Trainee Superhero (Book Two) Read Online Free Page A

for an attack. She's holding an enormous axe,
but it bounces right off the creature’s tentacles without even
scratching them. The color of Never Lies ’ weapons changes,
and the creature’s shields start to flicker. Pet Shark appears behind the creature, slaps a bomb on its back and lights
it. The explosion blinds me and knocks over a handful of trees.
    The alien bobs uncertainty in the air, then
darts off between the trees before we can react.
    “Get it!” yells Never Lies .
    We chase the creature through the trees,
darting from tree to tree and crashing through branches. Never
Lies keeps her fire up even as we race through the forest, but
I can’t even shoot my multiblaster in a straight line. My body is
wet with rain and sweat, and my breathing is fast and ragged. I do
my best to keep up, but it’s hard. Trees explode as we pass, and we
are illuminated by fires that flicker briefly before being washed
out by the storm.
    We lose sight despite our best efforts.
    “It’s gone,” says Never Lies curtly.
    “Anyone land a tracer?” asks Pet
Shark , “none of mine stuck.”
    I didn’t think to use a tracer dart, but it
wouldn’t have mattered: the alien’s shields were too good.
    “What was that thing?” I ask, but no one else
has seen anything like it.
    “It was important, that’s what it was,” says Pet Shark .
    He’s pointing out the obvious, and Never
Lies doesn’t need to hear it. I have no doubt that she knows
how important this thing was. They snap at each other as we search
for any tracks.
    My proximity alarm rings out once: bang .
    “Hey guys, I just got a sound from my prox
alarm,” I say.
    They ignore me. Bang .
    “Guys?”
    Bang . Bang . It’s getting
closer, but no one is listening to me. Bang-bang-bang .
    “Did you say something, Red Five ?”
asks Bad Day , but then the others hear it.
    “Up there!” calls Bad Day , pointing at
a dark shadow in the storm.
    It's a deathtower: a five-story high floating
tank filled with every kind of killing device and the largest
weapon in the saucer's arsenal, far larger than the saucer we were
sent to find. My training program told me that it has few
weaknesses and I should run if I ever see one. The sight of its
turrets and gun ports strikes me with fear. It starts laying down
enough fire to level a mountain, and we scatter.
    “Get out of here!” Bad Attitude says,
pushing me into cover.
    Trees burst into splinters as the hunters
become the hunted. I see Pet Shark buried beneath a wave of
missiles, but he survives and flies into the storm.
    Only Never Lies is still fighting
back. She aims a salvo of fire at the deathtower, tearing a long
hole in its hull as her lasers find its weak points. I've never
heard of a single hero taking down a deathtower, but she's doing
her best. The tower sends missiles at her, but Bad Day teleports in and grabs her just in time. They work well as a team, Bad Day keeping Never Lies out of danger while she
focusses on taking the alien weapon down. Missiles rain down on us,
but I shoot most of them out of the sky. I don't think either Bad Day or Never Lies even realize I'm still around;
the rest of our team have run.
    A plasma ball breaks on my shields as I try
to dodge the missiles. Lasers pin me to the ground and beams rip at
my shields. Someone grabs my foot and I’m teleported behind a
tree.
    Bad Day ’s armor is blackened and his
shields are low, but he gets right back in the fight.
    I don’t see what happens next, but I hear a
loud bang followed by a spurt of fire into the sky. The deathtower
crashes into the forest and explodes. I whoop in excitement as Never Lies lands beside me and punches the air. One of her
gun platforms is missing and her helmet is dented, but she’s happy
and alive.
    They high five, and Day does a victory
dance in the air. Never Lies even slaps me on the
shoulder.
    “That was close, really close. The other two
took off and left when they saw what we were dealing with, but you
stayed. You