by R. J. Ross
“Act like it’s a surprise, all right?” Nico says.
“We will!” the group replies, waving it off.
“Emily,” Nico says, motioning the redhead over. “We need to arrange for you to do a bit of teleporting when they do get back, so come with me.”
“Where to?” Emily asks. “I would have liked to meet Santa,” she adds, pouting slightly. “They could have TOLD me!”
“You need to get Carla’s little brothers and sisters when it happens, since the girls have the teleportation watch,” Nico tells her. Her eyes widen and a grin spreads over her face. “Which is why I’m going to show you where to go.”
***
“This is interesting, but all wrong,” Zoe announces, standing in front of the more tech-based toy stations. “Here, I’ll rebuild them and you reverse engineer,” she says, walking to one and fixing the first toy. She hands it over and goes to the next, repeating the process over and over again. Soon the elves are taking the new toys apart to see how they work. Zoe yawns and looks over at Carla, who’s doing the work of twenty elves at once. The girl seems to blur from section to section, fixing this, painting that, a flurry of activity.
“Hot chocolate!” Malina says, going from station to station with a massive tray of mugs. “Piping hot chocolate!” One of the elves takes a mug, drinks absent-mindedly, and then jerks.
“This is the best cocoa I’ve ever had!” he says, looking at her curiously. “Who are you?”
“I’m Malina–I control water,” she says.
“Malina!” Santa says, making her look up. “Come here, my dear.”
“Are you SURE he’s not Century?” Carla whispers, appearing next to Zoe a second later.
“He looks almost exactly like him–you know, if Century had a beard, but I scanned him,” Zoe whispers, “when he was taking another nap. They’re different–besides, I saw Century just a little while ago, he was completely clean shaven, although I suppose he could grow– Well, ANYWAY, would Century know how to teach Malina how to make snow?” she asks, motioning over to where Malina and Santa are watching snow fall in the middle of the nice, cozy room.
“Oh my gosh, she’s making it snow!” Carla says, racing across the room and hugging her best friend. “BEST DAY–” and then she stops, still holding Malina off the ground. Her expression is devastated. “It’s MY DAY!” she wails. “And I’m missing it! I totally blew it–what am I going to tell all of my siblings? What am I going to–” she gently puts Malina down and tries to not have a panic attack.
“HO HO HO! Carla! Breathe, my dear!” Santa says, placing his hands on her shoulders. “We’ll get to your school just on time, I promise, but first I need to ask you three something,” he says with a wide, twinkling smile. “I’m looking for exceptional supers to work as elves! You see, I’ve been watching your Advent Calendar–”
“Wait,” Zoe says as it all clicks. “That was YOUR idea, wasn’t it? You’re the one that talked Dad into setting up the Advent Calendar! Are you using it to recruit supers in the school?”
“I am!” he says with a giant smile. “I’m looking for supers that have the true Christmas spirit, my girl,” he tells her. “I need new elves. But don’t think that I would treat them poorly! My elves are my family! But I promise not to try for the ones that have important futures in your world,” he promises, his silver blue eyes twinkling.
She looks at him, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow. “Then why were our big names on the list?” she asks.
“You only have so many students, my dear,” he says. “And didn’t your friends find it enjoyable, giving to their classmates?”
“Who are you aiming for?” she demands, not about to step down, even if it IS Santa. Carla jerks, grabbing her hand and tugging her down to whisper in her ear. “I KNOW he’s Santa,” Zoe replies, not bothering to whisper, “but this is my school–or it will be, soon. I’m going to have some say in who he recruits and how it’s done.” She looks like an avenging angel, and the elves look at her hesitantly.
“Miss Zoe,” Toodles says, moving forward, “it’s a huge honor to be one of the Christmas elves. We have food, board, and we help the children of the world–”
“I get that,” Zoe says, giving her a smile as she realizes she’s being intimidating, “but I think we should… have a more straightforward arrangement between Cape High and the North Pole.”
“I really think your father–” Toodles starts out hesitantly.
