Discovery (19 page)

Grace turned back to Ben, her eyes widening even further. “Yes. Got it. I promise.”

Ben took her hand and squeezed it with a wink before he exited the Jeep. The minute his door closed behind him, Grace pushed the door lock button and heard a simultaneous thump from each of the Jeep's four doors. Without thinking, she tugged on her seatbelt, testing its usefulness.

Ben walked around to the front of the Jeep. He looked closely at the front tires before peering down to inspect the Jeep's undercarriage.

“Ben?” Grace called. “What is it?”

Ben stood up and looked at Grace crouched in the front seat. “I have no idea. We're not stuck on anything that I can see.” He kicked the leaves around the tires, revealing nothing but dirt underneath. Ben then walked to the back of the Jeep and performed the same inspection. Still nothing. He returned to the front of the Jeep. “Hold on,” he yelled to Grace. “I'm going to lift it up and try to pull us out of whatever we're stuck in.”

“Lift what up? What did you say?” Grace called through the Jeep's dirty windows.

Before Grace knew what was happening, Ben lifted the Jeep over his head, with Grace bracing herself inside. She sat there suspended in the air for a few minutes, trying not to look down. “Ben?” she called out, her eyes focused on the Trio of Boulders up ahead.

Just then, Grace heard an “Ugh” and the Jeep abruptly crashed back down to the forest floor. She looked around but could not see Ben. At first she thought the Jeep had fallen on top of him.

But, unfortunately, she was wrong.

Ben suddenly appeared in front of the Jeep, looking like he was being pulled and pushed in rag doll form. In mid-air, his body was tossed around like a juggler's ball, but Grace could not see who or what was doing the tossing. She just heard soft, but deep, laughter echoing in the trees.

“Stay in the car!” Ben yelled in between tosses. He swung his arms, attempting to strike whatever invisible being was attacking him, but the attacks just kept coming. He was thrown back and forth in front of the Jeep, never hitting the ground, always remaining suspended. His strong powers appeared ineffective against his unseen attacker.

Grace stared into the woods' darkness, trying to see who or what had hold of Ben. She felt helpless watching her Guardian being tossed around right in front of her. She scanned the Jeep for anything that might be used as a weapon. Nothing. She then looked around the dense woods. A stick, a small rock, anything. As she inspected the woods, her eyes stopped on the Trio of Boulders. She thought she saw something move in front of the middle boulder. She stared harder but couldn't see anything else.

At that moment, Ben was tossed hard and pinned against a nearby tree with his entire back pressed to the tree's trunk. His feet dangled up off the ground and his arms were forcefully extended around and behind the trunk, rendering him unable to reach his unseen attacker. His face turned beet red as he gasped for air and it was obvious to Grace that something had hold of Ben's throat, but she still saw nothing but Ben and the trees. Before Grace could blink, Ben's powerful arms pulled loose from their invisible hold and swung around to grab at his own throat. Ben pushed off whatever held him and began pounding the air in front of him. His fist obviously struck something hidden in the air and Ben fell off the tree, his feet firmly planted on the ground before he began striking again.

As Ben struck the air at his feet and whatever hid in it, a body began to appear in the area that was now the target of Ben's intensity. Invisible before, it was the body of a very, very large man crouched in the fetal position. His head was shaved and he was dressed in green camouflage shirt and pants with tall black combat boots, the kind found in army surplus stores. His arms defensively covered his face and head and his deep voice yelled, “Enough! Enough! Stop! Stop!”

At the sound of the man's voice, Ben stopped his punches and looked down at his former assailant who remained in the fetal position on the forest floor. Ben then glanced up at Grace and mouthed, “Stay.”

Before Grace could respond, Ben was attacked again, but this time it came from behind. Something grabbed him, tossing him into the air and over his first attacker's head, but before he could land on the ground, something else caught him and threw him back. His first attacker smiled and stood up, rising at least seven feet tall, and now participated in some sick twisted version of the monkey in the middle game using Ben as the ball.

