Big City Villain | BOOK ONE

Revamped Chapter Ten: And the Games Begin.

I have never been more comfortable in my entire life than I was at that moment, curled up in bed. My pillow was so soft, and my bed so warm; it soothed my aching body. I sighed happily and pulled the blankets around me tighter. /Is there anything better?/

The night had ended with another round of power-growing pains, which was becoming a regular occurrence. Most of the time, growing pains are just powers stabilizing, but the more powerful supers could end up with new abilities. I was only a level six, so the chances of suddenly waking up and being able to fly were minimal. Still, I liked to dream.

My main powers were the ability to absorb shock and create fire. Tagging along with those two was super hearing and enhanced thinking that, in theory, I could use to make smart decisions. Most of the time, I just ignored it.

Regardless of power levels, these growing pains were the worst and the bane of my existence.

I grabbed my phone from under my pillow and turned it back on. My eyes were too bleary to see the screen properly, and I had to blink several times before the numbers came into focus. 12:54 P.M. Sixteen unread messages.

"No!" I sat up and smacked my head. How could I have overslept? And why did no one wake me? I bet there's no more coffee. Fruitastic, I had a history quiz I actually studied for today.

My phone buzzed again with another text. Fourteen texts were from Charlie. Two were from Mom, and the last one was from Benj. Mom asked if I was okay and said she had excused me from school. Benj had texted during the night, wondering if I knew what happened to his ice cream.

Charlie's texts ranged from filling me in on random things happening at school, and others were asking how I was doing and if it was another 'episode.' The latest message asked if I would make it to the high school football game tonight. It was the King City Royals against Auda City's team and we were sure to lose. I had zero plans on missing it. Any chance to see our quarterback Bryant lose was one I didn't miss. Bryant was a bully, and while you'd think villains and bullies would get along, we don't. Bullies are too personal.

'Do u mind if I invite Elora?' Charlie texted.

I frowned. Elora? Why does he want to invite her? 'Nooooo,' I texted. 'She thinks she's Miss Perfect. Did you see how she cut up her sandwich???'

'2 late. She's coming.'

I sent him a straight-faced emoji and set my phone aside. With my convenient super hearing, I could tell that I was completely home alone, and I decided to relish the rare occasion. Thirty minutes later, I was back in bed, equipped with hot coffee, doordashed Chinese food, and a good book.

"Mm, double Beijing Beef and Chow Mein, we meet again," I mumbled.

I texted Charlie a picture of my lunch, mainly to rub his face in it. He replied with a picture of a stack of assignments the teachers had given me, with a note that most of it was due tomorrow. I scowled and told him to go sit with Benjamin and see if I cared. It was another ten minutes of back-to-back bickering before Charlie suddenly went silent. I guessed the teacher had confiscated his phone again.

The lighthearted banter didn't do much to kill the mood. I needed to find out who City Sweeper was, why they had it out for my brother, and if Catastrophe was somehow involved with it all. Kasim's intel was important, but it left me with far more questions than answers, and I had a bad feeling that I wasn't going to get the time needed to figure everything out.

****

The bleachers were filling up when I arrived at the football field, and I had a hard time finding Charlie in the crowd. With three hot dogs in hand, I tried to carefully make my way along the edge of the bleachers, hoping Charlie would call out my name before I looked like I was completely lost.