“Look,” said Smokey, ending a silence that wasn’t so much awkward as it was prolonged, “it’s not like it’s forever.” He turned to Electra. “When does your rotation as team leader end?”
“Next week,” she answered.
“Next week,” Smokey repeated, then turned to me. “So it’s like you’re being benched for one game – assuming we have another training exercise before Electra passes the torch to someone else. You’ve still got the rest of the season to showcase your moves.”
Electra’s phone rang before I had a chance to respond.
“Sorry guys,” she said, glancing at her phone screen. “I need to take this.”
She slid out of the booth, putting the phone up to her ear and giving a perfunctory “Hello” as she headed towards the exit. Smokey slid out of the seat next to me and into the opposite side of the booth.
“I told them,” I said, watching as Electra stepped outside in order to speak with some degree of privacy. “I told them not to put us on the same team. We both did. But they did it anyway.”
“What did you expect?” Smokey asked. “You two are teammates and you’re dating. They need to know that one aspect of your relationship isn’t going to interfere with the other.”
“So it’s better to put us in this awkward situation – not just on the same team, but with one the team leader and the other a subordinate?”
“Like I said, it’s one of the ways they’re testing you. Remember Paramount?”
I nodded, even though it was obviously a rhetorical question. Paramount had generally been regarded as the most powerful teen super on the planet and presumed to one day become the world’s greatest superhero – until, just a few months earlier, he became completely deranged, killed a bunch of people, and tried to destroy the Alpha League (including his own father). He was also my half-brother, but almost no one knew that – not even Paramount himself, as far as I knew.
“Well,” Smokey continued, “a year or so ago, before he became unhinged, Paramount started dating this flyer named Skye Blue.”
“Let me guess: the League put them on the same team.”
“Ding! Ding! Ding!” Smokey intoned, like a bell announcing that I’d won a prize. “Got it in one. Now, to advance to the next round of our tournament, can you guess what happened to them?”
“They broke up?”
“Within three days.”
“I’m guessing Paramount wasn’t very good at taking orders.” Not that that was a surprise of any sort. He was a pompous, egotistical jerk.
“Yes, a lot like some people at this table, who shall remain nameless.”
I knew Smokey was exaggerating to make a point, but the comparison with Paramount was quite the wake-up call. “Am I really that bad?” I asked sheepishly.
“Yes and no,” Smokey answered. “You know that bomb simulation we just ran?”
I nodded. We’d recently participated in a training exercise that required us to deal with a chemical bomb. One member of our team, Actinic, had the ability to render the chemicals in the bomb inert and harmless, and as team leader, Electra had ordered him to deal with the explosive. However, when it seemed like he wasn’t moving fast enough – and we were partly evaluated on the speed with which we resolved the problem – I took it upon myself to teleport the bomb to a remote location where it could detonate without harming anyone.
“That stunt you pulled is the kind of thing we’re talking about,” Smokey continued. “Electra was team leader, and she had her reasons for wanting to disarm the bomb.”
“I know that now,” I said despondently.
For the bomb scenario, most of the team had been briefed only on the fact that a bomb was set to go off in a populated area. As team leader, however, Electra was given additional, need-to-know info: in our exercise, this was the third such bomb discovered, and it was vitally important that the experts get to examine it in order to try to figure out who was planting these devices. Needless to say, my impertinent actions prevented us from achieving the desired result. Even though it was only a training exercise, just thinking about it made me feel awful.
“Look, man,” Smokey said, clearly aware of my dejected mood, “it’s not the end of the world, and it’s easy enough to fix. Just quit flying solo and learn to stay in formation.”
Before I could respond, Electra – apparently finished with her phone call – stepped back over to our booth.
“Guess who I found wandering around outside?” she asked. That’s when I noticed the girl standing next to her: a complete knockout with exquisite Asian features. It was Sarah, Smokey’s girlfriend, and she slid into the booth next to him while Electra sat down next to me.
Sarah was normal, with no special abilities to speak of, so with her arrival the dialogue shifted to more typical teen fare: movies, music, etc. Even though Sarah knew that we were supers and loved hearing about our exploits, talking about that stuff would have excluded her from much of the conversation. Thus, as always, we tried to avoid talking “shop” in her presence.
We ordered another batch of chips and queso, as well as some sodas, and hung out for another thirty minutes or so, at which point Smokey announced that he and Sarah had to get going. (Apparently they had a date.) Electra and I used their departure as our own impetus for leaving. I settled the tab, and then we saw them off in the parking lot.
“So,” said Electra, as we walked towards my car so I could give her a ride home, “why aren’t we going out tonight?”
“Are you kidding?” I asked. “After you just booted me off the team?”
I felt a slight bit of confusion coming from her; then, realizing I was joking, she reached over and took my hand.
“Actually,” I said, “I’m going to a game with Alpha Prime.”
“Oh yeah,” she said in recollection as we reached my car. “You did mention that a few days back.”
