Rise and Shine

by R. J. Ross

  “Huh? Why?” she asks.

  “Because we have a short amount of time to do this, and she is a wonderful resource,” he explains.

  “I’m here!” Zoe says. “What do you need help with?”

  “Your father left a toy at my place during our last meal together,” Pan says. “We’ve found that it can hack into offline computers by merely accessing the building’s electrical lines.”

  “Ah, he built another one of those?” she says, sounding irritated. “He doesn’t even need them!”

  “That might be why he left it with me,” Pan says. “Can you access it from where you are? We want to know if any offline computers have information on the Petleaves, here.”

  “Got it,” she says. “Wasn’t Sunny with you?” she asks.

  “He’s upstairs with Century,” Skye says. “They stopped time, so I think they’re robbing them.”

  “Century actually stopped time to do that?” Zoe says. “I’m stunned.”

  “We’ve found the samples, here. I’ll leave the computers to you. Time will be restarting in five, four, three, two…” they all hear Century see before the sounds from aboveground start again. “So, is Cage ready to speak to us?”

  Pan and Skystep look at each other, and then over at Adanna, who’s climbed the wall with a pair of special gloves, and is attaching the machine to a wire. She looks down, nodding at them.

  “We’re good to go, Zoe,” Pan says silently.

  “I’m on it,” Zoe says.

  Just as they think everything is going perfectly, they hear a door open and someone start down the stairs. Pan motions to the girls and moves into the shadows, watching as the custodian walks into the room, swinging his keys.

  The custodian stops, frowning and glancing around for a moment before shaking his head. “Rats,” he mutters as he heads for the cleaning supplies. He stops, staring blankly at Skye, who didn’t bother to hide. Before he can scream, though, she moves forward, covering his mouth with her hand.

  “Hi,” she whispers. “I think you and I can be good friends, don’t you?” He starts to shake his head before nodding emphatically. “Oh, good, I like friends.”

  “Skye,” Pan says, stepping out of the shadows. His hood keeps the man from recognizing him, but he’s still intimidating, even without his title.

  “I have some questions to ask him,” she says. The man she’s holding looks close to wetting his pants as he sees that there are two of them. “I want to know exactly where Thelma Farkinkle is. You can tell me that, can’t you… Ronald?” she asks, glancing at the name on his badge. He points at her hand. “Oh, right, can’t talk with your mouth covered, can you? But if you scream, it would cause problems.”

  He starts shaking his head, waving his hands as if trying to say he won’t scream. “I really, really want to trust you,” she says. “If you tell me where Thelma Farkinkle is, we’ll leave and pretend this never happened, agreed? But if you tell… well, I can find you, you know?”

  He swallows, loudly, and nods, once. She pulls her hand away. “Thelma Farkinkle… she doesn’t work here anymore,” he says, in a shaky little voice. “She’s gone off to be a big shot business owner with Floyd Grahmm.”

  “Floyd Grahmm?” Pan repeats. “The botanist?”

  “Big guy, red faced, likes to baby talk his plants,” the custodian sums up. “That’s him.”

  “I see,” Pan says. “So there is a clear-cut connection.”

  “Someone’s wiped all of their employee information,” Zoe says over the commlink. “But don’t worry, I can still find it. Nothing is ever really gone when it comes to computers.”

  “Do that,” Pan says.

  “Where can we find them?” Skye demands of the custodian. “I have something to talk to her about.”

  ***

  “If you would follow me,” the slender woman with sharp looking eyes says as she steps into the waiting room. She’s pretty, but she’s sort of scary, too. I have no idea why I find her scary, since she’s a norm, right? But there’s something about her that puts my teeth on edge. I almost jump as Century places a hand on my back, pushing me forward.

  “We’re following the nice lady, son,” he says quietly.

  I nod, walking where I’m directed. We step into a large office, where a man is sitting at a table with only a slim manila folder on top of it. He smiles and stands, coming around the table to shake hands with Century. “Century! What a surprise!” he says. “I didn’t expect you.”

  “I thought I would just swing by and show my young friend here your corporation. He’s interested in super villain machines.”

