by Lucas Flint
Abruptly, Brains looked up at me with a smile on his face. “I know just the people we can ask. They’re not NHA or INJ members, but they’re pretty close to you in age and have been on plenty of adventures on their own already.”
“Who would that be?” I said, tilting my head to the side in confusion.
“They’re a couple of students at the Academy,” said Brains. “Jason and Grace Greggs. Do those names ring a bell?”
I shook my head. “No, although their last name sounds familiar.”
“It should,” said Brains. “It’s the last name of Stinger, one of your teammates on the Young Neos.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I remember, but who are these two?”
“Perhaps you know them better under their superhero names,” said Brains. “Bait and Switch.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
A couple of hours later, I found myself walking through the campus of the Theodore Jason Academy for Young Superhumans. As the name suggested, this was a school for young superhumans, where they would receive a basic high school education and learn how to control their powers. I had visited the Academy when it first opened almost a year ago now but hadn’t been back to it since then, because I had been a member of the Young Neos at the time and was too old to be a student here.
That was why I was amazed at how bustling the place was. Hundreds of students, each one wearing the school’s blue and yellow uniform, from every part of the country walked, sat, or chatted among themselves. Some of the students were obviously on their way to class, carrying huge stacks of textbooks in their hands, while others were doing their homework, sitting under the trees or on benches, taking notes on notepads with expressions ranging from bored to outright irritated. A few students seemed to be goofing off; for example, I saw a young black kid making fireballs dance along the palms of his hands, to the amusement of several girls he was obviously trying to impress.
The students were loud, too, with the combined sound of talking and walking making me feel like I was on a crowded city street. Yet despite the large amounts of students out and about today, everyone moved out of the way for me as I searched for Bait and Switch.
Well, it wasn’t really me everyone made way for, but my guide: Arachnid. He was a tall and muscular superhero and teacher at the school, wearing a purple and green costume that I would have made fun of if he wasn’t so serious and stoic. A large, spider-like design spread across his chest, while a short web-like cape hung off his shoulders. His brown eyes were focused straight ahead, his gaze neither turning to the left or the right. Despite that, I knew he was more aware of his surroundings than he let on.
The reason I thought everyone made way because of him was how the students reacted to him. As we walked down the campus’ paved pathways, students would look up and expressions of fear would appear on their faces whenever they saw Arachnid. More than a few students who were walking toward us would veer off the path entirely, even if it forced them to take the long route to their destination, just to avoid Arachnid. I even saw one kid take one step out of the Library, look at Arachnid, and then turn around and walk right back in, bumping into a girl on her way out and sending their books and homework flying everywhere.
Arachnid, for his part, didn’t seem to notice how terrified the students were of him. He simply marched forward, not saying a word to anyone, like a missile homing in on its target. If I didn’t know Arachnid was a good guy at heart, I would probably be afraid of him, too. It didn’t help that I’d heard rumors that Arachnid had been an assassin before becoming a superhero, though I wasn’t sure how much truth there were to those old rumors.
“So,” I said as more students jumped off the path out of our way, “where did you say Bait and Switch were again?”
Arachnid glanced at me. “At the gym. That’s where they usually are this time of day.”
“Ah,” I said. “Working out, I assume?”
Arachnid didn’t even look at me. “What else would they be doing at the gym?”
I was grateful my mask covered most of my face because my face flushed at Arachnid’s tone. It was odd. Normally I could talk to pretty much anyone about anything, but Arachnid was hard to talk to for some reason. Perhaps Arachnid just didn’t like small talk.
So I fell into my own thoughts, allowing my feet to follow Arachnid to the Academy gym.
I wasn’t exactly thrilled about going to Bait and Switch for help. I first met them when I was on the Young Neos many months ago. Back then, they had been sidekicks to their mother, Electrica, an infamous supervillainess who is still on the run. Our first meeting hadn’t exactly been under the best of circumstances, which was why I was so hesitant about asking them for help now, because I wasn’t sure they liked me very much.
Brains had suggested I ask for their help, anyway. He claimed that Bait and Switch, being students at the Academy, would have a freer schedule than other people I know. Plus, the two of them had been on their own set of adventures already, so unlike most young superhumans, they had a lot of experience under their belts. He even called the Academy and asked them if we could borrow Bait and Switch. Oddly enough, the Academy said they would leave that decision to Bait and Switch themselves.
Which was why I was here. I needed to convince Bait and Switch to help me. I wasn’t sure how difficult it would be, but I was prepared for the worse. If the two of them still held a grudge against me from the last time we met, then this was going to be extremely difficult.
“Here we are,” said Arachnid, stopping in front of a large building which had to be the gym. “The gym. Like I said, Bait and Switch should be here, so—”
Arachnid was interrupted when a kid suddenly burst out of the gym. He practically rolled down the steps, coming to an abrupt and awkward stop as soon as he saw Arachnid. In fact, he was in such a big hurry that he almost ran into Arachnid, who caught the kid before he could fall and held him steady.
