The Gathering Read online

  The man next to him yelled, “Where the hell were your dad and his mates when my estate was being terrorized by junkies? Did they just decide that normal people weren’t worth saving anymore?”

  “Of course not!” Danny said. “I’m telling you, this is all a mistake!”

  “That’s what happened, isn’t it?” a young woman asked. “They gave up on us. They think they’re better than we are!”

  Mr. Leopold said, “All right, everyone just calm down! I’ve known the Coopers for years! They’re good people and taking your anger out on these boys won’t solve anything!”

  “Yeah!” someone in the crowd yelled. “Quantum and Titan and the others saved the world dozens of times! They don’t owe us anything! We owe them!”

  Danny looked around. He and Niall were completely surrounded. There’s hundreds of them!

  Then a large man pushed his way to the front of the crowd, shoving people aside. He stopped in front of Mr. Leopold. “Outta my way!”

  Mr. Leopold swallowed. “What do you want?”

  The man pointed at Danny. “His old man owes me. Caught me breaking and entering. I was inside for four and a half years! Do you have any idea what that was like, Cooper?” he roared at Danny. “It was hell! Day after day of eating the same tasteless crap, sleeping in a cramped, rat-infested cell, knowing that at any minute you could be stabbed in the back by some moron who’s got a grudge against you!”

  Danny said, “You can’t blame my father for that! If you were stupid enough to break into people’s houses then you deserved to be in prison!”

  “So it is true!” The man stepped closer. “Don’t think that just because you’re missing an arm I’m going to go easy on you!”

  There was a gasp from the crowd, but the man ignored it.

  Oh God, this guy is going to flatten me! The man charged, his powerful fists raised. Danny pushed his brother to one side. Come on, he told himself. Use your superspeed! The power might not be completely gone! He tried to remember what it had felt like to switch into slow-time mode: a prickling sensation at the back of his head, the way everything else seemed to slow down, the way the sounds became quiet and low.

  It wasn’t working.

  He quickly stepped aside, out of the man’s reach for the moment, and glanced around. There was a ripple of excitement running through the crowd, but the people closest to him didn’t seem inclined to help.

  Only one thing for it, he decided. He took a deep breath, squared his shoulders and stared the large man in the eye. “Before you do anything, I have to warn you.”

  The man snarled at him. “What are you talkin’ about?”

  “Yes, my father was Quantum. He could move faster than anything you can imagine. He was able to move so fast that he could pass through solid objects. And superhuman powers can be inherited. Now, I understand your anger, so I’m willing to let this go. You turn around and walk away right now and we’ll say no more about it. But if you really want to return to prison, then go ahead. Hit me, in front of all these people, if you can. If you’re willing to pay the price.”

  The man hesitated.

  “Or you can do the wise thing, the right thing, and turn away now.” Danny was vaguely aware of a greater commotion in the crowd, but didn’t want to take his eyes off the large man.

  The man barked a short, cruel laugh. “You little punk! You almost had me going there for a second! And for that, you’re going to pay!” He lashed out at Danny with his fist.

  Danny flinched and closed his eyes, but the fist didn’t connect. Did I do it? Did I just dodge his fist? He opened his eyes and saw that the large man was now lying on the ground, facedown. Standing over him was a tall, powerful-looking man in steel armor.

  The crowd of people had backed away considerably, but now it began to surge toward the armored man.

  “Stop right there!” the armored man’s voice boomed out.

  Everyone froze.

  “These boys are under my protection! Anyone who wants to hurt them will have to go through me first!” The armored man turned to Danny. “Mr. Cooper? Pick up your brother and hold on to him.”

  Danny did so, then the metal-clad man scooped the two of them up in his arms. There was a brief flare from the man’s jetpack and suddenly they were soaring away from the crowds.

  The armored man looked down at Niall’s terrified face. “Hi there. You must be Niall. My name is Solomon Cord. Or, if you like, you can call me Paragon.”

