A brief introduction: This is another short story set in the world of John Ringo’s Not That Kind of Good Guy. If you haven’t read it yet, the first book is available now from Baen Books. Or you can read the first draft of that book and the sequels on his Substack:
John also has several chapters from unfinished novels, so if you’ve been wondering whatever happened to Dana Parker and Tyler Vernon or what the Keldara would be doing in a zombie apocalypse, this is your chance to find out.
This story is set after the events in Not That Kind of Good Guy and right at the start of The Kraken. Again, this is John’s world. I’m just playing in it. But if Baen ever decides to publish an anthology of stories in this setting, it’s another one I’d submit. It’s still a draft, but finished enough to share.
The Mistake
Afterwards, Lucy could never remember exactly what happened. This bothered her. For something as important as this, it should be crystal clear. Some of it was. Seeing Billy lying unmoving on the bottom of the pool. The flash of colors and the voice in her head announcing that "The Storm Is Coming!" Those were burned into her memory forever. But the events leading up to that were kind of fuzzy, and she had no memory of all about what happened after the voice. They told her this was normal, that no one remembered, but she wished she could. Because there had been a a mistake. A big mistake.
Super Corps West Coast HQ
Downtown Los Angeles, CA
"Hello! You must be Lucy Hahn. Welcome to Super Corps! Please, have a seat."
Lucy sat down in the empty chair in front of the desk and tried not to stare. There was a woman seated next to her, but Lucy hardly noticed. The man behind the desk not only had movie star good looks, he was a movie star.
"My name is Steve Laurents, but you can also call me Raptor." Steve looked to be in his late twenties, 6'4", with light brown hair, hazel eyes, and perfectly white teeth.
"You're a super?" Lucy burst out, unable to contain herself. Steve Laurents wasn't just a movie star, he was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. His latest film, a remake of the classic Bridge Over the River Kwai, but reimagined as a romantic comedy, had just come out the previous weekend and was blowing up the box office.
Steve smiled in that way that all movie stars smile when they've been recognized. "That's right. And I'm also the Deputy Assistant Office Chief for the West Coast branch of Super Corps. Normally Larry Carmichael, he's the actual Office Chief, would be here to greet you but he's in D.C. for the rest of the month. The Assistant Office Chief, Ben Olsen, is coordinating a response to fires in Utah, so that leaves me in charge. And this," he added, nodding at the woman sitting next to Lucy, "is Rachael Rogacs, aka Wave."
"Hi Lucy, it's a pleasure to meet you," said Rachael, shaking Lucy's hand.
"Wave has water powers, the same as you, so I've asked her to be here to answer any questions you might have and show you around."
"Are you a movie star too?" Lucy asked, then immediately wished she could take it back. Rachael was beautiful enough to be a star, but if she was then Lucy worried that she might be insulted that Lucy didn't recognize her.
Rachael laughed. She had dark skin and hair, a mix of both African and Pacific Islander ancestry, but her eyes were a vivid green. She was attractive in that effortless way that makes men take a second look, and then a third, and then start composing epic poetry in their mind. "No, Raptor here is one of the only Supers whose secret identity is an actor. There are a lot of us in the industry though, just not on screen. I just graduated from law school and have a job as an attorney for one of the studios."
"Rachael is also going to be taking over as the new coordinator for the Junior Super Corps out here on the West Coast," Steve interjected. "We had someone else in that role, but recent events have led us to reevaluate our organizational structure and who fits best in which position."
Lucy waited for more explanation of what recent events were being referred to, and when none came she nodded politely and said "So what do I do? I mean, the Junior Supers."
Steve smiled. "Before we get into that, can you tell us a little about yourself?"
Lucy squirmed inside. She did not like being the focus of attention. "Ummm, I'm 13, I go to McAuliffe Middle school in Castle Rock, Colorado. I have a twin sister named Maggie. We're named after our grandmothers." Lucy trailed off. "What else do you want to know?" Maggie would have known what to say, she thought to herself. She'd be so much better at this.
