Daddy's Girl: Cape High Book Five

by R. J. Ross

  What? Just because she's opted out of the photo-op game doesn't mean she's going to do it poorly!

  "Excuse me!" the reporter, a brash young woman that's practically hanging out the window. "Can you tell me your name? I've never seen you before!" The pilot tries to say something about interrupting the fight, but she ignores him, intent on this scoop. "I didn't think there was someone that could take Cold Steel down this easily!"

  Well, then, Zoe thinks, perfect opportunity for two things. Free advertising for the school and a chance for Jack to run. "My name is Zoe," she says, turning to face the camera head on. The wind tugs at her hair, showing the white undercoat in a dramatic fashion. "I'm the daughter of Technico, and principal of Cape High. We're currently enrolling new students, for those supers looking for quality education for their children. All applications are to be sent to the Central Hall, please."

  "Wh--what?" the reporter stutters. "You're a principal? Why aren't you--you know--saving the world?"

  "I am," Zoe says. "For centuries to come." Then she drops to the ground dramatically, grabbing Justin and Morgan at the last moment, and taking off.

  "You just used that as a commercial," Justin points out, grabbing onto her and looking around.

  "Of course I did," she says. "You should know it--it's not the official school motto, but it's one we live by."

  "More photo-op than black-op," both kids say, looking at her with a grin. She grins back and hugs them both, much to their surprise.

  "You two, I haven't seen either of you in MONTHS," she complains. "Remember this when you grow up, some of us don't have the time to run around the world having fun, we need to live vicariously through the ones that do!"

  "Zoe, can you get us back to our own time?" Morgan asks. "We need to get back. My dad--he's in the past. I need to stop him."

  "Morgan... even the you of this time couldn't stop your father," she says seriously, quietly. "You might be an extremely good super, but he's got a lot more practice than you have. You need to leave this to the adults. But I can get you home. It might take me a bit, but I have Dad's blueprints on the watch."

  "Thank you," Morgan says.

  ***

  *The Present*

  Aubrey watches as the phone is placed on Nico's chest, wondering if this is actually going to work. Will she need to step in?

  All of a sudden Nico's eyes open, glowing brightly as a series of strange commands come from his mouth. "Rebooting... three... two..." The eyes stop glowing and Nico sits up, cursing loudly. "I can't believe I was so STUPID," he snarls, jumping to his feet. "I'm going to deal with this--" He stops as Superior steps in front of him, placing both hands on his shoulders.

  "Stop," Superior says. Nico stares at him with a look of loathing and Aubrey suddenly wonders just what their relationship really IS. Of course she knows they're father and son, but that look isn't very family like. Well, other than the fact that they look exactly like each other, that is. There's not even wrinkles on Superior, which doesn't seem very fair. It's mostly the hair and clothes that distinguish who is who. There's about to be a family brawl, she realizes. She takes a step back--only to stop completely as a flash of light makes everyone look up.

  Morgan and Justin appear right in the middle of the group, holding onto a watch. "I--where--did we make it?" Morgan asks, looking around. Her eyes fall on Aubrey and she breaks into a smile. "You're still single, right?" she demands, rushing forward to hug her.

  "I'm not single! I've got a boyfriend," Aubrey says, hugging her back tightly. "Where in the world did you GO?" she demands. "We were worried out of our minds!"

  ***

  Mastermental catches the eyes of the children first. They look up from the zoo animals and stare at him in wonder. He knows that the chances of them seeing him in real life are slim to none, so he lands and heads to one of the younger ones, crouching down in front of her. "Hello, my dear," he says.

  Very seriously, the five year old girl holds out her hand. Mastermental shakes it, letting a slight smile pull on his lips. "Hi," the girl says, flushing brightly. "You're Mastermental." It wasn't a question, it was a statement of fact, one that makes him smile in earnest.

  "I am," he agrees. "And you're Kimi," he says. "It's very nice to meet you, Kimi."

