Becoming Super

by Plowden, Richard A.

  “It wouldn’t work,” Taia said. Eli looked at her in surprise. She had been so adamant about the Resistance taking down the Regime.

  “I’m not talking about the idea of your team,” Taia said quickly, for some reason sympathetic to Blake. “But the Resistance would never work with Supes.”

  “Maybe if I could just talk to them and –“

  “It wouldn’t happen,” Taia interrupted. “There’s just too much bad blood.”

  Blake looked down dejectedly for half a second before looking up and smiling. “Well it can’t hurt to try,” he said with no hint of sadness in his voice. “I’m putting this team together Eli. And you should join me.”

  Eli furrowed his eyebrows and opened his mouth to respond when the door to the room opened.

  Standing in the doorway was a woman of maybe 40. She had pale skin and a long skinny nose accompanied by a long face. She looked somewhat like a lizard or a crocodile.

  “Captain Proof!” she said in a tone that was trying to sound surprised but reeked of falsity.

  “Senator Gates,” Eli said tensing up immediately. Taia tensed up as well. This was the Senator, Blake’s mother.

  Senator Gates walked up to Eli and kissed him on both cheeks. Taia felt a twinge of annoyance at the action.

  The Senator then seemed to notice Taia for the first time. “And who is this lovely young flower?” she asked with a fake smile.

  “This is Taia,” Eli said. “She’s from far east, Region Nu”

  The Senator stuck out a hand. Taia shook it. The Senator raised an eyebrow at her.

  “Do you not know the customs to greet a Senator girl?” the Senator sneered.

  “Again Senator,” Eli said nervously. “She’s from a village far east. She’s never had the pleasure of meeting a Senator before and doesn’t know to kiss your hand ma’am.”

  “Well she knows now,” The Senator said looking at Taia expectantly. Taia grimaced inwardly but tried her best not to show it as she kissed the Senator’s hand.

  “Senator Isla Gates of Region O,” The Senator said looking at Taia.

  “Taia Mo—Mountains,” Taia stammered, with the feeling that using her real last name was not a good idea. “Of-of Region Nu”

  Isla looked at Taia calculatingly. “You have the manners of a slave. What is your gift girl?” Taia froze.

  Her gift. Oh no. What if the Senator wanted her to show her something to prove she was a Supe? Taia reached in the back of her waistband.

  “Explosive vomit,” Blake said smiling widely. “It’s quite impressive. Would you like to see mother?”

  “No I would not like to see!” she exclaimed disgusted. She then looked Taia up and down. “What an ugly ability for such a pretty girl.”

  “You’re one to talk,” Blake muttered quietly.

  The Senator stared at Taia for a moment longer before turning to Eli. “So Captain,” she began. “Do you have a tux already?”

  A look of bewilderment came across Eli’s face. “A tux? Ma’am what are you—“

  “Well for the Senatorial Ball of course. Isn’t that why you’ve brought this Nu Region girl? As a date?” Isla asked. “Well you must go. You are a Captain.”

  “Well actually I’m not a Captain in the Core anymore ma’am,” Eli said.

  “You will always be a Captain of the Core Eli.” Isla said slyly. “I will send my stylist up shortly to take care of you and this…..girl. And tomorrow, we will go get you a tux and her a dress before the ball. We should have enough time.” Isla then began walking out of the room. “Be ready in the morning,” she shut the door on her way out.

  “Well I don’t think she likes me very much,” Taia said quietly.

  “Don’t take it personal,” Blake said. “She doesn’t like me much either. Didn’t even say anything to me when she came in.”

  “Alright Blake,” Eli said. “When are you going to teleport her home?”

  “Uhh…” Blake said. “Depends on how far she lives. I’m going to need to know exactly where she is to get her there.”

  He looked at Taia. “Do you know what Region the Resistance is hidden in?”

  “No,” Taia said, shaking her head, not even knowing the different Regions of the Regime. “But I know the coordinates.”

  “Oh that’s perfect. What are they?” Blake asked.

  Taia was quiet for a second. For all she knew, all of this could be some elaborate plot for the Regime to find her home.

