by Alesha Dixon
The door swung open and a boy who looked just older than me stood in the doorway. He examined me with his intense dark eyes before letting out an impatient sigh and standing aside.
“Come in,” he said. “And hurry up. I’m hungry and Cherry wouldn’t let me go to dinner until you’d arrived.”
“I thought it would be nice to all go together.”
A tall, very pretty girl wearing headphones round her neck stepped round him and gave me a warm smile. Her long hair was black at the roots and dyed bright blue on the ends.
“Hi, Aurora.”
“Hi,” I squeaked back, suddenly feeling very shy.
“You three are the only superhero children attending the conference, so we thought it would be nice for you all to stick together. You girls will take this room, and JJ will take the adjoining suite. Now, if it’s all right with you,” David said, checking his watch. “I’ll take your parents to their room and let you settle in.”
“Good idea,” Dad nodded. “Aurora, we’ll leave you to make some friends!”
ARGH. Why do parents have a knack of always saying the WORST things in front of EVERYONE?!
My cheeks began to burn in embarrassment as the boy attempted to hide a snigger and Cherry gave him a sharp elbow in the ribs.
“We’ll see you in the canteen!” Mum said cheerily, waving as she and Dad followed David further down the corridor.
The others stood aside for me as I wheeled my case into our bedroom.
“That’s your bed,” the girl told me, pointing to a single bed without any clothes scattered around it.
I thanked her, moving my stuff across to it and then turned to find them both watching me.
“I’m Cherry Mirella,” she said, holding her hand out and shaking mine firmly.
“And I’m Benjamin Jackson Junior. Everyone calls me JJ.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said quietly. “I’m Aurora Beam.”
“We know who you are. You’re the reason everyone is here.” JJ paused and looked me up and down. “So, what exactly is so special about your powers?”
“Don’t worry,” Cherry said quickly, shooting JJ a look. “He doesn’t mean that in a horrible way. You get used to him eventually. We were just talking about our superpowers before you arrived.”
I smiled at her gratefully while JJ scowled.
“So,” he prompted, folding his arms, “is it true what all those articles say online? That you can create light?”
I nodded.
“And you’re connected to the Light of the World,” Cherry exclaimed, her eyes wide with fascination. “That’s so cool.”
“What about you?” I asked, keen to move the focus away from me, but also excited to find out about other kids with superpowers, like me.
“I’m super-fast and super-strong,” JJ announced proudly. “Super-awesome at sport and athletics too.”
Cherry rolled her eyes, adding sarcastically, “And super modest.”
“The Nigerian football team BEGGED me to join them,” JJ continued, ignoring her. “But Dad wouldn’t let me because I’m only fourteen.”
“Wow,” I said, before turning to Cherry. “What are your superpowers?”
“I have supersonic hearing.” She tapped the headphones round her neck. “I can hear things for miles, hence these specially designed headphones. I can never go anywhere without them. They have all these cool settings on them to help me control what levels I can hear.”
“Oh!” I said, before lowering my voice to a whisper. “Does that mean we’re hurting your brain right now by speaking so loudly?”
She shook her head.
“I can switch the supersonic hearing on and off through concentration. I only use it when I need to.” She grinned mischievously.
“And that’s not all she can do,” JJ said. “Tell her about the other thing.”
“I sort of have … premonitions,” Cherry said, sitting down on her bed.
“Premonitions? As in, you can tell the future?” I stared at her in amazement.
“No, not really; it’s not as simple as that. I can’t tell anything specific. I just get this really strong feeling when something meaningful is about to happen. But I have no idea what.” She shrugged. “It can be quite inconvenient sometimes.”
“I bet.”
She smiled at me. “Do you live here in London?”
“No, I’m from Hertfordshire. But we come to London quite often. My dad works in one of the big museums here.”
“That’s seriously cool,” she said, while JJ looked bored. “I’m from Malaysia and this is my first time to London. I thought I’d be able to get in some sightseeing, but” – she gestured to the curved ceiling above her – “it turns out we’re stuck underground.”
