by R. J. Ross
“Well, Torpedo, we last marked them in Texas, but they are on the move. We’ll try to keep everyone up-to-date, but at the moment, there’s no call for his capture.”
“Thanks,” Massteria says, hanging up. “There. We’re heading for Texas.”
“You got any idea how big Texas is?” Deathblow asks.
“We’re about to find out, now aren’t we?”
Mimic jumps into the air, racing away before the two can catch sight of him. Texas, huh? Sounds interesting!
CHAPTER FIVE
The amusement park looms ahead of us, but a sea of people blocks the way. I look up at Grandpa, wondering if he feels comfortable in such a large crowd. Would one of the norms recognize him? I mean, it's been almost forty years since he was out in public, right? So I highly doubt all these parents and kids have even heard of him, I know I hadn't. But he's pretty powerful, so maybe he was well known before he got tossed into the cells. I hope nobody over forty is out here...
"So, do we have enough money to get in?" I ask after a long moment. He looks around, frowning slightly as he thinks it over, and then an evil little grin pulls at his lips.
"No," he says, "but I've got an idea." He tugs me to the side of the crowd, where the wall blocks people from entering, and holds out a hand. "I want you to go in there and bring back some sort of mask," he tells me. "Whatever one you think will pass me off as entertainment."
"You--" I say. "They wouldn't let you in that easily!" I protest.
"Sure they would. If I take off the glasses, it's pretty obvious."
"Why don't we BOTH jump the wall, I mean, you can FLY," I say dryly.
"Where's the fun in that?" he asks. When I just stare at him and tap my foot he shrugs. "Fine, we'll go in from the back. Do they ever check your tickets when you're inside?"
"They didn't the last time I came," I tell him. I look at the crowd as we casually walk away from the main entrance. A little while later we're at the back of the park.
We're going to get caught, I just know it. It's actually more thrilling to do this when I do--I mean, it's one thing to steal, it's another to... break and enter. Okay, not breaking. I don't think we plan on breaking anything--"We're not going to break anything, are we?" I ask Grandpa.
"What?" he asks blankly.
"I mean, this will just be entering, right? Not BREAKING and entering."
He laughs at me. Rude! "Keliah, they paid millions to keep me INSIDE one of their facilities. A few bucks more isn't going to break the bank--and technically I'm just returning, in a way, right?"
No, not really, but I sort of like how it sounds. "How about this?" he goes on, still standing there with a hand held out to help me up, "Once you become big and famous you come down here and do a gig, for free? You can feel like this is just an I.O.U."
I blink. That DOES feel better--not that I'm worried about breaking and entering! I'm going to be a super villain! Super villains make a living off of breaking and entering!
"I'm good," I say, stepping into his hand and letting him throw me into the air. I land on the top of the wall, crouching there and looking over the park--you know, for guards and people. "And if I DO come back and do some sort of show, well, it's just to give myself a bigger name!" I declare boldly as he lands on the wall next to me. I jump into the park.
There are people back here, I realize belatedly. Most of them are too busy to notice us, since they're either chasing little kids or looking at maps, but there's a little boy about seven with a cotton candy on a stick. He's staring right at us with his mouth dropped open. I point at him for Grandpa to notice.
"Hello, little boy," Grandpa says, heading straight for him. I grab at his sleeve, but he doesn't even seem to notice. He crouches down in front of the kid and pulls his glasses down. "You didn't see anything, got it?" he says almost silently.
The boy stares into his bright red eyes, a mix of fear and amazement on his face. "Who ARE you?" he asks. "You're not on the Hall website!"
"I'm just a..." Grandpa looks at me, a bit confused.
"Well we ARE in a Hall amusement park," I tell him, groaning. "He EXPECTS to see Hall members walking around." I raise my voice so the kid can hear, "Leave the kid alone, Boom. We're here to do super secret research--he'll just get in the way."
"Super secret research?" the boy asks. I walk over to him, poking him in the chest.
"I think he heard too much, Boom," I say, looking at Grandpa. "We're going to have to kidnap him."
