A True Hero Page 3

  “Why would you ever think you were selfish?”

  “I know how much Daddy loves Margaret, I do. I know it means a lot for him if we got along, but ever since they got engaged . . . I wish she’d go away.”

  Starlight gaped at her, her blue lipstick forming an “O” around her mouth. “You don’t want them to get married?”

  “It’s not that . . . it’s . . .” Nicole paced in a circle as she spoke. “When she and Dad were dating, I was getting to know her too. We weren’t best friends, but I could hang out with her a couple hours with no problem. I was getting used to her and things were getting better. Ever since she got engaged to him, though, I . . . I don’t know how to describe it . . . it’s like she’s always there!”

  “I don’t understand.” Starlight furrowed her brows. “Has she been by the house more often, or . . . ?”

  “That’s the thing.” Nicole clutched her hair. “She’s not there more, she’s just there. Every time I have a problem she solves it; every time I want to do something, she takes me—even when I haven’t told her about it. She’s, like, perfect.”

  Starlight raised an eyebrow. “Now I really don’t understand. She sounds great.”

  “I don’t understand either.” Nicole heaved a sigh. “It’s like she’s in my head, and I can’t get her out. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn she has psychological-type powers.”

  “I can assure you, she doesn’t.”

  “I need a break from her.” Nicole rubbed her arm. “I was excited to get away—one last vacation with me and my dad . . . and possibly a friend—but now she’s coming on vacation with us! I get it; they’re getting married next year. She’s going to be part of the family, but I wanted my dad to myself for one, last time. I can’t tell her to eat it because it would devastate her. And my dad. So now I feel like the world’s most awful daughter.” She felt her eyes warm behind the mask. “I want my dad to be happy, I do. But I . . . I wish she’d back off!”

  “I see.” Starlight heaved a deep sigh. “Aw, Starling, I’m so sorry.”

  “Why are you sorry?” Nicole wiped her eyes. “You didn’t do anything.”

  “Well . . .” Starlight rubbed the back of her head. “I was the one who suggested she go on vacation with the two of you.”

  “You? Why?”

  “Because of this.” Starlight motioned to the Tifuld Sapphire before resting her hand on her hip. “They’re going to be transporting it to a more secure facility next week. It’s a dangerous gem, Refraction. It seems research on this thing has been leaked, and the criminal underbelly has been buzzing about it. It absorbs energy.”

  “I’ve been thinking a lot about this Sapphire.” Nicole leaned in close to the glass shield. “If criminals found out how this thing works, they could find ways to weaponize it . . . they could even negate our powers with it.”

  “Bingo!” Starlight pointed at her. “There have been rumors indicating Super Villains have taken an interest in it. ASH thinks it’s a matter of time until someone tries to steal it. So they asked me to escort the truck transporting it to the new facility in Quenton. Thing is . . . I’m worried about Margaret.”

  “Why?”

  “She’s been the head researcher on the Sapphire for years. She knows more about it than anyone.” Starlight turned her gaze to the doorway. “I’m afraid some enterprising Villain will forego the gem and go after her instead. Not only will they have access to the research she holds in her little head, but they can use her as a bargaining tool. It’s why I wanted her to go on vacation with you. I told her to get out of town while the sapphire is being moved. She’ll be your step-mom soon, so no one would think it weird if you leave town with her. Perfect undercover sting. If a criminal tries anything, you’ll be there to protect her. We’re meeting to nail down the schedule, so I’ll make sure I’m never more than a few minutes away. All you have to do is hold off any Villain until I arrive.”

  “You think you can do it by myself?”

  “You’re amazing, Starling!” Starlight waved her hand in dismissal. “You can do anything.”

  Nicole beamed.

  “So will you do it for me?” Starlight gave a spectacular smile reminding Nicole of twinkling starlight.

  Nicole gave a salute. “You can count on me.”

  “Of course I can.” Starlight tussled her hair. “I’m sorry for saddling you with her on your vacation.”

  “Now that I know why, it’s totally fine!”

  “That’s my girl. Time for my meeting.” Starlight walked to the door. “I’ll see you on patrol tonight.”

