Chapter 395: A Not So Normal Reunion (2)

Stacy stared at the bottle resting casually on Liam’s armrest, her mind racing through a thousand possibilities and finding no satisfactory answers to any of them.

Was this really Liam? The quiet kid who’d kept to himself, never drawing attention, never standing out in any particular way that made him practically a ghost in high school? Had he always possessed this kind of power, hiding it behind a mask of normalcy? Or was this something new, something he’d acquired recently that had transformed him into... whatever he was now?

The questions multiplied faster than she could process them, each one spawning three more, creating a cascade of uncertainty that made her head spin slightly.

She had so many questions. Unfortunately, she had very few answers. And judging by the expressions on everyone else’s faces, she wasn’t alone in that predicament.

Liam watched their faces cycle through shock, disbelief, confusion, and back to shock again. He smiled, though the expression carried a hint of helplessness. There was nothing he could really do except give them time. No amount of explanation would help them understand what they’d just witnessed. Words couldn’t bridge the gap between the impossible and the real. They needed to process it at their own pace, in their own way.

The silence stretched for a full minute, broken only by the gentle sound of waves against the yacht’s hull and the distant cry of seagulls.

Finally, Matt broke the quiet with a soft exclamation. "Damn."

He looked directly at Liam, his expression somewhere between awe and bewilderment. "Is there anything about you that’s actually normal? Like, anything at all?"

Liam smiled and shrugged helplessly. "It’s not exactly my fault, you know."

Matt shook his head slowly, processing. "Sometimes I can’t help but wish I was you. The money, the tech, the abilities—it’s like living in a movie." He paused, his expression growing more serious. "But at the same time, I can’t even begin to imagine what it must actually mean to be you. Like, really be you. The pressure, the secrets, the fact that you’re apparently not even human anymore based on what I’m seeing."

Liam chuckled at that assessment. "Honestly? It’s pretty awesome."

Matt raised an eyebrow, with a sneer filled with envy and jealousy on his face. "Give me my emotions back. You can’t just casually say it’s ’pretty awesome’ to have superpowers while we’re all sitting here having existential crises."

The group chuckled softly at the exchange, the sound breaking through some of the remaining tension. The familiar rhythm of their friendship was starting to reassert itself, adapting around the impossible revelations.

Kristopher adjusted his glasses and turned to Liam, and asked, "Is it just you, or is this a family thing? Like, does everyone in your family have these abilities?"

Liam’s smile grew slightly. "Just me. I’m the only one."

His friends nodded slowly, absorbing that information. It raised even more questions than it answered, but at least it was something concrete. They were still trying to process everything, and Liam suspected it would take them a very long time to fully come to terms with what they’d witnessed today.

Elise leaned forward slightly, her expression curious rather than frightened. Of all his friends, she seemed to be adapting to the revelations the fastest, her natural pragmatism helping her move past the initial shock. "What else can you do? Besides the telekinesis and teleportation?"

Liam considered the question carefully. He couldn’t tell them everything—some capabilities were better left unrevealed—but he could share enough to give them a more complete picture. "I can do a couple of things. Flying, for example. I can fly."

The reaction was immediate and universal.

Alex’s eyes went wide. "You can fly? Like, actually fly through the air?"

"Superman-style?" Harper added, his voice carrying a mix of skepticism and excitement.

"Shut up," Kristy breathed, her hand covering his mouth.

Matt stood up abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor. He reached over and grabbed Liam’s arm, pulling him to his feet with an excitement that bordered on manic. "I need to see this. Right now. No way you’re dropping that information and not demonstrating it immediately."

Liam smiled and allowed himself to be dragged toward the deck. "Alright, alright. But don’t be too shocked when—"

"When you casually defy the laws of physics?" Stacy interrupted as she followed behind them. "I think that ship has sailed, Liam."

The group moved as one toward the yacht’s spacious deck, the afternoon sun casting long shadows across the pristine white surface. The ocean stretched endlessly in every direction, providing the perfect backdrop for what was about to happen.

Matt released Liam’s arm and stepped back, gesturing dramatically toward the open sky. "Alright, show us what you’ve got."

Liam took a breath, centered himself, and smiled at his friends one more time. "Seriously, don’t be too shocked."

Then he shot upward.

The movement was so sudden, so impossibly fast, that several of his friends actually jumped in surprise. One moment Liam was standing on the deck, and the next he was rocketing toward the sky like a missile, his body cutting through the air with perfect control.

He disappeared into the clouds, leaving only a faint distortion in his wake.

For several seconds, there was absolute silence on the deck. Eight pairs of eyes stared upward, tracking the spot where Liam had vanished, waiting for whatever came next.

Then he descended, dropping through the cloud cover in a controlled dive that would have terrified any normal person. He leveled out just above the water’s surface, flying parallel to the ocean at speeds that had to be well over a hundred miles per hour. The ocean spray kicked up by his passage created a rooster tail behind him, water droplets catching the sunlight and creating temporary rainbows.

He banked hard, executing a turn that would have pulverized a normal human body with the g-forces involved, then climbed again, performing a barrel roll that looked like something out of a fighter jet demonstration.