  “Is this the young man that—” Mr. Cage barely manages to stop himself.

  “That what?” I ask, only to feel something in my pocket twitch. I reach into it, feeling the plastic of the Petri dish. There’s a crack. That… isn’t good, is it? I distinctly remember no cracks before I put the spores in it. Oh… oh, crap, you don’t think—

  “Son!” Century says, grabbing my attention. “You looked a bit pale there. Are you feeling okay?”

  “I think it might be… um… air sickness?” I offer. I wish SO much that I was with Mastermental right now. I could really use a mind-reading Hall leader at the mo—my pocket jerks, and I reach down, grabbing the dish as tightly as I can without crushing it. “I’m sorry, the tour is going to have to wait,” I say before running out of the room and through the building. I have to get out of here. I can feel the plant growing in leaps and bounds in my hand. It’s going to try and rip through the cloth of my pocket at any moment. Looking back, I was probably the wrong one to carry it, huh? Or do they all grow this quickly?

  I make it to the parking lot just as the plant monster outgrows my pants. I hear the ripping sound and I groan, only to stare as the Petleaf drops to the ground and starts to hop around. For a moment, it almost looks cute. I can actually see why kids are so intent on getting one—until it launches itself at me with a wide, gaping mouth.

  “Dang it, I AM NOT FOOD!” I yell as it latches onto my arm. “And plants shouldn’t have mouths unless they’re Audrey II!” Why yes, I AM a fan of Little Shop of Horrors. I smack the plant off, sending it flying a few feet. “Stand down!” I order, my temper flaring, my powers kicking up. The plant that had been thinking of jumping me again squeezes into itself, trying to appear smaller. “There, was that so hard?” I ask it, walking over.

  It’s only then that I notice the parking lot cameras that are on every lamppost. “Well… crap.”

  ***

  In a car not far from the teen and plant a scientist stares at the screen of his phone, his heart pounding hard. He’d just gotten a video that will go BEYOND viral. His hands shake slightly as he presses the “Upload” button. He’s going to be rich enough to quit! Rich enough to open his own comic book shop! The world will know his name!

  ***

  “What is going on here?” a man says from behind me. I’m crouched down next to the Petleaf, which has rolled over… I think… to show its belly. At least, you know, it looks like a belly. He might be showing me something else, I can’t tell. He’s basically a living bush, right?

  “I’m just… walking my pet?” I offer, ignoring the breeze that’s hitting my boxers. He really did a number on my pants. I blink as the Petleaf jumps up, racing for the guard that’s confronting us. That huge mouth that had disappeared earlier is back, and he’s aiming for the guy. The man screams, bringing up his arms to protect his face.

  “GET IT AWAY!” he shouts as the Petleaf launches into the air. For a moment I’m tempted to see what happens, but only for a second. I rush forward, grabbing it out of the air.

  “Bad leafy!” I scold it. The Petleaf turns on me, trying to bite me, and I smack it away again, sending it flying. It hits the ground, rolling a few times before it stops, shaking all over. “Oh… that wasn’t smart,” I admit as I see the grass underneath it. He hit a grass island with a tree. Yep, he’s going after the tree.

  “What are
you just standing there for?” the guard asks, aiming his gun at the Petleaf.

  “Wait, don’t kill it! I need to know what it’s capable of!” I say, going to him and grabbing the barrel of the gun. He starts to freak out as I bend the barrel, and lets go of it, quickly.

  “Are you trying to kill ME?” he demands. I toss the gun away, wincing as it backfires. “Who ARE you?”

  “Awww, he already took a bite of the tree,” I say, irritated that I was distracted for that long. It looks a little like a wood chipper as it gobbles down the thin tree. “Leafy, DOWN!” I say, exerting my powers. The plant stops, mid-munch.

  “What in the world are you doing?” I hear someone demand angrily. I turn, seeing Mr. Cage and Century walking out of the building. Century is sauntering towards me with an amused expression on his face.

  “Well, would you look at that,” Century says. “Where on Earth did you get the new pet, boy?” he asks me, as if he has no clue.

