Mephisto looked at his outfit. “I’m a falcon, a skilled and swift predator.”
Damocles growled. “You’re a fowl fiend, a feathered fool, and fox food. And I’m the fox.”
Mephisto set a fist on his hip. “Insults and threats won’t stop me, Damocles. You have less than twelve hours to deliver one billion dollars to the address Chet Graham gave to your young friend. He will meet you there.”
I sucked in a breath. The address. I forgot all about it. I pulled the card from my pocket and read it out loud. “Thirteen-thirteen Snakepit Gulley in Mosquito Lagoon.” I looked at Damocles. “Isn’t that a few miles outside of Nirvana?”
“It is.” Damocles glared at Mephisto. “You were leading two children into a snake-infested swamp?”
“The swamp is merely a barrier that protects an old hideout of mine. Once you get past the cottonmouths, the rest of the way is easy.”
I concealed a tight swallow. Cottonmouths? I took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. I could do that. For the sake of Nirvana, I’d face any danger. Except maybe scorpions.
Damocles gave Mephisto a sharp stare. “Do you still have scorpions in the swamp?”
“I assume there are still many thousands of them, maybe millions by now, but they stay hidden most of the time. Too much noise will bring them out in a deadly swarm, so you will have to proceed across the swamp in complete silence.”
I swallowed again. Scorpions. Why did it have to be scorpions?
Damocles half closed an eye. “So Graham will meet us there and not you.”
“Correct. That is an unsavory place, so I never go there anymore. I will be elsewhere, safe from the coming earthquake.”
“You do realize,” Damocles said, “that we can find your location by looking up the transmission address on your projection unit.”
“Of course I realize that. I was just about to leave when your signal came in.”
Damocles crossed his arms in front, making his massive biceps bulge. “Very well. Then leave. We won’t be able to follow you.”
“Leave?” Mephisto blinked. “Do you mean right now? At this moment?”
“Yes. Right now.”
Mephisto glanced left and right, as if confused. I stared at Damocles and his confident stance. He acted like he was calling a bluff, seeing if Mephisto really intended to leave.
Mephisto straightened and squared his shoulders. “I will depart at the time of my own choosing.”
“That’s fine,” Damocles said, his arms still crossed. “We’ll just leave your unit on and follow the transmission address until we find you.”
“Not if I stop the transmission.” As Mephisto stayed in his defiant stance, his hologram faded until it vanished.
Damocles turned toward me. “Do you know how to find that computer’s transmission log and translate its origin codes?”
“I think so. It’s a newer model, so I can’t be sure.”
“If you can’t, you’ll have to go to thirteen-thirteen Snakepit Gulley and face the venomous snakes in the swamp.”
“And the scorpions.” I looked at the unit’s tiny screen — a touch-sensitive display with menu selections. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Have you tried using Mastix lately?”
I shook my head. “Having it fail every time got kind of discouraging.”
“Let’s multi-task.” Damocles drew the holographic Mastix from his belt. The thongs instantly flashed with shimmering light. “While you’re tracking down the address, I’ll teach you how to use Mastix, assuming it ever recognizes you as a superhero and starts working.”
“That’s a big assumption. But all right.”
While I clicked through the computer’s menus, Damocles demonstrated how to use Mastix as a weapon, including collecting deadly projectiles in its thongs, creating a web of electricity that can capture a villain, shooting hundreds of paralyzing sparks in a 180-degree arc, and combining the sparks in a single super-powered lightning bolt. With the final ability, a blinding bolt of light blasted from his phantom Mastix and disappeared the moment it rocketed past the hologram’s boundary.
When he finished, he refastened Mastix to his belt. “That’s all. Any questions?”
“None that I can think of.” I looked at the real Mastix as it lay dark inside my backpack. Actually I did have a huge question. Would it ever decide to see me as a superhero? But Damocles probably couldn’t answer that.
“Did you find the address?” he asked.
