12:46AM

  Alex stepped out of the cab, once again in his hero suit, once again his drawstring bag on his back. This driver had also given him a hero’s discount, but he’d yet to come up with a superhero name. But he wasn’t focused on that as he walked through the mall complex to the closed Lowe’s. He checked his phone,

  “I’m on my way Kat.”

  “??, meet you at the Lowe’s.”

  That text was from half an hour ago.

  He stood outside the doors, adjusting the fit on the cowl he was wearing. He then heard something like the wind sweeping in, and saw to his right Kat walking out from the walls of the closed store.

  “You weren’t followed, right?” She asked, already nervous.

  “Yes, it’s just us,” Alex assured her, “What happened?”

  Kat looked to her right, then her left, then confessed, “Someone saw me using my powers.”

  Alex let the revelation breath for a moment, then spoke up, “Alright, we can figure this out. How did it happen?”

  “Well I was just trying to walk across the street,” Kat began to explain, “When all of a sudden this big limo comes out of nowhere and it isn’t slowing down. I froze, and it just passed through me,”

  “Doesn’t sound like something to be ashamed of. It was an act of self-preservation.” Alex rationalized, but she wasn’t done.

  “There was a woman in the car. She saw me, we made eye contact, and she was looking at me like she could hear what I was thinking.”

  That gave Alex pause. “So what do you make of it?” He asked.

  “What if she was someone important? What if she’s looking for me?” Kat asked, scared of a repeat of what happened in her high school… or worse.

  “Well, I don’t think she’s looking for you. I mean, how could she find you by just a glance.” Alex reasoned, wanting to calm her anxiety.

  “It felt more than a glance. I don’t know, just…I feel unsafe.” Kat admitted.

  “Alright, well hey, I’m here now,” Alex declared, “And I’ll be here as long as you need me to.”

  “Thanks, but I won’t keep you long. I know you have school tomorrow.” Kat said, not wanting to make herself too much of a problem.

  “Of course, but until then I can help you get through the night.” Alex affirmed.

  They started to walk around the mall, but had no plans to leave the area thus far. Alex just stayed by her, wanting to comfort her and give her some ease of mind while still being conscious of crossing a line. Kat, for her part, occasionally looked around, but mostly kept her eyes focused on the sidewalk in front of her.

  Eventually, Alex did notice, in the light of a stray street lamp, the glint of a necklace under her sweater. He wasn’t sure if he should bring it up, or if he should keep looking at it, or if it looked like he was staring at her chest, so decided to stop looking at it.

  “Hey, you never answer my question from last night,” Kat finally spoke up, killing the awkward silence, “Why does your super suit include a Doctor Who shirt?”

  “I just like Doctor Who. And I felt it was on the nose.” Alex simply explained, exuding no hint of subtext.

  “That checks out,” Kat agreed, despite not being intimate with the Doctor Who series, she partially understood what he was going for, “I don’t remember, did you ever explain how your powers work?”

  “Pause time by snapping my fingers,” Alex said matter of fact.

  “Wow, that is a MUCH better power than what I got.” Kat lamented, almost jealous.

  “Hey, don’t put yourself down. Phasing is an AWESOME ability.” Alex pushed back, genuinely.

  “You really think so?” Kat asked.

  “Of course. You can go anywhere, hide anywhere, you saved yourself from getting run over by some bitch’s limo!”

  Kat giggled at him calling someone a bitch.

  “I shouldn’t say bitch, that’s mean,” Alex immediately backtracked, “Plus, it was likely an accident.”

  “Well she didn’t try to stop the driver to check on me.” Kat clarified.

  “Then I feel better for calling her a BITCH.” Alex reaffirmed, she giggled again.

  They shared a moment of silence before Kat resumed the conversation, “So did you ever manage to figure out a superhero name?”

  Alex paused to think, “No, I never did. Why?”

  “Just curious,” Kat said, “You seem very serious about being a superhero.”

  “I am,” Alex affirmed.

  “So what if you save someone who can’t know your real name?” She rightfully asked.

  “You make a good point,” He agreed, “Maybe while we’re here we can brainstorm some ideas.”

  “Yeah, we can do that,” She agreed, a good distraction.

  “So far, I know I DON’T want to be called Snapshot.” Alex started off.

  “Yeah, that one sounds corny,” Kat agreed, “What about… no,”

  “What?” Alex asked, now interested in what she was about to say.

