by R. J. Ross
I let out a curse, rolling over and getting to my feet. I need a midnight snack. No, I NEED sleep, but that one’s already out the window, so a snack will have to do. I pull to a stop at the bottom of the stairs when I see flashing lights. Someone’s in there, I think, sinking into the shadows and heading for the den. I peek through, only to let out a sigh of relief as I see Nico. He’s floating in the middle of the room, his hands out to the walls. I step out of the shadow, and he looks at me, not even surprised.
“Can’t sleep?” he asks.
“Yea—I mean, no, I can’t,” I say, looking at the walls. An image of him is floating there. “What’re you doing?” I ask, motioning to it.
“Building a new game,” he says.
“What?”
“It’s a strategy game. You’ll find your character programmed into your phone—he’s based on your abilities.”
“What’s the strategy?” I ask.
“How to take me down,” he says, much to my shock. I stare at him for a long moment, until he gives me a crooked grin. “Don’t look so shocked, Rocco—you’re one of the ones that could probably do it with the smallest team.”
“So you want us—the dorm kids—to put together a strategy to take YOU down?” I say, still trying to wrap my mind around it. “Why?”
“Because while we have Mother taken care of, we still have Herold out there,” he says. “I want to see what you, as a group, have learned from my training. It’s not a challenge if you already know the answer.”
“You’re going to send half-trained capes that haven’t even grown into their powers after an S-class super?” I demand. “It’s one thing to send ME in to get a watch when your mom is taking care of the fighting, man, but THIS is insane!”
“It’s a video game,” he says. “I don’t actually plan on doing it with you, so to say, but the research part is imperative. Think of it this way—I can’t make the Hall do this for me, but some of you have the same abilities, or similar ones to them. That’s why I’m setting the game up to play in both the dorms and the apartments. Honestly, I’m betting Liz will jump on it during her free time. In fact, I think I’ll put it in the teams’ RV’s, while I’m at it. We’re going to figure out how the easiest way to take Herold out is.”
“And you’re going to use that way?” I ask.
“Of course not,” he says. “This is my fight—actually, this is OUR fight.”
“What?”
“He broke your old man out of custody. We’ve got no idea where Shadowman is, but he’s probably working for Herold. Of course, you could ignore that fact, but will you?”
“But isn’t Herold trying to run for president?” I ask. “Why would he risk things by letting a super villain out?”
“It doesn’t affect the norm system,” Nico says. “I spent fifteen years in the Cape Cells, you’ve heard that, right? But in the norm system, I have no records whatsoever. As far as the world is concerned, I don’t exist. If I hadn’t wiped out my records, I’d be a stellar citizen named Nico Masters with a college education and pretty much nothing else. We rule over ourselves—our court is comprised of the five Hall leaders and any evidence we can provide.”
“So…?”
“What he does in OUR world won’t have any effect on what he does in his,” Nico says simply.
“Oh,” I say, blinking. “So… even if Marigold has it out for me, I could pretend to be a norm and go to a regular school, if I wanted to?”
“Wouldn’t be a problem,” Nico agrees. “Do you want to? I can have you transferred—”
“No!” I say quickly. “I wouldn’t trade this place for anything,” I admit, rocking on my heels for a moment. “So Shadowman's not in the Cape Cells… me and him, we didn’t exactly get along well that last conversation,” I admit.
“You can find him,” Technico says. “Skye can find him as long as he’s not roaming the shadows, but you can find him, regardless.”
“Can you?”
“I can find his phone—but the moment I do, he’s usually switching to another one. Your dad is paranoid, for good reason.”
“So you want me to focus on Shadowman, while you take out Herold?”
“That about sums it up,” he agrees.
It’s dangerous—but not as dangerous as a lot of the stuff I’ve done in the past. “If I find him, how am I going to stop him? He’s a lot older than I am, and he’s more powerful, right?”
