“What the hell happened to you two?” I asked.

“I could say the same to you, Son,” Dad replied, looking me up and down.

“Oh, this is a byproduct of one of my powers. Honestly, I rather like it,” I explained.

“Well, it’s the same for us…more or less,” Mom replied. “My eyes look like this because of one of my powers. And your father…”

“I look like this because of someone else’s power,” he finished. “One of my powers is Dermal Armor, so I’m pretty hard to to hurt. Because of that, when I saw a man with flaming arms causing trouble, I decided to help. I helped bring him down, but my clothes got messed up in the process.”

“Ah, I see. I get it,” I said. “But what is your other power? I assume you have two powers as well?”

“Yeah, I’ve got two powers. Like I said, one of them is Dermal Armor, and the other is Regenerating Defense,” Dad answered. “Basically, I’m really hard to hurt, and when I do get hurt, I recover and become even tougher.”

“Cool. What about you, Mom?” I asked, looking at my mother.

“I have Optic Blasts and Telekinesis,” she answered. The glow in her eyes intensified as I started floating into the air.

“That’s pretty cool too. I have Muscle-Based Condition and 100% Muscle Usage,” I told them.

“Guess that first power explains your physical changes,” Dad commented.

“Yeah. And Sis has Bullet Projection and Enhanced Senses,” I said.

“Yup. I haven’t even tried using my first power yet, though I think my second one is always in use,” Carla added. “Obviously, the same is true for at least Charles’ first power if not his second one too.”

“Both of my powers are always active,” Dad replied. “And obviously, both of your Mom’s powers have to be activated.”

“But what now?” I asked. “What happens now that seemingly all of humanity has superpowers?”

“I don’t know, Son, but I know our family is going to get through it together,” Dad answered. He pulled all of us into a big family hug. However, I had to let go when everyone started coughing and choking from me squeezing too hard.

“Sorry about that,” I said sheepishly. “Still haven’t really practiced with my new strength yet.”

“It’s alright, you just gotta be careful,” Carla said. “Maybe you should try out your strength and see just how strong you are now.”

“That sounds like a good idea. Thanks,” I told her. Stepping outside, I walked over to the family car. Placing my hands underneath it, I gripped the metal firmly and lifted with all of my strength. While I could only hold it there for a couple seconds, I managed to lift the entire car an inch or two off the ground. “Whew! Damn, I’m pretty strong now.”

“Damn, big bro,” Carla said from the doorway. “You’re actually strong now.”

“Shut up. After all, I’m the strong one now,” I said with a grin. At that moment, though, something grazed my ear and embedded itself in a tree. “Did you just fucking shoot at me?!?!”

“Just had to remind you who the dominant twin is,” she replied with a grin. I huffed and placed my hand against my ear. Looking at my palm, there was a little bit of blood on it.

“What the fuck?! You made me bleed!” I shouted. She stuck her tongue out and ran back inside. I immediately ran back in after you, but she was hiding behind Dad. “Hey! Don’t hide! You shot me!”

“Carla, did your shoot at your brother?” Dad asked.

“Maybe. It was just to scare him,” she replied, smirking. Dad sighed and stepped out of the way. Carla’s eyes widened as I grinned and charged forward. I grabbed her and held her over my shoulder, spinning in circles. “Ah! Stop that! You know I get motion sick-“

I then heard her start barfing. Putting her back down, I then left to get cleaning supplies. Coming back into the room, I started cleaning up the mess since I was the one who made her puke.

“We good now?” I asked Carla. She nodded, not trusting herself to not puke again. “Cool. Now, Dad, what should we do?”

“I think that for right now, we need to find out more about our powers and try not to gather a lot of attention, since there are a lot of people out there who would probably be less than lawful in their use of their powers,” he answered.

“Alright, sounds good,” I replied.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Well, I’m definitely going to need help controlling my powers since mine are more destructive,” Mom said. Her eyes flashed brighter for a moment to prove her point.

