The Heir

“So, what do you do for fun?”

“Hm?” I raise an eyebrow. “Oh.”

I think about it for a moment. What do I do for fun? I know what I used to do.

The memory of it flashes behind my eyes as quick as lightning—me, my sisters, and our father standing on a rooftop together as the sun sets over the city’s horizon. Dad looked down at me smiling, the sun illuminating his dark brown skin. My sisters and I were happy to be with him, sharing such a picturesque moment.

Then came the screams.

The city below was engulfed in fire, and so were most of the people in it. Cries rang in my ears as they begged for mercy, but none came. Dad just told me and my sisters to watch and learn as he raised his arms and decimated half of Jade City with a mere wave.

But that was ages ago…

I shake my mind free, gingerly sipping on the watered-down martini in front of me.

“Not much, really.” I answer, “I think I’m still kind of figuring things out.”

Malik nods, taking my response in stride. It was a fair answer. It’s only the first date after all. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to come, but he seemed nice in his profile, and I needed an excuse to get out. He chose a good place. Jubilee. It’s the hottest spot in town, nice and intimate too. Dim lights with soft jazz, but the weakest martini I’ve ever had. But still, I hoped that coming out tonight would distract me from, well, everything.

I shift in my seat, sitting back against the velvet. It did not agree with the skimpy little black dress I decided to wear. But black looked good on me.

“And you?” I counter. “You’re a lawyer, right?”

Malik smiles, peeling back his full lips to reveal a set of dazzling white teeth. Lucky for me he’s even better than his profile pic.

“Lawyer by day, lyricist by night,” he replies playfully, scratching the soft stubble on his chin. “I’ve also taken up knitting lately. Just to try something different.”

“Knitting?” I laugh. “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?”

He raises his hands in mock surrender. “You don’t know the half of it. I just like to keep sharp. Try new things.”

“I can respect that.” While talking the waiter brings another round of much stronger drinks.

“So, Aaliyah. What are your hobbies?” he asks, trying to hide how his old-fashioned burns a hole in his chest.

“I sometimes like to watch the supes,” I admit bashfully. “Watch them fly over cities or burst through buildings. That kind of stuff.”

“Oh, don’t tell me you’re a supe-junkie?”

I laugh, waving my arms “No, no, not like that. God, you’re like my sister!” The words slip out before I can control myself, and I quickly sip to avoid reacting.

“You have siblings?” he asks, leaning in.

I hesitate to answer, taking a long gulp before I do. “Uh no I–”

My phone buzzes next to my thigh and I jump, almost spilling my drink. “Sorry, I gotta check this.”

I scroll through my phone and my stomach sinks to the ground. It’s a text from my sister Lena. We haven’t spoken since we were kids. We have nothing to say to each other which is why her text throws me. Especially when the only word she decides to say to me is ‘Dad’. No explanation. Just Dad.

I look at Malik with an apologetic face. “I, I’m so sorry. I have to go. Family thing.” The chair skids loudly against the floor as I fumble for my things.

Malik sits up alert. “Oh, shoot. Do you need a ride?”

I shake my head. “No, it’s fine. I got it. Can we uh, call a raincheck?”

He smiles understandingly. “Sure. I’ll hold you to it.”

I apologize several more times as I squeeze past people to head outside. It’s pitch black now and icy cold. Then, as if right on cue, rain starts pouring.

“Great,” I mutter.

I clench my sides, waiting for my ride to come. Luckily it doesn’t take long, and I sit back as the driver takes me to the last place I’d ever thought I’d go.

Home.

Knots twist in my stomach as I arrive. I haven’t been with my family in forever. I was an outsider to them now. The black sheep. Although once upon a time, we were close.

For us three bickering sisters, our father was the glue that kept us together. He became deeply involved in our upbringing after our mother was murdered in cold blood, supposedly by some aspiring supe. Our mother was gone, and Dad was left with three daughters, two dollars, and no help. He was completely alone and grieving…and mad.

