HERO

46 / Mirror Mirror

Oscar turned his back to his newest recruit and the gathered children started to disperse. Some evaporated, teleporting out, while others left through a trap door in the centre of the floor. Thomas looked around, unsure of what to do. 'Steady Eddie' stepped closer and beckoned him over. Thomas moved cautiously towards him.

"Yes?"

"So, you're the famous Nomad, then." Eddie looked Thomas up and down with a look mixing mistrust with admiration. "You don't look nothin'."

"I guess I look right, then."

"Don't put yourself down," Eddie said. "I'm just messing you."

"Yeah," Thomas replied. "Hilarious."

"I know, Tommy boy."

"Thomas. My name's Thomas."

"Sure it is Tommy boy."

Thomas stepped forward. He felt like turning and skulking away, facing the same attitude he'd had to contend with at school. But, he didn't. He thought these children were outcasts. Birds of a feather flocking together.

Well, and Bren's influence stepped in here, they could flock off if they were going to be like this.

"My name," he said through gritted teeth tightened with clenched fists, "is Thomas."

Eddie seemed to shrink slightly in stature. Thomas's insistence popped the bubble of the other boy's bravado, revealing someone whose words were bigger than their false ego.

"OK, got it, Thomas. Soz, I was just sizing you up."

"Not everyone is as big as their height," Thomas said. "But that doesn't mean you should punish 'em for it."

Eddie frowned as he tried to process the meaning of Thomas's words. Thomas himself was quite proud of the phrase. It sounded like something his father would say and, though he didn't particularly want to be like Iain at that point, it made him feel grown up, and not a little superior.

"How come you ain't gone mad?"

Thomas shrugged. He'd asked himself as much on many an occasion, but could think of no reason. He wasn't different. Maybe he was just lucky. Or unlucky. His point of view was subject to wild swings regarding his luck.

"Dunno," he said. "Oscar gave me some stuff to kick start my powers, but they didn't work. Maybe I won't get either. Powers or insanity."

"That's insane already," Eddie laughed. "Everyone gets one or the other. You can't get nuthin'."

"Well, not me."

"Maybe you're special," suggested Eddie. "Not having a power is your power."

"I don't know how that would work. All it's done is make me a target."

"Leave him be, Steady."

Both boys turned towards the voice. Alex was leaning against a wall, and looked half part of it. An entire arm, part of the torso and the head as far as the corner of the eye were still blended with the surface of the wall.

"Ugh!" exclaimed Eddie, accompanying it with a retching sound and a movement suggesting he was vomiting. "You know I hate it when you do that, Alex."

"That's why I do it. I have an excuse. You don't have any reason to be bugging him."

"I wasn't..."

"You were. You always do."

"Well... I..."

"See?" Alex said, smiling broadly. "You're always the same with newbies."

"Yeah, but Noobs ain't ever Nomads. And never ten year ol' Nomads either."