Five Heroes: The First Savior 6s702w

That’s when I plummeted into the basement, just behind Lucas. “Oh no!” I got up and dived out of the way just as Nightmare came down after me. Lucas said into his earpiece. The villain crashed into the room, landing in a crouched position. He slowly rose as I got up and faced him. “So you think that you can stop me, eh? Well, you better think twice.” He smirked as I took a few steps back. “And you,” he added, turning to Lucas, “do you really think that you can deactivate my bomb?” “Yup,” Lucas answered confidently. “Sorry about this, but I can’t have a couple of fools interfering with my plans.” And with that, he charged for him. But Lucas was quick; he ducked at the last second so Nightmare lunged his own sword into the bomb he’d planted. Lucas stepped back and slowly began walking backward. I watched as Nightmare turned his head back, staring at us. Soon enough, the bomb started sizzling with electricity, and sparks began to fly. “No!” “Lucas, get under my force field!” Fire was spreading rapidly through the room in the museum and a thick cloud of smoke was beginning to form. Nightmare’s armor was nearly destroyed. Part of

it had been ripped apart, and he was in bad shape. He laid still on the floor, and that’s when I saw something. A blue core was inside of his suit, inside of the chest piece. It used to be glowing, but now it was dim. The light had faded away, and the suit was powering down. He was aware of what was happening to him, so he mustered all the strength he had to get up and try to escape. “Follow him!” “He’s not escaping that easily.” He got into an elevator, closing the door behind him. He was obviously going for the roof. “Alex, other way.” Lucas and I climbed out the window using our magnetic abilities to get to the roof. We put our hands and feet on the wall and climbed up the building. And that’s exactly where we found him trying to escape. But Brady wouldn’t let him; he had him cornered, and the elevator was closed. Holding his bow, with a sharp arrow pointing toward the villain, he said, “Face it, you’re cornered and you have no more weapons.” “Are you sure about that?” With that, robotic wolves emerged from nowhere and leaped onto the roof. They had red creepy eyes and titanium for skin, razor-sharp metal teeth, and black claws. “This is child’s play,” Lucas said, almost trying to convince himself before he ed in with the others to ward off these new attackers. Lucas grabbed his taser, and Brady fired an arrow. The arrow flew through the air and landed nearby one of the mechanical canines. It blew up just as another pinned me to the ground.

Lucas electrocuted it and helped me up. “How many of these things are there?” Brady complained as several others appeared from nowhere. “Oh please, we can take them on!” I teleported and slammed two of them, bashing their heads together. When Brady saw one sneaking up on Lucas, he shot another arrow. The arrow soared through the air and hit one of the robot’s circuits. The robot immediately erupted into flames. Lucas tased one as another jumped on top of him with a vengeance. I chucked one off the roof and glanced behind me to see him struggling. With my hand sizzling with electricity, I shot a beam of energy and sent it into flames. At least I tried. I missed but got its attention. “Hey, you! Why don’t you fight me instead?” I said moving back slowly toward the edge of the roof. The robot immediately charged toward me, running as fast as it could. What it didn’t know was that I could teleport, and when I did, it fell off the edge of the roof and onto the street. I could hear the commotion it caused as cars began honking loudly down below. I scanned my surroundings to see if there were any more of these machines around, but there were none. I missed Nightmare trying to make another run for it. He wasn’t prepared to hang around here. He jumped two stories onto the street and began to run into the city. Then he stopped for a second once he realized he was forgetting something. He quickly climbed back up and hid from the sight. He waited for the right opportunity to grab the device and escaped with the second piece of the portal. He eyed the machine they had set down while fighting off the robots he had unleashed on them. “You’re right, Brady. This is easy!” I said as I continued to fight the remaining robots. “Don’t overestimate yourself.” Lucas ruined the moment as he tased one and rolled on the ground. He got back up. “Guys, where is he?” I scanned the roof in all directions, but he was nowhere to

be seen. “Nightmare, he’s gone.” “Not sure,” replied Brady. “But focus, we’ve gotta stop these robots.” I nodded, but then I was roughly shoved from behind. I flew forward and landed painfully on the ground. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a hand grab the machine from where I had set it on the ground. As I looked up, I saw Nightmare turn and run. “No!” I yelled. I got up immediately and ran after him. He turned around and glanced at me. “Stop right there!” I exclaimed. Instead of following my orders, he turned and ran into the elevator and the doors closed. “Get back here!” I got there too late; he was already inside. This guy was seriously getting on my nerves. I slammed on the doors, trying to pry them open, but it wouldn’t budge. I teleported and reappeared on the ground floor. I pulled out my blade and held it in front of the elevator. It opened, but nobody was inside. Another set of elevator doors opened on the other side and I saw Nightmare charge out and run down the hallway. He was heading for the exit. I followed him out of the building into the streets. He took a sharp turn but as I turned the corner in hot pursuit, I tripped over something and fell flat on my face. “Hey! Come back here!” But it was too late; he’d already gotten away.

Chapter Seven

The Island

T HE THREE OF US walked into HQ. We were greeted by a brown-haired girl in a white lab coat. She was carrying a clipboard and a pen. “So you’re Alex,” she said pointing the pen at me. “Yeah, and who are you?” “Evelyn Graves,” she answered as we shook hands. “Well, it’s nice to meet you,” I said, leaning on Brady’s shoulder. “Where’s Dr. Williams?” Lucas asked. “He’s in the lab studying the device.” Lucas walked past me, entering another room. I followed him, but Brady stopped me. “What is it?” “Evelyn, can you believe this?” I looked at him. “Alexander Wilson, a boy younger than all of us is supposed to lead the team someday.” “I just need training, all right.” “Actually, though, thanks to him, we failed the mission.” He turned to me. “You’re nothing like Noah.” He walked past me and entered the lab.

“Who’s Noah?” I asked. “Noah Smith?” Evelyn sighed. “He was the team’s leader. He was amazing. Just like the rest of us, he got his powers a few years ago when REPEL launched their machine and it blew up.” “Oh yes, now I Dr. Williams told me about Noah. He got his powers the same way I got mine.” “Exactly, just earlier.” “So what happened to him?” “The day you got your powers, when REPEL Labs exploded, Noah tried to stop it. He knew what danger could be created, so he tried to prevent it from happening. Unfortunately, he was the closest one to it and was killed. His body just couldn’t take all the energy that came from the machine so suddenly.” “I’m really sorry about Noah.” “It’s fine. It’s not your fault.” Evelyn ed everyone in the lab as I thought about Noah. He died a hero, sacrificing his life just to prevent the machine from opening the portal. Now he was gone, and I was supposed to lead the team. Am I ready for such responsibility, I thought, or am I really just a sidekick? It’s up to me to find out. I ed everyone in the lab. They were discussing our mission. “Dr. Williams, I am afraid we have bad news to report back. The villain collected the second piece of the interdimensional portal,” Lucas explained. Dr. Williams sighed. “This is bad.” He shook his head, staring at the glass chamber. “Even though we have the first piece, he’s still out there and might have already found the third piece.” “Wait, how do we already have the first piece?” Brady asked.

“I found it,” I told Brady. “You found it?” he asked. “It was inside Dayton Walker Middle School. The villain tried to steal it, and if it weren’t for me, he would’ve taken it.” “You must just be a really lucky kid,” Brady said. “Actually, it’s a skill.” “Just it that Alex is better at this than we thought,” Evelyn said. “Exactly,” Dr. Williams added. “Without this piece, even if he finds the rest of the pieces, he’ll never be able to complete his machine.” “Alex is clearly better at this than we assumed,” Lucas added. “He’s got superhuman abilities—the power of magnetism, electricity manipulation, and teleportation!” Brady still wasn’t impressed. “Remind me again, how did you all get your powers?” I asked. “Same way you did,” Evelyn said. “Two years, one month, and seven days to be exact,” Lucas said. “We were all hit by the power wave,” Brady added. “We were affected in different ways.” “Exactly,” Williams added. “About two years ago, REPEL launched a machine, using a power source powerful enough to light up an entire city. Several cities actually,” he said. “Many years before that, an intense radioactive meteorite struck the earth. The government sent top-secret officials to investigate it, but REPEL quickly took charge. They took the remnants of the meteorite before anyone could get near it and convinced the military and all the government agencies involved that they were best equipped to conduct all the experiments.”

“They used it to create a teleportation device, which malfunctioned and created a power wave that affected approximately 10 percent of the city.” “Wait, so everyone in the area was affected?” I asked. “Anyone close to the building or even within ten miles of the accident got superpowers?” “Not quite.” He began sketching something on a glass board with a marker. “When the energy source was spread out, only certain people with a specific DNA sequence received that energy. Their bodies allowed the radioactive power source to fuse with their chromosomes.” He turned around to show the sketches. Dr. Williams wasn’t the best artist, but I understood his illustrations. “Basically, not everyone hit by the power wave got powers, Alexander,” Lucas explained. “Yes,” Dr. Williams added. “Only people with certain types of DNA received the energy forced into them.” “In this case, Brady, Evelyn, and Lucas,” I said. “Exactly.” “Including Noah and I,” I added. Everyone suddenly felt sad, as if somebody they loved had just died. They looked down, and Evelyn sighed as Lucas looked at me. “Evelyn, you told him about Noah?” Brady asked angrily. She slowly nodded. “Brady,” Williams said. “Oh, I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m sorry I’m the only one here who doesn’t trust Alex. We just met him, and as I said before, he’s nothing like Noah.” There was a long awkward pause before Lucas sighed and Evelyn said, “Brady, that’s enough.”

I glanced at him before continuing my conversation with Dr. Williams. “Right?” Brady shot me a look. “Yes, Alexander,” Dr. Williams continued. “What happens if your body didn’t accept the radiation?” He thought about it for a moment. “You would probably experience migraine, severe pain, and other side effects or die because your body isn’t used to that amount of radiation. It all depends on how much of the supercharged energy enters your body.” “I see,” I said, nodding, even though I didn’t fully understand the concept. “So you were all hit by the same power wave frequency.” “I was just walking home from school on Wednesday, the fourteenth of September when I saw the explosion. There was a bright light, and I saw the power wave headed toward me. I tried to run from it, but I wasn’t fast enough. I tripped over my shoelace and fell over. As soon as I got up, the power wave hit me, and I was thrown backward,” Evelyn said. “I woke up, and days later, I realized I could send out yellow energy waves and create force fields that could withstand almost anything.” Lucas looked at her then back at me. “As I was working on a prototype for a science project, I saw a strong light source outside. As I peered through the window, I noticed the power wave heading toward my house. Instinctively, I knew I had to get out of there. As I was dismantling my prototype to pack it away and hide in the basement, the wave struck the house and hit me. It threw me up in the air, and I fell hard on the ground, knocking my head in the process. About a week later, I woke up in the hospital and realized I’d been unconscious for seven days. During the following forty-eight hours, I discovered my abilities —I could interfere with the most advanced software, control technology, and hack into almost any kind of device in a matter of seconds.” I turned to Brady, waiting for him to share his story. He glanced at me, sighed loudly, and began to talk.

“I was practicing archery in my backyard at home when I noticed a beaming light source up ahead. I stopped for a moment, trying to figure out what it was. At that time, I was clueless. All I knew was, whatever it was, it was heading right toward me and fast. I dropped the bow and began to run into the house. But I wasn’t fast enough. As I began to close the door, I felt a powerful force strike me, and I slammed backward into a wall in the hallway. After about sixty seconds, which seemed like an eternity at the time, I managed to slowly get to my feet, and I noticed my hand was glowing. It was as if electricity was running through it, and it illuminated the hallway. Days later, I realized that I had heat vision, and I could send out beams of green energy from my eyes. My archery skills and eye coordination were superior. My muscles had grown, and I was incredibly strong. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, I realized I could even create strong magnetic fields and could attract or repel metal objects.” “You’re all like me,” I said, smiling sheepishly. “Has anything else changed?” “Not really,” Evelyn said. “But each day, we learn something new about ourselves and each other.” “Exactly,” Lucas added, grinning. “Each day, we get better and better, and tapping into our power becomes much easier. After about one week of having my abilities, I found that I could control it better.” “Each day of training strengthens us and causes us to become more adept both physically and mentally,” Brady explained. “Controlling our powers is easier since we’ve had so much experience.” “So are we going to train?” I asked. “Not today,” Williams said. “But yes, in the future, you will practice using your abilities.” An alert sounded loudly through the lab, and all my muscles tensed up. “We are picking up an extreme amount of radiation on a deserted island. We have to go.” Evelyn got up and started walking toward the exit. “An island?” I asked. “Yes, it’s a tiny deserted island in Southern Georgia, very close to Tybee Island.

We’ve gone on missions all over the world. C’mon, let’s go,” Brady instructed as he put on his suit and mask. “I’m coming too.” “No, you’re not,” he said, looking at me. “We can handle this on our own. Besides, don’t you have to go home or do your homework or something?” “You can’t stop me,” I said. “I’m going.” “He’s right,” Lucas said, walking over. “We need back up. Just because he’s new doesn’t mean he can’t come.” “Fine.” I put on my mask. “Now let’s do this thing.”

***

It was a Saturday afternoon, and the five of us were on board a small speedboat headed for the deserted island. This time, my excuse was that I was going to the public library to study for my English quiz and then ride my skateboard around the neighborhood with Quinn. I figured that would buy me several hours at the very least. Mom didn’t worry when I said I had a quiz. Instead, she encouraged me to stay as long as I needed to ensure that I get an A. As we approached the island, the boat slowed down. As we got closer, I noticed that there were trees of all different shapes and sizes and exotic wildflowers of every color that I had never seen before. There were thick clusters of mosses, ferns, and vines everywhere. Dr. Williams had driven us out about four hours south of Atlanta, mainly because he was the only one with a driver’s license. There we boarded the speedboat. “All right, let’s go,” Lucas said, hopping out of the boat. We all took off our life jackets and put on our masks.

“Communicate through your earpieces, and report back once you have retrieved the second piece. Don’t underestimate him—he’s more powerful than we think.” I nodded as Dr. Williams continued to speak. “Lucas, your radiation scanner should track the second piece. If you need help, me.” “All right, Dr. Williams.” He nodded, then turned away as we began our mission. “Here’s the plan. I say we split up to cover more ground.” “Good idea, Brady,” Lucas replied. “We’ll go this way, and you two go left.” Brady and Lucas descended down the path as Evelyn and I started to walk down the other. She took off her mask. “So Alex, you have super powers?” “Yeah.” I nodded, trying to act cool. It obviously wasn’t working. This was seriously awkward; I was walking next to a girl who wasn’t a family member or teacher. We ventured cautiously on the island for a while. The two of us moved branches and leaves out of the way and encountered lots of bugs and slithering creatures everywhere. But the really strange thing was, nothing happened. No robots, no villains, no danger. Nothing but wildlife. “It’s really quiet, you know,” I commented cautiously. “All right. So what?” Evelyn asked. “It’s too quiet.” “OK.”

I grabbed her by the shoulders. “How do we know that this is the right place? How do we know if your signal is correct?” “It has to be somewhere on this island, and we obviously are going to find it.” She looked me up and down as if I was crazy. “Any more stupid questions?” “Really?” I asked sarcastically before walking ahead of her, going deeper into the island. “Nightmare has had enough time to upgrade his armory and create even more advanced weapons.” “Listen, if you’re a true hero, you’d know this: No matter how bad the situation is, you keep going. You just never give up.” Annoyed, she walked ahead of me. This really didn’t make any sense. Just because I’d stated facts, she was angry. I guess she was just one of those people who got agitated over little things—kind of like me. Finally, after several minutes of walking, we arrived at what appeared to be a huge disused factory. The building was covered in overgrown vines, and the windows were either broken or cracked in many places. This place was completely covered in grime. It looked like someone had abandoned the building years ago. But who would build something like this here? I thought to myself. “This thing has to have been here for years!” Evelyn said. “But who would build something like this on a deserted island?” I asked. “It’s not deserted if people have been here before.” Evelyn said. “But a deserted island has no people whatsoever.” “Are we not people?” I sighed. “Obviously not us.” She ignored my sarcasm as she tried to pry open the two rusty doors. I was about to go up and help her when she kicked them, and they swung open.

Surprised, I went in after her. It was pretty clear that she was stronger than I thought. “Dang.” The sound of humming echoed through the forest. “I want you to get up there and complete the mission. I’ll take care of whatever danger lies ahead.” “If you’re trying to impress me, it’s seriously not working.” She put on her mask and went up a rickety staircase she had noticed next to what seemed to have once been a production line. That’s when the villain appeared from nowhere. He had the same suit as before but with upgrades. He stood there silently as if daring me to take a step further. He was certainly prepared to battle. “So we meet again, hero,” he said slowly. “Prepare to get—” I tried to sound intimidating. “Before you say anything, listen to me loud and clear. This isn’t a joke. It isn’t a game, and I don’t play around. I never play, and I never have fun.” “Oh, then you must’ve had a sad childhood.” I must have hit a nerve because with that said, he charged toward me, and the fight started. Evelyn got to the top of the staircase, completely unaware of what was happening downstairs. She looked around the small disused factory. There was barely anything but leftover pieces of junk and trash on the ground. Pieces of robots were scattered everywhere, and Evelyn was about to give up when she saw something ahead. What is that? she wondered as she walked toward the dim light and entered a small room. That’s when she saw something amazing. Meanwhile, Nightmare slammed me into a wall and chucked me on the ground. I got up and activated my energy blade. I jabbed it into his leg. He grabbed me and slammed my back into a window,

cracking what was left of the glass. “Goodbye,” he said, lifting a fist. Brady and Lucas finally arrived at the back of the abandoned factory. “Evelyn’s signal is being tracked here. I bet this is where we’ll find it.” Lucas climbed onto the wall, and Brady wasn’t far behind. They went in through an open window and wandered through the hallway. They came across a dark room with something in the center. “According to my calculations, this should be it,” Lucas explained, looking intently at the radiation tracker connected to his wrist. “How come smart people always say that?” “I don’t know, they just do.” “What are you two doing here?” Evelyn asked as she walked in. “Looking for where the second piece of the—” “Yeah, it’s right in front of you.” Lucas looked at a huge sphere containing the second piece of the portal. “Oh.” They heard loud noises coming from down below as Nightmare continued his attack on me. “I knew that kid wasn’t ready.” Brady opened the door and said, “You two grab that and get out of here. I’ll take care of this guy.” With that, he slid down the railing to the floor below, armed with his arrows. “HEY, YOU!” he yelled, and as Nightmare turned around, he punched him in the face. Then he slammed his head into a window and kicked him in the stomach. Now he was really mad. He grabbed Brady by the neck and started to choke him. “Don’t hurt my friend.” Once he dropped Brady, I slammed him into a wall, and he slowly slid down.

He fell on the ground and seemed to lie there unconsciously. “It was that easy,” I said. As we scurried toward the exit, he slowly got up. We could tell he was extremely angry. He caught up with us and punched me. Brady aimed at him, but he grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and threw him like a cannonball through the air. “That’s enough!” he yelled. “Are you sure about that?” I tackled him hard into the ground from behind. The villain got up, and Brady swiftly delivered a power kick to his head and shoved him into a wall. Brady held him down as I punched him in the face. We backed away and looked at him. There wasn’t so much as a dent on him. “Oh no.” He took out a sword and held it in front of him. “That is it,” he said. Outside, Lucas guarded a metal object in his hands. It had built-in wires and discs. It contained a powerful radioactive element inside of it. It was in the shape of a semicircle, with a slot in the center. The machine seemed like some sort of puzzle piece, which was supposed to be connected with others, just like the first piece we had at HQ. The object had weird lines running up and down it and seemed pretty strange. Lucas was being extremely cautious to make sure that the villain didn’t see him. “You know that Brady took care of the villain so he can’t hear or see you, right?” Evelyn explained. “Yes, I know, but it’s an extremely important device, and if it falls into the wrong hands, this could result in—” “Yeah, whatever.” Lucas scanned the object with his high-tech radiation goggles. “That’s strange. I can’t detect any radiation here.”

