Searching for You

Real Life Superheroes

I kept doubting that I had actually found someone who knew my dad that easily. It seemed too simple, too convenient. No one else seemed to be questioning it.

Why was I always the only one---besides Leo---that found issue with something suspicious? Well, I hadn't really found that much of an issue with Marcus in the beginning, to be fair. But there was something about him that had drawn me in, made me feel special. Little did I know he had been lying to me the whole time.

He lied to all of us.

So why was part of me still missing him?

Raven led us to a house at the edge of town, rapping on the door three times before putting her hands on her hips. A few moments passed until the door swung inward, revealing a tall, middle-aged man. His sideburns extended down into a neatly-trimmed beard, graying slightly at the temples. His gaze was hard and he looked over us for a moment before talking to Raven in undertones. What was so serious that they couldn't tell us about?

The man grunted and nodded at the rest of us. "Come on inside," he said gruffly.

We looked at each other and cautiously followed him and Raven inside. The inside of the house was a bit messy and run-down like it hadn't been cleaned in a while. A few beer bottles on the dining room table---as well as the smell of alcohol---told me that this man had a bit of a drinking problem. But, he didn't seem to be too affected mentally by the amount he had been drinking. It was honestly impressive.

The man looked at us and gestured to the living room. "Make yourself at home. . . . I guess." He looked up at Raven. "I need to talk to you for a second."

Raven followed him out of the room and left us alone. I joined Chase and Adam on the couch while Leo and Bree took the two reclining chairs. I examined the couch and noticed a few large scratch marks, almost like claws. Did this guy have a big dog or something?

"Any guesses as to why Raven brought us here?" Chase asked me, picking at the leather of the couch.

I shook my head. But there was something about her that seemed so familiar, almost like I had seen her somewhere before. Her face seemed to haunt the back of my mind. Taunting me, somehow. 

The dark house was almost like a prison. I wondered why the man wanted to keep himself shut off from the world, it made no sense. So far, I hadn't seen any sign of the dog he clearly had, but I definitely heard Raven speaking to him around the corner. The voices seemed to get louder, and that was when I noticed them returning to the living room.

Raven stepped in first, looking a bit annoyed, and the man came in behind her. He didn't look annoyed, but I couldn't help but wonder if he was permanently angry. The fact that his muscles rivaled Adam's in size didn't help. Though I knew that both me and Adam could probably beat him strength-wise, he was definitely seasoned in fighting, and by the looks of his stature it was probably either cage fighting or street fighting. 

Lovely.

He waved his hand slightly, like he wanted to talk but wasn't sure what to say. He looked at me and grunted.

"So, you're Hank's kid?" he asked me. "Interesting. He never told me about you."

I leaned forward onto the edge of my seat. "You knew my dad?"

"Yeah. Hank, Raven and I used to work together. We had a big . . . work force. A lot of employees."

"My built-in lie detector is going off," Adam put in, a serious look on his face. He pointed at the man in a cartoonish way. "You're lying, sir."

I had to suppress the urge to burst out laughing. Even if Adam was being serious, he always acted in the most unserious way possible. And laughing at a time like this would probably make Mr. Angry Pants even more angry, so I decided to hold my breath for a second until the sensation left me.