The Superhero's Powers (The Superhero's Son Book 4) (24 page)

“No, you won’t,” I said. “You won’t shoot me, at least.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” said Mimic. “Maybe the reason I haven’t shot either of you yet is because I want you to die in despair, knowing exactly how you have failed to defeat Vision.”

“That’s not the reason you haven’t shot us yet,” I said. “The reason is because you’re stalling.”

“Stalling?” Mimic repeated. “Stalling for what?”

“For Robert,” I said. “You know just how much Robert wants to kill me. You know how much he wants to kill me personally. If you killed me, he’d probably kill you just to satisfy his lust for revenge.”

Mimic’s gun shook in his hands briefly before he redoubled his grip on it. “How do you know if Robert Candle is even on his way here?”

“Because there’s no way he’d ever just let you or anyone else kill me, even if you are one of his allies,” I said. “And because you fear for your own safety, you’re just hoping to use your gun to scare Professor Hernandez into giving you the serum. Then you’ll leave us to be killed by Robert.”

“What a silly theory,” said Mimic, though I noticed that he didn’t exactly sound confident when he spoke. “I simply would rather get what I want without making noises that would attract the attention of the other G-Men. Guns are quite loud, after all, particularly guns like this one.”

“I know, but you still haven’t killed us and it is only a matter of time before someone outside of this room tries to contact us,” I said. “What will you tell them then? And even if you do kill us, you’d have to get past the other G-Men, who will find out you killed us eventually. You’re hoping that Robert will appear and distract the other G-Men while you slip away unnoticed with the serum.”

“Who cares if your theory is correct?” said Mimic. “Professor, I want you to give me the serum now or else.”

I looked at Hernandez. He appeared very shaken, maybe because he didn’t believe what I said about Mimic just stalling. Not very surprising, of course, given that Mimic—whether he intended to kill us himself or not—still had the gun and could still shoot us both anytime.

So that meant that I had to figure out a way to stop Mimic. I couldn’t reach for my earcom without Mimic blasting my ear off, so I couldn’t call in backup. And without my powers, I was even less able to beat him before he could pull the trigger. I needed to get close to him, close enough that he wouldn’t be able to shoot me, but if I stood up and tried to tackle him, he’d probably panic and shoot me anyway.

Then I glanced at the duck-shaped paperweight on Hernandez’s desk and an idea occurred to me.

Looking at Hernandez, I said, “Professor, you should put the serum back into the box. It’s pretty clear we can’t beat Mimic or survive against him, so it’s best that we just go ahead with his demands.”

Hernandez looked at me in surprise, but I tried to communicate to him with my eyes that I had a plan. Whether or not Hernandez understood what I was trying to get at, I don’t know, but he nodded and then lowered the serum into the box.

“Okay,” I said, looking at Mimic again. “The serum is in the box. Why don’t you come over and get it?”

Mimic snorted again. “And give you a chance to disarm me? I think not. Take the box, put it on the floor, and push it toward me with your foot. Don’t try to take the serum, either; if I even think I see your hand moving toward the vial, I will riddle you with so many holes that you will look like Swiss cheese.”

Damn. I should have seen this coming. Mimic might have been a coward, but he was clearly no idiot.

But, because I didn’t have any other choice, I turned around and grabbed the box. For a moment, I was tempted to just pull the vial out and try to drink the serum, but I knew that without my super speed I would just get us killed.

So I turned around, placed the box carefully on the floor, and then pushed it with my foot toward Mimic. Mimic walked over to the box quickly, his gun never leaving me or the Professor. He bent over, picked up the box with one hand, and then looked at its contents briefly before looking back up at me and Hernandez.

“Thank you, Professor,” said Mimic. “I am glad to see that you were smart enough not to risk your life. You academics truly are intelligent.”

“Are you going to leave now?” I said. “Will you spare us?”

Mimic shook his head and leveled his gun. “I am leaving, but not without first putting a few bullets in your body. Robert may want to be the one to kill you, but that doesn’t mean I will just let you walk away unharmed. Robert will certainly appreciate, I think, any help I give him in making it harder for you to escape.”

Even before Mimic stopped speaking, I wasn’t about to let him shoot me. I grabbed the duck-shaped paperweight on Hernandez’s desk and lobbed it at Mimic. The paperweight struck Mimic in the face, causing him to stagger backwards and aim his gun away from me and Hernandez.

