by R. J. Ross
“Max, it’s okay! I’m a South Branch member, too, remember?”
“I realize that, Carla,” he says, smiling at me. “But you weren’t lined up to be one of her teammates, even by Century. She’s doing this all on her own. The proper procedure is to go through your Hall Leader, who will make the arrangements, ESPECIALLY for capes that are multi-branched, like Carla.”
“Where does a villain get off, lecturing me?” she demands.
“When the villain is second-in-command,” Max says. I feel a hint of gravity pushing down before he stops. I glare at him, because there’s absolutely NO chance of him losing control. That was on purpose.
“Stop trying to intimidate my new friend, Max! She might have done it in the wrong way, but I’m sure she has her reasons! You do have your reasons, right, Ruckus?” I ask.
“Century kept putting it off,” Ruckus says. “I need a partner that’s willing to get her hands dirty, otherwise we’ll become the laughing stock of the South Branch.”
“I think you underestimate what Dollface is doing,” Max says, but he relaxes visibly. “But the Hall Leaders have already discussed this at length. We just need to get permission to send Carla down there for two weeks.”
“Two weeks?” she repeats. “I was hoping for a month, at least!”
“You’re lucky you get her for as long as that,” Max says. “With Trent off-planet, I was hoping to bring her into our game up here. Ace was already hinting about wanting to go up against her. Our next-gen balance is completely off without Kid Liberty.”
“You should get Sandra to debut!” I say. “She would make a great hero! And she did do that thing over in Marigold’s branch, right?”
“I’ve been trying to talk her into it.” He starts walking, crumpling up the pizza box and tossing it into the nearest trashcan. “Of all the kids, I have the hardest time getting her to talk to me. She just stares for a long moment before snorting and walking away.”
“Were you wearing your uniform at the time?” I ask.
“I was, actually. I called her over the comm-link before I went to work today. Why would that matter?”
“Sandra finds men in super uniforms hard to listen to,” I explain. Ruckus looks away, but I can see her shoulders shaking slightly. “She’d probably laugh at you during the gig, too, so I would suggest lining her up against Jack.”
“So she wouldn’t laugh at Jack?” he asks.
“No, she would,” I say, “but Jack wouldn’t care, probably. He’s really fond of her.”
“Who is Sandra, anyway?” Ruckus asks. I pull out my phone and tap on it a few dozen times before handing it over.
“This is when she knocked Technico’s daughter for a loop.”
“Not that Zoe holds it against her,” Max says.
“So… she’s a rock?” Ruckus asks.
“She’s a rock mimic—oh, we need to turn down this street here,” I say, leading the group down my street. The house is lit up, and I hear the voices of my siblings all the way from here. They’re excited. The last time they saw Nico, he read them a book about how they might be super. If it had been anyone else, it would have been pretty chaotic.
“Carla, Max, Ruckus,” Nico says, stepping out onto the front porch. “Come on in. We’ve got some details to work out.”
“CARLA!” my littlest sister shouts. “You came back!”
“I came back,” I say, only now realizing just how long two weeks might be to a four-year-old. Maybe she’ll forget me before I get home? That would be—
“She won’t forget you if you’re gone for two weeks,” Max says, placing a hand on my shoulder.
“It’s very rude to read people’s minds,” I lecture him, waving a finger.
“I didn’t have to, it was written on your face,” he tells me with a laugh. “Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, it’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Max, I’m… well, an alumnus of Carla’s school.”
“He’s doing his post-graduate studies,” Nico says. “He’s training to eventually take Mastermental’s place.”
“Oh, that’s really impressive,” Mom says, but the look on Dad’s face says he knows exactly who Max is.
“I’m a huge fan,” Dad says, holding out his hand.
“Of Mastermental?” Mom asks as they shake hands.
“Of Maximum,” Dad explains.
“Maximum? You mean—” Mom looks at Max, shocked. “This handsome young man is the scourge of the Central Branch?”
“Arrr,” Max says with amusement. I start laughing. “That’s exactly who I be.”
