by R. J. Ross
“You know where she is, don’t you?” Nico offers. “You set out without even hesitating.”
“You can’t be sure of that!” I say. “Maybe I just thought that one of YOU knew where we were going.”
“Do you know where she is?” Jack asks me.
“Well, yeah,” I say, giving up. “She’s the biggest mobile gemstone in the world, practically.”
“So you can always find her?” Jack says.
I look out at the snow, letting that thought soak in. “Yeah, now that I know about her,” I say. “It should be the same for her.” That’s just another reason to be mad at her, I think. All that time in the zoo, she could have found me. Well, maybe… I didn’t really start to change until after I got out. Sure, I was a little rocky in places, but…
I sigh and start forward again. “I don’t want anything to do with her after this,” I declare.
“I can understand that,” Reaper says. “She’s done a lot of things I’m not happy about, either. But I don’t plan on just disappearing after this.”
I look at him. “Your pants are getting ruined,” I point out.
“They’re just pants,” he says.
“You’re hurting me,” I hear someone say. I break into a run, racing through the snow, only to be passed easily by the other three. I thought I was fast, but they all outpace me—well, Jack wouldn’t, if he wasn’t riding his board. I take what little comfort I can from that fact as I reach them.
It hadn’t been Diamond Dust that said that. I almost feel relieved as I see her holding Atlanti by the throat. The relief disappears as Atlanti shifts in her hold, her legs turning into tentacles and wrapping tightly around Diamond Dust. “I should have known that you would betray me,” she says. “They always do.” Her mouth opens and she bares her fangs, biting Diamond Dust’s throat.
“NO!” I hear myself bellow. Before I can get to them, Atlanti is thrown. She lands almost a quarter mile away, looking stunned. She reaches up, touching her mouth.
“You broke my fangs,” she says, stunned. “YOU BROKE MY FANGS!”
“What do you think happens when you bite a rock, idiot?” Diamond Dust asks. She reaches up, touching her neck and then pulling her hand away to look at it. I see her stagger slightly, but she stands straight a second later, as if nothing had happened. “Sandra!” she says, looking at me. “Get away from here. I’ll take care of her.”
“How should we handle this?” Jack asks Nico. “You don’t happen to have a power blocking gun on you, do you?”
“Not at the moment,” Nico says, watching Diamond Dust. It strikes me as strange, since he should be watching Atlanti, right? Then again, that little stagger step is worrying me a bit, as well.
“And why did you not bring it?” I ask irritably.
“I… had the parts in my other pants,” Nico says, taking to the air and looking around.
“Why’d you change, then?”
“Cosmic burnt them off with an explosion,” he says. “Atlanti, don’t think you can hide from me long,” he calls out. “I know all of your tricks, lady.”
“Where is she?” Reaper asks. I jerk, realizing that somehow in the past few seconds the woman in question had completely disappeared. He places a hand on my shoulder, and I look up. “Calm down, we’ll find her soon enough.”
“Can you find her?” I ask him.
“Take your hand off of her,” Diamond Dust says, making us both look over. “Don’t you dare touch her, Reaper!”
“I’m not going to kill her, she’s got my powers,” Reaper says.
“I said DON’T TOUCH HER!” Diamond Dust yells, rushing forward.
“Now is NOT the time for this—” I start out as she rams into Reaper. “What the heck? We’re not here for a family feud, people, we’re here to capture Atlanti!”
“That bite might have affected her,” Nico says. “There—” he starts out, diving for the ground. I turn, just in time to see a white and gray blur racing over the snow. He grabs for her, but she dodges, moving like lightning in an erratic path. Nico hits the snow, rolling over and getting to his feet.
“You’re moving slower than usual, Nico,” Jack says.
“I’ve had a rough day,” Nico says, wiping snow off of his face and looking around. “Forget about that. We’ve got more important things to worry about. I’ve lost her again. She must have gone under the snow.”
“It wouldn’t matter if we could shoot her with the power stripping gun, right?” I say irritably. I’ve been hit with that gun before; I know exactly how well it works. “You should probably go get the parts, and a healer, while you’re at it. You’re the fastest one here, right?”
