by Gracie Dix
“1987: Yesterday, the first test failed. Because it failed, it will be my last. Vork’s organization will shut me down or even kill me. The test subject showed no good results and died an hour after I fed it to him. The serum, if it ever works, only works on boys. It’s something about genetics that I will look into later. I must go into hiding.”
“Weird,” Oliver said looking over Will’s shoulder.
“You scared the life out of me!” Will exclaimed, jumping. “You go look in another cabinet. I’ll take this one.” Will pulled out another file.
“It’s the year 2014, and I am still alive. My next test subject will be ‘Test 2.’ It must be a boy. I’ve heard of people called Superheroes. I might choose one of them. Two years ago, I sent one of my men to go and scout out their school.”
“That can’t be good,” Will muttered. “Apparently, in 2012 whoever worked here sent a scout to our school to look for a ‘test subject’ for this weird project. The entry was written in 2014.”
“It’s 2017 right now so there’s been someone at our school for five years looking for a test subject,” Oliver pointed out.
“That kid could be you, Oliver,” Darla joked darkly.
“Just keep reading!” Oliver shuddered. Will went back to his folder and looked at the next piece of paper.
“I am very happy! It is the beginning of 2017, and I think we have found our test subject. My scout has recently talked to him one-on-one, but he didn’t seem very cooperative. My scout has located him at Superhero School. He is an eighth-grader named Oliver, and we have followed him to New York. He will never know that I just put this entry in because he will never read it! We will try to nab him on his fourth day in New York and do tests on him. His friends will never suspect it.”
“NO WAY!” Will yelled. Everyone simultaneously shushed him. “Sorry. This is HORRIBLE news!” Will exclaimed.
“How horrible? On a scale of friend-gets-sick to family-dies-in-fire?” Darla asked.
“Personally, it’s closer to family-dies-in-fire, but on a world status it’s the other one,” Will answered.
“Yikes!” Oliver stated as he walked over to take a look. Oliver read the paper, and his face turned white. “More like Oliver-dies-in-a-fire,” he whispered to himself.
“No! Oliver ALMOST died in a fire,” Darla corrected.
“Oliver kind of wished he died in that fire,” he countered.
“Oh, boy,” Darla sighed, walking over to look at the paper. Oliver took out his phone using a very shaky hand and took a picture of the page. As soon as the picture was taken, he began to hear a voice.
“Time to put in my next entry!” the voice said.
“Oh, no! Hide!” Darla whispered. They all hid behind several file cabinets.
“I know someone is in here,” the voice said. “There was a waterfall at the entrance, and my file cabinets are open. Only a certain group of people could create a long-lasting waterfall. My fire room needs maintenance. I wonder why. Oh, that doesn’t smell good. I smell slightly-burned flesh.” He began to walk over to where Oliver was hiding.
Darla jumped out of her hiding spot. “I believe it is I you are looking for,” she said smartly, pointing to her burnt sleeve.
“No, little girl. I smelled flesh,” the man reminded her—as a hint of recognition appeared on his face.
He kept on walking. Oliver held his breath. Suddenly, Will jumped out. “It doesn’t really matter who you’re looking for. Right?” he asked.
“I don’t know you, child. I recognize the girl, but not you. That must mean . . . NO! He must be here!” the man yelled as he sprinted forward.
Oliver moved to the opposite side of the cabinet feeling hopeful and heard Will gasp a little, but the man saw no one. But when Oliver made a break for the open door, the man heard him and pulled out a gun. His finger on the trigger, he shot at Oliver. But Darla, with quick thinking, shot Fire at a wide range, melting the bullet in the air.
The man gasped, having never seen Powers in action. Oliver lifted off the ground, remembering he could Fly faster than he could run. The man gasped again. Will began to sprint after Oliver, but then he had an idea. Will pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of the man’s face, but not before getting his arm clipped by a bullet. Blood rushed from the wound as Will kept running. Darla kicked the man’s gun out of his hand and melted it with her flames.
“NOOOO!” he yelled in emotional anguish. “That was my favorite gun!”
