by R. J. Ross
“The ground is shaking, nephew,” he says. “You’re not too shabby, are you?”
I almost panic as I look down, seeing just what he’s talking about. There’s a rumbling noise and I hear a car alarm go off. This fight is causing an earthquake. Of course it is, I think, we’re both earth manipulators. There’s only one option. I have to take him out quickly, and as far away from the ground as I can.
I start upwards, ignoring that tiny voice telling me that I’m still not good at flying. I go higher, and higher, flying blind because he’s clinging to me. “What’s this? You think going higher will help? What happens when I drain you completely?”
I ignore him, ripping the leaves covering my face. I can shout for help, now, right? “Scream, little Superior,” he says right next to my ear. “Scream and get them here before he escapes.”
It stops me. “You’re using me!” I accuse him.
“That’s what I’ve been saying since the beginning. But this body says you’re delicious, so I’m not sure I want you to do it anymore.”
“No way,” I say, grabbing the leaves and doing something that I still have trouble with. I’m good at giving life energy, you know? But taking it back is an unnatural thing.
“What are you—”
“When I said ‘Down’ you should have stayed down,” I growl, pulling at the energy in the plant. He starts to turn brown, the leaves turning dry and brittle and starting to fall away. I blink as a part of it falls from my face, and I find myself looking straight at Voltdrain. He has his hands up, and a piece of the Petleaves in his hold. I think he was digging me out. I hadn’t noticed.
“Penski bought the Petleaves and evolved them into Clay, who’s supposed to still be in the Cape Cells!” I tell him, struggling free of the half-dead plant. It’s dying rapidly, and the struggle disappears entirely as it falls to the ground, looking a lot like a tumbleweed. “We have to get Penski before he escapes!”
“He is gone,” Voltdrain says.
“What?” I drop to the ground, running to the exit I’d been heading for earlier. There’s a rock, and I grab it, ripping it out of the ground and flipping it over to reveal an empty tunnel. “This didn’t open! I would have noticed it!” I say.
“There is another exit. But do not worry, we will find him, with the cooperation of the norm police, if what you say is correct.”
“The Petleaf,” I say, running over to the fallen tumbleweed. “Crud, it’s dead,” I say, dropping down next to them. “Maybe I can bring them back? I don’t see any tech in them, though… do you think they removed it?” I start tearing through the remains, looking for the nanobytes.
“Sunny!” I hear Skye shout. I turn, only to fall onto my behind as a panther tackles me. With a rumble, Adanna rubs her head against my chest in a way she would never dare to do in her human form. “What happened?” Skye asks, landing beside us. “Why are you only in your boxers? Where is Penski?”
“Spread out and find him,” Voltdrain orders. “Do not hurt him, but do not let him get away, either. Sunny, do you know if there is anything left of this Clay?”
I look at the dead plant, pulling away from Adanna and starting to search it a bit more closely. My finger comes away muddy. “This isn’t from the Petleaves… and it isn’t from around here, either. The clay content is wrong for this part of the land.” I stare at it, feeling a strange sensation. “That Clay guy, what is he?” I look at Skye, who’s staring at the mud on my hand.
“He’s in the Cape Cells,” she says.
“Yeah, most of him is, at least,” I say. “I hate to say this, but… I think we need to talk to Dad.” He’s not going to be happy, it’s only been a couple of days since the honeymoon started, but this is his area of expertise.
“I can find him. If he’s gotten out,” Skye says. “I’ll find him.”
“Wait,” I say. “Skye, the whole reason he went after me was to draw attention to what Penski was doing. I think… I think he did this for you.”
She gives me a disgruntled expression before starting a dance. I guess that means she doesn’t want to talk about it, huh? Well, he is pretty stalker-ish, so I can’t blame her. After a moment, though, she stops, staring at the ground with a frown. “The biggest sign is that way,” she says, pointing to the north, “in the Cape Cells. But I’ll go underground and see if I can pick up on anything else. He’s pretty tricky, like that,” she finishes, diving into the ground.