We all were, which is I think why none of us batted an eye when one day Dad came home seeming a changed man. The dark mist that poured from his hands felt like a miracle to us. He could make a difference. We could make a difference. Something called an obsidian crystal fell into his hands and gave him his powers. But more than that, it came with three others: a red one, a purple one, and a blue one. He gave one to each of us and without question, my sisters and I followed his instructions to crush the crystals and activate our powers.

Dad became more than just Dad then, he became King Obsidian. To me, he righted wrongs and avenged our mom. He gave us powers and told us we were doing the right thing.

Until we weren’t.

It's such a thin line at first. So easy to cross. You cross one, then another, then another. It all feels so subtle, like a slide at the playground until one day you realize you’ve burned a city to the ground for…God, I can’t even remember why anymore.

But I was done doing it, and my choice made me stop using my powers. I tried to be normal, just as plain as everyone else. But not, Lena, and definitely not Nikki.

Maybe it’s because they were older. They knew Mom longer and felt like they lost more. They told Dad to leave me out and focus on them instead. They tried to earn his favor by becoming two of the most notorious villains in the western hemisphere. But Dad still loved us equally.

The house looks the same, white picket fence and all. I scurry up the porch steps into the most unassuming supervillain lair in the middle of suburbia. But before I can even get to the door, it swings open by itself and Lena’s voice echoes in my head.

Took you long enough. We’re in the lair.

“Missed you too, Lena,” I sigh.

It’s dim inside but I still know the old place like the back of my hand. I walk past photos of our childhood toward the kitchen. Ballet recitals, soccer games, everything that said we were a perfectly normal family.

The code to the lair is the same, Mom’s birthday. After a series of beeps, the fridge slides to reveal a hidden stairway leading into our second home. The place where we trained and developed our powers to help our father all these years. It’s gone downhill since I left. Monitors flicker with clear signs of dilapidation and are covered in dust. It’s been years since anyone’s seen King Obsidian terrorize the world and most people think he’s dead. It’s easier that way.

I see a room with beeping machines and Lena sitting at Dad’s bedside. It breaks my heart to see him like this, weak and barely breathing even with the respirator. His eyes lock onto me and he smiles.

“Aaliyah…”

“I’m here, Dad,” I say, taking his weathered hand.

Lena stands up, huffing. “That’s a first.”

“Not now, Lena,” Father scolds with a voice like simmering coals.

She quiets instantly. Even now in her broody waistcoat and newly styled white mohawk, she’s still just as much a kid as I am around him. She uses her mental abilities to raise him in bed and fluff the pillow behind him.

“Where’s Nikki?” he asks.

Right on time, Nikki comes floating down in a blaze of glory. She’s got the most pretentious red tattoo inked across her eyes that looks like a toddler smeared her during playtime. She shoves me and Lena out of her way to sit next to Dad. “I’m here, Daddy, and it’s Red Phoenix now.”

Me and Lena roll our eyes.

“Good.” Dad says, patting her hand, “There’s no easy way to tell you this, but I’m…”

Dying.

We’ve known it for years but to hear him say it hurts.

“Daughters…my body is dying. But when I go, I will entrust one of you to continue my legacy.”

“Legacy?” Lena asks eagerly.

“The crystal that gave me my power has claimed it back. So, I have hidden it in the city someplace only you three will find it. The first one to get it will become the new King Obsidian and have the power to defy any supe who dares stand in your way.”

My sisters are foaming at the mouth with this news while I struggle to process it. Claim his powers? Continue his legacy?

We’re all quiet for a long time but Nikki is the first to speak. “Daddy you can’t be serious. Why not just give it to us now? Be a man an–”

“ENOUGH!” Dad bellows, his voice booming through the walls even in this weak state. “I’ve made my choice.”

We stayed with him until the end, putting aside our life choices long enough to be together one last time. When the monitors flatline, we know it was the end for him but the beginning for one of us.

Then we were off.

Lena uses her telekinesis to warp the doors behind her and prevent our escape but Nikki, I mean Red Phoenix, melts a hole that allows us to pass. The two of them rip through the city at their own pace, tearing apart everything in their way to find Dad’s crystal.

And then there’s me. I can’t fly like my sisters, I never could, and even now I wouldn’t dare use my powers on them. So that just left me alone and standing in the dark with a half-dead phone. I search the house for clues for anything that could help.

