The Distort Arc: Cape High Books 1-4 (Cape High Series Omnibus)

by R. J. Ross

  That means Sunny might be able to control rocks or earth instead of just plants. I look at Max, Max looks at me. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" I ask.

  "Yeah. Maybe." He looks at Sunny. "Sunny... you need to tell us now, which side do you plan on joining?"

  "Huh?" Sunny asks. He's been distracted, I can tell, because he's looking straight up with his eyes closed, enjoying the sun.

  "Are you going hero or villain?" I ask.

  "Oh, that," Sunny says, looking at us. "Hero... in a way. Dad says I'll be needed for the big things, like forest fires or whatever. I've been thinking about it, and it sounds like a good choice. I mean, that's what Mom did, right?" he asks.

  "So you won't be in the brawling game," Max says, breathing out a sigh of relief. "Good, wouldn't want to have to fight my future brother-in-law--"

  "Hey, she's only fifteen, don't go planning the wedding just yet," Sunny says darkly. "But yeah, so I can skip the brawling classes!"

  "Don't even think about it!" Nico yells over his shoulder. "You're doing the full nine yards, boy!"

  "Darn it," Sunny says.

  "More than just having to fight your future brother, don't you think," I comment to Max quietly as Sunny goes back to sunbathing.

  "Heck yeah," Max admits. "Sunny, you're going to be terrifying."

  Sunny looks up with a sheepish grin, scratching the back of his head. "Nah, not really," he says. "I can't do anything yet, and Zoe still blows up everything that's got a circuit. We're slow learners, I guess. Who knows what'll happen?"

  I suddenly realize that I've got no idea where Emily is. I glance over, letting out a sigh of relief as I see her chatting with Liz, then frown as I realize something abruptly. "She's being way too calm about them being here," I say silently.

  "Huh?" Max asks, glancing over. "Maybe she's ignoring it?"

  "Emily's not the type to ignore something like this. She threatened to beat me up just last night if I even think of being a jerk," I say. "She won't ignore two people that she knows are jerks alread--"

  I hear a scream from behind me and already know what to expect as I turn.

  ***

  Timing is everything, Emily thinks as she hangs on Liz's arm with a bright smile. She had waited until the boys were busy doing something and the adults were fully occupied, and the scream that comes from behind her is almost as satisfying as seeing the sisters try and cover up the fact that their miniskirts are slit completely down the back through Ditto's eyes.

  Ditto poofs out of existence just as the girls see her. Nobody else sees her, she thinks cheerfully, trying to look concerned and not gloating as she looks back to see what's happening.

  "Nice," Liz says almost silently. "Very nice. Excellent timing and a believable alibi."

  Emily gives her an innocent look, or tries to at least. Her eyes are gleaming with triumph.

  "She slit our skirts!" Allie bellows, pointing at Emily. "That stupid thing she does--" she squeaks as her skirt starts to fall again, tugging it around her waist as much as she can. The skirt's too tight for it to overlap and give her a hint of modesty. "We're going home," she announces through gritted teeth.

  "I'm afraid I can't allow that," Frank says mildly. "You see we've had reports of an unknown super in the area, we can't let young supers such as yourself wander around unaccompanied."

  "Besides, you can't get out of the security dome," Nico says, completely unsympathetically. "But, of course, Emily, you're going to have to be punished for that one," he adds.

  "They could be lying!" Emily protests. "Maybe their fat butts were too big for the skirts and they ripped under the strain!"

  Nico looks at her, thoughtfully for a moment. "I'm willing to buy it!" he says cheerfully.

  "Nico," Ken says with a hint of warning. "Since Emily is ours and school isn't officially open yet, we'll deal with this."

  "Are you all forgetting something?" Kelly demands. "We can't move! She totally destroyed our clothes! How are we going to continue this stu--this tour when we've got no pants?"

  "I didn't do anything!" Emily protests, sounding perfectly honest.

  "Ditto, huh?" Ken says.

  Emily looks at him, feeling guilty all of a sudden. He'd called her "ours" she thinks. But she isn't theirs, right? She's just staying with them for a little bit-- "I'm not sorry," she says.

