King Of Bad [Super Villian Academy Book 1]

by Strand, Kai

  Sandra gasped. “You can do it?”

  “Yeah, I figured it out.”

  “Wow, Jeff. That’s high-level stuff.” She seemed to reappraise him. “Should I be afraid?”

  Jeff huffed and rolled his eyes. “No! I couldn’t hurt you, Sandy-girl. Even if you are a sappy good guy.”

  She raised her hand, palm directed at him, and arched her eyebrow. “Careful there, moron. I may be a good guy, but I’m still subject to sibling rivalry.”

  They laughed.

  “So,” Sandra said, “you should come to school with me today.”

  He looked at her like she’d just declared the sky green. “I’m still a villain. I can’t just saunter in through the front doors.”

  “Oh, maybe not. I could call Mom. She’d be able to get it cleared.”

  “No! Then we’d have to tell her about Dad. I’m not ready for that yet.”

  “Ew, neither am I. I’m not even sure how I’m gonna act at dinner tonight.”

  Jeff stared at her. “Hey, how come you get to live at home?”

  “Mom told Dad that since the academy seemed to be working out so well for you, that she thought I should go to one too. Mine is nice and close. Dad doesn’t know what kind of school it is. Hey, where’s your new school?”

  “About sixty or so miles from here. Over in Timarken.”

  “Wow, that’s far; can you fly too?” Sandra asked.

  “No, I ran. You can fly? No fair!”

  They made arrangements for Jeff to meet Sandra and Source after school that afternoon and Sandra left. Jeff’s stomach rumbled and rolled with a combination of hunger after running so far and the unsettling jitterbug dance it’d been doing since he arrived at the house. He went downstairs and pulled the eggs out of the refrigerator. Whipping up an omelet reminded him of Pyro and how she’d complained about the strange feeling when she was at his house. He wondered if the feelings were the same. He’d never felt it before he went to academy, but he’d had no defenses then.

  Jeff watched some television, but by noon was bored out of his mind. He decided to wander around downtown until it was time to meet Sandra and Source. He hadn’t even been away from home for a year yet, but the downtown seemed changed. Not smaller physically like he always heard people say about visiting the place they’d grown up, but smaller mentally. It was as if the ice cream shop, the western wear store, and the card shop all represented how limited his knowledge of the world had been.

  It wasn’t that he felt well traveled, but he thought he had gained a broader perspective of the possibilities in life. He’d never before suspected super powers were real. Now he knew they were and the people wielding them were somewhat normal. And most start out ignorant to the process. It is like handing a multi-million dollar basketball contract to a kid from the inner city. What did he know about handling all that money and fame? Nothing at first and it often didn’t go well.

  So these academies, whether stocked full of newbie villains or white hats, were basically responsible for taming the wild instincts of a bunch of kids handed multi-million dollar contracts.

  Jeff shivered.

  Finally it was time for him to meet Sandra and Source. They were already waiting for him at an old diner just on the outskirts of downtown.

  “I can’t believe you beat me here,” Jeff said, sliding into the booth next to Source. They gave each other a half hug and pounded each other on the back. “I came early ’cause I just couldn’t wait anymore.”

  “Dude, when Sandra told me you’d come home, I wanted to leave right then and there. But good guys never skip school.” Source beamed.

  “So you really like being a good guy, huh?” Jeff asked.

  “Polar, I can’t tell you what a relief it is for me. It’s obvious what I was meant to be all along. I’ve got all sorts of powers now.”

  Jeff raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

  “Yeah, I can throw a gnarly brick wall in front of a speeding bad guy. I can hear conversations from miles away. I can even levitate myself about 10 feet in the air. Learned that one from working with you, man. Thanks.”

  Jeff laughed. “Wow, Source, that is great! Do your parents know?”

  “No way, man. They don’t even know I’m gone from the bogus academy.”

  “Does that bother you?” Jeff asked.

  “Yeah, sort of.” Source twirled the straw in his soda around and around.

  “Well, did you um…” Jeff hesitated. Source looked up expectantly. “Did you know what your parents are?”

