Present Day

  Tugging at his uncomfortable tie, Pinn surveyed the crowd in front of him. Weddings. He dreaded attending them. He would have to make small talk with friends and family he hadn’t seen for a while. But the worst part was…

  “Pinny,” his mother already started. “Isn’t this beautiful? Oh, I can’t wait until you get married.”

  Pinn closed his eyes, anticipating the next sentence.

  “When are you going to get married? You need to get out more! Want me to introduce you to a friend? You’re such a kind and good looking man, any woman would be lucky to have you! Plus, you’re… you know…” She moved her hands in a cone above her head.

  “Ma, please.”

  “Have you met anyone at the shelter? Ummm, not the older ladies. Someone your age, preferably?”

  “Ma, enough.” Red tint crawled over his cheeks.

  “Oh, Pinny, when will you open up to people? This isn’t good for you. Maybe if you would embrace your powers, you’d be more willing to put yourself out there in…”

  “Ma, I love you. I’m going to go find Pa.” Pinn turned and walked away, his mother smiling behind him.

  He found his dad sitting at a table alone. Perfect.

  “Hey, Pa. See anyone we know?”

  “Yes.”

  Pinn waited for an answer, but Rockwell stared at the empty dinner plate in front of him. Dinner clearly hadn’t satisfied him.

  “Who?” Pinn prompted.

  “The bride.” Rockwell said stone faced.

  Pinn would have been annoyed with his dad saying he knew his own cousin, but the only person who hated being at the wedding more than him was Pa. Jordan Bambsy was on at this time.

  Rockwell’s hand stuck out at a passing suited man with a soda pitcher. “Do you have tap water?”

  “Sorry, sir, there should have been bottles of water with your table. I can get you some more.”

  “That’s not what I asked.” Rockwell’s voice was firm.

  “Oh.” The server tugged at his collar. “We don’t have any pitchers of water or anything like that. I can get you some water bottles if you like.”

  Rockwell said nothing, his face unreadable as he continued to look at the man.

  “Or maybe I can find a glass and get you tap water?” the server said, his voice a placating octave higher.

  “Thank you.” Rockwell leaned back in his seat.

  The server rushed away, and Pinn scoffed, wondering how others viewed his father. No one else on his side of the family had come to sit at the table, much less approach it to say hello, and Pinn felt it was more than mere coincidence. But that was precisely why he liked going to outings with his father. Outside, but left alone.

  As they sat in comfortable silence, a couple of athletic-looking men approached their table.

  “These seats taken?” the taller one asked.

  Rockwell looked around at the other empty tables before replying, indicating that they had other options. But they seemed to take his turning head as a shake. They sat down and immediately began chatting, breaking what little quiet Pinn and Rockwell had built for themselves. And they spoke loud, not a care in the world for who could hear them.

  “Where is Angelica? She still on a mission?” The taller of the two asked.

  Pinn raised an eyebrow. “Mission” was a pretty specific term. Were they a part of HUE?

  “No, she should be here,” the companion replied. He looked over at the cameraman taking family photos. Pinn noticed his mother in line with some of her friends.

  “Hey, Garret,” the friend continued, “are those flashes on his bulb a little brighter than usual? Like, too bright?”

  “Larry, can you just relax for once? It’s a wedding. Enjoy the food!” Garret emphasized his point by grabbing a nearby cupcake.

  “I don’t know, man. Maybe he’s Awakened, and he doesn’t know it,” Larry pushed his point. “A newbie open to recruitment. We should get him before HUE or EUE poach him.”

  “Look, I don’t think we should get him involved if we don’t know for sure,” Garret said, mouth full between bites. “But if anyone causes issues, we can try to lead them his way. Then we can prove whether or not he’s Awakened. Baptism of fire, as they say.”

  Larry nodded silently as he continued to observe the cameraman. Pinn wondered what abilities the two in front of him possessed. Despite the innumerable powers at his disposal, he didn’t have anything like Sami’s Power Sense. Never having desired it before, Pinn was starting to feel it was an incredibly helpful power. Awakened individuals used to be somewhat rare, but now they appeared in every setting of his life. Why was the population growing so fast?

  “Thank you all for being here. I won’t take much of your time!” A prim woman in a dress that looked denim enough to start its own farm stepped on stage with a microphone. “I am Timaria Burr, distant relative of the groom, Francis. But while our family may be extended, I was granted the intimate honor of hosting this entire event and showing them the beauty of Hammerton.”

