Ashley Jason

8. CHAPTER FIVE

No way,” I said, sitting back and shaking my head. “That kid can’t be Parasite.”

“He can be, and is,” said Triplet. “He looks just like Parasite’s pictures from when he was ten-years-old, pictures I got from the orphanage where Parasite stayed. As well, the orphanage director confirmed that Parasite did go to the birthday party of a six-year-old girl in Silvers on that day, meaning that Parasite was, indeed, at your birthday party all those years ago.”

I shook my head. “No way. Mom and Dad would have told me if that was the case.”

“That was who I was hoping to speak to, actually,” said Triplet. “But I heard from your next-door neighbor that your parents are out of town in Mexico celebrating their wedding anniversary this week, so I settled with talking with you.”

“Where did you get that picture?” I said. “From my parents?”

“That’s another interesting fact,” said Triplet. “The orphanage director gave it to me when I called him. I’m not sure how this escaped our notice during the Academy Murders, but then again, back then we weren’t trying to find out who Parasite’s parents were, now were we?”

My mind raced as I considered the implications. “So Parasite and I somehow knew each other even before I started attending the Academy. Do you think Parasite knew who his parents were even back then?”

“Probably not,” said Triplet. “As you said, Dragon King didn’t tell him until after he left the Academy. According to the orphanage director, though, Parasite was something of a social pariah as a kid, never really fitting in anywhere or having very many friends. Always got along with dogs, though, something I have personal experience with.”

Triplet said that last sentence in a disgruntled voice as he rubbed his chest, where Sammy’s muddy paw prints were still quite visible on his shirt.

“Do you think that my parents would know who Parasite’s parents are or something?” I said.

“Unlikely,” said Triplet. “I’m just interested in why they invited Parasite to your party. You didn’t know him very well when you were a kid, right?”

“I thought I didn’t know him at all,” I replied, “but apparently I did. I don’t know why else my parents invited Parasite if I didn’t know him on some level, even if only as acquaintances.”

“Strange,” said Triplet. “When will your parents be back from Mexico?”

“Next Monday,” I replied. “Why? Are you going to stick around and wait for them to show up so you can ask them yourself?”

Triplet shook his head. “I can’t afford to spend a week here in Silvers waiting for your parents. Besides, this picture isn’t the only lead I have on Parasite’s background. It’s just the one that puzzled me the most and I had hoped you would have some insight into it.”

“No,” I said. “Sorry, but I don’t have any insight into it at all. Like I said, you’d have to ask my parents, who would definitely know.”

“Guess I’ll just have to give Bolt a call at some point, then,” said Triplet. He pulled out a paper notepad and scratched something off it with a pencil. “And let the Academy know that I’ve spoken to you, which I’m sure Night Soldier would like to to know.”

I nodded and looked at Omega Man. “What about you, Omega Man? Are you going anywhere?”

Omega Man sighed and sipped his coffee. “I do need to return to Hero Island at some point, but I didn’t come just because Hiro asked me to. Night Soldier asked me to give you an update on the Academy.”

“An update?” I said. “What update?”

Omega Man seemed to consider his words carefully. “Night Soldier told me to tell you to go to his office in the Admin Building after orientation. He didn’t say what he wanted to discuss with you, other than your ‘future’ at the Academy. He was very vague, so don’t ask me for details.”

That was odd, and slightly concerning. Night Soldier was usually pretty clear, if not blunt, about what he wanted to talk with me and the other students about. Night Soldier must have wanted to discuss something very sensitive with me if he didn’t even trust Omega Man with that information.

So I nodded and said, “Okay. Tell Night Soldier I got the message and will see him as soon as orientation is over.”

“Sure,” said Omega Man. He shrugged and stood up. “Anyway, I think it’s time we left, Triplet, assuming there’s nothing else to discuss with Ashley.”

“There isn’t,” said Triplet as he, too, rose, though not without downing what remained in his cup of coffee first. He looked at me and nodded. “Thank you for your time, Ashley. It was nice getting to meet you, even if it wasn’t under entirely ideal circumstances.”

I chuckled. “No, I should thank you guys for saving Barrett and me. If you two hadn’t shown up when you did, Parasite and Gentleman definitely would have killed us.”

“Probably,” said Omega Man. “I will make sure to let the NHA know about Parasite and Gentleman’s attack here. Given how the NHA still has a team dedicated to finding Parasite, they will probably be interested in learning about it.”

“Hope so,” I said, “and maybe tell the G-Men as well. They need to know about the attack, too.”

I didn’t like to admit that at all, but I had to. As much as I distrusted Shade and the G-Men in general, Parasite was infinitely worse. The more people keeping an eye out for Parasite, the better, in my opinion.

“Will do,” said Omega Man. He paused and added, “Oh, and good luck with your fourth year at the Academy, Ashley. I’m sure you’re looking forward to it.”

I smiled. “I am. Going back to the Academy will be nice. The Academy is kind of my home away from home.”

“Good to hear,” said Omega Man. He flashed me a mysterious grin. “I’m looking forward to it as well.”

With that, Omega Man and Triplet left my house before I could follow up on the question. I just watched the two of them leave through the front door and, a second later, saw Triplet’s beat-up old van pull into the street outside of my house and zip away quickly.

I leaned back against the sofa, my warm coffee cup held firmly in my hands. With no one else in the house other than me, it seemed strangely lonely, but I wasn’t really thinking about that.

No, I was thinking about Omega Man’s mysterious last line. What did he mean that he was also looking forward to the Academy? Omega Man definitely was not a student at the Academy. For that matter, he wasn’t a teacher or staff member, either, so it wasn’t like he was going to be teaching any of my classes. Maybe he was just glad that the Academy was opening up again, but somehow I doubted that.

More concerning than Omega Man’s cryptic saying, though, was the information Triplet gave me about Parasite’s parentage.

Like I said, I originally assumed that Parasite told the truth about being the long-lost grandson of Master Chaos. It made sense to me. That kind of crazy had to be genetic. Why else would Parasite be so obsessed with being a supervillain if not to live up to the legacy of his father and grandfather? It also explained his grudge against me quite well.

But what Triplet told me made even more sense. The facts were clearly stacked against the idea that Parasite was in any way, shape, or form related to Master Chaos. It would seem that Dragon King had lied once more, which didn’t surprise me in the slightest. Given Dragon King’s manipulative, lying tendencies, it was more of a surprise that Parasite believed Dragon King at all than that Dragon King would spin such an obviously false lie.

Then there was Omega Man’s memory and the picture of my birthday party. Assuming that woman was indeed Parasite’s mom, then it would seem that she had been planning for Parasite to become a supervillain, perhaps even before his birth. And somehow Omega Man was involved with that, though whether willingly or not, we couldn’t say. Somehow I doubted that Omega Man would willingly help in the creation of a supervillain.

The picture of my birthday party, though, made even that theory seem unlikely. If Parasite had been created to be a supervillain, then why was he in an orphanage? How did he end up at my birthday party? And who were his real parents?

With no way to find an answer to any of those questions, I decided not to worry about them. I had far more pressing issues to worry about, like Barrett’s health and our safety while Parasite and Gentleman were still at large.

Standing up, I decided to head to the hospital and see how Barrett was doing. That seemed much more productive—not to mention safer—than sitting around my house wondering about mysteries I couldn’t solve.

Even as I picked up my parents’ car keys and made my way to the door, though, I found myself hoping that I wouldn’t have to worry about any of this stuff once my fourth year at the Academy began in a couple of weeks.

Unfortunately for me, I didn’t know at the time that not only would I have to worry about this stuff, but that I would be drawn right into the middle of it … against my will, of course.