  “I found it,” I say, grinning shamelessly. “It followed me home. Can I keep it?”

  “Well, I don’t know, it might already have an owner,” Century says, looking at Mr. Cage. “Is this your tree eating creature, Antony?”

  Mr. Cage goes pale, but he brazens it out. “I’ve never seen it before in my life.”

  “Then there should be no problems with letting the boy have a pet,” Century says as the Petleaf starts hopping towards the next island with a tree. It looks like it enjoys the crunch.

  “It tried to EAT me, sir,” the guard says, looking rather naked without his gun. He pulls a baton out of his belt, only to look at it with worry. “There’s no wood on this, right?”

  “Man up,” Mr. Cage says with disgust. “Do you have any idea how cowardly you look right now?”

  “Isn’t that one of those… watchamacallit… Petleaves?” Century asks. “I saw them on Facebook, one day.” That’s got to be sarcasm. I mean, seriously, can you imagine Century hanging out on Facebook? Wait… I think I could, actually.

  “I’m afraid that I can’t allow you to keep it,” Mr. Cage says. “The creature seems dangerous. Since it was on company property, we should deal with it. That’s what you pay us for. Please leave.”

  I look at Century, whose smile has turned into a foreboding expression. “I’m afraid that I can’t do that, Antony,” he says, his tone surprisingly mild. “If you’ve never seen it before, and it’s a plant lifeform—it is, isn’t it, son?”

  “Looks like one,” I say cheekily.

  “Then I’ll have to trust the plant elementalist in the group,” Century finishes up. “Son, can you corral that wild filly?”

  “You think it’s a girl?” I ask, walking over to the Petleaf and grabbing it. The mouth turns on me, and I tap it on the “nose.” The mouth closes. Oh, sure, I still feel uneasy. These aren’t Earth plants, but … well, I’m a quarter alien, myself, right? And seeing it face to face, even though it’s… no, wait, this thing is growing WAY too fast. It’s rapidly gotten to a foot tall, and it just started growing a few minutes ago. “Century?” I say.

  “Elementalist?” Mr. Cage repeats. “What elementalist?”

  “That boy,” Century says. “Or are you questioning my knowledge of my own supers?”

  “Century? I think it’s… I don’t know, a bit… bigger than I expected?” I say, daring to glance at him. As soon as I dare to do that, the Petleaf attacks, and suddenly the world is dark. It wrapped over my head, and is trying to swallow me whole. “Oh for crying out loud, why do all my pets try to EAT ME?” I bellow dramatically.

  “Sunny!” Century yells. “Are you okay in there?”

  “I am, but I don’t think my clothes will be!” I call back. Note to self, start buying clothes from Kim instead of Walmart. I reach up, ripping the plant monster off of me and throwing it to the ground. “Now I’m angry,” I tell it, floating in the air. I would be elated by that fact, if I wasn’t so mad. The pieces of Petleaf have separated and are writhing wildly. Before my very eyes, one shifts, turning into a round ball. Another one follows suit, and another, until all the separate pieces are whole Petleaves, and they’re growing.

  “And they sell these things to children?” Century says, stunned. “Sunny, should I give you a hand?”

  Before I can reply, the herd of Petleaves launch themselves at me, from every direction. The scraps of my clothes are gone, leaving me in a mask and a pair of super-grade boxers with a rose pattern on the butt. This is NOT how I want the world to see me, but I don’t have time to grab a new pair of pants at the moment.

  “Shouldn’t you be helping him?” I hear the guard ask. “I can shoot it! Wait, no gun…”

  I struggle, throwing a few of them off, but they jump back up, latching onto me. “GET OFF!” I bellow, using my powers. For a second they go still, quivering as they try to break free of my command. “DOWN!”

  They drop, slowly, one by one to the ground—and then one eats another in a single gulp. “Oh no, you don’t!” I snap, glaring at them. The one that had just eaten the other cowers, scooting away from me. “You little punks tried to EAT me.” The ground beneath me rumbles a bit, but I ignore it. “Do you really think I’d let you do that?”