  Pinn looked at his father with a raised eyebrow.

  “Is she some sort of Hammerton public relations director?” he asked quietly.

  “Worse. Burr’s running for mayor. This is all propaganda.”

  Anything that came out of a politician’s mouth was propaganda to Rockwell, no matter how small the position of power. Not that Pinn totally disagreed. He just thought they had to have some humanity. Not all of them wanted to take advantage of the world.

  “Please enjoy your desserts as we conduct a few games with prizes, starting in just a few minutes. Incidentally, I hope you all turn out to vote in the upcoming election! And if you don’t know anyone on the ballot, just remember how delicious the dessert spread that Timaria Burr put out for you tasted.”

  She elicited a polite chuckle from the crowd. Rockwell’s flat look turned to a frown, and Pinn knew his expression. He thought Burr was bribing the crowd, masking it behind playful banter.

  “Thank you again for being here. The love and support of their friends and family mean the world to Connie and Francis.” She turned off the microphone and clapped for the audience, looking with a broad smile to the bride and groom.

  Pinn’s attention was pulled to the entrance as people applauded for Timaria. Someone wasn’t dressed for the occasion and they had a strange look in their eye. Twitching, he was scanning the room rapidly like a rat searching for food.

  And he had a flame in his palm.

  “Oh, interesting.” Garret took another bite and pointed with half a cupcake. “I don’t know if you noticed, but there’s a guy standing at the entrance. Definitely Awakened. His arm is glowing. Is that fire?”

  Everyone at their table swiveled their heads to get a look at the potential threat. His eyes were manic, and his arm was held straight out with flames ready to let loose, dancing at the edge of his palm. He was muttering to himself, so no one could hear him. Except for Pinn.

  Pinn Enhanced his hearing, a glass cup in front of him cracking as he did so. Ignoring the collateral damage, he focused on the Awakened fire user. Fidgeting, the man’s face turned in every direction as he spoke to himself.

  “Box. Where is the box? The wedding gifts? I’m owed that after how she held out on me at the store.”

  “What’s he saying?” Rockwell eyed his son.

  “He’s looking for the money people brought as gifts.” Pinn relayed quietly. “Something about a store, too? Cousin Connie’s store?”

  “She was the victim of an attempted robbery a couple days ago,” Rockwell informed him. “A guy with fire. They never caught the culprit.”

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Attempted?”

  “Yeah, he was stopped by some Awakened kid. Someone with a ghost friend?”

  Ghost friend sounded interesting. He wondered if Sami would get along with that Awakened individual.

  Pinn looked around, wondering how he could take care of this guy before he did something rash. Mentally flipping through his powers, he pieced together which ones would work best without alerting everyone else of his abilities. Before he could decide on a course of action, the fire user let off a warning shot into the sky, catching embers to the ceiling.

  Instead of panicking, the people nearest him actually started applauding. They thought it was a part of the wedding entertainment. The man’s twisted smile grew nervously.

  “I’m glad you enjoyed that.” He gestured towards the crowd. “Now, who can direct me to the beautiful bride? I have a special show to give her!”

  Pinn steeled himself for his next move. Now or never. Hopefully people would think he was a random Awakened that had nothing to do with Lightcrown. The light fixture above him flickered as he Enhanced all his physical abilities. But, before he could move, his mom stepped into the situation.

  “I’m sorry, but I was a part of the wedding party,” Serena explained. “How do you know the bride, exactly?”

  “I’m also sorry,” he began, “that you’re making this harder than it needs to be.” He raised his glowing hand and pointed it directly at her. “Tell me where the bride is, or you can be the first to taste the power of my Awakened flame abilities!”

  Pinn gave up any hopes of being covert. The only problem was his mom was in his line of sight. He’d have to…

  “Have no fear! Light Man is here!”

  The cameraman grandly pointed to the ceiling of the reception hall and ran to the entrance where the villain had entered. His body began brightening before it exploded in a blinding flash as he dove forward to tackle the villain. The bride, groom, and other wedding attendees watched in awe at the beginning of the super-powered battle. Rockwell looked at Pinn with a raised eyebrow. Pinn shrugged.

  “Light Man?” Larry asked.

  “It seems pretty clear. Probably brightens his body to blinding proportions,” Garret said, taking a final bite of the cupcake in hand.

  “Hmmm, yeah I guess. But isn’t he up against a pyromaniac? Not sure the lighting effects are going to help with that,” Larry said, looking between the different drinks at the table, dismissing everything as soon as he saw the color in the pitcher and mumbling in disappointment. “No cream soda?”

