"I'll see you later," Gabriel said, but he saw the disappointment in his brother's eyes. He couldn't—even though his heart was screaming at him to—he had to bury that feeling deep enough that there was no chance of it ever returning, and listen to the voice of reason in his head. All he could do was watch as his brother trotted toward the school doors.
"I'll catch you after school. We'll walk home together, I promise," Gabriel added.
But what came back from Daniel was anything but convincing.
"Alright… see you later, bro," Daniel replied, his head hung low in disappointment as he continued toward the entrance. He stopped in front of the doors, clutching his bag tightly, closing his eyes for a moment, and pressing his fists together. He thought he had someone to share the burden with—someone who finally understood him—but it had been taken away as quickly as it came.
As Daniel stood there, the doors of Jesovalt High flickered back and forth, revealing students getting ready for the day ahead. To Daniel, they had the perfect life—no worries, families and friends who understood them. He watched them laugh, joke, and smile like they didn't have a care in the world. He missed when life was simple and the only things he had to worry about were his grades and his family's chaos.
Daniel took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. "I guess I better get a move on. Life waits for no one, and the teachers here definitely won't accept another excuse for me being late," he muttered, steadying himself.
As his foot lifted to tackle the final slab of concrete before starting his day, he saw them—the police, with Principal Kelly.
He hadn't noticed them at first; it was as if they were cleverly hidden behind the sea of students wandering the halls. But when that sea parted, it revealed what had been hiding in plain sight.
Daniel's heartbeat began to race violently. As they approached, he didn't know what to do. He froze, extending his arms without thinking. Gabriel noticed immediately. His head turned, confusion etched across his face. What is Daniel doing?he thought. Then he saw it—Principal Kelly with the police in tow. Gabriel's eyes widened in horror, the events from last night flooding his mind like an overflowing river.
"Thank you, officers. If I hear any more information, I'll contact you as soon as possible," Principal Kelly said. Then, looking at Daniel, he frowned. "Daniel, there is one thing this school will not tolerate anymore, and that is lateness. So instead of standing around like a lost deer in headlights, go to class—now!"
Daniel stood there for a moment, confused as to why the police weren't arresting him for what happened last night. Quickly snapping back to reality, he muttered, "Sorry, sir. I'm on my way." Clutching his bag tighter, he ran through the doors. He wasn't about to bite a gift horse in the mouth.
"How is this possible?" Gabriel whispered as he watched the police get into their cars and leave. "They had Daniel dead to rights. His face was clear as day on the body cam. I don't understand."
His confusion didn't last long.
"Gabe," said Jai-Lee.
Gabriel jumped out of his skin, clutching his chest as he turned to her.
"Man, you scared the living daylights out of me! You can't just pop up like that," he said, still visibly shaken.
"Gabe, I simply called your name. You're acting like I'm some supervillain that got the drop on you. So… what's really going on? And before you lie to me—remember, I know you, Gabriel."
"There's nothing going on. I'm fine," Gabriel said quickly.
"Oh, so we're doing things the hard way? Fine. Observation one—red flag number one—you walked your brother to school. Oh, you noticed that?"
"Yep," Jai-Lee replied. "Observation and red flag number two—you jumped at the sound of your own name. That's a huge tell. Do I really have to go on, or are you going to spill what's going on?"
"My brother snuck out to meet a gang. My powers finally worked. He robbed an old man's house with them. The old man ended up dead. The police showed up. One of the officers chased Daniel into a dead-end alley. I tried to save him, but he moved. I accidentally pulled off his mask—right in front of the police body cams. They caught me in full transformation. I got him out of there, and… here we are."
Jai-Lee stared at him, stunned. "That explains why you're on edge—especially with the police here. But don't you think, if they had body cam footage of Daniel, they'd have arrested him by now instead of just walking past him?"
"That's exactly what I was thinking. They had him bang to rights. There's no way he could deny it was him."
"So there we go—it was a dud camera. Daniel can count his lucky stars, and your secret's safe."
"Thank God for that," Gabriel sighed. Then her words hit him. "Wait… all this happened last night and you didn't call me? I'm disappointed. I thought we were a team. And does Daniel know about—you know—your secret identity? And never do something like that again without telling me first. Otherwise, you'll have something worse than criminals to deal with—you'll have me."
Gabriel knew she was right. "No he doesn't know and I'm sorry. I was on autopilot. The only thing on my mind was saving Daniel from doing something stupid—again. My dad's words about being there for him were already on repeat in my head, so I acted instinctively. In hindsight, maybe if I had you on comms, things would've gone differently. Maybe that old man would still be alive."
"Gabe—you can't think like that. Sure, I'm bummed you didn't call me, but that's because we're a team, not because you can't handle things on your own. You can't live in the realm of 'what ifs,' because even if you had called me, there's no guarantee it would've gone differently. Things could've been worse. Life's about lessons. If we could go back and fix every mistake, we'd never learn from them. Sometimes we get so caught up in the wrongs we've done that we become prisoners of our past. But everything that happened, Gabe—was meant to happen, because it already did. This is your journey. This is the path God chose for you, I guess."
"Wow… that was deep. When did you become a motivational speaker? I really felt that in my chest," Gabriel said, patting the left side of his chest.
"Jai-Lee, Gabriel—why are you standing outside when the bell's already rung?" Principal Kelly shouted.
"Sorry, sir, we'll be on our way," Gabriel said quickly. As they climbed the steps, Gabriel suddenly paused.
"Gabe, what are you doing? Are you trying to get us a detention?" Jai-Lee hissed.
Gabriel didn't respond. He turned toward Principal Kelly. "I know I'm late, sir, but it would be on my mind all day if I didn't ask—why were the police here?"
"I want you to concentrate in class, and I'm sure you'll hear eventually, so I'll tell you—then straight to class, understood?"
Gabriel nodded.
"There was a robbery that resulted in the tragic death of Avery's grandfather. The police are speaking to pupils who live near his home to see if they heard or know anything."
Gabriel stood there, lifeless, like his soul had been snatched from his body. He couldn't believe it—the man he'd failed to save was Avery's grandfather. He tried to hold back the tears, but a few slipped through the cracks. Avery had been Gabriel's first friend, the only person who made him feel welcome—at least until he met Jai-Lee.
"Gabriel, it's okay to feel down and upset. What happened was tragic, and I know you and Avery used to be close, so I can understand you being affected," Principal Kelly said calmly. "Avery is taking some time off school, but when he's back, I'm sure he'd love to see a familiar face during this trying time."
Gabriel lowered his gaze. Avery is the best of us. He was there for me when I had no one—when I felt like I was drowning and couldn't keep my head afloat. I let him down. If I'd just acted faster, or stopped them before they got to the house, maybe his grandfather would still be alive. I know Jai said you can't live in the past, that what's done is done—but it hits harder when it's closer to home. That could have been my brother.
Now Avery had to bury his grandfather and say goodbye to one of his last remaining relatives. Life was simply not fair.
I'm sorry, Avery—sorry that I wasn't there to save him. Sorry that you and your family are going through this right now. But hear my vow to you—to this city: I will be the hero it needs. I will wrestle it from under the darkness that's had its foot on this place's neck for far too long. I promise you, Avery—even if it takes my last breath—I will do everything in my power to make sure no one has to go through what you're going through right now.
Mark my words.