by R. J. Ross
“I think those are MY questions, little girl,” he says, looking me over with a dark expression. “What are you doing on my island?”
“This—this isn’t your island! It’s the Falconess Island!” I say, keeping my fists up in a pathetic attempt at looking tough. I once got into a fight with Panther, although I didn’t know it was him at the time. He’d been so far beyond my skill level that it was almost funny. But that’s THE Panther, right? I don’t recognize this guy, so he shouldn’t be—
“Falconess?” he repeats, his eyes widening slightly. “Who are you? Are you her daughter?” he demands, his hand shooting out and grabbing my shirt. I’m standing on my tiptoes as I grab his wrist. “Are you?” he demands, shaking me.
I nod. He drops me, jerking his hand away. A strange look crosses his face. “I should have known Angela would—”
“Missy,” I say. “My mom—she’s Missy,” I say, since it’s clear he knows Grandma. Only a handful of people in the world know Grandma’s name.
“Missy?” he repeats, his expression changing.
“SHE’S Falconess, now,” I explain, not sure why I’m bothering. I jump on top of the rock to my right, intent on running away. A hand grabs my ankle, tripping me. I fall forward, onto the stone.
“No you don’t, kid,” he says, grabbing me under the arms and placing me in front of him. “Who is Missy?” he demands.
“My mom!” I say. “It’s short for Melissa! Are you stupid? I just told you that! Who are YOU?” I demand.
“And Melissa, she’s Angela’s daughter?” he asks, his tone changing slightly, like he already knows the answer.
“Of course she is! You don’t hand the Falconess name over to just anyone,” I say absently, looking at my skinned hands and knees. “That HURT, you jerk! I’m going to scream and you’ll regret it, understand? My Grandma will come here and kick your butt!”
“Is she…” he goes silent, a strange look on his face. He reaches forward, almost touching my face before I jerk away. “Is she doing well?”
“Yeah, I guess. I mean she’s ALWAYS working, so I don’t get to see her that often, but she seems okay. Why?”
“I see. Who’s your dad?” he asks curiously.
“His super name is Vertigo,” I admit with a shrug. “Some East Branch cape that I’ve only seen, like, twice.”
“Your own father and you’ve only met him twice?” he says.
“He’s more of a… donor than a dad, at least that’s what Mom says,” I say. “So… are you my granddad?” I ask, going straight to the thought that’s been lurking under the surface since he showed up.
“I… think I am,” he says.
“Don’t expect me to jump up and hug you,” I say darkly. “You totally assaulted me! And why are you dressed so stupidly?” I demand, pointing at the black suit.
“I didn’t—” he scowls, looking down at the uniform and starting to take it off.
“KEEP IT ON!” I yell, turning bright red and covering my eyes. “For the love of God, keep it on!”
He steps closer and I yelp, backing up more as he reaches out. His hand touches the rock behind me and the ground slides open underneath us. I drop like a stone, screaming for a second before he grabs me. I dare to glance at him. The uniform hangs around his waist, now. He lets go and I drop to a metal floor as he turns and walks away. “Don’t touch anything,” he warns me over his shoulder. I look up as the hole we fell through closes again. I’m trapped down here with a stranger that might, or might not be my grandfather.
A chill runs down my spine.
***
They’ll be coming for him soon, Austin, AKA Bombastic, realizes as he digs through the clothes he’d left down here almost forty years ago. He’d heard Technico was working for the Heroes. If they send Technico after him, he won’t have much luck staying free. But…
He dares to glance at the door leading to the main room as he pulls out some clothes. He has a granddaughter—a too talkative little beauty that looks like her grandmother in miniature. She can’t be more than thirteen, not with as weak as she is. Unless she’s a D-class, he realizes. If she’s a D-class, she’s about as strong as she’ll get.
He jerks as he hears the girl speak. “Hey, Nico—”
He races out in only his jeans, grabbing the phone from her and crushing it. “What was THAT about?” she demands. “That was my PHONE!”
