Overpowered (Powered Trilogy #2) (8 page)

Spark walks from one end of the KAPOW’s Portland, Oregon entrance to the other, his professional nose sniffing all around for a hint of Corey London’s unique scent.
Some NYPD officers has lent us their finest K-9 German Shepherds to aid in the search of our missing Supers. Spark is the most handsome animal I’ve ever seen. Plus he doesn’t talk back like Crimson does, so he makes an even better Hero partner than a real Hero. Too bad we can’t recruit him to the Hero Brigade.

I wait patiently while he does his thing, sniffing the shirt Corey’s mom gave me from his laundry hamper and then proceeding to search for the same scent in the area. It’s no surprise when Spark sits, staring at me with that same dejected look of failure that he’s had at the last dozen places I took him. I give him a treat anyway, kneel down and ruffle the fur on top of his head. “It’s okay, boy. We tried our best.”

Crimson calls my BEEPR. A holograph of the top half of her body appears in the air above my wrist when I answer the call. “Any luck?” she asks. Her disembodied torso disappears for a second as she bends down to pet her borrowed K-9. “Who’s a good boy? Who’s a good boy? I love this dog. I want, like, fifty of them to come live with me.”

I shake my head when she returns to the
holograph window. “We haven’t picked up a scent at all. I have one entrance left to check.”

“I noticed,” she snorts. “Lover boy’s place, right?”

“His name is Evan and yeah, I saved his place for last. I know there won’t be any scent there so I figured I could hang out with him for a bit. The restricted access has been lifted, or so I’ve been told.”

Her eyes look down as she scrolls through the map on her BEEPR. “Max and Nyx are still searching so you’ve got a little free time to get your smooch on before we meet back at your place. Try not to look too sweaty and disheveled when you come back, okay?”

“Oh my god, shut up.” I turn to the side so she won’t see the holograph version of my torso turn bright red on her side of the call.

“Look I need to tell you something.” Crimson’s playful smile falls off her face. “Are you alone?”

I haven’t heard human sounds since the last stop I made. “Yeah.”

“I overheard some of the older Heroes talking today. There’s talk about the lack of villain activity lately. A lot of people had this theory that villains are scared of you and
your...anger problem.”

“That theory is pointless because I’m probationary. I’m not even allowed to take villain missions.”

She shrugs. “Since word got out that your twin was as blonde as Dolly Parton, some people are thinking that your dark hair and anger issues are scaring away villains. I’m not saying I believe any of it. I just wanted you to know.”

“That sounds like a good thing to me. If their irrational fear of my evil genetics keeps them from attacking us, I’d say everyone should be thanking me.”

“I feel the same way. But I don’t know about everyone else.”

I palm the KAPOW door and it snaps open. “Screw everyone else.”

Though I had been promised that the restriction on visiting Evan’s island had been lifted after a temporary error in Central, my palms still get sweaty when I climb into the waiting KAPOW pod with Spark. If I’m denied again, I might totally lose my s
anity. The KAPOW’s computer voice goes through the mandatory spiel about there being an animal in here and how we won’t be traveling at the typical high mach speeds due to the other being’s limited capacity to withstand such forces. I’ve heard it a dozen times today but I swear it takes an hour longer than usual now that I’m anxious to see Evan.

Once the computer shuts up I manage to squeak out the words, “Destination Evan Letta.”

“Destination Evan Letta,” the computer repeats. “Arrival in twenty-six minutes.”

“Twenty-six?
Aghh.” I roll my eyes and pet the panting creature sitting at my feet. “I love you Spark, but your fragile little dog body sucks.”

Spark grins, showing me his titanium
-coated front teeth.

The sun beams down from directly overhead when I step out of the KAPOW entrance on
Nacameto Island and I realize it’s the first time I’ve thought about the time all day. I guess it’s tomorrow now. My Hero training took place several hours a day but it was on a regular schedule. There is no schedule for Heroes; we’re always on call.

Spark does his thing, using his hypersensitive snout to search for any clue that our missing
Super was here. Surprise, surprise: he wasn’t.

Evan waits just outside the front door to the research facility, wearing that grin he hasn’t taken off since I came home
from finding Nova. My steps are slow and deliberate, dragging through the sand as I close the distance between us, finally bringing an end to my hours of suffering without him. Being a girlfriend is freaking hard.

“Look who it is,” Evan says, bringing o
ut an arm that slides around me. I slip underneath it. “Someone likes showing up unannounced.”

“I was hoping you’d drop from the sky again like some kind of sexy shirtless cloud angel.”

Evan kisses my forehead and I get an unnecessarily huge amount of satisfaction from the tiny gesture. “Security measures are up,” he says. “The MODs alerted me the moment your KAPOW pod was set to this destination.” He looks pointedly at the dog that sits obediently at my feet. “Now I see why it took so long. Any luck on your search?”

I shake my head. “I’m starting to think these missing Supers never even existed and this is some made up game that the elders are doing to screw with me. Like I’m not really a real Hero and this is all some joke.”

He shakes his head. “Don’t underestimate yourself.”

Exhaustion creeps into my bones when I let Evan wrap me in his arms. I’ve been in go mode for hours and now that I have time to relax, it’s almost impossible not to fall asleep while standing in the sand. Evan’s hand runs down my hair. That and the sound of gentle waves crashing ashore calms my nerves.

“How long do you have?” he asks.

I shrug, eyes still closed. “Maybe half an hour. I need to get the dog back to New York and meet up with everyone to discuss our next move. We need to find out what happened to these missing Supers. Every minute we don’t rescue them is a minute wasted.”

