Secret Super (Book 1)

27. Two-Faced

"Aren't you coming along?" Kian said, narrowing her eyes.

Zadia looked up. "Didn't think you'd want me to after the last mission."

"You mean your screw up?" Kian knitted her eyebrows together. "You did . . . fine. I wouldn't hate having you tag along."

Zadia smiled a little.

Kian grimaced. "Don't tell anyone I said that."

"Or what? You'll glare at me?"

"No, I'll rip out your spine and strangle you with it. Sure you don't wanna come with us?"

"I'm gonna, uh, keep practicing for a while. I think I need to get better at invisibility first."

"Suit yourself." Kian shrugged and left the room, slamming the door shut behind her. Finally.

Zadia waited a few minutes until she was out of the building, legs crossed with her stomach twisting on the sofa. Then she leapt up. Time to "practice."

She left the room to find herself in a place that looked like some kind of abandoned crop factory. Judging by the broken-down state and lack of windows, they must be deep in the Undercity. The walls were covered in soot marks and chemical stains, all the brownish wallpaper burned or peeling off. Ancient-looking water pipes snaked through the high ceiling. Oil oozed from a pile of old machinery at the end of the hall, pooling on the floor in slick dark puddles.

She wandered around aimlessly for a few minutes, running her fingers through the grooves in the walls. But though she checked all the doors that she could pry open, she couldn't find a laboratory or even any files. A few times she heard voices and ducked down another hallway to avoid them.

Half an hour passed and she still hadn't found anything. She let out a frustrated groan and fell back against a wall. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe she should just go back to her room before anyone discovered she was gone.

Then something on the opposite wall drew her gaze. She narrowed her eyes. One patch of the wall was covered in fresh wallpaper, as if someone had been doing renovations very recently. The newer wallpaper was splashed with a few what looked like oil stains, but it still stood out. Zadia ran over and felt for the edge.

Sure enough, the wallpaper peeled off. She kept scrabbling, taking more off, growing more and more excited. Enough of it came off to reveal a door hinge. Oh, there was definitely something suspicious happening on the other side. Who'd go to so much trouble to hide a door?

She yanked the handle and it swung open easily. Casting a few looks around to make sure no one was watching, she tore through the wallpaper on the other side, and walked through--

--Into a place that looked identical to the rest of the building. Just a different section. Maybe there was nothing going on after all. But she pressed on, making sure to remember each turn.

At the third right, she heard voices.

"--can't wait for my next mission. They won't know what hit them." A young, excited male voice.

"Be careful. Supers are dangerous. They don't care about the lives of us lesser beings." A deeper voice, female.

Zadia backed up and took the left turn instead.

Shit. It was a dead end. She ducked behind some factory equipment and waited, hoping the voices would fade.

They didn't. In fact, they started approaching her.

Zadia reached for the energy, about to fade into the background--

But then she hesitated. This could be her only chance to figure out what was going on.