  “Bye!” Nicole waved at her as she exited the room. “Man, she is so awesome. If only my dad would marry her instead.” After a little internal squeal, Nicole touched the pink gem on her chest. “Okay, Bee. Suit off.”

  “Request denied.” While in costume, Bee spoke to Nicole through an earpiece held in place by her mask. “Refraction, I am detecting movement above. Scanning . . . confirmed. Unauthorized personnel detected on the roof. Speculation: thief. Prepare for confrontation.”

  “A thief? In broad daylight?” Nicole’s eyes scanned the ceiling. She didn’t detect any form of energy emanating from up there . . . no, wait. There it was. A tiny bit of energy—several tiny bits of energy too small for Nicole to notice at first. They weren’t enough to be a person’s power—so, gadgets, maybe. Plenty of Villains used gadgets as their shtick. “Alert Starlight, Bee.”

  “Working . . . processing . . . sending message . . . error: message not received. Starlight has blocked calls. Observation: Starlight has scheduled a meeting with Margaret Farber. Speculation: The meeting is classified and no incoming transmissions are allowed.”

  “Fine.” Nicole followed the energy signals. “I’ll have to deal with it without her. After all . . .” She smiled as Starlight’s words came back to her. “I can do anything.”

  “Shall I transmit a request for aid from any Heroes in the immediate proximity?” Bee asked.

  “Of course!” Nicole threw her hands up. “Do you think I’m stupid enough to try and tackle a Villain all by myself?”

  “I am not commenting on your intellectual proficiency,” Bee said. “You’re IQ level is within the average range.”

  Nicole snickered. “I really need to figure out how to get you to act more human, Bee.”

  CHAPTER 4

  JUNIOR JUSTICE RACED down the street, his cape flying behind him. “On my way, CJ.” He spoke into the BT-X housed in his cuff. “I’m passing 14th and Talverse now.”

  “What’s taking so long?” Captain Justice replied in his earpiece.

  “You only called ten minutes ago.” Junior Justice leapt into the air, caught a fire escape railing, somersaulted onto the metal landing, and hopped from window to window until he flipped onto the roof. “I’m coming straight from school.”

  “You should have been here by now.” Captain Justice kept his voice low—perhaps he wasn’t in a place where he could speak at a normal volume. “Wait . . . are you running?”

  “Yeah.” Junior Justice raced along the rooftops.

  “Why didn’t you drive?” Captain Justice barely kept the annoyance out of his voice. “I arranged for you to get a license for just this occasion.”

  “Can’t take the Justice Mobile to school, CJ.” Junior Justice leapt from one roof to another.

  “It has stealth capabilities, Junior. You can disguise it as a regular car.”

  “Yeah, but . . . I’m too young to drive without a licensed driver in the car.”

  Captain Justice chuckled, all traces of annoyance dropping from his voice. “I keep forgetting. You’re more mature than your age.”

  Junior Justice smirked at the compliment. “I’m right above you now.” He leapt off the roof and dropped onto a lower roof next to Captain Justice, landing on his toes to muffle his fall.

  Captain Justice started at Junior’s sudden appearance. “When you said you were above me, you weren’t kidding.”

  Captain
Justice always struck a heroic figure in his white and gold uniform, his cape billowing out behind him. His blonde hair matched the blue eyes dazzling behind his mask. In contrast, Junior Justice wore blue, white, and silver. Along Junior Justice’s belt was all the gadgets he’d ever need to take down any Villain.

  “What’s the story?” Junior Justice peered over the edge of the roof Captain Justice had stationed himself on. The roof of the next building was across a small side street. It had an enormous skylight, allowing Junior Justice and Captain Justice to peek through unimpeded. Inside the building a crowd of people—all masked—milled around, using forklifts to pack pallets of shrink wrapped materials into a container.

  “ASH wants us to break up this party.” Captain Justice pointed. “Some Villain’s smuggling tech here.”

  “And lots of it,” Junior Justice noted.

  Captain Justice motioned with his chin. “Look who’s a part of it.”

