Rise and Shine

by R. J. Ross

  “Ah, not by choice,” I admit, stretching my legs out a little. “My girlfriend and I plan on going to the jungles and rain forests of the world and helping out, there.”

  “Your girlfriend?” he asks. “Is she a super?”

  “Yeah,” I say, “she’s um, a shape shifter. She’s out to save the animals of the world.”

  “How old are you?” he asks. “You don’t look much older than my own kids.”

  “Sixteen,” I say, yawning. I lean back, wondering if this ride will be long enough for a nap. This day’s been really long and difficult.

  “And you’re already planning to save the rain forest?” he says, a bit incredulously.

  “Eh, I figure Mom can handle the farmers, here, so why not?” I say with a shrug. “I’m sort of the slacker at the school, actually. Most of them are already working, especially my sister. She’s got it all graphed out for the next forty years, or something.”

  The radio crackles and I sit back, listening to a dispatcher speak. My eyes are almost fully closed by the time the words actually sink into my head. “There… is no code for this one. Rampaging plant life on the corner of 49th and Vines.”

  “Rampaging plant life?” the cop repeats quietly. “That’s… a bit…”

  I sit upright, my hands touching metal partition between me and him. “Can we stop by there?” I ask.

  “I’m afraid that will have to be left to the others, we’re supposed to be meeting with your Hall leader, remember?” he says, but he sounds a bit tense.

  “But what sort of plant do you think is rampaging?” I ask. “I’ve got a pretty good idea.” Unconsciously I poke my fingers through the holes in the metal screen, only to warp it with grip marks. “Oh, sorry, I really didn’t mean to break that,” I say as I pull my hands away. “Usually I’m a lot better at controlling it.”

  “Repeat, rampaging plant life on the corner of 49th and Vines,” the dispatcher says.

  I see a sign ahead that says, “Vines.” I know he knows I see it, because he lets out a curse and grabs his radio, calling in his location. “Transporting a plant elementalist super at the moment, do I receive help?”

  “Is super aggressive?”

  “No, sir, he even apologized for breaking the partition cage accidentally,” he replies. “This is a simple escort.”

  “I can fix it, I think. I just need to bend it this way…” I say, trying to fix the holes I just made.

  “Leave it, I’ll get it replaced. Until then, it’ll impress the next drunk I wind up bringing in,” he says, making sure not to broadcast.

  “Confirmed, car 193, assistance approved,” the dispatcher says. We turn down Vines and the alarm starts going off.

  “I doubt we’ll need your help,” he says, only to go silent as we see what’s happening. The islands alongside the road, where trees are usually grown, are completely torn out, and a huge green Petleaf is in the middle of the road, finishing off the last of the birches. We slow to a stop, mere inches away from the Petleaf, and the siren comes to a rather pathetic little stop.

  ***

  “Um, Skystep,” the police officer says, looking in his rearview mirror, “the other car seems to have been called to assist. Do you want to go help?”

  Skye turns, looking out the back, only to shake her head and stand up, her upper half going through the roof of the car. She can hear the screams, and she knows that something is going on, but for once, she has something else in mind. She sits down again. “They’ll be fiiiiiine. Sunny likes plants!” she says, waving it off with a hand. “Can you give me a tour? I wanna see ALLL the rooms!”

  “Ah, well, I would need to get permission,” he says, “but I think we might be able to arrange something. As long as you promise to, um, behave?”

  “Oh, I don’t do anything to police officers,” she says. “I’m very careful! I like their doggies, especially! Oh, oh, do you think I could meet your doggies?”

  “If there are any K9 units in at the moment, you can talk with their handlers, but you have to recall that they’re working animals, understand?” he says.

  “Absolutely!” she says. “Can I turn on the siren?”

  He hesitates for all of a second before turning the siren on. She isn’t lying when she says she’s very careful. He’s even been at some of her “jobs” and she’d given him a huge smile and tapped him on the nose before turning to fight the “nemeses.” He’s also been given extremely long lectures and several hours of training on how to deal with the working villains in South Branch. It’s amazing, really, knowing just how legal their “illegal” activities are.

