by Dee Benson
She lifted Michael into the air by his fist and threw him towards the window. He crashed through the glass.
She ran over to the king. All the disguised soldiers shrank back and then ran away. She untied the king and then jumped out the window.
She reached under her mask to wipe sweat from her brow. She hoped she hadn't hurt Michael.
MICHAEL'S HEAD WAS SPINNING.
Who the hell was that Super? He'd encountered Supers who were gifted with super strength many times. In fact, many of such Supers were in the army. But that masked Super's strength was on a whole other level. He was lucky to be alive.
A shadow fell over him.
He squinted up, hoping it was one of his men come to help him get out of here.
His heart sank at the sight of the dark figure standing over him. It was the masked Super. Had he come to finish him off?
Michael summoned the tatters of his strength, and leapt to his feet taking out his gun, although he knew the gun was useless, since the Super had lightning-fast reflexes.
The Super took a step backwards, holding up his hands.
Michael frowned. Was he trying to fool Michael into thinking he was scared?
The Super made an okay sign with his gloved hands.
"What?" Michael laughed shortly. "You think I'm a fool? You'd have me believe you came all this way to find me, not because you want to kill me, but because you want to make sure I'm okay?"
The Super nodded frantically.
"Speak," Michael snapped. "Can't you speak?"
The Super began to back away.
Michael fired. The Super dodged.
Michael fired again. This time, the Super didn't dodge. He caught the bullet between his thumb and forefinger."
Michael stared at him. "Who are you? Where are you from?"
The Super backed away again.
For whatever reason, he didn't want to hurt Michael. That was good. It meant Michael, despite being the weaker of the two, had the upper hand.
KATIE WISHED MICHAEL WOULD just give it up and let her go. Couldn't he see that she didn't want to fight?
It was her own fault for coming to check on him. But she'd been worried that she'd killed him. Since he was fine, she just wanted to get away. She focused her mental energy and sent it towards the gun in his hands. It blasted into pieces.
There. Now, she could walk away without fearing that he'd put a bullet in her back.
She turned her back and began to jog away.
She heard footsteps behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, just as Michael was about to punch her in the back of the head. She dodged, and he went flying to the ground. He grabbed her leg and shoved, trying to topple her over.
Katie hardly felt it.
He jumped to his feet and slugged her in the chest. Pain exploded in her chest, but immediately began to numb. Tears stung her eyes.
He doesn't know it's me.
Michael was staring at her.
Katie's heart stopped. Had he recognized her?
"You're a woman?" he breathed. He looked at her chest for a moment, and then his gaze flicked away.
Of course. He'd just punched her in the chest and felt her…womanly curves. The Super suit strapped them firmly down, and she wasn't the bustiest of women anyway. But anybody who touched her there would know.
"You're a woman!" Michael exclaimed. He reached out to grab her mask.
Katie kicked him in the chest and he dropped to the ground, out cold.
"DON'T TELL ANYBODY SHE'S a woman," a voice whispered in Michael's ears.
"Why?" Michael asked. "What does it matter if people know what gender the masked Super is?"
"Don't tell anybody," the voice insisted.
Michael couldn't see who was speaking to him. The darkness was too thick. "Who are you?"
"Aeric Regle."
Michael jolted awake.
"Still alive," he muttered to himself. "The masked woman hadn't killed him."
Why?
"Sir!" came a shout in the distance. Michael could hear the pounding of feet. He sat up, feeling like he was half dead. It was then that he realized he was in a garden. Rose bushes filled the area around him.
He looked around for whoever had shouted. Then he became aware of the sound of a hovering helicopter. He looked up. A man was descending from a rope ladder attached to the helicopter.
When the man landed beside him, Michael realized it was Desmond.
"Where am I?" Michael asked.
"Twenty miles away from the palace," Desmond replied grimly. "The masked Super…"
"Wow," Michael breathed. He opened his mouth to tell Desmond that the masked Super was a woman, but he remembered his dream.
"We had to track you by your cell phone," Desmond told him. "The Super tracked you too, didn't he? We saw him leaving just as we arrived."
"Yeah."
"What did he say? What did he want?"
"I don't know. I thought, uh, he…was going to kill me. But he didn't."
"Maybe our arrival scared him off." Desmond slipped a harness around Michael's waist so that he could be lifted into the helicopter. "But that doesn't make sense, since he's so powerful."
"You're right. It doesn't make sense."
As Michael was lifted into the helicopter, he thought about his dream. Aeric Regle must have chosen somebody for their generation. Somebody to fight evil. His first mission was obviously to stop The Firemaster.
That was awesome!
Chapter 10
BACK AT THE PALACE, Katie changed back into her gold dress, which was now torn.
The palace was in chaos. Henry Ballard, keeper of the women, took a roll call to see who had survived, and then hurried away to inform the king.
Katie didn't think the king would bother with the rest of the selection ceremony now. He had more important matters at hand. When nobody was looking, she slipped out of the room and made her way out of the palace.
