by R. J. Ross
"Jack!" Zoe says.
"Oh shuddup, Zoe," I snap, pointing at her. "You get no say in my life. NONE. We both know where we stand, and if you don't know, let me inform you--it ain't in the same place."
Max steps forward, about to get violent because his girlfriend looks offended. I almost welcome it. Maybe if we get in a fight I'll be kicked out--and Aubrey is stepping in front of me, her arms out as if she's going to stop Max from attacking. "Don't you dare," she says coldly.
It's amusing, this little healer girl standing up to the baddest super villain our age. I groan, though, because she's going to get herself killed. "Aubrey," I say. "Move."
"I'm not going to move!" she says. "You don't need to be getting into fights right now!"
I reach down, pick her up, and set her a foot to the right. "If I get kicked out now, everyone will be happier," I tell her bluntly before stepping up to Max and looking down at him. I sort of have to. I'm like, five inches taller. "You have a problem, shorty?" I demand--and am grabbed from behind, set aside even more easily than I moved Aubrey.
Trent is standing right in front of me, staring me straight in the eyes. "That's enough, man," he says in a shockingly calm tone. "You need all your energy to get up fourteen flights of stairs, right?" I glare at him, but a tiny grin is pulling at his lips. "Unless you want me to carry you, that is."
"He can do it," Sunny offers.
"I'm not a weakling," I mutter. "I can do it." I can't do it. There is no way I can do it. Fourteen flights at three times my regular weight, right out of the hospital--are they trying to kill me? Especially with my lack of balance? For crying out loud--
"It's good to see you two getting along so well," the blonde man from before says, coming up to us and placing a hand on both my shoulder and Trent's. "Jack, welcome to the family! I'm Ken, you already know Trent, and that's my wife, Jeanie," he goes on, as if I hadn't just tried to start a brawl with Maximum. "You'll be living with us until you reach legal age, so we want you to consider yourself one of us--"
I look at him. Here we go, the same old spiel, this time from a preacher super hero. Great. It didn't work when I was six, it's not going to work now that I'm sixteen, you know?
"I think he should take the elevator," Aubrey says. "He's just gotten out of the hospital! He needs to regain his strength!"
"It's slow," Technico says. "He'd be stuck in there for twenty minutes or so just to reach his floor."
"Alone?" I ask.
"Yeah."
"I'll take it," I say, heading for the elevator and pushing the button. I blink as Trent steps up next to me. "What part of 'alone' includes you?" I demand.
"The part where I think we need to have a talk," he says as the door opens and I step inside. Trent comes in and promptly blocks Aubrey from sneaking on as the door slowly slides shut.
So... this is the part where he roughs me up to make sure I behave, or do what he wants me to, or--
"It sucks, huh?" he says, leaning against the wall. "I liked her, too."
"What?"
"Zoe. When I first saw her, I liked her. She's cute, smart, she's pretty down to earth even if she's really bossy, you know? And here's Maximum, who just saunters in and takes her. It sucks. I mean, seriously, he might be short, but how do you beat a guy like that?"
"Says the guy with a girlfriend," I mutter, glaring at him. He grins, shamelessly.
"Two of them, half the time," he admits. "She's a duplicator--so she's got an exact copy of herself that we call Ditto. They like to argue with one another."
I stare at him. "You've got a... multiple personality girlfriend that comes with another body."
"Pretty much."
"And you're trying to console me over one girl?" I demand. "You jerk." He bursts out laughing and I'm tempted to hit him, but we're on a rickety enough elevator as it is.
"Either way, now's where I tell you the rules. I expect you to listen to them, because even if you're a minor you still get stuck in the Cape Cells if you screw up, not juvie, understand?"
"The Cape Cells?"
"Yeah, the highest security prison in the world. There won't be anyone that's like you, because there won't be anyone at all." His serious expression stops whatever smart-alecky reply I was about to come up with. "Complete solitary for the rest of your life. It isn't fun."
I stare at him, crossing my arms over my chest and waiting for him to go on. When he sees I'm not going to say anything, he nods. "First, no bullying the Zoo kids," he says. "You can try and bully our group, you'll get your butt kicked, but we're different from them."
