His father arrived twenty minutes later, David in tow. They both looked like they'd thrown on clothes in a hurry, his father's shirt buttoned wrong, David's hair sticking up at odd angles.
"Okay," his father said, closing the apartment door behind them. "Talk. Now. What the hell is going on?"
Marcus had been trying to figure out how to explain this for the past twenty minutes. He still didn't have a good answer.
"The particle accelerator explosion," he started. "It did something to me. Changed me. Gave me... abilities."
"Abilities," his father repeated flatly. "You mean superpowers. You have superpowers."
"I can create portals. Dimensional pockets. I can manipulate space." Marcus held out his hand, and reality rippled. A small portal opened above his palm, its edges shimmering. "This is what I can do."
David's eyes went huge. "Holy shit. That's so cool."
"David," their father said sharply. Then, to Marcus: "How long have you known?"
"Since I woke up in the hospital. I've been training at S.T.A.R. Labs, learning to control it."
"S.T.A.R. Labs." His father's expression darkened. "The same S.T.A.R. Labs that caused the explosion in the first place. You've been working with them?"
"They're trying to help. Dr. Wells, he understands what happened to me. He's been teaching me how to use my abilities safely."
"Safely." His father laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Marcus, you were on the news tonight. You exposed yourself to the entire city. How is that safe?"
"I saved people, Dad. That building was collapsing. If I hadn't been there..."
"If you hadn't been there, someone else would have handled it. The fire department, the police, someone. You didn't have to risk yourself."
"Yes, I did." Marcus met his father's eyes. "You taught me that. You and Mom. You taught me that when you have the ability to help people, you have a responsibility to do it. That's what she was doing when she died, wasn't it? Helping someone?"
His father flinched like he'd been struck. "Don't. Don't you dare use your mother to justify this."
"I'm not justifying anything. I'm explaining. I have these powers, Dad. I didn't ask for them, but I have them. And I can either hide and pretend I'm normal, or I can use them to do something good. To help people who can't help themselves."
"You could get killed," his father said quietly. "You could end up like your mother, dead because you tried to save someone who wasn't worth saving."
"Everyone is worth saving," Marcus said.
The silence that followed was heavy, painful. David looked between them, clearly uncomfortable.
"So what now?" David asked finally. "Marcus has superpowers. He's going to keep using them, obviously, because he's an idiot with a hero complex. What do we do about it?"
"We keep it secret," their father said immediately. "No one else can know. Not your friends, not your coworkers, no one."
"Ethan," Marcus said. "I need to tell Ethan."
"Absolutely not."
"Dad, he's my best friend. He was there when the lightning hit me. He deserves to know."
"He deserves to be kept safe," his father countered. "The more people who know your secret, the more danger everyone is in. If someone finds out, if they try to use Ethan to get to you..."
Marcus hadn't thought of that. The idea of Ethan being hurt because of him made his stomach turn.
"Your father's right," David said reluctantly. "I mean, I think it's cool that you have powers and everything, but this is serious. People could get hurt. You could get hurt."
"I'm already getting hurt," Marcus said. "Every time I use my abilities, it feels like my brain is being torn apart. But I'm getting better. Stronger. Wells says with enough training, I'll be able to do things I can't even imagine right now."
"Wells says," his father repeated. "Marcus, do you trust this man? Really trust him? Because from where I'm standing, he's the one who caused this disaster in the first place. His particle accelerator exploded and gave you these abilities. Why would he want to help you?"
"Because he feels responsible. Because he wants to make things right."
His father didn't look convinced, but he didn't argue further. Instead, he sank onto Marcus's couch, suddenly looking much older than his fifty-three years.
"Your mother would have been so proud of you," he said quietly. "And so terrified. Just like I am."
Marcus sat down next to him. "I'm scared too, Dad. Every time I open a portal, I'm terrified it's going to collapse and hurt someone. But I can't just do nothing. I can't live with myself if I have these abilities and I don't use them to help people."
"I know." His father put his arm around Marcus's shoulders, pulling him close the way he used to when Marcus was a kid. "I know. You're too much like her. Too good for your own good."
David joined them on the couch, squeezing in on Marcus's other side. "So we're doing this? Marcus is going to be a superhero?"
