Chapter 17

17

“What do you mean, evaluate ?”

“It’s something a boss is supposed to do with his employees. I think.”

Across the desk, sitting in his leather chair, Arthur looked as uncomfortable as me. Were the arms of his seat also digging into his thighs? With a click of the mouse, a blue screen hovered above the desk. My photo sat in the top corner, hands trying to grab the camera while my face contorted in horror. Janet had hidden in the supply closet waiting for me. I’d get my revenge.

“This is a chance to catch up, just you and me. Overall, I have nothing but good things to say.” Oh? I sat up a little straighter. “You’ve been doing an outstanding job onboarding new heroes. I’ve been receiving emails praising you for a job well done.”

The evaluations at Coffee! Coffee! Coffee! were around me being aggressively happy, whatever that meant. Hearing Arthur say I had done a good job meant the world to me. There were only a handful of humans I wanted to impress. My alter ego was doing as much good as Mr. Supreme.

“Lyric and Photon called this morning. They’re forming a new group and want us to help them get started. I know we hadn’t planned to move to the second phase of the release, but we might be there.”

Arthur’s fist pumped in the air. “We need more A-List supers. Wyatt, this is great news.”

He swatted at the screen, and it vanished. Relaxing in his chair, he laced his fingers and rested them on his belly. I’d describe Arthur as a handsome man. He had the mandatory beard and a little extra padding in the midsection. It took a moment to figure out what was missing. Unlike Dustin, he didn’t exude an abundance of confidence.

“How are you doing?” Arthur asked.

“I’m close to hitting my quota. I have my feelers out in the?—”

“Forget that.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk. “I can see the numbers. How are you ?”

“Me?”

“Yes, you?”

“Wyatt?”

He dragged a hand down his face. “Yes, you. Wyatt Supreme.” When I didn’t answer, his head tilted to the side. “How are you adjusting to human life? Are the sessions with Kiki going well?”

“It’s super.” It wasn’t a lie. The nerves since joining Secret Identities had washed away. I got along with Drew and Orion and considered them friends. I had even learned to navigate the boss’s devilish sister. Despite that, I don’t think that’s what Arthur wanted to know. Humans had a knack for not saying what they meant. It made conversations incredibly aggravating.

“I had my first date with Dustin.”

Arthur smiled. “How did it go?”

“Horrible. At first. I took Orion and Drew’s advice?—”

“That’s your first mistake.”

“We played miniature golf. I defeated the clown and walked away victorious.” Arthur held up a finger, ready to interrupt, but then remained silent. “I liked my first date. There needs to be more dates with him. I want to do everything with him.”

“Sounds like you have a crush.”

I glanced at my hands. “I tried very hard to not crush him.”

Arthur shook his head before giving a light laugh. I respected Arthur and what he wanted to do with the company. It made me happy to help protect Vanguard when I wasn’t wearing a cape. The reason I liked the man was that, even when my alien heritage shone through, he’d take the time to explain it.

“A crush is how humans describe a feeling in our chests. It’s when you like somebody, and you’re not sure they feel the same way. Buddy, it sounds like you have a crush on Dustin.”

I thought about it for a moment. I don’t think this was quite what he described. “What is it called when you know they feel the same?”

“For all the weird words we invent, we don’t have nearly enough to describe what you’re going through.” Arthur’s cheeks turned red as the smile grew. “Love is a good word.”

Humans used the word love in such weird ways. I loved chocolate. I loved getting a pat on the shoulder for a job well done. The emotions, the swelling in my chest when I thought of him, surpassed even a Fudgy bar.

“I can see it on your face. This is complicated and not just for you. Humans aren’t great at expressing it.”

“Why not?”

Arthur let out a low whistle. “It’s a difficult word because nobody experiences it quite the same way. I love Ricardo. I know he loves me. We show it in different ways. Ricardo is an intense man, and even after all we’ve been through, I wonder if we’re on the same page.”

That sounded complicated. “Then how do you know you love each other?”

Arthur rested a hand on his chest. “When he cooks for me, I can see it. When I fall asleep on the couch, and he carries me to bed, I know it’s there.”

I thought about how Dustin sat down next to me during my lunch break. I experienced it, but when he pulled out the Fudgy bar. He came into my life like a tornado, and I wanted to be better because of him. At the same time, he accepted me just as I was.

“I love Dustin,” I whispered. It felt good to say it.

“Just be careful with that word. Humans have lots of self-imposed rules around using it.”

“If I feel it, why wouldn’t I say it?”

Arthur stood and walked around his desk. He gestured for me to stand. As soon as I did, he threw his arms around my chest, embracing me as tightly as a human could.

