by Lucas Flint
That was just one of the millions of questions I hoped to ask him when we got into the mansion. I had come here, after all, because Mom had told me about Grandfather and Grandmother. She had told me that Dad had cut off contact with them due to how they had treated him in his youth, but thought I should go and try to talk to them again now that Dad was dead. At the very least, I wanted to tell them that Dad was no longer alive, even if I did nothing else, since I wasn’t sure they knew about his death.
Yet I hoped to do more than that. Mom had said that Dad’s parents knew more about Dad’s early years as a superhero than anyone. She had said she didn’t know much about them except that Grandfather had been interested in Dad’s powers. She had said that they might be able to help me understand my own powers better since he raised Dad; in particular, the new lightning bolt ability I had gained after I took that serum from Professor Hernandez a month ago. Professor Hernandez certainly hadn’t been able to help me understand it, even though he made the serum, because he had not planned for the serum to give me extra powers.
Of course, this entire trip could end up being for nothing, because there was no guarantee that Grandfather or Grandmother knew the reason behind my suddenly gaining this new power. But hey, even if they don’t know, at least I’ll get to know them a bit more, given how I know practically nothing about them at the moment.
We passed through the main gate at the back of the garden, which took us into the mansion’s main courtyard. We made our way up the short path that snaked through the courtyard to the wide front steps of the mansion, which were a bit taller than they first appeared. Grandfather didn’t seem to mind, however, because despite his age and his limp, he seemed pretty healthy, though I wondered why he and Grandmother lived so far away from the rest of civilization.
When we reached the front doors, Emma opened them for us. Grandfather went in without looking at or thanking Emma, followed by me and Triplet, and then Emma closed the doors behind us.
We emerged into a large, open parlor that felt old-fashioned to me. A large chandelier hung from the ceiling above us, while two staircases led up to the second floor, though I didn’t see anyone else up there. It was also a lot warmer in here than it was outside, although this place had an abandoned feeling to it, even though it looked clean and well taken care of. Maybe it was because it was so quiet; aside from the sounds of our footsteps on the floor, it was practically silent.
“Emma, please show these two to the living room,” said Grandfather, gesturing at the living room that could be seen through the arch on the right side of the room. “I am going to go see if Jane is awake and will be down shortly to talk with them afterwards.”
Emma bowed respectfully toward him and said, “Yes, Mr. Jason,” and then gestured for us to follow her. Although I wanted to see Grandmother, I nonetheless followed Emma with Triplet into the living room.
The living room was fairly large, with lots of old books on built-in shelves and a large flat screen TV on the left side of the room. The living room also had a window showing the forest that surrounded the mansion, along with red curtains and a nook in which to sit and read a book. Emma led us over to the sofa, where she had us sit down and told us to wait until ‘Mr. Jason,’ as she called him, came back. Then she left the room, but I had a feeling that she was watching us anyway, even though I didn’t see her anywhere.
“So,” said Triplet, causing me to look at him. He actually looked slightly confused, as if he didn’t know how to react to everything that had just happened. “This is … interesting, to say the least.”
“I’ll say,” I said. “But I’m glad it turned out this way. I just hope that this means that Grandfather is going to talk with us.”
“Maybe he will, but I am not sure about that,” said Triplet. “One thing I’ve learned in my career, both as a superhero and as a detective, is that when things go easily like this, there is usually something bad coming up. We should keep our wits about ourselves, just in case your grandfather has anything up his sleeve.”
I nodded, but said, “But why are you here, anyway? Why do you want to talk to my grandfather? You mentioned something about it being part of a ‘larger’ investigation earlier. Did someone hire you to investigate Grandfather?”
“I wasn’t hired to investigate your grandfather, no,” said Triplet. “But the trail I’m following ended up leading me to him. I’m hoping he’ll be able to answer a few questions about the case I am on.”
“What is this case?” I said. “Can you tell me the details or is that none of my business?”
“Ordinarily, I wouldn’t tell you about it, because it really is none of your business,” said Triplet, “but since we’re going to be talking to your grandfather together, I can give you some of the details about it. I can’t tell you everything, of course, but I can tell you just enough so you’ll know what’s going on.”
“Okay,” I said. “So what are you investigating?”
Triplet folded his arms over his chest and sat back in the sofa. “I’m currently investigating the case of a missing girl named Savannah Jones. She went missing in upstate New York about a month ago and the police have been unable to find her, so her parents came to me to ask for help finding her.”
“Why did they come to you?” I said. “Do you have experience finding missing people?”
“I’ve solved a few cases like that in my time,” said Triplet. “But all of them have been related to finding missing superhumans like you and me. Savannah, according to her parents, was a superhuman before she went missing.”
“What kind of powers did she have?” I said.
“Astral projection, apparently,” said Triplet. “Essentially, she could project her soul from her body and go almost anywhere, though I understand that she had a limit of four miles before her soul had to return to her body.”
“Do her parents think she was kidnapped by another superhuman?” I said.
“No, but it is a possibility,” said Triplet. “The evidence I’ve found so far suggests that she was kidnapped by someone who probably wasn’t an ordinary human, at any rate. Normal humans aren’t exactly known for being able to steal souls, after all.”
