by R. J. Ross
“I can’t fly--” I start out.
“You can ride with me,” Jack says as his surfboard comes down into the RV. I don’t think twice, I jump on. I’ve ALWAYS wanted to go air surfing! “My question is, why haven’t you made yourself a wooden one?” he asks as he gets in front of me.
“I can do that?” I say blankly, almost falling off as he heads straight up, I’m so stunned by the idea.
“I don’t see why you couldn’t at least try!”
***
“What about the base game?” Skystep asks, still lingering in the RV after the boys raced off.
“They would have spent most of this time stuck in the RV, regardless,” Pan says. “Are you going after them?”
“I think I’ll let them do the whole party decorating thing without me,” she says, heading for the seat next to Cubby. “Hi,” she says to the little boy, giving him a huge grin.
“Hi,” he says. She looks around, blinking as the tablet hooked to the arm comes up. “Do you know how to use this?” she asks him. He nods and leans over, tapping on the screen for her. “Ooooh, coloring!” she says happily.
The roof closes and Pan drives on, leaving the two to color turtle pictures together.
***
“Think we should have called Century?” I ask as we fly over cities. This is awesome. I know Jack is one of the slowest capes around, physically, but he more than makes up for it when he’s on the board. It keeps him firmly set as one of the coolest teen super villains around--that and the whole metal skin thing.
“And tell him about the mutating rodents?” Max asks. He’s on our left, the only one not flying on a board. “I’m sure he’s figured it out by now.”
“You can’t expect us to be THAT nice to the Hall,” Ace adds, grinning. Somehow he’s gotten himself a pair of goggles--man, that whole illusion thing has GOT to be convenient. I look at him curiously, seeing the huge smile on his face and thinking about it. When he first showed up at school he had a huge chip on his shoulder and never spoke. Now, though, he’s just as much trouble as the other two.
Yeah, I don’t really fit in with this group. “Y’know,” I say after they finish laughing, “I think maybe I’ll stop after the party.”
“What?” Max asks. “Stop what?”
“The whole super villain camp thing,” I say. “I’m not exactly right for it.”
There’s a sudden silence as the other three look at each other. To my surprise, it’s Jack that speaks. “You know...” he says slowly, “we’ll be able to goof off fight with the rest of the school for the rest of our lives--”
“Well, except for Morgan and Adanna,” Max says.
“Yeah, them too. But we won’t ever be able to go up against you,” Jack says. “You’ll go off and save the world in a way that doesn’t involve super villains at all--well, most super villains. Here you are, son of Technico, grandkid of Superior, and we’ll never be able to stupidly claim we beat you like Skystep claimed to have beaten Century.”
“Or even tell lies about how close we were to beating you,” Ace says. “I wouldn’t have understood what the problem was if we hadn’t gone on this trip,” he admits, glancing over at Max.
Max smiles slightly. “Now you do,” he says simply. “You can’t skip out now, Sunny--we need at least one chance to beat you before you graduate.”
“It wouldn’t be that hard--” I protest.
They start laughing. “Not that hard!” Ace says. “Wow, man, are you really that oblivious? You caused an EARTHQUAKE by accident!”
“What’s scarier is that he’s still growing,” Max says.
“Yeah, but it’s not so bad,” Jack says. “He’s not the type to hold a grudge, right? I bet all he plans on doing as a super is grow trees.”
“I also go to farms,” I say, making them laugh even harder. “What? Food is important!” I protest, although a little grin is pulling at my lips because I see where they’re coming from. “But I should go back down south, you know? To clean up the mess I made.”
“You can do that after camp,” Max says. “I’ll fly you, if you want.”
“That means carrying me,” I say, making a face. “That is absolutely not going to happen, got it? Jack can take me.”
“Make your own board and take yourself,” Jack says, “I’m not a taxi service.”
“Oh, come on, you’ll get to see the world!” I protest.
“I’m seeing plenty right now--and I’m worried about Aubrey,” he says, staring straight forward and speeding up. “They sent that kid to her, remember? Who knows what’ll happen?”