  “No, it was a stupid idea.” Kat tried to backtrack.

  “Can’t be stupider than telling everyone my full government name.” Alex joked.

  “Promise you won’t laugh.” Kat asked, bracing for him to immediately break that promise.

  “I promise, I won’t laugh. And if I do, it’s not at you,” Alex insisted, “What’s the name?”

  Kat braced herself, then murmured, “Time Lord.”

  Alex stared at her, a big dumb grin came out, like he was absolutely trying not to laugh, then inhaled deeply, and exhaled shakily like a hose nozzle trying to hold back water pressure.

  “You said you wouldn’t laugh!” Kat exclaimed.

  “I’m not, I’m exhaling.” Alex tried to play off. She gave him a small tap on the shoulder.

  “Just tell me what you think so we can move on.” Kat groaned.

  “I think… I think if I used that name I’d need a really good copyright lawyer.” Alex joked, she finally laughed at that one.

  “Oh my God, I didn’t even think about that, yeah.” She agreed, realising what he meant.

  “Yeah, I don’t feel like taking on a major broadcasting network.” Alex joked.

  “Ok, ok, we can think of other things…” Kat continued, “How about Shortstop?”

  “Like the baseball position?” Alex asked.

  “Yeah, cause you stop time and…” Kat trailed off.

  “Were you about to call me short?” Alex asked, semi-annoyed.

  “...no.” Kat answered.

  “Jeez Kat- for the record, I am 5’10.” Alex corrected, incredulous, “And by the way, my doctor said I’m not done growing yet. So there.”

  “Congratulations?” Kat answered, unsure if that’s how she should have.

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  “Thank you,” Alex accepted, “Now, let’s keep thinking.”

  “Alright, you got any ideas?” Kat asked, willing to keep this going.

  “Hmmm,” Alex mumbled, thinking, “Maybe…well I heard that branding is important for superheroes, so it’s gotta be, like, something to do with my powers.”

  “Which is freezing time,” Kat reminded him and herself.

  Alex figuratively sat with that sentence, thinking about what could be done linguistically. Then, in a moment of brilliance, he finally said, “Freezeframe.”

  Kat thought about it for a moment, “That’s… good.”

  “Yeah, Freezeframe,” Alex repeated, “Freezeframe.”

  “I like it,” Kat affirmed.

  “I do too.” Alex agreed, “Freezeframe.”

  Then suddenly, SMASH! The sound of glass breaking behind them. They turned and saw a van pulled up to the jewelry store diagonally across the parking lot. Men were walking through a broken window, black ski-masks on, with a clear intention to rob the store for its valuables. Alex and Kat froze, watching the blatant attempt at robbery in front of them.

  “We should do something.” Kat determined, because no one else was around to do it for them.

  “I-I mean we can try?” Alex stuttered.

  “Just try?” Kat asked, puzzled, “Isn’t this what you wanted to do?”

  “Well I mean yeah I want to be a superhero, but I never thought…” Alex trailed off, feeling overwhelmed.

  “Never thought what?” Kat asked, just realizing HOW inexperienced Alex was.

  “Never thought I’d have to actually fight someone. I mean, I've never even fought anyone before.” Alex explained.

  “Okay, but even I know this is a basic part of being a superhero.” Kat reasoned, hoping to get Alex ready to work.

  “I guess. But what about you? I thought you wanted to lay low?” Alex asked, believing there was a contradiction.

  “Doesn’t mean I can’t help where I can.” Kat explained. Alex remembered her goal of getting to Xavier. Perhaps that desire to be with other mutants coexisted with a drive to become a superhero like him.

  “Alright then, what now?” Alex asked.

  “You tell me, you’re the superhero.” Kat responded, putting the onus on him.

  “Right, right. Well, I’ll see what I can do.” Alex determined, stretching his arms before walking towards the van. “If something happens, you’ll get involved, right?” He asked Kat, hoping to not be doing this alone.

  “Of course, go get ‘em Freezeframe.” She cheered. Alex continued to walk up to the thieves, his heart pounding and his feet feeling like they’d stumble at any moment. He was really gonna do it, he was going to fight grown ups who might have all sorts of weapons. By the time he could see the lettering on the license plate and the men began walking out with loaded bags, he almost forgot he had superpowers.

  Alex cleared his throat and tried to sound at least 5 years older. “Gentlement, a word?”

  Gentlement? A word? What was he doing?

