by R. J. Ross
“I’m going to have to take you in, miss,” Sunstrike says, only to look at Jeanie. “If you don’t mind?”
“That sounds like a lovely idea,” Jeanie says with a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’m sure we’ll get this all cleared up in no time. Girls, let’s go with this gentleman to his Hall. Sandra?” She looks pointedly at my watch and I touch it. “Those new-fangled toys that kids have, it’s a wonder, don’t you think?”
“Um, yeah, I’m really big into… cosplaying as a rock,” I say, feeling lame. It’s so obvious that it’s a lie. I’m going to call Nico as soon as I’m out of here and yell at him for that, too. In fact, I really feel like making a LIST of things to yell at him about. Making me come all the way out here will be at the very top.
“If you would follow me,” Sunstrike says. “I apologize, but I need to hold on to the girl as we’re leaving,” he says silently, reaching for me. I jerk away before he touches me.
“I’ll walk myself, thank you,” I say, staring him straight in the eye. I head out the door with him right behind me, feeling rage slowly replace the shock. “She framed me,” I say as Malina moves to my side and Jeanie trails along. “I came all the way out here to see her because of some STUPID idea that you adults had, and she FRAMED ME!”
“Sandra, sweetie—” Jeanie says.
“What?” I snap, turning to look at her. “It’s OBVIOUS who did it! She even left that stupid pendent to TELL me! She could have just said that—” I stop, groaning. “Everyone was trying to be so nice, saying she ‘didn’t know’ or ‘wasn’t ready,’ or whatever, when she just didn’t WANT to meet me! She’s made it really obvious! And you know what? I don’t want to meet her, either. I NEVER HAVE! I want to go home.”
“Oh sweetie,” Jeanie says, walking right past Sunstrike and pulling me into a hug. I feel tears escape, and I angrily reach up, wiping them away. “I’m afraid we can’t do that just yet, but we will, I promise.”
“Call up Nico,” I say. “Have him hack into their security cameras, or whatever it is he does. It’ll clear my name.”
“If she didn’t turn the power off for the cameras, too,” Malina says. “I didn’t see any drones outside, either, since the gig wasn’t supposed to happen until later.”
“We need to get moving, ladies,” Sunstrike says. I look over, remembering that he’s there. “Please?”
“Come on, girls, let’s go see Marigold about this,” Jeanie says, hugging me. “I have some words for her, as well.” She starts off, this time leading the way with long, determined steps.
“Is she—” Sunstrike asks us quietly.
“Yes, she is,” I say, taking a deep breath and wiping my face off. “That’s my future mom.”
He jerks, looking a bit startled, but doesn’t say anything as we chase after an enraged S-class tank. Really, I’m surprised. I’ve never seen Ken angry, so I figured his wife would be the same. I guess she’s got her triggers, huh?
“Hey, Nico?” I hear Malina say. I glance over. She’s trotting, because she has much shorter legs than Jeanie, but she’s also talking to a small hologram of Technico that’s floating over her com-bracelet. “We have a problem.”
The hologram looks up from the toy he’s building. “Already?” he asks.
“What do you mean, ‘already’?” I demand.
“What happened?” he asks, ignoring my demand. “Did she do something stupid?”
“She FRAMED me!” I tell him. He blinks, looking completely blindsided. “She left a pile of fake jewelry at my feet and made off with the real things. And she exposed me in public!”
“She pulled your pants down, too?”
“Fake jewelry?” Sunstrike repeats, but I ignore him.
“No, she turned off my illusion, don’t act stupid on purpose,” I say with a snort. He grins back at me for a second before sighing and standing.
“Is Jeanie there?”
“She’s leading the way to the Hall,” I say.
“Um, is that THE Technico?” Sunstrike asks.
“Who else do you think would give us a hologram on a bracelet?” I ask him.
“Sandra, sweetie, don’t be rude to the poor super,” Jeanie says over her shoulder. “This was supposed to be his big moment, after all.”