“Yeah, what if they used the same stuff on him as they did the guinea pig?” Ace says. We go silent, each picturing a very disturbing image. It’s so disturbing that I’m not going to tell you what it is. I bet you already know, though.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Breathe,” Jimmi says as Aubrey staggers slightly. She moves a chair behind the other girl, gently forcing her to sit. “She needs a break,” she says to the others in the room. They’d brought her in as support, and she’s giving it the best way she can. In fact, as Aubrey pants slightly she heads over to the massive battery Nico had brought in for her and recharges herself.
She hates looking over at Tank, knowing that part of the reason he’s here is her fault. Vinny’s here, in the waiting room, simply because she’d dragged him along with her. She only wishes that Aubrey’s boyfriend could be here, as well. Not that Vinny’s her boyfriend, or anything--
A hint of a blush creeps into her cheeks and she keeps her hands on the battery for longer than necessary simply because her back is to the room this way. This is no time to think of dating, she tells herself sharply. There’s a guy she used to date lying in bed behind her, in a very dangerous state.
No, actually she’d much rather think of the whole “Vinny dilemma” she decides. Vinny is a lot easier to focus on and doesn’t cause her to feel nauseated.
“I’m ready,” Aubrey says from behind her.
“You aren’t,” Jimmi says as she turns back to her, “but we’ll do it, anyway.”
“Did you really make Vinny come all the way here during his training?” Aubrey asks.
“Of course I did,” Jimmi says. “I... Needed the support,” she admits, glancing over at Tank again. “Your boyfriend will be here soon,” she promises. “Er, not that Vinny’s my boyfriend--”
“He’s not looking, I know. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t at least try to get his attention, or that he can’t be used as support. He’s second in command--it’s his job to act as your support,” Aubrey says, a glimmer of a smile pulling at her lips as she holds out her hands. Jimmi clasps them in her own, her eyes glowing orange as she gently pushes energy into the other girl. Aubrey’s eyes light up and her hair floats. “It isn’t easy, is it?” Aubrey asks gently. “Seeing your ex like this.”
“He was a jerk,” Jimmi says, looking at the boy in question, “but he doesn’t deserve to die because of it.” Aubrey took to the energy recharge like a duck to water, she thinks as she looks back to the healer. “Is this helping?” she asks. “If it is, maybe I should come with you after school.”
“It’s doing a ton,” Aubrey says earnestly. “If you could, I’d really appreciate it. I just wish we had more healers than me,” she admits.
“There aren’t?” Jimmi asks.
“Not that we know of. I think the only reason Collector even knew about me was, well, all I had in the world was my grandfather,” Aubrey says. “One day, when we were walking to the park, he had a heart-attack. That’s when I discovered my ability,” she admits as she touches Tank again, her hair floating. “I grabbed his hands and was about to scream when it just happened. I must have been caught on someone’s phone or something.” She stops just as abruptly as she started. “I have to stop.”
“Why? Is there something wrong?” Jimmi asks.
“His body can only handle so much at one time,” Aubrey says, letting out a sigh. “It’s just...
I hope I’ve done enough to keep things from failing entirely,” she whispers, staring at him. “Let’s go.”
“I--I almost think I should stay,” Jimmi says.
“Do you want your guilt landing you right back where Vinny worked so hard to get you out of?” Aubrey asks bluntly. “You can stay if you really feel that way, but I really doubt that Vinny will.”
Jimmi takes in a slow breath, torn between anger at the way she’d put it, and guilt because she knows she’s right. “But he’s dying,” she whispers, “and it’s all my fault.”
“Did you shove the tube to his body?” Aubrey asks. “I know how easy it is to feel sympathy for a guy in a coma, Jimmi,” she goes on, grabbing Jimmi’s hands. “Can you imagine what would have happened to me if Jack really was a jerk? I can. I was obsessed with making him well. I thought it was some sort of destiny, or an epic romance--”
“It was, wasn’t it? For you, at least.”
“We’re heroes, Jimmi,” Aubrey says, staring her straight in the eyes, “we make our own destinies. And sometimes, even though I love him, Jack REALLY gets on my nerves.”