“The computer’s tracing the codes now.” After a few seconds, an address appeared on the screen. “It’s thirteen-thirteen Snakepit Gulley. The same as on the card.”
“So he was lying about his location. And probably about a lot more.”
“Like what?”
“Allow me to process my thoughts for a while. The ramifications are huge, and I have to make sure I’m right.”
“Okay, but what do I do?”
“Go to thirteen-thirteen Snakepit Gulley and cross the swamp, as planned.”
“Uh … sure … yeah. That’s easy to say.”
“Are you afraid of snakes?”
“Not really. I can face them.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
“Well, I don’t have a billion dollars. If I show up without the money, he’ll go through with the earthquake, not to mention that he’ll probably kill me.”
“Right. Without Sam, you’re pretty defenseless.”
Warmth rushed into my cheeks, and guilt punched my gut hard. “I can’t charge her up again, Damocles. She’ll get sicker. She might even die.”
Damocles’s tone softened to the kind adults use when they’re trying to help a kid make a mature decision that most kids would never have to make. “You can’t be certain of that, Eddie. She’s always recovered before.”
“But I can’t risk her life. She’s my sister.”
“If the big quake comes, everyone in the city will die, including Sam.”
I nodded slowly. “So Sam could die either way.”
Damocles walked closer and crouched within reach. “Superheroes often have to make decisions like this. We call it a moral dilemma. Will you sacrifice one person to save millions? Or will you save one person and hope that decision doesn’t lead to the death of millions? A real superhero has to figure out a way to solve both problems.”
I looked up at him, tears flooding my eyes. “You’re a superhero, Damocles. What would you do if you were me?”
“If I tell you, I don’t think you’ll ever become a superhero.”
“Because I have to figure it out myself?”
He nodded. “The decision has to come from your heart, not mine. And even if I told you what to do, you might not be able to do it. My idea might not work. Obviously I’ve made mistakes before. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be dead, and you wouldn’t have to deal with this dilemma. That’s my fault.”
He sat, floating an inch off the ground, and laid a hand on my knee, though it couldn’t make physical contact. “Eddie, Nirvana needs someone who’ll try to stop an earthquake. But they need more than that. Sure, if I tell you what to do, maybe you’ll stop the quake and save Nirvana and your sister. You’d be a hero for a day. But what Nirvana really needs is a superhero who is still a superhero tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. Mephisto or someone like him will try again to kill innocent people, but I can’t keep advising you forever. Nirvana needs a superhero who will last. Nirvana needs you.”
I brushed a tear from each eye. “Why can’t you advise me? I can get new batteries for years.”
“Because the essence I put into that wallet can’t be recharged. It will eventually die. The more times you project my hologram and the more time I spend with you, the faster it will run out. My guess is we have ten minutes left to spend together.”
“Ten minutes?” My thr
oat pinched, pitching my voice higher. “I can’t do this without you.”
“You have to. I created this solution to my death for this very purpose, to train a replacement.”
“But I’m no superhero. I’m just a kid. You need someone bigger and stronger. Not some weenie-armed little runt like me.”
“Eddie, being a superhero isn’t a matter of how big your arms are.” He set his phantom hand on my chest. “It’s how big your heart is. And you have the biggest heart I have ever seen.”
My breaths grew shallow. I had the biggest heart? Was he confusing me with someone else? How could he think my heart was big?
As Damocles drew back, static ran across his hologram. His fingertips dissolved, turning to sparkling dust and dispersing. The disintegration progressed to his hands and continued up toward his forearms.
“Damocles?” My voice squeaked. “What’s happening to you?”
He looked at his arm as it crumbled to sparks, his expression calm. “It looks like I overestimated my remaining time. I think I will be gone in seconds.”
“No, Damocles! No!”
When I reached for the projector, he called out, “It’s no use, Eddie.” Now both of his arms were gone, and the dissolving line ran up his thighs as he floated in midair. “Even if you turn off the projector, I will keep dissolving. Nothing can stop it now.”
