Super Girls (Cape High Book 13)

by R. J. Ross

  “Honey, I’m home!” she says cheekily, saluting us.

  “Welcome home!” I say, walking over and grinning at her. “We’ve got a few friends—can you take all of us?” I ask. She hesitates, doing a bit of counting.

  “I can,” Rocco says. “We’re heading to Texas, right?”

  “The South Branch Hall,” I agree. I should have thought about Rocco being able to take us, I realize stupidly. My mind was just so full of things that I instinctively asked for Emily. “How about we split up?” I ask. “Rocco and I will go his way, Emily, can you take Rochester and Cisco?”

  “Sounds good,” she says. “Although I really want to travel by shadow sometime—so you owe me for this, got it?” And then she’s gone before I can reply.

  “Sorry, Rocco,” I say. He shrugs, giving me a slightly sheepish shrug.

  “It’s fine,” he says, taking my hand and stepping into a shadow. I follow silently, looking around curiously. “Actually, no, it’s not,” he says abruptly. “You really like to meddle, don’t you?”

  “Wh—what?” I ask, suddenly worried. I’m down here in a dimension I don’t know, completely alone with a guy I barely know. He could just LEAVE me here—

  “I just started making friends,” he says, turning on me. “They’re messed up, sure, but they’re my friends. That—that jerk everyone is saying is my old man is the reason they’re so messed up,” he says, his righteous rage showing in his voice and his stance. “Why do I need to play nice with him? Sure he might be the reason I can walk through shadows, but do you really think that’s a GOOD thing? And you might not realize it, but that’s ALL he’s given me.” His hands clench at his sides for a moment as he takes a deep breath. “My ma didn’t know how to deal with me. She was HAPPY when I told her I was going to come to school—no, not happy, relieved. Like a giant burden was being lifted off of her. And the only reason she even HAD that burden was because of that no-good piece of crap you’re dragging me off to see now.”

  I look him straight in the eyes, not about to look away right now. “I know where you’re coming from,” I say.

  “No you don’t!”

  “Dad was in the Cape Cells for my entire life,” I say. “I only met him about a year ago, after Mom disappeared and Sunny and I were tossed into a foster home for almost two years. The first time I saw him was through an electric fence that could fry a full grown human with a touch. I lucked out, Dad’s not a bad guy. Your dad isn’t mine—he’s a jerk, we both agree to that, but this is your only opportunity to look him in the eye and tell him exactly what you think. Your only chance to tell him that you’re going to be ten times the man he is, and ever will be. You are, aren’t you?”

  “Of course I am!” he says, outraged by the very question.

  “Then let’s go and tell him that,” I say.

  He looks at me, staring for a long, long moment, before saying, “Just how serious are you and Max, anyway?”

  “What?” I ask, a startled laugh escaping.

  “I mean, you and me could go out for a movie or something—”

  “You really shouldn’t hit on your team leader’s girlfriend, you know,” I point out. The tense atmosphere is completely gone as he starts forward again.

  “I’m taller than he is!” he says.

  “He can fly, height doesn’t matter,” I say, waving it off.

  “He’s got a Napoleon complex because of how short he is,” he says. “You’re way better off with a tall guy!”

  “Never happen,” I say. “Not unless he gets taller. Don’t worry, we have plenty of kick-butt girls at school. You’ll get a girlfriend sooner or later.” I blink as he takes my hand, looking me in the eyes. Is he going to do something—

  “I hope she’s as awesome as you are,” he says, tugging me through a deep shadow and into the light.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “Why don’t you just turn the thing off?” Superior asks a few minutes later as he and Nico float high above the country. “You can, can’t you?”

  “Of course I can, but the moment I do that she’ll realize I can control it from here and get rid of it. We’ll lose any form of tracking her that we have,” Nico says irritably, his eyes focused on the ground below. “She has Mom. If she didn’t, I’d just blow the sucker.”

  “Hardly the heroic stance you should take,” Superior says.

  “Of course it isn’t,” Nico says, touching his earbud. “Firefly, America’s Son, you are in position, right?”

