by R. J. Ross
Papa's a super villain. But he's way more than just that--he's a world renowned scientist and he's gotten all sorts of awards for his discoveries in biological studies. He specializes in animal genetics, which makes sense, considering our family's powers. We're shape shifters.
Mama's not, of course. Mama's an animal speaker, but she can't shift. She's never really done much with her abilities, honestly, other than take care of the big cat sanctuary we run.
But I guess you're probably wondering why I'm stuck up this tree, huh? Yeah, I was trying to ignore that fact, but it's pretty obvious when you look down... way down... far, far, faaaar down. I feel a little dizzy, actually. The world seems to sway in front of my eyes and I dig my claws into the bark of the tree, not wanting to fall off--yes, I said claws. I'm shifted at the moment, and I can't turn back because it's part of self study, thanks to the principal of Cape High.
"How did you get up there again?" I hear someone say from below.
"Leave her," Taurus says mildly. "She's going to learn how to get out of trees sooner or later." Taurus is a super hero. That's irritating enough, as far as I'm concerned, but it gets worse. His shape shifted form? It's amazing. It's this massively huge minotaur, one three times larger than his human form. My shape shifted form? It's a tiny little runt of a panther cub. Needless to say I'm not very happy being cubsat by him--so I ignore him completely.
It's Sunny that I look at. He's holding up his hands, offering to catch me. "C'mon," he says in a sweet, coaxing voice. "It's okay, I'll catch you." Sunny is 1) lazy, 2) extremely powerful, 3) growing more powerful as the day goes by, and 4) a hero in training. Yes. This short little guy with big green eyes that falls asleep at the drop of a hat is everything I can't stand--especially when I'm stuck up a tree again!
"Shouldn't you be napping right now?" Taurus asks.
"I woke up," Sunny says, grinning. Yes, he actually naps for self study. How useless is that? I don't see why all the adults are so awed over him. Sure he's got some interesting powers over plants and dirt and whatever, but as a super in training he's shameless and--I let out a hiss as the tree branch moves lower on its own, literally reaching for the boy that I hate the most. "There we go," Sunny says, gently prying me from the limb. "That's better."
He's holding me right in front of his face, so I do the first thing I can think of. I bop him on the nose with a paw--wait, there were supposed to be claws there. Why are my claws not working? Stupid kitten form! "Rowr," I say, which is not nearly as impressive as I'd planned it to be, either.
He laughs. "Look at that face!" he says. "You look like I've ruined Christmas!"
Taurus takes me out of his hands. "Enough teasing her," he says. "Go check on your sister or help Emily with her studies," he adds, putting me on the ground. I start forward, but I still haven't gotten used to the four legs and a tail thing, so I promptly fall on my face. "And no laughing," Taurus warns.
"She's just--it's just--" Sunny starts out. I can almost finish the sentence, I think, "She's just so clumsy, she's just so funny looking," or something like that, I think as I lie down, sulking.
"Go on," Taurus says, pushing Sunny off. He waits until the boy is gone before coming over and sitting down next to me. "I got you something," he says, pulling out his smartphone and holding it in front of me. He brings up a video then pushes play before I get the chance to figure out how to back away. A leopard appears on the screen. "This is an African Leopard," he says. "Like you. Watch how it moves for a while."
I find myself staring, watching closely as the leopard pads across the screen, focusing on the muscle movements, the way the tail moves. I've seen big cats move, we've got them out back, but the body shape of the leopard is different. The legs are shorter and the body longer--
"When I started shifting," Taurus says, "I turned into a calf. I was about your age. And if you think being a cub is awkward, try picturing having four long and extremely skinny legs and a huge body. I tripped over everything, especially myself. Your father," he goes on, "has three forms. I've seen them--I have them on this, we'll be watching it later. He's got the normal sized panther, the gigantic panther, and the were-panther. I'm thinking you'll grow up to have all those, yourself. But it takes time and hard work."
