by R. J. Ross
“Kim, probably, right?” Max offers, flipping through the file in his hand. “Dad’s accounting said she charged him for four new outfits in the past week--since all the Hall members have a special code for their uniforms, I figured at least one of them was Emily’s uniform. The other three must be Liz going shopping, right?”
“How closely DO you watch Hall business?” Nico asks him.
Max gives him a shameless grin. “Know thine enemy,” he says. “Plus, I like to keep track of things. It’s how I found out about this school so fast.”
“I can’t just run off to--to--where are we going?” Alyssa asks me.
“The Arctic Circle,” I say, “Grandma and Grandpa live there.”
“You moved your poor grandparents up to the middle of nowhere?” she asks. “What did they do to deserve that?”
“They moved themselves!” I say, trying not to laugh. “But I would have thought that was the LAST place you wanted to go, Nico,” I say. “You and Grandpa still don’t see eye to eye.”
“See, now THAT makes a little more sense--nobody sees eye to eye with their dad,” Alyssa says.
“I have to agree,” Ace says from right behind her. I almost laugh as Alyssa jumps from shock. “I don’t see eye to eye with my dad, either.”
“You need to stop being a creeper,” Alyssa scolds him.
“Hey look, Max, he’s hitting on a girl that’s NOT one of our girlfriends!” Jack calls to Max.
“He hits on you?” Alyssa asks me.
“He only does it to make Jack mad--but no changing the subject! We need to talk to Alyssa’s parents, Nico! Did you even tell them she would be on television? Or kidnapped by a super villain? I bet they’re out of their minds with worry--” I stop, pulling out my phone and texting Grandpa Andre. “I’m going to take care of this right now,” I declare. “I won’t have your poor parents terrified that they threw you to super villains.”
“They already met me,” Jack says with a shrug, “they shouldn’t be THAT terrified. I’m a lot scarier than Ace is.”
“In your dreams chrome dome.”
“Where did you get that one from?” Jack asks Ace.
“We had an eighties marathon. We got Carla wearing running suits that looks a bit like Lisa Frank thanks to that one,” Ace says grinning hugely.
“There’s nothing wrong with liking Lisa Frank!” Zoe says, instinctively stepping in front of Carla. I don't think she's ever even had a conversation with Carla, but I'm still not surprised. Zoe can be almost overwhelmingly protective if she thinks someone's being picked on. “Don’t you dare make fun of Carla.”
“I didn’t say it was a bad thing, exactly,” Ace says. “Carla, I didn’t mean to--”
“You better make it up to me,” Carla says, clearly taking advantage of the situation, “you have to paint my wall!”
“In Lisa Frank style?”
“In Lisa Frank style!” she agrees.
“I’m going to have to stock up on glitter,” Ace mutters.
I see Alyssa’s shoulders shake slightly as she looks away. She’s laughing at him. I can’t help but glance over at Morgan, who has a slight frown on her face. She looks away as soon as she sees me look at her. That must sting, huh? Inwardly I sigh. I love the girl, she’s my best friend, but she really needs to get a clue sometimes.
My phone chirps and I pull it out, reading the text from Grandpa Andre. “He says he’s in a meeting with the local news stations,” I read, “so I should make Nico explain what’s going on,” I finish, looking at Nico.
“We’ll stop there on the way to Mom’s,” Nico says, strapping on a watch. A chill runs down my spine as I see it, and he catches my look. “Don’t worry, no time involved,” he says, flashing the watch at me. “This is purely teleportation. I ripped off Emily’s schematics and built it the other day--I’m not sure when,” he admits, frowning at the watch. “I think somewhere between Gilligan’s Island and The Andy Griffith Show.”
Alyssa looks at me, her expression conveying, “And this is our PRINCIPAL?”
“Actually we need to stop by Kim’s workstation at the Hall first, and then we’ll talk to the parents,” he says, walking over and placing a hand on each of our shoulders. “Don’t panic, kiddo, I’ve made things that go a LOT further,” Nico says as Alyssa lets out a little yelp.
