Ben Braver and the Incredible Exploding Kid

by Marcus Emerson

  I got outside just in time to see the door to the Kepler garage slam shut.

  I dashed towards the door handle, but my fingers barely grazed it before I was yanked into the air.

  Dexter and Vic stepped out from the shadows.

  ‘All this trouble for an autograph?’ I said. ‘All you had to do was ask, but it’ll cost you five bucks.’

  Vic pinched the air in front of her.

  The skin around my neck tightened, and my throat closed as she lifted me higher off the ground.

  I think she was still upset at the whole thinking-she-was-a-boy-for-a-year thing.

  ‘Wait, wait, stop!’ I wheezed.

  Vic let up a little. ‘What?’

  ‘You can have my autograph for free!’

  ‘You’re a poser!’ Dexter said. ‘I don’t have proof, but I know you cheated. Something pushed me around in there. Someone pushed me. Having an invisible buddy is pretty convenient, ain’t it?’

  Vic scowled as she spread her fingers open.

  My arms stretched out as I dangled helplessly. The skin on my shoulders burned, and my bones felt like they were gonna snap at any second.

  ‘Stop!’ I said.

  At that moment, a Vespa engine revved, and a headlight flipped on from the street behind Dexter and Vic.

  Vic’s grip loosened. ‘What the …’

  The rider stepped off the scooter, black leather pants and jacket shining, her face hidden by her helmet.

  It was the same woman I’d seen outside the academy on the first night. The Vespa ninja!

  The air around Dexter sizzled as he powered up, looking even stronger than he did in the Power Battle. His skin became jagged shards of ice. Even his face changed into something monstrous.

  Dexter’s voice sounded cold. ‘You should get back on your bike and get outta here, lady.’

  The biker walked slowly towards us, unfazed by Dexter’s transformation into an ice monster.

  ‘Did you hear me?’ Dexter’s voice cracked.

  ‘Dude, she’s not stopping,’ Vic said nervously.

  ‘Fine. Then she asked for it.’

  The air swirled around Dexter’s forearm as he aimed at the biker. Several chunks of ice launched towards her like torpedoes.

  The icicles cracked the woman’s visor. She fell back, landing on her butt.

  ‘Throw him,’ Dexter commanded.

  ‘What?’ Vic said.

  ‘Throw Ben at her!’

  FYI: I was against that idea.

  Vic flicked her fingers, and I went flying through the alley.

  The woman jumped to her feet just in time for me to crash into her, and we both rolled on the dirty, wet road.

  It hurt.

  Like, a lot.

  I tried to stand, but my head spun in circles. The alley tipped sideways as I swayed back and forth with my hands out like an old man wearing a blindfold.

  What?

  Dexter and Vic were gone.

  They would’ve closed Joel’s portal behind them, for sure.

  I was alone and stranded in Lost Nation, trying to get away from a Vespa ninja, who was back on her feet and reaching for me.

  I swatted her hand away. ‘Don’t touch me!’ I shouted, stumbling back towards the Kepler garage.

  A muffled voice came from under her cracked helmet. I couldn’t tell exactly what she said, but it sounded like …

  ‘Did you just …’ I said, confused. ‘Did you just say my name?’

  She pried the helmet off her head.

  Blonde hair fell over her face as she shook it loose. She swung her head back, flipping the hair over her shoulder.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  1:15 a.m.

  Thirty minutes later, I was sitting in Campion’s Cafe, digging into a slice of peanut butter cup pie.

  Life’s weird like that.

  The biker sat across from me.

  Her name was Jennifer Jenkins, and she worked for the academy, secretly scoping out the streets of Lost Nation to make sure people didn’t stumble upon the school.

  She was bright-eyed and all smiles. Hardly the scary Vespa ninja I thought she was.

  But just so you don’t think I’d jump on the back of any stranger’s scooter, she let me call Coach Lindsay, who backed her up – he told me she worked for him on the academy’s security team.

  Jennifer must be one of the ‘people’ everyone keeps talking about when they say ‘they have people for that’.

  She also never mentioned the Power Battle to Coach. All she said was that I snuck into the city, which maybe was pretty common with Kepler students? Probably more so with the older ones.

