Guitar Hero (Cape High Series Book 12)

by R. J. Ross

  "I don't want to leave them," I say quietly. "At least let me graduate before tossing me out on my butt," I tell Nico. "I've got another year, right?"

  "Are you sure?" he asks me.

  "Yeah. Once that year is over, I'll go back to being a singer. I might fail—especially since this tour is getting canceled so early, but I'll try."

  "And what happens if you fail—do you just give in and become the next Sonic Scream?" Nico asks.

  "I don't know," I say, "but it's worth the risk."

  He stares at me for a moment, a little smile pulling at his lips. "That's what he's decided," he says, turning to Negatia. "Your son is going to stay for another year. If at that time he decides he never wants to be in the photo op game, I'll make it so he never will be."

  "Why do you think I'll accept this?" she asks.

  "Because he just willingly walked into a very dangerous situation, and came out all on his own—WITH his rescue target," Nico says. "He did it because MY family asked him to. He didn't even hesitate. Because he put that much effort in, I'll put just as much effort into doing what I can for him."

  "We both will," Superior says, stepping next to Nico. "Hello, Negatia. I don't believe we've met properly."

  "Superior," she says, but her eyes go to me. "Are you sure about this, Justin?" she asks quietly.

  "It's…" I take a deep breath, trying to put my thoughts into words. "I WANT to be a family with you, Mom," I say, a bit startled when I realize how true it is. "I don't want to lose you, or anyone in Cape High, either, but I need to make my own choices. I don't resent Dad—I still… I really miss him, and I wish he hadn't died, but he did the right thing.” As much as I hate to admit it—he did the only thing he COULD do. Only now I actually understand that fact. “Like Firefly said, because of him, thousands of people haven't been killed. I respect that." It feels like a weight is being lifted off of me as I go on, "I just—if I have to be declared useless as a hero to keep from being forced down a road I don't want to take… well, I will be."

  "I see," she says.

  "But," I say, "it felt good helping people. Maybe I—maybe WE can figure out a way I can do both," I say, looking at Nico. "Like being a singing hero. I can do what I did this time—but better, maybe. I guess I'll work out all the details during the year I've got left." Because that feels right. It feels right to help people, if I can do it in a way that lets me be me, not a replica of my dad.

  I love my dad—even if he's not here, I still love him. What he did was amazing, and now that I don't feel so pressured to BE him, I'm—I think I’m actually proud of him. Maybe… maybe I can do something with my life that would have made him proud of me.

  Wait. Something really important is being forgotten here.

  "How can I take Malina on a date if I'm stuck on campus twenty-four seven?" I ask Nico irritably. "I had to risk my LIFE just to get this date, I'm not going to blow a once in a lifetime thing! She's not the type to agree to a second one!"

  He lets out a laugh, clearly not taking this as seriously as he should.

  "Malina? Is that the little water girl?" Mom asks. "Isn't she too young for you?"

  "She's only a year younger!" I protest. "Besides, she's not taking it seriously, anyway, so why not?" I can't help the grin on my face. "Maybe I can talk Ace into going with us and have him make me look like someone else!"

  Nico stops laughing, and a thoughtful expression crosses his face. "I'm going to need the box of watch parts," he says, heading off. "Justin, are you coming?" he calls over my shoulder.

  For what? Rather than ask that, I chase after him, heading down icy hallways and into a massive room full of tons of… well… trash. It looks like someone hauled a junkyard up here. Nico is already at a large cardboard box, digging through what look like watch straps.

  "This one will work," he decides as he pulls out a black watch strap. A handful of tiny watch parts float over his head, arranging themselves into patterns. "White? Black? Asian?" he asks over his shoulder. "Have any preferences?"

  "For what?"

  "For your illusion," he says. "If I can replicate Emily's teleporting, why can't I replicate Ace's illusions? Sure, this won't give you even a drop of what he can do, but all you need is to look like someone else—in a way that another technopath can't see through." There's a hint of something in his voice that says it's more about the challenge than it is about me. Then he stops, the watch strap falling from his hand before he races for the door.

  "Nico?" I ask.

