The Superhero's Son (Book 1): The Superhero's Test (13 page)

“Ah, yes,” said Valerie. “I recall Genius telling me about you. He said that you are very headstrong and not very technologically-adept.”

Geez, thanks, Dad, for talking about me with your computer behind my back, I thought, but aloud I said, “I didn't know Dad had a personal assistant.”

“He created me about ten years ago in order to help maintain his suit and other technology,” said Valerie. “Where is Genius, by the way?”

“Uh …” I thought of a lie quick; I didn't want Valerie to know that I technically wasn't supposed to be down here. “He took Mom to the hospital. But before he left, he told me to check on his suit down here, just to make sure that it was safe and stuff.”

“I see,” said Valerie. “Well, that's odd, because I send hourly reports about the current status of the Lab to his smartphone, so why would he need you to come in person to check on it?”

Uh oh. I looked around for a moment, trying to come up with a good excuse, before looking back down at Valerie and saying, “Well, Dad just wanted me to familiarize myself with the Lab and see what it's like, since I've never been down here before. And, you know, just make sure his suit is okay and everything.”

“Is that why you are wearing his gauntlet?” said Valerie. “To test it?”

“Yes, yeah, to test it,” I said, nodding eagerly. “I was just trying to see how it worked. But more than that, Dad gave me a mission and I need your help if I am going to complete it.”

“A mission?” said Valerie. “What might this mission be and how can I help?”

“I need to get to the Fallsville General Hospital, which is about an hour away from here,” I said. “There's someone there whose memory I need to change.”

“You mean you wish to use the Memory Hacker to change someone's memories of a specific event?” said Valerie. A blue app on the touch screen glowed when she said that, like she was indicating which app I would need to use.

“Yeah, yeah,” I said, nodding. “So it's call the Memory Hacker, is it?”

“Yes,” said Valerie. “The Memory Hacker is an app that can induce a suggestive state of mind onto a person or group of people. You can then alter their memories of a particular event that you do not want them remembering. It works best on recent memories, but it can be used on earlier ones, too, although not as easily.”

“Cool,” I said. “I remember when Dad used it, he gave me some shades to wear so I wouldn't be affected by it.”

“Those are called blank shades,” said Valerie. “Anyone who wears them is entirely unaffected by the Memory Hacker's flash.”

“Right,” I said. “Now where are they?”

“They are in the top center drawer of Genius's desk,” said Valerie. “There are four pairs.”

“Thanks,” I said as I turned around and walked over to the desk. I pulled open the drawer and found four pairs of blank shades, just as Valerie described, and took one out.

Closing the drawer, I said, “Okay, Valerie, so what do I need to do to use the Memory Hacker?”

“You must activate the app once you are near the person you wish to use the Memory Hacker on,” said Valerie. “You must also make sure that the person who you wish to use the Hacker on has their eyes uncovered. They must also be staring at you; if they are not, then the flash's effect will be far less effective.”

“Got it,” I said.

This was all going a lot better than I thought. It seemed like Dad's security systems didn't consider me a threat and weren't trying to stop me. Maybe it was because I'm his son and so Valerie doesn't see any reason to treat me like a threat.

But now I faced the challenge of actually getting to the hospital. If Mom and Dad were gone, then I couldn't drive because that meant that they had taken the car. And I couldn't just walk to Robert's hospital, either, because if I did, it take me hours and by the time I got there it would probably be too late for me to enter the hospital and use the Memory Hacker on Robert.

The Detector said I had flight and super speed, but I had no idea how to access those powers at the moment. Besides, even if I could use them, I wouldn't know how to control them. If I flew, I'd probably end up flying straight through the atmosphere, and if I ran, I might run into the next state or just crash into a hard wall.

I was frustrated by this obstacle until I looked up at Dad's super suit and noticed that his utility belt—including the teleportation dial on the buckle—was still there. I didn't know how Dad's teleportation dial worked, but Valerie could probably explain it to me. I could use it to teleport to the hospital, alter Robert's memories, and then teleport back here in maybe ten minutes. If I was really fast, I could be back before Mom and Dad got home.

