Lizzie’s words rang in my brain. They didn’t seem real, but they were. I was a superhero. I had superpowers. I was some kind of magical wizard who wielded electrical powers. I didn’t know how or why that gave me telepathy of all things, but I knew that it felt electrical somehow.

            My mind struggled to adapt. It refused to understand the situation it was in. Why!? How!? Because I had survived the accident at the museum? Or were my powers the reason that I survived? Did I survive because the generator wanted me to survive? Did Frank set me up to this? Did he know I’d get superpowers!? Or was I chosen by some unknown electricity god?

            All I knew was that somehow, I had acquired telepathy, and who knew what else.

            I wasn’t the biggest superhero or magic or fantasy fan; That was Lizzie’s territory. But I had watched my fair share of superhero movies growing up. Watching Spiderman get bit by a radioactive spider to acquire spider powers, watching him glide around the city, stopping bad guys with his awesome abilities… That was me now! I was the guy doing the cool stuff in the city! Was there a superhero league I needed to join? Were there supervillains that I needed to stop?

            Supervillains…

            What had been a heart pounding rush of excitement, wonder, and disbelief sunk like a rock when I realized what that meant. Superheroes were crime fighters, people who put themselves in danger on the daily to save the lives of the many. Day after day, villains would seek out their power, take the things that they loved, and try everything in their grasp to abuse the powers of the superhero for themselves. Fiction is strange. It’s impossible to write a realistic depiction of how a world under incredibly different laws of reality would operate. The best any writer could really do was make a guess based on their perspective of humanity as a whole. Is it really a coincidence that superhero media needs to also have a direct villain to root against, or is it an accurate assumption? Would me acquiring these powers pit me against my own personal supervillain? And there was no doubt that villains existed in real life, just like heroes. If I were now a superhero… what kind of life was now in front of me? Would I be destined to fight against the various villains of mundane life? Would the media love me? Would doubters try to stop me? Would I work for the government? Would they control my every movement, study me until they dissected the source of my power and passed it along to everyone who wanted it?

            I returned the fading face of excitement in front of me with a frown. “Lizzie, I… I don’t know what I’m going to do…”

            She replaced her bubbly anticipation with sympathy and understanding. “I know… this is… this is huge. We can’t just rush into anything, can we? Let’s… let’s not tell anyone.”

            Part of me hated the idea of hiding anything from Mom and Dad. The other part of me knew just how bad Mom would flip out if she ever found out the truth. I’d probably never have a moment alone ever again, and there was a good chance Mom would accidentally spill the beans to someone at church or work. The only person I’d ever want to confide in this kind of craziness was right in front of me, and I could live with that. I nodded. “Yeah, that would make me feel a lot better.”

            She snagged my arms and wrapped them around herself for a hug. For a second we embraced, just feeling each other’s accelerated heartbeats, the excited and nervous breathing we shared, the strange disbelief of what the world had come to, and more than anything else, our love for each other wrapped in warm blood-boiled arms.

            A door opened next to us, and a women emerged from the bathroom, pausing and looking at us in surprise. We awkwardly broke the hug and scooched to the side so she had room to pass. She gave a snort that conveyed a “weirdos” vibe. Lizzie laughed uncomfortably, and I just frowned. “We should get back to the table, yeah?” I asked.

            “You go first, boys go faster.”

            I nodded shakily, trying everything I could in my body to calm down. The goosebumps in my body flared, not helping matters. I turned from the most life-changing conversation of my life when Lizzie grabbed my shoulder.

            “Let’s continue this discussion when we get back to the hotel. There’s so much more we need to try.” Her voice was so full of anticipation that I started to get excited myself. She was right. Telepathy couldn’t have possibly been the only power I’d obtained from that generator.

            It turns out that pretending to be casual when your body is telling you to be quite the opposite in every way was a harder task than anticipated. I hadn’t even begun to lower my body back into my seat before Mom rang out “That took a while honey, is everything alright?”

            “Yeah,” was my automatic response, sitting back down and averting all eye contact and wishing desperately I could hide my face behind a menu.

            “You look embarrassed,” she continued to press. “Did she do something to you?”