“Tommy, what’s the matter?” said Arachnid, looking down at Tommy with stern eyes. “You look like you’re running from a bear.”
The kid looked up at Arachnid, his eyes wide behind his glasses. “Arachnid! So glad you’re here. I need your help. Bait and Switch are doing it again!”
I looked at Tommy quizzically. “Bait and Switch are doing what now?”
Tommy looked when me when I spoke and his mouth fell open. “No way. Are you Bolt? It’s an honor to meet you. My name’s Tommy Harrison. Don’t have a superhero name yet like you, but I’m a big fan of you and—”
“Tommy,” said Arachnid sharply, “you can ask for Bolt’s autograph later. Focus and tell me what Bait and Switch are doing.”
Tommy’s attention snapped back to Arachnid like someone had flipped a switch. “Like I said, they’re—”
The loud sound of metal crashing into metal came from the gym’s open doors, interrupting Tommy. A string of curses from a feminine voice followed shortly after, and then I distinctly caught the sound of a punching bag being slammed against the wall.
“Ah,” said Arachnid in a deadpan voice. “I see. Tommy, run over to the Headmaster’s office and tell him to have the other teachers on standby in case things get out of control.”
“Things get out of control?” I said as Tommy ran down the path behind us. “What are you talking about? Why do you need the other teachers on standby? Has something like this happened before?”
“Third time in as many months,” said Arachnid. “And the other teachers are just in case of emergency. I should be able to handle these two on my own, but better to be safe than sorry. You should probably wait out here.”
“No way,” I said. “I’m here to see Bait and Switch. I’ll go in with you.”
“Suit yourself,” said Arachnid with a shrug.
Arachnid ran up the steps. I followed and the two of us dashed through the open doors and soon found ourselves standing in the gym itself.
The last time I had visited the Academy, I had stopped by the gym, though I didn’t do much other than look
around. I did remember, however, being impressed by the wide variety of equipment—ranging from basic dumbbells to complicated-looking machines I couldn’t make sense of and everything in between—offered, as well as the soft yet durable mats designed specially to withstand the usage of superpowers in the gym. It had also been very wide open and large, big enough for students and faculty alike to work out without having to wait to use equipment or machines.
But now, the gym looked like a total mess. Dumbbells were scatted everywhere, with a handful even stuck in the walls for some reason. Some of the machines had been totally smashed, while the mats were full of metal nails like someone had fired a machine gun into them. One of the machines had even somehow been lodged into the ceiling, hanging loosely in the hole it had created, threatening to drop down and crush anyone who happened to be unlucky enough to be standing underneath it when that happened. The stench of sweat and metal didn’t help matters, either.
In the very center of the gym stood two teenagers, both wearing identical blue and yellow costumes. One was a tall, strong-looking young man with short brown hair and a chiseled jaw. His muscles bulged underneath his costume, while a purple gem glowed softly on his gym, its light reflecting off his dark eyes.
The other was a teenage girl who, in comparison to the boy, looked pretty thin, though she definitely had muscle on her bones. Her blonde hair was done in a ponytail and her yellow eyes flashed dangerously. She wore an orange rock on her chest identical to the purple one the boy wore. She was actually kind of cute, although knowing who she was, I knew better than to try to make any moves on her.
The two teenagers were arguing loudly, with the girl’s voice being quite shrill and high, though the boy raised his voice to match hers. Despite the obvious size and strength difference between the two, the girl didn’t seem even remotely intimidated by the boy and even poked him in the chest once or twice, though the boy would always slap her hand away whenever she did that.
“Bait, Switch!” Arachnid yelled. “What the heck are you two doing?”
Bait and Switch suddenly stopped arguing with each other and looked over at us. That was when I noticed the twisted barbell at Bait’s feet and the broken cord in Switch’s other hand.
“Arachnid!” said Bait, his voice loud and deep. He waved his large arms at us. “I was just telling Switch here that she was going to be in big trouble when a teacher came by and—”
“Me? In big trouble?” Switch asked, staring at Bait in disbelief. “I wasn’t the one who lost my temper and threw a freaking Smith machine into the ceiling. I’m not the only one getting into trouble here, mister.”
“At least I didn’t snap a cord off of a machine and try to use it as a whip,” Bait said, gesturing at a corded machine behind Switch, which was indeed missing a cord.
Switch looked down at the cord in her hand and immediately threw it away. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. You’re probably seeing things again.”
“I am not seeing things, you—”
Bait didn’t get to finish his sentence, because Arachnid fired two wads of webbing at them. The webbing slammed into Bait and Switch’s mouths, immediately shutting them up. Surprised looks appeared on their faces as Bait and Switch tried to rip the webbing off their mouths, though with little success.
“Shut up, both of you,” said Arachnid, without raising his voice or sounding even slightly annoyed. “Or I’ll web your mouths shut permanently. Understood?”
Bait and Switch nodded, although it was very reluctantly on Switch’s part.
“Good,” said Arachnid. “Now come over here and let me remove the webbing. You’ve got a lot of explaining to do. Both of you.”
