Superlad
by Mark Newman
Superlad, a cocky teenager with powers like Superboy's, has one of those days.


Superlad burst into the house. He was a boy of 16 years, with bright red hair
and freckles scattered around his mischievous face. He wore a blue top with an
"SL" emblazoned on his chest and "speedo style" shorts, which showed off his
well formed package. He took off his mask and hung it on the knob of one of
the kitchen cabinets, loudly dumped a brightly colored, metal gadget on the
counter and then went straight to the freezer. He grabbed a couple of ice pops
and ripped them open, tossing the crumpled paper wrapping onto the pile of
trash in the overstuffed pail, wedging it perfectly inside the tiny opening of
a coke bottle.

"Yes!" he shouted. "That's seventeen thousand one hundred sixty-two in a row!"

"Is that you John?" a woman shouted from upstairs.

"Yeah, Aunt Betty," he called, flipping through the mail until he got to
Sports Illustrated. He tore the plastic off and compressed it with his hands
into a microscopic ball, heated it slightly with his heat vision, then blew it
into a bubble and flicked it onto the ceiling, where it stuck. Then he sat
down at the kitchen table and leafed through the magazine while he ate his ice
cream.

Betty Bell entered the kitchen, carrying the dirty laundry in a basket. She
had changed into a t-shirt and jeans after work and had put her dark hair up.
Her face was red and glowed from perspiration as she worked to keep the house
clean. "Snacking again? You've almost finished them already. I just went to
the market yesterday!" She looked around the room. "You were supposed to empty
the trash this morning, before school. I've left it for you, and it STILL
isn't done. And I asked you not to just dump your stuff on the counter. What
am I supposed to do with it?" Superlad shrugged. "What IS it anyway? It looks
like a gun. I don't like guns in my house."

"It's a super-power draining gun. Evilgirl got it through a rift to the
seventh dimension and was going to use it on me and Luscious Lass, but we got
it away from her and drained her power instead!"

"Oh! Good job!" Betty smiled and put her hand on his shoulder. "Evilgirl ...
isn't she the one with the --

"Yeah, great bod, but a bad attitude! Well, she won't be bothering ordinary
citizens again, thanks to me!" he said, raising his fists in triumph. "And
Luscious Lass too. Got to give her some credit, I guess. It's a cool gun. We
might be able to use it on other super-villains too," he added, then went back
to the magazine.

"Well, ok. But please put it away and keep it safe, John. I don't even like
looking at it. So what happened to her powers?" Betty asked. Superlad remained
engrossed in the article. "John, I asked you a question," she said more
loudly.

"What?" he asked, looking up for a minute before burying his head in the
magazine again.

"Is something wrong with your super-hearing? I said, what happened to her
powers after you took them away?"

He kept reading to the end of the paragraph, then looked up, annoyed. He
sighed. "They just get stored in the gun. After we drained them from Evilgirl,
we reversed the settings and gave them to Luscious Lass's little sister. It
wasn't like it was a lot. Evilgirl wasn't that powerful. She had some
telekinetic powers and some light mind control. That's all. It wasn't worth
saving." He laughed. "Now Lush's sister is calling herself 'Levitating Lisa.'
What a dumb name!"

"Was that a good idea? She's awfully young to be given superpowers, isn't
she?" He ignored her. "John! I'm talking to you."

"And I'M trying to read this. Sheesh! Can't a super-hero take a minute off
every now and then to relax!" He looked up, glaring at her. "Look. Luscious
Lass and I thought it would be funny, and it was. You should have seen Lisa
making this boy across the street do funny things."

"That seems very irresponsible to me." She shook her head. "John, can you give
me a hand with the laundry?" Superlad didn't move a muscle. "John, I put in a
full day's work, and now it's seven o'clock, I'm cleaning, and I STILL haven't
had any dinner," she replied angrily, dropping the laundry basket on the
floor. The plastic split open. "Oh no!"

"Temper temper, Aunt Betty," he teased, putting his feet up.

She turned red with anger. "And that trash bin is still full!" He rolled his
eyes, theatrically put the magazine down and then at super-speed picked up the
trash, dropped it in the garbage can outside and put a new liner inside the
bin, returning to his reading in less than a hundredth of a second. "Well,
John?!" she said, raising her voice.

"Why are you yelling? I already did it, Aunt Betty," he smirked, indicating
with his eyes the empty bin.

She looked over at it and suppressed her desire to smack him -- it would only
hurt HER -- picked up the laundry from the floor with her hands and walked
downstairs to the washing machine. She separated the darks and whites and
filled the machine with the first load, then caught a glimpse of herself in
the mirror. Even in her tired and disheveled state, she didn't look THAT bad.
She was twenty-eight, it was true, but her bright green eyes, her pert nose
and round face still attracted as much attention as a girl ten years younger
would. What's more, she tried to keep herself in good shape, going to the gym
four times a week during her lunch hour, watching what she ate, and then doing
Yoga at night. She flexed her biceps and smiled at the pretty bulge. This old
girl still had a well-toned body any woman would be proud of, one that any man
would desire. But John's presence stood in the way -- no man wanted to stay
with her on a permanent basis if it meant fighting and losing constant battles
with a super-adolescent who could and would show him up at will. It was eight
years since she'd promised her dying sister that she'd be a mother to John
until he was 18. Two more years now and she will have fulfilled that promise
and would be free to live her own life again!

John wasn't bad -- no, she said to herself thankfully, he was not one of the
evil ones by a long shot, and it was a good thing since he was one of the most
powerful super beings around. It was just that he was so full of himself. Of
course, what could she expect? What teenage boy with super-strength,
invulnerability, super-vision, and no known weaknesses wouldn't be sassy,
selfish and generally ungovernable. It was hard enough when he was eight, just
getting over his parents' death at the hands of Maniac Man. His rage then knew
no bounds. She had worked hard, her own life in danger from his anger, to
teach him rules and responsibilities, following the well-worn instructions of
child care books, social workers and her own mother. But somehow the battles
with her adolescent nephew took even more out of her. Many times she wished
some other super-hero would just take direct control of him. The job would
have been easier for Amazon Lady, for example. Still, she sympathized with
their view that super-heroes developed best within their own family. Somehow
everyone agreed that the love of a parent, or in John's case, an Aunt, did
more to instill the right values than the less personal efforts of others,
even if their super-powers appeared to give them more authority.

