by R. J. Ross
"Really?" I ask, stunned.
"Absolutely," he says, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I'm extremely proud of how you've conducted yourself, Max. Even if you weren't my son, I would still brag about you to the other Hall leaders."
"I... thanks, Dad," I say. "Now convince these guys that they need to take the villain route, too!" I declare, pointing at the three of them. "Well, Jen already has, but Freddy, Brandon and Elidee still need some convincing."
"That is their decision to make, Max," he says with a little smile. "I'm sure that we'll find jobs for them regardless of what side, if any, that they choose."
"I don't think I'm meant to be in front of cameras," Brandon says, "I mean, they won't see me, anyway."
"That's the cool part of your power, though," Elidee says. "You're like a ghost, and you can make other people like ghosts, right?"
"You two could try and become villainous reporters, like I'm going to," Jennifer offers. "You'd make a good team, actually."
The look on Elidee's face says she's never even thought about Brandon before, much less working with him. "Mom doesn't have a partner," she says finally, blowing it off. "I don't think I'd need one, either."
"But I'm not--" Jennifer starts out, only to shrug. "Okay, I'm going to go upload this and get back planning my part of the parade. Mr. Harrison said he's going to loan me some drones!" she adds, excitedly. "This is going to be awesome."
"Can I drive the drones?" Freddy asks as he and the rest of the group follow her.
"Maybe one of them," she says. "I want to cover as much of the parade part as possible, so I thought I'd rope Elidee and Olivia into driving the others."
Dad pats me on the back. "Maybe next time," he says, with a hint of amusement.
"But Elidee would be the perfect villainess," I say a bit mournfully. "Oh well, Sandra's next on my list."
"You will have quite a fight for that one," he admits. "Both the Liberty family and Century have been looking into adopting her into their family lines."
"Seriously?" I say, a bit startled. "That'll be interesting."
"And also make it highly unlikely for her to go villain," he finishes. "The Liberty family already has their black sheep, and Century is more likely to train her up as a hero."
"True," I say, giving up on her. "That's if either of them actually get her out of her room."
"Now, don't you need to check on someone?" he says.
I nod, knowing my reluctance is showing. "I need to get them moved out as soon as possible, as well," I admit. "Dad... I should have never looked in on them," I confess. "I'm sorry."
"It isn't wrong to want to know your family, Max," Dad says. "I should have tried harder to bring you and your mother together--"
"No," I say, a bit too sharply, "you were right to do what you did, at least in that case. She and I will... it'd never work, the whole mother-son thing. At least she's a good mom to Layne and Chet. That's all I can really ask for."
"You still feel antagonistic towards her," he says softly. "I wish that was not so."
"My feelings don't matter," I say with a shrug. "I'm not the one that has to live with her."
"She's still your mother, Max," he says.
"How about replacing her?" I ask instead of arguing, starting to walk towards civilization. He falls into step beside me. "I'd be perfectly fine with a step-mom, you know? Pick a cape this time, got it? I've seen some of those retired cape ladies, they are still SERIOUSLY hot. It's a shame that Falconess's mom is taken, actually, she's a total babe--"
He starts laughing. "Most of the good ones are, Max."
"How about Negatia?" I ask, shamelessly. "She's a total hottie--"
"We do not encourage personal relationships among the Hall leaders, Max," he says. "Besides, she and I are not exactly compatible."
"Hmmm... that leaves Marigold out, as well," I say, only to burst out laughing as his face pales and he moves a step away from me.
"Absolutely," he says firmly. "While Marigold is a very... good leader, she and I are definitely not compatible."
"Banshee!" I say.
"A lovely woman," he agrees, "but we have far too much history together for me to consider her as anything but a comrade."
"That sucks, because if I wasn't in love with Zoe, I would have hit on her, myself," I admit.
"She's old enough to be your mother," he says.
