"MOMMY!" Bobby's chubby little legs pumped hard. He raced upstairs and down the hallway. "I'M HUNGRY! I WANNA GO TO THE STORE!" His parent's bedroom door was closed. Bobby wrenched it open, sudden sunlight making both of his eyes squint. "MOMMY! I WANT-"
His mom was a big (to him), scary, green-eyed brunette in a burgundy sweater. She advanced towards him now, toddler Evie held asleep in her arms. "Your sister just conked out," came her strangled whisper. "Do NOT wake her up again. Capiche?"
Bobby wasn't happy about being capiche'd. She was the only one who could neutralize his powers, though. Caution was key. "Mommy," he whispered loudly. "There's no food in the fridgerator. I wanna go to the store, and-"
His mom put Evie in the crib, grabbed Bobby's chubby little arm, marched him back to the open doorway and leaned in close. "Now what's all this about no food in the fridge?" she whispered.
Bobby was childishly indignant. "There's no lunchables or pop tarts or sugar O's or anything!" he whispered back. "I'm hungry, mommy!"
Her eyes narrowed. "Did you eat more snacks than you were supposed to? Those should have lasted a week."
Bobby's eyes widened. "Ummm. No." To distract her and get things back on track, he wrapped his arms around himself, moaning piteously. "I'm so hungry mommmmyyyyyyyy. The store. Please..."
"Hmph. What did you father say?" she whispered.
"Daddy's not in charge!" Bobby whispered loudly. "You are!"
His mom frowned. "A seven year old should be more respectful. Don't talk about your father like that."
"But it's true!" Bobby whispered even louder.
His mom ignored that. "There's leftover meatloaf in the fridge," she whispered firmly. "If that's not good enough, just give me twenty minutes to finish up some work in my office. I'll come downstairs after and whip us up something from Grandma's cookbook. What do you say?"
Bobby was getting angry. His eyes glowed red with building lazer energy. "NO! Lunchables! Sugar O's!"
Little Evie stirred. "Mama..." She turned over in her sleep.
His mom put a finger to her lips, staring daggers at him. "Quiet!" she hissed. "And no powers in the house! Do I have to calm you down again?"
Bobby flinched, stepping back. "No! I'll be good, mommy. Promise."
"Good," she whispered. "Ok. That's enough for now. Go finish your homework."
"I did it already."
"Wait. All of it?" Her tone was incredulous.
Bobby hadn't done any of it, but his hunger was more important than the truth. "All of it. Mommy, let's go to the store."
His mom stared him down, before smiling. "Ok, Bobby. If you truly did all of your homework then I'm happy. If not, well... we can talk again in twenty minutes." She sighed. "Going to the store's out of the question, though. We're doing that with your father and the Flannigans tomorrow afternoon, remember?"
The battle was lost. Bobby still refused to admit defeat, though. "But there aren't even any yogurts left-" His voice was rising to a whine...
His mom picked him up, carried him out, set him back down in the hallway and gently closed the bedroom door behind them. "Enough of that, now. Go play outside until my work's done. Oh, and thank you for not wearing that cape ag-" She paused. Her expression grew suspicious. "Yeah. Stay close today, Bobby. No adventures."
Bobby didn't WANT to give up his freedom. He scrunched up his face angrily, ready to pick a fight...
"I love you. Be good." His mom kissed him on the forehead and walked off down the hall.
Bobby shook his little fist silently at her retreating back for a moment, then headed downstairs. The stairs barely creaked under his small weight. He began stomping slightly harder (at a tenth of his full strength) to better show his displeasure. One step cracked with a loud SNAP. He froze.
"Bobby?" His mom had heard it. "What was that?"
The little boy hurried downstairs. Muttering savagely, he entered the living room. "She's so stupid! Parents should feed their children!" His superhero outfit was still hidden under the middle couch cushion. Bobby tied the red cape around his neck and strapped the store-bought halfmask over his upper face. Fully costumed, he walked stealthily towards the open kitchen doorway. His oblivious dad was washing dishes while listening to a loud podcast. Sneaking out the patio door was easy.
Back in the afternoon sunshine, Bobby began crossing his big wooded backyard. The neighbors all had similar lots. Sneaking through them would have been easy, but Bobby knew a much better way. He SPRINTED across the grass, clenched all of his impossible strength into his child's body and LEAPT up towards the sky. His flight power kicked in. Soaring off, he went flying high above the suburban landscape...
His mom had said to stay close, but the store WAS close when you flew.
ns 172.71.254.36da2
and then Add to home screen.