 
### Table of Contents

Title Page

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CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

PREVIEW: Tag Team Chapter One

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About the Author
BAIT & SWITCH

Book 1 of The Supervillain's Kids

Lucas Flint

Published by Secret Identity Books. An imprint of Annulus Publishing.

Copyright © Lucas Flint 2017. All rights reserved.

Contact: luke@lucasflint.com

Cover design by Damonza

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, send an email to the above contact.
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CHAPTER ONE

Grace Greggs--best known as Switch, daughter of the supervillain Electrica--was quite proud of herself for sneaking out of her dorm in the middle of the night without waking up her roommates. It helped that the two girls who slept in the same dorm as her had been completely knocked out, even though they'd stayed up far later in the night than her, chatting about boys and sharing makeup tips, despite the fact that they were supposed to be studying their homework. They probably had never suspected that Switch was plotting her escape that very night, but even if they had, Switch would have gone ahead with the plan anyway, even if that meant knocking together a couple of skulls, because Switch had no desire to stay in this dumb superhero school any longer than she already had.

The Theodore Jason Academy for Young Superhumans, her twin brother, Bait (who was staying in a completely separate dorm from her), would have corrected her, if he had been here. And it's not dumb. The teachers here are going to help us avoid making the same mistakes as Mom.

Switch could not help but snort when she thought that, though she paused in the trees along the main campus path and looked around just to make sure she really was alone. She did not see anyone else out tonight--the entire campus seemed deserted--but Switch knew, from experience, that there was usually at least one security guard active at all times in this idiotic school and sometimes they even had robot assistants; those were the worst. Switch's metallic fingernail projectiles (which she called nail bullets, if only because it sounded cooler than metallic fingernail projectiles) were rarely effective against the robotic guards that sometimes stalked the campus grounds like mountain lions. They were useful against the human guards, though, because their uniforms usually weren't thick enough to catch the nail bullets themselves.

In any case, when Switch saw that she was alone tonight, she rose from her hiding place and resumed making her way to the exit, sticking to the darkest parts of the campus on the off-chance that someone else other than her might be out tonight. As a result, her movement was slower and more deliberate than she would have liked, but she had learned from experience that slow and deliberate was the best way to go about sneaking around unseen. Mom probably wouldn't have agreed, but Mom was also a powerful supervillain capable of traveling through electricity lines and frying anyone who tried to catch her, so this was one area where Switch would just have to do her own thing.

But Mom will be real happy to see me when I get her out of Ultimate Max, Switch thought, a smile creeping across her lips as she paused behind a tree, looked around briefly, and resumed her walking again. Don't know how happy she'll be when I tell her about Bait, though.

Thinking about her twin brother made Switch scowl. Bait had always been more of a goody two shoes than her, but ever since the two of them had been forced to attend this stupid school, he had gone completely off the rails. He often preached to her about how this was their chance to avoid repeating the mistakes of their Mom, how he loved Mom more than anyone but realized that she had been raising them wrongly, and how he was looking forward to becoming a superhero in his own right someday.

Switch would have punched him if he was here right now. He wasn't exactly a traitor, maybe, but she found his lack of loyalty to Mom disturbing. Didn't he realize that Mom needed their help? She'd been arrested and thrown into Ultimate Max--the best and only prison for supervillains in the country--about two months ago now and was unlikely to ever be released. Mom was normally capable of getting out of even the worst situations by herself, but this time, Mom was truly trapped, because Ultimate Max was specifically designed to hold supervillains like her. Switch had never visited the prison herself, but she'd heard rumors that the guards all carried guns that could shoot powerless pellets, which would release a gas that could disable a superhuman's powers for a brief period of time.

It's really rich hearing Bait talk about becoming 'good,' Switch thought. He was just as eager about committing crimes and doing what Mom told us to do when we were younger as I was, maybe even more so. He's probably just putting on an act to make everyone think he's turned over a new leaf, seen the light and all that. If Mom hadn't been arrested--

The sound of crunching leaves almost made Switch jump. For a moment, she thought that the gig was up, that she had been spotted by one of the guards and they were coming to drag her, kicking and screaming, back to her dorm.

But when Switch turned her head in the direction from which the sound came, she saw a raccoon, of all things, standing very still in the bushes. Its big eyes stared at her, as if it had never seen a human before, though based on its size, it had to be an adult.

Switch scowled. "Scram, you stupid ring tail."

She aimed her index finger and fired one nail bullet. But the raccoon had fled even before she shot it, running away into the darkness between the Library and the Cafeteria without making a sound.

Lowering her finger, Switch shook her head. Dumb raccoons. She hated the little jerks. They were everywhere, especially at night, and had this tendency to trip up her escape attempts every time she tried to get out of here. One of her roommates, Melissa, loved raccoons and thought they were the cutest thing in the world, but Switch had decided in her mind that the next raccoon that messed up her next escape attempts would become a hat. She had no time to waste chasing this one, but maybe next time, she would.

Grumbling about stupid raccoons under her breath, Switch resumed sneaking around the campus. She passed the Administration Building, the Academy Clinic, and various other campus buildings, all of which were currently closed. She still didn't see any guards, but that was fine by her, because that meant that she might actually escape this time.

Normally, Switch would have headed for the gate, which was the primary entrance and exit for the Academy. But tonight, Switch was not going that way, because not only was the gate locked every night, but it was also always watched by the guards, perhaps more than any other place in the school. She had already tried the gate during her last few escape attempts anyway. Each time, she would be caught before she could climb over it or unlock it, and hauled back to her dorm, usually kicking and screaming.

No. Tonight, Switch was heading for a portion of the main fence surrounding the campus, a portion which had a hole in it. She had discovered the hole a few days ago, during lunchtime, when she had decided to take a walk around campus to see if she could find possible alternative escape routes. The hole in question was large enough for her to slip through, which she'd tested by actually climbing through it once. But she had returned just as quickly, because she knew that if she tried to escape during the day, the faculty would notice and send someone to catch her.

On the other hand, sneaking away during the night meant that by the time anyone realized Switch was no longer on campus, she'd be long gone. Also, even if someone woke up and realized that she was gone, finding her at night would still be harder than finding her during the day. If necessary, Switch could find somewhere out in the wilderness surrounding the school to hide until they gave up finding her, though she figured that she would not need to do that tonight.

Finally, after a few more minutes of sneaking around, Switch reached the campus fence. The fence was twice as tall as her, with sharp tipped points above it to make it harder for people to sneak in or out. The wires which made up the fence were also done together in such a way that the gaps between them were big enough maybe for your finger, but not big enough to escape.

Except, of course, for the hole which Switch spotted, the hole which would allow her to escape. Switch was relieved to see that it was still not fixed. She had been worried that the groundskeeper might have noticed it at some point during the last few days and fixed it. Thankfully, this portion of the fence was out of the way of most of the school's traffic, which meant that even the Academy's faculty and employees were likely unaware of it. Switch had no idea who had made this hole, though. And it had to have been made, because it looked like something had torn the hole open.

It's probably just a raccoon or something, Switch thought as she made her way over to the hole. Those little jerks will destroy anything, but for once, I'm not angry at them. Maybe I'll actually spare the next raccoon I see, instead of making it into a hat like I've been thinking about doing.

Switch stopped in front of the hole. She knew she should have crawled through it without hesitation, but she could not help but look back over her shoulder toward the campus itself. Though the night was dark, the main campus of the Academy was lit by lights from the front porches of the buildings; not enough to make sneaking around impossible, as Switch had already proved, but certainly enough to force her to be more careful than she otherwise would have been.

Bait is still back there, Switch thought. He's still stuck in this school just like me. I should go back and get him. Mom would be happy to see me, but she'd be even happier to see both of us together.

But Switch shook her head and turned away. Bait wouldn't have gone with her even if she had woken him up and guaranteed him that they would see Mom again. He had already shown an unwillingness to escape this stupid school in the past. All he wanted to do was suck up to the teachers and pretend to be a good little superhero. If that meant leaving Mom to rot in jail, then that was a perfectly acceptable price to pay, according to Bait. Well, Switch thought that that was what Bait thought. She didn't know what his actual motivation was, because she was so disgusted with his desire to become a 'real' hero that she didn't spend as much time with him as she normally did.

Once I get Mom out of prison, maybe we can come back and rescue Bait together, Switch thought. Mom always liked him more than me. Said he always reminded her of Dad, but maybe she'll like me more than him when she finds out I'm coming to save her.

Switch frowned. She rarely thought about Dad, but mostly because she had not known him growing up; hell, she didn't even know his name. For as long as Switch could remember, it had always been just her, Bait, and Mom, always on the run from superhero organizations like the Neohero Alliance or government agencies like the Department of Superpowered and Extraterrestrial Beings. It had been a hard life--even Switch could admit that--but at least they'd been a family and had always been there for each other.

Not anymore, Switch thought, her hands balling into fists. Mom's in jail, Bait has become soft and mushy, and Dad's still nowhere to be seen. How could things have gone to hell so quickly?

And then, of course, there was her other brother, or half-brother, really: Stinger, a member of the Young Neos, the most famous young superhero team in the country. But Switch thought about him even less than she thought about Dad, because she hadn't grown up with him like she had with Bait, though she'd always been aware of him even before she went to school.

If he and his stupid friends try to stop me from freeing Mom, I'll treat him like every other self-righteous 'superhero' in the world, Switch thought with a scowl. If he's smart, he'll stay out of my way when he hears that I escaped from the Academy. If he isn't... well, blood may be thicker than water, but I'm pretty sure that nail bullets are thicker than both.

But Switch shook her head again. What was she doing, standing around thinking about her family like this? She was just wasting time, time that could be better spent escaping. True, no one knew that she was here, but Mom had always taught Switch that you should never become complacent as a supervillain, because that was a good way to get caught. Switch supposed that Mom had gotten complacent herself, because that was the only way she could have been caught, but all that did was prove Mom right, as usual.

Right before Switch could climb through the hole to freedom, however, she heard a soft thwip sound and sticky webbing came out of nowhere and covered the hole. Switch jumped backwards on instinct and immediately raised all ten of her fingers in the way Mom had taught her, swinging her hands back and forth as she attempted to locate the web shooter, though it was too dark to see anything.

"Who's there?" Switch demanded, turning this way and that as she attempted to find the person who had blocked off her only avenue of escape. "Show yourself or else I'll put some nails in your eyes!"

Two more thwips came from the darkness and covered her hands. Switch immediately shot her nail bullets, but the webbing was so thick that they just got caught in it. She immediately began struggling to tear the webbing apart, but it had already solidified and now felt like concrete on her hands. It was times like this that she wished that Bait was here so they could trade powers. His super strength would have been very useful right now.

"That's better," came a familiar male voice from the darkness. "It's not appropriate for a child your age to be shooting those 'nail bullets,' as you call them, at people you can't see. Especially if those people are your own teachers."

A flashlight suddenly turned on, causing Switch to cover her eyes with her webbed hands. Even so, Switch recognized the voice, because she heard it many times a day in the Academy and had come to dread it. She didn't need to look to see who it was; still, she lowered her hands anyway and squinted her eyes to see her attacker.

The man holding up the flashlight was in his early thirties. He was tall and muscular, though he had a more athletic build than a bulky one. He wore a purple and green suit that always made Switch ill whenever she looked at it, a suit that covered his whole body from head to toe. On his chest was a spider-like design, while a strange, web-like cape hung from his shoulders.

But it was his eyes which Switch found herself staring at. They were a very light brown, almost yellow, and they were peering at her with their usual smugness, like a cat which had caught a mouse that thought it had managed to escape the cat.

"Arachnid," said Switch, scowling at him. "What are you doing up so late?"

Arachnid--who was also Switch's home room teacher--smirked. "That's a question I should be asking you, though I don't need to, given how this is the fifth time I've caught you in the act like this."

"Sixth," Switch said, pouting slightly. "Sixth time. I've tried to escape from this dumb school six times."

Arachnid shrugged. "I stopped keeping track after the third time, to be honest. That's also about the number of times I thought you'd give up. After all, third time is usually the charm, as they say."

Switch's scowl grew deeper, but she didn't say anything. Arachnid was the main reason Switch had failed to escape from school every time. He essentially had the powers of a spider, which included shooting web and wall-crawling. He was not the most powerful teacher in the school--that honor probably belonged to the Headmaster--but he was a master at stealth and sneaking up on people, even in broad daylight. Not only that, but he also always seemed to know everything that went on in the Academy, even things he was not present to hear. Bait was convinced that Arachnid could talk to spiders, who acted as his spies around the campus and reported everything to him, but Switch though Arachnid was just very good at keeping informed on everything.

"How did you know I was going to try to escape through this hole?" said Switch, gesturing awkwardly with her hands at the webbed up hole. "I didn't think anyone else knew about it, otherwise it would have been fixed."

"I followed you earlier today, when you went on your little walk around campus at lunch," Arachnid replied. "When I saw the hole, I thought about telling Balloon, the grounds keeper, to fix it, but decided that I would let you continue to think that you were the only one aware of it so you could incorporate it into your clever escape plan. But I will definitely ask Balloon to fix it later today; that web covering won't last forever, after all."

Switch thought about trying to run away, but there was nowhere else to run to in here. Besides, Arachnid was fast and would probably just web up her feet and drag her back to her dorm. That was how he caught her the first time she had tried to escape and she knew he wasn't above doing it again if need be.

Arachnid held out a hand. "Now, come with me and we'll head back to your dorm."

Switch stepped backwards, even though she had already decided that she didn't want to run away from him. "Make me, you jerk."

Arachnid's eyes narrowed. "If necessary, I will."

Switch bit her lower lip. Arachnid never seemed to get angry or upset, no matter what Switch called him. Maybe it was because he was an adult and had a lot of experience dealing with sarcastic or uncooperative kids, but it still annoyed Switch. If she couldn't escape this prison, then she had hoped to at least make life miserable for her teachers, if nothing else.

But Switch was a practical girl, if nothing else, and she recalled Mom telling her that it was usually a good idea to cooperate with the police if they had you cornered. Arachnid was no policeman, but he still had authority over her and it would still be wise to cooperate with him, at least for now. Switch would just have to figure out another way to escape. Seven was her lucky number, after all.

So Switch nodded grudgingly and walked over to Arachnid. Arachnid grabbed her arm when she got within reach of him and began pulling her along behind him. His grip was as firm as ever and Switch didn't resist, allowing him to pull her along behind him at a brisk pace.

Despite that, Switch could not help but look over her shoulder at the webbed over hole in the fence. With her best chance of freedom now closed off, Switch knew it would be weeks before she got another chance at escape again.

That was when she felt something put in her pocket. She started slightly, causing Arachnid to stop and look over his shoulder at her.

"What's the matter?" said Arachnid, who now sounded impatient. "Did you step on a snake or something?"

Switch glanced down at her pocket. There was something in it, a piece of paper from the look of it, but she immediately looked up at Arachnid again, not wanting him to suspect that she had a note. She didn't know what the note was or who had put it there, but she wanted a chance to look it over herself before he did so he wouldn't take it away from her.

"Nothing," said Switch in her usual sarcastic tone of voice. "It was just a stick."

Arachnid shook his head, muttered something about her scaring him for no reason, and then resumed pulling her along back to the campus. As they walked, Switch once again looked over her shoulder, but this time searching for the person who had put that note in her pocket.

But Switch saw nothing at all, save for the webbed over hole in the fence, which was slowly starting to vanish in the darkness of the night.
CHAPTER TWO

Jason Greggs--also known as Bait, son of the infamous supervillain Electrica, and superhero in training--rushed through the Academy campus as fast as he could, his backpack bouncing off his back as he ran. His breath bursting from his lungs, Bait kept glancing at his suit-up watch to see what time it was. He was dismayed to find out that he was going to be about five minutes late for Combat class, at least if he kept running at this current speed. He found himself wishing that he had had super speed instead of super strength as his power, like that kid named Lightspeed in his Gym class. Then he wouldn't have to be running to get to class on time.

But as long as I keep running, maybe I'll get there on time anyway, Bait thought as he ducked under a tree branch sticking out over the path. I just need to make sure I don't get distracted like I did last night.

Bait grimaced when he thought about how late he and his roommates stayed up last night playing video games. When Bait had returned to the dorms that evening, he had intended to study his homework for an hour and then go to bed at a reasonable time, but instead he got sucked into playing video games with his roommates, Max 'Wind Whisperer' Logan and Richard 'Falcon' Manny, for three hours. As a result, Bait had slept in late this morning and probably would have slept in even later if Max hadn't accidentally kicked his bed and woke him up.

The biggest problem was that Bait had been forced to miss breakfast, which was always held in the Cafeteria every morning from six to eight. As a result, Bait had been forced to eat a banana and drink some day old coffee from the day before in order to get some energy, but Bait could already feel it starting to wear off. Even so, he pushed himself to run as fast as he could, because he had no intention of being late for class again and having to endure the taunts of his classmates. He already had to deal with the fact that he and his sister were not very well liked due to their parentage. He didn't need to be known as someone who was always late for class as well, especially a class he was interested in.

Just got to keep running, Bait thought as he made his way north, toward the Coliseum, where his class for today was going to be. Keep running and don't let myself get distracted. Never let myself get distracted. Ever.

As Bait turned a corner, intending to take a shortcut between the Library and the Cafeteria that would cut a minute or two off his time, he heard someone crying for help, followed by what sounded like a fist punching someone's face and then derisive laughter from several guys. It was coming from the other side of the commons, near the Auditorium, which was out of Bait's way. He considered ignoring it--he was in too much of a hurry to think about anything else--but he hated hearing someone crying for help, so he decided to go and see who it was. And if it turned out to be nothing, then Bait could keep going north to the Coliseum and hopefully not have lost any significant amount of time in the process.

With a sigh, Bait turned and ran toward the Auditorium. He soon spotted the source of the noise: Three guys, who all looked to be in their late teens, standing around and laughing at a younger kid, who must have just turned thirteen based on how young his face was. All four of them wore the same blue and yellow uniform that all Academy students had to wear, uniforms just like Bait. That was how he knew they were his fellow students, albeit not ones he normally shared classes with as far as he could tell.

The four students were standing in the Auditorium parking lot, in front of the statue of Omega Man, the current leader of the Neohero Alliance superhero organization. Bait had always admired the Omega Man statue, because it was so huge, detailed, and impressive. It looked almost like Omega Man himself had been carved from stone, his huge, blank stone eyes watching over the entire campus like a silent protector or guardian. It helped that there were rumors that it actually was capable of moving, that it was actually some kind of giant robot encased in stone armor, but Bait didn't know whether those rumors were true or not.

Not that it mattered, however, because the Omega Man statue was doing nothing to protect the young student who was being bullied by the other students at its feet. As Bait watched, one of the bullies kicked the younger student in the gut, making him fall to the ground, clutching his stomach as the other two bullies laughed their approval. Bait, despite himself, could not help but smile, because it briefly reminded him of when he and his sister had been supervillains and had helped Mom in her crimes.

But then Bait shook his head. He needed to stop thinking like that. If he wanted to graduate as a superhero, then he would need to stop taking enjoyment in the suffering of people who were weaker than him. What was it that one of his teachers, Arthur 'Changer' Collins, had said a while back about superheroes having to do what was right, rather than what they wanted? Bait wasn't sure if that was it, but either way he knew it was his responsibility to step in and help.

But then Bait remembered that he was almost late for class. He glanced at his watch again and saw that class was about to start in just a few minutes. If he left now, Bait figured he would make it, if just barely, and avoid arousing the wrath of his teacher, the aforementioned Changer. He might not do well in class, but getting on time was always better than being late.

But if I leave now, this kid will be at the mercy of the bullies, Bait thought. Poor kid's completely on his own. I don't know what his power is, but it's obviously not strong enough to defend himself from these guys.

Biting his lower lip, Bait dropped his backpack on the ground and ran toward the bullies, who had yet to notice his arrival. He honed in on the first bully, the one who had kicked the kid in the gut and now stood over the cowering kid with a vicious smile on his face. The bully raised his fist over his head, clearly about to bring his fist down on the kid's head.

"Aw, what's the matter, Tommy?" said the bully in a mocking tone. "Can't get up and shoot your pathetic little lasers at me? Are you gonna go cry to mommy or something?"

The boy, apparently named Tommy, just groaned in response and curled up into a tighter ball. He didn't even bother to use his lasers; maybe he was too afraid to use them against these bullies.

But Bait didn't care. Just as the bully brought his fist down, Bait reached out and caught the bully's fist with his hand, stopping it cold.

"What the hell?" said the bully, looking at Bait in surprise. "Who the hell are you?"

"Just someone who doesn't like bullies," said Bait. "Now, why don't you go and pick on someone your own size for a change?"

Bait shoved the bully backwards. The bully staggered back into his friends, who caught him before he could fall over onto his behind. The bully wore an expression of pure shock on his face, even though Bait was pretty sure that he hadn't actually harmed the bully. Perhaps the bully just wasn't used to someone actually standing up to him or putting him in his place.

Regardless, Bait looked down at Tommy. The kid was still curled in a fetal position on the ground, but he wasn't groaning as much anymore. Instead, he was looking up at Bait with a mixture of awe and confusion, as if he didn't know how to react.

"Hey, kid, you okay?" said Bait, kneeling down next to him. "Those bullies didn't beat you up too badly, did they?"

"N-No," said Tommy. Bait was surprised at how high-pitched Tommy's voice was; maybe he hadn't even hit puberty yet. "But my stomach still hurts."

"Don't worry, Tommy," said Bait. "I'll take you to the nurse's office after I'm finished with these guys, okay?"

Tommy's lip trembled, but he nodded nonetheless. It was good to see that he understood; at the same time, Bait could not help but feel a little awkward, because he wasn't used to playing the hero like this.

No, not playing, Bait told himself. I am a hero, or will be one. Just like Omega Man.

Rising to his feet, Bait turned to face the three bullies. The one he had shoved back--who was perhaps an inch or two shorter than Bait, though considerably bulkier--was glaring at Bait with hatred, though Bait noticed that the bully's two friends stood slightly behind him as if they were afraid of Bait.

"Nice shove, dude," said the bully, rubbing his chest where Bait had shoved him. "Almost knocked me over, though still not enough."

"Get lost," Bait said. He gestured in a random direction. "Don't you guys have a class you'll be late for or something? I mean, not that you guys seem like honors students or anything, but--"

"Shut up," the bully said. He punched his hand into his fist. "Our first class for the day isn't until later. Because we had some time, we decided to hang out with old Tommy here, right, Tommy?"

Bait glanced at Tommy. Tommy, of course, shook his head wildly, but didn't say anything. Perhaps he was still afraid that the bullies might beat him up if he said anything.

Looking at the bully again, Bait said, "I don't want to fight you or your friends, because then we'd both get in trouble with the faculty. If you guys leave right now, I won't even report this to the teachers."

"Nah, I don't think so," said the bully, shaking his head. "I think we'll beat you and Tommy, and maybe take your lunch money, too. Three against two; the odds on our side, I'd say, and I'm not even all that good at math."

The bully stepped forward, a wolfish grin on his face, but then one of his friends grabbed his shoulder and said, "Wait, Derek, you shouldn't pick a fight with that guy. I recognize him. He's crazy."

The bully--whose name was apparently Derek--looked over his shoulder at his friend with a death glare; he obviously wasn't used to his friends telling him what to do. "What do you mean, you recognize him? And why does that mean I shouldn't pulverize him like he deserves?"

"Because..." his friend hesitated, as if he was about to speak the name of some terrible monster whose attention he didn't want to attract. "Because he's Bait. You know, the son of that supervillain Electrica? And his sister is that crazy girl, Switch, the one who attacked Davis when he accidentally spilled milk on her at lunch."

Derek's friend spoke of Bait with fear. In fact, he didn't even look directly at Bait when he spoke, as if he was afraid that Bait might attack him if they made eye contact. Derek's other friend actually stepped backwards in terror, and even Derek himself looked slightly fearful when he looked at Bait.

Bait wished he could say he was surprised by this reaction, but he wasn't. It was common for people to treat him and Switch with fear, if not outright terror, due to their status as the children of Electrica, one of the most infamous supervillains in the world. Most of the time, he and Switch were treated like convicted criminals and Bait had already accepted that most people would react that way toward them.

Still, I wish people would sometimes reserve judgment before deciding that we're as bad as Mom, Bait thought. Would make becoming a superhero a whole lot easier.

"The son of Electrica, huh?" said Derek, looking at Bait again. The fear in his face was gone now, replaced by interest. "Yeah, now that I look at you, I think I've seen you around campus before, though I don't think we've ever met."

"It doesn't matter who my mother is," said Bait, shaking his head. "All that matters is that you guys need to leave this kid alone and get the hell out of here before I make you leave."

Derek chuckled. "What are you going to do, call up mommy and ask her to electrocute us in our sleep? Or maybe have her smite us with lightning, like Zeus or something. I'm so very frightened."

Bait felt his face flush; he'd never been one to take mockery all that well, especially when it involved Mom, but he kept his temper under control. "There's still time for you guys to leave quietly. It's not too late."

"Hey, isn't Electrica also Stinger's mom?" asked Derek's other friend; unlike Derek, his face was pale with fear. He looked at Bait. "Doesn't that make him your brother?"

"Half-brother," Bait said, though without any real happiness. "His dad is different from our dad."

Derek put his hands on his waist and smirked. "So not only is your mother a world famous supervillain, but she's also a slut. Wonder who she's getting more of it from: The other Ultimate Max prisoners or the prison guards thems--"

Derek never got a chance to finish his sentence, because Bait's temper snapped. He rushed toward Derek, gathering all of his super strength into his fist, moving so fast that everything seemed like a blur around him except for Derek. Derek looked shocked, but he was too slow to get out of the way or dodge Bait's fist, which flew straight toward the center of his chest.

Bait expected the punch to send Derek flying, maybe even break a lot of bones in his body. What he did not expect was for his fist to hit Derek's chest and a clanging noise to come from the collision. Not only that, but Bait did not feel human flesh or bone under the chest of Derek's school uniform, but something which felt an awful lot like metal instead.

"What?" said Bait. He looked into Derek's eyes. "Are you wearing armor under your school uniform or something?"

Derek's smirk grew wider. "Armor? Nah. That's my skin."

Without warning, Derek's own fist came out of nowhere and struck Bait in the side of the head. It wasn't like getting punched by a normal fist, however; it was more like getting hit in the head with a metal pipe. As a result, Bait fell flat onto the ground, his head pounding and his whole world spinning. He thought he felt blood leaking out of the side of his head where Derek had punched him, but he couldn't be sure.

Blinking hard, Bait looked up to see Derek standing over him. Derek still held up his fist; however, it now looked entirely metallic, as if Derek was wearing a prosthetic robot arm. That was odd, because Bait had not seen metal on Derek's arm when he stopped him from punching Tommy before.

"See this?" said Derek, waving his metallic fist above his head. "This is my power. I can cover my entire body in hard steel. That's why all my friends call me Ironheart. My skin even becomes strong enough to handle blows from other superhumans. It's a cool power, much cooler than yours."

Bait grimaced. He would have said something, but the pounding in his head was too much. He tried to get up, but Derek kicked him in the gut, forcing Bait back down again.

"Nah, I don't think so," said Derek. "I like you on the ground better than when you're standing up. Easier to beat up that way."

Bait grit his teeth. "You're... a... bastard..."

Derek chuckled. "For being the son of a famous supervillain, you sure got weak insults. But anyway, I guess I'll just have to teach you a lesson in what happens to people who are dumb enough to pick a fight with me."

"But Derek, what if his sister finds out and comes after us?" asked his friend, who stood off a little to the side with his hand over his mouth. "She's in my Powers class. She's absolutely nuts."

"Are you telling me you're afraid of a girl, Boyd?" said Derek with a snort. "Let her come after us, if she wants to avenge her stupid brother. I'm willing to beat down anyone of any gender; I don't believe in any of that chivalry crap."

Boyd shut his mouth, but Bait understood why Boyd was worried. Switch really could go crazy when she wanted, though he doubted if even she could prove much of a threat to Derek and his friends in a fight.

Nonetheless, Bait rolled away and rose to his feet, albeit slowly. His head was still pounding and his stomach hurt from where he had been kicked by Derek.

"Where you going?" asked Derek. "Not going to run away and tell one of the teachers, are you?"

Bait bit his lower lip. He looked over at Tommy to tell him to leave, but to his surprise, Tommy was already long gone. The kid must have run away during Bait and Derek's brief scuffle, though where he went, Bait didn't know.

All I know is that I am definitely going to be late for class, Bait thought, looking at Derek again. Again.

"Looking for Tommy?" said Derek. "I think the little brat ran away. And he didn't even thank you for volunteering to take his place for the beating. What a brat."

Bait did not respond. He just gathered his super strength again and rushed toward Derek, his hands balled tightly into fists. But he didn't get very far before something slick and oily appeared on the ground and made him trip and fall on his behind, earning another derisive laugh from Derek.

Looking at the ground, Bait saw that he had tripped in a puddle of oil, though he didn't know where it could have possibly come from until he looked up and saw Derek's friend--the one called Boyd--standing with his hands out. His hands were dripping oil, which explained where the oil came from.

"Good one, Boyd," said Derek, slapping his friend on the shoulder. "Your oil powers are always good for a laugh. Just look at his stupid face. It's hilarious."

Boyd just smiled weakly at Derek's praise, but he didn't engage in any trash-talking of his own, maybe because he was still afraid of Bait. Bait supposed that should have made him feel better, but given how he was still covered in oil and his head and stomach still hurt, it seemed more like a consolation prize than anything.

Slowly rising to his feet, Bait took another few steps forward, trying not to slip on the oil, before a powerful, concentrated gust of wind came out of nowhere and hit him in the chest. That blow knocked him flat on his back onto the oil again; this time, Bait got some oil in his hair and the back of his uniform, which felt as disgusting as it sounded.

"Ha!" Derek shouted gleefully. "That was hilarious, Jack! Hit him just when he thought he could cross the oil without falling. What an idiot!"

Scowling, Bait slowly sat up and looked at Derek's other friend, the one call Jack. Jack had his arms extended outward, palms together like he had just clapped. Bait guessed that Jack had the ability to fire concentrated bursts of wind from his claps, which was probably what hit Bait. Unlike Boyd, Jack was grinning like an idiot, even more than Derek, and looked more than eager to shoot Bait again if he got up.

I'm going to rip that stupid grin right off his face and force it down his-- Bait caught himself and shook his head. No. Stay calm. Real heroes don't let their anger get the best of them. They're always calm and rational, no matter the situation.

But that was easier said than done. Bait was late for class (and would probably be disciplined for it), hadn't gotten enough sleep last night, had to skip breakfast, got punched in the head and stomach, and was now drenched in stinky oil. The last of Bait's patience was slipping through his fingers like sand and he didn't care one bit. Anger flowed through his body like lava, but it was colder anger than usual, cold enough to make him think clearly enough to know how to maximize the pain he was about to inflict on these three idiots.

Slowly rising to his feet, Bait glared at Derek, Boyd, and Jack. He was barely conscious of the fact that his uniform was totally drenched in oil, that he himself smelled awful, and that his hair would probably take forever to clean. All he could think of was beating the hell out of those three.

Derek, apparently, didn't notice Bait's anger, because he just smirked again and said, "Oh, still want some more? Guess you must be a masochist as well a supervillain, just like your mom, huh? Very well. Jack, hit him again with another air blast, but this time strong enough to send him flying. Make sure he goes high enough that when he falls and hits the ground again, he'll break every bone in his body."

Jack--still grinning like the doofus he was--raised his hands again to unleash another wind clap, but Bait didn't give him a chance. He just slid forward on the oil, like an ice skater, taking advantage of the slickness of the oil to move too fast for the three bullies to follow him. He slid toward Derek, who was looking at Bait with surprise and confusion, like he wasn't entirely sure what was happening, though he soon would be.

Pulling back his fists, Bait threw two punches at Derk. As he expected, Derek's skin turned into steel, which Bait's punches hit with a clang.

"Stupid," said Derek. "Did you already forget what my powers are?"

"Nope," said Bait, shaking his head. "But I think your friend did."

With that, Bait shoved backwards, sliding along the oil again just as Jack turned his aim toward Derek. Even though Bait was no longer touching Derek, Jack still clapped his hands together harder than before, unleashing a blast of wind so powerful that it literally sent Derek flying high into the air. Derek screamed, turning head over heels in the air, before he landed head first onto the concrete pavement of the Auditorium's parking lot about a dozen feet away. Based on the clang that Bait heard, he guessed that Derek had covered the top of his head with metal before impact; even so, Derek didn't look like he was going to get up again anytime soon.

"Derek!" Jack shouted in horror. "Bro, are you--"

Bait slid toward Jack and punched him in the face. That blow was powerful enough to cause Jack to crumple instantly, falling to the ground, where he lay as unconscious as Derek. Blood leaked out from the corner of his mouth where Bait had punched him, looking a bit like red drool.

A small "Eek!" behind Bait reminded him that he still had one last mouse to take care of. Turning around, he saw Boyd fleeing, oil dripping out of his hands crazily, like he'd lost control of his powers or something. With a savage, wolfish grin, Bait slid toward Boyd on the oil and, upon reaching the edge of the oil, jumped off and tackled Boyd from behind.

The two of them fell onto the pavement. Boyd tried desperately to throw Bait off, but Bait was bigger and stronger than Boyd. He grabbed the back of Boyd's head and slammed his forehead against the pavement, making Boyd stop struggling immediately, though Bait couldn't tell if Boyd was dead or just unconscious. All Bait knew was that he wanted to keep slamming Boyd's forehead into the pavement until the bully's head was nothing more than paste.

But before he could slam Boyd's head down again, someone grabbed the collar of his uniform and pulled him off Boyd. Bait hit the ground, but rolled upon impact and got into a crouch. He looked up to see who had thrown him off Boyd.

It was Derek. Although Derek's hair and uniform were dirty and torn due to the impact of his earlier crash, he otherwise looked fine, though there was a mixture of anger and fear in his eyes and he was panting as if he had just finished a race.

"Yo, man, what the hell are you doing?" said Derek. "Knock out Jack in one blow and tried to turn Boyd's skull into paste after that... what's up with that?"

Bait grinned, which he knew likely looked crazy, but he didn't care. "You're right. I should turn your skull into paste first."

"And I thought your sister was supposed to be the crazy one," said Derek, shaking his head. "Guess crazy must run in the family, huh?"

Bait just rose to his feet and rushed toward Derek. Derek, to his credit, also rushed toward Bait, his drawn back fist turning metallic as he ran. All Bait could think about was socking Derek in the face, maybe even hitting him hard enough to knock his head off his body, and it was those thoughts which dominated his mind as he rushed toward Derek like a wild animal going to attack its prey.

When they got close enough, both Bait and Derek threw their punches at each other. Their fists would have met directly in midair had they been allowed to connect; but instead, they hit some kind of invisible wall, which didn't even slightly budge under the strength of their blows.

"What the hell?" said Derek. "Who--"

"Ironheart! Bait!" a feminine voice suddenly shouted. "Enough!"

Bait and Derek lowered their fists and looked over to see who had shouted. As soon as Bait looked, however, he wished he hadn't.

Walking toward them from the other side of the parking lot was a woman in her mid-thirties. She wore a thin, but flexible, suit of purple armor and she was holding out a hand toward them. Her hand was glowing purple, which was how Bait knew that she was the one who had conjure the invisible wall keeping him and Derek apart.

"Miss Shield?" said Derek in surprise, looking at her as she approached. "What are you doing here?"

Bait gulped. Miss Shield was a member of the school faculty, the Ethics teacher for the evening class specifically. She had the ability to conjured invisible walls and shields out of nothing, which was part of the reason she was usually brought in to deal with student fights, because her walls and shields were unbreakable. She was also known as a harsh disciplinarian who had no tolerance for fighting on campus that was outside of Combat class. Both he and Switch had ended up on Miss Shield's wrong side more than once, and it was never a fun thing.

Miss Shield, despite being physically weaker than either Bait or Derek, walked up to them with no hesitation and stopped several feet away from them both. "Young Tommy told me. I ran into him while I was on my way to my class and he told me that you four had gotten into a fight."

Derek immediately pointed at Bait. "He started it, ma'am. It's not my fault."

Bait glared at Derek, but Miss Shield raised a hand and said, "It doesn't matter. Fighting among students outside of Combat class is strictly forbidden, as you two know. Both of you ought to be in class, not fighting behind the backs of school faculty like this."

"Miss Shield, it isn't what it looks like," said Bait. "Derek was--"

"I don't care what Derek was doing," Miss Shield said sharply. She looked at Derek. "Derek, since you don't look badly injured, I want you to leave and go back to your dorm until further notice. Don't worry about Jack and Boyd; I will make sure they both get to the nurse's office and have their injuries healed."

Derek didn't even bother to argue. He just immediately took off, not even bothering to check on either Jack or Boyd, and was gone in just a few seconds, disappearing around the corner of the Auditorium without looking back.

Then Miss Shield turned toward Bait, her gaze as harsh as ever. "As for you, Bait, don't you have a Combat class for this morning?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Bait, nodding reluctantly. "I'm probably late for it now, though, but I guess I should be going anyway."

"No," said Miss Shield, shaking her head. "I just wanted to inform you that you have been excused from your Combat class for this morning and may skip it for today."

"What, really?" said Bait in surprise. "Why?"

"Because Headmaster Johanson wishes to see you in his office this morning," said Miss Shield. "You and your sister, by the way."

The happiness Bait had felt upon hearing that he didn't need to go to class evaporated when Miss Shield shared that news. "What does the Headmaster want to talk with me and my sister about?"

Miss Shield shrugged. "I don't know, though I think it may have something to do with the fact that your sister attempted to escape again last night."

Bait shouldn't have been surprised, but he nonetheless said, "What?"

"It's true," said Miss Shield. "I heard about it from Arachnid in the teacher's lounge during breakfast. But don't ask me for the details. The Headmaster sounded like he really wanted to talk with both of you, so I suggest heading over to his office now before he gets too impatient."

"But I'm covered in oil," said Bait, patting his chest. "I need to shower and change my clothes or something."

"Then do it," said Miss Shield impatiently. "And please let the Headmaster know that's why you're late, because I don't want him getting on my case, okay?'

Bait nodded and then turned around and left. With his anger now wearing off, Bait had no intention of staying in that parking lot. He didn't want to have to look at Jack and Boyd any longer, because just the sight of them both lying unconscious on the ground was enough to make him sick.

But what really made him sick was the brutality he had practiced on them. Maybe they deserved it, maybe they didn't, but either way, he knew that it would just hurt his--and Switch's, by extension--reputation even more than it already was.

And something tells me the Headmaster isn't going to be happy to hear about it, either, Bait thought, wincing at the thought of being yelled at by the Headmaster. He's not going to be happy about it at all.
CHAPTER THREE

Switch sat on the bench outside the Headmaster's office, her arms folded in front of her chest. She was slumped slightly in the bench, staring at the blank brown wall opposite her, her lower lip sticking out. She looked up and down the hallway of the Administration building, but she didn't see anyone, though at the very end of the hall's west end, she saw the Headmaster's secretary, Joy, working at her computer. Joy had told Switch to wait out here until Headmaster Arnold Johanson called her in, but that had been five minutes ago and Switch was already bored out of her mind.

At least it's better than having to go to class today, Switch thought with a satisfied smile. Talking to an old guy like the Headmaster beats having to do morning aerobics with all of those kids who hate me.

At the same time, however, Switch wished she didn't have to be here at all. She had not been told what Headmaster Johanson wished to speak with her about, but she could guess that it would have something to do with her escape attempt last night. Maybe Johanson had finally gotten fed up with her escape attempts and was going to throw her into the Academy dungeons, though as far as Switch knew, the Academy did not actually have any dungeons.

Maybe he'll just send me to Ultimate Max, Switch thought. At least if I go there, I'll be with Mom again. That would be a lot better than where I am now.

But Switch knew that that wasn't likely to happen. Most likely, Johanson would give Switch some kind of lecture about how ungrateful she was, how so many other kids her age would die to have a chance to go to a school like this, and why can't she be good like Bait, who never tried to escape and was more interested in being a goody two shoes than in rescuing Mom? Then he'd send her back to class, where Switch would have to once again restrain herself from killing her fellow classmates every time they made fun of her or her mom.

Maybe that's what I need to do to get thrown into Ultimate Max, Switch thought. Kill one of my classmates. Then I would be considered a threat to the student body and they'd have to send me away, wouldn't they?

Yet Switch knew she couldn't do that, mostly because she had never killed someone before. Mom had always kept her and Bait from actually killing anyone when they were her sidekicks. Sure, Mom herself had murdered lots of people, but she always made sure that she and Bait never took anyone's life. Deep down, Switch wasn't even sure she had it in her to kill. Despite how easily Mom had done it, it always seemed like a very serious thing to Switch, something that required the kind of strength and mental fortitude that Switch was not sure she had.

In any case, thinking about ways to get out of the Academy reminded Switch of the note in her pocket. She pulled the note out, carefully and slowly in order to avoid ripping it, and looked at it. She had already read it a few times this morning, but despite how short and simple it was, she still didn't understand it entirely:

SWITCH--

Your escape attempts have been noticed. Do not attempt to escape anymore. You and your brother will be rescued soon. Just sit back and relax.

The note was unsigned. She didn't know who would try to rescue her and Bait. The only person she could think of who might want to do that was Mom, but Mom was currently in prison and very much unable to save herself, much less them, too. To the best of Switch's knowledge, there was no one else in the world who would write a note to her like this, much less sneak it into her pocket in the middle of the night like that.

Yet someone had put it into her pocket. Switch was sure of it. She might not have seen the person who did it, but neither had Arachnid. There was someone, a spy of some sorts perhaps, on campus, perhaps the person who would save both her and Bait. She had no idea who this person was or why they were trying to save her and Bait, but she was more interested in finding out what was taking them so long to do it. She was quite ready to leave this stupid school as soon as possible, but aside from the note in her pocket, she had received no other hints or signs from anyone that a rescue was imminent.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard footsteps walking down the vinyl floor tiles. Switch looked down the hallway and saw Bait, of all people, walking toward her. He looked tired; his shoulders were slumped forward, his hair was messy, and his uniform, although clean, had clearly been thrown on hastily, because some of the buttons weren't even. And the closer he drew, the more Switch smelled a vague stench of oil coming from his body, which made her grimace, though it wasn't strong enough to make her cover her nose.

"Bait?" said Switch, staring at her twin brother in surprise as he approached. "What are you doing here? And why do you smell like oil? You stink."

Bait rolled his eyes. "I was summoned by the Headmaster. As for why I smell like oil, well, that's a long story, but I'm more interested in hearing about your fourth failed escape attempt last night."

Switch immediately turned away from him, stuffing the note into her pocket as she did so. She didn't feel like showing him the note yet. "Sixth. And I'm not going to tell you about it; the whole school is going to know about it soon anyway, because Arachnid has probably already told the other teachers and they've probably already told the other students. You should ask one of the other students if you're so interested in knowing about what I'm up to."

"Switch..." Bait sighed. "I know you don't like this place, but your constant negativity is starting to get on my nerves. Not to mention all your failed escape attempts do nothing except cause stress for everyone, including me."

"What do I care?" said Switch. "You know how much everyone here hates us. It isn't just me. They hate you, too. I don't even understand why we're here. We don't belong here. We never have. We never will."

Switch believed every word she said. She really didn't feel like she belonged in this school. She had no interest in becoming a superhero and wanted, more than anything, to leave this place and be with their mother again.

"I understand why you feel that way, sis, but like it or not, this is our life now," said Bait. "Maybe the other students don't like us, but that doesn't matter. We can still be heroes, even if no one else likes us."

"Maybe I don't want to be a hero," said Switch, looking at Bait again. "Did that ever occur to you, bro?"

Bait opened his mouth, likely to argue, but then the door to the Headmaster's office cracked open. At first, Switch thought that the Headmaster was going to call them inside, but the person who stepped out of the office wasn't Headmaster Johanson at all. It was Arachnid, who stood holding the door open, looking down at Bait and Switch expectedly.

"What are you doing here?" said Switch in surprise. "I thought we were going to meet the Headmaster."

"You are going to meet him," said Arachnid. He gestured into the office. "He simply asked me to invite both of you inside, because I was already here, so there was no point for him to get up and summon you inside himself."

Switch frowned. She supposed she shouldn't have been surprised to find out that Arachnid was here, given how he was their home room teacher and all, but she still didn't like seeing him. It reminded her of how he had prevented her escape last night. Perhaps Arachnid was really here in order to make sure that neither she nor Bait tried to escape again.

Bait, however, merely nodded once and entered the office like the dutiful, good little school boy that he was. Switch was tempted to just sit there and make Arachnid drag her inside by force, but one look from Arachnid made her rethink the wisdom of making things more difficult than they already were. So she rose from the bench and walked into the office, though she didn't look at Arachnid as she entered or even acknowledge his existence. That probably would just amuse rather than annoy him--Arachnid never seemed annoyed by anything--but Switch still did it anyway because it made her feel better.

Switch had been inside the Headmaster's office more than a few times since arriving in the Academy. Most of the time, it was to get a stern lecture from the Headmaster about every one of her failed escape attempts or else detailing her punishment for harming one of her classmates. Switch rarely listened to these lectures; after the first one, they all started to sound the same to her. Plus, if she had no intention of staying in school and becoming a good little superhero, then she had even less reason to listen to Headmaster Johanson's repetitive lectures on why her trying to escape from this school was bad.

As a result, Switch was familiar with the office's layout. It was a medium-sized room, probably about half as big as the commons area of her own dorm, and had wooden bookshelves on either side with a variety of different books shelved on them, ranging from classics like A Tale of Two Cities to modern day thrillers and books about the science of neogenetics. The floor was soft and carpeted, while a single small window stood behind the desk, a window that could give the Headmaster a good view of the campus if he stood up and looked through it.

The Headmaster's desk stood below the window. Like the bookshelves, it was made of old wood, and Switch seemed to recall the Headmaster telling her that he had inherited this desk from his grandfather during one of his lectures. In any case, its surface was neat and clean, just like the Headmaster himself, with nary a notebook, pen, or book out of place. A single laptop, which was the Headmaster's work computer, stood off to the side, next to a picture of Headmaster Johanson's family.

And, of course, sitting behind the desk was Headmaster Arnold Johanson himself. To anyone who didn't know him, you might think that Johanson was an ordinary, slightly pudgy middle-aged Swedish man. He wore a simple blue button down shirt and tan slacks, with horn-rimmed glasses perched neatly on his nose. He wasn't very muscular or strong, especially in comparison to Arachnid, which was easy to make because Arachnid moved next to Johanson.

But Switch knew better. Arnold Johanson used to be known as the superhero Timestopper. He had the ability to pause time for five seconds, which was a ridiculously powerful ability, though not one he used very often as far as Switch knew. She suspected that the main reason he had been put in charge of the Academy as its Headmaster was due to his power; he could extend its area of effect a fair bit, which made it useful for not only defending the school from potential attackers, but also for stopping out of control students. Switch should know, because one of her previous escape attempts had been foiled by Johanson's time stopping ability.

Not only that, but Johanson himself could be quite the disciplinarian when he wanted to be. Physically, he was not very intimidating, but he never backed down when facing angry or wild students, either. Switch did not know how, but Johanson could easily subdue even the angriest student without lifting a finger. His power helped, of course, but it wasn't the only reason he was so good at disciplining students and she knew it.

"Ah, Bait and Switch," said Johanson, smiling at them both as they sat down in the chairs opposite him. "Good to see that you both answered my summons so quickly. I thought you might have decided to ignore them, but I'm glad to see I was incorrect."

Johanson spoke with his usual soft Swedish accent. It might have been cute under other circumstances or with anyone else, but Switch had too much experience being lectured by that same Swedish accent, so she didn't let herself be fooled by it. She just folded her arms across her chest and said, "This is about my most recent escape attempt, isn't it?"

"Straight to the point," said Johanson, his smile never leaving his face. "But I will get to that, don't worry. I just have something else to get to first."

Switch had no idea what else Johanson could possibly wish to discuss with them, but Bait leaned forward and said, "Headmaster, please don't get too angry at Switch. She's still upset about being separated from our mother, that's all."

"I understand, Jason," said Johanson (No, you don't, Switch thought furiously). He readjusted his glasses. "But the fact is that both of you have had a hard time integrating into the overall campus life. Not equally, of course, but both of you are perhaps the hardest students to teach here. I don't say this to insult you; it's merely an observation, one I think both of you are already aware of."

That's because we don't want to be taught, or at least I don't, Switch thought, but she said nothing. She didn't want to be here and she didn't want to talk to Johanson, Arachnid, or anyone else in the school. She would stay silent through this entire conversation if she could, no matter what Johanson said.

"We're trying our best, Headmaster," said Bait, putting his hands together on his lap. "It's just that our mother raised us to be, well, criminals. We've got a lot of bad habits she taught us that we're still trying to iron out."

"My habits are perfectly fine, thank you very much," Switch said, despite herself.

Bait gestured at Switch as if to say See?

"Yes, we know about that," said Johanson, nodding. "But it isn't just Grace who is the problem. You are also problematic in your own way, Jason."

That actually got Switch's attention. She looked at Bait, but he didn't seem very surprised by Johanson's statement; maybe he already knew what Johanson was talking about.

"The reason I had to delay our meeting a little is because I was on the phone with Miss Shield and one of our students, a young boy named Tommy Harrison, who is from California," said Johanson. "According to Miss Shield, you, Jason, got into a fight with three of your fellow students: Derek Powers, Boyd Newton, and Jack Love. She says that you beat all three of them and that both Boyd and Jack are receiving treatment in the campus clinic for serious injuries, but should recover nonetheless."

Switch looked at Bait with newfound respect. "Is that true? Because if it is, that's more like the Bait I grew up knowing. Taught them a lesson, didn't you?"

Bait threw Switch an annoyed look before looking at Johanson again and saying, "I didn't mean to hurt them that badly. I was just defending Tommy. They were bullying him and--"

"Yes, that is what young Tommy said," said Johanson. "He said that those three boys had been picking on him. And I believe him, because I've heard similar reports from other students about the bullying behavior of Derek and his friends. I will likely punish him for bullying, because bullying is against Academy rules and should not be tolerated on campus."

Switch grimaced. "Ew, Bait, you were defending a kid from bullies? That's such a generic hero thing that I would almost think you're making it up if I didn't know that you'd do that sort of thing."

"It was the right thing to do," Bait said without missing a beat. "The heroic thing to do, just like Changer always says."

Switch rolled her eyes. Just when she thought Bait couldn't get any cheesier with his obsession with heroism, he had to go and prove her wrong. She expected to hear about him saving a kitten from a tree or maybe saving a baby trapped in a burning building at some point; preferably second hand, from a website or something, because she did not intend to play superhero with him any longer than she had to.

"Standing up to bullies and defending the defenseless is certainly a heroic thing to do," said Johanson. He sighed. "Unfortunately, the parents of the bullies have been notified of their injuries and they will likely take action as a result, perhaps even demand your discipline."

"What?" said Bait. "But their kids were the bullies, not me. I didn't do anything wrong."

Arachnid shook his head. "In this world, you can sometimes still get in trouble for doing the right thing."

"Arachnid is correct," said Johanson. He leaned back in his chair and took his glasses off his face, rubbing his eyes as if he had not gotten much sleep. "Parents are almost always biased toward their own children. Boyd and Jack's parents won't care that those two were bullying a kid younger and weaker than them; they'll just be upset that their sons were beaten, especially once they learn just who beat them."

"But they're going to be okay, aren't they?" said Bait. "Boyd and Jack, I mean. They'll survive, won't they?"

"Yes, but that doesn't matter," said Johanson, shaking his head. He pointed his glasses at Switch and Bait. "What matters is that their parents might actually sue the Academy. They might even demand that we expel you; you inflicted some rather serious injuries on the two, to my understanding, to the point of excess."

"Don't expel Bait," said Switch. She leaned forward eagerly. "But you can expel me instead. I'll take the bullet for my brother, like the good sister that I am."

"Sorry, Switch, but this has nothing to do with you," said Johanson. "They wouldn't be happy if we expelled you instead of your brother, unless you went and beat up Boyd and Jack as well."

Switch stood up. "You said they're at the clinic, right? I know where that is. I'll be back in a flash."

Switch turned to leave, but then Arachnid suddenly fell down from the ceiling in front of the door. He folded his arms in front of his chest and looked at Switch with a gaze that quite clearly told her to sit back down.

Grumbling under her breath, Switch turned around and sat back down on her chair. She didn't even look at Bait this time; she was too busy thinking about how much she hated Arachnid and how Arachnid was the embodiment of everything wrong with the Academy.

"Then why is she even here?" asked Bait, gesturing at Switch. "If this discussion has nothing to do with her, then why did you summon her in the first place?"

"Because of her fifth--"

"Sixth," Switch corrected.

"--sixth escape attempt last night, which Arachnid foiled, as he usually does," said Johanson. "Granted, Switch did not get very far, but it was still a foolish thing for her to do."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," said Switch, rolling her eyes. "Just give me the short version of your usual lecture on the importance of being a good little schoolgirl so I can leave. I've got stuff to do."

"No lecture today," said Johanson, shaking his head. "I bring up your foiled escape attempt as an example of the problems that both of you have brought to the school. We've tried many ways to get you two under control, but none of them seemed to have worked."

"Because we don't want them to work," said Switch. "Or, at least, I don't. Don't know about my brother, but I refuse to cooperate with you for any reason."

Bait shot Switch a warning look, but Switch didn't care. She was just being honest, and if Johanson couldn't handle that, then that was his problem, not hers.

"That may be true, but I suspect you are still reeling from the emotional pain of being separated from your mother," said Johanson. "Because it is clear that treating you two like normal students isn't working, I've come up with a new program that may help you two."

"New program?" Bait asked. "What new program?"

"A new school program I have been thinking about starting ever since the opening of the Academy three months ago," said Johanson. He opened his desk drawer, pulled out a folder, and then put it on the desk before him. "Allow me to introduce you to the Superhero Apprenticeship Program."

Bait and Switch both leaned forward to get a better look at the folder. It was a simple, plain manila folder, with the words SUPERHERO APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM DOCUMENTS stamped on its surface.

"A folder," said Switch, looking up at Johanson again. "With paper in it and stuff."

"It's more than that," said Johanson. "You see, this folder contains documents relating to the Superhero Apprenticeship Program. Though the Program itself isn't supposed to launch until early next year, I've already got most of the details ironed out and simply need a few volunteers to test it."

"But what is the Superhero Apprenticeship Program?" asked Bait, sitting upright with a frown on his face. "How does it work?"

"Simple," said Johanson. "Once a year, ten of the best students at the Academy will be selected to spend a week-long apprenticeship with real superheroes out in the field; that is, with members of the two largest superhero organizations in the country, the Neohero Alliance and the Independent Neoheroes for Justice. It will offer plenty of hands-on training for the students in question, who will get a real look at what actual superheroes have to do on a daily basis."

"That's cool," said Bait.

"That's stupid," said Switch. "Really stupid. Who wants to spend a week with a self-righteous jerk patrolling the streets of some random city in the middle of nowhere?"

"The Program is supposed to be a way for students who want to become superheroes to get a glimpse of what that lifestyle is actually like," said Johanson, apparently ignoring Switch's bad language. "I've already gotten several NHA and INJ members signed up to take an apprentice, but I have yet to get any students, mostly because I've been trying to think of who would work best in a program like this."

Johanson put his glasses back on and smiled. "Then I thought of you two. I believe both of you will benefit immensely from being the first testers in this Program."

"What?" said Switch. "Why me? I mean, I can see why you'd choose Bait, but I don't care to learn about what superheroes do in their daily lives."

"Because I think that having both of you out on the streets, helping veteran superheroes fight crime, will make the entire superhero experience much more real to you," said Johanson. "You two have spent a long time on the wrong end of the law. If you fight on the right side of the law, however, you will gain a much more different--and more positive--appreciation for what actual superheroes do all day every day."

Switch scowled. "What if I don't want to do that? Can I opt out of the program?"

"No," said Johanson flatly. "If your parents were not criminals, I would have asked for their permission; as it is, I instead asked your older half-brother, Stinger, and he gave me permission to enroll both of you into the Program. He seemed to agree with me that it would help you."

A flash of anger went through Switch. Once again, their beloved half-brother had screwed them over, this time without even letting them know. She decided that next time she saw Stinger, she'd let him have it.

"This is an amazing opportunity, Headmaster," said Bait. "When do we start?"

"Tomorrow," said Johanson. "You will both apprentice under the superhero Brains, who we will send you two to tomorrow. Until then, I suggest both of you spend the rest of the day packing your bags and getting ready to go, because you will be leaving early tomorrow morning. Don't worry about food; Brains will provide you with meals at his base."

"Can we leave now, then?" said Switch impatiently. "Is this meeting over?"

"It is," said Johanson. "That is all I wished to talk with you about, but if there's anything else you'd like to discuss--"

"No," Switch said abruptly. She rose to her feet immediately. "I need to go and start packing. Don't want to waste any time, now do I?"

With that, Switch turned and walked out of the office. Arachnid stepped to the side as she approached, but gave her an amused look as she passed. She just scowled at him with as much anger and hate as she could before slamming the door shut behind her and stomping down the hallway toward the lobby, growling all the while.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, Switch thought. Sending us to apprentice under a superhero... this must be what hell feels like.

She supposed she should have looked at the bright side of things--she might get a chance to escape, depending on where they went--but she was far too angry to even think about that. She just hoped that whoever had written that note in her pocket would come rescue her before they left tomorrow, because she did not intend to play superhero, no matter what.
CHAPTER FOUR

Bait left Johanson's office just a few seconds after Switch did, but when he stepped out into the hallway, he was just in time to see Switch practically kick open the front door and march down the stairs outside. Bait sighed, but then walked quickly down the hallway, crossed the mostly empty lobby (while saying goodbye to Joy, the Headmaster's secretary, who he thought was kind of cute), and then emerged from the Administration building onto the front steps of said building just as Switch reached the bottom of the steps.

"Hey, sis, wait up," Bait said, waving at her. "Where are you going?"

But Switch, as usual, ignored him. She got like that whenever she got upset. She probably wasn't upset with him in particular, but even if he had nothing to do with her current mood, that didn't mean she would pay him any attention. He figured she probably just wanted to go and sulk, like she always did whenever she didn't get what she wanted; Mom always spoiled her more than him, so he wasn't surprised she was acting this way after what Johanson told them.

Nonetheless, anger filled Bait when Switch blatantly ignored him. He jumped down the steps and ran up to her, catching up to her quickly. He reached out and grabbed her arm, saying, "Hey, I said wait--"

Switch suddenly yanked her arm out of his grasp and glared at him. Her gray eyes were almost exactly the same as Mom's; as a matter of fact, she looked more like Mom than he did. Bait supposedly looked more like Dad, but given how he had never actually seen a picture of Dad before, he didn't know how true that was.

"What do you want?" said Switch. "Didn't you hear what Mr. Swedish Accent said? I was just heading back to my dorm to pack."

"Yeah, right," said Bait. "You can lie to everyone else, sis, but you can't lie to me. I know you're going to try to make another run for it. Or maybe intentionally harm yourself so you have an excuse for not going on the apprenticeship. I just wanted to let you know that if you try to do anything like that, I'll know and I will make sure that Headmaster Johanson knows, too."

Switch put her hands on her waist. "Oh, so you'll just be a good little boy and tell on your own sister, huh? You used to be really cool, but I guess you're just as stupid as Stinger is."

Bait felt his temper spike, but he spoke as calmly as he could nonetheless. "I just don't want you to get us into trouble. Everyone here thinks you and I are just a couple of supervillains-to-be. I just want to prove them wrong, and I can't do that if you keep acting like a spoiled brat."

"Hey, I'm not the one whose actions are going to result in the school getting sued," said Switch. "You heard what Johanson said, didn't you? We both did. Thanks to your stupid desire to play the hero, the Academy might get sued, and it will probably be for a lot of money, too, maybe more than the school has. That's way more likely to make everyone hate us than my repeated attempts to escape."

Bait flushed. "Yeah, well, I was just trying to do the right thing. I'm sure that Johanson will figure out a way to pacify their parents without getting the school into legal problems."

"I personally don't care what happens either way," said Switch. "Although it would be pretty nice if they sued the school out of existence. Then we wouldn't have to attend these stupid classes anymore, at least."

"Then we'd just be shuffled off to some other NHA or INJ facility," said Bait. "We definitely wouldn't be reunited with Mom. That's for sure."

"And you don't sound even remotely broken up about that," said Switch. "Some son you are. I bet Mom is very disappointed in you."

"If she is, that's her problem, not mine," said Bait, folding his arms in front of his chest. "I love Mom, but that doesn't mean I want to follow in her footsteps."

"That's stupid and you know it," said Switch. She ran a hand through her dark hair. "What even happened to you? I thought you wanted to be free just like Mom, but ever since she went to jail, you've thrown her under the bus. Were you always like this or is the school feeding you brainwashing drugs or something?"

Bait bit his lower lip. He looked away, toward the Auditorium, which rose from behind the gym on the other side of the open commons. "I haven't thrown Mom under the bus. It's just that... well, I never thought she'd go to prison, so when she was finally captured and arrested, I realized that that was what was going to happen to us if we followed in her path."

"What do you mean?" said Switch. "You think we'd end up in jail, too?"

Bait looked at Switch harshly. "Not just jail; maybe even dead. Do you remember how pathetic Mom looked? She looked like she was almost dead."

"Yeah, but--"

"And Mom was never really happy even before she went to jail," Bait continued, without letting Switch answer. "She liked to pretend that she was, but I could always tell that the life of crime never made her very happy. I know for a fact that she missed Dad and wanted to settle down with him. She always put on a brave face for us, but I always knew that she didn't like having to constantly be on the run and move from place to place all the time, evading the police, superheroes, and the G-Men all the time. It really got to her."

"I never noticed that," said Switch sullenly.

"Because you never notice anything," Bait said. "So when Mom got arrested and thrown into jail, I saw an opportunity for both of us to avoid repeating her mistakes. I thought we could make better lives for ourselves."

"How can we make better lives for ourselves here when everyone hates us?" Switch said. "You're delusional."

"You're just naive," said Bait. "We can't go back to that lifestyle, Switch, and you know it. With Mom in jail and Dad nowhere to be seen, our only option is to make the best of ourselves and our current situation, even if everyone hates us. I'm sorry you can't see that."

Switch's hands shook. Bait thought she was going to scream at him, but instead she just shook her head and said, "Whatever. I'm just going to go back to my dorm and take a nap, because Johanson said we don't have to take anymore classes for the rest of the day. You just do what you want."

With that, Switch whirled around and ran down the path back toward her dorm. This time, Bait didn't try to catch her. He just watched her run, anger simmering in his soul, until Switch disappeared around the corner of the Library and was gone from sight.

Bait sighed and rubbed his forehead. Switch had always been more impulsive and immature than him, but she seemed to have gotten even worse since they came to the Academy. Switch had always been more favored by Mom than him--he'd always known that--but she had also been deeply spoiled because of that closeness, and it was that spoiled part of herself which was making Switch act out like a little child, even though she was sixteen-years-old. Given how Mom raised them, Bait thought it was a miracle that he had ended up as good as he had.

Though apparently, not good enough, if the Headmaster is right about those parents suing the Academy, Bait thought. If that happens, it will be all my fault and I might just mess up our best chance to make something of our lives, because I couldn't control my temper.

Bait stomped his foot. He started walking, intending to go to his dorm and start packing his own suitcase, but he didn't really think much about where he was going. He just let his feet automatically take him to the dorm while he thought about other things.

But before Bait could get very far, he heard a familiar voice say, "Bait, wait!" causing him to stop and look over his shoulder in time to see a young, thirteen-year-old boy running toward him. Bait recognized the boy as Tommy Harrison, the boy who he had defended from Derek and his friends. Tommy was running toward him, but came to an abrupt stop just a few feet away from Bait and looked this way and that, as if he was trying to make sure no one else was around.

"Tommy?" said Bait, turning to look at Tommy in surprise. "What are you doing here? And what are you looking for?"

"Your sister," said Tommy. He looked at Bait sheepishly. "Is she gone now?"

Bait nodded. "She is. She went back to her dorm."

Tommy sighed. "What a relief. She scares me. A lot."

Bait couldn't help but smile at Tommy's frankness. "Yeah, she scares everyone. Think she got it from our Mom."

"Yeah," said Tommy. He hesitated, but then said, "Can I walk with you? If that's okay with you?"

Bait blinked. "Sure. I'm just going back to my dorm, but--"

"Okay," said Tommy, though he sounded a little too eager. "I'm going to my dorm, too. I think our dorms are close by, so we can go together."

"Uh, right," said Bait. "Say, weren't you at the nurse's clinic getting your wounds looked at?"

"Oh, Nurse Irma told me that I'm fine," said Tommy with a shy smile. "Said that I didn't suffer any really bad injuries, but she gave me the day off from class anyway just in case. Said I should go back to my dorm and rest."

Bait nodded and began walking; Tommy walked quickly to catch up. "Well, that's good to hear. Were you just on your way there?"

"Yeah, I was," said Tommy. "But, um, I first went by the Administration building to see you. I wanted to thank you for saving me."

Tommy sounded sheepish when he said that and didn't even look Bait in the eyes, but Bait didn't feel offended. As far as he could tell, Tommy was just a shy boy, not moody like Switch.

"Nah, that's fine," said Bait, waving off Tommy's gratitude. "You don't need to thank me. That's all right."

"O-Okay," said Tommy. He hesitated, looked around again as if to make sure no one was eavesdropping, and said, "You're a lot nicer than everyone says you are."

Bait smiled, but inside, he was grimacing. "Oh?"

"Yeah," said Tommy, nodding. "When I first got here, everyone warned me to stay away from you and your sister. They said you two were crazy supervillains who would attack anyone who looked at them funny, especially your sister. But you're actually okay."

Bait, again, was not surprised to hear that Tommy had been warned away from him and Switch. No doubt many students had, which Bait supposed was understandable, given how Switch kept acting like such a bitch.

Have I been much better, though? Bait thought, thinking back to how he had brutally beaten those three bullies earlier. And if those bullies' parents do decide to sue the school... well, I have a feeling that everyone is going to go from hating Switch to hating me in an instant.

"Your sister isn't, though," said Tommy, though he lowered his voice when he said that, as if afraid that Switch might be nearby listening in on their conversation. "She's mean and crazy."

Bait shrugged. "Switch is just stressed out a lot. She'll eventually calm down and stop acting out."

In truth, Bait wasn't sure even he believed that. Switch had had plenty of time to calm down and accept their situation, but had instead chosen to reject it at every single opportunity. He was almost starting to believe that Switch would never, ever accept the reality of their situation and that she would always, in some way or another, be trying to escape.

Tommy nodded, though Bait wasn't sure that he actually understood. "Maybe, but everyone else says she's totally crazy and is never going to become normal. Was your mom crazy like that or--"

Tommy caught himself and looked sheepish again, as if he thought that he had almost asked an inappropriate question. "Sorry. I just realized that you might not like to talk about your mom."

"Nah, it's fine," said Bait, shaking his head. "Mom was... not one for stability, I guess you'd say. Some people might call her crazy, but even I wouldn't go that far. I think she just liked being on the move all the time. She couldn't settle down with any man."

But even as Bait said that, he knew it sounded like he was making excuses for her. He almost sounded like Switch, though that wasn't surprising, given how much the two of them loved Mom. Even so, Bait knew that he couldn't keep making excuses for Mom forever; she had, after all, been an infamous supervillain, and quite a proud one, at that.

"Well, I guess it doesn't really matter anymore, does it?" said Tommy. "She was put in Ultimate Max prison, wasn't she?"

Bait nodded. "Yep. And she's still there. She'll probably never be released."

"That's good," said Tommy. He looked down at his feet as they walked. "I don't like supervillains. I don't like them at all."

"Why?" said Bait as they strode past a tree, causing a squirrel to jump down from it and dart away. "I mean, aside from the obvious."

Tommy looked reluctant to speak, but then he shrugged and said, "I guess since you told me about your mom, I guess I can tell you about mine. I'm from California."

"I've been there a few times," said Bait, though he didn't add that every time he had gone there, he had committed a crime with his mother and sister. "Nice place."

"Yeah," said Tommy, nodding. "Most of the time, it is. Specifically, I grew up on the coast in a small beach town called Crossroads. You've probably never heard of it."

"Can't say that I have. Where is it?"

"About fifty miles outside of San Francisco. But we didn't go to the city very often; too expensive, my mom always said. Anyway, a couple of years ago, this supervillain calling himself Tsunami appeared on the West Coast and tried to drown the entire coast of California under a huge, well, tsunami. Have you heard of Tsunami before?"

Bait nodded slowly. "I think so. Wasn't he a powerful supervillain or something?"

Tommy nodded again. "Yeah. Stupidly powerful, actually. He could control water, make waves as tall as skyscrapers. I don't know why he wanted to sink the whole West Coast; maybe he's just evil or something. All I know is that he tried to do just that, which included my town of Crossroads, because we were on the beach and everything. He did get beaten, but no one found his body and no one knows if he's still alive or not."

"Did you guys evacuate?"

"Yeah. The governor issued an evacuation order for everyone living in California's coastal towns and cities, but everyone was in such a panic to escape that the roads got blocked. Not to mention that Tsunami had already sent in several large waves that destroyed several towns or roads. Mom decided that we should just stay in town and wait until the Independent Neoheroes for Justice or the government took care of Tsunami, so we went out to find higher ground where we wouldn't be swamped by the floodwaters."

"What happened to your mom?"

"Our car got caught in one of Tsunami's waves." Tommy was still looking at his feet. "We were dragged out into the ocean, still wearing our seat belts. Both of us would have drowned, but then the New Heroes showed up and saved us; well, their leader, Strike, did. You know who the New Heroes are, right?"

Bait did. The New Heroes were the second most well-known young superhero team in the country. Bait had never clashed with them before, but he was aware that they were supposedly even more competent than the Young Neos. Whether that was true or not, Bait didn't know, though he nodded anyway to show to Tommy that he knew what Tommy was talking about.

"Strike used his magnetic powers to pull our car out of the ocean," Tommy continued. "Or tried to. The tide was too strong, so he only had enough time to save one of us. My mom told him to abandon her and save me. Last thing I remember seeing was Mom getting swept away into the ocean. They never found her body, even after Tsunami was defeated by Strike and the storms ended. Her coffin was empty."

Bait bit his lower lip. "That sucks, man. Sorry to hear that."

Tommy shrugged. "I've gotten over it. That's why I applied for a spot in the Academy, because I wanted to become a real superhero who used his powers to protect other people from villains like Tsunami. I want to be like Strike; heck, I'd like to join the New Heroes myself one day."

Tommy said that with a little shyness, as if he thought Bait was going to make fun of him for that goal. Maybe people had mocked him when he said that before.

"That's a great goal to have, Tommy," said Bait. "And I hope you achieve it."

Tommy smiled a big smile. "Thanks. You really are nicer than everyone says you are."

Bait just shrugged his shoulders in response. "Derek and his friends probably don't think so."

"Don't worry," said Tommy. "I'll make sure to let everyone know that you're a good guy, so if Derek starts spreading any bad rumors about you, I'll counter them with the facts."

"Uh, thanks," said Bait. "But you don't really have to do that, you know."

"Oh, I do," said Tommy. "I don't like it when people don't get the credit they deserve. And you don't need to thank me for it, anyway. You saved me from those bullies, so this is how I'm going to pay you back."

Bait was not sure if he could believe Tommy at first, but Tommy sounded genuinely and completely sincere about wanting to help improve his reputation, and without any strings attached, as well.

Maybe I'm not such a screw up after all, Bait thought as he and Tommy walked. Maybe things are going to work out in the end for us anyway... well, at least for me, if nothing else.
CHAPTER FIVE

Switch stood in her dorm room, her Academy-issued duffel bag (with the Academy logo emblazoned on its side) standing open on her bed. It was currently about half-full, mostly with her clothes, but also with a handful of possessions she called her own, such as her laptop, a few books, and her hair products. It wasn't very much, but Switch didn't own a whole lot, because Mom had never let her or Bait own a lot of physical possessions. That was because they had learned to always be on the move, moving from city to city and state to state (and occasionally even crossing the border into Canada or Mexico when things got really bad) on a regular basis. As a result, Switch had learned how to travel with only the essentials and it never took her long to pack.

But today, Switch was moving slowly, packing her bag one thing at a time. This was because she was not looking forward to going on this Superhero Apprenticeship Program one bit. She should have been excited about leaving the campus, but she couldn't be, because she would still be under the careful watch of the superheroes who put Mom in prison. It might give her a chance to escape, but somehow she doubted that. The superhero who she and Bait were going to apprentice under, Brains, no doubt had already put measures in place to ensure that neither of them ran off when they got the chance. He might even apprehend them himself if he wanted, which Switch had no doubt he could do, though she didn't know what his particular powers were.

Does it matter? Switch thought as she folded up an extra spare copy of her school uniform and threw it roughly into the bag. He'll make sure we work with him no matter what. He might even be able to convince Bait to help him keep me around.

Sighing, Switch walked over to the drawers next to her bed, where she kept all of her clothing. She had already emptied the drawers of most of their contents, but she was going to double-check just to make sure that she hadn't forgotten anything. She normally kept her drawers closed tightly, because she didn't trust her roommates--two girls named Dora and Alanna--from looking through her stuff. Not that she had ever caught either of them doing that, but that was mostly because Switch had made it very clear to both of them what would happen if they looked through her stuff without her permission.

Opening the top drawer, Switch heard something roll along inside. Wondering what it could be, Switch stuck her hand into the dark drawer, felt around until she touched something that felt like a rock, and pulled it out. Holding the rock up to the light, Switch found herself temporarily bathed in orange light, because the rock she held was orange and transparent.

No, not a rock, Switch thought, lowering the object in her hands down. A gem. A Blood Gem. My Blood Gem.

Switch had almost forgotten about her Blood Gem. It was an exact twin of the one that Bait carried, although his was purple. Nonetheless, aside from color, the two Blood Gems were completely identical down to the tiniest curves. Switch sometimes wondered at the skill of whoever had made these Gems; to make two exact replicas of each other was clearly the feat of a superhuman, though she had no idea who had made these Gems or how old they really were.

Looking at the Gem, Switch was almost tempted to toss it across the room, because it reminded her of Bait and his Gem. But then Switch remembered that Mom had given these Gems to her and Bait when they were very young and instead held it tightly to her chest, feeling its warmth against her heart.

Sitting down on her bed, Switch felt tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Normally, she would have wiped them away, but because she was alone, she let them run down her face a little. This Blood Gem was the only gift from Mom that Switch had left. She felt foolish for having kept it stored in her dresser drawers for so many months, but Switch remembered why she had done that: It had been because she had gotten into a fight with Bait and had decided not to wear her Blood Gem anymore in order to make sure they couldn't share their powers again.

Why did I even do that? Switch thought, feeling her tears roll down the side of her face and drip off her chin. What would Mom have thought if she saw me do that?

Granted, it was not an entirely unreasonable thing to do. The Blood Gems were not merely rare or unusual stones; they also had the ability to allow two superhumans to trade powers with each other. The only caveat, as far as Switch knew, was that it only worked between two superhumans who were genetically related to each other, such as a brother/sister duo like herself and Bait, or even a child/mother duo, though Switch had never gotten a chance to trade powers with Mom, because Mom had said that her own powers were too much for Bait or Switch to use.

Ten years ago, Mom had stolen the Blood Gems from Adam Lucius Plutarch, who at the time had been known as the supervillain the Billionaire but was currently the President of the United States after reforming into a good guy. Switch remembered how excited she and Bait had been when Mom gave them the Blood Gems as birthday presents; Mom rarely gave them birthday presents, and when she did, they usually weren't very interesting. In fact, the Blood Gems were the only birthday presents that Bait and Switch had kept from Mom. Dad, of course, had never given them anything.

Bait and Switch had spent the next ten years after that learning how to use the Blood Gems in battle, figuring out how to trade their powers on the fly to get the surprise on potential enemies. That was the reason they were called Bait and Switch in the first place; Mom had given them those nicknames after they defeated her in a training match using a bait and switch method of trading their powers to take her by surprise.

But, however useful or interesting the Blood Gems were, that wasn't why Switch valued them so much. She valued them, or at least hers, because they were a reminder of Mom. As long as Switch had her Blood Gem, she always felt some kind of connection to Mom, even though Mom was currently hundreds of miles away inside one of the most secure prisons on the planet.

I should bring this with me, Switch thought as she put the Blood Gem carefully inside the duffel bag on top of her shirt. Might be useful out on the streets, even though I still don't want to work with Bait anymore.

Yet she didn't feel quite so angry toward Bait when she looked at that Gem. Maybe it was because she and Bait had used their Gems so much over the years that the two of them now had a deeper bond than most siblings, one that went beyond mere blood. Or maybe Switch was just getting sentimental over a lot of nothing.

Shaking her head, Switch once again stood up, but at the same time, the mysterious note she received--which she had hastily stuffed into her pocket back in the Administration building--fell out of her pocket onto the floor. Switch quickly snatched it back up and looked around, but the dorm was currently empty save for her, because Dora and Alana were both at class at the moment and would be for the rest of the day.

For the fifth time since she had received it, Switch unfolded the note and read it again. She wished she knew who had written it and why. Who could possibly save her and Bait? A part of her still hoped that it was somehow Mom, even though Mom was currently in jail and in no shape to save anyone, much less her and Bait. It was a comforting thought just the same, however unrealistic it might be.

But when Switch held the note up to read it better, she noticed something odd. Written in very, very faint ink were a series of ten numbers. Frowning, Switch held it up to the light on the ceiling further, which allowed her to see the numbers even better: They were a phone number, one she had never seen before.

Switch quickly lowered the note again. As she did so, the phone number vanished, but when she held it up against the light again, the phone number reappeared like magic.

Not magic, Switch thought. Invisible ink. Whoever wrote this note must have been worried that it would end up in the wrong hands, so they hid this phone number in invisible ink to make sure it wasn't seen.

But if the note writer had added a phone number, didn't that mean that the writer wanted her to call it? Maybe it was even the writer's own phone number. And if the note writer was in some way connected to Mom...

Sitting down on the bed again, Switch pulled her phone out of her pocket and immediately dialed the number on the note. She put her phone against her ear, listening anxiously to the dialing noises it made as her phone attempted to connect with whoever owned this number.

After a few tense, anxious seconds of hearing the phone ring, Switch heard the familiar click of someone answering and heard a deep voice say, "Yes? Who is this?"

"Me," said Switch without thinking, but then caught herself and said, "Uh, Switch."

"Switch?" said the deep voice, though he didn't sound very surprised. "Is that really you? You sound so much older than you did when I last saw you, though if the pictures I've seen are accurate, you've already grown into a beautiful young woman. Like Ariana when she was younger."

Something about the voice stirred a memory deep in the back of Switch's mind, but it was more like a vague feeling than an actual memory. "Who are you? And how do you know what I sounded like when I was a kid? And how come you know Mom's real name?"

"You mean you haven't figured it out yet?" said the voice. "I thought the note was an obvious enough hint, but perhaps it was too subtle."

"It doesn't have a name on it," said Switch, glancing at the note in her lap. "It just says that Bait and I shouldn't make any more escape attempts anymore because someone will come to rescue us."

"I had to avoid signing it for safety reasons," said the deep voice. "If it fell into the wrong hands, then it would have ruined my plans. But based on what you've said, it sounds like you're the only one who has seen it."

"I am," said Switch, though a little impatiently. "Who are you? You still haven't said."

"I suppose I should tell you, since you will be finding out soon enough anyway," said the deep voice. "I'm your and Bait's father, Switch... and I'm going to rescue both of you from the Academy."
CHAPTER SIX

"We're coming in for a landing," said the pilot. He looked over his shoulder at the passengers in the seats behind him. "Better buckle your seatbelts, kids, and make sure you're all nice and snug, because these saucers can sometimes land pretty roughly and I don't want either of you kids to fall off and bonk your heads on the floor, okay? 'Cause then I'd get in trouble and trouble is the last thing I need."

The 'kids' in question, Bait and Switch, started when the pilot spoke--well, Bait had, anyway. He had fallen asleep during the long flight to their destination, because the flight had been so smooth and quiet that he had almost forgotten they were flying at all. When Bait looked at his sister, however, Switch was sitting with her arms crossed in front of her chest, eyes wide open as she hummed a cheery tune, though she looked oddly less moody than she normally did.

Yawning, Bait looked toward the front of the ship and said, "What did you say, Captain? Did you say we're almost there?"

The pilot--a middle-aged man from Utah who had introduced himself as Captain Larry Russell--gave him a thumbs up. "Yes, sir. We're about to land in Showdown in just a few minutes. Already sent a message to Brains to let him know we'll be there, so you kids better get ready to meet the guy. He's a cool dude, all right, but he's also pretty uptight and professional."

"What are his powers again?" said Bait, rubbing his eyes. "No one has told us."

"It's a surprise," said Captain Russell, flashing Bait a mischievous grin. "You'll see soon enough. Brains likes to show off a bit, so don't be surprised if he shows off when you first meet him."

That didn't seem like a particularly good answer to Bait, but he decided to drop the subject for now. Instead, Bait stretched his arms and legs and looked around the vehicle in which they had flown from the Academy to Showdown, a city located in Virginia.

It was neither an airplane nor a helicopter; instead, it was a re-purposed flying saucer salvaged from the Pokacu alien fleet which had attacked Hero Island some months back. This ship--known as The Arrow--had been redesigned to act as a flying machine for the faculty and students of the Academy in case they needed to go anywhere, such as special field trips across the country. This was the very first time Bait and Switch had ever flown in it, and it had been a smooth flight, much smoother than the planes or helicopters they had flown in during their time with Mom. It made Bait wish that Mom had gotten one of these, though he did remember Mom mentioning how much she would like to have one of these flying saucers for her own after they watched the second Pokacu invasion on TV a while ago.

The interior of The Arrow had been redesigned to allow for twenty passengers to fly in it at once. There were no real windows to speak of; however, there were monitors near the ceiling which displayed everything outside of the ship, showing miles of country land, roads, and clouds passing by underneath them quickly. Looking out actual windows would have been better, but the monitors were still neat to watch anyway.

Bait looked at Switch. "How are you holding up, sis? Still dealing with motion sickness?"

Switch had had a problem with motion sickness ever since they were little kids; she just never handled driving or flying all that well unless she took medicine prior to the trip. Bait had a tendency to tease her about it, if only because he usually got amusing reactions from her, at least whenever she didn't try to shoot him with her nail bullets.

But instead of making some snide comment back at him, Switch just smiled and said, "Oh, no, I'm fine. Nurse Irma gave me some motion sickness tablets before we took off. But even if I hadn't, I would probably still be okay, because this thing flies as smoothly as air. Thanks for asking, though."

With that, Switch went back to humming a cheery tune under her breath, her smile never leaving her face.

Bait knew he should have been happy that Switch wasn't moody. Earlier today, when Bait had gone to her dorm to pick her up, he only had to knock on her door once before Switch burst out, with her duffel bag thrown over her shoulder, and a big smile on her face, apparently excited to leave. Bait had been so taken aback by Switch's sudden change in attitude that she had been forced to drag him a few feet before he recovered his senses and started walking by himself again. Even then, Switch had remained well ahead of him the entire time, humming that same happy tune under her breath and practically skipping down the path, which had earned them more than a few odd stares from the other students and even some faculty members.

The contrast between how Switch had acted yesterday--scowling and complaining about having to go apprentice under a superhero--and how she acted today was so great that Bait wondered if Switch had somehow been secretly replaced with a much nicer, happier, and sweeter clone of herself during the night.

It's good to see her happy for once, Bait thought. This is the first time I've seen her smile since we started attending the Academy. Maybe she's finally accepted that we're not going anywhere and has decided to make the best of it, like me.

But Bait knew that was false. He knew Switch well enough to know that she didn't undergo a huge attitude change like this overnight. She was every bit as stubborn as Mom, if not more so, and it would take far more time for her to eventually make peace with their current situation. No, there was definitely something else going on here, even if Bait didn't know what yet.

Maybe she's going to make another escape attempt, Bait thought. Whatever the reason, I'd better keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't mess this up.

A few minutes later, The Arrow landed and Captain Russell told them they could depart. With their duffel bags thrown over their shoulders, Bait and Switch stepped into The Arrow's elevator and ascended up to the top of the ship. When they emerged onto the roof of the ship, they stepped out of the elevator and looked around at their surroundings.

The Arrow had landed inside a large airplane hanger; as Bait watched, the top of the hanger closed overhead. But before the hanger's ceiling closed, Bait caught a glimpse of tall skyscrapers, the buildings of Showdown, but then the hanger's roof closed and they could not see anything at all anymore.

As for the hanger itself, it was rather wide-open. A variety of flying machines dotted the area, ranging from small, one-person helicopters to flying saucers that looked similar to The Arrow. The temperature was cool and even, though it was a little hotter than The Arrow, most likely due to the presence of so many machines, even though the machines were empty.

"Wow," said Bait. He looked at Switch. "Aren't all of these vehicles cool? And they all belong to the NHA."

Switch nodded. "Yeah, they're interesting, I guess, but I don't see Brains anywhere."

Though Switch looked as happy as always, she now seemed distracted, but Bait didn't find that odd. Switch had never found vehicles and machines as interesting as he did, even before they started attending the Academy. Bait had. In fact, he liked vehicles so much that his very first crime had been stealing a Porsche from a rich guy. As a result, Bait knew a lot about how to steal cars. That used to be a point of pride for him, but now that he was trying to be a superhero, he felt rather ashamed of that knowledge.

But his thoughts were interrupted when a voice shouted, "Hey!" and both he and Switch looked over to see who had spoken.

Walking toward The Arrow was a very strange-looking man. He was tall and thin, almost anorexic, but his head appeared huge until Bait realized that it was actually a strange, brain-like helmet that he wore over his real head. The man wore an open lab coat, which revealed a purple bodysuit underneath that reminded Bait of the bodysuits that so many members of the Neohero Alliance wore. The man also wore a pair of horn-rimmed glasses, perched on his huge nose, which made his eyes look bigger than they were.

"Hi, there!" Bait shouted, waving back down at the approaching man. "Are you Brains?"

"Of course," the man called back, gesturing at himself. "The one and only. Are you two Bait and Switch?"

"That's us," said Bait. "Just hold on a minute. We need to get down there to meet you."

A few seconds later, Bait and Switch reached the floor of the hanger. They walked over to meet Brains, who, in addition to being thin, was far taller than either of them. He reminded Bait of an emu that he had once seen in a zoo when he was young, except with less feathers.

"Jason and Grace Greggs," said Brains. He held out a hand. "Nice to meet you both."

"You know our real names?" said Bait as he shook Brains' outstretched hand.

"Of course I do," said Brains. He tapped his forehead. "It's part of my powers. I can read anyone's mind; telepathy, in other words. Very convenient."

"Eh, that's not that impressive," said Switch. "Our real names are probably, like, kept in the NHA's database. I bet that's where he got them."

Brains looked at Switch with a sly smile. "I never checked the database, but I suppose you would think that, given how you looked up my powers before you got here on the Academy's computers."

Switch started, her eyes wide. "How did you know that?"

Brains tapped the side of his helmet. "Read your mind, of course."

"What are the limits of your powers?" said Switch, who sounded a lot more worried now for some reason. "Can you read everything in my mind?"

"Not everything," said Brains, shaking his head. "I have a low level telepathy which is on at all times, which lets me sense emotion, but I can't actually read thoughts unless I focus on one specific person. Even then, I have to put in effort to peel away the upper layers of their mind to get to the deeper parts of their mind, such as the unconscious or their earliest memories."

Switch looked as if she had been caught in the middle of a crime, which Bait thought wasn't too far off from the truth. She'd probably been planning some kind of escape attempt while they were here and had perhaps abandoned the plan when she realized that Brains could read her mind.

Serves her right, Bait thought triumphantly. She's not going anywhere, and neither am I.

"Anyway, let me show you two the rest of the base," said Brains, turning around and gesturing for them to follow him. "We've got a couple of rooms set aside for you two to stay in. They're really nice: Queen beds, full-sized refrigerators and kitchens, private bathrooms, the works."

"That sounds amazing," said Bait. "Are we going to get to do any crime-fighting today?"

Brains chuckled as he began walking. "No, I don't think so. We'll go on a patrol of Showdown, but I doubt we'll do much actual fighting. This city is pretty quiet most of the time, thanks in no small part to the efforts of me and my team."

"Team?" Bait said as he and Switch followed Brains. "Are you the leader of a team?"

Brains shrugged. "Not an official team, per se. It's just what I call the people who work here. This entire facility--which I call the Braindome--has more than just superheroes working here, you know. We've got about fifty normal humans who do the upkeep work, file expenses, fly the vehicles, and the like."

"But I thought that this was an NHA facility," said Bait, looking around the hanger curiously. "Isn't the NHA a superhuman-only organization?"

"They're not actually members," said Brains, waving off the thought as if it was ridiculous. "We're not Visionists, you know. It's just that the NHA, being the big organization that it is, requires a lot of effort to keep running, so there are a lot of normal humans working various jobs that need to be done but which we can't or don't have the time to do. Hero Island has an entire staff of normal human janitors whose sole duty is keeping the Island and its various facilities in shape."

"Whoa," said Bait. "I didn't realize just how big the NHA actually is."

"It's massive, all right," said Brains. "And that's not even counting the various headquarters we have in countries all over the world. The NHA isn't just a US organization, you know. We've got members from every corner of the Earth."

Bait whistled. He'd always known that the NHA was the biggest superhero organization in America, but he hadn't realized just how big it actually was. He looked at Switch to see what she thought, but as he had suspected, she didn't look like she was listening very much to Brains' comments. She no longer looked quite as troubled as she did before, but she did seem lost in thought. Maybe she was rethinking the escape plan she had been intending to do here.

The three of them reached the hanger exit, which was closed. Rather than punch in a code, Brains simply bent over, opened one eye, and allowed a retinal scanner to scan his eye. Bait once again glanced at Switch and was satisfied to see that she looked disappointed at this method. No doubt she'd been planning to see the code for unlocking the door so she could use it herself later. A retinal scanner that required Brains' eye, however, was much harder to crack.

Unless she tries to gouge out Brains' eyes, that is, Bait thought. Which I honestly would not put past her, depending on how desperate she is to get out of here.

Bait made a mental note to tell Brain to keep his eyes safe as he and Switch followed Brains through the now-open doorway into the hallway on the other side. This hallway had metal walls, but soft blue carpeting, which looked brilliant under the florescent lights on the ceiling. There were doors on each side of the hall, but they were all closed, save for one, which was cracked open enough for Bait to hear someone typing furiously on a computer inside it.

"Before I show you the rest of the Braindome, I'm going to show you to your rooms," said Brains. "That way, you can get unpacked, take a shower or perhaps a nap. I understand that your flight was rather long and I want both of you to be alert and ready to go in case of an emergency."

"Emergency?" Switch said, frowning as they followed Brains around a corner. "What kind of emergency are we talking about here?"

"Supervillain attack," Brains said. "Natural disasters. Betrayal from within. Homeless Joe breaking in and stealing all the food again. You know, the usual stuff."

"Homeless who?" said Bait.

"Never mind that," said Brains. "Ah, here we are. Your rooms."

Brains came to a stop in front of two doors side by side. The left door had the word 'BAIT' on it, while the right had the word 'SWITCH' on it.

"Here you go," said Brains, gesturing at the doors. "We even labeled them for you for convenience, but they're otherwise identical. Here, let me show you."

