What It Means To Be Super

Chapter 8

🔥Joule🔥

We were woken up by screaming. I could hear two voices, a boy's and a girl's. I wasn't sure who started and who finished, but it was long and loud.

I shot up straight in my bed and illuminated the room with a large fireball. Vivian was sitting there with a tear-streaked face, her chest heaving. Her breath hitched and her eyes were wide open.

Next to her on the left was Russell, sitting straight up in bed too. He was breathing hard and his lungs seemed to catch and hold every breath he tried to take. He wasn't crying, but he looked like he was in extreme pain. His eyes were closed like he was trying to compose himself. On the other side of Vivian, Angelo was shoving his glasses on his face and beside me Jayne was sleepily rubbing her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Angelo asked worriedly.

Vivian suddenly seemed to realize she wasn't in the dream or vision any longer. "I-I-I-I...." She tried to say, but more tears leaked from her eyes. I wanted to go comfort her, but crying girls is not my thing.

Luckily Jayne knew what to do and she climbed onto Vivian's bed and embraced her. Vivian just clung to her and sobbed. "It was so terrible! They died so horribly! And Russell, oh, Russell!"

"Shh. Russell's right here. Do you see him?" Jayne faced her towards a pained Russell.

Vivian's face got all surprised and she launched herself at him, holding him tight to her. He just sat there, all stiff, and the rest of us just sat there and wondered what we had just witnessed.

After everyone had calmed down, we had a conference in the living room. For the record, it was three A.M..

"So." Vivian started. "It was just a regular vision. I was here in the room with you guys. I was watching us sleeping. Russell was standing next to me. Then suddenly both of us were at a nuclear lab. We--we saw...the deaths..." Vivian gulped.

"We saw my parents die." Russell finished. "They died so slowly. So painfully." His eyes were full of that pain.

"And Russell! He was there! But he was a little baby. His arms had scorch marks on them, and his baby stomach had slices." Vivian said suddenly.

Russell lifted his shirt. "It was these." We ridiculed at him. Fresh gashes made their way along his stomach and scorched patches of skin patterned his arms.

Jayne's hand was pressed over her mouth. "How...?"

"I guess I was hurt." Russell shrugged.

"But...by a dream?" Vivian looked skeptical.

"No. A memory." I said, my tone neutral.

"How are those any different?" Angelo rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"A memory is bound to be more powerful than a dream because it's solid--it's already happened." I reasoned.

"Well then, Mr. I-know-it-all. How did we get back to that memory?" Vivian asked, her cheeks a bit pink.

"Easy. One of you has time travel powers. It's most likely Russell, because super speed and time travel go hand-in-hand."

"No way." Russell shook his head. "No way am I that powerful."

"C'mon. Take us back in time, time-traveler." I taunted.

"I can't!" Russell yelled.

"Yes you can." I pestered, staring at him. Hopefully he thought I could see through his soul.

"When and where?" He finally relented, deflating.

"Downtown Detroit, October 31st, 1997." Jayne recited.

"Uh, I don't know how this works, so everyone take each others' hands and form a circle I guess?" Russell looked sheepish. We took hands, and I was wedged between Jayne and Angelo, right across from Russell.

"Let's go, time-travel man." I nodded at him.

He grimaced and his face turned into a look of pure concentration.

And then the world turned orange.