by J. D. Wright
Gypsy nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I’m a big fan of yours. I just…wanted to say that.”
“Thank you, Gypsy,” Comet replied with sincerity. “I hear the three of you have had an interesting evening. A battle in the middle of the prom? Majestic, what do you have to say for yourself?”
Majestic shook her head and refused to respond. It was embarrassing enough to have your mother come to the scene and give her disapproving glare, but it was another for Gypsy and Orion to bear witness to it as well.
Comet frowned. “We’ll discuss this when we get home, young lady.”
Majestic watched her mother walk over to speak with the investigators. Then she looked down at the floor to avoid Orion’s intense gaze. He was staring at her like she’d grown two heads. And really, who could blame him?
“So your mother is—” he began.
“Yep.”
“And your father, I presume is—”
“Siege, yes.”
“Oh, my goodness,” Gypsy squealed, leaning forward in her seat. “That’s right! Comet and Siege are married, right? Wow, I can’t believe that they’re your parents. That is so great!”
“Sometimes,” Majestic mumbled. “This isn’t one of them.”
“They can’t really be angry, though, right? You had no choice but to enter your suit.” Gypsy looked back and forth at Orion and Majestic. “Those other two—”
“Eden and Velocious,” Majestic offered.
“Yeah, those two were causing trouble and you had to step in. It’s your job.” She paused for a moment. “But wait a minute. If you were already here, does that mean that you both go to this sch—”
“No!” Majestic and Orion replied together.
Gypsy laughed. “Yeah, okay. We’ll just pretend that I believed that. I hope you know you can trust me.”
“I do trust you,” Majestic said. She was trying hard not to think about the fact that Gypsy was right. In order for Orion to have shown up so quickly, he had to already have been there. But she didn’t have time to play Guess Who and figure out who he was. She glanced at him with a frown. “It’s not you that I don’t trust.”
“Hey!” Orion took offense, immediately. “Are you serious? This is the second time we’ve fought together and you still don’t trust me?”
Gypsy gasped. “Second time?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Majestic looked up as her mother returned and took a seat next to her.
“The investigators say that you called them, Gypsy?” Comet asked. “And this is Orion? The famous Orion?”
Majestic didn’t like the way her mother said Orion’s name. Almost as if the woman was happy to finally meet the pest in her daughter’s life. And the scowl that Majestic wore did nothing to wipe the smile from Comet’s face.
Orion, however, was happy to be recognized. “You’ve heard of me? Really?”
“Oh, sure. We know all about your recent mission with Majestic—”
“He wasn’t with me,” Majestic protested. “He was just…there.”
“And it’s a good thing I was,” Orion said, smirking.
Majestic rolled her eyes, knowing how much Orion must be enjoying this attention. But as quickly as it began, it was over. Another man called for Comet and she stood.
“I have paperwork to oversee before I can leave,” Comet said. “But you three are free to go. Let your agents know that they’ll be briefed before the end of the night. Gypsy, I’ll send your update to your secure line, since I know you don’t have an agent yet. Your communication devices should start working again once you leave the gym. We had to turn off all outside comms. Protocol of the lockdown, you know.”
Majestic sighed in relief because the conversation was over, but her breath caught when her mother turned back around and looked down at her.
“And Majestic?” Comet added. “We will talk about this when I get home.”
The three supers were quiet for a moment. Then Gypsy reached forward and took Majestic’s hand in hers.
“She won’t be angry with you, will she?”
Majestic shrugged. “You know how parents are. They want you to branch out on your own, but only if it doesn’t put you in danger and yadda yadda.”
Orion studied Majestic with a frown on his face, since he didn’t know what it was like to have a parent that cared about his safety, or anything else for that matter. Hell, his father didn’t even know he was a super. What must it be like to have parents who were supers? Was Majestic their only child or was there an entire family of them? Before he could build the courage to ask, Majestic stood, waved to them, and disappeared out of the side door.
“What must that be like, I wonder?” Gypsy asked, putting a voice to Orion’s thoughts. “Having world-famous superhero parents?”
“You come from a family of supers, right?” Orion remembered Gypsy mentioning her grandfather before.
“Yeah, but not like that. Mine are all in the background, and over half of us have a psychic power of some sort. I’m the first to actually want to work in the field. What about you?”
Orion paused, unsure of how to explain his family dynamic. “I guess I’m like you. My family aren’t famous supers, either.” It wasn’t a lie, really. But he did feel a bit guilty for not telling her the whole truth. Like Majestic, he couldn’t help but trust Gypsy too. And she’d make a great ally. “Hey, what was that thing that you did when you came in? That made a really loud noise?”
“Oh, this?” Gypsy held up her pair of finger cymbals. “They’re my sonic bells. I designed them myself, but I had a little help with the amplification element. I can aim the sound at one person in particular or everyone at once, like I did earlier. You like them?”
“They were great and really packed a punch. My head was ringing for like thirty minutes.”
“Sorry about that.” Gypsy blushed. “Well, they’re not like your fist things. Those packed an actual punch. When did you get those?”
