by R. J. Ross
Jonas stares up at him in horror, expecting him to dissolve in the attack like they do in anime. All he sees is a grim expression on Nico’s face. “He ruined my favorite jeans,” the super mutters when the attack dies down. Jonas blinks at the sight of Nico’s clothes still burning.
“Did you, um, bring a uniform?” Jonas asks as it slowly sinks in that what would have killed him didn’t even leave a scratch on Nico. “Who ARE you?” he asks.
“What, you haven’t heard my story, yet?” Nico asks, shrugging out of his clothes as they threaten to fall to the ground. “At least I got some of the fireproof boxers for myself,” he says idly. Jonas looks down, automatically.
“Mastermental boxers?” he asks a bit weakly, tempted to laugh.
“My Panther ones are in the laundry,” Nico says, standing.
“Can you actually beat him?” Jonas asks. “He’s—he’s a monster.”
“Actually, he’s usually a pretty nice guy,” Nico says. “You should be more careful about who you drop the monster title on, kid.” He pushes off of the ground, and races off so fast that Jonas realizes why his breath was taken away the last time.
Jonas stares up at him, watching as he dodges another black ball attack and slams his elbow into the other man’s stomach, sending him flying. The world seems to be shivering, just from the pressure of the two fighting. He’d felt it a little, back at the North Pole, but it seems even more intense, here. Maybe that’s because there’s no ceiling between him and them, this time.
The two are battling fiercely, and Jonas can only sit there and watch as Nico and Cosmic duke it out. A space portal opens again and Cosmic tries to throw Nico through it, but Nico twists and pulls to a stop, completely ignoring how the hole is pulling at him. He’s wearing only a pair of boxers and black boots. He should look ridiculous. Jonas has watched a million news reports where supers in fancy uniforms fight. Not one of them had been wearing only a pair of Mastermental boxers and boots, but somehow Nico looks more intimidating now than any of them ever had.
“QUIT DODGING AND FIGHT LIKE A MAN, SUPERIOR!” Cosmic bellows.
“I’m not Superior!” Nico says. “Why does EVERYONE accuse me of that? I’m his SON! Get it straight!”
It seems to confuse Cosmic a bit, giving Nico the opportunity to race forward and wrap his arms around the other man, dragging him down to the ground. “Jonas! Do it!” he says.
Jonas stumbles slightly, not expecting that. Nico lets out a curse, jumping back as another dark explosive blows up right in front of him. “I’m really getting tired of that trick, Cosmic!”
“You sound and look just like Superior—” Cosmic says, only to stop and look a little confused.
“You go fishing with my old man once a week!” Nico says. “Why do you think he would attack you?”
“Because—” Cosmic says, looking a bit vague, “because my father allowed his planet to die.”
“Huh,” Nico says. “Well, I guess that would make sense—if my old man cared.”
“What?” Cosmic says, his eyes clearing slightly. “What do you mean?”
“Superior couldn’t care less that the planet died. He doesn’t remember anything about it. Sure, that makes him a callous jerk, but I sort of see where he’s coming from. And even if he’d known about it, your father couldn’t have saved the planet. He couldn’t have even gotten close enough to try—all of the people on the planet were killing each other. They would have tried to kill him, too. Half of the people were like Dad, the other half were like me. You’re having trouble against just me, so try picturing an entire race with these powers, and killing urges. I know I wouldn’t have taken it on.”
“You—you mean—how can you know?”
“Marie is from that planet,” Nico says. “She came here when it was almost over. We could ask her to tell you about it, or we can dig up the ship and bring Rochester up here to show you, if you want. But that will have to wait. Right now you need help, and I have a healer. Jonas, can you heal him? We need him healed so he can bring Jeanie back.”
“I…” Cosmic says, dropping to his knees. “I think… there’s…” He falls forward onto his hands, before they slide out from under him and he falls onto his face.
“That fight must have sent the venom through his system faster,” Nico says. “Jonas!”
