“So, what are yours?” I asked. “Your opinions about superheroes?”
“I don’t have a problem with them. I mean, if there are people like The Darkness out there who basically render our senses useless, then we need people like you to kick their asses. Did you really save that lady?”
“I wouldn’t go that far. I scared away a couple of guys, but that was it. I’m no hero.”
“You’re acting like a hero tonight though,” he said. “I mean, you didn’t have to stop and risk your life falling through the trees, but you still did.”
“Thanks for that reminder,” I muttered to him.
It was just that, a glaring reminder that I was wounded, and I wasn’t sure if I could fly back home. What was I supposed to do? Without flying, I would have to walk home at night, and that wasn’t really something I was sure I could do. The Darkness was growing stronger by the day, but I was just a kid with the power to fly. If you could even call falling through trees flying at all.
“You just need more practice. I could help you with that too, you know.”
“Listen,” I told him, looking around for a way to make a swift exit. “It’s not that I’m not grateful for what you’re trying to do, but I don’t want to pull anyone else into this. It’s not a lot of fun, okay?”
Andy shrugged. “Sure, that’s cool. I understand. It’s not like I have nothing else to do or something. My brother was looking for a way to get back with his ex. Maybe I’ll help him with that.”
I laughed. “Please, Buzz doesn’t have a chance in hell at getting back together with Hen. She’s too smart for that.”
“What about all the times she’s taken him back before?” he asked carefully.
“That was different. She has someone better now.”
“Whatever you say, man. Personally, I think anyone who gets with her is an idiot. She’s such a flake.”
I glared at him and took a step closer. “Don’t you dare talk about her like that.”
His eyes grew wide and a grin creased his face as he sucked in a sharp breath. “I knew it! I knew your voice sounded familiar, and it’s no wonder! I talked to you a few hours ago! Why didn’t you tell me, Benji?”
I groaned and pulled off my hood. “Shit.”
Chapter 17
“What the hell, man?” I said. “What would you have done if I were friends with Buzz?”
Andy was still smiling. “Hell if I know. I had a hunch you weren’t a jerk like him though. Not ‘Electric Boy’. He’s a good guy.”
I groaned. “I hate that name.”
Andy laughed. “It could be worse. Don’t worry, though. We will think up something better.”
“What was with all that shit you said about Hen anyway? She wouldn’t get back together with Buzz. I know that she won’t.”
“So, your date went well then?”
I blushed. “We were studying. It wasn’t a date.”
“That’s not what Buzz seems to think. If you haven’t noticed, he’s on the warpath. I guess you don’t have anything to worry about, being Electric Boy and all.”
Rolling my eyes, I groaned again. “A lot of good the powers do me. I can’t even help out my best friend without jacking myself up.”
“Arm hurt? I heard it both times you fell on it. You probably broke it.”
“That’s what I’m worried about. How am I supposed to go up against that crazy lady who calls herself The Darkness if I can’t even help you?”
Andy’s eyes grew wide. “You’re going to try and stop her?”
“Well,” I muttered. “That was the plan before that second failed landing. Now I don’t know if I’m going to be able to fight her, or anyone else, for that matter.”
“Hey, man, you’re trying, and if you ask me, that’s more than a lot of people would do. You just need more practice, and with me around, I can help you with that.”
“How?” I asked.
He grinned. “I’ll show you. It’s easier than trying to explain, but for now, we need to get that arm looked at.”
Before he could offer any more insight or I could ask more questions, we heard voices approaching. It was Buzz and his friends. They’d finally mustered up the courage to come back and handle Andy. I looked to my friend, and he held up a finger, signaling for me to follow him through the woods. Since flying wasn’t an option, I had to do what he said. Hopefully, my friend knew his way around the wilderness better than I did.
