The Awakening by Michael Carroll

of Danny’s grandfather that hung in the hall and lifted it off its hook. Danny saw that there was a panel behind it. Danny’s father pulled the panel open and removed a small black canvas bag.
    “What’s that?”
    “Just some stuff from the old days.” He closed the panel and re-hung the photo. He slung the bag over his shoulder and opened the front door.
    “Aw, Dad! I don’t want to go back out into the rain again !”
    “It won’t hurt you,” Danny’s father said.
    They left the blocks of flats and walked in the direction of the main road. “What’s up?” Danny asked.
    His father opened the bag and took out a small metal device, about the size of a personal stereo. He flipped a switch on the device and a small red light began blinking.
    “What’s that for?” Danny asked.
    “It’s a transponder,” his father explained. “I’m sure that these days they could make something like this about the size of your fingernail, but it was state of the art back then.”
    “I thought that transponders were something to do with aircraft.”
    “Not necessarily. It’s looking for a specific signal. When it gets it, it sends a countersignal back. Someone with the right equipment will be able to pick up our signal and find us. Doesn’t matter where we are on the planet, they’ll find us.”
    “Who?”
    “You’ll see soon enough.”
    Danny considered this. “So…this is a mission, then?”
    “Yeah, sort of.”
    Danny grinned. “Cool! But what if someone recognizes me? Shouldn’t I have a mask?”
    “It’s not really that kind of mission, Danny.”
    “We should have left a note for Mum. I mean, just in case anything happens.”
    “No, better if she doesn’t know. I didn’t tell her everything that I did when I was Quantum. Can’t have her worried all the time.”
    “Do you still have your old costume?”
    Mr. Cooper smiled. “It wouldn’t fit you. Not yet, anyway. You’ll need to fill out a bit.”
    Danny realized that they were heading in the direction of Colin’s house and suddenly felt worried. He shouldn’t have told Colin about his powers. What if we are going to Colin’s? he wondered. Suppose Colin says something, lets it slip that he knows?
    For a second, Danny wondered if he could race ahead to Colin’s house, tell him not to say a word, then run back without his dad noticing that he’d gone.
    No. That wouldn’t work. Anyway, we can’t be going to Colin’s house. Why would we?

    Despite the fact that he hadn’t got out of bed until midday, Colin was exhausted. He felt dizzy, almost nauseated, as he removed his clothes and dropped them on the floor.
    Danny’s a superhuman.
    The thought jumped into his mind, as it seemed to do every couple of minutes.
    He turned off the light, pulled back the blankets and awkwardly climbed into bed; the muscles in his arms and legs were sore, as though he’d been working out all day. This had been happening on and off for weeks now; growing pains, his mother called them.
    Danny’s going to be off saving the world and having fantastic adventures, while the rest of us have ordinary, boring lives. It’s not fair. I want to have superpowers! I want to be able to move as fast as Quantum!
    Colin knew that he’d never be able to sleep with these thoughts running around in his head.
    He rolled over onto his side and tried to think of something—anything—to keep his mind off the fact that his best friend was going to be a superhero.
    It wasn’t working.
    Colin shifted around to his favorite position—on his back, with his hands tucked behind his head—and tried to focus on the gentle hum of the traffic on the motorway; this usually helped him drift off to sleep.
    But this time, as he focused on the noise of the traffic, it seemed to him that the sounds were becoming sharper.
    Outside, on the next street, a car beeped its horn twice.
    Someone saying good-bye. His own aunt had done the same thing earlier. Why do people do that? Surely getting into the