Insomnia waking me up isn’t a new thing, but each time it does wake me up I am irritated regardless. Sitting up, I take a drink of water as I let my awareness spread out from me to check the rest of my apartment.

  And a bit into the apartment next over, but I’m not intending on spying on them. I just have yet to learn a shape for my senses to go beyond a sphere.

  One more thing added to the list of things I need to learn one day.

  Bianca is still in her bed, which is good, and Amelia is sitting in the front room staring at the TV, which is something.

  I turn on my phone, blinking at the bright light as I try to figure out what time it is. Three in the morning.

  It’s probably worth it for me to try and go back to sleep, but really I can’t be bothered. I’m going to be up in a few hours anyway, so I might as well start now.

  It’s not like I feel tired, so there shouldn’t be any issues with me plowing forward till I feel tired.

  Not bothering to turn on the lights, I make it over to the bag where I am keeping my clothes and find a clean change of clothes.

  Once dressed, I leave my room, aiming towards the front room, a bit surprised to see that there are no lights on despite the fact I know Amelia is in there.

  “You know I’m pretty sure it falls under my shtick to sit in the darkness not doing anything,” I say, walking over and plopping down next to her on the couch.

  “I’m doing something.” She replies.

  “And what’s that?”

  “Dramatically brooding in the darkness.”

  I glance at my friend, barely able to make out her shape in the darkness, but between that and my other senses it’s more than easy enough to pierce the veil of what she looks like at the moment.

  Long-sleeved shirt with her thumbs through the thumb-holes, hair in a thick braid cascading down her right shoulder and tiny shorts paints the picture well enough for me to guess what’s going on. Clothes aside, the fact that she’s sitting in the dark, knees pulled to her chest, staring off into space is a dead give away.

  I would be annoyed at myself if I hadn’t been able to figure out what’s going on.

  “Couldn’t sleep?” I ask, tucking my right ankle under my left leg as I shift to face her.

  “It’ll be worse if I try to sleep,” Amelia says, tilting her head side to side as she contemplates something.

  “Do you want to watch some TV?”

  “No, it’ll make it worse too. Or maybe not worse, but it’s going to make it so I can’t concentrate,” Amelia sighs.

  “Do you want to talk about it, or would it be easier if I just sat with you for a bit?” I ask, setting the remote back down.

  “I’m just feeling irrationally alone,” Amelia grumbles.

  “Hey where are you going?” She asks as I move away from the couch and move towards a lamp.

  “Turns out it’s a lot easier to feel shitty about yourself in the darkness.” I say, turning it on before returning to my seat, bumping shoulders. “So now the light can chase away the darkness, you can hear my general existence, presumably you can feel me next to you. And in the reflection of the TV you can see me.”

  “Nothing for smell or taste?”

  “I’m not going to let you eat me, and why would I know what I smell like?” I laugh, taking a peek at Amelia.

  Outside of carrying her back here, this is the most I’ve seen of her new appearance.

  “Are you gawking at my thighs?” Amelia teases, stretching her legs out and twisting them side to side.

  “Call it just compensation for you staring deeply into my eyes,” I say, tracing the network of scars.

  Though scars really doesn’t fit what I’m seeing. There’s no actual scar that I can see that’s what normal scar tissue looks like. There’s just a thin line where her normal skin tone transitions to this pale, almost blue-tinted skin.

  “Is this where I’m supposed to say my eyes are up here?” Amelia says, leaning her face into my line of sight.

  “Your eyes are up here.” I agree, holding her gaze.

  “But yeah, if I’m avoiding stares, I’m going to be wearing long sleeves and pants a lot more often.” Amelia says, clicking her tongue against her teeth. “Or I could show even more skin.”

  “Would you go back to sitting up so you’re not awkwardly contorted around it hurts my back to look at you.”

  Amelia sits up and uses a hand to turn my head so I’m still facing her.

  “Yes?”

