The Superhero's Summit (The Superhero's Son Book 3) (8 page)

And to his left was a muscular woman wearing a set of armor that reminded me of Ancient Greece: Lady Amazon, also known as the strongest woman in the world. She had a sword and spear at her side, but I knew that she really didn't need them, seeing as she was strong enough to shatter iron with one blow.

Sitting in the very center of this group was the man, the legend, one of the first and most well-known and popular of all neoheroes, Omega Man himself. He was huge and muscular and wore a blue and red suit that showed off his muscles. He wore a black cape, while a stylized
O
was emblazoned on his chest. He gave off an aura of experience and power, but I didn't feel afraid him at all. Actually, I felt safe around him, probably because I knew that he was one of the best heroes around.

All seven members of the Leadership Council were present, but I did notice an empty eighth throne, just to Mecha Knight's left, that the rest of the Council seemed to be ignoring. That was where Thaumaturge had sat before he went rogue and left the NHA to who-knows-where. I wondered why they hadn't found a replacement for him yet, but maybe they were just too busy focusing on the upcoming Summit to figure out who should be Thaumaturge's replacement right away.

“Bolt,” said Omega Man. His voice was deep and sonorous, but warm, too, which again made me feel safe around him. “We are glad that you arrived so quickly.”

“Yes, sir,” I said. “You saw the footage of that woman with the INJ badge, right?”

“Exactly,” said Omega Man. I noticed Lady Amazon scowled beside him. “It is a disturbing discovery. We are just glad that you and Blizzard weren't killed by the robots; otherwise, that could have made us behave irrationally.”

“Irrationally?” Lady Amazon said. She glared at Omega Man. “John, we have video proof that one of the INJ's agents attempted to kill two of our younger heroes. I say we should attack them now, before the INJ realizes we've discovered their awful act. This is an obvious declaration of war.”

“We're not going to war before the Summit,” said Omega Man, looking at her sharply. “I know how you feel, Lady, but I do not want us to act too hastily. There may be a more reasonable explanation for this.”

“Explanation?” said Lady Amazon in indignation. “There is no explanation for attempting to kill children. If we attack now, they will never see it coming and we can throw the Midnight Menace and his sorry gang of losers into Ultimate Max where they belong.”

Children? Yeah, Blizzard and I were not yet adults, but I didn't think of us as children. But I also knew better than to argue with Lady Amazon whenever she was angry; she had a habit of throwing her spear at people who pissed her off, up to and including her friends and allies.

“We've maintained a steady peace with the INJ for years,” said Omega Man. “And I still consider the Midnight Menace a friend, even if we don't always see eye to eye on everything.”

“A war would lead to much death,” said Beyond Man, his voice soft but still clear. “Not just in the INJ or NHA, either. Innocent civilians would likely get caught in the crossfire. The entire country might collapse as a result.”

“Yeah, but I gotta admit I agree with the lady,” said Mr. Miner. He pushed up the brim of his baseball cap, revealing his small eyes. “I hate anyone who tries to harm kids, especially our kids. I wouldn't mind breaking that fault line and letting California and the INJ drift off to sea.”

“Hey,
I'm
from California,” said High Fly in annoyance.

“So?” said Mr. Miner.

Omega Man held up a hand before High Fly could respond. “Enough. We can all agree that this development is a very serious affair. If the INJ is indeed behind this, then it is the worst thing they have ever done to us and it would be impossible for us to forgive them.”

“I agree,” said Lady Amazon. “That is why I say we should go to war. Let every man, woman, and child in the world know what happens to those who try to bring harm to those under our protection.”

Omega Man sighed in exasperation and said, “No. I have a much better idea about how to get to the truth of this matter, one that involves Bolt, actually.”

“Are we going to send Bolt to destroy their headquarters?” said Lady Amazon. She looked at me as if she was trying to imagine me destroying the INJ's headquarters.

“No, of course not,” said Omega Man. “Instead, we're going to confirm whether the INJ was involved in this attack or not, rather than jumping to conclusions based on flimsy evidence.”

“How do you propose we do that?” said Lady Amazon sarcastically. “Are we going to go to the Midnight Menace and ask him if he ordered one of his allies to kill the Young Neos?”

