Half Hero ⚡️ {Superhero Adventure Scifi}

Chapter 33: Safety First

"Alright, so Oxford," I said brightly, stretching against the matted bus seat.

Behind Mac's substantial frame, the striking tropical landscape rushed by on our non-stop ride to KL (which was local cool-kid slang for Malaysia's capital city, Kuala Lumpur.) Our bus didn't have air conditioning, so every grubby window slot that could be opened was howling gusts of wind down the aisles.

"What about it?" He grunted, looking down at me.

"All about it!" I cried, exasperated. "Like for instance, why were you living in that hovel up in Canada as Eddy the muffin man, if you have a Ph.D. from Oxford?"

"For exactly the reasons you would think," Mac scoffed, rolling his shoulders back to relax against the rigid seat. "If you're going to keep asking stupid questions, I'm going to take a nap."

"Why don't you want Hamm to know where you are?" I challenged him, twisting my chair to face him.

"Because I don't want to make his Christmas card list," Mac replied, closing his eyes.

"I don't think you want him to know you're alive."

"Wow," Mac opened one eye to look at me. "You put all of that together by yourself, after a month and a half of critical thinking? I'm going to take a victory nap on your behalf."

"You do that," I moped, pulling my knees up to my chest.

I stared aimlessly past my seatmate through the window.

"Hey, Mac?"

"Shh, I'm pretending to sleep."

"What do I do if that doctor can't fix me?" The question rushed out of my mouth before I could stop it.

Mac opened one eye to stare down at me, quirking his mouth into half a smile.

"The way I see it, you've got two options," he answered. "One, you stay on the run and off Hamm's radar, or two, you do whatever the hell you want. I mean, objectively speaking, who's going to stop you? Apart from maybe an industrial-strength surge protector."

I smiled wistfully at the image that evoked, and dug deep for my reply.

"I want my mom and brother to know I'm alive," I whispered, trying to hide the quiver in my voice. "Even if I can't ever see them again, I don't want them to think I'm dead."

"That's going to be tricky," Mac said gently, nudging me with his hairy tennis ball elbow.

"And I want Hamm dead," I flexed my jaw against the tension of saying it out loud. "I want to stop him from going after my family, and I want to be the one to do it."

"While I like your enthusiasm," Mac's deep sigh rattled in his barrel chest. "You know how a confrontation with Hamm is going to end, right? You may have supernatural abilities, but you're no superhero."

I held his steady gaze, willing the hot tears pricking the corners of my eyes not to spill out over my lashes. Mac bobbed his head knowingly and smiled.

"But you could be," he conceded. "Maybe."

"What do you think Hamm knows about Scions?" I pried, knowing that I was broaching a touchy subject.

"A lot more than he lets on," Mac nodded dourly. "He's been looking for someone like you longer than you've been alive."

"So, I'm not the first Scion?"

"You're probably the first he's been able to capture," Mac guessed, knitting his shaggy brows. His expression tightened, considering some unknown factor I wasn't privy to.

"Have you met another person like me?" I asked.

"Yes," he nodded, looking away. "But securing proof is harder than you'd think."

"Why did you say they didn't exist?"

"Because the less the world knows about Scions, especially you, the better," Mac turned his somber gaze to meet mine. "Do you think Hamm is the only person out there who might want to exploit or control power like yours? As far as I'm concerned, I don't want anything to do with this crap."

"Then why are you helping me?"

"I'm helping out my dead buddy's daughter because she's in a bad way. That's all."

His retort stung like a tranquilizer dart in the ass, and I turned away to hide my reaction.

"I'm sorry, Ella," Mac didn't sound the least bit apologetic. "It's really for the best. After we find this doctor, I think we should go our separate ways. I will help you secure a new identity, like I promised, but this is for your safety."

"Yeah, that's cool. Safety first, I understand," I grunted into my chest, picking at the frayed tangerine material on the edge of my seat. "I was thinking the same thing."

"Oh, good then," he replied, sounding entirely convinced.

"Good, yeah, fine," I huffed.

Shortly after, Mac was snoring loudly with his head lolling back off the seat. I pulled our scruffy cards out of the backpack to start a miserable game of solitaire.

Quick straw poll: How many of you think their plan is going to work out?