Science class was one of her favorites. Not because she understood it and not because the teacher was any good; the best teacher was still Mr. Pluto.
Mrs. Mars was even more strict, a very old lady who had zero tolerance for fun. What made science her favorite, and many others’ favorite, was the fact that with the addition of weird superpowers, every now and then, you would get a new hero that destroyed the laws of the universe. Mrs. Mars would slowly go mad trying to explain it before eventually blacking out in her seat and letting them do whatever they wanted.
This was one such day, with the elder lady snoring softly. She rested in the back, next to her newest friend, watching funny cat videos on her phone.
“Did you hear that Ocean Empress is apparently in our city?” Kyle asked.
“No. I didn’t.” She lied, vaguely hoping that he’d buy it.
Much like with Mr. Larison, it was kept on the down low that she had almost been killed by a supervillain and saved at the last second only by the Ocean Empress. The woman hadn’t stayed long after Mr. Larison had blacked out, simply grabbing onto the two of them and flying them directly to the hospital.
She really didn’t get to avoid school for too long. Her body healed a lot faster than she expected, and staying home got boring fast, so she begged her mom to let her go back to school so she could at least hang out with her friends. In total, she had been gone for a little over three days.
Kyle swiped on his phone, switching the video to another funny cat compilation. “Since Old Dog retired, I guess Ocean Empress will be keeping this city safe.” He stated.
“Neat. Hey, you said you lived in Lillian, right? Isn’t Ocean Empress the hero of that city?” Lillian and Oleander were two birds of a feather. They were beside each other, separated only by a large bridge. Whenever her school had a large football game, their rivals would be one of the schools in Lillian. Old Dog and Ocean Empress had been close. Both were members of the Enforcers, and both went on patrols together a lot. With him gone, it seemed the hero’s patrol expanded to this city to cover up his leave.
“Yeah, I saw her and her team a lot. Team Reservoir, I mean. They’re the guys she leads whenever the Enforcers aren’t called together. It’s a small yet strong team.” Kyle explained.
“That explains it.”
“What?”
“Nothing.” She sighed. She recalled her father’s words in the hospital. He had said something about the newest member of the Reservoir coming to Oleander to offer their healing powers, and he was one of the people on the list. That would explain why the hero Ocean Empress was here if someone that valuable from her team was staying in Oleander. “Hey, so I know we were talking about hanging out and trying out my powers more, but I’m going to be busy today. My mom and I are going to the hospital to see my dad.”
Today was the big day. Another reason she wanted to go to school. She couldn’t just walk around her house and wait for it to happen. She had too much energy for that and needed to do something, anything.
Kyle gave a nod at her remark. “Ah, that’s fine. Truthfully, I’m going to be a little busy today as well. My dad is officially taking over the police department here, and I wanted to celebrate with him. Speaking of powers, though...” He leaned in close to her, and she suddenly became aware of how most of the girls were staring at them. “Have you told your friend, Armin, yet?”
“Not yet. Also, you’re a little close. I don’t want a repeat of what happened last time.” She chuckled nervously.
Kyle pulled away and had a heavy frown on his face. “Yeah. Sorry about that. I had a word with that Ashley girl. I can’t believe those kids would do a cruel prank like that. I’m not interested in any of them. I’d rather hang out with you.”
“I think that’s why they’re doing it. But I’m kind of glad. It’s fun to show those popular kids up. Dorks for life.”
A loud bell tolled through the building, signaling the end of the class. Mrs. Mars jumped up with a loud yelp, her eyes wide. The teacher saw all the kids standing and making for the door, and she attempted to wipe the drowsiness from her face. “Students! Students! When you get home today, I want you all to write a four-page report on why the hero Poseidon is able to distort gravity with her water while not affecting anything that isn’t touching—it doesn’t make sense! Gravity doesn’t work that way!”
They left her ranting there as the next class entered. When she was in the hallway, she once again became aware of all the whispers and stares that were around her. Kyle slapped her on the back, making her jump a bit, which thankfully managed to turn her enhanced senses off. “I guess I’ll see you in a bit,” the boy said, waving her off.
