Searching for Super

by Marion Jensen

  I just couldn’t think of what.

  I felt a swell of frustration. Juanita was my friend. She needed my help.

  My head spun when I stood up. I shook it, and that helped.

  “Come on,” I told Benny. “We need to get back to the library.”

  Mom and Dad didn’t like the idea.

  We met them coming up out of the root cellar. They were dressed in their supersuits and looked tired. When I told them we needed to leave the house for just a second, Mom put on her don’t-argue-with-me face.

  “Juanita went missing and she was with an adult,” Mom said. “We’re not going to let you two take a step outside without us.”

  Benny and I exchanged a glance. We’d already done a lot more than “take a step outside” today. Thimon had asked us to give him three days before we told anybody about the robot and the dam. In three days, he told us, he’d tell the family everything.

  “So I take it this means you didn’t find any sign of Juanita or the others?” I asked, changing the subject.

  Dad shook his head. “Not a thing. And now we have another problem.”

  “More missing relatives?” Benny asked. He seemed excited. Like this would give us a chance to go out and fight more supervillains.

  Mom shook her head. “We haven’t been doing our job, boys. We’ve skipped patrol and haven’t been helping like we should. Today when we went out, a lot of citizens weren’t too happy to see us. They feel like we’ve abandoned them.”

  Dad looked thoughtful. “We’ve been so busy worrying about ourselves and the Joneses, we forgot that the people of Split Rock count on us in all kinds of smaller ways. We made a mistake.”

  “To be honest, now more than ever we should be hunkering down,” Mom said. “We have superheroes going missing left and right. There is still no sign of the Joneses. But Grandpa has spoken to Mrs. Johnson. The families have decided to get back out on patrol, starting today. It’s the right thing to do.”

  Dad looked at Benny and me. “We’ll have your supersuits in another few days. Are you boys ready to help us out?”

  I thought of the supersuits that Thimon had given us. They were a better design, and with Thimon’s powers, we could be more effective.

  “Uh . . . sure, Dad,” I said.

  I used to get so excited about going out on patrol. A week ago, I would have given anything to stop hunkering down. But there was so much more happening now than my parents realized. We didn’t need to patrol. We needed to take action.

  The next two days were the longest two days of my life. Benny spent his time reading manuals and pestering Thimon to give us powers. I spent the days doing what little research I could do from home. I looked into First Dam. I checked how much power it generated. I used an online map to find out which buildings would have been damaged if it had broken. I even read the history of when it was built.

  I found nothing.

  Thimon wouldn’t give us powers. He said if our parents wanted us to stay inside, he wasn’t going to help us disobey. “Uncle John will be here tomorrow,” he said on the second day. “And then we can make our move.”

  That afternoon, our family supersuits were delivered in two big crates. Benny and I unboxed them. Dad said that the next morning, our family would be grouped up with two other superheroes, and we’d head out into the city to search for the missing superheroes.

  After dinner that night, Thimon, Benny, and I went out back to the trampoline and watched the stars come out, one by one. I saw bats dart back and forth across the moonless sky. Their nervous energy must have been contagious.

  “So, Thimon, what makes you want to be super?” Benny asked.

  “That’s like asking somebody why they want to be rich,” I said. “Everybody wants to be super.”

  Benny nodded. “Just like everybody secretly wants goat’s milk.”

  Thimon stretched out, putting his hands behind his head. Stars reflected in his eyes.

  “Actually, I can tell you the exact moment when I decided I wanted to be a superhero,” Thimon said. “When I was little, I got sent to the principal’s office. I’d found a spilled bottle of glitter, and when I showed my teacher, she assumed I’d spilled it. I tried to explain, but I was also nervous. I’m sure I looked guilty. I couldn’t even answer her questions straight. I could only shake my head when she asked me who did it because I didn’t know.

  “When I got to the principal’s office, he was playing a card game on his computer. I remember he didn’t even see me for a few minutes, and when he did see me, he looked annoyed. He kept playing his game. Maybe he hoped I’d just go away.”

