“Er … Evan?” I say the first name that comes to mind.
“Yes ma’am.” His twangy, southern-hospitality voice isn’t quite as lame as it seems. “Happy Birthday, Maci.”
He reaches out an arm and I flinch, my hand instinctively slapping my hip for a pair of hooks but finding only a handful of denim instead. Whether he notices it or not, he doesn’t say anything. He just swings his arm around my shoulder in a half-hug. “It’s been a long time.”
“Yeah,” I say. He isn’t a Hero, so I’m not sure how I know him. I can’t stop sneaking glances toward Crimson and Aloki long enough to think about where I would have met him before. Evan cracks his knuckles as he talks about something I’m not exactly paying attention to.
From the other side of the fire, Crimson’s eyes go wide at something Aloki says. Okay. I’m done spectating here. I gulp down my drink and smile at Evan, who just finished saying something about Africa.
“That’s awesome,” I say, hoping what he said was indeed awesome. “I’m sorry to interrupt you, but I need to get another drink and uh, talk to Crimson. It’s kind of important.”
Evan’s hands shove in his pockets. “Okay, I’ll catch up with you later.”
His crooked smile gives me a flashback to my childhood where I swear I’ve seen him smile before. Maybe he was in Hero training but became a Retriever. Whatever the case, it doesn’t matter. I’m on a fact-seeking mission. I wander through the people in a semi-circle until I’m right behind Aloki and Crimson.
And damn if the stereo isn’t directly between us blasting classic rock so loud I still can’t hear them. Aloki’s hands reach up and squeeze the sides of his head as if he’s super frustrated with her, but the smile on his face kind of negates that. She shakes her head. Her high arched eyebrows flatten.
Enough of this. The music dies the instant my fist slams into the stereo, chopping it in half like a block of wood in a karate dojo. For a moment I’m so stunned at what I did to the stereo that Crimson’s now very loud statement to Aloki doesn’t make any sense.
“… never date you. Maci has the biggest crush on you, there’s just no way I’d do—what happened to the music?”
Several sets of eyes turn toward the stereo. Now the only sound is the waves crashing to shore and the firewood crackling in flames. And me, when I make this weird half-laughing noise in an effort to excuse my fist accidently plummeting through ten pounds of plastic.
“There was a … bug,” I say. At least I think that’s what I say because the only thing running through my mind is that Crimson just told everyone that I have a crush on Aloki and it’s all my fault that everyone heard it.
Dear Mother Nature, please feel free to split open the earth and swallow me whole. Love, Maci.
Aloki smiles somewhat pathetically and runs a hand through his hair. “Um, sorry you had to hear that.” He’s attempting to apologize, I guess, but it just comes out sounding like a question.
“No one cares,” Max shouts from across the bonfire. “The speakers aren’t broken so someone Bluetooth music, stat.” I’m grateful for his help, I am. Max’s best friend Nyx gets the music going again, but I know the situation is far from diffused. Everyone just heard Crimson’s public declaration of my private secret. Everyone either saw me break the stereo, or knows I did it. Everyone is still sneaking glimpses of me even though they’re pretending not to.
My fight-or-flight instincts are on overdrive. But this isn’t a human-saving situation; it’s a dignity-saving situation. I’m going to flight. I’m going to flight so hard.
I’m three glorious strides away from the party when an ear-splitting siren pierces through the air, the sound coming out of my own back pocket. I’ve only heard it twice in my life, though three times if you count the night my mother and sister died, but of course I don’t remember that. It’s an SOS siren and it’s high pitched for a reason. Only government officials can use them in dire situations. I pull out my MOD and drop it to the sand. I know what’s going to happen next and unfortunately, everyone else does too.
A thick invisible wave pulses from my MOD, spreading high and wide as it creates a vortex of soundless air at least thirty feet wide. Every sound flattens, from the waves crashing to shore to my own breathing. No Super in this vortex can hear a thing.
Then the message begins, a computerized voice informing me that the president is about to make an announcement. I hear it all, not through my ears, but through my powers. The voice permeates through my chest where power rests beneath my skin, flowing through the silvery veins and becoming a part of my subconscious.
