The Superhero's Son (Book 1): The Superhero's Test (23 page)

Chapter Twenty

I
had always dreamed of being famous and having my own Internet show. In fact, when I was thirteen, I actually started my own YouTube channel, but I sort of abandoned it because no one watched my videos and all of the comments I got were really mean anyway.

But having my death livestreamed onto the Internet was not how I imagined making my debut as an Internet star. I struggled to break free of my clamps as hard as I could while Master Chaos continued speaking to the camera. He spoke really well, which made me wonder if he had been a public speaker before going into full-time villainy.

“Now, my viewers, you might be asking, 'Master Chaos, why are you killing a teenager? Why not kill someone like Omega Man or some other famous neohero? Or perhaps one of those corrupt politicians everyone keeps complaining about?'” said Master Chaos. Then he pointed at me, while still keeping his eyes on the camera. “The answer, of course, is that none of them would have quite the same impact as killing the kid who almost killed my kid. They would be fun, but not … satisfying.”

Master Chaos started walking over to the lever that controlled the metal sheet to which I was attached, with the camera following him. “You see, a little known fact about me is that I am a family man. It isn't anywhere on my Neo Ranks page, as I have been informed, but that's because it has always been my little secret. Today, however, everyone in the world will know that I am a proud father.”

Master Chaos stopped right next to the lever and rested his hand on it, but he didn't pull it yet. It was only a matter of time before he did, however, so I struggled harder than ever, even though I knew it was pointless.

“Like most parents, I care about my son more than anything in the world, except for my loving and supportive wife,” said Master Chaos, shooting a loving glance at Maria. He put a hand on his chest. “It broke my heart when I heard that my son, Robert Candle, was almost killed by this kid. So I broke out of prison to teach him—and the world—a lesson.”

It was no use. I felt like a weak teenage boy, which is what I was, but with my powers I was always much stronger. I looked up at the chains holding my sheet and noticed that they looked old and rusty. They held because I was very still, but what if I tried swaying back and forth? Maybe if I got enough moment going, they would snap.

So I began swaying back and forth as fast as I could, which was difficult due to the weight of the metal sheet, as Master Chaos continued speaking.

“And what might that lesson be, you ask?” said Master Chaos. “That lesson is simple: Anyone who harms my family—regardless of whether you are a powerful politician or a weak peasant—will face immediate and harsh retribution. There are no lengths I will not go to protect those I hold dear.”

I managed to get the metal sheet to sway a little, but only little. I didn't have the momentum to sway it as much as I wanted and I had no time to gain that momentum, either.

“Now—while I love sending ominous warnings to my enemies as much as anyone—I think it is time to get to the part you've all been waiting for,” said Master Chaos. He smiled again, a smile even crazier than his last one. “The death of Kevin Jason!”

I watched in horror as Master Chaos pulled the lever back, shouting, “Let the screaming commence!”

But nothing happened. I looked up at the rusty steel chains, expecting to see them disconnect from the sheet and drop me into the acid below. Yet the chains didn't even budge.

Then I looked down at Master Chaos, who was staring at the lever in disbelief. He pushed and pulled it again, but still nothing happened.

“What the hell?” said Master Chaos. He looked over at Maria, who looked just as shocked as him. “Maria, what is this? What happened to the lever?”

“I-I-I don't know,” said Maria. She started clicking and typing on the laptop. “I mean, it was working just a few seconds ago. There's no way it could have malfunctioned like that so fast.”

“Maria, if you don't figure this out right away—” Master Chaos said, in a threatening voice, before he was interrupted by another voice.

“Threatening your wife for something she had no hand in doing?” said a familiar voice nearby. “Looks like you haven't change a bit, Bernard.”

I looked to the right, as did Master Chaos, Maria, and even the camera, to see Dad—in full Genius attire—standing on top of one of the nearby crates. His arms were folded over his chest, which actually made him look cool. I never thought that Dad could ever look cool, which I attributed to the gas from the acid messing with my brain's perception of reality.

“Genius?” Master Chaos said. “What the—? Are you the reason my show has been ruined?”

Dad nodded. “Of course. I disabled the lever before you could use it to kill that innocent teenage boy. It was very easy to do.”