"Any special interests? Activities? Sports?"
Lucy shook her head. "We played soccer when we were younger, and took dance classes I guess, but nothing now. I'm, um, in the Kindness Club at school. We do community service projects and stuff. That's about it."
"Would you mind telling us about when you Acquired?" Rachael asked. "If you don't want to, that's fine. I know that sometimes they can be... traumatic." Her expression darkened; Lucy guessed that Rachael's Acquisition must have been something bad.
"No, I don't mind," Lucy lied. She bit back telling them that there had been a huge mistake, that the wrong girl had got the powers. "My sister and I were over at a friend's house. Charlotte had invited us over to hang out while she was babysitting her little brother Billy. Well, she'd invited Maggie over and I came with her. Because, you know, twins. Anyway, Billy was taking a nap. He's three. We were hanging out by the pool. Anyway, we went inside to paint our nails and get a snack. Charlotte asked me to check on Billy while she and Maggie did their toenails. I looked in his room but he wasn't in his bed. So I went downstairs and looked around, then I went out back to the pool. That's when I found him. He was on the bottom and he wasn't moving. They said I screamed his name so loud that everyone in the neighborhood heard it, but I don't remember that. The last thing I remember is the light and the voice. Maggie and Charlotte said that they were running out of the house and got knocked over by a big wave right as they opened the back door. Then they found us in the empty pool. Billy was coughing and I was unconscious. They said that when I pulled the water out of his lungs I pulled all the water in the pool out with it." She smiled weakly. "I guess there was a lot of water damage, but nobody seemed too mad about that. Anyway, that was last week and now I'm here." And Maggie is at home.
"That's really impressive," Steve said. "Not everyone saves someone's life when they Acquire."
Lucy shrugged. "I don't remember that part. I don't even know what I did!"
Steve brushed that off. "Well, you'll figure out how to use your powers. Maybe not that dramatically, but Wave can teach you the basics."
Wave frowned slightly. "Well, sort of. We don't actually do too much there. Powers have to be controlled. They can be dangerous, and so we discourage developing them beyond a certain point."
"But the Storm is coming!" Lucy stared in disbelief. "We have to develop them. We have to be ready!"
Steve laughed. "Don't you worry about that. It's been 40 some years with people Acquiring and there hasn't been any Storm. We just want to make sure that powers are used responsibly, and unchecked power is just too risky. If there's ever another super serial killer, the public might just decide that anyone having powers is too much of a threat. We don't want that. We might not be the walking nuclear bombs that the Vishnu are, but we do do a lot to help people with the powers we've got."
Lucy frowned, then sighed. It seemed wrong somehow, but if those were the rules then what could she do? Train anyway? Figure it out by myself? Maggie probably could.
"Anyway," Steve continued, "We don't have our Junior Supers go out on patrols. There's no Central Park here, and, well, everyone in the Junior Corps pretty much takes off for the summer so we don’t really plan much between June and August. So we organize some publicity events every couple of weeks starting in the fall and you'll attend those once you've completed the orientation and have your costume. Speaking of, you'll be meeting with the costume designer tomorrow morning after we have all your measurements."
Lucy smiled weakly. She could tell that Steve expected her to be thrilled at the prospect of getting her costume, but inside her stomach was tying itself in knots. "Okay? That sounds... really fun." She thought frantically about what to say. "So, what do I do today?"
"Here's the schedule for your orientation," Rachael said, handing her a folder with the Super Corps logo embossed on it. "As you can see, you've just got a couple tests today - nothing big, don't worry - paperwork to fill out, and getting you measured. Your afternoon is mostly free. If you want to, say, see the ocean, just talk to Stacy out front and she'll arrange transportation for you."
"And that's about it," said Steve, rising to his feet. "Welcome to Super Corps. We're glad to have you with us!"
"Thank you." replied Lucy, thinking he'd be much more glad if it was her sister standing in front of his desk. "I'm glad to be here too."
