My Secret Identity

By Ryan Bartlett

Chapter 15

The crowd came to a horrible realization. The Boy Wonder must be dead. While there had been some sobs earlier, now they were multiplied as the crowd wept as one. He was their hero. He was only a boy, a good and noble boy who cared and used his gifts to protect people. He’d come there that day to protect them, and now he was gone. The crowd was so overwhelmed with grief they didn’t notice three teenagers with their hoods pulled up slipping past them. Spencer and Miranda didn’t take note of the trio until one of them knelt with them and took Bobby’s hand.

“Oh Bobby, I’m so sorry,” Jenna sniffled.

“H-how do you know him?” Spencer asked and took note of her companions. One of the hooded boys had his hand over his eyes, the other let his tears fall freely, his green eyes full of rage. Suddenly it dawned on him; he knew these people. He hadn’t met them, but they’d been in Bobby’s dreams, and Bobby had always shared his dreams. “You’re the Wardens?”

“Yes,” Jenna nodded. “We came to help, but we were too late.”

Spencer wrapped his arms around Bobby. It was awkward in that position, but he had to do it. He had to hold Bobby one last time. He buried his face against his neck and sobbed.

“Fuck!” Jason swore, angry at the world and what it had done to his friend. Jeremy sobbed quietly.

Then something strange began to happen. As Spencer held Bobby he began to think about their lives together, about the love they shared. They were powerful memories that brought out powerful emotions, and as it happened Jenna saw Bobby’s chest rise and fall.

“What the…” she started.

“What?” Spencer looked up at her with tears in his eyes.

“How did that happen?”

“They were beating him. I think they broke his back and…” Spencer began.

“No, I mean, I just saw his chest rise and fall. What were you doing?”

“Me? I was just thinking about him. About how much he means to me,” Spencer broke into fresh sobs.

“Don’t stop,” said Jenna, excitedly as she took one of Spencer’s hands. “Jason, take my hand. Jeremy, take Jason’s and Spencer’s.”

“What’s going on?” asked Spencer. He and the Wardens were gathered around Bobby holding hands now. Jenna answered him with her mind.

Everyone, think about your strongest memories of Bobby. Every time he made you laugh, every special moment you shared, all of it, now, Jenna ordered.

Spencer did as he was told. He thought about the moment he first realized the naked boy he found in the woods was his long lost friend. He thought about how Bobby had taken a shotgun blast to the chest just to save him from those bank robbers. Jason thought about how Bobby had saved his life when he’d been knocked from the sky by a missile over British Columbia. Jeremy remembered how the blond boy had been the first of their team to fly and how he’d helped him learn to do it. Jenna remembered the first boy she’d ever kissed. She’d always had a crush on Jason; she knew she loved him. Kissing Bobby had been nothing more than childish experimentation, but he wasn’t like other boys. He didn’t run and tell his friends; he was sweet and kind and kept her secret.

Jenna looked down and saw the bruises fading from Bobby’s skin. His chest slowly rose and fell.

“Don’t stop,” said Jenna. “Concentrate, concentrate as hard as you can.”

The boys redoubled their efforts. They concentrated with all their might until they heard a weak cough. When they looked down, Bobby’s eyes were open. He coughed again and sat up slowly. The bruises were gone and the broken bones were healed.

“Well, that sucked,” said Bobby.

“Y-you were dead,” said Spencer.

“Not anymore,” Bobby smiled.

Spencer hugged him so tight he could have broken Bobby’s spine for the second time in a day.

“Thank God, oh thank God,” Spencer cried for joy.

“It’s ok,” Bobby whispered in his ear. “I’m alright. You’re not getting rid of me that easy.”

Spencer looked at Bobby and when his boyfriend winked, he burst out laughing and collapsed into his arms.

“How the hell did that happen?” asked Jason. The Wardens of the West were still gathered around their leader and his boyfriend.

“He did it,” said Jenna, pointing at Spencer. “He’s a healer.”

“Me?”

“I saw Bobby’s chest move when you were holding him. I had us hold hands and used our memories about Bobby to bolster yours,” Jenna explained.

