Ben Braver and the Incredible Exploding Kid

by Marcus Emerson

  Duncan finally looked at me. He had the face of a defeated child, sad and alone.

  But there was a tiny bit of hope in his eyes.

  He was waiting for my answer.

  They all were.

  Coach even winked at me.

  He set this up. He must have, but why was he being so cool? It must’ve been something Jennifer said. Maybe she told him I didn’t have a power, and this was his way of feeling sorry for me.

  Whatever.

  The why didn’t matter.

  I’d just been offered a chance to work in Duncan’s lab under the school! That was like getting invited to the Batcave!

  And who could say no to that?

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Mid-October.

  Because of the Power Battles, I had started sketching stat cards for every kid in the school, giving star ratings and taking notes on weaknesses like we were in a giant Pokémon game.

  The school probably kept those kinds of records, but it couldn’t get into the dirty like I could.

  I was with Brock, filling him in on pretty much everything.

  ‘… And then Jennifer said she was cool with the battles as long as they were low-key,’ I said to Brock. ‘You’d like her. She’s really nice.’

  Brock was quiet, but he was never much of a talker.

  ‘Everybody’s got costumes and superhero names and everything!’ I said. ‘It’s crazy, but school this year is what I wish last year was like. I mean, the battles are mega-top secret from teachers, but that just makes it more real – like, secret lives and identities matter.’

  I sketched out another card.

  ‘I’m also helping Duncan now, which is amazeballs. He hasn’t told me when, but soon. I bet I’ll get to test all kinds of cool stuff! Maybe I can even be the first kid in outer space!’

  I took a second to soak it all in.

  Life was looking so good I couldn’t believe I was ever afraid of coming back to school.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Late October.

  Still no word from Duncan about working in his lab. I was starting to wonder if maybe he was waiting for me to say something.

  In the meantime, the next Power Battle was starting in exactly thirty minutes.

  Joel left a portal stretched open over the toilet seat in the third stall of the boys’ locker room. He thought it’d be hilarious if everybody jumped into the toilet.

  We walked out to the alley from the Kepler garage but were stopped before going into the factory next door.

  ‘Ben!’ a woman called. ‘Over here!’

  It was Jennifer, chilling on her Vespa in the shadows.

  ‘Jennifer!’ I said, giving her a hug.

  I’m not sure why I did that.

  She wasn’t sure, either.

  ‘Oh, okay, hey there, kiddo,’ she said, awkwardly patting my back. ‘Nice to see you, too.’

  Penny folded her arms. ‘You must be Jennifer.’

  Jennifer grinned. ‘My reputation precedes me.’

  ‘Ben’s told us all about how you rescued him in the alley. Pretty convenient how you were just there. Like, secret-villain convenient.’

  ‘Hey,’ I said. ‘Jennifer saved my life!’

  ‘No, Penny’s figured me out,’ Jennifer said, all sassy. ‘I’m the villain who was working with Abigail last year, but now that she’s locked up, I’ve got nothing else to do but eat microwaved dinners and ride my scooter around Lost Nation 24/7.’

  The sarcasm was thick.

  Jennifer continued. ‘If I were the villain, don’t you think I’d be doing more villainy things than babysitting a bunch of kids?’

  Noah shrugged at Penny.

  Penny scowled. ‘Touché.’

  ‘What’re you doing out here?’ I asked.

  ‘Making sure everyone’s safe,’ she said. ‘I drive by every night because I knew it was a matter of time before y’all came back.’

  Jennifer joined us as we went into the factory, where a bonkers Power Battle was already taking place. This time, there was a wrestling ring with ropes, except the ropes weren’t actual ropes – they were toes. Toby’s toes to be exact – stretchy toes was his power. His stank-nasty power.

  The crowd was bigger than the first night, with more than a dozen costumed kids cheering from all sides like they were at a WWE match.

  We hung back so Noah and Penny could get into costume.

  Noah was a wizard.

  Penny wore mouse ears that pushed her hair forward, framing her face, which brought more attention to her eyes.

  It was supes cute.

  But I didn’t say that.

  I didn’t have a costume.

