around. “I didn’t see anyone with a bike.”
“Well, there’s one around here somewhere. I saw a helmet on the side of the road back there.”
“Ah. That’s mine, actually.” She removed her army helmet and ran one hand through her hair.
“So you’ve got a bike but no helmet?” Lance asked. “I mean . . . You have a helmet but you don’t have a bike.” In his head, a small voice was reminding him of his pledge to never make any friends. He mentally told the voice to shut up.
“Yeah....”
Then the other boy said, “Abby, I thought you were in a hurry?”
“Thunder, what did I say about not using my real name?”
Paragon’s voice boomed out. “I told you to stay put and not talk to anyone!”
Lance cringed and turned to see the armored hero striding toward him. “Sorry. I just need to get in touch with my folks.”
Paragon stopped in front of Roz. “Good to see you again, Ms. Dalton. Your brother’s in good hands, but they still don’t know exactly what they’re dealing with. The virus is still spreading and it’s almost certainly artificial.”
“What’s the prognosis?” Roz asked.
“There is none, at the moment. According to Colonel Morgan’s people, it’s looking like it has a communicable rate of about eighty percent. But they’re still collating the data, so that figure could be way off. Could be that some of the infected just have the ordinary flu, or even just a cold. And it’s not just America: It’s broken out in Europe, Africa, and Asia.” He paused. “I won’t lie to you. At least four people who contracted it have died, but again we’re not entirely sure whether there’s a direct connection. The medics are trying to isolate whatever it is that’s keeping the terrorists immune. If they can do that, they might be able to construct a vaccine or even a cure.”
“Did the colonel tell you about Slaughter?”
“He did. You three were lucky she didn’t kill you on the spot. The first rule of dealing with Slaughter is that you do not run toward her. You run away. She’s too strong and too fast for all of you put together.”
Abby began, “Yeah, but—”
“But what?” Paragon’s visor swiveled toward her. “I doubt any of you even laid a hand on her. She’s way out of your league, understand? She didn’t have to face any of you—she could have just flown away. She chose to let you fight her. She was testing you. You failed.”
The boy called Thunder said, “I tackled her to the ground. I blocked the sound so that she couldn’t hear me coming.”
“Well, good for you. Let’s just hope she doesn’t remember that.”
“And she said that I was probably stronger than she was,” Abby said.
Paragon sighed. “All right, kids. It’s time to close your mouths and open your ears. A few months back Slaughter threw Titan through a moving train. Before he could recover she picked up one of the cars and smashed it down on top of him. The car wasn’t empty. It was a miracle that none of the passengers were killed. Last time I tangled with her was in Manhattan: She got away when she started throwing civilians a hundred feet into the air. She didn’t care where they landed, but she knew that I’d have to let her escape so I could catch them. That’s the sort of person we’re dealing with here. She is a cold-blooded killer, and if she discovered your identities she wouldn’t hesitate to murder every single member of your families. Don’t go patting yourselves on the back because you faced down Slaughter and survived. You didn’t win. She let you live. There’s a huge difference, and if you can’t see that then you should go home, throw away your costumes, and abandon the idea of being a superhero forever.” To Roz, he added, “That includes you too. You do not mess with Slaughter. Even Max wouldn’t tackle her on his own.” He turned to Lance. “What’s your name? And don’t tell me it’s Jason Myers. I want your real name.”
“Lance
“Well, there’s one around here somewhere. I saw a helmet on the side of the road back there.”
“Ah. That’s mine, actually.” She removed her army helmet and ran one hand through her hair.
“So you’ve got a bike but no helmet?” Lance asked. “I mean . . . You have a helmet but you don’t have a bike.” In his head, a small voice was reminding him of his pledge to never make any friends. He mentally told the voice to shut up.
“Yeah....”
Then the other boy said, “Abby, I thought you were in a hurry?”
“Thunder, what did I say about not using my real name?”
Paragon’s voice boomed out. “I told you to stay put and not talk to anyone!”
Lance cringed and turned to see the armored hero striding toward him. “Sorry. I just need to get in touch with my folks.”
Paragon stopped in front of Roz. “Good to see you again, Ms. Dalton. Your brother’s in good hands, but they still don’t know exactly what they’re dealing with. The virus is still spreading and it’s almost certainly artificial.”
“What’s the prognosis?” Roz asked.
“There is none, at the moment. According to Colonel Morgan’s people, it’s looking like it has a communicable rate of about eighty percent. But they’re still collating the data, so that figure could be way off. Could be that some of the infected just have the ordinary flu, or even just a cold. And it’s not just America: It’s broken out in Europe, Africa, and Asia.” He paused. “I won’t lie to you. At least four people who contracted it have died, but again we’re not entirely sure whether there’s a direct connection. The medics are trying to isolate whatever it is that’s keeping the terrorists immune. If they can do that, they might be able to construct a vaccine or even a cure.”
“Did the colonel tell you about Slaughter?”
“He did. You three were lucky she didn’t kill you on the spot. The first rule of dealing with Slaughter is that you do not run toward her. You run away. She’s too strong and too fast for all of you put together.”
Abby began, “Yeah, but—”
“But what?” Paragon’s visor swiveled toward her. “I doubt any of you even laid a hand on her. She’s way out of your league, understand? She didn’t have to face any of you—she could have just flown away. She chose to let you fight her. She was testing you. You failed.”
The boy called Thunder said, “I tackled her to the ground. I blocked the sound so that she couldn’t hear me coming.”
“Well, good for you. Let’s just hope she doesn’t remember that.”
“And she said that I was probably stronger than she was,” Abby said.
Paragon sighed. “All right, kids. It’s time to close your mouths and open your ears. A few months back Slaughter threw Titan through a moving train. Before he could recover she picked up one of the cars and smashed it down on top of him. The car wasn’t empty. It was a miracle that none of the passengers were killed. Last time I tangled with her was in Manhattan: She got away when she started throwing civilians a hundred feet into the air. She didn’t care where they landed, but she knew that I’d have to let her escape so I could catch them. That’s the sort of person we’re dealing with here. She is a cold-blooded killer, and if she discovered your identities she wouldn’t hesitate to murder every single member of your families. Don’t go patting yourselves on the back because you faced down Slaughter and survived. You didn’t win. She let you live. There’s a huge difference, and if you can’t see that then you should go home, throw away your costumes, and abandon the idea of being a superhero forever.” To Roz, he added, “That includes you too. You do not mess with Slaughter. Even Max wouldn’t tackle her on his own.” He turned to Lance. “What’s your name? And don’t tell me it’s Jason Myers. I want your real name.”
“Lance
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