“Wow, what a thing to come in on,” Jack says from the door, making them both look up. A look of guilt crosses Aubrey’s face so clearly that Jimmi has to fight the urge to laugh. “Here I come running just to tell you I’m home, and you’re complaining about me,” he says.
“Jack--” Aubrey starts out.
“No ‘Hello, Jack, I’ve missed you’?”
“How can I miss you when your dog is constantly coming over, trying to climb in my lap?” she asks, her tone turning dangerously sweet. “You remember your dog--the one you named after donuts that another girl GAVE you?” she adds.
“That was--”
“’Let’s name him Krispy,’ you said,” she goes on, heading straight for him and poking him in the chest with a finger. “As you stood there like an idiot, drooling over donuts!”
“You’re still mad about that, huh?”
“You’re darn tootin’ I’m mad!”
“Darn... tootin?” he repeated, starting to laugh.
“Don’t laugh at me!”
“Have you asked her to the party yet?” Sunny asks from behind Jack, making both girls look around him.
“Party?” Aubrey asks.
“We volunteered to help set up a Capes of Ethnicity party,” Jack says, taking the hand that’s still pointing at his chest. “Sunny got us invites. I figured my girlfriend would want to come with me, but apparently she’s still pissed off over a thirteen year old whose name I don’t even remember.”
“It’s Keliah,” Jimmi offered not-so-helpfully.
“So some kaleidoscope girl brings donuts, and it gets me in the dog house,” Jack says, giving Jimmi a dark look for even mentioning a name. “If anyone else had brought donuts I woulda done the same thing!” The look on Aubrey’s face has him regretting that statement the moment it leaves his mouth.
“So you’re dateless, right? Sucks to be you! But we’re supposed to be working now,” Sunny says callously, grabbing him around the waist and hauling him off before he can even try and retract his comment. He’s a little bit stunned as he realizes that the shorter elementalist has actually picked him up. “You’ve got to do the tables, remember?” Sunny says. “Gotta make sure they don’t break if someone loses their temper.”
“Yeah, yeah, I can carry myself, you know?” Sunny puts him down. “I’m so in the doghouse now, man,” Jack says. “She’s still pissed about the donuts and the blonde.”
“At least you didn’t cause an earthquake.”
“Well, yeah, that’s true! I bet Adanna’s pissed!”
“Thanks for the sympathy,” Sunny drawls. “Hey, that was the guy from the secret base, wasn’t it,” he says abruptly.
Jack takes a long moment, frowning as he tries to remember. “Yeah... Yeah I think it was.”
***
The science lab of the South Branch Hall is awash in disgusting bits. Century stops before even stepping through the door, not wanting to get that stuff on his boots--he tries to keep his uniform clean, and that stuff does NOT look like it’ll wash out. “Can I ask,” he says in a mild tone, earning a dirty look from the goo-covered scientists inside, “what happened?”
“They mutated, and exploded,” a particularly irritated woman said, wiping off her goggles, only to smudge them more, “all of them. Whatever experiments the doctor was doing on them didn’t work.”
“And considering their size and metabolism, it ‘didn’t work’ extremely quickly,” another said, using finger quotes to emphasize the words “didn’t work.” “We’re going to do research on the leftovers, sir, but we need to get this cleaned up fast.”
“We aren’t sure what contact with the creatures will do to us,” the first woman said. “It’s actually quite fascinating--or it would be if I weren’t sure some of it got in my shoes.”
“You’re lucky, I’m positive it went down my shirt.”
“Well, um, carry on,” Century says, taking a long glance at the mess before turning to one of the black suits following him. “Find out what Doctor Hanks was messing with--and make sure nobody does it again.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And call Voltdrain, he should know about what happened.”
“Yes, sir.”
***
“What’s going on?” I look up as Vinny comes into the room, his hands in his pockets, a bored look on his face. “You didn’t even stop and say hello,” he adds, looking at me and Jack pointedly--and then straight at Ace, who’s floating on his disk, hanging streamers from the ceiling.
