Daddy's Girl: Cape High Book Five

by R. J. Ross

  Justin turns, staring in shock as he sees a man appear. The man has a white and blue uniform with a guitar slung over his back. He's heading straight for Justin. "Wait!" Justin says. "Time out!"

  The man ignores him, reaching forward--

  Justin curses and waves a hand through the illusion. "Quit it, you're creeping me out." Ace lets out a laugh, which he stops abruptly. The look on his face is shocked and confused.

  "I... don't usually..." he starts out, frowning.

  "Usually what?" Justin asks, going back to making his cereal. He could rightly be in the room with a psychopath, but he doesn't feel like he is. Then again, he's always sucked at reading the atmosphere.

  "Laugh," Ace says. "Usually I can't control what comes out--you know--I'm talking to a kid about this," he mutters, groaning. "This is ridiculous."

  "Why didn't you go to Cape High?" Justin asks abruptly. "You're what, the same age as Trent and Jack, right? So you should be in Cape High."

  "Because Blackjack's in Cape High," Ace says darkly, turning and walking away. The conversation is clearly over, leaving Justin to stare at Ace for a moment before digging into his bowl of cereal. The milk tastes a little off, but not so much that it stops him from eating it all. Justin's never gotten food poisoning in his life, regardless of what he ate.

  "They're going to come here," he says. "You probably shouldn't have brought me to your home."

  "This isn't a home! This is my lair of justice!"

  "There's a fold out couch in the corner," Justin points out a bit too bluntly. "You're living here, like a hobo. How often do you talk to people? Norms, capes, it doesn't matter."

  Ace looks at him, then drops down on a tattered looking chair and flips on the television, not answering. The news comes on and the room darkens as images of Jack breaking into the Cape Cells flash over the screen. "He's evil," he growls, his hand fisting at his sides.

  "He did it to get us out," Justin says, walking over to see. "Mastermental sent him."

  "Wh--what?" Ace asks in shock.

  "We accidentally got sent into the future--and into the Cape Cells," Justin says, shoving his hands into his pockets. "We thought we'd get stuck in the Cape Cells forever, but then Jack came, broke in, and got us out. Not everything is how you see it on TV, man," he adds, glancing at Ace. "Far as I can tell, when it comes to capes, NOTHING is how you see it."

  "You of all people should be the last to defend Cold Steel," Ace says sharply. "You two hate each other!"

  "Sure," Justin says. "But I've got plenty of reasons to not like the guy--I KNOW him. You know how annoying he is? The first time we actually talked he threatened to shove my head down a toilet!"

  "See? He's--"

  "So I got his cell phone number and started calling him in the middle of the night to play my song, Lover Lover," Justin says, grinning evilly. "It took me a bit of work to find out what the problem was, or I would have started doing it earlier." Ace stares at him, getting an evil grin in return. "It's hysterical. He starts cursing and swearing my hair's going to turn blue from being flushed so often. If I could get ahold of his phone I'd absolutely change the ringtone. I'm still figuring out how to do that one."

  "And he doesn't do anything?"

  "Sure he does," Justin says. "I'll be the first to admit that it's not that bright to fight with a metal controller--one time when I had to pee really bad I realized he had somehow solidified my zipper without me even noticing it. I had to cut my jeans to get out of them cuz all I had was a strip of metal down the front with the zipper thing hanging there, taunting me."

  Ace lets out a choked sound, then bursts out laughing. "And don't EVER wear jewelry around him if he doesn't like you," Justin goes on. "I thought it was just steel he could control, right? Turns out he can mess with silver and gold, too, because I wore this bracelet one day and he used it to cuff me to my desk when I accidentally got too close to the metal legs. I spent the entire class jerking to try and get my arm free--I looked like a complete idiot. I was stuck there for almost an hour before the teacher noticed."

  "And what did you do?" Ace asks, grinning.

  "Nico's got control of the entire school's set up, you know? Including the sound system. So I snuck into his area when he was in the restroom and set it up to play my CD on every speaker in the school. I figured he'd turn it off as soon as he got out, but he actually left it playing until school was out. It was great. Jack looked like he was going to kill me for the rest of the week."

