I'm leaving. I've had enough of sitting around all day. There is no way I'll be able to stay sane by lying here on a random super's couch.

It had been a total of three hours since Perception left the building, and I was starting to feel useless. I remember Jonas always used to tell me that if I ever felt useless, to remember there's a lifeguard at the swimming Olympics.

It doesn't matter who that new super is. I don't need to stick around and interrogate him. He's saving lives and he's clearly too nice to be anyone I personally know. There's no point in sticking around and causing more trouble for this guy. I'm feeling better, so it's time for me to go.

I jump up from the couch and watch the world spin for a few seconds. You can do this, Della. I'm not sure if pep talking your way out of a concussion is possible, but it's worth a shot. Somehow, I make it to the door. Granted, I throw up a little bit in the trashcan, but I manage to exit the room and stumble into the hallway.

I find my way to an elevator down the boring, beige colored hallway. This is either an apartment complex or hotel. Panic rises in my chest. There aren't too many hotels in this area. What are the chances of me being in the same one as The Undergrounds?

Everything's okay, Della. Get a grip.

I take the elevator down to the ground floor. It dawns on me that I wasn't even aware of what floor I was on. I look up to see a digital three on the elevator's count. Here's hoping that no one else is getting on this elevator with me between now and the lobby.

The certificate on the wall issues that this elevator meets safety requirements. It also indicates that this is the Duval hotel. My heart plummets to my stomach. It's The Undergrounds' hotel.

Just then the doors open on the second floor. I wince as I come face to face with none other than Owen. Just my luck. He stares back at me, not moving until the doors begin to close and he rushes in the elevator.

I can feel the awkwardness in the air.

He looks like he always does: stressed, angry, annoyed. Owen clears his throat, "I didn't expect to see you back here." He doesn't make eye contact with me. He fidgets with his watch and tucks his hands into his khaki shorts.

I shrug, "I didn't plan to come back here."

He turns to face me, "What?"

"It doesn't matter," I watch the elevator count down to floor number one. "This is my stop." I take a step forward as the elevator doors open. I hurry into the lobby area.

"Della, wait!" Owen rushes off the elevator to chase after me. I roll my eyes before I turn around. This better be good.

He takes a deep breath, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not always telling you the truth and keeping things from you. More importantly, I'm sorry for kissing you. I shouldn't have done that without asking." His eyes plead with me to forgive him.

It takes a lot of my energy to stand up straight and be confident in standing up to Owen. "Kissing me wasn't the problem. It's the fact that you felt like kissing me was the only option to keep our cover, when I could've gotten us out of that situation. The problem is, you just wouldn't listen to me."

I turn on my heel and begin to walk away before he has a chance to argue with me. Something within me tells me to turn around, though, and I realize it's because he needs to know who was following us. He may already know, but I feel the need to tell him.

"By the way," I begin to walk backwards, "It was Mickey's mother that was following us around. Just thought you should know." Owen gawks at me as I take my final step out of the hotel. I guess he didn't know.

Maybe that was a bit harsh. He did apologize.

Nonetheless, I keep moving.

***

It's surprising what kind of information you could find out about someone just through social media. I knew exactly what town my uncle lived in. The trick was finding his house. That stumbling block was removed from my path when I dug in my backpack for the photo albums. After all I have been through today, I don't know how my bag has stayed with me. There was a note in one of the photo albums with Uncle Travis' 'new' address. Who knows how long ago that was written down.

I ran with a purpose, trying to ignore the pounding in my head. Perception was right to not take me to a hospital; I would just lose time. I arrive at my uncle's house in no time, but my head is spinning as I knock on the front door.

What if he's not even here?

What if I collapse on his welcome mat?

The door swings open and I'm met with my uncle. He stares at me curiously. He has light brown hair and a scraggly beard. The scrapbook pictures didn't show any signs of a beard, but that was over 20 years ago. I know I probably look like a mess and it doesn't help that he hasn't seen me since I was very little.

"Can I help you?" He asks, his eyebrows furrowing.

I clear my throat nervously. "Hey, I'm... I'm Della Abram."

Uncle Travis' eyebrows shoot up as his golden brown eyes widen. "Whoa. My niece Della?"

I chuckle, "Yeah."

"Wow, you've grown a lot since I last saw you." He backs up, continuing to hold the door open. "Please, come on in." I enter his house hesitantly. I really don't want to end up passing out in the middle of his living room.

Speaking of which, he has an odd theme color to his house. I'm not sure there is much of a theme. One wall is decorated with anchors and mini boats, while another has an old timey country theme to it. I inwardly laugh at the thought of mom coming here. Our house clean and tidy, with the same color scheme throughout every room. A 'leave your shoes at the door' kind of house.

"What brings you here?" I can see him peering out the door, looking to see if anyone else is with me. I plop down onto the cream colored, leather couch. Normally, I wouldn't make myself at home in a place I've never been, but I felt like there was a chance of me fainting at any second. I had to tell him what I knew before that happened.

"I have a few questions to ask you, Uncle Travis." I feel awkward getting straight to the point, but I guess there was nowhere else to go since I already sat on the couch. Beating around the bush is not what I came here to do.

He takes a seat in the black recliner across from me. "Um... Alright then?"

