Hero Status by Kristen Brand

Author:Kristen Brand [Brand, Kristen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Superhero fiction
Published: 2014-11-25T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

Walter put me in handcuffs again, but this time, he didn’t seem to think DSA agents were enough to handle a dangerous criminal such as myself. So he gave me a bona fide superhero guard.

Shield Maiden could be as strong as I was when she wanted to be. Her powers had something to do with redirecting energy, whether into physical strength or a bright, hot force that could knock you across the room. She carried—you guessed it—a shield, and her costume made her look something like a valkyrie. She was stout and muscular, with blonde hair and a friendly smile. Unfortunately, she’d never been a particularly famous hero, owing mainly to the fact that only actresses suffered under a narrower standard of beauty than superheroines.

Time-Out didn't have what one might consider mainstream superpowers. He didn’t technically stop time but rather slowed it to a crawl, and he couldn’t do it indefinitely. While he was immune to the effects of his own abilities, they did funny things to air and light particles and had other scientific limitations I didn’t understand. It was too complicated a power-set for him to achieve mainstream popularity, but he had a cool costume. It was a slick, old-fashioned gray suit, complete with pocket watch and chain. And if that alone didn’t get across the time theme, then he also had several watches on each wrist, a small, working clock pinned to his tie, and clock-shaped cuff links.

It wasn’t a hard strategy to understand. If I tried to escape and Time-Out didn’t immediately stop me in the space between two seconds, Shield Maiden could at least slow me down, if not take me out entirely. She was over a decade my junior and didn’t have a bad knee or a set of handcuffs to impede her.

The two of them took my arms, half to escort me and half to support me, because my cane had been confiscated and my knee was the worst it had been in years. Asking where we were going was a waste of breath, so I let them lead me through the gray halls in silence. For a moment, I hoped I’d see Val, but it was a foolish hope. If I was being moved to an interrogation room, they weren’t going to give the two of us a chance to get our stories straight beforehand. Not that we had stories to get straight, so the joke was on them. A small bit of optimism welled in my chest at the prospect of being questioned. Walter might not believe a word that came out of my mouth, but maybe someone else would.

It was dark when we emerged outside, and the night air was filled with the sounds of distant police sirens. I wondered if it was evening or early morning. Then I glanced at Time-Out. His clocks all read a quarter past eight. I guess I hadn’t been locked up as long as I’d thought.

An unmarked black van pulled up, and my escorts pushed me inside.

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