Protecting the Young

George reached down and pressed a hand against her belly, grinning like and idiot. “She’s going to be beautiful, Beth. She'll be perfect.”

Beth smiled and looked down at her swollen stomach, letting her own hands rest on either side. She could feel the baby kicking. “I know.”

He leaned down and kissed Beth on the forehead. “I won’t be late tonight. I promise.”

She waved him out the door, smiling as he left.

Beth sat heavily down on the couch in their designer green and blue living room, letting herself just relax. She knew that the baby was perfect. She could feel it. A couple of seconds with her eyes closed, concentrating on the life growing inside of her, said everything. She was a beautiful baby girl with a strong pulse, brown eyes, and her father’s funny ears. She was perfect.

“I’m sorry, little one.” Beth said, reaching for the tissue box in case she started crying again. As much as George had wanted a baby, she’d tried for so long to keep herself from having one. It had been the only real point of contention between them since their wedding.

“We’ve been married for six years, Beth! I thought you wanted to have a family!”

He was right, of course. She’d always wanted a family. Two or maybe three kids that she could raise, take to the beach on Fourth of July, and help choose class schedules for when they got into those dream colleges that she and George would never be able to afford, but would never tell their kids that.

"Sometimes it's best when you don't get what you want,” she said to the empty room, slowly stroking the curve of her heavily-pregnant belly. “Sometimes you should leave well enough alone.”

Beth could remember the afternoon that she met George. It had only been about seven years ago and she’d been indescribably nervous when he asked her out. Back then, George was working at Spoke, a local bike shop, and she was getting a tune-up on the Schwinn cruiser she rode to work every day. He smiled at her and it was electric, the way that it should be.

George’d asked her out to coffee that afternoon, then dinner the next night. Three amazing months later they were engaged and Beth wasn't really sure where the time had gone.

They were married in an adorable garden wedding at a bed and breakfast in Hawaii. Everything was perfect. She was so much in love with him and he was head-over-heels in love with her.

A few years later, George decided to follow his dreams. He’d opened a bike shop of his own, geared mainly toward women, and after three years CycleSexy was doing a roaring business.

She never had the heart to tell him, though. George had slowly become Beth's whole world and she didn’t know how to explain the possibility that their child might be different. Really different.

Beth hadn’t made it her whole life the way that some of the others had. They knew she was in retirement, but that didn’t always make everything go away.

She’d announced her resignation only a couple of weeks before meeting her husband. In one of the largest SuperHuman conferences, ‘Atalanta’ had thrown in the towel, requesting early retirement from the Aegis Council. It was granted by the elders and Bethany Pierce had returned to having a normal life.

“Doesn’t change the genetic structure, though.” She said, grunting as she tried to stand up. “Superpowers or not, being unable to heft yourself out of an easy chair gets tiresome even to those of us who are enjoying our retirement.”

“I heard that.” A man’s voice said from the kitchen.

She groaned again and finally managed to pull herself up and waddle into the next room, nearly slipping in her stocking feet on the blue and white tile floors. “Flick. I told you to stop doing that! You don’t know when George is home or not and you know that he has no idea who I was before we met.”

“Of course I know when he’s home,” said the attractive, 20-something man sitting at her kitchen table, reading the morning newspaper. “I watch his car leave from the roof.”

Beth rolled her eyes and sighed.

“So,” he said, folding up the paper and looking at her. “What did you mean by ‘leave well enough alone’?”

She poured a glass of orange juice before joining her friend at the table. “What are you doing here, Flick? I’m retired.”

“I came to check in on you as a friend. You’re due in two weeks and I was worried.” He sniffed, turning his nose up at her question like the answer ought to have been obvious. “You still ignored my question, though. What’d you mean?”

“I shouldn’t have gotten pregnant!” She said, suddenly angry. “I have no right to choose my daughter’s destiny. I don’t want her to have the life I had! The life that you have!!” Beth scowled down at the glass of juice and sipped at it, trying to settle her stomach. She always got nauseous when she was angry.

“You mean you want her to be human. Like, a normal-type human.” It wasn’t a question, really. Much more a statement of fact that Flick already knew.

“Well, yeah.” She sighed, “My daughter has every right to lead a real life, a human life. She doesn’t need all this confusion and I don’t want her to be in the kind of danger I was. I mean, I was a runaway! I don’t want that for her.”

Flick nodded, “A lot of us were, Beth. You need to remember, though, that her future isn't written, no matter if she's one of us or as normal as George.”

Beth looked down into her juice, contemplating the pulp floating along the top. “I want better for her.”

“She’ll have better. She’ll have a mom who understands what’s going on, should something happen. Aren’t many of us who had that, you know.”

Flick fished into his pocket. “I brought you something. It's from the Aegis Council. Read it now... Read it later...” He shrugged and put the envelope on the table beside her glass of juice. “It doesn’t matter, you know. You’re not alone, Beth.”

She looked down at the envelope, studying the Aegis seal across the flap. “I know, Flick.”
There was a soft rush of air and she knew he was gone. That was how it always sounded when he phased. Like a sigh.

It took Beth an hour before she was ready to open the envelope. She’d been waiting for some kind of communication from the Council for months, some acknowledgment of her condition, and here it was, finally.

To: Code Name “Atalanta”
From: The Elders of the Aegis Council

Atalanta,

We have received communication regarding your unborn daughter. As is customary, it was requested that ForeSight look into the child’s path and read the possibility of her destiny. As you know, what ForeSight sees is only one path that the child may take, although all things being equal it is the most likely. It is, however, our duty to inform you that your daughter will unquestionably be “Gifted.” ForeSight was unable to see in what particular ways. As such, we request that you keep us updated regarding the child’s mortal- and supra-development as she ages.

Yours Respectfully,
Aegis Council Elders


Beth stared at the letter for a long time. “Shit. How am I ever going to explain all this to George?"