Superheroes Suck

by Jamie Zakian

“Is it over?” Hetal yelled from across the lab.

  “Yep. It’s over.” Shay eased off the table, turning away from the display. The outline of her body was filled with blue light and a tiny bit of red, the remnants of a murdered superhero.

  “This test is inconclusive,” Hetal said, pointing at the screen. “You have no baseline. Everyone could have two or more energy signatures.”

  “Are you volunteering?”

  “Yeah. I’ll do it.”

  Hetal hopped onto the table and Shay grabbed her arm.

  “I don’t know. It’s like getting ten X-rays at the same time.”

  Hetal laid back on the table, holding a serious expression. “It’s for science.”

  “Okay.” Shay saved her image and reset the machine. “Give me a second to get behind the lead then hit that button on your left.”

  She hurried, as fast as her sore body would move, and leaned against the lead wall. In this instance, she’d love to be proven wrong. She hoped for the best, but foresaw calamity—or worse, catastrophe. Hetal’s shoes tapped against the floor, but no hoot followed.

  Shay peeked out from behind the lead wall and Hetal shrugged.

  “Blue?” Shay asked.

  “No. Yellow. All yellow.”

  Max walked into the lab and Shay almost ducked back behind the lead wall but his stare had found her, like always.

  “Shay,” he said, and Hetal flinched.

  Hetal turned from the X-ray machine, took one look at Max, and backed into a shelf.

  “Can we talk?” Max asked, staring at Shay. “Alone.”

  “Oh.” Hetal stepped right then left then walked around Max, practically running toward the lab’s wide door. “I’m gonna …” She motioned to the hall with her thumb as she scurried backward from the lab.

  Shay snickered. It wasn’t that long ago she became dumbstruck at the sight of a superhero. Now, she just babbled random nonsense.

  “How was your fight?” Nonsense exhibit number one. “I mean, did you get Lucius and Cyrus?”

  “Alexie said you were dead.” Max rushed toward Shay, standing only inches from her. “That you would’ve stayed that way if she hadn’t … I can’t believe I just left you there like that, to die.”

  “It’s not your job to look out for me.” Shay brushed past Max. She needed to look busy, so she hurried to her X-ray machine to save Hetal’s scan.

  “Yes it is. I’m supposed to be a hero, protect those who can’t protect themselves.”

  “Please. I’ve been protecting myself since I was six.” Shay powered off her machine. She was running out of unnecessary tasks to perform. Eventually, she’d have to look at Max. It was better to get it over with.

  Shay turned toward Max. Fortunately, he stared beyond her, at the wall.

  “This was a mistake, bringing you and your sister into our lives.” Max’s expression twisted, like he’d just bitten into a lemon, and his gaze avoided Shay like the plague. It brought up a distant memory, one she couldn’t quite place.

  “Did Evie say something to you?”

  “Like what?”

  Shay studied Max’s face, which was not easy since he looked everywhere but her direction. For a second, their eyes connected and an orange-tinged haze clouded her mind.

  “You have that look, baby, just like the night you snuck us backstage at The Shed so we could meet the band.”

  “Jenna!”

  Max clutched onto Shay’s hand and the fog in her head cleared. She yanked her hand from Max’s grasp and pushed him away. Words had come from her mouth, in her own voice, but their meanings didn’t connect to anything solid in her mind.

  “I’m sorry, Max. I don’t know what I just said. Ever since I got hit with the sonic blast, my head’s been jumbled.”

  “Maybe you should sit down.”

  Max slid his arm around Shay’s waist. Tingles accompanied his every touch. It was strange how she felt uncomfortable and completely safe in his embrace at the same time, even stranger that she didn’t know which feeling to fear more. She allowed Max to usher her to the lab’s small couch. Their legs pressed together as he sat beside her and she scooted away, though not very far.

  “Shay. There’s something I have to tell you, and it’s gonna be a little hard to grasp.”

  “I’m not Jenna.” Shay watched Max’s hopeful expression drop, the sparkle leave his eyes.

  “But, she’s somewhere inside you.”

