Unexpected Superhero (Adventures of Lewis and Clarke Book 1)

by Kitty Bucholtz

  “Joe…” Mickey said.

  Joe turned in his seat. But he faced Tori, not Mickey. His usual superhero confidence was missing from his expression, replaced with uncertainty and questions.

  “Tori, do you know where we are?” he asked.

  She couldn’t answer him. Her mind spun trying to find an answer that wouldn’t destroy her newly happy life.

  “I’ll kill him,” Lexie said with deadly calm. Her tears had dried. Something darker filled her expression now. For the first time, Tori was a little bit afraid of her sister. Afraid of how her power had grown over time without either of them realizing it. Afraid of how Lexie’s fear and hatred could destroy the almost normal lives they’d built over the last few years.

  “Lexie, do not speak,” Tori ordered quietly.

  Her sister turned to her, anger flashing through her expression. It radiated out into Tori through their clasped hands. Tori shook her head. “Later.”

  Joe turned to Mickey. Tori watched his face. It changed back into the superhero-at-work expression she recognized. He wouldn’t ask questions now. They’d find Ben first. But when it was over… Tori couldn’t be sure of anything after that.

  “Are you sure?” Joe asked Mickey.

  Mickey nodded. He glanced sharply at Lexie and Tori. “Do you know who Kane Curtis is?”

  Tori gripped Lexie’s hand, warning her. They both stayed quiet, meeting Mickey’s gaze then looking away.

  “What’s going on?” Joe asked from the front seat. He frowned at Tori. “If you know him, just tell us.”

  Tori couldn’t decide if Joe’s building anger was his own or in response to Lexie’s power. Her sister was pulsing with rage. She pushed at Tori, trying to loosen Tori’s hold.

  “Do not speak.” Tori’s anger and fear poured into her words. She felt her power grow.

  But Lexie’s anger was pushing Tori hard. When Tori got angry, she tended to lose some control. Lexie knew that. She pushed harder, trying to make Tori so angry she’d release her command. In Tori’s mind, images of Ben crowded out the images of her and Joe.

  Her sister was making her choose. The images of Ben became colored with Lexie’s fears for her son. Blood and dirt and darkness and tears and–

  “Okay!” she cried.

  She ripped her hand out of Lexie’s and wrapped her arms around herself, pulling away into the corner of the seat. She wanted to look away, but she couldn’t help but stare at her husband when Lexie said the words out loud.

  “He’s our father.”

  Joe turned to Tori, his eyes widening, his face going slack. And Tori watched her perfect life slip away.

  CHAPTER 19

  LEXIE felt her emotions transforming inside of her. The overwhelming pain of loss morphed into single-minded focus. Fear solidified into anger. Confusion became clarity. For the first time in her life, she embraced the curse she’d inherited.

  When she’d stopped taking the medication that repressed her emotions, she’d had to learn how to control herself in order to survive. She’d built a safe, normal life for Ben through monumental self-discipline. No one would’ve guessed that freak blood ran in her veins.

  Until now. Now she would use it to destroy the man who had cursed her life and taken her son. Sitting in the SUV, Lexie felt a pang of regret for the lovely life she was about to lose.

  “Let’s go,” she said to Tori. She nudged her sister’s thigh and Tori opened the door and got out.

  Lexie closed her eyes and focused on Ben. Something in her chest pulled tight, like her heart was trying to reach out for a piece of itself somewhere in the woods. She followed the pull. She stepped onto the shoulder of the road into a couple inches of soft snow.

  “So, what’s the plan?” asked the man driving with Hayley.

  Lexie spared him a glance as he and Hayley walked over from their vehicle. She heard others talking as she struggled up the snowbank.

  “Tori, wait,” called Joe.

  Lexie heard her sister stop behind her. The frustration inside grew. She pushed it down. Her brother-in-law was a good man, and his friend was… Lexie looked at him. She’d never let anyone but Tori in her head before, but she’d seen inside these two. Integrity. Faithfulness. She wondered when the word “dependable” came into her head. She let herself slide down the snowbank and waited impatiently.