“Was that Technico you were calling?” he demands.
“He’s—”
“How do you know Technico?”
“He’s my principal,” she says, still staring at the remains of her phone. “You jerk, he made me that phone! That was the only way I could reach the outside world!”
“He built it?” Austin asks.
“Yeah, everyone in the school has one,” she says, like he’s a moron.
“We have to leave,” he says, looking around wildly. He speeds up, grabbing everything he thinks will help on the trip and then grabbing her. “Time to go,” he says, heading for the underground dock. He hopes that the boats he had stocked and left there still work. If they don’t, he’ll have to fly and carry what he can, along with the girl. Two of the boats are almost fully submerged, much to his irritation. He heads for the third, which is more of a toy than a boat—he’d been playing with the idea of a land/sea hybrid. No doubt they’ve built the real thing since he got tossed into the slammer, but at least this one hasn’t sunk.
“What IS that?” his granddaughter asks, making a face.
“How we’re going to get out of here,” he says, picking her up and putting her in it. He waits for all of a second to see if her weight makes it sink and then hops in, moving to the motor and pulling it open. It needs replaced, he thinks irritably, hauling it out and tearing into it. Soon it’s stripped bare and he’s replacing all of the parts at top speed from his old stash.
“What’s your power?” she asks. “Actually, what’s your NAME? Who are you? Are you a hero, or a villain? It’s pretty obvious that you’re not a norm.”
“I’m called Bombastic,” he says, putting the motor back into place. “I’m a super villain that just escaped from the Cape Cells.”
Before she can say or do anything he takes off, jetting out of the dock and out to sea.
***
Bombastic? That’s got to be the STUPIDEST name I’ve ever—wait, he escaped from the Cape Cells? And he just kidnapped me! I grab onto the railing of the weird boat and look around wildly. We’re going pretty fast, but if I jump I should be okay. I can swim back to Grandma’s island and wait for Nico. He’s going to come, right? If he doesn’t come, he’ll send someone, right? Maybe Grandma will even notice that I’m missing—
“Don’t even think about it, girl,” my “grandpa” calls over his shoulder as he heads out to sea. “If you jump, I’ll just tie you up after I catch you.”
I look at him, wondering if he has some sort of psychic ability. Did he read my mind? How powerful IS this guy? If he was in the Cape Cells, doesn’t that mean he’s evil? Am I going to die at the hands of my own grandpa? My heart starts pounding as a chill runs over my spine. Jennifer, I am SO SORRY, SO SORRY! I’ll never hit anyone ever again! I look behind me, staring at the ever shrinking island—and I jump.
I hear Grandpa curse from behind me as I strike out, swimming as fast as I can. I should have gone to the pool parties at school. If I survive this, I’m going to beg Malina to let me use her pool—
“Got you,” Grandpa says, pulling me out of the water. “I TOLD you not to try that!” he says, pulling me to the boat. “Now I’m going to have to tie you up. I didn’t want to have to do that, you know.”
“You SUCK as a Grandpa,” I say, glaring at him angrily.
“Like you’re such a great grandchild,” he drawls. “Your skills are sub-par, too. How old are you?” he demands. “You barely have any strength—”
“I’m thirteen!” I yell. “I’m only just coming into my powers and I can already make a bow you—you jerk
!”
He looks at me for a moment before abruptly turning me around and pulling up my shirt. I yelp, trying to keep it down. “I see,” he says. “So it IS part of the power. I always wondered.”
“What? And this is totally wrong—you’re groping your own grandchild!”
“Haven’t you seen your mom’s back?” he asks.
I go still. “The wings? Am I getting wings?” I ask, my terror turning into excitement. “I need a mirror! I want to see them!”
“You’ve barely got an outline," he says. “You won’t be flying any time soon.”
