Okay, so that’s not exactly what happened. I did save who knows how many lives. Still, it wasn’t the grand return I’d expected, or wanted. I wanted something grandiose. I wanted to let people know I was back, and I wasn’t messing around.
The whole experience was definitely humbling. And it wasn’t over, either.
Because I was sitting at the kitchen table in my apartment in Indianapolis, writing out the speech Samantha, Doug, and I were going to record that night and post on the internet.
I scribbled out the last sentence I’d written. Then the last paragraph. Then I just crumbled up the paper and threw it in the pile with the rest of the rejects.
“You know it’s not going to be live. You can do more than one take,” Mom said from the couch when she heard me groan in frustration.
“I know. I just want to have everything ready so I can get it over with. I gotta make sure it’s perfect. There’s going to be a lot of people who watch this,” I said as I grabbed another piece of paper.
“Make sure you turn monetize the video. You can make a lot from YouTube ads,” Mom said, only half-joking.
“I think that would make us pretty easy to track down,” I said as I began writing.
“Speaking of which, I’d like to meet Samantha and Doug sometime. You should have them over for dinner.”
“Mom, they live in California. They can’t just fly over like I can.”
“Yeah, well maybe—oh! You’re on the news again!” Mom said, excited. She turned the television up.
I looked over my shoulder and saw myself on TV, telling everyone to back up and give Brian space. I barely recognized myself. My eyes were glowing bright, washing out most of my face. My suit was almost black from the fire, and parts of it were melted away. Muscles bulged from beneath the suit, but not excessively so. I didn’t look like a bodybuilder or something, just really fit.
I thought about the six-pack I had, and couldn’t help but smile. I’d always wanted one—or six—but I’d never thought they’d be a package deal with superpowers.
I looked at the clock and saw it was almost eight. I got up from the table and walked over to the closet that held my Tempest suits. “I gotta go, Mom. We’re supposed to meet at six.” Mom was about to say something about my being late, but I stopped her. “Time zones, Mom.”
Mom smiled. “I was going to say good luck, and that I’m proud of you. You’re doing the right thing, sweetheart.”
I smiled back at her, and I genuinely felt a little bit less nervous about the whole ordeal. “Thanks, Mom.” She’d come a long way from the way she’d acted when I first got my powers. Then, she was scared out of her mind, afraid for my life. But after what I’d been through, she knew that I could handle just about anything.
I put the Tempest suit on and felt the urge to tell Mom about what had happened with the government soldiers. I pushed those urges far down inside me. There was no way I could tell her. She would freak out—and with good reason. No, for now, I’d keep her in the dark.
I left the apartment wearing a coat over my suit. Once I got outside and into an alley, I slipped the Tempest hood over my face and then took off, flying toward Los Angeles.
* * *
“I BROUGHT SOME MAKEUP. I used to apply it on the actors for the school play, so I know what I’m doing,” Doug said as he reached into his backpack. He pulled out a handful of shades and began examining them, looking from my face to the selection before him. “Just gotta figure out your shade,” he mumbled to himself.
“I think I’ll be good without makeup,” I said.
“Yeah, Doug, this isn’t Peter Pan,” Samantha said as she adjusted some settings on her camera. “Alright,” she said as she put the camera on her tripod. “I think I’ve got everything where it needs to be.”
I took a deep breath. We’d turned the storage unit into a mini movie studio—not the first time that’d been done in Los Angeles, I’m sure. Lights were strung up everywhere, and a white backdrop was taped up on the wall behind me.
I eyed the big comfortable chair that I normally sat in. We’d had to move it up against the entrance, and I really wanted to move it back and sit in it instead of standing. I felt so awkward just standing there. Plus the comfort of the chair would’ve calmed my nerves a little bit. However, just sitting in a chair addressing the camera seemed a little too maniacal; too Bond villain-ish. I might as well have sat down in a computer chair and spun around stroking a cat when the cameras started rolling. I chuckled at the thought of that. I’d probably name the cat Socks, because it would have black markings on its feet that would look like socks and—I shook the thoughts from my mind. I clenched my eyes and took a deep breath. Focus, Kane. Focus, I told myself. I was really, really nervous.
“You good?” Samantha asked.
I realized I’d been staring off into space, and came back to reality. “Yeah, yeah, I’m good. Just practicing in my head,” I lied.
“Alright, well, we’re going to do one really quick. You ready?”
I nodded.
“Okay.” Samantha pushed a button on her camera. “Rolling.”
Doug pressed a button on his audio recorder and held up his microphone. “Speed.”
Speed? What the hell did that mean? Why were they speaking this lingo? I felt myself get lightheaded. I didn’t know if I could do this.
“Can you give me a clap-sync?” Samantha said.
I looked at her like a deer in the headlights. A what?
“Just clap your hands so we can sync the sound,” Samantha said with an eye roll.
I clapped my hands, feeling very, very stupid.
“Whenever you’re ready.”
I looked into the camera. My heart beat faster. Why was I so scared? I grew frustrated with myself. What was my problem? Why couldn’t I just say anything? Why couldn’t I own up to my mistakes?
I sighed.
