by J L Ender
“Oh, sorry,” I began. The words fizzled out on my lips.
The person we’d walked into was my little sister Katrina.
Chapter 11
“Katrina?” I asked. “What are you doing here?”
She was dressed in her karate clothes, green belt tied around her waist. Her dark hair was up in a pony tail.
“I’m here to help,” she said.
“I thought you were hanging out with Jane.” I glanced to my side. Iron Wraith was just waking up.
“Buh-huh?” he said. “What’s going on? Why is your little sis here?”
“Good question.” I turned to Katrina. “You followed us?”
“Wait a sec, did she come with you today, Fox?” Iron Wraith asked.
“Yes…” I said.
“My little sis isn’t even home right now,” he said. “Piano lessons.”
I turned back to Katrina, who squirmed under my gaze.
“How long have you been following us around?” I asked.
“A… a while. I… may have watched you fight the elephant monster. I want to help! I can be a superhero too! Ninja-Girl!”
“Normal people can’t be superheroes,” I said, alarmed that Katrina had been sneaking around that horrible night.
“You did it! I saw your costume!”
“That’s different.”
“How?”
I didn’t have a good answer for that.
“You’re… younger,” I finally said.
“Only by two years!”
I sighed and glanced at Tony, who shrugged. It was my decision. I didn’t like the idea of her being in danger, but I liked the idea of her sneaking around without me even less. We would be safer together. I knew Katrina. She was always curious and she would need to see this through.
“Alright, alright,” I said, holding up a hand to stop her before she could say anything. “But I have a few conditions. You have to do what I tell you, and always follow my lead.”
“Follow your lead?” she asked.
“Yeah, like if we’re being quiet, you keep your voice down too. That kind of thing. Sometimes I might not be able to explain why something is the way it is just then, but it doesn’t mean I don’t have a reason.”
“Oh. Ok! I can follow your lead!” she said, bouncing on her feet in excitement.
“Quite the team you’re forming,” Iron Wraith said.
That hadn’t been my intention. Only one of us had superpowers! “This team can’t last,” I said with a look at Tony. “This is too dangerous. After we stop Sandman, we need to disband.”
Everyone was quiet for a moment.
“If that’s what you want.” Iron Wraith shrugged.
“Disband?” Katrina asked.
“Yeah, it means break up, like stop trying to be superheroes,” I said.
“What are we doing about Sandman?” Tony asked.
“Good question,” I replied. “What did you see inside his apartment?” I asked Iron Wraith.
“Yep. Kind of a dump.”
“What?” I asked, confused.
“Huh?” He had misunderstood me somehow.
“What did you see?” I repeated.
“Oh! Young dude on the hospital bed. He had wires in his nose and he looked like he was sleeping.”
“That’s it?”
“Well, there was brass junk piled everywhere. Like, candlesticks and little statues and all kinds of random stuff.”
“No sign of what he was using it for?” I was a little disappointed. I’d been hoping he’d learned something more.
Iron Wraith shook his head. “It was all heaped around the bed. Didn’t look like it was being used at all.”
“Sandman must be planning to use it for something,” I said. “I just don’t get what.”
“Maybe he really likes candles,” Iron Wraith said.
I shook my head. “Something is going on.”
The streetlights had buzzed to life, lighting up the dark road. We needed to get home. My mom would be back from work soon and expecting Katrina and me to return from Iron Wraith's house. I looked at my three friends. My team. Like it or not, I really had formed a team.
I looked up at the apartment building behind us. We had a huge advantage now, knowing where Sandman lived. We couldn’t let that go to waste. We had to figure him out before anyone got hurt. I looked back to my team.
“What are you guys doing tonight?”
- - -
We took turns that first night.
We had to keep the apartment under watch. Iron Wraith handled the first shift. His parents were used to him being out nights. He watched Sandman’s building until Katrina and I were able to take over. We waited for my mom to go to bed, then slipped out. I didn’t like sneaking around, but I hadn’t figured out yet how to tell her what was going on. I was afraid she wouldn’t understand, and as long as Iron Wraith needed my help, I couldn’t risk getting grounded.
I wore my suit. Not exactly stealthy, but if Elephant Boy really was around, I had to be ready. I wanted some armor for Katrina, too, but the remaining set of armor didn’t fit her. We stuck to the shadows near the door to Sandman’s apartment, watching for Sandman or Elephant Boy, or even the mysterious child in the hospital bed.
And for hours, nothing. Katrina fell asleep sprawled out on a park bench. I sat on one end. I didn’t get sleepy, though. Insomniac and all that, remember? I can stay awake like a champ when I need to.
