Crimson shrugs. “It’s incredibly rare for someone to be so completely isolated from the rest of the world that it takes days for someone to notice they’re gone.”
“Maybe they went rogue,” Nyx suggests.
Max shakes his head. “We would have heard about it by now.”
“Maybe they don’t want to be found,” Crimson says.
Max flips through his BEEPR. “Too bad. It’s our mission and we’re going to find them.”
Nyx nudges me with his elbow. “What’s going on in that head of yours, rookie? I’ve never seen you concentrate so hard.”
I fake a smile and shrug. “Just trying to figure out how to complete this mission. If I were a loser, where would I go?”
“Somewhere I’d be respected for once in my life,” Max says.
“The human world?” Nyx makes a wild guess. I shudder. After spending a few days in the human world, I don’t know why any Super would want to hang out there. Central is clean and friendly and...well, full of Retrievers on a power trip. But still…
“Did any of them have any run-ins with the Retriever Squad?” I ask. “If I were a regular Super, I’d be half tempted to run away after dealing with those uppity jerks.”
“Retriever Dungeon!” Crimson says, jumping to her feet. “Retriever Dungeon!”
“Nice,” Max and Nyx say at the same time as they all head to the front door. Nyx types something on his BEEPR. “I’m telling them to hold off on the pizza for an hour.”
“Someone want to explain that the hell a Retriever Dungeon is?” I ask, following suit.
We skip the KAPOW, ins
tead choosing to head down the tunnels on foot. Crimson explains more of what happened after the night I took off to secretly find my sister. “Interim President Havoc is great, he really is. But he’s a little over paranoid. He instituted all these new security measures right after Aurora’s team broke in and then, as you know, the stupid Retriever Squad, as if we need to give those guys any more power.” A collective groan of agreement echoes from Max and Nyx. Crimson continues, “They were arresting Supers left and right, for stupid things that would never make a Hero even look twice, and we got really sick of vetting these people only to very quickly realize that they weren’t terrorists, villains or even petty criminals. So Interim President Havoc established an entire floor for the Retriever Squad so they can make sure the people they’ve arrested are worthy of being arrested before they hand them over to us for questioning.”
“We’ve dubbed it the dungeon,” Nyx adds.
“Why wasn’t that the first place you guys looked?” I ask, throwing my arms up in annoyance. I roll my eyes and sigh. “Whenever there is a dungeon that should always be the first place you look.”
The so-called Dungeon looks like an empty Wal-Mart--a vast space with flickering fluorescent lighting, random bits of paper or office supplies on the floor, and a dozen rows of chain link fencing with Supers hanging inside the cubes like dogs in an animal shelter.
Max’s power level rises upon seeing dozens of his own people caged in, well, cages. They don’t even have chairs to sit in and I don’t see food or water anywhere. My stomach tightens. This is comparable to the slums I saw in the back alleys of King City. The way that some humans live. I’m torn between wanting to kick the ass of every last member of the Retriever Guard and going to find my dad and demand that he put a stop to this.
Max is the oldest of us Heroes so he doles out the plan. We separate, dividing the rows of cells into four groups to search individually, looking for our missing Supers. At the same time, I think of a million ways to torture the Retrievers who did this to these people.
Evan texts me three picture messages, which I have to wait until I’ve cleared my aisles to read. My heart breaks as I flip through them. They’ve completely destroyed his research lab--drawers left hanging open, glass slides broken. Even the large wall monitor has a crack slicing from floor to ceiling. The third picture is of Evan’s bedroom. All his books are on the floor. The aquarium countertop has been disassembled. His bed and couch shredded. Seriously? As if Evan would be hiding something in the stuffing? Ugh.
I write back with a sad face.
Crimson appears at my side. “Find anything?” I shake my head. “Dead ends. Everyone on this aisle is innocent and not reported missing.”
Max whistles from the other side of the room, getting everyone’s attention. Even the Retriever guards show enough respect to look at him even though their smug expressions and crossed arms show their true colors. Too bad they can’t do anything about it. My brother’s voice booms throughout the room. “I am Hero Max Might and under my authority, I am granting freedom to every Super in here.” A chorus of applause sounds from the cages, and annoyed jeers come from the Retrievers. Max sends a jolt of power out of his hands and the first few rows of cages unlock. We do the same thing to our aisles, opening the locks until everyone has been set free.
“Here’s a tip,” Max says. “Keep to yourself. Don’t talk to these bastards so you don’t get locked up again. President Might will return soon and put an end to this nonsense. For now, please accept my apology on behalf of the entire Hero Brigade.”
I decide to take it one step further. “Let me see your MODs,” I tell the released prisoners as they shuffle toward the door. “Go to Central’s cafeteria and eat as much food as you want. It’s all on us.” I click my BEEPR to theirs, transferring a one time unlimited food pass onto their wrist devices. That’s just one of the cool benefits of being a Hero that I haven’t yet taken advantage of. My chest swells with pride when I see how happy this small gesture makes them. This is what Heroism is all about. Helping people.
You know, with a little ass kicking when necessary.
All three of my Hero colleagues don’t shut up once we reach the tunnels again. They’re all just as fuming mad as I am about the Dungeon and how those Supers were treated. I agree, of course, but I don’t say much. My mind is on Evan and how much I miss him, Nova and how conflicted I am about the safety of her future, and also on my dad and when he’s going to get back and fix all of this mess. Being a Hero is my number one duty, but finding these missing Supers will be like finding a pebble in a canyon full of gravel.
My BEEPR rings. The name on my screen makes me stop. “It’s Dad!”
Max jumps to my side, peering over my shoulder to get a good view of the call. Only when I press the answer button, Dad’s face doesn’t appear on the screen. He’s doing a voice-only call. My stomach hurts when I realize the reason why he doesn’t want us to see him. “Dad?” I answer.