Sidekicks (21 page)

I look over at Allison. She waves to me, then points and mouths the words
I have to go
. Her eyes look worried.

I want go over to her, but I don't want Trent to hear that I'm with Allison, not when it seems like he's starting to trust me again. I give her an “Are you OK?” look. She nods yes and gives me a small smile. I give her a “Really?” look; she mouths the words
I have to go
again. I mouth
OK
back to her. She smiles, a genuine one this time (but still with a small trace of worry in it), then turns and leaps off into the night.

“Scott?” It's Trent. He's back. “Sorry about that.”

“It's OK.”

“You have to understand that this is all new to me,” he continues. “I”—he stops, takes another deep breath—“I don't always know what I'm doing. I never had a mentor, and well, I guess I let the power go to my head. I've been trying to be an example for you, lead you … but I guess you're older now, and you're going to have your own ideas about things.”

“You don't sound happy about it.”

“The only thing I'm not happy about,” he says, “is how I've handled things so far. And the frustrating thing is I went through what you're going through … exactly! I mean, I was the kid in school who had a big secret and had a hard time connecting with people because of it.”

“Really?”

“Of course. I mean, I didn't have a secret identity then, but I knew there was something different about me, and I did everything in my power to hide it. Part of me wanted everyone to know the amazing things that I was capable of, but I had a feeling that it wouldn't go over too well. I was afraid people would think I was a freak. I was afraid that whatever I accomplished would be taken away from me, and I would lose my temper and do something I regretted.”

“You've never told me this.”

“Yes, well … I guess I always thought of you as a little kid. I kind of missed the point when you grew up”—he pauses—“but things are going to be different from now on. Very, very different.”

“Thanks, Trent. This really means a lot to me.”

“Not as much as it means to—wait … hold on … the perimeter alarm is going off.”

I can hear the alarm going off in the background. Suddenly, there's an explosion.

“What was that?” I yell. My mind feels like it's running in thirty different directions at once. I don't know what to do

“Dr. Chaotic!” Trent yells. “He's here! He's—Aaaaa!” There's another explosion, this one closer to Trent.
I hear the phone clatter to the ground.

“No!” I shout. “Trent! Trent!”

The only response I get is another series of explosions that almost blows out the speaker in my phone. I'm about to race home when Dr. Chaotic picks up the phone.

“Bright Boy, I presume. Or should I call you Scott? You had a lovely home here, Scott! Ha-ha-ha-ha!” A jumble of images flash across my mind: a giant hole in the wall of Trent's study with the wallpaper still smoldering around the edges, the leather couch split in half and coughing up its stuffing, papers and debris scattered all around the room. Dr. Chaotic is using telepathy to show me his handiwork.

“How did you—?” I start to ask.

“How do you think? You didn't actually believe she liked you, did you?” Dr. Chaotic starts laughing, then stops short. “Whoops! I guess you did! Awww … such a poor, naive, lovestruck little sidekick. So I guess you also believed her when she told you that she
didn't
follow you home! Oh, Bright Boy! So trusting! But I guess that's what makes you … noble!” He busts out laughing again.

The back of my head tingles as if someone just hit me with a two-by-four. I can feel the heat rising to my cheeks, out of fury and shame, anger and embarrassment. “Where's Phantom?”

“Oh, don't worry. I haven't killed him … yet.” An image of Trent lying unconscious on the ground, covered in debris, flashes through my mind. Then another image replaces it … an image that knocks the wind out of me. My stomach cramps up, doubling me over. “Looks like this guy wasn't so lucky, though!” cackles Chaotic.

“It's a lie,” I say. “This whole thing. It's not real.”

“What's wrong, Bright Boy? Can't face the fact that your big, cuddly bear is dead? Hm? Maybe a picture will help!”

My phone dings. I have a new message … a photo message. I open it. It's a photo of the same image that Chaotic mentally sent to me: it's a charred corpse wearing the still-smoking remains of jeans, a shirt I gave Louis for Christmas last year…and the bear slippers. There's no mistaking them. They're smiling happily at me. One of them is missing an eye.

“Louis …” I whisper. My eyes sting as tears start to form. “This isn't real. It's not real.”

“As real as the tears on your face, kid,” Chaotic says. “You could race home and see for yourself, but if you do, you won't have the time to save your partner! And really, what's the rush? This guy's not going anywhere!”

I take a deep breath. “I'm going to kill you, Chaotic.” I say, feeling strangely calm. “Do you hear me?”

“Oh, I hear you, Scotty Boy … believe me, I hear you. And you know what? I'm going to give you your shot. It's only fair. Ha! Plus, I want this over with, once and for all. I'm too smart to underestimate you, and I don't want to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder. So … here's the deal: I'm going to take Sleepy here back to that warehouse we were at the other night. You remember that warehouse?”

I nod, even as the image of the warehouse and the address pop into my head.

“Good boy! The whole family will be there, waiting for you! And you'll get your shot. You have fifteen minutes to get there. After that, I start removing limbs. His, not mine … but I suppose you probably guessed that. Ha!! See you there! Oh, and wear your costume. I want this to look official!”

Chaotic hangs up on me. I stare at the bear slippers in the picture on my phone. I don't want to look at them anymore, but I can't stop staring. It's my fault. Louis is dead and it's all my fault. I stare at the slippers a little bit longer … as penance.

