Jinx

  Since Grandfather was otherwise engaged, I drove out to Sublime to check in with the Fearless Five and plot how things would work at the museum tonight. Carmen, Sam, Chief Newman, Henry, Lulu, and I met in the library, just like always. For once, I didn’t mind being part of the superheroes’ inner circle.

  “Everything’s in place,” Carmen said. “We dropped off the sapphire at the museum this morning and watched while they put it back on display. It’s in the same spot as before, except with much more security.”

  “What do you mean, more security?” I asked.

  Henry pulled up a schematic on his computer monitor. “Instead of the glass case the museum uses for precious items, we substituted one of our own. If the ubervillains do manage to steal the sapphire, they’ll have a hard time getting to it.”

  I thought of Prism’s laserama. “Even with her laser gun?”

  “The glass isn’t foolproof,” Henry admitted. “Nothing ever is.”

  “Which is where the tracking device comes in,” Lulu said. “Henry and the chief sprayed the sapphire with a clear paint that has a radioactive signature. So, even if Prism and Hangman somehow manage to steal the sapphire, escape, and get it out of the case, we’ll still be able to track them down.”

  “It sounds like you’ve thought of everything,” I chimed in, admiring their thoroughness.

  Carmen picked up one of her Rubik’s Cubes and started playing with it. “I’m still worried,” she confessed, twisting the rows of colors back and forth in her hands. “I don’t like the fact the museum is reopening with so much fanfare. You don’t think the ubervillains will attack then, do you?”

  Sam shook his head. “I wouldn’t think so. Too many people around. More than likely they’ll try to steal the stone after the museum closes. It’ll be easier then. At least, they’ll think so.”

  Carmen kept pacing. Sam grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his lap. He took the puzzle from her fingers and put it down on the table.

  “Don’t worry,” he said, gathering her close to him. “Nothing bad is going to happen. We’ve planned this all too well, and we’ll be there to make sure that nothing goes wrong. Okay?”

  Carmen stared into his eyes, then pressed a kiss to his lips. “Okay.”

  Seeing the two of them be so gentle, so tender with each other reminded me of Devlin and how much I’d come to love him. Carmen and Sam had overcome incredible odds to be together. Why couldn’t Devlin and I?

  We could, I decided. We would. One way or another.

  I left Sublime and went home to get ready for the reopening. Bobby had left a note in the kitchen, saying he and Grace were having dinner before going to the museum. I just smiled and shook my head. I was glad Grandfather had found someone to make him happy again. He’d been alone too long. We both had.

  I picked out another one of Fiona’s gowns to wear, this one a deep, dark green that accentuated the bronze color of my hair, skin, and eyes. It was made of a soft jersey material with lots of give, although the fabric still clung to my body. I twirled in front of the mirror, pleased by the effect and not the least bit self-conscious about my hips and thighs. Well, not as much as usual.

  First the scarlet dress, now this one. Seducing Devlin, planning to do the same again tonight. I was ignoring my rules right and left. Not to mention my innate good taste. The next thing you knew, I’d be wearing sequins, feathers, and zebra stripes. All at once.

  Maybe being around Debonair had affected me more than I’d realized. I didn’t know, but I liked the feeling. I added my angel charm to the outfit, along with Jasper’s bomb bracelet.

  Since Prism had toasted my Benz, I called a taxi and reached the museum a little after eight. Things were already in full swing. A banner stretched over the front steps said GRAND REOPENING! COME AND JOIN THE FUN! WHIMSICAL WONDERS LIVES ON!

  I entered the museum and headed for the new wing. The last time I’d seen it, the area had been full of plaster and sweaty construction guys. Now, everything looked just the same as it always did. Immaculate marble walls. Vivid paintings. Unusual statues. And the Star Sapphire sitting in the middle of the grand hall, casting its cool blue light on everything.

  I worked my way through the chattering crowd, looking for one particular face. I spotted all the usual bigwigs, including Berkley Brighton and Joanne James. I even saw Jasper chatting up a woman in a corner. I waved to the bomber. His eyes landed on my bracelet, and he smiled and gave me a thumbs-up. I froze in midwave and carefully lowered my hand. I kept forgetting just how deadly my pretty bracelet was. I was just glad I hadn’t had to use Jasper’s creation. And if things went well tonight, I could return it to him. Maybe he’d even give Lulu some of her money back.

