The City Superhero (Book 1): Rise Of The Super Strike Read online

  Rise Of The Super Strike

  City Superhero - Book One

  Maxwell Blake

  Illustrated by

  Natasha Snow

  Edited by

  Valorie Clifton

  Copyright © 2017 by Maxwell Blake

  All rights reserved.

  Cover design by Natasha Snow Designs

  Edited by Valorie Clifton

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locations is purely coincidental. The characters are all productions of the authors’ imagination.

  Contents

  Mailing List

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  About the Author

  Also by Maxwell Blake

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  Prologue

  It had to be close to three in the morning but the lab was still buzzing with life. The woman wasn’t the only lab coat still working. They were so close to a breakthrough. She bent over the beaker and waited as the clear drops of liquid silently fell into the pungent green formula below. One. Two. Three. She reached up and quickly turned off the machine and watched with her breath held as the beaker started to change colors. The liquid inside turned to a murky brown color.

  Anywhere else, the color would have been considered disgusting, but not there. It was what she’d been waiting on for months, years even. Her heart started to race as she fumbled for the small recorder sitting on the desk next to her, unable and unwilling to take her eyes off the serum. She quickly turned it on and whispered out the date and time.

  “I can’t believe it. The alterations made have locked onto the molecules and taken form. The next step was a success! I think that we can finally start the clinical trials. If this succeeds, we will be able to give people superhuman powers!”

  As soon as she set down the recorder, her phone rang. After a passing glance, she groaned and stepped away from the beaker. He always knew when to call, when she was just in the midst of a great discovery. No doubt, he’d been watching the cameras after telling her what changes needed to be made. Her eclectic and mysterious benefactor.

  “Sir?” she said quickly. “Yes sir, the trial was a success. Are you ready to move on to the next phase?”

  “Go ahead,” came his warm voice. “But first, I want you to send me a sample for safekeeping. Do you understand?”

  “Yes sir,” she muttered. “But this lab is very secure. Are you sure you don’t want to keep it all here?”

  “No. We don’t know how this is going to affect people. I don’t want everything to be lost if the outcome isn’t . . .” he paused. “Desirable.”

  She swallowed hard and nodded her head as she looked at the camera. “Yes sir. I’ll get it done right away.”

  Chapter 1

  My body lurched forward, and I quickly fumbled for my phone before it went tumbling down onto the dirty grey floorboard of the car. My ears popped as the earbuds were suddenly jerked away with the phone. I wasn’t surprised when my head collided with the dash as I reached between my legs to pick it up again. Groaning, I took in the sights around me, though I didn’t really want to. It was New York City, muggy, dirty, and packed to the brim with people mulling around like rats in a cage.

  “Sorry, sweetheart, traffic is always rough in this section of town,” my grandma muttered to me as she laid on the old Pontiac’s horn again.

  I winced as peopled turned to look at the commotion. How could one seemingly frail old woman cause so much fuss? I sighed and did my best to plaster a smile on my face, which was more challenging than one would think.

  “It’s okay, Grandma. Not your fault at all. My mom always said I would trip over thin air if it were possible.”

  She smiled at me, her eyes sad for a brief second. “Your mother was a good woman. She never let anything get her down, did you know that? She always knew how to brighten someone’s day.”

  “I don’t . . .” I choked back the lump in my throat. “I don’t want to talk about her, okay?”

  “Sure, honey, we don’t have to talk about her.” She paused as the traffic slowed to a torturous halt again. “Are you excited about starting school? It’s supposed to be one of the best high schools in the city. Of course, I had to do a little digging. We sent your mother to a private school back in the day.”

  Her voice trailed off as her eyes grew apologetic again. “I didn’t mean to,” she said.

  “Grandma,” I said through clenched teeth, “it’s okay. You don’t need to keep apologizing. This is going to be an adjustment for all of us, okay? It’s going to take some time.”

  “You always were such a smart boy,” she said. “You know, the last time I saw you, you had just started kindergarten.”

  My grandmother continued to talk but I let her voice slip into the rest of the New York chaos in my mind as I returned my attention to the bustling people outside. I couldn’t believe this was my life now. Six hours ago, I was back in my hometown of Candance, Oregon, where the only cars on the streets were beat-up trucks that passed by every few hours. You could go miles without seeing another person there, but not here. Here, I would be lucky to have some peace for a split second.

  It was going to take time, I reminded myself. Secretly, I didn’t think there would ever come a time where I didn’t feel like an outcast here. My mind traveled back to my mother and her eternal hope. With a heavy heart, I knew I had to try and make the best of it. If not for myself, then for her. I could almost feel her and my father watching over me from heaven. They would want me to try and be happy. Plus, it was only for a year. After that, I would graduate and be able to go anywhere I pleased.