She walked tiredly back upstairs, thinking about some fruit, yogurt and a stir
fry for dinner. Then a little bit of work, Ally McBeal, and her Yoga before
bed and some blissful sleep before she started the whole routine over again
tomorrow. She had just enough time to get a good eight hours too! So long as
she didn't have any fights with John. She reached the top step and then looked
at the kitchen with dismay. He'd left smudges on the floor and table from the
ice cream, had compressed the sticks from the pops into arrows and had
propelled them into the wall, and the pit from the plum she'd been thinking
about eating had been casually scorched with heat vision and rubbed into the
tablecloth. And that damn gun was STILL on the kitchen counter, exactly where
he'd left it. She heard the loud beat of his heavy metal music pounding on the
ceiling. She was SURE that he hadn't done his homework yet. So much for her
planned evening! She tried to pull the sticks from the wall but couldn't. They
were too thin and too deeply embedded for her to do it. The tablecloth would
have to be washed -- and she had already STARTED the whites! She picked up a
rag and started to rub at the floor, rubbing harder and harder without getting
the stain out, then threw it down. Why should SHE do it! HE made the mess!
Sure it would be more work for her to GET him to do it than to do it herself,
but DAMN it, he HAD to LEARN! "JOHN!" she called. There was no WAY he was
going to admit hearing her above that din, even though she knew he could
easily distinguish any voice on Earth IF he wanted to. That was TYPICAL of the
WHOLE PROBLEM! She looked around the room, raging again at the mess, grabbed
the gun off the counter to bring it upstairs and stomped toward his room.
"JOHN! JOHN!! JONATHAN JASON JOHNSTONE!!!" she called out without a response.
She kicked open his door to find that the walls of his room, reasonably clean
this morning, were now plastered with pictures of the high school cheerleading
squad, all of them hand-drawn with perfect realism, all of them in life-like
postures, and all of them completely naked.

He looked up at her, smirking. "I decided to learn how to draw tonight. Pretty
good for a start, huh Aunt Betty? I think I'll do you next."

No! He wouldn't dare! She looked at him in horror and saw him focus his x-ray
vision on her. Why, the absolute NERVE of him!! She felt the gun in her hands,
and without thinking, aimed it at him and fired. He was too shocked to react,
and in a moment it was done. He looked at her in shock, fixed her eyes on her,
looked harder and yelled out. "Hey!! Give them back!!!"

She glared at him. She couldn't believe what she'd done, but she couldn't back
down now. "No! I've had enough of your attitude for today."

His mouth dropped open. "Give me my powers back!" he demanded. She shook her
head. He got out of his chair and advanced toward her. "This is no joke Aunt
Betty. Either you give me them back, or I'll take the gun from you and do it
myself. I've faced greater challenges than this and I've always triumphed."

That's his super-hero voice, Betty thought, and noted with some admiration
that it was pretty effective. Just hearing him say it leached away most of her
confidence. Still she had to stand her ground -- for his sake as well as hers.
He had to know that even at age sixteen, and even as a super-hero, there WERE
limits.

"You'll get your powers back tomorrow morning before you go to school -- if
you've cleaned up as I've asked AND finished your homework." That sounded
reasonable to her.

He smiled condescendingly and shook his head. "No way. I have other plans for
tonight. I'm meeting Luscious Lass in Waikiki for some surfing. I'd only need
five minutes to do my homework with my powers anyway." He stared at her. "Aunt
Betty, just give me my powers back and we'll forget this ever happened, OK?
I'm sure you wouldn't want me to report this."

Betty stared at him in amazement. HE was threatening HER? HOW DARE HE! "You
heard what I said. And if you don't snap to it, I'll make it a WHOLE DAY
without super-powers!" she said, slamming the door with her foot and marching
down the hall.

He was out of his room and after her in an instant. "Hey! I'm not finished
talking to you. YOU don't walk out on ME, do you hear?" He put his hand on her
shoulder. She whirled around and pushed it off, keeping the gun away from him.
He grabbed at her again and she turned and executed a perfect karate kick at
his chest, her strong leg propelling him down the hall, off his feet and onto
his back. He looked up at her in astonishment and rubbed his chest. "Nice move
Auntie," he said, getting up slowly. He advanced toward her, loosening his
chest and shoulder muscles. "Listen," he said, calmly, quietly, but firmly.
"Either give me my powers back, now, or give me the gun and I'll do it myself.
I won't hold any grudges. I'm sorry for the way I've acted today. I apologize
for ignoring you and for messing up the house. I know you work hard. I know
you've done a lot for me. And I know I don't thank you enough for it." He
stopped a few feet short of her, while her back was nearly against the wall at
the end of the hallway. He said nothing, waiting for her to respond.

"John," she said, swallowing, her voice not as solid as she wished it was,
"you should call Luscious Lass and tell her you can't go surfing with her
tonight, then go downstairs and clean up the kitchen and then back to your
room to do your homework. I want you in bed by ten -- ten-thirty if you need
the extra time for your work." Then she added as a sweetener. "And if you've
done all that, wake me at six and I'll give you your powers back then." It
would be worth losing half an hour's sleep to show him that she could give a
little too. But he had to learn there WERE limits.

He was shocked. So she was really going through with this punishment! This was
completely outrageous! He'd certainly report her. But then he wondered what
would happen. What if the adult super-heroes backed her? Then she might start
taking away his powers for every little infraction of her little rules. No! He
would NOT let her get away with it. He had to make sure this ended here and
now!

She saw the flicker of reasonableness ebb from his face and his anger and
intransigence return. She backed away further and put the gun behind her, on
the floor, then stepped back toward him. Her heart pounded. Would he really
fight her for the gun? She knew that as Superlad he fought evil superwomen,
but she couldn't believe a sixteen year old boy would lift his hand against
his Aunt? In answer to her uncertainty, he leapt forward with his fists aimed
at her stomach. She prepared herself to try to block him, only to see it was a
feint and instead he was aiming lower, through her legs, to get the gun. He'd
tricked her! He knocked her out of the way and dove for the gun, getting his
hands on it. She quickly fell backwards and grabbed for it too. Now it was a
contest of strength. He pulled it toward him, and then she pulled back and
tore it from his hands. He stared at her in surprise and grabbed for it again,
but she put her hand on his chest and pushed him backwards and he fell over.
She tossed the gun inside her bedroom and braced herself in front of the door.
She was ready for him now. He charged her, and she grabbed him by the waist
and threw him down. He got up, breathing hard, and came at her again, though
more slowly this time. She met him halfway, taking his hands in a mercy
position and steadily pushed him backwards. Why, to both their amazement, she
was stronger than he was! She looked at his arms and legs and realized that
for all his power as Superlad, his muscles were not large. In fact, she
noticed with pride, hers were larger than his. With all of her exercise, no
doubt they were harder too.

Superlad had reached the same conclusion at the exact same time. He couldn't
believe that without his super-powers his young Aunt was actually stronger
than he was. This was horrible and so unfair! After all, he'd always HAD
super-powers. He'd never HAD to exercise. There was never any reason to
develop muscles. But now that lack of development was coming home to roost.
Aunt Betty's arms looked like they were chiseled out of stone. To drive the
point home, she'd grabbed his upper arms to push him back and squeezed. He
jumped, unaccustomed to the pain. Her fingers had compressed them as easily as
if they were bags of jelly.