She almost shrunk down when she saw more of the stares, especially from Ashley, who stood with wide, angry eyes. The girl stepped towards her and looked like she was about to say something, but she never got the chance.
A hand shoved Ashley away, and the girl let out a cry as she crashed into a locker. Her savior was Kevin, of all people. Suddenly, it got worse. The sight of him had caused everyone to go quiet, even Ashley, who was still flat on her butt from where he pushed her.
She braced herself and decided to be the first to talk. “Kev, can we just not? I’m pretty sore.” Kevin ignored her, wrapping an arm around her and lifting her off the ground. “Help! Someone help!”
No one helped.
The human gorilla carried her to a quieter part of the school where there weren’t so many prying eyes, and he didn’t exactly let her down softly. It took everything she had not to fight back. He glared down at her, and she flinched, shrinking a little. She might have gone up against a legit supervillain recently, but Kevin was still a steroid-fueled beast. Though she could easily fold him in two.
“I’m going to say this once because I don’t want this coming back to me.” His breath was still bad. “I already talked to that new kid. Not a word about the junkyard; you got that? As far as anyone knows, I went to beat your ass for humiliating me. I didn’t lead you into gang territory, and I didn’t go down like a freaking sissy and have to be saved. Got that? Last thing I need is people thinking I’m in a gang or getting my drugs from those bastards.”
“Yeah, crystal clear, sir!” She said, giving a mock salute that only caused Kevin to growl again.
“That was your free one. I’ll consider what the gang did to cover you messing with me. Next time you try something like that, you’re dead.”
“Right.” Kevin spun around and began to march off, leaving her there. “Thanks.” That caused him to stop for only a second. “Thanks for not mentioning the gang stuff, I mean. I’d like to keep that stuff secret, too.”
“Shut up, weirdo.”
“Weirdo!” And then he was gone.
***
Once more, the cycle of class came and went. It was the end of the school day, and she and Armin stepped down the stairs of the school. “So, you’re going to check on Mr. Lauren again?” Her friend asked.
“Yeah.” She nodded. Then stopped. “Hey, uh... So where is the homeless guy?” He wasn’t at the bottom of the stairs; he must have already been carried off by security. It was a little odd not to see him. “I was looking forward to his cryptic message.”
“He’ll be back. Probably just chilling somewhere.” There was a light buzz, and Armin checked his phone. “Oh, sorry, I can’t come with you today. I got to go. Hey, I’ll tell my dad you’re doing better. He was worried when he heard what happened. Stay frosty, sis!”
“Yeah, bye.” She wondered how much Armin knew. His dad was aware of the villain's attack, since it was kind of hard to hide that fact from the boss. On top of that, Armin’s constant vanishing act was starting to get a little weird. Then again, he was always a little weird. “Hey, Mom!” She waved when she saw the beautiful, yet tired-looking, raven-haired woman standing next to the cheap old car.
“Hey, sweetie, how was school?” Her mom asked.
“Fine, I guess. I didn’t get into another fight and managed to hide out better than I normally do.” She puffed her chest out proudly.
“That’s good.”
An awkward silence filled the car when they both got seated and hit the road. Unlike last time, they wouldn’t be going by the bank; they were just heading straight for the hospital. Today was the day. Her dad would be up and walking again; he’d be fine; he would go back to work; they’d repurchase the house and be a family once more.
Team Reservoir was going to heal him.
She’d have her father back.
She’d tell him she had powers; he’d laugh and have his goofy smile; he'd help her make a costume and figure out how to use them; and then he’d teach her and-
“I’m sorry. I did the best that I could and eased a lot of the pain, but my power wasn’t able to affect him.” The hero stated in a blunt tone.
It felt like a blur. The ride to the hospital with so many thoughts going through her head. The next thing she knew, Mom and her stood outside the hospital room Dad stayed in.
On any other day, the people who stood out in the halls would have been a truly amazing sight for her.
