Tick. Tick. Tick.

The constant ticking was only made worse by the otherwise silent room.

He could hardly hear himself think. Looking up from the floor, he glared at the clock across the room. Time continued to tick on, even as he was forced to sit. Despite the air-conditioned room, he felt uncomfortably warm.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

The boy grunted, his leg beginning to bounce. How long could this meeting possibly go on for? It should have been an open-and-shut case, he had no defense. His fate was sealed.

Tick. Tick—

The boy’s hand suddenly changed, and the flesh from the elbow up shifted into a black gelatinous substance. It writhed like a tentacle before it lashed out across the room, extending and slapping the bothersome clock off the wall. Then In the blink of an eye, the alien-like appendage was gone.

The door to his left opened and the boy turned his head. An old man lumbered out, followed by the school principal. They both looked at the broken clock before turning to the obvious culprit.

“What?” The boy scowled. “It just fell off.”

“Liam,” the old man said, his voice low and full of warning. “Pick it up. We’re leaving,” he turned back to the principal. “I’ll have it repaired and delivered back to you.”

“That’s quite alright. It’s old and I’ve been meaning to replace it anyway. Thank you, Mr. Anderson.”

Liam stood, sulking as he dragged himself over toward the broken clock. Picking it up, he ignored the broken glass, opting to leave it on the floor. When he turned back, he saw his old man shake hands with the principal before returning to his office. With a simple gesture, the old man ordered Liam to walk.

“Look, whatever he told you—”

“Quiet,” the old man grumbled. “I’m not in the mood for your excuses.”

They were out of the building and halfway to the car park when the old man spoke again.

“That’s two schools in six months. Sooner or later, I’m going to run out of places to send you.”

Liam just shrugged. “Have you considered not sending me to school? That way I won’t get into trouble with idiots looking to prove a point. It's not my fault some people need to have their ego stroked.”

“You need to learn restraint and for God’s sake take that hood off,” the old man reached over and yanked Liam’s hood down, revealing scruffy dark hair with curls and a healthy mediterranean complexion. The boy squinted as the sunlight hit his eyes. “You’re not some gangster. You’re fifteen, a child.”

“Nobody gives a shit how old you are.”

“With that attitude, you’ll end up dead,” the old man said, glaring at the teenager. “Is that what your sister would have wanted for you?”

“I don’t give a fuck what she would have wanted,” Liam sneered. “You promised you wouldn’t bring her up.”

“And you promised to clean up your act, yet here we are. Again,” they reached the Range Rover and Liam climbed into the back seat. He had long since lost his front-seat privileges with the old man. “What is it going to take for you to wake up? There’s only so much I can do before I’ll end up burying you.”

Liam scoffed. “I’m not going to die.”

“Keep going like you are and you’ll end up in a gang. Once that happens, there will be very little I can do to protect you, ” he warned, switching the vehicle on. “After that a grave won’t be too far off.”

“I never asked for you to look after me.”

Sadly, the old man shook his head. “Someone has to, kid.”

Liam stared out the window, eyes glazing over as the traffic became a blur. It provided a nice escape where he daydreamed about a better life. School, friends, and family. It all just slipped through his fingers.

“I know I said I’d do better,” Liam sunk into his seat. “It’s just… hard.”

The old man didn’t react, keeping his sunken eyes focused on the road. A soft, pained exhale sounded from him.

“I know, kid. I know.”

Liam couldn’t bring himself to speak for the rest of the journey.

When they pulled into the driveway, Liam was quick to jump out and head to the front door. Naturally, he had to wait for the old man to get out, lock the car, then hobble over and unlock the house. When they finally got inside, the young teen strolled through the entrance, swinging his school bag to the side before starting to head off to his room.

He stopped when his eyes caught on something strange on the living room table. It was a drone with four mechanical spider legs protruding from each side. The body of it looked like a race car with folded helicopter blades on the top.

“A drone?” Liam approached cautiously until a hand clamped down on his shoulder. “Hey, I wasn’t going to touch it.”

“It’s an investment,” the elder grumbled. “Work related. Do not touch.”

“I just said that I wouldn’t.”

The old man’s eyes narrowed.

“Forgive me if I feel the need to make myself clear.”

Liam’s shoulders slumped.

“Fine, I’ll be in my room.”