  “Well, my mom is Japanese American. She’s not really religious. Dad’s a stockbroker. What do you mean?”

  “Dude, um…your parents are S.V’s.” Jeff screwed up his face, waiting for Source to yell or throw something.

  “Huh.” Source twirled his straw. “Villains? Oh, that sucks. Guess I won’t go home for the holidays anymore. Wonder why they didn’t fess up when I was recruited. They didn’t need to participate in that sham of a bogus academy if we were all one big villainy family.”

  Jeff shook his head and shrugged.

  “How did you find out?” Source asked.

  “Well, your mom recognized my mom at the family visit. Your mom told Tubs what my mom is. Tubs told my dad and my dad sent Mystic to S.V.A. on a reconnaissance mission.”

  “Mystic was a plant?” Source said.

  “Man, you missed all the fun.” Jeff told Source what had happened up through Jeff being snatched by a look-alike team of bad guys and spirited off to the new academy. Then he told him about the trip he and Mystic had taken to Mexico, looking for Source.

  “Wait a minute,” Source interrupted. “You went looking for me?”

  “Yeah, I’ve been trying to find you since you were taken.”

  “Man, I never expected anyone at S.V.A. to care what happened to me. I mean no one there cares about anything. But you managed to get Mystic to go along with the trip too?”

  Source and Sandra exchanged a meaningful look.

  “What’s going on?” Jeff asked.

  “Well, we know there was an undercover agent at the academy. They always have an undercover to keep an eye on the up and coming truly bad guys so we know what abilities we’ll have to fight when they get out on their own.”

  “But Mystic was from my dad’s academy, not S.V.A.”

  “Polar, bad guys don’t go country hopping with a friend. They don’t have friends.”

  “See, dude, that’s the thing. My good side has developed since your abduction.” Jeff glared pointedly at Sandra who smiled back proudly. “It seems to have quite a strong power of persuasion with it.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Give me enough time and I can turn any villain into a purring kitten or a sentimental sap.”

  “So you think the only reason Mystic was nice was because she was hanging around you too much?” Source asked.

  “Yeah, I don’t think she had a choice.”

  “I don’t know, man. She sure put up a good fight against the intruders on the night I was abducted.”

  “Well, she thought they were taking her,” Jeff said.

  “That isn’t the way it looked to me. I thought she was trying to get away in order to defend someone. I had hoped it was me.” Source swung a worried glance toward Sandra. “I didn’t know at the time I would like the abduction. But it looked more like she was worried about you.”

  “I was across the room.”

  “Exactly. She wasn’t looking at me.”

  Jeff dropped his head into his hands. “This is all too confusing.”

  “No, man, this is good. Now you can come to school with Sandra and me and everything will be like it should be.”

  Jeff raised his head and peaked at Source from under his long bangs. “There is a problem with your happy ending, dude.”

  “What?”

  “I’m still a bad guy. A good bad guy, but a bad guy nevertheless.”

  “I haven’t seen any evidence of your still being ba
d,” Sandra said.

  “Look under the table,” Jeff said.

  Sandra lay sideways on the bench seat and scooted under the table. “Oh.”

  She pulled herself back into a sitting position, most of her hair falling to one side of her head, giving her an odd, unbalanced appearance. “How did you do that?”

  Jeff lifted his hand from his lap. His pointer finger glowed poker red. Sandra arched her eyebrows at his burning fingertip. Jeff blew frost and extinguished his finger and Sandra’s mouth fell open. “I see.”

  “What did he do?” Source asked. He shifted sideways, trying to see under the table, but his head hit the wall and his hip slid into Jeff.

  “I can’t actually repeat the words he wrote,” Sandra said.

  Source scowled at Jeff.

  Jeff shrugged. “You can’t erase a lifetime of hard work. You said yourself, Sandra, I was the king of bad.”

  “But Jeff, you can’t go back to Dad’s school.”

  Sandra was right and she didn’t even know the half of it. If Prince Tohler showed up and saved some cocky villain from himself or apologized to the teacher for scorching their rug or worse, made someone else apologize, he’d be attacked in his sleep.