  I rolled down the window and stuck my head out the window, hoping the fresh air would lighten my somber mood. What hit me was anything but fresh. The suffocating stench of trash mingled with a heavy layer of smog as my chest contracted into a coughing fit as I quickly retreated into the car and put the window safely back up. I gagged back the vomit that New York’s overpowering stench had implanted in me.

  “Good lord, Son,” My grandma said from the driver’s seat. “What in the world do you think you’re doing?”

  I coughed again and grabbed my throat, my voice hoarse as I spoke. “I though some fresh air would help. I didn’t know,” I said.

  “Your mother really didn’t prepare you for life outside Candance, did she?” she asked.

  “There was no time before a semi-truck crushed her and my father,” I said. “Sorry for the inconvenience.”

  “I didn’t mean it like that,” she whispered. Her pale cheeks flushed red.

  A pang of g
uilt shot through my heart. “I’m sorry, Grandma.”

  She vigorously shook her head. “No, it’s fine. I know you’re going through a lot right now. I should be more careful in what I say. Benji, I don’t know how to handle this situation either. Your grandfather and I . . .” She struggled to find the words as a tear slipped down her cheek. “We lost our daughter too. I don’t know how to pick up the pieces.”

  I had to be strong, I told myself. I couldn’t break down again like I had on the flight. I couldn’t handle any more sympathy or looks from strangers that said all too much. Clearing my throat, I was determined to make the best of the situation, if for nothing else than to help my grandparents through this harrowing time. We turned into a small parking garage and instantly, my stomach started to do somersaults again. This was my new home, for a while, anyway.

  The parking garage smelled even worse than the street, with a mixture of gasoline and urine permeating through the air. I quickly grabbed the only bag I’d brought with me and followed my grandmother to the elevator. She smiled as she pressed the buttons and entered her apartment key into the worn keyhole.

  “You’ll love the apartment. Grandad set up the guest room for you, and when I get paid Friday, we will go and get you a television from the store down the road. I’m sure you don’t want to watch weather all the time with Grandad.”

  “Grandma, you don’t have to get me anything. I can take care of myself,” I said softly, guilt settling in.

  “Nonsense!” she scoffed. “You’re our responsibility, and we’re going to take care of you, Benji.”

  Before I could argue with her anymore, the elevator doors opened and she scurried out into the hallway down to the end. Apartment twelve was going to be my new home, for a while, at least. She drove her elbow into the door, and it opened with a jerk, the hinges squeaking as she barged through. Immediately, I was assaulted by the smell of cigar smoke and I quickly saw the culprit. My grandfather jumped as he saw us and tossed the partially smoked cigar out the open window.

  “Carl!” Bellowed my grandmother. “You told me you quit smoking!”

  He cleared his throat. “It was just the one, Mave. I needed to relax the nerves.” He shut the window and walked over to me, pulling me into his arms and squeezing me tightly, yet with a little bit of awkwardness. “It’s good to see you, Son. Shame about the circumstances.”

  “Yeah,” I muttered. “If you don’t mind, I think I’m going to go lie down. It was a long flight.”

  “Of course,” said my grandmother quickly. “Maybe Carl can take you to dinner tonight after you rest up.”

  “You won’t be there?” I said nervously.

  She sighed. “I’m sorry, honey. I have to go back to work. The funeral used up all of my leave for the year.”

  “Grandma,” I said softly. “You shouldn’t be working so hard.”

  She patted me on the arm, her eyes soft and knowing as she smiled. “Don’t worry about me, Benji. Just take care of yourself, okay? I’ll see you before you go to school in the morning.”

  “Okay,” I murmured.

  Before I could be left alone with my grandpa, I went to the room she pointed at and shut the door quietly behind me. The room was much smaller than my old one but I wasn’t surprised. The entire apartment couldn’t have been more than half the size of our house back home. Pain pulled at my heart again. It wasn’t our home anymore. Like everything else my parents owned, it had been sold off and locked away in a trust fund I wouldn’t see until I was twenty-one. The man who’d set it up had tried to siphon money off the top for my grandmother—‘cost of living’, he’d called it—but she wouldn’t touch a penny.

  “That money is Benji’s. I don’t want it,” she’d told him firmly, putting the conversation to bed once and for all.

  Looking around the sparse room, I had my doubts about waiting that long. It could use some improvements and I would still need school supplies. With a heavy sigh, I dropped my bag on the floor and did my best to push down the sadness inside me. I would need a job, something to help my grandparents pay for school.

