Superpowers by David J. Schwartz Page B

bathroom she would have kept right on being selfish, without anyone making her feel guilty about it.
    "All right," Caroline said. "It's the right thing to do. But do we know how to do it? Just because I can fly doesn't mean I can take down a guy with a gun."
    Mary Beth underlined FIGHTING SKILLS.
    "I know a little," Harriet said. "I've taken tae kwon do, karate, and wing chun."
    "I've seen all of Bruce Lee's movies at least six times," Charlie said.
    "Are you making fun of me?" Harriet asked.
    "I took the free self-defense class the UW Police teach," Caroline said. "But they didn't teach me anything about fighting while flying."
    "Can you teach the rest of us what you know?" Mary Beth asked Harriet. She had written H: TKD, KARATE, WIN CHUNG (SP?) on the board.
    "Maybe," Harriet said. "But we can't do it at the SERF or anything."
    "We could do it on my parents' land," Jack said. "There's enough acreage that we could work without being noticed or interrupted."
    "My dad might pay for me to start classes again," Harriet said. "He'll worry less if he thinks I can kick ass."
    Mary Beth wrote JACK'S PARENTS' LAND—TRAINING.
    "I don't know if I can fight, or even train," Charlie said. "When I get that close to somebody, I just sort of fall into their head."
    "Can't you control it at all?" Harriet asked. "I couldn't control the invisibility at first, but now I'm doing fine."
    "I can't turn it off," Charlie said. "It's like Mary Beth's strength—I just have to deal with it. The hat helps some."
    "Maybe we can see about getting you some more effective headgear," Mary Beth said.
    "I don't think we've addressed the fact," Caroline said, "that the moment we use our powers on someone, we'll be breaking the law, whether they're bad guys or not."
    "I've thought about that." Mary Beth underlined LEGALITY. "But I think ethical considerations outweigh the legal ones. If we see someone being assaulted or robbed, we have a moral obligation to do anything we can. In other cases, that might mean calling the police. We're able to intervene more directly, but we have to stay anonymous in order to protect ourselves."
    "Maybe we shouldn't be anonymous," Charlie said. "Maybe someone could help us."
    "I agree with Jack on that," Mary Beth said. "There are too many unknowns. We might not be safe, or our families."
    "It's different for me," Charlie said. "I was supposed to go home this weekend, but I had to tell my parents I was sick. Then I had to talk them out of coming down here."
    He hunched forward in his chair. "I'm not saying I'd turn you guys in. If I decide to tell someone, I'll leave you out of it. But I keep thinking maybe there's someone who could help me out. I mean, now that it's happened, I can't believe it's never happened before. There might be some medicine or special training or something to make this a little easier."
    Caroline shifted in her seat. She hadn't really thought about Charlie's situation. Everyone else was energized by their new abilities, while he seemed drained, almost shrunken. "Maybe we can figure out some kind of headgear, like Mary Beth said. We should at least try that before you give yourself up to be poked and prodded."
    Charlie nodded. "We can try it. But I really hope it works."
    Mary Beth turned back to her easel. "Next item is SCHEDULING, as in, do any of us have the time to add crime fighting to their life?"
    "I do," Jack said. "I could have stopped a dozen muggings in the time we've been in this meeting."
    "Settle down, Flash," Harriet said. "You don't need to show off."
    "I don't think I can call myself Flash," Jack said. "DC Comics might sue."
    "We'll talk about code names later," Mary Beth said. "Right now we're talking about time considerations. We may have to plan on working in groups of two or three, for the most part. It would be best if we could manage nightly patrols." Mary Beth wrote SMALL GROUPS and PATROLS  under SCHEDULING.
    "We should invest in a police scanner," Jack said. "That way we can know