Safe Haven

Chapter One - Matilda

Super.

A thing I most certainly am not. Or at least I don't think I am – surely, I would know by now, right?

See, where I come from, where I am now, everyone is... Super (by some definition). It's kind of a requirement to live here. Though I'm completely Un-Super now, I've been told by more than a few that it will come with time.

My mother was Super. More so than she originally thought with a whopping two powers. That had never been seen before and - to my knowledge - still hasn't been beat. There I stood in her ever-growing shadow with a disappointingly low number of talents and even lower number of powers.

I was sure that one day I'd wake up being able to hear my neighbor's thoughts or, even better, being able to control their thoughts. But in the twenty-one years that I'd been alive, absolutely nothing had changed.

Some days I was okay with that. When someone in my workspace passed out from over-exertion, or when my mom would get unimaginably painful headaches, I was actually thankful for my lack of powers.

Other days, however, I felt excluded and like the black sheep of the community. I suppose that's how I should feel. I just couldn't quite understand why I didn't get even one of my mother's abilities.

"You'll get both one day, I know it." Mr. Osmond insisted. He believed in me. "And when you do... you'll be so powerful. So... Useful." So super.

For now, I remained powerless. Useless. Superless.

~ ~ ~

"Brown!" I blinked, turning to face the voice. "Just because you can't lift these boxes with your mind, doesn't mean you can't lift them at all. Get over here!" Lern chastised.

Lern was a burly man with dark, sun-scorched skin. He developed the ability to produce fire from his hands at the age of twenty-five and after an incident he spoke about very rarely, he was brought to the community. With help from Mr. Osmond, of course. He trained a lot with the scientific team and actually became a part of Mr. Osmond's staff, so it was a little odd to see him working in the boxing department.

"So, what are you doing here?" I asked, hoisting a lighter box up into my arms and carrying it to the specific area it needed to be in. Clothing.

"Boss Man's in a pissy mood. He sent me away because there was some lady in his office that he was yelling at," Lern informed me. He grabbed the clipboard hanging loosely on the wall and shook his head. "Don't know why he doesn't just hire other people to do this. I thought the shelter was supposed to help us with our powers, not help him with... whatever the hell he needs help with," he grumbled.

This was normally how my time spent with Lern went. He grumbled to me about Mr. Osmond and the people in their science research group. About how Hope, the "smokin' hot" scientist acted like she knew everything about his testing, while I just listened - nodding along to the complaints as I lifted boxes.

"Are these boxes light to you?" I asked cutting him off. He stared at me for a moment before shaking his head in disbelief.

"No, you're not developing super strength, Brown. You're lifting the pillows," he griped. I leaned to the side, reading the label and sighing. According to it, I was most definitely only lifting our new pillows. Lern watched on as I carried the box to the delivery room with a dejected look.

"Look kid," he started when I came back (to which I sighed because I wasn't a kid anymore), "I know you're disappointed that you haven't gotten your powers yet, but I'm sure you will soon. I mean, you'd better, or Boss Man will kick you out!" He laughed and poked an elbow into my ribs.

Though I knew it was a joke, there was a hint of truth in his jest. Mr. Osmond would likely get tired of keeping me, an Un-Super, protected after so long. Besides, what protection did I need if I didn't have a power?