It comes as no surprise that people are still talking about the Sundial Blackout. It’s gotten its fair share of memes, praise, and hate on the internet. I actually started to read one article where some guy was trying to figure out how much energy Lamar needed to do that before I realized I didn’t care that much. Being there was enough to know it was a lot.

School goes by quickly, it’s Friday so everybody wants to go home fast. I’m putting some stuff in my locker when Lamar approaches me. There’s an awkward little moment when he goes for a handshake but I have my fist closed for a pound. He switches at the same time I do. With a wave of his hand, he dismisses the clumsy interaction.

“We’ll work on that later. For now, I have a favor to ask you.” He’s wearing his usual bomber jacket and a black hoodie. “It’s really inconvenient, it might take a while and I know all of this is short notice so I totally understand if you decline, but I’ll buy you lunch as thanks…or dinner. Depends on how long it takes,” Lamar says, pressing his hands together in a pleading manner. If he needs my help I’ll gladly give it.

“Sure, what’s the favor? Need me to help you move some furniture? Hide a dead body?” Lamar chuckles.

“No, nothing like that. After that whole thing in Sundial Square, I’ve been called in for a meeting with the Protagonist board tomorrow. They’re gonna ask me a bunch of questions about it, and I wanted you to be there,” he explains. I close my locker.

“Like a character witness?” He does a so-so gesture with his hand.

“More like a witness witness. They’ll probably want to know more about what happened so having another perspective would help.”

“If you think it’ll help then sure, I’ll-” I’m interrupted by Lamar suddenly putting his hands on my shoulders. He looks at me right in my eyes.

“Thank you! You have no idea what this means to me. Let me get your number and I’ll text you where to meet.” I’m taken aback by how easily he asks for it. He puts me in his contacts, takes a picture of me for it, and then sends me a thumbs-up emoji.

“Should I dress up, like get a suit?” I ask to Lamar’s amusement. He laughs a short, incredulous chuckle.

“It’s not a court of law, dude. You don’t have to dress fancy or anything. Not that you should dress down, what you’re wearing now is fine. I mean you can wear something different, obviously; since it’s tomorrow. You probably don’t want to wear the same outfit.” He stops talking and electricity flows up his scar. “Wear whatever,” he summarizes. I nod.

“Aight. I’ll put on my finest booty shorts.” Another chuckle from Lamar.

“Oh yeah, that’ll really put me in their good graces. Catch you tomorrow, man.” This time we part ways with a dap.

Saturday comes faster than I thought it would. After I told my mom about the situation she insisted I at least wear a button-up shirt and since I’d rather fight a bear than argue with her, I listen.

The spot where Lamar wants to meet isn’t that far from the school (which I guess is the only place we both know). I’m getting kinda nervous waiting; what’s this meeting going to be like? Are they going to hook me up to a lie detector? Are they gonna arrest Lamar if I say the wrong thing? I take a deep breath and try to calm down. He already said it wasn’t that serious. In the midst of my mini-panicking, I hear him behind from me,

“Yo, sorry I’m late.”

“It’s no problem.” Lamar certainly didn’t dress up for this. Wearing his usual black jeans, and sneakers. He has on a black, short-sleeved t-shirt that really shows off his muscular arms, it says “No Idea” written in red on the front.

“Is that sand on you?” Little brown particles sit on his shoulders.

“Oh, I still got some on me?” He brushes it off. “It’s a long story but the punchline is that there’s a very unconscious sea monster on the docks over at Cubey island,” Lamar elaborates. “It’s been a weird morning. Anyway,” he takes his phone out “let me order this ride.” His app says the car will be here in a few minutes. Lamar scans me with a curious eye. “Want me to charge your phone?”

“What?”

“Your phone, it’s almost dead. Do you want me to charge it?” I forgot to charge it last night and I’ve been nervously playing on it this whole time.

“Sure.” I hand him my phone. Lamar sticks out his pinky finger and a tiny stream of electricity surges from him. My phone charges to 100% immediately.

