by R. J. Ross
"I want the stuff you used to take powers away," he says. "For good."
"Really? Why? I've been told you're the one that invented this," she says, tapping the collar she wears. "You know just as well as I do how to block powers. Just in a different form."
"Exactly. In the form of the collar it can be taken off or will short out with enough distance from the control. I want this to last for the rest of his life," Nico says coldly. A little smile pulls at the corners of her lips, one that doesn't reach her eyes.
"I see, so this is a form of revenge," she says. "I can understand that. I'll send the information to your pet scientists, they should find it almost as interesting as everything else I've been doing."
"Your payment will arrive as soon as they've got it all," Nico says blandly. He's not surprised she knows.
"Tell me, Star Born," Mastermental says abruptly. "Why are you in such a rush to get what you're doing done?"
She looks at him, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Because I have reason to believe that Kunnins is still alive," she says almost mildly.
"Kunnins?" he repeats. She doesn't answer, she just turns back to her computer and starts typing again.
***
Okay, so we all know I was attacked by a guy that almost killed me with a single hand last night, one that I'm now POSITIVE is Superior. Not a fake, not a clone, THE Superior--which I'm sort of geeking out over, not gonna lie, but either way, focus. Because I can't. I am so hyped that I woke up an hour early to take a shower and dress up in my best. Yes, there is eyeliner involved. Yes, Jack will probably wedgie me for it. I DON'T CARE. It'll make my eyes show up more.
I'm back, baby. I'm BACK!
The doorbell rings and I get there in a second, opening the door with a huge grin on my face. I'm expecting Panther. I get...
"Jetta?" I say blankly, only to get slapped across the face.
"You lied to me," she snarls. "An escaped convict? I should take you into the Hall, myself!" she bellows.
"What?" I ask blankly even as she storms away. I am so confused right now that I almost lose my happy. But before I can chase after her and demand an explanation a familiar black car pulls to a stop in front of my house. The window rolls down and Panther looks out at me.
"Are you ready?" he asks.
"Let me grab my bag," I say, racing inside, grabbing the bag, and calling a quick, "I'm going to school!" to my mom. I go as fast as I can, but he's still standing next to his car by the time I get to it. There's a strange look on his face as he moves in front of me.
"I see," he says as I look at him. "You are Blackjack's son, after all," he says with a laugh.
"My eyes are back," I say, bragging like a little kid. I've never once wanted to draw attention to them before, but now I feel like shouting it. Now that they make me normal in the school I'm going to. For the first time in my life, I'm honestly, straight-forwardly proud of them. He looks at my black leather and netting stripped hoodie, then at my black belted jeans and boots. He raises an eyebrow.
"I wasn't told you planned on going super villain," he says.
"I'm not... I don't think?" I admit, looking down and seeing it through his eyes. "Although Max uh... said something about it."
"It would be a pleasure to have you on our side," Panther says, dropping a hand on my shoulder.
"Ace!" Mom says, coming out of the house. "I didn't think you planned on going to school today," she says, sounding vulnerable. I look up at her, a bit stunned. "I mean, last night you--"
"I got my powers back," I say. "I don't have to wear that stupid machine."
"Well... I mean--"
"I'm not the special needs kid today. You really think I'm going to miss that?" I ask.
"You were never--that's a very offensive way to put it, young mister!" she splutters.
"They stuck me in a machine just so I could keep up," I say dryly. "That's a special need." Not that I have anything against kids that have to use machines to move. In fact I'm feeling a good deal of empathy for them. Maybe now that I've got my illusion ability I could... I dunno... do something cool for the kids stuck in hospitals or wheelchairs or whatever. I could do magic tricks that aren't really magic, or tricks!
"I--well, regardless, you be careful," Mom says. "And make sure you get home right after school."
"Yeah, sure," I say in reply. "Not a problem." Okay, you got me, still on a happy high here. But don't think I won't do it. I'll drag Justin or someone along with me to the hospital. I'm still thinking about it as I slide into the backseat of Panther's car, looking up as Adanna turns to look at me.