She finishes it when we appear in the middle of a cloth cluttered room, shocking the woman standing in front of us. She covers it within seconds--she works with a lot of heroes, after all. “You could have called first,” she scolds Nico.
“Sorry, Kim, last minute changes. Can you set Alyssa up with one of Liz’s snow suits?”
“Of course,” Kim says, grabbing a tape measure. “How soon do you need it?”
“In half an hour or so?”
She gives him a dark look and gets to work.
***
“So this is where your dad works?” Nico says as we walk up to a large building. “What does he do here?”
“He’s a metal worker,” Alyssa says quietly. “He cuts strips of steel for companies to use. We have to go to the back part,” she adds, grabbing my hand and tugging me along. “Do we really have to do this?”
“Of course we do--he’s your father!” I say. “We’re going to see your mom after this, got it? And I need to call Granddad Jake when we get up there--I haven’t had the chance to tell him what’s going on.”
“That’s fine,” Nico says. “He probably thinks you’re still up there.”
“Can I help you?” a man says, heading for us. He’s wearing blue collar working clothes, with tough looking gloves and a pair of safety goggles hanging around his neck.
“I need to talk to Dad, Mike,” Alyssa says. I look over as someone starts for us.
“Alyssa!” he says, racing past Mike and pulling Alyssa into a bear hug. “Honey, we’re getting you out of that school--”
“It was a ruse,” she says, blushing with embarrassment. “It was all play-acting, Dad, he didn’t hurt me or anything.”
“I’m afraid we need her help with a little situation, sir,” Nico says, stepping forward and offering a hand. He’s wearing a mask again. I don’t even know when he put it on. “I’m Technico, principal of her new school.”
Mike is just staring at him with his jaw hanging open. We all ignore it--Technico gets that reaction a lot.
“I still don’t like it,” Alyssa’s father says. “You’re using my daughter as--”
“I wanted to do it,” Alyssa says. “Can we talk somewhere else? Somewhere private?” she asks.
“You wanted to do it?” he asks in shock. “You never volunteer--”
“Dad, please, don’t,” she says sharply, an irritated look on her face. “This isn’t like a normal school,” she whispers. “It’s... different.”
“Do you have an office?” Nico asks Mike.
“That way,” Mike says, motioning awkwardly behind him.
“We’ll be borrowing it,” Nico tells him, heading for the office. We automatically follow along. Once we’re in the tiny office, Nico closes the door and turns to Alyssa’s father. “Nico Masters,” he says, introducing himself a second time. “I’m going to ask something a bit serious, so I might as well tell you exactly who I am. I’m the son of Superior and Tatiana--and I’d like to ask permission to take your daughter with us to the Arctic Circle.”
“What?” Alyssa’s father says after a long moment. “Absolutely not! Why would I--”
“Because that’s the safest place for her right now,” I say, stepping forward. “A lot of healers were exposed to the public because of me--if people realize what really happened, they’re going to start hunting them down. A healer is extremely important, sir. And while I can’t blame people for wanting to--to be healed, it’s still dangerous for my healers,” I say. Yes, I feel possessive of the entire group. It’s silly, but I can’t help it, “that includes Alyssa. Where we’re taking her is the safest place in the universe.”
“How is
it the safest place in the universe?” he demands.
“Because Superior, Tatiana, and Cosmic live there,” I say. "There's also Duplicitous, but you probably don’t know who she is. And yes, Superior IS alive, please don’t let it out. He’s retired.”
The look of shock on his face quickly turns to amazement. “Who are you?” he finally asks, looking at me.
“Aubrey,” I say, holding out my hand, “AKA Life Light. I’m the Central Branch’s healer and a student at Cape High. Alyssa’s the first healer I’ve met other than myself.”
“She--so she really is a super?” he asks.
“She is,” I say firmly, reaching over and taking Alyssa’s hand. “She’s an extremely important super.”
“So, can I go?” Alyssa asks.
“I’m not sure I could stop you,” he admits, pulling her into a hug. “Be safe. I love you.”