  “We’re here,” Ken says. “It’s quiet in front of the school. But your daughter left earlier.”

  “What?”

  “She went with Rocco to the South Branch, according to Mastermental. They have Shadowman captive.”

  “I see, that sounds like something she would shove her nose into,” Nico says blandly, ignoring the fact that he’d done the same earlier.

  “Your daughter is far more considerate than—”

  “Either of us?” Nico drawls, looking at Superior. It actually startles a laugh out of the older man, even with the stressful situation they’re in. “What will we do with the Mother lady when we capture her?” he asks after a long moment.

  “We both know that there are far more evil things than a bit of brainwashing, don’t we,” Superior says in a mild tone. “The media does it every day.”

  “If you don’t believe in something solid, it’s easy to believe anything,” Ken says over the com. “It isn’t brainwashing if people willingly follow the crowd, it’s just taking advantage,” he finishes a bit dryly, “repeatedly.”

  “Your friend is a bit cynical for a preacher, don’t you think?” Superior asks Nico, both aware that Ken is listening in.

  “Not usually,” Nico says. “I must be rubbing off on him.”

  “Note, I said people CAN believe in something solid,” Ken says. “The ones that know what they believe, they can’t be swayed that easily. And it seems to me that Tatiana is the embodiment of knowing who and what she is, from what I’ve seen of her past.”

  The two Superior males look at each other, startled.

  “You don’t think—” Nico starts out.

  “I bet she is,” Superior says. “Never could manipulate that woman for long, why do you think I love her?”

  “This just got a lot more interesting,” Nico says with a wicked little smile.

  ***

  “Ah, this is very entertaining, no?” Tatiana says cheerfully, eating an ice cream cone as if they were just going shopping. Mother stares at her, wondering why she’s the only one feeling worried. “We have seen so many beautiful sights! I must make Nicolas make me one of these watches,” she adds. “I have seen so much that I could not before this!”

  They’re in the middle of a small town in Georgia—she thinks. Really, she’d just been tapping random destinations since they almost got caught in Texas. They’d almost been caught in Washington, as well—but Tatiana had glanced out the window and made a casual comment about Marigold—

  She lets out a sigh, trying to get her cool, in-control feeling back. Skye had been entertaining—hard to handle, but entertaining, because she easily fell into the “child” mindset. Tatiana, though, Tatiana is almost as old as she is, and treats her more like a friend than someone to follow. In fact, the more time she spends with the other woman, the less in control of the situation she feels. Tatiana sweeps all those “superior” feelings aside without thinking.

  “Marie!” Tatiana says, using a name she’d accidentally slipped out. How, she doesn’t even know, but Tatiana latched onto it. Never once has she called her “Mother,” Mother realizes with surprise. “Can we go to the large waterfalls this time?” she asks. “I am very fond of the gigantic waterfalls!”

  “Would that make you happy, dear?” Mother asks, patting one massive, muscular arm.

  “Oh, very!”

  “Then we’ll go to Niagara Falls,” she says, turning and fiddling with the watch.

  She doesn’t even see the shining bl
ue eyes of her companion turn sharp for a moment. After a second, though, the look turns amused. She HAS been wanting to see Niagara Falls from up close again, Tatiana thinks cheerfully.

  Revenge for the brainwashing incidents can wait just a bit longer.

  ***

  The room is so bright that his eyes hurt. It’s the first thought that Shadowman has when he becomes aware again. The next thought is that Century got him. He lets out a sharp curse, wondering how long he was frozen in time for. He looks around, but there’s no one in the room with him. There’s a mirror on the wall, which he’s certain is two-way. He starts for it, staring himself in the eye. “Where is Mother?” he demands. “Tell me you lousy capes caught that—”

  “Language, language, Shadowman,” he hears Century drawl. “We have children on this side of the mirror, you need to set a good example.”

  “Children?” Shadowman asks, looking at himself for the first time in the mirror. Skintight black uniform, metal collar—he curses, ignoring the reprimand he just got. “Hey! You’ve got me locked down, here, turn off some of the f—freaking lights, would you? I’m going blind!”

