Ring-ring!
Clark reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out his phone. He was dressed in the typical gown and cap that students wore to their graduation.
Clark slipped quietly out from his row. He raised the phone to his ear and asked in a low voice, "Cecil? Where do you need me?"
On the other end of the line, Cecil thought to himself what an ideal superhero Clark was. No arguments, just a clear understanding of what was necessary to keep the world safe.
"Doc seismic is trying to blow up the Washington Monument. Apparently lava isn't enough to stop this guy." Cecil said.
Clark walked quickly round the back of an ordinary shed. He looked around for anyone who might be watching, then he transformed into Omni-Man. He took off at a low-ish speed to avoid creating a sonic boom. Once he was a few miles up in the sky, he accelerated sharply.
Clark thought of his teary-eyed parents who were watching the graduation ceremony, 'I'll finish this quickly. They'll be annoyed if I miss my own graduation.'
"Look at you all! Worshipping this phallic monument! They were rapists, thieves, slave-owners! The despicable men you claim to honour drained the lifeblood of mother earth! I will bring down this monument so that all of you can see clearly!" Doc Seismic shouted in a shrill voice.
The mad supervillain was standing on the very top of the Washington Monument. A pair of bracers at his wrists thrummed with energy.
Hundreds of civillians stood at the base of the monument. They were either too frightened, or too stunned to run.
Bang!
One of Doc Seismic's bracers erupted with violent shockwaves. The immense energy swept through the air.
"Aha! They send one of their goons to bring me down!" Doc Seismic shouted angrily. His beady eyes narrowed to stare at the familiar figure floating in the air. If he hadn't installed tracking systems in his bracers, he might've been captured instantly.
The shockwaves from Doc Seismic's bracers had repelled Clark's approach in mid air. If he didn't have to keep his speed low to avoid causing collateral damage to the monument and civillians below, he could've simply blitzed through the energy waves.
Clark looked down at the civillians. If he wanted to evacuate them, he'd have to fly slowly enough that the friction didn't rip off their skin.
An idea occured to him. Clark couldn't help but marvel at how stupid he could be sometimes.
"Huh?" Doc Seismic made a confused noise. His opponent's appearance had suddenly changed.
Streams of pink energy held Clark in the air. Defeating Doc Seismic with brute force could lead to major civillian casualties and the potential destruction of the Washington Monument. So, he'd take a different approach. He had hundreds of different bodies to chose from, he'd gotten stuck in the way of thinking that Omni-Man was the right answer for every situation.
Doc Seismic screamed in horror, "What? What did you do?"
His wrists suddenly felt like they weighed hundreds of pounds. He was much too scrawny to handle that kind of load, he shouted in fright as the weight dragged him uncontrollably downwards.
Clark would've enjoyed watching Doc Seismic fall all the way to the ground before catching him, but he was running short on time. As Atom-Eve, all he'd had to do was turn Doc Seismic's advanced bracers into ordinary steel to end the fight.
Clark regularly practiced with Atom-Eve's body. Her pink costume contained a god of the material world that was essentially pretending to be human. There were countless different scenarios where her abilities could be useful. He still wasn't anywhere near as proficient as the real Atom-Eve, but compared to when he'd first used her powers, he'd climbed from the level of beginner to intermediate.
Clark's hands and feet flared with pink energy. He flew over and grabbed Doc Seismic after he'd fallen for twenty feet or so. He activated his powers again and the heavy steel bracers transformed into chicken feathers that blew away in the wind.
"Here you go." Clark said. He handed over the irate supervillain to what appeared like empty air. A GDA trooper materialised with their weapon aimed at Doc Seismic's head. Several more troopers materialised as well.
Doc Seismic swallowed nervously. A dozen guns were aimed at his face. He had a strong feeling that the soldiers were willing him to resist so that they could pull their triggers.
"Thanks kid. You should make it back for most of your graduation." Cecil's voice sounded in Clark's earpiece.
"Anytime." Clark replied. He changed back into Omni-Man and took off into the air.
After a moment, he added awkwardly, "But it would be great if I could get through the rest of the ceremony. My parents have been really excited about it for weeks."
Cecil rolled his eyes, "Got it kid."
After a short flight, Clark hurriedly changed back into his gown and cap. He'd stashed them behind the building. He tried to make himself look as ordinary as possible as he slipped back into his row of seats. He could feel his parents staring at him intently, they were understanding about his responsibilities, but he knew that they'd ask what situation was so important that only he could deal with it.
Someone in one of the rows closer to the stage turned to look at him. It was Mark.
After a small supervillain shaped blip, Clark quickly got back into the flow of the ceremony. He cheered for Amelia as she walked on stage to collect her certificate. Her family and his were going out for a meal in the evening to celebrate their graduation.
"Clark Rodgers!" The dean called out.
Clark smiled and stepped forwards. He shook hands with the dean. He looked out into the crowd and saw his parents cheering wildly and taking photos.
After he'd recieved his certificate, the rest of the ceremony seemed to go by much quicker. He raised an eyebrow as he spotted Mark accidentally throw his cap up into the clouds. Once everything was finished, he got up from his seat and walked over to his parents. He was immediately given two extremely fierce hugs.
