Mrs. Leung claps enthusiastically, while giggling like a little girl.
“Nice shooting.” Mitchell says and pats Stuart on the back.
There’s an audible crack and Mitchell’s hand jumps back.
“Damn.” He says and shakes his hand.
“Sorry.” Stuart says and then shakes his hands and takes some deep breaths.
The crackle and static pops subside, and Stuart walks over and sits down next to his mom. Once the bright light fades from his eyes, I notice he has his mom’s eyes. The same pale brown.
I smile as I walk over. Still a little shocked, but happy to see my good friend.
I look meaningfully at his mom as she sits there chuckling quietly to herself.
Stuart sees my expression, and then chuckles.
“They saw me on the news one night in costume. But they recognized me instantly. So, yeah, I was busted.” Stuart says as his mom stops and looks at us.
“So, what can you kids do?” She asks eagerly.
Mitchell bursts into laughter as my expression darkens.
I don’t believe it!
“This.” Mitchell replies, and I feel a gust of wind as he races around the backyard like a tornado. He stops back at my side, making Mrs. Leung almost falls off the bench.
I let out a sigh, then rise slowly from the ground. I flip forward so that I’m lying on my stomach and hover in the air near Mitchell’s left shoulder.
Mrs. Leung claps her hands gleefully.
I right myself and land again.
“We need to talk shop.” Mitchell says.
“Sure. Come in.” Stuart says and leads us inside.
I always expected the Leung house to be clean. Hell, they’re both doctors. But the complete absence of dust or dirt I see as we walk through the kitchen and hallway, make me feel like I should have showered this morning. It’s so clean that I feel dirty just looking at how sterile the house is.
Thankfully, Stuart’s room is a bit more normal.
I breathe a sigh of relief when I see a pencil abandoned on his black carpet.
“What’s up?” Stuart asks as he sits in his wooden study chair by his desk.
“What are we going to do about Devlin?” I ask.
“I don’t see what we can do. No prison can hold him. No device is powerful enough to restrain him.” Stuart replies calmly.
“So. What do we do?” Mitchell asks.
“I hate to state the obvious, but, isn’t this the Feds’ problem?” Stuart replies bluntly.
“They’re not equipped to deal with this.” Mitchell says.
“We don’t know that.” Stuart says, then sighs when he sees Mitchell’s frustrated expression. “Look. We showed the whole world what he did. Now he’s public enemy number one. Wasn’t that the plan?”
“The plan was to make sure that he paid for what he did. Now he’s loose. Free as a bird. Are you happy about that?” I say a little testily.
“Of course not. I just don’t see what we can do about it. We don’t even know where he is.”
“We found him once. We can do it again.” I state.
“I’m with you guys on this. But how are we going to contain this guy? You saw what he did to that building.”
“I don’t know yet.” I admit.
How the hell do you detain someone who can punch through walls?
We visit Paul next. As an exchange student, he’s staying with the other student’s family.
I wonder how Mark Conroy is finding England. A lot more peaceful, I bet.
I press the intercom buzzer and wait. The Conroy family consist of the two older brothers, Jason and Michael, a younger sister, Emma, and of course Mr. and Mrs. Conroy. They live in an apartment complex in a quiet area of Lincoln Park. The complex looks like a big brown H from the air. It’s easy to spot.
“Yes?” A young girl’s bored voice answers after a few more buzzes.
“Hi, Emma. Is Paul there?” I say into the intercom.
“Hang on......Hey, smelly. It’s for you.”
“Hey, I don’t smell. Hi, who is it?” I hear Paul’s voice.
“It’s Britney and Mitchell. You wanna come down, or shall we come up?” I ask.
“I’ll come down.” Paul says.
I take a step back as the door opens, and a tired looking Paul emerges yawning.
“Man, I need to stretch my legs, if you know what I mean.” Paul says and winks at us.
He disappears with a bang, blowing back my hair, so we take off after him. The noise of the city fades to a faint hum as I race through the streets.
Six months ago, this would’ve seemed strange, impossible even. But now, it’s as natural as breathing. My eyes don’t even sting anymore.
The boys have stopped up ahead, so I slow down and skid to a stop. We’re on a cliff top overlooking Lake Michigan, which is lapping at the rocks below. Paul and Mitchell sit down on the long grass, and I hustle over and sit down next to Mitchell.
“I love it here.” Paul murmurs, as he lies down.
“It’s nice. “ I nod in approval.
“I wish I could stay here.” Paul says quietly.
“When do you have to leave?” Mitchell asks.
“I’ve got one more semester, then I have to go back to England.”
“I wish you could stay, too.” I say.
I mean it. Paul’s a bit of a smart-ass, but I’ve grown to love him as a friend.
Our eyes meet for a second, then he clears his throat and punches Mitchell in the arm.
“So, to what do I owe this pleasure?” Paul asks.