“Wyatt, sometimes you make a better human than the rest of us.”

“Hey!” Janet had stormed into the office. “I was told we weren’t allowed to cop a feel anymore.”

“I’m not touching his butt,” Arthur barked. “We’re celebrating Wyatt falling hard.”

Janet jumped in, wrapping her arms around us both. “Is this because of the security guard? Wyatt, don’t let that sexy beefcake get away. If you don’t wreck him, I’ll have to.”

“Janet!”

For the longest time, I thought she wanted to fight every man she found handsome. It took a while before I learned wreck had multiple meanings. Despite that, I feared Janet’s idea of sexy time included more than a little physical prowess.

Arthur let go, stepping between me and his sister. “I think we’re done with your evaluation.” He gave me a pat on the shoulder. “Consider it an outstanding job.”

“Evaluations? Why wasn’t I informed?” Janet’s eyes narrowed as she shoved her brother out of the way. “I need to do an evaluation of my own.”

Arthur waved his arms, blocking his sister from reaching me. “Run, Wyatt. I’ll hold her off as long as I can.”

A moment later, she had Arthur slung over her shoulder. He kicked and screamed as she spun him about. I stepped into the hallway and pulled the door shut. Drew had poked his head out of his office, a curious eyebrow raised.

“Janet.” As if it explained everything, he nodded his head and returned to work. “Humans are odd creatures,” I mumbled as I headed toward my office. As I shut my door, I checked the clock on the wall, counting the hours until my next encounter with Dustin.

I spent so much time hiding amongst the humans. Maybe it was time I exposed him to my origin? This would require a trip north.

“Where are we heading?”

Dustin rolled onto his back. He had his arms crossed as we soared through the skies. I couldn’t help but smirk at the burly man. It was odd seeing him flying without his costume. For what I had planned, there wouldn’t be any need for secret identities.

“It’s a surprise.”

After twenty minutes of zipping through the air, we reached the mountains. We descended until we sped along an old logging road. We slowed our approach and took a turn down a gravel road. Nestled deep within the woods, away from the bustle of city life, we approached the most important place on the planet.

We landed on a stone path leading through raised flower beds filled with vegetables. I made a show of sucking in the air, savoring the scent of pine mixed with lavender.

“Where are we?”

“I wanted you to meet?—”

“Wyatt!”

Walking down the porch steps, Earth Mom covered her face. Behind her stood the large log cabin she and her husband had built. She said they designed it to blend in with the surroundings, to be part of the forest. For me, it’d always be home.

She opened her arms, inviting me into a hug. I had debated calling ahead, but I wanted it to be a surprise. Charging up the path, I wrapped my arms around my favorite person on the planet. I squeezed as our feet left the ground.

“Let me get a look at you.” She had her hands on my face, turning my head this way and that. “Are you eating enough?” Before I could reply, she added, “More than chocolate?”

Her hair had always been a dull gray, but since I saw her last, it had turned a vibrant white. It flowed down her shoulders to her light blue sundress. The freckles on her cheeks were more pronounced, and I counted extra lines around her eyes. Even though I hadn’t seen her in almost a year, she remained a beautiful woman.

“Who do we have here?”

“Earth Mom?—”

“Mom.”

“Er... Earth Mom.”

“Fine.”

“Earth Mom, I want you to meet Dustin.”

She didn’t hesitate as she let go and gave him a hug. “Let me guess, he didn’t tell you that you’d be meeting me.” She kept an arm over his shoulder. “I don’t think my son understands the significance of introducing somebody to Mom.”

My head cocked to the side, unsure of what she meant. I had wanted Dustin to meet my favorite human. The way they grinned, I didn’t need to ask. I had unknowingly waded into a human tradition.

Dustin laughed. “It’s part of his charm.”

“Wyatt, humans consider introducing your man-friend to your mom a big deal. That’s a huge step in the dating process.”

She always explained their traditions, but this time I didn’t care. I wanted my favorite humans to meet. “Can we have some cocoa?”

She signaled for Dustin to follow. “He can’t visit without his cup of cocoa. If you haven’t figured out, this boy has a sweet tooth.”

“Oh, you don’t have to tell me,” he said.

It only took a moment before Dustin relaxed. As they passed, her arm still around his shoulders, he tugged on my hand. Earth Mom had already started peppering him with questions.

“So you’re one of those heroes he tells me about?”

“Uhm…”

“There are no secrets here, child.” That didn’t seem to alleviate his fears. “I raised an alien and taught him to keep his powers under control. Nothing has surprised me in years.”

