I leaned back from my desk and surveyed the laptop screen before me. Not bad for a first draft, I thought, stretching out my cramped limbs which sighed in relief. I'd been sitting there for god knows how long, agonising over these few opening paragraphs.

The beginning of the book is the hardest to write, after all. My eyes narrowed as I read the page once more, the typical jitters of a new novel coursing through me as they always did, no matter how many times I repeated this process. The inner voice whined anxiously, does this get anyone's attention? Do I need more action? Maybe this time I should start with a bang...

I swatted the thoughts away like an irritating fly; somewhat embarrassingly, I did this with my hand, like there was actually a real fly buzzing around my head. Fortunately, my writing craft was more often than not performed solo, and there was nobody to judge me for this. Standing up, I stretched again, and let out a long, slow breath, quieting the voice more effectively.

Now that I was more aware of my surroundings, I saw that sunshine was streaming in through the windows. The clock on the wall, the ticking of which I'd long learnt to tune out while I wrote, told me it was two in the afternoon. My work was done for now, and what I really wanted was tea.

Glancing across the room, I spotted the electric kettle nestled in the corner. I watched it for a moment before its lever clicked down and the water began to bubble merrily.

Footsteps pounding up the stairs to the apartment startled me, but I relaxed into a grin when I saw my brother Sebastien burst through the door like a bolt of pure energy.

"Hey Seb," I greeted, ruffling his platinum blonde hair. "Tea? I've just put the kettle on."

His eyes flicked between the kettle and fridge, considering it. "Is there no chocolate milk?"

I rolled my eyes; this was habitual around Seb. "How old are you again?"

"Only 30 and, as always, it's still older than you, squirt." He stuck his tongue out at me.

"Only 11 months, and he'll never let me forget it," I huffed childishly to an invisible audience.

"Whatever, Kenny Rogers. Just remember, big brother is always the boss." He turned away and walked over to the fridge to peer inside, when a pillow from the couch flew into the back of his head, causing his head to smack into the top of the fridge.

"Owwww, Kenna, what the hell?" He complained, rubbing the offended spot furiously while glaring at me.

I gave him my most innocent look from where I still stood by my writing desk.

"You and your evil mind," Seb grumbled, taking the kettle off of the boil and making the tea.

"Oh please, like that hurt you, Man of Steel," I shot back, half sarcastic and half affectionate, ruffling his hair again.

He smacked my hand away, dark brown eyes narrowing in mock outrage. Being so close in age, Seb and I were often mistaken for twins, but we looked dissimilar enough to convince people otherwise. While we were both naturally blonde, Seb's was a shockingly pale and bright shade which contrasted strongly with his dark eyes, and mine was darker and currently mixed in heavily with a pale lavender colour that my agent and close friend, Grace, had convinced me would be 'super sexy'. My eyes, interestingly, were entirely opposite Seb's: a light grey that I'd inherited from our mother.

"Well..." Seb trailed off, breaking into an impish grin. "Maybe it didn't hurt."

"I'd think that if anything, you should be embarrassed that I got you. An athlete like you? With your speed, your skills? Guess we know whose reflexes are best in this family." I couldn't help but continue to tease him, like any sibling worth their salt would.

He turned and flicked water that had spilled from the kettle at me, but the drops stopped in front of my face and fell tamely to the ground.

"Uggh, you're so annoying!" Seb whined, grabbing his tea and slouching off to the couch in defeat.

"Love you too, Superkid!" I beamed after him. Putting out my hand, I waited while my cup of tea drifted its way to my outstretched fingers.

Now Seb rolled his eyes. "Showoff."

I shrugged, moving to sit next to him on the couch. "It's really more about laziness." I had only just put the tea on the table (lucky!), when I felt an electric shock run through me that seemed to come straight out of the seat cushion and I yelped, leaping back up.

When I whipped back to glare at Seb accusingly, his evil smirk said it all. That didn't, however, stop him from also adding (smugly!), "I win."

"Let's call it a draw," I replied, flicking the spot where his head had bumped the fridge.

"Fiiiine," he sighed, rubbing it again.

Sibling rivalry dispensed with, we settled in comfortably next to each other. Seb switched on the TV, and we drank our tea. For all our normal sibling squabbles, we had always been close, which is why it had made total sense to get an apartment in the city together once we'd both finished university. I figured that Seb was the only roommate I couldn't grow to hate, and I think he was just glad to not have to live in a house full of messy dudes. Plus, together we were able to afford a penthouse unit, which offered us panoramic views of Sapphire City, that turbulent metropolis herself.

"So how was practice?" I asked, as he flicked through the channels aimlessly.

"Intense." He grinned with satisfaction, always one to push himself to the limits. "I've started training for regionals. Looks like I'll be competing in freestyle, butterfly and the relay. Jo says she has no doubt I'll get to nationals." The grin turned into a smirk that said he had no doubt either.

