Many thanks to my fabuloso beta-reader, Patti! (Thanks, Patti!)

The cat's are mine. So are January and February. No one else is.

Growing Up A Superhero 4d
Angel of Death

Cal bit his lip, feeling the blood run freely down his chin. God, he hurt. He couldn’t stand it anymore!

He dimly heard the door open and saw Chance walk in. The boy waked by the bed where Cal lay, not even sparing him a second glance. He took his clothes out of a drawer and walked back out, not caring that the twin was in great pain and bleeding. That wasn’t his brother.

Chance closed the door again and walked down the hall. Uncle Kit was here--his favorite uncle--and they were going to go play catch. Or maybe basketball. One could never tell what Kit really wanted to play.

“You’ll talk with him?” Jessie was saying as the boy in question walked into the room.

Kit nodded and picked his image inducer up. They were going to play outside, and someone might show up. The two bounded outside, already tossing the two balls back and forth. “So where’s your brother?” Kit asked as he caught the basketball and threw it back, then caught the baseball.

#Dead,# Chance replied.

“Oh. Too bad,” Kit said, completely unfazed. Chance started to laugh. That was Kit for you. When Grandpa Benton had announced that he was going space travelling with the Anasazi Kit had blinked twice and asked if he wanted some fish to take with him.

“Here, catch!” Kit shouted, then took off running in the other direction. Chance grinned and threw the baseball as far as he could, then watched in amazement as the feline dropped to all fours, running far out out there, then jumped at least eight feet into the air to catch the ball. And catch it he did.

Jessie watched the two boys and shook her head. “You think Kit’s ever going to grow up?” she asked her husband softly.

Jonny paused in his coffee pouring to look out the window at the man. “Nope.”

Jessie laughed.

JJJQQQ

An hour later both boys collapsed on the lawn, sweaty, breathing hard, and laughing.

#What’s green and stands in a corner?# Chance asked.

“What?”

#A naughty frog.# Chance watched, pleased with himself as his uncle laughed uproarously. Kit love bad jokes.

#What goes clip clop, clip clop, clip clop, BNAG clip clop, clip clop?#

Kit grinned.

#A drive-by shooting in an amish community.#

Kit started laughing again, telling Chance between gasps of air that he’d probably get yelled at if he told too many people that joke. Chance just shrugged.

“So what’s up with the guy in your house?”

Chance knew right away that Kit meant the thing that everyone else called his twin. He shrugged one shoulder and pulled at a blade of grass. #Search me. All I know is that it’s not my brother.#

Kit frowned and nodded. “Bummer.”

#Yeah.# Chance was about to say something more when he looked up to see Kit’s eyes sharpened, the pupils narrowed to tiny slits. His ears were as pointed as they could get, and the hair along his spine and shoulders was standing straight up. Every muscle was tensed.

#What’s wrong?#

“Not sure,” he said, the sound a growl. Slowly he stood up, his shoulders hunched and claws extended. He jogged toward the house, fangs bared in a snarl that he wasn’t even aware of.

When they got to the house, Jessie was on the kitchen floor and bleeding, and Jonny was being held against the wall--off his feet--by Cal.

“DON’T YOU EVER TOUCH ME AGAIN!” the boy was shouting, shaking his lighter father.

Kit was accross the room in a flash, his claws tearing into the boy’s shoulder and knocking him away from his father.

Chance was at his mother’s side, helping her up as Kit and Cal went after each other, both growling and snarling like wild animals. Kit, with his animal like hunting skills and agilty, not to mention strength, quickly won out however and had Cal pinned within seconds. Cal was obviously frightened, and somehow, Chance was glad.

“Stop. Right. Now.” Kit growled, his face inches from Cal’s. Cal nodded, then suddenly his face contorted again and he pushed Kit off with surprising strength.

“I don’t need you to tell me what to do,” he snarled back, “I don’t need anyone to tell me what to do.” he glared at each member of his family in turn, Chance the only one who wasn’t shocked or angry. Rather, it was like he was watching strangers. Cal sneered at him and walked out the door.

JJJQQQ

After recovering from their shock, Jessie and Jonny went out to look for their son. Kit and Chance refused to help, saying that Cal was dead. Cal had no intention of being found, and the few times they came close he hid. It was dark out when a car came down the road he traveled, slowed and pulled over to let him in.

“You look like someone who needs a hand,” a smooth voice said. Cal looked at him suspicously, but got in the car.

“What do you care?”

The man shrugged as the driver started off again. “You look like me when I was your age.” It was a blantent lie, but Cal didn’t know that. “I could have used a helping hand.”

Cal nodded slowly, still watching the man carefully.

“But I don’t give out things for free. You work for me, and you can stay as long as you like. How’s that sound?” the talker asked, sipping from a glass.

Cal thought about it, then nodded slowly.

The man smiled and poured him a drink, hading it over to the child. “Cheers, then, on our new partnership.”

Cal sipped carefully. “What is this?”

The man smiled. “It’s an inducer.”

Cal’s eyes widened.

The man started to laugh. “No, no. Not a haluencenitory inducer. It’s a power inducer.”

Cal had never heard of it before, though it did sound vaguely familar. He took another sip and started to feel sleepy. “What’s your name?” he asked as his eyes began to droop.

The man smiled. “North. My name is Edan North.”

Back to the Angel of Death page
Back to the Hangar
Back to the living room