  Benny sat up so he could watch Thimon. I tried to imagine my cool, confident cousin as a nervous little kid.

  Thimon continued. “I’d never had a problem with the principal. He seemed like a nice man. But there I was. Facing what felt to me like a judge, jury, and executioner.

  “Finally he turned on me. He was angry. He asked me what I had done to get sent to his office. By that point I knew I had to talk, or I’d be in big trouble. I told him I hadn’t done anything. That it had all been a mistake.

  “He looked at me with contempt. He sat there in his big chair, wearing his big tie. And he judged me. He didn’t see the kid who’d found a bottle of overturned glitter. He saw all the other boys and girls who had been sent there before me—boys and girls who really had done something wrong. And who insisted on their innocence, just like I was doing.

  “He gave me a lecture. He told me that I’d have to stay after school twice. Once for doing whatever bad thing I’d done, and once for lying about it. I tried to say something, but he slammed his fist on the table. He asked me if I wanted to stay three days after school.”

  Thimon didn’t say anything for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice had a cold edge to it.

  “I was facing a man who had all the power. I had none, and he knew it, and there wasn’t a thing I could do about it. I know it seems like a little thing, but right then, I swore to myself—”

  Thimon stopped, took a deep breath, and then continued. “Right then, I swore to myself that I would always stand up for those who do not have the power to stand up for themselves.”

  Benny nodded vigorously. I found myself nodding as well.

  “That’s why we need superpowers,” I said. “That’s why we have to do anything possible to get them back.”

  Later that night, I lay in the black stillness of my room listening to Benny breathing deeply on the bed next to mine.

  I couldn’t sleep. I still felt like I was missing something. I tried to replay everything from the day Juanita went missing till now in my mind. It felt like I was doing a puzzle. I had all of the pieces, but none of them fit together. There was the mystery of Juanita’s relatives. They said they’d been at the statue, but we’d definitely been there. How had we missed them?

  And why had Juanita herself been acting so strange? When she’d looked at me, it was like she was looking through me. Like I wasn’t there at all.

  She’d given me the flash drive and then left.

  I remembered the people on the bus. They had looked strange as well. Distant and empty.

  Then there was the robot. We’d been threatened with giant robots and powerful lasers before, back when we used to fight with the Johnsons. There had never been any actual robots or lasers, though. They were all lies, made up by the Joneses to cause confusion. This robot was real. I’d seen it with my own eyes. That got me thinking. If destroying the dam was so important to the Joneses—important enough to send an underwater robot—would they give up just because the robot had been defeated? Wouldn’t they send another? Or maybe go and see to the job themselves?

  I fumbled around on my nightstand until I found my phone. I pressed the power button and checked the time. 11:35.

  I didn’t want to wake Benny, so I pulled up my messenger program. Now that we’d started patrolling again, somebody would be out right now. If our computer systems were up, I could ha
ve located them immediately. As it was, I’d have to contact whoever was at the command center out at Grandpa’s ranch.

  I sent a message to the main number.

  Anybody there? Who’s out on patrol tonight?

  I waited. My phone went dark after a few seconds, then flared back to life.

  Isaac here. Kendal Bailey and Alisa Johnson are on patrol. They just finished downtown; now headed into the suburbs.

  I thought for a moment, then typed into my phone.

  May have a lead. Can they check First Dam? Make sure they check in water 2

  A few moments later the answer came.

  It’s a slow night. I’m sure they can get on this right away.

  I’d promised Thimon I wouldn’t tell anybody about the robot, and I was going to keep my promise. But if the Joneses were going to attack the dam again, I couldn’t just sit back and let that happen. When the patrol got there, they’d find the broken robot, and word would spread like wildfire through the families. We wouldn’t have to wait for Uncle John. Thimon would have to tell everybody about his powers tonight, and then we could use them to find Juanita right away.