Betty didn't say anything. She didn't want to humiliate him. But she was
amazed at how soft his arms were. Without his powers he was a weakling! She
chuckled to herself. Well, this would surely be a night he remembered for the
rest of his life. Maybe it would teach him the value of the more disciplined
life she practiced. She was more determined than ever to carry through the
punishment.

Just then, there was a twinkle in the air and a seductive fragrance. That
could mean only one thing. In moments, Luscious Lass appeared, wearing a
bikini and holding a surfboard. She looked at Superlad and his Aunt in a
fighting posture and cleared her throat.

Betty let go of Superlad and backed away toward her room, embarrassed. "Why,
err, hello dear. You look so nice tonight!" Betty wanted to kick herself for
saying such a dumb thing. Luscious Lass always looked ... luscious. At just
fifteen she was already six feet tall, two inches taller than John, and her
forty inch bust, her twenty-two inch waist, her 39 inch legs, her glowing
blond hair and her blue eyes, made her every man's dream. She was more
muscular than the average girl -- and the average man -- but not nearly as
powerful as Superlad. But with her bewitching beauty she didn't have to be.
Her ability to transport herself anywhere, her deceptive strength, which
though nowhere near that of Superlad's was still at least twice that of a
normal man, her quick and intuitive mind, her charming way with people and her
rumored, though never confirmed, power to read minds made her a valuable
addition to League of Super People. Betty liked her and thought she was a good
influence on her nephew, but her appearance just now made this situation still
harder to manage.

"Hi Ms. Bell. How are you?" she said graciously. "You changed your hair. It's
really lovely!"

Betty blushed. "I can't believe you noticed." She had to crane her head to
talk to her. It was very awkward.

"Well of COURSE I noticed. I take a great interest in the people who are
important to Johnnie!" She flashed a winning smile, then turned to Superlad.
"Hey babe, you didn't forget our little date, did you?"

"No." He couldn't decide what to say. Then he realized that if he could get
Luscious Lass to help him he could get his powers back tonight. He leaned
forward and whispered, "She used the gun on me! As a punishment!" Luscious
Lass looked shocked and looked at Superlad carefully, then giggled. "You don't
LOOK any different. Are you telling me that you have no super-powers at all?"
she asked, mischievously. She wiggled her fingers in front of him as if she
was going to tickle him. He jumped back, but she turned to Betty instead.
"What'd he do?" she asked, her voice a tempting blend of curiosity, sympathy
and concern.

"Well, just take a look at the kitchen downstairs," she said, "for starters."
As Luscious Lass disappeared, Betty leaned forward and said quietly, "Shall I
tell her about your room too?" Superlad blushed and shook his head rapidly.
Betty nodded and crossed her arms across her chest, just as Luscious Lass
reappeared.

"Pretty bad, Johnnie! You really have to learn some better housekeeping skills
-- if you ever want to live with me! I bet your room is even worse!"

She made as if she was going there too, when Superlad put his hand on her.
"Uh, yeah, it sure is! And I KNOW I'll do better in the future. Look, uh,
Lush, if I want my powers back I need to clean up downstairs AND do my
homework. So I'll need to get going on that stuff pretty quick!"

Luscious Lass's intuition told her that Superlad was hiding something from her
in his room. That was ok. She'd find out what it was. She always did. "So,"
she sighed. "I guess it'll just be Ultraboy and me on the beach tonight. And
he's always so fresh with his hands! I'll miss your not being there to protect
me!" She turned to Betty. "Is it all right if I kiss him goodnight?"

Betty blushed. "Of course, dear." She turned away. It was amazing how Luscious
Lass always seemed in charge wherever she went.

Luscious Lass bent down and kissed Superlad, then put her hands under his arms
to lift him to her height, taking advantage of the temporary reversal in their
relative power. She giggled, said "oooh, squishy muscles," in a high pitched
voice, rubbed his nose with hers and then let him go. "Bye Johnnie. Work hard!
Good night Ms. Bell!" She disappeared, reappearing briefly in Superlad's room
where she was barely able to suppress an indignant cry and returned to
Waikiki.

"She's gone there with Ultraboy!" he cried out. "I can't believe this!"

"She MIGHT just be saying that to make you jealous," Betty suggested. "But
you'd better not worry about that now. You have work to do."

Superlad glared at her and went downstairs. Betty looked at her watch. It was
already nine o'clock! She followed him downstairs and had some yogurt and a
green salad, then put the whites in the dryer and started on the darks, all
while he scrubbed away at the stains and ate a bowl of Corn Flakes, Then they
both went upstairs, Superlad into his room to do his homework and Betty to
shower and do her Yoga. She'd just have to miss Ally this week! Stephanie
would have to fill her in at work. Annoyed, she undressed and got into the
shower, but while she rinsed the soap off her body she noticed a change in the
light of the room, visible through a glass window at the top of the bathroom
door. Her door must have opened! She shut off the water and pulled on her
robe. What was John doing in her room?! She opened the door and saw him
rifling through her things, looking for the gun.

"John, get out of here this minute!" He ignored her and went to the closet and
she headed there to cut him off. "I'm warning you!" she said, reaching it at
the same time as he did. He pulled open the door and she shut it, taking
satisfaction again in her superior strength. While she held the door shut, he
tried to get her away from it, using the leverage of his greater weight. As he
grabbed her, he accidentally pulled her robe open, exposing her chest and her
crotch. "Johnnie!!" she shrieked, "let go of me and get out of here right
now!!"

He was slightly aghast at this turn of events, but couldn't help appraising
his Aunt's supple body and surprisingly youthful and round breasts. His
interest was obvious. "JOHNNIE!" she repeated, finally slapping him.

He started, put his hand to his face where a red slash appeared. "Oww!" he
cried.

"John! I'm sorry, but just WHAT do you think you're doing?!" She pulled her
robe closed and tied it tightly. "You can forget about getting your powers
back tomorrow morning, and I have serious doubts about tomorrow night!"

"Aunt Betty! You can't DO this to me. I NEED those powers! And the world needs
me too. You're just on some kind of power trip now."

She advanced on him. "A POWER trip?" She grabbed his shirt. "If you want to
see a power trip, you just keep on the way you're going!" She shoved him
against the wall. "Now finish your homework and get to bed!" She pushed him
out the door and slammed it. He was being completely impossible! She walked
over to the mirror at her vanity. Oh no! She hadn't even washed her hair. She
was so angry. Well, it would have to wait until tomorrow. She could probably
let it go one more day. What she really needed was her Yoga. Right now, she
was so worked up that if she tried to go to bed, she'd just stew.

