by R. J. Ross
"Power...s?" I repeat.
"Powers," she agrees.
"Wait--floating?" I say, sitting up abruptly. "They were floating? Like, in the air?" That means--oh man, oh man, I never thought THAT would happen! When I didn't have the ability as a baby, like Dad did, I figured I'd just wind up being like Mom--but--
What powers DO I have, anyway? Or am I getting? I--I feel a little overwhelmed right now, actually, because if I get both the technopathy and the gravity manipulation, how on earth will I be able to handle it all? I'm only thirteen! I'm not even in my own time period--my parents aren't here to walk me through it--and that fainting thing was scary!
"Shhh, shhh, kitten," Tatia says, pulling me into a hug against her massive chest and patting my hair. "It will be okay, precious. You will be just fine. Tatia is here." I can hear her heart beat against my ear in a steady, strong rhythm. She smells good, I note absently as I hug her back as much as I can. Tatiana is a very big woman, she's got to be well over six feet tall with muscles that you can see through her uniform. For a little thing like me, it's a bit hard to hug her properly. But I'm trying as hard as I can!
"How are you going to help her?" Sparky asks. "She's got powers you don't have--"
"I will call in Mastermental," Tatia says, keeping her tone low, but I can hear a hint of forcefulness in it. "And you will leave now, I need to talk to the kitten in privacy."
"I--" Sparky growls and closes the door behind her, leaving just Tatia and me in--where are we, anyway? I look around, taking in the small twin sized bed I'm on and the dresser in the corner. This is someone's bedroom. Someone that doesn't believe in pictures or personal effects, it seems.
"Kitten, I must ask," she says, catching my attention. "Whose child are you?"
"I don't know--um--if I should tell you," I say, looking down, "because it'll affect the future, right?" A part of me is screaming that I should tell her more firmly--but you try speaking firmly to a six foot something woman that can probably destroy warships with a punch, or something. It’s not going to happen.
"You are of the Superior line?" she asks. It's not so much of a question as a statement posed as one.
"Y... yeah," I admit, peeking up at her. "I don't--I mean--it's in the future--"
"And what other line?" she asks. "Do not be surprised, powerful lines tend to meet often, I am assuming it is one that is alive in this time--"
"My... um... you can't tell, okay?" I say. "But my dad--he's..."
"Mastermental's relative, I believe," she says, patting my leg. "We will keep that between ourselves," she adds in a whisper.
"I'm--um--" I stutter. "Thank you," I finish, because there's nothing else I really CAN say.
"Now, I will need to borrow Sparky's phone--"
"You can't," I say. "Nicolas blew it up."
"Again?"
"Does he do it often?" I ask.
"All the time, why do you think I have no phone except for the house? It is the newest thing for super heroes to talk by those mobile phones, yet I am behind the loop," she complains.
"Out of the loop," I say.
"Yes, that is what I just said," she tells me. "Out of, behind, trailing along, it is all the same, there is a loop and I do not have part in it," she goes on. "I will have to find someone with a working phone. Nicolas got to all of the landlines in the base yesterday."
I hesitate, wondering if I should mention my feelings about Sparky. I mean, she hasn't actually done anything except get mad about her cell phone--and honestly I would have gotten mad, too. Cell phones aren't cheap--well, for people that don't have technopaths in the family they aren't! But... I don't know what to do, actually. I mean, she HAS to stick around, right? So she can be Liz's mom. I mean, looking at Tatia and thinking about Liz, it's pretty obvious that Tatia's not. Her mom, that is. Yeah.
I look down, examining my hands instead of doing anything. "Why doesn't..." it slips out of my mouth and I close it, but too late.
"Why doesn't?" she repeats.
"Why doesn't Superior make communicators?" I ask.
She looks at me blankly. "Kitten, that is why we have the mobile phones. He brought them to us and set them up with the military satellites, so we could contact one another."
I think about the bulky looking phone that Nicolas had destroyed. "Wow... Nicolas really is a better technopath," I whisper.
