by R. J. Ross
"Tr--Trent?" she asks.
"That's right, Trent," he agrees, giving her a little grin. "You're amazing, did you know that? But you shouldn't stop now."
"What?" she asks. "What was I doing? Did I--did I attack someone else?"
"No," he says. "You're saving the little kids in the group from being stampeded."
Her eyes widen and she hops to her feet. "Igottagosavethem!" she says in a rush before racing away.
"I'm going to help!" he hears Emily say over his earbud. "I'll take the north section, okay?"
"I'll take south," they hear Carla say.
"Then I'll take central," Trent says before taking to the air to find that boy in crutches again. "Not just kids, girls, we want to save the ones that will have trouble--crutches, wheelchairs, anyone that can't make it out on their own."
"And then we'll introduce them to Aubrey!" Carla declares.
"If we have the time," he admits, smiling slightly before rushing off to work.
***
There's something in his ear. He'd been all set to race through the crowds and find his granddaughter when he recalled the earbud that Carla gave him. He'd thought it would be melted by now, but it's still there. He taps on it, wondering how to get it working again, and then wondering if he WANTS to get it working. "Technico?" he says.
"Don't do anything rash, Boombastic," Nico says over the earbud.
"They're going after my granddaughter," Austin says coldly. "I know you promised to try and get me out--but I can't help you with that."
"Boombastic--"
"Are you here?" Austin demands. "Are you where you can get my girl and take her somewhere safe?"
"I am."
"Then--" Austin stops as a hand comes out of the wall next to him. The tall, thin teenager steps out of the wall, tugging Austin's daughter and the water controller from earlier with him.
"Boombastic," the teen says. "My name is Rocco--and I'm going to ask you to come back with me," he says.
Austin looks at his daughter, who he only recognizes because she's the spitting image of her mother and daughter. She's got a sharp, hard-to-read expression on her face.
"I've already told Technico," he says, "I'm going to have to regretfully decline."
"But--" the girl says.
"If you agree," Rocco starts out, "I was told you could--"
"Technico explained already," Austin says, giving his daughter a regretful look. "He's trying to get me out of the cells. I can only think you're part of that. But I don't care if I get tossed back into the cells--it's not as important as what I have to do right now."
"What's that?" his daughter asks. "What's so important that you'd be willing to go back?"
"The safety of my granddaughter," Austin says. "This is my fault--at least it is in part. I should never have let the others get out on the streets again. I know how dangerous they are. I'm sorry," he says, his heart breaking as he looks at her. "I'm sorry for everything, Melissa. I've always loved you--and regretted what I did to you and your mother," he says.
She opens her mouth, but he doesn't stick around to find out what she has to say. He takes off, running before they can try and capture him. He has to find Massteria and get rid of him. And, as much as he hates it, there’s something that’s been bothering him about that little fear-induced chat. Massteria had said, “I didn't want to believe D.B.”
Was it Austin’s imagination? It had all been in his head, after all, but Massteria is a psychic type… that conversation had seemed far too real. And if it was real… then there’s only one person that Massteria could know well enough to call D.B.
Deathblow.
CHAPTER SEVEN
"What are you going to do?" Angela asks as they pull to a stop over the theme park. She instinctively grabs Century's shoulder as he holds out his arms.
A light pulses from him and she watches as time stops. Birds flying past go perfectly still, the world below them stops, mid-riot. She can't help but search them for familiar faces--her daughter, her granddaughter, her husband--
"He's not here," Century says, cursing.
"Austin?" she asks. "I don't see him, but that doesn't mean--"
"Look at this, Angela, do you honestly think Bombastic could have done it? If there were more blown up buildings, sure, but the structures are all in place. This wasn't your husband," he says, "this was Massteria."
"What? Why would Massteria be here?" she asks, confused. "It's Hall property--and it's blatant about it! I remember Massteria from the old days, he was insane, sure, but he never struck me as stupid!"
"I don't know," Century admits. "But we have more important things to do right now. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a Code 115, I repeat, Code 115. Prepare to evacuate the park," he says, touching his ear.
"You've already said that he's gotten away!" Angela protests. "What's the point in bringing in black suits when they'll calm down on their own soon enough? We NEED to find Austin!"
"Boombastic's going after Massteria," they hear someone say over Century's earbud. "I knew there was a reason I added an external power blocker to my master watch," Nico adds with a hint of smugness.
"Now isn't the time to brag, son. Why did you allow Bombastic to go?" Century demands.
"He says that Massteria's threatened Keliah. He turned down the chance to get his hearing so he could go after him. I can't blame him for that choice, Century. If he's willing to give up a life of freedom to make sure his granddaughter is safe, I can only support that decision. Also, you froze my kids again. Do you know how annoying that is?"
"I'll unfreeze them--"
"NICO," Angela says, reaching out and pulling the earbud out of Century's ear. "Go get my husband. I don't care what noble reasons he's got, I'll take care of Massteria, myself if I need to. Just don't let him toss away a future on this. If you do, I swear you'll WISH you could hide in the Cape Cells when I come after you."
"Falconess--"
"I changed your diapers, boy," she says, barely restraining from breaking the earbud. "You'd better listen right this instant."
