Chapter Two
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Not all those who wander, are lost
J.R.R. Tolkien
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Dex pauses his pacing, and halts in front of me, one slender eyebrow arched. He stuffs his hands into the pockets of his cobalt grey suit, looking at me with such a straight face, when all I want to do is burst out into an uncontrollable of laughter.
I cover my mouth with my fist, hiding my smile, that threatens to break free, and I shrink into the couch under Dex’s hostile glare.
“It’s true! That dude is no villain, just an idiot in a costume and in need of a haircut,” I blurt out, trying to defend myself.
Dex pinches the bridge of his nose, clearly agitated at how lightly I’m taking the news of a new villain being spotted in central district. You can’t blame me though – this imbecile we’re fighting against might have some impressive tech and did evade my team, but still! He didn’t look all that dangerous.
“You’re dancing with danger,” Skye nudges me gently with his elbow, cladded from head to toe in in ‘Scorpio’ gear of red and black, making him look less like a player and more like a hunky hero posing for Super’s Weekly or something. “Stop infuriating him”
“Exactly,” Dex agrees in exasperation. “And cut it out with the ridiculous name calling”
“But bad haircut guy is a criminal!” I feel the need to justify, my voice whiny as I argue my point.
Dex ignores me and continues presenting this week’s report. Harry takes attentive notes, dressed up in his ‘Blue Hawk’ uniform whilst Penny attentively listens, donning her green ‘Princess Puma’ costume like a true member of royalty. I roll my eyes, slumping my shoulders.
Let me give you a word of advice about being a superhero: work alone. Sitting here in the lighters HQ, with my other three team members in our lounge, I fail to realise how being on a team is any good. Especially if they’re taking the lighter’s boss – Dex Imperion’s side. Working solo would’ve been much better, now that I think about it, I could’ve been like “Yeah, I work solo … like Hans Solo”
Actually, on second thought. Forget I ever said anything. Just thinking of those words sounds ridiculous.
“Alright,” Blue Hawk clears his throat, looking up from his notepad with thought crystal blue eyes. “It doesn’t matter how bad the guy’s hair looks; he still needs to be brought to justice”
“Yes, we have more serious matters at hand than his mere appearance,” Puma concurs earnestly, and Blue shoots her a grateful look.
The two of them sit on the opposite side of the L-shaped silvery leather couch to Scorpio and me, looking like the perfect power couple in their element. Too bad they didn’t know who each other were under their masks. Then again, they weren’t actually dating either.
“Haircut is urgent matters? Really?” Scorpio points out with a mocking scoff. “I don’t believe it”
“She said serious, not urgent dimwit,” Blue contradicts promptly.
Skye’s glare is heated, amber eyes burning. “Wasn’t talking to you”
“Well … now you are”
“So? You spoke to me first”
“You asked the question”
“Doesn’t matter”
“Yes, it kinda does”
“Oh yeah? Well I’m sure this is pretty urgent matters as well. Oh I’m sorry, I meant serious”
“BOYS!” Dex, Penny, and I all intervene in an angry chorus, ending the boys before Harry could retort and ultimately end up in a fight.
“What?!” Blue and Scorpio snap back in unison and then glower fiercely at each other with crossed arms and matching scowls.
I take this as my cue to step in as leader.
“Look, we can finish this meeting later. We’ve already discussed for over two hours now,” I begin to reason, standing up to address them. “Right now, we gotta track down bad haircut guy and bring him in. That’s our main priority. Are you with me?”
My squad agrees with me instantly. Scorpio, Blue Hawk and Princess Puma. All awaiting my orders as Dex watches on, with folded arms. I look between them, nodding my head in determination.
Scorpio cracks his knuckles. “What do we have to do?”
Puma bobs her head. “Let’s do this”
I turn to Blue. “I need you to pinpoint a location of this haircut person. I think the lighters has him in their database after the facial recognition scan, we did. Dex?”
I look to the boss in confirmation, and he accedes.
“It’s the Chasm,” Blue Hawk grumbles, loud enough for me to hear. I’m guessing that’s bad haircut guy’s real name.
“Okay,” I look at Skye next. “Help Puma gather up our gear”
“But she has super speed,” He complains, showing me puppy dog eyes beneath his scarlet ski mask.
I turn my gaze to the ceiling, avoiding eye contact. Skye really was way too cute. And he knew it.
I raised a gloved hand. “Do it or I will throw you”
He might have super strength, but I had telekinesis. And I wasn’t afraid to use it.
“Can’t you just telepo –”
“Go!”
“Fine,” Scorpio grumbles, slamming his hands on the leather couch with a slap as he stands up, towering over me in height.
He studies me for a second, his amber orbs catching mine and holding my gaze. I lift my chin, not breaking eye contact with his colliding gaze, as a silent conversation fills between us. Eventually Scorpio sighs, brushing back his shaggy copper hair as he turns.
“Let’s go Puma,” He tells the green cladded girl.
“After you, princess,” She smiles mockingly, making a sweeping gesture.
The two follow out in a sleek, silver elevator disappearing downwards in the cylindrical contraption.
At the departure of all my team members, the lounge looks empty and its unnaturally quiet. I drink in my surroundings almost out of habit, making a mental map of all the exit points despite knowing them all by heart already. The floor to ceiling windows glisten in the daylight, allowing a steady flow of sun beams to collide with the light grey, carpeted marble white tiles.
