“You’re a man now son.” Dad leaned in whispering. “Your mother doesn’t know about this drawer.” He opened the drawer of mysteries. [Link to post.]
"You mean mom doesn't know about the whole saving the universe thing?" Regal asked. His father took the day off work, and they were both down in the basement while Regal's mother was at work. His dad showed him a secret drawer hidden by boxes he thought were full of clothes and childhood toys. The boxes were completely empty and moved out of the way with ease.
"Are you crazy? Your mom starts worrying when you're even five minutes late from school. I can't tell her you're destined to save the universe, do you know dangerous that is?" Regal's father let loose a belly laugh and patted his son on the back. "No way, this is our secret. But now that you believe me, it's time." Regal glanced in the drawer and saw a tattoo gun along with several small colored jars; he assumed they were ink.
"I did a lot of tattoos when I was younger. Didn't for a while, but with your 18th birthday coming up I started practicing again." The older man smiled. Regal had never seen his dad this excited about anything.
"You're going to give me a tattoo?" Regal asked while he stared at the tattoo gun. The gun looked old but well kept. He did not know whether to feel scared or excited.
"Yeah. Having your number on you activates your powers," The man pulled his shirt off to reveal several tattoos on his chest. Then he turned around to show more on his back. "See the globe on my shoulder?" He asked over his shoulder. Regal found the tattoo. A blue and green, proper globe. Not just a doodle of the Earth. It had a base of the mount displayed the number 37 in a golden font.
"37? Oh! El Mundo!" Regal said. His father turned and nodded while putting his shirt back on.
"Yep, Atlas. My power is, I got to make you," he smiled at his son and pulled him in for a tight hug. "C'mon get your shirt off, I'll put it on your back." Regal pulled his shirt off and laid prone on the work bench his father cleared off. He jumped when he heard a sharp buzz behind him.
"So, what's my power? I can't even imagine how much power it would take to save the universe," Regal said.
"Relax. It's gonna hurt, but it'll be SO worth it. No idea what shape your power will take, but remember. It's not always about who's the most powerful. Your destiny is to save the universe, but there's got to be a million different ways that could play out." The buzzing stopped an Regal saw his father wheel around in front of him in his office chair. "You need to start understanding this now. Just because you're destined to save the universe doesn't mean you'll be there for it. Sometimes putting things in motion is enough. Whatever your power is, it's designed to help you fulfill your duty. Not do it for you. Clear?" His father looked serious. Regal met his eyes and nodded.
"Yes sir. I'll try to keep that in mind."
"Good." The buzzing started again as his father rolled out of view. Regal clenched his teeth and tensed his body when the pain started in the center of his back. "Relax!" his father said again.
"So mom doesn't know that you're a Unique?" Regal asked, hoping to distract himself with conversation.
"Nope. She's not one and I don't want her feeling any less special to me. It doesn't affect our day to day lives, so I figured there was no point in telling her."
"Who taught you everything? Was grandpa one?"
"Nope. I'm the first one in the family. As for who taught me, I got lucky on that one. When I got my tattoo, the knowledge just filled me. But, I think that's something limited to Mundos." Their conversation drifted to family, then to different topics after that. The tattoo session lasted a few hours, with a couple of breaks in between.
"Ready to see it?" Regal's father stood in front of him holding a mirror pointed at the ground. Regal stood in front of a mirror with his back to it. He smiled and nodded at his dad. The older man brought the mirror up for Regal to see.
On the center of his back was a golden lion's head stylized to look like a sun. The number 46 in purple decorated the lion's forehead. Regal's body began to glow with a golden aura.
Comments
Post a Comment