Super Powereds: Year 3

by Drew Hayes

147.

  “We’ve got The Pulp Flesh 7, Die in the Daylight 4: Daylight’s Revenge, and Squish Squish Thwomp: The Wet Noodle Killer.” Nick set the three DVDs on the ground, then reached back into his small duffel bag to root around for more.

  “If you’d told me that the night after junior year exams, we’d be spending it watching yet another series of schlocky horror movies, I never would have believed it,” Hershel said. He’d finally returned a few hours prior, as, after hearing what the night’s plans were, Roy had no desire to keep control of the body.

  “Me neither. Isn’t it awesome?” Only Vince could say such things with both honesty and sincerity, and even then, only in this very rare set of circumstances.

  By the time their various discussions with the professors ended, the few remaining classes of the day had been finished. Lacking anything else to do, they elected to keep the plans Vince and Nicholas had made, meeting at the apartment that now belonged to Nick for movies and a night of shared company. It was surreal to go from battle, to life or death struggles, to sitting around and watching Nick dig for terrible films, but not one of the HCP students found themselves troubled by the transition. Their time training at Lander was conditioning more than just their bodies, and that was not by accident.

  A light, flippant ring echoed through the room as Nick’s cellphone glowed on the coffee table.

  “Leave it,” he said, not even bothering to look up. “It’s Jerome or Eliza, and I don’t want to talk to either of them tonight.”

  “They’re worried about you,” Mary said. “You went into a coma, then we barged in and appeared to pass out, and then we all vanished from the room when they weren’t looking. You can hardly blame them for being concerned.”

  “I don’t blame them at all, but that’s not the same as wanting to deal with them.” Nick finally stood from the ground, DVDs in hand, and took a stretch so long that his back popped in several places. “I’ve got a long winter break ahead of me. Between Ms. Pips, those two, and my Nathaniel problem, it’s going to be day after day of cat-and-mouse games.”

  “You say that like you don’t like those,” Mary pointed out.

  “I love them like Alice loves makeup. But there will always be time for such games. Tonight, for the first time in over half a year, I’m finally in the driver’s seat of my own head and back with the only people in this world I consider friends. I intend to enjoy it, uninterrupted by my Vegas problems.” Once upon a time, Nick would have been ashamed to voice such sentiment, or would have at least masked it with sarcasm. After the events of the afternoon, he no longer saw any point in such a facade. These people had been willing to throw away their very minds and memories for him, and Nick was finally realizing that such bonds weren’t always a weakness. In fact, they could very well be the epitome of strength.

  A soft ding came from the kitchen, this sound far more pleasant than the sharp trilling of Nick’s cell phone.

  “Finally, if those pizzas took any longer, I was going to eat a pillow,” Alice declared, rising up from the couch. “Nick, want to be a gentleman for a change and give me a hand?”

  “Back for less than six hours and already you’re trying to boss me around. Glad to see nothing’s changed in my absence.” Nick grumbled this out as he crossed the living room and stepped into the kitchen. He might be daring enough to complain about an order from a hungry Alice, but he was far too smart to contemplate ignoring it altogether.

  When he arrived, the blonde girl was already in the kitchen with the oven door open. Before her were three pizzas floating in the air, the fourth just beginning to rise from the rack. It sizzled slightly as it lost contact with the heated metal, then began a slow ascension toward its sauce-covered brethren. Alice kicked the oven door shut as soon as it was clear, and then glanced to Nick.

  “You going to stand there like an idiot, or you going to get me some plates to put these on?”

  “I figured you’d just gravity them out of the cupboards.”

  “I’m good, but for that kind of delicacy, you need a real telekinetic. Now, get me some damn plates already.”

  Nick obliged, grabbing four of his largest plates and setting them on the counter. Alice floated each pizza to a plate and lowered it down carefully, centering them so that no pizza had enough crust hanging off the edge to fall entirely.

  “You’ve gotten a lot better at that,” Nick said. “Just, in general, it’s impressive how much your power has grown.”

