by R. J. Ross
"Know what's really sad? I'm a super, so it's normal that I'm better than you. But our little brother is twice as smart as you are, and he's just a norm," he says, touching her chin with a knuckle. She jerks away. "That's just pathetic, little girl."
"I--I don't care," she says, clenching her hands as the tears trickle. "I'm myself! There's no one like me! I'm--I'm good at basketball, and--and--" And what else? The question hits her like a punch. How can she compare herself to a brother like Max? It was bad enough when Chet went to the private school for brainy kids. At least then she knew she was better at physical things than he ever would be, but--but there's no comparison between herself and Max.
"Awww, is poor little Layne going to cry?" he asks, taunting her.
"I HATE YOU!" she bellows.
"Oh, is that supposed to make me feel bad?" he asks. "I'm a super villain. I'm not going to care if one annoying little girl hates me. You mean less than nothing to me, girl."
She turns, running as fast as she can with the sound of his laughter echoing behind her.
***
"Here?" I ask as Rocco pulls me through a shadow portal. "It's the middle of nowhere," I add as I look around. We're surrounded by trees. From the slant of the ground, we're on a hill, but I expected that. This is hilly country. "I don't see them."
"I stepped out about a mile away," he explains. "There's only one psychic here."
"Is my sister?" I ask.
"I--well, actually," he says, looking a bit sheepish, "your sister's a norm, right?"
"Yeah."
"I can't sense norms."
"Really?"
"Not well enough to get a read on them. I can't tell if this is the one with your sister or not."
"Where's the other one?"
"About five miles that way," he says, pointing. I look in that direction for a moment before shrugging.
"We'll start with this one," I say, heading forward. He shoves his hands into his pockets, walking alongside me quietly for a bit. "So how's the hunt for Badmoon going?" I ask.
"It's a pain in the neck," he admits. "He's always on the move and he's erratic. It's like he's constantly getting distracted by things."
"Yeah? You need my help sometime?"
"I'm thinking I'll ask Lance," he says. "Badmoon usually stops where there are animals, so--"
"Going to use Lance as bait?" I ask, frowning slightly. "I'm not sure that's so smart..."
"Yeah? Why not?"
"Because Lance isn't our strongest kid," I admit. "I mean, he's good at what he does, and I can see him becoming a headliner really easily, but I don't know if we want to toss him up against--" I stop, since we've just come to a clearing. There are people everywhere, scurrying around crazily and silently. It looks like we've found Phoebe's movie shoot. "Crap," I mutter, "they won't have her here."
"But we've got the stronger psychic right in front of us," Rocco says, motioning to the mass. "In there."
"Stronger?" I say. Skye had led me straight to Phoebe, as well, I realize abruptly.
"Yeah. I can usually tell that sort of thing, remember? This is where the stronger of the two is."
"Hey! Hey! You two can't be here!" someone says. We turn, looking at a red-faced norm, who's waving a piece of paper at us. "If you two don't leave now, we'll have to have someone escort you off the property!"
"Sorry, we're just a little lost," I say, holding up both hands. "We're looking for my little sister," I add, just in case, pulling out my phone and tapping on the screen for a bit. I bring up a picture of Layne, showing it to him. "Have you seen her?" I ask.
He glances at the picture with an irritable look. "We don't have any kids here. You're looking in the wrong place."
"Okay," I say, "thanks for your time."
I turn and walk away with Rocco following along. "He hardly looked at the picture," he mutters irritably.
"Of course he didn't, he couldn't care less about a lost kid, but he wasn't lying. Now let's head to the next psychic," I say, looking around for a shadow. He heads in the exact opposite direction that I'm looking. "How do you know what shadow to use?" I ask him curiously as he holds out his hand. "And isn't it weird holding other guys' hands all the time?"
"Shouldn't you have asked that when we were touring?" he asks. "Besides, if I don't hold something they'll just run into the wall, so it's not like I've really got a choice."
"You know, I was planning on getting Ace and Morgan a date," I say as we head through the stinking hole he calls the Shadowlands, "want to come with Carla?"