  “I can’t tell you that,” she responded.

  “I need the coordinates to send you there,” Blake said.

  “Well you’re not getting them” Taia said smartly.

  “Oh Taia, come on” Eli said. “The longer you’re here, the more danger you’re in.”

  “I’m sorry Eli but I can’t,” Taia said. “Maybe it’s another way but I can’t just trust this kid just because you do.”

  “Then trust me,” Eli looking her in the eyes. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you. Blake teleporting you there is better than the 3 or 4 hours it would take to drive in the Wasteland with Core officers looking for who killed their guys.”

  “Woah,” Blake said. “3 or 4 hours? We’d have to go outside the city for that kind of portal anyway.”

  “Why outside of the city?” Eli said.

  “Too much power,” Blake said. “For that kind of distance the vortex would be really destructive. Look at how powerful the vortex I made was just to go downstairs. One for 3 or 4 hours a way would be like…..way bigger.”

  “But you can do it?” Eli asked.

  “Oh yea,” Blake nodded. “I can teleport anywhere in the world. The vortexes just differ in size and power depending on how far my destination is.”

  “Well can we go now?” Eli said.

  Blake laughed. “Of course not. My mom invited you guys to the ball.”

  Eli raised an eyebrow. “Yes,” he said slowly. “And when are we going to tell her we can’t go.”

  Blake chuckled nervously. “Well we’re not….you guys are going.”

  Eli’s brow furrowed deeply. “Is this a joke Blake?”

  “Umm, no. I don’t think it is. My mom is going to get our personal hairdresser and tailor to get you guys ready for the event. This is very real.”

  Taia began feeling very nervous. “But I’m not a Supe,” she said.

  “You fooled my mom,” Blake said simply. “You can fool the rest of these old losers at the ball too. We’ll just keep saying you’re a Transcended with the unfortunate ability of explosive puke. Nobody will want you to demonstrate that. Are you nervous about going because you don’t want to be Eli’s date? Don’t worry, I’ll take you on a better date than this dude could ever give you later. And I’ll send you home tomorrow.”

  “Blake, we don’t have tomorrow, we only have today. I don’t have time for this. She,” Eli added angrily, pointing at Taia, “Does not have time for this.”

  Taia looked at Eli. His eyes burned with rage. He didn’t think that this ball was a good idea for her. She was inclined to agree.

  “Eli, we have to go to this thing man,” Blake said smiling nervously. “I can’t get out of the city to transport you guys tonight anyway. So why not come to this little shindig with me and have some fun? Has to be better than sitting cooped up here.”

  “We’re not going,” Eli said.

  “You have to!” Blake retorted. “My mom’s a smart chick. A dangerously powerful smart chick. Bad combination. Trust me. She personally invited you to this ball. That doesn’t happen often man. She’s going to remember inviting you. If you don’t show up, she’s going to start asking questions. Which isn’t good for anybody. You have to go.”

  Eli was fuming. “She’s human Blake! An unregistered human!”

  “Exactly!” Blake said. “She’s not branded! Nobody’s going to think that an unregistered human actually came to a Regime event. That would be crazy man! Suicide!”

  Eli gaped at him.

  “Suicide
if you get caught, which Taia won’t,” Blake said quickly, smiling slyly.

  Eli looked absolutely livid. Taia could tell that he was not okay with this at all.

  “I’ll go.”

  Blake and Eli both looked at Taia surprised. Eli’s face also contained a hint of betrayal.

  “What?” he asked angrily.

  “I’ll go,” she said. “It won’t be that bad. I’ll be fine.”

  Taia hoped that she sounded more convincing than she felt. She felt that going to this ball was a death sentence. But she had evaded death sentences so far. And she also realized that she would never get home if Isla Gates came around asking questions. Going to the ball and posing as a Supe was much less intimidating than saying no to a Senator.

  As Eli opened his mouth to speak, Blake interrupted. “Yea man, she’ll be fine!” he exclaimed smiling widely once again, hooking one of his arms around Taia’s shoulders, undoubtedly happy that the issue had been seemingly resolved. “I mean look at her man, she’s gorgeous. She passes for a Transcended better than you do Proof.”

