Masked (Superheros Undercover Book 1)

by J. D. Wright

  “Strangely enough, I already do.”

  “Good.” Jada closed her tablet. “We will need to work on your suit first. Most of the stuff we add to your lair will sync with your suit, so it’s the first step. If we get the suit ordered today, it should be here tomorrow. After that, I’ll get you hooked up with communication devices, weapons, and everything else you might need. This is my first real commission as an agent, so we’ll figure it out as we go.”

  “What do I owe you for the lair and…everything else?”

  “Ahaha!” Jada threw her head back in let out a howl of laughter. “Wow, you really are new to this business.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” But he couldn’t stop himself from laughing too.

  “You don’t pay for any of this stuff, Nick. It’s my gift to you as my super. At least, for the basics. Once we go over your suit and tools and stuff, if you want something extra or that I can’t make without special materials, then it might cost you. But this isn’t Gotham City, Batman. You don’t foot the bill.”

  “Funny. Then who pays you?”

  “The S.U.C. pays agents to look after their assets. When you register with them at indoc, you’ll become a resource for them. They want you to survive and help keep crime down and the villains in check. They have an agreement with the government that even I don’t know the details of. But let’s just say that the S.U.C. are equivalent to the superhuman police. They will pay me to keep you alive. And every time you bring in a bad guy, they gift you money too. I’ll keep it in a separate account that only we will have access to.”

  “Does every superhero have an agent?”

  “No. Some don’t want someone looking over their shoulder and there actually aren’t enough supertechs for every hero to have one like me. There are agents without my power but,” she buffed her nails on her sleeve and gave a smug grin, “I’m a rare one. A diamond, really. You’re lucky to have me.”

  Nick smiled. “I’ll be sure to remember that.”

  “Good.” She stood and started for the panic room. “Let’s get all of this stuff set up so we can work on your suit.”

  “Why the name, Jewel?” Nick asked, following her.

  “Because I have a sparkling personality, of course,” she said with a wink.

  Chapter Eleven

  Indoctrination class was held in an unexpected part of town. As Majestic walked toward the building, she wondered why her parents had never told her she would be going to the convention center in the middle of the city for her indoc class. Then again, this was the final part of becoming an actual superhero, and she figured that making your public debut this way was just as good as any.

  She stepped through the revolving doors and found herself inside a lobby. There was a sign that simply said ‘Indoctrination’ with an arrow pointing to the right. She followed the direction and a door directly in front of her bore another sign, this one of a single black star. She pushed the door open and stepped inside.

  Majestic took in the large room filled with people in their super aliases. She had been practicing answering questions without giving away her normal identity and was ready for this. She’d be without Whiskey for indoc, as communication with the outside was prohibited, so she was essentially on her own, and finding a quick friend would definitely help. As she scanned the room, she saw there were at least thirty people there. Most were paired off or standing in groups and talking.

  In the corner, a girl stood by herself, reading over a brochure of some sort. Majestic walked over and took another of the pamphlets from the table beside them. The one she picked up was an advertisement for Super Weaponry, highlighting all of the newest weapons that they offered. She’d become quite familiar with their site over the past year or so.

  Majestic took a brief moment to study the girl next to her, who was wearing a layered dress and strappy gladiator-type sandals. The entire ensemble started with a tan ruffled top, then changed to dark purple, lightening as it went down. The bottom layer was gold. Bells hung from her skirts and jewelry dangled on both arms and ears. The final touch, in lieu of a mask, she wore a sheer purple half-veil that somewhat masked the bottom half of her face, from the nose down.

  “Hi, I’m Majestic.”

  The girl looked up and smiled through the veil. “Gypsy. Hello.”

  “Gypsy? I love that name. It definitely matches your suit.”

  “Thanks.” Gypsy toyed with her long auburn braid as she spoke. “I’m not really the creative sort, so I just thought I’d go with something easy. I’m a psychic. My power doesn’t require a suit like yours. I don’t do all of that kicking and stuff like you probably do. I like it too, by the way. Your suit.”

  “Thank you.” Majestic chuckled. She could tell Gypsy liked to ramble when she was nervous. “I was going for a whimsical sort of vibe.”

  “I can see it.”

  “I had no idea that we’d be at the convention center,” Majestic said.

  “You mean the aquarium?” Gypsy asked. “We’re at the aquarium.”

  “I’m pretty sure I walked into the mall,” a young man said, turning around to face them. He was wearing a silver body suit and royal blue cape, mask, and boots. In the center of his chest was a blue emblem that looked similar to a hurricane. His blonde hair was so light that it was almost white. “I’m Vortex, by the way. Aerokinesis.”

  “Wait, wait.” A second man joined them, who Vortex had been talking to. “I thought we were meeting at Teasers.”

  The two women were silent, but Vortex let out a snorting laugh.

  “The gentleman’s club?” Gypsy asked, blushing underneath her veil. “You were sent there?”

  The man laughed. “No, I’m kidding. I went to a movie theater.”

  Majestic gave the man a hard glare as she looked him over. His bodysuit was navy blue with white upper-arm straps. Two black stripes started at his shoulders and went down both edges of his solid chest, not stopping until they reached his boots. His wrist-cuffs were also black and longer than hers, reaching almost to his elbows. His waist-belt was white with an “O” in the center.

