Zadia kept looking behind her shoulder as she traced the digital map to the meeting place. Maybe she didn't want anyone to recognize her here. Maybe she just didn't know what to expect, or why the flashing green lines crawling through the map on her datapad were leading closer to the Outskirts.
Her steps got quicker the farther the green lines led her. Beyond this sector, the map ended in a blur of static. When she clicked on it, small green letters warned No transportation beyond this point.
The closer she got to the Outskirts, the more the map started to fuzz with static. She finally looked up to see she was staring at a chain link fence. Beyond the fence, the desert wasteland known as the Outskirts lay smoldering, shrouded in Smog. Rocks glimmered through the dust and smoke.
She looked down at the map. Seriously?
"You have reached your destination," said a cool female voice.
She turned around slowly. Besides a few people shuffling around in the distance, there was no one here. A broken billboard flickered with advertisements.
Zadia's hands felt clammy. She backed up against a wall.
"I already went into a sewer," she said out loud. "I am not going into the Outskirts."
Great. Now she was talking to herself too.
The wall started moving behind her. She yelped and jumped away. A set of doors she hadn't even realized were there grated open with a faint screech of protest.
Bad idea, she thought frantically. This whole thing was a-
A security guard appeared in the doorway, slouching against the wall.
"Name?" His heavily-lidded eyes flicked up to barely glance at her. He stared back down at the device in his hands, bushy eyebrows furrowing.
She swallowed. "Zadia Starr." Somehow her voice came out a lot more confident than she felt.
The security guard punched something into his device and nodded, standing up straight. "This way, please."
She didn't have time to think about it before he grabbed her arm and yanked her through the door. She heard the heavy door grating shut as she stumbled through.
"Welcome to the Secret Super Society," the man rumbled.
Talk about tongue-twisters, she thought, and hurried after the security guard.
* * * * *
"Where are you going? We don't have a mission right now, right? Because I didn't- I mean, I thought the next one was tomorrow!"
Jace appeared out of nowhere, her curls frizzy and a flush in her cheeks as if she had run the whole way there.
Kara jumped. "Jace," she breathed. "Stop coming out of nowhere!"
"Sorry," Jace said, biting her lip. "What are you doing? Wait, is the Council making you do a solo mission?"
"Not exactly."
YOU ARE READING
Secret Super (Book 1)
ActionKara is training to become a superhero, but she's stuck with a snobby sidekick, boring missions, and too many rules. Craving adventure, she jumps at the chance to work for a mysterious organization off the books. Zadia's hidden her powers for years...
