Bones of the Past (Villains' Code Book 2)

by Drew Hayes

  That didn’t mean he was entirely out of paths forward, however. Rick was old enough to read between the lines; he knew his parents didn’t have the most amiable relationship post-divorce. They were good about keeping that behind the scenes, always presenting a united front to their kids, but there were too many seams for some not to show. Whatever this secret was might impact his mother’s willingness to share it with him. Alternatively, there was a chance this could be something bad. Something that would paint his father in a new light, the sort of thing she might agree not to tell, yet would confirm if he figured it out on his own.

  Crazy as that idea seemed, his dad was so boring, and the mystery was stirring up all sorts of confusion. Finding out Ivan had kept this secret their whole lives… it was hard not to wonder what else he was hiding. Rick was a curious, determined boy; however, he was still a child. The possibility of changing the way he viewed his father scared him in ways he wasn’t entirely capable of processing. Like all teens, he felt a healthy sense of rebellion and resentment toward those who held control, but Ivan was still his dad. If pressed, and placed into a state more capable of emotional honesty, Rick might have even admitted that he was a good father, at that, supportive and caring in his own way. Despite the distant demeanor, Rick had never for a moment wondered if he had his father’s love. Ivan was always there when it counted, and often when it didn’t. Firm, but never harsh or cruel. He couldn’t even remember Ivan ever yelling at either him or Beth. Misbehavior was met with disappointment and stern discussions.

  The mental image of his dad teaching Beth to swim at the community pool didn’t quite mesh with the idea of a whole secret life... except for a moment, when Rick’s mind flickered. It wasn’t the pool anymore. It was a shoreline. Sand, waves, the screech of gulls in the distance. The water was wrong, though. Seawater didn’t have viscous streaks of purple woven through it.

  Just like that, the image was gone, leaving only a headache in its place. Rick realized his hands had gone still, and sweat dripped from the bottom of his chin onto the keyboard. Hopping up, he ran into the bathroom and noticed the shine on his entire face. He grabbed a towel and wiped away the excessive moisture, then splashed himself with cold water to cool off.

  What the hell? A chunk of some image caused that kind of reaction? An image of someplace he wasn’t even sure he’d ever been, at that. Rick felt his whole mind rebel at that thought, bringing him up short. No, it was a memory. Every part of his brain insisted that it was authentic, ignoring the utter lack of supporting evidence he could produce.

  Whatever he was seeing, it rattled him. Despite the cooldown, Rick’s heart was still racing as he sat once more at the computer. All he knew for sure was that it was tied to memories of his father, and the ocean. A new idea poked his brain, slithering up from the terror of his sudden near-panic attack.

  Closing out the web browser, Rick instead began rooting around the home’s shared folder. Three years prior, Rick’s stepdad had digitized all the family’s old albums as a birthday gift for Janet. They now lived on a folder tucked away on the massive memory bank connected to the network, and after a couple of clicks, Rick had pulled them up.

  A few from his birth—only mom in those. Ivan had allegedly been stuck across town due to a meta-attack. Skimming ahead, Rick noted that the timeline seemed to jump from birth to his first birthday, where Ivan was presenting a lopsided, homemade cake. Under his breath, Rick resisted a snort. His father was usually a much more fastidious cook than that. Skimming ahead again, he was looking at himself as a child, next to a baby Beth just brought home from the hospital. Both parents were there this time, Janet presenting Beth to Rick while Ivan looked like a pack mule who only hauled baby supplies.

  The more Rick skimmed, the sillier his concerns seemed. This was ridiculous. He knew who Ivan was. Some strange parts of the man’s past didn’t change the dad he’d always been. Rick was very near giving up, ready to switch over to college prep, when a new picture popped up on screen. Ivan and Janet waving at the camera. Rick looked about four or five, which would put Beth near one. They were all smiling, the sun shining down overhead—onto hot sand. It was a beach.