“Ha!” Darla yelled, running after the boys. On her way out, she slammed the metal door, and melted it shut using her Heat. Then she said, “Now you can write as many entries as you want to!”
Once they got back to the fire room, Oliver ran over to Will to check out his arm. He ripped off a piece of Will’s shirt.
“Hey! What the heck!” Will shouted.
“Hey, hey, hey, relax! I’m just wrapping it around your arm,” Oliver explained, putting the fabric tightly around his arm. “We can wrap it professionally later.”
A loud whooshing sound began to make its way through the corridor behind them.
“WE NEED TO LEAVE NOW!” Darla screeched. Oliver grabbed Will and Darla’s hand then leapt up and Flew, not caring that he was dragging their feet on the wooden floor. They entered the wooden corridor as the all-metal room behind them exploded, and fire began flaring up behind them. Oliver Flew faster. As they entered the stony sewage area where Will’s waterfall was, they realized they were trapped.
They couldn’t swim up the waterfall, so Darla called out, “Quick, get under the water!”
Everyone got under the water and closed their eyes despite the cold. A minute later they exited the water to find every bit of the corridor was caved in
“We’re trapped,” Will sighed.
“Why are you still in the water?” Darla asked.
“Darla, remember! Oliver exclaimed. “If you’re Fire and you get in your element, it heals you slowly. Will is Ice and Water. He loves the feel of water!” Oliver exclaimed. Oliver suddenly felt very strange. “I feel weird!” he said. Wind rushed from the center of his palms and threw him against the rubble.
“What the heck?” Oliver yelled.
“WIND!” Darla shouted joyously.
“What’s going on?” Will asked.
“Oliver’s element is Wind!” Darla yelled happily. “I should have known! He’s the only one in his class who can Fly!”
“Whoa! Now I know how we’re going to get out of here,” Oliver said deviously. “Everyone hold on, now!”
Darla and Will clung onto him. Oliver thrust his hands toward the ground, causing Wind to spiral out of his palms, pushing them up. Two minutes later, everyone was safely in the gross sewage system once again. Fifteen minutes after that, they were lifting the pothole, getting out of the sewers. It was dark.
“Yes!” Darla exclaimed into the night sky, “We are finally smelling fresher air!”
Oliver trudged up to a red car parked on the side of the road. He looked into the windows and saw his friends all asleep. Will walked up and banged on the door. Everyone woke up.
“Oliver, Will, Darla! Where the heck have you guys been?” Jessica yelled through the window. She opened the door and threw her arms around Oliver, despite the horrible stench of sewage. She felt the burned patch of skin on Oliver’s shoulder.
“Oliver! What happened?” she asked.
“I hurt my arm, but Will and Darla used their Powers to patch it up. It was horrible and painful,” Oliver said honestly, “but it’s okay now.”
“We might still check it for infection,” Teddy stated, poking his head out of the door.
Ondrea got out of the car and shouted, “Injury check!” She went around Darla and then to Will. She saw his arm. “Will, what happened?” she questioned.
“Bullet wound,” he said simply.
“Who shot you?” Mrs. Thomas wondered, coming out of the car.
“The guy who has been hunting Oliver for the last . . . fi
ve years!” Will shouted.
“Quiet down, Will!” Teddy whispered. “Wait. WHAT? FIVE YEARS!”
“Yes,” Oliver put in wearily.
“We read a file that the dude had on him. He’s planning on capturing Oliver on our fourth day in New York! He might change it up now that he knows Oliver saw the file,” Darla exclaimed.
“Rachel has been awfully quiet. Where is she?” Mrs. Thomas sighed, worriedly.
“I don’t know,” Ondrea said slowly, realizing she was gone.
“Rachel!” Jessica called. “Come here, girl!”
“Rachel?” Oliver shouted, “Come on! Where are you? You wanna treat?”
Nothing happened.
“Oh no,” Jessica whispered.
THIRTEEN
In Which Rachel Is Leashed And Help Arrives
They ran around the city calling her name, but to no avail. Suddenly, they heard a barking sound, but turned the corner to find it was just a stray. Oliver saw the stray and sighed.
