by R. J. Ross
And then he's gone. I race out the door, taking to the sky to see if I can catch them escaping the building. There are people pouring out of the building, but no sign of my little sister or her captors. "MASSTERIA!" I bellow, clenching my hands and gritting my teeth.
"Max!" I hear Trent shout.
"Spread out! Find him!" I snap. "He took my sister!"
I don't even bother to see if they do it--I just take off. I need to get her back.
***
"What just happened?" Wendy asks as she's loaded into the van by a muscular man. "Who are you?" she demands.
"One of the, well, the supers call us 'black suits,'" he says, pulling out a badge and handing it to her. "We're the security deployment of Central Hall. We're out of uniform, sorry."
"No, my... my son told you to change," she says. "But Layne--"
"You have the Liberty family and Maximum looking for her, ma'am. If anyone can find her, it's them."
"She's MY daughter," she says. "I knew I should have never let her come to this."
"He'll find her, Wendy," John says, wrapping his arms around her, and tugging Chet into the hug. "Max will find her."
"He's--I just feel so helpless," she whispers. "And how do we know he'll find her? He's constantly losing battles against other supers. How do we know he won't lose this one?"
"Ma'am," the black suit says, looking at her in shock, "in this job, losing can be a lot harder than winning is, especially for Maximum."
"That makes NO SENSE!" Wendy yells, throwing her hands in the air. "Why is it so hard to lose?"
"Because Max is stronger than most of the guys he goes up against," Chet says, "like WAY stronger. He's got psychic powers, gravity powers, enhanced intellect, and--and he's the only son of Mastermental, who's the only hero to ever get his own classification. I mean, Superior has to share his, right? But there's only one M-class in the world."
"How do you know all this, Chet?" John asks curiously.
"You might have been playing games all the time, but I found the cape files," Chet says. "Nico didn't say anything, so I guess he didn't care that I peeked."
"He didn't look so tough when Kid Liberty hugged him," Wendy has to point out.
"Kid Liberty is a tank, and well on his way to S-class, ma'am," the black suit says. "When you try comparing him to the students at Cape High, you won't see just how exceptional your son really is. They only let the most elite into the school."
"And how do you know all of this?" she demands.
"Because I've been trying to get transferred to the clean up duty squad ever since the school started," he says, looking at them in the rearview mirror. They're driving away from where her daughter was taken, she thinks as she looks over her shoulder. She feels sick to her stomach, just leaving her behind.
"Max will get her back, Mom," Chet repeats, taking her hand.
"How do you know that? He's already tried to disown you, and I can't blame him. I disowned him."
"He loves us," Chet says simply.
"I don't--" she starts out.
"He. Loves. Us," Chet repeats, firmly.
"But who is it that took her?" she asks, giving up on fighting that statement. If her son wants to believe his half-brother loves him, she'll let him. She would never hurt his self-esteem, it's so fragile already.
"We'll find out, I'm sure," John says when none of the black suits in the van reply. "We'll ask Nico as soon as we get home."
***
What if I don't find her? What if Massteria gets into her head and freaks her out so badly that she's never the same? I'm panicking, and this time it has nothing to do with Massteria getting into my head. I should have never said we could go to the basketball game. I should have never checked up on them on the computer. I should have never even looked up my mother to begin with! She left me. I never even knew her. It should have stayed that way... except...
*Twelve Years Ago*
"Your son is... special," the latest tutor says. I'm spying from behind the door, and I'm pretty sure that Dad knows it, but he won't say anything. We've been through this same situation a few times already. "I'm just not sure that I'm the right tutor for him," she finishes. "I mean, it's one thing to teach a very smart boy, which your son is, but another to teach... well..."
"A child with abilities?" Dad provides.
"Exactly."
"You were supposed to be trained in teaching special students," he says mildly.
"Yes, but--but those are children with learning difficulties," she says. "What your son has is the exact opposite--"
"Sometimes opposites are more alike than you think," Dad says, only to sigh. "But thank you for your time and effort. Max will be sorry to see you go."