Without thinking, I jumped off my seat and ran at him. I punched Mimic in the face, which wasn’t as powerful a blow as it could have been due to my lack of superpowers, but it connected anyway and made him drop both his gun and the box containing the serum. I immediately picked up his gun and aimed it at him in an instant, causing Mimic to freeze, his right hand reaching for the pistol at his side.

“Don’t move,” I said in a warning voice. “Or I’ll shoot.”

“You? Shoot me?” Mimic said. “Please. I doubt you have ever even held a gun before. You are probably at a higher risk of shooting yourself than me.”

My finger rested on the trigger. “Do you really believe that? Because I’m pretty sure all I need to do is point and shoot, which isn’t exactly rocket science.”

I gestured at his hand. “Now, Mimic, lower your hands to your sides and don’t try anything. I’m going to call Dad and have him call the G-Men here so they can take you away.”

Mimic scowled, but he lowered his hands just like I asked. But I didn’t take my eyes off him as I tapped my earcom and heard it crackle for a moment before Dad said, “Kevin! Thank god you just called. Are you and Mimic with Professor Hernandez right now?”

“Um, yeah,” I said. “But what’s the problem? Are you hurt or something?”

“Not me,” said Dad. “But I just received a call from Cadmus. He told me that Robert Candle is in Fallsville.”

I froze. “Where is he? Is he coming to the University of Fallsville?” I glanced at the window, but Robert’s ugly mug didn’t coming bursting through it.

“No,” said Dad. “Robert Candle isn’t very far from your location, however, but you will never guess where. Or who he has with him.”

“Just tell me,” I said. “Where is Robert? And who does he have with him?”

“Robert is in the warehouse where you and I fought Master Chaos last year,” said Dad. “And he has taken your friend, Tara Reynolds, hostage.”

Chapter Twenty-One

“W
hat?” I said. “Did you say that Robert is holding Tara hostage?”

“Yes,” said Dad. “The police and the G-Men are currently surrounding the building, but Robert is threatening to kill her if anyone but you enters, so they’re powerless at the moment.”

“When did this happen?” I said. “How come no one saw him enter the city with Tara?”

“I don’t know,” said Dad. “Based on what I’ve been told, it sounds like Robert might have been hiding inside the warehouse this entire time, waiting for the right moment to announce his presence. But regardless, we know that Robert has already harmed Tara, because he’s posted pictures online showing her tied up and bruised.”

Anger rushed through me and I almost pulled the trigger of my gun, but I didn’t. “And Robert will kill her if I don’t show?”

“Exactly,” said Dad. “But I don’t know if it would be wise for you to face him, because you are still powerless.”

I glanced at the box containing the serum on the floor. “Maybe not forever, Dad. Professor Hernandez made a serum that might be able to give me back my powers.”

“Really?” said Dad. “Well, then, why don’t you take it and get to the warehouse?”

“Things got a little complicated in here,” I said, glancing at Mimic, who had not yet moved from his position. “By ‘complicated,’ I mean Mimic.”

“Mimic?” Dad said in annoyance. “What is Mimic doing? Being an ass again?”

“Worse than that,” I said. “Turns out that Mimic is a loyal Visionist. He tried to kill me and Hernandez, but right now I’m aiming a gun at his head and he doesn’t look very happy about that.”

“Mimic is a Visionist?” said Dad in disbelief. “And you have a gun? Kevin, you’ve never used a gun before. What if you hurt yourself?”

“Dad, you’re starting to sound a lot like Mom,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Anyway, just send some G-Men up here to get him. Once Mimic is arrested, I’ll be down at the warehouse in a—”

“Bolt, watch out!” Hernandez suddenly shouted.

I looked at Mimic, who had drawn his pistol from his side and was aiming it at me. Before I could dodge, Mimic pulled the trigger and a bullet struck me in the chest.

Thanks to my bullet-proof costume, the blow just knocked me back and didn’t actually enter my body, but it still felt like I had been punched by a boxer. I fell to the floor with a gasp, while Dad shouted in my ear, “Kevin! What’s that? I thought I heard a gun shot!”

I didn’t answer, because Mimic was already aiming his gun at me again and this time he was aiming for the exposed bits of my face.

