by R. J. Ross
“Oh… um… that’s probably not a good thing,” Skye says after a moment. “I’ll go make sure she doesn’t do something that’ll get her tossed into the Cape Cells.” She takes to the air, not bothering with the hole. I look at the team of supers with more experience than me, and promptly follow, jumping to the hole and pulling myself out. I chase after my aunt as she homes in on Doris within seconds. To my relief, when we get there, Doris is just standing there, staring at the man surrounded by Hall leaders. I let out a sigh of relief—too quickly.
Herold starts to move and Doris lets out a scream that shatters my eardrums. The Hall leaders jerk from their conversation. It seems like slow motion as Doris rushes forward, her clawed hand going straight for Herold’s chest.
I dive for the shadow on the ground, intent on stopping her. I come out a second later, knowing I’m too late—but the world is completely still.
“What—” I say, standing between the outreaching claw and the terrified looking Herold. He’s wearing a collar, I notice blankly. So why was Doris trying to kill him?
“Hello, son,” Century says, making me look over. He’s just standing there, as if he has all the time in the world. “You would have died, you know, or at least had a very long recovery time, at that age. But I do appreciate the gesture.”
“She was going to kill him,” I say, stunned.
“Of course she was,” Century says. “I was waiting for it. She wouldn’t try it with Nico here, but with us distracted, this was her only chance.”
“Why?” I ask.
“Because he left her stranded in an entirely new world, taking away everything she knew and loved,” Century says with a slight frown. “I still can’t let her do it, not when Skye has her heart set on her.” He turns, looking at Skye, who’s frozen in the air a few steps away. “Son, I want you to do something for me,” he says, looking at me. “Grab her and take her as far away from here as you can. The last thing we want is for the other Hall Leaders to realize what almost happened.”
“If she was going to kill him, in cold blood, shouldn’t she be stuck in the Cape Cells?” I ask, grabbing her.
“Hatred does ugly things to us all,” Century says. “She’s been holding onto it so long that she doesn’t see the chance to break out right in front of her. Now go, we’ll deal with this later.”
“Century?” I say, hesitating. “My dad got away.”
“I’m not surprised. He tends to do that.”
“I’m going to find him.”
“In your own time, son, in your own time.”
I shift my hold on Doris and step down through the shadow in the ground, carrying her with me through the Shadowlands. The further away, the better, right? She jerks back to life as I get out of Century’s reach. I let go as she roars and lunges forward. It’s almost funny how she jerks to a stop and looks around in confusion.
“Wha—”
“Hi, Doris,” I say, waving to get her attention. She growls at me, but I hold up both hands. “We couldn’t let you do what you were about to do,” I explain, as gently as possible.
“He was awake! They weren’t even paying attention—he could have run away and just gotten away with it!” she yells, rushing forward and grabbing me by the throat. “How could I just stand by and let him do whatever he wanted—”
“Hey, hey, I’m just the messenger boy,” I say—although it’s a bit choked sounding. I hate getting choked, I really do. “Century didn’t want to stick you in the Cape Cells.”
“It was MY CHOICE!” she bellows, but I see a tear escape her. “And he deserves to die for what he did to me,” she says, slowly loosening her grip on my throat. “He deserves to die for all of the things he did to people today, too,” she tells me.
“If that’s what the Hall decides, you know, after they put him on trial and all that, then he will,” I tell her, placing my hands on her shoulders. “But you and Aunt Skye—you’ve got a big future ahead of you,” I tell her. “You’re going to be one of the first all-female villain teams. You’re going to go up against the big names and probably get away with winning once in a while. You’ll be famous in no time, Doris,” I say.
