today?”
Electra blushed. “To tell you the truth, lately I've missed the hero gig, and I'm thinking about asking the Feds to reinstate me. Zack seems to be having such a wonderful time training you— I guess I wanted to get my hand back into the rescue game.”
It occurred to me that Electra didn't have a grandchild of her own to train. “You never got married?” I said, hoping it wasn't too personal a question.
“Never found the right guy,” she replied softly. “I came close once, but it didn't work out and he found someone else. Someone perfect for him.”
I wanted to ask who that almost right guy had been … but I didn't.
Electra looked out the window. The rain had almost stopped, and the wind had died down to a vigorous breeze. “C'mon, Kid Zoom. Let's get you home.”
MY parents were a nervous wreck.
I wasn't surprised. They worried about me when the weather was perfect—naturally they were in major panic mode to think I could be out somewhere in that crazy storm.
“Where have you been?” Mom cried, throwing her arms around me as soon as I walked through the door.
I let her hug me and didn't even complain. It had been a rough day and I needed a little TLC. I was back in my school clothes now; I'd changed out of my supersuit at Electra's house before she drove me home.
“We tried calling you at Electra's, but the storm knocked out the phone lines. Daddy sent a police cruiser over there, but they said no one answered the door.”
“Her studio is in the attic,” I said, thinking fast. “I guess with all the thunder and wind and being all the way up on the topfloor, we never heard them at the door.”
When Mom finished hugging me, Dad came over and hugged me, too.
“I'm just so glad you're home safe.” His voice was troubled. “When I think of all those children on that school bus, and how badly they could have been hurt …”
“School bus?” I echoed, opening my eyes wide. I'm getting used to acting like I don't know about some things. “What school bus?”
That night Grandpa and Gran came for dinner, fresh from their vacation, with suntanned faces and lots of presents.
While Mom and Dad cleared the table, I sat in the living room with my grandparents.
“I heard you had a busy week,” Grandpa said, straightening the giant sequined sombrero I was wearing, my favorite souvenir from their trip.
“How did you hear?”
“Thatcher and I go way back,” he replied. “I had a whole string of messages from him when I got home.”
Gran raised her eyebrows at me. “And what about the bus that almost went over the bridge during the storm? The one I heard about on the news on our drive home.” I could tell from her voice that she'd already guessed I'd been involved.
“Was that you?” Grandpa asked, his face filled with pride.
“Er, kind of. Me and … Electra Girl.”
I looked from Grandpa Zack to Gran, then back to Grandpa. They both looked totally shocked.
“It's okay, I know all about her,” I went on. “How she was a great hero in her day, and how she retired and how the Federation got angry over the comic books.”
“But Electra has been classified inactive for decades,” Grandpa said.
“Well, she wants to become active again. She misses the excitement and she misses helping the world.”
“She always was an unpredictable one,” Gran said, shaking her head.
I was glad to hear Gran describe Electra as unpredictable and not … well, something worse. I wasn't exactly sure where we all stood at the moment. It seemed as if maybe Gran felt kind of jealous about Electra and Zip's past connection. And I was afraid Grandpa might be angry with me for working with her without his (or the Federation's) permission. And then there was the whole comic-book thing. I decided I might as well address that issue here and now.
“While we're on the subject of Electra,” I began carefully, “why didn't you just tell me who Electra was from the beginning?”
Grandpa sighed.
Electra blushed. “To tell you the truth, lately I've missed the hero gig, and I'm thinking about asking the Feds to reinstate me. Zack seems to be having such a wonderful time training you— I guess I wanted to get my hand back into the rescue game.”
It occurred to me that Electra didn't have a grandchild of her own to train. “You never got married?” I said, hoping it wasn't too personal a question.
“Never found the right guy,” she replied softly. “I came close once, but it didn't work out and he found someone else. Someone perfect for him.”
I wanted to ask who that almost right guy had been … but I didn't.
Electra looked out the window. The rain had almost stopped, and the wind had died down to a vigorous breeze. “C'mon, Kid Zoom. Let's get you home.”
MY parents were a nervous wreck.
I wasn't surprised. They worried about me when the weather was perfect—naturally they were in major panic mode to think I could be out somewhere in that crazy storm.
“Where have you been?” Mom cried, throwing her arms around me as soon as I walked through the door.
I let her hug me and didn't even complain. It had been a rough day and I needed a little TLC. I was back in my school clothes now; I'd changed out of my supersuit at Electra's house before she drove me home.
“We tried calling you at Electra's, but the storm knocked out the phone lines. Daddy sent a police cruiser over there, but they said no one answered the door.”
“Her studio is in the attic,” I said, thinking fast. “I guess with all the thunder and wind and being all the way up on the topfloor, we never heard them at the door.”
When Mom finished hugging me, Dad came over and hugged me, too.
“I'm just so glad you're home safe.” His voice was troubled. “When I think of all those children on that school bus, and how badly they could have been hurt …”
“School bus?” I echoed, opening my eyes wide. I'm getting used to acting like I don't know about some things. “What school bus?”
That night Grandpa and Gran came for dinner, fresh from their vacation, with suntanned faces and lots of presents.
While Mom and Dad cleared the table, I sat in the living room with my grandparents.
“I heard you had a busy week,” Grandpa said, straightening the giant sequined sombrero I was wearing, my favorite souvenir from their trip.
“How did you hear?”
“Thatcher and I go way back,” he replied. “I had a whole string of messages from him when I got home.”
Gran raised her eyebrows at me. “And what about the bus that almost went over the bridge during the storm? The one I heard about on the news on our drive home.” I could tell from her voice that she'd already guessed I'd been involved.
“Was that you?” Grandpa asked, his face filled with pride.
“Er, kind of. Me and … Electra Girl.”
I looked from Grandpa Zack to Gran, then back to Grandpa. They both looked totally shocked.
“It's okay, I know all about her,” I went on. “How she was a great hero in her day, and how she retired and how the Federation got angry over the comic books.”
“But Electra has been classified inactive for decades,” Grandpa said.
“Well, she wants to become active again. She misses the excitement and she misses helping the world.”
“She always was an unpredictable one,” Gran said, shaking her head.
I was glad to hear Gran describe Electra as unpredictable and not … well, something worse. I wasn't exactly sure where we all stood at the moment. It seemed as if maybe Gran felt kind of jealous about Electra and Zip's past connection. And I was afraid Grandpa might be angry with me for working with her without his (or the Federation's) permission. And then there was the whole comic-book thing. I decided I might as well address that issue here and now.
“While we're on the subject of Electra,” I began carefully, “why didn't you just tell me who Electra was from the beginning?”
Grandpa sighed.
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