by R. J. Ross
"He's too short to be that," I hear Sunny say. I dare to look over at him, hoping him making short jokes is a good thing. Coming from a guy that's still barely 5'7 or something, it's got to be a joke, right? No. He's staring at me as if I'm lower than the dirt under his feet. Of course he IS an elementalist, so he would value dirt, but--I thought we were friends.
I dare to look around the crowd, seeing cold, hateful looks on everyone's faces. Even Carla, who loves everyone, is snarling at me. And the woman I was certain I would marry one day grabs me by the throat, lifting me off of the ground. "I don't love you," she tells me, smiling slightly, "I never have. I was just using you for the Mastermental name."
Wait. What? Zoe couldn't care less about the Mastermental name. She's got a more impressive one. I might really respect my dad, but even I realize he's never going to be as famous as Superior was. Besides, she's never cared about names before--well, she's a bit fond of the Superior one, but not for that reason. She likes pushing herself to be better.
I stare at her, trying to see into her mind. I usually can, I just can't understand it. This time, though, there's nothing there. It's like running into a blank wall, or even a blank room. I look over at Jack, who's WAY easier to read than Zoe, and run into the exact same thing. In fact, I think as Zoe slams another punch into my stomach, I can't read any of them.
This is another fear trap. I should have realized it, I think as I pull out of Zoe's hold. I have two choices. I can either lift my walls and shove the attacker out of my mind, or I can hunt the jerk down and take him head on. If it's a battle of minds, can I win? He's older than I am, but I AM Mastermental's kid.
Do I put enough stock in that to take on another psychic type? Is my ego that big?
It sure as hell is, I think, completely ignoring the raging Zoe still trying to hit me. I hold out my hand to her. "You look pretty," I tell her, "but you aren't my Zoe." She pixelates and disappears. "The rest of you can go, as well."
"You'll be alone," Ace says.
I look at him, smiling slightly. "Is that a threat?"
"You'll be all alone," he repeats. I wave a hand, getting rid of them all.
"I've been alone ninety percent of my life, man, why should I start fearing it now?" I ask the empty campus. "Especially when you're all jerks." I start to walk through the campus. "Come out, come out, wherever you are," I call. "It's just you and me, now."
"You and me?" Nico asks from behind me.
I turn and look at him. "Are you hiding in that form?" I hold out a hand to Nico. "If you are, this is your chance to show yourself," I say before blowing my principal away. He disappears in pixels as well. It seems the most appropriate way to take a technopath out. "This is taking too long," I complain. "I need to see what's going on in the real world, so--" I take to the air and wave my hand, wiping out the school campus entirely.
There's no one there, not even my attacker. I let out a curse and turn, looking at the empty world around me. "WAKE UP!" I yell at myself.
***
"Max, Max, wake up, Max," Skye says, crouching over the unconscious teenager and patting his face repeatedly. "Wake uppppp, you need to wake up, please. I don't think I killed you, but if I did then Nico's going to ground me, I'm pretty sure. I don't want to be grounded, Max, so you have to wake up. I don't want you to die, either. Please don't make me go get a mad scientist to bring you back to life. I have very bad experiences with mad scientists."
He's not moving. She'd managed to grab him before he slammed into the ground, but he's still unconscious. She barely looks up as Doris and Ariel join her. "Max, if you wake up, I'll let you do a gig in my territory, I promise! It'll be a small, tiny gig, though. You can rob a gas station, okay? It has to be on the EDGE of my territory, but it'll be in my territory! Come on, Max, will a kiss wake you up?"
"What's going on?" Ariel asks.
"Max fainted," Skye says. "But he can't die because I don't want to be grounded or thrown into the Cape Cells."
"Why did he faint, Skye?" Doris asks suspiciously.