"Who ARE the Zoo kids?" I demand, my frustration over this topic finally bursting out. "Where did they come from? Who's Aubrey? Why is she--" He raises a hand and I stop, anticipating a reply at last.
"While you were under we found out about a really rich norm who liked to collect capes. Kid capes. He had them in this high tech zoo of thick clear walls, like they were animals on display. Their leader is Morgan, she lives in the dorms with the rest of them--but don't mess around with her, either, she's a power stealer. Aubrey... Aubrey's a healer. She was in there for more than a year, far as I can tell, and when she came out..." He looks away, a scowl on his face.
"What happened when she came out?" I ask.
"She refused to talk. In fact, turns out she hadn't spoken to anyone in months by the time we found her. Even Morgan didn't know what to do with her, and she's got most of the others following her around like pets. We don't know what Collector did to her, she still won't say. That's why if you hurt her, if you even make her cry, we will come down on you like a mac truck, do you understand?"
"What changed?" I ask.
"You haven't figured that out, either?" he asks. "You did, Jack. Sure she said a sentence or two to Nico to get to the Hall, and the others like you helped, gave her purpose, a reason, but as far as Nico can tell, you're the reason she started talking regularly. Like a typical teenage girl."
I'm floored. Shocked, stunned, whatever word you wanna stick in, but I have no clue what to say about that, except... "That really sucks."
"Yeah, that's pretty much what all of us said, too," he agrees. "Now she's intent on you, apparently."
"She'll get over it," I say. "She'll find a new helpless case, one that's actually a nice guy."
"Man, there IS no more helpless cause than you," he says bluntly.
"You're completely different from when you were at school," I have to point out.
"When you're one of us, you have to hide it. You won't be able to, though," he points out. "So you'd better pick a side job that you can do from home."
"Hey, I like how I look," I say, holding up my hand.
"Have you even looked in a mirror?" he asks. "You've got metal hair. Looks like a porcupine."
I blink, reaching up and touching my hair curiously. It's like touching needles. Wait--wait--"It's sticking up!" I say, excited for the first time since I saw my hand. "AWESOME! Hey, can we get a grinder?"
"A grinder," he repeats.
"Yeah, I've always wanted a mohawk." Sure they're old school, like, REALLY old school, but I've always wanted one! And a metal mohawk that you never have to gel to keep standing up--it's perfect!
He looks at me, walks around me for a moment, then shrugs. "We'll ask Nico. He should be able to make one. But do you seriously want to bring a grinder to your head?" he asks.
"I'm all metal, practically, right? What's the big deal?" I want a mirror.
"You know, most people would be freaking out about now. You've got metal hair. Who knows what else is?"
I look at him. I turn away and unzip my pants to see--
"Wait until you're in a bathroom to check that!" he says, hitting me on the back of the head.
"What? Some things you need to check right off! This is important!" Although I zip up again, because he's got a point. A mirror would be handy. He's laughing at me, but honestly I don't really feel bothered by it. I mean, even I see the humor in this.
"S
huddup, man, who wouldn't want to know?" I demand.
He leans back against the wall of the elevator, he's laughing so hard. A grin pulls at my lips and I shove my hands in my pockets. He calms down about the time that the bell rings and the doors open, revealing Zoe, who's standing there all alone. I lose my grin.
"I don't think now's the time," Trent tells her.
"We need to talk," she says, ignoring him as she looks at me.
"No, we don't," I tell her flatly. "I'm going to find a mirror." I walk past her, only to stop as I realize I've got no clue which apartment I'm going to.
"To your left," Trent says. I go through the door, finding myself face to face with Ken--well, more like face to chin. He's a little taller than me.
"Welcome home," he says, stepping back.
"Um, yeah... where's the bathroom?" I ask, abruptly feeling like the outsider again. He points and I go there, closing the door behind me before I head for the mirror.
Someone knocks on the door a few moments later as I'm trying to see my back in the mirror. "I got the grinder," Trent calls through the door. I grab my jeans, tugging them on, then open the door.
