Not Your Villain (Sidekick Squad #2)(60)

Bells bristles, remembering the scar that races across Jess’ chest. He forgets his casual-cool-composure and pushes his hand through the bars to grab the front of Orion’s uniform. He pulls her forward until she hits the bars, and asks in a slow whisper, “You gonna fry me, too?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Bells sees Claudia startle. A flash in her eyes as she takes a step back can only be panic. Just as quickly, she composes herself; all emotions are hidden.

Orion snaps her fingers, which causes a bit of lightning to spark in the air. “Nothing so drastic. I wouldn’t waste the energy.”

Bells narrows his eyes and rubs the back of his throbbing head. “Why am I here?”

Claudia crosses her arms and looks at her feet.

“You should be thanking me, you know,” Orion says. “Stone didn’t see you turn into, well, you. Claudia spotted you crossing the tantalum threshold, and then I had the great idea to whisk you away from Stone’s security team.” She tut-tuts at him. “Wearing the face of Mischief’s daughter… Stone wouldn’t have been too pleased thinking his little bit of leverage got loose.”

“What do you mean?” Bells scowls. He’s angry for Abby, for Jess, for every single person Orion has hurt on her little journey to get stronger.

Orion steps closer to the bar; her heels clack on the stone floor. “Stone doesn’t know what I need Phillip for. He simply wanted to go ahead with his pet project, and, of course, once Phillip believed Stone had his darling daughter locked up, he, of course, was willing to do anything.” She shrugs. “It’s amazing what holotech can do.”

Bells tucks this piece of information away; he’ll need to tell Abby and the others if they’re going to get her dad free. If Bells can get out of here, that is.

“Whatever,” he says casually. “But what do you want with me?”

Orion’s smile is wide and gleaming. “It’s just a friendly invitation, Chameleon. You know, it’s the strangest thing. The League bankrolled all my experiments and then, when those experiments became public knowledge, sent me to Corrections, and now I’m public enemy number one—wait, no, that’s you.”

“I don’t care about that. I know they’re wrong, and it doesn’t matter.”

“The League is looking for you.” Orion steeples her fingers and smiles at Bells; her teeth are unnaturally straight and white. “I can turn you in for a sizable reward. And then I’ll be back in their good graces.”

“So what are you waiting for? Why not take me directly to League headquarters and present me? Put a big bow on my head?” Orion must need him, or else she’s got a plan that doesn’t involve the League.

“As fetching as that sounds, you would be wasted on them. I’m not going to turn you in until I can show them I’m the most powerful meta-human in the country.”

“Right.” Bells steps back.

Orion taps her chin. Her blue nail polish, though cracked on most of her fingers, is a throwback to her classic put-together Captain look. “The thing is, I need more power. My supply has been running low. And thanks to you, I don’t have all my resources anymore.”

“You mean all the people you’ve kidnapped? The villains?”

Orion shrugs. “Losing Genevieve was a blow, but I still had a few. And I can get more meta-humans. It’s just a matter of finding them.” She taps Bells on the forehead. “Barry, Barry, Barry. Or should I say Bells Broussard? I know your name, you know. That was smart, not registering under your real name.”

Her mouth falls open. “That’s it!” Orion says. “The Registry! Claudia, we need to get the Registry, and I’ll be able to pick and choose from every single meta-human in the Collective!”

Bells tries not to let his face betray his horror. She’s going to kidnap more people?

Claudia’s face remains a passive mask, expressionless. “Good idea, boss.”

Orion claps Claudia on the back. “I am full of great ideas. Claudia even had some ideas of her own. This little genius developed her own version of my power supplement, but so far I’ve only been able to test it on her.”

“It works. I’ve told you so many times,” Claudia says.

“Ah, yes, but you still get tapped out after about three hours. Pushing it for B-class, you know? And how do I know you’re not lying to me about your previous rating?”

“I’ve gotten stronger. You know this.” Claudia’s voice is cool. She picks up a stray bit of metal from the ground and crushes it to small pieces.

The display shakes Bells; Claudia has superstrength, but he’s only seen her use it for hero work. This casual show is meant to intimidate. He’s not sure he’s the only intended audience.

Orion shakes her hair in a move reminiscent of her holoads for shampoo. “I just need to be sure. I took a reading when we first nabbed you, before you fell asleep.”

What could the machine have measured? At the training center, he was careful not to show how much he could do. He doesn’t know what his rating is. He shifted yesterday for most of the day, so…

“Base level at a solid B-class. So about three hours of power-use before you tap out,” Orion muses. “That was yesterday. And you’ve had eight hours of rest, so let’s see if we’re back to B-class.”