  Mickey motioned to her from the back of the vehicle. Everyone gathered there – her sister and Joe, Mickey, Hayley, and the blonde man. Lexie joined them. Mickey put his hand on her shoulder. She started to tell him she didn’t like to be touched, but when she looked at him and opened her mouth, she knew he already knew that. And she knew he wasn’t going to let go of her, even if he took his hand away.

  He squeezed her shoulder and turned to the others. Lexie continued to stare at him. Who was he?

  “This is Bull,” Mickey motioned to the blonde, who nodded to her. “He’s part of our team. We’re going to get your son back, but we need to work together. If Kane Curtis has your son, it’s going to take all of us to get him back.”

  Lexie glanced around. “The six of us? We can do it?” She felt better already. Six was better than one.

  Mickey shook his head. “No, all of us. Joe, call Owen and tell him where we are.”

  Lexie felt a warning in his words that chilled her more than the cold wind still blowing. Before she could ask him any more questions, the three men disappeared behind the second SUV.

  She turned to Hayley. “What are they doing?” She felt Hayley’s worry, but it wasn’t worry for Ben. “What?”

  Hayley looked like she was fighting within herself. “Please don’t be mad,” she said, looking from Lexie to Tori. “Secrets keep us safe. You two know that more than anyone.” She looked like she was begging them.

  “Hayley, what’s wrong?” Tori asked. Her voice firmed as she said, “We’re your best friends. You can trust us.”

  Hayley’s features composed themselves from worry to relief and into a face of strength. “I know,” she said. “And you can trust me.” She looked at Lexie. “I’m going to help you get Ben back.”

  She walked away as three men in dark clothing strode out of the dark. Lexie felt her eyes widen. The smaller one approached her but didn’t speak. His suit looked more like body armor, but in a flexible material. She reached out her hand to his chest. Hard, warm. She met his eyes, and for the first time, he grinned. They stared at each other for a moment, then she looked at the others.

  Tori stood close to the taller one, holding his hand and gazing at him with adoration in her eyes. There was only one man her little sister looked at that way.

  “Joe?” Her brother-in-law was a…a… She couldn’t say “freak” when she looked at these capable-looking men gathered of their own free will to help Ben. If they succeeded, if they put Ben back in her arms tonight, she decided she would start calling them by the other name.

  A woman in a similar suit solidified out of the night.

  Tori gasped. “Hayley?”

  The woman shook her head. “Green Thumb.” She moved her hands in a beautiful dance, and vines started growing out of her pockets. As her hands swayed, the plants defied gravity, moving up into the air and curving around.

  Lexie rolled her eyes and let herself smile for a moment. Green Thumb had made a heart shape around Tori and her husband.

  Everyone turned to Lexie, a variety of smiles and grins on their faces. She didn’t like being the center of attention. She looked at the man beside her. Shocked, she whipped her hand away. Her blood rushed as embarrassment swept through her. This whole time she had her hand on his chest like, like–

  At her side, the back of his hand touched hers lightly. “Focus,” he said quietly. “Control your emotions. Don’t let them control you.”

  She breathed deeply and calmed. He knew the mantra she said to herself. But he’d made it stronger, made it work quicker. She wondered how. More than that, she felt that despite his warnings about the difficulties they faced, it
was going to work.

  She looked at the group around her. Never before had she been a part of something that was greater than the sum of its parts.

  “My name is Tick Tock,” said the man next to her. He pointed. “That’s Powerhouse, Green Thumb, and Superhero X. Remember those names. Use them. You cannot use our other names. Understood?” He looked at Tori, too.

  Lexie nodded at the blonde man, Hayley, and Joe.

  “I’m the team leader,” he continued, “but you’re the key to this operation, Lexie. You’ll stay with me, and I’ll coordinate with the other teams.”

  She nodded. His tone was a not unpleasant combination of gentle and inflexible.

  “You’re going to find Ben and we’re going to get him out.”