I followed them into the house and kicked off my shoes in the hallway. Even after all this time, the smell of burned wood and vanilla reminded me of home. I didn’t care if it wasn’t customary to introduce a friend to Earth Mom. I wanted Dustin to meet the person who knew all my secrets.

“Have yourselves a seat, and I’ll get the cocoa going.”

I rushed down the hall into the kitchen. Pulling out a chair for Dustin, he took a seat. I scooted next to him, a smile stapled on my face. My fingers traced the knots in the table, a piece of wood Earth Mom’s former husband cut down. Indoors for seconds, and I already missed the simplicity of living in the woods.

“So, tell me, how did you boys meet?”

“A fiendish beast from the pits of hell attempted to kill me.”

She shot Dustin a curious look. “A mouse escaped from the lab?—”

“We don’t use that word,” she said.

He chuckled. “I’m the security guard at the company. I saved him from the tiny whiskered terror.” Dustin slid a hand under the table, resting it on my thigh. “Your son is pretty amazing.”

“You don’t need to tell me. If you had told me, ‘Lilly, someday you’re going to find a spaceship in the woods,’ I’d have laughed. But here we are.”

She had three mugs sitting on the counter while she filled the kettle with water. This had been our routine for years. Every day, after finishing our chores and bringing in the haul from the garden, she’d make cocoa. The one time we had run out, I turned to run to the store and flew out the door. I received a lecture when I returned.

“How’s the work going, punkin?”

“I had my evaluation today. Arthur said I’m doing outstanding.” I straightened my back, rather proud of the accomplishment. “Then Janet threatened to touch my butt.”

“Do I need to talk with Arthur’s sister?” she asked.

The thought of Earth Mom bursting through the lobby doors would have me hiding in my office. In a showdown between the two women, I didn’t know who would walk away victorious. With my luck, Janet would recruit her into the motorcycle gang.

“You should have seen him at the launch party. He looked pretty darned spiffy in his costume.”

“You heroes and your spandex. Did Wyatt tell you I sewed his first costume? That boy tore through it so fast. He’d go out to play hero, and before sundown, he’d be knocking at the door butt naked.”

My face turned bright red. It had been a lot less scary back then.

“Dustin and I have been teaming up in the field. Yesterday, we dealt with a mad scientist.”

“Who got away,” Dustin added. “Not our finest moment.”

The kettle gave a low whistle before Earth Mom took it off the burner. “You can’t win them all. I’m sure they’ll show up again. They always make a nuisance of themselves.”

“If Earth Mom had her way, she’d be my sidekick.”

“Enough with the superhero stuff,” she said, sliding mugs in front of us. She took a seat opposite us at the table. Outside, the breeze picked up, and the wind chimes rang out a soothing melody. The sunlight from the windows warmed the kitchen, making the oranges of the wood surfaces almost glow.

She glanced between Dustin and me, the smile on her face growing. “I want to hear about the boring stuff.”

“You’ve raised a go-getter. Rumor is, he’s knocking it out of the park at work.” Dustin raised the cocoa to his lips, blowing at the steam. “They’re going to change?—”

“Not boring enough,” she chimed in.

Dustin glanced at me from the corner of his eye. Earth Mom had a tone that could stop the boldest of men in their tracks. Her lips pursed, but made no move to tell us what she wanted. Her attention turned to Dustin, as if he had the answer she wanted. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I felt like I had walked into one of those situations that only humans understood.

“Our first date was horrible,” Dustin said.

“There we go!” She took a sip from her mug.

“I made the mistake of trying to impress him with a fancy restaurant.” Dustin laughed. “I don’t know about you, but I was so uncomfortable.”

“I couldn’t read the menu.”

“It was French… I think? I realized I botched our first date.”

“He fixed it,” I added.

Earth Mom rested her elbows on the table, gently blowing at the steam rising from her mug. The more Dustin spoke, the bigger the smile. I understood the effect. Every time he chuckled, I had to fight the urge to plant a kiss on his cheek.

“We wound up playing mini golf.”

“Good man!” Normally an even-tempered woman, it was rare to see her this excited. “How did that go?” She stared directly into my eyes.

“The first ball is somewhere in orbit.” She snickered at the comment. “For a first-timer, he played pretty good. Though…” He turned to me. “I forgot to ask. What is your issue with clowns?”

“Evil,” Earth Mom and I said in unison.

Dustin blinked in disbelief. A moment later, he laughed hard enough that his belly shook the table. I couldn’t help but join in, and when I spotted Earth Mom doing the same, something felt… right.

“I see where he gets it from,” Dustin said.

