Super Girls (Cape High Book 13)
Page 1
SUPER GIRLS
by
R. J. Ross
Windy Girl
Amazon Edition
Copyright © 2015 by R. J. Ross
All Rights Reserved
Superior Girl
Amazon Edition
Copyright © 2015 by R. J. Ross
All Rights Reserved
Cover design by 336Love Books
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
~Other works by R.J. Ross~
Belle and the Dragon's Curse * Sundance's Syn * Missing: Witch * Destiny Thread
The Winstead Files Series
Courting the Beast * Snow White, Snow White * The Sleeper * Stiltskin
Arcadia Gamers Series
Croc Skins * Coyote Falls
Seasons of the Fae Series
Raven's Return * Death of a Dryad * Water Wielder
Cape High Series
Super Villain Dad * America's Grandson * Hello Kitty * Don't Know Jack * Daddy's Girl * Aces Wild * Steampunk Time * Fire Hazard * Ditto Ditto * Sunny Daze * Life Light * Guitar Hero * Super Girls *
WINDY GIRL
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
SUPERIOR GIRL
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
WINDY GIRL
BY
R.J. ROSS
CHAPTER ONE
The past is the past, and this might be Ace's school, but I don't have a choice, right? This is the only open house that the school's ever had--and even then it's not really "open." We'd gotten a special invite from the school principal, Technico, and I can only assume the others did too. But this is Ace's school. That's the fact that keeps repeating over and over again in my mind. Sure I might have made fun of him—Ace was CREEPY when he was pretending to be a norm! He's obviously a freak, right? Well, okay, his whole going super villain thing makes it better—I mean, if you're freaky and you know it, OWN IT. He has definitely owned it. I mean, every time I walk down the street I see someone wearing a "Dragon" shirt, or a hat, or even a tattoo once in a while.
You're probably wondering what I'm talking about huh? Well, it's either focus on Ace, or focus on the fact that I am definitely the oldest kid standing here by like, four years. I dare to glance around, seeing the other kids watching each other curiously. Three of them seem to know each other—two boys and a girl. They're trying to hand her things—rocks, toys, all sorts of weird things, and she keeps yelling at them to go away.
"That's Isotonic," Aunt Barbara whispers, making me look at the man standing behind the group. "That's his right hand man, Hard Knocks beside him—I believe the two boys are his," she says. "Prisma is going to DIE when she hears I got first dibs on this story—"
"I'm going to what?" someone asks from behind us. I turn, giving the beautiful black woman a large smile.
"Aunt Prisma!" I say, eagerly accepting the hug she offers. "I didn't know you were coming!"
"Jen-Jen!" Prisma says, always excited to see me as well. "You look more beautiful every day, sweetie!"
It's totally a lie. Look, at one time I might have been the picture perfect blonde cheerleader, but I've had a rough go of it since Ace outed himself. I look stressed. I'm no longer a cheerleader—I also chopped my hair off super short, with only long bangs framing my face. And I swear I've gained five pounds. Probably all that stress eating. My sister NEVER gains weight, that lucky—
"I don't see why I'm getting dragged along for this," Elidee says, making me look over. "You're just using me as story bait, aren't you? All of a sudden they have open house for people with super kids and BAM I'm dragged out of my school and shoved into this one!" Elidee is Prisma's daughter—beautiful, boy crazy, and only thirteen years old. That would be bad enough if she wasn't a pheromone manipulator. Yeah. It's THAT bad. "Jen," she says, looking at me. There's a worried expression on her face. She walks over, grabbing my arm and pulling me away from the group. "I REALLY don't want to go in there," she whispers.
"I know why I don't want to go," I say, hesitating, "but what's your problem?"
"Adanna goes here! She's got a boyfriend and EVERYTHING, and he's a freaking SUPERIOR," she wails. "How am I going to beat that?"
I groan inwardly. "Elidee," I say patiently, touching her shoulder, "boys are nothing but trouble. You're better off single."
"Jennifer!" Aunt Barbara says in exasperation. "Don't tell her that!"
"She's thirteen, she should learn it in one way or another," I say shamelessly. "It's better that she learns it from someone that loves her!" I add with a cheeky grin.
"So how IS Matt these days?" Elidee asks evilly. I give her a dark look.
"Dating a brunette," I say dryly.
She's about to respond when a large man in a t-shirt appears to walk out of nothing in front of us. He steps over the tattered yellow police tape that surrounds Death Canyon. Norms still think it's radioactive—I did as well, until recently. "And you are?" I hear the big black man behind us ask.
"That's Technico," Isotonic says. "Technico, good to see you again," he adds, stepping forward and offering his hand.
"My new little sister says 'Hello, Gin and Tonic,'" Technico says blandly, only briefly shaking his hand.
"I thought his name was Isotonic," Elidee whispers to me silently. The flustered look on Isotonic's face tells me he hadn't expected that.
"Tell her hello for me, as well," he says after all of a second. "I'd like to introduce you to my daughter, Olivia," he goes on, turning and motioning the girl with the two boys forward.
