I didn't know what to expect, but I wasn't imagining this. Maximus Volt, leader of an organization of super villains, wasn't huge or hideous, or in any way physically intimidating.

Instead, he was a thin, brunette-haired man wearing all white, with the exception of a maroon tie. His pupils were so large they almost overtook his green irises. His hair had a serious cowlick, and the crisp white shirt had multiple stains. He looked like a lab assistant who had been drinking too much caffeine.

But he was disturbingly familiar to me, for one terrible reason. He was my biological father, Warren Maximus Rockwell.

   Also known as the man who'd killed my mother when I was twelve years old.

     Maximus looked toward us. "Pariah, my dear boy. Fraternizing with the enemy, are you?"

Dylan staggered as if he had just been shot in the chest.

I caught him before he could fall over, then shouted at Maximus.

"What did you do to him?!"

     Maximus fixed his gaze on me. "Nothing yet. Static Steele, is it? I've been wondering about you. Why are you so persistent? Why are you a hero, when two of your supposed friends nearly killed you? How can the public still be on your side after the plane crash that you caused?"

I stepped away from him. "How—how do you know about that?"

      The villain winked. "I'm very well-informed, son. How are your grandparents faring? I have something in store for them, you know. Something... spectacular."

    "Go!" Dylan hissed in my ear, bending down in order to do so. "Protect your family. We'll hold down the fort."

    I rushed out, and Maximus didn't attempt to stop me. A minute later, I found out why.

    I rounded a corner, and a sword slashed at my head. The blade was moving so fast, I almost didn't see it. Luckily for my face, I had superhuman reflexes, so I could react before I fully knew what was going on.

I ducked under the blade and lashed out at the swordsman. Metal clashed as his weapon struck my gauntlet, creating a high-pitched ringing sound. The volume was agonizing due to my super-hearing, and I doubled over in pain.

     A figure in a black-and-gray super suit came into my line of vision. A curved sword was in my opponent's hand, the blade gleaming in the dim light of the corridor.

    "Dark—Dark Scimitar," I said before I coughed up blood, my own words halfway muted in my ears.

    He gave a mock bow. The swordsman's skin was pale, contrasting with his jet-black hair. His eyes were such a dark brown they were almost black.

    "Are you going to fight me, or what?" I wheezed, raising my fists.

    Dark Scimitar smiled cruelly. "Whenever you're ready, Static Steele."

    I shot twin javelins of electricity from my fingertips, taking the swordsman by surprise. He fell over when my electric bolts connected with his torso, gasping for breath.

   That worked better than expected.

    I kicked his sword out of his grasp and made it float out of reach, the point aimed at Dark Scimitar's throat.

    Fear flashed in his eyes. For a moment I thought he was paralyzed, but he pointed one gloved finger at me, and pain erupted at my temples. I felt like my brain was being compressed in a trash compactor.
    I fell to my knees and, on instinct, flared with electricity. The pain stopped abruptly.

    Dark Scimitar chuckled and said, "That was a cheap trick, Static Steele. You have more of a dark streak than you realize."

     I kicked him in the side of the head.

    "Shut up already," I growled, driving his weapon hilt-deep into the wall. I left quickly, not wanting to stick around for him to recover.

I sprinted back home, expecting my grandparents to be locked in a closet or under guard by one of Maximus's minions. Instead, they were having breakfast.

     Here I was, barging into my own house dressed as Static Steele with no explanation to my grandparents as to why a superhero was barreling into their dining room. I never told them my identity, something I was regretting now.

     I halted to a full stop, which wasn't easy to pull off while wearing heels, and tried to catch my breath.

     My grandmother looked shocked, and my grandfather looked partially mad, partially questioning.

     "What are you doing here?!" Grandpa demanded. "Do you have a warrant?"

     I raised my index finger, silently telling him to wait, and steadied my breathing.

     "I don't have a warrant, sir." I said, deepening my voice. I needed to invest in a vocal modifier. "I was falsely informed that you were under attack."

     I turned to leave, but my grandmother asked tentatively, "Wait. Would you... stay for an interview? I work at the Daily Crane."
  
Damn it. I didn't want to appear rude and say no, but at the same time, I couldn't say yes.

    "Sorry, ma'am." I said, smiling behind my mask. "Justice in this town doesn't stop for interviews."

    I was startled by a voice only I could hear, echoing inside my mind.

    "Get back here now!" Vantablack ordered urgently. "We're losing numbers!"

     I bolted out of the house, running as quickly as my shoes allowed. I was at the lair in less than five minutes, thundering up the stairs to the third floor.

     Vantablack wasn't kidding. Most of our people were on the ground, immobile, their eyes wide. Only Dylan, another speedster, and Vantablack were left standing.

     The green-clad speedster was circling the room, trying not to get hit by a girl with a golden aura who was throwing fireballs. Vantablack was harassing Dark Scimitar, teleporting all over the place and generally causing confusion.

    As for Dylan, he had his mask off, and he was glaring at Maximus. His fists were clenched around twin knives, and his eyes blazed with fury.

     "You won't kill my sister," he was saying. "You won't kill my parents. And you definitely won't kill my best friend!"

      Maximus grinned nastily as he noticed me entering the room again. I charged my body with electricity, ready to zap the living daylights out of him.

    "You fell for my ruse, Static Steele. Hook, line, and sinker!" Maximus gloated.