  Her eyes widen in surprise as he stands, patting her head and nodding to her mother. "Ma'am," he says, shaking her hand as well. He turns, looking around at the crowd that now surrounds him, casually scanning them all. "May I ask," he says, silencing them immediately, "if there are any areas of the zoo that aren't in use at the moment? I'm looking for someplace quiet, off of the main area."

  "There's the creepy building," a kid says. "They're redoing it soon, but it's still there. It's that way," he adds, pointing behind Double M.

  "Thank you, Sammy," Double M says. Names are easy and not that intrusive. With kids, mainly, it'll just leave them excited for weeks that he knew what they were. Besides, reading a child's mind is so simple that even norms can do it half the time. He forgets about the little trick easily and starts down the path that the boy had pointed out, his mind open for anything. Mimic could still be here.

  The sound of sniffling catches his ears and he heads for it, stepping into a half formed concrete room. The little time traveler sits there on a rock, hugging herself. She looks up at him, and he can see that she's been crying. "He--he trapped me here," she says, pulling her leg forward and showing a metal cuff on her ankle. It's bolted her to the ground. "I can't get free."

  "I see," Double M says, crossing over to the lock and undoing it. "Why didn't you call for help?" he asks as he frees her ankle.

  "I didn't know when he would show up again--I don't want norms killed because of this," she says.

  "Still," he says. "They could have called us."

  "I--I didn't think of that," she admits, looking down. "I'm cold. I just want to go back to the dorm."

  "Of course," he says. "Should we stop at the Hall first? Have the doctors look you over?"

  "No--I'm fine," she says. "I just--I just want to be somewhere familiar."

  "Then we'll take you there," he says. He can't help but wonder if there's something wrong with this picture... he looks around. "Do you know where he went?"

  "I don't," she admits. "But he's got my watch--he could be anywhere... or when, right?"

  "Right," he says quietly, looking at her for a long moment. He opens his mind, glancing at her thoughts just in case. She seems normal enough. He doesn't feel right prying too deeply, because knowing the future is dangerous. "Let's get you back to the dorm, then."

  ***

  "I'm not supposed to tell!" I say, bursting out in laughter at the sight of the entire group surrounding me with begging expressions. "I swear, no matter how many puppy dog eyes I get, I won't tell you who wins the super bowl next year! I don't even know!"

  "Where DID you go in the future, then?" Vinny asks. He's sitting on the chair across from me, looking as if the entire world hasn't even blinked at our absence. I'd been right, I'm positive. Vinny took over and ran the group in my place--you can tell by the way that Carla isn't sobbing or screaming about something he did wrong. Instead she's leaning into my side with her arms wrapped around my waist as if afraid I'll disappear again. I reach up, patting her hair.

  "We went pretty far into the future," Justin answers. For once he's in the middle of the group--in fact the group seems strange to me for a moment until I realize what's going on. The apartment kids are scattered among the group. I think it's strategic, by the way that Max is sitting on the arm of the couch I'm sitting on. My eyes fall on Zoe, who's sitting on the ground in front of him.

  I want to get to know her better. I mean, I think she'd be an awesome friend to have, from what I saw in the future. I never thought that way about the others--well, other than Adanna. I'd like to get to know Adanna better, too, but I usually shove that thought to the back of my mind because I'm too busy dealing with my group to think of making friends that... that don't rely
on me to lead them.

  "What happened?" Lance asks. "Did you meet yourselves or something?"

  "Not ourselves," I say, still looking at Zoe. She seems to clue in, her eyes widening.

  "You met me?" she asks. "What was I doing?"

  "We can't tell," Justin says, repeating something we've both said several times. "But it was pretty cool," he adds, pulling out his phone and holding it so no one else can see. Almost instantly everyone swarmed over to look, both zoo kids and apartment kids--Max gets there first.

  "Oh, man--" he says, then blinks. "It disappeared," he complains. "Why did it disappear?"

  "I don't know," Justin says, tapping on his phone several times. "They all disappeared. Man, this sucks!"

  "Because it hasn't happened in this time." We all look up as Mastermental steps through the front door, followed by Noelle. I frown at the sight of her and get up, rushing forward.

