Authors: Preston Norton
Marrow
Marrow
Future House Publishing
Copyright © 2015 by Preston Norton
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form
or by any means without the written permission of the publisher.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either
the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover design by Jonathan Diaz
Cover design © 2015 by Future House Publishing
Editing by Helena Steinacker
ISBN-10: 0989125351 (paperbound)
ISBN-13: 978-0-9891253-5-2 (paperbound)
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Marrow
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Adam, Helena,
Ami, Ryan, Mandi and the rest of
the Future House Publishing Team
Having super powers isn’t always as super as it sounds.
Actually . . . that’s a lie. It’s pretty much awesome.
It was the last day of Finals at FIST (Fantom Institute for Superheroes-in-Training). There were exactly ten of us who had qualified for the Sidekick Internship Program. All fourteen years old. All dangerous in our own unique ways. Based on our scores and overall performance, we would be evaluated and paired up with Superheroes who would serve as our mentors for the summer. With top-notch scores, I could be teamed up with a hero like Nova. Or Apex. Or the most legendary hero of them all . . .
Fantom, himself.
Fantom wasn’t just the founder of FIST. And he wasn’t just a Superhero either. The guy was an icon. A symbol of hope. He was the fastest, strongest, smartest, insert-whatever-awesome-adjective-you-can-think-of-
est
hero of them all. And the guy had style. Oh man, did he have style.
Legend had it that Fantom was the first of the Supers—merely a kid out on a boat with his parents when the Gaia Comet struck. (It was the foreign radioactive energy of Gaia that gave birth to the Supers.) The comet made impact right where they were sailing, killing Fantom’s parents instantly. However, fate or pure luck allowed Fantom to emerge unscathed, and he was reborn with power unparalleled by any other Super.
Fantom was going to be my mentor. I had already decided that.
I was going to kick this Final in the butt.
Sure, we all had to sign an insurance waiver in case of injury, psychological damage, dismemberment, death . . . blah blah blah. But basically, I already had a free ticket to spend my summer with a seasoned Superhero, fighting crime and basking in my awesomeness.
The ten of us students were lined up in the Battle Dome—a white, spherical room with half a dozen sliding doors leading into separate Challenge Chambers. We trained here on a regular basis. Contrasting the glaring white of our surroundings, each of us was suited in matching black bodysuits—unrestricting, muscle-stimulating, cold and heat resistant, and even flameproof. You’d never suspect it though. The material was so light, it almost felt like you were wearing nothing.
“Are you ready to eat my dust, bonehead?” asked Nero, sneering to my left.
Nero was a punk. A tall, skinny punk with black hair and a smirk on his face that made me want to punch him every time I looked at him. He was also telekinetic—meaning he could move objects with his mind. This easily made him one of the top competitors.
But being
one
of the best was inconsequential since I
was
the best.
“You know,
Zero
, it’s funny,” I said under my breath. “I always thought it was necessary to actually have a brain in order to use mind powers. How do
you
do it?”
Despite my hushed tone, my comment had not gone unheard. A girl laughed—Sapphire.
“Marrow, if there was a superpower that made you good at comebacks, I’d swear that was your real power.”
Sapphire was standing to my right. She was as cute as you could possibly be with blue hair. No, she didn’t dye her hair that color so they’d go with her pretty blue eyes (although they matched perfectly, I’ll have you know). It was somehow associated with her power—the ability to manipulate water and ice. It sounds like a wimpy power until you actually see what she can do with it. Even when there’s no water nearby, she can freeze the moisture in the air, creating an icy blast. And good luck if you tick her off and there
is
water near. When I first met her and heard what her power was, I laughed and called her the Ice Queen. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of doing this while we were training by the courtyard fountain. She made the fountain erupt and hit me with it like a mini tsunami.
The nickname, Ice Queen, died the day it was conceived.
Nero was scowling on my other side. He may have had almost top scores at FIST, but the kid was about as witty as a box of rocks. He couldn’t come up with a comeback to save his life.