  He pulls into the police station, pausing as he sees a group of cops speaking with Mastermental in front. “Would you like to go talk with Mastermental?” he asks. She looks over, and then shakes her head.

  “He’s a hero, remember?” she says, “I’m a villain. We wouldn’t get along very well. Besides, I want to see the police station!” She hops out of the car and he quickly heads to park, knowing he can’t let her run off on her own for long.

  Skye races to the roof of the building, listening as she searches for where they have him. This is it. She’s going to confront him.

  ‘Please, my dear, I would prefer it if you didn’t kill him. I would have quite a lot of paperwork to deal with, much less your family members,’ she hears a vaguely familiar voice in her mind. She looks up, and then over at the front of the building, seeing Mastermental still chatting with the cops.

  ‘I’m not going to touch him,’ she says. ‘I’m not THAT stupid, you know? There’s a Hall Leader right out front and a lot of police officers all around. I just… I need to see him face to face. I need to prove that he’s not my… that Superior is my dad, and that he’s just… a mean little man.’

  ‘I can understand that,’ he says. ‘Penski is five steps forward, dear. I will be keeping an eye on you, though. Please remember that.’

  ‘So… so if he’s mean to me, you’ll save me?’ she asks, childishly.

  ‘Yes,’ he says, not even hinting at amusement, ‘I will absolutely save you.’

  She takes five deliberate steps and then sinks through the ceiling. There’s a mirror, and she turns to it, waving at the people she’s sure are watching. “Hi, I’m not here to do anything bad, um… Mastermental?” she asks.

  ‘You have three minutes, Skye,’ he says softly. ‘Right now they won’t notice you unless something really startles them.’

  “Got it,” she says before turning to the man sitting in the chair. He’s watching her, but he hasn’t moved. In fact there’s a little smile on his face that makes her want to slap him. “You,” she says, pointing at him.

  “Hello, Skye,” he says. “I was wondering when you would come to visit.”

  “I hate you,” she says, ignoring his attitude. If she lets him get to her, she’ll lose her temper, and Mastermental will stop her. “You were a terrible father! Not that you were my real father, or anything, and thank GOD that you’re not, but I hate you! You did bad things to me, and I won’t ever forgive you!”

  “Yes, and?” he prompts.

  “And if you ever, ever come close to me, or someone I love, again, I will do something very, very bad to you,” she says, leaning her hands on the table.

  “Will you kill me?” he asks. “I’ve been watching you for a very long time, Skye. You aren’t a murderer. You don’t have it in you.”

  “I won’t touch you,” she says through gritted teeth. “You’re not worth getting my hands dirty on. I’ll just tell my family.”

  He raises an eyebrow. “I’m terrified,” he says. “Your imaginary family is going to come and hurt me, I take it?”

  “They aren’t imaginary,” she says, her voice quiet as she remembers her screamed threats from her childhood. She had tried everything she could think of to get him to let her go, including a lie about her real family coming to save her.

  “They have always been imaginary,” he says.

  “They are not
imaginary,” she says. “I’m the sister of Technico and Firefly! I’m a Superior, now. And you had better not forget it,” she hisses.

  ‘Skye, my dear, time is up,’ Mastermental says in her mind. ‘Your guide is searching for you, so meet him in the secure front lobby.’

  She nods and jumps into the air, running away before he can reply.

  “Little sister,” Richard says to himself, remembering what Technico had said to him a while back. “Hmmm.”

  ***

  “I don’t remember the one you killed online being this big,” the police officer says as we stare at the gigantic Petleaf through the windshield.

  “It’s a growing boy?” I offer. “Can you unlock the doors back here?” I ask.

  “Ah, right, I’ll let you out,” he says, reaching for the door. “Are these things aggressive towards humans?” he asks a second later, as the Petleaf turns towards us. Its mouth opens. The officer reaches for his gun, aiming at the creature without bothering to get out.