“I don’t CARE ABOUT BEING FAMOUS!” she bellows, making me plug my ears again and sending the shadow dinos watching us running. “I want my missing years. I want my LIFE back—and he took it from me,” she says, starting to cry. “You don’t understand—you’re still a kid. I don’t fit in this time, I don’t know how things work, I break things that even SKYE can get right. I have to take classes children take! And I can’t figure them out! I feel like such a moron sometimes—”
“You’re not a moron,” I say, stepping forward. “I—I don’t know how I’d handle being tossed into the future all of a sudden, either. Look,” I say, wondering if this is the right thing to do, “I can take you anywhere. You can leave all of this behind, start over, and live however you want. I’ll tell Aunt Skye that you don’t want to come back, that you’ve got something you really want to do—”
“But there isn’t anything I really want to do, other than take out Herold,” she says quietly. “I—I mean, at least with Skye, I don’t feel like that big of a freak because, honestly, she’s weirder than I am.”
“Hey now, that’s my aunt you’re talking about,” I try to scold and fail, because I’m trying to not laugh.
“Nico said dying was too quick for revenge,” she says after a moment of looking away.
“That’s pretty cold,” I admit, thinking about it.
“Century says they should strip his powers and put him in a cell next to Kunnins,” she goes on, still quietly. “Think that’s mean?”
“Kunnins is…” I try to think, “from before I came, I think. We’d have to ask the other kids how mean it is.”
“It really stinks down here.”
“Yeah, it really does.”
There’s a pause before I say, “Want to help Skye convince Ariel to join your all-girls group?”
“I’m pretty sure Ariel’s crazier than both of us combined.”
“It should make you feel even more normal, right?” I offer after looking her in the eyes. She looks perfectly serious.
“Okay, why not?”
***
Maybe she’s not the only one thinking about getting tossed into a completely different life. So much has happened today, I think as I step through a shadow in front of the Cape High Campus. I—
“So,” Shadowman says, making me jerk. He’s just standing there, as if he’s been waiting for me all this time. “Going to throw me under the bus, now?” He holds out his hands in front of him, as if expecting me to cuff him. “I had the chance to finish him off, and I should have,” he admits, looking me straight in the eye. “But I didn’t want to die. This entire thing has just made me see they were right about me. I am a coward.”
“Why?” I ask.
“Why am I a coward? Probably because my parents didn’t hold me enough, or maybe the held me too much, hell if I know. I’ve been around for a long, long time, I don’t remember that sort of crap.”
“No, why did you come HERE?” I demand. “I was going to at least give you a running start.”
“You would have done that?”
“Well you’re not exactly the only one that wanted to kill the guy,” I say dryly, looking over at Doris. “The reason I have to catch you is right behind you. And every second you stand here, right in front of almost everything and everyone I care for, is a moment closer to me forgetting the head start,” I say, images of the zoo kids flashing through my mind. “But if you go to the Cape Cells, you’ll die. Those collars cut off your powers, you know.”
“Nah,” he says. “Sure they cut you down a good deal, but they don’t wipe it out completely—at least not enough to take away your good looks. So come at me, boy. Take me down properly as you start out a life as the system’s dog. If you don’t, they’ll always question your loyalty. They’ll always wonder if you’re going to become like me, o
r if you’re hiding something—”
I rush forward before he can finish, slamming my fist into his face and sending him flying backwards. I almost let him fall into the laser wall, but grab him just in time, throwing him away from it. A part of me remembers that I shouldn’t be able to beat him, since he’s older and more powerful—I ignore it. “You think you’re making me make a choice,” I tell him, still standing there, “but there’s no choice to make, old man. Yes, a part of me says you’re my dad, and that I should at least go easy on you, but another part of me says exactly what you just said. Except it wouldn’t be just them questioning it, I would question it, as well,” I say, walking over to him. He kicks out when I’m not expecting it, hitting my calves and making me fall.
“Do you need help?” Doris asks, just watching from the sidelines. “Or is this a family thing?”