“Where is she?” he asked in anguish. Oliver suddenly remembered he had found the pen Rachel used when she sat near the car drawing a picture, and he held it up to the stray’s nose. The stray sniffed her pen and barked at Oliver, turned around, and began running down the road. Jessica came up beside Oliver.
“Follow that dog!” she exclaimed. Jessica grabbed her brother’s hand and Super-Sped forward after the dog. Almost a split second later they caught up, and she began running at normal speed again. They found Rachel cornered up in a dark alleyway. Will was at the top of the building. Oliver and Jessica began moving in, Ondrea Super-Sped up behind the two, Teddy suddenly Teleported with Mrs. Thomas to the edge of the alleyway, and Darla ran up behind the three.
Will stomped on the roof of the building and used his Water Element to create a little square of water by his feet. He stepped on it, and it froze into an ice block. Then Will flicked his arm downward, and ice stairs formed down into the alley. He looked at Oliver and Jessica and then stepped down the staircase. As he walked onto each step, the step behind him turned into water and then fizzled into nothing. By the time he stepped onto the floor of the alley, everyone was staring in amazement—but those looks quickly changed when a man stepped out of a little concrete door and pulled out a flamethrower. He aimed it at Will.
“Back up kid!” the man said. Everyone gave each other worried looks for multiple reasons. First: The man had a flamethrower. Second: The man was carrying Rachel. Third: He might have seen Will using his Powers.
“Why do you have our d . . .friend?” Oliver corrected himself.
“You mean your dog?” the man spat. “My Boss called me as soon as he found out that one of you three Supers had locked one of his minions in his little room!” He was pointing to Oliver, Darla, and Will.
“So, what are you? The second-in-command?” Ondrea asked.
“Did I point to you, girl?” he growled. “Give me the boy, and I’ll give you the mutt!”
Everyone exchanged looks.
“Don’t try anything!” the man yelled.
Suddenly four more men came out of the door, and Rachel cringed into the corner. All the men were wielding guns in each hand. As one man approached Oliver, Jessica threw up her hands to defend her brother. Unexpectedly, a cyclone flew out of the center of her hands. Oliver Super-Sensed it coming and blasted a Wind through the cyclones, dissolving them.
“What?” Jessica gasped. “Why did you stop them, Oliver?”
Oliver gestured to Rachel and the guns.
“Right,” she said. “Wait! When did you get Wind Power?”
“It’s how we got out of the sewers,” he stated, never taking his eyes off the men in front of him. “I need to go with the men. They will shoot you guys and Rachel if I don’t.”
“Smart kid,” one of the men said as they began walking toward him. They snapped some glowing metal cuffs over his hands.
“These cuffs will shock you if you try to use your Powers,” the first man sneered.
Oliver followed the men through the door, but not before one of the men grabbed Rachel and took her with them. Oliver saw this and turned around. He walked back out the doorway and yelled. “You promised you would give Rachel back!”
Someone shot something at the men, and suddenly a gun fired. Oliver heard one of his friends yell and Rachel howl. A man backhanded Oliver on the head, knocking him into the room. The door slammed shut, leaving three of the men locked outside and two of them in the room with Oliver.
“NO!” Oliver yelled. “My friends! My sister!”
13.2
When the men began leading Oliver toward the door, Jessica started to panic. She lost it when one of the men grabbed Rachel. She wanted to shout and yell, but all she could do was stand in shock as the men took her family away.
A boy appeared behind Jessica and blasted at the men. One of them looked back and fired at Jessica. She screamed, but the boy pulled her away, and the bullet whizzed past her. Jessica looked at the boy in astonishment, suddenly recognizing him.
“Nick?” she asked. “Cousin!”
Nick had blond hair that spiked up in the front and a little to the left. He wore a black jacket with a hood and tan pants. His shoes were blue sneakers. She noticed he had a scar on his left cheek.
“Glad I could jump in, cuz!” he said, his voice shaking a little.
“When did . . . ” she began.
