by Jamie Zakian
“Wait,” Simon called out but Evie didn’t stop. She couldn’t, not while tears flowed down her cheeks.
“Evie.” Simon grabbed onto Evie’s arm and yanked. The force of his super-strength lifted her feet off the ground and she crashed against the wall.
“I’m sorry,” he said with a shaky voice. He looked more stunned to have thrown Evie across a hallway than she felt to have been thrown across it.
Evie wiped her eyes then straightened her top. She was actually thankful to Simon. If he hadn’t flung her against a wall, rage would’ve never rushed in to mask her misery.
“I’m used to being manhandled by your kind.”
“Oh.” Simon took a step back from Evie. “I’m sorry about that, too. I guess.”
Simon placed his hand on Evie’s shoulder, slow and gentle. “What happened to Shay? Hetal rambled some nonsense about nanobots.”
“Your adversaries are gone,” Evie said, in the strongest voice she could muster up. “They’ll never see the light of day again. There’s no reason for the SPU anymore. I’m going to pack our stuff and have Shay transported to a hospital.”
Every muscle in Evie’s body shook as she attempted a firm stance. Her raised chin and confident stare had been executed rather well in her opinion, considering the last forty-eight hours. She headed back toward the elevator and Simon blocked her path.
“No. Stay.” Simon grabbed onto Evie’s hand, his fingers trembling. “I can have any medical equipment you need brought in. Specialists too. You want a neurosurgeon, a cardiologist? I’ll fly them in on my corporate jet.”
Evie pulled her hand from Simon’s clutch. It was an amazing offer, from Mr. Amazing himself. Once he found out what Shay had done, that she wasn’t harboring their fallen friend’s soul any longer, he wouldn’t need them and the amazing offer would go away. She’d rather speed up the process. It’d be best to part ways now, before she grew any more attached to the trio than she’d already become.
“Jenna’s soul isn’t inside Shay anymore. You don’t need us here.”
Evie weaved to step around Simon and Simon bobbed, barring her escape.
“I don’t care about that. I care about you and Shay. You guys are like family.”
Family. It sent chills through Evie. She couldn’t remember the last time she heard that word used in relation to herself and Shay.
“Really?”
Simon took both of Evie’s hands into his own. “Really,” he said, and the faucets behind her eyes turned on again.
Beside Shay, Evie had no one. There was no one for her to turn to when she needed advice, not a person other than Shay she could trust. She missed comfort, missed having a family.
“I’d be lost without you guys,” Simon said. He pulled Evie into a hug, and she fell against his chest. “I feel like I could tell you anything.”
Simon’s body grew stiff, his breath ceasing to flow for a moment.
“I’m gay.”
The declaration came out of Simon’s mouth in a puff, one that rustled Evie’s hair. She drew back from his embrace, finding a wide grin on his lips.
“Woo,” Simon belted out, chuckling. “I never told anybody that before. It felt great.”
“Umm.” Evie searched for the right words, but her mind was thoroughly blown. “Good for you. I’m honored you told me first.”
“Yeah.” Simon nodded. His smile faded and he leaned close to Evie. “Don’t tell anyone, okay?”
Simon, the strongest man in the world, had become a bundle of nerves. His dread was uncalled for. She’d take his secret to the grave—not because he called her family, but because it wasn’t her secret to share.
“I’ll never tell. I swear.”
“Come on.” Simon took Evie by the arm, ushering her toward the lab. “Let’s go find out what we need to bring Shay back.”
For three days, Max sat at Shay’s bedside. She hadn’t woken up, or moved a muscle since they revived her. Doctors had come and gone, tests were run inside their specially designed hospital room within the lab.
The many specialists Simon had flown in were useless. They spouted out crap like: There’s nothing medically wrong with her. It’s unexplainable. His top pick for a most ridiculous prognosis had been: Her mind will awaken when it’s ready.
He’d finally convinced Evie to take a break from hovering at Shay’s bedside. The woman hadn’t showered in days, and with no windows in the lab it was in everyone’s best interest she left for a bit.
