Everyone's Superpowered…Except the One Powering Them

The apocalypse hits, and my entire family awakens superpowers, except me. I'm a total dud. What they don't realize is that I'm actually the family's Wi-Fi hotspot for powers. They're only superpowered as long as they stay within 500 yards of me. So, I stick to them like glue, and they cherish their one "powerless" family member like gold. Then my brother, Dylan Brewer, rescues a woman from a zombie horde who looks identical to Mom. That's when I learn I'm the fake heiress who has been swapped at birth. Once she joins the family, she awakens a spatial ability that lets her hoard endless supplies. During a supply run, she suddenly yanks me out of the safety circle and shoves me toward a supermarket packed with zombies. "You freeloading dud! Everyone's risking their lives! What gives you the right to hide behind us and leech off our hard work?" I break free from her grip and try to explain. "I can't go! If I die, your powers will—" Before I can say "disappear", a cold gun barrel presses against my forehead. Chapter 1 "Go, or I'll put a bullet through your head." Greta Brewer's voice was ice-cold and laced with pure malice. My scalp went numb. This felt far worse than being locked in a zombie's sights. She wanted me to go after zombies bare-handed? She was basically sending me to my death. Yet none of the superhumans who used to protect me said a word. Greta had deliberately sent my parents and my brother, Dylan Brewer, away earlier. There was no one left to stand up for me. Suddenly, a piece of rebar smeared with zombie blood was thrust in front of me. It was Ethan Davidson, the quietest guy in the group. "Take it. Stay behind me." Ethan didn't have any superpowers. He was just an ordinary guy, yet he was the only one willing to step up. I gave him a grateful look and gripped the steel rod. Greta scoffed at the sight. "Look at the useless trash playing hero. What is this, a post-apocalyptic romance?" She tapped my face with the barrel of her gun and mocked, "Jessie, you two losers really are two of a kind." I bit my lip and gave her a long, hard look. The safety of my family and the entire team rested on my shoulders. I couldn't die here. The supermarket entrance was like a monster waiting to swallow us whole. Gripping my weapon, I followed closely behind Ethan as we stepped inside. The air reeked of rot. A dozen dark figures shuffled between the aisles, letting out occasional low snarls. I crept carefully toward the food section. Suddenly, a quiet clink rang out as a bullet rolled to my feet. A frantic growl shattered the quiet as the nearest zombie lunged at me. My heart hammered in my chest. Wielding the rebar with both hands, I drove it hard into the zombie's eye. The moment I yanked the steel out, several more zombies swarmed toward us. Ethan instantly moved to back me up. Back to back, we swung our rebars again and again, taking down the horde in sync. Meanwhile, Greta strolled along behind us under the protection of a group of superhumans, casually waving a hand now and then to store supplies in her spatial storage. Pinching her nose, she urged us, "Hurry it up! You duds are completely useless. A superhuman could clean this place out with a wave of their hand, but you two take all day." By the time we cleared out the threat, the shelves were picked clean. All we had were a few sad packs of emergency rations stashed in our bags. Then, Greta caught sight of a locked storage door just ahead. "There's got to be a ton of stuff in there!" Her eyes lit up, and without a second thought, she reached out to yank it open. My stomach dropped, and I blurted out, "No!" But it was too late. She had jerked the door open. A blast of foul wind hit us, and a giant zombie hound burst through the dark. Greta shrieked, instantly grabbing my arm and yanking me in front of her. My eyes widened in terror. Before I could even react, I was staring right down the hound's dripping fangs. Chapter 2 The next second, a bolt of purple lightning struck the zombie hound square on the head, instantly vaporizing it into ash. It was Dylan. I turned around, only to see Greta throwing herself into his arms, sobbing dramatically. "It's all that dud's fault! She kept wandering off and almost got me killed by that zombie hound!" Dylan stroked her hair and soothed her gently. "I'm right here. You're safe now." When he looked up at me, the warmth in his eyes vanished, replaced by pure ice. "If I hadn't made it in time, Greta would have been hurt. Jessie, I don't ever want to see this happen again." Just then, my parents, Allen Brewer and Laura Rogers, rushed over, their faces pale with worry. Mom grabbed Greta's hands and inspected her top to bottom before hastily casting an elemental barrier around her. Dad silently channeled his healing