Page 90 of No Capes

“When you wear your suit,” he says, “everything changes. You feel different. But Madeline, whatever you do wearing your suit, you can’t just attribute it to being a Super. It will always stay with you, and you can’t take anything back.”

I remember Jack Wilson’s limp body in the City Hall basement. The flames I set to my dad’s old house. I swallow a dry lump of air.

“Even the good things,” he says. “I never looked at them as something Golden Ace did. You know? I did them.”

Dark Static, now wearing his mask, steps out of his residence. “Time to roll out.”

“Can you fly?” Golden Ace asks me.

“I got her,” says Dark Static. He presses some buttons on his D.S. 6000. “It looks like Mr. Roberts is being kept in the Bridges’ mansion, but get this: Phil isn’t there.”

“Or he doesn’t show up on your watch,” says Golden Ace.

“No, it says he’s at the press building with Arielle.”

“Do you think she’s okay?” I ask.Uh oh.What are we getting into?

Golden Ace and Dark Static share a look. “The mansion is the priority,” Golden Ace admits. “But if you two can handle it, I’ll go straight to the press building to help.”

“I approve this plan,” says D.S. “Arielle’s a good enough actress. She can hold Phil over until you get there.” He steadies himself and I climb on his back.

“Ready to save the city, Maddragon?” Dark Static asks as I secure my arms around his chest.

“Don’t you dare drop me.”

He pushes off, and the three of us soar through the stars.

Twenty Nine

Dark Static, Golden Ace, and I fly to the Bridges’ house in a fashion I do not want to repeat. D.S. zips against the wind, diving below gusts and surging through clouds. I nearly hurl my dinner, which would be disgusting for any pedestrians below. I make a note to figure out my own air travel after we save everyone.

D.S. plummets into Arielle’s garden, somersaulting over her tulips.

“I hated those flowers the most,” I say, dusting myself off.

D.S. brushes mulch off his legs. “Sorry about that. I’m not used to flying two people. Can’t risk a portal alarm.”

Golden Ace descends from the cloud cover and sticks a perfect landing. “Everyone arrive in one piece? Good job, team.”

D.S. squats on the dirt and taps the pebbled path through the garden. “She engineered her walkway into an irrigation system,” he says with awe. “Gound water drains through these pebbles to a sprinkler.”

“She had to. Have you seen the size of this place?” Golden Ace shakes his head. “The grass really is greener over here.”

The garden, or “grounds,” has eleven varieties of tree, though they’re all barren this time of year. Elephant and flamingo topiaries line the path. The twigs that remain in the garden make it look more like a graveyard than a butterfly’s paradise, but we’re hidden behind the hedges. Great choice of landing spot.

“Everyone got their mirrors?” Asks Golden Ace. “Madeline, I put one in a pocket on the back of your suit. Take it out when it’s time.”

I feel my back and sure enough, there’s a hidden pocket with a thin object. Golden Ace thinks of everything.

Dark Static takes the lead. “There’s an underground tunnel that runs from near here to inside the estate. I think it was built in an earlier century. We could use that to get inside undetected, but I’m not sure about all this irrigation. The tunnel could collapse under the water. I don’t want us to get trapped.”

I stare at him, annoyed. “Seriously? I’m standing right here. That sounds like a job for Madeline Roberts.”

D.S. brushes my elbow. “I just wanted to hear you say that.”

“It did sound cool,” says Golden Ace.

We follow D.S. to a boulder plunked in the middle of the garden, another strange decoration.