“What do you mean?” That’s when Brady ran toward them and fell on the ground just beside them. He was sweating and panting so heavily. Not long after, I ed them. “He’s stronger than ever,” panted Brady. “We need to go right now!” I said. Lucas and Evelyn nodded in unison. As we were about to leave, we heard Nightmare yell out, “You’re not getting away that easily!” “I believe that’s our cue to leave.” I ran out first, obviously, because at the first sign of danger that is the right thing to do. Soon enough, everyone was following me, keen to get off the island as soon as possible. “We’ve gotta get out of here, and now!” “No kidding.” Evelyn shot down two tall trees to block the villain from catching up to us. After a short sprint through the island, we hopped into the speedboat as Dr. Williams fired the engine to make a quick getaway. As we sped away from the island, Lucas brought the object out. “We found this,” Lucas said, as he handed the machine he’d found to Williams. “The second piece.” He steered the boat with one hand as he took it from him. “You four are amazing.” “Thank you, thank you very much,” Brady said. “Yeah, but I’m surprised it was really that easy. I expected there to be a bigger fight,” Evelyn commented. “What?” “You guys are on a roll. Who knew our newest member would be the best?”

Chapter Eight

Power Drain

I T WAS FRIDAY, and the school hallways were filled with decorations and posters advertising the annual school dance. Honestly, I hated the fact that we had a dance, and for one reason only: I didn’t have a date. I’ve never had a date and probably never will have one. You see, the thing at my school (and probably your school) was that the popular kids always had a date to the dance. You can probably infer that I am not one of those kids. I slowly walked down the hallways, miserably, trying to stop thinking about the dance. “Hi, Alex,” Vanessa said as she walked beside me. Vanessa was one of my only friends who’s a girl, mainly because I barely have any friends. I’ve had friends that are girls before, but it’s just that we don’t keep in touch anymore. Vanessa and I have known each other since I moved here, and she’s a really nice person. “Uh, hi.” “What’d you get on the test?” “Test?” “The one on algebraic equations and linear functions.” “An A,” I lied, smiling. I really failed that test, but I didn’t need her knowing about that. “Really, me too.” “I’m just a smart kid, and I love school.” “You like school?” She chuckled. “Yeah, right. Anyway, are you free this Saturday?”

I tried my best to keep myself from grinning and said, “Yeah. So you want to go on a—” “Fundraiser.” “Date—I mean, yes! A fundraiser, that sounds nice.” I sounded really awkward, and my voice cracked toward the end. “What’s it for?” “To raise money for the school’s orchestra and band. You see, this year, our school is having trouble paying for the insurance of our musical instruments, so we’re trying to make enough money to pay for it ourselves.” “Cool. I’ve been wondering—even though this is completely irrelevant to the subject—but are you going to the school dance tonight?” I expected her to say no because I’ve asked several different girls in my past and the answer was always unpleasant. Believe it or not, they didn’t all say no. I got “No way!” and a “Yeah, I’m gonna say no!” A couple of them laughed, and some gave me a look and shook their heads. “Are you trying to ask me out?” I didn’t know what to say, and without knowing it, began stammering. “I-I, um, w-well …” “If the answer’s yes, then sure. I don’t really have anything better to do. Besides, I don’t have any homework.” “So yes?” “Um, yes.” “Yes!” “Yes.” “Yeeeeeees?” I asked awkwardly. “Alex, are you OK?” “Yes, I’m fine. Totally fine.”

The bell rang, and she looked totally freaked out. “I’ll be late for class. See you later.” She turned around and left, speed walking to her next period. I didn’t really care that I was going to be late. All that mattered to me right now was the fact that I had a date to the dance. After school, I walked home happily. As I did, I ran into Jack, Simon, and Jameson. I thought they were going to try to beat me up again, but they didn’t. Instead, they kept their distance. I eyed them strangely, as they slowly backed away. That’s strange, I thought. As I walked, I got a call from Brady. Brady said sternly. <What for?> <Just get over here.> After a moment, I made it to my neighborhood and walked up the doorsteps of my house. “Good afternoon, Mom.” “Oh, hello, Alexander,” Mom said in a hoarse voice. “I think I have a fever. Since Margaret isn’t here, you need to look after your sister.” “Seriously?” “Alex, please don’t make me yell. My throat hurts, and I have back pain.” “All right. I just have to run a few errands, just wanted to let you know.” “Why do you do this?” she asked worriedly.

“Why do I do what?” “Almost every day, you leave home to do whatever. What have you been doing?” “Hanging out with friends.” “Friends? Alex, focus on school, all right? Your grades matter more than anything. After high school, popularity doesn’t matter.” She coughed again, and I felt really bad for her. “All right. Just this once, I’ll stay home.” I dropped my bag then went upstairs. I opened the window, climbed onto the small ledge, jumped out, and headed into the city. I arrived at HQ a few minutes later. “Hey, you called me?” I asked Brady. “There’s something urgent that I need to tell you.” I exhaled loudly. “What is it?” “There’s another mission tonight. You’ll have to sneak out so we can complete it.” Brady was already in his suit, and he seemed to just be getting out of training. “He’s right,” Lucas chimed in, walking over with the device we found. “ our mission on the island? It was a complete waste of time. Nightmare swapped the real thing with a phony. It’s fake. That’s why I couldn’t detect any radiation from it.” “Tonight, we’re going to an underground cave to finish this battle once and for all. It’s the villain’s hide-out, and is—” “How would you know?” “Because I’m a genius. I am the oldest one here and also the smartest. Besides, there’s a recording of men in black sneaking radioactive material inside a—”

“Just take Evelyn! You don’t need me. Seriously, I mean like you’ve got hightech gadgets and weaponry. Brady has his radioactive arrows, Evelyn has her laser, and you have your fancy equipment like your taser, those x-ray goggles, and your little radiation scanner. You can’t rely on me forever.” “Oh please. We don’t rely on you. In fact, you rely on us to save you whenever you encounter a villain. We are just doing you a favor by letting you in on this.” “I don’t rely on you.” “Alex, don’t lie.” “I can just teleport!” “Exactly,” Brady agreed. “Teleporting is the only thing you’re good at. That’s why we need you. Your amazing abilities helped us find the first piece of the portal. The second is with our nemesis, and the third is somewhere unknown.” “Aren’t you a good hero?” I said. “Yes, I am the best, to be exact.” Brady replied. “Why do you want me to go on this mission? We failed the last mission, and you think we’ll succeed this time?” “Yes, as long as we stick to the plan.” “It’s not my fault we didn’t complete the mission on the island. Why can’t I just do what I want to do? I asked Vanessa Quimby out, and she said yes. Now we’re going to the dance, and some pathetic criminal isn’t going to stop me.” “You know what?” Brady cracked his knuckles and slipped on his mask. “We’ll go without you, but seriously, think about what you’re doing.” He shoved past me and left. Lucas looked at me, shook his head and followed him. I was the only one left. All alone, I turned around and went home.

***

At the school dance, I looked at everyone having fun and enjoying themselves. I combed my hair nicely today and I was wearing a short-sleeved collared shirt, a pair of khakis, fancy dress shoes, and a black-tie. I still did feel a little guilty about ditching everyone on the mission. Vanessa was waiting for me in the crowd. She wore a beautiful pink dress, with a white ribbon. Vanessa looked amazing, and I’m surprised she went with me. “Hi, Alex.” “Hey, Vanessa.” We walked toward each other and looked at each other in the eye, smiling. This was so awkward it wasn’t even funny.

***

Lucas, Brady, and Evelyn found what seemed to be a deep cave with a wide opening. “This must be it.” Brady held his bow in position and got ready. “Right, Lucas?” “According to my calculations, this should be the location of—” “That was a yes-or-no question,” Brady interrupted. “Yes, it is.” Brady jumped in, and Evelyn followed. Lucas put on his night vision goggles, activated his radiation scanner, and went in after. As he got to the bottom of the cave, he saw Evelyn and Brady begin to take different paths. “Where are you two going?”

“We’re splitting up,” Brady whispered. “That way, we have a better chance of finding out and stopping whatever is happening down here.” Lucas nodded as the two of them disappeared. The cave was dark, and everything about it was creepy. It was like a maze; it had several confusing ageways underground with twists and turns in all different directions. Evelyn whispered into the earpiece. Brady answered from the other side. As they wandered through the cave, Lucas picked up a radioactive signal and followed it. Sure enough, he soon found it. The radioactivity was coming from a box shallowly buried in the ground. The box had a slight electric-blue glow. Lucas walked over, crouched down, and scanned it. After a moment, his scanner beeped so he knew it was nuclear material. He said into his earpiece. Evelyn asked. He hung up and tried to take it, but something stopped him. A knife pierced through the handles, right before Lucas could lay his fingers on it. “Don’t touch that, or you’ll regret it,” said a voice as a figure came into view.

***

Music continued to play. Everyone seemed to be having fun at the school dance. I drank some fruit punch as Vanessa talked to her friends. The crazy thing was, I didn’t think that I would have a mission again today of all days. There couldn’t possibly be another reason to make me drop whatever I was doing to save the day now. At least that’s what I thought until I spotted the ghostly green eyes glaring at me from the window. As I looked out of one of the gym windows, I looked at you-know-who staring at everyone. His eyes slowly turned to me, and I quickly looked away. When I looked back up, his green eyes had turned red. “What are you looking at?” Vanessa asked. “That!” I pointed at the window. When Vanessa looked up, he quickly disappeared. “I don’t see anything. Just kids dancing. Alex, you need to just chill.” That’s when I ed. I had to tell her about the mission. “There’s something I need to tell you.” “What?” I couldn’t tell her. She wouldn’t believe me, and it would upset her if I left her at the dance on her own. But my friends needed me now. This was a tough choice to make. After a moment, I made up my mind. “Never mind, I forgot.” That’s when my phone rang. “I need to take this.” Outside the gym, I said, A voice shouted, I turned off the phone and turned around to see that Vanessa was standing in the doorway. “Who was that?”

“No one!” “Are you…” “Am I what?” “Are you avoiding me?” “No, it’s just that I need to use the bathroom.” “Alex, wait!” I ran down the empty hallways, grabbed my suit from my bag, and took off. Once I changed, I got on the roof. I turned upside down and peeked through the glass window close to the roof. I saw everyone enjoying themselves; that is, except for Vanessa—standing there alone, not having any fun. I dialed Lucas’s number. he screamed. His voice sounded glitched and muffled on the phone. <We’re inside an old cave deep in the forest. I’m sending you our coordinates! You have to—> The call ended abruptly. I looked at the coordinates and left the building.

***

The three heroes were in trouble. A new villain was rising. Unlike the guy we’d fought before, this one had no armor whatsoever—just a black suit and extreme martial arts moves. Just a punch could send them flying, and a simple shove slammed them into a wall. He pinned Evelyn to the cave wall, and threw her down. Lucas tried to stop

him, but the villain turned around and kicked him in the stomach. Brady was about to shoot when the villain grabbed the bow and threw it to the ground. Then he punched him and pinned him into a wall. “Listen loud and clear. Leave now, and I might just spare your lives.”

***

Vanessa sighed and continued to wait for me. She glanced at her watch. I was late. She didn’t know I was in the middle of a mission and that I had to go because my team needed me. So she left the dance and walked home alone. Her house was only a few minutes from school anyway. She was so sad she didn’t even realize that someone was following her home. “You’re back early. The dance ends at 9:30 PM. It’s just 7:27,” her mother said as she entered the house. “I know,” she said. “Wait, where’s Alex?” “Oh, him? He just left me there. That jerk is so mean.” “But why would he do something like that?” “No idea.” “I’m so sorry, honey.” Vanessa ignored her mother and went up the steps. She went upstairs and sat on her bed. I made a big mistake, she thought to herself. Going to the dance with Alex was the stupidest thing I could’ve done.

She sighed heavily. “Vanessa,” whispered a creepy voice. “Go away. If you’re trying to scare me, it’s not working.” “Vanessa,” it said again. “I’m not in the mood. Just leave.” “Vanessa,” the voice said. Suddenly, the balcony windows burst open, and the silhouette of a knight stood there. “Hello, Vanessa. Don’t try to escape, or else you’ll regret it.”

***

The shadowy villain lifted a large blade and held it up in the air. “Goodbye, hero.” Brady was pinned to the wall, as Lucas and Evelyn were lying on the floor squirming in pain. With no self-defense, Brady was useless. The evil villain was about to finish him when I came from nowhere and stopped him heroically. OK, it was not that easy, but at least I tried to. I teleported and kicked him in his ribs. He flew sideways and rolled on the ground. I grabbed Brady and teleported him to safety and returned. Just a few feet away from me, he was whistling an ominous tune and was pretty calm. “Who are you supposed to be, some sort of superhero?” “What are you supposed to be, some sort of supervillain?” He chuckled. “I am the Slayer.” “The Slayer?” I shook my head. “What kind of a name is that?”

He sighed. “One better than yours.” He threw a knife at me. It soared through the air and barely missed my head. “Well.” I glanced at the knife, vibrating as it stuck in the cave wall. “Someone’s angry!” “There are plenty more where that came from.” With that, we both charged toward each other. I swung my blade in the air. He brought out a staff with sharp blades on both ends and tried to jab me in the stomach. Where was he getting all these weapons from? I jumped out of the way, then got back up in time to block him from striking me in the chest. I quickly swung my sword again as he grabbed it and flung me in midair. I got back up again, only to see him running over. I quickly moved out of the way and held my sword in front of me. This guy was slick. As I lunged at him, he stuck his foot out. I tripped over it and fell on the floor. He lifted his staff above me, but I teleported before he could take a swing at me. He looked around, wondering where I was. He must have heard a sound from behind him because he turned around, and I hit him right in the face. He fell to the ground, unconscious. “Gosh, you’ve got a hard head.” I shook my fist and then high-fived Brady, even though I did all the work. “You’re even better than I thought.” “You’re right, I am better than you.” “Whatever.” That’s when I got this strange feeling, a feeling that I needed to leave right away. As I started to walk, I felt like I was being directed to move right. It was almost as if something was dragging me toward it. I walked down the path, leaving the others behind.

“Alex, where are you going?” “I’ve got a feeling that we should go this way.” “Are you sure that’s the right way?” “No, but I think it is.” “So you don’t know.” “I think it is!” “It’s either you think you know it or you know it. Make up your mind!” I thought about it for a moment. “OK, I don’t know. But ask Lucas! He has a radiation scanner. You said that radioactive material was stolen, and someone took it down here!” “Yeah, about that.” Lucas took off his mask. “The Slayer destroyed it in our fight.” “Oh great!” Evelyn yelled. “Just great! Now, what are we supposed to do?” “I’m sure it’s somewhere around here.” “Then let’s split up,” Brady suggested. “I believe this is a more efficient way of searching the area.” “All right then,” I said. “Where did that get us last time?” Evelyn asked rudely. “Listen, that’s the only way we can find it and get out of here.” Lucas responded. That’s when I heard something strange. It was loud and monstrous. The roaring sound and its echo filled the cave, and it was several decibels too loud for our eardrums. I covered my ears as I dropped to the ground. Evelyn, Brady and Lucas

instinctively did the same. Finally, after a few minutes, the sound dissipated and the cave became quiet again. “What was that?” I asked. I could still hear the noise rattling in my eardrums. “Hello?” Evelyn and Lucas slowly rose and exchanged looks. Lucas turned behind him as Brady shook his head. “Are you listening?” “Alex, we have to go,” Evelyn said. “Now.” “What, why? We haven’t completed our mission. We need to find the radioactive material!” “No, we don’t,” Lucas disagreed. “Alex, we’re leaving.” “But you have to tell me why!” “We can’t, Alex. We need to go.” There were still so many secrets they were hiding from me, but I didn’t care. Actually, I did. I just wanted to know. But I decided to just follow them and leave the cave behind. And that’s when something incredible happened. I felt a strange shiver come over me, so I turned around. What I saw was unbelievable; I saw my father. He was alive! Standing there, he looked at me and cocked his head. “Dad?” He quickly turned around and left. I followed him into a dark narrow

ageway and traveled deeper into the cave. “Alexander, where are you going?” “C’mon, this way!” I ignored their voices and I was heading straight toward the direction my dad went. “Alex, what are you doing?” I heard Brady ask. I ignored Brady’s voice and continued to run. Then I saw a door. It was wide and tall, big enough for a grizzly bear standing on its hind legs to walk through. I opened the metal doors and entered the room. Inside, I saw Nightmare holding an innocent hostage—not just anyone, but my mother. He held onto her shoulder, and I could see the fear in her eyes. “Help me!” she yelled. I gasped in horror. He had taken it too far. “Drop her now, or you will pay,” I instructed, pointing my sword at him. He didn’t, and this made me very angry. With that, I ran for him. This certainly wasn’t the best idea. When I tried to kick him, he just disappeared into nothing. I looked over to where I had seen my mom and she had also disappeared. The entire room had faded into nothing and now was a wide empty chamber. Up above on the ceiling, I noticed a tiny holographic projector along with a ray. That’s it, I thought to myself. It was a hologram. My parents weren’t really there. I had been tricked once again and this might be a trap. Just before I could leave, a blue ray was activated and directed at me. I suddenly felt weak, like all the blood inside me had dried up and all my powers were fading away. I fell to the ground in pain as a strange red mist flowed out of my body, and

traveled in the direction of the ray. My powers were being absorbed by the machine. I managed to gather enough strength to send a beam of energy from my hand. It destroyed the ray, and I slowly got back up. I breathed deep and hard as I saw Nightmare on the other side of the room. “Hey!” He was holding what looked like a glass cylinder chamber, containing my powers! Inside was a mysterious red mist with a few sparks of electricity sizzling through it. “Thank you, teleporter. I will use your powers to my advantage. “Now you are nothing but a child.” I chased after him as he ran through the cave. He opened a door that led outside into a forest. I followed him but he had disappeared from sight. I looked up and saw Nightmare standing in the distance. “What have you done?” I yelled out. “I took what was rightfully mine!” I was about to charge for him when he undid the buckles to his suit and removed his helmet. “It feels good to breathe,” he said. The man had short blonde hair with brown streaks, and he had a thin beard. He seemed as if he were in his late fifties. “Why would you reveal your true identity to me?” “It doesn’t matter anymore. I have what I came for, and there’s no stopping me now.” “I will find a way to stop you and prevent you from achieving your evil scheme.” “Do you even know what I’m planning?” I stared. “You’re trying to open an interdimensional portal to get to another

reality, which can and will destroy the planet.” “Actually, I’m planning on something else.” I continued staring. “That is?” “Going back in time,” he began. “I only need four things for that to happen.” “The three pieces of the portal, and the other I already have.” “What is the other thing?” “Excuse me?” “The last thing you need, what is it?” I asked. “The last piece needed to complete the machine is you,” he told me. “Me?” “Yes.” “I’m not going to help you.” “You don’t need to. I already have what I came for.” He put his helmet back on and his suit was activated. “Goodbye, savior.” With that said, he flew into the night sky, and soon enough, disappeared from sight. All of a sudden, I was at the edge of the woods, when Evelyn, Lucas, and Brady ran over. “Alex, where have you been?” Brady shoved me from behind. “Yeah, don’t just leave us like that.” “Something terrible happened,” I said. “What is it now?” I thought about it for a second. I couldn’t tell my friends about the power drain.

“Our nemesis escaped.” “Nightmare?” “Yes, he just got away.” “This isn’t good,” Evelyn said. “This is all your fault!” Brady yelled. “No, it isn’t,” Lucas protested. “It wasn’t his fault.” “Actually, he’s right,” I said. “It was my fault.”