  “No. I’m the same me I’ve always been.” Shay traced the scar beneath her shirt with her finger. That mark was a constant reminder of the day her parents died; and now, it would be a souvenir of Antiserum’s violation over her body and soul.

  Shay took Max’s hand, before realizing how inappropriate it might look. It was too late to let go now. His digits were firmly clasped around her own and she’d never be able to pry them off, even if she wanted to.

  “I don’t know how you can feel Jenna, she’s gone. There’s only an energy signature left, with no emotions, memories, or feelings.”

  “You talked about the night we met Razorbill, at The Shed.”

  Max squeezed Shay’s hand so tight her fingers grew numb, and she pulled her arm away.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “It just happened, like a minute ago.”

  Shay knew exactly what Max was talking about, but the more she denied it the easier it became to overlook. She understood energy. It was erratic, though it had rules that could explain how one person could theoretically have two different energy signatures. But two actual people sharing one body, one mind … it went beyond breaking the laws of physics. That shattered every scientific belief she held dear.

  “Lucius did take something from Jenna and he transferred it into my body, but I don’t have her memories. The emotions I feel are my own. It’s just energy, not Jenna.”

  “But you said—”

  “I hit my head pretty hard. I might’ve spouted out some gibberish and you mistook it for something else. It’s common in times of stress to associate current situations with similar events of your past.”

  “No!” Max’s shout echoed throughout the wide-open lab, growing louder each time it bounced off a steel wall. “You can’t wrap everything in science and put it on a neat little shelf.”

  He seized Shay by the wrist. His nails dug into her skin as he pulled her arm close to his chest. “Just look into my eyes.”

  “Stop.” Shay jerked back from Max, and his grip on her arm tightened. “Max, you’re hurting me.”

  “What’s going on?” Evie yelled as she stomped across the lab.

  Max let go of Shay, and she jumped to her feet. “We were just talking,” she said, rubbing the indents left by Max’s grip.

  “New rule.” Evie took Shay by the hand while glaring at Max. “You two aren’t allowed in the same room together alone.”

  Evie pulled Shay from the lab and Shay couldn’t be more grateful. As a thank you, she let her sister scold her the entire elevator ride upstairs.

  Max stayed on that hard couch in the cold lab, cradling his head in his hands. Minutes passed, maybe even hours. He didn’t know, didn’t care. Outside this lab, a crazy version of his already tragic life waited and he was in no hurry to let it devour the rest of his will.

  Boots thumped against the tile, but Max didn’t bother to look up. It was Alexie. She was the only person he knew who could manage to sound self-righteous just by walking.

  “That was … pathetic.” Alexie sat on the couch beside Max. “And a little scary.”

  “You and Simon were watching on the video feeds?”

  “Yeah, we were.” Alexie smacked Max’s hands from his face. She placed her finger under his chin and steered his gaze to her. “I popped popcorn and everything, but quickly lost my appetite.”

  “This isn’t a joke.” Max pushed Alexie’s hand away, ready to match fire for lightning.

  “I kno
w.” Alexie slouched back against the couch. “I came here to help you.”

  “By teasing me?”

  “No,” she said through a chuckle. “By letting you know you’re not losing it. When I brought Shay back, she said, ‘I will marry you, Max Storm’ with her first breath.”

  “That’s the last thing Jenna said to me.”

  “I know.” Alexie’s tone and gaze had lost its usual edge of mockery, which allowed her sincerity to show. “And I heard her say that thing about The Shed.”

  “What does it mean, Lexie? She wasn’t like this before.”

  “I think when Shay died, some things got mixed up. Simon thinks it’ll wear off soon.”

  “Oh does he?” Max looked at the camera overhead. “Mr. Used-to-be-a-Med-Student thinks he’s a neurologist because he gave himself superpowers?”

  “He also thinks you should stay away from Shay until her concussion clears.”

  Max lowered his gaze from Alexie’s nod. “Simon might be right about that one. I really freaked myself out the way I grabbed her.”

  “Think about how Shay felt. A little kitten trapped in a lion’s claw.”

