Invincible (17 page)

Jack’s next words came without warning, his voice suddenly clear and demanding.
“Trust me. You’ll find a way.”

And then, without waiting for a response, he hangs up.

I didn’t remove the phone from my ear. I was still in shock about what Jack had said to me. Did he mean what I think he means? Was I overreacting? I wasn’t sure what to think anymore. The only thing I was able to do was play back the conversation over and over in my head, searching for any kind of alternative.

But I couldn’t find anything, and in frustration, I ran out of the house and flew away, making my way to Jack’s house. I didn’t know what I to say to him if I was right about my theory—the possibility of a flaw, one that I hadn’t really considered until now. One I was afraid that Jack, himself, might have discovered.

Security was everywhere when I reached the mansion, with men in light black armor with big guns sealing off every inch of the place; the front of the house, the back, the sides, everywhere. There was simply no way I could enter the house. Except one. Jack’s balcony.

I flew past some of the guards without them seeing me, went up to the balcony, and then landed and knocked on the glass door. It was
only a few seconds before Jack pulled back the curtains and opened the door, with a content expression on his face and a white bandage wrapped around his head.

A feeling of guilt rushes through me as I step inside, still not able to shake the fact that I had let some guy hurt the only friend I had. The only friend I needed.

“Are you okay?” I ask, hoping that his condition was the subject he wanted to discuss.

“That’s not what I called you here for,” he says harshly, closing the door behind him and shutting
the curtains.

I don’t bother to sit, knowing that this wouldn’t be a comfortable visit. So I stand instead, watching Jack pace around the room for a few moments. He stops and faces me.

“I know, Troy.”

Anxiety rushes through my veins as my body turns to stone; the room slowly revolving under my feet as I realized my terrifying nigh
tmare was now a living reality.

“Jack,” I say calmly, trying to talk my way out of this. “Whatever you think you saw-”

“Don’t lie to me!” Jack snaps. “I saw you.” He continues to pace around the room, throwing his hands at me as he talks. “You know, I wasn’t that unconscious, Troy. I see you every day. Your face was as clear as crystal to me. And with you and Rick fighting, and you leaving class all the time. I can’t even believe how stupid I was not to notice it.”

He then came back to stand in front of me at the same spot he was before, and it was at that place where Jack had said something, something too terr
ifying for me to hear him say.

“You’re Lion-Man, aren’t you?”

I didn’t know what to say, my lips unable to form words, shivers shooting down my spine. The fact that Jack now knew my identity was too overwhelming. Surely there must’ve been a catch to all this. Just what did he intend to do with this sort of information? Would he tell everyone?
Did
he already tell someone? Would he blackmail me into doing things for him? The possibilities were endless.

“Please,” he says. “Just tell me. I can handle it.”

I noticed the way he said those words, and realized it wasn’t a command. It was a plea. A desperate need for me to be honest with him.

My mind shifts back to the first time I was in this room, talking to Jack about his wealthy status, and how he was afraid to tell me. It upset me that he hadn’t given me enough credit, but then I realized that I was doing the same thing to him. I was afraid to trust him, but I w
asn’t even giving him a chance.

Realizing what I had to do, I take a deep breath and begin to speak.

“It’s true,” I sigh. “I'm Lion-Man. You’re right. You’ve been right all along.”

Jack was speechless for a moment, slowly absorbing my confession. Then his face lights up in an awed expression.

“You’re telling the truth,” he says enthusiastically. “You’re telling the truth! I can’t believe it! You’re actually a superhero! This is so cool! Have you told Brad? How about Taylor? Does she know?”

It was at that moment that I walked over to him, realizing that now that I had told him my secret, there was time to lay down some ground rules.

“Jack, you can’t tell anyone,” I say urgently.

“Come
on, Troy. You know I wouldn’t-”

“No, you have to promise me,” I say, trying to make him understand the seriousness of this. “No one else can know about this.”

He hesitates for a few seconds, making me feel a little worried, but then nods his head. “I promise, Troy.”

I smile gratefully and nod back. “Thanks.”

He claps his hand on my shoulder. “No problem…Lion-Man.”

We sit on the edge of Jack’s bed, laughing at his comment. After we f
inish, he turns his head to me.

“You know th
ey caught him, right?” he says.

“Who?” I ask, being so happy that Jack was okay with my secret that I completel
y forgot about everything else.

“The guy at the lab
,” he replies. “Dr. Davidson.”

My mind immediately went back to what happened at the lab the other day and suddenly I began to crave the need for answers.

“Where is he?”

“I don’t know,” says Jack. “All my dad would tell me is that they caught him and put him somewhere where he couldn’t escape. He’s sure of it.”

“Did he tell you about how he got those powers?”

Jack shakes his head.

“Well, there must be some reason for it. He had to at least be involved in one of your father’s projects.”

