"These damn supes", muttered a 31-year-old man with curly brown hair, umber skin, and an endomorph body as he peeked through the window. He was watching a group of supes beating up another supe as the storm rolled in for the night. The weather was a perfect compliment to his rotten mood.

It had all seemed so simple, once upon a time.

Well...not entirely always simple. Mauricio Suárez grew up in San Angel, just before the emergence of "supes". Seeing supes was a rarity in his time, due to the fact they were small in numbers. Despite acknowledging the existence of supes, he and his family were very distrusting towards them. They witness supes rip titanium in half and throw cars like little toys.

"What's wrong, mon amour?" Asked a 33-year-old woman with short wavy black hair, tawny skin, an athletic build, and icey blue eyes. Mauricio turned to her and sighed, "nothing Bridgette, those beasts are fighting again as usual", he grumbled exhaustingly. His wife came to him and hugged him from behind, she too was very distrusting towards supes and very timid by them. "I see. I put Consuela to sleep, have you seen Carlos? I can't find him anywhere", Bridgette asked worriedly. The 7-year-old Carlos always quickly lost interest in what he was doing and wandered off to do his own thing.

Really, the parents shouldn't have been surprised. Carlos had a habit of getting distracted by the least little thing. "I'll go get him", said Mauricio as he leaves from his spot, grab a flashlight, and heads to the back door. He knew Carlos would use the back door, when supes are seen outside at the front of their house. It's was also somewhat safer because you're least likely to be seen by supes, lest they have super hearing, are flying by, or have x-ray vision.

Fortunately for them, the supes they witness never seem to have any of those 3 said powers. As soon as Mauricio got to the backyard, he quietly called to his son. Just loud enough for the young to hear, but quiet enough for the supes still outside not to hear him.

"Carlos!", he called, no answer.

"Carlos! Wherever you've run off to, get your behind back over here mister!It is too dangerous for a little boy to be out here this late and it is past your bedtime! You need plenty of rest tonight, for we have a big day tomorrow!"

The man paused and listened. The fog that curled through the yard tonight covered most of the ground,then he heard a bush rustle. Mauricio pointed his flashlight towards to moving bush and preparing what was about to happen. There, came out a boy of age 7 with pitch black hair, tawny skin, and icy blue eyes. Mauricio sighed in relief.

"Here I am papa", said the boy as he warmly smiled. Mauricio went to hug his son, securely.

"There you are! You had us worried, míjo! What're you doing outside this late?"

"Hiding"

"Hiding from que o quien, Míjo?"

"The bad beings", responded Carlos as he hugged his father tightly and buried his face on Mauricio's side. Mauricio crouched down to his son's level and spoke.

"Hey look at me, Carlos", Carlos looked up with a worried face and Mauricio caressed the boys face, fatherly.

"Those supes won't harm you nor your hermana. As long as tu madre y yo are around, you will be alright", he smiled assuringly.

"What if you and maman won't protect us anymore, what will we do then?"

Mauricio chuckled, "It will never happen, míjo, because your mother and I won't be going anywhere. If something happen to us, we want you to take your sister and run. Run and never look back. Take care of each other too. Can you promise us that?"

Carlos hesitated and then nodded.

"I promise, papa"

"¡Bien! Now, let's get ready for bed", Mauricio picked Carlos up and go inside the house, locking the back door shut.

"I found him, Bridgette! He was just hiding in the bushes from the supes".

His wife turned to him and sighed in relief. Her son was miraculously safe.

"Oh, what a soulagement! I thought I'd lost him forever! Fortunately for us, those monsters left before you came back in".

Both parents took their son to bed and tucked him in. Before the Sáurez parents could leave Emiliano asked them a question.

"Why do supes always appear before our eyes and why do you dislike them?"

Both parents looked at each other, then at their eldest child. Bridgette was the first to answer.

"Because mon coeur, they are sent from the pits of hell to torment us, making us their play things".

Carlos tilted his head quizzically, "Why would they do such a thing?"

Then Mauricio was the second to answer, "Well...it's because they're like parasites. They take without giving anything in return and they never leave, at least to their own accord".

"Why?" the child asked once more.

"It's complicated, you'll understand when you're older. Bonne nuit ma chérie", dismissed Bridgette as they got up, turned off the light, and closed the door. Carlos was left alone in his room, as the words of his parents played in his head repeatedly. Are supes really parasitic as they say?? Have his parents encountered any and did something to hate them?? These were questions swimming in the little boy's head. Questions he would ask tomorrow. Soon, he drifted off into a deep sleep, snuggling inside the warm covers of his bed.