by R. J. Ross
"A crush?" she asks, sounding stunned.
"A huge crush," I agree.
"And they want my signature?" she asks.
"They want your signature," I say.
"And the little girls--do they want to be like me?" she asks.
"Every day in every way," I promise.
"Then I SIGN!" she yells, heading back into the room that's got music blasting in the background. "WHERE'S MY DIP? WE'RE OUT!" she bellows down the hall. "I need energy to make the little girls and boys happy!"
Century pushes me down the hall, radiating amusement that doesn't show until he and I are in his office. "Brilliant, son, absolutely brilliant," he praises me. "I am no longer going to complain to Nico for getting you in without my permission."
"He went through Voltdrain?" I ask after thinking about it for all of a half second.
"Of course he did," Century says, dropping down on his chair. "Now, tell me exactly what you're doing in my territory. I'd prefer to not be kept in the dark."
I reach into a discreet pocket of my uniform, pulling out the scrap of paper. "This was a letter that was sent to Massteria while he was in the Cape Cells. It might not mean anything, but I want to cover every angle. I thought I'd have Rochester check and see who it was that sent it."
"You can't figure that out?" Century asks.
"No, I can't. We might say that psychometric power is a form of telepathy, but it's not the same. Paper has no mind," I say with a shrug.
"I see," he says. "I agree, you've got my permission to see the boy. Now, for something more interesting, is it true that you and Zoe aren't dating any longer?"
"We're... taking a small break to get our work done," I say, not really surprised that he's heard the gossip. We're an extremely small community when you get right down to it. "But if you're thinking of trying to get her a date or something, I won't be happy."
"That's not the meaning of a break, Max," he says, leaning back in his chair with a slight smile. "She's one of mine, you know. I have to focus on what's best for her."
I place my hands on his desk, looking him in the eye, and smile. "Your concern has been noted."
"I only want her happy, of course," he says. "You see where I'm coming from. What with all that talk of that Woods girl--"
"I've only met her once," I say. "It was just before I came here."
"So you and she aren't an item?"
"Would you trade in a Superior for a norm?" I ask simply.
"It depends on the norm and the Superior," he says.
"Then would you trade YOUR Superior in for a norm that's stalking you?" I clarify.
"Not a chance in hell," he says.
"Even if she was a cape, I still wouldn't even consider it," I say, smiling slightly. "We might be taking a break, but she's still the girl I plan on marrying."
"You're still young, son. You might want to take your time making a decision like that."
"Probably," I admit, "but I know my own mind extremely well. Want me to tell you yours?" I offer evilly.
"I'll have to pass on that offer," he says. "Now get going. You've got a felon to hunt down."
"Do you want to know Skye's?" I ask before reaching the door.
"Can you read it?" he asks.
"What do you think?"
"Can you read Zoe's?"
"Barely," I admit. "She is her dad's daughter, after all. I'll just be going now," I say before heading out of his office.
"Are you just going to leave us here?" I look up at Ariel, the newest member of Skye's team. She's been standing in the hall for a while, I guess. I should have noticed earlier. She has one of those power blocking necklaces on, as well, even though she already has the bracelet. I suppose that's because she can't control the necklace.
"He won't keep you long," I promise gently. "All you need to do is sign or even scribble on the pictures a little longer. Once they're done you'll get back to moving in."
She nods. "How's Malina?"
"Doing just fine."
"That's good," she says before heading back down the hall.
"Ariel?" I call after her. She looks back. "If he keeps you for longer than a day, I'll be back, got it?"
"Okay," she says.
You know, all three of them are older than I am, but I don't think that really matters.
***
"And you let her go?" Century asks thirty minutes later, staring at the table of pictures. They're scribbled on and glitter-ized. It looks like a five-year-old got to them, he thinks with an inward sigh. "Do you really think the public would accept this?" he asks the black suit standing next to him.
"I was hoping to get that one for my daughter," the black suit says, pointing to one of the most brightly colored pictures.