"He is? Wonderful!" she says, looking extremely happy about that fact. "I am so proud of my baby boy," she adds, even though she's only taking my word for it. I look at her, seeing her wipe a proud tear from her eye, and fight the urge to giggle like a little girl. It escapes me, though, because this massive woman with muscles larger than my waist is just beaming with pride.
"He is!" I tell her, grinning. "He's the one that made this," I add, digging my phone out of my pocket and holding it out to her. "It's my smart--er, my phone," I tell her. "But that might not be completely fair," I admit, frowning slightly. "I mean, he's got a lot more to work with in the future, so he might have an advantage Superior doesn't."
"Oh, Superior just tinkers with these things," Tatia says as she delicately takes the phone out of my hand, flipping it over and tapping on it with a curious expression. "His true abilities are much more basic," she adds.
"What ARE his true abilities?" I ask.
"Superior distorts things," she says with a shrug. "He is a Distortion Manipulator. Everything within eight hundred meters--I believe that is called... half a mile?" she offers, frowning slightly. "You Americans have such strange measurements," she adds, as if that were my fault. "It is within his capacity to distort. Oh, do tell me that they have switched to metric in your time?"
"Holy... mackerel..." I whisper, my eyes widening in shock as I picture it. The metric comment is forgotten entirely as I’m stuck on the half mile. That's... that's downright terrifying. I mean, I never knew--I've never seen it, even. When Great Grandpa Superior does things, it's mostly with brute strength in my time. He's good at that. But that sort of power--
"Oh, do not be so worried!" she says, reaching out and patting my head. "If you have inherited that ability, I doubt it is that powerful--I am sure it will be something that grows with age."
Inherit--but--I shake my head wildly, denying it with all of my might. "No, no, I don't have that! I might have some technopathy--my mom is one--and maybe I have gravity powers, because the tire floated for a bit--but I definitely don't have distortion! No way."
She just smiles at me, not saying a word. I want to go on protesting, but the door opens and I glance up, watching as Grandpa Mastermental walks into the room. His hair is longer, I notice. It’s pretty. "Tatiana," he says in that calm tone he's ALWAYS had. "We have a visitor?" He looks at me, and for the briefest of seconds I swear his eyes widen slightly.
"Mastermental, I am thankful for your speed," Tatia says, turning to him. "We have a young super here."
"I see," he says, walking over to me. "Your grandfather is looking for you," he tells me.
"My... grandfather?" I repeat.
***
They're drawing too much attention, adult Nico thinks darkly as he sees his white clad father floating above the city. Several people are taking pictures and yelling up at the super hero, even though he's ignoring them. It's enough to bring out more problems, Nico thinks darkly as a large black man with an afro shoves his way through the crowd. He looks a lot like Taurus, but younger, probably not much older than twenty.
"Who are you?" the black man demands boldly, pointing at Superior. "What are you doing in this town?"
Superior looks down. "Are you Mimic?" he asks.
Nico groans. Seriously? Shouldn't he have been here in this time? "Su--Fath--DISTORT!" he snaps over the mic. He's too close to the norms to risk using Superior's name. Superior looks at him blankly.
"I am not--"
"You are here," Nico says. "And that's obviously a super hero!" Duh. Seriously, the posing is universal! This would be a lot easier if Distort was still around, he thi
nks darkly as his father looks at Taurus's... dad? Uncle? Well, whatever. They're clearly related.
"I don't remember him being a part of the Hall," Superior says, but not quietly enough. "I would think I, of all people, would remember that."
"I might not be part of the Hall," Taurus-look-alike says, clearly a bit flustered but trying to hide it, "but I'm a super hero! That means I take care of problems like you!"
"I don't have time for this," Superior says, starting to take off. He stops, though, as the Taurus below him shifts into a massive minotaur, cracking his knuckles before jumping straight into the air and slamming into Superior.
"Meet Taurus’s dad, Father," Nico says over the com link as Superior is slammed into the ground. "Why you don't have him in the Hall, I've got no clue. If he's anything like his son, he's definitely an asset you shouldn't ignore."