Ocean Empress stood. True to her name, the woman looked like a princess, wearing a long, elegant dress made of water and ice. Next to the woman was her daughter, Poseidon. Unlike her mom, Poseidon did have a basic costume. The girl seemed to be in her late teens, likely sixteen or seventeen, and had blonde hair tied back into a ponytail. Her costume was silver and looked almost like what you would expect an ancient warrior from a long-dead civilization to wear. It looked more warrior-like than heroic, and a red cloth was draped over one of her shoulders with a trident resting on the other.
The final person was the one who had spoken those words that had caused her world to almost come crashing down. Paragon was the newest member of Team Reservoir, having only awakened her powers recently. Or at least that was the local rumor. Despite how new she was, everyone was talking about her. There weren’t many powers able to heal, and she had come to Oleander and managed to cure every patient in the hospital, save for one.
Paragon’s costume wasn’t much to look at. Unlike most heroes, she was dressed more like a doctor, wearing a lab coat and rubber gloves, and underneath, she was dressed in scrubs. Her hair was a reddish brown and tied back into a ponytail, and she was wearing a plain white full mask that covered her entire face. She wondered if the girl could even see. A goofy smiley face and two circles drawn in marker on the front as eyes. A large red hawk was resting on the girl’s shoulder, its eyes darting back and forth. Most of her skin was covered up, but what could be seen showed it was white, not like the skin color but like actual paper or milk. She was way too pale.
“What do you mean you couldn’t heal my husband?” Jane’s voice didn’t have an edge to it or a hint of anger. It was something else. Acceptance, as if the woman had assumed it would be this way.
“His body kept rejecting my powers,” Paragon explained. “I came here today to see what I could and couldn’t cure, and I was able to affect all but him. The plague he has is called the Dead Virus, and I’m afraid it isn’t anything my powers can affect. I tried to help ease him and lessen the feeling for good, but that was all I could do. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t sound sorry.” She nearly flinched when all the eyes turned on her. She had practically snarled it, and normally she’d have felt bad, but her eyes were locked onto the hero in front of her. Despite giving them the news, Paragon’s voice had zero emotion in it. The girl couldn’t have been older than fifteen, yet she sounded bored. Annoyed even.
“Look, I tried the best I could-”
“Try again.” She growled, cutting the girl off.
“Hope!”
Her mom attempted to put a hand on her shoulder, but she shook it off of her. “What! So, Dad is supposed to just die because he got unlucky and got infected by a disease some jackass villain created! That’s not fair! He said she could help him. She has to fix him. He has to get better!” She sent a pleading look to Ocean Empress. She wondered if the woman recognized her, but if the hero did, she wasn’t saying anything about how she rescued her from Intake. Then again, the woman saved so many people every day; it was likely that she was just another number.
“That disease your father got was created by one of the greatest villains alive, I’ll have you know.” Paragon scoffed. “The Dead Virus has killed some of the greatest heroes within days. It’s a miracle he’s even lasted this long.”
“That’s enough!” Ocean Empress’s power was instant and notable. She felt her ears pop, and judging by everyone else’s faces, she wasn’t the only one. It was sort of like the feeling you would get when you swam to the bottom of a pool too fast. Ocean Empress had a tight grip on the Paragon’s shoulder, the water around her rippling. “That’s uncalled for.”
“Yeah, sis, don’t be an ass.” It was Poseidon who spoke next. She had a lovely voice, the kind you could tell practiced singing. “She’s going through a lot. I’m sure she didn’t mean to lash out at you.”
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
“I tried the best I could.” Paragon sighed. “I’m sorry, okay.”
“My daughter just got her power very recently.” Ocean Empress explained. “She’s still new at this. You have my word that, with more practice, we’ll be back and try to help Mr. Lauren. Not just him, but anyone with the Dead Virus.”
Usually, she’d be excited to be in the same room as Ocean Empress. She never got that autograph; the woman had run off too quickly the other day. She didn’t feel like asking for one today either; her eyes never left Paragon. Even behind the mask, she could tell Paragon was staring right back at her. “Whatever,” she finally muttered.