"Exactly why we're having this conversation," I say, grinning at him. "How about that Angel lady down south? I heard she's looking a lot better now that she's not insane."
"I was very impressed with her work before the tragedy that befell her," he admits. "While I don't believe I would seek a romantic relationship with her, I would enjoy speaking with her."
"Can I come with you?" I ask. "I'd love to talk to her, too. I looked up some of the old movies from when she was active, it was amazing."
"After you have finished your graduation job," he says, giving me a smile. "I look forward to it. Now, enough stalling, Max, go check on your sister."
"Dad," I say, taking one step into the air, "I'm proud to be your son."
"Not nearly as proud as I am to be your father," he says. I take off, heading back to the apartments.
CHAPTER TWELVE
"So... it's over?" Layne asks her family. She's feeling a lot better, so it's frustrating that they keep trying to make her sit down. "We can go home?"
"I'm not sure," her dad admits. "We haven't discussed the details with Max and the others yet. He said something about a security system, but if it's made of lasers I don't think I can agree."
"I don't want to go home," Chet says, playing a game on the wall again. "This place is a lot cooler. I want to go to Max's school."
"Max's school is for people with powers, stupid," Layne says. "You might be smart, but you don't have any powers."
"We don't call people stupid, Layne," her mom scolds her, absently. Layne looks over, a bit surprised at that tone. Usually she gets a lot angrier at the second worst "s-word."
"But we can't go to their school," Layne points out. "For one, we're not even in high school yet."
"Yeah, but there are some thirteen-year-old kids in there, they're not old enough for high school, either," Chet points out.
"Can you imagine Carla in a regular high school?" Layne asks. "Sure, she's fourteen, but still. She'd never fit in. She'd be caught the moment she started writing something down."
A faint flush crosses Chet's face. "She's amazing," he says, defensively. "No one would care that she's different."
"Oh. Em. Gee," Layne says, her eyes widening, "you've got a crush!"
"I do not!"
"She's way too old for you," Layne says, shooting him down. "Plus, she's already famous."
"I said I don't have a crush on her!" he says again, glaring at her.
"On her," Layne repeats thoughtfully. "So you DO have a crush on someone! Is it Olivia? She's really cute when she's not turning into things!"
"I don't have a crush on anyone!" he says angrily. "YOU'RE the one with the crush."
"I don't have a crush," she says a bit blankly.
"How about that Cisco guy, huh?" he says. "I saw you holding hands with him the other day--"
Layne bursts out laughing. "That's because of his powers!" she says. "He can tell you things about your past by touching you. It was really cool!"
They both look up as someone knocks on the door. "Can I come in?" Max asks. Layne looks over at her mom, who jumps slightly at the sound of his voice.
"Sure, Max," her dad says. "Come on in."
They watch silently as Max steps into the room. "How are you feeling, Layne?" he asks her.
"I'm fine," she says. "People are making too big of a fuss about this."
"Can I check?" he asks, crossing the room to crouch in front of her chair.
"Wh--what?" she asks as he holds out a hand.
"Can I check? I know my dad helped you, but I'd like to see it for myself," he says. "Unless you don't want me
looking into your mind, which I could understand."
Layne hesitates for all of a second before taking his hand. "Okay, but don't go peeking into stuff you shouldn't see," she warns him. She blinks when all of a sudden she's pulled into her mind. Max is standing there.
"This way you can see what I'm doing," he says. The ground beneath them is a basketball court, but it feels like they're standing in the middle of a slow-moving tornado. She sees pictures floating all around, with the image of her holding hands with Cisco right beside them. "You let Cisco use his powers on you?" he asks.
"He said he doesn't see that much," she says defensively. "It definitely wasn't like this!"
"His dad would have been," he says. "His dad is the one that helped me fix my mental wall problem," he says with a little smile. "Without Rochester, I might not have been able to do this."