  No... it was the beach. The one Rick had just seen. His whole stomach seized up, and his hands began to shake. He couldn’t even look at it without feeling his brain spasm. Something was off. Wrong. Something had happened there, a memory his brain very clearly didn’t want him dragging to the surface. Rick’s determination set at that realization. When it had been a mere curiosity, that was one thing. But the deeper he dug, the more serious things were growing. It was starting to feel like this was bigger than he’d realized.

  Perhaps it was time to go nuclear after all.

  It wasn’t often they met in the day. Work, life, and general habits meant they tended to find their time free in the evenings, at least until duty beckoned once more. Sometimes, however, circumstance demanded speed over convenience. There were issues that couldn’t wait until the time was right; they had to be dealt with as quickly as possible.

  “—and that’s all we’ve managed so far. Vernon is working to analyze the remains of what we brought back, the whole AHC is in a tizzy over getting caught with our pants down, and consequently, I’m probably going to have to do a mass evaluation this weekend. Real crapshow all over the place.”

  “About the same,” Ivan agreed, helping himself to a donut from the sizable box he’d brought. The sugary ones were for Penelope when she was back from day camp. He stuck to a simple kruller. “Not the evaluation part, but Wade is bothered by the fact that someone managed to beat him at tech, even if only for a day. Nobody is taking it lightly.”

  Helen dipped into the box as well, grabbing a donut so filled with cream and sugars she could have never allowed her daughter to eat it in good conscience. Since she, on the other hand, was functionally immortal, the carbs weren’t quite such a concern. She did pause to grab a paper towel off her counter before diving in, though, managing to spare her kitchen island from the first errant blob of cream.

  “The real question is: what’s their next move? Tori was a test run; pretty sure we’re all on that same page. Nothing we saw spoke to a sincere attempt by a legitimate threat. When whoever was really running things starts playing for keeps, I don’t think the stakes are going to be one civilian snatched off the street.”

  This was, by Ivan’s estimation, the hardest point in dealing with a new enemy: figuring out what they wanted. Power, skill, competence, all of that could be handled in the moment, but knowing an opponent’s goal was the greatest power one could have. It was a compass, guiding him toward them at every turn, showing the things they cared about. Until he knew that, he was playing at a disadvantage. Worse, there was a chance that someone this good knew his real identity, and that put Ivan’s own family at risk. Odds that they were coming to pick a fight with a murdering legend were slim, but it had happened before. Plus, as much as they wanted to assume Tori was a coincidence, there was always the chance it wasn’t.

  “I’ve got nothing, and I hate it,” Ivan admitted. “No clues, no hunches, not even a direction to punch in. Which is a shame, because my fists are positively itching.”

  From across the kitchen island, Helen’s hand landed daintily on his forearm. “Keep a leash on it, tough guy. Tearing up every hideout and den in the underworld isn’t actually going to help, especially with someone this careful.”

  “Be assured, I have no intent to dole this anger out where it isn’t deserved.” Ivan paused to tear off a sizable chunk of kruller that he swallowed in a single gulp. “But they stole my apprentice off the street, lashed her to a chair, and threatened her life. Whoever set that in motion will answer to me.”

  “Only if you get there first.” It was said teasingly, yet both clocked the seriousness in one another’s eyes. She would strive to bring the threat in, while Ivan would fight to put it down. “Maybe you could come on board and team-up for this one. I bet we can find you a costume with a big helme
t to hide your face, sell you as some new heavy hitter.”

  Helen’s eyes lit up as the idea took hold. She even rubbed her hands together, a habit she’d long ago had to break while in Lodestar form. “Oh my god, this weekend is the mass evaluation—we could totally smuggle you in with the other rookies! Now that would be a hell of a way to drive home the ‘don’t take any threat lightly’ point, some newbie managing to go a few rounds with Lodestar.”

  “Aside from the myriad of reasons that’s already a bad idea, I’d never be able to actually fight you without displaying a sizable amount of my power, enough to endanger bystanders.”

  “Ivan, I’m not actually going to have you throw down in front of a bunch of new superheroes. It’s just a fun thing to imagine,” Helen assured him. “I mean, don’t get me wrong: I would love to have a chance to let them fight Fornax in a controlled environment, really drill in the difference in power levels without me having to do it.”