Even in the shadowy area I can see him jerk slightly in response. "There's nothing between me and Carla," he says, "well, you know, other than the fact we're friends. She's over me already."
"You poor, poor shmuck," I say sympathetically. "So are she and Cisco a thing, now?"
"You have no idea how tempting it is to leave you in here," he tells me before holding out a hand. "Now shut up, we're on the job."
I take his hand and we step out into the light. My mind goes back to what's most important at the moment. I'm going to get my sister back. "Put your mask on," I say. "We're probably going to have a fight on our hands."
***
The tiny little room that Layne is hiding in is pitch black. She's breathing hard, but it still feels like no air is getting into her lungs. Her heart is beating against her chest. Max is going to find her. He's been hunting her for hours, now. She knows he could have caught her long ago, but he seems to take pleasure in taking his time. She hears his footsteps go past the door of her little hiding spot and her hands go clammy. She can't breathe. She's going to die.
After she left the gym she'd raced down street after street, searching for hiding spots from Maximum. As soon as she was sure she'd found one, he'd appeared again. He's playing with her, she thinks, soon he'll get tired of the game and catch her--
"Found yooooou," he sings as the door slams open all on its own. She backs up, stumbling into a set of shelves she hadn't known were there. Heavy items fall off the shelves, hitting her. She tries to stop them, but they keep falling, accompanied by the sound of Max laughing. It hurts. Each hit feels like it's going to break her. She lets out a scream, curling up in a tiny ball and praying that the assault will stop.
Max could stop it. Max could stop all of this--but he's laughing, as if her pain is funny. At that moment the falling items stop, suspended in air. "Poor little Layne," he says. She dares to look up, her eyes blurring with tears. "Did you hurt yourself?"
"Get away from me," she whispers, more terrified of him than she is the objects floating over her head. She's in some sort of janitor closet, she realizes now that she can see. It's tiny and creepy, and he's blocking the only exit. "Don't come near me. GET AWAY FROM ME!" she screams as he takes a step forward.
"But how can I save you if I leave?" he asks, only to laugh. "Like I would WANT to save you!" he scoffs.
"Do--don't--" she whispers, fear replacing the defiance as she sees his face. "Please, Max, please don't--" He takes another step closer, and the buckets hovering over her head plummet a few inches before stopping again. To her mortification, she feels a warm trickle of pee escape her, soaking her shorts. She knows he can kill her easily. He doesn't even need the things floating over her. He could probably kill her with a thought.
"It'll be easy--like swatting a fly." The room shakes as he grins far too widely and steps closer. She starts to float with a wave of his hand. "Oh, look, someone had an accident," he says. "This will definitely be a mercy job," he says, moving closer and touching her forehead.
The pain is unimaginable. It feels like her head is exploding. She screams at the top of her lungs.
***
"So nice of you to come," a man says as Rocco and I step out of the shadows. I jerk, turning with my fists up. We're on the curb of a public street. The man that just spoke is folding up a newspaper and standing as if he'd been waiting for me. My little sister is still seated on the other end of his bench. We're surrounded by
norms with cameras. They seem to think this is another show. At any moment, though, they could be used as hostages. I don't have time to worry about that--Layne's in trouble.
"What did you do to her?" I demand, turning my attention to the unnaturally still girl. I need to go into her mind and pull her out, but I can't with Massteria here. Where is Rocco? I glance around, only to curse as I see him standing perfectly still, his eyes lifeless. Massteria got to him. Now I've got two people to save, a crowd to protect, and a psychic to go up against. I discreetly tap on my com-bracelet, trying to turn the external power blocker back on. It's a bit hard to do when I'm trying to maintain eye-contact with the man in front of me. I can't do it. "Nico," I say.
Massteria jerks, looking worried for the first time since I showed up. "You think I don't know that he isn't here?" he demands.
"What's up, kid?" Nico says from my com-bracelet.
"Activate my external power blocker for me, would you?"
"Why was it off?" he asks, but I know he's done what I asked.
"I can't travel with Rocco with it on," I say.
"If you want me to fix your sister and your friend, cut the line," Massteria says.
