Sidekicks

Chapter 15: Work Like Lightning

The cold rain was enough to pierce straight to Henry's bones. His legs were shaking. His heart was pumping. His mother was telling him off.

"What are you doing?!" She screamed, tossing a small chunk of the road at him.

Henry threw out his arm, knocking the piece aside with an arc of electricity. He didn't speak. He couldn't. If he did anything other than breathe, he felt like his lungs would collapse.

"They tried to kill you!" Repulser shrieked. She threw a couple more cracked bricks, trying to whip them over Henry's head and connect with Ryan.

Henry punched forward just as fast, blowing the bricks apart with a flash. The wind and rain came in a sudden gust, nearly blowing him off his feet. He stumbled a bit, chomping down on his lip to keep from crying out at the pain that sparked the moment he moved. He didn't want to give his mother any more incentive to become a murderer.

"You have to stop!" Henry cried, struggling to keep himself on his feet.

"They're killers!" Repulser waved her arms and little bits of the road followed her motion, rising and tumbling around her. Her wig was starting to slide off, something that had never happened during a fight before.

She's dying. Henry thought in a flurry of panic. Mom, you're dying!

"Please, Mom, stop!" Henry shouted, not caring for the fact that Ryan was somewhere behind him, fighting Captain Kilowatt.

"They tried to kill you!"

"Because of you!" Henry threw his fists down and small bolts of energy connected with the ground. "It's your fault!"

Repulser froze, her wig crooked on her head. He could see the shock in her eyes beneath the pink of her mask. Her mouth twitched but she couldn't speak.

Henry straightened his back, tears threatening to spill over onto his already wet face, adding to his soaked mask. "Why'd you do it?"

"Fuse..." He could barely hear her over the wind and rain and blood pumping in his ears.

"You gave me her old name, her old face...! Why'd you do it?" He blinked and the hot tears trailed down his skin, soaking into the cold of his mask.

"I...!" Repulser's lip was trembling and Henry couldn't help but wonder if it was because she was upset or freezing to death. "I needed you. I couldn't beat her by myself!"

"Then you should've just lost!" Henry argued.

"I couldn't lose her!" She scowled. "I needed someone with her powers!"

"Then find someone!" Henry threw up his arms. "Don't grow someone!"

"Fuse, you don't-"

"Don't call me that!" Henry shouted. "You couldn't even give me a real name! You gave me a villain name! I'm not a person to you, I'm expendable! I'm a sidekick!"

She brought her hands to her chest, shaking her head. "It may have started out that way but it's different now! I admit it, I treated you wrong at first! I told you I'd replace you, I made you do the things I didn't want to do, I hid what you are from you..." She stepped forward, furrowing her brow apologetically. "We built that machine. The three of us. Mostly Kilowatt... In case we ever needed more allies or... replacements. I thought I could just keep you around like a pet or something- Wait, no not like an animal-! Let me start over-"

"Just shut up!" Henry spat, glaring his mother down. Had he ever told her off like this before? He couldn't remember.

She ignored him, barrelling on. "But it's not like that anymore! You're not a sidekick to me, you're the son I didn't know I wanted! And I lo-"