She put on her loose clothing and rolled out her mat, settled into a Lotus
position to begin and started with her breathing exercises. In and out, in and
out. She felt a calm descend over her. A power trip indeed! How could he say
that! No, she reminded herself. No thoughts. Just breath. Everything was
breath. The universe expanded and contracted as she filled and emptied her
lungs. That was better. Her senses sharpened. She could hear John mutter in
the next room, turning pages, crumpling paper. A brief thought went through
her, wanting to check on him, see if he needed help, but she let it go. Not
now. Just breath. Now she was ready for movement too. She went through her
short routine. Stretches, bends, reaches, twists. Yes, that was right. She
felt her inner peace return, a warmth like the sun settle in her spiritual
center. It was too much to expect a vision from her third eye tonight, but she
was conscious of the light of being. Now breathe again, the breath of the
universe, breathing her in and out. She sat, eyes closed, sitting within her
peace, the peace beyond understanding. Yes, that was a good session. She
opened her eyes slowly. Well! At least that part of the evening was saved. It
was eleven now. She'd only have time for seven and a half hours sleep, but
that would do.

She put away her mat and prepared for bed, but then went in to see John before
she climbed in. He was asleep at his desk, the light still on. Poor lad. He'd
finished most of his work, leaving only his Science. She helped him into bed
and turned off the light, then went back to her room. She pulled back the
blankets, and was surprised in her calm to see the gun there. She smiled. It
was a good feint on her part to make him think it was in the closet, she
thought with satisfaction. Another little victory. She reproached herself for
that. Was he right, even a little bit? Was she on a "power trip" tonight? It
certainly wasn't anything she'd planned, but as things rolled along, was she
taking too much pleasure in showing "Superlad" that his Aunt was pretty
formidable too? She breathed in deeply, taking an inventory. She'd given up a
lot to take care of him. Her own life had been on hold for years. She'd kept
working on herself, but how many new friends had she made? How far had she
been held back in her career? And where was love? Did she resent John for
depriving her of those things? She felt good about herself, but what about her
life? Would she ever have her own family? Or would she be too old, with too
little time to find the right man? Had her sister ever realized what she was
asking when she begged her, a single women barely twenty years old, to leave
college and be a "mom" to her son the super-hero?

She looked at the gun. It was amazing that this little device had so quickly
and easily stripped John of his powers. One push of a button and he was an
ordinary boy. Another push tomorrow and he'd be Superlad again, one of the
most powerful beings on the planet. She stared at that button and a shiver
went through her. No. She couldn't. She just couldn't. She put the thought out
of her mind. But it kept coming back. She'd known John since he was born, when
she was just twelve. She'd seen him grow up with his super-powers, seen them
develop and seen his use of them become more and more skilful. And she'd
always wondered what it must be like for him. To be able to see the whole
world from any place on Earth, to hear the quietest sound, or all the sounds.
To fly high above the ground or to the other side of the Earth in seconds. To
be free of any fear of harm. To have strength so great it could not be
measured. It was unimaginable. And yet there it was. The press of a lavender
button the size of her thumb was all it would take for those powers to be
hers. And then it happened. She didn't know quite how, but the next moment the
gun was in her hands, the setting was changed from "drain" to "gain", the gun
was turned in her direction and the button was pressed. And then when it was
finished the gun in her small feminine hands was suddenly crushed into a disk
the size of a pancake. She stared at it in shock. What had she done?!! She
stared at the metal disk, but there was absolutely no way for her to reverse
the process, to pull a super-power draining gun out of the hard round circle.

She took a deep breath and felt air rush into her lungs. Doors slammed
throughout the house, windows rattled and her mobile swirled dizzily. This was
impossible! She looked toward John and her gaze passed through her door and
his and settled on the sleeping boy. She heard him breathe, his rest slightly
disturbed by the noise but quickly returning to the deep sleep he needed, that
he would now need for the rest of his life. Unless she found a way to give him
his powers back. Her own tiredness had vanished the instant she had fired the
gun at herself. She had to undo it! Why it was terrible what she'd done! But
how?

She went to the bookshelf she had assembled to help her raise a super-powered
child and pulled out "What to Expect When Your Child is Super." That had been
her favorite, at least before the teen years, but there was no chapter on
coping with super-power transfers. She tried the super-child books by Dr.
Braselton and Penelope Leach. They were no help either. She reluctantly pulled
down the 1985 edition of the 2,500 page Columbia Encyclopedia of Super-Powers
she'd inherited from her sister, not noticing that its weight seemed to have
vanished. She flipped through the pages rapidly and found only this unhelpful
note: "Throughout history, unusual weaponry acquired as a result of
inter-dimensional rifts has been problematic for super-powered individuals. It
is noteworthy that such rifts have occurred just six times in recorded history
and accordingly, barring significant advances in science on either side of the
dimensional barrier, this is unlikely to be a recurring problem. It is
anticipated that rifts will occur next in 2002 and then not again until 2394.
See also Mxyzptlk." The only entry for Power Transfer concentrated on the many
instances of The Parasite and a seventeen page essay on Rogue. She checked the
updates on the Internet, but the original writer of the Power Transfer article
had died and his replacement was more interested in a feminist critique of the
fictional writings of Mark Newman, The Mighty Lingster, Nomdreserv and other
paeans of post-modern literature than in practical advice for Betty. No
further research had been done on inter-dimensional rifts, as there hadn't
been any since 1985 -- until yesterday.

What could she do? She needed to talk to someone. It was midnight already --
too late to call any of her friends. She lay on her bed, then realized again
she wasn't a bit tired. What was she going to do? She thought about the house.
It really needed a good clean. In an instant she was out of bed, straightening
her room. The more she did, the faster she moved. She did the floors, the
walls, the bathrooms, the cellar. Even the foyer, which had been caked with
dirt for weeks. She folded the whites and then, on a whim, dried the darks
with a combination of her heat vision and super-breath in seconds. The whole
job had taken her twenty minutes! What a help John could have been around the
house, if he'd only made half an effort! It almost made her angry again, but
then she looked in on him sleeping and felt sorry for him. What a comedown it
would be for him. How would he relate to his friends, to the public who had
admired him so much, and to Luscious Lass. And how would she react?

Then she knew what she had to do next. There was one person she COULD talk to.
It was still just one o'clock. She floated quietly into John's room and took
his costume and put it on. The top was OK. The half sleeves he wore were just
right for her. The shoulders were too large but the chest was OK. The speedo
looked ridiculous, but she'd made him some shorts for him too, hoping he'd
realize that the speedo was not appropriate at his age, and those would do for
now, until she was able to get more super-material. She checked on him once
again and was off to Waikiki.

There was Luscious Lass, playing in the surf with a group of locals. No sign
of Ultraboy. She KNEW it was just a tease. She waited until she'd ridden the
wave in and then landed next to her.