"Um, okay," she says, since she has no clue who Rochester is. To her shock, a tall blonde man with tattoos and piercings appears in front of her. He's got a shining red electric guitar in his hands. Music fills the air, almost making it vibrate.
"That's Rochester," he says. "Cisco's dad."
"He doesn't look old enough," she says.
"He's Nico's age--a little bit older than your parents, maybe. He just looks my age because of his powers," Max says as the man disappears. "Now, I'm not seeing anything too bad... I didn't expect to, though," he admits as he looks around. "Dad is nothing if not thorough. Got a couple of doors, but I expected those. They don't seem dangerous."
"Do you... do you like your dad?" she asks.
"I love my dad," he says, looking a bit surprised.
"But not your mom, huh," she says. It isn't a question.
"She..." he hesitates and she wonders what sort of lie he's trying to come up with.
"It's okay," she races to assure him. "It's none of my business."
He doesn't respond, he just gives her a crooked little smile that doesn't reach his eyes. She walks over, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her head to his chest. "What's this for?" he asks.
"You looked like you needed a hug," she admits. "Don't hate Mom, okay? She's only human."
"So... any memories you want wiped out?" he asks, changing the subject. "Embarrassing stuff that still haunts you to today?"
"You sound way too interested," she accuses him.
"Never!" he says, only to start laughing. "Okay, maybe a little."
"Well, there are a couple of really bad goof-ups from basketball," she says, thoughtfully. "But I'll just be reminded of them when my teammates decide to bring it up, which they DO, all the time."
"Then we might as well leave them," he says. He pulls away, looking her in the eye. "I want you to know," he says quietly, "that you are an extremely smart, talented, and amazing kid, Layne. Don't let anyone ever tell you differently, they haven't been inside your head like I have, got it?"
She nods and he disappears. "You can come out, kiddo," she hears him say.
She opens her eyes, seeing the entire family watching her curiously. "That was really strange," she announces. Max gives her a little grin.
"Is she okay?" her mom asks Max, looking worried.
"She's better than okay," he says. "Now I should get going. I've still got work to do."
"He was in your mind, right? Was it weird?" Chet asks her. "Did it hurt?"
"You want to do it, too, don't you," she says dryly.
"YES," he says. "That is SO cool! It's like maybe I could have him find that one dream that was so awesome but I can NEVER remember how it ended--"
"Maybe later, Chet," Max says with a little grin. "We'll go dream hunting when I've got some time, okay?"
"You promise?"
"I promise."
***
It's the same cell that held Deathblow before he had his powers taken. Massteria is laid out in the hospital bed, with a few machines connected to him. They had only allowed him to heal enough that he wouldn't die before placing a collar on him. He's still a long way from being one hundred percent. He doesn't just have a black eye--it's more like his body is a giant fracture covered in a single bruise. The only reason he's conscious is because he's having an adverse reaction to the pain medicine. He hears someone walking down the hall, and knows that they've stopped in front of his cell. Inwardly he braces himself.
"Massteria."
"Technico," he says, "what a surprise. I didn't expect a visitor--"
"We need to talk," Nico says. Almost casually he waves a hand and the laser wall disappears. He steps into the room and the wall goes back up behind him. "Why were you chasing after Max, Massteria? I feel a little abandoned," he says, stepping up to the hospital bed. "Deathblow was going to go after me, but you--you just picked a random stranger--a kid."
"He was supposed to be a villain," Massteria says. "Why am I here when he was supposed to be a villain?"
Technico stares at him blankly, not reacting for a few second before he starts to laugh. "You never figured it out?" he says. "You had to have wondered when he helped out at the theme park. We don't play by traditional rules, Massteria. Hell, if you had figured it out, you would have been one of the most famous villains we have, wouldn't you? Shame."
"You always do this, Technico," Massteria complains. "You always dance around the subject like you're some all-knowing god. You know what? You're the one that doesn't know anything."
"What don't I know?" Nico demands.
"Like I would tell you," Massteria scoffs.