We moved silently through the dark. I had no idea how he could navigate when I kept tripping over branches, bushes, and my own feet. Andy moved flawlessly though the trees until I saw the light of the parking lot up ahead. A black car turned its lights on and headed to the edge of the woods just as we jogged out to meet it. I had to wonder if Andy had called him and given him a heads-up because we didn’t wait around in the parking lot as we slipped into the car and sped away.
“Thanks, Travis,” Muttered Andy. “I wasn’t sure if we were going to make it out there for a second.”
The man sighed and eyeballed Andy. “Your parents pay me to protect you, too, you know. I don’t see why you insist on dealing with that spoiled thug on your own.”
Andy laughed. “Because I don’t plan on having security follow me to college. If I can’t handle my own brother, how am I ever going to survive on my own?”
“And what about you? Should I assume you’re the reason we’re being rerouted to the hospital? I let it slide since Buzz hasn’t made a move against Andy yet, but you’ve got another thing coming if you think I’m going to sit aside and let him hurt people.”
“Travis,” said Andy in an exasperated tone. “I promise that Buzz had nothing to do with this. Benji isn’t really graceful, okay? We were goofing off and he climbed a tree, but Buzz and his goons came back and gave us both a spook. Benji tumbled out but that’s it. Tell him, Benji.”
“One hundred percent the truth. For once, Buzz wasn’t the cause of my pain.”
“All right,” Travis grumbled. “Do you need to call anyone?”
I shifted uneasily. “Honestly? I’d rather wait to see what the doctor has to say first. My grandparents have had one hell of a rough week. There’s no reason to get them all upset if it’s nothing.”
“Judging by the way you’re holding it, I wouldn’t think that it’s nothing.”
When I said nothing, Travis went back to driving and didn’t ask any more questions. I knew that he wouldn’t push the issue. He worked for Andy’s parents, and if he thought there was a real danger, I had no doubt that he would be calling them even before we left the school parking lot. His silence told me everything I needed to know. I quickly pulled out my phone and sent a message to my grandmother, assuring her that everything was okay but I’d met up with Andy for a little late-night studying.
“Hey,” Andy whispered. “If you need to crash at my place tonight, that’s fine.”
“You mean if we make it out of the hospital tonight?”
“Do you really think they will keep you?”
I shrugged. “I have no idea, but the pain isn’t as bad as it was before, so that has to be good, right? Maybe I just sprained it.”
“Falling out of a tree,” muttered Travis.
Andy sighed. “When have you ever known me to run around without using my head before? Why are you so worried now?”
“Because you don’t normally bring other kids into your shenanigans. I don’t know this kid at all. How do I know he isn’t just using you?”
“For what?” Andy snorted. “My good looks and charm? Doubtful.”
“My job is keeping you safe. I have a right to be suspicious of anyone new. Especially when the second time I meet them, they’re heading to the hospital. I said I won’t say anything to your parents, and I’ll keep my word, but you two need to be safe out there. Buzz may think you’re ganging up on him, and let me tell you, a cornered or scared bully is twice as dangerous.”
“Thanks for the pep talk, Travis. You can drop us off here,”
Andy muttered as we pulled up to the emergency room entrance.
“Are you sure about this?” I asked
Andy laughed. “What other options do we have? If its broken, that kind of cuts the hero work off at the knees, but if it’s not” —he shrugged— “then there might be help for you yet.”
We looked like quite the odd pair as we walked into the emergency room and up to the counter. The woman gave us a queer look as I told her about falling out of a tree and that we thought my arm might be broken. The suspicious look never left her face as she asked for my driver’s license. My heart was racing as I handed it to her. If it could pass off at the clinic, hopefully, the fake ID would work here as well.
“All right,” she muttered as she handed it back along with a clipboard containing several pieces of paper. “Fill these out. You’re lucky. We’re pretty dead tonight so you should get back fairly quickly.”
“Thanks,” I muttered before we took our seats and I started to fill it out. “God, I never realized how much paperwork there was.”
“Where did you get the fake ID?” Andy whispered.