Venice Beach, CA
Lucy walked along the beach, alone (albeit in a crowd of strangers) for almost the first time since she'd acquired. She'd wanted some time to think, but was distracted by the water. So much water! She'd seen lakes before, but this was her first time at the ocean. She stared at the distant horizon, trying to imagine the water going on and on for thousands of miles. She could feel the water with her powers. It was calling to her asking her to pull it and shape it. Instinctively, she reached out and a small sphere of water, no bigger than a baseball, floated up to her hand. Realizing that she was surrounded by strangers, she quickly dropped it and looked around furtively. No one seemed to have noticed.
Sitting down a few feet away from the water, she started to try moving it in front of her without pulling it visibly into the air. It was a calm day, and the waves were gentle but regular. She tried to grab one and slow it down, and was surprised at how hard it was. The waves were much stronger than she expected. Eventually she was able to create a pool of calm water a few feet wide directly in front of her, with the waves sliding around it on both sides. Slowly she widened the pool, disrupting the incoming waves and diverting their energy.
As she worked with the water, she started to feel the waves in a different way. As if her mind was somehow directly connected with the water and could sense where the waves were and how they were moving. She focused on that, trying to predict where the waves would rise and how they would break while keeping the water smooth.
Her concentration was broken by the beeping of the new Super Corps phone they'd just given her. She looked at the time as she unlocked it. Two hours? How had she been sitting here for that long?
The text was from Stacy, Larry's executive assistant, letting her know that the driver was on his way to pick her up for the measurement session. Standing up, she brushed the sand from her clothes and walked back to the parking lot where he'd dropped her off.
Super Corps West Coast HQ
Downtown Los Angeles, CA
The next morning, Lucy was ushered into a conference room where a tall, stocky man with a dour expression was waiting for her. Stacy introduced him as Bruce, the costume designer.
Bruce stared at her, unspeaking, for several seconds. Lucy was beginning to get very uncomfortable when he finally grunted, and nodded as if he had made some decision. Looking back down at the laptop in front of him he made some rapid notes. Abruptly he turned back to her.
“Have you picked your Super name yet?”
Lucy shook her head. “No. I mean I've thought about it but I…”
“Champagne. We'll go with that. You can do bubbly, right?” Without waiting for a response he turned back to his laptop and resumed typing and muttering to himself. “Bubbly but passionate, yes. And daring. That should work.”
Lucy was starting to get seriously worried. Words like "daring" and "passionate" were about as foreign to her as Mandarin, and the last thing she wanted was an outfit that could in any way be described as revealing.
With a final grunt, Bruce brought up the image of her costume on the screen. Lucy stared in horror at the three dimensional image of her on the screen, wearing the costume and slowly spinning around. It was worse than her worst fears. The costume was a cream colored one piece swimsuit, so pale it was almost sheer, high heel shoes with straps up to her knees, and a matching domino mask. Technically, it was a one piece swimsuit. Functionally, the pieces were connected by the thinnest strands of thread, with panels cut out all along the stomach and back. The sides were cut up high over her hips, and the back covered exactly nothing. In front, the top was two champagne glass shaped pieces of fabric that barely managed to contain her chest. How on Earth is that my chest? She glanced down at herself. Either the image on the screen was either two or three cup sizes bigger than reality, or the costume was pushing everything out with some amazing and not at all obvious padding. She looked down again. There was no way that was right. Sure, her sports bra was feeling a bit tighter lately, but that was ridiculous. She looked at the costume again. Nothing was left to the imagination. Wearing that would be no different than walking around completely naked.
“I can't wear that!”
“Of course you can,” replied Bruce angrily. “It's a perfectly functional costume.” He glared at her as if offended that anyone would dare question his judgement on such matters.
Lucy couldn’t find the words to explain. The more she looked at the costume the worse it got. Maggie would know what to say, she told herself.
Seemingly irritated by her silence, Bruce glared at her. “Look, I design the costumes and that’s it. If you want to be a Super, this is what you’ll wear.”