  “Hello, beautiful. Are you here alone?” a sexy voice murmured in my ear.

  I smiled and turned to find Devlin standing behind me. He looked marvelous in a black tux and his silver glasses. How could I have ever thought him awkward and clumsy and shy? I stood on my tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

  “Oh, no. I’m afraid I have a very hot date tonight,” I teased.

  “Maybe you’d like to go home with me instead.”

  I looked him up and down. “Maybe. But you’ll have to give me a good reason to.”

  Devlin put his lips against my ear again. “How about a repeat performance of last night?”

  I smiled. “That sounds like a good enough reason for me.”

  “I’m glad.”

  Devlin held out his hand, and I tucked my arm in his. The two of us wandered through the room, talking to everyone we knew. I spotted the members of the Fearless Five in among the crowd. Carmen, Sam, Henry, Lulu, Chief Newman. They’d come to the reopening tonight just in case there was the slightest hint of trouble.

  More than a few eyes landed on Devlin and me, and whispers followed us around the room. We’d be the talk of the society scene by morning, as were all the new couples who hooked up in public. But I didn’t care what other people thought. I loved Devlin. Now all I had to do was figure out a way to make it work between us.

  Berkley and Joanne stood in the middle of the room next to the Star Sapphire, the center of attention just like always. Devlin and I strolled over to them. Hannah Harmon hovered nearby. She murmured pleasantries to the people she was talking to, but her eyes were firmly fixed on the sapphire.

  “Bella! How lovely to see you again!” Joanne said, presenting her cheek for the usual air kiss.

  I obliged her. “You too, Joanne. Berkley.”

  The older billionaire nodded at me.

  My eyes went to the sapphire resting on its pedestal. The glass case didn’t look any different from the one it had been under before, but I trusted the Fearless Five. Henry and Lulu knew exactly what to do when it came to gadgets—especially those designed to stop ubervillains.

  By midnight I was ready for the event to end, so I could head to the security room with the Fearless Five and wait for Prism and Hangman to show up and try to steal the gem. Then, this nightmare would be over, and I could get on with my life—hopefully with Devlin.

  My power flared, the first time it had acted up all day, and my feet turned of their own volition toward the sapphire. Berkley and Joanne stood next to the gem, talking with Hannah. A man in a wheelchair sat next to them, his back to me. Something about the hard set of Joanne’s lips and the way she clutched Berkley’s hand bothered me. She almost looked worried, and Joanne James never worried about anything.

  “What’s wrong?” Devlin asked.

  “I don’t know,” I said, moving toward the sapphire.

  Across the room, I saw Carmen do the same, drawn by the same bad feeling.

  “I said no, Hannah.” Berkley Brighton’s baritone reverberated through the room. “I have no interest in what you’re proposing.”

  “But, Berkley, think of all the power we could have,” Hannah wheedled. “The money, the position, the influence.”

  Berkley’s hand tightened around Joanne’s. “I happen to
be very happy with my current situation—professionally and personally. I’m sorry.”

  All conversation stopped. Hannah’s eyes flicked around. Everyone had heard Berkley turn her down. They all stared at her, mouths slightly agape. Then, the whispers began. A few people snickered with amusement. Something red and angry sparked in the depths of her eyes at the soft sound.

  “Fine, Berkley, if that’s the way you want it. Nobody move!” Hannah Harmon screamed, pulling what looked like a laser pointer out of her evening bag. “This is a robbery!”

  28

  Everybody froze.

  My eyes went to the device in her hands, and my mouth dropped open. It was the same laserama she’d pointed at me last night. Hannah Harmon was Prism? It didn’t seem possible.

  But things got even more bizarre. The man in the wheelchair sprang to his feet, kicked the contraption away, and turned to face me. I realized who he was—Nathan Nichols, the financial guru who’d bilked Devlin’s company out of millions and now worked for Hannah. Nichols ripped off his tuxedo, revealing a gray spandex suit and a silver utility belt. Prism and Hangman were both here. And they were going to steal the Star Sapphire right now—no matter who got in the way.

