by R. J. Ross
“You’ve got Emily,” she mutters.
“One. We need more,” I say.
“I’m um, planning on going into the field,” Malina offers shyly.
“You could be famous, though, Zoe,” Trent says. “You’re going to be at the top of the field when you’re full grown, right?”
I hesitate, looking down at my hands as I try to figure out how to put it. “I could,” I say. “Sunny could, too,” I add, looking at my twin. “We could be the next ‘official’ Superiors. We know that. Grandpa wouldn’t complain if we took on the name, or something similar. But…”
“Sometimes you have to follow your heart, not what makes you famous,” Sunny says.
“My heart says I don’t want to go into public,” Sandra mutters.
I sigh. “Fine! Do what you want,” I tell her, giving up. “Hide away, do nothing—or if you want, you can work for the school—I’m sure Tony wouldn’t mind a helper. You can lift heavy stuff for the janitor, and do clean up for the brawlers. I’m not going to fight you over it.”
“You sure gave up quick,” she says.
“Isn’t that want you want me to do?”
“Well… yeah, but—”
“I think she wants to be famous,” Freddy says, a bit evilly. He heads for the steps, looking at Sandra. “I think you’re just a chicken—” he grunts as she launches herself at him, tackling him to the ground and pinning him down.
“Take it back!” she snarls, one large fist pulled back threateningly.
“You’re a chicken!” he says. Her fist comes down, crashing into the ground next to his head.
“I’m NOT a chicken! I’m a—a gargoyle!”
“You’re a chicken, what you look like doesn’t matter,” he says bluntly. “We let you hide, we understand WHY you hide, even, but that’s just letting Shadowman and Collector win. I’m NEVER going to let them win again.”
“But—I can’t beat ANY of this!” she says, starting to cry. “I’ve tried! I’ve tried to come out of my room—I’ve tried—I’m so tired, Freddy,” she admits, leaning forward as he wraps his arms around her. “I can’t do this,” she whispers.
“You don’t have to,” he says, sitting up and rubbing her back gently. “Not on your own.”
This is absolutely a private moment, so I turn and look at the doors, wondering what’s going on out there. “Shouldn’t she have figured out that this is the school?” I wonder out loud, earning a few looks from the ones around me.
“How would she?” Trent asks.
“I’m assuming it’s the most listed destination on the watch,” I say. “I’m going to go see what they’re doing out there,” I add, heading for the door.
“We’re on lock-down, no one can get in or out, right?” Cisco says.
“I’m not ‘no one,’” I say arrogantly, bringing up the codes for the door and watching with satisfaction as it swings open. I leave, letting it close behind me before anyone can offer to come with me.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“You just had to lose the watch, didn’t you?” Superior says, floating in the air with his son and wife outside of the force field. They’ve spread out, surrounding the campus on all sides, but they can hear each other just fine.
“Don’t you want to hear what she’s really after, Father?” Nico asks, playing with the metal pieces floating over his head. “I’m sure both you and Mom will find it extremely interesting.”
“Do you think we should call Liz?” Tatiana asks, thoughtfully. “It will be a wonderful family bonding moment!”
“She’s sleeping off last night’s rounds,” Nico says. “If it gets too loud out here, she’ll be the first to notice.”
“What does this Mother lady want?” Superior asks.
“She wants to give this planet to her son and then you and her can run off for a romantic honeymoon on your old planet—preferably making plenty of babies to restore the population.”
“Sounds—” Superior stops as Tatiana looks at him sharply, “like she doesn’t know I’m taken,” he says quickly.
“That had best be what you were planning to say,” Tatiana says sharply.
Nico doesn’t bother to hide his laughter. But it does stop abruptly as his internal monitor goes off. “She’s using it,” he says.
“Be on guard!” Tatiana says, striking a pose.
For a second only the breeze speaks. A leaf flutters past, sparking on the laser wall.