  “If you were still on our team, what kind of card would you give me now?” Alice pulled out a pizza cutter and began sectioning each pie into slices.

  “Not a four, that’s for damn sure. I’d have to gauge the rest of the class’s abilities to get an accurate sense of where yours lay, but after what I saw you do to Nathaniel, if you aren’t at least a Queen, then you’re part of one of the strongest classes in history.”

  Alice blushed, just a touch, at the mention of her encounter with Nathaniel. That whole night had been so strange—spending an evening with Nicholas because she thought Nick was forever beyond her grasp. It was almost embarrassing now; she never would have spoken with Nick the way she did Nicholas. Embarrassing or not, Alice had learned a lesson about missed opportunities this past semester, and she wasn’t going to be making the same mistakes. Of course, that wasn’t the only thing she’d learned.

  “Speaking of our date,” Alice said, owning the word and the implication that came with it, “I seem to recall Nicholas acting shocked at the idea of going to a horror movie, as though he couldn’t stand the things. But tonight, you just dug three DVDs out of a bag you brought from Vegas, which means either he was bluffing and you really do love horror movies, or he thought he’d have to pretend to be you and stowed some just in case.”

  “Quite the conundrum.” Nick lifted two of the pizza-laden plates off the counter, waiting for Alice to do the same.

  “Isn’t it just? So many little mysteries about you still remain. But I plan to get you to spill all of them, eventually.” Alice’s eyes hardened as the smile abruptly left her face. “All of them. Even the one you’ve clearly been avoiding talking about with me.”

  “That is a discussion that would need to take place in a far, far more secure area, and preferably on a less festive night.”

  As quickly as she’d come, Serious Alice vanished and Cheerful Alice retook her place, carefully lifting the remaining two plates. “I understand completely. Just wanted you to know where we stood, for now.”

  “I appreciate the upfront honesty,” Nick said. “Tell me something, though: if you ever do unlock all of my secrets and mysteries, do you think you’ll still find me quite so enrapturing?”

  “Sounds to me like that’s a mystery you’ll have to solve,” Alice said. “Now come on, we’ve got hungry friends waiting in the other room.”

  Nick’s face seemed to glow softly in the florescent kitchen lights, as a slow smile crept across his face. “I never thought I would hear myself agree with such words again, but yes, we do.”

  148.

  “Got everything packed?” Hershel asked. His own body was laden down with various bundles and bags, some hanging at peculiar angles on his increasingly shrinking body. As much weight as Hershel had lost over the summer, he was even leaner after a semester of constant training. Finally becoming a part of his own ability had lit a fire in Hershel that drove him daily. He still wasn’t as fit as an HCP student or devoted athlete—no amount of effort could close the two-year handicap he was working with—but he could easily pass for in-shape among regular people.

  “Pretty sure I’ve got everything,” Vince said. He pulled his usual backpack onto his shoulder, and for the first time, had a second bag clutched in his hand. Despite the nagging urge in the back of his mind to travel as lightly as possible in case he had to flee, Vince had quelled his instincts. When he went to Chicago with Hershel, Sally Daniels treated him like family, and he didn’t need to be ready to run from that home.

  The two
exited the boys’ lounge to find Alice, Mary, and Chad already waiting in the common room. Next to them were Mr. Numbers and Mr. Transport, the latter of the two holding a small pad of paper.

  “There you are,” Mr. Transport said. He glanced down at his notepad. “So then, Alice is driving her own car home, but Mary, Hershel, and Vince all need teleporting. Chad, what about you?”

  “I thought such niceties were only for your actual charges,” Chad said.

  “Mr. Numbers double-checked the exact wording of our assignments, and technically, we can do it for any of the Melbrook residents.”

  “Your offer is generous and appreciated, but I must decline. I have already secured transportation home.” Chad was as polite and detached as always. When Mary had gotten home after the night of terrible films and rescuing Nick, she’d expected Chad to pepper her with questions about what had gone down. Instead, he’d told her that he was happier not knowing at the moment, even going so far as to turn down her offers of explanation. She didn’t know what had changed since they parted that day, and his immunity to telepathy meant she had no way to find out.