  “Just thought you might need a reminder of where my eyes are.” Amelia laughs before looking away back towards the TV.

  “If you want me to look into your eyes all the time, you’re going to have to do better than lasting a few seconds,” I say, stifling a yawn.

  “Jason, you’re supposed to be asleep,” Amelia says, glaring at the reflection of me in the TV.

  “So are you,” I shrug.

  “Yeah, well, I’m now a bone fide super who only needs a few hours of sleep to function.” Amelia says.

  That’s not a lie, but she’s definitely not telling me the full truth.

  “So am I, but when was the last time you slept?” I ask gently.

  “I laid down earlier after I showered. It’s why I’m in pajamas.” Amelia defends.

  “Well, I had insomnia and woke up and decided to get started with my day.”

  “Deal. I won’t bother you about your poor life decisions, and you won’t bother me about mine.” Amelia says, holding out a pinky.

  “That’s a deal I can follow,” I say, sealing the promise.

  “It really seems like you have more sub-abilities than I do. All I can do is shoot ice out and manipulate it.” Amelia says in a huff. “You know how much easier shopping for new clothes would be if I was perfectly aware of how it looked on me?”

  “That’s the part of my powers you’re jealous about?”

  “No, that’s just one of the more…” Amelia trails off, looking at the TV. “Polite uses I can think of in everyday life.”

  “Amelia?”

  “Just because I don’t care what’s in their pants doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want to look.”

  “This is going nowhere.”

  “So you have been spying on me!” Amelia gasps.

  “Amelia, I can’t see that precisely. I see vague shapes and outlines.”

  “And what about when you were all magically drugged up?”

  “I was focused on getting that collar and tech out of you?”

  “That’s a pretty good excuse, so I’ll forgive you.”

  “Thanks.”

  “You think about how hard it’s going to be for us to be a superhero duo?” Amelia asks, changing the subject away from perverted uses of my ability.

  “Not really?” I say, trying to figure out where she could go with this.

  This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

  It’s not like super teams are usually known for having a specific power combination, just whoever happens to be there.

  I can’t think of anything that would make the combination of phasing and ice powers that bad.

  “We’re not exactly great at protecting innocents, are we?” Amelia says sadly.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Jason, your best way to protect them is to stand between them and the threat and let yourself get hurt. Because if you phase you’re going to make it so whoever’s behind you takes the brunt of it,” Amelia says, drumming her fingers against her knee.

  “And if you go all out, you’re afraid you’ll freeze someone who doesn’t have a super physique?” I continue drawing the dots from there.

  “Not exactly the greatest duo, right?”

  “Well, we don’t have to fight in broad daylight?” I offer. “There’s a lot of ways to help people; maybe we can do it by being more proactive.”

  “Jason,” Amelia says sharply, looking at me. “Bullying criminals in the night doesn’t foster hope. Heroes fight in broad daylight or night light because it makes people feel safe.” She looks at her hands, crystalline shards of ice forming in the air. “How exactly is anyone supposed to feel safe when I just make weapons out of ice?”

  I lean back, staring at the ceiling, wishing it could give me the script for the right answer. I need to find it; my best friend is hurting. The one goal she thinks she can still achieve feels out of reach.

  And it’s one I don’t understand. I’m going to quit this whole thing at one point or another. What kind of opinion can come from a guy who’s going to give it all up because it’s easier to do nothing?

  “What’s the difference between inspiring hope and inspiring fear?” I say, not sure where this is going, but hopefully a better direction than my thoughts are. “I think it’s about the direction. There are superheroes out there who can kill with a touch, and they’re beloved. Why is that?”

  “Because they’re seen defending people. Doesn’t matter if they’re a monster; if they’re a monster on the side of good, is that what you’re saying?” Amelia asks not taking her eyes off of the ice forming into what I think are razor-sharp snowflakes.

  “I don’t see a monster.”

  “Jason, you’re blind.”

  “My power is scarier.”

  “Oh yeah, how?”