  "We can't stay like this! Give us her clothes or something, she can run around in her underwear!" Kelly says. "She deserves it!"

  "Max, go find them some duct tape," Nico says.

  "Yes sir," Max says, racing off. He comes back a second later with a roll of black duct tape, tossing it at the sisters. Emily barely notices, because Ken is standing in front of her with a rather sad look on his face. The guilt, she thinks, the guilt--it burns.

  "Emily," he says. She looks down, but he nudges her chin, forcing her to look up again. "Did you have Ditto slit their skirts?"

  "I--they--yes," she admits, caught by those gentle blue eyes. A super hero shouldn't have eyes that gentle when he catches someone doing something bad. "You probably want me to move to a different home or something, right?"

  "Oh sweetie--" Jeanie starts out. Ken raises a hand, stopping her.

  "Do you think that's a good punishment?" Ken asks.

  "Kick her out on the streets!" Allie says. "She'll never be a super hero! She'll probably become a super villain! She's nothing but lies--even her abilities are lies!"

  "If you don't shut up, it'll be more than just your smartphones getting taken out," Zoe says, stepping in front of the sisters.

  "Zoe," Trent says softly. Emily looks up at him, feeling betrayed by that one. "Step down," he says. "They're the ones that were assaulted this time."

  "That's right," Allie says. "Emily's a wild animal--she's got no right to--"

  Emily takes a step back.

  "I'll apologize now," Trent says.

  Emily runs, racing away blindly as the sound of Trent apologizing for her echoes in her ears.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  I reach up with one hand and flick her chest with one finger. I try and make it as light as I can, but the brunette goes flying several feet, hitting a wall. "But you don't talk about Emily that way," I finish, dusting my hands off. "Not when you're the ones that made her that way."

  "Trent!" Mom says in a tone that says "even though I knew that might happen, I'm still not happy with you."

  "How dare you attack her like that? She's a girl!" the other one demands.

  "How about you? How about all those times you two ganged up on Emily when she was living with you? Do you really think we didn't hear you whispering earlier about getting revenge? Dad, you can punish me," I say, looking at my dad, "but I made a promise when this all started--"

  The one that I flicked has managed to get to her feet and races towards me, slamming into me as hard as she can. I fall back, not because it hurts but because I wasn't expecting it. Instinctively I grab her, starting to suplex her like Liz does me, but she's grabbed out of my arms before I manage.

  "No you don't," Frank says with a sigh. "She's barely a C class, Trent," he adds, putting her on her feet. The skirt is gone entirely, revealing a pair of black silk panties. I fall on my back, looking up at Frank rather than the panties girl. "You're already an A class. This would count as murder."

  "I didn't--I wasn't going to--" I flush. "Right," I say. "Sorry."

  "You're grounded," Dad says. "Now go find Emily, the moment you apologized she ran off."

  "And you just let her?" I demand, hopping to my feet.

  "She went that way," Liz offers, pointing to her left.

  "Don't forget to tell her she has to help me cook for the next month!" Mom calls as I start off at a jog.

  "That's her punishment?" I hear Max ask.

  "Do you think it's too harsh?" Mom asks in a worried tone.

  "Probably not," I hear Nico drawl. I wish I could fly right about now. If I could search for her by air this would be a lot easier. Then again, with so many
people that can fly behind me, why am I the only one looking for her, anyways? I glance back at them, but even Zoe is just standing there--it's like they figure this is my problem to deal with, I guess. It probably is.

  "Emily," I say. "Where are you?"

  There's no sound. She's being perfectly silent, which is pretty impressive--no, wait, that's not a good thing when I'm the one stuck as "it" in this game of hide and seek! I let out a breath of air, heading into the second building. "You know, I probably shouldn't have done what I did," I say, shoving my hands into my pockets. "But you got off a lot lighter than I did, if it makes you feel better."

  A tiny sound, almost small enough to make me wonder if it's my imagination, comes from the stairway that leads to the second floor. I head for it. "I know you hear me," I say, looking around the stairway wall and seeing the redhead sitting there. "So why aren't you answering?" I ask her.

