by R. J. Ross
“Good,” I say. “Thanks for this, by the way--” I blink as Cubby races past me, jumping onto Jack’s board and holding up his hands.
“What?” Jack asks blankly.
“I need a knife,” the little boy says.
“Do you GIVE a four year old a knife?” he asks me, looking a bit off-balance.
“He knows how to use weapons better than you do,” I say with a shrug.
“Okay.. um… wanna trade for something?” Jack asks Cubby. “I don’t give things away for free, you know.”
Cubby looks thoughtful for a moment before he digs through his pockets. Finally he pulls out a worn looking pile of twine and holds it up to Jack. “Twine?” he offers.
Jack looks at it thoughtfully for a moment before shrugging and digging through his own pockets. He pulls out a scrap of steel and both Cubby and I watch in wonder as it starts to warp, changing into a small dagger. “You’re gonna want to wrap something around the handle,” he tells Cubby, holding it out handle first. Cubby nods and jumps back into the tree with his new blade. “Still not sure about that,” Jack says with a frown.
“He knew what to ask and who to ask from,” I say with a shrug. “He’s not a normal four year old, you know?”
“What do I do with... string?” Jack asks, looking at it curiously.
“Hang things? Hunt for things? I dunno, you’re the one that took the offer,” I say with a shrug. “Thanks for this, by the way--I gotta go make my own base now.”
“You need any help?” Jack asks. “I’m willing to toss in a slide out of there, if you want.”
“Why so helpful, Jack?” I ask, looking at him curiously. “What are you after?”
“Just thought that if I helped you now, you might help me later. I’m not the most camouflaged in the group, you know?”
“Use mud,” I tell him, “it’ll dull down your shine real quick.” I see him wince, but he nods.
“Yeah, good point.” He pulls away, flying off without asking for anything else. I head back into the tree branches, finding Cubby in his little nest, sharpening twigs with his new dagger.
“Cubby, what are you doing?” I ask him.
“Squirrels,” he says.
“You’re… sharpening sticks to deal with squirrels?” I ask. He nods emphatically and keeps sharpening. “How does that work?” I ask him.
He reaches over and pulls a plastic tube out of his bag, showing it to me with a very serious expression. “Blow,” he explains when I don’t look like I understand.
“You’re going to kill them with sharpened sticks and a blowgun,” I say, earning a nod. “Okay. Well I’ll just go set up my own place, okay?” He nods, still sharpening his weapons. What does the kid have against squirrels, anyway? I shake my head, shrugging it off. He IS part cat, I guess. Sure he can’t shift yet, but Adanna once told me that the blue eyes as a baby are a sign that he’ll have the ability when he’s older.
As I walk from his area, a path forms in the branches, almost like a hall. You can hear them creaking and crackling slightly and I feel a bit guilty. This isn’t a young tree. It’s probably far older than anything else in the forest. I can only hope that the guys don’t decide to attack it--I would hate to see this beautiful tree damaged. Wait, there was a rule about not hurting the trees, right? Good.
I find a gigantic branch and step onto it, putting my fire-pit down and waving my hands to make the room larger. The leaves rustle and there are more little cracking sounds, but soon the room is large enough for me to lay down in. It’s almost lunch time, but I’m tired. I let out a yawn, letting my eyes drift shut for just a moment. It seems like forever since my last nap!
***
“It’s still truce time,” Ace says as he follows Max through the woods.
“We’re not attacking,” Max says, looking at the trees thoughtfully as they pass him. None look right, so he keeps going. “We’re just scoping out the competition.” He had brought in an abandoned bus from the junkyard for his base. It was easier than trying to build a base out of twigs. Ace had stolen most of the metal walls Jack built earlier and created a tent out of them. The question now is what has Sunny done?
“Do you really…” Ace frowns and Max can almost see him thinking. Ace has never really talked with Sunny, so it figures he’s a bit confused by the boy. It also figures that there’s a good dose of worry. “What’s he like?” Ace asks.
“Sunny?” Max says. “Why haven’t you tried to talk to him before this?”