“You can sense battery levels?”

“Yeah it’s kinda like a…” he thinks for a moment. “Like an augment to my senses. I can see, hear, and feel electricity wherever it is.” He points to the building across the street. “If I look hard enough, I can see the power flowing through stuff.”

The more I hang out with Lamar the more I understand just how much I don’t understand how powerful he is. Between him being to fly through the air and destroy a helicopter, I can’t help but wonder what else he can do.

Just then the car pulls up and we get in the back. Lamar has a serious look on his face, holding his chin. No doubt thinking about the upcoming meeting.

“Why do you think the Protagonist board keeps calling you?” I ask to break the silence. He sighs before answering,

“They probably don’t want another “Amelia Owens” situation. And being a Protagonist for two years has them nervous.”

“Who?” Lamar looks at me for a second.

“Oh, that’s right. They don’t teach her story in school. My dad taught me about her.” Lamar sits up straighter. “She was a Protagonist back during the Civil Rights Movement. Around our age, she was a Protagonist for way longer than me and was far more powerful. She had her powers for 5 years or so, and she could create miniature stars and black holes. Which, of course, had a lot of people buggin’ out back then. She was an activist, always on the frontlines of marches. She had all that power and still didn’t fight back, peacefully protesting despite what she could do...but it didn’t do her much good. After a string of assassinations, and a bombing at her church; too many of her friends and family died. She made a black hole and just...disappeared. Took the rubble of the church with her. No one knows what happens inside a black hole but that was decades ago so,” he shrugs.

“I doubt she’s still alive. After that, the government decided that people with the power to destroy cities should probably be monitored. Thus, the Board was created. They make sure anyone with particularly strong powers,” he points to himself “aren’t being reckless and help guide them if necessary. But mostly they’re a huge pain in my ass.” the car stops. “Speaking of, here we go.”

The Protagonist Board building is a tall, but rather plain building. Unremarkable, unlike the people it's supposed to monitor. As we walk in a man walks out and nods to Lamar.

“That’s Pookie. Good guy, ” Lamar quickly says. The lobby of the building is just as underwhelming as the outside. Off-white walls and floor and without so much as a potted plant this place feels like it's not supposed to be inhabited. There are only two elevators facing us and Lamar walks to the left one. He pushes one of the few buttons on the panel and looks directly into the camera in the corner. Instead of going up, the elevator lurches and we head down. At a fast speed too it seems, in only a short while we’re past ten floors of the basement I wasn't expecting. Each floor we zoom by adds to the feeling that I shouldn't be here. We get to the 44th floor and the elevator opens.

Lamar walks out into the menacing hallway.

“C’ mon dude,” he says. I guess he’s been here enough to not be freaked out by this. The long hallway is in stark contrast to the lobby. All of it is smooth black tiles with lights in the floor where the floor meets the walls. It's incredibly sterilized.

“Are you sure I should be in here? This feels really...secretive.” Lamar keeps his pace ahead of me and chuckles.

“It’s not Area 51, man. This whole place is on public record. Besides, you’re not the one that can see electricity. You don’t want to know what’s behind these walls.” I look at them, they’re as smooth as the floor with no visible seams or panels, I haven’t even seen any doors so far.

“What’s behind them?” I ask, unable to keep the worry out of my voice. Lamar looks back at me then shakes his head.

“I’m trying not to freak you out.”

“Well, you’re doing a terrible job at it. Ain’t you heard of ‘ignorance is bliss’?”

“I’m sorry. Try not to think about it,” he offers. My eyes scan the walls but I can’t see anything that would suggest there’s something behind them.

The hallways come to an end, the double doors open before we get to them. Towards the back of the room is a dais and there are eight people seated at it. All dressed in suits, all older, and have pissed off looks on their faces when they look at Lamar. Except for the woman at the right end, who looks happy to see him but she withholds the smile from her face. She looks familiar somehow.

