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“Oh my god, shut up.” I turn to the side so she won’t see the holograph version of my torso turn bright red on her side of the call.
“Look I need to tell you something.” Crimson’s playful smile falls off her face. “Are you alone?”
I haven’t heard human sounds since the last stop I made. “Yeah.”
“I overheard some of the older Heroes talking today. There’
s talk about the lack of villain activity lately. A lot of people had this theory that villains are scared of you and your...anger problem.”
“That theory is pointless because I’m probationary. I’m not even allowed to take villain missions.”
She shrugs. “Since word got out that your twin was as blonde as Dolly Parton, some people are thinking that your dark hair and anger issues are scaring away villains. I’m not saying I believe any of it. I just wanted you to know.”
“That sounds like a good thing to me. If their irrational fear of my evil genetics keeps them from attacking us, I’d say everyone should be thanking me.”
“I feel the same way. But I don’t know about everyone else.”
I palm the KAPOW door and it snaps open. “Screw everyone else.”
Though I had been promised that the restriction on visiting Evan’s island had been lifted after a temporary error in Central, my palms still get sweaty when I climb into the waiting KAPOW pod with Spark. If I’m denied again, I might totally lose my sanity. The KAPOW’s computer voice goes through the mandatory spiel about there being an animal in here and how we won’t be traveling at the typical high mach speeds due to the other being’s limited capacity to withstand such forces. I’ve heard it a dozen times today but I swear it takes an hour longer than usual now that I’m anxious to see Evan.
Once the computer shuts up I manage to squeak out the words, “Destination Evan Letta.”
“Destination Evan Letta,” the computer repeats. “Arrival in twenty-six minutes.”
“Twenty-six? Aghh.” I roll my eyes and pet the panting creature sitting at my feet. “I love you Spark, but your fragile little dog body sucks.”
Spark grins, showing me his titanium-coated front teeth.
The sun beams down from directly overhead when I step out of the KAPOW entrance on Nacameto Island and I realize it’s the first time I’ve thought about the time all day. I guess it’s tomorrow now. My Hero training took place several hours a day but it was on a regular schedule. There is no schedule for Heroes; we’re always on call.
Spark does his thing, using his hypersensitive snout to search for any clue that our missing Super was here. Surprise, surprise: he wasn’t.
Evan waits just outside the front door to the research facility, wearing that grin he hasn’t taken off since I came home from finding Nova. My steps are slow and deliberate, dragging through the sand as I close the distance between us, finally bringing an end to my hours of suffering without him. Being a girlfriend is freaking hard.
“Look who it is,” Evan says, bringing out an arm that slides around me. I slip underneath it. “Someone likes showing up unannounced.”
“I was hoping you’d drop from the sky again like some kind of sexy shirtless cloud angel.”
Evan kisses my forehead and I get an unnecessarily huge amount of satisfaction from the tiny gesture. “Security measures are up,” he says. “The MODs alerted me the moment your KAPOW pod was set to this destination.” He looks pointedly at the dog that sits obediently at my feet. “Now I see why it took so long. Any luck on your search?”
I shake my head. “I’m starting to think these missing Supers never even existed and this is some made up game that the elders are doing to screw with me. Like I’m not really a real Hero and this is all some joke.”
He shakes his head. “Don’t underestimate yourself.”
Exhaustion creeps into my bones when I let Evan wrap me in his arms. I’ve been in go mode for hours and now that I have time to relax, it’s almost impossible not to fall asleep while standing in the sand. Evan’s hand runs down my hair. That and the sound of gentle waves crashing ashore calms my nerves.
“How long do you have?” he asks.
I shrug, eyes still closed. “Maybe half an hour. I need to get the dog back to New York and meet up with everyone to discuss our next move. We need to find out what happened to these missing Supers. Every minute we don’t rescue them is a minute wasted.”
“Rescue?” Evan pulls back and gives me a quizzical look. “What happened to the runaway theory?”
“I don’t know. It was the first word I thought of. Maybe they don’t need rescuing. Maybe some of them do and some of them don’t. Who knows.” I slip my arms around his back and lean my head back on his shoulder, right in that bend between his neck that fits my head so perfectly. “I just want to hang out for a bit.”
“Take all the time you need. Let’s go inside, though. It feels creepy out here.”
I stop just short of the doorway when my BEEPR makes a sound I’ve never heard before. It’s almost like the Hero alarm, only more urgent. The device on my wrist has the word MAYDAY scrolling across the screen. It’s from Nyx. His GPS coordinates flash on the screen along with instructions for me to go there immediately. Evan lifts an eyebrow. “Mayday? Like, as in what pilots say?”
