Aces Wild: Cape High Book Six

by R. J. Ross

  ***

  Mimic pulls to a stop miles away, standing in front of a grungy looking gas station. He looks at it, then looks around. There's only a few cars in front, the rest of the lot is empty. It'll do. He heads inside, glancing at the people behind the counter.

  "I need the restroom," he says, testing out Ace's voice. It's not as deep as he remembered it being on television, then again he's a lot younger than he remembers.

  "It's over there," he says, pointing to the restroom door. Mimic nods and heads to the bathroom, locking the door behind him.

  Ace King, he thinks, staring in the mirror with something almost close to wonder. Of course it's not at his most powerful, but it's still Ace King. Even in the cells he'd heard about the specialized S class illusionist. Sure, Blackjack wasn't bad, but this kid, he thinks as he moves closer to the mirror, this kid has so much untapped power that it's amazing.

  With his abilities, Mimic can be ANYONE, even without touching them. He won't have their abilities, of course, but he'll have their forms. And more importantly, he'll have Ace's abilities. Ace has the capacity for psychosomatic illusions. They can actually feel like real attacks--which means Mimic can make it LOOK like he has their abilities. That in itself is worth giving up his room with his daughter. Plus, he had been treading a very thin line as Noelle. Keeping in her small form for any length of time was taxing, and every time he shifted back to his own form he risked getting caught.

  He will miss being so close to his daughter, he assures himself. Unfortunately it's a price that must be paid to move on in his life. In his goals. He stares in the mirror, focusing on drawing out the power in the boy's form. He's been an illusionist before, otherwise he wouldn't know how. Ace doesn't.

  The image in the mirror blurs, then changes, growing larger through the shoulders and chest, the hair growing longer and changing colors. White, now, he thinks. With a streak of black in the front. Yes.

  "Hello, Superior," he says with a little smile. "It's been a while."

  ***

  "What happened to my SON?" The words are barely kept from being a bellow as Blackjack slams into the dorm, a mix of fear and rage on his face. "He's not even officially enrolled yet and you're already turning him into a tool for one of your stupid games?" he demands, grabbing Nico by the shirt.

  "This is my fault," Jack says, stepping up to the taller man. He's already been checked by Aubrey, who healed the after-effects of the lightning and yelled at him for not dodging. "I asked him to help with a regular debut gig. But I swear he wasn't going to get hurt--"

  "Shut it, Jack," Blackjack snaps. "This is all Nico, don't tell me otherwise."

  "It is," Nico says, glancing back at the boy on the couch. He's surrounded by teens, with Aubrey crouching down next to him. "He'll be awake in a moment to tell us exactly what he was thinking, but this is my fault. I should have noticed what was going on earlier." There's a stark expression on his face, and his hands are fisted at his sides.

  "WHAT is going on?" Blackjack demands. "And can you let his mother in?" he adds in a more mild tone. "She's already out for my head as it is."

  "Yeah, sure, just--come with me while we go and do that," he says. "I'll explain. Aubrey, how's it coming?"

  "It's going to take a few minutes," Aubrey says. "I'm not sure what she did to him, but he's out. I can get him back, though, don't worry," she says a bit too quickly as she sees Blackjack's face. "I've already done it once, but--I'm not sure--I mean, did Noelle have those abilities?"

  "She said she didn't have any abilities yet at all," Morgan says, sending a silence through the entire group.

  "She doesn't," Nico says as he heads out the door. Blackjack looks torn, his eyes going from the technopath to the boy on the bed and back. Finally he chases after Nico.

  "Take good care of my boy," he calls over his shoulder before stepping out of the dorm. He can see his wife--no, his ex-wife--standing impatiently at the top of the canyon. He can even see the tears glinting in the moonlight. The guilt that races through him actually hurts. He's a failure, he thinks silently. A failure as a husband and as a dad. Some super hero he is.

  Nico is already at the canyon entrance so Blackjack heads up the steps, stopping next to him. "What I need to tell you," Nico says almost silently, "is that somewhere--probably not even in this time--is my granddaughter, unconscious and completely helpless, and I let that--" He grits his teeth and the force field, usually invisible, starts to spark dangerously. "I once told you and the others that I don't want to go back to the cells, but there are certain things I'm willing to do, even if it gets me tossed back in."