We walk into the room and all their eyes fixate on me and I suddenly regret not wearing a suit like my mom said I should.

“Who is this?” The man left of the center says.

“Well I was getting tired of getting jumped by you guys, so I brought back up this time,” Lamar explains. The board deliberates among themselves for a moment.

“So you know what this is about?” The man on the left end says. Lamar nods. “Good. Then let’s begin. Have a seat, please.” With that two chairs shoot up from unseen panels in the floor right behind us. I take a seat and Lamar crosses his arms.

“I’ll stand,” he says.

“Very well. Tell us about the incident.”

“I was headed home after school when I sensed a helicopter losing power. I saved the pilot and passenger, a girl around my age. The helicopter was still falling, it was going to crash into a building and dozens of people would’ve been hurt. I took energy from the city’s power grid and destroyed it. The only option I had at the time.”

The board writes down some notes.

“How did you save the people in the helicopter?”

“As you’re aware, I can transform into lightning. I can also do the same to anyone I touch. I took them with me and got them on the ground.”

“Why didn’t you just do the same to the helicopter?” A woman on the right asks.

“I can only do it to things I can carry. I can’t lift a helicopter.” Just as soon as he answers that question another member asks him another.

“You said you sensed it losing power. Why not charge it instead?”

“The problem wasn’t with the battery. I don’t know what made it fail, it losing power was just a result of it though. I don’t know how to fix a helicopter.”

The board takes another moment to talk and take notes.

“Well, let's get to the main issue.” One of them presses a button and a screen descends from the ceiling. A map of Excelsior city appears. “You took energy in a three-mile radius.” The map shows a black circle where he drained electricity from.

“Yeah, I needed the power and I didn’t have my battery packs with me,” Lamar explains.

“What if someone got hurt or killed?”

“I know this city.” Lamar walks over to the screen, zooming in and dragging the image. “Right here, there’s a hospital.” He points to an area just outside of the circle. “All the apartments in this part of town cost some serious money, so I doubt there would be anyone on life support equipment in them. I knew where to draw power from. I’ve had my powers long enough to know how to use them. I’m not some reckless idiot, so don’t treat me like one.” Lamar walks to stand right in front of them. “The fact is I stopped a tragedy from and you’re interrogating me like I caused it. So what is this really about?”

The board gives each other looks like they aren’t sure who should say it. The woman on the end clears her throat to speak,

“We didn’t know you could absorb so much power,” she says.

“You’ve also never seen me shower, doesn’t mean I don’t do it every day.”

“Lamar, please,” she says delicately.

“I’ll just say it!” The man left of the center says, not trying to hide the irritation in his voice. “Your light show made a lot of important people nervous. A Protagonist with your level of power hasn’t existed in a while, your powers show no sign of going away, and now you’ve begun exhibiting new capabilities-”

“They’re not new. I’ve just never had reason to do that before,” Lamar corrects him.

“That’s exactly my point! No one but you knows what you’re capable of!” Silence fills the room. Though it wasn’t directly said, the question implied hangs over all our heads. What is he capable of? If he wanted to, could he drain the entire planet of electricity and send us back to the Dark ages? How powerful could he become? What’s to stop him?

I’m not the one the question is about and I’m sweating. Lamar’s scar lights up but he has nothing to say. I have to say something.

I stand up quickly, suddenly reminding the members that I’m here in the room. All eyes turn to me. What am I going to say?

“I just wanted to say that...Lamar wouldn’t have done what he did if it wasn’t absolutely necessary.” I have to keep going. “He put the safety of everyone at Sundial Square over his own. He put himself right in the path of where that helicopter would’ve crashed. He made a choice, stuck to it, and he didn’t hesitate.” I look at Lamar. “Because he knew if he did, even for a second, people could’ve died. So he went headfirst into danger to save them,” I turn to face the board again “because that’s what heroes do.”