And everybody knows that a Superhero needs to be good with comebacks.
There was a subtle
whoosh
as the sliding door directly in front of us opened. Out stepped a black man in a black leather vest and camo pants. He was our instructor at FIST. His name was Havoc, and he typically dressed like he had ransacked Mr. T’s wardrobe. He was built like a barbarian with his facial hair trimmed and shaped like curving sharp-edged tribal tattoos. I had never seen Havoc smile. Not once.
“You finally made it,” said Havoc, his thick arms pulled behind his back. “The Final Challenge.”
I don’t think any of us could fight the smiles on our faces. I know I couldn’t. I could feel the adrenaline screaming through my veins.
“So here’s how this is going to work,” Havoc continued. “We’re going to divide you into pairs.”
Several students groaned. Others lit up with excitement. I felt myself stuck somewhere in between the mixed response. Working as a team had its perks, depending on who your teammate was. Sapphire, for example, was an
excellent
teammate. And not just because I liked to show off in front of her. Or because she looked hot in her bodysuit. Or because . . . well . . . you get what I mean.
Unfortunately, working as a team was a double-edged sword because there were also teammates like Nero. Or . . . Nero.
Yeah.
I mean, the guy had skill, don’t get me wrong. Unfortunately, the kid deliberately tried to make things as difficult as possible. It was like a part of his twisted moral code or something.
“Come on,” said Nero, groaning. “I didn’t get this far to have someone else screw it up for me.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re one to talk,” I grumbled under my breath.
“You talkin’ about me, Marrow?” asked Nero, snapping his head at me.
“Oh no, I was talking about your mom.”
Nero went rigid, his face reddening as everyone laughed. I assumed he was scraping the back of his telekinetic brain for a comeback. Of course, he had nothing.
“Both of you, shut your pie holes!” Havoc barked.
Nero and I knew better than to push Havoc’s buttons. Both of us bit our lips simultaneously.
Havoc’s chest puffed out as he took a step forward, his eyes bouncing between the two of us. “That’s the whole point of this, isn’t it? To be
teamed
up with a
real
Superhero? If you ninnyhammers can’t even work as a team with someone on your own level, then why should we waste our time placing you with an experienced hero?”
His piercing glare homed in on Nero who immediately cringed and stared at his feet. It took every ounce of will power for me not to grin.
“You have anything else to say, princess?” asked Havoc, still glaring at Nero.
“No,” Nero murmured.
“No?” Havoc repeated, hovering even further over the student. “Just no? No what, Nero?”
“No sir,” Nero hastily added. Because Nero and I were the same height, it was easy to tell that he was cowering.
“That’s right! No, sir, you do not have anything else to say!” Havoc took a step back, sweeping his gaze past all of us in a row. “Does anyone else feel an urge to waste my time with their stupid comments?”
No one spoke. No one was that dumb.
“Good,” said Havoc, snorting. “On that note, let’s get you turds divvied up. These pairs come straight from Oracle, so I better not hear any whining from any of you about how unfair it is.”
Again, he scoured us with his terrifying gaze as if daring us to challenge him. Personally, I would rather challenge a volcano.
I had only met Oracle once. Though hardly a Superhero, she did have a supernatural power. She was a Telepath. She could see inside your head. Read your thoughts. Her level of telepathy was so advanced, in fact, that she had the ability to see images from the future—signs, visions, premonitions . . . you know . . . weird stuff like that. Other than that, she was just your average wrinkly old cat lady. Seriously . . . like two dozen cats. It didn’t help that she smelled like mothballs and boiled cabbage. Oh, and she was blind. That’s only important in the sense that she creeps the bejeebies out of me every time she looks at me with those blank milky eyes. I know she can’t see, but there’s definitely a sense of awareness in there.
Havoc removed an envelope from the inside of his vanilla suit coat. Slowly, he opened it with his meaty fingers. “And the pairs are . . .”