    I scowled behind my mask. "It's about time that we ended this, Maximus. It's time for you to pay."

    "Do take credit cards?" He mocked, raising his hands.

    "Death certificates," I responded coldly.

    I nodded once at Dylan, and we attacked together.

Maximus didn't stay to fight. Instead, the coward ran to the stairwell.

     "Hold on." Dylan said, sheathing his blades and grabbing me in a bridal carry. Before I had a chance to protest, he zoomed downstairs and caught up with our mutual abuser. Thankfully, my body was still intact.

     The same couldn't be said for Maximus. As soon as I saw him, I grabbed his throat and began to crush it in a vise grip with my gauntlet.

     "I'm going to kill you," I growled. "You killed my mother, and you brainwashed my best friend. You broke. His. Mind. Your death won't be quick."

     I tightened my grip, and Maximus gasped for breath. He managed to force out one word.

     "Mercy...!"

     I grinned ruthlessly behind my mask. "The great Maximus Volt, begging for mercy? And here I thought you were an actual supervillain. Pathetic."

     I squeezed tighter, choking the rest of the air from him. I let him dangle, then moved to hurl him through the window.

     "Jeremiah. Don't do it."

     It was Dylan. He was trembling, and his brown eyes were wide with terror.

     "Why shouldn't I?" I demanded. "He's the one who—!"

     "I'll tell you why," familiar voice from the window said. "Because we're better than him. We won't sink to his level."

     Isabelle?

     I dropped Maximus and turned to look at her. Hands on her hips, hovering there in all her smirking, egotistical glory, was Levitation.

Glancing at her, I hesitated for a long moment before heaving a sigh.

"You're right," I admitted finally. I pulled cuffs from my belt and restrained Maximus., then called for pickup. Within minutes, my father was whisked away to a cell where he belonged.

     "I have a bone to pick with you," Levitation
said, pointing a finger at Dylan. She dropped into the room, seeming relatively short next to him, but fierce nevertheless.

     "Why did you try to kill me?!" She demanded. "My window is still broken, by the way! Who's paying for that, huh?"

     She poked him in the chest, glaring up at him.

     I stepped in between them, holding my arms out to either side.

    Turning first to Isabelle, I said, "Please just find your inner penguin and chill, okay? It wasn't his fault, he's been manipulated."

    She heaved a sigh, clearly unsatisfied, but thankfully she dropped the subject for now.
   
     "And Dylan, you might need to find a good therapist to help with your..."

    I faltered.

     "I get it." Dylan replied. He didn't seem mad, which was a major relief.

    Isabelle looked like she was trying not to break down laughing.

     "'Find your inner penguin?' Where the hell did that come from?" She asked.

     "My brother used to say that." I said, instantly regretting it.

     "You have a brother?" Dylan asked, sounding incredulous.

     I sighed softly. "Yeah. His name's Carter. We're six years apart, but we were born on the same day. He's working as a writer in Moonbeam City."

     "You should ask him to write down our story. You know, this whole ordeal we've been through," Levitation piped up.

     I perked up. "You know, that's actually a great idea! I'll call him."

     I pulled out my phone and dialed his number.

     "Hey, Jer-Bear. How's it going?" My older sibling greeted, using my old nickname.

     "I'm good," I answered. "Well, kinda. It's been a crazy few days over here."

I heard him chuckling. "Oh, yeah? What kind of crazy this time?"

"Listen, Carter, my friend just had this amazing idea for your next book. It's like a real-life superhero novel. I'll text you the details!" I said excitedly, pointedly ignoring his question.

    I could picture his smile. "Alright. Stay safe, Static Steele."

     For once, I was the one rendered speechless.

     "What?" My brother said with a laugh. "You thought I didn't know? I was there when you got your powers. You were what, six?"

     It was my turn to laugh. "You were a terrible babysitter."

     "No argument here. I'll call you back later, okay? Carter, over and out."

     "Jeremiah, over and out," I repeated, and he ended the call.

"Dylan, do you want to come home with me?" I asked my friend, sort of hesitant. He hadn't been over for a while, probably because of my father's influence.

He grinned. "Thanks, man. Let's go."

Isabelle paused before she asked, "Hey, can I come, too? I'll tell my aunt that I'll be home later, if that works for you."

I nodded with a grin, and Isabelle floated Dylan and I out of the window and dropped us on the ground when we were at a safe height. Then we headed to my house, the three of us walking together.

It was nice.

When we arrived, I realized that we were all still in our super suits. I cringed, getting ready to explain. I took off my mask to soften the blow, though it wouldn't help much. My grandparents would still go ballistic.

My grandfather was in the bathroom, and my grandmother was at the computer. She looked up as the door opened.

"JEREMIAH?!" She screeched.

My grandfather rushed out of the bathroom, squinting without his glasses. He put them on, saw the three of us, and reacted unexpectedly.

First, he hugged Dylan, which surprised my friend.
Then he looked to Isabelle and told her, "You keep these boys out of trouble, alright, young lady?"

"Yes, sir." She responded with a nod.

Then he turned to me.

"Come here," He said. "I need to show you something."

Intrigued, I followed him to the attic. He opened a closet up there, revealing something completely unexpected.

An old and dusty, but still unmistakable super suit.

    I looked up at him with awe. "You were Sonic Thunder?"

    He smirked. "The one and only. And it looks like you're carrying on my legacy. You've made me proud."