  I thought Coach would be furious, but since I was safe with Jennifer, he said he’d let me off the hook this time. I mean, he did threaten that he wouldn’t be as forgiving if it happened again. But that was basically the same as being let off the hook, which was fantastically cool of him – and I got to have a slice of pie.

  Okay, I got to have three slices.

  Don’t judge me.

  The waitress brought me a glass of milk.

  ‘Has Elvis left the building yet?’ I asked.

  ‘What?’ the waitress asked, annoyed.

  ‘Elvis? A couple of weeks ago, I saw a kid … wearing an Elvis Presley mask … outside. Nevermind.’

  She looked at Jennifer, like, ‘What’s he talkin’ about?’

  Jennifer shrugged.

  The waitress left, and I chugged my milk.

  ‘Are you gonna tell Headmaster Archer about the Power Battle?’ I asked.

  ‘No,’ Jennifer said. ‘It’s just kids being kids. Just keep ’em low-key and we’re good. We did the same thing when I was in school. Heck, some adults still do it today to blow off steam.’

  I poked at my pie with my fork. ‘Maybe that’s what Abigail needed last year.’

  ‘Abigail needed more than that. That woman was a lunatic.’ Jennifer sighed. ‘She was always the nicest lady, too.’

  ‘I think she saw something she wasn’t supposed to see,’ I said.

  A suspicious smile stretched across Jennifer’s face. ‘… What do you know?’

  ‘I know she found Kepler’s secret cave. Something in there made her snap, but I don’t know what.’

  ‘That old man has a secret cave?’

  ‘Had one,’ I said. ‘Pretty sure it caved in when that monster went full Godzilla mode, but it was packed with crazy. Newspaper articles about things that never happened.’

  To be honest, it felt good to say these things to an adult who understood.

  ‘Don’t be so quick to say those things never happened. With the snap of his finger, Donald Kepler can have your mind wiped. He has people for that.’

  ‘… Are you one of those people?’

  Jennifer shook her head. ‘Oh no. Those people – you’d know those people if you saw them.’

  ‘So what’s your power?’

  She hesitated, then put her hands up. She was still wearing her gloves. ‘My skin is ultrasensitive to oxygen. If anything more than my face is exposed, I start to feel woozy.’

  ‘Man, some powers aren’t cool, huh?’

  Jennifer sighed. ‘Nope.’

  ‘Anyway,’ I said. ‘Those things in the articles were too big to wipe from history – end-of-the-world big. Blown-up cities. Millions dead. Real-life superheroes.’ I took a bite of pie and continued. ‘I don’t know. I was on the roof when Abigail attacked. She told Kepler that she knew his secret. Something in that cave freaked her out enough to make her a bad guy.’

  ‘Well, we’re lucky you were up there. You saved the day with your secret power.’

  I stared at my pie.

  The only people who knew I was powerless were my best friends, Donald Kepler, and Professor Duncan.

  Not even my parents knew.

  ‘… I don’t actually have a power.’

  I’m not sure why I confessed.

  Maybe I just wanted someone else to know.

  Maybe Jenn
ifer kinda felt like the big sister I never had.

  Maybe I’m just a moron.

  Jennifer straightened up. ‘How’d you beat that giant monster then?’

  ‘It was only giant because it had one of Professor Duncan’s discs attached to it. I just ripped off the disc.’

  ‘Brilliant,’ Jennifer whispered. ‘You know, that only makes you more of a hero. You must’ve jumped knowing you wouldn’t survive the fall.’

  ‘I couldn’t think about it.’

  Jennifer stared at me for a moment like she was sizing me up. And then she leaned forward and spoke quietly. ‘Now let me tell you a secret.’

  I leaned closer.

  ‘It doesn’t surprise me that Donald has a secret cave. I believe he’s a man of a million secrets, the biggest one being … How did he get his power?’

  I blinked. ‘Huh?’

  ‘Think about it. He’s not a descendant. And he’s not one of the Seven Keys. He came before the Keys, right? So he shouldn’t have a power.’

  Whoa. She was right.

  How did he get his power?

