Impossible

"Good morning!"

My mom greeted me with a smile. My mom has always been a morning person.

"Morning," came the reply from myself and my brothers. We were not morning people. Breakfast was usually very quiet from our end of the table.

Jordan dove right in this morning, "How do we go to school after everything that's happened? Pretend like everything is fine?"

My dad walked into the kitchen at that moment. "I know it's weird, but you'll get back into the swing of things. Get back to being normal teenagers."

"Normal? A twin with heat vision, a crazy uncle from another planet, and a Natalie 2.0. I don't think we can be normal again," Jonathan said, his frustration evident in his voice.

Natalie 2.0. It was so weird having her here. She was me in another world. Except she lost her mom and I still have mine. Yeah, totally normal.

"I know it'll be an adjustment, but hopefully we can all get back to normal life. That's what me and your dad want for you. Jordan will still work on his powers with dad, but apart from that, it'll be business as usual." Mom spoke up reassuringly.

"Bus is pulling up," dad said as he held up our lunch bags.

School was better than expected. Mr. Brown assigned an "About Me" essay and my friends invited me to a sleepover Friday night.

Starting at a new school in 8th grade was difficult. Everyone knew everyone by that point. Everyone had been in this school for years. Thankfully, I found a group of friends that I clicked with.

Kaitlyn, Ashley, and Hannah were nice to me from the start, inviting me to sit at their lunch table my first day here. Kaitlyn is quiet, but nice. She made sure to invite everyone to her birthday parties and brought extra food for kids who couldn't afford to buy lunch. Ashley is the party girl of our group. She wears makeup and seemingly hit puberty ways before the rest of us. Hannah is the smartest, always making A's and helps the rest of us with our homework. And then there's me. I'm not sure how I fit in this group, but I do. Being with them makes me feel the most normal I've ever felt, apart from when we lived in Metropolis and I just thought my family was normal.

After school, I sent my mom a text letting her know we went to get milkshakes at the diner.

Hannah helped us with our math homework, then Ashley invited us over for a makeover.

"So did you see the way Eric was looking at you at the diner?" Ashley asked me.

"Eric? No?" I was so confused. Eric was a football player in 9th grade, in high school with my brothers. I know him from their practices and games. "Girl he was giving you the look. I definitely think he's interested."

My phone went off just then, Jon was calling. "Dinner's almost ready. Mom told me to see if you needed a ride home."

"I'm at Ashley's, so I can just walk home," I started shoving books into my backpack as I spoke.

X

"Don't forget to let me know where you're at, Natalie. I didn't know you left the diner," mom always worried too much.

"Sure mom. Sorry. Where's dad?" I asked, looking around the kitchen.

"Out saving the world, per usual." Came Jordan's irritated reply. "He was supposed to train with me today, but he never showed."

Mom spoke up then, "Jordan, I know it's disappointing, but I'm sure your dad will train with you tomorrow. You know he hates missing time with you guys, too."

"Hey, I'm so sorry I'm late," dad said as he walked through the back door, "How was school?"

"Better than I thought," I replied cheerfully.

"It was fine. Can we train tomorrow, dad?" Asked Jordan.

"Of course we can. Sorry I missed it. There was a train that - "

Jordan stood up and took his plate to the sink, "There's always a train, dad. I know you have an excuse, but that doesn't make it not suck."

"Jordan" dad called as Jordan hurried upstairs.

"You're right, back to normal already," Jon said sarcastically.

"Hey," dad said warningly before his voice softened, "I know this whole year has been full of changes, but I promise it'll be better now. Your cast comes off tomorrow and then you can start training for next season."

"Yeah. I guess." Jon said as he took his plate to the sink and went upstairs.

"Can I go to Ashley's tomorrow after school? We may go to a movie." I asked, filling the silence.

"Actually, since we have to go to Metropolis to get Jon's cast off, we were thinking we could make an afternoon of it. Everyone can leave school early and we can all go," mom said excitedly.

"Really? Awesome! Let me go call Taylor!" I said as I ran upstairs.

Taylor was my best friend in Metropolis. She's been down to visit once, but ever since the Edge debacle, her parents are scared to let her come to Smallville. I'm excited to finally get to visit her in Metropolis.

"No way! Tomorrow? That's so soon! I'll be home right after school, maybe we can go to the mall?" Taylor was so excited to hear the news.

"I think we're making it a family day, but I'm sure my parents won't care if you come along!"

X

Being back in Metropolis is bittersweet. I miss living here and visiting just reminds me of how much I miss it. Jonathan and I agreed to move here for dad and Jordan. We knew it was the best decision for them, but it doesn't change that our whole lives are still here in Metropolis.

"Alright girls, we were thinking we could go to the mall or we could go to the amusement park." My mom asked from the passenger seat of the car.

"Amusement park!" Taylor and I said in unison, eliciting chuckles from the front seat.

"Amusement park it is," mom agreed.

At the park, we couldn't decide where to start. "I want to go to the Pirate Ship," I insisted.

