by Ross, R. J.
“No, it’s fine,” Rocco says. “I know that you didn’t want to freak him out. I don’t blame you. Besides, now I have my life, and you have yours—“
“Are you happy?” Gwenda asks.
Rocco blinks. “Happy?”
“You’re not involved with any shady people that would try and use your powers for their own benefit, are you?” she demands.
“You mean like Tepaco?” he asks, grinning a bit evilly.
“YES like Tepaco! I should have never let you get near that man—“
“I got him tossed into prison when I was, what, fourteen? Fifteen?”
“You what?” she asks.
“He was using some of my friends as carriers. After I took him down, I started hunting down other jerks like that. That’s how they caught me, actually, well, it got me into Cape High, so it’s not all bad,” he says, thoughtfully. “Oh, but I hang out with some SERIOUSLY shady guys, now, honestly. You don’t get much shadier than Ace—well, unless you’re me, that is.”
“I just KNEW you would—“
“He’s Dragon,” Rocco says. “He doesn’t need my abilities, his are powerful enough. I also hang out with Cold Steel and Maximum, who are, surprisingly, pretty nice guys. Okay, Cold Steel can be a bit of a jerk, but at least he’s funny!”
“So you… you knew that Tepaco—“
“Mom, do you think I’m stupid?” Rocco asks. “Well, okay, I DID do a few stupid things in the past, so maybe that’s a bad question, but… you raised me better than that.”
She stares at him, and then, to his horror, starts to cry. “Hey, hey, don’t do that! I didn’t mean to make you cry! The last thing I ever wanted was to make you cry!” Awkwardly he walks over, patting her on the shoulder.
“It was the only thing I could think of!” she wails, wrapping her arms around his waist. “I couldn’t get you to stop seeing him, and you were hanging out with all those bad boys, and—and I KNEW you were going to get stronger as a super—you needed a good influence! You needed someone that would—“
“You could have just talked to me, you know,” he says, irritably.
“I TRIED! But you just kept going on about how Tepaco was really a nice guy—“
“Well, he seemed like one, at first!”
“I KNEW he was fooling you!”
“It didn’t last long!” he says.
“And things just kept getting worse at the apartments,” she says. “You were supposed to go to the supers, not stick around a ghetto place like ours!”
“Well… I woulda took you with me,” he says, “but I didn’t want to get you targeted by Marigold. But hey, it seems like it’s worked out okay for both of us, right? Well, you know, unless this meeting ruins your marriage…”
“Rocco,” Century says, making Rocco look up in the tree, “don’t you think you should bring your stepfather up from the Shadowlands? I really don’t know how long a norm will last down there, do you?”
“Oh, right, that’s true, isn’t it?” Rocco says, letting go of Gwenda and racing for the nearest shadow. He comes out a second later, pulling Johnnie by the hand. Doris follows, hauling Ariel by the waist.
“No, we are NOT keeping a shadow dino as a pet!” Doris says.
“But it LIKED me! It kept trying to climb into my arms!” Ariel protests. “Don’t worry, baby, I’ll come back for you!” she cries to the shadow portal as it snaps closed.
“That… was terrifying,” Johnnie says as Gwenda runs over to him. “It was dark and scary, and there were monsters creeping around—“
“Sorry about that,” Rocco says. “Don’t worry, Century will provide you a way home. I have to apologize again. I’ll definitely have a talk with Skye for doing what she did—“
“No!” Skye says, making them all look over. “This isn’t how it’s supposed to end!”
“Skye—“
***
I can’t believe they’re just leaving it like this! They were so close to doing the happy ending thing!
“Gwenda, you didn’t tell him that you love him, even if he IS a super! Rocco! You didn’t tell her that you want her in your life! This isn’t how it’s supposed to end!” I say, grabbing Rocco’s arm and reaching for Gwenda. Before I can touch her, Rocco grabs my hand.
“Skye,” he says, moving so we’re face to face.
“But there was supposed to be a moment where you—you forgave each other and promised to—to be part of each other’s lives—“ I say, trying not to cry.