“Did you forget I’m still here?” The strange man exclaimed. He shot the gun at them again, but Jessica pulled Nick into her and brought up her Force Field. The bullet ricocheted off of the powerful shield, causing the bullet to fly and hit the man in the stomach.
“No!” Jessica gasped. “Ironically, killing someone was not on my list of ways to live!”
“It’s all right. I’ve done this plenty of times,” Nick whispered, his voice tinged with a little fear. A light green ball of energy formed in his hands, and he struck all three of the men. The light engulfed them, causing them to disappear.
“What did you do?” Ondrea asked, slightly horrified.
“I just Vaporized them painlessly. Who might you be?” Nick questioned.
“My name is Ondrea,” she responded.
“When did you get your Powers?” Jessica asked Nick.
“I got my Powers a month after you left with Auntie Jen, your mother, to meet Dad in California,” Nick exclaimed.
“What did you mean when you said you were used to doing this?” she wondered, pointing to the spot where the men were.
“Mom enlisted me in the military, even though I was underage at the time, because I ‘believed’ in magic. So, I went, but managed to create a solution where I wouldn’t have to violently kill people,” Nick explained.
“That’s so cool!” Teddy said in awe.
“Thank you . . .” Nick began.
“Teddy. My name is Teddy.”
“Thank you, Teddy!” Nick repeated.
“GUYS!” Darla yelled.
“What?” Jessica asked. “Oh! Oliver!”
“Wait, what happened to Oliver, and why were you and all of your friends about to get shot by a bunch of men? Also, why is your other friend on the roof of that building? And why is that one so loud?” Nick wondered, pointing to Will first, then Darla. At that comment, Darla fumed, but stayed quiet, knowing it was just a joke.
“Um,” Will started. “Well, I liked the view from up here so I climbed up again.”
“What’s his . . . forget it. What’s everyone’s name?” Nick questioned.
“That’s Will, and he has Water-related Powers; that’s Darla, and she has Fire-related Powers; that’s Teddy, and so far, we don’t know what Element he is; same for Ondrea,” Jessica explained.
“What Elements are you and Oliver?” Nick asked.
“I’m Wind I guess, and so is Oliver,” she responded.
“Well, let’s get Oliver back,” Nick stated, worriedly.
“You know he was kidnapped?” Darla mentioned.
“I kind of figured, but I have a plan. It involves a little Vocal Manipulation.” Nick said, smiling deviously.
13.3
“All my men have been taken out!” The stranger growled.
“I’m still here,” the other man pointed out.
“Shut it!” the stranger responded.
Oliver began to think. How were they taken out? Wasn’t one of his friends shot? There was a sudden banging on the door.
“I managed to escape those brats! Let me in, sir! Please,” one of the men pleaded.
“All right,” he responded. The door opened and standing there was a blond-haired kid smiling maliciously. The kid stepped out of the doorway, and Oliver’s friends attacked the stranger. After he was down, the blond shot a green light out of his hand and Vaporized the man. The boy ran frantically over to Oliver and tried to figure out how to undo his hands. That was when Oliver recognized him.
“Cuz!” he yelled happily.
“Hey, Ollie!” Nick shrieked, laughing at Oliver’s old nickname. Oliver cringed at the name but was still happy to see his cousin.
“Here you are, man! After all these years! Where have you been?” Oliver asked excitedly.
Just then, Rachel came bursting out of the door as a baby dragon.
“Whoa!” Nick yelled, backing up. Rachel turned back into Snowball and barked happily. Snowball jumped into Oliver’s arms.
“Aw, man! I’m glad you’re okay!” Oliver cheered.
“A Morpher. Nice!” Nick said in awe.
“Thanks,” Jessica cut in, “Guys we should be going. It’s really late.”
“She’s right. You guys should get going,” Nick said sadly. He paused as they stared at him curiously. Then, they began to walk off, but Nick jogged up to them. “Please, please, please take me with you guys! I can’t go home and I have no one here!” Nick begged.
“Of course, you can if it’s okay with your cousins,” Teddy welcomed. Everyone went back to the car.
Nick volunteered for the trunk. “You know, I’m only so deserving of a nice comfy trunk ride!” he joked sarcastically.