Were-

by Seanan McGuire

  “Laurence is definitely the man who sold us Missy,” her grandfather said, eyes narrowed. “Glad you had the sense to come home.”

  “I’m glad they didn’t try to grab Beth and force her away,” her grandmother said worriedly. “You need to be careful.”

  “I was and I will be. I just wonder what that Laurence is up to.”

  “No good,” her grandfather said firmly.

  Beth sent James a text, asking him what he was doing with Laurence. Nothing, was the reply. “That’s totally suspicious,” she said to Missy, who was cuddled next to her. “I don’t think that Laurence is a good person.”

  Missy gave a quiet bark Beth assumed meant agreement.

  Beth considered options. Based on what her grandfather had said, tonight was the last night for a month that Missy would be a Were. And James was her friend, and the other boys with him weren’t bad kids. But they would be if Laurence got his hands on them.

  Beth sent another text to James. Got permission to hang out. Where are you?

  The reply was slow to come back. You’re sure?

  Yeah.

  The next reply was even slower, but an address was provided. And don’t bring your stupid dog.

  Beth stared at that. “Missy, if someone you suspect is being influenced by a bad guy tells you not to do something, should you do it or not?” Missy looked at her questioningly, and Beth shared the conversation and her thoughts. “I think we need to intervene before James Turns To Evil. Laurence is clearly already there.”

  Missy growled and nudged Beth’s watch. “Yeah, I know you won’t change for a while. But I just know in my gut that James and the other boys are in danger of going to the Side of Evil. And we can’t allow that.”

  Missy barked what sounded like agreement.

  Beth gathered what she thought she might need in a Fight Against Nascent Evil. The Super Team had superpowers, of course, but still they went equipped with the means of communication with the police force and some conventional weapons, too. Beth’s family wasn’t loaded with weapons, but the neighbor between them and the Conasons was totally prepped for an invasion.

  “Going to visit Missus Marconi,” Beth said to her grandparents.

  They both looked at her suspiciously. “Not going to see James?” her grandmother asked.

  “He’s not home. I checked. I want to see if Missus Marconi has noticed that Laurence hanging around.”

  “If she can see anything aside from all those cats,” her grandfather said. Mrs. Marconi proudly proclaimed herself to be a Crazy Cat Lady and nothing about her or her home could make anyone offer an argument against this.

  “Remember that cats aren’t the only way she’s crazy,” her grandmother added.

  Her grandparents couldn’t find a strong reason to object to the visit, however, since they were friendly with Mrs. Marconi, cats in double digits and potentially crazy or not, so Beth put Missy’s leash on, made sure her phone and Swiss Army knife were securely in her jacket pocket, and headed out of the Bunk.

  Mrs. Marconi was older than Aunt Cil and Beth’s parents but not as old as her grandparents. She was, as Beth’s father put it, still in fighting shape. And she was prepped to fight a lot of things.

  Mrs. Marconi was home and happy to see Beth, who told her the whole story while petting cats and having cookies and milk. Unlike James, Mrs. Marconi didn’t argue about Missy being a Were-Pomeranian.

  “He’s at it again,” she muttered as she examined Missy carefully. “You’re planning to try to stop whatever Laurence is up to?”

  “I am, but I know I need help. Weapons at the least.”

  “As if you know how to use them? Stay here.” Mrs. Marconi shook her head and trotted off and Beth wondered if she was going to tell her grandparents what was going on. But that wasn’t the case. She came back wearing a full bodysuit. It wasn’t leather, but looked a little like it. She handed Beth a suit that looked similar. “Go put this on. It’s a protection suit. Put your clothes back on over it.”

  Beth took the suit and went to the bathroom to change. Missy went with her. “No one just has suits like these lying around,” she whispered to Missy. “I wonder if Missus Marconi isn’t really Missus Marconi, but a retired superhero!”

  Missy barked softly and nudged around the hamper. Beth looked at it. It looked like a hamper. She dressed as Mrs. Marconi had told her to—the bodysuit wasn’t very thick and her clothes went on over it easily. She left the bathroom to find that Mrs. Marconi had also put her regular clothes back on. She’d also laid out an assortment of weapons, not just guns, but whips, knives, a crossbow, and things Beth wasn’t familiar with.