“No,” said Omega Man. “While I doubt the Midnight Menace would lie to us, it is possible he won't be entirely honest with us if he is behind this attack. Therefore, we need to send someone into the INJ's headquarters to find out the truth covertly.”

“You mean like a spy?” said Beyond Man. “Or are you going to suggest that we hire someone like Triplet to investigate?”

“Neither,” said Omega Man. He pointed at me. “Instead, we're going to have Bolt visit the INJ's headquarters in California on the pretense that he would like to get to know the New Heroes better in anticipation for the upcoming Summit.”

“Me?” I said in surprise. “Is that why you called me here?”

“Yes,” said Omega Man. “While you are there, you must search for any clues that might point toward the identity or purpose of the woman who tried to kill you and Blizzard. But you must do it covertly, because I do not want the Midnight Menace knowing that we are investigating him and his organization.”

“Why me?” I said. “I don't have any invisibility powers or anything. I can barely tiptoe without making a racket.”

“Because no one would ever suspect you of being a spy,” said Omega Man. “They would just assume that you are visiting in order to learn more about the New Heroes. It would be the perfect cover.”

“But where would I start?” I said. “And what about the rest of the Young Neos? Would they come with me, too?”

“No,” said Omega Man. “The rest of the Young Neos would stay here. The more people we send, the greater odds that someone will find out what you are actually trying to do. One is enough.”

“How long would I be there?” I said.

“I'd say a couple of days or so, which would give you more than enough time to find any clues linking the INJ to the woman,” said Omega Man. “But you must return before the Summit. I would like to have this matter figured out before then, because I do not want to worry that someone in the INJ might try to harm someone here during the Summit itself.”

That made sense, so I said, “Okay, but I'm still not sure where I am supposed to look. I've never been to California and I don't even know where the INJ's headquarters is.”

“We'll figure that out later,” said Omega Man. “For now, I must ask if you will accept this mission or not.”

“But we haven't even voted on it,” Lady Amazon pointed out. “Why are you offering it to him now when we haven't actually agreed on whether we should send him there at all?”

“The Lady has a point,” said Mecha Knight. “While I am in favor of sending Bolt to do this, we must always follow the rules laid out in the Neohero Alliance Constitution. That means that we must have a vote on whether to go ahead with this mission or not.”

“Ah, yes, I forgot,” said Omega Man. “Very well, then. Carl, are you recording the minutes of this meeting?”

“Indeed I am, Omega Man,” said Carl, his voice still cheery.

“All right,” said Omega Man. He looked at the other Council members. “All in favor of sending Bolt to the headquarters of the INJ to investigate the INJ's connection to the robot attack?”

Omega Man, Mecha Knight, High Fly, and Beyond Man raised their hands.

“And against?” said Omega Man.

Lady Amazon and Mr. Miner raised their hands. Then everyone looked at Nicknacks, who had been silent since my arrival. In fact, I had almost forgotten about him he was so quiet.

“Nicknacks?” said Omega Man. “Are you going to offer your input on this decision?”

Nicknacks did not answer. I didn't know the alien very well, but I did know that he had a hard time communicating with us sometimes because English was very different from the language that he spoke back on his home planet. I imagined that he was trying to figure out what words to use to express his thoughts.

Then Nicknacks said, in a strange, somewhat gargled voice, “I would like to abstain from this vote, my friends. Because I do not support either war or spying, I will not take either side in this vote.”

“What do you want to do, then?” said Lady Amazon. “Just let the INJ get away with this?”

“No,” said Nicknacks, shaking his head. “I don't know what we should do, but I do not believe that either of the proposed solutions will help. It may be wiser to postpone the Summit until we are able to perform a better investigation into the matter.”

“Postpone the Summit?” said High Fly in shock. “We can't do that. We've never had to postpone the Summit before. Besides, if we do that, that will get the INJ suspicious, which might just make things worse.”

“High Fly has a point,” said Omega Man. “Nonetheless, we will respect your decision to abstain, Nicknacks.”

“Thank you, John,” said Nicknacks. “I hope that we are able to figure out the truth, regardless of what course of action we take here in this meeting.”

