James Knight: Teenage Superhuman - Book One

Twenty-Eight

DEREK

It was Halloween, and as expected, I found my brother James sound asleep on the couch without a costume. "Good morning, James," I greeted him, giving him a gentle nudge to wake him up. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up and looked at me.

"Where's Samual?" he asked, still groggy.

"He wanted us to meet him this morning at the Mercredi Matin cafe before school," I replied, yawning, my work as a police officer draining my energy.

James pushed my shoulder and stumbled to his feet, asking, "What time is it?"

"It's time to put your super-speed to use. Let's go!" I urged him. He quickly darted up and down the stairs, dressed in a flash, and reappeared by my side before I even had a chance to check the time on my phone.

"Wow, that was fast," I remarked, genuinely impressed. James' speed continued to astonish me. Despite being his brother, I could never fully adjust to his superhuman abilities.

"Let's get going," I said with a smile.

James and I hurried out of the house and into the car. I wasn't too concerned about any trouble we might face, even with the damaged bumper from the other day. James was incredible, and his fantastic saves often happened beyond his control.

James and I entered the coffee shop after a ten-minute drive and parked the car. We spotted Sam sitting in the corner, waiting for us.

Shelves of books for sale filled the spacious room, and a large counter on the left offered delicious pastries and the most delightful drinks I had ever tasted. Coffee dispensers, filled with unground coffee beans, stood in the opposite corner.

To accommodate James and his superpowers, we always ordered non-caffeinated drinks. Caffeine tended to amplify his abilities, so we tried to avoid it whenever possible.

We settled at an empty table in the back where Sam was already seated. Since only a few people were in the cafe, we felt comfortable sharing some private matters.

"Aren't you getting a drink?" Sam asked James.

James declined, groaning, "Nah." He knew that even a trace amount of coffee in his cup could trigger chaos, and today was one of those days when he decided to skip it. I was relieved.

"How's it going, Sam?" I nudged him. Sam beamed as he pulled a stack of papers from the chair beside him.

"I collected this data while working on the prodigy project," he paused to sip his coffee, adding, "and a few other things. I think I saved it on my laptop after they fired me from the group."

"Great. So, what do you have?" James sat down next to me, rubbing his hands together. Sam pushed the stack toward him, and James immediately started flipping through the pages. I watched James groan and give Sam a disapproving look. I had a feeling this discussion would be intense.

James swiftly went through the stack, reaching the last page. "It talks about other supers and their abilities, as well as mine. You said you knew nothing about supers, right?" James sighed.

"I had some knowledge about them and their habits, enough to gain a basic understanding," Sam admitted, "but I didn't know them personally."

"And then there's me. You've been studying my superpowers from the beginning," James said, sipping his latte after his outburst.

"That was the only way I could learn more about the supergenes. I had limited time to study other supers," Sam confessed. It struck me as if Sam had foreseen James discovering his childhood experiments. Did he?