It was too much. Overwhelmed, Lucy pushed away from the table and fled the room. Running across the lobby, she barely noticed dodging around someone as she rushed through the doors. She stopped in the sunlight outside. Unsure of where to go, she finally settled on a corner of the plaza she had noticed earlier near the fountains. Unsuccessfully she tried to calm herself, but the vision of the hideous costume wouldn't leave her mind. Sitting there she realized that when a super with water powers cries they don't shed tears. Somehow this made her cry even harder.
This just proves it was all a mistake, she thought. This would never happen to a real Super, and a real Super wouldn’t be out here crying.
Stuck in her despair, it was some time later before she realized that she wasn't alone. Rachael sat quietly on the side of the fountain with her hand in the water. Small jets of water shot out above her hand, mimicking the larger jets above. When she noticed Lucy watching, she frowned.
“I'm sorry, Lucy.”
Lucy blinked. An apology was the last thing she had expected.
“We should have had someone with you in that meeting. And we definitely should have reviewed Bruce's design before he showed it to you. Victoria had some words for Bruce when she saw it.”
Lucy paled. “Victoria? Lady Merepool?” She had met the Goth super the day before and found her extremely intimidating.
“You nearly ran her over in the lobby on your way out. Didn't you notice?”
Lucy shook her head silently.
“Well, she wanted to know what all the fuss was about and went and looked. Again, I'm sorry. That design was totally inappropriate. And not you at all. Even Victoria could see that.”
“But Bruce said that when it comes to costumes, he makes the final decision.”
“Bruce would like to have the final say, but it’s your costume. No one can make you wear a costume that you’re not comfortable wearing. And I definitely would not be comfortable wearing that costume at your age.”
“So I'm not in trouble?”
“Of course not! You didn't do anything wrong, so stop worrying about it.”
Relief rushed through Lucy. “So, what now?”
“Bruce is going to design a new costume, and do it right this time.” Rachael smirked. “The last thing Bruce wanted was being called out by Victoria.”
“Why not?”
“Bruce has complicated feelings about Victoria. On the one hand, she designed her own costume and refused to even consider looking at his designs. On the other hand, he loves her costume. Bruce knows it's better than anything he would have created for her. He doesn't know whether to be angry with her or jealous of her.”
“Oh.” Lucy sat silently, watching the fountains. After a moment she blurted out "Rachael, when we get these powers... do you think that whoever or whatever gave them to us can make a mistake?"
"No, I don't." Rachael hesitated, then asked "Do you think yours are a mistake?"
Lucy sighed. "You know I have a twin, right? We're identical, but we're not all that much alike. There's a picture of us when we were kids, like 5 or so, sitting in a tree. Maggie had climbed up twenty, maybe 30 feet. Really high. It made my mom really nervous, but she was always doing things like that. I'm in the tree too. On the very lowest branch. That's us. Maggie is the one who is daring and exciting and loves to take risks. And everything just comes easy for her. School, sports, friends... all of it. There's no way in a million years anyone would pick me as the super between the two of us, but here I am."
"I see. So she's 'daring and exciting.' What are you? Your strengths, I mean. What is it that you do that she doesn't?"
Lucy thought for a moment. "I'm... the responsible one I guess? The one who takes care of things. The one who reminds her to take her medicine so she doesn't get carsick on long drives. The one who remembers to pack enough underwear for the trip. The one who doesn't forget to brush her teeth. The boring one."
"Boring?" Rachael shook her head. "No. Quiet maybe, but not boring."
Lucy looked up at her, then shrugged and looked back down at the fountain.
"Have you asked your sister what she thinks?" Rachael asked.
"No."
"Has she acted like she's upset about it?"
Lucy shook her head. "She says she's happy for me. And she is, but I know she's got to be jealous too."
"Well maybe you should. Talk to her, that is. She might not share your opinions there. For what it's worth, I don't think there were any mistakes made."
"You don't?"
"Nope." The two were silent for a bit while Lucy digested that. Finally Rachael stood up. “C’mon. I know a great seafood place down in Huntington Beach. By the time we get there it’ll be lunch.”
