The Superhero's Origin (The Superhero's Son Book 5) (3 page)

“He is right here,” said Grandfather as he entered the living room, though now he leaned on a cane for support. “Emma, please be a dear and help me sit down. These old bones aren’t what they used to be.”

Emma silently helped Grandfather sit down on a large armchair on the other side of the coffee table. Unlike Triplet, Grandfather carried a large cup of coffee, which he sipped from every now and then, though I didn’t take any tea or coffee because I didn’t want any right now.

“Ah,” said Grandfather as he adjusted his seat. “This is good. Just the way I like it. Thank you for the coffee, Emma.”

“You are welcome, master,” said Emma, bowing slightly. “Do you need anything else?”

Grandfather shook his head. “No, thank you. Just stay here in case I think of anything else.”

Emma immediately stood by Grandfather’s chair, standing so still that she looked almost like a statue. Her eyes watched our every movement, which was kind of creepy, but I decided to ignore her in order to focus on Grandfather.

“Now, then,” said Grandfather. He looked at me with curious eyes. “It has been a long time since I last saw you in person, Kevin. Or are you going by Bolt now?”

“Either is fine,” I said. “But what do you mean since you last saw me? I’ve never met you before.”

“I saw you when you were first born, which is around seventeen or eighteen years ago now, I believe,” said Grandfather.

“That would be eighteen years now,” I said. “My birthday is coming up on March sixteenth.”

“March sixteenth?” Grandfather repeated. “Well, that isn’t too far away. Isn’t that next week?”

“It is,” I said, “but it doesn’t matter. You saw me when I was first born?”

“Yes, yes,” said Grandfather, nodding. “Your Grandmother and I visited the hospital where you were born. Jane even got to hold you. Didn’t your mother ever tell you that?”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “She didn’t.”

“Hmmph,” said Grandfather, though he sounded less annoyed and more resigned, as if he had expected me to say that. “Well, I suppose some wounds just don’t heal. How is Ashley handling Ted’s death, by the way?”

“Well,” I said. “Mom’s strong, though she’s not as happy as she usually is.”

“Yes, I remember her being very strong-willed when I first met her,” said Grandfather. He sighed. “I apologize for not making it to the funeral. I only learned about Ted’s untimely death on the news when they were reporting on that awful Robert Candle. Otherwise, I would have flown down to Texas to be there with you, despite what happened in the past.”

“What happened in the past?” I said. “What do you mean?”

Grandfather opened his mouth to speak, but then noticed Triplet and said, “I would prefer not to talk about this with this man here. It is a family matter, you understand.”

I nodded in understanding, but that didn’t change the fact that I was still curious about what may have happened between Dad and my grandparents in the past that had separated them from each other. I wished that Dad was still alive to tell me, but I supposed I could wait until I had a private moment with Grandfather to ask.

“Okay, but how did you know who I was before I even introduced myself?” I said. I touched my face. “I haven’t even told you about my secret identity yet.”

Grandfather folded his hands over his lap. “That’s because I’ve been watching you very carefully, Kevin, ever since you were born. I won’t say how, but I will say that I know more about you than even you do.”

Although Grandfather spoke calmly, something about the way he talked made me skittish. Maybe it was just kind of creepy that my Grandfather—who I hadn’t even seen until today—had somehow been watching me and knew everything about me before I even told him about it. I thought I’d done a good job of keeping my identity a secret, but if Grandfather could figure it out, then I wondered who else might know it without my knowledge.

“Why have you been watching me?” I said.

“Because you are my grandson, of course,” said Grandfather. “Even if your parents wouldn’t let me see you, that does not change the fact that you are my grandson. And my only grandson, at that, which makes you even more special and important to me.”

Right off the bat, I could tell that Grandfather had other reasons for watching me. He didn’t quite look me in the eyes when he talked and he rubbed his hands together in a way that suggested to me that he was omitting certain information.

But before I could ask Grandfather his real reason for watching me, Triplet leaned forward and said, “Apologies for the interruption, Mr. Jason, but I need to introduce myself. I—”

“You are Mieko Hiro, also known as the superhero Triplet, owner and operator of Triple Eye Investigations, yes?” said Grandfather.

