Kaitlyn woke up, and for a moment forgot about the discussion she was going to have with her Uncle. She flopped back down on her pillow and groaned as the memory came back. She rolled to her side and looked at the window. Last night, the sound of opening it had alerted her Uncle, leaving only enough time for Kaitlyn to pull off her mask and dive into bed. Her face scrunched into a thoughtful frown as she silently questioned why she opened it and climbed through instead of soundlessly phasing through the wall. She knew her other two powers were weakened when she used one, but she should have had enough strength to phase despite using her telekinesis at the same time. Perhaps she wanted her Uncle to hear her, as a way of letting him know she was home. Kaitlyn sat up in her bed. Either way, she was busted for staying out late. She got out of bed and got dressed, all the while trying to come up with a reasonable excuse. She thought about trying to avoid her Uncle before school. Not a permanent solution, she knew, but at least it would give her some more time to think.
She opened her door, and her Uncle was standing on the other side.
'So much for that plan.' She thought.
"Care to explain what happened last night?" He asked, a touch of anger in his voice.
"I know, I know." She said, guilt evident on her face, "I'm really sorry. I lost track of the time and I didn't want to bother anyone, so I snuck in."
"Why didn't you answer your phone?"
She raised her eyebrows slightly as she remembered putting her phone on silent for the stealth activity she did last night. She feigned confusion, "I must have had it on vibrate and didn't realize you were calling."
Her Uncle went silent. Kaitlyn realized he hadn't mentioned the window or asked how she got in yet. 'He must not have thought anything of it.' She thought.
"This is becoming a habit." He finally said.
"What?" She asked, playing dumb.
"Staying out late and sneaking in." he told her, "And we still haven't talked about your grades slipping."
"They haven't gone down by much." She countered. When she first started as Mystery, Kaitlyn had some trouble balancing her ordinary life with her superhero one, and grades had suffered for it. But now that she was used to juggling them both, she was certain her grades would go up. "I'll get them back up. I promise." She told her Uncle.
"I'm having trouble believing you right now, Kaitlyn."
Her shoulders sank. That was the second time he'd ever called her that since giving her that nick name.
"You're grounded until you get your grades up, and," He paused, "until you stop lying to me." Her Uncle's voice panged with sadness. He turned and walked off down the hall. Kaitlyn stood at her bedroom door for a moment longer. Her Uncle's words hurt more than being caught in a warehouse explosion. She fought back tears as she finally began making her way to the elevator, deciding to skip breakfast to avoid any more confrontations with her Uncle.
...
She got to the school earlier and went to the bleachers to eat the breakfast sandwich she picked up on the way.
"Hey."
She turned to see her best friend J.J. climbing up to meet her.
"Hey." She returned, faking a smile, "How'd you find me?"
"You always come here when you're upset." He replied.
"Fair enough, but how did you know I was upset?"
"Your brother texted me." J.J. told her.
Kaitlyn smiled. Despite his constant teasing, Kris truly did care about her.
"So, what's buggin' ya?" J.J. asked.
She hesitated. Like her Uncle, J.J. was also unaware that Kaitlyn and Mystery was the same person. She wanted to tell him and trusted him enough to do so. But when Doctor Doom kidnapped her brother for just being with the Fantastic Four at the time, Kaitlyn realized the less J.J. knew, the safer he'd be.
"Uncle Ben is upset with me," She finally told him, "because I'm keeping secrets."
They sat in silence for a short moment, as J.J. thought about what to say.
"Does this have anything to do with you being Mystery?" He finally asked.
She shot up straight and stared at him with utter shock and disbelief.
"Oh, come on. How could I not know it was you?" He told her, "I saw you on the news and recognized your voice. Not to mention you went after your parents' murderer."
Kaitlyn thought for a moment, "Why didn't you say anything?"
"I figured you had a good reason for keeping it secret, so I decided to let you tell me on your own terms." He replied, "But it looks like you need someone to talk to about it, which is why I spoke up when I did."
Kaitlyn looked at her shoes.
"So, what's up?" J.J. continued with a soothing tone.
"Uncle Ben knows I'm keeping something from him." She began to explain, "He knows I've been sneaking out and he's grounded me."
"And the reason you can't tell him the truth is …?"
"Because he'll make me stop being Mystery."
J.J. paused, "Are you sure? Your Uncle seems like the kind'a guy who'd approve. Especially since you have super strength like him."
Kaitlyn looked up at J.J., hope gleaming in her eyes, as she thought about what he was saying.
"It's really up to you in the end," J.J. continued, "But I think you should give him a chance. Your Uncle's a pretty cool guy. I think he'd understand."
As the school's ten minute warning bell sounded, the teens grabbed their bags and headed to class.