  Collapsing onto the bed, though, I realized just how jet-lagged I really was. It had been four weeks since they died, but their memory still haunted me as I curled up into a ball and closed my eyes. As I started to fall asleep, the memory of my last conversation with my mother came back to me, haunting my night as it had for weeks.

  I followed her into the house, slamming the door behind me and making a beeline for my bedroom, but I wasn’t quick enough. She grabbed ahold of my arm, the fire in her eyes a reminder to me of her Armenian temper that I’d only seen on a few occasions.

  “Just where do you think you’re going? We’re going to sit down and talk about this.”

  “There’s nothing to talk about,” I muttered as I jerked my arm away from her. “Principal Carey told you what happened.”

  She snorted. “I wouldn’t believe that old goat if he was telling me the sky was blue. What the heck happened, Benji? It’s not like you to get into a fight at school.”

  “Yeah, well, I guess things have changed.”

  “What are you talking about? Nothing has changed except your attitude about school! You have been an honor roll student since you first started, but this quarter, your grades have dropped. And now this? What do you think I should do?”

  I shrugged. “Ground me, I guess. I don’t really care. It’s not like I have any friends here anyway.”

  Her knowing gaze penetrated into me. “What about Carla? Did something happen between you two? I just want to help.”

  “If you want to help, then leave me alone. This has nothing to do with her, okay?”

  It was a lie. The fight I’d gotten into at school had everything to do with Carla. My longtime girlfriend was changing into someone I didn’t recognize anymore.

  “He said you were caught cheating,” she said softly. “Is that true?”

  I glared at her. “Is that what you think of me? Yeah, Mom, I’m so stupid I was cheating off the bigger jock at our school.”

  “I never said that! I’m just trying to understand what happened.”

  “Then go ask Carey!”

  She ground her teeth and took a step closer to me. “You can be as angry as you want, and you don’t have to tell me what’s going on, but you will not speak to me like that in my house. Do you understand me?”

  “Your house?” I said. “This is Dad’s house, or Rick, should I call him? He’s never here anyway. Does he even know I’m his son?”

  Her hand came out of nowhere and landed with a loud clap across my cheek. She’d never hit me before—why would she? I was a model student and son. My father, Rick, was constantly away on business, but my mother was always there for me. She couldn’t know that Carla was the one cheating and that I’d taken the fall for her. She didn’t know that after telling me she was in love with Daniel instead of me, she’d still asked for my help in passing class.

  “All you care about is yourself!” I screamed at her. “I can’t wait to be done with school and out of this house!”

  “Oh yeah?” she said. “Well, you’re stuck with us for the next year and a half, so I suggest you make the best of it. We’re going to talk about this more after your father gets home. Do you hear me, young man?”

  “I hate you,” I shot out before I could control myself.

  The look of pain in her eyes was more than I could take as tears started to spill out over my cheeks. I couldn’t stand there. I was too angry to apologize, though I instantly regretted the words. I ran for my room and slammed the door, staying there for hours until she softly knocked again and the anger returned once more.

  “Benji?” she said softly through the door. “We’re going into the city now for your dad’s business dinner.”

  She waited, but I said nothing back, so she continued, “There are leftovers in the fridge. We will only be gone a few hours, but I hope we can talk when I come back.”

  After another long pause,
she whispered, “Benji, I love you. I just want you to know that.”

  Still, I said nothing, and when I heard the car pull out of the driveway, I was proud of myself for hurting her. It was a moment I would live to regret for the rest of my life.

  Chapter 2

  “Are you sure I can’t drive you to school?” Grandma asked.

  I shook my head for the third time, at least, as I grabbed a Pop Tart off the counter and headed for the door. The lacrosse jersey I’d bought before coming to town was hidden now under the grey hoodie I’d spent the last hour debating on wearing. I would never be comfortable here. That much was obvious.

  “I’m fine, Grandma. I prefer to take the bus, and it’s going to be here in like sixty seconds. I need to go. Thanks,” I muttered as I jetted out the door. I couldn’t take any more of her goodwill. I knew that she meant well, but it was suffocating. The night before, I’d done nothing but toss and turn for hours before accepting that when I fell asleep, the nightmares would come.

  “Have a great day!” she called into the hallway behind me.

  Without saying anything else, I found the steps and ran down the nine flights to the front door. I hated elevators, claustrophobia always being a problem of mine. Just as I burst through the doors, the bus pulled up out front and I shuffled in with a few other kids after checking the name on the side of it to make sure that I was getting on the right one. Back home, I didn’t take a bus. The school was within walking distance, plus, my now ex-girlfriend had a car at the time.