I grinned. “I picked it up when I did the clinical trial. You know, the one that started all of this. I can’t believe how easy they are to find in this town.”
“Oh, yeah, you can even order them online nowadays. I’ve never had a need for one, but now I’m wondering if I should. Maybe I can get stung by a radioactive bee or something.”
“A bee? Why?”
He shrugged again. “They’re fast, smart, and have a nasty bite.”
“I think the stinger would be a bit of a turn-off for girls, though,” I joked.
“Well, Spiderman didn’t get eight eyes, so maybe I wouldn’t get a stinger.”
We were both laughing when the nurse called my name, and I gave Andy an unsteady look. He rose and shrugged his shoulders. It was obvious that he was going to go back there with me. I didn’t mind. Maybe he could help fill in the blanks for the doctor. My lying was getting better, but I still had a feeling I would crack under pressure. Andy seemed to be better at fibbing altogether.
The doctor, an older man with jet black skin, smiled as he walked in. “So, you fell out of a tree, huh?”
“Yes, sir,” I muttered. “We were goofing off out by the school and I lost my balance.”
He touched my arm and I winced. “Is this the first accident like this?”
“Um, well, sir, I kinda did it twice.”
His eyes grew wide. “Do you think maybe climbing trees isn’t your strong point? Maybe it’s time to look for a different hobby.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” I muttered through gritted teeth.
“Come on,” said Andy. “You can’t give up just because you failed a couple of times. I bet the good doctor, here, agrees with me.”
The doctor cocked his head. “Well, you shouldn’t give up, but maybe wear some padding. You got lucky this time. I don’t think its broken, though. We’ll run an X-ray just to be sure. Your shoulder is a little swollen too. Another tree incident?”
I gave him a sly grin. “I’m nothing if not persistent.”
“Are you sure that you aren’t in some kind of trouble, son? Things at home not going well? We can get you some help.”
Andy snorted and my eyes grew wide with shock. “What? No! Jesus, no one is beating me at home! I want to get into Harvard, and they’re big on extracurriculars. I thought climbing trees would help build up my endurance.”
“Son,” he said as he patted my leg and headed for the door. “Buy a gym membership, but for the love of God, stay out of the damn trees.”
“Thanks,” I muttered as he shut the door behind him.
Andy busted out laughing and I couldn’t stay mad. I laughed right along with him until a nurse came in and took me back for the X-ray. We waited around in the room for another thirty minutes before the doctor returned with some good news.
“It’s not broken, but one more fall and it will be. You’ve got one hell of a fracture. I can set it with bandages but not a cast because of the swelling,” he said as he started to wrap up my arm. His eyes locked onto mine. “I’m serious, son. You cannot land on this arm again or you’ll be in a cast for the next six months. You’re only human.”
My eyes flicked to Andy and he grinned. Sure, I was only human, but I had the ability to fly and create electricity. Well, I could create electricity at least. Flying was another matter altogether. I winced a few times as he finished putting the tape on my arm and gave me my discharge paperwork. The whole time, he stressed to me just how serious things could get if I had a broken arm. Little did he know that I was already planning my next attempt.
“Seriously, kid, stay out of the trees,” he muttered one final time before leaving the room.
“Whew,” Andy whispered as we gathered up our stuff. “I gotta tell you, I thought being friends with a superhero would be more . . .” he shrugged. “I don’t know, girls and glam. This is super not cool.”
“Hey, you didn’t have to come,” I muttered.
“Yeah, I know. It’s not like I had anything else to do. Plus, I still have a thousand questions for you. I just didn’t want to ask them in the hospital with everyone listening. You even breathe the word ‘superhero’ around here, and people get nosy.”
“So back to your place then?” I asked him.
He nodded as Travis pulled the car around. “Yeah, I think I have a few ideas to help you get stabilized. I don’t know if they will work, but at least I can give you a second set of eyes now.”
