Kay spent the entire school day ruminating over if he would give being a superhero a shot or not. He weighed the risks, the y of heroes, and the potential glory he could get by being the ohat saves the day. If he had a spare moment, his mind drifted to the idea of heroism. Throughout the ey of lunch he mulled over it as he mulled over a tasty turkey sandwich.

  Then Kay’s st css let out twenty minutes early so he saw it as a sign. Leaving school, he decided to track down Philly and discuss his potential superhero career. Kay had only a blurry memory of where Philly lived, though. It was something like a month ago where Kay saw Philly off in an alleyway behind an office building downtown. Kay left school and immediately caught a bus into the city.

  Where was it? Kay asked himself. Where was it?

  He khe building was around a ese restaurant so when he spotted White Dragon off of King St, he got off the bus and looked around the interse for anything familiar. Standing on the horizon was an old office building with wrey sidings and a sloped roof. Kay reized it: that was the one. Kay walked over and checked the office out. The windows out front were big, allowing him to see into the building were marg around at the end of their work days. ing to the edge of the building, Kay peered into the alleyway, cheg to make sure it looked safe. He didn’t think any troublemakers were lurking in there but as he turned inward, his steps were slow.

  The building was big, but once he got to the back he reized the interse as the pce we he saw Philly off weeks ago.

  Now, where hilly?

  Kay didn’t know how to call a fox, so he clicked his teeth like his grandma did when she called her cats. He felt like an idiot doing it and hoped nobody heard or saw him but Philly’s ears were powerful so if the fox was around, the fox would hear. Kay clicked a few times but no one appeared, though.

  “Philly?” said Kay in a pierg whisper. “Are you here?”

  “Bud?” It hilly’s voice, muffled and distant. “Is that you?”

  “Yeah, where are you?”

  There was a du the wall with its spout aimed down at the ground. It rumbled, the sound of id paws scratg oal. The rumble got close and out of the vent popped out a fox. Philly.

  “We’re you chittering at me?” asked Philly, a gre aimed at Kay.

  Kay shrugged, a look in his face pleading for fiveness. “I didn’t know what else to do!”

  Philly narrowed his eyes. “Why wouldn’t you try ‘Hey, Philly! You there’?”

  Kay looked at the wall around the duct, the weathered bricks wearing the spattered colours of age. “Do you live in the building?”

  “Yeah,” said Philly. “I got a spot in the basement that’s warm and dry.”

  Kay looked down the alleyway at any windows or doors. “How do you not get caught?”

  A grin appeared on his snout and he gave a smug side-gnce. “A few tricks. They keep a for animals getting in, but they don’t expect a fox to be as smart as me.” He clicked his teeth with a big smile.

  “Hey...” Kay stopped. Philly saw that Kay was there to talk about something important so he dropped the smile and focused. Kay hesitated but got the words out: “I was thinking about what you said.”

  Philly’s eyes brightened. “You mean, about being a superhero?”

  Kay nodded. “Yeah.” He straightened his expression. “I’m not sold on the idea, but I want to give it a shot.”

  Another smile overtook Philly, this time oh pride. “Fan-tas-tic! We should hit the West End. That pce has its share of trouble.”

  “Wait...” Kay’s posture sank. “Right now?”

  Philly nodded, big ears wiggling. “Yeah! Why not?”

  Kay puttered his throat. Well, he wasn’t going to do much of anything today anyway. He ed his hands out. “I guess.”

  It was settled. Today was the day that Kay would have his first crack at superheroing. Philly didn’t want to trot all the way to the West End so Kay stuffed him in his backpaot a lot of room with all those books) a back to the bus stop. When the bus arrived, Kay fshed the driver his ID ao the back, Kay spping his pack down on the bus floor.

  “It’s hot in here,” said Philly.

  Kay shushed him.

  The boy got off near his house a Philly out to scatter to the West End while Kay went on up to his apartment to drop off his backpad leave a message for his mom letting her know he wouldn’t be around until ter. Leaving his house again, he found a quiet spot to transform into the water being and zipped across town to meet up with Philly at the South Point Cafe.

  There was the logistics of deg how to travel across town with Kay jumping across the rooftops and Philly could keep to the ground and scurry across the streets.

  With that pn in a, the patrol began.

