Burn Out

by R. J. Ross

  “Go on in,” Nico says. “The upgrades are finished.”

  “I want churros!” I call after Vinny. “Papa, this will be fine. I’ll call you in the morning, okay?” I give him a hug and wave goodbye before heading onto campus. My heart is pounding against my chest and my hands are clammy. I did it. I… I just hope it doesn’t blow up in my face.

  ***

  *The Shadowlands*

  Shadowman pulls out the glowing tube, staring at it in wonder. The dinos have drifted back into the shadows, leaving him alone. This, he thinks, this is what makes it worth risking the Cape Cells. This is what makes it worth drawing the attention of the Hall. He just needs to keep it somewhere safe. Somewhere no one will think of—

  “Do you really think they’ll let you get away with this?” Shadowman turns, seeing Reaper standing behind him, smoking a cigar. “This smell is going to permeate my favorite suit,” Reaper complains, making a face. “This place stinks worse than I remember.”

  “I don’t care,” Shadowman says. He actually hasn’t had a real run-in with Reaper before. Oh, sure, they’ve spoken on the forum, once in a while, but it’s not like they’re friends. They don’t even qualify as acquaintances. “I figure that if Technico really wants to see what the villains are up to, he’ll look, himself.”

  “That’s true,” Reaper says. “So why are you doing this?”

  “For this,” Shadowman says, holding up the glowing tube. “I lost my powers once, not too long ago. It was temporary, but I’m already old enough to know it’ll kill me if it lasts any longer than it did. It doesn’t matter if they’re using me. In fact, it works out better for me, that way. You can tell your overlord that I said so.”

  “How do you know they’re using you?” Reaper asks.

  “It’s what I would do,” Shadowman says. “I don’t mind being used by the Hall, if I can get this tube out of it. Hell, I pretty much invited them to do it. You don’t check in on someone at the Hall if you don’t want them finding out about it.”

  “But did you tell them you planned on it?” Reaper asks, looking intrigued.

  “Do you think I would be walking around freely if Technico didn’t want me to be? He’s got my kid, and my kid has all of my powers. I even grabbed the girl with him right there, a few feet away. Oh, sure, I had to give her back a second later or it would have gotten messy, but we all know what’s going on. I specialize in finding hidden things, and he’s smart enough to take advantage of that,” Shadowman says, still looking at the tube. “Do you want one?” he asks. It’s only smart to offer, after all. Reaper is probably the most dangerous man to him in the world, even more dangerous than his own son.

  “That’s how you stop the power stripping serum, is it?” Reaper asks, looking, as well. “Don’t need it. It seems like it’d be more trouble than it’s worth.”

  “Ah, right, because you play by the rules,” Shadowman says. “How much do they pay for a fake death?”

  “More than you’re making off of glowing tubes,” Reaper says. He turns, strolling off, his smoke trailing along behind him. “Ah, one more thing, Shadowman,” he says, pausing to tap the ash off of his cigar. “I know what you did to my kid. I know what you did to her pals. If I see you standing on the edge of a proverbial cliff, you should know…” he looks back, his eyes glowing even brighter than before, “I’ll be the first to push you over.”

  Shadowman can’t say anything to that, so he just watches him go, pulling out his phone a second later and checking the text that he had expected to come sooner. I can find you, it says, and not just through your son. Remember that the next time you try to grab one of my kids.

  Shadowman hesitates for all of a second before typing, Do you want The_Professor or not?

  There’s a long moment of silence before the screen flashes. Is the tube your price?

  You know it is, Shadowman types. There’s more silence, and Shadowman feels his hands grow clammy. He wouldn’t put it past Technico to build a watch that lets him come here. He’s gone everywhere else.

  Carry on. The text comes right as he’s starting to look for an escape route.