Up the stairs and through the first door on the left, he was met with the same mess that he had left it in this morning. Clothes were strewn about with old pizza boxes stacked in the corner next to the tv. Uncle Francis called it a biohazard but Liam could never muster the energy to actually clean up. There were no cockroaches yet, so as far as he was concerned, the mess could stay.

Collapsing into his desk chair, he swiveled a bit while contemplating his next move. He stared at his PC and a sense of melancholy prevented him from moving. He tried to muster the energy to at least turn it on, but the lethargy overwhelmed his desire to do anything.

Damn it.

His thoughts about school just wouldn’t go away.

He hadn’t tried to get expelled, he actually liked Eastworth Boys. Sure the uniform sucked but his peers were more bearable than any other school he’d been to. Everyone minded their own business for the most part, but there was always one group that liked to ruin everything.

Bullies were inescapable and Liam refused to be a victim. They fucked around and found out.

Where next then? He thought idly. Minerva probably, but with how many places I’ve been through, getting in will be a hassle… ugh, fuck.

Liam eventually mustered the will to turn on his computer and managed to find a few moments of solace in an online shooter. It was distracting at least but he had trouble actually concentrating on the game. It only lasted until the sun went down and the hunger pains became too intrusive to ignore.

Switching off his electronics, he stood up and stretched before making his way over to the window. Opening it, he leaned out to take a breath of the cool night air. The smell of freshly cooked food wafted past his senses and he found himself scanning the houses in his neighborhood, lights on and seeking to escape past the closed curtains.

A quick look at his bedside digital clock showed that it was five past eight, yet the darkness of night had yet to really cover the world. It was still early – at least for Liam. He’d make the most of tonight to try and get his mind off things. He couldn’t sit in front of a game for too long like he could when he was younger, he got too antsy after a while.

With sharp speed, his left arm shifted into that familiar black gelatinous appendage. It stretched unnaturally and snaked under his bed to retrieve a wad of cash. Liam fanned it out, doing a quick count in his head to make sure it was enough.

Some takeout sounds nice. I’m in the mood for a burger… maybe pizza?

Satisfied with the amount, he directed his appendage to the bottom drawer of his nightstand to retrieve something from the inside.

Hidden neatly under a dusty physics textbook, was a stretchy tie-dye piece of fabric. Liam slipped it over his face with ease, the elastic clinging to his skin comfortably. He pulled it all the way down to his neck so that everything just below the bridge of his nose was covered.

Liam took a deep breath and exhaled.

He could never leave home at night without this mask.

He climbed out of the window, stuffed the cash into his jacket pocket, then turned around and closed the window. Using his alien-like appendage, he slipped it under the crack of the window frame and locked it from the inside.

Once done, he turned and allowed the gelatinous substance to spread across his whole body. It flowed over him like rivers until his power had covered him entirely. His vision darkened as his body grew, his legs elongating as well as his arms.

The world became distorted from Liam’s eyes as every light source seemed a bit too bright, like miniature glowing suns. The darkness was visible, but almost completely transparent. Colors bled away from the world and everything turned to black and white.

The world became silent, so much so that he wouldn’t have heard a gunshot even if it went off right next to his head, but familiar ripples emanated from all around him.

The crickets in the grass.

The distant traffic of the city.

The various houses.

Crouching down, his gangly legs coiled like a spring before catapulting him into the air. Liam soared through the sky, unaffected by the wind. At the peak of his leap, gravity took hold and pulled him back to Earth. Eyeing up his descent, he saw a house approach, an ideal landing spot.

Instead of crashing through the roof of the family home, his black gelatinous form collapsed into sludge and splattered across the roof before lurching upward like a tidal wave. He quickly pulled together and reformed back into the twelve-foot-tall humanoid figure.

Liam’s legs took another few long strides before coiling again and sending him off into the sky. It would be a few minutes before he reached his destination but he liked to observe the neighborhoods he passed by. Sometimes, there would be something interesting going on; like gang activity, a super fight, or a party.

He’d always go and have a look, maybe even get involved and have some fun.

What’s that?

Large ripples caught his attention.

He followed the source of the waves and Liam found himself staring at a three-story house in a high-middle-class neighborhood. He didn’t recognize it but the ripples were strong and there were people everywhere.

