After school, I meet up with Aidan in the parking lot; his car smells of his body wash and he lets me have control of the radio. “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga plays and I hum along to the song, dancing in my seat. Aidan smiles at me as I belt the chorus, as I lean into his shoulder I return a smile. I wouldn’t want to be in this car with anybody else. My sweet tooth is begging for something so I reach into my bag and pull out a package of sour candies.
"Want some?" I ask. I pull out a green apple sour straw and look at him with my eyebrows raised. I get all the candy I want for free because I am my father’s daughter.
"Sure," he says and I feed him a piece while he keeps his eyes on the road, "You know too much sugar is gonna rot your soul."
"Let's hope it does for the sake of our afternoon." I say popping a blue raspberry piece into my mouth. Nervous energy takes over me and my leg bounces uncontrollably. I pull out my alter computer and once again check the local police databases and erase all notes from yesterday’s crime. Then I clear my cache and restart the computer before someone can read my IP. I flip my computer over once more to check that certain sensors are still removed before I slip it back into my bag.
We stop at his apartment to form a quick plan; as soon as it's all set, we head up to a local convenience store in our crime gear. I haven't taken my wig off, but when we pull up I do. My clothes are in a bag that I hid in the bathroom ventilation earlier.
We enter from the back and I sneak into the security footage room. There's no guard or anything. I did have to pick the lock, but it was almost too easy. I delete the footage from the cameras outside that would give up our car's information and delete the footage of us entering and sneaking in. Then I cut the store feed so when Zandor steals the money from the box and cuts their phone wire it goes unnoticed.
I set the camera to not come back on for another 15 minutes inside and outside, a timer on my watch keeps time. I smile at the cashier like a customer, ask him how much the fly swatter would cost, then smack him across the face. While he is disoriented, I grab his wrist and pull him down on the counter. From there I hit three pressure points and he is out like a log. We steal a couple of cigarette boxes, all the money in the register, and the guy's cell phone. Aidan puts it in the car and drives off while I quickly change out of the outfit and put my wig back on. I then take the clothes from the crime and throw them out the bathroom window into the garbage. I’ll get them later.
I'm patting down my wig and re-entering through the front door when the cashier wakes up, "Sir, are you okay?" I ask in false alarm. He looks frazzled and looks me in the eye. I place the bathroom key on the counter, my alias.
I start to think he recognizes me, but he searches for his phone. When he can't find it, he finds the store phone’s wire cut. “Shit, cut wire. Can you call the police?”
"What do I say?" Pulling out my phone in mock alarm.
"Umm... Well-uh tell them that you're at Corner Convenience and that-uh Z-Zandor! Um stole stuff..." He stutters. Rubbing his head he looks around to take inventory of what is gone.
"Well, okay. I'll try!" It feels kinda funny calling the cops on myself, but I do. And nobody suspects a thing. I was in the “bathroom” the whole time.
The police arrive and the poor guy follows them to the station. When his shift ends, a new clerk comes in and fills the register with money from a secret box and actually looks kinda bored with it all. I want to laugh at the fact that there was a robbery here and this guy just doesn't even care.
Aidan returns after the police leave and he pulls me into an embrace, "Well that, was fantastic! You know what? I know your villain alias now," he whispers.
I saunter towards the coolers of beer and face him,"And what would that be?" I smile.
"You, my sweet, are the Candy Caper."
"The Candy Caper?" I ask in disgust, "What kind of a villain's name is that?"
"Villain names need to be as stupid as they are memorable, and for you, with your sugar habits it seems to fit." He pins me against the cooler and nuzzles his face into my neck. Someone walks in and I blush ferociously. Aidan playfully growls and I giggle.
"Oh... Okay," I chirp. I can't stay mad at him.
We exit the store together and drive away. At Aidan's apartment I take the cigarettes to sell to Nevada (a girl at my high school), and Aidan puts the money in a safe in his apartment that can only be opened with his thumb prints. I wonder what he’ll do with the money...
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I eat dinner with my family tonight and the news comes on. The story is about the convenience store robbery; apparently, the clerk I knocked out apparently remembered I had pink hair. I try to act innocent and oblivious to the story on the television, but the glares I get from my parents incriminates me. When I match their gazes there’s no hiding the confusion and apprehension in their eyes. So I calmly stand from the table before sprinting upstairs in panic, hoping to escape their wrath. They know it was me! It’s not hard to put together in all actuality: I have been gone in the afternoons, my grades are slipping, and my wig is as fake as the vegan label on Claire Confection gummies.
Dad can't walk so his reprimanding isn’t as immediate; I can hear the chair whiring as it glides up the steps. Mother, however, storms up the stairs, feet pounding her fury into the marble staircase as she rides my tail to my second floor bedroom on a mission,"Luna! Open this door! I want an explanation, right now!"
"I'm sorry, mother. I'm sorry!" I sob out. I look to the window contemplating whether to climb out or use the secret passage in my closet. It takes to long to decide and she enters my room with a somber look upon her face. All the anger I expect is hidden, making her all the more scary. I sit down on the bed knowing there is no escaping a mother with a message.
"I ought to call the police on you this instant," I prepare for the talk of a lifetime and perhaps being dragged from here in cuffs, "but I’d be a hypocrite to ground you. So, how easy was it to rob?"