"Luscious Lass! We need to talk."

Luscious Lass turned to her. "Why Ms. Bell! What are you doing here, and in
Johnnie's costume?"

"Luscious Lass, there's uh, been an accident. He was in my room, disobeying
me, acting fresh -- and I got so angry -- and then when I calmed down -- the
gun was right there and -- I have John's powers now."

"An accident?! You mean, you and gave them to yourself after you took them
from him?! I can't believe you'd do that! You give him back his powers right
now!"

"I can't. I don't have the gun anymore." She put her hand on Luscious Lass's
shoulder, wanting her understanding, but the beautiful girl just laughed and
shook it off.

"What do you mean?"

"I -- I just don't have it. It disappeared."

Luscious Lass looked puzzled. "Well, find it, or get another one."

"I can't, and there is no other one. It came from the seventh dimension. There
won't be another rift until the 24th century."

She stepped away. "You're kidding! I can't believe it! The 24th century!
That's a very long time!"

"I made a big mistake. Please understand. I need your help. For John's sake."

"You need MY help? Why? You're very powerful. You have Superlad's powers after
all. You don't need me to do anything for you." Her eyes flashed at Betty, her
mighty chest heaving with emotion. "But I'm not sure I'd WANT to help you,
after what you've done."

"Then help John then. This will crush him. Especially when if he sees I've
already been on TV. He'll need to know you're still his friend, even when he
doesn't have his super-powers. That you didn't like him just because he was
Superlad, but also because he's John."

"Right. Well, what do YOU think I should do?"

"As I said, help him get through it. I'm sure he won't want me around to help
him, at least not for awhile."

"I can see why he might think that," she said.

Betty noted her sarcasm but went on anyway. "Make sure he knows he's still
valuable as a person. And if you love him, make sure he knows it. And if you
don't still love him, without his super-powers ... well, find a way to tell
him nicely, honestly, and quickly."

Luscious Lass looked down at her. "That's such a nice answer, and just what I
thought you'd say." She smiled a private smile. "You know, if you used your
flying power a little, we could at least be eye-to-eye. That's what Johnnie
used to do." Betty rose off the ground six inches, wondering again how this
teenage girl always seemed in charge and wishing she had suggested it before.
Now Luscious Lass looked down at the empty space between Betty's feet and the
ground and smiled. "That's better. I know what I think. It's good you came
here to tell me. You're sincere when you say that it was an accident, or at
least that you didn't mean to do him harm." She flashed her eyes again. "But I
don't believe in accidents," she said, knowingly.

Betty swallowed and nodded. "I know what you mean, but --

"Do you? Well, I know just what I'm going to do." She looked off into the
distance, over the water.

"What?"

"You don't think I'd tell you, do you?" She crossed her arms over her ample
chest. "I can't believe those pictures in his room! It's really disgusting,
you know!"

"How do you know about them? You don't have x-ray vision, do you?"

She tossed her head, letting her hair bounce. "I made a quick stop on my way
back here. Who ARE those girls?"

"They're from his high school." Luscious Lass nodded, taking in the
information. "What are you going to do?" Betty asked again.

"I'm going to finish what I started." She grabbed her board and ran back into
the waves.

Betty stared at her. What confidence she had. It must come from growing up
with super-powers. She certainly didn't feel that way, even though she was so
much more powerful than Luscious Lass. She supposed she had a lot to learn
about being a super-hero. Well, in any case, that ended that discussion.
Somehow, she felt that Luscious Lass got more out of it than she did. That
ALWAYS seemed to happen.

Betty decided to go back home. She didn't like leaving John all alone there
even when he had his super-powers. And now, even though he was sleeping and
was sixteen, she was more protective of him. She flew quickly across Mexico
and up the coast to her house. She checked on John just before she arrived,
and was shocked that he was back in her room, looking for the gun! Why the
nerve!!! Somehow her message just wasn't getting through. What was it going to
take? She flew around to the back of the house and let herself in, changed to
her nightgown and ran upstairs. He was going through her clothing drawers when
she walked in.

"John! You can't do that! Those are my private things. What do I need to do to
get you just to accept your punishment?!" she said, angrily, then tried to
calm down.

"You don't understand what it's like for me without super-powers! I can't even
stay awake long enough to do this stupid homework. And it's hard!"

"It's supposed to be hard. Otherwise you wouldn't need to learn it."

"Bullshit. It's never taken me more than a few seconds to learn anything."

"Well, welcome to the real world, John, where it takes work to accomplish
things. And if you're tired, you stop, go to sleep, and try again the next
day."

"Maybe that works for YOU, but I don't need to. Just give me MY fucking powers
back or tell me where the fuck you hid the gun!"

His profanity was sending her over the edge. How was she supposed to talk to
him about what happened if he kept pushing her over the edge? She struggled to
keep her cool. "If I told you, it wouldn't stay hidden. Now get back to bed
and get the sleep your body is telling you it needs." He raised his arm and
showed her an iron rod. "John! Put that down!"

"When I had my powers, I didn't hesitate to use them. Without them, I'll have
to use something else," he said, his voice hard and desperate, and threw it at
her. She caught it and put it down on the dresser. Surprised, he picked up a
book and threw it at her head. She caught it easily and put it down. He threw
another, at the wall, and she grabbed it too. Then he picked up a glass bird,
a gift Clara, her late sister, had given to her when she was eight and Clara
was twenty.

"No! John, don't. Please!"

"Give me my powers back, now or I'll break it!"

"I can't do that!"

"You just won't! Fine then." He hurled the bird as hard as he could at the
window just six feet away from him, on the opposite side of the room from
Betty.

With only a split second to react, Betty flew across the room and grabbed the
bird, then landed, next to John. Clutching the bird she shook her hand at him.
"Don't you EVER touch that again!"

He stared at her. "Y-you just flew!" She crossed her arms across her chest, so
very angry, but also so upset that he'd found out this way. "You did! You have
my powers! That's why you won't give them back to me. You took them from me so
that you could have them for yourself!"

That was NOT the way she had intended to let him know she was now super. "No
John, it's not like that," she tried to explain.

"It is!" He rushed at her with his fists, but she caught him and immobilized
him easily so that he didn't hurt himself on her invulnerable body.

He tried to get free, but his efforts barely registered with her. Even though
she could tell he was trying with all his remaining strength she barely
noticed the effort she was expending. Was the difference in their strength
THAT great? It was completely unimaginable! With his arms caught at his sides,
she explained to him, quietly and firmly, what had happened -- well, almost
what had happened. "The settings must have gotten changed when I pushed it
under the blankets and hid it from you. And then, having forgotten about it, I
must have hit the button while I was getting into bed, it fired at me and then
just disappeared. It must have gone back to the 7th dimension," she fibbed,
vowing to destroy the still undiscovered crushed remnants of the device as
soon as he left the room.