I didn’t know if I could do it. I didn’t know if I could face the embarrassment of my failures. I thought about the bank in Dallas. How many people had I put out of a job that day? How much money had that cost people? I was trying to be a hero, and I’d failed.
Now, I was trying to own up to my mistakes—to be a hero again. And I was failing miserably.
I looked to Samantha. “I don’t kn—”
“Tempest,” she said, stopping me. “I believe in you.”
I was brought back to when I’d met Samantha in person for the very first time. She’d given me a hug and thanked me. She’d thanked me for stopping Richter. For saving the world. Like a hero would.
Suddenly, I didn’t care what anybody thought about me. I didn’t care what Holocene thought. I didn’t care what Macy thought. I didn’t care what the government thought.
I’d done my job. I’d stopped Richter. I was a hero. Everyone else could believe what they wanted, but that didn’t change the fact that in Samantha’s eyes, in my parents’ eyes, and finally, in my own eyes, I was a hero.
I cleared my throat.
And the words flowed from my mouth.
“My name is Tempest. I have some things I need to get off my chest.”
19
SECOND CHANCES
MY SPEECH RACKED up a few million views in the first 24 hours after it was posted.
I couldn’t help but think about how much I could’ve made from ad revenue, like Mom said.
It was all over the news, although every time it was on TV when I was in the room, I turned it off. I hated seeing myself on camera, even though you couldn’t even recognize it was me.
Still, even though I couldn’t help but cringe when it was on, I was proud of myself. I stood there and told everyone that I’d returned a little bit earlier then they’d thought, and that I was behind the bank collapsing in Dallas.
I didn’t say where I’d been during those six months, however. I didn’t want to add more fuel to the government’s fire. If I told everyone they’d lied about the reasons behind refunding the shuttle program, it’d just add
to the growing tension in the country. People were starting to get very upset that a teenager was doing more to protect them than the government—even though, really, they had no idea I was a teenager. If they knew that, there’d probably be chaos. People would be very, very, pissed.
My alarm went off, and I turned it off as soon as it did so. It was of no use to me this morning, since I had already been wide awake for a half hour. I’d enjoyed the peace and quiet for those thirty minutes. I’d been able to just lie there, lost in my own thoughts.
Now, however, it was time to get up. It was time to show people that Tempest was a hero—and hopefully, show Holocene that I was an ally.
It was a Saturday morning, Mom and Dad were still asleep. I put on my basketball shorts and t-shirt, then grabbed my latest Tempest outfit from my bedroom floor. I slipped it on, and then put on my jacket and sweatpants.
I left the apartment building, walked through my usual alley, and took off for Dallas.
I didn’t go as fast as I could, but I wasn’t taking my time either. I made a mental note to keep an eye out for Holocene. If she saw me flying around Dallas, she probably wouldn’t be very happy, even if she’d seen my video. I hoped I’d be at the bank site before she saw me.
After a thirty-minute flight, I reached Dallas. I landed on top of a skyscraper downtown and shed my coat and sweatpants, revealing my Tempest outfit underneath. Even with the outfit and the clothes underneath, the cold wind bit at me. I could’ve used some of Brian’s flames at that moment. Even though it was Texas, it still got pretty cold in December. Not Indiana cold, but still, nothing to sneeze at.
I made sure my clothes weren’t anywhere where they’d blow away, and then flew to where the bank used to be. The construction crew was just arriving, working even on the weekend. They’d just begun to clean up the mess, and it would probably take a few solid days of work before they would be ready to move on to the next step.
Bulldozers picked at the rubble, piling it up. They would pick up a chunk, drop it in the back of a dump truck, and then go back to picking at their pile.
I smirked. I was about to give everybody the day off.
I flew down and began pushing everything into small piles. I then grabbed the pile and threw it in the back of one of the dump trucks. I filled up the first dump truck in fifteen seconds flat before moving on to the next one. In just a couple of minutes, the seven dump trucks that were lined up in the street had been filled to the brim with rubble, and a large part of the building had been cleaned up.
“You guys can go haul that off,” I said to the truck drivers.
They all stared at me, their mouths open. They couldn’t believe what they’d just seen. The Tempest, the guy who’d saved them from Richter just a few months ago, was now helping them do their jobs. It was like when a famous actor visited a hospital or one of his fans at work.
I mentally kicked myself. Don’t get cocky, I thought. Just do your job.
“Tempest,” a booming voice sounded from the sky.
I looked up and saw Holocene floating down to my eye level. “A word.”
I looked down at the construction workers. They looked at each other, eyes wide. Then they pulled out their phones, their faces plastered with wonder. Two superheroes were about to have “a word.”
Really, they should’ve been scared shitless.
Holocene turned and flew up to one of the skyscrapers.
I landed behind her, ready for her to berate me.
“I thought I told you not to come back here,” she said. She crossed her arms as she turned to face me.
I shrugged. “I’m just trying to do my job. I made a mistake. I’m trying to do right by it.”
“What’s your angle?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.
“No angle, I swear,” I said. I was telling the truth. I honestly just wanted to own up to my mistake. I wanted to be the hero everyone thought I already was.
