by R. J. Ross
"But we haven't gotten the chance to—" Malina says as I haul her along. She's not moving fast enough, so I lean down and wrap an arm around her waist, picking her up.
"Max just made a very, VERY good point," I whisper to her.
"What's that?" she whispers back.
"I don't want a rabid fan girl in school."
She glares at me, jumping out of my hold and hauling me to a stop by grabbing my pants. "You're the one being a bully, now," she tells me, putting her hands on her hips. "We can't abandon her because YOU feel uncomfortable!" she tells me, poking me in the chest—well, the stomach. She has to reach up to do that.
"But Malina," I say, feeling desperate, "you don't understand just how awkward that could get—"
"Justin Eric Gregory," she hisses, standing on her toes. When that doesn’t work, she grabs my shirt and tugs until I get on my knees for her, "would you listen to yourself?"
I've never seen her look this bossy before. I can't help but feel a bit of wonder that one of the shyest zoo kids is now facing me down in public. She is… really adorable when she's angry. I doubt she'd like to hear that, so I keep it to myself. Instead I clasp my hands in a dramatic motion. "Please, Malina?" I beg. "She's got a built-in bodyguard already, right? Max is about to do her pal's debut tomorrow. She doesn't need to go to our school—"
Malina just stares at me for a moment as I let my words trickle to a stop. She takes a step forward, since we're on eye level now, and places her hands on my shoulders. "It'll be okay," she tells me, leaning up and kissing me on the forehead. "Don't worry, we'll keep you safe from the rabid fan girl," she promises, pulling back and giving me a teasing grin.
I don't reply for a second, still feeling the tiny kiss on my forehead. What—no, forget it, I tell myself sharply, shaking it off. She's just being motherly. All of the zoo girls, especially, have a mothering instinct. I think it was all the time fighting to keep each other from breaking. I'm just a bit vulnerable to that sort of stuff—I realized it during my crush on Morgan. "But you wouldn't have to if she wasn't in the school," I have to point out.
"We can go now," Emily says, jerking us out of our chat. We both look up. It's only Emily and Freddy.
"Where's—"
"We did our job," Freddy says with a shrug. "We gave her your mom's card and the card from school. She said she'd check in with the Hall soon. That's all we were supposed to do, right? So time to go. You've got a show tomorrow, right?"
"Uh… yeah, I do," I say, standing.
"So," Freddy says casually as we start to walk away, "when did you two start flirting?"
Malina almost trips over herself. The look of shock on her face would be funny, if I weren't feeling a bit shocked, myself. "We aren't flirting!" Malina bursts out. "You're crazy, Freddy—Justin's like another brother!"
Ouch. My ego just took another serious hit right there. I almost don’t notice how Malina suddenly stops, staring up at a cloud in the sky with a frown on her face. “Malina?” I ask.
“It’s nothing,” she says, starting to walk again.
***
"I think," Rachel says slowly, looking at the two cards that Kirsten is holding, "that that guy in the nerdy glasses was Justin."
"You can't be sure about that—he was gone half of the time," Kirsten says. "There's no way THE Justin would wear that stupid of an outfit. They were even talking about making a clothing line based on his style!"
"But what if he doesn't want to be caught?" Rachel asks. "What if he's pretending to be a norm—we know the others were probably super! They had a whole whispered conversation with Cold Steel, right?"
"Well, yeah, but that doesn't mean it's Justin. There are other super teens out there."
"I still say it was him. We'll ask him tomorrow night after we kidnap him!"
"Good plan!"
***
"This was a lot of fun!" Skye says, dancing through the air as she and Tatia head back to the ice mountain. "There were so many shiny beads!" She's decked out with tons of bead necklaces and bracelets—none of which she made herself. Well she HAD made something, of course, but it wasn't very pretty. "I especially liked the part where that little guy came into the shop and looked at you before fainting!"
"But that is not meant to happen, kitten," Tatia says dryly.
"That's what made it so fun!" Skye says.
"And you got very bored during the computer class," Tatia points out.
