Mic Drop (Cape High Series Book 16)

by R. J. Ross

  "We've got a kid from the future!" he says, roaring with laughter. "There's no WAY he's not mine!"

  "Yeah, yeah," she says, waving him off. "What happened between Max and me has nothing whatsoever to do with you, got it? It's not any of your business, so QUIT ASKING!"

  "She's actually mad, man," Sunny calls over to them from where he's lounging in the sun. "What did you say to her?"

  "I expected her to get irritated, but... huh..." Jack says, looking thoughtful. "Them flirting usually doesn't have this sort of impact, does it?"

  "Nope."

  "So... maybe he dumped her for that Phoebe chick!" he says, grinning from ear to ear, only to yelp as his pants pocket catches on fire. "Hey! That was my phone!" he says, pulling the blazing mass from his pocket. "What was that for?"

  "IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH PHOEBE WOODS!" Zoe bellows before storming away.

  "Wait... so he DID dump her?" Jack says, stunned.

  ***

  "I don't believe that this is... smart," Pan says quietly. "While I have nothing against Max, he is barely older than my daughter, Nico. Yes, he is intelligent, but he is hardly mature enough to be a Hall leader, or even a second-in-command!"

  "Yeah, I know. I'm pretty sure that Mastermental realizes it, too," Nico says. "He's good at what he does, and he's good at keeping track of things, but there's a lot more to running a group than that. The thing is, other than you, Reaper, and the Triplets of Terror, most of our mainstream villains are his age, and his pals. Reaper and the triplets won't care--they work the outer limits of our branch unless they're called in for a show. And other than them, we've only got people that come in from other branches for exposure and a handful of semi-retired villains that only do work when they get bored. But a lot of those guys have kids who are almost old enough to start going to school. Once they've graduated, I think Max will actually be up to the job of leading them, since he's a fast learner. Honestly, the only one that could have a serious problem with him is you."

  "Yes," Pan says, "that sums it up very nicely."

  "But think about it, Pan. This is the first time a Hall leader has even suggested that the villains should have a leader--a person that could have a say in the council. Should we shut it down just because he isn't mature enough? Plus, he idolizes you," Nico says bluntly. "You know it, I know it, heck, everyone that knows him knows it. You are his definition of the perfect working super villain, and I've done my best to reinforce that ideal."

  They both go silent as they think that question over. "You're suggesting I should take advantage of my influence over him," Pan says finally.

  "If I didn't trust you with everything I have and then some, I would never put you in this position, but yes, that's exactly what I'm doing. That's why I'm doing this graduation gig in the first place. He needs to know he can go to you when he needs help, otherwise he'll wind up listening to Ace and Jack. While I like the kids, they're a bit..."

  "Silly," Pan finishes for him, a little smile pulling at his mouth.

  "Especially when you put the three of them together," Nico agrees. "It makes for an entertaining flow for our branch, which I don't think the heroes mind at all. Usually with this many S-class capes you have a lot of dark drama. It's really hard to do that when your villains are mic-carrying showboats."

  "We are one of the most family-friendly branches, I have to agree. I feel quite comfortable with Cubby watching any of the three working."

  "So what do you say, Pan? Willing to take over his next level of training?" Nico asks. "We can't let this chance pass us up. He's a good kid. With time and good advice, he'll be a great Hall leader."

  "Yes, I think I see where you are coming from," Pan says, leaning back in his chair. "I would be honored to be his adviser."

  "Good, because he just got back on campus. Now we're going to beg you to be his mentor. Try not to act too surprised."

  "I will do my very best."

  CHAPTER TWO

  "So," Nico says. Yeah, I came back. It's second hour already, but I'm in Nico's office (AKA the science room) to do my graduation consultation. "It's completely up to you, Pan, but Max here needs an overseer for his graduation. In exchange... oh, I don't know, Max, what do you have to offer our friend for his assistance?"

  I look at Nico, I look at Pan. "Money," I say, "your big cat preserve is always looking for donations, right? I can arrange for funding to feed the cats for a year, no, make it two years," I say. "I can also use the Hall resources to find more at-risk cats in the states."

