by R. J. Ross
"I said," Max snarls, his hand held out towards the water, "LET HER GO!" The water woman splashes, torn apart by his ability. "No one touches the zoo kids on my watch," he goes on. The few objects in the room start to crush like tin cans. Malina's the only thing still standing.
"Max! Stop!" she cries. "She's gone!" He drops to the ground, putting Justin down and heading for Malina. Justin starts coughing up water, but Max ignores him completely, crouching down in front of Malina.
"You okay?" he asks.
Malina nods, staring up at him with wonder.
"Good," Max says, grinning and reaching up to mess up her hair.
"Why aren't you a hero?" she asks him.
"Heroes don't get to bring their own mic to work," he says seriously.
***
I spit out the last bit of water and get to my feet. Thank God for rapid healing, because that could have really messed me up had I been a norm. But regardless of what just happened, we're supers. There's this unwritten law that we've got to make everything dramatic. So as soon as we're certain everyone is fine (including me), Max takes over. "This is still a debut, regardless of how I really feel about you," he says to pink haired girl. "Since we NEED Negatia to let us continue through her territory, I'm going to make you do this right, regardless of how you feel about it, got it?"
"But I kidnapped Justin," she says, looking a bit pale and shaky, still. Of us all, she's the only one wet. Malina dried the rest of us off.
"We know that, you know that, but since he apparently had a mental breakdown right before you grabbed him, we could say it was me attacking him and you saving him from me," Max says blandly. "We'll pass it off as me having psychic powers, got it? So now you're going to bring him back to the concert and show the world that he's perfectly fine now."
"But he's not fine!" the purple haired girl says. "I didn't get to finish! And we don’t have a clue who that water woman was, or if she’ll come back!"
"You can finish after the show," Max says. "And we’ll deal with the water woman if she does. But right now, Justin, will you be able to finish?"
"I think so," I say, not feeling very confident at all. I thought I was doing good up until I broke down in front of hundreds of people. And the image of that beautiful "Mother" person is stuck in my head.
I need to go to her. I need to find her and do—do what? My head is throbbing but I grit my teeth and ignore it. What I have to do right now is finish the concert. I'm a performer and that means the show must go on. "What about the water woman, is she really gone?" I ask, looking over at Malina.
"Max smashed her," Malina says, still looking around. "For now, that'll have to do," she finishes, looking at me. "We've got a concert to finish—and Pinky's debut," she adds, a bit rudely.
"Rude, much?" the pink haired girl demands.
"I don't like kidnappers," Malina says, looking her straight in the eye. "So if you even TOUCH Justin again, I'll make sure you're terrified of water for the rest of your life, got it?"
Wow. I mean, Malina was once the quietest of the zoo kids for as long as I can remember, but all of a sudden you put her in the field and she becomes downright FIERCE. Max is grinning.
"I expect nothing less of a zoo kid," he says with a hint of pride. He's getting way too attached to Malina, don't you think? I give him a sharp look, which he shrugs at. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," he says.
"No, not always," Malina says, turning and staring at the ground. I can almost picture what she's seeing. "Sometimes it just breaks you, and you have to have help putting yourself back together again," she whispers. I don't even think, I just walk over and pull her into a hug. A half a year ago I would have never imagined doing this. "She called me 'my child,'" she whispers. "Do you think she was—was—"
"We'll find out," I promise after getting over the shock.
"Time to get to work," Max says. I nod.
"You going to be okay?" I ask Malina.
"Yeah," she says. "Are you?"
"I hope so," I say, heading for the door.
"Let's get this show on the road," Max says, only to grab the pink haired girl by the back of her uniform and sling her through the air.
"What are you—" the purple haired girl starts out, watching in horror as her best friend is thrown far, far away.
"Oh, can she not fly?" Max asks in a patently innocent tone. "Whoops."
CHAPTER SEVEN
*Shadowlands*
"So, how are we doing this?" Lance asks hesitantly as he follows Rocco through the Shadowlands. He glances over his shoulder at Piper, worried. Piper is one of the youngest of the zoo kids, sure, but that's not why he's worried about her right now. "Can we go back to the surface yet?"