"Yes ma'am," Nico says. "But if he CAN take out Massteria--"
"He can't," they all jump as Mastermental comes onto the line. "Of all the others in the Cape Cells, Massteria is the worst match-up for Bombastic."
"Why?" Century asks.
"Because fear played a big part in why he was tossed into the Cells in the first place. If Bombastic is overcome with fear again, the number of victims will be far greater than last time. Massteria has no ability or desire to save the people that are in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Like Dad did?" Nico asks.
"Like your father did," Mastermental agrees grimly.
***
*Cape High*
"The cameras just stopped," Freddy says, poking the wall as if doing so could start the show back up. "What's going on? Come on, we need to know!"
"Century," Vinny says.
The other students look at him blankly, so he explains, "Century stops time--that's obviously what happened here. The drones must have been close enough to get dragged into it. That means he's got things under control, though."
"I swear I'm going to install power blocking systems into the com-bracelets," Zoe says, irritably, tapping on a hologram screen she's brought up. "It looks like he froze the majority of our team while he was at it."
"You can't do that, it'll ruin the show," Jack says. "I mean, seriously, if we all block each other's powers what sort of fight would that be?"
"I'll avoid putting one in yours, then," she says callously.
"Want me to grow some aloe vera for that burn, man?" Sunny says with a hoot.
"Shuddup, Sunny," Jack says, snorting.
"He's got a point, though," Vinny says. "For those of us playing the game, being affected by powers is a big part of the attraction. Think you could set it up with an on-off button?"
Zoe starts typing, only to jerk as a tiny beep goes off. She waves the file she's working on to th
e side and brings up a security system. "What in the world...?" she says, getting to her feet.
"What's going on?" Ace asks.
"Someone just opened the enhancement suit wall," she says, racing away. The others look at each other for all of a second before chasing after her. They come to a stop at the wall outside, where Justin is standing with a determined expression on his face.
"What are you doing?" Ace asks.
"I can't stand it," Justin says. "He's out there--he could be killing people even as we speak, and no one has done anything about it! Why haven't they caught Deathblow yet?" he demands.
"He hasn't killed anyone that we know of, yet," Zoe says. "But we're searching for him, I promise--"
"No you aren't! You're just a student, like the rest of us. You're sitting here, watching their stupid television, letting them run around chasing a guy that's not doing anything except playing with his granddaughter. I was GOING to trust them," he goes on. "I was going to wait and see Deathblow caught and--and his powers stripped. But they're taking too long and they're focusing on the wrong thing--"
"So you're going after him?" Ace asks. "You swore you weren't going into the game--"
"THIS ISN'T A GAME!" Justin bellows. Several of them cover their ears with their hands.
"Justin CALM DOWN!" Morgan says, stepping forward and reaching for him. He jerks back.
"Oh no you don't--I'm going to die WITH my powers, thank you."
"So you already know he'll kill you?" Vinny asks.
"Yes, he will. But I'm not going to make it easy on him," Justin says, turning back to the suits. "How do you put one of these things on?" he asks.
"You're not a fighter--you chose your future, remember?" Ace says. "We all know how hard it was for you when they asked you to save Kirsten, and this is a lot worse, isn't it? Deathblow--"
"Killed my father," Justin says. "He KILLED my father--the only blood relative I had. What do you want me to do, Ace? Stand here and wait for him to kill someone else I love? Malina is out there right now, Carla is out there, Negatia is out there--"
"Negatia can handle herself," Ace says. "She wouldn't be a Hall leader if she couldn't."
"What happens if he catches her off guard?" Justin asks. "Dad thought he had him beat--"
"We're all scared," Morgan says. "We're all scared, and we know where you're coming from, but you have to trust the adults--"
"Why should I?" he demands. "They failed the first time he was out there."
"No, they didn't," Ace says. "Your father caught him. That was NOT failure."
"I am working to find him," Zoe says, making the group turn and look at her. She waves a hand through the air and suddenly they see millions of YouTube videos on the wall. "Nothing goes unrecorded these days, Justin. I've gotten one video of him already, but it was too long ago for him to still be there," she adds, waving a hand and enlarging a video. "I am going to find him, and when I find him, I'm siccing every big name I know on him," she says, her hands clenching at her sides and a faint electric field covering her body for all of a second.
The group watches silently as Deathblow tries to rob a guy of his pants, only to race away as someone starts shouting for Star Spangled.
"You... you've been doing this all along?" Justin asks.
"Of course I have," she says. "Dad's busy in the field, so it's my job to do this part. Don't accuse me of doing nothing just because you can't see it. The same goes for the rest of the Halls."
"Can we help?" Vinny asks.
She looks at him thoughtfully for a moment before nodding and holding out a hand to the school. "Go in and pick a wall, everyone. We've got a lot of stupid cat videos to sort through." The rest of the group head in, leaving only her and Justin standing there for a long, silent moment.
“I want him stripped of his powers,” he says. “No, what I really want is him DEAD. If he’s dead, he can’t hurt anyone anymore.”
“We don’t kill,” she says. “But they can, and probably will strip him of his powers.”
