Superpowers

by Alex Cliff

  PUFFIN BOOKS

  SUPER POWERS

  THE SNARLING BEAST

  Books by Alex Cliff

  SUPERPOWERS series

  SUPER POWERS

  THE SNARLING BEAST

  ALEX CLIFF

  ILLUSTRATED BY LEO HARTAS

  PUFFIN

  PUFFIN BOOKS

  Published by the Penguin Group

  Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

  Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 2Y3

  (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

  Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd)

  Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia

  (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd)

  Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park,

  New Delhi – 110 017, India

  Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand

  (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd)

  Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank,

  Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

  Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  puffinbooks.com

  Published 2007

  1

  Text copyright © Alex Cliff, 2007

  Illustrations copyright © Leo Hartas, 2007

  All rights reserved

  The moral right of the author and illustrator has been asserted

  EISBN: 978–0–141–90243–2

  For Lindsey Heaven, my wonderful editor,

  and for Philippa Milnes-Smith, my equally

  wonderful agent, for not laughing at me

  (well, OK, not too much!) when I first suggested

  I’d like to write a series about superpowers…

  CONTENTS

  Just imagine…

  One Stone, Paper, Scissors

  Two Which Superpower?

  Three Keep Out!

  Four Tomb Raider!

  Five Max’s Plan

  Six Risking the Riddle

  Seven The Cherub’s Trumpet

  Eight Petrified!

  JUST IMAGINE…

  a hawk swooping towards a ruined castle on a hill. With a savage scream, the bird flies into the castle keep. As it lands beside the one tower that is still standing, its body starts to stretch and grow. Within seconds it has become a woman. She is twice as tall as an ordinary woman and a cloak of brown-grey feathers swirls from her shoulders. Her black eyes flash with angry fire.

  She claps her hands together and a square of stones on the inner wall of the tower crumbles.

  As the dust clears, a tall man with long hair and a noble face looks out

  through the gap. He is trapped inside the tower’s thick walls. This is the superhero Hercules. He meets the evil goddess’s angry gaze without flinching. ‘Another day dawns, Juno,’ he says. ‘By the end of today I will have my sixth superpower back.’

  ‘No!’ Juno hisses.

  ‘Yes,’ Hercules snaps back. ‘For five days now you have set the two human boys a task to do each day. Each day they have won a superpower back for me. Soon I will have all my powers back and you will not be able to keep me as your prisoner any longer. I will break free from these walls!’ He thumps the inside of the tower with both fists.

  ‘Never!’ Juno exclaims. ‘I will kill the boys first.’

  ‘You cannot!’ Hercules’ voice raps out. ‘You made a deal with them, Juno. The boys are allowed to choose one of my superpowers each day to help them complete a task you set. If they succeed the superpower returns to me. You know as well as I, that although the boys can be hurt or killed while carrying out the task, you must not injure them directly. You cannot break the rules, Juno. Gods play fair when they deal with humans.’

  ‘You dare to tell me what gods do?’ Juno cries in outrage.

  ‘Yes,’ Hercules declares.

  They stare at each other, superhero and evil goddess. They have been enemies for centuries.

  ‘It is true!’ Juno spits. ‘I might not be able to kill the boys myself while we have a deal, but I can make the task they have to complete as dangerous as I like.’ Her eyes light up suddenly. ‘ Doubly dangerous in fact.’

  Hercules frowns. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘You’ll find out soon enough!’ Juno’s cruel mouth curves into a smile. ‘And so will they!’ She claps her hands. There is a crash of thunder and the stones re-form over Hercules, trapping him once again in his magical prison. ‘Who’s powerless now, Hercules?’ Juno breathes. A flash of lightning strikes down. As it hits the ground, the goddess transforms into a hawk again.

  Beating her powerful wings, she speeds away across the dawn-streaked sky.

  CHAPTER ONE

  STONE, PAPER, SCISSORS

  Max Hayward and Finlay Yates were facing each other in the lounge in Max’s house. Their hands were balled into fists. ‘After three,’ Max said, looking at Finlay.