“My agent installed them in my suit right after indoc. Titanium fists. Since my superpower is telepathy, I needed an actual weapon. I’ve always done kickboxing, so we just went with my strengths.”
She smiled and nodded. “So…you and Majestic, huh? How did that happen?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He stood and ignored her knowing grin. “Let’s get out of here.”
The moment Majestic stepped outside of the gym, Whiskey’s voice rang through her earpiece.
“You’re back?”
“Yeah,” she said, sighing.
“How’d it go with your mother?”
“Take a guess. You won’t need two.”
“Gotcha. Meet me in my car.”
Majestic hid in the shadows beside the school offices. She lifted her compact and changed back into her prom dress. Then she tucked her compact into her purse before slipping out of her hiding place and crossing the parking lot to where James was waiting with a grim expression.
“I’m sorry for bailing on you,” he said. “I couldn’t stay around once the S.U.C.—”
“It’s fine. I know you don’t have a disguise, so staying would have given away your identity. Besides, all you missed was my mother’s disapproving glare. You’ve seen that one already.”
They got into the car and drove back to Vada’s house. James could tell she wasn’t thrilled to go home since she sat silently in the car for a few minutes after they pulled into the driveway.
“Hey, cheer up. What’s the worst thing they can say?”
“Probably that I’m forbidden from doing super work for the rest of my life…”
James turned in his seat. “Even if they wanted to do that, they couldn’t. You’re an adult now, Vada. And you’re a registered super. They can’t stop you from working. After graduation, you’ll be a full-time hero. I know you don’t want to hear this, and you know I have a lot of respect for your parents but…they will never stop treating you like a child until you make them. Stop thinking like a kid and deman
d they respect your future career, or you’ll be forty years old and they’ll still be trying to shelter you.”
Vada looked at James and forced a smile. She knew he was right. But it wasn’t easy going against her instinct to just nod and agree with what her parents wanted for her.
“You’re right.” She took a deep breath and opened the car door.
“And hey,” James called out after her. “If it makes you feel any better, diamondintheruff14 kicked my ass again today. See? You’re not the only one with problems.”
Vada laughed and playfully flipped her middle finger at James before he drove away. Unable to put it off any longer, she went inside and was met at the door by her father.
“I heard what happened,” Bill said. He looked down at his watch. “Your mother will be here in about ten minutes. It’s probably best if we wait for her before talking about it.”
“Sure.”
Almost exactly ten minutes later, Michelle strolled in and joined them in the living room. She started to talk, but Vada interrupted.
“I know what you’re going to say. I was irresponsible for going into suit at my own high school. That someone could have recognized me. And that when those villains showed up, I should have alerted the authorities to handle it, instead.”
“That’s actually the gist of it, yes,” Michelle said, crossing her arms.
“I understand your reason for worrying about me,” Vada replied. “But you have to accept that I’m not a kid anymore. I promised I would graduate and not work full-time until then, even though I can do it now that I’m eighteen. I’ve kept that promise. But I’m a super, Mom. This is what I’ll be doing for the rest of my life. It’s what I’ve been training for, what you’ve been preparing me for since I was in diapers.”
Bill took a seat beside Vada and pulled her in for a hug. “And we’re very proud of you, muffin. We just wanted you to enjoy your prom. You don’t go out much, you don’t really date, and this was supposed to be a fun night for you, for once. I hate that it was ruined by those two hooligans.”
“Ruined?” Josh said, walking in and plopping down on the recliner. “I’ll bet going against those villains was more fun than Vada’s had in ages. Right, Vay?”
Vada’s smile came before she could help it, but her mother’s scowl spread just as quickly.
“Josh, please.” Michelle shook her head. “Vada, we love you, and I know we’re tough on you. Probably tougher than most parents, but we have good reason. Those other parents don’t have the secrets we do. They don’t have to hide half of their lives from their neighbors and teachers and friends. We do. And because of it, things like going into suit around your classmates is just too dangerous.”
“I had no choice!” Vada argued. “Eden had a knife to Scarlet’s throat. I couldn’t just stand by and watch it happen. You’ve always said that the reason you’re a super is because when you have the power to make a difference, you also have the responsibility to do so. I had the power to stop her. I had James there to guide me, and I won’t apologize for doing it.”
Michelle angrily bit her lip, but Bill intervened before the fight could continue.
“We understand, Vada. We’re not happy about it, but we understand.” Bill stood and snagged the remote from Josh. “We’re going to go play a game with The Simulator and leave you two women to work this out.”
Vada watched her father and brother leave. Once alone with her mother, she suddenly wished she wasn’t. Their arguments could sometimes last all night long because, like mother, like daughter, they were both stubborn in their convictions.
“Why are you really upset?” Vada asked softly. “You had no problem with me going out to work the other night when I caught my first target. So why are you angry now?”
Michelle walked over to the mantle, picking up a family photo from several years ago. She studied it for a moment before setting it back down. Then she turned around with tears in her eyes.
