by R. J. Ross
Nico stares at him blankly. "We can't do that," he says. "We've already interfered in this time too much as it is. And since you're here, and future me is here for Noelle, we're going home now," he says, grabbing his father's arm only to get thrown off.
"Tell me who he is, son," Superior says, looming over Nico. "If you don't, I will hunt down each and every single one of your precious students in the future."
"Listen to yourself, Father," Nico says. "Who's the super villain now?"
"He's the reason I lost the only person I ever loved," Superior says, desperation showing clearly. "He can't be allowed to live."
"Wait," Nico says. "What was that part about Mimic?"
Superior goes silent, cursing the fact that his son is so intelligent. "What did you just say about Mimic and Mom dying, old man?" Nico demands, grabbing the front of Superior's shirt. "What happened after I left the hospice?"
"She disappeared," Superior says quietly. "I was taking the cords off and she disappeared. It's that man's fault!"
"Why? Because you killed--or maimed, or whatever, Mimic before he could steal her powers and knock her out? And then, correct me if I'm wrong, whoever hired Mimic to take her down found another cape to do it," Nico says, feeling a bit pale as he realizes what almost happened. "Who stopped you? Or did they not stop you?"
"You did. So it's now your job to find out who that man is."
"Why can't you do it, Father?" Nico asks in disgust. "You're a techno--"
"I'm not."
"What?"
"I'm not a technopath," Superior repeats. "To a point I can manipulate machinery, just like I can manipulate anything else--but I'm not the same as you are. I don't have the time to pretend I am. WHO is it?"
"If I tell you, will you come with me to our own time without doing anything in this one?" Nico demands. "I'm sick and tired of wondering if our future is completely shot because of some random misstep. So unless you swear on Mom’s honor--since you have none--I won't tell you."
For a long moment Superior doesn't say anything. Nico can practically hear him thinking. "Fine," he says. "But that doesn't stop me from doing something in our time."
"If he's even alive," Nico agrees, going higher and looking over all of America. He holds out his arms, closing his eyes as he reaches into all of the computers in the area. They're simplistic and slow, which is frustrating to him, but he finds the more "secure" computers quickly. There aren't that many of them, not in his opinion. His eyes flash subtly as he searches the files.
Then he goes still. "I have reason to believe Kunnins is still alive," he says, repeating Star Born. He hadn't known what it meant then, but he does now. "Superior," he snaps. "We need to go back to our own time--and we need to talk to Star Born."
"What?"
"Your problem from this time, it's not over in ours," Nico says bluntly. "No hunting down my kids, you can hunt down Kunnins in our own time. We ARE GOING HOME." He grabs for his father's arm, only to curse as he doesn't get it.
Superior is gone.
***
I had a terrible dream. In my dream my friend crashed a plane, and people were injured and a woman died, and it was all Jason's fault.
It wasn't a dream. I find myself staring right up at Jason, who looks way too happy, if you ask me. "Murderer," I snarl as I sit up, shoving him away from me. "You're a murderer!" The ground under my butt cracks--okay, probably should have put that a different way--ANYWAY! I get to my feet and glower at the boy that killed a poor defenseless woman. "HOW COULD YOU?" I bellow.
"I FIXED HER AFTERWARDS!" he bellows right back.
"Wait, what?"
"I fixed her. I healed her. Come on, Noelle, I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt! I'm--it was--" he hesitates, looking away from me. There's something he's hiding from me, and I don't like it.
"Spit it out, Jason," I say, putting my hands on my hips and glaring at him. "Because I'm still doubting that we can be friends."
"Yeah? Not nearly as much as I am," he mutters, not looking at me.
"Oh, so that's how you feel," I say, feeling as if he'd slapped me. "Don't want to be friends with the 'princess'. You've been saying that all along, I can't believe I didn't listen to you!"