  "That's called psychological warfare, isn't it?"

  "I learned it from a movie from when I was a kid," Justin admits. "But yeah, if we still fight in this time I'm not surprised."

  "So... what's it like, going to a school with other supers?" Ace asks quietly. The darkness in the room seems to be shifting, clearing up just a little bit. It's actually a real relief to Justin. He lets out a silent breath of air, thinking seriously about how to answer that question.

  "I didn't want to," he says finally. "I had a life, a job--I was one of the most famous teen singers around, you know? I had world tours booked! But then I messed up and got stuck in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of muscle headed jerks. Especially Jack. Jack hated me the moment he saw me, so I hated him right back. And then there was the dorms--the zoo kids, they hate me," he says bluntly. "So not only was I going to a school full of jocks that hate me and have super powers, I'm living in a dorm of kids with MORE super powers."

  "So what changed?" Ace asks.

  "I--I... I don't know," Justin admits. "I don't think anything really has, but... at the same time..." He frowns, dropping down on a chair and thinking about it. "The fight with Jack? It's funny," he admits. "Back when I was a singer, nobody would dare to do that sort of stuff to me. And Morgan... I guess I consider her a friend," Justin admits. "She's always fighting with me, too, but at least she doesn't give me the cold shoulder. The rest of the zoo kids tend to pretend I don't exist, or just exist to be hated. I'm not exactly used to that, you know?"

  "It sounds like it's not worth it."

  "Well... I gotta deal with it until I get my powers under control," Justin says, looking at the television again. "What are you going to do with Morgan if she does come to get me?" he asks abruptly.

  "I want her to take my powers," Ace says. "She can do it. She can take everything and leave you to sleep. I heard her dad did it a lot before the Cape Cells."

  "For how long?" Justin asks.

  "Forever."

  The single word sends a cold chill down Justin's spine and he just looks at the man for a moment. "You want her to kill you," he says.

  "I just want to sleep. I never sleep. I just want to sleep!" Ace says desperately. "Without nightmares coming to life. Can't anyone understand that?"

  The darkness forms into clouds, swirling around them. The frustration that Ace feels is starting to become real, Justin realizes as a flash of lightning hits the television. It sparks and explodes, and even though he knows it's just an illusion he pulls back, staring at the flames that appear. "Ace!" he says as the man in question seems to disappear. "Ace, you gotta listen to me, okay?"

  "Why?" The voice is coming from all directions, disorienting Justin. "Why should I listen to you when you don't understand any better than anyone else?"

  "I do," Justin says, getting to his feet. "I do understand. I have nightmares too--everyone has them, especially capes. We all have things in our past--things that we can't get out of our heads."

  "What's so bad about your past, Mr. Teenage singer?" Ace demands. "You were famous before you got chest hair!"

  "Who wants it?" Justin says blankly, then shakes his head. "You want to sleep, right? That's your biggest problem, lack of sleep can mess with your head. I can help you."

  "You can steal my powers?"

  "Well, no, but I can put you to sleep!" He hopes. Seriously, it's just a theory he's been messing with after looking up siren type supers of the past--Banshee had this one song she would sing that would knock out an entire
army base. If he can mimic it, he thinks a bit desperately as the fire starts to spread, then this will all be over and he can find Morgan and get back to their own time.

  Somehow.

  Maybe.

  It's worth a shot. When the clouds surrounding him start to still he opens his mouth and starts to sing.

  CHAPTER NINE

  *The Present*

  "The guy that's not Nico is gone," Vinny says, looking at the kids standing around him. "We can't go after him, and he's not coming back, so what we need to do is wake up the real Nico."

  "But there's no one there," Aubrey says in a frustrated tone. "His brain is operating on automatic, his--"

  "He isn't the type to just lay down and get beaten," Zoe says, stepping forward and making them all look at her. "I think I know what happened to him. But... if I'm right, then I REALLY don't know where he is. But I know he does."