  Pan looks at me for a few moments, long enough to make me feel nervous. "I agree," he says finally. "I will take that deal--with one more addendum."

  "What would that be?" I ask.

  "When my son is old enough, he will need a sponsor that is allowed onto the campus. I am not, as far as the super world knows. I have agreed to that, because I believe the school will become quite large and the heroes with very young children might not be comfortable with me getting near them, but as a member of the alumni you will be allowed."

  "Cubby's sponsor?" I say. "I'm... wow, yeah, I'd be honored. I mean, I would have thought Sunny would be a better choice, or Adanna, or both, actually--"

  "My daughter plans on heading overseas as soon as she has graduated. You, on the other hand, will be right here, and I trust you as much as one villain can trust another."

  "Then I agree," I say, bowing slightly. "I'll do my very best to represent you." Of course, his best friend IS the principal and I'll be more of a figurehead than anything, I suppose, but-- "But can't your wife do--no, never mind, you probably don't want the world knowing who she is, do you? Right now is fine, since we're still rather small, but you're right that the school will be growing."

  "You catch on quickly," he says with a smile. "If needs be, we will come in person, but for the general meeting I can always check in over the phone for the vital details. Also, am I wrong in believing you will soon be in a position of power? Nico has told me that your father wants you to be over the villains of Central Hall."

  My jaw drops. "Only in a way," I say, recovering. "What I'm mainly going to be doing is arranging the fight details and public appearances--as in you call me, tell me that you've got an idea, and I make it happen. You've already got that relationship with Dad, I don't plan on anything changing. No, that's a lie. I DO plan on streamlining it a bit and refinancing. Dad's focus is too much on the hero side of the job, it tends to leave the villains a bit underfunded and neglected. Not much, but I plan on improving it," I say.

  "Will you be open to suggestions?" he asks.

  "I'll be open to pretty much anything," I admit. "You've got far more experience and training as a villain than I do. I would love to hear what you think."

  "I want to make suggestions!" I hear Jack say from the door.

  "Your suggestions would be stupid, Jack," Ace says. The two saunter in as if they have every right to be here, this time with a few others. A phone gets stuck in my face by Freddy and Jennifer brings out a mic.

  "We'd love to hear about your plans for the villains of Central High, Max," she says with a bright smile. She dyed her hair indigo, I note. That and her dark lipstick makes her look a bit more villain-ish, I guess, probably running with the whole "Blackbird" thing.

  "Guys, guys, and Jen," I say, holding up my hands, "I'm in the middle of trying to get my graduation set up. Can we have this talk later?"

  "I think we need more girls," Rocco says as he comes in, making everyone look at him. "What? Keliah WAS going to go villain, but she changed her mind. Now all we have is Jen, and Jen's having more fun being a reporter than actually doing the villainy thing. Sexy female villains are really important, right?"

  We all look at each other. "Elidee," half of the group says, including me. "She's perfect for the villain side, don't you think?"

  "I'm not sure how her mother will feel about that," Pan says. I abruptly realize he's still on the phone. Whoops. "But I do see where you're coming from. She would make an excellen
t traditional style villain."

  Jack grabs one of the classroom chairs, dropping into it. He's soon followed by the rest of the group, except Freddy, who's walking around, filming whoever is talking at the moment. "Freddy, when are you going to debut, man?" Jack asks.

  "What?" Freddy says, almost dropping his phone.

  "You're going villain, right? He's going villain, right?" he asks the rest of us.

  "I think it's more he's going cameraman for a pretty face," I say. "That absolutely counts as lackey."

  "Hey, if you're a lackey, I'll pay you better," Jack says.

  "I thought you were aiming to get Brandon," Ace says.

  "I am. Him AND Ward made for an awesome tour. I could do some seriously amazing jobs with those two backing me up."

  "Honestly," Nico says, "every kid that graduates from here is qualified to be a headliner. If they want to be lackeys, I'll personally make sure you pay them what they're worth--or should I say, I'll make sure Max makes you pay them what they're worth." He looks at me pointedly.