  ***

  Nico stares at the text from Shadowman, his mind going back to the past. The_Professor. Nico had been just a kid when The_Professor started up the Villains Forum. When most coding was done by hand, and only a handful of people even knew the internet existed, The_Professor had already started up a high-tech forum that required a personal invitation to join. The invitation was sent through a norm, in person, not over email, or anything like that, and most of the villains needed to buy an entire system just to get online, but they’d done it. Anyone that could track them down and send a lackey to find them was worth checking out.

  That forum had been the start of a lot of things, including the Dark Shopping Network, the Evil Lairs for Sale catalog, and several conspiracies that are real, now, simply because the villains heard about them and thought they were hysterical enough to implement. The Villains Forum is for the elite of super villainy, the ones that have family names that go back to the dark ages. Nico had hacked into it when he was a kid, of course, but it had been challenging. In fact, every year the security gets more impressive. He had actually thought that The_Professor had been Herold at one time, but it’s still being upgraded, even now.

  What’s more, Nico thinks as he heads into Cape High South, he’s never been able to track down The_Professor. All of the work had been done by norms scattered throughout the world, each doing only a small part of the work, none knowing the whole of it. Oh, sure, now they realize that it’s a forum, of sorts, but they’re making enough money to not really care. It’s just another coding job, as far as they’re concerned. He knows, he’s talked to them.

  There are kids watching him warily, he realizes a second later. He hadn’t even thought of it, since he’s so used to the school up in Central. A larger teen steps out of the dorms, walking over to him with a glare on his face. “Who are you?” he demands.

  “Treble, that’s Technico,” Jonas says, running out of the building and grabbing the other teen’s shoulder. “I thought you met him when you went up to try and get into Central.”

  “That’s Technico?” Treble repeats. “Ah, yeah, I never actually met him. I talked to Mastermental, who said they weren’t accepting new students.” He blinks as a green light flicks over him, turning to look at Nico. “What was that for?” he demands.

  “C-class, but with a lot of training we could pass you off as B, I’d say,” Nico says. “I thought you said that you ran off of music, or something?”

  “I do. And so what if I only get C’s?” Treble asks.

  “Not your grades, kid, your power levels,” Nico says. “I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised, you survived a kick from my little sister. How’s it going, Jonas? You like the new school?” he asks, turning to the healer.

  “It’s a lot smaller,” Jonas admits, “and I’m the only one going into the ER section for training. I mean, sure, Aubrey calls me up to check in, but…” he shrugs. “I still freak out a lot of the ER visitors.”

  “Good,” Nico says.

  “How is that good?”

  “If you freak them out, they won’t consider trying to kidnap you. It’s a lot less troublesome that way.”

  “I was hoping you’d lie and tell me they’d get used to me,” Jonas mutters. “Aren’t teachers supposed to do that sort of thing?”

  “We’re supers, kiddo,” Nico says with amusement. “There’s no point in platitudes about how we appear to norms.”

  “Well, you could at least give me an illusion watch!” Jonas says, following him as he heads for the science building. “And you might have designed this school, but the science room isn’t built to be your office.”

  “Sure it is,” Nico says. “I just need to change a few things and I’ll be good. And I’m not going to give you an illusion watch until you’re out of school, just because I want you to be able to fade into a crowd when needed.”
/>   “You gave Sandra one,” he complains. Nico looks at him long enough that he sighs. “Fine, so that’s not a good comparison,” he mutters.

  “There’s nothing wrong with how you look, kid,” Nico says, placing a hand on his shoulder. “It’s what you can do that freaks them out.”

  “Oh, thanks,” Jonas says sarcastically.

  “Santa’s been trying to get you as an elf, if you really want to blend in!” Nico says.

  “What, with the snow?” Jonas says. “Thanks, but no thanks. They don’t need a healer up there, anyway.”

  “That was kinda rude, too,” Treble says.

  “I wasn’t meaning the snow,” Nico says. “The North Pole is a supers-only area. That’s where the most stand-out types of capes go if they don’t want to deal with society.” He flies up to the second floor of the science building, holding out his hands to the walls. The boys, who had chased him here, watch in shock as the walls pull back, revealing the most advanced computer system they’ve ever seen—or second most, in Jonas’s case. He’s seen Nico’s other office. “Is Jimmi here?” Nico asks them.