“Okay.” Lucy got up, then looked up at Rachael. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now let’s go. The food is great but the real attraction is the head chef. He’s smoking hot. Married, unfortunately, but we can still look, right?”
“Rachael!” Lucy blushed furiously, then giggled. “I can’t believe you said that!”
Rachael laughed. “Welcome to California. The weather is great and the eye candy is even better!”
Santa Clarita, CA
Lucy sat in the bedroom in her aunt and uncle’s house, and tried to get up the nerve to call her sister.
This is stupid, she told herself. I talk to her every day. This isn’t any different.
Finally she shook herself and started the call. Seconds later a face that was almost exactly like hers, but somehow subtly different popped up on the screen.
“Hey Luce! How was your day?”
“Well…” Lucy described the horror of the Champagne costume and what had happened after she rushed out.”
Maggie raised an eyebrow. “So? Was he?”
“Was he what? Who’s ‘he’?”
“The chef! Was he hot?”
“Maggie!” Lucy stared at her twin in mock outrage, then nodded quickly, blushing again.
Both girls giggled.
Maggie sighed. “You are so lucky.”
Lucy was silent for a long time. “Maggie,” she asked hesitantly, “are you mad that I got these powers and you didn’t?”
Her sister snorted. “Do I look mad?”
“I’m serious. It’s just… sometimes I wonder…” She took a deep breath and rushed on. “Sometimes I wonder if maybe… maybe you should have. Gotten them, I mean. Instead of me.”
Maggie looked at her and frowned. Then she smiled. “Lucy, I’m not going to pretend that I wasn’t jealous. That I am jealous. You just became one of the most important people in the world. You’re going to be like supermodel beautiful, and you have super freaking powers! How could I not be a little envious? But I know, I don’t just think, I know, that you were the one who was supposed to get them. And that makes it… okay.”
“But how do you know? I mean I’m just… me. And I just… I wouldn’t have picked me,” she whispered.
Maggie snorted. “Well it’s a good thing you didn’t pick then. Because you’d have been wrong. Trust me. I’m the smart one, remember?”
Against her will Lucy laughed. “But why?”
Maggie smiled. “Because, little sister. There is one thing that you’ve always been better at than me. Like a lot better. And that one thing is the most important quality a superhero can have.”
Stunned, Lucy just stared. Maggie wasn’t lying, or saying it just to make her feel better. Lucy was confident of that. Maggie was good at almost everything, but not at being dishonest or hiding her feelings. “I don’t get it.”
“Obviously,” smirked Maggie.
“No, seriously, what is it? What is the one thing?”
“Nope. If you don’t know you’ll just have to figure it out. Good luck!”
“Maggie!” But it was too late. Her sister had already ended the call. Lucy stared at the screen and debated calling here back, but she knew it was pointless. Maggie could teach stubborn to mules, and if she said she wasn’t telling there was no point in trying to change her mind.
Super Corps West Coast HQ
Downtown Los Angeles, CA
“Here, I think this is much more you."
Hesitantly, Lucy walked back into the conference room. Her model was still spinning on the screen. The costume was now a vibrant blue. Her model was wearing capri swim pants, flats, and a short sleeve swim top that zipped up to her neck. The top was cropped so that there was still a gap between it and the pants, but nothing outrageous. There was a translucent strip of pale blue fabric that ran from the top of the left shoulder to under the right arm, and then back across again. The same type of fabric was wrapped around the waist of the pants, and then fell in sheets down her legs where it was connected to the bottom of the pants. The effect was to make it look like a sheer dress was swirling around her legs, but wouldn't restrict her movement. The mask was unchanged.
Lucy sighed in relief. "That's perfect," she whispered.
Venice Beach, CA
"So," Wave said, "how does it feel being out in public in the costume?" She and Lucy were at the beach to take Lucy's official Super Corps photographs. The photographer hadn't arrived yet, so the two were stuck standing on the beach waiting in the open space that had been cordoned off for them. A mixture of Marshals and police were walking the perimeter, keeping the curious beachgoers out.