The board mulls over what I just said. I can hear Lamar’s scar light up.

“Also, he fainted right after.” They all have quizzical faces and Lamar shoots me a look of disbelief. “So you can probably relax a bit.”

“You fainted!?” The woman on the end shoots up from her chair.

“I was fine,” Lamar says, somewhat annoyed.

“How is fainting ‘fine’?”

“Can we talk about this later, mom?” Mom?! I look closely at her and she does indeed resemble Lamar. Or rather, he resembles her. They have the same strong jawline and nose shape. I can recognize that look his eyes have.

“Margret, please. Sit.” another board member says. She does so reluctantly, but gives Lamar a look that screams, “We’ll talk about this later.”

“Yes, taking in that much energy and then shooting it out of my hands made me faint. So I don’t think you have to worry about me threatening national security. I passed out after destroying one measly helicopter, and it didn’t feel that great. It’s not something I’d do again if I had the choice.”

The board writes down more notes and talks for a short while.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

“Well, that’ll go in the report. Thank you for your time, Lamar.” He nods. “And you…” Lamar’s mom is talking to me.

“Oh, I’m Jason Duval.”

“Thank you, Jason.” she gives me a small nod.

“You can go now.”

Lamar and I leave the room. Soon as the door closes I get the shock of my life as Lamar pulls me in for a hug. This close, I feel his heart beating fast in his chest against mine. His body is warm. Really warm.

“Thank you for saying what you said in there. Sometimes I think they think I’m not really trying to find my Destiny. That I’m showboating and loving all of this. Couldn’t be further from the truth, but it’s nice to hear someone else say it,” Lamar says, his face only a couple of inches from mine. I can’t think of anything else to say but,

“No biggie.” Really, that’s the best I can say?

“Yes, biggie. Now, I promised you lunch and/or dinner so let’s get out of here.”

After we get out of that creepy basement and that building we walk for a few blocks before I ask,

“So where you taking me? Some other creepy government basement? This one have a café?” Lamar chuckles with that strong voice of his.

“You’re funny, man. Nah, I’m taking you to THE best pizza spot in all of Excelsior city.” I stop dead in my tracks.

“That’s a bold claim, Lamar. A real bold claim. You know how many people say they know the best pizza spot? And I know that the best pizza spot is Tuttarella's over on Dukes Boulevard.”

“Not even close, where I’m taking you has a brick oven. It ain’t real pizza if it’s not made in a brick oven.” I start walking again.

“Oh, I didn’t take you for such a snob. This better be the best pizza ever.”

“Trust me, it is.”

We walk for a bit longer before we come across a little hole in the wall restaurant, a small sign reads “Branzino's Pizza” on the door. For “the best pizza in the city” the place is empty. A few tables with space for two.

“YO, ANTHONY! YOU SLEEPIN’ BACK THERE?!” Lamar yells as we enter. A hefty, middle-aged man comes from the back.

“LAMAR! My friend!” He greets him with a thick Italian accent. When he sees me he points to Lamar. “This young man right here? He’s a saint! The reason I can wake up every morning with joy in my heart!” Lamar’s scar lights up.

“Anthony, this is my friend Jason. Jason, Anthony.”

“Any friend of Lamar: is a friend of mine. What can I do for you boys?”

“Well, I’m here to show Jason the best pizza in Excelsior city.”

“Then you’ve come to the right place, my friends!”

“Can I get two slices of pepperoni and, what do you want?” Lamar asks me.

“I’ll have the same.”

“Four slices coming up. Hey, Cathy! Your boyfriend is here!” I involuntarily flinch at the word. Does Lamar have a girlfriend? A girl, no older than eight, comes from the back.

“I told you to stop saying that, daddy. He’s not my boyfriend!” She says. I relax a little, not realizing I was tense. “Unless you want to be.” She hugs his legs. Lamar ruffles the little girl’s hair.

“No, I’m much too old for you, and you’re too young for me. Stop teasing her, Anthony.”

