The Prospects (9 page)

“Jim told you about the divorce?”

“Teammates don’t keep secrets from each other. I don’t know what to tell you about Emily, she’s as pretty as a desert sunset. Hell, I never understood what a woman like her saw in a stooge like you.”

“I lost her,” said Alex, “and the exoskeleton’s gone. All I have left is this tiny room in a basement.”

“And a team to train.”

Alex shook his head. “Can’t be a hero anymore. Those who can’t do, teach. And I got a villainess, a coward, an idiot, a nerd, and a fat girl to turn into something useful.”

“They’re here because they want to be heroes. Do you?”

“Go away, Bart.”

“Not until you answer this.” Arbalest stomped in the puddle of scotch. “Are you going to lick this up, broken glass and all, or you going to act like those kids’ lives are in your hands?”

Alex got to his feet.

“Good,” said Arbalest. “The kids are waiting in the gym. Find your own way there. I got crime to fight.”

Alex forced himself to walk to the gym despite the throbbing headache. He brushed his thinning hair with his hands and took a deep breath. He had a job to do. Then he could get back to bed.

The Prospects wore gym clothes instead of their costumes. All Alex could think was, in a real gym class, he didn't know which one he'd pick last.

Candilyn stopped punching the heavy bag. “Nice of you to join us, fearless leader.” Her nose was covered in thick bandages, her eyes were covered by purple bruises, and many small scabs formed the shape of a footprint on her face.

“Let’s get started.” Alex squinted. “What did Sarge make you do?”

“Calisthenics, first aid training, stuff like that,” said Jenny, “then we put our costumes on for individual training after lunch.”

“Sarge led the class and did every exercise,” said Deon. “You look like you’ve been doing forty-ounce bicep curls.” He mimed drinking a bottle.

Alex shook his head. “Fine. How did personal training work?”

“Sarge focused on our specialties,” said Vijay. “It should be in his notes.”

“I left the tablet in my room,” said Alex.

“You really suck that bad?” said Deon.

Alex rubbed the bandage around his neck. “It’s my first day.”

“Our teacher is a drunk who needs a suit to do anything,” said Candilyn.

“Stop,” said Trista. “Leave him alone.”

Vijay said, “Little miss miserable finally speaks.”

“And she says something stupid to protect the only person sadder than her,” said Candilyn.

“Don’t pick on Agent O’Farrell,” said Trista. “He’s not doing well.”

“True that,” said Deon. “He needs a little-birch villainess to stand up for his drunk ass.”

“You know,” said Alex, “Being a drunk, or a villainess, is better than being a coward. Why don’t you run into a closet and piss yourself?”

“Oooohhhhh,” said Candilyn.

“Hey,” said Deon, “I was scouting ahead.”

“And you missed the second and third Iron Pirates.”

“I was checking the …”

“Checking what? The closet? You almost got us killed. Goldstreak? More like Yellowstreak.”

Deon shrunk.

Candilyn grinned. “Now you’re talking tough.”

“What would you know about tough?” Alex said. “You got knocked out with one punch. There’s no word for how pathetic that is.”

Candilyn grinded her teeth.

Alex pressed on. “We had that cyborg pinned, but you ruined it. Everything that happened – your face, my neck, Jenny’s eyes, Trista’s … burns, that’s all your fault!”

“Don’t forget Deon’s pants,” said Vijay.

Alex continued as Candilyn started to shake. “You’re more of a danger to yourself than any villain.”

Candilyn screamed and pounced on Alex with her fists raised.

Alex kneeled and caught her knees. They both fell to the ground. Alex put one arm under her thigh and the other around her neck and held her down with a cradle pin.

Candilyn thrashed desperately but fruitlessly.

Alex said, “I’m not letting go until you calm down.”

Candilyn stopped struggling.

Alex let go of Candilyn. She jerked away and sulked.

Vijay tapped the side of his goggles. “Five seconds and she’s out. I’m uploading that to Youtube.”

Candilyn lunged at Vijay. He sidestepped her and ducked behind Jenny. “Fat girls are great cover.”