  "And we said we'd do everything we could to keep it from happening," Blackjack says, knowing exactly where this is going.

  "Right."

  "Then I'm in," Blackjack says. "Whatever needs to be done. Mimic is going down." He feels almost better, he thinks as Nico pulls up the panel and they go out to see his wife. If he can't stop it before hand, the promise of getting vengeance helps.

  Now if only he can explain that to Viv, he thinks as he steps out of the force field and walks over to her. The slap across the face is expected. The clinging hug that follows it isn't. "Is he going to be okay?" she asks through sobs.

  "He's going to be fine," Nico answers for Blackjack. Blackjack is too busy trying to figure out what to do with his hands. Awkwardly he wraps his arms around her, holding her gently. "He just needs to be woken up."

  "But--you said it was Mimic!" she snaps, pulling back to glare up at Blackjack.

  "It was," Blackjack admits.

  "But we've got something no one else has," Nico goes on. "We've got a healer. He'll probably be awake by the time we get back to the dorms."

  "He had better be," she says in a dangerous tone. For a moment both males forget that she's just a norm as a chill runs down their spines. Mothers are extremely scary people.

  ***

  I can hear voices. I'm not sure what's happened, the last thing I remember is a hand--a tiny hand reaching for my face. Then... then what? I think I'm lying down. "Ace?"

  What?

  "Ace, come on, man, you need to wake up. Aubrey says you should be able to, now."

  You sure? Wait, I think I'm just talking in my head. I try to speak, but my thoughts aren't quite reaching my mouth and the guy that's talking to me is starting to fade from my mind.

  Where am I?

  The world seems to shift around me and I open my eyes, expecting to see the guy that was talking to me. All I see is an empty field, one sort of like where I ran into the cows. That scene, though, had been beautiful in a rustic sort of way. This scene that surrounds me is gray and shadowed. There's no animals--no life at all, really, save for a few patches of grass here and there.

  I start walking, looking for anything that might tell me where I am. Some sort of sign that there's life. For a second I see a flash of wings, and I turn, looking for a bird. There's nothing there. I stare in that direction hard for a long moment, feeling oddly empty, like something is missing.

  "Ace, wake up."

  I look around, expecting to see my mom. I hear her. But still there's nothing here, nothing at all. "Ace!" This time it's my father, I realize. I vaguely feel something tap my cheek. "Wake up, kid. It's time to wake up."

  But... there's still nothing here, I want to say. It's empty.

  Instead I wake up, staring into my dad's eyes blankly. I almost wince as he pulls me into a tight, back breaking hug. "It's empty," I hear myself say. He pulls away, looking at me in confusion.

  "What's empty?" he asks gently.

  "My field. It's empty," I say. I think I might be more confused than he is, because his expression grows hard as he looks over at Nico.

  "How long can he keep someone's powers?" he asks.

  "I don't know," Nico says. "I'm actually positive that he never took all of mine. Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to go to the Hall. I know that Morgan can only keep them for fifteen minutes, but--" he shrugs as he looks over at the g
irl in question.

  "I'm sixteen," Morgan says. "Da--Mimic is a lot older than that. He's way stronger than I am. I still can't believe he was Noelle..." she says the last as if to herself, and crosses her arms in a self-protective manner. There's a look on her face that I can't quite read. I wonder how she really feels about having stayed in the same room as that power snatcher in disguise without even knowing it.

  "Wait, I'm confused," I admit. "Why is my head empty?" I hear a snort from the group of kids. "Not thoughts," I mutter darkly. "It's like... something should be there, but isn't."

  "It's your powers, Ace," Dad says. "You were in your head, you were looking at your-- well, we call it the paint room--it's the area where your illusions start. It looks different for all of us, but it's the same basic place. A large room where you can build your illusions before releasing them into the world."

  "It wasn't a room," I say. "It was a field. There weren't any walls."

  "I... see," he says. "That big, huh?"

  "And it was empty."

