Red Masked Heroine Read online

  “Hey, you’re anything but boring.”

  She slaps me in the chest. “I didn’t say I was boring. I said my life was.”

  Right. “Just make sure to keep an eye on your mom. Just because we’re done with Blue, it doesn’t mean that organization is done with me.”

  She nods. “Don’t worry. I’ve got it covered.”

  And because we already have detention, I give her a kiss on the lips.

  Chapter Fourteen

  For the next few days, the media has sort of cleared up the details of what happened in the bank. They claim Blue had nothing to do with the deaths or the explosion. Footage from security cameras at the shop across the bank shows the bank window crack open—by invisible me. Through the glass window, you can see the gunman throw the net at me and then fire at everyone. Then I’m knocked out and the place explodes, due to Maddie.

  No one knows how the explosion happened, but some claim the gunman had grenades, though there’s no evidence of that. And Maddie flew too fast to be caught on camera.

  People’s opinion of me has shifted to the positive, but there are many who still blame me. Nicole’s blog has gotten very popular, but I’m not interested in reading it. I’m not really interested in what people think of me anymore. Like I said, I’ve put an end to Blue. Nick is just a regular guy who happens to have powers, nothing more.

  Sure if I see someone at school or in the street in a pickle, I’ll help—like if a kid can’t reach his locker or something—but nothing major and nothing life-threatening.

  My life consists of school, homework, Maddie, and my family. I help Kaylee practice for her play on the Wizard of Oz. She’s a little bummed that Blue’s not around anymore, but I tell her that her bro isn’t gone. She’s still not happy. Hopefully, she’ll accept that I’m just trying to protect everyone and I don’t want to hurt Mom.

  Many reporters have asked me to do interviews, but I ignore them. A few have loitered around our house, but the cops took care of them.

  Maddie and I have been watching the tracking devices closely. So far, it seems like nothing is out of the ordinary. Maybe putting an end to Blue really did get those people off my back. But why? If they wanted me before, why not want me now? It’s not like my powers disappeared.

  “You know what we need to do?” I tell Maddie one afternoon while we’re doing homework in her room. I told Mom I’m here and she ordered me to be careful and responsible. I don’t know what she’s so afraid of. It’s not like Maddie and I are gonna…I mean…man even thinking it is awkward.

  “What?” Maddie asks.

  “Go on a date.”

  She drops her pencil. “What?”

  “We should go on a date.”

  She tucks some hair behind her ear. “Oh, Um…”

  “What’s wrong? It’s not like you don’t want to be out with me in public, is it?”

  She quickly shakes her head. “Of course not. It’s just that dating seems so…normal.”

  “Aren’t we trying to be normal?”

  “Well, yeah, but it’s just weird. I mean, we hang out all the time…”

  I nod. “It’d be romantic.”

  She tilts her head to the side, thinking. “I guess.” She goes back to doing her homework.

  “Is there something wrong with being romantic? You seem to be against it.”

  She drops her pencil again. “I’m not against it. I just don’t want things to be forced. I don’t want you to try to be romantic. I just want us to be…us.”

  That makes sense, I guess. “Oh, okay. So no date. We’ll just watch a movie here.”

  She looks at me, then away, then at me again. “If you want to go out, we can go out. But we have tons of tests coming up.”

  I puff out my cheeks. “Yeah, we do.”

  A noise comes from downstairs, along with footsteps. Maddie’s ears perk up. “Who’s that? Mom and Step Idiot aren’t supposed to be home yet.”

  She’s out the door and peers over the railing. “Stacey?”

  Her stepsister shows herself from the kitchen, holding a carton of ice cream. She’s tall and way too thin, with dirty blonde hair and gray eyes. “Yeah, it’s me.”

  No hello. Yep, that’s Stacey.

  Maddie leans over the railing some more. “Why are you here?”

  Stacey digs her spoon in the ice cream. “Needed a place to stay.”

  Maddie rolls her eyes. “What happened to your apartment?”

  “None of your business. Get your things out of my room.”