The wall lights up and Nico appears on the screen. "You know you couldn't have kept her trapped for long, Century," he says, not sounding bothered in the least about the fact his little sister had been held captive. "Besides, all you need to do is release a clip of them signing the things and everyone will be happy," he says, tapping on the air. His face is replaced by a recording of Skye and Ariel dancing with the glitter bottles while Doris liberally applies glue. "That should make everyone happy," Nico says, appearing again. "I even digitally added in masks to protect their identities... not that they need them."
Century looks thoughtful. "Put it up," he says finally. "Those that decide to sell them are going to make a mint, aren't they?"
"About that one picture--" the black suit says.
"Fine, but just the one, since you WERE acting as guard," Century says, waving it off. "If any of you others want one, you'll have to talk them into doing it again. Now does anyone know where they went?"
"Probably after Maximum, sir," the black suit says, picking up the picture almost reverentially. "I need to get a case for this. I think I'll hang it on her wall."
"How old is your daughter?" Century asks him.
"Three and a half months, sir."
Century lets out a laugh, walking out of the room.
"I'll give you a hundred for it," another of the black suits offers.
"Sorry, can't do," the first says. "This is going on the wall."
***
It's dark by the time I reach the French Quarter. The tiny bar that Rochester works at is bustling with people and music pours out of it like a waterfall. I can't help but pause, wondering if I should switch into civvies. The last thing I want to do is bust up the party. I land on the roof and zip out of my uniform. I always wear a really simple outfit underneath. A tanktop and a pair of thin pants work well enough to blend in. I pull off my mask, but I leave the com-bracelet on. The uniform and mask twist into a bag that I hang over one shoulder. Once that's done I look around for a discreet place to land below. I grab onto the wall of the building next to this and climb down. This is a bar, and everyone below should be busy enjoying themselves, right? So maybe they won't notice they didn't see me climbing up it earlier.
I look around before heading into the bar. It's bustling with people dancing and talking loudly. Rochester is playing, but unlike the last time I heard him play, there's an entire band with him. I head through the crowd, noticing that they unconsciously move slightly as I pass them. The song finishes just as I get to the stage, and the man singing looks down at me curiously. "I'm hoping you came for the music, boy, you don't look old enough for the drinks," he says.
I give him a little smile. "I'm--"
"Max!" Rochester says, slinging his guitar over his shoulder and hopping off the stage. "What's the problem?" he asks.
"I need a bit of your time, Rochester," I say, pulling the ripped piece of paper out of my pocket. "Can you take a five-minute break?"
"Who are you?" the singer asks me curiously. I take it he knows Rochester's other job.
"Just a friend," I say.
"From my day job," Rochester explains, looking at the paper. "C'mon, we'll go to the back," he says, turning and leading me away from the crowd. Someone puts a CD on
as we leave, to keep the dancers happy. "Here we go," Rochester says, leading me into a small room full of alcohol bottles. "So what's goin' on?"
"You know about the escaped Cape Cell convicts?" I ask.
"Yeah, I know."
"I'm on the hunt for one of them. Can you tell me who wrote this letter?" I ask, holding out the scrap of paper. He takes it and holds out his other hand. I hesitate for a second before tapping on my com-bracelet and turning off the external power blocker. It's the only way I can piggy-back on his powers. The only problem is that shaking hands with Rochester is always risky. Well, it's too late to complain, I guess. I grab the hand.
***
The room is tiny and cramped. The wallpaper is peeling and yellowed, and the table that the writer is sitting at is white and wobbles slightly as she writes. "Dear Massteria," she says slowly, her words laboriously drawn out in crayon. "I--"
"Mary?" a woman calls from the other room. "Are you cleaning?"
"I'm writing a letter to Daddy!" Mary yells back. "I already cleaned!" She looks up as a woman walks into the room, an exasperated expression on her face.
