by R. J. Ross
“Hush, hush, it is all good, now,” Tatiana says.
“But it’s NOT good because—because you ARE back and so is everyone else and now I can’t find Sandra’s mommy, and she’s with a dangerous lady, and it’s a TERRIBLE THING TO NOT KNOW WHERE YOUR MOMMY IS!” She stops, her eyes widening. “And I can’t feel Star Spangled now, either,” she says, turning pale.
“What?” I say. “What do you mean you can’t feel Jeanie?”
“She’s gone through a space portal,” Nico says from behind me. “As soon as they finish healing Cosmic and he recovers, we’ll get her back.”
I turn, looking at him. “Why are you here, then? Why aren’t you getting her back, now?”
“Cosmic ruined my clothes, so I sent Superior with Aubrey to him. Why don’t you tell me exactly what happened while you were out searching for Malina?” he asks, looking over at Malina, and then back at me. “And where did you ditch Diamond Dust?”
“We didn’t ditch her,” I say. “She was kidnapped.”
“Hey! Is anyone home?” I hear Trent call from outside. “I’m here to help clean up.” I head out without excusing myself, and look up into the sky. Trent looks down with a grin. “How’s it going, Sandra?”
“Well…” I say, “not that good, honestly. We’ve lost your mom.”
“You what? How?”
“Through a space portal, apparently.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
There’s a gaping hole in the ceiling of Reaper’s home. The moment that Reaper started for the door, Ken grabbed him and shot upwards. It happened almost too quickly for Jack to see. Jack stares up through the hole, already thinking of how much work needs to be done to patch it. Sure, he knows why his dad did it that way, but still—his dad isn’t the one that winds up fixing holes like that all the time. He lets out a piercing whistle, calling his surfboard through the hole. Sure, he doesn’t HAVE to whistle, but really, why not?
He jumps on board the surfboard and flies through the hole, heading for where Ken is holding Reaper off the ground.
“I can’t allow you to go to the Arctic Circle,” Ken says.
“I don’t see how you can stop me,” Reaper replied, tugging one of his gloves off. It’s an unspoken threat, but Ken doesn’t let go. “My daughter is up there. I know exactly how dangerous the capes up there can be. Don’t think I’m stupid.”
“They won’t hurt her,” Jack says. “She and Superior even game together.”
“But they’re not the only ones up there right now,” Reaper says. “Mastermental told me what’s going on. My daughter is too young and inexperienced to go up against a real super villain. She barely made it through that debacle earlier, and her enemy was her own mother. I’m going to bring her home.”
“While I understand your concerns,” Ken says, his eyes on the bare hand, “you need to understand just how delicate the situation is. For almost a year, Sandra refused to leave her room. She was scared and full of self-hatred; that she’s choosing to go out and do something like this—it would be stupid to discourage her, now. You could really hurt her burgeoning self-confidence if you just rush in and tell her that she can’t handle it.”
“Besides, she’s already faced up against a real super villain,” Jack says. “She went toe to toe with Badmoon before he was captured. That’s not bad for a fifteen-year-old. Heck, I had trouble dealing with him, and I’m stronger than she is.”
“She did what?” Reaper asks, his eyes starting to glow dangerously.
“She’s best friends with the kid that Badmoon was trying to kill. Of course she went up against him. But I didn’t like it, either, so I went with them after that. I’m not going to let her go into a situation like that without some backup. She’s my future little sister—well… she was,” he says, a bit irritably.
“Dad? Jack? We have a situation.” Jack looks down at his com-bracelet as a miniature hologram of his brother appears without him answering it. “Sorry if I’m interrupting things, but I thought you’d want to know.”
“What’s wrong, Trent?” Ken asks.
“Mom got sent through one of Cosmic’s space portals.”
“A space portal? You mean like what Star Born made?” Jack asks.
“Not exactly, it seems like Cosmic’s portals lead straight to other planets. We have no idea where she is, since he wasn’t in his right mind at the time.”
“How is my daughter?” Reaper demands. “Is she with you?”