It wasn’t until 3:00 a.m.— just minutes before Tony was supposed to come take over— that something finally happened.
A tiny, golden figure slipped out into the glow of the streetlights. It was late. There were no cars or people around. I almost couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the… thing. It was human shaped, just over a foot tall, and seemingly made from solid gold. As far as I could tell, it had no facial features at all.
What the…? For a moment, I was too mesmerized to react.
As the little golden man walked away, I finally snapped into action. I stood as quietly as I could, determined not to alert the whatever-it-was to my presence. I was able to move in the suit without making a sound as long as I didn’t bang or scrape against anything.
I glanced down at Katrina sleeping on the bench, still dressed in her karate robe. I decided she might be safer here than chasing tiny golden monsters. I turned without waking her and ran down the street, sticking to the edges of the sidewalk, where the light would be dimmer. Not that I had any clue whether the thing I was chasing could see or not. For all I knew, it could see in all directions and sneaking around would be pointless.
The little creature skipped down the street, moving with a cheerful, high-stepping walk. If I didn’t know better, I’d have said it was excited about something. Well, who am I kidding? I didn’t know better. I didn’t know anything! I’d never seen anything like this before.
I followed the golden figure down one street and out onto another. There were more cars on this road, and the lights of restaurants and shops that stayed open late were glowing. We were moving into the bustling heart of downtown, where skyscrapers stretched tall. Bluejay territory.
Technically, Iron Wraith’s treaty didn’t extend to me, but as far as I knew, the Bluejay was still mad at me. I would have to keep an eye on the sky, even as I watched the little golden man. I was apprehensive, but I couldn’t turn back now.
The golden figure continued to hop its way down the street. Even at night, this part of the city was still alive and thrumming. Trucks and cars zoomed by, and people were walking the sidewalks. Most of them had the look people get late at night. They were walking with their eyes forward, moving at a quick but steady pace. No one at this hour wanted to talk or glance around too much, lest they catch the eyes or ears of someone they didn’t want to.
That was how the tiny golden figure was able to walk right up to someone without being seen. The odd little creature pointed a fingerless, handless arm at a man in a hoodie. The man had his hood up and was bl
asting music through tiny earbuds. Even from several feet back I could hear the music.
“Hey!” I called out, worried about what the golden man was about to do.
Nothing seemed to happen at first. The man stopped, but otherwise I saw no change. His eyes weren’t closed, so I didn’t think he could be asleep. Upon hearing me cry out, the golden man snapped his head toward me, not dropping his upraised arm.
For a long moment, nothing changed. I stared at the little golden thing, and he stared back at me, and the man just stared forward at nothing, music still blaring.
“What are you doing in my part of the city?” a voice called down from the sky.
Not good.
The Bluejay dropped to the sidewalk between me and the little golden man. She was wearing a new mask. The golden figure glanced up at the Bluejay. Seemingly nervous, it took a few steps backward, toward the man it had been pointing at. The golden man lowered its arm, swiveling it away from the hoodie guy and toward the Bluejay. As soon as the tiny man moved that golden arm away, the larger man in the hoodie stumbled and shook himself, seeming to come awake. Eyes wide with terror, he turned and ran off in the opposite direction.
The second the arm was pointed at the Bluejay, she stopped. She didn’t say another word. Her jaw went slack, wide enough that I could see white molars.
“Stop that!” I yelled. I started forward, but I wasn’t sure what I was going to do.
The golden figure took a step back and lowered his arm. The Bluejay began to move again. She rubbed at her eyes, looking confused. I kept moving towards the golden figure. I’d decided to try my laser on it. At almost the same moment, we pointed our arms at one another.
Aaaaaaaaaaand...
Nothing. The golden man could not do anything to me, just like the Sandman had been unable to make me fall asleep.
“GRRRRRRRRRR!” With a scary growl, the Bluejay kicked the little figure before I could fire my laser. It went flying and disappeared over the top of a building.
“What in the pigeon teeth was that?” she asked me. Her voice modulator was back in, so her words came out in a deep, electronic rumble.
“Pigeon teeth?”
“Yeah, pigeon teeth! I’m not allowed to swear, ok?”
Well, I would hope not, I thought. We’re kids. I decided not to say that. “Pigeons don’t have teeth,” I said instead. As if that was any better.
“Whatever! What are you doing on my turf?”
“I’m not a superhero. I don’t follow the turf rules,” I said. “Anyway, is that all you care about? What did that thing do to you?”
“I was… dreaming, I think. But I was still awake, sort of like a daydream that I couldn’t get out of.”
“What were you dreaming about?”