The air got cold. Jenny hit Vijay with a burst of wind strong enough to knock him off his feet.

“Enough!” Alex shouted. He pointed at Jenny. “You, never use your power against a teammate, no matter how stupid they are. It’s something heroes don’t do.”

He pointed at Vijay, “You, don’t humiliate your teammates. They can’t depend on you if you’re an asshole.”

He pointed at Candilyn. “You, follow orders. I’m trying to keep you alive.”

He pointed at Deon. “You, never insult your teacher. Kindergartners know better than that.”

He pointed at Trista. “You … thanks for your help.”

Trista flashed a small smile.

Alex stepped to the center of the room and stood up straight. “I trained under Sergeant Hammer and I know Lady Amazing, so I don’t blame them for this being the worst team I’ve ever been a part of. Forget free time, from now on, we meet at six a.m. and train until ten p.m. We may get called on another mission tomorrow. If you fail, it won’t be because I didn’t try my hardest to make you heroes.”

After a long silence Deon asked, “So what do we do now?”

Alex checked his watch. “It’s close enough to noon. Go get lunch.”

Alex went back to his room. He mopped the floor, swept up the broken glass, wrapped new bandages around his neck, and put on a hooded sweatshirt with a stenciled MAB logo.

His headache subsided to a dull throb, but he didn’t think anything except ibuprofen pills would stay in his stomach.

Candilyn waited in her full Zany costume. White greasepaint covered her black eyes and made small piles on the scabs in the shape of a footprint. Her nose was less swollen than one broken the night before should be.

She moved with anxious stiffness, like she expected a fight but didn’t want to throw the first punch.

Alex turned on his tablet. “Sarge’s schedule says that today’s lesson is history. What does that mean?”

“He’d tell me war stories, quiz me, and say I was stupid every time I missed an answer.”

“Let’s skip that. Tomorrow is unarmed combat training. What’s that like?”

“We used to spar. He’d pin me. I didn’t like where his hands ended up so I called him out for being a nasty old pervert.”

“Hands end up in strange places when practicing locks and throws. I’ve gotten touched in places my wife won’t go while learning them. Don’t take it personally.”

“One time he spanked me.”

“I’ve seen him spank men who talked back. He’s old-fashioned.”

“After he did it to me, I complained to Mister Griffin. Since then, Sarge made me lift weights while telling me how weak I am.”

“There’s nothing else on here except some notes.”

“What do those say?”

Alex closed the tablet. “You’ve been insulted enough. What did you do with Lady Amazing?”

“She taught me karate and tay kin doo.”

“You mean tae kwon do?”

“That’s it. She made me do these kaytihs …”

“Katas.”

“Whatever, I don’t speak Chinese.”

“Japanese.”

Zany looked down. “Why does everyone always have to tell me how stupid I am?”

“I didn’t mean it that way. Let’s change the subject. It looks like you leave here most evenings.”

“Hey, I’m allowed. I’m not on probation.”

“Where do you go?”

“Sightseeing. I got no money, but there’s a lot more to see here than there is back home.”

Alex checked the tablet. “Your bio said you’re from Poughkeepsie. How did you end up here?”

“Well, there were kids in Poughkeepsie into the punk-jester thing in my trailer park, and they weren’t too mean to me. Hey, are you going to arrest me if I say I did something bad?”

“Depends on how bad it is.”

“Well, we really wanted to start a band but, after buying our costumes, we didn’t have any money for instruments. So we broke into a warehouse to steal some stuff.”

“You don’t have to say anymore.”

“But when we got there, another gang was already robbing the place. We wore our costumes, so they thought we were vigilantes. They ran off and went right into the police because we set off the alarm.”

“Okay,” said Alex. “Why aren’t you in jail?”

“Because the cops assumed we were newbie superheroes. One of them mentioned the Prospects.”

Alex chuckled. “You failed so badly as a villain that you applied to be a hero?”

“Free room and board in Manhattan and training? Seemed like a sweet deal. We all applied. I was the only one who passed the drug test.”

“Really? You?”