  I looked around to see where Carmen was, but she’d melted into the frightened crowd, along with the other members of the Fearless Five. So had Devlin. One moment, he was by my side; the next, he was gone.

  Hannah commanded everyone’s attention, holding her laserama on Berkley and Joanne.

  “Why are you doing this, Hannah?” Berkley asked, his voice remarkably calm. “Surely my turning down your business and other proposals hasn’t upset you this much?”

  Hannah threw back her head and laughed. “Don’t you understand, you fool?”

  She jerked her head at Hangman. He stepped forward and ripped away the dress from her body, revealing a familiar yellow costume with a triangle on the front of it.

  Joanne hissed, “You’re an ubervillain!”

  “Right you are, Joanne. Right you are.” Hannah addressed the rest of the crowd. “My name is Prism. Learn my name, know it well, because you’ll be hearing a lot more of me. Very, very soon. In a couple of hours, I’m going to be the one running this town.”

  Hannah, Prism, pointed her laserama up and pulled the trigger. A red beam shot out from the end of the barrel, shattering the restored glass ceiling with a tremendous roar. With one thought, people screamed and stampeded toward the exits, even as glass rained down and the alarms started blaring. The crowd rushed past me, sweeping me back, and I lost sight of the ubervillains.

  I stayed in the room, looking for Grandfather. I didn’t see Bobby among the panicked crowd, but I did spot Grace Caleb, half-hidden behind one of the statues. She whipped something out of her purse and snapped it down beside her leg. I squinted through the mad dash of people. It looked like a cane. A diamond-topped cane. Grace drew a mask out of her bag and slipped it over her head. Then, she draped an angora sweater across her shoulders. I recognized her at once.

  My eyes threatened to pop out of my head. Grace Caleb was actually Granny Cane? The little old lady who went around Bigtime suckering thieves into mugging her? No wonder she’d had a family emergency the other night. I wondered if Bobby knew what Grace did when she wasn’t playing bridge or drinking tea. He’d definitely approve.

  Hannah continued with her rant, brandishing her laser at Berkley and Joanne. “You all think you’re so clever, so smart with your little cliques and groups and inner circles. You’re nothing but a bunch of phonies. I’ve tried to fit in. I’ve tried to play your little popularity games. Well, I’m sick of it. Instead of pretending to be like the rest of you, I’m going to take what I want and damn the consequences.”

  “People don’t like you enough so you decided to become an ubervillain?” Joanne snapped. “How pathetic.”

  Hannah glared at the other woman. “No more pathetic than you marrying every other man in Bigtime, you tramp.”

  “Honey, I’m not a tramp. I’m not the one wearing yellow leather.” Joanne’s eyes flicked down the other woman’s form. “Without the figure to pull it off.”

  Hannah held the laserama up to Joanne’s face.

  “Stop!” another voice called out.

  Striker strode into the room, followed by Karma Girl, Mr. Sage, and Hermit. Seeing the superheroes in their bright costumes reminded me of the last time I’d been here, when Hangman and Debonair had been fighting. I had the strangest sense of déjà vu.

  “Come any closer, and I’ll blow her away,” Hannah warned, her finger hovering over the button on her weapon.

  Hangman eased off to one side, giving the superheroes two targets instead of just one. Striker’s eyes flicked around the room, analyzing the situation. His gaze cut to Karma Girl, who shook her head. Hermit did the same. Striker’s hand twitched, as though he was signaling one of the members of the team.

  Mr. Sage’s eyes began to glow neon green. A moment later, something yanked down on Hannah’s arm, pulling the laserama away from Joanne’s face.

  “What—What are you doing?” Hannah screamed. “Nobody messes with me! Nobody messes with Prism!”

  Hannah raised the laserama and pressed the button.

  Joanne stood in front of the ubervillain, but somehow, Berkley shoved her out of the way at the last possible moment. Joanne crashed into Mr. Sage, who caught her. The laser slammed into the billionaire’s chest, and the stench of burning flesh filled the room. For an instant, Berkley’s eyes flashed as scarlet as Prism’s. A black, smoking hole appeared over his heart. Berkley stumbled back from the impact of the laser. He looked at his burning chest, then at Joanne. Then, he smiled once and crumpled to the floor.