"I can fix them, myself," I say.
"Can you? Can you really? I won't lie, you have power, but you have no control," he says, casually putting down his magazine. "You might go in, thinking you can fix her, and screw her up a lot worse. She's what, thirteen? She's young and vulnerable--" he stops as I step closer.
"Get away from my sister," I say. I literally feel the crowd start to change. It's like sensing a herd about to stampede. I was told that Phoebe was stronger, right? But this guy has such control that I get the feeling I'm playing a sick game of cup and ball. The moment I look away from one of the cups, the ball is going to explode in my face.
"I'm already in her mind. She's living out her worst nightmare even as we speak," he says, smirking. As if on cue, Layne lets out a scream of terror. I grab him by the throat, lifting him off the bench.
"Let. Her. GO!" I roar. The crowd snaps. They start screaming and I hear sirens. Someone's called the cops. Someone else hits me from behind. When that doesn't do anything, more of them start attacking me, trying to get Massteria out of my hold.
"Do you really think I'm going to do that with you assaulting me?" he asks. "The world is watching right now, Maximum. They're seeing you assault a poor stranger."
"I'll make you," I growl, opening my mind and trying to get into his. It's like a steel trap. I might be stronger, I realize, but like I've already realized, he's MUCH more experienced. I'm going to have to break through his wall. Someone wraps an arm around my throat, trying to choke me from behind. "ENOUGH!" I shout, exerting pressure over the crowd. More than half of them fall to their knees. If I go heavy enough to send the other half down, I could do real damage to the ones that have already fallen.
"NO! NO! STOP IT!" Layne is screaming. "STAY AWAY FROM ME, MAX!" I'm not even near her.
"What are you doing to my sister?" I demand, turning my attention to her mind.
"If you go in, she could snap completely," he says, grabbing my wrist. He should be choking, I think.
"Max," Nico says. "Knock him out. Double M will fix her."
"Gladly," I snarl.
"I told you to hang up," Massteria says. "Otherwise even Mastermental will never be able to fix the damage I do to the girl. Not to mention all your... friends," he adds, looking over my shoulder. "They're under my influence, too, you know." I feel a hand on my shoulder, but it doesn't feel like the norms. I let out a groan as it tightens dangerously. "Oh, this is too amusing! This one thinks you're his dad," he says. "Talk about daddy issues!"
"Rocco!" I say, trying to jerk free of his hold. "Rocco, I'm MAX!"
"I'm coming to you," Nico says.
"I've got this all--" I grunt as Rocco slams a fist into my face, sending me backwards. My hold on Massteria loosens and I let out a curse as he gets free. Rocco disappears into the nearest shadow, leaving me with no idea where he is. "Nico, did you give Rocco an external power blocker?" I ask over my earbud. Before he answers, Rocco slams into me from out of nowhere. I wrestle with him, rolling so I have him pinned to the ground, and then press my hand to his face. "WAKE UP, MORON!" I shout.
He goes still before blinking a few times. "Max?" he says. "What are you doing?"
The crowd launches itself at us, trying to hold us down. 'Now,' I hear Massteria say telepathically, 'we seem to have a bit of a standoff here. You can attack all these people and possibly hurt them while I walk away with your precious little sister, or we can talk business. Which will it be, Maximum?'
"Rocco?" I say.
"Yeah?"
"Use your powers." I flip off the E.P.B.
"Oh, right, got it," he says, dragging me through the shadows. "What just happened?" he demands as soon as we're in the Shadowlands. "One minute I'm helping you find the guy, the next we're fighting!"
"He was controlling you," I say. "Well, more like he was influencing you. I don't have time for this, Rocco, I need to get my sister from him. He's messing with her mind, and I have to save her."
"Okay, okay," he says. "I'll grab your sister and you grab Massteria."
"Can we do that?" I ask.
"Once I get you started through a portal you shouldn't need me to hold your hand all the way out."
"What if you get controlled again?" I ask. "If you hurt my sister, friend or not, I'll kill you."
"I..."
"How about I distract him?" I say. "I'll act like I'm going along with his crazy ideas while you slip her into the Shadowlands."