  “No, I can’t go to dad’s school. I no longer have to find Source.” He nodded at Source who grinned back. “I’m a boy without a home who is too bad to attend your school and too good to attend mine.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Chapter 25

  Jeff spent many nights in the old barn he used to hide in. He’d sneak in late at night and leave late in the morning. The dog curled up next to him most nights and served as Jeff’s personal space heater.

  One morning, Jeff splashed water from a rain barrel on his face, when the hairs on the back of his neck rose. He snuck over to the corner of the building and peaked around the side of the barn. Two men stood perfectly still. Listening. Jeff’s heart immediately kicked into overtime. One of the men cocked his head, but this time Jeff knew how to cloak himself. He took a slow, calming breath and focused his breathing so that his heart rate dropped to normal instantly. With more concentration, the heart dropped to an even slower rate that would not be deciphered as human to someone who was listening.

  “Damn, I thought I heard him, but now there’s nothing. He must have spotted us,” the man said to his partner. He pointed toward the barn. “But I think it was over there.”

  Jeff cursed silently. He looked down at the dog who stared up at him, smiling and wagging his tail. Jeff motioned for the dog to go away and mouthed, “Shoo.” The dog panted ignorantly up at Jeff. Flailing his arms, Jeff lunged at the animal. The dog finally trotted away. Jeff peered around the corner.

  “Hunter, look.” The other man pointed to the dog that had just jogged into view.

  Hunter made a face and swore. He stared at the dog for awhile before he said, “Let’s go. There’s no one around here, now. He must have gotten away.”

  Later while Jeff, Sandra and Source ate at their favorite old diner Jeff asked, “Who do you suppose those guys were?”

  “Dad’s pretty distraught over your disappearance, Jeff. I’d guess they were Dad’s guys.”

  Jeff put his hamburger down. “He’s upset?”

  “Yeah. The worst part is that he can’t talk to Mom and me about it because he doesn’t know that I know and Mom still doesn’t know that he’s a baddy. But he mopes and stresses and tries to pretend like everything’s okay. I almost spilled the beans at dinner the other night. I really feel bad for him.”

  “Maybe I should get word to him somehow,” Jeff said.

  “Remember, Polar,” Source said, “they have ways of tracking the message back to the sender. If they already have an idea of where you are staying, that would be like handing yourself over.”

  “It’s my dad!”

  “It’s your dad who wants you to be 100% villain,” Sandra reminded.

  Jeff sighed. “Why does this have to be so hard?”

  Jeff looked out the plate glass window of the diner.

  “What the…” he cried. He jumped out of the booth and dashed out the door.

  “Jeff, wait!” Source called too late.

  Jeff barreled into Mystic, scooping her into a hug and spinning around with her.

  “Put me the hell down!” She beat ineffectively on his shoulders.

  Jeff laughed. “What are you doing here?”

  Impassive to Jeff’s sudden appearance, Mystic replied, “I missed you.”

  She planted her velvety soft lips directly on Jeff’s. Her intoxicating spicy, sweet breath caught him by surprise and he was momentarily suaved to stupidity. A heavy object crashed down on the back of his head and a starburst flooded his mind and his knees buckled. He squinted up at Mystic’s pleased expression and his thought was, “I don’t think she’s a good guy.” Then the world went black.

  Jeff woke up with a throbbing headache. He gingerly touched his head to find it wrapped in gauze.

  “Never trust a delicate head to a strong man,” Mystic said.

  Jeff opened one eye and spikes of pain wedged deep into his brain as if he wore a crown of thorns under his skull. He shut his eye again.

  “I’ve requested they steal a healer for you. It might take a bit longer, but we’ll get someone in here.”

  Afraid of the pain that might accompany speech, Jeff whispered, “What do you want with me?”

  Mystic chuckled. The sound was like diamonds pinging together in a velvet purse. Jeff wished she’d keep chuckling because it felt so soothing to his head.

  “Jeff Tohler, son of the king of bad and the queen of good. I want all you’re worth.”

  Jeff’s eyes sprang open. “You’re gonna ransom me?”