  ‘It’s something I’ve always wondered,’ she said.

  ‘Do you know the answer?’

  ‘… Maybe,’ she said, looking away and smiling. ‘But if I did, I couldn’t tell you.’

  ‘Come on!’ I said loud enough for the waitress to look at us from the back.

  ‘Need another slice?’ she asked.

  Jennifer waved. ‘Nope, we’re done.’

  ‘Do you think it was a super serum?’ I asked. ‘Like, in a capsule? Or a gadget or … a magic lamp?’

  Jennifer made a ‘for real?’ face. ‘Just forget I said anything, okay? I don’t want you getting any crazy ideas.’

  ‘Like I’m actually gonna do anything about it! But, like, where would he keep something like that? If he’s still got it, I mean …’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Jennifer said as she got up. ‘That’s a pretty big secret to keep hidden away.’

  Jennifer paid the bill, and we went outside to her Vespa.

  ‘If it exists, then it’s probably locked up,’ Jennifer said. ‘Somewhere nobody could find it, or even have access to it.’

  I hopped onto the back of her scooter.

  ‘It was prob’ly in his cave!’

  ‘We’re not talking about this.’ Jennifer groaned. ‘Now hang on. This puppy’s got some kick.’

  The Vespa sputtered forward, and we drove out of Lost Nation all the way back to the hidden school in the mountains.

  A school created by a man with a million secrets.

  And one of those secrets … might be the key to giving me a real superpower.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  4 p.m.

  The next day.

  Miss Sweeney told us to meet her after school to see some files she had found from the early days of Kepler Academy – the ones we hoped would have more information about Fifteen. But to be honest, I was already onto the next mystery.

  The real mystery was the one about Kepler’s power.

  I told my buds all about the Magic Lamp (that’s what we’re calling it now – tell your friends). They didn’t believe it existed, but I couldn’t blame them.

  Even I knew it sounded too good to be true.

  … right?

  We were on our way to Miss Sweeney’s office when we ran into Millie. Arnold and two other kids were with her.

  ‘Just who I was looking for,’ Millie said. ‘Membership for the Braver Ravers doubled once everyone heard about how you spanked Dexter last night with your psychokinetic power.’

  ‘Yes, I totally did,’ I said, ‘with my pyscho … tronic power … and stuff.’

  ‘Why were you looking for Ben?’ Penny asked.

  I smelled a hint of jealousy.

  Or maybe it was coffee.

  Was someone brewing coffee?

  ‘Our new members wanted to meet him and get his autograph!’ Arnold said.

  Noah and Jordan smiled. At least I think Jordan smiled. His body perked up.

  I signed some notebook covers, and Millie took a picture of me posed like a superhero.

  ‘Sooo we gotta go,’ Penny said, pulling on my arm. ‘We got that thing we needed to do. Remember?’

  ‘Right,’ Noah said. ‘The thing.’

  Millie and the Braver Ravers said goodbye, and our groups went our separate ways.

  Gotta be honest here …

  I really liked having a fan club.

  ‘I’m sorry, but this is the best I could do,’ Miss Sweeney said as we all stared at the nearly empty box on her desk.

  ‘Is this from Year One?’ Penny asked, riffling through vintage photos.

  ‘I’m afraid not. You know, it’s the strangest thing, but I can’t find anything from Year One. All the other years are there – just not the first.’

  ‘Just Year One is missing, huh?’ Noah whispered to me. ‘How convenient. And inconvenient. It’s both. It can be both, right?’

  Penny thanked Sweeney for her help and headed for the door with Noah and Jordan.

  But I wasn’t ready to duck out just yet.

  ‘Hey, can I ask you a question about Headmaster Kepler?’ I said to Sweeney.

  My friends turned around. They knew what I was gonna ask because they had that ‘don’t even do it’ look in their eyes.

  ‘Of course you can,’ Sweeney said.

  ‘How did he get his power?’ I asked.

  The teacher thought for a moment. ‘Well, from what I can remember, he did it through extensive testing and experimentation on himself.’

  ‘Okay, but what kind of experimentation?’ I asked. ‘Like, he gave himself a power, right?’