“Ok, ok. I’ll get your food started,” Anthony says, going into the kitchen.

“How are you feeling Cathy? Are you well?” Lamar asks the little girl as we sit down.

“My new pacemaker is much better. I’ve felt great,” she answers.

“New pacemaker?”

“Oh, Cathy-”

“Can I tell the story!?” Cathy interjects.

“Sure. Go ahead.”

“I was with my mommy and daddy, we were going to see a movie when a GIANT robot came out and started destroying stuff!” She acts like the robot and mimics it crushing stuff. “We went to hide and this guy tried to stop the robot with this thing-”

“An EMP,” Lamar explains. “Didn’t work.”

“Right, so a bunch of Protagonists came to fight it. But the EMP messed with my pacemaker. Lamar found us during the fight and restarted it. He got us to safety and he’s been my hero ever since!” She hugs him again. Lamar ruffles her hair once more, a smile comes across his face at the memory.

“They asked me to come to their restaurant as thanks. And that’s how I found out that they make the best pizza in the city.”

“Thanks, Lamar! I have a project to do, see you later!” The little girl runs off.

“That was adorable. You, are adorable,” I say.

“I’ve been called lots of things, I don’t think ‘adorable’ is one of them.”

“Well then allow me to be the first to say it: you, Lamar Brown, are an adorable young man.”

“Thanks, I’ll put that on my resumé,” he says with a chuckle. A silence falls between us and all the questions I want to ask him come to mind.

“You didn’t tell me your mom was going to be there,” I say after a while.

“Well, I didn’t know either. The board has rotating members for case reviews. That way no one gets too attached to a Protagonist,” Lamar explains.

“....But she’s your mom.” Lamar shrugs.

“I didn’t say it was a perfect system.” He rolls his shoulders a little like he’s uncomfortable. This isn’t something he wants to talk about.

“So…I didn’t know you could fly.” A confused frown knits his brow.

“What’re you talking about?”

“At the Square. You flew through the air at the helicopter.”

“Oh, that wasn’t flying. It was more like running and jumping at the same time. I have to project myself and control my arc through the air. It’s exhausting, turning into electricity without a wire is a million times harder.” Lamar shoots a few sparks into the air. “Imagine trying to shoot yourself while maintaining a certain mindset. Otherwise, you turn back and that's not good when you're soaring through the air and that's not good.”

“Huh.” I never really thought about all the thinking he has with his powers.

“Look, can we not talk about Protagonist stuff? I wanted to hang out with you, but answering more questions isn’t my idea of a good time.”

“Oh, sure. I get it.” After that, the conversation dies as I can’t think of anything that isn’t corny small talk and Lamar doesn’t want to say anything. A few minutes of painfully awkward silence pass and he speaks up.

“I’m sorry, it’s just that I deal with this every day and it’s old news to me. But I guess it’s new and interesting to you. So, while I don’t want to talk about this too much, you can ask me one question.” he holds up his pointer finger to emphasize.

One question. What’s the one question I want to know the answer to most of all right now?

“How do you keep your clothes on when you turn into electricity?” That’s been bugging me for a while now. A huge smile comes across his face.

“Wow, can’t say I was expecting that.” Lamar thinks it over for a second. “Ok, I’ll tell you.” He leans in closer and I do the same. “They don’t,” he says softly. “At least not at first. When I first learned how to do it, I burned off my clothes or would zip right out of them. Lotta awkward naked practicing either way.” He chuckles.

“Well, they don’t now. What’d you do in the meantime?” Technically that’s two questions. Lamar looks around like someone might hear his answer.

“Promise you won’t laugh.” A small chuckle rolls from me. I already want to laugh. Lamar sees I won’t keep that promise. “Fine. Just...don’t tell anyone.” I nod.

“Dude, don’t tell anyone. Seriously.” I pantomime locking my mouth and throwing away the key.

“Your secret is safe with me. Now gimme the tea.” Lamar deeply inhales.

