Confessions of a Teenage Superhero

[Lone Star]

September 1st, 12:30 AM. Weather, cool and windy

Kid Cthulhu flew at a great height, the moon illuminating his eldritch wings. He knew what he had to do. His previous meeting with Nick Cimitiere and Cobalt Templar made him want to talk to Jessica right then. There was no point in putting off what had to be done.

He swooped down, landing in the parking garage. A sigh escaped his lips, and he made his way over to the elevator. He entered, and clicked in the combination that would allow him to her floor. As the elevator went up the building, he tapped his foot impatiently. At the very least, he was glad to get this out of the way. No matter how she reacted, he knew being honest was always the best policy. The doors opened, and Kid Cthulhu emerged from the elevator. He held his hands out, and smiled. "Cthulhu f'thagn, baby?"

[Raveled]

Jessica Parker had paid top dollar for her penthouse apartment and it had beyond state-of-the-art security systems; it had the sort of security that only a young genius could have devised. When Kid Cthulhu made his spectacular entrance, Jessica was a floor above him, sleeping soundly. The yell woke her up, though, and she linked in to the apartment's surveillance system, only to see a tentacled horror burst into her living room! Her decision was immediate, and she activated the suite's defense systems, looking to sandwich the intruder in a grip of invisible force fields.

Rolling out of bed, she snatched her titanium wristband from her bedstand and slipped it on. From there it was only a thought and she was enveloped in her armor. She literally flew down the stairs, balanced on her thrusters as she aimed her wrist cannons at the tentacled thing. "Stand down, you... you..." She set down a thud, staring at the horror that had invaded her apartment. "Blake? Is that you?"

[Lone Star]

Kid Cthulhu nodded. "Yes, it's me. I'm sorry I had to come in like this...but I couldn't think of a better way to tell you." He looked down apologetically, his eyes lowering. I know it's a bit of a shock. During that event with Dr. Archeville, my pseudonatural powers came back. I'm lucky they didn't control me altogether. But yeah, I'm Kid Cthulhu again." He snapped his fingers, and Blake was standing in Kid Cthulhu's place. "I'm so sorry, Jessica. I just had to tell you as soon as I could."

[Raveled]

Jessica armored down, revealing herself to be wearing an HIT tee-shirt several sizes too large and flannel pajama bottoms. She raised a hand to rub at her eyes, glancing once again at Blake's tentacle-fantastic form. "Apparently I'm not dreaming," she said. "Or if I am, I really do need a therapist." She waved a hand and the force fields disappeared, no longer maintained by the concealed emitters. She walked past Kid Cthulhu and seated herself on the couch, taking a moment to look him over thoroughly. "Alright," she said, her voice flat. "Tell me the whole story."

[Lone Star]

Blake, now human, sat down next to her. He figured an arm around her shoulder wouldn't be appropriate at that moment. "I didn't cause this, or do anything to intice the Unspeakable One. God knows I didn't even see it coming. But like I said, during the event where Doktor Archeville went psuedonatural and weird, the powers of the Unspeakable One rose within me. It was trying to use me as a weapon against the city, and I fought back. It released its grip on me, but I still got my weird powers back. I just wanted to tell you, Jessica, because I love you and I want you to know what's going on in my life." He really hoped that went over well.

[Raveled]

Jessica tensed when Blake put his arm around her, but she didn't pull away. Halfway through his explanation though, she was shaking her head. "You're not making any sense," she said. "Before you hated being Kid Cthulhu, hated thinking what that power was doing to you, but you seem pretty happy now!" She stood up and started pacing. "And what do you mean when Doktor Archeville went weird? When that villain in the power armor grabbed control of ArcheTech? You can't put all the blame of that on Doktor Archeville! And if all this happened back then, why did it take you until now to tell me?" She stopped and faced Blake. "I... I don't know what to feel here, Blake."

[Lone Star]

He paused for a moment. Blake didn't have any actual evidence that Doktor Archeville was a part of the event, so he decided he wouldn't go further on that subject. "Well, Jessica, how do you expect me to react? I mean, I didn't have any choice in the matter, and it doesn't look like they're going away anytime soon. And you know how difficult it was for me to come and tell you all of this? I'm ashamed of myself, Jessica! I come here with my tail between my legs and you don't know what to say?"

[Raveled]

"You certainly don't seem ashamed," Jessica pointed out. "You practically had a three piece band announcing your return to soul-obliterating hide--" She snapped her teeth shut with a click and took a deep breath, turning away for a moment as she got control of herself again.

She turned back, speaking more slowly. "You hated this before," she said. "You were worried that this whole unnatural-powers thing was going to eat your soul, or something. But you seem pretty darn okay with it now. What's different, here?"

[Lone Star]

Blake opened his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I know it may seem strange, Jessica. I know this whole damn thing sounds stupid. But the reason I'm not freaking out here is because I've accepted my powers. Maybe I was able to retain my personality and my sanity because I was meant to be Kid Cthulhu. There are some new powers I've gotten, and I know the mystic community will back me up and support me. As a matter of fact, I just got done talking with two of my best friends, who have mystic powers, and they're sticking by me, unlike you, it seems." His eyes narrowed, and more than a flicker of resentment rose up in his voice. "I can't help that I have these damn powers! The least I could ask of you is that you at least be there to support me!"