"It feels... I don't know. Kinda weird, like I'm the only person who showed up to a party in a costume." She looked furtively around. "All these people are watching us Rachael. I mean Wave."
Wave laughed. "Get used to it. And you're not the only one wearing a costume today."
"I know, but you're a real super. It doesn't look like a costume on you." Wave was wearing a long, full skirt with blues and greens and an iridescent shimmer, a matching vest and mask, and a silvery white bikini top and gloves. "I feel like I'm just pretending."
Wave looked at Lucy intently. "You're not, you know. You're just as much a real super now as I am."
Lucy didn't respond right away, looking down at the sand. “Maybe?”
“Did you talk to your sister?”
“Yeah, last night. She says that there wasn’t a mistake. That there’s one thing I’m unquestionably better at than she is, and that it’s the most important trait for a superhero.”
“And that is?”
“I don’t know. She wouldn’t tell me. Brat.” Lucy rolled her eyes. “What do you think it could be?”
Wave thought for a bit. “Honestly, I have no idea. I mean I can think of a several traits you have that I think are important, but I don’t know if they’re what your sister has in mind.”
“Me either. I guess I’ll figure it out eventually. I doubt I can get her to tell me.”
“Okay, but do you believe her?”
Lucy shrugged. “I guess? I don’t know. I mean I believe her when she says how she feels, but what if she’s wrong?” After a moment, she continued. “I do feel a little better about it now.”
"Good enough for now. Speaking of family, how is the rest of yours? Are they out here yet?"
"No, they’re still back in Castle Rock. My parents aren’t big on the idea of everyone moving out to California. I’m flying back home in a couple days, then I’ll come back out here when the rest of the Juniors return. My aunt and uncle live up in Santa Clarita. For now when I’m out here I’m just going to stay with them," Lucy replied, grateful for the change of subject.
"That's a nice area. Traffic can be bad on the 405, but honestly traffic will be bad no matter where you are around here."
"So I've noticed."
"You get used to it." Wave smiled. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Have you chosen your super name yet? They'll need it to publish these photos, assuming the photographer ever shows up.
"Not quite. It's really hard to choose!"
"Tell me about it. So what are you trying to decide between? Please tell me it's not Aquagirl."
Lucy laughed. "Eww, no! That would be lame. I wanted something that relates to where I grew up, but Colorado isn't known for water. I'm thinking of either Snow, because, well, Colorado, or River, because when water comes out of the mountains it’s a river. "
"River. Definitely River."
"That's what my dad says too, but he won't explain why. Mom likes Snow, and Maggie thinks it should be something more exciting but doesn't have any good ideas other than that."
"Well, you don't have to decide right now, but you don't have long. They’ll need one to put on these photos when they get published. Speaking of, here’s the photographer."
The photo shoot wasn’t as bad as Lucy had feared, but it wasn’t her favorite thing ever. Wave made a block of water out of the ocean, and Lucy spent 20 minutes standing on it in various poses. Finally the photographer declared that he was satisfied and Lucy stepped back down onto the sand. Sensing that the show was over, the crowd began to drift away.
When they were relatively alone again, Lucy turned to Wave. “Can I ask you a question about our powers?”
“Of course. What is it?”
“The other day when we were at the fountain, you were controlling like 20 jets of water at the same time. I tried to do that later and I couldn’t even do two. And just now you held that block of water up the whole time I was taking pictures. I’ve been trying my powers out down here all week and I can just get the water to hold still. I know you said that I’ll figure it out, but how?”
Wave looked around, then looked down at Lucy. After a moment she nodded her head. “Let’s go for a swim.”
“A swim?”
“Yep. C’mon.” Wave turned and walked out into the ocean. As soon as the water was deep enough, she dove in headfirst and disappeared without a splash.
Lucy followed. She knew how to swim, but this was only her second time actually swimming in the ocean. The first had been on a trip to the Gulf Coast the previous summer. She was not prepared for how cold the Pacific could be, even in July.
