Aces Wild: Cape High Book Six

by R. J. Ross

  "Where's Nico?" Trent asks.

  "He's not going to be in for a while," he says. "I'll be taking over until he's accomplished what he set out to do. Now move it, we've got work to do!"

  "I didn't think math class called for that much urgency," Jack drawls.

  "We're not doing classes this week. This week we're going to study something new."

  "What?" one of the dorm kids asks.

  "The norm hero."

  ***

  Nico floats over the city, knowing that several satellites are focusing in on him and watching him as he searches the land below. "North?" he asks.

  "No sign of him," Ken reports.

  "South?"

  "Nothing," Jeanie says.

  "East?"

  "I see, your logic makes sense." The voice isn't on the same channel as the others, Nico notices as a twitch appears under his right eye.

  "Nothing," Mega says over the mic.

  "If you can capture Mimic and put his powers on lockdown, he'll be easier to deal with," Superior says, his voice easily going over the rest of the search party. Of course it does, Nico thinks darkly, he hacked his family only line. The only other one using this line is Liz.

  "Father," he hears her say. "This isn't your business. It's Cape High business."

  "And since when has Mimic not been my business?" Superior asks. "If anything I have more reason to want him taken care of than you two do. Especially you, Liza."

  "It's Liz," Liz says. "And I'm not sure where you're going with this."

  Nico feels a cold ball in his gut as he turns, scanning the distance. His eyes land on a white uniform, taking in Superior's new clothes. He looks like a completely different cape, Nico thinks. But that's to be thought about later. "What do you want with Mimic?" he asks.

  "Do you remember your mother, Nico?" Superior asks in that same, eerie, almost peaceful tone. "She could take out entire towns with a single hit. She was almost as tall as I am, and built like a brick wall, yet she dressed in pink and white."

  "Father," Nico says in a warning tone.

  "I was obsessed with her," Superior says softly. "She always wanted a daughter, Liza. Said she would name her Elizabeth and treat her like a princess. All the little girls that saw her got a hug and a kiss on the cheek and the promise that someday they would grow up to be just like her."

  "Father!" Nico repeats.

  "She wasn't my mother," Liz says.

  "She would have been, if Mimic hadn't killed her," Superior says almost savagely. "We thought he was a norm at the time, but it's thanks to that that I realized the truth. The humans' system, it's flawed and useless against our kind. That's why we need to deal with our own. Now take all those self-righteous speeches about trying to capture him, trying to deal with him by putting him in the Cape Cells, and ask yourself, do you really think he'll stay there?"

  "He's one of my students' fathers," Nico grits out.

  "He killed your mother."

  "Father!" Liz says. "Stop. Just stop. We'll capture him--"

  "And we'll take his powers away," Nico says, earning a stunned silence from both of them. "I know," he says quietly. "I don't remember her, but I know who she was. I know what happened. It doesn't change anything."

  "If you loved her so much, why was I born?" Liz asks in a childish tone.

  "It had been over five years and I had no ability as a father. Your mother was nice enough, liked Nico, and I figured she would be able to handle raising my children."

  "Did you love her at all?" Liz asks.

  "I'm not sure why people are so obsessed with love," Superior says after a long moment. "Love can't be seen or heard, it's just a title people slap onto a few chemical responses. We're supers. No. We're not just supers, kids. We are SUPERIORS. If you choose an inferior mate and expect them to raise your children just because you 'love' them, things will go south quickly. So who is raising your children, Nico?"

  "Lady Rose," Nico mutters. "But she's not 'raising my children,' we both are. Besides, you have no right to lecture us on any of this."

  "She's an Elementalist," Liz adds.

  "Very nice choice," Superior says, ignoring the comment about his rights. "I'm surprised."

  "I love her."

  "At least part of your brain is wired correctly. And you, Liz?"

  "Shouldn't we be searching for Mimic rather than grilling us on our love lives?"

  "Or our non-existent ones?" Nico adds.

  "I WILL punch you, big brother," Liz snaps.

  "She's got an A class shifter chasing her," Nico says. "Taurus."

