Jinx

  I navigated past the missing boards, but the closer I got to the boat, the more my heart sank. The vessel couldn’t be more than twelve feet long and appeared just as ratty and run-down as the rest of the house. The scarlet paint had cracked and peeled so much I couldn’t even tell what the boat’s name had been. Mold and mildew blackened the sail, and the ropes tying the vessel to the dock looked like they might snap at any moment. Still, it bobbed up and down with the gentle waves and looked seaworthy enough. It was going to have to be.

  I didn’t know anything about sailing or seafaring, but I stepped down into the boat and untied the flimsy ropes that held the craft to the dock. The boat drifted out into the bay, pulled along by the brisk current. There was little wind, but maybe I could fix that. Loath as I was to do it, I reached for my power again and focused my attention on the limp sail, willing the wind to come along. My power flared, and a breeze whistled down.

  I smiled, pleased my luck cooperated for a change. But the breeze didn’t last long. After about thirty seconds, it died away altogether.

  Still, the boat floated farther out into the bay, pulled on by the occasional gust of wind and growing current. I used the opportunity to dig through my purse and flip open my phone. The signal was clear and strong now, and I dialed 555-5555, the emergency hotline for the Fearless Five.

  Carmen Cole picked up on the first ring. “Bella! Where are you?!”

  “I’m in a boat in the middle of Bigtime Bay,” I said. “I’m fine. For the most part. Didn’t Debonair get a message to you guys? Or my grandfather?”

  “No, we haven’t gotten any message from him. We’ve been looking for you nonstop. Are you all right? Are you hurt?”

  I bit my lip. He’d lied to me. He hadn’t sent a message to Grandfather. He hadn’t sent a message to anyone. What a fool I was.

  I told Carmen about Debonair saving me and holding me in his Lair of Seduction. I left out the part where I’d slept with my captor, though. I didn’t want Carmen to think I was one of the nutty people in the Slaves for Superhero Sex club who put themselves in danger on purpose so they could cozy up to heroes. Or that I’d enjoyed being a prisoner, despite the fact part of me had.

  “How’s Grandfather?” I asked.

  “I’m fine, Bella. I’m right here.” Bobby’s sharp, strong voice came through the line. “Did he hurt you?”

  “No, Grandfather. He didn’t hurt me. Just scared me a little.”

  Carmen came back on the phone. “All right, Bella. Stay on the phone. Henry and Lulu are working on pinpointing your location. Sam, Chief Newman, and I are heading out now to come get you. Look for a big black boat.”

  “You guys have a boat?”

  “Of course we have a boat,” Carmen replied. “We’re the best superheroes in the city. We’re prepared for anything, and we have everything, thanks to Sam. Now, here’s Bobby again.”

  “Grandfather?”

  “I’m here, Bella.”

  Now that help was officially on the way, I leaned against the rail and told my grandfather the same story I’d told Carmen. Debonair had teleported me around the city, before taking me to his Lair of Seduction.

  “Lair of Seduction? Bah!” My grandfather snorted. “If I was ten years younger, I’d hop on my motorcycle and mow him down for scaring you like that. Johnny Angel could teach him a thing or two about how to treat a lady. These young superheroes just don’t have the proper respect for anybody.”

  “Don’t talk like that. Debonair didn’t hurt me,” I protested. “He saved me from Hangman. In fact, he was very kind and generous.”

  Especially in bed, but I couldn’t tell Grandfather that. I couldn’t tell anyone that. Ever.

  An odd noise penetrated my conflicted thoughts. Music—wild, happy music with a pulsing, calypso beat.

  Calypso music? In the middle of the bay?

  “Hold a second, Grandfather. I hear something strange.”

  I looked around, trying to find the source of the sound. The hum of a powerful motor filled the air, and a moment later, a boat cut through the dissipating fog—the most colorful, buoyant vessel I’d ever seen. The ship was painted in wild, tie-dye colors that ranged from electrified orange to vitriolic violet and every other shocking shade in between. All swirled together. FREE LOVE! FREE BEER! FREE SEAS! screamed a banner hung between two billowing sails. It took me a minute to put it together, but I realized whose ship it was.