Brains opened the door labeled 'BAIT' and walked inside. Bait and Switch both followed and were surprised by what they saw.

Although Brains had already mentioned some of the amenities to them, Bait had not expected to find anything really fancy. He thought there might be a few things to make sure they were comfortable, but that otherwise they would be not much better than their dorms back in the Academy. The most Bait hoped for was that they might be better than some of the seedy motels that he, Switch, and Mom had stayed in whenever they were on the run. Bait still sometimes had nightmares about a motel room in Arkansas that had a whole family of rats in the walls.

Thus, Bait was taken aback by the fanciness of his room. It was large--easily twice as large as Bait's dorm--and had the softest carpeted floor Bait had ever set foot on. A huge queen bed stood against the far wall, with pillows that looked as soft as clouds, while an entertainment system, complete with giant flat screen TV and massive speakers and video game systems, was set up to their right. A small kitchen, complete with varnished cabinets, stove top, and microwave, stood to their left, while the bathroom stood to the right of the bed. The bathroom door was only partially opened, but even from here, Bait could see that the sink and shower practically sparkled they were so clean.

"Here we are," said Brains, spreading his arms. "I admit that it's rather basic, but since you two are only going to spend a week here, I thought you didn't need much."

"This is basic?" said Bait, staring up at Brains in disbelief. "This looks like a four star hotel, doesn't it, Switch?"

Switch nodded. She looked overwhelmed by the fanciness of the room. "Yeah, it does. And my room looks like this, too?"

"Completely identical," said Brains, nodding. "Twins, just like you two, except the soap in your bathroom is pink rather than blue. I hope you don't mind. We just thought that since you're a girl, you wouldn't mind it."

"Mind it?" said Switch. "You could make my soap every color of the rainbow and I wouldn't care if it was in a room as nice as this." She stroked her chin. "Maybe being a superhero isn't as bad as I thought."

"Don't get too attached to it," said Brains, waggling a finger at them. "Most superheroes don't get rooms as nice as this, unless they work for the NHA. But I'm pleased to see that you're both excited about it. I had been worried that you might not like it."

"Why would we not like it?" said Bait. "It's fantastic."

"Good," said Brains. He folded his arms across his chest. "I'll be sure to let the staff know, because it was mostly the Braindome's staff who put this all together. They'll be happy to know that you two love it."

Bait nodded, but then a thought occurred to him and he looked at Brains. "This is cool and all, but I was wondering why you went to all of this effort for us."

"Just because you're going to stay for merely a week doesn't mean--"

"No, I'm not talking about that," said Bait, shaking his head. He gestured at himself and Switch. "I mean, us. You know, me and Switch."

Brains looked totally mystified for a moment before realization dawned on his features. "Oh, that. Well, just because your mom happens to be one of the most infamous supervillains in the world doesn't mean I have to treat you two badly. Can't pick your relatives, after all, especially your own mother."

"You mean you picked us even knowing who we are?" said Bait in surprise. "You aren't afraid of us or anything?"

"Of course not," said Brains, shaking his head. "I know about your reputation, of course, but you two are still young. There's plenty of time for you two to grow up and be your own people, distinct from your mom."

Switch scowled, but said nothing to that, perhaps because she knew that there was no point in arguing with Brains about whether becoming like their Mom was a good thing or not.

"Was there a lot of competition for us?" asked Bait. "Headmaster Johanson said that he had a lot of superheroes in the Program. Did you have any trouble getting us assigned to you?"

Brains didn't meet Bait's eyes. He just looked down at the floor as if he had seen something absolutely fascinating. "Ah, no. When Arnold put out the message that he was looking for a mentor for you two, I was the only member in the Program to respond. I think that everyone else was... not interested, to say the least."

Bait wasn't surprised. Their mother, Electrica, had given the NHA a lot of trouble in the past, up to invading Hero Island itself and killing one of their members while she was at it ten years ago. He guessed that most NHA members still remembered that and probably wanted nothing to do with either him or Switch because of it, even though neither of them had done anything nearly as bad as that so far.

Still disappointed, Bait thought. I accepted that the students hated us, but the adults, too? Seems like everyone is against us. Guess that's why we have to work harder than everyone else to prove ourselves.

"But me, I believe in training the next generation," said Brains, putting a hand on his chest. "I don't care who your parents are. I believe that every young superhuman deserves training and mentoring in order to learn how to use their powers in a healthy, constructive manner that benefits society. Young superhumans who do not have the proper guidance are at risk of becoming supervillains or simple common crooks. Thus, I believe that by mentoring you two, I will help you both avoid following in your mother's footsteps."

Switch just rolled her eyes, while Bait scratched the back of his head and said, "Thanks, Brains, uh, sir. That's awfully nice of you to do, especially given how everyone else hates us."

"People don't hate you two," said Brains. He paused, as if carefully trying to decide what to say next. "They just don't... know you yet. That's all."

Bait disagreed with that, but he wasn't in the mood to argue with Brains about terminology. He just shrugged and said, "All right. I'd like to get unpacked now and take a shower, if that's all right with you."

"Certainly," said Brains. He looked at Switch. "Switch, come with me. I'll show you to your room."

"Nah, that's fine," said Switch brusquely, hitching her bag up higher over her shoulder and turning around to leave. "I know where it is. You can just go and play Sudoku or whatever it is you brainy people do."

With that, Switch left the room. Brains shot Bait a slightly puzzled look, to which Bait just shrugged and said, "Don't take it personally. She's always like that."

Brains pursed his lips--perhaps realizing for the first time just what he'd gotten himself into--but then nodded and left the room as well, closing the door behind on the way out.

Bait walked over to the bed and dropped his duffel bag next to it. He lay down on the sheets, sighing in relief when he felt how soft yet firm they were. He was definitely going to sleep well tonight, that was for sure.

I hope I don't just sleep, though, Bait thought, looking up at the ceiling. I want to see the rest of this facility, but more than that, I want to patrol the streets like a real hero, like Brains. I don't want to spend all my time in this room, however nice it is.

Baits sat up. He leaned over, unzipped his duffel bag, and pulled his old black and white costume out. As he pulled his costume out, however, Bait heard something rolling around inside his duffel bag. He dug his hand through his almost full bag, felt a small rock, and pulled out his Blood Gem as well.

Can't forget this, Bait thought as he looked at the Blood Gem in his hand. If Switch and I end up fighting anyone, it will be useful to have this on hand.

Looking at the Blood Gem reminded Bait of the old days, when he, Switch, and Mom had been on the run. He was glad those days were over now--hopefully forever--but at the same time, a sense of nostalgia washed over him as he remembered that old life. He remembered how Mom would have them frantically packing up their few physical possessions whenever their hideout was compromised; he remembered driving through Louisiana after a successful bank robbery, staring out the car window at the massive swamplands and hoping to catch a glimpse of a crocodile or alligator in the water below; remembered when Mom had given him and Switch the Gems for their sixth birthday and told them that they needed to defend these jewels with their life.

As happy as Bait was that he and Switch had a chance to change their destinies, he had to admit that he sometimes sympathized with her desire to save Mom and go back to that old lifestyle. Everyone at school hated them; even many of the teachers didn't like them very much. And if Brains was telling the truth, then even many actual NHA members didn't care much for them. It seemed like everything was against them; no wonder Switch wanted to go back to the way things used to be. It would be a lot easier that way.

Easier, maybe, but not right, Bait thought as he turned the Gem over in his hand. I just wish I could help her understand that. She would be a lot less angry if she did.

The door to his room burst open and a man rushed in. Based on his red and white uniform, he looked like one of the Braindome workers. He also looked like he was in a hurry, panting and putting his hands on his knees as he stood in the doorway.

"Whoa, what's the matter?" said Bait, staring at the worker in surprise. "Did something happen? Is everything okay?"

"Brains has summoned you and your sister to Cranial Control," said the work, panting between sentence fragments. "A supervillain has appeared in Showdown and is going on a rampage. Brains says he wants both of you in Cranial Control stat."

Bait could not help but smile when he heard that. "Sure. Just let me throw on my costume and I'll be there in an instant, okay?"

"All right," said the worker. "I'll let your sister know, too."

With that, the worker rushed out of the room. Bait immediately walked over to the bathroom and began changing, but he did it quickly, smiling the whole time as he thought about how lucky he was.

A real supervillain fight not even an hour after we got here, Bait thought, his grin so wide that it felt like it was about to become perfect. This is just the opportunity we need to show the world that Switch and I aren't just copies of our mom. I hope there's a reporter with a camera, because I want the whole world to see Bait and Switch save Showdown from a real supervillain. This is going to be awesome.
CHAPTER SEVEN

To say that Switch was annoyed about that weird Braindome worker bursting into her room and announcing that Brains had summoned her and Bait in order to deal with a supervillain threat in Showdown was an understatement. Her mood had almost been joyful just minutes before. After all, her room was basically a hotel suite, far better than the dump that was her dormitory back in the Academy. She'd been hoping to take a long, warm shower and then take an even longer nap in her queen-sized bed, where she would not be disturbed until she was ready to get up.

But now, as Switch and Bait followed the Braindome worker through the Braindome's main hallway again, Switch was in a bad mood again. She couldn't feel good even with Bait practically bouncing beside her. He was smiling like a huge idiot, like today was Christmas and he knew he was going to get something good from Santa.

I shouldn't be surprised, though, Switch thought. Bait's just happy that we've got an opportunity to prove that we're not as 'evil' as Mom. I bet he'll also make sure to pose for any cameras that are around, maybe give an impromptu interview with some of the cute female reporters. I'm sure everyone will think he's a hero. Good for him. He can be a hero without me, because I'm not going to be around for much longer.

That thought put a small smile on Switch's face. She thought back to yesterday, when she had been packing her bag and had discovered the hidden phone number on the note, the number that had allowed her to talk to Dad for the first time in her entire life.

Dad had been great. He hadn't actually told her his real identity--he said he was afraid that their communication line might be tapped--but he said that he was in Showdown and that he would send a few of his men to come and rescue her and Bait from Brains once they got there. He hadn't given her too many details--again because he didn't want to put the plan in jeopardy in case they were being overheard--but he said that she could trust anyone who told her the password 'California' and to go with whoever said that password to her on the street, even if she was in the middle of doing something else.

That was why Switch had been so happy during the flight here and why she had been so eager to get on The Arrow and fly to Showdown, because she wanted to see Dad more than anything else. True, Switch didn't know Dad as well as Mom, but that gave her all the more reason to want to see him. The quicker she met Dad, the more time she'd have to get to know him better. Maybe Dad would even help her and Bait save Mom from Ultimate Max; based on what he'd told her, Dad sounded like he definitely had means to do that.

That's probably just your imagination running wild, Switch, Switch thought. Still, fantasizing never hurt anyone, did it? Maybe I'll tell Dad to save Mom when I meet him. I'm sure he misses her as much as we do, maybe even more so because they were together.

Such thoughts continued to dominate Switch's mind until they arrived in the place which the worker called 'Cranial Control.' It was a large, centralized room with computer monitors and desks set up everywhere. There were about ten people sitting at the desks, staring at the monitors or tapping away on the keys as they did various tasks. The room was cool and smelled like coffee and donuts, which Switch figured was likely what made up the diet of most of these people, who reminded her of the tech workers that she'd seen when she, Mom, and Bait had gone to Silicon Valley one time two years ago.

But at the moment, none of the workers were actually, well, working. They were all staring at the big monitor in the wall opposite them, a monitor that was at least as tall as Switch, but about four times wider than her. It showed footage of a ruined city street, with the words 'SUPERVILLAIN ATTACK IN WEST SHOWDOWN' scrolling across the bottom of the screen as a reporter (off-screen) described the scene to the viewers.

"...police are urging everyone in the area to stay indoors until the threat is dealt with," the reporter said. "While the current location of the supervillain in question is unknown, police have confirmed that he is still in the area and that citizens should not engage with the villain unless in self-defense. Early reports indicate that at least one person has died already, while another five have been--"

The reporter was interrupted by a strange static that made Switch cringe and which sounded strangely like laughter. A second later, the entire screen was replaced with static snow, though Switch thought she had seen a hand cover the camera before it went out.

"Whoa," said Bait. "What was that?"

"The supervillain," said Brains, who Switch had not noticed standing near them. He was staring at the static snow, a grim frown on his lips. "Based on what that report showed, I'd say it was Speed Demon."

"Who?" said Switch in confusion.

"A minor supervillain," said Brains. "I've fought him before. He has super speed, but can also increase or decrease the speed of anything he touches. He normally commits bank robberies, which makes his apparent attack on the city street so bizarre."

"Do you think he's got an ally?" said Bait. "Can one guy really cause that much chaos?"

"I don't know," said Brains. "In any case, we'll find out when we get there."

"Exactly how are we going to get there, anyway?" said Switch. She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. "Fly in one of those vehicles in the hanger? I'd love to take a helicopter into battle, especially if we can throw someone from it."

"Nah, helicopters are too slow," said Brains, shaking his head. "We'll teleport."

"Teleport?" said Bait. "You didn't say you could teleport."

"I can't," said Brains. "But my wife can."

"Your wife?" said Switch.

Just as Switch said that, a woman suddenly appeared in Cranial Control next to Brains. She looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties, with long brown hair that was incredibly shiny. She wore a skintight blue costume that left little to the imagination, as well as a domino mask over her eyes that was of the same color as her costume.

"Hi, honey," said the woman to Brains, who she kissed on the cheek. "Sorry for the delay. Little Joey needed a diaper change and you know how messy that can be."

"No, it's fine, darling," said Brains, putting a spindly arm around her shoulders and hugging her close. "We should still be able to stop the villain. I think it's Speed Demon."

The woman sighed in exasperation. "Again? Come on. I thought he would have gotten a hobby by now or something."

"Who says that being a supervillain isn't his hobby?" said Brains. "It's always possible."

The woman rolled her eyes, but it was in an affectionate way, as if she was secretly pleased by Brains' rather dumb comment. But then the woman looked at Bait and Switch and said, "Who are these two?"

"Bait and Switch," said Brains, gesturing at both of them as he said that. "Remember? They're the kids from the Superhero Apprenticeship Program. The ones with the, ah, interesting parentage."

The woman's eyes suddenly lit up with understanding. "Oh! Forgive me, but I just didn't recognize you two. I'm Vanish. As you might have guessed, I'm Brains' wife."

"Uh, hi," said Bait, who was looking at Vanish in a way that Switch found disgusting. "Nice to meet you. I'm attracted to--I mean, I'm Bait and this is Switch."

Vanish beamed at Switch. "Hi there! You're really pretty, did you know that? Love your hair. You'll have to tell me how you get it to be so straight; mine is a bit curly and takes too much effort to keep down."

It was then that Switch decided that she hated Vanish more than Brains or any other superhero she had met. But, knowing that Vanish was Brains' wife, she just said, in a flat voice, "Thanks. Your hair doesn't make you look as bad as it could, either."

Vanish just laughed. "And you have a sense of humor! Ah, we're going to be best friends by the end of this week, of that I am convinced!"

Switch just stared at Vanish, dumbfounded. "That was supposed to be an in--"

"Well, what do we say we get going?" Bait suddenly said, interrupting Switch before she could finish. "That Speed Demon guy certainly isn't going to wait politely for us to get there, is he?"

"No, he is not," Brains agreed quickly. "Vanish, darling, can you teleport us all to Broadway Avenue? That's where Speed Demon is supposed to be."

"Of course," said Vanish. "Everyone, hold hands. That's the only way I will be able to teleport all of us."

Brains and Vanish held hands, while Bait grabbed Brain's hand (and looked disappointed to be holding his hand rather than Vanish's), while Switch reluctantly held Vanish's outstretched hand. Switch almost considered refusing to go, but decided that if it meant she would get to be out in the streets, where Dad might save her, it would be worth it.

"Everyone holding tight?" said Vanish, looking around at everyone. "Good! Then let's go!"

Vanish's grip on Switch's hand tightened. One moment, Switch, Brains, Bait, and Vanish were standing in Cranial Control among flickering screens and tapping keys. The next, they stood in an alleyway somewhere in Showdown, though if Vanish had teleported to the right place, they were most likely on Broadway Avenue, where Speed Demon was said to be.

Brains immediately let go of Vanish and Bait and walked over to the alleyway entrance. He peered out the building, looking up and down the street, before pulling his head back in and saying to everyone else, "I don't see Speed Demon. The street looks deserted."

Switch--never one to take someone else's word for things--walked up to the entrance and peered out herself. Brains was right. The street was empty, save for an overturned car, a busted out cafe front window, and strange gouges in the street that looked like they had been created by some kind of giant bear.

Pulling her head back in, Switch looked over at Brains and said, "Are you sure this Speed Demon guy is by himself? Those gouges in the street don't look like they were created by a speedster."

Brains shrugged. "Like I said, it's possible he might have an accomplice, though that would be unusual, given how he tends to work alone."

"Have you picked up his brain signature yet, honey?" asked Vanish. She looked a lot more serious now that they were in a real situation. "Or at least his emotions?"

Brains rubbed his forehead, a frown on his face. "That's the weird thing. I'm picking up emotions and surface thoughts from most of the people still in the buildings--lots of anger and fear and worry--but I don't hear Speed Demon at all."

"How far does your telepathy extend?" asked Bait. "Maybe he's outside of your range."

Brains shook his head. "I doubt it. My telepathy extends about a mile in every direction, though I can increase or decrease it depending on what I need. The most I can expand it to is five miles, but I hate doing that because it takes so much energy to do and even more to maintain for longer than a second or two. No, I think Speed Demon has either finally mastered his emotions or he has some kind of device that lets him hide from my powers."

"Why don't we search for him?" Vanish suggested. "We can split up. You and I can search one half of the street, while Bait and Switch here can search the other. If Speed Demon is hiding, we'll surely be able to find him that way."

"Excellent thinking, darling," said Brains. "You know, I sometimes think you should be called Brains, because you keep coming up with good ideas that never would have occurred to me in a million years."

"Don't be so down on yourself, honey," said Vanish in a sickeningly sweet voice. "You're so much smarter than me. After all, who keeps losing the car keys?"

"Can both of you just... stop, please?" said Switch, holding up a hand before Brains could reply with something equally sugary to say back to Vanish. "There's a supervillain we need to stop and I don't think anyone has ever stopped a supervillain by talking like that to their spouse."

"You're right," Brains said reluctantly. "We have an important mission to accomplish. The more time we spend talking, the more time he has to escape or hurt more people."

"We'll cover the other side of the street," said Vanish. She looked at Bait and Switch. "You two can stay here and search this side. If you see anything, just holler, okay?"

With that, Vanish grabbed Brains' hand and the two of them disappeared, only to immediately reappear on the other side of the street. Vanish waved at them one last time before she and Brains went into another alleyway, disappearing from sight.

Switch sighed. "Finally. Their lovey dovey talk was getting on my nerves."

"I don't know," said Bait with a shrug. "I wonder if Mom and Dad ever talked to each other like that. I think I could have tolerated that kind of lovey dovey talk myself if it meant Mom and Dad stayed together."

Switch folded her arms across her chest. "Whatever. What should we do?"

"Search for Speed Demon, of course," said Bait, patting his chest. "And capture him, if possible. Like real superheroes."

Switch cringed. "That's so cheesy."

"Who cares?" said Bait. "This is the opportunity we've been waiting for, sis. If we can catch Speed Demon, that would go a long way toward winning the approval of the people and fixing our reputations. I say we should not let this great opportunity pass us by."

Why would I want the approval of the 'people'? Switch thought. I just want to see Dad for the first time in forever.

Aloud, however, Switch just shrugged again and said, "Then lead the way, Mr. 'Real' Superhero. You can have all the glory if you want."

"Okay," said Bait. "But Switch, where's your Blood Gem? It's not on your chest."

Switch looked down at her chest. The compartment where she usually kept her Blood Gem was empty. "Oh. I forgot to put it on before we left. Let me fix that."

Switch pulled her orange Blood Gem out of her pocket and inserted it neatly into her costume's chest. A soft click sound could be heard when she did that, indicating that the Blood Gem was locked in place and was not in danger of falling out if she ran or got attacked.

Bait frowned at her. "I almost thought you lost it. Spooked me there for a moment."

Switch put her hands on her hips. "I'd never lose my Blood Gem, Bait. Never. Stop acting like you're my older brother. You're exactly the same age as me and aren't much better about misplacing things yourself."

"I just wanted to make sure we're both ready for a fight," Bait said, folding his arms across his chest, which emphasized his own Blood Gem. "Speed Demon could be anywhere and I don't want him to take us by surprise."

Switch rolled her eyes and turned around. "Whatever. I don't need your supervision. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of my--"

A powerful gust of wind came out of nowhere, almost like a concentrated blast, which sent Switch's hair flying crazily around her head and nearly knocked both her and Bait off their feet. Bait staggered against the wall, while Switch tripped over a discarded water bottle and would have fallen on her face if someone hadn't caught her.

But when Switch blinked again, she found herself dangling from her wrists several stories off the street. Wind blew around her, while Switch gasped in shock as she looked down at the street below where she and Bait had been standing mere moments ago.

"What?" said Switch, staring down at the street, dumbfounded. "Where am I? How did I get up here?"

A dark chuckle came from behind her. "Odd. I thought girls liked these kinds of views. You must not have a very good sense of romance."

Switch tried to turn her head to see who was talking to her, but then the grip on her wrists loosened slightly and she nearly plunged to her death before the hands redoubled their grip.

"Now, now, it's not wise to take your eyes off the ground if your feet aren't on it," said the man holding her up. "Otherwise, you might scream in my face, which might spook me, and make me drop you accidentally. Even with my super speed, I might not be able to catch you before you splatter against the street like an egg."

Switch gulped. "Super speed? Are you--"

"Speed Demon," said the man, his voice hot in her ear. "Yes, I am. But more importantly, I hold the power over your life. So if you don't want me to drop you to your death--accidentally or intentionally--please don't make any sudden moves or try to play the hero, because you're not in any position to gain from that."
CHAPTER EIGHT

When Switch vanished into thin air following that strange burst of wind, Bait thought that maybe Vanish had somehow teleported her away for some reason. At least, that was the first coherent thought to pop into his head, because he was actually quite disturbed when he saw his own sister disappear before his very eyes. He ran out of the alleyway and looked up and down the ruined street, shouting, "Sis! Where are you? Switch?"

"Up here, boy," came a loud voice from the top of a nearby building. "Your sister is closer than you think."

Bait whipped his head upward so fast that he actually hurt his neck. But he didn't care about that, because he was too busy staring at the terrible scene on top of the apartment building in front of him.

Standing on top of the building was a man in a red and yellow costume with devil-like horns sticking out of his mask. The man was tall, taller than Bait or Switch, and thin, though he was more lithe than skinny. His eyes glowed a dark red through the eye holes of his mask, while his mouth was twisted in a cruel smile that reminded Bait far too much of how Mom sometimes looked whenever she was playing with an enemy who she was about to kill.

The man held Switch by the wrists over the side of the building. Switch was not struggling against the man's grip on her, which made sense, because if she did somehow manage to break free of his hold, she'd just plummet to her death to the street below. Even if Bait caught her, he knew that she would likely suffer severe injuries that might leave her paralyzed for life.

"Who are you?" Bait shouted up at the man. "And why did you kidnap my sister?"

"The name is Speed Demon," said the man. Even though Switch weighed about one hundred and ten pounds, Speed Demon did not sound like he was even remotely struggling to hold her up. "Pleased to meet you."

"You have my sister, you jerk," Bait snapped. "Let her go. Now."

Speed Demon frowned. "And let her fall to her death on the street? I understand sibling rivalry quite well--me and my sister always fought when we were younger--but this is ridiculous. Or are you just not thinking? You don't strike me as a particularly great intellectual."

Bait's hands balled into fists. "You know what I mean. Stop playing stupid."

"You first," said Speed Demon. "Or were you not playing at all and actually being serious? As I said, you don't seem like a particularly intellectual person to me, if the size of your muscles are any indication."

Bait stepped forward, but then Speed Demon shook Switch (who made a small mouse-like squeak of terror when he did that) and said, "Ah, ah, boy. One step closer and I'll lose my grip and send your sister on a one way trip to the street below. I doubt you'd like that very much."

Bait just glared up at Speed Demon, but he didn't dare approach any closer. He tried to give Switch a reassuring look, but she seemed too freaked out by her kidnapping to notice. Her face was pale and she was shivering, her legs dangling pointlessly above the void.

"Bait!" a voice shouted from the side. "Bait!"

Bait looked in the direction from which the voice came and saw both Brains and Vanish running toward him. The two superheroes stopped before him, looks of concern on their faces.

"We heard you shouting," said Brains. He suddenly looked around and frowned. "Wait, where is your sister?"

"Up there," said Bait, pointing at the top of the apartment building. "With Speed Demon."

Both Brains and Vanish looked up immediately. Vanish put a hand over her mouth in shock, while Brains' eyes just widened to the size of dinner plates.

"Speed Demon!" Brains shouted. "You let that girl down this very instant!"

"I already explained what would happen if I did that," said Speed Demon, rolling his eyes. "I knew the boy wasn't a great intellectual, but I thought you, at least, were, Brains. Maybe fatherhood has caused your IQ to drop a deviation or two."

"He's right, dear," said Vanish, putting a hand on Brains' shoulder. "If he lets go of Switch, she'll just fall to her death. I couldn't catch her even if I teleported up there."

"Come on," said Bait. "Can't you, like, teleport behind Speed Demon and take him out?"

"I could, but he could still drop Switch," said Vanish, shaking her head. "We've fought Speed Demon before. He knows what our powers are and how to counter them. It would be too risky to use our usual methods on him."

"Right," said Brains. "Under ordinary circumstances, I would have just mentally yelled in his mind or conjure some kind of illusion based off his worst fear that would make him give up or run away. But if I did that in this situation, he would just drop Switch and she'd die."

Bait bit his lower lip. "I thought you two were heroes, but this one guy has your hands tied behind your back."

"Just because we're heroes doesn't mean we're invincible or that the bad guys don't occasionally get the best of us," said Brains. "That's a lesson you'll have to learn if you ever want to become a superhero yourself. Never underestimate your enemies. That's a good way to get killed or put in situations like this."

To Bait, that sounded like an excuse, but he didn't feel like arguing about it. He just looked up at Speed Demon again and shouted, "What the hell do you want? Is there anything we can give you in exchange for Switch?"

"So you finally thought to ask the right question," said Speed Demon. "Perhaps you're more intelligent than I gave you credit for. In any case, I do have a few demands to make in exchange for the girl's life."

"What are they?" Bait asked. "Tell us them now."

"Very well," said Speed Demon. "First, I would like ten million dollars, cash. Second, I want to be allowed to leave Showdown without being followed by Brains or Vanish. And finally, I want Brains' helmet, mostly because I think it would be funny."

Brains immediately grabbed his helmet with both hands. "What?"

"You heard me," Speed Demon said. "Fulfill my demands and I'll give you back the girl. Refuse... well, you know what will happen to her if you say no."

As if to emphasize his point, Speed Demon actually let go of Switch. Switch screamed as she fell, but she didn't fall very far before Speed Demon caught her again and stood up.

Bait looked at Brains and Vanish. "We've got to meet his demands. It's the only way to save Switch."

"Do you have ten million dollars in cash on hand?" said Brains in annoyance. "Because I don't. And I'm not sure I could convince the NHA to give me ten million dollars, either, especially on such short notice."

"But she's my sister," said Bait, gesturing up at her. "I've got to protect her. If Speed Demon drops her, she dies. Period."

"That may be true, Bait, but you have to realize that Speed Demon has intentionally made ridiculous demands to put us in a tight spot," Brains explained. "He knows full well that we can't meet any of those demands, and even if we did, he'd find some way to kill Switch anyway. We can't negotiate with him."

"But why would he make these demands if he didn't want us to meet them?" asked Bait. "It doesn't make sense."

"Supervillains do that all the time, Bait," said Brains. "They always come up with these kinds of ridiculous demands in order to harm us. That's another lesson you will need to learn if you're going to become a superhero someday."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" said Bait. "Just let him drop Switch? Is that it? Because I can't accept that as an answer, and you know it."

"We have no intention of letting him kill Switch," said Vanish in a firm voice. "But the reality is that he has one over on us at the moment. We have to approach this situation very, very carefully, because we don't want Switch to die, either. We just need to remain calm and think through this situation before we do anything hasty."

Bait's fists shook. He was perfectly willing to meet all of Speed Demon's demands if it meant saving his sister's life. In his view, ten million dollars was a rather paltry sum for the life of his one and only sister.

But his more rational side told him that Brains and Vanish were likely correct about Speed Demon's demands being impossible to fulfill. His smart side reminded him that his own mother used to use that very tactic whenever she was cornered by superheroes or cops who could arrest her. Bait realized he should have realized that before he yelled at Brains.

Forcing himself to calm down, Bait thought about this situation as logically as he could. If Brains and Vanish were correct, then their powers would be useful for stopping Speed Demon, but useless for saving Switch. Speed Demon also knew that, which was probably why he had kidnapped Switch in the first place. That meant that Speed Demon was a lot smarter than he looked, and more dangerous, too, because it meant he was perfectly willing to exploit the weaknesses of his enemies in order to win. Again, that was very much like Mom, though Mom didn't usually kidnap and threaten teenage girls like this.

But Speed Demon is only on top because he knows about Brains and Vanish's powers, Bait thought. He doesn't know what Switch and I can do. As far as he knows, we're just a couple of superhuman teenagers. He doesn't even know about the Blood Gems or what they can do.

All of a sudden, a plan formed in his mind. He looked at Brains and Vanish and said, "I've got a plan, but I need you two to follow my lead, okay? I can't explain it here, otherwise Speed Demon might hear it, too, and come up with a way to counter it."

Brains and Vanish exchanged dubious looks, but then Brains nodded and said, "All right, Bait, we'll follow your lead. Just be careful, okay? This is a real fight, and if things go wrong--"

"I know," said Bait. "That's why I have to act fast."

Bait looked up at Speed Demon and Switch again. Speed Demon looked very impatient, while Switch's face was still pale with fear. But Bait managed to catch her eye and winked at her in a way that he hoped she would understand. Switch looked slightly confused at first, at least until Bait gestured at his Blood Gem in a casual way that would likely not draw the attention of Speed Demon. Then Switch's eyes widened slightly and she nodded very subtly to show that she understood Bait's plan. That didn't surprise Bait. The two of them had worked together for so long and were so close that they were capable of transmitting even fairly complicated plans between each other with a few simple glances and gestures. Sometimes, Bait wondered if they had some kind of telepathy or shared mind in addition to their normal powers or if the Blood Gems somehow created a connection between them in a way that even blood didn't.

Regardless, Speed Demon must have noticed Bait looking up at him, because he shouted, "Well? Are you going to meet my demands or not? Better hurry up, because my grip is starting to slip!"

Bait took a deep breath. He focused on his Blood Gem and, tying his mind to it, looked up at Switch again and shouted, "Switch, let's trade!"

Without waiting for a response from her, Bait expanded his chest outward. The purple light in his Blood Gem shot out of his chest like a cannon, flying through the sky toward Switch. At the same time, the orange light from Switch's Blood Gem shot out of her chest toward him. The two lights--one purple, the other orange--passed each other halfway between the top of the building and the street below before passing each other completely.

The orange light struck Bait's Blood Gem. It did not send him staggering backwards--it was just a light, after all--but he did put a hand on his chest and grunt. Trading powers with Switch always felt a bit strange, even though he had been doing it since he was six years old.

But he paid no attention to that. He instead looked up at Switch, whose Blood Gem now glowed purple like his, while his own glowed orange. He saw Switch smile in triumph, a sign that she knew exactly what to do next.

Speed Demon, on the other hand, just looked from Switch to Bait and back again in confusion. "What was that? What was up with the weird trading lights? What kind of trick is this?"

"Trick?" said Switch, her voice loud enough for Bait to hear. "This is the kind of trick it is!"

Switch swung her right leg back and struck Speed Demon in the chest. She must have used her newly-acquired super strength, because the blow sent Speed Demon staggering backwards. Speed Demon let go of Switch at the same time, but Switch caught the edge of the building's roof and pulled herself back over onto the roof itself, safely avoiding falling to her death.

Bait looked at Vanish. "What are you waiting for? Let's go up there and help her!"

Vanish nodded. She grabbed Brains and Bait's hands, and a second later all three of them were on the top of the apartment building. They appeared behind Speed Demon, who now lay on the roof curled into a ball, clutching his chest where Switch had kicked him. Bait was surprised that Speed Demon was even still conscious after receiving a super strength-powered kick from Switch. Maybe he was stronger than he looked.

Regardless, Bait looked over Speed Demon at Switch and shouted, "Sis, you okay? Did he hurt you?"

Switch was crouched by the edge of the roof, on the other side of Speed Demon, though she had moved forward a few inches to keep herself from falling over the edge accidentally. Nonetheless, she looked up at him and gave him the thumbs up. "I'm fine. A little winded, but I've been worse."

Bait sighed in relief, while Brains stepped forward and said, "That's good to hear, Switch." He looked at Bait. "Looks like your plan worked out after all."

Bait puffed out his chest. "Hey, Switch and I have done this before. Trading powers like that can be a really good way to throw off your enemy, because most people have no idea we can do that until it's too late."

"Ask Stinger about the time we did it to him and his friends," said Switch. She chuckled. "Assuming he's even willing to talk about it, anyway."

"You can trade powers?" said Vanish, looking at Bait, impressed. "I've never heard of superhumans who could trade powers."

"Oh, it's not a natural ability," Bait explained. He tapped his Blood Gem. "These gems on our chests can let us swap powers. Don't ask me how it works, 'cause I don't know."

Brains looked at Bait's Blood Gem interestedly. "Hmmm... that is quite an interesting bit of jewelry you've got there. Reminds me of..."

Brains trailed off, but then shook his head and said, "Never mind. I'm going to cuff Speed Demon before he recovers and gets away. Then we can all go back to the Braindome and relax for a while."

Brains pulled out a pair of highly advanced-looking handcuffs and walked toward Speed Demon. Right before he slapped the cuffs on Speed Demon's wrists, Brains froze and looked up at Switch in alarm.

"Switch, get down!" Brains shouted. "Now!"

But Switch didn't move immediately. She just stared at Brains in confusion and said, "What? Why? I don't see anything out of the ordi--"

Switch was interrupted by the sound of jets roaring. Then someone wearing a jetpack flew up from the street and landed behind Switch. The jetpack-wearing man was someone who Bait had never seen before. He looked almost like a mixture between an astronaut and an airplane pilot, his face obscured behind a large, golden helmet and visor, while his body was covered in some kind of black spandex which made him look like a living shadow.

The man wrapped his arms around Switch and yanked her off her feet. Switch screamed, but then the man jammed some kind of needle into her neck and injected her with a strange clear liquid that Bait did not recognize. Switch immediately stopped screaming and her head fell limply over onto her chest.

"Switch!" Bait shouted. "No!"

The man wearing the jetpack didn't even acknowledge Bait. He just jumped backwards off the building as Bait rushed toward him. He stopped at the edge of the roof and looked down just in time to see the man wearing the jetpack flying away, the unconscious Switch in his arms.

"Switch!" Bait shouted. "You monster! Come back here with my sister!"

But the man wearing the jetpack didn't even slow down. He soon disappeared behind another building and was completely gone from sight.
CHAPTER NINE

Oh, man, Switch thought as she lay still in what she assumed was her bed. What happened? Everything feels so slow...

Switch didn't want to get up. Her body felt as heavy as a rock; even thinking was a chore. Her neck hurt, too, and her head throbbed like she'd just suffered a huge headache. She didn't even feel very refreshed, which was how she knew that she hadn't gotten a good night's sleep.

Her memory was muggy and unclear. She seemed to recall going to some place with Bait and then having to go some place else quickly. She also recalled feeling very sick and scared, with a sensation of having nothing under her feet. Even though she was lying on her bed, the sensation of being above the ground was still with her, making her draw her legs up to her chest to keep herself safe.

This sucks, Switch thought. I need to figure out where I am or how I even got here. But I also want to sleep some more.

Switch's desire to find out where she was, however, beat out her desire to sleep longer. Her eyes slowly opened, allowing her to see a metal ceiling above her. At first, Switch thought she was back in her room back in the Braindome, but then she realized that the ceiling she was staring at was completely different from the ceiling of her suite-like room back there. This one reminded her of the time that Mom had taken her and Bait to a submarine exhibit in New Hampshire once. A tour guide had led them through the old Cold War submarine, showing the places where crewmen would have slept and describing the conditions in which many of the sailors had had to endure while under the surface of the ocean.

Switch didn't remember much else about that trip, but she did remember that, because she had become claustrophobic in the submarine and had almost asked Mom to take her out. The only reason she hadn't was because she didn't want to be teased by Bait after that for being afraid of submarines, though it had been a long time since she thought of that.

But that's what the ceiling above her reminded her of. She even thought she heard a submarine engine somewhere in the distance, though perhaps the building in which she lay was near a busy highway and she just heard a truck's engine or something.

Doesn't matter, Switch thought. I need to find out where I am and how I even got here in the first place.

Sitting up, Switch rubbed her forehead and looked around the room in which she lay.

It was a lot smaller than her suite back in the Braindome. It was much closer in size to her dorm, except with only one bed and no roommates. It was rather sparsely furnished; though Switch was not as into aesthetics as Mom or as some other girls her age, Switch still thought this room looked really ugly. Blue metal walls, ceiling, and floor, with a single, rather dim light hanging from the ceiling. There was also a strong smell of seawater and seaweed, which once again reminded Switch of that old submarine exhibit that she and Bait had gone to as kids.

Maybe I actually am in a submarine, Switch thought. But if so, how did I get here?

All of a sudden, Switch remembered everything. She remembered going to Showdown with Bait, Brains, and Vanish to defeat Speed Demon; remembered Speed Demon kidnapping her and threatening to drop her unless Bait and the others met his ridiculous list of demands; remembered Speed Demon whispering in her ear that he had no intention of returning her and that he would drop her regardless of what they did; remembered Bait giving her the look that indicated he was going to trade with her; and remembered getting Bait's super strength and kicking that creepy Speed Demon in the chest just as he deserved.

After that, things got a bit hazy. She remembered seeing Bait, Brains, and Vanish teleport up onto the roof, but then she remembered someone grabbing her and jabbing something into her neck. Maybe a needle of some sort; that would certainly explain why her neck hurt. Switch shuddered. She hated needles; just the thought of having one jammed into her neck like that was enough to make her skin crawl.

But I don't remember what happened after that, Switch thought. How did I go from being on top of a tall building to being in what looks like a submarine? Something's missing from this equation.

All of a sudden, the large wheel handle on the door to her room spun open, making loud creaking sounds all the while, and opened slowly. Not knowing who was on the other side of the door, Switch immediately lay back down and pretended to be asleep. She had no idea if the person who opened the door was friend or foe; until she could be sure, she needed to act like she was asleep.

She heard light footsteps--probably not a woman's, but maybe a very thin or lightweight man--walk across the room toward her. She heard the footsteps stop near her bed.

"Hmm," said a snide voice that Switch immediately disliked. "Looks like the effects of the serum haven't worn off yet. I thought she would be awake by now. Perhaps I was mistaken." He sighed. "Lord Tsunami isn't going to be happy to hear that."'

This must be the man who kidnapped me, Switch thought. The one who jabbed that needle into my neck. What a creep.

Switch risked cracking open her left eye just enough for her to see the man's face. Unfortunately, due to the fact that he stood with his head against the light, his face was completely shrouded by darkness, making it impossible to tell what his physical features were. The best she could tell was that he was probably in his thirties, though she based that more on his voice than anything. He also wore a black body suit similar to a diver's suit, though he didn't look much like a diver to Switch.

The man sighed again, muttered something about wasting his time, and then turned and started to leave the room. But Switch had no intention of letting the only person who might know where she was and how she got here get away so easily.

With a cry, Switch threw her covers off herself and sprang off her bed. She tackled the man from behind and slammed him against the floor, using Bait's borrowed super strength to pin him to the floor by his neck. She got a vice grip on his neck, making the man gasp in shock, though he quickly stopped struggling against her when he felt how strong she was.

"What is the meaning of this?" said the man indignantly. "I thought you were still asleep."

"Should have been a bit more careful, then," said Switch. "Now, don't move or try anything funny or I'll snap your neck like a twig."

"Okay, okay, I won't do a thing," said the man with a gulp. "Please don't kill me."

"I won't as long as you tell me where I am and how long I have been asleep," said Switch. "My sense of time is off in here, so I have no idea how long ago I was knocked out."

"You've been out for twelve hours," said the man quickly. "It should have been for only six, but I think you must have been injected with a higher dosage or maybe your body just reacted differently to the serum than most."

Switch frowned. "Twelve hours? I've never slept that long before. No wonder I'm so tired, though not tired enough to break your neck if you try anything."

"I said I wouldn't," said the man, fear coloring his every word. "I'm no 'hero.' I actually prefer living, rather than putting my life in danger for no good reason. Trust me on that."

"Yeah, you do seem like a coward," Switch agreed. "Anyway, where am I?"

The man gulped. "I'm not sure I should tell you that. Lord Tsunami--"

Switch cut the man's sentence off by increasing the pressure around his neck. The man gasped for breath, much like a fish out of water. It was quite amusing to Switch. She always liked picking on weak men and this man, despite being in his thirties, was one of the weakest she'd ever run across. Picking on him was going to be fun.

Switch leaned over until her lips were a few inches away from the man's ear. "What did I say about killing you if you didn't answer my questions?"

The man gasped for air again, but Switch figured he was trying to tell her that he remembered what she said, so she sat up again and loosened her grip on his neck just enough to let him breathe and speak clearly again, but not enough to let him get away.

"God," said the man in a hoarse, weak voice. "You nearly killed me, you little--"

"Little what?" said Switch. "Come on. I'm listening."

The man paused, clearly trying to get his temper under control before he said, in a controlled calm voice, "I mean to say, that hurt a lot. Almost left me speechless, and if that happened, how would you have found out where you are?"

Switch could tell that the man was just lying, but she decided that she didn't care if he liked her or not. "Right. Now tell me where the hell I am or I'm going to squeeze your neck hard enough to make your head pop off your shoulders."

The man opened his mouth to speak, but then Switch suddenly heard the sounds of multiple footsteps rushing down the metal hallway outside. She looked up just in time to see half a dozen men in blue sailor uniforms appear in the doorway, each one armed with a long rifle. They immediately aimed their guns at Switch, though they didn't fire yet.

"Captain Jacques!" said one of the sailors, a man who looked to be just out of high school based on how young his face was. "We received your call for help!"

"Call for help?" said Switch. "What the--"

"Look at my hand," said the man she had pinned under her, apparently named Captain Jacques. "Right hand, my dear."

Switch looked down at Jacques' right hand. Around his wrist was a smart watch, which displayed the words 'EMERGENCY MESSAGE SENT' on its screen.

"Sent it while you were choking the life out of me," said Jacques in a smug voice. "You may be super strong, but you're clearly not super observant."

Switch nearly snapped Jacques' neck there and then, but when she looked up at the sailors again, she realized that if she did that, they would shoot her dead. Her super strength made her body tougher, but even Switch knew that getting shot dozens of times from six men would kill her even if she had been as strong as Omega Man himself. There wasn't anywhere for her to dodge, either, because of how small the room was, and she had nowhere to hide behind or use as cover, either.

"Young girl, let go of our Captain," said the first sailor again. "Or we'll shoot you."

"But don't we have orders not to shoot her?" said another sailor, this one standing to the first sailor's right. He looked vaguely Hispanic and maybe a few years older than his friend, though not by much. "She's the guest."

"She may be the guest, but Jacques is our captain and a member of our crew," the first sailor replied. "Crew always comes first, though I would take no pleasure in killing her."

Thanks, Switch thought, but aloud she said, "Any one of you idiots steps into this room, it's off with your captain's head. Got it?"

The sailors did not nod, but Switch knew that they understood her threat perfectly. That meant they were now stuck in a stalemate: Either Switch let their captain go and became their prisoner again or she killed Jacques and then got shot and killed herself in return. Switch did not see a way out of this situation that would let her get out of here; hell, she didn't even know where here was. She just met the glare of the first sailor, who didn't hesitate to glare right back at her with strong brown eyes.

Underneath her, Jacques was extremely still, not moving even one inch under her. He was probably aware of the dilemma Switch faced and was most likely hoping that she'd let him go. It occurred to Switch that Jacques would likely be shot, too, if his sailors fired, which no doubt explained why he had gone so still. He likely didn't want to give Switch an excuse to kill him.

But Switch had no intention of giving up like a nice girl. Bait, being the loser he was, likely would have already surrendered by now, but Switch wouldn't. She was going to figure out how she got here, but more importantly, she was going to get out of here no matter what and find Dad. She had not met him back in Showdown and was worried that he might not know where she was, either.

And if I have to break a few dumb sailors' skulls to do it, so be it, Switch thought. I'll do anything to see Dad. Anything.

The tension in the air was broken, however, by the sound of footsteps outside in the hall. The sailors looked down the hallway, but then immediately lowered their guns and stepped aside. They bowed their heads and got on their knees, everyone except the first sailor, who inclined his head in the direction of the footsteps but kept his gun still trained on Switch.

"Who's there?" said Switch. "Backup?"

But there was no answer until the owner of the footsteps appeared in the doorway and entered the room.

The man who had entered the room was no sailor. He was tall and powerfully built, more like those old Greek statues than a human being. His hair was short and close-cropped, with a magnificent black beard that was graying around the edges. The man wore coral-like armor over his shirtless body, while his hands and feet were webbed. He carried a huge trident by his side; it was at least as tall Switch and had to weigh a hundred pounds at least.

But it was the newcomer's eyes that struck Switch. They were dark and passionate, like storm clouds, but what most struck Switch about them was how familiar they were.