"We are, are we?" Grandpa says. "He'll get in the way. I say we just get rid of him--" he holds up a hand and it starts turning black, the lines of red cracking over his fingers.
"SO COOL!" the kid says, looking awed.
"This is the part where you run," I whisper in his ear. "Don't tell anyone, you'll ruin the big show--it's a surprise event," I add.
He nods and races away. I'm POSITIVE he's going to tell everyone he meets.
I groan. "We should probably leave," I admit to Grandpa.
Instead, to my surprise, he hands me a fake mask on a string. "Wear this," he says. "We might as well make a day of it!" There are cameras flashing and phones pointing at us.
"The Hall is going to see," I say silently.
"This is the last thing I expected to do with you, anyway," he admits. "We might as well go out with a dramatic boom. It's sort of my thing, after all."
***
The group sits on the roof of a building, watching the pair bluff their way into the park. Max has a little smile on his face. "I like him," he declares.
"Because he just threatened a child?" Emily asks, munching on a thing of popcorn. "Well, it WAS entertaining," she admits when the rest of the group just look at her. "I mean, they could have done it a lot better, though. Why not just land on one of the buildings and check the ground first?"
"Because he's letting Keliah test out what SHE can do," Trent says. "Until she can fly, this is how she'll have to do it. Besides, people are watching the sky—they expect supers to show up here." A little grin pulls at his lips. "And breaking in the back way is a cheap thrill, right?" he offers.
"So he's--he's playing?" Emily asks blankly.
"Exactly," Max says. "We're supers, Em. The experience is more important than the outcome more often than not. Which do you think he'll enjoy remembering once he's tossed back into the cape cells? Flying into a theme park or helping his granddaughter sneak in?"
"That's a sad way of putting it," Aubrey says quietly.
The others fall silent, since they all agree with her. After a long moment, Trent says, "Where's Rocco when you need him?"
"It HAS to be Rocco, right?" Emily asks, trying not to sound hopeful.
"Better safe than sorry," Max says. "Rocco needs to ask him. But I don't want him to show up just yet."
"Why not?" Trent asks.
"Because maybe we can get that show they were talking about, first," Max says, grinning evilly. "Who wants to be the hero?"
"We can't--we're both Central," Emily says, glancing over at Trent.
"Then we need a South Branch cape." He taps his ear. "Carla? Can you come down south?"
"You wouldn't!" Emily says. "She's not ready to fight a--"
"Carla, ignore him," Trent says. "We need to keep him on his best behavior--"
"No," Max says. "He's a super villain. We need to SHOW that he can play by the rules. A fake battle is a perfect way of proving it. If he willingly takes the fall for our cute little Carla--AND no one gets hurt, he's definitely playing by the rules."
"I'm coming!" they all hear Carla say over the earbud.
"We’ll make sure to give Keliah the heads up," Nico says, “and arrange for something harmless he can blow up. We might as well do it up right."
"Are you coming with her?" Trent asks.
"Do you even have to ask?" Nico says.
***
The conference room in the South Branch is rather similar to the one in Central Hall. There’s a half circle table, where Rocco and the ot
hers are sitting with Century, and a screen in front of them. The only differences are the carpet, and the metal wall art of horses decorating the wall.
"This is risky," Century says, scowling at Nico's image on the screen. "The whole cape world will be up in arms against him if Carla even gets a SCRATCH, and you know it--I'd be at the top of the list."
"Have you been watching him?" Nico asks. He's running, and Century sees the world behind him blur in the screen, but that's not a big surprise.
"He won't hurt me!" Carla says, sticking her head in the screen. "Keliah and I are friends!"
"Sugar, you know I don't--"
"Century, you HIRED me," Carla says. "That means you trust me to act like a hero, right?"
"I hired you to--"
"Be very careful what you say right now, Century," Nico says with amusement.
"I hired you to be a hero," Century says, inwardly groaning. "But I was planning on you being a... go-between between our people and the norm system, sugar. You would help with the rescue teams, like you did during that little Herold incident--not fight escaped Cape Cell convicts in public!"