  Maddie’s knuckles tighten on the railing. “It’s not your room.”

  “We’ll see what my Dad and Melissa say about that.”

  Maddie’s knuckles are starting to get red. I place my hand over them. “Calm down,” I whisper. “Before you lose it.”

  “She’s not taking my room,” Maddie says between clenched teeth.

  I nod, even though we both know that she will take her room. Always does when she crashes here.

  “Let’s go back to doing our homework.”

  In her room, we drop down on her bed. I wrap my arm over her shoulder, bringing her close to me. “Sorry, Nick,” she says. “But I don’t think I’m in the mood to go out.”

  “Okay. Don’t worry about it. We’ve got load and loads of time.”

  She smiles a little.

  Quiet.

  I’m about to say something, but the door opens and Stacey steps in. “What did I say?”

  Maddie sits up. “Maybe say hello to my boyfriend?”

  Stacey barely glances at me. “Hi, whatever. Are you going to get out or do I have to throw your things out?”

  I wave my hand and the door slams in her face. I turn the lock. She shouldn’t bother us again.

  “Good one,” Maddie says.

  I sigh. “Doing small tasks like that is fine, but I still feel like…like something is missing inside me. Like I’ve got this void.”

  Sympathy enters her eyes. “You’re empty without your alter ego.”

  I nod. “I know I need to keep fighting this, for my parents’ sake, but it’s hard.”

  A bang on the door. “I called my dad.”

  “I don’t care,” Maddie barks. She rolls her eyes. “Seriously, she needs to get lost.” She lies down. “I can’t wait till I go to college so I can leave this place. Then I won’t have to deal with her ever again.”

  I lie down, too.

  “You’re lucky,” she says in a low voice. “Your family is amazing.”

  “Maybe she’ll change. Just like Matt did.”

  She doesn’t say anything.

  I poke her with my elbow. “Want to play some games?”

  She shakes her head. “I need to stay here to claim my turf. Even though I know I’m going to lose. I wish I could just fry the house. Then these people will listen to me.”

  I take her hand. “You need to be careful. Need to make sure your mom doesn’t find out you’ve got powers. And no frying your house.”

  “I know. I’m just upset.”

  Quiet again. All I hear is Stacey’s grunting and banging. We ignore her. Eventually she goes away.

  “I was thinking about that last gunman,” I tell her. “That we never learned if he’s part of the organization.”

  She sits up again. “Didn’t we say we’re going to keep a low profile and hope they forget about us?”

  “I know. I just don’t think I can let it go. I need to know what their connection is to those people. I need to know if the gunmen were hired.”

  She shakes her head. “We should stay away.”

  “They came after me, Maddie.”

  “But a few days have passed since then. I say we forget and pretend it never happened.”

  I sigh, rubbing the back of my neck. “I can’t do that. Every time I close my eyes, all I see are those hostages and the gunmen. Those people died because of me. Because those gunmen wanted to lure me to the bank. I can’t let it go.”

  “So what do you want to do?�
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  “Get answers from the gunman.” The cops couldn’t, but maybe we can.

  She lifts a brow. “You want to talk to him?”

  I nod. “He’s still in the hospital, isn’t he? You did quite a number on him. I’m sure the cops won’t let me talk to him, but maybe I can sneak into his room at night.”

  “He’ll tell the cops.”

  I shrug. “At least I would have gotten the information.”

  “I’m coming with you.”

  I nod. “Of course. We’re a team.”

  We spend the rest of the afternoon finishing up our homework. After that, Maddie locks the door to her room from the outside so Stacey can’t go in, and she and I go to the kitchen for something to eat. Like usual, the fridge is pretty much empty. Maddie grumbles that Stacey ate all their ice cream and they can’t afford more.

  “We can go out for ice cream,” I say.

  “I don’t really like ice cream. It’s just the principal of the matter.” She looks around. “Where is Stepzilla anyway?”

  I look into the living room. Stacey’s watching the news. I’m about to turn away, when I hear Blue mentioned.