  “Have you ever handled a weapon of any kind?” Mrs. Marconi asked. “Don’t lie. I’ll know.”

  Beth resisted the urge to say she had. “I’ve handled knives. In the kitchen,” she added for honesty’s sake.

  Mrs. Marconi sighed. “Well, we make do with what we have.” She handed Beth a couple of knives in sheaths. “Secure those about your person and let’s hope they don’t get used against you.”

  “Who were you?” Beth asked as she stashed knives in her jacket and back pocket of her jeans.

  “Someone who wants to remain anonymous.”

  “But I’m working with you now.”

  Mrs. Marconi grunted. “True enough. I’m someone who has to right a wrong at this precise time. We’ll leave it at that for now.”

  Beth’s mind raced. “You know Laurence, don’t you? I mean, beyond what I’ve told you.”

  “I do. And I know that if he’s blatantly recruiting at your school then he’s ready to roll whatever nefarious plan he’s been prepping.” With that, she loaded up on weapons herself, including a whip, a couple of pistols, what looked like a laser gun, and the crossbow. Then she jerked her head and headed off. Beth followed.

  They went to the same bathroom Beth had changed in and Mrs. Marconi opened the hamper lid, then moved the hamper ninety degrees. The wall behind the hamper slid open.

  “A secret door! That’s so cool!” Beth was impressed with the setup and also with Missy, who’d clearly spotted this door earlier.

  “Follow me and stay quiet. These tunnels can echo.”

  While following Mrs. Marconi through a very different set of tunnels than the ones she was used to, Beth ran through all the older super teams she could think of. Mrs. Marconi had been living next to her grandparents longer than Beth could remember, which meant that she was probably from one of the teams from the Golden Age of about twenty years ago.

  There had always been plenty of female superheroes, so without anything to go on, Beth came up blank—too many options. She focused instead on Laurence. He didn’t look familiar, and he wasn’t old enough to have been part of the Golden Age unless he’d been a child.

  Of course, there were usually kids helping out the various Teams of Super Goodness, just like Beth was helping Mrs. Marconi. So she focused on trying to remember all of them. Due to her Aspirations, Beth has memorized every Sidekick on both the Side of Goodness and the Side of Evil. She had most of their trading cards, too. She decided to go through them alphabetically so as to be more accurate.

  She was up to Noxious Boy when they reached the exit from the tunnels into the Subway. “Don’t need to pay the fare,” Mrs. Marconi chuckled under her breath. “We’ll always get you there.”

  Beth didn’t complain—she hadn’t brought any money, so them not having to pay was a relief. Mrs. Marconi verified the address they were heading for and they got on the train that would get them there fastest.

  Missy sat in Beth’s lap for the ride. She seemed extra alert and Beth was pleased. Missy was clearly a Mini Super Dog and Mrs. Marconi was obviously a Retired Superhero Returning To Duty and that made Beth an Official Sidekick. She contemplated what name to choose, but decided that it would be something that should be collaborative with Mrs. Marconi.

  Beth put the rhyme that Mrs. Marconi had said into her phone’s search engine, but they reache
d their stop before the search was done.

  They were in a very disreputable part of town, not that this came as a surprise. “Should you go in with me?” Beth asked as they neared their destination, a rickety looking two-story warehouse.

  “I’ve been debating that. They’re expecting only you, not me or Missy.” Mrs. Marconi pulled them into an alleyway near the warehouse, presumably so they wouldn’t be spotted. Beth felt that she should’ve been taking notes, but that could slow things down, so she’d just have to remember as much as possible.

  “I thought you said they’d expect me to bring Missy.”

  “Exactly, but you’re going to play dumb and obedient and not bring her in with you, I think. Missy and I will be the sneak attack.”

  Being the Bait was standard Sidekick Duty, so Beth had no objections. “How long before I can graduate to full Superhero status?”

  Mrs. Marconi snorted. “Let’s get through this before you make a decision on having to live a double life forever.”

