“Where is he?” Carmen asked when he opened the door.
“He ran away from home,” Victor said, answering before Andre.
Carmen looked at Andre for the real answer but Andre shrugged his shoulders and said, “His aunt said he packed a bag and took off.”
“You don't think...”
“What?”
Carmen shook her head as if she couldn't believe she was the only one who thought of it. “Hasn't he been talking about that House of Psi place a lot lately?”
“Bloody hell,” Victor mumbled to himself. “You think that wanker's got a big enough pair to join some work camp in the Fatherlands by himself?”
Andre shook his head. “Wesley isn't the type of guy to run off without saying goodbye.”
Carmen shifted the truck out of park and said, “I don't know. If I was going to take off, I don't think I'd tell you guys either.”
“What? Why not?”
“Because I'd never hear the end of it. You guys aren't exactly the most sensitive or understanding people in the world. You know that, right? If he did decide to check the place out, he probably didn't want to argue with you two about whether it was a good idea.”
“That's not fair.”
“No? Would you have let him go? Would you have supported his decision?”
“Of course not!” Victor shouted. “Them work camps are a communist's wet dream. I woulda tied him to a chair before I let him go sign up fer one o' them prisons.”
Carmen flashed Andre a look that said, “See? What did I tell you?” before she pulled out onto the street.
Andre shook his head and said, “Whatever. Even if he can figure out a way into the Fatherlands, that work camp is for real telekinetics. If that's really where he went, I'm pretty sure when they see he can only move a marble around, he'll get laughed out. He'll come crawling back to us within a week.”
“And we'll have more money than we know what to do with. Ringin' in the New Year right,” Victor said, smoothing out his mustache, “and he'll be cryin' his eyes out, wishin' he woulda come with us. Beggin' us to pay for his beers and whatnot.”
Carmen shook her head and laughed. “You guys are such good friends. I can't imagine why he would leave.”
“Just focus on the job,” Andre said. “Mickey's gonna have to help me dig, which means, Victor, you're gonna have to pick up the slack on lookout. I want you considering every possible future, man.”
“Ain't no thing,” Victor said with a wink.
“Good,” Andre said, staring straight ahead, toward his goal. “Because the only future I wanna see, is the one where we get paid.”
31
LUCY
The tower was quiet late at night. Most of the field operatives were out on patrol, keeping the city safe from crime and SPMD attacks. Lucy enjoyed the frantic hustle of the tower, watching superheroes go about their daily business in a technological wonderland, but that night she was enjoying the quiet. It gave her time to think. She could let her mind wander to her future.
The fact that she wouldn't be a public superhero didn't surprise her. She never expected to become a member of the Alliance, much less a costume-wearing representative of truth and justice. But once she was in Power Tower, she couldn't help letting her daydreams get the better of her. Now she had to face reality.
She stopped in the hallway and rubbed her eyes. She tried to stop thinking like that, like what they were offering her was somehow less than adequate. She was still going to be a superhero, just one who needed to be more humble, more modest about her efforts. She didn't need the spotlight, no matter how fun it would be. She just wanted to do good. She wanted to help people. She wanted to save the world. And they were going to teach her how to do that.
It became a loop, a circle of thoughts she couldn't find the end of. She needed a break. She needed an outlet. And there was only one person she wanted to talk to.
She pressed the buzzer on Connor's door a few times, but when he didn't answer, she wandered the halls some more, this time with a purpose. She checked the training room and the dining room, then she checked the trophy gallery and the laboratory. When she didn't find him in any of those places, it dawned on her that she should have checked the garden first.
When the transport tube slowed her descent, she gazed out through the glass over the open, four story room. It was a massive hydroponic greenhouse that looked more like an indoor rain forest than a typical garden. Fruit-bearing trees created a canopy of vegetation over stacks of herbs and vegetables. Layer after layer, row after row, the giant room held everything the tower needed to feed every hero that lived inside of it for years to come. A light rain fell from a cloud near the ceiling, but Lucy didn't mind. She stepped out of the glass tube and into the man-made forest. Under the canopy of trees, the rain barely touched her.
She roamed through the trails and walkways of the garden until she reached the central landing. There, sitting in the middle of the circular platform, letting the light rain trickle down from the leaves above him and wash over his shoulders, was Connor.
She felt her breath escape her for a moment when she realized he was meditating without his shirt on. The wet rain glistened against his dark skin, providing his muscular chest with a perfect sheen. She could still see the bruises and welts from his mission, but he was healing. She felt a deep yearning to reach out and touch him, to feel the wetness glide across his hard muscles, but she relented, allowing herself to stare for a moment, getting lost in his beauty.
“It's stunning, isn't it?” he asked as his eyes blinked open.
“Yes,” she mumbled before realizing he wasn't talking about himself. She shook off her hypnotized gaze and feigned a scan of her surroundings.
“I let myself pretend I'm somewhere else,” he said, allowing Lucy a bit of hope that he didn't notice her gawking at him. “I think about being in Gaia, or Therian, or even in the Hive. Just enjoying the earth.”
