Chapter 2

Cole walked into the bar, shoulders slumped, rubbing his arms. His clothes were smudged with traces of concrete dust and dirt. The pub was decorated with fuzzy spiders and cobwebs, and paperboard skeletons he remembered from grade school hung from the walls. Underneath it all were the standard beer signs and Irish paraphernalia of any North Shore bar.

The screens over the bar played news reports of the crater, but he couldn’t make out what the reporters were saying. They then cut to video of Tephra and Aphelia fighting in Toronto.

A bartender with shoulder-length, wavy brown hair began pouring a pint when she saw him.

He sat and nodded his thanks as she slid the beer over. “Thanks a lot, Maddy.”

“You look like hot garbage,” Maddy said back. “Was that new job more than you expected?”

Cole shrugged and said, “No, actually, I feel like a million bucks. No aches or pains, and I completed the job in record time.”

“Then what’s the problem?” she said, her hands on her black skirt covered with cats, spiders, and jack-o-lanterns.

“This morning was weird as hell,” he said. He took a sip of his beer and winced. “Why did you pour me a pumpkin ale? I hate that shit.”

Her black-painted lips curled into a smile. She held up her hands like claws, wiggling her fingers while she rasped, “Because I love torturing my customers.” She dropped her hands. “What happened?”

He pointed to the TV screen. “Did you hear about that explosion out by Great Neck? I was there.”

Maddy wiped the bar and said, “Oh yeah? I heard it was an old shell in the mud from World War II that exploded.”

“It was no bomb,” he said, shaking his head. “You know that supe Aphelia? She was what caused that crater. She was fighting Tephra and landed in the marsh.” He made a falling gesture with his hand, impacting the bar top.

“Come on,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Superheroes have better places to be than in this town.”

“She came in like a fireball from the north, like a meteor. Then Tephra flew in, ready to blast her. I think that bitch was going to kill her.”

Maddy covered her mouth and hid the smile behind it. “Oh really? What happened next?”

“I punched Tephra in the mouth. I sent her flying and pulled Aphelia out of the hole. Then these black helicopters landed and took her away. What are you laughing at?”

She was doubled over, cackling. It took her a moment to catch her breath. “Come on, Cole, this is the biggest load of crap I’ve heard from you in a long time.”

“It’s the truth,” he said, slapping the bar.

“Punching a supervillain like Tephra? Didn’t that woman blow up a dam? She’s strong! You couldn’t have knocked her out even if you were a supe yourself.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” he said back. “I’m telling you, she was powering up her finishing move and somehow I got stronger.”

She fingered her moon pendant and knelt forward. “You need therapy, or meds, maybe both. You're telling me all this, but you don’t have any proof? I need to see pics, or it didn’t happen.”

“My phone fell in the crater. There was a bunch of water at the bottom, and it was filling fast. I had to get her out.”

“Likely story,” she said, standing back up and walking over to an old man at the end of the bar who had raised his hand and winked at her.

Cole looked at his hands. He had spent the entire day mindful of his body and the new energy coursing through him, feeling it spread from his center to his fingertips as he lifted bags of cement or dug out the ground for the job. By practicing all day, he could make the energy flow into his hands at will.

Maddy came back and said, “I’m sorry about making fun of you. Got any more bullshit stories?”

“I bet I can prove it to you,” he said. “I can show you how strong I’ve become.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You’re serious?”

“Wicked serious,” he said back. “When do you get off work?”

“Trish comes in at seven, but you can show me now,” she said, waving her hand. “These old farts aren’t going to jump over the bar. Let’s go out back.”

Maddy led Cole out the back of the bar, where the parking lot was old and cracked. Underbrush crept in at the edges, and junk cars sat on cinderblocks in the dirt just beyond the pavement. Behind the lot was nothing but dying trees covered in Oriental bittersweet vines.

She looked up at the cloudy sky and wrapped her arms around herself. “Come on, how are you going to show me? It’s cold!”

Cole looked around, then pointed to a rusty steel shipping container, its owner’s logo completely rusted off. “There, I’ll punch that container.”

“Great, now I have to drive you to the hospital for a broken hand. You know I’m not liable for dumb-shittery,” she said.

“Don’t worry,” he said, then trotted out to the container on the far side of the lot. “You stay back, okay?”

Maddy gave a thumbs up but rolled her eyes.

Cole clenched his fist and pictured himself back in the marsh, reliving the sensations of sprinting to Tephra. He raised his hands into a boxing stance, then jabbed at the container's corner. He heard that snap again as his fist lanced out. The container’s corner caved in completely. Maddy covered her ears and squatted, screaming. The entire container skidded two feet, screeching, then teetered before slamming back down. The cars in the lot blared their horns in alarm, their headlights blinking. A murder of crows flew out of the trees, cawing as they fled.

Maddy’s mouth dropped open as she pulled her hands from her ears and ran up beside him. She stared at the twisted steel. Her hands reached out to push the container, as if to test whether it was fake. Maddy shook her head and blinked.

“Holy shit!” Maddy said, turning to him. “What else can you do?”

“The only other thing I know for sure is that I can run pretty fast,” he said. He took off, ran around the parking lot, then stopped in front of her. The draft whipped her skirt like a flag.

“My best friend is a real supe!” she said, jumping and clapping.

Cole looked away. He always hated being reminded that Maddy was an amazing-looking young woman. “Quit it. What, are you a cheerleader?”

The old men started to pour out of the bar as the car alarms still beeped. They pointed at the steel container and began whispering.

“Come on, you geezers, back inside,” Maddy said, shooing them back in. “Nothing happened, you’re all senile and half drunk.”

One came out to the container and squinted at it. “Was it a hit-and-run? I don’t remember anyone leaving the bar.”

“I want my beer!” an old man with a crop of white hair said, waddling back inside. “The game is about to start!”

Cole sat at the bar, his foot bouncing on the brass foot rail as Maddy caught up on the orders. He smiled, knowing his best friend would be there. All his other friends had gone off to college and landed high-paying jobs in Boston, leaving him and Maddy back in town.

She came back with another pint and said, “Here’s the winnings for your bet.”

“Ah, I was hoping for a million bucks,” he said, smiling.

“So what are you going to do about being a supe?” Maddy asked.

“What do I do? I’m a mason, not a hero,” he said.

“But you could be,” she said, leaning forward and putting her elbows on the bar. “Think of it. You could take off, live a crazy life, and save lives. The news is full of superpowered villains. You could fight them.”

“I like my life,” he said, shrugging. “I get to work outside, and there’s always work. You know, not a lot of people get to live this close to the water. Why would I want to risk my damn life running around in a cape?”

Maddy sighed. “I’m just thinking you’re giving up a great opportunity. You were smart in school. Why didn’t you go to college?”

“Didn’t have the money,” he said, tilting his head and grimacing. “You know I don’t like to talk about that.”

“Yeah, I know,” she said. “You coming to the Halloween party?”

He brightened at the question. “Oh, hell yes. I’ve got my costume all planned out.”

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