“I dunno,” Ace admits, forming a crystal clear disk and stepping onto it to travel easier. “I know he’s dating Adanna--and Adanna thinks he’s tougher than he looks. I’ve thought about bringing him with me to the hospitals, but I heard he doesn’t want people to know who he is or what he can do. He’s short, kinda pretty-boy looking, I guess… I mean, especially when I’m surrounded by your villainous mugs, the kid looks like an angel. Why would he even want to join a super villain camp?”
“Hey now, my girlfriend thinks I’m really cute,” Max says. “It’s Jack that has the villainous mug. And yeah, Sunny’s… well…” He hears a faint creaking sound and looks up at the largest tree he’s ever seen. He looks at the ground, taking in the wild flowers blooming spontaneously in all directions--you can actually see them sprout from the ground if you watch closely enough. “See that?” he asks, glancing over at Ace.
“It’s like a freaking Disney movie,” Ace says in a stunned tone. “You almost expect to see birds flying around, singing songs. Doesn’t that drive him crazy?” he asks.
“Nah, it means he’s sound asleep again.” Max steps up, taking to the sky and floating nearer the tree. He tries to peek through the limbs, searching for his girlfriend’s brother. A part of him is thrilled that Sunny came, honestly. The very idea of going up against a Superior--an elementalist Superior, no less, is a bit mind-blowing. That Sunny’s one of the laziest, laid back guys he knows means he’s never seen the kid raise a fist, much less fight. Sunny won’t have a choice this time!
He stops, finding himself looking into the bluest eyes he’s ever seen. They seem to gleam from the shadows. They’re the only thing he DOES see for a moment, since the black boy’s skin and stillness blend into the tree limbs shadows so perfectly. “Hi--” he starts out.
The boy brings a small tube to his lips, blowing on it. A sharp little stick hits Max right in the forehead, followed by an entire volley of them, forcing him to back up. He puts up his hands in a non-threatening move. “Cubby, it’s okay--I’m just here to visit--” the boy hops up onto another limb, pulling something back. Rocks fly out, pelting the poor super villain.
“You no touch Sunny,” Cubby says seriously, pelting Max with unerring accuracy. The boy seems to have an unending supply of weapons, Max realizes with a hint of amusement. It doesn’t hurt, but it is pretty annoying, he has to admit. And he can’t exactly hurt the kid in return.
“Time to retreat,” he admits sheepishly, flying several feet away from the tree. He blinks as a vine shoots out of the ground, grabbing him.
“What’s wrong, Cu--” Sunny asks, appearing next to the boy. He blinks as he realizes just who he’s caught. “Oops. Sorry, Max!” he calls, waving a hand. The vine unwraps and goes still. “What’s up, guys? Come to visit?” he asks as he sits down on a limb. The little four-year-old terror climbs into his lap and looks as innocent as can be as Max flies back.
“Your little pal has some serious defenses set up,” Ace says, floating up.
“Huh? It’s for squirrels,” Sunny says, glancing down at Cubby. “I’m not sure what he’s got against squirrels, but I figure he’s got his reasons.”
“Squirrels,” Max repeats, looking straight into blue eyes.
“They noisy,” Cubby says in an almost bland tone. Max stares at him as Ace chokes on a laugh and looks away. The glare is turned on Ace, who looks back with a tiny smile.
“They are,” he says.
“Well we just wanted to check out your bases,” Max
says, changing the subject. “Since you know what we’re staying in, it’s only fair.”
“Well… it’s not anything fancy,” Sunny says, moving Cubby off of his lap and standing. “C’mon in, though, it’s not like you haven’t figured out where it is,” he adds with a shrug. For a moment Max assumes that he’s just sleeping on a branch and then corrects himself. Even if Sunny WANTED to just sleep on a branch, it wouldn’t work out that way.
He lands on a limb and follows Sunny inside, glancing briefly down at Cubby. Cubby points a finger at him, then two fingers at his eyes, and then points at him in the classic “I’m watching you” move.
Whoever taught a four year old a move like that… would probably be Adanna, he thinks with reluctant amusement.
“Huh,” Sunny says, making Max look up, “looks like the tree decided to decorate.”