  She's been crying. She sniffles now that she's found, looking at me with a pathetic expression. "You--you apologized for me," she accused me. "You jerk! You tried to be nice to--"

  "I didn't apologize for you," I said. I'm a bit surprised--had she stopped listening after that? "I apologized for what I did right after that," I explain.

  "Wh--what did you do?" she asks.

  "I flicked her," I said. "Sent her flying a bit--I tried to be gentle," I admit. "I'm grounded, by the way," I say, dropping down on the stair below her and leaning against the wall. "But I don't think they'll cancel the fight tomorrow, I'll just have to go home straight after," I say.

  "You sent her flying?" she asks, looking shocked.

  "Sure I did. I believe you when you said they ganged up on you, they're mean," I say. "I mean, you might be a bit wild, I gotta admit it, so maybe you do need apologized for--but not to the likes of them," I say, even as she kicks my leg. I grab her ankle, grinning as she tries to get her foot back. "You aren't going to run off on us, are you?" I ask.

  "I want to," she says. "Your dad made me feel so guilty," she complains.

  "He's good at that," I admit. "The first time I shoved a kid in school I got that look--the one that says 'I'm so disappointed in you.' It's worse than being spanked when it comes from him," I say.

  "But they deserved it," Emily says. "Did you hear them scream?"

  I fight a grin, shaking my head and looking up at her. "You know," I say, "you don't need to play dirty like that anymore."

  "It's what I'm built for," she says, tugging her leg back again, trying to get free of me. I don't let her. "I'm not strong like you, I'm better at being sneaky."

  "Yeah, but that'd be really useful," I say, stretching out across the stair and holding her foot hostage rather than give it back. It's tiny, I think, even her skull patterned canvas tennis shoes are small enough to be considered cute. "I mean, I'm not exactly built for stealth, myself. I'm going to be as big as my dad, or bigger. Having a friend that can pop in on super villains to listen in on their plots before disappearing again, it'd be handy. You don't have to be a super villain, even if you are sneaky," I tell her.

  What? I just think it'd be a pain in the neck trying to get a date with a super villain. There's a reason that you don't see many couples like that--sure, Nico and Sunny's mom were one, but Sunny's mom was like Sunny. She was a specialist. Me, I'd like something like what my parents have. A tag team set-up. Sure they're both tanks and specialize in things like stopping runaway buses and traffic accidents and national disasters, but if we worked at it, I'm pretty sure Emily and I could figure something out--

  I might be getting ahead of myself. Slightly. Just a little bit. I mean, she barely tolerates me still, right?

  Well, I just need to work harder, I figure.

  ***

  There's this moment, Emily thinks, where you can't listen to what's being said because you're so absolutely focused on one thing. This would be that moment. He's just laying there, stretched out and lazy, with her foot held captive--and all she can think of is Max calling her "Cinderella" before this.

  If there was a more prince-like guy than Trent, she admits silently, she really doesn't think she'd survive meeting him. It's not even that fake kind of prince-like. At least she's pretty sure it isn't. He is definitely, absolutely, positively, not doing it on purpose, she figures. He's just too stupid to realize that he's making her crush on him.

  Nooo, no no no, this is definitely not a good idea, she thinks. "Gimme my foot back," she says, tugging a third time. "You have no idea where it's been." He grins, then laughs out loud, sending her poor heart pounding and making her hands feel clammy. "What if people come in?" she demands when he doesn't let go. "It looks like I'm stepping on you!"

  "Nah," he says. "This is the easiest way to keep you from running."

  "How do you know I'm not Ditto?" she asks.

  "I can feel your blood pumping," he says, running a finger over her ankle. She barely restrains from shivering. "Hey, what super name do you plan on taking?" he asks. "It's got to be something interesting..."

  "What about you?" Emily asks, wanting him to get distracted enough to let go. "You've got a name picked out, right?"

  "I've got one I don't want," he says. "I'm absolutely not going to be America's Grandson."

  "He's going to be Kid Liberty," Ken says, stepping into view at the bottom of the stairs. "Now up, we're heading upstairs for the tour." Emily finds her foot released and Trent on his feet before she can even realize what just happened.