“Rescue?” Evan pulls back and gives me a quizzical look. “What happened to the runaway theory?”

“I don’t know. It was the first word I thought of. Maybe they don’t need rescuing. Maybe some of them do and some of them don’t. Who
knows.” I slip my arms around his back and lean my head back on his shoulder, right in that bend between his neck that fits my head so perfectly. “I just want to hang out for a bit.”

“Take all the time you need. Let’s go inside, though. It feels creepy out here.”

I stop just short of the doorway when my BEEPR makes a sound I’ve never heard before. It’s almost like the Hero alarm, only more urgent. The device on my wrist has the word MAYDAY scrolling across the screen. It’s from Nyx. His GPS coordinates flash on the screen along with instructions for me to go there immediately. Evan lifts an eyebrow. “Mayday? Like, as in what pilots say?”

“I’ve heard of it but I’ve never seen a Mayday before.” I recall what I’ve learned in training. You call for backup when things are bad. You call for Mayday when things can’t get any worse. “This is a big deal. This is bad.” Lifting myself with
my hands on Evan’s shoulders, I plant a kiss on his cheek and try not to think about how much it hurts to be leaving him so soon.

“Good luck,” he says as I take off running toward the KAPOW. I only have time for a wave and a quick glance backward. He acts like he’s not worried.

But I can tell that he is.

In the empty KAPOW tunnels, I breathe in and out steadily, letting my body do the work while my mind wanders. I know Spark will be in good hands with Evan, but I miss the dog already. I didn’t take a pod because I can run just as quickly and all that sitting and waiting would have driven me insane. Nyx is in trouble. The only reason he would call a Mayday is if he were badly overpowered and outnumbered. I’m not supposed to deal with villain attacks while on probation so the fact that they called me to the scene really says something.

Visions of Nyx lying dead on the ground surrounded by other dead Heroes flicker through my mind, being the only possible explanation I can think of as to why they’d call me in to help for a villain problem.

When I arrive at the KAPOW entrance on the outskirts of Las Vegas, Nevada, the overwhelming emptiness in the air threatens to take my breath away. I survey the scene before me, noting the extreme lack of power, villain or Hero. Only a flicker of power comes from the body
crumpled, pooled in a puddle of blood in the middle of a dozen humans. No villains anywhere.

The only Hero is Nyx.

Even when another Hero’s life is at stake, as a fellow member of the Hero Brigade, my first responsibility is to protect the safety of the humans. The humans, all men in their early twenties, turn their attention toward me. Somehow, I don’t think their safety is in question right now. A sliver of something very much like fear snakes up my spine as twenty-four eyes peer at me with an unhindered look of rage.

“Looks like we have another volunteer,” one guy mutters. His blac
k t-shirt is ripped to shreds. Smears of silver power on his skin reflect off the sunlight.

I swallow. Take a step forward, exiting the KAPOW entrance. The massive metal doors slam closed behind me, making an ominous
click
that isolates me from the bowels of Central where other Heroes, other help, awaits.

My hands clasp onto my hips, portraying a Hero who is not afraid. “I am Hero Maci Might. Someone needs to explain what’s going on.”

A few men snort out a laugh. Another cracks his knuckles. I raise my voice. “Now.”

The first guy steps forward, beads of silvery power rolling down his muscular arms like
drops of sweat. “You seem clueless sweetie, so let me break it down for you. We don’t need no more Supers getting up in our business. Hero, or otherwise.”

I maintain eye contact to intimidate him but I really wish I could check my BEEPR for any signs that more Heroes are on the way. “And how exactly did we get in your business?” I ask, stalling for time. “By saving your ass when something bad happens?”

He snorts sarcastically, his mouth hanging open because his huffy breathing requires a bigger hole than his nostrils. I watch the silver drops roll down his arms and splash on the ground. Nyx’s power. God, what did they do to him?

Sweaty ripped up T-shirt guy takes a step forward. “By
existing
,” he hisses. “This is our planet, and we want it back.”

From the corner of my eye, I notice Nyx’s lean body starting to pull himself up on
to his hands. I don’t glance over there but my attempts at subtlety are useless because the other guys notice anyway. T-shirt guy nods to his friend and the friend rears back his foot and kicks Nyx in the center of his back, steel-toed boot slamming into his spine like he’s a soccer ball. Nyx grunts, feigning that the pain isn’t as bad as it sounded, that the cracking of his vertebrae didn’t almost kill him.

“You okay?” I call out to my Hero comrade, keeping my eyes on the glowering men in front of me.

“No,” is his whispered reply. I’m the only one who should have been able to hear the faint sound of his voice; Super genetics and all. But a few of the human guys start to laugh as if they heard it too. I need to stall until more Heroes arrive. I don’t know why Nyx couldn’t defeat these humans by himself. I should be able to take them all out with one epic blast of power from my palms. But at the risk of ending up on the ground like him, I need to stall.

“Heal faster,” I exhale under my breath, hoping Nyx is the only one to receive the message.

The KAPOW doors crank open, capturing the attention of the men in front of me. Crimson’s power levels are so strong I know it’s her without looking back. I remain standing, eyes on the leader of the pack. Two more Heroes arrive a second later, older and more experienced by the vibe of their power.

Crimson carries a dozen handcuffs, which she splits in half and dangles off her pinky finger like they’re prizes and everyone should be happy to get a pair. “I am Hero Crimson Carlow. You will all be detained until we can sort this out.” She glances over at Nyx, sparing less than a second to verify that he’s still alive, albeit on the ground, and then she shakes her head with a
tisk, tisk
. “Silly humans,” she singsongs, stepping forward toward the head guy. “You know you can’t mess with Heroes.”