  Finlay nodded.

  Max counted them in. ‘One, two…three!’

  Their fists moved lightning fast and they shouted at the same time.

  ‘Scissors!’ said Finlay, his fingers making a scissors shape.

  ‘Paper!’ said Max, his hand flattening.

  ‘I win!’ Finlay exclaimed triumphantly.

  ‘Scissors cut paper. Let’s do it again.

  One, two…three!’

  ‘Scissors!’ he shouted.

  ‘Stone!’ Max shouted at the same time, keeping his fingers curled into a ball. ‘I win! Stone blunts scissors!’

  ‘Best of three?’ Finlay suggested.

  Max nodded. This time Finlay called out ‘paper’ and Max went for stone again.

  ‘I win this time,’ Finlay said. ‘Paper wraps stone.’ He grabbed Max’s hand, and made his voice sound all creepy. ‘I am the evil hand of paper. I will destroy you!’ He changed to a dalek’s voice from Doctor Who. ‘I will exterminate!’ He grabbed Max round the neck.

  Max ducked and grabbed Finlay’s legs behind the knees.

  ‘Oof !’ Finlay exclaimed as he lost his balance. He yanked Max’s ankles as he fell, and Max crashed down with him. They wrestled for a moment and then Finlay suddenly pulled away, his thick blonde hair sticking up.

  ‘Hey, I’ve had an idea! Let’s change the game. How about cannonball, sword and net instead of stone, scissors, paper?’

  Max realized what he was getting at. ‘Yeah! So a sword could cut a net but be blown up by a cannonball?’ he said.

  Finlay nodded. ‘And a net could catch a cannonball. What d’you reckon?’

  ‘It’s cool!’ Max replied. ‘Better than the real game. I’ve never got that bit about paper beating stone by wrapping round it, but a net could actually catch a cannonball. What hand shapes should we use?’

  They were just working them out, when Max’s dad came into the room. ‘Hi, you two. Got any plans for today?’

  ‘We’re going to the castle again,’ Max replied, glancing at the clock above the mantelpiece. It was eight-thirty. ‘We should go soon,’ he said to Finlay.

  ‘You’ve been at the castle every day this half-term,’ Mr Hayward said curiously. ‘What are you doing there?’

  Finlay wondered what Mr Hayward would say if they told him the truth – that they were helping the superhero Hercules escape from his castle prison.

  ‘Just stuff,’ Max replied vaguely.

  ‘Oh, well, so long as you’re having fun and not getting into any trouble,’ said Mr Hayward.

  ‘Oh, no t
rouble, Dad,’ Max answered quickly.

  Not much, Finlay thought, picturing the Man-Eating Birds they had killed the day before. Max still had a wound on his arm from where one of the birds had slashed at him with its razor-sharp beak. Every day, either Finlay or Max seemed to end up with a scar from facing Juno’s challenges.

  ‘Have I told you that the castle used to be a Roman temple for the goddess Juno,’ Mr Hayward said to Finlay.

  Finlay nodded. About twenty million times, he thought to himself. Max’s dad was really into history and was always talking about it.

  ‘Max and I have been reading some of the Roman myths and legends together,’ Mr Hayward went on. ‘I’m sure you’d like them too, Fin. They’re fascinating.’

  ‘Yeah,’ Finlay said politely. He hastily grabbed Max’s arm before Mr Hayward could start telling him one of the stories. ‘Let’s go, Max!’

  ‘See you later, Dad,’ Max called.

  ‘If we survive today,’ muttered Finlay as they hurried out of the lounge.

  Five minutes later Max and Finlay were running up the path that led from the village to the castle. The castle’s crumbling walls formed a circle around a grassy keep. On the outside of the walls was a dark moat. The boys crossed the stone bridge and scrambled through the gatehouse – the entrance to the castle. The tower in which Hercules was imprisoned was opposite them. Its grey stones stood in shadow.