  Contrary to Vortex’s mask that hid over half of his face, this man’s mask was thinner and more traditional, covering mostly just his eyes and disappearing underneath his blonde hair. His playful grin was on full display. Majestic ignored it the same way she overlooked the sparkle in his pretty blue eyes. He just radiated trouble, and she wondered if obnoxious charm was his superpower.

  “All right, funny man,” Majestic said, smirking. “And just who are you?”

  “I’m Orion, since you asked so nicely. And you?”

  “Majestic. And this is Gypsy. She’s a psychic.”

  “No kidding? Like you can see the future and stuff?”

  Gypsy blushed, again. “Sort of. I get glimpses of predictions and sometimes I dream them.”

  “That’s really cool.”

  “Thanks. It can be, but sometimes…it isn’t.”

  Majestic was grateful that neither of the men asked Gypsy to elaborate. It was clear, at least to her, that the girl didn’t like talking about her power very much.

  “What is your power?” Orion asked, eyeing Majestic’s supersuit. “Do you grant wishes?”

  “Wishes?” Majestic looked down and sighed when she realized what he meant.

  “When you fall from outer space?”

  “Ha!” Vortex laughed, again. “Because of the stars on her suit. I get it. Falling stars.”

  Majestic didn’t appreciate the joke. “No, Starboy. I don’t grant wishes but I will grant you one and pretend you never made a wisecrack about my suit.”

  “Oooh,” Vortex punched Orion in the shoulder. “She’s feisty. I like her. But what is your power, Majestic?”

  “Telekinesis.”

  “You can move things with your mind? That’s pretty handy.” Vortex nodded. “I use air to move stuff too, but I’ll bet you do it better.”

  “Depends on the weight of the item,” she replied, shrugging.

/>   “What’s the biggest thing you’ve moved?”

  “Probably my brother’s car. It almost rolled over a cat in the driveway once. I stopped it by lifting it into the air. My mother almost had a panic attack because I used my power in the open.”

  “Wow. That’s great.”

  At that moment, a woman entered the room and walked toward the podium. It was clear from her business suit that she was the person in charge. People began to shuffle toward the rows of chairs that faced the front. Vortex and Gypsy left to find seats.

  “Starboy?” Orion asked, following behind Majestic.

  “Yep.”

  “Clever.”

  “I usually am.”

  Vortex and Orion sat down in the back row and the girls took seats in front of them. They all turned forward and waited for their instructor to speak.

  “My name is Angela,” the woman said, folding her hands. “Yes, I am a normal. Yes, my husband is a super. No, I will not tell you which one.”

  There were a few chuckles heard around the room. Angela moved behind the podium and shuffled some papers before speaking again.

  “You may have already discovered that each of you entered from a different point of the city. This was done to keep our headquarters hidden to those who might have faked their way into an invitation to indoctrination. So before we begin, we must test every one of you to make sure your power is valid. When I call your super name, please stand and demonstrate your power.”

  Orion was more nervous than he could ever remember being before. Football tryouts were nothing compared to this. When the lady spoke about testing their powers, he started to worry that his ability wouldn’t be strong enough. If he failed this test, would they call him a fraud?

  Jewel had been in his ear when he approached the movie theater but they both knew that she wouldn’t be allowed to communicate with him after he went inside. She had assured him that everything would be fine but he couldn’t help but worry.

  At least, the pretty telekinetic girl in front of him provided a nice distraction while Angela went down the list, calling out supers and giving them each a turn to demonstrate their power. Majestic. It had a certain ring to it that he liked. He didn’t quite get the stars on her suit, though. For someone who had the ability to move things, what did stars have to do with it?

  Then again, he had chosen Orion as his name, also related to the stars. And it didn’t have anything to do with reading minds, either. In fact, the only reason he had decided to use that name is because of his first—and only—pet. His turtle, Orion, had been his sidekick during those pre-school years and he still missed the little guy. They used to fight crime in their backyard and he thought it was a nice way to pay homage to the adventures he would have to go on alone since the original Orion was long gone.

  But Vortex, sitting next to him? Now that guy had a great name and a really nice suit too. Vortex’s floor-length cape was what Orion had noticed first about him. And during their short talk, Orion had learned that Vortex was an eighth generation super. Orion wondered what that would be like. To have supers for parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and everything in between. Just having a family that paid attention to him would be better than an absentee father.

  Focus, Nick, he thought. No, wait. Orion. I meant Orion. Damn. Remembering to always use his super name while in his suit had probably been the biggest challenge so far. He was easily able to adapt to the suit. He had been wearing sports uniforms since t-ball, so this was just another uniform. The gadgets took a bit of getting used to, but he had spent every free moment practicing.

  “Gypsy,” Angela called.

  Gypsy stood and everyone turned to look at her. She looked panicked for a moment and opened her mouth to speak, but Angela cut her off.

  “Never mind, Gypsy. You’re already cleared.” Angela rattled off the next name on the list.

  Gypsy sat back down. “Well, that was embarrassing.”