"Um..." Skye says, frowning. "We were talking and all of a sudden there were all the Hall leaders and they were going to take me to the Cape Cells, and I tried to run away but they caught me, and decided that instead of putting me in the Cape Cells, they'd just KILL ME! So I had to defend myself! But then Mastermental turned out to be Max and I had my hand in his chest and there was this weird thing going on in my head, and then he fainted," she explains. "I caught him before he hit the ground, but he's just been lying there, dead--and if I killed him, Zoe will NEVER forgive me! And--"
Max's eyes open slowly and he looks at her. "HE'S ALIVE!" she shouts, dragging him into a hug.
He groans, trying and failing to get free of her hold. "I need to find him, Skye," he says.
"Find who?"
"Massteria."
"I'll find him," she says, "but you don't look so good, so maybe it should wait? I thought you were dead!"
"I'm fine," he says, getting to his feet. "I need to find him. The sooner I find him the sooner I can..." he stops and there's a strangely lost expression on his face for a second. "No, that was the attack," he says under his breath. "Nobody's going to kick me out."
"Max, I'm not sure what's going on, but I think you need to sit down before chasing after someone," Doris says. "You look white as a sheet."
"I have to get him," he says, stepping into the air, only to stumble and hit the ground again. "I'll be okay in a minute--she just squeezed my heart a little. It threw me off."
"You need to go to our base and recover!" Skye declares, picking him up. It says something when he can barely struggle, he thinks darkly.
"I have to find him--the sooner I find him the sooner my mom can go back."
"He kidnapped your mother?" Ariel asks, flying alongside Skye as she starts running for the forest.
"No, we did," Max says, "but we'll let her go as soon as Massteria is taken care of. She needs to leave."
The three go silent, but keep going. Max struggles in Skye's hold, almost escaping. "You can't take someone down in this state," Skye says. "You need to recover, and while you're at it you can tell us the story."
"What story?"
"The story about how you hate your mother so much," she says.
Max looks at her, smiling a bit bitterly. "I don't hate her," he says. "She hates me."
CHAPTER SIX
"Would you like to see the school grounds?" The question makes Wendy and John turn from the movie they're watching. "Sorry, I came up with your kids. They stuck around to watch the baseball game for a bit," Nico says, walking into the room behind the two. "I thought you might like to see where your son's been going to school for the past few years."
"I don't--" Wendy starts out.
"I'd love to," John says, turning off the movie and standing. "Come on, Wendy, how often do you get the chance to see where the heroes of the future are being trained?" he asks her eagerly.
"And villains," Nico says. "We train both."
"That makes no sense," Wendy says. "Why is a school that's obviously affiliated with the Hall training villains?"
"Because you don't have a show if you don't have both sides," Nico says, looking her straight in the eye. "We train our villains to keep them from breaking the law."
"They break the law all the time!" she protests.
"Not super law," he says. "So you'll be coming with me?" he asks John, waving a hand in the air and tapping on something they can't see. "You're cleared to enter the campus--"
"I'll come," Wendy says. "I want to see what they do, as well."
"It's really awesome!" Chet says, "And the healers fixed my thyroid and my diabetes, Mom! Aubrey says I don't need to take insulin anymore!"
"Really?" she asks skeptically. "Will it stay that way?" she asks Nico.
"If he has problems in the future, have him come to the ER part of the Hall," Nico says blandly. "But it should be permanent. Aubrey is rapidly growing to be a Specialized S-class he
aler. We've seen and brought in others, but I haven't met one that will be as well-rounded as she is. She seemed quite fond of your son and daughter."
"Aubrey likes kids," Layne says, having dropped down on the couch. "I'm so freaking tired. Chet, why aren't you exhausted?"
"I'm too excited to be exhausted," he says, grinning hugely. "I did the entire course once! It was AWESOME!"
"You fell three times," Layne says. "Taurus had to put you back up on the bars."
"Yeah, but I still finished!" he says.
"I want him checked by his pediatrician before we make any major changes," Wendy declares.
"Please don't wait that long!" They all look up as Aubrey races into the room. "If you continue to give him medicine you'll send his sugar plummeting and send him into a coma, or worse. Chet, can you go get your tester?" she asks him. "If you really need proof, just monitor his blood sugar levels for the next week."
"I--" Wendy says, only to stop as John touches her arm.