"I'll remember that," Superior grits out as the minotaur man slams his fists into his guts. "Or not," he adds, shoving the minotaur off of him and sending him flying straight for Nico. "I don't have time for this--you take him out," he adds as Nico grabs the minotaur, twisting with the impact. Taurus Sr. weighs a bit more than expected, he thinks.
He gets his balance back and curses as he realizes that Superior is gone again. He doesn't have time to--the minotaur turns, looking at him. "You, you must be his partner," the minotaur snarls.
Nico is about to curse when a massive fist slams into his face, cutting him off. "Oh, it's on," he says, finally snapping. What? He hasn't been able to brawl in YEARS! And if he takes it out on his father, half the world could be destroyed--
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, YOU VILLAINS!" the bellow that cracks several windows around them makes him look up blankly at the woman floating over their heads.
"Banshee?" Nico asks, wincing as his ears keep ringing.
"Not her," Taurus Sr. mutters, actually covering his ears with his hands.
"Time to run?" Nico asks him. For a second he gets a shocked look--then Taurus Sr. nods.
"Time to run," Taurus Sr. agrees, racing away at top speed. Nico chases after him without a thought. His father will have to wait--he just hopes he can find him before he ruins the future.
***
My heart is pounding hard against my chest as Grandpa Mastermental carries me across town in his arms. It's such a familiar feeling, but I know he doesn't know that. It's strange, you know? Other than the hair, he looks exactly like he does in my time but he doesn't know me, doesn't love me--he just thinks I'm some kid.
It makes me feel lonely. I mean, a lot of things make me feel lonely lately. Seeing my dad and mom as kids made me feel lonely. Grandpa Nico not knowing who I am? That's lonely, too. All of this... I lean my head against Mastermental's shoulder, pretending for a moment that he's MY grandpa, and knows who I am, and is just taking me out for a flight. But--
"Grandpa Nico is here?" I ask him. I assume it's the one from the time I just came from--the one from when my parents are kids. He knows who I am, which is better than nothing, but he's not the same Grandpa that I grew up with. Not really.
"A large man with black hair and a white streak in his bangs?" Mastermental offers.
"Yeah," I say, feeling a bit of the loneliness slip away.
"Yes, he's here," he says, looking down at me with a little smile. "Tatia said you need help?"
"My powers are coming in," I admit, “finally. I thought they never would, you know? But it doesn't change anything--I mean, it will when I go back to my time, but right now all I want is--" I stop, falling silent as I look down at the world below. It looks different, but--"Why are we heading this way?" I ask abruptly, seeing the land that will be Death Canyon looming ahead of us.
"Because this is where he wanted me to bring you," he says, landing lightly on the ground. "I've brought her," he says. "This is a huge sign of trust--I suggest you do your side of the agreement, now."
I look around, not seeing Grandpa--until he steps out from behind a tree. The tall, dangerous looking face that I love so much, long black hair--well past his shoulders--tossing with the wind--"Gra--Grandpa?" I say, my heart jumping into my chest.
"Hello, kiddo," Grandpa says, getting on one knee and holding out his arms. This is MY Grandpa, I think as I race forward, throwing myself into his arms. The one I wanted the most--the one from my time.
My tears are streaming down my face as I cling tightly to him. "I've missed you so much, baby girl," he says, standing with me still held in his arms. My feet dangle two feet off of the ground. I love it.
"I'll fulfill my half of the promise," Grandpa says over my head as he moves me so I'm sitting on his arm. "But I need a few things, first."
"I've already returned the child--"
"I want this land--three miles in any direction from here. It'll be cleared and signed over to Superior's son when I'm finished with it."
"What for?" Mastermental asks.
"Training ground," Grandpa says. "Come on out, Jason," he says, turning to the tree he'd come out from. "In my time, there's not enough space for me to check the limitations of these two as they come into their powers. And if they get out of hand, people could be hurt. Sure I could just block it--but I think it’s best for all of us if we see just how much they can do before I do."
I peek over Grandpa's shoulder, my eyes widening as a boy about my age steps out of the shadows. Light glints off of his face and for a moment I think he's wearing sunglasses--then I realize who it is.
"Cold Steel's son?" I ask, feeling the color of my face leaving.
