Page 81 of No Capes

This is going to be awesome.“How do we test them?”

D.S. mocks a bow. “Right this way, Miss Roberts.”

~

Five minutes later, I wait by the tank in Golden Ace’s secret headquarters. The tank is in-ground—in-building—with serious depth. Not wanting to soak more clothing than necessary, I have on only my leggings and a purple sports bra that makes me quite self-conscious. Thankfully, D.S. stays focused on his laptop. He stationed himself on a wooden bench beside the water. Most of the benches and worktables at headquarters are wood—maybe he needs them to be because of his electric powers—to stop electricity.

“The tank is for testing things. I needed something deep enough for a pressure change,” he explains.

“You made this?” I’d assumed Golden Ace had, or that the water had come with the floor plan.

Dark Static clicks his tongue. “Such little faith in me. Now, imagine different situations with water and we’ll see what happens. That’s how I tested my powers, just imagining. Start outside the tank. We know you can use your powers without beinginwater. Let’s control for that variable first.”

I fidget with the ends of my braid, itching to investigate my powers. Finally, I’m doing this.

I stare at the smooth surface, concentrating hard. I’m calm, even as D.S. whispers, “Go get ‘em, Mads.” Suddenly, a thick geyser erupts from the tank. Serious water plunges over us like a fierce ocean wave, knocking me off my feet, and a zap surges nearby. I turn to find Dark Static crouching beside his station. The cascading geyser settles and puddles on the ground as soon as my attention leaves it.

Fortunately, when Golden Ace designed this room, he built it with a concrete floor and a drain—perhaps for situations just like this—and the floors below won’t have any water damage. Ageysersprouted inside a random skyscraper. What other secrets does Capital City have?

“Can make fountains and tidal waves with water,” D.S. says. “Check.”

“What was that noise?” I ask. “Did I ruin your computer?”

“Nope, we’re good.” He rubs his neck. “I get zapped when a ton of water hits me. It’s fine, just stings a bit. It’s much worse when I’m not ready for it.”

A hazard of having electrical powers. I didn’t notice that during the rain at Hallowfest, but a drizzle is nothing compared to a geyser.

My muscles ache from using my powers, but I take a breath and a moment later, the puddle mops itself up, though the tank remains still. Fluid relief seeps through my arms and legs, as if I absorbed the water.

“Hydro-absorption. Check,” says D.S.

“What about water vapor?” I ask. “I can dosomethingwith that.” The two times I exploded my surroundings was because I used something in the air—Arielle called it supercharging.

“Vapor would be a lot harder,” D.S. muses. “H2O is the fourth most prevalent gas in the atmosphere. If you can manipulate water as a liquid and as a gas… the possibilities are endless.”

I extend my arms, brace myself, and count down. I’m not sure what to imagine other than smoke curling off a pile of concrete rubble.

Three…

Two…

Two and a half…

One and three quarters…

One…

Nothing.

“Maybe not water vapor,” I concede. “But, in my dad’s old kitchen, I made water from the sink pipes hot enough to explode… I thought that was manipulating the vapor?”

“Ah,” says D.S. “That was water pressure.”

What?“Sorry, I must have skipped that day in physics.”

He chuckles. “It’s more of a chemistry thing. Alright, stay with me.Liquidwater can never get hotter than 100 degrees Celsius, right? Because then it will turn to steam and evaporate. Steam’s a gas and wants to expand, trying to fill whatever space it’s in.”

“Yeah…”