A True Hero

by M. R. Anglin

  “Hurry, then.” Starlight waved her off. “Go on and change.”

  “I can’t!” Nicole glanced around to make sure no one was around. “She saw Refraction, and she’s going to have questions about what happened. Won’t she get suspicious if Refraction disappears as soon as Nicole comes around?”

  “Good point,” Starlight said.

  “I can help.” Bee shut her eyes. Her form wavered until she transformed into a perfect replica of Nicole in her nightclothes.

  “What th—?” Nicole took a step backward.

  “What do you think?” Bee spun around.

  Nicole gaped at her. “How?”

  “It’s part of my support functions for circumstances where you and your Hero persona have to be in two places at once.” Bee smiled so wide her eyes closed. “All the BT-X units are capable of it.”

  Starlight shrugged. “I use the feature all the time, though mine doesn’t have such . . . personality. I have to pre-record all circumstances and responses beforehand. The hologram’s useful for battles, though, since she doesn’t have to talk much. Frees me up for when I have more important things to do.”

  Nicole shook her head. “This is weird.”

  “Nicole? Nicole?” Margaret rushed down the hall. She stopped at the intersection to look around. Hotel guests, curious about the carnage, peeked in the hall after her.

  “Margaret!” Bee spoke in a perfect replica of Nicole’s voice.

  “Nicole!” Margaret rested her hands on Bee’s shoulders. “I was so worried about you!”

  “Folks, go back to your rooms!” Starlight stepped forward raising her hands to herd the guests back. “This is an active situation. I will tell you when it’s clear to emerge.”

  Among the murmur of the hotel guests and the click of a few cameras, Starlight managed to clear the hallway.

  “Where did you go?” Margaret said to the Nicole-lookalike.

  “I’m sorry,” Bee slipped her arms around Margaret who stiffened. “I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t go back to sleep so I went downstairs to get a drink from the vending machine. When I heard the shouting and crashing, I hid until Refraction found me.”

  Nicole gaped at Bee. She had made up an elaborate lie . . . and used Nicole’s mouth to speak it. Nicole wasn’t even aware Bee could lie. She glanced at Starlight who had returned to their side after dispersing the crowd. Her eyes widened also. Perhaps she wasn’t expecting a lie either.

  “I’m glad you’re okay.” Margaret eyeballed Starlight. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be guarding the armored van?”

  “Captain Justice and I had finished fighting off some Villains when I got a message from Refraction about the TelePorter.” Starlight ran a hand through her hair. “She managed to hold off him off till I got here, but I came too late. He escaped . . . and with the Sapphire?” The end of her statement became a question.

  “He couldn’t have stolen the Sapphire.” Margaret put her hands on her hips. “It’s being transported in the armored van. That was the plan.”

  “Enough, Dr. Farber.” Starlight crossed her arms. “It’s time to come clean. Where is the Sapphire? Was it stolen?”

  Margaret stared straight ahead a moment, eyes blank. Then she sighed. “I put it in the hotel safe for the night.” She ran her hands over her head. “When that madman came through, the safe didn’t seem to be tampered with so I didn’t think . . .”

  Starlight headed down the hall. “Let’s go check on it.”

  “Wait!” Nicole jumped in front of them. “Are you telling me the Sapphire was here the whole time?”

  “It was my idea.” Starlight shook her head. “I thought it would be safer if we made the Villains think it was in one location when it was really in another.”

  “Why would you ever suggest that, Starlight?” Nicole swung around to Margaret. “And why would you agree to it? This is a family vacation, and you bring a dangerous and valuable gem unprotected so anyone could steal it? What if someone got hurt? Like my dad?”

  Margaret stood there, eyes blank.

  “We didn’t leave it unprotected, Starling.” Starlight rested her hand on her shoulder. “You were here.”

  “Margaret didn’t know!” Nicole clenched her fists as she glared at Margaret. “You gambled with our lives, Margaret. How could you?”

  Margaret stood with a blank expression before dropping her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

  Starlight nudged Nicole with her elbow. “Boy, Refraction, you’re taking this harder than Nicole is.”

