Secret Villain

by Dee J. Stone

  “Now let’s make this car fly.” Again, I close my eyes and focus on lifting the car.

  Mom gasps. “Nick, it’s working!”

  I look around. Sure enough, we’re floating in the air. I can’t see the car, but we’re a few feet above the ground. I nod for Mom to steer us toward home.

  Mom’s excited, but terrified too. When we nearly crash into a bird, she yelps. When the car tilts too much to one side, she freaks out that we’re going to crash to the ground. I grab her hand, and she squeezes mine.

  “This is wonderful. Nick, what’s wrong? You’re panting.”

  Not only that, my body feels a little tingly and sweat drips into my eyes. “I think I’m losing my hold on the car.”

  “We may crash?”

  I clear my throat. “No, I can lower us in time. Just give me a second.”

  I know she’s trying to keep quiet so I won’t lose focus, but I can sense just how scared she is. That causes me to be even more nervous, and the car starts to plummet to the ground.

  “Nick!”

  I manage to stop it just in time. We hover over the ground for a second before the tires make contact with the street.

  Mom heaves a sigh of relief. We’re back visible, and so is the car. She wraps her arms around me.

  “I guess that wasn’t such a good idea,” I say.

  Mom shakes her head, stepping on the gas to make sure it works. The car jerks forward a bit. “It was a great idea. We’re only a few blocks away from home.”

  I’m disappointed in myself. I want to be stronger. Mr. Hiram said Maddie and I are more powerful than we know, but I don’t see it. Sure Jack wasn’t able to break free from my hold, but that proves nothing. What if this guy—whoever he is—is stronger than us? How are we supposed to help keep the world safe if we’re no match for him?

  Chapter Eleven

  Maddie climbs into my window that night. It’s late, past midnight, but I’m wide awake.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask.

  She gets into bed with me. If Mom were here, she’d stone me. “I couldn’t sleep. Too much on my mind.”

  I know what she means. I haven’t been getting much sleep, either.

  She snuggles up to me and I wrap an arm around her shoulders. “Something weird happened today,” Maddie continues.

  “Yeah.”

  “Not that. Something else.” She sits up, pushing some hair off her shoulder. “My dad kissed my mom.”

  I stare at her.

  “I know,” she says. “Apparently they like each other.”

  I can’t help but laugh. “They kissed at the school? I bet the Suits didn’t like that.”

  She waves her hand. “No one saw, other than me. It was in her bedroom. The only reason I saw is because I went to the room to ask her a question. Nick, I think they never stopped loving each other. Dad was just hurt and betrayed and that’s why he left.” She smiles widely. “This is great news. My parents might get back together.”

  I take her hands. “And you’ll believe in love again.”

  She pulls away. “You think I don’t believe in love?”

  I stammer, “I mean, you do. But now you’ll believe in it more and we can be—”

  “A normal couple?”

  “I never said that.”

  She walks to the window, then faces me. “You know we can never be normal. Look what we have to deal with. An unknown villain who can turn invisible and basically could destroy the world. We have powered kids who need training or they can also destroy the world. And you want to be all lovey dovey?”

  I head over to her. “Why are we always arguing lately?”

  She puffs out her cheeks. “I don’t know. Stress, maybe.”

  I rest my forehead on hers. “I love you, and don’t want to fight. Sometimes I wish…” I can’t finish my sentence.

  “Wish what?”

  I shake my head.

  “Wish you weren’t a hero?”

  I don’t say anything as I drop down on my bed. Maddie sits next to me.

  We’re quiet. I’m not sure how much time passes before I ask, “Do you ever wish that? That you can just stop being Red for a day?”

  She looks away. “No. I’d feel like I had no purpose if I wasn’t Red. I’m still making up for all those people I killed when I was twelve. That will never end.”

  “I know. And it’s great that you want to help, but after everything that happened, you think maybe it’s time to just stop? Too much has happened. Bad stuff.”

  She stands. “So you’re going to quit right when we need to stop this villain.”

  “We don’t know if he’s a villain. We don’t know anything.”

  She nods curtly. “Which is why we need to figure out who he is, what he wants, and how to stop him.”

  I don’t say anything.

  She sits back down. “You were hardly able to keep your car invisible today. You want to live your life hiding and running from this guy? Or do you want to take him down?”

  “Take him down. But we can’t jump to conclusions. He might just be a lost kid who’s confused and looking for help. You realize he’s never actually hurt anyone.”

  She shrugs. “Okay, maybe he needs our help. Either way, we need to figure out how to track him down.”

  I shake my head. “It’s impossible to track invisibility. Trust me, I know.”

  She lifts a brow.

  “What?” I ask.

  “What if there was someone who created an invention that can see invisible things?”

  I gape at her. “You know someone?”

  “No, but I hacked into…well, it doesn’t matter how I got the info, but supposedly JQ weren’t just experimenting on kids. They were trying to isolate their powers to create weapons. They were working on goggles that can see through everything, even things that are invisible.”

  I’m still gaping at her. “Where did you get the info?”

  She avoids my gaze. “I hacked into the FBI database.”

  “Are you crazy? How the heck did you manage that?”

