The Confidential Files of A Superhero

Onyx: Nine

Alex’s Point of View

Soundtrack: Got It In You by BANNERS

“Where have you been?” My mother’s voice boomed the second I walked into my bedroom. The doors to the balcony burst open, a huge gust of wind coming in all at once. If not for the recently installs shatter-proof glass panels, the both of us would be covered in shards right now. My mother’s glowing eyes glowered back at me, full of rage as I dared to step a little further into the room.

“I had a mission, I got called out after helping Ali move. There was a bank-“ I began but another gust of wind cut my sentence short.

“I know about the bank robbery,” she practically screeched and I had to take a step back from her. At this moment, I was fighting the urge to flea the room and never look back. Any person in their right mind would have already done so, if they hadn’t been raised by this same emotionally unstable, storm-brewing woman and found themselves in these very situation a hundred times before. It was clear my mother was pissed right now, but for the reason why, I wasn’t sure yet.

“So what is the problem?” I asked her, rather nonchalantly. I didn’t even attempt to hide the irritation in my voice. It had been a hell of day already, with today first of all starting out as the day I’d been dreading all summer long. Ali left for school today, meaning I was now going to be spending a great deal of my time missing her and worrying about how she was doing in school. Then I’d finally gotten to go back to my life as a superhero, something I had been so damn excited about only to have it all fall apart in an instant because I got nervous or afraid or some other weird feeling that I couldn’t understand had come over me.

Then to top it all off, and this one was purely my fault, I had decided that today was the day I was finally going to check in on Sabine. I’d promised myself I wouldn’t let her get under my skin, but sure enough less than 20 minutes in the room with that crazy lady and I was feeling more uncomfortable than ever. She knew something, something important that she was telling me. I could see it in the knowing look she’d given me at the end of our conversation. Or maybe I was just getting paranoid and she really was just messing with me. I mean when you’re trapped for an entire summer in a windowless box, you have to find some way to entertain yourself, right?

The point of all this was though, that I had wanted nothing more than to come up here and collapse into my comfy bed. I wanted to cover myself up in the bedsheets and inhale the scent of Ali’s perfume that still lingered in the bedding. I wanted to FaceTime my girlfriend and ask how the unpacking was going. I wanted to pretend even one aspect of my life was normal for just a few minutes before finally passing out and going to sleep. I wanted to just get to tomorrow morning already so I could get this terrible day over with. But no, my mother clearly had other ideas. She had to pick this exact moment to have one of her record breaking, glass shattering meltdowns.

The wind swirled around my bedroom, making the curtains twist wildly and sending the bedding flying right off my bed. My hands balled into fists as I tried to keep my cool, wishing my mother would do the same. This woman was a full grown adult and still couldn’t get a better handle on her emotions. Or rather, around us she just didn’t care enough to try.

“The robbery was declared resolved over an hour ago on the echosphere! Your brother Ben already checked in with me 45 minutes ago and you? Where were you?” My mother began spewing accusations at me like I’d done something seriously wrong. I furrowed my eyebrows at her, already shaking my head as my annoyance began to bubble up again.

“I just took my time getting back here. It’s only been an hour and I’ve never checked in with you after missions before. I don’t get why you’re so worked up right now,” I tried to keep my voice calm as I talked her down, but we both knew there was no rationalizing with her when she got like this.

“Well you should check in with me after missions and when you’re home safely! Your brother does it every time!” She yelled with another burst of wind. I squinted my eyes as they began to water under the pressure, raising my arm a little to shield myself. Her irritation only seemed to be growing, and it was easy to see in this moment where I’d inherited my temper from. Put the two of us in a match facing each other though, and that was a recipe for disaster.

“That’s because Ben is a dork who genuinely is running for his life out there on most missions. He has to check in mostly because he wants everyone to know that he finished a mission and now the next one is someone else’s turn,’ I rambled onwards, trying to shift some of my mother’s anger onto my brother but it was a desperate attempt at nothing. It was clear that all of her ire was directed at me right now and there was no escaping it.

“Your brother does his best and he cares enough about me to check in every time he makes it home safely!” She squealed, stomping her foot dramatically on the ground like she was Macey’s age right now rather than a woman well into her fifty’s. I furrowed my eyebrows at her in confusion. Why was she relating me not checking in to me not caring about her? And why was she freaking out about me checking in in the first place. I probably hadn’t check in with her after a mission since my very first year as a superhero. Hell, after most missions in the past year I went straight to Ali’s house and didn’t see my mother until the next morning. For all she knew, I was out doing patrols right now, so what was she getting so riled up about?

Before I put too much thought into my mothers reasoning right now, I found my anger bursting at the seams. “What is your problem? There have been hundred of missions that I haven’t checked in with you after. There have been times that I’ve been out way later and been in much more dangerous situations but never before have you been so concerned about me doing so. I mean if you want me to check in then maybe you should have had a little conversation with me about this when I first starting doing this part of the little family business, rather than waiting until we were four years in and suddenly having a full blown meltdown because I didn’t let you know I made it home safely after a stupid bank robbery,” the words came rambling uncontrollably from my lips while I dramatically waved my hands in front of me for emphasis. Seriously, what did this woman want from me right now and what was the fastest way to get her out of here so I could bring this day to it’s end already?

But then, my mother did the most horrible thing. Just like that, all the wind had died down and my mother’s once rigid stance had fallen limp. Her bottom lip tugged outwards and her once burning bright eyes hollowed as the tears began to fill them. It had been a long time since I’d seen my mother cry. She had always been a strong woman, but tonight she let the tears fall freely down her cheeks.

“Don’t you get it? Last time I sent you out there you didn’t come back safely. I almost didn’t get you back at all,” she stumbled over the words, almost forcing them out. They came heavy with emotion as she wrapped her arms around her torso and hugged her shaking body tightly. My heart broke in half as her words settled into my chest. In three long strides I closed the distance between us, pulling my mother’s dainty frame into my chest and hugging her tightly. Just like that we were both sent back to that night in June, the night I almost didn’t come home. She was right, and it was insensitive of me to try and brush off this first mission so dismissively. That terrible night all those months ago had affected more than just me, and my mother was part of the reason I’d taken the time off in the first place. I should have been expecting this. She was right, I should have checked in right away.

“I’m sorry, I’m really sorry mom. Next time, I’ll check in. I promise,” I assured her, keeping my voice low and soothing as I rubbed her back. Slowly my mother began to relax, the tears on her cheeks beginning to dry as she looked up at me. She brought her palm to my cheek, cupping it and forcing my eyes to meet hers. Then, she gave the smallest smile, said “goodnight,” and turned to walk away.

I let out a deep and heavy sigh, turning back to my bed. Now that was definitely something I hadn’t been expecting to happen today, but add it to the list of the many surprises I’d already faced. We should be used to this by now. Our entire family had been superhero’s for generations. We were all raised well informed of the risk it brought to us and our families, but after last June it just seemed far too real now.

For the first time all day, I allowed the heavy feelings to surround me, breathing them all in and hoping that tomorrow might bring an easier day. I scooped up my phone, calling Ali first but when it went to voicemail, I switched my attempts and sent her a quick goodnight text. I closed my eyes, hoping she wasn’t going through the same fear that my mother had been. If she was, I was certain we were all in for a bad year ahead.