Chapter Nine

The Kidnapping

L ATER THAT NIGHT, I started walking slowly to Vanessa’s house. I felt really bad for what I’d done and didn’t think she’d ever forgive me. I knocked on the door and waited a few seconds until Mrs. Quimby opened it. She sighed and crossed her arms. “Is Vanessa OK?” “No, she’s not. I can’t believe that you would just abandon her like that.” She began to close the door, but I stopped her. “Well, can I talk to her?” She sighed again. “Believe me, she is not in the mood to talk, especially not to a person like you. Goodnight.” “Wait, what did she say?” “Words.” “What words?” “Words that aren’t found in the dictionary, OK. Now goodnight!” With that, she slammed the door in my face. I rang the doorbell again, Jack opened the door. He was holding a can of soda. His expression changed as soon as he saw it was me. He was certainly not pleased to see me. “Hey, why’d you do that to my sister?” “You’re related to Vanessa?” “Vanessa’s my sister. Our last names are both Quimby. I would beat you up right now, but I’m not in the mood. Now get lost.”

He slammed the door as I began walking away. There was no way Vanessa would forgive me for what I’d done.

***

I woke up the next morning to the sound of police sirens making noise outside. I went downstairs to see what all the commotion was about. Mom was on the phone. She looked stressed out and upset. “Mom, what’s with all the police?” I asked. She put down the phone and sighed. “Something terrible has happened. Vanessa was reported missing last night.” My jaw dropped. “It’s hard to believe, but it’s true.” I looked out the window and saw police investigating the crime scene at Vanessa’s house. “I can’t believe this.” I turned around, shaking my head. “How come you’re so ticked off?” She shot me a look. “You know what, never mind.” I changed out of my pajamas and went outside. There were three police cars parked by the Quimby’s house, and a group of officers were collecting evidence. I walked down the street and saw Jack and his parents being questioned by the police. “Hey, beat it, kid,” ordered one bossy cop. “It’s OK, I know him.” Vanessa’s mom sighed, with tears in her eyes.

“What happened?” I ducked under the yellow crime scene tape that surrounded the house. “I’m not very happy to see you, and I’d tell you to leave if I weren’t so sad.” She wiped a tear from her eye. “Vanessa was kidnapped last night. Someone broke the windows and took her. The last thing we heard was a scream.” I looked up at the shattered windows of the small balcony outside her room. “You were with her at the school dance, right? Do you know what happened afterward? Do you know any enemies of hers?” “Vanessa’s a nice girl,” I said. “She’s never been mean to anyone.” “Excuse me, ma’am. We found a sign saying Nightmare. Do you have any idea of what it means?” “Can I see?” I asked. They looked at me as if I were crazy. “I know Vanessa. If it were something related to her, I’d know it.” “Let him see it.” He handed it to me. The marking of Nightmare gave me a flashback. Lucas, Brady, and I were at the museum battling Nightmare. I seeing a similar handwriting inscribed on his suit. He’d done several awful things, but I never imagined he would kidnap someone. “It’s just like—” I stopped talking when I realized both Mrs. Quimby and the police officer turned to listen to me. “Errr….Just this dream she was telling me about. Apparently, it was a nightmare where someone was chasing her through the woods.” I checked my watch. “Wow!” I gasped. “It’s 8 A.M. already. I better get going.”

I turned around hurriedly, but not before stumbling over a stone. “I’m OK! I’m OK!” “What a weird kid,” whispered the police officer. I put on a black sweater, blue jeans, and a gray baseball cap. It was just a few minutes after eight. I looked around outside to make sure no one saw me, then I headed for HQ. But Quinn was watching me from across the street. Normally, he’d either be eating Cheez-Its or watching Stranger Things in his basement or studying, chowing down at least ten marshmallows every time he answered a question correctly. But today, he wanted to see what I was up to. Gosh. He leaves almost every day after school and every morning on the weekends, he thought to himself. I think it’s time to figure out where he’s been going. I hopped over the gate into the woods. If only I knew my best friend and pretty much only friend (excluding Vanessa because she’s been kidnapped) was following me. He hid behind a van and watched me disappear into the wooded area across the street. As soon as I was gone, Quinn stood up and followed me. He jumped over the gate and fell on the other side. When he hit the ground it made a loud crackling sound. Quinn looked down relieved to see that he’d landed on a pile of brown leaves. I quickly turned around as I thought I heard something. Quinn hid behind a tree and curled up into a little ball. I thought it was nothing so I continued walking till I reached HQ. After pulling the tree branch to reveal the pin pad, I entered the security code. The doorway appeared. I walked in and went down the stairs to meet the others. “Something happened last night,” I explained to Lucas, who was deg something with Evelyn. “Vanessa was taken.”

“We know,” he said. “Believe me, news spreads fast. It’s on TV.” “Nightmare took her. Because he knew I liked her and that I’d do anything to get her back. The police found the marking of a Nightmare sign in strange handwriting at the crime scene. At the museum, I noticed that he had the same sign on his suit.” “Wait a minute,” Evelyn said, walking over. “How does he even know your secret identity?” “He doesn’t. When I defeated him at school, he knew I had to be a student. At the dance, he saw me looking miserably at Vanessa from the window because I had to leave her there to help you guys on a mission. He took her and left the clue on purpose so we’d go searching for her.” “Yeah, but why would he want us to know? It has to be some sort of trap.” Lucas suggested. “How do we know if it’s even him?” Brady questioned. “It seems pretty convenient that a girl was kidnapped the Friday before Halloween.” “Wait a minute, that’s it!” I yelled. “A building run by a company called REPEL exploded, giving me superpowers. “Recently, an exoskeleton created by REPEL Industries was stolen, and it looked a lot like the villain’s suit. Something like that could easily be weaponized just by adding new functions and editing it’s coding system. “Evelyn, you specifically stated that the pieces of the interdimensional portal were located exactly two hundred meters to the right of one another. All the areas we found the pieces of the portal in were surrounding REPEL Labs, and you figured that out after their building exploded. The first piece was in my school, and the second piece was in the museum. If the pattern is consistent, then the third piece of the portal is at REPEL Industries!” “Alexander, I highly doubt that,” Lucas said. “That could just be a coincidence.” “Even though that is a believable inference, I agree with Lucas.” “All I’m saying is that REPEL Industries might give us answers.”

“It might not too.” Brady finally spoke. “Whatever. I’m going.” “Hey, what did I tell you about going on a mission alone?” “You never said anything about that.” “I just did then. You can never attempt a mission alone because without backup, you can get into serious trouble.” “I’ll be careful.” “I’m coming with you.” “Evelyn, what about you?” “I need to complete some research. Right now, I’m studying the portal to see how it works and what options we have to shut it down in case our villain finds all the pieces.” “Lucas?” “I still doubt your theory.” I sighed. “But I will come,” he finished. “Just to accompany you on your mission. “All right, then,” I said. “Get into your suits. We’re going to REPEL Industries.”

Chapter Ten

Breaking In

T HE MASSIVE SKYSCRAPER appeared to touch the clouds at a height of over a thousand feet. It was the main headquarters of REPEL, a machinery company that was constantly producing innovative products with advanced technology for multiple applications. Three brave heroes were attempting to climb the great building. You can probably guess who they were. “Are we almost there?” I asked Lucas. “Just another hundred feet and we’re done. At least with the easy part.” “This is the easy part?” “Not anymore,” Brady complained. “What?” “We’ve got company,” Brady said. “Unwanted company.” It was true. Ten creepy human-like robots were climbing up behind us. They literally had no faces but had long arms and legs. Using what appeared to be some sort of electromagnetic material, they ascended the walls with ease, eager to catch up with us. “They’re obviously trying to prevent us from getting inside. Nightmare knows we’re here.” We climbed even faster, looking back each time only to see that the killer robots were getting closer by the minute. Finally, I reached the top of the building and flipped onto the roof. Afterward, the others hopped on behind me. Unfortunately, we found nothing.

“There’s nothing here!” “You don’t say.” “It’s coming from inside. The signal must be coming from the roof. He obviously put it inside the building rather than on the roof.” “What exactly are we looking for?” “A ray. A giant ray used to open the portal. If we can destroy it, then the portal cannot be opened.” Right in the middle of our conversation, the first of the robots arrived on the roof. Soon enough, more of them came, with their tall bulky bodies. We all turned as the robots climbed onto the roof one by one. They stood tall, and aimed their weapons at us. “Excuse me, you are tresing on private property. You must leave immediately. Go, or else we will have to use force,” one said. “We’re not leaving until we get what we came for,” I said. “So why don’t you bring it on.” A large ray emerged from the robot’s arm, replacing its hand with a laser. It fired, and I was thrown backward. As I got up, one punched me in the face, and I felt like I almost lost a tooth. Still recovering from that, another shoved me from behind, and when I tried to get back up, it knocked me down. Right when it was about to finish me, an arrow pierced through its leg. It fell on the ground and laid there lifelessly. “Alex!” Brady said, punching one in the face, and throwing it off the roof. “Pay attention!” Brady kicked one off the building as another came for me. I rolled out of the way and took out my sword. I swung it but missed. The thing grabbed the sword and threw me in the air. After landing hard on my side, I tried to trip one over and started punching it but this did nothing.

What is going on? I thought. The robot grabbed me and lifted me into the air. I tried to teleport but I couldn’t. The robot was just about to knock me out when it suddenly stopped, let go of me and dropped to the ground. It fell over and laid there lifelessly. “What happened?” When I looked at Lucas, he was just shaking his head. Every single time I tried to fight, I lost. At first, I didn’t know why, and that’s when it hit me: At the cave, Nightmare used a device to absorb my teleportation powers. He must have taken some of my strength too. I wondered what else he had stolen from me. Nightmare was right. Without my powers, I was nothing. I was just an ordinary boy. Another robot grabbed me from behind as I struggled to break free. It started to twist my arms behind my back, and I screamed in pain. That’s when an arrow pierced through its metal head. “What’s wrong with you?” “I don’t know!” I lied. I couldn’t tell them the truth now, and especially not in the middle of a mission. “Alex, fight! Keep your head in the game!” “This isn’t a game.” “It’s an expression!” Before I could speak, one grabbed me from behind and squeezed me tight. It chucked me in the air, and I landed hard. As I rose, I ducked a hit and punched it back. Lucas kicked one, as Brady shot an explosive arrow. It went right through the robot’s head, and blew up. As Lucas turned around another came for him. He

skillfully picked it up and lunged the robot through the air. These guys were way better at me on this. They had more training, they were stronger and hadn’t had their powers stolen. The robot grabbed my hand and punched me in the stomach. This knocked the wind out of me and my eyes widened. As I was trying to recover it held my leg and tried to flip me off the building. I just barely grabbed on to the ledge of the roof and climbed back up. Lucas came to my rescue and kicked it off the roof. Brady helped me up. “Thanks.” Instead of saying “You’re welcome,” he was angry. “What is wrong with you? We did all the work yet still managed to save you from being beaten up.” “Exactly,” Lucas added. “You need to up your game!” “Now teleport us inside.” I didn’t move. “What are you waiting for?” “I can’t!” I exclaimed. Brady sighed and walked past me, roughly shoving my shoulder. He scanned the roof and found an entry-way into the building. He opened it and two of them hopped inside. I wasn’t far behind. I ran down the dark ageway to catch up to them. “Now what?” I said. “Why don’t you tell me?” “Excuse me?”

“Alex,” Brady explains, “you told us to come here in the first place because you suspected this was where the last piece of the portal was. So where is it?” I looked around. “Just search the area.” That’s when the police, building security guards and a bunch of scientists in nerdy-looking white lab coats appeared. Nobody moved. “Who the heck do you think you are?” one of the guards shouted. “I’ll do the talking,” interrupted a police officer. “Who are you, and why are you here?” “Sir,” Brady explained, “we’re here on a dangerous mission to—” “Rob?” he asked. “Steal from REPEL Industries? Just like someone stole a million-dollar exoskeleton from the company.” “That wasn’t us!” Lucas protested. “Then why are you wearing masks? Why are you armed with weapons?” I sighed. “Let me explain. There is a very dangerous man on the loose, and he’s trying to collect the pieces of a very powerful machine that can open up a portal between worlds.” All of them exchanged looks. “He’s telling the truth!” Brady said. “Yeah, right!” said one of the officers. Another officer chimed in. “So why don’t you tell us more?” I looked at Lucas. “This portal has three pieces. He already has one and is looking for the rest.” “Where are the others?”

“One piece is with us, and another is with you.” I gestured to the group of scientists in lab coats. “Liar!” one angry scientist yelled. “If we had knowledge of something that dangerous, we’d obviously report it to the press.” “Would you?” I asked. “Before you start assuming stuff, you better have proof.” “We do,” Brady said. “My friend over here tracked a signal to this very building, and we are almost a hundred percent certain that based on the radiation frequency we picked up, the third piece of the portal is here.” “Wow,” one scientist said. “First, our main headquarters explodes. Then, our exoskeleton is stolen. Now, we’ve got teenagers dressed up as superheroes making absurd allegations and Halloween is not until Thursday.” “She’s right. Now put down your weapons, or else we’ll have to use—” Suddenly, the power went out. Nobody moved as the power suddenly came back on. The police and scientists were soon aware that we were nowhere in sight. “Where’d they go?” “Search the area!” the bossy cop said. “They’ve gotta be here somewhere!” They split up, looking around. Meanwhile, the three of us were cramped up in a tight space. Finally, when we were sure they were gone, we busted open the closet doors and fell out. “I can finally breathe!” I exclaimed. “Lucas, if you’re going to hide somewhere, don’t hide in a closet, especially with more than one person.” “OK, I’m sorry.”

“Let’s look around,” I said holding my sword firm. Lucas and Brady headed in different directions, in search of the last piece. Lucas heard chattering in one of the labs and quietly peered through a glass window. “Dr. Griffin, we found them,” said a short round-faced, dark-haired scientist. “Who exactly did you find?” asked a gray-haired man who appeared to be in his sixties. He was sitting down on his computer studying something. “The heroes,” answered the woman. Dr. Griffin grunted and said, “Heroes?” He stood. “What heroes? How did they get in?” “Three of them climbed up the building and got past our security, Sir. Even the police couldn’t stop them.” “So where are they?” There was a long pause. “Somewhere inside the building.” “Monitor all security cameras now.” He stood up and was about to leave the room when he stopped. “And also, grab me a large black coffee—make it a double espresso.” Lucas quickly disappeared as the man walked out. Dr. Griffin walked down the hallway, unaware that someone was following him. Brady continued walking quietly through the east side of the building, holding his bow firm as he destroyed another security camera. He noticed a narrow door that was different from the rest. He opened it and slipped in. He had found what he’d been looking for. “There it is,” he said, looking down at a steel encased glass chamber. It contained the last piece—the only thing needed to complete the interdimensional portal. He cautiously walked over to grab it. But he was stopped by the sound of

footsteps nearby. This was bad. The thirteen-year-old quickly pulled out an arrow and carefully placed it on his bow. He looked around, wondering which direction the noise was coming from. That’s when the wall suddenly burst open and a hand pierced through. It grabbed him by the neck and squeezed him tight. Out of options, Brady shot the arrow straight up and managed to hit the ceiling. This caused a small explosion in parts of the ceiling. Brady managed to squirm out of the hand’s grip. As Brady rolled onto ground, the Slayer ripped open the rest of the wall and stormed into the room. He looked up as he heard a loud rumbling noise. Just then, large chunks of concrete and debris from the ceiling fell and buried him. “Phew. That was close.” Brady quickly got up and grabbed the steel chamber. But when he tried to pry it open, it wouldn’t budge. “Seriously?” Brady jabbed an arrow into a crack in the sphere and pried it open. He took the final piece out from the chamber, and he examined it closely. It had a rather odd shape. It had multiple wires and a small ray at the top. It had two glowing cracks inside of it, and parts of it were sizzling with electricity. “Found it,” he said. Suddenly, an alarm sounded. He tucked it underneath his arm and darted out the door, only to realize he was surrounded by police officers. I continued walking down the west wing of the building, holding my weapon close and ready for anything. At the end of the hallway, I found a wide door with big letters saying No Entry. I blew out two security cameras and reached for the door handle. I slowly turned it, curious about what I’d find. I opened the door and walked inside. I saw a

figure sitting down at his computer. He didn’t look up. He just continued typing, unaware that I was spying on him. The door hadn’t made a sound. I noticed a pile of messy paperwork, along with lab benches, an array of chemicals, machines, and other things you would expect to be in a lab. But then, I saw something unexpected: a ball of energy. It was purple, with strange lines running on the outer layer of the core. It was glowing and was housed in a cylindrical glass chamber. There were wires connected to the core, and electricity was running throughout the ball. The core continued to glow as I turned around. I heard something move. Turning my head, I looked around the room. That’s when I saw it right in front of me: Nightmare’s suit. It was huge with a blue core, the energy source he used to power it. It was encased in a metal chamber with metal bars connected to its wrists and ankles keeping it connected to the wall. The weapons inside of it were incredible. The amount of power contained within the suit was extremely dangerous. This suit would give unimaginable power to anyone who controlled it. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I removed my mask and took a closer look at it. The energy source was glowing, and I bet that whoever was behind all this had more of it. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t the red savior,” said a familiar voice. I put my mask back on swiftly and grabbed my energy blade. I backed away, wondering who it was. “Show yourself!” I yelled. I moved swiftly, looking for the person.

“I see you’ve found my suit,” the voice said as a man came into view. It was Nightmare. “It’s amazing what you can do with an energy source like this,” he said, smiling. “This type of technology”—he smirked—“it’s incredible, right?” I didn’t say anything. “With it, you could power entire cities. Something like this can be easily weaponized, you know.” “Which is exactly what you did.” He stared at me. “You’re not going to open the portal,” I said. “I know what you’re trying to do, and trust me, it isn’t going to work.” “Oh really,” he said, “You can say that now, but believe me, the future isn’t going to change. But the past might.” “What?” “You can be so ignorant at times, you know.” “I could shock you right now—” “Can you, Alexander?” “Yes, I can.” “Go ahead and try it,” he instructed. I stared. “Ever since your mission at the cave, you’ve been powerless, haven’t you? You’re nothing, Alexander.” This made me angry, so I lunged over with my blade in my hand. I swung it, but I missed and smashed the table instead. I took another swing but I missed again

as he dived out of the way. He rolled on the ground and tried to run as I grabbed him by the shoulder and lifted my weapon above him. “Funny thing about my suit,” he said. Nightmare’s suit was activated and the core inside of the chest piece glowed and illuminated the room. The suit dropped on the floor and walked over. “It’s automatic,” he finished. A beam of energy shot me, and I was thrown to the other side of the room. My back crashed into a tabletop, and I bounced off and collided with the hard brick wall. Nightmare got inside his robotic suit. I got up and ran over. He grabbed onto my arm and twisted it before he kicked me into the door. I slowly got up as pain filled my body. He blasted me again and I dropped back to the ground. Nightmare walked over, and as I struggled to get up, he placed a foot on my back. He stomped on me as a surge of pain went through my body. Finally, he took his foot off me and lifted me by my collar. He flung me across the room and I crashed into the lab door and landed on the floor of the hallway. Lucas rushed to help me up. “Are you OK?” “Yes, I’m fine.” “Ah, so there are two of you now,” Nightmare said, approaching us. “Now, that’s not fair, is it?” Lucas got ready for a fight. He brought out his staff, as I picked up my blade. I ran over to Nightmare and attempted to destroy the energy source powering his suit, but he grabbed my blade and threw me to the side. Lucas kicked his chest, then punched him in the face. Nightmare swung his fist, and Lucas ducked a hit before tackling him hard. Nightmare crashed into the ground with a loud thud. Lucas got up, and Nightmare slowly did the same. He blasted Lucas with a laser from his extended hand. Lucas crashed into me, and we both toppled over,

landing near the glass window. “It’s time to end this!” I yelled angrily. Lucas lifted his staff as I swung my blade. “You’re right,” he agreed. “It is time to end this.” He held out his hands as the suit powered up. Two beams of blue energy were suddenly sent out, blasting us backward. Our bodies smashed through the glass window, and we fell out, plummeting to the ground. It all happened so quickly it was amazing how it felt as the wind whizzed by my face. “Alexander, teleport us now!” “I can’t!” I yelled. “Yes, you can!” he yelled. “No, I can’t!” Lucas twisted his body and looked up as we fell. He lifted his arm up as a long rope was shot off his wrist. The hook at the end grabbed on to the building. Lucas grabbed onto my hand as he pressed a button on the wrist piece of his suit. Right before we hit the ground, the rope finally broke our fall, and Lucas released my hand. The rope left his wrist as we landed on the ground feet first. Just in front of us, three police cars were parked. At least eight officers emerged from the cars, holding their guns and aiming at us. “Put your hands in the air now!” one of them yelled. Slowly, we lifted our arms into the air as the policemen eyed us cautiously. one of them reported into their walkie-talkie.