  "I had no clue he was that fast," Max mutters, looking behind them as the line in the dirt. Nico--or whoever was impersonating him--had flown so fast that it scarred the land below him. It's a bit frustrating to Max, honestly, because he's always thought he was pretty fast. This is totally out of his league.

  "Max! Focus!" Zoe says. "My dad is unconscious and three of our friends are missing!"

  "One friend," Max says. "Justin and the skirt girl are passing acquaintances at best. I'll accept Morgan as one of us, though."

  "So kind of you," Zoe drawls. "Regardless of how you classify them, Dad knows what happened to them, I bet, so we--I need a computer," she says.

  "She's not one of you," Ward interrupts, stepping forward. "She's one of US."

  Max looks at him, his expression hardening for a moment before he lets out a sigh. "Look, your name is Ward, right? Fourteen years old, average grades, size manipulation powers. You were stuck in Collector's zoo for thirteen months, or so, right?"

  Ward says nothing, but he flinches. Max steps closer, looking up at him. "I'm going to put this simply. There are all of fifty five cape brats in the world that we know of--plus your group. With such small numbers, we're outnumbered by norms--including guys like Collector--by several million to one. With those rates, do you really want to draw lines in the sand over which group you're in?"

  "You weren't with us--"

  "Sure we weren't. If we were then you'd have gotten out earlier, simply because we have supers watching us like hawks. You didn't. All of you are either first gens or the kids of D class capes who never bothered to register their abilities. You were vulnerable. The only thing that changed is that Collector went after one of us. In other words you wouldn't be here except for us. You need us."

  "And what, you don't need us?" Vinny demands, stepping between him and Ward, gently pushing the younger boy behind him. "I don't appreciate you talking down to one of my group like that."

  "How can we know if we need you or not when you don't even talk to us?" Max asks coldly. "We understand you share a history together, but I'm sick and tired of leaving your group alone to lick each others' wounds. Nothing will be accomplished like that. You're either a hero or a villain in training, we don't care, but either way you're going into the cape world sooner or later. We can help you with that, take advantage of that fact."

  "How can you help us?" Vinny demands. "Just who do you think you are, Max?"

  Max grins, shamelessly. "I'm Maximum, one of the biggest up and coming names around."

  "And he's Mastermental's son," Sunny adds dryly.

  "You didn't have to mention that fact," Max mutters. "Look, we're willing to work with you, right, guys?" he asks, turning to look at the rest of the apartment kids. "We want to find Morgan, maybe not as much as you do, but a lot. And in order to do that we need to work together--and let Zoe find her dad."

  "And I can see if I can do anything at all," Aubrey says, stepping out of the zoo kids group. "Maybe I missed something the first time, maybe--" She goes still as someone lands outside the force field, holding a large man in his arms. The panel shoots up in front of him and he presses his hand against it--but nothing happens.

  "Nico, you annoying pain," they hear him mutter before he starts tapping on the panel. Aubrey looks pale, as if she's terrified. She even takes a step back. Instinctively the entire group surrounds her, with Max and Trent moving to the front, their hands fisting. The field opens and the glowing footprints appear.

  "Is that Distort?" Sunny asks, his expression darkening. "I thought he was dead."

  "He is," Aubrey says. "That's not Distort."

  "Then who is it?" Sunny asks her as the man starts flying, landing in front of them with a familiar looking man in his arms. Sunny's dark look is gone, replaced with confusion.

  "He's Superior," Aubrey says as Superior looks them all over, his eyes landing on her and staying there.

  "What?" the entire group demands, except for Max. Max just stays right where he is, his hands still fisted.

  ***

  "Look, Double M, I know I'm hacking your computer--I'm IN your computer," Nico says to the man sitting in front of his screen. "We've got bigger problems than this--somehow Mimic got out, but he's NOT out, and two of my kids did the time warp."

  Double M holds up his hand, motioning for Nico to stop. "Mimic's in his cell."

  "I KNOW," Nico says, the urge to slam his head against something building. "Look, I'm unconscious--my body is, at least, and I'm assuming it's either still at the zoo or he took it with him somewhere. Either way he's masquerading as me, and I have no idea how much damage he's done--even I can't get past my own firewalls from this position."