“So, what’s the verdict?” asked Travis.
“It’s not broken,” Andy said before I could speak. “We’re going to head home now, Travis.”
“Should I drop him off first?”
They both looked at me expectantly, waiting for an answer. On one hand, I needed the rest. They’d given me a few Tylenols at the hospital with a prescription for something stronger that I would probably never fill. The pain was almost gone, and I could see the excitement in Andy’s eyes. Whatever he wanted to show me, he couldn’t wait much longer to do so. With a pretty dramatic sigh, I pulled out my phone and texted my grandmother, letting her know I was staying at Andy’s but would stop by in the morning to see her.
“Yes,” Andy said. “We’re going right home, Travis.”
I laughed as we headed back out onto the highway. When we pulled up to the security gate, Travis was nodded through and I was taken aback. The place was nothing short of a mansion. Police cars and expensive limousines were parked in the main driveway as we turned away from the house and went down a narrow but still paved and immaculately landscaped lawn. When I saw the garage, it took my breath away.
“When you said you lived above the garage, this was not what I was expecting,” I said.
“Yeah,” Andy said, “That’s most people’s reaction. I don’t think they expect to see a ten-car garage that’s two stories. It’s nice, though. It gives me room to work, and my parents mostly leave me alone.”
“Minus the car that drives you around everywhere,” I said playfully. “Why don’t you get your license?”
“Have you seen the way people drive in New York?” he asked. “No thanks!”
I laughed. “Yeah, good point. So, what did you want to show me?”
Andy grinned as we got out of the car. The garage was almost empty with three expensive looking cars at the far end. The space was divided by rows of long tables. I could tell that he spent a lot of time on the main floor. All sorts of gadgets seemed to be spread around the space, but one caught my attention right away. It was large and looked like something from a science fiction movie. Andy walked over to it and ran his fingers along the gleaming black metal.
“What in the world is that thing?” I asked him.
“Oh, this? This is what I wanted to show you. I’ve been working on it for about a year now and even done the test flights, but now, I have someone to try it out with.”
“You mean . . .?” I
said.
He nodded. “Given the weight capacity and flight patterns, if you started to fall again, I could keep you from crashing to the ground.”
“This is amazing!” I whispered. “I bet the government isn’t even this far yet! This technology is insane. Why are you working out of a garage? You should be working for NASA or something like that! It’s no wonder Buzz doesn’t like you. I bet you could make a device to kick his ass seven ways till Sunday.”
Andy shrugged. “I could, but for now, I just want to fly.”
I shook my head, still in shock. “I can’t believe you have a jetpack!”
Chapter 18
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. He’d created a jetpack that actually worked, by his account. It was one of the rare moments where I had to see something to believe it.
“Can we try it out?”
Andy shook his head. “I can, but you can’t. Its calibrated to fit only me. I didn’t want Buzz or his idiot friends trying to take it again.”
“That makes sense. Still, it’s awesome. So, what do you want to do?”
“Really?” he said. “I want to fly! Now that I have someone to do it with, it’s all I can think about.”
“Um,” I said carefully. “You’ve see what happens when I try to fly. I always end up crashing, and one more fall and I’ll have a broken arm.”
“Yeah,” Andy said quickly. “But I can catch you if you start to fall! This can support both of our weight, remember?”
I wasn’t as confident as I had been before. There was a good chance that I would fall, and his calculations could be wrong. I would go plummeting back down to the ground and break a few bones along the way. Plus, how could I know if he was fast enough to catch me? Or what if my powers acted up and I electrocuted him? The possible bad endings for this adventure were endless. It didn’t seem like a good idea. I backed away from him and shook my head.
“Listen, Buzz is staying at his friend’s house, my parents are tied up with the police and investigators, and we have twenty acres of woods and fields that we can practice in. This is the perfect time to try this out. I promise that I won’t let you fall.”
The City Superhero (Book 1): Rise Of The Super Strike Page 13