I look at him, tail flicking once, then back at the video. He lets out a laugh. "He's right, you're extremely expressive in this form," he says. "I know... of them all, Sunny's probably the most annoying, isn't he? He's only a little older than you, but he's catching onto his powers so fast--like the tree branch? That must have really made you irritated, didn't it?"
Yes. Yes it absolutely had. He doesn't even have to work to overcome the massive problem I face--and he never DOES work! All he does is nap in the sun or sun bathe or be lazy--which really, aren't all of those being lazy? And the worst part? The tree I keep climbing up when startled is all his fault to begin with! And the fact that I was startled is all Taurus's fault, so really, why am I sitting here agreeing with him? I look at Taurus darkly.
"Okay, okay, you don't like me much, either, I get that," he says, laughing again. "But listen, I went through exactly what you're going through right now--hero, villain, all shape shifters have similar experiences. And I wouldn't tell just anyone this, but Cub, you're probably the closest that the shapeshifters get to a princess, no matter what side we're on."
I look at him, startled, but he looks sincere. "As far as I know, you're the first shapeshifter of this generation. We all expect big things from you, especially with your background and training. That you have a little brother, that you've lost the official title of Cub, well that's just tradition being ugly. Nowadays we watch our female supers with as much anticipation as we do our males, you know. More, in some cases. Remember when your dad found out that Zoe takes after Technico and Sunny doesn't?"
I nod slightly, and he goes on, "Your own father knows that she's the one to watch when it comes to becoming a super villain. Sunny, well, Sunny's in a different line of work from the rest of us," he admits. "Or he will be, if he follows what his mother was doing."
"Rowr?" I hear myself say. So I'm curious! It isn't a sin to be curious! Although I really do hate that "curiosity killed the cat" line, so please don't bring it up.
"Sunny will go on a mission to save the rainforest, or something along those lines," Taurus says. "He'll be involved in the environmental issues, and it's only right that he is. So technically he'll carry the title 'hero,' but... well, you'll never have to go up against him. If you were to become a hero, you might work beside him once in a while, if you're lucky. But the way you're going now, you'll never have to deal with him again after you graduate. Although," he says, "you might if you continue with the endangered animal work that your Dad keeps hidden."
I'm so startled that I shift into my human form, staring at him. "Don't tell people of our work with animals!" I say, hissing still. "It's... personal business, not villain business! I don't know how you found out--"
"Adanna," he says, "we all know. We just don't say anything because it doesn't work with the whole heroes and villains stuff. Your dad puts on quite the show as a super villain, extremely flashy. I'm pretty sure he's got a massive fan-following."
"He is a proper super villain and highly admired for his abilities!" I say heatedly.
"And has an extremely beautiful wife," he says in a teasing tone.
"Yes! He does! My mother is gorgeous!" I say, falling back and staring at the sky. "I'm supposed to be in cat form longer, aren't I?" I add in a mumble, not looking forward to it.
"Another twenty minutes," he says, looking at his watch.
I sigh, and shift back, just lying on my back in cub form for a moment, my paws in the air. Then I twist, rolling to my feet and start walking that same, awkward walk as before. Right paw, back paw, left paw--trip.
"Relax," Taurus says. "Stop thinking so much, you're going to trip yourself up. Get used to the skin you're in, Cub, it's still you, when you think about it." I try bringing my tail up,
like the cat's in the video--and a feather touches my nose. I pull back, sneezing, then look up the string tied to the feather, expecting Taurus.
"Hi," Emily says. No, I think, sniffing, that's not Emily, it's Ditto. And she thinks I want to play with a cat toy.
"Rowr," I say, giving her as dirty a look as I can manage in cat form.
"It'll help!" she says, bopping me with the feather again. I swat it, trying to get it out of my face.
"Emily, is there a reason you're here?" Taurus asks.
"Oh, Nico says he wants to talk to Cub," she says, dangling the feather in my face again. "So he sent me!"
"Oh, really."
