by R. J. Ross
“I’m just as new to the whole ‘having a dad’ thing, so I don’t know,” Sandra says, watching as Sunny and Adanna start to swing dance. “But, I gotta admit, this isn’t a bad way to start. You did good.”
“So tell me, Sandra, do you sing?” he asks.
“If you like the sound of gravel,” she says. “Leave that job to Alyssa.”
“Then do you dance?” he asks, standing and grabbing her hand.
“Oh, no, I definitely don’t know how to—“ she yelps and lets out a startled laugh as he scoops her up by the armpits. “I have two rock feet!” she protests.
“And now’s the best time to break them in!” he says, grinning and carrying her to the dance floor.
He can’t fix their problems, he thinks as he swings his laughing daughter around the floor, but he can do the love thing that they mentioned. She’s already got him wrapped around her pinkie, and she doesn’t even know it.
“WE ARE HERE TO PARTY!” Skye yells, making them all look up as her group of girls comes through the floor.
“What took you so long?” Sandra asks.
“Traffic!”
CUBBY
There have been many side characters that I’ve enjoyed writing over the years, but the one that’s probably stood out the most in my mind (other than Skye) is Cubby. Cubby is the youngest of our regular cast, and the heir to the Panther name. He hasn’t come into his shifting abilities yet, but unlike most super children, he does have a few skills already. Most importantly, though, he’s probably the cutest little kid in the Cape High universe. No, I’m not biased… okay, I might be a little biased. But there is one thing that IS absolutely true:
Everybody Loves Cubby
The big blue eyes peeking over the side of her bed make Adanna groan and roll over. “No, Cubby,” she mutters, pulling her pillow over her head. She feels the bed tilt slightly and groans even louder as her little brother climbs onto her back, tugging at the pillow. “Cubby, no!” she repeats, her voice muffled by the pillow. “Papa already said that you had to wait until you’re older—” she lets out a yelp as something cold touches her back, literally jumping a foot off of the bed, even though he’s still sitting on her. “Did you bring a piece of ice into my room?” she demands, tugging him off and giving him a sharp look.
He gives her a wicked little grin, holding up an ice pack for her to see. “I wanna go to school,” he says as she grabs it from him. “I gotta meet everybody!”
She rolls her eyes and silently plots her revenge on Max. This is all his fault, after all. He’d convinced her little brother that he should go and meet everyone so he can find them in a crowd. “MAMA!” she yells. “TELL CUBBY HE CAN’T GO TO SCHOOL!”
“I think it would be good for him to get out!” Amara says, sticking her head into Adanna’s room. “Besides, I have a lunch date with Barbara and Prisma today, and you know how bored he gets with all of the girl talk.”
“But he’s not old enough to go to school!” Adanna says, already picturing how this will wind up. “There are dangerous places at school, he could get hurt.”
“That’s why I expect you to watch him,” Amara says. “Just think of it as more training to be a super hero, kitten!”
Adanna lets out a whine and falls back on her bed, covering her face with the pillow this time. Cubby tugs the pillow out of her hold and gives her a triumphant smile.
“I go get dressed,” he declares, hopping off of the bed and running to his room.
“Oh no you don’t! You aren’t going to school with your shorts on backwards!” Adanna yells, jumping to her feet and chasing after him. “You always put them on backwards!”
“It’s perfectly fine if his pants are on backwards, Adanna! That’s how he learns!” Amara calls. “I’m very proud of him for dressing himself!”
Adanna groans, again. She’s never going to hear the end of this at school.
***
Cubby’s eyes widen as he looks out the window. He can get out of his car seat, and he does that as the car pulls to a stop, but a single look from his father stops him from jumping out of the car. “Cubby,” Panther says, “you behave yourself at school today. Listen to your sister and the teachers.”
“Uh huh,” Cubby agrees.
“No running off in the middle of class, either, understand?”
“Yes, Papa,” he says, his legs swinging impatiently. He wants to go in. He’s finally going to SCHOOL!
“Papa, you did warn Nico, didn’t you?” Adanna says, swinging her bag over her shoulder.