  Once, Ivan might have missed the flicker of sadness in Helen’s eyes at the prospect. To most of them, she was more legend than person, known for her world-saving exploits. However, what came soon was going to be worse. Right now, the stories were just stories, myths that many no doubt took to be exaggerations. After a mass evaluation, they were going to understand the gulf between where they were and where the top was far, far better. It was a good lesson, one villains needed as much as capes, yet one that weighed heavily on Helen. Because after they understood, they’d grow more distant. Rarely out of fear or malice; it was just the way people behaved among those that were so much stronger than they.

  It was lonely at the top. For a brief time, they’d gotten to share that position, but those days were long past. Now, all Ivan could do was remind her that no matter how many people called for Lodestar, some still preferred to spend their time with Helen.

  “While Fornax might not be a good fit for an AHC event, you and I also have some business to discuss regarding this week’s Starscouts meeting. The End of Summer Shindig is coming up in a couple of weeks, so we’ll want to make sure to go over that at the top, as well as have handouts for the parents with relevant information. I think they changed the location and fee structure this year, so we’ll want to make sure to highlight those points.”

  Helen groaned with such theatricality Ivan half suspected she was stealing the technique from Penelope. “Geez, it’s all work, work, work, with you. Don’t you ever—”

  A bright, blinking light appeared on Helen’s wrist, atop what appeared to be a perfectly normal watch. In a literal flash, Helen was gone, replaced by the glowing form of Lodestar. She disappeared in a blur, already changed before zipping through a secret tunnel that led out of the house. By the time Ivan took another bite of kruller, Lodestar was already in the sky, racing to respond to whatever threat the AHC deemed appropriate.

  In the meantime, Ivan got to work making a rough outline of the Starscout End of Summer Shindig information for the other parents. Lodestar could handle whatever she was facing alone, but Helen would be glad to have the job started when she got back.

  Chapter 41

  By the time they made it up to the rooftop pool in the early afternoon, Captain Bullshit’s strange snow had finally ceased, and the flowers growing on every external surface had wilted to nothingness. All that remained of his exploit were the memories, and the heat. Despite the fact they were cusping on fall, the thermometer read like they were summering in the desert. A weather shift like that would have ample effects, many of them negative, but one upswing was that it made for perfect poolside weather.

  As Chloe mounted her pink-and-black umbrella onto a stand, creating a shady spot to protect her pale skin, Tori watched her work. She looked normal now, but the morning’s experimentation had confirmed that her new phrase allowed her to look different to each person viewing her. Tori and Beverly’s descriptions were hardly worlds apart, yet if someone had been taking witness statements, they’d never think both women had been talking about the same person. It was a potent talent, one Tori could envision countless espionage uses for.

  Instead, Chloe would probably only ever use it as a party trick, or maybe as a way to boost tips if the coffee shop was running slow one day. And the more Tori thought about it, the happier she was that this unpredictable power was in the hands of someone like Chloe. Flying and fire, even magic, that was all one thing. The powers that fucked with the very foundation of how the world worked scared Tori; she much preferred them in the hands of people who saw them as novelties rather than weapons.

  Together, the three women got settled on the far side of the pool, occupying some of the faded and sagging loungers provided by the apartment complex. Once Chloe was under her shade, she began the process of liberally applying ample sunscreen, easily triple the amount that Beverly was using. Tori got to skip that step, since she didn’t burn—one of the handier side effects of fire-based abilities.

  For the first ten minutes, it was peaceful. A quick dip, a little muddling about, the afternoon breeze stirring up their overheated city. Tori lay in the sun, her mind drifting, contemplating new ideas for her next project. She had to do this right. She only had one chance to launch, and she’d be capitalizing on the kidnapping, so time was a factor. Whatever she kicked off with would have to be just right; there probably wasn’t going to be a second chance. Not like this.

  Bam. The rooftop door slamming open jarred Tori out of her contemplation and drew a squeak from Chloe. Seconds later, a familiar voice rumbled out from the shadows. “Sorry! I thought it was heavier.”