  "We'll get it back," Dad says after a moment. "We'll get it back," he repeats, hugging me.

  "I can try and help--" Aubrey says, moving forward. "I don't know if I can do much, but I can try."

  "Try it," Nico says. I watch silently as she moves around my dad, grabbing my hand. She doesn't look like a typical hero. I mean, sure, I guess she's kind of cute, for a norm, but--I blink as her eyes turn white and her hair starts to float around her. I can feel something happening, like heat flowing through my body. It all starts at her hand.

  A second passes. Then a minute. Slowly her hair stops floating and her eyes turn dark blue again. "The only thing I did was fix his blood sugar level," she admits, looking over at Nico. "I don't know how Mimic took his powers... but he literally took them. They're not there TO fix."

  "I see," Nico says. "Even his basics? Strength, speed?"

  "All gone," she says. "Even his eyes--they're just gray," she points out. "Ace, until we get your powers back, I'm afraid you're a norm."

  I feel like she punched me.

  "Why did he choose Ace?" Blackjack demands abruptly. "We were living in the same dorm! I was right here for him to grab at any time! Why didn't he take me instead of my son?"

  "Because of this," Nico says, pulling out his phone and showing it to him. "Your son? He's got the potential to leave you in the dust, Blackjack. Mimic knew that."

  "How did he know it?"

  "Because he comes from a future where he already has," Justin says quietly, making us all turn and look at the pop singer. "I remember a little, remember? I asked to remember Ace."

  "What do you remember about me?" I ask.

  "It's sort of blurry, because I think a lot of it was erased, but I remember one thing pretty clearly. You... sort of wanted to die."

  What? I stare at him blankly, wondering why in the world I would want that. Is it inevitable? I mean, they went to the future, but is the future set in stone? I don't want to die! I mean, I've been having it rough lately, and sometimes in my darker moments I feel like just walking away from it all, but--

  "We're changing the future," Max says, making me look over at him. He'd said the same earlier, hadn't he? Something about "If I'm going to change the future." So... this all, Banshee at the school, meeting the Cape High guys, it's all--

  I'm so confused right now. It doesn't help that Mom shoves her way through the crowd, glaring at Justin as if he's offended her for life. "I don't appreciate you talking to my son like that," she snaps at him. The look of confusion on his face is almost funny. It would have been if I weren't still reeling over what he just said.

  "It wasn't exactly death," he says, frowning. "I think he just... you know... wanted Mimic to do what he just did. So he could sleep. I got the feeling he didn't sleep a lot at all, for some reason."

  "I--" Mom starts out, but Dad drops his hand on her shoulder in a move that makes her glance up questioningly.

  "I know," Blackjack says quietly. "It would be my fault, wouldn't it? You chose to remember Ace, right, Justin?" he asks.

  "Yeah... I think he and I... you know, sort of became pals," Justin says hesitantly. "I remember that I liked him. Not sure why, exactly, but I liked him," he finishes with a shrug. He jerks as Dad hugs him.

  "You saved my kid," Dad says. "Thank you. I might let you pass math, after all."

  "I was passing math already!" Justin says, jerking out of the hug and giving Dad a dirty look. "And how is this saving him? He's a norm now--I mean, I guess that's what he wanted, but--he's like... amazing, right?" he says, turning to look at Nico.

  "Not yet, but he will be," Nico says. "When we get his powers back. Until then, we'll finish up the transfer papers--"

  "No," Mom says. "We won't." The entire room turns to look at her. She stares back at them with a defiant expression. "He's not even an official member of the school and he's already been through something this traumatic. I will NOT allow my son to go to this school. I'll find someone to tutor him in his abilities, if necessary, but he will not be going to this school any time soon, or ever."

  "Mrs. King," Nico says, stepping forward.

  "I AM NOT MRS. KING!" Mom bellows, right in the face of an ex super villain that created Death Canyon. "I am Ms. Nyler! A single mother with a son that just happens to be a super! NOTHING has changed! I'm keeping our son, Blackjack, I'm raising him in a stable environment--"

  "From what they've said tonight, that stable environment has dangerous consequences on Ace--" Nico starts out. He stops as Dad raises a hand in front of him.

