Fire Hazard: Cape High Book Eight (Cape High Series 8)

by R. J. Ross

  I just stare at him blandly. Inwardly I want to yell, I want to shout at him that I never chose to be a super, that I never chose to be second in command of the zoo kids--and I absolutely never chose to be caught by Collector! How can I apply myself to something I don't care about? That I never wanted?

  Instead I just shrug, focusing on my father for a moment. "I don't think it's smart," I say after a moment. "He'll just lie to you like he did to me all my life. Find another bribe."

  "Ouch," he says, "that’s cold for a flame boy. Fine, what do you want in exchange for saving the girl AND taking your mentoring seriously?"

  What do I want? I've pretty much given up on wanting anything in life, I never get it. But... "They're a gang, right? So I'm going to need a motorcycle," I say, starting to grin. "I need to look cool to get accepted."

  "Fine," he says, “and some cool spy supplies, right?"

  "Course," I say, “and a haircut. I'm going cyberpunk, right?"

  "Cyberpunk," Nico repeats as he picks up the picture of the girl wearing glow stick earrings. "That what they call it?"

  I stare at him again. "You're a technopath and you don't know what Cyberpunk is?"

  He shrugs. "You don't pay much attention to that sort of stuff when you're in the cells. But you're willing to do it? For a motorcycle?"

  "Yeah, don't have much of a choice, really, now do I?" I say dryly.

  He nods and heads out the door, leaving me in his science room all alone. For a moment I look around, wondering what I've just gotten myself into, then I shrug and head out. I've got to tell the others, right?

  ***

  "So you're just leaving?" Carla asks as we sit in the main room of the dorm. I'm sitting on a chair with a towel covering my shirt as Banshee shaves off half of my black hair. She's going to leave the top long, which is why it's sticking straight up in a ridiculous pony tail, but everything from the crown down is going to be buzzed short. Jack is waiting to the side with a needle and a few other things--he's going to pierce my ears. WHY I let him talk me into that, I'm still wondering.

  "It's a mission," I say, not willing to shrug because I don't want my hair messed up. "I've got no clue how long it's going to take, but... can't exactly turn down two Hall Leaders."

  "You could if you were a super villain," Jack says, playing with one of the eerily glowing earrings that Nico made for me. "How do these things work, anyway?" he asks as he puts one down. It stops glowing.

  "They're like my bracelet," Morgan says from the couch. "They run off of the super's power. I bet they do more than just glow."

  "Huh," he says. Why he's so willing to help with this, I've got no idea. He goes on, "Dad said to give you this." He tosses me a simple black mask. "Nico said to give you this," he goes on, tossing me a black smartphone. "It's got everyone's numbers on it, under fake names. Mine's Tin man, Trent's Leo, Ace's Oz, Dad's Kenny, Nico's Nick, you should be able to figure most of them out."

  I catch it, looking it over. It's custom, with a glowing red flame design on the back. "Thanks," I say. "How about my motorcycle?"

  "Nico and Zoe are building it, I'm going to go there next and do the exterior," he says. "Flames or something else?"

  "Flames. I'm not hiding my powers for this," I say, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the school bully going to such lengths to give me a hand. "What do I owe you for it?" I ask, positive there's something in it for him.

  He hesitates, playing with the earrings for a moment before speaking. "I want your debut," he says.

  "What?" He just totally threw me for a loop.

  "Your official debut--I want to be the villain. It'd be awesome," he says, grinning at me. "I know Max wants it, but I'm calling it before he does. We've seen your stats, man. We've been arguing over who gets it for over a week, now. Even Ace seemed interested. And now that you're goin' for official mentoring you'll be in the photo-op any day, now."

  "Oh," I say a bit lamely, "that."

  "He'll beat you," Carla says, startling me. For a moment I'm positive she's talking to me. Shockingly, though, she's looking at Jack with a positively ferocious expression. "He'll wipe the floor with you."

  "Carla," I say.