“Well, um, actually—” Sunstrike says, only to shrug, “yeah. You don’t get to go up against Diamond Dust until you’ve been in the game for at least three years. I was… really looking forward to tonight. I’m a big fan of hers.”
“That makes one of us,” I mutter darkly. “Nico, I want to go home.”
“I know, kiddo,” he says. “I’m sorry it worked out like that, but I’ll make sure they get your named cleared. If you’re going villain, I want you to have a much better debut.”
“Nico, if you could tell Ken and the boys what’s going on, I’d appreciate it,” Jeanie calls back to us. We’re at the Hall, I realize as I look up. “I would call, but I’m a bit busy right now.”
“Got it,” Nico says. “You want me to come out?”
“Oh, I can handle something like this,” Jeanie says. “Trust me.”
Nico’s looking at me, and I can tell that the question was for my sake, not hers. “Jeanie can handle a war,” I say, shrugging. “I think she can handle this.”
“Got it,” he says. The hologram disappears and we step through the front door of South Branch Hall. I feel a little sorry for Marigold, right now.
CHAPTER FIVE
“That… didn’t suck as badly as I thought it would,” Jack says as he walks into their apartment. “Watching that guy try to imitate Dad was hysterical.”
“Now, don’t be mean,” Ken says. “He was starting to get the hang of it!”
“Except for the cheesy pose he kept trying to do.”
“That wasn’t a cheesy pose! I used to do it when I first started out,” Ken says, only to have to wait until both boys finish laughing. “Your mother STILL poses like that.”
“Well, yeah, but Mom’s hot,” Jack says bluntly. “She can get away with it.”
“Dude, don’t talk about our mom like that,” Trent says, smacking him up the back of the head.
“It’s true, though,” Ken says, grinning. “Your mother is quite hot.”
“I’m not listening to this,” Trent says, sticking his fingers in his ears.
“He’ll grow up sooner or later,” Ken says to Jack. “But it looks like Ben did his homework, if he’s copying old poses like that. I think he has promise.”
“He’s skinny and not nearly strong enough,” Jack says, with his usual lack of tact.
“That doesn’t matter,” Ken says. “In movies they use CG and props. If he was trying to take over my job, he wouldn’t be the one I would suggest, but to play a part in a movie, well… I’d be fine with it, I think.”
“Who would you suggest?” Trent asks.
“You, of course,” Ken says, giving him a smile. “I couldn’t be prouder of how well you’re stepping up to the plate, already, both of you.”
A knock comes at the door, and they all look over as Nico sticks his head in. “We’ve got a little… misunderstanding.”
“What happened?” Ken asks.
“Diamond Dust apparently framed Sandra in the gem heist.”
“What?” Jack asks, looking stunned.
“Yeah, she even exposed her in public, according to Sandra.”
“She did what?” Trent says.
“Turned off her illusion watch,” Nico says. “I knew I wouldn’t be the only one to think something else.”
“I’m going there,” Ken says, heading for his room.
“Jeanie’s there,” Nico says. “She can take care of it. You need to be here for that movie thing, right?”
Ken stops mid-step, groaning and running a hand over his face. “And more importantly, if I race over there she’ll think I don’t believe she can handle it,” he says, clearly beleaguered. “Boys,” he says, without even looking back, “we’re
leaving this to the ladies of the family.”
“But—” Jack says.
“It was her OWN MOTHER!” Trent bursts out. “That’s just wrong! Why would she do that to her own daughter?”
“I’m not sure,” Ken says.
“For now, I’m going to see if I can get into their security system, as well as any other cameras in the area,” Nico says.
“Do you need any help?” Ken asks.
“No, I just need to go higher,” Nico says. “You might check in on them soon. I think Sandra was crying.”
He’s gone before they can wrap their minds around that.
***
*East Branch Hall*
“I see,” Marigold says, pressing her fingers together in a thoughtful manner. I bet she’s trying to come up with an excuse, or something. Maybe she’ll try to convince us that this was my birth mother’s practical joke. Yeah, right. I’m about to tell her not to waste her time, but she turns in her chair, turning the television on the wall on.
