by R. J. Ross
"I can't control it," is what she wants to say. All she can do is watch in horror as he steps in front of the finger she'd been helplessly pointing at Star. A stream of light so blinding that her own eyes hurt shoots out of the finger, hitting Jack on the chest. It burns through his tattered shirt--
And bounces right back, hitting her square on.
***
It's repeating over and over in my mind, the image of her attack bouncing off of my chest and slamming back into her. I can't believe I didn't think before jumping in front of her. I'm such a moron! And now the only girl that's ever really liked me is lying on a hospital bed in the ER part of the Hall, in a coma. I haven't left her side. I can't force myself to leave her side for more than a minute, and I think it's starting to irritate the doctors.
"Jack," Nico says, making me look up. "Can you tell us one more time exactly what you saw down there?" He's irritated with me, too, but I don't care. Unlike the doctors, though, he's already yelled at me for barging in without waiting for the rest of the group several times. He seems to have given up on it.
"Aubrey was floating, her hair was flying, eyes glowing, and she was pointing at Star. Star was standing next to the white haired guy, who was laying on a hospital bed. She stepped back and disappeared into this black hole looking thing with--"
"Distort," he provides.
"Yeah, him. I headed for Aubrey, Aubrey shot out this light from her finger, and..." I look down at my chest, staring at the burn mark on the metal. "It bounced back," I say simply. "But she's a healer!" I go on, the numbness wearing off. "How can a hit from a healer put anyone in a coma? I don't get it!"
"I have a theory," Nico admits, heading to Aubrey's side. He digs through his pockets, pulling out a strange folded hoop. He unfolds it and slips it over her head, connecting it to his cell phone with a cord. "Let's see what happened, then," he says.
"What are you doing?" I ask, trying not to feel hopeful. Maybe he can knock her out of her coma or something. It's worth a try, right?
"Reading her mind. This is going to take a while, though, so why don't you go talk to Liz and Emily? They're as worried as you are."
I nod, getting to my feet. I can't help but glance at Aubrey one last time before heading out the door. I barely reach the waiting room before half of the apartment practically attacks me, only to be pushed back by Firefly. For a moment I swear she's going to kill me. I'm not sure what I did (other than be a badly placed mirror,) to deserve it, but she is. That look of rage on her face tells me that my time is limited on this earth.
When one of the most powerful supers on the planet grabs you by the shoulders and shakes you, you start trying to remember that prayer they taught you as a kid real quick. Something about "If I die before I wake--" right? I don't think I'll get the chance to sleep first, though, which could definitely be a problem.
"Is Aubrey conscious yet?" she demands.
"No, not yet," I admit. "Nico's reading her mind right now, to see what happened."
"What happened to her?" Emily asks. I glance at the little redhead, shoving my hands into my pockets. "Who had her?"
"Star Born," I say. "Star Born had her. I'm not sure what she did to her, but she was... glowing," I say finally, "and floating. And she pointed her finger, but I got in the way and whatever it was she shot bounced off of me and hit her." I hate having to explain this over and over again. I feel like it's my fault--it IS my fault. If I wasn't so shiny I would have taken the hit instead of her. I'd way rather have it be me in that bed than her. I think everyone would.
"She's a healer, though," Summer says, stepping forward. "She's going to recover from this far more quickly than someone else would have. I'm sure she's going to be fine." She comes over and hugs me. "Don't worry, she might be gentle, but that doesn't mean she's weak."
I just stand there, feeling like I don't deserve a hug. "I shouldn't have stood in front of her," I say.
"You had no idea it was an attack," Liz says.
"When someone is glowing and floating it's pretty obvious they're going to attack," I point out. "I just didn't realize she even HAD an attack," I add. "I mean, she's a healer, right?"
"Well, now we know," Liz says. "Once she recovers, we'll have to start training her on how to control it. I'll talk to Devon about that."
"Devon?" half the room asks. "Who's Devon?"
"Taurus? He DOES have a real name, you know?" Liz says.
"Really? Devon?" Emily repeats, looking thoughtful. "Hey, how do you know his first name, anyway?" she asks Liz.