  "We'll see," Jack says. "It'll be interesting, either way. But I've got it, right? Your debut?" he asks as Banshee undoes the ponytail, pulls the towel off and hands me a mirror. I stare at myself for a second, pushing the long hair up to see all of the buzzed part. Jack steps forward, pulling an ice cube out of a cup. "I've got two earrings, you want both?" he asks me.

  Do I? He looks WAY too comfortable with the idea of sticking a needle through my ear, I think. "Yeah, I guess," I say. I'm positive I'm going to regret it--both the piercings and the debut.

  ***

  "Now, son," Century says as he drops down into a large, plush chair on his personal jet. Why does a superhero that can fly need a jet? Because his secret identity is a massively rich cattle baron or something, as far as I can tell. Maybe it's oil, he didn't say, but it doesn't matter, I think as I look around, this thing is PLUSH. "You're going to be living with Flame as his nephew--he's not too happy about it, honestly, but he owes his life to Alonso just like the rest of us. Plus, they live in the same neighborhood. You're there to try and get you on the straight road and away from bad influences."

  "Okay," I say. There’s not much else I CAN say. "I guess if they ask I can tell them about Jack and Max or something," I add with a shrug.

  "Don't let on that they're actually Maximum and Cold Steel," he warns. "Or better yet, make them think you're lying. I can see that. But whatever you do, don't let it on that you're a Cape High kid. Rumors have gotten out about your school--and a lot of the kids in my area are getting a bit... bitter about it," he admits.

  "Send them over," I say. "Nico will test them and bring them in if they're good enough."

  "That's easy to say, son, but not so easy to convince the parents about," he says. "There's a lot of tradition in the South Branch, part of it being my fault, I admit. Hard to teach an old dog like me new tricks. But if you convince me that you're actually learning something in that school of yours, I might consider it."

  "In other words, you're one of the biggest obstacles," I say bluntly. It startles a laugh out of him.

  "Now I won't say that I am, nor will I say that I'm not," he says in that good ole boy drawl of his. "Consider yourself a trial run."

  Great. Not only does my future hinge on this stupid mission, my school's reputation does as well. I scowl, thinking of all the people who would be better for this job. Several of them stand out in my mind. "I'm not the best of the school," I tell him as we start to move. The plane is lifting off, taking me halfway across the country, where I know absolutely no one, "I'm not even close."

  "But there's a reason your principal chose you, don't you think?" he says.

  I shrug, looking out the window instead of answering that. I'm not sure I know why Nico chose me, other than the whole mentoring thing. "So... Flameblaster, he's not happy about this?" I ask.

  "I'm not going to lie--Flame's a confirmed bachelor. He doesn't much like... anyone, really."

  "Great." I think for a moment before asking the one thing that’s been bothering me. “How come you don’t think they’re cape kids?”

  “That large of a group of teenagers with powers appearing, it doesn’t happen--especially in one area. We would have heard or seen at least a handful of them in their emergence. Teen capes don’t have that good of control--Jimmi kept blowing out her neighborhood’s power on a daily basis when she turned thirteen. No, it’s something else--a drug or something. Whatever it is, we’ll find out after you get Jimmi out of there.”

  We fall into silence as he opens another folder and starts reading. I hesitate, watching the world below for a moment before opening my own folder. Here I am, half shaved head, earrings (the holes healed as soon as they were made, Jack was impressed by how they burned to heal), black, baggy jeans and a tank-top, reading a manila folder across from a rich man
. It's an incongruous image, I already know.

  Jimena interests me. I spend a moment looking at her picture, taking in the glowing eyes, the cat-eared hoodie, and the t-shirt that proudly proclaims "Burn" across her chest. What is she trying to prove?

  Here's the thing I've learned after spending so much time with the zoo kids. Everyone is out to prove something. They might not even know what that thing is, but they're out to prove it--that they're in control, that they're strong, that everyone else is untrustworthy. I've seen hints of all of that just in my own group. Of course it makes sense--they didn't have any control in the zoo. They were put on display like toys or animals. So was I. The difference is that I decided a long time ago that I didn't have to prove anything to anyone. I was happy with that choice, you know? Nothing to prove, nothing to stand up for...