“What?” I said. “Steal souls? But you said she went missing.”
Triplet rubbed his forehead, as if he had just remembered something. “Right, I forgot to mention that we know where her body is, but it’s her soul that’s been missing. Apparently, she used her astral projection to leave her body a couple of weeks ago, but has not yet returned to her body and her parents don’t know where her soul is. That’s what I’m looking for.”
“That’s a weird case,” I said. “Definitely not something you’d see on an episode of Law and Order.”
“I’ve solved weirder cases,” said Triplet, “but anyway, my investigation took me here because someone I spoke to reported seeing a strange old man in the area where Savannah Jones’s soul was thought to be, around the time her soul disappeared. I was hoping to ask your grandfather if he might know anything about it.”
Then Triplet looked at me with a questioning gaze. “What about you? Just coming over to say hello?”
I shook my head. “No. Well, that’s part of it, but I’m hoping that my grandparents might be able to help me understand my new power. I don’t know if you know about it, but—”
“The red lightning,” Triplet interrupted. “Yeah, I’ve heard about it. I saw an article on Neo Ranks shortly after Robert’s death in which the author speculated that you had a new power.”
“Yeah,” I said. “I got it from the serum that Professor Hernandez gave me, which gave me back my original powers, too. My mom thinks that my grandparents might be able to help me understand it, because Grandfather is apparently very knowledgeable about how superhumans work.”
“Well, he did raise Ted,” Triplet said. “So that is probably where they got their knowledge from, if they really do have it.”
“I hope so,” I said. “But did Dad ever talk to you a
bout his parents? Back when he was alive and you were both in the Neohero Alliance, that is?”
“Nope,” said Triplet, shaking his head. “Never did. We were too busy fighting supervillains and saving the world to talk about our families. I don’t really want to talk about my family anyway; too annoying.”
“So you don’t know what to expect, then,” I said.
“Right,” said Triplet, “but I don’t really care one way or another what your grandparents know about superhumans. As long as they can answer my questions about the missing girl’s soul, I’ll be fine.”
Just as Triplet said that, Emma suddenly appeared in the entryway, a platter with tea and biscuits on it. She walked over to the coffee table in front of us, placed the platter on it, and said, “Mr. Jason will be down to speak with you very shortly. Until then, feel free to have some tea and biscuits if you are thirsty or hungry.”
Emma spoke politely enough, but I could tell that she was still annoyed at how we had beaten her earlier. Especially when she glared at Triplet, although Triplet hardly even seemed to notice her annoyance. He just took a cup and poured himself some tea as he said, “Thanks. When will Mr. Jason be down?”
“He is right here,” said Grandfather as he entered the living room, though now he leaned on a cane for support. “Emma, please be a dear and help me sit down. These old bones aren’t what they used to be.”
Emma silently helped Grandfather sit down on a large armchair on the other side of the coffee table. Unlike Triplet, Grandfather carried a large cup of coffee, which he sipped from every now and then, though I didn’t take any tea or coffee because I didn’t want any right now.
“Ah,” said Grandfather as he adjusted his seat. “This is good. Just the way I like it. Thank you for the coffee, Emma.”
“You are welcome, master,” said Emma, bowing slightly. “Do you need anything else?”
Grandfather shook his head. “No, thank you. Just stay here in case I think of anything else.”
Emma immediately stood by Grandfather’s chair, standing so still that she looked almost like a statue. Her eyes watched our every movement, which was kind of creepy, but I decided to ignore her in order to focus on Grandfather.
“Now, then,” said Grandfather. He looked at me with curious eyes. “It has been a long time since I last saw you in person, Kevin. Or are you going by Bolt now?”
“Either is fine,” I said. “But what do you mean since you last saw me? I’ve never met you before.”
“I saw you when you were first born, which is around seventeen or eighteen years ago now, I believe,” said Grandfather.
“That would be eighteen years now,” I said. “My birthday is coming up on March sixteenth.”
“March sixteenth?” Grandfather repeated. “Well, that isn’t too far away. Isn’t that next week?”
“It is,” I said, “but it doesn’t matter. You saw me when I was first born?”
“Yes, yes,” said Grandfather, nodding. “Your Grandmother and I visited the hospital where you were born. Jane even got to hold you. Didn’t your mother ever tell you that?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “She didn’t.”
“Hmmph,” said Grandfather, though he sounded less annoyed and more resigned, as if he had expected me to say that. “Well, I suppose some wounds just don’t heal. How is Ashley handling Ted’s death, by the way?”
“Well,” I said. “Mom’s strong, though she’s not as happy as she usually is.”
“Yes, I remember her being very strong-willed when I first met her,” said Grandfather. He sighed. “I apologize for not making it to the funeral. I only learned about Ted’s untimely death on the news when they were reporting on that awful Robert Candle. Otherwise, I would have flown down to Texas to be there with you, despite what happened in the past.”
“What happened in the past?” I said. “What do you mean?”
Grandfather opened his mouth to speak, but then noticed Triplet and said, “I would prefer not to talk about this with this man here. It is a family matter, you understand.”