"I can do both! I want to meet Keliah's grandpa. He seems nice," she says. "And I never DID get an official big battle debut," she adds in a scolding tone.
"Okay," Century says. "But the moment she gets hurt, you had better step in, son," he says in a warning tone to Nico.
"Like I said earlier," Nico says, "the moment that he steps out of line, I'll be the one that hauls him in. But I trust him, Century. So trust me."
Rocco looks at the Falconess pair. They look worried, so he has to say something. "Maybe this will help with showing the other Hall leaders that he's willing to play by the rules. I think, from what we've seen, he will. I hope." He's looks worried and the others notice.
"Are we sure?" Malina asks, worried as well. "She's my best friend."
"He'd better not hurt her," Falconess says, her face strained, her hands clenched at her sides. "Mom?" she asks Angela.
"Who is Carla?" Angela asks.
Rocco pulls out his phone, holding it up so she can see. "Is that your wallpaper?" Malina asks, her eyes widening slightly. A faint blush crosses Rocco's face.
"So what if it is?" he asks. "She's one of my best friends, too, you know."
"Mmmhmm," Malina says, a hint of teasing entering her expression.
"Be quiet," he mutters. "I've got pictures of everyone on here."
"But not as your wallpaper," she teases.
"An adorable little girl?" Angela asks her daughter.
"She's only a little older than Keliah--but she's a speedster," Falconess explains, looking uneasy.
"He won't hurt her," Angela says. "His biggest dream was being a father," she adds almost to herself. "He couldn't have changed that much since he was put in the cape cells. If he has... he's not the man I fell in love with."
"I hope you're right," Falconess says.
Century turns to them, looking worried, as well. The expression turns to confidence, a bit too quickly for it to be real. "Ladies, I trust Nico. He won't let Carla get hurt. And if he says that he trusts Bombastic, then I can only believe you're right, Angela." He looks at her, his eyes serious. "She'll be fine."
"She'd better be," Malina says.
***
I can't help but laugh as the Century ride comes to a halt. "That was AWESOME!" I say to Grandpa. "How did they get it to go through half the park like that?" The roller coaster had actually laced through several of the other rides, and half of the time I had been sure we'd crash.
"They didn't stop time, though," he says as he gets out of the cart and picks me up before I can climb out. I feel like such a little kid when he does that, sheesh.
"Did you like it?" I ask, suddenly realizing that for a guy that can fly this sort of thing might be sort of lame.
"I loved it," he says, hugging me briefly before putting me down, "since you loved it." He reaches up and pushes my hair back into place with a little grin. Everyone in the park starts roaring with excitement. We turn to the large screen on the wall.
There's a hero--no, I think as I stand on tip-toe to see. "Carla," I whisper, shocked at the sight of her. "What's she doing on the screen?"
"HY-BO! HY-BO!" the crowd on the screen with her starts chanting. "HY-BO! HY-BO!"
"It's Hypersonic Rainbow!" Carla says, holding a mic that has a rainbow on the handle. She gives them an irritated look, but all she gets in return is a wave of laughter. "Oh well," she goes on, waving the new nickname off. "Hi, everybody! I've come to play with you, today!"
The crowd roars with approval. The area we're in roars, as well. My gosh, she only debuted just a little while ago! How does she have everyone so in love with her already?
Oh, right. It's Carla.
"Come on," Grandpa says right next to my ear, tugging me out of the ride station and down a ramp leading to the main part of the park. "Do you know her?" he asks when we reach a clear area near a tree.
"She's Carla," I say. "She's one of my... um... friends." At least I want to think she's a friend. She doesn't hate me, at least! "She's a speedster--I'm not really surprise that she joined the South Branch, actually. I think there's an entire group of kids that are lined up to work with Vinny down here. But it's a school day, right?"
"You don't have winter break?"
"Not really--I mean, half of the school LIVES in the school, so they have classes year-round. I think it’s so they can graduate early and get out to work. I mean, a handful of them are ALREADY working, even while going to school."
