Activated: A Superhero Adventure Novel (Axel Adams Book 1)

by Dee Benson

  The way he was observing her silently was a little unnerving.

  The waning sun cast a golden glow on his skin and set his gray eyes ablaze.

  Not that Axel noticed. "Well, that was all—"

  "There's an organization," Nigel cut in, "that is interested in people like you."

  "People like me?"

  "Specially gifted people."

  "I'm specially gifted?"

  "I suspect so." Nigel paused as though weighing his next words. "However, the organization is in direct opposition to The Firemaster, so you couldn't join."

  Axel frowned, catching the undercurrent to his words. Was that some kind of invitation? Was he a member of the organization? Was he trying to arouse her curiosity?

  "They fight corruption," Nigel said softly. "And evil people."

  Nigel considered The Firemaster evil? Everyone else here thought he was some kind of deity. And to be honest, he'd done nothing 'evil' since she'd gotten here. In fact, she'd think he wasn't too bad if she didn't know he'd killed her parents and kidnapped Zanda with the threat of amputating her if she didn't come.

  "Are you a member?" Axel asked.

  He smiled faintly. "No. I represent the kind of person they're trying to get rid of."

  Axel studied him. "Silent rebel?" she whispered.

  Nigel said nothing, but Axel knew he was. She wondered why he would reveal that to her. Didn't he fear that she would leak his secret?

  Nigel's unnerving gaze was still trained on her. "To whom much is given, much is required."

  Axel shook her head. He was making it sound like she was some kind of abundantly gifted 'chosen one'. She wasn't. She was just a girl who wanted to save her cousin. That was why she was here. Not to get caught up in a battle between good Supers and evil Supers.

  I'd rather deny my powers than use them for evil.

  There was a catch in Axel's heart as her mom's words floated into her mind.

  She had to look away from Nigel. Suddenly, she felt hot and itchy all over and it wasn't because of the heat.

  But they have Zanda.

  Did it still count as using her power for evil if it was a means to an end? A means to a good end?

  Nigel walked away.

  Axel watched him glide onto his bike. Watched while he put his helmet back on.

  She didn't want him to leave. It was good to talk to someone of a like mind. Someone who considered The Firemaster and all he stood for to be evil.

  His motorcycle roared to life, and soon, he was a mere speck in the distance.

  AXEL DIDN'T SEE NIGEL again until the night before the battle. Everyone was gathered in a large hall in the Activation and Combat building. Axel was shocked at the number of fighters The Firemaster had. It seemed he'd been training lots of people. The Super High students were definitely in the minority.

  Nigel was handing out Super suits.

  Axel felt her nerves jitter more and more, the closer he got.

  Why?

  He was moody. She didn't think she'd ever even seen him smile.

  He was just five people away now.

  Axel gave herself a mental shake. There were lots of way more attractive guys here.

  Plus, he's a teacher.

  He was at Candy now, who was standing beside her.

  "Thanks, Neuro," Candy said, giving Nigel a syrupy smile.

  Nigel didn't seem to notice. And he didn't reply.

  He stopped before Axel and held out her combat Super suit.

  Axel accepted it. "Thanks."

  No response. He moved to Trojan, on Axel's other side.

  Axel released a breath. She focused on whatever it was Candy was saying about all the features the Super suits had.

  A few minutes later, The Firemaster stepped onto the stage to address them, and the hall fell silent.

  Axel's eyes scanned the room. Some of the people in here totally looked the part. Older guys with mean looks on their faces. Maybe she could stop worrying that they'd lose the battle and she would be taken captive, a prisoner of war, doomed to stay here forever.

  They had to win. Even though they were the rebel side. The side her parents wouldn't want her to be on.

  A headache started up in Axel's temples.

  It's just this once, she told herself. They would understand that I have to do this.

  She didn't sleep well that night. Morning came too soon. She still felt tired as she donned her Super suit and left with the other chosen student fighters.

  I'll be fine, she told herself.

  A sick feeling writhed in her gut.

