Hot Mama

  “But we can adopt,” Henry persisted. “It wouldn’t matter to me. You know that.”

  Lulu shook her head. “But they wouldn’t have your powers. You’re far too strong and your power is far too important to let it end with you.”

  Henry opened his mouth to protest again.

  I cleared my throat, not wanting to hide outside any longer. “I hate to interrupt, but it’s my turn to be on call.”

  The computer gurus stared at me, shocked that I’d overheard their conversation. I strolled inside, sat down at the table, put my feet up, and started eating sandwiches like I hadn’t heard a single word of their heated argument.

  Henry and Lulu glared at me, then each other. Both of them looked at their monitors and began to pound away on their computers. I supposed that’s what geeks in love did after they had a fight. Scary.

  After I finished my sandwiches and assorted munchies, I flipped through the stack of fashion magazines Sam kept in the library for me. But my heart wasn’t really into dissecting the latest looks from Paris and Milan. All I could think about was Johnny. I wondered where he was right now.

  What he was doing.

  Was he getting ready to suit up and prowl the streets as Angel? Or had he taken my advice to heart and was staying home where he’d be safe? I didn’t know.

  After about an hour of silence, Lulu let out a loud yell.

  “I’ve got them!” she cried. “I’ve got them! I’ve got them!”

  “Who? What? Where?” Henry asked just like a good journalist would.

  The two of us darted over to Lulu and peered into her computer monitor. The hacker’s thin fingers pounded the keyboard so hard I thought she was going to punch through the plastic keys.

  “They’re holed up in one of the buildings down by the marina,” she said, pointing to a city map on her wide screen.

  “Right there next to the fish-packing plant.”

  I put my hands on my hips. “The marina? What would they be doing at the marina? There’s nothing down there but boats and water and rotten fish. And, of course, the occasional dead body.”

  Lulu stared at me. “How am I supposed to know what goes through the minds of ubervillains? But that’s where they’re at, according to my calculations.”

  “I’ll call the chief,” Henry said. “If we’re lucky, we can trap them in the building and take them down. There’s nowhere for them to go but out into the water. It shouldn’t be so easy for them to slip through our fingers this time.”

  He moved to his computer, pressed a few buttons, and spoke into a microphone. My father’s voice boomed into the room, and Henry told him the situation.

  While they talked, I thought about calling Johnny. Perhaps if I asked him to fight with us instead of against us, it might satisfy him. Then, I remembered the pain in his eyes when he’d told me about his father’s death. The cold hard rage in his voice. No, Johnny Bulluci aka Johnny Angel wouldn’t be satisfied until Siren and Intelligal were dead.

  But perhaps I could save him from himself. And my heart in the process.

  Henry cut the connection to the chief. “He’s in the area checking on a burglary. He’ll be here in fifteen minutes.”

  “Good. Then let’s go end this thing. Once and for all,” I said.

  24

  The chief arrived, everyone suited up, and we piled into the van. Thirty minutes later, we skidded to a stop in front of the entrance to the Bigtime Marina.

  Bigtime was situated on the eastern edge of New York, right on the Atlantic. The ocean cut into the middle of the city, almost like a jagged shark bite. It and the manmade river that flowed down the hill from the observatory formed Bigtime Bay. The bay’s waters were calm and shallow for the most part, making it the perfect place to come for a swim or day of sailing. Some of the society folks like Berkley Brighton and Devlin Dash even had their own private islands out in the middle of the bay, offering them impressive views of the city skyline.

  Hermit eased the van over a couple of speed bumps. During the day, the cobblestone marina was a pedestrian area closed to vehicles, so the boating types had to wait until after sunset to put their ships into the water. In addition to fleets of sailboats, the marina featured a maritime museum where kids could pet stingrays and the like, and stores that carried all things nautical, from clothes to scuba gear to bait. A wooden pier stretched out like a finger into the bay.

  It was popular with people from all walks of life, many who came to fish and feed the flocks of gulls.

  We left the sailboats behind and headed for the less glamorous side of the bay, where the loading docks, shipping yards, and industrial plants crouched against the water’s edge like barnacles.