She twirled around in her torn dress, feeling exhilarated. She shouldn't have feared. She shouldn't have hesitated. She should have known that Aeric would empower her.
I can do this.
She thought of Gareth and sighed. I have to do this.
Go to the Commission for Change.
Katie jumped at the sudden thought. Commission for change? She'd never heard of it. Where had that thought come from?
She returned to the palace, and asked a courtier to direct her to the library. Once inside the library, she jumped on a computer and searched for 'Commission for Change' online.
She clicked on the first result and read about the organization. They were a relatively new group, founded only three years ago. Their agenda was to equip gifted Supers to fight evil.
So that hadn't been a random thought after all. It must have been sent to her by Aeric. Katie found the address for the Commission for Change, and then left.
THE COMMISSION FOR CHANGE office was located on the edge of the town centre. As soon as Katie walked through the doors, an alarm went off.
She stopped walking.
The woman at the reception desk pushed a button on the desk and the siren stopped. She smiled. "You must be Katie Frankel."
"Yes," Katie said slowly.
"We're expecting you." She pointed to the elevators. "Please go to the third floor and ask for Regina."
Katie obeyed, although it was pretty bizarre.
When the elevator doors opened on the third floor, a man was waiting on the other side. Katie stepped out. "I'm here to see Regina. Can you direct me to—?"
The man slugged her in the chest.
Katie went flying backwards. She halted herself before she hit the wall. She glared at the man.
He walked towards her. As he did, the walls began to collapse, and the corridor that they were in turned into a huge arena. People dropped down from the ceiling. Katie wondered what on earth was going on.
She didn't have time to think because the man who'd hit her was upon her again. As he pulled
another punch, she kicked him in the face. He went flying through the air.
More people ran at her, Katie hiked up her torn dress and kicked one of them, sending him flying into three other people. They fell and didn't get back up.
A woman in a red Super suit came running towards her. Katie raked her hair out of her eyes, wishing she'd tied it up.
Blue lasers flashed from the woman's eyes. Katie felt heat burning her own eyes. She realized that red lasers were emanating from them.
Her red lasers met the woman's blue lasers and seemed to devour them. The woman burst into flames. She quickly began to remove her Super suit.
Someone grabbed Katie by the hair from behind. Katie used her remote touch to punch the person in the back. He released her hair as he went crashing down.
The sound of somebody clapping filled the arena. "Okay, okay," came a female voice. "Let's leave it there."
Katie looked around. She spotted a woman in a white Super suit hovering in the air.
The woman flew down and landed beside her. She offered her hand. "Regina Crest."
Katie shook her hand. "Katie Frankel."
Regina beamed, and her green eyes danced. "I know. You're here to test your powers."
Am I? Katie thought.
Regina flicked her long, dark hair over her shoulder. "Sorry for our rude welcome. We wanted to see how you would react. You did very well."
Regina draped an arm around Katie's shoulders and steered her towards a cabinet in the room. On their way, they passed the woman who Katie had defeated with her laser power—a power she hadn't known she possessed until now.
"Sorry about that," Katie told the woman.
"No worries." The woman smiled. "I have regenerative powers. I'll be fine."
Regina removed her arm from around Katie and opened the cabinet. All kinds of equipment began to float out and land softly on the floor.
"First, we're going to test your strength," Regina told Katie. She crouched to the floor and pointed at a small metal cube. "Each one of these weighs six tonnes. That's approximately the weight of three cars. Nobody in this room, except for Lawrence," she pointed at the guy who had met her outside the elevator, "can lift even one of these. Why don't you try?"
Katie looked at the cube. It was so small. How could it possibly weigh the same as three cars?
She crouched and picked it up.
There was a collective gasp in the room.
Katie turned it over in her hands. Sure, it was pretty heavy, but not that heavy.
More metal cubes floated out of the cabinet and settled onto the floor in front of her.
"See how many you can hold at once," Regina said.
Katie scooped more into her hands.
"That's five," Regina said.
Lawrence came over and began to add more into her arms one at a time. Soon, Katie began to feel the weight. She had to stop at nine cubes.
Regina gave a low whistle. A thick slab of what looked like cement rolled over on wheels.
"This wall is equivalent to the thickness of a house wall," Regina told Katie. "I'd like to see how many you can break through. We'll start with one."
Katie took a few steps backwards and then ran at the wall. She burst through it easily, like it was just a flimsy piece of paper.
Regina and Lawrence prepared two walls.
Katie blasted through them easily.
They prepared three walls. This time, it was harder, but she still managed it.
She had to stop at six walls.
Next, they went outside to test her speed. She could run at two hundred miles per hour, which Katie found mindboggling. She could fly at six-hundred miles per hour.
Regina whistled under her breath. "That's the same speed as an airplane."
"Have you always been so fast?" Lawrence asked her as they all made their way back into the arena. "Or did you do something to hone your powers?"
"I only began to manifest these powers today. Before today, the only power I had was remote touch."
Everyone stared at her.