“I'm sorry, Louis. I know it's not good enough, but I'm sorry.” I check the clock on my phone. Two minutes
have passed. I have thirteen to get to the warehouse. Thirteen minutes before I can start tearing into Dr. Chaotic … and his daughter.

I don't even want to think her name.

I start moving.

Street. I still have a minute and a half, even after the stop at one of my costume stashes. So I do a quick visual sweep, even though I know it's useless. Chaotic is too good to plant his booby traps in plain sight.

I check my clock. It's time.

I burst through the roof of the warehouse.

Allison turns. “Scott?” She looks shocked to see me, but I can't tell if her shock is fake or sincere. Dr. Chaotic doesn't look surprised at all.

“Where is he?” I scream.

“Where's who?!” Allison says. “Scott, what are you—?”

“Shut up, Allison!” I yell at her, then look at her father. “WHERE IS HE?”

Allison turns to her father. “What did you do?” she yells at him. Then she turns to me. “Scott! What happened? Tell me what happened?”

“You know what happened!” I yell. “You killed Louis and kidnapped Trent! Now where is he?”

“What?! No, I didn't!”

Suddenly, there's the harsh squeal of tearing metal from right outside the warehouse. The warehouse wall starts to bend, buckle, then finally get peeled back. Trent jumps through the hole in the wall. “Chaotic! You should have known that cage wouldn't hold me!”

Allison comes over to me. She grabs my shoulders. “Scott!” Allison says. “Scott! I didn't know he was here! Honest!”

“She's lying, Scott!” Trent yells. “I heard them talking! This is a game they're playing! They're trying to confuse you!”

“No, I'm not!” Allison yells. “I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON!”

“Louis is dead, Scott! He's dead! And it's all their fault!” Trent yells. “They did it together!”

“No!” Allison shouts.

“It was both of th—AAAAA!” Dr. Chaotic hits Trent with some kind of weapon that sends him flying backward. Chaotic goes after him. Trent hits him. Chaotic is able to dodge, but his weapon fires again, this time knocking Allison and me through the wall. We land on the ground outside. I push myself off her, flipping back onto my feet. I advance on her, swinging a right hook. She ducks.

“Scott!” she yells. “Scott!”

I swing again. She ducks again. “Your father told me, Allison!”

“What, Scott? What did he tell you?”

“You lied to me!” Kick.

“No!”

“You used me!” Jab.

“Scott, no!”

Jab. Knee. She avoids my blows, but she's not fighting back.

“Are you happy? Huh? I told you about Louis, the one person in the world who cared about me, and then he killed him!” I throw another punch, and another, and another. She dodges them all. “Did you get a good laugh out of it?”

“I didn't tell him about Louis!”

“Don't lie to me!”

“I'm not lying!” she yells at me.

“You're a villain! You've always been a villain! And now you want me to believe that you wouldn't lie to me? That you wouldn't manipulate me?”

“I told you! I was at first! But I stopped!”

“Liar!” I scream, and punch again. The tears in my eyes are making her blurry. “You're a liar!”

“NO! I'm NOT, DAMN IT!” she screams back at me. She's crying, too. “I'll turn myself in! Is that what you want?!”

“I don't know what I want!”

I throw a punch, but she just stands there. She doesn't even try to stop it or get out of the way. I pull the punch at the last second. I look at her. She's standing there, not moving, stubborn and defiant.

“Tell me you didn't tell him!” I yell.

“I didn't tell him,” she says.

“Tell me you'll give all this up for me!”

“Everything. Right now. I'm done with everything.” She steps toward me, close enough to kiss. She looks up at me. Tears are streaming down her face. “I didn't betray you, Scott. I couldn't, even if my dad wanted me to.”

I'm breathing hard. I'm still crying. Her eyes are
locked onto mine. She puts her hands on the sides of my face. “I couldn't,” she says.

I open my mouth, not sure what's going to come out. “I—”

The wall to the warehouse blows out. The blast sends us flying.

“Don't touch her!” Dr. Chaotic yells. He's pointing a weapon at me. It looks like a little dart gun. He fires. I'm about to dive out of the dart's path when someone pushes me from behind. I fall; the dart flies over me and hits Allison in the neck.

She immediately pulls it out. It starts to dissolve in her hand. She looks at me. “Scott,” she says before the convulsions start. She falls to the ground.

“Allison!” I scream. “Allison!”

I race to her. She's clutching at her chest, above her heart. She's wheezing. She can't breathe. I'm sitting over her. I don't know what to do!

“ALLISON!” I scream in her face. I start looking around frantically. “We have to help her! We have to—WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!”

“Sorry, kid,” Trent says, standing over us. He's pointing the dart gun at me. “End of the line. I'm just glad I get to do the honors.”

“Wha—?” My mind is racing. “WHAT IS GOING ON?!” Allison is clawing at my arm.

Before I can do anything else, Trent fires. I'm too confused to get out of the way. The dart hits me in the neck.

“Wh—?” Before I can say another word, my heart starts racing. Suddenly, I can't breathe. I feel like someone dropped a truck on my chest. My heart feels like it's going to explode. I fall to my knees and collapse next to Allison. She looks at me. She's scared.