The Superhero's Son (Book 1): The Superhero's Test by Lucas Flint Page B

head. “The point, Kevin, is that I explicitly told you not to go around fighting crime with your powers. You are only supposed to use your powers during training or in self-defense, and beating up that criminal was neither.”
    “But I couldn't just walk away and let him rob that store and maybe even kill that cashier,” I said. I started adjusting my watch's strap, just so I wouldn't have to look at Dad in the eyes. “That wouldn't have been the right thing to do.”
    “You could have called the police,” said Dad.
    “And wait for them to get there?” I said. “Look, Dad, I know I didn't do what you wanted me to, but—”
    “But nothing,” Dad said, interrupting me before I could finish. He looked at the tablet again and sighed. “It's even worse because you were caught on camera. And you apparently also have a page on this website called 'Neo Ranks' as well. Ever heard of it?”
    I nodded, though I was thinking just how much it sucked that Dad apparently actually did know about Neo Ranks.
    “Granted, it appears that no one knows your secret identity, but I still don't approve of it,” said Dad. “You could have gotten yourself killed.”
    “He was just a normal thug,” I said. “Yeah, he had a gun, but I bet his bullets wouldn't have hurt me.”
    “Your suit is bulletproof, but that doesn't mean a thing,” said Dad. “It only takes one bullet in the right place to kill a person and if you hadn't been quick, you could have found that out the hard way.”
    “Well, what do you want me to do, then?” I said, finally meeting Dad's disappointed gaze. “It's too late now. I can't go back in time and stop myself from doing the right thing and saving an innocent person's life.”
    “I know you can't,” said Dad, “but I don't want you doing something like that again.”
    “Okay, I won't do it again, then,” I said. “Next time I see some thug robbing an innocent person, I'll just keep on walking like I didn't see anything.”
    “Don't act that way,” said Dad. “You know that's not what I mean. I just don't want you to get involved in the superhero life, not yet. I just care about you. Why can't you understand that?”
    Dad's tone made it hard to argue with him. I knew I had done the wrong thing, but I didn't know what to say. I just folded my arms across my chest and glanced at the kitchen, which seemed to be empty at the moment.
    “Where's Mom?” I said, looking at Dad again. “Is she home?”
    “She went to go pick up some groceries,” said Dad. “She likely won't be back until dinnertime.”
    “What does Mom think about what I did?” I said.
    “I actually learned about your little adventure from her,” said Dad. “And she wasn't very happy about it. She expressed a lot of the same concerns that I did, that it was reckless, that you could have been killed, and that you shouldn't have done it.”
    “Of course,” I said. “I knew Mom would say something like that. She's just as much against my training as you are.”
    “Actually, she was very much against your training, while I am not,” said Dad. “If I was really against your training, I wouldn't even be training you at all.”
    “Yeah, right,” I said. I ran a hand through my hair. “Then why can't you guys let me practice fighting actual criminals? I don't need to fight supervillains like Master Chaos or anything. Just normal, run-of-the-mill criminals like that thug I knocked out earlier today. Don't you think that would prepare me for combat with Master Chaos better than throwing big metal blocks around?”
    Dad lowered the tablet onto the coffee table and steepled his fingers together. He was staring at the tablet, even though the screen was blank, like he was trying to move it with his mind. Frankly, I wouldn't have been surprised if Dad could move it with his mind. He probably had all kinds of gadgets that could do anything, even if he wasn't currently wearing his Genius costume.
    Finally, Dad looked at me and said,