Keith wandered around the streets for hours, disguised as a wealthy man. Garbage filled his pockets, hoping to grab the attention of a special type of pickpocket.

  He’d heard rumours of a young thief roaming the streets, hiding in alleys. Some people seemed to think they were superhuman, judging by how unnoticed they could pick their pockets. These rumours had been going around for years. Keith’s stomach twisted at the thought of another super kid living on the streets as long as he had, all alone, having to steal to survive.

  Keith had been alone for nine years now, he’d love some company. Someone who was the same as him was the safest option. He’d never met someone like him, he wondered what their power was exactly.

  It was dark now. On one side, Keith started to lose hope. He’d been at this for hours and nothing happened—unless it happened without him noticing. But on the other side, the kid might be more comfortable stealing in the dark. He kept going. He walked past dark alleyways, thinking those were the most likely places for them to hide.

  Finally, he felt something slip out of his pocket. He turned to look. He saw a hand sticking out of the darkness in the alley holding an empty candy wrapper, low enough for Keith to assume they were crouching. The hand receded into the darkness. Keith stepped into the alley and waited for his eyes to adjust. He saw a boy sitting on the ground, giving the candy wrapper a confused and frustrated look. He couldn’t be much younger than Keith; mid-teens, he guessed. He couldn’t see much more in this light.

  The boy flinched when he noticed Keith staring at him. He hurried to his feet and sprinted further into the alley.

  “Wait!” Keith called before he ran after him. The boy threw things on the ground and toppled over trashcans to slow him down.

  The kid turned a corner. Keith soon followed and found him at a dead end. The boy turned around, terrified. The lighting was better here, Keith could see his dirty, choppy, dark hair and ripped clothes.

  Keith put his hands up with a small smile. “Hi. It’s okay, I won’t hurt you.” He took a step closer. The boy tensed and backed up against the wall. He threw his hand to the side towards a metal trashcan and flung his arm at Keith. Keith received a metal lid in his face. He cried out and stumbled to the side as he grabbed his face. Looking at his hands, he saw his own again, making him realise he was still shifted before. No wonder he was terrified, Keith would’ve been too if he was chased by a grown man in a fancy suit.

  The boy seemed shocked, he was frozen against the wall. Keith straightened with a little chuckle. “Sorry, I forgot I was shifted.”

  “You’re super, too?”

  Keith smiled and nodded.

  “What do you want from me?”

  “I heard about a superhuman pickpocket. I’d never heard about another super before, let alone another teen living on the streets. I wanted to meet you.”

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  “Is this… the real you?”

  “Yeah.” Keith placed a hand on his chest. “I’m Keith.”

  “I,” the boy started, hesitant to continue, “I didn’t know there were others around.”

  “Me neither, up until recently. What’s your name?”

  He was tense again. “Eric,” he whispered.

  “Nice to meet you.” Keith examined him closer. He seemed like he hadn’t had a bath or a good meal in weeks, if not months. Maybe even years. Keith frowned. “Would you like to come to my hut in the woods? I have a food supply and there’s a river nearby where you could wash yourself.”

  Eric thought it over. He gripped his shirt above his stomach. “Okay.”

  Keith smiled again. He offered him his hand. “If you grab me, we can go unseen.”

  Eric was confused, but hesitantly took his hand. Keith turned them both invisible, to Eric’s shock. He looked down at his transparent self.

  “What the—you have two powers?”

  Keith hummed, he’d never thought of that before. “I guess I do. No idea how rare that is.” He tugged at Eric’s hand. “Come on.”

  Eric tugged back as he said, “Wait.”

  “Hm?”

  “Can we get my stuff first?”

  “You have stuff?”

  “Just some clothes and a cardboard box I sleep on. And a blanket.”

  Keith nodded. “Sure.”

  They’d gotten Eric’s stuff. The clothes were bundled up in the blanket, Eric carried it over his shoulder. They walked through the forest that bordered the city until they reached a flimsy hut made of wood and metal plates built around a group of trees. Keith led Eric into it. They couldn’t stand straight inside. There was an old mattress placed on wooden panels with a pillow and a sleeping bag, and a crate filled with food and water. Keith could see Eric’s mouth watering at the crate, he wondered how long he hadn’t eaten. Keith sat on the mattress and told him, “Take whatever you want.”

  “Really? You just met me.”

  “You’re starving. It’s pretty easy for me to get more.”

  Eric dropped the bundle of clothes on the ground and sat on his knees next to the crate, he grabbed packages of food and a bottle of water. He wasn’t sure where to sit, so Keith patted the space next to him on the mattress. Eric sat there. He tore the wrapper of a nut bar open and finished it in only a few bites, then drank half the bottle of water at once.

  “How do you get a whole supply of this?” he asked Keith.

  “It’s easy to steal when you can turn invisible.”

  “Oh, yeah, of course. How long have you been doing it?”

  “Nine years. How long have you lived on the street?”

  Eric let out a sad sigh. “Eight years. How old are you?”

  “Seventeen. You?”

  “Fifteen.”

  They sat in silence for a while, basking in the tragedy of both of their lives, how young they were when this started. Keith wondered how common it was among their kind while Eric continued eating.

  “What’s your power, exactly?” Keith wanted to change the subject.

  “Uhh, I think telekinesis? I can move things without touching them.”

  “Oh, cool.”

  “Why do you live in the forest?”

  “I wanted to give myself a roof over my head, but no one will let you build something like that in the city. Not without being noticed. So I went into the forest to hide, I don’t know what would happen to me if I got caught and they find out I’m super.”

  Eric sadly hummed. “I haven’t heard great things.”

  “What have you heard?”

  “People disappearing. Who knows to where and for what purpose.”

  Keith nodded while he chewed on his lip. “I guess that’s why you rarely meet another one. Too big of a risk.”

  “Yeah.”

  Keith watched Eric eat some more with a smile. It was great, having some company. “You can stick around here if you want.”

  “Oh, I don’t want to impose—”

  “No, I want you to stay. After being alone for nine years, I’d love to have you around.”

  Eric’s cheeks flushed a little. “Okay, then.”

  “With your telekinesis and my invisibility, we’d be an incredible team of thieves,” Keith grinned.

  Eric chuckled. “Sure.”