James Knight: Teenage Superhuman - Book Three

Two

Dexter and Thomas sat down with our family after I returned from my coma. We all had an important family meeting about Alexander, Maximus, my ex-girlfriend, Mia, and how the world knew about us and our toxic family history.

We packed a big office room in the quiet police station with our family, a bunch of cops, detectives, F.B.I., firefighters, and paramedics. Outside was a madhouse of devoted fans gathering on our front lawn, waiting to glimpse at our superhuman family.

"So," my father cleared his throat, standing in the room's corner. "Max was staying at the Hilliary Inn from the Brizard coffee and doughnuts shop. The lieutenant sent a few detectives and F. B. I. agents to investigate, but by the time we checked it out, he was two steps ahead of us."

"Typical," Mark scoffed, sucking in a sharp breath. "He already knew I would snitch at some point. I don't understand why you didn't see that coming before."

"We did," Andrew butted in, pulling away from the wall. "That's why we had the F. B. I. find as much scrubbed evidence as possible on Mia and him, and we contacted your father in Arizona." Mark pushed his lips together, anxiously inviting silence for a second.

"What did he say?" Mark asked suddenly.

"He was mad and wants you to come home at some point, but he trusts you a lot," Conner said.

Mark huffed. "That sounds like him," He said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat, wedged between Noah and Bryce. Bryce slipped his hand with Mark's and squeezed tightly, comforting him.

"Where do we fit in?" Joshua spoke up, his green eyes on the pastries before him. One agent stepped forward, his eyes meeting Joshua's.

"Your supers, right?" He asked. His eyes shifted to his parents in the corner, and he waited for a nod.

"Yep," he said, avoiding the agent's gaze as his eyes darted across the room in my direction.

"Well, kid." The lieutenant spoke up. "We have enrolled you all in a new military superhero program we've started," he said. I watch Josh and his siblings' muscles tense in fear, shifting into position as if they would pounce. Even Noah and Bryce were on edge. I felt terrible for them. Just as they thought they had escaped the government darkness they lived through, it came back to bite them in the ass again.

"I promise all of you; it's nothing like what Alexander did to you." Sam cleared the tense silence, reassuring his children they were safe. "It's completely your choice this time, and your mother and I will be with you the whole time, along with your cousins and uncles," Sam added, his eyes landing on Dexter in the background. Dexter nodded back at him.

"I'll do it," Derek stated.

"Well, I'm not playing this bullshit game again." Wesley's arms shot up in frustration as he stood.

"I'm out too," Lucas said, following Wes out of the room.

"How do we know we can trust you?" Grace suddenly spoke up. "How do we know this is just another one of Alexander's manipulative tricks?"

"I assure you, young lady, your uncle has now been placed on a fugitive terrorist list and is the most wanted man. We have agents searching for him as we speak right now." The lieutenant told her.

"I'll do it as long as Mark does it," Bryce added. Suddenly, Noah's eyes met with Bryce's.

"What the fuck, Bryce. You want to do this to yourself?" Noah snapped.

"Yeah, Noah. If Dad says we're in safe hands, I trust him."

"You're bloody unbelievable," Noah snapped, pulling away from his seat. "But as Dad said, it's your choice, so I can't stop you," Noah stormed, passing a row of agents and officers out of the room.

"I'll do it," Grayson said.

"Me too," Johnathan and Mark said in unison. They exchanged glances and nodded as Bryce squeezed Mark's hand. Then, all eyes landed on me.

"I don't even have my full strength, so I don't know why you're looking at me."

"We know," my father said. "They want to help you regain your powers." I looked at Claire briefly, her eyes meeting mine as she nodded. My mind raced to my unborn children. Did I want to put them through this too?

"I-I'll think about it," I stuttered. Did I even want my full strength back? Was being only half the super I used to be enough to stop Max and Alexander? Was it even worth it? Part of me wished for my powers to return to protect Claire and the babies, but I still wanted to be human again. It was a constant battle to be normal, but now that the universe knew my secret, it was too late to go backward. I had no other choice.

∆∆∆

Claire and I snuggled under my bunches of sheets. I balled my shirt up at the end of the mattress, but we refused to have any foreplay because of the quickly approaching birth of our twins. I laid one hand on her stomach, feeling my babies move and readjust in her womb, trying to avoid triggering superhuman blows to her gut and my palm.

Claire placed her hand on mine. "Are you doing the program?" Claire asked.

"The superhuman program?" I clarified with her. She nodded, rubbing her thumb against the side of my hand.

"Yeah," she said.

"I don't have my full strength, babe," I stated. "I'm not even sure if it will return."

"You can't think like that, James," she soothed me, rubbing my hand. "It will return at some point, and then you can aid in the search for Henry."

"I can't keep pretending I don't want a normal life."

"Your life isn't normal, James," Claire stated. "I love you, whether you have your powers or stay like this for the rest of your life, but you have to trust your uncle and everyone else. We all think this is best for you."

"Alright, alright," I shifted under the covers. "I'll tell them I want to join whenever I get the chance," I told her. I hoped that was enough to keep her safe and satisfied. Her hand pressed against mine as the babies gave one big kick, and I laughed.

"The twins agree with your choice, too," she said, mid-giggle.

"I know," I said back. "How long did the doctor say we had until you enter labor?"

"Three weeks," she said, slipping her hand in mine. Three weeks wasn't much time to prepare for babies, let alone superhuman ones. We still had yet to finish the nursery, and we had a lot of things to buy before the babies came. Claire and I were still worried about Max and Mia at school, but we knew we had an advantage with everyone working together to protect her. The minute the babies would come, we hoped things would be easier to control.