“Who cares about sightseeing? Old buildings and boring galleries.” JJ snorted. “We’re in an underground superhero complex. Why would you want to be anywhere else?”
Cherry rolled her eyes and he turned his attention to me. “So, Aurora, are you game for tomorrow?”
“Game for what?”
“The meetings tomorrow are for adult superheroes only. We’re not allowed to take part.”
“Oh.” I was disappointed. “That’s annoying.”
“Are you kidding?” JJ looked at me as though I was mad. “It’s brilliant. We have the place to ourselves while all the grown-ups have to listen to boring people drone on about some boring stone.”
“Hey!” Cherry frowned. “That stone is the most precious stone in the world. And the Beam family powers are anything but boring. They’re the most powerful.”
JJ grinned. “Which brings me nicely to my point. Let’s see whose powers really are the best tomorrow. I vote we go to the training room while our parents are in the meeting and then we can see exactly what we can all do.”
“You are the most competitive person I have ever met.” Cherry sighed, rolling her eyes. “But I suppose that does sound quite fun.”
I hesitated, remembering my pathetic attempt to summon my superpowers in Nanny Beam’s underground lair. They were hardly going to be impressed by a few sparks. But I didn’t want to let them down.
“All right,” I said, doing my best to be optimistic. “I’m in.”
“Yes!” JJ said, punching the air. “May the best superhero win!”
11
JJ sat down next to me, his eyes bright with excitement.
“I just spoke to Dad,” he said, gesturing to a man sitting at another table who looked exactly like JJ, but a bigger and taller version. “He confirmed that the next meeting starts in half an hour, so the training room will be completely free.”
“Did he say anything about this morning’s meeting?” I asked, waving at Mum and Dad who had just walked into the canteen to get their lunch and sit with JJ’s and Cherry’s parents.
“Not really. Apparently it was just your parents giving them all the information about the Light of the World.”
“That makes sense.” Cherry nodded. “You need to know all the information about something before you can make an informed decision as to what to do about it.”
I smiled. “You sound just like my friend Kizzy.”
I was really missing my best friend. It felt like so long that I had been away from the Bright Sparks and there was no mobile signal underground so I couldn’t message them. I even missed Suzie going on and on about her new routines and almost hitting me in the head when she spontaneously decided to do a cartwheel.
“It must be weird that your friends know about your superpowers,” Cherry commented, taking a sip of her water. “I saw that they helped you stop that Blackout Burglar getting away with the precious stones.”
“They were key to the operation,” I said proudly. “I couldn’t have done it without them. And Alfred, my aunt’s pet ostrich.”
JJ looked confused. “Your aunt has a pet ostrich?”
“Yes. He’s really into fashion. And breaking things.”
“I wish I could tell m
y friends about my powers. It’s quite difficult keeping it all under wraps,” Cherry said.
“Same,” JJ agreed, pushing his broccoli to the other side of his plate. “I always have to run much slower in races and sometimes in stuff like football I forget and kick the ball right into the goal from the other end of the pitch. Mum and Dad get really mad at me. You’re so lucky.”
“I guess so. It was hard at first though, so I know what you mean. My friends only found out about my powers by accident,” I said, absent-mindedly tracing the swirled scar on my palm with my finger.
“Does your dad have any superpowers?” JJ asked, as we overheard Dad launch into a conversation with Cherry’s parents, Sky and Saheed, about the “fascinating structure of crystalline material”.
“No, he’s a Professor of Mineralogy at the Natural History Museum. Are your parents both superheroes?”
“Yeah, they met on the job,” JJ explained. “My dad has super strength, he’s practically invincible. Mum, well, she—”
But he didn’t need to finish his sentence because, at that moment, JJ’s mum appeared through the wall of the canteen, kissing his dad on the cheek and apologizing for being late to lunch.
