Rise and Shine

by R. J. Ross

  “What rat?” Jimmi asks him.

  “Nothing,” he says. “Can I be dismissed? I already know this.”

  “Ah… well, you were here for roll call, so I suppose, but just this once,” the teacher says. Davis closes his laptop and stands, sticking it under his arm and heading for the dorms.

  ***

  “You can’t kill her, Skye,” Adanna says as they race across the city and into the suburbs. “I know she did something terrible to Rochester, but you can’t let that influence you. That’s how Papa wound up pretending to be a hero for months.”

  “She did something really bad and she used me and my girls as an excuse!” Skye says. “That’s just so wrong I can’t even begin to explain it!”

  “We realize that,” Pan says. “We understand how you feel, as well. But we have a job to do, Skye. We cannot allow personal feelings to interfere with it.” He pauses for a moment before going on, “although we will understand if you have a few words with her.”

  “I don’t… I don’t have many real friends,” Skye says. “I didn’t have any at all for a while, there, after I lost Emily’s mom…”

  “You do have friends, Skye,” Adanna says. “You have friends and family, and all of them would feel the same way you feel now, or worse, if you wind up in the Cape Cells because you’re angry.”

  “I know that!” she snaps. “I know that…” She starts again, her tone softer, “it just makes me so mad that she can claim to be my fan and yet do that to a person she KNOWS is my friend!”

  “I will have her removed from your fan group as soon as this is over,” Pan says.

  “Can you do that?” Skye asks.

  “I know the people that control super villain fan groups. They tend to be a closely connected group,” he explains.

  “Good,” she says. “I don’t want her getting any of the Deadly Darlin’s stuff without paying an arm and a leg for it!”

  “This is the place,” Adanna says, pulling to a stop in front of a rather old looking apartment building. “She should be in apartment three oh four.”

  “Shall we go up the side, then?” Pan asks.

  “I can find it,” Skye says, running straight through the wall.

  “Should we let her go first, like that?” Adanna asks her dad.

  “She will not kill her,” Pan says. “But I would be very careful of where I stepped if I was Farkinkle.” He heads for the alley by the building and starts to climb up the wall. Adanna follows, climbing just as nimbly as he does.

  “Nico says that Sunny wishes to visit the jungle with me soon,” Pan says. “Would you care to come for a refresher course?”

  “I would love to!” Adanna says. “Skye, have you found the room, yet?”

  “I’ve found it,” she says over the commlink, “but I have to say, this might be a bit too much, even for me…” They look up as she sticks her head out the wall, waving to them. “It’s over here.”

  “Is she there?”

  “No.”

  “Then what is too much?” Pan asks, jumping to the balcony of the apartment and looking through the glass door. “Ah… I see.”

  “See what?” Adanna asks. She follows suit and they enter the room when Skye undoes the lock for them. She looks around, seeing the posters and pictures and action figures that practically fill the room. There are three long pillows on the couch, with pictures of each of the Deadly Darlin’s. They’re propped up so the pictures look like they’re sitting. “Wow… looks like you’ve got a serious fan.”

  “Or an obsessive stalker?” Pan offers, poking a Jersey Devil bobblehead. “I did not realize you had these.”

  “They’re a limited time thing,” Skye says. “I had to bug Century for weeks to get them made. Look at their big heads, aren’t they cute?”

  “Does Doris like them?” Adanna asks, already searching the room.

  “She hates them!” Skye says cheerfully. “She swore she wouldn’t talk to me until they were no longer being made. It lasted for two whole hours.”

  “I see,” Pan says, starting to search as well. “Have you found anything that might hint at where she’s working, now, Adanna?” he asks.

  “Nothing so far, Papa,” she says, searching the desk she found under a pile of pictures.

  “She has one of our glitter cards,” Skye says, stopping as she sees a framed picture. “I don’t want her to have that! She doesn’t deserve it!”

  “Skye,” Pan says. “If you steal it, she’ll be suspicious.”

  “Not if we break some things and make it look like we’re norms!” Skye says. “I’ll go break the window!”

