I stared at Xero uncomprehendingly. “What? What do you mean, ‘you’re the reason I exist’? You’re not my dad. You’re not even my grandpa.”
“I don’t mean biologically,” said Xero with a shake of his head. “Biologically, you and I are not related. But your existence is partially owed to my actions. You should have died a thousand times over before today, but you have survived so long. Why do you think that is?”
I raised an eyebrow. I wasn’t sure if Xero was asking me a trick question or if he was genuinely curious to find out why I had survived so much stuff. “My powers, I guess. And skills. But mostly my powers. Laser eye beams are a lot more useful than you’d think.”
“And where did your powers come from?” said Xero. “Who gave them to you in the first place?”
“No one did,” I said. “My s