  "I see. So both of you are apt to make noise about being in love, but logical enough to pick an acceptable mate for your level of power. That sounds a bit hypocritical to me. Although, really, you could aim a little higher, Liza--"

  "He's only A class because he can't fly," Liz mutters darkly.

  "Ah, I see. So you are interested in power levels," Superior says. "Your mother was an A class for the same reason. I suppose you came out well enough, considering all that happened. Of course, what Nico did when you were a child had a say in that, as well."

  "What I did had to be done," Nico says coldly. "Let it go, Father."

  There's a tense silence for a moment before Liz lets out a sigh. "It's in the past, we have more important things to do right now," she says almost softly.

  "Agreed. Now tell me, since everyone tries to keep me in the dark, what sort of powers did Mimic steal this time?"

  "An illusionist," Nico says.

  Superior curses.

  ***

  "Welcome to hero training for norms, boys and girls," a massive black man with dreadlocks and a short cut goatee says. He's got muscles on top of muscles, and looks like he could have broken me in two even back when I WAS a super. I can tell all this because he's wearing a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. "We're here to discuss those times when you can't use your powers."

  "Because of me," I mutter.

  "Exactly," he says, looking straight at me. "Or when a norm decides to play in the big leagues. No laughing, it does happen, and those that survive the first year tend to be pretty dangerous guys to run into. Usually the norm hero comes from a tragic past, loss of a parent, uncle, someone close to them, and rather than putting on a badge, they put on a mask."

  "You're not a norm, are you?" I say, seriously doubting it.

  "Of course not, Double M handpicked the school staff, Ace. I'm Taurus."

  "Oh." Well that makes sense. "Are there white shifters?" I ask stupidly. The entire class turns and looks at me, but it's Taurus that breaks out in laughter.

  "You were picked up by Panther, weren't you?" he says. "For an answer, shifting isn't dependent on skin color, neither is any other super ability. You can have any race as a shifter, and yes, that means there are white shifters, Chinese shifters, Native American shifters, really any race you can think of can come with a shifter ability. Usually those abilities are passed down from one generation to the next. Just like your illusionist powers were passed down from your father."

  "Yeah... that makes more sense," I admit. "I guess I just know you two best, cuz you're always on the news."

  "Makes sense," Taurus says. "You'll also realize that the race you come from or even your appearance in general doesn't matter as much in the super world as your abilities and conduct does."

  "Sure it does," Sunny says, patting me on the back. "But don't worry, man, we'll get you tan in no time. That way you won't look like such a creepy--"

  "Sunny!" Adanna says.

  "What? He is seriously pale!"

  "Thanks," I mutter, giving him a dark look. He grins at me shamelessly.

  "He's a goth, he's supposed to be pale," Justin says. I look over at him, a bit surprised to see him moving through the crowd to stand next to me. "I'd like to learn how it works," he says. "Being a norm hero."

  There's a strange look on Taurus's face. "Really," he says.

  "Really," Justin repeats.

  "Then we'll
start with the toys," Taurus says. "Since I planned on teaching all of you these facts--yes, even the super villains." He heads across the gym, stopping in front of a wall that slides open at a touch. On the wall is an entire arsenal of weapons, and a suit. "This is a technologically advanced suit," Taurus says. "This one was built by Technico--because... well, honestly, I've got no clue what the guy is thinking more often than not. You let him goof off for a day and you wind up with all sorts of things that supers will never need. No offense, Sunny, Zoe."

  "None taken," the twins say in the exact same dry tone.

  "It's bullet proof, strength enhancing, speed enhancing and a dozen other 'enhancings' that a norm might need to play in the big leagues. Why it has pointy ears on the head, again, no clue. With this suit--and just this suit--a norm can easily stand toe to toe with a C class super. If the norm has combat training, he might be able to take on a B and not get put in traction. Now tell me why Nico stopped there? If he's a technopath, shouldn't he be able to make an A class suit?"

