Supers Wear Spandex *third book to Heroes Wear Capes

Chapter 10 - Back to Insanity

"I swear, the moment he wakes up I will punch him in the stomach."

~ Taylor Hale (Silver Streak)

"Why are the guards on edge?" Xander asked Taylor, peering at the entrance in curiosity. The guards hadn't looked alert since the day after Xander broke out. Maybe someone else tried to escape.

Taylor tilted her head. "Well, the last few times those guys ever tried to do anything were because of you. The first time you broke out and the second time. Honestly, you're much safer here with me. Once your message is strong, you'll be given the heavenly power to defeat the demons outside. We have to convert everyone here for that kind of message though."

Right, she thought he was a prophet. It was strangely getting normal for Taylor to expect this from him. The old Taylor he knew was a badass who would never attach herself to a guy like Xander with such ferocity and blind trust. Xander wasn't even sure if the vigilante was into guys at all.

"You're right, we'll just have to see."

Xander was slowly starting to actually lose his mind in this place. When you woke up every morning to the sound of your ex-best friend now roommate screaming in his nightmares and find yourself surrounded by insane people, it was hard to keep sanity.

Just like how some people spoke with a bit of an accent after watching too much BBC and how some people started to act like their favorite movie character after too many marathons in a row, Xander was finding himself relating to and understanding his fellow inmates as time went on.

The more Xander and the people around him pretended superheroes weren't real, the more he believed it.

But, he had to hold on to his truth. He saw himself run faster than a normal human in the library. He could vividly remember doing so on countless occasions as a superhero. He could remember the feeling of running fast for the first time and burning his rubber soles. He could remember the feeling of Mera's lifeless body in his arms underneath the Rossi Corp tower.

He had to get back to reality. Because, no matter how vividly he recalled his true past, Xander could also somehow remember this fake one. He could remember being the one to actually kill Paul Rossi. He could remember sessions with Dr. Deauxma about his delusions. He could remember his dad's funeral and the feeling of the rain hitting his face because he dropped the umbrella.

In the world Xander was told he made up, his dad walked out before he could remember. In this world Xander's dad had been with him through childhood, teaching him how to ride a bike and helping cook in the kitchen with mom, only to be ripped away.

At least here he had good memories with the man he never knew. Sure, Xander was stuck in a mental hospital, but was it really that bad? Three meals a day with a hot therapist wasn't all bad.

"It's a new patient." John answered from across the room. Xander's roommate never spoke to him if he could help it. John Washington was brooding even more than he did in real life here. Not to mention he seemed to hate the world and everyone in it. Maybe something to do with the nightmares.

"Someone new?"

That confused Xander. So far he rationalized his world still being real through the fact that everyone here was a familiar face. Everyone he met he'd seen before somehow as either classmates, teachers, or friends. In some case enemies or public figures. If there was a new face, it could make a serious dent in Xander's rationalization. Unless Trevor somehow turned insane and joined the club, Xander was screwed. A new face meant that this reality might be the only reality.