"Are you serious?" he asked.
"Yeah."
He looked at Regina. "That means she's nowhere near her full capacity. With training, she could become even more…scary."
Katie lifted a brow. "Scary isn't what I'd call it."
"What would you call it?" Lawrence asked.
"Cool."
He winked at her.
Katie looked away from him and focused on Regina. "Any more tests?"
"Of course," she replied. "Next, were going to test how powerful your laser power is." She rolled out a slab of steel.
Katie easily penetrated it with her laser power. "Do I have any weaknesses?" she asked. "Anything I need to avoid?"
Regina rolled out a thicker piece. "From the metaphysical vibes I'm getting from you, there is nothing that weakens you, and nothing you have to avoid. Yet, I sense that there is something that could possibly limit you—although I cannot tell what it is."
Very helpful. Katie figured she would have to try and discover for herself if there was any substance that she needed to avoid.
For the next hour, Regina administered test after test, to determine how many powers Katie had, and the limits of her powers. She also tried to test her endurance; how long she could use her powers before tiring. Katie didn't seem to tire at all, although she was beginning to feel the strain by the time the hour was up. Sweat slicked her forehead, and trickled down her back as she followed Regina to her office. Everyone else was dismissed.
"Do you know why we tested your powers?" Regina asked, settling down behind a humongous mahogany desk. She pointed to a chair on the other side of the desk.
Katie sat down. "To see the limits of my powers?"
"Not really. That's useful to know, but it's not the main reason why I've tested you."
"What is the main reason?"
"Your own confidence. Now that you're aware of how much you're capable of, I expect no more fear or lack of confidence from you."
Katie lowered her gaze. Shame filled her. She should have known that Aeric wouldn't send her on a mission without equipping her with all that she needed.
"O ye of little faith," Regina said shaking her head and smiling fondly. "I want you to come back here any time you're feeling down, or any time you just need people who understand the huge burden of responsibility on your shoulders. You're powerful, but there will still be rough days ahead, and tough challenges. I want you to know that you're not alone. We're here for you."
"Do you know about my mission?"
"Aeric has informed us. We are to support you in any way you need us."
Katie nodded. It felt good to have a support network. "Thank you."
IT WAS ALMOST ELEVEN p.m. when Katie got back to the palace. The tall gates loomed before her. She looked at the intercom. If she rang for someone to open the gates, they would want to know where she'd been.
She looked up at the gates. They weren't that tall. Maybe fifteen feet maximum. She was about to leap over them when a pair of powerful hands gripped her from behind.
She was about to use her new powers to defend herself, but quickly stopped herself. Whoever it was, they knew her identity. If she started fighting like the masked Super, they'd be onto her.
"It's me," a voice whispered.
Katie's heart skipped a beat. She spun around. "Michael!"
"Shh." He led her away.
"You scared the living daylights out of me."
Michael said nothing.
It was a good thing she hadn't fought him off. He would definitely have found it suspicious, since he knew that the ordinary Katie couldn't fight.
They walked away from the palace in silence, clinging to the shadows cast by the wall that surrounded the palace.
Michael must have been looking for her. He must have realized she wasn't in the palace and waited out here for her to return.
He must be mad at me.
Katie's heart squeezed in her chest.
He'd seen her kissing the king. But he must understand that she couldn't say no if the king wanted to kiss her. But if she told him that, it wouldn't be the total truth.
She looked up at him. His face was shadowed, so she couldn't make out his expression.
She took his hand. His hand remained limp in hers for a moment, then his fingers closed around her hand in a gentle squeeze.
Katie heaved a silent sigh of relief.
They walked until they came to a vast field. Michael led the way to a cluster of trees. Once they were among the trees, he released her hand.
Katie searched her mind for something to say.
He spoke first "I'm so glad you're okay. I was worried. I'm glad you managed to get away."
That's right. She was supposed to be worried about him. She wasn't supposed to know that he hadn't died. "I'm glad you're okay too."
Michael sighed.
Katie wished she could see his face. As though nature had heard her request, the moon slid out from behind a cloud, illuminating the area. It cast a pale, silvery glow over Michael.
He looked devastated.
"What's wrong?" Katie asked hesitantly.
He couldn't know about what she'd done. All he knew about was the kiss, and he should understand that she couldn't stop the king from kissing her.
"He gave you a free pass and you chose to be with him."
The words were quiet, hurt.
So, he knew.
A lump rose in Katie's throat. How was she going to explain that? Aeric had told her not to tell anybody about her mission so she couldn't tell him the real reason.
"You told him you wanted to marry him, and you were kissing." Michael's voice broke. "I thought you wanted me."
"I do—"
"Don't lie to me." The words came out as a whisper, but Katie could feel the full force of emotion in them.
She took his hand. "I'm not."
"Then why? Why didn't you take him up on his offer of freedom?"
Think Katie. She squeezed his hand. "You know what the royal family is like. If I took him up on his offer to release me, he would have killed me. I would have been rejecting the king. Nobody rejects the king."