  No need if I wasn’t battling, right?

  ‘These are good for students,’ Jennifer said, her eyes on the match. ‘There’s no better way to sharpen powers than to actually use them. Kepler Academy doesn’t understand that, which has led to many preventable accidents.’

  ‘Like Brock,’ I said.

  Jennifer exhaled slowly. ‘Exactly like Brock. And his sister.’

  ‘Uh … Angel died in a car wreck,’ Penny said. ‘Her car exploded after she drove it off a bridge. Coach told us so.’

  ‘That’s not entirely true,’ Jennifer said. ‘It was Angel that exploded – not the car. She freaked out, her power surged, and kaboom.’

  ‘Why would Coach lie about that?’ I asked.

  Jennifer chewed her lip for a moment. ‘Lindsay just wants to protect students. Kids would freak out if they knew about every single power-related death that’s ever happened.’

  Millie’s voice carried over the crowd as she ran from the ring to meet us. ‘Ben!’

  Noah’s jaw dropped as Millie arrived.

  ‘Oh. My. Wow,’ Penny said.

  ‘Can I get one of those?’ Noah asked.

  Millie beamed. ‘OMG, for sure! I’ll make you one! You want one, too, Penny?’

  ‘Absolutely, yes, of course I do,’ Penny said.

  I couldn’t tell if she was being snarky or not.

  Millie turned to me, holding her hands together, fingers interlocked like she was begging. ‘Are you battling tonight?’

  I froze up. ‘Uh, no, I went last time,’ I said, all coolsies. ‘Other kids should have a turn.’

  ‘You’re so humble. The most powerful kid in school should be humble. And handsome, too. Humble and handsome.’

  Penny choked on a laugh.

  ‘The Braver Ravers had hoped you’d battle tonight, but it’s cool,’ Millie said. ‘Next time, though, okay?’

  ‘Totally!’ I bragged. ‘I’m gonna kill it at the next battle – just wait and see. Hashtag, Braverboy. It’s trending. Tell everyone!’

  Whyyyy did I say that?

  Millie pumped her fist. ‘Heck, yes! They’re gonna be so excited!’

  She skipped back to the ring.

  Jennifer looked at me with wide eyes and an even wider smile. ‘So! The Braver Ravers?’

  ‘Yeah.’ Penny smiled. ‘He’s their hero. No bigs.’

  Jennifer studied the crowd. ‘I think it’s more than that. They look up to you, Ben. When you jumped off the roof last year, you changed things. These kids aren’t just at a Power Battle … These kids mean business.’

  The battle in the ring ended, and the winner raised her hands, howling victoriously as the crowd went nuts.

  ‘These kids aren’t going down without a fight,’ Jennifer said proudly. She sniffed deeply, taking it all in. ‘It’s amazing how similar this is to when I was in school – I mean, you guys are more hard-core, more driven. Our Power Battles were in the woods every Saturday at midnight, but they were still pretty intense. I don’t want to toot my own horn, but my best friend and I dominated most of them.’

  I wished I could see what Jennifer was remembering, because her eyes were lit up as she stared into space.

  Vic walked out to the centre of the ring and announced the next battle. ‘Five minutes, people! Noah Nichols and Dexter Dunn, please repor
t to the circle! The Wizard versus the Chill Pill! Five minutes, people!’

  Noah punched his fists together. ‘Finally.’

  ‘Remember this isn’t a fight. It’s a battle between powers,’ Jennifer said. ‘Go easy on him.’

  ‘No way,’ Penny said. ‘Go crazy, God-mode-activated on him! Beat him so bad that his DNA passes the nightmares on to his children and his children’s children! Make him regret coming tonight!’

  Noah exhaled. ‘I just wanna have fun.’

  ‘Well, that, too,’ Jennifer said. ‘Whatever you do, just play it up for the crowd and give us a show!’

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  It was about to go down.

  Noah and Dexter were in the ring, waiting for the battle to start as kids bet on who was going to win.

  Jennifer watched from the entrance to make sure nobody came in.

  ‘You didn’t learn one new trick over the summer?’ Penny asked.