“Skye,” he says, leaning forward so his forehead is against mine. “Thank you. But… I don’t think that would work.”
“Why won’t it? You love her and she loves you!”
A bittersweet smile pulls at his lips. “She didn’t even tell her husband about me, Skye,” he says. “What you did could have ruined her marriage.”
“I—“ I say, stunned. “I didn’t—well—a relationship without truth isn’t a good one, anyway!” I declare. “An—and if she’s so ashamed of you, then I’LL adopt you! I’ll be your mom!”
“But then who would be my aunt?” he asks, hugging me. “Look, I—“
“I do love you,” Gwenda says. “And the reason I didn’t tell Johnnie was because I can’t risk blowing your super identity. Those are important, right?”
“They’re important for you,” Rocco says, resting his chin on my head. When did he get so tall? Was he always this tall? I sigh and lean against his chest, listening to his heart. “I don’t want anyone to use you as leverage, you know, like Aunt Skye just did.”
“I was doing it pro bono!” I protest.
“I… I see,” Gwenda says.
“If you want, I can ask Mastermental to wipe Johnnie’s memory, though,” Rocco says. “Then you two can go back to living how you were, without me being a problem. I know Max had a problem like this, earlier, but hey, we can clean this up a lot faster since it’s only him involved—“
“Don’t I get a say in this?” Johnnie asks. “If I promise not to tell anyone that my stepson is a super villain, can I keep my memories?”
“Why would you want to?” Rocco asks. “I just tossed you into the Shadowlands for a good twenty minutes.”
“Well, yeah, but we’re family, now, right? I have a daughter—she lives with her mother, sure, but… I know how hard it is, not being able to see your kid on a regular basis. I won’t let that happen to Gwenda.”
“Johnnie,” Gwenda says.
“Besides, I’ve always wanted a son. It’s not like your real father’s in the picture, so someone needs to step up to the plate!”
I go still before slowly looking at Rocco, who has a strange expression on his face. “Well…” Rocco says, “would you look at the time. We need to get you both back home, now. Boss, can you arrange for a plane?”
“Of course,” Century says, dropping down from the tree. “As well as a phone from Nico, so you can call your son once in a while without worrying about tapped lines.”
“I… I don’t know if Rocco would appreciate me doing that. I’ve not been the best mother—“
“Call me,” Rocco says. “If I can’t answer at the time, I’ll make sure to call you back. And, um, congratulations on your wedding.”
“Thank you,” Gwenda says, looking over at Johnnie. “I think I might have done better than I first thought, actually.”
“Then we should get you home. We’ve got a car outside the forest, and that will take you to my personal plane,” Century says. “If you’d just follow me, I’ll make sure you get out of the woods safely.”
“Thanks, Century,” Rocco says. He blinks as Gwenda holds out her hand.
“I… I’ll call you,” she says as he takes the hand. “I have a lot of apologizing to do.”
“Yeah, me too,” Rocco says, smiling at her. I step out of the way and then drag them both together.
“This is hugging time, sillies!” I say.
“Oomph, Skye—be a little more gentle with my mom, would you?” Rocco says
.
“Oh! Sorry, Gwenda!” I say. “But I’ll call you, too, okay? You can come with us to Mother’s Day at the beach!”
“I think maybe a beach trip is a bit… much, this early in the relationship, Skye,” Rocco says. “You tend to stand out even in civvies, you know? Remember how we don’t want to draw attention to her?”
“Well, yeah, I guess… but we definitely need to do something together! Hey, Ariel, which ocean are you claiming as your mommy?” I ask, totally distracted.
“If you’ll just come with me, Mr. and Mrs. Venti,” Century says, herding them away.
“Bye, Mom,” Rocco says, watching them walk away. “What’s this about Ariel’s mom being an ocean?”
“I don’t know which—where are the best beaches?” Ariel asks.
***
“So…” Johnnie asks when they finally get home. On their kitchen table is a three-ring-binder that he doesn’t remember putting there. He ignores it for the moment. “Why did you never tell me?”