  "Noelle! Are you okay?" I demand. She's shivering so I wrap my arms around her.

  "I--I should be asking you that," she says through slightly chattering teeth. "Flying is cold."

  "I'm sorry, dear, I didn't realize your basic skills haven't set in yet," Mastermental says, patting her on the back. "She needs warmed up, can someone make her a hot drink?" he asks the group.

  "I'll do it," Vinny says, hopping to his feet and running for the kitchen. I frown at the sight. Vinny doesn't usually run for anyone... you don't think--

  "Now I should really find out what's happened with Nico," Mastermental says.

  "He's fine," Aubrey says. "He rebooted himself and he and Superior left as soon as Justin and Morgan came back from the future. They're looking for Mimic."

  I blink, wondering why a strange expression crosses Noelle's face at that statement. She frowns slightly, but it's gone in a second so I think I might have imagined it. "From the future?" Mastermental asks me. I nod. "I see," he says. "Banshee, may I borrow your office?"

  "Of course," Banshee says. "It's down the hall and to the left," she adds, pointing. He nods and motions for Justin and me to follow him. I glance at Justin, certain we're thinking the same thing. We're about to have our memories erased. I reach up, grabbing my naked wrist and following. There's one thing I don't want to forget. I wonder if Mastermental will allow it.

  He motions us in as he opens the door and steps inside, closing it behind him. "Now, I know this seems unfair, but I think you'll understand once I explain it to you," he starts out.

  "You have to erase our memories," I say. "I sort of figured that already."

  "We don't need to know much of what happens in the future, because it's not set for us, right? It's got to do with pants," Justin says. "Like, the future we went to might not be the future that really happens for us, right?"

  "You've done some thinking in the future," Mastermental says with a little smile. "I do this, not because I want to take something away from you, but because I want to give something to you," he says, reaching his hands out. "A future with no surprises is not a proper future."

  "Wait!" I say. "There's one thing we want to remember--please, Mastermental? Just one thing--it can be one word, even, right, Justin?"

  "Yeah," Justin says.

  "Is it Mimic?" Mastermental asks. "Because I'll allow one word and the impression that comes with it, but one word only."

  I stop, feeling torn, even as Zoe's words echo through my mind. I can't stop my father. I've always known that. "No," I say.

  "Yes," Justin says. "For her, it's Mimic. For me, I want to remember the name Ace."

  "Very well," he says. "Will that work for you, Morgan?"

  I look at Justin, realizing how much trust I need to put in him for this, then nod. "That works," I say, closing my eyes as his hand presses gently against my forehead.

  Mimic. He's dangerous.

  ***

  "So? What happened?" Carla asks as we come out of the room.

  "What happened?" I repeat. I frown, feeling a bit thrown off. "He asked us how school is going," I say. "Nothing really big." She looks as confused as I feel, until Vinny tugs her back, whispering something in her ear.

  "Really?" she asks him.

  "Really," he says. "Now go on, you've got homework, right?"

  She nods, but turns to me and hugs me tightly again before running off. I feel a little lost. The last thing I remember was me and Justin fighting over the time watch--a flash--and then we were in the front room of the dorm. We must have jumped forward to the evening when everyone was back from the zoo, right?

  "I need a shower," I say, feeling the smells of the zoo lingering in my mind. I head to my dorm room, not even glancing over as Justin walks past me. Aubrey's comment about him liking me is still grating me a bit, okay? She's definitely imagining things. I step into my dorm room, glancing at Noelle, who's on my laptop again. "Don't break it," I warn her.

  "I won't!" she says.

  "I'm taking a shower, so if you have to use the restroom go to the one downstairs," I go on, grabbing some clothes from my dresser and heading into our restroom. I close and lock the door behind me, pulling my shirt off. Something in the mirror catches my eye and I move closer.

  "Save... Ace," I read. It's written on my stomach in black marker. Who would have done something like that? Me?

  When?

  And where is my bracelet?