“Do you honestly believe Dad would have sent me if he didn’t think I could handle this?” Zoe asks her. “First, you’re going to introduce yourself to the students. We all enjoyed the Advent Calendar, so I’ll forgive you for that, but AT LEAST once a year you’ll come to our school and announce yourself and your intentions to my students. Then, those that are interested will discuss it with their current sponsor, and will work out the details through them. Do we have an agreement?” she asks, holding out a hand. “In fact, I might have ALL of the Hall Leaders do that.”
“Zoe! You don’t make agreements with Santa!” Carla says. “Not when we came all the way up here just to ask him to be my helper!”
“If you ask him to be your helper, what will you offer in exchange?” Zoe asks. “Are you going to become an elf, just to get him to come?”
“If I–”
“When you’ve already signed up with two Halls?" she asks ruthlessly. “Do you want to give that up?”
“No…” Carla says, looking down. She looks up again, though, with a determined expression, “but if it means all of my siblings–both zoo and my little brothers and sisters–can meet Santa, I’ll do it--I'll be an elf AND a dual Hall member.”
Santa walks over to her, smiling at her as he places his hands on her shoulders, “Carla, you are a very, very nice girl,” he tells her. “I’m proud of you–and my little brother is a very lucky man to have you on his team,” he adds. “Toodles, prepare the sleigh! We’re going to Cape High!” He turns to Zoe, shaking the hand she’s still stubbornly holding out. “I accept your terms, little Superior,” he says. “HO HO HO! I look forward to working with you!”
***
The students building snow forts look up as a full-uniformed Century enters the campus. “NICO!” he bellows. “Get out here right this instant, son!” The students turn, looking at the gym and waiting. A few seconds later Nico comes out at a saunter, a cup of hot chocolate in his hand.
“Century,” Nico says, taking a sip. “I’ve been expecting you.”
“You sent one of MINE to the North Pole!” Century says, landing right in front of him. “Carla’s part of my Hall, you know.”
“I know,” Nico says, “but I didn’t send anyone anywhere, Carla and the others decided for themselves.”
“Can’t trust that man with anything,” Century complains. “And the worst part is he does it with that stupid ‘Ho–”
“HO HO HO! MERRY CHRISTMAS CAPE HIGH!” the call echoes throughout the canyon and all of the school jerks, looking up with excitement.
“I’ll go get the kids!” Emily calls out, teleporting to the exit and heading out without Nico replying.
“Nico, can we go out?” Morgan asks.
“Go get Sandra and Piper, too,” Nico orders, leaving a few of the kids running into the dorm. He looks at Century, who’s scowling at the group of kids exiting the campus. “Don’t like Jolly Man much?” he asks.
“Consider it… a rivalry,” Century drawls darkly. He turns as Jack comes out, carrying Sandra. The metal coated teen has a stubborn expression on his face. He has to, since Sandra is struggling in his hold. Ninety five percent of the school would have put her down already.
“Sandra, it’s SANTA! We can’t let you miss meeting Santa!” Morgan says, chasing after them. “Jack, don’t you DARE hurt her, though. If you hurt her, I’ll make SURE you get dumped–”
“I’m not gonna hurt her!” Jack says, “But tell her to stop bending my hair! I have to fix that with pliers, you know–and I
keep breaking my needle nose,” he complains.
“Let. Me. GO!” Sandra yells, trying to use brute force to get free. “Who do you think you are, anyway?” she demands.
“Ken’s son,” Jack says, grinning at her. “The black sheep Liberty boy.”
“Wait–what?” Sandra asks, going still with shock.
“You an’ me, we could RULE Central,” Jack goes on. “Rock and steel, the perfect combo! You’d make the perfect lackey–”
“If she’s going bad, she’s going full partner!” Morgan says.
“Sandra!” Century says, completely distracted as he sees her. “Hello, sugar! Let me take you away from this bad influence.” He taps Jack on the shoulder and Jack goes perfectly still. Century tugs her free of the super villain, holding her like a child. “I’ve been wanting to meet you face to face for a while, now, sweetheart,” he says, giving her a welcoming grin. “You’re even more stunning in person!”
