Searching for Super

by Marion Jensen

  “We’ve got two problems,” Grandpa said. “Both of them serious. I just got off the phone with Rodney. The bacteria or virus or whatever was on that flash drive—it stole our passwords. Rodney just discovered that it broadcast them to a cell phone. This morning at 9:04, somebody accessed our bank accounts. The Swiss accounts, the ones in the Cayman Islands, and all of our U.S.-based accounts.”

  I couldn’t breathe. Juanita had given me that flash drive. I had given it to Rodney and told him it was safe.

  “How bad is it?” Dirk asked.

  “It’s gone,” Grandpa said. “Our entire fortune. Everything is gone.”

  Somebody was making a choking sound. It was several seconds before I realized it was me.

  This was all my fault.

  “Rafter?” Dad asked. “Are you okay?”

  I nodded my head, but it was a lie. I wasn’t okay.

  Nobody said anything for several moments. Then Benny cleared his throat.

  “You said we have two problems?”

  Grandpa nodded.

  “The second problem is that Juanita’s gone missing.”

  10

  PLEASE TELL ME THEY HAVE MANUALS

  “None of this makes sense,” Thimon said.

  This time Benny wasn’t the only one pacing. I was right there with him. Thimon looked like he was watching a tennis match as his head followed us around the room.

  “The day Juanita came to meet us, she left their headquarters with two relatives—an aunt and uncle,” Benny said. “None of them came back.”

  I picked up the story. “When we saw Juanita, she was alone. But apparently, her uncle called their headquarters at ten minutes after noon and said that they were all at the bear statue, and had been since noon. We hadn’t gotten there yet.”

  Benny continued. “But we were there. We were talking to her, right at noon. I know because I checked my watch and almost complimented her on her promptness. Plus, we caught the 12:33 bus afterward.”

  I concluded. “There is no way Juanita could have given us the flash drive. It must have been the Joneses. Somehow.”

  Thimon shook his head. “Do you realize what the Joneses would have to do to pull off a trick like that? You were both at the bear statue at noon. There would need to be two bear statues, and two Juanitas. The real one hanging out with her relatives, and then a fake one talking to you guys. I know the Joneses are supervillains, but they’re not magicians.”

  “Juanita was acting strange,” I said. “It wasn’t her. It couldn’t have been.”

  “What, then?” Thimon asked. “A robot? A long-lost twin? How could the Joneses have pulled it off?”

  I didn’t have an answer. I’d thought about it at least a dozen times on the ride home from the ranch. It couldn’t have been Juanita. But it had been Juanita. I’d seen her with my own eyes. None of it made sense.

  “I know you guys don’t want to hear this,” Thimon said. “But have you considered the obvious?”

  “What’s the obvious?” Benny stopped pacing.

  “That it really was Juanita who gave you the drive.” Thimon held up his hands as both Benny and I started to talk. “What if the Johnsons made up the Joneses? What if they’ve been fooling us all this time? What if—”

  “You’re wrong.” I said. “I know Juanita. I know the Johnsons. They are our friends.”

  “Yeah, but—”

  “Rafter’s right,” Benny said. “The Johnsons are on our side. End of story.”

  Thimon looked like he wanted to say more, but both Benny and I had stopped pacing now. We faced him, staring him down. He shrugged.

  “Okay, you guys have spent more time with them than I have. Just do me a favor and keep that in the back of your mind. It’s a possibility.”

  Benny shot me a sidelong glance and gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head.

  “Can we get back to the other topic?” I asked. “We’ve got to save Juanita. We need the powers.”

  Thimon shook his head. It was his turn to be firm. “Absolutely not. If Juanita really was taken by the Joneses, then the villains are up to something. We can’t give away our secret now. It’s more important than ever.”

  I was ready for this argument. I didn’t want to make Thimon angry, but I had to find Juanita. She’d left her headquarters—left a safe place—because of me. Because I’d asked her to. I’d do whatever was needed to help find and save her.