Just as I was about to walk over to the suit and take the utility belt, I heard the loud ringing of the front doorbell and whirled around to see that one of the monitors was on. And it showed Mom and Dad standing in front of the front door, with Dad trying to open the door while helping Mom—who looked sick—walk.

“It appears that your parents have returned from their medical emergency,” said Valerie. “Shall I inform Genius of your mission?”

“Uh, no, no, no,” I said, shaking my head as I walked backwards, toward the super suit, keeping my eyes on the monitor displaying Mom and Dad. “Not yet.”

“Not yet?” said Valerie. “Why not?”

“Because I want, er, to surprise my parents,” I said. “Yeah. Give them a really nice surprise. Because I'm a good son like that.”

“I do not really understand, but I supposed it is not my place to understand humanity,” said Valerie. “What do you want to do?”

I bumped up against the container and turned around to face Dad's super suit. I reached up and took the belt off the suit and quickly secured it around my waist.

“I want to teleport,” I said. I patted Dad's buckle. “That's what Dad's belt buckle can do, right?”

“Of course,” said Valerie. “Genius's utility belt can do many things, such as unleash a paralyzing gas that can leave people paralyzed for weeks and self-destruct if it lands in the wrong hands.”

I froze. “Even if someone is wearing it?”

“Especially if someone is wearing it,” said Valerie. “Genius does not want anyone getting their hands on his inventions and replicating them for their own goals. So he is perfectly willing to blow everything up if that's what he needs to do to ensure that his inventions do not end up in the hands of evil.”

I was starting to rethink wearing the belt. “So you mean literally everything he owns can self-destruct?”

“Yes,” said Valerie. “But do not worry. Genius makes his inventions sturdy as well as remarkable. They will only explode if he tells them to. You do not need to worry about accidentally setting them off.”

I knew Valerie is an AI and all and probably couldn't feel any emotions, but she still seemed far too calm about the fact that Dad's entire superhero ensemble was basically a bomb. It made me wonder if his smartphone could explode, too.

But I had come too far now to have any second thoughts, so I said to Valerie, “Okay, Val, how does the teleportation dial work?”

“You mean the Teleportation Buckle?” said Valerie. “In order to use the Teleportation Buckle, you need to first input the desired coordinates of the place to which you wish to teleport.”

I looked down at the Buckle, but it didn't make any sense to me. “Uh, how do I do that?”

A keyboard suddenly appeared on the touch screen on the gauntlet. “Just type in the address of the location to which you wish to teleport and I will send it to the Buckle, because it is connected to the gauntlet.”

I quickly typed in the address for Fallsville General Hospital into the screen. A second after I hit 'enter,' Valerie said, “Fallsville General Hospital has been found. Simply twist the dial clockwise to teleport there.”

That seemed too simple to me, but Valerie hadn't led me wrong so far, so I grabbed the Buckle and twisted it clockwise.

In an instant, Dad's Lab vanished around me, but then I immediately found myself standing behind the Fallsville General Hospital.

Chapter Eleven

B
linking, I looked around, my head feeling a little woozy as I looked for any other people nearby who might have seen me teleport.

“Fallsville General Hospital,” said Valerie, causing me to jump when I heard her voice. “How do you feel, Kevin?”

“A little sick, but I'll be fine,” I said. I looked around, but did not see anyone nearby, nor were there any security cameras watching me. “Why did you teleport me to the back of the hospital?”

“So you would not be seen,” said Valerie. “Genius programmed me to teleport him into the most hidden place possible, mostly so no one would see Genius teleport. I chose the back of the hospital because satellite imagery showed that it was empty; plus I believe few people come back here.”

I nodded. “Good idea. I don't want anyone to know I'm here anyway.”

I looked up at the back of the large hospital. It wasn't as big as the hospitals back in New York, but it was still plenty large. I stood next to the exit, but I didn't go in just yet. I realized that if I went inside now, people would see me and I would be caught on camera. And if that happened, well, my entire plan would be absolutely ruined and I'd probably get in tons of trouble.

So I pressed the release button on my suit-up watch and in seconds I was Bolt, defender of humanity (still working on my title), again. But the suit did not cover Dad's utility belt or gauntlet, though that was fine by me because that made it easier for me to gain access to them.