My dad’s voice is as clear as if he were standing right next to me. “Maci, to pose as a Hero when you are not is a great dishonor. Max, I am disappointed in you as well.”
The silence disappears as quickly as it began and normal sounds return. My mouth falls open and I can’t seem to make my brain shut it. Max, standing a little to my left, drops his forehead into his hand. He won’t forgive himself for disappointing Dad. This is all my fault.
“Why?” Crimson says, her face a porcelain picture of hurt. I take a step toward her but Max grabs my arm and holds me back. I want to explain—tell her what happened and let her know this party wasn’t a total waste. She folds her arms in front of her chest and looks out at the ocean.
“Did you fail your exam?” I don’t know who says it, but their voice is all mock and no concern. From the back of the crowd, behind the protective anonymous fire, yells another voice, “She’s a fraud!”
An unbelievable hurt worse than my initial embarrassment falls overs me. These people were never my friends.
“It’s none of your business—” I snap, stepping forward with clenched fists as a dozen ruthless things to say flood into my mouth all at once. I’ll teach them to talk to me like that again.
“Mace. I got this.” Max presses his hand to my shoulder and I close my mouth, figuring he can explain this better than I ever could. “She did not fail. She scored a ninety-six. The examiners decided to wait seven days to grant her Hero status.”
“So you were just gonna lie to us?” That voice I know. It’s Nyx, Max’s best friend. And I thought he was my friend, too. “That’s screwed up, man.”
Max shakes his head. “She didn’t know about the party. They will make her Hero in a week anyway, so guys, it’s not a big deal. Let’s just enjoy the party while we’re all lucky enough to be at CIK.”
Max’s power is super strength but I’ve always said he has another power as well. The mental power to make everyone agree with him, to put children’s fear at ease, and to convince his friends to go along with his crazy plans. Max’s words do this now.
Everyone finally stops looking at me with disgust and they go back to their food, conversations, and everything they were doing before I made an ass of myself. Everyone except for one person.
“You know it all makes sense now,” Aloki says, looking at me but taking a place near Crimson. “It makes perfect sense. I knew no one could pass a Hero test after that display of pure evil.”
“Man, you have no idea what you’re talking about,” Max says, coming to my defense yet again.
“What makes sense?” Crimson’s voice is hard, her jaw still set in anger. “Lying to your best friend?”
I give her a helpless look which she notices but ignores. Oh well, I can explain things to her later. If Aloki says what I think he’s about to say then I am totally and completely screwed. His eyes dart from Crimson to me.
“Aloki.” I remove all shame and embarrassment from my face, leaving only pure desperation. “Please—don’t.”
He turns to Crimson. “They brought me a broken droid at work today, asking if I could fix it.”
“No,” I whisper, reaching to grab his arm but he pulls away. “Please stop talking.”
“I want to hear it,” Crimson says, crossing her arms over her chest and giving me one cold-as-hell glare.
“I think people deserve to know,” he says, noticing ever
yone has taken an interest in him. So, of course, he raises his voice. “I work in robotics, in case some of you didn’t know. They brought me a damaged droid at work today. The kind they use for training, and more specifically, for Hero exams.”
“Shut the hell up, Aloki, I’m not joking.” My icy stare goes unnoticed. Power rolls under my skin in anger.
“The motherboard was completely shredded and all the synthetic flesh around the chest was ripped open. This wasn’t an accident. The droid was murdered.”
“You are breaking a dozen confidentiality laws right now,” I stammer. Okay, it’s more like one law of confidentiality—but it’s still a law. “Are you trying to get fired?”
“They won’t fire me for this,” he says, but he doesn’t look entirely convinced of his own words. “Besides, you guys won’t say anything, right? We’re all Supers here and we all deserve to know that Maci Might is a potential villain.”
A palpable panic unleashes in the crowd at Aloki’s blatant use of the V-word. Only the three Heroes among us—Nyx, Crimson and my brother—stand cool and unwavering.