  So why am I stuck with the job of proving Cape High to an entire branch of the Hall? I'm going to fail, I think, still staring at the picture of Jimena. I'm going to fail and Nico's going to toss me out on my butt--and more importantly, take that absolutely sweet motorcycle in the storage bay away. Not to mention everyone I care about will go on without me.

  I let out a yelp as the manila folder starts to smoke before catching on fire. I grab my water bottle and pour it on the folder.

  "Problem?" Century asks mildly.

  "None whatsoever," I lie.

  "Hey, Vinny?"

  I jerk, looking around to see if Carla snuck on when I wasn't watching. Century is looking at me with a raised eyebrow. "Did you hear that?" I ask him.

  "Yeah, your earring is talking," he says before going back to his folder.

  "Oh." I reach up and touch one of the earrings curiously. "What is it, Carla?" I ask.

  "Tell Lance that I'm second in command while you're gone!" she says. "He says he is, but he's not--I am!"

  "Carla, you're the youngest in the group," I point out.

  "So? I'm the most responsible!"

  "How are you responsible?" I ask her, fighting the urge to laugh.

  "I want to be second in command!" she says, rather than answering that.

  "Yeah, yeah, of course you do," I say. "So the right earring is a communicator--what's the left?" I ask, touching it. Music starts playing, almost making me jump out of my seat.

  "It's a microcomputer," Nico says. "Carla, we're in class, you're not supposed to be calling up Vinny just to take over his position."

  "We want to hear this too, though," I hear Lance say.

  "Okay, fine. Listen up, Vinny. Any computer you get close to should be accessible through the earring on your left ear. You need to tap it twice and you'll get past the security, unless it's done by a technopath--that includes smartphones if you need to. You can also use it to listen to any music or video on that phone I gave you. Keep it on low, though, otherwise the norms will hear it. And try not to break into anything Hall related... or government related, now that I think about it."

  "You gave the boy an all-access pass to any computer on the planet?" Century asks sharply.

  "Free video game cheats, AWESOME!" I say, grinning from ear to ear.

  "Can I get one of those?" I hear Sunny ask over the link.

  "Maybe on your first spy mission," Nico says. "And from now on you can all call me N!" I hear the entire school groan at this one.

  "I don't get it," I say.

  "It's like Q? From James Bond?" Nico says. "You kids are uneducated," he mutters.

  "Says our school principal," I point out.

  "Just for that I'm sending every Bond movie ever made to your phone," Nico says. "You're not getting anything else until you watch at least half of them."

  "I don't want to watch Bond," I say, “this is child abuse!" I hear the others laughing their heads off.

  "Don't laugh, you're all watching them, too," Nico says. The laughter stops abruptly. "Listen, Vinny, every single person in the school is listed on your phone. Or if you want, you can tap your earring and get on the school channel, most of them have an earbud already. We'll send someone running if you need backup, got it?"

  "I'll go!" Carla volunteers.

  "Please don't come," I say.

  "We got your back, kid," Nico says. "You're going to do us proud, we already know."

  I look at Century, and then I stand and head for the bathroom, sure he could probably still hear me if he wants to, but wanting the privacy. "I think you got the wrong guy, Nico, I seriously do--"

  "What, think we should have sent Jack?" Nico asks. "He'd terrorize the gang and take over, and then we'd never get the kid back--"

  "He would not!" I hear Aubrey say.

  "Sure I would," Jack says, “take it over, that is. But I'd come back, I've got a girlfriend."

  "I didn't mean Jack--what about Trent, or Max, or--or even Sunny?" I say. "I'm not suited for solo missions."

  "Sure you are," I hear Morgan say, "you can handle anything."

  "He can," I hear most of the zoo kids agree. "Man, remember the time he caught the kitchen on fire? He didn't even break a sweat!"

  "Which time?" Morgan asks, laughing. "Relax, Vinny, you can do this with your eyes closed. You'll be back home with us before you know it, I promise."