I laughed. "Well I'm not going to argue with that, but aren't top swim coaches supposed to be scary and demanding, not pandering to Superkid egos?"

That didn't even faze him. "Oh, don't you worry, she's perfectly scary and demanding. She's just confident enough not to beat about the bush when she knows she's got a sure thing." He paused on a cartoon show for a few moments, before moving on.

I laughed at my slightly arrogant brother again. It was true that Seb was a champion swimmer, and had been since he was small, which is why he was able to make it his profession. It suited him perfectly; I couldn't think of him doing anything that wasn't at least 80% physical activity.

I settled back against the couch again, watching the screen change rapidly from show to show. It started to make me nauseous with the constant motion, which triggered another age-old sibling argument.

"Okay, Seb, enough. Can't you just settle on something already? You always do this!"

"There's nothing good on, Kenna, that's not my fault!"

"Nooo, you only get two runs through everything and then you have to pick something. No more of this!"

The remote jerked itself out of his hands and floated in mid air, leaving the channel on the mid-afternoon Sapphire City news.

"No fair!" Seb grumbled, making a swipe for the floating remote, before he froze, staring at the TV.

On the screen was footage of masked superheroes in distinct uniforms surrounding the city's largest bank building. Smoke was drifting out of the main doors, while a Super dressed in brilliant blue and another in dusky grey were escorting handcuffed men towards a waiting police van. The footage zoomed in on the Super in blue, who gave a thumbs up to the camera. "BREAKING NEWS" flashed across the bottom of the screen.

I suppressed a growl of displeasure watching him.

"Turn up the sound, Kenna!" Seb urged, ignoring my discomfort.

A woman's voice boomed out of the television suddenly. "The criminals have been arrested by Sapphire's favourite Super couple, Cobalt and Shadow. We're receiving word now that all of the funds that the men attempted to steal have been recovered by other Supers in the building, while some civilians are being treated for minor burns. S News One has also received reports of an unidentified female Villain working with the robbers, who may have been the source of the fire. Prominent Super, Zeus, does not appear to be on the scene."

I stole a sideways glance at Seb, who was frowning deeply now. "No, Zeus is definitely not there. Did you get the call?"

"I got that weird feeling that something was wrong at practice, but I was pushing myself pretty hard and was totally focussed. Then I was pretty excited after talking to Jo, and came straight back here."

"Have you checked your phone?" I asked, nodding my head towards his discarded gym bag by the door.

"Dammit." He sprang up and fished it out, before frowning again. "Only two missed calls. Hang on, here's a text from Gareth. It says, 'never mind, we've got this. Talk later.' I guess they didn't really need me after all."

"Well I hate to say it, oh mighty Zeus, but it did look like that idiot and his creepy girlfriend had things under control. Everyone's okay, and they got the baddies. You're allowed to have a life, Seb. They ask too much of you as it is."

He gave me a look. "I know exactly how you feel about it all. No point in starting up a decade old argument again. It doesn't stop me from feeling guilty that I wasn't there to help."

"I know, Seb, and that's what makes you such a rare and special Super among all those other narcissistic career Supers who are only in it for the celebrity worship. Not that you don't have your own cult of Zeusites, of course." I grimaced, but gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"Stuff it, Kenna." He pushed me lightly, but gave me a grateful smile.

We both turned back to watch the continuing aftermath of the Super showdown as it rolled across the screen. Perhaps in most other cities, this would be a shocking sight straight out of a comic book, but in Sapphire City we had grown up familiar with real life Supers who protected our city, battled Villains, and basked in the adoration of the masses (what seemed to me to be their number one pastime). I'd also lived with the secret of having Zeus for a brother since we were teenagers, and he'd become one of the city's darlings not long after. Seb was gifted with extreme athleticism and was a superb hand-to-hand fighter with control over electricity, hence the Super name. Though I had endless affection for my brother, I had less for the rest of the Superhero pack that ruled the roost in Sapphire. But, more on that later.

As the footage scrolled, new footsteps pounded up the stairs and to our door. Someone knocked briefly, then let themselves in without waiting. Because of this, I knew exactly who it'd be before I even heard their voices.

I let the remote drop innocently to the table as Grant Hamilton and his twin brother, Ewan, strode into the apartment.

"Hellooooo Joneses!" Grant sang out. "How are we on this fine afternoon? How about that foiled bank robbery, huh?" he added, spotting the news on the TV. "Good thing Sapphire's finest were on the job, and I don't mean the police, no offense to them." Grant was a talker. I'd long ago learned to tune out half the things he said, but this time I couldn't ignore Seb's slight wince. Grant was mercifully oblivious, but I rounded on him as a distraction, thinking of his less oblivious twin.

"Shouldn't you be in school? Don't you have brats to yell at while they run around in circles? It's like 2:30 in the afternoon." I brandished my watch at him to underscore my point. Watches are the best friend of time-challenged authors who get distracted by cell phones, but this is a digression.