Here’s the thing—it’s a family secret, obviously, but each Falconess starts to develop a glowing wing pattern on her back when she comes into her powers. Once they’re fully grown as heroes it just looks like a tattoo, but for the first five years or so they have to keep them hidden. The official story about our powers is that we’re long, long lost descendants of angels, or something, but it’s all a lie. The truth is that a long time ago one of our ancestors was “genetically tattooed” by some super advanced alien, and it gave her the ability to summon energy constructs.
But—but how does he know so much about it? I mean, I know they were… well… (okay, yes, I AM blushing, shut up) boyfriend and girlfriend, but— “Why did Grandma tell you so much about us?” I demand, jerking my shirt down and looking at him.
“Because…” he goes silent for a moment, his eyes not focusing on me. I think he’s looking into the past. “Because things were different in the past,” he says finally.
“You were a villain, she was a hero, they couldn’t have been THAT different,” I say. “Why did you have to go and get tossed into the Cape Cells, if things were so ‘different’?” I demand. “Why didn’t you go GOOD?”
“You don’t know anything,” he says. “When I say things were different, I mean they were different!”
“Nico has kids,” I say, moving in front of him so I can glare properly. “His girlfriend had twins when he was in there! All of you Cape Cell villains are stupid! Have you ever thought about the family you left behind because you just HAD to be a—”
Oh wow, I sound like such a hypocrite right now, don’t I? I shut up and move away, looking around. “Where are we going?” I ask when I see nothing on the horizon.
“We’re going as far as we can,” he says. “Technico is going to come after you, isn’t he?”
“Are you scared of him?” I ask.
“Only a moron wouldn’t be,” he says. “Deathblow is at the top of the most wanted list,” he adds more to himself. “If you hadn’t contacted him, we would have more time.”
“More time for what?” I ask.
He looks over, a bitter smile on his face. “To be free.”
I look away, staring at the water instead of replying to that. I feel so torn right now that it’s unbelievable.
He curses, abruptly, and I look over. “Motion detected over Alpha Island, heading this way,” he says, looking at a beeping map. “He should come into sight at that speed in--” He punches the dashboard, and then slams a fist through the bottom of the boat before grabbing me and diving into the water. I barely have time to take a deep breath before he’s pulling me AND the ship under.
***
“Where is she?”
The question makes Angela look up from her search of the island. There, floating over her head— “Superior?” she asks, shielding her eyes. “I thought—”
“Not Superior,” the man says, landing in front of her, “Technico. Your granddaughter called me a few hours ago and then the connection was destroyed. So where is she?”
Angela stares at him, shaking her head slightly after a moment. “You look so much like your father,” she says after a moment. “You’ve grown up handsome. But Keliah should be fine,” I hope, she adds silently. “You might not have noticed, but we’re pretty secluded out here—and she IS a super, even if she’s only just coming into her powers.”
“I know that,” he says, looking around curiously, and then going still as he stares at the ground. “So… you’re into building your own secret base islands?” he asks almost casually.
“Wh—” She stops abruptly as things click. “Of course I am,” she lies, waving a hand. “Anyone would, don’t you think? You have a lot of time after retirement, you need to work out somehow or you go to flab.”
He looks at her for a long moment. “Mind if I see it?” he asks. “I’ve often thought of setting up an island like this one.”
“I would, but I’m a bit busy right now. And Keliah will be fine—don’t you have more important things to worry about than a girl who’s not even in your school at the moment?” she says. “I heard the Cape Cells had a little breakout.”
“Little isn’t the word I would use,” he says, still staring at the ground. She has to distract him, she thinks. “Did you destroy her phone?” he asks, looking at her.
“I—” she blinks, almost showing her surprise, “She needs to do this training without a crutch,” she says. “This is a family thing, Nicolas, and even if I didn't change your diapers back in the day, I still expect you to respect that.”
“I will, but I’d still like to see her before I go,” he says.
“I’m afraid you can’t do that—she’s in the middle of extremely important focus training,” Angela lies with a slight smile. “We can’t interrupt it or she’ll have to start over again.”
