Hero Reborn (Keepers of Justice, Book 3) Read online

  Hero Reborn

  By

  Dee J. Stone

  Copyright © 2014 Dee J. Stone.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form without written permission from the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to real life, movies, television, games, or books is entirely coincidental and was not intended by the author.

  Titles by Dee J. Stone:

  Young Adult Superhero Series:

  No Ordinary Hero (Keepers of Justice, Book 1)

  Hero’s Revenge (Keepers of Justice, Book 2)

  Hero Reborn (Keepers of Justice, Book 3)

  Young Adult Romance:

  Cruiser (Cruiser & Lex, Book 1)

  Second Chance (Cruiser & Lex, Book 2)

  Chasing Sam

  Young Adult Paranormal:

  Emily’s Curse

  Paranormal Romance:

  Merman’s Kiss

  Email the author at [email protected].

  For updates on new releases, follow Dee J. Stone on Facebook and Twitter.

  Hero Reborn

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Excerpt from Cruiser

  Excerpt from Emily’s Curse

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  I’ve been back from the dead for less than a week and already Samson’s got me training with the other kids.

  I drop to the floor and flatten myself as a drone flies over me. It speeds toward the other end of the Simulation Room, to a group of my League mates. More come at me and I wrap my arms around my head.

  Please don’t hurt me.

  “Stretch! What’re you doing, man?” Kale calls from behind me. I can’t see what’s going on, but I hear the drones. “Stretch! Help me.” A clang echoes down the hall. I uncover my face and see two robots on the floor. Kale now fights one. He can’t use his telepathy on them, but he’s got his martial arts.

  “You’re doing fine,” I call and bury my face again. It’s not so easy doing this after being buried for four months.

  Kale grabs my arm and pulls me up. “You can do this.”

  I shake my head and swallow as I watch the rest of the kids fighting and avoiding the drones.

  “Come on, man.” Kale dashes toward the center, where most of the action takes place.

  Some of the drones shoot lasers from their eyes. They hurt, but not enough to kill. The Elites just want to train us, not kill us, so the practices are usually pretty safe. But sometimes kids end up in the hospital. Things can go wrong, you know. So I’m playing it safe.

  I’m hiding behind a pile of broken robots when I hear a screech. Furball’s on the right side of the room. She uses her claws to scratch the three drones attacking her. She transforms into a tiger and smashes one, but the other two knock her on the head and she crashes to the floor, back to her human form.

  The third one is about to ram its fist into her. Oh, no you don’t. Not my girl!

  Jumping to my feet, I stretch my arms real long and wrap them around Furball’s waist. I yank her toward me as Stone Junior uses his strength to knock out the drones.

  I retract my arms from around her and sneeze. Furball stands and glares at me. I rub my nose.

  “Who said I needed help?” she demands.

  “Uh…” I thought she’d thank me for being her hero, but she looks like she wants to slam me against the wall.

  She slaps her clothes like they’re covered in mud. “Who told you to touch me?”

  I slink back. I know most people are weird around me because I was resurrected. They don’t know what to think. But why does Furball have to be like that? I know she likes me—Kale said she admitted it at my funeral. So why can’t we take it from there? I wish she’d understand that I’m just as alive as she is. I’m the same dude.

  She shivers like she contracted a disease. “Just because I’m a girl and you’re a guy, that does not mean you have to save me. Got it? I was doing fine. I don’t need saving, especially from you.”

  “Oh. S-sorry.”

  The Sim Room is quiet. I look around and realize the machines are turned off, the lights are on, and everyone is staring at us. Accelerator, who’s in charge of training, and Samson and Cindy—leaders of our superhero League and Kale’s parents—are watching from the sidelines. All the other kids’ gazes go from Furball to me.

  I sneeze again and my legs shoot in opposite directions. My body falls to the floor as my arms stretch and flail around, banging into the walls, drones, and kids. My hands punch a few in the face.

  Most of them laugh. Some are angry. Furball still looks mad.

  X and Kale rush over and help me up. My limbs slowly snap back in place. “Sorry,” I say to everyone. “Allergies.”

  “Okay, okay.” Accelerator walks to the center of the room. She turns to Furball. “Kelly, we don’t shout at each other. Andrew saved you, you should thank him. Don’t force me to stop the simulation a second time, all right?”

  She hugs her arms. “I just don’t want him to touch me.”

  She’s the girl I love. Why’s she tearing my heart out like that? It hurts.

  I stare at the floor and scratch my nose.

  Samson steps forward. “I know many of you are conflicted about Andrew’s resurrection. Specifically because it was done by the ShadowBlades.”

  X clenches his jaw. I don’t know much about my resurrection, only that the ShadowBlades have a guy who can bring people back from the dead. And that Stealth, the girl X loves, is a Blade. She wanted to leave the Blades, but made a deal with her mother, Vlayne, that in exchange for my resurrection Stealth would be loyal to her. It’s because of me that X lost his girl. He’s changed so much. I don’t know how strongly X’s relationship was with Stealth, but their breakup screwed him up. A lot. He was closed up before, but now it’s worse.