  “Very well then, first is Mary,” Mr. Transport announced.

  The small girl picked up her bags and turned to Alice. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with me?”

  “No, thank you. Even my father will get suspicious if I miss Christmas, not that I’m even sure he’ll come home. I’m going to have to be around him sooner or later, better to get it out of the way now.” Alice was, in truth, still nervous about seeing the man who’d apparently been lying to her about her mother’s death all her life, but she refused to run away from it any longer. If she wasn’t willing to start facing these questions head on—as well as the people who had answers—then she might never find out the truth.

  “I understand.” Mary walked over to Mr. Transport, pausing long enough to give Hershel a quick peck on the cheek. They’d already said a more tender goodbye that morning, but neither was big on public displays of affection. She made it to her tall, well-dressed teleporter and turned to face her friends.

  “Vince, it’s for you.”

  Then they were gone, and just as Mr. Transport and Mary vanished, a bell rang through the dormitory, signaling someone was at the front.

  “I, um . . . I guess I’ll go get it,” Vince said. Even as long as he’d lived around Mary, there were some aspects of being around a telepath that still took him by surprise.

  He headed out of the common room and down the front hall, pulling open the door to find Camille standing in the cold. She wore an oversized, puffy white jacket and a knitted cap that covered her ears. Just looking at her, if anyone had told him this girl had managed to bring down the robotic equivalent of nine Supers, he’d have surely thought them a liar or a madman. But then, that was what made Supers so dangerous; one never quite knew what dwelled beneath the surface.

  “Glad I caught you,” Camille said. “Do you have a minute to talk?”

  “Sure. Even if they leave without me, I’m pretty sure Mr. Transport won’t mind coming back to get me. He always seems cheerful when he teleports to or from Hershel’s house. I think he likes Chicago.”

  “I’ve heard it’s nice.” Knowing Vince’s ability to read situations, Camille would have put money down that Mr. Transport had a lady in that town that he managed to duck over and see whenever he passed through. Then again, perhaps that’s where her mind went simply because of why she’d come to see Vince in the first place.

  The two stepped out of the dorm into the brisk December air. They hadn’t gotten any snow so far, but the biting copper tang in the air seemed to always be hinting at the possibility. Luckily, Vince was already dressed for the Chicago cold, so the environment didn’t bother him at all.

  “I wanted to talk to you about . . . us,” Camille said. She was thankful the chilly air had already burned her cheeks with a slight tinge of red; it made the inevitable blushing harder to discern. “I mean, I know you and I aren’t an ‘us,’ we’re just a pair of friends, but I think maybe we’re more and . . . .”

  Camille stopped herself, took a deep breath, and forced herself to be calm. She’d let her torso get crushed by giant robot hands just for the chance to counterattack. She could damn well manage to talk to the man she had feelings for.

  “I like you. I’ve liked you since you saved me from those bullies and then kissed me in front of my house. When I met you at Lander, part of me expected that you’d have changed, and I’d lose the memory of my first . . . kiss, but you hadn’t. You’ve just gotten more, well, you. I think you know I have feelings for you, but I also know you’re the kind of man who doesn’t count something until the person voices it. Until they make the choice to act. This is me making that choice. I really like you, Vince, and if you feel the same way, then I want to be more. If not, then we can go back to just being friends, but I refuse to lose you to some other girl only because I was too scared to speak up.”

  Camille’s voice finally died away, the sheer number of words she’d spoken seeming to drain her tremendously. She wanted to stop there, to let it be, but she knew she had to push through and finish. Vince opened his mouth to reply, but she continued before he could.

  “I don’t want an answer right now. That’s why I’m telling you before we go on break. We don’t have to act immediately; this isn’t a now or never situation. I know how you are, and I know you need time to process. Any answer you give me today, good or bad, is going to be coming from the spur of the moment. I don’t want that. I want you to be sure of whatever you tell me. Take the break, take longer if you need. I don’t need an immediate answer; I just needed you to know the score. Officially.”