“I’m sorry… I just… well, I love you, Johnnie, but he’s my son,” Gwenda says, urgently. “I had to do whatever I could to protect him, even if it meant… giving him to the Hall. He’s too dangerous to be with me, here, and I’ve always thought that it’s too dangerous to tell people about him… even you. I hope you can understand.”
“He didn’t seem very dangerous,” Johnnie says.
“Not when he’s surrounded by others like him, no, but when he’s surrounded by all of the bad influences that live around here, he is… or was. That’s why I… well, that’s why things turned out the way they did. Now, what’s that?” She reaches for the binder, flipping it open and then just staring at the first page.
“What is it?”
“It’s… a house,” Gwenda says, slowly flipping through the pages. “Three bedrooms, two bathrooms—“
“How much does it cost?” he asks.
“It… it doesn’t,” she says. “It would be a gift from the South Hall… so we can live closer to Rocco after he graduates.” Tears are pouring down her cheeks. “He even has a list of jobs in the area for us. Johnnie—I—“
He wraps his arms around her, kissing her temple. “Do you want to be near him?”
“Yes,” she says, sobbing. “Please, Johnnie.”
“Then we should start packing.”
***
“So,” Rocco says, dropping down on the couch in our front room, “you really…”
“Yesss?” I say, sitting down next to him and waiting expectantly.
“You should have TOLD me, Skye,” he says, not praising me at all. Darn it, I wanted praise! Oh well. “You can’t just run off and kidnap a guy’s parent, you know? There are definitely better ways to handle things.”
“But you wouldn’t go and talk with her!” I say. “I had to do it!”
He sighs, leaning his head against the couch and staring at the ceiling. “Did you call Jack?”
“Huh?”
“There’s a crack in your ceiling,” he says, pointing up.
“Oh, no! My ceiling!” I say, jumping up and looking around wildly for a phone. “I need to call Nico! I need to get it fixed!”
“I’ll take care of it,” he says, getting to his feet.
“Are you… are you mad at me?” I ask, looking down at my feet. “I just wanted to help… I never had a mother, you know? Not until Tatiana. And—and—it’s important to have a mother, even if she’s not your REAL mother, because—“
He stops in front of me, placing his hands on my shoulders. “Skye,” he says.
“Yes?”
“You did what you thought was best and I still love you, okay?”
I smile, wrapping my arms around his waist happily. “I’m glad!” I say. “Now help us with the biggest decision of our LIVES, okay?”
“The biggest decision?” he asks, bringing out his phone and tapping on it. “What’s the biggest decision?”
“What kind of pet we’re going to get,” Doris says. “It’s between a cow, a cat, a shadow dino, and…”
“A Chupacabby!” Ariel says.
“I don’t think we can find one of those, though,” Doris points out.
“We will! I’m sure there’s a Chupacabby SOMEWHERE just waiting for a loving family!” Ariel says firmly. “We just need to FIND it. Oh, but I did like the shadow dino… Can we have TWO pets?”
“Biggest decision, huh?” Rocco asks us, looking amused.
“Pets are a very big responsibility!” I explain. “You have to feed them and water them and all sorts of things!”
“Then I’ll see what I can find,” he says.
Beach Darlin’s
“Okay! So we need to lather up the lotion and make sure that we get our noses really well,” Skye says as she drops the bag of towels and beach toys onto the sand. “And then we’ll take lots of pictures and—“
“It’s so pretty,” Ariel says, staring out at the water.
“But did we have to come to a beach where people are?” Doris asks, shrugging off the large t-shirt she’s wearing to show off her simplistic red swimsuit. “NORM people?”
“Well, YEAH, this is practice for fitting in with norms!” Skye says. “Now, let’s go say hello to Ariel’s mommy!”
She leaves all of their stuff there and runs for the waves, completely ignorant of the strange looks her group is drawing. The other two notice, and aren’t happy about it. “Doris? Why are they staring at us?” Ariel asks.
“Because Skye just ran twenty feet without touching the ground?” Doris offers, dryly. “We should have used the teleportation device and found an uninhabited island.”