“It’s a family thing!” Shadowman and I both say. I jump to my feet and tackle him, slamming him to the ground, only to curse as we slide right into the Shadowlands. We roll through the land, completely ignoring the monsters in here as I try hold on to him. He grins at me before throwing me across the room. I almost swear he aimed, I think blankly as he rushes forward, slamming into me again. What is he aiming for? I don’t have time to figure it out, I realize as we trade blows. He might not have training on the Apocalypse Field, but it turns out he’s got plenty of one-on-one fighting. He definitely has more experience in fist fights than I do.
We roll through a portal, out into the light of day. I hear people yelp in shock, but I ignore them, grabbing Shadowman by the shirt and punching him in the face. He grunts and repays me with a fist straight into the solar plexus. I try to get my breath back, letting go of him and grabbing my stomach. He jumps to his feet, racing into the Shadowlands again. I look around, seeing the crowd snapping pictures of me. I glance up, seeing beautiful, classic buildings all around. The cars to the left of me are driving on the wrong side of the road, I realize, staring at them blankly. Wait, no time to guess!
“Sorry ‘bout that,” I say, diving back into the Shadowlands after my dad. I see him as he races through another shadow and give chase, diving out into the middle of a rainy day in the middle of green hills as far as the eye can see. I think I catch a glimpse of a castle in the distance. “You were the one that offered to go down,” I tell him as I chase after him.
“If I’m going to be stuck in a box for the rest of my life, I’m going to at least see a little of what I’m losing first!” he says, laughing as he waves his arms around. “Scotland,” he explains. “Earlier was England, next I’m thinking Russia and China and—”
I stare at him. “Enough,” I say. “You’re not taking me seriously—”
“No, YOU aren’t taking ME seriously,” he says, walking over. “You, of all people, should have an idea of what I’m giving up because of you. I could run, right now, and only you and Skye would ever be able to find me. Do you have any clue how frustrating this is right now?”
“Nico would find you,” I say.
“Technico wouldn’t care, as long as I stayed off of his turf,” he says bluntly. “YOU are my problem, kid. YOU make me feel guilty. Do you have any clue how long it’s been since I felt anything?” he demands. “And here you are, all justice minded and out to save the world—with my powers and my eyes. It’s—it’s--” he lets out a curse, as if he can’t come up with the right word.
“You know, you’re right,” I say, looking around again. “This is beautiful. No one should be locked in a box, away from all of this beauty, especially if they’ve done nothing wrong.”
“So—”
“That’s exactly why I’m taking you in,” I say. “My best friends in the world were locked away, kept from everything like this. They couldn’t come here, they couldn’t see England or Russia or anywhere beautiful—they couldn’t even see their family, and they were KIDS,” I say, moving into his personal space. “This guilt trip you’re trying to pull, it won’t work,” I tell him callously. “But if it makes you feel better, I’ll send you pictures in the Cape Cells when I go places like this.”
“Ouch,” he says, seeming to deflate in front of my eyes. “That was cold.”
“The only problem is that I don’t have a collar on me,” I say, letting out a sigh. “I’ll give you as long as it takes for me to get a power negating collar. See what you want to see before you go in, because I’ll be coming for you tomorrow.”
He has a strange look on his face, but I ignore it, heading for the nearest shadow and heading back home. I need to talk to Nico.
***
“There’s going to be a press release!” Carla says at top speed as soon as I step out of the shadows. The clearing in front of the campus is full of students, teachers and Hall Leaders. “I’m going to be given a NAME!” she says, racing past me a second time. I look over at where Century and Mastermental are standing together with Nico, and head straight for them.
“Nico—” I start out.
“In a second, kid,” Nico says. “We’re drawing up an agreement for Carla,” he says, tapping on the air. “Okay, it’s now in my records that Carla is being sponsored by BOTH Central and South. That means you both get to foot the bill for her shoe and clothing addiction. Congratulations,” he says. “With the way she goes through shoes, it’s a good thing there are two of you. Rocco, we’ve already written up yours.”
“They’re special made shoes!” Carla says, moving to the middle of the group and bringing up a leg to show off the shoe. “I go through the normal ones even faster!” she declares cheerfully.