The expression on Technico's face lightens and he gives the girl a smile, holding out his hand. "Olivia," he says, offering it to the daughter. "Call me Nico, I'll be your principal."
"Who's your new little sister?" Olivia asks, hesitating over the hand.
"Skystep, she's deliberately a trouble maker. Don't worry—I'm fully human—well, no, actually I'm only half human, but nothing that'll change you," he adds quietly. She takes the hand he offers. "And you two would be Hard Knock's boys," he goes on, looking at the boys. "Have they inherited your animation abilities?" he asks Hard Knocks.
"They actually haven't come into their powers yet," Hard Knocks says, "but there's a good chance."
"So this is just a tour for them?"
"For now," Hard Knocks agrees.
"Why are you wearing a Panther shirt?" one of the boys asks.
"He's a super villain," the other says. "You're a hero."
"Actually, I'm not," Nico says, looking around at the adults in the crowd. "My name is Technico—I'm an ex super villain, in case you hadn't heard. I spent fifteen years in the Cape Cells for the use of a Weapon of Mass Destruction. It seems I forgot to fill out all the paperwork first."
"Wait—a weapon of mass destruction?" I ask. "What did you destroy?"
"I'm the one that created all of this," he says, motioning to the massive canyon behind him. "It didn’t take long."
I feel a little light headed. I look at Aunt Barbara, but she doesn't even react. I get the feeling she knew all of this already.
"Now's the time to back out if that bothers you," Nico prompts us. His hand shoots out, stopping the twins from running past him—towards the canyon. "No you don't," he says. "That's dangerous—especially for you two," he tells them.
"Is this the infamous dome?" Isotonic asks. "I really don't see it," he adds with a hint of surprise.
"I'm sure you would if you got closer," Nico says, reaching down and picking up a stone. "Throw this at the canyon," he tells one of the twins. He throws it, and they both cheer as it explodes and laser lights spark. All of a sudden they're throwing every rock they can find. "Enough," Nico says. The boys stop. "There is a laser dome surrounding the entire canyon. It's enough to turn back even an S-class super. I tweak it on a regular basis, upgrading it in my spare time."
"And what about curious norms?" Isotonic asks. "Have you had any of those?"
"We have--this entire area is on camera, and if unexpected movement happens a staff member checks it out. They tend to run when a super comes. The dome is for those too fast for me or other staff members to catch. Now I'm going to have to scan each of you before allowing you in."
"Scan?" I ask. "Like—like you'll know everything about us? Even our levels?" I do NOT want that! The entire world will find out that I'm a D-class hero! It's almost worse than being a norm!
"Don't worry, I don't share your information," Nico says. "But it does mean you have to trust me. Again, here's a chance to turn and run."
"I get the feeling you don't want new students very much," Hard Knocks says.
"I like to get all of this over with—you're going to trust me with the training programs of your kids. That means everything they do out on the field will be something I taught them. Do you really want that?" Nico asks.
"You trained Kid Liberty, Fire Hazard, and Divine Justice," Isotonic says. "They're excellent examples of teen capes. You're also the founder of the clean-up system in Central Hall. Everyone's pushing to get that in our Hall, as well."
"I knew that no good deed would go unpunished," Nico mutters. I choke on a laugh, surprised at just how irritated he looks. "You," he says, motioning me forward. "You get to go first. You've been putting this off long enough, don't you think?"
I look at Aunt Barbara, who just smiles slightly and motions me forward. Nico pulls out a cell phone, aiming the camera lens at me. A green light scans me, and I wait, unable to breathe, as he stares at the screen. "Do you want to see?" he asks.
"No—I—yes," I finally say, walking over next to him to look. I see an image of me, I think, drawn in lines. Most of the lines are black, but there’s a handful of ice blue scattered throughout. I have no idea what it means. “Those blue lines--”
“Your power lines,” he says. He points at a little list to the side of the image, strength, speed, air manipulation, all of them are listed. The only one above the single digits is air manipulation. That one’s actually at 55%. That’s like, a barely passing grade, right?
"Do you have any idea what I can do with this?" he asks me quietly.
"Not much," I mutter.
"I'm a genius technopath, Jennifer," he says silently, leaning down next to my ear. "I make machines that can help norms compete with B-class heroes. Imagine what I could do with someone that's already a cape. Double M can't argue with that, especially if it's for one of his own."
My eyes widen. So THAT'S why he was willing to let me in! That's why I keep getting little notes from the school, reminding me I've got a standing invite!
"You just want to see what you can make and get away with," I accuse him silently.
He gives me a wicked little grin. "He won't ask a question if it's a girl that's helped us out in the past," he adds. "Next, Olivia, step up, let's get your bios. Do you plan on staying after the tour or do you need to go home and pack?" he asks as she quickly races forward, standing next to me. She's a pretty little thing with long dark brown hair and big hazel colored eyes. She looks at me a bit shyly for a second before belatedly answering Nico.
"I'm packed. My mom wants to come see the campus, but with Dad out of state, she says she needs to stay with the Hall. Can she come next week?"
