The Superhero's Son (Book 1): The Superhero's Test

by Lucas Flint

  After what seemed like forever, I heard a knock at my door. Sitting up in my bed, I said, “Who is it?”

  “It's me,” said Dad's voice from the other side of the door. “Can I come in? I have some updates for you.”

  “All right,” I said. “Let yourself in.”

  The door opened and Dad stepped inside. He was no longer wearing his Genius costume or helmet, thus revealing his worried face, which made him look older than he really was. He closed the door behind him, but did not come closer to my bed.

  “So?” I said. “What's the news?”

  “I contacted the NHA, who said they would deliver this information to the G-Men,” said Dad. “I was told that the government will probably send someone to pick up the robot's remains later today and haul them to whatever secret facility the government has.”

  “Did you learn anything about what the robot was?” I said. “Like, what kind of weapon it's supposed to be?”

  Dad sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I don't know much about it, but when Master Chaos stole those weapons from that facility, the government did share a few details about the weapons with the NHA, who then shared it with me so I'd know what Master Chaos might send after us.”

  “What kind of details?” I said.

  “Well, the weapons are part of a top-secret government project known as Project Neo,” said Dad. “They're supposed to be the next generation of high-tech military weaponry, including some of the first humanoid robots designed to be deployed onto a battlefield during war. I don't know the exact number of weapons Master Chaos managed to steal, but I do know that he stole a lot.”

  “Project Neo?” I said. “Will the government be able to use the remains of the robot we destroyed to track down Master Chaos?”

  “Possibly, but I doubt it,” said Dad. “Chaos may have programmed the robot to go after you, but I am under the impression, based on what I've been told, that the robot doesn't record the location of its programmer in its coding. Regardless, this doesn't change the fact that Master Chaos will likely send more of these things after you soon.”

  “Then what am I supposed to do?” I said. “Hide and hope he doesn't get us?”

  Dad shook his head, pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. “No. We need to continue your training no matter what Master Chaos does. But I have to admit that this is starting to look grim. I can only imagine that this must be part of Chaos's plan, a plan I wish I understood better.”

  “Do you think he knows our secret identities?” I said. “Because if he does—”

  “Unlikely,” said Dad, interrupting me. “As I said earlier, I think it far more likely that he wants to ensure there are no neoheroes in Silvers who can stop him from harming us. Or maybe he was testing out the robot to see how it worked in actual combat.”

  “Well, it obviously didn't work very well,” I said, “considering how easily we defeated it.”

  “Maybe, but one fact I know about Chaos is that, unlike other villains, he doesn't do the same thing over and over when it's shown to fail the first time,” said Dad. “No doubt he'll try something even more sinister later, though what, I cannot say, because he is very unpredictable.”

  “Wait, what if he shows up here while we're out training and attacks Mom?” I said. “She can't defend herself. She doesn't have powers like us.”

  “Valerie has been defending the house while we've been out,” said Dad. “Remember, I have her hooked up to the house's security system. She scans any and all people who come to or near the house to ensure that they aren't threats. If Master Chaos should ever come up to our front door while we're away, Valerie should keep him busy long enough for us to return and beat him ourselves.”

  I was doubtful that Valerie could hold off someone like Master Chaos for very long, but Dad seemed confident that she could, so I didn't push the question any further.

  Instead, I said, “So will the NHA be sending people to help us? Because if Master Chaos is so close by, then don't you think we should get some backup?”

  “It wouldn't surprise me if the NHA does send some members to search the nearest towns and cities for Master Chaos,” said Dad. “And I expect the G-Men to do the same, because they're also on the case. It may be inevitable at this point, especially if Master Chaos is as close as we think.”

  “Does this mean I won't be able to go back to school anymore?” I said. “Is school still safe?”

  “I believe so, but we'll need to take extra precautions,” said Dad. “Master Chaos is unpredictable, but if he is willing to attack us so brazenly like that, then I doubt he'll hesitate to attack a high school full of innocent kids who don't have any super powers of their own.”