He looks at the group, and then at me. “I’ll be back.”
“Try not to fall asleep on the way,” I call after him as he races away.
“Quit trying to kill me, DeeDee!” Reaper says, making me look over. My biological parents are grappling. Reaper is almost two feet taller than she is, but he looks like he’s having a hard time. He has her fists in his hands and is trying to restrain her—I wince as she ruthlessly kicks him between the legs. He groans, letting go of her to grasp himself as he falls to his knees and then over on his side. “That was… not… nice…” he gasps out. She gives him a vicious smile, bringing up a fist.
“STOP IT!” I yell as I see the snow move near Reaper’s head. I race forward, sliding through the snow and grabbing for Atlanti just as her tentacle touches his shoulder. A drop of venom hits him, burning through the fancy suit coat. I barely notice it as I grab onto the octopus, hauling her off of the ground and throwing her away from them.
Reaper and Diamond Dust go perfectly still, staring at me in wonder. “You IDIOTS!” I yell as I get to my feet. “THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR A STUPID FIGHT!”
“But he—” Diamond Dust says.
“He’s not going to kill me with a touch!” I say, placing my hands on my hips. “He might BLIND me with his fashion sense, but that won’t kill me! Of the two of you, he’s the one I might actually be able to tolerate!”
“Blinding is going a bit far, sweetie,” Reaper says. “I’m not even wearing my four foot long gold watch fob and matching coat—it’s shiny.”
“Oh lord, he’s got a shiny coat,” I say, running a hand over my face. “REGARDLESS! Stop fighting! You both could have been poisoned by that crazy lady, and we don’t have a healer here!”
“She’s worried about us,” Reaper says, looking at Diamond Dust with a smile that makes me want to hit him. “What a good kid.”
“Reaper—” Diamond Dust says, staring at his shoulder.
“What?”
“She got you,” she says, pointing at the hole in his suit. He looks down at it, a confused expression on his face. After staring at it for a second he curses.
“She ruined my favorite coat,” he says, standing and tilting his fedora. He suddenly looks dangerous again, I think as he summons his scythe. “Custom suits in my size aren’t cheap, you know.”
“Your pants are already destroyed,” I have to point out.
“I’ll blame her for that, too,” he decides.
“So… it isn’t affecting you?” I ask, looking from one to the other.
“Not at—” Diamond Dust starts to stand, only to fall on her face. I groan, but Reaper turns her over, touching her throat. His eyes start to glow as he looks up, a surprisingly angry expression on his face. I thought he was mad about the suit, but I think he’s forgotten about it, now. The pressure he’s giving off almost makes me feel like sitting down.
“Is she—” I say, my voice trailing off as I try to finish the question.
“No, she’s not dead. It takes a lot more than that to kill a rock mimic,” he says. “But it looks like the venom pierced at least the top level of her skin. It might take a bit for her to recover.”
“And what about you?” I ask. He’s about to respond when I feel something wrap around my ankle. Before I know it, I’m being pulled into the snow.
I’m really, really starting to hate snow.
***
“Not this one!” Ken calls as he comes flying out of a space portal. “Although it looks really interesting; do you offer vacation packages?” he asks Cosmic. “I would love to take the boys to that planet.”
“I’ll have to ask my wife,” Cosmic says with a hint of amusement. “Also, I’d need to set up some form of communication that spans galaxies—otherwise you might get stuck there.”
“I know a man that can do that,” Ken says cheerfully. “Has Trent gotten back, yet?”
They both turn, looking at another of the warp holes. “I could go in after him?” Aubrey offers from where she’s sitting in the snow. Now that Cosmic is fully recuperated, she’s starting to get antsy. She’s worried about Jack. The cold and his ice skin shouldn’t work that well together, right? And he’s fighting against that octopus woman, who uses venom—if his powers go out of control, what will happen? There isn’t much metal up here, which might be a good thing, but at the same time—
They all look up as Trent appears at the mouth of the portal. “I’ve found her!” he calls out.
