Page 1 of Seductive Architect
1
“I will not be defeatedby the Hole.”
School children screamed. They had expected a day at the museum, but were now trapped on their bus. The driver had almost reached the Vanguard Museum of Natural History. Almost. They waited in line at the drop-off, debating which dinosaur they would lick first. Excited for a day of mischief, their field trip had taken a detour. Meanwhile, a villain with a grudge wreaked havoc.
Wyatt posed, his cape flapping in the summer breeze. “Hole.” He giggled as if he were a child on the burning bus. “I don’t know why it’s funny, but it is.”
Three on one, and we were losing to a man who looked like a human shadow. We had an alien with superpowers, me, armed to the teeth with tech, and Drew. Drew didn’t count. He could change the color of objects, which didn’twork on our man in black. Named as a pun for our boss, the Coven should never be the last line of defense… nor the first.
“It’s funny because it references his rectum,” Drew explained.
Yup. I served as one-third of this bumbling operation. Though after the Hole teleported my attack drone and launched me into one of the museum’s columns, I wasn’t one to speak. When we returned to the office, Janet would slap on her “Director of Superhero Strategies” placard and lecture us on our sad attempt at heroing.
“Can we be done with this?” With my ego wounded, I growled. “If Quantum Queen and Glitterbane have to save us again, I quit.”
Drew saddled up between Wyatt and me, his hands balled into fists. “What’s the plan?”
When did I become the de facto team leader? Wyatt’s eyelashes fluttered as he awaited a command. Yeah, he’d never be in charge. Drew could do it, but he was too much of a people pleaser to step up to the plate.
“Are we going to fight?” The Hole rested his hands on his hips, head cocked to the side.
I screened every hero and villain added to the company’s HeroApp™. Teleporters were an obnoxious bunch. Some went poof and reappeared. Others opened portals. Hell, one of them could only use his powers when he sneezed. The Hole, however, he hadn’t been listed yet. I’d fix that as soon as I returned to the office, along with a gigantic “Pain in the ass” label.
“Do you need a moment to regroup from your ass-whooping?”
I wanted to punch him. Not because it’d save a bunch of kids from imminent peril, but because he deserved it. The Hole wasn’t a criminal mastermind. He didn’t belong to a secret society of villains hellbent on destroying the world. He probably didn’t even work for the shadow organization controlling the government.
“Connie.”
I couldn’t hear my computer’s voice so much as sense it. My office computer connected to my visor, working tirelessly from my office at Secret Identities Inc. While I might be the one firing lasers or popping off heat-seeking missiles, she was the real intelligence behind my suit.
“Yes?”
I went out, putting my life on the line by playing hero. Connie called them “adventures.” Much like the kids on the bus, she considered these outings a field trip. Thankfully, our arrangement had become a win-win for both of us.
“Give me a tactical analysis.”
“You’re not doing great.”
The Hole roared. “Are you going to fight or not?”
I held up a finger, requesting another moment. Instead of speaking, she flashed images across my visor. I smiled asher stick figure diagrams went into motion. A multi-pronged approach from three different directions. It should be easy enough.
“Drew, up the middle. Wyatt, take him from behind.” More snickering. “I’ll go in from the right and rain down fire from above. Everybody got it?” I had to ask. Sometimes Wyatt’s attention wandered.
“Got it,” they said in unison.
Connie made a ringing sound. “Orion, you have an incoming call from Arthur.”
I checked the clock on my display. We might have fibbed to the boss about going out for lunch. He had forbidden us from supering during work hours. He claimed it was for our own protection, that somebody might figure out we worked at Secret Identities Inc. I suspected he hated when we vanished for hours to fill out paperwork at the police station. Besides, how much more obvious could we be? Superheroes working at a place with Secret Identities in the title?
“He knows,” Connie whispered in my ear.
Dammit.
“Ignore.” I needed to focus on not flying into another portal and getting clobbered. “Is everybody?—”
“He says he’ll wipe my hard drive if I don’t put him through.”