"Almost," Rocco says, pausing in front of a deeper shadow. "This should lead us out behind the stage—I hope. Just give me a second to look." His head sinks through the shadow and Lance has to look away, since it looks like he's headless from this angle. He glances at Piper, and then Summer, wondering—
"Shadowman," Summer says, her pose shifting as a figure heads straight for them. The look of surprise on Shadowman's face takes Lance off guard.
"What—" he starts out, looking at them. This isn't an ambush, Lance realizes. Shadowman honestly hadn't expected them to be here. He jerks as Piper grabs his hand, a worried expression on her face. "How did you get down here?" Shadowman demands.
"That's no business of yours," Summer says, stepping between him and Lance. "Keep away from the children—"
"Um, Summer, I think I went right when I should have gone left," Rocco says as he pulls out of the shadow. "We're somewhere in Mexico—or maybe just a Latino corner somewhere, but there's a lot of Spanish being spoken—" he stops abruptly as he sees Shadowman, a look of confusion on his face. "Who's that guy?"
"Rocco, stay behind me," Summer says.
"So… that's how," Shadowman says, stepping to the side, only to be blocked off by Summer. "You're the one Nico meant."
"Who are you?" Rocco demands.
"Well…" Shadowman says. Lance has already figured it out. It's obvious, right? Instead of letting Shadowman go on, though, he shifts into one of his favorite land forms—a gorilla—and launches himself at the shadow walker.
Shadowman's eyes widen and he barely manages to dodge the massive fists slamming down on him. He twists, grabbing Lance's arm, sending him flying through the area. Lance slams into a twisted rock jutting out of the ground, crushing it into dust. He shakes it off, getting up on all fours and running towards Shadowman again.
"STOP!" Rocco bellows. Lance slides to a stop, shifting back to his human form. "Start explaining before trying to kill him! This isn't the right place for a super battle—there are THINGS in here that I'd rather not notice us," he says. "Who are you? What are you doing down here? And why is Lance trying to kill you?"
"Lance… Lance… ohhh, yeah, I remember you," Shadowman says, looking at Lance with a derisive snort.
"Shut up, Shadowman," Lance snarls, his hands clenching at his sides.
"And over here is little Piper!" Shadowman goes on, walking over to the girl. "The dream walker," he says, reaching up and patting her on the head. "You're growing up nicely—" Rocco grabs his wrist, pulling his hand away from Piper.
"Don't touch her."
"And you—I don't know your name," Shadowman says in an inquisitive tone. "Tell me, you're not one of the ones I caught earlier, are you?"
"You know he isn't," Lance grits out.
"Stay out of this, Lance," Shadowman says, only to jerk as a vine wraps around him. He jerks against the vine, turning to glower at Summer when he can't get free. "This has nothing to do with you, Lady Rose," he says, his eyes narrowing on her. "I'm having a conversation with Shadowboy, here."
"He's NOT Shadowboy," Lance yells, taking another step forward. "He's nothing like you! Even if—"
"If what, Lance?" Rocco asks. "Who IS he?"
"He's Shadowman," Piper says. "I think… you have his abilitie
s," she says quietly.
"Yeah?" Rocco says.
"And he's the one that kidnapped all of us for Collector," Lance finishes ruthlessly. "He's a real super villain."
"So he's my dad, but he's a super villain, is that it?" Rocco asks in a remarkably calm tone. The entire group turns to look at him with surprise, but it's Shadowman who reacts the fastest.
He starts to laugh. "That's my kid!" he says, sounding honestly amused.
"Well I always figured you were a super—and there weren't any records of a hero with my abilities, so either you were a really lame cape, or you were a super villain."
"Are you… are you okay with that, Rocco?" Summer asks as gently as possible.