“Okay, fine. You can do your little community service work. But I’ve got my eye on you, Tempest. Let’s see if you can walk the walk.”
With that, Holocene flew away, leaving me on top of the building.
I walked to the edge and looked out over the city of Dallas. I knew I could do it. I knew I had it in me. I could walk the walk.
More dump trucks pulled up, ready for me to load them. I flew down there and started doing what I’d come there to do: clean up after myself.
I started to work a little faster. I wanted to get everything done before news got out and the government showed up with their purple lightning guns. That was the last thing I needed.
Thankfully, that didn’t happen. After thirty more minutes, the whole site was cleaned up, and they could start rebuilding ASAP.
I flew up to the skyscraper I’d left my belongings, and put on my clothes over my Tempest outfit. I heard someone land behind me, and whipped around.
“That was a good thing you did this morning. I’m impressed,” Holocene said, looking me up and down with an approving smile.
I gave a facetious bow and smirked. “I’m glad the Queen of Dallas approves.”
Holocene glared at me, and I got the message that we weren’t on the “joking with each other” level yet.
“Look, you’re a step closer to me not trying to kill you anytime you set foot in my city. If you really want to prove you’re a hero, though, I could use your help with something."
I was taken aback a bit, but recovered. “Yeah? What with?”
She hesitated. I could tell she wasn’t entirely sure about me, but she finally began to spill. “There’s a drug that started popping up here and there. It’s called Delvin. One of the ingredients is Super blood.”
“Shit, are you serious?” I asked. I couldn’t imagine what Super blood would do when mixed with a bunch of narcotics.
She nodded. “It’s giving people an extreme high, and they begin to hallucinate that they’re a Super, and have powers. The hallucinations are extremely realistic and addictive. Last night, I rescued a guy who thought he could fly and jumped off the top of his apartment building. I was able to catch him, but it’s only a matter of time before people get themselves or others killed from it. If you want to win my trust, help me track down the Super who’s using his blood for this drug, and take him down.”
I thought about it for a moment. Delvin sounded like it was a very bad drug, and I was definitely up for taking it out. Besides, I’d be taking down a bad Super as well. That would definitely help my hero credibility, and get Holocene to trust me.
“Okay, you have a deal.”
20
ENHANCED INTERROGATION
“YOU SEE HIM?” Holocene asked me. We were floating high above downtown Dallas, unseen by all the people passing by below.
“Red hoodie, right?” I asked.
“Right.”
I scanned the sparse crowd of people walking down the street until I found the guy. He was wearing a bright red hoodie, and was walking like someone was following him. He kept looking over his shoulder. If only he knew that the people who were after him were up above him, not behind him.
“Okay, I got him,” I said. My eyes were locked on him. He wasn’t leaving my sight.
“If what my contact says is true, he should be heading into an alley a couple of blocks ahead,” Holocene said.
I nodded, my eyes still on the target.
He picked up his pace as if he knew he was being watched; he just couldn’t figure out from where. He reached a crosswalk and jogged across the street, even though the pedestrian crossing sign was flashing an upheld hand, signaling it wasn’t safe to cross.
“He’s sure in a hurry,” I said. “Are you sure we shouldn’t just grab him now?”
“No, stick to the plan. We have to catch him red-handed, or else he’ll just deny everything.”
I was sure I could come up with a couple of ways for him to tell us what we wanted to know, but this was Holocene’s plan. I had to follow her lead.
Our target r
eached an alley between an apartment building and an Indian restaurant, and disappeared between the two.
Holocene flew over to the space above the two buildings without saying a word. I followed close behind, my heart racing. I wasn’t nervous because I thought we might be in danger, I was just afraid we weren’t going to get from the man what we needed. My heart was also racing for another reason, and that was because I was excited to see how Holocene worked. I looked forward to learning a thing or two from her—maybe even about her. Even though my ego hated it, I had to admit that Holocene knew more about being a superhero then I did. Sure, I’d been the first one, but she’d been at the whole thing for a lot longer, and I had a lot to learn.
The man practically ran to a pile of moving boxes and pallets in the alleyway. He dug around in them until he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a red and black duffel bag and unzipped it, then pulled out the contents of the bag, and our suspicions were confirmed: inside the bag were many pouches of blood.
“Alright, I’ll grab him,” Holocene said.
Before I could respond, she had whipped down and grabbed the man by the back of his hoodie. She flew up toward the top of a skyscraper, zooming past me. The guy she’d grabbed hadn’t even screamed. He was too busy trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
I flew up toward the building Holocene had disappeared on top of. I could hear the man’s screams before I reached the top. I landed on the building and saw the man in the red hoodie backing away from Holocene as fast as he could, screaming for help.
“No one can hear you,” she said calmly as she walked forward.
His gaze flashed to me, and his face dropped. “Please!” he shouted. He looked back and forth from me to Holocene. “Please don’t hurt me!”
“Tell us what we want to know,” Holocene said.
The man backed into the edge of the rooftop. He had nowhere to go but down. He looked over his shoulder and almost passed out. His entire face went white. He looked like he was about to need some of the blood he’d been carrying in that duffel bag.
The First Superhero (Book 2): The Siege of the Supers Page 7