“Zoe,” Jack says from the building. “What about Star Born, have they caught her?”
“Star Born never ran,” she says.
“What?”
“She stayed at the Cape Cells and patched up the wounded guards,” she says. “At the moment the Hall Leaders are letting her stay there with a collar on. She doesn’t seem to have any desire to leave.”
“She’s up to something,” he says grimly.
“She might be,” Zoe agrees. “Trust me, I’m checking in on that regularly, too.”
***
“Chicklet!” the word shocks me, especially when I have no idea when Grandma got here. I’m being hugged tightly, my feet off the ground. “Oh, sweetie, I was so worried,” she adds, pulling back to look me in the eyes. “Are you okay? The crowd didn’t hurt you too much, did they?” she asks.
“Grandma?” I ask, looking around to see what the heck is going on. Century is flying away, leaving just the two of us standing here in a world that’s completely motionless. “What happened?”
“Oh, Charles stopped time,” she says. “He always has been too quick to stop everything. We need to get you somewhere safe, Chicklet, and then I’ll go find your mother.”
“What about Emily and Carla and Grand—” I stop myself, but too late. She has a knowing look on her face.
“Your grandpa is off on a stupid mission, but don’t worry, I sent Nicolas off to stop him,” she says. “That man always was too quick to jump the gun.”
“Nico?”
“No, Austin,” she says. Her wings flare brightly and she holds onto me as we take to the air. “I’m sorry I never told you about him,” she adds quietly. “It’s hard to talk about things like that. He didn’t hurt you, did he?” she asks.
“Not too much. He did cause me to trip, and he forgot that I can’t hold my breath as long as he can, I guess, but he’s a good grandpa,” I say, defiantly. “He shouldn’t be in the Cape Cells!”
“Just because he’s a good grandpa?” she asks me with a hint of amusement. “I bet there are millions of good grandpas in prison, Chicklet, or at least ones that would try to be.”
“He didn’t KNOW there were people in the building!” I say.
“I know, Chicklet, I know he didn’t,” she says in a softer tone, “but there were. We just need to convince everyone knows that he’s already done his time.”
“Has he?” I ask after a moment.
“I would say so,” she says, her jaw tightening slightly.
“He still loves you,” I say, even if he hasn’t said it in that many words. “Do you—do you still love him?”
“It’s been a very long time, Chicklet,” she says, looking down at me with a bittersweet smile.
“But you live on the island he built!” I say. “You can’t tell me you don’t still care!”
“Time changes all things.”
“Bull!” I say. “True love is forever! At least… at least I want to believe that,” I admit a bit softer, looking down. “Someone must think that, right? What about—what about Superior and Tatiana? They were apart for as long as you two were apart, and THEY still love one another!”
"Love is important," she says, a slight frown on her face. I can tell she's trying to simplify the problem for me, but if you've got to simplify something that means you've been thinking too much in the first place, right? "I do love him--at least I love the man he once was. I don't know who he is now, Chicklet. But regardless of how that turns out, we need to make sure he gets his hearing."
"Hearing?" I ask.
"We're working to get him out of the Cape Cells," she says.
"But Carla just said they might let him stay out until the Cape Cells were rebuilt," I say, a hint of hope rising in my heart. "Is there--is there a chance we can get him out?"
"Not if he continues on in the way he's going," she says grimly, “but I think Nicolas will be able to stop him. I hope he will, at least. Is he as powerful as his father?"
<
br /> "Isn't that how Grandpa got tossed into the cells in the first place?" I ask. "But I don't know... I mean, in some ways I think he is, and in other ways, well, I think he improvises?" I offer. "He's got all sorts of watches that do crazy things that I don't think even Superior can--but there's one huge difference!" I say, getting excited.
"What's that?" she asks.
"Grandpa and Nico are really good friends," I say, grinning widely. "If anyone can stop him, it's Nico! But--but we should go, too, because with all three of us he'll HAVE to stop, right?"
"Oh, honey, it's too dangerous for you--"
"I'm NOT going to lose my grandpa!" I declare, narrowing my eyes on her. "He's the best and only grandpa I've ever had and I'm going to make sure he gets to that hearing and they let him out of the Cape Cells! And then you two can get back together and I'll come to visit all the time as soon as I can fly, and then you can have babies and I'll be a niece but really more like a cousin or something, because of the ages--"
"You've put a lot of thought into this, haven't you?" she asks dryly.
"Yes, I have! And when you have another daughter SHE can become Falconess and I can be a super villain!"
"Oh no, Chicklet, you are a Falconess from the soles of your feet to the top of your head," she says, picking me up and taking to the air.
"I am NOT! I'm going to be a villain!"
"Which is exactly why you're a perfect Falconess," she says. "Now quiet, little one, we don't want people to notice which direction we're going."
"Which way are we going?" I ask.
"The same way your grandpa went," she says. "We're going to do exactly what you suggested. We're going to team up with Nicolas and stop him with love."
"YEAH!" I cheer.
***
A hand touches Trent's shoulder and he jerks, looking around a bit wildly and then up slightly to look Century in the eyes. "Go on with what you were doing, son," the South Branch leader says. "I'll deal with the paperwork later."