  ‘We’re early,’ Finlay said to Max.

  Every morning, just as the sun’s rays fell on the gatehouse wall, the stones in front of Hercules’ face crumbled so that he could see out. At the same time, his superpowers, which Juno had placed in the gatehouse archway, glowed brightly.

  ‘It’s almost time,’ Max said.

  As he spoke, there was a crash of thunder overhead and a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky. The boys blinked as Juno appeared in front of them.

  ‘Maggots!’ Juno snapped, glaring at the boys. ‘Worms!’

  Finlay and Max hastily backed away. They were used to being called names by Juno now and knew it was better not to object.

  Not unless you wanted to be frozen in

  mid-air, unable to move or speak, Max thought nervously as the goddess stared at them.

  ‘Today is your sixth task,’ she said. ‘You must find and return my three golden apples. They are hidden nearby.’ Her black eyes narrowed. ‘Or, of course, you could just give up now because you will never succeed.’

  ‘We won’t give up!’ Finlay said strongly.

  ‘No way. Where do we have to look for these apples?’ Max said. As he met Juno’s terrible gaze, he felt his stomach plunge downwards as if he was in a very fast lift.

  ‘I have placed the apples in the grounds of the Manor House in your village,’ she replied sharply. ‘Look for them in the walled garden with the statue of Cerberus in the centre.’

  ‘Ceber-what?’ Finlay echoed.

  ‘It’s a mythical beast,’ Max muttered to him. ‘A three-headed dog. Dad and I’ve been reading about it.’ He looked at Juno. He knew how tricky she could be and he wanted to make sure they’d got the task straight. ‘So all we’ve got to do is find these apples and bring them back here?’

  Juno smiled dangerously. ‘Yes. That is all you have to do. Though of course,’ she added, ‘first you must choose the correct three apples.’

  Max felt alarmed. ‘How many are there?’ he asked, imagining hundreds of apples to choose from.

  ‘Just four,’ Juno replied. ‘But choose wrong and you will not live to regret it.’ She gave a delighted laugh.

  Finlay and Max exchanged worried looks.

  ‘So how will we know which are the right apples?’ Finlay said. ‘Or do we just have to guess?’

  ‘That would be much more fun,’ Juno said. ‘But no, I must give you a fair chance, and so I will give you a riddle that will tell you which apple to leave – if you can solve it.’ Juno clicked her fingers and a piece of folded paper instantly appeared in her hand. It was sealed with a circle of blood-red wax. She held it out to Finlay. ‘Here!’

  She looked down her nose at them both. ‘I don’t imagine either of you will be able to solve it. It takes wit and wisdom to find answers in a riddle. You will fail in your task this time. Wait and see!’

  She clapped her hands. There was another flash of lightning and a hawk soared upwards out of the keep.

  CHAPTER TWO

  WHICH SUPERPOWER?

  ‘So we’ve got to solve a riddle,’ Max said, looking excitedly at the folded piece of paper. He liked riddles and word puzzles.

  ‘Yeah,’ said Finlay, sounding doubtful. He didn’t.

  ‘Let’s open it!’ said Max, but just then the sun rose a fraction higher in the sky. There was the sound of crumbling and grinding and a rectangle of stones on the inner tower wall crumbled away.

  Hercules looked out. ‘Boys!’

  ‘Hello, Hercules,’ Max said eagerly. ‘We’ve just seen Juno. We’ve got to bring back three golden apples from a garden…’

  ‘Making sure we choose the right three,’ Finlay put in.

  ‘And we’ve got a riddle to help us,’ Max added. ‘There are only four apples. It doesn’t seem a very difficult task.’

  ‘Do not underestimate Juno,’ Hercules warned. ‘She is angry and I am worried about what she has planned today. You must be careful.’

  ‘We will be,’ Max promised.

  Finlay looked round at the gatehouse.