“Honestly, I’d like to know just how strong I really am,” I admitted. “I was able to lift the car a couple inches off the ground for a second or two, but that was it.”

“That still sounds pretty impressive,” Dad said. “I’m just simply tough.”

“Actually, I’m curious about just how tough you are, Dad,” Carla said. “Like, do you think you’re bulletproof?”

“I don’t know, and I hope I don’t have to find out,” he replied sharply. I rolled my eyes at Carla.

“Hey, what do you think happens when we level up? And how do you think we level up in the first place?” I asked. Carla was the first one to respond.

“We probably get a new power or make the powers we already have stronger. And as to how we level up, I have no idea,” she admitted. “Well, actually, I have one idea. I’m gonna go to the backyard and try to shoot a squirrel to see if I’m right.”

A few minutes after she left, she was already running back inside.

“I was right! I got XP after killing a squirrel! I didn’t level up, but it did bring my XP bar up about 25%,” she exclaimed. “So if I kill three more squirrels, I should level up!”

“Then I guess you can do that in order to find out what happens,” Dad said with a sigh. Carla grinned and ran back outside.

“I really do wonder what’s gonna happen,” I muttered quietly. Walking out into the backyard, I watched as my twin sister enthusiastically shot at the poor squirrels. Soon, she had killed the three she needed to and she squealed in excitement.

“I leveled up! And now it’s letting me choose a new power!” Carla crowed. “There’s three that I can choose from, and they seem to be related to the powers I already have.”

“What are they?” I asked.

“Accuracy Augmentation, Telescopic Vision, and Armor-Piercing Bullets,” she read.

“Hmm, all three sound pretty good for you. What do you think?” I replied.

“Well, I kinda want to go with Armor-Piercing Bullets,” she answered.

“Then do that. It’s your choice,” I told her. She nodded and it looked like she clicked something.

“I went with Armor-Piercing Bullets,” she said. She then pointed her finger at a tree and made a finger gun. I watched in amazement as a spiraling orb of energy shot out of her finger and blasted into the tree. “Dammit! I was hoping that wound be strong enough to go all the way through the tree! Fuck!”

“Hey, calm down. Besides, I’m sure your bullets will continue to get stronger,” I told her. I placed my hand on her shoulder. “Now, do you think you could help me level up too?”

“Yeah, I guess. But you’ll have to be the one to kill the animals,” she replied. “Think you can do that?”

“Yes. I’m pretty sure I can kill some animals if it means I’m gonna get stronger. And protect my family better,” I answered. She smirked and suddenly fired a bullet. It struck a squirrel that was hiding in the grass, injuring it but not killing it.

“Prove it then. There’s your first kill,” she said.

“You’re such a bitch sometimes, you know that, right?” I told her. She merely shrugged while grinning. Walking over to the school, I apologized before stepping on its head. The small animal died instantly, which meant that at least it was no longer in any pain. I then checked my XP bar and saw that she had been right about needing to kill four squirrels total. “Know where there are three more?”

“I don’t know. I’m not a fucking radar. Figure it out yourself,” she said. Carla then went back inside, leaving me alone.

“Fuck it, fine. I can find a few squirrels on my own,” I told myself. “I can definitely do this.”

I then got an idea. Picking up a small rock, I threw it at the first squirrel I saw. Unfortunately, the stone missed it by several inches. Gritting my teeth, I found another stone and threw this one. This time, the stone struck it dead-on in the head. The squirrel fell to the ground dead, and I now only had two more to kill.

“I’ve got this. I can do it,” I reassured myself. I then spent the better part of an hour trying to locate and kill two more squirrels. And eventually, I succeeded, giving me a level up.

[You have leveled up]

[You may choose one of three powers:

1. Dense Muscles

2. Accelerated Muscle Development

3. Muscle Tension Refinement]

“Hmm, can I look at the powers’ descriptions before I choose one?” I thought aloud. However, unexpectedly, the system responded.

[No. You must make an uninformed choice]

“Fine then, you cheap bastard system,” I mumbled. “I’ll choose Dense Muscles. That sounds like the perfect power to go along with the ones I have already.”