  ‘Subtle,’ Penny said quietly.

  Sweeney furrowed her brow. ‘I believe you’re correct, but I imagine the scientific details of his experiments are top secret. Otherwise, everyone in the world would give themselves a superpower – and we know how bad that would be.’

  I smiled.

  That was enough for me.

  Jennifer was onto something.

  Sweeney confirmed it.

  Kepler gave himself a power.

  He wasn’t born with one.

  Just then, the school’s intercom buzzed.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  I was nervous.

  I had no idea what was going on.

  Headmaster Archer didn’t say a word when I met him in the lobby. He just led me into the lift and pushed the button for the tenth floor.

  The doors scraped open, revealing a giant apartment. It was so big that it might’ve been the only thing on the tenth floor.

  Headmaster Kepler stood at the far end of the room, goggling out the window, still wearing that strange contraption of lights on his head.

  This was probably his apartment.

  Comic book villains always live on the top floor.

  It’s how they roll.

  But he wasn’t alone.

  Coach Lindsay sat on the couch, and the ghost of Professor Duncan floated in front of the fireplace.

  I realised it was the first time I’d seen Duncan all year.

  In case you missed my origin story – Professor Duncan was graced with the power of ‘not dying’. His body could die, and did die, but his soul refused to pass into the next life.

  And last year he was a walking skeleton up until I kinda sorta shattered his bones.

  That was my bad.

  ‘Go on,’ Archer said, nudging me.

  I walked through the room, making mental notes of everything I saw, but there really wasn’t much. Except for some junky furniture, Kepler’s apartment was pretty empty.

  But then something strange caught my attention. Pinned to the fridge was a Polaroid photo of a short dude wearing an Elvis mask, standing in front of Campion’s Cafe. The current year was scribbled in marker at the bottom.

  I was there, on my way to school, when that photo was taken.

  What the heck was it doing in—

  ‘Sit,
’ Archer said, putting his hand on my shoulder. ‘Lindsay has some words to share about you.’

  Oh no. Coach must’ve had a change of heart.

  I was getting busted for being in the city last night!

  ‘I wasn’t doing anything wrong!’ I said. ‘I mean, I was just down there because—’

  ‘Sit!’ Coach said, not letting me finish.

  I found a spot across from him.

  Kepler mumbled something, then wobbled out of the room. I wasn’t sure if he even knew we were there.

  Archer folded his arms. ‘Your name was brought up during the staff meeting this morning.’

  ‘Am I in trouble?’ I asked. ‘Don’t I get a phone call? I want my phone call.’

  ‘No, you’re not here because you’re in trouble,’

  Archer said. ‘You’re here because Lindsay has suggested it might be good for you to work with Professor Duncan in his lab.’

  *Side note – not having a physical brain means Duncan’s a supergenius, too. He spends most of his time inventing gadgets so redic that even Batman would be jealous.

  ‘What, back on the roof?’ I asked, super excited.

  Archer shook his head. ‘No, that run-down shack is gone. You’ll be working in his actual lab. Under the school.’

  I looked at the ghost, but he didn’t say anything.

  Why wasn’t he saying anything?

  ‘Are you okay with this?’ I asked Duncan.

  The ghost shrugged.

  ‘Professor Duncan’s had a long summer,’ Lindsay said. ‘He hasn’t been himself lately.’

  ‘Because I’m not myself,’ Duncan drawled. ‘I’m just a shadow of a man. I can’t interact with anything in this world. I can’t turn on a TV … flip pages of a book … work in my lab.’

  Duncan was depressed.

  The ghost continued. ‘I’m cursed as an eternal bystander. When you die, I’ll still be here. When the world ends, I’ll still be here. And billions of years from now, when our sun fizzles out, I’ll still be here. Alone and floating through space.’

  ‘Duncan’s lost his will to live,’ Archer said, ‘which is ironic considering his circumstances. At any rate, he needs to feel like himself again, and that’s where you come in. You have experience with his tools. You were very involved with his Wearable Tech club last year. You’d be perfect!’ He leaned closer and whispered loudly, ‘Plus, you kind of owe it to him since it’s your fault that he’s like this.’