Free The OK Team 2 by Nick Place Page A

all the lemons I keep bringing home,’ Cannonball says. ‘She’s been making lemon tart, lemonade, preserved lemons . . .’
    We keep up with our crime-beat, but we aren’t feeling very Heroic today. Torch keeps sneaking uncertain glances at his tattoo. And apart from a dog stealing smelly sausages from a skip at the back of the butchers, there’s not much crime to be thwarted.
    Torch shoots a flame at the dog, but misses it, and instead cooks the sausages. The dog gratefully gulps down the unexpected hot meal. Torch looks even less pleased with the world.
    â€˜Gee Two Gee,’ he says.
    â€˜Huh?’ says Cannonball.
    â€˜It’s L8. G2G for me,’ Torch shrugs.
    We all stare at him as though he’s an alien.
    â€˜What language is that, Candle-Boy?’ says Cannonball.
    â€˜Get with the lingo,’ he sighs. ‘Honestly, you lot are so small town. Tune into herohints.com . Hang out at the Hero forums. The Heroes OS know how to speak.
    Anyway, G2G.’
    â€˜Give to Gorillas?’ Logi-Gal suggests.
    â€˜Great to grow?’ I try.
    â€˜Goal to goal?’ Cannonball says.
    â€˜Guest to Game?’ Of course it’s The Gamer.
    â€˜Got To Go,’ says Torch. ‘L8. Late. Jeez.’
    â€˜What’s shorthand for Complete Tosser?’ Cannon -ball asks.
    Torch takes a step towards him. ‘I’ve just about had enough of you, Water Pistol.’
    â€˜Oh yeah, Human Lighter?’
    â€˜Play nice, Hero hopefuls!’ We all jump in shock, but when I narrow my eyes, I can see Chameleon’s outline, his Superpower blending him almost perfectly into the background which is poster of a woman smiling hugely, advertising a new dishwashing powder she’s discovered.
    â€˜Hey OKers, did you hear about Volt?’
    â€˜I knew it was you, Chameleon,’ I say.
    â€˜Which is why you involuntarily turned into a cloud when I first spoke,’ he says and I can tell he’s grinning, even if the model’s beaming smile is disguising his actual face. ‘You recovered from the Flying Tigers’ humiliation yet?’
    â€˜You got lucky on the night,’ I say, hoping my blurriness covers my blushing. ‘What about Volt?’
    â€˜You know who he is, right?’ Chameleon asks.
    Logi-Gal frowns and doesn’t let us down. ‘Category 5 Villain, famous for holding hostage the town of Yallourn – source of most of the Victoria’s coal-based electricity production – with threats to surge the state’s power. Sentenced to twelve years imprisonment in 1997, but escaped during the blackout of the big storms of 2003.’
    â€˜Yes’ says Chameleon, now merged into the brick wall of the Commonwealth Bank. ‘He surfaced yesterday, trying to plug into the power grid, to boost his electricity reserves and therefore increase his ability to zap Heroes. Golden Boy tracked him and they went toe to toe. But far from being a Category 5, Volt was souped to the max on S.T.O.M.P. and mainlining the state’s power. The second he and Golden Boy connected, it blew nine generators, blacked out more than 50 per cent of the state and formed a crater so deep it’s probably going to be a tourist attraction to rival the Grand Canyon.’
    â€˜How’s Golden Boy?’ I ask, my heart thumping.
    Chameleon pauses. ‘He suffered an injury to his arm – a graze that almost broke the skin. Unusual for him to be so wounded.’
    â€˜That sounds much more powerful than Category 5,’ says The Gamer. ‘Aren’t they supposed to be mid-powered Villains?’
    â€˜Exactly,’ says Chameleon. ‘This S.T.O.M.P. is dangerous. For everybody. Gotham says it’s a synthetic compound that boosts energy and muscle-mass, artificially enhancing Hero or Super-Villain powers . It also enables fast physical recovery and the production of more red blood cells, giving the heart extra oxygen and