The OK Team 2 (6 page)

‘It will still take years,' he says.

‘But at least it can happen. We'll miss you, though,' and I mean it. Switchy's abilities have so often been what won us the day.

Southern Cross steps through the back door and blocks out the sun with his sheer bulk.

‘What do you say, Switchy?'

‘I'm in. Of course I'm in.'

‘Great news. Sorry to take away a Team member, Focus, but that's Heroic life for you.'

‘No problem,' I say. ‘I'll look forward to seeing you again when we're both Level Bs, Switchy.'

They both laugh. Only later, trudging back to the city, alone, does it bother me that they laughed so hard.

From The
Hero TImes
newspaper:

WHAT POWERS THE
SOUTHERN CROSS?

One of the great unanswered questions of the Hero world is what exactly powers all-star Melbourne Hero, Southern Cross?

Other local Heroes such as Golden Boy and Ace, The Rock and Captain Antipode have made no secret of the various radioactive exposure, alien life-forms or strange callings that provided their astonishing abilities, however Southern Cross's power-source remains open to debate.

The Hero himself says he prefers to retain a little mystery, but there are those who believe his lack of willingness to discuss his power-source is because such a revelation might leave the Triple A Hero with an unexpected vulnerability.

‘I've heard all kinds of theories,' says Hero Chronicler, The Bookworm. ‘The most likely story is that as a teenager he was on a camping trip in the outback and one night he happened to be sitting in the exact spot where the rays from all four stars of the main Southern Cross constellation,
Alpha Crucis
,
Beta Crucis, Gamma Crucis
and
Delta Crucis
, combined and hit the Earth, transmitting their galactic energy into him. His body acted like a lightning rod and the star power that travelled through him seared into the rock he was sitting on and was sealed into a star-shaped stone. However, in that single moment when the energy of the stars was inside his body their combined power transformed the boy into Southern Cross, which is why the stars on his chest actually shine.

‘According to this story, Southern Cross took the star-shaped stone containing the star power to a secret location and has kept it there ever since. Legend has it that he has to physically connect with the star-stone at least once every six months or he loses his power. However, it is also rumoured that overexposure to the energy within the star-stone may have temporary, yet dramatic, negative effects.

‘It's just a theory, but it makes more sense than the one about Southern Cross bring created by an alien living at the South Pole . . . who was really cross.'>

CHAPTER 6
THE FLYING TIGERS

I
barely have time to sit in my room, waning in and out of visibility, and moping about losing Switchy, when my dad comes home. Before long I hear raised voices downstairs as he and Mum start arguing. This has been happening more and more lately, but I try not to think about it. Instead I turn up the volume on Channel 78737 and watch stories of Heroes better than me doing great deeds.

Then my PC screen blings and I click on Hero Skype.

‘Hello?' I say.

‘Let's fire the cannon!'

‘Cannonball? What are you up to?'

‘Outside your house in five minutes. Wearing your costume, and runners.'

‘What? I can't. It's late –' ‘No time for talk. Be there.'

The Hero Skype connection dies and I stare at the screen.

A few minutes later, I creep downstairs to the kitchen, where Mum is staring out the window, arms crossed and eyes blazing. Dad's in the lounge room, watching television.

‘Mum?' I say. ‘You okay?'

‘Fine, darling. Fine.' She flicks a glance at me. ‘Are you going out? You're always going out these days.'

‘It's not much fun around here, Mum.'

‘I guess it isn't.' She starts to cry and I fade in and out. I hadn't meant to make her cry.

‘Are you sure you're okay, Mum?'

‘I'm fine, darling. Just fine.' She takes a deep breath and dazzles me with a completely fake smile. She takes in my all-silver costume, including the cape. ‘You're in your little Dungeons and Dragons outfit again, huh? Off to see your nerdy friends.'

‘It's Magic cards, Mum. We play complicated battles based on the cards. And we're not nerds.'

‘Of course you're not. That sounds just like what the cool kids would be doing.'

‘I won't be late.'

