by R. J. Ross
She hops into the air and starts running. "Nico is mad at me," she says. "He didn't say it, but I could see it in his eyes! I should have taken you home instead of to my base! I'm so stupid!"
"Your base was closer. Skye, you're overreacting--"
"It was bad enough that I almost killed you, but I was a bad sister, on top of it!" she wails. I give up, I can't get through to her this way. I use my powers, sending us both straight to the ground. It throws her off enough that I get free of her hold. The only problem is that we land in the middle of a bustling shopping area. There are people all around us, and every single one of them seems to have a phone in their hands.
"Are you two fighting? Or are you teaming up?" a kid asks eagerly. "Like for a huge villainous plot of destruction that'll be foiled by Kid Liberty and Divine Justice?"
"I LOVE Divine Justice!" Skye says excitedly as she hops to her feet, her worried look disappearing as she's distracted. "That sounds like a great plan! Maximum! Let's go do that!"
I look at her, only to get an excited grin in response. "We'll think about it," I say, taking to the air. "Come on, Skystep, we've got stuff to do."
"Coming!" she says, chasing after me. At least now I can fly on my own. That reaction has me thinking, though. I've heard that she's gotten pretty big in Central since that attack a while back. It looks like they weren't lying. Everyone we just met obviously knew who she was. "I'd like to do a team-up sometime!" she says. "Oh, but I want to work with Rocco first, since he's my nephew--Max, Max, do you know how to drive?" she asks.
"Yeah, I know," I say. "Why?"
"Can you teach me and Rocco how?" she asks. "We need to learn so we can have a float in the parade!"
That... is completely off the wall, but-- "A float?" I ask. "I could definitely go for a float. How about an all-villains parade?" I ask, my mind full of floats and giant balloons going through downtown KC.
"I'm IN!" she says eagerly.
"We'll have to wait to do it, I need to deal with Massteria first," I say, irritated that I'm being ORDERED to stop searching. No wonder Dad wanted me to graduate before I did this. At this rate I'll never find the guy.
"Do you think he's going to ground me?" she asks abruptly. I look over at her. "You know, for grabbing your heart?" She looks honestly worried. "I don't want to be grounded, I've got stuff I want to do."
"It wasn't your fault," I tell her, again. "The people I'm up against, they deal in fear, remember?"
"Oh, right," she says. "So... that's why I saw everyone about to kill me?"
"Exactly."
"And what did you see?" she asks.
"I saw..." I think about what I should say. "Just some random things."
"You're lying?" she asks me, moving close and looking at me. "Yeah, you're lying. What are you scared of? Maybe we can talk about it and feel better!"
"No thanks," I say as we reach the canyon. I land, only to stop as Zoe storms straight to me and grabs my uniform.
"You," she says, glaring at me angrily, "you had a HEART ATTACK and you didn't even check in?"
"I got better?" I offer a bit sheepishly. "It didn't take long--"
"When someone GRABS your heart, you don't just wait for it to get better!" she yells at me. "Get inside, I'm having every healer we've got take a look at you. I've already got them lined up."
"We're not dating at the moment, you know--" I say. She gives me the most dangerous look I've ever gotten.
"And you are LUCKY that we aren't," she says, "because if we were dating right now it would be a LOT worse. Now get inside and we'll have them scan you. After that you and I need to discuss Phoebe Woods."
"Yeah, okay," I say, heading for the entrance.
"Zoe?" Skye says hesitantly. "You're not mad at me, too, are you?"
Zoe hesitates, looking at her aunt with a sigh. "I'm a little miffed," she says, "but I forgive you. You were under an outside influence."
"YAY!" Skye says happily, throwing herself at Zoe.
"IF you agree to wear an external power blocker until this is all over," Zoe says, before glaring at me, "which is what SOMEONE else should have been doing at the time, as well."
"I'll turn it on when I go back out," I say with a sigh before heading inside. I should probably explain about Rochester, but I don't really feel like it. Just as she promised, all of the healers are standing at the base of the steps, waiting for me. I jump down, not bothering with the steps. "Okay," I say, holding up my hands, "I'm here to be tested, but I'd appreciate it if you did it quickly."