  "This is a family issue, Nico," Dad says quietly. "Let me take care of it, for once." He moves in front of Mom, towering over her by over a foot. "Viv, our son is a super."

  "I realize that!"

  "Not only is he a super, he's a part of the Loaded Deck family. He's got an entire line of supers behind him--some weaker, some stronger, most of them average at the A class line, like I do. But not all of them."

  She stares at him, her expression going from angry to confused and back again as he goes on. "There are... certain Loaded Decks in the past that... have had difficulties," he says slowly, looking over at me with a hard to read expression. "My grandfather was one. When you have enough ability to make anything you think of a reality, reality starts to slip away. That's why there's a special training for our family, one passed down from father to son. What I'm saying, Viv, is that I won't allow some two-bit hack of an illusionist try and train my son. It could get him tossed into the Cape Cells, or worse."

  "He's not a super right now," Mom says. I visibly flinch, I know I do. I don't even want to see my own eyes. I'm a norm. Sure, I pretended to be one all this time, but I'm an actual norm. I feel like I've lost a major part of myself.

  I jerk as I feel a hand on my upper arm and glance over, looking at Carla. She's staring up at me with a worried expression. "It's okay," she says, patting my arm in a "there, there" move. "We'll get them back."

  I glance over at Vinny, unconsciously, wondering if he's going to rein the girl in again. I'm pretty sure she's only like, thirteen, and that explains his protectiveness. But he just watches me closely, so I hesitantly reach down and pull her hand away. "It's fine," I lie. "I just need some fresh air, now."

  "Don't leave the campus," Nico says.

  "What are they going to do to me, take away my powers?" I drawl darkly. I head out of the building before he can reply, stepping into the night air. I take a long moment to stare up at the moon, shoving my hands into my pockets. I feel vulnerable. My senses seem dulled, and a cool breeze actually threatens to make me shiver. I don't even notice the movement behind me until someone speaks.

  "Your speed, it's impressive."

  I almost jump before turning to face Adanna, Sunny's girlfriend. She's still gorgeous, I note as she gives me a little smile. "I followed you earlier. For someone that's never done much with their powers, you're not bad."

  "Doesn't mean anything now, does it?" I say, looking away fro
m her. "I'm a norm, now."

  "For now," she says, correcting my sentence. "You don't feel you fit in here, do you?"

  "Like I would?" I ask, looking back to the moon. "Whatever has them all intent on getting me to come, I don't get. I'm never going to be part of some big happy family of cape kids--"

  "We aren't," Adanna interrupts.

  "What?"

  "There's not a big happy family here. Sure, they try and get along, but there are two clear groups that don't often see eye to eye--or at all. Max is a born leader," she says, walking closer to look up at the moon. "He leads the kids that live in the apartment, and sometimes me. Not often, of course," she adds with a shrug. "But when you get to the kids in the apartments, they're led by Morgan. There's a bit of a power struggle there, not that they seem to notice it, themselves. No, that's a lie. Max notices. He tries very hard to keep from trying to take over."

  "Why?"

  "Because they have more internal conflict than he can deal with, living away from both groups as he does."

  "Shouldn't Trent be the leader?" I ask, trying to figure out the group dynamics.

  "Why?" she asks.

  "Because he's like... he looks like the leader," I say a bit lamely.

  "Looks aren't everything. One day Max will give up pretending to be a super villain and take his rightful place, I think," she says. "But it's his decision."

  "What's his rightful place?"

  "His father's position," she says. "Didn't you know that Max is the son of Mastermental?"

  I didn't. I guess I'm shocked, but I've had so many shocks tonight that I'm feeling a bit numb. "So... what are you leading up to?" I ask.

  "I think this is your life," she says simply. "You should decide where you fit in, and if it doesn't feel right at first, keep trying until you find your spot. Super, norm, it doesn't matter. What matters is that you know who you are. Every single person in the dorm right now, they're all trying to find out who they are, too."

  "What are you really trying to say?" I ask.

  "You would fit in here--as much as anyone else does. But it's your life, right? Your choice. You just need to think it through and explain what you think to your mother. She loves you enough to listen."