On about the third or fourth toss, Ben finally made his move. Just as he was tossed to his second attacker, Ben thrust his leg out and miraculously kicked the second attacker before it could catch him. With the impact of Ben's kick, the second attacker materialized: a slim, pixie-like woman with wild blonde ringlets framing her face and dressed exactly like her partner. She fell to the ground, clutching her stomach and writhing in obvious pain. Ben then spun around and jumped on the large man in the middle, throwing his thighs around the man's neck and twisting it until he passed out. The large man slumped to the ground and Ben stood silently over him.

Ben didn't move. He just stood there listening, staring at Grace, who by now was almost sitting on top of the Jeep's dashboard in an anxious posture. After a few seconds, Ben finally heard what he was waiting for. A small twig cracked on the ground immediately behind Ben, prompting him to reach behind his head and grab at the third invisible assailant. Ben took hold of the back of the attacker's neck and flung the assailant over his head. The attacker landed on the ground with a thud and instantly became visible. He wore camouflage like his partners and was smaller than the first man, however this attacker did not give up as easily. He jumped up and tackled Ben to the ground.

Ben maneuvered to pin his attacker on the ground and then punched and punched and punched the man until, just as Grace thought he was going to kill the guy, a resounding “Whoa! Stop! Stop!” boomed from the middle boulder. Ben immediately ceased his assault and looked up.

Out of nowhere appeared an older heavyset man dressed in faded blue jeans and a red plaid flannel shirt. His shaggy thinning hair was dirty blonde with gray highlights, and his face looked like he had not shaved in two or three days. He lumbered toward Ben with a huge smile and said, “Sorry I'm late. Petra didn't see all this until just now.” He grabbed Ben in a huge bear hug and it was more than a few seconds before the man released his hold.

Ben stepped back from the man and smiled. “Dave. You don't know how glad I am to see you.” Ben, barely panting from his fight, turned to Grace who still sat in the Jeep, now with a puzzled look on her face. “It's okay, Gracie. You can come out now,” Ben called to her.

Grace's brow furrowed as she looked from Ben, to Dave, to the three attackers who were now standing behind Dave brushing leaves off their clothes. She shook her head at Ben and did not move from the Jeep.

Ben sighed and winked at Dave. He walked over to the Jeep and forcefully yanked Grace's locked door off the Jeep, his strength rendering the door and its lock permanently useless. “Sweetie, I promise you, it's okay to come out now.”

Grace unbuckled her seatbelt and silently took Ben's offered hand. She exited the Jeep very slowly, moving with shocked hesitation. She clutched Ben's hand in a double-handed death grip, staying behind but as close to Ben as was physically possible as they walked toward the large man in the red flannel shirt.

“Grace,” Ben said, stopping before the large man, “this is Dad's best friend, Dave. Dave, this is the infamous Grace MacKay.”

“It is my absolute pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Grace. We are humbly at your service,” Dave said with a smile and a sweeping bow.

Grace cocked her head, looking back and forth from Ben to Dave. “Misfit Dave?”

Dave chuckled. “The one and only, my lady.”

“Is this your idea of a welcoming committee?” asked Ben, pointing to the trio standing behind Dave.

“My apologies,” said Dave. “With the Anti-Powers getting more aggressive and all, we've had to institute a few extra security measures. Here, let me introduce you.”

Dave walked over to Ben's attackers who now stood in a military stance, feet apart with their hands clasped behind perfectly straight backs. “These are the Boulder Triplets. They were born with chameleon-like powers and can appear invisible at will. The problem is they become visible if certain parts of their body are hit. Not a very useful power when fighting to protect the humans, so they came here to live with us Misfits after they completed their training. Despite their power's limitation, they're darn good, strong fighters and extremely perceptive guards so they have the prestigious job of protecting our community's entrance.”

Dave pointed to Ben's first attacker. “This very, very large man here is Steve.”

Steve stuck out his massive hand to Ben and grinned. “Sorry. We had no idea it was you … and her. No hard feelings?”

“No. We're good,” said Ben.

Steve turned and bowed to Grace. “Your Highness.”

Steve's regal greeting dumbfounded her.

“And this young lady is Carrie,” continued Dave, gesturing to the woman.

Carrie was the smallest of the three in stature but had the biggest smile with ruby red lips that curled up almost to her twinkling blue eyes. She looked at Grace and curtsied. “It is such a pleasure to meet you, my lady.”

It struck Grace odd to see a woman dressed in camouflage curtsy.

