After dinner, my dad and I stood in the kitchen, both of us elbows deep in soapy water. I felt nervous about leaving Nix alone with my mom, but I was only a few yards away if things fell apart.
"So, son, what's it like having powers like you have?"
I thought about it while scrubbing the plate clean.
"It's strange. A few weeks ago, I was just a regular guy. Now I have the power to do whatever I want."
My dad nodded silently as he wiped a plate dry.
"That sounds like the kind of power that would tempt me. I'm not sure I could handle something like that."
I stared at my reflection on a black plate for a few seconds before answering him.
"Dad, you're the most upstanding man I've ever met. I'm sure you wouldn't abuse your power."
He laughed and shook his head.
"No, I would definitely abuse it. Let's just be glad it's you instead of me."
What was that supposed to mean? I was nowhere near as good a man as he was. My thoughts alone were worse than anything he could ever do.
"I say that because you have us and Phoenix to ground you. I had to figure things out on my own for the most part."
That made sense. I did have people in my corner that I could lean on. Dinner was a nice reminder of that. I nodded as I scrubbed a glass clean.
"Just remember you can always come to us, even with your new problems."
He emphasised the new, and I understood what he meant. They didn't have powers, but that didn't mean they wouldn't do everything they could to support me.
"Alright, let's get back in there so I can destroy you in some Scrabble," my dad said when we finished the last dish.
A few hours later, Nix and I were walking away from my house in the dark. She was beaming.
"Dude, I had so much fun today, and that food was amazing!"
She spun in a circle with her hands on her head. I had never seen her this exuberant before. She looked like she could start glowing at any minute.
"I'm glad you had a good time."
She scoffed at me.
"A good time? I had the best time. I'm coming back the next time too."
That caught me off guard.
"You were that impressed by hibachi and Scrabble?"
She opened her mouth a few times as if trying to figure out what to say.
"No, but yes. It was the entire thing. I like the interaction. I never had that. My kids will though."
My eyes shot to her. This was a subject I never thought would come up.
"You want kids?"
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Yeah, one day. You don't?"
Did that matter? Was she offering to have my children? We walked down into the subway.
"I never thought about that before. I technically don't even have a girlfriend yet."
Nix scrunched up her face and folded her arms over her chest.
"Believe that if you want. Try to date somebody and watch what happens to her."
Okay, that was a little scary. Then again, possessive Nix was hot. We stopped at the payment kiosk. Normally, this is where she would pay and I would turn around and go back home. Tonight felt different, though.
"I wish I could go back to your place," she said, stepping close to me.
I smiled as all manner of naughty thoughts flooded my mind.
"I mean, you could, but I'm a screamer, so we'll definitely get caught."
Nix giggled and punched me in the shoulder.
"You know that's not what I meant. I just don't want the night to be over yet. Stay with me until my train comes, please?"
I shrugged in agreement, doing my best not to grin from ear to ear. I looked at the time on the ticker inside the dark, empty security booth. It was 9:13pm. The air in the tunnel was unmoving and eerily quiet.
She inserted two tokens into the slot, and we both walked through the turnstile. The platform was too empty for my liking. It was too early to be so desolate. There should've been at least a few people waiting with us. I glanced at the digital clock mounted on the grungy stone pillar to my right. It was still 9:13. Nix wrapped her arms around my neck.
"Can we go to King's palace and maybe a movie this weekend?"
I grunted and kept staring at the clock, waiting for it to change. Nix nudged me.
"Stormie, I just asked if we could get married, and you weren't even listening."
I gave her my full attention.
"You did not. You asked me to take you on a real date. I was just imagining you in a cute outfit again."
As I spoke to her, I couldn't help glancing up at the clock again. It still hadn't changed.
"Is that clock usually stuck like that?" I pointed to the clock on the pillar. Nix glanced up at the pillar and shrugged.
"Why are you so worried about the time? You got somewhere else to be?"
I started to answer, but a shimmer in the light just behind Nix caught my eye. Something was wrong. I slowly reached for the spot, and just before I touched it, explosions sounded from all around us. White smoke filled the tunnel and blinded me. Nix sprang backward away from me with nothing more than a grunt.
"Target acquired. Eliminate the stormblooded," a man called from somewhere in the smoke.
Whoever this was, they were here for Nix, and they already had her. I held out my arms and created a swirling vortex of wind that cleared away the smoke. Three men in all white stood in a loose circle around me. The one in front of me held an assault rifle pointed at my chest. Nix lay at his feet, trapped in a bubble of black energy. The ones on my left and right carried chains that buzzed with black electricity.
My attack seemed to have caught them off guard. We stared at one another for a long second before I finally spat acid at the one with the gun. It splashed across his armor-clad face with a hiss. The other two jumped into action as he fell screaming and clutching at his face.
They both tossed their chains at me in an impressive show of coordination. The one on my right threw at my legs. I jumped over it. The one on the left threw at my arm. It latched tightly onto my wrist. I grabbed hold of it and sent a heavy stream of electricity at him. A high-pitched squeal came out of the man as the volts cooked him. The last guy panicked and made a move toward Nix.
Before he could get to her, I trapped one of his ankles in a mini-tornado. It dragged him away from her and down the dark train tunnel. Eventually, he would meet a train, and his ride would end permanently. With them out of the way, I ran over to where Nix was trapped on the ground. Her hands and feet were bound with the same kind of chain that hung from my left wrist. I let some acid seep out of my arm, and it fell off with a clang.
I could easily get the chains off her, but first I needed to break through the energy bubble she was trapped in. I remembered how she had kicked through my wind shield and wondered if I could brute force my way through it. I covered my fist in swirling wind and threw the hardest punch I could at it. It bounced off harmlessly. I tried again. Nothing. As frustration got the best of me, I punched over and over again.
I punched faster as desperation set in. It wasn't working. I didn't know if Nix could even breathe in there. Sweat dripped from my face as I repeatedly punched the bubble. My arm got heavy and started to burn, but I ignored it.
I wouldn't stop until Nix was free.
"The storm does not tolerate overindulgence," Typhon said.
I didn't have time to figure out what that meant. I continued my assault, increasing the amount of wind I was using. It swirled around my fist all the way up to my elbow now. The attacks still didn't break through. With every passing second, I felt myself growing weaker. When the room around me started to fade in and out of focus, I knew I only had a few seconds left before I passed out. I increased the wind as much as I could. I didn't stop until a sharp burning sensation spiraled from my fingertips up to my elbow.
Instead of more wind, acid mist poured out of my skin and joined the swirling wind around my arm. It solidified into what looked like a green auger blade. I slammed it into the bubble, and the dark energy shattered like glass and disappeared. Once the bubble was gone, I fell over beside Nix. I heard the sound of chains breaking as the world around me faded away.