"I should--I should tell him--" she says.
"No, I'm sure he'll understand it better if I tell him," Dad tells her in a gentle tone. "We don't want you to be... persuaded against your will."
"He's a good boy, he really is--"
"I realize that," Dad says. "But he is more than you're equipped to handle. I cannot hold that against you. You'll be looking for a new job. I'll arrange for a referral letter."
"Thank you, Mister Frank," she says, her relief clear in her voice.
"Tell me, does he scare you?" Dad asks.
"I just--yes," she says quietly. "Yes, he does."
I get up, leaving the hall before she comes out. I don't want to see her. I thought she'd be different, but I was wrong. She was just better at hiding it than the others had been. I head out the front door, letting it close gently behind me. I'm six years old today. I only see my dad, the servants, the cook, and my tutor on a regular basis. I jump into the air, wobbling slightly before going higher. Our house is massive. It's not even a house, really, it's a mansion. We have a tall wrought iron fence around the entire place, and a pool in the back. It's Olympic sized. I'm usually fine staying on the grounds after the tutor runs off screaming. I mean, usually they last a week or two at most, but today I really can't stand the idea of being trapped like an animal inside.
'Max,' I hear my dad say telepathically, 'try not to get in trouble.'
I ignore him, taking off for the one place I know outside of the house. There's a nice little playground a few blocks away, where one of my earlier tutors dared to take me until I started floating the kids through the air. They'd ASKED to do it! But she hadn't listened to me, especially when the parents started screaming in horror. When Dad found out that she'd spanked me, he had almost lost his temper. While, he had told her in his calmest tone, spanking might work for most children, it will never work for his son. I was punished, don't get me wrong. I was stuck doing dishes for an entire month.
The spanking hadn't even hurt, it was just mortifying. I'd almost lost control of my powers. She could have been really hurt.
I stop, floating over the almost-empty playground. There's the swing set, just like I remember. I drop down, heading for the swing and sitting on it. I'll never be a normal kid. I'll never go to school, and I'll never have a best friend, and I'll never--
"Hi."
I look up, staring at a boy about my age, blankly. When did he get here? I hadn't even heard him approaching me. I stare at him for a moment before realizing I'm supposed to answer. "Hi," I say, a bit awkwardly.
"Can I swing with you?" he asks, already sitting down in the swing next to mine.
"Looks like I can't stop you," I mumble, staring forward at nothing. I feel abandoned. It's stupid, and I know it. I just... I'd liked that one.
"Where's your mom?" the boy asks abruptly.
"What?" I say.
"Where's your mom? Mine's over there," he says, pointing at a woman reading a book on a bench. "She said I was getting on her nerves, so she dragged me out here."
"Is she going to leave you here?" I ask curiously.
"What?"
"Is she going to leave you here?" I repeat. "If you're that annoying, maybe she's just waiting for you to stop paying attention."
"NO!" he
says, laughing. "That's stupid! Moms don't just leave their kids!"
"Mine did," I say quietly, pushing off the ground and starting to swing.
He goes quiet, looking at me with a worried expression. "Let's go find her," he says, getting to his feet and holding out a hand. "She's probably not got very far, right?"
"She didn't leave me just now," I say, staring at the hand. "She left a long time ago."
"Oh... so where's your dad?" he asks.
"At home."
"So you're all alone? Or with your babysitter?"
"All alone," I say, starting to swing higher. "I'm always all alone. I don't need a babysitter, anyway."
"You're weird," he says.
"Yeah," I agree.
"I bet your mom is looking for you," he says. "Moms don't just leave their kids for no reason."
"Mine had a reason," I say.
"Because you're weird?" he offers.
"Because I can fly."
"You're a liar," he says after staring at me in wonder for a few seconds.
"I'm not lying," I say. "I can fly. I can make you fly, too, but I got in trouble the last time I did it."