"Sure, just send a heads up through the Halls," Nico says as the green light flickers over her. "Not bad, you've got a lot of promise," he says as he looks over the phone. "You are your dad's kid, after all. You—it was Elidee, right?" he goes on, motioning to Elidee. "Let's get your stats."
She has this look on her face that tells me she's going to try something stupid. Look, I've known Elidee for years—ever since I came to live with Aunt Barbara. I can tell when she's about to do something stupid. I glance over at the boys, first, seeing their faces go slack and their eyes glue on her as she walks towards us. Yep. She's doing that thing of hers.
"Hiii," she says, moving closer to Nico. He looks at her, raising an eyebrow before glancing at Prisma.
"She takes after you," he says as he scans Elidee with his phone. "You promise to be quite a pain," he says, much to Elidee's shock.
"Wh—what?" she yelps.
"It might be entertaining, though, so I'll allow it," Nico finishes. "Adults next, a quick scan should be all I need from you—you're all in the Hall records. Once we're done with that, we'll start the tour."
The adults fall in line and I watch him scan them quickly.
"How can he call me a pain?" Elidee whispers as she moves to my side.
"You tried to seduce him," I whisper back. "Are you crazy? He's an adult—not only is he an adult, he's an ex super villain!"
"I just wanted him to let me do what I want!" she whispers back, as if that was a perfectly good excuse.
"You ARE crazy," Olivia whispers, making us both look at her. "He's the son of Superior—that's what my dad says."
"He's the WHAT?" I yelp, too loudly.
"SHHH!" both girls hiss at me as everyone else turns to look at me.
"Before we go in, I need to make sure none of you are brainwashed," Nico says, completely ignoring us. He shows each of us a quick video, one that I'm not quite sure I caught everything on it, and then motions us to touch a metal panel. "You're all clear," he says. "Touch the screen and follow the footprints on the ground. Wait on the platform for the rest of us to join you when you get inside."
"Is Fire Hazard going to be here?" Olivia asks excitedly.
"Unfortunately most of the class is out on a mission. You'll only get to meet a handful of the students," Nico says.
"Hiiii." I look at Elidee, who's been flanked by the boys when I wasn't looking. "You're pretty."
"You smell good, too," the second says.
"Do you have a boyfriend?" the first asks, shoving his brother away.
Elidee looks at them, notes that they're shorter than she is, and walks away. Or at least she tries to walk away, I note with amusement. They follow her like puppies, trying to get her attention. I can't help but glance back at Hard Knocks. He shakes his head, looking amused. "Looks like Olivia lost her fanboys," he says quietly to Isotonic.
"She will forever be grateful," Isotonic agrees. "If your kids weren't intent on showing their love by bugging the crap out of them, they might have better luck with girls, you know."
"I keep trying to tell them that," Hard Knocks says, letting out a laugh.
Yes, I'm not powerful, but I AM a wind manipulator. I can hear really, really well. I glance over at Olivia, who's staring at the twins, and then at Elidee, who's trying to escape them without actually running away. I can't help the hint of a grin that crosses my face. This is actually amusing. I mean, here's Elidee saying how much she wants a boyfriend, trying to avoid two boys that will probably grow up to look like their
Dad—and Hard Knocks is seriously good looking for an old guy. And Olivia is—if I'm hearing her gritting her teeth properly, extremely irritated by all of this.
But none of this is my business. I'm being forced to leave school in my junior year, and tossed into a school of kids that are WAY more powerful than I am—and probably younger! I step into the line blindly, feeling sorry for myself again, and jerk as I realize Isotonic is standing behind me.
"I noticed, Nico seemed most interested in you of the new group," he says silently as I look at him. "What are you?" he asks me.
I swallow, wondering why I have the sudden urge to tell him everything. He's one of the greats. He's the leader of the North Branch Hall. "Nobody you need to notice," I say quietly.
"My daughter promises to be at my level when she grows up, yet all he said was she had a lot of promise. I didn't get to be a Hall leader by being stupid. If Technico seems interested in a kid, it's for a reason."
I turn, glaring up at him.
"Jennifer," Nico says, making me look up. "It's your turn."
I almost yelled at a Hall leader, I realize in shock. Blindly I head forward, pressing my hand to the handprint on the screen and following the glowing footprints inside. I'm almost shocked as the campus comes into sight. It only covers a portion of the massive canyon, but it's still impressive.
"Welcome to Cape High," Nico says from behind us. "It's only the beginning for our school. With groups like you coming in, we're already starting to expand. That structure over there will be more dorms," he tells us, motioning to a group of norm clothed supers working on a large building. "And soon the classes will have to be split by grade level. That means, Isotonic, if you have any retired supers that are qualified to teach, we're welcoming applications. Right now most of my kids are out trying to rescue the outed healers. You might have already heard about them. That's another thing you have to realize—once you've gotten past a certain level of training, I won't hesitate to send you out into the field." He pauses for a second and lets us soak in that statement. "Now head on down the steps and we'll begin the official tour."