“How did you even know where to find me?” said Master Chaos. “I thought no one knew where I was.”

“I tracked the boy's smartphone,” said Dad. “Easy enough to do with my technology. When the boy disappeared from his school earlier, I knew that he had to be in your clutches.” Then Dad pointed at Master Chaos. “Now, Master Chaos, I am going to put you back behind bars, where scum like you belong.”

Master Chaos clinched his fists and then shouted, “Chaos bots! Get him!”

Without warning, two large robots that looked like the one I fought last week burst out of a couple of crates and flew toward Dad with rocket boosters. Dad, however, jumped down from the crate, narrowly avoiding the robots as they flew past him. He tried to run toward Master Chaos, but then the robots landed in front of him, cutting off his path.

“Kill him!” Master Chaos roared, pointing at the robots. “Kill him dead!”

I wasn't sure how Dad was going to beat the two robots. They were much bigger and stronger than him; Dad didn't even have super strength like me.

But then, without warning, Seeker One—one of Dad's drones—smashed through the windows and into the warehouse. It immediately started shooting lasers at the robots, striking them in the heads and make their heads explode. The now-headless robots collapsed to the floor, allowing Dad to jump over them and continue running over to Master Chaos.

Master Chaos, however, waved his hands at the chains holding me above the acid vat. Without warning, the chains snapped and I started falling to the vat below, screaming my head off and knowing that my death was mere seconds away.

But then Seeker One flew by and shot out a cable that wrapped around the hook to which the sheet had been attached. I abruptly stopped falling just inches away from the surface of the acid vat and was slowly but surely carried away from the acid's surface. Seeker One carefully laid my sheet down on the ground and then used its lasers to shoot the clamps off my wrists and ankles.

Sitting up, I looked over at Master Chaos, who was now running away. I got up to follow him, but then Dad—who was chasing Master Chaos—stopped and, looking at me, shouted, “Flee, boy! Go find the police and get to safety. I will deal with Master Chaos.”

I immediately understood that Dad was telling me not to help. I was going to say no and follow Master Chaos anyway, but then I remembered that the camera was still rolling and if I put on my suit now, I'd blow my secret identity to the whole world.

Reluctantly, I nodded and then ran away between two crates. I heard the sounds of Dad and Master Chaos fighting behind me, but it was impossible to tell who was winning and who was losing. Seeker One flew above me, probably to escort me to safety, but before I could get very far, someone stuck their leg out from behind a crate in my path, which I tripped over and fell face first onto the floor.

Dazed, I looked up to see Maria Candle standing over me. Only now, she held a gun in her hand, which she was pointing directly at my face.

“Bernard may have failed to kill you, but that doesn't mean that I will,” said Maria, sounding just as mad as her husband. “This is for Robert.”

Right before Maria could pull the trigger, Seeker One's cable flew out of nowhere and struck her in the face. The blow knocked her flat off her feet, causing her to drop the gun, which I slapped away out of her reach.

But it turned out that I didn't need to do that, because Maria looked like she had been struck unconscious by the blow. Rising to my feet, I was about to resume running when I heard an explosion behind me. I looked over my shoulder, but my view of the fight between Dad and Master Chaos was blocked by the crates.

“Come on, Kevin,” came a voice from Seeker One, which I recognized as Valerie's voice. “You heard your father. We must get you to safety so Master Chaos doesn't kill you.”

“But I want to help Dad,” I said, looking up at Seeker One. “What if Dad can't beat Master Chaos on his own?”

“He will,” said Valerie matter-of-factly. “Genius beat him once before, after all. There's no reason he can't beat him again.”

“I know,” I said, my hands balling into fists. “But still, I'm the one who caused Master Chaos to escape. I should be the one to stop him or at least help Dad stop him.”

“Genius gave me instructions to ensure that you got to safety after we freed you from Master Chaos's clutches,” said Valerie. “I can go against my programming, but I would rather not, because Genius expects me to follow his every order.”

“But what if he gets killed?” I said. “You know that Dad isn't as young as he once was. Master Chaos is old, too, but he's a lot crazier and more violent than Dad. Plus, he has those government robots on his side. Dad needs backup.”

