"Ricki?" Ricki's mom asked for the tenth time that night. "Are you sure that you're okay? You've been zoning out a lot today. How was work?" His mom stared at him patiently from across the dinner table. Ricki tried not to look suspicious as he cleared his throat to come up with some miraculously believable lie. 

"It was... fine." He said. Ricki didn't add that he didn't go to work today, nor did he mention anything about a random superhero saving him from being mugged. He shoveled in another bite of food to prolong any other questions. Unfortunately, his dad didn't notice or care and continued to ask questions anyway.

"How is school? How are your grades?" Ricki took his time chewing. 

"It's fine." 

"Fine? What does that mean? Do you have A's? B's? Anything below that is unacceptable, you know. Your great-grandmother didn't immigrate over here for you to get a C in math." Ricki would have groaned if it weren't for his father's harsh stare. Every. Single. Day. Every time Ricki's dad would bring up school, his great-grandmother would make an appearance in the conversation. 

"Now, John, he's probably doing just fine in school," his mother said tentatively. Ricki thanked her with his thoughts. Let a man eat in peace, Dad. 

"Mary. I did not raise a stupid son. He's capable of getting good grades-" Ricki dropped his fork loudly on his plate. Woah, Woah, Woah. Who said anything about stupid? Ricki never even said that he had bad grades anyway. 

"My grades are all B's," Ricki interjected before the tension could get any thicker. No harmful words were exchanged or any voices raised but Ricki's mom seemed mildly upset. Ricki's father scowled into his plate before finishing his meal in complete silence. 

Ricki was getting more and more uncomfortable with these awkward silences between his parents. Usually, they didn't argue about anything. But when Ricki's dad was unhappy with something, things always were weird after his snarky comments. Things had gotten more... tense after the death of his grandmother. Ricki could see that much. He really wasn't that stupid. Ricki pretended nothing was wrong because it was the easiest thing. But during the whole dinner situation, Ricki completely forgot that he had a secret of his own. The black mask man flashed into Ricki's mind. Black Mask was his name now. It was too hard to think of a different way to reference him every time he thought about him. 

Ricki quickly finished dinner and stood up abruptly. "Well, thanks. I have homework to do." His dad didn't react and continued sullenly eating. His mom startled and nodded absent-mindedly. Seriously, where were his parents today? They certainly weren't at the dinner table. Their disagreement must have affected them more the Ricki could see. With that uneasy thought flipping around his brain he put his plate in the sink and bolted upstairs to his room. He turned on his LED lights and flopped onto his bed. 

Ricki loved his room even though it was small. The lights added to the atmosphere and a wall covered entirely with photos and pictures of various things made it feel more personal. Ricki lay flat on his bed and stared at the ceiling. Ricki didn't know what to think. He had so many questions. 

Who was he?

How did he not die jumping off the roof? 

Was he a superhero?

Would he make more appearances? 

Did he have special abilities? 

But the biggest question of all: Did it even happen?