  This was partly true. While Taia did not consider herself particularly gorgeous by any standards, with her hair tangled and disgusting, her face and clothes were covered with dirt, and, her boots covered and filled with the sand of the Wasteland, her appearance was still much better than Eli’s vagabond one.

  Though Taia knew that Eli was dirty and his clothes were ruined, she still could not help but notice that he was the one who was incredibly gorgeous. She got nervous at the thought of seeing what he looked like dressed like a proper individual.

  “I don’t think this is a good idea,” Eli muttered bitterly. “I just want it to go on the record that I thought that.”

  “Eli it’s okay” Taia said softly. “We’ll do this and I’ll tell Blake the coordinates to Sector 6 as soon as we’re outside of the city so I can get home. Like you said, it’s better than going through the Wasteland with Core members looking for who shot their guys.”

  Blake chuckled. “We’ll be fine man,” he said, patting Eli on the back. He pointed at Taia “And you’re going to learn to trust me. Now, I’m starving and I’m sure you two bums are as well. So I’m going to have our chef make us some food. He actually cooks!”

  Blake began walking out of the room before he paused suddenly and turned around.

  “And you guys are free to use my bathroom to shower. Actually, definitely use my bathroom to shower. You guys smell gross. Clean towels are in the closet,” Blake pointed to the smallest of the doors Taia noticed when she first entered the room. “The bathroom is through there,” he continued pointing to the biggest of the doors. “Your clothes should be brought up by the time you get out. Be back in a sec.”

  Blake shut the door to his bedroom as he left. Taia just sat on Blake’s bed awkwardly as Eli stood fuming. He was quite upset. Right now his number one priority was keeping Taia safe, and he felt she was jeopardizing that. But Taia knew that going to the ball was a better way of not only keeping the fact that she was an unregistered human a secret but keeping Eli safe for keeping that secret.

  Eli must have come to the same conclusion as he sighed reservedly before he began walking towards the closet that held the towels.

  “I call first!” Taia said suddenly as she rushed past Eli towards the closet. She opened the closet door and pulled out a face towel and drying towel before heading towards the bathroom.

  “First?” Eli asked confusedly.

  Taia deduced that without having lived in a dormitory with 13 other girls such as her, he had never encountered such customs as calling dibs on the shower first.

  As Taia turned towards Eli, she could not help but notice that he looked incredibly cute with such an innocent expression of confusion on his face. He actually looked like a teenage boy opposed to a hardened fighter.

  “Well,” Taia began to explain. “Since I called first, I get to use the shower first.”

  If it were possible, Eli seemed to be even more confused. “But--“

  “Nope,” Taia interrupted. “I get that you didn’t know what it meant, but I said it first Eli.”

  “But—“

  “No buts. I understand you’ve clearly gone longer than me without a shower but I called it first.”

  Eli opened his mouth again to speak.

  “Plus I’m a girl, I get to use it first!” Taia said sternly before turning on her heel and walking into the bathroom.

  Blake’s bathroom was just as impressive as the rest of the Gates household. It was a bright large room with white tiles and light blue walls. There were two sinks, which Taia felt was a bit unnecessary considering there was only one big mouthed brat who used this bathroom at a time, and a large mirror on the same wall that the sinks were against. There was a large tub in one corner, a toilet in another, and the shower was on the far wall.

  Taia hung her towel up on the rack next to the shower and went over to the mirror.

  As Taia stripped off her clothes, she inspected herself heavily. Her hair contained flecks of dirt as did her face. Her body had a few minor scratches and bruises and her eyes looked quite tired. She had to admit she didn’t look as bad as she’s ever looked. Eli had done well keeping her safe. Though she had to admit she would look much better after this shower.