            “What!?” I said in surprise, hoping my cheeks weren’t red with blush. “No, of course not! Nothing happened, really.” I left out the part that if something embarrassing happened, I wouldn’t want to immediately share it, especially not in a public setting.

            “Give him a break,” Frank laxly said. “He’s had a stressful past few days, he doesn’t need constant interrogations all night.”

            “Don’t you teach me how to handle my own son,” Mom snapped. “It’s your fault he’s stressed in the first place.”

            “And your son is a fully grown adult…” I muttered quietly so no one would hear.

            Luckily Lizzie arrived back not too long after, completely failing at hiding the pep in her step. Frank smiled at her approach. “You’re positively glowing missy. You feeling better?”

            She nodded and gracefully sitting down, grin plastered all over. “Lots. I think I was just stressed, but I’m better now.”

            Frank reached over for a shoulder hug, which she graciously accepted. So much for subtlety. Still though, her act reminded me that even if I was acting as suspiciously as possible, there was no way for anyone to make the absurd connection that I had special powers. Her resolve alone faded away my stress in minutes.

            The rest of the dinner felt like it took forever. Mom and Frank would continue to jab at each other, and Lizzie and I would just lock eyesight and giggle like maniacs. I couldn’t help it. The pure reality of the day was just too hard to put away, even for an hour of family bonding. Mom constantly asked what was so funny between us, and I just let Lizzie constantly say “nothing”. Frank brushed it aside quickly as “young love”, and Dad seemed to smile at that. The more the night went on, the more I wished I had someone as carefree and trusting as Frank instead of someone as cold and accusatory as Mom always was. I tried to convince myself that her mannerisms were out of love. Still, her intentions were only half the issue. Lizzie always said that how I perceived and reacted to Mom’s treatment was equally valid and important. Right now, she wasn’t winning any favors of being a strong mother figure.

            Did superheroes have to deal with problems this mundane in the comics?

            The Italian food was as good as advertised, even finding a way to distract me from my thoughts as I gulped down my pasta. For a while, there was nothing but peace and good food all around. And to my surprise, Mom complimented Frank on the choice of restaurant. I expected Frank to show a sense of cockiness, but instead stayed humble and appreciated the compliment healthily. Dad, Lizzie and I echoed the sentiment, and we finally left the restaurant in high spirits all around.

            “So, what’s the plan for the rest of the night?” Dad asked during our trek back to the car. “The night’s still young.”

            Frank had raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth as though to respond, but Lizzie cut him off quickly. “Actually, I’m kinda exhausted. Today’s been a crazy day, and I’d honestly just like a quiet night alone to rest up and leave the fun to tomorrow, you know?”

            She said it so perkily that even I had to stare at her in suspicion. Not a soul around believed her. From our looks, she quickly realized her mistake and tried to fake a yawn, going the extra mile to raise her arms in the air and lowering them in an exaggerated arc.

            “Nonsense,” Mom said flatly. “You seem perfectly energetic to me. Perhaps a movie could be applicable?”

            “A movie sounds nice,” Dad agreed.

            Frank, however, seemed to smile in some realization. “Well, why don’t we ask Beck then? You seemed a bit exhausted at dinner?”

            Eyes turned to me, with Lizzie’s in particular pleading silently. I swooped in for the assist. “Yeah, honestly, I’m kinda in the same boat as Lizzie. It’s been a chaotic day, and I’d kinda like to go back to the hotel and just have some peace and quiet.”

            Mom huffed. “You spent the whole day in a hospital bed, and the first thing you did when you came back from the hospital was sleep alone in your hotel room. Have you not already destressed enough? I thought it was you who insisted to stay to live out your vacation.”

            And you stressed me out all over again, I thought to myself. But with my words I said “Tomorrow, I promise I’ll be alright to go somewhere fun. I just… Just one night to myself, if that’s alright?”

            Mom looked between me and my girlfriend, trying to get some indication as to what we were up to. She looked at Dad for help, but he only shrugged, unsure of what to say. Outnumbered, she sighed and muttered to herself. “Alright. We’ll head back to the hotel.”

            Lizzie opened the car door in front of me so I could get in the middle, but as I did, I caught Frank getting in the driver’s seat, and giving me a wink through the front mirror. For a second, the expression puzzled me, until it hit me and my face drained of color. Just what did Frank think we were going to do that night!?