Jordan argued while pointing at the map, "the Pirate Ship is for babies. We need to go up here where all the cool rides are."

Dad interjected, taking over the map, "Okay, okay. Why don't we split up. Mom can take the girls to north end of the park, while the boys and I go to this end and we'll meet up after."

We headed off toward the Pirate Ship with excitement. "Alright girls, this ride makes me sick, so I'm going to wait right here at this bench. Come straight back to me when you're done," mom said while pulling out her book.

Taylor and I rushed off.

"So, any cute guys in Smallville?" Taylor asked cheerfully.

"Actually, there is one guy. His name is Eric, but I don't know for sure that he's into me..." I trailed off.

"I bet he is! Show me his picture!"

We waited in line for twenty more minutes, searching all of our social media accounts for insight into Eric's life.

After the Pirate Ship, Taylor wanted to ride the Roaring River. I hated water rides. "It's my favorite, Natalie. You HAVE to ride it with me."

I sighed as I pulled my hair into a ponytail, "You're lucky I love you, Taylor."

We were seated on the big metal raft with a few other teenagers. Mom sat this one out again, rides weren't her thing. She came for us to have fun.

Taylor was making small talk as we waited for the ride to start. I could tell she was crushing on one of the boys. They were here on vacation, they had heard Metropolis had one of the best amusement parks in the country.

I was listening to them talk about their trip as I noticed my shoes were suddenly getting damp. Panicked, I looked up to tell the employee to stop the ride, but before I could get a word out I felt us getting pulled into the river.

"Is there a leak?!" One of the boys shouted. We all started screaming. The further into the ride we got, the more water that was filling the raft.

Suddenly, a sharp turn caused the whole raft to flip over. All of us were struggling to keep our heads above water. I thought about the ELT that I left with mom so it wouldn't get wet. I thought about mom, sitting on the bench, reading a book, not aware of everything that was happening. I looked over to Taylor, just as her head went under water.

My fight or flight kicked in. Years of gymnastics hadn't prepared me to try and flip over a giant metal raft, but I had to try before we all drowned.

I pushed myself under the side of the raft, holding onto the handle. I quickly pushed my legs against the side of the river wall and pushed the raft up as hard as I could, effectively flipping it over.

I climbed in, pulling Taylor in first. Taylor laid on the floor of the raft coughing violently, but at least she was breathing. One of the boys was able to climb in and help me lift the other two into the raft.

Water once again filling the raft, I looked ahead to see that the ride was almost over. The waves were calming, so the water was filling the raft at a slower rate.

At the end of the ride, employees saw the dented and scraped raft, all of us covered in water, and alerted the emergency crew to come. Other than some scrapes, bruises, and maybe a minor concussion for Taylor, we were all okay.

"That raft weighs over 800 pounds, how did it flip back over," one of the managers asked another. Taylor looked at me curiously.

"I think the waves just pushed it back over at the right time. We were lucky," I felt the need to answer Taylor's unspoken question.

"Natalie! Taylor! Oh my gosh. Are you girls okay?!" My mom shouted as she ran up to us, tears in her eyes.

"We're fine. It was so scary, mom. It was so scary," I said as the shock started to wear off and tears started flowing.

Wrapping towels around us, mom guided us toward the exit, calling my dad on the way back to the car.

"What happened to you?!" Jon asked as soon as he saw us.

"We'll talk about it later. Let's just get Taylor home," Mom said, as she helped us into the car.

We dropped Taylor off. Mom went in and explained what happened before coming back out.

"Let's just go home. I don't think anyone is up for sleeping in a hotel bed tonight." Dad said as he took the entrance ramp onto the highway toward Smallville.

After more hugs and tears, I was finally lying in bed. Thinking through the events of the day. How did the raft flip back over? I remember pushing it, but 800 pounds? There's no way I flipped it over. Maybe one of the boys helped and I didn't see them? It just doesn't make sense. Surely there's no way...

My thoughts trailed off as I sat up and looked through the window. The barn.

I quietly pulled my hoodie and slippers on. I tiptoed down the steps, praying my dad was asleep. If he was awake, surely he'd hear me.

As I closed the door of the barn, I let out a sigh of relief. I guess dad was asleep.

I stepped over to the giant log my dad taught Jordan how to punch on. I studied the indentions and hand marks that were left by both my brother and my dad. I looked down at my hands. There's no way. All that's going to happen is that I'm going to break a finger. I cannot have powers. Jon and I had been tested. There's no way.

Finally, I decided to try one time. One incredibly painful punch would put my mind at ease and I could go to sleep. I took a deep breath, pushed out all my fears and doubts, and let my arm swing through the air as hard as I could. I thought of the moment I pushed the raft up just as my hand connected with the log. I closed my eyes and waited for the searing pain to coarse through my body.

But it never came. Slowly prying my eyes open, I see an indention in the wood, perfectly molded to my fist.

This can't be real. This is not possible.

I have powers, too.