Perfect, a house party, Liam thought eagerly. Plenty of food and people to talk to.

He rushed across the rooftops, blending in with the shadows until he reached the house. He landed on the roof of the house party and searched for a way to enter without being noticed.

The chimney was a no-go since there was black smoke pouring out of the top and likely people watching the fireplace. The front door was out because he doubted he could get in without really being invited. If he wanted to mingle he had to get inside without being noticed first. Then, no one would bat an eye.

Slinking around the roof, his neck extended to allow him to examine the different sides of the building. There were several bedrooms, all occupied. Eventually, he found his entrance in the form of an empty bathroom. The window was locked but that wasn’t much of a concern for him. Sliding across the rooftop, he extended and snaked his body, flattening himself to fit through the cracks.

He pooled into a liquid on the floor before he grew and returned to his human form.

Acting quickly, he locked the door and began hyping himself up in the mirror. He puffed out his chest a little and kept his back straight to appear taller. He was only about five-six. He still had a lot of room to grow but right now, it was obvious from the shape of his body and jawline that he was still just a teenager.

Once he was ready, he turned around to flush the toilet and pulled down his face mask so it hung loosely around his neck. Finalizing the illusion, he exited the bathroom.

The hallway outside was filled with people, all of whom were drinking out of plastic cups. A quick scan showed that they were all probably older than him by a decent margin, in the range of eighteen to early twenties.

He didn’t recognize anyone, so that was a bonus.

Casually, he began walking, making sure to appear confident.

Just act as if you belong and nobody will bat an eye.

He made his way downstairs and his night really began.

Liam began mingling, talking with a few people and just vibing to the music. He drank, flirted with a few girls, and joined a game of beer pong with some random guys. All in all, it was a pretty good night.

That was, until, his eyes caught someone who he hadn’t seen in a long time.

Immediately, he found an excuse to disengage from the group he was with. He moved through the house with a cup in hand, he quickly skulled the contents and went to get a refill. He kept his head down, only scarcely looking up to see if she had seen him. Looking out of the kitchen and back into the packed living room, the girl and her group of friends moved a little and his eyes caught hers again.

No fucking way, man. Fuck.

He looked again. This time, she looked back.

He immediately turned away.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit.

He was so stunned his cup overfilled and spilled onto the floor. He quickly fetched a rag and threw it on the floor to soak up the cider when someone tapped on his shoulder.

“Hey,” her voice was so sickly sweet it made his stomach churn. He turned to see the familiar girl, standing with a curious expression. “Holy crap, it is you!”

Liam stepped back a bit and laughed awkwardly. What the hell was he supposed to say to his childhood crush? He genuinely thought he’d never see her again after she moved away.

“Heey, Mia,” he said, cringing. “I thought you moved out of town?”

“Things didn’t really work out, so Mom and Dad moved back,” Mia suddenly frowned. “Why are you here? You’d be like… fifteen now? If you get caught here you could get into serious trouble!”

“I-I was invited.”

Mia chortled.

“No you weren’t. No one in their right mind would invite someone your age. Well, actually—” She smirked, holding up a single finger. “I know of a couple of deviants that probably would, but none of them know you.”

Liam finally found some courage. “Hey, things have changed since you’ve been gone. You don’t know that.”

“Oh yeah?” She challenged, her smirk widening. “Let’s go talk to Nathan then. I’m sure you guys are just the best of friends.”

She was halfway turned when Liam reached out and stopped her.

“Okay-okay! I snuck in,” he admitted with a scowl. So much for his amazing night. Nothing seemed to be going well today. “Please, can you just chill? I’m just vibing here.”

“Just vibing huh?” Her smirk vanished. “Seriously, what the hell are you doing? You could get into serious trouble, not to mention you’d bring down some serious heat on the guys hosting this.”

Liam went to take a sip of his plastic cup before Mia snatched it out of his hand.

“Hey, I was—”

“I’m serious.”

He crossed his arms and leaned back on the kitchen counter.

“This isn’t the first time I’ve done this. I’ve had a shit day, okay? Come on, I don’t remember you being such a buzzkill.”

“Okay, first of all, I am not a buzzkill. I am being responsible, there’s a difference,” Mia lectured. “And second, you shouldn’t be doing this at all, even if you had a shit day. This is how alcoholics are made, do I have to spell it out to you? Jesus, what the hell is Natasha going to think?”

