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“Okay then. What would Pepper do?” she asks.
“First of all he would complain that I’d put duct tape on his precious suit.” I stand, hold out my suit and scowl at it in my best Pepper impression. “Maci, Maci, Maci…” I pace around the room with my chest out and chin up. To Nova, I say, “I’d complain that my sleeve is ruined and the power in my arm is gone. I’d say how can I continue being a Hero when I’m partially depowered? I’m part freak now.”
She follows me around the room, fingering scraps of fabric on a nearby table. “What would he say?”
“He’d tell me not to fret over something so small. He’d say, ‘You are Maci Might. You will embrace your depowered arm. You will turn your weakness into a strength.”
“Why are you holding your hand like that?” Nova asks.
I snap out of my Pepper imitation. Look down at my outstretched hand with fingers curled around an imaginary cup. “It’s my latte,” I tell her with a shrug. “Pepper always had one. If he were here then we’d have one too.”
I spin on my heel, take a sip of my imaginary latte and point to the imaginary me standing in the center podium. I can almost hear Pepper’s voice in my mind. “You never were like everyone else, Maci Might. You don’t need a suit like everyone else, either.” I take a pair of scissors off the table and lay my suit flat on the floor.
With a deep breath and a silent thank you to Pepper, I cut off the sleeve at the elbow.
A tiny bark echoes through the room.
“Did you hear that?” Nova asks as if she doesn’t even believe her own ears.
Oh my god. Chewy. I almost trip over the scissors and my chopped suit in my mad dash across the room to Pepper’s private quarters. The door opens without the use of any security measures and a tiny, shaking white Chihuahua stumbles out of the room. I gasp. “You poor thing.” He crawls into my outstretched arms and licks my elbow. He’s always been a tiny dog but the way his ribcage stretches out his fur makes my stomach hurt.
“We have to get him some food and water,” Nova says.
“I know.” My heart breaks all over again over Pepper’s murder. “Hold him while I get my suit. We’ll take him home and I’ll order dog food from the Retrievers.” I sigh. “From a real retriever. Not these idiotic new ones.”
Nova coos to the frail dog in her arms and I head across the studio to where I left my suit.
A massive boot kicks in the double doors to Pepper’s studio. I’m on the floor in the next instant, diving behind a stack of fabric bolts and scrap material. Nova’s eyes go wide but she’s in the middle of the room with nowhere to hide.
Crap. Crap. Crap.
Two members of the Retriever Squad enter, looking both ways before one of them sees Nova standing there with a deer in the headlights look. Wow. I wonder what kind of training these idiots had prior to being given so much authority. A Hero knows how to spot people the moment they enter a room.
The first guy gives Nova a prying look. “You are not authorized to be in here.”
“She should be questioned.” The second guy sounds a little nervous. Both of their power levels are mild at best. Nova could easily overpower them. I hope she knows that’s not the right move.
She cuddles Chewy to her chest and stands rigid. “I am Hero Maci Might and I should be questioning you if you’re going to speak to me that way.”
“Sorry Ms. Might, I didn’t realize,” one of them begins. I don’t recognize the voices even though I know many of the Retrievers. “You aren’t dressed as a Hero, so--”
“We have every right to question you regardless of your status,” the other one interjects. “Why aren’t you dressed as a Hero? Where’s your BEEPR? What proof do you have that you are Hero Maci Might?”
My sister sighs impatiently. “Uh, look at me. I’m clearly Maci. Computer,” she says aloud. The massive computer screen wall sparks to life, much to my freaking chagrin. “Identify me.”
The computer voice speaks and the familiarity of the sound from back when Pepper was alive stabs into me all over again. “Identifying...Probationary Hero Maci Might, daughter of President Might and Sophia Might. Identifying...Retriever Thomas Mason. Identifying….Retriever in training Thomas Mason Junior.”
I can’t see Nova from my hiding place but I can feel the arrogant smile on her face. “Sorry to burst your authoritative bubble gentlemen, but I am who I say I am and now I’ll thank you to get the hell out of here.”
“You are not authorized to be here. This studio is the property of Central until a new designer is assigned.”
“I just came to get my friend’s dog. I’ll be leaving shortly.”
The younger man speaks up next. “We’ll escort you to the KAPOW.”
I wish Max could see me now. Hiding out like a good girl instead of taking matters into my own hands. It’s no easy task for me, but I’m not stupid enough to rush out and make a mess of things. My fingers cross and I breathe slowly, hoping that Nova doesn’t screw this up.
“Right,” she says with an indignant snort. “Maybe you should hold my hand too and make sure the KAPOW door doesn’t accidently hit me when it closes. I’d hate to have you not waste precious time on a Hero when you could be out there finding villains.”
