Super Girls (Cape High Book 13)

by R. J. Ross

  "Didn't Freddy tell you?" I ask.

  "Tell me what?"

  "I'm only a D-class. That's why I get sun burns and stuff."

  "No, he hasn't said a word that I know of," she says, standing up and tugging me into the room to sit on the bed. She touches my shoulder lightly and her hair starts to float. Her eyes are glowing white, I think, unable to look into them for long. It's mere seconds before I feel cool relief as the burn fades into—

  Pasty white again. Yay.

  "You ah, couldn't leave the tan, huh?" I ask as her eyes stop glowing.

  "Oh, sorry," she says. "You DO have a bit of self-healing. I didn't expect it, actually, and when my healing prompted it, I'm afraid it kicked in," she admits.

  "Can you—um—can you fix me?" I ask.

  "Fix you?"

  "Like, fix my ranking. Boost my abilities. That sort of thing," I say, a hint of hope rising up inside of me. I might have come into this as a D-class, but with a little bit of tweaking I might even be better than my sister!

  She hesitates for a second before sitting down next to me. "Cold Steel is my boyfriend," she says. So that Jack guy was Cold Steel? The surprise must show on my face because she lets out a little laugh. "Don't worry, he might be a pain sometimes, but he's actually a really good one. But he was born a norm."

  "I think I heard a rumor about that somewhere," I admit.

  "Yeah. You see, he got into a very bad situation because he thought he wanted to become a super. He almost died. He would have died if we didn't have technopaths in the school. The metal in his system was wrapping around his internal organs—and heading for his heart."

  Well, there goes my appetite for dinner.

  "But—" I start out, "It wouldn't be the same for me," I say. "I mean, I already have powers, all you would be doing is a bit of… I don't know, an upgrade?"

  "It's dangerous, still," she says. "Jennifer, you were accepted into this school for a reason, weren't you?"

  "Because Ace put in a good word for me," I say, looking away. "Which I don't even get—it's not like he's got any reason to like me. All I ever did was either ignore him or make fun of him back in our old school."

  "Maybe you should ask him," she says. "I'm sure there's a good reason. Even if there isn't, don't you think you should thank him?"

  "Yeah, I guess," I say, wondering if I really feel thankful. But… classes have been pretty amazing, and I'm getting to meet people that most of the world would give anything to meet. "I just… I just wish I actually fit in here."

  "Do you really think power level is going to make someone fit in?" she asks.

  "Yes."

  She just looks at me. I sigh, my shoulders dropping. "You've got more to worry about than I do, though, don't you?" I say. "You know, with your boyfriend out there when everyone's so anti-super. Sure, he's tough, but he's got to have a weakness, right?"

  "He does," she says. "Certain frequencies can do a lot of damage to him. The metal in his skin doesn't react well to it—it's sort of like hitting a tuning fork," she admits. "Don't tell people, though, okay?"

  "I won't say a word," I swear. "So Justin is his worst enemy?"

  "If he knew the right pitch, he would be," she says, "but Jack's too stubborn to admit it. I am worried about him. I'm also worried about the other teams. I mean, I feel so guilty over this entire situation," she says softly, looking down at her hands. "It's all my fault, and all I can do about it is hide." She looks at me, her expression serious. "I'm a borderline Specialized S-class, Jennifer. That makes me a very high ranking super. And yet, right now it doesn't do me a lick of good. It isn't your class that matters. It's doing what you can WHEN you can. Stop obsessing over what you aren't, Jennifer, start asking yourself what you ARE," she says, placing her hands on my shoulders. "You might find out that you're everything you need to be."

  Yeah, right. Whatever. Not that I say that thought out loud, of course. But I do feel kind of lame when I think about all the things SHE has to worry about compared to myself. It's probably best just to leave, now. "I should get going," I say. "I bet you've got a lot of work to do, right? Thanks for fixing my sunburn."

  "Any time," she says with a little smile. "And Jennifer, Freddy really didn't say a word to anyone."

  "Yeah, I guess he didn't," I say as I head out the door.