“Max!” I say, still giggling. “You should do a pirate theme heist someday! Oh, but wait until I get back, because I want to thwart you again.”
“It’s really hard to do something pirate based when you work in Central, though,” he admits, looking thoughtful. “But I bet Skye could pull it off.”
“I’ll ask her when I go down there!” I say, excitedly. “We can wear admiral hats and everything, Ruckus!”
Ruckus is just staring at us, and I get that feeling that I did something she doesn’t like, again. Huh…
“Go down there?” Dad repeats. “When are you going down there?”
“That’s what we’ve come to discuss,” Nico says. “If you all don’t mind going into the house, we can tell you everything.”
My parents head inside, gently herding my siblings out of the way, and we head to our front room. There are family pictures everywhere, covering the walls, sitting on end tables, or even knocked onto the floor. I take a quick second to rush through the room, picking everything up. “Carla, you don’t have to clean every time you come over, honey,” Mom says, smiling slightly.
“It’s the least I can do!” I say.
“Carla, why don’t YOU tell your parents what’s going on,” Nico says, sitting down on the nearest couch. I look over at Ruckus, and then at my siblings, who are watching from all around. “That way you won’t make them so dizzy.”
“Oh, well… I want to go down to the South Branch to work as a member of the Nemeses for two weeks,” I say. “I’ll either take classes at their school or do my homework on my comm-bracelet, I guess? So you don’t have to worry about me falling behind in my studies. But… um, can I go?”
My parents look at each other, and I see Mom bite her bottom lip. “You have to understand, sweetie,” Dad starts out slowly, “we lost you for so long—”
“You won’t let her get kidnapped again, will you?” Mom asks Nico. “I don’t think I could handle losing her again.”
“Mom, I’ll be perfectly fine! Even the people I’ll be fighting against are really good friends of mine, because Skye is Nico’s sister and Rocco’s aunt, and Ariel is Malina’s friend, and, well, I don’t know Doris all that well but she seems really nice if a bit grumpy, and—”
“If she does get kidnapped, it’ll just be for the photo-op,” Nico says. “And most likely she’ll be eating candy and watching movies with my little sister for the entire thing. She’ll be perfectly safe.”
“Oh, I want to be kidnapped by Skye! She’s got a pool and a lake and a sauna!” I say. “Oh, and I could use her teleportation booth and come up and visit!”
“Good point,” Nico agrees.
“So… her villains aren’t very villainous?” Dad asks.
“They’re completely unprofessional ditzes, and they like to hug,” Ruckus says.
“But I like to hug, too,” I say. “Hugs are nice!”
Max is watching her with a thoughtful expression, but he doesn’t say anything.
“They like to hug ME, and I’m the one that’s sent out to fight them on a regular basis,” she says.
“It doesn’t sound that dangerous,” Mom whispers to Dad.
“No, it doesn’t,” he agrees. “Where will she be staying during this time?” he asks Nico.
“We were planning on placing her in the Cape High South dorms,” Nico says. “They have plenty of room, and she might be a good influence on the kids that they�
�re training down there.”
“And the security system at that school?” Dad asks.
“The same as the one here,” Nico says, “deadly.”
“That sounds dangerous, too!” Mom complains.
“We’re extremely protective of our next generation, Ma’am,” Max says. “They’re our future… WE are our future,” he says as he sees me looking at him. “There are a lot of capes that are already lining up their retirement. Sandra’s dad has a list of people just waiting for a few more of the older kids to graduate.”
“Sandra’s dad?” Ruckus asks.
“He’s a villain, too,” I say cheerfully. “He’s a grim reaper, so they bring him in to fake super’s deaths. Then they retire to an island somewhere, like Keliah’s grandma did, right? He’s got a club in the apartments! You should come sometime.”
“It sounds like fun, sweetie,” Dad says, smiling slightly. “I’d love to meet your school friends, as well. But for now we need to focus on the task at hand.”
“Oh, right, Mom, Dad? Can I go to Texas for two weeks and fight bad guys… or bad girls, that is?” I say. “I promise to be on my best behavior!”