I couldn’t see her face, but she shifted as though uncomfortable. “It doesn’t matter,” she said. “Stay away from my turf!” With that she leapt into the air and flew away.
I sighed. “Whatever.”
Katrina.
My first thought was for the little sister I’d left behind. I turned and raced back to Sandman’s apartment building. Leaving her had been foolish. I could have brought her with me instead of leaving her alone and vulnerable.
Thankfully she was still on her bench, sleeping.
“Wha’d I miss?” she mumbled sleepily when I arrived, brushing hair out of her eyes.
“Nothing much,” I said. I decided I would fill her in later. For now, we needed to get back home. We could regroup, and I could talk to Iron Wraith and Tony and see what they thought about all this.
Tony… Tony who wasn’t there. He must have slept through his alarm, or just decided not to come. Either way, we couldn’t stay out here all night. We’d have to decide our next move tomorrow. The night was catching up to me at last and I needed some sleep.
I checked my phone. No calls from Tony, but three missed calls from my mom. Whoops. I’d seen her since then, but only for a few seconds in passing. I would have to talk to her about all this sooner or later. Another worry for the pile, but not a burden I was prepared to deal with yet, not when we were just beginning to figure things out.
We walked back to our apartment. I removed my armor and stashed it in the closet, then crawled into bed. The sheets felt cool and comfortable after a night in the warm armor. I closed my eyes and slipped away. Not an insomniac or a maniac or anything other than a very tired boy.
Chapter 12
Sunday was our mother’s only day off. The morning took on a normal rhythm, an old rhythm from before I’d gotten mixed up in all the superhero business. Katrina and I got up early and read library books for an hour until Mom woke up. We got dressed while she drank coffee, then read for a bit longer while she got ready, and then we all went to church.
The day had a normality to it I hadn’t realized I’d been missing. Things had been so crazy lately, it was nice to spend a little time with family. When we got back from church, I began to think again about Sandman and the brass thefts and the little golden man. I still hadn’t gotten to talk to Iron Wraith about all I’d seen.
Mom made grilled cheese and tomato soup. The rich aroma of the soup filled our little kitchen as she ladled the red liquid into three bowls. She sat down with a thump, brushing her hair out of her eyes. She had red hair like me.
Katrina carefully peeled the crusts off her sandwich.
“Any homework today?” my mom asked.
Katrina nodded. “A little.”
“I already did mine,” I said. “I’m planning to go over to Iron— to hang out with Jane’s brother.”
“Oh, that’s right. Your new friends. What’s his name again?”
“Marcus,” I said.
“Marcus, that’s right. I’d like to meet him and Jane. Maybe we could have his family over for dinner next week.” Mom blew on a spoonful of hot soup.
“That’d be cool,” I said. I wondered what she’d think if she knew my new friend was Iron Wraith. His identity wasn’t exactly a secret after all, so she’d probably figure it out lightning quick.
It occurred to me I should tell her what I had been up to over the last two weeks, but I didn’t know if the time was right. Iron Wraith still needed my help, after all. I hated to be deceptive. It made my stomach a little sick just thinking about my dishonesty. But I had to see this through. So far as we knew, I was the only one immune to Sandman’s powers. I couldn’t ignore that responsibility. Once this was over with, then I would tell Mom everything.
If that didn’t put an end to my superhero career, I didn’t know what would.
I thought of my armor stashed in my closet. I’m going to miss this life.
- - -
“So this little golden person does… what exactly? Makes people daydream?” Iron Wraith wasn’t skeptical. That wasn’t Iron Wraith. He was just curious. He and Katrina had been peppering me with questions while I’d told them my story.
“As far as I can tell,” I replied. “From what the Bluejay said. It was Sandman all over again. Somehow I was immune.”
“So it was Sandman?” Katrina asked.
“I didn’t see him… so we can’t know that for sure.”
We were walking as we talked, headed back to Sandman’s neighborhood. No one had been watching his building for over half a day now. He could be up to anything. Worse, if he was in control of the golden figure, he might be well aware that we had been spying on him.
“Where’s Tony?” Katrina’s usual curiosity was at work again. Iron Wraith didn’t seem to be listening.
“Not coming.”
“Why?”
“Said he had plans. With his family.” I didn't tell them I hadn’t believed a word of it.
“Did he say why he ditched us?”
“Nope.”
“Is everything ok with—” Katrina began.
“Wait a second,” I said. We’d reached the corner right before we would turn onto Sandman’s street. There were people, but it wasn’t packed. No crowd we coul
d blend into.
“What’s the plan, anyway?” Katrina asked. I was grateful for the opportunity to change the subject.
Good question. I’d been one step behind this whole time.
“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “We need a way to take another look at his apartment.”
