by Dee J. Stone
“Hey.” Matt sits down next to me. “Landon asked me about you today. She wanted to know how you’re doing.”
“Really?” I didn’t think my former history teacher cared about me that much.
He nods. “Lots of people from your old school miss you. Even that girl—Nicole? She also asked me if you’ve adjusted.”
Wow. Just a few months ago, I was a nobody at that school. Weird how things changed all because I’m a superhero. Wish it wouldn’t be like that, but I guess that’s how the world works.
“Maybe I’ll visit them,” I say.
He plays with the tablecloth. “I miss you, too, you know. It’s not the same without you there.”
“Thanks, Bro. But I never fit in there.”
“Yeah, I know.”
The doorbell rings. I get to my feet and answer it. Jack’s standing there, running his hand through his hair. He’s dressed in a nice shirt and pants. “Hey,” I say.
He follows my gaze. “Is this too much?”
I laugh a little. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. My mom’s kind of dying to see you again.” I widen the door, inviting him in. “You’re all she’s been talking about today.”
His eyes go to the floor as he shifts in place. “I didn’t do anything.”
“Are you kidding? You saved my sister’s life. Inviting you for dinner doesn’t even come close to what you deserve.”
His smile is small and shy. “Thanks.”
I lead him to the kitchen, where Mom throws her arms around him. “Jack. I know Nick has thanked you over and over, but I can’t tell you how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for my family.”
Still smiling shyly, he says, “It really wasn’t a big deal. You’re making it seem like I’m a hero, when I’m not. I just did what anyone else would do.”
Dad shakes his head as he claps Jack on the back. “You saved our daughter. You defeated one of the most powerful groups of people in the world. You are a hero.”
His cheeks flush a little. Then his eyes move to Kaylee, who’s looking up at him with wide eyes. He bends down to face her. “Hi, Kaylee.”
“Hi. No one tells me any details, but I know you saved me. I’m supposed to thank you.”
He laughs. “You’re very welcome.” He turns to us. “I’ve never been…invited anywhere. Especially not to dinner. Thanks for having me.”
Mom smiles. “We’re glad to have you. Please sit down.”
The meal starts and we talk about school. Mom and Dad are really curious about our training. I haven’t spoken much about it, since a lot has happened. Now with Jack, things are a little calm. It kind of feels like I’ve got another bro. Kaylee keeps giggling at everything he says, which causes him to smile.
“Wait,” she says. “You really slammed a ball into someone’s nose?”
Jack laughs. “Totally broke it. But Nick fixed it.”
When Jack is in the middle of telling everyone another training story, my watch beeps. I look at it and get to my feet. “I need to go.”
Mom frowns, but from her eyes, I can tell she understands that I need to do this.
Jack stands, too. “Let me help.”
“It might not be a good idea.” I read the short message. Apparently, our “friend” who attacked the restaurant has struck again.
Jack says, “You think I’m not ready? Come on. What else have I been training for?”
He’s technically ready, but I’m worried his instincts to hurt or kill might kick in. We don’t want the telekinetic guy to get hurt.
But I don’t have time to argue with Jack, so I motion for him to put his hand in mine and I zoom us toward Central Park in Manhattan.
The place is in chaos. People are running all over the place, yelling, crying, tumbling over one another.
Looking in the distance, I don’t see anything. The guy is invisible again. I tilt my head forward, motioning for Jack to follow me.
As I’m heading in the direction everyone is fleeing from, something crashes into me and I’m knocked back a few feet.
It’s people. He’s throwing them at me like they’re frisbees. No, not only at me but all over the place. They’re slamming into trees, the ground, other people. This guy is crazy!
“Hurry,” I tell Jack, holding my hand out to stop the people from knocking into me. I can’t protect them all. There are too many. “Find him and stop him.”
His head whips around. “Find who?”
“He’s invisible,” a voice says from behind us. Maddie. She’s engulfed in flames, and rushes to where she must think the guy is. Jack and I chase after her, and I try to save as many people as I can before they slam into everything.
“He has telekinesis,” I say. “Seems strong, but I’m pretty sure mine is stronger.” I thrust my palms outward, trying to knock him back, but I don’t think it worked because the people are still being flung around.
Going invisible so he can’t see me, I wave my hands around some more, but nothing seems to be working. He’s somehow managing to evade my telekinesis. Plus he’s still throwing the people at me.
Maddie creates a fireball in her hands.
“No,” I say. “We don’t want to hurt him. There has to be a way to stop him.”
She lowers her hand.
Jack moves forward. “Screw that. He’s going down.” He lets go of my hand, drops to the ground, and runs forward, punching at the air in front of him.
“Jack!” I call. “You can’t find him like that.”
He doesn’t listen to me, just continues to run around, punching at everything. A few seconds later, he’s hurled backward, smacking into a tree and crashing to the ground.
I’m about to head over to him to see if he’s okay, when another body bangs into me. I fall downward, but manage to catch myself and the woman in time. I slowly lower her to the ground, but the villain has other plans. He tosses her into a tree.
How the hell can he see me when I’m invisible?