Triplet actually looked surprised when Grandfather said that. “Yes, but how did you know? We’ve never met.”

“Oh, yes we have,” said Grandfather in an amused voice. “Well, I guess we technically did not meet in person or even over the phone, but I’ve used your services before.”

“You have?” said Triplet. He furrowed his brow. “I remember all my clients, but I don’t remember ever doing any work for you.”

“That’s because I didn’t use my real name when I hired you,” said Grandfather. “But if you do remember all your clients, then I am certain that you remember one who called himself the Citizen, yes? The one who hired you to investigate Adam Plutarch’s possible plans to take over the United States?”

“That was you?” said Triplet in surprise.

“Of course,” said Grandfather. He sipped his coffee. “I was worried about Plutarch, because I remembered that he was an enemy of my son before he retired. That your investigation actually exposed Sagan instead, however, genuinely took me by surprise, but maybe I shouldn’t have been, given how superhumans tend to have bigger egos and grander ambitions than we normal people. No offense to you two.”

“No, I think that’s a pretty accurate description of most superhumans, including some neoheroes I know,” said Triplet. “But anyway, I am glad that you already know who I am. Is it safe to assume that you know why I am here?”

“No, because I do not,” said Grandfather. “I can only assume that you believe I have the answers to some questions you have about a case you are investigating.”

“I do,” said Triplet.

Then Triplet told Grandfather everything he’d told me about the Savannah Jones case. Grandfather listened quietly, though I felt impatient and a little annoyed that Triplet had changed the conversation to him and his case, rather than to me and my reason for coming here.

“So I’ve heard rumors that Savannah’s soul is somewhere around here,” said Triplet, “and was hoping that you might be able to tell me if you have seen it.”

Grandfather again sipped his coffee and seemed to be thinking about Triplet’s story. I noticed Emma shift next to Grandfather, but I didn’t know if that meant anything or if Emma was just changing her position because she was getting tired of standing one way all the time.

“Very interesting case,” said Grandfather, though he wasn’t looking at us. “Someone who kidnapped a teenaged girl’s soul … it almost sounds romantic, or tragic, depending on your point of view. But sadly, I don’t think I can be of much help. I’ve seen no spirits of anyone in the woods around this mansion. Emma, what about you?”

Emma shook her head. “I have not seen any, either. The woods have been quiet recently.”

Grandfather nodded. “I am sorry, Mr. Hiro, for not being able to help. Not much happens around here. But that is just the way I like it.”

I thought Triplet was going to thank Grandfather for his time, stand up, and leave, but instead Triplet tilted his head to the side and said, “But what about your wife? Jane, I believe you said her name was? Could I speak with her? Maybe she has seen something that could point me in the right direction.”

Grandfather suddenly lowered his coffee cup when Triplet mentioned Grandmother. His eyes flicked to the ceiling, like he thought he’d seen something up there, before looking at Triplet in a calm way again.

“Ah, I am sorry, Mr. Hiro, but I doubt Jane would be of much help, either,” said Grandfather. “You see, she is bedridden and has been for five years now. It is part of the reason we live out in the wilderness; the stress of the city is too much for her, so the doctor told us to move out into a quieter place where she can rest without worry.”

“I am sorry to hear that, Mr. Jason,” said Triplet. “But are you sure she knows nothing about this case?”

“Positive,” said Grandfather. “Her bedridden state means that she hasn’t left her bed in many years. She has not seen anyone other than Emma and I since she became bedridden, so I doubt she has seen anything that could help.”

“Grandmother is bedridden?” I said in surprise. “What kind of disease has she come down with?”

“Ah, I do not know,” said Grandfather. “The doctor said he has never seen anything like it before. We’ve been doing everything we can to keep her alive, but it is very hard when we don’t know for sure what is ailing her.”

“Can I see her?” I said. “Is that all right?”

Grandfather shook his head suddenly. “Oh, no. Well, not right away, at least. She is sleeping right now and it isn’t wise to wake her up when she is asleep, since she needs her rest.”

“Oh, okay,” I said in disappointment.

