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Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that you may recognize.

Chapter 3

It had been two months since what was now dubbed 'the accident'. It had been two months since Joey had woken up in a hospital bed with his mother sobbing hysterically, murmuring that his father had lost his eye and just left them. It had been two months since he came to the horrible realization that he would never be able to use his voice again. He was mute.

Now he sat trapped in the manor until his siblings got home from taekwondo lessons. Glaring at the sign language book that he was being forced to learn, he stole a quick glance at his mom, sadly noting the disarrayed hair, rumpled pyjamas, and dark circles underneath her eyes. After the first week that Joey had come home from the hospital, Addie had sunk into a constantly depressed state, frozen staring out the window, waiting for a husband that would never return.

A quiet click of a door closing seemed to thunder through the still mansion. In the same manner as someone would act in a lion's den, Grant and Rose entered the living room, Rose making a beckoning motion as and Grant pointing upstairs. Understanding, Joey closed the book and scurried after his brother and sister.

"So Joey", Rose started."If I'm not mistaken, you and I have an appointment at the park."

"And don't worry about mom, my math teacher loaded us with homework for the weekend, so I'll stay here with her", Grant informed. At his nod, Rose grinned, threw him over her shoulder, and raced out the front door.

Joey and Rose had decided to simply sit on the grass in comfortable silence, until a crow decided to land near them. With a smirk, Joey snapped his fingers, gaining the bird's attention, then stared in into its eyes. Black replaced white in the shocking green eyes, and the bird found itself no longer in control of itself. Rose smiled widely as Joey as the crow hopped onto her arm and gave her a wink. It soon became a game, Rose using her superhuman abilities that she and Grant had inherited from their father, caught any small animal that she could find and brought it back to Joey for him to take control of.

As all good things must come to an end, the sun began to set as the two siblings got ready to go back home. A sudden gasp caught their attention just as Joey had phased into and out of a bluejay for one last time. Both kids shared a scared glance as they slowly turned around to face the source. A familiar figure clad in blue and red hovered a few feet off the ground, the famous S shield gleaming on his chest. It was none other than the Metropolis city hero himself, Superman.

Both sides stared at each other for a moment, frozen solid in pure shock. Then the Wilson kids were scrambling away, weaving through the park trees, hoping to escape the superhero flying after them overhead.

"Wait! Stop! I need to talk to you!" The man of steel shouted after them.

Rose not believing him gripped Joey's hand tighter, increasing her speed. Exiting the park, they raced around a corner to catch their breath, sighing in relief when Superman continued to fly forwards. After a minute more of rest, the Wilson kids finally headed straight for home, still keeping out a watchful eye for the city's hero. At last when they reached the manor, the siblings scampered upstairs, ignoring the questioning look on Grant's face when they raced to his bedroom window. Peering out seeing nothing, they erupted into giggles, Joey's of course, silent. Their victory was short lived however, when loud knock sounded at the door. Rose and Joey both paled, then paled further when they heard the door open.

All three siblings tiptoed to the staircase, straining to hear the conversation going on downstairs. Their efforts were futile though, when Addie croaked out for Joey to come downstairs. Sending his brother and sister a desperate look, Joey reluctantly descended down the stairs. Just as he had thought, there on the sofa sat the man of steel, the blue and red standing out against the cream white of the decor.

"So Joseph, it has come to my attention that possess some...abilities", Superman began. "And with great power comes great responsibility, so I would like you to come with me to hall of justice to see if we could help you." At Joey's silence Superman's smile began to droop. "Do you need some time to think about it." Silence.

"Joey is mute, so he can't speak", Addie explained. "But he's only seven, so I think that it that it might be best that he goes with you. It'll be good for him." She said, muttering the last part. "Well, I guess that's settled then. I'll come pick you up tomorrow at 8am, if that's alright with you", Superman smiled standing up to leave. Joey could only nod in shock as he processed the fact that he would be taken away from his remaining family.

As soon as Superman left, Joey slowly walked up the steps, only giving his siblings a sad look as he headed for his room. Lying on the bed, he listened to his brother and sister run down the stairs, then engage in a shouting match against their mother. He knew that if he went with Superman, then he would become a superhero and have to fight. But he hated fighting, so what else could he do? 'Maybe I can just pack up and run away', a small part of him thought. 'Then I won't have to fight, and Rose, Grant, and Mommy won't be so sad every time they see me and remember...the accident.'

Setting his mind on that decision, he reached under his bed, and emptied out his dark purple backpack. Setting it on the bed, he reached into his closet and pulled out some clothes, making sure not to pack too much. Then as an afterthought, he threw in some songbooks, his toothbrush and toothpaste, some papers and pencils, a hairbrush, and an extra pair of shoes. Now came the tricky part, he walked down the stairs, careful not to wake up his sleeping family (it was now around 10pm), he filled up a waterbottle, and grabbed some school snacks. Then giving one last look to the picture of his family; mommy, Grant, Rose, and even the family's butler, Wintergreen. Then Slade, the man he was unfortunately related to, the man who had betrayed him, the man that he knew that Grant and Rose still looked up to.

Just as he was about to open the front door, he suddenly caught sight of his piano. He couldn't bring any of his instruments with him! 'Great, another day thing that he had to leave behind', he thought. On that last thought, he opened the door, and headed towards the city. As the bright lights came nearer, he finally found what he was looking for. A single blackbird, roosting on the edge of a building, looking proud and strong. Boring his eyes into the bird's, he effortlessly allowed his powers to take control of the bird. The second that he was in control, he leaped into the air flying in no particular direction, only somewhere far away.

Sorry, I couldn't update sooner, but school was being more demanding than usual. If you liked the new chapter/the story please review to let me know! Remember, more reviews=more chapters!;)