  The robbers stopped what they were doing and stared at him, one still in the store paused mid crowbar swing to watch this 16 year old approach them in a homemade supersuit.

  “I-uh, you should put those back where you found them and go home.” Alex implored. The robbers burst out laughing, not taking him seriously at all.

  “Is this guy serious?” One of them called out.

  “Yeah, no. Go home kid.” Another told Alex.

  “I’m warning you, you’re not gonna like what happens next!” Alex called out.

  “Oh yeah, you gonna do something? It’s five against one dumbass.” The robber with the crowbar threatened.

  “Final chance, surrender or… or…” Alex was not good at threatening people. They were.

  “Jeez, this is sad,” The one who looked like he was in charge muttered, “Josh, get rid of him.”

  The robber Alex assumed was Josh then ran at him with the crowbar, ready to strike.

  Panicking, Alex closed his eyes and SNAP… When he opened them, Josh was frozen along with the rest of the world, the crowbar gripped in his hand as he was winding up to swipe at Alex mid-step. Alex walked around him, looked over at the other men, then saw Kat watching from around the truck, anxious at what she’d been seeing. Alex looked back at Josh, and walked to stand next to him, leaning his foot out to catch Josh’s and SNAP.

  Josh tripped over his foot, falling onto the ground, the crowbar still in his hand. Alex put his fists up, as if to imitate a boxer’s stance. Josh stood back up, and took a swing, only for Alex to SNAP. With time frozen again, he grabbed the crowbar for himself and SNAPPED. Josh unpaused, looking down to find his hands empty, looking around to find Alex behind him holding the crowbar.

  “How did you-!?” Josh yelled.

  “I warned you.” Alex responded, feeling much more confident. Josh went to punch Alex, only for Alex to SNAP. Time froze yet again, and he thought about how to face this situation. He could just hit Josh with the crowbar really hard, but that seemed disproportionate. He eventually decided on dropping the crowbar on his head. So lifting his hand over Josh, he dropped the crowbar. It began to float in mid-air just before it hit Josh’s head, as if anticipating when Alex snapped again so it could continue it’s momentum. Alex SNAPPED, and the crowbar clanged on Josh’s head, causing him to rub the top of his head in pain. Alex kicked his butt, literally, he kicked Josh’s butt as hard as he could, causing the robber to fall onto his face. Alex pulled his drawstring bag off of his back and grabbed a ziptie to end this, but when he looked up from his rummaging, Josh had already gotten back up, grabbed the crowbar, and had his hands above his head, ready to dome Alex. Alex SNAPPED, and use the time pause to YANK the crowbar from Josh’s hands. He then put his drawstring bag back on his back and took a stance akin to a hitter preparing to hit a home run. Because that’s exactly what he was doing. He SNAPPED, and while Josh was once again confused by how he was no longer holding a crowbar, Alex swung like a hitter and hit Josh in the gut, causing the robber to double over in pain. As Josh groaned in great pain, Alex took the opportunity to grab his hands and quickly ziptie them together. “I TOLD YOU! READY TO GIVE UP NOW?!” Alex yelled at the four remaining robbers.

  The leader had pulled out a pistol.

  Shit

  BANG-SNAP

  It was INCHES away from his shoulder. When he saw it he jumped away from it and screamed. Someone shot him, someone tried to shoot him, someone tried to kill him. How could he ignore it? It was right in front of his face. He hadn’t even seen the gun, he thought they’d just had crowbars, maybe a bat. Where were they hiding a gun? What does he do against a gun? What if someone shot at him again and his reflexes didn’t work fast enough? How would he explain a gunshot wound? A few more milliseconds of hesitation, if he had snapped when he heard the gun instead of seeing it, he might be dead. And then he saw Kat, phasing through the truck, trying to attack the robber who tried to shoot him. He had to do something, he couldn’t just let them go, they had to be apprehended.

  He grabbed the crowbar again, and walked up to the shooter. This couldn’t be done outside of frozen time, he couldn’t risk a reaction. So he teed up another baseball swing, and SWUNG.

  And passed right through his hands…

  What?