What did she just say? I stare at her face to see if she's kidding, but she seems sincere. I consider lying, and yet her tone surprises me so much that all I can utter is, "Um... What?"
"You heard me, how easy was it to rob the store?"
Repeating herself a second time didn't help, my dumbfounded face tells her as much. My father is at the door with a pleasant smile on his face and he rolls in, mother closing the door behind him. Both stare at me eagerly and I wonder if lying would do anything,"It wasn't too hard. I hacked the cameras, knocked the clerk out, and stole stuff." I look away because their expressions are scaring me.
"And what did 'Zandor' do?" She asked. From the look on her face I can tell she already knew Aidan was Zandor, but how? Who am I kidding Aidan couldn’t do anything he’s done if I hadn’t helped him cover it up. And my dad is able to see all activity on devices in the house, he’s not stupid. But knowing that, why didn’t they bust me sooner?!
"Well, he stole stuff like the guy's cell phone, cut the wires to the store's landlines, and took off," I nod along as I try to detail what happened as vaguely as possible. The look on my dad’s face is no longer pleasant and he looks upset. I stiffen ready for them to yell about how irresponsible I am or to set me straight.
"Without you?!" She shrieks. What? That’s what they’re mad about. Him leaving with the goods, and not taking me with?
I look at the ceiling embarrassed, "To keep the guy from actually suspecting me, I changed back into this and helped him call the police. He never suspected a thing," I say, “Besides, I borrowed the bathroom key, so I had an alias,” They both look at each other once again with smiles.
“I told ya, she’s smart. Who came up with that plan?” Dad asks. He looks at me with a very proud look on his face and I pinch myself in the leg to make sure I wasn’t having some really strange nightmare. I felt it…
“I came up with the plan,” I look at my hands.
"How do you plan to explain this to anyone else who suspects you?" Mother looks me hard in the eye. For the first time in this conversation she looks at me very seriously, like depending on my answer there will be a punishment.
"I'll lie," the words slip from my mouth as the rest of my answers have and I can’t explain how or why, but I come to realize that all of my answers have been somewhat involuntary. I can’t help, but chalk it up to the fact that it’s my mother and I would never wish to lie to her.
"Good idea. Want to try your lie to me?" She asks, I consider trying it, then think why didn't I lie in the first place?! And how can she possibly not be skinning me alive?!
"Woah, woah, wait a minute! Why are you okay with this?! You should be mad at me!" I feel like some kind of daze has been broken and I can’t prevent the fear that invades my body. I know parents are supposed to be understanding, but this goes a little too far.
"That's not a very good lie," she chuckles. I think I'm losing it..."Look when I first discovered my potential, I befriended people, kind of like how you “befriended” Aidan. Except, it was more than just your father and I, we also had Divad, and Tina. We did full on operations where we freed stray dogs from kennels, spray-painted glass buildings downtown, and basically caused chaos. After a couple of... disagreements we disbanded and we stopped committing crimes, most of us did that is. However, your father and I were brought together by our mutual hatred for the way things are, we don’t do that stuff anymore, but we can’t blame you for having a little rebellion in your heart as well."
"Tina as in... Aunt Tina?" I ask. “But she’s the sweetest person I have ever met!” I think of the rotund woman who visits every Christmas, she has more than a few suitors at every party and yet is as independent as the sun.
"Yes, she is. She had a knack for distractions. It was always in her interest to figure out how to keep us under the radar. She even went as far as to set three fire stations on fire to prevent us from getting caught. But it’s important that you learned your own brother wasn’t innocent to the crime ring," At the mention of my brother, Brody, the pain is reopened. He did this kinda stuff too? Would he be proud of me? Probably not…
"How did the factory explode?" I blurt. “I know it wasn’t a gas leak.”
"What? Oh... we believe a Super attacked the factory. I think it had something to do with Divad," her eyes get stormy. I know she's thinking about Brody too. Dad places a hand on her shoulder, his silent support holding a million sweet words. If it weren't for the explosion, daddy would still be able to walk, "But, I don't like pointing fingers. I know you miss your brother, but whatever crime you do, think about the consequences. Are they worth it?"
“Maybe,” At the thought of a Super hurting my brother, my body shakes with anger. Mom grabs dad’s wheelchair and together they head out of the room.
“Oh and honey,” Mon turns to me at the door, “next time, don’t let the news surprise us. We want to learn so that we can help you properly cover everything up. You’ve done a splendid job, but make sure to involve the adults so you don’t end up with a life sentence, ‘night.” With that she leaves and the hushed voices of my parents can be heard as the go down the hall. The servants gather the dishes from dinner down below and I contemplate my next move.
Are they worth it? Her words echo in my ears. I haven’t done anything meaningful. I robbed a convenience store and a soda truck. Those people did nothing except not take precaution. While that upsets me, it doesn’t enrage me. I want to get back at anyone who helped to kill my brother. The police are useless anymore. A Super is way more powerful than their puny laws and guns will ever be. If anyone could have done wrong to me, it’s a Super.
It wasn’t a gas leak, it had to be one of those privileged rats. Those people can do things they shouldn’t and it’s not fair. To rid the world of any Supers who could do harm to innocent people? Sounds pretty worth it to me. I shoot a quick text to Aidan and grab my pack of clothes. Those Supers better watch out...
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