  He's gone without replying.

  ***

  "This cannot go on, Mother," Herold says. "I am TRYING to win a presidential race—my even being here is a risk to my standing! I can't be cleaning up your little messes every time I turn—" he stops, his eyes catching on Skystep. She's floating upside down near the ceiling, giggling once in a while at something he has no clue about. For a moment he just stares at her, until she catches his eye, tilts her head, and crosses her eyes at him while sticking out her tongue. He ignores that, his eyes going to a tiny little hairpiece stuck in her messy dark brown hair.

  "Take a picture, it lasts longer," Skye says, stretching her legs out and standing on the ceiling. "Mommy, I'm still hungry! Can I go get something to eat?" she asks, walking away from him.

  "Stop her," he says quietly.

  "Oh, she's not that bad, sweetie! She's actually quite adorable," Mother says as the girl walks to her. Mother reaches up, cupping her cheek. "If you promise not to rob the poor fast food workers, I'll let you go."

  "Okay!" Skye says, starting to sink up through the roof.

  "STOP HER!" Herold roars, racing forward. He jumps, his fingers sliding through her hair and snagging on the hairpiece as she slides through the roof.

  "Really, Herold, she's just going out for food," Mother says, looking irritated.

  "I know you're watching this," Herold says, looking at the hairpiece with a scowl. "If you think that gives you the upper hand, I suggest you think again." His fingers smash the tiny piece of metal, and he turns to Mother with a scowl. "She's a spy."

  "She is not!"

  "Check her the next time she comes—if she comes. You are playing far too fast and loose with this, Mother! Technico and Mastermental are watching me--they were just here along with another super--one I’ve not seen before.”

  "Another super?" Mother repeats, her expression turning serious. "What, might I ask, did this stranger look like?"

  "Like Technico, but in white," Herold says. "If I didn't have proof that Superior is dead, I would have almost sworn—"

  "I see," Mother says, stretching out like a cat, her arms going over her head. A pleased smile pulls at her lips. "This just got so, so, SO much better," she adds, almost to herself.

  Herold scowls, a headache threatening. "When she comes back—wipe her mind," he says instead, heading out the door. He needs to get an idea of where the signal came from, he thinks. If he's right, and it was technopath made, he might have a bit of trouble with that.

  If only Technico had stayed in the Cape Cells like a good little boy, none of this would be happening now.

  ***

  *Kansas City - two blocks away*

  "I'll just take care of this right now," Century says, stepping away from the monitor and taking to the air. The girl that had been sitting next to him shifts, taking to the air with a massive flap of her wings. She didn't even question, he think as they start forward.

  They head for the old building, hiding in the clouds until they get close enough. "Do you see her—" Doris starts out, only to yelp as Skye appears in front of them.

  "See who?" she asks cheerfully. "Doris!" she says only a second later, throwing herself at the other female. "I'm infiltrating," she whispers dramatically.

  "Your cover is blown," Century says, his eyes on the man in front of the building. "You can't go back. But that doesn't matter, because I'm going to kill him," he adds far too casually.

  "Oh no you don't!" Skye says, moving in front of him.
The man on the ground is looking up at the sky—right in their direction. "If you kill someone then you'll be stuck in the Cape Cells and someone will take your job, and then I'll be stuck under someone else and they might put ME in the Cape Cells and I'll be stuck with you for ETERNITY and that's way too long for me—"

  "Volt will take my place," Century says, starting for the man.

  "Oh! In that case, okay!" Skye says.

  "Really," Doris drawls as she looks at Skye.

  Skye shrugs. "He stole my pretty hair piece from my REAL brother," she says with a shrug. "He totally deserves to die!"

  "Is that all he did to you?" Nico asks from behind them.

  "NICO!" Skye yells, making Century stop and Herold look up, straight at them. She throws herself at Nico, just like she had Doris. "Can you make me a new one?" she asks.

  "Yeah, I'll make you a whole batch of them," he says, one arm wrapping around her waist instinctively. "Time to go."

  "What? Why?"