“Hey, I never touch anything harder than Sprite. My step-brother got messed up on meth. I won’t let that happen to me.”

“You may not know Japanese, but you’re definitely not stupid.”

Candilyn’s toothy grin went from ear to ear. “No one’s ever said that to be before.”

“Why do you want to be a fighter?”

“Because I heal fast.”

“But you still have black eyes and scabs.”

“I don’t heal that fast. I also suck at fighting.”

“That’s true.”

Her grin vanished. “You’re a dick.”

“This morning, why did you try to pounce on me?”

“I was mad and …”

“No, why a pounce?”

“I dunno.”

“When you closed in, I grabbed your legs. All I had to do after that was hold your shoulders and you couldn’t get up. It’s called a center of gravity. For men, it’s in the shoulders, for women, the core.”

“So what should I do?”

“Not attack me."

“Well, duh.”

“You’re long-limbed. You have reach. If you made me attack you, you’d have the advantage, but you gave that up by closing the distance. Let’s try it again, only this time let me come at you.”

“What should I do?”

“Keep me away.”

Alex stepped towards Zany. She pushed him back with a side kick. Alex lunged forward again. She stepped back and threw a roundhouse kick. Alex caught it and swept her supporting leg. Zany landed flat on her back.

“Are you going to feel me up, like Sarge would?”

Alex extended a hand to help her up. “Snap your kicks so I can’t catch them. Let’s try again. And think about this. All combat is expansion and contraction.”

“Is what and what?”

“Getting bigger and smaller.” Alex slowly threw a punch. “If we both get big, the bigger one wins, and I weigh more so I will. But if you get small when I get big, you can move into a better position and get big.”

Candilyn sidestepped. “Oh, so, like, when you punch, I wait for you, then kick.” She tapped his stomach with a front kick.

“That’s it. Do it again, but faster.”

After about an hour of sparring interspersed with tips, Alex said, “I can’t take much more of this.”

Zany wiped sweat and a swath of greasepaint. “At least I learned something without being insulted or molested.”

“Sarge abused the hell out of me during training, but it worked. I still hear his voice giving insulting advice when I fight.”

“People always say mean things to me. It’s no big deal.”

“So if I don’t, you may remember more.”

“It’d sure keep you on my good side.”

“Fair enough. One more thing, if you don’t like being picked on, why are you mean to Trista?”

“Because she’s a villainess.”

“You almost were.”

“I mean, we got along at first, but she didn’t tell me about what she did. Vijay found that out. It’s like she didn’t tell the whole truth, which is kind of lying.”

“I don’t care. Lay off her.”

“Whatever. Write it in a fortune cookie, sen-see.”

Zany left and Deon, wearing his freshly-laundered Goldstreak costume, entered without a word. He didn’t look at Alex. He went straight for the functioning treadmill and turned it on.

“Hello,” Alex said.

Goldstreak started the treadmill. “Step off. I know what I’m supposed to do.”

Alex unplugged the treadmill. “You’re supposed to listen to your trainer.”

Deon spoke slowly. “Sarge had me run, so I run.”

Alex looked at the tablet. “You’re right, nothing’s listed but speed training.”

“Plug it back in.”

“You don’t do what I say, I don’t do what you say.”

“We’ll never see each other again after I go to the LA Champions, so back off.”

“You aren’t going without my final approval.” Alex tapped the tablet. “Mister Griffin even sent me an e-mail. See?”

“And you’re not going to approve me because you don’t like me?”

“I’m not giving you approval because you don’t deserve it. The Champions have Road Ripper, and his top speed is five times yours. You’re barely faster than a speeding car, and according to Sarge’s notes you haven’t gotten faster after weeks of dedicated training. Heck, even the slowest High Plains Hero is faster. And those guys are losers.”

“Hey, screw you, man.”

“You’re also disrespectful. Insulting me is one thing, but if you call Trista a bitch or a villainess again you will pay for it.”

Goldstreak jumped off the treadmill. “I ain’t taking this.”

“And the only direction you run is away.”

