SteelStar

Episode Two: Part Seven

It was late, and Amelia, wearing her grey skinned, white haired valtarian form, fell backward onto the couch, feeling exhausted. It wasn't as if today was any more difficult than a normal day. Since she wanted her children to know Valtarian history, which they couldn't get in Earth schools, homeschooling was pretty much a necessity. Amelia also insisted on handling the cooking as Valtarians had very specific dietary requirements, such as iron rich foods. This was even more complicated considering their children's half-human physiology, so Amelia wanted to ensure they got the food they needed.

It helped that John, being retired, was home all the time and could handle all the other household chores. Being able to levitate metal tools and appliances really streamlined such duties, and he could get a lot done quickly. It was harder to use his powers outside as John still had a secret identity to keep up, but he still got a lot done this way.

Even so, the work Amelia had taken on took a lot out of her. After a day of going over math, science, language, and the history of two different worlds, Amelia was usually exhausted. Today, however, something had added a burden to her shoulders that she suspected would make her more tired than ever for a while.

Worry.

Amelia was worried these government agents would smash her son's dreams, worried her son would come home seriously hurt, and even worried that he might not come home at all. It was driving her crazy, even if being a superhero was what her son wanted.

Amelia looked at the ceiling, thinking. Andy wasn't the first child of Valtarian blood to take the mantle of a superhero. Two years ago, a few Valtarians, most of them too young to remember the destruction of their world, joined the army and formed an elite team of superheroes called the Fullmetal Force. Not everyone in their little community was happy about this. One of their fathers was so angry that he practically disowned his son in front of everyone, though Amelia knew it wasn't malicious. He was afraid to lose his son, just as Amelia was now.

A moment later, John entered the room, done with his work for the day, and sat beside her. He put his arm around her shoulder as she snuggled up next to him, just taking comfort in his presence.

"You know," said Amelia. "I've always wondered. Is it easy to just wave your hands and have the chores finish themselves?"

"It's harder than it looks," said John. "But, yeah. It's pretty nice."

"I wish I could wave my hands and transmit the schooling directly into our children's heads."

"I wish you could too, honey. We'd have more time for this."

Amelia hummed happily as she snuggled closer to him. After a moment, her thoughts turned to their son.

"John," said Amelia. "How do you deal with it? How can you stand Andy being in danger like this?"

"Because I know how he feels," said John. "You should have seen me when my powers kicked in. It was one of the happiest days of my life."

Suddenly, John looked sad.

"I almost went out there, you know," said John. "To help him with Spectramancer."

Amelia didn't need him to explain why he didn't go. If John had frozen up out there, he could have gotten in Andy's way and made things harder. Amelia knew it must have been difficult for John to stay home that day, especially after things went wrong.

"I'm so worried about him," she said sadly.

"So am I," John replied. "But when you get down to it, what Andy wants to do is something noble. He just wants to protect people who can't protect themselves. Would you really deny him the chance to do that?"