  "Because the media is coming," Nico says. "Doris?" he adds, offering a hand. Doris hesitates, looking down at Century.

  "Are you just throwing him to the norms?" she asks, motioning to the southerner.

  "Century can take care of himself," Nico says.

  “Then why alert the media?” she asks.

  "Because I don’t want Century to finish it just yet. Herold threatened my kids, he put my healers at risk, and Mother messed with both my students and my newest family member," he adds, his expression cold. “That line about revenge being best served cold is a cliché for a reason.” He touches his watch as Doris touches his forearm and they teleport away.

  "Senator Herold! Senator Herold, is there a reason you're in this strange place?"

  "Century! Are you having a secret meeting w—wait, wasn't he here just a second ago?"

  "I don't know… it's dark, so maybe you were seeing things?"

  "I could have SWORN it was 10:05… but my watch is reading 10:10…"

  "Mine too!"

  "Senator Herold! Can you tell us what's really happening here?"

  ***

  *The Tour Bus*

  “I don’t like this,” Freddy says, sitting on the bunk over the table. He’s been saying that since Justin left, so everyone just ignores him. “We should do something,” he goes on. This one’s new, so Malina leans back in her chair so she can look up at him.

  “Like what?” she asks.

  “I don’t know. Maybe go after him?”

  “I didn’t know you guys liked Justin so much,” Emily says, staring at her phone without blinking. She seems to be expecting a call.

  “He’s… well, we didn’t like him at first, but we’ve gotten fond of him,” Freddy mutters. “Kind of like with Ward.”

  “Ward’s our brother! You HAVE to like him,” Malina scolds him.

  “You might, but Ward can be a pain in the neck,” Freddy says.

  She snorts and goes back to looking out the window. It’s getting dark. She jerks slightly and brings up her com, looking at the time. Okay, maybe it’s supposed to be getting dark now—

  A crack of thunder rumbles through the air. A chill runs down her spine and she jerks at the window, pulling it down. The others watch her blankly as she sticks her head out and holds out a hand.

  A raindrop falls into her palm.

  She slams the window closed. “We’ve got a problem,” she tells the others as the rain starts to pour.

  ***

  "We'll make your watch later," Nico says as we appear in the Arctic Circle again. "For now, we'll have Liz and the gang head back to the school and meet them there. Call Liz," he says. For a moment I think he's talking to me, but a screen lights up with an image of Firefly.

  "We've got a problem, Nico," she says. There's a strange whooshing sound coming from the speakers. "Somehow we're being attacked by a tidal wave."

  "It's not a tidal wave," Malina says. "I could control a tidal wave. It's that weird woman!"

  "Weird woman?" Nico asks.

  "She's made of water—she called me 'my child' and she might be my mom, I don't know, but I can't control her, whatever she is!" Malina says, sounding close to crying. "I can barely keep her out of the tour bus!"

  "We're coming," I say. "We'll get you out of there."

  Nico looks at me, raising one eyebrow in a silent comment. I feel heat creep up the back of my neck in reply. "Nico out," he says rather than disagree. "Off to play hero again, huh?" he asks me as he taps on his phone.

  "We're going the same place they'll be going, this just makes it a shorter trip?" I offer sheepishly. He drops a hand on my back, patting me twice before teleporting us both into the tour bus.

  "Water conducts electricity," Liz says, standing in the middle of the bus. I realize a bit belatedly that we're turning in wild circles as the water lifts us off the ground. "So I tried shocking her, but I think all that did was make her angrier—and if she IS Malina's mom, we don't want to kill her!"

  "We need to calm her down," Nico says, looking around. "Malina, you need to talk to her."

  "She won't listen!" Malina says. "She starts making too much noise for us to be heard whenever someone tries to talk to her! I can’t get her to shut up and listen!"

  "But I can. Now plug your ears," I say, stepping forward. In comparison to Mother, a water woman seems like a vacation, I think dryly. I open the tour bus door, ignoring everyone’s protests, and let out my sharpest scream. The water shudders, twisting wildly. For a moment I even see the woman's face—she's in pain. "Malina wants to talk to you!" I tell her. "SO CALM DOWN ALREADY!" I bellow.