  “I . . . well . . .” Nicole stiffened. She had forgotten she was in costume at the moment. “I feel strongly about putting civilians in danger. Nicole feels as strongly as I do. Right, Nicole?” She turned to Bee.

  Bee stood in silence, studying Margaret. After a moment, she turned to study Starlight and locked eyes with her.

  “What is she doing?” Starlight took a step away from her.

  “She’s thinking about something . . .” Nicole placed a hand on Bee’s shoulder. “What’s wrong Be—uh, Nicole?”

  “I’m . . . having trouble understanding . . .” Bee stiffened, staring into Margaret’s face. Her eyes glazed over. “This unit has performed an illegal—”

  Oh, crap! Not again! Nicole had to do something to hide it from Margaret. “Nicole, are you alright?” she shouted so as to drown out Bee’s monotone error report. When Bee slumped over, Nicole caught her. “It looks like she’s fainted.”

  “The excitement must have gotten to her,” Starlight said, catching on.

  “Oh, Nicole!” Margaret rushed over to her.

  “Give her space.” Starlight held Margaret back.

  Margaret shrugged her off. “Please don’t touch.”

  “Right.” Starlight turned to Nicole. “Refraction, take her to her father’s room. She can rest there while we check the safe, Dr. Farber.”

  “Oh, okay.” Margaret let Starlight lead her away. “Should we call an ambulance?”

  “She’ll be alright.” Starlight glanced over her shoulder. “Refraction has CPR and basic medical training. She’ll be able to help her.” She walked off with Margaret, leaving Nicole alone.

  “Oh, boy!” Nicole let Bee, who had defaulted to her former visual settings, lie down on the ground. “Bee, are you okay?”

  “Working,” came Bee in her flat monotone. She picked up her head. “Analyzing location . . . accessing settings . . . loading security protocols . . . please wait . . .” After a moment, she blinked. “According to my log files, I performed another illegal operation.”

  “Right in front of Margaret, too. Starlight and I covered for you.”

  “Two illegal operations. This is concerning . . .” Bee furrowed her brows. “I have to go to sleep and run a diagnostic on this issue. Nicole, will you need my services again tonight?”

  “I’ll be able to change out of my suit?”

  Bee nodded. “I won’t sleep until then.”

  “Okay, then.” Nicole stood, crossing her arms. “Now I have to explain this all to Dad.”

  “And . . . Nicole . . .” Bee fiddled with her fingers. “After everything dies down and everyone goes to sleep, do you mind if I stay out instead of going back into my hub?”

  Nicole paused. “Why?”

  “Um . . . I like interacting with you.”

  “You like interacting with me?”

  Bee nodded. “Please?”

  Nicole gazed at Bee for a moment. “I guess it’s okay.”

  “Thank you.” Bee balled up her fists. “I’ll figure out what’s causing my errors and take care of it so I won’t be a liability to you again.”

  Nicole chuckled. “You’re so cute, Bee.”

  “Only because you made me this way, Nicole,” Bee said and disappeared.

  CHAPTER 27

  WHEN NICOLE, STILL in her costume, approached her hotel room, her father rushed out. He glanced up and down the hallway, spotted her, and heaved a sigh. He approached, gazing aroun
d as he did.

  “Where’s ‘Nicole’?” he asked.

  “She’s supposedly in your room resting.”

  “Right. It’s what they said.” John glanced up and down the hall before putting a hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay, Pumpkin?”

  Nicole nodded.

  “I better go see to ‘Nicole.’ ” John ran his hands over his hair. He glanced at her hotel room before walking off.

  Nicole smile at him as he went. He was the best father. Though he knew Nicole was right in front of him and wanted to know what was going on, he knew they had to keep up appearances. She’d have to give him a full account later.

  She walked into her hotel room. As soon as Nicole walked in, she spotted Stephanie in the corner watching Margaret and Starlight through narrowed eyes. Margaret stooped in front of the hotel safe with Starlight hovering over her. When Nicole passed, Stephanie gave her the most poisonous look. A ripple of raw hatred rolled off of her—or at least Nicole felt something as she passed her.

  “I am a Hero after all.” Nicole willed her self-confidence not to take a hit. “She hates Heroes, not me.”

