by David Estes
Chapter Twenty-One: Russian spies looking for Nikki?
Nikki saw Spencer pass the alleyway where she had just finished changing back into her regular clothes. She ran out behind him and yelled, “Hey, Spence!”
Spencer whirled around, his eyes widening in surprise. “But how did you..? I saw you fly out of sight, you must have been miles away.”
Nikki grinned. “No distance is too far for my orange powergloves,” she explained.
“Hmm, which ones were the orange ones…?” Spencer said to himself. Nikki started to open her mouth to speak, but Spencer interrupted. “Wait, don’t tell me…not the animal ones, those were brown…” His eyes lit up as something clicked in his brain. “Ah, I remember, the ones with the shoes, the super-speed running gloves. Are you sure no one saw you though?”
“Positive. I can run so fast that it’s like I’m just a blur. I even ran right past an old man on the street and he didn’t even blink. Plus, I used a second powerglove to ensure no one could see me.”
Spencer began to hum. He was probably trying to think about all the different gloves he had seen earlier that day. He said, “I give up, which other one did you use?”
“The invisibility one, of course. Now that I know I can combine powergloves, I will combine the invisibility gloves with the other ones whenever I don’t want to be seen.”
“That’s brilliant, Albert-Einstein. You are already gaining the instincts of a true superhero.”
“You really think so, Spence?”
“Absolutely.”
They walked back to Nikki’s house together, laughing and talking about how Nikki rescued the cat the whole way. When they arrived, Mrs. Nickerson—of course!—invited Spencer to dinner again, because his mom was working a double shift at the hospital. Dinner wouldn’t be until seven, so when Mr. Nickerson arrived home from work, Nikki and Spencer sat on the couch with him to watch the six o’clock news.
The top story was about the miraculous rescue of a cat from a tree by a child superhero. Nikki’s dad watched in amazement as they showed the footage of the four-and-a-half-foot masked girl swoop down from the sky and snatch the cat from high in the tree. The last ten seconds showed Nikki landing with the cat as she announced, “I’m Nikki Powergloves, and this town will never again be in danger with me around!” They were already comparing her to the masked girl who had flown down to scare the gorilla away from the Town Hall steps. The reporter believed they were the same girl.
Prepared for this moment, Nikki made her voice sound as natural as possible and said, “That’s funny, she has the same first name as me.” Her dad looked at her curiously. She continued, “Spencer saw the whole thing happen, didn’t you, Spence?”
“I sure did, I think I may get on the news. Kazaaa!”
Mr. Nickerson’s eyes widened as they cut to the interview with Spencer. He beamed proudly when it was over and said, “I was nervous, but I knew I needed to voice my opinion for the sake of the news.”
Nikki’s dad asked, “And where were you during all of this, Nikki?”
She was ready for this question as well. “I was using the bathroom at Big-Mart. I’m so angry I missed the coolest thing that has ever happened in this town.” She impressed even herself as she managed a look of bitter disappointment on her face. Although he stared at her for a second, eventually her dad turned back to the news, seemingly convinced by her story. The next story came on and Mr. Nickerson’s jaw dropped when he saw the full and healthy fields of corn that had popped up magically from the destroyed farmland. “But how…?” he murmured.
“That’s amazing, huh, Nikks?” Spencer said, “I guess miracles still do happen.”
“Yeah,” Nikki said dumbly.
The news reporter was saying how there were rumors that Nikki Powergloves was responsible for the miracle plant growing, too. Without another word, Mr. Nickerson stood up and went into the kitchen to tell his wife about the news story.
Mrs. Nickerson didn’t seem to fully believe her husband as he talked all through dinner about what they had seen on the news. “I just don’t see how that’s possible. It must be a trick of the cameras or a hoax or something,” she said.
Spencer interjected, “Would I lie, Mrs. Nickerson? I know what I saw and it is exactly what was on the news.”
“Of course I believe that you think you saw something miraculous, but I am just challenging whether there might be a more logical explanation for it. For example, when you watch a magician cut a woman in half with a saw, or make something disappear, do you think he really did it or that there is a trick to it?”
“Yeah, I see your point. Those are just illusions and there is always a trick that is hidden from the audience,” he replied.
Mr. Nickerson said, “Yes, but this wasn’t a stage somewhere, this was real life. And it was a young girl that did it, not some polished magician. I’ve been thinking about how, scientifically speaking, it could have been done, and I just can’t come up with a logical answer. A rocket suit like Robert Downey Jr. used in Iron Man is totally out of the question, even the military hasn’t been able to come up with anything feasible in that realm yet. She looked more like Superman to me. And re-growing crop fields in less than a day, it’s impossible!”
Nikki had been quiet during the entire debate, because she was afraid to draw any attention to herself. Plus, it was fun to listen to her parents’ theories when she knew the truth. Finally she spoke up: “What if the girl really does have powers?” Her parents stopped talking and looked at her. Spencer had a funny smirk on his face. “I’m just sayin’, what if?”
Her mom said, “Well, that would be incredible and she could probably do a lot of good things for the world, but I’m sure there would be many scientists and government agencies that would want to talk to her about where she acquired her powers from.”
Nikki’s and Spencer’s eyes locked. They had never talked about what consequences there might be to going public. What if the army came after her? Or the air force? Or worse yet, what if there were Russian spies out there looking for her right now? She was too young to become a test subject in some government lab somewhere. She lost her appetite.
Anxious to end the conversation, Nikki said, “I’m pretty full now, I think I may just turn in early tonight. It’s been a long day. G’night, Spence.”
“Bye, Nikks. I’ll see you tomorrow.”