After a moment, one of the officers said, “Remove your masks.” It was all over. The entire world would know who we were. Just then, an agilely shot arrow pierced into the ground from above. It was green and sharp, and the officers looked up, wondering who shot the arrow. Thick green gas emanated out of the dart. The gas filled the air quickly, and it became difficult to see. This acted as a perfect distraction. “Hey, what’s going on?” asked one of the officers, as he began to cough. “It’s a distraction. They’re getting away!” “Clear out the smoke now!” yelled the officer in charge. After several minutes of uncontrollable coughing, the gas finally dissipated. They looked in front of them, but we were nowhere to be found.

Chapter Eleven

Dysfunctional

“A LEX, WHAT HAPPENED out there?” “We failed because of you.” Lucas and Brady followed me into HQ, mad that because of me they had completely failed the mission. They continued complaining, and I tried my best to ignore them. “Look, I’m sorry, but you don’t know what happened,” I explained. “We know exactly what happened.” “It wasn’t his fault,” Williams argued, walking toward us with his computer. “Back in the cave, I detected an extreme power drain from Alex’s suit. There was a huge amount of radiation taken from his body, and he’s no longer a superhuman. He still has some of his powers, but he lost a lot of his abilities.” Brady and Lucas turned to me. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Lucas asked. “You obviously wouldn’t believe me!” “Why wouldn’t I believe you?” “Because we just met two weeks ago, and I don’t even know—” “Listen, we can trust you. You can trust us. You need to tell us when stuff like that happens.” Lucas interrupted. I paused. “What was the sound we heard in the cave?” “Excuse me?” “If we can trust one another, then why would you keep secrets from me? Now

tell me, what was the roaring sound we heard in the cave?” “Excuse me?” “The roaring sound.” In shock, Dr. Williams set his computer down on the table and said, “You heard what?” “It was a groaning sound. A creepy sound, like a monster of some sort.” Williams turned to Lucas. “You’re getting mad at him for not telling you about these things when you didn’t tell me that he’s back!” Williams began to walk away when he stopped abruptly and said, “I expect better from you two.” “But wait, what was that noise?” Lucas shook his head. “You don’t want to know.” After placing down their weapons, they began to leave. “Where are you going?” “Home!” Brady yelled. “Where else?” “But what made the noise?” Brady stopped and gave me a dead look. “That was Bulimar.” I stopped dead in my tracks just at the sound of the name. It sounded terrible, and a chill went down my spine. “Who is Bulimar?” “It’s a what, not a who.” “What does he have to do with anything?” Brady looked me up and down. “You don’t want to know, Alex. Brady began to leave, and as soon as he was out of sight, Evelyn walked over wearing her lab coat.

“Hi, Alex,” she said, walking up to me. “Oh, hi, Evelyn,” I said. “What’s wrong?” she asked with a blank expression. “I lost my powers.” “That’s impossible.” “No, it’s not,” I said blankly as I entered the lab. “On our previous mission back in the cave, a dangerous device absorbed my teleportation abilities. Luckily I still had my agility and strength, but much of my powers have been taken.” Evelyn stared at me for a moment before saying, “Alex, how did this happen?” “In the cave, I saw a figure that looked just like my father. I ran toward him, only to realize much later on that I had stumbled into a trap.” Evelyn listened closely as I leaned on the desk, narrating the events of that failed mission. “When I followed him, I ended up in a room,” I continued. “I didn’t realize it at the time, but it was a chamber with a holographic projector showing an image of Nightmare holding my mother hostage. When I ran toward him, everything suddenly disappeared. That’s when I realized it was a hologram. After that, a ray appeared just above me. It absorbed most of my powers and now, I’m useless.” I said, feeling sad. “Alexander, you are not useless,” Evelyn told me. “You found the first piece of the portal,” she added. I glanced at her. I didn’t show it, but I was proud of that fact. “And the amazing thing is, you did this on your first mission,” she exclaimed. “I failed my first mission and didn’t successfully accomplish one until my third attempt. You found the first piece of the portal, but you are acting like it’s nothing. I didn’t catch my first villain until I was twelve.” I glanced at her once again. Evelyn had a way with words.

“Thanks,” I said. “Now let’s run some tests,” she said. “After we were hit by the wave, Lucas and I designed a device that tracks the amount of power in your body.” I watched her as she traveled to another side of the room and took a machine off the shelf. It was blue and silver in several different parts, with a metal outline to protect it. As she laid it on the table, I got a closer look at it. There was a glove with wires and discs connected to a box with a scale. The numbers on the scale ranged from one to two thousand. “What’s this?” “It’s an energy scanner, designed to measure the amount of electricity we could produce.” I examined the glove. The knuckles, ts, and finger pads had metal on them. The wires and discs connected to a machine. “How does it work?” “Just put your hand inside and then generate as much electricity as you can. Flex, basically.” I slipped my left hand inside and pulsed. The scale started to fluctuate. At first, the numbers began to increase. It stopped at one hundred when I was trying as hard as I could to reach my full potential. As I stopped trying, the scale gradually decreased, before hitting zero. I slipped my hand out, and a few sparks of electricity sizzled through my fingers and palm. It wasn’t glowing as bright as usual, and the energy that used to surge through my veins was gone. The bright-red light was dim. “That’s strange. You really were telling the truth,” she sighed and looked at me. “It said a hundred. What does that mean?” “A hundred volts of electricity,” she explained. “When I first got my powers, my hands would glow bright yellow, much brighter than yours are now. I tested myself after I built this, and the scale read three hundred. This was three months

after I was hit by the wave.” “And mine is lower.” “Exactly,” she said. “When Noah tried this, his reading was at five hundred volts. A month afterward, it got up to a thousand volts. His electricity and energy continued to increase as he continued to train. He got better and better after each day of practice.” I glanced at my hands once more before looking back at Evelyn. “Something like this had happened to him before. A previous villain we fought with the power to control the gravitational pull of himself and others designed a machine that could absorb Noah’s powers. He ended up just like you before he got them back.” “How?” “Extreme adrenaline,” she replied. “We tried shocking him with a hundred volts of electricity, which should’ve increased his energy, but the experiment failed. It caused him a lot of pain, but it did increase the energy in his cells a bit. His hand was glowing brighter than when the power drain first occurred. Finally, he experienced life-threatening pressure when I was in danger. Our newest threat was going to steal my powers but right before he did, Noah saved me. He used his powers to blast him with a super bolt of electricity, and our opponent was defeated. We later tested Noah’s energy readings, and they were much higher than ever before.” “So all I need to do is achieve extreme adrenaline levels by experiencing pressure from a life-threatening event.” “Exactly,” she said. “It’s getting late. I think I’ll head home,” I said. I grabbed my bag and waved goodbye. Brady approached me as I headed for the door. “I’m sorry, Alex. I’m sorry, but I’m not telling you.” “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I can’t tell you.” “Tell me what?” “About Bulimar.” “Is this because you don’t trust me?” “Did you just say Bulimar?” Evelyn asked. I turned and looked at her. “Who is Bulimar?” She glanced at Brady. “I have to go.” “Seriously?” I asked, watching her leave. “There are so many things you’re not telling me! I need to know. As teammates, you need to tell me about this kind of stuff!” “I’m sorry, Alex, but you’re not trustworthy.” He turned to leave. “You’ll know when the time is right.” He began to walk away, talking as he left. There were so many secrets they were keeping from me. If only I knew what they were hiding.

***

OK, I didn’t know what Brady meant by Bulimar, but I decided to ignore it. I tried my best to forget about what he said and just continue my everyday life. But things just weren’t the same today at school. Since Vanessa was gone, nobody sat by me at lunch. I figured Quinn and I could sit together, but when I saw him, he walked right past me. He’d usually sit next to me because we’re best friends. But today, he acted like I was invisible. So I sat alone as Quinn ate his lunch on a table directly across from me. I looked at him like he was crazy. When he noticed, Quinn shot me a dirty look. After a few moments, he brought out a book and started to read. After lunch, I tried to see what Quinn was so mad about.

“Quinn, what was that for?” Quinn didn’t bother turning around. Instead, he went straight to his locker. “What was what for?” he asked without looking up. “You were ignoring me.” “Maybe I was ignoring you for a reason.” Confused, I stared at him. He focused on opening his locker. I turned to leave when Quinn finally answered, “You should really tell me about stuff.” I turned around. “Excuse me?” Quinn sighed as he shut his locker. “I really thought we were friends.” “What did I do?” Quinn walked past me and put his hands in his pockets. “You didn’t tell me that you were a hero.” “Just because I stood up for you back when Jack and his friends wanted to beat you up doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m a hero.” “Not that,” he corrected. “I mean when you get into your red suit, put on a mask, grab your weapons, and then save the day.” I looked around hoping no one overheard him. “How did you know that?” He finally looked at me. “How could I not? How could I not notice my best friend leaving at completely random times of the day, going to stop crime or whatever crap you and your new friends are up to.” “Wait, you followed me?” “Yes!” he yelled. “I wanted to know where you were going! But when I found out you were keeping secrets, I got angry.”

“Look, I can’t just tell some eleven-year-old about what happens in my personal life, OK.” “That eleven-year-old is your best friend.” Angrily, he walked away but not before saying, “At least he was.” With that retort, Quinn turned around and walked away.

***

I walked home alone wondering why Quinn was so mad at me. I mean like, just because I didn’t tell him a little secret, he was furious. It’s not like he doesn’t keep secrets from me. As I walked, I couldn’t help but notice something strange. And that’s saying something because strange things happen to me all the time. Just by my house, I saw a suspicious-looking hooded figure walking toward the edge of the neighborhood. I followed, keen to find out what he was up to. I noticed he wasn’t going toward anyone’s house. Instead, he appeared to be heading toward the abandoned mansion at the edge of the street. As I got closer, he suddenly turned around and I ducked out of sight. He looked around then continued on. I figured that I could watch from the safety of my home without being seen. I was pretty sure he was a criminal, despite the fact there was no evidence to that. Maybe he was just a regular dude minding his own business. So why did I have this funny feeling about him? Questions filled my head as I walked up my driveway. I was greeted by my dog barking loudly outside at something in the woods. “Roger, be quiet.” Instead of following my orders, he barked even louder. I sighed and ignored the

mutt. I opened the door and walked inside. The house was unusually quiet. Ordinarily, I’d be greeted by Margaret on Instagram and Roger barking and jumping all over me. Georgia would usually say something annoying or try to prank me. But today, all was creepily silent. “Surprise!” yelled a couple of voices from behind the kitchen counter. Mom and Frank stood up holding balloons and two wrapped gifts. Margaret and Georgia emerged from behind me holding even more balloons. “Hooray!” I yelled, trying my best to pretend like I was happy. “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you,” they began to sing, but they sounded pretty awful. I should have been very happy but they really just irritated me. Maybe the gifts would make up for it, I thought to myself. “Thanks so much, everybody!” I told them. My mother walked over to a kitchen cabinet and pulled out a huge birthday cake. It had two candles placed beside each other to make the number 13. It was vanilla flavored with a decadent chocolate frosted topping slathered all over it. I gave my mom a big hug. I was happy to be here and to put all my troubles behind. “Open your presents.” I thanked Mom, and I began to rip off the wrapping paper as Frank took out his phone to record me. I discovered that it was a marble set. I probably would’ve enjoyed it if I were Georgia’s age. “Surprise! Don’t you like it?” “I don’t like it. I love it!” I lied and took the other gift. When I opened it, I was quite surprised. Guess what was inside—a book, a thick book that was probably at least six hundred pages. When I checked the front cover, I realized it was The Hunger Games.

“The Hunger Games?” I said. “Hooray!” It was almost impossible to hide my disappointment. “Yep. It’s an amazing book.” “Anyway, I’m going to take these upstairs and start playing with them. Once I’m finished doing my homework, believe me, I’m going to enjoy these!” “Alex,” my mother said, concerned, “you still have two more gifts to open. We spent money on these.” “Mom, I love you, and I really appreciate these. But I just want to be alone for a little while. I’m sorry for what I did last Friday, and I’m sorry about going away. I just need some space. I’ll open them later on. I think I’ll take a shower, then celebrate later on. It’s the beginning of fall break, and we have plenty of time to party.” My mother watched as I left. I didn’t know it, but she was seriously worried about me. I guess I should have been happier that I was thirteen, but then again, my least favorite holiday of the year was just around the corner.

Chapter Twelve

Halloween

I T WAS OCTOBER 31 st , my least favorite day of the year; it was Halloween. You’re probably thinking, Goodness, this kid is messed up. Who doesn’t like Halloween? But actually, there are a few people like me who don’t like the holiday. First of all, my parents didn’t bother getting me a new costume because I didn’t grow that much over the year. So I was stuck wearing that dumb Star Wars costume, even though I’d never even seen any of the movies. Plus, if I stayed home, I was stuck handing candies to a bunch of little kids. If I didn’t give them enough, the spoiled children would complain. It was even worse when I was trick-or-treating. All the parents on my street said that once you got to middle school, you were too old to be walking from door to door asking for a few sweets. Honestly, I was pretty sure that all grown-ups agreed with me. I mean like, who enjoys buying sweets and handing them out to a bunch of ungrateful kids? OK, that was a little harsh.

***

It was nearly eight o’clock, and the road was still filled with goblins, vampires, skeletons, and mummies. The houses on my street were decorated with ghosts, jack-o’-lanterns, skeletons, and gravestones. At the edge of the neighborhood, there was an abandoned mansion that already looked creepy despite the fact that it had no Halloween-themed decorations. The yard was filthy with overgrown bushes. All the windows looked dirty. The exterior could do with a coat of paint. Honestly, I’m not surprised someone

dumped the piece of crap. I was just preparing the sweets for the trick-or-treaters. It wasn’t the most fun thing to do. Anything was better than this. “Hey, Alex!” a voice said. I turned around only to see Margaret with a sinister look on her face. “Are you going trick-or-treating tonight?” she teased as if I were Georgia’s age. “You know I hate Halloween. I’m not going trick-or-treating. I’m a teenager now,” I said, as I placed some candy into an orange bowl. I hated how Mom made me do this on Halloween. “Good,” Mom chimed in, walking toward us with her purse. “You two can babysit Georgia as she goes trick-or-treating.” “What?” we exclaimed in unison. “You heard me. One of you can hand out the candy and one of you can follow Georgia as she goes around the neighborhood.” “Mom, Georgia is nine years old. I’m pretty sure she can take care of herself. Besides, she’s not even going to leave the neighborhood.” For the first time in forever, I agreed with my sister. “Exactly. Besides, the trickor-treaters can just take candy themselves, like a self-service business.” “No means no. It’s Halloween, and someone needs to look after Georgia.” “Fine.” I was grabbing the bowl of sweets when I saw something that caught my eye. Just outside the window, a man in black was walking toward the abandoned mansion. He resembled the guy I saw around there just the other day. He had black gloves, a mask with two large eyeholes, black boots, and ripped jeans; and he appeared to be on some sort of a mission—a heist to be exact. But why rob with no weapons? This was strange because all the villains I’d faced before were armed and

dangerous, but this criminal was different. But why a robbery on Halloween? As I thought about this, I heard a voice calling my name. “Alex, what are you looking at?” I quickly turned back. “Nothing,” I told Margaret. “Go find Georgia,” Margaret instructed, hunting for her keys in her purse. “You’re looking after the nine-year-old, not me.” “I suppose you’ll stay here.” “I’m going to a party,” she said. “There’s no way I’ll stay here and give out free candy.” She grabbed her wallet and opened the front door. She watched as Mom got in her car and drove away. The minute she was gone, Margaret grabbed her coat and walked out. She climbed into her vehicle and hit the gas pedal. Within seconds, she was out of sight. “Seriously?” “Alex, are we going trick-or-treating or what?” asked Georgia, who was running down the stairs in her awful costume. She was supposed to be a duck, yet she looked like an overgrown goose. “You’re going, but I’m not.” “Mom said you have to come with me.” Georgia was acting like a total baby. “Now come on, I want candy.” I sighed. “Fine, I’ll go with you.” After placing the bowl of candy on our front porch, I went after Georgia. Instead of waiting for me, she darted out of the house with her candy bag. “Hey, wait!” I yelled, but she didn’t hear me. Georgia ran from house to house like a possessed creature. There were so many kids from our neighborhood. It was total chaos. Georgia never looked back, so I used the opportunity to my advantage. I quickly turned around, whistling a tune as I went back home.

I went up to my bedroom, opened the closet door and stared at my suit. I put it on and headed toward the mansion.

***

The abandoned mansion was filthy. No one had lived there for years. Everything about it was creepy even though it had no Halloween decorations whatsoever. This place was the perfect hideout for a villain because nobody would ever buy this piece of junk. The family who lived there died decades ago, and ever since then, the house stood empty. Vines grew up the walls, and the old building seemed dead. Literally. This was my very first mission alone. It was time to prove myself. Every time I needed help, the rest of my team would drop whatever they were doing to save me. But I didn’t need their help. OK, maybe I did, but I was sure that I could take on whatever danger lay ahead. To my surprise, the front door was slightly ajar, so I pushed it open and walked into a dark and dingy room. I couldn’t believe somebody really lived here. You’d have to be crazy to buy a house this run-down. It looked like a tornado had been here, leaving a huge mess behind. Dirty clothes were scattered across the floor, and there were pieces of broken glass everywhere. The place was filled with torn furniture, filthy beds, and piles of old dusty boxes in every corner. The windows looked like they hadn’t been cleaned for ages, and all the doors creaked. Some of the floorboards were loose, and the staircase would probably collapse with a sneeze. The house was disgusting, and I was pretty sure I saw a photo from 1952. As I continued my examination of the house, I felt a punch from behind. I turned around only to see some idiot who really thought that punching me

would knock me out. This guy had on a hood and was fairly young. He was wearing long sleeves, black ripped jeans and black gloves. I really didn’t know how many villains were out there, but all I knew was some were dumber than the others. “Prepare to battle,” he said in an infernal voice. “Wait, what?” He was charging for me, but this dude was more intimidating than strong. With just one punch, I sent him flying across the room. He quickly got up and ran angrily toward me. I simply stuck out one foot and he went tumbling. The not-so-super villain fell to the ground with a loud thump. “Do you give up yet, weakling?” “Never!” “All right, then.” He charged at me again, but this time I threw him over my shoulder and slammed him to the ground. He got to his knee and glared at me. His entire body began to vibrate, and his body split into two. He duplicated himself, and a clone emerged from his body. “What just happened?” I asked. “It’s called cloning,” they creepily said in unison. “I can take on any villain regardless of how many there are.” As the two surrounded me, I looked firm and brave. I wasn’t afraid of them. But then again, without my teleportation powers, they had an advantage. “As I said before, I can take you both on.” I punched one of them in the stomach, but that didn’t help. In fact, it made things worse. Another duplicate emerged from his body, and this just added to the chaos. “Keep on attacking. You’ll just make things worse.”