“Devlin.” Mitchell says simply.
“What? You haven’t found him, have you?” Paul asks and sits up.
“No.”
“Oh. Then what gives?”
“We’ve been trying to figure out how to stop him.” I say.
“Well, that’s easy. I could stop him.” Paul states confidently.
“How?” Mitchell asks as he almost laughs.
Paul taps his left temple. “With magic.”
I can’t help but laugh.
“Hey!” Paul moans as Mitchell chuckles as well.
“Okay. Sorry.” I say as I try to control my laughter.
“I’m serious.” Paul moans. “Okay, I’ll show you. Get up.” Paul says as he stands up.
Mitchell slowly gets up, so I stand up as well.
“I want you to try and move. As fast and as hard as you like.” Paul tells Mitchell. Mitchell shrugs his broad shoulders.
“Whatever you say.” Mitchell says and takes a step forward.
His next step looks slower, like he’s dragging his leg through quicksand. Mitchell looks a little taken-a-back. He leans forward, and Paul’s expression changes.
“Damn.” Paul frowns and folds his arms.
Mitchell takes another step and tries to use his arms as well. His leg begins to move a little quicker this time.
“Unngh..” Paul groans and closes his eyes. He holds his head in his hands and bends his knees.
Mitchell is beginning to move quicker, almost normal walking pace now. Paul continues to groan and hold his head.
“Aaaaagh!” Paul shouts in frustration and then collapses on to the grass. Instantly, Mitchell vanishes in a thunderous boom, making me stagger back a little.
“Are you hurt?” I ask, as he wipes some blood that’s dripping from his nose.
“Nah. Just my pride.”
I hear an inrush of air, then Mitchell materializes before us.
“Wow. You definitely had me for a while there.” Mitchell says.
“Wasn’t as strong as I thought I was.” Paul grunts as he wipes some more blood from his nose.
“You did okay.” Mitchell says and pats Paul on the shoulder.
“That could definitely come in handy.” I say. “Good job.”
“Thanks.” Paul says and smiles half-heartedly at me.
We still need a permanent solution. Damn.
“There’s the other p
roblem too, of course.” Paul says.
“What’s that?” Mitchell asks.
“Who do we hand him over to? They’re after us as well, remember.”
We all look at each other.
Three
What am I doing?
This is insane.
Will it even work?
Would they listen?
Oh, god. What if they hate me?
I look down at the clouds gliding by below and adjust the straps of my backpack. I watch an airplane emerge from the clouds far below. The roar of its jets reaches me a few seconds later. I close my eyes and take a deep breath.
The roar of the jet slowly fades, and is replaced by the sound of the wind, whistling past my ears. The wind is coming from the east, and I feel it as it nudges me in the back, like a gentle wave.
I open my eyes and check my cell phone. It’s time.
I put my cell phone back in my Chinese lucky cat backpack, and zip it back up. I make sure it’s secure, then lean forward and start to fly down toward the clouds.
Seconds later and I’m through the last layer of cloud. The sprawling metropolis that is Chicago greets me with several hundred car horns honking, and the rattle of the L train as it trundles along its path.
The beach that runs parallel to Lake Shore Drive is immediately below me, so I make a slow turn and head south towards the Old Navy Pier.
When I fly over the Ferris Wheel, I make a sharp turn to my right and accelerate. The streets blur beneath me as I scan the buildings, trying to find the address.
I see it up ahead, so I swoop down and land at the rear of the building. I’m down and knocking gently on the rear delivery door in a nanosecond.
I adjust my pink glittery eye mask while I wait. When the door opens, a thin guy in his late twenties with neatly cropped hair stands with his mouth half open; like he was about to say something, then forgot, and is now impersonating a statue as he stares at me.
“Hi.” I greet him. “You were expecting me?”
“Uh, yeah. Sorry. Come on in.” He says after a few more awkward seconds.
I enter and he closes the door behind me. I still feel his eyes on me, and clear my throat loudly.
“So. Where do I go?” I ask.
“Huh? Oh, right. Sorry. This way.” He says and begins walking slowly along the bare corridor.
His footsteps sound loud on the concrete, while I float quietly after him.
“They told me you were coming.” He says and looks at me while he walks ahead of me. “I figured they were yanking my chain again.” He adds, and smiles sheepishly at me.
“How much time will I have?” I ask.
“That depends on how things go, I guess. Terence will let you know.”
I feel butterflies in my tummy as I float silently after the guy. I had never done this before. I’m certainly in unfamiliar territory here.
He leads me through some double-doors into another corridor. This one’s painted a pale cream color, and has a pale blue carpet. As I fly after him, people in black t-shirts and black pants emerge from rooms off of this one and stare at me.
I see the flash of a camera, and there are hushed voices as I fly by. I smile and wave at them. Some of the women smile back, but a few of the security guys are frowning in my direction.