  Cap’n Freebeard and his Saucy Wenches. Cap’n was another one of Bigtime’s shady characters—not quite an ubervillain but definitely not a superhero either. The modern-day pirate and his band of Saucy Wenches sailed out on the bay almost every day on their psychedelic party barge. Sometimes, they’d help lost fishermen get back to shore or tow in a broken-down boat. But they spent most of their time waylaying the big cruise ships and stealing all the liquor and food they could carry. The cruise ships didn’t mind so much, though. The pirate was good for business. People flocked to the ships just on the off chance they’d run into Cap’n, be shanghaied, and get taken over to his boat to party with the crew.

  The ship sailed by, and I got a good look at Cap’n Freebeard. He was a tall man with sun-kissed skin and hair so blond it was almost white. Tiny silver bells and bits of coral dangled from the ends of his dreadlocks and the bottom of his thick, curly beard. Cap’n stood in front of a shining silver wheel, flanked on all sides by topless—and sometimes bottomless—beauties. They all had rather buoyant personalities, if you know what I mean. Especially since it was so cold this morning.

  Cap’n spotted me too. He took off his floppy straw hat and tipped it to me in a respectful fashion, while the wenches hung over the railing and blew me flirty kisses.

  I thought about signaling to Cap’n that I needed some assistance, since I knew nothing about sailing or seafaring. But help was already on the way. The Fearless Five would be here any minute. I could wait.

  “What’s that noise?” Bobby asked.

  “Nothing,” I replied, trying not to stare at all the bare, naked, oily flesh passing in front of me. “Nothing at all.”

  Cap’n Freebeard and his merry band sped on by, and I kept talking to Grandfather. But after a few minutes, a weird whooshing caught my attention. At first, I thought it was fish, splashing and leaping and playing in the salty water. All sorts of dolphins and whales and other interesting creatures populated Bigtime Bay. But then, my fingers started to itch, and my hair frizzed. The whooshing came again, louder this time. My heart started to pound. And not in a good way.

  A tall shadow fell over me.

  Boots smacked against the deck.

  And I turned to find Hangman standing behind me.

  15

  ‘Hangman’s here. Tell the Fearless Five to hurry!‘ I screamed into the phone before Hangman smacked it out of my hand.

  The phone hit the brass railing. For a moment, I thought it would go overboard and be lost in the depths of the deep blue sea. But the silver phone bounced back toward me and landed on the deck. I hoped it was still on and that Grandfather hadn’t been cut off.

  “Where is it? Where’s the sapphire?” Hangman growled, advancing on me again.

  I shrank back, eyes frantic, looking for a place to hide, a weapon, something, anything that would keep me alive until the Fearless Five arrived. But there was nothing, not even a cracked oar, to help me. Hangman stretched his massive hand toward my throat, no doubt to throttle the life from my body. I panicked, and my power flared to life.

  Wind screamed into the sail, and the ropes holding it in place snapped like toothpicks. The sail tumbled down, landing right on top of Hangman. The ubervillain cursed and tried to free himself from the heavy canvas. I leaned down, grabbed my phone, and ran all of ten feet to the other end of the boat.

  “Grandfather!”

  “Hang on, Bella! They’re almost there!”

  Sure enough, in the distance, I spotted a rapidly moving black speck. Come on, I begged. Come on!

  With a mighty,
angry roar, Hangman ripped free of the sail. There was only one thing left to do. I tore off my jacket, kicked off my shoes, and climbed up onto the railing—ready to swim for it. But a hand latched around my ankle and dragged me down before I could leap over the side. That same hand tossed me up in the air like a tennis ball before catching me right side up.

  Hangman put his hand around my throat and lifted me up so that my face was level with his. My feet barely reached to his knees. I tried to plant my toes on his utility belt to take some of the pressure off my neck, but my feet kept slipping off the cold, hard metal.

  I stared into his face. Hangman’s eyes were as light as the sky—colorless really, except for the cold rage burning in the depths.

  “Where’s the stone? Tell me now, and I’ll make your death quick and mostly painless. Otherwise, I’ll give you to Prism. She won’t be nearly as pleasant as I am.”

  “I . . . don’t . . . know . . .” I wheezed, trying not to black out.

  “Fine. Have it your way.”