Those are Bait's eyes, Switch thought. Older, yeah, and less wimpy, but otherwise exactly the same. Who is this man?

The man seemed to read her thoughts. He spread his massive arms, a reassuring smile on his face, and said, "Grace, it's me. Your father."
CHAPTER TEN

Twelve hours. It had been twelve hours since that mad man in the jetpack had kidnapped Switch. Twelve hours since Bait ran over to the edge of the roof and cried out for Switch to come back. Twelve hours since Switch and the jetpack-wearing man vanished behind a building and from his life. Twelve hours since Vanish teleported Bait back--against his will--to the Braindome while Brains stayed behind to ensure that Speed Demon was taken to the police and properly questioned for his possible involvement in Switch's kidnapping.

It might as well have been twelve years to Bait, however. He had wanted to search the entire city for Switch, to tear the whole thing apart if he absolutely had to, but Brains had insisted that Bait was too emotional to think clearly and that it would not be wise to go after this mysterious man by himself. Bait nearly punched Brains for it, but Vanish had intervened at the last minute and teleported Bait away.

Now Bait was pacing back and forth in his room in the Braindome. He paid little attention to the exquisite furniture or atmosphere of the room itself. He was too busy thinking about--worrying about--Switch and where she was now and what her current situation was like.

How could I have let him get away like that? Bait thought. And he jabbed that needle into her neck and pumped God-knows-what into her system. Switch hates needles. She might even be panicking even as I think this.

Bait had not gotten much sleep since returning to the Braindome. Brains had ordered him to stay in his room for now in case the jetpack-wearing man or an accomplice tried to get him, but Bait didn't want to stay in his room. In fact, more than once he'd tried to force his way out, only to be put back in by the guards. Bait didn't have his super strength anymore, so he was unable to overwhelm the guards, and he didn't want to riddle their bodies with nail bullets because he didn't think that would be very heroic.

So Bait had tried to sleep, but got maybe an hour or two of restless sleep before his eyes snapped open. He tried taking a shower, but that didn't do much to take his mind off Switch's kidnapping. He had turned on the TV and tried to watch a movie, but again, he couldn't stop thinking about his sister. Even playing video games didn't help, even though Bait usually loved video games and could get sucked into them very quickly.

So Bait had spent the last several hours pacing back and forth across his room. His stomach grumbled, because it had been a long time since his last meal, but he had not bothered to prepare himself any food in the kitchen. He wanted to be ready to go and find Switch, because Brains had told him that the police would interrogate Speed Demon and that he would come by Bait's room sometime to let him know what the police found.

That had been hours ago, though, Bait thought. What if Brains was simply saying that just to get me off his case or calm me down? Because it didn't work, if that's what he was trying to do.

Just as Bait decided to try to escape his room again, the door suddenly opened and Brains entered. Brains looked even more tired than Bait. The bags under his eyes were heavier and he walked with a slight slump. That was not a good sign.

Still, Bait stopped pacing and asked, "What's the news, Brains? Did Speed Demon say anything?"

Brains shook his head tiredly. "No. He claimed that he had no idea who the kidnapper is and had no involvement in any sort of plan to kidnap Switch."

"Was he lying?"

"I read his mind," said Brains. "Deeply so, perhaps deeper than I should. He was telling the truth. He just wanted money. He is just as ignorant about the identity of these mysterious kidnappers as we are."

Bait turned and punched the sofa. "Damn it. Damn it."

"I'm sorry, Bait," said Brains, rubbing the back of his head. "The police are searching the city for Switch, but I'm not sure they will find her. We don't know anything about the man who kidnapped her or where he might have gone or who he might work with."

"A complete enigma, then," said Bait. He looked at Brains. "I need to go out and search for her myself."

"No," Brains said. "You need to stay here, where you are safe."

"Why?" said Bait. His hands balled into fists. "I can take care of myself. I'm far more worried about Switch's safety than my own."

"An admirable sentiment, but still quite foolish," said Brains. "We know nothing about the people who kidnapped Switch, other than that they are likely very dangerous. It is equally possible that they may want you as well, so you need to stay here for your own safety."

"But Switch doesn't have anyone else to save her," Bait argued. "I know she's not entirely helpless, but she's still my sister. She's about the only family I have. If Vanish got kidnapped, wouldn't you do everything in your power to save her?"

Brains folded his arms across his chest, a serious look on his face. "I'd go to the ends of the world to save her if I had to, but I wouldn't do it hastily or stupidly. And Vanish would know and understand that. Trust me, we're both experienced enough superheroes that we know when to hop into action and when to stand back and analyze the situation."

"The only reason you're not letting me go find her myself is because you're not as close to Switch as I am," said Bait, pointing an accusing finger at Brains. "Not like you care if she remains kidnapped. You just don't care."

Brains suddenly unfolded his arms. His frown turned into a scowl and he walked up to Bait so quickly that Bait had no time to react. Towering over Bait like a titan, Brains looked down at Bait with an expression of pure anger. It wasn't quite hatred, but it was so intense that Bait had a difficult time meeting it anyway.

"Don't you ever accuse me of not caring about the life and safety of a young superhero," Brains said, his voice low and dangerous.

"I didn't--"

"Yes, you did," Brains cut him off. "Don't lie, like your mother would. Or do you even still want to be a superhero?"

"I do," said Bait, who was feeling increasingly flustered under Brains' withering stare. "I want to be a hero, but--"

"Then act like one," said Brains. "Don't let your emotions make you act like an idiot. Understand that we can't just run around aimlessly, especially when dealing with an unknown threat. And it isn't because we don't 'care' about Switch. It's because we've been in these situations before and don't want to make any dumb mistakes."

Bait couldn't meet Brains' gaze. Even though Brains was a lot thinner than him, Bait felt more like a little kid than a teenager. He looked away, feeling ashamed of himself. "She's my sister. I just want to save her."

"I know," said Brains. "But there is a right way and wrong way to save people, and right now you want to do it the wrong way. Trust me on this."

Bait bit his lower lip, but still couldn't meet Brains' gaze. He sort of understood what he did wrong, now that Brains explained it, but at the same time, a more childish part of him--the part of him that always sounded like Mom in his mind--felt angry at Brains for lecturing him. He just wanted to do the right thing, after all. Why would he be lectured for that?

"I'll leave you to think about that," said Brains. He turned to leave, but then paused and looked over his shoulder at Bait again. "Oh, right, I almost forgot. News of Switch's kidnapping has already reached Headmaster Johanson at the Academy."

"It has?" said Bait. "Did you tell him?"

Brains nodded. "Yes. I called him up and explained the situation to him. He wasn't happy to hear it, I can tell you that much."

"Is he going to do anything about it?" said Bait.

"No, because the NHA is going to handle it," said Brains, shaking his head. "But he did ask me to end your apprenticeship early and send you back to the Academy tomorrow."

"What?" said Bait. "But I just got here."

"He agrees with me that you are a potential target for the kidnapper," said Brains. "The Braindome is one of the safest places in the city, but he thinks that the Academy is safer and wants to keep you where he and the rest of the faculty can see you."

"This is stupid," said Bait. "How am I going to find Switch if I'm stuck in school? It's not like her kidnapper took her to the Academy or anything like that."

Brains shrugged. "The Superhero Apprenticeship Program's agreement states that the Headmaster of the Academy can end the apprenticeship of any student at any time he deems and summon them back to the Academy. That clause was added exactly for these sorts of situations where a young student's life may be in jeopardy. I'm not going to argue with it."

"But didn't you say you were looking forward to teaching Switch and I how to be superheroes?" asked Bait. "You said that you thought we had potential, that you didn't hate or distrust us like the other superheroes did. Why aren't you arguing against this?"

Brains turned away. "Like you said, I thought you had potential. But after seeing how immature you act in these sorts of situations, I'm not sure you are ready for prime time yet."

With that, Brains left the room, closing the door behind him and leaving a shattered Bait alone to wonder if he had somehow messed up his best chance at becoming a superhero. He was starting to suspect that he did.
CHAPTER ELEVEN

Switch stared at the man who claimed to be her father. She didn't take her hands off Jacques, but most of her attention was on the large, intimidating man who had just called her by her real name and said he was her father.

"No way," said Switch. "You can't be him."

The man with the trident chuckled. "What, don't you recognize my voice from over the phone? I know people always sound a little different on the phone than they do in person, but I thought I would sound close enough for you to realize who I am."

Now that the man mentioned it, he did sound just like Dad had over the phone, minus the usual minor distortions that most phones applied to a person's voice. And then there was his eyes, his eyes which looked exactly like Bait's, which could only be true if this man was their father, as he claimed. Mom always said that Bait had his father's eyes, after all.

Still, Switch doubted a little. "You sound like him, yeah, but maybe I don't believe you're actually him. Could just be a faker."

Rather than get angry, as Switch expected, the man just smiled even more. "You're every bit as independent and skeptical as your mother. If I knew nothing else about you, that's how I'd know you were Ariana's daughter. Regardless, let me offer you proof that I am your father."

The man pulled something out of his pocket and held it out for her to see. Switch leaned forward a little to get a better look at the thing which the man was showing to her.

It was a photograph, a 'Polaroid,' Switch thought, though she was not very familiar with physical photographs due to those coming before her time. It showed four people. One was a man who looked just like the man standing before her, except younger and with a shorter, black beard. He was also wearing a Hawaiian t-shirt and shorts, rather than wearing his current getup. He looked even more like Bait in this photo than he did in real life. Indeed, if Switch hadn't known any better, she would have thought this was a picture of Bait from the future, when he was a few years older and had more experience.

In addition to the man, there was also a young woman in her early twenties sitting at the same table as him. Switch had no trouble identifying that woman: It was her mother, Electrica. But this was Mom when she was a much younger woman, with a thinner, younger, and tighter body, her hair falling down her shoulders like a waterfall. She was wearing a breezy yellow sundress, rather than her usual lightning-inspired costume, and was smiling even more than the man. Switch had always been told that she looked a lot like her mother when she was younger, but until she'd seen this picture, she hadn't realized just how much she physically resembled Mom.

And sitting in Mom's lap were two babies, probably not older than six months each. They were indistinguishable from each other, save for their swaddling: One was blue (most likely Bait) and the other was in pink (likely herself). Their eyes, however, were wide open, staring at the photographer who had taken this photo sixteen years ago. Mom was holding the babies with pride, as if showing them off.

Switch looked up at Dad's face again. "That isn't a family photo of us, is it?"

"It is," said Dad, nodding. "It was taken four months after you and your brother were born. Do you see the babies? That's you and Jason when you weren't even a year old."

Switch felt her mouth turn dry. "But... Mom said we didn't have any family photos."

Dad sighed. "She didn't keep any, but I did. I imagine she must have told you that just because she was upset with me. Ariana could always be so... impulsive. It's part of the reason I fell in love with her in the first place, of course, but looking back, it does explain why our relationship didn't quite work out the way I thought it would."

"You mean... Mom lied to us?" said Switch.

"I don't know what she did or didn't do," said Dad with a shrug. "I just know that I've kept that photo for sixteen years now, looking at it every day. It was a reminder of the family I could have had... if your mother had allowed it."

"But Mom said you abandoned us," said Switch. "That's what she told us."

"Another untruth," said Dad. He put a hand on his chest and met Switch's eyes. "I know you don't yet know me very well, Grace, but if I had really abandoned you, would I be talking to you right now? Would I have shown you that picture? Would I have saved you from that awful school and spirited you away from the NHA? That doesn't sound like something a deadbeat dad would do, now does it?"

Despite herself, tears welled up in Switch's eyes. She let go of Jacques and ran over to Dad. He spread his arms wide and caught her in the biggest, tightest hug that Switch had ever experienced. She hugged him back even harder, even using her super strength to increase the strength of her hug, but she didn't fear that she would accidentally hurt him, because she sensed that he was stronger than her, much, much stronger, and that no matter how strong she got, he'd always be stronger. At least, that's what Switch always thought about Dad growing up and she thought her fantasy was coming true now.

For the first time in Switch's life, she felt happy and secure. She just wanted to bury her face as deeply as she could into Dad's chest and never, ever let go. She was even surprised by her own vehemence. She had never felt this way before, but at the same time, it felt so natural that she didn't question it. She just experienced, enjoyed it, and hoped to God that it would never end.

But then Dad slowly let go of her and pulled her arms off of him. Switch tried to keep holding on at first, but eventually she let go. She looked up at Dad, who was smiling down at her in a fatherly way that she hadn't realized until just now that she missed terribly.

"Welcome home, Grace," said Dad. "Welcome home."

Switch wiped away the tears from her eyes. She couldn't speak. She was so overcome with emotion that she couldn't speak. And she knew that if she did speak again, she'd just blubber like a baby. That thought would have embarrassed her under other circumstances, but as she stood in front of Dad, it seemed like a perfectly natural emotional reaction to reuniting with her long lost father.

Then Switch heard grunting behind her and looked over her shoulder. Jacques was standing up again, rubbing his throat, wincing at the pain from where Switch had held him. He had a small, thin mustache on his upper lip which made him look rather creepy to Switch. There was also something wrong about his face. It was like it didn't fit on his body, if that made sense.

"Captain Jacques," said Dad, looking over at him. "How does your throat feel?"

"Still hurts quite a bit, Lord Tsunami," said Jacques, his voice as hoarse as ever, though Switch noticed the slight French accent to his voice that she hadn't noticed before. "But thank you for asking. And thank you also for coming. I thought I was going to die for a moment there. Your daughter is very... strong."

Switch could tell that Jacques had been about to use a less polite word but had swapped it out at the last second. That would have annoyed Switch in the past, but she was so happy now that she didn't care what anyone called her as long as she got to stay with Dad.

But Switch did look up at Dad and say, "What did he call you? Lord Salami or something?"

"Lord Tsunami," Dad corrected. "That is, my 'supervillain' name is Tsunami. Didn't Ariana ever tell you that?"

Switch shook her head. "No. She never told me or Bait who you are."

"Does code my name ring a bell, at least?"

Switch paused and thought about it. "Vaguely. I think I heard about some guy named Salami attacking California a few years back, but he got defeated by the INJ or something."

"That was me," said Dad, though he sounded a little annoyed about the fact that she got his name wrong again. "Like Ariana, I have been around for a while, though recently I've been staying under the radar, so to speak."

That was when Switch noticed an ugly scar near Dad's abdomen. She wondered where he had gotten it from and who would dare not only attack Dad, but attack him enough to leave an incredibly ugly scar on his body. She decided that she'd hunt down whoever did it to him, if Dad hadn't already, and teach them a lesson for harming her father.

"So Bait and I are the kids of two supervillains?" said Switch in awe.

"If you want to use that term to describe us, yes," said Dad. "I can understand if you're a bit disappointed--"

"Disappointed?" Switch interrupted. Her face broke into a huge grin. "This is even cooler than I thought! Two supervillain parents. And not just supervillains, but two of the most infamous supervillains in the world. I feel like I just hit the parent jackpot!"

"Oh, dear," Jacques muttered. "She's as crazy as her mother. Of course she is."

Dad, meanwhile, looked completely taken aback by Switch's enthusiasm. If Switch hadn't been so excited to see him, she would have found his shock amusing, even comical. As it was, she just thought that she was incredibly lucky, maybe even blessed by God himself. Well, she doubted that God, being the old fusspot he is, would bless her, but it was still a nice thought anyway.

"Well, uh, I'm glad to see that you are excited," said Dad. "That will make everything easier."

"Make what easier?"

"I'll explain later," said Dad. "For now, why don't you come with me on a tour of my vessel? I can show you around, as well as catch up with you and explain where we are. How does that sound?"

Switch clapped her hands together excitedly. "That sounds awesome! Can we go now?"

"Of course," said Dad. "Come with me, but first..."

Dad turned to face the first sailor, the one who Switch had thought was perhaps the sub's first mate, and said, "I overheard you say you were willing to shoot my daughter if she didn't let go of Jacques."

The first sailor--who was now kneeling along with the rest of the sailors--cringed, but did not look up. "My apologies, Lord Tsunami. I just... got caught up in the heat of the moment. I would never lay hands on her except to save her life."

For a moment, Switch thought that Dad was going to kill the first sailor there and then. She hoped he would. She didn't like that sailor or any of the others, for that matter. They had threatened to shoot her, after all, and if it hadn't been for Dad's sudden intervention, they likely would have. Besides, Switch wanted to see Dad's power firsthand. She didn't quite know what his powers were, but she sensed they were powerful, perhaps even overwhelming, and she wanted to see a display of his might.

But then Dad nodded and said, "Understandable. Because you did not actually shoot her, I will let you live; however, if you do something like that again, then the consequences will be quite... severe."

"Yes, Lord Tsunami, sir," said the first sailor without looking up. "I understand."

Then Dad turned to look at Switch again. "Now come, Grace, and let me show you The Atlantis."
CHAPTER TWELVE

Due to the severity of the situation, it was decided that Bait should not be flown back to the Academy. Instead, Vanish teleported him back, though she had to teleport every five miles until she could actually get there. She explained to Bait that, like her husband, her powers had a limit and that she couldn't simply teleport from Showdown in Virgina back to the Academy in a single 'leap,' as she called it. Even with this limitation, however, this method was a lot safer than flying; considering how Switch's kidnapper had a jetpack, they didn't want to risk him attacking The Arrow in mid-flight and possibly taking it down or boarding it.

Bait did not argue with that point, partly because he liked Vanish, partly because he was still stewing over what Brains said to him. Whenever they stopped in a new location between Showdown and the Academy, Bait's mind would go back to his conversation with Brains.

Maybe I really don't have what it takes to be a real superhero, Bait thought. Maybe Switch is right to want nothing to do with the school. Maybe I'll just be like Mom. Maybe that's all I was ever meant to be.

It took them about half an hour to teleport from Showdown to the gates of the Academy. By the end of it, Bait's stomach felt rather upset. He didn't think he was going to throw up, but he didn't think that he was going to do any more teleporting anytime soon, either.

When they reappeared in front of the gates, Bait and Vanish were greeted by Arachnid. Arachnid was crouching on top of the gates, looking as much like a giant spider as he ever did, but when they appeared in front of the gates, he jumped down and landed in front of them as gracefully as ever.

Rising to his feet, Arachnid said, "Welcome back, Bait. How are you feeling?"

Bait put a hand on his stomach. "A little sick, to be honest. I think it's because of all the teleporting we did."

"Yes, that's a rather common way for people whose bodies aren't used to teleportation to feel," said Vanish, nodding. "It takes a while to get used to. Even I had a hard time getting used to it when my powers first developed when I was your age."

"Thanks for getting him back safely, Vanish," said Arachnid. "The Headmaster has been extremely worried about his safety since Switch's kidnapping. He'll sleep more soundly tonight knowing that Bait is back on campus."

"No problem, Arach," said Vanish. "Brains and I are big supporters of the Academy, as you know, and--"

"Yes, I know," Arachnid said, cutting her off without so much as an apology. He waved at her. "You can go now. I'll make sure Bait gets to his dorm."

Vanish frowned, but then nodded, patted Bait on the back, and turned and teleported away without another word. Bait thought that Vanish gave Arachnid one last annoyed look before she left, however, which he found odd.

As soon as Vanish disappeared, Bait looked at Arachnid and asked, "Um, is there some history between you two that I don't know about?"

"Nothing you need to know about," said Arachnid. He turned, pushed open the gates just enough for a person to slip through, and then stepped aside. "Get inside. I doubt there's anyone out here who would try to kidnap you now, but it's best not to risk it."

Bait nodded and entered the gates. Arachnid followed not long after and closed the gates firmly behind him before turning to face Bait again. "You need to come with me to the Headmaster's office."

"Why?" said Bait. "I want to go back to my dorm and sleep. I feel sick."

Bait knew he sounded a little whiny, even a little bit like Switch when he said that, but at this point, he didn't care. He actually was sick, though the real reason he wanted to go back to his dorm was so he could escape his troubles through sleep. With Switch's kidnapping and Brains' harsh words, Bait felt like he had had more than enough for one day.

"He wants to talk to you about the events in Showdown," said Arachnid. "He wants your take on your sister's kidnapping."

"Didn't Brains already tell him about it?" said Bait. "Why does he need me to tell him about it? It's not like I could add anything new."

"I don't know why," said Arachnid with a shrug. "I think the Headmaster just wants to make sure that nothing was left out. He's just as concerned about Switch's kidnapping as anyone, maybe even more so due to the fact that she is one of his students, and he wants to know every detail of her kidnapping in case there was something we overlooked."

That seemed pointless to Bait. Headmaster Johanson had been a skilled and experienced superhero prior to becoming the Academy Headmaster, but given the fact that no one knew where Switch was or even who had kidnapped her, he didn't see how Johanson could possibly help save her.

Nonetheless, Bait nodded and said, "All right. Take me to his office. I'll tell him everything I know."

-

Half an hour later, Bait finished telling his story to a listening Johanson and Arachnid. It didn't take long to do--the kidnapping was still fresh on Bait's mind--but Bait felt sick talking about it, and it wasn't just because his teleportation sickness was still lingering, either. He just didn't like having to relive his greatest failure in his short life so far.

When he finished, Johanson leaned back in his chair and put the tips of his fingers together. Arachnid stood silently next to Johanson, his arms folded across his chest, though he seemed to be waiting for Johanson to speak more than anything.

"Well?" said Bait, unable to bear the silence any longer. "Did you learn anything new from my story?"

Johanson shook his head slowly. "Not about the kidnapping, no. Your story is identical to Brains'. It was still helpful to hear it, though."

"How?" said Bait. His shoulders slumped. "If we didn't learn anything new from it--"

"Oh, I was just happy to hear how you and Switch worked together to take down Speed Demon," said Johanson. "It's unfortunate that Speed Demon knew nothing about the kidnapping, but the fact that you two managed to take down a supervillain like that is quite the accomplishment for kids your age."

"I... guess," said Bait with a sigh. "I just feel like such a huge failure. She was snatched from right in front of my eyes. If I'd been faster... if I'd been smarter..."

"We all make mistakes, Bait," said Johanson. "There's no need to beat yourself up over it. You must learn to forgive yourself and move on."

Bait nodded, but deep down, he still felt as awful as ever. He didn't see how he could ever forgive himself for letting Switch be kidnapped like that. He would only be able to forgive himself if he managed to save her. Otherwise, he knew he'd be wracked with guilt until they could find her again, and he had no idea when or if he would ever see her alive again.

"Anyway, I am interested in your Blood Gem," said Johanson. "It lets you trade powers with your sister, yes?"

Bait put a hand on the orange stone on his chest. "Yes. Right now, I have Switch's nail bullets power, while Switch has my super strength."

"Is there a limit to the distance your Gems require?" said Johanson interestedly. "For example, could you trade powers with your sister again right now and perhaps find out where she is?"

Bait shook his head sadly. "Sorry, Headmaster, but that's not how the Blood Gems work. We have to be physically close and able to see each other in order to trade powers. Even if Switch was inside this very building, I would not be able to trade with her if she was blocked by the door or out in the hallway."

"I see," said Johanson. "Very well. I was just wondering about it, because I thought that perhaps the Blood Gems might provide you with a unique connection to your sister that we could use to find her."

"No, they don't," said Bait. "The Blood Gems are useful and all, but they have their limits."

Like me and my inability to save my sister before she got kidnapped, he almost added, but caught himself, because he didn't think the Headmaster would be interested in hearing more of his self-deprecation.

"Ah, well," said Johanson. "Well, you may leave and go back to your dorm now, if you wish, Bait. If I hear any news about Switch's location or status, I will let you know personally."

"Thanks, Headmaster," said Bait. "I appreciate it."

Bait rose and left the office. He quickly left the Administration building itself, not even bothering to say goodbye to Joy. He burst out of the doors and walked down the steps quickly, making his way across the campus grounds toward his dorm. The sun was out today, shining and warm, a nice contrast to the cool January wind that was blowing through, but Bait didn't care. He just felt so miserable that all he wanted to do was go home and take a nap for a while. He didn't have any classes for the rest of the day, so he might just stay in bed all day and get up tomorrow morning. He might even skip dinner. He usually ate with Switch, but now that she was gone and he had no other friends, he didn't relish the idea of sitting by himself in the Cafeteria.

But before Bait could get very far, he walked into someone smaller than him. The person he walked into fell on their behind, while Bait himself just staggered backward a couple of steps and rubbed his chest.

"Ow," said Bait, rubbing his chest and looking down at whoever had walked into him. "What the hell--"

Bait stopped when he saw who it was: It was Tommy, the kid who had been bullied by Derek and his friends the day before. Tommy had fallen flat on his bottom on the pavement, rubbing his forehead and readjusting his glasses, which had gone askew on his face from where he'd crashed into Bait.

"Tommy?" said Bait. "What are you doing here?"

Tommy looked up at Bait in surprise. "I was about to ask you the same question. I thought you weren't getting back from Showdown for a week."

"I had to come back early because of... personal reasons." Bait didn't look at Tommy in the eyes when he said that. He was too ashamed of his own failure to even admit it.

"You mean your sister's kidnapping, right?" said Tommy as he rose to his feet, dusting off the back of his pants.

Bait looked at Tommy in astonishment. "How did you know about that? I thought only the faculty knew about it."

"Everyone knows," said Tommy with a shrug. "Nothing ever stays secret in this school, you know. I think it might have been Nurse Irma; she's a pretty a chatty lady and probably heard about it from the Headmaster. Not that it really matters much, of course."

Bait's frowned deepened. "You mean everyone on campus knows about... about Switch's kidnapping?"

Bait almost said my failure, but again, he caught himself at the last second. He didn't want to look weak and whiny to Tommy.

"Yeah," said Tommy. "But I've heard, like, a million versions of that story. Some people say Speed Demon kidnapped her, some say that a Pokacu alien ship came down from the sky and kidnapped her as revenge for the destruction of the Mother World, and my roommate Jose says that she was kidnapped by the remnants of Vision to be brainwashed into their cult. I was coming to the Administration building to ask the Headmaster for the facts, but because I ran into you, I figure you could clear it up for me instead."

Bait bit his lower lip. He thought about telling Tommy to go away, but he realized that Tommy was just genuinely curious about what really happened. Tommy was perhaps the closest thing to a friend that Bait had on campus, so he decided Tommy deserved to know the truth.

So Bait gave Tommy an abridged version of the events that happened in Showdown as quickly as he could. Tommy was thankfully a good listener. He didn't interrupt Bait or ask any questions. He just listened until Bait finished his story.

When Bait finished, Tommy shook his head. "So you don't know who kidnapped your sister or where she is?"

"Nope," said Bait with a sigh. "I would have gone looking for her myself, but Headmaster Johanson summoned me back to the Academy for safety reasons."

Tommy put his hands into his pockets and pushed the toe of his shoe against the dirt. "Man, Bait, I don't know what to say, except that that's pretty rough."

"Good riddance!"

Bait and Tommy both looked in the direction from which that voice had come. It had come further down the path, which was when Bait saw a familiar person walking toward them, a person he had hoped to never see again.

"Derek Powers," said Bait, his hands balling into fists.

"Derek," Tommy said in a voice high with fear. He immediately hid behind Bait, peering around him at Derek.

"I told you," said Derek with a smirk as he stopped a good distance away from them. "The name is Ironheart. Got it?"

"Whatever," said Bait. "What did you just say to me?"

Derek's smirk became even bigger. "Good riddance."

"To what?"

"To your sister," said Derek. He tapped his ear. "I heard you telling your nerdy little friend what happened. Was pretty amusing to hear, I got to say, especially the part where you totally failed to save your sister when she was right in front of you. Hilarious!"

Bait's temper shot up, but he forced it down. He didn't see any teachers or faculty around, but getting into another fight with Derek, especially so soon after his last one, would likely just land him into more trouble. Besides, he suspected that Derek was just trying to provoke him into a fight.

"Good riddance to Switch, huh?" said Bait. "Real edgy, man. Maybe you should call yourself Edge or something. It's far more fitting than Ironheart."

"What a lame comeback, loser," said Derek, folding his arms across his chest. "But then, I guess I shouldn't have expected more from a guy who can't even save his own sister. Or did you intentionally let her get kidnapped? You two argued a lot, didn't you?"

Bait stepped forward, despite his best efforts to stay still. "Don't you dare accuse me of letting any harm come to my sister."

"Come on, man," said Derek, nodding his head back. "Why don't we finish what we started in the Auditorium parking lot? I'm up for another round. You can even have that nerd help you. Those stupid lasers of his might actually be helpful."

Bait took another step forward, but then he felt someone grab his arm and he looked over his shoulder. Tommy had grabbed his arm, though he had a very weak grip, and was looking up at Bait in alarm.

"Don't do it, Bait," said Tommy. "You'll just get in trouble. He's just trying to provoke you. It's what he does."

"Who cares?" said Bait. He knew his anger was messing with his good judgment, but he didn't care about that right now. "If he has to end up in the Academy clinic for tarnishing my name, then so be it."

"Ah, ah, ah," said Derek, wagging a finger at Bait. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, not unless you want everyone to hate you even more than they already do."

"What do you mean?" said Bait, looking at Derek again. "What are you talking about?"

Derek's smirk never left his face. He simply put his hands on his waist and said, "I've spent the last day or so telling everyone about our fight in the parking lot. Everyone now knows that you assaulted three innocent guys just hanging out in the parking lot. I even warned them not to be alone with you anywhere on campus. The son of a supervillain might just snap and beat them senseless, just like what he did to poor Boyd and Jack."

"You liar," said Bait. "You were bullying Tommy. Maybe I overreacted a bit, but I was still in the right."

"Not in my version of the story, you weren't," said Derek, shaking his head. "And my story is the story everyone, even the teachers, know."

"I tried to tell everyone the truth, Bait, but no one would listen to me," said Tommy, letting go of Bait's arm and lowering his chin onto his chest in shame. "I think that people find Derek's story more believable than mine, because everyone already believes that you and your sister are crazy anyway. His story just confirms it."

Bait put his hand on his forehead. His temper was rising, spiking even, but Bait had to keep it under control, even though all he wanted to do right now was beat Derek senseless.

"So if everyone seems to treat you even worse than usual, you can thank me for that," said Derek with a wink. "Anyway, that's all I wanted to tell you. I've got a Combat class at three, which is my favorite class, because I get to beat stupid kids like you senseless. Too bad you're not going to be there, though; then we could fight in a way that wouldn't get either of us in trouble. Smell you later."

With that, Derek turned and walked away. Bait nearly ran after him. In his mind's eye, Bait saw himself tackle Derek from behind and smash his face against the concrete pavement over and over again as Derek begged for mercy. He saw Derek's nose break, saw blood flow freely and mingle with the cracked concrete pavement, until eventually Derek stopped talking at all and became as still as a rock.

But Bait--perhaps through a supreme force of will, perhaps through divine intervention--stayed where he was, watching Derek walk away until Derek turned a corner up ahead and vanished behind a couple of trees.

"Uh, Bait?" said Tommy, who now stood beside Bait and was looking up at him with worry. "Your hands."

Bait looked down at his hands. His fists were so tight that his fingernails had actually cut into his palms. He relaxed his fists, yet he did not feel any more relaxed than before. He was stewing in anger over Derek's actions and comments.

"That idiot," said Bait, not bothering to hide the venom in his voice. "That absolute, brain-dead idiot. What I wouldn't give to tear out his spine and stuff it down his--" Bait caught himself, took a deep breath, and said, "Never mind. I just hate him."

"I totally understand," said Tommy. He readjusted his glasses. "Unfortunately, Derek's story really is the unofficial one now. It's sad, but I don't know how to counteract it, because no one is going to listen to you or me about the truth."

"Yeah," said Bait in a tight voice. He was now starting to understand why Switch hated everyone else in the school. "But I'm still going to save Switch one way or another. I don't need the approval of everyone else to do it."

That may have been true, but deep down, Bait was so angry that he wasn't sure he would do even that. He thought about just going to his dorm and sleeping in forever. Or maybe he'd head down to the Coliseum instead and beat up a few training robots there. He needed some way to release his anger.

Tommy suddenly began digging around in his pockets. "Wait, I just remembered something I wanted to show you. It's related to Switch."

Bait looked at Tommy, frowning. "A clue to her location?"

"Maybe," said Tommy. "I couldn't make heads or tails of it, but I thought you might--ah, here it is."

Tommy pulled a folded up piece of paper from his pocket and held it out to Bait. Bait took the paper, which turned out to be a note, and looked down at it with a frown.

"What is this?" said Bait. He squinted. "I don't recognize the handwriting."

"It's a note I found in Switch's dorm," said Tommy. "Er, I mean, I found it near the entrance to her dorm. I didn't actually go into her dorm myself 'cause it's a girls' dorm and being a boy I--"

"She must have dropped it on her way to my dorm," Bait muttered, not paying attention to Tommy. "But this doesn't look like her handwriting. And what does it mean, 'you and your brother will be rescued soon'? Who is going to 'rescue' us and from what?"

"I don't know," said Tommy. "Maybe the kidnapper sent her that note at some point. Maybe Switch even wanted to be kidnapped."

"That doesn't make sense," said Bait. "Switch is a little crazy, but she would never want to be kidnapped, even if it meant leaving behind the Academy forever."

"Maybe Switch didn't think of it as 'kidnapped' so much as 'rescued,' given how much she hated this school," said Tommy. "I mean, it's possible, isn't it?"

"But who would Switch ever think of as a rescuer?" said Bait. "It can't be Mom, because she's in jail and can't even save herself. It's not Stinger, either, even though he's our half-brother. Who else..."

Bait trailed off. He suddenly had a hunch as to the identity of the kidnapper; or, more likely, the kidnapper's employer. It was a bit of a stretch--maybe even outright fantasy--but it also made sense, and Bait's own intuition told him it was correct. Yet it would be unwise to act on this hunch, which was little more than a feeling, until he got more information. And he knew just where to find it.

Bait immediately turned around and walked back toward the Administration building. Tommy, taken by surprise by Bait's abrupt movements, managed to recover and run after him up the front steps.

"Whoa, dude, where are you going?" asked Tommy as Bait climbed the front steps of the Administration building.

"To ask the Headmaster permission to talk to someone," said Bait without looking over his shoulder.

"Who do you want to talk to that requires getting permission from the Headmaster? Is it someone in the Academy? One of the teachers, maybe?"

Bait stopped about halfway up and looked over his shoulder down at Tommy. "I want to talk to my mother."
CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Switch walked by Dad's side, looking around with interest at the hallway of his submarine, which he called The Atlantis, as they walked. A little behind them, Captain Jacques Le Penn followed. Though he hadn't said much so far, he was quite clearly still smarting over Switch taking him by surprise like that. Not that Switch cared. She knew that as long as she was with Dad, she would be safe from Jacques or any of the other members of The Atlantis' crew.

The hallway down which they walked was bigger than Switch expected. It was wide enough for about three full grown men to walk side by side, with perhaps a little room for a small child to the side. The floor, walls, and ceiling were all metal, but it was clean and shiny, which shone under the lights on the ceiling. The place smelled of seawater, but it was a far more pleasant smell than the stink back in her room. It brought back good memories of Switch's childhood, when Mom had taken her and Bait to the ocean once.

"Wow, Dad," said Switch, turning her head this way and that as they walked. "This is the biggest submarine I've ever been in. All of the other submarines I've ever been in have been really small and cramped."

Dad chuckled. "Technically, it's not really a submarine. I prefer to think of it as my mobile underwater palace, what the Greek god Poseidon would have had if he were real and alive today."

"Palace?" Switch repeated, looking up at Dad in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Dad spread his hands. "The Atlantis has four decks. We are currently on Deck Two, but we'll be going down to Deck Four, where my Throne Room is. It has a crew of over one hundred, and in addition to my Throne Room, it has lodging for crew, a cafeteria, entertainment and exercise center, and even a small greenhouse where much of our produce is made. To the best of my knowledge, The Atlantis is the only one of its kind currently in existence."

Switch whistled. "Amazing. Is it really that big?"

"It is," said Captain Jacques behind them, piping up for the first time. "But it is even bigger than Lord Tsunami suggests. It is equipped with radar-guided missiles, which allows it to defend itself from even the most dangerous threats. It would take the entirety of the United States Navy to even begin to challenge its might, but even that might not be enough, because its defenses are many and varied, including a few even I don't know about."

"And you have just one hundred people to man the whole thing?" said Switch doubtfully. "That doesn't sound like nearly enough for a... palace of this size." She almost said 'submarine,' but she used Dad's preferred terminology because it seemed more fitting than hers.

"Most of The Atlantis' functions are automated," said Dad. "For example, air levels are adjusted automatically depending on the amount we have left, as is the ship's piloting system. No one is actually piloting The Atlantis at the moment; it is driven by the palace's AI, which is quite good at sensing potential undersea hazards and moving out of the way to avoid them or charting the best course to a particular destination."

"Then what does the crew do?" Switch said as they passed what must have been the fifth closed door in this hallway. "Sit around and twiddle their thumbs?"

"Of course not," said Jacques in an indignant voice. "The crew of The Atlantis works hard to maintain our Lord's fantastic palace, even though much of the grunt work is automated. In addition to maintenance work, we also do surface work when necessary, such as attacking or boarding ships for loot."

Switch gasped. "You mean... you guys are pirates?"

"We're not pirates," Jacques said. "We're--"

"Yeah, we're pirates," said Dad. "Don't be such a downer, Jacques. Pirates are cool."

"Yes, Lord Tsunami, of course," said Jacques, albeit reluctantly. "I just prefer to think of myself as a sailor. It is more noble, in my opinion."

"Are you sure you're not a seaman?" said Switch, unable to prevent herself from cracking a grin. "I heard lots of men are."

Jacques' jaw fell open. He looked at Dad. "Lord Tsunami, forgive me if I am speaking out of line, but did you just hear the innuendo your own daughter made? It is unbecoming of the daughter of the Lord of the Sea himself."

But Dad was smiling just like Switch. "Nah, it's actually kind of funny. Just chill out, Jacques."

Jacques looked like he had just been socked in the face. That amused Switch, but what amused Switch even more was how Dad had sided with her. He was definitely her Dad, all right. Their similar sense of humor proved it.

They stopped in front of an elevator, which opened without any pause, allowing all three of them to enter. Dad pressed a button and soon the elevator was descending to Deck Four.

"This place even has an elevator?" said Switch, looking around at the somewhat cramped space in awe. "I didn't know submarines could even have elevators."

"Submarines can't, but palaces can," Dad said. "And just wait until you see the Throne Room. It's the best part of the ship."

Switch nodded, but then looked at Jacques and said, "Hey, didn't you mention something about missiles?"

"Yes, I did," said Jacques, who still sounded sore about Dad refusing to reprimand her for her joke. "The Atlantis has a large number of radar-guided missiles for defense purposes."

"Does it have cannons, too?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

Switch looked up at Dad. "Dad, can I please fire the cannons sometime? Please?"

She put on her best puppy dog eyes when she said that. Switch may have never grown up with her father, but she had still learned the art of using her cuteness as a girl to get what she wanted.

Dad just chuckled in a good natured way. "Ah, why not? We'll even find an undersea mountain for you to blow up. There are plenty of those around, I'm sure."

"Can I sink someone else's ship?" said Switch, clapping her hands together excitedly.

"Sorry, but no," said Dad. "I would rather not draw attention to ourselves at the moment, and sinking a ship would certainly bring unwanted attention on us."

Switch pouted. "Not even just one ship? Or even a canoe?"

"Not one ship," Dad said. "But if you want to shoot an undersea mountain, then you can do that to your heart's content."

"Yay!" Switch said. She hugged Dad. "I love you, Dad. You're the best."

Dad just smiled at her, which was all Switch needed. She didn't see how life could get any better than this.

That was when the elevator stopped and the doors opened, letting Switch see Dad's Throne Room for the very first time. Her jaw fell open.

The Throne Room was massive, much bigger than she expected it to be. It had to be twice as big as her room back at the Braindome, maybe even bigger. The walls, floor, and ceiling were of the same metal as the rest of the ship, but sculptures made of what might have been coral dotted the room, sculptures of sharks, whales, and even an octopus in one case. Seaweed vines covered the walls, adding a little bit of color to the room, though given how colorful the coral sculptures were, that was probably unnecessary. The room also smelled of fresh ocean air; how Dad had accomplished that in his palace, she had no idea, but it was a wonderful smell nonetheless.

But what really caught her attention was the throne itself, which stood at the other end of the room. The throne was massive, built for a man of Dad's size. It appeared to be made out of coral and metal, which was an odd but impressive combination. Behind the throne was the open sea. At least, Switch thought that's what it was, until she realized that what she was actually looking at was a gigantic, highly detailed, and incredibly realistic mural of the sea itself. It showed a dazzling storm crackling across the ocean surface, with a mighty battleship of old braving the waves. A man who looked an awful lot like Dad stood at the helm of the ship, holding his trident out, while a woman and two children stood behind him, which Switch thought had to be Mom and her and Bait.

Dad gestured at the Throne Room. "Amazing, isn't it?"

"It is," said Switch, nodding. She hesitated, and then asked, "Can I sit on the throne? It looks so cool."

To her disappointment, Dad shook his head. "Sorry, Grace, but the throne is reserved for me. But I will have my men make a throne for you, because you are not merely my daughter, but a princess in your own right."

Switch thought Dad's phrasing was a bit weird. She was aware--jealously so--that some fathers called their daughters their 'little princess,' but the way Dad said it, he seemed to think she was an actual princess. Switch was not aware of any royal blood in her background, but she decided not to argue the point. After all, it would only be right if she was royalty.

The three of them walked out of the elevator toward the throne. Despite the massive size of the Throne Room, they made it to the throne itself rather quickly, at which point Dad sat down in it and Captain Jacques stood by his side. The throne looked a lot more complete now that Dad was sitting in it, as if he was the final piece needed to complete the set.

"This is still amazing," said Switch, looking around the Throne Room. "Are these statues made of real coral?"

"That they are," said Dad, nodding. "I would never settle for anything less than real coral."

"Can I get a coral statue of myself sometime?" said Switch, looking at Dad with puppy dog eyes again.

"Coral is very difficult and expensive to get," Jacques began, "not to mention that it takes a lot of time and effort to carve out a statue from--"

"Of course, sweetie," said Dad, speaking as if Jacques wasn't even speaking. "I'll get you whatever you want, though it may be a while before I can get one for you."

"Okay," said Switch brightly. She clasped her hands together. "By the way, where are we, exactly? I mean The Atlantis. I know where I am, but not where the palace is."

"Ten thousand feet beneath the sea, of course," said Dad. "That is, in the Atlantic Ocean. So you don't need to worry about the Neohero Alliance finding us, especially since we're always on the move and have more than adequate cloaking technology to keep us from being found."

Switch sighed in relief. "That's good to hear. I was worried that they might send someone to find me."

"Ah, that's not very likely to happen," said Dad. "The NHA and the INJ both lack the means to find my palace. They don't even know it exists and they will only know of its existence when I choose to reveal it to them."

Switch raised an eyebrow. "'When'? So you plan to show off your palace to the world at some point?"

"In due time, my dear daughter," said Dad. He leaned back in his throne and stroked his chin. "For now, I simply want to spend time with you and catch up on your life. I am aware of some facts about you and your brother, but because Ariana kept you two away from me, I don't know nearly as much as I'd like."

Switch frowned. "What do you mean, Mom kept us away from you? She always told us that you left us shortly after we were born. That's why she had to raise us on her own."

Dad sighed. He glanced at Jacques, who nodded and then left the Throne Room, walking past Switch without looking at her. Jacques entered the elevator and the doors closed behind him, leaving Switch alone with Dad. She realized that Dad probably didn't want Jacques or any of the other crew members to hear this story, perhaps because it was supposed to be private.

"Ariana is a beautiful, passionate woman, but sometimes her emotions get the best of her," Dad said. "In truth, I wanted to stay with her and raise you two, but Ariana did not trust me. We had a fight and she threatened to kill me if I even came close to you two."

"What?" said Switch in surprise. "Why would Mom do that?"

"As I said, Ariana sometimes lets her emotions get the best of her," said Dad with a shrug. "She's volatile. On one hand, that is partly why I was so attracted to her in the first place; on the other hand, I should have realized how our relationship would have ended, given how she'd already had one son before meeting me, a son who she abandoned with his father. I guess we all live and learn."

"So you stayed away from us because Mom didn't want you around?" said Switch. "Is that it?"

"That's part of the reason Ariana dragged you two around the country," Dad said. "She didn't want to stay in one place too long in case I found you. That's also why she rarely took you to the beach. She was afraid I might emerge from the ocean and try to kidnap you, though to be honest, I never tried that even when you did go to the beach."

Switch thought about it and realized that Dad had a point. Mom hadn't taken them to the beach very often, and on the few occasions that she did, it was always short and she always made sure to keep them away from the water. Switch used to think that Mom was just being overly cautious about she and Bait getting caught by the surf, but she wondered if the real reason was because Mom wanted to make sure Dad wouldn't try to see them.

"Did you at least try to find us?" said Switch.

"I did," said Dad, "at least for the first few years, but I gave up eventually. Despite the resources I have at my disposal, I simply couldn't keep up with Ariana. I didn't think that anyone would actually be able to capture Ariana, but then the Young Neos caught her a couple of months ago and now she's in Ultimate Max. Which I find amusing, because Ariana always insisted to me that she would never end up in jail like some common crook."

"Is that when you decided to try to save me and Bait from the Academy?" said Switch.

"Of course," said Dad. "With Ariana now in jail, I thought it would be safe to approach you two, to get to know you and your brother. There was no way I could make up for the fact that I missed the first sixteen years of your life, but I thought that maybe we could still get to know each other anyway. But then you two were taken into the NHA's custody and forced to attend the Academy, which complicated things quite a bit."

"I know," said Switch. "And I don't ever want to go back to that place. I hate it."

"I will never make you go back there, Grace," said Dad in a reassuring tone. "Never. You are my daughter and you will spend the rest of your life with me on my palace."

Switch smiled at that thought, but then another question occurred to her and she asked, "What about Bait? Are you going to save him, too?"

