The Nameless Hero (21 page)

“If you’re watching, Nameless Hero, there are a few things I want you to know,” Multiplier said. “First of all, I don’t appreciate you and your friends visiting me in New York. And the way you rode one of my clones like he was your own personal subway system—not cool.”

Multiplier’s voice made my skin crawl. I glanced behind him again. Whatever he had under the sheet took up a lot of space. And it wasn’t moving.

“Of course, I understand your motivation,” Multiplier went on. “It’s what you superheroes do. Heck, I used to be just like you. Flying around, fighting evil. I lived the life. Adoring fans, TV shows … Then it all fell apart. I
was forced into hiding by the same society that had once worshipped me.”

Multiplier’s eyes narrowed, red under his mask.

“But eventually I had to stage my comeback. You may be familiar with some of my recent work. The Grand Canyon. Mount Rushmore. The Hollywood sign. The Statue of Liberty. All famous, beloved by people everywhere. Just as I used to be. And now, like me, they’re ruined.”

He turned, gesturing to whatever was under the purple sheet.

“Now I’d like to direct your attention to my most recent project. Although it isn’t quite as large as the Statue of Liberty or Mount Rushmore, you’ll soon discover that it stacks up quite nicely next to the other landmarks I’ve visited.”

With a single quick motion, Multiplier grabbed the sheet and swept it away.

Behind him was a massive copper bell. But not just any bell. Along the surface ran a long crack that I recognized from my American history textbook.

Multiplier had stolen the Liberty Bell.

“My clones and I took a trip to Philadelphia,” he said. “And while we were there, we picked up quite a souvenir. I’m keeping it here in a place that should be very familiar to you and your superfriends. If you want it back, you’ll have to come for it. And bring the rest of the Alliance of the Impossible with you. Fail to meet my demand within two hours, and the Liberty Bell is going to have a lot more than
one
crack.”

A wicked smirk passed across Multiplier’s face.

“See you soon,” he said.

And the screen turned to static.

Ten minutes later, we were standing in front of the hotel in our masks and uniforms, when an SUV pulled up without anyone in the driver’s seat.

“Here’s our ride,” Sophie said, opening the door. The rest of us piled inside after her.

“So … um, where’re we going?” Milton asked once we were flying above Manhattan.

“Multiplier said he was keeping the bell in a location that would be very familiar to all of us,” Gavin said. “That can only be one of two places.”

“The tanning salon or the headquarters underneath,” Miranda said.

“Exactly.”

Clouds drifted past the window. The tip of the Empire State Building glimmered in the sunlight below us. Soon we crossed over the river, and the tall buildings were replaced by sparse farmland and country roads. I hadn’t been back to headquarters in more than a week, and now that I was finally returning, everything had changed. I’d shown up on the cover of
Super Scoop
, Brandy had betrayed us, the Liberty Bell was being held hostage by Multiplier.…

But at the moment, we had more immediate problems.

“We’re being followed,” Trace said.

When I glanced at the security monitor built into the dashboard, I saw what he meant. The screen showed a view of two men on hover cycles trailing closely behind us.

“D’you think they’re working for Multiplier?” Milton asked.

“Worse,” Gavin said. “They’re paparazzi.”

One of the guys zoomed forward until he was beside us. With the free hand that wasn’t gripping the handlebars, he aimed a massive camera into the side windows of the SUV, trying to snap photos of us.

“Lose ’em,” Gavin growled.

“With pleasure,” Trace said.

It was a good thing we were wearing our seat belts. All of a sudden, everything rocked sideways and we plummeted toward the earth. For a few seconds there, I was sure we were going to crash. Then Trace slammed on the brakes and the seat belt strap dug into my shoulder. My stomach dropped as we rocketed upward again, performing a few loops and twists along the way. But no matter what Trace did, the paparazzi stayed close on our tail.

“It’s impossible to outmaneuver them in a vehicle this size,” he complained. “They’re too quick.”

“Then we’ve gotta find another way to get rid of ’em.” Gavin twisted in his seat to peer angrily at the hover cycles. “We can’t have the press following us back to headquarters.”

“I might have an idea,” I said. “It’s me they’re after, right?”

Gavin nodded. “A single photo of the Nameless Hero
can be worth hundreds. Thousands if you do something incredible.”

“Then let’s give them what they want.”

When I told the others my idea, they looked at me like I was crazy. But nobody else was coming up with any other solutions, and we were running short on time. If we didn’t get back to headquarters soon, Multiplier was going to turn the Liberty Bell into scrap metal.