“Before I could control it, I ordered...rubber boxer-briefs off the internet.” I immediately start laughing. I don’t want to laugh at his face, but I can’t help it. I imagine him at his computer looking up rubber underwear, erasing his search history when the deed is done, hastily taking his package, and hiding in his room. I fall out of my seat with tears in my eyes. To my surprise, Lamar also starts laughing.

“They used to be so tight!” he says between his laughs. “I learned the usefulness of baby powder that summer.” We both laugh that much harder. When I finally get back up and catch my breath I ask,

“Did they at least help?”

“Well, it’s hard not to think about your drawers when they’re rubber and chafe like hell. Eventually, I learned to not burn my clothes and even take them with me. So they helped a little. Glad I didn’t have to wear them in school though.” Lamar wipes the tears away, a big smile plastered on his face. Now the mental image of Lamar wearing only the rubber underwear at school pops into my head. In this tiny fantasy, everyone in the hallway parts to let him walk like a runway model. It’s funny, but I can’t get it out of my head as easy as the first.

“Aww man, I haven’t laughed that hard in a while...thank you for that.” I wipe the tears from my face.

“I didn’t do much but I’ll take it.”

“No, seriously. I haven’t been able to unwind like this in a long time. I’ve been a bundle of nerves lately, getting pizza with a friend is the most relaxation I’ve had this year.”

“Speaking of pizza, here ya go boys.” Anthony comes with the slices and puts them on the table. “Best pizza in the city, guaranteed!” I’ll be the judge of that. After blowing on it to cool down I bite into this so-called best pizza. The crust has the perfect crunch to it. Sauce not too sweet but not too bland either. The cheese is melted at just the right amount where it doesn’t slide off the slice from the weight of the pepperonis, which are cooked to perfection. As much as it pains me to even think it, this is an excellent slice of pizza. I eat about half of it before setting it down. Lamar scarfed the whole thing down.

“And how was that?” He asks with a rather cocky smile. He thinks he’s won.

“I won’t lie, this pizza is pretty good. But it’s been a while since I went to Tuttarella. Hard to compare the two really. I might have to take you there soon so we can really see which is better.” Lamar scoffs and licks the corner of his mouth to get some sauce. My eyes are fixed on the articulate muscle as it does its job.

“Then it’s a date, Jason.” I swallow hard and try to act like that wasn’t the hottest thing I’ve ever seen or the fact that I think it was the hottest thing ever. I steer the conversation something less...provocative. We start sharing different embarrassing stories, sharing more laughs. I used to think that Lamar was a quiet guy, but now I know he just didn’t have anyone to talk to. We’ve finished the pizza a while ago but we’re still talking.

“Y’know, being a Protagonist isn’t as rare as people think.” I don’t remember how we got to this topic. “It’s not one in million, it’s closer to one in a few thousand actually,” Lamar points out.

“Really?”

“Yeah, it’s just that most people get small abilities; a lot of them don’t even notice it. Some get a bit stronger, bit faster, nothing that would register to them much but they still fulfill a Destiny of some kind.” A small smile comes across his face. “My older brother, Marcus, was the clumsiest dude in existence. Didn’t matter if you gave him a heads up, he couldn’t catch a beach ball. He constantly dropped things too.” Lamar is smiling at the fond memories, but I didn’t miss his use of “was”. I decide not to bring it up. “But he became a Protagonist for about a week, he had heightened reflexes. He could catch a fly by the wings...even dodge bullets.” Lamar stares off into the distance, getting lost in a memory, his scar lights up.

“Lamar,” I say, hoping to pull him back to reality. He shakes his head.

“Anyway, my point is that the fate of the world isn’t decided by just a few people. More of us help out than we think,” he says, half-heartedly.

“Was that really your point?

“Nah, I just made that up,” he admits.