  “Yeah, she’s setting up her room,” Treble says.

  “Tell her I’ll give her ten minutes before I expect her here.”

  “You could just call her,” Jonas points out.

  “But that wouldn’t get you out of my office,” Nico says, starting to tap on the air. “I’m about to finally catch The Professor,” he says with a grin. “I’ve wanted to know who he is since I was younger than you are, I think.” But he has a very good idea of who he might be, now, he adds silently, his mind turning to the kid that’s still out in the field. He waves a hand and a video feed starts playing, one that Davis may or may not realize he’s sending.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Davis stares emotionlessly at the room his mother’s put together, closing the door behind him. Oh, the size is great, and the computer system would have thrilled him, before he had gone to Cape High South, but really, he thinks, does she have to plaster the wall with posters about history? This is all stuff he learned when he was six. He walks past a picture of Teddy Roosevelt holding a rifle, reaching the computer desk and sitting down. His mind is still stuck on the machine that his father and uncle are building. His uncle had seemed quite proud of himself, his father had seemed amused. Of course, both he and his father realize that it’s nowhere near working, yet, but…

  He leans back in his chair, rubbing his temple as he tries to calculate how long it would take him to get it working. A month? Possibly two? But from what he’d seen of his father’s work on the computer in his “school” it would take a lot less time than that for Walter Colleck.

  He stops, seeing the tiniest of blinks in the lens of his glasses. A hologram of words appears floating in front of his left eye. There’s only one person that could do that, he decides, looking towards the door for a second before he pulls out his Technico phone, slowly aiming it around the room as a light scans everything. Once he’s certain he’s not bugged, he unplugs all of the usb connectors from the computer in front of him.

  Now, the hologram text says, there’s too much of a chance of someone walking in. You can use the keyboard in front of you, instead, I’ll be able to read what you type.

  Davis nods slightly and then starts to type. They have a machine that’s supposed to convert the atomic structure of things. It’s based on the research that Uncle Richard did on Skystep.

  How close is it to working? the text asks.

  It would take me a month or two, but… as much as I hate to admit it, I think it would take my father a lot less time than that, Davis types with a bitter frown. In fact, I was surprised that they’ve only gotten this far.

  Where is it? Technico asks.

  In the “school” building. They’ve brought in norm scientists to teach me everything that they know. For some reason these scientists know a lot about super tech from the past. They even have an android that looks a lot like Superior. Davis frowns, trying to figure out where they could have gotten it from. I don’t think it would ever work, though.

  It wouldn’t, but it’s nice to know where it’s gotten to.

  You know where it’s from? Davis asks, almost laughing. He stops himself at a tiny snort, looking around cautiously.

  I’ll have to tell you the story someday. For now, plug your keyboard back in and act like you were just playing on the internet. Someone’s coming.

  Davis almost jumps out of his skin before quickly plugging his usb connectors back in. The door opens behind him just as he’s finished, and he starts typing on the keyboard, pretending that he hadn’t just been chatting with his ex principal. There’s a strange thrill to this, he admits as he feels his heart pounding. “You know, it’s only polite to knock before entering someone’s room,” he says, turning his chair to face the man that just came in.

  “I do apologize,” Walter Colleck says, “I was interested in seeing what you were typing so furiously about.”

  “Game cheats,” Davis lies. “Unfortunately the game I play doesn’t seem to have any.”

  “That’s quite a shame,” Walter says, looking around the room curiously for a moment. “Your mother means well, you know.”

  “What my room looks like doesn’t matter to me,” Davis says. “From the schedule you gave me, I doubt I’ll be spending much time here.”

  “True, very true,” Walter says as he sits on the bed. “So, what did you think, so far?”

  “Where did they get that android from?” Davis asks. “I don’t think it’ll work, but they said it was from the seventies, or something, right? It’s far too advanced for that time period.”

  “I honestly have no idea,” Walter admits, looking intrigued. “I’ve been wondering the exact same thing. I think I might have to ask around about that one. And what else did you think?”

  “That machine… the one to change the atomic structure. Why is it in my ‘school building’?” Davis asks, going straight to the next point.

  “Because, you’re going to finish it,” Walter says. “I want to see how much of a challenge it is for you. Consider it your grade for the month.”

  “The month? It should take two months, at least!” Davis says.

  “Oh, that’s just being lazy, my boy,” Walter says. “Get it done by the end of the month and I’ll get you a computer that makes this one look like the archaic piece of trash that it is.”

  “The computer is fine,” Davis says. Walter laughs.

  “Coming from a school ran by a technopath, do you really think I’ll buy that?”

  “Can you get a computer built by a technopath?” Davis asks.

  “No, unfortunately, but I can make one that rivals it,” Walter says. “We are not technopaths, my boy, but that’s a wonderful thing. We aren’t limited to one area of expertise. We can do anything that we set our beautiful, brilliant minds to. Tell me about your principal. What’s he like?” Davis watches him for a moment, seeing just how comfortable the man looks. He’s not going anywhere, is he?

  “I’ve never met him,” Davis says. “He’s always in Central, and doesn’t bother with us weakling South Branch students.”

  “I see,” Walter says. “I have a fun little story to tell you about him. It’s a shame that you don’t know him, because I think you’d find it even more interesting that way.”

  “Story?” Davis repeats.

  “Your principal has been breaking into something I created since… oh, around the early eighties, I would say. I always thought of inviting him, but it would ruin his fun,” Walter says smiling indulgently. “He might have even been your age, at the time he started.”

  “Are you certain it was him?” Davis asks.

  “Oh, it could have been that senator… he came out as a technopath, didn’t he? But somehow I doubt it. At that time Herold was working for the military. A fun little get-together for super villains would take too much of his time.”

  “Get-together?” Davis asks. “Can I see it
?”

  “Of course,” Walter says. “But why don’t we do that after we reconstruct the toys I bought you?” He gets up, stepping out of the room for a second before coming back with a bag from Best Buy. “I didn’t know which system you would want… so I got them all,” he says, “the rest are in the hallway.”

  Davis stares in wonder as game system after game system is revealed. “Reconstruct?” he says, a bit hoarsely.

  “Don’t you want to know how they work?”

  Davis finds himself nodding. “If your mother asks, we’ll tell her that it’s good practice for your future,” Walter says with a little smile. “Of course, since this is norm technology, we’ll still need a power source. I’ve heard that your principal has bypassed that problem.”

  “Yeah, sure he has,” Davis says as he starts to unpack the boxes. “Everything he makes runs off of the energy supers give off. It’s pretty nice. You never have to charge your phones.”

  “Fascinating,” Walter says. “I’m extremely interested in lasting energy sources. Tell me… you know the daughter of Voltdrain, don’t you? I’ve heard she has a neat little trick, as well.”

  Davis looks up, and swallows nervously at the look on his father’s face.

  ***

  Richard Penski stares at the machine in front of him. He’d brought this to his future “brother-in-law” knowing that it’ll be stolen, but too far gone to care. He’d been trying to figure this out for years. Not to mention that the authority figures are watching him like a hawk, thanks to Clay’s “confession.” It’s only thanks to Walter Colleck that he isn’t in jail right now. The older man had pulled a lot of strings that definitely aren’t legal. The conversation that Richard had had with the man is still lingering in his mind. He still hasn’t gotten his appetite back, thanks to that.

  *A Few Days Ago*

  “And this will be where you’re staying,” Walter says as he leads Richard through the building. There are familiar and unfamiliar faces all around.

  “You hired the scientists from SITEC?” Richard asks.

  “They were at loose ends, and I have a genius to educate,” Walter says. “I plan on collecting my son, next. You are in room two-thirteen,” he goes on, leading Richard down a set of stairs. “Your sister informed me that you like being underground.”