More heat surged into my cheeks. Tears spilled and trickled to my chin. “At least tell me what you were thinking about Mephisto. I mean, what else was he lying about?”
Now the dissolving line raced up his torso. Only his head and chest remained. “Listen carefully. Since Mephisto was transmitting from the Snakepit address, it means that place isn’t an old hideout. It’s where he is and always has been. He was a hologram on the Stellar roof and in the Dead Zone. In all of my years battling against his evil deeds, I have never met him face to face.”
Damocles’s head now floated by itself, his chin dissolving. “I think he never leaves his hideout. For some reason he’s either trapped there or he doesn’t really —”
His mouth fractured along with his voice, leaving only the area above his nose. His glimmering eyes looked so sincere, so passionate. The moment a tear spilled from each one, his remains exploded in a silent splash of sparks.
Twinkling like fairy dust, the sparks rained toward the ground. I tried to catch some in my hand, but they passed through and disappeared.
The sensation brought Sam’s fantasies to mind, her hopes and dreams about her own heroes, caught in the sparkling whirlwind of her vivid imagination’s idea of the fairy princess she longed to be.
I closed my fist over the last vanishing spark and whispered, “Fairies really do exist.”
My vision blurred by tears, I grabbed Graham’s projector and heaved it into the dumpster. It squished on something soft before striking bottom with a metallic clank. Then I picked up my computer/projection combo and, with a guttural shout, flung it into the dumpster. It hit bottom right away with a loud clatter.
My backpack lay on the ground. I removed Mastix, still dark from the handle to the end of its thongs, and fastened it to my belt. Only the superhero device remained inside. I grabbed the strap and lifted the pack. I couldn’t let Sam go through so much suffering again. My invention would have to join the trash heap.
I slung the backpack toward the top of the dumpster and watched it sail. Just as it reached the peak of its arc, Graham’s eagle swooped down, snatched it in its claws, and lifted into the sky, the pack dangling. Within seconds, it was gone.
My mouth dropped open. What had I done? Now Mephisto would have the superhero device. How would he use it? Knowing him, he would figure out how to make it more powerful than ever.
Heaving deep breaths, I leaned against the wall and stared down at my shoes. Tears dripped to the laces. A sob welled up. I tried to hold it back, but it burst out in a gut-wrenching spasm.
My back against the bricks, I slid down to a crouch with my hands over my face and cried. Hard. Damocles, my hero, was gone forever. And now Nirvana would never again have a superhero to keep it safe.
Chapter 15
Do I Really Have to Save a Scoundrel?
“Eddie?”
I looked toward the sound — a man’s voice. Familiar.
A dim, moon-cast shadow drew closer. Milligan stepped into view from around the dumpster. “Here you are. I thought I heard someone shout.”
As I rose, I stealthily brushed tears with my knuckles. “What do you want?”
“Just looking for you. Your mom and I couldn’t find you in that hole in the street, so we came back to the restaurant.” He leaned to the side and looked toward the front of the building. “I found him.”
A wheelchair appeared from around the corner, Sam in the seat with her ankles bandaged and taped, pushed by Dr. Ross. A woman wearing dark blue scrubs followed. Sam grinned. “See? I knew he wouldn’t leave without me.”
“You were right,” Dr. Ross said. “I’m sorry I doubted you.”
When they all arrived, I looked behind them. No one else followed. “Where’s Mom?”
Milligan jerked his thumb toward the street. “She went back to your apartment looking for you. I said I’d stick around here in case you showed up.”
Sam tugged on my wrist. “I saw her out the window. I waved, but she didn’t see me. By the time I wheeled myself out there, she was gone. That’s when Milligan saw me, and he started looking for you. I knew you wouldn’t leave me, so I asked Victor to get some food for our next adventure.” She glanced around. “Did you talk to Damocles?”
I looked straight at Sam. Her eyes, just like Damocles’s, gleamed with sincerity. It was time to stop hiding the truth from the adults. “Yes, I talked to him. I know what we have to do.”
