Superhero Effects

20. I WANT THE WORLD

It felt like the flu: aches, chills, fatigue, dizziness, all that. I even needed Lewis to carry me upstairs to my room because I was too dizzy and weak to walk.

"Lewis," I found myself saying after he had deposited me in my bed. "Tell me the truth. Do you have superpowers?"

He blinked blankly, then frowned. "Go to sleep, T."

I pointed at him and grabbed the chain around my neck, annoyed. "That wasn't a," I snapped as I yanked the thing away from me, "no."

I tossed it to the side of the bed. Lewis caught sight of it after leaning over me to see what deserves such treatment and straightened back rigid. At the same time, other things were happening. My chills faded, the aches and dizziness disappeared, and my mental state cleared of the drowsy fog.

I sat up, blinking. Then I turned from staring at the red stone to see Lewis stepping back further, his wide-eyed gaze moving to me. "Where did you get that necklace?"

"Oh my gosh," I breathed. "It—it was making me sick. So slow, I didn't even realize it. Oh my gosh," I turned back to my bewildered brother, pointing at him, "and you! You're scared of it, aren't you...?"

"Tristan," he said, his face going smooth like stone, "what the hell did you get yourself into?"
***
I didn't care that we didn't look alike, didn't do anything alike. Lewis was my brother, and I had never once tried to tell myself otherwise, but he was my annoying older brother that found me annoying. We had never genuinely bonded over anything, never truly had, had a deep conversation.

But sitting there, in my room, we had one. A big one. I told him everything from that night he found me knocked out in front of the library, and he told me everything, from getting an invitation to basketball camp to visiting the elusive camp down the road and getting introduced to people, other kids that made him feel normal—where he and Teri had first clicked.

"But Mom—you must know the origin story, and Mom would have never..."

He was already shaking his head firmly. "She didn't. It was Dad, the cancer. He was on a clinical trial for brain cancer when she got pregnant... the drug passed through him to me. It took some digging for me to find that out, and in the end, it's why Dad lived so long."

Our talk only ended because Mom came home. It was no surprise when Lewis interrupted me, putting a finger to his mouth, and whispered, without any evidence, that Mom had just pulled up outside. Before I could fully comprehend what had happened, Lewis vanished from sight, my lights went off, and I heard my door quietly close.

Yep, my brother was a Super.

Despite the aches, chills, and fatigue now gone, my nose wasn't miraculously not stuffed. I didn't bother to change from the benefit attire. I just kicked off my shoes, laid back, and drifted asleep.
***
I woke to the sounds of subtle movements. Things being shifted around and hurried footsteps. I assumed it was Lewis, so I uncovered my head a sliver to glare at him one-eyed from the comfort of my bed.

Light was spilling onto the floor from my closet. My rolling suitcase was out, and someone was tossing clothing into it from the closet.

"What the..."

A head poked out at my words. Lucinda's head. Her black hair was pulled back tightly into a low pony, and that characteristic scowl was on her face.

I pushed the covers away impatiently and sat up with squinted eyes. "What are you doing?"

She emerged from the closet, wearing all freaking black. "Packing to make it look like you ran away and trying to think of a way to save you at the same time. You stirred a lot of crap tonight, Tristan... and you don't look so sick anymore?" She cocked an eyebrow.