"It's not like I expected him to be some sort of father-of-the-year," Rocco says bluntly. "And you know, I would be fine with the whole super villain thing—if you hadn't obviously HURT some of my new pals," he goes on. Before Lance can even blink, he's rushing straight at the tied up male, his shoulder slamming into Shadowman's gut like a pro football player. He drags the older man away. It's the most satisfying sight that Lance has ever seen. He glances down as Piper grabs his hand and gives him a little smile.
"Come on!" Rocco says, making them look up as he runs back to the group. "We need to get out of here before he gets back," he adds, grabbing Lance and Summer by the arm and hauling them all through the Shadowlands.
"What did you do to him?"
"Shoved him through a random shadow," Rocco says. "He knows this place better than I do, right? So we need to move quickly. We've got a debut to go to, right?"
"He'll be back," Piper says, glancing over her shoulder.
"We'll be long gone before then," Rocco swears.
***
*Somewhere in Mexico*
Shadowman slams into a terracotta wall, sliding down for a moment. He looks at the vines still tangled around him and phases through them, shaking it off. "Well… so that's why Nico called me." A little grin pulls at his lips as he thinks of the kid. Bi-racial, he thinks, and good looking. That actually could be a detriment—he's found being plain looking serves the job much better. Still, he thinks as he straightens his clothes, that reaction…
He likes the kid. The fact surprises him, actually, but it might be entertaining to—"Mother is looking for you," someone says in choppy English. Shadowman looks up, staring blankly at the Latino man standing across the way. His eyes are glazed over, as if he's drunk. "She wants you back, Shadowman."
"She can find a new lackey," Shadowman says bluntly, walking away. He pulls to a stop, though, as he's surrounded by people. They're norms, he notices, but each one has that glazed look in their eyes and a weapon of some sort in their hands. He looks around, wondering where "Mother" is, since she's apparently controlling them.
All he sees is a flickering television, where an American politician is ranting about safety from supers. His eyes focus on the man for a moment too long.
The shovel hits him square in the face.
***
*Utah*
It's so blatantly obvious to the people that watch him daily, I think dryly as Max takes another hit from the pink haired girl. He's faking it. There's no way that she could beat him in a fair fight—if Malina can rip through her force fields with water, Max could easily decimate them with a thought. I step to the right as Max comes slamming down onto the stage, not even missing a note. The crowd is cheering their heads off, especially as pink haired girl poses dramatically, standing on one of the small black orbs floating all around her.
"I won't allow you to use these supers!" she yells.
"You might have stopped me from getting to him earlier," Max says as he gets to his feet, "but you won't stop me from doing what I came here to—" a black orb slams him in the face, and he falls down. It keeps spinning, and he goes through the stage and into the ground. I'm POSITIVE he's doing it to himself, especially when I see the hint of surprise on her face.
The black orb pops, leaving Max looking a wreck. He lies there for a moment before coughing pathetically. He starts to sit up as a hole appears beside him.
"Boss," Rocco says, holding out a hand.
"You might have won this time—but don't count on it happening again!" Max says as he grabs Rocco's arm and is pulled into the Shadowlands. It closes with a sickening sound and Max's part in the debut is over.
The pink haired girl gets cheers all around, and she handles it in typical hero fashion—with more posturing and cheesy smiles.
"We're heading out," I hear Max say over the com-link. "Thanks for allowing us to crash the party, Em."
"No problem," Em says, "as long as everyone's fine, right?"
"Ye—wait, no, but we can tell you later. Like after I find out, myself," Max says before signing off. I finish up my song and do the closing speech. I'll have to do at least one curtain call before I can get out of here, I know, but I'm almost done. My head feels a lot better than it did be—
"Justin," a woman at the front of the crowd says. "Mother needs you, now." I can only hear her because of my super hearing—I don't think the people next to her even heard her over the screaming fans.
I jump off the stage and make a break for it. Mother needs me.