  “Before we go in, everyone be sure to take their gas pill.”

  Hermit passed out the medication to each of us. “Remember, it only lasts about twenty minutes, so we need to get in and take down Siren and Intelligal as quickly as possible.”

  “And we’re sticking together this time,” Mr. Sage said. “I don’t want anybody being ambushed by the ubervillains or Angel, if he decides to make an appearance. We all go in together. We all come out together. Agreed?”

  Hermit and I nodded.

  “Then, let’s go.”

  Lulu outfitted us with the usual cameras and transmitters, and the three of us left the van.

  “Be safe,” she called after us, looking at Hermit.

  “Always,” I replied, pressing my fist to my heart.

  We tiptoed through the dark shadows, the bay a pool of black ink on our right. A few lights bobbed up and down on the water, and a foghorn sounded in the distance. A steady breeze blew the smell of salt to us. It made me want some pretzels.

  “According to Lulu’s calculations, Siren and Intelligal are holed up in that building over there.” Hermit pointed to one of the frozen-fish-stick-processing plants.

  I wrinkled my nose. Fish sticks. I hated fish sticks. They were just about the only food I wouldn’t eat. The stench alone was enough to make me gag. Why did ubervillains always have to pick the dingiest, dirtiest, most disgusting places imaginable for their supersecret, diabolically evil lairs? You’d think that, every once in a while, they’d spring for a nice room at the Bigtime Plaza or something. Most of them stole enough jewelry and other pricey baubles to stay anywhere they wanted to, anytime they wanted to. But no.

  Ubervillains skulked about in the shadows, and we always ended up saving the world in some abandoned, out-of-theway dive.

  A loud rumble cut through the air, and my heart sank like a cement block tossed in the bay. I knew that sound. A pair of halogen headlights popped into view down the street, and Johnny Bulluci aka Johnny Angel slid his motorcycle to a halt in front of us. His eyes warmed at the sight of me, and he shot me a crooked grin. My heart sped up, and I found myself smiling back. Then, I remember why Angel was here—to kill the ubervillains who had murdered his father.

  My smile faded.

  Still, I had to give him a chance, no matter how farfetched it might be. “What are you doing here, Angel?”

  “Just looking after things, including my girl. Is that a crime?” he asked, his green eyes bright.

  “Not as long as that’s all you’re doing. Is it?”

  Angel shrugged. He drew his lighter out of his pocket and fired up a cigarette. “I spoke with Grandfather and Bella. The three of us decided that I should work with you, instead of against you. For now.”

  Meaning he’d play nice until we had Siren and Intelligal right where he wanted them. I opened my mouth to protest, but my father cut me off.

  “All right, Angel,” Mr. Sage said. “We’re a couple of hands short, so you can join us if you wish. But you follow our lead.”

  Angel nodded his head. “Of course.”

  I stared at my father. What was he thinking? He was psychic, he had to know that Johnny Angel had no intention of letting us turn Siren and Intelligal over to the Bigtime police. Hell, I wasn’t a psychic, and I could see it.

/>   Johnny parked his bike, and the four of us headed for the fish-stick plant. It was a short, squat building that jutted up against the side of the bay. We faced the back part of the building, where the docks were that the fisherman used to drop off their daily hauls of tuna, flounder, and shrimp. The front of the building faced one of the downtown streets a couple of blocks over.

  “Don’t you guys think this is sort of odd?” Lulu said in my ear.

  “What’s that?” my father asked.

  “Well, in my somewhat limited experience, ubervillains usually choose abandoned buildings to set up their headquarters. According to my information, Fred’s Fried Flounder Fish Sticks is the main supplier of fish sticks in Bigtime.”

  “Who cares?” Angel asked. “All that matters is that they’re in there, and we’re going to get them. One way or another. I’m tired of waiting. Let’s go.”

  Angel headed for the plant. I looked at my father, then Hermit. They shrugged. I shook my head and followed Angel.