"But that didn't happen when we used it on Lisa," he protested. "Of course,
that was a much smaller transfer of power. My powers were so great, it might
have exhausted its energy. Shit!! Why'd you have to do it, Aunt Betty!"

"I'm sorry John. I'm so sorry." She let go with one hand put her hand up to
his face to comfort him, but he slapped it away, then screamed in pain. Betty
was amazed. She felt the touch of his hand, but there was no pain at all, no
damage. Not even a red mark. And she had always bruised so easily! So this was
what it was like to be invincible! "John, you have to be careful. You can get
hurt now!"

"Get away from me! I don't WANT your SYMPATHY!" He pulled at his hand. "Just
let me go!" She dropped his hand and he ran crying from the room, slamming his
door.

"Well, that didn't go too well," she said to herself, wanting to follow him,
to comfort him, but also knowing that she of all people could not do it.
Perhaps Luscious Lass could. She put the books back on the shelves and cleaned
up the rest of the mess he'd made of her things. It took just fifteen seconds.
She'd need to put a lock on her door, at least until she could trust him
again. She didn't know how long that would take. She checked on him. He was
sobbing on his bed, but exhaustion was taking over. His breathing was becoming
more regular. Good. He needed his sleep now. Maybe he'd look at things
slightly differently in the morning.

She settled back onto the bed. It was 2:30 am now. So, what should she do? She
didn't need to sleep. She understood now how useless all her efforts were to
get John to sleep. He must have been faking it all these years, just to get
her out of his room. She picked up the book she'd been reading. She had been
absorbed in the plot, but never found the time to read more than a few pages
before she became too sleepy. Now her eyes started moving faster and faster
across the pages. Before she knew it, she'd finished the 450 page romance --
in six minutes. She shook her head. Reading sure wasn't going to pass the
time. She turned on CNN. There was a story about a hostage situation in New
Jersey, not far from where Betty had grown up. A deranged gunman was
threatening his neighbors, a family with three children! This was horrible.
Suddenly, she realized she could do something about it. She put on John's
uniform and flew out of the house, as quickly as she could, toward Nutley. In
seconds she was in town and she quickly found the house, lit up with
floodlights. The scene was exactly as it was shown on TV! It was so exciting
to be right there. She landed behind a police van. "Lieutenant, what's
happening? What can I do?"

He looked down at her and snorted. "Who're you? Sheesh. Another member of the
Superlad Fan Club! Listen, lady, we've got a situation here. Go home, turn on
the TV and let me do my job, will you? Hey, who let her in!" he called. "Joe,
will you take this lady OUTSIDE the police line. And don't send them to me,
will you?" Joe took her arm.

"I'm not going. I have to help those people inside," she insisted. "I have
super-powers. I can do it!" Joe pulled her arm, but Betty stayed rooted to the
spot.

"Joe, stop fooling around."

"I can't move her, Frank. She's strong. Maybe she is super."

"Yeah, then how come we've never heard of her? She's a Superlad fan, that's
all. You'd think a grown up woman would pick a superhero her own age, at
least."

Betty was annoyed, but she saw no need to argue. She was busy using her x-ray
vision to see what was going on inside. Why, the man was moving a young girl
into another room, after having tied down everyone else. Oh no! She couldn't
let that happen. "Listen, I'm going in to get him. Be ready!" She disappeared
at super-speed and crashed through the wall to the room where he was holding
her. "Let her go!" she ordered.

The man whirled around and put his hands around her throat. "Make one more and
I'll --

But that was all the time he had. Moving faster than he could see, she pulled
his arms off the girl, carried her back to her mother and returned to take him
in hand. Using just a fraction of her vastly superior strength, she marched
him out of the house, down the front walk and to the Lieutenant. "Here he is.
I assume you can take it from here?"

He stared at her. "How did you -- who are you?"

"I told you," she said, a little testily, and was just about to fly off when
several reporters burst through the police line and surrounded her.

"Miss, excuse me Miss. I'm Brent Richards, for WABC. That was amazing! Can you
tell us who you are? Are you related to Superlad? We recognize the costume."

"Superlad? I --

A second reporter interrupted. "Can we get a picture of you, in front of the
house. Yes, thank you Miss. What did you say your name was? Did you say the SL
stands for SuperLady?"

"I'm sorry I --

A third piped in, "So Superlady, how come we've never seen you before? Did you
just come to Earth?"

"No, I've always lived on --

The first spoke up again, "There's definitely a resemblance to Superlad! Are
you his older sister? His cousin? On which side of his family?"

"I don't think I should --

"Are you as powerful as Superlad?"

She stopped, stricken, and turned to the reporter. "I -- I better not answer
that."

"Is that because you're a girl and you want to protect his ego? You look
STRONGER than he is, because he isn't at all muscular. ARE you stronger? Have
you ever compared? What else aren't you telling us? Hey, come back!" he
called, as she flew off into the night.

This is awful, she thought. Now I'll be on television, and then in the
newspapers, and on the Internet. John will see all of it and think I'm just
looking for publicity, for fame -- when it's the LAST thing I want. I just
wanted to help that family, and Nutley! She looked down at the town, the
streets and houses, even the insides of the houses, plainly visible to her
despite the darkness of the night. She saw the people sleeping, so helpless,
needing her protection. Needing Superlad's protection. But now she'd have to
take his place -- even though it would hurt him to see her do it. Was this
what she was destined for, always to sacrifice what she wanted in order to
help others? She felt the tears rolling down her cheeks. Anyone would be
ecstatic to have such powers. Why did it seem like such a burden to her? She
flew back toward home. John was still sleeping. She wished she could do
something for him. But there was nothing. Nothing would satisfy him, except
getting his powers back. And that was one thing she didn't know how to do.

She flew back into her house and decided to shower again, this time washing
her hair. She let the water wash over her, the vibrations beating into her
muscles. Well, at least being invulnerable didn't mean losing her sense of
touch. Her skin felt as alive to the water as ever, and as she took the hand
nozzle -- one of the few luxuries she had allowed herself -- increased the
pressure and let it slowly drift toward her crotch, she realized that, if
anything, she was more sensitive than ever to pleasure. Her whole body tingled
-- no, "tingled" was too weak a word. It was a torrent, a tidal wave gripping
her, carrying her this way and that, and yet she was in complete control,
standing in the middle of a raging flood knowing that she was the one who
could sweep it away, if she only willed it. She turned the water from cold to
hot and then back. She felt the differences in temperature but no discomfort,
like differences in tones. No shivering from the cold, no burning from the
heat. It was like different flavors of ice cream -- each pleasurable in its
own way. She let the feeling rise, higher and higher, daring it to take her.
How much more could she stand? How much longer? She realized there were no
limits, the universe had no edges for her. Only the endless sea, coming in
endless wave after wave after wave.