“Holy shit,” Jeremy muttered. “How? I mean, no one we know developed the ability to heal.”

“It’s love, doofus,” Jenna smiled. “Jared once told me the mind can do powerful things when we love someone. I think it saved Bobby’s life.”

“That’s real cute,” Jason smiled, “but what about the fuckers that did this to him?”

“I’ve got a plan,” said Bobby as he stood up.

In the distance the crowd erupted in cheers. Their hero was alive!

“So, what’s the plan?” said Jason.

“Jenna, Spencer has also developed telepathy and telekinesis, but he’s not trained. If we sneak the two of you into the courtroom, can you guys take out the bastard that’s holding my dad?”

“Shouldn’t be a problem,” Jenna smiled and squeezed Spencer’s hand.

“Bobby, what about your mom?” said Spencer. Miranda was still passed out on the grass.

“Before you guys head up to the courtroom, wave those paramedics over to her. I don’t want to wake her now. We’ve gotta get dad first,” said Bobby, pointing to an ambulance near the courthouse.

“But what if…” Spencer began.

“I’ve gotta get dad first, Spence,” said Bobby. He desperately wanted to hug his mom, but not until he could reunite her with his dad.

“Yeah, I understand,” said Spencer.

“What do we do?” asked Jason.

“J, you’ll love this,” Bobby smiled and outlined his plan.

“You’re right, boss. I do love it.” Jason grinned when Bobby was finished.

As the team got ready to put the plan into action, Bobby hugged Spencer tightly.

“I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you too,” said Spencer.

“I know. You saved my life,” Bobby smiled. “Be careful up there?”

“Don’t worry about me. You just do what you have to do.”

Bobby kissed Spencer and the crowd watching them let out a surprised cheer. The Boy Wonder is gay, who knew? The boys blushed and then Bobby took off into the sky.

“Matthews, did you think I was done with you?” Bobby exclaimed, as he touched down on the ledge outside the courtroom.

“What the fuck,” said Vega. He and Willis rejoined Matthews when they thought the Boy Wonder was dead. They weren’t pleased to see him standing there, the picture of health, and rushed at him.

The two super-powered gang bangers tackled Bobby in mid-air. They weren’t expecting the Warden of Spokane and the Warden of Vancouver to be circling above them. Where it had been two against one, now it was three against two. The men and boys flew in a dizzying circle of violence outside the courthouse. Matthews’ attention was drawn to the fight outside until the window behind him shattered, and he turned to find a girl in a hooded sweatshirt and a green eyed boy standing defiantly.

Matthews smirked, but as he prepared to destroy them he was knocked backwards as though he’d been kicked in the chest. That was Spencer’s opening move. He’d flown in on Jenna’s back and while doing so they’d agreed: Bobby was his boyfriend; he got to draw first blood. Jenna was impressed with Spencer’s power, but he was untrained, so she used her mind to help him control his abilities along with her own powers. The two of them together was like pairing a rifle with a scope: they were deadly.

Matthews got to his feet, but before he could make a move Jenna used her powers to slam him against the marble floor. Matthews may have been strong on his own, but he was no match for the two teens. They battered him back and forth between them, and when he was on his knees Jenna attacked his mind. This time Spencer’s unbridled power enhanced hers. Matthews never screamed or cried out, but he did start to bleed from his eyeballs before dropping dead.

With Matthews gone, Spencer and Jenna strode to the window to watch the action outside.

The boys were taking hits, but they were giving as good as they got. As they wore their opponents down, Vega and Willis began to get tired and made clumsy mistakes. The Wardens of the West were fit, athletic teenagers whom the Watchers had trained to perfection. Vega and Willis were middle aged gang members who Idrid Crow plucked from the streets and slapped a few powers on. In the long run they were no match for the boys.

The gang bangers realized they weren’t going to be able to out fight the boys and decided to make a break for it. When they did so, Jason grabbed Willis in a choke hold and Jeremy grabbed his feet. The two super strong teens pulled in opposite directions until Willis’s head popped off like a Champagne cork. With that done, Jeremy and Jason went after Bobby and Vega.

