by R. J. Ross
“You can’t DO this to me!” Marie protests. “You’ve cut me from my only family, you’ve trapped me up in this frozen hell, you’ve—”
“If it were up to me, you’d be buried several thousand feet under the ground, chained with two million pounds attached to each limb, while STILL wearing the collar. And according to my newest daughter, it gets VERY hot down there. You’ll get to see hell face to face,” Superior says coldly. “But maybe that would be better. You wouldn’t be complaining about the cold, that’s for sure.”
“You cannot blame a mother for wanting to see that their child is happy and safe,” Tatiana says from behind him. “Marie, it is time to fix the sides.”
Marie stares into Superior’s ice cold eyes, her hands clenching for a moment before looking down. “I’m coming, Tatia,” she says, stepping forward.
Superior moves aside, letting her go past him as he meets Tatiana’s eyes. She stares him straight in the eye, and then moves forward, kissing him on the lips. “Do not be so hard on her, my love,” she says, smiling slightly. “She is slowly coming in circle.”
“I know,” he says, not bothering to correct her broken metaphor. “But we can’t trust her.”
“This I know, as well.”
***
*Kansas City*
I came home near midnight, collapsed in my bed, and slept like the dead until now. “ROCCO!” someone yells outside my door, knocking hard. “Wake up, man! It’s time for class!”
“Shuddup, I had a rough day yesterday,” I complain, dragging my pillow over my head. The door opens and Max saunters in, a breakfast sandwich in his hand. I can smell it. We practically lived off the things during our mission. I feel like gagging at the smell. “Get that thing away from me, man,” I mutter, daring to glare at him from under the pillow.
“Wow, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” Max taunts, taking a bite just to spite me, I’m sure. “And here I heard you dragged Carla off on a romantic date.”
“That was NOT a romantic date—and Skye came along,” I say, giving up on sleeping. I shove the pillow off my head and sit up. “First we run into Shadowman in the Shadowlands, then we get attacked by dinosaur things, and THEN I landed us in the middle of a freaking Anti-Super party, which filled an entire football field with haters.”
“Sounds like a fun day!”
I stare at him for a long moment. “Tell me you’re joking,” I say finally.
“I’m always up for a stadium full of people,” he says, finishing off his sandwich. “I’m surprised you weren’t. But come on, already, Nico says you get special training this morning.”
“What?”
“You’re going into the photo op game, right? We have to decide on your debut.”
“That’s not what he said I was going to do!” I yelp. “I thought I’d just be sent out to find people!”
“You’re going to be one of us, right? That includes being out there in the public eye,” Max says. “I offered to do the debut for you, but it doesn’t work when you’re both villains.”
“So who’s going to do it?” I ask, feeling worried. Trent’s the main guy for the hero side—I’d rather not get dragged into a brawl with him, okay? He’s a tank.
“Well, Vinny’s coming home,” Max says. “Since he’s fire and you’re shadow, it seems like the best choice to me. Although you could ask Emily, she’d probably be willing, and she’s coming up with Vinny.”
“Vinny?” I repeat, my eyes widening as I realize how obvious that one is. “That’d make for a good one, wouldn’t it? He could try and get rid of the shadows—but I’m not sure I’m fireproof.”
“I’m sure we’ll find out pretty quickly.”
“Thanks,” I drawl, giving him a dirty look. “I don’t know what good it’ll do, though, me being in the public notice. The biggest part of my abilities is that people won’t see me coming, right?”
“We want them to,” Max says.
“What?”
“We want people to see you coming. We want people jumping at shadows and wondering if the super villain—er… you need a name.”
“NOT Shadowboy,” I say quickly, "anything other than Shadowboy.”
“Or Procurer,” Max says agreeably.
“Procurer?” I repeat.
“It’s what the Collector called him. You don’t even want to know what it means over in England,” Max says, waving it off. “Now either you get dressed or I haul you out there in your My Little Pony boxers.”
“I am NOT wearing—” I look down, too late. He starts to laugh.
“Gotcha,” he says, heading for my closet. He digs through it, pulling out clothes and tossing them at me. “Weren’t you getting clothes made?” he asks.
“Yeah, but it’s not a rush order—I should get the first set tonight or tomorrow,” I say, getting dressed. “And I don’t even own a pair of My Little Pony boxers, you know.”