No wonder John was so miserable. How awful an ordinary human life would be
after experiencing this. After the pleasures of flying, of traveling anywhere
in just an instant, after being free from worrying about pain or injury,
tiredness, helplessness. And there were countless other pleasures that John
had experienced, that he must have taken for granted growing up super, but
that for her would be discovery after discovery. Well, she could accept that.
And he would have discoveries too. He would discover his own capabilities. And
she would help him, when he let her.

She felt more relaxed now. Calmer. She steeled herself and turned on the news.
There she was, bringing the criminal out, being interrogated and interrupted
by the reporters. The reporter added at the end, "Who is this Superlady? Why
has she kept herself hidden for so many years? Why did she appear tonight?
What is her connection to Superlad? What are her powers? She is still a
mystery, but she's a lovely one. Brent Richards, WABC News, Nutley, New
Jersey."

She sighed. Well, it was beginning, her life as a super-hero. She clearly had
a lot to learn. She decided to put her new speed reading skills to work. She
had bought the Encyclopedia Britannica of Super-Powers once for John, but he
had showed no interest in the thirty volume work. And it had been too imposing
a book for Betty. But now she could read through it in no time at all. The
only constraint would be the speed at which she could turn the pages without
their ripping from the stress. She could get through the 18,000 pages in about
an hour if she wanted, but she took it a bit more slowly -- so that she could
think about it. There was a lot for her to learn, but she was determined to be
the best super-hero she could be.

Soon it was morning. Betty dreaded having to wake John for school -- his first
day as an ordinary boy. Still in her room, she could see him stirring, and
then she sensed a presence, a scent in the air. Why it was Luscious Lass,
appearing right next to John! What was she planning? Betty would stay out, for
now, but she'd keep an eye on them. Luscious Lass was after all, more than a
bit unpredictable. And, as if she was reading Betty's mind, Luscious Lass
turned toward Betty, wrinkled her nose, touched John, and they both
disappeared from his room. Betty was shocked. She had no idea where to find
them. They could be anywhere. Perhaps back to that beach in Waikiki. She
looked, but there was no sign of them. No, Luscious Lass was too smart for
that.

They were on a beach, but it was the middle of the day, not morning. Superlad
was groggy and he blinked in the bright sunlight. "Lush! You've rescued me.
Where are we?"

"A long way from anywhere, and anyone. Especially your Aunt Betty!"

"Thank goodness. But how'd I get here?"

"I took you here, Johnnie."

"But how? I knew you could teleport, but I didn't know you could take other
people too."

"Well, now you know. There are lots of things people don't know about me. Even
my closest friends. Take off those silly clothes. We're on the beach." She
handed him his speedo trunks. He took them, looked around to satisfy himself
that no one else was around, and then took off his pants and underpants and
slipped on his speedos. "What about your shirt?"

"Uh, yeah." He unbuttoned it. "It's a little chilly here."

Luscious Lass sighed. "Come on, Johnnie. Don't wimp out on me here." She put
her hands on her hips. "I wanted to go surfing with you."

"Uh, yeah, great idea! But we need boards."

"Right. I'll get them. Wait here." She disappeared and reappeared seconds
later with a surfboard under each arm. "Come on, let's go!" She picked up her
board, held it high over her head and ran into the water, cutting through the
waves and then jumping on her board and paddling out beyond the breakers.
Superlad picked up his, was startled a little at the weight, and followed her
in more slowly. The first wave knocked him back and he shivered a bit from the
cold spray on his chest, but he pressed onward. The next wave broke right in
front of him and knocked the board out of his hand, so he had to run back to
shore to get it. "Johnnie!" she called. "What's taking so long?"

"All right! Just wait a minute." He took the board again, got a better grip
and waded back in. It was so much harder than he expected. He felt so weak. He
couldn't believe how strong the waves were, mere water actually buffeting him
around. Finally he got past the breakers and reached Luscious Lass. He was
breathing hard, his heart pounding.

"Okay then. Let's get this one." She hopped up on the board.

He had been a great surfer before, but he was so unsteady now, with his leg
muscles feeling unpracticed and without his flying power to steady himself.
Luscious Lass was watching him closely. He was determined to show her he could
surf, with or without his super-powers. He paddled to get some momentum and
boosted himself up too. The wave started to rise and Superlad toppled off the
board. Luscious Lass rode it in to the shore, then ran through the waves back
out to him. "Hey, you all right?"

"Of course I'm all right. I just missed it, that's all."

"Uh huh." She had a twinkle in her eye. "I don't know. I think you should try
again -- see if you can still surf."

"Of course I can!" He scrambled back on the board and promptly fell off again,
and the wave took the board without him. Luscious Lass laughed as he ran back
to the beach, chasing it. She transported to the edge of the water and stopped
it with her foot before it went passed her. He got back to her, chest heaving.
"Thanks."

She looked down at him, smiling, keeping her foot on the board. "You're really
out of breath. I never heard you pant before."

John looked up at her, annoyed. "Well, it's different now."

"I know," she replied. "What's it like not having super-powers? It must feel
pretty weird."

He shook his head. "It's horrible! I had to sleep last night! And my homework
took forever!"

"I've always had to put aside time for homework. You just have to be
organized."

"Well I didn't have to. And things just look different. I don't see as much.
Not having telescopic or x-ray vision makes everything look so flat. It's all
like it's from another perspective."

She laughed again. "Like you're looking up to me." She put her finger on his
forehead.

John frowned. "Cut it out."

Luscious Lass giggled. "I didn't make you short."

"I'm not short."

"Of course you're not! I'm just tall ... and you're a little short."

His frown grew deeper. "You know, Luscious Lass, I can take a little teasing
--

"Can you?"

"YES!" He raised his eyebrows. "But when I get my powers back, you might be in
for a little yourself."

"A little what?" she replied, raising herself on her toes a bit and looking
down on him more.

"Stop it!"

"Stop what?" she smiled.

He put his hand on her shoulder and tried to push her down, but he couldn't.
She looked at him, eyes sparkling. "What are you trying to do, honey?" she
asked in a little girl voice. She bounced a few times on her toes to show him
how little effect he had on her.

"Damn it, Lush!"

She smiled at him sweetly and ran her finger up and down his arm lightly. "Is
THIS the arm that's trying to push me down?" She paused at his biceps. "I just
don't think it's strong enough," she said, again in a little girl voice, "at
least not anymore!" He stamped his feet and turned away. "Aww, have I offended
you?" He started walking down the beach. "Where are you going, honey?"

He looked around. He realized he had absolutely no idea where Luscious Lass
had taken him or how he'd get back without money or even a passport. He was
sure they weren't in America. He turned around. "Take me back home!"