The couch takes up most of the room, with several other small pieces of furniture. A bookcase on one end, a coffee table, and a few potted, plastic plants that decorate the room and stand on either side of the elevator. There’s a little water dispenser next to couple of netted black chairs. A few abstract paintings hang from the white walls, adding colour to the room.
“Dex, why are you frowning like that?” I ask, propping my elbow on my knee as I turn to the lighter’s boss.
Dex blinks twice, his blue eyes clearing from the thoughtful haze as he looks at me, his forehead flattening from a crease. “I’m sorry, what did you say? I was kind of thinking about something”
I chuckle lowly. “Yeah, I can see that. What’s gotten you in a midlife crisis”
Dex stares at me incredulously. I don’t know why though, he’s like forty years old – that makes him in his midlife years right?
“Kourtney what is your definition of midlife?”
“Shh,” I hush him quickly, my eyes widening in panic. “The others don’t know my identity remember?”
Dex presses his lips together, clearly beyond irritated with me. I tended to have that unique effect on people. What can I say? My aggravating nature is a limited edition.
“I still find that unfair,” Dex states, rifling through his bookshelf. “Why did I agree to let you know their identities but not tell them yours’s?”
I fold my arms behind my head and cross my outstretched legs. “You also know their identities, besides I’m the leader”
He looks up from his book, unconvinced. “And somehow that makes it fair?”
“Exactly!”
“To be honest, I would’ve preferred Harry as leader”
I scoff. Dex loves that boy way more than the rest of us. “Don’t you have something better to do?”
Dex ignores my comment with a roll of his eyes. For the boss of the best criminal prevention agency in the world, Dex sure has no life whatsoever.
I turn away from him, opening up the screen on my arm. I tap on my news feed, trying to find a good footage of the robbery downtown. Wed arrested three criminals in the midst of their attempt to thieving, dampening their plans. But a forth, somehow managed to getaway. Since the rise of my squad – team alpha – there’s been a significant drop in the crime rate of Skylight City, but one or two imbecilic suckers still take their chances.
Right now, our biggest threat are those fugitives that harbour hi-tech weapons. Like Chasm.
“I found him!” Princess Puma announces whizzing into the room at a dangerously high speed that knocks my breath out. A blur of green and white. Puma skids to a halt, blonde hair whipping around her face as she clutches a kitbag of equipment from her hand. She drops it ungraciously to the ground at her feet.
I stand up quickly, opening my mouth to call for the boys when there’s a sudden bang, an exploding noise that flares in my eardrums followed by the rapid alarm of police car sirens. I rush to the French widows and peer out the glass. My eyes rove from the tall skyscrapers that loom above the city to the long, winding roads, congested with a thick traffic. Hooters blare, tyres screech but I can’t pinpoint where that crash originated from.
“I think we found him to,” Dex speaks up, standing near my shoulder. “You kids need to get going”
I share a grim look with him as the elevator dings and Scorpio runs in, panting out of breath, his face nearly as red as his hair. He is crouched halfway, grasping his knees for dear life as he catches his uneven breaths.
“We … found … hi-m,” Scorpio says, leaning against the elevator doors as he looks between us, his face falling instantly. “You already knew this didn’t you?”
I shrug sympathetically. No one could outrun Puma. “Yeah. Pretty much”
“Seriously,” Scorpio fires Puma a look. “We did all that work for nothing?!”
She flicks her hair in derision. “I wouldn’t say nothing…”
Puma trails off as Blue Hawk finally decides to join us.
“I found Cha –”
“We know!” Everyone but him replies indignantly.
Blue holds up his hands in surrender. “Okay I’m a little late, but shouldn’t we be going to stop him?”
I nod, already ransacking through the kitbag for my gear. “You guys ready?”
“Affirmative”
“Then let’s get going”
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I take Scorpio and Blue, Puma coming round by herself at a sonic speed. When I’m done leaping, the boys and I are in central district at the base of the statue of our city’s founder, Cole Skylight. I tap my earpiece as Blue gets into his subtle position, awaiting my orders.
“Were clear of any innocent civilians?” I ask Puma through my earpiece.
There’s a static crackle and lots of shouting in the background. “Yes Wolf. The lighters are here now, helping me”
Another blast sounds through the air as Chasm makes his appearance. I crack my neck, glancing from the corner of my eye at Scorpio. His fists are clenched and risen, focused on Chasm. I look to the supervillain too.
Chasm has a recognisable black suit from the last time we fought him, but his hands are now encased by the largest sized metal gloves I’ve ever seen. Each one is as big as a boulder, hanging off his arms. There’s thin red wires running from his earth quaking gloves trailing up his arms like artificial veins all the way to his biker styled helmet – expect the visor is open to reveal his pale, hallow face that resembles the grim reaper. Metal plating, which I haven’t seen on him before either shell his chest and his legs, protecting him a strong suit of sci-fi armour.
“Back for round two Kidwolf?” He bellows, stepping forward, the ground trembling as he skates his metal fists on the broken road.
I laugh but there’s no humour in it. “If you come quietly, my squad and I might just not thrash you”
Chasm grins wildly. “I’m going to enjoy crushing you Wolf”
“Is this guy for real” I whisper under my breath.
“Don’t think so,” Scorpio says, smashing his fist into his palm, assessing the opponent.
“Bad haircut guy is an idiot,” Puma grumbles.
“It’s Chasm!” Blue corrects us for the hundredth time.
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