“But you don’t need to worry,” said Grandfather. “I will tell her that you visited after you leave. She will be delighted to hear it.”

“Leave?” I said. “I’m not leaving, at least not anytime soon.”

“Not leaving?” said Grandfather. “Why?”

“Because I have a few things I want to talk with you about,” I said.

Grandfather looked almost annoyed for a second, but then his old kindly smile returned and he said, “What is it?”

“It has to do with my superpowers,” I said. I held up my hand. “After I took Professor Hernandez’s serum—”

I was interrupted by the sound of something smashing into the ground outside. Emma’s hand immediately went to the weapons at her belt, while Triplet, Grandfather, and I looked toward the back window of the living room, though I didn’t see anything outside.

“What was that?” said Triplet. “It sounded like something crashed.”

“I don’t know,” said Grandfather. He sounded afraid. “Emma, please—”

Grandfather was interrupted by something smashing through the window, sending broken glass all over the floor. Triplet and I stood up, while Emma stepped in front of Grandfather like she was going to protect him.

Then the thing that had smashed through the window stood, showing that it was not a mere ‘thing,’ but a human. But I didn’t know who he was. He was a man wearing a red bandanna around his forehead, plus a blue domino mask across his eyes. He wore a flowing yellow cape and had what looked like boxing gloves on his hands, but they didn’t look like any boxing gloves I’d ever seen.

Even odder, the man’s eyes were glowing, which made it impossible to tell what they really looked like. He also looked amused at us, but not surprised, almost as if he had been expecting to see us.

“Hello there,” said the man, waving at us like he was just taking a stroll down the street. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything important, though I guess it doesn’t matter, given that I’m going to kill you either way.”

“Who are you?” I said. “And who are you going to kill?”

The man sighed, as if I had just asked a stupid question, but said, “My name is Twinfist. And I am here to kill that old man—and anyone else who gets in my way—for the crimes he has committed against my master.”

Chapter Three

“T
winfist?” I said. “I’ve never heard of you before. Who is your ‘master’?”

“Why should I tell you?” said Twinfist. “I am here to kill the old man and I can do that without telling you a thing about me or my master.”

“Not unless we stop you,” said Triplet. “Or do you really think we’re just going to let you kill Mr. Jason?”

“No,” said Twinfist. He slammed his fists together. “But it sure would make my job much easier if you did.”

I looked over my shoulder at Grandfather. “Grandfather, do you know who this man is and why he wants to kill you? Do you know who his master is?”

Grandfather gulped and said, “Yes, but I did not think he would ever find me. I thought he had abandoned his grudge against me.”

“Okay, but
who
is he?” I said. “If you know who he works for, that would be great.”

“I will tell you later,” said Grandfather. He rose from his chair. “For now, I am going to get to safety while you two beat this man. I would be a liability in a fight.”

“Get to safety?” said Twinfist. He laughed. “Why do you think I am going to let you get away so easily? I was given explicit instructions not to let you get away under any circumstances.”

“Because we’re going to make sure you can’t get him,” I said. I rose from my seat and raised my fists in defense. “I may not know who you are or why you want to kill Grandfather, but I can still fight and beat you.”

“The old man is your grandfather?” said Twinfist in surprise. “Hmm, I was not told that Matthew Jason had grandchildren. I guess it doesn’t matter, though, because you look easy enough to defeat.”

“I’ve beaten far stronger supervillains than you before,” I said. “Underestimate me at your own risk.”

“Sure you have,” said Twinfist. “Now I’m getting tired of standing around and talking like this. Why don’t we just go straight to the fighting? Or maybe I’ll just skip it and go straight to killing Matthew Jason.”

Twinfist suddenly slammed his fists together again and then jumped into the air, trying to jump over us to reach Grandfather. I shot into the air after him and punched Twinfist in midair, sending him flying back out the window he had broken through.

“Triplet!” I shouted at him. “You help Grandfather and Emma get to safety while I deal with Twinfist, okay?”

Triplet nodded and went to go help Grandfather and Emma while I flew out the window to find Twinfist. I wasn’t sure what to expect, giving that I had not been holding back when I punched him with my super strength, but he had seemed strong enough to survive my attack.