“Thought so.” He chuckles at that, bringing his mood up a bit. Lamar checks his phone. “We’ve been talking for a while. Let’s get outta here.” Lamar pays for our meal and says his goodbyes, not escaping without another hug from Cathy.

We get a block or so away from the pizzeria when Lamar speaks up,

“So about that da-” he’s interrupted by his ringing phone. “Who’s calling me?” he checks and answers immediately. “Hey, what’s up? .... What do you mean ‘where am I?’ I’m at 3rd and Crow Avenue, why? …. Wait, that was today? …. And it’s right now?” Lamar facepalms himself, groaning in frustration. “I completely forgot…. I was having lunch with a friend…. Yes, I actually have a friend… My social life isn’t important right now, just come meet me.”

“I’m so sorry Jason. I forgot I had something to do.”

“What is it?”

“There’s a clinic opening up over near the Handle. It’s a very divisive one though since it offers abortions it’s gotten some heat. There are protestors, counter-protestors, and people just trying to get healthcare. It’s a mess and while threats were made, the cops feel it’s not anything to worry about. A group contacted me, asking me to defuse any tension that might pop up. Make sure no one tries anything dumb,” he explains. “Well me and an associate.”

A shadow gets cast over us and we both look up. A woman on her cellphone slowly descends to stand next to us.

“Yes honey, I’ll grab milk after this...I don’t know how long this’ll take...Look, I gotta go, bye Felicia!” I can hear her on the other side of the phone,

“I hate it when you say that!” the woman hangs up, offering a shy smile.

“She’s gonna yell at me later. Oh well.”

“Jason, this is Tanisha Thompson,” he introduces her. “Also known as StarStreak.” The first thing I notice about Tanisha is how tall she is. Taller than Lamar, which isn’t anything to sneeze at, she has to be 6’5 at least. The second is how muscular she is. In an athletic tank top, she proudly shows off her impressive biceps and smooth, cinnamon brown skin. She has on goggles which she adjusts to her head on her short, dyed gray hair. She does a heart gesture with her hands and winks at me.

“I hate that name, what does it even mean?” she has a very sweet voice.

“I didn’t want to be called Lightning Demon either, but here we are.”

“So how do you two know each other?” I ask, curious.

“We’ve been put in a mentor-mentee relationship. In which she’s the

protégé.”

“Excuse me, I’m five years older than you.”

“Yeah but you’ve had your powers for three months. I’ve had mine for two years.”

“You got me there. Anyway, I brought your battery packs since I knew you’d forget them.”

“Thank you.” Lamar reaches into the bookbag she hands him. “It’s ‘cause she’s an unusual Protagonist, like me. She has two separate abilities, unrelated to each other.”

“Go ahead, guess,” she asks me. I look her over.

“Super strength?”

“Nope, these babies.” she stops to kiss her biceps. “Are all-natural.”

“She can turn invisible. C’mon Tanisha, they can never guess it.” Lamar attaches two fist-sized objects to his belt loops. They’re cylinder-shaped, completely black, and smooth. They remind me of the hallway at the Protagonist board building. How they could serve as battery packs is beyond me.

“Spoilsport. Yes, I can turn invisible.” Just like that she disappears right before my eyes. I can hear her laugh at my surprised face.

“In every sense of the word too, she can’t be detected by any sort of sensor either. Not thermal, motion, or infrared. The only way to tell where she is is if she punches you in the face.”

“That was one time and I said I was sorry,” Tanisha says, somewhere.

“With that and the fact that she can reach supersonic speeds.”

“I broke Mach 2 the other day,” she says, from what sounds like behind me.

“She makes a lot of people nervous. An undetectable, fast-flying individual raises a lot of security concerns.”

“So it figures the other massive security concern should keep an eye on me.” Tanisha reveals herself and it turns out she’s flying right over my head. I’m only now aware of her presence. It’s unnerving. “So we ready to go? Is cutie here coming too?” she asks, pointing at me.

“Do you want to come?” Lamar asks. I shrug.