  Austin walked into the sunshine, clad in board shorts and a large t-shirt, a suitably shameful expression on his face. No sooner had he actually scanned the roof than his whole body changed. Seizing up, the relaxed ease left him, and he barely managed to take a few steps forward to let his roommates out. “Hello, neighbors. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

  Yeesh, Tori could even hear the tension creeping into his voice.

  “Who the shit are you talking to? Wait, why am I back here? I can see the light.” In a pop, Ike appeared in front of Austin, while Ellie worked her away around through the doorway. “Ohhh, it’s the cute neighbor girls. I gotcha.”

  “By this point, shouldn’t you know our names?” It wasn’t an especially barbed comment, but that might have just been thanks to Chloe’s constant casual demeanor.

  A quick slug smashed into Ike’s shoulder, courtesy of Ellie’s fist. “Yes, he should, and I’m sure he does.” She, unlike most of the attendees, had walked up in her swimsuit without any sort of cover up. It wasn’t absolutely risqué, but it was definitely more skin-forward than anything Tori would have chosen. Then again, as she was in a simple red one-piece designed for lap-swimmers, that wasn’t saying much. It was probably about on par with Beverly’s bikini, which still meant it was well outside Tori’s comfort zone.

  On Ellie, however, it was stunning. Tori watched the woman, remembering Ike’s picture of the old her. Whoever had done the work was good. There were no signs that her beauty was anything but natural. Part of Tori wondered if that made the whole thing better, or worse.

  As Kyle followed Ellie out, shoving Austin another few inches forward, Ike teleported over to their area, hunkering down next to Chloe. “You know, some people would be complimented by being called cute.”

  Lowering her oversized vintage sunglasses slightly, Chloe met Ike’s eye, then reached out and gently ruffled his hair. “Sorry, bud. I had my sad-boy-hiding-his-pain-through-asshole-behavior phase already, and I’m not looking for a do-over. Why don’t you aim your words in the same direction as your heart?” Pointedly, Chloe glanced over to Ellie, whom Ike had thought he was carefully ignoring.

  It was the first time Tori had seen Ike absolutely flattened, and Chloe had done it with a comforting tone. He stared at her, ignoring the rest of his team settling in on another set of chairs, mouth opening twice before he finally responded. “You’re dangerous, aren’t you?”

  “Like yo
u wouldn’t believe. So play nice.” With that, Chloe popped her sunglasses back up and laid into her chair, signaling the conversation was done.

  For a few minutes, peace returned. The New Science Sentries unloaded their own gear—towels and coolers and the like—while the two secret villains and a not-so-secret barista lounged in the warm air. As their neighbors finished getting ready, attention turned to the pool. Kyle went in first, popping his shirt off, and Tori was unsurprised to see the usual build of a super-speed meta. The man ran lean, toned to the point of being shredded thanks to nonstop cardio and training. Austin was close behind him, pausing only to remove the oversized t-shirt hiding his torso.

  “Oh my.” The words had slipped from Beverly’s mouth without warning, earning her a cocked eyebrow from Tori.

  “Was that a George Takei impression? I didn’t know you watched any Multerion Collection flicks, let alone the sci-fi stuff.”

  “Never got into movies from other universes, so I have no idea who you’re talking about,” Beverly admitted. “I, um, must have been thinking and something nonsensical slipped out.”

  “Come on now. That’s not even my particular flavor of ice cream, and I can admit it’s a well-made sundae,” Chloe chimed in.

  She wasn’t wrong. Austin was nothing if not properly put together. He’d always been large—that went with the territory of physical strength more often than not—but this was the first time they could see just how well conditioned he was. What he wielded wasn’t simply mass, built by repeatedly lifting heavy objects. It was the honed muscle of someone who put their strength to work, constantly and continuously.

  Unfortunately, Ellie had chosen that moment to get near enough to overhear. “Hang on, if that isn’t your flavor, what is?” The hungry look she tossed over her shoulder left no question about Ellie’s own appreciation for her leader’s physique.