“From the depowerings,” he says. “I don’t think they care about innovation. It’s really frustrating. I mean, what’s my job if I can’t research things that matter? Two villains were captured last night and depowered this morning. They have to do something with the blood they rip out, right?” He shakes his head and the vein in his neck bulges. “I’ve been trying, begging, for a sample but they keep denying me.”
A shudder runs through me. Depowering is the process of ripping out the outer layer of veins in a Super—the silvery veins that pump power from our chest to our body. I don’t know the details of the process, as that sort of thing stays confidential, but everyone knows it’s agonizing. Depowering leaves the villain covered in spidery scars from fingers to toes. I’ve only seen two depowered villains in my life. The memory of their lifeless eyes and grotesque bodies will forever haunt me.
“Well, good luck with that.” My lunch rolls around in my stomach, threatening to reveal itself if I keep thinking about the depowering process.
We walk in silence for a few minutes as we near the end of the main corridors inside Central. We come to a stop at the KAPOW docks where several public transportation pods line up to the right. To the left is an empty row for the private pods. Although I live close enough to walk home, Evan will be taking a KAPOW back to Africa. Who knows when I’ll see him again? I’m so not ready to end this conversation.
Evan isn’t treating me as if I’m an evil freak who needs to be locked up. Not only do I appreciate that, I’m drawn to him because of it.
Evan’s head tilts sideways. “What are you thinking?” He studies me as I’m lost in my own thoughts.
There’s no way I’d tell him the real answer, so I tell him the second most real answer. “Friday is judgment day. The examiners will decide if I’m a Hero or …” I study my fingernails, unable to finish the sentence.
Evan jumps in. “… or something else that is equally badass.”
“You can’t even pretend to think any other position on earth is as good as Hero status.”
He shrugs. “I’m fond of Research. Besides, you spent your whole life training for Hero. They won’t give you anything else.” I recognize the tone of his voice. It’s the same I feel sorry for you tone Max has perfected. “Try not to worry about it,” he continues. “I know you want to be a Hero, but you don’t have to be one.”
I scowl at this asinine remark, but he’s right. As the president’s daughter, I don’t have to do anything. Most Supers get married and work jobs in King City and have lives that are pretty much like the humans. Although all of the Super presidents have been Heroes, none of the former president’s chose the same profession. It would be easy, expected even, for me to just start a charity for humans and look pretty as I attend humanitarian events as a cherished member of the Super race.
There’s nothing wrong with that exactly … it’s just not me.
I swallow and a teardrop pools in the corner of my eye. I hold my gaze, staring into the nothingness to the left of Evan’s shoulder because I know the second I blink, that tear will roll down my cheek.
Evan shifts on his feet. “You’re only qualified for Hero. Or maybe Retriever. Try not to worry about it, it’s not like you’ll end up in food service.”
“That’s just it.” My voice is scratchy. “Hero. Retriever.” I hold up my left hand and then my right one. “I’m scared, Evan. What if they make me Retriever? I can’t stand waiting for an answer.” My teeth grind together. “The anticipation is killing me.”
His eyes light up. “You should see Pepper.”
“Pepper? I don’t—why?”
Evan’s tongue runs across his bottom lip as he breaks into a smile. His blue eyes shine like a child’s on the cover of a Christmas movie. “Think about it. Pepper needs a few days to design new Hero suits, right? He makes them all fancy and high tech compared to regular suits.”
“Okay …” I say, still not understanding.
He shoves my shoulder. “Go see Pepper. Act like you’re just dropping by for a visit. If the examiners are making you Hero then they would have told him so he can make your suit. You know how Pepper loves to talk. He’ll blab. Whatever he knows, he’ll tell you.”
“You’re a genius.” My hands clasp in front of my chest and it’s all I can do not to jump in the air and scream like a maniac. “A freaking brilliant genius.” I bob up and down on the balls of my feet, using all the strength I have to keep myself from running to Pepper’s without thanking Evan for his help. “This is the best idea ever. Thank you, Evan.” My arms wrap around his neck in what’s supposed to be a hug. But before I realize what I’m doing, my lips place a kiss on his cheek.