"Not much of a childhood, is it?"
"Well... I sort of get the feeling that we're going to be playing for the rest of our lives," I admit. "It's not like the training is that bad, especially for the older kids. They have this place called the Apocalypse Field, and on Fridays they dress the robots like zombies and toss one of the stronger kids in to fight while everyone else sits around eating popcorn."
He stares at me. "Your school sounds pretty amazing," he says finally. "They haven't tossed you into that field, have they?"
"Only for the lower level drills, like crowd control," I say. "Someday, maybe, I'll be upgraded to something tougher."
"No doubt," he says. "Now where should we go next?"
"Um--" I head for the nearest map, leaving him behind for just a moment--until I hear Carla shout, "Kel--liope!" Before I can even turn, I'm grabbed in a tight hug. I blink, shocked. "Howhaveyoubeenallthistime?" she asks too quickly.
"Car--I mean Hy-Bo!" I say, letting out a little yelp as she lifts me up and swings me around. We're about the same height, but that doesn't seem to make a difference.
"Hypersonic Rainbow!" she scolds me as she puts me down.
"I like Hy-Bo," I tell her. "It sounds cute."
She hesitates. "You think?"
"Yeah," I say with a grin. We're surrounded by people taking pictures. I turn, looking around for Grandpa, but he's been eaten by the crowd. "What are you doing here?" I ask her. "Shouldn't you be at school?"
"I'm the newest South Branch hero!" Carla says happily. "So I can get into the amusement park ANYTIME I want! For FREE! I just need to do a little show to make everyone happy--is everyone happy?" she calls to the crowd. They cheer. "YAY!" she says. "Let's go on a ride!" she says to me, dragging me off in a random direction.
I glance over my shoulder, searching for Grandpa. I can't see him. I can't get free of Carla's hold, either. She's stronger than I am.
"We need to talk," she says silently, still grinning and waving for the crowd. "You came here with someone, right?"
"Um--no, of course not," I say, automatically lowering my voice as well.
"Don't lie--the cameras have caught you a few times," she says, glancing briefly up at one of the light poles that we pass. "This IS Hall property."
"He--" I say as we get in line for the Flameblaster ride. Instantly the people already in line motion for us to go forward. Carla takes the time to shake hands and give hugs all
the way to the front, leaving me time to think of a lie. She just doesn't give me time to tell it when we get into the cart.
"I'm here to fake fight him," she says.
"WHAT?" I yelp.
"He acted as a villain, you set up that there would be a show, and I never got my big debut," she explains. "So Nico brought me here to do a big show--and you brought me a villain! It's perfect!"
"No it's NOT!" I say, starting to panic. "You can't fight him, Carla, you'll get--"
"Will he really hurt me?" she asks. "He didn't look that mean to me."
"I don't think he will," I say slowly, trying to think as the ride shoots off through a tunnel of digital flames. "But he's not trying to draw attention to himself--he CAN'T. Carla, he's--he's a--" I take a deep breath, terrified that this will blow up in my face. But I WANT to tell her. I can't let her go into this thinking Grandpa is just a random villain. "Carla, he's an escaped Cape Cell convict," I say silently.
"Then why are you running around with him?" she demands.
"Because he--he's also my grandpa," I say. The ride hurtles through the world, and we're surrounded by screaming norms and heavy music, but she heard me. I know she did. I dare to glance over at her, shocked to see her grinning.
"Then it'll be an AWESOME debut!" she says.
"You can't fight a Cape Cells--"
"Nico used to be one," she says. "He's Sunny and Zoe's dad and a pretty awesome principal. Just because he was in the Cape Cells for some reason doesn't mean he's an absolutely terrible person. Does it?" she asks me.
"He's not!" I say quickly.
"Then will he do my fighting debut for me?" she asks.
"I don't--I don't know," I admit. "We're supposed to be in hiding, but he thinks he's going to get caught soon and tossed back into the Cells. It's just--if he does, they'll know where he is and take him in."