“Where is she?” Ken asks.
“Starting up a revolution,” Trent says. “It turns out that the people of this planet are being oppressed by a small group of tyrants. You know how it goes.”
Ken sighs, running a hand over his face. “I’m going to have to get those communication devices sooner than planned, aren’t I?”
“Yeah, she doesn’t plan on leaving until they have fair representation,” Trent says.
“That’s not under our Hall’s jurisdiction, though,” Aubrey points out, although they ALL know where this is going. “Are you staying with her?”
Trent hesitates, and then a small smile pulls at his lips. “What do you think?”
“I’ll tell Emily,” she says.
“I’d actually really like to have her here,” he says. “She’d be a lot better with the people than I am.”
“Yeah? I bet she’d enjoy that,” Aubrey says. “Do you need a healer? I can send one of mine, or come, myself.”
“We’ll ask Nico. I’ll probably get in trouble for this, but you don’t need to,” he says. “Cosmic, do you know which planet this is?”
“I do.”
“Then we’re good. I’m going to go join Mom.”
“We need to tell Mastermental,” Aubrey says with a sigh. “They won’t be coming back for a few days, at least.”
“You think they can pull off something that large in a few days?” Cosmic asks, looking stunned. “I can call in some of the other Cosmics and—”
“Other Cosmics?” Aubrey repeats.
“There are roughly a hundred and seventy of us,” he says. “My race is spread throughout the galaxy to help those in need. That’s why I could retire.”
“Huh,” she says. “I would love to meet some of them!”
“Maybe you will,” he says. He heads to one of the other open space portals and yells, “Hey, Superior! We’ve found her!”
“Oh, good, I’m coming, then.” Superior flies out of the space portal and looks back through it. “They looked familiar,” he says darkly, trying to wipe that memory from his mind. “So are we done here?”
“Jeanie and Trent have decided to help some people with a revolution,” Ken says.
“Sounds entertaining,” Superior says, looking intrigued. “Do they need any help?”
***
I’ve been buried deep under the snow. The only reason I’m still breathing is because of my natural abilities. If I can breathe under miles of dirt, I can breathe under miles of snow, I guess. Either way, I’m starting to get sick and tired of this octopus lady. It must be her super strength that allows her to swim in the snow like she does in the water, because I really doubt it’s part of her ability set. I start digging, climbing my way towards the surface. I can only tell that it’s the surface because there are minerals in the water under this ice.
Why did she do it? Have I been hit by the venom? I don’t feel any different, but it had taken a bit of time for that bite to affect Diamond Dust, right? Will it strip me of my powers? Or will they just go out of control—
I jerk as the ground around me starts to shake dangerously. The mineral in the ice is gathering together. I barely dodge as a sharp crystal shoots up through the ice beside me. Is it me doing that? No, I realize as I get closer to the surface, it’s Diamond Dust.
She’s lost control of her abilities, but we must not have noticed it since there aren’t as many rocks in the area—like none, really. I speed up, now really starting to worry. Yes, she’d fallen over, but I’d thought that was all that would happen. This—this could destroy a lot of the ice that is already in danger of melting. As much as I dislike what Atlanti’s been doing, there is a good deal of truth to what she’s fighting against.
If we destroy the ice of the polar caps, ourselves, well… the very thought makes me feel sick to my stomach. I have to stop her, somehow. I stop, hearing something digging through the ice nearby. I’m not alone. The octo-lady is still down here with me. I change the direction of my digging. After this I’m going to have to ask Malina to freeze the ice I’m leaving behind solid again. But first…
***
“I need a healer,” Nico says as he reached Superior and Tatiana’s place. “Are either of you ready for another trip out into the snow?”
“I’m coming!” Alyssa shouts from the kitchen. Tatiana brought the fire pit downstairs for the two healers, and now everyone recovering from the venom is roasting marshmallows for S’mores. “At least Aubrey’s clothes fit me, sort of.” She’s quite proud of the fact that she’s lost a bit of weight, but of course she has. Although the healer’s obstacle course isn’t nearly as dangerous as the Apocalypse Field, it is still quite a work out. She’ll never be waif-like, sure, but she’s becoming extremely happy with her natural curves.