"You're lying," Nico says after a moment. "You always look more weaselly when you're lying. I wouldn't have thought it was possible if I didn't know you."
"You, aren't you supposed to be some reformed hero, now?" Massteria asks. "I really doubt I'd see America's Son assaulting a prisoner in their cell."
"I'm not a hero," Nico says, "and this isn't super business. This is about family."
"Don't tell me you bought into that whole line about 'our dysfunctional little family,'" Massteria scoffs. "We might have been prisoners together, but that's all it was. I'm not your brother, or your uncle, or whatever you're dreaming up--" The machines around him start beeping dangerously and he suddenly realizes just how bad a position he's in.
"I'm not talking about that 'family,'" Nico snarls. "You deliberately went after a norm--a little girl. Do you know what I do to people that attack kids?" he asks.
"Do you really think I care--"
"If you're relying on the cameras to keep you from being killed, stop," Nico says coldly. "I've already put them on a loop until our little conversation is over."
"What do you do?" Massteria asks, weakly. "You didn't seem too bothered when Boombastic fought that little girl at the theme park--"
"That was an ACT!" Nico roars. "He never TOUCHED her. You threatened to drive a little girl insane! Do you see the difference?" he demands.
"Not particularly?" Massteria says after a long second. He lets out a squeal as the power of his collar spikes, shocking him so hard that it leaves his teeth rattling.
"Technico," someone says from the other side of the laser wall. Nico goes still before stepping back from Massteria reluctantly. They both turn, looking at the newcomer.
"Double M," Nico says. "You heard what he just said, didn't you?"
"I did," Mastermental says. "I'll be sure to inform the others when we have his trial."
"What are you doing down here?" Nico asks curiously.
"I'm supposed to be hidden away, am I not?" Mastermental says. There are several boxes of paperwork floating behind him. "I decided that this would be sufficient for my kidnapping spot." He waves a hand, sending the boxes into the cell next to Massteria's. "Is that a problem?"
"Somewhat," Nico says. "I'm almost positive that Max was planning on visiting Massteria, as well."
"That might have played a part in my decision," Mastermental agrees. "I wouldn't want anything to happen to Massteria before we put him on trial."
Nico glares at Massteria for a moment. "I
would watch myself very carefully from here out," he says in a low tone. He waves a hand and the laser wall goes up again.
"What does Maximum have to do with you, Technico?" Massteria demands.
"That's not the right question," Technico says as he steps out and the laser wall goes back up. "What you should be asking is what Maximum has to do with Double M."
"What?" Massteria says. Nico is already gone, leaving the question lingering in the air. All he hears from the cell next to him is rustling papers and the tap of computer keys. He wants to ask. He doesn't dare.
Instead his mind turns to his ace in the hole. Sooner or later Phoebe will find out where he is. There's always the chance she'll come and break him out. His daughter is nothing if not loyal to him. Until then, there's nothing he can do but wait. He closes his eyes.
Five minutes later he's experiencing the worst nightmare of his life, all while Double M calmly does his paperwork.
***
I fell asleep again. I'm not sure when, probably sometime in the middle of the night while I was finishing up the plans for the convention part. Sure, the Hall keeps a full stock of supplies, but there are several special items that we have to order. I've got a few thousand new Technico t-shirts coming over night, and a limited edition toy set of the two Liberty boys. It looks awesome. I also called in orders for the other hard to find villain goods. By the time this is over, every kid in KC will have a Panther plush, or a Dragon hat, or even better, a Maximum hoodie.
So, in theory I should be sleeping on Dad's desk, since I took over his office, but I'm actually in one of the rooms reserved for single supers. I wonder if someone put me here. I shrug it off, stretching before climbing out of bed and checking my phone. I've been asleep for about eight hours. I guess I have been going without enough sleep for too long. It's still a problem, though--I need to work as quickly as I can to make up for lost time.