  “No, it would offend my sense of pride,” Pan says. “I am a renowned cat burglar.”

  “That was sort of funny, but not quite,” Skye says. “I mean, it’s such an old pun. I bet your great, great, GREEEEAT granddad used it, right?”

  “It was not meant to be a pun,” Pan says with a little smirk. The more she’s distracted the better.

  “Ah, found her tablet,” Adanna says, unearthing a tablet in a Deadly Darlin’s case. She flips it open, tapping on it. After a second she aims her commlink at it. A hologram comes up above her wrist and she starts flicking through the apps she sees there. “And the calendar is… oh…” she says as the other two come over.

  “What is it?” Pan asks.

  “They started shipping out this morning,” she says, quietly. “They’ve started selling them already.”

  Pan lets out a curse. “Do you know where they’re shipping them from?”

  “I’m looking,” she says. “She’s really lax in putting things down properly. No tracking codes, or anything.”

  “I really doubt they’re sending them through the mail,” Pan says.

  ***

  *Central Hall*

  “Dad, we have a problem,” Max says, coming into the office where Mastermental is filling out paperwork. “Sunny’s gone viral.”

  “He what?” Mastermental asks, looking up. Only those that know him well would realize how surprised he is. Max switches on the large screen on the wall, using his commlink to bring up the video. They watch silently as Sunny fights with a Petleaf, ordering it to sit. There’s the tiniest of flickers before Sunny is holding out his hand, and a Petleaf is turning into dust. “That has been edited,” Mastermental says.

  “Of course it has, but norms either won’t see or won’t care about the time lapse. This is going to cause a lot of problems in the upcoming lawsuit.”

  “Call Zoe,” Mastermental tells his computer. “My dear, would you find the full recording?” he asks as her image pops up on the wall.

  “Which recording?” she asks, tapping away on the air. “Mastermental, we’ve found evidence that the Petleaves they’re selling are genetically altered off-shoots of the alien species that Trent and Jeanie were fighting. I’m sending it to you, now. Century is there, but he doesn’t want to press charges until he’s spoken with the council.”

  “Yes, of course, but this is more pressing,” Mastermental says. “Your brother is in quite a bit of hot water. They have a video of him killing one of those Petleaf creatures. With their popularity, even while being illegal, well, it does not look good for him. Of course, there is also the question of why he is still in the South Branch, to begin with.”

  “That… well… he…” she says, only to sigh, loudly. “He doesn’t like the look of the Petleaves. He says they’re not natural—or, well, they might have originally been natural, but they aren’t from here. And from what Trent has said, he’s right. They could wind up stripping the entire planet of flora, and that could kill us all, either through starvation or suffocation. It’s really not surprising that he killed it… ah, found it. They’ve already tried to delete it. I should have checked their cameras while I was searching their files.”

  “You were searching their files?” Max asks.

  “Adanna and Pan connected one of the toys Dad left at their place, well, you know how that goes,” she explains, only
to fall silent as the video starts playing. It starts in the parking lot, where the Plantleaf rips through Sunny’s pocket.

  “Why is it growing so quickly?” Max asks.

  “I think it’s feeding off of Sunny’s energy,” Zoe says.

  “That’s… troubling,” Max says a bit blandly. They watch, and Max even starts to laugh as the plant eater tries to swallow Sunny. Zoe gives him a dirty look for that. “What? It’s not like it’s actually going to do it! Sunny’s too tough for that.”

  “But the problem is that the world only sees him killing a ‘harmless’ pet.”

  “Then we release the entire video,” Zoe says. “Wait, I’m getting a call from Adanna. I’m patching it through.” Another window opens and they see Adanna on the screen.

  “They’ve already started shipping out the Petleaves. Can you find them? We’re looking for the place they’re shipping from, but they don’t have supers. Skye can’t find them.”

  “I’ll look into it,” Zoe says. “But if they’re shipping them out already…”

  “We’ve got a very big problem,” Adanna sums it up.

  “I’m on it,” Zoe says.

