SuperNova: Heroes of Arcania (19 page)

We paused our patrol beside a coffee shop. Closed for the night, I could make out the dingy booths and coffee bean grinder on the front counter. Penelope looked bored again, strolling a few feet away to check her cell phone. Her pale skin glowed in the smartphone’s light.
 

“It’s pretty quiet tonight,” Cole commented next to me.
 

He stuck his hands in his front pockets and leaned against the brick wall. I had to smother the urge to lean into him.
 

“I guess we need to think more like Fortune,” I said. “If he took the Runner seriously, then he’ll plan how to get around us.”

“You,” Cole corrected, “he’ll plan how to get around you. That Runner didn’t see us.”

“Wouldn’t he realize what happened when we left and he unfroze or whatever? He heard Penelope shout at him.”

“What if he did?” He shrugged, unfazed. “He can’t know for sure.”

“But I knew something was off when you paused everything to move that car at school. If I figured it out, surely he will. They’ll hunt wherever they think we might be.”

“He had no idea who you were, right? Even if they figure out we’re working together, there’s no freaking way for them to find us. Fortune would never suspect a couple of high school students.”
 

The fight went out of me with one heavy sigh. “Yeah, okay,” I admitted, “but we still need to plan for him. Unless you want out, in which case
I
need to plan for him.”

Shock crossed his face and he looked away for a second. His voice was low when he turned back to me and spoke. “I want to help you because I believe in beating the bad guy. Fortune shouldn’t get away with what he’s done. Not just to you, but to everyone.”

I looked down, cheeks burning with what felt like a reprimand. He hurried to reassure me.
 

“But he should especially pay for what he did to you,” he added, voice still low and husky. “You’re my friend and I see the pain you’re in. You deserve so much more.”

My heart swelled at the words. He paused for a long minute and I wished I knew what he was thinking. To fill in the awkward pause, I asked what I’d been wondering for a while now. “Are all Timekeepers like you? They can freeze everyone?”

He shook his head. “Everyone’s different, like with your gift. Timekeepers, some freeze like me, others move time forwards and backwards.” He smiled as if we were conspirators and whispered, “Some can even travel through time. It’s kind of frowned upon, but it sounds really cool.”

The question spilled from my lips, sounded desperate even to my ears. “Can you…would you ever be able to travel through time?”

He knew my real question, heard the small hope that I could get Starling back. A sad smile crossed his face and I bit my lip, embarrassed. Before he could say anything, I changed the topic again.

“What’s the plan, then? How far does your range go as far as freezing people or throwing them across a room?”
 

He considered my question and shrugged. “Can’t say for sure. I can’t do it with more than say, twenty people around.”

“Grandpa used to say something about your hands,” Penelope added from her spot several feet away. She didn’t look up from her cartoon video game. I refrained from shooting her an annoyed look. Right now, his little sister was being a third wheel.
 

“Right, he said that I control it through my hands,” he said, trying to capture my attention again. “Other Timekeepers can use their eyes or vocal tones. I have to be careful with who knows that.”

“If you had your hands cut off, would you not be gifted anymore?” I asked in horror.

He winced at the thought. “Maybe. There are rumors in history of some overcoming the disability to freeze time with their eyes, but it’s rare. Takes true skill, not only power.”

“You have plenty of power, of course you could do it,” I said, but he held a hand up to stop me.

“No, I couldn’t do that as I am now,” he said. “I’m only seventeen. Power is important to have, but it’s more than that. Those with power, even those like Fortune, have incredible skills. They’ve been doing this for years.”

My eyes went down to my shoes.
That doesn’t exactly scream great news for us.

“I’m sort of the same,” Penelope said. “Our grandparents helped us as soon as our gifts came to us. We’ve had a lot of training on how to control what we can do. I’m still nothing compared to others. And we know I’m not a modest person, but I’m pretty powerful for a teenaged girl.”

My lips curled into a smile and I had to admire her tenacity. The girl didn’t seem to be scared of much. I was relieved to finally talk to someone about my gift, about who we were. There was no need to hide around them. Cole was the first boy I’d ever been able to be my true self around.
 

I opened my mouth to tell him just that, but muffled shouts in the distance broke up our conversation. We paused, listening for the direction. “This way!”
 

Our footsteps pounded on the sidewalk. We slid to a halt after four blocks; Penelope peeked around the corner.
 

“Looks like a convenience store robbery,” she reported.
 

“There will be cameras,” Cole reminded us.
 

“I thought that’s what you were here for,” I said, smiling.
 

He grinned at my teasing. “Good point.”
 

With that, he stepped around us and down to the store, pausing just outside the giant window. I’d stopped in here once to get sodas for me and Starling. Cole’s hands went up and clenched, stopping the activity inside the store. Penelope and I ran forward for a closer look.
 

Nothing moved, not even the clock on the wall, its ticking silenced in time. Two Latino kids, only a couple years older than us, had decided to rob the place. One held up a knife, frozen mid-gesture with it. His partner stood behind him as backup, hand in his pocket as though he could have a gun. I knew the Indian man behind the counter was the owner, and his terrified face upset me. These jerks had no right to scare people this way.
 

“It’s a candy bar,” Penelope said, breaking with silence with her scoffing.
 

I barely glanced at her. “What?”
 

Penelope actually poked the hooded guy in the back. “He doesn’t have a gun. It’s a candy bar.”
 

Cole stood in the doorway, hands still up and face scrunched with concentration. “We’re in no hurry, but I suggest we call the cops.”
 

I hurried around the counter to pick up the phone, dialing 911. “There’s a robbery in progress…please send help now.”
 