  “Excuse me, but I don’t feel safe with all these ‘Heroes’ around.” Stephanie swung her bag over her shoulder. “I’m going to go check up on Nicole. Maybe they’ll let me sleep on the floor in the other room.” She walked out without another word.

  “Here we go.” Margaret stepped back as Starlight swung the safe door open. When he peered inside, she jolted. “I-it’s gone!”

  “Oh, no.” Starlight closed her eyes as she plopped on the bed.

  “How could it be gone? There’s not a scratch on the safe?” Margaret peeked into the safe again.

  “Teleports.” Nicole shrugged. “He is the TelePorter.”

  “Do you have any idea how dangerous the Sapphire could be in the wrong hands?” Margaret buried her face in her hands. “This is a disaster!”

  “Why didn’t the two of you think of it before?” Nicole snapped.

  “Our plan should have worked.” Starlight massaged her forehead. “We knew Villains were likely going to attack the armored van so Dr. Farber and I conspired to transport the gem by other means. How did the TelePorter know it was here?”

  “He tracked it,” Nicole said. “He was following some sort of scanner.”

  “It was in a signal jamming box, untraceable by scanners. I made sure of it myself.” Starlight rapped her knuckles on her forehead. “He couldn’t have tracked it.”

  “It baffles the mind.” Margaret pulled off her glasses to massage her eyes. “I must contact the Museum at once. We need to get the Sapphire back.”

  “Refraction, you can leave. I’ll handle the rest.” Starlight stood. “Dr. Farber, if you don’t mind coming downstairs with me, we’ll get started. ASH will need your statement.”

  “Of course.” Margaret left with Starlight.

  As soon as she was alone, Nicole dropped to the floor. “What a night! Bee, suit off.”

  Nicole’s costume faded leaving her in her pajamas. She stared after Starlight for a long moment.

  “Is everything alright, Nicole?” Bee appeared beside her.

  Nicole ran her hand across the carpet. “I get the feeling Starlight was off her game today. Much more aggressive than usual, and I think her power left her for a moment.”

  “I didn’t detect any anomalies. Then again, I was incapacitated at the moment. However, she had come from another battle. Perhaps she was tired. Heroing is exhausting work.” Bee floated in front of her. “You are exhausted, too, Nicole. You should get to sleep.”

  “I’d love to, but I don’t think I can sleep in here.” Nicole glanced around the room. “I’m too afraid something else will happen. Maybe Daddy will let me sleep in his room.”

  “You can ask.”

  Nicole climbed to her feet, wondering what her father had told Stephanie about where she was. After all, “Nicole” was supposed to have been resting in his room. She needn’t have bothered worrying, though. Stephanie walked in a few minutes after Nicole did. She said she had gotten curious about the fight scene and went to look at it. When Margaret entered about an hour later, they all decided to sleep in the same room. John took the floor, Margaret got one bed, and Nicole and Stephanie shared the other.

  Even so, it took a while before Nicole fell back asleep.

  CHAPTER 28

  AFTER LOITERING AROUND the Villain’s Lair for a few hours, the TelePorter heard a loud voice cursing and slamming his fists against the wall. Following the sound, he came upon Shadowman’s office. About time. It took Shadowman long enough to get back to the base—probably because he had to travel several hundred miles to one of his receiver stations for the teleporter housed in the basement. A portable teleporter would make committing crimes so much easier. Which is the reason he wanted the TelePorter’s tech.

  “Worthless! All of it is worthless!” Shadowman shouted as the TelePorter entered the office. “Thousands of carats of gems, and the Sapphire was nowhere to be found. Curse Starlight! Curse her to the depths! And where was TelePorter? I’m going to wring his neck when I see him next!” He slammed his hands on his desk. “I need the Sapphire to awaken Beatrix—nothing else I’ve tried worked!”

  The TelePorter leaned on the door lintel. “Then perhaps you won’t be so quick to dismiss my tech in the future.” He held up the bag.

  “TelePorter! Y-you found it?” Shadowman swung around to face him, and the TelePorter wished he could have seen the dumbfounded look on Shadowman’s face.