"Well, yeah, but there was a really interesting class one floor down!"
"Yes, and you sitting there with your head in the ground did make for some very interesting conversation!" Tatia agrees. "Is there anything else you would like to do?" she asks. Her new "daughter" is very eccentric, she's decided, but she is quite entertaining!
"Well, I know I should check on Doris's training—it should be really interesting! But I haven't talked to Emily in days," Skye says, frowning as she pulls to a stop. "I don't want her to get lonely!"
"But she is on a mission right now," Tatia says.
"But it's not like she's in the mountains or anything!"
"Well, to be truthful, I think she is," Tatia says. "She is visiting the West Branch. I have never met this Negatia woman, but I have flown over her territory—it is a beautiful place. Very rocky."
"She—she's in the mountains?" Skye says, the color leaving her face. "The mountain-mountains? With the snow on top? And—and the avalanches and the—"
"She will be fine, kitten," Tatia says, taking her hands. "My son has built the tour bus she is riding in—there is nothing that will hurt them."
"That—that's what—" A tear trickles down Skye's cheek and she takes a shuddering breath. "That's what her parents said—that—that they'd be fine," she says, starting to sob. "And they WEREN'T!"
"Breathe, kitten, we are not dealing with the same situation—this is Emily we are speaking of," Tatia says, starting to get worried. "She can teleport the group out if things do not go well."
"I don't—I can't risk it," Skye says, going insubstantial and slipping out of Tatia's grasp. "I have to save my niece!" she declares, racing away.
On the one hand, Tatia thinks, she has the urge to chase after the girl to make sure she doesn't get in trouble. On the other, she's still supposed to be dead. Her son will definitely yell at her for flying around, especially when it's across the country.
She lets out a sigh, shaking her head. "She is so impetuous," she says. "But she will be fine—it is not as if she is flying into danger!" She's just going off to check on Emily, who's perfectly fine.
With that assurance, Tatia heads back to her home, mentally plotting out dinner.
***
There's something wrong with this situation, Shadowman thinks as he crouches on a high rocky ledge, watching a glowing tour bus head his direction. It's like it's right on the tip of his tongue, but he can't exactly figure out what. He has a job—get the singing super. It's the usual thing for him, actually. Kidnapping a teenage cape is part and parcel with his way of living. He's got a boss that's—
Wait, IS he getting paid for this job? He doesn't even remember signing a contract, much less writing one up! In fact, who IS his boss?
Instinctively, even as he's trying to put the most important parts of this gig together in his mind, he jumps off the ledge, landing on the roof of the bus as it starts to go past. Several of the other cars swerve, certain that they're going to hit him as he hits the concrete, but he ignores it all, crouching on top of the bus until a shadow hits him.
He slips through the roof, right into the middle of the group. A familiar looking girl lets out a squeak, and for a second his eyes land on her. How does he know her? Does it matter?
"I'm here for Justin," he says, striding over to where the teen in question is now standing. "This can go the easy way, or the hard way—I'm sure most of you would survive dropping out of the bus, but it'll hurt like hell, don't you think?"
A glowing whip comes out, wrapping around his throat. "The las
t I heard was that you were in Mexico somewhere, getting drunk," a female says. "Why didn't you stay there?"
"I've got a job," Shadowman says, jerking at the whip. It's hard to phase through something glowing, he abruptly realizes. More like impossible, actually. So he'll deal with it the old fashioned way. He grabs the whip and yanks hard, slamming Falconess into the wall of the tour bus. She hits so hard that the entire bus swerves with it, slamming into a few cars on the right before crashing through the railing and into the mountain they're driving through. The whip disappears. People are screaming outside of the bus. The ones inside of it race forward, grabbing for him. The only ones that look terrified are the three boys in the back who are keeping away from him. Even the little girl that gasped as he entered is hanging stubbornly off of his leg.
"Falconess, we're going to have to find solid ground," the man driving the bus yells without looking over his shoulder. He's veering back into traffic. It's a bit surprising that the bus is still driving.