Liam’s look darkened.

“Yeah, I thought so,” Mia continued. “I still have her number, you know. We haven’t talked in a while but I bet if I call her now and tell her where you are, she’s going to be PISSED.”

“Do it.”

Mia blinked. “What?”

“I said do it,” Liam challenged. “She won’t care.”

Mia narrowed her eyes, slowly reaching into her pocket to retrieve her phone. Liam stared as she pulled it out and unlocked it.

“You sure? Last chance, we can save you the embarrassment. I’ll even shout you a ride back to your place.”

“Call her.”

Mia swiped through her contacts and found Natasha’s name. She flashed him the screen of her phone and he just shrugged. Finally, Mia sighed and dialed the number. Placing the phone to her ear, she waited for Liam to lash out and try to snatch the phone from her, but he remained where he stood with a pensive, sad expression.

The phone rang.

And rang.

Finally, it picked up.

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Mia smiled. “Heeeey Nat! I— oh,” her smile morphed into a frown when she was directed to voicemail.

She tried again. Same result.

“Seriously?” Mia stared at her phone, perplexed. “I know it’s been like six years but she always picked up.”

“She won’t,” Liam grumbled, his voice barely audible over the loud thumping music. “She never will.”

Now, Mia looked worried.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged with a pissed-off, indifferent expression. “She probably died or something.”

“Died… what?” Mia’s expression turned concerned. “What is that supposed to mean? Liam—” She reached out but he smacked her hand away. “Hey—!”

“She left, okay!?” Liam snapped. He stepped away and turned his back to her. “Fucking… I don’t know. I went to sleep one night, woke up and she was just gone. Fucking gone. Never came back. Left me by myself,” he spat. “Probably ran off with some guy too, fucking bitch.”

“Liam…” Mia's gaze softened. “Natasha would never do that! She adored you. She would never shut up about you. She loves you more than anything in the world!”

His shoulders slumped a little and he turn away from her.

“Got a real funny way of showing it.”

Slowly, Mia walked up behind him and threaded her arms under his to give him a hug. It should have been a gesture that would send his heart into the stratosphere but the empty hole Natasha had left behind just continued to eat away at him. He could barely register Mia’s warmth.

“Come here,” Mia gently turned him around, fighting against his reluctance to look at her. Finally, she instead took him by the hand and pulled him away from the kitchen. “Let’s go.”

“I don’t want to leave.”

“We’re not leaving,” Mia clarified. “Just going somewhere private to talk.”

She led him back upstairs and into one of the occupied bedrooms. The occupants were quick to vacate when they saw Mia. It seemed that she was more well-known than Liam gave her credit for. Once the couple had left, she shut the door and locked it. Walking over to the bed, Mia plopped herself down and patted the spot next to her.

“I won’t bite, come on.”

Begrudgingly, Liam shuffled over and sat next to her.

“Now, tell me what’s been going on. I want to know everything.”

He took a moment before answering. There wasn’t anyone he really felt comfortable talking to about this, not even Francis but if there was anyone that deserved to know, Mia was one of them.

“There’s… not much to tell. It’s not a long story. I went to sleep one night and she was just gone in the morning. She left all her stuff behind and disappeared,” he paused, his mind lingering on the day. He remembered being worried, convincing himself she’d be back later in the day and that she had just gone out for the morning. Then when one day turned into three, he felt himself fracture. “I spent a couple of days on my own before child protective services showed up and took me away. I spent some time as a ward of the state before uh… Uncle Francis came and took me in.”

Mia’s brow furrowed. “...Uncle Francis?”

“Yeah.”

“Nat never said anything about you guys having an uncle.”

“Yeah, it’s weird, but it checked out apparently. I’ve been living with him for the last couple of years.”

Mia sombered and rubbed the back of her neck.

“At least you’ve got someone to take care of you. How are you doing at school, is everything okay there?”

Liam’s nose wrinkled. School was the last thing he wanted to talk about.

“Yeah, fine.”

“Really?”

“Do we have to talk about school?”

“We gotta talk about something,” Mia insisted with a nudge. “I can’t help out if I don’t know what’s going on.”

He heaved a sigh and rubbed his eyes. He had never felt so tired before.

“I got expelled today.”