  She shrugs. “I don’t know.”

  I stare at her, not believing what’s going on here. “You could have gotten caught. What would the world think if they find out their favorite hero is a hacker? They’d never feel safe.”

  She rolls her eyes. “I’m not the favorite. You are.”

  “No. Girls look up to you as their role model. Take Kaylee for example. She loves you. Anyway, let’s not argue who’s the better hero. If it’s true about these goggles, that means the government has them.”

  She shakes her head. “They’ve never actually been created. Yet.”

  “What do you mean yet?”

  She looks toward my doorway, probably checking if anyone is eavesdropping, then faces me. “It was just a design. But if we can get someone to make if for us…”

  I throw my hands up. “This is just too crazy. Where are we going to find a scientist to make that for us? They’re all dead or arrested.”

  She doesn’t respond. Her eyes do, though. They’re shining with an idea. I’m not a fan of her ideas right now.

  “What?” I ask.

  “Not all the scientists were arrested. There’s one who resigned years ago. But he was working on the goggles before he left. The FBI wanted to question him, but they couldn’t find him. He’s in hiding. He never actually worked on the kids. He was just working on gadgets and inventions and things like that. So I guess he’s not as bad as the other scientists. Either way, he must be scared to show himself.”

  I’m still taking all this in. “So how does that help us? If the FBI couldn’t find him, what makes you so sure we can?”

  She smiles crookedly. “Because my mom is still in contact with his sister.”

  My heads spin. This is just too much. “What?”

  She nods. “She and my mom go way back. Remember my mom told us a friend told her about her brother who worked for JQ? This is the friend. She’s helping her brother hide
from the FBI.”

  I hold up my hands. “Maybe we shouldn’t get involved in this. They’re hiding from the FBI.”

  She gives me an annoyed look. “How else are we going to take down this villain?”

  “Stop assuming he’s a villain. Maybe he just wants a friend.”

  “Fine. What do you suggest, then?”

  “We pay close attention to this guy. The second he makes an appearance, we go there and talk to him.”

  She raises her palms. “Fine. We’ll do it your way.” She stands. “You’re probably right, anyway. Maybe this guy really does want our help but doesn’t know how to ask.” She heads for the window, then turns around. “Got any plans for tomorrow?”

  Saturday. A day off from school. “Aren’t we supposed to come in for training?”

  She makes a face. “I forgot. Do you know my mom went on and on about my grades after I came home from our dinner with my dad? She never did that before. My grades are fine. Maybe she’ll fall in love with my dad and won’t be so hard on me anymore.” She waves before climbing out of the window.

  My head is still spinning from everything she told me. Goggles that can see invisible things? That’s crazy. Sure it could help, but I stand firmly behind my belief that the guy is just looking for a friend.

  ***

  The powered kids seem more awake Saturday morning than they do when we train after school. Many are pumped with adrenaline, ready to fight.

  Jack rushes over to me. “Are we going to train to defeat the villain?”

  The other kids crowd around us, too, each wanting to know the same thing. I peer over at Maddie. She told them he’s a villain? What happened to waiting for him to show himself so we could talk?

  She gives me a sheepish look. “That was before we spoke last night. They were curious what happened. The news reporters have so many different versions. So I told them what really happened.”

  I call for the rest of the kids to gather around. There’s no way for me to know if everyone is here, but I guess the Suits in the window have taken care of attendance. Melissa isn’t here today. Maybe she’s off somewhere with Maddie’s dad.

  “Listen up,” I say. “The guy who attacked the restaurant last night is not a villain. I mean, he might be, but we don’t know for sure. So we can’t just assume he is. And we’re not going to train to defeat him. We’re training to train. To better ourselves. And if he’s a villain, we’ll take him down. But for today, we’re training like usual.” I turn to Maddie and whisper, “Uh, what’s the plan for today?”

  Usually, we discuss it during lunch, but there’s no school today. She steps forward. “We’re actually not training today.”

  The kids frown. Murmurs fill the room.

  Maddie smiles. “We’re playing sports.”

  Everyone exchanges confused glances.

  “Superhero style,” she adds.

  She explains the rules: it’ll be like regular sports, but we get to use our powers. Those who use their powers for good and not to hurt anyone or gain an advantage will score a point for his or her team. Those who don’t follow the rules will have points deducted. I expected the kids to not be into that, but they seem excited to start.

  Maddie tells me I’m to keep score. “We’re not playing?” I ask.

  “Someone needs to make sure they’re not killing each other. Besides, do you ever see the teachers play?”

  I twist my nose.

  She tilts her head upward, to where the Suits are watching us. “We need to show them that we’re serious about this. Remember, the program could be shut down whenever they feel like it. If they see the teachers goofing off, they’ll think we’re not taking this seriously.”

  “Okay, okay. I get it. But one day, were going to play 1v1 superhero style.”

  She laughs. “Wouldn’t you rather own my butt in video games? It’s been forever since we played.”

  She’s right. Ever since we became Blue and Red, we haven’t played much. I smile widely. “I can beat you in both.”

  She playfully slaps my arm. “You wish.”

  One of the Suits knocks on the glass window, motioning for us to start. Right, I almost forgot. We’re not allowed to have any fun here.