“She, ah, went to the Arctic Circle,” Nico says after his parents turn to look at him. “What? I didn’t say it was ABSOLUTELY going to be here!”
“We’re going,” Superior says. “Tatia, stay here in case she teleports again.”
“You had best be very careful, my love,” Tatiana says sharply.
“I’m sure we can take her,” Superior says.
“That is not what I am talking about, and you know it,” she says as they fly away at top speeds. After a silent moment she looks down. “You can come out now, kitten! They are gone.” She watches with a fond smile as Zoe steps into sight.
***
She might lose her healers, Mother thinks as she looks at the massive ice mountain. They could run while she’s not there, but the temptation had been too great. This is one of the more listed destinations on the watch, after all. It’s also a very popular place for supposedly “dead” heroes to retire too. Very few norms came this high, because of the cold. She’d been right, she thinks as she moves closer to the mountain, this is Superior’s new base. His “fortress,” as the heroes say. Also, it has curtains. They’re white, sure, but they’re also delicately beaded. She has to move a bit closer to admire the handiwork. Definitely handmade, she thinks with a hint of amusement.
There’s no one here. Sure, she could go in—in fact, she thinks as she heads for one of the larger windows, she thinks she will. She steps into a room full of machines that tower into the sky and various parts that look straight out of the dump lying beside them. This isn’t Superior’s room, she thinks as lights turn on automatically. This is Technico’s.
Something moves, making her turn and stare as a humanoid machine starts for her, moving far faster than most of the heroes she’s seen on television. It almost impresses her, she thinks as she takes its head off with a punch. “Oh dear,” she says as the body keeps attacking. “You just don’t know how to take rejection,” she tells it, grabbing its shoulder and pulling it down into her knee. Her knee goes straight through it, leaving it in pieces on the ground as she lets go. “Is that all the defense you’ve got?”
A wall lights up and she sees Technico looking at her. “Of course it isn’t,” he says. “That was for the apocalypse field.”
“Fascinating,” she says. “Where are you?”
“Where are you?” he asks, not answering.
“If you didn’t know where I was, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” she points out. “Where is your father?”
“Around.”
“I think you’re lying,” she says. “It’s wrong to lie to family.”
“I’ll remember that when I actually talk to some,” Nico says coldly. She turns, not showing her surprise as she hears two people land outside the room.
“Honey, I’m home,” Superior says in an ironic tone as the entire wall buckles and breaks under a punch. He appears in front of her before she gets the chance to say anything, and grabs her by the throat, picking her off the ground. “I should be flattered, don’t you think?” he asks over his shoulder as Technico steps in.
“You don’t want to do this,” she whispers, looking him straight in the eye and—
And nothing, she realizes as a little smirk pulls at his lips. “Really, lady, you think you can brainwash me? I partnered with Mastermental for years. I KNOW that trick--but better played.” He twists, throwing her through a wall before she even realizes he moved. Technico hasn’t even DONE anything, she realizes as she falls to the snow and looks up into Superior’s face. She pushes off of the snow, shooting
up and slamming her fist into his stomach as hard as she can. It sends him flying back a ways, and she looks over at Technico, expecting him to attack.
“Bring it on,” she says, motioning him forward. The world around them shifts, twisting around them in a sickening display. He blinks once, slowly, and she can actually SEE his eyes change how they view the world.
“Do you really think it’ll take two of us?” he asks, scoffing at her.
“Neither of you understand anything!” she says, frustrated.
“Sure we do,” Superior says from behind her. “You’re kidnapping healers. I have a special place in my heart for healers.”
“You need to help me,” she says, turning to him. “Our land is dying—our people are almost completely gone! It’s only you and me—”
“So what?” Superior asks coldly. “Let the species die.”
She turns on him, racing forward to attack, but he dodges before she gets close enough, and grabs her, one arm catching her under the chest, one leg wrapped around hers, blocking her movement. She feels his elbow slam hard into the back of her head. She’s never been hit that hard, she thinks, the light before her eyes flickering for a few seconds.