  "Kid Liberty?" he asks. "Not bad. I can live with that."

  "Until you're older, then it might be just Liberty," Ken says, reaching down and pulling Emily to her feet. "Have you calmed down yet?" he asks quietly.

  "I'm sorry," she whispers. "I shouldn't have done it."

  "Because you feel guilty?"

  "Because it doesn't make you and your family look good," she says honestly. "You and Jeanie have been so nice and I was--I'm sorry," she says again. "I don't want to--to go back or something."

  He smiles and reaches up, messing up her hair. "We need to talk, but not here," he says. "Now up the stairs, we're blocking the way."

  "Did they get their skirts fixed?" Emily asks. Only a part of her is thinking she doesn't want Trent looking at them in their underwear. The other part is thinking she doesn't want to look at them running around in their panties, either.

  "Duct tape," Ken says as they start upstairs. "Works wonders."

  "So... they're wearing duct tape skirts?" Emily asks, trying not to snicker and failing.

  "Yep. Duct taped skirts. Nico's idea."

  Emily decides she likes Nico. A lot.

  ***

  My dad just totally caught me flirting. I'm pretty sure that my neck is red with embarrassment, but he hasn't said anything and I'm thinking that Emily never realized I was flirting in the first place, so... I might have gotten away with it--

  Liz catches up as we reach the top floor of the experiment room and drapes an arm over my shoulders. "She's cute, huh?" she whispers evilly. "That little trick with the doppelganger and the skirts, I like her!"

  Nope, totally busted. "Liz," I say.

  "So you two are dating for real, right?" she whispers. "She'll make a cute little Liberty girl. Hey, that means I have two nieces!"

  "No it doesn't!" I hiss. "Not yet, anyway," I add silently, glancing at Emily.

  "You dog, you," Liz says with a wide grin, elbowing me in the gut.

  "Nah, it might just be me," I say silently, knowing I look flustered. Liz is good at getting to you. I think she practices in her free time.

  "Now, if I could get your attention," Nico says, making all of us turn. "This is where we'll work on mad science, so you'll see several precautions in place. There's a steady supply of fire retardant hoses--no, not canisters, I think the hoses will prove useful quickly, considering. We have eyebath stations for the random acid incident, a fully equipped first aid kit at each station, and a nurse's office upstairs and downstairs. All the basic science materials can be found in the heavily se
cure locker room seen to your left, and more can be attained as is needed."

  "Is it just me or does Nico seem way more enthusiastic about this building than he should be?" Dad asks dryly. Nico grins at him.

  "You might have noticed that next to the deconstruction area there is a large, two level high empty area below that has only rocks and dirt in it," Nico goes on. "That is where I'll be training my kid, Sunny. Up here is where I'll be training Zoe. And anyone else that shows mad science and technological inclinations."

  "Wait--you seriously built an entire building just for us?" Zoe asks.

  "It's my land, my school, what's going to stop me?" Nico asks bluntly. "But more than just you will require areas like this, so it'll be fine. Added bonus? If they complain about favoritism I might get fired!"

  "I think it'll take more than that to get you fired," Frank says. "Frankly, I don't want to buy all of this unless I have to."

  "Good point," Nico says. "Well, with that, shall we move to the third building?"

  "And what's in the third building?" Frank asks.

  "The cafeteria's on the bottom floor, the second and third floors are dormitories," Nico says. "So if any of the students need a place to live, they can have one. The fourth floor is storage."

  I can almost hear Emily's shock at that statement. I feel a bit shocked, myself, honestly. So... Emily is going to move out? In some ways I guess that's a good thing for me--I mean, you really get strange looks if you're trying to date the house guest, right? But on the other hand, just how long would she stick around if she was all on her own?

  "Of course, we'll need a dorm manager, which might be a bit tough to get," Nico says. "Right now all we have is Emily--and the two brunettes if they decide to come."

  "Yeah, like we'd come here," I hear the shorter one mutter under her breath.

  "Well then, looks like the dorms will be empty for a while--"

  "Wait!" Emily says. "Maybe I should move in. You know, because this is the entire reason I was brought here and I--I'd rather not cause more problems for the Styles family--"