  “What if I stabbed your lungs from the inside with my ability? Or if I just dropped someone to the ground, dooming them to fall until they found an empty patch? Sure, you’re limited in your medium, but your power is one of creation.” I say, taking a hand in mine and giving it a gentle squeeze.

  “Where are you going with this?”

  “You can create something out of nothing; isn't that beautiful? You have the power to help create whole new worlds. Others are stronger or faster. But you can give shelter to anyone. You can erect walls that keep people safe. You can create prisons for people that otherwise we would have to kill.”

  Amelia pushes me away halfheartedly, though it doesn’t exactly work so great when she’s still holding my hand. “You’re biased because you love the cold and snow. Normal people are going to find it dreary.”

  “What is your first thought when you see a flurry of snow drifting from the sky? When you see kids building snowmen. When the world is bathed in white and cast in a light that makes it all feel pure?”

  “Are you going to keep complimenting me until I pretend to not be so sad?” Amelia says, biting back giggles.

  I shake my head. “Nope. Just saying what I think. And when I think of snow, I think of wonder. So, in my mind, you have the power of wonder. That sounds like a superhero power to me, doesn’t it? Fractal wielder of wonder?”

  “That’s a really nice yarn when you put it like that.”

  “I don’t think it’s yarn at all.”

  “And what about you, Alias?” she teases. “You have the power to be truly unrestrained. Even places other powers can’t reach are meaningless for you to reach. You have the power of freedom. Doesn’t that sound heroic to you?”

  “I can’t fly, so I would have a hard time getting up anywhere.” I point out.

  “Psh, just make the air something you can’t pass through or become light as air or something.”

  “I did try that once.” I admit.

  “Show me, show me, show me!” Amelia cheers, poking me in the side with each word as if that’s going to make me go any faster.

  “I can try.”

  Amelia insistently poking me is not helping with my concentration as I try to mentally draw a box of air above my left hand.

  One of the few things that I think helped me with phasing fire over phasing just air that one time is the intrinsic capability to perceive it as a separate object.

  After all, in my brain, the air I breathe is just the air, all part of one great collective. I just need to see it as multiple parts somehow.

  And thus, through my brilliant wisdom, I have come up with the box method of just imagining a box in the air as a separate entity to everything else.

  “No offense, but this is hella boring,” Amelia says, leaning against me and chin propped on my shoulder.

  “What did you expect?” I say, doing my best to keep my mental image intact as I focus on refining it.

  “Something like ripping a portal into the shadow realm where we go on a side quest for sixty years, growing old and decrepit together before finally making out only to find that a minute passed.” Amelia says, her breath tickling my ear.

  “Well, it won’t be that impressive,” I snort as I push my power into the box, letting it permeate through it.

  Ignoring what my eyes tell me, I focus on what my mind is relaying. It’s slowly beginning to permeate more and more, becoming more real in my vision.

  Once it feels as if it’s full, I have to choose between pushing or pulling on the object mentally.

  Pushing is how I make everything else phase, but would pulling it make it easier?

  I want the air to be solid, so wouldn’t it be better for me if I pulled it since pushing it seems to be what will make it phased?

  Well, I can’t go through things that are phased, so I don’t think that will make any difference in which one I choose to do.

  I push my power into the air, and I can feel it activating instead of just permeating the air.

  Not that I can notice any ?of the details that are changing it.

  It’s just sort of hanging in the air from what I can see, even if I can feel it trickling through my power.

  And then it winks out.

  “You didn’t see anything, did you?” I say, focusing my normal gaze to determine that I see absolutely nothing going on.

  “Jason, you make a really terrible mime, just so you know,” Amelia says, craning forward, leaning on me for support as she sticks her head between my hands, looking up. “Just an empty space between your hands. I thought you were trying to make the air solid.”

  I push more power into the construct and darkness flickers around her head.

  “Jason, I rescind my comment about you being ?a bad mime because you’ve trapped my head in an invisible box, and that’s quite rude.” Amelia complains.

