The Superhero's Son Omnibus Volume 1

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

When I got home after school—far too fast for my tastes, because this time, there weren't any convenience stores being robbed that I could use as an excuse for being late—Dad was sitting in the living room, although he was not in his Genius costume. Instead, he wore his usual blue button down shirt and black slacks, his horn-rimmed glasses reflecting the video playing on the tablet he held in his hands.

Stopping in the entrance to the living room, with my backpack slung over my shoulder, I tried to look as casual and innocent as possible. Dad didn't seem to have noticed me yet, but I knew that was bull, because Dad was always aware of his surroundings even if you weren't.

“So, uh …” I said, my voice trailing off as I tried to figure out what to say. “I'm home from school.”

Dad didn't look up at me; he reminded me of Tara, actually, with the way he focused on the tablet, which was similar to how she focused on her smartphone. He just said, “Kevin, please come in and sit down. There's something I want to talk with you about.”

There it was. That was Dad's 'I'm-not-angry-just-disappointed' tone. He only used it whenever I really disappointed him.

Part of me wanted to run into my room and hide in there, but I walked into the living room nonetheless and plopped into the large armchair to the left of the couch. I placed my backpack on the floor, but then Dad looked at me, disappointment obvious behind his eyes.

“Kevin, do you remember what I told you during our training?” said Dad. “About what you should never use your powers to do?”

I couldn't meet Dad's gaze, even though I wasn't ashamed of the good things I had done today. “Not show them off to impress girls.”

Dad sighed. “No, the other thing you should never use your powers for.”

“Fight crime,” I said, again without looking Dad in the eyes.

“Exactly,” said Dad. “So why did you do exactly that? And why does everyone on the Internet now know your name?”

“They don't know my real name,” I said. “Just my superhero name.”

“That's not the point,” said Dad, shaking his head. “The point, Kevin, is that I explicitly told you not to go around fighting crime with your powers. You are only supposed to use your powers during training or in self-defense, and beating up that criminal was neither.”

“But I couldn't just walk away and let him rob that store and maybe even kill that cashier,” I said. I started adjusting my watch's strap, just so I wouldn't have to look at Dad in the eyes. “That wouldn't have been the right thing to do.”

“You could have called the police,” said Dad.

“And wait for them to get there?” I said. “Look, Dad, I know I didn't do what you wanted me to, but—”

“But nothing,” Dad said, interrupting me before I could finish. He looked at the tablet again and sighed. “It's even worse because you were caught on camera. And you apparently also have a page on this website called 'Neo Ranks' as well. Ever heard of it?”

I nodded, though I was thinking just how much it sucked that Dad apparently actually did know about Neo Ranks.

“Granted, it appears that no one knows your secret identity, but I still don't approve of it,” said Dad. “You could have gotten yourself killed.”

“He was just a normal thug,” I said. “Yeah, he had a gun, but I bet his bullets wouldn't have hurt me.”

“Your suit is bulletproof, but that doesn't mean a thing,” said Dad. “It only takes one bullet in the right place to kill a person and if you hadn't been quick, you could have found that out the hard way.”

“Well, what do you want me to do, then?” I said, finally meeting Dad's disappointed gaze. “It's too late now. I can't go back in time and stop myself from doing the right thing and saving an innocent person's life.”

“I know you can't,” said Dad, “but I don't want you doing something like that again.”

“Okay, I won't do it again, then,” I said. “Next time I see some thug robbing an innocent person, I'll just keep on walking like I didn't see anything.”

“Don't act that way,” said Dad. “You know that's not what I mean. I just don't want you to get involved in the superhero life, not yet. I just care about you. Why can't you understand that?”

Dad's tone made it hard to argue with him. I knew I had done the wrong thing, but I didn't know what to say. I just folded my arms across my chest and glanced at the kitchen, which seemed to be empty at the moment.

“Where's Mom?” I said, looking at Dad again. “Is she home?”

“She went to go pick up some groceries,” said Dad. “She likely won't be back until dinnertime.”

“What does Mom think about what I did?” I said.

“I actually learned about your little adventure from her,” said Dad. “And she wasn't very happy about it. She expressed a lot of the same concerns that I did, that it was reckless, that you could have been killed, and that you shouldn't have done it.”

“Of course,” I said. “I knew Mom would say something like that. She's just as much against my training as you are.”

“Actually, she was very much against your training, while I am not,” said Dad. “If I was really against your training, I wouldn't even be training you at all.”

“Yeah, right,” I said. I ran a hand through my hair. “Then why can't you guys let me practice fighting actual criminals? I don't need to fight supervillains like Master Chaos or anything. Just normal, run-of-the-mill criminals like that thug I knocked out earlier today. Don't you think that would prepare me for combat with Master Chaos better than throwing big metal blocks around?”

Dad lowered the tablet onto the coffee table and steepled his fingers together. He was staring at the tablet, even though the screen was blank, like he was trying to move it with his mind. Frankly, I wouldn't have been surprised if Dad could move it with his mind. He probably had all kinds of gadgets that could do anything, even if he wasn't currently wearing his Genius costume.

