I wouldn’t have blamed them if they had turned and run. Benny had said his brother was falling, but we looked more like a blazing meteor hurling out of the sky.
When Rodney had triggered the device, all of them had gotten their powers back. Judith, the one with the walker, had lightning. Merry could shrink herself. Barbara could shoot water from her hands. Nothing fancy. Just classic superpowers.
None of them used their powers, though. Sometimes you don’t need powers to be super.
Merry tossed her walker to the side and grabbed the net. Monroe was too short, but he grabbed onto Merry’s legs and helped steady her.
The women from the senior center, their bathrobes whipping around them in the wind, stepped forward, grabbed the jump net, and held it toward the stars.
35
I’LL KNIT THEM FIRST THING TOMORROW
Juanita and I slammed into the net. The force of our fall sent us to the pavement, along with the women, in a heap of arms, legs, and supersuits. The smell of singed cloth and hair was strong in my nostrils.
I untangled myself from the mess and leaped to my feet, surprised that I could stand at all. Surprised I was still conscious.
I began helping our heroes to their feet, thanking them and making sure they were okay. October Jones was somewhere under this pile of bodies and I didn’t know what he might try next.
As it happened, October Jones had a broken collarbone and a sprained ankle. He was none too happy, but he couldn’t do much about it. He lay on his back and cursed and groaned. I tried to help him up but he only snarled.
Dad landed next to us. More superheroes arrived after him. Four of them held October to the ground, and another one went to find the police.
I breathed a sigh of relief, and let them take charge.
I found Benny on his hands and knees. His head was hanging down, and at first I thought he was hurt. I got down and put my arm around him.
“You okay?” I asked.
He nodded.
“You sure? There are ambulances. I could get somebody to check you out.”
Benny turned his head so he was looking right at me. “I did it for real this time, didn’t I? I did something important. I’m not a nobody.”
This time I did hug Benny. I knew this was important to him, so I said my next words carefully. “You are somebody important, Benny. And today, you did a great thing.”
Benny sat back on his legs, and smiled. Then he fell onto his back and started laughing.
Juanita was already on her feet, checking to make sure the women from the senior center were okay.
I heard on the radio that Grandpa had found Thimon hiding in the shed on the roof.
We’d done it. Not just me. Not just the three of us. All of us. In big ways and little ways, we’d fought the bad guys.
We’d beaten them, and we’d won.
The night blurred together. In real life you don’t just save the day and fly off into the sunset.
The Joneses were all gathered up and the police started taking statements. People who had come out of their hotel rooms or wandered in from around the city were sent back to their rooms and homes. Reporters and TV crews came, and suddenly a lot of superheroes were pushing, trying to get in front of the camera.
Slowly, bit by bit, the police and firefighters got things under control.
At one point, Grandpa came over to Benny and me and whacked us both on the back. “I’m mighty proud of you boys,” he said. “Mighty proud.”
That made me smile, and put a grin on Benny’s face that would be there even after he fell asleep in the back of the Mitsubishi later.
I said good-bye to Judith, Barbara, and Merry before Dirk took them home.
“You won’t forget?” Benny asked Merry.
“I’ll knit them first thing tomorrow,” Merry replied. “And I’ll send them to you in the mail.”
Benny saw my questioning look. “She’s going to make me some anti-chafing pads. I’m really itching in a few of my nether regions.”
Just before dawn I found a parking meter, sat down on the cement, and leaned against it. I was half-asleep when Juanita came over to say good-bye. She was yawning, but looked happy.
“Hi, Rafter.”
“Hi, Juanita.” Before I could get to my feet, Juanita slumped down next to me on the sidewalk. She leaned against the parking meter on the other side.
I couldn’t see her face, but I could hear her breathing. Her head must have been just a few inches from mine.
We sat there for a good ten minutes, neither of us saying a word. The silence was comfortable, like a heavy blanket and sunlight on a winter’s afternoon.
A warm silence between friends.
After a time, the Roylance’s Tacos van pulled up to the curb. Juanita stood up.
“’Bye, Rafter.”
“’Bye, Juanita.”
Juanita got in the van, and the van drove away.
The sun had just pushed above the horizon when Dad and Mom were ready to leave. Dad had gotten plenty of pictures for his scrapbook. And he’d spoken to every reporter he could find.
We found Rodney working on a laptop in the hotel. Benny had fallen asleep next to a plant in the lobby. Dad carried him to the Mitsubishi and Benny never woke up—that proud, happy grin plastered on his face.
The engine revved to life, and my eyelids got heavy as the car rocked me gently.
Sleep fell over me. My thoughts began to scatter.
The Johnsons and Baileys . . . superheroes. Today we’d done something big. We’d found the supervillains and we’d beaten them. But there were still many things to do. Big and small. I’d call Juanita as soon as I woke up and we’d plan where to help next.
Maybe in the future I’d get a chance to save the day again. To do something important. I’d be ready if an opportunity came along.
But if I couldn’t do something important, then I’d at least do something.
Big or small.
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About the Author
Photo by Steven Jensen
MARION JENSEN lives in Farmington, Utah. He is one mile away from a large amusement park, two miles away from the Great Salt Lake, and three miles away from thousands of acres of national forest. But he stays indoors all day so he can write books that people will laugh at. You can visit him online at www.marionjensen.com or follow him on Twitter @marionjensen.
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Credits
Cover art © 2015 by Pete Oswald
Cover design by Laura Lyn DiSiena
Copyright
SEARCHING FOR SUPER. Copyright © 2015 by Marion Jensen. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
ISBN 978-0-06-220958-0 (trade bdg.)
EPub Edition © December 2014 ISBN 9780062209603
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FIRST EDITION
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