  Hangman’s grip tightened, and stars exploded before my eyes. Then—

  POP!

  The smell of roses filled the air. My eyes went over Hangman’s shoulder. Debonair stood behind him, hands clenched into tight fists. My heart swelled with relief.

  “Let her go,” Debonair snarled, his eyes glowing with rage. “I’m the one you want. I’ve got the sapphire. Not her.”

  Hangman threw me aside like I was a wadded-up piece of paper. I hit the railing, momentum pushing me overboard. I willed myself to stop, and somehow avoided flipping over into the cold water below. I slumped to the bottom of the boat, dazed by the hard hit I’d taken, but not seriously injured. Despite my dislike of my supposed superpower, sometimes it was good to be lucky. Very, very good. I still would have preferred Johnny’s superstrong exoskeleton, though.

  Hangman launched himself at Debonair, who teleported out of the way at the very last second. Hangman slipped on the tattered sail and banged his head against the side of the boat. The thief reappeared by my side.

  “Are you all right, Bella? Did he hurt you?” Debonair asked, cupping my cheek with his hand.

  I jerked my head away from his familiar, comforting touch. “I’m fine. Now leave me alone.”

  Confusion and hurt flashed across his face. “What’s wrong? Why did you run away?”

  I glared at him. “Why didn’t you get a message to my grandfather?”

  He didn’t have time to answer. The Fearless Five pulled along beside us in a sleek black vessel. Hermit manned the wheel, while Karma Girl, Striker, and Mr. Sage stood on the deck ready to board the sailboat.

  Striker raised a bullhorn to his lips. “This is the Fearless Five! Hangman, Debonair, put up your hands! Both of you! Now!”

  Hangman struggled to stand, his feet still tangled in the ripped sail. “To hell with that!”

  He grabbed a grenade from the belt around his waist and dropped it on the deck. Then, he held his hands up and zoomed away into the blue sky, the sail flapping around his ankles.

  I watched, horrified, as the grenade tink-tink-tinked around the sailboat. Finally, it skidded to a stop, and a red light on the top began to blink. I tried to move, to launch myself overboard. But my power pulsed, and my bad luck boomeranged around the way it always did at crucial moments. My feet slid out from under me.

  Debonair grabbed my waist.

  POP!

  The world disappeared as he teleported me over to the Fearless Five’s boat. A second later, the grenade exploded, sending fire and smoke and bits of boat hundreds of feet into the air. Debonair forced me to the deck, covering my body with his, as the debris rained down on us. Striker did the same to Karma Girl, while Hermit and Mr. Sage crouched underneath the boat’s wheel.

  The boat bucked and heaved from the shockwave of the explosion, making me sick. But the seas eventually calmed. The smoke and ash and fire faded away, swallowed up by the cold water. After a few moments, we all got to our shaky feet.

  “Are you all right?” Debonair asked, helping me up.

  “Fine. Now let go of me,” I snarled, pushing him away.

  “Bella?” Karma Girl asked, approaching us. Striker followed behind her.

  “I’m fine, Karma Girl. Really, I am.”

  The two superheroes looked at each other, then moved to flank Debonair.

  “We need to talk to you, Debonair,” Striker said, his eyes going to me. “About a lot of things.”

  But the thief didn’t pay any attention to the two superheroes. He kept staring at me, hurt shimmering in his sapphire eyes. For a moment, I wanted to go to him, to tell him I was sorry for running away, for leaving him behind. Then, I remembered how he’d lied to me about Grandfather. The notion faded.

  Debonair leaned forward. “We’re not through, you and me. Not by a long shot.”

  “Yes, we are. Leave me alone. Please.”

  Debonair stared at me. Then, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine in a rough, hard kiss that left me breathless. He stepped back. Debonair gave me a smirk and bowed with a small flourish.

  “Stop!” Karma Girl said, her eyes beginning to glow neon blue.

  But it was too late.

  POP!

  Debonair had already teleported away.

  PART TWO

  An Exception to the Rule?

  16

  ‘Anything, Hermit?‘ Striker growled.

  Hermit’s fingers glowed a bluish white color over the keys on his laptop as he used his superpower to plug his brain into the computer and sort through billions of data bytes. Mind-melding, Hermit called it. After a moment, the glow disappeared, and the black man shook his head. His eyes were wide and apologetic behind his round goggles.

