The Secret of the Supers (The First Superhero Book 4) (13 page)

I
fought
every urge within me to react. I wanted to scream at the doctor. I wanted to cry that my best friend was dead. I wanted to figure out if there was some way I could save him.

But I didn’t. I pushed it all down. Locked it away. All I needed to focus on right now was Selena.

I watched her, ready to intervene if she lost her cool. She looked down at the ground, pinching her brow. She took in a deep breath and looked at the doctor. The guards tensed. “Thank you for trying your best,” she said, her voice cracking. She turned and walked out the door.

We all stood there for a moment, taking in the news. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what to do. The emptiness in my stomach sucked away all my emotion like a black hole. I just felt numb. Useless.

Without thinking, I crossed the room, opened the door, and ran out. “Selena!” I shouted at her as she walked down the hall. She was almost at the exit to the hospital.

She stopped and turned around, her eyes red and puffy. “What, Kane?” she said as she wiped her face.

I jogged down the hallway towards her. “Selena,” I began as I reached her. I realized that I had no idea what I was going to say. I didn’t know what I
needed
to say. I mean, was there anything I could to make her feel better? To make me feel better? “T-this sucks,” I said, my voice beginning to crack. I looked away, the black hole inside of me began to release some of my emotions, and I didn’t know how to stop them. I looked back up at her, my eyes beginning to water, the realization that I’d just lost one of my best and oldest friends. “This sucks.” It was all I could say.

Selena nodded as she turned away. “Yeah, Kane. It sucks.”

I
t was almost
twelve hours later. I knew it was sometime in the early morning, probably around two or three. But I didn’t bother looking. Time wasn’t something I was worried about.

I lay on my bed, looking up at the ceiling. I wasn’t sure exactly how long I’d laid there, but I could probably count on my hands how many thoughts I’d had in the hours I’d been there. I was letting my emotions do their work on me. There was no reason to fight it. I let them use my mind as a playground.

Sometimes I would feel empty, like a glass that was once filled with water had just gotten kicked over, its insides spreading everywhere. Other times I felt like somebody had their hands inside my body, twisting my guts all around until they were tied in a perfect knot. Other times I felt as if an ice cube was stuck between my brain and my skull, running its way down the back of my head, searching for a way to escape.

While other times, I felt like I’d just been told my best friend died. Because there’s really no better way to explain how I was feeling than saying that, because there’s really not anything quite like it.

“I heard about Drew,” a familiar voice said.

I looked up, and saw Athena walking over towards my bed. She sat down next to me, although the weight on the mattress didn’t shift since she wasn’t actually there. “If you’re here to just confuse me and tell me things I already know, you can just go. I’m not in the mood.”

Athena shook her head. “That is not at all why I am here. Kane, you might not believe it, but I care about you. The fact that you’re doing everything you can to help me means a great deal.”

“Yeah, because I obviously have a choice. You’re holding information hostage, dangling it in front of me like a carrot to a donkey,” I said, the storm of anger beginning to rage within me. “Don’t pretend you care.”

“I do, Kane. You may not believe me, but I do.”

“If you really do care,” I said, bolting up right. I could feel the rage dancing behind my eyes. “Then do something about it. Bring him back like you did Doug.”

Athena shook her head. “It’s not that simple. If there was an explosion, then there’s no body. No body and I can’t bring him back. Besides, these things are much more complicated than just snapping your fingers and bringing someone back to life. A price must always be paid, and you still owe me for Doug.”

I stood up from the bed, the anger forcing me to move. “You keep coming here and talking to me, but you’re not helping me at all. You’re just confusing me and getting in my way! You say you care, but just a while ago you told me not to trust my friends! What’s your problem?” I yelled. “Why can’t you just be straight with me? Why can’t you give me a little help? What’s your game?”

“There’s no game,” Athena said, standing from her bed. “But there are rules. Life is full of them, Kane Andrews. And they must be followed.” Her voice grew stern.

“Okay then, new rule: don’t bother coming to me unless you’re
actually
going to help me,” I said.

“That seems awfully selfish,” she replied.

“You want to talk about selfish? Really? You’re not helping me bring my friend back just because I haven’t finished completing your task that, frankly, is vague as hell.”

“Rules, Kane. Rules.”

If I heard her say that word one more time, I was going to blow my top. I couldn’t believe she was standing there saying these things to me. If she really cared, if she was really just stopping by to offer her condolences, then she was doing a terrible job at it. That meant all the emotions that were using my mind as a playground began to overflow, and I was taking it all out on her.

“Kane, I really am sorry, and I really do care,” she said, taking a step forward.

I felt a rush of energy as she stepped closer.

“—you hea—” a voice in the distance said. It came in and out, like a voice fighting through static on the radio.

Athena’s form flickered.

“Get out,” I said.

“What?”

“I said get out!” I yelled, pointing at the door. I’d had enough of her. My friend just died, I didn’t need her coming in and messing with my head any more than my own emotions were.

“Kane, you do not cast me out like I’m a dog sticking their nose where they shouldn’t.” Her form slowly rose above the ground, the robes around her whipping around like someone turned a fan on full blast.

My anger disguised itself as courage and fueled me. “Get the hell out of my head right now!” I yelled, clamping my hands over my ears, pressing down on them like I could squeeze her away.

“Do
not
speak to me li—”

“—GET OUT!” I clenched my eyes and screamed as loud as I could. Everything in the room shifted a few inches, and I heard glass shatter in the bathroom.

I opened my eyes, and Athena was gone.

For a moment, I was happy that I’d succeeded. I stood up to her. I was alone, just like I wanted.

But then I couldn’t fight off the sudden feeling that I’d done something terribly wrong.