"Yes," said Dad. He sighed. "Unfortunately, he's already been returned to the Academy for 'safety' reasons. No one at the Neohero Alliance knows about me just yet, but they clearly must be aware that I want Jason, too. That's quite intelligent of them, but not intelligent enough, because soon I will have Jason in my hands, as well, and we will be a family again, for the first time in years."

Switch nodded, but then her smile turned into a frown. "But Bait doesn't want to be a villain anymore. He's obsessed with becoming a superhero. What if he doesn't want to join us?"

"Oh, he will," said Dad. "He most definitely will. Getting him onto my side will require a different tactic than what I used for you, but he'll join us, don't worry."

"And Mom? Are we going to break her out of prison?"

Dad put a hand on his heart. "I'd love to, but I think Ariana is too far gone. If she saw me again, she'd likely zap me with electricity. And thanks to my water-based powers, I'd probably die instantly."

"Oh," said Switch. "But if your powers make you weak to Mom, then why did you fall in love with her in the first place?"

Dad grinned in such a way that he looked just like he did in that old picture he'd shown her from sixteen years ago. "Let's just say that I like living my life dangerously, which means loving dangerous women as well. Part of my attraction to Ariana was how she could kill me at any moment. If this doesn't make sense to you, don't worry. You'll understand it after you get a few more years of experience under your belt."

Dad was right. Switch didn't understand it. She supposed it was probably a guy thing, though she couldn't remember Bait ever talking about how attractive dangerous women were. If anything, Bait seemed to like nicer women, though Switch didn't pay much attention to her brother's taste in women and never thought to ask about it.

Regardless, Switch asked, "So... we're not going to save Mom after all? We're not going to be a complete family again?"

Dad shook his head sadly. "I am sorry, Grace, but I think it is for the best. Ariana may have raised you the best way she knew how, but there's no way we could get along. Besides, Ariana doesn't have a cool mobile undersea palace like I do, now does she?"

That was true, but Switch couldn't feel as happy about it as Dad did. For many years, Switch had had the fantasy that she, Bait, Mom, and Dad would one day be a family together again. Yet if Dad was telling the truth, then that fantasy would remain just that: A fantasy, one that she would never see materialize.

Don't get too sad, Switch, Switch thought. It's better than being trapped in that damn school where everyone hates your guts.

Switch stroked her Blood Gem. Just looking at it was enough to remind her of the fact that Mom was gone, and, if Dad was right, for good.

"What a beautiful gem you have there, Grace," said Dad suddenly, causing Switch to look up at him. He was looking at her Blood Gem with an oddly interested look in his eyes. "I've never seen anything quite like it."

"Oh, this?" said Switch, tapping her Blood Gem. "This is a Blood Gem. Bait has an identical one. Mom gave them to us when we were, like, six. They can let us trade powers."

"Really?" said Dad, though Switch thought Dad seemed to already know that. "Those are some interesting Gems. I've never heard of any gem allowing superhumans to trade powers with each other."

"It doesn't quite work that way," said Switch with a shrug. "Both superhumans have to be blood-related in order to trade powers. Otherwise, they're just pretty rocks."

"Where did Ariana get them, if I may ask?" said Dad. "They must be one of a kind--or two of a kind, I should say--objects."

"She stole them from Adam Plutarch back when he was still a supervillain," said Switch. "I don't know where he got them, though. I just know he had them in his personal collection for a while."

Dad tapped his chin. "Interesting. Not that it surprises me to hear that Plutarch had them, however. Prior to his reformation, the two of us would work together every now and then whenever our goals aligned, which allowed me to get a glimpse of his riches. I imagine he has--or had, assuming he hasn't sold it all since becoming President--quite the collection of interesting artifacts from around the world."

"I guess so," said Switch with another shrug. "I don't really care about him. I do care about my Gem, though. It's one of the few presents Mom ever gave me and Bait."

Dad nodded. "Understandable. I'd likely feel the same way if I was in your situation."

He hesitated, but then said, "May I hold it, Grace? I'd like to find out how it feels, if that's all right with you."

Switch reached up to her chest to remove the Gem, but then paused. She didn't like the look in Dad's eyes. He was staring at her Blood Gem with greed, maybe even lust, and, while Switch could appreciate greed and lust, she wasn't so sure she liked the way it looked in Dad's eyes. He almost looked crazy, as crazy as Mom, and not in the good way, either.

Lowering her hand to her side again, Switch said, "Sorry, Dad, but I want to keep it where it should be. It's valuable to me because Mom gave it to me and I don't want anyone else handling it, even other family. It's nothing personal."

For a moment, Dad looked angry. His grip on his trident tightened considerably, as if he was about to throw it, while his scowl looked almost murderous. For the first time since meeting Dad, Switch was afraid that he might actually hurt her.

But then Dad relaxed and nodded. "I understand. Besides, holding it won't actually make much of a difference, I think. I can tell from here that your Gem is a powerful and valuable artifact. It's origins may be obscure, but I suppose I don't need to know them in order to know that the Gem does what you say it does, eh?"

"Yeah, sure."

Despite saying that, Switch could not forget how Dad looked when he asked to hold the Blood Gem. He hadn't just been curious about its texture in a passing way. No, he'd wanted it... and he'd wanted it for himself.

And as much as Switch could understand that feeling, she wondered where it would lead Dad and what he would do if it ever controlled him. That thought terrified her, though she did not show it.

"Anyway, why don't we continue our tour of The Atlantis?" said Dad. "You've still seen so little of it. I want you to be thoroughly familiar with its layout if you're going to leave here with me for the rest of your life."

Switch nodded. "All right. What are we waiting for? Let's go."

But even as Switch turned to leave, she was starting to have her doubts that she'd stay here. And she was also starting to doubt Dad's motives for saving her as well.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Bait walked through the hallways of Ultimate Max prison--the best and only prison for superhumans in the United States of America--along with two heavily armed prison guards on either side of him. The two guards walked stoically, yet Bait could sense that they were on high alert, ready to take him down if he tried to do anything funny. Not that Bait had any plans to do anything to incur their wrath, of course, because he was not here to stage a prison break or free any prisoners. He was here to see a certain someone who might be able to help him find Switch, and that person could help him whether in prison or out of prison.

As Bait walked, he glanced at the prison cells on either side of him. Most of the cells were full of superhuman prisoners, but none of them said or moved much as he passed. He did, however, earn a lot of glares and angry grunts from the various prisoners, yet none of them tried to attack him or do anything more than intimidate him. He understood. They probably just saw him as another snot-nosed brat. Or maybe they were glaring at the guards. If so, the guards didn't appear to notice, because they were not looking at any of the prisoners as they passed.

They're pretty brave, Bait thought. After all, all of these prisoners are the worst of the worst, given how they're all in Cell Block Z.

Cell Block Z was located on the easternmost end of Ultimate Max, well away from where all of the other prisoners were kept. According to the guard who had met Bait at the gates of Ultimate Max, Cell Block Z was where the worst criminals and supervillains were kept, the ones who were too dangerous or powerful to be allowed contact with the other prisoners. The guard had not offered any examples of the kind of prisoners one might find in Cell Block Z, but Bait didn't need any, because there was one example he knew of, an example he was going to meet in just a few seconds: His mother, the supervillain known as Electrica.

One week ago, Bait had gone to Headmaster Johanson and requested time off to go see Mom and ask her about Dad. Headmaster Johanson had been both surprised and troubled to hear Bait's request and even asked him if he was absolutely sure that he wanted to go see Mom in real life. Bait had had to confirm, over and over again, that he was sure that he wanted to see her again and that he wanted to see her in person more specifically. He probably could have set up some kind of video call with Mom over the Internet, but Bait thought that Mom might be more willing to talk to him in person. Mom had always told him that she never spoke as candidly over the phone or Internet as she did in real life, because she knew that phone calls, emails, text messages, and every other form of electronic communication could be intercepted by the government, corporations, and random hackers who were bored.

Even so, it had taken the Headmaster a week to arrange the meeting with Mom. This was apparently due to Mom's status as a Cell Block Z prisoner, because prisoners in this part of the prison were only allowed visitors on a case-by-case basis. As a matter of fact, ninety-nine percent of all requests to meet with Cell Block Z prisoners--even from family members of those prisoners--were rejected on the basis of being a security risk. That was what the Headmaster had told Bait, and Bait believed it, because Cell Block Z was separated from the rest of the prison by six thick steel doors with a dozen locks each.

Even when meeting requests were approved, Cell Block Z prisoners were not allowed to meet in the room where prisoners and their visitors usually met. Instead, visitors were taken to the Cell Block Z cell where the prisoner in question was being kept itself. That was why Bait was being escorted by two armed guards into the prison. This was apparently done to ensure that the Cell Block Z prisoners did not get a chance to escape.

Bait suspected that the only reason he had been able to meet with Mom at all was because the Headmaster had used his contacts in the prison to bypass the usual request process. Bait was glad that the Headmaster had managed to get this arranged for him, but now that he was actually in the prison, he wasn't sure if Mom would even talk to him.

Last time I saw Mom was two months ago, just before she went to that meeting with that Eli guy to discuss business, Bait thought. She's probably not happy about the fact that neither Switch nor I have even tried to visit her since we started attending the Academy.

Bait knew how Mom could carry a grudge when she got one. One time, when he had been twelve, Bait had done something to piss off Mom and she had refused to forgive him for three months, to the point where he was practically begging her for forgiveness. Bait didn't quite think he'd have to do that now--he hoped he wouldn't, anyway--but knowing Mom, he doubted she would be all that willing to talk to a son who she most likely saw as a traitor now.

The reason Bait wanted to meet Mom was because he thought she might be able to tell him about Dad. Bait had concluded, based on the note Tommy had found, that Dad had likely kidnapped Switch. It made sense, because their father was the only person in the world who Bait thought would talk about 'rescuing' them from the Academy. The problem was that Bait didn't know where Dad was. Hell, he didn't even know who Dad was.

But Mom does, Bait thought. And once I tell her that Switch has been kidnapped by him, I'm sure she'll be willing to tell me what she knows, especially if I tell her that I'm trying to save Switch.

"Here we are," said one of the guards, coming to a stop suddenly before a thick metal door that looked no different from all of the other thick metal doors lining the grim metal walls of Cell Block Z. "Number Fourteen, Electrica."

Bait looked at the door. The words written upon it read 'NUMBER FOURTEEN, ELECTRICA,' just as the guard had read, but under the words was the warning sign that Bait usually saw on electrical currents and power boxes. It warned anyone about to enter to watch out for electrocution, which made Bait suddenly feel even less comfortable than he already did.

"Uh, is it safe to enter?" said Bait, looking at the two guards uncertainly.

The first guard nodded. "Yes. Electrica's cell is lined with rubber and she herself is in rubber restraints which negate her powers. Plus, like all prison cells, her cell has an emergency powerless gas generator, which will fill her cell with clouds of powerless gas in case she somehow escapes her restraints."

"Are you sure that's enough?" said Bait doubtfully. "She's an incredibly powerful superhuman."

"If it wasn't enough, she would be free already," the first guard pointed out. "But if you really don't feel safe, take a couple of these powerless pellets. You can throw them at her if she tries anything."

The guard handed Bait a handful of pellets, which Bait took without argument. He slipped the pellets into his pocket, but he wasn't sure how useful they would be if Mom decided to get violent. Mom was fast, almost as fast as lightning, and if she somehow escaped her restraints, she could probably fry him before he even realized what happened.

But if I don't talk to her, then we might never find Switch, Bait thought. I'll just keep it short.

The two guards unlocked the door--which took a few minutes due to the complexity and number of its locks--and opened the door, gesturing for Bait to enter. Bait didn't even hesitate. He just stepped into the cell, which was closed shut as soon as he passed the threshold, nearly slamming into his back due to how close he still stood to the threshold.

The first thing Bait noticed was how soft the floor was. It was even slightly bouncy, which was due to the fact that it was covered in a thick layer of red rubber. The walls and ceiling were covered in a similar layer of rubber, which made the entire cell look less like a prison cell and more like those bouncy houses that Bait and Switch played in when they were kids. The room even smelled heavily of rubber, like fresh car tires, although it was very small, perhaps half as big as his dorm room back on campus.

At the back, sitting with her back against the wall, was Mom. She wore a rubber restraining vest, which kept her arms tied firmly around her body. Her legs were tied together with a similar vest, which made her look kind of like a mummy, except in rubber rather than cloth stripes.

The only part of her body left totally unexposed was her head. Her hair was as dark and longer as ever, if a bit scruffier due to the fact that the guards didn't let her take care of herself as much as she usually did in here. Her eyes were closed when Bait entered, but then they snapped open, which allowed Bait to see that they looked just as crazy and cunning as ever, perhaps even crazier, given how she had spent the last two months alone in prison.

Rather than scream at Bait for betraying her, Mom smiled. "What a pleasant surprise. My own son, visiting me in prison after two months locked away like a lunatic. What a good son you are."

Bait cringed. Not only did Mom have the same eyes as Switch, but she also had the same biting sarcasm, too. Bait shouldn't have been surprised, however, because Mom had been like that before going to jail, too, which at least meant that Mom hadn't changed too much despite having been in prison for so long.

"Sorry," said Bait. "Until recently, we weren't even allowed to see you. If I could have seen you sooner, I would have."

And that was the truth. However much Bait may have disagreed with how Mom raised them, she was still his Mom and still loved her. He didn't know if Mom knew that or not, but for the moment he didn't care if she did.

Mom looked away and pouted. "I don't see Switch with you. Are they just letting you talk to me one at a time to keep you from conspiring to break me out of prison?"

Bait shook his head. "That's why I'm here. Switch is gone, Mom. Kidnapped."

Mom looked at Bait again, whipping her head so fast that she must have gotten whiplash. "Kidnapped? By who? Is she okay?"

"By..." Bait hesitated, mostly because he still didn't know for sure. "By Dad."

Bait expected Mom to be surprised, but instead, she simply cocked her head to the side. "So he's back, eh? I guess I should have expected that. With me out of the picture, of course he would step in and try to get you two. I'm surprised he just got Switch. I thought he would have made sure to get both of you in one go. Maybe he's slipping in his old age."

"Wait, what?" said Bait. "You mean you aren't surprised to hear that Dad is back?"

"Why would I?" said Mom. "He was always interested in you two. Would have taken you both himself when you were born, but I think he was still too in love with me to actually do it. Thus, I am not surprised he stepped in as soon as I got thrown behind bars."

"Can you tell me who Dad is, at least?" said Bait. "If I know who Dad is, then I might be able to locate and save Switch."

Mom bit her lower lip, but then nodded. "All right. I suppose you deserve to know, especially given the circumstances. Your father is Tsunami."

Bait's eyes widened in surprise. "Tsunami? You mean the legendary supervillain?"

"The very same," said Mom, "though I knew him by his real name: Davis Mocha."

Bait looked down at the floor, trying to process this revelation. "But... what... how come you never told us this?"

"Why would I?" said Mom with a shrug. "We broke up not long after you two were born and I didn't want either of you trying to find him when you got older. You and Switch would be a lot happier if you just forgot about him, though I suppose Switch can't just forget about him while she's in his grasp, now can she?"

Bait looked up at Mom again, still unable to believe what Mom told him. "But that means we're the children of two supervillains."

"Of course," said Mom. "And?"

Bait didn't know how to respond to that. Deep down, a part of him had hoped that maybe Dad had been a superhero himself or at least a normal man who had not committed any great crimes. Yet if Mom was telling the truth--and he sensed that she was, even though he knew that Mom lied often--then his and Switch's whole legacy was that of supervillainy and criminality. That made Bait wonder, for a moment, if Switch was right to disparage the entire concept of becoming a superhero and whether his dream of becoming a superhero himself was every bit as pointless as she always said.

Right now, however, Bait didn't have time to think about it. He just said, "How did you meet him? Tsunami, I mean?"

Mom smiled, as if reliving a good memory. "It was almost eighteen years ago now, back when I was in my late twenties. It was shortly after I gave birth to Stinger, your older half-brother, who I left with his father, as you know. I met Tsunami in New York City shortly after his first clash with Omega Man. He was in bad shape, having taken quite a few bad hits from Omega Man. I found him nearly dead in an alleyway and helped nurse him back to health in my apartment, which was how we fell in love. He was very handsome back then; he might still be so now, though I haven't seen him in years."

Mom didn't sound particularly bitter about Tsunami, like how she used to sound whenever she talked about him. Perhaps that memory of her first meeting with him still made her feel happy.

"He even promised me to make me his Queen of the Sea," said Mom with a sigh. "He could be extremely romantic when he wanted to be. He took me underwater once and showed me all of the strange things that exist on the ocean floor. He knew all of the fish, plants, and everything. He told me that he had been a marine biologist prior to becoming who he was, and I believed him."

"It sounds like your relationship with him was pretty good in the beginning," said Bait. "What happened to change that?"

Mom's nostalgic smile turned into a fierce scowl as if someone had flipped a switch in her head. "After you and your sister were born, I thought he might settle down with me and form a family. He talked about it often. In fact, I even let him name you after his father, Jason Mocha, who died not long after Tsunami's birth. But he changed after you and your sister were born... and for the worse."

Bait had never known that he was named after his grandfather, but for the moment he was more interested in finding out how Tsunami had changed than his own family history. "How did he change?"

"He started talking about taking over the world," said Mom. "Not that that was terribly unusual. He'd always talked about ruling the seas and controlling who could and could not sail on them. But he became more distant from me. He even lost interest in sex. He started talking about using you two to take over the world, like you were a couple of weapons, not little babies who weren't even six months old yet."

Bait frowned. "How did he think we could be used to take over the world? Power-wise, Switch and I aren't very high on the list of potential threats to the world even with our Blood Gems."

"I don't know for sure," said Mom. "All I know is that his behavior and rhetoric started troubling me, but I didn't act on it until he told me that he had gotten together with me just because of my power. He thought that any children we conceived together would be ridiculously powerful, due to the fact that both of us are very powerful superhumans ourselves."

"I see," said Bait. "You can control electricity and he can control water, right?"

"Right," said Mom, nodding. "But, of course, our powers are much stronger than that. The two of us are on par with Omega Man, in terms of sheer power we command, and so he thought that we could make children who would be even stronger than us, maybe even stronger than Omega Man himself."

Bait looked down at his hands and turned them over. "Well, that didn't really work, did it? Switch and I are actually weaker than you and Tsunami, if you ask me."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that if I were you," said Mom. "It's true that your powers--super strength and nail bullets--are not exactly the flashiest powers in the world, but you are assuming that those are the entirety of your powers."

"What?" said Bait. "You mean Switch and I can do more than just shoot fingernails and become really strong?"

Mom nodded. "Yes, but don't ask me what it is. I only know that you two are more powerful than you think because I sensed it when you were in my womb, before you two were even born. I don't know if you can feel it, though."

Bait shook his head. "I don't feel anything. I feel normal. Well, as normal as a superhuman can feel, anyway."

"It's possible that your true power hasn't manifested yet," said Mom. "But I'm convinced that it will. And it was because of that knowledge that I left your father. I didn't want him to turn you two into living weapons, using your true power to enforce his will. I wanted you two to grow up like normal kids and to make your own destiny, regardless of what he wanted."

Bait snorted. "If you wanted us to grow up like 'normal' kids, you would have married him and settled down. Not dragged us around the country committing crimes and becoming criminals before we turned eighteen."

Mom shrugged. "What can I say? By that point, I was already a well-known supervillain and Tsunami certainly had no desire to become a good husband and provider of his family and kids. Better to involve you two in my relatively petty crimes, rather than let you become little more than Tsunami's bleeding tools."

Bait hated the way Mom just shrugged it off as if it was no big deal, but at the same time, he couldn't deny that Mom had a point. If Mom had stayed with Tsunami, then there was a very good chance that Bait and Switch wouldn't be in the Academy at all.

"Besides," Mom continued, "I felt guilty about abandoning Stinger when he was born. I knew I couldn't simply go back to his father--he never would have accepted me again--but when I became pregnant with you two, I decided I would be your mother no matter what. So perhaps I'm not as selfish as you think I am."

"I didn't say you were--"

"Oh, you don't need to say it," said Mom. "I can see it in your eyes. You have the exact same eyes as your father, by the way. Very easy to read. It was Tsunami's eyes, actually, which first tipped me off to his true nature. He was never a true romantic or a true lover. He only loved me because he saw the way he could use me to further his own agenda. Once I refused to go along with it, he stopped pretending and then began treating me the way he treats everyone who doesn't go along with his plans: As an obstacle to be destroyed."

"Is that why you kept us moving all the time?" said Bait. "Because you didn't want Tsunami to find us."

"Right." Mom sighed. "Trust me, it wasn't easy. I would have preferred to raise you in one place, but I feared Tsunami was constantly searching for us. I didn't want him to take you away from me, especially knowing the power you two have within you. I was also afraid that, if you two turned out not to have any real power, that he would abandon you as soon as he was done with you, and I didn't want that to happen to you, either."

Bait folded his arms across his chest. "And now you think that Tsunami kidnapped Switch."

Mom nodded. "I can think of no one else who would. Without me to protect you two, Tsunami has no reason to leave you two alone. Personally, I'm just surprised that he only kidnapped Switch. I would have thought he would have kidnapped you at the same time, because he was always a very efficient man who never wasted time or energy on anything. But he won't leave you alone forever, that's for sure."

It made sense. Assuming Mom's description of Tsunami was true, then Switch was in real danger of being turned into a weapon of some sort by Tsunami. And Bait himself was in danger of being kidnapped, perhaps not in the same way as Switch, but certainly at some point. Bait still wasn't sure if Mom was right about him and Switch having true power within themselves that could be used to conquer the world, but he didn't doubt that she was correct about Tsunami wanting them both anyway.

"Thanks for the information, Mom," said Bait. "You've given me a lot of stuff to think about. I'm going to tell the NHA about this. Might help us find Switch."

"What, you aren't going to free your dear old mom?" said Mom, wriggling awkwardly in her rubber restraints. "You know you could. You and I could break out of here and go back to our old lifestyle, even. We could even save Switch. It would be just like the old days. Wouldn't that be great?"

Bait shook his head. "Sorry, Mom, but I don't want to live life the way we used to. I want to become a hero, not go back into the kind of petty criminality that you did or the kind of world domination that Tsunami wants. And I'm going to make sure that Switch doesn't fall into that lifestyle, either. I still love you, Mom, but I don't want to repeat your mistakes."

Mom shrugged. "I expected you to say that, but I must admit I am disappointed just the same. Besides, the guards would probably shoot us both with powerless pellets, which would make it rather hard to escape if we did that."

Bait nodded again, though deep down, he did feel a little sorry about Mom. Part of him was nostalgic for the old days, back when he and Switch and Mom were together and they didn't care what everyone else thought about them or about doing the right thing. But he didn't regret his current decision, either. He knew it would be better in the long run, even if it was uncomfortable now.

"Right," said Bait. He sighed. "But even knowing why Tsunami might have kidnapped Switch, that doesn't help me find her, unless you know where Tsunami's base is."

"I don't," said Mom. "But I do know how you can locate Switch yourself."

"Really?" said Bait in surprise. "How?"

"Your Blood Gem," said Mom. "The one on your chest."

Bait looked down at his Blood Gem, which was still glowing orange. "What about it?"

"The Blood Gems do more than just allow blood related superhumans to trade powers," said Mom. "They can also locate each other. They work no matter how far apart they are. Switch could be on the other side of the planet and you would still be able to find her, as long as she still had her Blood Gem with her."

Bait put a hand on his Blood Gem, which was smooth to the touch. "How do I do it? And how come you didn't tell me about this before?"

Mom shrugged again. "You never needed to know it, because before this kidnapping, you and Switch were always together. As for how it works, just visualize Switch in your mind while touching your Blood Gem. It will show you exactly where she is, though I can't guarantee you'll actually be able to get there, of course."

Bait considered trying it out here, but he didn't want to try it out with Mom around, because he didn't want to accidentally experience any blowback or negative side effects from using his Blood Gem's locating powers.

So he nodded and said, "Well, thanks for letting me know about it, Mom. Once I locate Switch with it, I'll go and save her myself."

"You're welcome, Bait," said Mom. "And if you see Tsunami again, tell him I still think he's a bastard who should jump off a cliff."

Although Bait wasn't sure he would actually say that to Tsunami if he saw him, he just nodded once politely, turned, and left. He left as quickly as he could, because he wanted to find Switch as fast as possible. He hoped she was still alive. Tsunami had probably not killed her, given how he needed both of them for his plans to work, but Bait still wanted to find her anyway just to make sure she was safe.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Switch woke up in her bed in The Atlantis, yawned widely, and sat up. She felt great, if a little bit sleepy, and a quick glance at the alarm clock next to her bed showed that she had slept in until the afternoon today. Not that that surprised or troubled her in the least. Dad had let Switch sleep in as long as she wanted while she was here, so Switch had taken advantage of his generosity to sleep in as late as she desired. It was far better than the Academy, which always required her to be up by seven so she could get ready for her first classes. It was even better than when she lived with Mom. Though Mom had always been lenient with her, Mom still hadn't let Switch sleep in as much as she wanted due to how they had to constantly move, which usually meant leaving early in the morning in order to get a head start on the day.

Yawning again, Switch looked around her room. It was very different from the room in which she had originally awakened in The Atlantis a week ago now. Whereas that room had been small, cold, and sterile, this one was closer to her suite in the Braindome. Though the floor, walls, and ceiling were made out of the same metal as the rest of the palace, they were a shiny cream color, which made it easier to relax and helped her forget that she was deep beneath the ocean surface. Her bed was a queen size bed, with fresh, clean sheets every day. She even had access to a private bathroom located next door to her room, a privilege she intended to take advantage of this morning to take a nice, long hot shower.

But Switch's stomach grumbled, which reminded her that she had had nothing to eat since dinner last night, which had been a dinner of lobster, shrimp, and other delicious sea food specially prepared by The Atlantis' kitchen staff. So Switch pressed the button on her dresser and heard a small ringing noise come from it.

A second later, the door on the other side of the room opened and a man with a short, gray beard stuck his head through. "Good afternoon, Miss Greggs. How did you sleep last night?"

"Very well, Reeve," said Switch with a small yawn. She rubbed her stomach. "Can you get me a breakfast of bacon and eggs? I'm starving."

"Of course, Miss Greggs," said Reeve with a respectful nod. "I shall go to the kitchen and order a meal made for you right away. I will be back before you know it. And would you like coffee with that?"

"Yes," said Switch, nodding eagerly. "With lots and lots of creamer."

"Certainly," said Reeve. "And if you need anything else, please don't be afraid to press the buzzer, for I am at your every beck and call."

With that, Reeve pulled his head out of her room and closed the door. As soon as he was gone, Switch threw her blankets off her legs and walked into her bathroom. She intended to take a quick shower before Reeve delivered her breakfast, because she wanted to go see if Dad wanted to shoot cannons with her again today. He had already let her shoot The Atlantis' cannons several times over the last week and, while she could do it herself, she really wanted to do it with him, because it was a lot more fun when Dad played.

As Switch turned on the shower to get the hot water going, she thought about how quickly this last week had gone by. Whereas her days in the Academy had seemed to drag on for eternity, her days in The Atlantis flew by like bullets. Yet she remembered each day fondly, because each day had been even better than the last so far.

After talking with Dad in his Throne Room on her first day, Switch had been shown to her room, which had been specially prepared for her ever since she had been rescued from Showdown, to the point where it had a closet full of new clothes for her that fit her body scarily well. In addition to having her own room--which was located on Deck Three, not far from Dad's own room--she had been given her own servant, a middle-aged sailor named Reeve. Reeve did everything for her; washed her clothes, brought her meals, delivered her messages from Dad, and always called her 'Miss Greggs' or 'ma'am' while doing it. She really did feel like royalty while living here, what with the way she was treated and the way Dad was called 'Lord Tsunami' by everyone. It was just like living in her own little kingdom.

Even the fact that they were miles beneath the surface did not really alarm Switch. She was rarely aware of that fact, mostly due to how smoothly The Atlantis moved through the sea. There weren't many windows to show her the outside, either, though the left wall of her room could be moved to reveal a transparent glass wall that would show her the sea outside. She used it a couple of times, but not too often, because the darkness of the ocean creeped her out.

And, of course, she got to spend lots of time with Dad. They had every meal together, watched a lot of movies together in the palace's entertainment center, and even played some board games together. Switch normally didn't care for board games, but given how they gave her an opportunity to spend more time with Dad, she was all for it and never turned down even one offer to play.

Unfortunately, Switch didn't get to spend all her time with Dad. Many times, Dad would send her away so he could have meetings with his trusted lieutenants, such as Captain Jacques. Switch never knew what they talked about in those meetings. She just assumed they had to do with reports about the day-to-day activities of The Atlantis or maybe something to do with figuring out where they were going to go next. She did ask Dad about what went on in the meetings once, but Dad had just chuckled and told her not to worry herself about it and that it was nothing that would affect her.

Switch accepted that, but every now and then she'd wonder if Dad hadn't been exactly honest about it. She remembered one time heading to the Throne Room a few days ago to grab her phone, which she had accidentally left in there, and had approached the Throne Room at the same time that the meeting between Dad and his lieutenants was ending. She didn't catch everything they were saying, but she did remember Dad saying something about the Blood Gems, followed by Jacques saying something about 'getting them,' though he had shut up as soon as Switch entered.

It probably had nothing to do with her, but nonetheless, Switch found herself sleeping with her Blood Gem under her pillow at night and she always carried it in her pocket whenever she was walking around the palace. After Dad first expressed interest in holding it, he had not said anything about it, nor had any of his crew attempted to take it from her. Even so, Switch felt safer having it on hand, rather than leaving it somewhere in her room unprotected.

It's what Mom would have done, Switch thought as she took off her clothes and entered the now warm shower, letting the hot water soak her hair and skin. She always taught Bait and I to keep our Blood Gems safe and to know where they are at all times. It's just Mom's training making me protect it on instinct.

As Switch washed her hair, however, she could sense that that wasn't the real reason she kept her Blood Gem with her at all times (it was currently sitting on the counter in the bathroom near her hair dryer). The real reason was because she thought Dad wanted it for himself.

What a silly thought, Switch, Switch thought, rinsing out the soap in her hair. If Dad wanted it, he would have just taken it from you. Which, by the way, he would never do, because Dad actually respects you, unlike those idiots at the Academy, who just see me as a problem to fix. Dad sees me as a person, as his own daughter. He'd never try to take my physical possessions from me, especially one as valuable as my Blood Gem.

Yet Switch could never forget how greedy, how lustful, Dad had looked when he asked to hold her Blood Gem. A voice in her head--which sounded an awful lot like Mom--told her that if she had let Dad hold it, he would never have let go of it. Ever.

But why would Dad want it? Switch thought as she turned off the shower, grabbed her towel from the top of the shower rod, and began drying herself off. It's useless without its twin, which Bait currently has. Even if he had both, who would he trade powers with? He's one of the most powerful superhumans in the world. I can't think of anyone who he might wish to trade powers with, even just for a little while.

Wrapping the towel around her body, Switch stepped out of the shower and walked in front of the mirror. She looked at her reflection, frowning at her dark, wet hair which lay across her shoulders.

Unless Dad has a brother or something, Switch thought. But Dad hasn't mentioned any family and Mom never mentioned if he had any siblings, either. Maybe I should ask Dad about his family sometime. I always love learning about family history, so this could be a good way to do it.

Smiling, Switch did her hair, got dressed, and safely deposited her Blood Gem into the pocket of her shorts. Stepping out of the bathroom, she was pleased to see her breakfast of bacon, eggs, and coffee sitting on a tray on her bed. Just as she sat down to eat, there was a knock at her door, which then opened. Reeves stuck his head through the open door, causing Switch to look up at him even before he spoke.

"Reeves?" said Switch. "What is it? I'm about to eat."

"Yes, I see that, Miss Greggs, but Lord Tsunami has summoned you to his Throne Room," said Reeves. "He wishes to speak with you about Bait, your brother."

Switch frowned. "Can I eat my breakfast first?"

"Lord Tsunami insisted that you come right away," said Reeves. "And I must warn you that Lord Tsunami is... not very patient, to put it lightly."

"Nah, he's cool," said Switch, looking down at her breakfast again, which smelled absolutely delicious. "I'll just eat my breakfast and--"

A hand landed on her wrist, causing Switch to look up. Reeves stood over her. Though he was probably one of the older sailors in the palace, he was by no means frail. His arms were still quite muscular, while his grip on her wrist was like iron.

"Please, ma'am," said Reeves. The friendliness in his voice was not quite gone, but it was far more muted than before. "I know that Lord Tsunami is your father and that he loves you, but trust me when I say that you have not seen him at his worst. He has a tendency to take out his anger on his men, and I, for one, do not wish to fight the Maw."

"The what?"

"Never mind," Reeves said. "You must come. Now."

Switch's temper spiked. She called upon her super strength with the intent of snapping Reeves' arm like a twig, but then she paused. This was not really Reeves commanding her to leave. He was only in here because Dad told him to be here. If she kept resisting, then Dad might get angry... and she wasn't sure that she wanted to see Dad when he was angry. She wanted to please him more than anything, and breaking Reeves' arm just because he annoyed her would not make Dad like her very much.

So Switch calmed down and said, "All right. But I'm bringing my coffee with me. Otherwise, I'll be a zombie, which wouldn't be fun for me or Dad."

-

Dad was by himself in the Throne Room, and he wasn't even sitting on his throne. Instead, Switch found him standing in front of the giant mural behind his throne, the one which Switch had noticed on her first day in The Atlantis. It looked much the same as it always did: Huge and detailed, with that same ship sailing through a stormy sea. The man on the ship still stood with his trident out, like a general leading his troops into battle.

At the moment, however, Dad himself looked less like a military general and more like an aloof artist viewing abstract art in an art museum. He was stroking his chin, his trident held at his side, his eyes fixed so firmly on the mural that he apparently didn't notice Switch step out of the elevator, nor did he hear her approach him.

That gave Switch an idea. Rather than calling out Dad's name, she carefully made her way across the Throne Room, sneaking toward him with light, barely audible footsteps. Again, Dad didn't seem to notice her, which was good, because Switch wanted to surprise him. She even put her coffee down on the floor to make sure she didn't spill it when she tackled Dad around the waist.

But just as she stood up, Dad suddenly said, "I hear you, Grace, though I will admit that you can move very quietly. Did Ariana teach you how to do that?"

Switch froze. "Uh, yeah. Mom's real good at sneaking around. She taught me and Bait how to move without being heard."

Dad chuckled without looking at her. "Yes, she was always very good at that, though I think she cheated a lot because she could move through power lines. No one notices the sounds power lines make, after all."

Switch nodded as she picked up her coffee cup again, sipped from it, and walked over to Dad's side. She felt a bit disappointed that Dad had heard her sneaking up on him, but she supposed that Dad probably had really good hearing or something.

Stopping by Dad's side, Switch looked up at the mural again. "Wow. That thing is beautiful."

"Yes, it is," said Dad, still without looking at her. "It was painted by a friend of mine, a famous painter who you probably haven't heard of, since you're a teenager and all."

"Hey, I like art," said Switch. "I stole a lot of it when I was with Mom. And really good stuff, too, not that weird abstract crap you see in museums."

Dad laughed out loud when Switch said that. His laughter was loud, almost deafeningly so, more like the roar of the ocean sea than a human life. It made Switch jump and nearly spill her coffee all over her pants, but she managed to regain her balance at the last second.

"Ah, Switch, that was great," said Dad with a slight chuckle. "Yes, I suppose stealing would require an eye for good art, wouldn't it? Otherwise, how would you know what to steal and what not to?"

"I don't see what's so funny about it," said Switch as she sipped her coffee again. "I was just stating the truth."

"I know," said Dad, patting her on the shoulder with one of his big, solid hands. "You are so very much like your mother, much more so than even you know. That's why I had the painter add you, your brother, and Ariana onto this mural. It is a representation of my own desire to see our family whole again one day, even though I doubt we ever will be."

Dad suddenly looked down at Switch. "Which brings us to the subject I wanted to talk with you about: Your brother, Bait."

Switch frowned. She had thought about Bait a lot over the last week or so, wondering how he was doing and if he was still looking for her or not. She suspected he was, but at the same time, she had been too busy having fun to care about what he was doing. A part of her wished he could be here with her, but another part didn't want to hear his usual self-righteous lectures about how they were putting their old family legacy behind them in order to become 'heroes.'

Thus, Switch said, "What about him?"

Dad looked up at the mural again, though his focus seemed to be on the ship painted on it. "I want to rescue him in the same way I rescued you."

Switch frowned. "Why? Aren't we good just the way we are?"

Dad didn't look at her, but she could tell he was surprised at her response. "He's your brother and my son. Isn't that reason enough to rescue him? I thought the two of you were close."

Even though Dad wasn't looking at her, Switch for some reason felt a little embarrassed when he said that. She looked down at her feet and folded her arms behind her back. "Well, yeah, we were close, but when Mom was arrested and we started going to that dumb school, we kind of... grew apart."

"Oh?" said Dad. "How so?"

Switch thought it odd that Dad had to ask her that--she thought he had been paying attention to her and Bait ever since they started attending the Academy--but aloud, she said, "He wants to be a superhero. He thought that Mom's arrest was the best thing that could have happened to us and that our being forced to attend the Academy was a chance for us to 'start over.' I disagreed, which is what led to us growing apart."

Dad nodded, though he looked like he already knew that more or less. "Interesting. And why do you disagree with him?"

That was an even weirder question. In fact, Switch was so surprised by it that she didn't quite know how to respond at first. She rubbed the back of her head and said, "Well, it's, um, obvious, isn't it?"

"Not to me, it isn't," said Dad casually. "Please explain it to me."

"Okay..." Switch drifted off, trying to think of the best way to explain it. "Well, we never asked to go to that school, for one thing. When Mom was arrested, the NHA just caught us and put us in it. And second, everyone hates us because of who our Mom is. It's not just the students. Even the teachers hate us and want nothing to do with us. Oh, and lots of the NHA members who don't teach there hate us, too. Even if we graduate, we'll still have to deal with the fact that our Mom is Electrica and everyone hates us. Why bother trying to change our ways when no one will ever ever like us? Especially now that you're around, Dad."

"Do you think Bait would be more likely to reject the superhero lifestyle if he was aware that I was around?" said Dad.

"I..." Switch drifted off again, thinking about Dad's question. "You know, I have no idea. I'd like to think he would, but at the same time, Bait's fallen so deeply into that superhero stuff that I don't know what he'd do if he found out about you. He might give it up, but he could just as easily choose to fight you."

"I see," said Dad. "Well, either way, I am going to try to rescue him. It is my dream to be a father to you and your brother, a dream I will accomplish no matter what."

"Are you sure?" said Switch doubtfully. "Bait might not be willing to join us."

"Oh, I will make him see the light, whether he wants to or not," said Dad, shaking his head. "One way or another, he will join us and we will be a family again. Wouldn't that be nice, Grace?"

Switch nodded. "Yeah, it would. How are you going to rescue him, though? He's probably at the Academy, and that place has great security. I should know, because I could never escape it on my own."

Dad chuckled. "I already have someone on the inside who can get him. Remember the note slipped into your pocket over a week ago?"

Switch's eyes widened. "So that was one of your servants, then."

"Indeed," said Dad. "I have a spy on the inside who keeps me informed about what is going on in there. I'll have him get Bait. Should be easy, because none of the faculty in that place are aware he's even there."

"Wow," said Switch. "I knew you were competent, Dad, but I didn't know you were that competent."

Dad shrugged. "I don't see myself as competent so much as desiring to have my family be in one piece again. After I save Bait, I may even break Ariana out of prison, depending on how she feels about me. Wouldn't that be great?"

Switch nodded eagerly. "That would be awesome! When will we do that?"

"Later," said Dad. "Much later. Right now, I want to focus on saving Bait. One thing at a time, you understand."

Switch nodded again. "Right, right. What do I need to do?"

"Nothing, right now," said Dad. "I just wanted to let you know about my plans so you would not be surprised once Bait returns. You can return to your room now, if you want."

"All right, Dad," said Switch brightly. "Thanks for the news. I can't wait."

With that, Switch turned and left the Throne Room, practically skipping in excitement about the news. She wasn't so happy to hear about Bait being rescued, but if Dad was telling the truth, then even Mom might be saved at some point.

And then we'll all be one family again, Switch thought as she entered the elevator and pressed the Deck Two button. I can't believe it. It's like all of my dreams and fantasies are coming true.

Switch dwelt on such happy thoughts until the elevator reached Deck Two and opened. She stepped out of the elevator, intending to finish her breakfast and then go down to the entertainment center to play some games, but then someone grabbed her from behind and stuffed a cloth over her mouth and nose before she could respond. She inhaled something that smell strange--which she realized too late was chloroform--and then her whole world went black.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Bait sat on his bed in his dorm, looking down at the glowing orange Blood Gem in his hands. He stared at it with more intensity than he had ever stared at anything in his life, as if by simply looking at it he could unlock the secrets of the universe.

In truth, the only secret Bait had any interest in unlocking was the secret of Switch's location. After Mom told Bait about the ability for the Blood Gems to allow its users to track each other, Bait had returned to the Academy and went straight to his dorm room, where he pulled the curtain in front of his bed for extra privacy, plucked his Blood Gem from its spot on his chest, and immediately began trying to make it show him where Switch was.

Unfortunately, despite focusing heavily on the Blood Gem for the last half hour, Bait had not yet succeeded in locating Switch. Mom had told him that he needed to visualize Switch in his mind while focusing on the Blood Gem, but even though he had been doing exactly that for over thirty minutes, he seemed to be no closer to finding her than he was before. All he had accomplished so far was hurting his eyes staring at the Blood Gem's bright glow and make his legs fall asleep from lack of use.

I wonder if Mom just told me that to mess with me, Bait thought, scowling. Wouldn't be the first time.

Bait finally looked away from the Blood Gem, blinking several times as he looked into the darkness of his bed. He was glad that his roommates were not here, because he knew they would have been laughing at him for how foolish he must have looked, staring at his Blood Gem like it would tell him what his future held in store for him. As it was, he had succeeded only in making his eyes hurt.

Yeah, Mom definitely lied to me, Bait thought, scowling even deeper than before. Not that I'm remotely surprised, of course.

With a sigh, Bait lay down flat on his bed, the Blood Gem still held in his hand. Its soft purple glow barely illuminated his bed. It cast his weird shadow on the wall, making it look like the shadow of some kind of animal about to sneak up on him. Not that Bait cared, however. He was just depressed at how he had gotten his hopes up only for them to be dashed apart by his own mother's lies.

It wasn't entirely a waste of time, though, Bait thought. At least I found out who Dad is and why he might have kidnapped Switch.

Bait still found it hard to believe that his dad was Tsunami. Tsunami was one of the most powerful and well-known supervillains in the world. Ever since he first appeared as a supervillain twenty years ago, Tsunami had clashed with the Neohero Alliance, the Independent Neoheroes for Justice, and the government-sponsored superhero team the G-Men. He'd even fought the Toku Squadron, Japan's most famous superhero team, when he had attacked Tokyo once.

Granted, Mom was no minor supervillain herself, being especially famous for being the only thief in the world to have successfully stolen something from Hero Island, but in contrast to what Tsunami did, Mom's crimes were relatively small. Then again, Bait had always heard that women were attracted to power and strength, and Tsunami definitely had plenty of that.

I wonder what he's doing to Switch now even as I lay here, Bait thought. Is he hurting her? Or is he keeping her safe? He might be our dad, but if Mom was telling the truth, then he doesn't actually care about us as individuals and just wants us to make himself stronger. He sees us as weapons, just weapons, and nothing more. And do most people treat their weapons as well as their children?

Knowing the answer to that question, Bait sat upright again, ducking his head to avoid hitting it against the bottom of the upper bunk, and stared into the Blood Gem again. He was determined to find Switch no matter what. A part of him still thought that maybe Mom had been lying about the Blood Gems, but the other part of him insisted that he had just not been doing it right. It wasn't like Mom had given him very detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to use the Gems to locate Switch, after all. He would just have to try harder.

Visualizing Switch in his mind, he kept his gaze fixed firmly on the glowing rock in his hand. He forgot all about how silly he probably looked. All he cared about was making this work, because it was the only chance he had of finding Switch before Tsunami harmed her. He focused as hard as he could until he forgot that he was sitting on his bed, forgot that his legs were still asleep, forgot that he was even in the Academy at all. The only thing he was aware of was the Blood Gem in his hand. It and it alone held his full and complete attention.

That was when he saw it. An image appeared on the Blood Gem, visible through its natural glow. It was like looking through a camera, though he wasn't sure what he was looking at at first. It was dark, completely black, but based on how it moved, he guessed that the camera was in motion.

No, not a camera, Bait thought. Switch's Blood Gem. I'm looking through it, but why is it so dark?

Bait guessed that Switch was either in a lightless room or else had put her Blood Gem in her pocket. Either way, it didn't help him figure out where she was. All it confirmed was that Switch was still alive and still had her Blood Gem with her, but Bait could have figured that out all on his own.

So Mom wasn't lying, Bait thought. But she wasn't helpful, either. Probably knew this would happen and told me about that power just to mess with me.

The image in the Blood Gem vanished as soon as he thought that. The Blood Gem returned to its usual normal glow, but Bait sensed something different about it. He felt like he held a radar of some sort in his hands, or perhaps a magnet, because his hands moved of their own accord, making him turn around until he was facing the east.

The east? Bait thought, staring at the wall in confusion. Is Switch in New York?

No. That wasn't where Switch was. Bait sensed that Switch was not merely on the East Coast. Rather, she was underwater, in a gigantic submarine traveling the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, hidden from even the most advanced radar systems on the planet. In his mind's eye, he saw the gigantic submarine as it made its way through the pitch black depths of the sea, looking more like a spaceship than a submarine.

How Bait saw this, he did not know for sure, but he knew that this was the Blood Gem's work, because he could see the orange glow of Switch's own Blood Gem radiating from the titanic submarine.