I take a deep breath. "Your son, Gavin. Was he adopted?" He seems taken back.

"Well, yes. We haven't explicitly told him that, though. How do you know that?" He leans forward in his seat.

I quirk an eyebrow. Seriousy? "He looks nothing like you."

Uncle Travis laughs, "You got me there. What's the interest in Gavin's adoption? Is this like a family tree project?"

"Kind of. I, uh, really don't know how to bring all of this up," I let out a sigh. "Have you gotten a phone call from Gavin recently?" Uncle Travis eyes me skeptically with a shake of his head.

"Should I have gotten a call?"

Well that's typically protocol for people who have been arrested.

"I... I think so... Can I ask where he is?" Maybe laws have changed and people don't get to make a phone call anymore? That doesn't seem right.

"He's at a summer camp as far as I know. Della, what's this about?"

I spill the beans, "I saw Gavin in our county jail." Uncle Travis' friendly demeanor fades.

"Excuse me? What kind of accusation is that?"

I shake my head. "It's not an accusation. I saw him. I just don't know why he would be in there or why he wouldn't call you or Aunt Joan."

Uncle Travis begins to pace the floor. He starts to mumble something about powers and villains.

"What?" I dare to speak up. He stares at me for a few seconds, as if he just remembered I was still in the room.

Uncle Travis wipes his hand down his face. "How does he know? Della, how does my son know about his powers? How does he know about his birth parents?"

I hold my hands up in defense, "I didn't tell him anything! I just found out about this information myself. What powers are you talking about?"

"I don't know what powers he has, but I know he should have them by now. Gosh, I was hoping he'd use them for good! Not follow in his father's footsteps!" He pulls on his hair.

I make sure that I speak softly. "Who was his father?"

Uncle Travis calmly walks back to his recliner and takes a seat. He twiddles his thumbs and I can see beads of sweat running down his forehead.

"I adopted Gavin when he was just three years old. He didn't know anything about his villainous father," He pauses. "Steel Hawk." I nod for him to continue. I know this isn't the end to the story.

"Did you know you were adopting Steel Hawk's son?"

He nods, "Yes. My wife and I couldn't have our own children. We were planning to adopt. Then your mother... Do you know about...uh..."

"I know my mom was Titania." I confirm.

He proceeds, "When she killed Steel Hawk, she knew he had a family. Their mother fled the scene. Your mom asked me if I would adopt their children to keep them out of villainy. I saw that the older one was already making promises to avenge his father. I chose to adopt just the one son."

Smart move.

"But why would my mom ask you to adopt them?"

He closes his eyes. I can sense that he's about to go into backstory mode. I lean in close.

"Your mom always hated the fact that I never used my powers properly. I wasn't a hero, I wasn't a villain. I just used my telekinesis for fun. Like, when our dad asked me to take out the trash, I didn't lay a finger on the garbage can. Or when mom asked me to wash the dishes, I never touched a plate.

Meanwhile, your mom stressed herself out worrying about the needs of the town. When she took on the responsibility of town hero, she scolded me for not doing anything purposeful with my powers.

Although, I came in handy when those boys needed a home. She could've adopted them, but every villain would've tracked her down and taken their revenge. I, on the other hand, was not a threat in any way. As far as the public knew, I didn't have an ounce of super powers. I moved an hour away, and no one suspected a thing from me." A satisfied smirk forms on his lips.

"That's genius." I admit.

He nods with a smile, "It was all your mother's idea." He quickly frowns, "But I need to know where Gavin is and why he's not calling."

"I'll find out." I hop up from my seat.

"I'm going with you." He pleads. I shake my head, no.

"You have to stay out of this. If he's just getting his powers, he probably didn't call because he's scared of what he did. It was probably an accident, whatever it was. But if he knows that you kept all of this from him, he'll go ballistic."

Uncle Travis argues, "But I have to see my son."

"I'll bring him right back here when I clear things up. I'll make him call you."

Uncle Travis looks extremely nervous. "You're a super, aren't you?" It wasn't really a question. He knew both of my parents were super heroes. "Who are you?"

I pull my deep blue mask out of my backpack. With a smirk, I slide it on. It's my mask for Rapid Glare's costume. I feel it's better that my uncle knows I'm first and foremost a hero.

I respond with, "Rapid Glare."

***

I run back to town in a dash. Something strange starts to occur, though. Since I've had my super speed, I've never had an abnormal heart rate. It's always remained steady even though I'm running faster than the speed of light. Now, I can hear it pounding in my ears. Is this a side effect of my concussion?

When I finally come to a halt in my home town, I forget all about my concussion symptoms. My heart could beat right out of my chest and I wouldn't give it a second thought.

All of my attention is on the tornado in front of me.

Except, are tornadoes usually green?

A/N - Announcment!

So I'll be honest. I don't know how many chapters are left. I know I'm trying to wrap everything up, but I'm not trying to rush through the story either. Maybe around 10 chapters? I'm not entirely sure. Please bare with me.

That being said, there won't be a sequel to follow this. I have decided to make this a duology. BUT...

I'm planning for there to be a stand alone super novel in the same universe coming later! More details to come, but I'm 98% sure this is going to happen and I'm so excited!

Thanks for reading!
Always, Sunny