  ***

  The click of the lock makes Noelle look at the door. The sound of water running makes her let out a breath as she relaxes in the chair--and grows several feet taller. "We're finally together," Mimic whispers, looking quite satisfied with himself. He has his baby girl again.

  Soon, he thinks, he'll have everything he's ever wanted.

  ***

  Coming Soon:

  Cape High

  Book 6: Aces Wild

  "Mr. King. Mr. King. Mr. KING!"

  It's the third one that actually makes me look up, then, automatically, look around for my old man. He's not here, but two dozen teenagers are, looking at me like I'm a moron.

  "Mr. King, I asked you a question," the substitute teacher says as I finally look at her. Of course she's a substitute, the real teachers gave up on asking me things in my freshman year.

  "You're wasting your time," Jenny says from the front row. At least I think her name is Jenny... she's a cheerleader, and honestly they all look like clones in varying colors. Black, white, Hispanic, doesn't matter, they're photocopies. "Ace," and she drawls out my name, clearly saying she doesn't think it fits, "doesn't talk to anyone."

  "I..." the teacher says, a few expressions crossing her face before she frowns. "I would appreciate you treating your fellow classmate more appropriately," she says.

  "Jenna's right, though," a jock says. "Ace don't know anything."

  "What idiot decided to call him 'Ace' in the first place, anyway?" Jenna asks the jock, earning snickers from the rest of the class. It's like I'm not even there, I think, so I go back to doodling in my notebook, pausing for a moment before digging through my pens for an inker. This weeks' masterpiece is a detailed drawing of Panther. No, not a panther--Panther. He's a super villain. I've heard stories about him ripping people's heads off with a single swipe of his claw. Sure, I've never seen it on TV, but I still believe it--

  "Mr. King! This is NOT art class," the sub says, making me look up. She's standing over me, her expression dark as she reaches for the notebook. "We do not doodle--" Then she stops, staring at what she's just stolen.

  "What's he drawing?" Jenna asks.

  "Is she naked?" the jock--Matt, or something--asks.

  "It's not a naked woman," the substitute says quietly. She looks stunned, but I ignore that fact, grabbing my notebook from--trying to grab my notebook from her. Wait--what--it was there a second ago!

  "Then it's a naked dude!" the jock says, laughing his head off as if he's made the best joke all year. There's mixed reactions to this, but the teacher totally ignores him as she heads to the front of the class.

  "I'd like to have that back,
" I say quietly, unable to help myself. Look, I bet you think I'm a nerd from all that's happened so far, right? You're wrong. But we'll discuss that later. Right now this chick is standing in front of the class, turning my notebook around to show the entire class.

  "I was told that you weren't good in any of your classes," the brunette says. She'd told us her name was Ms. Lotus, but she doesn't look like any Lotus I've ever seen. She looks like a retired model. Not the old retired models that are sagging or plastic everywhere, but the ones that retired because they made enough cash to never have to work ever again.

  And now everyone's staring at my picture of Panther. I get up, crossing to the front of the room in three long strides, and grab the notebook. "I don't see how this relates to music, lady," I say lowly before turning and going back to my chair.

  "You should have thought about that before drawing it in class," she says. Something's wrong here, I think as I sit down. She's not acting right. Usually I make teachers nervous. The tall, sharp looking guy in the back, the one with the hair hanging in his face. Pale white guy with dark, eerie eyes--I know they're eerie, I see them in the mirror every morning, okay? They shimmer with this strange silver line flowing through them, and you can barely tell I have a pupil. That I wear black all the time just makes me look more dangerous. You know, the kid they automatically profile as the guy that'll bring a gun to school someday.

  This Lotus lady is acting all wrong. Even the rest of the class is picking up on it. There's a nervous tension in the room that wasn't there before, it's probably her fault--

  Wait. They're not looking at her. They're looking at me. I look each of them directly in the eyes until they flinch and look away. The jock takes the longest to flinch, but I see a sudden sheen of sweat appear on his forehead, accompanied by a look of confusion. He thinks he could beat me, so he's wondering why he's reacting this way. Idiot. Like he's got a chance.