"Do as she says," he says.
Wendy hesitates for a moment before nodding. "I suppose we can do that."
"Do you not believe she can heal?" Nico asks.
"It isn't that--it's just he is my only--"
"Your only what?" Nico asks, his eyes going dangerously cold. She hesitates for a long moment, looking at the people surrounding her.
"Excuse me," she says finally. "I need to put some shoes on before the tour, right?" She heads to the main bedroom of the apartment, leaving the rest of them just standing there, looking at each other.
"She's... I think she's spent so many years hiding it that it'll be hard breaking old habits," John says, as if that's an excuse. Even he looks grim, but it's nothing compared to the looks on Nico and Aubrey's faces.
"I think," Aubrey says quietly, "that I'll leave you to conduct the tour, Nico. I need to get to work."
"Thanks, Aubrey," Nico says, placing a hand on her shoulder briefly before she leaves. "I think we need to have a little talk, before we go on this tour," he says as Wendy slowly comes back into the room wearing tennis shoes, "since your oldest son is out there chasing rabbit trails to try and find the person that's a threat to you."
"If you're trying to guilt me into--" Wendy starts out.
"Oh no, ma'am, I wouldn't do that. I'm here to offer you a bribe."
The group goes still, looking at him in shock. "What do you mean?" John asks.
"You don't seem to understand just how important Max is to our little community. I was a bit shocked when his dad offered to let me teach him, honestly. Your son is going to be the leader of the cape world one day. He's already lined up to be second-in-command of Central Hall, and he's only eighteen years old." She looks as if she's going to say something, so he raises a hand to stop her. "Your son is one of the kids that the entire school looks up to, and dreams of being like," he says. "I want you to be very careful of what you say about him in front of them. In fact, I want you to be careful about what you say about ALL of my kids."
"This sounds more like a threat than a bribe," Wendy says.
"If you do as I ask," Nico says, "I will be happy to redo your home. You'll live comfortably for the rest of your life. I'll even pay off any debts you have and put your children through college."
"Shouldn't Mastermental be offering this?" John asks, although he doesn't look happy. "Not that I plan on taking a bribe just for acting like a decent human being."
"He could," Nico says, "but I'm the one that's here. All I ask is that you treat my students, my staff, and Max with respect. If they say they can do something, and especially if I or someone else backs them up, I expect you to believe them. And if you really consider what I'm asking as something you would do naturally, well, then consider my offer as payment for us keeping you against your will."
"I'm surprised you're not bribing us to keep our mouths shut, as well," Layne says boldly. "What sort of trouble could we cause if we let out that we're Maximum's little siblings, huh?"
"Trouble for you, not him," Nico says. "Do you really want to be stuck in a safe house for the rest of your life?"
"Layne," Wendy says, "enough. We'll do as you ask," she says to Nico. "It isn't that I--that I hate Maximum. I just don't know him," she says. "I mean, I--never mind," she interrupts herself, giving up. "So... they look up to him?" she asks hesitantly.
"Of course they do," Nico says as they exit the building and head to the campus. "But maybe you should ask them, yourself." they step onto a platform and overlook the campus. There are kids playing a game of baseball in front of the school, with Kid Liberty on the pitcher mound and Sunny up at bat.
"SWING, BATTER, BATTER!" the students are chanting from the field.
"I don't think that's very sportsman-like!" Sunny complains as the ball races through the air so fast that it screams. The bat hits it, sending it flying into the air. Vinny lights up on fire, racing up and catching it--only to groan as his mitt and the ball burn to a crisp. "WHOO HOOO! HOME RUN, BABY!" Sunny shouts, dancing from base to base much to the groaning of the opposite team.
"Nico! I need a fire-proof glove!" Vinny says. "This is the fourth one I've burnt up tonight!"
"Call Century, he's your sponsor," Nico calls back, heading down the steps. "Trent's started an after-school sports program," he explains over his shoulder. "It usually goes on until late."
"It's thirty degrees out here," John says, huddling in his coat, "should they be wearing shorts for this?"