“He is,” Nico says. “And there’s a good chance he’s got a technopath behind him, just like you do. We just need to take that into account—”
“But—” I jerk, since I wasn’t the one that said that. There, standing in the hall, is Carla, her hand over her mouth.
“You should be in bed,” I say automatically. “You’ve got classes in the morning.”
“Classes don’t matter!” she says, stepping into the room. “You’re just planning on running off on your own to find Shadowman, right? You could get caught—or killed!”
“He won’t kill me, I’m his son,” I say, although now that I think about it, I’m not sure how much power blood ties have with him. I mean, I’m actively plotting to capture him and send him to the Cape Cells for the rest of his life, and I’m supposed to be the good one.
“You can’t go after him alone,” Carla says, her hands clenching at her sides. “Somebody’s got to go with you—I’LL go with you.” She looks pale when she says that, I notice. There’s a faint tremble to her body that says she’s actually terrified of the idea, but there’s also a stubborn look in her eyes.
“I don’t ever want you or any of the others dealing with Shadowman again,” I say. “I’ll take someone, but not one of you—”
“Why not?” Nico asks, making both of us turn to him. “Carla, in a fair fight, you could wipe the floor with Shadowman.”
She jerks, her mouth opening in an instant protest, but Nico holds up a hand. “I’m not saying you’ll catch him for a fair fight very often, but you’re a lot faster than he is. You’ve grown a lot since you first came here. Just because you’re adorable doesn’t make you less dangerous, kid—you’re almost as fast as I am, and you’re not even fully grown into your power.”
“But—” I say, trying to put it into words. “She’s terrified of him!”
“Best way to get over fear is to face it,” Nico says callously. “But I won’t force you to choose her. You can pick anyone you want that’s willing to come.”
I look at Carla, who’s already turning away, and I realize that if I say no, I’ll be rejecting her again. “Are you sure about this, Carla?” I ask. She literally jumps at the question, turning to look at me with a mix of surprise and anxiety. “You can say no—I won’t force you.”
“I want to go,” she says, her shoulders squaring and her fists clenching. “I’m going to have your back.”
“Then…” I take a deep breath, “Carla will come with me.”
“Pick an adult to go as your supervisor, and you’re good to go.”
I wrack my mind, trying to figure out who I should take—and then I realize, quite simply, that I only have one choice. “Well… uh… me and Skye are related,” I say, “at least according to my old man. I just told her—and if she finds out that I’m running off to do something, and I pick out some other adult, well—I should at least offer the job, right?”
“Skye’s not exactly the picture perfect chaperon,” Nico points out a bit dryly, “but I do have a camera on her at all times, so I suppose I can check in randomly. I don’t expect you to be gone for long. Carla, why don’t you go get some sleep, you’ll be leaving in the morning and you need your energy. Rocco, a word before you leave.”
Carla looks at me for a second before leaving, and I look at Nico. “I don’t have to say it, do I?” he says almost casually.
“About Carla?” I ask.
“Yeah.”
“I swear I won’t let her get hurt,” I say seriously. “I will protect her with my life, I promise.”
<
br /> He looks at me for a moment before smiling slightly. “I’ll hold you to it.”
“I’d Boy Scout swear, but, well, I was never a Scout. But she AND Skye will be perfectly safe. I’ll make sure of it.”
“Good enough,” he says. “Now go get some sleep, yourself. You’re going to be heading out tomorrow.”
“But Skye—”
“I’ll tell her,” he says.
“And the video game?”
“I think they’ll enjoy it, don’t you?” Nico says, glancing at the wall. “Revenge for all the time I give them extra homework. Who knows, if they beat me, I might put my old man in as the villain.”
I let out a laugh as I head for my room, yawning hugely. I feel… better, I realize abruptly. I have a job to do. Sure, I’m worried about Carla, and I’m worried about how I’m going to catch my dad—actually, WHY do I feel better?
The image of Carla sitting right next to Cisco flashes through my mind and I promptly shove it down. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with Carla becoming friends with the new guy. Seriously, I should get to know the kid, myself. I also need to get to know the new girls, but that’ll have to wait until I get back.