“I’m not going to say a word on that one,” Max says. “Seeing as you just went on a date with Carla—”
“It wasn’t a date! I’m absolutely positive that if there’s a chance of getting mauled involved, it’s not a date,” I say. My mind goes back to yesterday, lingering on the run-in with my father. “Or the guy that kidnapped her,” I add a bit blandly, tying my shoes. “I mean, even if she wasn’t only fourteen, can you imagine how awkward that would be? ‘Dad, this is my date—I think you already know her, seeing as you KIDNAPPED her,’” I drawl.
“You’re still hung up on the age thing,” Max points out.
“Oh forget it, we’ve got classes to get to, and I’m starving,” I say, walking out of my dorm room and into the dining area. I head for the kitchen, where a handful of black suits are working on making breakfast. With Vinny, you usually don’t get to request what you eat—you just eat what’s in front of you. With these guys, though, you can go, “Can I get some pancakes, a side of bacon, and coffee?”
One hands me a card with a number and I head for a table, waiting for my order to be up. I blink as Carla drops down next to me. “So?” she asks.
“So what?” I ask.
“What’s your name going to be?”
I open my mouth, about to admit I have no clue, when Cisco comes over and drops down on the other side of Carla. I stare at him. “Hey, Cisco! Did you hear? Rocco’s going to debut!” Carla says excitedly.
Cisco looks up at me, hesitantly. “Congratulations?” he offers.
“Yeah, thanks,” I say a bit gruffly. I feel relief when my number is called. It’s stupid—I even TOLD myself I would get to know the kid! I, of all people, know how tough it is being the odd man out, right? And didn’t I already decide I was the outgoing, friendly guy that liked everyone?
“Hey, Rocco!” Freddy says, making me look over. “Have you met the new girls yet?” He’s sitting at their table, I notice, and I wonder if they actually invited him to. “Come meet them!”
“In a second,” I say, holding up my number. “I gotta get food first.” I head to the kitchen, collecting my pancakes and hesitating as I step back out. One part of me is saying I should go talk with Cisco, the other—well, it’s not that surprising when I head for Freddy’s table, okay? “Hi,” I say to the three, grinning at them.
“This is Jennifer, Olivia, and Elidee,” Freddy says, pointing at each of them in time. I sit down in the empty chair, next to Elidee, and hold out my hand.
“Rocco,” I say as we shake. She’s cute—
No, she’s more than cute, I realize as she looks up with soul-stealing brown eyes. She’s beautiful—I’ve never seen a more gorgeous girl in my life—
“ELIDEE!” I hear Carla bellow from a distance. “Don’t you DARE!”
“Hi,” I say stupidly, not wanting to let go of the hand. “Do you have a boyfrie—” my chair goes sliding back through the room, with me still in it. It stops when it hits the wall. For a moment I just sit there, stunned. “What just happened?” I finally ask as everyone starts laughing their heads o
ff.
“Rocco is off limits!” Carla says, glowering down at Elidee with her hands on her hips.
“He’s your boyfriend?” Elidee asks. “You should have—”
“N—noooo, but—but he’s off limits!” Carla says.
“Can I at least get my pancakes?” I ask a bit childishly as my stomach growls. “I’m starving.”
“Two girls fighting over you and you’re focused on the pancakes?” Max asks as he stops beside me. He shakes his head and waves a hand, using his powers to bring my tray to me. I grab it, but stand and head back to the table to grab the syrup and coffee. Elidee and Carla turn to look at me in shock.
“I’m guessing… pheromones?” I say, looking over at Freddy.
“Yep, she’s Prisma’s daughter.”
“I’ll remember that,” I say. “Nice to officially meet you, Elidee, Olivia, Jennifer,” I add, moving my tray to one hand and grabbing Carla’s arm. “Don’t fight with your friends, Carla,” I say.
“She tried to manipulate you!” Carla complains as I pull her along with me. “That’s dirty!”
“So is traveling by shadow,” I say, sighing as I drop down at the table Cisco’s sitting at. “Some of us come with shifty powers, Carla. It’s how you use them that make the difference,” I add, remembering the conversation with Zoe with a little smile.
“Trying to steal—” Carla stops, blushing slightly but still obviously pouting. “To steal—um—people’s attention is NOT right!” Then she stops, looking at me, “Unless you actually LIKED her, that is…”
“Nah, don’t know her,” I say, shrugging. “And it seems to me that you’re overreacting. How many guys has she tried that one since she came?” I ask Cisco.
