Hyper

Truth

Harper followed Mom and Zoey into the house. She had hoped to have a few moments to gather her thoughts, but Dad and the rest were already sitting in the living room, waiting for her.

"What's all this about? It's my day off," Tom complained as they entered. "Why did you call us here?" Dad asked.

"Everyone, Harper has something she wants to tell us." Mom sat down, Zoey was unusually quiet, and Harper just stood there in front of them.

"I, huh, well, it's time I told you the truth. I am not Harper Dollinger. I mean, I am, just not your Harper." Every single face Harper looked at was confused.

Zoey closed her eyes and hoped for the best. I can do this, Harper thought.

"I came from a parallel universe two years ago, on the same night your Harper died at Chris' game. I was sucked into a gateway at the same time she died, and we merged together."

"This body changed to fit my old body, it took two years, and that's why I was in a coma. The brain tumors were caused by the colliding cells, and it's killing me."

"I can either separate them and return to my world or merge them and forever live in this body, or world, I guess."

Harper took another deep breath. "Truth is, I was born with the name Scott White, and I was a man. My parents died when I was five, murdered by an eco-terrorist, and I lived as a homeless orphan until my powers manifested and I became a hero."

"I couldn't let anyone lose their parents as I did. When I chose to become a hero, I decided to leave my old life behind. I changed my name to the most arbitrary name I could think of, Harper Dollinger, and I changed my body to fit the girl persona I created. Somehow, I was always connected to your Harper without knowing it."

"Lastly, my core power is energy manipulation. It allows me to control all types of energy, including electricity and gravity."

"So yeah, that's the whole truth. No more lies." The family was in shock. Their jaws dropped in unison; even Zoey didn't know all of that.

Mom couldn't speak, but Dad had the same question in his mind, "and what will you do about the tumor? Will you leave?"

The siblings didn't wait for Harper to answer Dad's question and started firing their own.

"So back at the beach, you used your power to learn how to swim,, didn't you?" Tom asked a rather random question.

"Wait, so that day, did you cause the explosion that injured us? Was it you?" Chris was understandably upset as he asked his question.

"You used to be a boy?" The twins asked together. They were always in sync, not just by speaking the same sentence at the same time but also by the way they thought and the things that caught their attention.

Of course, the siblings all spoke at the same time, but Harper used thought acceleration to separate and understand each question.

"Yes, probably, and yes," she pointed her finger at each sibling she answered. "Will you leave?" Dad asked again.

"I don't know." Harper couldn't look him in the eyes as she answered. "Don't worry, Dad, I'll make sure she stays. You can count on me," Zoey giggled.

"There's an entire world that needs me. They're counting on me. To be honest, it scares me, but I can't just leave them."

Milly was at a loss for words but still rushed to hug Harper after hearing her words. Mom left the living room and went into her bedroom without saying a word or showing any emotions, and Dad went after her.