  She wouldn't be fighting. She'd only be healing those who were fighting. No weapons would be aimed at her. No punches thrown her way. She'd be hidden from view so that the government Supers wouldn't work out why their enemies were able to keep fighting even after injury. If they found out about her, they would capture her for sure.

  They won't find out.

  Dynamo had assured her of that.

  She made her way outside along with the other student fighters. Everybody was quiet today. No jesting, no flirting, no banter.

  This battle is all that stands between Zanda and her freedom. Axel exhaled slowly.

  Trojan nudged her and held out his hand. There was a small cut on the back of his hand. "Wanna practice?"

  Axel touched his hand. The cut vanished.

  She blew out a breath.

  In all her rehearsals, she'd been able to heal every injury she'd been presented with.

  She could do this.

  Chapter 18

  "PRINCE DRAKE HAS BEEN shot!"

  The shout came while Axel was trying to heal her first injured soldier, a man who'd been sprayed with bullets. She blocked out the commotion around her and focused on the soldier, her eyes closed.

  When she opened her eyes, the soldier was still bleeding, and in obvious pain.

  Relax, she told herself. She pressed her hand down more firmly on the soldier.

  "Get out of the way!" someone behind Axel snapped. "Prince Drake needs attention."

  "We can't move him," the Super officer in charge of Axel replied. "He's losing a lot of blood. Let her finish with him first."

  Axel was trying to block out the conversation. She was about to close her eyes again when someone snatched her hand off the soldier she was trying to heal.

  Axel looked up in annoyance.

  A whole host of men were standing over her. One was carrying Prince Drake, who although he appeared to be in some pain, wasn't anywhere near in as critical a condition as the soldier before her.

  "Heal the prince," one of the men snapped.

  "I was instructed by Desmond to heal people in order of most serious or critical injuries," Axel informed them.

  "This is the Prince," the same man snapped. "He is the most critical."

  Another of the men grabbed her roughly by the arm, and dragged her to her feet. "He was struck by some kind of wave of energy from one of the government Supers. It seemed to completely deplete his energy. He's been incapacitated ever since."

  Just then, two more injured Supers were brought in. If their comrades were getting injured so early on like this, that wasn't a good sign. Axel figured she'd better just heal Prince Drake so that she could move on to the others.

  She wiped away sweat that was trickling down the sides of her face. As if the heat wasn't bad enough, the Super suit was almost like thermal clothing.

  Prince Drake's eyes were closed. There were no visible signs of injury, so she just touched his forehead.

  Usually, she would feel the rush of heat right away, and hear the roar in her ears. But she felt nothing, just like she'd felt nothing with the injured soldier.

  Prince Drake's eyes were still closed. He still lay limp in the arms of the man carrying him.

  Axel closed her eyes. Still, she felt and heard nothing.

  Come on. Come on.

  She opened her eyes. No change.

  Everyone was looking at her.

  "W
hat's going on?" one of the men asked.

  "N-nothing." Axel took a deep breath, and then tried again. Tears of frustration filled her eyes when, once again, nothing happened.

  "Give her some space," the officer in charge of her snapped. "You're all crowding her."

  Axel rubbed her hands together, clenched them into fists a few times, exhaled slowly, trying to quell her nerves. She laid a hand on Prince Drake again. Nothing happened.

  "Maybe I should try the other guy," she mumbled, unable to meet anyone's gaze.

  Maybe whatever was wrong with Prince Drake was beyond the reach of her power. But she could heal bullet wounds. She was sure of that. She'd done it numerous times during her tests.

  She crouched down again and placed a hand on the soldier's shoulder. His skin was almost deathly pale now. Blood loss.

  Axel felt nothing. And the soldier's injury remained.

  What's going on?

  THE SOLDIER DIED, AS did many others.

  Prince Drake was rushed to a hospital. He was rumored to be on life support.

  Countless others were injured.

  Axel stared at the walls in the semi-dark room she'd been tossed into after the battle. She'd been trying not to freak out, but it was impossible not to. She had no idea what they were going to do to her, how they would punish her failure.