"Taurus will be disappointed," she says. "He was enjoying playing with the norm toys."
"Norm toys?" Panther asks.
"We were learning about norm heroes," she explains. "Remember? It's astonishing how many toys that Nico has built just for those."
"I doubt I'd be astonished," Panther admits. "I was his roommate in college, remember? You'd be astonished how often I came back to the dorm to find a weapon of some sort lying on his bed or mine, or sometimes both." He glances at me in the rearview mirror. "You look so much like an evil version of your father," he says. I'm positive it's a compliment.
"Thanks," I say.
"It might make for an interesting plot twist," Panther says as we pull to a stop in front of the school. "Can I ask, how did you get your abilities back?"
I go silent, thinking about what my dad had told me the night before. "I... it's sort of personal," I admit. "But the more Mimic uses my abilities, the more they come back to me. He came up with a really powerful one last night." I can't shake the feeling that there was more to Tatiana than just trying to piss Superior off, though.
I almost jump as someone knocks on the window. It says a lot about the glass that it doesn't crack, I think as I realize that it's Jack. I roll the window down, looking at him. "What?" I demand.
"Get out, we've got--whoa," he says.
"What?" I demand again.
"I didn't know you were that pretty, man," he says evilly. "Is that eyeliner? Hey, Emily, you still got that red lipstick? Goth boy here forgot to finish putting on his makeup!"
"I'm not putting on lipstick, Jack," I growl as I get out of the car.
"Then we'll need a skirt--you're pretty skinny, you might be able to wear one of Morgan's--"
"I don't own a skirt!" Morgan bellows from inside the canyon.
"Then maybe Justin has one you can borrow," he says, not even missing a beat. "What do you think, guys? Wouldn't he be the belle of the ball?" He drapes an arm over my shoulders and I promptly elbow him as hard as I can in the gut. He grunts and lets go, but I don't even notice. I feel like I just elbowed a wall. Ow. My elbow is screaming that I haven't regained all of my toughness--or he's really just that hard.
"You've got your powers back?" Max says, landing in front of us. I hear a door close behind me and glance back to watch Adanna get out and head for Trent, who's carrying Sunny piggyback.
"Yeah," I say, feeling a bit shy for some reason.
"Awesome," Max says. "Now there's three of us on the super villain side--we can set up the football game now!"
"Three of us against the rest of the apartment and the zoo kids?" Jack asks. "Might be interesting..."
"I'm claiming Zoe for it, too," Max says.
"Then four of us against all of them. I like those odds," Jack says. I stare at him. He's as insane as the rest of this group! Wait, why am I acting surprised?
"Ace's nonaffiliated, still," Nico says as he walks over to us, carrying a coffee cup in his hand. "How are you doing?" he asks me with a serious expression. He reaches out with his free hand and tilts my chin up, looking at my neck. "The bruises are already gone. And I see your eyes are back. Good."
"What happened?" Jack asks. "What bruises?"
"That's for him to decide whether to tell or not. Now, everyone inside," Nico says, turning and looking around with a sharp expression. "It's still not safe out here." I glance out as well, l
ooking at the abandoned buildings near the canyon. Anyone could be hiding in one of them--but why would they want to when there's so many super heroes here? I glance in the sky, seeing a handful of them heading in for work. Sure, they're retired, but they're still more than someone sane would want to take on.
Then again, is Mimic sane? No, seriously, I have no idea how sane that guy is. Do you?
"So," Jack says, draping an arm over my shoulders again. I shot him a dirty look, because I'm still not sure if he's annoying or funny. "How good are you at football?"
"Never played it," I admit as he drags me up to the line for the panel and we wait out turn to go in.
"Okay, I can get that... how good are you at cheating?" he asks. "Think you could do an illusion or ten of me and Max?"
"You know, I still don't like you, Jack, but that's an excellent question," Max says, stepping in line behind us. "Think you can do it, Ace?"
"Probably not," I admit. "I'm still learning how to do the small stuff."