  ***

  “PETLEAVES! PETLEAVES!” the little boy shouts as a crate is placed on his front step. His beleaguered mother lets out a heavy sigh and heads for the door, only to get shoved aside by her son. He grabs the crate, peeking through the holes in the side. “FINALLY!” he says, tearing the lid off and pulling out the bush. “It took FOREVER!”

  “Yes, sweetie, but you were very good at waiting,” she says, her eye twitching slightly as he drags the small bush past her, completely ignoring her compliment.

  “It’s WAY better than that stupid plant!” the boy says as he runs out the back door and places it on the grass. He watches with excitement as it rolls around before bumping into his leg. “Look, Mom! It likes me!”

  “Of course it does. Who wouldn’t?” she says, heading for the kitchen to make herself a drink.

  ***

  All around the states, boys and girls are coming home to their parents or housekeepers, who are waiting for them with surprises. Screams of excitement fill the air, echoing so loudly that the adults wince and wish they’d used earplugs. Petleaves are everywhere, the biggest thing since the last toy craze. The very first thing the kids do is take them out to play in their large, beautifully landscaped yards.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  “So… should you have left them frozen like that for so long?” I ask as we walk into the science lab of the South Branch. I swear I see several of the scientists flinch at the sight of us, but I have no idea why. Isn’t Century their boss? They turn pale as they see the cages we’re carrying.

  “Sir, is there a problem?” one of the bolder ones asks, stepping forward.

  “These are the Petleaf things that are being sold right now,” Century says. “This is the base form. We’re looking into tracking down one of the altered. I expect you to see if you can find the easiest way to kill both versions.”

  “Um, but…” the man says, looking at me, and then at the plant eaters. “Sir, will it explode on us?”

  “Naaaah, they don’t explode,” I say before Century can. “Even if you rip them apart they just divide into more of them. I’m thinking fire, but we don’t want to burn down the place, so some sort of plant spray would be nice. Make sure it doesn’t affect local plants or pets! Or humans, either, I guess.”

  “You guess,” he repeats.

  “Thanks!” I say, shoving the cage into his arms. “They keep trying to bite me through the bars.”

  “You’re… Lady Rose’s son?” the man asks. “I’m a big fan of your mother’s.”

  “Yeah, so am I,” I say. “What did he mean, explode?” I ask Century.

  “They’re the ones that had to clean up the little guinea pig incident,” Century explains.

  “Ooooh, right, this is where you sent them. That WAS pretty nasty,” I say, feeling sympathetic. “Well, hopefully these won’t try to eat them. You really should give them a raise.”

  “They’re the best paid scientists in the Hall,” Century says. “Why else do you think they’re still working here?”

  “Yeah, they’d have to be, huh?” I say, grinning as he messes up my hair. I blink as my phone rings, pulling it out and checking the name. “Ah, Zoe, hey! We got some of the original Petleaves and just dropped them off at the—”

  “They’ve been delivered,” Zoe says, her hologram popping up over the screen.

  “What’s been delivered?”

  “The Petleaves. They’ve already delivered hundreds of them, all around the country. It started a few days ago. Sunny, they’re everywhere,” she says. “We didn’t even notice, because they used a personal delivery service. I can’t believe it. They weren’t supposed to be out until Christmas!”

  I can feel my heart slowing. It seems to be echoing against my chest, with a heavy pounding sound. I look at Century, seeing how grim his expression is. He must have heard her. “I see,” I say.

  “We can’t just go in and steal them from norm civilians,” Zoe says. “I mean, we could go to the norm authorities, but there aren’t even laws drawn up for possessing them, yet. They’re too new to be banned as an exotic weed. I’m sure it will happen soon, but the norm system is so slow. I can look into it, to know for sure, but—”

  “Well… the Petleaves that they sold aren’t supposed to be the same as the one we just got, right?” I say. “Maybe they won’t be so bad? I mean, if I was trying to make money off of them, I would make sure that they didn’t attack, first.”

  “They’re using technology—the nanobytes that Davis made, I believe,” Century says. “Somehow that’s supposed to keep them under control.”