She looks at him, and to everyone’s shock, shows a pout. “He kidnapped me!” she declares angrily, pointing at Jack. “Who cares about stupid Santa, anyway?” she adds darkly.
“Century, unfreeze Jack, would you?” Nico says in a mild tone. Century snaps a finger and Jack jerks back to motion. For a second he almost falls over before realizing that Sandra’s gone.
“How do you feel about moving south, sugar?” Century asks her. “I’ll keep you nice and far from that stupid Santa,” he promises.
“AFTER everyone meets Santa, now,” Nico says. “Carla worked hard to get this.”
“I can walk, you know,” Sandra says after Century reluctantly starts up the steps.
“Oh, I know you can,” he says. He doesn’t put her down. “But I’ll be ho ho ho’d if I let that man get ideas about YOU, as well,” he mutters.
***
“Merry Christmas!” Carla says to her little brothers and sisters. The looks on their faces are TOTALLY worth it, she thinks as she sees the wonder in their eyes. Every single one of them is focused on the sleigh and reindeer. “I brought you Santa,” she adds.
“HO HO HO!” Santa says, getting out of the sleigh and standing in front of the ever-growing group. “Hello, everyone! It’s wonderful to see you all–” he blinks as a wave of little kids rush forward, hugging him. “Why hello, little ones,” he says, getting down on one knee and hugging them back. “Merry Christmas.”
“Listen up, everyone,” Zoe says, hopping out of the back of the sleigh. “This is Santa Claus! He’s looking for some very special supers to go up north and be elves after graduation. That’s why, once a year, Santa will be coming to visit–”
“Twice a year,” Santa says, “since there are so many good boys and girls here.”
“Hey! Which one of us is on the top of the naughty list?” Jack demands, heading past Century (he only pauses briefly to reach up and rub Sandra’s head, much to her irritation). “Me, or Max?” he demands.
“Boys, boys!” Santa says, standing again. “Neither of you are on the naughty list.”
“WHAT?” they demanded in outrage.
“You’ve been extremely good this year, boys–don’t think I don’t know the truth,” he says before turning to Century. “Hello, little brother.”
“Hello, Kris,” Century says darkly. He tugs Sandra closer, turning so he’s somewhat blocking her from Santa’s view.
“Now! Who wants to tell me what they want for Christmas?” Santa asks, not saying a word about that move. “Carla?” he asks, looking at her. “Don’t you want to tell Santa what you want for Christmas?”
She looks at him, her smile brilliant and beautiful. “I’ve already got it,” she says, hugging her siblings. “Thank you.”
Advent Calendar - Day Twenty Five
It's Christmas Morning. Vinny yawns hugely and lets Carla drag him to the den, since he's still mostly asleep. Yesterday had been spent either being visited by Santa, or listening to people TALK about being visited by Santa. He's pretty much given up on beating that for his day--not that he'd planned on doing anything special in the first place. He was just supposed to cook the Christmas dinner, right?
"VINNY!" the group greets him, much to his surprise. He stares at them, and very calmly, finishes his yawn. "What's for breakfast? I want pancakes! Can we have those cream cheese French toast things you make?" The questions come from all around, and he hesitates.
"Shouldn't you all be opening gifts?" he asks finally.
"We don't have any," Morgan says, waving a hand at the empty den room.
"We... don't have any? At all?" Vinny asks, slightly stunned. "We just met Santa Claus--he practically swore we'd get some gifts, right?"
"We've got the ones we got for each other!" Carla says. "But we were thinking breakfast first," she says. "Then we'd all bring out the gifts and exchange them!"
"Something seems wrong with this," Vinny says, looking around the empty room. He looks up as the door of the dorm opens and Trent steps in.
"Even Santa can't come in without being programmed in," he says. "If you'd all follow me, we've got a few visitors outside," he tells them.
"I should go start breakfast," Vinny says, starting for the kitchen.
"You need to come, too, Vinny," Trent says. "Trust me on this. We'll get breakfast later."