  “Thank you.” Vince crossed the divide between them and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her much shorter body. For a moment, despite the cold, all she could feel was his warmth. Then, all too soon, the embrace ended, and they were once again standing apart in the cold.

  “Thank you,” Vince repeated. “I admit I had my suspicions, but hearing it from you makes a world of difference.”

  “Save it for after the break,” Camille said. “I’m going to head back to my dorm and start the drive home. I’ll talk to you when I get back.”

  “Be safe.” Vince’s words were closer to an order than a pleasant goodbye.

  “Me be safe? You’re the one who’s always getting into some sort of trouble. Try not to get banged up too bad without me around.”

  “I’ll do my best,” Vince promised.

  149.

  Mary felt a strange combination of emotions as Mr. Transport vanished from her side, leaving her alone in the clearing of her woods. She was both relieved, and a bit unsettled. The relief came, no doubt, from finally being back in her sanctuary of solitude, able to be alone with no thoughts but her own. Despite being able to control her abilities, necessity still demanded she keep her telepathic channels open most of the time, resulting in a constant hum of background thoughts. Here, at last, she could be completely alone for the first time since the previous winter. Much as she loved Alice, this was always meant to be a single-person abode.

  The fact that she was unsettled bothered her, though. This was her retreat, the place where she should feel most at home. Instead, it felt a bit creepy and strange. For nearly a decade, this had been her shelter from the world, and only now was she beginning to realize how cut off that truly left her. True, there was nothing in this forest, beast or man, that she had to fear, yet all the same, she felt less comfortable than expected.

  Mary went into her trailer and started up the heat, but in her mind, she was already planning when to go down and visit her parents. Perhaps this year would be more than a few quick words to the family and a hasty bite of turkey. Rough as things had been during her childhood, maybe it was time to come out of the woods for something besides Lander. She had, at best, a year and a half left there, and if she didn’t start pushing herself into the bigger world now, it would be all too easy to retreat ba
ck into this isolated clearing in the woods.

  The generator kicked on, and Mary pulled out the special extra-powerful satellite phone she kept for calling out from the forest. With a few quick presses of a button, she dialed her parent’s number.

  * * *

  “You’re really not going to tell us what happened?” Eliza said, not for the first, second, or even fifteenth time during the drive from Lander to Vegas. It would, thankfully, be the last for now, as Jerome eased the car into a parking spot outside Ms. Pips’ casino. The trip was finally over.

  “Nope,” Nick said. “The situation has been handled, and I’m going to make sure it never happens again. That’s all you need to know. Everything else gets told to Ms. Pips, and she can decide how the information gets disseminated.”

  Eliza narrowed her eyes in a hateful glare, but said nothing. Deciding to let the head of the Family decide how to handle sensitive information wasn’t exactly the sort of judgment call she could take a stand against. The young woman might have a sharp tongue and quick temper, but she knew her place in the organization. Nick often wondered just how Ms. Pips had corralled a personality like hers so effectively—unlike Jerome, she’d joined when she was sixteen. Knowing Ms. Pips, it was either bribery, blackmail, or sanctuary. Those were her favorite recruiting methods for young criminals with potential.

  Nick exited the vehicle, pausing only to take a suitcase from the trunk, and headed toward the casino. He’d been tempted to have Jerome act as his porter, but the stoic man had been the least annoying part of his journey home, so there was no point in being spiteful. Besides, with the semester he still had coming up, there was a good chance he might need those two. Unlike Nicholas, Nick saw them as potential tools to be used rather than shackles Ms. Pips had placed around his ankles. Especially now that he knew about Eliza’s relationship with Vince.

  As Nick strolled through the casino floor, he spotted Gerry waiting for him by the elevators. The bald man gave him a warm smile as Nick drew near, and reached for the suitcase in his hand. Nick pulled it away as he pressed the button to go up.