  Junior Justice searched the crowd of masked Villains, all wearing the same general uniform. No civilians in the crowd, so that was good, but one figure stood out from the rest with his trench coat, brown top hat, and googles . . . a steampunk reject.

  Junior Justice clenched his teeth. “The TelePorter.”

  “Our mysterious Master Villain never brings him out unless he’s after something big.” Captain Justice narrowed his eyes.

  “It’s fine.” Junior Justice smirked. “They never bring us out unless they want these guys shut down.”

  “Calm down, Junior.” Captain Justice laid a heavy hand on Junior’s shoulder. “You know how slippery the TelePorter is. He’s able to teleport away at a moment’s notice.”

  “You gotta stop underestimating me, CJ.” Junior Justice tapped his mask which was embedded with lenses he developed to help him in his crime fighting. They overlaid critical information over his vision—bold enough to be readable but transparent enough not to distract him in a fight. “I’ve come up with a new program to help me track him when he teleports. He won’t stand a chance. I’ve got it integrated into my BT-X.”

  “Impressive!” Captain Justice’s eyebrows shot up. “Now’s our chance to find out how helpful it will be.” He stood. “Ready?”

  “Always.” Junior Justice jumped to his feet beside him. He snatched the staff he kept strapped and retracted on the back of his belt and flicked his wrist. It extended to its full length.

  Captain Justice leapt straight into the air and crashed through the skylight feet first. Glass tinkered to the ground around him. After pausing to revel in the awesomeness of this situation, Junior Justice leapt down beside him.

  “Freeze, evildoers!” Captain Justice pointed at them, his voice deep and heroic.

  Junior Justice fought the urge to pump his fist in triumph. He loved it when Captain Justice struck a heroic pose. He tried to stand in an equally majestic one.

  The Villains stared at them for a space before whipping out their various weapons and firing. Junior Justice leapt in front of the Captain and held out his hands. A blue energy shield surrounded them, blocking the bullets. This was Junior Justice’s power—an energy field which usually appeared as a shield. He had discovered long ago how to weaponize it. Channeling his power through the circuitry housed in his staff, he swung at the Villains. Most of them dove out of the way of the curved blast of visible energy. Those it collided with were blown back against the wall where they struck it and lay still.

  Meanwhile, Captain Justice jumped over Junior Justice and launched himself into the fray. He walloped Villain after Villain unperturbed by their gun fire. He was impervious to it. In the midst of it all, the TelePorter disappeared in a sparkle of light.

  Upon seeing him go, Junior Justice rolled behind a wooden crate, leaving Captain Justice to handle the rest of the pack. The Villains would try to tackle Captain Justice with other methods, but Junior wasn’t interested. He’d seen it before. Nothing short of explosives would slow Captain Justice down to any practical degree, and these guys didn’t have any. As the sound of Captain Justice’s fists slamming into masked faces erupted into the air, Junior Justice scanned the area for the TelePorter with his new tech. While he couldn’t tell where the TelePorter was teleporting to—at least not without scanning the teleport energy itself—if Junior Justice was right, he should be able to pick up the teleport’s energy signature where he landed anywhere in the city . . . ah, there he was. On the roof of a building nearby.

  “CJ!” Junior Justice peeked out from behind the crate. “TelePorter’s on the move!”

  “Go get him.” Captain Justice punched one guy across the room and pivoted to kick another in the gut. “These are all small fries . . . they’re just a ton of them. It’s a distraction. Stop him.”

  “Got it!” Junior Justice pulled his grapping hook from his belt, aimed it at the ceiling, fired, and flew out of the building. He soared through the air and landed on the roof where he had met Captain Justice before. The TelePorter was nowhere to be seen.

  Crouching down, he scanned for the TelePorter again. According to his tech, the Villain had teleported right to the Alferdale Museum. Having deduced the TelePorter’s destination, Junior Justice took off after him. Man, if only he had driven the Justice Mobile. This would be a whole lot easier then.