“He’ll be fine,” Pan says, not quite answering the question. She gives him a look before getting out and opening Cubby’s door. The little boy hops out of the car and races past her, waving his arms in the air as he sees people.
“Hey guys!” he calls excitedly. “I’M HERE!”
“CUBBY!” several people yell excitedly, three in particular. Max, Jack, and Ace all race towards Cubby, with Max getting there first. He scoops the little boy up in a hug. “How’s it going, Cub?” he asks with a grin.
“Is it even your day to be here?” Adanna asks.
“It is,” Max says. “I didn’t expect it to be this cool, though.” Adanna fights the urge to roll her eyes. “Are you coming to school today, Cubby?”
“Uh huh!” Cubby says, grinning widely. He’s surrounded by the biggest names in teen villainy, at the moment, and he absolutely loves it. “Where’s Sunny?” he asks, looking around.
“Still asleep,” Jack says. “He’s not much of a morning person.” He looks over at the car, waving. “Mornin’ Pan.”
“Good morning,” Pan says. Belatedly, the other two villains say their greetings as well, and Pan holds out his arms to Cubby, who jumps. “Be good,” Pan says, kissing him on the cheek.
“Bye, Papa,” Cubby says, squirming to try and get free.
“I’ll take him!” Ace says. Cubby jumps into his arms.
“Do Mikey!” Cubby orders.
“I can see he’ll be fine,” Panther says with amusement. “Cubby, Adanna, I love you. I’ll be here to pick you up as soon as school is over.” He gets in the car and waves at them as he drives away.
“He DIDN’T tell Nico,” Adanna says, sighing.
“Hey, Cubby, I think you put your shoes on the wrong feet,” Ace says. They all look down at his shoes.
“At least his pants aren’t on backwards, this time,” Adanna tells them, giving up. He’s learning, she thinks. He picks out his own clothes and dresses himself, so shoes being on the wrong feet isn’t that big of a deal. “He’s not stupid, though,” she adds, just in case they were wondering.
“’Course he’s not,” Max says. “Shoes that small look a lot alike, right, Cub?”
Cubby nods, seriously, and squirms free of Ace’s hold to sit on the ground and switch his shoes. “Now can we go to school?” he demands as he gets to his feet. Everyone starts laughing and Jack picks Cubby up, sitting him on the surf board floating next to him.
“Zoe? Is Cubby in the school system?” Max calls over his shoulder. Zoe, Sunny, and Emily are coming out of the apartments.
“Cubby!” Zoe says, excitedly. “Yes, he is! He’s in all of the systems here. Are you coming to school with us, today, Cubby?” she asks as she reaches them. Cubby nods, and presents his cheek to be kissed, like it’s to be expected. She laughs and kisses him, hugging him, as well.
“He is, but he has to be on his very best behavior,” Adanna says, looking pointedly at her little brother. “Isn’t that right, Cubby?”
“Yee-eees,” Cubby says.
“What’s Cubby doing here?” Nico asks as they reach the entrance of the campus.
“I KNEW they didn’t tell you!” Adanna says, throwing her hands up in the air. “Mama and Papa decided that Cubby needed to get out for the day, so… this.”
“Okay.”
She stares at him. “Okay?” she repeats. “That’s all you’re going to say?”
“One, he’s not just any kid, and
two, we need to think about opening up a section for the younger kids, anyway. There’s always a chance that someone will be born with their powers, or like Cubby, part of them. Or maybe the kid will just be part of a really famous family and need the extra protection, again, like Cubby,” Nico says, picking Cubby up and setting him on the ground. “Cubby, touch here, and then step on the footprints.”
Cubby does as he asks, walking very carefully on the footprints. As soon as he’s through the security, he breaks into a run, stopping at the railing and staring out at the campus in wonder. “HELLO CAPE HIGH!” he bellows with his fists up in the air.
“Hi!” Cubby falls onto his bottom as someone appears right next him. He looks up at her in shock. “Oh my gosh, you’re SO CUTE!” the girl says. “I’m Carla.”
“Cubby,” Adanna says as she enters the campus, “what do you say?”