  There were eight stones around its arched entrance. Two of the stones were now glowing with magic symbols, their images carved in lines of burning white fire. Both those two stones held a superpower. Once there had been seven superpowers glowing in the stones but every time the boys took one to try and return it to Hercules, its symbol disappeared from the wall.

  Today I get to choose another, Finlay thought, looking at the two symbols that were left. There was a lion to represent courage and a stag leaping to represent super-agility. ‘I’d better get our superpower for the day,’ he said, shoving the riddle into his pocket.

  ‘And which will you choose?’ asked Hercules.

  Finlay looked at the lion and the stag.

  Agility meant being brilliant at jumping and climbing and leaping, which would be a cool power to have. Being courageous didn’t sound nearly so much fun. But maybe they’d need the power of agility the next day. Stealing three golden apples didn’t seem difficult, but then again, if he had to make a life or death choice over which apples to take maybe he might need some extra courage…

  Finlay felt torn. Should he choose the power he wanted or should he be sensible and think of the tasks ahead? It was a difficult decision to make. He remembered a time when he had faced the same choice and made the wrong decision.

  ‘I’ll choose courage,’ he decided. Max grinned at him.

  However, Hercules looked uncertain. ‘It is a tricky power to have,’ he said slowly. ‘You have already proved yourself to be extremely courageous over the last five days. Beware of false courage; it can cloud your judgement.’

  ‘So should I choose agility instead?’ Finlay asked in surprise.

  Hercules frowned. ‘No. I do not think so. That power will certainly be of more use tomorrow.’

  ‘Courage it is, then!’ Finlay said. ‘I’m going to get it!’ He ran across the grass and, stopping in front of the archway, he put his hand firmly on to the stone with the lion symbol. For a moment Finlay felt the shape burning into the palm of his hand and then heat started flowing down his arm. It tingled all the way through his body down to his feet.

  At last the stone felt cold beneath Finlay’s fingers. He took a deep breath. He was filled with a warm glow. He felt amazing, like he could do anything. There was nothing and no one that could stand in his way. He almost wished the sabre-toothed lion they’d fought in the first task was standing in front of him. He’d fight it single-handedly! And as for the Nine-Headed River Monster…He swung round to Max. ‘What are we waiting for? Let’s go and get t
hose apples!’

  ‘Hang on! Shouldn’t we open the riddle and show it to Hercules first?’ Max protested. ‘He might be able to help us figure out its meaning.’

  ‘We’ll be fine!’ Finlay declared and he ran out through the gatehouse archway.

  Max glanced at Hercules, not sure what to do.

  ‘Go with him,’ Hercules said quickly.

  ‘The new courage added to his own not inconsiderable bravery might make him act foolishly. He has the riddle. It will contain the answers you need. Use it wisely. Remember, even if all seems lost there will always be a way out if you look hard enough. There is always a fair chance. That is the rule of the gods when they deal with humans. Go on now! Go!’ he urged.

  Max charged after Finlay, his heart pounding. What exactly did Juno have in store for them that day?

  CHAPTER THREE

  KEEP OUT!

  The Manor House was in the centre of the village. It was a very large, old house with big gardens, a tennis court and tall black gates.

  ‘How are we going to get into the grounds?’ Max said as he caught up with Finlay. ‘The gates are always locked.’

  ‘We climb over the gate of course,’ Finlay said as if it were obvious.

  Max stared at him. ‘But they’re enormous and there are spikes on top! And what about if someone sees us and…’

  ‘We’ll be fine!’ said Finlay, as if deadly spikes were no problem at all.

  Max hurried after him, feeling very worried by Finlay’s courageous words. He was sure they wouldn’t be fine if they tried to climb over the gates!

  However, when they got to the Manor House they found that they were in luck. The gates were open and there was a big sign on them saying: ‘Brownies Half-Term Music and Craft Day on the Tennis Courts. This way’. An arrow pointed down a path that led through some trees into the gardens.