Adopting The Superhero

Chapter 20

Nyssa's pov

"But why do I have to go?" I whine, stomping my foot down.

"Because it's a charity event, and it would look bad if we showed up to a charity event without our charity case," Calum teases, grinning widely. I give him a dirty look. "I was just kidding!" He defends, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Don't make me kick your ass, Hood," I warn, "You know I will. I'll even enjoy it." He rolls his eyes at my empty threats. He and Luke both know that I won't actually hurt them. They figured that out pretty early on. Bastards.

"Are you guys ready yet?" Ashton asks, running a hand through his curly hair.

"Yeah. Just a warning that we'll probably have to deal with Nyssa's bitching the entire car ride," Luke warns as we walk out to the car. I lightly kick the back of his leg, then climb into the car. Luke is actually the one whining the entire time.

~

"Xander?" I ask, shocked to see one of the other supers here. The two of us are up on the roof of the building, trying to escape the crowd. He hadn't struck me as the type of guy to come to these charity things.

"Hey Nyssa. How's it going? How are your ribs?" He questions, smiling at me.

"It's good, I guess. My ribs are fine. I heal quickly so..." I trail off. "Did you get dragged here too?"

Xander smiles wider and laughs softly, "I guess you can say that. My parents are the hosts. This is one of the few events they actually make me go to with them. Good for the press, you know."

"Trust me, I know all about good press. That's why I'm here. 5SOS was invited and they need their publicity stunt," I complain. I instantly feel bad. Xander, the son of the people hosting, is not the one to be whining to.

"Don't worry. It's boring. Our maid, Heather, used to have to come get me pretty early on because I was always complaining." I laugh with him.

"So how's the whole superhero thing going?" I inquire, lowering my voice down to a whisper.

"Good, I think. I haven't flooded any more buildings. Seth and Devon have been watching for crime for me. Kind of like what Aiden and Oliver do for you. Although, I have to say, I should've picked out my name before the media picked it out for me. I mean, what kind of a name is 'Storm'?"

"Could've been worse," I point out, "Electro Boy. Or maybe Flood Man. The media is dumb like that." Xander laughs hard, his eyes crinkling by the corners as he struggles to catch his breath.

"I think I would've gone into hiding if I got a name that bad," He admits. I nod in agreement. Before we can continue our conversation my phone starts going off. The Viper phone. I groan.

"What is it?" I demand, not feeling up to this.

"You're at the Michaels building, right? As in the huge company that's having a charity event tonight?" Aiden demands, furiously typing away on the other end.

"Yeah. Why? What's going on?" I ask, crossing my arms. Xander gives me a confused look.

"Well we have more robbers. They took five hostages who were apparently coming back to the main event from the bathrooms or kitchen. They have guns and are demanding a shit ton of money. They have the hostages in some room which I can't figure out where it is. Dammit!" He screeches, slamming his fists down onto the keyboard out of frustration.

"Calm down, Aiden. Xander is here. He knows the building. Text me a pic of the room. But what do we know about the hostages?" I ask, putting the phone on speaker. Xander is listening closely.

"One waiter, two random guests, Mrs. Michaels, and Ashton," Aiden answers quickly, typing again.

"My Ashton? Like the 5SOS boy?" I inquire.

"Yeah. You and Xander go and kick some ass. Save my drummer for me," Aiden commands. He ends the call.

"That's my mom," Xander finally speaks, his voice shaky.

"We'll save her. I have to run back to get changed. I'll be back in like a minute. Be changed by then," I instruct. Xander nods. I run off to get changed into my costume.