“I’m on it!” Jonas says, running over to the fallen hero. He feels so awkward. He’s only a teenage kid—not even a normal one. All his life he had been looked at with disgust and distrust, even by his own family, and now, here he is helping out a man that can travel to other worlds. He looks at Cosmic, his eyes widening as he realizes something terrible. “It’s reached his heart,” he says, his hand reaching into Cosmic’s chest. “I—I’ll try my best, but—but we might need Aubrey.”
“Do what you can, I’ll go get her,” Nico says, reaching for his watch only to groan. “The old-fashioned way it is, I guess.”
He takes to the air, leaving Jonas and Cosmic in the middle of the snow. Jonas has never felt more alone in his life. He looks at the man lying in front of him and hesitates for all of a second before reaching into his chest and pulling out a handful of the venom. Cosmic’s eyes open, barely focusing on him. “I came…” he whispers.
“Don’t speak,” Jonas says, dropping the venom in the snow and reaching in again. “You need your energy, right?” He has to heal him. If he can’t heal him, how will they ever get Jeanie back?
“I have to say it… in case I die…” Cosmic says. “I came… to this planet… because of Superior.”
Jonas says nothing; he just focuses on his work, gritting his teeth. The venom is spread throughout the older man’s body, tainting every pore. “I kept… trying to tell him… but I was afraid.”
“Wasn’t it your father that screwed up?” Jonas asks, only to bite his lip.
“It’s… a title… that’s handed down. In my species, the sins of the father… become the sins of the son,” Cosmic says. His eyes are gleaming with unshed tears, which almost shocks Jonas into not doing his job. “I… I could never face him… in the past… But when he moved here…”
More venom drops into the rapidly melting snow and Jonas gives up on stopping Cosmic from spilling everything. It seems the older man has to get this off of his chest. “I… I was terrified… that he would…” Cosmic says, reaching up and pressing a hand to his face, “find out… and kill me. I want to live. I have… someone to live for, now.”
***
The snow is swirling in front of his eyes. Nico knows exactly what’s happening, but he’s trying to ignore it. He’s pushed himself too far. Taking on Cosmic and Santa on the same day was more than even a Superior could be expected to handle. He needs to sleep and recover, but he doesn’t have the time for that. He staggers as a heavy breeze hits him, losing his course for a second. With gritted teeth he regains his balance and speeds up. He can still feel the hit that he took to his back. He’s almost positive that the skin is black with burn marks. Those exploding spheres were no laughing matter, but if he had to do it again he still wouldn’t dodge. If one of his kids died because he dodged a hit that he knew he could take, he would never forgive himself—
He runs into the side of the ice mountain. A curse escapes him as he slides down the side of his parent’s home. Before he hits the ground, he’s caught. “We really need to quit meeting like this, son,” Superior says right next to his ear.
“Your fishing buddy packs a real punch,” Nico complains. “Santa’s not too shabby, either. I always thought he was supposed to be a… jolly fat man.” He yawns, fighting the urge to go to sleep. “I need Aubrey.”
“You definitely do,” Superior says.
“Not for me, for Cosmic. Dad… I got something to tell you about him.” He tries and fails to pull away as his father carries him inside. “I just need a little rest… and a pair of pants.”
“We have both,” Superior says. “So what do I need to know about Cosmic?”
“H
is father—”
***
Jonas reaches in, pulling out another scoop of the venom with his powers. He feels really awkward right now. It’s bad enough that his healing style is so freaky, but seeing a full-grown man cry like a baby doesn’t help at all. “But… Nico doesn’t seem to think it matters,” he points out hesitantly.
“It does matter,” Cosmic says. “It’s the life of his entire planet. I came to this planet to tell him, and I’ve never done it. I—”
“I forgive you,” Superior says from behind Jonas. Cosmic turns his head, staring with a hint of wonder as Superior heads towards them. Jonas glances up, letting out a sigh of relief as he sees Aubrey with Superior.
