by R. J. Ross
***
“This is the perfect backdrop for the pictures,” the photographer says, looking enthralled. “I never dreamed that I would get to see the Cape High campus with my own two eyes. Amara, I can’t thank you enough for suggesting me.”
“Of course, Bella,” Amara says, smiling and taking her hands. “Now, I hate to mention this, but you did sign the contract, right?”
“Of course I did. There will be no sharing the pictures that don’t have masks, no sharing any names I might hear, and no telling where the school is,” Bella lists off. “I’m a professional, Amara, my reputation is my life.”
“I know, darling, I just needed to check. You see, it isn’t only the adult supers that are going to be photographed. Boys, come down. If you tear those suits I’m going to put you both on stall cleaning duty for an entire week,” she calls to a nearby tree.
“Okayyyy,” two little boys say, dropping down from the twelve-foot tall tree and landing lightly on the ground. Bella gasps, having taken a step forward to try and catch them. Amara gives her a smile.
“They’re Panther’s children, Bella, there’s no need to worry.” She pauses, her eyes lighting up as a bird lands on a nearby tree limb. “Kimi! Wonderful to see you again!” The falcon shifts, turning into a Native American woman.
“You, as well, Amara,” she says. “The others are changing in the back, if you wish to join them. I think Lance is taking a nap somewhere, as well, but he shouldn’t interfere.”
“Is Sunny here?” Cubby asks her. “I smell him.”
“Is Nico here?” Robo asks. “I want to see him!”
“Nico is busy at the moment,” Summer says, stepping out of the trees in her wedding dress. She pats down the skirt in a self-conscious manner. “So? How do I look?”
“Absolutely beautiful,” Amara says. “Summer, this is Bella Vance, she’s the best photographer for groups that I know of. I thought she’d be perfect for this. Adanna? Kitty cat, why don’t you help her with her lights and things?”
“Sure,” Adanna says, heading for the pile of equipment. “But Mama, don’t you think we should tell—”
“Not now, kitty,” Amara says, through her smile.
Adanna frowns, but stops talking as she gets to work under Bella’s supervision.
***
The sound of people walking down the hall catches Herold’s ears and his jaw starts to twitch slightly, irritation growing. He has a very good idea of what’s about to happen. The guards hadn’t been quiet when setting up the special room. The only thing positive about this situation is that they aren’t allowed in the same room without an A or S-class guard, preferably two. The bullet-resistant glass, on the other hand, is a full wall, so it’s nearly as bad. He unconsciously pats the cat that jumps into his lap, scratching it behind the ear as he tries to calm himself.
He focuses on the things he’s been interested in, lately, trying to distract himself as the door of the other room swings open. That Clay person has been saying a lot, lately, and it seems extremely interesting. It’s a shame that he told Technico about it, really. He might have been able to use it for something else.
“Darling!” his mother says as she sees him. “Oh, how I wish I could hug you! But it’s so nice to finally see you face to face that I don’t even mind. I have SO much to tell you, of course. Oh, but tell me, dear, are these walls set up to watch television on?” she asks the guard. “I would hate to miss the wedding. I worked extremely hard on those dresses. Plus, truly, who would miss the wedding of the century?”
“Hello, Mother,” Herold says.
“Oh, what a beautiful cat!” she says, distracted as Micro jumps to his shoulder. “Is it one of those artificial creatures like Skye’s little pet?”
“Yes, Mother, it is,” he says. “But I wish you hadn’t said that where there’s the chance the rest of the place could hear you.” He can practically imagine the excitement that would invoke in the rest of the prisoners, if they knew.
“So,” she says, leaning forward expectantly, “tell me all of the latest gossip, darling. I want to hear everything about your new life!”
“I’m a depowered old man living in a loony bin,” he says, bluntly. “Really, there’s not much else to say. Why don’t you tell me how you can be so happy, living as the prisoner of some of the most dangerous capes on the planet?”
“Desserts,” she says. “We make lots and lots of desserts. Oh, and all the little classes. You would think they’d be boring, but they’re so much fun once you learn the basics!”