"You're a BIG liar," he accuses me.
"Want to see it?" I ask, getting off the swing and rising several feet into the air. "I'm a super. That's why my mom left me, that's why I don't have a babysitter, that's why--"
"Mikey, Mikey, come over here," his mother calls in that hoarse voice of someone trying not to scream. "Leave the super boy alone, okay?"
"You can make me fly?" Mikey says, glancing at his mom and then back up at me.
"Go to your mom, kid," I say, sighing as I hear her fumbling in her purse. She's probably calling the Hall, I think as I take off. Time to go home, Dad doesn't like it when I show my powers in public. I shouldn't have done it. That was just a normal kid. Normal six-year-olds see the world in black and white, right? They don't think like me...
But I keep remembering his comment about looking for me. What if she is? What if I'm wrong and she didn't leave me--what if she was TAKEN from me? Or maybe she has a secret so big that she can't stay or I might be in danger! That sort of line works all the time in super stories! I head back home, racing through the clouds to keep people from seeing me and landing on my balcony. I head for my computer, dropping down in front of it and tapping in the password for the Hall's main system.
It takes me a bit, but I find the hidden file Dad has and stare at the address for a long moment before closing down my computer and heading out. I'm not that familiar with the streets around me--I don't get out often, but I drop down a few times and check the signs. I finally find the apartment building she's living in and land on the ceiling, going down the fire exit until I've reached what I'm certain is her apartment. The curtains are open, so I dare to peek in, ready to run if I've got the wrong place.
I can hear everything going on inside. Not only do I have super hearing, the walls in this place are really thin. I jerk as I hear a child crying. It feels like someone smacked me, but I shake it off. Maybe I've got the wrong place.
"Wendy?" I hear a man call. "Wendy, where are the new diapers?"
Wendy is my mother's name, I think, staying right where I am. I feel frozen to the spot. "They're in the closet," she calls back. I know that voice. I remember it, even though most would say I couldn't possibly.
I jump into the air, taking off as fast as I can. She's got a new kid and a new husband. She's not looking for me--she's replaced me entirely.
For a long time I hated Layne. There, I admit it. I hated the same girl I'm looking for desperately right now. Want to know what changed me? I started looking in on them. I don't know why, maybe I'm a bit masochistic, maybe I wanted to see if my mother ever looked to the skies. Whenever she did I convinced myself she was thinking about me, even if I knew it was actually her checking to see if it would rain. But I kept checking in on them--we've got an excellent satellite system in the Hall. It helps us find the actual problems we can help with, like car wrecks or fires.
I watched Layne grow, and then I watched Chet grow. Now I look at them and I see the only family outside of my dad that I can love without hesitation. Who would have thought that "being replaced" would wind up being such a good thing? Now I just--
Wait, I'm being stupid, aren't I? I tap on my com-bracelet twice. "Rocco, man, I need your help."
"On it," Rocco says.
"Where are you, anyway?" I ask after a second, checking his coordinates.
"I was looking for Badmoon up here in the North Hall," he admits, "but I'll be there in a second. What happened?"
"Massteria kidnapped my sister," I say. "I was going to take care of him with the graduation gig, but it looks like he's impatient to get tossed back into the Cape Cells."
"Anything I need to know?" Rocco asks from the ground below me. I drop down.
"There might be two of them," I say simply. "Can you find two psychic types together?"
"Yeah, I can."
"Thanks, man, you're now my favorite villain," I say, relaxing.
"Does that mean I'll get a raise when you're official?" he asks, starting to do that ridiculous dance of his. There is absolutely no reason for the dance, and he knows it. It's just a nod to his Aunt Skye.
"Is now really the time for the finding dance?" I ask.
"It's the dance of my people, man, don't mock the family traditions," he says, hopping to his feet. "Found them," he says, holding out a hand. "Let's go."