“Yeah,” Ariel says, her eyes roaming the beach until they fall on two rather good looking men with surfboards. “Ooooh.”
Doris looks over, a bit confused. “Ariel?”
“I’m just going to be over there, okay?” Ariel says, heading for the men.
“What in the world is that girl thinking? Those are obviously norms,” Doris says, reluctantly turning to set up their beach towels and gaudy umbrella. It isn’t like she’s going to stop Ariel from chatting up guys, she decides. Ariel’s a fully grown woman; she can make her own decisions. And she’s heard of norm-super relationships that work out, right? She glances over again.
“Hi!” Ariel says to the two men, smiling at them. The guys start grinning, certain that their day just got even better.
“Hello, there,” the blond man says. “Can we help you?”
“Yes! I would LOVE it if you would!” Ariel says.
“How?” the dark haired man asks.
“Hand over the boards!” Ariel says, the waves stopping, and then rising into the air, hovering over the two surfers’ heads. Slowly they look up, their jaws dropping in shock.
“You—you want our boards?” the blond asks.
“Mmhmm!” Ariel says. “I don’t want to drag you out to sea, or anything, if I don’t have to. So…”
“You can have the boards,” the dark haired man says.
“YAY!” she cheers, grabbing the boards and running. The water that had been hovering falls, drenching the poor surfers she leaves behind. “Doris! Doris! I got us some toys!”
“THAT’S what you were so excited about?” Doris asks.
“Don’t they look like fun?!” Ariel says.
“Hey, hey, I want one!” Skye says, rushing back to them. “Why’d you only steal two?”
“Because there were only two to steal,” Ariel says. “We can find you something else, though, I’m sure!”
“You’d better, I don’t want to be left out on all the fun!” Skye says, still pouting. “Sooo, we have surfboards and sun and—we should have brought something to eat for lunch!”
“I want a hotdog!” Ariel says, sticking the surfboards in the sand a bit too deeply. “Did we bring any money?”
She and Skye turn and look at Doris, because Doris is the only one that thinks about that sort of thing. “Fine, I’ll go get hotdogs,” Dor
is says, heading up the beach towards the pier.
“Wow, that’s a LOT of hair,” she hears someone whisper. Sure, she braided it and pulled it up, but it’s still pretty obvious that it’s long.
“She’s such a babe,” someone else says. “I’m gonna go talk to her.”
“Did you see what her friend did? She’s probably a super on vacation, man.”
“That just makes it more interesting. Here, hold my beer.”
Doris keeps walking, ignoring the man that’s trying to catch up to her. Unfortunately, that’s hard to do when he gets in line behind her at the hotdog stand. “Hi,” he says. “Here on vacation?”
She doesn’t even look back at him, just steps forward as the line gets shorter. He, not getting a clue, places an overly-familiar hand on her waist. “Hellooo—“
Their cover was blown a long time ago, thanks to the others, and this guy even KNOWS she’s a super. Her irritation knows no bounds. She shifts, her wings flinging his hand off of her as she turns to stare at him. “Did you want something?” she asks as people start screaming.
“Wha—what—you’re—“
“JERSEY!!” a little girl screams excitedly. “Mama! Mama! IT’S JERSEY!!”
***
“I’m hungry,” Skye says, lounging dramatically on the beach towel. “Where are the hotdogs!” she yells, waving a hand in the air.
“I heard screaming,” Ariel says. “Maybe someone made Doris mad?”
“Well if she’s in a fight, she should at least TELL us so we can join the fun!” Skye says, hopping to her feet. “Where was the screaming?”
“Mmmm…” Ariel says, looking around. “I don’t know?”
“Then we must find it!” Skye declares, racing off in a random direction.
“But I don’t think Doris went—“ Ariel starts out before shrugging and chasing after their leader. Wherever Skye goes, it usually winds up being entertaining!
***
“Hello, um, South Branch? We’ve got a… little problem,” Doris hears someone say from a distance. She looks around, her eyes falling on the teenage girl at the counter.