“Okay,” I said. I looked up at the hospital, squinting my eyes. “Which room is Robert's?”

“Robert's?” said Valerie. “Do you mean Robert Candle, the son of Bernard Candle, better known as Master Chaos?”

“Exactly,” I said, nodding. “I came to this hospital to find him. But I don't know what floor his room is located on.”

“Do you want me to access the hospital's computer systems and get you the information from there?” said Valerie.

“You can do that?” I said.

“It is a simple procedure,” said Valerie. “But if you'd rather that I do not—”

“No, no,” I said, shaking my head. “Do it. I really need that information right away.”

“As you wish,” said Valerie. “It should take me only a few seconds to hack … ah, here we are. Robert Candle, who checked into Fallsville Hospital about a week ago due to 'injuries received from a freak air bomb accident,' is on the second floor, Room Two Oh One.”

“Room Two Oh One,” I said. I looked up at the back of the building again, but could not tell which window was the window to Robert's room. “All right, Valerie, which window is Robert's room?”

“According to the blueprints for the hospital, Robert Candle's room is the second window from the left,” said Valerie. “That is directly above us.”

I looked up at the window Valerie mentioned. There was no way I could jump that high and I couldn't climb the building, either, because the hospital's exterior was too smooth and had no handholds or footholds for me to use.

Stroking my chin, I suddenly looked down at Valerie and said, “Hey, Val, can you teleport me into Robert's room? Dad used the Teleportation Buckle to teleport into my school's cafeteria. Shouldn't it be possible for you to teleport me directly into Robert's room?”

“Yes, but I heavily advise against it,” said Valerie. “Teleporting directly into a room like that is hard to do with the Teleportation Buckle due to how precise your coordinates need to be in order to ensure that you do not harm yourself by accidentally teleporting into a wall or some other inanimate object.”

I grimaced. “But if Dad could do it—”

“Genius has a lot of experience using the Buckle and therefore knows how to make it do dangerous things without ever putting his own life into unnecessary danger,” said Valerie. “While I can't make you do anything, I highly suggest that you do not attempt it.”

“Fine, fine,” I said. Then another idea occurred to me. “Hey, do you have a grappling hook we could use? That might be useful.”

“Sorry, but Genius did not design this gauntlet with a grappling hook,” said Valerie. “I believe he did not think it would be very useful.”

I sighed in annoyance and looked at Dad's utility belt. “Then he has to have something in his utility belt that can do something similar or help me get up there in some way, right?”

“No,” said Valerie. “Genius used to have suction cups that he would attach to his hands and feet to allow him to scale buildings—”

“Like a spider?” I said.

“Similar,” said Valerie, “but he got rid of them due to how rarely he ever needed to use them.”

“So this belt has nothing that could help me scale this building, then,” I said.

“Nothing at all,” said Valerie. “I deeply apologize, Bolt, but unfortunately Genius only put things in there that he thought were necessary.”

“It's fine, Val, it's fine,” I said. “Looks like I'll just have to fly, then.”

“How will you accomplish that?” said Valerie. “You do not have Genius's jet pack.”

“What? Dad has a jet pack?” I said. I shook my head. “Whatever. Look, Dad told me that I have the ability to fly. So I've never used it, but if I can use it even just to hover upwards, it should help me get there.”

“Flying is dangerous,” said Valerie. “But if that is what you wish to do, I will not stand in your way. I will remain on standby in case you need anything.”

“Thanks, Val,” I said.

I looked around the area quickly, just to ensure that no one was watching, and then closed and lowered my eyes. Although I had never flown before and hadn't been trained to use my innate flying ability, I figured that it probably worked the same way as my super strength. As long as I imagined myself flying, I would be able to access the power in real life. And this time, I didn't let my attention wander, because I knew it was only a matter of time before someone stumbled upon me or, God forbid, Dad somehow caught up with me and dragged me back home.

In my mind's eye, I saw myself carefully floating up toward the window of Room 201. I imagined it with as much clarity as I could, remembering what Dad had taught me about using my super strength and applying the same principles to this exercise.