That's where Tsunami is, Bait thought. That's where Switch is: Underneath the Atlantic Ocean, being held prisoner on a giant submarine. Makes sense, though, given Tsunami's powers.

The only question now was how to get to said submarine. Unfortunately, the Blood Gem refused to answer, or perhaps could not answer; it wasn't exactly GPS, after all. He suspected that the Blood Gem would grow brighter and stronger the closer he got to the sub, but that still didn't help him figure out how to get to Tsunami's underwater mobile base in the first place.

It doesn't matter, Bait thought. I'll tell the Headmaster about this and he can tell the NHA about it. I bet they have the resources necessary to find and enter this sub, no matter how well defended it might be.

Pushing aside his bed's curtain, Bait jumped off the bed and rushed out of his dorm, though he quickly sent a text to Arachnid telling him to meet him at the Admin office before he left. He burst out the front doors and ran down the front steps as quickly as he could, but when he got to the last step, he tripped on something and fell face first onto the ground. He threw out his arms at the last moment, however, to break the fall. Unfortunately, that caused the Blood Gem to go flying out of his hands and land on the ground, rolling several feet away from him before it came to a stop.

Panting, Bait pushed himself up and looked over his shoulder, wondering what he had tripped over. He didn't see anything in his path, which made him wonder if he had perhaps missed a step on his way down the steps.

Doesn't matter, Bait thought, looking back to the path. I need to get to the Administration building and tell the Headmaster what I found out. I wonder if I can also show him what I found. Maybe the Blood Gem lets you share visions with--

The Blood Gem was gone. Bait's Blood Gem. It was no longer lying along the path where Bait had dropped it after tripping.

Alarmed, Bait jumped to his feet and rushed over. He almost convinced himself that maybe he had simply overlooked it, but no, it was definitely gone. He got down on his hands and knees, searching the ground desperately, but no matter where he looked, he couldn't find his Blood Gem.

"No, no, no," said Bait under his breath. "Where did it go, where did it go, where did it go?"

Bait suddenly heard a shoe scraping against concrete and looked up. He spotted his Blood Gem, glowing as orange as ever, but it was no longer on the ground. Instead, it was hovering about five feet in the air, which looked quite strange.

Huh? Bait thought, staring at the floating Blood Gem uncomprehendingly. Is it actually floating? Or did I bump my head when I tripped and am seeing things now?

All of a sudden, the Blood Gem started to move away from Bait, toward the space between his dorm building and the next one. It was moving fast, though not as fast as you'd expect a floating Blood Gem to move, and if he didn't go after it fast, it would soon disappear entirely.

So Bait rushed after the Blood Gem. The Blood Gem's pace suddenly picked up, moving faster than before, but still not as fast as it could. It looked almost like someone was actually holding it, but Bait didn't see or hear anyone else nearby. All he knew was that he needed to catch the Blood Gem before it got away.

The Blood Gem was heading toward a small clump of trees not far behind Bait's dormitory building. There wasn't anywhere for it to go in there. Nonetheless, Bait didn't want it to disappear within the trees. He figured that the Blood Gem would cut through the trees, which would slow him down considerably, and then go through the fence on the other side and leave the campus entirely. Bait was willing to follow if he had to, but he didn't want to leave campus just to get his Blood Gem back, especially by himself.

Thus, Bait raised his right hand and fired five nail bullets at the Gem, hoping to knock it out of the air. Most of the nail bullets missed, but one of them hit something that Bait couldn't see and he heard a loud grunt of pain come from the air around the Blood Gem. Blood appeared not far from the Gem, like the nail bullet had struck someone's shoulder.

What? Bait thought in surprise. Blood? Is an invisible person stealing the Blood Gem from me?

The thief did not slow down, despite his injured shoulder, and soon vanished inside the trees. Bait put out an extra burst of speed and crashed through the trees as well, shouting, "Hey, give me back my Blood Gem, you jerk! Give it back now!"

But as Bait shouted that, he did not see the thief or his Blood Gem. It was odd because he was sure that the thief had just entered the trees not moments before him, yet the thief was apparently nowhere to be found.

But Bait would not give up. He crashed through the trees and brush, shouting at the thief to give him back the Blood Gem, but he didn't get any answer. All he heard was the crunching of leaves under his feet, the snapping of tree branches that he broke as he ran, and his own shouting for the thief to get back here.

That was when Bait suddenly burst out into a small clearing. He didn't have much time to take in his surroundings, however, before he hit something with his ankle.

A giant net sprang out of the leaves underneath him, snapping shut around his body and pulling him upside down before he could even think. Bait cried out in surprise as he was lifted off the ground and held upside down in a thick net made out of some kind of rope. It held his arms tightly against his body, while smashing his legs together in such a way that he could not kick his way free or move them independently of one another. A quick glance up showed that he hung from a tree limb, the net shaped like some kind of weird, oversized cocoon.

"What the hell?" said Bait. "Who did this? What's happening?"

"You fell into my trap."

Bait suddenly looked back at the clearing. His Blood Gem was on the other side of the clearing, floating as usual, but then a man suddenly appeared beside a tree, holding the Blood Gem in his hand.

The man was rather short, probably half a foot shorter than Bait, though he looked considerably older than him, perhaps in his late thirties. He wore a plain reflective bodysuit, which showed his thin physique quite well. He was completely bald and his face was quite small, making him look like a goblin of some kind.

"You look surprised to see me," said the man. "Then again, most people usually do, given how I'm rarely seen."

"Let me go at once," Bait demanded. "And give me back my Blood Gem while you're at it."

"You mean this?" said the man, his eyes darting toward the Blood Gem. "I think not. Lord Tsunami said that he wanted both Blood Gems. He already has one. He will be quite pleased when I present him with this second one later today."

Bait's eyes widened in shock. "You work for my father? He sent you?"

"Of course," said the man. "You may call me Unseen. That's the name your father gave me when I started working for him. It's because I can turn invisible. Neat skill, isn't it?"

"I don't care," said Bait. "Let me down and take me to my father. I want to save my sister from him."

"No can do, I'm afraid," said Unseen. "That is, 'saving' your sister from him. She's quite happy in his palace, last I heard, and probably wouldn't be happy if you tried to 'rescue' her."

"You're lying," said Bait.

Unseen shrugged. "Call me a liar all you want, it doesn't matter. You'll get to see your sister soon anyway, because Lord Tsunami gave me orders to bring you to his palace. That's why I lured you out here in the first place."

Bait suddenly realized that he had been tricked into following Unseen away from the campus to a private area where none of the students or teachers would see him. Bait twisted his head this way and that, searching for anyone who might be able to save him, but as far as he could tell, it was just him and Unseen in this place.

"I wouldn't bother screaming, if I were you," said Unseen. "Your fellow students are all in class, as are the teachers. No one will hear you if you scream. It would be a waste of energy."

"I won't go with you without a fight," said Bait.

Unseen smiled. "I know. That's why I brought this."

Unseen pulled a needle full of that same clear liquid which the jetpack-wearing man had injected into Switch's neck back in Showdown. "One injection of this and you'll be out for twelve hours at least. Don't worry. I've been told that it doesn't hurt, though it might sting a little."
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Switch opened her eyes and yawned. She didn't know where she was at first. Actually, she could barely remember anything. The last thing she remembered was stepping out of the elevator and then someone grabbing her shoulders from behind, but beyond that, her memory was extremely foggy. Her mouth tasted like pennies, while her nostrils flared. She was vaguely aware of motion under her, as if she was in a moving vehicle. She also heard a small engine somewhere nearby, almost like the engine of a motorboat, though as far as she could tell, she was not in a motorboat.

Am I even still on The Atlantis? Switch thought. No, that doesn't make sense. The Atlantis is too big for me to feel its movement and I never hear its engines that clearly.

Blinking, Switch's vision came into focus, allowing her to see the ceiling above her, which looked similar to the ceiling of that first room she had woken up inside back when she first came to The Atlantis. For a split second, Switch thought she was back in that room again, as if everything she did on The Atlantis with Dad over the last week had been part of a weird dream that she had just awakened from.

But then a sudden shudder in the ship nearly threw her off her seat--well, it would have, if she hadn't been buckled into her chair like a car seat. As it was, Switch was merely thrown against her restraints, but did not fall onto the floor. Looking down at her restraints, Switch saw that she was being held down by thick leather straps crisscrossed against her chest. They were not very comfortable, but they certainly did the job of keeping her from being thrown onto the floor.

Why am I strapped in, though? Switch thought, tugging at the straps. I don't remember sitting down anywhere and strapping in. Something's not right.

"Ah, you're awake," said a voice from the other side of the room. "I thought you would be out for several more hours at least. Perhaps I didn't use enough chloroform."

Switch looked up to see who had spoken. A man sat in a seat similar to hers on the opposite side of the room. He was one of the sailors on The Atlantis. In fact, he was the young-looking one who had nearly shot her back when she first woke up in the palace and had threatened to break Jacques' neck if she didn't find out where she was. She, unfortunately, could not recall this man's name, but it didn't matter because she didn't like him, regardless of what his name was.

"Chloroform?" said Switch. "What are you talking about? Did you kidnap me? Because if you did, that's the third time I've been kidnapped in less than two weeks and I am getting really sick of--"

"'Kidnap' isn't the right word," said the man. "More like 'rescue.'"

"Rescue?" said Switch. "What are you talking about? I don't need rescuing. I was just fine back in Dad's palace."

The man shook his head. "No, you weren't. That's why we left."

"Left?" said Switch. She looked around at the small space in which they sat. "We haven't left. I don't recognize this room, of course, but it resembles some of the rooms in The Atlantis."

"That's because it's actually one of the palace's emergency escape pods," said the man. "See?"

The man gestured at the window above his head. Switch saw water rushing past the window outside, which was enough confirmation for her that they were indeed in one of the palace's escape pods.

"That's also why you can hear the engine in the back," said the man, gesturing toward the back of the pod. "We're currently moving at about sixty miles an hour, heading west toward the East Coast. According to the pod's calculations, we should reach Rhode Island in approximately three hours, give or take ten minutes."

Switch activated her super strength and ripped the leather straps off her body. She stood up, glaring at the sailor, who, oddly enough, did not look even remotely afraid of her, even though he was just an ordinary human being with no powers or abilities of his own.

"I demand that you turn this escape pod back around to The Atlantis right this instant," Switch said, pointing at the sailor. "Or else I'll make you wish you had never been born."

The sailor shook his head again. "Too late for that. Once you enter a destination for an escape pod, it can't be changed, at least from within the escape pod itself. Someone back on The Atlantis would be able to do it. Unfortunately for them, I disabled communications between this pod and the palace, which means even they can't change it now. So I couldn't send us back even if I wanted to, which I don't."

Switch marched up to the sailor and tore his leather straps off of him. She grabbed his collar, picked him off his chair, and slammed him against the wall. The sailor gasped in pain, but otherwise did not start begging for mercy as Switch expected him to. That just made her hate him even more than before.

"You monster," Switch growled. "I ought to beat that smug grin of yours into paste."

"That would be a hard thing to do if you don't have your super strength," said the sailor.

The sailor plunged his hand into his pocket and pulled out a spray bottle. He shoved it in front of her face and then depressed the lid, spraying Switch with a face full of yellow, disgusting gas which she accidentally inhaled. She started choking and let go of the sailor, staggering backwards as she gasped for air. At the same time, Switch suddenly felt weaker, as if all her strength had been sapped from her bones.

"What?" said Switch, looking down at her hands. "What was that? Why do I feel so weak all of a sudden?"

"Powerless gas," said the sailor, raising his spray can and shaking it at her. "I snagged a bottle of it from The Atlantis before we left, just in case you woke up and tried to kill me. Looks like I was spot on."

Switch knew what powerless gas was. It was a unique gas that had been brought to Earth by the Pokacu aliens, which, when sprayed on a superhuman, could leave the victim temporarily powerless from anywhere from five minutes up to several hours, depending on how much gas they inhaled. It used to be extremely rare, but ever since the second Pokacu invasion left crashed Pokacu spaceships all over Earth, the gas had become the go-to weapon for many governments and organizations which dealt with superhumans. Based on the amount that the sailor had sprayed into her face, Switch guessed that she would be powerless for ten or twenty minutes.

And that wouldn't have been a problem, necessarily, but without her super strength, Switch was just an ordinary teenage girl, in terms of sheer physical strength, while this sailor was still a full-grown man with all of the strength that that implied. She still had her fighting skills that Mom had taught her, but Switch knew from experience that a man could still rough up a woman in a straight fight even if the woman had better combat skills than him. It didn't help that Switch didn't know this man's level of experience as a fighter. For all she knew, he could be a black belt in karate who could wipe the floor with her without even trying.

Thus, Switch decided she would just wait until the powerless gas wore off and then she would try to take him down again.

Still, Switch snapped, in a slightly hoarse voice due to the gas she had inhaled, "Yeah, you're so smart and special, aren't you? Now I'm a powerless teenage girl who you can do anything with. That definitely doesn't make you look like a creep.

"I have no interest in doing anything with you except getting you as far away as possible from Tsunami," said the sailor. "By the way, my name is Phillip, but you can just call me Phil."

"I don't care what your name is," said Switch. "I just want to go back to The Atlantis, to my Dad. I don't want to be stuck in a tin can going to Rhode Island with some creep like you."

"It's for your own good," said Phil. "Tsunami may seem like a good man, but trust me, you can't trust him. He's a sociopath, plain and simple."

"So?" said Switch. "Mom is a sociopath, too, and I'm pretty sure that both me and Bait have sociopathic tendencies. I don't see what the problem is."

Phil sighed. "You don't get it. Tsunami doesn't actually love you. He doesn't love anyone except for himself... and honestly, on some days I'm not even entirely convinced of that."

"What do you mean?" said Switch. "Dad saved me from that stupid school. He brought me into his palace, gave me my own room, and treated me like his little princess. It was just like what I always imagined Dad was like. Actually, it was better, because I never would have imagined that Dad would have an entire undersea palace of his own."

"Tsunami is a very good manipulator," Phil said, nodding. "And that's exactly what he was doing: Manipulating you. He only gave you all of those nice things because he knew it would be an effective way to get you on his side. I've seen him do it before. It never ends well for the person who he's manipulating. Ever."

Switch folded her arms across her chest. "What do you know? Dad isn't manipulating me. I'm his daughter. Why would he ever manipulate his own daughter?"

Phil leaned against the wall, scratching the side of his head. "Listen, Switch, I know how Tsunami can appear, but I've worked on his crew as a member of The Atlantis for two years now. I joined when I was twenty-two, mostly because I'd been drowning in student loan debt and your father offered to pay it off for me in exchange for service on his ship."

"That's nice of him," said Switch. "If he paid off your student loans for you, that doesn't seem like the actions of an evil manipulator to me."

"You don't understand," said Phil. "The terms of employment stated that I would work for him until my loans were paid off. But even after my loans were paid off, Tsunami kept me on board as his slave."

"Why would he do that?" said Switch.

"Because he doesn't want anyone walking around with knowledge of his palace," said Phil, tapping the side of his head. "Tsunami is always very careful about keeping his private information, well, private. He never fires anyone. Usually, if he gets tired of a crew member, he simply has them... disappeared."

"Disappeared? Do you mean killed?"

"Perhaps. Or maybe dropped off on a deserted island in the middle of nowhere." Phil shrugged. "I've never known, because Tsunami only ever tells us what we need to know in order to do our jobs. Most of the crew has no idea what Tsunami is actually trying to do. They may know bits and pieces, but not the whole picture, not like me."

Switch bit her lower lip. "Why should I care how Dad treats his workers? There are a lot of people in the world who would like to arrest Dad and throw him into prison. Maybe it's good that he doesn't let you leave. And anyway, I don't see how this connects to me."

Phil chuckled. "Because Tsunami treats everyone this way. He sees everyone--you, me, the other members of the crew, and anyone else who happens to be around him--as tools, weapons even, that he can use and discard at will. Didn't you find it strange how he was absent from your and your brother's lives for sixteen years, only for him to suddenly contact you out of the blue and express a desire to 'rescue' you?"

Switch rubbed her arm. "Well, it does seem a bit convenient, but Dad just cares about us. He couldn't come into our lives before because Mom kept him out due to her paranoia."

"Paranoia? Or justified fear of what he would do with you and your brother if he had influence over both of you?" Phil questioned. "Listen, Switch. Up until last year, I had never even heard Tsunami mention your names. Not yours, not your brother's, not even your Mom's. He didn't seem even remotely sad to hear that she was arrested. Actually, he seemed really pleased about it, more so than you'd expect him to be."

Switch bit her lower lip. "Well, Mom did keep us away from him. He was probably just happy that he would be able to see me and Bait again without worrying about Mom keeping us away from him."

Phil shook his head quickly. "No, no. He may have told you that, but he lied to you. Truthfully, I think he was happy to hear about Electrica's arrest because it meant he could put his plan into action."

"Plan? What plan?"

"His plan to steal your Blood Gems, of course."

Switch quickly looked down at her Blood Gem. It was still securely in its compartment in her chest. "What do you mean, steal our Blood Gems? I don't understand."

Phil rubbed his chin. "For over a year now, Tsunami has been plotting to get your Blood Gems, at least since he learned that you and Bait have them. He wants them because of how powerful they can be. After all, being able to trade powers with another superhuman is quite useful, as I'm sure you know from your own experience using them."

Switch covered her warm Blood Gem with her hand, even though Phil had made no move to take it from her. "But they're limited. They only work with superhumans who are related. Are you saying that Dad wants the Blood Gems so he can switch powers with me or Bait? Because that would be a step down from his current powers, wouldn't it?"

"I don't know," said Phil with a shrug. "I only know as much as I do because I've eavesdropped on some of his private planning sessions without his knowledge. I don't know who he could possibly want to trade with, given how Electrica is in prison and, like you said, you and your brother have weaker powers than him, but whatever he thinks he can do with the Blood Gems doesn't matter. What matters is that his interest in you and your brother extends only as far as you can provide him with the Blood Gems. Once he gets them, I doubt he'll have much further use for either of you."

Switch put her other hand over her Blood Gem protectively. "What, are you saying that Dad has only been nice to me because of my Blood Gem? If so, why didn't he just take it right away? Why go through all of this?"

"Tsunami is patient," said Phil. "And, like I said, he's a great manipulator. He doesn't like to use force to accomplish his goals unless absolutely necessary. If I had to guess, he was probably planning to manipulate you and your brother into giving up your Blood Gems to him willingly. Then, once you did that, he would dispose of both of you."

Switch gulped. "Dispose? You mean kill?"

"Or whatever he does to minions he doesn't need anymore," said Phil with another shrug. "Either way, he won't let either of you two stick around longer than necessary in order for his plan to work. My guess is that he wants to get rid of you two so no one else will be able to use the Blood Gems."

"You're lying," said Switch. "Dad doesn't see us that way. He doesn't care about our Blood Gems. He cares about us."

Phil raised an eyebrow. "Has he never asked you about your Blood Gem? Has he ever asked, for example, to touch or hold it?"

Switch almost said no, but then caught herself. Yes, Dad had asked her if he could hold it once. She remembered how he would sometimes look at her Blood Gem with greed and even lust, as if he wanted it more than anything in the world. She used to think that she was just imagining things or maybe misinterpreting Dad's facial expressions, but it all fit with what Phil had just told her. She was starting to realize that there was a lot more truth to Phil's story than she wanted to believe, that maybe it really was true, and that she was in far more danger than she had originally believed.

"Why did you save me, then?" said Switch. "I don't know you. We're not friends. I didn't ask you to save me. You're risking your life for someone you don't even know."

"True, we barely know each other," said Phil. "I mean, you didn't even know my name until a few minutes ago. And, to be honest, I don't really like you at all. You remind me too much of Tsunami, except as a whiny teenage girl with a huge entitlement complex."

Switch scowled. "I am not whiny. You'd act the same way if you were chloroformed and basically kidnapped against your will."

"Sure thing, princess," said Phil with a sarcastic smile. "Anyway, the reason I saved you is because of redemption. By working for Tsunami, I feel like I've been an accessory to many crimes he's committed over the years. I might not be able to undo all of the wrong which Tsunami has done, but at least I can keep him from achieving his main goal. And anyway, I despise anyone who manipulates children or teenagers. Having been on the receiving end of that myself as a teenager from adults who I trusted, it is not something I want other kids to have to go through."

Phil certainly sounded noble when he said that, but Switch still wasn't sure if she believed him. Maybe he had kidnapped her for her own good, or maybe he was just lying to her in order to make her lower her guard. Maybe he had really kidnapped her in order to ransom her off to Dad for a huge amount of money. She wouldn't put it past him, because Dad seemed loaded and would probably be willing to spend anything to get her back.

At the same time, however, Switch sensed that Phil was not lying. She couldn't forget how greedy Dad had looked when he asked her if he could touch her Blood Gem that one time. She wanted to dismiss it as nothing, but after hearing Phil's story, she realized that there was more going on than Dad had let on.

Maybe he really does just want my Blood Gem, Switch thought. And maybe that's also why he wants Bait. If Phil's right, then he doesn't see us as people. Instead, he sees us as tools, stepping stones to whatever his greater plan is.

Phil sat back down in his chair and redid his collar, which Switch had messed up when she picked him up earlier. "Whether you believe me or not, it doesn't matter, because we're still on our way to Rhode Island and there's no way we can turn back at this point. Best we can do is just sit down and wait until we arrive at our destination."

On that point, at least, Switch knew that Phil was telling the truth.

So she sat down and rested her head in her hands, hoping that the powerless gas would wear off soon and that she would be able to escape Phil on her own. She wanted to talk to Dad herself and find out just how much of what he told her was true, though deep down, a part of her didn't want to see Dad again, because she suspected that there was more truth to Phil's words than she wanted to accept.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Bait struggled against the netting holding him up as Unseen walked toward him, the needle gleaming in the midday sunlight. But no matter how hard Bait wriggled, he couldn't summon the strength necessary to tear the netting apart. If he still had his super strength, he would have been able to snap the netting apart no problem. As it was, however, Bait just had ordinary strength, which, while certainly a lot, was nowhere near what he needed in order to save himself. He couldn't even shoot his nail bullets, because his hands were clasped so tightly against his body that he couldn't even wriggle his fingers, much less fire his nail bullets in such a way that they would tear through the netting and free him from Unseen's trap.

But I don't have all the time in the world to hang upside down here like a cow about to be slaughtered, Bait thought, looking at the advancing Unseen and the dangerous needle in his hands. I've got maybe five seconds, probably less, to figure out how to free myself. Once Unseen injects that liquid into my veins, it's game over.

Though those thoughts flashed through his mind almost instantly, they did nothing to help him escape his predicament. The netting was too tight, all of the blood rushing to his head made him dizzier than normal, and Unseen was still advancing. He thought about yelling, but what good would it do at this point? Like Unseen said, all of his fellow students were in class, while the teachers were all busy teaching in said classes.

And something tells me that no one would help even if they were aware of my current situation, Bait thought. Considering how everyone hates me, they might even help hold me still long enough for him to finish the job.

Bait pushed such thoughts out of his head. He needed to focus on getting out of here, not dwelling on what everyone else thought. Unfortunately, he still didn't know how--or if--he was going to escape. In seconds, Unseen's needle would be lodged firmly in his neck and the darkness would claim him.

Thus, Bait tried to wriggle back and forth, but he lacked the momentum necessary to snap the tree branch he hung from.

"You do realize how silly you look wriggling around like a worm caught on a fishing line, don't you?" said Unseen with a chuckle. "Lucky your friends aren't here, otherwise they might laugh at you. I would laugh at you, but given how you are Lord Tsunami's son, it would be quite unwise of me to do so."

Despite saying that, Bait could tell that Unseen had no respect for him at all. He probably saw Bait as more of an annoyance than anything, perhaps even wondering why Tsunami wanted him in the first place.

I know why he wants me, Bait thought grimly. And if Unseen is allowed to knock me out, no one will be able to stop Tsunami.

Unseen stopped in front of Bait. Though Unseen was shorter than him, from this angle, Unseen looked almost like a god about to bring down judgment on Bait. He bent over and grabbed Bait's neck with surprising firmness, holding it as still as possible, while his other hand played with the needle.

"Hold still, now," said Unseen in a voice very much like one a doctor would use when injecting a vaccine into an uncooperative child. "I can promise it will only sting for a moment, perhaps a second or two, and then you won't feel anything more for the next twelve or so hours. When you wake up, you will be more refreshed than you've ever been in your short, young teenage life."

This was it. Bait was out of time. All he could do was watch as Unseen raised his needle, the clear liquid inside gleaming, ready to jab it directly into Unseen's neck.

Right before Unseen could jab the needle into his neck, however, a soft thwip could be heard and a long line of webbing came out of nowhere and attached to the needle. The needle was yanked out of Unseen's hand, almost making Unseen fall over in surprise, though he caught himself before he fell on his bottom and turned around, saying, "Hey! Who goes there?"

Bait managed to look between Unseen's legs, but he did not see anyone at first until someone jumped out of the trees on the other side of the clearing and stood up.

It was Arachnid. He stood as tall and strong as usual, showing no fear on his face as he faced Unseen. In his right hand was the needle with the clear liquid within it. He was bouncing it up and down like a baseball with relative ease.

"Hi, there," said Arachnid in a casual voice. He held up the needle. "Looking for this?"

Unseen's hands balled into fists. "Where did you come from? I thought no one knew where we were."

Arachnid shrugged. "Bait sent me a text telling me to meet him at the Admin office, but when he didn't show up, I went to his dorm to find out where he was. Heard some rustling in these trees and decided to come over and see what was going on. Looks like I made the right choice."

"Arachnid!" Bait said, smiling. "I'm so glad you're here! I thought I was a goner for a second there."

"You would have been, if I hadn't been curious," said Arachnid. He glared at Unseen. "I was listening to you talking to Bait. You work for his father, the supervillain Tsunami, right? He sent you to kidnap Bait, just like you kidnapped his sister."

"Quite right you are," said Unseen, "but I will never reveal any of my secrets. I made a vow to Lord Tsunami that I would never betray him, no matter what."

"Lots of B-list supervillain minions have told me that in my career," said Arachnid. "Interestingly enough, they're always willing to talk after I break a bone or two. Usually a broken leg is enough, but once I had to break a guy's spine. It will be interesting to find out what level of pain you will be able to tolerate before you break like fine china."

Unseen stepped backward, as if he was about to run, but then he suddenly vanished into thin air. Arachnid turned his head this way and that, looking for him, while Bait said, "Arachnid, don't let your guard down! Unseen can turn invisible. He's probably going to sneak up on you without your knowledge."

Arachnid nodded. "Thanks for the advice, kid. But I've fought invisibility users before. I know how to deal with them."

Bait, however, wasn't so sure about that. Unseen didn't appear to have any weapons, but he looked more than willing to kill Arachnid. If he got a stick or a rock and hit Arachnid in just the right place, then this fight would be over in an instant.

To his credit, Arachnid didn't look even remotely afraid. He simply put the needle in his belt and walked over to the center of the clearing. He stopped there and then became very still, inclining his head down as if listening. Bait guessed that Arachnid was trying to listen for Unseen's movements, but with the wind blowing, making the leaves and branches shake loudly, Bait wasn't sure how much Arachnid could hear.

But then Arachnid suddenly knelt onto the ground and raised his hands above his head. Without warning, spider webbing exploded out of his wrists like a bomb. The webbing flew in every direction, some of it even getting onto Bait, although luckily most of it missed his face. Still, he had closed his eyes when the initial explosion happened, though he did hear the webbing splatter against the trees, but more importantly, he heard a cry of surprise that sounded an awful lot like Unseen. When the explosion ended, Bait opened his eyes and was astonished at how much the clearing had changed in just a few seconds.

The clearing looked less like a peaceful, open area of the forest and more like the nest of some kind of gigantic spider monster. Huge, thick spider webbing clung to the trees, grass, and bushes, connecting them all together in a design that was surprisingly beautiful. The webbing overhead was so thick that it blocked out most of the sun, making the clearing darker than normal.

But Bait's eyes were drawn to the right side of the clearing, where he spotted Unseen. Unseen was tangled among the webbing. In fact, he had even been suspended off the ground, like a fly caught in a spider's web. His arms were stuck to the webbing, as was his left leg, but his right leg had somehow managed to avoid getting caught. Not that it helped him. Although he kicked his right leg furiously, it did nothing to free him.

"What the hell?" said Unseen as he struggled against the webbing. "Webbing? God, it's disgusting."

Bait looked over back at the center of the clearing. Arachnid stood up again, somehow avoiding the webbing despite the fact that he stood in the very center of it. He looked over at Unseen and flashed him a dangerous smile. "There you are."

Arachnid jumped onto the webbing and moved across it with the same grace and speed of an actual spider. He moved so fast that Bait thought he was going to actually eat Unseen, like how a real spider ate any insects unfortunate enough to get caught in its trap.

Unseen must have thought that, too, because he began struggling like crazy against the webbing. He bounced a lot, but failed to free himself. Bait had heard that Arachnid's webbing was as strong as a steel cable, but he hadn't realized just how strong it was to be able to hold Unseen like that.

When Arachnid reached Unseen, Unseen looked up at him, fear in his eyes. "You aren't going to kill me, are you? You're a hero. That's not what superheroes do, right?"

Arachnid paused. "I'd love nothing more than to rip out your throat. Anyone who threatens my students deserves to be hanged. Unfortunately, I think that the NHA would be interested in keeping you alive so you can face justice. So I'm just going to have you take a nap."

Arachnid pulled the needle out of his belt and jabbed it directly into Unseen's neck, pushing down its back in order to inject the liquid into Unseen's system. Unseen gasped, his eyes widening in shock and pain, but then his eyes closed and he immediately stopped thrashing against the webbing. He now lay very still. If Bait hadn't know what that liquid did, he would have assumed that Unseen was dead.

Arachnid yanked the needle out of Unseen's neck, checked on him one last time, and then turned and made his way across the complex webbing toward Bait just as gracefully as ever. The web hardly even vibrated under his weight, even though Arachnid weighed about one hundred and ninety pounds.

"Wow, Arachnid, that was so awesome," said Bait as Arachnid approached. "I didn't know you could do that."

"The Web Blast?" said Arachnid, glancing around at the webbing everywhere. "Yes, I can do it, but normally I don't because it takes a lot out of me. It's best when you're in a small area dealing with multiple enemies at once or when dealing with an invisibility user like Unseen. Otherwise, I prefer being able to actually control who I hit."

Bait nodded as Arachnid climbed up to the tree branch holding up his netting and started cutting it with a knife in his belt. "Yeah, but it's still cool. Ever had to use that on any of your students?"

Arachnid chuckled. "Nah, but there have been a few times where I've thought about it. But it doesn't matter. Let me get you down from here and then I'll call the Headmaster and let him know about Unseen."

"Good idea," said Bait, raising his voice to be heard above the sawing noises Arachnid's knife made as it tore through his netting. "But we need to hurry, because I know where Switch is and I don't know how much time we have to save her."

Arachnid looked down at Bait suddenly, stopping his knife in mid-slice. "What do you mean, you know where she is? How?"

"I'll explain when you cut me down," said Bait. "But again, you have to hurry. The longer I hang here like a butterfly in a cocoon, the less time we have to save her from whatever Tsunami is doing to her."
CHAPTER NINETEEN

To Switch's surprise, they reached the coast of Rhode Island a lot faster than she expected. Although the trip had been long and boring, it also seemed to go by fast, though Switch had spent most of it asleep due to the fact that she didn't have anything better to do. Her super strength returned to her after about an hour after she was sprayed, but given that Phil had told her that it was impossible to reprogram the escape pod's coordinates once they were set, she had not seen any reason to take down Phil and try to escape.

The escape pod came to an abrupt stop, almost a jolt, and Switch was thrown from her seat onto the floor of the escape pod, where she banged her head against the metal floor.

"Switch, are you okay?" said Phil, who was now sitting in the second seat next to his, because Switch had ripped the straps off the first one. "Did you hurt your head? Are you bleeding?"

Switch sat up, rubbing her forehead. "No, I'm not bleeding, but I have a splitting headache and it's all your fault."

"My fault?" said Phil incredulously. "How is it my fault that you ripped the straps off your own seat and refused to sit down on another seat that did have straps?"

Switch did not have an answer to that question, so she made a disgusted noise and, looking at the window, said, "So, are we at Rhode Island or--"

She was interrupted by a loud, obnoxious robotic voice suddenly blaring over a speaker in the corner, "ATTENTION, PASSENGERS! ESCAPE POD NUMBER TWO TWO THREE HAS SUCCESSFULLY LANDED AT SEASIDE, RHODE ISLAND. PLEASE DO NOT GET UP FROM YOUR SEATS UNTIL THE ENGINE HAS TURNED OFF AND THE AIRLOCK HAS BEEN OPENED. THANK YOU."

The speaker turned off, but despite its warning about remaining seated until the engine turned off and the airlock opened, Switch rose to her feet and peered out the nearest window. She saw that they had crashed at a small beach somewhere on Rhode Island. Further up the coast, she could see trees and grass, but she couldn't see much due to the smallness of the window. She didn't see any people, however, or any buildings or anything to suggest that they were near civilization.

Switch looked at Phil, who was now undoing his leather straps. "Where are we? The speaker said 'Seaside, Rhode Island,' but I've never heard of the place."

"It's where I grew up," said Phil as he undid the last of his straps and stood up, stretching his arms and legs. "Only place I could think of to go to. I thought about going to Hero Island, but I was afraid that we'd be intercepted by the NHA's defenses and taken as prisoners. Plus, that's where Tsunami would expect us to go. On the other hand, he'd never expect us to go to some small coastal town in Rhode Island."

Switch frowned. "He will once I find a phone and call him."

"Good luck with that," said Phil. "Tsunami changes phones frequently. That phone number you originally used to contact him is probably no longer in use. I didn't bring my phone with me for that same reason. I didn't want him tracking us down. You might be able to find a phone in town, but you're assuming I'll just let you wander off and find one."

"Oh?" said Switch, turning to face him. "Now that we're on dry land, exactly how do you intend to keep me from doing exactly that?"

Phil held up the spray bottle of powerless gas. "This. I've still got plenty of gas left in case you try anything."

Switch scowled, but she didn't try to take the bottle from him. She knew he could spray her faster than she could disarm him, so she folded her arms across her chest. She would still try to find a way to escape him, but not until later. Maybe once they got to Seaside, she would find a way to slip away from him and escape.

Phil popped open the lid of the escape pod and exited first. Once he scouted the area to make sure no one was waiting for them on the outside, he turned around and gestured for Switch to come out as well. She climbed out of the pod and looked up and down the beach, but it was totally deserted, save for a seagull flying above the sea about a mile down the coast.

As Switch stepped onto the wet sand of the beach, she looked at Phil, who was looking out at the sea as if he expected a sea monster to rise up and attack them at any moment. Switch also looked, but she saw nothing except for the waves of the ocean and the sun glittering off the sea's surface.

"Where are we going to go?" said Switch, looking up at Phil. "Are we just going to take a long walk on the beach? I don't really care for that, you know."

Phil rolled his eyes. "We're going into town, to my parents' place specifically. Then I'll call the NHA and have them send some people to pick us up."

Switch's eyes widened. "The NHA? Why them?"

"Because you need to go back to school," said Phil, pointing at her. "Plus, I need to give them the information I know about The Atlantis. That way, they can track down and defeat Tsunami. Now come along. I don't want to stay near the water for too long in case Tsunami sent someone after us."

Switch looked back to the ocean and frowned. "I think it would take a long time for someone from The Atlantis to catch up with us."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean it's wise to stay by the sea, especially when dealing with Tsunami," said Phil. "Let's go. Seaside isn't far from here."

As it turned out, Phil was correct. Though Switch had initially believed that they were on a beach far from civilization, it took them only a few minutes of walking to reach the town of Seaside, which was on the other side of the trees standing along the end of the beach. Seaside was a very small, quaint-looking little town, the kind you would see on a postcard. Indeed, Switch had a hard time believing that the town was real due to how the houses looked so quaint, though when she spotted a McDonald's fast food place among the buildings, she had no trouble believing in its reality any longer. A small church steeple could be seen nestled among the rooftops.

"There it is," said Phil as they stood on the edge of the forest, pointing at the town not far from them. "My hometown. Looks the same as I remember it."

"It's nice, I suppose," said Switch. "But where is your parents' house? I don't see it."

"On the other side of town," said Phil. "Come on. It shouldn't take us long to get there if we walk fast."

Phil took off down the main highway, running along its shoulder, and Switch followed. Again, she considered simply turning around and running away, but given how she had nowhere to go, she just followed Phil. She was still hoping to find a phone in town with which she could call Dad. Despite what Phil said, she thought there was still a chance that Dad might have the same number as before.

It was not long before they came upon his parents' house. It looked no different from the other houses in Seaside. Two stories tall, with a red tiled roof and a blue exterior. It also had a small rose garden out front, with a garage to the side, though the garage was closed, which made it impossible to tell if anyone was at home.

Phil, however, didn't slow down. He just walked up to the front door and knocked several times, while Switch stood behind him with her arms folded across her chest. She looked up and down the block, but she didn't see anyone else outside today. Perhaps the people who lived along this block were at work or school. If so, that would explain why they hadn't seen anyone on their way to Phil's parents' house. That would also make it a lot easier to steal a car with which to get away. Switch had stolen cars before, under the tutelage of Mom, and she still remembered how to do it. The biggest problem would be sneaking away from Phil, because she knew he would not simply let her go without a fight.

"Huh," said Phil, peering through the window on the door. "I don't see them."

"You mean your parents aren't home?" said Switch, looking up at Phil.

Phil nodded, though without looking back over his shoulder at her. "Yes. They are probably on vacation or maybe went fishing. My father was a fisherman before his retirement, but he still loves to fish for fun."

"Then that means we can't get into the house," said Switch. "Which means we need to go back to The Atlantis and see Dad again. Don't worry about yourself. I'll just tell Dad that you temporarily went insane and he'll forgive you."

Phil looked over his shoulder at Switch skeptically. "Yeah, sure he will. Like how he 'forgives' disobedient minions. No, just because my parents aren't home doesn't mean we have to leave. I know where they keep the spare key."

Phil bent over and pulled out a small house key from under the 'WELCOME' mat in front of the door. He unlocked the door, but rather than enter the house, he stepped aside and gestured for Switch to go in first. Switch once again thought about running, but like before, decided against it and went into the house. Phil was right behind her, closing the door behind them almost before Switch crossed the threshold.

The house was not very well lit, but due to the fact that the windows were open, light spilled in from outside, letting Switch see despite the fact that all of the lights were off. It was a rather cozy home. A variety of large coats hung on the coat hanger on the wall to their left, while a rack with shoes and boots stood to their right. It smelled, like the rest of Seaside, a bit like the ocean, although it was a fresh scent rather than an old one. There was also a fishing rod set above the coats, which looked more like a trophy than an actual rod. At the end of the hall, a staircase led up to the second floor, though she did not see anyone up there.

"All right," said Phil, looking around. "Mom and Dad are definitely not around. Otherwise, the lights would be on. They don't have very good vision, so they usually have lights on in the house even during the day."

"Right," said Switch. "What are we going to do while we wait for them to come back?"

"Call the NHA, of course," said Phil. "The land line is in the kitchen, so I'll use it to call Hero Island and ask them to send a few heroes here. It shouldn't take them long to get here. Hero Island is located off the coast of New York, so I imagine they'll be able to get their agents here in just a couple of hours, if that."

Switch immediately reached toward him, but then Phil lifted up his spray can and aimed it threateningly at her. Switch paused and then pulled her hands back, holding them up in a pacifying way.

"Don't," said Phil. "Try that again and I'll make sure you stay powerless for more than an hour this time."

"Fine, fine," said Switch. "I was just testing your reflexes. Looks like you're good."

Inside, of course, Switch was cursing. She thought she might be able to get him this time, but Phil was a lot smarter than he looked. He clearly had no intention of letting his guard down around her, which meant that Switch might very well never see Dad again.

"Sure you were," said Phil skeptically. "Anyway, come with me into the kitchen. I'm not going to let you out of my sight until the NHA picks you up."

Phil grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her into the kitchen. Normally, Switch would have broken the neck of anyone who touched her that way, but given how Phil still had the powerless gas, all she could do was reluctantly follow him, though she still didn't make it easy for him.

The kitchen was slightly darker than the other rooms due to the fact that the curtains had been partially, though not entirely, pulled shut. They were cracked open just enough for Switch to see that the kitchen, like the rest of the cottage, was quaint and neat, with a small, old-fashioned wood stove and a fancy wooden counter, upon which sat a land line phone that looked positively ancient to her. Phil grabbed the phone and dialed the NHA's number, keeping his eye--and the spray bottle full of powerless gas--on Switch the entire time. Switch, however, just leaned against the counter, waiting for Phil to finish his phone call.

Finally, Switch heard someone pick up the phone, though she couldn't make out what the person on the other end was saying.

But she did hear Phil, who said, "Yes, hello. My name is Phillip Manifold. I'm calling from Seaside, Rhode Island to report a crime and request aid."

The voice on the other hand spoke again, though it was too muffled to make out its words, though the tone sounded like the speaker was asking a question.

"It's urgent," said Phil. "I'm currently on the run from a supervillain and I need--"

All of a sudden, Switch heard a small click on the other end as if the NHA person had just hung up on him. Phil pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it in confusion.

"What happened?" said Switch. "Did they hang up on you?"

"No," said Phil, shaking his head. "It sounded like the phone line was cut."

"Cut?" Switch repeated. "Are you sure it was cut? Maybe the connection broke 'cause we're all the way out in the boonies."

"No, the phone system normally works well out here," said Phil. He lowered the phone. "I think someone must have cut the line. But--"

He was cut off by a loud knocking at the front door, causing both Switch and Phil to look back in that direction. The knocking was incessant, almost to the point of insanity. Switch stepped toward it, but Phil put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Wait. Let me look out the window and see who it is first."

Phil walked over to the partially opened curtains and, pushing them aside slightly, peered out of them for a moment before abruptly jumping backwards, like he had just burned his hand on the stove.

"What's the matter?" said Switch. "Who is it?"

Phil looked over at Switch, dread on his face. "Tsunami's men. And they've got the whole house surrounded."
CHAPTER TWENTY

Bait sat in Headmaster Johanson's office, having just finished explaining what he learned to Headmaster Johanson and Arachnid. It hadn't taken long to do, partly because there wasn't much to tell, partly because Bait was in a hurry to rescue Switch and he didn't want to waste more time than was necessary to get to where she was.

Headmaster Johanson listened as well as ever, steepling his fingers, his lips turned in a frown. Arachnid, as usual, stood behind Johanson with his arms crossed, though like Johanson, Arachnid appeared interested, perhaps even more so than the Headmaster, in Bait's story.

"Interesting," said Johanson when Bait finished. "I did not know that the Blood Gems could be used to track each other like that. Did you, Arachnid?"

"No, Headmaster," said Arachnid, shaking his head. "I didn't. Truthfully, I didn't know much about them before Bait and Switch came to this school. I wonder what else they can do that we don't know about."

Bait shrugged. "Hey, I was just as ignorant about this particular ability as you guys until Mom told me recently. But I gotta agree, I wonder if Mom has kept any other facts about the Blood Gems away from me and Switch."

"I suppose we'll find out later on," said Johanson. "What matters is using your Blood Gem to locate Switch. Do you know where she is?"

Bait nodded. "Yes. She's in some kind of massive undersea submarine under the Atlantic Ocean. I can't be more specific than that, but I'm sure the Blood Gem will reveal more about her location the closer we get to her."

Johanson nodded, but said nothing. He looked as if he was thinking about Bait's story, which frustrated Bait, because he wanted to leave and save Switch now. With Unseen in custody and scheduled to be shipped out to Ultimate Max at some point, there was no reason to wait to leave any longer than they already had, in Bait's opinion. He would have said so, but he didn't want to behave disrespectfully toward the Headmaster.

"Very well," said Johanson. "We'll assemble a team of NHA and INJ agents to break into Tsunami's sub and rescue Switch. We'll also interrogate Unseen. He may be able to provide us with some further information about Tsunami and his plans for the Blood Gems."

"But that will take forever," said Bait. "I want to leave now, not later. Switch needs my help. Who knows what she's currently going through? She might be hurt."

"I understand that you wish to save your sister, but it would be foolish to act too quickly," said Johanson. "We know very little about Tsunami's sub or what kind of defenses he may have put in place to keep intruders out. Plus, it is deep beneath the sea, which will make it tricky to enter. There aren't too many superhumans with the ability to breathe underwater or withstand the crushing depths of the ocean."

"Lantern can," Arachnid said. "And Sea Slug, I think, though she is rather slow."

"Be that as it may, we will also need to alert the Leadership Council about this," said Johanson. "Tsunami is very high on the list of the NHA's most wanted supervillains. He is not the kind of supervillain who you rush to fight. You have to approach him with caution, because if you don't, then he will destroy you faster than you can blink."

Arachnid nodded. "Yes. Tsunami once killed a dozen NHA members all by himself. Rushing to fight him, especially underwater, is a fool's game unless you go in with a solid plan, a good team, and a backup plan in case your solid plan turns out to be less solid than you thought."

Bait bit his lower lip. "I know, but you still need to take me along. The Blood Gem's tracking ability doesn't work unless I use it. It's like it's trading ability. It can only work with someone who is related to Switch."

Bait didn't know if that was true or not. It seemed likely to him, given how the Blood Gems worked, but it was equally possible that its tracking ability worked for anyone who desired to use it. Mom had not specified; perhaps Bait would ask her about it the next time he saw her.

Johanson leaned back in his chair, a troubled look on his face. "I'm afraid you're right. I would prefer to keep you out of danger, but at the same time, I also know that you are our best bet for finding and rescuing Switch. So I think you are correct that you will need to go along with whoever goes on the mission to Tsunami's base."