  I switched my phone to vibrate and closed my eyes. I should have thought of this earlier. I felt better than I had in a long time. I didn’t like keeping secrets from my parents. It would be a relief not to have to hide this anymore.

  I woke up with a start. I didn’t know how long I’d slept. Just long enough to be confused. My phone was buzzing and I could see three messages on the screen.

  Nothing at the dam. Everything looks normal. They checked inside the water and the area around.

  Four minutes later—Do you want them to do anything else?

  Twelve minutes later—Rafter, are you still there?

  The last message had come twenty minutes ago, but my phone was still buzzing. It took my sleepy brain a second to realize that somebody was calling.

  I hit the answer button.

  “Hello?”

  The person on the other end spoke slowly and carefully. As if the vibrations of their voice might cause an avalanche, and they were sitting at the bottom of the mountain.

  I recognized the voice immediately.

  It was Juanita.

  “Rafter. I’ve escaped. I’m hiding in a linen closet and could use some help.”

  13

  WE DON’T NEED TO THINK

  I threw open my bedroom door and ran down the hall, but came to a screeching halt outside my parents’ door. Benny crashed into me from behind.

  It was almost midnight and they’d be asleep, but once I woke them, my parents would let Benny and me go. I knew they would. We had our supersuits now. We were part of the team.

  The problem was, it would take us at least thirty minutes to mobilize. Maybe longer if they insisted on gathering everybody in the family. It would take an hour—maybe two—to get all eighty superheroes in the city to gear up and get ready for an attack.

  I looked behind me. Thimon’s door was also closed.

  Thimon could give us powers. If I had flight, and Benny had speed, we could get to Juanita in five minutes. We could still mobilize the superheroes, but we could get there faster.

  There was something else, too.

  If I woke my parents, Benny and I would play a small part in a big operation. If I woke Thimon, Benny and I would be doing something big and important. All on our own.

  We’d be super. We’d save the day.

  We’d done it before. We could do it again.

  Grabbing Benny by the bathrobe, I hauled him down to Thimon’s room. I knocked lightly at the door, and when I didn’t get an answer, I knocked a little louder.

  “Come in.” Thimon sounded sleepy.

  We went in. Thimon sat up in bed. He wore a white T-shirt, and his hair stuck up at odd angles.

  “Juanita’s at the Baylor Hotel,” I blurted out, making sure to keep my voice low. “She just called. She’s escaped from the Joneses and needs our help.”

  Thimon threw back his covers and sprang from his bed. For a second, I thought I saw terror on his face—maybe anger—but then it was gone. He shook his head as if trying to clear his thoughts.

  “Wait, start again,” Thimon said. “What are you talking about?”

  I told Thimon about the call I’d just gotten. “Juanita told me she was at the Baylor Hotel. She needs our help, and she needs it fast.”

  Thimon turned to the window. He ran his hands through his hair. “I need to call Uncle John.”

  “There isn’t time!” The whole reason I’d come to Thimon was because he could get us to Juanita fast. “They might find her missing at any moment.”

  “We need powers,” Benny said. “And we need them now.”

  “And we’ve got to tell my parents,” I said.

  Thimon turned around. “You haven’t told your parents yet?”

  I shook my head. “No, you can tell them after we’ve left. They can get the word out to the rest of the family, and we can all meet up at the Baylor Hotel.”

  I knew there were probably a dozen holes in the plan. I knew that my parents would want to make sure to coordinate with the Johnsons, and move with caution. But I was the one who had heard the tremor in Juanita’s voice. I was the one who’d gotten her into this mess in the first place.

  We had to move now.

  Thimon’s eyes darted back and forth between Benny and me. It appeared he was thinking fast.

  “Okay, fine, you win,” he said. “I’ll give you powers. We’ll get you on your way, and then I’ll let your parents know. We’ll get them there as soon as possible. Sit down.”