"Noelle--" he starts out in a frustrated tone. "Don't--"
"Don't what? I'm just finally listening--you're a BAD GUY, and you'd probably just USE me for something in the future, playing on my stupid naive idea that we can be friends!" I stomp my foot like a child, barely noticing the hole in the ground that it leaves. "You're probably lying about healing her--"
"I. Am. NOT LYING!" he bellows, jumping to his feet. The ground starts to shake and rocks shoot up all around him. "And nobody will ever be able to use you for ANYTHING because you NEVER LISTEN!"
"Well I'm listening now, and you're not saying anything I care to hear," I snarl before turning and racing away at top speed. I don't want to deal with him right now!
***
"What just happened?" Jason asks Technico after a long moment of stunned silence.
"She had a hissy fit," Technico says. "I'll get her." Then he's gone, leaving Jason standing there surrounded by a lot of destruction and rocks. After a moment he heads over to a jutting rock and sits down on it, scowling to himself.
There is absolutely no way that little brat could go hero, he decides with a snort. She would make an awesome villain, though. He can picture it all too easily. Of course that would totally blow Tristan's crush on her--can't have a perfect little Liberty boy chasing a villain.
Why does that thought make him feel like grinning? It shouldn't, he scolds himself. She's still mad at him. He looks at the camping ground, seeing her tent on its side with a giant rock under it.
Maybe he can make it up to her.
***
I think it's this way. I hesitate at a crossroads, not certain I'm right. I really wish I could fly, already. I'd be able to find Tatia's place if I could see from above. I head down the way I think it is, hugging myself. I'm not cold, I'm just... I don't know, in shock or something.
Did he heal her? I think so... and if he did heal her, or bring her back to life, or whatever, I should forgive him, right? But I still have those scenes playing in my mind, the baby being flown away by Tatia, the poor woman going still--I shiver, hugging myself more tightly. It was done by my friend.
I can't be friends with someone that could do such a thing, but I AM friends, except he never wanted to be friends in the first place, and--and I'm so confused right now that tears are falling. I've always been taught that life is precious. I mean, how could I not be? My family lives their lives protecting every life they can. My mom teaches the heroes of tomorrow to take care of the world, my father runs the Hall which was created to protect those that couldn't protect themselves. It's in my blood!
So what do I do? Do I stop being friends with him? Was I ever really friends in the first place, or was it like he said, I just wasn't listening and assumed we were friends? All these friend questions when I've never had a real friend in my life, I think, letting out a little irritated sound.
Something flashes white overhead and I glance up automatically. "Great Grandpa?" I say. I don't have time to think, I realize. Either I run as fast as I can or I'll lose him.
***
Kunnins. He remembers Kunnins, Superior thinks savagely as he pulls to a stop over the air force base. He remembers Kunnins all too well. During this time he'd thought he was a trustworthy man. Kunnins had sent him some of the best capes in the world to work with. He'd always been a bit of a brown-noser, as well.
The relationship had changed over the next decade, when Superior found out that Kunnins was experimenting on humans, trying to turn them into supers. It'd been a nasty piece of business, with the experiments dying agonizingly slow deaths as they tried to deal with the trauma the change inflicted on them. Star Born was the scientist. Kunnins had used her, then she had used Superior in turn, when he was Distort.
This nasty little circle is s
omething he is going to change right now, he thinks as the guards come racing out of the barracks, shooting at him. He holds out his hands and the bullets stop in midair before turning and hitting the ground right in front of the shooters. “I can kill you with a thought,” he says, his voice booming over the base, “unless you bring Kunnins to me!”
They start firing more and he sees someone hop into a tank, the gun swiveling to aim at him. He waves his hand again and sends the top part spinning. He lands, ignoring the bullets that are trying to hit him, and heads straight for a man that looks somewhat familiar. “Hello, Will,” he says, picking him up off the ground by the shirt. “Where’s Kunnins?”
“He--he--” Will stutters, looking as pale as a ghost. “He’s not here.”