“Hi,” Cubby says, moving behind his sister as soon as he can and holding up a shy little hand in greeting.
“Is he your little brother, Adanna? He’s four? I have a four year old sister!” Carla says. “Oh, oh, are we starting up a daycare? Nico, are we starting up a daycare? Can I bring my siblings here? Oh wow, you have blue eyes!”
Cubby looks at the people that just came in, wondering if they kept up with the girl. “The eyes are part of the panther shifter power set,” Adanna says, picking Cubby up. “It’s an indicator that he’ll be a panther shifter when he’s grown. Soon they’ll turn golden brown, like mine.”
“How cool!” Carla says. “Oh, Nico, I’m going first today!”
“You won the draw again?” Nico asks as they start down the stairs.
“It’s not my fault that I can see what they’re about to do during rock paper scissors,” Carla says. Cubby is watching her closely, so closely that Max stops next to him, patting him on the back.
“She’s really cute, huh?” he teases. “Should we put him with the healers for their obstacle course? He shouldn’t have much trouble with it.”
“I’d rather keep him where I can keep an eye on him,” Adanna says. To her surprise, though, the entire school is waiting at the base of the steps.
“It’s a stranger,” Malina says, and they all start laughing.
“Is that lil’ guy a villain or a hero?” Freddy asks.
“Villain,” Cubby says proudly.
“What we have here is the future Panther. You can call him Cubby,” Nico says. “He’ll be sitting in during your classes today. You can all meet him during your breaks, though, since it’s already time for training. Everyone to your spots!”
The group breaks up, heading to their areas, and Adanna starts for the large metal field where the most powerful of the students train. Cubby looked at it, an expression of confusion on his face.
“What’s that?” he asks, pointing at it.
“It’s the Apocalypse Field,” Adanna says, joining the group to the side. They watch as Carla steps onto the field, turning to grin at them.
“I’m ready! What am I going to do, today?” Carla asks excitedly.
“Today we’ll go with one of the crowd control drills,” Nico says. “Carla, you need to catch and deliver a purse thief to the local police on a busy street. Do not hit or bump any of the norms. If they feel threatened, the crowd will start to riot. Sure, it wouldn’t happen that way in real life, but hey, this way is more entertaining.”
“Got it! But where will the purse thief be?” Carla asks, looking around.
“That’s part of the job. Find them yourself.”
Holes open up in the metal field and to Cubby’s amazement, robots wearing ragged clothes pop out of the ground. Their eyes light up bright red and they lift their arms in front of them. “Wait, wait, we’ve got it still set for zombie apocalypse,” Nico says, waving a hand. The arms go down.
“Robots,” Cubby whispers excitedly, leaning forward to get a better look.
“That’s right, robots,” Adanna says.
“I. Am. A. Robot!” Cubby says.
“Mmhmm,” she says, absently putting him down when he threatens to fall out of her arms. He’s off like a shot, squirming through the rest of the students to get right up next to the metal field. Carla is racing through the robot field so quickly that she leaves a streak of color behind her. She stops, once in a while, but with her speed it barely registers as happening for most people.
“Found him!” she says abruptly, grabbing one of the robot’s arms. Cubby lets out a cheer and moves closer, wanting to see—
The eyes of the robots on the field light up and they all turn toward Carla. Everyone in the crowd groans. “She grabbed the wrong one,” Jack says. “Carla, you need any help?” he calls out.
“I’m okay—”
Cubby lets out a little yelp as he’s dragged into the field. He quickly climbs up the robot, clinging to its head like a hat. The robot he’s riding doesn’t even notice him, so he gets the perfect view of the riot from overhead. His eyes scan the area, and he sees one of the smaller robots carrying a bright red handbag. He’s found the purse thief! Without even a hint of fear, he leaps from the robot’s head, landing on another. He jumps from one robot to the next, steadily making his way towards the purse thief. He’s going to make it! He’s—
“CUBBY!” he hears his sister shout. The robots stop and Cubby almost falls off of the head he’s on, he’s so surprised. “Cubby, what do you think you’re doing?” Adanna demands.