  Why do they have so much faith in me? I look in the bathroom mirror, seeing a punk with glowing earrings looking back at me. I’m surprised Jack didn’t convince me to pierce more than just my ears, honestly. He’s way too happy with a piercing needle for my tastes. “There’s one thing Century didn’t mention,” I say almost silently. “I’m here to prove that Cape High is actually teaching the students enough to send the South Branch kids to it.”

  “Interesting,” Nico says. “Well it doesn’t matter to me. I only took this job because it’s part of my probation. If there are less kids involved there’s less work for me.”

  I choke, shocked, and then burst into laughter at that reply. “Aw, man, that’s good to know,” I admit. “I was feeling a bit of pressure there.”

  “But we want Voltdrain’s girl,” Nico says, cutting off my laughter. “So forget about Century--the one I want you to impress is Voltdrain. Get his little girl out of there, kid.”

  “Why just her?” I ask.

  “Because she’s a power absorber, it looks like. That’s a skill that should be properly trained. I’m not saying her father wouldn’t be able to--but if I understand it right, he’s not that good at controlling her to begin with.”

  “A power absorber? Like Morgan?” I ask.

  “No, not exactly. Voltdrain is capable of absorbing energy, not abilities. So you give him a battery, he can drain it, you give him a nuclear bomb, he can drain that, too. He’s even taken care of nuclear factories that were running a bit too hot--he has to go barefoot to do it, of course, but he CAN. And has. Do you see where I’m going here?”

  “Why does he have to go barefoot?” Carla asks.

  “Because the energy is too great for his body. He can store a decent amount, but for the big things he conducts it straight into the earth. He’s a specialist. He’s also a very good man to have owing you a favor.”

  I’m picturing those Hispanic wrestlers right now, the ones that do flips through the air and all sorts of crazy awesome tricks while wearing masks--Luchadores. They’re AWESOME. But I probably shouldn’t make that connection for a superhero. Well… you know, other than the fighting and the masks. What? Seriously, ALL of us could be compared to wrestlers, okay?

  Life is like a massive wrestling match, or something. Well, you know, if you go to Cape High, that is. Face it, Max brings a golden mic to every fight he’s in, there’s definitely a comparison.

  “He’s not a luchador,” Nico interrupts.

  “I didn’t--”

  “Of course you didn’t think of a stereotype, you’re a good kid,” he drawls. “You just went ‘lucha’ for no apparent reason.”

  “But Lucha Libre is awesome,” I say a bit pathetically.

  “True, but he’s still not one of them. He’s a South Branch super hero,
and don’t forget it.”

  “Think they’d have a match while I’m down here? Not Voltdrain, but--”

  “Talk to Flame. He’s your host down there.” I hear a knock on the door and glance over as someone calls through it.

  “Mr. Accardi? It’s time to resume your seat, we’ll be landing shortly,” a lady says.

  “Yeah, okay,” I say, coming out of the restroom and heading for my seat. Century is closing his folder and buckling his seatbelt, which strikes me as a bit silly, but I do the same.

  “Feeling better?” Century asks.

  “Yeah,” I admit, “I am.” I turn to watch out the window as we land, Texas, home of the South Branch.

  Not home for me.

  CHAPTER TWO

  *Texas*

  "I want to thank you for this, Flint," Alonso says, standing next to Flameblaster at the private airport. "I know you don't think it'll work, but you're going along with it, anyway."

  "Knowing that, you should really quit thanking me," Flint says bluntly, shoving his hands into his jean pockets and staring moodily at the plane coming in. "I still say we just drag her out, take down the gang and call it a day."

  "She thinks she's finally in a place where she fits," Alonso says in that typical gentle tone of his. The shorter male is one of the nicest guys he's ever met, Flint thinks as he looks at the Hispanic hero, quiet, laid back, Alonso. He's the type of guy that everyone would be comfortable either watching football with or talking about family problems with. It's shocking when you find out that he's Voltdrain, one of the most powerful heroes on the planet. "I can't take that from her without giving her something to replace it, Flint."

  "You keep saying that, but--it's run by a super villain, Al," Flint says. "You're trusting a kid that's being trained by a super villain--one that you've never met! This is ridiculous--" he stops as the plane lands, biting his tongue.