Nothing was helping. The more I attacked, the more clones there were. With one kick, three turned to five. After a punch, five turned to seven. One shove transformed seven into fourteen. This was bad. I’d seen people who could move things with their mind and create huge electric power waves with a wave of their hand. There were people who could sense anything within a ten-mile radius and hack into secure sites in milliseconds. Despite how many superhumans I’d encountered, I’d never seen anything like this before. The clones charged, punching and kicking from every angle. One shoved me on the ground as the rest got down and started beating me up. I couldn’t fight because there were just too many of them. This was seriously making me so angry. The angrier I got, the more power I seemed to be getting and I somehow generated enough electricity to electrocute them all. They were sent flying, and crashed into different sides of the room. I inspected their unconscious bodies waiting for one of them to move but they just laid there. This was what Evelyn was talking about; I might be getting my powers back. “Totally planned that.” I left the room and looked around the other rooms in the house. I went up some old rickety stairs and was surprised to see that it didn’t collapse under me. When I was satisfied with my exploration, I stepped out onto the balcony of one of the rooms and jumped into the secluded back garden. I rolled on the ground and stood up. I wasn’t taking chances going back down those stairs. Suddenly, a voice said, “hello again.” When I turned, it was the hooded guy again. Don’t ask me how he recovered so quickly. “I see you want some more.” “Oh, yes, I do,” he said, crossing his arms. Without warning, he ran toward me. In a swift movement, I tackled him but this only resulted in duplicates just like before.

Two clones grabbed my arms as another kicked me in the face. I fell backward as they let go, then I toppled to the ground. As I mustered the strength to get up, they wouldn’t let up, and I was shoved back into the ground. I responded by punching the clone in the face. I turned around just in time to kick another in the chest and send him flying. While I was distracted, another clone grabbed me by the neck and pulled me down. I fell backward as he rocked me to the side and slammed me back down. I got up and kicked him over before he could stand up. I had had enough; it was time to end this. As if by magic, more and more clones were generated to attack me. I punched one in the chest and then shoved another into a wall. I grabbed one by the neck and slammed their heads together. After punching one in the nose, I slammed him into a fence. Before slamming one into the ground, I punched another in the face and twisted his arm behind his back. But more and more came. They surrounded me, and I didn’t know which one to fight first. Then they all came for me, punching and kicking from every angle. When I looked through the army of clones, I saw the original guy standing behind them. Now I realized what was going on. He was their leader, and he had the power to control them. If I could stop him, maybe I could stop all of them. Without warning, I pushed through the army of clones and headed toward the hooded man. With all my might, I shoved into him hard. I slammed my head into his stomach, the wind was knocked out of him as he was thrown backward with such force it rendered him unconscious. “Now stay unconscious!” I yelled out loud. “Alex, what were you thinking?” asked a familiar voice. I turned to see Brady in his suit, walking over. “Why wouldn’t you notify us when something like this happened?” “I tried to do something on my own for a change, OK.” “How’d that go?”

“I managed to defeat him.” I gestured to the guy lying unconscious on the ground. “It’s only one person.” “Yeah, but get this, he can clone himself. This guy is able to create multiple copies of himself, and you are seriously underestimating him.” “Oh, I’m sure he can. Just like my best friend can run at over a thousand miles in an hour. He’s the fastest man on earth!” “You have friends?” “Haha, very funny. Next time, don’t do something as dangerous as this, especially without the rest of us. Besides, you can’t teleport.” “I finally do one great thing in my life, and this is how you react?” “Alex, you could’ve gotten yourself hurt! You’re not an experienced hero like the rest of us.” “Be quiet. You’re practically like a copy of the Green Arrow. You’ve always tried to be like the fictional character from DC, but unfortunately, you’ve never accomplished that.” “Alex, at least I’m not some coward who teleports every time they’re in danger. Seriously, I actually fight whenever I encounter a villain. You, on the other hand, flee before they can hurt you.” “It’s called retreating.” “Whatever. I don’t try to act like Green Arrow.” “Sure.” “Just stop it. You’ve done enough, don’t you think?” I sighed. “I just wanted to prove myself, all right.” “Prove what?”

“That I can actually be useful to the team.” “You aren’t, all right. As I said before, you’re nothing like Noah.” I looked down, thinking about Noah. “I was right about you,” he said. “You really are a horrible addition to the team. You disobey orders. You refuse to train and you act like you’re the best superhero in the world when you really aren’t.” I sighed. He began to walk away. After taking off his mask, he turned to look at me. He shook his head and disappeared. I had lost his trust, and our team was falling apart.

Chapter Thirteen

Dr. Griffin

“Y OU KNOW, ALEX, we really never get to talk,” Frank said, breaking the awkward silence during our morning jog. We’d run out of the neighborhood and into the park toward my school. He suggested these jogs to school about a month ago. I was sure he was trying to get to know me. “Well, we talk in the morning before you go to work and in the evening after you come home from work, whenever you—” “No, I mean future stepfather to future stepson.” “Like a conversation and not just tossing a football back and forth in our yard?” “Exactly!” “Well, Frank, I don’t see you that way,” I explained, then I immediately regretted it. “I mean, well, my father was everything to me. He loved me so much and I know you do too but you’re a new person, and I don’t know you all that well. It will take some time.” Frank didn’t stop jogging, but I could tell he was slightly offended. “Are you telling me you don’t like me? We’ve known each other since your father died, and you still don’t realize what’s going on with your mother and me? Get over it. Your father ed away, and I’m really sorry, but I can replace him.” I finally stopped at the school. “You can’t replace my dad. He wouldn’t shower my mother with gifts just to get her attention or take me out with an ulterior motive. That’s not how a relationship works.” He gave me a dead look. “Well then, go to school and learn something new.” I turned around. “Bye, Alex.” Frank started jogging back slowly. It didn’t take a genius to figure out he was

deeply offended by my outburst. Anyway, that didn’t matter now. I had other things to concern myself with at the moment. For starters, the bell was going to ring in a few minutes, and I wasn’t about to get another detention. So I rushed into the building. After putting away my backpack, I went up the stairs to the seventh-grade hallway, entered the classroom and sat down. I looked around to make eye with my friends, but nobody talked to me. Not even Quinn. Things weren’t looking good anywhere. Back at home, I got a double punishment for ditching Georgia, and of course, Margaret easily fooled our mom. She gave a phony excuse that she was called to work on a chemistry project. Believe it or not, Mom actually believed her. Nothing was going my way, and everything was going downhill. If only I knew it was about to get much worse. As class began, everybody got their homework out and waited for further instructions, but it never happened. Mr. Jones was either absent or late. But he was always on time, so this was unusual. As my peers and I waited, the door opened, and a blonde-haired man in khaki pants and a blue button-down shirt entered the room. He had a thin mustache and wore glasses. He looked a lot like Dr. Williams. The second he entered the room, I felt a chill go down my spine. Goosebumps covered my body, and all of a sudden, I felt cold and scared. That man reminded me of someone; he just seemed so familiar, but I couldn’t quite place him. “Hello, students. My name is Dr. Griffin. I will be your mathematics teacher for the next few months.” He spoke in a fancy British accent. A boy named Graham raised his hand. “Are you like a substitute?” “Actually, I’m your new teacher, and I’ll be here for a while.” “Well, what happened to Mr. Jones?”

“Unfortunately, he is no longer your teacher. He was involved in an accident, and he’s in a better place now.” Everyone was dead silent, until the boy asked, “He’s dead?” “No, he’s dancing with the angels in heaven,” Dr. Griffin said. The boy raised his hand. “I don’t think Mr. Jones was Christian.” “Don’t care. Let’s begin the lesson,” he said. He eyed everyone cautiously in the room. “Is there a problem?” he asked as he looked at me. The whole class turned to look at me. “Not at all, Mr. Griffin.” “That’s Dr. Griffin to you,” he said with a stern face. Even though I didn’t say it, there was a huge problem. That man was Nightmare.

Chapter Fourteen

The Theory

“I ’M TELLING YOU, it’s him! Dr. Griffin is the villain!” I protested. “For the last time, you can’t just accuse someone of being an evil mastermind,” Lucas said sternly. “Really, Alex?” Evelyn asked as she tried to reason with me. “Dr. Griffin is an advanced math teacher, and you think he’s a villain? If he knows you saw his face, then why would he even show up in your class?” she added. “Because he doesn’t know my secret identity, of course. He’s obviously trying to find out who the hero is and is pretending to be a math teacher because he thinks I go to Dayton Walker Middle School. Dr. Griffin is like a spy, trying to find information . He knows that—” “We can continue this tomorrow.” Lucas stood. “Leave Griffin alone.” He began to walk away. Evelyn shook her head, and I watched the two of them leave. Of course, they didn’t believe me. Griffin was out there, and I wasn’t going to rest until he was stopped.

***

The following Tuesday, I attempted to prove my theory was true. If Dr. Griffin would just confess, then it would all be over. All I needed to do was record a video of him telling the truth, but that was easier said than done. I needed a plan and fast. I took my seat in first period, where Dr. Griffin was scribbling equations on the board. After the bell rang, everyone stopped chatting and whispering, then they turned their attention toward the front of the room. Dr. Griffin finished writing

the math inequalities on the whiteboard and turned around. “Can anyone simplify these expressions?” he asked, looking at the class. “Alexander, how about you?” he said. Of course, he chose me. I stood up and walked over to the board. Every instinct in me told me to fight him, but I managed to keep myself from strangling the old man. I took the marker and began to solve the problem. Math was easy to me, and I would’ve gotten them all correct. I was trying to finish the expression when I suddenly felt a splitting headache coming on. I felt like my brain was going to bleed out from my ears. I lost my train of thought and got completely confused. Right as this happened, I could feel a hand grabbing my hand. I know it sounds weird, but it was like an invisible being was there, messing me up. Finally, I dropped the marker and looked at my answer. “Congratulations, Alex. A round of applause, class. He managed to get them all wrong,” he said. The entire class laughed at me. I ignored them, sighed, and sat back down. “How do you get something as simple as that wrong?” Quinn asked. “Exactly,” Evelyn added, eavesdropping into our conversation. “Easy for you to say. You’re the smartest student in class. Plus, it wasn’t all my fault. I got a splitting headache, and it seriously messed me up.” “Whatever, Alex,” Quinn said. “You always have your excuses.” After class, Dr. Griffin stopped me from leaving. “Alex,” he says. “A word, please.” As everyone left the classroom chuckling, I was stuck with him. I slowly turned around and walked toward his desk while he eyed me suspiciously. “Alexander, I am here to ensure you have a good education. If you don’t pay

attention in class, this won’t happen. Instead of chatting with your friends, listen and follow along with my lectures. Understood?” I stared at him blankly. He ignored the look on my face and waited for an answer. “Understood, Mr. Wilson?” I didn’t move. “Understood?” “Tell me the truth,” I commanded. “Excuse me?” “I gave you an order—tell the truth.” “What is the meaning of this?” “Tell me the truth, or you will regret it.” “Just who do you think you are?” “Who do you think?” “Alexander, you may not talk to an adult like that. I do not approve of your unnecessary tone. I am a teacher. You are a student. If you continue, I will report you to the principal, and you will be put in detention. Understood?” I kept my stern face. “Understood?” I lifted my hand as energy pulsed through my veins. Dr. Griffin looked at my hand and realized it was sizzling with electricity. That’s when the security camera in the classroom malfunctioned. Its system overloaded, and the camera blew up. Its pieces fell to the ground. “What just happened?” I grabbed his collar and looked him in the eye.

“Listen here, Griffin. I know exactly what you’re up to, and I’m going to put a stop to it. You are not going to open the portal, and you are certainly not going to win this battle.” I stopped talking and waited for a response. “You just don’t know when to quit.” He freed himself from my grip and stood up. What he said next still shocked me even though I had suspected it to be true. “I can and will open the portal and achieve what I’ve been planning for years. No one will stop me, least of all a teenager like you.” “I don’t believe you.” “Just wait and see.” I grabbed my bag and left the room, slamming the door behind me. It was unnecessary, but I did it to express my anger. I looked behind me and glanced at the classroom door. I began to walk, then I picked up my pace and sprinted down the hall as quickly as my legs could carry me. I had to be sure he wasn’t following me. As soon as I was sure that I was out of his sight, I stopped running and walked to the gymnasium where I had asked Brady to meet me. I’d recorded our short conversation on my digital voice recorder. I was going to use it to prove my theory was true. I knew it was true. I had no doubt about it, and now I had proof. “Got it,” I said, holding up the mini-recorder. It had recorded our entire conversation without Griffin knowing. I concentrated on reporting this back to base when I saw something: a dark figure walking in the shadows, disappearing from sight. “What was that?” “Why don’t you go ask it?” Brady said. “Very funny.” I looked forward.

“I don’t know what that was, but I’m going to find out what it is.” “Go ahead. I’m not going to stop you.” “You’re coming too. I need a backup, and since you’re the only one here, you’re going to help me.” “Fine.” Brady and I wandered around the school, looking for what we had seen. Well, actually, I looked around the school as Brady followed me, uninterested. “I saw it go that way.” I pushed open the doors to the gymnasium and walked into the wide space. It was empty yet full of footprints leading from the double doors to the edge of the gym. “These weren’t here a minute ago. Whoever made these prints had to be some kind of invisible man.” “I don’t care, Alex. It’s just your imagination,” Brady said as he turned to leave. “I am not your sidekick. Believe me, I’m not making the same mistake twice.” “Fine, I’ll take care of the problem myself.” “Go ahead. I won’t stop you.” “Seriously?” “Yeah, seriously. If you think you can take on anyone, then why not take care of whatever danger lies ahead? Go on. I won’t stop you.” He grabbed onto the handles of his bag. “Since you’re the best superhero in the world, go ahead.” He walked away and shut the door behind him. I growled out loud in frustration.

***

Lucas slowly descended down the deserted path to REPEL Labs.

The building had been destroyed due to the explosion, and only dust and debris were left over. Piles of ash and rubble littered the place, and nothing but the shell of the original structure was left standing. Lucas was on an investigative mission. He was trying to find out the main cause of the explosion that gave me my abilities. If he found any evidence, he could use it to find more information about the portal. As he was doing this, his foot slipped, and Lucas fell into a small ditch. He managed to climb back up. When he looked below him, he noticed an entrance through the ground. “What is that?” he asked himself, unaware of the secrets below. He slid underneath and landed a few feet below. He looked up, through the opening, then turned his head back and stared at what was in front of him; an underground tunnel. He turned on his phone and said, “This is Lucas Harper. Right now, I am underground and—” He realized he wasn’t recording anything. “Darn it!” He turned on the camera and began recording as he walked. He walked and walked until he uncovered something unexpected. He saw a thick, wide metal door. Lucas wondered what was on the other side and tried his best to push it open, but it wouldn’t open. He slammed into it with his shoulder, but this just caused pain. He finally noticed the electronic keypad and used his powers to hack into the lock on the door and walked in. He looked around until he saw a glass cage somewhere inside. Without making a sound, he crept toward the cage. Finally, when he was close enough to see what was inside, he stopped. It took a moment to realize what was happening. “Oh my goodness,” he said.

***

“I know you’re in here.” I looked around the gymnasium, looking for the hooded figure. “Come out, you wimp.” I heard footsteps, and then I saw a basketball bouncing on its own. No one was holding it; no one was there. “How is that possible?” I slowly slid my voice recorder back into my pocket. The ball stopped and dropped to the ground. That’s when I felt something grab my arm and twist it behind my back. “Ah!” I tried to fight, but the invisible person was already gone. “Oh no.” They kicked me in the stomach, and I winced in pain. I was punched in the face then flipped over, and I landed flat on my back. “This isn’t a fair fight.” I got back up. “Show yourself.” “Why? This is just getting good, you know.” I couldn’t see them, and that was bad. Brady said that I wasn’t ready for this, and I was starting to think he was right. “Why are you doing this?” “Because you betrayed me, and for that, you will pay!” a female voice yelled out. She punched me in the stomach, but I didn’t move. This was my chance. I grabbed her arms and flipped her over. I had her right where I wanted her. I grabbed her collar and tossed her back to the ground. Whoever it was slowly became visible. She wore a black super suit with an oversized hood to cover her face. “Who are you?” She turned invisible again and ran past me. I felt a gust of wind as the double doors opened.

“Seriously?” I ran after her as questions filled my mind. How am I supposed to chase after something invisible? I thought. How do I know I’m on the right path and that the invisible girl hasn’t left the building? As I wondered how I was supposed to find her, I noticed that the doors to the staircase opened, and someone was trying to escape. I saw the hooded figure, this time visible. She glanced at me, then turned back. Since I couldn’t teleport, I ran after her. By the time I got to where she was standing, she’d disappeared. Where is she? I thought as I looked around. I felt a shove from behind me that tipped me over the handrail. I grabbed onto the tip of a step and tried to pull myself back up. The invisible girl came into view. She stood on the steps in front of me. “Goodbye,” she said as she stepped on my fingers. I fell about twenty feet and landed hard on the ground.

***

“Are you telling me that you found an invisible girl?” “Yes!” I yelled angrily, holding an ice pack on the side of my face. “When I was solving the equation in class, a hand grabbed my hand and wrote the wrong answers. Once the bell rang, Dr. Griffin confessed, and I recorded him! Then after class, I saw a hooded figure heading toward the gymnasium. I followed it, and the guy turned out to be a girl who can turn invisible!” Brady shook his head and continued upgrading his weaponry. “Will you quit playing with your arrows and listen! The invisible girl and I fought, then I chased her through the school. When I got to the staircase, she pushed me over the handrail, and I fell.”

Brady sighed and stopped fixing his arrows. “So let me get this straight. First, you got an equation wrong in math, and you blamed it on an invisible being. Then your teacher explained how he was an evil mastermind planning to take over the world. Next, you chased an invisible girl through your school until you got to set of stairs, where you flipped over the handrail. Now, you believe that you were pushed by the same invisible person that messed you up in math?” “Yes!” He eyed me. “I mean no, but yes! But no, but at least I got evidence!” “Let me see that ‘evidence’.” He emphasized the word evidence, walking over to see if this was for real. I slid the tape recorder out my pocket. “This is it!” I expected him to be blown away, surprised by what I’d done. He was surprised, just not in the way I expected. “This is your evidence?” he asked. “A broken voice recorder?” I looked at it. “What?” I said, confused. It turned out that when I fell, the thing snapped in the crash. Now my evidence was gone. “But, Brady, I heard him say it!” I protested. “Dr. Griffin said, ‘I can and will open the portal and achieve what I’ve been planning for years.’” Brady sighed and said sarcastically, “I’m sure he did.” A second later, Lucas ran inside, panting heavily. He crouched down and put his hands on his thighs, taking multiple deep breaths. “Lucas, are you all right?” “Yes, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? You’re panting like a—” “Alex, be quiet,” he said. “I heard what you did on Halloween, and that is not OK.” “Listen, I’m sorry, but—” “I don’t want to hear it.” He looked at Brady. “I found out a dark secret that REPEL has been hiding from us. It turns out, as much as it pains me to say this, Alex is right. That company is hiding something from us.” The moment I heard him say that, I had the sudden urge to say something like, “I told you so,” but I kept myself from doing so. Something told me to keep my mouth shut. “What are they hiding?” I asked. Lucas eyed me the same way Brady did. “Alex wasn’t the only one affected by the explosion. Several others have supernatural powers just like us and are free in the city. Unfortunately, not many are using their abilities for good.” “We already know that,” I replied. “You and Dr. Williams explained how others got powers.” “No, Alex. It’s not like that. I said that hundreds could’ve been affected. But this changes everything. I believe that thousands were affected.” “Where’d you find this information?” He looked at Brady. “At REPEL Labs, I accidentally discovered a secret ageway underground. I traveled underneath the surface and found out their secret.” Brady and I exchanged looks. “Unfortunately, I don’t have any physical evidence, but I did record this video.”

