Page 38 of No Capes
I shake out my legs, refusing to get too comfortable. While he may use his powers for chaotic good, I know better than to trust him.
“What does stopping Phil have to do with me?” I ask.
He pauses, considering how to phrase his response. “You may have more information than you think. Your mom might have left you some answers.”
“Youstillwant me to help you?” My dad and I had gone through every file folder and shoebox when we’d moved. If Mom left anything, why haven’t I found it?
“If you’re up for it. And of course, if Bridges wants to hurt you, then you’re someone I want on my team.”
Phil’s voice replays in my mind.We have to take them out.
“You’re lucky he hasn’t tried to hurt you since that night,” Dark Static adds.
“Why me? Why not Arielle? Or Fox, or Brynn?”Why aren’t you stalking them too?
“I can’t get a read on Arielle,” he says. “Another thing you could help me with, though she’s risky. And as far as I can tell, Bridges hasn’t hunted the Levine kids yet. You’re the big winner, if you want to add another trophy.” He gestures to my collection.
The shadows around us shimmer, the room laced with kinetic questions. But for the first time, I have some actual answers.
Since I’d met D.S., he’s been impossible to figure out. He was supposedly Golden Ace’s nemesis, yet he saved me from a mugging. Now, it’s clear that he’s helping Capital City, and is double-crossing politicians and destroying things while he’s atit. I don’t understand him, but if he’s right about this… Capital City needs him.
“Are you sure you’re not a villain?” I ask. Dark Static still doesn’t seem like a hero to me… not yet. But he doesn’t seem as bad as he once did, either.
“I’m not sure about anything.”
“Me neither.” Even if I could be confident that what Dark Static told me tonight is true, it’s probably not the whole truth—I don’t think I’ll ever get the whole truth from him—but I can say this: He might just be giving me the chance to finish what my mom started.
I lie back on my bed, propping myself up by the elbows. My swim meet, then Officer Kyle, and now this. Pangs of exhaustion shoot from every muscle, begging me to sleep.
“It’s nice to have someone else in this,” I tell him. “Thank you.” After Arielle and Fox iced me out, everything around my mom has felt lonely. Kristen understands a little, but doesn’t have the whole picture, and my dad works all the time.
“It is truly my pleasure to do this specialness for you,” he says, with only a hint of playfulness. Our eyes lock, and I meet his gaze until I’m sure there’s nothing else to say.
“See you soon then?” I ask.
“Sooner than you think.” With the CDs in his book, he climbs onto the window ledge and pushes off, leaping into the night. As the shadows he carries vanish, the city lights beam into my room, making everything way too bright.
I didn’t expect to miss his darkness.
Fifteen
The next day at school, Phil’s voice from the CDs continues to haunt me. When the last bell rings in the afternoon, I can’t recall much of what happened in my classes. Although something eventfuldidhappen during lunch, when I opened my bag of vending machine pretzels and discovered that my salty snack was replaced by a string of dead ants. There is absolutely no trusting any kind of food from inside this building.
Kristen and I walk to our lockers. She has headphones in and watches a video on her phone. I lean over to check it out. Materio and Golden Ace sit in theCapital City 1studio.
“What’s that?” I ask.
Kristen hands me one of her earbuds. “They got Materio and G.A. to talk about the bomb thing.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the wonderful people of our city,” says Materio, “who are casualties in Dark Static’s unlawful destruction.”
“Materio, myself, and the other Supers of Capital City are doing everything we can to keep you safe,” Golden Ace adds.
“Please keep your faith in us and your elected officials to stop this madman from further violence.”
“Gross,” says Kristen. “It’s the typicaltrust the systemrhetoric. I can’t believe Materio came out of retirement for this.”
“Weird,” I reply, “Golden Ace rarely does interviews.” We’ve had more destructive villains than Dark Static, and Golden Ace defeated them without a word.