Sapphire . . . Sapphire . . . Sapphire . . . I was going to be paired with Sapphire.
“Sapphire . . .” Havoc read aloud from the sheet of paper he held.
My breath stopped short.
“. . . will be paired with . . . Whisp.”
Have I mentioned how much I hate working in teams?
Whisp was a scrawny kid with big glasses. He was easily the worst when it came to hand-to-hand combat, but he made up for it with perfect scores in weapons knowledge, equipment handling, medical training, escape and evade techniques, and
especially
computer hacking Seriously, give that kid a computer to crack and he’ll know that thing inside out in minutes. Even I can’t do that. And his super power? Get this . . . he talks to animals. I’m not kidding. He’s an animal whisperer, hence the nickname, Whisp. He’ll talk to a squirrel and tell it to go gnaw your legs off. And it will. He’s very persuasive in that department. Unfortunately, his power is pretty useless unless you happen to have a city zoo handy.
Of course Oracle would put Dr. Dolittle and the Ice Queen together.
Havoc continued to rattle off partners’ names, but I was only halfway paying attention. At this point, I didn’t even care who I got paired with. Just so long as I didn’t get stuck with . . .
“Nero and Marrow,” Havoc bellowed—there was no hiding the slight smirk on his face. “You two are a team.”
Oracle obviously hated me.
Neither Nero nor I spoke as Havoc finished off the names. I simply bit my lip, hoping that, somehow, Nero and I could simply ignore each other as we finished the Challenge. I suppose the
one
good thing was that I didn’t have to worry about him not being able to keep up. Now if only I knew that he wouldn’t
deliberately
be my biggest obstacle.
“That’s everyone,” said Havoc. “Once the timer starts, each team must pick a Challenge Chamber door. And yes, the Challenge inside each door differs. Each will be based on one of the Defeated. If you’ve studied your history, this will be to your advantage. If not, then may God have mercy on your pathetic little souls.”
The Defeated were infamous Supervillains who had already been vanquished. Unfortunately, a disturbing number of these were Superheroes-gone-bad, several of them FIST graduates. These were the villains that Fantom specialized in defeating. Nothing infuriated Fantom more than a Superhero overcome by greed, using his power for his own vile purposes. Fantom was merciless in these circumstances.
These were the villains that he killed without blinking.
“Our virtual recreations of the Defeated are, of course, simplified,” said Havoc. “But that’s not to say that they aren’t capable of killing you. If there is no danger, there is no challenge. But, of course, I, and several specialized teams, will be observing your every movement. If it’s obvious that you or your teammate won’t make it out of this alive, we will intervene. However, if we have to do so, you and your teammate will be disqualified from the Sidekick Internship Program. Any questions?”
If anyone did have a question, I doubted they had the guts to ask. Havoc liked explaining things as much as he liked smiling—which, I already mentioned, is never.
“Good,” said Havoc. Without another word, he lifted his thick wrist and glanced at his watch. At least it
looked
like a watch. He scrolled his thick finger on the small round face and pressed a button. At that very instant, a digital number ten lit up over each chamber door.
Nine.
Eight.
The timer continued to count down as each team randomly began selecting their own door. Nero and I, without even looking at each other, began walking to the door straight ahead—the one Havoc had come from.
“Just stay out of my way, Bonehead,” Nero muttered under his breath.
Now you’re probably wondering why Nero always calls me Bonehead. Believe it or not, there’s actually a reason for that particular nickname. It may be the only halfway clever thing that’s ever come out of his mouth, even if he does milk it for all its worth.
It’s associated with my power—the ability to alter my bone density. Yeah, it may sound like an awkward power, but people usually have a change of heart when they see me in action.
I am the highest scoring student at FIST, after all.
“No sweat, Zero,” I said with a nonchalant shrug. “Hey, is it possible for you to telekinetically kiss my butt?”
Three.
Two.
One.
The sliding door opened. Nero and I stepped inside.