Finally, Dad looked at me and said, “Do you remember your Uncle Jake?”

I shook my head. “No, but Mom told me about him. He was her brother and died a few months after I was born, right?”

Dad nodded. “Exactly. But you've seen the pictures of him, right?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Mom showed me some. He looked kind of like Grandpa, except younger and with red eyes. Mom always told me that Uncle Jake had a great sense of humor and a really good work ethic.”

“He was indeed a remarkable man,” said Dad. He smiled, which was the first time I'd seen him smile since I punched Robert through the cafeteria wall. “He was actually the one who introduced me to your mother. We became good friends while working together and he invited me to his home for one weekend. There I met his pretty sister, who I eventually married.”

“Oh,” I said. “How come Mom never told me that?”

“Uncle Jake is … a hard topic for her to talk about,” said Dad. “I don't know if you've ever noticed, but she usually doesn't like to talk about him, and when she does, she never says much.”

Dad was right. Although Mom had told me about Uncle Jake a few times in the past, she never really talked about him very much. I just assumed that it was because she had still not gotten over his death or maybe she just didn't see any point in talking about someone who was no longer alive.

“Did Mom and Uncle Jake get along when they lived?” I said. “Or did they fight? Is that why she doesn't like talking about him?”

Dad shook his head. “No. The reason Mom doesn't like to talk about Uncle Jake is the same reason she's been so worried about Master Chaos's escape from Ultimate Max.”

“What is that reason?” I said, tilting my head to the side in confusion. “I didn't know there was a connection between Uncle Jake and Master Chaos. What is it?”

Dad looked like he was not sure if he wanted to tell me this, but then he said, “Your Uncle Jake was murdered in cold blood by Master Chaos.”

The temperature in the room seemed to drop a notch or two. All of my anger and annoyance at Dad for getting onto me for doing the right thing vanished. I sat forward, looking at Dad with worry than before. “Uncle Jake was murdered by Master Chaos?”

“Indeed,” said Dad, sitting back in the couch. He suddenly looked a lot older, like his memories had added an extra decade or two to his life. “Just a few short months after you were born. Uncle Jake did get to see you before he died. In fact, that's why your middle name is Jake; it was your mother's and my way of honoring the man who brought us together.”

“But … why?” I said. “Why did Master Chaos murder Uncle Jake? Was he just a casualty in one of Master Chaos's plans or what?”

“Kevin, do you remember what I told you about Uncle Jake?” said Dad. “How I told you that he was a police officer?”

“Yeah,” I said. I paused and frowned. “Was that a lie, too?”

“No,” said Dad. “He actually was a police officer when he lived. But he was also a neohero known as the Crimson Fist.”

“The Crimson Fist?” I said. “I've heard of him. He could channel energy into his fist that made it glow red and allowed him to destroy anything he punched. I didn't know he was Uncle Jake, though.”

“No one did,” said Dad. “Your uncle was what we in the neohero community called a 'mask,' which means that he did not reveal his secret identity to the world. Only a few trusted people knew his secret identity as Jake Williamson, such as your mother, and eventually myself.”

“Is that how you met Uncle Jake?” I said. “While fighting crime?”

“We were both members of the Neohero Alliance,” said Dad. “Despite our differing personalities and powers, we nonetheless became good friends and worked together on a variety of missions. We grew to trust one another and so eventually revealed our secret identities to each other, which is one of the most difficult thing for masks to do. He was the best man at our wedding and I would have been the best man at his, too, if he hadn't been killed.”

Dad spoke nostalgically, but there was a definite sadness to his words, almost regret. It was very much unlike Dad, who was usually an emotionless robot.

“So why did Master Chaos kill Uncle Jake?” I said.

“Your uncle had been a persistent thorn in Master Chaos's side for a long time,” said Dad. “In fact, Master Chaos suffered his first major defeat at your uncle's hands. So Master Chaos began to see the Crimson Fist as his archenemy, but he didn't actively try to kill your uncle until he finally lost patience with Uncle Jake and decided to kill him once and for all.”

“What did he do?” I said.

“Master Chaos came up with a plan to capture and kill your uncle,” said Dad. “I remember it well. There were reports of Master Chaos rampaging through Brooklyn, where your uncle and I were visiting your mother. Because we were the closest NHA members at the time, we went to stop Master Chaos or at least keep him occupied long enough for other NHA members to arrive and beat him.

“But when we got there, Master Chaos was nowhere to be seen. We thought that maybe he had learned that we were coming and had fled on his own, but then we noticed that the manhole cover to the sewers had been removed, so we went down there intending to chase him down there.”

“Did you?” I said.

“He did, but it was actually a trap he set for us,” said Dad. “Master Chaos and his flunkies separated us. They pinned me to the wall and broke my gauntlets so I couldn't use my tech and then ganged up on Jake. Jake fought well, but in the end, Master Chaos murdered him and left his body in the sewers to rot.”

Dad spoke like he was still there in the sewers, watching as Master Chaos killed Uncle Jake in front of his eyes. In fact, Dad seemed to have forgotten that I was even there, because he wasn't even looking at me. His eyes seemed distant and unfocused, which was unusual for him, because Dad was always so focused and clearheaded.

