Page 92 of No Capes

“Easy. Straight up the staircase, only two cameras.”

“In that case,” says Golden Ace, “how about you both check on Mr. Roberts, and I’ll fly downtown to help Arielle?”

“Good idea,” says D.S. “If we’re alone here, she could get in trouble fast.”

“That’s my cue to leave then.” Wasting no more time, Golden Ace lifts a singed square of floor and disappears.

“Gold,” D.S. calls. Golden Ace’s yellow mask pops back up from the floor. “Watch out. They could have the stuff you’re allergic to.”

“Duh,” replies Golden Ace. Then he goes to help my sister.

Dark Static’s shadowy costume blends into the dim dining room. With the smoke from his lasers, so does mine.

“Water Girl,” he says. “I hate to do this, but do you think there’s any chance, even a tiny one, that Arielle could have set us up?”

If he had asked me that yesterday, I would have been furious. But after everything I learned about Arielle, about myself, and about the power of secrets—I know that:

1. D.S. has to ask me that question, and

2. No way Arielle set us up.

“No,” I answer. “But that doesn’t mean this isn’t a trap.”

“If it is, better to be with your dad than without him.”

We race up the grand staircase and D.S. shoots silent lasers at the well-concealed cameras. Anyone watching the footage will know we’re here, but not what we’re up to, though surely they could guess. It’s obvious, in hindsight, that Phil knew Arielle wasn’t in the mansion when he asked me to find her at Hallowfest. The idea of having cameras in your own house makes me gag. Arielle said she married Phil to stop him from putting cameras in my bedroom, and I can’t fathom what she did to stop him from spying on her.

D.S. gets to the third floor library first. The entrance is down the hall from the stairs, marked by carved double doors. He pauses. “Fair warning, you might not like what you see in there. It’s possible that a worst-case scenario awaits.”

I nod, and we enter.

The room is about the size of the entire upstairs in my apartment, with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves spanning each wall. I have to wonder if the books on the shelves are real, or if they’re cutouts. Any space without a shelf is filled with a long window or a giant portrait of someone from Phil’s family. My family too, sort of.

“Over here,” says Dark Static. Not far from the entrance, my dad is tied to a metal chair. He is bound and gagged.

Dark Static disintegrates the binding with two precise lasers, and I grab the cloth. Somehow, my dad knows it’s me. He exhales my name with his first breath. “Where’s Arielle?” he asks with his second.

“She’s coming,” I answer. Given how hard it would be to breathe through a gag, we’re lucky we found him conscious.

D.S. crouches and removes his D.S. 6000, which he straps over my dad’s wrist. They both stare at the green numbers on its screen. After several seconds, D.S. reads, “80 over 60 blood pressure. 65 glucose. You need a hospital. How long have you been here?”

“Since last night. Where did you get the suit?” he asks me. “Don’t tell me you’re wearing it without knowing what powers you have.”

My toes curl in my boots.Did everyone in our family know about my powers except for me?I want to scream.

“When are they coming back?” D.S. asks, re-applying his watch. He clicks to the GPS screen.

Dad answers in a raspy voice. “Last night, Madeline said you all were safe, and later in the evening, Phil came to visit. I figure it’s to find you, but next thing I’m here. When nothing happened after a few hours, I realized they wouldn’t hurt me. I’m bait.”

“We have to go,” D.S. says, helping my dad stand. He puts his arm under one of my dad’s shoulders and I take the other. “I can portal to a hospital and come back for Madeline.”

Something occurs to me.

“I can’t leave yet,” I say.

D.S. stops in his electric tracks. “We have to.”

“We need answers. This is the only time we can get them.”