  “The hikers have been missing for days,” the reporter says. “Many suspect they are trapped under mountains of snow. I, as well as countess others, wonder, where is the Blue Masked Hero? No one has seen or heard from him in days. Sources tell us he’s been neglecting his duties…”

  Duties? I didn’t know anyone was in trouble. I’ve kind of been avoiding the news because I don’t want to be tempted to help anyone.

  Stacey turns around and finally seems to notice me. “Aren’t you that hero?” She points her spoon at Maddie. “Wait. You’re dating that hero?”

  “And what if I am?”

  Stacey scans me from top to bottom. “You can do better than a washed-out hero.”

  Maddie’s fists are at her sides. “He’s not washed out.”

  Stacey shrugs, turning back to the TV, where the reporters are questioning where I am and how I can let those hikers freeze to death.

  Remember, I tell myself, you’re doing this for Mom.

  “Did you take your stuff out of my room?” Stacey asks. “Maybe you can get that boyfriend of yours to help.”

  “I’m so going to slap you across the—”

  I pull Maddie out of the room. “Your hands.”

  “I should burn her!” As soon as the words leave her mouth, her eyes widen. “I so didn’t mean that.” She sighs, dropping down on the kitchen floor. “She makes me so mad. My whole family drives me crazy. Stepdad who’s a jerk, Mom who’s basically out to get you, and then there’s Stacey, the worst of all.”

  I rub her shoulder. “Don’t let them get to you. You need to be in control.”

  She glances down at her fists. “What’s the point of this power, anyway? All I can do with it is cause destruction.”

  “Wanna go for a fly? Maybe take your mind off things?”

  She shakes her head. I sit down next to her and we’re quiet.

  A few hours later, when we’re still sitting on the kitchen floor, her parents enter the house. As soon as she sees me, Melissa gives me that same weird look. If I knew she’d be home, I would have gone invisible. I’m supposed to have the least contact with her as possible. Maddie found no traces of her meeting with that secret organization, but we can’t be certain.

  “Dad!” Stacey rushes out of the room and into Ronald’s arms.

  “Stacey, you’re home! How long are you going to be here?”

  “A few days. Maybe weeks. Can I have my room?” She shoots Maddie a wicked grin. Maddie looks like her blood boils.

  “Of course, honey,” Ronald says. “Maddie will move her things into the attic right away.”

  Stacey smiles widely. “Thanks, Dad.” She glares at Maddie.

  “What if I say no?” Maddie asks.

  Her mom, who finally takes her gaze off me, says, “Come on, Maddie. Stacey is our guest and we need to treat her with respect. Besides, you love the attic. You told me it gives you a lot of privacy.” She looks at me again, like she doesn’t trust me. I’d leave, but I need to back Maddie up right now. It’s three against one.

  “Maddie shouldn’t have to leave unless she wants to,” I say.

  Her stepdad flares his nostrils at me. “I don’t like you and I don’t want you in my house.”

  “Excuse me?” Maddie says. “He’s my boyfriend.”

  He steps closer to her. “And I don’t want him here.”

  Melissa stands between them. “There’s no need to fight. Maddie will give Stacey her room. It’s just for a few days, Maddie. You can handle a few days. After all that Stacey does for us…”

  “Yeah, she does tons,” Maddie mumbles. “More like she costs us more money than gives. Whatever. Come, Nick.”

  “Help her, then leave my house,” Ronald says. “I don’t want to catch the two of you alone in the attic.”

  We get to her room and I use my powers to move everything out of her room and into the attic. Her attic is kinda cool, but it’s lonely, and far, far from everyone else. Maddie told me that’s the only good thing about it.

  “Why’s your stepdad like that?” I ask as we place everything where they need to go. “Does he treat your mom badly?”

  She shakes her head. “He never hurt any of us, and he never would. He just likes to think he’s the boss. He also hates that I found a good guy when his daughter only dates losers. He’s just jealous of you. Don’t worry, we’re fine. Besides, I’m going to leave this place soon.”

  “Three years is a long time.”