“Hey now,” Max says. “That is the most ridiculous conspiracy theory I’ve ever heard. You have no proof Maci damaged that droid or if it was even done on purpose.”
“Proof?” Aloki laughs. “Look at her brown hair. That’s all the proof anyone needs. It’s too bad her father is too damn stubborn to recognize it.”
A crackle of power bursts from Max and me, but unlike my strong-willed brother, I don’t have the self-control to ignore it.
Lunging past Max and shoving Crimson aside with enough force to send her tumbling into the sand, I throw my arm back and punch Aloki straight in his perfectly chiseled jaw. His head snaps back with a satisfying crack. I try not to smile. “I told you to shut up.”
I shove my hands on his chest, pushing him back several steps. He staggers and grabs my wrists to push me away but I am too strong and break out of his pathetic grasp only to punch him again.
“Dude, get away from me.” He’s smiling, or at least attempting to with the side of his face swelling as he speaks, but I feel the fear underneath his friendly façade. His power level shrivels until it’s gasping for air. He knows he’s gone too far. And now he gets to pay.
“You have no right,” I hiss as I grab his shoulder and pull him toward my knee. “I am not evil!” He doubles over in pain as my knee crushes into his ribcage. Power pumps through my chest, so raw and unhinged with rage that it’s almost painful. The only thought in my mind is to make Aloki sorry for what he said.
Before I can throw another punch at his remaining unhurt eye, my heightened senses notice a small clicking sound to my left. A split second later, someone releases a pair of Retriever hooks in my direction. I dig my fingers into Aloki’s shirt and twist him in front of me. His body seizes as the hooks bury into his back. Not so sexy now, are you?
He drops to the ground—alive, but immobile. My chest heaves as I gasp for breath. A tiny part of my subconscious is freaking out about how wrong all of this is, but I find it easy to ignore. He deserves what he got. Screams fill the air and bodies of my former friends blur into the night as they run away from me. KAPOW pods arrive and zoom off left and right. The beach is in full hysteria mode. And that’s really unheard of in the Super world.
Max appears in front of me, his face glowing with the reflection of his BEEPR. His thumb swipes frantically across the screen. He grabs me around the waist with his other arm and shoves me toward our KAPOW pod.
My back presses against the inside of the cool metal pod. Max joins me and the door closes behind him. “Home,” he tells the tiny MOD screen. This is the first time his voice sounds unsure. The robotic voice confirms the destination, and even it sounds disappointed in me. The pod lurches forward and I fall into my seat.
“Oh god, Max.” I sink my head into my hands. “What have I done?”
The only sound for two full minutes is the gentle hum of the KAPOW and the unsteady gasps of breath filling my lungs. My mind functions in overdrive, bouncing from thoughts to emotions so quickly I can’t decipher any of it. All I know is that this is bad.
But it feels a little good.
And that is really bad.
“Okay.” Max breaks the silence by sucking in a deep breath. His hands slide down his thighs and rest on his knees while he looks at the celling. I look up there too and see both of our faces reflecting back on the distorted chrome surface. His hair looks lighter than normal—or maybe mine looks darker. He talks to me through the reflection. It’s probably easier that way.
“We can smooth this over. Nyx will say what I tell him to. Crimson, well, she’ll come around. We’re the only Hero witnesses and Central will accept our word over anyone else’s.” He lowers his head and looks directly at me. Blonde hair falls over his eyes and he shrugs it away. His hair is definitely not lighter than normal. I glance back at the ceiling, pulling my hair in front of my shoulders.
“We’ll state the facts,” Max continues, pointing to his index finger. “You had your Hero Exam today, which was very stressful.” I cringe. He continues, pointing to his middle finger. “They denied you Hero status when you clearly deserved it. Three—you were whisked away to a party that caught you off guard, four—”
“Don’t say it,” I whisper.
“You were thoroughly embarrassed in front of your peers when your crush was revealed to everyone.” I bang the back of my head against the wall. “Aloki? Seriously? You can do better. And five—Dad SOS’d you, and me for that matter, and it was hands down the most mortifying moment of our lives. So you had more than enough reason to snap tonight. Plus Aloki provoked you. We’ll be sure to note that as well.”