"I'm not a superhero," Marcus protested. "I'm just... someone with abilities trying to help."
"That's literally what a superhero is, dude."
"David's right," their father said. "If you're going to do this, you need to be smart about it. You need training, support, a way to protect your identity. And you need us. Your family. We'll help you however we can."
Marcus felt something loosen in his chest. He hadn't realized how much he'd needed to hear that. How much he'd needed his family's support.
"Thank you," he said quietly.
"Don't thank me yet," his father said. "I'm going to worry about you every single day. I'm going to have nightmares about you getting hurt. And I'm probably going to try to talk you out of this at least once a week."
"I can live with that."
They sat there for a while, the three of them, not talking. Just being together. Marcus's spatial sense was quiet for once, not screaming at him about dimensions and coordinates. He felt almost normal.
Almost.
"So," David said eventually. "Can you portal me to school? Because if you can, I'm never taking the bus again."
Marcus laughed despite himself. "That's what you're focused on? Free transportation?"
"I'm a practical person. Also, can you portal food? Like, could you open a portal to a pizza place and just grab a pizza?"
"That would be stealing."
"It would be efficient."
Their father groaned. "I'm raising criminals. Both of you."
But he was smiling, just a little. And for the first time since the particle accelerator explosion, Marcus felt like maybe things would be okay.
Maybe he could do this. Be this. Whatever this was.
As long as he had his family behind him.
Chapter 8: Suspicion
Detective Maria Ramos had been with the CCPD for fifteen years, and in that time, she'd learned to trust her instincts. Right now, her instincts were telling her that something was very wrong with Marcus Chen.
She'd been assigned to the metahuman task force after the particle accelerator explosion, tracking individuals who'd been affected by the blast. Most were harmless, just people trying to cope with abilities they didn't understand. But some were dangerous. And some were hiding.
Marcus Chen fit into that last category.
She'd pulled his file after seeing the news footage from the shopping center. The timeline was suspicious. Chen had been struck by lightning the night of the particle accelerator explosion. Had been in a coma for three days. Had woken up with no apparent injuries despite a direct lightning strike.
And now, two weeks later, there was a metahuman with portal abilities saving people around the city. A metahuman who matched Chen's height and build.
It could be coincidence. But Ramos didn't believe in coincidences.
She found him in the CCPD forensics lab, hunched over a microscope. He looked tired, dark circles under his eyes, his movements slightly sluggish.
"Mr. Chen," she said, and watched him jump. "Detective Maria Ramos. Do you have a moment?"
"Uh, sure." Chen straightened, trying to look casual and failing. "What can I help you with?"
"I'm investigating metahuman activity in Central City. I understand you were struck by lightning the night of the particle accelerator explosion."
Chen's expression shuttered. "Yes. I was lucky to survive."
"Very lucky. No burns, no neurological damage, no cardiac issues. The doctors called it a miracle." Ramos pulled out her tablet, pulling up the news footage from the shopping center. "I'm curious. Do you recognize this individual?"
Chen barely glanced at the screen. "Should I?"
"He has portal abilities. Spatial manipulation. Very rare, very powerful. And he appeared at the shopping center the same night you were working late here at the precinct." She paused. "According to the sign-in logs, you left the building at 1:47 AM. The metahuman appeared at the shopping center at 2:15 AM. That's a very tight timeline."
"I went home. I was tired."
"I'm sure you were." Ramos put the tablet away. "Mr. Chen, I'm not trying to cause trouble for you. But if you are this individual, if you do have abilities, you need to register with the city. It's for your own protection as much as anyone else's."
"I don't have abilities," Chen said flatly. "I'm just a forensic analyst who got lucky with a lightning strike."
"Okay." Ramos didn't believe him, but she couldn't prove anything. Not yet. "If that changes, if you remember anything that might help with the investigation, please let me know."
She left him her card and walked away, feeling his eyes on her back.
Marcus Chen was lying. She was sure of it.
The question was why.
And what she was going to do about it.
Marcus waited until Detective Ramos was gone before allowing himself to panic.
She knew. Or at least she suspected. And if she was investigating him, it was only a matter of time before she found proof.
He needed to be more careful. No more responding to emergencies without a plan