  Alexie took a deep breath and her stare drifted up, as if searching the ceiling for the right words. “You’re ten years older than Shay. Maybe not in mentality, but in every other way you are her senior. She’ll do whatever you tell her, because we’re taught to obey our elders.”

  “That’s harsh.”

  “But it’s true. I know you, Max. You’re a respectable guy. You wouldn’t want a relationship like that.”

  “I don’t.” Max jumped up off the couch and stomped out of the lab. Alexie could be so tasteless, crude … and right. Even if he did have feelings for Shay, which he didn’t, he’d never be happy in an unequal relationship. The child in Shay shined bright. Her always messy hair, lack of makeup, those clothes. The girl had a lot of growing to do, and he didn’t want to be the glitch that triggered it.

  Max looked up from the floor, at the shiny numbers on Shay’s front door. His boots thumped as he staggered back a step.

  This was a mistake. He hadn’t meant to come here, didn’t even remember the elevator ride up seventy-six floors. Almost against his will, he lifted his hand to knock then backed away from the door.

  “Idiot,” he muttered to himself.

  Shay’s suite door flew open, and Evie stepped in its threshold.

  “Big surprise,” she said, curling her fingers into fists. “It’s the super-stalker.”

  “I uh …” Max couldn’t explain why he’d come to Shay’s front door, because he didn’t know, but he did need to do something while he was there.

  “I need to apologize. To you. My behavior’s been—”

  “Appalling, indecent, disturbing.”

  “Yeah.” Max shrank down under the weight of Evie’s fierce stare. “And creepy.”

  “I know about your dead girlfriend’s soul.” Evie cringed the moment the words flew from her mouth.

  “Jenna,” Max said softly.

  “I’m sorry, that was rude.” Evie slouched against her doorway. “I have a boyfriend, and I care about him very much.”

  “Then, shouldn’t you be talking to him right now?”

  “It’s hard to talk to him. I really like him. I don’t care about you so …”

  Evie shrugged and Max snickered. “Thanks.”

  “What I mean to say is I can see how this situation with Shay is hard for you.”

  “It’s gotta be hard for you too. Shay must feel like a daughter to you.”

  “Yeah.” Evie’s entire body relaxed, her tightly kept guard coming down half an inch. “Nobody gets it. Because we’re sisters, people think it’s one big slumber party. But I’ve watched Shay grow, mature, all by myself. She feels like my kid.”

  Max stepped closer to Evie, leaning on the opposite side of the doorway. It was nice to have a civilized conversation, even if it was with the Ice Queen. “How old were you when your parents died?”

  “Seventeen, but I turned eighteen while Shay was in the hospital and I filed for custody.”

  “That’s horrible. You lost the best parts of your life.” Max kept his gaze low. He played a large part in that night’s events. He should’ve caught that subway car midair, should’ve talked to Lucius instead of hurling fire-encased fists.

  “No. I don’t think of it that way. Hey. You want to come in, have a beer?”

  The question seemed to shock Evie as much as it stunned Max, and it came from her own lips. They hated each other. Evie was smug, self-centered … at least, he’d thought she was.

  Max stood up straight. He glanced at the elevator down the hall, then looked inside Shay and Evie’s penthouse.

  “A beer sounds great.”

  Shay kicked off her blanket. Too extravagant was a thing, and she’d found it. A bed of feathers, with pillows of feathers, and a blanket stuffed with feathers, and it was all wrapped in silk. It made her think of starving children. Her bed of down and silks could feed an entire village if liquidated. With tiny emaciated bellies stuck in her mind, she’d never sleep and the blaring TV in the living room wasn’t helping.

  She rolled out of bed, thumping her feet as she walked from her room. Her steps slowed once in the suite’s small hallway. That wasn’t the TV blasting through her wall. It was Max and Evie, giggling.

  Not one breath would leave Shay’s body as she slinked along the wall on tipped-toes. Their words echoed down the dark hallway, crystal clear, and she froze in place. This hit a new level of low. Lurking in shadows, listening to harmless chitchat about a burned down movie theater was grade A creeper behavior.