"Where?" I ask as he steps into the shadows, pulling me along with him. I run into the wall. Rocco sticks his head out of the shadow, looking at me blankly. "What just happened?" he asks.
I let out a curse, looking at my com-bracelet for a second before bringing up the external power blocker status and turning it off again. "The E.P.B. kicked in," I explain before grabbing his hand and going through the shadow. I'd like to say I got used to the stench when we were on the road together, but it's a lie. I burnt most of my clothes from that trip, because the smell never washed out.
"Belladonna Springs," he says.
"I really should have thought of that," I admit.
CHAPTER TEN
*Belladonna Springs*
"Daddy, as much fun as this has been, I have to go back to work," Phoebe says, looking at her phone. "I'm already five minutes late." They're at the end of the main street, where anyone could see them. No one is paying attention, yet. That will change once Massteria starts using his powers. As much as Phoebe wants to see that, though, she still has a job to do. "Sweetie, you be good for Uncle Massteria, okay?" she says to the still hypnotized girl. She'll need to ditch the prosthetics before she gets there. Thankfully she has the stuff to remove it waiting for her at the hotel.
"Yes, Phoebe," Layne says, tucking her hand into Massteria's and smiling at her. "I'll be good."
"Good girl," Phoebe says, patting her on the head before heading off. "I'll be back as soon as I can, Daddy," she adds, waving at them.
Massteria nods, watching her walk away before turning to look at the girl so innocently holding his hand. "Hello, Maximum's sister," he says. "What would you like to do today?"
"Anything you want to do," she says.
"Then why don't we have a little bit of fun?" he asks, tugging her down the street to one of the busiest areas. "Let's see what's in that mind of yours."
***
The shoppers pass by them with only the random strange glance. The two are just sitting on a bench, not talking, not even looking at each other. The man, in fact, is flipping through a magazine. The girl, on the other hand, is sitting perfectly still, her eyes only blinking once in a rare while. She seems to be barely breathing, but there's a tiny, fake smile glued to her face. Those that pass by only see it for a second. If they watched her longer, they would realize that something is extremely wrong.
*Layne's Mind*
"Come on, come on! Hustle, Layne!" her coach yells. Layne does her best to speed up, weaving through the other players as she
dribbles the ball down the court. She can hear the cheers from the crowd, but she doesn't dare look over. She needs to make this shot. If she can make the shot, she'll win the game for sure! This is the first time she's played a game in front of Max, she wants to make sure he's proud of her when it's over!
She lines up the shot, certain that she'll make it. The ball goes flying--and then stops, floating eerily over her head. "What--" she starts out, looking around in confusion.
Max is there, just like she'd hoped, but it isn't the Max she's gotten to know over the past few days. He's dressed in full uniform, and the world around them is perfectly still. "Max?" she says. He looks at her, disgust on his face.
"Did you really think a stupid little game like this would impress me?" he asks, landing in front of her. The basketball drops to the ground, bouncing a few times before rolling into her leg. "My little sister," he says, scoffing. "Do you really think I'd ever accept a normal brat like you as my sister? I don't even consider you the same species, much less a blood relative."
She stares at him as his words stab her heart. "You're being a real jerk," she says, grabbing the ball from the ground and throwing it at him as hard as she can. It stops before it reaches him, floating there.
"I'm just being honest," he says, taking the ball and spinning it on one finger like a professional. "You work so hard at this game," he goes on, flicking his hand. The ball goes flying across the court, slamming into the basket without his even looking. "Hours and hours of practice, pulled muscles, sweat, tears, I've seen all of it. It's so sad."
"It isn't," she whispers. "It's important."
"I've never had to practice something in my life," he tells her, showing his teeth in a facsimile of a smile. "I lift buses with my mind. I was flying before you were even crawling. I am what you will never, ever live up to."
"I--I know that," she says. "I don't care!" A tear threatens to fall, and she can't help but wonder if he's always thought like this. He hadn't, had he? Emily said--