"Got it," he says.
"Now get me out of here," I say. He leads me to a portal and I step into the light, flipping the E.P.B. back on.
***
Nico pulls to a stop overhead just in time to see Max step out of the shadows. "Alright," Max says, holding up both hands. "Let's talk. You said you had some sort of deal to offer me, right?" Before either of them can notice, Nico drops down on the nearest roof, hiding and watching. For now.
"I'm glad to see you've finally seen the light," Massteria says. "I'm willing to teach you how to use your powers properly, in exchange for your help."
"Yeah? And what do you need my help for?" Max asks.
"I'm going to take down the Halls, one by one," Massteria says. "They locked me up and threw away the key. They didn't even give me cable."
"That sucks," Max says.
"Doesn't it? But we won't stop there. Once we take down the Halls, we'll take over America. It's so easy, Maximum. I walk down the street and I'm almost overwhelmed by all their petty fears." He waves a hand at the crowd that's behind him. They're still piled on top of each other and a fight is threatening to break out. "They're terrified of their own shadows, even if they're pretending to be on vacation."
"You're lying," Max says, waving a hand and lifting half of the pile of people. "You're having a hard time controlling them right now. I can feel it." He drops them a bit down the street before looking at Massteria again. The norms start getting up, looking at each other in confusion. "But you're right about one thing," he goes on, walking up to Massteria. "I do want to take over the Halls."
"That's what I hoped to hear," Massteria says, starting to smile.
"Rocco, do you have her?" Max asks over the com-link.
"Got her," Rocco says.
"Wait, what?" Massteria says, finally looking over at where Layne should be sitting. "When did you--"
"Do you really think I'm going to need your help to take over?" Max asks, an unnerving smile crossing his face. "Or have you forgotten that you attacked my little sister!" he roars before slamming a hand down. The ground beneath Massteria's feet cracks and breaks, the concrete giving way and the water pipe below bursting over the crowd. Those still under Massteria's thrall break free, shrieking as the cold water hits them. "You messed with her mind! You tried to BLACKMAIL me!" With each shout Massteria gets shoved lower. If he weren't a supe
r, he'd be dead by now. As it is, he's whimpering pathetically.
"Please," he whispers.
"Please, what, Massteria?" Max demands, hovering in the air above him. "Please stop? Please have mercy? Did you hear my SISTER when she said that?"
"Please... take me... back to the cells," Massteria says before fainting dead away. The hole he's in is flooding with the freezing cold water. He'll probably drown if he's not pulled out. For a moment Nico watches, slowly bringing his hand to his earbud, but then Max growls and lifts the unconscious man out of the water with a flick of his hand.
"Send me some black suits," Max says, tapping his earbud. "I've got some trash to bring in. And get me an ambulance. No, not for Massteria. It's for my little sister."
***
"How--how is she?" Wendy asks that night as Mastermental comes out of her daughter's hospital room.
"Between myself and Aubrey, she's recovering quickly," he says. "I won't say that this hasn't been traumatic for her, though. I am sincerely sorry for what happened, Wendy," he says quietly.
"You should be," she says, but the rage isn't there. She's too stricken to be properly angry. "How could this have happened?" she whispers.
"It was... a mistake," he admits. "I know that Max is killing himself over it--"
"Why isn't he here?" John demands. "He should be here!"
"I don't think he believes that," Mastermental says. "He doesn't feel that he has the right to show his face in front of you, now."
"I--"
"He's the one that found her, though," Chet says. "He saved her."
"That isn't how he sees it, Chet," Mastermental says gently. "He's the one that was supposed to be keeping her safe. I'm not sure how they got past the guards, but they did, and he feels it's his fault."
"We--we should have told her no," Wendy says. "She was so intent on going that--that we let her, even though he's been trying to tell us how dangerous it was from the start."
"No, he let her," Mastermental says, "and I did nothing to stop him. We all make mistakes, Wendy. I've made it so when Layne wakes, it will merely seem like she's woken from a very bad dream. Just as with most dreams, it will rapidly fade from memory with her waking."