  Taia walked over to the shower, pulled open the glass paned shower door, turned on the hot water and stepped in. The scalding hot water had never felt better against Taia’s skin. She relaxed as she closed the door to the shower and could feel her tenseness ease away. Taia searched the rack in the shower that held various soaps, body wash, and other cleansing items. Taia found what she was looking for. The shampoo that Blake had read

  ‘Super Smooth Shampoo: Smells so good any super hottie will think you’re super’

  Taia could not help but scoff at the corniness of this tag line but she was very grateful that she could wash herself properly.

  While reaching for the shampoo, Taia suddenly stopped. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Did she just hear something? She quickly dismissed this as paranoia and relaxed as she realized that was quite unlikely. She was in one of the most powerful Supe families in the world’s home. No one was going to break in and take her away. Not when they thought that she was one of them. Plus, if someone was going to come for her, Eli would stop them. Wait? Why was she trusting this boy so much to take care of her?

  Suddenly, the glass pane door was pulled open and Taia’s heart was caught in her throat as she turned in shock. But what she saw was not what she was expecting.

  It was Eli Proof in all his glory.

  Taia looked up at the calm expression on his face as if this was normal. Then she looked at his broad shoulders that had been hidden beneath his overcoat, his perfect, lean, muscular chest, his defined, glistening abs, all the way down to his....Taia’s eyes got very wide as she looked at all of Eli.

  Eli broke the silence first. “Wow, only one nozzle? Maybe that’s why it’s a tub in here too. I guess I’ll use that.”

  This brought Taia back to her senses. She quickly put her hands over her most intimate parts.

  “What the hell are you doing Eli?!” she shrieked.

  Eli faltered back in confusion and shock. “What? Well—“

  “Turn around! Close your eyes!” Taia interrupted.

  Eli hurriedly did as instructed. Taia couldn’t believe it. His back side was almost impressive as his front.

  “Well I thought I was taking a shower!” Eli explained.

  “I said first you idiot! You saw me go in here you pervert!” Taia said angrily.

  “Well yea, but I thought we were taking it together!”

  “What?!” Taia yelled. “Together?!” Though, Taia had to admit, under better circumstances, such as the possibility of her not being killed at any point because of her DNA, that wouldn’t sound like a bad idea. Wait, yes it would, she had only known this boy for a day! And he’s a Supe!

  Eli tried to open his mouth to explain
but Taia had had enough.

  “Get out you perv!” she screamed. “Get out!”

  Eli nearly tripped rushing out of the bathroom. He was very confused. Taia Morris confused him often. First she thought he was some old man, then she starts acting weird when he showed her his face, and now she’s mad at him for trying to shower. He didn’t understand. Maybe it was because she was a girl. But whenever Eli used the community showers in the human cities, he showered with women all the time. They didn’t get mad at him.

  Taia was fuming. She was absolutely livid. What was wrong with him? She could tell he didn’t mean any harm but why would he think that they were showering together? She could not deny the attraction that she feels toward him but she just met the boy! She had only known him for a day. What kind of girl did he think she was?!

  In her fury, Taia stepped out of the shower, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her body. She stormed out of the bathroom and found Eli sitting on the bed fully clothed with a pensive expression on his face. As soon as he saw her, he stood up and turned around.

  “Oh so now you want to show some decency,” Taia said sarcastically. “What kind of girl do you think I am?!”

  Eli scratched the back of his head. “A human girl?” he asked.

  Taia could feel herself turning redder. This boy could not be this dense.

  She sighed attempting to calm herself. “Why did you come in the bathroom while I was taking a shower Eli?”

  Eli opened his mouth to speak. “I—“

  “Oh turn around and speak to me.”

  Eli turned around with a bemused expression on his face. “So now I can look at you but when I did before you were angry.”

  “You mean when I was naked?” Taia all but screamed.

  A look of realization dawned on Eli’s face. “Oh is it because you were naked?” Eli asked. “Don’t worry, I’ve seen a lot of women naked.”

  Taia felt crushed. Of course he had. It made sense that a man who looked as Eli did, as a god, had plenty of experience. While she had little to none.

  “In the community showers, when I used to have to go to the human cities to shower before Blake helped me out,” Eli continued. “Everyone showers together. In the Core, it was the same thing. I had assumed that’s how it was everywhere. Am I mistaken?”