  They discussed their Plan of Attack until Beth was clear on her duties. Get inside, engage the enemy, then stall as much as possible. Seemed simple enough. Of course, Beth was also aware that many times Plans Went Awry, but that just meant that she and Mrs. Marconi would have to think on their feet, while Missy thought on her paws.

  Beth hugged Missy. “Be good and stay safe. Oh, and find me at the right time.” It never hurt to give exact instructions to a Super Dog.

  With that, Beth headed out of the alley while Mrs. Marconi and Missy went out the other side so as to slip into the warehouse from the back. Beth went to the front door and made a show of looking around and verifying the address just in case someone was watching.

  The door wasn’t locked so Beth went in. “Hello?” she called out, just as if she didn’t expect a trap. “James?”

  The warehouse wasn’t well lit, which wasn’t a surprise. But while it had looked like two stories from the street, there was only one floor with a really high ceiling. There were a lot of tall stacks of metal sheets and pipes and such that blocked most of the building from view. There weren’t any catwalks, which Beth thought was odd, considering the height of the building. This could mean that Laurence could fly, though, so she checked up as much as down and around.

  She didn’t spot any traps, so she walked in carefully. She didn’t call out anymore—either they could hear her and were lying in wait, or they couldn’t hear her, so she might as well go the rest of the way in Stealth Mode.

  Beth crept around through the maze of metal. It sort of looked like this place was a foundry, only it wasn’t all that warm and there were no noises that one would associate with someplace working with metals. It was, in fact, almost eerily quiet.

  It looked creepy, too, presumably on purpose. There was lighting, but it was really high up. Whoever had to change the bulbs would need a fireman’s ladder or flight ability for sure.

  Beth missed Missy a lot right now. Having her dog with her to hold and at least seem like protection would have been nice. But one didn’t join a Superhero team by being a scaredy-cat and Beth knew this was her Big Chance. So she forged on, making a note that this was a pun she might want to toss out if, in fact, this place had a forge in it. Sidekicks had pun and riddle requirements, after all.

  She finally got into the middle and the stacks of various kinds of metal gave way to an area without a lot of stuff in it. There were still stacks of metal of all kinds ahead of her and to the side, but this area had nothing in it but a dirty concrete floor. Beth figured that the Secret Lair was going to be underground somewhere, though hopefully not connected to Underground. Though if it was, she and Mrs. Marconi could get there easily next time without taking the Subway.

  She checked her phone. The rhyme search was a dead end—it had come up with too many options and Beth currently didn’t have time to sort through them. “Maybe later,” she said to herself, mostly to hear some sound. There was still no one around and, since she was exposed here anyway, Beth figured faking it again was the way to go. “Hello? James? Where are you guys?”

  She was rewarded with James finally coming to get her. He didn’t come up from beneath, but from the stack of metal to her right. “Hey, Beth.” He sounded underwhelmed that she was here.

  “Hey.” She went towards him, but not too fast, just in case. “What’s with all the weirdness?”

  “You didn’t bring your dog?” He sounded relieved and disappointed.

  “You told me not to.”

  “And you listened to me?” Now he sounded shocked.

  Beth sniffed at him. “Sometimes. So, what’s going on? Why are you guys at this creepy warehouse?”

  “It’s where Laurence lives, uh, works.”

  Clearly James was not as good at the Sidekick Business as Beth was. Sadly, though, he appeared to be Sidekicking for the Side of Evil. There was nothing for it—Beth was going to have to Save Him From Himself. And that meant she had to lull James into a False Sense Of Security and Put Him At His Ease.

  “Oh. Okay. Why are you guys here? He’s not some weird creeper, is he?”

  James laughed weakly. “Not like that, no. Um, you know, you don’t have to come in.” He sounded a little desperate. “You should probably go home. The guys will understand.”

  “Understand what?”

  “That you’re scared here. I mean, you’re a girl, it’s a creepy building, I’m sure you’re not feeling comfortable.”

  Beth resisted saying all the things she wanted to, starting with the fact that she was less scared of a lot more things than James was and ending with the fact that no one on the Side of Right was supposed to feel comfortable in an Evil Lair. Instead, she gave him what she figured was the answer he expected. “Oh, but you’re here to protect me, right?” She managed not to throw up a little in her mouth when she said this, and really hoped Mrs. Marconi had both caught this and was clear that Beth was Faking Out The Evil Sidekick.