  ‘Yeah, right! My parents would’ve killed me if I did that! They’re pretty against my doing anything with my power.’

  Vic shouted from the side of the ring. ‘Battlers at the ready! Three – two – one …’

  Dexter rolled his shoulders and craned his neck. His skin turned from pink to blue to crystal clear as he transformed into a solid-ice monster.

  Apparently, Dexter was the one who learned a new trick over the summer.

  ‘Battle!’ Vic bellowed.

  The ice monster stomped across the ring, shaking the whole factory with each step. He swung a slow but powerful fist, which smashed against Noah’s whole body, sending him bouncing off Toby’s toe ropes.

  ‘You even gonna try?’ Dexter asked as he loomed over my friend. He put his hands together and then hammered down, serving a crushing blow to Noah.

  That’s when we heard a burp so loud the windows rattled. Fire bloomed around Dexter, turning into black smoke that mushroomed in the air above the ring.

  The crowd gasped.

  Dexter staggered back as litres of water splashed across the concrete floor.

  Noah had melted Dexter’s arms off!

  ‘Dude, are you okay?’ Noah said, frantic. ‘OMG, OMG, OMG. I’m so sorry!’

  Dexter grimaced, armless and angry. He lurched forward, growing two new icicle arms out of thin air, like no big deal. And then he threw a haymaker to end all haymakers.

  Noah fired up his feet and tried to fly away, but Dexter grabbed his leg and pulled him back down.

  Noah panicked. The fire from his feet became white-hot jet streams, rocketing the two boys straight up in the factory, breaking through the rusted, thin ceiling, and taking the battle out into the open sky.

  Everyone ran outside to watch.

  ‘What’s Noah doing?’ Jennifer said. ‘Is he crazy?’

  ‘He’s just trying to defend himself!’ I said.

  Noah and Dexter were still in midair. Two trails of fire followed Noah as he tried to shake Dexter off.

  ‘You need to stop the battle!’ Penny said to Jennifer, but Jennifer was already driving away on her scooter.

  ‘Where’s she going?’ I said.

  ‘Seriously?’ Penny said. ‘She just left us?’

  ‘He’s falling!’ someone shouted, pointing.

  Noah had finally shaken the ice monster loose.

  Vic held her arms out to try to stop Dexter’s fall, but I think he was moving too fast. All she was able to do was slow him up a little bit until he crashed into the middle of the street … right in front of an oncoming car.

  The driver swerved and skidded to a stop.

  Nobody moved.

  Dexter stood, unfazed by the fall. Then he saw the stopped car. ‘Uh-oh.’

  The doors opened, and some uni kids stepped out, wearing Lost Nation University sweatshirts.

  Dexter powered down, transforming back into his normal self as Noah eased into a soft landing next to him.

  The uni students had seen all of it.

  Penny pulled on my shirt. ‘We gotta get outta here! We gotta go!’

  ‘What about those guys in the car?’ Millie asked.

  ‘It’s too late! We just need to leave!’ Penny loudly commanded.

  Everyone raced into the Kepler garage, to Joel’s portal that opened into the boys’ locker room back at the academy.

  As soon as the last of us was through the portal, Joel slammed the toilet seat shut.

  The locker room was dead silent.

  Everyone stared at one another with a shared look of ‘holy-crud-we-just-screwed-up-in-the-worst-epically-disastrous-way-possible’.

  We had just gotten caught.

  There were witnesses.

  There were people who saw—

  That’s when Millie started laughing.

  Other kids smiled until they couldn’t take it anymore and burst out laughing too.

  Soon, the rest of us joined in.

  Even Dexter and Vic wiped tears from their eyes.

  Power Battles were unpredictable.

  Unsafe.

  Uncontrollable.

  But they were a heck of a lot of fun.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Everything was cool the next day.

  There was nothing on the news or the internet about LNU students seeing superpowered kids.

  And Coach Lindsay never said anything, either, which meant Jennifer hadn’t told him. Probably not because she was being cool, but because she didn’t want to lose her job.

  After Noah’s glorious Power Battle, I couldn’t wait for Duncan to come to me anymore.