“And last but not least, we have Elton.” Dave pointed to the third attacker.

“Hello,” Elton said softly. He was considerably shorter than Steve and much wirier but his eyes were loaded with more mischievousness.

“Elton?” Grace repeated, not sure she heard correctly.

“Our parents had a thing for Elton John.” Elton sheepishly shrugged his shoulders and smiled. He turned to Ben. “Sorry if I was a little extra rough on you. I got kind of excited. We haven't had any intruders in a while.”

“No problem. I appreciate your enthusiasm,” said Ben, shaking Elton's hand.

“Miss Grace,” Elton continued. “It is truly an honor to finally meet you. I hope we did not scare you too much.”

Grace returned his smile. “No. I knew Ben could take you. I really wasn't worried at all,” she joked.

“Well,” interrupted Dave. “I, too, have the utmost confidence in our Ben's powers, but don't believe today is the day to test them any further. Shall we all go somewhere that's a little less … open?” Dave looked around and up into the trees as he spoke as if they were not alone. He gestured for them to follow him and headed toward the Trio of Boulders.

“Oh. Yeah, right,” said Ben, retaking Grace's hand. “Let's go, Gracie.” He followed Dave with Grace still staying close to his side.

“Get rid of that Jeep and assume your positions,” Dave yelled back over his shoulder to the Boulder Triplets.

Grace looked back to say goodbye to her new friends but they had already disappeared into the trees. When she turned back around, Dave was walking straight into the middle boulder. Grace tugged on Ben's arm and pointed in amazement at Dave who now stood halfway in and halfway out of the large stone.

“It's okay Grace. You can do this.” Ben pulled Grace up to the middle boulder and stood behind her. “Ladies, first. Follow Dave and I'll be right behind you.”

Dave held out his hand. “Come on, Miss Grace. This is the easy part. Just close your eyes and hang on to me.”

Grace took Dave's hand, but before she could look back to Ben, Dave was already pulling her through the large rock and into the mountainside. As instructed, she closed her eyes, and as she passed through the stone, she felt like she was floating in the ocean with waves massaging her entire body. Relaxation overcame her anxiety but, just as soon as the waves had started, they abruptly ended.

“Okay, you can open your eyes now Gracie,” Ben whispered behind her ear.

Grace slowly opened her eyes, reluctant to leave the lingering relaxed feeling of the waves, and found herself standing in the middle of the unexpected.

“Welcome to my world,” Dave declared with a wide sweep of his hand.

They were inside the mountain, standing on a rocky precipice that jutted out from the steep mountain's inner wall like a woman's well-manicured fingernail. Below them, in a deep wooded valley, stretched a wide dirt road bordered on both sides by log cabins of all shapes and sizes. More cabins dotted up the surrounding mountainside reaching deeper into a dense green forest. The mountainside cabins were almost invisible but for the random trails of smoke escaping from a few chimneys and filtering up through the trees. A clear, rippling creek wound between the cabins and wildflowers decorated the water's edge like an Impressionist oil painting. The air was crisp and the clean smell of early morning dew rushed into Grace's nose, even though it was almost evening.

“Wow,” was all she said.

“Like it?” asked Ben who was now standing beside her.

“Who wouldn't? But don't the Anti-Powers — ”

“Miss Grace,” Dave interrupted her, “don't you worry about those crazies. They don't know anything about this place. Heck, most of the Powers don't even know we're here. We have a pretty special way of staying hidden underneath this fake mountain. Come on down.” Dave took a few steps and suddenly jumped off the rocky ledge. “Wahoo!” he screamed as he glided slowly to the edge of the dirt road thirty feet below.

“He can fly?” Grace asked, her eyes squinting at Ben.

“Not really. He's just made this jump so many times he knows exactly how to gage it with the wind and all. You could do it too if you did it enough times,” Ben said as if that were a fact. “Come on. Your turn.”

Without notice, Ben scooped Grace up into his arms and took a flying leap off the precipice. A few days ago, this jump would have scared the wits out of Grace, but now, having previously experienced Ben's powers, she simply rested securely in his arms, allowing the wind to blow across her face as they glided through the air. Within seconds, they landed with a muffled thud on the dirt road below. Grace looked up at Ben and exhaled, “Thanks.”