  I not-so-gently wrenched open one of the loading-dock doors, and we stepped inside. The four of us formed a line and searched the area. Lulu was right. Fred’s Fried Flounder Fish Sticks was very much a working operation. Everything was neat and orderly and clean, from the rows of forklifts to the stacks of cardboard boxes to the few workstations and desks that we passed.

  We did a complete sweep of the facility. Other than a couple dozen industrial-size freezers full of frozen fish sticks and your usual assembly-line setup, there was nothing inside.

  No power cords. No radiolike device. No wires. No tools. No blueprints. No ubervillains. Nothing.

  We backtracked to the center of the factory, hoping to find something we’d overlooked. Still nothing. Angel cursed and lit another cigarette. Hermit typed on his handheld computer and murmured to Lulu. My father laced his fingers together, deep in thought. I put my hands on my hips.

  A chill swept over me that had nothing to do with the freezers. My nose twitched. I smelled something rotten, and it wasn’t fish sticks.

  “This doesn’t feel right,” my father murmured.

  “Oh, I wouldn’t say that. I think it’s about time you got here,” a sultry voice drawled out.

  The four of us turned. Siren stood behind us, holding a curious-looking microphone in her manicured hands. Diamonds gleamed on the black metal surface. Intelligal floated high above. She flipped a couple of switches on a device that looked like an oversized boom box. It too was studded with diamonds.

  Angel’s hands clenched into tight fists. He started forward, but I caught his arm. He took half of a step forward. I tightened my grip, stopping him.

  “Not yet,” I whispered out of the corner of my mouth.

  For a second, I thought Johnny would shake me off and launch himself at Siren. But he paused. I nodded my head at him. Maybe I had finally gotten through to him.

  Because no matter what happened, Johnny wasn’t going to kill the ubervillains. I wasn’t going to let him. It wasn’t the Fearless Five way. It wasn’t my way, and I didn’t want it to be his way either.

  And I hated to admit it, but Lulu was right. This was a little too pat, a little too rehearsed for my liking. The ubervillains were up to something. Well, more so than usual.

  “You’re probably wondering why we’re here tonight,” Siren said.

  Her soft breathy voice curled around me like a rope. I reached for my inner fire and burned the coils away.

  “Intelligal told me about Angel and Fiera’s tussle the other night, and I had an idea. Instead of trying to fight you off, I should bend you to my will, make you all my little puppets. Intelligal and I are going to need some help to fully implement our scheme.”

  “And what scheme would that be?” I said.

  “Oh, the usual,” Siren said. “Take over Bigtime, then the world.”

  That was our cue to move. I loosened my grip on Johnny’s arm and tensed my muscles, ready to strike. He did the same. My father’s fingers fluttered, and Hermit fixed his computer on Intelligal’s chair. But before we could move, Siren held the strange microphone up to her lips.

  “Now, now, I don’t want to fight. Why do the four of you?” she purred.

  The microphone amplified the sultry hypnotic pull of Siren’s voice a hundred times. A thousand times. I stopped cold. Maybe even a hundred thousand times. My brain screamed at my muscles to move, to attack, to lash out at Siren, but I couldn’t quite make myself do it. The others stood frozen beside me.

  “I don’t want to fight, do you? Why don’t you clasp your hands behind your backs and stand there like good superheroes?”

  Siren lowered the zipper on her neon blue costume, exposing cleavage that would have put the Great Wall of China to shame.

  Since Siren’s voice had more effect on men than women, the others did as she asked without question. Even my father, the great psychic, couldn’t resist Siren’s command with her new toy firmly in hand. The men had their hands behind their backs before she’d even finished speaking.

  Not me.

  Maybe I was just too much of a hothead to be easily controlled.

  Maybe my will was just a tad stronger than the others’.

  Or maybe I just hated the ubervillains more for what they’d done to the Bullucis, to James, to Johnny.

  So I didn’t succumb to Siren’s sultry song. Instead, I reached for my inner fire, concentrating on the searing, pulsing flames deep within me. I grabbed them and held on tight, focusing my energy on my fire, my anger, my will. The sweet, gauzy haze of Siren’s voice melted away like snow in a firestorm. My arms twitched.

  The microphone. I had to destroy that damned microphone.

  Then the others would be free, and they could help me.