  A bell dings, signaling that dinner will be ready in about an hour. I head for my room, planning on changing my clothes. When I get to my dresser, though, I'm distracted by the sight of a phone sitting there. It's a custom piece, but I guess that makes sense--Nico must have made it for me. I bet it's got a tracker on it. He can probably even hear my conversations, which is seriously creepy—but…

  I pick up the phone, staring at it for a long moment. I COULD use my old phone. Do I trust Nico? Do I trust anyone in this school? But if I can't trust them in something like this, how can I LIVE here?

  I tap on the phone, checking out the apps and opening the contacts. Andre Harrison is the second on my contacts—contacts that I obviously didn't put in. Aunt Barbara is first. The rest of the list looks to be everyone in the school, I guess. I see a lot of names I don't recognize. And—that says America's Son. I stare at that for a moment, and scroll down. Star Spangled, Mega, Falconess—the ENTIRE Central Hall is programmed into my phone. That's Mastermental right there. I have Mastermental on SPEED DIAL. Not that I'll ever use it—but still!

  Wait, I was doing something, right? I scroll back to the top of the list, staring at Mr. Harrison's name for a long moment before tapping on it.

  "Harrison speaking," he says. It was only the second ring.

  "Um, Mr. Harrison?" I say, feeling a little bit panicked. I should have planned out my thank you speech, I realize. "This is Jennifer—you know, Barbara's niece?"

  "Jennifer! It's good to hear from you, sweetie," he says, that sharp tone he answered with turning warm. "How is school going so far?"

  "It's… well, it's a little wild, actually. I mean, we've got Skystep as our first hour teacher—I think she's a substitute," I say, "but I have no idea who the first hour teacher usually is. But—I wanted to thank you."

  "Oh?" he asks.

  "Yeah, Nico told me you were Elidee and my sponsor," I say. "I mean, I should probably make Elidee call and thank you, herself, but I'm the older one, so it's my job, right?"

  He lets out a little laugh. "It's fine, sweetie. Just as long as both of you feel comfortable there."

  I stare blankly forward, wondering how I can bring up my biggest problem. It's awkward—I mean, the room I'm sitting in, the classes I'm going to, even the food I'm eating in an hour, all of it comes from him. So—"Why do I need to become a super villain?"

  I asked that out loud, didn't I? Whoops.

  He goes silent for a moment, and I automatically try to backpedal. "I mean—it's fine, I know I'm not impressive enough to be a hero—"

  "Jennifer," he says. I instantly shut my mouth. "If you don't want to be a villain, I can't force you to be, but," he says slowly, "you see… this is something you absolutely need to keep to yourself, okay? Can I trust you to keep a secret?"

  "Of course you can," I say, wondering what I'm about to get into.

  "I need you to be established in the super villain community. That means making a name for yourself, and, if possible, making friends with the trio of villains. You already have a connection with Dragon, don't you?"

  "I… guess?"

  "Well capitalize on it."

  "What for?" I ask, almost silently. There is definitely a super secret reason for all of this, I think as a thrill runs down my spine.

  "Because, sweetie, you're going to be the first reporter for VTV--the first villains-only channel in the HTV set-up," he says with a smile in his voice. "That is, if you want to be. I've been following your schooling since you moved here. In fact, with how your aunt brags on you, the entire company has."

  My heart leaps into my throat and my hands go clammy. "A—a super villain reporter?" I whisper, try
ing to ignore how my heart is pounding. I can TOTALLY do that as a D-class, I think, fighting the urge to squeal excitedly.

  "That's right," he says. "Nico agrees that you'll be perfect for the sneakier aspects of the job, as well. But sweetie, you have to SWEAR to keep this to yourself. I need you to graduate and I want to set up the channel without my competitors hearing about it. They might be sister companies, but I still like being ahead of the curve."

  "I swear! I absolutely swear!" I say, jumping to my feet. "Not a single word!"

  "So you're interested?" he asks.

  "I'm IN," I say, fighting the urge to strike a victory pose. "It'll be hard to not tell Aunt Barb, but I can do it!" I add quickly. "I need to make sure I take journalism classes—do they even HAVE those here?" I ask, my mind racing. "And I'll need to lose those stupid five pounds—but that shouldn't be hard here. And—"

  "You can figure all that out in the next year," he says, laughing.

