an announcement. Kat, off the phone now," James said as a pouting Kat hung up the phone.
"What is it, dad?" Jack asked.
"When I said we needed a vacation I wasn't kidding. I think we have a lot of blessing to be thankful after today. Me and our mom have decided that we are all going to Disney World," James said.
"Are you serious?" Julie asked trying to contain her excitement.
"Yes, we'll all be leaving in a few days," Margaret said.
"Can you book a flight in such a short notice?" Jack asked.
"Actually, Reed called after he found out about Franklin and Valeria's adventure. He said he would fly us out their let us stay in their private hotel suite," James said as Alex quickly explained to Jesse how his parents were good friends with the Richards.
"Wow, you guys know the Fantastic Four?" Jesse asked in awe.
"It's okay. I go to school with their son and he's such a nerd," Kat said rolling her eyes.
"This sounds great and all but I hate to leave so soon," Alex started to say looking at Jesse.
"Way ahead of you, Alex. Their suite has four bedrooms. You and Jesse can have one room, Samantha, Kat and Julie in another while Jack takes the third," James said.
"I don't know what to say," Samantha started to say.
"Trust me. It'll be okay," Julie said taking her friend's hand.
"I know, but I really don't have any money and I can't just," Samantha began to say.
"Hey, we are getting the flight, hotel and admission into the park for free. My bonus from work is more than enough to cover the other expenses. No one can say no, we are all going so start packing your things," James said as everyone cheered.
Soon Alex and Jesse made their way to the Pack Pad. The whole drive over was nonstop talking. Alex had to know everything that had happened while Jesse did his best to retell the ale and assure him that he was okay. IN the back of Alex's mind he was in agony over weather he should tell Jesse the truth about him and his siblings or not. He knew he had made a promise to his siblings but Alex and Jesse had no secrets between them, except this one and it almost got Jesse killed.
They made their way into the apartment and found Kofi sitting on the couch staring at the phone. Alex was relieved that he was in human form. Friday must have alerted to their arrival before they had gotten to the front door. Kofi got up and walked over to Alex and his boyfriend.
"Just waiting for Becca to call me back, she won't return my calls," Kofi said.
"The other girl?" Jesse asked.
"Yes, she was in one of my classes and had just started dating Kofi when Carmedy took her," Alex said.
"I see, so you are Kofi, Alex's best friend?" Jesse asked right away looking at the handsome man.
"Yes, and you must be Jesse. Alex has told me a lot about you. He was so worried when you went missing," Kofi said shaking his hand.
"Glad to meet you, even though he's never mentioned you," Jesse said as he and Kofi glared at Alex.
Alex blushed as he gave Jesse a quick tour and then led him to their room. As Jesse began to unpack, Alex could tell something was on his mind. He had a feeling it might have to do with what had happened with the Boogy-Man. How could Alex pry without having to worry about disclosing his secret? Alex didn't have time to think too deeply as Jesse turned and spoke.
"Alex, there is only one thing that shocked me about this whole event. That creature, Boogy-Man said something about your family and having powers. He never said more but always referenced it. What was he talking about?" Jesse asked.
"He…," Alex began and then sighed, "sit down, I've something to tell you. Something I've wanted to tell you for a long time."
Jesse sat down across from Alex and nodded. Alex began to sake as he started at the beginning. He told Jesse about how he and his sisters had received alien powers and everything from then to now fighting as the super team known as Power Pack. He left out nothing, not even Kofi's true form to Friday and the secret headquarters here. Just to make sure Jesse didn't think he was lying he powered on his costume, floated into the air and then turned off his costume. Alex then sat there and waited for Jesse to respond.
"I always suspected something like this. Here I thought our first time I had imagined being lifted up into the air briefly," Jesse smirked a little.
"I hope you're not mad," Alex said with tears.
"Mad? At what? You keeping a secret from me after we promised that there wouldn't be any? Mad at a secret that almost got me killed?" Jesse said feeling confused.
"Jesse, I wanted to tell you but didn't know how," Alex said getting up and moving near Alex.
"I need time to think. I'll be on the couch," Jesse said as he left the room.
Alex had been worried that he had blown it with Jesse after just finding him again. Jesse hadn't said much but he had agreed to still go with them on vacation. He had told him that they would talk about it later but for now would play it calm. From that moment until they got back to the hotel after one full day at Disney World, no one knew that Alex and Jesse's relationship had been tested. Despite his fears, Alex had a good time and hoped all would be okay.
"You're awake?" Jesse said sitting up.
"Yes, just couldn't sleep," Alex said.
"Must be this place. This place has been so magical I've almost forgotten about all that had happened," Jesse said as he pulled on his robe and stood up.
"I know, it's been perfect. Despite all this, you still seem preoccupied and you haven't said much. You can't forgive me can you? It's over isn't it?" Alex said starting to cry.
"Alex, don't cry. The reason I've been so quiet and distant is because I've been thinking," Jesse said walking up to Alex.
"About what?" Alex asked.
"About us, you, your powers and your siblings. At first I was mad but then I started thinking about the Avengers. You guys are like them, super heroes out saving the world. I realize keeping this secret helped protect the loved ones around you," Jesse said.
"I can't tell you how sorry I am. I wish I would have told you from the start. I promise, no more secrets," Alex said.
"Alex, let me finish. I love you and I'm not going anywhere. Love the fact that you risk your life to save me and others every day. I love the idea that my man is a super hero. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you," Jesse said getting down on one knee and pulling out a gold band with three small diamonds.
"Jesse, what is this? What are you saying?" Alex said shaking as he looked down into Jesse's eyes.
"Alex, will you marry me?" Jesse asked as he slid the ring on Alex's finger.
"Oh, Jesse," Alex began to answer when suddenly his father's voice boomed from the other side of the door.
"Alex, get out here now!" James shouted.
"Dad, what's wrong?" Alex said running out into the living room with Jesse right behind him.
"Something is going on. Something bad," Margaret said shaking as she held Kat.
"Alex, look outside the sky is starting to turn red," Julie said as Samantha stared out from behind her.
"What's going on?" Alex asked again.
"It's all over the news. It started yesterday and has been occurring all over the world since then," James said.
"What has," Alex said as he saw the pictures on the news.
"Beams of pure fire have been shooting up into the heavens. Cities all over the world have been destroyed from these. Something bad is happening," Jack said.
"We need to get home fast," Alex said.
"Alex, what is going on?" Jesse asked.
"I don't know, but it can't be good," Alex said as he saw the beams of fire on the television.
Next: Read Demon Storm #1 – Demon Storm – Part One
Then be back here for Issue #13 – Demon Storm – Part Four