  “Seems Starlight pulled a fast one, but I’ve got your back.” The TelePorter tossed the bag at Shadowman. “About my price . . .”

  “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Shadowman yanked open the bag, greed seeming to make his shadowed eyes glow.

  The TelePorter gazed around in silence. He hated this place with its metal everywhere. All he wanted was to go home, but he couldn’t. Not until he had paid off his debts . . . which was an ever increasing shot in the dark at this rate.

  Shadowman growled deep in his throat. “Starlight pulled a fast one on you too.”

  “What?” the TelePorter rushed to the desk.

  “There’s nothing but junk in here.” Shadowman tilted the bag so the Teleporter could see. “Some cash, jewelry, and an empty box. I didn’t hire you to commit petty thefts.”

  “Impossible!” The Teleporter snatched the bag from him. “I saw it . . . I put it in there myself. I . . .” He trailed off. The gem had rolled out of his bag at one point, and he didn’t have a clear recollection of putting it back in. “Oh, no!”

  Shadowman gave the TelePorter a sharp look. “I don’t like liars, TelePorter.”

  “I’m not lying.” TelePorter whipped out a cord from his pocket. “I’ve got it on my surveillance film. After the last time, I wanted to prove I had the Sapphire in my hands.” After he plugged the cord into a port on his goggles, he connected the other end to a port on Shadowman’s desk which hid his main computer terminal. A hidden projector lit up showing a recording of everything the TelePorter had seen.

  Shadowman watched the feed show the TelePorter teleport into the hotel room, teleport the gem into the bag, and open the bag to check it. The feed erupted in static.

  “See!” The Teleporter pointed to the gem in the bag. “It’s right there.”

  “The gem’s power even interrupted the recording’s signal.” Shadowman stroked his chin. “Keep it playing. I want to see what happened to it.”

  So the TelePorter did. He and Shadowman watched as the Hornet and Refraction engaged him. The video showed the gem roll to the TelePorter’s feet before the feed swung around to face the two young Heroes. It also showed when the TelePorter scooped up the bag. As he thought, the video didn’t show him retrieving the gem. It had disappeared from one shot to the next.

  “Stop there. Play it again,” Shadowman said.

  The TelePorter did, and Shadowman concentrated on the film, trying to see where the gem went—or p
erhaps he thought the TelePorter altered the film in some way and was trying to find evidence of it. Either way, he had been so engaged when the TelePorter felt a tingle roll over him.

  The TelePorter stiffened. He knew this tingle—it felt like he was about to teleport. But he wasn’t. The readouts projecting on this googles indicated his stabilizers were gearing up—working though he hadn’t given it a command. Oh, man! It must be a new glitch. He thrust his hand behind his back in case this glitch caused a spark in his tech or something. He couldn’t let Shadowman know his tech was faulty.

  Something dropped into his palm. Furrowing his brows, the TelePorter brought the thing up to his face and examined it. A portable video playing device.

  “What is that?” Shadowman’s eyes flicked the TelePorter.

  “Nothing.” The TelePorter hid it behind his back again. “Picked up a little something while I was out. Souvenir, you know?”

  “I find your behavior unnerving, TelePorter.” Shadowman narrowed his eyes but turned his attention back to the film. “It seems you were correct in saying the gem was at this hotel. Without further tests on this recording, I can’t tell if you altered this footage or not, so I’ll have to take your word for it. Good thing too. It saved your life. However, your incompetence robbed me of my gem. Since you were correct about Starlight and Dr. Farber’s deception, I’ll give you one more chance. Go. Find the gem, but I will not be so merciful if you fail. And remember . . .” He glowered at the TelePorter. “I always get revenge on those who defy me.”

  “Sure.” The TelePorter yanked the cord from the port in the desk and scurried out of the office. He rushed down the hall to his room and shut himself in. Then he raised the device in his hands and pushed the play button.

  A holographic video of a girl in a mask with red frizzy hair appeared. “Hi-ee! Finch here.” She wiggled her fingers in a greeting. “I watched the display you put on at the Starview Hotel, TelePorter. Pretty spicy. I was laughing my butt off. Too bad you didn’t get this.” She held up the Tifuld Sapphire.