Superhero Squad Read online

  “Speaking of which, does it fit OK?” Georgie asked.

  “Perfectly,” I said. “Thanks for designing it for me. It looks so cool with the trainers.”

  “You’re very talented when it comes to accessorizing,” Mum added.

  “I feel lucky being able to design Lightning Girl’s personal accessories,” Georgie replied, blushing.

  It was weird to think how nervous I used to feel around Georgie Taylor and Suzie Bravo. Georgie has always been the coolest girl in school. Her mum was a publicist for some of the biggest fashion brands, so Georgie always had the latest bags and more – but then she’d add her own touch, making them totally unique and even cooler.

  Her best friend Suzie, the gymnastics captain, was equally as popular. She loved to entertain everyone with her amazing gym skills, cartwheeling through the classroom to rapturous adoring applause. The only person in our class who wasn’t afraid of Suzie, aside from Georgie, was Fred, the class joker. Suzie was his favourite person in the world to play pranks on – and that hadn’t changed, even now they were friends.

  Georgie, Suzie, Fred and Kizzy found out about my superpowers before anyone else, completely by accident. I thought they were going to call me a big freak and get me expelled, but instead they thought it was kind of cool and formed a secret superhero club, called the Bright Sparks, so that I would never have to face any danger alone.

  Although, since the precious stones rescue at the Natural History Museum, the Bright Sparks hadn’t had all that much to do. Our superhero meetings mainly involved eating pizza and watching movies. But still.

  “Why was I getting my lightning-bolt jacket, Kizzy?” I yawned.

  “To wear it during the photoshoot for your new cereal bar, Lightning Crunch, which started an hour ago. I’ve been calling and calling.”

  “Oh no,” I groaned, burying my head in my hands as things became a bit less hazy. “I’m sorry. I remember now. I sat down at the kitchen table to tie my shoelaces” – I glanced at my undone shoes – “and I must have just fallen asleep mid-tying.”

  “I’m not surprised,” Dad said, sitting down at the table opposite me. “You haven’t stopped the past few weeks. All these events and rescue missions.”

  Mum nodded in agreement, resting a hand on his shoulder. It may have only seemed like a small gesture, but seeing my parents acting like a team made me feel so happy. They had separated around the time I discovered my powers. It had been horrible.

  But I guess it had been horrible for Mum and Dad too, because they realized that they couldn’t be without each other. Mum had gradually moved her things back into the house and now they seemed to be stronger than ever.

  I asked Mum recently how things were with Dad and she got this gooey look in her eyes and went, “Oh, he’s so handsome, isn’t he?”

  It was gross. In a good way.

  “Have you been on to Snapchat?” Suzie asked, interrupting my thoughts. “They’ve created a new Lightning Girl filter. It is so cool. It shoots lightning bolts out of your head.”

  “But my lightning bolts come out of my hands.”

  “Whatever.” She sighed dreamily. “A Snapchat filter means you’ve truly made it.”

  “And a cereal bar named after you DEFINITELY means you’ve made it,” Fred added.

  Kizzy smiled, getting out her phone. “Which brings us nicely to why we’re all here. An opportunity has come up—”

  “Whoa, what am I missing?” The kitchen door opened and my brother came in, acknowledging everyone with a wave before heading straight for the fridge. “This looks like an important meeting.”

  “Alexis,” Mum said, exasperated. “Why are you still in your pyjamas? It is the middle of the afternoon.”

  “So? It’s the summer holidays.” He took several glugs of coconut water straight from the bottle.

  “Ew! Alexis!” I huffed. “You’re putting your germs all over it!”

  “Better than almost taking out the house with uncontrollable light beams. I felt the energy blast all the way up in my room and saw the flash of light under my door – it distracted me from my project. I thought you were supposed to be able to handle your powers by now,” he replied. “Maybe you need to take Aurora’s superhero training up a notch, Mum.”