“Where did you learn that one?” she hears Technico ask through the pounding blood in her ears.
“It’s your mother’s favorite move,” Superior says. Mother reaches out with her powers, trying to force him to let go, but he reacts instantly, negating her attempt. “You’re no match for me, lady,” he says coldly. “You might have good luck scrambling my daughter’s mind, or brainwashing the masses to attack a bus that MY GRANDDAUGHTER WAS IN,” he roars, throwing her away from him. “Do you have any idea how much that one pisses me off?” he asks in a snarl, his eyes no longer cold. No, they’re not cold, she realizes—they’re blazing hot with rage. “I didn’t even realize how mad I was until just now,” he says. “You can do what you want to my kid—he can handle himself, but you NEVER TOUCH MY GIRLS!”
“I’d like to put in a sexism protest,” she hears Technico complain.
“Shut it, Nico,” Superior says before heading straight for her again. A flashback from the old planet rushes through her mind and she blindly reaches for the watch she’s wearing, tapping on the screen. There, she could have blamed the virus—here, though, she has no such excuse.
She teleports right before his fist can slam into her face.
***
“And Max thinks he’s going to change his name to Max Masters when we get married,” I say, my amusement showing. “He says he doesn’t HAVE a last name that I can take, so he’ll take mine.” Grandma lets out a laugh, shaking her head with amusement.
“Have you told your grandfather that yet, kitten?” she asks me. We’re in the air, high above the school. Grandma is floating with me in a hug. She’s already offered to drop me, to see if we can get me flying again, but I didn’t want to distract her when Mother could show up at any moment. I will probably try it later, though!
“Nope, I’m sort of thinking MAX should be the one to explain it,” I say. I jerk slightly as I feel something change. “She’s here,” I say. “You can’t deal with her when holding me, so let me go—”
Grandma ignores me, looking at the ground below where the silver haired woman just appeared. She casually moves me to one arm, dropping down in front of Mother. “It is not polite to show up without calling first,” Grandma says in her coldest voice.
“But it looks like you were expecting me, nonetheless,” Mother says. She looks roughed up, I notice. I bet she had a run-in with Dad or Grandpa. She heads straight for us, her hand coming up—
And Grandma slams one large fist in her face before she can do anything. Mother goes flying back through the air. “Go,” she says, shoving me towards the school. Before I can even take a step, though, Mother appears behind me, grabbing me.
“Oh, no, I think not,” she says, caressing my cheek with one hand. “This pretty little one is exactly what I need,” she adds, turning my head so I’m looking into her eyes. For a second I feel a little light headed—and then my mind starts exploding with zeroes and ones, entire novels of data racing through my head. This is the first time it’s happened like this—I’ve always had to focus to see things the way Dad sees them—
Now, though, I see Mother scowling as she tries to look into my head. “Listen to Mother,” I hear her say from a distance. I completely ignore her—I’m too busy taking in all the new information that’s coming from all around. The wall of lasers behind me is practically shouting things I hadn’t noticed before, I realize. All that power, all the programming we put into it—
I bet I could just turn this, this, and… this one!
Mother shrieks as the shock hits her. Unfortunately for me, she doesn’t let go. I brace myself, expecting to be fried, but all that happens is that the electricity hovers around me, dancing on my skin. Mother lets go.
“Oh, very well done, kitten!” Grandma calls out, clapping twice before slamming straight into Mother with such speed I didn’t even see her move. I’m floating, so I get a birds-eye view of Grandma burying Mother with the impact of her hit. There’s going to be a pretty big hole to patch in the street after this. I watch as Mother shoves Grandma off of her, and take the opportunity to shock her with our most powerful lasers again.
“You will NOT come NEAR MY SCHOOL!” I yell, my arms out at my sides. The power is rushing through me—and I might be a little over-confident, I realize a second too late. I feel a tiny pulse and the world is upside down, twisting all around me. It’s like the first time I ran into Grandpa, back when he was Distort, I think as I fall to the ground. There’s a trick to dealing with this, I think—but I don’t have time to figure it out.
