“Are they…?” Doug began.
I looked at him, eyebrows and shoulders raised. “No telling. They haven’t acted like it. At least, I don’t think so.”
“We should ask them.”
“Are you kidding? You wanna ask Selena a question like that? She’ll pummel you bro. No joke, she wouldn’t let you finish your sentence.”
Doug laughed and rubbed his eyes. “Man, this is so weird.”
“You don’t know if it means anything.”
“You don’t know if it doesn’t mean anything.”
“What are you saying?” I waved him off. “Let’s just forget about it and get some food. I’m starving.”
We walked towards the cafeteria, unable to think about anything else.
20
THE SUIT
It was the next day and I’d just finished doing some shooting practice at the underground gun range with Avery and Eddie. I hadn’t seen Drew or Selena, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to yet. I was still trying to figure out what was going on between them—both good and bad.
The obvious possibility was that they were in a relationship. That was weird to think about, but I mean, I guess I was happy for them. There were worse things that could be happening. Like their relationship going south. Which was exactly what was happening. At least, that was what it seemed like. Of course I could find out if I just asked them.
And of course, that wasn’t going to happen.
Avery clicked the button for the fifth floor, and the elevator began moving. “You guys want some lunch?” she asked.
“I could use some,” I said.
“Me too,” Eddie agreed.
“You’re shooting is really good, Eddie,” I said after a few moments of silence. “I didn’t think you would do that well, seeing as you’re almost never away from your tools,” I teased.
“Hey, don’t underestimate me. I’m loaded with skills,” he said, brushing his shoulders.
“I have to admit, I was surprised too,” Avery said. “Kane and I could’ve used you whenever we were fighting Raven’s men.”
I laughed, thinking back to that time a few weeks ago when it was just Avery and I, and a ton of Raven’s men inside the library on the military base. I wasn’t sure what it was with my enemies affinity for libraries. “Yeah, he was too busy having to have us rescue him from Raven’s men though,” I said.
Avery and I laughed as the elevator doors opened, and Eddie crossed his arms in a fake pout. “You guys said,” he said with a smirk. “I discovered my powers whenever two assholes were bullying me. You two better watch out.”
“Aw, he’s got an attitude and he discovered his powers while being bullied. How adorably cliche,” Avery said, batting her eyelashes at Eddie.
Eddie’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment. He was a good sport though, and laughed it off. “We can’t all be badass and discover our powers while punching the only Super in the world in the face, then catching a hottie on her way to the ground.”
Avery laughed, as did I, albeit uncomfortably. I didn’t like the way Eddie referred to Macy as a “hottie”. I didn’t like the feelings that even came up at the mention of her name.
So I pushed them down and changed the conversation. “How about you, Avery?” I asked as we entered the small food court. “How’d you discover your powers?”
Avery shook her head thinking about it. “It’s kind of…” she searched for the right word. “I’m not sure how to describe it, really.”
“Then don’t describe what it’s like, just tell it!” Eddie said, nudging her on.
“Okay, well to give you some background, my mum and dad immigrated to London from Iran when I was a young girl. I lived there long enough to know what it was like to be very poor; to have basically nothing. Anyways, when we moved here, my father started one of the first tech startups in Britain, and became very wealthy, which meant I went to a very preppy, rich school.”
“Oh gosh, don’t tell Doug that. He’ll demand to meet your father immediately,” I said.
Avery laughed. “Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to refrain.” We stepped forward in line, and she continued. “So, since I knew what it was like to be very poor and to have basically nothing, I overcompensated when I went to school. I wore my school uniform while there, but I always wore expensive clothes outside of class. I made fun of people who were more poor than I was, and flaunted money that wasn’t even mine.” Avery shook her head and hid her face in her hands. “Oh my gosh,” she said, laughing. “This is so embarrassing. I was terrible!”
I chuckled with her. “Yeah, you’re not painting the best picture.”
Avery punched my arm. “Shut up, you can’t tell me you never bullied anybody.”
I shook my head. “I actually had a few bullies of my own,” I said, thinking back to Brian. Yet another person I never knew what happened to.
“Anyways, I grew up just being the worst type of person. Even though I made fun of Eddie, I was your “mean girl” cliche in every way. Then graduation day came. A day I looked forward to forever. I spent hours having professionals do my hair and makeup, spent way too much money on the dress I was going to wear under my gown, and then an entirely different outfit for the graduation party. But then before the ceremony began, I turned invisible. I don’t know how I did it, why I did it, and I definitely didn’t know how to stop doing it.”
Eddie’s eyes grew wide. “You mean you missed your graduation?”
Avery nodded. “Yep, missed the whole thing. Talk about karma.”
“How did you end up working here?” Eddie asked.
I wanted to hear this story as well, but my phone buzzed in my pocket. It was amazing how fast I became used to that feeling again. I looked at the screen and had a text from Ellie.
Hey, need to talk to you in my office. Come by as soon as you can.
“Hey guys, gotta run,” I said.
“Right in the middle of this story? How rude,” Eddie said, turning his nose up with a smile.
I rolled my eyes. “I’ll catch you later.”
