Free Life Light by R.J. Ross

wanted to cover up the drinking. I know exactly how this works.”
    “Aren’t you a super villain?” Rylon demands as he turns to his parents. “You definitely can’t believe HIM!” he tells his dad, waving a hand back at Jack. A metal ball flicks past his head, slamming into the ground in front of him.
    “Kid might not be offended at being called a liar, but I ain’t so nice,” Jack says coldly. “I like healers. That’s why I’m taking your girl.”
    “You are NOT taking her,” Trent says. “We would like to enroll your daughter in Cape High, sir.”
    “My daughter is NOT a super,” the man says. “She might have told you something along those lines out of delusion--“
    “Marcus,” a woman says from behind him, “let them take her.”
    “But Mercy--“
    “I said, let them take her,” the woman says, stepping out onto the front step. She’s an ample, beautiful black woman with her hair up in a shower cap. Her robe is bright pink, her slippers match, and she's barely over five feet tall. “My grandmother had the gift. I told you that a hundred times, but you never made the connection! Our Alyssa has the gift!”
    “You’re talking that crazy talk again, honey--your grandma was some sort of voodoo witch doctor--“
    “She was NOT a voodoo witch doctor! Sure she seemed a little off, but the gift does that to you! It hurts, honey. It’s not an easy gift to have.”
    Marcus runs a hand over his face, groaning. “Can’t we have a doctor fix her?”
    “Sir, the school can help her,” Trent says, “but we’ll need to put her in the dorm--you’re too far from our school for her to stay here.”
    Jack almost argues, but he closes his mouth quickly, simply standing there with his arms around the girl. She’s starting to squirm and look around curiously. “What’s keeping this thing up?” she demands abruptly.
    “I am.”
    “And what’s keeping you up? We’re going to go plunging to the ground any moment--“ she lets out a yelp as they do exactly that, clinging to him tightly until he starts to laugh. Then she smacks his arm. “That wasn’t funny!”
    “Sure it was!”
    “I’m arguing with a super villain,” she says, as if only just now realizing it.
    “Hey, you want to see Life Light?” he asks silently, pulling out his smartphone. “This is her,” he says, showing her his wallpaper. The girl in the picture is average looking, although the dog hanging his head over her shoulder isn’t. “Cute, ain’t she?” he brags. “She’s wanted to meet another one like her for forever.”
    “At least tell Cold Steel to let our daughter go,” Marcus says, shooting worried glances at the two on the surfboard.
    “I’ll show you more later,” Jack said, letting go. Alyssa jumps down as quickly as possible.
    “What sort of school is this Cape High?” Mercy asks. “If I’m going to send my baby off to live with strangers, I expect to know all about it!”
    “We’ll tell you,” Jack says, dropping off of his board and walking right past Alyssa’s brother. He stops, right in front of the other teen, looking him straight in the eye. “You, I’ll deal with later.”
    Then, as Alyssa’s brother looks like he’s going to throw up, he walks right on past.
    “Why are you coming?” Marcus asks.
    “You didn’t know? Cape High teaches both heroes and villains,” Jack says. “I’m a Cape High student, too.”
    “It’s true,” Trent admits. “He’s also my brother.”
    “I--I see,” Marcus says. “Family dinners must be really interesting, then.”
    “I want to meet your father!” Mercy declares.
    “I’m sure he’d like to meet you, as well, ma’am,” Trent says with a slight smile.
     
    ***
     
    "HELLLOOOO, Doris!" Skye yells at the top of her voice as she sinks through the ceiling of her new secret base. "I've just come to pick up some clothes—"
    "There's no food in the house, whatsoever." The muscular woman is dressed in some of Skye's clothing, but it doesn't