“Have you at least tried to seduce Superior?” he asks.
“Why on Earth would I try to do that?” she asks. “He’s such a pain in the neck, darling, you have no idea. He’s constantly leaving holes in the walls when we have perfectly good doors, and don’t even get me started on his ridiculously petty fight with that adorable elf girl. No, darling, even if he wasn’t happily married to Tatiana, I still wouldn’t want him. He’s nowhere near the man your father was.”
“He’s the biggest name in supers of all time, Mom,” Herold says, disbelievingly. “My father was a blue-collared norm. There’s no competition!”
“No, there’s not,” she says, “because your father was a good, loving man, who was both kind and respectful to me. Regardless of what powers, or looks, someone might have, there are much more important things. Your father had those things. Superior might, I suppose, for Tatiana, but for very few other people, and never, ever, for me. And even Tatiana has trouble dealing with him, sometimes.”
“And you seem really fond of this Tatiana,” Herold says. “Have you forgotten that she was the one that caught you? That made you a prisoner?”
“She’s also the one that made sure I wasn’t killed, darling. But this isn’t the time to argue. We only have one day to spend together, we should enjoy it!”
“Fine,” Herold says. “What do you want to do?”
“I was told you and your fellow inmates have classes, yourself,” she says, excitedly. “I want to try one! I can watch the wedding while I do.”
“You want to try one of our classes,” he repeats.
“Yes! I want to build one of your water cleaning toys!” she says. “It sounds fascinating!”
“Fine, Harry, get her one of the water cleaners, would you?” Herold says, sighing.
“I would be happy to, ma’am,” Harry says, tipping his hat at Marie, who shoots him a flirtatious smile as thanks. After he’s gone, she looks at Herold.
“He seems nice,” she says. “Is he single?”
He groans.
***
“Do it again! Do it again!” Cubby says, laughing loudly. There’s only so much we can do without getting dirty in a greenhouse, so I’m doing my best to keep them entertained while the women pose for pictures. Oh, sure, they said something about dragging me into the photoshoot sooner or later, but for now, well, I’m tossing kids into the air. Don’t worry, though, they’ve only gotten high enough to grab a tree limb… four, maybe five times? That’s not too bad, right?
Adanna is lounging on a lower branch, watching us play. That’s been making me curious for a while, now. “Something wrong?” I ask as Cubby steps into my hand.
“Noooo…” she says.
“That sure sounds like something’s wrong,” I say. “Are we having problems getting the money together for the bonsai? I’m pretty sure it’s going to be expensive.”
“What?” she asks. “What do you mean?”
“It’s not like the ones you see at the store,” I say with a shrug. “It’s a living piece of art. We’ll be lucky to get it for, oh, I don’t know, four, maybe five thousand? Actually, I don’t think that’s right, considering the age… It’s probably more than twice that amount.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Nuh uh,” I say. “That’s a little bit of the reason I freaked out when they started to fall.”
“Then if you knew it was going to be that expensive, why did you su
ggest it?” she asks.
“It WAS something Mom would love,” I say. “I thought I could, I don’t know, volunteer to work for one or two of the Halls for a while. Mastermental actually offered to pay me for my weekend work with Mom not too long ago. Or I could hire myself out to do lawn care for supers. I bet Mega would pay big money for a topiary shaped like himself.” She starts laughing, so I don’t bother to mention I hadn’t been joking. “Plus, the rest of the guys are helping, right? The Liberty boys alone probably make enough to pay for it without blinking. Not that I would make them do that.”
“Yeah, that’s true,” she says. “Dad would pay you to redo our lawn.”
“I’ll do it!” I say. “But that wasn’t what was bothering you, was it?”
She points at Cubby, who’s still standing on my hand, balancing easily on one foot. “Weren’t you throwing my little brothers around, Sunny?”
“Oh, right, sorry,” I say, tossing Cubby into the air. He does a flip high in the air, and I hear someone let out a tiny gasp. I turn, looking away, only to grunt as Cubby lands on my shoulder.