“It’s just a preseason game, but a big rivalry,” I said as I opened the passenger door for her.
“This is what – the third game in two weeks? You two sure have been spending a lot of time together. I’m starting to get jealous.”
I closed the door without responding and headed to the driver’s side of the car. There was kind of an unwritten rule between us regarding discussions of family: Her being an orphan, we never discussed her biological parents (although I knew that she actually had some information about who they were). Likewise, we never mentioned my father, who had never really been part of my life. Avoiding those topics of conversation wasn’t something we’d deliberated and decided on; we both just instinctively knew that those were sensitive areas and avoided them. (I suppose a psychiatrist would probably say that we both had abandonment issues.)
Needless to say, she didn’t know that Alpha Prime was my father, or that these outings we were engaging in were attempts to try to get to know each other. Thus, there wasn’t any reason for her to feel like she was stepping on some sort of landmine.
“Just for the record,” I said as I opened the driver’s door and climbed in, “the other two were baseball and football games. This is basketball.”
“Still,” she said, “it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what’s going on between you two.”
“Oh?” I said, raising an eyebrow as I pulled out of the lot and into the street. There was no way she actually knew the truth…was there?
“Yes,” she said. “And I think it’s wonderful. Alpha Prime never talks about it, but I know he misses Paramount. Going to football games and stuff is the kind of thing they used to do together. I think AP is maybe subconsciously looking for someone else to have that same kind of father-son bond with, so it’s nice of you to step in and fill that role.”
I looked at her in surprise. She might not have known the truth, but she certainly hit a lot closer to home than I was prepared for. I found myself forming a new respect for her insights.
“That’s nice of you to say,” I replied. “But being a replacement for Paramount isn’t ver
y high on my to-do list.”
“Regardless, I’m sure AP appreciates it. But please tell him to stop hogging my date nights.”
“It’s not like he’s holding me the entire weekend. I’ll still see you tomorrow night – we’ll be together then.”
“That’s not a date!” she exclaimed. “That’s an exhibition. A date would be me and you, alone. This is a showcase in front of forty million people.”
“Fine,” I said. “I’ll make you a deal: for every outing that I have with Alpha Prime, I’ll owe you two.”
She gave me a sly smile. “Buddy, you got yourself a deal.”
The rest of the drive consisted mostly of Electra bringing me up to speed on how things were going at her new school. As I had already noted, she was truly enjoying the so-called “normal” environment of a regular high school. A short time later, we arrived at her house.
“Home” for Electra at this time consisted of a modest two-story brick house in a quiet suburban neighborhood. Until recently, Electra had lived her entire life at Alpha League headquarters. However, following the destruction of HQ by Paramount a few months back and the subsequent obliteration of the Academy (where Electra usually lived in-residence during the school year), a new abode had to be found for her. She had lived for a while at an Alpha League safe house, but that had only been a short-term solution. Thus, she now lived here with Esper, the League’s resident psychic (a generic term for anyone with mental powers) and the reigning queen of all telepaths on the planet.
I pulled into the driveway next to a trendy red sports car and shifted my vehicle into park.
“Okay,” Electra said, grabbing her purse and book bag from the floor. “I have to go.” She leaned over to give me a quick kiss. At least that was the intention; five minutes later, we’d done an excellent job of fogging up my windows.
Suddenly a voice boomed in my head like a bullhorn.
It was Esper, speaking to us telepathically. I glanced towards the house and saw her staring at us from a huge bay window. Hands on her hips and her brow severely creased, you didn’t need to be an empath to know that Esper was in full mother bear mode and being fiercely protective of her cub – Electra. This really didn’t come as a great surprise to me; the Alpha League had raised Electra since she was an infant. Thus, they were all wildly vigilant with respect to her safety and well-being – even when it came to someone they trusted, like me.
Mentally, I said hello to Esper. In response, I got the telepathic equivalent of a curt nod – and then a door being slammed in my face.
“You better go,” I said to Electra. “Before Esper comes out here and flash-fries my brain, or worse.”
“Even if she did,” she said with a smirk, “it’s not like anyone would be able to tell the difference.”
“Get out,” I said in mock anger. She laughingly exited my car. I shifted into reverse and was preparing to back out of the driveway when Electra politely knocked on my window. I rolled the window down (manually, of course – no automatic doors or locks on this clunker).
“One more thing,” she said, leaning down to look me in the eye. “That crack about preferring to break up with me than be kicked off the team? You’d better have been joking.” And with that, she sashayed towards the door and into the house.
Chapter 2
I arrived home about a half hour after dropping Electra off, electing to park on the street in front of the house rather than the driveway. “Home” was, of course, a relative term. The house we’d actually lived in had been burned to the ground a few months back by a supervillain. Since then, we’d been staying in a loaner (courtesy of a family friend) while our new place was being built.
Telepathically, I could sense my mother and grandfather inside, and I knew they could feel me as well. Thus, it was no surprise when I came walking through the door.