Vega flew off as fast as he could, but Bobby was faster. The thug turned to make a final stand, and Bobby dealt a deathly blow to his sternum. The Boy Wonder was rewarded with the satisfying sound of his enemy’s bone snapping. Vega tried to escape again but found his path blocked by Jeremy and Jason, who had caught up. Bobby took careful aim and blasted Vega to oblivion with a concentrated burst of his heat vision.

The Wardens fell back on their training. While they could subdue mere human criminals, those with super powers had to be destroyed. There were no prisons that could hold them. There were no safe places they could be taken to keep them from harming others. Destruction was their destiny from the moment Idrid Crow took them.

When the boys returned to the courthouse victorious, they hugged Jenna and Spencer.

“God, I’m glad you guys showed up,” said Bobby, as he put his arm around Spencer’s waist and pulled him close.

“I’m only sorry we didn’t get here sooner,” said Jeremy.

“We had to wait for Jason to wake up. Typical,” Jenna smirked.

“I was picking my moment,” Jason grinned.

“You were picking your nose,” Jeremy teased.

Jason pounced on Jeremy and the two rolled around on the floor in one of their playful, and frequent, wrestling matches.

“Boys,” Jenna sighed and shook her head.

“So these are your friends?” said Spencer, turning to face Bobby.

“Yeah, but what can you do?” Bobby shrugged his shoulders and then laughed.

“Bobby?” a voice interrupted the team’s playful banter.

“Dad!” Bobby shouted. In the excitement he’d practically forgotten the reason he was there to begin with. He ran to his dad and hugged him tight.

Patrick wrapped his son in a powerful bear hug. Just a few minutes earlier he’d been certain he’d never see Miranda and his boy again. Now here stood Bobby, having just flown through a window with two other boys.

“What the…” Patrick started, as he ran his fingers over Bobby’s broken domino mask.

“It’s a long story, pop. Why don’t you come over and meet my friends?”

“Yeah. Yeah, ok,” said a bewildered Patrick.

Bobby introduced his dad to the Wardens of the West. There were more hugs and more laughs, but all too soon it was time to go. The other hostages in the room needed to get back to their families, and that meant the courtroom would soon be filled with police and reporters. The team exchanged numbers and agreed to get together in a few days. After all, they were supposed to be working together despite the distance from their respective homes. What’s a few hundred miles matter when you can fly?

That night Jim May was euphoric. He’d survived the day and captured the video of his career. He’d snuck quietly out of the courtroom when the confrontation was over. He wanted to review his tape before he shared it with his fellow journalists and collected his well-deserved Pulitzer Prize.

He’d captured everything. Matthews taking shots at the hostages, the arrival of the Boy Wonder, the bench that sent him flying from the court house. A few minutes went by and he recorded the return of the Boy Wonder, the attack by Vega and Willis and finally the arrival of a boy and girl who seemed to appear out of thin air to come crashing through the other window and destroy Matthews with nothing more than their minds.

The video was breathtaking, and as Jim thought about what his life would be like once he sold the tape, the last scene he recorded took shape on the screen. He captured the return of the Boy Wonder with two other teens. He watched them embrace their friends, he watched the Boy Wonder shout “Dad” and hug the prosecutor. He saw the youth and innocence on the faces of the heroes and he knew his tape was worthless. They’d saved his life—his life and dozens of others. The Boy Wonder gave hope to people all over Seattle and the world.

Jim’s tape had the power to destroy them all, to reveal their identities and ruin the quiet lives they lived in secret. But Jim was an old school reporter. In his day being a journalist meant breaking a story because it was for the public good. He didn’t see any good in unmasking a bunch of kids he owed his life to. He didn’t see any good in unmasking a bunch of kids who might be the only thing standing between the innocent and people like Robbie Matthews and his two accomplices.

Jim took a sip of the Scotch he’d poured himself before sitting down to watch his video and calm his nerves. He pulled the tape from the machine and tossed it into the fireplace. He laughed as the story of the century went up in flames.