  “Lulu?” Striker asked.

  The pretty Asian woman with spiky blue-and-black hair tapped away on another computer. “Nothing. Not a trace of either one of them. Hangman went up, up, and away, and Debonair just went poof. They’re both gone.”

  The six of us sat in the main stateroom in the Fearless Five boat—Striker, Karma Girl, Hermit, Mr. Sage, Lulu, and me. It was a little like being trapped in a color wheel. Hermit wore a black-and-white-checkerboard outfit with matching goggles, while Karma Girl dazzled in her silver spandex. Mr. Sage was clad in green and white, while Striker wore a tight black leather suit that reminded me of Debonair. Lulu and I were the only ones not in costume. Fiona Fine would have been here too, in her reddish orange catsuit, if she and Johnny hadn’t been on their vacation.

  “How are you feeling, Bella?” Mr. Sage asked, his blue eyes soft and kind as he took my blood pressure.

  “A little shaken up,” I admitted. “I’m glad you guys showed up when you did.”

  It was one thing to be the daughter of a murdered sometimes superhero. I could afford to be angry and bitter and bitchy in the safety of my own home. It was quite another to be attacked, kidnapped, attacked again, and rescued all in the space of a day and a half. I was exhausted—physically, emotionally, sexually.

  “Are you sure they’re gone?” Striker asked.

  Lulu nodded. “Unfortunately. We left in such a rush I didn’t have time to grab all my gear. This laptop you had on board is a piece of junk, along with the rest of this stuff. There’s no way to track them with this.”

  The computer hacker gestured at the monitors and keyboards that surrounded her. It didn’t look like junk to me. The stateroom had almost as many gadgets and maps and computer equipment as the Fearless Five’s underground library did. It constantly amazed me how much time and money superheroes spent on their toys. Then again, there was a reason the Fearless Five were the preeminent superhero team in Bigtime. And right now, I was grateful to be among superheroes—instead of sleeping with the fishes in Bigtime Bay.

  “All right then, I’ll set the course back to the cove,” Striker said, punching in some commands on a large control panel.

  He took off his black mask, and the others followed suit, revealing their true identiti
es—Sam Sloane, Carmen Cole, Henry Harris, and Chief Sean Newman.

  “Your blood pressure and temperature are fine. I’m a bit worried about that bump on your head, though. And I’m afraid you’re going to be quite stiff and sore in the morning,” Chief Newman rumbled in his Irish brogue. “But other than that, you’ll be fine.”

  In addition to masquerading as a superhero, Chief Newman was also the Fearless Five’s resident doctor.

  “Thanks,” I said, flashing him a weak smile as he took the tight cuff off my right arm. “Where’s Grandfather? He didn’t come with you?”

  Carmen shook her head. “He didn’t want to leave the phone. He told us to come on and that he’d wait at Sublime until we brought you back.”

  Sublime was Sam Sloane’s mansion on the outskirts of Bigtime. It was one of the most impressive homes in all of the city, but few people knew that a maze of caverns under the mansion housed the members of the Fearless Five and all their gizmos. I hadn’t known about it either, until Fiona had taken Grandfather and me there when we were frantically searching for Johnny when he’d been kidnapped by ubervillains.

  “I just sent Bobby a text message telling him that you were safe and sound,” Lulu said.

  “Grandfather doesn’t do so well with computers. Maybe I should just call him.”

  Lulu smiled. “Don’t worry. I programmed it to flash on the big screen in the library. There’s no way he can miss it.”

  While we motored back to the Fearless Five headquarters, I filled the superheroes and Lulu in on everything that happened on the boat, including Hangman’s mention of someone named Prism.

  “Prism?” Carmen asked. “That’s a strange name. I wonder what her power is. Have you ever heard of her, Sam?”

  The handsome businessman shook his head. “No. Have you guys?”

  Both Henry and the chief shook their heads. Lulu cleared her throat, and all eyes turned to her.

  “It’s probably nothing,” she said.

  “Which means that it’s definitely something,” Carmen replied, picking up a Rubik’s Cube and twisting it around in her hands. “Spill it, Lulu.”