"That--that doesn't matter right now!" Liz sputters. "What matters is that she's got an offensive ability and needs to learn how to use it."
"So... she's going to be okay, right?" I ask, looking at the door leading into the ER and wondering if Nico's found anything out yet.
"She's going to be just fine," Summer says. "And Ken and Jeanie will be here after they've searched one more time," she adds, placing a hand on my shoulder, as if their presence is important to me.
Why do I feel relieved? Especially when Trent moves next to me, just standing there without saying a word. They've got me brainwashed into that whole "we're family" bull already? Not possible. Absolutely not possible. I don't care that he's there! I don't care that any of them are there! I am not going to rely on people that I've only known for less than a week!
"Relax," Trent says quietly. "She's not nearly as messed up as you were."
"Yeah? Well she doesn't have her standing over her, fixing the problem, either!" I growl.
"Sure she does," he says. "Nico said she has self-healing abilities out the... ah... nose."
"He really used the word nose?" I ask, looking at him.
"Nope."
"Yeah, I figured."
I'm not relaxing because of this stupid conversation, okay? Don't get some strange idea that him telling me that just made me lose a lot of tension--okay, maybe a bit of tension. But only because Nico said it first!
Yeah... I'm going to shut up now.
***
An hour has passed. I'm sitting here, staring at my phone because people keep trying to comfort me if I look up. I'm tempted to pace, but it's been a very long day already. I feel like I weigh a million pounds. If I wasn't so wired right now, I'd be falling asleep.
The door opens and Nico steps in, a dark look on his face. "Liz, can I talk with you?" he says.
"How's Aubrey?" I demand, getting to my feet.
"Sleeping," he says. "She'll be perfectly fine with a bit of rest. Liz?" he repeats, looking to his sister. "Now?"
Liz nods and gets to her feet. "We'll be back," she says to Emily, who's playing a card game with Ditto and Trent.
"Okay," Emily says.
That's it? They're just going to say she's fine and walk off? Not even explain what happened? Like I'm going to let that happen! I start to follow them, only to blink as I find my body completely immobile. Nico turns, looking me straight in the eye. "I know you want to know," he says. "I'll tell you soon. But right now we have family matters to discuss. Very personal family matters." Then he and Liz walk away, leaving me frozen where I stand.
I... didn't know he could do that.
***
Liz is silent as she follows her brother, not looking at any of the black suits that they pass. Once upon a time she had dreamed of walking down these halls with Nico beside her, dreamed of having her only family accepted in this society, now... now she's not sure she wants to hear what he's about to tell her. In fact, by the way he'd just completely (and literally) stiffed the boy behind them, she's positive she doesn't want to know.
He heads for one of the holding cells, a room where they place the more dangerous supers when they need to cool off, but haven't earned a term in the cape cells. It's sound proof, with thickly padded walls and a very heavy security system. "What happened?" she asks.
He pulls out his cell phone and hands it over, playing the girl's memories like they were a movie. At first she's just angry, her eyes t
aking in what Star Born looks like as she plans the villain's capture--then it starts to get weird.
Then it gets downright terrifying.
"Fa--Father?" she whispers, the blood leaving her face as he steps onto the screen.
"Superior wasn't even kind enough to die when he should have," Nico says coldly.
Liz stays silent, watching as he talks to Aubrey, watching as he kills his other self--"I thought--" she starts out, only to stop as Aubrey starts to go out of control. "I see," she says finally, watching as the attack comes back in a blinding light. "So your... Distort, he's dead, now?"
"Yeah," Nico says. "It's a shame that Star Born hasn't realized it yet."
"I'm sure she'll find out soon enough," Liz says with evil amusement. "But... if he's back..."
"In the long run, I have no clue what's going to happen. But in the short run... we need to call Double M," he says, taking the phone back. "Hopefully he's not back in Iran again."
"He'll come back, regardless of where he's at when he finds out," Liz says. "Since his job position is going to be in trouble."
