The Big Five (A One Direction Superhero Fanfic)

Chapter 2: Liam

            There is no feeling that matches the feeling one gets when someone has found one’s secret. You feel exposed, helpless, uncovered. It’s one of the worst possible feelings, especially when the secret was as big as Liam’s.

 He couldn’t quite answer, but something about the man standing in front of him told him he had known about the secret for a long time. The man that called himself Mr. Ralph waited, smiling and saying nothing, while the younger one, Louis, was trying to suppress his laugh. Jacquelyn had told him many times he looked very funny when he was surprised. After a while, since Liam couldn’t say anything, Mr. Ralph spoke again.

 “Does the young lady know about them? Or do we have to go somewhere else?”

“She does know, yes.” Liam replied, grateful that his voice wasn’t shaky.

 Liam was sure he was supposed to invite them in, but didn’t trust them enough to do so. He concentrated, and reached into Mr. Ralph’s mind to make sure it was safe. He found many thoughts that made no sense to him, but nothing showed he wanted to do any harm.

 “Come in.” he finally agreed, opening the door widely. He guided the two strangers into the living room and sat down on the couch. Jacquelyn joined them after asking them if anyone wanted anything to drink. Louis was ready to ask for something, but changed his mind when Thomas scowled at him. The mentor cleared his voice before starting the long and troubling speech.

 “So, Liam, you are a Member of The Big Five and that’s why you have inhuman powers.” Mr. Ralph said, struggling to not smile at Liam’s face. He was absolutely confused. Louis started laughing loudly and Mr. Ralph just allowed himself to smile.

 “I’m sorry, I was joking. Let me explain.”

 And so Mr. Ralph explained everything, Liam nodding along, and Jacquelyn paying great attention to him. For some reason, it took a lot more time explaining to Liam than explaining to Louis, and by the time he was done, it was already one o’clock. Very surprisingly, it didn’t surprise Liam as much as the news normally surprised people. His mentor made sure to include the answers he gave to Louis, before asking if he had any questions.

 “Is it secret? The Big Five, I mean.” Liam asked.

“It’s not secret but not many people know about it. I mean, we’re not trying to hide from anyone, but this phenomenon is so unusual that people forget it once they hear about it because it’s so unbelievable.”

“What was your power, Mr. Ralph?”

“Call him Thomas, mate.” Louis interrupted, earning another glare from his mentor.

“I’m going to ask any questions regarding my life once I have the whole Big Five in one place, or else I’m going to have to repeat it over and over.”

 Liam nodded as Mr. Ralph got up to leave.

“See you in a few days. Lovely meeting you.” he said as he walked out the door.

Louis looked at him walk away puzzled, before realizing he had no ride back to the hotel and home.

“Would you like to stay for lunch, Louis?” Jacquelyn asked, opening a cupboard to get a saucepan out.

“Uh, yeah. I guess I could.”

 Liam went to his office to cool down a bit. He had sometimes imagined this kind of thing, that he might be part of this awesome super-hero group, but never thought it would become a reality. It was cool and all, getting to save the world, but that probably also meant giving up his fireman career or his peaceful life. At least no one ever mentioned moving to Siberia, so he guessed it was okay.