“So he killed him?” I said. “Right before your eyes?”

Dad nodded. “I managed to free myself, but by the time I did, Master Chaos was long gone. I guess he did not think I was worth killing or maybe he was afraid of backup from the NHA coming. In any case, I returned to the surface with Jake's body in tow. I broke the news to your mother.”

“Wow,” I said. “Is that why you defeated Master Chaos?”

“Yes,” said Dad. “After Jake's funeral, I made it my mission to track down and capture Master Chaos. It was hard because Master Chaos's chaotic powers meant that normal tracking equipment doesn't work on him, but eventually I did track him down to his headquarters and beat him once and for all. Or so I thought, anyway.”

Dad sounded angry now, like just talking about Master Chaos was enough to make his blood boil. It was very strange to me, again because Dad always acted very stoic.

“It was your uncle's death that made me to decide to retire from active crime-fighting and raise you with your mother,” said Dad. He removed his glasses from his face and started rubbing his eyes, which I noticed looked a little teary. “Jake never married, but he did have a girlfriend who he was planning to propose to. In fact, he planned to propose to her that very day and would have if Master Chaos hadn't attacked.”

“You didn't want to miss out on raising me,” I said.

“Exactly,” said Dad as he put his glasses back on his face. “I had always known that the life of a neohero is dangerous, but until then I hadn't seriously realized what would happen if I died and left you and your Mom without me.”

“Is that why Mom doesn't like me training?” I said. “Is it because of Uncle Jake's death?”

“Yes,” said Dad. “Jake and your Mom were very close, so when he died, she was devastated. I didn't want her to go through that again, so I retired from superheroics. It was a hard decision to make, but a necessary one.”

I nodded. I looked down at the floor, thinking about what Dad told me. I wished I had known about how Uncle Jake had died sooner, but I understood why my parents had not told me. It also made me rethink the superhero life; at the very least, I was now more aware of its dangers.

But I wasn't really angry at Mom or Dad for not telling me this. No, I understood why they wouldn't want to talk about how Uncle Jake died. I understood that they just wanted me to live a normal life and that they didn't want me to get involved in that sort of danger. They were just being good parents.

No, I was angry at Master Chaos. Originally, I was just scared of him, mostly scared that he was going to harm me and my family. I dreaded facing him in battle, even with my super strength, because Master Chaos was one of the most powerful supervillains in the world.

Now, however, I wanted to punch him out. I wanted to avenge my uncle. I couldn't stand the idea that the man who killed my uncle and brought so much grief to my family was still out there, free and able to do what he wanted. I felt my super strength coursing through my body, but I kept it under control so I would not flip out and start tearing the room apart.

“Now, Kevin, I don't want you going after Master Chaos,” said Dad.

I looked at Dad in surprise. “How did you know I was thinking about that? Telepathy?”

“No, I just understand you,” said Dad. “You and me are more alike than you might think. I can see the same desire to avenge your uncle in your eyes that I felt when I first saw that monster kill Jake.”

“Then why don't we do it?” I said. I stood up. “I'm ready to go hunt that bastard down. I'll work with the NHA or the G-Men or whoever if that is what I need to do.”

“Because you aren't ready,” said Dad, still sitting on the couch and looking up at me. “If you try to fight Master Chaos now, you will get killed. He's too powerful for you. I only told you about our family's connection with him because I wanted you to understand why your Mom and I do not want you to become a superhero.”

“But—”

“No buts,” said Dad, holding up a finger to silence me. “I knew you would react this way, but that does not justify intentionally putting your life at risk just to defeat him. Stay here and train and learn how to use your powers; that way, if he does manage to get here, you will be prepared to defend yourself from him.”

Dad's logic was sound. As angry as I was, even I knew that I was no match for Master Chaos yet. It made more sense to stay here and train than to go searching for the man who killed my uncle.

But if I stayed and waited, then Master Chaos would eventually come here and harm not just me, but my family as well. I wanted to stop him before he ever even saw our house, but it was obvious that I couldn't.

So I nodded at Dad and said, “All right. I'll stay here and focus on my training, like you want me to.”

Dad smiled in relief. “Wonderful. Now I think that is all we need to talk about, so if you want to go to your room, you can. I have to speak with the NHA and find out if they have any new information on Master Chaos's whereabouts.”

With that, Dad stood up and left the living room, leaving me standing alone here.

But I didn't stand around forever. Hauling my backpack over my shoulder, I made my way back to my room, thinking about everything Dad told me. I hadn't been lying when I told him that I was going to stay here and not go after Master Chaos. I didn't want to create any unnecessary worry or fear for my parents, not after I learned about Uncle Jake's death and how that had affected Mom and Dad.

Yet neither could I just be a good boy and train like Dad wanted me. I wanted to do something, something that would ensure our safety. I didn't look forward to having Master Chaos show up on our front porch and break down our front door. I wanted to make sure that Master Chaos would not come to our house and harm us.

And I knew how to do it.