A few hours later, Clark drove up to the curb by Amelia's house. His parents had given him a car for his seventeeth birthday a couple months ago. Because of his superhero work, he didn't often get the chance to drive it.
Amelia's front door opened. She smiled and waved towards him. Her parents stood at the door behind her and waved as well. Clark hastily turned down the volume of the music, straightened up his shoulders, and waved back.
Amelia leaned over and kissed him as she got into the passenger seat, "So, how do you feel?"
Clark laughed, he pulled away smoothly from the curb, "I don't know, maybe a bit wiser I guess?"
Amelia giggled, she stuck her hand out the window and felt the wind rush through her fingers. Her eyes suddenly widened, "Oh yeah! Where'd you go? My parents said you dissapeared in the middle of the ceremony!"
Clark snorted, he slowed down for a traffic light, "This lunatic called Doc Seismic wanted to blow up Washington Monument."
Amelia leaned closer, she asked with anticipation, "And you stopped him?"
Clark looked at her with a teasing smile, "You told me a few days ago that you thought I was the world's greatest superhero."
Amelia laughed, she made a fist and lightly tapped it against his shoulder, "I do! I really do!"
Clark drove up to a burger place. He turned to Amelia, "Eat in or drive-through?"
Amelia made a thoughtful noise, "Hmm, drive-through."
They drove away ten minutes later with burgers, fries and lemonades. Amelia snacked on fries from the paper bag while they travelled down the highway.
Seventeen was a strange age. Almost an adult, but not quite. There were a thousand different directions they could go with their lives. Amelia talked about the college she'd applied to, and the course she wanted to take. She'd always done better than Clark in biology, he wasn't surprised that she wanted to take biomedical sciences.
Clark turned off the highway. They drove along some country roads, and soon ended up at a scenic lake. He took a picnic blanket out from the boot and they chose a spot by the water to sit. They were the only people there.
"What do your parents think about you not going to college?" Amelia asked, while taking a bite out of her burger.
Clark looked up at the clouds, "They get it, I think. We've talked about it a lot. The GDA are already paying me a massive salary, it's not like I won't be successful or anything."
Amelia rested her hand on his knee, "I can't imagine what it must be like for you."
Clark smiled, her interlaced his fingers with hers, "I've got a pretty hot girlfriend. Things aren't too bad."
Amelia burst into laughter, she rolled her eyes, "Okay mr smooth, well done."
They spent most of the drive back in a comfortable silence. They were good at comfortable silences. Sometimes being in the presence of someone you loved was better than any amount of conversation.
"See you later, don't be late!" Amelia called out as she shut her car door. Clark waved goodbye.
Clark headed back home. His parents were watching the TV with beaming smiles. Neither of them were paying any real attention to the programme, they were much more focused on discussing how handsome their son had looked up on stage, and how well he'd done in his classes.
A few hours later Clark's family met with Amelia's in a nice restaurant. The parents collectively gushed with pride. Clark was kind, respectful and charming throughout the meal. Amelia's parents were delighted by her choice of first boyfriend.
After the meal, Clark and his family drove back home. The sky was turning a pretty mixture of red and pink.
Clark had only just sat down at his desk when his phone started to ring. He was surprised by the name on the caller ID.
"Uh-hey, this is Mark. Me and a few friends are hanging out at a treehouse in the forest. They uh-they know about our secret. There's beers, and no parents, if you want to come-"
Clark nodded, "Yeah, sounds good, I'll be there. Text me the location."
"Uh-cool, see you soon." Mark replied. Clark heard a shocked gasp just before the call ended.
It seemed innapropriate to use Omni-Man's body to fly over, so Clark borrowed Mark's instead. The treehouse was decorated with long strings of fairy lights. It was easy to spot. Once he landed, he changed back into his real body.
Clark recognised everyone. Mark's circle of friends was relatively small. One of his friends, a slim brown haired-teenager called William stamped his feet when he arrived, "I can't believe it! Is everyone at our school a superhero?"
Mark walked over from the other side of the treehouse. He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, "Sorry, I figured out who you were a few weeks back. Whenever you left lessons, Mirror appeared. I didn't mean to tell anyone, I-"
Clark shrugged his shoulders, he wasn't bothered, "It's okay. You and your friends have already been keeping Atom-Eve's and Invincible's secret identities safe, one more won't hurt."
Atom-Eve sighed, "I can't believe it! I didn't even realise till Mark accidentally told us earlier!"
William looked at Clark with shining eyes, "Can you do it? Can you change into someone else?"
Amber rolled her eyes and shoved William's shoulder, "William! That's rude!"
Clark laughed and replied to William, "It's okay, I don't mind. Who do you want to see?"
William mushed his hands against his cheeks. He looked like a child who'd been told they could have cake and ice cream at their birthday party, "Do Dupli-Kate! No! Do Eve! No-no, do The Immortal."
Clark nodded. In an instant, he changed into the taller and more muscular body of The Immortal. He floated a few feet in the air just to show off.
William screamed, "That's amazing! You can just be anyone you want!"
Clark smiled and changed back into his own body, "It is pretty cool."