I see another set of double-doors up ahead, and a red light is on above it which reads ‘On Air’.
He opens the door and puts his finger to his lips, then leads me inside. It’s dark, but I can hear the audience laughing at one of Terence Donovan’s many jokes. I’m led up some steps on to the stage, then my nervous guide stops behind some black curtains.
“The eagle has landed.” He whispers into his headset.
I hear the host, Terence Donovan, clearly now.
“Thank you, you’re too kind. Now let me tell you, you are going to love my next guest. Not only is she SUPER cool, she is also one of our mightiest citizens. Give it up, for the amazing, the incredible, and dare I say, the very cute, Cosmic Girl.”
The audience erupts into unanimous applause and cheering.
I take it as my cue, and fly out from behind the black curtain. The studio lights dazzle me. I blink, take a deep breath, smile and wave at the audience, then fly to the front.
People are on their feet. I rise higher and perform a slow loop. The crowd go nuts. I flash one of the cameras a grin, before turning my attention to Terrence Donovan.
He’s wearing his usual blue suit with purple shirt and tie. He’s on his feet clapping and pointing at me. “Cosmic Girl. Yeah!”
I fly over to the blue couch near his desk. He leans in to kiss me on the cheek. It’s weird, but I let him. He then gestures to his couch and sits down.
“Thank you for having me.” I blurt out awkwardly, feeling a little star-struck.
“Thank you for coming.” He says and then sits down, and remains quiet for a few seconds.
“Wow. A superhero is sitting on my couch.” He says and then turns to the camera. “Beat that!” He says cockily and points at the camera.
I look at the audience, and spot Beth in her normal clothes sitting near the back row. I wink at her.
“Well, I guess the first thing we want to know is....are you single?” Terence asks and then chuckles.
The audience laughs while I blush.
“If I were. You’d be the first to know.” I say jokingly.
“You tease.” Terrence responds and pats my knee.
“By the way, are we loving the costume, or what?” He says and turns to the audience. They erupt with cheering and quite a few wolf whistles.
“Thanks.” I say bashfully.
He presses a button near his desk and then points up at the wall behind me.
“Please, if you will?” He asks as I turn around to look. “Who are these delightful people?”
The wall behind me has a huge television screen mounted on it, and at the moment it’s displaying four images. I see my friends in their costumes.
“Who’s that?” He asks and points to the image in the top right of the screen.
It shows Stuart in his blue and white unitard and skiing goggles.
His black hair is on end and tongues of electricity is emanating from his fingers at someone.
“That’s Volt.” I say proudly.
“Looks like he’s turned to the Dark Side.” He says jokingly, and the audience chuckles. He then points to the image in the top left. “And who is this lovely?”
He’s pointing to Beth in her white leather catsuit and matching eye mask. She’s in the middle of running, so she’s a little blurred.
“That’s I-Spy.” I reply, and glance quickly to where Beth is sitting. She’s smiling.
“And what can she do, other than move seriously fast?” He asks.
“She’s also quite strong.” I say. I’m not telling anyone that she can read minds. She’s my secret weapon.
“And who is this...character?” He asks and chuckles.
Without looking, I know who he’s pointing at. It has to be Paul in his stupid magician’s costume.
“That’s Warlock.” I say, while trying not to laugh.
His costume is silly, but Paul is pretty great.
“Is he a wizard?” He asks while trying not to snigger.
“He likes to think he is.” I say and grin.
“And finally, who is this mysterious man?”
I look up at Mitchell in his black and red motorcycle outfit with matching helmet.
“That’s Crash.” I say with a sigh. Then I do a double-take and look at the image again.
He’s standing several feet away from a guy with a shotgun aimed at his chest. He’s in the process of walking towards the man when the image, which must be taken from video footage, was paused. But it looks like the shotgun has already gone off. The muzzle flash is quite clear.
He didn’t tell me he had been shot.
Terrence presses another button and the images flare to life, as the paused video f
ootage now begins playing.
I’m genuinely shocked when Mitchell takes the shotgun blast to the chest without missing a beat, before slapping the gun away and tapping him on the head. The guy hits the ground like a sack of flour.
Is Mitchell bulletproof? If I get shot, it hurts like hell, so I try to avoid it.
Stuart is shown zapping an armed robber outside a liquor store. The guy hits the sidewalk and begins convulsing.
Paul raises his white gloved-hands and lifts a car off the ground. When a guy leans out the window to point a gun at him, Paul flicks his finger and the gun smacks the guy in the head before floating towards Paul.
Beth simply vanishes in a white blur.
“It looks like you’ve had your hands full.” Terrence says.
“We’ve been busy.” I agree.
I see him press another button.
“And, who are these?” He asks.
I look at the screen again.
Cosmic Girl: Looking For Trouble: superhero series for young adults - Book Two Page 2