Age of Cyclops: Little Fires

by Phil Hartman

7/31/2018: Richtech Tower, Neo Amsterdam, New York: 0600 hrs EDT:

He yawned, mumbling as he dragged himself from bed, and looked in the mirror.

#Happy birthday to me,# Aidan Richards thought, stretching. His short red hair was mussed, as usual, while his blue eyes blinked and took his now 12-year-old image in.

#Gangly,# Aidan thought, sighing. His limbs seemed stick-like, despite his being well-fed, and he lacked muscle where he thought there should be some more. He hiked up his boxers with a grumble and pulled open his chest of drawers.

#My mutation's being a dork,# the boy thought with a moment of bitterness, shaking his head as he dug out his swim gear. #My dad's the world's biggest hero, my mom's the head of the world's biggest psi-traning school ...#

#And I'm still headblind.#

***-

#It never used to be a problem,# Aidan thought, finding the locker room and getting undressed quickly. #They always said 'you'll get your powers at puberty.' 'It's natural for mutants to manifest around 12, 13, or even later.'#

"But I'm NOT natural," Aidan breathed, screwing his eyes shut as he showered. "My dad's the world's biggest psi, and my mom's the Phoenix Host, and I'm just ..."

#What if I'm a flatscan ?#

His eyes felt scalded as he finished showering, and pulled on his swimbrief.

#They wouldn't lie to me,# Aidan tried to tell himself, stepping into the pool deck area. #They love me, even if I'm not a big brain like Dad or I'm not sociable like Mom.#

#Don't they ?#

He sat at the water's edge, trying to reconcile his thoughts, then adjusted his goggles and pushed off.

#Swim. That'll make it go away.#

He hoped.

~Aid, wait.~

The boy turned, pushing his goggles up, to smile as his father strode out of the locker room.

"Want a spotter ?" Frank said, stepping off into the water in a suit similar to Aidan's. He surfaced, then said, "Happy birthday. The big dozen - how's it feel ?"

He tried not to exclaim when Aidan hugged him, and gave a small sob.

"Dad, I'm sorry," Aidan said, finally floating backwards with red eyes. "I - I'm still human."

"So ? Aid, you've always made me and your mom proud," Frank said, treading water as he smiled. "You're a good student, you work hard at sports - you didn't HAVE to be a swimmer if you didn't want to, did I push you into that ? Did I say something to -"

"No ! You've been really great," Aidan said, swimming over to the pool's edge. He pulled himself out onto the water's edge, watching as Frank swam over and sat beside him. "It's just ... I'm the only unpowered Richards ..."

"You're only 12," Frank said, desperation in his voice. "You've got time - I don't want you to think I don't love just because you don't have powers yet. You're my son, Aid - that'll never change. I'm just happy you and your mom are here at all."

Aidan hugged him again, and smiled -

- and he pushed Frank into the pool.

"Thanks. Now, WATER FIGHT !" the boy whooped, ducking his father's return salvo of water.

***-

#He is SUCH a frost guy,# Aidan thought later, after they'd gotten cleaned up and dressed. #The world just sees Dad like this, god or something, but he's really nice.#

#Except when people get hurt ...#

"You TELL that son of a flonq that if he doesn't get his act together, I'll sue his diseased-pig farm ass out to the orbit of Pluto, and make sure his assets freeze with his worthless hogs ! NOBODY sells organ-growing hogs with my company's name behind them when the organs they're putting out are sub-standard, you hear me !?" Frank shouted into the vid-phone. "People need those organs to WORK RIGHT THE FIRST TIME ! If those livers'd gotten into a real person, and failed, they'd be DEAD ! Dead is dead - and quit mentioning my mother-in law !"

He slammed the power switch and stood, scowling, as he looked out over Neo Amsterdam. "Idiotic, cut-corner, inbred ... Aidan, if you learn one thing from my little tirade, let it be this: You can't play with people's lives," Frank said, taking a deep breath.

He looked at his son, who smiled shyly, and gave Aidan a sheepish smile back. "Sorry. I guess I got a little carried away," Frank said.

"You care," Aidan said, standing. "You don't wanna see people get hurt."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I always do the right thing," Frank muttered, ruffling his son's hair as Aidan stood beside him. "I don't spend enough time with you ..."

"You're here now," Aidan pointed out, looking up at Frank with a smile.

Frank smiled back, and Aidan pretended not to notice the shimmer in his father's eyes.

***-

~Ohmmmmmmm .....~

Aidan peeked into the central meditation room of the Askani Collegium, and tried not to gasp.

Dozens of young men and women floated in mid-air, connected by visible beams of golden light and clad in varying styles of yellow and black outfits, over the tiled floor.

Aidan had always tried to figure out what the image in the tiles was, but the oranges and yellows and reds kept confusing him. His mother had pointed out that the image was meant to be seen by a flyer.

#And she never cares if I could fly or not,# Aidan thought, smiling at the robed young woman in the middle of the intricate lattice of psionic energy.

~Want to add a little positive energy to the link, kiddo ?~ Rachel Summers-Richards' familiar, warm voice rang in her son's mind.

~Am I disrupting meditation, Mom ? I didn't mean to,~ Aidan thought, blushing.

Gentle laughter rang back, drawing a smile from the boy.

~You never disrupt me,~ Rachel reminded him. ~Actually, I needed the challenge - letting my subconscious guide the 'metaconcert' while my conscious mindspeaks you.~

~Wow,~ Aidan thought, forcing himself to relax as a fire-claw lifted him harmlessly amidst the lattice. ~What's a metaconcert ?~

~A multi-telepath network, focused on one goal,~ Rachel sent, levitating Aidan before her. She opened her eyes, her long red hair billowing under the telekinetic glow of the Phoenix, and smiled at him.

