Star League 1 Read online

  ‘Yeah? Well we’ll just have to keep coming after you until we find out who you really are!’

  The figure cackles. ‘You six won’t be so lucky next time!’ The screen switches off and we’re left standing there with our mouths open.

  ‘Ugghhh, where am I?’ Jefferson’s groggy voice drifts up from a corner of the room. I rush over to him.

  ‘Jefferson, are you okay?’

  He nods. ‘What happened?’

  ‘Well …’ I stop as I notice the other five are silently pointing and waving at me. I follow their gazes to the TV camera with its blinking red light.

  I slap my forehead. I forgot all about Crunch Time! Tina Timmons is staring at us from the monitor, a shocked look on her face. Her mouth keeps opening and closing like a fish gasping for air. I think it’s the first time I’ve ever seen her lost for words!

  This is bad. If the cameras have been filming the whole time, it means that our fight has been watched on live TV by thousands. So much for our crime-fighting team being top secret!

  I clear my throat. ‘Uh, I can explain this …’

  We’re all sitting down back at Beaumont Studios as Ben loads the recording of our Crunch Time interview. He stops it at the part where I realise the camera has been filming the whole time.

  ‘This is my favourite bit!’ He grins and pushes play.

  I watch myself on screen as my confused expression quickly changes to a smile. ‘What you’ve seen here tonight has never been done before – the world’s first live-action movie trailer!’

  ‘You’ve been watching the preview for Ben Beaumont’s upcoming action film starring newly discovered actors Connor Lowe, Roger Romero, Asuka Kuro, Leigh Faunus and Sam, uh, Samuels, as well as myself, Jay Casey. Thanks for watching, and make sure you look out for the movie, which will hit cinemas sometime next year!’

  Ben stops the recording and we all laugh.

  ‘How did you come up with that on the spot?’ asks Connor.

  ‘We’re so lucky they believed it!’ says Asuka.

  ‘Now the whole world thinks we’re movie stars!’ says Roger.

  Ben shakes his head. ‘I don’t know how I’m going to film a movie starring you guys by next year and have you fight madmen like Professor Pestilence.’

  ‘Or madwomen,’ points out Leigh. ‘We couldn’t tell who the real Professor Pestilence was.’

  ‘Why don’t you just film us while we’re fighting the real criminals?’ I say. ‘Then you can turn it into a movie!’

  ‘You know, that’s not a bad idea,’ says Ben. ‘We could fit you all out with tiny cameras that would catch the action from every angle. Then we can finish up the rest of the filming in the studio.’

  ‘That way if anyone sees us fighting the bad guys, we’ll just say we’re filming a movie,’ I say. ‘It’s the perfect cover!’

  Ben nods. ‘So does that mean you’ve agreed to lead the team?’

  They stare at me with hopeful looks on their faces. Can I really do it? Can I lead a double life, making movies in between fighting bad guys? I think about how well we all worked together as a team, and I know there’s no other answer.

  ‘Of course I will!’ The others all cheer. ‘I, Jay Casey, officially agree to lead the members of … hey, we need a name!’

  ‘Yeah, we can’t keep calling ourselves the movie star/ werewolf/ ninja/ zombie/ animancer/ robot gang,’ says Connor. ‘All the action will be over by the time we’ve finished saying it!’

  ‘What about JRACLS?’ suggests Sam. ‘It’s the first letter of each of our names all put together.’

  Roger scrunches up his nose. ‘Ugh, it sounds like a disease!’

  ‘How about the Silent Avengers?’ suggests Asuka.

  Chu screeches, and Leigh reaches up to pat him. ‘Except we’re not all silent like a ninja. What do we all have in common?’

  I think for a moment. ‘The whole world believes we’re movie stars, right? And today we put on a performance that was out of this world. Why not call ourselves the Star League?’ They all think it over for a couple of seconds, then nod.

  ‘It’s got a good ring to it,’ says Connor, and the others agree.

  ‘The Star League it is then,’ says Ben. Suddenly a computer on the wall makes a beeping noise. We turn as Ben walks over and taps at the keyboard.

  ‘Reports are coming in of mysterious disappearances, and the police don’t have any leads.’ He looks up at us. ‘Sounds like a tough case, but not too tough for the Star League, right?’

  We grin at each other and lean in to read our first case.

  randomhouse.com.au/starleague

  H.J. Harper isn’t sure if books are stalking her, or if she’s stalking books. Either way, she’s had various jobs in bookstores and libraries, and now works as an author. Her favourite part about being an author is that staring out the window and imagining things is no longer something she can get in trouble for – in fact, it’s required! When she’s not writing books about werewolves, zombies and ninjas, she’s usually playing video games … about werewolves, zombies and ninjas. She lives in Melbourne with her partner and a very spoilt cat who cannot be controlled by animancer powers.

  Nahum Ziersch was born and raised in the Clare Valley in South Australia. From a very young age he knew he wanted to draw for a living, surrounded by very artistic parents who encouraged and nurtured his passion. As a kid he would watch Astro Boy and stacks of other cartoons in his PJs, devour comics and draw his own imaginative worlds and characters. Nahum works as a freelance illustrator in Adelaide. While his main areas of work include editorial, advertising and educational illustrations, he still has a mad passion for creating quirky and expressive characters.