The entire room stops and stares at him--a Liberty boy turning down food. He blushes slightly. "We ah, had fast food," he admits. "Not that we'll turn down more later!" he adds.
"Okay, let's go see what's going on," Vinny says, a little smirk pulling at his lips. He leads the way for all of a second before the rest of the group rush past him. They can hear a small army at the top of the canyon. When it becomes obvious that there won't be enough room at the top of the canyon to stand, Vinny reluctantly lights up and takes to the air.
Outside the force field are five gigantic trucks. A group of black suits swarm the area, pulling out items and scanning them before moving on to the next. In front of the trucks, all five Hall Leaders and Nico are standing in a circle, having a discussion. Another group of supers, including Andre Harrison, stands to the side, watching the entire process with blatant amusement--and fast food.
"I would HARDLY allow something dangerous to be placed in my truck," Marigold says darkly, glaring at Nico.
"Oh, I know," Nico says. "I doubt anything is in all of this, but do you really think I'll take a chance? These are my kids," he says, looking over at the wall, "and they're getting curious," he adds with amusement. "Okay, kids, come on out, but no touching anything the black suits haven't scanned yet," he says.
The group tumbles out of the force field, dancing over the footprints as fast as they can. Vinny's the last out, and his hair is still alight when he gets there. "What's all this?" he asks as the group spread out, exclaiming over everything.
"That pile there is from Santa, that truck is from Century's branch, Marigold's branch, and so on," Nico says, motioning with his coffee cup. "You all have gained some very enthusiastic fans, thanks to the Advent Calendar game."
"SOME people are trying to get in your good graces," Century says with a look at Marigold, and then at the Santa pile, "even if you've already got a sponsor lined up."
"Justin," Negatia says, heading for her son. "Merry Christmas, darling," she says, heading for him.
"And some others like the excuse to spoil their kids," Isotonic says with a hint of amusement as he heads for his daughter, Olivia.
"Good to see you, again, Vinny--" Century starts out, only to stop as Voltdrain leaves the other group of supers, heading straight for him.
"Señor Vinny! I have taken the entire day off to help you with the Christmas dinner!" Voltdrain says. Vinny's mouth drops open, and to most people's surprise, he breaks into a huge grin.
"Awesome," he says, almost looking excited.
"I bring him a brand new outdoor pizza oven and grill and he's more enthusiastic about Voltdrain helping him cook," Century says, shaking his head.
"Seriously?" Vinny asks, looking up a
t Century. "Which truck was yours again?" he asks. "I've GOT to see this!"
"Vinny," Nico says, "wait until it's all been scanned."
"Um..." everyone turns as Carla speaks up. "We can't accept all of this."
"What?" Marigold asks.
"It's all too much," Carla says, stepping forward. "We want you to give most of it to kids that really need it. Right, everyone? I mean, we'll take a little, but this is way too much."
"Well, sugar, I can agree with that--and we'll be happy to let you give away anything you want, except--" Century says, "in each of these trucks is one large thing meant for the campus. I've put an entire outdoor kitchen in mine. I figure that will be a gift for future generations, as well. Can you accept that?"
She breaks into a smile. "Oh!" she says. "We accept THAT!"
"Hey," Rocco says, looking at Marigold, "what did you bring us?"
"I've brought a special tank-quality set of weight machines," Marigold says, "for those of you that need something a bit heavier for your training. I'm honestly surprised that the son of Superior would be so slack in training the tanks of the school!" she declares, looking at Nico. "I've seen your facility, it's lacking."
"I focus on their speed and reflexes," Nico says. "Besides, I can count our tanks on one hand--Sandra still isn't coming out of her room for classes. Trent has all the weight he needs when he spars with Max, and Jack gets to lift cars every morning when I take him to the junkyard."
"What about that Kaden boy? He's going to need it!"
"Fine, fine, we'll accept your bulk bicep builder," Nico says. Soon everything's been checked out and the force field wall is taken down so everything can be brought in. It's not like ANYONE is stupid enough to attack with all five Hall Leaders acting as guards. The black suits and the other heroes get to work setting up all the large things, and Vinny looks around.