Max leaned his elbows onto the bed in front of him, staring down at Shay. “How you doing today?”
As expected, the soft beep of a heart monitor answered his question. He felt stupid, like he was talking to himself. That’s why he only did this when Evie slept, or the seconds he could score alone with Shay. This was a rare treat, one he’d take full advantage of.
“I have something for you.” Max pulled a worn copy of Dante’s Inferno from his pocket, which he had “borrowed” from Shay’s desk.
“Evie said this is your favorite book. I was gonna read it to you but I can’t figure out if it’s happy or sad, and I want you to have happy thoughts right now so—”
Max sat up straight. He could’ve sworn he just heard a murmur flow from Shay’s mouth. Over the steady beep of a heart monitor, and with Hetal yelling at her second batch of failed stem cells, it was hard to tell.
“Evie …” It was low, horse, and choppy, but Shay’s voice slurred from her chapped lips.
The legs of Max’s chair scraped the floor as he jumped to his feet. He bumbled in a circle for a good few seconds, unable to decide whether to step toward Shay, Hetal, or the phone. He’d spent hours imagining this moment, and now that it was here he didn’t know what to do.
“Hetal!” Max’s own shout startled him, shuttering his bones. “Call Evie.”
Metal clanked to the floor across the room. As Hetal ran for the phone on the wall, Max dropped to his knees beside Shay’s bed. “Evie’s on her way. Can you hear me?”
Shay’s head rolled toward Max. Her arm flopped against the mattress, which sent a burst of joy running through his body. He grabbed Shay’s hand, pulling it to his chest.
“Can you open your eyes? Open your eyes, Shay.”
“Max?”
“Yes. It’s me.” He might have squeezed Shay’s hand a little too tight, but her eyes fluttered open so he counted it as a win.
He’d feared he’d never stare into Shay’s soft brown eyes again. When he did, his smile spread wider than he thought possible.
“There you are.” He brushed a strand of hair from Shay’s forehead. “You had us worried.”
“Why? What happened?” Shay’s voice grated with each drawn out word. Max reached for the pitcher of water on the workbench behind him, but she tugged him back to her side. “Where am I?”
“In your lab. Evie wanted you in the suite, but Simon insisted we set everything up in here.” Max gestured at the makeshift hospital room, surrounded by a thin blue curtain. “Since you love this place.”
“The nanobots.” Shay sat up, looking over her shoulder. “They’re not there.”
“No. Hetal got them all. I think. Hetal,” Max yelled. “Get over here.”
“I’m coming.” Hetal slid the curtain back and walked straight to the EKG machine on the workbench.
“Did her finger twitch again?” she asked, scanning the printout of spiked lines.
“No,” Shay said and Hetal jumped with a start. “My whole body twitched.”
“Shay.” Hetal bumped Max aside to dive into Shay’s arms. “You suck.” She hugged Shay tight then drew back and slapped Shay on the arm. “I thought you broke your brain.”
“I might have.” Shay rubbed her head, groaning. “The jury’s still out on that one.”
Hetal tossed the blanket off Shay, which fluttered Shay’s short hospital gown. “Are you paralyzed? Wiggle your toes.”
“My toes are good.”
Shay covered her bare legs, glancing at Max. “It worked. I got Jenna’s soul.”
“I got Jenna’s soul,” Max said. He pulled a small vial from his pocket. Tiny specks of metal clinked against the glass as he held it out for Shay to see.
“Wow.” Shay took the vial, holding it front of her eyes. “They were so much bigger when they were inside me. I can’t believe Jenna’s in there. It seems highly insignificant for a person so …”
“Loud-mouthed,” Max said through a snicker.
“I was gonna go with extraordinary, but yeah. We have to set her free.” Shay put the vial in Max’s hand and closed his fingers around its cool surface. “How many hours have I been out?”
“Hours?” Max said. He shoved the container back into his pocket, keeping his hand wrapped around the thin glass that held the remnants of his first love. “It’s been days.”
“Days? Where’s Evie?”