"We don't tend to feel the cold," Nico explains.
"Malina's up to bat!" Jack shouts. "Everyone move in!" She turns, giving him the dirtiest look imaginable.
"Are you saying I can't hit?" she asks him. He grins back at her shamelessly, only to let out a curse and get thrown back as he catches the ball aimed straight at him.
"Ball!" Zoe shouts from her crouched position behind Malina.
"That was out!" Jack says.
"Sure it was, but it was funny, so BALL!" Zoe replies cheerfully.
Jack groans. "Nico! Can she DO that?" he yells to them.
"I saw nothing!" Nico says with a grin. The ball whizzes through the air and Trent grabs it. "Here, watch this," Nico says to John and Wendy, pulling out his phone to show them. The speedometer races up to over three hundred miles per hour as the ball speeds through the air. "Nice fast ball, huh?"
"Wow--is that safe, throwing that at her?" John asks.
"Trent knows what speed each of them can take," Nico says as the baseball bat cracks as it hits the ball. "Besides, Zoe's acting as catcher."
"A girl?" Wendy asks. "Isn't that danger--"
The entire school turns to look at her as she asks that. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that," she says. "As she's said, she's a Superior, right? Even if she's only a little older than my daughter--"
The group starts laughing and she blushes slightly, feeling completely out of her depth. "Should we go on with the tour?" she asks Nico.
"We'll start with the school building," he says, heading around the kids into the building in the center. The teenagers look at each other before going back to the game. "We've got a staff made of retired supers, and Taurus," he explains as they walk down the hall. He stops at a door, opening it to show a group of capes playing a game of pool. "This is the school faculty room," he says as some of the most famous people from the last three centuries look up and nod to him. "The offices are here, as well, but I'm not sure anyone really uses them," he adds thoughtfully.
"We do, you just took over the science room for yours," Banshee says, chalking up her pool stick, "so you never come in here except to upgrade the toys."
"Ah, yeah, that explains it," Nico says, closing the door and heading on. "Regular classrooms," he says, motioning to one.
"Is that a hologram blackboard?" John asks.
"Your kids' schools don't have that?" Nico asks, heading in. "Not even the desk tablets?" he asks, tapping on one of the desks. It lights up and they see rows of apps on it, including a card game.
<
br /> "No, I don't think it's in the budget," Wendy says a little faintly. "In fact, I'm a bit stunned it's in your budget."
"It's not, I made them," Nico says. "I'm thinking of upgrading to holograms, but it might get in the way of reading the board."
"Yeah, I could see that happening," John says. "Do they actually do their homework on their desks?"
"It's more convenient. It's a bit tough to keep up with paperwork when half of the time they're running all over the country on special missions. Zoe's gotten everyone on a digital system, so they can do their homework on the com-bracelets if they need to. Most of the classrooms are like this. The science lab is in the gym, so we can either head over to that building or go into the first dormitory," he says, heading for the exit.
"Why did Chet fall?" John asks.
"Max put him on the healer's course," Nico explains. "It's built so that a decently fit norm should be able to accomplish it, since physical strength isn't their strong suit. You want to see it?"
"And you just let him do it?" Wendy asks. "He could have been hurt, falling!"
"You let your daughter play sports," Nico says, "so why are you so overprotective of your son? Especially when he's being watched over by a professional hero?"
"Chet has health issues," John says. "He's got asthma, thyroid problems, diabetes--"
"So you coop him up and stick a book in front of him, huh?" Nico leads them over to what looks like a jungle gym course connected to a climbing wall. "This is what he was on, after he was healed by our best healer," he says, letting them look it over. "That," he goes on, pointing to a large metal field with dents and battle damage scars, "is where we send the more advanced students."
"Does Max do that one?" John asks as they go closer.
"It's almost a challenge if he doesn't use his gravity abilities," Nico says. "We've got a few recordings of him doing it, if you'd like to see. The robots come out for various practices. Max is the best when it comes to Zombie Friday, although Jack has given him a run for him money several times."