"Then let's leave now," Bait insisted. "I'm ready to go. I can take care of myself. I'll just sneak in, get Switch, and leave."

"Weren't you listening to what we just said?" said Arachnid in annoyance. "We just explained why we need to be careful. Tsunami is dangerous, more dangerous than you would imagine. He's almost as dangerous as Nuclear Winter was, but unlike Nuclear Winter, Tsunami is still alive and capable of using his powers to cause tremendous damage. Or simply kill you, which he could easily do, given the distance between you and him in terms of power."

Bait's hands balled into fists, but he knew that Arachnid was right. There was no way Bait could get from the Academy to Tsunami's base quickly, especially because it was underwater. But he still felt an urgent need to go and save Switch. He sensed that they didn't have a whole lot of time left to save her. He wasn't sure why he felt that way, though, because as far as he knew Switch was still alive.

Maybe the Blood Gem is letting me know that she's in trouble, Bait thought, glancing down at the glowing stone on his chest. Wouldn't surprise me if that turned out to be one of its powers.

"If it will make you feel better, you could try locating her again now," Johanson suggested. "Just to make sure that she's still in Tsunami's base and that she hasn't been moved or anything. We'll have to ask you to do it again when the actual mission begins, but I think you should try again anyway just to make sure."

Personally, Bait didn't think it likely that Switch had been moved off the base, but he decided that it was better than sitting around feeling frustrated. Besides, maybe it would give him more information about Tsunami's base, which would help later on when they put together a plan to infiltrate it.

Closing his eyes, Bait visualized Switch in his mind again. This time, it was easier than before, and pretty soon he found himself floating above a house in a small coastal town. He had never been to this town, nor the house below, but somehow he knew that the town was called Seaside, that it was in Rhode Island, and that the house below him belonged to a Mr. and Mrs. Holmes Denning. He even knew what its address was, which he realized was due to the power of the Blood Gem, flooding his mind with all of the information he needed to find Switch.

But Bait didn't know why he was seeing this house. It looked nothing like the gigantic, palace-like submarine he had seen trawling the darkest depths of the ocean, nor did he see Switch anywhere around it.

But he did sense Switch inside it. He could feel her fear and worry, which he understood immediately when he saw who surrounded the house.

A dozen men--who wore sailor-like uniforms--stood around the house, surrounding it on all sides. They carried rifles and tridents with them, which was how Bait guessed they worked for Tsunami. Though he couldn't tell if any of the men had powers, he could tell that all of them know how to fight and that they were trying to get Switch.

She must have somehow escaped from Tsunami's underwater base, Bait thought in delight. And she's even back in the US! Maybe saving her will be easier than I thought.

But then Bait noticed that one of the men was trying to break down the front door, bashing it over and over again with the butt of his rifle. Some of the others were trying to open the garage, while others were trying to force the back door open. Though Bait still couldn't see Switch, he understood that not only was she in the house, she had no way to get out without fighting past these men, and that all of this was happening in real time.

Bait's eyes flew open and he looked at the Headmaster. "Switch's no longer on Tsunami's sub."

"Excellent," said Johanson with a smile. "Did she escape on her own? If so, she's more resourceful than I originally thought."

Bait shook his head. "No, NOT excellent. Tsunami sent armed men after her and they've got her cornered in a house in Seaside, Rhode Island. I don't know if she's by herself or not, but either way, the men will be able to overwhelm her with sheer numbers if they break in."

"Seaside, Rhode Island?" Arachnid repeated. "I've visited that town once. Nice beach."

"It doesn't matter if the beach is nice or not," said Bait. He rose from his chair. "We need to go there now and save her before they get her. We don't even need to put together a special team to do it. I didn't see Tsunami anywhere among his men, which means we won't have to fight him if we go there."

"Yes, but how do we get to Rhode Island before Tsunami's minions get her?" said Johanson. "Our planes and helicopters are far too slow to get there in a timely manner, nor do we have any teleporters on campus. Even if we left now and took The Arrow, it would still take a couple of hours to get there at least. The whole situation will likely be over by the time we get there."

Bait stroked his chin, thinking about Johanson's objections. He had a point. They had no quick, reliable way to get from Washington, D.C. to Rhode Island in time to save Switch. And even if they took The Arrow, Switch would likely be in Tsunami's hands again by the time they got there, or maybe even dead, if Tsunami really just wanted the Blood Gems.

Teleportation sure would be a handy power to have right now, Bait thought. If we could teleport to Seaside, we could reduce the trip from hours to minutes, if not seconds. But there aren't any teleportation users in the school, either among the students or faculty. And I can't think of anyone who--

Bait suddenly knew exactly who they could ask to teleport them to Seaside. He looked at the Headmaster and said, "Headmaster, I know how we can get to Seaside in time to save Switch."

"Really?" said Johanson. "What is your plan?"

"Call Brains," Bait said. "Tell him we need the help of his wife, Vanish. And do it quickly, because I don't know how much time we have left to save Switch."
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Though Phil looked horrified when he revealed that the people surrounding the house were members of Dad's crew, Switch let out a squeak of joy. She turned to leave, but before she could go to the front door and let Dad's crew in, Phil's large hand wrapped around her wrist and yanked her back.

"Just where the hell do you think you're going?" said Phil, raising his voice to be heard above the sounds of whoever was beating on the front door.

"To Dad's crew," said Switch, glaring at Phil. "You know, the ones Dad sent to save me?"

"Tsunami didn't send armed men to save you," Phil said. "He sent them to get the Blood Gem and kill me. Hell, they might even kill you just to make sure that they get the Blood Gem."

"You're a liar," said Switch. "You don't know what you're talking about. And I'm tired of listening to your lies."

Switch activated her super strength and yanked her hand out of Phil's grasp. Phil immediately raised his spray bottle at her, but Switch seized his hand and twisted it. A loud snap followed and Phil dropped the spray bottle onto the floor, crying out in pain as Switch snapped his wrist. He pitched forward, but Switch punched him in the forehead and he immediately collapsed onto the floor. His forehead bled where she hit him, but he didn't look dead, just unconscious.

I'll let Dad deal with him later, Switch thought. For now, I'm going to go see Dad's minions. I don't know how they got here so fast or how they located us, but it doesn't matter because soon I'll be with Dad again.

With a smile on her face, Switch rushed down the hallway to the front door. She yanked it open, nearly snapping it off its hinges, and said, in a cheery voice, "Hi! It's me! I'm so glad you're here. That Phil guy was a real jerk--"

The barrel of a rifle was shoved in her face, almost entering her mouth and making Switch shut up. She stared down the barrel, her eyes wide, at the sailor who held its other end. She recognized him as the dreads-wearing sailor she had seen among the crew of The Atlantis, more specifically, as a member of the janitorial committee whose job was to keep The Atlantis squeaky clean. She did not, however, remember his name, mostly because she had not bothered to learn the names of any of the sailors save for Captain Jacques.

"Whoa, there," said Switch, holding up her hands to show that she was unarmed. "Watch out where you aim that thing. It's just me, Switch. You know, the girl you were sent to rescue?"

She expected the sailor to lower his gun and apologize to her, maybe even get on his knees and beg for her forgiveness. Given how they called Dad 'Lord Tsunami,' it seemed only appropriate that they would treat her with the same level of respect.

Instead, however, the sailor growled, in a cruel voice, "Hand over the Blood Gem."

"What?" said Switch. She glanced down at the glowing purple rock in her chest. "You mean this?"

"That he does," said a familiar, sneering French voice from the side.

Captain Jacques stepped into view. Like the rest of the sailors, he carried a long, dangerous-looking rifle in his hands. Unlike the others, he held his with obvious expertise. Switch vaguely recalled that Jacques had once been in the French military prior to joining up with Tsunami, which meant that he had a lot of experience using and handling guns.

"Jacques?" said Switch, without taking her eyes off the barrel of the gun. "What is the meaning of this? I'm Lord Tsunami's daughter. Why is there a gun shoved in my face?"

"Because Lord Tsunami requested that we get your Blood Gem from you," said Jacques sardonically. "That's what Michael here meant when he told you to 'Hand over the Blood Gem,' though I would have used more refined language if I had said it."

Switch blinked several times. "You mean you didn't come to save me from Phil?"

"Ah, Phil," said Jacques, shaking his head in a fond way. "Yes, he will undoubtedly have to die for betraying Lord Tsunami, but Lord Tsunami insisted that our number one priority was retrieving the Blood Gem, even if that meant letting Phil get away. The Blood Gems are of extreme interest to Lord Tsunami and he would not be pleased if we failed to get them."

Switch bit her lower lip. "Why does Dad want them? What does he want to do with the Blood Gems?"

"How am I supposed to know?" said Jacques. "World domination, maybe. All I know is that Lord Tsunami wants them and that he doesn't react well to not getting what he wants. So you would be wise to hand over your Blood Gem without resistance."

Switch gulped. "Are you going to kill me even if I give you the Blood Gem?"

"I can guarantee nothing," said Jacques with a shrug. "Personally, I wouldn't mind putting a bullet in that spoiled little mouth of yours, but Lord Tsunami may still have plans for you. Why don't you just give me the Blood Gem and we'll see how I feel afterward?"

Switch could feel tears starting to form in her eyes. She couldn't really believe this. It was confirmation of everything Phil had told her about Dad and what he wanted. Dad wanted the Blood Gems so badly that he was apparently okay with his sailors killing his own daughter if that was what it took to get them. It was such a stark contrast to how Dad and his crew had treated Switch up until today that she never would have believed it, if she had not remembered the way Dad looked at her Blood Gem on her first day in The Atlantis.

She was rooted to the spot, unable to move or speak. Switch didn't really feel angry. Shocked and betrayed, yes, close to tears, yes, but not angry. Not yet, anyway. The anger would come later. Right now, she felt like her whole world had shattered underneath her and she was falling through the sky.

"Well?" said Jacques. "What are you going to do? If you don't do anything, we'll be forced to take the Blood Gem from you. I would rather not do that, because it could get quite messy, but Lord Tsunami's orders were to retrieve the Blood Gem at any cost. It would not be the first time I had to rough up a girl to get what I wanted."

Switch snapped out of her shock, but she still didn't speak. She had no intention of giving up her Blood Gem. She would rather die than hand over the only gift Mom ever gave her, especially because there was a good chance that she was going to die either way.

But Switch paused. With Michael's gun in her face, she was liable to get shot in the face if she was too slow. She needed to be fast.

"Dumb girl," said Michael in his low, guttural growl of a voice. "My trigger finger is--"

Michael did not get to finish his sentence, because Switch slammed the door in his face. At the same time, Switch fell onto the wooden floor, and just in the nick of time, because as soon as she fell, a hole was blasted in the door by Michael's gun being shot. Bits of wood flew out of the hole onto her, but Switch didn't wait. She just grabbed the shoe rack against the wall, pulled it in front of the door, and then got up and ran up the stairs to the second story even as Jacques and Michael shot the door. She knew the shoe rack wouldn't hold them off for long, but it would hopefully last long enough for her to escape.

Rushing up the stairs, Switch reached the second floor at the same time that the front door blew open. She caught a glimpse of Jacques and Michael rushing into the house, but she didn't stay to watch them come after her. She just tore open the nearest door and darted inside, yanking the door closed behind her and locking it, though she wasn't sure how long the lock would hold against Jacques, Michael, and the other members of Dad's crew. She could just hope that it would last long enough for her to figure out how to get out of here with her freedom intact.

The room into which Switch hid herself looked to be someone's bedroom, with a bed and dresser to her right and a mirror and closet to her left. She considered running into the closet, but then realized that she would just end up cornering herself, and hiding under the bed wouldn't save her, either. She did drag the dresser in front of the door, which weighed almost nothing thanks to her super strength, but she knew that even that wouldn't last forever against Tsunami's men.

Where should I go? Switch thought, looking around the room for an exit. There's got to be some place I can hide or run to.

Unfortunately, Switch was starting to realize that she had effectively trapped herself. The only possible escape from this room, aside from the door, was the window on the opposite side of the room. She could jump through it, but she didn't like the idea of jumping out of a window on the second story of a building.

But then she heard banging on the opposite side of the door and realized that Jacques and Michael were right behind her. With their guns, it would not be long before they managed to force the door open, so Switch rushed toward the window and, when she was just a few feet away, performed a flying kick and smashed through the glass as easily as if it was ice.

Bits of glass cut through her skin as she smashed through the window. She landed on the awning over the front porch and then launched off it and landed on the front lawn right in front of the house's rose garden. As soon as Switch landed, however, she found herself suddenly surrounded on all sides by about six sailors. Each one aimed their rifles at her, trapping her quite effectively. Switch looked this way and that, but could not see any gaps between them that she could use to escape. Even if there had been gaps, she knew she wouldn't have had time to exploit them, because the sailors would simply fire and kill her.

That was when she heard footsteps coming from inside the house and then Jacques and Michael rushed out of the house and across the lawn toward her. They apparently had not tried to follow her through the second story window.

"There you are!" said Jacques as he and Michael came to a stop just outside the circle of sailors surrounding Switch. "A tricky one, you are, but your tricks are up. We'll give you one last chance: Hand over the Blood Gem and live, or die like the pathetic girl you are."

Switch bit her lower lip. With her super strength, she could have beaten all of these men in a fight, but she was not bullet-proof and all it would take was one well-placed shot from just one of the sailors to kill her. It was times like these that Switch wished she had her nail bullets again. While they weren't as cool as super strength, they were certainly more practical against enemies armed with guns.

I don't have much time left, Switch thought. Jacques is going to order them to fire on me. I won't be able to dodge most of their bullets. All it takes is one bullet to the brain or heart to take me out for good. Maybe I should just give up. At least that way there is a chance I might still live.

But Switch resisted that idea greatly. She liked living, true, but she still felt deeply betrayed by Dad. He had ordered these men to take her dead or alive, revealing what he really thought about her. Even if the sailors let her live, that would mean nothing to her, because they might still take her prisoner and she would have to spend the rest of her life as the prisoner of her father who betrayed her. Even spending the rest of her life in that infernal Academy would be better than that.

Steeling herself, Switch looked Jacques straight in the eyes and said, "You can pry my Blood Gem from my cold, dead hands."

Jacques sighed. "As unreasonable as ever, I see. Very well. Men, fire."

Switch steeled herself for the bullets. She'd never been shot before (though she had been shot at plenty of times) and so didn't know what getting shot felt like. Mom had been shot once, though, and had told Switch that it felt like being punched by a champion boxer wearing a burning steel glove. Switch expected that being shot firing squad style would hurt even worse than that.

Right before the sailors could shoot her to death, Vanish suddenly appeared out of nowhere next to her. When Vanish appeared, Switch literally jumped in surprise and nearly tripped over her own feet, though she caught herself at the last minute.

"Hi, Switch!" said Vanish in her usual cheery voice. "Long time, no see!"

"Vanish?" said Switch, looking at Vanish in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to rescue you, of course," said Vanish with a bright smile. "Looks like I was just in the nick of time, too, given how these men look like they're going to gun you down."

Jacques--who had looked just as surprised at Vanish's appearance as Switch--shook his head and barked, "Shoot them both, you damn idiots! Now!"

Vanish suddenly grabbed Switch and pulled. In the next instant, Switch and Vanish stood on the front lawn of the house on the opposite side of the street from Phil's parents' house, which allowed Switch to see the sailors fire their guns. But since Switch and Vanish no longer stood in the center of the sailors' loose circle, the only people who got shot were the sailors themselves. Half of them fell to the ground, dead from bullets entering their hearts or heads, while the other half cried out in pain, dropping their guns and clutching their bloody, open wounds. The only ones who had avoided getting hurt were Jacques and Michael, who stared at their dead or dying companions with shock and anger.

"Ooo, that wasn't very smart of them," Vanish said. "Then again, in my experience, the minions of supervillains are generally not very smart."

Switch looked at Vanish and was about to ask her how she even found where she was before she heard a familiar voice shout, "Switch!"

Switch looked in the direction from which the voice came and saw two familiar people running toward her: Bait and Brains. Both looked about the same as she remembered them, except for Bait, who looked even more worried than he usually did, though he also looked happy.

Bait immediately hugged Switch, even lifting her off the ground, hugging her so tightly that she could barely breathe. "Sis! I'm so glad you're okay! When I saw those men with the guns, I thought you were a goner, but you're just fine!"

"Th-Thanks, Bait," Switch gasped. "But can you let me go? You're squeezing the life out of me and you don't even have your super strength."

Bait let go of Switch rather abruptly, dropping her onto her bottom on the ground. "Sorry about that. It's just that we've been apart for so long that I'm relieved to see that you're okay."

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Switch, dusting off her pants as she stood up. "Although you were hugging me so hard that I wasn't about to be."

Bait just smiled sheepishly, while Brains said, "Vanish and I are happy to see you're well, too. When we heard that you had been found, we dropped what we were doing and came to see you."

"Thanks," said Switch. She frowned. "But how did you find me in the first place?"

Bait opened his mouth to answer, but then she heard shouting from the house and looked over her shoulder. Jacques and Michael had apparently gotten over their shock at seeing their own allies take each other out, because they were now aiming their guns at she, Vanish, Bait, and Brains.

"You won't get away this time!" Jacques cried out. "And we'll kill your friends, too!"

But Brains held out a hand toward Jacques and Michael and balled it into a fist.

As soon as Brains did that, both Jacques and Michael immediately collapsed onto the ground with their eyes closed.

Switch put a hand over her mouth. "You didn't kill them, did you?"

"No," said Brains, shaking his head. He tapped his helmet. "I just used my powers to knock them out. They're also going to have massive headaches when they wake up, though, like how you feel when you get a hangover."

"Aw," said Switch, lowering her hand. "You should have killed them. They deserve it."

"They'll be tried in court like anyone else," said Brains. "Unfortunately, I can't say the same about their friends who killed themselves."

"I was just saying that the minions of supervillains tend to be stupid," said Vanish. "But yes, it's unfortunate because they won't get the punishment they undoubtedly deserve."

"Yeah," said Switch. She tore her eyes away from the bodies lying on the front lawn of Phil's parents' house and looked at Bait. "I don't know how you guys found me, but I'm glad you did anyway. Dad sent them to kill me and get my Blood Gem."

"No problem, Switch," said Bait. He patted his own Blood Gem. "As it turns out, our Blood Gems can actually be used to locate one another, which is how we found you. I'll have to show you how it works when we get back to the Academy."

Switch nodded. As much as she disliked the Academy, right now that didn't sound like such a bad place to be. At least it would be safer than this place. Right now, the last thing she wanted to see was Dad or any of his minions.

"And that is exactly where we are going to go," said Brains. "But first, I need to call the Seaside police and wait for them to show up and arrest these guys. I'll probably have the NHA send in some agents as well, because there's a good chance that these sailors will be able to help us locate Tsunami."

Vanish nodded, but then glanced to the east and her eyes widened. "Uh, honey? I don't think we'll need any help locating Tsunami."

"What?" said Brains as he, Switch, and Bait followed her gaze. "What do you--"

Brains abruptly stopped speaking, which Switch understood, because she herself was left speechless by the sight which she gazed upon in the east.

Beyond the houses and the tree line which separated Seaside from the ocean, a gigantic wave of water rose. It was huge, perhaps as tall as a skyscraper, and it seemed to be growing larger with each passing second. It grew so tall that it actually blocked out the sun. Though the sun's rays still shone through the water, they were considerably weakened, muting the colors of everything around them. Switch could even see fish, sharks, seaweed, and various other things inside the wave, apparently unaware of the fact that their little corner of the ocean had just risen up into the sky like a hand reaching for the moon.

And walking down the street toward them as casually as if he walked down this street every day was Tsunami himself.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Though Bait had never seen Tsunami before, he had no trouble recognizing him.

But what really struck Bait about Tsunami was not the massive wave of ocean water hanging over the town of Seaside like a puppet suspended over a stage, nor was it Tsunami's graceful movements or his massive trident. He didn't even find Tsunami's coral armor all that remarkable.

No, what really struck Bait was Tsunami's face: It was almost exactly like his own, just a few decades older and with a handful of graying hairs. His eyes, in particular, looked just like Bait's own. If Bait hadn't known any better, he would have assumed that Tsunami was his older self from the future, which was a ridiculous thought.

The reason his eyes stood out to Bait was because it confirmed, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Tsunami was his father. Yes, Mom had told him as much earlier that day, but Mom had a strong habit of 'massaging the truth,' as she used to say, or as Bait thought of it, outright lying in order to advance her own agenda. A part of him had hoped that Mom had been lying about Tsunami being his father, that when he saw Tsunami for himself, he would not see anything of himself in Tsunami.

That hope had been utterly crushed the second Bait laid his eyes on Tsunami.

We really do have two supervillain parents, Bait thought. And not just any old supervillains, but two of the strongest, most well-known supervillains in the world. Lucky us.

Tsunami stopped hundreds of feet away from them. He was even bigger than Bait thought, both in terms of height and in terms of width. His muscles looked almost as big as Bait's head, while he was almost as tall as the trident he carried.

Most importantly, however, was the sheer aura of confidence which radiated from Tsunami. It wasn't Mom's arrogance, which Bait was familiar with due to years of living with her. No, it was the confidence of a king who has won countless wars, crushed entire nations under his boot, and annihilated all of his enemies, successfully defending his throne from any and all usurpers. Even if a gigantic ocean wave had not been hanging above Seaside, Bait would have wanted to run away and never look back, just like he did now, because he realized that even if he, Switch, Brains, and Vanish worked together, their combined powers would be little more than a minor annoyance to Tsunami's godlike might.

"Hello, Jason," said Tsunami; his voice was just as regal as his appearance, if not more so. "You were a baby when I last saw you, barely a month old. Now you're almost a grown man. I imagine you must be popular with the girls. I looked just like you when I was sixteen and I never had any trouble attracting the opposite sex."

Bait opened his mouth to respond, but then Switch stepped forward and shouted, "You traitor! You never really cared about me at all! You just lied so you could get my Blood Gem! Your men nearly killed me on your orders!"

Tsunami actually cringed at Switch's high-pitched shriek. "Ah, you sound just like Ariana when you scream. She could also be very high-pitched when she wanted to be."

"I don't care what Mom sounds like when she shouts," Switch snapped. She pointed a finger at Tsunami. "You pretended to love me, but were planning to get rid of me the entire time. Don't deny it. I know the truth now."

Tsunami shrugged. "I suppose there's no point in denying it. Yes, I was primarily motivated by a desire for your Blood Gems to rescue you. That's why I had my servant, the invisible Unseen, put that note in your pocket a week ago now. I didn't particularly care much for being a father. If I had, I would never have left you two with your mother in the first place."

"Unseen's down," Bait said, before Switch could rant at Tsunami again. He jerked a thumb at his chest. "He tried to get me, but Arachnid beat him."

Tsunami sighed. "I can't say I'm surprised. Unseen's power was useful--perhaps one of the most useful I've ever encountered--but he was always careless. I warned him that invisibility was not the same thing as invincibility, but people must learn these lessons for themselves sometimes, I suppose."

"He's in the NHA's custody now," said Brains. "That means we'll find out all your secrets."

Tsunami smirked. "You honestly assume I was foolish enough to let Unseen in on my secrets? For being such an intelligent man, Brains, you certainly make some odd assumptions about me."

"It doesn't matter," said Brains. He pointed at Tsunami. "You are under arrest in the name of the Neohero Alliance. Any attempts to resist arrest will be met with equivalent force."

"Equivalent force, eh?" said Tsunami. He glanced up at the gigantic wave hovering above them. "I didn't know you had force equivalent to tens of thousands of gallons of water. Perhaps you also have tens of thousands of gallons of water to drop on me in retaliation."

"What are you even doing here?" said Bait. He gestured at the unconscious or dead sailors on the other side of the street. "We defeated your minions. How could you have known we would do that?"

"I didn't," said Tsunami. "I was actually coming to kill Phil, the sailor who originally took Switch away from my ship. I wanted to make an example of him; in particular, I was thinking of granting him the honor of being the first person to drown on dry land. That I ran into you four just as you defeated my minions is coincidence."

"What are you going to do with that giant wave?" said Vanish, glancing up at the wave apprehensively. "Drop it on us?"

"If necessary, yes," said Tsunami, nodding. "And trust me, it's much worse than it looks. If I let it fall, it will destroy this entire town and kill every man, woman, and child who lives here. Seaside will be completely wiped off the map. Only I will survive, though I must confess that I don't look forward to having tens of thousands of gallons of water dumped over me. This isn't a bluff. Just ask the people of California a few years back. I seem to recall wiping out a few coastal towns in that state a couple of years ago."

Bait gulped. He looked at the houses along the street and saw, to his surprise, that people were still in them. Some of them were hanging out of their windows, staring at the giant wave with pure terror, while others had stepped onto their front lawns or porches to see what was going on outside. A small dachshund tied to a tree in a house a block down was yapping in fear at the wave, while a teenager who looked to be about Bait's age was filming the entire scene on their phone, or maybe livestreaming it online. Bait didn't know, nor did he care, because he knew that the people of Seaside had no time to evacuate before Tsunami brought that wave down on everyone and killed them all.

"Why haven't you brought it down already?" said Switch. "You know we can't beat you. And if you would survive it, I don't see what you're waiting for."

Tsunami smiled. He held out a hand. "The Blood Gems. Both of them. Now."

Bait and Switch instinctively covered their Blood Gems with their hands in an identical protective gesture.

"No way," said Switch, shaking her head. "You can't have them. Mom gave them to us. They're ours."

"If that's your answer, then I suppose that's it," said Tsunami with another shrug.

The wave suddenly fell forward, but Bait quickly shouted, "Wait!"

Abruptly, the wave came to a halt, though it was now much closer to the town. What was disturbing about it was how not even one drop of water fell from the wave onto the town. It was a testament to Tsunami's power and control, that he could talk with them while also holding up tens of thousands of gallons of water in the air.

"Yes?" said Tsunami. "What is it? Will you give me the Blood Gems after all?"

Bait gulped again, but said, "Why do you want the Blood Gems in the first place? What do you want to use them for?"

Tsunami frowned. "Why do I want them? Interesting question. Why are you asking it? Will you give me the Blood Gems if I tell you?"

"Maybe," said Bait, "though I don't see why you don't just kill us and take them from our bodies yourself."

"Bringing this wave down on you would certainly kill you both, but it would also sweep your bodies away, along with the Blood Gems," said Tsunami. "Because I'd rather not spend the next few weeks or months searching the ocean floor for your corpses, I thought it would be easier to have you two voluntarily give them over to me."

"And if we do?" said Bait. "Will we be allowed to live?"

"Of course," said Tsunami. "Trust me, Jason, I don't want to kill you or your sister. I don't even particularly want to kill Brains and Vanish. I just want the Blood Gems. If I could get them without killing anyone, I would do it."

Bait found that hard to believe, given the massive ocean wave that hung over the town, but he decided not to say that aloud. Instead, he said, "Tell us why you want them first. It's not like you can use them."

Tsunami's smile returned, except this time it was far more sinister. "Who says I can't?"

"What, with us?" said Bait. "I don't see why you would want to trade powers with either me or Switch. Your powers are way stronger than ours. We're like ants in comparison to your abilities."

"When did I ever say I wanted to trade powers with either of you?" said Tsunami. "Trust me, I don't need super strength, nor nail bullets. The world's oceans are at my command. There's no contest, as you pointed out."

"Then who do you want to trade with?" said Bait. "Answer that."

Tsunami leaned on his trident, an amused look on his face. "No one. I want all the powers of the world. I wish to become a truly unstoppable force of nature, and I can only do that if I have the Blood Gems."

"What?" said Bait, exchanging a confused look with Switch. "What do you mean, you want all the powers of the world? That's not how the Blood Gems work. You can only trade powers with other superhumans who are related to you, and even then it's only one at a time. I mean, maybe if you had more Blood Gems you could trade with more people, but there are only two, so--"

Tsunami chuckled, but his chuckle quickly turned into full on, mad laughter. What was most disturbing about the laughter was the way it caused the wave above to vibrate, as if the ocean was laughing with Tsunami. Bait half-expected Tsunami to lose control and let the entire thing fall on them anyway, but the wave never wavered, nor did it draw any closer to Seaside.

"I see that Ariana omitted the true power of the Blood Gems when she trained you in their usage," said Tsunami, his voice mad with glee. "Not that I'm surprised. Ariana was always a cold, calculating bitch. I imagine she must have wanted to use their power for herself at some point, which would be just like her. May she and her rotten soul rot in prison for the rest of her life."

"Mom didn't lie to us," said Switch, folding her arms in front of her chest. "She didn't hide anything from us, either."

"Well, she did forget to tell us about the way that the Blood Gems can locate each other," said Bait with a shrug, "but she never mentioned the Blood Gems themselves doing anything like what you said."

"Then allow me to explain," said Tsunami. He stopped leaning on his trident and stood upright, his amused grin never leaving his face. "Tell me, my children, where did Ariana say she got the Blood Gems from?"

"Adam Lucius Plutarch," said Bait promptly. "She said that she stole them from him before he became president."

"And, pray tell, where did he get them?" said Tsunami.

Switch scratched the back of her head. "Some Egyptian jewelry dealer, I think. I don't know. Mom didn't tell us and we didn't ask."

"More lies from Ariana," said Tsunami. "Do you know where she really got them from? I'll give you a hint: Brains and Vanish are members of the organization which once held them."

"Do you mean the NHA?" said Bait. He looked at Brains and Vanish. "Is that what he means?"

"He must," said Brains, though he sounded as confused as Bait felt. "But I don't know what the NHA has to do with the Blood Gems."

"Same here," said Vanish. "Until Bait and Switch enrolled in the Superhero Apprenticeship Program, I didn't even know the Blood Gems existed."

"It matters not what you two know," said Tsunami. He spread his free hand, like a king indicating the entirety of his kingdom. "The point is that the Neohero Alliance obtained the Blood Gems almost thirty years ago, not long after Hero Island itself was created. And it was on Hero Island where the Blood Gems were kept, their existence a secret known only to the Leadership Council and its members, plus a handful of veterans and retired members sworn to secrecy."

"Really?" said Switch. "But if the NHA had 'em, how did Mom get them? Hero Island has never been invaded by a supervillain before, at least not successfully."

"No, it has been successfully invaded by a supervillain before," said Bait. "Remember? Mom is the only supervillain who has ever successfully broken into Hero Island and gotten away with it. She even killed a superhero, Silver Wind, on her way out." He looked at Tsunami. "But Mom always told us that she had not stolen anything from there. Said that it was too much trouble due to all of the superheroes gathered there. That's why she had to leave without taking anything."

"Yet another lie," said Tsunami. "Tell me, my children, when did Ariana give you the Blood Gems? Ten years, wasn't it? Which was also around the same time that Ariana successfully broke into Hero Island, yes?"

Bait nodded, though deep down he was horrified by the implications. "Yeah, it was. I just thought that Mom had maybe stopped by Plutarch's headquarters on her way back from Hero Island and stole the Gems just to make up for not getting anything from the NHA."

"Ariana is a liar," said Tsunami. "Always has been, always will be. She lies about everything to everyone. It's part of the reason I abandoned her. Let me give you some fatherly advice: Lies are never a good foundation for a healthy relationship."

Bait bit his lower lip. He didn't want to admit it, but Tsunami's reasoning was sound and the evidence fit. Brains and Vanish looked confused, but Bait figured that those two were not high enough up in the NHA's hierarchy to have known that particular fact about Ariana's Hero Island heist.

"But why would the NHA not tell us that?" said Vanish. "I was on Hero Island at the time, so I remember how tense everything was, but Omega Man assured everyone in the emergency meeting afterward that nothing had been stolen. He said that the only thing that had happened was that Electrica had killed Silver Wind and caused some property damage, but nothing else aside from that."

"Then Omega Man lied to you as well," said Tsunami. "Not surprising. Those who sit at the seats of power tell many lies to their lessors. They say it is for the greater good, but mostly, it is to consolidate their own power."

"Omega Man would never lie to us," said Brains. "He's an honest man, one of the most honest I've ever known. And I should know, because I can read minds and I've never sensed any guilt from him."

"There are ways to block unwanted telepathy from your mind, you know," said Tsunami. He shook his head. "Regardless, the point is that Ariana stole the Blood Gems from Hero Island and gave them to Jason and Grace. And now I want them for myself so I can use their true power to become a force of nature."

"Still haven't explained that, I noticed," said Bait. "Or are you just going to keep rambling about how the NHA has lied to us?"

"I am getting to that point," said Tsunami. He waved a hand at Bait and Switch, clearly indicating them. "Through my own research, I've discovered that the Blood Gems can do more than simply allow blood-related superhumans to trade powers with each other. When brought together, the Blood Gems can also allow you to steal powers from other superhumans and add them to your own."

"Steal?" Bait repeated. "That's impossible. Superpowers are genetic. You can't steal them."

"Not exactly," said Tsunami. "Not long ago, there was a teenager superhuman not much older than yourself who developed the ability to steal powers from other superhumans. Of course, his ability actually allowed him to merely copy and suppress the powers of others, rather than truly stealing them, but the point is that it isn't as far-fetched an idea as you might think."

"And how do you know that the Blood Gems actually allow you to do that?" Switch said. "Maybe that's just another lie or maybe someone misinformed you."

"Oh, no, it's real, all right," said Tsunami. "The source I obtained that information from was a member of the G-Men, a veteran agent who was there when the NHA first obtained the Gems themselves. I captured him and interrogated him until he told me what the Blood Gems can do. It's why the NHA got them in the first place; they didn't want that kind of power floating out there in the world where 'supervillains' such as myself could get them. Personally, however, I think the NHA merely wished to keep such a powerful weapon to themselves in order to secure their power against any superhuman uprisings against their own dominance over the superhuman community."

Bait looked at Brains. "Is he telling the truth?"

"I don't know," said Brains. "I'm trying to read his mind, but he's blocking my powers. He has some sort of telepathic barrier set up in his mind to keep me from reading it."

"In this day and age, any intelligent individual would have such a barrier," said Tsunami. "Regardless, I have no doubt that the information given to me is accurate. And I want them so I can steal the powers of every superhuman on the planet to become a truly unstoppable force of nature, to become a literal god."

"Does Mom know about this?" said Bait. He rubbed his Blood Gem without looking at it. "Did she know what the Blood Gems could do, if brought together?"

Tsunami shrugged. "I have no idea. Ariana is a woman driven by greed and pride. I imagine she stole the Blood Gems purely to show that she could break into even Hero Island and steal from the NHA itself without being caught. I would be quite surprised if she knew this, though it doesn't matter if she does or doesn't, given how I will be able to get the Blood Gems regardless."

Bait actually agreed with Tsunami about that, though secretly, he thought that Mom might have known about it, too. She had, after all, known about the Blood Gems' ability to locate each other without telling anyone about it. Given Mom's penchant for keeping secrets even from her own children, there was a good chance that she had kept this secret from them, too.

But that didn't matter right now. All Bait cared about was how the hell they were going to keep Tsunami from getting the Blood Gems. He rubbed his Blood Gem again, feeling its smooth, warm surface, but knew that there was very little he or any of them could do to keep Tsunami from forcefully stealing the Blood Gems from them if he wanted.

"Now that we are all on the same page, I demand that you give me the Blood Gems," said Tsunami, holding out his hand. "As I said, I'm perfectly willing to let all four of you leave, alive and unharmed, if you give me both of the Blood Gems."

Vanish suddenly put her hands on Bait and Switch's shoulders, causing Bait to look at her. She was not looking at either him or Switch. Instead, she was glaring at Tsunami, as if trying to make him melt on the spot from the sheer heat of her hatred.

"We could teleport these two out of here, you know," said Vanish. "And we might just do that, because we superheroes never make deals with supervillains like you."

"You could, but I don't think the inhabitants of Seaside would like that very much," said Tsunami. He gestured at the wave hovering above them. "If you run away right now, I'll bring this wave down on the entire town and kill everyone within it. True, you four will get away, but then you'll have to live with the knowledge that your own selfishness lead to the deaths of thousands of people, knowledge that you superheroes usually can't live with."

Bait looked around the street again. Most of the people who were out on the street or peering out of their windows looked horrified by Tsunami's threat. One person even shut their window and closed their curtains, though Bait didn't see how that would keep them safe from the force of tens of thousands of gallons of sea water crashing down on them all at once.

Vanish's grip on Bait and Switch's shoulders tightened for a moment, but then she loosened and took her hands off them. She looked frustrated and close to tears, causing Brains to drape an arm around her shoulders and pull him close to her. He whispered something reassuring to her, though Bait couldn't hear it due to how quietly Brains spoke.

"Now, unless you wish to keep babbling about the creative ways you will cause me to kill everyone, give me the Blood Gems," said Tsunami. He looked at Bait and Switch, somehow staring at them both in the eyes at the same time. "Make your choice. Or find out what it is like to take the full force of the ocean head on."
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

More than anything, Switch wanted to run over and beat the crap out of Tsunami (she didn't think of him as 'Dad' anymore, not after his betrayal). Tsunami was strong, but Switch still had her super strength, and she figured that she could break his spine if she just hit him hard enough. She might just mash his skull into pulp for his crimes. If that would cause her to be sent to Ultimate Max, then so be it. At least she'd be with Mom, who hadn't tried to kill her, unlike Tsunami.

But Switch knew that she couldn't do that. If she tried to run over and take him out, Tsunami would simply drop the ocean onto Seaside and kill every man, woman, and child in the town. Switch figured that she would likely die instantly. She didn't know much about how much water the average human body could handle at once, but she knew that even her super strength would not save her from the tidal wave which towered over them like an ancient tree about to fall over in a forest.

Yet Switch also didn't want to give her Blood Gem over to Tsunami. She had no idea if his long spiel about using them to steal the powers of every superhuman in the world was true or not. Nor did she. The Blood Gems were the only gifts that Mom had given them. There was no way in hell that Switch would ever voluntarily give up hers, because it was the only connection to her old life that she still had. And she knew that Bait, for all his desire to be a goody two shoes, would never give up his, either.

But if we don't, Tsunami is going to kill us all and get them anyway, Switch thought. Then again, I wonder if the Blood Gems would be crushed by the weight of all that water. Even if he killed us, he might end up screwing himself out of the Gems by destroying them.

There was no way to know for sure, however. It was equally possible that the Blood Gems would survive the crushing pressure of the ocean, allowing Tsunami to retrieve and use them as much as he wanted. Besides, Switch liked living and didn't want to die young. After all, didn't the phrase go something like 'The good always die young'? She certainly didn't think of herself as 'good,' necessarily, so she didn't think that she needed to die young.

But we still need to figure out what we're going to do, Switch thought. And I don't know how long we have before Tsunami loses his patience and kills us all.

Switch looked at Bait. Bait was staring at Tsunami, his hands balled into fists and shaking slightly. He looked every bit as conflicted as her, maybe even more so, given how he genuinely wanted to be a hero, though there was no heroic choice in this situation as far as Switch could tell.

"Got any ideas, bro?" Switch muttered, keeping her voice low enough so that Tsunami could not hear them.

Bait shook his head slightly. "None whatsoever. Tsunami has us trapped. Either we give up the Blood Gems--and thus give him the weapons he needs to take over the world--or we refuse and he kills us and gets the Gems anyway. I'm starting to see why Mom hates him."

"No joke," Switch said. She glanced up at the wave hanging over the town. "That wave is the problem. We do anything wrong, he'll kill us all of us before you could say 'Dad is a traitor who needs his head removed from his shoulders.'"

"Agreed," said Brains suddenly. He still had his arm around Vanish's shoulders, but unlike Vanish, he still kept a strong face. "We're lucky that Tsunami hasn't already brought the wave down on us. I'm thinking he might be worried about the effects his wave could have on the Blood Gems, though I don't know how much longer he'll hold it up."

"Hopefully long enough for us to come up with a plan to stop him," said Bait, shaking his head. "But I agree, if we could get rid of the wave, we... could..."

Bait's voice trailed off, but Switch understood. She'd seen him like this before. He always trailed off mid-sentence whenever a possible solution to a problem suddenly presented itself to him. She couldn't read his mind, of course, but she still knew he had something figured out.

That was why she wasn't surprised when Bait looked at her and said, "I have an idea."

"Absolutely not," said Brains abruptly. He was looking at Bait as if Bait had just suggested that they jump off a cliff together. "That's suicide and you know it."

"What?" said Switch. "He hasn't even said anything."

"I read his mind," Brains said, tapping the side of his helmet. "Now I didn't see all of the details of his idea, but I got the gist and it's insane. It will kill not just us, but everyone in Seaside, and maybe even people in the nearby towns, too. I can't support it."

"It's also the only idea we've got," Bait said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "And, while I do respect you and your authority, Brains, I don't hear any ideas coming from you or Vanish. At least my plan, if it works, has a chance of us saving Seaside and defeating Tsunami."

"If is the operative word here," said Brains. "As a member of the NHA, I have a responsibility to keep you students safe. And letting you try that plan is the very definition of putting teenagers like yourself in needless danger. Not just you two, actually, but the entirety of Seaside and much of the surrounding area. It's too dangerous."

"You know, as much as I love being left out of conversations, we can't read minds and find out we're even talking about," said Switch. She gestured at herself and Vanish. "Mind telling us womenfolk what you two are talking about?"

Bait glanced at Tsunami, perhaps to make sure he wasn't listening, and then leaned toward Switch and whispered, in a very low voice that Switch strained to hear, "Here's my plan: One of us gives Tsunami a Blood Gem and then the other one quickly trades powers with him. The one who trades with him can then push the wave back into the ocean, while everyone else attacks Tsunami."

Switch's eyes widened in shock. "Are you sure that will work? What if Tsunami has anticipated we might do something like that?"

"I doubt it," said Bait, his voice still a whisper. "It's too risky. He thinks that because we're superheroes, we would never do anything to risk the lives of innocent people. And Brains is right that this plan would put the lives of lots of people at risk, though not any more than are already in danger."

"It's still stupid," Brains said. "Even if one of you manage to steal Tsunami's powers, there's no way you could keep the wave from crashing down. It takes years of practice to reach Tsunami's level of control over his powers. It would be like having a lightweight bodybuilder go from lifting five pounds to five hundred in one day. It won't work."

"Maybe, but what if it does?" said Bait. "I'm aware of all the dangers inherent in the plan, but the alternative is letting Tsunami have our Gems, and we know we can't let him do that."

Brains sighed. "Bait, I know you want to do the right thing and all, but sometimes, you just can't win. Sometimes, you've got to let the bad guy get away, otherwise more people will get hurt than if you didn't. I don't like it myself, but this is a lesson you need to learn if you're going to become a superhero."

"I know you can't always win, but if there's even a slight chance we could win, I say we take it," said Bait. "What do you think, Switch?"

Switch glanced at Tsunami again, just to make sure he wasn't going to drop the wave on them abruptly. Tsunami still stood exactly where he had been standing for the last few minutes, though he did look a little impatient, as if wondering how much longer they were going to whisper furiously about what they would tell him.

Switch was normally a very impulsive girl--even she could admit that much--but Bait's plan seemed ridiculously dangerous to her. She had no interest in becoming a superhero herself and, on some level, didn't even really care about the inhabitants of Seaside. But she did know that Tsunami would kill her and Bait in addition to the people of Seaside if they didn't give over their Gems or if their plan failed, and Switch, again, didn't want to die.

But also, Switch didn't want to give up her Blood Gem to Tsunami. Even if Tsunami let them live, Switch wasn't sure that she would be able to live with herself if she gave him the Blood Gem. It would be a betrayal toward Mom, giving up the only gift she had ever given them. And Switch had already decided that she would not betray Mom, no matter what.

So Switch looked at Bait and said, keeping her voice low, "Let's do it."

Bait nodded and looked at Brains. "Brains, you and Vanish can leave if it doesn't work out. There's no reason for you two to stay here and die with us if the plan fails."

Brains looked like he wanted to argue against them, but then he reluctantly nodded and said, "All right. But be careful. Tsunami may be your father, but he's also one of the world's most powerful supervillains and is exceptionally clever."

"Don't worry," said Bait. "I know that. Come on, Switch. Let's save the day."

Switch rolled her eyes at Bait's cheesy line, but she nonetheless followed him toward Tsunami. The two of them walked side by side down the street toward Tsunami. Most of the people in Seaside had gone back into their homes now to hide from the wave. Only a handful looked out their windows and an even smaller number of them stood out on their front porches or lawns, looking from Bait and Switch to the wave and back again. Switch paid them no attention, however. She was too nervous about their incredibly risky plan to care what a bunch of random strangers were doing.

Tsunami, on the other hand, watched them approach with a deep look of satisfaction on his face. "I see you two have decided to give me the Blood Gems after all. I knew you would. Being my children, you've inherited my intelligence, which you've used to realize that you can't win. It's really a win-win situation when you think about it. Now the inhabitants of Seaside won't have to die."

Switch didn't see what was so win-win about giving Tsunami the ability to rule the world, but she didn't say anything. She could sense that Bait wanted her to keep her mouth shut, because Tsunami still didn't seem to guess what their plan was. As long as Tsunami continued to believe that they were going to give him their Blood Gems, their chances of success were high.

But not high enough, Switch thought. It all depends on whether one of us can push back the wave. Because if we trade powers with him and we can't control the water... well, I probably shouldn't be thinking about that.

When Bait and Switch stopped in front of Tsunami, Tsunami's grin had become massive. He looked as happy as a child waking up on Christmas morning, ready to rush downstairs to the Christmas tree to open the presents Santa left him. It was an ugly expression, one that made Switch hate him more than ever.

"Quiet, eh?" said Tsunami. He held out his hand. "Doesn't matter. Just give me your Gems and then this will all be over and we can all go home."

Switch reached up to remove her Blood Gem from her chest, but before she could even touch hers, Bait ripped his out of his chest compartment and slammed it down on Tsunami's open hand. He then closed Tsunami's hand around it and shouted, "Do it now, Switch!"