He did something on his iPad, then the holographic projector created an image on the screen. We all turned as the screen behind the desk lit up. In the video, Lucas was walking through a ageway underground. His sneakers were wet, and it seemed as if he were going through a drainage tunnel. The camera went up, pointing at a man. He was in a glass cage with a built-in machine attached to it. He didn’t have pupils, and he looked rugged. The strange thing was, his hands were on fire. It emerged from his palms and lit the cage. When he saw Lucas, he turned around and slammed on the glass, trying to break it. Unfortunately, it didn’t work, no matter how hard he tried. Lucas backed up as the man said, “Get me out of here!” Lucas didn’t do anything as the guy used his powers to blast the glass. It almost shattered, but still, he remained in his cage. “Oh my goodness,” I said. “That thing’s going to give me nightmares,” Brady added. We stared at him. “That is if I weren’t so manly!” We continued watching as the man with fire banged on the glass again. This time, a crack appeared in the glass. “If you won’t let me out, I’ll do it myself.” He continued smashing the wall of his cage and the crack got bigger and bigger and bigger until he broke the glass. That’s when the video ended. It left us shocked, and now I understood why Lucas was in such a hurry. “Whoever he was had to have been affected by the explosion. REPEL must be keeping the superhumans they created underground, hidden from society. That way, nobody can find out about them.” “Wait, I thought you said only hundreds were affected. Underground, they have an entire prison holding superhumans.” “As smart as I am, even I got that wrong. An explosion that big should’ve killed you, yet here you are today as an amateur superhero who overestimates himself.”

As I was about to comment Brady interrupted me. “Has REPEL secured all superhumans besides Alex?” “Unfortunately, I don’t know, but I do know that they are obviously looking for them. Besides, if they knew how dangerous the machine that caused this whole mess was they wouldn’t have launched it. They don’t know the whereabouts of all superhumans, because an explosion that big could have affected the whole city! The population is over five hundred thousand, and about a seventh of citizens were affected. Unfortunately, most of them died, but about 26 percent survived and now have extraordinary powers.” “So no.” “Yes, the answer is no.” “That’s all I wanted. A simple no. It was a yes-or-no question. I didn’t need a thousand sentences. There’s two minutes of my life I’ll never get back.” “It wasn’t two minutes! In fact, it was only—” “I don’t want to hear it.” “Before you two spark up a fight, I suggest you calm down and answer my question. How are we supposed to stop them? At least the ones who are using their powers for evil.” I asked “We can’t at the moment. We’ve got an evil mastermind on the loose who you claim is your science teacher.” “Math teacher.” “Whatever! Either way, you’re wrong. There’s no way a teacher could just happen to be the villain we’ve faced several times before.” “Oh please.” “Lucas is right.” Brady chimed in. “Why would he confess right in front of you? I’m pretty sure a guy who has weaponry this advanced knows when a kid with superpowers is holding a voice recorder.”

“Of course he knows! I bet he sent the invisible girl out there to stop me from bringing back the information. No wonder she pushed me over the staircase!” “Invisible girl?” Lucas said, confused. “Alex, nothing you’re saying makes sense.” “But I’m telling the truth!” “Do you really think our nemesis would make it that easy?” “Well, kind of.” Brady shook his head as they left. Angrily, I threw the ice pack at the computer monitor, and it immediately bounced off. The thing turned on, and the computer began playing a video. “Hello there, heroes,” said Dr. Griffin, with no mask and no suit—just his face. “This is a prerecorded message, and you’re about to in on a little secret. “Alexander, can you Vanessa Quimby? In case you haven’t noticed, she’s still missing. And she will be gone forever unless you give me the first piece of the portal. If you don’t hand it to me by Tuesday of next week, I will destroy the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Quimby girl will be…” The video glitched. “And yes, it is your nemesis, Nightmare.” The computer glitched again, and the monitor stopped working. I knew what he was up to, and I had to stop him. There was no time to warn the others, but this was great. On almost every operation I’ve successfully completed, the team was there with me. Since I was still learning how to use my powers, they had to help me because they each had a lot more experience. I was supposed to be a future leader, so now, it was time to prove myself.

Chapter Fifteen

San Francisco

T HE FOLLOWING MONDAY, I thought about the message. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I didn’t know what to do. Vanessa must be scared and alone; I hoped she wasn’t being tortured by Dr. Griffin. When I entered the school grounds, I looked for Quinn, who as usual, was reading a book in the library. “Quinn, quit reading The Hunger Games and get over here!” “This isn’t The Hunger Games,” he said. “It’s called—” “No offense, but I really don’t care. Anyway, I found out about this amazing opportunity to—” “No offense, but I don’t really care.” Quinn replied abruptly. I sighed. “OK, what was the name of that book?” “The Hunger Games.” “Seriously?” “Yeah, see for yourself.” He showed me the front cover. “What was the point of that?” “To annoy you, just like you do to me.” I ignored his rude comment and continued talking. “Anyway, it turns out, our nemesis gave away his secret.” “Our nemesis?”

“OK, my nemesis. He said that he’s planning on hurting Vanessa and blowing up the Golden Gate Bridge if I don’t give him the piece of the portal in San Francisco. So the only way to stop him is by traveling to California.” “Alex, are you crazy?” I shot him a look as we entered the classroom and took our seats. “Listen, this is my chance to prove myself. If I don’t, then Vanessa will die. Do you really want that to happen?” “Wait, he kidnapped Vanessa?” “Yes, I know it’s a lot to comprehend, but he took the girl that you’ve known since kindergarten.” “We haven’t known each other since kindergarten. We first met in—” “Doesn’t matter. None of the other heroes believe that Griffin is the evil mastermind behind all this, and—” “I don’t blame them,” he interrupted. “A theory that unbelievable would be impossible to prove true, even if you did have some evidence.” Quinn sighed loudly, exaggerating his sentence. “Hi, Quinn,” said Jessica, who was walking up to us. She had black hair and wore a long ankle-length skirt and a worn-out sweater. She may have been twelve years old, but sometimes she dressed like she lived during the 1900s. I’m not saying that people in that century wore weird clothing, I’m just saying that Jessica dressed like an old woman. “Hey, Jess,” Quinn said, trying to act cool. He liked her, even though Jessica only saw him as a friend. She had no idea that she was his dream girl. “Did you pack for the class trip?” she asked. “The one to San Francisco?”

“Quinn, there’s no other class trip.” They started laughing even though it wasn’t funny. “Is it too late to ?” I asked. “Yes, of course,” Quinn said, looking at me. Jess shrugged. “I guess you could, but we’re leaving tomorrow, so you’ll have to bring your luggage and fee for the trip.” “How much?” “Just two hundred dollars.” My jaw dropped. “Sorry, but you should have read more about the class trip earlier.” “I strongly agree,” I said sarcastically. As she left, Quinn stared at her like a lost puppy. At that moment, an amazing idea popped into my head. San Francisco? That was where the villain was going to strike next. This is my chance to prove myself—to show that I am more than just a sidekick, and that I can finally do something on my own.

***

That night, I took out most of the money from my allowance. I felt really bad about it because I had been saving for over a year, but I was doing it for a reason. I felt disappointed, but I would work hard to save it all back up again. After carefully placing the f into a ziplock bag and stuffing it into my schoolbag, I

thought about what I was doing. I had no doubts about this and thought that I could do it. There was no point in staying back, moreover, if I succeeded, I would finally be accepted as a true hero. So the next thing I knew, I was packing my suitcases to stay in San Francisco for a whole week. <So you’re really doing this?> Quinn said from the other end of the phone. <But why?> <Even if he wasn’t, then at least I’ll get extra credit for Social Studies. I got a ninety on our last progress report, and if one assignment isn’t turned in, then it’ll drop down to a B. One B, and I get my phone taken away for a month. So the trip isn’t a waste of time after all!> I hung up and went downstairs to deliver the news. I told my mom about the trip,

and she approved. “Sure thing, Alex.” She said. She didn’t even look up from her computer, so it’s either she didn’t care or wasn’t listening. Either way, I was going. I’m glad I didn’t tell her the cost because she would’ve never said yes.

***

The very next day, our school bus pulled up at the curb of the Hartsfield Jackson Airport. All the students got off and grabbed their bags from the stowaway on the side of the bus. Our chaperones gave strict instructions that we were to stay with the group at all times during this trip. If only she knew what my real plans were. We went through security and headed to the gate. This airport was so busy; people were moving in every direction. Quinn and Jessica hauled their suitcases down the jet bridge leading into the plane. “Quinn, you’re coming too?” “Of course I am. Wherever you’re going, I’m going too.” “That sounds weird.” “How?” “‘Wherever you go, I go too?’ Doesn’t that seem a little creepy? And what happens if I’m in the—” “Stop being disgusting. What I’m trying to say is that I’m here for you.” We carried our bags on board and sat down in our assigned seats. I’m still surprised I ed in this late yet still got a ticket.

“OK, everyone. Your plane tickets will tell you which row to sit. I hope you all brought earbuds to watch movies or listen to music because it’s a long flight. If anyone needs me, I’ll be in first class,” instructed Mrs. Jonathan. Everyone in our group settled in and either listened to music or used the in-flight entertainment system. The entire time, I thought about Vanessa. I wondered how she was doing and whether she was alive or not. I didn’t realize that Nightmare was going to strike much sooner than I thought.

***

After what seemed like an eternity, our plane landed, and engers began exiting the aircraft. It was actually a pretty decent flight, and I enjoyed it. There were a bunch of cool movies that I had been planning to catch up on. Our teachers began reminding us again of all the ground rules and how we needed to stick together so we didn’t get lost. After that, we were on the move. San Francisco was a really cool city. I had never been there before. The weather was much nicer than in Atlanta. Once we got out of the airport we got onto a shuttle bus and headed into the city. The city seemed to be buzzing with life. I was really enjoying myself and was taking in all the sights. The bus stopped at the cabins, and everyone grabbed their stuff and got off. They didn’t seem like much, but at least we had somewhere to stay. The wooden houses seemed more like summer camp cabins and were pretty cool. The place had six cabins, three for boys and three for girls. As soon as we got off, counselors greeted us and helped us remove our luggage from the bus.

“Hello, everyone! My name is Julia, and I’m one of your counselors!” said a young woman with pigtails. “Hey, guys. The name’s Rob, and I’m your co-counselor,” said a skinny man holding an iPad. “Nice to meet you all! These are the cabins where you’ll be staying. I hope that you enjoy your time here,” Julia added. “Students, we are giving you about ten minutes to go upstairs to your rooms, unpack, and change. Then come downstairs so we can eat lunch and go on our very first field trip,” said Mrs. Jonathan. Everyone listened intently as she gave us yet more instructions. A group of boys and I headed toward one of the cabins and walked inside. There were plenty of bunks, and all of us selected one, cleaned it, and started to arrange our stuff in our spaces. The boys talked and laughed at awful jokes. A germ freak covered his nose and sprayed the entire room with Febreze. Someone jumped on their bed and slammed their head into the ceiling. Everyone was going wild except for Quinn and me. After a while, the boys began leaving for the dining hall and Quinn left to go to the bathroom. Once everyone left, I looked around the cabin. When I was sure I was the only one left, I shut the door. I sat on my bed, pulled out my suit and carefully searched for the tiny tracking device inside it. I didn’t want anyone to know where I was, especially not Dr. Williams. He’d be outraged if he figured out I went on a mission alone. Quinn walked back into the room. “AUGH!” I yelled, surprised. “Really?” He looked at me. “What are you doing, Alex?” “What does it look like I’m doing?” “Mes your suit.”

“No, I’m looking for the tracker,” I corrected. “If I take it out when I’m wearing my suit, they’ll just think I’m at the cabin or something.” “So you’re just not asking them to help you at all even when you get into serious trouble. If you get hurt, they won’t know where you are or how to find you. That’s pretty dumb, Alex.” “It’s not. It’s really not.” I looked down at my suit. “Found it.” Slowly, without ripping the suit, I took it out and stitched the suit back together. Quinn was about to leave when he noticed my bag was glowing. “Alex, what is that?” “This,” I began, “is the first piece of the portal.” I jumped down, landed on my feet, and took the piece out of my bag. “This is what’s going to save Vanessa.” I held the piece in front of him as it beamed brightly, illuminating the area. Quinn examined the glowing electrical tube. “How?” “Recently, I received a message from Dr. Griffin saying that he was keeping Vanessa somewhere in San Francisco. If I sacrifice the last piece of the portal, then she’ll be set free.” “Dr. Griffin?” “Yes.” “He’s Nightmare?” “Exactly. I saw his face in the cave while I was on a dangerous mission to find the man who was behind all this, energizing his suit.” “What?” “Quinn, don’t you understand?” “No, I don’t. I also don’t understand why you’d trust one of the most dangerous

villains in history.” “Quinn, Vanessa’s life is at stake. I don’t have a choice.” “Yes, you do. Other people’s lives are at stake, and their lives are more important than Vanessa’s.” I glared at him. He stared back at me. “Alex, I’m sorry, but what I’m trying to tell you is that if he gets what he wants, way more than one person’s life could end.” I was frightened by his words. As much as I tried to deny it, he was probably right. If I did this, Vanessa could still be in danger, and the entire population could be wiped out. “Quinn, you’re wrong. Once Vanessa’s safe, I’ll find a way to stop him and save the day.” “And if you can’t?” There was a long pause. “I will.”

***

The ride to the aquarium wasn’t too long. I was puzzled as to why this place was on our itinerary— we have one of the biggest aquariums in the country back in Atlanta. My mind drifted away and I wondered if my plan to defeat Nightmare would be successful. Who knows, maybe it was a trick to get me to leave my friends behind in Atlanta to fend for themselves. But Griffin was here, so then again, maybe it wasn’t.

We got off the bus and went inside. “Students, welcome to the aquarium. Follow me this way. We will have quite some fun. We’ll get to see amazing sea creatures. You can go as you please, but please don’t get lost. It’s a very busy place.” Quinn and I separated from the group and wandered around the around the aquarium. “Your plan is one of the dumbest ideas ever. You know that, right?” “I’m sorry, but this is an important mission. I’m taking on Nightmare on my own. I don’t need anyone’s help.” “Alexander, whenever you’re in trouble, your teammates are there for you. They’re supposed to help you, not just—” “Listen, Quinn,” I said. “Listen to me loud and clear. If you’re not with me on this plan, then you can go ahead and leave for all I care.” “Then I will.” He left me. All my friends were just disappearing. Quinn seemed pretty serious about leaving, and I doubted we’d ever be able to be friends again. Back at our cabin, I kept on thinking about Quinn. I couldn’t believe that I had just lost Quinn, my number one best friend for almost a year. Sure, he did have these hideous braces and big glasses, but he was my friend and he was always there for me. I spent the rest of the night thinking about him, even as I fell asleep.

***

I woke up to the wonderful smell of waffles, bacon, pancakes, and eggs. While everyone was eating, our camp teachers and counselors began making speeches. “Students, the main reason we separated you into groups is because we have planned for each class to go to different places. The sharks, wolves, snakes, and

cheetahs will be going to different places. Wolves, you’ll be blah blah blah. Sharks, you’ll blah blah. Blah blah blah snakes blah blah Golden Gate Bridge, and blah blah.” The teachers went on and on for ages about what seemed mostly like unimportant stuff that wouldn’t be useful in real life. Now, the whole “blah blah blah” part wasn’t exactly what they said. I was just too busy eating my syrup glazed waffles and delicious greasy bacon to care. I was on the wolves team, and so was Quinn. I hoped we would get some bonding time. I really did owe him an apology. Once I cleaned off the last piece of bacon on my plate, I looked up and asked Quinn where the wolves were going. “Our counselor literally just said it!” “Quinn, I was too busy eating bacon. Why would I pay any attention?” “Unfortunately, the wolves are going to the Golden Gate Bridge.” This was just getting too good.

***

We got loaded onto the bus and embarked on a long journey. During the ride, Quinn sat in the seat behind me and didn’t make a sound. I figured he was mad because of what I had said to him. I convinced myself that he’d probably get over it because his best friend was the most awesome superhero ever. Well, that wasn’t exactly a fact. It was just my opinion. I looked at Dr. Griffin and recalled his warning. “Be careful, Alexander. You can get into some serious trouble when you mess with me.” He was just a few seats ahead of me, but I could hear the anger in his voice. Something told me this was going to be easier said than done.

“Hey, Mrs. Jonathan,” I said. “Yes, Alexander.” I wonder why all the teachers call me by my full name. I thought to myself. “May I use the bathroom?” “Just go. You don’t have to ask.” “Oh, right.” I felt like an idiot. I walked toward the back of the vehicle, and Mrs. Jonathan seemed surprised that I’d brought my bag with me. This was my chance to get out of here. I closed the door and pulled my suit over my clothes. Believe it or not, there was a window there that I could use to make an escape. I opened the blinds, and climbed out of the window and onto the roof. I hopped on top of one car and leaped over a few vehicles as they crossed over the bridge before rolling onto the ground and coming to a complete stop at the edge of the bridge. I got up and began climbing onto the outline of the bridge. I got higher and higher, not stopping but Nightmare was nowhere in sight. “Zoom in,” I instructed. The eye lens in my eyepiece zoomed in, and I could see the bridge close up. “Zoom in,” I said again. I got an even closer view but still couldn’t see anything suspicious—just cars and trucks driving across the bridge. When I looked into the bus, I saw Quinn looking at me, shaking his head. I ignored the eleven-yearold and continued looking around. Dr. Griffin was not on the bus, but he hadn’t ditched the vehicle either. Somebody would’ve seen him. If he had left the bus, Dr. Griffin would be somewhere on the road. “Zoom out,” I said. I held on tight to the bridge suspension with one hand and turned to the side. That’s when I saw him. Nightmare was levitating in the air. He held a huge laser which he aimed directly at me. As he fired, I jumped out of the way. There was a

big hole left where he blasted. I landed on the road and looked up as Nightmare landed on the ground. He got up from his crouching position and looked at me. “I see you got my message.” I remained silent. “Didn’t you?” he asked. “What do you think?” He stood there, motionless. Nightmare was still as a statue, barely moving. “Obviously, you came here for a fight.” “No, I came here to ask you where she is.” “Who?” he asked. “Vanessa Quimby, the twelve-year-old girl you snatched in the middle of the night like a coward.” “Oh, her.” “Yes, her!” I demanded. “Unfortunately, she died.” My eyes widened. “You’re lying.” “If you don’t believe me, you don’t have to. Just saying, you’ll never see her again.” “Why are you doing this to me?” “If your father was alive today, he might tell you.” “What did he ever do to you?”

“Surrender, and I might tell you.” “I’ll never give up.” “Very well.” With that, he aimed his laser at me again and fired. The next thing I knew, there was a massive explosion. I jumped away at the last second and tumbled toward the edge of the bridge. When I looked up, I saw that the bridge was beginning to crack. Before long, many vehicles including the school bus full of students were thrown sideways on the bridge. The engers on board the bus screamed and panicked as it slid toward the massive rip in the bridge. The bus finally came to a complete stop but nearly half of it was dangling dangerously off the bridge. If they fell, it was at least a two hundred-foot drop into the freezing ocean below. When I looked down at the road, I felt a crack beneath my feet. The rip in the bridge was growing by the second. The sound of utter chaos could be heard for miles as people continued to scream and panic. I couldn’t save them all. There was no way I’d be able to do this on my own and Nightmare was getting away. Now, there were two options: either catch the villain who was causing all the trouble or save the innocent citizens. Without thinking, I ran over to the bus and peered into the window. “Don’t worry. I’ll get you all out of there.” “Help us!” “We’re all going to die!” “No, you’re not!” I yelled. “If you try to save us alone, then we’ll die for sure!” Quinn yelled. I could see the look of terror on his face. This is my best friend, I thought to myself. I cannot lose him.

I exhaled heavily and breathed in deeply. I grabbed the edge of the bus and pulled with all my might. I managed to move it a bit, but part of the bus still dangled dangerously off the edge. “Try harder!” a voice screamed from inside the bus. I kept on trying, and I pulled the bus a fair distance from the edge. Finally, after a lot of grunting and wheezing, I pulled the thing back into the middle of the road, well clear of the edge. I quickly ripped open the backdoor and directed everyone to leave. “Quickly, run.” Right after the last enger had exited, the bus slowly began shifting toward the water. I took a couple of steps back as the bus fell off the bridge and into the ocean. “The school is going to need some serious car insurance.” “Just stop. You’re not funny!” I heard Quinn yell from a distance. I looked behind me as Quinn stuck his tongue at me. Whenever he was mad, he teased me in the most awful ways. As soon as they escaped, the bridge caved in even more and cars with innocent people were being dragged into the ocean. “Holy cow.” I ran over and created a massive force field, protecting everyone from falling into the ocean below. “That was easier than I thought,” I said to myself. “Let’s go.” “He saved—” People cheering in their cars were suddenly interrupted as the force field weakened and cracks began to show. It disappeared, and suddenly, I was falling into the ocean. I grabbed onto a large piece of steel on the bridge and held on tight.

