King Of Bad [Super Villian Academy Book 1] Read Online Free Page A

faces indicated enjoyment. Suddenly
a head popped out of the ball.
    “Come on, you
wimps, get further apart.”
    Jeff’s stomach
lurched when he realized the ball was a contorted girl.
    In the far
corner of the gym a couple of kids were involved in extreme wresting. Jeff
watched one kid leap six feet off the ground and pile drive the other kid into
the thick stack of mats. He thought they’d have a future in WWE if the super
villain thing didn’t pan out for them. Jeff’s gaze wandered back to the
beautiful redhead. She smiled at him and his stomach fluttered.
    Pyro nudged
Jeff into the gym and let the door close. “Each S.V. has at
least one prominent ability . Most of us are faster and stronger than the
average human, but there are a few that are faster or stronger than the average
S.V. There are also those of us who have fire as well as those who have ice.
You can usually find an S.V. with a complementary ability to yours.” Pyro
pointed at a dark haired girl standing in the center of the room.
    The girl had a
large bucket in front of her. Her face was contorted with concentration, but
Jeff couldn’t see anything happening. Then all at once a geyser of water burst
toward the ceiling and it fell back down on the assemblage in a misty rain. The
girl’s face broke into an exultant smile as the dripping kids groaned and
grumbled around her.
    “Wow, that’s
really hard to do,” Pyro said, “ break an element into
so many little particles. She’ll have a headache later.”
    A nondescript
boy, tall and lanky with hair the same sandy color as his skin, approached the
girl. He smiled at her as they talked, but the girl stood stiff with a forced
smile. All the dripping kids eyed him nervously. A puddle on the floor near the
boy gradually receded. The kids’ clothes stiffened as though dried on a
clothesline. When everything around him was dry, the sand-colored boy clapped
the girl on the back and returned to sit alone, on the bleachers.
    “Who’s that?”
Jeff asked.
    “They call him
Desert Storm. Besides his evaporation skills, he can also create a wicked sand
storm. When he’s near sand, of course.”
    “Why is he all
alone?”
    “He doesn’t
have reliable control over his power yet. If he gets too excited, he’ll drain
someone’s body of its moisture and leave a shriveled corpse behind. He’s loads
better than when he first got here. We used to have to keep him sequestered and
teach him through a loud speaker.” Pyro indicated a girl who stood away from
the pandemonium. “Hush, over there, has the ability to shut people up. She
seals all orifices at once, rendering those around her not only silent, but
blind and unable to breathe as well. Dangerous.”
    “Why is she
here at all?” Jeff was horrified that they were all put in such danger.
    “She used to panic
and forget how to ‘open’ people back up again. Now she has a better
understanding of the ‘undo’ process than she used to. So, she can at least be
in the same room, just can’t interact yet. It distracts her and she might
unwillingly seal everybody up.”
    Pyro pointed to
a boy who sat on the edge of a chair, tapping his feet and drumming his fingers
on his thighs. “Beat Feet, I suspect, is ADHD. He can’t concentrate long enough
to hold off his ability either.”
    “What can he
do?” Jeff asked.
    “He can make
you dance or run. He controls feet. When he gets a handle on his ability it
will come in handy out on the streets.”
    Jeff opened his
mouth to ask what she meant, but was interrupted by the approach of a stern
looking man.
    “Is this your
hoodlum?” The man’s gravelly voice raised the hair on the back of Jeff’s neck.
Or maybe it was the cocky smirk and the term “hoodlum”.
    Pyro nodded,
eyeing him coolly. She said to Jeff, “Tubs oversees recruitment.”
    Jeff almost
smiled at Pyro’s aloof attitude toward Tubs. “What
are you recruiting for?”
    “Not very quick, are you?” Tubs sneered. Then he
spoke slowly