I drop down on my bed, not bothering to fight with the covers, and promptly fall asleep.
CHAPTER TWO
“Roooooccccoooo,” a voice says right next to my ear. I reach up, still mostly asleep, and try to wave the voice away. My fingers touch a cheek and I hear a giggle. “Wake up!” Skye says.
I roll over and cover my head with my pillow. “Five more minutes,” I mumble.
“Can’t! We’re going on a MISSION!” Skye says excitedly. “Carla’s already packed and everything!”
I shove the pillow away and sit up. “I gotta pack,” I announce as she jumps back. “I still haven’t washed any of my clothes,” I complain, groaning loudly. “I bet everything I own stinks like the Shadowlands.”
“I can fix it!” Skye says, heading for the massive pile of dirty clothes in the corner. She picks up an armful, only to make a face. “You’re right, they DO stink,” she says before going semi-transparent along with the clothes. She dumps the pile onto my bed and heads to the rest, repeating the process. I hesitantly pick up a pair of boxers, sniffing them curiously. They smell better.
“How do you do that?” I ask.
“Well it’s all a matter of molecular vibration,” she says with a shrug. “In order to phase through things I need to know—” she stops, tilting her head slightly and smiling at me. “It’s MAGIC!”
“I looked that blank, huh?” I say.
“Yep!” she says cheerfully.
“Skye, Skye! Is he up yet?” Carla calls through the door.
“I’m up!” I call to her, dragging out my backpack and hesitating for all of a second before handing it to Skye. “Think you could do this, too?”
“Sure!” she says, repeating the process. I shove as many clothes into it as I can, hesitating for a moment.
“We’re going to need food, too, aren’t we?” I say thoughtfully. Okay, so technically Skye is the adult in this little team, but I feel responsible.
“We can always get fast food!” she says.
“Nah, with Carla’s metabolism, we’re going to need it on hand,” I say. “Carla, go raid the kitchen, would you? We need enough for a few days, at least!”
“Got it!”
“Got it as in, you’re going to do it now, or as in you just did it?” I ask after a second.
“Both?”
“Okay,” I say, grabbing a few of the non-packed clothes and heading into my bathroom to get dressed. “Say any goodbyes you need to say and we’ll head out as soon as Nico lets us out,” I say as I open the door. “The sooner we find my old man, the sooner we’ll be back.”
“Already told them!” Carla says, looking at me hesitantly. “Are you sure about this?”
“I’m sure,” I say, pulling out my phone and calling Max. I woke him up, I think evilly as I tell him what’s going on.
“Want me to come along?” he asks.
“Not yet. If I run into a situation that calls for show-boating and a mic, I’ll call you,” I say.
“Will do,” he says, hanging up on me, probably to go back to sleep.
I grab the massive bag next to Carla and swing it over my shoulder as well. We head out of the dorms, and I stop, looking around for a second. “When we get back, I owe both of you a favor,” I tell them. “Skye, I’ll help you with Ariel, Carla, I’ll—”
“I don’t need anything,” she says. “I just want Shadowman in the Cape Cells before—before my little brothers and sisters come into their powers. You know, if they get any,” she says, looking serious.
“I’ll make sure of it,” I tell her. Yes, he is my father. I might even feel a little torn about this, if I think about it too long. “There’s just one little problem,” I say as we reach Nico and start up the steps out of the canyon, “I’ve got no idea what you mean when you say I can find him.”
“Oh, I can explain!” Skye says cheerfully as Nico steps through the force field. He hasn’t even said anything, I think, he just turns and watches. “I do it all the time!” Skye adds.
“Uh, okay?” I say. “So how do I do it?” We step out of the force field, standing in front of the school, and I look to my “Aunt” expectantly.
“You must first… touch your toes!” she declares, dramatically. “And then we will do the traditional ceremonial dance of finding!”