"You ever used one before?" I demand.
"No, but I have," Ken says from behind him.
Right. Like the preacher man's going to give me a mohawk--he pushes past Trent and heads for the plug in on the wall, plugging the grinder in. "Jeanie? Can you get me a chair?"
The preacher man's going to give me a mohawk. With a grinder.
Well... maybe I can handle this place for a little while. Although, the sight of him grinning in the mirror as I sit down does make me question a few things. Like... this guy is REALLY a preacher, right? He looks a bit too entertained by the idea of taking a grinder to my head.
CHAPTER TWO
"I can't believe you did that!" Aubrey says as she looks at me. Jeanie is using some sort of buffer on the sides of my head, she says it needs to look finished for it to be acceptable. "You look like a bad guy," Aubrey complains. "All of the Zoo kids will be scared of you, now--"
"So?" I say. "It's not like I plan on becoming a super hero." I stretch my legs out in front of me, crossing my arms over my chest and looking at her. She reminds me a tiny bit of Marge. She's nosy.
"Well, since Adanna decided not to go super villain, we do need another one," Jeanie says as if she were discussing a football game. "But Jack, Trent told me about how you used to be--I really think you shouldn't smoke anymore."
"What?"
"Well with all of Aubrey's healing, you should have new lungs. It'd be a shame to ruin them, don't you think? And even as a super villain, you're going to have kids looking up to you, like a role model!"
"Yeah, right," I mutter, feeling ganged up on. What is with these people? They're treating me like I'm a naughty puppy that just needs to be taught not to pee on the carpet! "No one's going to look up to me--especially if I become a super villain."
The entire room turns to look at me. "What?" I ask after a long moment of silence.
"Jack," Trent says, "you're literally a heavy metal super villain. You're going to have a gigantic fanbase as soon as you step in front of a camera."
"I thought that was why you wanted the mohawk," Ken agrees. "Once you get more control of your powers you can add all sorts of accents--and for a uniform, maybe a leather jacket and some torn up jeans, combat boots with steel toes--"
"Not yet, though!" Jeanie says. "Jack is just coming into his abilities, we need to keep him out of the public eye--and the newcomer heroes' eyes, as well."
"I think he should be a hero!" Aubrey says stubbornly. "I mean, he's surrounded by heroes here--don't you think you should talk him into going the right way?"
"Well," Ken says after a second, "we could try, of course. I don't really like the idea of becoming a true super villain--but unless he wants to be a hero, he'll never be a good one. What's more important to us, as his foster family, is that he's happy with himself. I don't think that's a bad thing, do you?"
She hesitates and looks down for a second before moving closer and touching the side of my head. "It's shiny," she says, not replying. I look up at her, wondering why I feel like I need a positive reply to that question. I hardly even know this girl. I thought I was in love with Zoe right before this, too. So what does it matter what she thinks? "You can look like a bad guy," she tells me after a second, "But you have to be nice to your classmates, okay?"
"I'm not going to--" I burst out.
"Jack," Jeanie says. I look up at her. "What size pants do you wear? I need to go shopping for you."
I thought she was going to yell at me. What in the heck is this lady? A ditz? "Um... thirty four, thirty eight?" I offer when all she does is look expectant.
"Good! You wear the same size as Trent, that should be easy," she says with a smile.
"Hey, I like picking out my own clothes," I say, standing.
"I'm afraid you'll have to trust me on this one," she says, pushing me down in the chair again. "I'll make sure not to get any polo shirts, I promise," she says with a smile.
I swear I feel a little faint at this idea.
***
She's been gone for over an hour when I realize, "Didn't you get my stuff from Marge?"
"You just figured that out?" Ken asks with a grin. "She looked through all of your things this morning, said most of them needed tossed, and decided that she'd replace them."
"I liked my clothes!" I protest. We're sitting in the front room of their apartment, watching Emily and Aubrey play wii bowling on the television. I'm too tired to try and find a solitary place, honestly. It seems like this has been the longest day of my life.