  Alex was confused, CONFUSED. He swung again, the crowbar going through the robber’s hands. He tried grabbing the gun, he could touch the slide. But when he tried to move the man’s hands it was like waving his hand through water vapor. Come to think of it, when he grabbed the crowbar from Josh, it was too easy. Like the moment he grabbed it the crowbar no longer physically touched Josh. Alex put his hand into the gunman’s arm, like water vapor. He put it through his torso, like water vapor. He shoved his whole head into his body, and it felt like his head was in a sauna. He pulled it out, processing this strange revelation about his abilities: He couldn’t interact physically with anyone while time was frozen.

  Which meant he had to get creative.

  And right now creative meant throwing the crowbar as hard as he could at the gunman’s face.

  Was it crude? Yes. Was there less violent ideas? Absolutely. But this asshole just tried to shoot him, it felt justified.

  SNAP

  The gunman’s head snapped back as the prying end of the crowbar SMACKED his forehead, causing him to fall back. Kat stepped out of the truck, surprised that Alex had already dealt with the gunman. Alex rushed the gunman and kicked the pistol under the truck, ziptieing his hands while he was still dazed, and quickly SNAPPED before one of the three remaining robbers could grab him off their boss. Alex then grabbed one of the bags of jewels and HEAVED it off the ground. He then flung it at one of the three remaining robbers, and did the same with the other bags at the other two. After SNAPPING, the bags hit the robbers in the chest, stomach, and the testicles. He then picked up the crowbar and bonked the poor guy who got a back of jewels to his jewels and bonked him on the head, causing him to fall over. He turned to the other two, and was surprised by Kat rushing one of them and punching him in the face as hard as she could, knocking him down. Alex then SNAPPED again, allowing him to rush up to run up at the last one, SNAPPING again as he shoved the robber into the ground. He pulled out his drawstring bag, grabbed three more zipties, and gave one over to Kat. As quickly as the could, they managed to ziptie the last three robbers, ending the fight definitively.

  Alex sighed heavily, shaking his hands as he felt his legs finally begin shaking after the intense fight. Kat started cheering, “That. Was. INCREDIBLE!”

  “I didn’t know I could do that!” Alex cheered, just now processing the last three minutes, “Oh my God, I beat up four people. Oh my God, I got shot at!”

  “And you dodged a fucking bullet!” Kat yelled.

  “YES! YES I DID! I SNAPPED FASTER THAN A BULLET! I’M LITERALLY FASTER THAN A SPEEDING BULLET!” Alex yelled, the adrenaline finally getting to his head. He started breathing heavily, looking over the dazed and pissed off faces of the people they just beat up.

  “And you, oh man, you were awesome!” Alex complimented.

  “You were awesome too!” Kat exclaimed.

  “Yeah, but you were extra good!” Alex exclaimed.

  “Thanks.” Kat accepted, starting to calm down. She looked over the mess of the fight, thinking about what to do, “We should clean this up.”

  “Oh yeah, definitely.” Alex agreed, starting to calm down too. He looked into the store, wondering what they should do… then he had an idea.

  “Hey, you bring the bags back into the store, I’m gonna go look for something.” Alex said to Kat before going inside. He found the place the store had the registers and looked for a pen. After finding a pen, he also found the paper the store kept to add notes to the boxes of jewelry they sold. He brought them out, then helped Kat pull the five robbers up to the front of the store. Alex then grabbed some more zipties, tying the robber’s makeshift cuffs together. After this, they brought all the bags of jewelry back into the store atop the display glass, and Alex pressed the paper against the wall and started writing.

  “What are you doing?” Kat asked.

  “Letting them know who to thank.” Alex answered, confidently, “What do you want me to call you?”

  “Oh, uh, you don’t need to include me.” Kat recoiled.

  “Kat, you kicked ass, you helped me, you’re getting credit.” Alex insisted, “Now come on, gimme a superhero name.”

  “Kat thought for a moment, but couldn’t come up with anything. “You got any ideas.”

  Alex thought for a moment too, “I don’t know why, but my mind immediately went to Kitty.”

  “No thank you.” Kat politely declined.

  “My thoughts exactly, too… immature…” Alex agreed, then had an epiphany, “How about Shadowcat?”

  Kat thought on it, “I like it, put it down.”

  And Alex did just that.

  “We should find a payphone to call this in from. You know, in case they wake up before morning.” Alex strategized.

  “That’s smart.” Kat agreed. Together they left the store, the defeated robbers, and the almost stolen jewelry. The note left next to the bags of stolen goods reading:

  “COURTESY OF THE CITY’S NEWEST SUPERHEROES: FREEZEFRAME AND SHADOWCAT.”