The Superhero's Son Omnibus Volume 3

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

A few minutes later, Incantation, Hopper, and I stood outside on the front lawn of the huge mansion that we used as our base. The front lawn was immaculately cut, so clean and short that it felt more like carpeting than grass. The air was crisp and cool this morning as well, reminding me of other mornings I’d had like this. Actually, the mansion reminded me of another mansion I’d visited once, but my memories were still too mushed up for me to recall exactly where I’d seen that mansion. All I knew for sure was that it wasn’t anywhere near as nice as this one.

But I forgot all about that, because as soon as I stepped outside onto the lawn and saw the wide-open sky, I couldn’t help myself. Like I did this every day, I shot into the sky, flying high and fast, ignoring Incantation and Hopper’s cries of surprise and calls to come back.

Despite my amnesia, I flew without problem. I turned and twisted in midair, rising higher and higher, until I stopped and looked down at the ground sprawling out below.

The mansion—which once looked so huge up close—now looked very tiny, like a toy, and Incantation and Hopper looked even tinier. The forest around the mansion looked like a sea of green, while the road that connected the mansion to the main highway snaked through them like a sea serpent. I looked around the area, but saw no towns or cities for miles in every direction at all, though I did spot a lake at the bottom of the slope behind the house.

Taking a deep breath, I then flew back toward the ground and landed in front of Incantation and Hopper. I landed well, slowing down at the last moment so I didn’t crash into the ground and send dirt flying everywhere, like I’d landed hundreds of times before.

Standing upright, I brushed back my hair and said, “Man, that was fun! You guys should really try it sometime.”

“Well, I can’t fly, so I can’t do it,” said Hopper. “But Incantation can.”

“You can?” I said, looking at her in surprise.

“It’s really more like levitation that true flight,” said Incantation with a shrug. “And I can’t do it for as long as I’d like, otherwise I’ll wear out and get too tired.”

I nodded, but then stopped. “’Too tired’? What do you mean?”

“I mean exactly what I said,” said Incantation. “It takes up too much of my own energy to levitate, so I only use it when necessary.”

“Is it part of your magical powers?” I said. “I think you called it the Old Way earlier?”

Incantation shook her head. “No. While my other abilities come from training in the Old Way, I could levitate before Thaumaturge taught me magic.”

“So it’s your natural power, then?” I said.

“Bolt,” said Hopper suddenly, an angry scowl crossing his features. “What the hell, man?”

“What?” I said, looking at Hopper in surprise. “What’d I say wrong?”

“You called her levitation her ‘natural’ power,” said Hopper in disgust. “That implies it’s biological, when we all know that superpowers are just a social construct. You almost oppressed her.”

I wasn’t sure how making a simple linguistic mistake like that counted as ‘almost’ oppressing Incantation, but I realized that Hopper had a point.

So I look at Incantation and said, “Sorry. I just forgot.”

“It’s fine, Bolt,” said Incantation, patting me on the shoulder. “We’ve all been brainwashed to believe in the biological nature of superpowers that we all sometimes slip back into it. But don’t do it again.”

Incantation’s tone suddenly became harsh and snappy when she said that last sentence, just like how she had sounded earlier. I still wasn’t sure how to take that, but since I didn’t want to get into a fight with my girlfriend, I just nodded and said, “Sure. But … can I ask what the Old Way is, exactly? I’ve forgotten about it.”

Incantation looked annoyed for a second, like I’d just asked her a dumb question, but then she removed her hand from my shoulder and said, “The Old Way is an ancient, almost extinct magical path that was practiced by British wizards prior to the Christianization of Britain. It was driven underground by the Christians and most of its practitioners were killed in witch hunts, so for most of modern history its few practitioners have been very quiet about using it.”

“British wizards?” I repeated. “Are you going to tell me that Hogwarts is real?”

“Of course not,” said Incantation, shaking her head. “There was never any real magical schools. The Old Way was always taught from master to student, very one-on-one, intimate training. I learned it from Thaumaturge, who is my uncle, and he learned it from an old British friend of his who died ten years ago.”

