Super

Chapter 3

[Noah]

        Sometimes, being a superhero could be a real drag. Perhaps I was being ungrateful. But it was true.

        Minor inconveniences included: disappearing at random times, occasional glowing eyes, super untimely villain attacks, and several near-death experiences a week. But, hey, I wasn't complaining. I didn't go to any college parties, so I needed some excitement in my life. It may not have been completely conventional, but it was something.

        Inconvenience of this particular day was that I was supposed to be accepting some award in the park, where they built this huge statue of a chameleon in my honor.

        What was my opinion on that? I didn't really know. Personally, I thought that real chameleons were rather ugly, but since nobody asked, I kept that to myself.

        But that wasn't the thing bothering me. The bad part was that I was supposed to be accepting this award at noon, so it overlapped two of my classes. I had already texted Matt to take notes for me, but he said he wasn't going to be there either. Strange, but not too out there for him. He wasn't exactly... academically inclined. Or punctual. Or motivated.

        I wasn't being mean. In fact, one could even go as far as calling me generous by saying that. We went through all of high school together, and not once did I ever see him do an assignment any time other than the day before it was due. And even then, it wasn't usually him doing the work; he had this annoying yet endearing habit of copying off of me. But maybe that was healthy for him. He ended up getting good enough grades, (mainly credited to him cramming the night before every test) and he did get accepted into a good college. Maybe procrastination was what kept high school interesting for him, because I never saw that grin that he always wore leave his face.

        I hoped he was okay. In all of the time I had known him, I hadn't seen him quite as upset as he was when we talked about Imperium. He must have really hated him. Made sense, really. Imperium was a renowned supervillain. (A rather annoyingly good one, at that.) But that didn't change the fact that my usually optimistic friend was acting oddly.

        I looked down at my watch as I finished changing from my civilian clothes into my Talpa costume. That's what it was: a costume. Saving the world was a bit less exciting when I felt like a kid on Halloween every time I adopted my alternate identity.

        I creaked the door of our dorm open slowly, looking both ways to see if the coast was clear. Luckily, it seemed nobody was wandering through the halls, so I slipped through the doorway and ran out of the room.

        As Talpa, I had to run everywhere. I couldn't afford to travel in an identifiable vehicle, so cars were out of the question. And I couldn't get rides from people, since they would definitely be able to recognize me. That, and running just looked more badass than strolling into a crime scene. Imagine that; what if the police just casually walked to the rescue? It would be lame. So there I was, running down the streets and attracting shouts and stares as I made my way to the park.

        "Is there another crime?" a little boy shouted at me as I jogged past him. I stopped and backtracked, smiling at the child. He had blond hair that stuck up a bit in the front, and he was holding hands with an older woman who I guessed was his mother.

        "No," I explained quickly, since he looked distressed. "I'm just going to Wills Park." His mother nodded at me gratefully and looked fondly down at her son.

        "That's actually where we're going," she told me. "It was going to be a surprise for Uriah, for his eighth birthday, since he's always wanted to see you in person." She hesitated and flushed. "But I suppose this is even better," she added bashfully. "Thank you for everything you do."