Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain by Richard Roberts Read Free Book Online

dragon blood this morning. The real stuff, not a mutated super science lizard. She believes with that she can break the curse.”
    “Dragon blood might help. Dragon genetics makes guppies look simple. Their blood is full of so many unusual enzymes, I’ve seen it spontaneously induce super-powered mutations,” Dad mused. Me, Mech, and Mom all had the same expression. Dad would fight to his last breath to describe magic as anything but magic.
    “Where did you get real dragon blood?” Mom asked.
    “From Malachi. Are you aware of another dragon who isn’t deep in hiding?” Mech replied. There was definitely a sardonic element in his tone.
    “How did he take it?” Mom asked back, with the same tone.
    “I need Brian to replace the shield supercharger, that’s how he took it,” Mech answered her.
    They were drifting into superhero shop talk, which could be pretty cool, except I didn’t know anything about Malachi and I didn’t get the joke. It would only get worse from here. Anyway, I wanted to play with The Machine, now that I’d woken it up, but Mech was still holding it in his hands.
    I reached down into Mom’s briefcase and pulled out a paperclip. I couldn’t play with The Machine, but paperclips had potential. They stored energy in tension well, like they were waiting to be springs. There was a lot you could do with that. I just had to twist, and twist, and use the edge of the table to make a sharp kink there, and I set the paperclip down on the table and watched it walk half a dozen steps before it fell over.
    What…?
    I picked up the paperclip, or at least the thing I’d made out of a paperclip. I’d made a thing out of a paperclip. My parents hadn’t noticed, but I could show them right now. I set it down to walk again, and it fell over. Oh, right, the tension had wound down, and I… had no idea how to reset it.
    So much for showing anyone.
    Wait! Dad told me it would be months before I had another flash like this. It had only been a few hours. My parents were expecting it to be years before my powers emerged properly.
    My parents were in for a big surprise, very soon.



he next morning, or technically noon, I sat down at lunch with Ray; Claire was hardly a heartbeat behind us. I’d had just enough time to give them headshakes until now.
    Claire laid her lunch box on the table with a clink. “So what’s the word?”
    “‘Inscrutable?’“ Ray suggested.
    “Did your Mom tell anyone I got my powers?” I asked Claire. The tone of accusation went right out of me when she unpacked her lunch and passed me her turkey pot pie. Where did a woman like The Minx, who never had to be domestic, learn to cook like this?
    “Anyone? Everyone! And then I got home and they’re calling her back saying you don’t have your powers after all,” Claire filled in, cutting her lump of fried potato hash in half and slipping it to Ray.
    “I’m fairly certain I remember standing there for half an hour while you giggled and your hands moved like lightning. That seemed a touch superpower-y to me.” Ray tried to look serious, but his voice cracked and couldn’t hold the deadpan.
    “It’s a little of both. I’ve got super powers, but they’re not here yet. They’re just hinting at what they’ll be,” I replied, then took a bite of the pot pie before I had to speak again. It wasn’t pizza, but the crust was nice and fluffy and bready and blended perfectly with the chewy turkey. Even cold, it was good stuff.
    “Ah, a super-powered adolescence. I’ve heard that happens.” Ray was much better at keeping the disappointment off his face, but now the noncommittal solemnity betrayed him.
    “Mom’s happened all at once. She said it was scary, but it got her out of all the trouble it got her into. What timeline did your folks give you?” Claire asked.
    “They said a year to four years. They meant four years minimum. I could tell,” I answered.
    Claire and Ray looked at me. Apparently my poker face sucks, too. I