Grandma starts for me, only to run into Mother, who grabs her face and forces her to look in her eyes. “You will assist me,” I hear Mother say. I can see Grandma fighting it.
“Grandma, NO!” I yell, flying through the twisted world, my focus on her alone. “LET GO OF MY GRANDMA!” I bellow, mentally snapping. The lasers that make up the force field turn, aiming straight at the woman that dares to touch my family. She looks up at the last second and touches the watch she’s holding, disappearing with Grandma before the lasers fry the ground where they just were.
Er… I uh… almost fried my grandma, didn’t I? I mean, she’s an S-class tank, so it shouldn’t have killed her, but—
Mother just definitely saved her from some burnt clothes, at least, didn’t she?
I look up, seeing Grandpa and Dad heading for me so fast that they’re breaking the sound barrier. Dad pulls to a stop a few feet away from me and I promptly throw myself into his arms. “She brainwashed Grandma,” I tell them. “She and Grandma teleported away.”
“She did, did she?” Grandpa says. “Where did they go, Nico?” he demands of Dad.
Dad goes still and I can actually see what he’s searching through. “An abandoned building in Texas,” he says as soon as I see him find it. “You,” he says to me, “put those lasers back into place and go inside!”
“I can help!” I say. “I’m one of the few people that can! And—and it’s my fault that Grandma was kidnapped,” I add guiltily.
“We can handle it,” Grandpa says. “Do what your father told you.”
“Also,” Dad says, bringing out his phone and snapping a picture of me. “Nice job with the flying,” he tells me before they fly away.
I look at the mess that is the force field, and sigh, starting to work. A cold ball of worry is growing in my stomach, but I have to ignore it for now.
I just pray that Grandma isn’t being forced to do something she will regret.
***
The healers are gone, Mother notices as she appears in the middle of the empty hospital building. Shadowman is here, though. She turns, looking at the man lounging in the corner, eating a bag of chips. “Where did they go?” she asks.
“You weren’t here, I was out working, where do you think they went?”
Shadowman asks, his eyes falling on the large muscular woman standing next to her. She towers over Mother, and is twice as broad through the shoulders. This is the woman that Superior prefers? She looks more like a man, Mother thinks darkly, looking up at her as well. She’s definitely far more muscular than most men in this world—to be honest, she’s more muscular than a lot of the men on her old planet, too. “You brought Tatiana?” Shadowman asks, a hint of awe in his voice.
“She’s assisting me,” Mother says, although a frisson of worry catches her off-guard as Tatiana’s brilliant blue eyes look at her. They aren’t cold, though, she reminds herself. The eyes looking at her seem… almost amused, for some reason. “Tatiana, punish him for losing my healers, will you?” she says, strutting over to her usual table and sitting down.
“Wa—wait—she could seriously kill me, you know—” Shadowman says, taking a step back as Tatiana looks at him.
“Would she usually?” Mother asks.
“What?”
“You might not have realized this, but no one under my control will do something outside of their natural inclinations,” she says. “It’s much like this world’s hypnotists. I can get them to punch someone, if they have no problems with using that amount of violence, but I can only get a cold-blooded kidnapper to kidnap people for me,” she says, looking at him pointedly. Tatiana is still walking over to Shadowman, who stares at her with a bit of fascinated terror.
Tatiana takes his hand, taps it lightly, and says, “You should not have done that, bad boy!”
“I did expect something a little… more, though,” Mother says as Tatiana steps back, looking satisfied.
“I think she broke a bone or two,” Shadowman says, lying through his teeth. There’s something off, he realizes. He looks at Tatiana, who’s looking around curiously. “Where did you go, Mother-May-I?” he asks, shoving the thought down ruthlessly.
“Oh, here and there,” Mother says cheerfully, watching Tatiana curiously. “Is there something wrong, dear?” she asks the other woman.