“Sir!” we hear a black suit call, “we’ve located Richard Penski! But the police insist on speaking with the teenager.” He looks at me, nodding slightly.
“That’s Technico’s son, right? He looks a lot like his sister,” I hear one of them whisper.
“I heard they’re twins.”
“He’s a lot cuter than I thought he’d be, though.”
“Did you see that video of him breaking the kid’s arm?”
I ignore it. “I don’t know why he was here, but Clay was using the Petleaves as a body. Maybe it’s a puppet form? I don’t know, but somehow he’s out. I… I gotta go talk to the cops, I guess.”
Adanna shifts into her human form, looking worried. “Sunny, you’re already dealing with a lawsuit—”
“I know,” I say, “that is another reason I’m REALLY not looking forward to calling my dad.” I head to where some of the black suits are speaking with the cops. A path opens for me as they see me coming, and an older man in a uniform stands there, waiting for me to get closer.
“So, son? What happened here?”
“Forgive me, but do you think I could get a Hall leader here before I go into details? I have a bad habit of saying stuff that I shouldn’t,” I explain. Both black suits and a few of the cops turn slightly, trying to hide their laughter.
“Voltdrain is right there,” he says, not even smirking at my comment.
“But he isn’t my Hall leader,” I say, not that I think he can’t do it, but I want a very specific person right now.
“And who IS your Hall leader?” the police officer asks.
“I want Mastermental,” I say.
“Mastermental,” he repeats.
“Yeah,” I say. “I’m not going to say anything until Mastermental is here. Here, I’ll call him for you.” Part of my reason for this? If anyone can save me from my dad right now, it’s got to be Mastermental. I tap on my commlink, and a hologram of Mastermental appears over my wrist.
“Sunny,” he says. “We have some things to discuss.”
“Yeah, I sort of needed to say the same thing. Do you think you could make a little trip?”
“To where?”
“To the police station nearest my location, right?” I say, glancing at the officer, who nods. “I’m being taken in for questioning.”
“I see. I’ll be there shortly,” he says before hanging up.
“Think I could get a pair of pants?” I ask the officer, holding out my wrists helpfully. “You can cuff me, if you want.”
“Is there a reason to cuff you?”
I look over at the house, seeing a few fallen shingles and a tree that’s fallen. Overall this earthquake didn’t do nearly as much damage as the last one. And there, being led towards our group, is Richard Penski, looking irritated with life.
“How about trespassing?” he says. “I’ve done nothing that warrants this treatment. Ask the Hall, I’m the victim of this entire thing!”
“Not really?” I offer. “I’m still growing, but I’m pretty sure I might accidentally break them, you know, if I got an itch, or something. People pay for those things with their taxes, right? That would be a waste of tax money. Also, before we go, can I go do something about that tree?”
“The tree?” the officer asks.
“Yes, sir,” I say, pointing. “It won’t take me but a moment.” I start for it, barely noticing the cops reacting.
“Stand down,” the officer says. “Let’s see what he does.”
The tree is young, and it broke cleanly… well… I grab the falle
n tree picking it up and looking at it for a moment before placing it on the ground. “We’ll just start over, okay, buddy?” I say, crouching down and wrapping a hand around the stump. The tree regrows, shooting up and sprouting leaves in moments. “Beautiful,” I compliment it, “absolutely beautiful. Okay, I’m ready!” I say, heading back for the cops with my hands up.
“He is the child of Lady Rose,” Voltdrain tells them, smiling slightly.
“Oh, I could fix the hole, too, but that would cover up the escape tunnel, wouldn’t it?” I say. “I’ll do it later.” The looks of shock on their faces tell me I just said something I shouldn’t have, again, didn’t I? I think I’ll just keep my mouth closed until Mastermental shows up.