  “Benny and I have talked,” I said. “If you won’t give us powers, then we think it’s time to tell Dad and Mom. We need their advice.”

  For just a second, Thimon looked angry, and I almost took it back. Thimon was the one who gave us our powers. I didn’t want to make him mad.

  But then the anger was gone. Thimon rubbed his eyes. “Give me a minute to think,” he said. “In fact, I’ll call Uncle John and see what he says.”

  I nodded. “Thanks for considering it. It’s important to us. Juanita’s our friend.”

  As soon as the door to our room closed, Benny asked, “Do you think he’ll let us?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “Let’s wait and see.”

  Thimon came back to our room a few minutes later.

  “Well, I spoke to Uncle John,” he said. “I think it’s time we get you guys your supersuits.”

  Benny and I stood in front of a storage unit. LL-4 was painted on the metal sliding door. On the right side of the door was a latch with a numeric keypad. I checked over my shoulder. We were alone. I took off my ski mask and Benny took off his.

  “You’re sure this is the right place?” I asked Thimon over my earpiece.

  Benny and I had flown most of the way. When we hit the outskirts of the city, my brother insisted I put him down so he could run along the road. I heard him whooping and hollering while I soared over him in the air.

  Superpowers never got old.

  “Double-L four?” Thimon asked.

  “Double-L four,” I said. “We’re standing right in front of it.”

  “Okay,” Thimon said. “The access code is forty-five, eighty-three, four-six-five.”

  I typed in the code and was rewarded with a sharp click. I grabbed the handle and pulled.

  Benny was inside before I could pull the door all the way up.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

  It was a small storage unit. Two crates sat open against the back wall. Inside each one was a metal rod with a supersuit hanging from it.

  “Uncle John sent these up,” Thimon said. “He’s going to send a few more sizes, just in case we need to give anybody else a power. But for now, they’re all yours.”

  Benny had already stripped down to his underwear. I found the light switch, flipped it on, and lowered the door. By the time I’d pulled out my supersuit, Benny was already dressed.

  I pulled on my suit. It was smaller and lighter than the suits my parents and relatives wore. It was stiff and awkward until I turned it on. Then the hydraulics kicked in and everything felt smooth. I found I could move almost unhindered.

  “Ah, that’s much better,” Thimon said.

  “What do you mean?” Benny asked.

  “The suits have video feed,” Thimon said. “I’m picking them up on my laptop back here at the house. I can see both of you.”

  “Do these suits have manuals?” Benny asked. “Please tell me they have manuals.”

  Thimon laughed. “I don’t think Uncle John sent the manuals, Benny. Sorry.”

  We stepped out of the storage unit. Benny started jumping up and down. The hydraulics in his suit gave him extra kick and allowed him to land softly. He could jump almost ten feet straight into the air.

  I tried jumping myself, and the feeling was incredible. We had suits. We had powers. I might have been doing my superhero checklist out of order, but it was all too clear what we had to do next:

  • It was time to find and defeat the Joneses.

  11

  I FEEL LIKE A SUITCASE

  Both of the supe
rsuits had metal handles welded to the back. The hydraulics in the suits made it easy to carry Benny around. I had flight, and Benny had enhanced sight. We’d spent the last thirty minutes flying around Split Rock looking for any signs of the Joneses.

  “I feel like a suitcase,” Benny grumbled as I banked left and launched us higher in the air. I still didn’t want to draw attention.

  I soared higher and higher. The sun warmed my supersuit. Benny groaned.

  “This is high,” he said. “I might be sick.”

  I slowed down and came to a stop. We had flown high. Downtown was to our left, the rest of the city lay spread out across the valley.

  “Use your sight,” I said. “Look all around.”

  Benny fell silent. The hydraulics in his neck hissed as he slowly turned.

  “With my sight, I can see almost everything,” Benny said. “But there is a lot of everything. I don’t know where to look, or even what I’m—”

  Benny caught his breath.

  “Do you see something?” I asked.

  Benny pointed. “Fly over to the canyon, so I can get a closer look. By First Dam.”