“I need help,” he says as she runs over, falling to her knees on the other side of Cosmic. “It’s all the way through his system. I keep pulling it out, but it’s done a lot of damage to his nerve endings and—”
“I’m on it,” Aubrey says, grabbing Cosmic’s hand in one of hers and placing her other on his forehead. Her eyes light up and her hair starts floating around her head. Jonas hides the hint of hero worship in his eyes as he looks back down at his work. He had thought he was powerful—scary, sure, but powerful, until he’d met Aubrey. Aubrey is the epitome of healer, the one that all of the other healers look up to.
“I… I should have told you sooner,” Cosmic says, mournfully.
“It’s fine,” Superior says. “Nico told me before I came. He was right. Even I wouldn’t have wanted to deal with that planet at that time. I don’t blame your father, and I really don’t blame you. Your wife is waiting back at my house for you. Do you want to go there to complete this?”
Jonas is just staring at the man he’s kneeling over, his eyes widening with surprise as he watches her work. He can actually see what she’s doing thanks to his abilities. “You’re… wow,” he says, looking at Aubrey as she pulls her hands away. Her hair falls, flopping in her face, and she pushes it away. “Thank you.”
“You were doing extremely well,” she says. “You’d almost removed all of the venom, and with his healing ability it would have solved itself before he suffered much more. But I’m glad to have helped.”
Jonas nods, but turns his attention to Cosmic, again. “Now can you bring Jeanie back, sir?”
“Jeanie?” Aubrey repeats. “What happened to Jeanie?”
Cosmic frowns, a look of worry on his face. “I wasn’t paying attention to where I sent her,” he admits as he gets to his feet. “This might take a while.”
***
“Ummm…” Skye says after Alyssa finishes healing her. She looks around before turning to look at me. “I’ve already mentioned how hard it is to find people here, right?”
“Yeah, I know,” I say, wringing out my shorts as much as I can. Malina gives me a look before holding out her hands and drying me off. That sinking into the snow had soaked me pretty good. If I felt cold, I’d probably be dead right now. Of course, Alyssa is worse off—she’s the one Malina dried off first.
“I’m fre—free—freezzzziiinnngg,” the healer complains, wrapping her arms around herself and then promptly hiding behind me as a cold breeze hits us. She looks a little shaky from the poison she just took in, but she recovers quickly. “Even with this snowsuit, I’m STILL cold!” she complains as she moves to my side, grabbing my arm and pulling it over her shoulder. “You’re my new best friend, girl, so warm me up!” she demands.
“Best friend?” Malina asks, her eyes widening. “When did you two get that close?”
“She decided it on her own,” I say, dryly, reluctantly hugging Alyssa. “You all can battle over who my best friend is, later. Right now we need to find the octo-lady.”
“And your mother, right?” Malina prompts.
“Yeah, her, too,” I say, irritated. I look around, ignoring the way that Malina moves closer, huddling against Alyssa to help warm her up. My mind is on something else, entirely.
“What are you doing? Is this a cuddle party?” Skye asks, coming over and wrapping her arms around us, as well. “I like cuddle parties!”
“It’s because Alyssa’s freezing to death,” Malina explains. “It’s my fault.”
“Skye, can you find her?” I ask, since it’s obvious that she’s gotten distracted. “Or should we go back to Superior’s place and warm Alyssa up first?” It’s important to find Diamond Dust and Atlanti, but Alyssa is weak enough to freeze up here.
“Well… um… no,” Skye admits. “But Alyssa has a teleportation watch, right? Or was it Jonas that had it?”
We all go still, and then look at the girl in the middle of our group. “I forgot?” she offers up before tapping on the watch. In a blink we’re standing in the middle of Superior’s front room. “I need warm clothes!” she says, squirming out of our hold and racing for the stairs. “I’ll just go borrow some from Aubrey’s room. She’s got a fireplace, too.”
I look around, since she clearly knows where she is, and almost yelp as I’m hauled into a hug by Tatiana. “Sandra!” she says happily. “It is good to see you!”
I look up, suddenly feeling small. I’ve never actually met Tatiana face to face. Sure, I’ve talked to her a bit over the game, since she’s usually there while Superior is playing, but… I hadn’t expected this. “You have had a very rough few days, yes?” she asks quietly, rubbing my back in a comforting manner.