“What!?” He leaned away from her at her exclamation, his ears ringing. She stood up and rounded on him. “Why? What happened?”

“I got into a fight with a bunch of bullies. Might’ve… knocked some teeth out.”

“That’s it?” Mia narrowed her eyes. “Usually they’d just suspend you for that,” she paused when Liam averted his eyes. Mia groaned. “This isn’t the first time it’s happened, is it?”

“It was my third school.”

Mia looked appalled.

“You can’t be acting like that. School is important!”

He sneered.

“No shit. I’m not trying to get myself expelled.”

“Could have fooled me,” Mia replied hotly. “I can help you study if you're having trouble. If you can’t get through the system, I’ll at least help you get your UEQ.”

Liam was reminded of what Francis had said earlier in the day about someone needing to watch out for him. If only they knew about his powers. He didn’t need anybody. He’d be perfectly fine on his own. It wasn’t like he got bad grades either, it was just the obnoxious kids that were always in need of a good beat down.

“I’m not having issues in class. I can average Cs—”

“Cs are scraping by. That’s not good enough.”

“Yeah, well, it’s good enough for me,” Liam grumbled. “Come on, why do you even care? I’m just Nat’s little brother. It’s not like we were very close.”

“Your sister helped me out a lot and we were friends. All of us were!” Mia said, getting defensive. “I know that I didn’t keep in touch and I’m sorry for that. I thought it was permanent so I just… I didn’t really think it was worth trying. At our age, this stuff happens all the time, but I’m back now! Things might’ve changed, but I don’t want to just pretend what we had didn’t exist.”

“I’m not blaming you for not keeping in touch,” Liam sighed. “I’m used to it.”

He had already moved on from this when he was younger.

It had been a childhood crush and he grew out of it. He rationalized it away as he got older, there would always be someone else to pique his interest but now, things were different. Mia was back and more gorgeous than ever. Her auburn hair was much longer and recently straightened – which was a shame, he missed her curls. Her skin had a nice healthy tan to it so she wasn’t quite as pale as he remembered, but she was still clearly recognizable.

Seeing her again like this… it just rekindled all those old feelings he used to feel when he was a kid. Maybe he just hit puberty sooner than every other kid but when Mia used to come to visit, he’d get butterflies in his stomach.

“Don’t guilt trip me like that, I know I should have called or something,” Mia groaned, brushing a few strands of hair out of her eyes. “I’m sorry all this has happened to you.”

“Sorry?” Liam couldn’t suppress a chuckle. “What are you sorry for? You didn’t do anything. It wasn’t like you told her to abandon me. You didn’t get me expelled from school. You’ve got nothing to be sorry about.”

“I’m just trying to be sympathetic. You’ve had it rough.”

Mia had an arm wrapped around his shoulder, giving him a half hug for comfort. It didn’t really provide him with anything but it certainly brought more of his feelings to the forefront of his mind. It —and the buzz he had— caused him to take a risk he hadn’t really intended to make.

“I always had a crush on you.”

Her arm stilled and a coldness stirred within his core. He didn’t dare look in her direction as she slowly retracted her arm.

“Since I was a kid. I think I remember when it started. It was like two weeks after you started with Nat. I overheard you talking with her about how you and your mom went to the hairdresser and got your hair done. I was curious, peeked into Nat’s room and saw you,” Liam recalled. The memory was as clear as day. “I think that’s the very first time I was ever just like… stunned, by how beautiful someone could be.”

Mia was quiet for a few moments.

“I… wow.”

Liam didn’t miss the uncertainty in her tone. He just laughed nervously.

“Hah, yep. You got it in one,” he said, trying to summon as much bravery as he could muster. “That about sums up my thoughts at the time.”

That managed to get a laugh out of Mia. He felt a wave of relief as the ice broke.

“I never knew,” She admitted slowly. “Sorry.”

Liam just shrugged. “I never told anyone. Didn’t really know how. I was… eight? Nine? You probably know what it’s like. If your crush finds out about how you feel, it’s the end of the world. So, I just kept it to myself.”

Silence descended upon the two and Liam felt the ice reform, stronger than ever. The cold feeling inside of him magnified to the point where he was physically uncomfortable sitting so close to her. He couldn't, for the life of him, face her. He dreaded what he’d see. Life hadn’t been good to him, so why would it start now?