  Thankfully, they were still able to defend The Firemaster's territory and stop the government Supers from seizing it from them. If they'd lost the battle, she would have been killed for sure.

  They might still kill me.

  She pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them, trying to suppress the tremor of fear wracking her body.

  Maybe I've lost my powers.

  That was the only explanation Axel could come up with for her woeful performance today.

  Deactivated.

  There was a clang on the other side of the door.

  Axel's head snapped in that direction. Someone was here. To free her, or to punish her?

  The door opened and Serloyd, Desmond, and a girl she didn't know entered the room. The girl looked a few years older than Axel. A blood-soaked bandage covered her entire right arm. Her face was contorted in a deep grimace.

  "Stand," Serloyd ordered.

  Axel quickly scrambled to her feet, her heart racing with fear.

  Serloyd nodded to the girl. "Heal her."

  The girl stepped forward. Axel touched her blood-soaked bandage. Instantly, warmth shot down her arm, intense and tingling. She heard the roar in her ears.

  The bandages were still soaked.

  "It worked," Axel told them. "I felt it. Remove the bandages."

  The girl was no longer grimacing. "I felt something, too."

  Serloyd's hands remained by his side. Desmond rolled his eyes, stepped forward, and began to remove the bandages.

  The girl beamed. "I was in so much pain despite the pain drugs. I couldn't let anyone touch my arm. Now, I feel no pain."

  Desmond finished removing the bandages. Her arm was fine—although it was covered in blood.

  The girl looked at Axel in awe.

  Serloyd and Desmond were looking at her with suspicion.

  Serloyd nodded at the girl. "Get out."

  She left the room with a spring in her steps that hadn't been there when she walked in. The door slammed shut behind her.

  "So," Serloyd said, crossing his arms over his chest, "what's going on?"

  "I don't know," Axel replied quietly. She wished she could tell what Serloyd was thinking, but his face was impassive. However, Axel was certain he felt far from impassive about this situation.

  Were they going to hurt her for her failure? Kill her?

  A lump hardened in her throat.

  "I d-don't know why I couldn't heal at the battle. Maybe it was nerves. I just don't know. I was trying. I really was."

  Serloyd's face was still a stone mask.

  Axel looked at Desmond, hoping for a sign of sympathy from him. She couldn't read his expression either. "I'm so sorry. I don't know why I couldn't—"

  Sudden intense fear gripped her. It dropped over her mind like a cloak.

  Axel felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She spun around wondering why. There was nobody else here. Only Serloyd and Desmond. So why did she feel like some kind of monster was about to devour her?

  She felt a sense of doom wash over her.

  Fear clawed at her throat. Panic burst in her heart.

  "Stop it," Desmond snapped.

  Axel tried to get a grip on herself. She forced her breathing, which had shallowed, to be even.

  Stop what?

  She realized he wasn't looking at her. He was glaring at Serloyd. Serloyd must be using his emotion-manipulation powers on her.

  "Not until she tells the truth," Serloyd growled, not looking at Desmond. His cool gaze was fixed on Axel.

  Pain pierced through Axel's heart. It was as acute as the pain she'd felt back in Honolulu, the moment she'd been told about her parents' death. As awful as the horrible feeling of hopelessness she felt when she went to identify their bodies.

  "Stop it!" Desmond hissed. "I am inclined to believe her. The Omends and Philimnes are easier to control and use at will than the Gifts and Graces are."

  Another wave of acute pain hit Axel—mind-numbing in its intensity. Only it wasn't real, physical pain. It was internal, and it was worse than anything Axel had ever experienced before. She sank to the floor, too weak to stand.

  "Tell the truth," Serloyd said, a small smile playing on his lips.

  Axel didn't think she'd ever seen him smile before, but now, as he inflicted emotional pain on her he was smiling as though he was having the most fun in the world.

  "What happened at the battle field?" Serloyd asked. "Were you hoping we would be defeated and then you'd be able to get the government Supers to find Zanda and free you both?"

