Author's Note: This chapter's a little short, but sweet.

-------------
Chapter 5
-------------

“What’s wrong, dear?” Jude’s mom asked while they were eating dinner.

Jude lied, “Nothing. I’m alright.”

“It sounds like you’ve had a long day.”

They sat in silence while they continued to eat. Jude continued to do so more slowly than usual. There was just too much going on for his mind to process at once.

“Mom?” he said. “I think I’m going to need a new doctor.”

“Alright, we can do that. Is there something wrong with the current one?”

“I don’t think I feel safe there anymore.”

“Because of what happened today, you mean. That’s fine.”

Another moment of silence passed before Jude said, “Mom?”

“Yes, dear?”

“Is it possible that I have superpowers?”

His mom stopped every motion in the blink of an eye. She had twirled and scooped some noodles onto a fork, which she now held in the air above her plate. “What, you mean like super strength or flying?”

“Not exactly. I mean . . . I don’t know.”

“I’m not going to poke or prod it out of you if something does happen. Let me know if you change your mind, or even if you discover that you have new abilities. I’m here for you.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

After dinner, they watched the TV together. The news was on, and the anchors jumped from story to story, in quicker successions depending on how much Jude wanted to know about that one report that passed in a flash, or at a slower rate depending on the level of disinterest he had. She swore that the commercials got more airtime than the stories she’d wanted to know more about.

The last report of the hour was about the murder of long-time villain Long Slither, who had recently been wanted for questioning in his possible involvement in Captain Patriot’s death. The news media had decided without any substantial evidence that Swan Diva was the villain’s killer.

A man appeared, who had been running for some office, who said that heroes had been given too much power, and the streets would be running with blood sooner rather than later if vigilantes continued to be allowed so much freedom.

His short speech hurt to hear, and Jude clenched the remote to the TV while hugging his own legs tightly. The man on the screen was making every hero sound like a supervillain just waiting to happen. A crowd of people booed him, but that did nothing to ease Jude’s worry.

Jude’s mom reached for the remote and pressed the power button, and then repeated a couple of times. Muttering something about the batteries having been new, she moved swiftly to the television to turn it off manually, and then returned to Jude who was still sitting on the couch with his arms crossed over his knees.

“Hey,” she said. “Everything’s going to be alright. I’m going to make sure of that.”

“Why did she do it?” asked Jude.

“Do what?”

“Why did she kill that villain? I know he was a bad guy, but heroes don’t do that, do they?”

“Not when they can help it. Jude, listen to me, everyone’s been uncertain or on edge since Captain Patriot died. Some are even in denial still. I can’t speak for Swan Diva, but I hope she had a good reason for doing what she did.” She quivered. “I really do.”

“So there’s a good reason to kill?”

“OK, maybe not, or perhaps it's too complicated for me to explain right now. That’s not something anyone should decide to do on their own. It could very well make you into a monster. But, if that’s how you see her now, then I will understand.”

“I saw her today, when it happened. What I saw wasn’t a monster. She was frightened, I think. She needed help, and I let her go. Now we might never see her again after this.”

“Maybe you’re right. Maybe you shouldn’t be saying never. Only time will tell.”

“I hope she’s OK, wherever she is.”

Jude’s mom snorted. “I’m sure she would be glad to hear that.”

Dreams as troubling as they were forgettable burned the night away, leaving Jude to awaken twice when it was still dark, and a third time after the sun was up. Unable to remember the dreams, however, Jude walked out of his room and stopped when he heard the television in the living room. One of the people talking . . . it couldn’t have been.

He hurried downstairs to the living room where his mother was nowhere to be found, but the television was on. It was an educational show with puppets that had survived over the decades, and Swan Diva was on as a guest star.

Jude sat in front of the screen, and took in what he was seeing.

“You mean anyone can be a hero?” asked a puppet.

“Absolutely.” Swan Diva’s voice remained unhindered by her mask. “It doesn’t matter if you have powers or not. What does matter is that you act with a good heart. It can be anything as small as being a friend to someone having a bad day, or being there for someone you never thought would need help, but then they surprise you.”

“Oh, wow. I want to be a hero just like you, Swan Diva.”

Jude continued to watch his idol make her appearances throughout the episode. This show was making him smile and feel something he’d missed and yearned for.

“I’m glad you like it,” said his mom, who now appeared by the kitchen.

“Where did you find this?” Jude asked. “I’ve never seen this episode before.”

“I recorded it a long time ago. Last night when you went to bed, I figured you might enjoy seeing this, so I looked in the garage for my old tapes. Then I remembered that I needed to find and hook up the old VCR, but I think it worked out well enough.”

“What else do you have laying around here?”

“I think that’s about it. Well, no, I do have some cookie cutters based on the most renowned heroes of the last decade, somewhere.”

“And I think I’m in the mood for cookies now.”

“Are you now?” She giggled. “Tell you what, eat your breakfast and get ready to run an errand with me, and we’ll make the best superhero cookies that Paragon’s ever seen.”

“You have a deal.”

“Let me know if you need more clothes.”

“Will do!” Jude ran to his room and shuffled through his closet for something simple to wear. “Do you think I can get a few girls’ shirts soon?”

His mom answered from another room, “We can do that today, or tomorrow when you come home from school.”

Jude’s heart leapt. “Tomorrow’s fine.”

Sunday afternoon, after lunch, was spent by Jude and his mom making cookies. The cutters pressed the heroes’ likenesses into the dough, though they looked cartoonish. The company that had made them several years ago had taken stylistic liberties, but at least every hero was recognizable.

Lots of little Swan Divas, Captain Patriots, and other heroes went in and out of the oven, and ultimately smelled delicious. Jude recognized a couple of the other heroes as ones who had fallen in battle some years ago, and another as one who’d retired publicly. Now, here they all were again, in high abundance.

“Mom?” said Jude.

“Yes, dear?” replied his mother.

“Do we have a cookie jar in the garage? Our last one broke a couple years ago.”

“How in the world did I miss that? Damn.”

All Jude could do was laugh. Then, by the time the day had ended, it was perfect.