  "He should, but non super humans shouldn't," Zoe says, raising her hand. "There's a lot of norms out there that would like to take a suit like that apart and use it against each other--"

  "Or even against us," Adanna says. "And while we can handle each other, handling an entire army of norms in suits that equal our second most powerful group is impossible."

  "Exactly," Taurus says. "Now, where's our volunteer?" Then he looks at me. I look around, but he's still looking straight at me.

  "Um... here?" I say lamely, holding up a hand slightly. Not so high that he thinks I actually want to do this, of course. But I obviously have no choice.

  "Then come on up here and try it on," Taurus says. I can literally feel the eyes on me. I'm the special needs kid of the class, okay? I've realized it already--

  "I'll try it on!" Emily says.

  "No way," Trent says. "You're a big enough pain without it--would you stop kicking me? You're going to break a toe or something."

  "You're the one that called me a pain," she says.

  I step forward, because nobody seems to care about the boyfriend abuse going on, and look at the suit. "How do you even put it on?" I ask after staring at it for a long moment.

  "Um..."

  Okay, it's sort of wrong to laugh at a super hero, not to mention dangerous, but the blank look on his face is seriously funny. Especially when he starts poking various parts of the suit, including the rubber nipples. "Why did he even put these on it?" he mutters under his breath. The entire class starts laughing at that one, so I let a grin escape. I've got my back to them, anyway.

  "It's probably here," Zoe says, stepping up beside me and flicking a switch on the suit. The chest of the suit opens up, revealing the cavity. "You just step into the legs and it'll close again," she tells me.

  "Okay," I say. Even Taurus is looking at me expectantly and I suddenly realize something. He wanted to see this work, personally. I wonder how many other toys are stashed in this building that supers can't use, but want to know about. Probably a ton of them. I step into the suit, almost falling over as I try and do it backwards. I feel a bit claustrophobic as it closes around me, leaving only my mouth and the bottom of my nose uncovered by the mask. "How do I move?" I ask. I can't even see, actually, there's no holes in front of my eyes.

  "The suit should be compensating for your size," Zoe says.

  "I see your one-on-one training has been paying off," Taurus compliments her.

  "It has," she says.

  Suddenly there's light. I find myself looking at a screen that shows everything in front of me and a grid that looks like it's monitoring my vitals. "Welcome to the Nico1000," Nico's voice says over the speakers. "Either you're a norm that somehow got into my school, or you're a cape that got into something you shouldn't have. According to your stats you should be..."

  The voice goes silent for a moment as the screen in front of me flashes. "Of the Loaded Deck line, with... powers on lockdown. What's your name?"

  "Ace King," I say, feeling extremely vulnerable right now.

  "Well, then, user Ace King--"

  "How did you know?" I ask.

  "Know what?"

  "That my powers were gone."

  "A fully functioning cape comes with an electrical signal that tells me everything I need to know. Now resetting for school use," the suit says. I hear a whirring noise, and see Taurus and Zoe back up abruptly. A second later I blink as my head is fully uncovered. I look down, staring blankly at the strange suit that I'm wearing. Most of the suit is back where it started at, which means not on me, the rest--well it looks like I'm wearing a new pair of forearm cuffs, boots, and a belt. There are strands of wires that somehow have gone under my clothes, attaching each piece.

  "Did you know it could do that?" Taurus asks Zoe. She shakes her head and looks at it curiously.

  "I have no clue why it even has that option," she admits.

  "It didn't," I hear Nico say from the rest of the machine. "But it triggered me, so I figured I'd redo the schematics. Nice idea, letting him use the suit, Taurus. I'll pretend it wasn't just to torture the new kid."

  "I wanted to see what it looked like on, too," Taurus says. "How is the search coming?"

  "We're working on it. Nico out," the suit says before powering down.

  I wonder what that means. Probably that they haven't found him. What happens if they find him, anyway? Do they know how to get my powers back? Or will I be stuck like this even after they capture him?

  "Next," Taurus says, heading for the wall of items. "We find out what these things do! Everybody grab one and head to the fighting field, we'll have target practice!"