I nodded in understanding, but that didn’t change the fact that I was still curious about what may have happened between Dad and my grandparents in the past that had separated them from each other. I wished that Dad was still alive to tell me, but I supposed I could wait until I had a private moment with Grandfather to ask.
“Okay, but how did you know who I was before I even introduced myself?” I said. I touched my face. “I haven’t even told you about my secret identity yet.”
Grandfather folded his hands over his lap. “That’s because I’ve been watching you very carefully, Kevin, ever since you were born. I won’t say how, but I will say that I know more about you than even you do.”
Although Grandfather spoke calmly, something about the way he talked made me skittish. Maybe it was just kind of creepy that my Grandfather—who I hadn’t even seen until today—had somehow been watching me and knew everything about me before I even told him about it. I thought I’d done a good job of keeping my identity a secret, but if Grandfather could figure it out, then I wondered who else might know it without my knowledge.
“Why have you been watching me?” I said.
“Because you are my grandson, of course,” said Grandfather. “Even if your parents wouldn’t let me see you, that does not change the fact that you are my grandson. And my only grandson, at that, which makes you even more special and important to me.”
Right off the bat, I could tell that Grandfather had other reasons for watching me. He didn’t quite look me in the eyes when he talked and he rubbed his hands together in a way that suggested to me that he was omitting certain information.
But before I could ask Grandfather his real reason for watching me, Triplet leaned forward and said, “Apologies for the interruption, Mr. Jason, but I need to introduce myself. I—”
“You are Mieko Hiro, also known as the superhero Triplet, owner and operator of Triple Eye Investigations, yes?” said Grandfather.
Triplet actually looked surprised when Grandfather said that. “Yes, but how did you know? We’ve never met.”
“Oh, yes we have,” said Grandfather in an amused voice. “Well, I guess we technically did not meet in person or even over the phone, but I’ve used your services before.”
“You have?” said Triplet. He furrowed his brow. “I remember all my clients, but I don’t remember ever doing any work for you.”
“That’s because I didn’t use my real name when I hired you,” said Grandfather. “But if you do remember all your clients, then I am certain that you remember one who called himself the Citizen, yes? The one who hired you to investigate Adam Plutarch’s possible plans to take over the United States?”
“That was you?” said Triplet in surprise.
“Of course,” said Grandfather. He sipped his coffee. “I was worried about Plutarch, because I remembered that he was an enemy of my son before he retired. That your investigation actually exposed Sagan instead, however, genuinely took me by surprise, but maybe I shouldn’t have been, given how superhumans tend to have bigger egos and grander ambitions than we normal people. No offense to you two.”
“No, I think that’s a pretty accurate description of most superhumans, including some neoheroes I know,” said Triplet. “But anyway, I am glad that you already know who I am. Is it safe to assume that you know why I am here?”
“No, because I do not,” said Grandfather. “I can only assume that you believe I have the answers to some questions you have about a case you are investigating.”
“I do,” said Triplet.
Then Triplet told Grandfather everything he’d told me about the Savannah Jones case. Grandfather listened quietly, though I felt impatient and a little annoyed that Triplet had changed the conversation to him and his case, rather than to me and my reason for coming here.
“So I’ve heard rumors that Savannah’s soul is somewhere around here,” said Triplet, “and was hoping that you
might be able to tell me if you have seen it.”
Grandfather again sipped his coffee and seemed to be thinking about Triplet’s story. I noticed Emma shift next to Grandfather, but I didn’t know if that meant anything or if Emma was just changing her position because she was getting tired of standing one way all the time.
“Very interesting case,” said Grandfather, though he wasn’t looking at us. “Someone who kidnapped a teenaged girl’s soul … it almost sounds romantic, or tragic, depending on your point of view. But sadly, I don’t think I can be of much help. I’ve seen no spirits of anyone in the woods around this mansion. Emma, what about you?”
Emma shook her head. “I have not seen any, either. The woods have been quiet recently.”
Grandfather nodded. “I am sorry, Mr. Hiro, for not being able to help. Not much happens around here. But that is just the way I like it.”
I thought Triplet was going to thank Grandfather for his time, stand up, and leave, but instead Triplet tilted his head to the side and said, “But what about your wife? Jane, I believe you said her name was? Could I speak with her? Maybe she has seen something that could point me in the right direction.”
Grandfather suddenly lowered his coffee cup when Triplet mentioned Grandmother. His eyes flicked to the ceiling, like he thought he’d seen something up there, before looking at Triplet in a calm way again.
“Ah, I am sorry, Mr. Hiro, but I doubt Jane would be of much help, either,” said Grandfather. “You see, she is bedridden and has been for five years now. It is part of the reason we live out in the wilderness; the stress of the city is too much for her, so the doctor told us to move out into a quieter place where she can rest without worry.”
“I am sorry to hear that, Mr. Jason,” said Triplet. “But are you sure she knows nothing about this case?”
“Positive,” said Grandfather. “Her bedridden state means that she hasn’t left her bed in many years. She has not seen anyone other than Emma and I since she became bedridden, so I doubt she has seen anything that could help.”