“Together?” she asked, her eyes hopeful.
“Together. Always. I’m not going to let anything break up our team.”
She lifted a hand. “Princess Power Pledge.”
I slapped her palm and tried to burp, but it sounded more like squishing a bloated caterpillar, two out of ten on a burp scale. Hers was deep and resonate, definitely nine plus.
Dr. Ross turned to the woman in scrubs. “Mabel, what do you think?”
The woman nodded. “I think she can go, but no walking allowed.”
“Agreed.” Dr. Ross shifted back toward me. “Are you going home to see your mom? She’s sick with worry.”
“Can a wheelchair get through?” I asked.
Milligan shook his head. “Not on your normal path. Word on the street says the only solid pavement that goes that far is in the Dead Zone. I’d better come along.”
I blew out a heavy sigh. “Listen. We’ve walked and biked all over town tonight, including the Dead Zone, and we’ve been fine. We can make it home without you watching over us.”
“I’m here,” Victor said as he jogged around the building. He set two brown paper bags next to Sam in the chair. “A sandwich and bottle of water for each of you.”
I gave him a thankful nod. “That’s super.” I hustled to the back of the wheelchair and grabbed the handles. “Need to use the restroom before we go, Sam?”
“Nope. Already went. Mabel helped me.”
“Great.” I pushed her toward the walkway leading to the Dead Zone. “Thanks for everything, Victor, Dr. Ross, and Mabel.”
“No, you don’t, Eddie,” Milligan called from behind me. “I’m coming with you.”
I tried to push faster, but between the chair’s weight and having to dodge some deep cracks in the pavement, it was no use. Within a few seconds, Milligan caught up and walked at my side. “Where’s that machine that turns your sister into Supergirl?”
I scowled. “As if I’d tell you.”
“Just thought you might use it. Heal her ankles. Make her feel better. That’s what good brothers do.”
>
“Give me a break. What do you know about being a good brother?”
“I’m being a good brother to your mom right now. Watching over you.”
“Like you did when you took my invention?” I blinked at him. “Wait a minute. You’re not my mother’s brother.”
Milligan slid a hand into his pocket. “Obviously your mom never told you about me. I’m her half brother. We have the same father. After my mother died, he got married to your grandma, and they had your mom.”
“So you’re my uncle?”
“Sort of. Half-uncle, I guess.”
“Well, you tried to steal my invention, so you’ve got nothing to say to me about being a brother.” I picked up my pace toward the Dead Zone, leaning harder as I pushed the wheelchair.
Milligan caught up and strode again at my side. “I was just trying to convince you to leave that hole before you got killed.”
“Don’t try to con me. I’m not stupid.”
“Look, I know you don’t trust me. And I’m no angel, that’s for sure, but I promised your mom I’d look after you. And I’m gonna do that. That’s what a brother does. He looks after his sister, right?”
His words dug deep. He really knew how to strike at my heart. “So I’m supposed to believe you were really going to give her most of the money? That’s bogus.”
“But it’s true. You invention is worth millions. Billions. I was hoping you’d help me turn it into a franchise, you know, pay us a million bucks to be a superhero for a day. Maybe we could form a partnership. You’d be the president and call the shots, and I’d be the head of marketing. I could put together a promo video that would —”
“Just shut up, Milligan. I wouldn’t trust you to obey the law of gravity.” I wheeled Sam through the Dead Zone entry gate and turned toward our apartment building. Mosquito Lagoon lay beyond it, so we had to go that way no matter what.
“I figured you’d say that, Eddie, so I’ll just be patient. No hurry, right? Maybe when you see I’m not the crook you think I am, you’ll change your mind. I can wait.”
As I hustled through the darkness of the Dead Zone, wary of every shifting shadow, I thought back to what he said the first time I met this liar. Like father, like son. A do-gooder who thinks he’s too high and mighty to work with someone like me. If you don’t watch out, you’ll meet the same fate. Trust me. I know what happens to people who don’t play the game.