"Honey, wadding up paper towels and swishing the mess around is not cleaning. But at least you remembered to put your gloves on," she says, making the little girl look at the white gloves she's wearing. "Remember, no touching the paper without your gloves."
"I knoooow," the girl sing-songs. "We don't want the big bad Hall huffing and puffing and blowing our house down."
"Exactly," her mom says as she starts cleaning up the mess that Mary was obviously supposed to clean. "I know you miss him, honey, but... well..." she hesitates, clearly wanting to say something bad but unwilling to say it in front of her daughter. "Daddy's... probably not going to be coming back, sweetie," she says.
"He'll come back," Mary says, starting to write again. "He'll come back someday. I'm his precious."
"You are," her mom says, walking over and hugging her. "You're his precious princess Mary Phoebe Woods."
Max jerks free of the scene, stepping back and shaking his head as if to clear it. "What?" Rochester asks, jerked back as well.
"I know who she is," he says.
"Who the mom is?"
"No, who the daughter is." He takes a quick breath, letting it out slowly. "Thanks Rochester. I owe you," he says before heading out of the bar as quickly as he can.
"You're welcome?" Rochester offers a bit blankly, since the teen is already gone.
***
"You fly pretty fast!" The voice makes me glance to my side, a bit surprised to see Skystep racing along beside me. She doesn't fly, she runs on the air. We're somewhere in Arkansas, I think. "Hi, Max! Where are we going?"
"Aren't you moving back home, Skye?" I ask, trying not to laugh. "Actually, weren't you signing pictures?"
"We glittered them!" she says with a brilliant smile. "You looked like you were doing something more interesting!"
I pull to a stop, a sudden image of Skye under the influence of Massteria. "Nope, nothing interesting at all," I say. "Don't you have a base to work on?"
"Oh, Nico said he's going to help me out when he gets the time--we're getting a pool!" she says. "So what are you REALLY doing?" she asks, getting right in my face.
"You've gained a little weight," I say, "it looks good on you. Have you been up to see Tatiana lately?"
She frowns. "I don't wanna," she says.
"Why not?"
"Because the lady with the crazy eyes is up there and I don't like her," she says. "And quit changing the subject! What are you running all over the world for?"
I hesitate. "Skye..." I say, peeking into her mind. It's racing at a million miles an hour. Only a tiny portion is focused on ME. Superior once claimed that she was a genius, and I honestly believe it. That doesn't make her any less socially awkward--it actually makes her more. I should know, I fake being socially capable all the time. "It's top secret Hall stuff," I say, moving closer and lowering my voice. I glance left and right as if we might be being spied on. "Eventually I'm going to take over half of Central Hall."
She blinks. "You're going hero?" she demands. "BETRAYER!"
"I'm not!" I say. "I'm taking over the villain half."
"Villains aren't part of the Hall!" she says. "Quit lying to me, Max, or I'll get angry."
"We aren't and we are," I say, since I know she IS paid by the Hall, she just thinks she stole the credit card. Honestly, she's got unlimited spending, as far as I can tell. Century spoils the crap out of her. "You know how you have to talk the heroes into coming whenever you want to do something big?" We're gaining a crowd here, I think as I glance down. There are people recording us with their phones. I guess not much happens in a small town like this one, especially super related. Well, they can't hear us, so I guess it won't hurt anything, since we're both villains.
"Of course, because they're too lazy to come without me calling," she says, clearly irritated with the system. "Unless I DON'T want them coming--Century ruined my ice cream robbery!" she complains. "I was going to eat ALL of the flavors."
"That does suck," I say agreeably. "But I'm going to make sure none of the villains in Central wind up in the Cape Cells unless they really deserve it."
She looks at me as if I'm her newfound hero. "Can you keep ME from going to the Cape Cells?" she asks, grabbing my hands.
"Skye, I really doubt you're in danger," I say.
"He arrested me this morning!" she protests. "They put the glowy necklaces on us and forced us into hard labor!"
"Hard labor," I repeat, "that just happens to come with glitter?"