  I had to go to him. I needed gear!

  So I found him and asked him as politely as I could.

  His confidence in me wasn’t strong.

  That’s how the three of us found ourselves hiking through the forest behind the school.

  ‘This is a dumb idea,’ Penny said. ‘Noah’s battle was intense. What kinda gadget could you even use in the ring?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘But Duncan’s gotta have something shibby.’

  ‘I’m with Penny on this one,’ Noah said. ‘Faking a power last year was okay because you didn’t do anything with it, but now you’re talking about using it against other kids?’

  ‘It’ll be fine! And it’s just until I give myself an actual superpower.’

  ‘Right, with Kepler’s Magic Lamp.’ Penny groaned. ‘You’re starting to sound like a villain.’

  ‘No, I’m not! I want great responsibility,’ I said, ‘but first I need great power.’

  Penny stopped and pointed up ahead. ‘Is that … an ice-cream truck?’

  It was an ice-cream truck, totally out of place, and totally sitting next to a log cabin.

  ‘This must be the place,’ I said, hands on my hips.

  ‘Not it!’ Penny and Noah both snapped.

  They looked at me.

  ‘Way to take one for the team,’ Penny said. ‘Now go knock on that door, Braver.’

  ‘I hate you guys,’ I said.

  The rotting stairs were uninviting, but I went up anyway.

  ‘You think this is where Totes lives?’ I said, about to knock, but the door opened before I could.

  A hulking beast stood over me, at least two and a half metres tall, with white fur and a blue face.

  ‘I wanna pat that!’ Penny whispered.

  ‘What do you want?’ the monster growled.

  ‘Nothing!’ I said, choking on my tongue. ‘I mean, can I speak to Totes, please, sir? Ma’am? Thank you … Don’t eat me.’

  Totes’s voice came from inside the cabin. ‘Is it for me? Do I got visitors? Move your hairy butt, Doug! I got visitors!’

  The fuzzy creature lumbered aside.

  ‘Come on in, guys! Welcome to the zoo,’ Totes said, inviting us into his home, which was actually home to several different creatures, all watching TV in the living room.

  ‘What’s with the ice-cream truck?’ I asked.

  ‘Oh, you saw!’ Totes said. ‘Always been a dream of mine to own o
ne.’

  ‘A goat selling ice cream,’ Penny said. ‘Too funny.’

  ‘Who said anything about selling it?’

  ‘What is this place?’ Noah asked.

  ‘This is where descendants go if they’ve permanently transformed,’ Totes said.

  ‘Why not just go home?’ I asked.

  ‘You think we can go home like this? Doug turned into a yeti! That’s a fictional animal!’

  ‘Is that Ben Braver?’ The cabin rattled as a kangaroo with dumbbells hopped into the room. ‘It is Ben Braver!’

  I think of kangaroos as cute and cuddly.

  Not this one.

  This kangaroo was jacked.

  Just insane muscles everywhere.

  ‘Totes brags about you all the time,’ he said. ‘Coolest kid in the school, everybody loves him, blah blah blah …’

  Totes stuck out his tongue. ‘Meh!’

  ‘I’m Kang,’ the kangaroo said as he caressed his swollen biceps. ‘So you’re the kid who jumped off the school. Don’t look like much, do you?’

  ‘He’s enough for me,’ Penny said. ‘Us. I mean, he’s enough for us. Right, Noah?’

  Kang snorted. ‘You got guts, kid, takin’ on a monster like that, but you survived because of dumb luck.’

  ‘I survived because I’m psychotic,’ I said.

  ‘Psychokinetic,’ Penny corrected. ‘No, y’know what? You were right the first time.’

  ‘Fine,’ Kang said, flexing his pecs one at a time. ‘You stopped Abigail, but you can’t stop the future.’

  ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ I asked.

  ‘Abigail’s victory is changing the world. She’s the little pebble creating all the ripples.’

  The kangaroo sounded like Kepler.

  ‘Abigail didn’t win,’ Penny said. ‘Ben beat her.’

  ‘Ben stopped her from destroying a building, but her goal was to send a message, and every descendant in the world heard it.’