by R. J. Ross
The sight of Grandpa Superior, Century, and Skystep standing there has me staring at them blankly. “Sunny,” Grandpa Superior says, turning and motioning me over. “Where is Kunnins?”
“He’s caught,” I say, shrugging. “We’re just waiting for the black suits to show up and collect everything left.”
“That easily?” Century asks.
“We beat up Shadowman and he ran for it,” I say. “He was the only super Kunnins had working for him, and how they ran away. There was a bit of a fight with Kunnins and a weird gun at the end--but we handled it.” Although I’m still feeling a little tingly.
“I find it interesting just how your little group came to be right where the bad guys were staying,” Century says, looking at me sharply.
“We found it shocking,” Max says. He’s sitting on the RV with Cubby next to him. “I’m pretty sure this is going to blow the whole points game,” he complains, glancing at me. “We’ll probably be dragged back home.”
“Yeah, that really sucks. That game was going to be awesome,” I agree. “This ruined our summer camp.” Even Cubby is nodding with a little pout on his face.
“Maybe we can talk Pan into taking us somewhere else,” Max says. “Also, what’s with the rats?”
“Mice and guinea pigs--they were down there. Think they were going to experiment on them,” I say, looking at the cages. “Hopefully they haven’t already.”
“Just in case, I think we should take them with us,” Century says. “The last thing we need are super mice flying around.”
I look at the cage. I look at him. “Can I keep one?” I ask.
***
“So,” Pan says as the ambulances drive away. “There’s a lot of work to be done before we can leave.”
“That’s right, that’s right!” Skystep says, her hands on her hips as she glowers at all of us. “You RUINED my new base! All these roots are coming through the roof!”
“Ah, sorry ‘bout that,” I mutter sheepishly. Dad and Grandpa Superior left with the van taking Kunnins away. I’m not sure I want to know what they plan on doing to the old guy, he seemed pretty messed up after the illusion disappeared. I heard someone say the unconscious guys were taken to the nearest hospital, as were the twins and their mom. They needed to be checked out after being kidnapped for so long--both mentally and physically. That’s what the black suits had told Century. I feel unashamed about listening in.
“First we need someone to reinforce the walls and ceiling while Sunny withdraws the plants,” Pan says. “Max, that’s your job. Ace, you’re going to help with that, since there’s a lot of ground to cover. Jack, you’re going to do the patchwork. Remember to fix the rebar before laying the super cement.”
“Yeah, I got it,” Jack says, giving me a dark look.
“What?” I ask.
“Next time don’t do it up so big, moron!” he says darkly.
“It sort of grew bigger all on its own,” I say with a shrug. “Couldn’t help it!”
“Sure,” Jack drawled. “We’re going down for this part--should Sunny?”
“Can you do it from down there?” Pan asks me. I hesitate for a moment, thinking about it.
“Maybe?” I said. “I can try.”
“Then let’s go,” Jack says, heading for the trapdoor entrance. I follow him, wondering if this is a smart idea. I’m a lot less likely to get caved in from up here, right? Jack turns and looks as I come to a stop. “What are you waiting for?”
“Nothing, really,” I say. We head in.
***
“So summer camp is canceled, huh?” Max says as we climb into the RV. “This whole thing with Kunnins is wrapped up--”
“But the norms caught sight of us when they came to see what Century was doing,” Pan says from the driver seat. “There’s no way we could stay there, we’d be filmed at all times.”
“So it’s over? I didn’t even get my points,” Ace complains. I glance over at him as he looks at Jack. “What are you doing?”
“Aubrey just sent me a text,” Jack says, scowling at his phone. “That Tank guy that Vinny took out down south was taken to our Hall’s ER.”
“Why?” Max asks.
“Because we have Aubrey,” Jack says, “and nobody’s willing to send her back down for this.”
“So we’ve just got this massive overdosed creep in our Hall now?” I ask, feeling a bit uneasy about the decision.