"Well he caught me spying, so he said I should make myself useful--I think she likes the cat toy," she says, making me look up guiltily from where I've started batting the feather back and forth. I ah--okay, it's more entertaining than falling on my face all the time, I admit it. "I've got more!" she says, digging a cat toy out of her pocket.
I shift to human form, sitting on my knees in front of the petite redhead--and promptly sneeze again because the feather is on my nose. "I don't need cat toys," I say. Although, actually, it had been sort of fun--but Emily (or her doppelganger in this case) is not only a hero in training, she is a hero's partner in training, and definitely not someone I should be playing with. "Technico is in the science building?" I ask, getting to my feet and discreetly trying to dust my clothes off.
"Yep, he's watching everyone on his computer again," she says, putting her cat toys away. Does Emily create everything in Ditto's pockets as well? I wonder how I can ask without seeming too interested-- "I'll take you!" she says, grabbing my hand and tugging.
"You’re a super hero," I say. "You shouldn’t grab a super villain's hand so willingly!"
She looks up at me, a hurt expression on her face that makes me feel as guilty as if I'd kicked a kitten. Slowly she lets go of my hand. "Yeah, I guess," she says, her shoulders falling as she shoves her hands in her jean pockets. "I'm sorry."
"Adanna," Taurus says from behind. "Why don't you go on, you know where it is."
I nod, not wanting to look at Emily as I go past her, and head for the front of the building we're behind to go see Technico. Why do these people not understand the lines between heroes and villains? It drives me crazy sometimes! I'm not supposed to be friends with super heroes, I'm here to learn how to defeat them! But one after the other--especially Emily and Sunny--they come and bother me while I'm trying to do my self study!
And Emily is so adorable, I think, irritated with my weakness for cute little things. I feel so guilty right now, okay? But she needs to learn this lesson before she winds up getting hurt, I tell myself firmly. Some wicked super villain will someday use that curious nature against her and--
And her massive partner will show up, save her, and take out the entire building along the way, I think dryly as I hear the sounds of fighting in the distance. Her boyfriend is NOT adorable. Her boyfriend is a tank--one of those supers that are impossible to deal with because they have few weaknesses and tend to be very by-the-book, as my Papa has told me. I feel no guilt whatsoever about not being nice to Trent Styles. One day I'm sure I'll run up against him. I really, really hope that I've got my shape shifting perfected at that time, though.
"You called," I say as I take the final step up the stairs to the second floor of the science building. Nico's pretty much claimed it for himself, although it's supposed to be a lab for mad science experiments. There's all sorts of mechanical parts scattered on the long desks meant for students, and he's in the middle of welding something together with his fingertip--that’s something I didn’t know he could do.
"Yeah, come here, Cub," he says, motioning to me.
"I am no longer called Cub," I say, feeling a bit irritated with how people keep calling me that here.
"I know, I know, but your little brother isn't here right now, so come on," he says. He holds up a helmet, as if I'm supposed to know what it's for. "I want to try something."
"And it has something to do with me?" I ask, looking at the helmet instead of him. Of all the people in this school, Technico is the one I've been told I can trust the most. He's an old friend of my Papa's. But honestly, he's rather strange. I don't know if you've heard this theory before, but the stronger a super is, the stranger they tend to be mentally. Oh, they can be geniuses, just look at Nico or my Papa, but that doesn't mean their hobbies are all understandable--or even explainable.
"It won't hurt," he says. "I just want to see if it works."
I look at him, knowing what he's not saying. "Papa told me that you might try and experiment on me," I tell him. "But you have your own children to experiment on, so--"
"Wouldn't work," he admits. "Zoe would take it over and Sunny would fall asleep.
"I see, then perhaps--"
"Emily's a telepath, so it's sort of pointless considering she'll learn to do things on her own, and Trent and Max need all the sparring training they can get. You're the only one in the group that fits the bill. Now sit here," he says, pulling out a chair. I head for it reluctantly, sitting down and watching him closely. He slips the helmet over my head. I can't see anything, it's completely dark. "Now I want you to picture a tree."