They line up and I wait a bit impatiently as each touches me, and declares there's nothing they can do. Aubrey's the last, and she takes the longest, scanning me thoroughly. I use the time to look into her mind, watching as she sees all of my organs. That is sort of interesting, actually. "He's fine," she declares, looking at Zoe. "His healing abilities are amazing."
"Thank you, Aubrey," Zoe says. "Now you can go talk to Dad," she tells me.
I nod and head for the gym, walking right past my little brother and sister.
"Did you almost die?" Chet asks.
I stop, turning and looking at them hesitantly. "Not... exactly," I say.
"Is it because you're chasing the guy threatening us?" Layne asks. "Are we the reason you almost died?"
"The reason I almost died was my own stupidity," I say. "Don't ever blame yourself for something I do. I'm the cape here, not you two."
"If it's that dangerous, why don't you leave it to the adults?" Layne asks. "There are stronger supers than you, right?"
"Not many," I say, inwardly sighing. It's so much easier when the only one that worried about me was a Superior. She has an idea of how tough I am and just gets mad when things like this happen. I look at them for a long moment before walking over and pulling them both into a hug. Layne lets out a little yelp, but Chet wraps his arms around me, clinging. "I'm not going to lose," I say.
"You--you'd better not," Layne says, trying to sound tough. "You're the only COOL brother I've got."
"You're the only cool sibling I'VE got, too," Chet says.
I let out a little laugh. "Thank you," I say, pulling back and looking at them, "but believe me when I tell you--"
"That he's not going to be doing this alone," Zoe says from behind me. "One villain we can send you after, but if his daughter is helping him like you think, there are two of them. You, mister, are going to accept help."
"Your father told you to graduate. The Hall will keep looking for Massteria like we have been, and you can focus on your graduation gig until we know where he is. Have you talked to Pan about your options?" Nico asks.
"Only one," I admit. "I was going to set up a Hall ran cape-con and then wreck it. But Massteria is clearly hunting me. This is the second time in the past few days that either me, or someone near me has been attacked," I say.
"Which is exactly why you should be here, where we can keep an eye on you," Zoe says. "You running all over the country searching for him makes it harder for us to give you back up, right, Dad?"
"The cape-con idea sounds ridiculous and completely illogical," Nico says, not answering her. "I like it. Is it big enough to go international, though?"
"Yeah, I think so... if I do it right, it is," I say. "I think there should also be a villains-only parade. What if I try to take over the Hall with all of this?"
"Luring all of the supers to the convention and then, what, brainwashing them to do your evil bidding?" Nico asks.
"I've got the psychic abilities!" I say cheerfully. "We might as well introduce the fact that I'm actually Mastermental's wayward son. Plus, all of this should be easy enough to set up, Kansas City is practically made for conventions."
"Talk to Pan, but I think he'll like it. Once you've got his approval you'll have to go to your father. How soon do you think you can pull this off?" he asks. "A convention should take a year, at least, to set up."
"Not for me. Give me a week," I declare, "and a dozen black suits watching Phoebe Woods for any
sudden movements. It shouldn't be too hard--she's in the middle of filming a movie, she shouldn't be going anywhere."
"That will work."
And besides, a crowd is exactly the sort of thing that might lure Massteria to me. They can't complain if I've got both the villains AND the heroes of Cape High right there when he shows up, right?
***
"I humbly," Nico says through gritted teeth, "suggest that we take Max off of the Massteria hunt. I'll take it over."
"Denied," Mastermental says. They're in his office, which leaves Nico standing in front of his desk.
"Massteria has a daughter with his abilities. Her name is Phoebe Woods. There's a chance they're working together, and Max has already been hit by an attack on two different occasions. Something about him drew Massteria's attention. Yes, Max is a telepath, but he only just now came into that ability. He's still vulnerable. You of all people need to realize that he's still a kid!"