  “I don’t know about all humans,” I say, “but they sure seem to like the taste of me.” The car shudders wildly as the Petleaf takes a bite. The cop starts shooting through the windshield and calling for help, but it doesn’t seem to do much. I undo my seatbelt. “Sorry about this, but I’ll have Dad fix it for you, I promise,” I say before kicking the door off and jumping out of the car. I slam into the Petleaf, ripping it off of the police car and flying straight up. As I go, it turns its attention on me, biting down on my upper body and shaking its head. It’s like a dog with a toy, I guess? I think it’s trying to shake me until I die, or something. It won’t work, sure, but it’s still really annoying!

  “How did you get so big so quickly?” I demand, ripping it apart. I stop as I see a piece of plastic start to fall from the leaves, grabbing it. “This is…” If this is what I think it is, we’ve got a really big problem. I don’t have to be a technopath to see that it’s completely burnt out. The plant is healing around me, and I’m once again “eaten” a second later. I’m really getting tired of being mistaken for plant food, here! I start pulling at the energy of the plant, but it’s pulling back. I’m still a little weak from that run-in with Clay earlier, so I don’t have time for this tug of war. I guess I could try something else… it might not be the smartest thing I’ve ever done, but hey, since when has that stopped me? I fly straight up, blindly, intent on getting as high as I can. I don’t know if it’ll work on a plant from outer space, but if the cold can at least shock it a little, it’ll give me an advantage.

  “SUNNY!” I hear someone shout. “What are you THINKING, son?” Before I can figure out where I know the voice from, the plant is ripped off of me and Century is glaring at me.

  “The cold might make him easier to deal with?” I offer. I reach out, since the plant is starting to wrap around Century’s hands, now, and jerk at the life force, draining it. “It wasn’t as stupid an idea as trying to burn it up in the atmosphere. Plus, it actually worked,” I say defensively as it dies.

  “Did you come up with that idea on your own?” he asks, straight-faced.

  “Dad did something similar, once?” I offer. “He took Marie up high and threatened to blow the teleportation watch to create a black hole.”

  He pokes me in the forehead. “Son, as a Hall Leader, I’m telling you right now, if your father has done it in one form or another, it’s best that you never do it, EVER.” I rub my forehead, where he poked me.

  “He had me?” I say.

  “Well, you can have kids,” he says grudgingly, “but that might be the exception to this rule, and only when you’re older.”

  “But… Century, this wasn’t like the one we fought earlier,” I say. “The chip fell out.”

  “It had a chip?” he asks.

  “It was completely burnt up, but it had a chip,” I agree. “That one was one of the official Petleaves.” I look down, seeing what I really, really didn’t want to see. There’s a little girl around six or seven that’s sobbing her heart out on the sidewalk. I have a very good idea why. “I have to apologize,” I say, guiltily. I start to drop, only losing control of it a few times before I land in front of her.

  She doesn’t look up as I kneel down in front of her, just sobs harder. I don’t think talking will help, so I walk over to the dirt that had once been a pretty island, and shove my hand into it, grabbing onto nothing and pulling my fist straight out. A tree shoots up, growing rapidly. I dare to glance over, seeing her watch through her tears, and I run my hands through the dirt around the tree. Flowers spring out of the ground, wild and bright, in all different colors. I reach into the dirt one more time, pulling out one of the flowers out with the root ball attached.

  “I’m sorry,” I tell her, walking over and offering the flower. “This can’t make up for a pet, but…” She takes the flower, wiping at her tears with her sleeve, and I give her a smile. “You can plant this somewhere, okay?” She nods.

  To my surprise, a reporter shoves a mic into my face. “Lady Tech’s brother, can you tell us your name?” she asks. “Can you tell us what just happened? We have reports that attacks like this one are taking place all over the U.S. right now, can you tell us about them?”

  “All over?” I repeat.

  “We have several accounts of rogue Petleaves,” she says. “Do you plan on dealing with them?”

  I look down, letting out a sigh as I see the state of my clothes. “Maybe after I get some new pants?” I offer as Century steps forward to take over.