“He—they’re—” the norm photographer says, pointing at me. “You’re throwing around children!” she says. “I understand that they’re tough, but they’re still little children! Do you have any idea what could happen if you failed to catch him? He could be seriously hurt!”
“Ms. Vance, just as Mama told you, these are Panther’s sons,” Adanna says. “Papa throws them a lot higher than that.”
“But, even if that’s so—”
“We thank you for your concern,” Adanna says, “but you don’t seem to understand. My brother… my brothers have some of their abilities already. When Cubby turns twelve or thirteen, he’ll learn to shift.” She shifts, to make her point, turning into her panther form and flicking her tail back and forth.
“I… I see,” Bella says, looking over as Amara heads towards us. “Amara, I don’t… they’re throwing your children into the air,” she exclaims.
“Sunny, are you throwing my sons around?” Amara asks me.
“Well, they aren’t getting dirty that way?” I offer.
“Very good point, but now all of you come with us. It’s your turn to pose for pictures. I thought I’d get some family shots since we have Bella here, today, if you don’t mind, that is?” she says to Bella.
“But Papa isn’t here,” Robo says. “He’s doing the thing with the money, remember?” Before I can ask what that thing is, Adanna jumps off of the tree and deliberately bumps into him, distracting him. “Kitty!” he says, wrapping his arms around her neck and rubbing his face against her fur. She shrugs him onto her back, well able to carry him now that she’s the size of a teenage panther, and has her super strength in that form. He giggles.
“Let’s go!” Cubby says, tugging on my hair.
“I thought that there was some sort of… age when supers gained their powers?” Bella asks Amara as we walk past her.
“There is, usually,” Amara says. “But for some lines, they get part of their abilities early. Don’t worry, sweetie, if my sons were in any danger, I’m sure it would prompt Sunny to finally learn how to fly.”
“She just made fun of me, didn’t she?” I ask Adanna. Her tail flicks in a sign of amusement. “Yeah, that’s what I figured.”
“He can fly?” Bella asks.
“Not yet, but soon,” Amara says. “They’ve been throwing him into the air, as well, lately, right, Sunny?”
“It’s a lot of fun!” I say with a grin, giving up. She can make fun of me, if she wants. It’s the truth, after all. “I really like the falling part.”
“He flew for a little bit!” Skye says as we reach the rest of the group. She’s got her skirt hitched up high, revealing her Converse tennis shoes and striped knee high socks. “Look, Sunny! I got new shoes for the wedding!”
“Skye, sweetie, I…” Mom says, only to shake her head. “Never mind, as long as you wear the dress, I don’t care what shoes you wear. I was thinking of going barefoot, myself. Of course I HAVE the heels, but I would rather not.”
“Ahem,” Amara says, looking at them all, “you will be on national television, ladies. You need to remember that. You can change into the tennis shoes or go barefoot for the reception, I promise.” Mom sighs, and Skye takes a mournful look at her shoes. “Until then, though, that will make an adorable picture, so everyone sit over here and get comfortable!” Amara says.
“Were we going to take pictures of the boys?” Bella asks.
“Sunny, can you clean them up, please?” Amara says to me. I nod, crouching down in front of Cubby to wipe the dirt off his face and straighten out his suit. When he’s done, I turn to Robo, repeating the process.
“So… what place with what money?” I ask him silently.
“He’s going to buy us a pet!” Robo whispers excitedly.
“He’s not buying us a pet,” Adanna says, shifting back into her human form. “He’s buying a lab rat. And you two weren’t supposed to say anything, remember?”
“What lab rat?” I ask, wondering why it even matters. They get new cats all the time.
“A Petleaf!” Cubby says excitedly.