“Just in time for dinner,” my mother shouted from the kitchen. “I was afraid you’d leave for the game with your father without eating anything.”
I bristled slightly at her casual use of the phrase “your father” as I followed her voice into the kitchen. Alpha Prime and I were still in the getting-to-know-you phase of things, so I still had trouble thinking of him as my father in any way other than a biological sense.
“I was going to grab something at the game,” I said in response to her comment. “Plus, I already had some chips and queso at Jackman’s.”
Mom had just pulled a baking tray full of scones from the oven. She tossed it onto the stove and then turned to me with her hands on her hips. “So your plan was to binge on a buffet of unhealthy snacks after school, then come home, skip dinner, go to the game, and fill up on a bunch of junk food there?”
I shrugged. “More or less.”
“Not going to happen,” said a voice coming from behind me. I looked around to find my grandfather walking into the room. “You need to eat something healthy, boy, before you leave this house.”
“Fine,” I said in resignation. “I’ll get some fruit.”
I went to the refrigerator and got some grapes from the fruit bin. After rinsing them off, I placed them in a bowl before flopping down at the breakfast table. Mom and Gramps joined me, ironically plucking and devouring some of my grapes – the healthy snack that they had encouraged me to eat.
“So,” said Mom, “how’s Electra?” Surprisingly, my mother and girlfriend had developed a strong bond – so strong, in fact, that I had come to realize that any breakup between me and Electra would almost affect those two more seriously than myself.
“I guess she’s fine,” I answered noncommittally. “Probably thinks I’m spending a little too much time with Alpha Prime, but fine beyond that.”
“Well, don’t be too hard on her about that,” said Mom. “She doesn’t really know what’s going on there, just that you aren’t taking advantage of opportunities to spend time with her.”
“You should probably do something to make it up to her,” said Gramps.
“Like what?” I asked almost sardonically, then immediately regretted it.
For the next twenty minutes, we had a somewhat embarrassing conversation that consisted of my mother and grandfather giving me advice about my love life and asking intrusive questions about the same. Suddenly I couldn’t wait to get to that game with my father.
After making me promise that I would attempt to effectuate at least some of the advice she’d given me, my mother excused herself. This was typical for her; my grandfather being the primary male role model for most of my life, Mom frequently gave us the opportunity to have one-on-one conversations.
“So,” Gramps said, “did we embarrass you with the advice we offered?”
“Frankly speaking, yes,” I said. “I’m just glad there was no one else around to hear it.”
“Also, I couldn’t help but notice that your response was a little ambivalent when we first mentioned Electra. Are you sure everything’s okay?”
“Yeah, everything is going fine between us. She may be taking the team leader bit a little too seriously, but we’re good.”
“What do you mean?” asked Gramps.
I gave a quick explanation of how Coach Electra was sending me back to the minors.
“Well,” Gramps said when I’d finished, “the team leader position is rotated every couple of weeks, right? Everyone will get a chance to be top dog – even you, so quit bellyaching.”
“Easy for you to say. You didn’t just get booted from the team.”
“You’re not booted from the team. You’re just sidelined for the rest of her tenure. Plus, think about it from her point of view.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, frowning.
“You’re her boyfriend, and all the teen supers know it. If she takes it easy on you when you make a misstep, nobody will respect her.”
I contemplated that for a moment. “So you’re saying that she’s coming down hard on me because she has to. Because otherw
ise…”
“Otherwise, no one will take her seriously.”
“Still, I bet Grandma never kicked you off the team.”
“You’re right; she never did. But I did it to her once.”
“Really? What happened?” This was something I’d never heard before. As far as I’d ever known (or been led to believe), my grandparents never even had so much as an argument. They were yin and yang – inseparable, melded together forever as a seamless whole.
“She didn’t take it well,” Gramps said, reminiscing. “When I got home that night, she’d already packed up and left to go back to her home planet.”
My mouth practically fell open. Again, everything I was hearing was all news to me. My understanding had always been that my grandmother Indigo, an alien princess, had been compelled to return to her home world because of some type of crisis. It turns out it was just a marital spat, resulting in her pulling an interstellar version of “going home to Mother.” Innumerable questions started bubbling up in my mind, so fast that I didn’t know which to ask first. Then I saw my grandfather snickering.
Of course; it was a joke. I couldn’t help but smile as well.
“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself,” Gramps said between chuckles. “Seriously though, Indigo took it just fine. She understood why I had to make that call and accepted it. Of course, it helped that we were both telepaths and able to be completely open and honest with each other.”
I nodded in understanding. Gramps was a retired cape, but at one time he was the most formidable telepath on the planet. Although no longer in his prime, he still possessed one of the most powerful psychic minds in the world. Mom was also a telepath (and a world-class one at that), but had never really gone down the superhero path. These days, she was a mid-list author of superhero romances.
The Kid Sensation Series Box Set Page 39