“And in tonight’s news, we had an unexpected jewelry robbery stopped by our very own Sunstrike!” a woman was saying. In the corner of the screen there was a picture of me, surrounded by gems, with no illusion on. “The Hall is taking care of it. I’m afraid I don’t recognize that super, though, do you, Bruce?” the well-dressed woman says to the perfectly groomed man sitting at the desk next to her.
“Isn’t that—” he stops, frowning with confusion. “No, I really don’t have a clue. Is he new?”
“I think it’s a female,” the woman says.
Marigold flips off the TV. “And you said the jewelry was fake?” she asks me. “How do you know?”
“How do you think I know?” I ask sarcastically. “You should know what abilities I have better than I do. She works for your Hall.”
“So she framed you, and robbed the entire jewelry store all at the same time,” Marigold sums up.
“She had to have gone in earlier,” I say, reluctantly. “Otherwise she wouldn’t have finished so quickly. Also, she left a calling card. I didn’t get it—”
“But I did,” Jeanie says, holding up the pendant, “and I would like to keep it.”
“I’ll have to discuss it with—”
“They didn’t purchase it from their designer, and it’s obviously made to look like Sandra,” Jeanie says, handing it to Marigold. “It’s the least she can do for ruining Sandra’s reputation, don’t you think?”
“I’d be fine with destroying that thing,” I mutter, glaring at them both. “I don’t want anything to do with that lady, not even a reminder. So unless you think I robbed the jewelry store, I think you should let me go home.”
“Of course you didn’t rob the jewelry store,” Marigold says, “we all realize that. But we should still show the world that you didn’t, otherwise your reputation will be tarnished from the beginning. We need to set up a proper amount of closure, and I’m certain that Diamond Dust will agree. She will have no choice. But I am afraid that it will require you to stay a bit longer.”
“But—” Malina starts out.
“I was going to start training with SUPERIOR!” I say, inwardly wincing at the sound of a wail in my tone. “I don’t have time for this!”
They all look at me, but Malina is the first one to speak, “So you DID want to train under him!”
“If I let him know that, his head will get even bigger than it already is,” I admit a bit sheepishly. “You can’t say that a guy named ‘Superior’ doesn’t have a huge ego to begin with.”
“Then we should wrap this up as quickly as we can,” Marigold says.
“How?” I ask.
“We’ll show you catching her with the stolen goods. I’ll be happy to arrange it, as well as have it covered by the East Hero TV station.”
“I don’t want to go anywhere near her,” I say. “She did this all on purpose. She’s telling me that she doesn’t care about me, and you know what? I don’t care about her, either!”
“I… I think you might be wrong, Sandra,” Jeanie says. I look over as she takes the pendant from Marigold again. “No one could carve something this beautiful and not care about the subject.”
“Then why did she frame me?” I ask.
“I don’t know, but I’m sure she has her reasons. Look, it’s late, we’re all tired and frustrated, so why don’t we head to the hotel that Marigold got for us?” Jeanie says. “Tomorrow, we’ll clear your name.”
I look at Marigold, my hands clenching at my sides. “I don’t like you.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Sandra,” she says.
“I don’t like you, but I hate her,” I say. “Let’s go.”
I turn and walk out the door, not even waiting for Jeanie and Malina to follow me. I’m going to clear my name, and as soon as that’s done, I’m never stepping foot into this branch ever again.
“I’m never going to join this branch,” Malina says from behind me, her tone low and intense. “Not if they do that sort of stuff. I should just call Century and tell him I’m going to join his Hall—”
“Don’t do anything rash, girls,” Jeanie says quietly. “I understand how you feel, but we still don’t know exactly what’s happening here. And Malina, your powers are needed here. You need to consider more than just emotions when choosing a branch.”
“But she didn’t even TRY to make up to Sandra for what happened!” Malina says. “She just told her to do another stupid show for the cameras!”