I should pull away. I barely know this woman, right? I mean, sure, I’ve talked with her, but this feels like suddenly meeting a family member—but better, since I’m positive I like her more than the family members I’ve met so far. She feels like a doting grandmother, I decide. I slowly wrap my arms around her waist, hugging her tightly. I shouldn’t hug so hard, I might hurt—she starts laughing. “Yes, kitten, hug it out! You are safe now!”
“But Malina almost died! And now that crazy lady’s got my birth mother, and I don’t even LIKE the woman, but I still need to go save her, and Alyssa almost froze to death—” I’m rambling into her chest, like a snot-nosed little kid, and she just keeps patting my back.
“Yes, little one, we will take care of all of that,” she says, calmly. “You have been very strong, so far, I think.”
“I’m a tank. I’m supposed to—I’m supposed to be the strong one,” I say, pathetically. I don’t even know when that belief hit me—probably when I was fighting for Lance. It’s true, though. I’m the one that’s supposed to stay strong, and fix the problems, and—
“Yes, little one, you are very good tank,” Tatiana says. I can hear her smile in her voice. “I am proud to call you fellow tank. But you are not alone, and you are not strongest in room. You are welcome to be child for moment.”
I look up at her. “But she got you, too.”
“Yes, and I am very much looking forward to rematch,” she says, a glint in her eyes that sends a chill down my spine. “I am no ordinary super, little one. It will take much more than poison to kill me. I have very high resistance.” She gives me a wide smile. “You do, as well, yes?”
“I don’t know,” I admit. “I haven’t faced off against her, yet.”
I stop as I hear someone crying, and turn, looking over with a hint of surprise. Malina is sobbing in the arms of another little person. “It was so scary, Toodles!” she wails.
“It’s okay, now, Malina, it’s okay,” the woman says, hugging her just like Tatiana is me. “You’re here now, safe and sound. Here, blow,” she says, pulling a red and green hankie out of her pocket.
“Who’s that?” I ask Tatiana as quietly as I can.
“She is Toodles! She is magical animal controller for Santa,” Tatiana says, smiling a bit. “It seems she is quite fond of our little water manipulator.”
“They look close,” I say. I shake that thought off and pull away from Tatiana. “I need to find Diamond Dust.”
“She is your birth mother?”
“Yeah,” I say. “The octo-lady kidnapped her. She’s planning on… I don’t know, it’s got something to do with
salt, right?”
“She’s planning on removing the salt from the ice so that it stays frozen longer,” Malina says, looking over at me and wiping away her tears. Her game face appears as quickly as that. “It’s actually not a bad idea, if we can do it—but it’s where she plans on doing it that’s the problem.”
“What do you mean?” Toodles asks.
“She’s going to fill all of your homes,” Malina says, looking at her, “including Santa’s workshop. She values the ice more than she does human life.”
“I see,” Toodles says. “Can you take the salt out of the ice?” she asks, looking at me.
“Probably?” I say with a shrug. “It’s a mineral. I can manipulate minerals a bit, but I bet Diamond Dust is better than I am.”
“I might ask you to do that after this is all over—not in the workshop, of course, but in the newer ice formations,” she says, “if you don’t mind?”
“I don’t mind,” I say.
“Skye, my precious one, have you forgiven me yet?” Tatiana says, turning to the woman who’s floating over our heads.
“I still don’t like her,” Skye says, pointing to the silver haired woman kneeling in front of a dress in the other room.
“Yes, yes, I realize this,” Tatiana says. “But I have missed you.”
Skye takes a deep breath, her body shuddering a second before she turns to Tatiana with tears streaming down her face. “I almost lost you,” she says.
“No, kitten, it is not so easy as that,” Tatiana says, holding out her arms. I move out of the way just before Skye throws herself at the older woman, sobbing at the top of her voice. “I was wondering why you have not spoken to me,” Tatiana says, holding her close.
“I couldn’t—I couldn’t FEEL your power and it was like there was this—this HOLE in my chest and I thought for sure that you were dead, but you were dead before, but you weren’t and—”