With each agonizing second without words between them, he managed to turn and look. Mia was looking down at the cup in her hands. Gone was all the maturity she had been displaying earlier, willing to listen to him and his troubles like an adult, replaced by an insecure-looking girl who didn’t know how to handle the situation she was placed in. Her fingers picked at the sides of the plastic cup as she pressed her knees together.

“Mia—”

“Liam—”

He stared and she stared back.

“Look, I—”

“Look, I—”

They both chuckled at their flimsy attempts to speak. Finally, Liam cleared his throat.

“You first.”

Mia gave him a weak smile.

“I appreciate the admission, Liam. I really do. You… you’re cute and you’d make someone very happy,” She started. Liam could already feel his heart sink into an abyss. He could hear it in her voice, the oncoming ‘but’. It was inevitable. Even worse, he could easily guess the reason why as well. “But… I can’t. It’s weird.”

There it was.

Surprisingly, it didn’t hurt as much as he had expected.

“Life’s full of weird stuff,” Liam reasoned, feeling strangely more confident, definitely the booze then. “We have superheroes and supervillains running around all over the world doing all kinds of impossible stuff. What’s so bad about… us?”

Mia laughed. “Uh, it’s illegal. I get it might seem fine to you, but for me it’s… people would think I’m gross, that I’m taking advantage of you.”

Liam frowned. “Oh come on, are you serious? That’s your hangup?”

“You’re fifteen!” She exclaimed, laughing at the absurdity of the situation. Mia truly wasn’t sure how to react to his confession. “I’m nineteen. I could go to prison if we started messing around. That’s how bad it would get.”

Liam didn’t really see the big deal. If she got caught he’d just go and break her out of prison. With his powers, it would be fairly easy. Common prisons were still pretty old-fashioned compared to the places supers got sent to. Could the ECU catch him? Maybe, but he’d still risk it for her.

“I wouldn’t tell anyone.”

Mia sighed, her tone becoming aggravated. She got up off the bed and put some distance between the two of them. “You’re not getting it. We can’t. I’m sorry.”

Just like that, his hopes sank. Running a hand through his hair, he clapped his hands on his thighs and leaned back a bit.

“Alright.”

Mia glared at him. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“That,” She grumbled, pointing at him like there was something on his shirt. “Sounding all sad and crap, like it’s the end of the world. You’re making me feel bad.”

He knew better than to use force or try and talk her into stuff she didn’t want to do. That was the kind of thing he started fights over and what those thugs in the Cains and Pandora did. Especially Pandora.

“Am I not allowed to feel sad?” Liam questioned, looking a little bit annoyed. “Give me a break, I just got rejected. If I was older, would it be less weird?”

Mia frowned but didn’t immediately reply. Liam could see the hesitation on her face and her reluctance to answer was telling enough.

“...I guess.”

“So… you do like me?”

Mia shifted uncomfortably.

“You’re making this really difficult for me. I don’t want to hurt you Liam. Not after what you’ve been through, I don’t want to make it worse.”

“Just be straight with me then. It’s a yes or no question.”

“It’s not that simple!”

“Yes it is!”

“Then no!” Mia shouted. She covered her face and took a shaky breath while Liam exhaled and slouched, looking away and trying to find a spot in the room to fixate on, as long as it wasn’t Mia. “I don’t feel that way about you, I’m sorry. Yeah sure, it’d be less weird if you were older. Maybe in a couple of years when you're eighteen I might feel differently but there’s no telling what—”

“Stop,” Liam sulked, standing up. He turned and headed for the door, his night thoroughly ruined. All he wanted to do now was go home and go to sleep. “You’ve made your point.”

“Jesus Christ, Liam. Stop!” She reached out to snag his hand but he easily ripped it away. “Oh my god, are you kidding?”

“I don’t hate you, I just don’t want to be here anymore,” Liam grumbled. “You're getting what you want. I’m leaving.”

“If that’s what you want, then it’s fine. Just stick around a little longer, I’ll call you a ride.”

“Don’t bother, I’ll walk.”

Unlocking the door, he stalked out of the room and down the hallway, ignoring Mia’s protests as she followed him. He shoved his way past the partygoers and stormed out of the house. He spared one look behind him as he turned out of the driveway, seeing Mia watching with two of her friends at the front door. A small part of him wanted to stop and turn back, to go and talk to her again but his anger won out.

