The Super Jerk Trilogy (Now 3-in-1)

9. What About Us

{Cameron}

We wait a couple weeks, after midterm exams, to go visit the second super on our list. Ellis fills us in on him while we drive over there, this time in Kaelie's car since my truck's battery died unexpectedly. Apparently he used to be a big-shot super, more famous than Supernova, in his day. He defended the likes of senators, the Vice-President, and even the President once while he was in Washington D.C. Not to mention he'd singlehandedly saved the city from being completely wiped off the map when a monster known as Tentacles attacked.

   "So you're saying he has a right to be cocky, then?" Kaelie says.

   "I was just about to ask that," I say, and wink when her eye catches mine in the rearview mirror. Her ears turn pink.

   "Yeah. But it means he's probably pretty touchy about his career too," Ellis says, an edge in his voice. He caught that exchange.

   "What super isn't?" I know I am. There's plenty of things for me to regret in my career.

   "Good point," Ellis says. "Turn here."

   Kaelie does, without a word. Things have been a little tense between the three of us recently, and I know why. Ellis knows about my history with Kaelie, and I know how he feels about her. As a result, she's aware of both these feelings, but seems to be trying her best to remain neutral. In high school, she was the girl everyone wanted and she knew it. But now that so many things have changed, she seems a little more reluctant to let on.

   "There's his house." Ellis points up ahead.

   "You'd have thought, with his reputation..." Kaelie starts, and I have to agree. White Viper's house is small and run-down, with peeling paint, bars over the windows, and a sagging metal awning over the front door. She parks across the street, turning the engine off but not getting out.

   "We going or not?" Ellis again, and his edge is back. "Not getting any younger."

   "Calm down, okay?" I say as we get out. "I'm sure he's not as bad as you think."

   Slowly, we approach the house. An air of neglect comes from it, nothing like Hank's. At least that had some life visible from the outside, with the cats and everything. But this place looks abandoned. If he was dead or went missing, no one would be able to tell.

   I go up to the front door first, ringing the doorbell. We wait, and after ten minutes, I try it again. Still nothing. I knock on the rattling screen door next.

   I'm about to give up when there's a thump from inside and the inner door opens. Instantly the odor of stale coffee, old cigarettes, and an unwashed body wafts out, and I have to resist the urge to wrinkle my nose. We're met with a guy who, unlike Hank, has maintained none of his former super physique. He has a beer belly, straining against his stained T-shirt. It's yellow now, but I think it used to be white.

   "Eh?" he says with a loud snort, rubbing at his already-red nose.

   "Are you...uh...White Viper?" Kaelie asks.

   "Say, you ain't Girl Scouts," says White Viper, his bloodshot eyes traveling over Kaelie. "Who's askin'?"

   "Maybe you've heard of us," Ellis answers from behind us. "I'm Sunburst, and this is Pink Wildfire and Blue Bolt."

   "Yeh." Reluctantly he looks away from Kaelie to focus on me. "Seen you on the news."

   "If you don't mind, Mr. White Viper, we'd like to ask you if you know anything about HECKL." Kaelie's noticed how much attention he's giving her, and she crosses her arms over her chest.