“Very well, then,” said Omega Man. “We had four yeas and two nays. The yeas have it.” He looked at me again. “Bolt, will you accept this mission? You are free to say no if you want. We have other ways of investigating the INJ, so if you decline, it won't be a great inconvenience for us.”

I thought about that for a moment. I was sure that the woman in the footage was part of some kind of grand conspiracy in the background, some plot that would be dangerous for me or anyone else to investigate if we didn't want to die. Besides, I didn't want to go to California, because then that would mean meeting with Strike and I didn't want to see his face ever again.

On the other hand, if I didn't do this, then I might never find out who almost killed me and Blizzard. Not only that, but that woman might try to kill us again, and she might even succeed or at least seriously injure us, because I doubted she was the kind of person to give up that easily. I was thinking especially of Blizzard, who was still lying unconscious in the House's medical station. We didn't know exactly how Blizzard was going to act once she awakened, but whether she was going to be normal or not, what mattered was that this woman had nearly killed one of my teammates and that was unforgivable. If this would help me find out who this woman was and stop her before she harmed anyone else, then it would be worth it.

So I said, “I accept. When do I leave?”

“We will contact the INJ and ask them if you can visit with Strike and the New Heroes in California sometime soon,” said Omega Man. “Once we have all the details worked out, we will let you know when you can go. For now, however, you may return to the House and inform the other Young Neos about our plan, if you wish.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

With that, I flew up through the ceiling, which had opened again. As I flew back to the House, I could not help but wonder whether Strike was involved with the mysterious woman or not. I supposed I'd find out once I went to California, whenever that would be.

Chapter Eight

“I
s that your base?” I said a week later, peering out the window of the cockpit at the California countryside below. It was hard to see from up here, especially with all of the trees, but I could make out what appeared to be a single landing strip in the middle of nowhere somewhere below us.

“Yep,” said the pilot, a man named Horace Henderson. “We'll be landing in about five minutes, so just hold on tight.”

I nodded and pulled back from the window, checking the straps on my seat to make sure I was securely strapped in. I didn't really need the straps—super strength and the ability to fly meant that I'd probably be okay in the event of a plane crash—but Horace had insisted that I strap myself in for safety reasons. Besides, I was trying to avoid annoying the INJ too much, and Horace, being one of their pilots, probably wouldn't have been very happy if I said no.

Granted, I could have flown across the country myself, but the INJ had insisted that I take one of their planes to the New Heroes' base instead. I was told that the location of the New Heroes' base was a secret and that they did not want me flying to it for fear that a supervillain might follow me and find it. That was fine by me; while I liked flying, I dreaded the idea of flying across the entire country, which would have been a long and grueling journey even if the weather cooperated and I had flown as fast as I could.

The plane was a lot smaller than the one my parents and I had taken to fly to Texas when we moved there. There was basically just enough room for the pilot and me, plus a few boxes full of things in the back that the pilot didn't identify for me but which seemed important. It had a really futuristic, streamlined look, looking like it had flown from the future or something. It was apparently a Plutarch Plane, designed by Adam Plutarch's airplane building company, a fact I knew only because I saw the words 'PLUTARCH PLANE' written on the underside of one of the wings when the plane first landed. I wondered if the INJ had contributed to Plutarch's campaign during the election and if Plutarch had given them this in return for it.

As for the pilot, Horace, I had asked him what powers he had when I first boarded the plane. But all Horace did was shake his head and chuckle. I didn't know if that meant that Horace was just an ordinary human pilot who was hired by the INJ to fly their planes (like Willy with the Neocopter on Hero Island) and therefore had no powers, or, if he did have powers and just wasn't going to tell me. He showed no signs of having any sort of powers at all as we flew from New York to California.

And man, did we fly
fast
. It felt like it took us maybe ten minutes from lifting off from New York to reach California. How that was possible, I didn't know. Either Plutarch Planes were really that fast or Horace had the power to bend the space/time continuum to shorten the distance between New York and California. Horace certainly didn't bother to explain, even when I asked him. He just laughed and shook his head, which seemed to be his standard response to every question I asked him.