“Someone is killing supers, Vada. Those two deaths that you heard about, they were supers. Neither was registered, but the S.U.C. tested their blood and bodies and found the supergene. More than that, their genes had been…tampered with.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that someone used them as guinea pigs,” Michelle said with a crack in her voice. “They had marks all over their bodies from what appears to be needles. Someone went into their DNA and messed with their supergene. I can’t say why or how or even who did it, but all signs point to someone who has a very deep understanding of supers and their biology. We think it’s probably a doctor or scientist. Either way, they are targeting supers, using them for something foul, and then dumping the bodies.”
Vada sat in silence. She’d known that the dead had to have been related to supers in some way, but she didn’t know about the experimentation part. That detail made the murders all the more vicious. These deaths weren’t occurring because of a feud, or crimes of passion, or opportunity. They were deliberate.
“There’s more,” Michelle said. The sadness in her eyes grew deeper. “But you’ve probably already figured this out. The murders are somehow connected to Guillotine High. That’s why I was so upset when I found out you were in your suit at school tonight. The other day, you were far away from Guillotine. Tonight, you were right inside of it. What if those villains were just trying to lure supers into the open?”
“I don’t think they’re the ones behind it, Mom. Neither of them seemed like the mad doctor type, if you know what I mean.”
“Maybe not, but right now it’s very important that you be careful. No one, especially at your school, can know about your power. You cannot go into suit again. Not until this psycho is caught. Promise me.”
Vada stood but didn’t meet her mother’s eye. “I can’t make that promise, Mom. If someone is in trouble, I have to try to save them.” Before her mother could argue, Vada added, “But I can promise not to do it alone or be careless. I will make sure my agent knows where I am at all times and I will never go with anyone I don’t know.”
“That’s not good enough, Vada.”
“It has to be. I know Grandpa was worried when you started super work. You told me how he called your agent all of the time for updates on you and how annoying it was. But he learned to trust you and…now it’s your turn to learn to trust me.”
Vada gave her mother one last glance, then left the living room and went upstairs to her room. She had only been inside for a few seconds when her phone beeped.
James: Go into suit.
Vada didn’t waste any time. She ducked into her closet and changed into Majestic.
“What’s up?” she asked.
“I just got a message from Gypsy. She had a new vision. She wants to meet.”
“When?”
“Tonight. Midnight, at the school.”
Vada peeked out to make sure no one could hear her before replying, “Okay. I’ll see her then.”
Chapter Eighteen
The parking lot was empty when Majestic hopped off of her electric scooter and hung her helmet on the handlebars. She’d thought it best not to show up in one of her parents’ cars since she was trying to keep her power a secret. And a young girl taking a bus this late at night would be suspicious, so going in her normal identity wasn’t a good idea, either. So she’d opted for the scooter instead.
“We need to find you better transportation,” Whiskey said. “I’ll look into it.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem.”
Majestic’s attention snapped to the sky as she watched someone flying toward her. But before she could decide whether to go on the defense or not, she spotted a familiar cape. Vortex landed with Gypsy in his arms. She giggled as he set her on her feet.
“I’ve never flown that way before!” Gypsy said, smiling from ear to ear. “That was amazing!”
Vortex looked pleased with himself. “That was nothing. Wait until I take you into the clouds. Then you’ll really love i
t. Hey, Majestic.”
“Sorry, we’re late.” Gypsy straightened her skirts that had been ruffled in the breeze as they flew. “I needed a ride and Vortex offered to bring me, so…”
“No worries,” Majestic said. “You said you had a new vision?”
“Yes, but we should probably wait until everyone gets here. Oh, wait. There he is.”
Majestic heard a roaring engine and turned to see Orion drive up on a dark blue bike, coming to a halt next to them. He straightened up, took off his helmet, and shook out his blond hair. Majestic felt her mouth go dry just watching him kick the bike’s stand out and swing off of the seat. Oh, man. Guys on motorcycles made her knees weak and she hoped he wouldn’t notice her staring. But judging by the smug grin on his face, he had.
“It’s new,” Orion said, answering Majestic’s question before she could ask it. “I got it right before our mission.”
“It wasn’t our mission. It was my mission that you crashed.”
“Whatever you say, babe.”
“Don’t call me—”
“Focus,” Whiskey said into Majestic’s ear. “Remember why you’re there.”
Majestic tore her gaze from Orion and back to Gypsy. “You were saying something about another vision?”
Gypsy nodded. “Yes, as soon as I got home. I walked through the door and it just hit me. I think it’s because I saw that Eden woman tonight. I think she triggered the vision.”
“Why?”
“Because the premonition was about Eden.”
A chill ran down Majestic’s spine. She was afraid to hear what Gypsy was about to say, but she stayed quiet and listened.
“I saw Eden talking to someone,” Gypsy continued. “I don’t know who it was, but then it got scary. Someone tied Eden up and…I think they’re going to hurt her. I felt pain and then everything went dark.”
“Maybe Velocious likes to tie Eden up,” Orion said, grinning. “You know, in the bedroom? They seem like they might be into that sort of thing.”