"But he'll be able to with training," Nico says, still staring at the area around us. I almost swear he's picking up on something we haven't noticed.
"Really? Awesome!" Emily says, making me glance over at her.
"Not awesome," Trent says. "Not awesome at all."
"But that means he's sort of like me and Ditto, right?" she says. "We could put on an entire play together!"
I step up to the panel and place my hand on it. "I can't act," I tell her before going in.
"That's what would make it funny!"
***
It's not as easy to stay in this form anymore. Mimic scowls as he watches the kids enter the force field. He's losing his powers. He'd felt it strongly after the Tatiana episode--he'd seen what happened, as well. The boy is taking back his abilities. The moment Mimic uses them they go right back to their rightful owner--Ace.
That's not a good thing. He'd not been able to kill Superior with Tatiana as he'd planned. Tatiana... His jaw grits as the woman in question flashes through his mind. If anyone could kill Superior, it would be Tatiana--even if it's just an illusion of her. She could have driven him to wanting to die.
Had the boy not shown up when he had, Mimic could have driven Superior over the edge. He deserves to be driven over the edge, Mimic thinks sharply. He should be dead already. But if using Ace's abilities means he's going to lose them, he can't do it.
Unless, that is, he has a way to refuel. That perfect solution is staring him right in the face, he thinks with a hint of disgust. It's not the only one staring him in the face. He can almost swear that Nico knows he's out here.
***
Jetta is confused. She'd thought hitting him and walking away would be good enough--that she could go on with her life. Find another boy that's got super powers and a thing for her, and execute the plan. Thing is, all she feels is betrayed. She sits on the swing set, her hands wrapped around the metal chains holding her up, her mind trying to wrap around what happened in the warehouse.
It was only a kiss. But it was a kiss with a--a--she doesn't even know WHAT Ace is. Is he seriously an escaped convict? If he was, then why was he still living with his mom? It's not like it's hard to find him! And how did he just get his powers back? He'd seemed to think there wasn't a way, or that it would take forever, or something, she doesn't exactly remember. Blackjack getting mad at her overthrows that little detail. THE Blackjack. He's an A class hero--retired, sure, but still technically a member of the Central Hall.
The Central Hall. That echoes in her mind and her hands tighten on the chains, bending the cool steel. Everyone knows the Central Hall capes. Everyone knows they have movies made about them--like Mega, Mega has a movie coming out sometime next year, right? He's not even the most powerful of the group!
They really need to make a Firefly movie, though. It's like all super hero movies have male leads, which is stupid. Female supers rock--she shakes her head, knowing she's gotten off track. She needs to just walk away. Give up on Cape High and Central Hall, and most especially Ace King. So what if he's kind of sexy in that goth boy super villain sort of way? She doesn't even like goth! Goth is so ten years ago! He needs a tan and more colors than black!
There's no way she can go out with a guy that accessorizes with metal studs. She sets her mind fully on that and starts to stand, only to stop as she realizes someone is watching her.
"Hi, Jetta," Ace says, tugging down his black hoodie and walking over to her. "I was wondering why you didn't come back yesterday."
"I thought the slap answered that question for me," she mutters, wondering why it's so easy to say that she's done here when he isn't in front of her. For a second she swears he looks confused. He goes still, then looks away.
"Oh, right," he says. "I'm sorry."
"Because I slapped you?" she asks.
"Because I guess I gave you reason to slap me?" he offers, looking at her again.
"Oh no you don't," she snaps. "Firefly told me! You're an escaped convict! That's why you wanted me to go out and find those capes! You were using me as a lookout!"
"You--oh, wow," he says, his eyes widening. "You really think I'M the one that's a convict?" he asks her. "Jetta, look at me," he tells her, placing both hands on her shoulders and looking her in the eyes. "I'm not a convict. I'm just a teenager! I'm the son of Blackjack--I still live with my mom, for crying out loud!"
"That... that's true," Jetta admits, a bit hypnotized by his swirling black and silver eyes.