  "Oh! Is Elidee—" I lower my voice, listening for eavesdroppers a bit belatedly, "is she going to be—you know what—as well?"

  "I would like her to be, but that's up to her and her mother," he says.

  "She'd be awesome, wouldn't she?"

  "You'll be amazing, as well," he says. "Don't sell your talents short."

  "So—I need to make a name for myself, right?" I say. "So they'll take me seriously."

  "Exactly."

  "I'll go tell Nico that I'm in," I say, even as the thirty minute gong rings. "He knows, right?" I add, not wanting to make assumptions, even though he's already mentioned a few things that make me think so.

  "Yes, he knows. He's the only one I've approached about it, so far."

  "Okay, good," I say. "Mr. Harrison, I will do my VERY best to live up to your expectations."

  "I fully expect you to," he says.

  "I should go," I say, heading for the door. "I'll call you again—or you can call me, okay? I just need to talk to Nico before dinner, okay? Wait, he's not here—I've got him on speed dial! I'll call him. I'm just—I—bye!" I say, hanging up as he starts to laugh. "Oh my gosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh!" I squeal, jumping up and down excitedly. "THIS IS AWESOME!" I yell, dancing like an idiot. I blink as one second there's no one there, and the next half of the school surround me, looking curious.

  "What's awesome?" Freddy asks.

  "Um—I—ah—" I say, feeling ridiculous. "Nothing?" I offer stupidly.

  "It's clearly not nothing," Justin says, watching me with a little grin. "You got good news?"

  "Shouldn't you all be doing something important?" I ask, trying to distract them. "Like getting ready for dinner?"

  "Tell us what's amazing and we'll go," Malina says.

  "I… um… I really can't tell," I admit. "I swore I wouldn't. It's super secret stuff. But it's nothing bad?" I offer as I see Elidee watching me along with the rest of them. Where has she been? She keeps disappearing on me. I'm supposed to be watching out for her, right? I feel guilty just looking at her because of that.

  "Super stuff," Freddy repeats. "Yeah, we should leave her alone," he says to the others. They nod, heading off their own directions. Only Elidee and Olivia stick back, looking at me curiously.

  "You can tell US," Elidee says, crossing her arms. Olivia hesitates before nodding.

  "We're friends now, right? The new girls in school," Olivia says.

  "That and we practically grew up together," Elidee says, motioning from me to her.

  "I've only known you three years, Elidee," I have to point out. "But I CAN'T tell anyone yet," I say, walking closer and lowering my voice. "It could risk something super important for my future if I talk, okay?"

  "It's a guy," Elidee says, looking at Olivia.

  "You've got a boyfriend?" Olivia asks me. "Do we know him? Is he a super? You're going to break Freddy's heart, you know."

  "It's NOT a boyfriend!" I say, starting to laugh. "But it does involve a guy, I guess," I add, since it throws them off track. "Just trust me, it's a good thing," I say, grinning at them and dragging them into an impromptu hug. "It's a REALLY good thing." It is, right? I think being a reporter would be AWESOME—especially one for HTV. Well, no, it'd be VTV, right? Villain TV. SO COOL!

  I should totally call Ace and thank him for vouching for me! He is completely forgiven for being creepy, okay? TOTALLY forgiven.

  "Why is she hugging us?" Olivia asks Elidee.

  "I have no idea," Elidee says, sounding confused. "Maybe she ate something funny?"

  "Or maybe her mind just cracked," Olivia says. They both pull away long enough to give me sympathetic looks. "It'll be okay, Jennifer. Everything's okay." She pats me on the shoulder.

  I roll my eyes. "I haven't cracked," I tell her. "I just got some good news."

  "Your sister was kicked out of the Hall?" Elidee asks.

  "How is that good news?" Olivia asks.

  "Trust me, you don't know her sister."

  "It has absolutely nothing to do with Jetta," I say. That fact makes me even happier. I mean, of all the teenage supers out there—including my older sister with better abilities—Mr. Harrison picked ME to be the first reporter! "But I need to make another call, okay? In private."

  They pout at me, but reluctantly head off as the fifteen minute gong sounds. "Oh, and Elidee?" I say, "You really need to call Mr. Harrison and thank him for sponsoring you."

  "Sponsoring?" she repeats.