  “What’s going on?” Lulu squawked in my ear. “Hermit, Mr. Sage, what are you doing? Why are you listening to her? Hermit, can you hear me?”

  I blocked the computer hacker’s voice out of my mind. I couldn’t answer her and fight off Siren at the same time.

  Siren noticed that I hadn’t done as she’d asked. She frowned and raised the microphone to her pouty lips again.

  “Siren says, Put your hands behind your back, Fiera.”

  I took a step forward. Sparks flew from my fingertips.

  Then another step. My hair hissed with fire. Another step.

  My body started to glow like a liquefied ruby. One more step.

  Every step got a little easier, a little faster. The bitch wasn’t going to control my mind. I didn’t care what kind of souped-up karaoke machine she had. No way, no how. I was Fiera, for crying out loud. Protector of the innocent. Superhero du jour.

  “Go to hell, Siren,” I muttered through gritted teeth.

  “Gas her! Now!” Siren roared.

  Intelligal hit a button on her chair, and that sickly sweet blue gas floated over me. I must have burned away Hermit’s antigas pill, because the feeling immediately went out of my arms and legs. The fire inside me snuffed out. I fell to the cold, slick floor, my arms and legs flopping around like a fish trying to breathe in the bottom of a boat.

  “Now, Siren says, Lie still.”

  I growled at the silky, hypnotic purr. I couldn’t move my arms or legs, and I didn’t have my fire to sustain me. So I did the only other thing I could think of. I bit down on my tongue. Hard. Blood filled my mouth. The coppery taste washed away some of the sugary sweet gas and grounded me.

  “Never.”

  Siren stared up at her sister. “What’s wrong with her? Why isn’t she a puppet like the others? You told me this thing was foolproof.” She tapped her long nail against the top of the microphone.

  Intelligal shrugged. “I never said it was foolproof. Only that ninety-seven percent of the population could be put under your control by using it. As for Fiera, she seems to have a stronger will than the others. And she’s female. You know you’ve never been able to get along with other women, even when you use your power to its fullest extent.”

  “You’re ri
ght, of course. Oh well. Three superheroes will be more than enough to help me carry out our plan.”

  The ubervillain leaned over me, giving me a close-up view of her overinflated breasts. They matched her ego perfectly.

  “Sorry, Fiera, but Intelligal’s right. I’m just not into chicks. Since you won’t play nicely, you won’t play at all.”

  Siren laughed. “Siren says, Throw her in one of the freezers, Angel. Now.”

  “What? Don’t be a fool, Siren. Let me blast her with my explodium missiles,” Intelligal said, flipping switches on her chair. “Let’s kill her. Immediately.”

  Lulu let out a loud shriek of dismay in my ear. I winced.

  “Hold on, Fiera. I’m leaving the van! I’m getting out right now!” the computer hacker screamed.

  Through my earpiece, I heard the hydraulic lift hiss to life on the van. But it was too little, too late. Lulu wouldn’t get here in time to save me. There wasn’t anything she could do against two ubervillains anyway. And there wasn’t any radioactive goo around that could turn her into Super Lulu.

  “Come on, Siren,” Intelligal said. “Enough of this nonsense. One missile and Fiera will be history. Forever.”

  “Calm down,” Siren snapped. “Look at her. She’s as helpless as a baby. She’s no threat to us now.”

  Siren dug her pointed boot into my ribs. I couldn’t even feel it.

  “Besides, you just finished calibrating the machine. I don’t want the shockwaves from the explosion throwing it off. Otherwise, we’ll have three pissed-off superheroes to deal with. I don’t think they’d take too kindly to the brutal demise of their comrade. That just might be enough to snap them out of their trances. And your missiles make such a mess of everything.” Siren fluffed out her black curls. “You know how I hate to have bad hair.”

  Intelligal scowled, but her hands dropped from the switches. I let out a quiet sigh. Thank heavens for ubervillains and their vanity.

  But my relief was short-lived. Angel jerked forward like a robot. He put his hands under my arms and hauled me to my feet. I dangled against him like a wet noodle. Limp and completely lifeless.