“I should go,” Jonas says. “You aren’t like me; you actually have to process the venom.”
“Yeah, and you aren’t even part of our school anymore,” she says, giving him a dark look. “You should be down south by now, not up here freezing your skinny butt off.”
“And blending in with the snow,” he says, making her laugh.
“But I’ve got a complete resistance, now,” she says, grabbing the gloves from her snowsuit pocket and tugging them on. “It might come in handy in the future, if I wind up dealing with other venoms. I bet with a little bit of work I can come up with an anti-venom.”
He nods, giving up on fighting with her. Alyssa might not be Aubrey, but she’s almost as difficult to deal with. Nico sticks his head in the room.
“We’re going to need a teleportation watch. Alyssa, do you still have yours?”
She holds up her wrist and pulls up her sleeve so he can see it. “Right here,” she says proudly. “I think all of the healers should have these, you know? That way we could do our jobs a lot faster. It really helped when Badmoon took out the black suits down in Texas.”
“I’ve been considering it,” he says. “Now get everything you might need, I just need a few seconds to throw together a—” he stops, yawning hugely and rubbing his shoulder, “a power blocking gun. We’ve got a bit of trouble towards Cosmic’s place.”
“My place?” Duplicitous asks, standing. “I want to go.”
“You’re still getting over what she did to you, earlier,” Nico says.
“But it’s my home,” she says. He completely ignores her, heading for his wing. She turns and looks at Alyssa. “You have to understand why I want to go, right?”
“He said it was towards your place, not AT your place,” Alyssa says. “You need to stay here and finish recovering.”
“But—”
Alyssa turns and starts to walk away, only to stop as Malina steps in front of her. “What?”
“Sandra is out there,” Malina says. “Don’t let her get hurt. You claimed to be her friend earlier, right?
Were you lying?”
“No, I like her,” Alyssa says, a bit surprised by the question. “The girl is fierce. Although I had better get my jewelry back from her, otherwise I’m going to get angry. But if anyone’s going to be protecting anyone, it’s her that’s going to be protecting me.”
Malina laughs for a second and a little smile lingers after she’s done. “She’s tough, yeah… but she’s really fragile, on the inside. And her parents are out there… well, it’s got to be hard on her, right?”
Alyssa nods, since she has had trouble with her own parents in the past. “Yeah, I get it. I’ll make sure they don’t hurt her. Sandra’s amazing. She doesn’t deserve people being jerks to her, especially not her own mother.”
“When this is all over, you, me, Sandra and Carla should go out for a girls only day!” Malina says. “What do you say? I bet Nico will let us!”
“Sounds good to me!” Alyssa says.
“Alyssa, you ready?” Nico asks, walking into the room with a delicate, toy-like gun in his hand.
“I’m ready as soon as you are,” Alyssa says, turning up the heat on her suit’s system. “Let’s go save Sandra.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
There’s a black haze filling the air. Jack automatically rises higher in the sky as it creeps closer, not willing to touch it. The source is a very enraged Reaper standing over the fallen Diamond Dust. The darkness seems to swirl around the tall man like a cloak, and the scythe that Reaper holds has grown larger. The first time Jack had seen it, he’d been a little unnerved. Now he’s watching as it glows blood red, and wondering if maybe he shouldn’t have gone after his mom, after all.
This isn’t the time to be freaked out by Sandra’s dad, he tells himself as he looks at the hole in the ice. He needs to find her. He doesn’t know if she can live under the ice, or not, but that’s not what worries him. There are spikes of rock coming up from the ice, making it crack dangerously. If the cracks are big enough, it could easily cause Sandra to fall into the water below.
If Jack can’t swim, he’s almost positive that Sandra can’t, either. He just wishes there was actual metal in the snow that he could use to help find and get her out. Also, he has no idea where the octopus lady has gone. If she’s under the ice with Sandra—