Right, is there any chance of trading for a different adult, after all?
***
She lied. The fact is weighing heavily on Carla’s mind as she watches Skye lead Rocco through the most ridiculous dance she’s ever seen. He’s standing on one hand now, the other hand in the air, waving around. It’s funny, especially since she’s pretty sure HE knows there’s no dance needed. But she can’t help but feel guilty, because she lied. She hasn’t gotten over this stupid crush yet—
“Hey, Carla?”
She jerks, looking to the force field. She can’t see Cisco through it, but she can hear him. “Cisco?” she asks, heading for the wall but stopping before it’ll hit her. “What’s wrong?”
“Um… if you go down South… could you check on my dad for me?” he asks. “He’s never been on his own before—you know, at least since I was born. And he’s sort of a dork, so he’s probably getting into all sorts of trouble.”
“Sure!” she says, grinning now. Cisco is such a cute kid, she thinks happily. “I’ll tell him you miss him, too, okay?”
“Don’t!” he says quickly. “He needs to think I’m fine—I AM fine,” he corrects himself quickly. “It’s like Harry Potter, but with teachers that AREN’T out to kill me, right? I’m the chosen one, you know.”
“I’M the chosen one,” she tells him, placing her hands on her hips. “You’re the super blonde sidekick.”
“Hey,” he protests, “the sidekick’s supposed to be a redhead!”
“Emily’s her own sidekick,” Carla says, dismissing the idea. “Besides, the books AND the movies were too long for me, so I never finished them,” she adds with a shrug. “I can’t sit that long, I’d miss something!”
“You’re so ADHD,” he says, laughing. She jumps, though, as a hand drops on her shoulder. She dares to look up, seeing Rocco with a sharp expression on his face as he looks at the force field.
“We found him,” he says. “Time to say goodbye.”
“Oh,” she says. “Um, bye, Cisco—I’ll tell your dad you miss him!” she adds with a wave before letting Rocco pull her away. She waits until they’re a bit away before asking, “Do you not like Cisco? He’s a really cute kid!”
“I—” he says, looking a little off-balance. “We’re heading West,” he says instead of answering that. “So we need to know how we want to travel. You and Skye both run, in your own ways, and I guess I can run, but it might be faster if we take the shadows.”
“Let’s take the shadows!” Skye says. �
�I want to see what’s down there!”
“They aren’t friendly, so you might not see much,” Rocco says, looking around before heading across the street. “But let’s go.” He holds out a hand to Carla and she swallows loudly, staring at the hand for too long. Skye grabs it, and then grabs hers.
She just lost the chance to hold Rocco’s hand because she was too slow, Carla realizes, stunned. Her, too slow, she’s never had that happen to her before.
***
Moron. I’m a moron. This is NOT the time to focus on the whole Carla Cisco thing—and honestly I’m acting COMPLETELY out of character, because I’m the guy that likes everyone! Jealousy is some nasty stuff, man—
No. Not jealousy. I’m totally NOT jealous. I’m just… feeling protective, okay?
I step into the shadows and jerk, feeling that faint pulse from before become much more powerful. My dad’s down here, I realize, starting to run. That stupid dance actually HAD worked, not that I’ll ever admit it. I can feel him. I have to catch him before he goes through a shadow.
“Rocco—” I hear Carla say, but I keep running, seeing him in the distance. He’s just standing there, I realize abruptly as I skid to a stop.
“Stay back, Skystep,” Shadowman says calmly. “I want to have a little chat with my kid.”
“Shadowman,” Skye says, and I can almost feel the tension.
“Either you stay back or I grab the kid and drag him out. You’ll be stuck down here until he gets free from me.”
I see a flash of movement from the corner of my eye. The monsters are restless because we’re not moving. “Wait,” I say, holding up a hand to the girls. “Let’s hear what he has to say for himself.”
“I’m touched,” Dad says, shoving his hands into his pockets and leaning back slightly. “You’re actually willing to listen this time.”