There’s a look of shock on her face before she gingerly hugs him back. “Yeah, me too.”
“We’re going to visit your wife, next, and then we’ll be leaving,” Nico says. Alyssa pulls away from her dad and Nico and her father shake hands.
We grab Nico’s arms and we’re gone, heading to her mom’s work to repeat the meeting. In no time at all we’re standing in the middle of Grandpa and Grandma’s front room.
***
They're sitting in a front room half the size of his house, carved out of ice. Cosmic and Superior are casually lounging on recliners as they talk about the old days, and Tatia and Felicia (as she calls herself) are chatting with Skye about her work as a super villain.
Isotonic, one of the biggest names in present hero society, feels like a kid playing dress up. The same question is repeating over and over in his mind as he tries to look casual. How do you yell at an icon in hero history for norms being bothered? It’s not as if he can threaten ANY of them with Cape Cells--the very idea is ridiculous. He’s not even sure the power inhibiting collars will work on this group. Of course he’s still positive Skye is the reason for all the trouble--she’s a super villain, after all. She’s also crazy. He hadn’t believed all of the stories Century told until he’d sat down with her for an hour. But for some reason all these heroes of the past are covering for her.
“Aubrey!” Tatia says as the small group appears in front of them. “You have returned!”
“AUBREY!” Skye yells, hopping to her feet and hugging the norm looking girl. “I’m SO HAPPY!”
“Hi, Skye,” Aubrey says. To Isotonic’s surprise, Superior actually gets to his feet and walks over. “Hi, Grandpa,” she says.
“We saw Emily’s debut,” Superior says, holding out his hand to Alyssa while placing his other hand on Aubrey's shoulder. “You make a very entertaining hostage,” he goes to the younger girl.
“Thank you,” she whispers, staring at him in wonder.
The only logical thing to do, Isotonic decides, is to introduce himself. Clearly these girls are special. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Aubrey,” he says, shaking her hand. He doesn’t expect anything--until her eyes start to glow and her brown hair starts floating. He almost pulls away, he’s so surprised.
“What is with all of you big leaders and too much stress?” she demands irritably as her eyes go back to normal. “Alyssa, pay attention--the higher up they are the more likely you’ll be to run into stress fatigue, even in heroes,” she tells the black girl behind her. For all the world it sounds like a teacher lecturing a student.
Now that he thinks about it, he DOES feel more relaxed, Isotonic thinks. “What, ah, did you just do?”
“Aubrey’s a healer!” Skye says, hugging the girl, her cheek pressed to Aubrey's. For a second Aubrey’s eyes glow again.
“You need to eat better, Aunt Skye,” Aubrey says.
Alyssa is looking away--he can hear the faintest sounds of laughter coming from her. “Is she always like this?” she asks after containing it.
“She’s gotten worse,” Nico says. “Ever since she forced all of Central Hall to come in for yearly check-ups--she had Double M repenting on his knees over skipping too many meals.”
“That wasn’t my fault, it was his own!” Aubrey says.
“Wait--so both of you are healers?” Isotonic says, finally catching on to what it means for him as a branch leader. “Have either of you thought about moving up north?”
“Not until they’re graduated,” Nico says. “Alyssa only just started at Cape High.” He pats the younger girl on the back. “Father, I’ll be borrowing your work room.”
“Use your own room,” Superior says. “There should be enough junk in there for you to do whatever you want.”
“Junk?” Nico repeats.
“You made a clone of me out of a coke machine, I figured junk works just fine,” Superior says.
“A coke machine, a car and--oh, forget it,” Nico says. “Let’s see this room.”
“Grandma, can Alyssa use Emily’s room?” Aubrey asks. “I really doubt Em will mind.”
“Of course! If she can find her way through it, that is. Emily created quite a mess in just a night,” Grandma Tatia says.
“Well there ARE three of her,” Aubrey says.
Isotonic stays silent, his eyes glued to the two girls as they head down a hall--at least they are until Skye gets right in his face.
“Don’t even think about it, mister,” she says, waving a finger in his face. “My niece is going to finish school!”