“Cool,” I said. “What can you do with the Old Way?”

“Many things,” said Incantation. “I can teleport brief distances, summon objects from far away, transmute things into different substances … it’s quite amazing. And I’m still a student; Thaumaturge can cast far more and complicated spells with it.”

“Can anyone learn the Old Way?” I said. “Like me, for instance?”

“Yes, but superhumans are best at it,” said Incantation. “Or, I mean, those of us who identify as superhumans, of course. A few of the old wizards were said to have superpowers apart from what they learned in the Old Way, so I imagine superhuman wizards have existed for a while.”

“Could I learn it?” I said, putting my hands on my chest.

Incantation hesitated. “I’m not so sure. What’s your background?”

I blinked. “My background?”

“Yes,” said Incantation. “I mean, what are you descended from?”

I thought about it. “German on my dad’s side, Polish on mom’s. Why?”

“Well, then you can’t learn it,” said Incantation, folding her arms across her chest. “Only British people or people of British descent are allowed to learn it.”

“What?” I said. “Why?”

“I don’t know why,” said Incantation. “I guess that was how the original wizards kept it alive or something. And, since I’m of British descent, as is my uncle, we were both able to learn it.”

I frowned. “So I can’t be a wizard superhero, then? That sucks.”

“Hey, dude, there’s no reason get down about it,” said Hopper. “I can’t learn it, either, due to … well, you know.” He gestured at his face, indicating his dark skin color. “Only Incantation really knows it, so you don’t need to feel excluded or anything.”

“Maybe,” I said. “But it would still be cool to learn how to do it someday.”

“Yes,” said Incantation. “But also, since I’m a student, I can’t teach you. You’d need to convince my uncle, who is a master of the Old Way, to teach you, but Thaumaturge isn’t taking on any students at the moment, so you’re out of luck even if you were of British descent.”

I sighed. “Oh, well. At least I still have my powers.”

I held up my hands and red lightning crackled between my finger tips. Incantation and Hopper both stepped away from it, probably more out of instinct than anything, because I had pretty good control over it at the moment and wasn’t going to harm them with it.

That was when I suddenly felt like someone was watching me. I looked over my shoulder at the trees beyond the front gates. At first, I didn’t see anything, but then I saw movement among the trees and then saw someone in a dark cloak dash between them.

“Bolt?” said Incantation. “What are you looking at?”

“I saw something,” I said. I looked back at Incantation and Hopper. “Don’t you guys feel like we’re being watch?”

Incantation and Hopper exchanged a look. It was a worried look, rather than a confused look, which made me wonder if they knew something I didn’t.

“Oh, it’s probably nothing,” said Incantation, looking at me again, though her voice didn’t sound very sincere to me. “There are lots of animals in the woods around here. It was probably just a deer or something.”

“No, I saw someone,” I said. “I don’t know who, but I saw someone out there—a person, not an animal or something.”

“Deer can look like people if you don’t look at them too closely,” said Hopper. “For example, I mistook a deer for Harrison Ford one time. Extremely embarrassing.”

I just stared at Hopper for a full five seconds before I said, “Well, I’m going to see what it is. It will just take a quick sec. And if it turns out to be a deer or something, then you guys will have the right to say ‘I told you so.’”

Before either Incantation or Hopper could react, I turned and ran toward the woods, using my super speed to zip across the large lawn and over the walls surrounding the yard. In an instant, I crossed the treeline into the forest and then stopped and looked around.

The forest was pretty lively today. Birds were chirping in the treetops above, a squirrel crossed my path, and I even had to duck to avoid a wasp flying straight toward my head. But I didn’t see anything that looked like the cloaked person who I knew I’d seen watching us—watching me—from a distance. I looked behind a couple of trees, but I didn’t find anyone hiding anywhere.

So I almost believed that maybe I hadn’t actually seen anything when, all of a sudden, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I whipped my head to the right just in time to see the edge of a cloak disappear behind a group of trees.

“There you are,” I said.

I ran over to the trees, but only with my normal speed, because there were too many trees for me to feel comfortable running at super speed. I ran around the trees just in time to see a cloaked person running through the bushes ahead of me.