I put the phone down, leaving it off the hook so they could trace it. “They’re only a couple blocks away. We need to leave right now.”
 

“We shouldn’t let them get away with it. I mean, robbery by candy bar, really? How stupid,” Penelope said, motioning to the jackass with the candy bar.
 

“What exactly are you suggesting?”
 

“Toss them around a little, teach them a lesson,” she said, shrugging.
 

“I don’t hate the idea,” Cole muttered to me. “What do you think?”
 

I felt torn. Part of me agreed with Pen; the look on the store owner’s face sent fury raging through me. The other half, however, didn’t want Penelope - or me, to be honest - to fall into some dark place, a person who solved every problem with violence. It had to start somewhere, right, and couldn’t that be now?
 

Penelope decided for us. With a mischievous smile on her face, she nudged Cole off-balance and he lost his hold on time. The surprise caused him to tumble sideways into the row of magazines, the freeze officially off our bad guys. The two punks jerked at our sudden arrival. The owner gasped; realizing the attention was off him, he reached for the phone that I left off the hook. He hesitated when he noticed, slowly brought it to his ear. When he heard the operator already on the line, shock registered on his face.
 

Paying no attention to the store owner, the candy bar kid recovered first. Now facing me, I could make out his acne scars and close-set eyes. His hand in his pocket, he moved as though to threaten us. “Give us your money or I’ll shoot you.”
 

Despite, well,
everything
, I laughed. Right in his face. Cole almost smiled. Confusion crossed the robber’s face, replaced by anger at the general insult.
 

“Bitch,” he spat.
 

My laughter ceased, eyes narrowing at him. “That’s rude.”
 

Cole’s hands twitched, but when his eyes met mine, I shook my head just so. He paused.
 

The one with the knife brandished his weapon at us. “You heard him. Money.”
 

“No.”
 

Penelope and Cole watched, eyes back and forth as though on a tennis match. My tense posture was rigid with stress. Penelope, on the other hand, snorted at the exchange. In my peripheral, her hands were up, ready to defend…or attack. Her fingers wiggled a little in anticipation.
 

When the punks just stared at me, I bared my teeth. “Get out.”
 

The one with the knife laughed, gesturing to his friend. Under his breath, I could barely make out his Spanish. I definitely heard the words “chica” and “loca.”
 

My patience snapped. I reached out, hand going around the proffered arm from the knife-wielder. My fingers clenched his wrist, twisting so that the knife fell from his hands. The guy’s outburst could only be described as a scream as his bones cracked under my grip. His free arm swung out to hit me, but I also blocked that, other hand going around his elbow.
 

His buddy moved to step in but Penelope struck first. She used Telekinesis and threw him in the air and over two aisles; he crashed into a third, taking the entire thing down with him. Chip bags went flying, groans now the only response. The store owner didn’t move from his spot, unable to look away.
 

“You want me to break your arm?” I asked my captive, squeezing for effect. “‘Cause it would be pretty easy.”
 

The pain made his knees quiver so that I had to pull him back to his feet. I loosened my grip slightly, glancing at Cole before back on him.
 

“Do you work for Fortune?”
 

Fear shone in his muddy brown eyes. “No.”
 

“You’re lying.”
 

“I—I,” he stammered, head shaking in a frantic motion. My fingers squeezed, the pressure making him yelp. “So what if I do?”
 

“What’s he doing with the money?” Cole chimed in.
 

Disbelief crossed the punk’s face. “You think I know? I sell weed and pick pockets.”
 

“And rob innocent store owners, so why’s Fortune so interested in you in the first place?” Anger pumping, I barely recognized my own voice. He buckled again at my grip, eyes shut and mouth open in a silent scream.
 

Sirens wailed in the distance. Time to go. Cole gestured frantically to leave. “No way can I hold everyone at once. Gotta go!”
 

I dropped my hold on the thief. He barely registered belief before I shoved him; he fell back and stumbled into the register, head thunking against the wood. He didn’t get up and I nodded in satisfaction. The owner, wide-eyed and stunned, simply stared at us. As we rushed out, however, I heard him stammer out a “thank you.”
 

Police lights bounced off the building windows, warning us our time was out. Penelope was half a block ahead. Tires squealing behind me, I took off in a sprint. A car honked and I pushed harder, worried the cops were about to catch me. I glanced over my shoulder to see an old man at the wheel, shaking his fist at me. I couldn’t help but laugh as I continued to run. When Cole passed my pace, I got a second wave, legs pumping until we caught up with Pen. We ran far past my usual comfort zone from the parking garage, long after the sirens and lights disappeared behind us.
 

“I don’t know about you guys, but what a rush,” Penelope said. Her eyes glittered with excitement, the fading adrenaline making her fidget.
 

“Are you okay?” Cole asked me.
 

I shrugged, catching my breath. “Sure, why wouldn’t I be?”
 

“Just checking. That was smart, thinking to ask him about Fortune.”
 

“Oh,” I said with a shake of my head, “well, it’s not exactly news he’s got lowlife scumbags in his little club.”
 

“And the dealer even admitted he’s too stupid to know any of Fortune’s plans,” Penelope added. She gave me a thumbs up and waved a hand at her brother. “It’s all good, Cole. We caught the bad guys, turned them into the police, and helped someone tonight.”
 

He grinned at me and any trepidation I had eased. I didn’t want to admit it, but she was right: there was a satisfaction in my belly. I hoped it came from actually saving people, as opposed to Pen’s newfound enthusiasm for beating them up. In any case, Cole and I agreed that it felt good to help clean up Arcania’s streets. Those guys wouldn’t be robbing another convenience store anytime soon.