M
y phone buzzed
, waking me from my sleep. I didn’t even remember getting into bed. A text from Ellie sat unopened on my screen. I almost didn’t open it, but then I figured I should just in case it was an emergency.

We need to talk. Come by my office soon?

I didn’t even bother to reply. I peeled myself from bed and, wearing the same clothes from the day before, exited my room. Ellie had stopped by the night before just a couple hours after the news, and we talked for a bit. She didn’t stay long though, as it was obvious I wasn’t in the mood for company. Now it seemed like she needed something, and despite the fact I’d gotten mad and yelled at her the night before, I still had a duty to Athena I needed to fulfill. That meant going to see Ellie whenever she needed.

When I was walking to her office though, I realized something as I passed a window. The sky outside was dark. I looked down at my phone and realized it was almost eleven at night. I’d slept through the entire day. Still, my body felt tired and worn.

I reached Ellie’s office and let myself in.

“It’s good to see you about,” Ellie said as I entered

I forced a smile. “Thanks.” I sat down in a chair across from her desk. My eyes felt heavy, the few hours of sleep I got not having been sufficient. “Working late?”

“Yes, of course. We need to talk about Selena,” she said, getting straight to the point.

“What about her?” I asked, sitting up straight.

“No one knows where she is. She’s not in her room, or anywhere on the premises as far as we can tell.”

“I mean, that’s kinda to be expected. I’m sure she wants some alone time,” I said. “I’m sure she’ll be back soon.”

Ellie nodded. “I hope so. However, my superiors are a bit more nervous about the situation. They see Selena as a loose cannon, and her being out in London without any supervision? To them, it is a recipe for disaster.”

“What do you want me to do about it?” I asked, unsure where she was going with this.

“We need you to go find her. Try and get her to come back. We understand she’s fragile and hurt right now, but a fragile and hurt Super is the last thing we need to worry about.”

“She wouldn’t do anything. You know Selena, Ellie. She’s not going to destroy the city because she’s upset her boyfriend died,” I told her, feeling ridiculous that I had to even say those words.

“Yes, I know,” Ellie said. “I know she wouldn’t do something like that. Like I said, this is my superiors talking. Can you just go out there and try to find her?”

I thought about it for a moment. If I knew Selena, I knew she wanted to be left alone. Then again, she’d been alone for almost thirty-six hours. Maybe it was time for her to have someone to talk to. “Okay,” I said, standing. “I’ll go see if I can find her.”

Ellie stood. “Thank you, Kane. I know this time is hard on you, and I would never ask something of you right now if it was up to me. But it’s not.”

I nodded and gave Ellie a smile. “Don’t worry, I know. I’ll let you know what I find.”

“Thank you,” she said as I turned and walked out the door.

I let out a big sigh and made my way to the elevator. Hunger scratched at my stomach, and I realized I hadn’t eaten in a long time. Selena probably hadn’t either, and suddenly I was feeling confident that I’d be able to bring her back if I brought up the prospect of food.

As I entered the elevator, I was feeling confident. I wasn’t sure what to expect as I’d never seen Selena so upset before, but I was sure that I’d be able to reach her and help her through this. We could help
each other
.

The doors opened and I walked towards the exit. I looked up at the holes in the wall that’d been hastily patched up. I could hear the faint hum of the Eximus wires that ran along the outside of the building. By now the ceiling was probably covered too, which meant Eddie and Doug were going to have to be a bit more careful if we went up there again.

I realized I hadn’t talked to either one of them since Drew’s death. I made a mental note to check on them when I got back, if they were still awake whenever that was.

But first thing was first, I needed to find Selena. I stepped out into the cold London night, and took off in the air, beginning my search.

I flew across the city, scanning the rooftops and parks for any sign of Selena, but found nothing. As I searched, I realized I really didn’t have any clue as to where she might be located.

I looked up at the clouds above me. Nobody below could see past them. It was like a privacy divider between a city and the rest of the universe. If Selena really wanted to be alone, I knew she’d be on the other side of there.

I flew up and through the divide, marveling at the clear sky on the other side. The moon was big and bright, lighting up the clouds below me. The stars twinkled, and I felt utterly alone. It was perfect.

I spun around, scanning with my supervision for any sign of Selena. A mile or two away, I saw a figure floating that had to be Selena. I flew over, on my way wondering how I was going to start my conversation with her. She had her back towards me as she looked out upon the sky that stretched before us. For a second I thought it might not be her. It could be my head messing with me again, just as it had been whenever I kept thinking I saw Samantha. But as I got close, I realized it was her.

“Hey Selena,” I said as I flew up behind her. “Pretty view, huh?”

Selena turned to face me, and I froze when I saw her eyes glowing a bright white.

A
thena had taken
a camera from the twenty-first century, traveled back to the 1400’s, and took a picture of her son when he was a teenager.

She looked down at it, in awe of how beautiful he was. To her, he had only just been born. But thanks to time travel, she didn’t have to wait and see what he would grow up to look like. She had this picture to remind her.

Which was good, because she didn’t want to have to keep going back and forth from then to where she was now, sitting in a car, watching another teenaged boy. She looked back and forth from him to the picture of her own son. The two of them were almost identical.

This was really going to work. She’d be able to pull the plan off, and no one would notice.

She closed her eyes and sighed. She began to question whether or not she should go through with it. But then she thought of Patrick, and how he had begged her to. Despite loving her son, she viewed Patrick as her firstborn. She loved spending time with him. Talking with him. Practically raising him.

But she knew she could never bring him back with her.

So instead this plan was going to have to work. She was doing it for him. To save Patrick’s life.

To save the world.