Page 35 of Not All Himbos Wear Capes
And melt he did. By the time Big City’s latest threat drifted down to the ground, he was little more than a charred husk of scorched flesh, with the cameras zooming in to capture the mess in disgusting detail.
Everythinghurt, but I plastered a cocky grin on my face and gracefully landed beside my latest kill as the crowd went wild. A few minutes later, my head waspounding,but I struck a few poses for the press and signed autographs before heading toward the unmarked town car waiting for me.
Just my boss wanting to immediately torture me with a debriefing.
“Nicely done, Butch,” Solomon Biggs clapped me on the back the instant the car door slammed shut. I winced—not because a normie like Biggs could actually injure me, but something felt… off.
Sugar, my head hurts.
“…and the Mayor will want to present you with another medal. In front of the Enterprises building, naturally…”
Something’s wrong…
“…but first, I’m going to need you to enter Penetrate’s information into a spreadsheet…”
I wish Xander was here to take care of—
* * *
“Xan!” I gasped myself awake, frantically groping the surrounding bed, desperate for him. It felt absolutely vital that I press my body against his—absorb his comforting warmth like a security blanket—but he was nowhere to be found.
Where the fudge am I?
I blinked the sleep out of my eyes and peered around the dim bedroom. The walls were painted a faint peach, with tasteful furnishings and zero personality. There wasn’t a single identifying feature—no photos showing proof of life—which led me to believe whoever decorated this room was either a robot or…
Oh, no.
“Butch, darling! I’m glad to see you’re awake.”
My entire body tensed as my mother breezed into the room, eliciting a sharp twinge of pain from my newly realigned ribs. This frivolous discomfort was forgotten when I realized the sun was already setting over my family’s estate—an hour’s flight outside the city.
Xander’s going to be so worried!
“Where’s my phone?” I barked, patting the bed again as if all my belongings—and pride—weren’t routinely stripped the moment I entered this house.
Definitelynota home.
My mother made a derisive sound before producing my phone from her pocket—holding it out of reach. “Yes, you’ve received no less than 30 text messages and a dozen phone calls from someone saved as ‘Daddy Xan’ in your contacts.”
An uncontrollable pulse of power rippled under my skin. I’d promised Xander I would do my best to call him, and he was obviously worried about me, so ifthis womanthought she was going to keep us apart—
“Did you justthreatenyour own mother?” she hissed as searing, white-hot agony raced through my veins. My firepower came from this woman—aka Smoldering Siren—but where I could expel it, she could burn you alive from the inside.
“I’m sorry!” I choked out. “Please, I just need to call my... my…”
The flames instantly dissipated, replaced by my mother’s icy tone. “I hope for your sake you’re talking aboutNicole.”
I couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled up through my parched throat. “Mother, I told you. That date you and father sent me on with Gemstonia was one of the most painfully awkward nights of my life. I don’t want—”
“It doesn’t matter what you want.” My father was suddenly looming in the doorway, sucking the air from the room. There was no doubt he’d felt my disrespectful power surge and stopped whatever he was doing to come remind me whohewas.
Vortexio.
My strength, speed, and flight came from my father, but I hadn’t inherited his more awesome powers. This man could literally create a tornado on a windless day and fling an entire town into another dimension.
And he’s looking pretty pissed off at the moment…
I swallowed hard, but forced my voice to remain steady as I attempted to advocate for myself. “I’m with someone now, and it’s getting serious. His name is Xander—”