‘All right, dear. Have fun.'

‘See you, Dad,' I say.

He grunts. I go.

Cannonball is outside, hopping up and down with excitement. Occasionally he rises slightly off the ground.

‘Great! You made it. Parents buy the story again?'

‘Every time. I changed it from World of Warcraft to Magic cards and Mum didn't even notice. Where are we going?'

‘I've got you a present.'

‘You have? What?'

‘Not yet. Come on.'

He grabs me around the chest and yells, ‘Let's fire the cannon!'

‘Oh no,' I say, but it's too late. We shoot into the sky and I feel slightly sick as the houses of my suburb lurch beneath me, only air and gravity between me and certain death if Cannonball lets go.

Only a year ago, Cannonball's flying control was terrible. Tonight, once we level out, I almost enjoy the flight. Reasonably steady, we head west, past the Bolte Bridge, with its giant AFL goalpost props, and over the Princes Freeway towards Werribee.

‘Where are we going, you caped freak?' I yell over the wind.

‘Almost there, Blur-brain,' he yells back happily.

Finally, we start to descend. There's a massive shed, like a giant warehouse or maybe an aircraft hanger, large enough to stack three jumbo jets end to end, and maybe one on top of the other as well. That big. Truly.

As we land, I notice a huge neon sign on the building: Auto Auction Warehouse.

There is one small door, as though for a backyard shed, like a pimple on the side of the endless wall.

‘Cannonball –' I begin.

‘Shut up and come on. You're going to love it. Our game starts in 10 minutes.'

‘Our game?'

‘Yeah, I've played once already. It's better than having your head covered in whipped cream!'

Before I can even ask for an explanation of a typical Cannonball mangled simile, he's charging through the door. I follow him and find myself in some kind of cavernous sporting arena. There is foam, a couple of metres thick, lining the walls. The foam goes all the way to the roof. Here and there, I can make out scorch marks on the foam, and stains and the occasional dent the size of a large truck. The floor is orange and a kind of rubber matting. At each end of the massive floor space there is a tiny goal, like a hockey goal, but possibly smaller. It's hard to tell from this far away.

We are standing next to a counter and music is playing softly on a small radio. It's a Beatles song and it makes me think of Switchy. He loved – loves – The Beatles.

A man with a big stomach and a faded cape stands behind the counter. His arms are folded as he watches us.

‘Which game, Heroes?'

Cannonball steps up to the counter. ‘We're with the Flying Tigers.'

‘Twenty bucks each. Change Room “Bat Cave”.'

I hand over twenty dollars and follow Cannonball to the change rooms. One reads ‘Fortress of Solitude'. The other is the ‘Bat Cave'. Heroes have always liked their little jokes.

‘Cannonball . . .'

We're outside the change room and he swings around, eyes shining. ‘Hero Ball, Hazy. Finally, a sport where we can let our powers roam free. I've already played and Chameleon was totally right. It rocks. Come and meet the rest of the team.'

In the change room there are two other Heroes in various stages of undress. One guy is AutoMan, half car, half human. He's a well-ranked Hero, at least in the high Level Cs, maybe even Level B.

Cannonball introduces me to GlueStik, who has his costume off to apply padding to his knees and elbows. He's a Level D, Grade One.

AutoMan hands me my Flying Tigers team jumper. It's got a black collar and short sleeves and is bright purple, but with horizontal black and green stripes across the chest, along with stencilled artwork of a ferocious tiger wearing a cape. The tiger has bright yellow eyes. In green lettering within the black stripe, ‘THE FLYING TIGERS' is written. Above the stripe is a number: 17. The same number is bigger on the back.

‘Shouldn't our outfit be yellow and black if we're tigers?' I ask.

‘Hero tigers are purple,' says GlueStik.

‘They are?' I ask.

‘Apparently. Anyway, its eyes are yellow. What do you want?'

I let it go and pull the guernsey over my head. I'm busy untangling my cape from the back of the jumper's neck when another Hero walks out of the toilet area.

‘You've got to be kidding?' I say.

