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Episode 5, Chapter 20

By Wednesday morning, both Parker and Laney were ready for the whole thing to be behind them. Laney made the first overture.

"Hey, still need help with your math?" she texted.

"Nah, but jeez, that English reading. Snore!" he sent back. She sent a gif that made him LoL and, just like that, all was right with their world again. The two of them buried the hatchet by a mutual, unspoken agreement to pretend the argument never happened. Clint's name never came up and no apologies crossed their lips or phone screens. He appreciated how easy it had been. Not even Casey would have let him off the hook so easily. She appreciated his maturity in the matter. Laney realized her Nan was right about Parker, he was easy to read because what he said was what he meant. Crisis averted.

Parker finished his homework a little after noon, as usual, that day. As had become his habit, he took Rowdy and Dot with him for his post school run. Back at the front door, he let the dogs off their leashes and they all trudged to the kitchen.

"You know, all your energy has been good for those two," Mrs. Carlisle said as she watched Rowdy and Dot, gulp their water then sprawl on their beds, completely worn out. "Just be careful not to over do it. You may be a super kid, but they are still just ordinary pups."

"Huh, I didn't realize I could do that to them," Parker said, surprised by how lethargic the dogs had become. He took a seat at the breakfast bar.

"How many times did you go around the block?"

"I did more than the block. I went around the neighborhood six times."

"Six times?" She repeated, shocked.

"Mmhm," he nodded, shrugging it off.

"How many times were you able to do the whole neighborhood before your birthday?" He gave it some serious thought.

"I would do two of the whole neighborhood and one of the block." Mrs. Carlisle stared at him for a long moment.

"You're not the sweaty mess I'd expect from that level of exercise, and, you know, your dad told me last night, every time he's seen you hit the weights this week you're adding or changing another disk." Parker nodded, following her thought process. "Hmm, stand up." He did as he was told, moving to the center of room. His mother walked around him, inspecting him from head to toe. "Have you noticed your muscle definition has become pronounced on your arms and legs. If I had to guess, I'd say you have abs now, as well." Parker yanked up his shirt to stare at his previously flat, yet undefined stomach. Sure enough he could easily discern the outlines of his abdominal muscles. He continued examining his body, running his hands over his arms and legs as he made note of the changes. His physic showed the kind of results a person got after months of serious workouts, not a few days of running and playing at lifting weights. He cracked a smile.

"I wonder how much more I'll change," was the first thing he said. "Paxton is going to throw a fit about this," was the next, with a Cheshire grin. His mother rolled her eyes at the comment.

"I want to know if this is part of your existing powers or something new," she said, instead. "And is it stable." The last came out with a little quiver of her lip that made Parker stop admiring his new body.

"Hey, stop, don't do that," he said, wrapping her in a side hug. "I'm fine. I feel great. I said I'd tell you if things change and I will, so don't worry about it." His mother hugged him back, hard. She was working to control her emotional outbreaks, but all the news about Altered teens showing up dead was taking a toll on her. Mrs. Carlisle was terrified he or Laney would be next. "I'll talk to Laney about it tonight and compare notes. Maybe this is normal for us."