“I don’t have much else going on.” He shrugs.

“Good enough reason to go to a potential riot I guess.” Tanisha grabs her bookbag and pulls out a hoodie and another pair of goggles, handing them to me.

“Put these on,” she instructs.

“Why?” She just smiles.

“Trust me, getting dust in your eyes kinda ruins your first time flying.” What?

“Have fun,” Lamar says before zipping into a power line. I put on the hoodie and goggles and Tanisha wraps her arms around my torso.

“It’s either this or I princess carry you,” she clarifies.

“I’ll go with this.”

With that we start to float in the air, the higher up we get, the more nervous I get and the tighter she holds me. We get maybe forty feet in the air when she asks,

“You ready for this?”

“Not really.”

“That’s the spirit!” Tanisha flies forward and we zoom over the city. People, cars, and buildings rush in and out of my sight as the wind flows over my face. She’s moving faster than I’d like but as soon as I open my mouth, dust flies in. I hack and cough and decide just to enjoy this as best I can. She flies higher and higher until we’re above most of the buildings, save the tallest skyscrapers. She stops so that I can take in the view. Up here I can see the entire island from end to end. All the buildings that make up the famous skyline take on a new look at this angle. Oh God, I’m really high, aren’t I? I start to hyperventilate a bit

“Breathtaking, isn’t it?” Tanisha asks me.

“Yeah it is, but this is probably a bad time to mention I kinda have a fear of heights?”

“Gotcha.” Tanisha surges down and we plummet towards the city. I don’t understand how she can tell where to go from this high up. We close on in where we’re headed and I can see two large crowds of people, I can even hear them from here. Tanisha lands us on a building overlooking the street. Lamar appears in a flash of electricity next to us and starts scanning the scene. The two groups are yelling at each other from behind barriers. There has to be at least a couple hundred of them on either side.

Tension runs high as insults are shouted across the divide.

“Well it’s not pretty but doesn’t seem like there’s any-” Lamar starts to say before the sound of clanging metal. The barrier on the side of what I guess is the original protestors falls over. They flood out to close the gap and the rest of the barriers crash to the ground. “I stand corrected.” Tanisha flies up and before Lamar zips away I grab his arm.

“Be careful, ok?” His scar lights up before he nods.

“I will,” he answers. He points to a door behind us. “You can get down through there.” The two groups meet and a fight breaks out. “We have to stop this.”

“HEY!” Tanisha shouts. Even over all the chaos, her voice cuts through and grabs a great deal of attention. “Back up from each other!” A small space is made for her as she descends like an angel from the heavens, a stern look on her face. “Anyone who wants to get close to the clinic has to go through me!” She announces. A few people start looking at each other, trying to see if they can take her.

“That’s my cue,” Lamar says. He turns into lightning and shoots into the air. Then, like a God of thunder, he lands next to StarStreak who is unfazed. The space between the two groups widens as the Lightning Demon stands as a clear deterrent to anyone that thought about doing anything stupid.

By the time I get down to the street level the situation has been defused and the protestors, reluctantly, return to their side. The two heroes keep their spot, acting as a new barrier.

“Looks like everything worked out,” Tanisha says.

“Someone still might try some-”

“Lamar Brown?!” a voice calls out. He and I look to the source. The girl that it came from looks familiar. “Oh goodness, it is you!” she says with an elegance like she’s at a party and not in the middle of a protest. She has an accent that I can’t place. She gets closer and I recognize her as the girl Lamar saved from the helicopter. She walks right up to him, ignoring the tension that was in the air only moments ago. The girl shakes his hand.

“Here I am to oversee the opening of my clinic, and I happen to bump into you. What a coincidence!”

“Your clinic?” he asks.

“Indeed, just another of many I hope to open here in this city,” she explains.

“Really?”

“My name’s Imani Jordan. And I’ve been looking for you!”

What does a wealthy girl like Imani want with Lamar?

Chapter 2 End