  “Maybe I shouldn't go to school at all, then,” I said. “I don't want to put anyone else's life at risk because of me.”

  “I understand what you mean, but I think staying home would not be a wise decision,” said Dad. “You still need to pursue your education, regardless of what Master Chaos chooses to do. I will speak with the NHA and the government about ways in which we might keep your school safe.”

  My shoulders slumped. I had hoped that Dad would agree that I shouldn't go to school, but I guess I should have seen that answer coming. I lay back down on my bed and sighed.

  “So, will we be resuming my training later or tomorrow?” I said.

  “I don't think we'll be doing any more training for the rest of the weekend,” said Dad. “I need to consult with the NHA and the G-Men about this recent turn of events. But I don't want you to leave the house until Monday when you have to go to school.”

  I sighed, but said, “Okay, I won't. What am I going to do until then?”

  “Whatever you want,” said Dad, who didn't sound very concerned about it. “Just try to enjoy the weekend, like a normal teenage boy.”

  “Normal?” I said, looking up at Dad in disbelief. “Dad, how many normal teenage boys have super powers?”

  “You know what I mean,” said Dad. “Anyway, I need to leave and speak with the NHA and G-Men about this again. Mom wanted me to let you know that dinner will be ready soon.”

  With that, Dad left my room, closing the door behind him on the way out.

  I didn't move from my position on my bed. I just stared up at the ceiling, feeling so frustrated and helpless. I had thought that moving to Texas was going to be boring, but it felt like I had never had a moment of boredom since arriving. And I wasn't sure I liked that, because safe boredom seemed better than the constant stress that seemed to follow me wherever I went.

  I was getting tired of this. Tired of Master Chaos playing us in the shadows, never knowing when he was going to strike. I hated feeling like a scared little kid. And I knew this feeling would never leave me as long as Master Chaos was out there plotting my demise.

  Yeah, I knew the NHA and the G-Men were on it, but what had they done so far to stop Chaos? Not much, as far as I could tell. Chaos had even stolen some secret military weapons right from under the government's nose, for Pete's sake. How could I rely on the NHA or the G-Men to protect me if they couldn't even prevent a simple theft like that?

  It was obvious that something had to be done. Master Chaos needed to be stopped. And it wasn't the NHA or the G-Men who would stop him.

  If Master Chaos wanted me, then he was going to get me … but on my terms. And I was already thinking of a plan that would allow me to find him, whether or not Dad or anyone else approved.

  Chapter Sixteen

  I spent pretty much the whole weekend cooped up in my room, thinking about my plan and figuring it all out. I didn't come out very much except to use the bathroom or get meals. Neither Mom nor Dad asked me about what I was doing, but that was fine, because I didn't want to share my plan with them, not when I knew that they wouldn't support it. After all, they had been doing everything within their power to keep me away from Master Chaos, whereas I was already planning to confront him myself.

  I didn't know where Master Chaos was. For all I
knew, he could be on the other side of the country or maybe even on the other side of the world. But I knew he was after me and I knew that if I went after him, sooner or later I would find him, and once I did, we would fight and one of us—and only one of us—would survive.

  But I couldn't put my plan into action right away. I needed help. I couldn't go to Mom or Dad for help for obvious reasons, but I knew someone who would be willing to help me. I even sent him a text message on Sunday, telling him to meet me after school on Monday so we could talk about it.

  That someone was Malcolm, who agreed to meet me after school. I didn't tell him the details about what I wanted to talk with him. I just told him that I had something very important to tell him, a secret that he would not be allowed to share with anyone else. Malcolm seemed really interested in my secret, but he didn't bug me about it. He just said that he couldn't wait until after school for us to hang out, because we hadn't actually hung out after school since I arrived in Silvers. I didn't invite Tara, for obvious reasons.