“Hope!” Her mom tried again, but she dodged her grip.
“I’m taking a walk. I’ll head home later.” She lied.
Her mom watched her and winced, but she didn’t stop her. “Wait.” It was Paragon’s voice. She stopped only for a second and turned just in time to see the weird bird on Paragon’s shoulder leap off and fly at her. For a moment, she thought it was going to attack, but instead, it landed on her shoulder. “There. Now, you can’t complain that I didn't do anything.”
“Huh?” She stopped when she suddenly felt a weird feeling in her face and body. It took her a second to realize it was the feeling of pain fading. The headache she had from the villain attack, the throbbing nose, the ringing in her ears, her stinging lip—all of it was gone. She stared into a mirror that hung on the hospital wall, and her bruises were gone. Her nose had even popped back into place, something she hadn’t noticed. “I’m not saying thanks." She announced as the bird flew back to its owner.
Paragon apparently didn’t take too kindly to her bold statement. “Asshole!” The hero yelled at her. “That’s the last time I heal you out of the kindness of my heart, you brat.”
For a moment, she stopped and thought about responding to Paragon, but in the end, she didn’t. It just wasn’t worth it. Instead, she left the hallway as Ocean Empress once again got onto her apparent daughter. She had known about Poseidon being related, but the fact that the second one was as well shocked her. Team Reservoir was supposed to be a team made up entirely of water-based heroes, yet that Paragon brat didn’t seem to have anything close to water at all.
Whatever. She really didn’t care. Not right now, anyway.
She ran through the quiet halls of the hospital as fast as normal limits would allow. There were a few doctors and nurses, but every patient, no matter how mild or major, had their wound fully healed. All but one. Of course, this wouldn’t be the only hospital. Team Reservoir would be going to every hospital in Oleander and Lillian, healing everyone. They’d even visit a few other hospitals, from what was said, but she just couldn’t bring herself to care.
Cars were all over the road, and dozens of people walked the streets. All living out their lives, not even paying her a glance.
She wiped at the wet spot beneath her glasses, not bothering to see where she was heading. She just walked, contemplating where to go.
Armin would be too busy to talk, and Kyle’s house was practically on the other side of the city, and it’d be night by the time she got there. She thought about maybe running back home and trying to recreate her costume.
She really wanted to hit something really bad, and the urge to go fight crime was getting stronger and stronger-
“Okay. What’s going on?” And those four words snapped her out of her funk as a hand grabbed her shoulder and stopped her from walking forward. “You were about to walk out into traffic; are ya trying to get yourself killed, kid?”
Indeed, she was so caught up that she didn’t even notice the fact that the light was still green as she was mid-step into the road. She craned her head up and saw him. Dressed in his smelly brown jumpsuit, his red hair was still as wild as it had been the other day. Jack Larison frowned down at her.
“Kid?”
“Mr. Larison?” She wiped her eyes again and stood up straighter. “What are you doing here?” What were the chances she’d run into him again?
“Work.” Was his blunt response.
She looked around, not noticing anything that looked destroyed. They were still on the side of the road, and the hospital wasn’t too far away; many cars were still driving and people were walking, going about their day. The world was still spinning, no matter what she was going through.
The man seemed to notice her weird look and explained further. “Well, since that villain went and showed up, that job is delayed until we get the go-ahead to start it back up. And for once, there haven’t been any other disasters to happen today, so we’re on break. This happens sometimes, and on those days, we’re on call. We’re just gonna walk around and clean up the city as we find trash.” Jack explained.
“So, what, you just walk around and pick up soda cans? That sounds fun.”
“Yep. At least until one of them goes and makes a mess.” Jack said, pointing his thumb down the street.
She looked up and raised an eyebrow when she saw who he was talking about. They were in a pretty nice neighborhood with low apartment buildings and houses. Several cops and construction workers stood around a sewer lid. In the middle of them, with their arms folded, was a superhero.
