Superhero

Chapter 141

As soon as Addison's shift ended, she and Jeff gathered bottles of orange juice for each person in the Kennedy home and set off in his bike.
"I thought you were ghosting me," Addison sighed as soon as they were in the main road.
Jeff sighed, signalled to take a left. "Sorry about that. My phone completely died last night. I left it at home, meaning to charge once I came back, but we all know how that went."
"Well, I'm just glad that you're safe and still in town."
"Come on, you know I still have another year left for my degree. I'm on scholarship to reduce the burden on my mom, I can't do that to her after everything she has been through."
"Your mother seems like a really strong woman," Addison couldn't help but say. "Anyway, what did Felicia say when you showed up at her home?"
Jeff snorted as he stopped at a traffic light. "Well, I didn't just show up. I actually called Jake and asked if they had a vacancy at your place and he immediately said yes, and brought his mother's pickup truck to help me move out. I had very little things, so I was quick, but I really appreciated it."
"And why did no one tell me while I was blaming myself for your nonexistent departure?"
"I kinda have something to do with that. I told them to not tell you about it since I was saving it as a surprise. Also, I was really tired after last night. Notice how we didn't have any Superhero sightings tonight."
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Why did you disappear for one month once?"
"You remember my organic chemistry assignment, right?"
Addison did. "Oh. So that was why."
"Yep, even the Superhero needs to focus on his studies, Addie."
"Yeah, and I'm glad that I helped him increase the quality of his work," Addison smacked his shoulder slightly. "Also, why did you act so excited whenever I came in with Superhero stories? You were really enjoying yourself, weren't you?"
Jeff couldn't help but smirk under the mask. "Yeah, I was. It was fun hearing stories of myself, and me sounding like the hero the whole time."
"You do know that you're actually a hero, right? A Superhero at that," Addison frowned. "How did you get those powers anyway?"
"I'm saving that story for later. The others asked me the same question and I do not want to repeat it more than once. I'll tell you guys at dinnertime, okay? Giuseppe is sponsoring us pizza."
"Oh, he put you on a first-name basis as well," Addison chuckled. "Yeah, he has a knack of doing that."
"Yeah, he does."

Everyone had showered, changed, and were now seated at the dinner table. Felicia said that it was a celebratory welcome banquet for Jeff joining them at last. Felicia even gave a speech at her seat before sitting for the meal.
"Today is a special day, for we have a special guest staying with us," Felicia smiled at Jeff. "Jeff Clarkson, also a known by a nickname that I will not say since everyone is already familiar with it, will be joining us as of today."
She was followed by applause and Jeff stood up to comically bow at everyone else, much to everyone's amusement.
"Thank you, thank you," Jeff said as he bowed.
Felicia chuckled. "Yes, and it is truly an honour to have you with us." She lifted her bottle of orange juice. "Let's make a toast to Jeff!"
"To Jeff!" Everyone exclaimed in unison.
The meal was a hearty one. Giuseppe was actually generous when ordering the pizza. He even got everyone a side of mushroom soup and chicken wings, it was only because of Jeff's urging did he refrain from ordering drinks as well.

Once dinner was done and cleared, Jeff stood in the centre of the living room to answer the question that had Addison had asked earlier.
"Before we begin, I need to acknowledge one thing," Jeff said. "I am not looking for sympathy in any way, and none of whatever I'm about to say should affect the way to treat me or the Superhero."
Everyone murmured an agreement to that and watched as he began to speak again.
"So, about the question on where I got my powers from," Jeff paused for effect. "I'm actually not sure. It came to me all of a sudden."
Addison raised her hand, prompting Jeff to point a hand at her like how a lecturer would acknowledge a student during a lecture. "When did you first realise that you had these powers?"
Jeff nodded approvingly. "So when my parents were still together, my father was very abusive towards my mother and of course, me and my two younger siblings. The abuse was usually verbal, he would yell at her, and then they would start arguing, my mom would be crying. During this time, I—being the oldest child—would safely remove my siblings from the scene and distract them in another room. We can still hear them yelling and crying, but they were just kids and I would try my best at distracting them."
"That is so sad," Jake remarked.
"Yeah, but no sympathy, remember?" Jeff reminded him. "So it was the usual one day, but there was something different. My mom wasn't just crying. She was screaming and crying in pain. I was ten at that time and I knew I had to stop him, I felt the need to protect my mom and told my siblings to stay put and left the room to confront my father."
Everyone waited with bated breath for Jeff to continue, and he did after a few moments of silence. It was clear that the memory was painful to recall.
"Jeff, you don't have to tell us if it hurts too much," Giuseppe piped up. "Don't force yourself, man."
Jeff shook his head, his eyes glazed. "No, I need to say it. It feels good to finally tell people about this." He took a few moments, then continued. "In the living room, my father was beating my mother with the wooden coat stand. It was pure mahogany, and imagine how much it would hurt. I couldn't see my mom suffer like that, even when I was just ten.
"I leapt in his way and grabbed onto the coat rack and tried to push him off. That made him mad. So mad."
"Oh, gosh..." Addison covered her mouth in surprise.
"Yep," Jeff sighed. "So in that fit of rage, he grabbed me and threw me out a closed window. It all happened so quickly, and I think that was the last thing I remember. When I woke up, I was in the hospital with my mother by my side and she told me that the shock of the incident put me in a month-long coma." He pointed to his scarred eyebrow. "You see this? I got it from that incident. Apparently, a piece of glass sliced through my skin, barely missing my eye.
"My mom had left my dad that instant, especially since he didn't seem all that concerned for her and the well-being of her children. So my mom took that as the last straw and moved. She also filed charges of domestic abuse and what happened to me was all the proof she needed. Also, the bruises she attained during the beating."
"Darn, Jeff, that's horrifying!" Jordan couldn't help but say.
Jeff shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. We were all so relieved that he was behind bars, still is by the way, and we went on to live happier lives." He smirked. "Although, that was not the only thing that changed in my life. After I woke up from the coma, my hands... they started having this tingling sensation in them. And that's when I realised that they emanated light and that helped me move from one place to another in an instant. Only, it was very draining. The further the distance I travelled, the more tired I was."
"That's why you were so tired last night," Felicia noted.
"Yes, because it was in the outskirts of Spring Valley," Jeff pointed at her in agreement. "That's at least twenty kilometres, right?"
Giuseppe shrugged. "Probably more."
Jeff chuckled. "So yeah. That's my origin story. I realised that it's very much like a villain's, but I still chose to be a hero."
Addison raised her hand once more. "Does your family know that you have this... condition?"
"Ah, very good question," Jeff grinned, revealing his dimple. "But the answer is: no. They do not know that I have this condition. In fact, no one outside this room does. You're the only people who know."
There was silence at that.
"Well, that's a sobering reality..." Giuseppe remarked.