  Kay raced across the rooftops, and as he did he liked to py a game with himself. He would look towards the tre of Toronto and watch the horizon shift as city’s skyscrapers paralxed into each other, sealing away blocks of sky as the tall figures drifted into each other while new banners of afternoon expanded between towers that parted ways. It was hypnotid a dangerous thing to distract Kay as he jumped over alleyways from one building to another.

  But it was a beautiful thing. After all, running and jumping across rooftops wasn’t something he could do while human.

  There was a street up ahead. He did what he always did: shrink himself down into a ball and used that energy to push out, taking his forward momentum and ung himself across the street as a hose of water arg through the sky.

  He nded oher side and reformed into his humanoid shape, plete with shirt and pants.

  “Wait up, faucethead!”

  He was going so fast that Kay had outpaced his panion. Kay looked back to see Philly struggling to hop across rooftops.

  After cheg below to see if any of the pedestrians saw him jump over the street just then– looked – Kay took twenty paces away from the ledge. He got some running room and then raced to the edge t himself back the way he came. With Kay firing across the street so quickly (and silently), the pedestrians down below would assume that the object flying overhead a rge bird, something darting across the sky out of their er of their eyes.

  Kay nded on the rooftop across the road and dashed over to Philly. The fox saw that Kay had heard him and came back so Philly slowed down to catch his breath. Hopping rooftops was hard work when you had legs shorter than most cardboard boxes. He would have to stick to the ground floor.

  Kay crouched down and lowered his voice. “Keep it down! You want everyoo hear you?”

  “Oh, my apologies, friend!” said the fox, his voice winded. “ime I’ll whisper at you from a mile away.”

  Kay sighed, rolling his head around. “Sorry. I’m not used to having someoail me.” He carved his brow. “Who are you calling ‘faucethead’, though?”

  Philly took a big inhale and exhale through his ebony sniffer and his breathiled. “Do you wao call you by your real name?” He styled at Kay’s body and looked up at the kid’s liquidy face. “While you are looking like this? I thought the point was you wao keep it a secret.”

  “Good point,” said Kay.

  “Besides...” Philly trotted in pce, glee firing out of his dancey paws. “Yoing to need a superhero name if yoing to be fighting crime.” Philly leaned up, letting that smile gleam at Kay. “What were you thinking? Anything e to mind?”

  Kay hatched his arms, the watery limbs sinking into each other. “I haven’t decided if I’m doing this yet.”

  “Well, !” said Philly, getting up on all fours. “Let’s go find some crime to fight.”

  Kay dragged a hand down his face. Why did he allow Philly to vince him to do this? The water d figured he would get it over with, though. He walked with a slow stride, pag himself to let Philly walk fortably alongside him. Although, speed was o get over the street– for a third time. While Philly crossed the street below, Kay arced across overhead and the two met oher side. Somewhere around there, somewhere in that city, there was trouble, and Toronto was about to get a debut of their test superhero.

  Tonee and Fitz walked down the sidewalk– Toh his boom box on his shoulder. If he wao make a statement, he would aim the speakers away from his head; aim them out into the world to let everyone hear his anthems. That day, however, he wao feel the music– potential hearing problems be damned. Fitz arutted down the sidewalk with the dial turo the booming sounds of 99.5 the Spot, spurting out all the test club jams from dancehall to hip hop.

  Sometimes others would s the two teenagers with their loud, obnoxious music but Tonee nor Fitz cared. The streets were too quiet without their sounds.

  It was a hot day for October, so Tonee and Fitz wao enjoy it.

  The music thumping dowreet got the attention of Jon and his friends, a trio of troublemakers resting up around the er from Martinez’ Mattress pany, on a part of the sidewalk that didn’t get as much traffic. Jon, a tall 19 year-old with a bandana around his neck, saw the two kids serving as a portable radio broadcast so Jon straightehe s on his hands. He sigo his two friends; it was time to go to work.

  Tonee and Fitz spotted the guys up ahead and figured they were bad news. What was there to do but try to ighem? They walked with fidence when they walked dowreets of Toronto bsting their tunes but that fidence sunk out of them as Jon and his pals spread across the sidewalk to make a little blockade. Instinct dictated to ighem but when Tonee and Fitz tried to weave through the shoulders of Jon and his ies, the punks pushed Tonee and Fitz back.

  “Let us through!” said Tonee.