  One of the lights goes off, not enough to do much good, just enough to taunt him. “Who are the kids?” he demands. “Let me guess—you brought my kid here,” he says, scoffing at the mirror. “Some sort of attempt to make me change my ways? I’m a dad, I need to be a good guy, now, so my kid thinks—”

  “Don’t bother,” he hears a young male voice say. “I already know you’re scum.”

  The mirror shimmers for a second before becoming a clear window. Rocco is standing on the other side, next to a Superior brat. Shadowman can’t think of her name, but he’s run into her and her brother before. Her brother had been dangerous. He has no reason to think she’s any different—not with the females in her family.

  “You look like your mother—is that what you expect me to say?” Shadowman taunts his son, trying to get under the kid’s skin. There’s a cold, apathetic look in the boy’s eyes that makes him angry.

  “I’d rather look like her than you,” Rocco says.

  “This is what you’re going to NOT turn into, son,” Century says, placing a hand on Rocco’s shoulder.

  “He isn’t your son,” Shadowman snaps, lunging forward a step before he manages to stop himself.

  “I’m not yours, either,” Rocco says. “You aren’t my father—you’re just the passing stranger that helped make me. As far as we’re both concerned, there’s no need to make it out to be more than that.”

  Shadowman goes silent, feeling oddly offended by being tossed over that easily. “I’m the reason you’re a super,” he says, finally. “You at least owe me for that.”

  “I owe you NOTHING,” Rocco snarls, pulling back a fist. The Superior girl grabs his wrist, stopping him as if he’s nothing. Shadowman can even see him strain against her hold for a second before giving up.

  Shadowman takes a moment to get his mind straight. “You realize, though, I never knew about you,” he has to say, knowing he sounds pathetic. What if he HAD known? Would he have done anything different? He honestly doesn’t know, he admits. “She never told me.”

  “And how would she have?” Rocco asks bluntly. “Did you ever give her your real name and phone number? Do you ever give ANYONE that?”

  He has no response to that, Shadowman realizes, so he turns his attention to Century. “Have you caught Mother?”

  “What’s the matter, Shadowman? Worried that you’re out of a paycheck?” Century asks.

  “She never paid me. I want her caught. No, that’s a lie. I want her dead. A crazy Superior out on the loose is something that needs taken care of. But you pansy pajama wearing capes aren’t ruthless enough to deal with her. Let me out and I’ll do it myself.”

  “I’m afraid that’s not an option,” Century says. “Your next step is a trial in front of the board, and then the Cape Cells. You won’t be out for a very, very long time—if ever.”

  Shadowman looks at the uniform he’s wearing and reaches up to touch the collar, cursing as it shocks him. He even falls to his knees with the pain.

  “Don’t bother trying to phase through it,” Rocco says. “We brought in the Central made ones—they’re a lot tougher than everyone else’s.”

  Shadowman looks up at his son. “Hate me if you want,” he says, “but you’ve got my powers. You’ll wind up just like I did—” He jerks back barely in time as the Superior girl smashes a fist through the glass. His eyes widen and he swallows a bit. “You put me behind regular glass?” he demands in shock.

  “Rocket resistant,” Century says, looking at the girl a bit irritably. “It’s not cheap, you know, Zoe.”

  “You have NO SAY in how Rocco is going to turn out,” she says, too focused on him to catch Century’s chide. “He’s a Cape High student now! He’s going to be an amazing addition to our super world. If you dare try and pull him down now, well, you’ll get worse than what Dad did to you when you tried to kidnap Adanna,” she snarls through the hole she just created.

  “Ah, y’know, when I hit on you—” Rocco says, staring at Zoe with a hint of terror, “I was just joking, right?”

  “Shut up, Rocco,” she says, blowing him off, her attention still on Shadowman.

  “No, seriously, I mean, we both know you’re dating Max—I’m okay with that—”

  “I’m ready to go to the Cape Cells now,” Shadowman volunteers, much to Century’s amusement. “But first,” he says. “You might not turn out like me, after all,” he says to Rocco. “If you don’t, good. But I should probably tell you, there’s one other in our little family.”

