By the time Saturday rolled around, Pip had still not managed to think her way out of attending the after school club for supers. If she’d had more time, she may have been able to, but considering she had less than twenty four hours from Mai’s declaration on Friday to the meeting on Saturday, and she’d slept for eight of that, she hadn’t had much time.

  “I thought I was still grounded,” Pip said, sliding into the passenger seat of the family minivan. They could be driving something nicer, but Mai insisted on driving the same practical minivan they’d been driving since Pip was a toddler, washable marker stains and all.

  “I’ll make an exception,” Mai said, shooting her a glare. They were alone in the car, her other siblings either at lessons, after school clubs of their own, or at the daycare center over at the local tower. Of course, none of her highschool aged siblings went to the club, because the club was for losers. Literally.

  “I don’t know what I’m meant to get out of this,” Pip grumbled. She opened the backpack at her feet as they began to drive, pulling out a clipboard with a piece of half finished homework on it. She’d done her best to get some work done throughout the morning, and would at least pretend to make progress as they drove.

  “Just because they’re not as skilled as you doesn’t mean you won’t learn something,” Mai said. “I’m not a super, and your mom learned plenty from me.”

  “Eww.”

  “Shut up, not like that,” Mai said, scoffing at her daughter. “Just because someone isn’t the same as you, doesn’t mean you can’t learn from them. In fact, sometimes you’ll learn more from people you are nothing alike.”

  Biting down on her tongue, Pip refrained from commenting that joining the club would ruin her reputation. There was a reason none of the Carter children were involved with the club, despite having powers. It wasn’t the kind of club you joined if you knew what you were doing.

  “I’m not sure what the issue is, Pip,” Mai said, speaking into the silence. “You want to spend time with other supers, don’t you?”

  “I do,” Pip began, not sure how to explain this to the only person in the family who didn’t have powers. “But I want people who will challenge me. These supers…”

  “Have you ever considered they might challenge you in other ways, not just your strength? Your compassion, your patience, maybe even your knowledge. Keep an open mind, Pip. These kids are good kids!”

  “And that’s why you brought so many snacks?” Pip asked, twisting around to look at the back seat. Mai had filled it with food, some more traditional chinese dishes steaming inside aluminum pans, others typical after school snacks. Some fresh fruits and veggies, and of course chips, cookies, and drinks that were more sugar and color than anything else.

  “I happen to be intimately familiar with how much hungry teenage supers eat,” Mai said with a teasing jab at Pip.

  “Hey!” Pip protested. “I’m not as bad as Galen or Theo!”

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  “Actually, I swear Amalia is worst of all.”

  Pip laughed, though in her head, it did make the most sense. Her power, out of any of theirs, was the most energy intensive. It wasn’t as straightforward as most of the family powers. An outlier, in terms of Carter powers, but that happened on occasion.

  It wasn’t that unusual, considering powers weren’t actually genetic. Rather, they could be influenced by your lineage or your past, and they could also be influenced by personality or interests. Considering how prickly and angry Amalia was all the time, the fact that she could become a living whirlwind made perfect sense to Pip.

  She chose not to explain that to her mother, however. It didn’t really matter, and Mai never really cared about the specifics around powers.

  And to be fair, a lot of people didn’t agree on where powers originated, whether they were genetic or personality based or if they were predestined. Predestination was Pip’s least favorite theory, but it remained nonetheless.

  Personally, Pip figured it was influenced by a mix of genetics and lineage, and her family was one of the most famous examples for that theory. Most of the people in her family could track their powers down a common throughline, though occasionally there were odd ducks.

  Like Amalia.

  And if you really wanted her opinion, Pip thought she was most akin to her mother, in terms of power-legacy. Yes, Theo and Galen had earth based powers, but not like Athena. Theo became a stone golem strongman type, and Galen had increased strength so long as his feet touched earth, but Pip was a summoner and a manipulator like her mother. Her glasswork would one day be as impressive as Athena’s work with sand. She’d be the one to continue her mother’s legacy one day, a master of weapons and close combat.

  She just needed to figure out how to make up for the fact that she was barely 120 pounds on a good day, and didn’t have the height or strength Athena did.

  Mai pulled the van into a parking spot, with Pip having made zero progress on her calculus homework. Well, she didn’t exactly expect to pass that class anyway, so it was fine. She’d work on it later.

  She hopped out of the car, slinging her backpack over her shoulder and hoping to escape into the gym without being noticed.

  Mai clucked her tongue, freezing Pip in her steps. She knew better than to run off, especially when she was already in trouble. “Help me carry this in.”

  Pip muttered a prayer to the heavens that she would somehow manage to maintain her reputation with her mother around, then spun around and grabbed a warm pan from her mum. She flashed Mai a smile then took another bag, marching toward the door of the gym.

  It was just the school gym, not one of the specialized gyms for supers that had popped up all around the world since the emergence of supers. It wasn’t the best for training, but as she walked through the glass doors, she realized none of these people really intended to train.

  A dozen people milled around the gym. Two stood by the bathrooms, looking like they were ready to tear the clothes off each other. Ew. One sat on their phone, head hidden deep in the hoodie. A few tossed a ball around, switching between kicking it and throwing it. One looked as if they were actually trying to train, though very very poorly.

  As Pip neared a set of tables near the entryway, the ball veered off course and shot through the air directly at her. Before she could react and dodge out of the way, a hand shot out and grabbed it.

  Just the arm. The rest of the super had remained behind on the gym floor, arm stretching out nearly fifteen feet to grab the ball and zoom it back to them like an elastic band.

  “Woah,” Pip said, her eyes wide. She’d never seen a power like that before. “That was cool!”

  Movement in the gym came to a grinding halt, tennis shoes squeaking against the waxed wooden floor. Everyone stopped to stare at Pip, standing with an armful of steaming Chinese food in a colorful set of athleisure.

  “Who are you?” A loud, nasal voice demanded.

  “Pip,” she answered.

  Mai, without Pip noticing, had walked in behind her. “This is my daughter, Phillipa,” she said, laying a hand on Pip’s shoulder and giving her a gentle nudge forward. “She’s your latest member!”

  “Welcome to the L.O.S.E.R.S. club, loser.”