“The tree… decorated,” Ace repeats incredulously.
Max looks past Sunny at the plush green floor and flowers decorating the wall. “The tree decorated,” he agrees. He’s not even surprised to see Cubby jump to one of the higher branches in the “ceiling” with his blowpipe in his hand. The little boy is staring at him.
“I don’t think he likes you,” Ace whispers silently as he moves closer to Max.
“Trust me, I picked up on that,” Max replies equally silently. They both stare at the boy, who gives them such a mischievous grin that he’s positive the boy heard every word.
“Cubby, buddy, are you getting hungry?” Sunny asks, holding up his hands to the boy. Cubby happily jumps into the offered arms. “Me too. Let’s go see if it’s lunch time yet!”
The tree branches shift and Max takes to the air as he feels them leaning towards the ground. Sunny walks down them as if they were a staircase. They snap back into place as soon as the two are down, leaving Ace and Max standing in Sunny’s base.
“How does he DO that?” Ace asks after a long moment of silence. “Not the tree thing--the total obliviousness thing. He’s faking it, right?”
Max stares blankly thought the tree limbs, watching the two walk away. “He’s dating the kid’s big sister, you know? Imagine how dangerous it would be if Adanna was here instead of her little brother.”
“Let me guess, he wouldn’t notice then, either.”
“Not a thing. Probably even less than he does now.”
***
“Your son is terrifying, my friend,” Pan says as he sits in a tree, watching the little visit go down. “How are you dealing with your father?”
“I’d rather talk about my kid,” Nico drawls over the phone. “I’ve actually contacted Voltdrain over the energy output theory--it worked with finding Star Born. He says for a while he was noticing spikes in the area, but they recently stopped. We know how quickly they can move with Shadowman, so it’s not that surprising… but for the past week or so, we haven’t seen a thing.”
“So they’re off the grid?”
“It’s the only thing we can think of,” Nico admits. “Voltdrain is as good as I am at sensing energy spikes in the system--actually, he looks out for them more than I do. He says he thought he found them not too long ago, but they were gone soon--sooner than he could get permission to break into a four star hotel,” he adds in a disgusted tone, “I don’t like Shadowman, but I do admire his capabilities--he’s extremely good at running away.”
“I see… being a super hero can be a bit tiresome, can’t it?” Pan says.
“Seems like it. Regardless, the old man and I are searching for clues--I got stuck searching the files of the hotel, he’s calling ancient contacts.”
“Ancient contacts?” Panther repeats blankly. “What--”
“Retired supers. I’ve got an entire faculty of them, remember? They reach a certain age and decide to hang up the cape, settle down with either each other or a much younger norm, and set up shop in the real world. It turns out that Superior knows several of them.”
“I see… I wish you good luck in your search, Nico,” Pan says, leaning back slightly and watching with amusement as Cubby rides on Sunny’s shoulders, chatting happily about cartoons.
“Now tell me how Sunny’s doing. His mother and grandmother have been bugging me about it since the moment he left.”
“Every single one of the boys has gone to see him since the base building happened. They’re scoping out the biggest competition but he’s completely oblivious,” Pan says. “My son has already set up a massive defense system in the tree they’re sharing--Cubby loves him almost enough to make me jealous.” He smiles slightly as Nico lets out a laugh.
“They do realize Sunny’s not going to be a super villain, don’t they?” Nico asks.
“Sure they do, but that won’t stop him from playing the game I--” Pan stops, turning and frowning as he looks towards the west. “There are people in the forest,” he says quietly, “two… three of them. I didn’t hear them arrive.”
“Really,” Nico says, “that’s interesting.”
“That’s what I was thinking, as well,” Pan agrees. “I’ll get back to you soon. Tell your ladies not to worry, Sunny will be perfectly fine. It’s the others that will have the most difficulty.”
“Why’s that?”
“They know each others’ weaknesses. Sunny has only his lack of confidence going against him.”
“That’s exploitable, too,” Nico admits. “Bye, Pan.”
“Goodbye, Nico.” Pan closes the phone as he crosses the forest silently, staying in the shadows of the trees as he spies on the ground. There are two children and a rather large man in the middle of the forest with no form of transportation.
