by R. J. Ross
“But she did attack the supers of Central, as well as you,” Mastermental points out.
“That’s true,” Max says. “I can come down and have a little talk with her, if you want.”
“No,” I say, “that should be my job, right?”
“Why would it be your job?” Negatia asks.
“Because all of this is my fault,” I say.
“I will speak with her, as well,” Papa says. There’s a knock on the door and we all look over as it opens and Vinny steps in.
“Son, this is Hall Leader business,” Century says. “Can you come back in a little while?”
“It’s not Jimmi’s fault,” Vinny says, “it’s mine. I went there right after the fight to see if I could find out anything. I should have tried harder, I would have found the necklace.”
“You weren’t sent there for the necklace,” Nico says. “Enough trying to claim the blame, we can’t go back in time to fix things. What we need to do is focus on cleaning it up before something happens.”
“That’s right,” I say, “Nico got rid of that particular watch, remember?”
Vinny’s lips twitch with a hint of amusement. “The only watch he’s gotten rid of,” he agrees. “How are you doing?”
“Don’t try to be sympathetic right now, I don’t need it,” I tell him. If he starts acting any nicer than he is now, I’ll fall right back into my bad habit. I turn, looking at the Hall Leaders. “I will do my best to clean up the mess that I’ve caused.”
“Should we leave this to you?” Isotonic asks. “You’re still young, and you’ve just debuted, right?”
“I’ll come down and oversee it,” Nico says. “We’ll consider this the beginning of your training as a Hall Leader.”
“I see. Well, in that case, I have no reason to disagree,” Isotonic says. “What does everyone else say?”
“That would be fine,” Mastermental says. “You will be entrusting the school to Banshee for the duration?”
“Zoe and Banshee,” Nico agrees.
“If Technico is involved, I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about,” Negatia says. “I’ll just be going, then. I have work to do.”
One by one they sign off, looking content with the situation just because Technico said that. “How do you do that?” I ask him.
“Do what?”
“They trust you so much that they relaxed the moment you volunteered,” I say.
“If you do as well as I think you will for your training, they’ll have the exact same reaction to you saying that, someday,” he says. “I’ll be there soon, so keep an eye on Phoebe for me until I get there. I was thinking of coming down, soon, anyway.”
“Got it,” I say as he hangs up. I look at Papa, who has a little smile on his face. “I… I wasn’t planning on dragging him down here,” I admit.
“Así es, but he is Technico,” he says simply. “He will be here to oversee the little scientist boy that you are so worried about, as well.”
“Davis,” I say, suddenly remembering. I dig out my phone and tap on it, checking the text I’d sent him earlier. The only reply is still the word, “fine.” I glare at it for a second, really wishing I could poke the boy. He needs to keep me better informed! Doesn’t he realize that people are worried about him? I almost jump as I notice that Vinny’s looking over my shoulder.
“If he says he’s fine, he’s fine,” he says.
“Or he’s trying to not get noticed and is in a lot of trouble!” I argue. “Who knows what that super is doing to him? He could be doing all sorts of experiments on the poor boy! I don’t have time for this. I need to talk with Phoebe and then track down Davis so I can go save him if I need to!” I say. I can imagine all the various experiments that they might want to do to him, and it ends with dissecting his brain! That poor boy! Okay, it’s possible that it won’t go that far… I mean, there are machines that can scan the brain without cutting a person open, right? It’s just that that’s the most interesting thing about Davis! So anyone would want to look into his mind!
“I’m approaching the border between the two Halls,” Nico says over the commlink. “Has anything changed with Phoebe?”
“I’ll go find out,” I say, heading out the door and for the ER part of the building. The place seems about usual. Our Hall actually brings in homeless people for doctor visits. We also have a career training facility, which helps prepare them to get back into society. Both Papa and Century feel very strongly about helping the down-trodden. I would really like to get that sort of program implemented into all of the Halls, especially for the young homeless. I head down the hall that they took Phoebe down, listening for any familiar voices. There, I think as I hear Phoebe speak, found her.