  Control your emotions. Don’t let them control you. Lexie had been telling herself for hours that she would find Ben. But when the words were coming out of someone else’s mouth… Last time she’d failed. What if it happened again?

  “You can do it,” Tick Tock said again.

  She nodded.

  “X, pull up the layout of the facility.” Tick Tock ushered everyone to the back of the Suburban.

  Lexie saw a sedan parked on the shoulder of the road thirty feet away. Two people sat and watched.

  Tick Tock nodded at them and said to Lexie, “Superhero Liaison Unit, Double Bay Police Department. They can’t enter without cause.” He grinned. “That’s us.”

  When the back door of the SUV opened, Lexie gasped. It looked like one of those rolling crime labs on TV, like something the FBI used. The men discussed entry strategies, potential threats, and best and worst places to be in a fight. The conversation left Lexie’s head spinning. Who were these people?

  Listening to them plan a rescue operation for Ben, a feeling came over Lexie that she hadn’t felt very often in her life.

  Gratitude.

  TORI followed the team up the driveway, the sound of their movements covered by the blowing wind. The decision to avoid the woods because the snow was too deep made sense. But walking up the open lane, visible to anyone driving, soon visible to anyone looking out a window… Tori shivered. She was scared, and it had nothing to do with Lexie.

  They paused at the edge of the well-lit parking lot. Lexie closed her eyes and searched for Ben.

  “That way.” She pointed to the far end of the multi-building complex.

  It looked as though most of the employees had already gone home for the day, but the team kept to the edge of the parking lot as they made their way around two buildings.

  Tori watched Lexie stop and focus again, reaching inside with that part of herself she didn’t understand. Tori felt her sister’s fear build to anger and then to hope. Everyone tensed.

  Lexie gasped. “Second floor. He’s on the second floor of that building.”

  “Do you know where?” Tick Tock whispered.

  “The room behind the corner one.” Lexie pointed.

  “I have an idea,” Tori said. She told Tick Tock and he nodded.

  “If it doesn’t work, stay behind us. It may get messy.”

  The six of them walked up to the entrance of the building, Tori in the lead. When they walked in, the receptionist looked up in surprise.

  “I’m sorry. We’re closed.” The woman looked over Tori’s shoulder and frowned. Four people in masks would make anyone nervous.

  Tori smiled. “Oh, it’s okay, I’m here to see my father.” She felt the tension in the others gathered behind her, but she kept her friendliest smile in place.

  “And he is?”

  “Kane Curtis.”

  Was it Tori’s imagination or did the woman blanche under her makeup? She glanced nervously at the signage on the wall behind her and picked up the phone. “I’ll see if he’s available.”

  “Oh, I think he’s expecting us,” Tick Tock said, the metallic sound of his voice harsh in the echoing lobby.

  Tori turned to him and followed his gaze. A small camera was tucked into the middle “r” of the Curtis Enterprises sign on the wall. Tori’s smile faltered.

  Lexie stepped up and stared directly into the camera. “Give me back my son.”

  If Kane were a regular person, Lexie would probably scare him into complying immediately. If only, Tori wished. Her hopes that he was simply a socially maladjusted, control freak, business tycoon had evaporated a few minutes ago when she realized where they were.

  She had a thought. Probably wouldn’t work but she might as well give it a try. She focused on the camera. “Bring us Ben.”

  She waited a moment, then looked to the receptionist. “Is he there?”

  The woman turned away and stared at her desk. “We’re closed. Please don’t hurt me,” she pleaded.

  AS THE receptionist began to cry, Superhero X heard another sound off to his left. As he turned to look, he saw a dark shape flying toward them. Then another and another. “Powerhouse!” he shouted.

  So Kane had his own private army. Shouldn’t be a surprise. X raised his arm to flip the closest attacker over his shoulder, but not before he got a kick in the face.

  Powerhouse turned just in time to grab an ankle as an assailant tried to kick him in the chest. He let him go as the third attacker knocked Green Thumb to the ground.

  With a bellow of rage, Powerhouse picked the man up and threw him into a wall. Green Thumb finished tying up the first two, wrapping cords of ivy around the men, and rushed toward the third.