  "You can't get through your own firewalls? I'm stunned."

  "Well, I could," Nico admits, "but it puts the school security at risk for an entire thirty seconds, which is enough to do some serious damage when you're a cape. Look, Mimic must have taken down Mega here, then used Mega to infiltrate the students' trip to the zoo, where he allowed Morgan and Justin to..." he dwindles to a stop, his eyes narrowing slightly as he runs the scenario through his mind. "To go to the future or maybe the past, I'm not sure, where I can only assume they accidentally let him get the watch," he says. "It's guessing, sure, but it explains why he's here and there all at the same time."

  "I see," Double M says. "And we come back to the most simple question of all. Why in the world did you create a time machine watch?"

  "We don't know for certain that I did it!" Nico protests. Although, considering that Noelle is his granddaughter, it's really starting to point in that direction...

  "Where is the time traveler girl?" Double M asks. "I assume she's right in the middle of this."

  "That's the thing, there's no way she could have gotten it back," Nico says, frowning. "The watch was at the apartment--" he stops, remembering the sleepover. "Morgan must have gotten it. Well, whatever, we need to get all of them back and find Mimic."

  "And what will you do with him?" Double M asks.

  "Send him back to his cell."

  "There's a much faster way to handle this situation," Double M points out almost casually. Nico looks at him, raising an eyebrow.

  "Of course there is," he agrees blandly. "But I'm not my father. I don't believe in that final of justice, especially when technically the Mimic now hasn't done anything to warrant it. Nor do I want to wind up in the Cells again."

  "I was suggesting that you plan NOT to build the time watch, but I have to admit, your idea has a nasty sort of merit. It's second easiest to mine."

  Nico frowns, then goes, "I promise never to make a time machine of any sort." For a moment he waits, then lets out a sigh when he finds himself still in the computer. "I never was good at keeping those sort of promises," he admits. "On to plan B!"

  "Really, Nico," Double M says with a sigh.

  "I ran into Superior, he should be looking for Mega," Nico says, turning and bringing up the Hall security system on Double M's computer. He lets out a curse. "He's gone," he mutters. "He's left the building. Why didn't I notice that earlier?"

  "
Don't assume everything your father does is wrong," Double M says, getting to his feet. "I'm sure there's some logic behind what he's doing. Perhaps you should be more worried about finding your body, while I see if I can find our little time traveler. She didn't go into the future with the others, did she?"

  "No, she shouldn't have."

  "Then there's a chance she's still here."

  ***

  The children in front of him look as if he's the villain, Superior notices. He ignores that fact, certain that it's because the "other him" had worked with Star Born. There's two that look familiar, a boy and a girl, but he ignores them as well, his eyes focusing on Aubrey. "Hello, Aubrey, I could use your assistance," he says.

  "Stay away from Aubrey," a black haired boy says. Superior looks at him.

  "And you are?"

  "Maximum."

  "Can you heal?"

  "No."

  "Then I suggest you move out of the way."

  "What are you looking for Aubrey for?" a tall, familiar looking blonde male asks.

  "You look like a son of Liberty," Superior says. "I need assistance with Mega--something has happened to him that's knocked him unconscious. I believe that Aubrey is capable of fixing it. As future supers, you understand the importance of this."

  The group turns, looking to Aubrey. She hesitates for a moment, her eyes focusing on Mega's inert body. "I'll do it," she says. "Bring him into the dorm and place him by Nico," she says as she turns and heads into the dorm. "If I can fix Mega, I'll have a better idea of how to fix Nico."

  "Nicolas is otherwise occupied at the moment," Superior says as he follows the group inside.

  "Where is he?" the girl that looks like a Superior offshoot asks. His granddaughter? Great granddaughter? Really, how does a great granddaughter happen when he's only been dead for twenty years? "Where is my dad?" she demands when he doesn't answer quickly enough.

  "Infiltrating the Hall's computers," Superior says. She lets out a sigh of relief and visibly relaxes.