  The outburst cost him dearly. Moaning, he cradled his head with both hands as if it were an egg.

  Mystic pointed to herself. “Bad guy!”

  “But you’ve helped me. You tried to find Source with me.”

  Mystic plopped on the side of Jeff’s bed, the jarring motion making him quiver with pain. “Jeff, I did it all for me. Your good side has served me very well, but it sure doesn’t serve you well. You’re very gullible. That’s what’s wrong with all you white hats. Far too trusting.”

  “I’m not a white hat,” Jeff said.

  “You’re not a villain,” Mystic said. She pushed off the bed, sending shooting pains through Jeff’s head again. “Regardless, to me you are golden. If I play my cards right, I could become the new ruler of the badlands. Papa bear will have to relinquish his title if he wants you in one piece.”

  She swung around and seared him with a steamy stare. “Too bad you’re so flawed. We could rule together.”

  She stepped uncomfortably close and bent over him. Her long silky hair trailed over his arms and chest. Her lips trailed along his neck. “You and me, an unstoppable force. Two beautiful and powerful bad guys.”

  Jeff poked her bare arm with an ignited fingertip. She squealed. The scent of burnt flesh filled Jeff’s nostrils. She jumped away and glared at him menacingly.

  Despite his throbbing head, Jeff chuckled. “That is how I like you best, Mystic. An arm’s length away.”

  She stormed out of the room, slamming the metal door loudly. The sound echoed through the barren room. Jeff’s vision faded while glitter confetti twinkled and sparked. Then he passed out.

  He fell in and out of consciousness in the windowless room, leaving him with no sense of time. Sometimes he thought days had passed while he slept. Other times he wondered if he’d only just fallen asleep. A meal had been left for him while he was asleep. The gravy was congealed and the mystery meat looked dried out. He thought he remembered a plate of chicken and stuffing had been left at another time. Or had it been a hamburger and french fries? Jeff curled up on his side with his back to the door.

  At last the door opened and two girls escorted a blustering, blindfolded man into the room. The group was follow
ed by Mystic and a big, beefy guy.

  The girls tossed the man onto the floor like a dirty rag.

  Jeff eyed them through one eye; their excessive noise wreaked havoc inside his head. The wiry little man struck Jeff as inconsequential. He eyed Mystic warily and wondered what she was up to.

  The man swung his head around like he might be trying to hear where his captors were. He looked so vulnerable kneeling in the center of the room with the blindfold wrapped over his eyes. “What is the meaning of this? I’ll report you to the authorities.”

  Jeff scoffed. “Oh, that’s gonna make them stop, dude.”

  The man swung his head in Jeff’s direction and stopped blathering.

  “Oh, I see,” the man said.

  “Funny, you look blindfolded to me,” Jeff said.

  “You’re hurt. That’s why they needed me.”

  The statement unnerved Jeff. “How do you know that? You can’t see me.”

  “I smell it.”

  “Ew,” everybody said in unison.

  “You should be me,” the man said.

  Mystic stepped forward and pulled the blindfold off the man. “Then do your thing.”

  The man blinked up at her. Jeff recognized the stupid, vacant expression as it stole across the man’s face.

  “Mystic, let the guy do his thing and then suave him all you want,” Jeff said.

  She smirked at Jeff. “Jealous?”

  “No, my head’s killing me.”

  Mystic picked the little man up by the shirt collar and set him on his feet. With a shove toward Jeff she said, “Meet your fellow white hat.”

  The young man stumbled to a stop just before tumbling onto Jeff. He righted himself and looked back at Mystic, confused. “He’s not a white hat.”

  “I keep trying to tell her,” Jeff said.

  “Well, he’s not a villain,” Mystic said. “Get to work.”

  The man turned toward Jeff. “My name is Matthias. I am a healer, which is why they’ve abducted me apparently. Healing powers only take effect on good guys, so I don’t think I can help you.”

  “Well, you’ll be able to help me a little at least. I’m kinda a hybrid,” Jeff whispered back. All this talking and looking was more than his head could handle. He closed his eyes and gently placed his head back on the pillow.