  Vortex leaned forward and tapped her shoulder. “Lucky you. How did you get cleared beforehand?”

  “I’ve been making predictions since junior high,” Gypsy replied. “My grandfather works for the S.U.C., so…I guess they already know about me.”

  After a few more people, Majestic was called. She stood and looked around the room, then focused on a pitcher of water on a table near the wall. She used her power to lift the pitcher, pour the water into a cup, and gently float the cup over to her hand. When she took a sip, there were a few laughs around her. She gave a quick bow and turned back to her seat.

  “Show off,” Orion muttered, smirking.

  But his amusement was short-lived because apparently, he was next. Angela was reading his name off in her head and he stood even before she could say it.

  “Oh,” Angela said, startled. She looked back down at her paper and smiled. “Well, you must have known that your name was next then. Show us your power, Orion. You are welcome to choose someone or just use me.”

  Expressions of confusion were scattered around the room as he looked at the group. There was only one normal in the room, and Jewel had already told him they would be easiest to read, so he focused on Angela and let his power run free.

  …I’d love to be able to read my husband’s mind. Might find out what my birthday present is before our dinner tonight…

  “Aww,” Orion said, shaking his head. “That’s not nice. You should let it be a surprise. And Happy Birthday.”

  Angela nodded and beamed. “Good.” She turned back to her list and called the next person.

  “Telepathy? You read minds?” Gypsy asked, spinning in her seat to face him. “Can you read anyone’s mind?”

  Orion shrugged. “Not everyone’s. Some people have the ability to block me.”

  “Try me,” Vortex said. “What am I thinking?”

  …I’m hungry and would like some pizza. Maybe I should ask Gypsy and Majestic to get pizza after this…especially Gypsy. Man, I love red-heads…

  Orion snickered. “You’re hungry. And I’ll just keep the rest of that to myself.”

  Vortex blanched when he realized Orion heard everything he thought. After that, he stayed quiet until his name was called. Then he stood, lifted his palm, and sent a gust of wind around the room, ruffling people’s hair and earning himself a few curses from the people who didn’t appreciate the breeze.

  There was only one more person on the list, and after they were done, Angela returned to the podium.

  “Now that we’re finished with that,” she said, “let’s begin. First, we’ll go over why you’re here. As a super, you have a natural right to use your powers however you see fit. Now don’t think this means you can do whatever you want and get away with it. Not only do you have to follow most of society’s laws, but you have to also abide by our guidelines, as well. What are those guidelines, you ask? I’ll tell you.”

  She turned to the screen behind her and pointed a long stick at the first item on the projected bulleted list.

  “Keep your super identity separate from your everyday persona,” she said. “This could be a matter of life or death. If a villain knows who you are, he can target your family or your home. We’ve learned from history that this is an exceptionally important rule to follow.

  “Never do super work out of your disguise. Obviously, this means that you shouldn’t use your powers where normals can see you. Even if you think you’re stealthy enough not to get caught, you’re not.” She shot a hard glare at Vortex as she spoke.

  “I might have gotten in trouble as a kid for floating on the playground,” Vortex murmured, making Orion smile.

  “Keep damage and casualties to a minimum, when possible,” she continued. “Part of the S.U.C.’s job is to clean up after an event of supernatural causes. If you are found to be careless with your endeavors, the S.U.C. and the city both will fine you for the costs. So no blowing up a building if you can avoid it.”

  Orion leaned back in his seat and shook his head. The way the instructor spoke, it was as i
f buildings being blown up was an everyday occurrence. Had it really become that ordinary?

  “Now,” Angela said. “We’re going to split up into groups of four for the next portion. This is just a series of small tests to see where you are in terms of your training and readiness. Your results will be available at the end of our session and will also be sent to your agents, if you have registered with one.”

  Without much discussion, Majestic and Gypsy paired off with Orion and Vortex. They were given a card for the first challenge, which was a quiz on acronyms. Orion knew several of them that Jewel had forced him to learn. But there were just as many he didn’t know. He guessed on a couple and was the first to finish.

  As he watched the others, Majestic seemed to be the only one who wasn’t struggling. She was even smiling as she answered her questions. It would be all too easy to try to read her mind and get the answers. But surprisingly, Orion didn’t give a second thought to cheating. He would just take the score he got. Besides, Jewel would definitely know if he cheated because there were acronyms on the test that she’d never even shown him.

  Once the test was finished, they turned their cards in and started a new task. This one was focused on agility. There were simulators set up all around the outside of the room. Each group got one simulator and took turns playing a game of ‘dodge the bullets.’

  “I love this game!” Vortex said. He stepped up and did his best to avoid the simulated bullets that the digital man shot at him. Out of six bullets, he only missed one. It hit in his shoulder and he dramatically pretended to fall to the floor and bleed out.

  “Is he dead?” Gypsy giggled, kicking his leg with her sandal. “Get up, you goof. It’s my turn.” She stood in the center of the simulator and waited for the bullets to start flying, then she dropped to the ground and stayed there. Only one bullet hit her, after ricocheting off of a simulated wall.

  The other three laughed at her method of avoiding the bullets.

  “Nice,” Orion said, smiling.