“Sandra? She’s fine. She’s right here. But it seems that Atlanti did capture her mom. I don’t know if you guys want to come up here and help us search the space portals for her, or if you’re too busy, but… well, Mom’s tough. It’s not like a trip to another planet is going to kill her, or anything. It’s still kind of worrisome, though.”
“Yes, it is,” Ken admits. “Knowing her, she’ll probably decide that the planet needs her help.”
Jack gives him a dark look. “That’s my mom you’re talking about,” he says. “I’m not planning on letting some stupid planet have her.”
“Well, of course not,” Ken says, “but you know how she tends to be. I’m sorry to cut this short, Reaper, but we really should be going—” Reaper’s hand touches his and Ken goes pale, his hold on the older cape falling away as he starts to plummet to the ground. Jack races down, grabbing him before he hits the ground.
“WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR?” he bellows, touching Ken’s neck. “I can’t feel a pulse—did you kill him?”
“That single touch won’t kill a Liberty, boy,” Reaper says as he hits the ground running. He drops into the hole that Jack had just come out of, and Jack follows, carrying Ken in his arms. Ken jerks and takes a deep gasp of air, looking a bit confused.
“That was… strange,” Ken says. “Did he use his ability on me?”
“Where are you going, Reaper? How do you expect to get to the Arctic Circle by going back into your—” Jack stops, blinking in surprise as Reaper drags open a curtain in the back of the underground base and reveals a massive mirror. He holds out one large, bony hand and a scythe appears.
“Reaper, you can’t go—” Ken says even as Reaper wields the scythe, slicing the mirror with the edge. It creates a glowing line. He follows it up with three more quick slices, creating a door shaped outline. The mirror within the glowing lines starts to swirl and he looks back at Jack and Ken.
“I think we’ve played around long enough, boys,” he says, tipping his fedora at them and stepping into the mirror. Jack doesn’t even hesitate—he races through the opening before it closes.
***
“I’m so glad that you’ve seen things my way,” Atlanti says, pulling Diamond Dust along behind her. “We elemental types need to stick together, right?”
“Yeah, we do,” Diamond Dust says, her expression grim as she looks over her shoulder. Skye had been poisoned, the healer was barely a D class in strength, the little water manipulator had been out for the count—no, she’d made the right decision. The further she takes this psycho away from her daughter, the better. There’s always the chance that since she’s so young, the venom might affect her. Diamond Dust won’t risk that.
“So… that rocky girl, was she your daughter?” Atlanti asks, as if this is the perfect time to have girl chat. “She’s got a lot of promise—maybe I should have brought her along, too. We could always turn back and get her—”
“I’m twice as strong as she is,” Diamond Dust says. “She’s barely come into her abilities. She’d just waste your time.”
“Oh, that’s a shame, then,” Atlanti says. Her skin keeps changing colors as she moves, automatically blending in with the snow that surrounds them. If Diamond Dust looks away for too long, she has trouble seeing where the woman is. It’s unsettling. “But it was a real stroke of luck to get you! We’re just going to fill in a few annoying holes at first, so it shouldn’t take long. I’ve already disposed of the problematic aspects, so don’t worry, you’ve got all the time you need!”
> “Problematic aspects?” Diamond Dust repeats.
“The people that were living there,” Atlanti clarifies. “If I had allowed them to continue to live, they would have continued to destroy the ice. You understand, don’t you? It wasn’t personal, it was just a matter of what’s most important. I have to work for the greater good.”
“So… you killed everyone that lives up here?”
“Well, some of them might not be dead just yet, but it’s only a matter of time. Although I do feel sorry about the water girl, she was… quite a loss,” she says, looking down. “She could have helped the world so much. I just… well… sometimes sacrifices have to be made.”
She is totally and completely insane, Diamond Dust realizes. Or maybe it’s worse than that—maybe she’s perfectly sane. Either way, she’ll have to be dealt with. It isn’t exactly her area of expertise, though, in fact, she’s not even sure that she would win in a toe to toe fight—especially since Atlanti is a water type shifter. Rock mimics can’t swim, and they’re close enough to the ocean that that could be an extremely big problem. The best choice is to lure Atlanti into thinking she’s a willing partner.