  But it turned out that we might have to postpone the meeting for a while, because as I walked up to John Smith High School, I saw a couple of people standing on either side of the entrance who I had never seen before. One was a tall, muscular black guy whose skin looked like literal oil, with a few fancy golden rings around his fingers, while the other was a white guy with a huge, rhinoceros-like metal horn jutting out of his forehead. Both of them wore an identical black uniform with a bald eagle head patch on their right shoulders, although I didn't recommend the patch.

  They looked like police men or Secret Service guys, but there was no way that the President of the United States was here. I stopped on the sidewalk and watched as other students entering the school walked by them. Some of the students stared at the two large men, while others just kept their heads down or looked straight ahead. I didn't blame them. Those two guys looked like they could crack concrete with their bare hands, or, in the case of the horned guy, with that huge metal horn on his head.

  “Kevin!” said a voice behind me, causing me to look over my shoulder and see Malcolm, with his backpack slung over his shoulder, walking up to me.

  “Hey, Mal,” I said as Malcolm stopped next to me. I looked at the two men at the entrance to the school, who had their hands folded behind their backs and had not uttered a word so far. “Who are those guys?”

  “Oh, they're with the G-Men,” said Malcolm. “You know, the government-sponsored superhero team?”

  “Yeah, I guessed that already,” I said. “But who are they, exactly? And why are there two G-Men here in Silvers, of all places?”

  “The guy with the oily skin is Black Gold,” said Malcolm, pointing at the muscular black guy I had noticed earlier. “He can turn into and control oil.” Then he pointed at the horned guy. “And that's Iron Horn. See that horn on his head? It's actually a metal covering, protecting the huge horn that grew out of his skull from harm. He's one of the physically strongest neoheroes in the world and even went toe-to-toe with Omega Man once and almost won.”

  “Really?” I said. I glanced at Black Gold and Iron Horn, whose attention seemed more focused on the sky than on the street before them. “I thought the G-Men were just a bunch of losers.”

  “Yeah, they're not as cool as the Neohero Alliance, but they've still got some pretty cool guys on their team,” said Malcolm. “Though I'd watch what you say to Iron Horn there. His Neo Ranks page says he has a really bad temper and doesn't take well to jokes made at his expense.”

  I could believe that. While both of the two G-Men agents looked tough and unfriendly, I could at least see Black Gold cracking a joke. Iron Horn, on the other hand, looked like he was in a perpetually bad mood, like he had woken up on the wrong side of the bed every morning.

  “So what are they doing here?” I said, looking at Malcolm again. “I don't remember Principal Thomas telling us that we'd have a couple of G-Men guarding the school today.”

  “I heard about it from my older brother,” said Malcolm. “He works under Cadmus Smith, the Director of the G-Men. Said that the government is worried that Master Chaos might attack our school, so they sent a couple of their agents to protect it.”

  That puzzled me until I remembered that Dad said that the government was likely going to do something about the fact that Master Chaos had sent that robot to try to kill us. I hadn't realized they'd send these two agents so soon, however. I thought we wouldn't see a response from the government for a while.

  “Why do they think Master Chaos might attack our school?” I said, looking at Malcolm again.

  “Because they think Master Chaos wants to kill one of the students here,” said Malcolm. “Remember Robert Candle? He's actually Master Chaos's son. Crazy, right?”

  “But Robert was harmed by an air bomb,” I said. “An air bomb he made. Why would Master Chaos think that any of the students here had anything to do with harming Robert?”

  “I don't know, but that's the current theory,” said Malcolm. “Anyway, Master Chaos is supposed to be crazy. He probably doesn't even know what he's doing. I heard he was a patient in a mental asylum before he got his powers, so he's probably suffering from some kind of mental illness or something.”

  I didn't consider that very likely. If Dad was telling the truth, then Master Chaos knew exactly what he was doing, even if he did have some kind of mental illness.