Just what is going on here?
CHAPTER FOUR
“So where’s lunch?” Jack asks as they all reach the RV at the same time. There’s no sign of Pan. I even head to the RV, peeking in. “I’m starving.”
“He’s not here,” I say with a shrug. “I’ll go raid the fridge for some hotdogs, you guys set up the fire.”
“Sounds good,” Max says, although there’s a strange look on his face as he looks around. “I guess I should be collecting wood, huh?”
I head inside, looking around one more time before heading to the fridge to dig out lunch supplies. Soon Pan’s absence is completely forgotten as we cook our hotdogs. At least it is until he walks into the campsite, frowning thoughtfully. “You’ve already started?” he asks us.
“We were hungry,” Jack says.
“True, it’s past lunch time.” And that’s all he says as he gets his own dog and starts to cook it. I can’t help but feel a little confused by this reaction. Something’s not right.
“So where were you?” I ask as casually as I can manage.
He hesitates for a moment before speaking. “There are norms in the forest. I’m not sure if they’re camping, or what, but I suggest you try to avoid them.”
“Who?” Max asks.
“Two twin boys about twelve and an older man.”
“Twins?” I repeat. “I’d like to meet them.”
“We’re avoiding norms, remember?” Ace says. “That means no introductions.”
Max is frowning slightly, and I can tell he’s thinking. This time I don’t bother to ask. Look, I know I should avoid norms, but I’m not like the other guys. They won’t recognize me as being a super, right? And I’ve always wanted to meet another pair of twins!
I should probably change my shirt if I plan on going to look for them, huh? Then again, this is the second day I’ve worn this shirt, I should probably change it regardless. In fact, now that I think about it, I could really use a shower. “Hey, Pan? Can we use the shower?” I ask.
“There’s a small lake that way,” Pan says. “I hope you remembered to bring soap.”
“Lake?” Jack asks, looking up. “Not sure I can swim, but…”
“Awesome,” Ace says.
“You better be careful, Ace, you might get a tan,” I tease him. Somehow, even with all our outdoor training, Ace is STILL pasty white. How
he manages that, I’ve got no clue. My skin gets darker all the time. Right now I’m probably even darker than Max, and Max is part Japanese.
“Should we bring Cubby?” I ask. I think it’s hot enough to go swimming, right?
“That sounds good. I have a few things to do,” Pan says. He’s gone before I can ask him what he has to do, leaving Cubby looking at me.
“Hey buddy, want to learn to swim?” I ask him.
“After the bath, I say we call the truce off,” Jack says, stretching his legs out in front of him. His eyes move over the group, catching each of us. “I want to get this game started--there’s no way I’m going hero.”
“Sounds good to me,” Max says, eating the last of his hotdog.
It feels like the truce is already over, even before the trip to the lake.
***
“Animals are drawn to water,” Hal tells the twins. They nod, glancing around curiously and wondering if he’ll look away long enough. For a while they’d been happy--their mother was back and they’d never seen anything as cool as an abandoned military base, it’s like living in a video game. Unfortunately, reality came slamming back as soon as they saw the gun Hal brought up with them. It wouldn’t surprise them in the least if he shot one of them through the head. They only need one hostage, right?
“Is there water around here?” Lee asks.
“There’s a small lake to the north,” Hal says, pointing in the direction. “We’ll head in that direction and lay the traps.”
“Are they going to die?” Michael asks quietly, “You know, whatever we’re trapping.”
“No, we’re going to use them for your mom’s experiments,” Hal says, starting north. The two follow along with thoughtful looks.
“She’s trying to make super heroes, right?” Lee says finally, looking to his brother.
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Think she can make us super heroes?” Michael asks. “I heard that Cold Steel was made by a mad scientist!”
Lee opens his mouth, about to reply, only to stop as they both hear a rebel yell and a loud splash. The two look at each other before racing past Hal to the lake. They stop several feet away, hiding behind trees and peeking out. The light flashing off of metal skin almost blinds them. They have to blink a few times to realize exactly what they’re looking at.