"Cold Steel's boy," Grandpa agrees.
"But he's the son of a super villain, Grandpa," I whisper. And he's glaring at me. Should I mention the fact that he's glaring at me? "What did you promise Gr--Mastermental?" I ask, glaring right back at the boy as Tatia's words lace through my mind.
"I'm going to help out with one of the Hall's problems in this time."
"But--"
"It'll be fine, kiddo," he says, hugging me again before putting me down. "Don't worry about it." He pats my head.
"Grandpa--my powers are coming in," I tell him, grabbing his arm before he leaves. "It made me faint--and--”
"Hey," he says, touching my chin and making me look up at him. "Who do you think I am kiddo? Why do you think I plan on training you BEFORE the canyon?" he asks dryly.
"Oh."
***
"How much more paperwork do I have to fill out?" Kunnins demands angrily, slamming another sheet of paper onto the growing pile, "I want Tatiana off the streets as soon as possible!"
"Sir, what you suggest is dangerous, and those under you don't want to bear the brunt of your folly--" is what his assistant WANTS to say. Instead he places another pile of paper in front of the man without a word. He feels sick to his stomach at the idea of releasing Matkey. The man is dangerous--and Tatiana...
He has a daughter. She's five years old and went to her first parade a month ago. During that parade his little girl had set her sights on the pink clad super heroine, yelling with joy as the huge woman landed on the street in front of her. He'd had no choice but to let go as Stephanie--his daughter--raced forward and accepted a hug from the woman. His wife had panicked, grabbing his arm tightly and asking him if he brought his gun, but he knew a gun wouldn't work on this woman.
Astonishingly, even as half the crowd seemed to panic like his wife was, Tatiana reached into her white hair and plucked one of the flowers that decorated it. It was a beautiful pink lily, which she slipped behind Stephanie's ear with a smile. "Thank you for the hug, kitten," Tatiana had said in a gentle, accented voice before flying back into the air to follow the parade.
"Daddy! Daddy, she gave me a flower!" Stephanie cried in joy as she rushed back to them. Now, Will thinks, it's hard to imagine releasing Matkey on a woman that gives hugs and flowers to little girls. He can still hear the confused comments of onlookers from that day. He had seen the scene on television that night, and it was the talk of late night television for the entire month. People
came out of the woodworks, telling about how she treated their daughters and sons.
Tatiana's reputation is slowly starting to change in America. Doing something like siccing Matkey on her might turn out badly in more ways than one. But he's just a grunt in this office--if he says something he risks losing his job. So he does his job, handing over another paper and waiting as it's signed.
"Sir, if you don't mind," a man says as he steps into the room, "how do you plan on controlling Matkey once he is out?"
Kunnins hesitates, frowning slightly. "Find out his weakness," he says to Will abruptly. "Go talk to him. Find out what he wants most in life--more than just his freedom."
"Yes sir," Will says, inwardly cringing. He heads out of the room, heading for the hall that leads to Matkey's cell. If he doesn't walk that quickly, well, no one says a word.
***
"Maaaan, I just don't know how to handle that lady," Taurus Sr. mutters, taking a deep breath and letting it go. He looks at the man in bell-bottoms standing next to him. "But seriously, why did you follow me?" he demands.
Why HAD he followed him? Nico has a blank look on his face for a moment before he shrugs. "You remind me of someone I trust," he says. "You're not a Hall member, but I bet you know all about them, don't you?"
The black man hesitates, looking around at the spot they'd stopped. It's an alley near the edge of downtown Kansas City. There's no one to be seen, but he tilts his head, listening for a moment before speaking. "I don't think I should tell a super villain anything."
Nico shrugs. "I'm not one anymore," he says.
"So you WERE a super villain?"
"Yeah, sure, when I was barely in my twenties," Nico admits. "I was tossed into the Cape--um--prison for a long time thanks to that. I'm more neutral than anything, now. Look, I need help. My granddaughter is here and I need to get her back without anyone seeing me."
"You want to kidnap a girl and play it off like you're doing the right thing."
"No, because it wouldn't be kidnapping," Nico says. "I just can't be seen."