"He's old enough to vote, as well as go to war," Mastermental says far too calmly. "He made a mistake. I expected that. This is how he learns, Nico. Unless we allow him to get into situations that he doesn't know how to handle, he will never grow out of the belief that he can handle everything."
"He was in a situation that he couldn't handle, and he didn't even hesitate!" Nico says, dropping down in the chair behind him. He sighs. "Computers are so much easier to deal with," he complains.
"I'm touched that you feel so strongly about my son," Mastermental says.
"You're setting him up to fail," Nico says. "You know it, I know it. Why?"
"I am not setting him up to fail, I am setting him up to have difficulty succeeding on the first, second, and possibly even third time. You see, I do want him as my second-in-command. I've gone through a lot of trouble to make him acceptable at this age. Getting you out of the Cape Cells, setting up an entire school, and several other small things; I've put too much into this to let his ego be his downfall."
"So the only reason I got out of the Cape Cells was because your son needed training?" Nico asks, although he doesn't sound that shocked.
"It was part of the reason," Mastermental agrees. "The other was because you had twins that no one knew of. Superiors need proper training, otherwise they train themselves. We both know how that winds up."
"Granted," Nico agrees. "And throwing an escaped con and his graduation at him at the same time would be...?"
"His final test, but let's be honest, the graduation gig was your idea, not that I don't appreciate it."
"The theory was that he would do first one, then the other, but he's trying to do it all at the same time. Also, I wasn't going to mention this, but I have to. Both Pan and I agree that he isn't ready to be a Hall leader. He isn't even ready to deal with this!"
"I think he's very close. It might take several attempts to accomplish it all, but that is what I anticipated."
"Have the other Hall leaders weighed in on this decision?" Nico asks. "I can't see Marigold agreeing with it."
"The others have their hands full," Mastermental says. "We still have Badmoon and Atlanti out there. Our little mermaid has been wrecking havoc along all of the coasts. She found out about that oil spill a few years back."
"Yeah, but... all of them?" Nico asks.
"All of them."
"Want me to send Malina out--"
"No, not yet. As long as we don't interfere, they won't try to interfere with Massteria and his... daughter?"
"Yeah," Nico says.
"Interesting. And the daughter is that famous woman that claims to know my son?" Mastermental asks, looking amused.
"My daughter hates her with a passion," Nico agrees. "She's been trying to hide that fact from Max, but I think he's starting to get a clue."
"So... will she do something?"
"It's a possibility."
"But they aren't dating at the moment," Mastermental says.
"I know, that's what makes it entertaining," Nico says. "But on the other hand, if Zoe joins him, there's a good chance he won't learn the lesson you're hoping he learns."
"We'll see," Mastermental says. "If she assists him in catching Massteria, you have my permission to keep him for... let's say, special classes for a few months."
"Agreed," Nico says, standing and holding out a hand. "I've got some Christmas plans I want him to stick around for, so I'll take that deal." They shake hands, each looking far too amused. "You're right, though. He will be ready for this... just not yet. Until I think he is, I'm going to be watching him like a hawk."
"That's actually part of his mission, you know. He's supposed to get out from under your authority."
"Do you really think that him graduating will stop me from interfering?" Nico asks. "I plan on keeping tabs on these kids until they retire from the game. When that happens, I might just drag them back to the school as teachers."
"Don't tell Max that," Mastermental says. "He has goals."
"No complaints?" Nico asks.
"They need this family setting that you've created. I want to see them sending their children and grandchildren to the school, as well. When they do that they'll grow up under Zoe's tutelage, and then be under Max's leadership. If not his, then one of the other future Hall leaders, who I expect you'll have a say in training, as well."
"I see," Nico says. "THAT family setting."
"Exactly." Mastermental starts sorting through some paperwork before casually mentioning, "This graduation gig he's planned... will it involve a very big crowd?"
Nico goes still before a little smile pulls at his lips. "Yes, actually, it will."