“You are correct,” said Valerie. “That is why I have sent messages to the police, the G-Men, and the NHA with the location of Master Chaos so they can get here to help your father.”

“How long will it take for them to get here?” I said.

“It is different for each group, but the police of Fallsville will take at least ten minutes to drive here,” said Valerie.

“Ten minutes?” I said. “Valerie, we don't
have
ten minutes. A lot can happen in ten minutes.” I gestured at the device on my chest. “Look, this device Master Chaos stole from the government is inhibiting my powers. It will deactivate on its own after a while, but not as fast as I'd like. Can you remove it with your lasers so I can gain access to my powers again and help Dad?”

“I really shouldn't,” said Valerie. “Genius already got angry at me once for helping you visit Robert Candle in the Fallsville General Hospital. I do not want to anger him again.”

“I'll take the blame if he finds out,” I insisted. “I'll tell Dad I forced you to do it. You don't need to worry about that.”

Seeker One didn't really have a face, and as far as I knew, Valerie couldn't feel actual emotions, but I thought the drone looked somewhat sheepish. “Well … okay. But this will be the very last time I go against Genius's orders.”

“Fine by me,” I said. I gestured at the power inhibitor on my chest. “Get rid of it.”

Seeker One shot a laser from its gun that struck the device, making it smoke and crackle. It also caused the device to loosen its grip on my chest, allowing me to rip it off and toss it onto the floor.

Then, without hesitation, I pressed the button on my suit-up watch and I was immediately covered in my suit. It felt good to be suited up again and to feel my super strength flowing through my veins.

I looked up at Seeker One and said, “Thanks! I'm going to help Dad now. You should go and wait for the police to arrive.”

“Yes, sir,” said Valerie. “Are you sure you won't need backup?”

I shook my head. “Dad and I have Master Chaos covered, so we'll be fine. You just make sure to let the police know what's going on.”

“All right,” said Valerie. “Be safe.”

With that, Seeker One turned and flew away. I watched the drone fly away for a moment before turning around and flying toward the scene of the fight between Dad and Master Chaos, hoping to get there in time to help Dad.

Chapter Twenty-One

F
lying near the ceiling of the warehouse, I looked down and saw Dad and Master Chaos fighting near the acid vat, with the camera still filming their fight. Master Chaos was throwing punch after punch at Dad, but Dad—moving faster than I thought he could—kept dodging the punches and using his gauntlets to zap Master Chaos, although the electric jolts hardly seemed to faze Chaos.

It looked like they were evenly matched, so I was about to help Dad when I heard rocket boosters nearby and looked to the left to see yet another one of Master Chaos's 'Chaos bots,' as he called them, flying at me.

I dropped to the floor, narrowly avoiding the robot, which turned in the air and landed right in front of me, blocking my way to the fight between Dad and Master Chaos. The robot rose to its full height, easily three times as tall as me, and aimed its guns at me.

But I wasn't going to let this these stop me from helping Dad. I zoomed around it, dodging its bullets that struck the floor, crates, and ceiling as the robot vainly tried to shoot me. I jumped over the robot and then kicked out its knees from behind it, causing it to fall on top of me.

But I caught the robot as it fell onto me and tossed it into the acid vat. The robot sank into the acid, trying but failing to escape as the acid ate through its thick metal plating and its interior wiring. Electricity sparked and crackled as the acid destroyed it, but I didn't stop to watch it get destroyed. I ran around the vat, to the scene of the fight between Dad and Master Chaos.

Master Chaos was still trying to punch Dad, while Dad was still jolting him with electricity. But Master Chaos was too focused on Dad to notice me, so I ran and then jumped through the air, aiming to kick him in the head.

Then, at the last moment, Master Chaos grabbed me by the leg and threw me into Dad. We both flew across the floor and slammed into one of the crates, the impact sending splinters and chunks of wood flying everywhere, as well as sending out a huge pile of what looked like salt.

Shaking my head, I stood up and looked down at Dad, who wasn't moving.

“Dad?” I said, worry in my voice. I shook him, but Dad didn't move. “Dad? Dad!”