“I think you’re lying,” Superior says. “Let’s see... a place like this always has a hidden level. Where is it?”
“I--”
“Never mind, I’ll help myself,” Superior says, tossing him several feet away before taking to the air. He flips, his hand fisting, and slams straight down, punching a massive hole through the concrete hidden underneath the dirt. Once he reaches the next level he flips over, landing on his feet and looking around. “KUNNINS! GET OUT HERE RIGHT THIS INSTANT!”
The soldiers race forward, aiming their rifles at him, but Superior ignores all but one of them, grabbing him by the throat. “Where is Kunnins?”
“G--Gone,” the uniformed man stutters out.
“Where?” Superior demands.
“The--the White House--”
“Well, then, I’ll find him there,” Superior says, tossing the man aside. There’s no way he would lie. Superior can see the puddle on the ground below where he’d been hanging. He takes to the air, then stops, staring down at the base for a long moment. “Who else are you keeping hidden here?” he demands, seeing Will.
“No one, sir.”
“That had better be the truth,” Superior says coldly before flying away. For a long moment Will just stands there, watching him leave, and then he turns and heads for the nearest phone.
“Sir? We have a slight problem.”
***
Great Grandpa Superior just destroyed the base that had held Mimic. I stare at it for a moment, trying to equate that obviously evil action with my great grandpa. It’s not as hard to do as you would suspect, honestly. I mean, of all my family members he’s the one I’m LEAST surprised to find out something like this about.
“Noelle,” I hear above me. I turn, looking at Grandpa. It’s the one from my time--again, would someone PLEASE send one of them back home? I bet EVERYONE is confused by this whole two-in-one-time thing! “What happened?”
“Great Grandpa destroyed the base,” I say as he lands behind me. “He’s looking for a guy named Kunnins.”
“I see. That does make sense,” Grandpa says mildly. “But that means he’s done chasing Mimic.”
“Mimic--but--Mimic’s the one that kills grandma!” I say. “He can’t stop now!” I turn, starting to run, only to be grabbed by the wrist and pulled to a stop.
“It wasn’t Mimic,” he says, pulling an earbud out of his pocket. “Nico, do you hear me?” he asks as he slips the earbud into his ear. “I need you to grab Superior the moment you see him and take him back to your own time.”
“I was planning on doing that earlier,” I hear his younger self say dryly. “The old man is faster than I thought.”
“Don’t try, just do. He’s going after Kunnins.”
“Where is Kunnins?”
“At the White House,” I say. Both versions of Grandpa curse--using the same word at the same time.
“I’m on it,” the younger version of Grandpa says.
Grandpa pockets the earbud. “Now we’re going to do something extremely important,” he tells me.
“What?” I ask.
“We’re going to save your grandma--and your great aunt all at the same time.”
“Really?” I ask, getting excited.
“Really. And you need to forgive Jason,” he adds as he picks me up in a princess hold and takes to the air. “He really did save all the people he could.”
“But why did he do it?” I demand.
“Because your great grandpa plays dirty,” Grandpa says coldly as he takes off. I stare forward blindly, then realize my eyeballs are threatening to dry out from the wind and tug my goggles down to cover them. “I’m going to have to get some of those,” he says.
“He used Jason,” I say, getting more irritated by the moment. “I am going to give him SUCH a talking to!”
“You do that, sweetheart,” he says. “You do just that.”
***
Mimic hangs up the phone and heads down the steps into the second level of the base, ignoring the hole that Superior just created. This “Will” that he’d stolen after the fight with the supers is an excellent form, he decides as he starts down the hall to the cells he’d once been held captive in. He stops at his own, peeking in at the man he’d left unconscious on the pallet. Casually he prods the door open, so when someone comes along he’ll be found. There were others he’d just left on the wayside, but this Will had actually had a conscience. It would be a shame to leave him to die of starvation.
