Free Rise of the Heroes by Andy Briggs

away the butt in disgust. Big Tony shoved the remains of a burger into his mouth, ketchup dribbling down his chin.
    Pete’s sore muscles tensed and his legs turned into jelly. He knew he’d have to run, and he was convinced his legs wouldn’t carry him. How he wished for superpowers right now—then he’d put an end to the last two years of bullying he’d endured. He continued walking, careful notto make eye contact, waiting for the shouted insult or the sound of charging footsteps … but there was nothing.
    He realized that Scuffer had mentioned seeing somebody fly; what if he had witnessed them earlier?
    â€œHey, Professor!”
    Pete’s heart sank. Scuffer had detached from the group and was walking menacingly toward him. At least their ringleader was missing: Jake Hunter, the one bully that no kid wanted to mess with.
    Pete tensed and faced Scuffer. “What?”
    Scuffer was brought up short. Usually the Professor, like all of their victims, never stayed around to chat, but today Pete was staring straight at him. For once the bully was lost for words.
    Pete experienced an unexpected surge of confidence. “I said, what? And the name’s not Professor.”
    Scuffer could never make eye contact at the best of times, and his eyes darted around. He took a step back. Pete straightened himself from the slouch he was accustomed to walking with, and broadened his chest as he shoved past.
    Nothing else happened. Stunned, Pete looked behind him. Sure enough, the gang was staring at him, its members mumbling among themselves. Something was clearly worrying them.
    Pete smiled to himself. Could they sense the difference? He satisfied himself with the thought that if they
had
seen him fly, then they could see he was a real hero now, and not somebody to be messed with.
    There was no way Toby could sleep, not well anyway. He was physically tired and as soon as he got home he jumped into bed, sinking into the blankets. But his mind refused to rest.
    Tempest … flying … the resin-rifles and energy blasts …. It was like something out of a video game, but so real he could smell the flames from Lorna’s laser vision and the thick smoke rolling off the bank. And something else, a sickly smell coming from Tempest, as if he hadn’t showered … well,
ever
.
    Who was he? With a deformed head like that, Toby was sure he would have been on television before now. What could have happened to make somebody look like that?
    Something else bothered him too—his superpower had been useless. It annoyed him that Pete had been right about that. Of all the cool things he could have had … well, it was a lesson to choose wisely next time.
    He flicked through the bundle of comics Pete had left behind and that his mother had dumped in his room. The immense possibilities were only just occurring to him. What they could achieve … what they could become …
    Toby’s stomach rumbled, and he realized that he couldn’t remember when he had eaten last. His bedside clock said 9:30 p.m.
    He crept downstairs, noticing his mother was on the computer, immersed in whatever work she was doing. He headed for the kitchen, but stopped as he passed the living room. Lorna was on the sofa, staring at the television.
    â€œYou’re not tired either?” he asked.
    Lorna looked at him with a grave expression and beckoned him over. “You better see this.”
    Toby sat beside her. The television showed a dark street with flashing blue police lights and a reporter standing in the cold, clearly unhappy with her assignment. It was a discussion between the reporter and the newscaster, who was sitting in the warm studio.
    â€œPolice said it was an armed gang of at least five people,” said the reporter.
    Now the images made sense to Toby—it was the bank they had been outside earlier. Toby opened his mouth to say something, but Lorna shushed him as she listened.
    â€œAnd