Mia did not follow him onto the street and the further away from the house he got, the more he cooled down.

Anger fizzled out for sadness and after a few minutes, Liam deflated. He found some solace in listening to the peaceful chirp of the crickets and the city nightlife. It was therapeutic and it didn’t take him long to realize that he had been a real asshole.

What the hell was I thinking?

He wasn’t. It had been a split-second decision made in a moment. Mia had been receptive which was far more than what Liam had been used to.

Shit.

He slowed to a stop.

Turning, he stared back down the street. It was getting past midnight now and a lot of the homes in the area were dark, save for the occasional bedroom light. He hadn’t kept track of how far he had walked.

After a few moments of contemplation, he sighed

“Fuck… this is going to be so weird.”

He needed to apologize.

He’d go in, find her, say sorry, then leave again. He really shouldn’t be showing up to parties like this anyway. She was right, he was too young and he’d screwed up enough today. He needed to make this one thing right, at the very least.

Strolling back, Liam thought about what he’d say. Mia was probably going to be with her friends so he’d have to apologize in front of them and look like a complete idiot while doing it. That was fine, he’d swallow his ego.

“Okay… hey, Mia. I know you think it's weird and I get that. It’s okay, I’ll— no… no, that sucks,” he murmured. Rubbing the back of his neck, he tried something else. “Mia, I was wrong. I’m just a little emotional right now, well, I have been for a while. Not really good at opening up after Nat— ah no, fuck that, don’t make excuses.”

With each street he turned into by retracing his steps, his apology slowly started to come together. When he finally got to the right street, he slowed to a stop when he noticed something strange. There was no thumping music or rowdy partygoers. Instead, there was nothing but eerie silence. He surveyed the street and saw a large truck parked across from the house.

That wasn’t there before.

He watched from a distance, unsure if he should keep going. If the music had stopped, Mia might have already left the party, which would make this whole endeavor a waste of time. Liam didn’t want to believe that. It hadn’t even been thirty minutes.

How could the party have ended so quickly? Cops?

His ears caught voices in the breeze. A stream of people came stumbling out of the house, all with bags over their heads. It was such a bizarre display that dread began to pool in Liam’s stomach. The partygoers were followed by people carrying automatic guns, their identities concealed by masks or bandanas. He recognized the color scheme.

The Cains.

What the fuck?

He was moving before he had a chance to think of a rational approach. His body shifted until he was lumbering down the sidewalk. Two of the gunmen spotted him and opened fire. Most of the bullets hit him, but the lead just punctured his body without even slowing him down.

He bowled into the two that shot him, sending them flying down the street. Ripples emerged from the captured partygoers as they all threw the bags off their heads and scattered.

Bullets shredded his inhuman body but his arms elongated and knocked all the gunmen off their feet in a single sweep. There were a dozen of them and Liam didn’t hesitate to pound the ones closest to him. Bones cracked and blood spilled. None of them were able to slow the monster down.

Both his limbs stretched and contorted so he could attack in multiple directions. He dominated the battlefield making short work of several gangsters at once. He threw two into parked cars and crushed another three into the pavement. The rest were strangled into unconsciousness. Victory for Liam was all but assured until ripples from the house caught his attention.

He turned just in time to see blinding light burst from the house. He lost control of all his limbs as he was sliced into pieces. The gangsters he had been strangling all fell to the ground as his dismembered limbs melted into a pool of shadow. He brought himself together and reformed in the middle of the street.

A super!

There was a lone figure, a blazing white much brighter than anyone else at the party. He saw ripples emanate out from her. He quickly deciphered the ripples to figure out what she was saying.

“You must be Anomaly.”

This person knew of him, which wasn’t too much of a surprise. The name was new. It was pretty cool and he sure as hell couldn’t have come up with anything better.

“I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this.”

She threw light at him, it flew far faster than he could react and speared him right through. He could feel it stuck in his body, a solid mass that disrupted his liquid-like form. He tried to pull it out but another flash of light brought his attacker to the object. With a pull, she ripped it out, bisecting him.

His top half fell and he reached out to grab her but she vanished in another flash of light. It then occurred to him who he was fighting.

Gold Rush.