“Yeah, we do,” Jack says, texting something quickly before putting his phone away. “How do you think I feel, knowing my girlfriend’s the one expected to fix him?” he adds darkly. He REALLY doesn’t look happy about the situation. “And it’s not exactly like I can go up there to check on them regularly.”
“Emily could,” I say. “But the guy didn’t look exactly intimidating when I saw him earlier. He was in a coma.”
“Yeah, like that really makes a difference,” Jack says. “I was in a coma, too, remember?”
“She’ll be fine,” Max says. “Even if he’s messed up looking, he’s still a norm. She can handle a norm.”
“Yeah, you’ve got a point,” Jack says. He looks over at Pan’s back. “Hey, Pan? Are we really calling this done?”
“Who gave you that idea?” Pan asks. “We’re just going to increase our territory. I expect an actual base from each of you by the end of the week.”
“How big will the territory be?” Max asks.
“All of Central Hall. You’re going to build a base there sooner or later, anyway,” Pan says.
Well crap. Oh well, at least I get to see Adanna again!
***
“What was the plan, Kunnins?” Nico demands of the old man sitting in the chair in the middle of the room. Century is to one side of him, Superior has been moved to another room--he looked far too eager to just take the old man out without asking questions. “Are you trying to kill the capes again? You go to ground for years, only to show up again now. Why?”
The old man looks at him with pure hatred. “You shouldn’t exist. Supers shouldn’t exist! The world would be a better place if you all just up and died--especially you, Century. You’re no hero, you’re just an oil baron that happens to know how to fly. You disgust me!”
“Is that why you kidnapped a geneticist and her twins?” Century demands. “To find a way to kill us?”
“Me, kill YOU? No, it’s the exact opposite. My grandson,” Kunnins snarls, “is almost dead because of your type.”
“You mean Tank?” Nico asks. “Tank did that to himself.”
“He was protecting himself from one of your monsters,” Kunnins says. His hands clench in their cuffs. “A normal man has no chance against one of you beasts. You shouldn’t EXIST!” he bellows.
“Too bad,” Nico says coldly, “we do. And Vinny isn’t a monster, he’s a hero.”
“A title slapped onto your type to keep the masses blinded,” Kunnins says. “Don’t think I don’t know what Superior really was. He took out an entire base all on his own--one of our OWN bases. He was the biggest monster of them all.”
“You tried to kill his wife,” Nico snarls.
“What?”
“Tatiana. She was his wife,” Nico says. “Don’t think we don’t know what you did to her--does the name Mimic mean anything to you?” he goes on, seeing the old man’s look of confusion.
“He was married to that?” Kunnins asks.
“Don’t you DARE call my mom ‘that,’” Nico says. “What made you start up again, Kunnins? Either tell us everything, or we make a special little room for you in the Cape Cells. It’s not for norms, but I’m sure we can make an exception,” he says. “We’ll stick you in a tiny little room with only a single window and a pot in the corner. If you’re lucky, they’ll remember to clean it once a week, or so.”
“Technico,” Century starts out, forcing Nico to look at him, “maybe we should take a different approach.”
“If we try being kind, I know someone that’s going to make a whole lot of holes
in your walls to take over,” Nico says.
“He’ll have to fix them later,” Century says, stepping forward and showing a picture to the old man. “These two people, they’re important enough that you didn’t leave them behind.”
Kunnins doesn’t say anything, but his eyes are glued to the picture.
“We have a healer,” Century says. “No, I should say that HE has a healer,” he goes on, jabbing a thumb in Nico’s direction, “one that can accomplish miracles. If you tell us everything, we just might have her help them.”
“And what about him?” Nico asks.
“His fate’s already sealed, he knows that. This is for the kid and the man,” Century says, turning to Kunnins. “What do you say?”
“Mimic... Mimic took his soul,” Kunnins says. “He’s the biggest monster of you all.”
“The healer can bring it back,” Century says in a tempting tone.