He shrugs. “If he did, he wouldn’t talk about it. Unless, it was on his computer-”

“Computer?” I say blankly, trying to figure out where Jack was going with this. “What about his computer?”

“Well, I know that he likes to keep back-up files from work and put them on his computer.”

“Have you ever been on it?”

“No. He never lets me in his study, period.”

Suddenly, I hear a sound outside of the room. I turn on my super-hearing and realized it was Mr. Colfer’s voice traveling through the hallway.

“Jack!” he shouts. “Are you okay?! I heard noises!”

“Your dad’s coming,” I tell Jack.

“Oh, man,” he sighs. “I’m gonna be in so much trouble. I’m not supposed to have people over.”

As Mr. Colfer’s footsteps get closer to the door, my heart begins to quicken its pace. There wasn’t much time left. He could be here any minute. I quickly grab hold of Jack’s arms and shake him.

“Jack, listen to me,” I gasp. “I need you to go into your dad’s study and find out as much as you can about Davidson. Do you understand me?”

Jack nods his head and I let go of his arms, leaping from his bed, and walking towards the balcony.

“What if I find something?”
he asks. “What do I do, then?”

“Bring it to school,” I say.

Jack and I jump out of place at the sound of the twisting doorknob, and within seconds, I use my super-speed to open the glass door and jump off the balcony, flying into the cold, dark night.

Brad was already home by the time I arrived, sitting on the couch, looking at the picture of Sara and Zoë; the one that used to be on the table, but now all that stood in its place were three sheets of stapled paper.

“Hey, Brad,” I say.

As I step into the living room, he quickly sets the picture onto his lap.

“Hey, kiddo,” he says hesitantly. “Went out with Taylor again today?”

“No, actually,” I say, “I went to go see Jack.”

“How’s he doing?”

“He’s holding up pretty good. Might actually come back to school tomorrow.”

Brad then nods his head in a satisfactory way. “That’s good.” He then looks away and continues staring back at the picture frame.

“Am I interrupting something?” I ask.

He turns to face me again. “No. You’re not interrupting anything,” he says. He then hesitates for a moment. “It’s just that…it was our anniversary today.” He lifts the photograph in the air, and gazes at it once more as he lays it back onto his lap. “Would’ve been nine years if…”
He didn’t finish the sentence.

I’d suddenly began to grow furious. I had grown tired of Brad crying day by day over his wife and kid. I was sick of him using me as a replacement for them, just to make himself feel sa
tisfied. I was tired of it all.

With a deafening growl, I walked out of the room
and headed towards the stairs.

“Troy!
” Brad yells. “Come back here!”

I pause for a moment, considering the thought of just ignoring him and forgetting this event ever happened. But then as I thought of the numerous times I’ve taken that road, I clutch my fis
ts and walk back into the room.

“What’s going on?!” he asks.

“I just want to know one thing,” I say in a powerful, commanding voice. “Why did you take me in?”

Brad looks at me with sadness, disbelief, and confusion. He carefully places the picture aside, then stands up and looks a
t me. “Troy, what do you mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean,” I snap back at him. “Why am I even here? Why are you being so nice to me? What do you want from me?”

He places his fingers on the bridge of his nose and sighs. He then put them down, and composes himself before speaking.

“Troy, before I found you, I was a complete mess,” Brad explains. “I was so hurt about what happened with Sara and Zoë that I thought I’d never

be happy again. But then you came along and started to make things better for me.”

“As a replacement for them?”

“No. Not at all. You are your own person, Troy. Always have been since I found you.”

“Then why did you decide to keep me around?”

“You simply remind me of… of my daughter,” he says. Well, that’s a good way of convincing me I’m not a replacement. “Even though she was four, and you’re…quite older than her, I noticed that you guys seem to have one trait in common.”

“And what might that be?” I ask.

“Determination. The will to never say no. Even if doubt is in the back of your mind, you never give up.”

I unclench my hands, my rage suddenly fading. I was overwhelmed by this discovery; so overwhelmed that it actually felt as if I’v
e been hit by a ton of bricks.

“Bottom line,” he continues, “the reason I’ve kept you around is because you are the perfect kid, and in my eyes…the perfect son.”

My eyes widen in surprise, the sound of Brad’s words sounding even more unexpected then they were before. I look into his eyes, trying to find an expression of untruth, but surprisingly there wasn’t any. He was telling the truth.

“Really?” I ask.

He nods his head and smiles. “Yeah,” he says. He then picks up the stack of papers off the table and holds them up. “I know this is a little too much to ask. I don’t even know if you’ll accept it, with the search for your family still ongoing and all. But, if you’d like, I could be your permanent guardian.”

I was speechless at that moment, the phase
permanent guardian
bouncing around my head so