  “Oh, yeah,” James said weakly. “That’s right. Totally what I’m here for.” With that he jerked his head towards the metal stacks that were opposite from the ones he’d come out of. “Everyone’s over there.”

  “They’re awfully quiet,” Beth remarked as they walked across the empty space.

  “Yeah, well, Laurence doesn’t like a lot of noise.”

  “Huh. And yet he breeds dogs.”

  “No, he doesn’t.”

  Beth didn’t argue. Just because Laurence had been the one who’d sold Missy to them, that didn’t mean he was a breeder. Beth really hoped Missy and Mrs. Marconi were nearby, because she wasn’t counting on James to back her at all.

  They reached the other stacks without the floor falling out from under them and also without a cage dropping on them. Beth was relieved and a little disappointed. Laurence wasn’t really impressing in the Evil Lair department.

  But then they rounded one of the stacks of sheet metal to find a huge pipe, easily six feet in diameter. James walked into it. Beth followed. They reached the end of the pipe to find the stairs Beth knew had to be here. This was more like it. Time to head into the Secret Lair and see what was what.

  “This is weird,” she said, in case James was thinking that she seemed too calm.

  “Yeah, it’s kind of cool, though.”

  “Oh yeah. Totally.” Beth hoped she didn’t sound disparaging. It wouldn’t do to let on that she was aware that things weren’t what they seemed to James. At least, not yet.

  Down a long flight of stairs and out into a room that was far more like what she’d been expecting. Lots of laboratory equipment, vats of clear blue liquid in which various things floated, stuff that looked like it was out of a Frankenstein movie, what might have been a small reactor, and other, less easily identified items filled most of this big underground room.

  Laurence was in a white lab coat and the other boys from school were near him. They all looked kind of slack-jawed. “What’s with them?” she asked James quietly.

  “Um, the
y’re listening to Laurence.”

  “He’s not talking.”

  “Not right now, no. But they’re waiting for him to play again.”

  Beth looked more closely at Laurence. Sure enough, he had what looked like a flute in his hands. She ran through her various Sidekick Cards in her head. There had been one, sure enough, during the Golden Age, who’d played a flute. He’d been called the Petit Pied Piper, Triple P for short. But he’d been a good guy.

  She examined Laurence’s face as they got closer. He could indeed have been Triple P grown up, he looked old enough without being too old. So, did that mean he was on the Side of Right? Beth’s gut said there was no way. The Super Team’s headquarters was at the top of a giant skyscraper because Heroes Didn’t Hide. So, Laurence was definitely a bad guy.

  The other boys seemed more alert. Laurence notice this, too, and played a fast little tune on his flute. Beth wasn’t impressed, but the boys all looked kind of glazed again. James didn’t, though.

  Laurence’s eyes narrowed as they reached him. “Where’s the dog?”

  “James told me not to bring her.”

  “And you listened to him?” It was official—they’d bet on Beth doing exactly the opposite of what James had said.

  “Sometimes.”

  “It’s the last night of the full moon,” Laurence said. “If we’re to cure your dog of her lycanthropic tendencies, I need her here.”

  For a moment Beth wondered if Laurence was actually a good guy. But if he was, why would James have told her to leave Missy at home, and as nastily as he had? No, Beth knew that a good Superhero or Sidekick Trusted Their Gut, and her gut said that Laurence wanted Missy for Nefarious Purposes.

  “I told you I was joking about that.” Now it was time to stall. Beth sincerely hoped that Mrs. Marconi had a plan, because while the rest of the guys looked kind of like zombies, there were a lot more of them than there were of her.

  “But I know you were lying about joking about it,” Laurence said smoothly. “So, what did she turn into? An alligator? A wolf? A lion?”

  “Um, no.”

  Laurence stepped closer to her. “Understand, young lady. If you don’t want to follow in your dog’s footsteps and become a lycan yourself, you’ll tell me what your dog changed into.”