Everything was going wrong. I couldn’t believe this. The force field just wasn’t strong enough. People were going to die, and this historic bridge that had been standing for years was about to be destroyed. Nothing was right, and nothing was going my way. That’s when I noticed a tiny yellow object on the horizon. Something was zooming out of the sky, coming faster and faster to the bridge. I couldn’t believe it, but it was Evelyn. She was on a new invention—a rocket board. There was an electric-powered rocket on the bottom of the thick board, blasting energy out in order to keep Evelyn suspended in the air. She was controlling it with her legs, steering like she was on a real skateboard. She finally reached me, and by this time, I was barely holding on. She grabbed my hand and swung me back onto the bridge. “How did you know I was here?” “For now, shut your mouth and leave. I can’t believe what you’ve done.” As she was talking, a green figure started running toward us. The figure appeared to be wearing a suit similar to ours, and it was none other than Brady Brown. He was running on the outline of the bridge. As he got closer to us, he looked around to assess the damage. “Everyone, leave your vehicles and run now! This bridge could collapse!” he yelled. “Brady, get to the other side of the bridge. There are people there too,” Evelyn commanded. “You’ve got to help them.” “All right, but we’ll need backup.” He looked at me. “Not from you, Alex.” That’s when Lucas front flipped toward us. “We can do this thing. Just with teamwork,” he said. “I’ll keep people from falling off the bridge. The rest of you need to protect the

structure from splitting apart,” Brady commanded. “Great strategy,” Lucas nodded. They split up, and I climbed up the border of the bridge. There was no way I was helping because I’d done enough damage for one day. They were fine without me and were better off if I just left. Lucas stopped anyone from getting within fifty feet of the rip in the bridge. Brady attached ropes made of nearly indestructible material, strong enough to pull almost anything to the end of his arrows. He shot them towards the edge of the rip. Once he did, he grabbed the rope and began pulling. When no one was looking, a car with a male enger on board began shifting off the bridge. “No!” Evelyn yelled. She ran over and grabbed him before the car fell into the deep blue sea. There was a loud splash, as she took him to safety. “Everyone, back up!” Evelyn yelled, instructing the drivers to move away from the broken structure. Brady began slipping. He just wasn’t strong enough to pull two ropes by himself. “Lucas, get over here.” Lucas ran over and pulled a rope for him. Still, it wasn’t enough. That’s when a man in a robotic suit flew over and landed just by the two heroes. “You’re never alone,” he said. As Lucas and Brady pulled harder, Dr. Williams, in his newly improved supersuit sprayed a liquid from his suit all over the crack. “Let’s just hope this works, Dr. Williams.” Brady dropped the rope. “It should. I designed it myself, and almost all my inventions work.” This worked like magic. The liquid dried instantaneously and turned into hard concrete.

People watching began cheering but not before making sure the bridge was fixed. The four heroes didn’t have time to bask in the praise. Instead, they looked around, searching for something. “Where’s Alexander?”

***

Everyone met up with me on the roof of a nearby skyscraper. “Hello, Alexander.” Dr. Williams landed nearby, just a few feet away from me. Brady, Evelyn, and Lucas ed us. “Got something to say? Maybe about trying to take on Nightmare by yourself?” Dr. Williams asked. “Alex, you’ve screwed up big time,” Brady added. “Being a hero isn’t a joke. You could’ve seriously hurt yourself and others.” “Look, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.” “It just did, Alexander. You can’t change the past.” “How did you know I was here?” “Quinn, your best frenemy. He called us back at the aquarium. We arrived last night, and we had to skip school just because of your mistake.” “What were you thinking?” “I just wanted to try to stop someone on my own. I’ve always needed your help to take down villains, complete missions, and I just thought that I could take—” “Quinn was right. You are an idiot.”

“Little things have big consequences.” “When you understand this, we might accept you as one of the five heroes.” “I strongly agree with everyone, but that’s quite enough.” Everyone except for Dr. Williams left. “I thought you could be a hero. I actually believed it was a good idea to let someone as clumsy as you on the team.” “I’m sorry.” “Sorry doesn’t mean anything. It’s just something that people say. They think that it makes everything OK when it really doesn’t. “They thought that it was a bad idea to let someone like you on the team. I was wrong about you, and they were right.”

Chapter Sixteen

Impact

I OPENED THE DOOR and walked in. I looked around. Nobody was there. “Alexander Wilson!” Mom yelled angrily. She stormed into the living room with a sour look on her face. “How could you!” She crossed her arms as she glared at me. I didn’t say anything. “You know I’m talking to you. Now tell me again, what exactly did you do on your trip to San Francisco?” I sighed, dropping my luggage on the ground. “I ditched the bus.” “When there was an emergency! The counselors and welcome committee are thankful that you’re alive, because when you disappeared, everyone thought that you had died! Do you know what it feels like to think that your son is missing? You wouldn’t have a clue. I have been extremely worried about you. I’m so angry!” I can see that, I thought. “In my defense, I just went to use the bathroom.” “And then disappeared!” “It wasn’t my fault.” “Really, Alexander?” “It was partly my fault.” “Really?” “All right, it was all my fault. I shouldn’t have snuck out. I shouldn’t have left the bus.

Her eyes got watery. “Normally, I’d just send you upstairs to your room and make you think about what you’ve done, but you’ve done more than just anger me. I’m disappointed in you. You’ve embarrassed me and shamed yourself.” She burst into tears. “For your punishment, I’m going to make you complete a long list of chores.” I didn’t move. “You’re going to have to clean the garage, mow the lawn, clean all the toilets, and vacuum the attic. We’re going out to get some nice food, after that we will go to the movies. Unfortunately, you won’t be coming. There are left-overs in the fridge, in case you get hungry. By the time we get back, this house better be cleaned.” It was about 5:23 P.M. I had just gotten home from the trip, and this was how she greeted me? I may have snuck out of the bus, but I did it for a reason—to save the world! Even though I didn’t exactly save the world in the end, I had every intention to do so. If Williams, Lucas, Brady, and Evelyn weren’t there, people would’ve been badly hurt. They were true heroes because they’d saved several lives and stopped villains together long before I got my powers. Days after I discovered my abilities, they took me in and thought that being a hero was my destiny. Today, they probably regretted doing that. Now I was just a kid with some tricks who was partly responsible for the wrecking of the Golden Gate Bridge. My life was going to go back to normal again. I’d tried to the others, but no matter how many times I called, nobody answered. When I tried entering our secret HQ, the doors wouldn’t open. The code, face recognition access pads, and back-up codes had all been changed. So basically, all communication between the others and I was cut off, and there was no way I could reach them. Ever since I failed the last operation in San Francisco, things just weren’t the same.

Feeling dejected, I got a broom, some wipes, Febreze, goggles, paper towels, window washers, and cleaning gloves. It was going to be a long night. I sprayed the windows and wiped them down with paper towels. I dusted the cabinets and some of the family’s old trophies like Dad’s soccer trophies and my track trophies. As I continued the chores I glanced up at the clock and realized that although I was an hour into it, I hadn’t even completed half of the chores on the list. I sighed as I climbed up a ladder to pull disgusting spider webs from the ceiling. That’s when something incredible happened. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any stranger, I heard a high-pitched whistling sound from outside, like a meteor falling toward earth. I climbed down the ladder and stared out the window. The entire sky had turned gray, and everything looked dull and gloomy like a storm was brewing. Something wasn’t right. Ten seconds ago, it was a perfectly normal evening, but now, it looked like this. I thought I heard lightning strike, and I could see something in the sky. It looked like a tiny dot glowing ever so bright. As it got closer and closer, it became more apparent that it was a spacecraft. Something alien was coming. The sound got louder and louder. All of a sudden, the thing slammed into the thick wooded area behind my house. The huge crash sent out massive chunks of dirt and grass everywhere. I looked outside, but no one else seemed to have noticed it. It was either that or everyone except me had left to go see the new movie. I opened the garage door, and I walked into the nearby woods just behind my house. I concentrated on finding the spacecraft, moving leaves and thick branches out of my way in the process. I was scratched by thorns and bushes but didn’t care. I had to find it. Finally, I got to it.

Believe me, some strange things have happened to me, but almost nothing was as weird as this. The spacecraft had created a huge dent where it landed. It was badly damaged by the looks of things. As smoke rose above the crash, I could see graffiti and some markings that seemed to be in a foreign language all over the crashed object. “Hello? Anyone there?’’ Weird alien noises came from inside. Whatever it was didn’t sound human. “Umm, hello?’’ It made another strange sound, and a door slowly opened. I saw the silhouette of what looked like a human through a white mist. As the fog rose, it became clearer that it was an alien robot. It had arms and legs like a regular human and four long fingers on each arm. The thing had an oval-shaped head with no face. Instead, it had a V shaped eye piece made of what appeared to be glass. Its body looked like it was made of black steel or titanium, and it didn’t have a mouth. It looked taller than both my parents. Its energy source was inside of its chest, in the form of a blue sphereshaped object. Its leg looked really damaged, and about to fall off. The rest of its body looked fine, except for a few wires sticking out of its head and a crack in its chest. “I’m not sure if you speak English, but are you OK?’’ I said loudly. The robot made another weird alien noise. I didn’t know what to do but I couldn’t just leave it there like it was a piece of trash. What if someone else found it? They could use it for something bad or maybe send it to the government or something. But I couldn’t take it. If my family saw that I was bringing home an alien robot, they’d freak out and call 911. I couldn’t just hide it from them. Sure, I’ve been hiding my secret stash of Halloween candies in the bottom of the basement

freezer under some popsicles and frozen vegetables since I was seven, but there was no way I could hide a nine-foot-tall alien robot in the house without anyone noticing. I heard police sirens echoing, and they were getting closer and closer. I couldn’t let them find me or it. I grabbed it by the shoulders and dragged it into the garage. I left it on the floor and closed the garage. “Hello? Are you OK?’’ It just made those weird alien sounds. Of course, it couldn’t speak. The thing was badly damaged. I didn’t know if intelligent life exists on other planets besides Earth, but with all the planets, stars, and universes in the multiverse, there had to be life somewhere other than here. “OK, why am I bothering with this stupid thing!” I yelled, kicking it in the rib. It tipped over to its side. “What is wrong with me?” The thing didn’t move. I sighed and decided to help it. Even though I wanted to leave it there, something inside of me told me to fix it and see if I could bring it back to life. I looked at the tools in the garage that I could use to fix the robot. Even though I didn’t know if it was evil or not, I didn’t care. I was probably going to be one of the first humans to make with alien life. I ripped off what was left of its limb and then screwed in the ripped pieces. I wrapped it around tinfoil (for an outer layer), pressed my finger on it, and melted it. Then I pressed it on hard and wrapped tape onto its leg so it could stay attached. Next, I attached the wires in its head together and placed a tiny piece of metal onto its head so the wires would stay in position.

I fixed up the huge crack in its chest with superglue. As it dried, I painted a piece of black metal black and stuck it to its chest. Its leg, head, and chest were fixed; and it looked almost brand-new—kind of like a brand-new nine-foot-tall patched up alien robot. Yeah, there’s something I never thought I’d say. I flipped it onto its stomach only to see that its back had a massive rip inside, one that I didn’t think I could fix. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” I dragged over a chunk of metal and dropped it onto the floor. I used my powers to rip it apart and put the rest of it on the robot’s broken skin. Next, I used some tinfoil, black spray paint, and superglue to stitch it back together. Finally, I flipped it back onto its back. I bit my lower lip, and I rolled up my sleeves. I lifted up my arm as a few sparks of electricity ed through my fingers. I pressed my hand down and electrocuted the thing. I waited and waited. Nothing happened. The piece of junk still didn’t move. “Waste of time.’’ I kicked it over onto its back and got back to my chores. “The rest of my family will be home in just over half an hour.” I threw the wrench on the floor angrily. Its V shaped eye glowed orange and it made a few alien noises. “Oh, gosh,’’ I gasped. It slowly cocked its head to me and got up. Even though it was nine feet tall, it seemed taller than that—way taller. I just gaped at the thing as my jaw dropped. I’d seen weird things before, but nothing compared to this. It made more alien noises until it spoke. “Human life-form.” It had a deep robotic voice. It reminded me of the robot from Lost in Space. After a lot of staring, I slowly said, “Hello.”

Its gears cracked and made weird cracking noises. “Why have you brought me here?” it asked. “Your ship just crashed, and I saved you.” The robot’s arm transformed into a laser and aimed it at me. “You are lying.” “Do you think I’m afraid of that?” “This is one of the most powerful rays in the universe. Unless you tell me the truth, I’ll blast you.” “I am telling the truth.” “You are lying. Humans are known for lying. They’re great at it.” “I’m not lying. Just take a look at your leg. I fixed it for you.” The robot realized what I’d done. “You fixed me?” “Yeah, I did,” I mumbled. “Why?” I looked it up and down. “Because you seemed helpless, and your body was badly damaged. I didn’t have anything better to do, so I decided to bring you in.” “Thank you, human life-form.” “My name’s Alex, by the way.” After a lot more staring, it created a green light and scanned my entire body. “Your name is Alexander Wilson. Age thirteen, born on October 29, 2016, in Madison, Wisconsin.’’ “Yeah, I basically said the first part. Anyway, what’s your name?’’ “My name is R2TD89B4NM.’’

“Umm, where did you come from?’’ “Why do you want to know all this information?” “Just wondering. Why are you so protective?” “I cannot trust humans anymore. Your species stole a large energy source from our planet, and I’ve come here to take it back.” There was a loud bang interrupting its sentence and I could feel the earth rumbling under my feet. The robot slowly cocked its head as I put my hands over my ears. “Earthquake!” As I hid for cover, the robot walked over to the window and scanned the neighborhood. “Alexander, that was no earthquake.” He turned around and made a hologram on the wall of what was happening. “A man who goes by the name of Nightmare is terrorizing the city. “He is waiting for a hero in red to show up. The anonymous hero appears to be a —” “That hero is me.” The hologram stopped as the robot looked at me. “Is it, Alexander?” “Yes! You may not know this, but I have faced this villain before, several times actually.” “Have you, Alexander?” “You don’t have to believe me, but I am a superhero. Right now, I only have some of my powers, but I do know how to stop him. All I needed to do was find a way to neutralize the weapons in his suit and prevent him from opening the portal.” I breathed in deeply. “I need to do this.”

***

I traveled into the city to find Nightmare causing trouble, as usual. He was at Centennial Park causing havoc and scaring citizens in the area. I walked toward him, ignoring how powerful he was. I knew this could be dangerous, but I didn’t care. “There you are, Alexander.” “Don’t call me that.” “What’s wrong? Are you angry?” “Oh, I’m more than angry.” “Then why don’t you fight me?” I approached him cautiously. “Gladly.” I punched him in the face and tried to do it again. Nightmare grabbed my hand and twisted my arm. I yelled in pain as he kicked me backward. I kicked him back, but this time, he grabbed my leg and swung me forward. I smashed into a car and broke the glass. I got back up and continued to fight. He threw a punch as I grabbed his fist and kicked him in his face. He responded by punching me in my jaw and slamming his head into my stomach. After punching me and throwing me into the ground, he lifted me up and chucked me into a tree. “I can do this all day!” “Yeah?” I got back up. “So can I.”

I grabbed my energy blade and swung it toward him. He fell backward and grabbed my leg again. I fell on the ground. I got back up, then kicked him in the stomach and swung the blade. He ducked, and punched me in the chest. I fell forward and rolled on the ground in pain. “Can’t you see?” he asked, walking over. “No matter how hard you try, you’ll never be more powerful than me.” He lifted me into the air and he tried to strike me. I kicked him hard and he let go of me. “You really never give up,” he said, slowly rising. “That’s what I hate about you. But today, we finish this fight.” His robotic suit powered up, and he shot a ray through his hand, blasting me. I flew backward and tumbled to the ground. Wincing in pain, I got to my knees. “Goodbye, savior.” Nightmare began to hover in the air and flew away.

***

I walked into the garage slowly. “You did not acquire the target.” “No, I didn’t!” I yelled angrily. “He’s unstoppable!” “There is always a solution to a problem, Alexander,” the robot said. “You just haven’t found it yet.” “Just be quiet,” I said. “You don’t know what I’m dealing with.” “Yes, I do,” it began, walking over. “It is the energy source that powered me and is the reason I am so strong. The only way you can defeat him is by outsmarting

him because the human brain can easily be overtaken.” “What are you suggesting?” “You need to stop him. When you do, the battle will be over. All you need to do is outsmart him and remove the source from his suit.” “You’re seriously not helping.” We heard loud sirens in the distance. “I’m afraid you need to leave. If the police find you, they’ll freak and warn the public. I’m really sorry, but you have to go.” The robot nodded as it started walking outside. It powered up and flew into the sky. I didn’t even look to see if it was gone. Instead, I shut the garage and walked inside. By now, the sun had set, and the day was ending. My family would be home any minute, and I hadn’t completed my chores. Everything was going wrong. As I sat down on the countertop, I felt like I was forgetting something. That’s when I ed. “Frank!” I got on the phone and dialed his number. <Why, hello, Alexander. Can I help you?>

<Why?> <Well, um, thanks.> I hung up and put down the phone, spellbound. He was right; I was destined for greatness.

Chapter Seventeen

Explosion

I REALIZED WHAT I had to do. There was no way I’d let Griffin open the interdimensional portal and endanger the city. He kidnapped Vanessa Quimby, destroyed the Golden Gate Bridge, and lied just to get what he wanted. He’d done enough, and now it was time to end this. I had to save the city. They were counting on me. I put on the red suit and grabbed my blade. I slipped on my mask and left the house. I left the neighborhood and traveled toward the city. I didn’t stop moving until I found it. This was definitely the place. I grabbed my blade and ran toward REPEL Industries. Smashing through the glass windows, I busted in. Glass was flying everywhere as I rolled onto the floor and stood up. A piece of glass pricked my elbow, but I didn’t care. The only thing I did care about was defeating Griffin. I looked up and noticed people in white lab coats and other employees had gathered around the foyer. They stared at me as if I were some sort of freak. “Where is Griffin!” I yelled. No one said a word. “Where is he!” “Upstairs on the fifty-second floor,” someone finally said. I eyed him and said, “If you’re lying, I will deal with you.”

He gulped, then nodded slowly. I walked away as somebody called 911. I destroyed all the security cameras I saw, and I was prepared to knock out anyone who got in the way. As I got out of the elevator on the fifty-second floor, I heard voices down the hall, so I followed the sound. I noticed a utility room close to where the voices were coming from. I crept in and crawled into a vent hole and ended up above a room. Through the vent, I watched and listened to everything, keeping as still as I could. A couple of scientists were inside the lab, working on something big. On their computers, I could see a three-dimensional model of a ray and the three pieces of the portal. Nobody talked, and everyone typed frantically without making a sound. That’s when Dr. Griffin walked in without his armor—just a lab coat and his glasses. “Is everything ready?” he asked, looking at the computers. “Yes, sir,” replied one of the scientists. “The three pieces of the device have been connected,” said another. “Once we activate the ray, the portal should open in less than thirty seconds.” “Excellent.” Everything Griffin had been planning for was going according to plan. Sure, I didn’t really know how this guy was going to try to wreck the space-time continuum, but spoiler alert, he actually did. “Activate the ray, and after the portal is opened, you know exactly what’s going to happen next,” said Griffin. “But, sir, this is actually very dangerous.” “Do you think I care? As long as it’s stable, nobody will get hurt. Besides, we’re

in the safety of our laboratory, and the portal won’t affect us in any possible way. This building has been standing for nineteen years.” “Dr. Griffin, are you sure?” “Yes, I’m sure.” The scientist was about to press a button when I dropped out of the vent and slammed his face into the control . I punched another scientist in the face and threw him into a wall. I picked up a lab stool and chucked it at him. After slamming two of their heads together and knocking them unconscious, I figured I’d had enough. I couldn’t find Griffin anywhere. He’d disappeared, literally. I noticed the double doors were swinging like he had just gone through them. I pushed them open and began to look for him. There was absolutely no way I was just going to let him run. “Get back here, now!” I yelled. I knew he could hear me. “We have unfinished business.” As I turned the corner of the hallway, I saw him headed up a flight of stairs towards the rooftop. I growled and clenched my fist. I climbed onto the roof, searching for him. Today, I would defeat him once and for all. The ray was powering up as a humming noise filled the air. “Oh no!” I yelled. “I’m too late.” The device shot a purple beam of energy into the sky. The ray of light traveled so far it touched the clouds. I took off my mask and looked up at the sky. It was changing color, and the clouds had turned gray. Lightning was striking intermittently, and the portal was going to open. I wasn’t going to let that happen.