Goldstreak used his speed to get to the door in an instant. Alex flipped through the tablet.

“Aren’t you going to stop me?” asked Goldstreak.

“You’re not worth it. I don’t know what Sarge saw in you, but I don’t see it. Lady Amazing said you used to care. Come back when you do again.”

“What the hell kind of trainer are you?”

“I never trained you.”

Goldstreak sighed. “Sarge and I had an understanding. If I did everything he said, he’d send me to LA.”

“Why do you want to leave New York?”

“Because New York is full of idiots in costumes beating each other up. I grew up with that, but I’m not growing old with it.”

“Yeah, it kind of is. Too many independent heroes.”

“And I’ll never stand out among them. I’ll never be anything but another kid from the ghetto in this town.”

“Right. But why LA?”

“I dunno. I guess I could run out of New York at any time, but I don’t know where to go. I heard LA is cool.”

“The traffic’s horrible and there’s too much smog. And it has more showboat wannabe-heroes than New York.”

“But it’s not here. It’s somewhere new, and that’s the only way I’m going to see it.”

“So you don’t really want to help people. You only care about what you want.”

“No, it’s … whatever, man. What do I have to do to get your approval?”

“Become something that will be an asset to the LA Champions. Speedster isn’t it, and fighter is out too. Why did you run away during the attack?”

“I was the youngest kid on my block. I can’t fight, so I learned to run. I did so well in track no one was surprised when the test showed I had metahuman genes. Then I met the real speedsters and found out those don’t amount to much.”

“What else are you good at?”

“If I knew, you wouldn’t have to ask.”

Alex flicked through the tablet’s screens. “Here’s something. Sarge said you aced first aid training.”

“Yeah, I can put on a band-aid.”

“There has to be more to it.”

“My mom is a nurse in the metahuman injury ward, the place where innocent bystanders from superhero battles end up. I volunteered there during summers.”

“Did you learn anything?”

“Some things. Thought about becoming a doctor for a while. Even read some books on it.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Do you have any idea how much med school costs? And since I’m technically a metahuman, I can’t get athletic scholarships.”

“Then why not nursing?”

“Because I saw how hard my mom had it as a nurse. She liked helping people, but that was it. I saw how tired she was after a double-shift and heard her crying after doctors chewed her out for their mistakes. I don’t want that.”

“You got dressed real fast that night the Iron Pirates attacked. Not many speedsters can move precisely at their top speeds. Can you dress a wound real fast too?”

“I guess. I never tried.”

Alex took the first aid kit from the gym’s wall. He unrolled the gauze pad. “Pretend I have a head wound.”

Goldstreak took the gauze. Less than a second later, Alex’s looked like a mummy from the neck up.

Alex ripped off the gauze. “Very funny. How about a sling?”

In a flash Alex’s arm was in a tight sling.

“Want me to do CPR?” said Goldstreak with a grin.

“Not this time. A speedster medic might be useful.”

“Woah, never thought about that. I mean, don’t wounds take time to heal?”

“Yeah, but if you move fast and with finesse you can prevent a lot of blood loss. Can you treat bullet wounds?”

“I saw people get shot on the streets of Hunts Point.”

“But have you actually touched a bullet wound?”

“Nah, never got that close.”

“We’ll start there. I trained as a medic through an Army program, so I can teach you some things.”

“Like what?”

“Let’s go over the ABCs. It’s a way to remember how to treat someone who got shot.”

For the rest of the hour Alex went over the basics of emergency first aid. He explained every step to treating a bullet wound and acted out the procedures. Goldstreak was so attentive he didn’t notice when his time was up. He left at a normal speed.

Alex checked his tablet. Vijay’s schedule read nothing but “INDEPENDINT STUDY.”

Alex found Vijay in the recreation room playing the X-Box.

“Vijay, what’s independent study?”

“Sarge didn’t know anything about technology, so he let me do what I want.”

Alex flipped back through the week. “This is weird. The other day, when you were yelling at Sarge, you showed off a big bruise and said you got it in unarmed combat training. But according to this, independent study is all you’ve ever had.”