  “Can you not get out?” I ask, leaning forward.

  “Why would I be able to get out if your hands are stuck unable to get through?” Amelia says delightfully unhelpful.

  “I can’t go through phased objects. So if you’re still breathing, I think you can probably still get out.”

  “Alrighty!” Amelia cheers, sitting up and accidentally hitting her head against mine.

  I groan in pain, leaning back as Amelia leans against me, also rubbing her head in pain. “Jason, you’re incredibly hardheaded, you know that?”

  “And you are incredibly thick skulled can we be even now?”

  “Mmmmmm.” Amelia considers looking up, her face a hair's breadth away from mine. “I guess I would be willing to consider.”

  “Amelia?” I whisper, putting my hands on her hips as she stares down at me perched in my lap.

  “Yeah?” she whispers.

  A ripping sound fills the air, jerking me out of the moment.

  “Jason, what’s that sound?” Amelia asks, pulling back and looking around with a scared look on her face.

  My awareness snaps out to its natural distance, and I instantly spot the problem.

  Before I can put together words to respond to Amelia, I’m running and phasing through Bianca’s door, racing to the small form writhing in bed as wires snake around the room, forming a defensive web to keep her safe.

  Upon reaching her side, I realize that I have no idea how exactly I’m supposed to help with night terrors.

  Especially one that includes her shooting out razor-sharp wires in a defense mechanism to keep it all safe.

  “Bianca, sweetie, can you hear me?” I ask tentatively, reaching a hand towards her head. “I don’t know if you can. But it’s going to be okay, I promise.” I say, keeping my words soothing as I gently pat her head as I crouch down trying to get a better look at her.

  Bianca stills for a moment before thrashing around once more.

  On the bright side, no more razor wires are shooting out of her.

  On the less than stellar side, there’s a significant portion of wire set up in a deadly spiderweb with more than a few things either cut into pieces or having holes straight up drilled through them.

  The only space safe around her is her bed and a little bit of space around it.

  Without my phasing powers, I never would have been able to get here without getting torn to pieces.

  Picking her up isn’t an option. If she’s asleep, I doubt it’s a good idea to try and wake her up, and I don’t think talking is going to help.

  Think, what is the best way to help Bianca?

  “For someone who raced right in, this is an odd moment to be indecisive.” Amelia says, clambering into the bed and holding Bianca in her arms. “It’s going to be alright, baby. Your mommy and daddy are here. We’ll make the world safe.” She says gently.

  I stare at the two of them, not sure what’s going on. Or how Amelia got in here through all the wires.

  “Get in here.” Amelia hisses.

  Not sure what else to do, I climb into the bed and hold Amelia and Bianca close to me. Partially to try to comfort them and mostly because I don’t want to accidentally fall off.

  Bianca’s bed isn’t exactly meant to have two full-grown adults in it.

  My hand comes across something wet and sticky on Amelia’s back, the fabric clinging to my finger as I pull it away.

  My eyes shoot towards Amelia’s, which I can just barely make out from the lights coming from the nightlight.

  “Shhh,” she says gently, though the gentle tone is entirely defeated by her fixing me with a steely glare. “It’s all going to be okay. We’re all together. Whatever you’re facing, you're not alone, I promise,” Amelia says gently, stroking Bianca’s hair.

  “It’s going to be okay. We’re both right here.” I promise.

  Amelia’s bleeding. I want to fix that. But I don’t want to aggravate the current situation.

  Bianca throbs with a slight light as the wires retract back into her skin as her breathing begins to steady.

  Amelia continues to hold Bianca, making soothing sounds as I hold both of them, trying to transmit a feeling of calm through the hug.

  Once Bianca’s breathing is entirely normal, Amelia looks at me and flashes me a grin. “Sorry about getting your shirt all ripped up.” She teases. “But I have good news!” She whispers.

  “Yeah?”

  “I don’t feel lonely anymore.”

  Discord

  Patreon