“I think…” she says as I step through the door. She doesn’t even seem to notice, she’s too busy staring at her hands, “I think that… I might have… somehow gotten my powers back. Ben… Ben, I have my powers back!”
“That’s wonderful, honey,” he says, leaning down and hugging her. “Do you know how it happened?”
She looks over his shoulder, straight at me. “Does it matter?” she asks. “I have them back! I’m going to be young and beautiful, again! Do you have any idea how expensive it is to get botox? I’m not just talking my face; I was looking into all SORTS of places. Oh, and that roll of fat that I was fighting, I need to see—” she pulls away from him and brings up her blue paper robe, pinching the flesh around her belly. “It’s gone! It’s gone, Ben! I’ve got my old body back! I can go back to acting!”
“But… I thought you liked being a makeup and special effects master?” he says a bit weakly.
“I do…” she says, “but what’s the point of having this body if you’re not in front of cameras? You know what I mean, don’t you, Burnout?”
Crashtastic turns, looking at me in surprise. “I didn’t hear you knock,” he says with a frown.
“The door was open,” I say, not about to feel guilty. “So…”
“I can’t begin to thank you, enough,” Phoebe says, smiling at me.
“You…” I say, trying to think of how to put this. A hand drops on my shoulder, and I look behind me, seeing that Technico’s gotten here. “That was fast,” I whisper.
“I was already heading this way when we were talking earlier,” he says, not bothering to whisper back. “Like you said, the kid is too young to be going into the field alone.”
“Technico,” Phoebe says, her cheerful expression belying the cold look in her eyes. “To what do I owe this visit?”
“We know,” he says, nudging me into the room. “Don’t bother trying to hide it; we already know that you have your powers back. I’ve still got enough film on you to prove to the world that you’re a super. They would have no idea that you spent a bit of time as a norm. All I would have to do is release the footage, and you’ll be outed to the world.”
“You don’t waste any time, do you?” she asks. I move in further as I realize that Papa and Century are behind Nico. The hospital room is starting to feel a bit crowded, with Crashtastic bravely trying to stand between all of us and Phoebe.
“She’s recovering from an accident right now, this is hardly the time to be interrogating her,” Crashtastic says, looking tiny in comparison to them. Oh, he’s taller than Papa, but he looks skinny and weak, nonetheless.
“Fine,” Phoebe says. “Ben, stand down, sweetie, you’re outnumbered, although I do love how protective you’re being,” she says, tugging him to the side. “Out me, if you dare. If you do that, I’ll tell the entire world how you stripped me of my powers, and then, just because an accident gave them back, you’re punishing me again. How righteous do you think you’ll look, then?”
“Burnout? Why don’t you try your hand at negotiating?” Century offers. “I’m sure you can do it properly.”
“Okay… well…” I say. I’m surrounded by both of my Hall leaders, AND my principal, and yet they’re making me do this. No, I need to put that in a more positiv
e way. They’re LETTING me do this. They trust me to do it properly. “We’ve come to make a deal,” I say. “You agree to register as a cape of your own free will, and not to use your powers for evil, and…” I pull a blank, because I think I spoke too soon. I look over at Century, who smiles slightly.
“And?” Technico prompts me. “What are we going to offer in return?”
“We’ll let you continue being in the movie industry,” I say, glancing at the adults for confirmation. “I mean, you’re doing really well, right? Everyone at the filming location seemed to think very highly of you. The Hall leaders will agree to that, right?” I ask Century.
“Well, we would be willing to see what happens,” Century says. “You’re going to be in my territory for a while, right? I’ll be keeping a close eye on you during that time.”
“But it could take years,” Crashtastic says. “We’ve already negotiated for a sequel, and are in the works for a third, at least. Are you going to watch her every move for three years?”
“We’re supers, boy,” Century says, “three years is nothing.”
