“No,” he said. “No I shouldn’t.”
They lapsed into silence as Katie drove down the main road through town. When they got to the stop where they normally turned left to go home, Katie turned right.
“We’re not going home?” James felt the dream of lying in bed slip away.
“Not quite,” Katie said, obviously enjoying the mystery of it all. “Just wait. You’ll see.”
Despite being tired and upset, James felt a twinge of curiosity.
Soon, they left the main part of town, heading into the older, more industrial section. Warehouses lined the roads, some still in use, but most long abandoned. As the city had grown and modernized, it left behind some of its older, more archaic industries. The empty, rusted warehouses were like fossils, signs of the past.
James’s curiosity grew as they turned onto a gravel drive near one of the warehouses. This one was small and rather unremarkable, its white walls and boarded-up windows giving no indication of what lay within. Katie parked the car and got out, signaling for James to follow. She led him to a large metal door on the side, an unlocked padlock hanging loosely from the handle. Katie turned to him, smiled, and pushed the door open.
James strained to see inside, squinting in the sunlight. He stepped into the darkness of the warehouse and saw...
Several old boxes, piles upon piles of discarded papers, an old, smashed-in TV, and other garbage. All coated in a thick layer of dust. Faded graffiti covered the wall next to the door. James turned to Katie and raised his eyebrows, unimpressed.
Katie laughed mischievously and beckoned him forward. She walked toward the middle of the warehouse, stepping carefully through the broken wood and glass littering the floor. Small amounts of sunlight streamed through cracks in the boarded-up windows, but otherwise, it was dark and dingy. Their footsteps echoed as James followed her.
Katie stopped in the middle of the room. She pointed to a small wooden crate on the floor nearby. “Could you please stand on that?”
James stepped forward hesitantly, wondering what she was playing at. Was this a prank? He’d never known Derek to prank him, but this was just odd. He stepped slowly onto the crate, the wood creaking under his weight. As he did, the whole crate seemed to sink as the bottom edges disappeared a few inches into the ground.
A grinding noise echoed through the warehouse, but he couldn’t see the source. On the wall next to Katie, under the faded graffiti, some sort of panel had opened. A black screen appeared, the size of a tablet. As he watched, Katie stepped forward and pressed her palm onto the screen. A moment later, there was a loud click, followed by an even louder grinding sound.
James gasped as a large section of the floor between him and Katie was pulled back by a hidden mechanism, revealing a metal staircase leading down into the darkness.
“You can step down now,” Katie said.
James did, slowly approaching the staircase in the ground. He could see light emanating some twenty feet down, though he couldn’t make out the source. He glanced at Katie.
“You first,” she said, smiling.
James could see a door at the bottom, cracked open slightly, white light filtering through. He descended the short flight of stairs and pushed the door open to reveal a brightly lit room. He squinted against the fluorescent lights.
The first thing he saw was a large, circular table in the middle of the room. Two figures bent over it, speaking in quiet, urgent voices. He recognized his brother, whose back was to him, and Avus, a Super whom he had met many times before. Avus was a short, hairy man, slightly pudgy.
“Without his help, we don’t stand a chance!” Avus was saying, his voice hard and angry.
“It’s just too early. We don’t know for sure...”
Avus looked up, noticing James for the first time. Derek followed his eyes and turned to see his brother.
“James!” Derek rushed forward and gave James a hug. Behind him, Avus hastily rolled up a piece of paper. James caught a glimpse of a strange drawing, a circle surrounded with a ring of flames, before Avus shoved the paper into his bag.
“You know Avus, of course,” Derek said when they broke apart.
“Good to see you, Little Bolt.” Avus bowed comically deep and flourished his arm.
“You too, old man,” James said, smiling. Avus had always been one of the more friendly and approachable Supers, and James had grown to see him like an uncle over the years.
“I’d love to ask you about the life of a teenager,” Avus said. “But unfortunately, I must be going. I’m expected elsewhere.”
With a significant look at Derek, Avus stepped into the middle of the room and spun in a circle. There was a snap, followed by a brief flash of light. James blinked, and when his eyes opened, Avus was gone. James was always amazed when Avus teleported—as far as he knew, Avus was the only Super who could do it.
“So,” Derek said. “What do you think?”
James glanced around the bunker-like room. Fluorescent lights lined the ceiling, illuminating white walls and a gray cement floor. Beyond the paper-covered table, several shelves covered the wall, filled with canned foods, books, and folders. In the far corner was a mini living room with a couch, a short table holding a closed laptop, and a small TV.
“What is this place?” James said.
“This,” Derek said, turning and looking at the small bunker with pride, “is my original hideout.”
“Your original... like when you first became a Super?”
“Exactly. Of course, back then, it was just an old cellar below the warehouse. When I first discovered my powers, I would come down here and try to figure out what my abilities were and how to control them.”
“That was before the Supers found you,” James said, picturing a young Derek first discovering he had powers. It must have been exciting. And terrifying.
“It