  But I didn't say that out loud. I said, “Is that all?”

  “Well, I also heard on Neo Ranks that one of the top government secret weapons that Master Chaos stole was seen near town,” said Malcolm. “Allegedly, it attacked Bolt, though he defeated it. You know, that new hero who lives right here in good old Silvers?”

  I had to hide my surprise at Malcolm's knowledge of my recent encounter with one of Master Chaos's robots. “Where did you hear about that?”

  “Like I said, on Neo Ranks,” said Malcolm. “I was just reading the Rumors board and someone claimed to have witnessed a battle between Bolt and a transforming robot a couple of hours outside of town. I don't know anything else about it, though.”

  Witness? That didn't make any sense. Dad and I were alone when we were training. Sure, I did blow up the robot, which likely would have drawn the attention of anyone nearby, but Dad had specifically picked out a training area that didn't have any people in it. Either that person on Neo Ranks was lying and had somehow learned about my encounter with the robot somewhere else or Dad was secretly talking about our training sessions online, which hardly seemed likely to me, though the first explanation didn't make any sense, either.

  Whatever the case, I wasn't sure what to make of this. Sure, having two neoheroes protecting the school from Master Chaos made sense, especially if Iron Horn really was as strong as Omega Man, but I also felt worried. If the government thought we needed two powerful neoheroes protecting the school, then that meant that they thought it was very likely that Master Chaos was going to attack the school sometime soon. I didn't see any sign of Master Chaos nearby; nonetheless, I felt nervous, because I knew that any clash between Master Chaos and the G-Men wouldn't be pretty.

  It also made me rethink my plan. I was originally planning to slip out of school today and go flying around the country in search of Master Chaos, but if these two G-Men were here, then I likely wouldn't be able to do that. And if I tried, they'd probably just catch me and bring me back to school.

  Nonetheless, I was determined to get that confrontation with Master Chaos one way or another, so I said, “Well, I'm glad that we've got two powerful neoheroes protecting us.”

  “Yeah, it's cool,” said Malcolm, nodding excitedly. “While the G-Men aren't as cool as the NHA, I still think they're pretty awesome. After all, how often do you see real life superheroes in Silvers? Not very often, I think.”

  “Right,” I said. “Anyway, we should go inside. School's about to start.”

  “Oh, yeah,” said Malcolm. Then he frowned. “By the way, what did you want to talk with me about after
school? I mean, you don't have to tell me now if you don't want to, but if you could give me a heads up, I'd appreciate it.”

  I looked at my suit-up watch, which also happened to double as an actual watch. “Looks like we have some time before our first class.” I looked up at Malcolm again. “Let's go inside and find a private place to talk. It shouldn't take us very long, so we should be done in a few minutes at most.”

  “Well, I hope so,” said Malcolm as he and I started walking toward the school's entrance, “because I've been late to Mrs. Tanner's class too many times this week and she's not going to be happy if I'm late again.”

  “Why are you late to Mrs. Tanner's class?” I said, tilting my head to the side. “Don't you live close to the school?”

  “Eh, just home problems,” said Malcolm. His tone made it clear that I wasn't supposed to ask him what that meant, so I didn't.

  We walked past Black Gold and Iron Horn. I tried not to look suspicious and I don't think either of them paid me or Malcolm any more attention than they did to the other students entering. Still, I worried that they might somehow be able to sense the presence of a nearby neohero and that they might reveal my secret identity here and now, although I knew that was silly, because neoheroes couldn't sense each other like that.

  When Malcolm and I got into the crowded hallway of the school, I led him to the boy's bathroom. Once we were inside, I locked the door and turned to face Malcolm, who was now looking at me impatiently.

  “So? What did you want to talk with me about?” said Malcolm.

  I didn't answer right away. I walked past him, checking each stall, just to make sure there wasn't anyone in here with us. Every stall was empty, so I turned around to face Malcolm again.