My Brother's Keeper (a Superman story)

Chapter 19: Internal Fears

I sat in my room while my brother talked to my mom. Rüya had calmed down and ended up staying at Laurel's and Sara's tonight, since their parents were off on vacation till the weekend, so it was the perfect hiding spot for her.

            Bottom line, she knew my brother was Superman, as did Lucy. Neither was freaked out but were in awe that a farm boy was, in fact, the man of steel.

            Then there was my Meta ability. I had the ability to slow down molecules to the point where they stayed frozen and suspended, in mid-air. I had no idea what to call this power, freezing, or maybe molecular immobilization.

            I suppose we could stick to calling it 'freezing' since it was that. Just minus the whole turning anything into ice.

            Sneaking out of the house turned out to be a piece of cake, as my brother, mom, and Lois was explaining the seriousness of keeping my brother's identity a secret.

            From what I could hear, from eavesdropping on them with my enhanced hearing, Lucy had gracefully agreed to maintain this family secret, as did Rüya. Though, she and I were going to have to have a conversation about it when she was in a better state of mind.

            As I walked down the streets of Smallville, I came across a disposable mask, or two, or three, or a whole bunch.

            It was odd. I remembered the days before the pandemic when people typically walked around without worrying about catching a deadly disease. Sure, COVID was now just another flu or cold but every now and then, people wore a mask out of safety and consideration.

            I even had one on now, because while my Kryptonian powers were coming into fruition, I still did not know if I could still catch it, or not. It was easy to assume I wouldn't because of my Kryptonian DNA activating my powers but because I was half-human, it was also safe to say I could still get sick and pass it out to others, regardless if I was symptomatic, or not.

            Right now, I was scared of myself. I was scared of these powers, I was scared that maybe deep down I was a bad guy and would misuse them. I was afraid of having them and even more so, scared that they would corrupt me in some way.

            After all, there were Metas out there who loved causing trouble and misusing their abilities to rob, steal, and take advantage of those less fortunate.

            What if I became just like them?

            The clouds were a little darker than normal and the wind was picking up. It was giving me the impression that rain was likely about to fall. Then my mind roamed over to my Aunt Nour and her secrets suddenly came to light.

            I realized I did not know her, at all. The Aunt I loved and admired, who always gave me advice whenever I needed it, especially during my brother's absence, was of Kryptonian origins and had failed to mention it, ever.

            It was making me wonder if she had an ulterior motive, and if all these years she was manipulating not just me, but my mom and brother. Even Clark did not know she too shared his heritage.

            After walking around, aimlessly and without direction, I walked into Victoria May's diner, ordered myself a hot chocolate, and decided to kill some time before dealing with the madness at home.

            Something on my TV caught my attention, and it was a documentary about the Salem Witch Trials of the 1600s.

            It was talking about how a lot of women, and occasionally men, would be accused of practicing witchcraft and all that, and how the town's people would create these mobs and order their executions to be carried out by burning them alive at the stake. Yeah, it was history, alight, but one dark chapter in the history of this country.