He moves on to the next cell, checking inside. The white haired Superior’s question had made him curious, after all. He pauses as he sees what looks like a child chained up in the middle of the room. Something makes him hesitate before he crosses the room and crouches down in front of the child.
She’s beautiful, he thinks, a bit stunned. Long blue hair tangles and falls over her shoulders. Her skin is china white, her eyes are the color of sapphires. Hesitantly he reaches up, pushing her hair out of her face. “I’m going to let you go,” he tells her softly.
There’s distrust in her eyes, but he ignores it as he lets his shift fall. In his normal form he unlocks the chains that hold her, letting them fall to the ground. For a second she just stares at him, and then she shudders, turning translucent before shifting into a heavy fog that flows out of the room.
Mimic stands there for a moment, stunned beyond belief, then goes back to checking the cells. A handful of supers are released by the time he’s done. They hadn’t even bothered to thank him, he thinks as he shifts back into Will’s form and heads out of the building and off base entirely.
He wants to see her again. He wants to see the fog girl, sure, she was fascinating, but the one he really wants to see is Tatiana. He hesitates, standing there for a moment and thinking of the destruction the white haired Superior created. For a moment he wonders what happened to change him so much, and then he starts forward, allowing his feelings to direct him.
Just once more, he thinks. Just once more. After he sees her this time he’ll walk away and never look back.
***
Superior floats far above the White House, staring at it thoughtfully for a long moment. He’s tempted to destroy it. Of course that goes against everything he stands for, in theory--the White House is supposed to be what represents and protects all of America, and he still loves America. But right now it’s unwittingly aiding and abetting the man that would have his beloved Tatiana killed.
So what does he do?
Before he can decide, arms wrap around him and a tiny button is pushed. The world twists around him and he’s stumbling forward into his own time. “Father! Nico! You’re back!” Liz says as Superior bites back vomit.
“Shocks,” Nico mutters, looking as green as he does, “I’m definitely installing shocks of some sort in the next time travel watch I make.”
“What DID YOU DO?” Superior roars as he turns on his son, grabbing him by the shirt.
“I saved you from attacking the White House,” Nico says coldly. “What were you thinking? You could have started a norm-super war! One that could easily have killed everyone on the planet!”
“They had Kunnins!” Superior bellows.
“Who cares? He’s probably still alive in this time!”
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“What?”
“Star Born--when she exploded, or whatever, and almost killed you, she was working for him--and when I visited her in the Cape Cells to get the formula to take away Mimic’s powers she told us why she’s still working on her genetic formulas,” Nico says. “She has reason to believe that Kunnins is still alive somewhere. That he’s going to show up again.”
“Where is he?” Superior demands.
“I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter,” Nico says.
“Of course it matters!”
“No, it doesn’t. At least it doesn’t until we find out what, exactly, he’s after in this time.”
“What happened while you were back in time?” Liz demands. “Who is Kunnins?”
“He’s the man that got my mother killed.” Nico turns, looking at her with a hint of wonder before dragging her into a hug. “Liz. Thank God,” he adds, holding her tightly.
“What for?” she asks.
“You.”
***
“Aren’t we going to save everyone?” I ask as Grandpa lands at the campsite. It looks different, I notice. The rocks have been knocked down and the ground looks a little more level. My tent is, at least. In the middle of it all, though, is Jason, who’s sound asleep and snoring.
“Looks like he tried to clean up,” Grandpa says as he puts me down. I look around curiously, and then head over to the sleeping teen, nudging him with my shoe. “Your uncle had the same problem around that age. He’d try to use his powers too much and wind up crashing for a while. It’s going to take more than a nudge to wake him up.”
I pull back my foot, and then lower it again. Kicking him would be wrong, considering he was just used by Great Grandpa like a pawn. It’s really hard to say “no” to Superior, especially if you didn’t grow up with him in your life. He’s a living legend to the entire world. I mean, I’ve seen every single Superior movie ever made--and that’s saying a lot. There’s a ton of them. I bet Jason’s seen at least one or two.