***
*Somewhere in Texas*
Pan takes the piece of paper from the woman at the door, glancing at it quickly before entering the small room. Thanks to the plane that Nico made him, this trip hadn’t taken long. If the auction doesn’t take too long, he should be able to get back before the Wedding March begins to play. He pauses, noting the faces in the crowd. Most of them he had expected, men and women that often tread the thin line between legal and illegal, as well as their children. Those adults look irritated at waiting, their children, on the other hand, look like they’re going to jump out of their seats at any moment. His own sons would be doing the same, if not climbing on top of him out of excitement, if they were here. He looks at his watch, checking the time. It’s going to be tight, he’s certain. He might not be the best man, but with Sunny doing the job, he’s pretty much the back-up of the best man. He hopes the boy doesn’t fall asleep during the service. That would be somewhat awkward.
“Ah! You’re Doctor Panterus!” a large, rather florid looking man says excitedly. “Floyd Grahmm,” he introduces himself, holding out a hand. “I’m a botanist. I’m also a huge fan. I’ve been following your work with the large cats for years.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Pan says, shaking the hand carefully.
“Are you here to bid for one of the Petleaves?” Grahmm asks eagerly. “Of course, in comparison to your large cats, they probably seem quite mild.”
“I have twin sons,” Pan says, not really answering that question. “They are turning five, soon.”
“Ahhh, so this is a birthday surprise! Wonderful!” Grahmm says with a brilliant smile. “You won’t be disappointed.”
“Forgive me if this is assumptive, but are you one of the people selling?” Pan asks, realizing exactly what a botanist would be doing here. No, of course there are probably a few botanists here planning to dissect their purchase, if possible, but this man seems far too happy to brag.
“Ah, yes, these are mine,” he says, glancing around a bit nervously. “Ah, I’m being summoned. Good luck in your bidding,” he says before running off to a rather plain looking woman in a stark black suit. Pan watches them for a second before looking away. That means nothing. He can still hear them whisper to one another.
“There are a lot of scientists here, Thelma,” Grahmm says, tugging on his collar. “They’re going to realize that—”
“They won’t realize a thing, Floyd,” Thelma says. “The people that have the money will get the little monsters. They aren’t the type to dissect or analyze them past the point where it takes to evaluate how much money they can make by investing. That, my friend, is exactly what we want. Who was that man you were talking to?”
“Chinaza Panterus,” Grahmm says a bit proudly. “A brilliant scientist that specializes in r
escuing large cats. He wants to buy one for his twin sons.”
“Is he rich?”
“From what I’ve heard, he’s extremely rich,” he says. “He would have to be to run that private estate of his. Of course, no one’s actually seen it except for pictures.”
“Has he ever shown interest in plants?”
“None,” Grahmm says.
“Perfect.”
Pan turns, looking up as a man walks into the building, with a large, well-dressed bodyguard behind him. This is the man he’s going to have to beat. The others won’t be a problem, since if they win, he knows where they live, but he doesn’t recognize this one. And from the look of the metal briefcase that the guard is carrying, he could be quite the problem. Cash always is. He looks at the piece of paper, checking just how many of the Petleaves are for sale. Three, he thinks with a slight frown. Getting one of the three might be more difficult than he had planned. Well, he decides, if he can’t get one through normal means, he will just have to do a little searching. He isn’t one of the most famous cat burglars just for show.
“Welcome, everyone!” Thelma says, moving to the podium. “I would like to thank you all for your interest in our little business. Please rest assured that if you do not get your new pet today, we will be happy to add you to our mailing list. You will be the first alerted to our next sale.”
The crowd relaxes, seeming to be pleased with her promise. The children in the group aren’t. They want their Petleaves now. Again, Pan is happy that he didn’t bring the boys with him.
“So, without further ado, I present to you the very first of the Petleaves,” she says as Grahmm wheels out a glass cage with a small, moving plant inside. “We’ll start the bidding at one thousand dollars.”
***
*Cape High*
Pan is buying a Petleaf. The thought keeps echoing over and over again in my mind as I go through the motions of getting my picture taken. Zoe pinches me, and I let out a little yelp, looking at her blankly. “What was that for?” I ask.
“You were falling asleep,” she accuses me. “We’re supposed to be doing the sibling pictures now, remember?”