“I couldn’t find anything,” Skye says, popping up out of the ground right in front of me. I jump back, shocked. “But he’s really still in the Cape Cells, so… I don’t know? Maybe he has more than one body?” She comes out, right in the face of the officer. “You be nice to my nephew, mister! And let him turn the siren on while we’re going!” She glances over at Richard Penski, but so briefly that it almost seems like she doesn’t recognize him. I know that’s not true. She’s up to something.
“We’re going?” he repeats.
“I call shotgun!” she declares, running for one of the police cars.
“Shouldn’t she be more nervous about getting in a cop car?” I ask Voltdrain.
“She is very aware of whose jurisdiction she is in,” he explains. “She usually just teases the police, and tries to pet the K9 officers,” he says as we watch the cops try to stop her.
“Stand down,” the older officer says. “Son, if you would?” he says to me, motioning to a different car than the one Skye got in.
“Yes, sir,” I say. “I’ll just get in the back.”
***
Deep underground, the glowing core piece burrows into the earth and listens to the cars driving away. It had jumped ship as the boy was flying straight up, and Sunny hadn’t even noticed.
***
*The Norm News*
“Yeah, he broke my arm,” the teen named Jeff says. He’s being interviewed by a news reporter. “He’s supposed to be some big shot plant healer, right? But then he goes and breaks my arm, and there’s that video of him killing plants. I just… I mean, what sort of supers are they training at Cape High?” he says.
“Are you scared?” the news reporter asks, the sympathy practically dripping off of her voice.
“Yeah,” the teen says, his voice shaking ever so slightly. “I mean, it’s not manly, I know. I’m a football player, and all… but I’m really scared to walk outside of my house right now. What if he’s going to lose it, again? What if he’s angry?”
“Can we show the video of him killing the plant?” the reporter asks. “Do we have that? Ah, yes, here we go,” she says as a video clip starts playing on the screen behind them. All of a sudden it pixelates, and she looks a bit panicked before it starts playing again, except this time the scene begins earlier than planned.
“What…” she starts out as they see the Petleaves jump onto the teen, wrapping around him. “Do we know what’s happening here? I don’t remember seeing this part. Did someone do something to our feed?”
“Wow… that’s pretty hardcore,” the teen she’s interviewing says. “Hey, I didn’t see this part, either. That thing is really going at it!” He seems to be oblivious to the fact that he’s blowing his cover. “His clothes are getting eaten!” he says, starting to laugh.
The screen blitzes again, and a video of the Petleaf eating a tree in seconds shows, before it goes back to the super teen being chewed on.
“Sir, I can’t stop the video,” the man behind the computer says. “Someone’s taken over our system.”
“Go to commercial!” the lawyer that had been behind this interview snaps. “Go to commercial, NOW!” The director gives him a scathing look, but reluctantly nods. The man at the board hits a button, but nothing happens. In fact, the screen behind the interviewer changes abruptly to a beautiful teenage girl in a mask.
“Hiiii,” she says, waving at them. “You might know me, you might not, but I’m called Lady Tech.”
The crowd watching the show either cheers or roars with disapproval, since there are a lot of Anti-Super-Society members there. “I don’t recall, um, asking for an interview, but that isn’t to say I’m not thrilled!” the interviewer says. “Lady Tech, can you tell us what relationship you have with the super in the video? DO you have a relationship with him?”
“I do!” Lady Tech says. “You’re looking at my twin brother. He takes after Mom, obviously, I don’t have to work to kill plants, they just sort of do it all on their own.”
“But that makes him…”
“The son of Lady Rose,” Lady Tech says. “He goes out on weekends with her to help the farmers in Central territory.”
“But if he’s doing that, why did he kill that plant? It was one of those… ‘Petleaves,’ wasn’t it? He could have tamed it, right?” the interviewer asks. She had been thinking of getting one for her daughter, once they became legal, but after seeing that video…
“Well, I have his explanation for that, too,” Lady Tech says. A recording starts to play when she waves a finger.
“They EAT plants!”
“So do cows.”
“But cows don’t eat entire trees in a few seconds flat. 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. Calm down.”
“I am calm. I’m always calm. It’s my thing. I’m the calm guy that falls asleep a lot, remember?”