Keeping her face above the water, Lucy swam out against the waves. After the first two hit her in the face, she started using her powers to keep the water out of her face. Then she realized she could use her powers to move the water around her instead of trying to swim. After that she made much quicker progress out to where Wave was waiting beyond the breakers.
“Good. You’re letting the water do the work. Let’s keep going.” Wave continued more slowly out into the bay. “We can talk more privately out here, plus I can show you some of what we can do easier than I can explain it. So what else have you figured out?”
Lucy thought for a moment. “I can get water to move and make it hold still. I haven’t tried making it hold a specific shape though. I can sense where water is.” She thought for a moment. “That’s pretty much it.”
Wave nodded. “That’s a good start. Have you tried breathing underwater yet?”
“We can breathe underwater? How? Is it hard to do?”
Wave laughed at the excitement in Lucy’s voice. “You just do it. It’s instinctive, once you have your powers. Go on, give it a try.”
Lucy hesitated. It suddenly hit her just how far out they were and how deep the water was beneath them.
“Don’t think about it, Lucy. If you do you’ll freak out when you go under. Just go down and start breathing.”
Lucy nodded, and took a deep breath, preparing to dive.
“Don’t take a breath first. That will make you want to hold it. Blow it all out then dive. Don’t think about it, just go!”
Lucy dove, and pretending to herself that she had a snorkel took a shallow breath. Then she took a deep one. She could feel the water at her lips, but as soon as it entered her mouth it became air. She floated, a foot beneath the surface, just breathing and reveling in the sensation. The air was richer, with a slight tang that reminded her of electricity. She felt full of energy. For the first time she looked, really looked, at the world below. She could see just as clearly, or even more clearly than above the water. Below her, a school of fish swam by, then scattered as a larger fish swam past. Excited, she dove deeper. The light from the surface faded quickly, but she had no problem seeing. Suddenly she felt something giant moving through the water. Spinning around she watched as a whale passed by less than 20 feet away. Thrilled, she rushed up to the surface.
“I saw a whale!! Oh!” Her eyes flew open wide and she covered her mouth with her hands. It sounded like she had inhaled a helium balloon. “My voice,” she squeaked. “What happened to my voice?!”
Wave burst out laughing. “You sound like a chipmunk!” After a moment she took pity on Lucy and explained. “It’s hydrogen. Your powers are breaking the water into oxygen and hydrogen, and it’s the hydrogen making your voice sound like that. Don’t worry, it goes away. Just take a few deep breaths. Oh, and there’s some ozone too, from the oxygen that didn’t recombine into O2. If you didn’t have regenerative healing, that might be a problem. But you do, so it’s no big deal.”
Lucy glared at her. “You could have warned me!”
“What fun would that be?”
Lucy waited a few moments, then burst out. “That was amazing! I saw a whale!”
“So you squeaked, I mean said.”
Lucy stuck out her tongue and gave Wave a look. “What else is there?”
“We can’t talk to fish, and there aren’t any undersea empires that we secretly rule.” Seeing that Lucy was confused, she went on. “Never mind. Go read some old comic books. You’ll get the joke.”
“Ooookay. But what can we do?”
Wave took a deep breath and turned to face Lucy directly. “Right. What I’m about to tell you, I’d like you to not share with anyone else. Can you do that?”
Lucy nodded. “Who else am I going to tell? I don’t really know anyone else out here yet.”
“No one, that’s who. This stays between me and you. For now. I need your word that you can keep this quiet.”
Lucy thought about it. “Is this something that I could get in trouble for knowing?”
Wave sighed. “Yes, it is. But I think it’s something you need to know. Do you trust me?”
“Yes. If you think it’s important, then, I promise. I won’t say anything.”
“Alright then. You know that the official position of the Super Corps is that we don’t train our powers, and you know why. The public is afraid that there will be another NK, so we stay weak. There’s a growing consensus among the younger Supers that this is a mistake. That the good we can do with our powers outweighs the risk of another super terrorist. The reason I’m telling you is that we’ve recently learned that the first few years after you acquire are the most critical for learning your powers and growing in strength.”