[Raveled]

"How am I supposed to know how to support you," she demanded. "Before, you were terrified of these powers, and now you think that, that they're the bees knees!" She folded her arms tightly. "You come into my apartment, shouting your head, your suddenly-squidy head, off, and I'm supposed to think this is a good thing?" She looked off the side, staring out the window. "You've hidden this from me for so long. Why did you decide to tell me now?"

[Lone Star]

Blake paused for a moment, and took a deep breath. "Okay. I know it sounds terrible, but there is a reason I didn't tell you. I didn't know they would be permanent. I thought after the whole big event, they'd fade away. I've already tried talking to my mystics friends who know a little bit about The Unspeakable One, but they've just shrugged. Besides, I didn't want to scare you, Jessica." He put a hand to his forehead, and paused again. "Did that sound stupid? I'm just trying to explain myself, it's not that easy. I just want us to still be cool, alright babe?" He put a hand on her shoulder.

[Raveled]

Jessica tensed up and stepped away from Blake's hand. "I don't know, Blake," she said. "You were going through this big thing for two months and you didn't even think to tell me? Not once, for two months, you didn't mention, 'Hey babe, if I sprout tentacles one day, it's all natural and I have it under control'? That's a pretty big thing to keep under your hat!" She shivered and rubbed her hands up and down her arms, feeling the sudden gooseflesh there. "I... I think it would be best if you stay somewhere else tonight, Blake."

[Lone Star]

Blake's mouth opened for a moment, then shut. "Fine." he said, turning his back and walking towards the elevator. "So be it."

As the elevator brought him to the ground floor, Blake sighed to himself. He knew he was stupid for not telling her. If their relationship ended, it would be because he kept that from her for so long. He put a hand over his forehead, and closed his eyes for a moment. Everything's cool, everything's cool...so where am I gonna stay tonight? His hands moved to his pockets, and pulled out his wallet. Nothing but a couple of dollars and a coupon. "Damn!" he shouted, stomping his foot. The elevator doors opened, and he walked out of the parking garage.

What the hell were you thinking, Blake? You could have told her this two months ago, and in daylight! You woke her up and kept a secret and now she's probably gonna break up with you! Way to go, genius!

He pulled out his cell phone, and hesitated for a moment. After taking a deep breath, he dialed his friend Corbin. He hoped he wasn't already asleep. "Uh, hey Corbin?" Blake said. "Think I could crash at your place tonight?"

[Raveled]

Jessica let out a half-strangled scream of frustration as Blake walked out of the apartment. She stomped back up the stairs, ducking into the bathroom briefly before returning to her bed. She put the bracelet on her nightstand and slipped into bed... and found herself laying there, unable to get to sleep. This was stupid! It was all Blake's fault anyway, right? His fault for hiding this huge thing from her for so long.

She flopped over onto her other side and stared out at the dark bedroom. On the other hand, wasn't that supposed be part of a relationship? Accepting when the other person made a mistake and helping them past it? After all, it wasn't like either she or Blake were perfect by a long measure. She'd dealt with him being Kid Cthulhu before, why was this so different? Maybe she should call him before he got all the way downstairs and they could talk some more...

Jessica sat upright in bed, hugging her knees to her chest as the enormity of the situation finally settled over her. She just realized that she might well lose Blake over this.

[KnightDisciple]

He pulled out his cell phone, and hesitated for a moment. After taking a deep breath, he dialed his friend Corbin. He hoped he wasn't already asleep. "Uh, hey Corbin?" Blake said. "Think I could crash at your place tonight?"

Despite Blake's most fervent hopes, Corbin was indeed asleep, happily curled up in his king-sized bed at home. School wasn't quite in full swing yet, so he tried to sneak in a couple weeknights of staying at the house with his folks; it was about the only way he got to see them some weeks, since they often did business trips over weekends.

Not that he was quite alone in his bed tonight...

Which made it more awkward when his phone blared out a Trans-Siberian Orchestra song out of nowhere, shocking Corbin to wakefulness. With an undignified sound that he'd later insist in no way resembled a "squawk", he all but jumped from the bed, hitting the floor with a "thud", before he frantically pulled the phone down to where he was staring at the ceiling in the dark.

'It's a good thing mom and dad are on the other side of the house...'

As he listened to who was on the phone, and what he said, his wit sharpened a bit.

"Blake? Blake, what's going on?"

[Lone Star]

Blake sat down on a bench near the building, his expression glum. "So I told Jessica. She kind of kicked me out of her place. I'll just need to crash for one night, I promise. I'd never mooch off of my best friend." He ran a hand through his hair, and leaned back a little. Okay, so things weren't good with Jessica, but he'd deal with that in the morning. There was plenty of time for that after some rest.

"Things did not go well, of course. Just my luck, I guess. Or something like that." Right now, he was just trying to get over the shock that his girlfriend kicked him out of her apartment. It had been one hell of a night, and he would have to a lot to tell Corbin. He wiped a tear from his eye, and sniffled a little. Blake closed his eyes for a moment, and knew that things couldn't get any worse than this.