Superpowers (7 page)

Max stared at the ground. There was no crack. No trace of Juno. Only brown, withered grass.

‘W-what…what happened?' Max stammered, swinging round to look at Hercules.

There was a look of quiet satisfaction on the superhero's face. ‘Juno has been defeated by her desire to destroy,' he replied. ‘Her own magic has imprisoned her in the castle's underground dungeon.'

‘The dungeon!' Finlay exclaimed.

‘We've been looking for that!'

‘It is extremely well hidden under the ground. It has lain undisturbed for centuries,' said Hercules. ‘And now that the crack has closed, hopefully it will stay that way.'

‘But what actually happened?' Max insisted. ‘How did the magic put her there?'

‘Your powers collided,' answered Hercules. ‘The superpower you have right now stems from goodness and loyalty. Juno's power stems from evil and selfishness. They are exact opposites; one cannot conquer the other, and they are equal in strength. But because you decided to protect each other, your power doubled and sent Juno's own destructive power back at her with

double the force. She could not defend herself against it.'

‘Did you know that would happen?' Max asked, remembering how Hercules had seemed to be goading Juno.

‘I had an idea it might,' replied Hercules with a relieved smile. ‘I knew that if she attacked you, your power would protect you. But I suspected somehow that you would protect each other and so make her own magic the cause of her downfall.' He smiled at them. ‘In every task you have undertaken you have stood by each other with no thought to your own safety. You have acted with great loyalty.'

The boys looked at each other. ‘We're friends,' Max said simply.

Finlay grinned at him. ‘Yeah. Even if you do like patting mad bulls.'

‘Least I don't try and climb trees with branches that are going to break!' Max grinned back. ‘Or act like I think I'm a cowboy!'

‘No, you just think you're a hotshot bullfighter!' Finlay teased.

‘Cowboys?' Hercules said, looking confused. ‘Bullfighters?'

‘It's a long story,' Finlay grinned.

Hercules shook his head. ‘I do not think I will ever fully understand you boys, but I know one thing for sure, you are both true heroes. I can never thank you enough for freeing me.'

‘So what happens now?' Max asked.

‘I must go back to making sure that the balance between good and evil is maintained in the world. I have won this fight against Juno, but the battle goes on as it has over the centuries. Still, for now, she must stay in the dungeon until she finds a way to break free.' Hercules looked at the tower. A smile
played around his mouth. ‘Or until she finds two willing helpers to help her get out!'

‘Can't see that happening!' Max said. ‘She'd deafen them with all her screeching!'

‘What about the superpower?' Finlay asked hopefully. ‘Can we keep it?'

But Hercules was shaking his head. ‘I am afraid you must give it back to the gods. If you were to keep it you could not go back to your real life.'

Finlay was disappointed but not totally surprised. ‘I guess it would be weird to have a superpower all the time,' he admitted, remembering how when he'd been super-fast it had made playing football at school very difficult because he couldn't run at normal speed.

‘Place your hands on the gatehouse wall,' Hercules told them. ‘On the same stone that you found the power.'

The boys looked at each other. ‘Race you?' said Finlay.

‘OK,' Max agreed eagerly.

A second later they were both standing in front of the gatehouse.

‘Dead heat!' Max said.

For a moment, Finlay looked sad. ‘I guess we're never going to be able to run that fast again.'

‘No,' Max sighed. Having superpowers was amazing. He wished they could keep them forever but he knew Hercules was right. They couldn't. He looked at the gatehouse wall. ‘Are you ready, Fin?'

Finlay nodded and together they placed
their hands on the stone they had taken the superpower from. Warmth flooded out of them into the wall. After a long moment the stone turned cold under their hands. They pulled their fingers away. The shape of a sword clutched by

two hands glowed brightly and then the lines faded.

‘It's gone,' Max said quietly.

‘My skin still feels all weird though,' Finlay said slowly. ‘Sort of tingly.'

‘Mine too,' Max realized. ‘But only bits of it.' He glanced down at his arm, which seemed to be prickling near the top, and stared. The wound that he had got while fighting a Man-Eating Bird two days ago was changing. The sore red edges were healing over and hardening and the wound was getting much smaller.

‘Our wounds!' he exclaimed, looking at his leg and seeing that the wound that had been there had healed too. ‘They're turning into scars.'

‘Scars that are the same as the symbols of the superpowers we had,' Finlay
exclaimed, checking his own wounds. ‘Look!' he pointed to his ankle, where he now had a small scar in the shape of a shield. He checked the wound from the bull's horn – it was hardening into a small scar in the shape of a leaping stag.

‘Your powers may have gone now,' Hercules told them. ‘But the scars remain. They will stay with you forever, badges of strength and honour, reminding you of everything you have learned and everything you have achieved.'

‘Wicked!' Finlay said in delight.

Max nodded. He had three real scars. How cool was that? ‘Guess they might be tricky to explain when we get changed for PE!' he said.

‘They're quite small,' Finlay said thoughtfully. ‘I bet no one will notice.'

‘Until we show them!' Max added with a grin.

‘I must leave you now. Thank you,' Hercules smiled at them and touched their shoulders briefly, ‘my friends.'

Finlay smiled at him. ‘See you around, Hercules!'

Hercules nodded gravely. ‘Perhaps you shall. Farewell.' He clapped his hands and the next second he was gone.

The castle keep felt suddenly very empty. Max looked at Finlay. ‘Wow! What a day!'

‘What a week!' said Finlay.

‘It's been fun, though,' said Max.

‘If you like getting gored by bulls,' Finlay said.

‘And savaged by sabre-toothed lions,' Max agreed.

‘Not to mention being chased by giant pigs and Man-Eating Birds,' Finlay grinned.

Their eyes met. ‘Maybe it'll be good to be normal again,' Max said.

Finlay nodded. His stomach rumbled. ‘I'm starving.' He remembered something. ‘Hey, we've still got our picnic to eat! There's all those sandwiches and cakes!'

‘Yeah!' Max said. ‘Let's go back and get the picnic hamper.'

‘What did your mum put in the sandwiches, anyway?' Finlay asked.

‘Roast beef,' Max replied.

‘Lucky those bulls didn't notice or they might not have been too keen on following us!' Finlay chuckled.

Max looked at where the crack in the ground had been. ‘I guess we won't be searching for the dungeon any more.'

‘No way,' Finlay said. ‘Bye, Juno!' He glanced at the grass. ‘You're history.
Ancient
history.'

‘Only thing is, Fin,' Max said thoughtfully, looking towards the dungeon, ‘my dad says that sometimes history repeats itself.'

‘I hope it doesn't this time,' said Finlay. He stretched. ‘Come on! I'm
starving
! Last one to the picnic basket eats a fresh cowpat!'

He raced towards the gatehouse. Max sprinted after him.

Catching him up, he tried to push him over. Finlay ducked and Max only
narrowly avoided skidding straight through a pile of dung that one of the bulls had left earlier. Shoving each other and laughing, they crossed the bridge and raced into the sunlight. Behind them a furious shriek echoed around the castle's empty keep.

A
LEX
C
LIFF
LIVES IN A VILLAGE IN

L
EICESTERSHIRE
,
NEXT DOOR TO
F
IN AND

JUST DOWN THE ROAD FROM MAX, BUT

UNFORTUNATELY THERE IS NO CASTLE ON

THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE VILLAGE
.

ALEX'S HOME IS FILLED WITH TWO

CHILDREN AND TWO LARGE AND VERY

SLOBBERY PET MONSTERS
.