  “I’ll have you know she is completely in control of her superpowers,” Mum said defensively. “But we haven’t had much time to squeeze in training recently, what with all her media appearances and things, and she’s overtired and—”

  “What’s happening?” My little sister Clara appeared at Alexis’s side holding a science text book. “No offence, but you’re all being very loud and I’m trying to study DNA.”

  “It’s the summer holidays. And aren’t you only seven years old?” Suzie asked, baffled.

  “Yeah. Why?”

  “Hang on,” Dad interjected, narrowing his eyes at Alexis. “What project?”

  “Huh?”

  “You just said that Aurora’s light beams distracted you from your project. What project?”

  Alexis shuffled his feet. “Nothing. It’s nothing. Just a thing. A nothing thing. Nothing.”

  “Alexis,” Dad growled, “what are you up to now?”

  “Yeah, Alexis, what are you up to now?” Fred grinned in excitement.

  Everyone at school knew that Alexis had a knack for both technology and big trouble. He was always in detention for something, like hacking into the school computer system and changing his grades, or the time he sent round a mass email to parents and students, declaring that the school was closed for the week while they dealt with a “rodent infestation”.

  The teachers spent the whole of Monday morning wondering where everyone was until they worked out what had happened. We all got the day off and Alexis was suspended for two days – which, in his eyes, was a win because technically he got three days off.

  “Change of subject, anyone?” Alexis asked the room as Dad glared at him.

  “How about we finally tell Aurora what we’re all doing here,” Georgie suggested, while Alexis dodged Dad’s eye contact.

  “Aurora, you’ve been invited on Good Morning Britain!” Suzie exclaimed. “It is SO cool.”

  I blinked at her. “What?”

  “I got the call about half an hour ago,” Kizzy said. “They want you on the breakfast show tomorrow morning.”

  “Hang on, wait a minute,” I said, trying to unscramble my very tired brain. “What are you talking about?”

  “You know the TV show, Good Morning Britain? They’ve invited you on as a star guest,” Kizzy explained. “They’ll send a car to pick you up in the early hours and then you’ll do a full interview. It’s completely up to you whether you want to do it or not.”

  “Kizzy told us, and we decided that if you did go on the show, you were going to need ALL the help you could get, which is why we’re here,” Suzie said.

  Kizzy shot her a pointed look.

  “What?” Suzie shrugged. “This is national television we’re talking about. Didn’t you see the ladder footage? She clearly needs our help.”

  “What Suzie means is, we’re the Bright Sparks.” Georgie smiled. “We’re in it together.”

  “What do you think, Aurora?” Mum asked.

  “Uh…”

  “You’ve been doing a lot recently and I actually think maybe you need a break from all this … fame. You look exhausted and it would be a four a.m. start.”

  “Four a.m.?” Alexis snorted. “Nothing could get me out of bed at four a.m.”

  “Hello!” Suzie cried, throwing up her hands. “It’s Good Morning Britain! Do you know how cool it is to be invited on that show? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! I’m hoping to have a gymnastics slot right after Aurora’s interview.”

  “I don’t want to disappoint you, Suzie, but I really don’t think they’re going to let you do gymnastics on the show just because you happen to be in the studio,” Kizzy pointed out. “They have a schedule.”

  “You d
on’t know that,” Suzie replied confidently. “They haven’t seen my back flip yet or heard me talk about my new routine.”

  “They must be the only ones left on the planet,” Fred added under his breath, receiving a sharp glare.

  “Aurora, what do you think?” Dad asked, placing a hand gently on mine. “We’ll do whatever you want.”

  “I don’t know,” I admitted.

  They all waited patiently as I bit my lip, deep in thought.

  “All right,” I said eventually. “I’ll do the interview.”

  “YES!” Suzie said, high-fiving Georgie.

  “I’ll let them know.” Kizzy jumped to her feet and tapped a number into her phone.

  Mum and Dad shared a look.

  “What?” I asked, standing up and stretching.

  “I just don’t want you overdoing it, that’s all,” Mum said, concerned. “And being in the public eye is tiring. You need a rest.”