  “Nevertheless,” Samson continues. “Andrew is one of us and I expect us all to treat him with respect.” His blue eyes flick to Furball. “Is that understood?”

  She lowers her head and nods. I can’t help but smile. Except, it fades once Samson turns away and she gives me another disgusted look. Man, she’s never going to love me.

  My shoulders droop, like all the energy’s leaving my body.

  “You’re all dismissed,” Accelerator says. “Grades will be posted online.”

  The room empties as everyone files out. Furball meets up with the Elemental Triplets—Air, Earth Goddess, and H2O—and they walk past me like I don’t exist.

  Kale and X
meet me outside. “Wanna hit up some Xbox?” Kale asks.

  I guess so. Video games are the only way to distract me from her.

  ***

  A few hours later, I throw my controller on the couch. “Man, girls suck.”

  Correction—video games are the worst way to distract myself from Furball. She’s playing foosball with the triplets at the other end of the room. I’m just wallpaper to her.

  Kale drops his controller. “No kidding.” His gaze moves to Lindsay, who’s also in the Game Room with us, watching a few guys play a racing game. She must feel him staring because she gets up and walks out of the room.

  All of our love lives are screwed. Lindsay broke up with Kale last week, Furball thinks I’m a zombie, and Stealth is a villain. Pretty neat, isn’t it?

  Kale releases some air. “Since when are girls more important than games?”

  X shifts on the couch and crosses his arms over his chest. He’s been here with us, but hasn’t played. I try to ease the tension and get us back to how things used to be, but it’s hard when I’ve been gone for so long and they’ve gotten closer. I’ve lost four months. The last thing I remember before waking up from the dead is being captured by the ShadowBlades. I don’t remember Lightning murdering me. So I’ve got a lot of catching up to do.

  Kale and X try to be normal around me, but they have their own girl problems on their minds. Why do girls do this to us?

  I look at X. His lips are pressed together as he stares at the floor. It scares me when he’s like this. Kale told me that after I was murdered, X went on a hunting spree trying to find Vlayne and the ShadowBlades. He also told me he almost died doing it. I don’t like how intense and serious he gets. I don’t want this thing with Stealth to make him do something dangerous.

  “Dude,” I say to him. “You doing okay?”

  He shrugs.

  Kale kicks the floor. “Why doesn’t she talk to me about it? Instead of breaking up with me, why don’t we talk? I mean, girls like that, don’t they? They want to talk about things like this. You know, if it helps the relationship or whatever.”

  “Didn’t you say it’s because she thinks she’ll get you sick again?” I ask.

  Four months ago, when Kale was saving Lindsay from blowing up the world, she emitted her energy onto him, which gave him his telepathy. But since it wasn’t natural, it slowly destroyed his brain. X saved him by getting a formula for an antidote from inside his mind, where his mom—a great scientist—put it fifteen years ago. It repaired the damaged cells.

  “Yeah,” Kale says. “She’s scared that if she’s with me she’ll fry my brain cells like last time. But she won’t. Why can’t she get that?”

  “Try to talk to her.”

  “I did.” He gets up and paces around. “All those months I was with her, preventing the world from coming to an end, I never left her side. I cared so much about her. I was patient with her and got her to trust me. I didn’t give up on her. I don’t get why she’s giving up on us. Why can’t we work through this?”

  I don’t answer ‘cuz I’ve got no idea what to say. It’s not like I’m doing any better in this department.

  He plops down next to me and shoves his fingers through his blond hair. He pulls at the strands. “I can’t even sleep because of her.”

  X lifts his head, but doesn’t say a word. Kale’s not the only one who can’t sleep because of his girl. We’re all going through the same thing. Kinda pathetic.

  Maybe we’re not meant to have girlfriends.

  ***

  It’s nine PM when I enter my parents’ room. Well, they’re not my biological parents. My biological parents dumped me at the League when I was a baby. They probably saw I looked like a gummy bear and decided I wasn’t good enough. I was adopted by a childless couple here at the League, Anna and David Mason, whom I consider my real parents. They’re awesome.

  Mom’s reading a book and Dad’s watching a soccer game.

  “Hi.” I sit down.

  Dad smiles. “Hey.”

  Mom looks up from the book. “Are you hungry?”

  I shake my head. That’s all she’s been doing since I came back. Keeps asking if I’m hungry or tired. I know she and Dad worry, just like I do. Maybe the Blades will regret their decision and kill me. It’s like they own me or control me. Like I’m in their debt or something.

  I just want to be treated the same. I want Mom to scold me for dirtying the kitchen (I do that a lot, which pisses the League housekeeper off). I want Dad to laugh every time my limbs are out of control. They want to spend more time with me because life’s short. I died suddenly, and my friends told me my parents took the death really hard. They couldn’t even live in the mansion anymore. Couldn’t take it. Now that I’m back, I’m happy to hang out with them.