The three of us burst out laughing.
“Yeah, no explanation needed,” JJ said. “I was hoping I might develop the ability to walk through walls since I got Dad’s super-strength gene, but every time I’ve tried, I’ve just run straight into them and knocked myself out.”
“Now, that sounds extremely entertaining,” Cherry said. “Maybe you should keep practising.”
“What about your parents, Cherry?” I asked, eagerly. “Are they superheroes, too?”
“Just my mum. She has the powers of invisibility, a bit like Crystal.”
“Whooooa.” JJ nodded, impressed. “That is awesome.”
Cherry smiled. “Not when she decides to play pranks on you. Trust me, I’ve had a hundred frights when she just appears out of nowhere.”
I watched as Mr Vermore sauntered into the bustling canteen and gave a sharp nod to his assistant David, who had sidled up next to him. David acknowledged Mr Vermore’s gesture by calling out for everyone to quieten down, but nobody was listening. He tried again, Mr Vermore narrowing his eyes at him in frustration, but David’s voice was drowned out by the sound of cutlery clattering and friendly chatter.
Eventually, Mr Vermore gave up on his assistant’s attempts and announced in a loud booming voice, “Good afternoon, superheroes!”
The canteen immediately settled to a hush.
“I hope you are all enjoying your lunch, courtesy of Vermore Enterprises,” he said smugly. “Now, please do begin to make your way to the main conference room for the second meeting of the day. And, as I may have mentioned before, if any of you would like to discuss any of my very exciting future business opportunities, my door is always open before and after the meetings. Although, I mean that metaphorically, of course,” he added quickly, “please do knock and don’t barge in. Anyway, enjoy your lunch and remember, Vermore, for people who want more!”
He turned on his heel and marched out of the canteen. JJ shook his head as the chatter began again.
“They shouldn’t allow non-superheroes at a Superhero Conference. Especially not cheesy businessmen.”
“They had to let Mr Vermore be a part of it,” Cherry pointed out. “He’s the one who provided all the technology and security systems. Not to mention he renovated this place.”
“Mr Vermore built all this?”
“Well, according to my mum, whenever a Superhero Conference has taken place in London, it’s always been under the Houses of Parliament, but it never used to be as cool as this dome thing,” Cherry explained. “He paid for it to be spruced up a few years ago when he was brought on as the sponsor.”
“How did he know about the Superhero Conference in the first place if he’s not a superhero?” JJ frowned.
Cherry shrugged. “He must have a contact,” she said. “Anyway, who cares? Are we ready to go to the training room?”
“I was born ready!” JJ said, suddenly straightening up and puffing his chest out. “Let’s go.”
When JJ pressed the button and ushered us through the door to the training room – “I love these doors; it’s like being on a spaceship” – I thought we’d taken a wrong turning because right in the centre was a big yellow school bus.
“I think we’ve got the wrong room,” I said, frowning. “Maybe it’s the next one along.”
“Nah, this is the training room. Brilliant, isn’t it?” JJ said gleefully. “All the walls are padded and can withstand anything you throw at them: fire, ice blasts, cars, the lot. Over there” – he nodded towards a door at the other end of the room – “is the store room. It’s got whatever equipment a superhero might need to train to stop bad guys.”
“But why is there a big school bus in the middle of the training room?” Cherry asked, looking as baffled as I was.
JJ tutted dramatically. “So naïve!”
He rolled up his sleeves, said, “Watch this,” and then went to stand next to the front of the bus.
“This is why there is a big school bus in the middle of the training room,” he announced, before crouching down, facing the bonnet.
“No … way…” Cherry whispered, as we both watched in anticipation.
JJ slowly but surely began to lift the bus, raising it high above his head. Cherry and I burst into applause and cheers as he held it there for a few seconds before carefully bringing it down again.