He tried to pull himself back together but she kept cutting chunks out of him faster than he could reform. It was a losing fight and with each second was one he didn’t know where Mia was.

Ripples came from the truck and Anomaly's sight caught the large vehicle starting to move. Panic drove him toward the fleeing truck, his body flowing like water toward the wheels to try and prevent it from gaining any traction.

Rods of light barred his way for a split second before they erupted. Electricity crawled across his sludgy body, seizing his movement. His form spasmed like a shocked muscle as he writhed around, trying to wrench himself free. It was all useless; all he could do was watch the truck drive away.

It had to have people inside. Mia could be inside.

“What the fuck does it take to kill you!?”

More pillars of light pierced his pooling form, keeping him pinned and unable to reform. He needed to get out of this somehow, stretch himself thin enough that he could separate a part of himself to attack Gold Rush or redirect her attention elsewhere and escape. He tried to extend the edges of his form but she was far more perceptive than he gave her credit for.

“Not a chance,” the ripples kept coming. “You’ve been too much of a nuisance. You’ll stay right there until you’re dead, even if I have to get Grim to do it.”

There had to be a way out. If he couldn’t extend outward, he had to go up.

He compelled his form to slowly climb the pillars of light. It was slow and grueling, but nothing Gold Rush did could prevent it. Even as his liquid form was impaled by more light, he continued to climb.

I have to break them.

He curled around the pillars and squeezed.

They burst and he came apart. Bits of him flew all over the road. Anomaly felt himself in a thousand different places, connected by imaginary threads. He pulled and his scattered pieces rushed back and pooled, reforming him once again. This time, Gold Rush hadn’t been fast enough. She tried to attack but he saw her coming.

His body contorted and weaved out of the way.

One of his limbs caught her ankle and he attempted to drag her up into the air but she flashed away. She could move even when restrained, apparently.

Annoying.

He burst forth, his body erupting into hundreds of tendrils, rushing her. He watched as his body chased her, darting between the columns of light she had placed down as she tried to avoid his attack. He watched her movements like a hawk. After she had evaded him a few times he came to a conclusion.

She can only teleport to the light she creates.

Covertly, he allowed a portion of his body to sink into the ground before spreading it out across the ground toward the columns of light. If he couldn’t catch her, he’d just have to trap her.

Gold Rush sliced all the tendrils that came close. Whatever the light really was, she was able to hold it in her hand. Anomaly remembered how it felt when it pierced his body. Rods, solid. Solid light? He didn’t know, but ultimately it didn’t matter. He needed to catch her.

She flashed to another rod and he seized the opportunity. A piece of him formed into a sharp tentacle behind her and speared her calf. The scream came out as a vicious ripple. He lashed out with one of his arms and smashed her in the face with enough force to send her toppling.

He didn’t wait to see what kind of damage he’d inflicted.

His other arm latched onto a nearby car, covering it with his liquid form before he swung it overhead toward her. Like a wrecking ball, it came down with enough force to shatter concrete. Gold Rush was quick to retreat, flashing out of the way at the last second.

He speared her again when she reappeared, ripping through her bicep.

More ripples.

Can’t beat what you can’t kill.

Her body burned brightly for a moment and then… nothing. She was gone before he could finish the job. Did she teleport again? He searched the remaining columns of light.

Where…?

The pillars slowly fizzled out and blew away in the wind like dust, leaving him standing in the middle of the street with a bunch of unconscious gang members. A retreat then. Typically how most of his fights ended, though he had never wanted to kill his opponents as much as he did this time. It was a sensation new to Anomaly and he wasn’t sure how to process it.

He turned and looked at the totaled car he had thrown. It was lying upside down at the end of the street, crushed and falling to pieces.

Mia!

He ripped his attention away from the car and surveyed the area. All the partygoers he had saved were long gone or hiding. The house looked empty but it was worth checking. He stalked forward down the driveway to investigate the house. He checked every floor and every room.

Empty.

Mia was gone.

Did she escape, or did they capture her?

He had no idea.

Terror flooded him as he fled the house. He landed on a nearby roof and looked back to see the ECU arriving. Would they be able to find Mia and make sure she was okay? Maybe she was part of the group he had saved when he returned, he couldn’t be sure. His attention had been taken up by the gangsters and Gold Rush.

He couldn’t wait around for the ECU to find out.

He had to know.