Zoom, Academy for Superheroes: Part 1

How You Remind Me

        "Tired of living like a blind man, sick of sight without a sense of feeling. This is how you remind me of what I really am. It's not like you to say "Sorry", I was waiting on a different story. This time, I'm mistaken, for handing you a heart worth breaking."
-Nickelback

*****

        Christmas was approaching quickly, the four children were given two weeks off to be with their families, and Jack took some time away from Area 52, visiting friends and family back in town. For the kids, two whole weeks at home with their own families soon turned painful. It went well at first, but after just a few days, all four families ran out of things to do and to talk about, and the arguing began.
        The parents just didn't know what to do with their own kids. It's understandable, of course, dealing with super powered children is probably tough, but you'd think they'd be able to get over it.
        The children preferred to spend their time with their other family, which was the team. So, on this cold, crisp, December afternoon, all six of the members of the team stood in the backyard of Jack's mother.
        She had asked Jack to help her put up her Christmas lights and decorations, and when he asked the kids if they wanted to tag along, they jumped at the opportunity to ditch their families for the day and hang out with the people who truly understood them.

        The temperature was dropping rapidly, sweaters, gloves and scarves were all necessities. Cindy was just a bundle of pink, as she ran around the yard, playing with Rosie's little, white dog.
        Tucker and Dylan were setting up the decorations around the yard that they'd unpacked from some boxes. Things like reindeer that light up and blow up Santa Clauses were displayed on the lawn. Summer wore a dark red coat and mittens as she took on the task of stringing lights on the trees in the yard. There were plenty of trees in Rosie's front yard, mainly Maple, the lights would look great once it got darker and they would be turned on.
        Miss Holloway also wore a coat, but hers was form-fitting and dark grey. And, of course, she couldn't go anywhere without some kind of high heels, so she wore knee length, black, heeled boots that gave her a height advantage that she could never have naturally.
        She was helping Jack's sister, Susan, who she'd met a few months ago, untangle a box of lights. Jack himself was up on a ladder, stringing lights onto the roof, but climbed down when he saw his mother coming out with a tray. He knew what that meant; hot chocolate with marshmallows and cinnamon would soon be served.
        As the scene unfolded, they couldn't all help but feel like a true family, doing regular things that normal families do without their powers standing in the way. They never did this kind of thing with their real families. Hell, they couldn't even have a simple meal without mention of their powers.
        It was as if their parents were afraid of them; afraid that all of a sudden their children might just turn on them and use their powers against them. Which was ridiculous, of course. These kids may have powers beyond natural human ability, but they weren't monsters.

*****

        As soon as they'd all finished their warm beverages, they returned to their jobs. Summer was finished with the trees and had begun helping the women with the lights. They formed somewhat of a train, Susan brought the lights out of the box, untangling them as she passed them down to Summer, who finished the untangling, passed them down to Marsha, who handed them up to Jack while also holding the ladder steady for him.
        Cindy began placing figurines here and there, having fun with her little decorations, and Dylan and Tucker were raking up some fallen leaves. They were an effective team, as always, getting the job done at around 6:00 pm, just in time for the sun to set while Rosie came around with yet another round of her delicious hot chocolate.
        She absolutely adored the children, like they were her own grandchildren. Susan had to leave to pick up her daughter from dance class as soon as they were finished, but the others stood in the darkness while Rosie went to turn on the lights.
        While they waited, they all seemed to notice how cold it had gotten. Dylan kissed the top of Summer's head as she nuzzled into his chest, Cindy sat on Tucker's shoulders, while she cuddled Rosie's dog, and Jack wrapped an arm around Marsha's waist.
        They heard the flip of a switch before the house lit up in the darkness. The lights were beautiful and captivating, lighting up everyone's eyes on this dark, December night. Rosie's house looked spectacular with the lights outlining it's every corner. And the front yard looked equally amazing, Summer did a wonderful job on the trees, and the figurines and lights around the yard brought it all together. It was perfect.
        They all stood outside with wonder until their bodies began to shake with cold, and their breathe could be seen. The children were taken home to their parents' for dinner, and Jack and Marsha needed to be back at Area 52.
        The kids wished that they were joining Mr Shepherd and Miss Holloway at Area 52, the place that truly served as a home for everyone, but Christmas was in three days and the kids knew that it was only right to be with their parents. Still, they would all be relieved when their two week break was up and things could return to normal.

        Rosie had been nothing but smiles for the whole day, even after the team had left. She loved seeing every one of them, and she especially loved to see her son so happy, and in such a good place in his life. She had begun to worry about him, when he didn't have a job that he really enjoyed, no family, or even a woman in his life.
        But she could see, now, that things were looking up. These people were like his family, even if their situation wasn't usual, they all fit together perfectly. It wasn't really like that with the old team, and Rosie had never taken to them all that well.
        She was wary of Finn, at first, thinking he was trouble, but warmed up to him after seeing that he was a good friend to Jack. She'd always liked Rebecca, thinking back on it now, she kind of reminded Rosie of Marsha. But she shouldn't think that she'd ever even had a proper conversation with Alex.
        Alex was unfriendly and almost rude, Rosie didn't like that Jack was so infatuated with her. She remembered always kind of hoping that he and Rebecca would have gotten together, they could have balanced each other out nicely.
        This is why Rosie appreciated the new team so much. They were happy, they all fit together, they were all friendly and personable, they were everything a family should be.