  I guess one good thing came out of my dying.

  Chapter Two

  The next day, the three of us are in X’s room. He’s the only kid without a roommate. Speed used to share the place, but he couldn’t handle living in such a dirty room. X doesn’t take care of it. I’m not sure he takes care of himself much. I don’t like that. I’m worried.

  Kale looks at me. He sometimes reads our minds. Or our thoughts enter his head if they’re strong enough. Or maybe he’s just being Kale and messing around. It sucks that he knows what I’m thinking, but I don’t have much to hide, anyway. He knows all about Furball and that I fear the Blades will come after me.

  I’m worried about X, too, he says. We need to get Stealth back.

  How?

  He puffs his cheeks. X is sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. His arms are crossed over his chest and he’s scanning around the mansion. Because of his power, he can see through everything and long distances. He likes to keep an eye on things around here. His eyes get black when he uses his ability and it freaks the hell out of Kale. Me, not so much.

  “Okay,” Kale says. “What are we doing about Stealth?”

  “Freeing her,” X says. “We find the Blades, kill them, and get her.”

  I never met Stealth, but she’s important to X. The only person who can make him happy. Kale told me that. So even though it’s dangerous, I want to help.

  “How do we find the Blades, though?” Kale asks. “Last time we tried to do that, they tricked us. Played us like idiots.”

  When X was hunting Vlayne, seeking revenge for my death, he came across a group—the Black Nightmares—who were trying to get recruited into the Blades. He got an idea to send someone undercover to join the group, then eventually the Blades. Stealth volunteered. Back then, no one knew she was Vlayne’s daughter. So Vlayne pretty much screwed the League over. Probably laughed behind our backs.

  “I don’t know,” X says. “But we’ll find them.”

  It’s freaky how determined he is. “Okay,” I say. “But X, be careful.”

  “I’m going to find Vlayne and kill her. I’m going to save Stealth. She deserves better.”

  I look at the floor. “Sorry.”

  “For what?” X asks.

  “If not for me she wouldn’t have had to make that deal with Vlayne.”

  He shakes his head. “No. Don’t be sorry.”

  “It wasn’t right for her to sacrifice herself for me. It would have been…you’d be happier with her here instead of me.”

  He gets up and walks around the room. To the window, his TV, dresser, back to the window. “Don’t say that.” His voice is low.

  “Stretch,” Kale says. “What’s up? Why are you being weird?”

  “I don’t know. I just…I don’t like to see him like that. It’s ‘cuza me, so…”

  X turns around. “Don’t feel that way. All that guilt isn’t healthy. And it’s not true about...” He shakes his head and sits down on the floor.

  He won’t say it, Kale tells me. But you have no idea how happy he is that you’re here. You’ve got no clue how much our friendship means to him. Your friendship.

  That makes me smile, but I still feel
responsible for Stealth having to be a Blade. I don’t want her to suffer because of me.

  The room’s quiet. I grab a few chips from the bag between Kale and me and munch. Kale plays with the laces on his sneakers. X’s eyes are still roaming the mansion.

  “So…” I say. “What’re we doing?”

  Kale pulls the bag to him and shoves some chips into his mouth. “Good question. X?”

  X looks away from the walls and shrugs. “I’ll think of something.”

  “Maybe we can think of something together,” I say. “Like brainstorm.”

  X doesn’t say anything for a bit. Then, “I don’t want you guys to get hurt.”

  “And you?” Kale says.

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “You’re not seriously risking your life again.”

  He shrugs.

  “X,” I say, crumbs spilling out of my mouth and landing on my jeans. I swipe them off.

  “It’d be better if I do this alone.”

  Kale and I exchange a glance. Hell no, Kale says.

  I nod. “We’re not going to let you.”

  X doesn’t respond. His arms tighten across his chest and he won’t look our way. Kale has a satisfied smile on his face, like he won an argument. Since X hasn’t said a word, I’m not sure if that means he’ll let us help him.

  “Good,” Kale says. I guess he’s taking it as we’re in. “So we’ll have to—”

  Andrew, Cindy says in my head. She’s a telepath and can communicate through her mind. Please come to Samson’s office.

  I glance at the guys. They look from me to each other. Must have gotten the message, too. I widen my eyes to Kale, asking what his dad wants from us, but he raises his hands like he’s got no clue.

  Shrugging, I get to my feet and follow him and X into an elevator, where we take it to the top floor. My palms get clammy. Tight spaces freak me out. Dr. Evans, the League shrink, thinks it’s because I was in a coffin for four months. I don’t know how much of that’s true, since my brain was dead and I can’t remember being buried.

  The doors beep open and we head for Samson’s office. He and Cindy are sitting at his desk. When he sees us, Samson motions for us to take seats near them. Kale and I do, but X leans against the wall.