“That sounds nice.”
He stood up and stretched. “I'm not sure it's the healthiest thing in the world.”
“Why not?”
“Because I'm always disappointed when I come back to reality, when I face the fact that I'm still in the tower.”
She reached out and touched the leaf of a tomato plant, rubbing it between her thumb and forefinger. “It's not so bad here, is it?”
She jumped a bit when he spoke from right next to her, looking down at the same plant. “Don't get me wrong. There are things here I love.”
“There are?” she said, her voice fluttering.
He tilted his head toward the ceiling, closing his eyes as the water washed across his face. “I know every plant in this room. I raised them from seeds. I know every branch, every leaf. I feed them with the rain I create. These are my children. Of course I love them.”
“Oh. I mean, right. Of course.”
He threw back his dreadlocks to fling the water from them as he walked away. “Come on. I want to show you something.”
She followed him through the winding paths of the garden, up stairways that curled around green walls of organic food, until they reached the top most ring of the garden. He stopped on a perch that looked out over the entire facility. They stood high above the trees, the rain falling from a cloud within arm's reach. Her hair and clothes became drenched with water within a few seconds, but she didn't care. It felt magical up there, like she was in the sky, flying high above it all.
He climbed onto the railing, dangling his feet over the side, then patted the spot next to him and said, “Come here. Sit with me.”
Lucy walked to the edge, and as she looked over the railing, her stomach lurched upward. She couldn't see through the blanket of leaves without using her x-ray vision, which she didn't dare do, but her mind still knew it was a long way down.
Connor held out his hand to help her onto the railing and she sucked in a deep breath, summoning her bravery from wherever it was hiding. Her foot slipped when she tried to climb over the
side and she stopped herself from letting out a small scream. Connor grabbed her arm to brace her, and she forgot about everything that worried her. She swung her leg over the side and sat down next to him, perched above the entirety of the room.
“This is my domain,” Connor said, spreading his arms out wide to present the garden to her. “The domini can have their thrones and their crowns and their servants. All I need is this. All I need is the feeling of rain beating down upon my skin, the taste of a fresh strawberry upon my tongue, and the smell of wet soil in the morning.”
She could see the genuine love in his eyes, his pride for everything that surrounded them. She wondered if anything could ever be as important to him as the plants he had nurtured. She wondered if he could ever love a person as much as them.
“I found out what they want me to do. Like... in the Alliance,” she said, allowing her feet to dangle below her as she tightened her grip on the railing.
She knew she wasn't supposed to talk about it, but Mermaid also told her to find a new family there, in the tower, among the other Alliance members. If she couldn't talk to Connor, who was she supposed to talk to?
“And what is your assignment? Are you to be the superhero you always dreamed you'd be?”
She looked down, letting the rain drip from the tips of her hair. “Not exactly.”
“Really?” He flung his dreadlocks over his shoulder so he could see her better. “Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe you won't have to-”
“Have you heard of the Shadows?”
He stared at her, his face like stone, with his gaze flashing back and forth between her eyes. It was a long pause, one that made her uncomfortable. His silence broke when he looked away from her, allowing his dreadlocks to fall back between them.
“Only rumors.”
She wasn't sure how to read his reaction, so she pushed forward.
“That's what they recruited me for. I guess, ugh, it sounds so weird to say it out loud, but I guess they want me to be like... some kind of spy or something.”
He nodded his head, letting another long pause hang in the air. Lucy waited for him to respond, but when the silence stretched out too long, she continued.
“It makes sense. With my super power, I could be pretty good at espionage, or like... gathering intelligence on bad guys with SPMDs, or-”
“Maybe they'll change your name to Big Sister.”
“Big Sister?”
“Like Big Brother? George Orwell? As in, 'you're always watching.' Have you never read that book?”
“Yeah, I've read that book,” she said with a laugh. “But that's a terrible superhero name.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, you're right.”
Lucy's laugh fell away as she said, “It doesn't matter, anyway. No one is ever going to know my name.”
Connor reached out and put his hand on hers, gripping the railing with her as he said, “I know your name.”
She looked into his eyes and smiled. Even with the rain beating down upon her, she felt warm and comforted. Connor looked away, but his hand remained on hers.
Lucy sat there a while, listening to the rain and letting his hand send an electrifying excitement through her body. She wanted to sit there like that forever, but her own anxiousness caused her to speak again.
“Do you talk to your parents? Do they know that you're a superhero?”
“I'm an orphan.”
“Oh!” Lucy said, instinctively pulling her hand away from his in embarrassment. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-”
He smiled and grabbed her hand again, this time wrapping his fingers between hers. “It's okay. They died when I was a baby. I never knew them.”
“That's terrible.”
“I used to think so. When I was younger I thought it was some kind of curse or something. I was never adopted, just raised in the orphanage until I showed signs of having a super power. Then they shipped me off to the academy for a year before the Alliance snatched me up. It was hard back then. But I don't know. Sometimes I think it was a blessing. It made me stronger, you know? More independent or something.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I like who I am. I like who I became. Maybe not everything is perfect in my life, but I can't get hung up on the things that are out of my control. I need to focus on where I want to go.”