“Nick,” Maddie says as she tries to catch the people being chucked around. “Do something!”
I stare down at my hands. Do something? Like what? How can I stop someone when I can’t see him?
“Nick! If you don’t, I will.”
I nod to her, then wave my hands, quicker this time, trying to sweep up every spot in the park. But like before, he manages to evade me.
“He’s somehow able to see me,” I tell Maddie. “Maybe I can try to talk to him. Reason with him.” I peer around. “Look—whoever you are. You don’t have to do this. Let’s talk.”
He continues playing around with the people like they’re nothing more than dolls.
“Please,” I say. “These people didn’t do anything to you. If you have a problem with me, take it out on me. Not them.”
Again, my words have no effect.
Maddie engulfs herself in flames. “That’s it. He’s asking for trouble.” With a fireball in each hand, she circles the area, launching her fire all over.
She’s completely destroying the park.
“Maddie,” I say, moving my hands around to stop the fire from spreading. “Stop. He’s too strong.”
Her eyes widen as she looks around at the damage. “I didn’t do this. He did.”
“He’s using his telekinesis to spread the fire.”
She shakes her head. “It’s not possible to do that so quickly. He has fire power. Much, much stronger than mine.”
Fire power?
She tries to put out the flames, but they only quadruple. Clearly, we can’t defeat this guy. So the only thing we can do is help bring the people to safety. I feel so helpless and powerless, but trying to fight him could only cause the people to get more hurt. We need to get them out of the park.
Maddie swoops down, gathering a few people in her arms. I go visible so the people can see me, and grab Jack along with many others. He’s still unconscious, but breathing.
The cops, firemen, paramedics are here, too, helping the people to the exit.
“What’s going on?” One of the cops stops me before I rush back into the park. “Who’s doing this?”
I push some hair out of my eyes. “A villain. He’s invisible.”
“Can’t you stop him?” a woman’s frantic voice yells.
I don’t want to tell her I’m no match for him. “Right now I’m focusing on getting the people to safety.”
Once the park is empty and the people are safe, I look around, squinting my eyes, hoping the guy would show himself. Maybe brag about how awesome he is. But he doesn’t do any of that.
I’m not sure if he’s even still here, but I’ve got to try to talk to him again. “Who are you and what do you want?”
Silence, other than the people outside the park who are still freaked out and crying. The news reporters are, like usual, here and reporting everything.
“Come on,” I say. “Maybe we can work something out. If you want me, then you can have me. Just tell me what you want.”
Nothing.
The leaves rustle on the tree a few feet away from me, which makes me think he is still here. Lifting my hand, I try to freeze him in place, but there’s nothing there.
I swear I can hear soft laughter from somewhere around me.
I open my mouth to say something, but I’m tossed a few feet back and thump into a tree. My vision goes black.
***
Someone’s shaking my shoulder. “Nick.”
My eyes fly open and I sit up, glancing around. The place is destroyed, burned, charred, and there are fallen trees lying all over.
Maddie’s standing above me. Many other people are around, including cops, firemen, paramedics. “He got away,” I say.
Biting her lip, Maddie nods.
“Is everyone okay?”
“No. Not at all. Many were taken to hospitals with serious injuries.”
I straighten up. “I can heal them all.”
She shakes her head. “You were out for like twenty minutes. They’re already being healed and the paramedics said you’d better take it easy. That means no healing anyone.”
That sucks. I wish I could heal as many people as I can. But I’d better listen to the experts. I look around. “Where’s Jack?”
“I had to take him home. Mom was upset that he joined us today. He’s recovering in the school hospital.”
The cops come over to ask us a few questions. It’s similar to a few days ago, after the first attack at the restaurant. We’ve got no answers for them. We don’t know who he is or what he wants. Or how to stop him. They thank us for our time, then walk away.
Maddie turns to me. “We need to talk.”
I nod. “My roof?”
We make our way there and after I convince my family over and over again that I’m okay, Maddie and I climb out of my bedroom window and up to the roof.
So much has happened these past few days. Makes my head spin. Things were starting to slow down, to get better. Kaylee’s getting help, Maddie and I are helping train new heroes. And now a villain has to come and mess everything up? Why now? Where did he come from? And most important: Who is he?
“I know,” Maddie says when she sees my face. “It’s crazy. There’s a villain out there.” She shakes her head. “No, not just a villain. A villain who has our powers.”
“Not only that,” I say. “He’s got some way to see me when I’m invisible. Who knows what else he can do?”
She lifts a brow. “He can see invisible objects….maybe he’s related to that scientist I told you about. He’s the only one who can create the goggles.”
I gape at her. “So that scientist is after us? I thought you said he was your mom’s friend.”
She shrugs. “His sister is her friend. I don’t know anything about him.”
“Why would she help hide someone who wants to hurt us?”
She holds up her hands helplessly.
I rub my chin. “Maybe the guy has the ability to see invisible things.”
“But none of the powered kids could do that.”
“Or maybe they haven’t told anyone. Wait, you think he’s a kid who goes to school here? We saw his face.”