  Her loser instinct kicked into overdrive. Just as she backed away from the hall’s end, the talking stopped. Two, three seconds passed with no sound but a crinkle of leather.

  Part of Shay wanted to jump back in bed and pull those fancy covers over her head, but the part that needed to peek into the living room won out.

  Shay crept to the end of the hallway and peered into the living room. One glimpse of Evie’s arms around Max’s neck, their lips pressed together, was all she needed to throw up a little in her mouth. She hurried to her room, choking down gulps of air. As softly as possible, she closed her bedroom door then slumped against the wall.

  A warm streak ran down her cheek, cooling her way too hot skin. She wiped it away and looked at her fingers.

  Tears?

  Relief cut through her misery. It had been a long time since she cried. She’d feared her tears had run dry. The sting of betrayal swiftly returned, followed by a bout of stupidity.

  Shay climbed back in her soft bed and sunk into the smooth pillows. A soul ached inside her body, but it wasn’t her own. It left an odd feeling, one of self-pity and compassion.

  Science and logic had abandoned her. Another person’s soul wrenched in agony within her, and she actually felt the burn. It shouldn’t be possible. Jenna’s consciousness shouldn’t have carried over into Shay, just the energy.

  Shay pulled the blanket to her chin. The false comfort these elegant linens provided worked this time. Silky sheets tingled her skin. The fluffy pillows swallowed her thoughts, and wiped away the image of Max’s hand on her sister’s cheek. The last bits of sadness she clung to slipped away, adrift under sleep’s gentle call.

  “The door’s opening,” Simon said, peeking over his laptop at Alexie.

  Alexie crawled across the couch. She snuggled beside Simon, turning the computer in his lap so she could get a glimpse. “How long’s it been?”

  “Max went into Shay’s suite over an hour ago.”

  “That’s so—” Alexie gasped, gripping onto the sides of the laptop’s thin display. “He’s with the other Sinclair!”

  Simon watched in sheer disbelief as Max hugged Evie in the suite’s doorway. “Unbelievable.”

  “This guy.” Alexie sat up straight, pounding her fist into her palm. “You want me to drag Max
’s ass up here?”

  “No.” Simon closed the lid of his laptop. “It’s late. We’ll lay into him tomorrow.”

  Alexie shrugged. She picked her fallen magazine off the floor and continued flipping through its pages. “It’s gonna be funny when those two sisters start pulling each other’s hair out. My money’s on Shay, she’s more of a scrapper.”

  “What is Max thinking? First it’s Shay then it’s Evie.”

  “Don’t forget Jenna’s soul,” Alexie said. “Jenna is definitely alive inside Shay. I heard it myself.”

  “That troubles me the most.” Simon placed his laptop on the coffee table. “I didn’t know Jenna that well, but I’ve seen the old space program’s footage of her. She was strong, determined. If her consciousness is awake inside Shay, it’ll find a way out. It’s just a matter of time.”

  “What would happen to Shay?”

  Simon had only gotten through two years of medical school before his … incident, but the professors hadn’t explained a soul. He didn’t know what a soul was, what would happen to a person if two resided in one body. Nobody could know such a thing, except the man who ate souls for breakfast—Antiserum.

  “From what I’ve seen in movies, there can only be one driver behind a wheel. I don’t know how strong Shay’s mind is, but she could get lost. Forever.”

  “We cannot let Max find out about this.” The magazine tumbled from Alexie’s hand, fluttering to the floor. “He’s completely irrational when it comes to Jenna.”

  “We need to find a way to get Jenna’s soul out of Shay, without hurting Shay.”

  If only they knew someone who could pull a soul from a body, someone rational.

  “We were a great team, those few months. Us, Max, Jenna, and the Grant brothers.”

  Alexie snickered, more of a snort. “The Liberty Squad.”

  “That’s right. That’s what we used to call ourselves,” Simon said with a grin.

  “You want to bring Lucius back into the fold?”

  “We complimented each other perfectly, when we worked together.”

  Alexie stared at Simon as if he’d grown two heads. “We can’t work together. Lucius always has to shine brighter than everyone else.”