Milton and I climbed into the back of the SUV. The first part of my plan was easy enough—switch uniforms. Once we were done, Milton pulled my mask over his head and turned to me. “How do I look?”

“Like me,” I admitted. “Only taller.”

The only thing we didn’t exchange was our boots.

“Won’t anyone wonder why the Nameless Hero suddenly has rocket-shoes?” he asked.

“They’ll just assume I upgraded,” I said.

Milton nodded. And just like that, the back of the SUV popped open. Waves of wind rushed through the vehicle. I gripped the side, watching the two photographers weave through the sky behind us on their hover cycles.

As Milton inched closer to the opening, he glanced back at me. I could see excitement mixed with fear in his eyes.

“It’s not too late to back out!” I yelled over the sound of the wind. “We can figure out some other way!”

He shook his head. “I can do it!”

Milton hesitated a second longer. Then he jumped.

The paparazzi wavered for a second in the air as they watched the Nameless Hero fall to the earth. Then they directed their hover cycles after him.

After Milton dropped a few hundred feet, his jet-boots kicked in. He shot across the sky, swerving and twisting as the two cycles whizzed behind him.

“They bought it!” Sophie grinned at me. “They think Milton is you!”

I watched through the window, amazed that the plan was actually working. The official explanation for why Milton was the one jumping out of the SUV instead of me was that he knew how to operate the jet-propulsion boots. But it didn’t hurt that he also did such a great job of acting like the Nameless Hero. Flying through the sky, trailed everywhere by photographers … Milton actually seemed to be enjoying himself. He performed a few back flips, then paused to grin and flex his muscles for the cameras. I had to admit, he was a much better celebrity superhero than I’d ever been.

After a few more poses for the paparazzi, the hover cycles moved in for a close-up. That was when Milton reached into his utility belt and grabbed hold of a gray canister. It looked exactly like what he’d used earlier on the scorpions.
But this one didn’t release a net. It had a completely different function.…

“Everyone cover your eyes!” I screamed as Milton tossed the canister at the photographers.

Even with my hands clamped over my eyes, I could tell what happened next. A burst of light filled the sky, like an explosion of lightning, temporarily blinding anyone who looked at it.

By the time I opened my eyes again, Milton was climbing back into the SUV and the paparazzi were wobbling back down to earth. They’d get their vision back in time to safely land their hover cycles. But by then, we’d be long gone.

When we landed in the parking lot of Tantastic an hour later, Milton and I had changed back into our own uniforms. I looked out the window, searching for any sign of Multiplier, but all I saw was a normal shopping center on a normal afternoon.

“This’ll get you through the front door,” Gavin said, handing me a key. “We’ll be right here in the SUV. You’ve all got walkie-talkies in your utility belts. Use them to contact us if anything goes wrong.”

I stepped out of the SUV, my heart pounding. I’d spent enough time around supervillains to know that Multiplier hadn’t called us here to chat about our summer plans. He
had something much worse in mind. And we were about to find out what it was.

Crossing the parking lot drew some odd looks. People were definitely surprised to see their afternoon shopping interrupted by five underage superheroes rushing toward a tanning salon.

“Are you sure we should be doing this?” I asked.

“What other choice do we have?” nFinity said. “We can’t let him ransack any more landmarks. Besides, we beat him once before. We can beat him again.”

I still wasn’t certain. The last time had felt like a fluke. And now we didn’t know
what
was waiting for us inside.

The sign hanging from the front door of Tantastic read
CLOSED
. I peered through the window. The place was empty. Everything looked the same as it had the last time I’d been there—with one huge difference.

The Liberty Bell was sitting in the corner.

It looked even bigger up close. Propped up on a metal stand, the bell was more than twice my height and probably weighed as much as my parents’ Volvo.

“You don’t think Multiplier just … left it here?” Milton asked.

“Only one way to find out.” I slid the key into the lock and pushed open the front door a half inch. When nothing horrible happened, I pushed it the rest of the way and cautiously stepped inside. The others followed.

The five of us huddled at the front of the store next to a rack of sunscreen. Somehow it made me
more
nervous that we hadn’t been attacked yet. I tried to keep calm. Maybe
there was a reasonable explanation for why the Liberty Bell was just sitting there, unguarded. Maybe Multiplier felt guilty and had turned himself in to the local authorities. But as much as I tried to repeat this fantasy to myself, I knew there had to be another reason—something much worse.