She throws up her hands. “Maybe he’s a shapeshifter. Or maybe there are a few kids working together. I don’t know.”
A few kids working together? “But the guy at the restaurant seemed our age. I guess a younger student could have shifted into someone older.”
She nods.
“What do we do?” I ask.
She turns to me. “You should have listened to me when I had the idea to get the goggles.”
“And if the scientist is in cahoots with these villains? We would have walked into a trap.”
She thinks about it for a second. “Maybe, but we still need to find the scientist and talk to him.”
My mouth drops. “What?”
“He might not be teaming up with the villains. If the telekinetic guy can see invisible things, then we need to also. Or else we’ll always be at a disadvantage.” She stands. “Tomorrow after school we go find him.”
She turns to go, then stops. “Nick, if he has fire power, why did he let himself get burned the other day at the restaurant?”
She’s got a good point. Maddie burned him and he flew off. “Maybe he was pretending. To trick us. Catch us off guard.”
She sighs. “Who knows what else he can do?”
Chapter Thirteen
It’s safe to say the world is exploding with news about what happened last night. I don’t listen or watch any of it. I can’t. Don’t need to be reminded what a failure I am.
I also don’t want to go to school, but I know I have to. Maddie and I texted all night, and we decided that we’re going to have to train the powered kids to battle villains. They know all about battling, but we’ll need them to do it superhero style. That means no killing unless we need to. And of course they also need to learn to work together.
The family is in the kitchen when I go down. Matt’s got his eyes glued to the TV. Mom’s trying to get him to turn it off, but even Dad is engrossed in it.
Kaylee’s on the floor, her ears perked up. I wish she didn’t have to listen to all this, but we can’t keep her in the dark. She needs to know what’s going on out there.
The reporters are discussing the new villain. Some claim Maddie and I were responsible for the whole thing because the villain has our powers.
When Kaylee hears this, she turns to me with wide eyes. “It’s not you and Maddie. The news people are stupid.”
Smiling, I sit down next to her. “They can sometimes be stupid. Thanks for believing in Maddie and me.”
“Who’s hurting everyone?” she asks. “Why? Did they do something wrong?”
I rest my hand on her shoulder. “I don’t know. Maddie and I are going to try to figure it all out. But I don’t want you worrying about that, okay? And don’t be scared. We’re all going to take care of you.”
She nods. “I know. You’re gonna make sure no one hurts me again.”
“That’s right.”
After breakfast, I fly to school and meet Maddie outside the building. “I spoke to my mom,” she tells me. “She’s letting us take off from school to speak to her friend’s brother.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, but we need to be back in time for training. I also told her we need to train harder. She agrees with me. But we don’t know what to expect until we talk to the scientist.”
“Does she know if he’s involved with the villains?”
She shakes her head. “Even her friend—her name is Chandra—doesn’t exactly know what her brother is up to. He keeps her in the dark. She doesn’t like it, but she knows it’s the only way to keep the two of them safe.”
I don’t like the sound of that. “Let’s go.”
It’s far from the school, but only takes us five minutes to get there. The house is small, looks like it hasn’t been painted in years. And the garden in front is dead. It’s almost like no one lives
here. We knock on the door. A woman, who I assume is Chandra, opens it. She looks around the same age as my mom, except she has bags under her eyes which make her seem older. It’s like she hasn’t had a good night’s sleep in years.
Chandra looks from me to Maddie. “Are you Melissa’s daughter?”
Maddie nods.
Her eyes narrow as she scrutinizes us. “How do I know you didn’t bring the cops with you?”
I hold up my hands. “I guess you’re going to have to trust us.”
She studies me. “The Blue Masked Hero. Heroes are never to be trusted.”
I turn to Maddie. “I thought your mom said it was okay, that her friend is willing to help us.” I face the woman. “Are you going to help us or should we leave?”
Chandra shifts from one foot to the other. “What do you want with my brother?”
“To talk to him,” Maddie says. “We’re not going to turn him in to the FBI. We just want to talk to him.”
“About?”
Maddie and I exchange a glance.
“It’s okay,” she says. “I know all about JQ. My brother never did those terrible things the other scientists did. I know the FBI would never believe him. That’s why I’m hiding him.” She looks into the house. “He’s all I have and I wouldn’t be able to bear losing him.” She turns to us. “Why do you want to talk to him?”
I shut my eyes. “We think he might be involved in the attack that happened in Central Park yesterday.”
She stares at us, her lips pressed in a tight line. “My bother would never hurt anyone.”
“Maybe you don’t know him as well as you think,” Maddie says. I shoot her a look, and she shoots one back. “Sorry,” she says. “I’m just saying he might be involved. That’s all. He is the only scientist who wasn’t arrested, right? And the villains only showed up once JQ was taken down. Those can’t be coincidences.”
She’s quiet, her forehead furrowed.
I step forward. “Look, if he’s involved, we need to talk to him. The world isn’t safe right now. It’s our job to do whatever we can to help keep it safe.”
She nods slowly. “I know. I just can’t imagine Charlie hurting anyone.” She widens the door. “Come in and I’ll take you to him.”