"And really, do I SEEM like a super villain?" he asks. It snaps her out of it.
"Yes, you do," she says bluntly.
"Okay, stupid question--but do I seem like a super villain that's done enough to get stuck in Cape Cells?" he asks. "At seventeen."
"Well... yeah... but who was that girl?" she asks abruptly. "The one that jumped on you--the one that took your powers away?"
"Who knows?" Ace asks with a shrug. "Maybe she's the one they're really looking for--they just got us confused or something. Super heroes aren't that bright, you know?"
"Well... maybe," she says, looking away and hugging herself. "But it scared the crap out of me, you know? All of a sudden Firefly is standing behind me, demanding to know who I'm calling--and why WERE you looking for them, anyway?" she demands.
"Because I was skipping school. I still am, which is why we need to find something cool to do rather than just sit here talking," he says, grabbing her hand. "You want to go on that date?" he asks.
She hesitates. Why does it feel different talking to him from this morning? Probably because she hadn't let him talk this morning, she thinks as she lets him drag her along. "Just this once," she warns him.
"Just this once," he agrees.
CHAPTER EIGHT
"So... weren't we done with the whole norm hero thing?" I ask as I find myself standing in the middle of a metal field, surrounded by robots. They've got human clothing on and come in all different sizes. I have no idea what it's supposed to be. "Tell me honestly, this is a form of hazing, isn't it?" I demand, looking over to Taurus.
"You got your powers back too quick--I've got an entire WEEK of things I want to try out," he says, looking at what appears to be a controller of some sort. "Zoe, did you know your dad had this setting for the field?" he asks, sounding way too enthusiastic right now.
"No, but I'm not surprised," she drawls.
"It's amazing. Okay, Ace, you're going to want to get to the other side of the field--you can knock them out and they'll fall over and their heads will flash yellow, but if you hit too hard they'll start flashing red, which means you killed them. This has a ton of different settings for crowd control training, including a zombie attack setting!" he goes on, looking at the controller. "And since you've got your powers back... let's put it on... B class hero," he decides.
"I'm not sure I've got ALL of them back!" I yelp even as a press of robot bodies rushes forward. I grab the one right in front of me, hauling myself upwards so strongly that I find myself floating in the ai
r for a moment. The shock of flying hits me a second too late and I drop like a stone. I'm pretty sure I'm going to get stampeded, I realize as I shove myself to my feet again. But--
"He just flew," I hear someone say.
"He just flew," Taurus agrees. The robots go still, their green lights flickering off as Taurus turns them off. "Who wants to try next?" he asks the group. "Trent, you're still working on flight, right?"
"It was only for a few seconds, I'm not sure that counts as flying," Sunny says. "Let's make him do it again!"
"Let's drop him off the top of a building, instead," Jack says far too eagerly. "I've been trying to do that with Trent for months."
"Think it'd work?" Trent asks Taurus. "I mean, if we did it at the apartment Nico would kill me for leaving dents in the sidewalk."
"Shouldn't you be more disturbed by the idea of him wanting to toss you off a building?" I ask. "Because I am."
"Eh, I get hit with gravity attacks all the time," Trent says.
"Guilty," Max agrees, lifting a hand. I should be more bothered by this conversation than I actually am. But what should really bother me, I think, is that Taurus is actually looking at the school buildings with a thoughtful expression.
"Let's do it!" he says, setting his sights on the science building. "But Trent you're going first--that way you can catch the ones that don't actually fly."
"I don't need to," Jack says. "Nico already told me I'll never fly, so I've got my metal trick."
"Then you can help catch. You as well, Max. Who all wants to jump?"
"Do I get a choice?" I ask.
"No," the entire school says.
"I want to jump!" Carla says, only to get her head pushed down by Vinny.
"You're not a flying type," he says. "Idiot."
"But I still want to jump! They're going to catch us, right?"
"She can jump," Morgan says before Vinny can argue. "But if someone misses catching her, I'm going to kill them," she adds with a sharp look at the catchers.