“Nice little rainbow design there, sweetheart,” Century says with a smile.
“I love color!” she declares excitedly. “All the colors! I like the bright ones best, but don’t tell the pastels, okay?” she adds in a stage whisper.
“We’ll make sure to keep that fact to ourselves,” Mastermental says with only a slight smile of amusement. “Carla, I am extremely proud of how you conducted yourself today,” he says, holding out a hand. She gives him a surprisingly shy little smile and takes the hand as delicately as a princess.
“I just did what I could,” she says primly. “I really, really like the dispatchers and the cops and the ambulance people—they were all so awesome and they helped me a lot! I didn’t have a clue what to do a lot of the time and they walked me through it. Can I work with them more now that I’m official?” she asks.
“Sweetheart, that’s EXACTLY what we want you to do,” Century says.
“Nico—” I say again.
“Don’t worry, kid, I’ve already arranged for your funding,” he says. “We could do a press release for you, too, but it’d blow the whole villain thing—”
“I don’t want a press release,” I say. “I want a power negating collar. I—”
“It was recorded,” Nico says. “Well, at least the first part. Are you sure you want to be the one to bring him in?”
“I—” I groan, running a hand over my face. “I HAVE to be the one to bring him in,” I say, feeling everyone’s eyes on me. “I have to be the one that puts him in the Cape Cells, for a lot of reasons. I just…”
“I’ll get you your collar,” he says. “But we’ve got a press release to get to, first.”
“We’re just letting him run loose—”
“Can you find him?”
“Yeah, I can find him,” I say, determinedly.
“Then we’ll find him when it’s convenient. Unless you WANT to step on Carla’s debut.”
“Oh, right. Sorry, Carla, didn’t think of that,” I say to her. “Um, what did you do with Herold?” I ask, looking around.
“Marigold has him,” Century says. "Don't worry, Technico made sure he couldn't escape before we left."
“He's surrounded by power negators as well as wearing a collar,” Mastermental sums up. “Now, Rocco, we want you to rest assured that we believe you,” he says, walking over and placing a hand on my shoulder. “I’m proud to have you as one of
our villains.”
“Can you be proud of something like that?” I ask after a long moment. “It seems a little… backwards.”
“We’re Super Heroes, son, nothing we do is straightforward,” Century says. “And I owe you my life. I’m extremely proud to have you, as well. But now we have a press release to get ready for, right?” he asks.
“Let’s GO!” Carla says, jumping off of Nico’s back and racing off.
“Does she know where the press conference will be?” I ask after a long moment.
“Carla? It’s at Central Hall,” Nico says, touching his earbud.
“Whoops!” I hear her say.
“Now, shall we?” Mastermental says, taking to the air.
“I’m just going to go change,” I say, heading inside. “I can’t go looking like this.”
“Everyone is welcome,” Mastermental says to the group of students and teachers. “This is a proud moment.”
“YEAH!” the group roars.
“And afterward we go back to clean-up duty,” Nico says, instantly killing the buzz.
***
I feel awkward, even though our group is scattered through the crowd. Everyone that isn’t in the middle of saving someone is here, waiting to see Carla’s debut—well, no, her debut was on the streets, helping everyone, wasn’t it? I honestly can’t think of a better way for the world to meet Carla. (I even checked my phone earlier—there are videos of her going viral. I might have bookmarked a few of them.) Now I watch as she fidgets behind Century and Mastermental, wearing one of those blindingly colorful frictionless outfits she always wears and a matching mask. She looks beautiful, you know? Those big gold eyes flashing brightly, a large smile on her face, she looks so happy.
That’s another thing I’m going to have to deal with, isn’t it? So much has happened that I’ve almost forgotten the awkwardness. I watch her, almost laughing as she keeps trying to peek around Century. He very gently pushes her behind him, and when that doesn’t work, pulls her forward and places a restraining hand on her shoulder. She looks up at him, giving him one of those wide grins of hers, laughing as he says something.