  “We will gladly step in,” Century says, placing a hand on my shoulder. “The Hall is always ready to assist.”

  “Century, is this a debut?” another reporter asks. “What’s his name?”

  “Unfortunately, this is not a debut,” Century says, “our friend here is never going to be on the actual Hall docket. He has plans to go save the forests and jungles of the world once he graduates.”

  “That’s a very altruistic goal, but it makes it more difficult to cover the story,” the first reporter says. “Can we have some sort of name to call him?”

  “Well,” Century says, looking at me. I take a second too long to come up with something, because a wicked grin crosses his face. “You can call him Sunshine,” he announces.

  “Oh maaaan, not THAT again!” I wail as they try not to laugh. “And I thought that ‘Lady Tech’ was bad.”

  “We’ve heard you’ve been called the Weed Killer,” one of the reporters offers. “Should we call you that, instead?”

  “Call me Sunshine,” I say morosely. “I’m definitely going to complain to Mastermental, though,” I say to Century, silently. He shoots me a little grin.

  “I did give you a chance,” he says. “Now, ladies and gentlemen, and all the rest of you reporters, Sunshine and I really need to get him some pants, so he can go save the world from rampant plant eaters. It’s been a pleasure.” He looks at me, asking silently, “Do you still need help flying?”

  “I got it,” I say, taking to the air. “We need to go to the police station, Mastermental is probably there already,” I tell him once we’re air born. “I’m supposed to explain what happened over at Penski’s place. He’s been escaping through tunnels, and Pop and Voltdrain didn’t find them because there’s no electricity—”

  “So that’s what happened.” I jerk, almost falling out of the air as I hear Dad speak. I look at the commlink, wondering if he finally checked in, but there’s no hologram. “A little closer, Sunshine,” he says from right behind me. I turn, slowly, guilt-laden. I am SO busted.

  “I don’t like that name,” I mutter, my shoulders drooping. I start downward, losing my balance, only to be grabbed under the arms by my dad. “And I can explain EVERYTHING… except I’m sorry that your honeymoon got cut short.”

  “Eh, your mom got so distracted playing with the plants that I started renovating Mom’s condo for fun,” he says, shrugging it off. “Don’t worry about that. We’re bringing you and Zoe with us next time. Unless you’re
grounded for life over this, that is.”

  I sigh as he lets go of me. “Well, if I have to tell the story from the beginning, I might as well do it where EVERYONE can hear it,” I say. “We need to go to the police station.” I look at my commlink and start flying there.

  “He’s gotten much better,” I hear Dad say as Century moves to his side. “Did you help him with that?”

  “I did a little, but Voltdrain was helping him last.”

  “Voltdrain used me to green up the territory,” I say over my shoulder. “He’d just let me fall because it helped the grass in that area. I think he’s planning on dragging Ariel out to water it, later.” They’re both still laughing as we reach the police station. “Well, in his defense, he kept catching me until he decided a fall or two wasn’t going to hurt me,” I add.

  Mastermental is sitting in front of the building, drinking a cup of coffee with a few cops. “Ah, yes, Sunshine,” he says as I drop down in front of them. “I’ve been hearing interesting things about your… vacation down here.”

  “Hi, Double M,” I say, lifting a hand.

  “Your sister has done a wonderful job dealing with the legal issue. There have been a flood of letters and texts from supporters,” he goes on. “We have also gotten several offers from the boy’s lawyers to settle it outside of court.”

  “Are you going to?” I ask.

  “Absolutely not,” he says, smiling slightly. “I plan to drag them through the system backwards until they are crying for their mothers.”

  “What if I ask you to?” I say. “I don’t want to be put on the stand, and then we’d have to put a lot of the zoo kids up there, and Kim, and it’ll last a really long time, right?”

  Dad drops a hand on my shoulder, and I look up at him. “That’s what the kid wants,” he says. “Plus, it’s just a show, right? He’s under Hall law.”

  Double M frowns, clearly denied of his fun. “Fine,” he says, “as much as I dislike it. The money will be put into your account, Sunny, so you may put it towards your rain forest goals.”