by R. J. Ross
He lets out a curse and heads for the stairs that lead up to the second floor. He almost gets to the top before he realizes that a distinguished, slender man is standing there, looking at him with amusement. His father, Mastermental, once named Kiyoshi, now goes by the bland name of "Frank" to those that know him well enough to be on a first name basis. Max is probably the only one alive (other than Frank, himself) that actually knows his real name. Then again, Frank is the only one other than himself that knows Max's real name, in return. Basically, Max thinks, his dad is extremely paranoid. Probably with good reason.
"Rough day?" his dad asks.
"I don't wanna talk about it," Max mutters, storming past Frank and into his room. Unfortunately for him, his dad decides to follow.
"Problems with Zoe?" Frank asks as his son plops down on the massive couch in front of his huge flat screen television.
"How--quit reading my mind!" Max says, throwing a pillow at Frank. Frank moves slightly, watching as it flies past and slams into the hallway wall. "She confuses the heck outta me," Max mutters, clearly pouting. "One moment I'm positive she likes me, the next I'm working my butt off for free for her and she's not even looking in my direction!"
"Was it the stoplight episode?" Frank asks.
"Wh--what?"
"Technico must be getting rusty--someone's already put it up on youtube. Thankfully it's from an angle that you can't really see your faces," Frank says. "But I would suggest you refrain from flying next time."
"I don't care," Max says, sounding like a petulant child. "She could have been hurt."
"I'm not going to say I'm surprised," Frank says. "I knew the moment I saw her picture that you'd be interested. She's beautiful, promises to be powerful, and she's the exact opposite of your mother, isn't she?"
"She was scared of me at first," Max admits. "Hey, you can read her mind--why don't you go over there and--"
"This is no reason to use mind powers, Max," Frank says, his lips twitching as he crosses over to the couch and sits down on the opposite end of the couch. He holds out a hand, watching as the fridge in the corner opens and a coke comes floating over, falling into the open hand. He opens it and takes a drink. "Tell me, how serious are you about her?"
A flush of red crosses Max's face and he stands abruptly, crossing over to the fridge that Frank has just raided. He opens the door, staring into it for a long moment before grabbing a coke for himself. "What's it matter?" he asks.
"When a girl who's just learning her powers gets emotional, things happen," Frank says. "Actually, when a girl who has powers--regardless of whether she's learning them or not--gets cheated on, she can easily do very bad things to her boyfriend."
"Well that won't be a problem," Max mutters as he drops down in his chair again. "I can't even get a first date."
"Take this seriously for a moment, would you? I came back from Iraq for this father son moment, you know."
"Who would I cheat on her with?" Max asks. "What girl in this entire world can top her? She's gorgeous, she's sweet, she's powerful, she's like..." He growls, looking frustrated. "She's like... a dream come true," he mutters, letting his head hit the couch pillow. "I mean, sure, there's probably other girls around my age that have powers, but... they aren't Zoe."
"She's that good, huh?"
"She frustrates the hell out of me!" Max bursts out, jumping to his feet again and starting to pace. "She goes hot, she goes cold, she seems like she likes me one moment, only to pull away the next, she gets mad at me and runs halfway across the states, then comes back and talks me into doing things I don't want to do! She's constantly making me jealous," he says, turning on his dad. "Why didn't you tell me that America's Son's kid was in the area? Do you have any clue how short I come up next to a freakin' do-gooder poster boy?" He shoots his dad a dirty look. "And no height cracks."
"Pretty sure you already made one," Frank says dryly. "So she likes America's Son's boy?"
"I don't know!" Max says, throwing his arms in the air. "But he likes her."
"So? Does she act like she's interested in--"
"Trent."
"Has she flirted with him?"
"No, but she's threatened to go to him for help," he mutters.
"To get you to do what she wants."
"Exactly!"
"I will admit, she seems a bit unstable," Frank says. "She sounds exactly like," he pauses, taking a long drink of coke, "a teenage girl."
Max turns, staring at him. "That's your evaluation?"
"That's my evaluation," Frank agrees. "This seems like it's going to be an uphill battle for you, Max. Especially since she promises to be as powerful as you when she's grown. Of course, like most heroes she's come into her powers at puberty, giving you an advantage, but I suggest," he says, crossing his legs, "that you think very hard on how you're going to convince her that you're in love with her."
"In--in--" Max stutters. "I didn't say I was in love with her!"
"You didn't have to," Frank says, finishing off his drink. "Frankly, I wonder if she trusts you."
"What? I've been perfectly trustworthy!"
"You're a super villain."
"Well... other than that."
"My suggestion is," Frank says, grabbing the channel changer, "that you get some patience."
"That takes too long. And go watch your own television," he adds, grabbing for the channel changer and failing to get it.
"No, I have one more thing to say," Frank says, flipping through the channels. "Whatever you do, seeing as you're serious over this, try your very best not to break her heart."
"What?"
"I'm afraid, considering her lineage, that with too much emotional turbulence she could wipe out the electricity, and possibly more, of an entire city," Frank says in a casual tone. "As she gets older, the area will be larger--you look a little pale, son, is there a problem?"
"How did you keep Technico in the Cape Cells?"
"Oh, you haven't figured it out?" Frank asks. "When it gets right down to it, Nico chose to stay on good behavior."
"Wh--what? Why?"
"Technico may be called a super villain, but he has a very strong sense of duty and responsibility. Possibly another reason is because he still loves Lady Rose, I believe. She would have never agreed to go back to him if he didn't behave. Not to mention, had he ran we might have had to kill him. None of us liked that idea."
"Is Lady Rose dead?" Max asks. "Is she really dead somewhere or did she just leave Zoe and Sunny?"
"I... honestly do not know. It's been bothering me ever since I found out. I've been looking into it."
"Yeah, thanks," Max says. "Hey, did you really come all the way from Iraq just to tell me that I need to not make my girlfriend angry?"
"I needed a break," Frank admits. "I'm sure Nico will be looking for me soon, as well."
"He is. You owe him money," Max says. "I'm betting a lot of it. How many of his designs have you sold?"
"All of them," Frank says. "You're right, of course, but I keep hoping he'll forget about that fact."
"He might, Zoe and Sunny definitely won't," Max says.
"Shame, looks like I can't afford your college tuition after all," Frank says.
"What?"
"Well it's either that or the house. I'm rather attached to the house, though--"
"You're saying all of our cash is off of Technico?" Max yelps. He stares at Frank for a long moment as the older male fights a grin.
"No, just the Olympic sized pool, actually," Frank admits. "I did dip into his funds a bit for that one. Why don't you invite the twins over for a pool party? I'm sure it'll get Zoe talking to you again!"
"Oh--there's one more problem," Max says, remembering abruptly.
"What's that?"
"It seems like someone's attempting to create supers."
"Ah, yes... that."
CHAPTER NINE
"So... what happened with Max that I didn't see?" Dad asks as we all step into the front room of our apartmen
t.
"Nothing," I say, heading for the couch and dropping down on it. I don't dare look in the direction of the television, so I sit with my back to the armrest and pull my knees up to my chest. "I just decided that now isn't the time to deal with a flirt."
"I'm starving," Sunny says, heading for the kitchen. "Tacos okay?"
"That's fine," Dad calls over to him before sitting down in the middle of the couch, right next to me. "It's about the stoplight, isn't it?"
"I... I started thinking and I couldn't stop and all of a sudden it exploded," I say. "I didn't even realize it had happened--"
"What were you thinking?"
I look away from him, flushing brightly. "Nothing important," I mutter, not wanting to admit my stupidity.