  The little trees around us start to grow, larger and larger, and the concrete of the parking lot cracks as plants shoot up through it. “This is MY planet!” I snarl. “And if you can’t play nice, don’t you dare think I’m going to let you stay.”

  “What… what is he?” I hear Mr. Cage ask. I ignore him, holding out my hands at the Petleaves and clenching my fists. The Petleaves start to shrivel, screaming soundlessly in pain.

  “He’s killing it,” Mr. Cage says. “Make him stop!”

  “I thought you didn’t know where it came from,” Century says. The smallest of the Petleaves turns brittle and brown, and then into dust. “Why should you care if he kills them?”

  “As a plant elementalist, isn’t this a form of murder?” Mr. Cage says instead of answering that. “You’re killing them!”

  I turn, looking at him. “So what? Those aren’t plants from MY planet. They’re a threat to the plants from my planet. It ate your tree, didn’t it?”

  “But they’re still…” he looks around, clearly trying to come up with a reason to make me stop. “They’re living beings! Why don’t we take them inside and we’ll find a place to observe them? I’m sure I can rustle up a cage somewhere.”

  “What do you say to that, son?” Century asks me.

  “Go get it,” I say, not that I plan on giving him the Petleaves. I need them for Pan to experiment on. I would actually prefer Mom taking a look, but she’s out of town, for one, and I’d be in even bigger trouble, for another. She probably thinks I’m still at home right now.

  “Come with me,” Mr. Cage says to the guard. “We’re getting cages.”

  “Yes, sir,” he says, glancing at the Petleaves one last time before following his boss.

  “They really think they can sell these things to children?” Century says, stunned. “We should deal with it before they’re released to the public. This could be an epic-sized disaster.”

  “That is not the form that they are selling,” Pan says from Century’s commlink. I look around, seeing my phone lying on the ground a bit away, and head for it, keeping one eye on the plant eaters. “They have done some genetic remodeling to the ones for sale. It’s really quite genius. It must have been Grahmm’s handiwork.”

  “So… the ones for sale are safe?”

  “As long as the technology implanted in them continues to work, according to their research,” Pan says. “We need one of those, as well as the ones that you are dealing with. We must either find the man that pretended to be Walter Colleck, or steal one from the business.”

  “Technology?” Century repeats, his eyes widening slightly before they narrow. “That rat…” He turns away, and I watch him calm himself down. “What else have you found, Pan?”

  “The biologist that created the Petleaves used to
work here, along with a woman named Thelma Farkinkle,” Pan says. “They quit, recently, to start a business, and I met Floyd Grahmm as the illegal auction of Petleaves. He told me that they were his.”

  “I see,” Century says. “So Cage still has some wiggle room. He can say that the two stole the nanobytes and made a business for themselves.”

  “To a point, yes, the information on the alterations was from Farkinkle’s computer, and was not released to the business’s cloud.”

  “Hmm.”

  “We are heading to the listed residence of Thelma Farkinkle, now.”

  “Understood,” Century says. He turns as a few guards come out, carrying cages. “Sunny,” he says, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Are you ready?”

  “Yeah,” I say, keeping my attention on the Petleaves. “Do it.”

  ***

  “And if you take the common denominator…” the words seem to fade into the background as Davis watches the text version of a commlink conversation scroll over the corner of his laptop. It’s mirroring the techdesk it is sitting on at the moment. He can feel his face turn pale, but he can’t stop it. The shock is quickly replaced with rage. Oh, sure, he’d noticed that there were some missing from the batch returned to him, but he had thought it was because of Technico. Some of them actually had been, he’s certain, but…

  “That rat,” he hisses out, repeating Century’s words. It’s barely a breath of sound, but the entire room turns and looks at him.

  “Is there something you would like to add to this lesson?” his teacher asks. It isn’t a sarcastic comment, since he knows as well as anyone that the kid is smarter than he is. He’s a super, he’s not supposed to be known for his brains. He’s just decently good at math.

  “No, sir,” Davis says, still staring at his computer, “well, other than you need to move the decimal to the right, once,” he adds, not even paying attention to his own comment. The teacher looks at the blackboard, reaches up, and moves the decimal point.