Bubble Boy

The morning sun bled gold through the bedroom curtains.

Zoe stood in front of the mirror, tugging her hoodie over her head. Her school bag slumped on the floor, half-zipped, textbooks peeking out like restless ghosts. She adjusted the collar, wiped the sleep from her eyes, and breathed deep.

Her chest still buzzed, not from power, but from everything that had unraveled the night before.

She tiptoed down the stairs, the scent of coffee and toast curling into the air. The sound of plates. Of quiet conversation.

When she entered the kitchen, her parents turned toward her.

Troy sat at the table, a mug in his hand. Annie stood by the stove, flipping eggs.

"Morning," Zoe said, her voice a little too small.

Annie offered a soft smile. "Hey, sweetie. Breakfast's almost ready."

Troy's eyes didn't soften. "You sleep okay?"

Zoe nodded, then stepped closer.

"I'm sorry. For how I acted yesterday."

Troy raised an eyebrow. "You finally came to your senses. Saw him for what he really is."

Zoe stopped cold.

The apology died on her lips.

"What?" she asked, voice flat.

Troy stood. "You looked at me like I was the enemy. Like he could do no wrong. He fooled you."

Zoe's hands curled into fists. "You think I don't know what he did?"

"He manipulated you," Troy said. "You're a kid. You don't see it yet."

"I'm not stupid," she snapped.

"Zoe..." Annie warned gently.

"I'm not!" she yelled. "You think I can't tell when someone's being real with me? He told me everything! He didn't hide it. He didn't sugarcoat it. He didn't lie."

Troy's eyes narrowed. "He told you what he wanted you to hear."

Zoe's voice rose. "He told me he hurt people. That he burned Mom. That he killed Orion."

Annie froze mid-motion.

Troy looked stunned.

Zoe pressed forward. "He told me about the lab. Xypho. The Legion. The executions. Dravus. All of it. And he didn't ask me to forgive him. He thought I wouldn't. But I did."

Annie's voice cut in, sharp. "You don't talk to your father like that."

Zoe turned on her. "Would you still be attacking him if you knew who he is now? What kind of hero he is now?"

"I do know!" Annie shouted. "I've lived with the scars he left me! I've woken up screaming from memories I can't erase!"

Zoe stared at her, then stepped back.

"I know what he did," she said, quieter. "I saw the pain in his eyes. He knows it too."

Troy stepped forward. "That's what you think you know but he didn't explain in detail."

Zoe looked up at him, then said with sudden fire, "He was a prince from Xypho. He was built in a lab. He murdered Orion. He sent Elemental after Mom. He ruled the Legion like a tyrant. And when Dravus came to kill him, you were the one who saved him."

The room went still.

Neither parent spoke.

Zoe's voice trembled but not with fear. With conviction.

"And you know what?" she said, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "Just because he was a bad guy in the past doesn't mean he's a bad guy now."

She turned to the door.

"He's my grandpa," she said, "and the greatest hero ever."

And with that, she stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

The echo of it rattled through the house like a thunderclap.

Troy sat back down slowly.

Annie gripped the edge of the counter, staring at the floor.

And upstairs, the morning light kept pouring in warm, indifferent, and full of a new day none of them were quite ready for.

The wind tousled Zoe's hair as she walked through the gates of Nightingale Elementary. Her heart still thumped from the argument. But when she saw the familiar faces waiting at the playground, the weight lifted, just a little.

"Zoe!" Max waved from the bench, legs swinging a few inches off the ground. He wore mismatched socks and a Void Squad hoodie two sizes too big.

Amy sat beside him, scribbling in a sketchpad. She looked up with a grin. "Hey, storm girl."

Zoe smiled. "Hey, you two."

Jason dropped down from the monkey bars like a gymnast, landing in a perfect crouch. "Morning. You okay?"

Zoe shrugged. "Just... parents. You know."

Jason nodded with knowing sympathy. "Yeah. Parents."

Jack and Jill jogged up side by side, perfectly synchronized as always. Jack held a juice box in one hand and a tennis ball in the other. "We were just about to play tag."

"Until Jason dropped the news," Jill added.

Zoe raised an eyebrow. "What news?"

Jason grinned, wide and smug. "Starman told me there's no junior training today."

"Wait, what?" Max blinked.

"Why?" Amy asked, lowering her sketchpad.

Jason puffed his chest. "Because he's training the real heroes today."

All six kids paused.

Then exploded.

"No way!" Max squeaked.

"Today?" Zoe gasped.

"Are we allowed to watch?" Amy asked, eyes wide.

"Not technically," Jack said.

"So definitely yes," Jill grinned.

An hour later, school was a memory. The six of them crouched behind a chain-link fence high in the hills, the Mountains of Argentum towering around them like stone titans. A glinting dome of reinforced alloy shimmered at the center of the facility. The legendary Crucible, where the greatest trained.

They peeked through the fence, eyes huge.

Inside the domed arena, chaos thundered.

Starman stood at the center, his cape whipping like a banner, arms folded behind his back. He didn't move. Didn't blink.

Then they came for him.

Gladiator led the charge, armor blazing, sword of cosmic flame cleaving downward in a burst of gold. At the same moment, Bolt zipped in a blur of electric blue, ricocheting off the walls, hurling bolts of lightning that cracked the sky.

Seaman rose from a pillar of water, arms spiraling into twin torrents that roared toward Starman like tidal fists.

Construct floated above them, conjuring a massive lattice of burning metal, like a cage designed to collapse on impact.

Inferno streaked across the sky, fire wings blazing, hurling a comet of raw plasma. The heat rippled the air.

And then...

Void and Psion struck together.

Void's shadowy form blinked behind Starman, a thousand ribbons of gravity folding reality itself. Psion unleashed a psychic barrage, screams of power echoing through the mental plane. Together, they bent perception, time, and light itself.

And through it all, Starman did not fall.

He spun like a comet. His hands snapped out, catching Gladiator's sword, twisting her midair. His eyes flared, vaporizing Bolt's lightning before it touched him.

He caught Seaman's torrent in his palms and froze it mid-motion, turning water to crystal. With a clap, he shattered it into mist.

He let Construct's cage drop and punched through it, the metal crumpling like paper.

Inferno's fireball hit him square and when the smoke cleared, Starman still stood, cape smoldering, smile rising.

Psion's mental scream staggered him. Void's gravity cracked the ground beneath his feet.

Then they all came at once.

Six titans. Heroes of legend.

Fists collided.

Power erupted like a nova.

Mountains cracked. The sky turned violet. The fence rattled from the shockwave.

Zoe and the others ducked, screaming and laughing.

And then, finally, Starman hit the ground.

The dust cleared.

The heroes surrounded him, panting, scorched, triumphant.

Starman sat up slowly. Brushed dust off his chest.

Not a scratch.

He looked at them all, Gladiator, Seaman, Bolt, Construct, Inferno, Void, Psion.

And smiled.

"You're ready," he said. "You're stronger than ever."

The heroes looked at each other, surprise and pride in their eyes.

Behind the fence, the kids erupted in cheers, bouncing and whooping.

Jason pumped his fists. "That was awesome!"

Zoe's smile stretched wide. Her chest filled with something deeper than awe.

Pride.

He wasn't just her grandfather.

He was a god among heroes.

And he still believed in them.