My Life as a Teenage Superhero

Chapter 49

Aloha!! Yes, I know, the waiting time was bad yet again :( But hey, summer is coming up!  And after school gets out, I'll probably upload more often!  So yay!  Sorry about that cliffy as well, that was kind of harsh, seeing as I didn't upload for over two weeks. 

Author for this week is NikkiSummerstheninja!  If you asked me to recommend your book and I didn't, don't get offended or sad and feel shunned, because if you asked and I left you out of an upload, I just forgot!  So make sure to just remind me, because I don't want to accidentally forget someone!

RECAP

Without another word, she reached out and opened the door.  With my heart beating so loudly I was afraid it would pop out of my chest, I walked into the room, as the door closed behind me.
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For the second time that day, Tanner refused to acknowledge my presence.  Trying to look sure of myself so that Tanner wouldn't see how nervous I was feeling, I strode confidently over to the seat next to him, and plopped down loudly.

The whole time I did this, Tanner just kept staring at his shoe like it was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen.  I tried staring at him to creep him out and make him turn away, but that didn't work either.  About five minutes went by, with me trying different ideas on how to get him to talk, before I really started to get annoyed.

"Come on Tanner, please talk to me!  If you tell us where your dad went, no one would ever have to know it was you!  He wouldn't be able to hurt you, we'd keep you protected.  Besides, didn't you say so yourself that you didn't even want to be the traitor-"  I begged, but he cut me off short.

"What I want and what I'm obligated to do are two different matters, Nikki, and it's none of your business what I do.  Quit trying to get me on your side.  Don't you see?  I'm always going to be working with my dad's side, and that will never change, no matter what you do."

His harsh words felt like a slap in the face.  What was happening to him?  He had never acted like this before.  His tone when he talked to me had always been calm and gentle, but now it was harsh and bitter.

Then I became angry.  I don't know what it was, his refusal to speak to me after I hadn't seen him in what felt like ages, or the way he spoke to me when he finally did, but something inside of me snapped.  In a tone so cold it matched his perfectly, I reminded him, "We could always just force you to tell us.  You know we could.  You are the enemy, after all, and I'm sure people around here are willing to do just about anything for your father's capture."

Right after the words left my mouth, I wished I could take them back.  Even though he hid it, I could see the flash of sadness in his eyes.  "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"  I started.

"You could make me tell you?"  Tanner laughed.  It wasn't his usual laugh though, this laugh was sharp and bitter.  Didn't your little friend tell you?"  He lifted up his shirt, and I stared in horror at the sight in front of me.  "They already tried."

His entire chest was covered in red marks.  The cuts were swollen, and I knew they were fresh.  I could barely even see his tanned chest, because it was entirely covered in cuts and bruises.  As I stared at his cuts, Tanner stared at my face as if trying to read my expression.

When I could finally form words, I looked up and met his eyes.  "Who did this to you?"  I murmured.  His words kept ringing through my ears, over and over.  'Didn't your little friend tell you?  They already tried.'

Tanner shrugged, trying to act like he didn't care, but I could see his grimace of pain just from shrugging.  "A lot of different people.  You really think one person could do all this?"  He paused to gesture to his many cuts and bruises.  "As a matter of fact, you already know one of them."

"Who?"  I blurted out quickly.  I couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that someone could do something this horrible.  How many people knew that this was going on?  Of course Tanner could lead us to his dad, but wasn't this going too far?  He was just my age!

"The lady that walked you in here the first time.  You know, blonde hair, mean lookin' face..."  Tanner continued to talk, but I tuned out, too shocked to pay attention.  Agent Baxter?  He couldn't mean her!  I mean, she came off as pretty tough, but I had always thought she had a big heart underneath it all.

Tanner had to be lying!  Maybe he hurt himself so he could blame her, or maybe someone back at his dad's place did it to him.  Who knew, it might even just be Halloween makeup!  My heart was sinking as I tried to think of ways Tanner could have staged this, but deep down I knew he was telling the truth.  The more I thought about it, the more it made sense.

This was why Agent Baxter had wanted me to talk to him so badly!  After she realized tourturing him wouldn't work, she tried using someone he cared about.  That was probably the reason why she hadn't wanted me to go in there alone.  She hadn't been scared of Tanner hurting me, she had been scared he'd tell me the truth!

I finally snapped out of it and turned back to Tanner, who stopped talking a while back and had put his shirt back on, and as I looked at it I knew that it covered the cuts and bruises that he had gotten from someone I'd known and trusted.  My eyes filled up with tears, and before I knew what was happening, I had started sobbing.

Through my tears, I watched Tanner's expression change from cold and bitter, to confused and concerned.  "Nikki, why are you crying?  Come on, don't cry, it looks worse than it is!"  He reassured me in a soft voice, and this only made me cry harder.  Why was he standing up for her?  At that moment, I didn't care about the way he had just been treating me, and I didn't care that he was the traitor.  I just wanted him to be okay.

Tanner's arm wrapped around me comfortingly as I kept on sobbing, and I buried my head in his shoulder.  I felt him flinch in pain, and remembering his injuries I was about to move away, when the door burst open suddenly.  "What's going on in here?  Nicole, why are you crying?"  Agent Baxter asked, her voice suspicious.

I hastily stood up, straighteneing up my shirt.  "No reason."  I said, my voice sounding monotone even to me.  Now that I knew what she had done, I couldn't even bare to look at her.  I knew she was evaluating Tanner with her eyes, and I felt a flood of relief when I remembered that he'd put his shirt back on.  I had a feeling that if she knew that Tanner had told me, he'd get cuts a lot worse than that.

"Alright then."  Agent Baxter replied finally, but she didn't sound sure.  We left the room, and as soon as the door closed she bombarded me with questions.  "What did he say?  Did he give any useful information?"  She demanded, and I simply shook my head.

Speaking in the same emotionless voice I had used seconds ago, I answered, "He did talk a bit, but he refused to give his father's were abouts, or anything else that could be useful."

This seemed to annoy Agent Baxter, and she responded harshly, "Look Nicole, I get the vibe that you're not sharing everything with me.  That was a very privileged conversation you were allowed to have, no microphones or cameras.  If we had any in there, I couldn't need to interrogate you like this, I could just look at the tape.  However, Ms. Middlebrooks has assured me that you are to be trusted."

She started walking the other direction, shaking her head sadly, and said, "I hope she she was right."

By the time got back to the main part of the school, most of the classes were over anyways.  I was glad, because I didn't feel like going to class after what I had just discovered.  Instead, I went up to my room, and plopped down on my bed.  Rosie insisted that we have a movie marathon, and I agreed.  I wasn't into any of the movies, and I didn't pay attention to a word.  My mind was in another place. 

By the time the last movie finished, the sun was almost going down.  Rosie had fallen asleep in the middle of "Grown Ups", and the only sound in the room was the music that played with the credits.  I sat on my bed, trying to fall asleep but failing epically.  It was about nine o'clock before I gave up falling asleep completely, and making up my mind, I opened the door and slipped out of the room.