The OK Team Read Online Free Page B

Hazy?’
    â€˜Erk,’ I finally manage.
    â€˜It means doing something quietly and carefully so that nobody takes much notice, yet the effect is the same.’
    By this stage, I can make out that it isn’t actually the poster of the Southern Cross speaking, but a man who is blended entirely into the wall so as to be practically invisible.
    â€˜Who . . .?’
    â€˜Rock. Who else are we talking about? His idea of subtlety? To stand in front of a speeding van and then punch a hole in the side of it. Not exactly designed to slip under the media radar, that one.’
    â€˜No. Who? You?’
    â€˜Oh, sorry. I’m Leon, short for Chameleon. Call me Camel and you’re in trouble, got it?’
    The figure rises effortlessly and becomes bone-coloured, almost exactly matching the ceiling of my room. I don’t miss the fact that the man, or creature or whatever it is, is flying.
    Finally I manage a whole sentence. ‘Heroes ARE real!’
    Leon chuckles and lands lightly on the end of my bed, crouched in a ball, balanced on his toes and staring intently at me. ‘Of course we’re real, Hazy. You’ve known that all along. You just couldn’t bring yourself to completely believe. It takes a while.’
    â€˜Why are you here?’
    â€˜Because you called for me. Unless I’m mistaken it was you, Hazy, who yelled earlier this evening, “I am a Hero”! Forgive me if I over-reacted, but we at the AFHT tend to take such a screech at face value, so I thought I’d come and say hello.’
    â€˜The AHFT?’
    â€˜No, the AFHT – the Australian Federation of Hero Types. It’s the governing body for local Heroes, although it tends to play more of a management and administration role than actual governing. Most of the local Heroes know the rules and look after themselves. Except Rock, obviously.’
    â€˜How did you get in here?’
    â€˜Snuck through the front door alongside your mum and beat you up the stairs.’
    â€˜But I didn’t see you at all.’
    Leon sighs and looks at me as though he is regarding an infant. ‘No,’ he says very deliberately, ‘you didn’t. Because one of my superpowers is to be a chameleon and blend into backgrounds so I am, to all intents, invisible. Example: when you came into your bedroom and so did I . . . Are you planning on catching up any time soon, kid, or should I come back tomorrow?’
    â€˜I’m sorry, Leon, it’s just a shock. So, you are here on behalf of the AFHT?’
    â€˜Finally, his brain creaks into gear,’ Leon says.
    â€˜And you’re here because I yelled out that I thought I was a Hero?’
    â€˜Not think, Hazy. You are.’
    Now I’m unable to speak again. Leon laughs. ‘It’s OK, I understand you being speechless. I felt the same way when the Southern Cross told me the truth for the first time.’ ‘The Southern Cross?’ I look at the poster.
    â€˜Yep. I was sixteen years old. Like you, I’d spent my entire life thinking I was a freak, although it took me a while to realise why people always seemed to look right through me. Then I realised what was happening to my physical body . . .’ Leon waves a hand in front of my bedroom lamp, and watches the image of the lamp run across his skin. ‘Of course, I was freaked out. I went into a real funk until it occurred to me that I was superpowered. And, boom, the next thing I know, the Southern Cross shows up, shakes my hand, congratulates me on my power and flies off again. I’m only a Level C Hero but I’ve never looked back.’
    â€˜I have so many questions, I don’t even know where to start.’
    â€˜Try them one at a time. In fact, I’ll get you going . . . The first question is: “Am I really a Hero?” Right?’
    I nod dumbly.
    â€˜The answer is yes. Stop pining about what a weirdo you are and come at it from the other direction: