by R. J. Ross
“Grand entrance?”
“The reason Century was in such a rush to offer his land is that Vinny’s being established as a South Branch cape. Even his unofficial debut was here. Sure, he officially debuted back home, but everyone knows he’s a Cape High kid and he’s being trained in Central. The only problem with this is that people will think you’re a South Branch villain.”
“That’s a pretty big problem, right?”
“Is it?” Nico asks. “If you’re going to work for me and Zoe, you can claim both Central and South—we’ve been roped into both. We’ve got the official paperwork and everything.”
“I accept,” a tall, handsome looking man says as he heads straight for us. He’s wearing a suit coat, jeans, and a large cowboy hat. “Welcome to the team, Rocco,” he says, holding out a hand.
“Wait, what?” I say blankly as he takes my hand and shakes it.
“Does this mean I can claim the other three, as well?” he asks Nico, completely ignoring me.
“I can try and get you Jack and Ace, but Max is strictly Central,” Nico says. “You understand why.”
“Of course I do. So, Rocco, looking forward to your big debut?” he asks me, as if me being a villain in his territory is perfectly—oh, wait—
“Yeah, but, um, I wanted to thank you,” I say, feeling a bit awkward. “Skye’s my aunt,” I explain as he just looks at me. “Well, actually she’s my cousin who-knows-how-many-times removed, but she’s claimed aunt and you don’t argue with her. So… for everything you’ve done, thanks,” I say.
A little smile pulls at the corner of his lips. He’s about to reply when Skye jumps between the two of us, holding out her arms in a protective manner—with her back to me.
“Don’t you DARE touch my adorable nephew!” she declares dramatically.
“Skye,” Nico says, reaching out and draping an arm over her shoulder, “we’re in civvies, right, little sister?” he asks silently. “That means you don’t know him.”
“I don’t?” she asks, leaning into the hug. “Okay! But that doesn’t mean I should let my adorable nephew just meet random old guy strangers, does it?” she demands.
“Skye,” I say, “it’s fine. Why don’t you go find out if there’s anything else you want to steal?”
“Oh, good idea!” she says, pulling away from Nico with an excited look on her face. “Now that we’re going to be moving back, the secret base needs some fancying up!” She runs off, leaving Century staring at me.
“You just sent her on a shopping trip in my museum,” he says.
I give him a wide grin. “Like Nico says, all of the dangerous parts have already been removed, right?” I tell him.
He lets out a laugh, clearly taken off guard. “That’s absolutely true,” he admits. “I expect you to replace whatever she steals, you know,” he adds pointedly.
“Ask Jack—he’s always leaving strange pieces of metal around,” I say. “I don’t figure I’ll specialize in strange machinery, myself. But I might be able to get you a dinosaur from another dimension?” I offer thoughtfully.
“I’ll have to look into zoos for that,” he says. “Now, I think it’s time for you to get into costume. You can use the security room up two floors and on the right.”
“Thanks,” I say, heading for the stairs. I quickly change into the uniform Kim made me and stare at myself in the security restroom’s mirror, hesitating as I see the mask. The uniform is something I had a big hand in deciding. It’s a super-grade material green and gray hoodie and baggy, multi-pocketed pants. The hood is lined with material like screens that are rigged to show the world around me. The dark grey mask is there in case my hood falls down. I slip it on and look for a good shadow. When nothing NOT disgusting (this IS a bathroom, you know? Shadows here tend to be way too close to the toilets,) stands out, I flip off the lights and step into the darkness.
***
His son--the words are repeating over and over again in Shadowman’s mind, because his irritation right now is trying to overwhelm them. They stuck the kid in a strange outfit—well, at least he isn’t wearing TIGHTS, Shadowman thinks as he watches the boy slip out of the shadows behind Fire Hazard. But regardless, the kid is becoming one of their show ponies! There to keep the norms entertained and happy. It’s irritating—he jerks slightly as his phone vibrates and looks around. He’s sitting on the building, hidden from the cameras by one of the ridiculous mad scientist creations that decorate the roof. No one’s watching him. No one seems to be aware that he’s even there. He pulls out his phone.
“Hello, Nico,” he says. “Are you sure that Herold won’t know you’ve called me?”
“Do you really think he’s better than I am at this?” Nico asks.
“He’s older, he’s had more time to learn,” Shadowman says.
“Most of the technology today is based on something I built in the Cape Cells. Are you ready?” he asks, going straight to the crux of the matter. “Once Vinny sends Rocco running, I expect you to grab him.”
“Why are you doing this to him?” Shadowman asks. “He’s not built to be in the limelight.”
“Of course he isn’t. He’s like us,” Nico says. “But Herold is proof that we can’t let the ones like us stay in the shadows, isn’t he? And so are you. I offered you the chance to do this right, you know,” he goes on silently. They’re watching the same thing—Rocco and Vinny sparring dramatically, lighting up the sky and crashing into leftovers from previous super villains.
“Why?” Shadowman asks.
“You’re a weasel, Shadowman, and we both know it. You don’t deserve a second chance.”
“I know, so why did you offer me one?”
“I wanted to see what would happen, I guess.” They watch silently as Rocco gets a good hit in, sending Vinny crashing into the machine behind him. “That’s why I took Rocco in, as well. Your son’s a good kid. He must have gotten it from his mother.”
It startles a laugh out of Shadowman, one that feels pretty rusty. “I’m sure he did,” he says. “The… kids from the Collector,” he starts out slowly. “How are they doing?”
“You really are the last one that deserves to hear that,” Nico says.
“I know,” Shadowman says.
“They’re doing well,” Nico says. “And almost every single one of them would beat you half to death if given the chance. I’m going to train them up so they can, and then I’m going to release them on the world. They’ll be in every branch,” he goes on. “I suggest you think about moving to another continent soon—that is, if you aren’t in the Cape Cells by then.”
“Your advice has been noted,” Shadowman drawls.
“Actually it probably won’t even work, then,” Nico goes on thoughtfully, “because they’ve got my kid wrapped around their pinkies—and she’s going to be up to building planes soon enough. Or if you’re REALLY unlucky, your own son will take them straight to you.”
“Yeah—” Shadowman stops, straightening as he sees the crowd of norms suddenly surge. There are signs being held up. He lets out a curse.
“Did you and Herold plan this?” Nico asks coldly.
“No!” Shadowman says. “I had this all under control! Why would he sic those stupid—”
Nico hangs up on him before he can finish. The entire building is surrounded, Shadowman thinks as he gets up to check. Anti-Super Society as far as the eye can see.
***
“Why is it that every debut I have winds up like this?” Vinny mutters as we go still mid-brawl. We’re trying to keep going, but the shouting about supers being a danger to society is almost overwhelming. “Look, maybe you should fade out now,” Vinny whispers, shoving me away. I slam into the wall of the building and slide down into the shadows, staring up at him for a second before starting to sink into the ground.
A light hits me, and suddenly I’m stuck. I jerk at my hands, struggling to get free of the portal. I can’t move. “Nico?” I ask, panicking. “Nico, I’m stuck. I was going th
rough the shadows and—”
“Breathe, Rocco,” Nico says. “We’ve just had a bit of a blip.”
“But I can’t move. I don’t have my powers, Nico. Someone stole my powers,” I say, trying my best and failing.
“Herold,” Nico says darkly. “I’m sending Skye over—”
I jerk as I find myself surrounded by norms. Justin’s ex-agent steps right in front of me, a strange little gun in his hand. “Wh—what are you doing?” I ask.
“We’re proving that we don’t need supers to take care of your likes,” Tom says, holding the gun up and aiming it at me. “The entire world will see you taken down before you become a problem, kid. They’ll rejoice over it, too,” he says. “Get that collar on him,” he snaps at one of the guys beside me. I jerk, trying to keep away from the collar he’s holding. It snaps around my neck and I go limp, feeling faint. I hate these things.
“Boss… he’s stuck,” one of the guys say, and I roll my head as much as I can to look over at him. I feel light-headed. I think I would be sick if I wasn’t fighting the urge to giggle.
“Pull harder!” Tom snaps, only to scream as a hand comes out of his chest. He looks like he’s about to faint, too, I think with a laugh. He DOES faint as Skye walks straight through him.
“I’ll take this!” she says happily, grabbing for the gun. Before she can grab it, a light hits her, as well. She falls to the ground, almost falling on her butt.
“Having problems, boys?” another man asks as he steps into the circle surrounding us. He’s dressed in camo, with the hat pulled low and hiding his face. It looks like he’s planning on going to war. “Taking down a teenage boy should be easier for you than this.”
I feel someone take my hand and almost yelp as I’m suddenly dragged down through the ground, into the Shadowlands. The world swirls in front of my eyes and I feel like all of my oxygen is gone.
I black out. I never was good with having my powers taken and lack of oxygen plus the nauseating smell of sulfur is more than my brain can handle right now.
***
“What the hell is he thinking?” Shadowman demands as he looks at his unconscious son. The boy had fainted shortly after he pulled him down. He pokes at the collar strapped around Rocco’s neck, only to get shocked. His phone rings and he pulls it out.
“I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt, Shadowman,” Herold says. “I’m going to assume that you pulled him down because they couldn’t get him out. To prove that fact, I expect you to bring the boy to Mom’s place in the next three minutes.”
“You—”
“Two and a half,” Herold says before hanging up.
Shadowman hesitates for that half a minute, taking a second to text Nico a quick sentence before grabbing Rocco and swinging him over his shoulder. He’s a failure as a father, but how is that a surprise? He’s been a failure at everything else. He heads through the Shadowlands, glancing at the beasts that are stalking them in the shadows.
He steps into the light, right in front of Herold, and to his surprise, a tied up Skye.
***
“People, people, this is NOT the time to be—” Century says, floating over the crowd of screaming protesters. They're starting to try and push past the cops acting as crowd control. “Can we all calm down, please?”
“Rocco?” he hears Nico say. “Rocco, come in, kid. Where are you?” The younger man lets out a curse and takes to the air, moving to float next to Century. “He’s gone. I can’t even pick up on his com bracelet,” he says quietly. “Only Herold could block me from finding my own tech, even if it is turned off.”
“You said that he was supposed to be kidnapped after this, not DURING this,” Century says silently.
“He was! I was talking with Shadowman as it went down. Forget it, we’ll find out what happened after I get him back—wait, where’s Skye?” he asks, scanning the crowd quickly.
“What do you mean, where’s Skye?” Century asks, turning on him. “Skye was NOT a part of this plan!”
“Actually she was—but not like this,” Nico mutters. The crowd is getting louder, now chanting their line about no supers in schools—even though this isn’t even a school setting. “I’m going to go find them. You take care of this,” he adds to Century. Century fights the urge to growl as he races away, leaving him to deal with the angry citizens.
“Now that is ENOUGH!” Century says as they start jumping, trying to attack him. He goes higher, well out of their reach. “Everyone, I want you to listen to me right this instant. This was NOT a threat to your children, or yourselves. No one was THREATENED by these two boys!”
“They were destroying public property!” someone shouts. “Someone could have been seriously hurt!”
“They had a commercial for the fight last week,” a teenage boy speaks up. “Are you a moron? This was all plotted out. Fire Hazard and the new guy probably KNOW each other, or something. IT’S JUST A SHOW! And you totally ruined it, man! I was going to see the new villain for his first fight, ever! LIVE! Do you know how awesome that would have been? Now it’s ruined!”
“You’re a fool if you don’t take them seriously!” one of the Anti-Super members roars back.
“You’re an idiot if you do!” he snaps right back. “They televise this stuff—you watch the fights on pay-per-view! Hell, South Branch’s most devious super villain is SKYSTEP and she’s—well, she’s awesome, sure, but she’s a total ditz! Can you seriously see Skystep out to hurt little kids? She practically IS one! You guys are just ruining one of the greatest forms of entertainment around, and I, for one, am sick and tired of it!”
“That’s just their ploy to brainwash you into thinking they’re safe,” Tom says, coming through the crowd, looking a bit pale. “Like a bear wearing a vest and riding a tricycle, people think they’re just there to entertain them, but don’t be fooled. That bear can still kill people.”
“That’s—”
“This is all part of their ploy, everyone! They lie to us and hide their true nature, leading us along willingly. But what do you think they’re really after, huh? Who knows when they’ll turn on us?”
“I do,” Century says. The crowd turns and looks at him. “Ladies and Gentlemen, the super world is minuscule. For every million of you, there might be ten of us. Of that small group, more than half of them are D-class, who are almost exactly like you. They make good cops and military, and unlike the more powerful capes, we encourage them to do so--they don't draw dangerous attention to the jobs like we would.” The crowd stares at him, several cynical looks, some surprised. “We aren’t out to attack your children, or you, my friends, we’re just out to raise our own and protect yours. I know that Senator Herold is on a rant, calling us out as dangerous, but apparently he doesn’t have all of the facts.” He motions over to Vinny, who’s standing on the building. “This is Fire Hazard, the nephew of Flameblaster, everyone. He’s seventeen, goes to Cape High, and loves to cook. Come on over, Hazard,” he says.
Vinny flies over, looking over the crowd. “They took Rocco,” he says silently.
“I know, but this is our part of the job. Talk to the people, son,” Century says before raising his voice. “Fire Hazard is likely going to be one of your local heroes as soon as he graduates. Why don’t you tell the people about yourself, son?”
Vinny hesitates for a moment. “Well,” he says, his mind still on the fact that Rocco is gone. He LIKES Rocco—Rocco’s like a family member. But Nico will find him, right? “My name is Fire Hazard, like he said, but since we’re going on about how dangerous supers are, why don’t I tell you what happened to me and my friends?” he asks, letting his flame die and landing on the ground. A mic is tossed to him and he grabs it without asking. He looks at Carla, who’s just standing there watching him, and apologizes silently for what he’s about to say.
“I’m a part of a group called the zoo kids at Cape High. We’re called the zoo kids because some crazy rich normal guy decided he wanted to collect super kids a
nd put us on display, like animals,” he says bluntly. “He hired a guy who kidnapped us when we were just coming into our powers. We were stuck in specially constructed transparent cages, unable to talk to or see our family members, unable to contact the outside world. Do you want to know why we’ve been visiting your schools? We’ve been trying to find the kids that are like I was, before someone else decides we make good collectibles.”
“Ha! That’s such a lie! You could have escaped—” someone starts out.
“There was only so much oxygen in those little glass cubes, mister,” Vinny says in a sickeningly matter-of-fact tone. “I would light up and faint, since I was only just coming into my abilities. Supers saved us. Cape High took me and the other zoo kids in, they gave us a home and a future as heroes. In my case, it might even be a future as YOUR hero.”
“V—Hazard,” Century says, looking a bit sad. “Thank you for sharing.”
“If you weren’t supers you wouldn’t have been captured!” someone shouts as most of the crowd tries to process what he just told them.
“So it’s my fault for being born this way?” Vinny asks. “Thank you, thank you so much for that informed opinion. Does anyone else want to blame what happened to me on me? For myself, I don’t care—you can say whatever you want. It happened, it’s over, but if you start in on—”
Century drops down, grabbing the mic from him and placing a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, son, you can stop now,” he says gently.
Vinny takes a breath, one not obvious to people not touching him. “Yeah, sorry for the outburst,” he says. “Our Principal’s daughter,” he says, taking the mic back, “once told us that we, of all people, should know how it feels to be weak and helpless. Because of that, we have more reason than anyone to protect the ones weaker than we are. So I’m asking you, knowing that you love your kids and family, and that’s why you’re doing this—” which is probably a lie, a cynical voice says in his head, “to trust me, to trust US. I’ll admit that we might be doing a few tricks for your entertainment, but we’re not lying in wait to finish you off, or whatever it is you think we’re doing. For one thing, none of us has a long enough attention span for that. Our history class comes in comic book form, you know?”
