I guess that was my first night as a villain. I think I was supposed to feel empowered and hardcore. But I really just wanted to barf. 

"Yes yes yesss!" Pearl squealed, digging delightedly through the pile of cash. 

"Nice haul," Kayley smiled, in the process of counting the bills. Simon stood off to the side of the cash pile, still coughing once in a while. 

"These scarves need improvement," he scowled. "It barely did anything against the fumes."

I felt a little offended. I had hand knitted those scarves with scottish yarn and love!

"If they were so useless, how come you were still able to pull off the job then?" I snapped, catching the scarf he had tossed aside. Simon turned on me, dark eyes glittering in the dim light. 

"Because I've breathed so many chemicals and poisons that it's hard to affect me."

I sidled away from his intense stare and crouched down next to Kayley. She slid another fistful of bills out from under Pearl and added them to her neatly stacked pile.

"Going on 10,000 dollars," she muttered. "That's already more than enough for a front cover, and supplies!"

"And my mom's business?" I reminded her sharply.

"Yeah, yeah. This is for you," she said, handing me a small backpack stuffed with cash. "Do me a favor and order anonymously? Better if your mommy doesn't have to wonder where all this is coming from."

"Order?" I said, confused. 

"Order the supplies you'll need!" Kayley said, rolling her eyes as if it was obvious. "You'll save her business by buying from it. Get all the yarn you need, enough to last a lifetime. We'll give you a workspace in the new hideout. Might want to stock up on other supplies too. Never know what you're gonna need."

"Need? I thought this was a one time thing!" I protested, staring at the rolls of money in my bag. "And what hideout? This place? I'm not coming back here unless I want to be mugged by some crackhead!"

We were hiding out in a crumbling convinience store shell in the sketchier part of town, a couple of flashlights providing our only illumination. 

"No!" Pearl piped up. "We're going to make a secret hiding place! Like an underground playground!"

"Sort of," Kayley grinned. "You wouldn't believe how easy it is to rent a tiny office with massive basement space around here."

I backed away from the group. This was spiraling. I had gone from tripping bullies to sneaking into insane asylums to robbing banks. What was next? Joining a cult and getting friendship tatoos with this weirdos?

"No!" I shouted, a lot louder than I meant to. Pearl flinched, eyes widening behind her huge glasses. Kayley looked up from her money counting, and Simon's laser eyes locked onto me.

"I can't do this! I can't become a criminal, hiding in secret, and stealing. I can't lie to my mom! She'll find out about this. If she sees me doing this she'll think I'm becoming like... like..." I couldn't say it. But Kayley could.

"Like your father," she completed. I shook with terror and adrenaline as she confirmed my thoughts. Kayley slowly stood up and walked me away from Simon and Pearl.

"Aaron, you're not your father and you know it. You did this to help your mom. You didn't do it by being manipulative or lying. You did it because you're special. Because you have a gift and you chose to use it to help someone."

Her eyes sparkled in the flickering flashlight glow, tender and kind.

"But I didn't need to," I whispered, horrified that I was so comforted by her words. "If we got truly desperate he would have helped. It would have looked good to the press." My tone turned bitter as I said mockingly, "Lex Luther saves wife's business even after she heartlessly rejected him and his help! Another  perfect headline for his perfect name. Secrets and lies and cover-ups. It's him all over again. It's him in me!"

I felt the hysteria rising. What I had done that day was finally sinking in.

"We just stole thousands of dollars. People will suffer. The bank might go under! People like my mom could be hurt from this!"

"Insurance will cover it," Kayley soothed. "Life will go on!"

"WHAT KIND OF LIFE AM I GETTING INTO!?" I exploded. It was all crashing down. Powers, theft, explosions, and insanity. "What kind of person will I become? I can't do it. I can't! I feel him inside me whenever I use my powers!"

I turned away from Kayley, arms clamped tightly together. Maybe I should turn myself in. Try and get some protection benefits from the super heroes, the ones who knew what they were doing. I had never felt so lost. 

A hand touched my shoulder. Not demanding. Not forceful. 

"Aaron. I know this is hard. It was hard for me at first too. But you can be great. You have an ability that people would kill for. The power to give life to whatever you want? That's amazing." 

I didn't look at her. 

"I won't force you, but please. Think about your options. If you go to the league with your powers, they'll chain you with rules and limits and restrictions. They might make you think you have a choice, but you never will. And if you become too much to handle? It'd be too easy to make you disappear."

I clenched my eyes shut. My stupid shoulders wouldn't stop shaking beneath her fingers. 

"But if you stay with us, you can be free," Kayley whispered. "We can do what we want, choose our sides, choose our causes! You don't have to be a league lapdog, or your father."

Her hand slipped off my shoulder. 

"What do you want to be?"

I took a deep breath and turned to face her. 

"Well... I have always liked knitting. I don't feel like a hero or a villain. So for now I guess I'll just be the knitter."