powers to mend her non-existent injuries. Only after confirming Greta was completely untouched did they remember I existed—not out of concern but to reprimand me. Mom took one look at my battered state and snapped angrily, "Since you don't have powers, stay put at the base! Stop coming out here and causing trouble! Greta suffered outside for 20 years. I won't let her get hurt ever again!" Frowning, Dad sighed. "Jessie, as punishment for your recklessness, I won't be healing your wounds today. Consider it a lesson learned." I parted my lips, wanting to tell them what really happened. But I knew better. The moment Greta was brought back home, their bias had been set in stone. All Greta had to do was cry, and they would apologetically demand that I hand over my room and clothes to her. I was kicked out to a dilapidated apartment on the far edge of the base, while Greta had the luxury of taking three showers a day in the middle of an apocalypse. Even this scavenging run was solely to hunt down makeup for her. Mom and Dad claimed it was to make it up to Greta. I clenched my fist. The bullet edge dug painfully into my palm. Greta was the one who had thrown the bullet that had rolled to my feet. I treated her like family, but she wanted me dead. Seeing the entire family back her up, Greta was as smug as ever. Her eyes darted slyly as she pointed at my supply pack, demanding arrogantly, "Hand over everything you found. I'm putting it in my spatial storage!" I froze, the color draining from my face. "I risked my life for those supplies…" "So what?" Greta sneered, as if I had said the most hilarious thing in the world. "You lived off the Brewer family for 20 years. You stole my life and snatched my family. What are a few supplies compared to that? You're not handing it over. You're paying back what you owe me! You've been living in my place for far too long. It's time you gave everything back!" She pressed forward, pure malice spilling from her eyes. Dylan rubbed his temples and turned to me with a tired sigh. "The mix-up at birth is still a sore spot for Greta. Just let her have the supplies." With that, he picked up my bag and tossed it to her. Greta looked down at the emergency rations inside with utter disdain and muttered, "That's it? What a total waste of space." Dylan patted her head, his voice softening again. "Don't be mad. Come on, I'll take you to find that perfume you wanted." Watching their departing backs, I stood frozen in place as my heart slowly sank. Chapter 3 When the squad stopped to rest, neither Ethan nor I received any food. Exhausted and starving, I had turned deathly pale. Since all the supplies were stored in Greta's spatial storage, I pushed myself up and headed over to talk to her. Just as I reached Dylan's SUV, I froze. Greta was munching on a fresh apple, tugging at Dylan's arm playfully. "Dylan, you're way too soft on Jessie. She doesn't even have powers, and she's nothing but a troublemaker. Keeping a dead weight like her around just wastes food! If we run into zombies, she'll only drag us down!" Dylan chuckled and flicked her forehead affectionately. "She might be useless, but she hasn't done anything terrible enough for me to just throw her out." Useless. That casual word hit me like a ton of bricks. My stomach churned—not from hunger but from pure disgust. On the first day of the apocalypse, none of us had powers. We were all ordinary people. Surrounded by a horde of zombies, Mom, Dad, and Dylan had been paralyzed with fear, unable to even run. It was me who rushed forward without hesitation, screaming at the top of my lungs to draw the zombies away. I sprinted for my life, nearly torn to pieces multiple times. In that moment between life and death, something inside me surged, and my superpower awakened. At that exact moment, Mom, Dad, and Dylan awakened theirs too. Mom raised her hands, throwing an elemental barrier around everyone that held the zombies three feet back. Dylan casually threw out a few bolts of lightning, obliterating the surrounding horde in seconds. Dad rushed straight to my side, channeling his healing powers to mend my injuries. Back then, they had all gathered around me excitedly, asking what power I had awakened. When they heard my power was acting as a Wi-Fi hotspot, they all burst out laughing, then softly reassured me, "It's okay if you don't have any power. We'll protect you for the rest of our lives." Back then, their promise to protect me had been real. It was just as real as their disgust for me being useless now. Suddenly, a chocolate bar appeared in front of me. Ethan said quietly, "Eat it. It's unopened." My heart skipped a beat. Chocolate was a rare luxury in the apocalypse. I quickly waved my hands, telling him I couldn't take his food. But Ethan firmly pressed it into my palm and said seriously, "It