“But those are now… pets, aren’t they? Are you telling us that the Petleaves are dangerous?” the interviewer asks when it’s obvious the recording has finished.
“Well, we’re looking into it. It seems the ones that are being sold have been genetically modified in a lot of ways, so we can’t say for sure,” Lady Tech says. “We’ll definitely keep an eye on them, though.”
“Is there anything else you would like to tell us?”
“Hey!” Jeff says. “This was supposed to be MY interview! Why are you asking her all the questions? I’m the victim here!”
“You want to see what happened to cause my brother to break his arm?” Lady Tech asks. “I’ve got the video, right here, as well. I’ve pixelated faces, of course, since there’s a matter of privacy.”
“Can you show that?” the interviewer asks.
“I would LOVE to,” Lady Tech says with a triumphant smile.
“Wait—” Jeff says, starting to look worried. “I don’t think—”
The video starts playing, complete with sound. The audience watches intently.
“GO TO A COMMERCIAL!” the lawyer yells, only to get glared at by every single person working behind the scene.
***
*Cape High South*
“Hey, wait, Zoe’s on television!” Jimmi says, interrupting the game. “We need to take a break and watch this.” The kids quickly log off of their game and the screen turns to the interview show. She looks up as Davis gets to his feet, starting for the door. “Davis, don’t you want to see this?” she asks.
“Restroom break,” Davis says, not bothering to look back as he heads out of the rec room and for his bedroom. He pulls out his old phone once he’s closed the door, and brings up the app he’d had open earlier. For a moment he stares at it, reading the info, and then he smirks, swiping to the right and tapping on the screen a few times. “Let’s see what changing the frequencies does…”
For a second or two, he sees a reaction from each of the fake nanobytes, and then one by one, those signals disappear. His eyes widen with shock as he realizes what happened. “Not good… not good… I knew it was bad, but not THIS bad! If you’re going to rip off my tech, at least do it properly!”
He does NOT want to be the one
that tells Zoe that he just blew up all the Petleaves computer chips by accident.
***
*Somewhere in Texas*
“The phones are already ringing off the hook, Floyd!” Thelma says, staring at the line of phones on the table without moving to touch any of them. What few customer support workers they have are doing their best, but it’s not helping. “We might have been able to survive the video of the kid killing one, but this…” She motions to the flat screen on the wall, watching grimly as Technico’s daughter speaks. “Everyone in the WORLD is watching this, now. Or if they’re not watching it now, they’ll watch it on the evening news.”
“Don’t forget the nightly news,” Grahmm says, just as grimly.
“I try to. That little ditz of an anchor makes my skin crawl,” she says. “What are we going to do?”
“Well, the nanobytes for the official Petleaves are still working,” Grahmm says, heading to the laptop on his desk and starting to type. “As long as they have those…”
“As long as they have those… what?” Thelma prompts when he just sits there, staring gape-jawed at the screen. “You were reassuring me, Floyd. I could really use some reassurance today, it hasn’t been a good one.”
“The… ah… there must be something wrong with my computer,” he says, starting to type. “Just give me a moment, Thelma. I’ll have them back online in no time.”
“Back? BACK online?” she says, her voice cracking. “Why do they need to be put BACK online, Floyd?”
“Because apparently someone took them offline,” he says grimly.
“Mr. Grahmm? We’ve got a call here about some kid’s Petleaf eating the family lawn,” one of the customer support people says. “ALL of the lawn.”
“This one apparently ate a privacy fence, sir,” another calls out.
“We’re going to prison for this, aren’t we?” Thelma says, finally.
“Well… at least Cage won’t be there?” Grahmm offers.
“Oh, no,” she says. “Cage is definitely going down with us, one way or another.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
I can’t help but wonder just how awkward it is in the car Skye’s riding in. I mean, this is sort of awkward, here, too. “So…” the cop says, glancing at me in the rearview mirror, “Do you have a super name? You were flying, right? So that means we’ll see you on TV soon.”