No it's not, a little voice whispers in his mind. Technico did this.
Wait, what does Technico have to do with this?
He doesn't have time to figure it out. Instead he kicks as hard as he can, sending the little girl flying across the bus and into a window. He twists, slamming a fist into Falconess's face. She barely manages to get a screen of light up before it hits her full on. She probably realizes he planned on going through her face, he thinks unemotionally. Instead of continuing after her, he turns sinking his fist into the nearest kid's chest and touching the heart.
For a second he almost squeezes, but he stops himself as he realizes that this is his target. He pulls his hand out and grabs the boy by the shirt. "LET GO OF HIM!" a redheaded teen bellows. Two others pop into existence and they tackle him—or try to. He hears them crash as he sinks through the floor and into the Shadowland, taking the boy with him.
His head hurts, he thinks as he slings the now unconscious boy over his shoulder. Touching the heart as roughly he had was enough to send the boy into shock. Even for a super, it's no surprise the kid had fainted. Absently he listens for a heartbeat. If the kid is dead, he won't be paid.
Will he be paid?
Why is there a voice shouting at him from the back of his mind?
***
"What just happened?" Emily asks, looking around the trashed bus. Falconess has a grim look on her face, and Malina is on the floor next to the window, shaking her head.
"Ow," she whispers, reaching up and rubbing the back of her head. "He kicks hard."
"He took Justin," Falconess says, pulling out her phone. "Alphonse, call Negatia, have her send in some black suits. I'm calling Mastermental. Emily, call Nico, we're going to need his help."
"On it," Emily says.
"What's he going to do to Justin?" Malina asks.
"Didn't something seem… wrong?" Freddy asks, making them all look at him. "We saw Shadowman on a regular basis—every time he brought in a new kid he would hang around for a few moments, walking around and giving us a hard time. We hate him, but…"
"He didn't seem himself just now," Malina finishes with a frown. "Like he was…"
"A machine," Freddy finished.
"EMILY!" the shout makes all of them jump, especially as feet sink through the ceiling of the bus. The color drains out of their faces for a moment until a female drops to the floor and throws herself at the redhead. "What happened here?" Skyestep demands, hugging her tightly.
"Justin got kidnapped," Emily says. Her phone is answered and they all hear Aubrey's voice.
"What's wrong?" Aubrey asks.
"Shadowman just kidnapped Justin," Emily repeats for her sister's benefit. "We need Nico—we need to get him back. Malina and Freddy say something was wrong with Shadowman and I think they're right—he almost killed Justin before grabbing him."
"What? How?"
"He stuck his hand through his chest."
"I'll get Nico," Aubrey says.
"Shadowman," Skye says, letting go of Emily. Her expression changes drastically and she looks around for a moment.
"Skye?"
"Quiet, sweetie, I need to concentrate for a moment," Skye says. The very serious and logical tone is enough to have the group staring at her in shock. Emily and her doppelgangers look the most shocked of them all. Skye turns half a step, and then another, her eyes faintly glowing. "Found him," she says before running straight through the three band members and out the back of the bus.
"Did you know she could do that?" Falconess asks Emily.
"Be serious? I had no clue," Emily says in a stunned tone.
***
Shadowman steps through a hole, stepping out into the light of an abandoned building. The boy is still lying over his shoulder. His breathing is shallow, his heartbeat unsteady, but they'd never said he had to bring him in perfectly healthy. They're lucky he's even alive.
He slings the body off of his shoulder, about to drop him when someone steps up behind him. "Do be more delicate," the woman says. "I don't want him dead just yet—he might be useful."
"Yes, Mother," Shadowman hears himself say. Wait, what? Mother? His mother's been dead for over sixty years—
"Good boy," the woman says, dropping a hand on his shoulder and turning him so she's looking him in the eyes. "Oh, how interesting!" she says, her expression brightening, "Someone's trying to break free of my hold. You are a strong one, aren't you?"
"What does Technico have to do with this?" he asks abruptly.
