A story scrap that has been tugging at my imagination for a while.
I may choose to turn this into a short film or something later, but at least its all written out now.
*Not edited, flames will be used to toast mallows.

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I land upon the balcony, the night sky silhouetting my form against the light coming from within. What I am about to do feels as difficult as storming a castle, or rescuing people from a burning building, or any one of the thousand things that I spend my time doing. I am a hero, it is not what I am, it is what I do, or rather, what they view me as. I wonder what the crowds would say, if they saw me in those moments when I lose control. Those terrible, terrible moments when all I can do is laugh as a building burns around me, or when I am forced to kill some madman who has gone too far. I wonder if they would see me then as I see myself sometimes, too powerful to stop, or reason with, too inhuman.

And what would I do if they turn against me, like they are almost certain to do once they learn of this. Even the villains are better than them, more tolerant certainly, because the world has turned against them as well, and they feel they should only return the favor, having been given the means to do so. Hardly any of them are actually evil, just lost. And those who are evil tend not to last very long, they are killed by their own malice, or by those remaining villains who don’t wish to be viewed as such, or upon occasion, by me.

I could run, abandon this city, this planet, this range of space and go elsewhere, and start again. Another will rise to take my place, just as I rose to fill the void, and the world will continue to turn. Perhaps a freak ‘accident’ will happen to someone, or perhaps one of the current villains will rise above what they are and become something new.

I could hide, hide from them, or hide what I am. But the time for such hiding is done, it is why I am here, now, to be done with the hiding.

Or I could try and change the way the world works, begin to unmake the prejudice and the shame. It would be a long process, perhaps one not complete even in my extended lifespan. But it would be worth it, to change a world for the better, to show them that their fear is unreasonable, that what they have been taught is a lie, and that there is a better way.

I begin to set aside all my mask’s, not just the physical one that I am wearing. I take off the face that the public sees, and I look weary. I take off the face that the public never sees, the one reserved for friends, and the one reserved for enemies. I take off the mask reserved for family, the one that I am not sure that I will ever be putting back on after tonight. And finally, I take of the mask that only I see, all the bravery, all the courage and wisdom, everything I wish to be, and am not. I remove it all, tearing it off in great strips, before carefully setting it aside. Tonight I am myself, tonight I am nothing but what I am.
I knock on the door, not the powerful, earth-shattering knock that I usually have, but a timid rap that I, with my inhuman hearing can barely hear. I move my fist away from the door, shaking. I try again, and again there is no noise. Finally I manage it, and the door opens, revealing two figures standing in the doorway.

I imagine his face then, the one who all this is for, and the millions in the future who may have an easier life because I chose this road, because I choose this path, right here, right now. It seems cliche, but then so does much of my life. But as I take a step forward, I am filled with hope, and it makes what I am about to say far easier.

“Mom, Dad, I’m Gay”