He was a handsome, dark-skinned man with slicked back, combed hair, and a set of yellowish eyes that looked almost animal-like. He was dressed in what looked like traditional robes—the kind you’d see in a movie or read about in some books. The robe was white, going over only the right side of his body, with a bit of red cloth covering the other side for more modesty. Lastly was a golden headband wrapped around the man’s head and a bit of cloth that covered their lower mouth, but besides that piece, they didn’t seem to try hard in hiding their identity.
Oh, and most importantly, at least to her, was that he was buff. The man was big, easily six feet, and you could tell he worked out just from a glance. His arms were bigger than Mr. Larison’s were.
“I know him!” She said with wide eyes as she got a closer look at the strangely dressed hero. “He’s Myth! They say he was given magical powers by an ancient god and has the might of an ancient civilization on his side! He used to be in the Sub Enforcers but ended up graduating and going solo two years ago!”
There were three main villain groups in Oleander. The first was the gang, the Bad Timers. They were made up of several Supers, though they mostly used grunts to do their dirty work. The Supers traveled in small teams, and they caused tons of chaos, much like Intake, by either robbing banks or blowing up streets. The next group was the dangerous one: Zoo. Madmen and women who think society failed them, so they need revenge. They dress up in animal masks and go around killing anyone who pisses them off. Specifically, cops or other important people. The last and final group was called the Wandering Coin. Not a lot was known about them as they only recently showed up.
In Oleander, the task of fighting these groups wasn’t given to the Enforcers. Not typically, anyway. The Enforcers were the greatest hero team in the world. Made up of ten of the strongest heroes, each operated in a city of their own. Ocean Empress was in Lillian, Max Lightning was in Gladiolus, Old Dog had operated in Oleander, and Victorian practically owned Rose. Within every city was a group known as the Sub Enforcers!
When a kid would awaken superpowers, that was usually the team they joined. A Sub Enforcers squad was in every city, led by an adult hero who was there to train the next generation of kid heroes. When a kid grew up, like Myth did, they had three options. They could either join a sponsored team, which was a team one of the Enforcers owned, like how Ocean Empress ran team Reservoir, or like how Old Dog used to run a team called the Watch Dogs. Every Enforcer member had their own unique team they led, besides Victorian, who was just the leader of the Enforcers. Their second option was to go solo and not have a team working alone. This was one of the hardest things to do in the hero world and a sure way to get every villain to come for you. The last way was to join an indie team. A new group that likely wouldn’t survive the funding costs and would break apart.
“I should get his autograph.” She decided.
“Yeah, have fun with that kid.” Jack snorted. He began to walk down the street, minding his business, ready to be alone again. Then he stopped when he heard the quiet footsteps. “Why.” He sighed.
“What?” She asked.
“Why are you following me?”
“I don’t know.” She gave him a shrug. “I could use the distraction.”
“Kid. Look, I’m really swamped with work.”
“No, you’re not.”
“I’m pretending to be, though.”
It was then that Jack saw it, pausing the retort rising in his throat. A poster was nailed into a wooden pole. A frown crossed his face as he looked it over. It was one of the missing cats. One of the ones with a picture of the animal and a phone number to call if you spot it. It wasn’t the only one, though. There were hundreds of missing cats and dogs, all hanging. Up ahead, he could see the one putting them up, or at least the one putting up the first picture he had seen. It was a young girl, only around eight years old.
“Excuse me, miss, are you looking for your cat?” Jack called out. The little girl turned when she saw the large man moving towards her and flinched back.
“I think I can help. Do you know where you last saw it?” She said quickly, cutting into the conversation and easing the little girl’s nerves.
“You’ll help me find my kitty?”
“Sure. Right?” She shot a look at Jack, who just began to grumble quietly under his breath. This was basic hero 101, and she’d already saved dozens of cats on her first night out, so one more couldn’t hurt.
“You’re taking the lead on this?” Jack asked with a smirk.
“You’re my sidekick.”
“Try the other way around.”
“Gotta look busy, right?” She snickered.
“I’m not saving you from getting hit by a car next time.”