Though surprised by Bait's sudden move, Switch didn't hesitate. She focused on her Blood Gem and sent her purple light flying out. At the same time, the orange light in Bait's Blood Gem shot out. The two lights crossed each other in midair before landing in their respective Gems at the same time.

As soon as the orange light landed in Switch's Blood Gem, she staggered backwards, gasping in pain. Taking Tsunami's power was completely unlike taking Bait's power whenever they traded. It felt like someone had replaced a double A battery with a nuclear-powered battery that could power a whole city. She felt both more powerful than she ever had in her life and yet in more pain than she had ever felt in her life, as well.

As for Tsunami, he cried out in shock and staggered backwards as well, though more out of surprise than pain. He dropped Bait's Blood Gem, which clattered against the pavement of the street underneath them. That would have been a good opportunity to go in for the kill--and, indeed, Bait took that moment to shoot a few nail bullets into his chest--but at the moment Switch had no attention for Tsunami, because she heard water rushing toward them and looked up to see the wave--now no longer being held up by Tsunami--falling toward them like a waterfall.

Without even thinking, Switch raised her hands toward the water and put all of her focus into holding it up. She could actually feel the water, even though she wasn't physically touching it, and when she reached out toward it, she nearly fell to her knees. The weight upon her hands and shoulders was immense. It reminded her of squatting in Gym class back in the Academy, when she once tried to squat 250 pounds, but this was so much worse. It felt like a million pounds had been deposited on her hands and shoulders, as if she was standing on the ocean floor being crushed by the water itself.

Nonetheless, she somehow managed to keep it from crashing onto the town, although it was now much closer than before. Not only was it closer, but Switch couldn't keep it as solid as Tsunami. As a result, droplets of water fell down like downpour from storm clouds. Her hair stuck to her face and she was soaked through almost immediately. The water was so thick that she could barely even see.

"Help!" Switch screamed. "I can't... hold it up... much longer..."

That was when two strong hands suddenly grabbed her elbows, steadying her arms, and felt strength flow into her arms. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Bait standing behind her, supporting her arms with his hands. He was just as soaked through as her, his short hair splattered against his skull, but he didn't look tired or afraid.

"Don't let go, sis!" Bait shouted, raising his voice to be heard above the veritable rain falling all around them. "Push! Push back as hard as you can! Push it all the way back into the sea!"

There was no way Switch could do that, nor could she tell Bait that. Until she got Tsunami's powers, she didn't realize just how hard it was to use. She was starting to think that Brains was right, that this plan had been doomed from the start, and that she and Bait and everyone in Seaside were going to die.

No, Switch thought, though even that thought was almost too much. I'm not going to let Tsunami win. I will never let him win. I... will...

"Not!" Switch shouted aloud, thrusting her arms upward with all of her strength.

Abruptly, the wave flew backwards. It rose back into the air the way it came until it fell backwards back into the sea like a falling building. The crashing of the water back into the sea was deafening, even though they were several miles away from the beach. The ground even vibrated slightly, while the last of the 'rain' splattered against the pavement and front lawns of the homes lining the streets. A few fish even landed on the ground, including a shark that fell with a thunk onto the roof of a nearby house, where it started flopping uselessly against the shingles.

But Switch paid attention to none of that. Even though the pressure of the ocean was no longer on her, Switch was too tired to stand. She would have fallen over face-first onto the street, but Bait caught her and gently lowered her to the street instead.

"There, there, sis," said Bait, "don't move, now. You did a good job. I knew you could do it."

Switch coughed, but managed to smile up at him anyway. "Of course... of course I did. What, did you think I couldn't handle a little bit of water?"

Bait rolled his eyes, but before he could say anything, the sound of clapping and cheering suddenly filled their ears. Switch managed to raise her head and look around and was surprised at what she saw.

People were pouring out of their houses, standing on their lawns or in the streets, clapping and cheering Bait and Switch. Even those who stayed in their houses were leaning out of their windows or standing in their doorways, whooping loudly and clapping like madmen. One old lady was hanging so far out of her second story window that she looked like she was about to fall out if she wasn't careful.

"What... what are they cheering on?" said Switch, looking up at Bait in confusion. "Brains and Vanish?"

Bait shook his head slowly. He was smiling now, too, even wider than Switch. "No, sis. They're cheering us. They think we're heroes. Real heroes."

"Heroes, huh?" said Switch, her voice soft due to her exhaustion. She looked around again and nodded. "I think I could get used to this."

Then, without warning, Switch laid her head back and fell unconscious.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

When Switch fell unconscious, Bait gently laid her on the street. He felt proud of her for having saved Seaside. It had been a long time since he could genuinely say that, but he now thought that Switch deserved every bit of sleep she wanted.

Bait rose to his feet and waved at all of the people. He couldn't believe it. He had dreamed about this day, ever since they started attending the Academy two months ago, but he had thought it would be years before the people would see him as a hero on par with such legends as Omega Man or Genius. He was now starting to think that maybe the road to superheroism was a lot less rocky for him and Switch than he originally believed.

But then an orange light flew past Bait, while a purple light passed him as well. He looked down and saw the purple light enter Switch's Blood Gem, which meant that Switch had her super strength again.

But if she has her super strength, then that means--

The sound of heavy footsteps slapping against the wet pavement made Bait look up. Tsunami was walking toward them, albeit with a limp due to the fact that Bait had riddled him with nail bullets when Switch traded powers with him. Blood leaked out of his chest and legs, but Tsunami didn't even seem to notice. He did, however, pick one nail bullet out of his shoulder and toss it aside, heedless of the blood that gushed from his wound when he did that. Like Bait and Switch, Tsunami was soaked as well, which had caused his blood to wash over his skin and give it an unhealthy red tinge. He also held Bait's Blood Gem in his hand, which was now glowing orange, though he tossed it aside as he approached Bait.

"Very... clever plan, Jason," said Tsunami in a heavy voice. He sounded as if he had to force out every word. "I should have seen it coming, but it never occurred to me that you two would do something as crazy as that. But I shouldn't be surprised. That's exactly the sort of plan Ariana would have come up with if she had been in this situation. She always took insane risks like this, and they always paid off. That's why I loved her."

Bait took a fighting stance. Though Tsunami was clearly badly wounded, the fact was he had his water powers back. It seemed unlikely that Tsunami would attempt to flood the town again, but that didn't mean Tsunami would not try to use his powers to do something else instead. "Well, she is our Mom, after all. It makes sense we'd take after her more than you."

Tsunami, however, stopped and shook his head quickly. "No, I see plenty of myself in you, Jason... or Bait, as I should call you, given how you've rejected me. Not just physically, but mentally. You may not see it yourself yet... probably won't for a while... but you are just like me when I was your age. Like me, you have great potential, potential you choose to squander trying to be a 'hero.' You and your sister."

"Don't you hear the people cheering on me and Switch?" said Bait, gesturing at the people all around. "We are heroes."

"Even I know there's more to being a hero than receiving the praise of our inferiors," said Tsunami. "But it doesn't matter. If you join me, I promise to unlock your true potential and make you far more powerful than the Academy could ever hope to make you."

Bait shook his head. "After everything you did, you think I'm stupid enough to believe that you don't want to kill me or steal my powers? As Switch would say, get lost."

Tsunami sighed. "I expected you to say that, because I would have said that myself at your age." He raised a hand. "Because you've made your choice, I will kill you here and now. I can still do that, even in my weakened state, because my powers make me far more than a mere enhanced mortal. They make me a god."

The moisture on the pavement began to move. The people stopped cheering, stopping instead to watch with dread as Tsunami used his powers. Bait knew what the people were thinking. They were thinking about how their hopes had been crushed, how they were going to die after all, and that Bait and Switch's sacrifice had been for naught.

Guess we're not going to be heroes after all, Bait thought, staring at Tsunami, defeated. No matter how strong we get, no matter how smart we are, Tsunami is simply better. Maybe he is a god after all.

All of a sudden, someone broke from the crowd of paralyzed onlookers. It was one of Tsunami's sailors, though Bait didn't know who this one was. Bait thought that the sailor was going to try to help Tsunami in some way. Tsunami must have thought the same thing, because he glanced over, a smile of triumph on his face as his minion approached.

"Ah," said Tsunami with a smirk. "It looks like not all of my men were killed, after all. Tell me, sailor, what's your name and how do you intend to help me destroy my disobedient children once and for all?"

The sailor came to a stop before Tsunami and, panting, put his hands on his knees. That was when Bait noticed a spray bottle filled with some kind of strange yellow gas in his back pocket, which Tsunami did not seem to notice, because his focus was on the sailor.

"Well?" said Tsunami. "I demand that you identify yourself, for I am your leader, your god."

The sailor suddenly looked up at Tsunami, but instead of looking at him with respect and reverence, he wore an expression of hatred and vengeance.

"I'm Phil," said the sailor. "And you are not my god."

Without hesitating, Phil pulled the spray bottle from his back pocket and sprayed its contents all over Tsunami's face. Tsunami gasped, staggering backwards as he inhaled the powerless gas and coughed like a smoker. But Phil didn't let up. He just held down the button until the entire bottle was empty and Tsunami's face was lost in the gas.

"Now, kid!" Phil shouted at Bait. "Get him! This is your chance!"

Bait broke out of the paralyzed induced by his surprise and rushed toward Tsunami. He made the distance in five paces before he jumped the rest of the distance and landed in front of Tsunami. Tsunami pulled his head out of the cloud and gasped for air, but Bait pulled his fist back and smashed it directly into the side of Tsunami's head.

Tsunami immediately collapsed onto the street, where he lay as still as a corpse.

As soon as it became clear that Tsunami was down for the count, the people broke into cheers and clapping again. This time, the cheers and clapping were even louder than before. It felt like they were being cheered on by a crowded football stadium, rather than the inhabitants of one small street in a tiny Rhode Island town on the East Coast of the United States.

Panting, Bait lowered his fist and looked at Phil. "Thanks, man. You saved us."

"Don't mention it," said Phil as he tossed the now-empty spray bottle aside. "I've been meaning to do that to that jerk for as long as I've worked for him. That that gave you an opportunity to knock out his lights was a happy coincidence, as my mom would have said."

Bait smiled. He looked around at the people again, waving at them once more. He wished that Switch was awake to see this for herself, but he supposed that he would tell her about it when she woke up again back in the Academy, where they would be safe.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

One week later...

When the clock hit midnight, Switch got out of her bed, put on her costume (making sure that her Blood Gem was securely attached to her costume's chest piece), and made her way out of her dorm, moving past her sleepy roommates as stealthily as a cat, and left the dorm itself without making a sound. She did not, however, make her way to the gates or to the fence, because she had no intention of trying to leave the school anymore.

Instead, Switch made her way to the school's gym, which was located on the other side of the campus. It was normally locked during the night, but the lock in question was fairly simple to pick, so Switch had taken to heading to the gym during the night and working out there. She liked to work out at night because it meant she had the gym all to herself; plus, she still secretly enjoyed sneaking around the campus at night. It was a habit she had gotten into and it was not one she would break easily, despite her change of opinion of the school. She briefly considered dropping by Bait's dorm to wake him up and see if he wanted to work out, too, but decided against it.

Bait needs his beauty sleep, after all, Switch thought. And the goody two shoes would probably just report me to the school for being out of bed during curfew. No sense of adventure, that one. Makes me wonder if we really are twins or if one of us was switched at birth.

Upon reaching the gym, Switch picked the lock and entered, making sure to close the doors behind her quietly to avoid alerting any midnight guards to her presence. She did, however, turn on the lights, though only one. She didn't want anyone outside to see the lights on and come to investigate.

The gym smelled of sweat and metal, a combination that Switch enjoyed. She decided to start off with some squats, so she made her way over to the squat rack. Just as she bent over to put the heavyweights on it, she heard a voice behind her say, "Can't sleep?"

Switch whirled around and almost fired her nail bullets, but stopped when she saw Arachnid. He was perched on top of the squatting machine as casually as if he did that sort of thing every day. Switch hadn't heard or even noticed him when she entered the gym, but given how quietly Arachnid could move, she supposed she shouldn't have been surprised.

"No," said Switch, shaking her head. "I've just gotten in the habit of waking up at midnight to try to sneak out of the school that I still do it, even though I don't want to leave. So I've taken to working out. It's better than lying in bed trying to force myself to go back to sleep, after all."

Arachnid chuckled. "So you mean this isn't part of some kind of elaborate plan to break out of the school? Darn. I thought you were up to your old tricks again. I noticed you sneaking across campus, so I followed you because I thought you were trying to escape again."

Switch shook her head and leaned against the squat rack. "No, I'm going to stick around with Bait, I think. Mom and Dad are both in prison, after all. It's not like I have anywhere to go."

Arachnid tilted his head to the side. "I sense that that's not the main reason you're staying around, is it?"

"You know me too well," said Switch. "Fine. I liked the way the people of Seaside cheered on me and Bait when we beat Tsunami. I figured I would get more of that if I stayed in this school and trained to become a superhero. Praise is pretty addictive."

Arachnid chuckled again. "Figured as much. You're not the kind of girl to do things out of the goodness of your heart. Just like--"

"My mom, yeah, I know," said Switch. "Tsunami kept telling me that all the time on The Atlantis. I don't need to be reminded of it anymore, thanks."

"I thought you idolized your mom," said Arachnid. "Are you souring on her as well?"

"No," said Switch. "It's just... well, I'm my own person. I don't want to be just like Mom anymore. Not if Mom was the kind of woman who Tsunami fell in love with. I'd rather be a different woman, a better one, if you catch my drift."

"I do," said Arachnid. "But I'm going to miss your midnight escape attempts. Even though they usually interrupted my sleep, I started to look forward to them every night, because I always liked seeing what new ways you would come up with to break out of this school. Now you're boring."

Switch frowned. "Boring? Bait is boring. I'm interesting. Bait just wants to be a hero because 'it's the right thing to do.' I want to be a hero because of the praise heroes receive. And just because I'm not trying to break out of the school anymore doesn't mean I'm going to be boring. I'll be the most interesting student in the school. Count on it."

"I certainly am, Switch, I certainly am," said Arachnid in an amused voice. "Well, I suppose I'd better get back to my room. I won't report you to the school for breaking into the gym, but try to do it during the day instead, when it's supposed to be used, okay? I don't want you getting into needless trouble with the Headmaster because you can't keep yourself from sneaking around after dark."

Surprised by Arachnid's generosity, Switch nonetheless said, "Uh, okay, Arachnid, um, sir. This will be my last midnight excursion to the gym from now on."

"Excellent," said Arachnid. "Now get those squats in. You've got track tomorrow morning and you're going to need strong legs to keep up with your classmates."

"Yes, sir," said Switch. She turned back to the squat rack, but then remembered something, and looked over her shoulder and said, "Um, teacher--"

But Arachnid was gone. She looked around wildly, but saw nowhere he could have disappeared to.

He can be kind of creepy sometimes, Switch thought as she turned to face the squat rack again. But also kind of cool, too. Maybe he's not such a bad teacher after all.

With a smile on her face, Switch began putting the weights on the barbell. She would not spend much time at the gym. Once she got her squats in, she'd go back to her dorm and get up early tomorrow morning for her first class. She would need to, after all, if she was going to become a famous superhero everyone loved some day.

And that was always a reason to smile.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

The next day, Bait sat out on the Cafeteria steps at lunch, munching on his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He was looking at his phone, scrolling through news article after news article about the Seaside event. He had already read a million and a half articles about it ever since last week--and watched at least as many YouTube videos about it--but he just couldn't get over the fact that he and Switch had defeated a real supervillain.

And not just any supervillain, Bait thought, sipping from his can of cola as he scrolled through his phone. But Tsunami, one of the world's worst supervillains. How many kids can say they did that?

Scrolling past the articles and their headlines, Bait thought about everything that had happened since that fateful day in Seaside a week ago. This past week had seemed like a blur to Bait, but he nonetheless remembered everything that had happened well.

After punching out Tsunami, Bait and Switch had been transported back to the Academy by Vanish. Brains had stayed behind, partly to keep an eye on Tsunami and his minions, partly to tell the Seaside police what happened. Brains had also called the NHA, who sent a dozen agents just to apprehend Tsunami and haul him to Ultimate Max, even though Tsunami had been powerless thanks to the gas that Phil had sprayed in his face. Right now, Tsunami was in Cell Block Z of Ultimate Max, which was also the same Cell Block that Mom was in, though as far as Bait was aware, they did not share a cell. That was probably for the best; the two of them would probably kill each other if they were alone in a room together, and probably destroy Ultimate Max itself in the process.

Tsunami's minions had also been arrested, but because they were normal humans, they were just put into prisons for normal criminals. Unfortunately, Tsunami's massive undersea palace/submarine hybrid, The Atlantis, was still out there somewhere with the remainder of Tsunami's crew on it. But Brains had informed Bait that the NHA and INJ were both looking for it, sending out their water-themed heroes into the Atlantic Ocean to search for it. Bait wasn't very worried about it, though. With Tsunami in jail, The Atlantis was mostly harmless. It helped that the Academy was landlocked, which meant it would be hard for any of Tsunami's remaining crew to attack the school to avenge him.

The only member of Tsunami's crew to avoid jail was the one named Phil, who helped to take him down in the first place. It was for that reason that Phil was allowed to walk free. He was also the one who saved Switch, which increased Bait's respect for the man. Last Bait heard, Phil was staying with his parents in Seaside, which Bait only knew because Switch was still in contact with him. It seemed to Bait that Switch had a crush on Phil, but he learned very quickly not to bring it up around her, because she didn't react very well to being teased like that.

News of Tsunami's defeat and arrest spread across the Internet like wildfire. By the next morning, it seemed like everyone and their dog knew about how Bait and Switch had defeated Tsunami. It helped that the entire event had been captured on camera by one of Seaside's inhabitants, who had used a smart phone to record the battle and post the video online, where it immediately went viral due to Tsunami's infamy. As a result, Bait and Switch both had plenty of fans and admirers now, with plenty of people outright stating that they hoped that the two of them would join the Young Neos someday. It was incredibly flattering, Bait had to admit, and he had saved more than a few of the nicer comments to read whenever he got depressed or sad.

Most amusingly, the mainstream media had given Bait and Switch the nickname of 'The Tag Team Twins.' A few reporters tried to get 'Seaside Superheroes' trending, but most people seemed to like Tag Team Twins best. Bait agreed. It was a cool name, though Switch claimed it was cheesy and embarrassing and hated it whenever Bait or anyone else used it around her.

Even their fellow students in the Academy changed their tune on Bait and Switch. While a good chunk of them still clearly didn't trust them, those people kept their feelings to themselves, while the people who liked Bait and Switch were loud and expressive about their feelings. More than once, Bait received a random high five or pat on the back from the male students, while more than a few female students would smile at him or even ask him if he was single, and sometimes fights would break out during team sports over who would get him and Switch on their teams. He didn't know how the other students were treating Switch, but he liked the attention he was receiving. It was better than being scowled at or distrusted, at least. The faculty treated him and Switch a lot better, as well.

In fact, that was why Bait was sitting out on the steps of the Cafeteria for lunch today, because everyone kept calling him over to sit with them at their table and he just couldn't decide where to sit. Switch had also gone outside, but he didn't know where she was now. Perhaps she had gone to the gym, because she had been spending a lot of time there recently and it seemed to be her favorite place on campus now.

As for Brains and Vanish, they'd been praised, too, though they didn't get as much attention as Bait and Switch. Brains did, however, tell Bait that he planned to investigate Tsunami's claims about the Blood Gems, because if they were true, that left some disturbing implications about the NHA which Brains could not ignore. Bait didn't know how Brains' investigation was going, but he hoped it was going well, because he was also interested in knowing where, how, and why the NHA had obtained the Blood Gems in the first place and why Omega Man had lied about Mom's attack on Hero Island ten years ago.

All in all, life seemed good to Bait. He and Switch still had a long way to go, of course, before they became real superheroes, but he thought they were off to a great start and he couldn't wait to see what awaited them in the future.

All of a sudden, Tommy sat down next to Bait on the steps. "Hi, Bait! Mind if I have lunch with you?"

Snapped out of his thoughts, Bait nodded and scooted over to make more room for Tommy. "Sure, Tommy, no problem. I'm out here because it's getting kind of crazy in there and I need some room to breathe."

"I know, right?" said Tommy as he took a bite out of his pizza slice. "But you shouldn't be surprised. You beat Tsunami, after all, one of the most dangerous supervillains ever. Literally none of the other students here have even fought a supervillain, much less beat one and saved an entire town in the process."

Bait shrugged. "I didn't do it all on my own. Switch helped."

"Yeah, you're right," said Tommy. "I saw that video of you and her pushing that water back. It was really cool, though I'm surprised Switch managed to keep that wave from falling on the town."

Bait nodded. "I've thought about that as well. When I touched Switch, it felt like she was drawing on my own strength to push it back. Could be just my imagination, though."

"Could it be the Blood Gems?" said Tommy, glancing at Bait's Gem on his chest. "Maybe that's one of their powers."

Bait rubbed his Blood Gem absently. "I'm not sure. It didn't feel like the Blood Gems. It felt like--"

The doors to the cafeteria behind them flew open suddenly and Derek Powers stepped out. He was followed by his two friends, Jack and Boyd, who looked a lot better than they did when Bait beat them up two weeks ago, although he noticed that they were hiding behind Derek as if afraid Bait might jump up and attack them again anyway.

"There you are," said Derek, looking down at Bait. "I was told you were out here, but I wasn't sure. Looks like that girl with the braces was right, eh, guys?"

Jack and Boyd both nodded, though again, neither said anything.

Bait lowered his sandwich, while Tommy moved down the steps a couple of feet as if to put more distance between himself and Derek. Bait, however, stayed where he was and looked up at Derek in annoyance.

"What do you want, Derek?" said Bait. "If you want a rematch, I'm sorry, but I'm not interested."

"Rematch? Nah, bro, nothing like that," said Derek, waving off Bait's comment. "I just wanted to congratulate you on beating Tsunami. That was awesome."

"Wait, what?" said Bait in confusion. "You mean... you don't hate me and don't want revenge?"

Derek shook his head. "Nope. The only reason I hated you before is 'cause I thought you were just like your mom, but I guess I was dead wrong. Right, guys?"

"Yeah, you sure were, Derek," Boyd said. "Wronger than you were on your Ethics test this week."

"Shut up, Boyd," said Derek in annoyance. He looked down at Bait again and held out a hand. "So, um, want to put our old fights behind us and be friends?"

Bait blinked, but nonetheless reached up and shook Derek's hand. "Sure, Derek. I'd rather be your friend than your enemy, anyway."

"Same here," said Derek as he pulled his hand back. "Well, guess I'll see you later. I'm eating with my girlfriend today, but maybe we can hang out at my dorm later. Got some new video games we could play."

"Sure," said Bait. "Sounds like fun. I'll be there after my last class this evening."

"Awesome," said Derek. "See you later."

With that, Derek turned and went back into the Cafeteria, along with Jack and Boyd, who hurried behind him like they were trying to outrace a fireball.

"Huh," said Bait, turning to look at Tommy. "That was weird."

"I'll say," said Tommy, who was literally shaking, though it was more of a tremble. "I thought Derek was going to pick a fight with you again. Maybe he's a cooler guy than I thought."

"Maybe," said Bait with a shrug. "At any rate, I'll make sure he doesn't bully you anymore, Tommy, so you can relax now."

"O-Okay," said Tommy, though he was still trembling. "But I'm not going to relax around him until he asks me to be his friend. Can you ask him to leave me alone from now on?"

Bait chuckled. "Sure thing, Tommy, sure thing."

With that, Bait resumed eating his sandwich. He had no idea what the future held for him and Switch, but for the moment, it was looking quite bright, brighter than he would have thought possible even just two weeks ago. He smiled at that.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Headmaster Arnold Johanson started at the knock on his door. He had been in the middle of reviewing Arachnid's weekly report on the school's security and had gotten deep into it, so deep that he hadn't even noticed the knock at his door until it became more like a bang, as if whoever was on the other side was trying to break down the door itself.

Confused, Johanson looked at the calendar on his wall, but he did not see any appointments for this time scribbled in, nor had Irma, his secretary, scheduled anything for him. Nonetheless, someone was there, knocking on the door incessantly, as if they wanted to get inside above all else.

Lowering the report, Johanson said, "Please come in. The door is unlocked."

The door opened suddenly and a man in a knight-like suit of mechanical armor stepped inside, closing the door behind him on his way in. Two glowing blue eyes peered out from the knight-like helmet, while a long, sharp sword hung from his belt, though Johanson knew from experience how quickly the newcomer could pull out his sword in a pinch.

"Councilman Mecha Knight?" said Johanson in surprise. "What are you doing here? I thought you were on Hero Island overseeing the activities of the Young Neos."

Mecha Knight--a veteran NHA member and one of the current members of the NHA Leadership Council--walked over to Johanson's desk. "My apologies, Arnold. I was in a bit of a hurry and I didn't have time to call ahead of time to let you know that I was going to be here. I left High Fly to keep an eye on the Young Neos while I made this emergency trip here so the Young Neos are not unsupervised."

Johanson chuckled. "High Fly isn't much older than those youngsters himself, you know. I bet they're already throwing a huge party and he's probably got a lampshade on his head or something."

"No doubt," said Mecha Knight as he sat down in the chair on the opposite side of his desk. "But I didn't come here to discuss High Fly's immaturity. I came here to discuss what happened at Seaside last week."

Johanson frowned. He had been dreading this moment. Given the revelations Tsunami made at Seaside, he had expected someone from the Leadership Council to come knocking eventually. Aside from a brief phone call with Omega Man on the day of the attack itself, Johanson had not heard anything from the Council about it. But he knew that just because he had heard nothing from them did not mean that the Council was not furiously debating how to approach the issue.

Still, Johanson did not know exactly what Mecha Knight wished to talk about, so he said, in a casual voice, "Yes, Bait and Switch were both quite brave in the face of Tsunami, braver than even many adults I know. Already, we've received a ton of new applications for enrollment in the school for next year from youngsters inspired by their efforts. I imagine we'll need to build some more dorms to keep up with the demand."

"I'll discuss that with the Council at our next meeting," said Mecha Knight. "But that's irrelevant to what I wish to discuss. I want to talk about what Tsunami said about the Blood Gems. You remember, don't you?"

Johanson shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I wasn't there, but Bait and Switch told me separately what Tsunami said about the Gems. They now know that the Blood Gems were once in the possession of the Neohero Alliance before their mother stole them from us, though they don't seem to know how, why, or where we got them from in the first place."

"As it should be," said Mecha Knight. "That is knowledge that the Leadership Council has labeled top secret for a reason, as you very well know. Still, I'm disturbed that Tsunami knew so much about it."

"They claimed that Tsunami spoke to someone in the G-Men about it," said Johanson. "Said that a G-Men agent told him about the Blood Gems."

"I doubt it was Cadmus," said Mecha Knight. "He's untrustworthy, but never talks to supervillains. It must be one of the older agents, though who, I can't say."

"The G-Men were involved in the original acquisition of the Blood Gems, correct?" said Johanson. "They helped the NHA to get them."

Mecha Knight snorted. "'Helped' is an optimistic way of putting it. If the G-Men hadn't interfered, fewer people would have died that day. And Cadmus knows it."

"Right, right," said Johanson. "Still, with Tsunami in prison, the Blood Gems are safe, yes?"

"For now," said Mecha Knight. "But I've heard rumors that Brains and his wife, Vanish, are trying to uncover the truth about what happened on that day when Electrica attacked Hero Island. I have not spoken with Brains myself since the Seaside incident, but knowing his intellect and curiosity, it wouldn't surprise me if it turns out to be true."

Johanson gulped. "That's not good. If they find out the truth about what happened back then--"

"It would damage the organization," said Mecha Knight. "Maybe even destroy it entirely. Yes, I know. That's why I am going to have someone keep a careful eye on both of them and report their activities to me and the Council. Omega Man has made it clear that the truth about Electrica's attack on Hero Island must never become public knowledge. You were there when he told us that."

"Yes, I was," said Johanson. "Are you also going to take the Blood Gems away from Bait and Switch? Not that I want you to, but perhaps the Academy is no longer the safest place for the Blood Gems anymore."

"No, I'm not," said Mecha Knight. "The Council has decided that, with Tsunami in prison, the Blood Gems are safer in Bait and Switch's hands than on Hero Island. But we could still change our minds about that, depending on whether someone else tries to steal the Blood Gems again."

"Don't worry, Mecha Knight," said Johanson. "I have beefed the Academy's security considerably since the Seaside incident. Not even a mouse will be able to sneak onto the campus without my knowledge. Bait and Switch--and the Blood Gems--will be safe."

"Good to know," said Mecha Knight. "And neither Bait nor Switch are aware of their true power yet, yes?"

"Yes," said Johanson, albeit reluctantly. "I think Switch got a taste of it when she briefly traded powers with Tsunami back in Seaside, but I don't think she quite realizes what happened."

Mecha Knight stood up. "And, with luck, neither she nor Bait ever will. The less the world knows about their true potential, the better. There are many evil people in the world who would have no qualms with using a couple of teenagers as living weapons. Tsunami himself is a good example of that."

"Agreed," said Johanson. "Now, about Brains and Vanish, what will you do to them if you catch them doing something against the NHA's rules? Revoke their membership licenses?"

Mecha Knight was quiet for a long while before he said, "We'll see. Anyway, that's all I needed to talk with you about. I have to leave now and make sure that High Fly didn't accidentally burn down the House while I was gone. See you later."

With that, Mecha Knight turned and left the office. As soon as he was gone, Johanson leaned back in his chair and sighed.

Mecha Knight didn't show it, but I could see that he was tense, Johanson thought. He's afraid that the deepest, darkest secret of the Neohero Alliance will be uncovered. He's afraid of what that will do to the NHA and to the trust it has built up among its membership.

But mostly, Johanson thought, Mecha Knight was afraid of what it would do to him. If the truth of what Mecha Knight did on that day got out, then he would suffer more than anyone else. That was why Mecha Knight did not want anyone else to know about what happened back then.

But Johanson knew. He knew what really happened that day and had sworn an oath never to reveal the truth to anyone. He just wondered how much longer he would have to keep that oath, however, and whether he or any of the members of the Leadership Council would survive its consequences.

Shaking his head, Johanson returned to Arachnid's report, though he was less focused on it now, because Mecha Knight's words were still on his mind.

Bait and Switch better not let themselves get wrapped up in Brains' investigation, Johanson thought. For their sake, I hope they are content to pursue their studies and attend their classes, because if they aren't, then their superhero careers will be quite short.

-

Read on for more titles by Lucas Flint and a preview chapter of Tag Team, the next book in the series!

I hope you enjoyed my little tale. Please don't forget to give this book a quick review wherever you bought it. Even just a two-word, "Liked it" or "Hated it" review helps so much. Positive or negative, I am grateful for all feedback from my readers.
PREVIEW:

Tag Team

Chapter One

Having never been on a field trip before, Switch--real name Grace Greggs, daughter of two of the world's most infamous supervillains, and a student at the Theodore Jason Academy for Young Superhumans--didn't know much about them. She was aware, via pop culture, that they usually involved a class of students going to some place for 'educational' purposes, such as a museum or historical site, with a teacher or two to chaperon. Students usually looked forward to them, because they were a good excuse to get out of class and see more of the world. Sometimes they could even be genuinely interesting and educational, but having little firsthand experience herself, Switch couldn't really say for sure.

But one thing Switch was sure about: Most field trips didn't involve the students getting ambushed by a group of mysterious supervillains who called themselves the Neo-Visionists.

Crouching low behind the Museum's gift shop counter with her fellow students, Switch peeked over the top. She saw a flash of flame cross the atrium, followed by a thwip of web, and then someone screaming in pain. She even thought she caught a glimpse of their chaperon, Arachnid, swinging across the atrium and kicking one of the Neo-Visionists in the face, but then someone grabbed her arm and yanked her down to the floor harshly. She looked in annoyance at the person who had grabbed and saw that it was her twin brother and fellow Academy student, Bait.

"What was that for?" said Switch, rubbing her arm. "I was just looking."

"You heard Arachnid," Bait said without even sounding apologetic. "He said we need to keep our heads down. He doesn't want us to get hurt."

"Oh, come on," said Switch. "We're perfectly safe in this gift shop. Besides, what's the problem with looking? I want to see Arachnid kick those idiots' asses."

"Stray blasts have been known to kill people in these kinds of superhuman fights," Bait said, shaking his head. "Including other superhumans. Lots of superheroes have died because they thought it was safe to just 'look.'"

Switch folded her arms across her chest. "How do you know that? You don't have much more experience fighting supervillains than I do."

"Because, unlike you, I actually pay attention in our History and Combat classes," Bait said. "You know, the classes we need to take in order to become actual superheroes? The ones you keep complaining about?"

Switch opened her mouth to argue, but then Tommy--another one of their classmates, who didn't yet have a code name like them--leaned forward and whispered, in a harsh hiss of a voice, "Can you two keep it down? I don't want those Neo-Visionists to overhear us and find us while Arachnid is distracted."

Tommy's eyes were wide and round with fear behind his glasses. Behind him, the other students who had come along on the field trip were huddled together near the shelves full of coffee mugs, postcards, and other things you usually found in a gift shop. There were about a dozen in all, each one with a superpower of their own that they were learning to use, though you wouldn't have guessed it by the way they all acted like scared little kittens.

"So what if they hear us?" said Switch. She punched her fist into her other hand. "We can take these losers. If Bait and I can beat Tsunami, then we can beat these guys easy."

The sound of cracking marble made the students jump, but when it became clear that the floor outside of the gift shop had cracked and that they were safe, Bait leaned toward her and said, in a harsh whisper, "You know that we got lucky that time. If we try to 'help' Arachnid this time, we'd just get in the way because he'd get distracted trying to protect us."

"We're perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves," Switch said. She tapped the glowing orange stone on her chest. "And with our Blood Gems, those Neo-Visionists idiots won't see our unorthodox fighting style coming."

"It doesn't matter if we can take care of ourselves or not," said Bait in annoyance. "Arachnid says we need to sit back and let him deal with it. I promised him we'd keep the other students safe."

Switch glanced at the other students--who were all watching her and Bait with fear in their eyes--and then at Bait again. "So what? They'll be safe here even if we leave. And besides, I thought you were the one who wanted to fight bad guys and be the hero, yet you're the one saying we should stay in here and hide like cowards."

Bait sighed. "There's more to being a hero than running around beating up bad guys, you know. Sometimes, the most heroic thing you can do is stand back and protect those who can't protect themselves. It's not cowardly."

Switch opened her mouth to argue the point, but then thought better of it. Bait could be very stubborn whenever he wanted to be. Trying to convince him that they should go out and help Arachnid defeat the supervillains who had ambushed them was tantamount to trying to convince the tide to stop coming in. Once Bait set his mind on something--especially if you could convince him that it was what a 'real' superhero would do--he didn't budge, no matter what.

But Switch was going to figure out a way to fight the Neo-Visionists one way or another. When she first started attending the Academy, Switch had had no interest in becoming a superhero, but ever since defeating Tsunami a month ago, Switch now wanted to become a superhero just as much as Bait, if not more so. She loved the praise and admiration that superheroes got every time they saved the day and she wanted some of that for herself.

I bet that's why Arachnid told us to hide in here, Switch thought, listening to the sounds of battle raging just outside the gift shop. He wants all the glory for himself. Well, I'm sure he cares about us, too, but he probably still wants the glory for himself and not for a bunch of kids.

Earlier today, Switch, Bait, and ten of their fellow Academy students, along with their chaperon Arachnid, had come to the Museum of Superhuman History in Washington, D.C. The Museum had opened in 2010 and chronicled the history of superhumans in America, starting with the first appearances of confirmed superhumans in 1986 and going on to present day. The field trip was chaperoned by Arachnid, who was currently fighting the Neo-Visionists by himself. The field trip was supposed to be part of their History class, helping them to better learn and understand more about the history of superhumans and how they lived in America. The reason their History teacher didn't come was because she got sick and couldn't come with them, though Switch wished she had, because Arachnid needed all the help he could get to fight the Neo-Visionists.

The field trip had been pretty boring at first, mostly because Switch found history of any sort boring, but when they reached the gift shop, their class was suddenly attacked by a group of supervillains calling themselves Neo-Visionists. They had come seemingly out of nowhere, locking down the Museum and threatening to kill any Museum visitors or employees who tried to fight them.

But these Neo-Visionists hadn't realized they were up against Arachnid, one of the strongest and most vicious teachers in the Academy. As a result, Arachnid had challenged them to a fight while ordering the students to hide in the gift shop. This also gave a chance for the other Museum visitors and workers to run and hide or call the police, though Switch didn't expect the police to show up anytime soon due to how slow they were.

Switch didn't know very much about these 'Neo-Visionists,' as they called themselves. She seemed to recall a History lesson about a superhuman cult called 'Vision' that had infiltrated the NHA once before it was rooted out by a superhero named Bolt, though she didn't know if these Neo-Visionists were related to the old Visionists or not. Nor did she care. Regardless of their origin or their ideology, these Neo-Visionists had threatened her life and needed to be stopped before they harmed or killed innocent people.

And we could help Arachnid beat them, if only Bait wasn't such a coward, Switch thought, glancing at Bait with a scowl. Honestly, even if it was just the two of us working together, we could beat those Neo-Visionists with no problem. Maybe the other students can't help, because they've never fought a supervillain before, but we can. After all, I seriously doubt that these Neo-Visionists are anywhere near as strong as Tsunami was.

But Switch knew that if she tried to leave, Bait would use force to make sure she couldn't. And not just ordinary force, either. Bait had super strength, super strength he was more than willing to use to hold her down if necessary. He would claim it was for her 'protection,' but Switch knew that Bait was just too afraid to actually go out and fight.

I need a way to distract him, Switch thought. Some opportunity to--

A loud scream from outside the gift shop made all of the students jump, except for Switch, who quickly peered over the top of the counter to see where the scream had come from.

Through the gift shop's front windows, she could see a girl--probably about her age, based on her appearance--lying on the floor as if she had tripped over something. The girl was curled into a ball, as if trying to avoid the webbing and fire blasts which flashed across the hallway outside. Then a man in a dark robe appeared over her, walking toward her with his hands held high, glowing with some kind of purple energy, as if he was about to blast the girl into pieces.

"Hey, that girl is about to get hurt!" Switch said, looking down at Bait. "We've got to help her!"

But Bait shook his head and said, "Switch, we don't know who that girl is and--"

"I don't care," Switch snapped. "Unlike you, I'm going to be a real hero and save her, no matter who she is."

With that, Switch launched herself over the top of the counter, just barely avoiding Bait's outstretched hands, landed on the other side, and sprinted out the gift shop door toward the girl and the Neo-Visionist. The Neo-Visionist stood over the girl, chuckling darkly as the purple energy around his hands grew darker and darker, while the girl sobbed in fear, though for some reason she didn't look up at the Neo-Visionist at all. Maybe she thought she was going to die and didn't want to see her own death coming toward her.

With a yell, Switch jumped into the air and kicked the Neo-Visionist in the chest. The Neo-Visionist staggered backwards, but before he could respond, Switch swept his legs out from underneath him, causing him to fall head first onto the floor, smacking his head against the marble floor and falling unconscious instantly.

Panting, Switch looked down at the girl and said, "Are you okay?"

The girl--who had been sobbing uncontrollably--suddenly stopped, though she did sniffle every now and then. "Y-Yes. Who are you? Are you one of those Neo-Visionists?"

Switch shook her head. "No, I'm not. I'm a student from the Theodore Jason Academy for Young Superhumans and I just saved your life."

"Oh, th-thank you," said the girl between sniffles, who for some reason still wasn't looking at Switch. "I th-thought I was a goner."

"No problem," said Switch, flashing her a smile. "But you really should look where you're going, especially in these situations. And why aren't you looking me in the face, anyway? That's what people usually do when they talk to other people."

The girl looked up at Switch, which was when Switch noticed her dull, unseeing gray eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm blind. I should have mentioned that."

"Oh," said Switch. "Blind, huh? Well, what were you doing--"

Switch was interrupted by a roar of flame and looked up to see where that sound had come from.

Arachnid was doing battle with the Neo-Visionists. He was clinging to the ceiling, having just barely avoided being burned to death by one of the three Neo-Visionists standing below, a portion of the ceiling smoking from where a fireball had crashed into it. The Neo-Visionist in question was literally on fire. In fact, he looked to be made of fire and was glaring up at Arachnid with sheer hatred. The other two Neo-Visionists wore those same dark cloaks that all Neo-Visionists seemed to wear, so Switch didn't know what they looked like, nor was she interested in finding out.

"What was that?" said the girl, clinging to Switch's leg in panic. "I heard fire. Is the Museum on fire?"

"No, you silly girl, it's not," said Switch, trying to pry the girl off her leg. "It's just another one of those Neo-Visionist freaks. One of them is on fire."

"On fire?" said the girl in a high voice. She sounded like she was close to fainting. "That explains the smoke and heat, then."

"Don't worry," said Switch. "I'll get you into the gift shop where you'll be safe. Just come with me and--"

Switch was once again interrupted, this time by the Neo-Visionist she thought she had knocked out coming out of nowhere and punching her in the gut. Switch gasped and fell, but then was caught by the neck and slammed to the ground by the Neo-Visionist. She gasped for air, but couldn't get any into her lungs because the Neo-Visionist was squeezing the air out of her.

"Stupid girl," said the Neo-Visionist in a deep voice. "Don't you realize that you stand against equality and justice? That is why you will die today."

The Neo-Visionist's other hand exploded with burning purple energy. He brought his glowing fist above his head, but before he could bring it down on her, Bait appeared out of nowhere and punched the Neo-Visionist in the face.

Bait's punch must have been powered by his super strength, because the Neo-Visionist flew off Switch. He crashed into a display case featuring a picture of Omega Man shaking hands with Ronald Reagan, hitting the wall so hard that the huge picture crashed down on top of him. Once again, he didn't get up, but this time, Switch was certain that the Neo-Visionist was down for the count.

Gasping for air, Switch sat up and rubbed her neck. She looked up at Bait and said, "Thanks, bro! I think you might have actually killed him that time. Probably the only way to keep him down."

Oddly enough, Bait was not smiling. He just grabbed her by the collar of her uniform and yanked her up to her feet. "What were you thinking? I told you to stay in the gift shop, not run out into the atrium and nearly get yourself killed."

"But I saved that girl's life," Switch argued, gesturing at the blind girl lying on the floor, now curled into a fetal position and sobbing again. "Isn't that what heroes do?"

"Yeah, but you also almost got yourself killed," Bait said, still not letting go of her collar. "And if you'd done that, I would have taken the blame for your mistakes. As usual, I might add."

"Whatever," said Switch, rolling her eyes. She yanked her collar out of Bait's hands and glared at him. "Because we're both out here, you can take the girl into the gift shop with everyone else, while I'll go help Arachnid."

Switch tried to walk past him, but Bait grabbed her elbow and forced her back, nearly causing her to fall on to her behind. She caught herself before she fell, however, and glared at Bait, who folded his arms across his chest and looked at her with disgust.

"No," said Bait firmly. "All three of us are going into the gift shop, where we'll stay until backup arrives to help Arachnid or until Arachnid beats these guys himself. And that's final."

Switch sneered. "You're not the boss of me. We're the exact same age, so stop acting like you're the responsible older sibling."

"Then stop acting like a spoiled brat," Bait said. "Maybe if you acted your age for once in your life, you'd--"

But Switch never did get to figure out what would happen to her, because at that moment, a ring of fire appeared around her, Bait, and the girl. The sudden appearance of the flames caused the girl to yelp and jump to her feet, though she was far enough away from the flames to avoid getting burnt.

"Fire?" said Bait, looking around in alarm. "Where did this come from?"

"From me," came a harsh voice on the other side of the flames.

Switch looked through the flickering flames and saw the fiery Neo-Visionist from before standing outside the ring, one hand out. He was grinning widely, his head resembling a burning skull, while the other two Neo-Visionists stood on either side of him.

"Hey!" Arachnid suddenly dropped down from the ceiling behind the three Neo-Visionists and stood up, taking a fighting position as he did so. "Let my students go now, fire-face, or else."

The fiery Neo-Visionist turned around to face Arachnid, though he never pulled his hand away from the ring of fire. "Certainly, Arachnid, but on one condition: You stand back and let us destroy the Museum of Superhuman History for good. If you don't, then you can say goodbye to all three of these brats. Trust me, human flesh doesn't smell great when cooked."

-

Read the rest of Tag Team HERE!
Other books by Lucas Flint

**The Superhero's Son:**

_The Superhero's Test_

_The Superhero's Team_

_The Superhero's Summit_

_The Superhero's Powers_

_The Superhero's Origin_

_The Superhero's World_

_The Superhero's Vision_

_The Superhero's Prison_

_The Superhero's End_

**The Young Neos:**

_Brothers_

_Powers_

_Counterparts_

_Dimensions_

_Heroes_

**Minimum Wage Sidekick:**

_First Job_

_First Date_

_First Offer_

_First Magic_

_First Mentor_

_First War_

**The Supervillain's Kids:**

_Bait& Switch_

_Tag Team_

_Blood Gems_

_Prison Break_

**The Legacy Superhero:**

_A Superhero's Legacy_

_A Superhero's Death_

_A Superhero's Revenge_

_A Superhero's Assault_

**Dimension Heroes:**

_Crossover_

_Team Up_

_Amalgamation_

**Lightning Bolt:**

_The Superhero's Return_

_The Superhero's Glitch_

_The Superhero's Cure_

_The Superhero's Strike_

_The Superhero's Clone_
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About the Author

Lucas Flint writes superhero fiction. He is the author of The Superhero's Son, The Young Neos, Minimum Wage Sidekick, The Supervillain's Kids, The Legacy Superhero, Dimension Heroes, and Lightning Bolt.

Find links to books, social media, updates on newest releases, and more by going to his website here. You can also sign up to be the first to learn about his newest releases by subscribing to his mailing list here.