  She shrugs. “So I’ll hurt them and you can heal them.”

  I gape at her.

  “It was a joke.”

  “Don’t joke about that stuff. I keep thinking about all those hostages that died.”

  She sighs. “Me, too. I’m sorry I said that. I was just so angry. This fire…it…it sometimes controls me. Makes me think these bad thoughts.” Tears enter her eyes. “I don’t want it.”

  “You need to learn to control it.”

  “I don’t think I can. Besides, I don’t even want to try. I don’t want to unleash it.” She looks away. “I could have killed you in the bank. No, it’s best for the fire to stay contained inside me.”

  I look out her window. The view sucks. All I see is a brick wall from the neighbors. “Bottling it up inside might destroy you.”

  She shrugs. “I’ve been doing that for three years and it went okay.”

  “Yeah, but things are different now. You’re not as much in control anymore.”

  She hugs a pillow to her chest. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

  A bang on the door. “Maddie, is that boy in there with you?”

  That’s my cue to get lost. I give Maddie a quick hug, which she oddly returns, and vanish from sight.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Maddie and I decide to sneak out of our houses after our parents have gone to sleep. Mom and Dad have been having a hard time sleeping, so it’s past midnight when I finally have the chance to escape.

  Hovering outside Maddie’s window, I text her that I’m here. A second later, her window opens.

  “The only one up is Stacey. She’s on her phone and won’t pay attention whether I’m home or not.”

  I hold out my hand and she places hers inside. She’s very tense when I hold her close to me. I know all this stuff happening with her family affects her, more than she’s letting on. But she doesn’t want to talk about it and I won’t push.

  We make our way to the hospital. The gunman will probably be surrounded by security, but that’s the beauty of invisibility. We can get by unnoticed.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Maddie asks.

  “I need to. We need to know if those people are still after us.”

  “Do you think the organization has contacted him? It seems like they left him for dead, since they didn’t rescue him or break him out of hospital prison.”r />
  She has a point. These people have crazy technology. Healing a burned comrade seems simple for them.

  When we reach the hospital, we look through the windows, searching for someone burned, and who’s surrounded with security. It’s not right to peek into people’s rooms, but we don’t have another way of finding this guy. It’s not like we could walk to the front desk and ask what room he’s in.

  “There,” Maddie says once we get to the last room on this floor. He’s in there, sleeping. I expected him to have all these tubes in him. But he seems to be breathing well on his own. He’s got many bandages around him, though, but I think he’s well enough to talk. Heck, if the cops pounded him for info, then we should be able to, too.

  “It’s risky with all those cops around,” Maddie whispers. “All he has to do is yell and they’ll swarm in. Who said he even wants to talk to us?”

  I scan around as I think about her words. It’s late at night, but that makes no difference. His security is very tight. I swallow. What if Maddie’s right?

  “We can always make a quick exit,” I tell her. “But we might not get the information we need.”

  “Yeah.”

  “But we’ve gotta try, right? Okay, I’ll quickly open the window and we’ll climb in. Try to be as quiet as possible.”

  “Got it.”

  It’s going to be hard because we can’t see each other, but I hope we’ll be okay. Lifting my hand, I open the window just enough for us to climb in. I tell Maddie to go first and once she lets me know she’s in, I go in after her.

  The place smells like a hospital. I’ve never liked the smell. I remember the last time I was in a hospital, when I learned I could heal. Now that I’m no longer Blue, it stings, but I can’t let that get to me.

  “Psst,” Maddie hisses. “He’s moving.”

  The gunman’s head rolls around on his pillow.

  “Stand watch,” I say to Maddie. “The minute you see someone coming, tell me and we’re out of here.”

  She nods and goes to the door. The second her hand slips out of mine, she’s visible.

  Still invisible, I head over to the guy and tap him on the shoulder. He’s groggy, which makes this easier. If I stay hidden, he might think he’s dreaming. Or maybe he’s too drugged up and he’ll forget everything. Either way, I’ll still get my answers. I hope.