“I did it... I did it all for the boy,” Kunnins says, his entire demeanor falling. “He’s all I’ve got left, and it failed. It failed. It was all a waste.”
“What failed?” Nico asks. The old man turns and looks at him--or through him, it seems. All the life seems to leave him.
“The shot failed.”
***
“So we’ve got to find someplace in Kansas City--” Jack says, looking at the map that’s on each of our screens, “and build a base?”
“The Central Hall area covers all the central states,” Pan says dryly. “But since we have only a week and a half now, I would suggest keeping it close to home.”
“It wouldn’t be fair to set up base right next to one another,” Max says, moving the screen up with a flick of his finger so a hologram floats in front of all of us. He waves his hand, sending it spinning. “Each person gets the area that stops in front of them,” he says.
“That makes no sense,” Ace says. “Each of us is suited for a different type of area--Sunny should have plants, Jack needs steel, I need the city.”
“And what does Max need? A freaking bus station?” Jack jokes.
“I’d prefer a car factory,” Max says, leaving us all staring at him. He DOES realize it’d been a joke, right? But the thoughtful look on his face says he was taking it seriously. That rather worries me, honestly.
“Too bad we don’t have--wait--” Ace says, waving a hand and bringing up a section of the map. “The old air base. There’s a good chance they still have old equipment.”
“I call it!” Max says. “Thanks Ace!”
“Yeah,” I drawl, shooting Ace a dark look, “thanks, Ace.”
“Sorry?” Ace says sheepishly.
“That just means you gotta find his spot, Max,” Jack says. “I’m taking right in the middle of downtown. Pan, can we get one of the abandoned office buildings?”
“Sure, I think the Hall actually owns a few of them,” Pan says. “You’ll have to go through Mastermental, for the formal paperwork.”
“I’ll go through his son,” Jack says, lounging back in his chair and giving Max a shiny evil grin.
They turn to me. I’m staring at the largely wooded areas, a frown on my face. “I can’t,” I say finally.
“What?”
“I’m not setting up a base near trees, not for this,” I say, looking at them. “I’m not going to risk them on a game. I still feel like a murderer for all those trees back in Texas,” I say quietly, looking down at my lap. “And I think I should go back there after camp and keep helping clean up--maybe I can help.”
“That’s perfectly understandable,” Pan says when the rest of them go silent. “Of you all, Sunny’s the only one that won’t be considering keeping his base after the game. The only thing you DO need to consider is what resources you’ll need in order to defend an attack,” he says, glancing at me in the rearview mirror. “What will you need?”
“Access to earth,” I say. “I can do some decent things that way.”
“I’m sure we can find something,” Pan says.
“HEYYY!” the shout made all of us jerk and poor Cubby jump out of his seat, only to get jerked back by his seatbelt. We all look up with a hint of doom as two boot-clad feet came through the car roof. Soon Skystep is standing in the middle of us--and the map. She puts her hands on her hips and turns in a circle just so she can glare at each of us. “I’m part of this super villain summer camp! And you just LEFT ME!” she wails, looking close to tears.
“We thought you’d want to work on your new base, Skystep,” Max says when the rest of us just look at each other blankly. “Weren’t you thinking of all the shiny weapons you could put down there?” he adds in a cajoling tone.
“I can do that any time!” she declares. “Who knows when I’ll get to go to summer camp again?”
“How old is she, anyway?” Ace asks in a whisper.
“I am all of twenty five!” she declares proudly. We look at each other, daring one another to laugh first. Then again, I could totally see Aunt Liz shoving her way into something like this, and she’s thirty.
“I did say she could participate,” Pan says with a shrug, “as a camp leader assistant--which means you’re going to be an overseer, Skystep. Do you think you can do that?”
“I can do ANYTHING!” she declares. “Now where’s my chair?” she asks, pouting slightly. Silently we point at a button. She doesn’t notice--she’s too busy looking around with a fascinated expression. “What IS this thing? A van of evil? What does this button do?” she asks, pushing one. Jack barely manages to jump out of his chair before it folds up into the floor.