“I’m here.” Evie sat on the bed, hugging Shay. “I knew I shouldn’t have left, but stupid Max insisted.”
“Good thing too,” he said. “Your stink would’ve thrown her into another coma.”
Evie ran her hand along Shay’s cheek. “Are you all right?”
“It was incredible,” Shay said, and Hetal shook her head while mouthing the word no. “The nanobots were ginormous, and I watched Jenna break away into sparkles.”
Hetal waved her hands, lightly jumping behind Evie.
“What?” Shay looked at Hetal, who shrunk down.
“I think she’s trying to warn you,” Evie said, glowering at Hetal over her shoulder. “Because I … am furious.”
Shay leaned back against her pillows, her eyes wide. “Oh?”
“You’re grounded,” Evie yelled, standing so she could cross her arms.
“What?”
“For, like, ever.”
Shay sat up straight in her hospital bed, narrowing her stare on Evie. “For what?”
“For being reckless. For preforming experimental procedures on yourself without permission.”
“But. I freed the tormented soul of a superhero, using nanobots.”
“I don’t care.” Evie walked to the workbench of medical equipment and picked up a keycard. “Your lab access is going to be restricted, and it’s back to school with you, miss thing.”
First Shay’s fingers clenched, then her teeth. Max knew the indicators for an enraged outburst, and Shay exhibited them all. It was a clear sign for him to inch away from her bedside.
“That’s not fair.” Shay slammed her fists against the mattress and a gust of orange wind blew out from beneath her hands. The fiery breeze rippled as it shot out in a circle around the bed, and knocked everyone who surrounded Shay flat on their backs.
“Whoa,” Hetal cried out. She sat up on the floor, smoothing down her hair.
“What was that?” Evie asked, climbing off the floor.
When Max rose to his feet, he found all eyes on him. Even Shay looked at him for answers and she was supposed to be the expert scientist, who did this to herself.
“That was Jenna’s solar slap,” Max said. “But I don’t know why Shay has it. Jenna’s supposed to be in the nanobots, in my pocket.”
“It got away from her,” Shay mumbled, more to herself than anyone in the room.
“What?” Evie placed her hand on Shay’s forehead then neck. “I think we should get a doctor in here, have you examined.”
Hetal stepped beside Shay’s bed, nodding. “She has been disoriented.”
“No, I have not.” Shay glared at everyone, even Max whose only crime was standing back to gawk. “Jenna is in the nanobots. She told me she had to leave some things behind, it must have been her powers.”
“How?” Evie sputtered.
“Their powers are just a super-charged form of energy,” Hetal said, eyeing Shay like a shiny, new invention. “The first law of thermodynamics is conservation of energy. The powers themselves would have bonded with the most suitable host, for preservation.”
Max tried to process all that, but Hetal might have been speaking French for all he knew. He needed someone on his level.
“I’m calling Simon.” Max pulled out his cell phone and tapped the picture of Simon’s smug face.
“I have superpowers,” Shay said, staring at her palms. “Oh no. I have superpowers.” Her brow scrunched as she looked at Evie.
Shay was in the same packed courthouse where her life took a turn for the strange, looking at the same stern-faced judge. Only, this time, she stood at the front table beside three superheroes, getting star-struck grins from the judge as she spoke.
“That’s quite a tale,” said the judge, closing his file. “And how are you adjusting to your new powers, Shay?”
Shay just stared at the bald, round man, who practically swam in his oversized black robe. This question. The lawyers, Evie, even her new publicist had prepped her for this question, and it stumped her every time.
To say having superpowers was freaking awesome would only be true on some days. Mostly, she blasted holes in walls when she sneezed then threw crybaby fits about it, only to have the curtains in her bedroom burst into orange flames.
“I think I’m adjusting well,” Shay said with a firm nod. “I’ve been working with Simon on power control, Alexie taught me basic self-defense techniques, and Max …”
She looked at Max, the guy who took off two weeks ago without so much as a goodbye. The no phone call, text, or email guy who she thought fell off the Earth. Same one who still hadn’t spoken to her since his reappearance on the courthouse steps this morning.