  “Aren’t you guys with HUE?” Pinn asked them, trying to nudge them into urgency with his tone. “Shouldn’t you be stepping in to do something?”

  “We’re Freelance, no ties to a company,” Larry said proudly, looking up like he was saluting a leader. “We take after the original Freelancer, Lightcrown! He wasn’t beholden to any group or bureaucracy. He fought for the sake of the people, without restraint. May God rest his soul.” Larry closed his eyes and tilted his head down in respect.

  Pinn exhaled quietly, trading a look with his father who sat stone-faced.

  “Don’t worry,” Garret assured Pinn. “We can step in if need be. But sometimes you’ve gotta give people room to fail in a safe environment. In other words, this is his tryouts!”

  “Down, fiend!” Light Man yelled, throwing more light in the pyromaniac’s eyes.

  “Fiend?” Larry asked, holding up a pitcher of juice to inspect.

  “Give him a break. It’s clearly his first outing. You saw the way his mask was too tight on his face? He isn’t gonna know that until he sees the streak marks in the mirror tomorrow,” Garret said between mouthfuls of a new cupcake.

  “You will all burn!” the fire thrower screamed, blasting a flame to the guests waiting in line for a photo. Most of the attendees gasped and Pinn gripped tightly to the tablecloth, but Garett and Larry watched it casually.

  “Oh, there she is!” Larry said.

  As the ball of flame approached the crowd, Angelica subtly raised a hand to extinguish the oncoming fireball with Awakened ice powers. Pinn released tension, realizing the Freelancers had better control of the situation than the complacency they gave off.

  “You think he uses his powers as flash when he takes pictures? I don’t think his camera had a bulb,” Garret wondered.

  “You know, I thought the pictures were oddly bright! That’s a smart idea. Probably saves him a bit of money, too,” Larry mused.

  “Eat light!” Another flash came from the entrance.

  “This guy has really got to work on his banter,” Larry groaned.

  “You’re one to talk,” Garret scoffed, ducking under an incoming fireball.

  “Don’t even—”

  “What was it you said on our first team up?” Garret asked. “You’ll be filled up with lead til you’re dead?’ I think I actually, physically recoiled when you said that. Curled up into a little ball and surrendered from embarrassment,” he said, grabbing another cupcake from the table next to him while its occupants hid under the cloth in fear.

  “I was under a lot of pressure! I didn’t have a lot of lead on me at the time to use in a fight and—”

  “And you went by Pain Boy!” Garret screamed in laughter, bits of cupcake flying from his mouth. “That’s so much worse than Light Man!”

  The crowd gasped behind them. A massive ball of fire came their way. Garret and Larry ducked. Rockwell didn’t move. Moving sharply, Pinn slapped the ball of flame away from the table, smacking it into the ceiling when it was inches away from Rockwell’s face. Rockwell didn’t react in the slightest to the near death experience.

  “Because the Atomic Symbol for lead is Pb!” Larry protested. “I was being clever! But I guess LeadHead is a bit better in terms of memorability—”

  “Heads up, I think Pyro’s got him pinned.” Garret leaned forward, serious, putting his half-eaten treat back on the table.

  “Time to turn out the lights,” the criminal said, pinning Light Man down and pointing his arm to his face. Light Man looked defiant at the small fire flickering in front of his neck, leaning his head away in anticipation.

  “A light pun. See, that’s a good line,” Larry said, raising his hands and summoning lead sinkers from his pockets. The tiny fishing weights rose immediately, like a swarm of bees exiting his suit and drifting closely to his hand, awaiting orders.

  “Yeah, it’s pretty good,” Garret agreed before warping out of existence. He warped back in on the other side of the room, putting a firm hand on the pyromaniac’s arm.

  “Wha—”

  They both warped out of the room as Light Man let off a desperate final flash. Alone on his side of the hall, Light Man frantically patted at the small embers on his suit. Larry used the lead under his control to covertly grab cups of water across the room and throw them on top of Light Man and other small fires. Once he was extinguished, Light Man stood up in shock, not quite understanding exactly what had happened.

  “You saved us!” Angelica said, standing up proudly to applaud him. “Paul Anderson! A true hero!”

  Light Man smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head while taking in the praise as Garret warped back into existence next to Pinn’s table. Pinn’s lip twisted in envy. Teleportation was an incredible power, especially when it didn’t come with side effects.