The twins walked up to us very reluctantly and stopped in front of Arachnid, who immediately ripped the webbing from their mouths and threw it away. Both Bait and Switch grimaced and rubbed their mouths when Arachnid did that like he had ripped duct tape off their mouths.
“What happened?” said Arachnid as he put his hands on his hips and looked at the two of them with a stern gaze.
“Bait called me fat,” said Switch immediately.
“I did not,” said Bait, folding his arms across his chest. “I was just saying that if she didn’t start lifting heavier that she wouldn’t get as strong as she wanted.”
“No, I’m pretty sure you called me fat,” said Switch. She ran her hands down her slim body. “Which, I can prove, is a lie.”
“So you two got into a big fight and practically tore the entire gym apart because of a petty insult?” said Arachnid.
Switch glanced around at the gym before looking at Arachnid again and saying, “Bait did most of it.”
“I wasn’t the one who put nail bullets in the floor, sis,” said Bait, rolling his eyes. He gesturing at an overhanging light fixture that hung from just a few threads of wire. “Or nearly knock that light fixture off the ceiling.”
“You did throw the Smith machine into the ceiling, though,” said Switch. “Which is a lot worse than putting nail bullets in the floor, to be frank.”
Arachnid sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I don’t really care who started it. At this point, I think I’ll just send both of you to detention until you make up and stop tearing up the gym every month. It’s expensive.”
“Detention?” said Switch. “Fine by me. I can live with that.”
“Oh, and you two will also have to spend the next week cleaning up this mess you made,” said Arachnid, gesturing at the carnage around us. “Make it easier for the repair crew to fix everything.”
“What?” said Switch, her eyes widening. “Come on. You’re not seriously expecting us to—”
“I am,” Arachnid interrupted. “And don’t talk back to me. I am your teacher and I can discipline you as I see fit.”
Bait shrugged. “See, Switch? This is what you get for not controlling your temper. If you hadn’t gotten angry after I made that comment about your weights—”
“See, he did call me fat,” said Switch, pointing at Bait.
“Weights, as in the kind you lift,” said Bait in irritation, “not your body weight. Do you even listen to anything I say or do you have wax in your—”
“Enough,” said Arachnid, drawing both Bait and Switch’s attention to him. “Your detention and clean up starts tomorrow. For today, I have a special guest for you to meet.” He gestured at me. “Meet Bolt. I think you probably know him already, although if you don’t—”
“Bolt?” said Switch. She looked over at me as if noticing me for the first time. “I remember you. You’re Stinger’s friend, right?”
“Yeah,” I said. I had to admit I was slightly hesitant about talking to them, after seeing how they tore apart a whole gym after a petty argument. Perhaps it would be better if I backed away slowly without making any sudden moves. “I’ve also fought your mom a few times, oh, and I fought you guys as well.”
“Yeah, I remember that,” said Bait. He rubbed the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly. “Sorry about that. That was when we were Mom’s sidekicks, but don’t worry. Now we’re trying to become real heroes just like you and Stinger.”
“We’ve already done quite a bit already,” said Switch, brushing back a thin strand of hair from her face. “Not to brag, but we did defeat Tsunami, after all. I’d say we’re well on our way to becoming superheroes already if I say so myself.”
I nodded. I recalled hearing the stories about how Bait and Switch defeated the infamous supervillain Tsunami several months ago, which I wish I could have helped with, though I was busy at the time. Yet seeing how much they fought with each other made me wonder how they could have possibly worked together long enough to defeat a supervillain on Tsunami’s level.
“Good for you guys,” I said. “Do either of you know why I am here?”
“Of course I do,” said Switch. “You are in desperate need of our help. Some supervillain has you in a bind and you decided to come begging—er, I mean asking for our help. Right?”
&n
bsp; “Sis, don’t be so presumptuous,” said Bait. “Let Bolt speak and tell us in his own words why he’s here. We’ll listen.”
Switch rolled her eyes, but I was glad that Bait seemed to be the more reasonable of the two. He must have had a temper, though, if he was willing to throw a Smith machine into the ceiling when he got angry.
In any case, I told them exactly what was going on. It didn’t take me long to recount the story of Valerie’s kidnapping, but luckily the two of them didn’t interrupt. Even Switch listened, though I could tell she was getting impatient as the story went on.
“So I need two people to go with me into the Vaultwork to save Val,” I finished. “No one else is available, so I decided to see if you guys would be willing to help me.”
“Video games are for nerds and losers,” said Switch, folding her arms in front of her chest. “Especially video games that require a lot of math, like the one you just told us about.”
“I don’t know about that, sis,” said Bait, “I think it sounds fun. Even if it isn’t, it’s not like Bolt is asking us to play a game with him. He wants us to help save his friend, which seems like what a real superhero would do if you ask me.”
“I suppose it would … if this Valerie girl wasn’t a computer program,” said Switch. “Not gonna do it. I’ve got better things to do. Right, Bait?”
I was almost relieved that Switch said that, because if Bait and Switch got along this well, I couldn’t imagine how they would react in the middle of a real mission under real pressure.