Then, as soon as the tyres hit the floor again, and without a moment’s hesitation, he jumped so high into the air that he landed on the bonnet of the bus, causing Cherry and I to gasp in chorus. Then he jumped effortlessly up to the roof of the bus and ran so fast the whole way down it that he was almost a blur. He somersaulted off the back, landing perfectly and turning to bow for his audience. He walked back to give us both high-fives and then sat down on the floor to catch his breath.
“That was amazing!” I exclaimed, as Cherry nodded in agreement.
“I’m hoping to get stronger as I grow up,” JJ said, wiping his forehead with his sleeve. “That’s what happened to my dad, anyway. So,” he nodded towards Cherry, “your turn.”
She grinned, placed her headphones over her ears, fiddling with some settings on their side, and then closed her eyes in concentration.
“There is a very fiery parliament debate happening right now, directly above us,” she said, without opening her eyes. “Someone in the debate isn’t actually listening; he’s playing a game on his phone. Even with the sound off, I can tell he’s playing a game because his tapping on the keypad of his phone isn’t consistent with texting.”
“Wow,” I breathed.
“And over here” – she pointed her finger at a different part of the ceiling – “someone is stuffing a lot of crisps into their mouth in one go. They’re eating them weirdly fast. Hang on.” She paused before a smile spread across her face. “Now someone else has come into the room and is asking that person if they’ve seen a packet of crisps lying around. The person who just ate them is saying she hasn’t. Actually, I recognize that voice! It’s the prime minister!”
I giggled.
“How do we know you’re not making this all up?” JJ asked suspiciously, getting to his feet and folding his arms.
Cherry sighed, still keeping her eyes closed. “OK, JJ, how about this? I can hear that your digestive system is currently digesting seven … no, eight chocolate biscuits.”
JJ’s eyes widened. “H … how did you—”
“And now, because you’re embarrassed, I can hear your body releasing adrenaline which is causing your blood vessels to dilate. Your cheeks feel hot, right?”
“Yeah,” he gulped.
“And I can hear that David Donnelly has just left Mr Vermore’s office and is currently heading towards this room. His pace is slowing which means he’s likely to be coming to check on us and will be coming throug
h the door riiiiiiiight … now.”
The door opened and David scuttled in, giving us a wave. “Everything all right in here? You kids enjoying the training room?”
“Very much,” I said, beaming at Cherry.
“David, you might want to hurry back to your bedroom,” Cherry instructed. “I can hear something burning in there.”
“My scented candles!” he gasped. “I forgot to check they were out!”
As he darted away, JJ shook his head and held up his hands. “OK, I’ll admit that was pretty awesome. Can you hear what’s going on in the superhero meeting right now?”
Cherry shook her head and lowered her headphones back around her neck.
“They’ve superhero-proofed that main meeting room. Mr Vermore’s technology somehow blocks me from hearing anything that goes on in there. It’s just muffled noise.”
“Any premonitions you have that you can tell us about?”
“I can’t switch those on and off,” Cherry said and shrugged. “I have no control over when I’m going to get them.”
JJ nodded before he turned to look at me. “Your turn!”
“All right,” I said nervously. “But you should know I haven’t practised in a while and the last time I tried, things went a bit … wrong.”
JJ laughed. “I saw that online; you took out some famous presenters or something. TV comedy gold.”
“Take your time, Aurora,” Cherry encouraged. “It’s only us.”
I nodded and tried to focus, doing my best to ignore my nerves and push away the memories of my powers being completely out-of-control at the TV studio. I desperately tried to feel that hot, tingling feeling of the powers rushing through my veins, dazzling light beams bursting from my palms.
But all I felt was my hands getting clammier as the others waited for something to happen. My heart sank.
“Come on,” I whispered to myself, ignoring Cherry and JJ sharing a look. “Come on.”
My hands got a bit warmer and some white sparks burst from my fingertips along with a gentle glow, but it was nothing like the light beams I’d created at the Natural History Museum when foiling Mr Mercury’s plot to steal the precious stones.