  Dead. I knew he was dead. No one could survive something like that. No one.

  I clapped my hands over my mouth, horrified by what I’d just seen. Joanne wrenched herself free from Mr. Sage’s restraining hands.

  “Berkley! Berkley! No, no, nooo!” Joanne screamed, throwing herself on top of Berkley’s lifeless body.

  Hannah took aim at Joanne, who did something I never would have expected her to—she launched herself at the ubervillain.

  Joanne might have been one of the richest women in Bigtime, but she certainly knew how to fight. She caught Prism around the ankles, and the two women hit the ground. They rolled around on the marble floor, shrieking and kicking and clawing among the shards of broken glass. Prism might have had superstrength, but it didn’t faze Joanne a bit. She fought like a woman possessed—like a woman who’d just lost her husband.

  The Fearless Five started forward to break up the fight, but a grenade slid across the floor and landed at Striker’s feet. The sight snapped me out of my horrified daze.

  “Grenade!” I screamed. “Grenade!”

  Karma Girl grabbed Striker’s suit and yanked him back with a strength I didn’t know she had. The grenade exploded, and the room went orange, then black, then gray. The shock and fire from the blast knocked me to my knees. My power pulsed, and my feet slid out from under me just as a knifelike piece of shrapnel zipped through the space where my head had been. I landed hard on the floor. Smoke filled the air, making me cough and wheeze.

  Through the billowing clouds, I felt something sticky plop onto my head. I reached up and brought my fingers back down. White foam from the sprinklers covered my whole hand. More bits sputtered through the air. I definitely had déjà vu now. And an intense desire to be somewhere other than here. I scrambled to my feet, ignoring the pain shooting through my knees and back where I’d hit the floor.

  The gray haze started to clear. Hannah stood next to the sapphire, holding the laserama against Joanne’s temple and using her as a human shield against the Fearless Five. I didn’t see Hangman or Grace or Bobby through the dissipating smoke.

  Or Devlin. Where was he?

  “Stay back or she dies!” Hannah screamed at the Fearless Five.

  Joanne twisted and struggled in the ubervillain’s grasp, mindless of
the device pressed against her head. “Kill her! Kill her now, you fools!”

  The superheroes froze. There was nothing they could do. If they moved an inch, Joanne would be just as dead as Berkley. From the tears streaming down her face, I didn’t think Joanne would mind that much.

  But Hannah had her back to me. I looked at the ubervillain, then over my shoulder. The path to the door was clear this time, with no villains standing in my way. I could slip out of the room to safety, and no one would be the wiser. No one would know I’d even been in here. No one would know I hadn’t tried to save Joanne. No one but me.

  I stepped back toward the door.

  Joanne sobbed again and started cursing, struggling with all her might against Prism. My eyes went to Berkley’s body, lying on the marble floor. If not for the smoke rising from his chest, I would have almost thought he was sleeping. But he wasn’t. Berkley was dead. And Joanne would be too, if someone didn’t stop Prism.

  If I didn’t stop Prism.

  My foot hovered in midair. It would be so easy for me to put it down, turn, and run away. So, so easy. But I didn’t do that. I put my foot down, but this time, I stepped toward danger instead of away from it. For once in my life, I was willingly going to get involved in a hero-villain battle.

  If I could use my power to get really, really lucky, I just might be able to get the laserama away from Prism before she could use it on Joanne. If I had any sense, I’d turn and run away. If I did, though, Joanne would die.

  If, if, if.

  Sensing my warring emotions, my power flared to life, going from a low drone to a rising hum. My fingers itched, my hair frizzed, and I eased forward, willing my luck to work, praying it would, just this once.

  Karma Girl saw me out of the corner of her eye and gave me the tiniest nod. Go for it, I could almost hear her whisper in my mind. We’re out of options and almost out of time.

  My hand went to my wrist, and I fingered the bracelet Jasper had given me. But there was no way I could use it in here without killing us all. So I picked up a small bronze statue shaped like a pencil from one of the pedestals. A good smack across the back of the head should be enough to distract Hannah from lasering Joanne. Then, the Fearless Five could move in and capture the ubervillain—