I walked down the hallway towards Ellie’s. It was a weird thing, going to meet someone in their office when they’re the same age as me. I wasn’t sure what to expect. Did she have a new mission for us to go on already?
I reached the door on the other side of the elevators. It had a plaque on it that read Ellie Montgomery. I knocked, and waited a moment.
“Come in,” Ellie said on the other side, her crisp British accent cutting through the door clear as day.
I opened it and stepped inside. “Hey, everything okay?” I asked.
Ellie nodded. “Yes, I just thought you’d probably want an update on the investigative team’s findings on the library.”
“Oh, right,” I said sitting down in a chair, eager to hear more.
“Well, it’s definitely strange,” she said, leaning on her desk. “It looks as if they were searching for something.”
I cocked my head to the side. “Searching? Do they know what for?”
Ellie shook her head. “Not exactly. That section of the library though is where some history books are held.”
“What kind of history?”
“The twelfth and thirteenth century,” Ellie explained.
I sat back, trying to figure out what it could mean. “That’s two hundred years of history. There’s no telling what they could be searching for, is there?”
“No, unfortunately not.”
“What about the Supers we captured, are they giving up any information?” I asked.
“They’re keeping their mouths shut. We’re doing everything we can. Some of the higher ups are starting to put pressure on us to take more drastic measures,” she said, averting her eyes.
“You mean torture?”
Ellie nodded, the subject making her uncomfortable. “We’re exhausting all of our options before it comes to that, however.”
“Well, hopefully Jigsaw shows his face soon and we’ll be able to find out exac
tly what it is he’s doing here. I think it’s safe to assume that testing your forces isn’t the only thing they’re up to. Not unless they’re testing the skills of your investigative team.”
Ellie scoffed and smiled. “Yeah, I don’t quite think figuring out whether or not we can put clues together and dust for fingerprints is their devious master plan.” She pulled out one of the drawers in her desk. “I have one last thing for you before I have to go.” She reached in and pulled out a familiar looking leather blue suit. “I believe you know what this is,” she said as she pushed the outfit across the table.
I stood from my seat and picked it up. The dark blue leather felt smooth to the touch. “It’s my Tempest outfit,” I said with a smile. It was like being reacquainted with an old friend. “I feel like it’s been a lifetime since I’ve seen one of these.”
“Our people had one made for you. We think it’d be good if you wore it whenever you go out as a Super. Try and reassure our citizens,” Ellie explained.
“Are you sure it’d reassure them? I thought you guys said you didn’t want them to know Supers were flying around their city?”
“Well, they already know there’s the bad Supers flying around. It’d be good for them to know there was a good one about as well,” she said.
I rubbed the suit between my fingers, thinking about all the fun times I had wearing one—and the not so fun times. It felt like it’d been forever since I was wearing this outfit and flying around as Tempest, back when it was just Richter and I. Even though those weren’t the best of times for the Earth, they were much better than the ones we were in. I would’ve exchanged now for then any day of the week. Even if it meant Richter and I would be fighting each other from now until eternity.
“So you think you’ll wear it?” Ellie said.
It took me a moment to answer. Even though the suit reminded me of good times, it also reminded me of the people who made it. My parents, as a token of their undying support. They knew I’d do what was right, and I knew I would too with them by my side. Now they were who knows where. I wanted to believe they were okay, as did Selena and everybody else. But we had no way of knowing.
I thought of the people I wore it for. The people I no longer had in my life. Michael, my oldest friend, and the first personal casualty in my war. Macy, the girl I was in love with. Saving her was the whole reason I discovered my powers. But then—just once—I wasn’t there to catch her. I couldn’t save her. Then there was Samantha. She said herself that I was the one who gave her hope. The hope she needed to contact me in the desert all that time ago when I was fighting Richter. Now she was missing, and I was trusting in some mystical Super that I would be told her location.
All that baggage and loads more was packing into the fibers of the suit I held in my hand. Did I really want to put all that on again?
“Kane?” I heard Ellie say, breaking me from my trance. She placed a hand on my shoulder.
I realized I’d been crying. I wiped off the two tears that’d raced each other down my cheeks. “Sorry,” I said with an awkward chuckle. “Just a lot of memories with this thing.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to spring this on you,” she said. “You don’t have to wear it if you want to.” She reached for the outfit.
“No,” I said, pulling it back. “It’s okay, I understand. Let me think about it, okay?”
Ellie gave me a comforting smile and squeezed my shoulder. “Okay, you do that.”
I turned and walked out of her office, holding a relic to my past in my hands.
21
STILL BELIEVE
“Hey, what’s that?” I heard someone ask as they walked up behind me.
I glanced over my shoulder and saw Samantha. My heart skipped a beat and I did a double take. Selena. It was just Selena. “I—uh,” I stuttered, still trying to recover from thinking I saw Samantha. I held up the suit to her as we walked. “They made me this replica of my Tempest suit. They think I should wear it, but I’m not too sure.”
Selena laughed. “Oh man, I remember the first time I saw you wearing that thing on the news. I thought it was so cheesy.”