While searching, I stop at the old photo of me with Mom at my ballet recital. She died just three days after that photo. It was the last truly normal moment in our lives. Then for some reason, it struck like a bolt of lightning.

The ballet studio.

It was the one place Dad was never King Obsidian or the greatest villain the world’s ever seen. He was just a dad who’d record his daughter’s clumsy little twirls and pirouettes. After a quick search, I was thrilled to find the building still exists, although it’s a yoga studio now. I could be in and out before anyone noticed.

I race over and sneak around the back to pop the same old rusty lock that’s held that door together since 1998. Although it’s a yoga studio, I can’t help the rush of bittersweet nostalgia that floods me the moment I step inside.

I go through every inch of the place and feel ready to give up until I remember the piece of wood I always tripped over near the cubbies. It takes a few tries to pry it open but when I do, there it is. The obsidian crystal wrapped neatly in Mom’s favorite red shirt. The crystal’s dark energy senses me, glowing with the black mist that’s spilled from my father for decades. And now it’s mine. It floats in the air, waiting for me to grab it.

I reach for it slowly, my heart thundering in my chest but before I can do anything, the windows around me shatter and both of my sisters barrel in, floating menacingly above me.

“Give it or I’ll roast you here and now!” Nikki screeches, as fire blazes fiercely around her body.

“No!” I retort, clutching the crystal tighter.

Aaliyah, please. Lena’s voice rings in my head. At least let me have it and I’ll spare you in my dominion.

No.

I crush the crystal in my hands and a surge of energy fills me, searing itself to my bones. The powers I’ve suppressed for years now feel dialed to eleven. I feel alive and invigorated with the knowledge that I can do anything I want. Lena had her mind and Nikki her fire, but me? I had the power of death itself. A snap of bone, a tug of flesh. It all bent to my will and anyone my father pointed to was dust in an instant. I was powerful then. Fearsome. And I could be again if I wanted.

But…I didn’t want it.

The crystal keeps pouring its energy into me. It’s almost too much but I hold on, hoping my plan will work because it has to work. The power reaches a peak, and I face the choice I’d been dreading. It hurts for every reason imaginable, but I let go. I just let it all go. Mom, Dad, my family, our legacy. I let all of it go in one great and terrible burst that shatters everything.

My sisters are stunned and are thrown to the ground by the force of the ensuing blast. I feel weak as I slump to the ground and am surprised to see my sisters haven’t recovered either.

“What did you do to us?” Lena tries to use her powers, but she can’t. She can barely stand.

Nikki can’t even light a spark, and she howls with rage. “No!” She charges me, shaking me hard. “Why did you do this? Why did you betray us!”

I scoff. “I didn’t betray you. I...I’m finally free. All of us are.”

“NO, I can’t accept this. I won’t!”

“I will never forgive you for this.” Lena storms off, the rain obscuring her as she slinks into the night.

Nikki stays in the studio howling like a banshee, writhing in the ground like a worm. I’m not sure if I want their forgiveness, not when I know I’ve made the right choice. I carefully step outside, avoiding the shattered glass the best I can.

Then a bright star appears in the sky coming closer and closer, growing so bright I have to shield my eyes. Then I realize it’s not a star at all, it’s, “Malik, is that you?”

His glow dims as he settles before me, hovering a few feet above the ground. His blush is undeniable under that thin eye covering. He’s even in a little white and gold spandex getup.

“It’s Lucient when I’m on call,” he replies sheepishly. “I got worried when you had to leave our date so soon. I just wanted to make sure you were safe, but it seems you have it under control.”

“Yeah,” I chuckle, “I guess you could say that.”

“So,” he sighs, looking over my shoulder at my writhing sister. “You do have siblings?”

“It’s complicated,” I admit.

“I bet,” he chuckles softly. We turn our heads towards the sounds of sirens in the distance. “No pressure but would you be willing to talk about it over coffee? My shift ends in an hour.”

The sun begins to rise over the city, and I look up at him and those dazzling teeth. “Yeah, I’d like that.”