“But if a Hall leader just goes up to a podium and says, ‘I’m sorry, what you saw wasn’t what really happened,’ do you think they would still have the respect of the community?” Jeanie asks. “Yes, a lot of our fans believe that it’s staged, but we still do things that are real. That’s why Sandra and Emily were practicing putting out a fire, remember?”
“It’s still not right,” Malina says. “How is HER reputation more important than Sandra’s?”
“Because she’s a Hall leader, Malina, she represents all of us. But I know what you mean, I’m feeling a bit frustrated, myself,” she says before I can turn to say something. “At least she IS doing something. She’s arranging for the mistake to be cleared up in front of the public.”
“It’s still irritating,” I mutter. “They dragged me into this without even warning me that it would happen. I’m not ready for a debut! I still haven’t even decided whether I’ll be a hero or a villain, yet!”
“I know, sweetie, and I’m sorry about that. Truthfully, I would like to speak with Diamond Dust, myself.”
“So would I!” Malina says, sticking a dramatic finger in the air.
***
The hotel room is dark, and silent. Diamond Dust sits in the cheap wooden chair a bit awkwardly, certain that it will break from her weight. She’s waiting. She knows they’ll show up soon, and she wants to hear exactly what they have to say. She stops breathing as she hears the door to the hotel room next to hers open. She hears three people walk in, two of them a lot heavier than the third. She’s a bit surprised about one. She had never considered that Star Spangled would weigh more than a hundred pounds or so, but she’s definitely a heavyweight. Probably super dense muscle structure—humanoid tanks tend to have that.
“I’ll sleep on the floor,” a rough, raspy girl’s voice says. Diamond’s hand clenches as she realizes exactly who is speaking. “I’ve broken a bed that looked exactly like that one before.”
“That’s fine, sweetie. We can take the mattress off the frame, though, if you prefer.”
“I’ll sleep on the mattress with you, Sandra,” the little one offers. “It’s a big enough bed, you know?”
“It was nice of her to get us two king sized beds,” Star Spangled says.
“Nice or not, I still don’t like her,” Sandra grumbles. Diamond hears furniture being moved and something bumps against the wall between her room and theirs. She’s almost positive that it’s the bed frame.
“I know, sweetie,” Star Spangled says. “Do you want t
o call the boys, now?”
“What, so Metal Butt can laugh at me for getting framed so easily?”
“I doubt he would laugh… well, if he does, it won’t be much,” Star Spangled says. “I do love the boy, but he’s a bit…”
“Terrible at times like this?” the little one offers. “It’s okay, the entire school is used to him, by now. All you have to do is bring up Aubrey and he behaves himself.”
Cold Steel, Diamond Dust thinks. That does make her feel guilty. She’s pushing the girl to become part of his family. If anyone can pick on a growing rock mimic, it’s a metal one, right? She almost stands up, tempted to take back everything that she’s done. She should grab the girl, take her home, tell her that she’s always worried about her, that she’s always loved her—
“Jack’s not that bad,” Sandra says. “Don’t tell him that I said that, though, he’ll get even more overbearing, but he did save me, once.”
“Then we should call them,” Star Spangled says firmly. “I’m certain that they’re worried about you—” she stops, and Diamond Dust hears a tapping sound. “In fact, it looks like someone already came,” she says with a sigh.
Diamond Dust hears a curtain shake and a window slide open. “Only you, Trent?”
“I ran off when Dad was making dinner,” Trent says. Diamond Dust hears someone land inside the room. She’s not certain, but she thinks it might be Kid Liberty, this time. “He was fighting the urge to come, but Nico guilt-tripped him about how it would mean he didn’t trust you to handle the problem.”
“Then does this mean you don’t trust me to?” Star Spangled asks.
“No, you can handle it. I just wanted to talk with Sandra,” he says.
“Sandra?” Star Spangled asks.
“Yeah, sure, fine, right here?”
“We can go outside, if you prefer,” Trent says.
“Sure,” Sandra says. Diamond Dust waits to hear the door close before heading out, as well. She needs to know how her daughter’s future brothers will treat her. She has no right, and she knows it, but she can’t stop herself.