  Tick Tock pushed Tori and Lexie under the receptionist’s desk, and fought off two more men. X looked around the quiet lobby. Where were they coming from? A shadow of movement caught his eye just as he heard a quiet “sschtk” sound above. “The ceiling!” he yelled.

  The others looked up as more ninja-looking attackers jumped silently from the ceiling tiles.

  X pulled a man out of mid-air and tossed him to the ground. “Green Thumb!”

  Philodendron shot out of her pockets as she ducked under one of Powerhouse’s fists. She sent the ivy spinning wildly around the downed man’s wrists, then his ankles.

  A kick in his chest sent X back a step. A short man stood in a martial arts pose in front of him preparing to attack him again. X crossed his arms and motioned for him to make his move.

  The man jumped in, aiming for X’s knee. X brought it up into the guy’s face without losing his balance. He heard the click of the man’s teeth hitting together, then saw him trip as a long piece of growing vine wrapped along his ankles. By the time the creep hit the floor, the vines had him neatly tied up.

  Green Thumb and X turned toward the rest of the fight. Whoever these guys were, most of them knew how to fight. And there were more of them coming out of the shadows.

  X hit, kicked, and threw men, one after another. The three men tried to toss the attackers close to the left wall for Green Thumb to tie up. X turned from tossing one toward Powerhouse and found another with a knife at his throat.

  “Drop the knife!” Powerhouse yelled. The small man turned his head toward the voice and X clocked the guy, the knife clattering to the floor.

  Two more men began to apply their fists and feet to his body. He fought back in a frenzy. He didn’t usually feel angry in a fight, but he did now. Lexie, he thought, as he threw another man at the front window. He could feel her growing panic that they needed to find Ben now. Where was their backup? They had to get out of this brawl and search for the boy.

  More men, more fighting, more knives. X kept a firm grip on the short steel pipe in his right hand. He felt a knife slice across his upper arm as he swung his fist at another guy. It cut his suit, but not his skin. He kicked the knife away, then kicked the bastard wielding it. The offender flew ten feet, tripping another mug sneaking up behind Tick Tock.

  “Tick Tock! Behind you!” X shouted. He saw one of the downed men stagger up and toward Green Thumb. X felled him like a tree and pushed Green Thumb out of range as another came at them with a knife.

  A rush of cold air and voices. X glanced up.
Two more superhero teams joined the fray. X heard someone yell his name. He ducked and rolled as another knife cut across his thigh. Adrenaline shot through his system as he focused on the metal in his hand. The new attacker reached and slashed toward X’s gut, keeping eye contact with X. More focused than his comrades.

  They circled each other, the man slicing out, X looking for an opening.

  In his peripheral vision, X saw Tick Tock and Powerhouse fighting. Green Thumb tripped a pair of ruffians with her vines. The Cowl and Káwal from Superhero W’s team cut a swath through their enemies without physically touching any of them. X wished he could watch those two fight. They were legends in the Paladin Guild. But he still had to take down his current opponent.

  The masked man made a move, and X jumped out of range of the knife. Circling, waiting, another jump. Shouts of “Police!” didn’t distract the man intent on bringing X down. The cops who had waited for Tick Tock’s signal had arrived. The wave of new attackers slowed.

  X normally treated all weapons as capable of hurting him. If he ever lost his power, he’d be less likely to be mortally injured if he continued to be careful. But he felt Lexie’s intense need to find her son, so he changed his game and stood still. The attacker lunged, his knife at X’s throat.

  Before X could grab the knife, the man’s arm broke with a loud crack. Another crack and his legs went out from under him. Down he fell.

  X turned to see The Cowl standing silently nearby, his hands pointed at the fallen enemy. He nodded to X and turned to his next opponent.

  Mouthing a silent holy cow, X rushed over to where the girls were hiding under the receptionist’s desk. Only they weren’t hiding. They were using their powers on the older woman to tell them where to find Ben. X heard Tori force the woman to tell them where Kane’s office was before the police hustled the woman away from the fighting.