  I flew over some industrial areas, then suburbs, and then I dipped down toward First Dam. The dam wasn’t very large—only a few stories tall—but it held back a decent amount of water. There was enough to form a small reservoir behind it.

  “There!” Benny pointed. “There’s something under the water.”

  I had to fly closer before I could see what Benny had spotted with his enhanced sight. But sure enough, a dark object wavered under the water, right at the base of the dam.

  “What is it?” I asked, coming to land at the side of the reservoir. As soon as I let go of Benny’s handle, he was off and running.

  “We should have packed our swimming trunks,” he shouted, his voice blasting me right in my earpiece.

  “Benny”—Thimon’s voice crackled in my ear—“the suits have a swimming mode. Check the controls on your arm.”

  I scrolled through the menus of the control panel on my arm and engaged the underwater mode. The shoes of my suit extended, turning into flippers. I heard a hiss, which was followed by a cold blast of air and an increase of pressure in my helmet. Two mini propellers extended from my forearms. I knew it wasn’t very cool to be impressed with your own equipment, but I couldn’t help but grin. These suits were so much better than the ones my parents had.

  With a splash, Benny disappeared below the water line. He kept talking over the earpiece, and his next words were urgent. “Fire! Rafter, you need to get down here as fast as you can.”

  I leaped into the air, flew over the reservoir, then shot into the frigid water in the middle. I kicked my feet and pointed my arms toward the black object. The propellers on my arms whirred to life and I cut through the water. It felt like I was still flying.

  In an instant, I took everything in. My breathing became fast and my visor fogged up, but all my recent practice kicked in. I shoved everything else out of my mind and focused on the problem at hand.

  The dark object was egg shaped, with heavy armor curving around the entire structure. It had treads beneath it, like a tank. A large drill on the front spun, boring into the dam.

  Benny was already next to the robot, trying to cut into the armor with a white-hot fire. The water around him boiled and churned.

  Thimon sounded in my ear. “How much water is behind the dam, and are there any houses in the area?”

  My mind raced. We’d just flown over suburbs—hundreds of homes that would be destroyed if the dam broke.

  “We’ve got to call for help.” My voice sounded desperate. “Thimon, get Grandpa on the phone.”

  I could almost hear Thimon shaking his head. “No time. That robot is going to be through the dam before anybody can even put on their supersuit, let alone get out there. Rafter, listen to me. This isn’t your chance to save the day. It’s your job to save the day. You and Benny are the only ones who can do it. There isn’t anybody else.”

  Juanita flashed through my mind, and for a brief moment I desperately wished she was there with us, dressed in a supersuit and fighting alongside Benny and me.

  But Juanita wasn’t there. She’d been kidnapped. And right now, I couldn’t think about that. I had to focus on this robot.

  I took a deep breath, calming myself.

  “Strength,” I said to Thimon.

  I heard a snap and felt a tingling. Strength coursed through my body. I dove deeper until I was right next to the machine.

  The robot looked like it was built for a single purpose—to drill. There were no doors, no windows, and no hatches in the polished aluminum shell. The only way to stop the drill would be to get inside and mess up the machinery, but there was no point of entry. That meant I’d just have to make one. I pulled back a fist and pounded it into side of the robot.

  Nothing happened. I’d barely dented the armor. I pounded the side of the robot again and again. I thought of the hundreds of homes—and the people in the homes—and hit even harder.

  A few dents. Nothing more.

  “How’s it coming?” Thimon asked.

  I stopped, gasping for breath. “Not good,” I said. “I made a crack, but that’s it. Benny? Any luck?”

  Benny sounded frustrated. “No. I cut a small hole with the fire, but it’ll be a half hour or more before it’s big enough to get inside.”

  I tried to think. If I had flight, I wouldn’t also have the strength to carry the robot up and out of the water. If I had strength, I’d be relying on the two propellers on my supersuit to swim. I needed more than one power at a time, and Thimon couldn’t do that.