  It was all Axel could do to follow his words through the bottomless pit of horror she was falling in. She managed to shake her head.

  "If the government found out about you, they'd kill you."

  Just then, the door to the room opened. Light flooded in from the hallway.

  Axel closed her eyes, unable to bear the light with the way her head was now pounding.

  "What are you doing to her?"

  That was The Firemaster's voice.

  Great. Now things were really going to get bad for her.

  "Interrogating her, sir," Serloyd said. "She maintains that she did not refuse to heal but found herself unable to do so."

  "Do you believe her?"

  "I have not yet come to any conclusion."

  "Read her," The Firemaaster said.

  "Yes, sir," came another voice that made Axel open her eyes.

  In the semi-darkness, Nigel was a big, shadowy bulk.

  Axel squinted at him as he walked towards her. He crouched before her, and touched her head, not quite looking her in the eyes.

  "Project her mind onto the wall," Serloyd snapped.

  "That is unnecessary—" Nigel began.

  "I insist," Serloyd growled, his voice suddenly hard. He looked at The Firemaster.

  "Why?" The Firemaster asked.

  "He neutralized her drugs. I don't trust him. He seems to have a, shall we say, soft spot for her."

  Serloyd was suddenly slammed against the wall. He pushed away from the wall, his eyes livid. He opened his mouth to say something, only to be slammed against the wall again. This time, he seemed unable to push away.

  Nigel's eyes were colder than Axel had ever seen them before. No doubt Serloyd's accusation had hit a nerve. As a teacher, couldn't he lose his job over such an allegation?

  The Firemaster held up his hand. "Desist," he said in a low authoritative voice.

  Nigel looked away from Serloyd, and fixed his stony gaze on the wall.

  Serloyd stepped forward. His fists were clenched. "How dare you—"

  "Silence!" The Firemaster snapped.

  S
erloyd's eyes were crackling with anger, but he said nothing further. A muscle was worked in Nigel's jaw. He was still staring at the wall. His eyes were still stone cold. There was obviously no love lost between the two.

  Axel raised her hand.

  She almost shrank back when The Firemaster fixed his gaze on her.

  "I'd just like to say that Nigel has never been anything but professional with me," Axel said. "Just in case you were wondering."

  Serloyd snickered. There was no change in Nigel's demeanor.

  The Firemaster released Axel from his penetrating stare. "Project her motives and thoughts onto the wall," he ordered Nigel.

  Axel felt a tickle around her head, as if someone were trailing a feather across her skin. A moment later, a shadowy image appeared on the wall. Zanda. Axel's heart constricted.

  "We know she's thinking about her cousin," Serloyd snapped. "What else is on her mind?"

  More images slowly appeared on the wall. One of Axel staring in confusion at her hands, and another of her lying down, eyes frozen open, completely still.

  "Show us something meaningful," Serloyd growled.

  "This is meaningful," The Firemaster said, his voice so soft and so completely opposite to Serloyd's. "She doesn't understand why her powers didn't work at the battle, and she is afraid that we are going to kill her for her failure."

  Serloyd squinted at the wall, as though trying to work out how he'd come to that conclusion from the images.

  "That is correct," Nigel said, his voice terse.

  The Firemaster looked at Axel.

  Axel tried not to squirm with fear as he stared at her.

  The man was a freak.

  He wasn't the fierce-looking, bellowing tyrant she'd imagined anytime her parents told her about him. He was calm, gentle, and soft-spoken. For some reason, that made him even more frightening.

  The Firemaster looked at the wall. Then his gaze cut back to her. "Really?" he asked, smiling slightly.

  Axel looked at the wall too. She was mortified to see her thoughts all over the wall. There was an image of her parents pointing at an image of The Firemaster looking all fierce. Axel was in the image too and she looked afraid. Then there was another image of The Firemaster as he really was, with Axel looking up at him, even more terrified than she was in the first image. He'd obviously read the meaning of her thoughts accurately.