"Oh?" she asks, cocking her head slightly. She's beautiful, in a cold sort of way that sends a chill down your spine. She's got long silver hair that's pulled up in an intricate fashion, full, red lips, high cheekbones, and narrow eyes that change color every second. "Let me think for a moment, there are so many silly named supers out there—"
"Technico," he repeats. "Ex-super villain. Technopath. The only super to ever get out of the Cape Cells on good behavior."
"Oh, yes! The new boy in the Central Hall. I worried for a moment he would be a problem, but he doesn't ever seem to come into the light, does he?" She waves a hand and the boy he's still holding floats over to the pallet in the corner. "Good job with this one, I'll call you when I need you again."
"You didn't answer my question," Shadowman says, "and I can't remember the contract."
"Contract?"
"The one that shows I'm working for you," he says, gritting his teeth as his head starts to throb. "The one that means I'll get paid."
"You're a super villain, sweetie, no one would believe you in court, even if you did have a contract," she says, patting him fondly on the arm. "But you're not getting paid, so we don't need a contract, now do we?"
Shadowman feels his head turning on its own and finds himself staring into the kaleidoscope eyes. "You're doing this out of love for Mother," she says. The world is swirling around him and he feels his head nod all on its own.
"Love… for… Mother…" he hears himself repeating. That voice in the back of his head is screaming even louder now, but he can't seem to make sense out of the words. "What next, Mother?"
"Well, since you're in such a helpful mood…" she says, touching her cheek with one finger in a thoughtful manner. "How about we collect those little floating supers that came up in the news lately? They're the way I finally got my son to give in, so they must be worth SOMETHING, don't you think?"
"Son?" he asks, finally getting a tiny bit of control back.
"Oh, that doesn't matter right now," she says, waving a hand. "Go back to work, sweetie—"
"SHADOWMANNNN!" the bellow comes from outside but it doesn't finish until a woman races through the wall and slams straight into him. They both go flying, crashing through wall after wall. This building had once been a business, it looks like. He only notes that idly as he searches his mind for the name of his attacker.
"Skystep," he says as they slam into the building next door. She pulls back, a look of rage on her face before she hits him in the gut so hard he
feels her fist against his spine. It's followed by another hit, and another. The only reason she hasn't killed him is because they have similar powers—in a way, they negate each other. Just like she can't reach inside of her own body, she can't reach into his, and rip his heart out. He's far more grateful for that fact than he'll ever admit. But it also means he can't do the same, he realizes as she picks him up, twisting in a circle and sending him flying through the building they'd come through earlier. She must have aimed, because he goes through all of the walls again, mere feet from the holes he left the first time.
"YOU DARE TO ATTACK MY NIECE?" she bellows, taking to the air as the building he's now lying limply in threatens to fall. "I'LL KILL YOU!"
"Niece?" he repeats, staring at the enraged woman diving straight for him. He's spent all these years avoiding the girl, he thinks darkly. She's right up there on his list of "who NOT to get involved with" with Technico and half a dozen others—so why is he dealing with her now?
"DIVINE JUSTICE IS MY NIECE!" she bellows as she slams into him, fist first. He barely manages to dive into the Shadowlands, leaving her behind.
Divine Justice might be HER niece (although, really he doubts that) but SHE is HIS. Of course it's more like great-niece, but he really doubts claiming family ties right now is going to do him any good. He's been trying to avoid the whole family—
Family.
That's what he'd come here for, he realizes. Perhaps it's the odd, but familiar smell of the Shadowlands that's knocked him back to his senses, or maybe it was the way Skye just thoroughly beat him. One of those hits should have been enough to knock him free from the mind control. He takes a deep breath, gratitude welling up over the fact that she can't come into Shadowlands. She has his sister's prominent powers—the ability to phase through things. He hadn't gained that until he was almost seventy, and even now his version is limited to only a foot or so. There's a chance that someday Skye will see Shadowlands, but it wouldn't be for forty-some years, at least.