  We sat down. Thimon touched our foreheads and I felt the familiar tingling. I felt a lightness course through my body.

  I rose off the floor. I felt ready for anything.

  “Fly to the storage unit,” Thimon said. “Get into the suits. I’ll alert the families.”

  I stepped onto the ledge of the Wilson Tower, which stood right across from the Baylor Hotel. My toes hung over the edge of the skyscraper and my heart beat fast but steady.

  Benny and I had changed into Thimon’s supersuits and made it to the Baylor Hotel in under nine minutes. Thimon told us the other two families would be there in another forty-five.

  Benny was bouncing around on the ledge next to me. “Let’s get going,” he said. “I’m ready to conk a few supervillains on the head.” He smacked his fist into his open palm. Thimon had given Benny strength, and Benny couldn’t wait to use it. “Man, I hope there are ninjas.”

  We were alone on the top of the tower. I pulled my helmet off so I could breathe the fresh night air.

  I wanted to move in, but something felt off. Something had felt off ever since we left the house.

  “Give me just a second,” I told Benny.

  The wind whipped around me, almost as if it was urging me forward. Pushing me to fly to the Baylor Hotel and start fighting supervillains.

  But something held me back. Something wasn’t right.

  “What are you waiting for?” Thimon’s voice came in my ear.

  Benny looked down and whooped to the entire city. “Those people down there look like ants!”

  I felt like a piece of cloth being pulled in two different directions. Close to ripping.

  “Give me a second to think,” I told them both.

  Benny rolled his eyes. “We don’t need to think. The bad guys are over there. We’re superheroes. There, I just did your thinking for you.”

  Benny literally started to hop with anticipation. With the hydraulics in his legs, he could jump a good ten feet into the air, and he was jumping on the already high ledge of the Wilson Tower.

  “Thinking is what the Johnsons do,” Benny said. “We’re Baileys. We do our thinking after we’ve already leaped into action.”

  Benny jumped higher and higher, the moonlight reflecting on the armor of his suit.

  “Thimon, how much longer until our family gets here?”

  The wind rushed and
the noise of Benny jumping up and down was loud. I cupped my hand over my ear so I could hear Thimon’s reply.

  Thimon did reply, but I didn’t hear it. Or if I did, the words didn’t register.

  I’d spoken to Thimon half a dozen times on the flight over here. He’d just asked me what I was waiting for.

  The problem was, none of that should have been possible.

  I didn’t have an earpiece.

  I’d never put one in.

  14

  A JONES

  “Rafter?” Thimon’s voice came in my ear. “Did you hear me?”

  It was impossible.

  I looked overhead and saw a full moon, high in the sky. Earlier that night, there hadn’t been a moon at all.

  Thoughts tumbled through my brain like cats in a dryer.

  The moon in the sky.

  Thimon’s voice in my ear.

  The flash drive that had been in my pocket, and then in my backpack.

  Underwater robots and lies that were told to confuse.

  Headaches.

  Somebody had fooled us from the beginning.

  That somebody was a Jones.

  And that Jones was a Thimon.

  15

  WELL, NOW YOU’RE JUST BEING SILLY

  “Benny,” I said. “Did you put in your earpiece?”

  Benny stopped hopping. He cocked his head at me. “Of course I did. Otherwise, how could I . . .” He went quiet, and then touched the side of his helmet. “No . . . I didn’t. Thimon didn’t give them to us this time.”

  The wind around us died.

  “Thimon,” I said. “What’s going on?”

  When Thimon spoke, his voice sounded somewhere between nervous and angry.

  “We’ve been talking over the radio in your helmets,” Thimon said. “Why are you two just standing around? You’ve got to get into that hotel.”

  “I’m not wearing a helmet,” I said. “I took it off.”

  Benny took his helmet off, too, and touched his ears. His eyes grew wide. He pulled out a small black object from his ear. “Wait, I do have an earpiece. I just don’t remember putting it in. Could it still be in there from the last time?”