  I yawned, plodding over to the kitchen sink to splash cold water on my face in the hope it might make me feel more alive. “Mum, it’s just an interview. What’s the worst that could happen?”

  3

  When the shiny black car pulled up to our drive, Suzie let out a loud scream at the top of her lungs.

  “Suzie!” Kizzy hissed, picking up her bag from the floor of the hallway. “You’re going to wake up the whole neighbourhood!”

  Suzie checked her leotard and perfect ponytail one last time in the mirror, before pulling on her coat and taking a deep breath. “It’s showtime.”

  “It’s showtime for Aurora,” Fred reminded her, yawning and wiping sleep from his eyes. “Not for you.”

  I smiled nervously. “For all of us. Thanks for staying the night so you could come to this interview with me.”

  “Are you kidding?” Georgie laughed, as Suzie did some stretching, reaching down to touch her toes. “It’s hardly a chore. The last time I saw Suzie this excited, it was when she won the gold at the Under-12s Gymnastic Nationals.”

  “It was actually the Under-13s and I won it three years in a row,” Suzie corrected, marching towards the front door. “Are we all ready to go? Look alive, people!”

  “Coming!” Mum whispered, creeping down the stairs, careful not to wake Dad or Alexis.

  I knew that Clara was awake because when my alarm had gone off I’d spotted the light on under her door.

  I’d opened it to find her writing some kind of formula with marker pen on the white board Mum and Dad got her for Christmas. “No can do,” she’d shrugged when I’d told her to go back to sleep. “A problem popped into my brain and I won’t be able to sleep unless I work it out.”

  It didn’t take a genius to work out that my little sister was … well … a genius.

  “All right, everyone,” Kizzy said as Suzie opened the front door to wave at the driver and let him know we were on our way. “I’ll go with Aurora and Kiyana, you can drive the others if that’s OK.”

  Mum gave her a salute. “Roger that.”

  “How come you get to go in the flashy television studio car?” Suzie grumbled.

  “Because she is in charge of Aurora’s schedule,” Georgie pointed out. “It’s lucky that they’re letting all of us tag along in the first place.”

  Kizzy laughed. “You can come with us if you want, Suzie. There’s plenty of room I’m sure.”

  Suzie squealed and clapped her hands. “Yes! Thanks, Kizzy, you’re the best!”

  Georgie sighed as Suzie raced towards the driver, who swung open the door for her. “She is going to be impossible today, isn’t she?”

  “When is she ever not impossible?” Fred yawned, following Mum to her car. “Any chance we can leave her behind?”

  Kizzy and I laughed, sliding into the back seat next to Suzie, who was busy talking to the driver about how nice the leather seats were.

  “How are you feeling?” Kizzy asked me, as we sped towards the London studio. It was dark still and the roads were completely empty, so it felt as though we were the only ones in the country awake.

  “Fine,” I gulped. “Just a bit nervous. I wish I knew what they were going to ask me.”

  “You’ll be great,” Kizzy said encouragingly. “Just be yourself. They’ll love you.”

  By the time we pulled up at the studio, I felt so nervous that I could barely step out of the car. It felt as though a million butterflies were fluttering about in my stomach and my limbs were so tired that every time I tried to move, it was as though I was wading through a pot of treacle.

  “Wow!” Suzie exclaimed as we walked through the glass doors to the reception area. “It is just how I imagined it!”

  A smartly dressed woman wearing a headset and bright red lipstick came hurrying over to greet us, shaking my hand vigorously. “Hello! I’m Jennifer, one of the producers here. What an honour to have you on the show, Lightning Girl. Or would you rather I call you Miss Beam?”

  “Aurora is great, thank you,” I croaked, the butterfly nerves now beginning to crawl up my throat.

  “Let’s get you to hair and make-up.” She beamed, nodding at Suzie and Kizzy before Fred, Mum and Georgie came bustling through the doors. “Come on through, everyone.”

  Suzie immediately launched into a million questions, barely leaving Jennifer any time to answer them, as she led us past security and down to a dressing room, holding open the door for me. There was a row of chairs facing a long mirror with light bulbs all around it.