I close my eyes, picturing the tree from behind the building, since I just came from there. I instantly picture myself up on the branch again, staring down at the ground.
"Are your eyes open?" he asks.
"No."
"Open them."
I open my eyes, jerking as I realize I'm staring down at the ground from the tree limb. "Good," I hear Nico say. "So it does work. This will help me with the kid when I get it finished." He takes the helmet off of me and I blink at him. "Possibly."
"Is that to read people's minds?" I ask.
"There's a boy not much older than you that's stuck in a coma," he says. "If I can read his mind I'll be able to find out where they did what they did to him."
"But isn't Mastermental--"
"The metal interferes with his powers," Nico says. "This is reading electrical waves, so hopefully I can adjust for the metal that's lacing his brain. It's worth a try, at least. Now," he says, dropping down in the chair next to me. "I've been watching your training."
"I... see," I say, looking down. So he's been watching all my awkward falls and pathetic attempts? I--
"I think Emily had a good idea," he says.
"What?" I yelp.
"Cat toys look like a perfect way to go," he says. "I've been thinking about it for a while, actually. You need to enjoy your training at this stage, Cub. Playing is how cats learn to hunt, right? But I don't think you like anyone enough to let them see you play, do you?" he says, almost to himself.
"It--it isn't that I dislike them," I say a bit awkwardly. "All," I have to add when he just looks at me.
"So what if we build you something you can use?" he asks. "Like those towers that housecats have. Towers to climb, holes to climb into, feathers everywhere--what do you think?" he asks.
"I'm not a cat!" I protest. "I'm a super villain!"
"But you're a super villain that turns into a cat," he says. "I think the problem is that you're so focused on being a villain that you don't feel able to relax here. Yes, we're surrounded by super heroes. I know it can be intimidating, but if they were going to hurt you, do you really think I'd let them anywhere near you?" he asks, looking me straight in the eye. "Your dad is one of my oldest friends, Cub. That makes you extremely important to me. Sort of like a niece, I guess."
I feel a hint of a flush cross my face and look down. I have met some of my Papa's friends before, but I've never met one that so blatantly says something like that. "I will... try," I say. "It might take me a while, I don't know why it's so hard to move in that form, but I won't give up."
"Good girl," he says, patting me on the head again. "And I know Sunny annoys you, but you can't really blame the kid--"
"I absolutely can!" I protest. "He's constantly showing up to
bother me--you need to change his morning study, he does not sleep long enough!" He's laughing now, I notice.
"Because there's this cute little kitty just around the building," he says. "And if he times it right he'll get to see her cat form."
I scowl, crossing my arms over my chest. "I realize that the cat form is ridiculous," I say, "but that gives him no right to come and laugh at me!"
"You're right, you're right," he says all too easily. "He has absolutely no right to laugh at your cub form."
"Tell him that!"
"I don't think that's what he's laughing at, actually," he says. "But fine, I'll tell him to quit because you're so self conscious about it. Now, I think we've wasted enough time that you won't have to transform again. So you can go."
"I--thank you," I say, feeling pathetic at being seen through so easily.
"I'll have a playground built by tomorrow," he says. "But you might try being nicer to Emily, you know. She came up with the idea that might get you moving easier."
I nod as I leave the room.
CHAPTER TWO
When you have a superhero as a teacher you can't get away with anything. Not that it's usually me that's trying to whisper in class. No, the only other super villain in the school is Max, and he's right in the middle of that little gang that makes up the rest of the students. I know he and Trent are supposed to be enemies, but somehow it doesn't look like that during the normal classes. If anything, the only one who isn't a part of their gang is me. Yeah, I'm the odd man out in the entire school.
I would sit on the opposite side of the classroom if I could, but there's only six desks in the room, so I wind up stuck in the very front, with Sunny on one side, Emily on the other, and Zoe, Max and Trent behind me. I'm surrounded by the group I don't belong in. Do you have any clue how awkward that is?