“I see,” he says, looking at her curiously. “Then I’ll just be going. I expect to hear from her soon, though. She might be on suspension, but she’s still one of my kids.”
“One that you would fly halfway across the world to check on?” Angela asks, stunned.
“Like someone mentioned earlier, her grandmother used to change my diapers,” he says with a little smile. “In case there are any problems,” he goes on, pulling a small phone out of his pocket, “call me. I’ll either send someone or come myself.”
She takes the phone, looking at it for a moment. “You used to destroy whatever phone I got,” she says.
“Then I owe you one,” he says. “It’s good to see you again, Falconess.” He takes to the air, looking at the island again with a hint of fascination. “You don’t rent this place out, do you? For family holidays? Because Summer and Sunny would LOVE it, and Zoe and I could have a lot of fun with that secret base.”
“I’ll consider it,” she says. “Now get going, you’ve got a world to save, right?”
“How do you know I’ll be the one saving it?” he asks with a hint of amusement.
“You are your father’s son, when it comes down to it,” she says.
“I just do it to keep him in retirement.” And then he’s gone, leaving her to let out a sigh of relief—and then tense again.
“What have you done this time, Austin?” she whispers, her hands clenching at her sides. There’s a tiny, colorful firework tattooed on her left hand ring finger, one that she’s thought about getting removed a million times before.
CHAPTER TWO
I can’t breathe. I’m going to drown. I try to jerk free of Grandpa. He looks at me and I see him realize the problem. We race to the surface and I take a deep, gasping breath, trying to refill my lungs.
“Sorry,” he says, holding me close. “Just breathe. You can do it.” I start coughing and he pats my back, like I’m a baby. “You’re okay,” he says.
“I almost… drowned,” I say between breaths.
“I’m sorry,” he repeats, “but Technico was coming.”
“We don’t have a boat,” I say, trying to get the hair clinging to my face off. “We’re out here with nowhere to go and no boat and—and you almost DROWNED ME!”
“I know, I know,” he says, looking at the sky instead of me. “He’s left,” he says, sounding stunned. “Come on, let’s find some dry land,” he tells me, taking to the air. I grab on, not used to this method of flying. Mom flies like a bird, her legs behind her, her wings catching the air. This is the sort of flying t
hat the other capes use. It’s a hovering sort of weightless feeling that has me glancing down apprehensively.
“Why did he leave?” I ask, feeling abandoned.
“I don’t know,” he says, “I don’t care to find out. Maybe someone did something worse than kidnapping their own grandkid.”
“There’s nothing worse than that!” I say.
He actually laughs at that. “There are millions of things worse than that—at least in our case,” he says. “I’m going to get you closer to flying.”
“What?”
“You came out here for some reason, didn’t you? Your grandmother was going to train you, I bet.”
I find myself nodding.
“Then I’ll do it,” he says. “I’ve only got a short amount of time before they find me and toss me back into the Cape Cells.”
“If you knew that, why did you break out?” I demand. “You could have just stayed in there—”
I let out a little yelp as he wraps his arms tightly around me, burying his face in my neck. “This is the first hug I’ve had in almost forty years,” he says roughly. “You’re the first person I’ve talked to other than a handful of vicious criminals. We had five minute meetings once a year, if we were lucky. If it was Mimic I got stuck with, I didn’t even get a decent conversation half the time. Mimic is moody. With Deathblow it was all about how many of our kind he’d killed—”
“What—what did Nico talk about?” I ask, drawn into his story.
He lets out a rough laugh. “Technico told me about whatever machine he was designing at the time. He’s a genius—I tinkered, sure, car parts, old-fashioned bombs, but Technico—” he pulls back, grinning, “he could do anything he wanted with machines, even when he was in a power-blocking suit. You could hear music and television playing from his room, even if he didn’t have an actual radio or television. I had no idea how, but I wanted music so badly. It helped me think when I was trying to design things,” he says, his smile softening. “I mentioned it once, so he hijacked one of my robot guards when people weren’t watching.”
