A- Villain

Chapter 24 - Mandatory nap time

"Alright boss," Cooper and Matt drop an unconscious Beck into the metal chair in front of me. "Here's that hypnotized super that you ordered." Beck's body slumps into the chair, almost sliding down to the floor before Matt and Cooper catch him and sit him upright again.

I wasn't sure where else we could go but back to headquarters. This is the safest and the most secure location we could be in. Kennedy enters the room behind Matt and Cooper and throws the keys to my SUV at me. "Could you two be any more insensitive?"

I wave the comment off, "It's fine, really. We could all use a joke right now." I respond solemnly as I lower into my black leather office chair with my fingers pressed to my temples. With Beck passed out right across from my desk, it's hard to think of something witty to contribute.

Piper walks over to my desk with concern written all over her face and places her hand on my shoulder. "Hey, we're going to figure this out."

I nod along, "I know. I just can't think straight."

Kennedy scoffs, "Didn't you have a huge test in your Spanish class today?"

Before I can respond, Cooper adds, "And a town hall meeting?"

Piper continues with, "I'm pretty sure you told us you lead sunrise yoga at the campus gym this morning too."

Flustered by their acknowledgement of my hectic schedule, I let out an outburst of frustration, all the while flailing my arms around. "Yes! Okay, yes, I did do all of those things today. Which is exactly why figuring out what's wrong with Beck should just be another thing to cross off of my to-do list, right?"

They all look at each other like I just spoke in a foreign language. Kennedy ushers towards my arms with just as much dramatic flair as I gave off. "Your arm is bleeding! Beck has a black eye and is in a comatose state! We're dealing with more than we can handle on a typical school night."

I look down at my beige sweater sleeve, and shrug off the little bit of blood seeping through. It's really not that bad. Trust me, this v-neck sweater is one of my favorites simply because it's so comfortable and goes with my high-waisted jeans. If I were worried about my arm right now, it would be around the idea of removing the blood stain.

Matt speaks up, "We're saying that you've had a long day, and you need some rest. We might not be able to solve this mystery in a night."

I shake my head while nervously laughing, "You guys are giving up on me? Just like that?"

Kennedy gives me an incredulous look, "We're not giving up on you, Em. But we just need to have clear minds when we try to figure this out. Your mind needs to be clear too."

Maybe they need some sleep, but I can't even process the idea of taking a five minute nap at the moment. "Okay. You all can go home," I comment with more sass than I intended. I continue anyways, "My roommate is a villain and my sort-of boyfriend is unconscious and under hypnosis. So, I'll be staying here tonight."

They all look at me with wide eyes. I shrug, "To answer your next question - yes, I'm sure my roommate had something to do with Beck being kidnapped. Do I know what her powers are? No."

Matt interrupts my one-sided conversation. "But you're Jenga. Don't you have access to the records of supers in the S.E.A. system? Why not look her up in the system to see if she could've done this to him?"

Okay, so maybe my brain is a tad bit fried. I can't believe I forgot about that resource.

I slap my forehead, "Of course!" I immediately rush to log onto my desktop computer to pull up the records. I don't know why I forgot that I had the ability to see what other supers' powers are. Maybe I've tried to forget about that resource because it's the reason Beck and I are in a fight. Is it crazy that I have this level of clearance? Definitely. But do I abuse the power? No. I've only ever used the system to do background checks on my sidekicks. Beck was the only sidekick I didn't have a chance to do a background check on, and look where that got us. The bottom line is, I don't abuse my power or think only of myself in this position of town hero. I have a duty to protect civilians and I'm going to use every resource I have to do that.