was yours to begin with. Back when I was starving to death, you shared a pack of food with me. Only this chocolate was left, and I've kept it ever since." I froze, completely stunned. Then, a real smile broke across my face. I unwrapped the chocolate, snapped it in half, and offered a piece to him. "Let's share." But the next second, the chocolate was slapped straight out of my hand. Greta's shrill voice exploded in my ear. "Jessie, how dare you steal squad supplies?" The chocolate hit the dirt, covered in dust. I slowly stood up straight to meet her glare and enunciated every single word, "I didn't steal anything. You're the one withholding our lunch." Greta sneered, her voice raising an octave. "You contribute nothing to this team! Why on earth should I give you food?" The commotion quickly drew the rest of the team over. Greta snatched up the wrapper from the ground and held it high for everyone to see. "Look, everyone! She thinks she can get away with freeloading just because she's the Brewers' adopted daughter! And now she's stealing chocolate to feed her little boy toy!" The crowd instantly erupted. "What? Stealing team supplies? She has no shame!" "I couldn't stand Jessie anyway. She's the only one who gets special treatment. She gets the best rations without ever killing a single zombie!" "Ms. Greta is the true Brewer! Her spatial power benefits the whole base!" "A useless adopted daughter who isn't even grateful, and now she's stealing? She should be kicked out!" "Yeah! Throw her out!" Chapter 4 Three familiar figures hastily pushed through the crowd, stepping up to Greta's side. Mom's eyes were bloodshot as she looked at me with pure disgust. "You're fighting with Greta over some useless man? You are an absolute embarrassment to our family!" Dad stepped in front of Greta. His gaze fell on me, heavy with disappointment. "Ever since Greta came back, you've completely changed. You're constantly jealous that she's our biological daughter and that she has powers." Dylan's expression hardened, and he said coldly, "We never complained about you being useless, but you shouldn't have touched the team's supplies! If we don't kick you out now, we'll never appease the team." My heart plunged straight into an abyss. So this was what they called a grave mistake? A faint laugh escaped my lips. "Kick me out?" I looked up, sweeping my gaze over the crowd before settling on my cold, distant family. "After I leave, every single one of you will regret this. Without me, those powers you're so proud of will completely disappear." The moment the words left my mouth, the Brewers acted as if they had just heard the joke of the century. Mom didn't even bother hiding her mockery. "Our powers will disappear? Jessie, wake up! You are a total dud!" Dad looked at me with utter contempt. "You're making up a lie like this just to keep from being thrown out?" Dylan's eyes were devoid of any affection. His voice was as cold as ice as he ordered, "Get out! Don't make me force you." With that, he raised his gun and pointed the dark barrel straight at my head. Right then, a deafening roar shattered the air as a massive horde of zombies poured out from up ahead. "Dammit, it's a zombie king! It's controlling a massive zombie horde and sending them our way!" Dylan's face turned pale as he immediately barked, "Fall back! Fast!" A black tide of zombies surged toward us like a tsunami. In the chaotic scramble, a glint of malice flashed in Greta's eyes, and she stuck her leg out to trip me. But she was too eager. Instead of making me fall, she lost her own balance and took a hard faceplant. However, to the Brewers, it looked as if I had pushed her. "Jessie Brewer, how dare you hurt Greta!" Dylan's eyes nearly split with rage as he charged over and kicked me aside. Just then, a high-tier zombie's growl echoed from terrifyingly close by. With a ruthless glint in his eyes, Dylan unsheathed the dagger at his waist and slashed a deep gash across my wrist. "Since you're this malicious, we have no room for you. Go draw the zombie king away and use yourself as bait to pay for your sins!" The thick stench of blood instantly filled the air. Dylan shoved me headfirst toward the terrifying zombie king, and the overwhelming horde devoured my sight in a split second. Mom and Dad didn't even cast a glance back at me. Only Ethan was frantically trying to charge through to save me. "Jessie!" I screamed in utter despair, "Get out of here! Run!" At the precipice of life and death, a surge of power violently erupted within my body. My superpower had leveled up! I slowly raised my head and stared indifferently at the Brewers fiercely protecting Greta as they sprinted away. I was useless? No. They were the useless ones without me. "Since you're no longer my family, I'm taking back everything I ever gave you."