His skin warms beneath my lips.
Pepper’s studio is to the right when I exit the KAPOW. It’s so flashy you can see it from five minutes away. Two purple-flamed torches light either side of the door along with the word PEPPER in five-foot-tall neon letters.
A laser beam shoots out from the floor as I approach the metal double doors to Pepper’s studio. It flattens along the floor and zooms up my body and then back down before retreating into the floor. The doors swing open without making a sound, despite them being at least three times as tall as I am and twice as thick.
Pepper swooshes into view, clasping his hands together in front of his chest. He’s a tall black man, with shoulders twice as wide as Max’s, and that’s saying a lot because my brother is often talked about for his muscular size. He wears a fitted suit in the most beautiful opalescence fabric that shimmers in his studio’s bright lighting. The pants are a shiny black at the bottom that slowly morphs into a deep royal purple at the top of his shoulders.
As he moves, the fabric colors shift in the light, seemingly moving up and down like oil on water. It’s just an illusion but it makes me want to reach out and touch it anyhow. A tiny white Chihuahua with long legs dances around Pepper’s feet, eager to join in on the fun he thinks we’re having. His name is Chewy and I’m relieved to see he’s finally over his habit of biting feet.
“Maci,” Pepper says. His upper lip twitches in—disgust?—before his mouth bends into a warm smile. “It’s so lovely to see you.”
What was that? Did I imagine it? Pepper likes me, or so I’ve always thought. He and my mother were childhood best friends. Maybe his lips twitched like that because he was expecting someone else. Maybe he has a headache or something.
Ugh, what am I talking about? Supers don’t get headaches. It must be me. I’m the one who made his mouth twitch. He doesn’t want to see me. He thinks I’m evil.
Screw him! He doesn’t know anything!
My teeth grind together as I plaster a smile on my face. “Hello.”
Pepper sweeps out his hand, motioning for me to enter. “Did you have an appointment? I wasn’t expecting anyone until later.”
Chewy sniffs my ankles. “Um, no.”
Pepper’s hand squeezes my shoulder. “No worries, hun. You’re welcome to stop by any time. If you had an appointment I was about to question my sanity because I swear I cleared my schedule this morning.”
He gives me a smile filled with submersed tension again. “Would you like a latté?”
I accept his offer because the last time I didn’t, I got a five-minute lecture on how his coffee maker was imported from the finest shop in Brazil and that not accepting a latté of this magnitude is equal to turning down a free bag of thousand dollar bills.
He smiles in approval and Chewy follows him to the back room. Okay, he doesn’t sound like he’s feigning niceness toward me. As a suit designer, he wouldn’t have taken classes on deception like I have for Hero training. I force the anger inside of me to retreat; he wasn’t giving me a look when I got here, he was just caught off guard by unexpected company. I take in a deep breath. Calm down, Maci. Everyone is not out to get me.
As Pepper fetches my fancy foreign caffeine, I look around the studio hoping to find something that would enlighten me to why he’s acting so weird. The onl
y thing different is the exceptional cleanliness of the place. Usually scraps of discarded fabric rest amongst sketches and notepads of ideas littered on the corner desk.
The interior of the studio is round with a sparkling white dome-shaped ceiling. The black-painted floor sparkles even more than the ceiling due to the circle of high beam spotlights aimed straight at the podium in the center of the room. The walls are one large glass computer screen that Pepper uses to design suits.
The podium, my favorite spot, is where I get to stand as he uses holographs to mimic his suit designs on my body and make changes as necessary. I climb the three steps onto the platform and gaze at my surroundings. The last time I visited was a week before my birthday. Pepper had me come in for measurements before I took my Hero Exam. Now I need to find out if he’ll be using them or not.