  CHAPTER 5

  AS SOON AS NICOLE CAUGHT motion on the skylight above, she ducked behind a display. First rule of being an ASH affiliated Super Hero: evaluate and evacuate. Never engage a Villain until first evaluating the situation to make sure the Villain was actually a Villain and not an undercover agent, for example. After evaluating, evacuate any civilians in the area, if possible, or move the fight away from them. Well, there were no civilians to evacuate so no issue there . . . so long as Nicole kept the fight within this exhibit. She’d have to do her best to protect the displays, though.

  The figure on the skylight stooped on the glass and set something on it. A scratching noise scritched through the air making Nicole clench her teeth. Then the figure stood and knocked the skylight with her heel. A circle of glass popped out of the ceiling and shattered to the floor. The masked figure dropped in after it.

  “Look at all the pretty jewels! I feel like Princess Kate on a shopping spree.” The figure gazed around, her frizzy, cherry red hair bobbing as her head turned. A black mask obscured her face.

  Nicole studied the masked figure heading to the display of cut and uncut rubies. Black and green body suit, with an olive, overall dress which flared at the bottom, hair in a frizzy tangle, gadgets hanging from her belt—who was this girl? “Bee, can you identify this Villain?”

  “Scanning . . . processing . . . match found. Name: Finch. She has been linked to a series of robberies in the area. Powers: Inconclusive. It is possible she doesn’t have any. No further information is available. I shall observe, record, and analyze your encounter for inclusion in the ASH database.”

  First Nicole would have to initiate the encounter. She drew a deep breath. “I am amazing. I am a bright, little Starling,” she muttered to herself. “Right!” Jumping out of hiding she yelled, “Don’t touch the rubies, Finch!”

  Finch had been about to cut the glass on one of the displays, but she paused when Nicole called out to her. Lifting her head, she lowered her hand to her side. “Well, well. It seems I’m making a name for myself. I have a Hero after me this time.” Finch turned to Nicole. Her smirk faded. “A half-hero, at least. Oh, well. I have to start somewhere.”

  “I’m enough to take you down!”

  “The loser is feeling feisty?” Finch gave a nasty grin. “Strong words for a coward who always runs away from fights.”

  Nicole clenched her teeth and tried not to let Finch’s words get to her. The only reason she had never engaged a Villain before was because she was learning how to use her powers. A Junior Hero could hurt someone if she didn’t know what she was doing. The undercover assignment Starlight had given her would be her first solo-gig, and this fight would be a good warm-up. So instead of giv
ing Finch a retort, Nicole crouched into a fighting stance.

  “I’ve always wanted to fight a Hero.” Finch snapped her fingers. “You’ll be great practice for when I find one.”

  From the skylight came a mechanic, buzzing noise. Small flying machines swarmed in and converged on Nicole, shooting small darts. Nicole hopped out of the way as the darts embedded themselves into the ground.

  “What is in those, Bee?” Nicole said, dodging the darts.

  “Scanning . . . analyzing. Warning, Refraction. The objects are identified as hypodermic needles filled with high amounts of an over the counter sedative.”

  “Tranquilizer darts! Just say tranquilizer darts!” Nicole jumped, pushed off a wall, and flipped over the robot bugs. They crashed into the wall and fell to the ground sparking.

  “Affirmative,” Bee said. “I will adjust my aural vocabulary to your tastes.”

  “Nice one, loser.” Finch put her hands on her hips. “I might have to take you seriously.”

  “Bring it on, Finch!” Nicole landed on one of the displays.

  “As you wish.” Finch raised her hands to snap.

  The door burst open. “This exhibit is closed! Who is making all this racket—” A security guard halted as he took in the scene. In a moment, he whipped out his gun and pointed it at Finch. “Freeze, Villain!”

  “A civilian! Perfect!” Finch snapped her fingers again. Dog-like robots jumped in from the skylight. She motioned to the security guard, and the dogs stalked toward him. “I guess I don’t have to be subtle about this anymore.” Smashing one of the displays with the back of her hand, she scooped up the rubies, shoving them into a bag.

  Nicole glanced from the security guard to Finch. According to ASH protocol—and common sense—human lives had priority over property. She darted after the dog-robots.

  The security guard stood his ground and shot at the robots, though he did back up when each shot bounced off the robots’ metal hide. The machines stalked toward him, looking to surround him and pounce.