  “You missed it, but Angelica name dropped Light Man for us. Paul Anderson, we should look him up for a background check. Where’d you take the fire user?” Larry asked, putting on a tophat and a pair of comically large glasses that his lead had brought back for him as they snuck back into his suit. It appeared he was getting ready for a silly photo when Light Man was ready.

  “As far as my power could take us.”

  “So, a few hundred feet away?”

  “Yeah, but I dumped him in the river runoff to cool him off, so it’s not like he’ll have an easy time getting back.” Garret grabbed his unfinished sugary food. “Also, I’m pretty sure he isn’t even Awakened. When I grabbed his arm, I grabbed something metal as well, and when I dropped him, I could see it detach from his body. I think he was hiding a flamethrower under his sleeve and pretending to have power.”

  “Sounds like we won’t need to manage him any further. But, I’ll double check when we go outside for some fresh air in a few minutes,” Larry said, joining the rest of the hall in applauding Light Man, who was still awkwardly taking the praise.

  “Let’s try to recruit him while we’re congratulating him,” Garret mentioned.

  Pinn looked around the wedding as the standing ovation slowly ended. He knew what too much praise, especially this early in one’s career, could do to someone’s heart. Moreso when they didn’t have good mentors to guide them. He didn’t like it. They were setting up Light Man for future failure, despite their good intentions. Their praise was genuine, he couldn’t fault them for that. But, those praised long enough were bound to believe in their own hype.

  Serena ran over to Pinn and Rockwell, having finally located them in the chaos.

  “Hello, Ma’am,” Garret said before she could speak to her family. “Were you harmed in any way? You looked to be right in the middle of danger.”

  “You saw right!” Serena said, a grateful smile on her face. “I’m just so thankful there was an Awakened hero around to help protect all these innocent lives!” She gave Pinn a firm look as she continued to speak. “Even with such an unconventional power, he was able to do so much. What a blessing.”

  “Well, let me say that I’m personally very pleased to see you safe,” Garret replied. “If you would excuse us, though, we’re going to go take a couple of silly photos with our friend, the groom, before heading out.”

  “Oh, of course!” Serena stepped aside a bit to give them room.

  Once the two were out of earshot, Serena turned sharply to Pinn. Pinn already had his head down, ready for the stern words on the way.

  “Pinny…” His mom thought hard about her next words, the pause carrying weight. “Pinny, dear, look at what someone with less than 1% of your abilities could do. You could have taken down that fire freak in the blink of an eye. You’re so capable, so blessed. What would have happened if he hadn’t stepped in? People could have been hurt.”

  Pinn kept his head down, ashamed at how much he hesitated to act.

  “Pinny,” Serena continued, “you have the potential to do so much good. Enough good to outdo any bad you think you’ve done. Don’t let a past deed hold you back from future good. It’s not befitting someone like you. You have a beautiful heart, dear. Please don’t waste its potential.”

  Serena looked towards Rockwell and nodded towards Pinn. Say something, she mouthed.

  “Your mom’s right, son.” Rockwell said simply. A powerful blow.

  “I know,” Pinn said, his face buried in his palm. “I know I should do more, but I wish I didn’t have to. Every time I think back to how…”

  Rockwell placed a rough hand on Pinn’s shoulder, jostling him hard in his own way of support. Serena sat down at the table.

  Serena put her hand on her son’s head. “I still believe in you. And I was asking around with all the guests here and got the contact info of—”

  “Ma, please, don’t try to set me up with someone right now,” Pinn groaned.

  “Let me finish! The contact info of a therapist. Not just any therapist, he specializes in speaking to Awakened people. Now I know you’re very hush-hush about your abilities, but therapists are required by law to not disclose anything you speak of. Confidentiality. Someone you can talk to.”

  Pinn didn’t lift his face from his palm. “How can this guy specialize in a recently discovered, random phenomenon?”

  “Just give it a try. For me. If only because you love me and want to make me happy.”

  Pinn raised his head, looking at his mother. Smiling sincerely, she gently pulled her hand away from his ruffled hair. He owed her at least a try.

  With a resigned nod, he agreed to give it a shot. After all, his mother’s happiness meant the world to him and he hated to constantly disappoint her, even if he had his reasons. Once dedicated to the decision, a glimmer of hope flickered within him. Perhaps this specialized therapist could offer insights into his Awakened abilities that he had never considered. It seemed ever since meeting Sami, Pinn embraced the unknown a little more freely, hoping to find something he couldn’t quite name.

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