Superpowers (2 page)

Finlay was silent for a moment. ‘I know,' he said at last. ‘Let's tell your mum that I left my jumper there yesterday and need to get it back. We can run up there, get the superpower
and get back in time to go to this dumb house. I'll come round now.'

‘OK!' Max replied. ‘See you in a few minutes!'

He shoved the ball in his pocket and hurried into the kitchen. ‘Mum, Fin left his jumper at the castle yesterday and he's got to go and get it. Can I go with him?'

To his relief, his mum nodded. ‘All right, but don't be long. Auntie Carol is coming here at nine-thirty with the girls.'

Max groaned inwardly. He'd been so busy thinking about how he and Finlay would do the task that he'd forgotten his mum had said his Auntie Carol and cousin Zoë and her friend Michelle were coming too. Zoë was thirteen years old. She was always making out
she was really grown up and looking down her nose at him.
Still
, he thought, pushing thoughts of Zoë from his mind,
right now I have more important things to worry about – like choosing a superpower for the day!

‘I can't believe we've got to go to some ancient house,' Finlay said as they ran down the road together a few minutes later. ‘I hope our plan works and we can get back soon to kill these man-eating birds! I wonder what they're going to be like?'

Max thought about the creatures Juno had conjured for them to face so far. They had all been terrifying
and
incredibly dangerous. He and Finlay had the scars to prove it. Every day
one or other of them had been wounded. Max looked down at his two scars – both were in the shape of the superpower he had used for each task. They still hurt. Was he going to get wounded again that day? Or maybe worse…

‘Look at this,' Finlay said, distracting Max from his worrying thoughts. Finlay pulled a red penknife out of his pocket. ‘My dad got it free at the garage with some petrol and gave it to me. The knife bit is really small and blunt but there are some other good things on it like a tin-opener and a corkscrew. I thought it might come in useful today.'

‘Um … how exactly?' Max said, not seeing exactly how a corkscrew or
tin-opener could help them kill a flock of man-eating birds.

‘Well, you never know,' Finlay said. ‘It's got a screwdriver …'

‘Great, so if they're robotic birds we can take them apart!' Max shook his head. ‘Get real, Fin! What use is a screwdriver against man-eating birds?'

‘Well, maybe the screwdriver isn't much use,' Finlay admitted, ‘but there's this!' He flicked out a strange-looking gadget. ‘My sister says it's for taking stones out of horses' feet.'

‘Hey, cool! So when the birds are about to eat us we can ask them if they want a stone taking out of their feet,' Max said. ‘Fin!'

‘Oh, all right.' Finlay shoved the

penknife back in his pocket defensively. ‘I just thought it might help.'

‘What we need is a giant bird-eating cat,' Max said with feeling. ‘Not a penknife!'

They ran up the path towards the ruined castle. ‘So are you still going to choose accuracy as the superpower today?' Finlay asked. They'd talked about it the night before.

Max nodded. Being deadly accurate would be really cool, he'd be able to hit any target he wanted and never miss. That was bound to be a very useful ability to have that day. ‘I'll be able to chuck things at the birds to kill them – stones, sticks …'

‘A corkscrew?' Finlay said with a grin.

‘Or maybe even a tin-opener.' Max
grinned back and they ran on.

The castle stood near the top of a hill. Its crumbling grey walls were surrounded by a dark moat. Max and Finlay ran over the bridge and clambered through the ruined gatehouse. As they emerged into the grassy castle keep, Max looked round. The sun was already shining on the gatehouse wall and three symbols were glowing in the stones around the archway – a leaping stag, an arrow and a lion.

‘Hercules!' Max called.

‘I am here,' a deep voice echoed across the keep.

Finlay and Max ran across the grass to the tower where stones had crumbled away to show the face of the superhero.

The very first time the boys had seen him he had looked incredibly ancient – his face carved in deep wrinkles, his skin dusty, his hair grey – but with every superpower the boys got back for him, he looked stronger and younger.

Hercules was very tall and he smiled down at the boys. ‘You have come to try to complete another task.'

‘Yes, we've got to kill a flock of man-eating birds today, haven't we?' Max said.

Hercules' golden eyes looked serious. ‘The Man-Eating Birds of Stymphalia are extremely dangerous. They work together as a team to hunt down their prey. You must also work as a team if you are to defeat them. But you have proved in previous tasks that you are good
at that.' He looked at Max. ‘Have you decided which of my powers you will choose today?'

‘Accuracy,' Max replied. Hercules nodded his approval. ‘I'll get it now.' Max ran back to the gatehouse. Excitement beat through him. In just a few seconds he would get to be deadly accurate. The three symbols glowed in the stones, traced in lines of magical white fire. Stopping in front of the arched entrance, Max looked at the three pictures. Taking a deep breath, he placed his hand firmly on the arrow – the symbol for accuracy.