"JUSTIN!" I hear Emily bellow from behind me, but I can't turn back. I'm going as fast as I can, drawn by something I can't even explain. I don't need to explain, I think, I just need to run to Mother—
Emily appears in front of me, but I twist, racing around her. I feel the tips of her fingers touch my arm, but that's all. I keep running. I never knew I could go this fast—wait, my feet aren't touching the ground anymore, are they? I'm flying? How—
I jerk, awkwardly floating for a moment as I stare down at the ground. "I'm—I'm flying," I say in wonder—and a something massive slams into the back of my head, sending me face first into the ground.
"Congratulations," Falconess says from above. I turn slightly, every inch of my body screaming with pain, to look up at her. She's got a ridiculously huge hammer over her shoulder—it glows just like the wings coming out of her back. "Too bad we can't celebrate it like we should just yet. Emily, cuff him."
"On it, Falconess," she says, bringing out a strange looking hoop. "Nico leaves some of the strangest things just lying around, did you know that?" she asks me conversationally as she clips it around my neck. "Don't try to scream, you'll hurt your pretty voice," she adds, patting me on the cheek fondly.
"Mo—" I whisper as all of my energy leaves my body, "ther…"
"We're taking him to Double M," Falconess says. I feel my body lift and I twist slightly, looking at Freddy.
"Freddy," I whisper, grabbing his uniform, "she needs me."
The grim look on his face tells me I'm not going to get very far. "WE need you, man, not her," he says firmly. "You're staying with us, got it?"
"You don't need me," I say, feeling the urge to cry. "Morgan didn't want me, Malina doesn't need me, nobody needs me—nobody except Mother."
He sighs, but continues to walk, carrying me as if I weigh nothing. "Listen," he says as we reach the empty parking lot and busted up stage, "YOU were one of the biggest factors in our recovery," he tells me. "Not that we ARE fully recovered, or anything, but you're one of the reasons I'm out here, fighting for freedom rather than holed up in my room having nightmares while I'm awake. You made us feel normal, Justin. That's why we're going to get you back to normal, as well."
"I'm fine, it's Mother that needs help," I say, my hand tightening on his uniform. I feel so weak right now. The collar is strangling me. I keep hearing the woman over and over again in my mind. Mother needs me.
I need to get out of this collar.
***
*The Arctic Circle*
"Time to go!" Skystep says cheerfully. It's completely out of left field. Superior and Tatiana turn, looking at her blankly where she's been lounging on the couch next to Tatia, eating popcorn. "Mother needs me," she explains as she gets to her feet. "Bye bye, Doris!" she yells to Nic
o's room. Nico had returned and gone straight back to examining the woman's memories.
"Skye? Kitten, I do not—" Tatia starts out as Skye phases away, heading straight through the wall.
"I'll get her," Superior says.
"I am the mother, I will get her," Tatia says as she gets up.
"No, I don't think you are this time," Superior says, taking to the air. "I'll bring her back to you, I swear." He takes off, racing out the exit. For someone that walks on air rather than flies, she can move quickly, he notes as he sees her racing away. He'd been trying to ignore the bigger problem since she’d gotten back, but he'd been right. Someone has tampered with her mind. It's hard to tell, he adds in his own defense, the girl's mind is a mass of activity—he pauses as he remembers the last mind he saw working that quickly. It wasn't long ago at all—in fact it was the last time he bothered to check his son's mind. All that activity is a sign of super intelligence. She's not just crazy, he realizes, she's also a genius. That in itself explains the majority of her lack of social abilities. The further one gets from "average" in IQ, the more trouble they have playing with others, whether it's above or below. Add to that the fact she's an S-class super, he goes on, which comes with a huge helping of 'nuts' and it's a wonder she operates as well as she does. Of course Nicolas operates better in the same situation, but Nicolas is both a true Superior and has abilities that are based in logic. Both are stabilizing factors. Liz is the same—well, close. His daughter is slightly loopier than her brother.
It's the "Mother" comment that really clued him in to the real problem, he admits, following her almost leisurely. His white uniform blends in with the snow, so he goes lower, fading into the cold, not that she even seems to notice. And if Tatia finds out that he deliberately tailed her to this "Mother" instead of just fixing the problem, he thinks with amusement, he'll be in for it, for sure.