"About Max, I take it. Something along the lines of 'what happens if he finds another girl' or 'maybe he's just messing with me' or--"
"Yes, okay? That's exactly what I was thinking. I don't even get why he's flirting with me," I say, shoving a strand of hair behind my ear. "He's too smooth, okay? He's probably got a girlfriend in every city and--and I started getting jealous," I admit. "People could have been hurt, Dad! Because I started getting stupid over a boy! I absolutely can't do something that'd risk people's lives, and--and the easiest way to keep that from happening is to stop this stupid crush."
He looks at me in silence for so long that I assume he’s coming up with a protest. Then he nods. “Good point.”
“That’s it?” I ask, almost falling over with the shock. “I say I’m giving up on my crush on Max--which is what got you a free breakfast and a free worker and--and all you can say is ‘good point’?” I demand.
“He worked hard, I’ll give him that, I mean, I don’t know how many other guys would put together half of a building in a day just to watch a movie with a girl, not to mention ones that would do it while being snubbed by the girl in question--“
Ouch. That's definitely a stab to the heart. I think I’m bleeding internally here, okay? Guilt... so much guilt...
“But if you really think you can’t control your own imagination over girls you don’t even know exist, and probably don't--“
Another stab, this one’s straight to my ego. Wow, how does a guy that has only known me for a couple of days hit the nails so hard??
“You can quit talking to Max,” he finishes. Then he tugs me closer. “You can be a Daddy’s girl, whaddaya say? I’ll have the uniform drawn up tonight!”
“A Daddy’s girl,” I repeat blandly.
“It’s like a sidekick, right?” Sunny calls from the kitchen where he’s making dinner. “Hey, what am I doing while she’s being your sidekick?” he demands.
“We’ll get you matching outfits! Call you the Twins of Terror!”
“You are not going back to being a super villain so you don’t need sidekicks!” I say, glaring at him. “You’ve got work to do, right? Are you going to be one of the teachers when the school opens up?”
“Nope.”
“Janitor?” Sunny asks.
“Nope. Principal,” he says. “Man, I can’t get over how much you two look like your mom,” he says after staring at me for a second. “I spent a ton of nights dr--“
“Drea?” I say. “Dreaming?”
“Dreading how she was going to yell at me when I got out,” he says after a few seconds of awkward silence. “That might have been why I decided to finish my sentence.”
“Because Mom was going to yell at you,” Sunny says dryly.
“That woman had a voice like a blowhorn when she was mad,” Dad says, shaking his head. “Er--I’m not saying--we were serious or anything,” he says, looking away from us both. “It was just a... well...”
“So we’re accidents,” I say. It hurts, but at the same time it feels like he’s lying. Especially after that comment about dreading her yelling. “You’re lying,” I declare boldly.
“You’re calling me a liar?”
“I’m calling you a liar. Did you love our Mom?”
“I--“ he gives me a dark look. “I’m a super villain, she was a super hero--“
“Doesn’t matter now. Did you love her?” Sunny asks, making me glance at him.
The silence stretches over the room for a long moment. Then, to my surprise, Dad laughs. “Yeah,” he says, shaking his head. “I loved her. I think I still do. She was... everything I could have ever wanted. Of course we had to hide it--the whole hero villain thing was a fine line to cross... but what I really wanted to do with the land I destroyed was build a greenhouse. I figured it’d bring in some life in the middle of the city. Unfortunately... it backfired.”
He’s playing with my hair, I realize, but I don’t think he realizes it. He seems to be stuck in the past in his mind. "There's a chance," he goes on abruptly, "that the land is still mine--in fact it probably is, the Hall doesn't tend to play that dirty. But I'm not going to complain about building a school there. I figure, since the two that it's being built for the most are her kids, Summer wouldn't mind, right? Of course, it could turn out that you two, Max, and possibly Trent are going to be the only students."
"Why? It's hard being a super in public school," I protest. "More people should send their kids--Sunny and I didn't even have friends until Max showed up, which is pretty pathetic."
"Saying that, you still think you should ignore him?" Dad asks as Sunny comes out with three plates of tacos. Dad and I grab ours as Sunny smirks and drops down in the lay-z-boy with his own plate.