Lucy frowned. “How did we find this out?”
Wave shrugged. “I don’t know the original source. The two flyers we have in the Junior Corps went out to New York for an event with the East Coast flyer, Ivory Wing, last year. They figured out pretty quickly that she was a fair bit stronger than they were and asked her how. She explained what she knows, or at least some of what she knows, but we don’t know where she got the information. I have my suspicions, but it’s just a guess.”
“So that’s how you can control so much water at once.”
“Sort of. That just takes practice, But to answer your original question about what other powers you have, we don’t really know. There are stories of the Vishnu making water out of thin air, freezing water and boiling it, and more. We don’t know how to do any of that. What you’ve figured out is as much as any of the other Waters. But you’re the youngest Water, which means that you have the best chance of learning what else there is. And when you do figure it out, practice. Like all the time. That’s the real secret we were told. Use your powers constantly, as much as possible. Every day you’ll wake up stronger than before. I practice a lot and I’m getting better with the power I have, but I’m not getting all that much stronger. You will. Can you do that? And, obviously, not tell anyone you’re doing it?”
There was silence between them as Lucy absorbed what Wave had revealed. “That’s a lot to take in. What if I get caught?”
“Don’t. Just, don’t. You really, really don’t want that to happen.”
Maybe I do, the little voice inside her whispered. It’s not like I was supposed to have these powers in the first place.
“You think that we can really help people with these powers?”
“I do. And you know why.”
“Because the Storm is coming.”
Wave nodded.
After a moment, Lucy nodded too. And started to let herself believe that maybe the voice whispering to her was wrong.
Denver International Airport
Denver, CO
Lucy got off the train that ran between the concourses at Denver International Airport, then took the escalator up to where her father was waiting.
“Lucy!” Her dad enveloped her in a hug. “How was the flight, sweetheart?”
“Uneventful?” Lucy smiled.
“Always the best kind. Let’s go get your bags.”
As they walked to the baggage claim, Lucy’s Super Corps phone started beeping. As she pulled it out to check, her dad’s phone began to beep as well. Within a few seconds it became clear that everyone around her seemed to be getting the same message. She looked at the message and gasped. Silence spread through the terminal as everyone stopped to read, then re-read the news. Disturbances in the ocean. Eight of them, creating massive waves. Cause unknown. Evacuations for the East Coast were already under way.
A second message appeared on her phone. “All active and reserve Super Corps personnel are to report to their assigned headquarters, ASAP. Additional information to follow.” She looked up at her dad.
“I need to go back,” she said, showing him the message.
He frowned. “Are you sure? This just says Super Corps, it doesn’t say whether or not that includes the Juniors.”
“I’m sure. Even if it doesn’t say specifically that the Juniors need to return, I need to go. I can help.”
“I’m not sure I like the idea of sending you to the coast when it looks like they’re going to have to evacuate.”
“Dad, I’m a Super with Water powers. The last thing I need to worry about is a flood. Trust me. In this situation I’ll be just as safe there as I would be here. Besides, I really can help.”
He looked at her for a long moment, then nodded. "All right then. Heaven knows that you’re not going to ignore a situation where you could help. Let’s grab your bags then go see if we can get you on a flight back.”
They began walking again, then Lucy suddenly stopped. “That’s it.”
“What’s it, honey?”
“What Maggie meant. She said the thing I’m the best at is what turns Supers into superheroes. It’s help. A hero is someone who helps.”
“She’s right. About help making heroes, and about you being the best at being helpful.”
Lucy smiled at her dad, then gave him a hug. He returned the embrace, kissing her gently on the top of her head. After a moment they resumed their progress towards the baggage carousels. I’m not a mistake, she thought. This is who I am. This is what I’m supposed to do. I don’t know how yet, but I know I can find a way to help. Because that’s what heroes do.
And I just found a mistake. Because of course I did. (No, I'm not telling you what it is.)
Great start. Would love to see you develop this with her family in the future. Her Dad and sister, Maggie, can help her develop as a hero.