  5

  “GOD, IT DIDN’T TAKE LONG FOR THE word to get around,” Renata Soliz said, peering through a gap in the sitting-room curtains.

  Outside, the normally quiet street was filled with people: friends, neighbors, reporters and police officers trying to hold everyone back. An enterprising ice cream man had stopped his truck across the road and was doing great business despite the freezing weather.

  Mr. Wagner had been forced to disconnect the doorbell, but that hadn’t stopped people from banging on the doors and windows. It was only when the local police sergeant had stationed two officers outside the front door and another two in the back garden that the crowd had finally calmed down a little.

  Renata turned to Colin. “Bags all packed?”

  “Yeah. Everything I could think of. You know what’s going to happen, don’t you? Once we’re gone and the police leave, that lot are going to break in and look for souvenirs. Someone’s going to make a lot of money flogging our stuff on eBay.”

  She smiled. “I think we might need a good lawyer.”

  “I was thinking that what we need is a good agent.”

  Renata collapsed into the armchair and turned on the television set. Almost every channel showed a different view of the Wagners’ house. “Hey! He’s not a reporter! He’s the weatherman! They’re all getting in on the action!”

  Colin’s mother entered carrying two small bags. “Is this all you have, Renata?”

  “That’s everything, Mrs. Wagner. For once I’m glad I don’t have much stuff.”

  “How did they find out about you and Dad?” Colin asked his mother.

  “I wish I knew.”

  “You didn’t wear a mask when you were Energy,” Renata said. “Maybe someone always thought that you looked like her, and when they found out about Colin…” She pointed to the television set. “Col, isn’t that one of your friends from school? He’s giving an interview!”

  “Yeah…And look: that kid in the background. That’s little Peter what’s-his-name from down the road. God, I hope they don’t let that slimy little turd on television.”

  Renata turned up the sound. Malcolm O’Neill was talking to the reporter and kept glancing at the camera. “Yeah, I’ve known Colin for years and years. I’m probably his best friend.”

  “Some friend,” Colin said. “He nicked half a Mars Bar from me last year.”

  “And did you know about his powers?” the reporter asked.

  “I always suspected that he was different,” Malcolm said. “Colin can’t kick a football to save his life, you know? I mean, he’s definitely the absolutely worst player in the whole school. Ever. Which is saying something because nearly all of them are crap, except me. So what Colin was probably doing was just pretending to be rubbish so that no one would suspect that he’s a superhuman.”

  “That’s not true!” Colin said. “I genuinely am rubbish!” He paused and frowned. “No, that’s not what I meant.”

  The reporter asked, “And what can you tell us about Diamond, Kid Titan’s girlfriend?”

  Renata and Colin both yelled, “Girlfriend?” at the same time.

  “I only met her once,” Malcolm said. “Her name is…uh…Romana, I think. She’s supposed to be Colin’s cousin, but she puts on, like, a really fake American accent. As if anyone would be fooled by that.”

  Renata turned off the television set. “Idiot,” she muttered.

  “You OK?” Colin asked.

  “I will be, once we get to the States. I’ll finally be able to go hom
e.”

  Caroline said, “We’ve been over this before, Renata. It’s not going to be that simple. Your parents don’t know that you’re still alive.”

  “We have to tell them at some stage!”

  “I know, love, but not yet. Maybe when all this calms down.”

  “If it ever does calm down,” Colin said.

  Mr. Sheng’s bodyguards stepped aside as the scarred man strode into the office. They knew he was unarmed; they also knew that being without weapons didn’t make him any less dangerous.

  Sitting behind a polished ebony desk with nothing on it but a large flat-screen computer monitor, a keyboard and a mouse, Mr. Sheng smiled. He was old and extremely thin, with an abundance of loose, hanging skin around his neck, the sign of someone who had lost a lot of weight much too quickly.

  Behind him stood Junior, pale and nervous, unable to look Dioxin in the eye.