“I found purse,” he says, pointing at the robot. Since that’s been explained, he goes back to his job, leaping from robot to robot. It had been a lot more fun when they were moving, he thinks as he reaches the thief. He grabs the purse and waves it in the air.
The entire school roars with cheers—well, almost the entire school. He sees his sister giving him “the look” and then feels someone picking him up from behind. He turns, looking up at Carla, expecting to be praised.
“That was very reckless!” she scolds him. She props him on her hip and heads off of the Apocalypse Field. “You could have been hurt! What would your mommy and daddy say if you were hurt, huh?”
But… but he’d found the purse thief, he thinks, silently offering the purse to her. She sighs and hands him over to his sister. “It was brave, but still reckless,” she says again, placing her hands on her hips. “Oh, but it’s your sister’s job to do the scolding. Sorry, Adanna.”
“It’s fine,” Adanna says, “I think you covered everything.”
“I’m next!” Freddy calls out.
“Why don’t I hold Cubby, this time?” Nico offers. Cubby sighs and climbs into his arms, only to be placed on Nico’s shoulders. They rise into the air, giving the boy the perfect view of the field below, and he forgets that he was yelled at as easily as that.
“Higher!” he urges excitedly. Nico goes a few feet higher.
“Okay, Freddy, you’re on crowd control today, level yellow. And start!” As the field bursts into action below, Nico turns his attention to Cubby. “Cubby?”
“Mm?” Cubby asks. His eyes are glued to the field below.
“How would you like to play a game?”
“Okay!” Cubby says.
“Max, Zoe, can you take over here? Cubby and I are going to go play,” Nico says almost silently.
“Got it,” Max says. “Have fun, Cubby!”
Cubby waves to the teen as Nico flies off. They head past the dorm building to a series of tree houses. “All right, Cubby,” Nico says, landing. “We’re going to play tag. But instead of me playing, you’re going to play with something I’ve made, okay?”
Cubby nods as he’s put down, looking up at Nico seriously. He knows Nico, Nico comes over for dinner with Summer a lot, but he’s never actually been alone with him before. He smells like machines, the boy thinks. It’s not his favorite smell, but he also smells a little like flowers, and dirt, too, so he can ignore the metallic aspects.
The sight of metal parts floating in the air distracts the boy, and he fights the urge to jump at t
hem. His eyes move rapidly, chasing one piece through the sky as it connects to another, and another, until a humanoid robot lightly drops to the ground. All thoughts of not liking the smell are forgotten as he looks at the robot in wonder. It looks exactly like one of the robots on the metal field, except it’s his size.
“This be too easy,” Cubby says after a second of thought.
“It will?” Nico asks.
“Mmhmm, robots are slow,” Cubby tells him.
“This one isn’t,” Nico says. The robot in question jumps, leaping into the air and grabbing onto the nearest tree house ramp. “This one I based on you.”
Cubby’s eyes grow wide as the robot dances on the ramp, making it jump. “Really?” he asks.
“Really,” Nico says. “Now go play tag.” Cubby jumps, racing after the robot with a gigantic smile and lots of giggles. The robot really IS as fast as he is! He chases the robot, jumping from one tree house to the next for a very long time.
“How long has he been playing like that?” he hears his big sister say as his fingers brush against the robot, finally.
“Hmm?” Nico says, looking up from the computer screens floating all around him.
“Did you make him rest, or drink, or get a snack?” Adanna asks. “I should have wondered what was going on when he didn’t show up for first hour.”
“He never asked to,” Nico says. Adanna groans. “What, his vitals are fine—”
She storms past him, jumping onto the bridge and reaching for Cubby. “Come on, Cubby, it’s snack time.”
“I’m not hungry,” Cubby says. “I almost caught Robot!”
“You can catch the robot after your snack and a nap,” Adanna says, grabbing his hand.
“CUBBY! Hey, Cubby, come talk to me!” Max beckons. To Adanna’s irritation, her little brother jumps off of the tree house bridge and runs straight for Max.
“He needs to eat and drink something!” Adanna says, chasing after her brother. Behind them, completely unnoticed, the little boy robot sits down, hugging his knees.