CHAPTER SEVEN
I wake up in an unfamiliar place. For a long moment I stare at the ceiling, sniffing the air a bit blankly. "Bacon?" I say, sitting up. There are people all around me, lounging on the couches and chairs of the dorm's rec room. "Wait, why am I here?" I ask, looking at them.
"You fell asleep," Carla says from where she's doing her homework on the floor next to my couch. "So we put you on the couch."
"Oh... thanks," I say, looking down at my uniform. "I need to get going, I've got to talk with Pan and make some calls--"
"Take a shower first," Freddy says from where he's gaming. "You stink."
"You should eat breakfast, too!" Carla says. "Vinny said he's going to make enough for you, too."
"Yeah? I'll take him up on that," I say, yawning and stretching. I feel eyes on me, and I glance around, seeing a handful of our "fledglings" watching me curiously. Elidee and Olivia are sitting over at a table, trying to look as if they're not watching me. I head straight for them, grabbing the third chair. "Hello, ladies," I say, grinning as they turn bright red. "Mind if I sit here while breakfast is cooking? I'll try not to get close enough you can smell me."
They stare at me, and I can literally hear the suspicion racing through their minds. "Is this about turning me into a villain?" Elidee asks.
"Or is it because you're suddenly a future Hall leader and you want to be 'friends'?" Olivia asks.
"Both!" I say. "I think I'll be working with both of you in the foreseeable future, so now is the time to offer my hand in friendship--" I hold out my hand, but both girls just look at it. "Don't leave me hanging here, ladies. I know that while Isotonic and my father don't see eye to eye, that doesn't mean we can't, Olivia," I say, looking at her. "I think the future of the Hall branches is something we all need to think of. We're already being forced to work together over the Cape Cells incident, don't you think we could accomplish more if the leaders actually communicated freely?"
"So you're out to make connections before you graduate?" Olivia asks.
"Exactly," I say. "And you've only been here a short amount of time, while I'll be graduating in a week. Sure, I'll be stopping by once in a while, but--"
"You're pretty straight forward, aren't you?" Elidee says, looking at me thoughtfully. "You're supposed to be able to read minds and brainwash people, right? So why aren't you just convincing us that we WANT to do what yo
u want us to do?"
"Because a very big portion of the school is right behind me, and wouldn't hesitate to gang up on me if I did?" I offer.
"Nah, he's usually like this," Rocco says. "He's probably the second most straight-forward villain we got."
"Who's the first?" Freddy asks.
"Jack."
"Oh, definitely Jack," the others agree.
"Ace isn't straight forward?" Olivia asks.
"How could he be?" Freddy says. "He's an illusionist. Whatever he thinks is real actually becomes real, right?"
"Breakfast is ready," Jimmi says, walking into the room. I look at her thoughtfully for a second.
"Hey, Jimmi, who's in line to be the next South Branch Hall leader?" I ask, even though I already know the answer.
"My Papa," she says, "why?"
"That makes you third in line?" I ask.
"Ha! No!" she says. "I have no plans on taking over the Hall. I'll let Vinny do that."
"No thank you," he calls from the kitchen. "I vote we give it to Skystep."
The room goes silent for all of a second before everyone starts to laugh. "She would NEVER do it, for one," I say, grinning at the image, "at least not for longer than a day or two."
"Rocco can have it, then," Vinny says.
"Not going to happen, I'm in negotiations to get into all of the branches," Rocco says. "Carla can have it."
"I'll take it!" Carla says, grinning widely. "We'll have glitter Fridays!"
"I can see Skye getting into that," I say.
"Hey, who's Marigold's next leader?" Freddy asks. The room goes silent and everyone turns to me.
"She doesn't have one that I know of," I say with a shrug. "In fact, half of the Halls don't, at least officially. If they're like my dad, they've got someone hidden away that they're training. For Isotonic, that's probably what he's doing with Olivia, here."
"But I'm not in line for leadership," Olivia says, "Hard Knocks is. I'm just third or fourth in line, I think. Like, if they all died in a nuclear war, I MIGHT get to call myself Hall leader. Fortunately, Canada doesn't seem interested in blowing us all to smithereens."