So I raised the gun I’d stolen from Mimic and fired at him. My aim wasn’t very good, but I still managed to hit Mimic in the shoulder, causing him to yell in pain and drop his gun to the floor. But that didn’t stop him from making a mad rush for the serum in the box on the floor.

Without thinking, I tossed the gun aside and lunged across the floor toward the box and grabbed it at the same time as Mimic. We struggled with each other briefly, trying to rip the box from each other’s hands, but Mimic had a steel grip despite the pain in his bleeding shoulder, which made it harder to get the box from him than it should have been.

Then, all of a sudden, Hernandez appeared behind Mimic, another paperweight in hand, and smashed it into the back of Mimic’s skull. Mimic immediately let go of the box and collapsed onto the floor, blood still leaking from his shoulder, while I staggered backwards with the box in my hands. I almost dropped it, but thankfully didn’t.

Standing upright, I looked at Hernandez, who was panting and even sweating a little, probably because he was so unused to any kind of physical movement. “Thanks, Professor.”

“You are welcome, Bolt,” said Hernandez, though his voice was a little shaky. He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his sweaty forehead with it. “I cannot believe that worked. I was worried that he might notice and shoot me before I could take him down.”

I looked at Mimic, who looked pretty dead, but I could hear his shallow breathing, so I figured that he was just unconscious. I hoped he wouldn’t awake anytime soon.

“Kevin?” came Dad’s voice in my ear. “Kevin, are you still there? What happened?”

“It’s nothing, Dad,” I said. “I just got into a fight with Mimic, but he’s down. Please send someone up to Professor Hernandez’s office to get him before he wakes up and escapes.”

“Yes, of course, I will do that right away,” said Dad. “But what about the serum you mentioned? Do you still have it?”

“Yeah,” I said. “And I’m going to drink it right away and then head over to the warehouse.”

“Okay,” said Dad. “But please be careful. I have never heard of a serum that can restore a superhuman’s powers and I am skeptical that Professor Hernandez’s serum will work.”

“Hernandez did say that it could have negative side effects, but it’s the only way I can beat Robert, so I’m going through with it regardless of the consequences,” I said. “Anyway, Robert has never been very patient, so I’m going to drink it now and will call you again when I’m on my way to the warehouse.”

“All right,” said Dad. “Talk to you later, then.”

With that, I pulled the tiny glass vial of green liquid from the box. I removed the lid and smelled the serum, which smelled awful, like dried seaweed, but I didn’t hesitate to gulp it all down in one go. It tasted even worse, like crap, and I almost choked on it, but I forced every last drop down despite its foul taste.

Lowering the vial, I looked at Professor Hernandez, who was watching me with curious eyes.

“Bolt, how do you feel?” said Hernandez. “Do you feel any different yet?”

I shook my head. “No. Aside from the horrible aftertaste, I—”

Immediately, I felt something shift inside my stomach. I dropped the vial, which shattered against the floor upon impact, and grasped my stomach. I fell to my knees, heaving, even though it didn’t feel like anything was going to come up. My throat burned and my eyes watered, like I had just eaten the hottest chili in the world, which made it almost impossible to see or speak.

“Bolt, are you all right?” said Hernandez in alarm. “You look awful.”

“I’m … fine,” I breathed, my voice sounding weak. “Serum must be kicking—”

I gasped again as my body grew as hot as flames. It felt like lava was boiling inside my body, flowing through my veins and heating up my bones. My brain felt like it was turning to mush and for a moment I thought I was going to die here and now and Robert would win. I wanted to scream, but I didn’t because I didn’t want to scare Hernandez.

In a second, however, the intense heat faded, like an oven being turned off abruptly. My body started to return to its normal temperature, except for my brain. My brain felt like it was growing, like it was trying to escape the confines of my skull. I grasped my head with both hands, even though there was nothing I could do about it.

Right before my head exploded, my brain suddenly stopped growing. One blink later, my brain felt normal again, as if it had returned to its normal size. Of course, I didn’t know if my brain had, in fact, been growing or if that had just been my imagination, but regardless, I still felt better than I had mere seconds ago and that was all that mattered to me.

“Ow …” I said, rubbing my head. “That sucked.”

“You survived,” said Hernandez, who sounded honestly shocked by that. “Tell me, how do you feel now? Can you stand? Can you use your powers again?”