The Confidential Files of A Superhero

Onyx: Eight

Allison’s Point of View

Soundtrack: Chasing Shadows by Alex Warren

Joey and I had been sharing the same room for nearly 12 hours now but I still hadn’t shaken the initial excitement. It was so nice having someone here who I could fully trust, and also talk to about the more difficult new aspects of my life. I blinked back at myself in our bathroom mirror, staring at the dim green haze in my eyes. They didn’t glow nearly as bright as Alex’s, but it was still enough to set other people off as not entirely normal either. Especially when my emotions ran high, then they burned so bright people would definitely think I was a freak.

My hands were shaking at the thought of heading back to school tomorrow. This summer had been so great, but Alex and I had also spent a better part of it avoiding the public eye. He was trying to give me time to get comfortable in my own skin as a superhero, but deep down I wanted nothing to do with my powers, especially after I’d seen what they did to my mother. So, really in the time that I was supposed to be getting used to all of this, I’d actually spend the summer in an ignorant bliss that I wished I didn’t have to part with so quickly.

I thought about the contacts Macey had fitted me with. They did a good job hiding these freaky eyes but there was that one time that my eye got dry and it slipped out of place. My heart raced at the thought of that happening tomorrow in front of a class of 300 people. It wouldn’t. I tried to assure myself, reminding myself of the hundred other times I tried the contacts on this summer and they’d worked perfectly. Never had I truly had to put them to the test though, in the public’s eye. But we’d also switched brands since that initial slip up, so it definitely wouldn’t happen again anyways, right?

I audible groaned, splashing water over my face then patting it dry with a wash cloth. If I stayed in this washroom any longer while staring myself down in the mirror, Joey would surely be knocking on the door in panic soon that something was wrong. I could talk to her about this, I knew she would at least try to understand, but she couldn’t really. She might be dating a superhero, but she didn’t just recently find out that she also was one herself.

One last glance in the mirror and my glowing green eyes burned a little brighter. This was all just too much pressure to put on one day. I was nervous enough about starting at a new school, moving away from home, and well just starting this whole new chapter in my life. But now I had to add in the pressure of not spilling my boyfriend’s family’s biggest secret? Not fair, not fair at all. Plus, of course Alex had to already be called back to his first mission, and of course he still hadn’t Text me to let me know he’d made it home safely. My nerves were practically buzzing like live wires with all this anxiety built up inside of me.

I forced it all down, like I’d been doing since that night last June, and finally stepped out of the washroom. I was hoping to get into bed and pass out, then sleep away all of my problems until it was morning and time to really face everything. But Joey clearly had a different idea.

“Have you heard from Alex yet?” Joey asked, immediately bringing up one of the things causing my anxiety to rise right now. She was sitting on her bed, picking the nail polish from her nails that I was almost certain she had only applied a few hours earlier. It was a nervous habit of hers, and by the way she was dodging my eyes I could tell she was just as worried about Kyle being out there as I was about Alex. Kyle may have escaped the little incident in June unharmed, but Joey definitely saw the fear I had experienced first hand with Alex. She was worried she’d have to face that same fear one day. Meanwhile, I was worried I was going to have to face it a second time. The world needed Onyx though, just like they needed Blaze and all the other superhero’s out there. This anxiety was just a part of life that Joey and I were going to have to learn to cope with.

“Not yet,” I mumbled back, trying to ignore the shade of disappointment that crossed Joey’s face. What would I have done this school year if I hadn’t been lucky enough to have a roommate as amazing as her? I mean seriously, if not for Joey I definitely would have needed a single room to hide these glowing eyes of mine. Plus, I wouldn’t have anyone to talk to about my superhero boyfriend. Also, how exactly would I go about explaining my superhero boyfriend coming on nightly visits and using the window as his entrance rather than the door?

Joey and I both knew we could turn on the news for an update on tonight’s situation, but we also were thankfully in agreement than often the media coverage made things seem so much worse than they actually were. I’d rather wait to hear back Alex’s report on the evening, then have some reporter tell me all the ways in which Alex might find himself injured tonight as he tried to defend the city.

Just in time thought, Joey’s phone finally dinged. My heart skipped in my chest and I tried to ignore the anxious lump that had risen into my throat as I prayed that it was an update on the evening. It had been so long since Alex had been out there that I’d almost forgotten what it was like to be the one stuck at home awaiting an update. But then again, I hadn’t known how bad the world could be, or how very real the threats were out there until last June, when Alex was then forced to take a leave of absence.

I climbed into bed, and only once I was settled did I finally let myself take a glance over to Joey. My heart finally settled a little when I saw the small smile dancing on her lips as she typed back her reply. All the anxiety that had been radiating off of her was gone now, but she was still definitely going to have to repaint those nails.

I scooped up my own phone of the nightstand, glancing down at it and trying to hide my disappointment when I saw no missed messages. I tried to assure myself though that Alex would text when he had a moment. After all, he was usually the driver anyways and I’d much rather him get home safely first than worry about updating me. Plus, I was certain that the second he arrived home, his mother was going to be all over him. I thought I’d been anxious about Alex’s return to his superhero career today, but his mother put anxious on a whole new level.

“Everything okay?” I asked Joey, desperate for at least one indication that nothing had gone awry tonight before I drifted off to sleep.

“Oh sorry yes. Kyle just left Alex and said they’re both heading home now. There was a bank robbery downtown, yet again. You’d seriously think these criminals would stop repeating the same lame ideas and come up with something creative for once,” Joey droned on and I couldn’t help but laugh a little. She was definitely right about that. But I was almost glad for the sense of normalcy in tonight’s events. A classic San Francisco bank robbery, and I knew how happy Alex would be with that because it would have made for an easy win for him tonight. Maybe this was exactly what I needed, a reminder that San Francisco was a city full of normal crime, not super villains causing chaos like my mother.

So I laid back and pulled my blankets up over my shoulders, snuggling into the bed. It felt cold and empty compared to the bed I’d been sharing with Alex all summer, but I knew that in time I would get used to it. It wouldn’t be long until the two of us would be back together again. Joey did the same, getting comfortable in her own bed while I flicked out my half of the room lights.

“Tomorrow is going to be fine, you know? You’ve totally got this,” Joey gave me one last speech of reassurance before reaching up and turning off the light. Clearly I hadn’t done as good of a job as hiding my anxiety today as I thought I had, but it was almost nice the way that she saw right through me. I needed someone here that I could count on, now more than ever. I rolled over to face the wall, muttered back, “I hope so.” I said it so quietly I almost hoped she didn’t hear it. I didn’t want Joey to know just how doubtful i was, that bad feeling still settled in my stomach. It was hard to believe anything my gut told me nowadays though, because that bad feeling felt as if it had settled there last June and decided it was never going away again.