It might have been taboo to introduce Dustin to Earth Mom. Customs be damned. Two of my favorite people enjoyed the other’s company. I couldn’t have asked for more. If I wanted Dustin in my life, and I wanted him there all the time, I needed to make sure I had approval. As she wiped the tears from her eyes, I got just that.

“Has he told you about the time a bat got into the house?”

No. I had run from the shower in a panic. The night rodent had attacked. There was no fighting back. The only option was to abandon the cabin and start a new life far, far away.

“This I’ve got to hear…”

“You still have it?”

I pulled open the doors to the woodshed. Once upon a time, it was used to store tools and enough split wood to survive the harshest of winters. Now, it had become where Earth Mom hid her gardening tools. In the back, a blue tarp hid my origin.

“Earth Mom says we can’t throw it away.”

Dustin followed me in. “True. Not sure a scrap yard would know what to do with an alien spaceship.”

I pulled the tarp off. It wasn’t a giant spaceship like in the movies. It had enough room for me to lie down. I had spent hours staring at it, hoping it might spark a memory. I remember it in the forest after I crash landed, but I couldn’t recall much before the moment the door hissed open.

“It’s a stasis pod,” he said.

“When I landed, it wasn’t far from a city. I met a man.”

“Your Earth dad?”

I shook my head. “A scientist.” I didn’t like thinking about the men in white coats. He spoke in a soft tone and appeared harmless. I regretted trusting him. “He took me to his… work. They did experiments on me.”

“I’m so sorry.” His hand rested in the middle of my back. “I see why you don’t like them.”

He had taken me to a gray building made entirely of concrete. Inside, there were bright lights and loud drilling noises. I thought it might be where he lived, but that was before they strapped me down to a metal table. If I closed my eyes, I could still see their faces covered in white masks as they leaned over. “I got away and ran into the woods. That’s where I met Earth Mom. She wasn’t like them. I remember being hungry and unable to speak her language. She figured it out. She’s smart.”

“Did she give you a Fudgy bar?”

I glanced at him, eyebrow raised. Could he read minds? Did his powers let him transcend space and time? “How did you know?”

“Intuition.” That didn’t answer anything! “Can I touch it?”

I nodded. “When she realized I wasn’t from Earth, we went searching for the ship. We found it buried in the woods and brought it back. It’s the only thing I have from Halo.”

Dustin’s fingers touched the glass front, and it dematerialized. “Whoa.” As soon as the hatch opened, a hologram of my father appeared. I had watched it a thousand times. I could recite it from memory.

“What’s he saying?”

“We’ll have to work on your Halorian.” My father wore a blue vest with matching pants. He was speaking to me, I assume.

“He’s saying I will be Earth’s protector, an emissary from Halo.” When it reached the end, it cut off mid-sentence. “Your only weakness will be…”

“Now I understand. And you still haven’t figured it out?”

Years later, and I still didn’t know what on Earth could be used against me. Fire? No, I had ruled that out. Fragments of my home world? No luck with that one yet. The color yellow? It was an ugly color.

He wrapped an arm around my waist. “I think I get it. Hard to be a hero when you don’t know what will do you in.”

Other than Earth Mom, I kept secrets from everybody in my life. Work only knew half my origin story. If they found out the truth, would they look at me differently? What about the other heroes? I didn’t want to hide secrets from Dustin. I avoided looking at his face, fearful I’d see disappointment in his eyes.

“Wyatt, you’re braver than you give yourself credit.” He pulled me closer, tightening his grip on my waist. “We all have a fear of something.”

He spun me about and lifted my chin with a finger. There wasn’t disappointment, or at least none that I could find. With hands holding my face, he gave me a peck on the nose.

Each touch pushed my fears further away. Not about dying; those would take time. My worry that he’d think less of me vanished when his lips pressed against mine.

The feelings I discussed with Arthur surged. I didn’t know how to put them into words, not in a way that made logical sense. Dustin wrapped his arms around my chest and gave me a hug. My ribs ached as he squeezed, and I never wanted it to end.

“If you’re ever scared, find me.”

“You’ll protect me?”

He shook his head. “No. I’ll stand by you while you protect yourself.”

Love. I understood why humans chased it, why they craved having it in their lives. It bordered on euphoric and, at the same time, a little terrifying. I remembered the conversation with Arthur and bit my tongue. I had already committed one human faux pas today. This one would have to wait until tomorrow.

“Thanks for sharing this with me,” he said.

“You get me.”

“I’m starting to.” He gave my ass a slap as he turned me toward the door. “And I’m liking what I see. Come on. I don’t want to be late for dinner.”

Or dessert!