  "Malina?" the question echoes from all around us, and a chill runs down my back. "Malina… talk?"

  "That's right, now put us down and let her talk," I say, lowering my voice. The bus drops and I hear my bandmates scream. Crap, I forgot they were in here. We drop with a thump and the water swirls for a moment before a woman appears.

  "Malina… talk," she says, reaching forward.

  "I said talk, not touch," I say, stepping between the two. "You're okay with that, right?" I ask over my shoulder. Malina nods, slowly.

  "Are you—are you my mother?" she asks the water woman.

  "I'm—" the water woman says. "So… alone…" She seems to be having trouble controlling her form. "Mimic… left me," she whispers sadly. "Nobody left."

  I can practically hear Malina's heart break. She pushes past me, staring up at the water woman with huge eyes—and holds out her arms.

  "Should we be allowing this?" Liz asks quietly behind me.

  "I don't know," Nico says. "But really, how do you stop water? If Malina can't control her through force, maybe she can control her in a different way."

  My eyes are glued to the water woman wrapping liquid arms around Malina. This is terrifying. I mean, Malina CAN'T control her—who's to keep her from hurting her? I almost take a step forward, reaching out to stop this. I don't like it—

  "I'm sorry you're lonely," Malina says, "but I have to go back to my school. Some bad people are out looking for my friend, and we can't be out in public."

  "Take me… with you…" the woman says.

  Malina looks over at Nico. "Can I keep her? If she behaves?"

  There's a gun in Nico's hand. I'm not sure when he made it, or even how, but he casually aims it at the water swirling around Malina. "Nico, don't—" Malina says, realizing what he has as well. It's too late. He shoots the water and it turns solid. A beautiful naked woman with pale white skin appears in front of us, falling to the floor. Emily grabs one of the sheets off the nearest bunk and throws it over her quickly.

  Nico walks over, crouching down in front of the dazed looking woman. "You want family, right?" he asks almost gently. She shoots him a terrified look and scoots back, but he doesn't move. "Malina wants family, too," he says, his voice quiet. "I know about your moment with Mimic. I'm not sure what your history is with him, but he's not here any longer."

  Tears start falling down the woman's cheeks
and she nods.

  "There's a very dangerous woman that's trying to hunt down kids a lot like Malina," Nico says. "You won't let her come after Malina, will you?"

  "Never," the woman says, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

  "Are you willing to join Cape High?" Nico asks.

  "Nico, we have no idea—" Liz starts out.

  "I'll protect Malina—please—please don't chain me," she whispers pleadingly.

  "Never," Nico says. "I will NEVER chain anyone—I spent too long in chains, myself. But I can make it so you can stay solid when you want to," he says. "Do you want that?"

  "Yes," she whispers, tears streaming down her face. She shifts into water again, losing her solidity. "Please."

  "Well, then, looks like we have a new swimming instructor," Nico says. To everyone's surprise, Malina throws herself at him, wrapping her arms around his legs.

  "Thank you," she says in a muffled tone.

  He reaches down, his hand resting on her head. "This one is partially your responsibility, kiddo," he tells her. "Keep her from going wild, won't you?"

  "I—you trust me with that?" Malina asks.

  "Do you think you can do it? She keeps coming to you."

  "I—I'll do my best!" Malina says. She looks at the watery form standing in the room. "Can we get her a bracelet?" she asks.

  "I'll give her mine," Liz says. "Form a wrist water-lady," she says, waiting impatiently until a hand reaches towards her. She slips a pretty little bracelet over the hand and the woman appears again. "She looks closer to your size, Falconess, think you can loan her some clothes?" she says as Emily dashes forward with the sheet again.

  "Can we go home now?" I hear my bandmates ask from the back.

  "Yeah, I'm on it," Nico says, heading for the wheel. The tour bus jerks and I hear a swishing sound from outside. I race to the window, looking out in surprise as two wings shoot out from the side. "Let's go home," he says as the bus races down the street and takes to the air.

  "I think I'm going to be sick," I hear Lonny say from the back, "again."