“If you even think of Max’s family, though, I’ll expose you, myself,” I say. “What you and your father did was disgusting and wrong.”
“Disgusting?” she repeats. “I know that I broke a few laws, which was wrong, but I don’t recall doing anything… disgusting. And yes, I hypnotized a few people, as well, but even the norms do that!”
“You almost broke her, mentally!” I say, trembling slightly as I recall the story. “The only reason she didn’t have a complete mental breakdown was because Mastermental went in and helped her out!”
There’s a frown on Phoebe’s face. “I don’t believe you. Oh, sure, he might have given her a few nightmares, but that would hardly cause a mental breakdown. My father had extremely good control. He would know where to stop.”
“He knew,” Mastermental’s voice says over the commlink, “he just did not care. Would you like to see for yourself what your father did to the child?”
We all look up as a poof sounds and Max and Mastermental appear in the room. The Central Hall leader walks over to the bed and presses his hand to Phoebe’s forehead. “Of course, I should have shown you this, earlier, but we all know how fast we had to move at the time,” he explains. I’m almost positive she doesn’t hear him, because her face is getting paler and her hands are clenching the sheets. “Since this went on for several hours, I think I’ll just give you the compressed version,” Mastermental goes on in a conversational tone. “I’m sure that with your powers and experience, it won’t bother you too much, right?”
“You… can… stop,” she grits out. “I get the point.” Crashtastic starts forward, but suddenly Max is standing in front of him, blocking the way.
“Are you certain?” Mastermental asks. “We haven’t even gotten to the part where I had to do a thorough cleansing of this filth so she could sleep at night.” There’s a chilling glint in his eyes. “I see from your thoughts, Phoebe, that you have been considering motherhood. What would you think if someone did this to your child? Oh, but we all know just how cruel you are, so I’m sure that wouldn’t bother you, one bit, would it?”
“She’s… she’s not your child,” Phoebe says.
“She’s my only son’s sister,” Mastermental says, “but even that shouldn’t matter. She is an innocent child that you dragged away from her family and handed over to a sociopath. Do not dare to write it off, Phoebe, or I will be the one to throw you into the Cape Cells, myself.”
“If I swear that I wasn’t there when that happened, it won’t make any difference, will it?” she asks, her breathing a bit ragged as he pulls his hand away.
“I knew that you were not there,” Mastermental says. “But then you assaulted my Hall. You could have killed my son, as well as several of my colleagues. I was being lenient with the power stripping sentence, but now that you have your powers back, please realize that I am constantly looking for a reason to come down on you. For these past several months, though, you have been an exemplary citizen. I was almost disappointed by that fact.”
“I…” she says, looking around, as if hoping one of us will save her. Her eyes fall on me, and I inwardly sigh. “I want to take the deal,” she says. “I’ll register, and I’ll stay out of the super world for the rest of my life. I’ll even quit this job, since it’s a movie about supers, if you want.”
Mastermental stares at her for a long moment before looking to me. “This is your first trial as a prospective Hall leader?”
“Yes, sir,” I say quietly.
“Do you understand what a large responsibility this will be?”
“I…” I hesitate, glancing over at Max, who’s been silent this entire time. “I will do my best to make sure she stays the exemplary citizen that she’s been for the past several months, sir,” I say, squaring my shoulders. “And I promise that… if I find out that she’s stepped out of line, I will call you, first thing, and I will testify against her, myself. But… but I’d rather you not make her quit. She seemed to be working hard, and if she can make the Darlin’s happy with their actresses, the South Branch will be a much more peaceful place to live in.”
“I helped her get that job, on Max’s recommendation. I had to pull several strings to do it. I’m not going to make her quit,” Mastermental says. “Century? Technico? Is there anything you need to add to this?”
“Even if we are letting you continue working, I think we should have you go through a program similar to what we’re doing with the Cape Cell convicts,” Nico says.
“Program?” she repeats. “What sort of program?”