“So how DID you talk them into covering up for you about the light?” he asks instead of responding.
“What light?” She looks at him for a long moment before turning her back on him and walking away.
Well... It’s not like he can do much to her, even if she DID send the light, he thinks with a sigh. Not here, or even back in her own territory. He gets the feeling Century would do something extremely violent if he threatened one of his favorites.
***
“So, whatcha doin?” The question makes Nico look up from the metallic platform he’s building. It will create a full sized hologram of whoever is standing on it. The teams in the field will have a hologram of Aubrey to talk to their targets thanks to it. There are pieces of computers scattered on the huge desk behind him, and larger machine parts all around. He wants to think his mom got them for him, but somehow he doubts she was the only one.
“Hello, Skye,” he says, going back to his work. Even if he's only seen her in passing, he's not that surprised. He's heard plenty of stories, and then there are the videos from summer camp. “I’m building a hologram projector.”
“Were you REEEALLLY a super villain?” she asks, floating over his head and poking some of the metal scraps he has hovering over his head. “I never heard of you.”
“How old are you?”
“Twenty five.”
“You were almost ten at the time I was tossed in the Cape Cells,” he says, soldering a line with his finger. “I really doubt you would remember me.”
“I’ve seen you on TV lately. But I didn’t know you were Superior’s son.”
He finally looks at her. “You’re scared?” he says, a bit surprised. He’s usually terrible at reading emotions, but this one is obvious when you look at her face. It’s either fear or a lot of worry, at least.
“I--I’m NEVER scared!” she blusters. "I am SKYSTEP!”
He stands, watching as she jerks away. “Mom accepted you, right?” he says.
“Well, but--” she starts out, looking left and right. It’s almost funny, seeing her look for a way to escape. Can’t she phase through anything? She leans forward, whispering dramatically, “she’s not THE Superior.”
“Mom can beat Dad fifty percent of the time.” The words escape him before he realizes he called Superior ‘Dad.’ “Learn who your adopted family is before you adopt them, Skye,” he scolds.
“Sorry,” she says, looking like a guilty little kid. “Are there any more huge secrets in the family that I don’t know about?” she demands.
“Well, I’m i
n a relationship with Lady Rose,” he says. “We’ve got twins--one’s a technopath, the other’s a dual elementalist. You met him already, his name’s Sunny.”
“Lady Rose is my sister-in-law?” she squeaks. “Ohmigosh, ohmigosh, I LOVE HER!”
This time he’s the one that’s surprised. “She's a specialized S that only gets filmed once in a blue moon.”
“I--I have a thing for the environment, so sue me,” she says. “Oh, would you look at the time--gotta go!” she goes on, phasing through the wall before he can say anything else.
“Of the two of us, I am ninety-nine percent sure I’ve got a better grasp on what time it is,” he says to the empty room. He looks up as Superior steps into the doorway, leaning against it with his arms folded. “There a problem?” he asks.
“She’s crazy, but your mother is already fond of her,” Superior says bluntly, going straight to the problem. “Isotonic thinks it’s her that’s been causing all the little norm... 'trolling,' as Emily says.”
“We both know that’s not true,” Nico says blandly.
“Of course we do. You’re the one still on the super docket, son, so I think it should be up to you to get rid of him.”
“Super hero docket, Father, not super villain.”
“I didn’t mean the ‘leave no evidence’ way. Bribe him, blackmail him, whatever it takes to get him out of my territory. Otherwise Cosmic and I will simply toss him out. I thought I’d leave some room for you to negotiate before we got to that point.”
“Double M will want the teenage healers for the school,” Nico admits, "and the majority of them are in his territory."
“I’ll talk to him.” They both turn, watching as Aubrey squeezes past Superior into the room. "I can get him to leave."
CHAPTER SEVEN
“You realize, Aubrey, that as much as I hate to claim it, WE'RE the ones called Superiors,” Nico says as Grandpa lets me through. Trust me, there’s no way I could get in unless he was willing to let me. “We’re supposed to take care of these problems.”
