This choice: Luca develops his secret identity • Go Back...Chapter #7Luca develops his secret identity by: Pseudonym   Period one - art. "Perfect," thought Luca, as he sketched out a superhero costume for himself. Making himself unrecognisable was a particular challenge, so he considered a few options to disguise his more recognisable features - a helmet, a balaclava, thick sunglasses, a mask, and many more options crossed his mind. Eventually, he settled on wearing dark blue spandex with a diamond pattern over it, together with blue-tinted goggles and a set of white boots. On his chest, Luca first considered drawing a big red "S," but thought better of it - he wanted to be his own hero, not a superboy rip-off. So instead he drew a red diamond, adopting that as his symbol.
Period two - reading. Luca took his picture with him and refined it further, based on what he saw in comic books around the library. He added black trims to the spandex and a black set of briefs. He also added a white cape that came down to his ankles, and some black face-paint to further disguise his appearance. Finally, he added his red diamond symbol to his boots and the back of his cape. He figured that if he was going to be a hero, he might as well have some brand recognition.
Interval came quickly as Luca was having lots of fun designing his costume. However, he had another idea as well.
"What do you want, freak?" asked Macie angrily as Luca approached her.
The girls around her rushed up to Luca, trying to show him a picture on their phones - it was him at the modelling shoot the day before. Already it seemed the pictures were going viral around the internet, and the company was making millions of dollars. The girls started chattering about how good he looked.
Luca tried to smile. "Uhm, Macie? Can I talk to you privately?"
All the girls around gasped excitedly, their imaginations running wild.
Macie gave in. "Okay, but make it quick. I'm already late to cheerleading practice."
Luca took Macie to an empty classroom, using his x-ray vision to ensure nobody was around.
"This better be good" said Macie.
"Listen, I know you don't like me, but I need your help" said Luca.
"Forget it" replied Macie instantly.
"No, hear me out" replied Luca "See, watch..."
Luca floated up into the air. "What the heck?" said Macie loudly as she watched Luca's feet leave the floor.
"I've got these superpowers" explained Luca "I only found out about them two days ago, I swear. I'm sorry for upstaging you all these years - I never meant to grandstand or anything. You're by far the best student at the school at everything - I don't really belong here."
"Figures" replied Macie simply, sitting down on a chair and looking sad.
"I want you to be my manager" explained Luca "I need somebody to make a costume for me, help me to train my powers, support me in fighting crime. I got a lot of money from a photoshoot yesterday, so you can have all the resources you need. Together we can fight crime and help people all over the city."
Macie's first instinct was to refuse - she didn't care about crime. All she cared about was destroying Luca once and for all. But this did present an opportunity for her - after all, she had heard the saying "keep your friends close but your enemies closer." Perhaps by joining forces, she could find out about Luca's weaknesses and exploit them.
"Alright" said Macie "I'll do it. But how will I explain this to the girls?"
"Oh, I think I have the perfect alibi for us to hang out together privately..."
"So yeah, Macie is my girlfriend now" said Luca with a smile while Macie went off to cheerleading practice.
"Yip... it's true" replied Macie reluctantly, feeling humiliated.
All of Macie's friends cheered for her. "Oh my gosh, you're so lucky!" they said, followed by various comments about how cute he was.
"So Macie, can I stay over at your place tonight?" asked Luca very publicly.
"Sure, lover" replied Macie spitefully.
"And your friends won't disturb us, will they?"
"Of course not" they all said together, although one of them whispered to Macie afterwards "Do tell us all about it afterwards, ok?"
"No problem" said Macie, unaware that Luca's super-hearing could understand the whole thing.
The following classes went by relatively quickly. At lunch, Luca went to the school pool for swim team practice.
"How'd it go with your dad?" asked Caleb in the changing room.
"More questions than answers" replied Luca "He said my mother wasn't human and that 'they' are out to get us."
"He sounds like he's been playing too many video games"
"Yeah, but two days ago the idea of me being a superhero would have been crazy too"
"Not to me. I'd have picked you for the 'most likely to grow up to be a superhero' trophy if there was one."
"Well, if one day you started figuring out you could fly, I bet you'd think it was weird."
"Well, whatever you are" said Caleb, teasingly punching Luca in the arm "I sure am glad you're loyal to your friends."
After swimming practice was over, one of the girls from the team - a short brunette girl called Haley - came over to talk to Luca before he got changed.
"Hey" she called out "What's the deal with you and Macie?"
"She's my girlfriend" replied Luca shiftily.
"Come on, I know that's a lie" replied Haley "I know you're not the kind of boy who'd date a girl just for her looks or her brains. I always figured you'd be more into sweet charming girls who stay out of trouble."
"Sorry to let you down I guess" replied Luca "I'll do my best to keep Macie out of trouble."
"Well if you ever get tired of doing that and want somebody who will actually take care of you and love you forever ..." said Haley, trying her best to look cute "You have my number right?"
"I'll keep you in mind" said Luca.
In the changing rooms, Luca sighed. He definitely wasn't even ready for a relationship full stop, and he knew Haley sure as heck wasn't either. She was always a quiet, diligent girl - the daughter of a local winemaker, raised on religious values. But a relationship was just too convenient an alibi. Besides, he knew Macie wouldn't get any ideas ... he wondered how long he could maintain the relationship? What if later on Macie found somebody who she actually loved, or what if he decided he'd want to be with somebody more like him, such as Haley?
"Dude, if you're thinking about Macie and stuff, don't worry about it" said Caleb reassuringly "I know exactly what you're doing and I think it will be fine."
"I just hope I don't break too many hearts" said Luca "I hate hurting people ... especially girls like Haley."
"Adults always say they need to learn to cope with it anyway, so what's the big deal?" replied Caleb "Just go with the flow. Things will turn out fine."
After lunch finished, Luca made a point of always sitting next to Macie in class. Macie cringed every time, but thankfully it wasn't hard to pretend to be interested in a boy universally acknowledged to be the most attractive in the school. She considered asking him for the answers on a maths test, but thought better of it, still caught up in trying to beat him despite his superhuman intelligence. Every time she was frustrated, she wanted to cry out again, but instead just smiled and pretended to be happy for her new boyfriend's constant success.   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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