  "Noted," I say. "He's got a point. You should be aiming to get D and C-class capes that want to be in on the show and just partner up with the kids in the school. There's no point in paying them when I would foot the bill and you just borrow them for certain jobs."

  "He's not even in charge yet and he's already making decrees," Jack drawls.

  "No, this makes sense," Ace says, "mostly because I'd love to work with Brandon. Can you imagine how much I could mess with people with his help?"

  "And Ward is in line to take Mega's place," Nico says.

  "Are they really father and son?" Rocco asks.

  "That's not something I can tell you," Nico says. "It's between the two of them."

  "Anyway," I say, "how should I proceed?" I ask Pan.

  "Come up with three different plans, bring them to me this weekend, and we'll choose from those," he says. "Also, I would appreciate being informed whenever you do these little villainy meetings. Is this how you plan on running your end of the Hall?"

  I look around the small group. "Of course not," I say. "Next time I plan on having drinks and snacks," I add before they can complain.

  "Then I'd appreciate it if you did it somewhere I can come, personally," Pan says with a little smile. He hangs up and for a second everyone looks at me expectantly.

  "What? I would say alcohol, but it doesn't do anything with our metabolism," I say. "Plus, none of us are legal drinking age--"

  "Is it true that Zoe and you have broken up?" Jennifer asks.

  "Wait, what? Does that mean she's free, now?" Ace asks. "Because I would love to--"

  "Hold it right there," I say. "I should explain. We're taking a break, not breaking up. Both of us have a lot on our plates."

  "Sad," Ace says, shaking his head. "He's in denial."

  "Wait, so he didn't dump her--she dumped him?" Jack asks.

  "Looks like it."

  "She hasn't dumped me!" I protest. "She's just got all that work with the schools and I'm busy with graduation and some other stuff. It only makes sense that we... take a break." Man I feel pathetic right now. I don't let it show on my face. "It's only temporary," I add defiantly.

  "So... think I've got a chance?" Ace asks the others.

  "No way," Rocco says. "I tried earlier. She laughed at me, and then she punched a hole through rocket resistant glass."

  "Did she have to take a running start?" Jack asks interestedly.

  "She didn't even step forward," Rocco says. "That is one dangerous girl. She'd make an amazing villain, wouldn't she?"

  "Absolutely," everyone, even her father says.

  "But she won't," I finish, a bit sadly. "She's got bigger stuff to do. Anyway, since I'm going to be busy, it's up to you guys to talk some girls into going villain. Malina would be an awesome villain, or how about Sandra? Sandra would be a great villain."

  "Definitely," Jack says. "I would love to see her go villain."

  "So what big job ARE you going to do?" Jen asks, even though she's putting away the mic. "It's for your graduation, right?"

  "Wait a second," I say, turning on Rocco, "what do you mean you 'tried earlier'?"

  He grins at me, shamelessly. "You can't get mad now, bro, she's not your girlfriend at the moment."

  "But she WAS when you hit on her!" I say. "Not right, man. And here I thought it was only those two jerks that would stab me in the back," I complain, pointing at Jack and Ace.

  "We would," Jack says. "Villain creed, and all that."

  "You're still a prat, Jack," I say.

  "How's my fanclub coming, Max?" Ace asks, tapping his knuckles to Jack's.

  "Doing quite nicely; you're lined up to make an appearance next week, by the way," I tell him smugly. "You've got that fight against Emily, so make sure you stop and give some signatures before it happens."

  "Can I beat him up even if he's still a super villain?" Ace asks Nico.

  "Sure, we'll set up a special," Nico says. "The back-stabbing trio, it'll get great ratings."

  "Can I use that for my graduation gig?" I ask excitedly.

  "No, you've got to be the obvious leader for that," Nico says. "Now get going, you've got work to do. All of you. Are you skipping class right now?" he asks, as if only just realizing it.

  The others start laughing as they head out, leaving me sitting there. I can't seem to force myself to go, I realize blankly. If I go, I'll have to sit down next to Zoe, and everyone in the school already knows what's going on. Nico is staring at me.

  "I..." I say slowly.