She frowned at the man and was about to say something, likely about how a car would be in worse shape than her if they crashed, but she shook her head and turned away. “So, where did you see your cat last?”
“I let him out for a walk, and he didn’t come back.” The girl looked as if she was about to cry.
Jack rubbed his chin, a frown on his face. “That’s not a lot of information to go by. And who lets cats out for a walk?”
“You could search this entire city block from top to bottom, and I doubt you’ll find any of the missing animals.” She nearly jumped when she realized they had walked close enough to the officers and the hero, who had overheard them. It had been Myth who spoke.
“Know something we don’t,” Jack asked, raising an eyebrow.
“A lot of things, yes.” Myth spoke with a bit of an accent and had an amused tone.
“Oh, screw you!”
“What my buddy is trying to say is, ‘could you tell us what you meant’?” She asked sheepishly, stepping in front of Mr. Larison.
Myth shared a look with one of the cops, who just shrugged. Seemingly being allowed to tell them, he turned back. “Someone has been taking animals. It’s been happening not just in this city but in others as well. Dandelion lost an entire zoo; Rose has its rich blood in an uproar when their exotic animals are taken; and here in Oleander, common house pets go missing in the dead of night.”
“And you think the person in question is hiding in the sewers?” Jack questioned. That would explain the strange crowd gathered around the hole.
Myth gave the smallest of nods. “I know the man who is taking all the animals, and he isn’t someone a normal person should mess with. He’s a member of Zoo; Red Ape.”
The name seemed to tick several of the cops off. One of their best officers had recently been killed in her own home by Zoo. It had been all over the news. “Wasn’t Red Ape being sent to Nightshade?” Jack asked. It was the greatest prison in the world, able to hold nearly any villain.
“He never made it.” One of the cops explained. “Zoo broke him out while he was being transported. We believe that’s why he is doing this. Trying to get his reputation back.”
“I guess there isn’t anything we can do then.” Jack muttered. “Sorry, kid.” He shrugged at the little girl.
“Will you get my cat back?” The child asked, staring up at the hero.
Myth attempted to give the girl a kind smile. “That’s the plan. I’m going to get them all back. The sewers are a maze. Connected to dozens of blocks and other cities, I’ve been mapping it out one tunnel at a time.”
There was a loud buzz, and one of the officers fished out his phone. “That’s from dispatch. They just gave us the go-ahead again, Myth. You can start whenever.”
“I think I can help.” That got everyone to look at her, and she realized she blurted it out without thinking. “It’s just... I think I could help you map out the tunnels easier.” Her face suddenly felt much more vulnerable, hidden only by her glasses.
Myth stared at her, his eyes looking her up and down. “Let’s talk somewhere else,” he decided.
***
Jack grumbled more as he dropped down from the ladder and landed in a puddle of what he prayed was mud. The sewers smelled just as you would expect them to, and his face turned a little green.
“Ew.” She sighed, stepping down.
“You’re not allowed to say ‘ew’, it’s your fault we’re here.” Jack grunted.
Myth had led them away from the cops and quickly to an alleyway where they would be alone. Another sewer lid had been there, and the hero had removed it like it was nothing. Jack was pretty sure it had been locked, making it more impressive. Apparently, Myth got what she had meant. Superpowers would be at play, and it was best if she didn’t out herself in front of a bunch of cops. She just hoped none of them had body cameras.
Being a superhero wasn’t exactly illegal; Myth had clearly been working with those officers after all, but it was still not best to push your luck if you could help it.
“I’m guessing that when you said you had a way to map out an entire sewer system, it involved something Super related?” Myth asked.
“Yeah, how’d you know?” She asked.
The hero shrugged. “You’re about that age, I guess. I awakened my power when I was a kid also. Not to mention Supers seem to have a way of finding each other. It’s one of the reasons I think so many bad guys and good guys form groups together. The world’s weird like that.” Myth eyed Jack up. “Is it fine for him to be here?”
“Yeah, he’s cool.” She nodded as Jack folded his arms. She briefly wondered why he had agreed to come along since he didn’t seem happy about anything.