“And where do you want to go?”
He smiled and looked away. “I don't know. I mean, right now? Right now is kind of perfect. Right now,” he glanced back at her, “I don't want to go anywhere.”
She looked away, even though she didn't want to. She wanted to get lost in those beautiful blue eyes. She would dive in and swim in them if she could. But it was too powerful, too intense. She couldn't handle the swelling in her chest. She couldn't handle the way she felt about this boy she hardly knew. Was she being crazy? Was this just some dumb crush that felt more intense because she was away from home, away from her family and friends?
“They told me that I can't talk to anyone outside of the tower about what I do. I have to lie to them. My friends, my family. Everyone.”
“And you're okay with that?”
“I mean, it's not what I want, but-”
“But if that's what you have to do to be a superhero, then you're willing to do whatever they ask.”
“No. I don't know.” She took a breath. “Kind of? It's for the greater good, right?”
“The greater good?”
“Sure. I mean, being a hero is about making the hard decisions, isn't it? Sometimes you have to put aside your own happiness to save lives.”
Connor shrugged. “Sure. But I also think you need to listen to your heart.”
“I am listening to my heart,” she said. “And my head.”
“And they're both telling you this is okay?”
“No. It's not okay.” She paused, reconsidering everything for the hundredth time. “But it's worth it.”
Connor nodded his head and flashed her a grin. “Look at it this way, at least you don't have to go through the Alliance's media training and learn how to talk to reporters and pose for pictures. That is the absolute worst.”
“Gross,” she said, sticking out her tongue.
He chuckled and then they both listened to the rain for a while before he suddenly stood up, leaning back to balance himself against the railing. She tightened her grip on his hand, trying to brace him.
“What are you doing?”
He smiled down at her, but it looked devious. “Do you trust me?”
She glanced down at his boots, which were teetering on the wet railing. “Just sit back down.”
“Come on. Do you trust me?”
“Sure. Yes. Now sit down.”
“No,” he said, pulling on her hand. “Stand up.”
She looked down below her, then back up at Connor. “I don't want to. This is dumb. Sit down.”
“You want to be a superhero, right? Time to suck it up and be brave.”
“Brave? Or stupid?”
He shrugged his shoulders and smiled bigger. “What's the difference?”
“Just get down.”
He let go of her hand and said, “Fine. Stay here. But I was having fun hanging out with you.”
She opened her mouth to voice her confusion, but her words turned into a scream as he stepped off the railing. He spread his arms out wide as he fell, dropping into the canopy of trees. The leaves slapped against him, then swallowed him whole, his body disappearing beneath the sea of green. She leaned forward, focusing her vision to x-ray, and peering past the cover of foliage. She watched his body drop through the garden's rings of vegetation, slipping through the openings until he dove into a large pool of water at the bottom of the garden. He sank beneath the surface for a moment before popping back up and flinging his dreadlocks behind his head in what appeared to Lucy to be slow motion. He was majestic.
Lucy refocused her eyes so that she was staring at the tops of the trees again and took a deep breath. She wasn't going to let him hold this over her for t
he rest of her life. She wasn't going to be a scared little girl in his eyes.
“Okay,” she said to herself, “you can do this.”
She leaned forward as much as she could and forced her hands to let go of the railing. Her breath disappeared as she fell away from the walkway, the tree cover rushing toward her. When she hit them, they opened like curtains, showing her the garden underneath that rushed toward her. She fell through the openings between walkways, a blur of green racing past her, until she saw the blue pool of water that gathered at the bottom. She tried to point her body into a diving position, but she wasn't able to maneuver quick enough. She crashed through the surface rather hard, falling all the way to the bottom of the pool. She pushed off the floor and resurfaced, gasping for breath. When she pulled her hair out of her face and wiped the water from her eyes, she saw Connor swimming up next to her.
“I think I need to work on my landing.”
“You followed me,” he said as his face got closer to hers. “That's all that matters.”
She didn't know what was happening until his lips were pressing against hers. They consumed her mouth with a passionate heat that radiated from within him. He pulled away as suddenly as he leaned toward her, but she grabbed his face on both sides and pulled herself in for more. She floated next to him, rain drops sprinkling across the surface of the pool, their lips dancing across each other as every worry and care drifted away, lost in the depths of the water.
32
MIGUEL
The city had always felt like a playground when he and his father would go out at night. It was an outdoor arena of rooftops to jump off and fire escapes to swing from. Anyone they passed could hold the disease. Anyone could be a target. Anyone could be prey. It was the best game, one that he always thought he could win, as long as his father was with him. The city was full of possibilities and his father knew how to exploit all of them. His mother was a genius, but his father was a master of his craft, and Miguel had nothing to fear as long as he was standing next to him.
The Super Power Saga (Book 1): Super Powers of Mass Destruction Page 26