  That sends a wave of students rushing past me to loot the wall. It's blatantly obvious by this point that I'm just an excuse, but... well, I prefer being a test subject to being a third wheel. "Here," Justin says, handing me a massive gun. "You can try this one."

  I look at it. It looks a lot like those old tommy guns from ancient mobster movies. "Awesome," I breathe out. Yes, both you and I remember that comment about being the kid most expected to bring a gun to school. But I didn't bring this one--it was handed to me.

  CHAPTER SIX

  "I'm supposed to be in school," Jenna says, scowling at her sister. "Not trying to peek in on this stupid school!" She looks at the yellow tape in front of her, wondering why she suddenly feels her hair threatening to float the closer she gets to it. "I don't even see anything," she complains.

  "They're in there," Jetta says. Ever since the debut fight with that Cold Steel guy, she's been acting like this. Obsessed.

  "Mom's going to yell at you, you know," Jenna says, still looking at the tape. There's nothing else to look at. "You're supposed to be in school. So am I."

  "They can deal with it. That little creep just totally blew me off," Jetta growls, her hands fisting at her sides. "And his dad actually threatened me! Can you believe it?"

  "He's Blackjack," Jenna says. "He's an A class super. It's not like you can do anything about it."

  "I can complain to Marigold!"

  Jenna takes a moment to stare at her sister in shock. "You would seriously go to the East Branch head just because--never mind, of course you would. You always were Mom's favorite."

  "What does that mean?" Jetta asks.

  "What do you think it means?" Jenna snaps back. "Who's the one out here in the middle of nowhere, not being trained? Just because I'm a C class--"

  "Jenna, you're a D class, we just didn't want to tell you," Jetta says, patting her on the arm. Jenna jerks away, glaring at her sister darkly.

  "I am not!"

  "We did the tests. You're a D. I mean, sure you can blow a little hot air, but do you really think you're up for playing in the big leagues? Forget about being a hero, settle down with some muscular norm with no brains. Nobody will say a thing."

  "You--you're such a--" Jenna jumps to her feet. "Spy on the creepy kid on your own, I'm done here," she snaps.

  "Jenna--" J
etta starts out. It's not very enthusiastic, and she shrugs as her little sister storms off. "She's the idiot that didn't figure it out a year ago," she mutters, waving it off. But her sister had been right about one thing. She couldn't see anything inside. It just looks like an empty canyon to her.

  She moves forward, her finger sticking out. There must be some sort of force field or something, right?

  "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

  Jetta almost jumps, twisting to see who's behind her. "A--Ace?" she says.

  "Hey," Ace says, sticking his hands in his pockets. "It's dangerous," he adds a bit lamely, motioning to the area in front of her.

  "Your eyes, they're back to normal," she says. "So you have your powers back?"

  "Yeah," Ace says with a little grin. "I do."

  ***

  "Hold it like this, aim, and pull the trigger," Zoe says, making me glance at her as she adjusts my hold.

  "Have you always been good at this sort of stuff?"

  "Nope. I spent a while blowing up everything electrical that I touch," she says, grinning slightly. "Dad started taking me out to the junkyard with Jack lately, though, so I've been learning how to put things together."

  "Plus her late night lessons in designing machines," Max says from where he's fighting his way out of a net that sparks randomly. "Carla, next time you need to look down the barrel before pulling the trigger," he says in an irritated tone.

  "Sorry Max," Carla says, looking down guiltily. There's an awkward silence where there should be laughter, I notice. The groups that Adanna had mentioned are watching each other extremely carefully. I can almost hear fists slowly tightening, as if they all expect someone else to attack.

  "So... um... like this?" I ask, aiming at an empty area and pulling the trigger. The silence is broken as a canister shoots from my gun, landing several feet away and starting to spin.

  "Oh crap," Zoe says as gas starts coming out. "EVERYONE RUN!" she bellows, racing away. It's too late for the rest of us, though, because the gas hits us full on, including Max.

  I blink as the world starts to warp in front of me. I sway slightly, looking around curiously. Everyone that I thought was standing there looks like someone different. Longer noses, large eyes, ever shifting features.