My father's temperament had been on thin ice because of his work. The reckless new supers, who showed no regard for the victims they targeted, were still at large since the jewelry store robbery at the mall, which resulted in my disappearance. It had been a grueling week for Derek and my father, and things only worsened.

The doorbell chimed, causing Derek to lift his head from the marble slab and hastily spring up, stumbling from exhaustion. "I'll get it," he mumbled, making his way to the foyer. Concerned, I followed him to the staircase, hoping something dreadful might happen. The visitor persistently rang the doorbell thrice, and eventually, the front door swung open. Noah stood in the doorway, sporting a wide grin as his eyes darted toward me. I stared at him, wide-eyed, observing his appearance.

"Can I help you?" Derek grumbled at Noah. Noah brushed past him, entering the foyer and stopping next to me by the stairs.

"Nice house, Knight," he muttered. Then he patted my shoulder, and I examined him from head to toe.

"What do you want, Noah?" Derek snapped. Noah glanced around the room before his gaze settled on my father, who stood uneasily in the kitchen corner.

"I dropped by to say hi and discuss something important," he said, wiggling his eyebrows at me.

My father pointed his beer bottle at Noah and directed his gaze toward me. "Do you know this kid?" he asked, scowling at the boy.

Barely.

"We go to school together, sir," Noah replied, throwing his arm over my shoulder. Ignoring personal space, and being potentially superhuman, he intimidated me greatly. My heart raced as I pushed him away.

"And I've only arrested him one or too many times to count," Derek added with a sigh.

"What do you want, Noah?" I growled. Noah glanced around the room before his eyes settled on my father, who seemed uncomfortable in the corner.

"I want to talk to you," he reiterated. "Didn't you hear me the first time?" I wished to avoid whatever Noah intended to discuss. The way he barged into my house, demanding to speak with me, signaled trouble. I looked to Derek for assistance, and he shrugged.

"Fine," Derek finally said, gesturing to leave the room. He briefly locked eyes with our father. "We'll go to James's room, but I'm staying with you."

"Alright, rookie," Noah said, wandering towards the doorway and patting Derek's shoulder. "He barks and bites. Wuff." Noah's grin widened into a cocky smirk. "I'll race you there." Noah passed Derek, who hurriedly followed him up the stairs, and I trailed behind.

"Don't touch anything, Noah," Derek yelled. Noah sprinted into my bedroom, leaped onto my mattress, and I found myself face to face with Noah, hovering above my bed, watching me with a raised eyebrow and a smug grin. Derek rushed in after me.

"What the hell?" Derek exclaimed. Noah's eyes shifted to the door behind us, which slammed shut.

"Yeah, James, Derek, we need to talk," he said, his gaze fixed on me, no longer smiling. He was serious.

∆∆∆

Noah settled in mid-air, floating above my mattress in my spacious room. Clothes were scattered in front of the closet, and papers were strewn across the desk. Derek stood in the corner, observing Noah, unsure of what to do with a dangerous superhuman in my room, and to be honest, I was equally uncertain.

"Who are you?" Derek growled at Noah, watching him suspend his cell phone above his chest as he descended from the air onto my mattress.

"I can't tell you that, mate," he glanced at Derek and winked. "But Superboy over here needs to hold back his heroics for a moment. Max and I have been onto you since we moved here." He took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Where's Sam?" The audacity of his asking about Sam sent shivers down my spine. How could they know about me? How could they also learn about Sam? What had Sam done to attract so many supers over the years, and why did it take three years for them to track us down in Phoenix, Arizona? Whatever had brought Noah and Max here frightened me. I didn't know how to handle this. I was sixteen. What could I do, and what would Sam, Derek, or my father do to stop this madness?

"Listen, Noah. I have powers, but I'm not sure my dad knows, and I want to keep it that way, so you better not involve my family, especially Sam."

"I've barged into your bedroom, and that's what you're concerned about? Geez," he rolled his eyes and chuckled to himself.

"What do you want?" Derek growled again.

"I'm not the one you should be worried about," Noah said. "I'm not the villain here."

"Well, you're not doing a great job of presenting yourself as the good guy right now," Derek singled out Noah, leaning against the wall with his gaze fixed on him. Noah looked at me, seeking help. Sure, I'd assist the only person in the room I discovered to be a supervillain. Could I trust him? Was I being naive?

Noah huffed, lowering his phone into his hands. "Alright, tough guy. Don't you think I would have harmed you by now if that was my intention?" Noah sat up, his hoodie as he raised an eyebrow in Derek's direction.

"Watch it," Derek pointed his finger at Noah. I rolled my eyes at both Derek and Noah. What was Noah capable of doing? In an instant, Noah could overpower Derek. Derek might be fearless in the face of danger, or at least braver than I was, but he was nowhere near as strong as Noah or me.

"What are you going to do, mate?" Noah growled, briefly locking eyes with Derek as they glared at each other. Then, Noah's eyes shifted to my open science book on the desk. He manipulated the pages with his mind slamming it shut, startling Derek.

"You jerk," Derek scowled at him. Noah stifled a chuckle, watching me in the doorway. This time, I was furious.

"Go home, Noah," I shouted.

"I don't have a home," he argued. Collecting myself, I felt a twinge of sympathy after comprehending what he had said. Noah and Max were likely homeless, moving from one hotel to another. It explained why they resorted to robbery.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow. Go back to wherever you're staying, Noah," I demanded again.

Noah huffed, rolling off my mattress. "Fine, you win, Superboy, but there's no need to be a jerk about it." He strolled towards the doorway, brushing his shoulder against mine as he passed.

Derek pushed himself away from the wall, sitting at my desk. "I guess that guy isn't the most popular," he remarked.

"Nope," I said, exhaling deeply. "Not by a long shot." Noah was at the bottom of the food chain, just like me. He preferred to remain a shadow in the distance while Mark and his gang, including Max, attempted to harm me. Even though I knew the person beneath the mask, I still needed to determine their goal with Sam, and if giving up my powers now would do more harm than good. If I lost my abilities now, we would be in serious trouble.