"I still have it in my hair," she says, ruffling her hair and sending a rain of sparkles falling.
"It was YOUR choice," I have to point out, trying not to laugh. "But I promise that you will never wind up in the Cape Cells. I'll pull every trick in the book if it comes to it."
"Really?" she asks suspiciously.
"Absolutely," I swear. "I'll be on the board. They can't toss someone into the cells without a majority vote."
"Yeah, but you're not a majority," she says.
"Century will help," I say. "Now why don't you go back and find your friends? I think you lost them somewhere along the way."
She looks around, a bit surprised. "Where DID they get to?" she asks. She starts to do her silly little finding dance, only to go perfectly still. For a second I think she's just adding to the dance, but then she looks at me.
Her expression is terrifyingly serious. I dare to look into her mind before letting out a curse. Massteria has gotten to her. How did he find us? Is someone streaming this? No, I don't have time to investigate. If she reacts like I did, I might have been lying about the Cape Cells. No, I think, I wasn't lying. I'm going to stop her before she screws up. She looks at me, and I suddenly know the real question I should be asking.
How does Skye respond to fear?
She steps closer, her hands clenched and raised. "You'll NEVER GET ME!" she yells--and promptly turns and races away at top speed. I let out a curse and chase after her, kicking up my speed to as fast as I can go. She's RUNNING, but I still can't quite catch up with flight. We're already approaching Texas. I stop, holding out my hands to catch her with my telekinesis. It holds her for a second and she squirms, her eyes huge and fearful as she looks at things I can't see. I fly closer, opening my mind to see into her delusion and hopefully bring up her walls--
A fist goes into my chest and I feel fingers touch my heart. I look down, seeing her with her hand stuck into my chest. "Let. Me. Go," she hisses, her fingers moving deliberately, wrapping around my heart just enough that I can feel them.
"Skye--" I say, moving forward. I take her face in my hands, knowing at any second she could probably kill me. "Here," I whisper, bringing up her mental walls for her. The shock of the action has her stumbling backwards, her hand slipping out of my chest.
I had to lower my own wall to do that. Stupid, I think as the world shifts all around me. Now I have to deal with the
intruder again, and my heart is still in shock from being grabbed. I lose control of my powers and plummet to the ground.
"MAX!" I hear her scream from a distance. I can't see her. The world is going white and I'm not sure where I am. I need to get my wall back up. I need to get my powers back in control. The world shudders all around me as I slam into the ground below.
***
I'm standing in front of the school, but something is wrong. Everyone is standing in front of me, with Zoe right in the middle. "You don't belong here," she says, stepping forward. "Get out of here, Max."
"What do you mean, I don't belong here?" I ask, trying to turn it into a joke. "This is some sort of trolling, right?"
"I said, GET OUT!" Zoe says, slamming a fist into my solar plexus. I can literally feel it against my spine, she hits me so hard. I get thrown straight up until I slam into the laser wall above. It shocks me, rattling my bones. It's going to kill me, I think, only to feel it stop. "No, that's far too easy," Zoe says as I plummet to the ground.
Why? I can't even say it, although my body is recovering rapidly. I cough, gasping for breath. I can't breathe, no matter what I do, the air just isn't coming. I can't do anything, I realize as she kicks me, flipping me onto my back. I'm powerless. She looks down at me, her green eyes murderous. "You should never have come back, Max."
"I--" I gasp, "I need--"
"What do you need?" she asks, grabbing me by the shirt and hauling me off the ground. "Actually, do you think I care what you need?" she asks. "I never want to see your face again, Max, and if you dare to show up here again, I'll rip it off."
I should fight back, but I can't. I mean, sure, we joked about fighting, and if it was just for fun, I'd do it--but this isn't fun.
"Get out of here," Ace says from the crowd.
"Did you really think we liked having you around?" Jack asks. "You're useless, Max. We don't need you, we don't want you. You'll never belong here. You're just a poor copy of Mastermental."