“In that case, do your thing.” Myth stated.
“One sec.” She pocketed her glasses, reached into her backpack, and pulled out a piece of red cloth. It was the cape from her Halloween costume. Though now it barely looked like a cape, most of it was torn away, being just big enough for her to tie it around her head, her blue eyes glowing through the two tears. She had actually tried to model this one after a mask since losing the last one in her fight with Intake. “Now I’m a real superhero.” She said proudly and placed her hands on her hips.
Jack and Myth shared a look. The two men gave a nod. “You look ridiculous.” They both said in flat tones.
“You can’t team up!” She whined. “Are you going to hide your face, Mr. Larison?” She asked.
Jack placed his hand on his face. “There is an old trick I learned when I was little.” For a moment, his body glowed, and that golden aura was back. When he removed his hand, she gasped as she saw his face. Or rather, what should have been a face. She couldn’t see his eyes, nose, mouth, or anything. They were all smudged across him, as if half-wiped. “How do I look?” His voice echoed out and shook slightly.
“How are you doing that?” She asked in shock.
“A speedster trick.” Myth snorted. “He shakes his body so fast that it becomes impossible to make anything out. Most heroes dropped it, though, since it's hard to pull off, and a mask works just as well. I didn’t know you had powers, though.”
“You never asked.” Jack shrugged.
“What can you-”
“I shoot and go bang.”
Myth blinked a couple of times and rubbed his chin. “I see… Useful.”
With that done, it was time to get to work. She took a deep breath and tried to focus. It was like a nagging sound in the back of her head. A beat. Two of them. The first was from Myth. It was a healthy rhythm, showing how fit and full of energy he was. The second one, though, was wild, twitching and stopping, only to restart. She’d need to remind herself to speak to Mr. Larison about that later.
The noises didn’t end there. The beating grew louder, and the sound of water dripping began to echo around her. Holding in a gag, she placed her ear on the wall, ignoring how gross it was. That was when she heard it. Cackling and the sounds of animals. It was directly above one of the tunnels, an abandoned building, possibly a street, with how quiet everything else was.
Then the connection broke. “I know where the guy is now. Just follow me. Oh, and I think he knows we’re here.” She warned, shaking her head as everything spun. Her head really hurt from trying to force her powers, but it worked. “What?” She asked when she saw Jack’s look.
“Nothing.” Jack shook his head, but a frown was on his lips. “It’s just... Your powers are like someone I knew once.”
“Lead the way.” Myth instructed. She nodded and began to make many turns—left, then right, another left—going through twisting tunnels. Finally, though, just when Jack began to get lost, she stopped and gestured forward at a straight tunnel. “It’s through there?” Myth asked and received a nod from her.
“So, we’re going to fight this villain now?” She questioned.
“Actually, I think it’s best if you leave.” Myth said bluntly. “I just needed you to find the man, and I can do the rest.”
“What! No!” She whined. “I don’t want to miss this. I’m getting to see a real hero in action!”
“Kid.” Jack cut in. “The hero is right. Red Ape ain’t much of a threat, but I’m not risking it. Ya just got out of the hospital; there is no need to go back so soon.”
“I can help, though.” She turned to the hero and clenched her fists. “I have powers too. I know I’ll be useful.”
The hero looked as if he were about to say more but stopped suddenly. “Do you hear anything up ahead of us, Miss?”
“I don’t have a Super name yet, so just call me Hope, and no. I’d need to focus again to use my senses; why?”
“I don’t hear anything either,” Jack said unhelpfully, giving a shrug. Myth’s ears seemed to change for a moment. Longer and covered in thick fur. Like some kind of animal. “If you had that kind of power, why’d you need the girl to find the bad guy?”
“There are hundreds of miles of tunnels. Animal senses have some limits, unlike whatever she has.” The hero said flatly. “Now shut up. I think I hear- Oh no.”
“What?”
The trio froze when a large shadow loomed over them. Jack felt his eyes twitch as he looked up and saw the head of a massive alligator staring down at him.