[You have chosen power Dense Muscles]

[Dense Muscles]

[You possess muscles much denser than average that give you increased levels of physical strength, durability, and possibly elasticity.]

I noticed that once again, my body’s stats had changed. Specifically, my weight had changed from 240 lbs to 312 lbs. I could certainly feel the difference in weight, but it didn’t slow me down at all since my strength had been further increased.

“Heh. I wonder just how strong I am now,” I wondered. “I’m gonna try lifting the car again.”

Walking around to the front yard, I stopped in front of the family car. Placing my hands firmly underneath it, I lifted with all my strength. I was able to lift it up nearly a foot, though I had to put it back down almost immediately. Breathing heavily, I took a moment to relax and recover.

“Alright. That’s better, but I’d like to still be stronger,” I muttered. However, someone started walking up to the house. “Hey, uh, can I help yo-!”

A burst of strange energy shot out of the man’s body. It slammed into me and sent me flying into the garage. Groaning, I stood up, more dazed than hurt. But it had given the man enough time to get to the front door.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I roared. I charged towards him, but just he blasted me again. This time, the blast did hurt and I smashed through the garage door. Staggering to my feet, I saw my attacker blast down the front door and go inside. Running after him, I saw Dad, eyes wide, get blasted across the living room. Luckily, his whole thing was being tough, so he was back on his feet in no time.

“Sir, why are you doing this?” Dad asked, trying to remain peaceful.

“I’m one of the teaching assistants at the high school, and your daughter is a very attractive young lady,” the man replied. “However, even after she turned 18, she still rejected my advances. So, I’m here to take what I want.”

“I won’t let you do that,” I yelled. Since he didn’t know I was right behind him, I was able to grab hold of him. Squeezing, I could feel his bones creaking from the strain. But before I could incapacitate him, another burst of energy erupted from his back. It was strong enough to get me to let go, which he took advantage of.

“Annoying bastard,” he muttered. He held both of his hands up and blasted me so hard that my ears started ringing and it felt like my insides were on fire. Gritting my teeth, I tried to stand, but I just couldn’t. I watched Dad ran at the man, but he was easily blasted aside, though he was more stunned than hurt. “Carla, my dear, where are you?”

“Who the fuck are you?!” Carla shouted. “Who do you think you are, hurting my family?”

“They were the ones who got in the way of my love for you,” the creep replied. “But if you don’t want anyone else to get hurt, then come with me, quietly.”

“No deal, pervert! Go to hell, bitch!” Carla replied. She fired an energy bullet from her finger, which tore through the man’s shoulder. His eyes went wide and he dove for cover as she started shouting again. He tried to fire a blast of energy, but as soon as his hand stuck out, Carla put a bullet through it.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry! I’ll leave!” He shouted. “Just, please, don’t hurt me anymore!”

I could hear the man start sobbing. But Carla didn’t seem all that moved. She just continued barraging the chair he was hiding behind with bullets.

“You’re the theater teacher’s assistant, so I had thought you’d be a better actor than that,” Carla mocked.

“Fine. Then take this!” The man yelled. The light above Carla began flickering and sparking as electricity shot out of it. She got zapped and crumpled to the floor. “Hah! Arrogant bitch! I can’t wait to break you.”

“Leave…my sister…alone!” I shouted, pushing myself up to my feet. He sneered and blasted me again, but this time it wasn’t as strong.

“Damn. Do I need to recharge already?” I heard him mutter. He looked at Carla unconscious on the floor. “Stay back! Or I’ll kill her! There are plenty of other pretty girls out there.”

“You kill her, and you don’t make it out of this house alive,” I told him. “That’s not a warning or a threat, that’s a promise.”

But before anyone could react, a bullet hole appeared in the man’s head. Carla, who we all thought was unconscious, had been faking the whole time. However, the expression on her face after she did that was not pretty.

“I-I just killed someone…” she said. She then puked and passed out.