  Jon put a hand to his ear, obnoxious smile on his teeth. Toened his expression to emphasize his annoyand lowered the boom box. He tur off. “ we help you?”

  Jon poi the mae in Tonee’s hand. “You know, it’s not very polite to be king your stereo so loudly. I’m sure the fiizens of this neighbourhood don’t appreciate it.”

  Jon’s two cohorts circled around Tonee and Fitz, entrapping the young ones.

  “It’s not against the w,” said Tonee, feeling a little shook but standing his ground and keeping his jaw ched.

  “Oh, I think it is,” said Jon with a smug nod. “Pying music too loud is… uh–” He trated, trying to remember the term.

  One of Jon’s ies slid a finger down Tonee’s boombox. “Noise pollution.”

  Jon snapped his fingers in firmation and gave his friend an affirming point. “That’s right. Noise pollution. I think we ought to fiscate this little toy you’re showing off.”

  The thug reached for Tonee’s boombox but the boy cradled the device close. “Get off me!”

  When one of the punks took a hand on Fitz’ shoulder, the boy threw it off. “Go find someone else to mug!”

  This began a quarrel of shouts and bickeriween the punks and their victims. The voices echoed up into the air and travelled across rooftops. A few blocks away, Kay and Philly were hopping across rooftops some more, looking for a day to save and they were about to find it. The arguing rung across a couple blocks to capture Philly’s ears. The fox stopped and ked his head to listen in that dire.

  Kay stopped. “Hear something?”

  “Over there,” said Philly, nodding his snout over towards the otion. “Sounds like trouble.”

  The two dashed across rooftops towards the argument. Was it a mugging? Was it a robbery? This was it. Kay’s first mission as a superhero– if he nning on making a career out of it. Would things get violent? Would he get hurt? Kay’s heart beat with ay– or whatever he had instead of a heart when he body was posed of magical water.

  As they got close and the words became coherent, Kay and Philly ducked low and slid up to the edge of the building to look down at what was going on. Three rger guys surrounding a couple of kids, grabbing at their stereo? Yep. It was mugging. Pin and simple.

  Kay brought his head back over the ledge and tapped Philly. “What do I do?”

  “What?” said Philly. “Uhhhh… you go down and you fight them?”

  Kay gestured his arms out. “H-how?”

  “With your body?” said Philly.

  “Like what?” Kay mimed smming his hands down. “Like pung? Kig?”

  Philly nodded. “Yes.”

  “I don’t think I’m strong enough,” said Kay.

  Philly sighed and swayed his head around. “You have the strength to toss yourself across a city street. I’m sure you pack a punch.”

  Kay shifted over to the ledge and looked down. The thugs had the kids against the wall, Tonee hiding his boombox behind his back. Kay took himself back. He gave Philly a look. “What if I hurt them too much?”

  “Just get down there!” said Philly, snapping his fangs at his watery friend.

  The crowd below heard that. They all directed their heads up to the roof, w who was snooping. One of the ies shouted. “Hey yo! Is someone up there?”

  Kay sighed and resigned a tired look at Philly. Philly smirked and tilted his head at the ledge. It was showtime. Kay nodded and got up. Spotting a safe pce to nd, he hopped off the roof down onto the pavement.

  Nobody down there was expeg someoo jump off a roof, but that was only their first surprise. Looking over Kay, the crowd– punks and victims alike– were shocked and puzzled at what they were looking at. Its head was posed of a flowing ball of purple water and two eyeballs floating on the front staring back at them with a scowl. It had the general shape of a human and even had a shirt and pants on its body, but it was not something made of flesh. Was it a person? Was it an illusion?

  Kay postured his hands on his sides and puffed out his chest, imitating a pose he saw in an old superhero cartoon. “Stht there, bad guys!”

  Everyone screamed. The water being spoke! Tonee lost grip on his boombox and it fell to the ground with a bonk.

  Kay rexed his posture. “Ummm… what–“

  “What is it!?” shrieked one of the ies.

  “I don’t know, man!” said Jon, his voice squealing with fear. “It’s some kind of ghost thing!”

  The third of the ies turned fad sprinted away with speed that would have gotten him into on a track & field team. The ot the same idea– breaking to the horizon. Tonee dashed away before stopping, looking back at his boombox, zipping back to pick it up and tinued his frantic evacuation of the area. The punks took a left while Tonee and Fitz took a right.