  I swam to the front of the robot. The massive drill was spinning so fast the grooves of the drill appeared as a blur. Even with strength I couldn’t stop it. And if the drill could cut through the cement of the dam, it would probably tear through my supersuit like it was Swiss cheese. “I’ve got nothing,” I said. “I have no idea what to do.”

  “Neither do I,” Thimon said.

  This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. We were superheroes. We were supposed to win.

  I saw Benny swimming to the surface.

  “Rafter, get out of the water,” he said. “I’ve got an idea.”

  “Flight,” I said, swimming up. By the time I’d surfaced, I’d already felt the change. I shot into the air. Benny swam toward the shore. I dipped down, grabbed him by his handle, and carried him to the shore.

  “I saw bubbles leaking out of the armor.” Benny was breathing fast. “You cracked it, and I cut a hole, and now I think it’s filling with water.”

  “Even if that’s true, it’s clearly still drilling. It must be waterproof on the inside.”

  Benny smiled. “You might want to step back.”

  My brother stepped to the edge of the water and submerged his fists.

  “Thimon,” Benny said. “I need lightning.”

  I realized what Benny was going to do. “Don’t,” I shouted. “You don’t know what will—”

  There was a large boom and a flash of light. A wave of energy crashed over me, and I flew backward through the air. I landed, rolled, then jumped to my feet. I raced toward Benny and helped him stand.

  “Wow,” Benny said. “That felt a little like kissing a tornado.”

  We stepped back to the water’s edge, watching as the surface of the reservoir calmed. I could hear my own breath echoing inside of my helmet. I waited.

  And then Benny was laughing, laughing and whooping, the water finally calm enough that we could see beneath the surface.

  The robot lay on its side, the drill sticking up and no longer turning. The armor had burst from the inside, where the electricity had been conducted through the water.

  Benny danced on the shore of the reservoir, his arms raised in victory.

  I smiled with relief, then laughed as Benny gave me a chest bump that almost knocked me over. He whooped again and jumped into the air, his suit hydraulics making him look li
ke he was on an invisible pogo stick.

  We’d just taken on a giant underwater robot, and we’d won.

  We’d done something important.

  We’d saved the day.

  And nobody could know a thing about it.

  12

  THAT SEEMS LIKE A FINE NEXT STEP TO WORLD DOMINATION

  I lay on my bed, arms spread out, face to the ceiling.

  Mentally, I felt exhausted. My head hurt. My brain almost buzzed with energy. Physically, I felt fine. The supersuits had done their job. Even though Benny and I had just fought with a robot, my muscles weren’t tired.

  As much as I wanted to turn my brain off, I forced myself to think.

  “It doesn’t make sense,” I said.

  “What do you mean?” Benny asked. “It makes perfect sense. When the two of us meet a robot, the robot is going to lose. I’m pretty much a conking ninja.”

  “Not that,” I said. Benny must not have been tired either, because he wouldn’t stop reliving our battle. He’d been telling me about every nuance of the fight since we’d returned—like I hadn’t been there and seen the battle myself.

  “The robot doesn’t make sense,” I said. “Why was it even there?”

  “Are you feeling sick?” Benny spoke like he was talking to a four-year-old. “It was there to drill into the dam. To release the water. And if the water gets out from behind the dam, that would be bad.”

  “But why even do it in the first place?”

  Benny had an answer for that as well. “The Joneses are supervillains. It’s what they do.”

  I shook my head. “Maybe in comic books, but not in the real world.” I sat up on my bed. “Think about it. For decades, the Joneses stay in the background. They hide. They’ve been doing that before you and I were even born. And then they come out of hiding, kidnap the superheroes, and haul them off. Then they hide again. And suddenly their next move is to destroy the Split Rock dam?”

  “That seems like a fine next step to world domination,” Benny said.

  “It’s basic strategy,” I said. “There has to be some reason they were trying to destroy that dam. And I’d bet you anything it has something to do with where they’re taking Juanita and all the other heroes.”