His fingers immediately started to tingle and he felt a fierce warmth flood into his hand. His head felt light as the

heat spread all the way down his arm, through his body and into his toes. The gatehouse stone turned cold and he lifted his hand away. The superpower was his!

CRASH!

A clap of thunder sounded. Max swung round. A very tall woman stood in the castle keep, a cloak of brown-grey feathers swirling around her, and her eyes glittering like laser beams.

Juno
, Max thought with an icy chill of fear.

Finlay raced across the keep to stand shoulder by shoulder with Max. They faced Juno together.

‘So you have chosen accuracy!' the goddess snapped.

Max nodded.

A smile spread across Juno's face. ‘It will not help you. You will
never
slay the Man-Eating Birds. They are
incredibly intelligent and utterly vicious. To complete the task you must bring me
absolute proof
that you have killed all the birds in the flock. Are you ready to meet them?' She raised her hands.

‘We can't fight them yet,' Max said quickly.

‘Oh?' Juno raised an eyebrow.

‘We …' Max's cheeks burned red. He knew how lame he was sounding. ‘We've got to go out with my mum this morning.'

Juno smiled nastily. ‘So, the mighty champion of Hercules must delay his task to go out with his
mother
to Haslemere House.'

Finlay stared. ‘How did you know?'

‘I am Juno,' she said simply. ‘Well,
you needn't worry about coming back here to find the birds. They will find
you
.'

‘No, Juno!' Hercules exclaimed.

Juno ignored him. She looked from Max to Finlay. ‘To complete the task you must bring me absolute proof that you have killed them,' she said again.

‘But no one must see them and not a …' she laughed, ‘
shred
of evidence must be left behind.'

‘What do you mean?' Finlay started to ask.

But Juno was already clapping her hands together. There was a flash of lightning. The boys blinked in the bright light. When they opened their eyes she had gone.

‘Weird!' Finlay said. ‘I'd have thought
she would be pleased that we couldn't start the task until later. But by sending them to the house, she's made it easier for us.'

‘No, boys!' Hercules shouted from the tower. ‘Juno has not made it easier. The proof you need to bring is the –'

His voice was cut off as the stones around his face re-formed.

Max and Finlay found themselves staring at the tower wall.

‘I wonder what he was going to say,' Max said slowly.

Finlay shrugged. ‘I guess we're not going to find out.'

Max flexed his tingling fingers. ‘I wonder what my power's like.'

Finlay looked round. ‘I know. See if
you can hit the top of the tower with a stone.'

Max looked all the way up to the top of the tower, squinting against the sunlight. He picked up a pebble and weighed it in his hand. ‘Which stone would you like me to hit?' he said.

Finlay grinned. ‘That mouldy one in the very top row. The smallest one.'

Max drew back his arm and took aim. He felt a tingle run through his muscles – and almost without thinking, threw the pebble with a flick of his wrist. It sailed through the air – and bounced straight off the chosen stone.

‘All right!' Finlay clapped. ‘That's cool! Those birds won't stand a chance.'

Just then the church clock in the village struck half past nine. ‘Help!' Max exclaimed. ‘Mum said to be back by nine-thirty. Come on, Fin! We're going to be late!'

They reached Max's house just as a Land Rover drew up beside the gate.
Max's Auntie Carol waved at Max and Finlay from the driver's seat. ‘Hello there,' she said, putting her window down. ‘Are you two ready to go?'

‘I think so,' Max replied. His cousin, Zoë, and her friend Michelle were in the back. Zoë ignored Max.

His auntie got out and opened the boot for them to climb in. ‘In you get, boys!'

Max and Finlay climbed into the Land Rover. ‘Hi, Zoë,' Max said, deciding to at least try and be friendly.

Zoë barely even glanced round. ‘Yes,' she said briefly. She turned back to Michelle. ‘So then she said…' she whispered something in Michelle's ears and the two girls gasped and giggled.

Max and Finlay sat down. Max had
to move a large denim bag from the seat he was going to sit on. As if she had eyes in the back of her head, Zoë immediately swung round. ‘Don't touch my bag!' she snapped, reaching over the back of the seat and grabbing it from him.

‘Sorry,' Max apologized.

‘How could Max sit down without touching it?' Finlay pointed out fairly.

Michelle whispered something to Zoë. Both of them looked at him and giggled.

‘What?' Finlay demanded, looking from one girl to the other.

‘Is your hair always that messy?' Zoë sniggered.

Finlay frowned. ‘Does your face always look like a bum?'