  The first game is dodgeball. Maddie throws the ball in the center of the room, and the kids begin playing. Cheating by flying or whatever is allowed, apparently, but they’re not allowed to hurt one another. The kids with super strength throw hard balls. Those with fire power accidentally burn the balls and they need to be replaced. It’s safe to say this game is causing the government lots of money.

  Maddie tells me that this game isn’t only about fun. It’s teaching the kids many different, creative ways to use their powers. Or to not use them. Sometimes they’ll need to save people without their powers or sometimes their powers might not be enough. She’s preparing them for everything.

  “How do you know all of this?” I ask.

  “I don’t know. It just makes sense to me.”

  I poke her with my elbow. “You have a talent. Maybe you’ll be a teacher when you’re older. That is, if you don’t want to be a hero.”

  She’s quiet for a second or two. “Maybe. What about you?”

  “Being a hero is all I’ve ever been good at.”

  “But you told me you’re not sure you want to be Blue anymore.”

  I know I said that, but I don’t know. “Everything is just way too confusing.”

  She takes my hand. “We don’t have to worry about the future right now. Let’s focus on helping these kids train to be the best heroes they can be.”

  Training goes on for two hours. The kids have too much fun with the games. They’ve never done something like this before. Back at JQ, they weren’t allowed and they mostly do their own thing in the rec room. It’s nice to see them working together. They’re well on their way to being a family.

  When it’s over and the place has cleared up except for Maddie and me, who are putting the balls away, Maddie throws one at me. “Bet I can take you.”

  “You’re on.”

  She hides the ball behind her back, shoots in the air, and flies around. Laughing, I chase her as she twirls around, throwing the ball, then zooming to catch it. I try to grab it from her, but I’m too slow. It feels good to forget my problems for a bit and have fun with my girlfriend.

  We play a few games before deciding we’ve had enough. Maddie puts the ball where it belongs, then the two of us climb onto the roof of the building and lie down. It’s pretty cold out, but neither of us cares.

  “That was fun,” I say.

  She nods with a smile. “Normal enough for you?”

  I frown. “You’re mad at me for wanting to quit being Blue.”

  She doesn’t say anything.

  “I don’t know what I want, Maddie. On the one hand, I love helping people. On the other, I just want to be a regular kid. I want my family to be safe. If this guy—villain or whatever—is after me because I’m Blue…” I blow air out of my cheeks. “Are we going to go through the same thing again?”

  She shakes her head. “How can we? JQ is dead.”

  “I know. But what does this guy want from me? Should I try to contact him? Make a public announcement that I want to talk to him?”

  She snorts. “As if that would make him come out. Besides, we don’t need the whole world to be involved in our plans. I say we continue living, but we need to be very careful.”

  She’s right. I can’t live my life constantly looking over my shoulder, worrying when someone will strike next. I’ll miss out on all the good things.

  Maddie’s phone beeps. She peers at it. “Mom wants to know where I am.” She rolls her eyes. “Do you know she’s always having ‘talks’ with me?”

  “About…us?”

  “About everything. Including us. Don’t you sometimes wish you had your own place? Privacy?”

  I shrug. “Sure, I guess every kid feels that way sometimes. But I’d rather be with my family than o
n my own. Especially because Kaylee needs me.”

  “Right. Sorry. I wasn’t thinking.” She lightly slaps my arm. “Time to get up. Your mom will probably start worrying about you. Training ended hours ago.”

  I look at my watch. “We were having a bit too much fun. But I never wanted it to end.” I kiss her cheek. “See you later?”

  “Tomorrow. I think I’m going to stay in my room tonight.”

  I laugh. “Worried my mom will catch you?”

  “The last thing I need is our parents being police over us because they think we can’t keep our hands off each other.”

  This has just gotten a bit too awkward. Maddie looks straight ahead and I stare up at the sky.

  After what feels like hours, I clear my throat. “Right. So I’m going to go home.”

  “Okay. Say hi to Kaylee for me.”

  I kiss her, then lift in the air and fly off.

  Chapter Twelve

  The world can’t get over the fact that Blue has healing powers. I don’t know why everyone’s making a big deal about it. I mean, I can’t heal cancer or other illnesses and diseases. Can only heal cuts, fire burns, and things like that. Sucks, I know.

  My phone has been ringing like crazy, too. Many producers are trying to convince me to be on TV. I keep telling them no.

  The cops have had some follow up questions for me, but like before, I couldn’t tell them anything. They questioned each kid at school. They also claimed they didn’t know who the guy was. So far, he has disappeared into thin air. It’s like he doesn’t exist.

  Tonight is a sort of special night because I’ve invited Jack over for dinner. It means so much to him to have people—a family. Since we’re so grateful for what he did, it’s the least we can do.

  Dinner’s made, the table is set. All that’s left is for Jack to show up.

  We’re all waiting in the kitchen. Kaylee’s playing on the floor with her toys. Normally, Mom would ask her to clean up because we’re having a guest. But we’re letting Kaylee do her own thing for now. The therapist said that if it makes her happy and doesn’t harm anyone, there’s no reason to take that away from her.