I smirked, wanting to stay engaged in the conversation, but too weirded out by the fact I thought I saw Samantha. I could’ve sworn she was the one walking up behind me, her blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, bouncing behind her as she walked. “Yeah, it’d feel weird putting this thing back on.”
“Are you going to?” she asked.
I stopped in front of the door to my room. I shrugged as I retrieved the keys from my pocket and unlocked the door. “Maybe. I don’t know.”
“If it were me, I wouldn’t. But you’re not as cool as me so it’s whatever,” she said, sarcasm evident in her voice. “Catch you later,” she said as she turned and walked away.
I opened the door and locked it behind me. After tossing the outfit on my bed, I went to the bathroom. I turned the water in the sink on cold, and took a handful of it in my hand, splashing it on my face. The cold water tried the best it could to clear the fog from my mind, but I still couldn’t take my mind off the fact that I thought I saw Samantha.
My feelings turned from confusion to a weird sort of happy. I’d accepted it wasn’t her, so instead I was relishing the fact that I got to “see” her, even for a split second. It was as if I saw a picture of her, except the picture was life size and walking towards me. I cursed myself for turning away from her so fast and not lingering for a few more seconds. I was just so thrown off guard I didn’t know what to do.
Once my thoughts went down the track of thinking about Samantha, there was little I could do to stop it. I couldn’t help but wonder about where she was, whether or not she was aware of anything—which was my nice way of saying conscious or unconscious. If she was conscious, she would’ve been talking to me, right? Was there some reason she wasn’t communicating? The only reason I could think is if she wasn’t able to.
I didn’t like thinking about that, but I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about her. So instead I turned my thoughts to thinking about good times. My brain instantly went to the moment before Selena and I left for London, when she kissed me.
“That didn’t mean anything,” she’d said immediately afterwards. I chuckled as I shook my head. She was so scared her powers wouldn’t be strong enough to reach me all the way in London, and wanted to do anything she could to give us the strongest connection possible.
Well, she had no trouble talking to both Selena and myself while we were over here, and I didn’t see her giving Selena any meaningless kisses. She had no reason to fear. I believed in her, and she’d come through.
“I still believe in you,” I whispered.
My stomach growled, and I remembered that I actually never got anything to eat. I grabbed a towel, dried my face off, and switched off the bathroom light as I walked out.
I opened the door to my room, and almost jumped out of my skin when I saw Ellie standing there, her fist raised as she was about to knock on the door.
“You scared the hell out of me,” I said, laughing as I grabbed my chest.
“I’m so, so, sorry,” Ellie said as she laughed. “I forgot to tell you something and wanted to before I forgot.”
“What is it?” I asked as my laughter died down.
“Well, my parents live nearby, and they wanted to cook a big dinner for you and your friends. I told them we were way too busy, but they just wanted me to ask. Just to say thanks for all you guys are doing,” she said.
“Of course, we’d love to,” I said. “I’ll let everybody else know. When is it?”
“I’ll find out from them when I tell them you’re coming. They’re going to be thrilled. It’d be good to get out of this building for reasons that don’t include defending the city from The Legion,” Ellie said.
“I think I’ll have to agree with that.”
“I’ll text you when I have the details,” she said as she stepped away.
“Okay, sounds good! See you
later,” I said as she walked out of my room, closing the door behind me.
****
That night I entered my room, eager for sleep. I’d spent the last couple of hours hanging out with Avery and Doug, talking and laughing around a booth in the food court. We told Avery about our Selena and Drew suspicions, and she said she’d keep an eye on them because she’s really good at figuring people out. They both scolded me for not asking Selena about the argument while I talked to her in the hallway after meeting with Ellie. Of course I didn’t tell them that I was too distracted by the fact that I saw Samantha, so I just took their grief and suddenly hoped they’d forget about the whole thing.
After brushing my teeth, I changed into a pair of sweatpants and a fresh t-shirt. I walked over to my bed and picked up the Tempest outfit. It had been sitting there untouched since I tossed it aside earlier. I held it in my hands, and even considered trying it on. I realized that it probably wouldn’t even fit. How did they know my exact dimensions? They had plenty of reference photos and videos to choose from, of course, but still, I decided it wasn’t worth my time. I tossed the outfit onto my desk and climbed into bed, trying not to think about the time when I was Tempest. When I was really a superhero, and not an eighteen year old fighting a war and was in over his head way more than he knew.
22
A RUDE AWAKENING
An alarm blaring woke me from my sleep.
I jumped from my bed while the noise shrieked around my room, a red light above my door flashing. I changed out of my night clothes and got dressed in less than a second. I picked up my phone from on top of my dresser and dialed Ellie’s number as I exited my room.
Red lights flashed around the hallway. People stampeded down the hall towards the stairs. I searched around for anybody I knew that could tell me what was going on.
“Kane, where are you?” Ellie said in my ear.
I realized she’d answered. “I’m leaving my room. What’s going on?”
“Get downstairs as soon as you can. Jigsaw is here, and he’s got hostages.”
The Secret of the Supers (The First Superhero Book 4) Page 9