"Oh, right. I'm sorry. You need to get ready for school. I'm sure your Aunt is
worried about you. And you probably want to see her too, to find out what
she's been doing as Superlady."

"SUPERLADY?!" The expression on his face gave her his answer.

"Yes. She was on TV last night."

"She what?! You're joking!"

She shook her head. "Nope."

In shock, he fell backwards onto the sand and sat down. "I don't believe it.
She told me it was an accident, but she's using them in public already?!!"

"You think it was an accident?" she said, slightly mocking him with her
eyebrows raised.

"You think -- Shit! She LIED to me. She'll NEVER give me back my powers."

She took a step so that she was right above him. He craned his neck to look up
at her, "I'm sure you're right. I don't think she will, Johnnie." She swiveled
her hip to one side and rested her hand on it. "Too bad you didn't let me take
home the gun -- as I'd suggested. None of this would ever have happened. You'd
still be Superlad."

"Don't remind me," he sulked.

She bent down and lifted him to his feet. "I LIKE reminding you," she said,
still looking down into his eyes.

His mouth dropped. "WHAT?"

She smiled again, showing her teeth. "You heard me. It would have been better
if you'd listened to me, but you didn't. And now, you're just a normal boy."
He was in shock that she was saying all this. "A little smaller than normal, I
think, at least in America. And probably a little weaker than average too, if
muscle size is any guide." She looked at his arms and then at hers. "Shall we
compare?"

"No!"

"Yes, let's!" She held his wrist and as he tried to pull it away, his small
biceps popped up. "Very good, Johnnie! I'd say about 11 and 1/2 inches, maybe
12. Now my turn." She held up her arm. Superlad had always known Luscious Lass
was muscular, for a girl, but he'd never really focused on her biceps before,
and certainly had never seen her flex. Even without flexing, they were already
bigger than his.

"Hey, this isn't fair! You have super-powers and I don't!"

She looked him in the eye. "Oohhh, I knowww that," she replied, stretching the
words out. His curiosity got the better of him and he watched as she tightened
her biceps and a softball sized muscle rose out of her arm. "Not done," she
sang out, pressing harder. The whole muscle grew more, until a split peak
developed too. "There!" she said, satisfied. "I'd say I win!"

His jaw dropped. He'd never imagined they were so big. "I didn't know your
muscles were so much larger than mine," he said, abashed.

"I did," she replied with a flip of her head. "Don't feel toooo bad, Johnnie."

"Why, with muscles that big you must be stronger than MOST GUYS."

"Most guys?"

"Well, some men have larger muscles," he explained.

She rolled her eyes. "No man is Luscious Lass. Or are you getting confused?"

"Of course not Lush, I was just saying --

"You have no idea. You just assumed you were the only one with super-strength.
You never even bothered to ask me."

"You mean, you have super-strength like mine?" he said incredulously.

"Well ... not like you ... did. But I'm stronger than I look." Her eyes
flashed. "Go on, feel them."

She flexed again and he put his hand around her biceps and squeezed. His eyes
widened as he pushed harder and harder, without effect. "Lush! They're like
steel. I had super-strength, but I don't think even mine were that hard."

"Mmmm hmmm," she answered, turning her head daintily. "They weren't."

"H-how strong are you?"

She raised her shoulder and tossed her hair. "It wouldn't be right to brag --
especially not now," she said modestly. "I wouldn't want you to feel too
intimidated." She looked down at his speedo, which was showing a significant
distortion around Superlad's crotch. "Maybe intimidated is the wrong word."
She pulled down the front of his speedo. "My, my! You ARE expressing an
interest."

"Lush ... I ... you know I've always had the hots for you."

"Have you? I don't know about that. You've been really pretty high on yourself
lately, thinking you were god's gift to girls. I saw you checking out Evilgirl
yesterday. You do that with every girl around these days. I've seen you
flirting too!"

"You're jealous?" Superlad said, amazed.

"Not jealous!" she replied, tossing her head. "Annoyed," she added with a nod,
satisfied that she had the right word.

"You're glad this happened!" he said, amazed.

"Not glad," she contradicted him again.

"You are! You've been lording it over me all morning, that you have
super-powers and I don't!"

She raised an eyebrow. "And that makes you feel ...." She looked down at him,
her eyes moving to his still erect penis and then back to his eyes. He was
speechless at the way she was taunting him, yet he was incredibly turned on by
her, more than he ever had been before. She lowered her hand to his crotch and
held his penis. "I think things are going to work out just fine, Johnnie. What
do you think?" She stroked him a couple of times, then lifted him in the air,
over her head, positioning him so that she could close her mouth around him.
Now her tongue stroked him firmly. He moaned loudly and quickly came in her
mouth. He reached for her and she lowered him slightly. He hugged her, while
she still held him in the air. "That's my baby. My sweet little Johnnie," she
said as he held her as tightly as he could. She smiled happily. When he
loosened his grip, she put him back on the beach. "Now, that's settled, I
should get you back home so you can get ready for school."

"What?"

"Well, what did you think? You've got to go to school. So do I. But I'll come
by afterwards to see you, once I take care of MY super-hero duties. Get your
homework done by then, ok Johnnie?"

He stared at her. "Why do I still have the feeling that somehow you're not at
all upset about this?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's just -- I feel like you planned this for me."

"I don't know about that. It was your idea to take the gun with you, your
messy habits and behavior toward your Aunt that led to your punishment, and
your idea to go looking around for the gun in your Aunt's room that sent her
over the edge to take your powers for herself."

He answered angrily, "What -- you're like saying she did the right thing, buy
hey, none of that is any different from what that way I'd act any day. You
know I just do as I please, and I've always done what I've had to do to get
the job done. It's just that today that stupid gun was ...." He stared at her.
"You didn't really want to take the gun home, did you?"

"Why would I want that gun? I would have just taken it to the Superhero
Control Center. They would have given it to us if we ever needed it for a
mission."

"But that's not what you said! You said you deserved to keep the gun, that it
was yours because you'd seen it first, and that's when I said I wanted it and
just took it from you. And we played tug of war, and I pulled it away from you
and laughed at you because I was so much stronger ... and then I flew home ...
and then ...." He paused, shuddering from the realization, "You KNEW this
would happen."

"How could I know what you'd do? I'd have to be able to see into the future."

He stared at her. "You can't do that, can you?"

She smiled, waiting a few moments to answer, then picked him up, holding him
comfortably under one arm. "Of course not, Johnnie. Where did you ever get
such an idea?" she said, and kissed him for a long time, holding him close to
her and squeezing his now fragile body, like no other girl could, as tightly
as she could without hurting him, enveloping him in her tremendous strength so
that he had no doubt of her absolute superiority. He was hers now. Completely
hers.

And by the time she'd finished with him, he'd somehow forgotten what he was
going to say -- just as she knew he would.

The End.