Dad and Mom look at Nico, who smiles slightly. “We make sure to keep coffee away from her as much as possible.”
“That’s good to know,” Dad says a bit dryly.
“I… I suppose we have no choice but to say yes,” Mom says, getting to her feet and hugging me. “But it’s going to be awfully lonesome around here without you.”
“I’ll call every day,” I promise.
“You had better!”
“I should go pack,” I declare, getting excited. “I’m going to need the new shorts uniform that Kim made me! Oh, and my swimsuit and my candy bars and… Nico? Can I run to Texas or do I need to get a plane or something?”
“We’ll make arrangements for that in the morning, Carla. I apologize for taking so much of your time, sir, ma’am,” he says to my parents as he stands. “But don’t worry. We’ll make sure she’s as safe there as she is here.”
“We appreciate it,” Dad says, walking over to him and offering his hand. “Thank you, as well.”
“For what?”
“You saved my baby girl,” Dad says, looking close to tears. “We honestly thought we had lost her forever.”
“You’re not the only one that’s glad we saved her,” Nico says, letting Dad hug him. “Carla’s one of the brightest parts of the school, and not just because of her taste in clothing.”
I make a face at him, and Max turns away as he tries not to laugh. “There is nothing wrong with liking all of the colors,” I say, placing my hands on my hips as they all start to laugh. “It’s only right to appreciate diversity!”
“Her dorm room looks like a rainbow threw up in it,” Max says cheerfully. “Ace took an entire day to paint it—he was complaining about glitter for two months after that.”
“I LOVE my dorm room,” I say.
“We know,” Max and Nico reply, in the same amused tone.
“Okay, now we should get going because it’s almost bedtime for my siblings,” I say, running around the room and giving hugs and kisses. “You guys sleep well, okay? And I’ll call you as soon as I get to Texas, got it? Oh, um, they’ll let Dad take the call at work, right, Nico?”
“I’ll make sure of it,” Nico says.
“Then I’m going to go back to school and pack!”
***
The three remaining supers look at the door that Carla just rushed out of. “Well, thank you for your hospitality,” Max says, waving as he heads for the door. “We’ll make sure she’s perfectly safe and happy, won’t we, Ruckus?”
“Um, yeah, we’ll do that,” Ruckus says as they head out the door. Before she can run off, though, Max drops a hand on her shoulder. She tugs, but she can’t pull free. “What?” she asks.
“You didn’t follow protocol, which is one thing,” he says quietly, “but if you find yourself in a situation that you dislike, simply because Carla is being Carla, I won’t be happy if I hear she knows.”
“Why are you so protective of her? She’s a working super. She should be able to handle herself,” Ruckus says.
“She’s a zoo kid,” he says. “Not only is she a zoo kid, she’s one of the few that is open and loving, even after everything that happened to her. I want you to keep that in mind at all times.” His voice seems to echo in her head and she feels a cold chill run down her spine.
“Shouldn’t he be the one that’s saying all of this?” she asks, pointing at Nico.
“I like to think you’re mature enough to know better,” Nico says. “And Carla is tough. She’s probably one of the toughest kids I’ve got. Whatever you throw at her, she’ll be able to handle.”
“See? Even your principal thinks she can handle it,” Ruckus says to Max.
“Oh, I know she can handle your gig,” Max says. “It’s you that will have trouble.” He walks away before she can think of a response.
***
“So you’re going to the South Branch?” Malina asks as I race around her, packing my bag. She’s sitting on my bed, playing with her phone as I work. “Are you going to get lonely?”
I pull to a stop in front of her, frowning slightly. “I’ll miss YOU!” I say, throwing my arms around her and hugging her tightly. “But I’ll be okay! It’s only two weeks. I’ve been gone for that long before! Well… sort of… not really.” Even when we were doing our outgoing team thing, I was teamed up with Trent, and we stayed in Missouri. When I went down to Texas to help Vinny, we came back the next day… Oh, wow, I really HAVEN’T been gone that long before. Now I’m getting nervous.