“I never have liked what’s happening up here,” Diamond Dust says, honestly. “It’s throwing off the balance of everything. I kept telling myself I should come up but, well, it’s difficult to get up here without help.”
“You can’t swim?” Atlanti asks.
“I can’t get away from work,” Diamond Dust says, not about to answer that question.
“You mean you actually go along with those crazy Hall people?” Atlanti asks, her eyes widening before they narrow with suspicion. “The ones that told me I was insane and threw me into the Cape Cells?” Her tone, which up until now has been cheerful, turns dangerous. “You really work with those monsters?”
“Monsters?” Diamond Dust repeats.
“They have no care for the planet at all!” Atlanti spits out angrily. “They could easily rid the planet of its biggest parasite in—in seconds! But what do they do? They PANDER to them!”
“Biggest parasite?” Diamond Dust repeats.
“Humans,” Atlanti snarls. “Humans are a parasite sucking away the life force of the planet. They need to be exterminated.”
“And supers?” Diamond Dust asks, trying to hide her appalled reaction to that statement. She doesn’t get along with humans, sure, those that don’t fan-boy over her often consider her a freak, but it doesn’t mean she would wipe them out. Of course she has gotten angry at them for what’s happening to the planet, once in a while, but this isn’t how it should be dealt with.
“Either they’re on my side or they’re my enemies,” Atlanti says. “You, with your connection to the earth, you understand where I’m coming from, right?”
“Yes,” Diamond Dust says, not meeting her eyes. She pretends to look out over the snow, instead. “I can see where you’re coming from.” The sound of a sniffle makes her turn, shocked to see Atlanti crying. “What—what are you—”
“I thought I was the only one,” Atlanti whispers. “The little water girl, she told me she agreed, but she was lying. I knew she was lying. But you—” she throws herself at Diamond Dust, wrapping her arms around her waist and burying her face in her chest as she starts to wail. “I KNEW I COULDN’T BE THE ONLY ONE!”
Hesitantly, Diamond Dust pats her on the back, her mind at war. Slowly her hand goes up, touching the back of Atlanti’s neck.
***
“Jack, we shouldn’t have come this way,” Ken says as they chase after Reaper. The Mirrorlands are disorienting, to say the least. If they look away for even a second, they’ll be chasing a reflection of the grim reaper down the wrong path. “No one knows the Mirrorlands—”
“Sure they do,” Jack says, flying through the reflections of himself without even glancing at them. “Cheval can get us out if we lose him, but that’s not the reason I did it.”
“Then why did you do it?”
“Because he’s going exactly where we need to go, right? I know we were supposed to keep him there, or whatever, but this is a lot faster and easier than flying there.”
“I… have no way to argue that…” Ken admits.
“Just don’t look away and we won’t lose him—how does he move so fast?” Jack demands. “He looks like he’s walking!”
“This is his territory,” Ken says. “He’s probably been traveling by mirror for almost a hundred years.”
“I thought it was Cheval’s territory,” Jack says, only to groan. “It’s a reflection.”
“Are you certain?” Ken asks.
“Yeah, I’m certain. I was tracking the pocket watch he carries. Get on, I don’t think I can keep track of both of you.” Ken steps onto the back of the board as Jack stops and closes his eyes. “This way,” he says, turning and racing after Reaper.
“I really would like to meet Cheval sometime,” Ken says. “Do you think she and Reaper know each other?”
“Of course we do,” Reaper says. He sounds amused, and they slow as they see him standing in front of them, one hand on his fedora. “She’s a very, very classy woman. I thought I was in love with her for a while.”
“So you’re not going to run away, now?”
“Your boy there has the right idea,” Reaper says, looking at Jack. “And Cheval will be irritated if I leave two supers abandoned in her territory.”
“And we might be able to get you off light with Mastermental, right?” Jack says.