***
It's a good ten minutes before I can move again. During that time, Ken and Jeanie showed up, looked me over closely, hugged me, and kept Emily from doodling on me with lipstick. I think. She might have gotten a few pictures in when they weren't looking, I'll have to check later. Either way, Nico isn't back yet and Aubrey isn't awake. I feel more frustrated than ever, honestly.
I get to my feet, heading for the coke dispenser in the corner. For a moment I dig through my pockets, searching for some coins. I don't have any. I scowl, tempted to hit the machine, then I get an idea. A quick look around has me heading for one of the chairs and leaning down to touch a screw. The leg falls off, but I'm holding the screw, which is what I needed--
"You know," Jeanie says, "you could just ask for some change, honey."
"I really wanted to see what he did with the screw, though," Trent says.
"He's a metal manipulator," Summer says. "I'm sure he's thinking of turning it into a coin shape. It's an interesting idea, actually--"
"But it's still not a reason to break the furniture," Ken says with a sigh. "I've got--" He stops, patting down his uniform with a frown. "I've got nothing. Anyone have some change?" he asks the group.
Emily digs out a dollar, holding it out to me. "Can you do that to any chair?" she asks me as I come over to take it.
"Yeah?"
"Do you have to touch it to do it? Because that would be awesome--"
"Emily," Jeanie says.
"What? Can't you just see Blackjack falling on his butt?" she asks. "He's always leaning back really far, anyway! It'd be great!"
"Excuse me." The voice makes us all glance up as a nurse comes out. "Is there a Jack here?"
"That's me," I say, handing Emily the screw and heading for the door. I pocket the dollar. What? It's not like she asked for it back!
The nurse looks at me and I'm certain she thinks I'm lying. Really, people, I was here for how long? You should at least recognize me! "Well, Aubrey's awake. She's asking for you," she says. "Come with me, please."
"Is she okay?" Emily demands. "She's my house... sister, or whatever!"
"She's doing very well," the nurse says. "She just needs a bit more rest and time to recover." Then she's leading me through the door and back to Aubrey's room, which is full of other nurses and doctors looking at charts and checking machines.
"I'm going to be fine," I hear Aubrey say. "I'm more worried about Jack! Has anyone even looked at him? I hit him straight on with that--that thing, he could be hurt!"
"I'm fine," I say, pushing my way through the crowd and stopping at her bedside. I pull off the tattered t-shirt to show her my chest. "See? Even the burn mark is starting to fade."
She's staring at the mark in horror, even if it is nearly gone. "I--I--I did that?" she asks. "Jack, I'm so--" she starts to blubber, tears starting to stream down her face as she reaches out and touches the mark.
"Hey! Don't cry!" I protest, feeling extremely awkward with all these adults staring at us. It gets worse as she hugs me, because I feel seriously self-conscious hugging her back. I pat her on the back just to have something to do with my hands. "It's fine," I mumble. "It didn't even sting."
"Really?" she asked, pulling back and looking at me.
"Yeah, really," I say. "I'm tough like steel, remember?" I add. She ignores it and does that weird thing where her eyes change color and her hair starts to float. After a second she lets out a sigh of relief and goes back to just hugging me.
"I was so scared," she whispers. "But you came and saved me. You really are a hero, Jack!"
"Nah, I like being the bad guy better," I say, trying to pull out of her hold and failing. She's really clingy right now, which would be fine if there weren't some twenty other people in the room.
"Can we get some privacy?" I demand. Since she's not going to let go anytime soon, I'd rather it be where the entire Hall doesn't hear about it. Although, seriously, it's probably too late.
"We'll leave the door open, in case something changes," an older nurse says, motioning for everyone to get out. "But I expect you to behave yourself," she adds, pointing at me. Why do I feel like I know her? More importantly, why do I feel like I should do exactly what she just told me?
When the room has been cleared out I sit down on the edge of the bed, hugging Aubrey as gently as I can. "Hey," I say a bit gruffly. "It's okay. We got you back, and you still have your powers--um..." I don't know how to ask this other than to just ask, "what did they do to you in there? Did they experiment on you?"