  “What?” Rocco asks.

  “Skystep. She’s your cousin, or second cousin, or maybe some sort of once or twice removed cousin, I didn’t follow too closely,” Shadowman says, shrugging and looking at the hole in the glass. “She’s from our line, regardless. You can hate me all you want, I’m used to it, but…”

  “He’s related to Aunt Skye?” Zoe asks, excitedly. “That means you’re family, Rocco!” she says to his son.

  “That makes me family, too, then,” Shadowman has to point out.

  “I’m going to ignore you, now,” Zoe tells him flatly. “We can be cousins!” she says to Rocco.

  “Uh… thanks?” Rocco says, obviously not sure that’s a good thing.

  “Also,” Shadowman says, “you’re my kid, regardless, so I’m going to leave the whole Mother problem to you. Her and her kid, that Senator Herold guy, take them down, boy.”

  “What?” Rocco asks.

  “We don’t have their brute strength, but we’ve got tricks they don’t,” Shadowman says urgently. “You’re one of the ones that can do it. Don’t hesitate. I blew my chance, getting caught, but you haven’t.”

  “Enough,” Century says. “Someone replace the glass,” he orders the black suits. “We’ve got work to do.”

  “Oh—um—” Zoe says, blushing brightly. “I’m so sorry about your two way mirror, Century—I’ll pay for its replacement, I promise—”

  “You’ve fully come into your strength, haven’t you?” Century asks her.

  “I ah, don’t think so, actually,” Zoe says. “The last time Dad checked he said I still have a bit of growing to do.”

  “When was that?”

  “Yesterday.”

  Century just looks at her for a long moment before placing a hand on her shoulder. “Welcome to the South Branch, Sugar. Consider the two-way mirror a gift on my behalf, as thanks for joining.”

  “I’ll be both Central AND South, though,” she points out. “And if the other branches offer me the job of advising their schools, I’ll probably take it, you know.”

  “I think you can handle it,” he says, “but I’d be willing to negotiate—how does a nice little vacation home sound? Something with beach-front property and your own supply of any technology you want?” Century offers.

  Rocco turns, looking at Shadowman, completely ignoring Century’s br
ibery. “You know,” he says, walking to the glass and looking him in the eye, “I would have probably accepted you, if you hadn’t kidnapped my friends in the past. As it is—you won’t EVER get close to the zoo kids,” he tells him. “Not again. And hey, if you ever get out, well, don’t look me up.” There’s a hint of hurt in his eyes that disappears quickly. Shadowman doesn’t bother to hide his.

  It’s his own fault, though. It always is. He nods, simply, and turns his back on them. This will be the last time he talks to other people for a very long time. It’s fitting that it turns out this way.

  It’s been such a long time since he felt anything strongly—not surprising that it’s self-loathing.

  ***

  “This place stinks,” I complain as we head through the tunnels. “How do you handle it? It smells like rotten eggs.”

  “You get used to it—sort of,” he says, looking over as something skitters through the shadows. I get the feeling his night vision is better than mine—and I’m glad. I’d rather not see what lives in this plane. “You don’t mind if I check in with the team, first, right?”

  “I’d like that—er, no, actually,” I say, quickly going through my priorities. Yes, I want to see Max. Every part of my heart is screaming that I need a hug and a kiss and told that he can take over from here—but that’s stupid. I can handle this, I tell myself firmly. In all actuality, if I really wanted to leave it to someone else, I would have left it to Dad and Grandpa. “Can you take me one place before you go back to your team?” I ask.

  “Uh, sure,” he says. “Where to?”

  “I want to go to the Arctic Circle,” I say, rattling off the coordinates. “It’s where Grandma and Grandpa live—and where we buried the space ship. I want to see if I can’t find out something about what killed off Grandpa’s planet.”

  “Why?” he asks.

  “Because it can be used against us,” I say, my jaw tightening. “Dad’s too busy chasing after Mother. Someone needs to do some research. I don’t think it got the virus, but maybe it was young enough that it DID get it, and has a built in resistance.”