“You will start taking care of a very special pet,” he says, “and in your case, you’ll be going through therapy with Mastermental…” he looks at Mastermental.
“Once a month,” Mastermental says. Nico nods.
“And we’ll set up a random check-in once a week with… Jimmi, here, to make sure you don’t make a run for it, now that she’s under South Branch jurisdiction,” he says, looking at me.
“Fine,” Phoebe says. “I would work it into my schedule, but obviously that won’t work.”
“Rochester would be a better choice,” I admit. “He could make sure she’s not doing anything bad, at the same time.”
“Bring him with you,” Century says.
“So… I have to take care of a pet?” she asks. “Forgive me, but that makes absolutely no sense. I understand the therapy and the check-ins, sure, but why a pet? Like you said, we’re supers; we live a very long time. Most pets live for a handful of years, at most.”
“Not these pets,” Nico says, waving a hand and then starting to type on the air.
“Now that this is… settled, we should be getting back,” Mastermental says, looking at me for a moment. “I expect great things from you, Burnout. Please do not disappoint me.” I nod and he places a hand on Max’s shoulder. The two disappear.
“Burnout,” Century says, placing a hand on my shoulder, “you can go, for now. We’ll deal with this part.” I nod and head out, glancing at Papa, who gives me a reassuring smile.
“You have done well, mija,” he says quietly.
“Gracias,” I say.
“Burnout,” Nico says, still typing, “I’ve sent you the coordinates, if you’re really that worried about the kid.”
I look at my commlink before nodding. “Thanks, Technico,” I say, heading out.
Vinny is waiting in the hallway, but I walk right past him, my eyes glued to the map hologram that appears over my wrist. I can finally check in on Davis.
CHAPTER FIVE
*The North Hall*
That… was extremely interesting, Shadowman thinks as he heads through the North Hall. The good thing about being in this position is how much knowledge he can accrue without even bothering to hide. Oh, sure, he could find out the old fashioned way, but why bother? Right now he’s on retainer as a cape for the Hall. Then again, he would have noticed the problem if
he had bothered to meet up with a depowered cape, in the first place. It’s in his power set. But the fact that the little power drainer girl has the ability to overcome it, well, he wouldn’t have thought of that. He should have, he scolds himself, he’d been there when Kunnins was running around with the power sticks.
The problem is that the only people that might be interested in this fact are already under lock and key of the Hall. And truthfully, he admits, he would prefer that most of them stay there. Oh, sure, there’s always that line about villains working together for their own good, but Herold had almost killed him. If the guy never gets his powers back, it’ll be too soon. In fact, Shadowman has his party outfit all picked out for when the jerk kicks the bucket. Then there’s, who? Deathblow and Massteria? Well, he might have never met the two that he can recall, but he has no desire to deal with them. Honestly, the only good thing about knowing this is that the guillotine the Hall has kept hanging over his head is completely negated. Well, unless he’s old enough to die straight off, that is. He’s been power stripped, before, and he’d survived…
But he hadn’t been in any shape to hunt down the power girl, now had he? That means it would be better to do it now and hide the tube away somewhere where he can find it later, right? Of course, hiding it in the Shadowlands is out. Maybe he should find a way to carry it with him?
Ah… but if he’s thinking this way, he’s certain others are, as well. The news of the power stripping serum has been spread through the underground, already. It might even be possible to pick up some cash off of this, after all!
He heads for the restroom and sinks into the nearest shadow. If he’s gone too long, Isotonic or one of his goons will notice. If Isotonic notices, he’ll get shut down, but there are other Hall members that might let him get away with it… if he plays this just right, that is. Either way, he won’t be able to do it without the special tubes. Thankfully, he stashed some away during that job. He heads off, whistling to himself as he goes. It looks like it’s time to visit his cubbyhole, again. As he’s going, he pulls out his phone and accesses a forum that he hasn’t checked in… oh, a day or so.