“That might be part of it,” Reaper admits, summoning his scythe. “But mostly,” he goes on as he slices open a portal, “I plan on shoving you out first to distract Superior.”
Before Jack can reply, he’s pushed through the portal, and falls straight into a mannequin wearing a beaded dress. He looks down at it in shock.
“What. Have. You. Done?” a woman demands. He looks up, straight into a pair of kaleidoscope eyes. “Hasn’t the poor dress been through enough?!”
“Sorry to intrude,” Reaper says as he and Ken step out of the mirror. “Where’s my kid?”
Jack gets to his feet and then picks the mannequin up, brushing her off, only to look at it a little more closely. “This looks like crap,” he says bluntly. “The material’s all screwed up—”
“You falling on it didn’t help!” Marie snaps.
“Hey, that wasn’t my fault!” he protests. “That big guy shoved me! Look, I know a guy that can fix it, so calm down.” He looks around, taking in the wreck that is Superior and Tatiana’s front room. “What happened here? Also, weren’t you supposed to be wearing a collar?” he asks, looking pointedly at Marie. She reaches up, touching her neck with a strange expression on her face.
“We’ll replace it soon,” Nico says, stepping into view. He looks tired. “I wasn’t planning for you all to come out, but hey, the more the merrier. We’ve got a lot of cleaning up to do.”
“Where’s my daughter?” Reaper asks, going straight to the point.
“Suiting up,” Nico says, motioning over to the other room. Reaper passes him, heading straight to the girl in question. He stops as he sees her, staring with a hint of the same wonder he’d felt when he first saw her on television. She’s strapping on snow gloves. “Sandra,” he says, the word ripped from him.
She looks at him, finishing up her work. “Nice hat,” she says, blandly. “So who’s going with me to get Diamond Dust back, and who’s going to go find Jeanie?” she asks the room at large.
“I’m going with you,” Reaper says.
“Yeeeah… well, whatever,” she says. “Nico?”
“I’ll come with you. I’m not that worried about Jeanie, right now, but Ken?”
“I’ll help find my wife,” Ken says. “Boys?”
“Um…” Trent looks over at Jack. “Mom or Sandra?”
“I’ll go with Sandra, you go after Mom,” Jack says. “Sound good? Where’s Aubrey?”
“Helping Cosmic recover,” Nico says. “She’ll be with the group t
rying to find Jeanie.”
“Want to trade jobs, then?” Trent asks.
“Nah, just tell her to stay safe,” Jack says.
***
Why am I doing this? I want to go save Jeanie, not the lady that abandoned me and then framed me and—I sigh, running a hand over my face. The reason I’m doing this is simple. There’s a good chance that the venom won’t affect me like it does everyone else. This rock-like skin has to be good for something, right? I would rather take my chance on that then leave it to more vulnerable capes. I look over at Nico, frowning as he yawns loudly.
“You’ve already been through a lot, Nico,” I point out. “Don’t you think it’s stupid to go into another fight right now?”
“I can do it,” he says. “Don’t underestimate me, kid. I didn’t get to be the principal of Cape High just by looking pretty.”
“I heard Mastermental forced you to,” Jack says.
“Well, yeah,” Nico admits. “There’s that, too.”
“What is Cape High, anyway?” Reaper asks. He’s walking too close to me. I shoot him a glare, but he only smiles in return. “Some sort of school?”
“We train the future heroes and villains of the world—well, more like the Central Hall,” Nico says. “South Branch has just recently opened their branch.”
“Is this how you dress regularly?” I ask Reaper, looking over his purple and yellow zoot suit.
“I enjoy the fashions of the past,” he says, touching his fedora with a large, bony hand. “Supers nowadays have no class,” he adds, looking pointedly at Nico before he looks back at me. “I can introduce you to my tailor, if you’re interested.”
“Me?” I say. “I’m not sure I’m a suit and tie kind of girl.”
“He can do more than just suits and ties. You’d look good in a dress.”
I burst out laughing. “Yeah, no, not gonna happen,” I say, still snickering. I stop, realizing something abruptly. “Why am I the one leading the way?”