  Suzie gasped. “This is just SO showbiz!”

  “You’re in here, Aurora,” Jennifer said, ushering me through. “I’ll take everyone else to the studio while you get ready. You’re in great hands!”

  As the door closed, a group of make-up artists and hair stylists surrounded me, leading me to a seat in front of the mirror and offering me a cup of tea before getting to work. I felt like a movie star getting ready for a premiere. They began applying powder to “remove the shine” and I found my heavy eyelids closing. It was so early, and the feeling of make-up brushes sweeping along my cheeks was weirdly relaxing, so I just kind of let my eyes stay closed a bit longer and the next thing I knew I was jolted awake, coughing and spluttering through a cloud of hairspray.

  “You drifted off there,” a man chuckled, as he continued to suffocate me, spraying liberally across my curls. “Superhero work is exhausting, huh?”

  There was a knock on the door and Mum poked her head round. “Can I come in?”

  “Sure,” he said, putting the hairspray down. “She’s all ready to go.”

  “Hey, you look great,” Mum said, perching on the dressing table as I blinked at my reflection. I was amazed to see the dark circles under my eyes had completely vanished.

  “I’m so sorry, Aurora, but I have to go,” she admitted, holding up her phone. “There’s been a situation with some kind of out-of-control fire-breathing robot in Essex.” She let out a long sigh. “I wish bad guys would stop trying to take over the world. It’s very inconvenient.”

  “You have to leave now?”

  “Afraid so.” Mum put her phone in the pocket. “According to my source, they’ve sent their very best at it so far, but to no avail. I’m needed right away.”

  Mum had never actually met her “source”, the mysterious person who contacted her whenever she was needed to save the country. She had told me that whoever it was, they were very high up in the British Intelligence Service, but also very good at being able to keep their identity a secret from her. She’d asked to meet them face-to-face several times, but they had refused, informing her that she’d be introduced when the time was right.

  Mum’s still not entirely sure how they found out about her powers in the first place all those years ago, but one day she’d received a message from an unknown number telling her about an evil scientist who had escaped from prison. All the police knew was that he was hiding in a network of pitch-black, eerie caves in Yorkshire. Mum’s ability to summon light meant she’d quickly been able to find him and overpower h
im, and since then she had continued to get messages and phone calls with computerized voices telling her when she was needed to save the day.

  She had a special message alert tone for her source, so whenever her phone pinged in a certain way, our whole family would let out a collective groan, knowing that she’d have to rush off.

  She still didn’t let me join her on the dangerous types of superhero missions her source sent her on. I just had to stick with rescuing the likes of grumpy Mister Salmon.

  “Listen,” Mum said, leaning towards me, “I think it would be best if you didn’t display your superpowers on television, OK?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, that if the presenters ask you to show off your light beams, tell them no.”

  “Why?”

  Mum shrugged. “You’ve been under a lot of stress recently and I know you’re putting on a front, but I can tell that you’re not yourself. It’s been a while since we did some serious training and I—”

  “Mum, I am in full control of my superpowers,” I said, shifting in my seat.

  “I’m not saying that you’re not,” she replied firmly. “But, just in case, I don’t think it’s worth putting anyone in danger. There’s no need for you to prove anything; you can just tell them what it’s like to have superpowers. I don’t think we should risk it. That’s all I’m saying.”

  I sighed. “Fine.”

  “Great. Well, good luck, you’ll be amazing. I’m sorry I won’t be able to see it live, but, hey,” she kissed me on the forehead, “superhero duty calls.”

  I was just about to wish her luck too, but by the time I opened my mouth, she’d already gone, the door swinging behind her.

  Along with her light-beam power, Mum also happened to be VERY fast.

  All the Beam women had extra perks alongside their powers. They weren’t extra superpowers as such, just something in particular that we excelled at. Mum was crazily fast, while her sister had super levels of charm. I’ve been a victim of Aunt Lucinda’s persuasive skills, accidentally aiding her in stealing a precious diamond necklace, so I can confirm that they are very effective.