Wednesday, November 6, 2013

(YA Superhero Fantasy Adventure) Sky Girl and the Superheroic Adventures by Joe Sergi


Title: Sky Girl and the Superheroic Adventures
Genre: Young Adult Superhero Fantasy Adventure
Author: Joe Sergi
Publisher: Martin Sisters Publishing
Pages: 272
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1625530277
ISBN-13: 978-1625530271

Purchase at AMAZON

Being a teenage girl is hard enough, but for DeDe Christopher, it is proving impossible.
In addition to cliques, books, and boys, she has to worry about capes, apes, and aliens. Last year, DeDe discovered that she possessed fantastic abilities that were strangely similar to those of a comic book character named SkyBoy.
With the help of her best friend Jason, a self-professed comic geek, DeDe accepted her legacy and became Sky Girl. Now, DeDe must learn what it means to be a heroine as Sky Girl faces the all too real enemies and allies of SkyBoy, including the clever Quizmaster, the beautiful Penny Pound, the enigmatic Jersey Devil, and the magical MissTick.
DeDe must also face personal challenges as she discovers the secrets of her late father and his connection to Skyboy–secrets that will affect Sky Girl’s destiny.

FIRST CHAPTER:

CHAPTER 1

The Present

Nick Long made the long walk home from Wall Street to his small studio apartment at 295 Greenwich Street. His apartment was located in the section of Manhattan referred to as the Triangle Below Canal, Tribeca for short. Nick knew he paid far too much rent for less than six hundred square feet of apartment. But that was life in the big city.

As he did every night, Nick walked up Broadway and made a right on Chambers Street. He could see the lights of Ground Zero in the distance highlighting the spot where the twin towers fell on 9/11. The sight of construction trucks in the distance gave him a sense of pride. The city was already rebuilding on the land.
Nick rounded the corner and passed by City Hall Park. As he crossed Chambers street, he heard a noise in the bushes in front of the park. Out of the corner of his eye, Nick was sure that he saw something move in the dark trees. He picked up his pace. As he did, Nick looked over his shoulder and stared into the park, hoping to catch a glimpse of what he heard.

Nick was still staring into the park when he collided with the teenage girl wearing a long trench coat. The girl did not fall. Instead, Nick felt as if he had slammed into a brick wall. Stunned and winded, the burly man tumbled backwards to the ground.

The red-haired girl gave a shy smile and extended a gloved hand to Nick.

Nick took her hand and looked up at the newcomer. Her five-foot frame stood confident on the dark street. The teenage girl was pretty and wore a brown trench coat, though the temperature was nearly ninety-five degrees on this hot August night. Nick looked closer to see that she wasn’t even sweating. Despite the trench coat, Nick could see that she was wearing purple boots and gloves. He gave her a friendly smile.
The teen’s smile widened, and her blue eyes glinted in the lamp light.

The two stared at each other for a second, and then the girl spoke. “So, um, are you going to get up or what?”

Nick realized he was staring at her. “Sorry. I didn’t expect anyone to be out here.” He held on to her hand and she easily pulled him to his feet. “I’m okay. I guess I was just a little nervous, what with the recent rise in crime and all. I didn’t want to be caught by surprise.”

“Good job with that.” The teen winked at him as she mocked him. “I’m sure falling down was all part of your plan.”

“More or less,” Nick added with a grin.

Just then, Nick heard a noise in the bushes again. He spun toward the sound, turning away from the girl. Nick squinted into the darkness and watched as four large, hulking figures emerged from the bushes in the park. With a growl, the attackers rushed toward him.

“You have to get out of here!” Nick turned back to warn the teen.

But she was gone.

Nick stood alone and confused in the center of Chambers Street.

His confusion was soon replaced by fear as one of the figures from the park tackled him. The impact knocked Nick to the ground again. This time, when he looked up, he did not see an attractive teen. The stockbroker rubbed his eyes and looked again.

The creatures were still there: four large silverback apes dressed in army green camouflage uniforms. The largest one moved toward him and growled, revealing its sharp fangs.

Nick threw his hands over his head and closed his eyes.

There was a loud thud, and he opened his eyes just in time to see the large ape fly through the air and back into the park.

Nick heard someone behind him say, in a deep woman’s baritone, “Didn’t anyone tell you it’s not nice to eat people?”

The well-dressed executive turned around to see someone floating a foot above the sidewalk. Nick recognized her as the girl that had helped him mere minutes ago. Only now, she wore a purple mask over her blue eyes and had removed her trench coat, revealing a black spandex body suit, which accentuated her muscular frame. A matching purple cape, gloves, boots, and skirt completed the girl’s costume. The skirt was emblazoned with a silver molecular symbol on it. Nick immediately recognized the symbol as belonging to the comic book character known as SkyBoy. “Whoa.”

Nick watched as the girl slowly floated to the ground. She brushed a strand of red hair from her face. “Okay, Gorilla Army, time for round two.” She flew into the remaining three creatures, scattering them like bowling pins.

As if on cue, the fourth ape exited the woods with a large rifle. Nick tried to warn the girl, but he was too late. The weapon fired an energy bolt that slammed into her and sent her crashing towards the ground.
Nick watched as the girl executed a perfect tuck and roll before hitting the grass. Nick exhaled in relief as the costumed girl easily regained her footing.

“I think it’s time for a SkyPulse!” she exclaimed as she extended her hands toward the ape. The weapon burst into flames, igniting the gorilla’s fur. The panicked creature dove into the City Hall fountain in an attempt to extinguish himself.

Smoke rose from the water. The smell of burnt fur filled the air.

The teen gave Nick an innocent look. “Whoops!”

With a smile, the girl turned back to the other three apes.

Faster than Nick’s eyes could see, she grabbed a heavy support net from a nearby construction site and wrapped up the remaining apes. With little effort, she tossed the creatures across the park and into the pond, trapping the fourth ape with them.

When the battle was over, the young girl hovered above the park and surveyed the situation. She slowly floated to the ground in front of Nick.

Nick could hear her talking. “What are you talking about? My banter was not hackneyed! C’mon. ‘Time for SkyPulse?’ That was great!”  

“What?” Nick asked before he noticed the wireless headset.

“Hold on. I gotta check on the guy.” For the second time that evening, she extended her hand to Nick to help him to his feet.

“Um, thanks,” Nick stammered. “Was I just attacked by monkeys in combat gear?”

The girl smiled. “They were apes. Monkeys have tails. Everybody knows that. Make sure to tell the police that these apes are really smart, so they should send them to jail and not put them in a zoo or something."
Nick just stared at the girl. “That was amazing.”

She blushed and then spoke into the headset. “What? I’m not going to say that. Why? Because it’s dumb.” There was a long pause, and finally the girl said, “Fine, you win. I’ll do it.” She turned to Nick and added quietly, “It was all in a night’s work.” She listened for a moment and then mumbled the word, “Citizen.”

The costumed teen started to fly away. Before she could get too far off the ground, Nick grabbed her arm. He could feel the muscles in her small but compact triceps. “Wait. Who are you?”

The girl turned back to him and placed her hands on her hips. “Me? I’m Sky Girl, silly.” She slowly began to float off the ground. “And you should be more careful at night. I wouldn’t want to see a cutie like you get hurt. Bye bye.”

With that, Sky Girl flew away.


Nick watched as she disappeared into the night sky in a blur of black and purple. After a few moments, he finally shook his head and said, “Good golly!”


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