“Carla!” she says, sounding startled. “It’ll be okay, I promise! Don’t go panicking on me! Ariel and Skye will be there, right? They won’t let anything happen to you, I promise.”
“And if you do get lonely, you should go visit Voltdrain and Jimmi,” Vinny says from my doorway. I turn, looking at him. “I promise they’ll let you come over, no matter what time it is.”
I throw my arms around his waist, hugging him tightly even as he lets out a little sound of surprise. Our relationship is a bit rocky at times, since he’s always picking on me, but he’s still my big brother. “I’m going to miss you, too,” I tell him, pulling back, “but don’t let it go to your head!”
“I’ll try not to,” he says, his lips twitching with amusement.
“I need my colored pencils and coloring books!” I say. I can’t believe I almost forgot them! Adult coloring books are one of the things that Ken introduced me to, to try and focus my mind. I also like games, but all I need for those is my telephone and a wall at the dorms. Oh, and I should take my computer! Zoe made it for me, so it’s nice and fast. And I’m going to need extra underwear, in case I go swimming, and then—
“It looks like a twister in here, doesn’t it?” Malina says, grinning. The grin falls and I pause to look at her, seeing the frown on her face. “Um… I need to tell Ariel, don’t I?”
“Tell her what?” Vinny asks. I zip my last bag and sit down on the fluffy unicorn to hear what she has to say.
“About Toodles?” Malina says, as if she’s unsure about it, herself.
“You mean how Toodles is going to adopt you and you’re going to move up to the North Pole?” I say. “You haven’t told her, yet?”
“No… I’m kind of nervous about how she’ll take it. She thinks of us as family, remember?”
“Well… you can have more than one mother,” I say. “Look at Sandra, she’s got several families, now, right?”
“I… I just feel weird about it all,” she says.
“Don’t,” Vinny says. “Ariel isn’t mature enough to act as a mother. You’ve seen their shows. If anything, she should be a big sister, or maybe an aunt, like Skye is for Rocco. You can ask her, she’ll probably be happy to agree.”
“How do you know that for sure?” Malina asks.
“I watch HTV South,” Vinny says. “I
t would be stupid to ignore the branch I’ll be moving into in a year. Skye is one of their main players, so they constantly do reports on her, even the things that the public records when they’re not on the books.”
“I thought you only watched cooking shows,” Malina says.
“I can watch more than one thing while I’m cooking, I’ve got four walls. I keep the news on the east and the cooking channel on the south wall.”
“Makes sense,” she says. “But she’s old enough to be a mother… and we have similar powers, right?”
“Blood isn’t always what makes family, though,” I say. “Do you think I could take my unicorn with me? It’s really comfortable…”
“Not if you’re running,” Vinny says. “If you’re running all the way down there, you’ve already packed too many things.”
“Darn,” I say, pouting. “Maybe I should teleport, instead.”
“Either way, you should get to bed,” Vinny says. “You’ve got a lot of things to do tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah,” I say. “So what should I tell Jimmi?”
“Whatever you want? What does Jimmi have to do with any of this?” he asks a bit too obliviously.
“So I’ll tell her that you LOOOOOVE her and MIIIISSS her and—”
“Tell her hi,” he says firmly. “ONLY hi, got it?”
“How you wish she was heeeeerrrreee,” I go on. He walks over and catches me in a stranglehold.
“Hi, got it? ONLY hi,” he says, noogie-ing my head.
I let out a squeal, trying not to laugh. “Malina! Help me!”
“You started it,” she says, completely unsympathetic. I tap on his arm twice.
“I give! I give! I’ll tell her hi!” I say, dramatically. “You’re strangling me!” Well, not really. He’s just got his arm under my chin. He lets go, looking ever-so-slightly smug, which is the same as someone else gloating madly.
“That’s better,” he says, letting go.
“And THEN I’ll tell her how much you miiiiissss her,” I say, racing away before he can grab me again. Malina is laughing her head off, so it makes it all worth it.