  "We have sponsors?" Olivia asks, looking equally blank.

  "We have sponsors—although yours is probably your dad," I tell her. "Now get. I've got adult things to do."

  "Hah, like she's an adult," Elidee mutters as they walk away.

  I stick my tongue out at their backs and look around. The safest place for this chat looks like the top of the steps. I head for them, running to the top of the canyon. There's a little platform on this side of the force field, and I drop down there, bringing out my phone again.

  "Speaking," Nico says. I can already tell that I don't have his full attention. I don't care.

  "Nico, this is Jennifer," I say. "Um, thanks for the phone, by the way."

  "I give them to all the students—it's easier to keep them from being tracked through their phone records. Destroy your old one, won't you?" he adds. His voice says he's still not fully focused on me. I'm good at noticing that sort of thing.

  "Yeah, I'll ask someone to do that for me," I say. It isn't something I can honestly do myself—well, I mean, I'm CAPABLE of doing it, I just don't think I CAN do it. It's like killing an old friend. "Nico, I want to start that super villain course you were offering. I want to be a super villain."

  "You talked with Andre?"

  "Yeah. He told me everything," I say, back to feeling like squealing with excitement. "I'm going to be the best I can—that means doing whatever I need to, right?"

  "It's good to hear you're committed," he says, his tone changing slightly. So I finally have his attention, huh? "We'll put your training courses together in the morning."

  "Thanks," I say. "Did you… did you really tell him you think I'll be good for the job?" I ask.

  "I think you will—but that's not what matters. Do you think you can do the job?"

  "Not yet?" I admit. "But I can GET to where I can, right?"

  "Good. That's all I needed to know. Now get to dinner, it's almost time, right?"

  "Yeah."

  ***

  "So," Nico says, hanging up the phone and looking at the holographic screen over his desk. He'd muted the com-system while talking to Jennifer. The entire VTV was a secret, even from—or should he say ESPECIALLY from the right hand man of Isotonic. "You want to enroll your sons into Cape High."

  "They're starting to show signs, especially the oldest one."

  "I thought they were twins," Nico says.

  "They aren't. Jules is about a year older. I'm glad, actually, they were both over nine pounds at birth."

  "Nine pounds, huh?" Nico says, looking away. "I'll have to ask Summer how big the twin
s were."

  "Weren't you there?"

  "No. I didn't even meet them until they were fifteen," Nico says a bit flatly. "If you think they're ready, bring them back down—after you fill out all the paperwork giving us the right to train your successors in Central," he adds. "It's one thing if they're not officially affiliated; it's another thing completely if they're the kids of acting members. Isotonic will want to make sure they can't be signed off to another branch without his knowing."

  "Would you do that?"

  "I've got a lot of kids to keep track of," Nico says with a shrug. "As long as they're on my campus, I make sure they stay where they should. Once they're graduated, however, they can do whatever they feel like. It's up to the Hall leaders to keep that in check," he says. "But since I've already got a few wars going on over some of my kids, I thought I'd be a nice guy and warn you ahead of time."

  "Well thanks for that," Hard Knocks says dryly. "Is it true that you've got Skystep there?" he asks.

  "What, think she's going to go out of control?" Nico asks. "It's true, but she's not a problem."

  "Why do you say that?" Hard Knocks asks. "I remember all the reports of how she took down most of South and half of Central just because she was irritated."

  "She did, didn't she?" Nico says with a little smile. "I should probably tell you this, actually—she's acting as a substitute teacher. My usual first hour teacher is on a mission with his son's team. So here's your chance to back out—do you really want your sons taught by Skystep?"

  "What's she teaching?"

  "This morning it was marine biology," Nico says. "I think they were swallowed by a whale."

  "How?"

  "I've got a psychic that specializes in mental healing," Nico tells him cheerfully. "She can do halfway decent illusions from other people's memories. Skye took advantage of it."

  "That makes sense," Hard Knocks says. "Did the kids learn much?"

  "Who knows? But they stayed awake."

  "Well that's good to hear. I'll be bringing the boys back in the next few days, will that work?"

  "That's fine," Nico says. "I'll get two of the rooms set up for them." They hang up and Nico goes back to his work, yet another watch floating in front of him.