~In this case, I'm grading these trainees' graduation project, which was to create a local-area network with just psionics while coordinating a telekinetic lift-matrix for commercial applications. It's not a bad idea, but a little impractical - multi-power psis are still fairly rare.~

~Oh,~ Aidan thought, suddenly embarassed. #If I'd had my powers, I'd understand,# he thought, trying to screen his negativity from the metaconcerted Askani trainees.

The lattice dissolved, leaving mother and son in midair as the students landed.

"A plus, folks," Rachel said, winking at Aidan as the 20-somethings cheered and congratulated each other. "Now go and try not to project TOO many barf-vibes when you storm New Soho's bar district, OK ?"

The graduates left, and Aidan mumbled, "You scanned what I was thinkin' about my powers ..."

"Your dad 'pathed me after you headed down here - I thought you needed some guy time together," Rachel said, smiling wider. "Aid, 'frost,' as your generation says. If you never show a spark of power, I'll still love you."

"I love you too," Aidan said, tearing up again. "B-but - Dad can forgive me so easy. I actually HURT you when I was born -"

Rachel hugged him, and held his head to her shoulder.

~That wasn't your fault,~ she sent, drawing a deep breath. ~That was a freak accident, a ... mutation.~

"Mom ? What ... what really happened ?" Aidan asked, swallowing hard. #She'll get mad - it's too personal, she's never been able to have another kid after I was born -#

~You have every right to know,~ Rachel sent, nodding once as they separated by a foot, still aloft. She took another deep breath and began to speak aloud.

"For whatever reason, the Richards family's always had a difficult time reproducing," Rachel said. "Your dad and I assumed that, since I'm not a Richards by birth, things would be different. We were so happy when your Aunt Cecilia told us about you - we love you, Aid, please don't ever doubt that."

"I won't. Not ever again," Aidan promised, listening raptly as Ray continued.

"But ... somehow, the 'Richards curse' hit me," Rachel said, her voice dropping.

"I had contracted uterine cancer. I had to choose -you, or my life. I knew what I had to do."

"You - you could've DIED ... ?" Aidan said breathlessly, shocked.

"I'm not trying to guilt you," Rachel insisted. "But you're old enough to know the reason why you're an only child. Your dad and I chose the risks, knowing what we'd have to deal with. You were born safely.

"By then, the cancer had spread," Rachel said, trying to smile but failing. "I still have my ovaries -you've had basic health class, you know what I'm talking about - but they had to take my uterus."

Aidan gave a low cry, hugging his mother, and they looked down at the tile on the floor.

"I was furious, and sad, and I wanted to hate someone, something - take revenge for this stupid, stupid twist of fate," Rachel said, her voice dangerous and tight. She breathed deeply again and said, "But I'd found something in the ashes - and that was stronger than any 'Richards curse'."

She pointed downward, and Aidan slowly smiled with realization.

"It's a phoenix," he said, looking at Rachel.

She grinned at him and replied, "I found strength in my teaching other young psis, and from your dad and the rest of the family. And - most important to me -you. That's why I decided the meditation chamber's floor should reflect life - struggling sometimes, hard, but so very worth it. Never, never give up, Aid - on yourself, or other people."

They landed, and Aidan hugged his mother once more. "Thanks," he said, releasing her. "Can I - you need any help ?"

"Not right now," Rachel said with a wink. "Oh, and Aid - stay out of the dining room ?"

Aidan nodded, winking back, and walked out.

***-

#MAN ... I never knew they were so ... deep,# Aidan thought, watching the afternoon sun start its inexorable descent below the Manhattan skyline. #But they love me. They really love me. I gotta stop being such a doof 'bout myself ...#

He leaned back in the recliner in the Richards' family room and closed his eyes, then thought, #I am human, and that's OK.#

~Turn down the volume !~

Aidan's eyes shot open when a frustrated-looking girl his own age stormed into the room, her purple eyes narrowed as she shook out her red-brown shoulder-length hair and dropped a bag of presents at the foot of his recliner.

"You're NOT human, you dope, and why aren't you screaming in pain from the 12 million minds around us ?" Morgan Summers snorted. "You 'pathed me."

Aidan blinked, then sat up.

~I - I -~

He broke into a giggle, leaping up, and swung Morgan around by her hands. "I'M A TEPE !" Aidan shouted, laughing. "The building's psi-screens - they must be keepin' all the city's minds from overwhelming mine -Mor, I'm a telepath ! Thankyouthankyouthankyou !~

~OK ! Now STOP for a second and let me show you some basic controls and shields, OK !?~ Morgan demanded, joy undermining her attempt to project anger at her cousin. They psi-linked, and grinned as Frank, Rachel, and Morgan's parents entered the room.

"I told you," Frank grinned, hugging Aidan. "You owe me $10, Nate."

Nate grunted, digging in his pocket for his wallet while Domino winked at Morgan and Rachel. "You two are hopeless," Beatrice Shade-Summers snorted playfully. "Betting on your son's power manifestation, Franky -that's just mean."

"I'm OK with it," Aidan said, smiling at Frank. "But since it's my birthday, may I have the $10 ?"

Frank and Nate looked at each other in shock.

"Great. Not only is he a - Aid, where're your mindshields ?" Nate said, surprise turning to concern.

Aidan blinked, then mumbled, "My power - it's - gone

"My power ... DISAPPEARED ?"

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