  “All is well,” Mr. Sheng said. “The meeting was abandoned. Our rival failed to appear. This has made her appear uninterested in the agreements. We will capitalize on this, use it to our advantage.”

  “Glad to hear it,” Dioxin said, “considering the stupid stunt your son here pulled this morning.”

  “He will be punished accordingly.”

  “And?” Dioxin asked.

  The old man frowned.

  “I’m waiting for an apology for his actions.”

  “My son has already apologized to you. I do not believe that an apology from myself is necessary.”

  “It wouldn’t hurt,” Dioxin said. He leaned forward, spreading his scarred hands on the desk. “Look, Sheng. It’s business. I understand that. But your son not only tried to kill me—which is bad enough—he also insulted my intelligence and my reputation. So…don’t apologize if you don’t want to. I don’t care. But you should at least thank me for allowing him to live.”

  “Then you have my thanks, Mr. Dioxin.”

  “And can I have my money too?”

  At a signal from Mr. Sheng, one of the bodyguards handed Dioxin a slim white envelope.

  “Two million U.S. dollars, as agreed,” Sheng said. “Plus one thousand dollars to pay for the damage to your automobile.”

  Dioxin opened the envelope and pulled out a single slip of paper on which was printed two seventeen-digit sequences of letters and numbers. He pulled the keyboard closer and swiveled the computer monitor so that it was facing him. The screen already showed the website of the international bank Sheng used to transfer funds. Dioxin quickly entered his details, then keyed in the two sequences of numbers. Seconds later, the balance in his account increased by two million one thousand dollars.

  “A pleasure doing business with you, Sheng. Next time, the price is doubled.”

  The old man nodded. “Of course.”

  Using the mouse, Dioxin clicked on the website’s “Log-off” button, and was about to push the monitor aside when he spotted something in the corner of the screen, in a small box labeled “RSS News.” Among the Chinese characters there was a single English phrase: “Titan Unmasked.”

  “What the hell…?” Dioxin clicked on the link and a window opened to show an old photograph of Titan and Energy side by side with the wedding photograph of a young married couple.

  Dioxin turned to Junior Sheng. “What is this?”

  “Internet.”

  “I know that. What does it say? Translate for me.”

  Haltingly, Junior translated the text on screen: “Mr. Warren Wagner, revealed today as the true identity of the long-missing superhero Titan. His super-powered son is the new Titan. Also revealed are the two sons of Quantum, rescued from a crowd by the former hero Paragon. Mr. Reginald Kinsella, newly appointed leader of the Trutopian organization, has offered the new heroes sanctuary among his people, in exchange for their help in saving the Earth from evil, poverty and corruption.”

  “Enough.” Dioxin turned back to the old man. “Let’s make a deal, Sheng. You get me all the information you can on these people, and arrange for immediate passage to the U.S., and I’ll transfer the money back to you. Hell, I’ll even forget that your boy tried to kill me.”

  Mr. Sheng considered this. “Agreed. But what interest do these new heroes have for you?”

  Dioxin stared at the screen. “I’ve got some old scores to settle…”

  Warren Wagner ended the call on his mobile phone, then turned it off so that no one would be able to ring through. “Good news, for a change,” he said to his family and Renata. “Josh says that our passage has been fully cleared by the government. The transport’s already on the way. One of his people is going to stay here and take care of the house until we can arrange to sell it.”

  “What about the Coopers?” Colin asked.

  “Danny and Niall were picked up in town and their mother’s about to be collected from the flat. There’ll be someone watching their place too.”

  “Mr. Wagner,” Renata said, “I don’t really like the idea of working with Josh. Not after what happened with his brother.”

  “Josh is nothing like Max,” Warren said. “He’s OK. You met him, didn’t you? I mean, before you were frozen.”