Finally, he descended back to the yacht, landing on the deck with perfect precision. Not a single hair out of place, his breathing completely normal, as if he’d just taken a casual stroll rather than performed aerial acrobatics that violated everything his friends understood about human capabilities.

Their jaws had collectively dropped.

Matt was the first to recover, though "recover" was perhaps too generous a word. He stood frozen for several more seconds, then muttered under his breath. "Insane. That’s insane. Completely insane."

He looked at Liam with an expression that mixed awe, envy, and genuine affection. Then he crossed the distance between them and pulled Liam into a tight hug.

"We’re best friends for life. From this moment forward, you and me, we’re locked in. I don’t care what cosmic entity you become or what universe you end up ruling. We’re brothers now."

Liam chuckled at Matt’s dramatic declaration and returned the hug warmly. "We already were best friends, Matt."

"Yeah, but now it’s official. There’s no backing out. You just flew. You FLEW." Matt pulled back, his hands on Liam’s shoulders, shaking him slightly for emphasis. "Do you understand how incredible that is?"

The others had started recovering from their shock, each processing what they’d witnessed in their own way.

"I need to sit down," Kristopher said faintly.

"We’re already sitting—wait, no we’re not." Alex looked around, seeming to only just remember they’d moved to the deck. "We should sit down."

"The laws of physics are just suggestions to you, aren’t they?" Harper said, shaking his head with a smile that was equal parts amazed and exasperated.

"Can you carry people while flying?" Stacy asked suddenly, her practical mind already working through the implications. "Like, could you fly someone to another country?"

Liam smiled. "Yes, but I haven’t tried it yet."

"Dibs," Matt said immediately. "If there’s ever a flying buddy situation, I call eternal dibs."

They gradually made their way back inside the lounge, settling into the comfortable furniture with an energy that was completely different from the awkward tension that had characterized their first arrival.

The atmosphere had shifted. Yes, Liam was impossibly powerful and had abilities that shouldn’t exist. But he was still Liam. Still their friend. The person who’d invited them to his yacht and wanted to spend time with them despite having literally traveled to other planets.

The conversation flowed more naturally now, though the topic kept circling back to Liam’s abilities.

They talked about practical applications, like could he use telekinesis for construction? Could flying replace his air travel? What were the limits of his powers?

They discussed theoretical scenarios, like what would happen if someone saw him flying? How did he keep it secret? When had he discovered these abilities?

And thanks to Matt, they ventured into territory that had everyone laughing despite—or perhaps because of—the absurdity.

"I’m just saying," Matt insisted, gesturing with his drink for emphasis, "if you can control objects with your mind, there are definitely creative applications that—"

"Matt," Elise interrupted, her tone warning.

"What? I’m being perfectly reasonable here. The man can fly. He can move things with his mind. I’m simply exploring the full range of potential uses in everyday life—"

"You’re being a pervert," Kristy stated flatly.

"I prefer ’creatively minded,’" Matt corrected.

"You’re definitely a pervert," Lana agreed, though she was smiling.

The conversation continued in that vein, mixing genuine curiosity with absurd speculation, serious questions with ridiculous jokes. They ordered more food from the yacht’s kitchen, the staff appearing and disappearing with their characteristic efficiency and automatic deference to Liam.

Hours passed without anyone really noticing. The sun began its descent toward the horizon, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink that reflected off the ocean’s surface. The yacht had made its way back toward the marina at some point, when the chief sailor saw that it was already getting late.

Finally, as the sky darkened toward evening, the group began to stir with the recognition that their time together was ending.

"I should probably get home," Kristy said reluctantly. "I have that presentation tomorrow morning."

"Right, yeah," Alex agreed. "Early meeting for me too."

They gathered their things slowly, no one really wanting to leave but all recognizing that the day had to end eventually. As they prepared to disembark, each of them approached Liam for individual goodbyes.

"Thanks for trusting us enough to show us all that," Elise said quietly. "I know it couldn’t have been easy."

"We’re not going to tell anyone," Kristopher assured him. "Obviously."

"Today was..." Stacy paused, searching for words. "I don’t even know. Insane? Incredible? Both?"

"I’m still calling dibs on flying," Matt reminded him one last time.

Liam smiled warmly at each of them, feeling genuine gratitude for their acceptance despite everything. "We’ll chat later, alright? And seriously—if anyone gives you trouble, let me know immediately."

They promised they would, though whether they actually would or would continue trying to handle it themselves remained to be seen.

One by one, they disembarked, heading toward the parking area where their vehicles waited. Liam stood on the deck watching them go, waving as they looked back.

When the last of them had disappeared from view, Liam took a moment to appreciate the evening. The marina was beautiful at this hour, lights beginning to twinkle on other boats, the sky transitioning from sunset into twilight.

Then, with a thought, he vanished.

He reappeared in his bedroom at Bellemere Mansion, the familiar space welcoming him back. The reunion had gone better than he’d hoped. His friends had been shocked, obviously, but they’d adapted. They’d accepted.

Liam smiled to himself as he settled onto his bed. Today had been good.