“Hey, you!” I shouted. “Stop! Who are you?”

The cloaked figure stopped for a moment and looked over its shoulder at me. Although the figure’s hood obscured their features, I thought the figure was female for some reason; maybe it was the way she ran.

But in any case, the figure immediately turned and resumed running, vanishing among the trees and bushes almost like a chameleon.

I ran after her, tearing through the bushes, pushing aside branches, trying to keep her in sight. Every time I caught sight of her, she would slip out of my sight again. She clearly didn’t want to be seen or caught; I didn’t know why, but maybe she was a spy sent by the G-Men or something. Whoever she was, I was going to catch her and make her tell me why she was watching me.

I burst through another set of trees and now found myself standing in a clearing. The ground inclined here, going down to a small gulch that had no way out. And the cloaked girl was standing right inside it. She whirled around, but stopped as soon as she saw me, because I was now blocking her only way out.

“Hey,” I said. I kept my tone friendly, but at the same time I didn’t let down my guard, because I had no idea if this girl was dangerous. “You’re trapped, so you can stop running. If you give up peacefully, I promise not to hurt you.”

The girl hesitated. She looked both ways, but she was pretty well trapped by the gulch and the walls were too steep and smooth for her to climb.

“Come on, now,” I said. “Can’t you at least tell me your name? Are you a spy from the government or something?”

The girl stepped back. I tensed, thinking she was going to try to run away, even though she was completely and totally trapped.

But then the girl raised her hands and began singing a very soft, low song. It was very comfortable and beautiful, making me think of a lullaby almost. My eyes drooped, but I shook my head to stay awake. This girl clearly had powers, perhaps the ability to put someone to sleep, and I couldn’t let her do that because I had no idea what she might do to me if I fell asleep.

But it was … so … nice …

I shook my head. I ran down the incline toward her, but I was starting to get drowsy and confused. My world rapidly grew dark around me, my memories became muddled, and in an instant I saw nothing at all.

-

“Bolt?” said Incantation.

I shook my head and looked around. I was standing on the lawn of the mansion, with Incantation and Hopper before me. I was looking over my shoulder at the trees, where I thought I’d seen something, but now I saw that it was just a deer, which bounded off into the trees out of sight.

“What did you see?” said Hopper.

I blinked and looked up at the sky. The sun had moved a little, but as far as I could tell it wasn’t very late in the day, maybe late morning by now.

“Huh?” I said, looking at Hopper again.

“I said, what did you see?” said Hopper. “You were looking over your shoulder at something.”

I frowned and rubbed the back of my head, which was starting to ache again. “I … guess it was just a deer. Thought I saw someone watching us.”

“Well, there’s no one in the forest who could watch us,” said Incantation. “Remember, we’re miles away from the nearest town and this is private property, so there probably aren’t any hikers or campers around here.”

“I know,” I said. I frowned. “Was I always standing here? Did I … did I go into the forest?”

“You just stood here staring at the forest,” said Hopper. He sounded a little concerned. “You haven’t left at all. Why?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “I thought I’d gone and run out to the forest to see what was in there.”

“Must be your amnesia,” said Incantation in a sympathetic voice. “It’s making you ‘remember’ things you haven’t actually experienced.”

“Is that one of amnesia’s effects?” I said.

“Maybe,” said Incantation. “But I’m sure you just spaced out for a moment. Happens to all of us at one point or another.”

“Yeah, it’s nothing to worry about,” said Hopper. “Just take it easy.”

I frowned. I was certain that I had gone into the forest to check on whoever (whoever? No, whatever, because it was a deer. Why’d I think whoever?) was watching us. Yet despite that certainty deep in my bones, I had no memory of what I might have done in there. I had a vague feeling of chasing … something? … but I didn’t know for sure. It felt like a part of my memory was whited out, but maybe it was just my amnesia at work again messing with my memories.

Shaking my head, I said, “You guys are right. I probably just spaced out. Let’s get ready for tonight’s mission. It’s going to be tough and we all need to be in top condition so we can pull it off without a hitch.”