My Brother is a Superhero (20 page)

Bloop-whoosh!

Without pausing to wash my hands I bolted out of the house. I reached the foot of the rope ladder in time to see the flick of a purple and gold cape disappearing inside a blue oval trans-dimensional craft. A second later there was another
bloop-whoosh
– and the craft was gone. Zorbon the Decider had returned. And I’d missed him.

Again.

I found Zack sitting silently in the darkening tree house, surrounded by shadows. He’d put aside his maths book. In front of him lay a sponge cake.

“It’s from Zorbon,” he said, biting into a slice. “It tastes different,” he mused. “But not entirely different.”

I didn’t care about the stupid sponge cake. I had to know. “Did Zorbon take away your powers?”

He took another bite. “Um, no. But you’ll never guess what did happen.”

Gah! He’s so annoying. “So tell me!”

He glanced over his shoulder. From out of the shadows stepped a familiar figure. It was Lara. She wore an
expression of pure astonishment. I hadn’t seen anything like it since … oh no.

Surely not.

“Luke,” she said, staring at her hands, turning them over and over, “I think I have superpowers.”

Ideally, these acknowledgements would be zooming out of the page at you in massive 3D titles, accompanied by a stirring orchestral score. Budgetary constraints, however, mean that instead I have this list. Also, I shall hum. Thanks to my editor Kirsty Stansfield, publisher Kate Wilson, and the team at the Crow’s Nest (take a left at the Batcave, first road after the Fortress of Solitude); illustrator Laura Ellen Anderson and designer Nicola Theobald for a cover as impactful as Giant-Sized X-Men Number 1; Agent Stan (literary, not S.H.I.E.L.D., sadly) for his cool-headed guidance. As ever, thanks to my wife Natasha, who puts the dynamic in our duo. Above all, this story is for my son, Luke. I know you won’t be able to read it for quite a few years, but when you’re old enough to understand, the answer is no, you can’t borrow the car.