Luca opened the door of his father's apartment. "Dad, I'm home" he called out.
The sounds of video games in the room next door stopped and once again, Ben poked his head around the corner. "Good to have you back, son" he said "There's some leftover pizza in the fridge if you're hungry."
"Uh - dad? Can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure, son. Come on in, take a seat."
Luca wandered into the darkened living room. His dad was there, lounging on the couch with a video game controller in his hand. Some kind of first-person shooter was displayed on the large screen. All around the room were scattered random food scraps, beer cans and old bits of packaging. The whole room hadn't been cleaned in years - indeed, such would have been the fate of the rest of the house, had Luca not kept it tidy. Luca sat down gently on a torn lounge chair, wondering why his dad chose to live this way. Briefly he considered reading his mind to find out, but then he remembered his thoughts in school about a moral code. Perhaps he shouldn't use his mental powers too much without permission.
"So, uhm... last night" began Luca "I kind of figured out that I can fly."
Ben nodded gently. "And... ?"
"And after school I discovered I actually have a ton of other superpowers as well."
"And... ?"
"And I think I'm still developing my powers. I'm noticing that the more I use them, the more powerful I become."
Ben raised an eyebrow "Okay but I mean, what's your point?"
Luca eyed his father. "Doesn't that ... surprise you? I mean, most kids don't exactly have superpowers."
Ben chuckled. "Your mother wasn't like most women either."
Again Luca was stunned. "You ... you never talk about ..."
"Well, this would have to be an exception. Have you told anyone about your powers?"
"Only yourself and my friend Caleb, why?"
"It's best you keep them a secret. Only tell those you really trust. That's one reason I have to stay hidden."
Luca's eyes grew wide. "Do... do you have powers too?"
"Oh no, nothing like that. But if they find me, they can find you too. Your mother entrusted me with your care, since I can be better hidden than she can."
"Wait wait wait ... who are 'they'?"
"I don't know for sure. That's the only word she ever used for them. But they are dangerous and they will stop at nothing to destroy us all if they find you. Even their motives, I don't know. Your mother had many secrets, and I knew from the moment I first saw you, you're bound to have many secrets inside you too. Your mother warned me that even she could not predict what you'd grow up to be, whether it would be good or bad for the world. But in my heart I always knew you'd grow up to be a good person. I knew that if there was a single gene from me in your body, it would be my heart."
"So I'm like the son of Supergirl or something? Wonder Woman?"
"Kind of" replied Ben with another chuckle "She's not a character you'd know. She didn't really have any 'powers' in the conventional sense either, so far as I know. But she certainly wasn't human. The only person who I can say looks even remotely like her, is you. You remind me of her every single day. It's hard. I miss her so much. But I know it's for the best."
Luca blushed. "Where did she go?" he asked.
Ben paused. "I think that's all you need to know for now" he said slowly "I'll fill you in on the rest when the time is right."
Luca went over to the kitchen, took a cold slice of pizza out of the fridge, and put it in the microwave. As he watched the pizza slice spin around, he replayed his brief conversation with his dad over in his mind. Who was he? What was he? If his mother was not a human, what was she? Who was hunting him, and why? He didn't mind keeping a secret identity - actually he quite liked the idea - but he still wanted to know more. Again the temptation was there to just read Ben's mind and find the answers, but again he stopped himself. He couldn't do that, especially not to his own father. What did this mean for him and his powers? He certainly still wanted to use his powers, but if it put the world in danger... ?
The timer on the microwave beeping interrupted his thoughts. Luca took the hot pizza out of the microwave and munched on it slowly. After finishing his light dinner, Luca went back into his bedroom and closed the door. Perhaps he was worrying too much, he thought. After all, he could scarcely help the fact he was handsome, and hadn't even told his father how he had earned hundreds of thousands of dollars just by posing for a camera a few hours ago. Perhaps he just had to learn to accept his destiny, and be brave despite the challenges. Whoever 'they' were, he somehow knew he could take them if he tried.
Emboldened with his newfound confidence, Luca practiced again and again, drifting up and down into the air, and moving back and forth. He was starting to be able to control his flight a lot more, and could move at close to walking pace. Flying felt relaxing and exciting all at once - all he had dreamed of the day before. After a few hours of practice, Luca got himself ready for bed and drifted off to sleep.
Just beyond the solar system, a small alien spaceship flew through a wormhole into vision.
"Any of these planets habitable?" asked the ship commander, feeling bored.
"Our scanner shows that there's a protected species on one of the rocky inner planets, sire" reported the navigator "I believe it's called Earth by the local creatures."
"What a silly name" mused the commander "Alright, I suppose we'd better fly in to take a look."
The flying-saucer-shaped ship put on its cloaking shield, protecting it from being seen by any prying astronomers, and zoomed in towards the earth at speeds much faster than light itself.
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