“It closes my chair,” Jack says dryly. “And it’s not a van of evil, it’s an RV.”
“RV, van of evil, same difference,” she says, pushing the button again. “Hey, do any of you know Flameblaster?” she asks, changing the subject. “Is he doing okay in Central? How’s his nephew?”
I stand and head over to the button pad, bringing up another chair. Then, since she’s still trying to grill the others, I walk over and pat her on the shoulder. “Skystep?” I say.
“Yeah?”
“You can sit over here,” I tell her, tugging her over to the chair. “It’s got a built in computer.”
“Awesome!” she says, distracted as easily as that. Then she stops, seeing the guinea pig in the cage next to my chair. Century had let me keep him. “Does that rat look weird to you?” she asks, pointing at it.
“It’s a guinea pig, not a ra--” I turn as I hear metal screeching. To my surprise (well, sort of--I might have slightly been hoping for something cool to happen) the guinea pig has tripled in size, growing rapidly bigger than the cage I had put him in--
“Are those wings?” Ace asks, looking just as fascinated as me as the top of the cage brakes off completely and gets thrown across the RV. The guinea pig is now the size of a Pitbull with gigantic bat-like wings sprouting from its back. The thick red fur it once had is gone. Now it looks a little like a naked mole rat with gigantic teeth and claws.
“Can I keep him?” I ask.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“The shot didn’t work,” Superior says as he and Nico race through the sky. Trees are getting bent behind them thanks to their speed, but neither seems to care. “They just sent him to MY Hall, completely unaware of what that--”
“It’s no longer your hall, Father,” Nico says, having heard this rant several times already, “it’s Mastermental’s Hall. We’ve already called ahead and warned them that there might be something off about the boy. Besides, if it didn’t work instantly, how can we know if it’ll work at all?”
They fly right over the RV that held the boys heading home from Summer Camp without a thought.
“Did you warn Aubrey?” Superior demands. “Aubrey is the most important of the kids you’re raising, if she gets hurt--”
“Most important? I know she’s important, but that’s going too far,” Nico says. “What about my kids?”
“For personal reasons, they’re important--power-wise they’re important as
well, but Aubrey is the difference between life and death, Nicolas, and you of all people should realize that. I should have made Charles keep both of them,” Superior growls, crossing over yet another large town.
“We’re flying too low,” Nico says rather than reply. He heads straight up, ignoring the sensation of phones snapping pictures of them. For a moment he tries to lose his father, but that’s an exercise in futility and they both know it. Instead, he winds up flying right next to the man and avoiding planes instead of people. Why, he thinks a bit dryly, he keeps getting stuck working with the man he hated more than half of his life, he’s got no clue. Although, he reluctantly admits, Superior has been a lot more tolerable since they went back to the past.
“Call Aubrey,” Superior says, touching his ear. Nico almost groans as Aubrey’s voice comes over the com link.
“Hello? I’m afraid I can’t speak right now, I’ve just gotten two new cases--”
“Aubrey, this is Superior,” Superior says. “If there’s a boy--what did he look like, Nico?” he asks, glancing over.
“His name is Wes Will,” Nico says with an inward sigh. Although he hates to admit Superior is right, he’ll do it for Aubrey’s sake. “He’s the one that fought Vinny down in Texas--he should look pretty messed up, veins bulging and pale. Do you have him already?”
“I don’t know,” she admits. “They just brought in the first one. It looks like a Mimic job,” she says.
“That’s not him,” Superior says. “If they bring in the boy, we want you to stay away from him until they’re certain whatever Kunnins had him shot with didn’t do anything.”
“But if--”
“That’s an order, Aubrey,” Superior says sharply. “And while you’re at it, bring in my daughter. She’ll be able to handle whatever the problem is.”
“Sir, I’m in the middle of the Central Hall. I highly doubt whatever happens will be a problem--” Aubrey starts out.