  “Yeah. We captured Dioxin together.” Ten years earlier, Renata had been in her solid form when Ragnarök’s power-damping machine had stripped all the superhumans of their powers. She had remained frozen until a couple of months ago, when Maxwell Dalton had tried to duplicate Ragnarök’s machine: an accidental power-surge from the machine had somehow freed Renata from her solid state. Now, Renata was technically twenty-four, but physically still only fourteen. “Josh was only about twenty-three then, I think. But everyone thought that Max was OK too, and look how that turned out. He was prepared to kill thousands of people just because of one of Quantum’s visions.”

  Colin said, “I’m willing to give Josh a chance. You can’t judge someone just because his brother is a nutter. Besides, it was Josh who sorted everything out after what happened in California.”

  “What about the Trutopians?” Renata asked. “From what Reginald Kinsella was saying, we might be better off going to them instead. They’re trying to save the world without using violence.”

  “Good luck to them,” Colin said. “But they can do it without my help. There was a documentary about them the other week. You know how they keep the peace? They have a system of points. You park your car illegally, that’s one point. Nick something from a shop, that’s three points. Play your stereo too loud, that’s another point. If you build up ten points, they throw you out. They just barge into your house, round up the whole family, put you on a truck and drive you to the gates. You know what that is? A dictatorship!”

  “It’s not a dictatorship if there’s no dictator,” Renata replied. “It’s just peace at the cost of a little freedom. And it’s not like the people don’t know all that when they join.”

  Colin’s mother sighed. “Can’t the two of you agree on anything?” To her husband, she said, “Two days ago they had a fight over whether the top part of a slice of bread was better than the bottom part!”

  Warren laughed.

  “Oh, that helps!” his wife said.

  Under his breath, Colin muttered, “Top.”

  “Bottom!” Renata said. “And I’ll tell you why—”

  “Enough!” Caroline said. “The two of you, go upstairs and check your rooms one last time. Make sure there’s nothing there that you can’t leave behind.”

  Reluctantly, Renata and Colin trudged up the stairs. They stopped on the landing and Renata said, “I think your mother is really worried.”

  “The two of them are. I suppose we should be too. But it’ll all turn out all right, won’t it?”

  “How would I know?”

  Colin shrugged and went into his bedroom. He stood just inside the door, looking around. Schoolbag—won’t be needing that for a while. He dropped to his knees, fished around under the bed and pulled out Toto, the ancient, frayed teddy bear that he’d had since his first birthday. Toto was co
vered in dust and cobwebs. Colin stared at him for a few moments, wondering whether he should be feeling some sort of sentimental attachment, then shrugged and tossed the bear aside.

  He resumed searching and found a bundle of comics, two Matchbox cars with only three wheels between them and a lot more dust.

  “Find anything?” Renata said from the doorway.

  Colin stood up. “Nah.”

  “Oh, you have a teddy!” She picked it up off the floor and tried to brush the dust off.

  He blushed. “Oh, that old thing. I was going to throw that out.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “Toto.”

  “After Dorothy’s dog?”

  “Probably. I can’t remember. I’ve had him a long time.” He noticed the way Renata was holding the bear. “He’s yours, if you want him.”

  “Well, he’s not in bad condition. It’d be a shame to throw him out. I could give him to my niece, if I ever get to meet her. I told you that Samantha has a two-year-old, didn’t I?”

  “Yeah. Your sister’s, what, twenty-two now?”

  “And my brother is nineteen. Which means that he’s five years older than me and he’s five years younger.”

  “All your friends will be grown up too.”

  Renata nodded, hugging Toto close. “I know. But I try not to think about it too much.”

  Colin smiled. “Does that work?”

  “Not really. I keep thinking that it must be absolutely hell for my parents. Every year the whole world has a great big celebration for Mystery Day and all they can think of is that it’s the day their eldest daughter disappeared.”

  “You went missing on the same day that all the other superhumans did, so maybe they figured out that you were a superhuman too.”

  “No, they didn’t. Josh said that a lot of families contacted the authorities after Mystery Day, asking whether their loved ones might have been superhumans. My family didn’t. It probably never crossed their minds.”