"Tell that to Mom," Trent says. "But it won't make any difference. She wants to do it."
"Trying to stop Jeanie from doing something nice is like trying to stop a tank--but harder, because I've seen her take down tanks," Ken agrees. "You'll start school tomorrow, so it'd be good to have new clothes to go with your new image, anyway, right?"
"It would be, if I had the right clothes," I mutter. "She was serious about the no polo statement, right?" Not that these two were wearing polo--in fact Ken had a cartoon picture of Mega picking his nose on his shirt. I stare at it for a moment. "Don't you work with Mega?" I ask.
"He hates this shirt," Ken says with a huge grin. "Nico loves it. He's stolen it twice just to wear on those rare days Mega actually goes to school."
"And Mega didn't kill him?" I ask.
"I don't think Mega COULD kill him," Trent says thoughtfully. "Could he?" he asks Ken.
"Nope, not at all," Ken admits. "He might luck out and get a hit or three in, but considering all the stuff I've seen on Nico back when he was in the game... I'd say he's in the same league as his old man, but more intelligent."
"Who's his old man?" I have to ask.
"Superior."
Holy... that--I did not--
I stare at them, expecting them to start laughing. When that doesn't happen I look at the girls, who are still playing as if an S-bomb hadn't just been dropped on my head. Superior. The guy of legends. The guy that legends DREAM of becoming--that Superior? And his kid had saved my life?
"Wait, isn't he a super villain?" I demand.
"He was," Ken says. "Now he's your principal."
"But Sunny--Zoe--"
"Both going to be bad people to piss off," Trent says blandly. "Sunny's an elementalist--a dual elementalist. He's got both plants and earth."
Well... crap. After all the stuff I used to do to the twins... I'll probably be dead by the end of the week, huh?
I glance up as the apartment door opens, expecting Jeanie, only to blink as Sunny comes in with a phone in his hand. "Dad said to give you this," he says, tossing it to me. "So you can call Marge." He sounds like it's a waste of energy even coming to deliver this. "Honestly, it's probably a waste. Like you'd call her." He pulls out his own phone, tapping out a text.
"Thanks," I mutter, rather than reply to that, bringing up the
phone. It's not a model you get in the stores. In fact it looks like it would survive a nuclear bomb from straight on.
"Are you texting Adanna?" Emily asks, making me glance over at her. "Tell her hi!"
"She's in training right now, so she won't reply," Sunny says.
"You're kidding me, right?" I say. "You've got a girlfriend?" He gives me an evil grin, bringing up a phone that looks as customized as mine and showing a picture. I lean in, taking the phone from him to stare at the black girl on the screen. "How does a little runt like you get a girl like that?" I ask as I stare at her. She's gorgeous. Like, straight off a red carpet gorgeous.
"We've been asking the same thing," Trent says, only to get elbowed by Sunny.
"She thinks I'm cute," Sunny says in a brag as he grabs his phone back. I stare at him.
"Seriously."
"Yep."
"What IS this school we're going to?" I ask finally. "Like, super hookup high?"
"It's not!" Aubrey says. "It's to teach us how to use our abilities. There's lots of kids in the school that don't have a girlfriend or a boyfriend or--or a hook up. And there's going to be more when we get the others like you healed."
"But SUNNY has a girlfriend," I say. "Not only does he have a girlfriend, he's got a total babe! Maybe the rest of the students just haven't been there long enough or something, because, seriously, I thought you of all people would be the last guy on earth to get a date," I tell him, earning a dirty look, which turns into a thoughtful one, before he shrugs.
"It's a small school," he says. "We spend a lot of time together, and don't have to bother hiding what we are, so yeah, in a way, I guess you're right. But hey, it'll be easier to get over Zoe, right?"
I flinch, shoving my hands into my pockets and looking down.
"Zoe?" Aubrey asks. "What about Zoe?"
"Jack had a thing for her," Trent says when it's obvious I'm not going to explain.
"But she's dating Max--"
I get to my feet. "That one's my room, right?" I say, pointing at the one on the right before heading for it.