  "Fifteen years," Nico says.

  "What?"

  "I spent fifteen years away from Summer," he says. "I figure if it's meant to be, even a break won't cause problems. If it's not, well, now is the best time to find out, right? Especially for you two. You're young. You both have a huge future in front of you. You have to have the right person supporting you, otherwise more than just you will suffer."

  I go silent for a moment, trying to put my thoughts into order. "Then why did you accept us dating before this?" I ask him.

  "Because who knows? You might be the right person. My daughter isn't stupid, Max, she's also a lot better at reading people than I am. I'm going to trust her to make the right decision." He looks at me pointedly.

  "She says she's doing it for my own good, but I still feel... abandoned," I say, pathetically. It's true, I've just been trying to ignore it and focus on logic. Logically I know that this is just a big misunderstanding, and it'll be over sooner or later; emotionally, I'm frustrated and depressed.

  "You're a super," he says, "get used to it."

  I head out the door, those words lingering in my mind.

  ***

  There should be this awkward feeling, I think as I step into class, like the world should go still and we try to avoid looking at each other. It's not working like that. Zoe is lost in her own little world, tapping on the air around her. She's online, in the middle of class, and the teacher isn't saying a word. I stop by Carla's chair, watching her doodle on her notebook in super-speed for a moment before tapping on her shoulder and leaning down. "Carla?"

  "What?" she asks, jerking to look at me blankly.

  "Can you trade me seats?"

  She blinks, and then looks over at Zoe so fast that a normal person would get whiplash. And then, a bit to my surprise, she hops to her feet and gives me a hug before grabbing all of her things and appearing next to Zoe--who doesn't even notice.

  "Nice of you to join us, Max," the teacher says a bit dryly.

  When I sit down, Vinny claps me on the back from the desk behind me. "You alright?" he asks silently.

  "Yeah, I'm fine," I reply, turning to watch the teacher. What is Zoe doing? Usually she waits until after class to do her web crawling, but she seems quite intent on this. I can't help but glance back at her, watching as her fingers flick the air. Her eyes are glowing.

  "Is she allowed to do that?" Elidee asks, her voice meant to be heard by the teacher.
>
  "If you would all ignore the technopath on a rampage, we can get back to class," the teacher says blandly.

  I blink. Rampage? I turn and look at her more closely, trying to focus on her emotions. I tend to close down my abilities in class--there are too many random thoughts and Carla alone is enough to give me a headache. But right now Zoe's extremely easy to read, emotionally.

  Well, my ex is definitely focused on something. It's the clear, calculating mindset that very few people can attain. Now I wish I hadn't traded seats. If I was closer, I might be able to pick up on more details. As it is, I'm feeling a bit... happier, actually. She hadn't lied when she said she had things to do. I don't think the teacher could get her attention right now even if he tried. I doubt I could, either.

  "So, since all of the villains have already missed half of the class, why don't we just jump to the question we're all asking," the teacher says, lounging against his desk. "Max, what are you planning for your big graduation show?"

  I look at him, and then around the room. The zoo kids, who I'm sitting in the middle of, are looking at me expectantly. "Need a hero?" Vinny asks. "Or is this another Trent job?"

  "I... have no idea, yet. I need to sit down and plot. Pan wants me to come up with three ideas and give them to him to look over this weekend," I tell them.

  "What about that idea to mess with the super bowl?" Emily asks.

  I blink. "I can't believe I didn't think about that--but I don't think they'll let me wait until February," I say, thoughtfully. "I'm still going to do that one, though, but Dad's in a hurry to get me out of school and working properly."

  "Why?" Rocco asks.

  "Because of what happened to Century," I say, my mind still on the Super Bowl idea. What if I combine two jobs? Like what I do this time leads up to the Super Bowl? My mind starts whirling and I pull out my phone, searching through the games that will be playing--and then stopping at a random news report. "Or..." I say, staring at the face of the main actress, "I could do something a little... different." I turn off my phone just in case Zoe is paying even a bit of attention, and stick it in my pocket. Usually big screen actresses don't come to Central territory, but who am I to pass up the opportunity?