Pepper returns with my latté in a purple paper cup with his name on it in faux rhinestones. Chewy joins me on the podium, circling my feet as if I’m holding a bag of dog treats or something. As I reach out to take it, the cup crumples in his hand, sending searing hot liquid all over his arm. He curses, flailing his burned hand.
“Pepper, I’m sorry!” I leap off the podium, guilt filling my stomach.
“Not your fault,” he calls out behind him as he dashes to the computer wall and swipes his hand across the screen. Tiny holes in the floor flood the space with an inch of water before receding into the ground. The crushed paper cup flows into a new hole in the side of the wall and disappears. I watch in awe as the water drains as fast as it came in and my feet dry seconds later when a cold fog drifts over them.
Pepper stretches out his formerly scalded arm and flexes his fingers. “Ah, that’s better. I’m so sorry, Maci.” He swipes his finger across his wrist MOD and the wall briefly displays the time, 3:42 p.m. “I’ll get you another one.”
“No, that’s okay.” I brace for the verbal backlash that’s about to come. But he just shrugs and checks the time again—still 3:42.
“So what can I do for you?” He asks.
“Well,” I bite my lower lip. “Pepper …”
His eyebrows rise. I speak each word slow and deliberate. “I was hoping you could help me out.”
“Help you out?” He bursts into a chuckle. “I can try, but I hardly know how I can help you. I’m the one here who—” He stops, bringing his hand up to his chin then pointing a finger at me. “Wait, what are you talking about?”
“What are you talking about?” I ask suspiciously. He checks the time again. 3:43.
“Nothing. Nothing at all. What do you need?”
“I was wondering,” I start, but then I remove all questioning and doubt from my voice. If I’m going to get what I want, I need to demand it with authority. “I need you to tell me if you’re designing a Hero suit or a Retriever suit for me.”
His eyes narrow.
I hold my gaze. “Or maybe you aren’t designing me a suit at all?”
His chest deflates at my bold statement. “Honey, don’t say that. You’re getting a suit.”
“Which one?”
His eyes shift from my left to right. “I would lose my job if I told you.” He scratches his head and looks at the floor. “Of course I might lose it anyway.”
“What does that mean?” I ask. Pepper has been the sole designer of every Super suit since before I was born. From super high-tech Hero suits to basic-training suits and even sometimes doing consultations with human costume designers. His lightweight firefighter’s design even won him an honorary Fire Chief award in NYC.
“You’re the best,” I tell him. “They don’t even give you apprentices anymore because no one wants you to stop designing their suits.”
“I am the second best,” he says while studying his fingernails. They are painted purple with black King City crown decals. I have a ton of those decals at home. “Aurora was the best. She retired fifty years ago after having me as her apprentice for twelve years.”
He raises his head and meets my gaze. His eyes are solemn, no longer the excited and joyful eyes I’m so used to seeing. “She contacted me yesterday, after fifty years of retirement, and said she’s coming back.”
“What for? She can’t take her job back, can she?”
He shrugs. “She could if she wanted to. I don’t know why she’s returning. We haven’t spoken in years. She used to send me friendly Christmas cards but that stopped a while ago.”
“Did you maybe do something to make her mad?”
He shakes his head. “Never. She was my mentor. I look up to her and I’ve always shown her as much respect as I would to President Might.”
I bend down and pet Chewy. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”
It’s amazing how quick I am to comfort others in the midst of my own emotional turmoil. Unlike Pepper, I actually have something to worry about. He’s probably freaking out about an old woman who wants to visit and have a latté. “Where does she live?”
“Some island in the middle of nowhere. She’s always been pretty reclusive. Which is why I’m so worried I feel like my head is going to explode.” He presses his fingertips to his forehead and takes in a deep breath.
Chewy bites my fingers and I jerk my hand away. “When will she get here?”
He sinks into a barstool at his sewing desk and rests his chin in his hands. He stares at the wall. “Tomorrow.”
“I find out my results tomorrow too,” I say. Maybe in his saddened state he’ll slip up and let his expressions show me my fate. I sigh and plaster a really pathetic frown on my face. “Tomorrow will probably be the worst day of my life, huh?”