She pulls away. "She wanted me to heal the white haired man. She said his name was Distort, but it wasn't," she says, looking down. "I... I got stuck in his head. It was strange. Scary, actually. The white haired man--Jack, he's not Distort. He's--" She looks around, as if about to share a gigantic secret, then lowers her voice to a mere whisper, pulling me down to say in my ear, "he's Superior."
I pull away, shocked. "What? He--but--"
"Yeah," she says. "He's alive. But he's not like the movies. He's not the perfect hero. Or maybe--maybe he IS, and that's the problem," she says. I'm completely lost right now. It must be pretty obvious, because she lets out a frustrated sound. "But he isn't, because he killed him! He's a murderer! Except the guy was in his head, and killing someone in your mind isn't the same as killing someone in real life, right? Or is it?"
"It's not?" I offer, because I actually understood that one. "I mean, it's just in your head."
"But I think it was real, at the same time," she says. "Because I think the guy he killed is that Distort guy that Star Born wanted me to heal."
Yeah, still confused.
"Hey," I say. "Right now let's focus on the important thing."
"What?"
"You're safe, I'm safe, and... I'm sorry," I mutter. I can't believe I'm actually apologizing this early in the relationship. "I guess. I mean, Derrick's taken care of, but if I had just ignored it, you wouldn't be here--"
She reaches up, touching my cheek. "You helped a friend. You're a hero."
"I'm not a hero!"
"Sure, you can act like a villain in front of everybody else, but to me, you're a hero all the way through," she says stubbornly. "You saved me. You saved Derrick, too." I'm about to protest when she leans forward, kissing me. "Thank you," she adds as she pulls away with a little smile.
Okay, maybe I'll let her think I'm a hero. You know, since she's so insistent about it. Who am I to say no?
CHAPTER NINE
"I need to go to the Hall," Morgan growls as she starts up the steps leading off campus. "I need to make sure Aubrey's okay."
"You can't go," Justin says, grabbing the back of her shirt and hauling her back. "You know they won't let us off campus without an adult supervising. Trust me, I've tried."
"You don't have a reason to get through the field!"
"I have every reason to get out," he says. "Or did you forge
t who I was? Look, you're just going to get hurt if you try and break out--" he curses as she reaches up, pressing a hand to his forehead. He can feel something leave him, feel his throat tighten--
"I SAID LET GO!" she bellows, sending him flying back with the sound. He curses as he hits the wall of one of the campus buildings. She's racing up the steps even as he slides to the ground and sticks a finger in his ear. He pulls it out, checking for blood. The last thing he needs is a burst eardrum. Thankfully all he sees is wax--
"Morgan!" he snaps, now that he's certain he's fine. (What? A guy has to prioritize!) He jumps to his feet and chases her up the steps to grab her hand. It isn't difficult, since Morgan's not moving. She's just staring straight forward with her jaw dropped.
Justin glances up at what she's staring at, looking blankly at a girl in a strange outfit. The girl is tapping on what appears to be a watch, her back to them. It takes him a moment to remember what the fluffy skirt, corset and leather accents style is called-- "Steampunk?" he says as the word comes back to him. He'd toyed with the idea of steampunk music once, but it wasn't right for his voice--
"That's not the weird thing," Morgan whispers, barely moving her lips. She doesn't seem to want to attract the girl's attention. "She wasn't here a second ago."
"She flies?" he asks.
"She just appears," Morgan says as the girl looks around, "Like teleporting or--"
"Hey," the girl says, turning towards them. She's got pitch black hair done up in intricate curls that remind Justin of Shirley Temple. They're pulled back with a pair of brass goggles. "Is this Cape High?"
"Yeah, but you can't get closer--" Justin starts out.
"The force field, right? Is Technico still the principal? Or is it Zoe?"
"Wh--what?" Morgan asks. "Zoe isn't the principal, she's a student. She's like fifteen or something."
"Oh, um... wrong year, sorry," the girl says, bringing up her watch and pressing a button. She disappears in a tiny spark of light, leaving Justin and Morgan staring at the empty area where she just stood.