“I won’t stop!” I ran over swinging my blade as I jumped. I flew about five feet into the air before slamming the blade into the machine. It smashed into the device, destroying the ray and sending pieces of it into the air. At first, I couldn’t see him anywhere. Then I heard a crashing sound right behind me. I turned around to see Nightmare had returned. He flew onto the roof with his full armor. He landed on the roof in a crouching position. He slowly rose, and his beady green eyes locked onto mine. “Alexander Wilson.” “Don’t call me that.” “Do you know what you’ve done?” “Come to defeat you,” I said confidently. “You’ve walked into a trap.” Nightmare exclaimed. “Have I now?” “Yes.” “What are you trying to prove?” “That you will not leave this place alive.” With that, both of us ran toward each other. I kicked him backward, then I punched his face. He slammed his head into my chest, and I flew into the air. “What’s wrong, Alex?” I got back up. “Are you really that weak, or are you just useless without all your powers?”

This time, I tried something different. He walked toward me, and I punched him in the face. It didn’t hurt him and he hit me harder. I nearly fell off the rooftop, but I caught myself and rolled away from the edge. “You know what’s sad?” “Your life,” I responded and slowly raised my weapon. “The fact that you’re still trying to defeat me when you know that you’re going to lose.” “I will never give up!” I swung at him, but he grabbed my arm and lunged me into the air. I landed a few feet away, but before I could get up, he stomped on my back. “You have a pathetic suit with a hood you knitted and a blade. I have an armor made of titanium and more weapons than you can count.” “That doesn’t mean I can’t stop you.” “You know, we should team up,” he said. “Even though you’re a nine-year-old with no friends, I think things could work out. With your powers and my genius, we could rule the world.” “No way. And I am not nine,” I grunted. He stomped harder and I winced in pain. “When I said you wouldn’t leave this place alive, I meant it.” He lifted his sword and was about to finish me. Somehow, I managed to squirm out from underneath his foot right before he could strike. He slammed his sword into the ground as I rolled away. I grabbed my blade and stood up. Holding my weapon firm, I ran toward him. He blocked it with his arm, grabbed me and threw me to the other side of the roof.

“You’re so pathetic!” he yelled, walking over. “Without all your powers, you’ll never make it out of here.” He picked me up by the throat. He had me where he wanted, or so he thought. I felt a surge of energy go through my body, and I used that energy to fight back. I kicked him hard, he let go of his grip and I landed on my feet. I grabbed my energy blade, and as I held both ends, I slammed it into his chest. He fell backward, but that didn’t stop him. He ran over and punched my face hard. I fell to the ground, and he swung his fist at me. I got back up and returned the favor by delivering a blow to his chin but he recovered quickly. “You will pay!” I yelled as I backed away. “Can’t you see?” he asked, walking over. “No matter how hard you try, you’ll never be stronger than me.” I slowly shook my head. “You really never stop,” he said, slowly. “But today, it all ends.” He ran over and threw an uppercut punch. I staggered back a few steps. He grabbed me and swung me in the air. I landed hard on my back, and as I tried to get back up, he did it again. I flew like a bird, just not as graceful, before landing hard on the side. Every bone in my body ached, and I felt pain everywhere. As everything went black, I ed Dad saying, “Give it everything you’ve got!” I was playing soccer in 2025, and I was running toward the goal post. “Give it everything you’ve got! Now win!” As I heard him yell out, I kicked the ball hard and scored the winning goal. The flashback re-charged me, and I stood up straight. I faced my opponent as my body began to sizzle with electricity. I could feel the energy surging through my body. Electrical waves surrounded me, as sparks flew. Finally, I had gained my powers back. “I never give up,” I told him.

I charged for him, running at full speed. He turned around and ran too. Once I was near him, I lifted a glowing fist and punched him as hard as I could. He fell back and smashed the back of his head on the ground. He got back up and tried to do the same to me, but I leaned back and he missed. I kicked him in his face. I didn’t give him time to recover as I plied him with a series of punches and kicks. “It’s time to end this.” “You cannot win!” he yelled angrily, as he aimed his laser at me. I dived out of the way and held my blade in front of me to deflect the laser. I kicked his face and punched him again. He was thrown to the other side of the roof as I stood before him. He ran over at full speed. I charged for him and we leaped into the air simultaneously. He swung his sword but my fist slammed into his chest and his head swung forward. His sword dropped to the ground and his body followed. He was knocked out cold. I landed on the ground and took off my mask. “This battle is over,” I said. “Griffin is going to prison. I’ve proved myself to the team.” I smiled as I walked over to him. I leaned over and said, “Griffin, I hope you enjoy prison because that’s where you’re going next.” I shook my head as I walked away. “Alex, I hope you enjoy the afterlife because that’s where you’re going next.” I stopped dead in my tracks as I turned my head. He flew toward me and before I could stop him, he grabbed me. He flew, taking me about thirty feet above the building. “As I said before, you’ll never be stronger than me.”

He lifted me up and smashed his fists into me. I suddenly felt pain in my abdomen as I was thrown back down toward the rooftop. I fell with such force that I smashed through the rooftop and into the building. Shards of iron and other pieces of the rooftop were tossed to the ground as I rolled on the floor in agony. Nightmare followed me in through the opening and landed on the ground with a loud thud. He glared at me, and as I tried to get up, he knocked me back, and I hit something hard. I winced in pain, and when I turned around, I noticed a glass chamber. It was broken, and the thing inside was making a buzzing noise. A glowing core, purple with yellow lines running through it, was making a steady beeping sound. The wires connected to the chamber were dislodged and the beeps got louder and faster. Nightmare froze. He turned his attention away from me and toward the chamber. “What have you done?” he shrieked. The beeps became continuous. Sparks began to fly, and that’s when it exploded.

***

“Alex, you’re going to be late for school.” Mom looked at my bed. She pulled off the covers only to see Georgia’s doll and a note saying,

Hi Mom, There’s a tutorial for Science, so I had to leave extra early. Sorry for not telling you sooner. Love you loads

Alex. She sighed and got on her phone as she looked out the window. Mom dialed my number. “Alex, are you—” Boom! The ground shook. As she peered out the window, she saw that the tallest building in the city was on fire. As the top of the building burned, dust, debris, and bricks rained down from the wreck. People ran from the scene in fear. Don’t ask me how, but I survived. How am I alive? I thought to myself, spitting out dust. After a few seconds, I became aware of my surroundings. I was buried under a huge chunk of cement. “Hello?” No one responded. “Anyone?” Still no one. “Help!” Still no one. I was trapped, and no one was there to save me. And yes, even handsome heroes like me need to be saved sometimes. “Come.” I took a deep breath. “On.” I pushed hard and tried to escape, but I was still stuck. “Come on, Alex.” Still stuck.

“C’mon, Alex!” I tried harder than ever. “C’MON, ALEX!” Finally, I lifted the huge boulder, which weighed a ton. I growled as I chucked it aside. As I tried to recover, I noticed that my mask was ruined. Both my eyes and ears were exposed. My gloves were completely ripped as well, and I could barely feel my scratched-up fingers. The entire suit was burned far beyond repair. Breathing hard, I pushed my way out through the rubble. I could barely breathe because of all the smoke in the air. My lungs were burning and I didn’t feel like I could go on. But something inside of me kept me going. I was about to escape when something grabbed me and flew me back to the burning rooftop. That’s when I noticed something. Things were a little bit different. The sky was pinkish purple, and the clouds were gray. The tallest skyscraper in the city was now the tallest about-to-fall skyscraper in the city. “How did you survive? It doesn’t matter. You probably won’t survive this.” Nightmare approached me. He fired his shoulder lasers straight at me. I dove out of the way, and just barely managed to avoid it. He shot it again, I was blown off the rooftop, and just barely grabbed the edge of the building. Unlike previous times, there was no one to save me; I was a goner. Dozens of firemen, police officers and ambulance crew had gathered at the scene. Dr. Williams, Evelyn, Lucas, and Brady had also arrived.

There was fire and smoke everywhere. Dust and debris continued to fall from the sky. People were screaming and panicking. “Oh no,” said Dr. Williams. “This is bad,” Evelyn added. “There’s Alex on the rooftop!” Lucas yelled, looking up. “We’ve got to save him.” “But we’ll never make it in time!” Looking down, I realized that if I fell, I wouldn’t survive. That’s when he came out of nowhere: R2TD89B4NM appeared. It flew down and tried to grab me from the burning rooftop. Nightmare was raging. He began to attack the robot. “Oh no.” Both its wings were nearly torn apart and its body was badly damaged. “The job is done.” I screamed as he turned around from the robot. I struck him with my sword. He wasn’t injured, but the center of his armor was badly damaged. He fell to the ground as his suit began to power down automatically. After wincing in pain, he tried to reach for me again. I turned around and ran. “Things aren’t going to end well for you.” As he flew toward me, I ran faster and jumped. You probably think that I’m the dumbest person in the world. But I had a plan. Not surprising, huh? I always have a plan. As you might have guessed, Nightmare went after me. I was hanging upside down from the ledge. He grabbed on to me and swung me straight through the burning glass building.

You’re obviously like, “so his plan is to be thrown into an exploding building that is just about ready to collapse!” but you’re wrong. The villain followed inside. “Did you actually think you could stop me?” He looked at the pile of rocks on top of what looked like a body. He sifted through them only to see that it was last year’s Halloween costume stuffed with pillows. I had snuck it into the building earlier in case I needed a decoy. “What!” “Is wrong with you?” I finished. He turned around and with all the power left in me, I knocked him out cold. This time, I wasn’t taking any chances. I tied him up as the building shook once again. “I’ve got to get out of here,” I said as I looked up at the ceiling. There was so much debris everywhere. The smoke was so thick now and I could barely see. The building was slowly disintegrating and we were going to be… I couldn’t bear to think of that. I picked up Nightmare and carried him on my shoulder. I ran through the smoke but I just wasn’t fast enough. There was no way I could make it. The exit was far away, the elevators were out of service and parts of the building continued to fall. There was only one way out of here. Meanwhile, all the people gathered outside looked on in terror. The police and fire department had cleared the area and no one was allowed within 100 feet of the building. It was about 8:05 in the morning, the time middle school students start heading out to school. But today they gathered around their windows to watch the skyscraper crash to the ground.

It happened so quickly. A structure that had taken almost eleven years to build was about to go down in a matter of seconds. “Oh no!” Evelyn cried. All that was left of it was a pile of rubble. You would’ve never guessed that this was one of the tallest skyscrapers in the city just an hour ago. The story made breaking news as all the TV stations interrupted their normal programming to televise the live scenes. “The tallest building in the city has been destroyed, along with our hero and a villain. In the early hours of this morning, a bomb exploded causing a fire, and within an hour, the entire building had collapsed.” “I can’t believe it,” Lucas said. “He gave up his life to stop him.” “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you are amazing, Alex.” Just then, a hand shot out from a pile of rubble that had settled off to the side on the street. People gasped loudly as I slowly emerged with my damaged suit. “Alex!” My friends ran towards me and wrapped their arms around me and hugged me like crazy. “Thanks, guys!” “How’d you survive?” “I’m a teleporter. I grabbed Nightmare in the last second and got the heck out of there. “He’s over there. He’ll probably wake up sooner or later, and the cops will send him back to the slammer.” “I’m so proud of you, Alex,” Dr. Williams said. “You did good,” Brady added. I never imagined he’d say anything like that. “Hey, where’s the robot?”

“Shoot!” I searched the area and found him buried underneath some bricks, covered in dust. He looked worse than when I had found him in his crashed pod. “The cops are coming over!” “We’ll just take it to HQ and fix it. But first, we have to get out of here.”

Chapter Eighteen

The Game

I T’S BEEN ABOUT a week since REPEL Industries was destroyed. I had stopped the interdimensional portal from tearing apart the universe, and I was loved by the city. “Our beloved hero has saved the city once again. Dr. T. James Griffin, who goes by the name of Nightmare, is spending the rest of his life behind bars. The city is still being repaired, and even though all our problems are over, there’s still one more question: Who is this masked hero, where did he come from and where is he now? This is Angela Townsend, reporting for ATL news.” It was all over the news; every station was reporting on it. Finally, I had gained my fame and my friends back. I had everyone’s trust again, and most importantly I reed the team as a hero. And yes, yes, I know I’m awesome.

***

At this point in the story, you’re probably bored. Alexander defeated his archnemesis and sent him to a maximum-security prison where he’ll be serving multiple life sentences for thievery, kidnapping, attempted murder and a long list of other felonies. So what’s next? If I were you, I’d stick around to witness my awesomeness. Today was the day of the finals of my soccer tournament, and I was just practicing my tricks outside. “Alex, it’s nine-thirty. We should really get going,” I heard Mom calling.

It was just a nice cool Saturday morning. I grabbed my ball and hopped into the car. “You ready?” Frank asked. “Born ready,” I replied. We drove downtown. When we arrived at the soccer field, we hopped out of the car to see the rest of my teammates practicing. “Hey, guys.” Everyone greeted me as I ed in. “What’s up, Alex?” said Quinn, and believe it or not, he somehow made it onto the team last August—not because he’s good or anything (the kid failed PE in the fourth grade), but only because he came up with a formula to calculate the exact movements and speed required by the players as a strategy to win games. “Hey, Quinn.” I began kicking the ball up and down in the air as I practiced my tricks. “Ready for the game?” “I was born ready.” After a few more minutes, Coach Lionel said, “All right, guys, the other team has arrived. The game will start in just a few minutes.” The bleachers were filling up. Another team got off a school bus wearing all red. They waved, smiled, and blew air kisses as if they were famous celebrities. They got onto the field and took their positions. So did we. Some other kids and I were standing on the half-field line, glaring at one another. The crowd quieted down. “Ready. Set. Go!” The referee tossed the ball into the air, and the game started.

I got the ball and ed it to one of my teammates, who ran for the goal. When he tried to it back, our opponent stole the ball, ran up our side of the field and scored. Things weren’t looking too good for us, especially when the score was 0–2, with just an hour of the game time left on the clock. When I got the ball, I had an idea. I made a signal to Quinn and began running straight for the other team’s goal post. One kid tried to slide tackle me, so I ed the ball to Quinn. He managed to through their defense and score. A few of my teammates scored as well after that. At half time, the score was 4–2; we were winning! “Let’s go, Quinn!” I said as we high-fived. We continued to play. The other team quickly tied the score at 4–4 with only three minutes left to go. Our opponents were playing so well now and they had the ball most of the time. We were trying our best but we just weren’t scoring. The referee gave us a goal kick. As the goalkeeper kicked the ball, it shot up in the air then came down like a meteor. It bounced off the ground and I managed to get it. I ran as fast as I could; the game depended on it. I dodged other players and spun around just to keep the ball in my possession. “Five!” I ran faster and faster. “Four!” I kicked the ball hard. “Three!” It soared through the air and toward the goal post.

“Two!” The goalkeeper tried to catch it. “One!” But he missed, and the ball went straight into the back of the net. The score was 5–4; we won! The crowd went wild. Everyone jumped up in celebration. “Let’s go, Alex!” “You won the game!” “We won!” “Best day ever!” When I looked into the crowd, I could see my family—Mom, Frank, Margaret, and Georgia—cheering me on, blowing me air kisses, and jumping in the air. This was the best day of my life.

Epilogue

THIS IS MY STORY. My name is Alexander Wilson, and ever since October 2029, when I was shocked by a radioactive element, I’ve been one of the five heroes of the city. Just about every week, I’d either be stopping bank robberies, saving innocent people from fires, or preventing criminals from causing mayhem in the city. Even though being a hero has some downsides—for example, being late for class because you had to stop a runaway train—it’s awesome because of the love and fame that comes with it. Imagine having everyone in the city loving you because you’ve saved them at least a thousand times. Sounds good, doesn’t it? But being a hero requires bravery. Just because you have a cool suit, weaponry, and fancy gadgets doesn’t automatically make you a superhero. You have to be tough, strong, agile, and stealthy. You also have to have a big heart. I have all these things, and that’s the reason I managed to stop Nightmare and prevent the destruction of the city.

***

The day after the game I was supposed to meet Dr. Williams at HQ after school. I walked into the woods, got to the old tree, and pulled its branch. I entered the code and walked into HQ. “Hello?” “Greetings, Alexander.” Dr. Williams was on his computer. “You proved me wrong. You saved the day. You sent Dr. Griffin to prison. You won the tournament. You really deserve this.” He walked over to the suit chamber. “What, another one of those …”

I didn’t get to finish my sentence because when he opened the door, my jaw dropped. I was surprised it didn’t fall off. Inside, I saw my brand new suit. It was red, with the same black design on it. It had an outer layer of metal, it could withstand powerful attacks. It had an electric fist that would allow me to send out extreme amounts of power. There was even an attached grappling hook built into the sleeve, with a sharp end and a long red rope. The suit had glass eyepieces ten times better than the one before. All the features were way cooler and the lenses were much clearer. The quality was amazing. I couldn’t believe Dr. Williams had created this for me. “This is amazing! Thank you so much.” “Do you know how long it took to build this?” “A long time?” “A month. I added all the latest advanced features—not only because you deserve it but because there could be more villains out there. With all the people affected by the explosions, there have to be more superhumans you might encounter later. But don’t worry, with your powers and my suit, you and the others can take on anything.” “You can say that again. But where are the others?” I said as I looked around. “Unfortunately, they couldn’t be here to celebrate with you. It’s either that or they’re just embarrassed that you’re a better hero than them.” I chuckled. “But seriously, don’t tell them I said that. They’ll get really upset.” “Sure. But you know I’ve got to tell her.” “Who?” “My mother.” “Why?”

“I just can’t keep secrets from my family anymore. I have to tell them.” “Alex.” “I’m sorry, but I can’t keep this a secret for the rest of my life. I have to tell them at some point.” He bit his lower lip, then finally nodded. “You know what, go ahead. You’ll make your family proud.” I nodded too and then happily set off for home. I imagined all the good things they’d say. Things like, “All this time, it’s really been you —the hero of the city.” At home, when I opened the door, I could hear Mom’s favorite movie, The Sound of Music, coming from the living room. “Sorry I’m late, but Mom, Frank, I’ve got something to show you.” I walked inside wearing my new suit, and I put on the mask. “I am the leader of the five heroes.” I expected excitement but no one was there. “What?” I turned off the TV and looked around the house. I checked in the laundry room, their bedroom, the basement, the garage, and all the bathrooms. When I got to the kitchen, the window was wide open and the wind was gushing in. There were claw marks all over the wall like something non-human had been here very recently. “What happened?” When I looked outside, I saw claw prints in the dirt, leading all the way to the sidewalk. I closed the window and found a handwritten note stuck on the fridge with a magnet. I ripped it off and read it out loud, “Dear Alexander, I’ve kidnapped your parents. If you ever want to see them again, surrender now.”

To Be Continued…

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