  “Probably by using music, or the same frequencies that music puts off,” I say. “Even Mom and I use that. We play classical music in our greenhouse to make them grow faster and stay happy.”

  “But they’re using OUR technology to do it, and the base plants come from OUR experiences,” Zoe says. “That should place them in our jurisdiction!”

  “It should, but the norms that own them now are not,” Century says. “See if you can track them down by the nanobytes. If we know who has them and where they are, we can keep track of them.”

  “And there’s another problem,” Zoe says. “Sunny, they have a video of you killing one of the Petleaves on the internet. I’ve taken down several of them, but new ones keep popping up. You’re viral, and… they’re calling you the weed killer.”

  “Seriously?” I say, stunned. “That’s got to be the LAMEST super name I’ve heard since… like… Cold Steel.”

  “That isn’t the biggest problem, you dork!” she says. “You’re already involved in a lawsuit that’s affecting the entire Hall. Once the world finds out that you’re the son of Technico and Lady Rose, and that you’re killing… plants. Good gravy, this is the stupidest thing I’ve said in… weeks,” she mutters, groaning loudly. “What does it matter if you kill a plant or two? EVERYONE kills a plant or two!”

  “But he’s a plant elementalist,” Century says. “And those are so-called pet plants. In a way, that makes him something along the lines of… an animal abuser? Is there such a thing as cruelty to plant-animals?”

  “They EAT plants!”

  “So do cows,” Zoe says.

  “But cows don’t eat entire trees in a few seconds flat,” I say. “This is a lot like a feral creature let loose into an ecosystem that it was never meant to be in. It’s dangerous to everything I’m here to protect. I cannot let it kill my planet.”

  “I realize that,” she says. “Calm down.”

  “I am calm,” I snarl. “I’m always calm. It’s my thing. I’m the calm guy that falls asleep a lot, remember?”

  “You’re flying,” she points out.

  “It’s been happening a lot, lately,” I say, dropping to the ground. “If… if they’ve made me viral, then you do the same,” I say. “Let’s sh
ow the world just what the Petleaves can do to our planet if we don’t take them down. Once they see that, they’ll understand why I did it!”

  “We can try,” Zoe says, “but right now we’re trying to track down at least one of the altered plants. If we can buy it from the new owner, we’ll be able to know for sure just how dangerous they are to the general populace.”

  “Fine,” I say. “Until then…”

  “Mastermental wants you back in Central,” she says before I can come up with some excuse to go track down a Petleaf.

  “But I’m doing something important here!” I say, only to wince as I hear the childish petulance in my voice. I’m too old to sound like that, plus, I’m a freaking SUPERIOR, right? Superiors shouldn’t whine when they don’t get their own way. “Okay, fine, but Adanna and Pan aren’t here. I can’t go back without them, you know?”

  “Sure you can,” she says. “You’re flying, now. Adanna and Pan aren’t the ones that are in the spotlight right now, remember?”

  I glare at her hologram, but she ignores it. “Fine,” I say darkly. “If I get run over by a plane, I’m NOT leaving you my stuff.”

  “Ha, like I would WANT your stuff. It’s all covered in dirt.” She hangs up and I look at Century, wondering if I can get him to talk to Mastermental for me.

  “If you want someone to fly back with you, I’m certain that Voltdrain would be happy to,” he says, completely shooting me down without even giving me a chance to ask.

  “Can you at least call me and tell me what your scientists find out?” I ask hopefully.

  “I would be happy to,” he says before calling Voltdrain. Ace flies all over the place without an escort, did you know that? So why do I need a babysitter? (Why yes, I am ignoring the fact that I still suck at flying.) “Hello, Volt? Can you fly Sunny home? He’s apt to make a run for it if I send him home alone,” he says over the phone.

  “I would be happy to,” I hear Voltdrain say. “I am very interested in spending time with the youngest Superior!”

  “Zoe and I are the same age, you know,” I point out. “Okay, she might be twenty minutes older, but that doesn’t count!” She always has to be faster than I am, doesn’t she? Even before I was born!