by Skiye Brant
Chapter 2
I heard the alarm clock go off. I got up with my brothers and got in the shower. I got dressed and made me a bowl of cereal. "Skylar Johnson, get back in bed this instant," my mom yelled. "The doctor said for you to stay in bed. Now get back in your room." I sighed and did as she said. The initial pain I felt yesterday was gone and it was a dull soreness.
"Bye, Sky," Nate said just before they left.
"I'm still mad at you," I muttered.
"Dude, this is for your own good," Nick said. "You were running yourself into the ground with this stuff. You needed rest in general."
"I would have been fine," I argued.
"Ok, either way you're stuck here," Nate said as they left.
I went back to sleep for a couple of hours. It felt good to just sleep and not have to worry about school, at least for a moment. I woke up and turned on the news. I saw Nate and Nick on their fighting some more of Tiger's Blood's people. They were hopelessly out numbered. At least twenty guys were around them. I watch Nick throw good sized stones at some them in the midsection, groin, back, and occasionally the head. Nate was dodging punches and kicks the best he could, but they still managed to get him. "Come on," I yelled at the TV. "You guys are better than that!" I watched as they continued to get their butts stomped on.
"Sky," my mom said, poking her head in. "I'm going to the store. Will you be alright till I get back?"
"Yeah," I said. I waited until I heard the front door close and car start up to get out of bed. I pressed a button on the wall. It was a hologram of me sleeping. I put on my costume and ran out the door. I felt my stitches tug a little but I ignored it. I came to where Nate and Nick were fighting T.B.
"Hey, cowards, why don't you fight me?" I yelled.
"What are you doing here?" Nate asked as I joined in the melee.
"Came to help you guys," I said punching a guy.
"You're supposed to be in bed resting," Nick said.
"Well, when I turn on the news and see that the odds are not in your favor and Mom leaves, you know I'm going to come," I said as I electrocuted five guys. Out of nowhere I see guys start dropping like crazy.
"Python," Nate said.
"Silver Seals," she said. "Glad to see your teammate is up in better condition than I found him in." Her hair was red and blonde, with a couple of green streaks. Her suite looked like snake skin in green and silver with brown and black specs. She could move at deadly speeds and was extremely good at fighting, hence the name. She looked familiar but I couldn't place where I've seen her before.
"What took you so long?" I asked.
"Robbery on the other side of the city," she said. "And you?"
"Bed rest, doctor's orders," I said. "I would stay, but I have to go."
"We better not see you again," Nate called after me as I ran back home. I stopped by a dumpster that had a change of clothes for emergencies like this. I threw the clothes over my suit and hurried back home before Mom. I made it back in bed by the time she walked through the front door.
By the time I was able to go back to school, my cut was looking better than it had when I kept re-stitching it. Nate and Nick refused to let me go with them to fight. I resorted to watching the news on my smart phone, yelling at it. I got strange looks but I ignored them knowing that if I was out there I wouldn't be getting them.
"Mr. Johnson, is there an issue with my lesson that you have to yell?" Mrs. Parkinson asked me in trig when I first came back.
"Uh, no ma'am, I've been watching the news," I said awkwardly holding up my phone. The whole class was staring.
"Put it away, and if you have it out again, it will be mine," she said. I nodded and put away my phone, wishing that I could get out of class to help them. Instead I turned my thoughts to Robyn. After school, I found her.
"Robyn," I said.
"Oh, Sky," she said. She looked like she was in a hurry.
"I wanted to know if you wanted to go grab something to eat and study for trig," I said to her.
"Yeah, that sounds good. I'll meet you at Jim's Burgers in an hour," she said. With that, she ran off and I headed off to Jim's Burgers. When I got there I took out my phone to see what was going on. They were at a different spot in the city, close to Broadway. Nick and Nate seemed to be doing ok. I saw Python come into the screen. She got a good blow to the shoulder from Nate who didn't see her till the last second. I could almost hear him say, "Sorry." They wrapped up the fight in ten or fifteen minutes. I put my phone away, content that neither of my brothers were going to be hurt or that I needed to be there. I got up and ordered me a soda, burger, and fries while I waited. I saw her walk in when I finished my fries and soda.
"Hey," I said smiling. "Where'd you have to go?" I asked her.
"Oh, my dad... uh... needed to see me," she said. I narrowed my eyes a little. "Ready to study?"
"Yeah," I said pulling out my textbook. "What did Mrs. Parkinson say would be on the test tomorrow?"
"Chapter five and six," she said. We quizzed each other for a little while and I closed my book.
"Do you want to go to the movies or something?" I asked her.
"You mean like a date?" Robyn asked.
"Sure, if you want it to be," I said grabbing my backpack. "So do you?"
"Yeah, why not?" she said smiling. We walked to the movie theatre. I bought us the tickets, popcorn, and drinks. We watched a superhero movie. Which was kind of odd seeing my life as on the big screen as something that is amazing and highly prized. Yes, it was those things, but it was also tiring and an obligation once you started. You can't quit in the middle of it because you feel sick or don't want to. You had to do well in school so your parents wouldn't put restrictions on you. People relied on you on things like that and believed in you. That was the pressure I had every day.
"That was a really good movie," Robyn said as we left the theatre. The sky was now extremely dark.
"Yeah, better than I expected," I said. "The superhero was good, but the Silver Seals are better."
"They can't be too good if Electro got out and hasn't been back since he met up with Python and fainted," she said.
"It's not his fault. He got an eight inch knife cut and fought for as long as he could. He probably gave himself stitches and they kept popping on him. Then when he fought Mega-Dork and ran to the bank, the rest popped and he lost too much blood. Now he's under doctor's orders to not fight crime for a week," I said defending myself.
"You sure seem to know a lot about him," Robyn said. "What are you, his stalker?"
"No, I just pay attention to the news," I told her.
"Well, I think that Electro got chicken when Python showed up," she said.
"Yeah, I bet that by this time next week, Electro will be back and fighting T.B.," I said as we reached her house.
"Hey, thanks for tonight. I had fun," she said.
"Me, too. How about we do this again next week?" I asked.
"I'd really like that," she said smiling. She was illuminated by the porch light and she looked beautiful. I thought about giving her a kiss goodnight, but decided against it at the last minute.
"See you tomorrow," I said as I left. She raised her hand in good-bye and slipped inside her house.