‘Hi,' the kid says, putting out his hand. ‘I don't know if you remember me, but I once tried out for your crew, the OK Team.'

‘Freeze Frame,' I say, smiling politely. ‘Great to see you. Are you here to watch the game?'

‘No, idiot. I'm on the team. Eat 'em alive, the Flying Tigers!'

He reaches into his bag and pulls out his purple jumper, with a number 39 on the back.

‘Time to get out there,' AutoMan says. ‘Focus, just spend the first half getting a feel for the game. Your role is to add an element of surprise to our attacks. I don't want the opposition knowing where you are at any time, if you can manage to stay invisible that long. Lurk near the goal. Ask Cannonball, if you need advice. Everybody else, fire up! We're playing the Diamonds today, so we need to be right on top of our game.'

We run through the change room door and see our opponents are already on the playing arena, wearing blue guernseys with a silver diamond logo on the front.

I know all of them at least vaguely from around the Hero traps. Ace is the most famous of them, a Level A Hero with a dazzling array of playing-card powers. Then there's Legs Raffety, who looks completely normal, but has the ability to change into a giant emu. NightEye is checking that his hair is clear of his luminous eyes. Waterfall is stretching her hamstrings, a number 8 on her back. And finally, I notice a familiar outline, wearing the Diamonds' guernsey, which has also faded somehow into the foam wall. Chameleon!

‘Hi Leon,' I say. ‘We're playing you? And Ace? Is that fair?'

‘You'll be fine, Focus. We're all Heroes here and all friends. We play hard, but not too hard, if you know what I mean. The whole point is to play to the limit of your powers, without hurting anybody.'

I run over to where Cannonball is fidgeting with excitement, waiting for the game to start. ‘Cannonball, what do we do? What are the rules?'

‘There is one rule, Focus. See the goal, way down there?'

‘Yeah.'

‘Get the ball in that goal.'

‘But what are the rules?'

‘That's it. Get the ball in the net. Well, I guess a second rule is: Don't kill anybody.'

‘Are you serious?'

‘You bet. Hero Ball is where we can finally let ourselves flex our muscles. If we want to hang in the air for a mark we can! If you want to flit in and out of visibility, go for it. They say it's excellent practice for real battles.'

‘You two ready?' asks AutoMan, who has an extra green armband as team captain.

‘I guess. How long does a game last?'

‘Best of five goals. Good luck.'

A Hero in an all-white uniform flies into the air, carrying a whistle. He's obviously the umpire.

‘Heroes ready?' he yells. ‘Let's play.'

He blows his whistle and, true to my memory of him, Freeze Frame strikes a pose and freezes, never to move for the rest of the match.

Everybody else becomes a blur of dazzling colour and movement. Hero Ball is underway.

OFFICIAL SCORECARD

THE FLYING TIGERS V THE DIAMONDS

Game 1:
A fast start for the Diamonds as NightEye plunges the entire field into instant night. Waterfall cascades water onto AutoMan's windscreen and by the time he fumbles in the dark for his windscreen wipers and then headlights, the ball is already in the back of the net, courtesy of Leon.

DIAMONDS: 1 FLYING TIGERS: 0

Another strong team play by the Diamonds as Legs Raffety charges straight down the middle of the field, with Waterfall creating surf behind him. NightEye tries a darkness plunge again, but AutoMan already has his headlights on, allowing Cannonball to skittle the emu's legs and NightEye in one move. Ace tosses the ball, on top of a spinning Queen of Hearts, to Leon who is camouflaged in the goal mouth. Goal.

DIAMONDS: 2 FLYING TIGERS: 0

Finally, the Flying Tigers creak into action. Legs Raffety attempts another run, but GlueStik clags him and Legs can barely move in the ooze. Cannonball makes a strong, no-tomorrow flying attack down the left wing, only stopping when Ace hits him square in the jaw with a hard-spinning Joker. AutoMan take the ball and drives straight through Waterfall's attempted whirlpool. GlueStik is on hand for the pass. Goal!