His BEEPR lights up and he reads a message on the screen. “Nyx is on your side. Said Crimson is too.” He taps out a reply and his screen lights up a few seconds later. “She’s pissed. But on your side.”
It must be a shadow on the ceiling. Hair doesn’t just turn a darker shade of brown overnight. I flinch as a hand touches my arm. Max meets my eyes. “This will be okay,” he says.
“I liked it.” My words are a whisper. When Max doesn’t acknowledge them, I’m compelled to keep talking. “I liked the feeling of being in control and knowing I was stronger than him. I liked making him pay for what he said to me.”
“Those are normal Hero feelings,” Max says. “Of course, it’s something we reserve for villains. We’ll work on keeping your temper under control.”
Max doesn’t get it. He has no idea what I’m trying to tell him. “I liked seeing him in pain.” Tears drip down my cheeks as I force myself to look him in the eye. “What if I am evil?”
My brother runs his fingers through his hair, his hand balling into a fist at the side of his head. “You’ve spent the last year in fight training. You just need to work on Hero ethics and emotion control and everything will be fine.”
“What if it isn’t?”
The KAPOW enters the white tunnels in Central and slows its speed. A few seconds later, the pod stops in front of our home. “It’ll be fine,” Max says more to himself than to me. “Now we just have to survive Dad.”
We hesitate in front of our door, both of us trying to summon the courage to enter what will surely be a war zone. Max’s courage arrives first. His hand palms the door. “I’ll do the talking,” he says. I give him a wary smile, wondering how many times Max will have to save my ass before I get a chance to save his.
We step into an empty house. I’d spent the twelve-minute ride back home imagining all the ways our incredibly pissed off father might greet us when we arrived. This wasn’t one of them. The knots in my stomach untangle themselves in the midst of my temporary reprieve from Dad’s wrath. I’m now aware of how dry my mouth is and how much my fingers hurt from tightening into a ball of nerves. Who knows how much time I have until he gets home, but I’ll try to enjoy every second of it.
The MOD screen flashes red when it senses our presence in the room and Max
rushes to it. I head to the kitchen to grab a drink.
“Dad’s on a mission,” Max says, glancing from the MOD to the BEEPR on his wrist and back again, probably wondering why he wasn’t called to duty as well. “On the north side of the canyon. That’s weird.”
I shrug. “Nothing ever happens up there. Maybe it’s a president thing.”
He taps the glass. “It says mission.”
“Can’t say I’m not happy he’s gone.” I smile. “I hope it’s nothing serious or anything but I really don’t feel like being yelled at any more tonight.”
“This doesn’t sit right with me. I’m going to see what’s up.” Max fumbles with his BEEPR for an unusually long time. His eyebrows draw together. “It’s confidential. They won’t disclose the coordinates to me.”
“Then it’s definitely a president thing.” I drain half the soda from my can. “I’m going to bed before he gets home. If I’m lucky, Dad will save my punishment for the morning.”
Max doesn’t acknowledge me as I walk past him on the way to my room. He just stares out the glass wall, his eyes wide and his thoughts somewhere far away. Maybe if I were a Hero I would care more about this confidential mission. But I’m not. And I don’t.
Dad doesn’t come home all night. The biometrics on his MOD are synchronized to the home MOD and they show him as being alive with no risk of peril, so I’m not too concerned. Being president of the Super race is a demanding job. Max however, is not so Zen about it. He spends hours calling his Hero friends, contacts at Central, and anyone else who could possibly know what kind of secret mission Dad is up to, but to no avail.
I lie on my bed and wonder if I would be more concerned with Dad’s whereabouts if I wasn’t awaiting a verbal lashing when he returns. I still don’t know the answer when I close my eyes. The sound of Max pacing in the living room lulls me to sleep.
I awake several hours later to what my subconscious deciphers as the sound of yelling. When I’m awake enough to open my eyes and sit up in bed, the house is silent. Still, something feels amiss.
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