"You barely talk to Trent," Sunny says. "So I doubt you can do it."
"I talk to Trent!" I protest.
"Maybe instead of ignoring Max you should just turn him down," Sunny says. "Get it over with, you know?"
I chew on my bottom lip before nodding. "Yeah... but I don't want to hurt him--"
"And ignoring him doesn't hurt? Kiddo, no matter what you do, things are going to hurt once in a while," Dad says between bites. "Dump him straight out, problem solved. He'll find a new girl soon enough, he's Double M's son. That's got to make him popular, right?"
But--but--I don't want him to find a new girl! That was the entire problem in the first place! I barely refrain from saying that out loud. Instead of saying anything, I grab a taco, then shoot Sunny a dirty look. "You put hot sauce on it again," I complain.
"Deal with it."
***
Jack can't sleep. Just faintly, every hour or so, he can hear someone screaming from downstairs. He's pretty certain that it's a woman, or maybe a kid. Instead, he just sits against the wall, staring blindly forward as he comes to terms with his wasted life. His mother hadn't wanted him. She'd left him in a trashcan outside a police department to die. He'd been raised in group homes and foster homes his entire life, tossed from one to another as soon as he caused trouble. It was only chance that had led him to Marge's place, and Marge was stupid enough to let him stay for the past three years.
He'd fallen in love at first sight two years ago, but just like his mom, Zoe hadn't wanted him. No one did, really. He'd be the first to admit it. Well, this place wanted him, sure, but he's positive that isn't a good thing.
The door creaks open. Jack shoots up, racing for it, intent on shoving past the woman standing there, outlined by the light in the hall. He feels his arm grabbed just as he starts to pass her, the hold so tight that he can feel his bones threaten to break.
"I'm pleased to see how enthusiastic you are to begin, Jack," the woman said in a pleasant tone. "If you'll come this way."
"I don't want to do this," he says. "I've changed my mind."
"I'm sorry, but you've already signed the paper," she tells him, starting down the hall and dragging him along behind her.
"I'm underage! It's illegal!"
"As long as we have the paperwork, my boy, you belong to us." She sounds as if she's discussing the weather. She pulls him down the stairs, flight after flight until he's certain that they're twenty miles under the earth. The once nasty, falling down building is now concrete, meta
l, and clear glass walls. He can see people through the glass, bound to tables or curled up in the corners. There's one that makes him stop, staring for a long moment. It's a man with white hair with a streak of black framing his face. He looks familiar, Jack thinks. He's sitting in a large, plush chair, reading what appears to be a comic book
"Please keep up," the woman says, looking at him.
"Who is that?"
"None of your business," she says, jerking him almost off of his feet to keep going. She pulls to a stop at the end of the hall, touching a panel. The glass wall slides open and she steps through, pulling him into a room with a table. Jack can't help but stare at the straps on the table, feeling sick to his stomach. "The doctor will be with you shortly," she says, shoving him further into the room and stepping out. The glass wall slides into place with a sickening sound.
He looks to the left--another teenager is sitting in the corner of the next room, curled up and rocking himself. He looks to the right. There's a woman--an adult. She's beautiful, he thinks, heading for the clear wall between them and touching it. She has long red hair and a pale complexion--her face is prettier than most of them women you see on magazine covers. She's unconscious, lying on a hospital bed. Several machines are attached to her. He can see the lights flashing on the machines from where he is, reading her stats.
She looks so familiar.
***
Saturday morning comes. I'm laying in my bed, staring at the ceiling again as I try and figure out what to do about Max. Needless to say, I didn't sleep very well the night before. I spent most of it imagining how I'm going to turn him down--then picturing myself brokenhearted as Max tells me he's already over me--
The doorbell rings. It's what, eight in the morning? I grumble something, rolling over and covering my head with my pillow. The doorbell rings again. I hear the door open, even through the pillow, then cringe as I recognize the voice. "I want to talk to Zoe," Max says.