“Everyone has been very patient with me.”
“Your honor,” Simon said, pausing to smile for the cameras. “Shay Sinclair is a bright, honorable young woman. With a little more training, I have no doubt she’ll become an exceptional superhero.”
The judge smiled until his gaze landed on Evie, then he glowered. “And how is your guardian treating you? I know Ms. Evie Sinclair can be unrealistic and a bit of a grandstander. If you’re unhappy with her parental role, we can reevaluate your custody order.”
That question Shay didn’t need to think twice about. “No sir. I love my sister; she’s the best guardian I could hope for.”
“I see.” The judge opened the file in front of him, jotting a quick note. “And the people, with this energy signature?”
Evie opened her own file. “We administered thorough examinations to forty-five-percent of them. None have exhibited unusual abilities so far. We’re hoping they’re all just regular people with a harmless genetic abnormality. Of course, we’ll need to continue interviewing the remaining fifty-five-percent.”
“Indeed,” said the judge as he wrote in his file. “Okay. I hereby grant the requested authority to the Superhero Policing Unit, under the command of Evie Sinclair. You’re required to send me a monthly report, including details on Shay’s progress.”
The judge lifted his hard stare to Shay. “I expect you back at school once your powers are under control. If you take one step out of line, young lady, there will be consequences. Understand?”
“Yes sir.”
“Just one more thing.” The judge’s chair creaked as he sat back and clasped his fingers together. “The supervillains, Antiserum and Dr. Mayhem, where are they now?”
Heads turned in a line, ending on Evie.
“Gone,” Evie said, her chin high. “Forever.”
Once the paparazzi got their shots and everyone settled back at Ling Enterprises, Evie snuck out the front lobby and into an awaiting sedan. A quick drive across town and she was in her warehouse, riding the elevator down to her forgotten underground base. Hope had driven the creation of this facility, strange how it ended as a dwelling place of despair. At least it wasn’t her misery trapped thirty-foot underground. That privilege was reserved for the man who betrayed her and his maniacal brother.
Evie stepped off the elevator. She walked through th
e ghostly command center of her nearly abandoned SPU headquarters. The lone agent on guard duty nodded at her. They always nodded at her when she came here, which happen more and more these days. It’d be crazy for her to miss Cyrus, even crazier to want him back, which was why she constantly told herself she didn’t.
Lights flickered on, gleaming off white walls as Evie walked down the narrow hallway. When she turned the corner, her feet skid to a stop. She still couldn’t get used to the sight of Cyrus and Lucius suspended in blue liquid, asleep inside tall glass cryotubes.
It took a little mental scolding, but Evie finally got her legs moving forward. The wide-open room stretched out before her, dark and empty except for the blue glow of cryotubes.
She pressed her palm against the cool glass of Cyrus’s containment tube. He had a gentle face, her doctor of mayhem. It was a quality that made him all the more dangerous.
“I found out today that you’re conscious in there,” Evie said, staring at the wisps of black hair that floated in front of Cyrus’s still face.
“You can imagine how surprised I was. We had to dump you two in here before the trials were complete but when the test subjects emerged, they said they experienced it all. That it was torturous not being able to see or move, only listen as time slowly whittled by.”
Evie’s shoes clanked, their tap circling the spacious room as she strolled around the cryotube. The awkwardness that used to come from looking at these two naked men had long passed. She’d spent far too much time staring at the cuts of muscles rippling on every inch of Cyrus’s body to be squeamish around people in the buff.
“I’m sure you’ve realized by now that I would never have said all that crap about still loving you if I’d known you could hear me. You can disregard that while you’re stewing on your mistakes for an eternity. Because I also found out you don’t age when you’re in that goo.”
Evie walked from the eerie glow of two lone cryotubes amid an empty room. A pang nicked her heart every time she spoke cruel words, even to supervillains, but she’d overlook the ache for Cyrus. As long as his betrayal weighted on her heart, kept her from trusting another man, she’d lash out on him.