Before he can answer, the entire computer wall comes to life. News Reporter Tina Tallow appears on the screen along with the words breaking news scrolling across the bottom repeatedly in an endless marquee of bright red letters.
“The increase of villain activity near Central grew to a horrifying level this morning as Heroes have captured an unknown villain responsible for the murder and mutilation of Sara Sommer.”
Pepper turns to me with an open mouth. I return the gesture as we watch the broadcast.
Tina’s brows furrow in disgust as she reads the words on the teleprompter a second before she says them aloud. “Sara Sommer worked the night shift in maintenance and was found in a trash compactor with her fingertips sliced off. Heroes believe the villain who captured her was trying to use her identity to gain access into Central but his attempts were unsuccessful when security monitors analyzed that the fingerprints did not contain live power.”
“Oh my god,” Pepper says, his hand covering his mouth. He looks at his own fingers and protectively closes them into fists as he mutters those same three words repeatedly to himself.
On the screen, Tina continues. “Hero Nyx Nightly captured the villain after embarking on a six-mile chase through the canyon pathways that surround Central for human tourists. Retrievers secured the perimeter and ensured the safety of all humans who were around. Thankfully no one else was hurt. President Might will hold a memorial service for Sara in the Atrium starting at seven which is open to everyone who knew Sara and would like to pay their respects. In addition, all Heroes will be in attendance.”
The screen turns off. “All Heroes?” I ask in disbelief. “They never summon all Heroes together for anything. She must have meant most Heroes. I mean, some of them have to be on guard, ya know?” I look at Pepper for confirmation.
“This is a tragedy.” He pulls a purple handkerchief from the inside of his jacket pocket and dabs at his eyes.
“Did you know her?” I ask.
“No, but that doesn’t make it any less of a tragedy.”
“Why would a villain want to get inside Central?” I think aloud. After today, I know firsthand how much it sucks to be denied access into one area of Central. I can’t imagine why a villain who’s been cut off from every locked door would want to break in.
Pepper sucks in a deep breath and quickly exhales. “Six miles,” he says, throwing his arms into the
air. I straighten in my chair as he jumps off his and crosses the room in a flash, dropping the wet handkerchief in his wake. “Six. Miles.” The room thunders out an echo as he yells the words in his deep voice. “That is unacceptable.” Turning on his heel, he looks at me. Daggers of rage shoot from his eyes. The air around me sharpens as his power intensifies.
He points a finger at me. “You.”
For one paralyzing moment I fear he will accuse me of somehow being involved in this.
“You scored higher on Speed Aptitude than any Super has in a century. You could have prevented this.”
“I—what?” The examiners simply nodded and thanked me the day before my birthday when I performed a series of aptitude tests prior to my exam. I know I’m a faster runner than my brother is but I always figured that’s because I’m smaller and lighter. Am I really the fastest out of everyone?
Pepper paces with his head in his hands. “The attacks are happening more in the last two weeks. They are closer to home. An innocent Super died today.” He stops a few feet in front of me. “You should be Hero.” His hand grazes my cheek as I stand dumbfounded and unable to speak. “You should have been a Hero,” he whispers.
My heart stops. My throat fills with a ball of pure pain. I manage to force a few words out of my mouth. “What are you saying?”
Pepper’s hazel eyes fill with sorrow. “You need to leave now.”
I swallow, taking a step backward as my heart shatters into a million pieces. That’s it then. I’m not a Hero.
I have nothing left to live for.
Pepper’s hand closes over mine as I grab the door handle to leave. I can’t look at him, not like this. “What?” I say through clenched teeth while staring at my reflection in the door.
“Don’t just accept your fate,” he says. “The world needs you.”
“There’s nothing I can do.” I summon enough power to shove him away from me. He tumbles into a shelf of fabric swatches.
“Is that what they taught you in Hero school?” He says, straightening his ruffled suit as I wrench open the door and step into the corridor. “Or has someone forgotten Hero rule number three?”
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