"It's also Saturday, Kenna," Ewan teased from behind Grant. He wasn't going to let an opportunity pass to make fun of his brother, though. "Otherwise that's exactly what he'd be doing. Apparently the other PE teacher rides around after them in a golf cart, so it's only a matter of time for Grant."

I snickered with him, and even Seb joined in. Teasing Grant about his thankless job was one of our favourite things to do.

He glared at all of us. "First of all, way harsh, Kenna. What'd I do to you? Second of all, et tu, Bruti? Anyway, as Ewan said, it is the weekend and we're all free. Not all of us are famous authors with the luxury to forget what day it is, Miss Kennedy Jacobs." Grant stepped over to the shelf and pulled out one of my books, waving it in my face.

I snatched it back, with a glance down at the cover. My own secret (or not so secret, with this crowd) identity stared back at me. Kennedy Jacobs, bestselling author of two fantasy novels. I'd taken all my knowledge of superpowers and channelled it into fictional worlds where magic could be used for both good and evil, on my own terms. As it turned out, people liked them, and they wanted more, even in a city with its own Supers. I suppose, in a way, I was profiting from the celebrity worship I had no time for in real life, but I didn't let that weigh on me too heavily. Kennedy Jacobs had nothing to do with Supers.

"Get back to me when you've read any of them," I retorted, gently replacing the book on the shelf.

"Nah, not my bag," Grant waved dismissively.

I looked back just in time to see Ewan smother a smile about his annoying brother, and resisted the temptation to let the book fall back out onto Grant's head. They didn't know what I could do. Not many did. It'd been a lot to hide the things that came naturally to me from my brother's best friends, whom we'd known for most of our lives. I know Seb felt the same way, but it was for the best. Without a doubt, we could trust them, even with Grant's blabbermouth affliction, but secret identities were secret for a reason, Super or otherwise.

Seb intervened now. "So what's up, guys? Is Tristan not with you?"

"Well, clearly," Ewan joked in his mellow voice. "Seriously though, he said he had a networking lunch, so he might be able to meet up later."

I'd leaned back casually against the side of the couch to let the friends do their thing, but I had to admit that my ears perked up at the mention of Tristan Keynes, the fourth member of my brother's posse. Tristan had always been a slick, good-looking charmer, with dark auburn hair, icy blue eyes and a silver tongue that he used to full effect on anyone he wished to influence. Despite these noted hallmarks of a sleazebag, he was in essence a kind person, and I'd fought against what I hoped was a secret crush on him throughout high school. That had faded with time and experience, but the instinctive interest in his name remained. Though it was my sincere hope that none of them had ever noticed, I always had a slight suspicion that Ewan, the quietest and most perceptive of the group, knew more than he let on. If he did, at least he'd let me go on without teasing me mercilessly or exposing me.

Though Seb had been friends with the Hamiltons longer, with Tristan they were truly a complete band of bros. I called them the Four Stooges, both behind their backs and to their faces, though they assured me that it wasn't as funny a joke as I thought it was.

Having zoned out on the thought train, I suddenly came to and realised that they were now all silently staring at me. I surveyed each of them. Though Grant and Ewan were actually twins, they looked about as much alike as Seb and I. Grant's hair was dark and cut so short it was almost buzzed. He was super pale, and covered in freckles, which made his dark hair and dark eyes stand out in relief. Ewan was warmer and softer-toned, except for his eyes. He had medium goldish-brown hair that fell just long enough to tuck behind his ears, slightly wavy. His eyes were the most striking thing about him, though they were sometimes tucked behind thick framed, tortoiseshell glasses. They were hazel, with a halo of orange-hued brown around the pupil, surrounded by sea green and, finally, a dark blue ring that encircled the iris. Ewan was taller, with wider shoulders than Grant, who was more heavily muscled and looked like a true fitness instructor. I could have closed my eyes and seen both Hamiltons in full detail, having had almost twenty years to memorise their features.

Looking at them had only taken a split second, but it occurred to me that they were obviously still waiting for an answer from me.

"Err, what?" I asked, completely clueless.

"Do you want to come with us and find a sunny patio somewhere? It's such a nice day and the guys thought we could get some food and drinks." This was from Seb, who was looking at me like I was a dummy.

I clasped my hands together in mock glee. "Awww Sebby, I've got to tell Mum about this, she'll be so proud of you inviting your little sister out with you and your friends."

He rolled his eyes (full disclosure: I think this runs in the family). "You hang out with us all the time, Kenna."

I grinned. "True, but this time I really can't. I've got to meet up with Grace in about an hour to talk more about the new book."

"Oooh, sounds very important." Grant patted my head. "Go off then, Super writer girl."

Seb and I exchanged a glance, but Grant's face stayed totally innocent.

"Another time, Kenna," Ewan said politely.

***