  And the streets were silent.

  Kay stared out into space, dumbfounded.

  Philly found a way down from the roof using a vent, a dumpster and some cardboard boxes. He walked out from the alleyway and joined Kay oreet, sitting down on all fours.

  Kay ked his view down to Philly. He wasn’t sure how he pnned on handling the situation, but he wasn’t expeg that. Philly looked at the empty street, devoid of any apparent trouble, and then gnced up at Kay, waggling his foxy brow. “Mission aplished!”

  “But I didn’t–“

  “Mission apliiiiiiiished!” Philly got up on his hind legs and drummed his paws on Kay’s side.

  Kay rubbed his face. “I wouldn’t say this is a mission aplished.”

  Philly got off of Kay’s legs. “Well, was there a mugging before?”

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  And is there a mugging now?”

  Kay had to hand it to Philly– the fox had a point.

  Philly veered his head up at Kay and tapped a paw on Kay’s leg. “You’re a natural, kid!”

  Kay ked his neck bad sighed. “We’ll see about that.” He gnced around. They had lingered around enough. If they get going, someone was bound to see the purple water guy and his talking fox– someone else than the muggers and their victims. Kay spped his arms to his side. “Are we done here?”

  “Let’s scram,” said Philly.

  Kay spring-hopped back up on the roof and Philly took his box-dumpster-vent route back up to join his friend. The two vao another district; if they didn’t find another crime to prevent, then the day was still a success. Many would have agreed: it was a triumphant first outing for Kay and his fledgling superhero career.

  Still in his watery form, Kay found a spot on the roofs to watch a su– a quiet little pce between the edge of the building and the side of a ventition unit, the heat of the structure warming his polymorphic body. Philly joined him in watg the su, Kay hunched against the wall and Philly ying down. The big mp of life sunk towards the horizon, its colours reddening as its shape was cutoff from the earthen divide.

  In the end, they didn’t find another crime to thwart that evening but Kay dipped his toe into the role of the hero and the situation resolved well. Looking forward, though, he felt like he owed Philly at least one more try to be a hero and see how it felt. Maybe tomorrow would put up a fight, Kay wondered.

  Kay raised his arm and watched how the sunlight reflected off of his aquatic surfaces, a shimmer e pying with the purple of his form.

  “Philly...” said Kay, his voice quiet and vulnerable.

  Philly looked over and gazed at the kid with an open but serious look on his snouted face. “Yeah?” He got up.

  Kay looked up from his arm, dropping the appendage on his p. “Do you know what I am?”

  Philly stared a moment, then lowered his eyes. When he raised them back up, sadook his expression and he sighed. “You already asked me this,” he said, refereng one of their first prolonged versations. It might have been a few months back but Philly couldn’t be sure. “I don’t know...”

  Kay turned back to the su, staring out with mencholy in his eyes. “Do people just… develop these kinds of powers?”

  Philly tilted his head left and right like he was gesturing at different possibilities. “No, not really. Not something like being able to turn into a water person.” He waddled his head. “Holy? There are people out there that develop natural abilities, but that’s… telekinesis and stuff.” He smirked, letting a fang hang in front of his maw. “The same thing is said to happen to some kinds of animals, giving them a human-level of intelligeoo. Not–” Philly gestured at Kay’s body with an upward sweep of his nose “–what you have. That feels special.”

  Kay ed out his hands. “But where did this e from?”

  “If I find out,” said Philly, “you will.”

  Kay sighed and leaned his head forward, resting his elbows on his khe answer wasn’t satisfactory but Kay had faith that Philly was well-versed in the supernatural world, so if the fox said he didn’t know where Kay’s powers came from, there wasn’t likely anyone who did.

  Kay rubbed his , the water of his hand seeping into the form of his head. Given such a privilege, Kay had to wonder what exactly what he was supposed to do. Was he chosen for something? It might have been his ego glowing inside him, but getting those powers made him wonder if they were meant for something.

  The more he po, though, the more disied he became in the idea of being chosen for anything. I’d rather not have a destiny, Kay thought.

  Philly saw the boy, tightening his cheeks like he was struggling with a thought. “What’s up?” asked Philly.

  Kay dropped his wince. “Nothing.”

  They took in a few more minutes of suhen got going. Both of them o get supper.