I stared at my web of yarn, trying to find my mistake. My parents? The man who made gnomes for the craft fair and the grade school math teacher? Pyragon and DisTress? I had to be wrong. What were the odds I, of all people, would find the truth? Actually, looking at it, I was the only person who could have. I mean, there was the obvious "only someone living with them could match up there idiosyncrasies" bit, but more it was my abilities, his powers combined with her training had produced a very skilled individual. Not to brag, it's just fact. I thought my powers were a result of our field trip to the labs out in Tower, when I was exposed to the neutrino cloud. Now, I was realizing that "freak accident" only happened because of my powers. Ok, getting sidetracked, Ma would be upset. I accepted the facts as what they were, and got to the issue at hand: do I tell them I know? If I did, how would they respond?

Da would act happy but be concerned. He'd want to make sure I knew not to tell anyone, and that I didn't follow in Ma's footsteps. Or his.

Ma would be excited, but hide it from Da. She'd start training me more directly, though more behind his back. When he found out, there'd be a fight, then she'd accidentally trigger the mech suit she had hidden... Under his spot in the garage? Oh, that wouldn't go well when she busted his truck.

I could practically picture the fireblasts, tearing through the house, then the sky over our neighborhood, much like in their last battle.

What if I don't tell? We continue until I move out. But then, they are there with the empty nest. She'll get that itch, she'll miss the power, feel a bit bored and struggle to find a good hobby. Maybe do some consulting. Tinker on some tech. And at some point, he'll notice. And then a fight.

Those fireblasts of his come again, and again. If I just tell him, if I just tell her, always, it leads to a fight. And then I realize something I don't know. A factor that I can't pin. How did they stop fighting before? All my models, my calculations, none led a truce, an armistice, much less a marriage. I only realized they were alive because both disappeared at the same time.

I ran the footage of the fight again. The crash into the old observatory, an explosion of purple energy, then nothing. The observatory? I pull up my maps, both of the city and of Ma's secret labs. Of course!

The purple energy was a mind wipe! He didn't know! He didn't know. And she likely had improved the system. How often did she wipe his mind? I had to tell him.

As he turned, there was a brief flash of purple, and he went catatonic.

"Oh, my darling," she whispered, stroking her son's hair. "So very clever, so noble."

He continued to sit unresponding as she began taking down his notes and erasing his hard drive once again.

"You'll be a great hero some day, just like I was. But not yet, sweet."