“We’ve got the rest of today and half of tomorrow to arrange a party,” Ace says. “Max stuck his foot in his mouth.”
“I was just--” Max starts out.
“Just being arrogant, as usual,” Jack says from where he’s reinforcing some tables with metal rivets. I have to admit, this party is definitely going to be different. I mean, the tablecloths are riveted to the tables, and there’s a sign painted by Ace that has “CAPES OF ETHNICITY” with a tiny “all” written over it is hanging on the wall. There are also disco balls hanging from the ceiling, compliments of Jack, again. “Who here knows ANYTHING about running parties for adults?” Jack asks, point-blankly.
We look at each other, admitting silently that he’s got a point. Even Max shrugs, “I stick with sporting events, for the most part,” he says.
“So... You just jumped on the chance to set up a high class party, without having a clue what a high class party is like,” Vinny sums up.
“Pretty much,” Jack says
Vinny looks over the room, thoughtfully, and I can actually see his mind racing through the facts. He seems so laid back on the surface, right? But Dad’s pretty much proven he’s a tactician in the field. “Well, one thing,” Vinny say, looking at the walls, “even if they’re adults, they’re still capes, right? They should be easily entertained. Why don’t we take advantage of what we’ve got--Ace, can you project pictures of Pan and Taurus on the walls? Make them simple, block type pictures. If you do that, we can get some of the black suits painting in the lines. Sunny, we need some interesting plants--can you do topiary work?”
“Yeah, probably?” I offer.
“Get started on that. We aren’t going for class--I don’t think any of you have enough to pull it off just yet,” Vinny says, heading straight into the fray and taking over, “what we’ll capitalize on is the fact that YOU are the ones doing it. Jack, we want bling--get some of the shiniest metal you can find and do abstract sculptures for the tables. Every time they turn, they need something interesting to look at, got it?” Vinny says. “Do you have a caterer assigned?” he asks Max.
“Not yet?”
“I’ll get the chefs from the cafeteria working on a simple spread,” Vinny says, looking downright cheerful as he pulls out his phone. “You’ll want to have a few small speeches written up, as well, Max, like thanking them for coming, and everything. The
y’ll probably be less irritated when they realize what’s going on--finding out that super villains are hosting should make for an interesting night. You might also come up with some entertainment, along with music.”
“Irritated?” I repeat.
“They’ll be expecting something completely different,” Vinny says bluntly. “Who usually runs this thing?”
“Taurus’s dad,” Max says, “Andre Harrison, owner of HTV.”
“Yeah, they’re definitely going to expect something different.” He started talking over his phone, ordering a list of food and adding a few tips on what might also be good to have. It was a clear sign that we’d been assigned our jobs. I head out, looking for interesting pots for the plants. I want lots of colors and varieties for this!
By the time I come back with five various boxes and vases full of dirt in my arms, the others have already started their work. I’m not sure, but I think that’s silverware Jack is making the abstract art out of... I wonder if he bothered to ask permission. Max is making calls and jotting down notes at another table. I’m pretty sure he’s doing more than one task at a time. Ace is instructing a handful of black suits on how to paint his murals.
I look for Vinny, who’s jotting down notes on his own piece of paper. Aubrey and Jimmi are sitting with him, making suggestions as he writes, so I ignore him and place the boxes and vases in the corners. I start at one of the boxes, a simple wooden crate I found in the storage area. Not classy, I know, but I’ve got an idea. I stick my hand into the center of the dirt, pulling it out slowly. Tendrils of vines sprout out, spreading over the wooden slats and sprouting tiny leaves. When that’s done, I stick a finger in the dirt between the vines, pulling it out slowly and bringing up a beautiful blue orchid. I grab a stick and some twine from my back pocket, using it as a brace. I repeat the process with the other crate I brought up, on the other side of the room.
When that’s done, I move on to the vases, digging out a few more seeds from my pockets and getting to work. These I plant dark pink and white trailing petunias in, gently tugging them out so they spilled over the rim of the vase on one side. These I place on side tables, letting the flowers fall almost to the ground.
