Chad Undercover

Memories Dead and Gone

"You're going to have to work harder, Chad. I don't want to see this happen again." Chad's father looked disappointedly down at his young son, arms crossed.

Chad could feel the words chipping away at him. Only hours ago, he had been standing so proud, now his shoulders slumped, and his head hung low. He was barely able to rip his eyes from the polished wood floors to look up at his parents. "But dad... I metaled." He whimpered, clutching the silver metal around his neck. "I was second in the nation..."

"That isn't enough, Chad." His mother chimed in. Her stance was softer and less angry than his father, but that only made the disappointed look hurt worse. "When you are a hero, second place means innocent people die. You must be perfect. You must be ready for anything. Now go to your room. From now on you will be training in the mornings as well as at night."

Chad slowly nodded, shuffling away and up the stairs. Tears stung his eyes as he closed his bedroom door behind him. He looked around, dozens of gold metals and trophies hung on the walls and sat on shelves. He'd worked so hard to be the best at everything his parents made him do, but it was never enough... nothing would ever be enough.

The boy started to breathe a little heavier as he glared down at the polished silver he wore. A trembling hand lifted it from his chest, and he could see his own face reflected back at him.

The child's grip tightened before he tore the metal off over his head and stormed over to the balcony door, throwing it open before hurling the metal into the setting sun.

With a huff he turned, flopping onto the mattress as the tears burst through. A pillow muffled his cries, knowing from experience that his parents discovering his breakdown would end badly.

The slowly dimming room suddenly became very dark and a new voice startled the boy. "What is this?" Chad looked up to see Morgan, his teenage brother, standing in the balcony door way. He struggled to dry his face as the other moved in and sat on the bed next to him. "Alright, who's ass am I kicking?"

Chad shook his head, not looking at his brother. "No one's... It's nothing." He said. "What are you doing here, I thought you were locked in your room?"

Morgan laughed. "I wasn't going to let a deadbolt keep me from congratulating you on your metal." They said, twirling a set of lockpicks in their fingers. "You looked good on that podium."

Chad paused at the words, looking up at the other. "You saw?" he asked.

"Don't you trust me?" Morgan asked with a grin. "I said I'd always be there for you, even if I have to watch you on the cameras."

Chad stared at the other for a moment, remembering how much trouble they had been in for hacking into the school and exposing a teacher that was abusing their best friend. "But... I thought mom and dad locked you out of the internet after what you did for Barnaby."

Morgan just waved it off. "I hacked their firewall." They said dismissively.

The words made the younger boy tense up. He wasn't one to push boundaries like his brother. "They'll be furious if they find out." He breathed, always fearful of their parent's wrath.

"I'm already grounded. What are they going to do, arrest their own kid?" Morgan said, pulling the smaller boy close. They pinned their little brother to their side for a moment and ruffled his hair. "Superior himself couldn't keep me from watching my little brother fight."

Chad managed to squirm out of the hold, giggling a bit as he fixed his hair. His smile slowly faded, though, as his parents' words rang in his head. "Well, it doesn't matter..." He said, flopping back onto the bed. "I failed."

Morgan scoffed at the words. "No, you didn't." They corrected. "You lost by one point to a kid twice your size, that's not failing."

Chad sighed and rolled to face away from his brother. "That's what mom and dad say." He grumbled.

"Well, mom and dad are wrong." Morgan said, making Chad stop and slowly sit up. "I think they're wrong about a lot of things, actually..."

Chad stared for a moment, just processing the words. Morgan seemed so sure, but their parents were some of the greatest heroes of all time... how could they be wrong about this. "But it wasn't enough." He said, clinging to his parents' words, but finding himself desperate to be proven wrong. "If I want to be a hero, I have to try harder to be good enough."

Morgan shifted to face the other directly, sitting cross-legged on the mattress. "You already are good enough, Chad." They assured. "You're strong, you're brave, and you care so much about everyone."

The younger boy could feel the tears in his eyes again, his throat tightening as he looked away from the other. "But, what if... when I get my powers..." He swallowed hard, wringing his hands a bit. "What if they're... Wh-what if I'm..."

"Not strong enough?" Morgan said, and Chad immediately regretted bringing it up at the pain he heard in his brother's voice. It had only been a few weeks since Morgan had gotten their powers, using them to save Chad from a runaway truck. They had been so excited, but their parents were less than supportive. That was when the pressure on Chad had started to get really bad, while Morgan just seemed to fade into the background.

"I'm sorry..." Chad whispered, but a gentle hand on his shoulder made him look up at Morgan, who offered a comforting smile.

"Chad. I know you." They said, their soft tone calming their little brother. "No matter what your powers are, you are going to do great things. You are going to be a hero and help so many people. It doesn't matter if your D tier or S tier. You are going to be amazing, because of this right here." They poked Chad in the chest, right over his heart, getting a little giggle. The younger boy gave a small smile at the reassurance and moved to hug his big brother.

Morgan returned the hug with a warm squeeze. "Besides, you know I'll always be there to bail you out. We're family, and I take care of my family." He pulled back and reached into his pocket, revealing the silver metal Chad had thrown out. "Now. How about we find out how Peter and the lost boys escape from Captain Hook?"

Chad immediately brightened and scrambled to get the book out from under his bed. "Ok, will you do your evil voice for Hook?"

Morgan chuckled and settled in so that they and their brother could see the text. "Alright, but only if you do your heroic voice for Peter Pan." They said, settling in to read to their brother until the boy fell asleep against them.

Beep.... Beep... beep...

The sound of his alarm stirred Chad from his dreams, and he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He looked around to see, not his childhood bedroom, but rather the dingy walls of his temporary apartment. He reached over to grab his phone, turning off the alarm as he forced himself to sit up. The memory slipped back into the past where it belonged as he stretched. It was the last really good memory he had of his brother, before Chad had gotten his powers and everything changed.

There was a deep groan as the man stretched and moved to get ready for the day. Today was the day of the heist, a chance for Chad to take down his brother's gang from the inside.

He couldn't be late.