“As far as I can tell, half of them? I think she sort of slips up a lot,” he offers. “But I haven’t been here that long.”
“Did you get angry over all of them?” I ask Carla curiously.
“I—it—well, it was sort of funny when she did it to Justin,” she admits, a little grin pulling at her lips. “You should have SEEN how mad Malina got! The pool started shape-shifting and everything!”
“Has she tried it on Max?” I ask, eagerly. “That will be one heck of a show!”
“No, but we should talk her into it!” she says, practically bouncing in her chair. “Oh, but that would probably get her cell phone destroyed,” she admits after a second. “I wouldn’t want to make Zoe mad—I bet it’s scary.”
“It is,” I say, nodding, “It’s pretty terrifying. But she could do it to Ward!” I suggest.
“Yeah, but… well, nobody would save him,” Carla says a bit guiltily. “I mean, he’s my brother and I love him, but—”
“That’s so mean,” I say, cracking up.
“Ward’s a pain in the butt!” Carla replies. “And ever since he left, Mega’s been calling and asking for him, but Ward made us SWEAR to not tell him his phone number! So WE have to deal with the Mega calls!”
“Poor Carla,” I say, reaching over and giving her a one-armed hug by habit—and then going still. “Er, yeah,” I say, pulling away. “So what about Lance? He’s back, too,” I say, looking around for my animal shifter pal. “Actually, where is he? And Piper?”
“Lance is doing homework, Piper’s sleeping,” Carla says. “You all have a TON of catching up to do.”
“Oh. Crap,” I say, realizing abruptly that I’m in the same boat. I start eating as fast as I can.
“Did you see my dad?” I look up at Cisco’s question, realizing that I’d forgotten all about Carla’s promise.
“Sorry, Cisco, we didn’t get down South—we wound up running into Shadowman a lot faster than I thought we would,” Carla admits. “But we can call him! You can borrow my phone, okay?”
“Yeah,” he says. “Thanks.” I feel a little irritable, I think, quickly shoving it down. Maybe yesterday was tougher on me than I thought—
“What, exactly, is going on here?” I hear a familiar voice say from the door. I glance up, breaking into a grin as Vinny steps in.
“VINNY!” practically the entire cafeteria shouts excitedly. Carla’s gone with a whoosh, and I watch with amusement as she tackles him. That relationship doesn’t bother me in the least, a little voice whispers. So why does Cisco and her—
Nope, not going to dwell on it, I think as I get to my feet, clasping arms with Kaden and bumping chests. “Did you get bigger, man?” I demand as he grins down at me.
“A little,” he says modestly.
“Carla, you can get off,” I hear Vinny drawl.
“I didn’t miss you at ALL,” she declares proudly. “So why are you back?”
“Nico called me,” Vinny says, getting to his feet. “I’ve got a debut to plan out, right?” he adds, looking at me. “Unless you’ve picked someone else—”
“No way, if I’m debuting, you’re doing it,” I say.
“Have you picked your Hall yet?” he asks.
“As far as I can tell, I’m staying Cape High,” I admit, a bit confused, myself. “Nico offered me a dirty jobs sort of position, and it makes sense. Besides, I don’t have the best rep with some of the other leaders.”
“Officially you’d be a Central villain,” Max offers, walking over. “We’re a bit more lax on what Hall we work for on our side. Besides, all of the Cape High kids could change Halls at any moment—Zoe says Vinny’s probably going to wind up South, sooner or later.”
“That’s not been decided yet,” Vinny says with a shrug. “But I’m not as adverse to it as I used to be.” He looks at me again, raising an eyebrow. “So… you don’t mind if I see what they’ve done to my kitchen first, do you?”
“Nope, not at all—they make decent pancakes, though, so don’t be too harsh on them?” I add as he heads for the kitchen like a man on a mission. “Man am I glad I ate first,” I add as I watch. There’s the sound of pots clanking and Vinny talking very quietly to the group. Vinny never yells—I think that takes too much energy, or something. Vinny’s probably the most laid-back guy I know, but still, this is HIS kitchen. Everyone knows it.
“Well, there goes our ordering what we want for breakfast,” Carla says, holding my cup of coffee—oh crap, I think, grabbing for the cup. She gives me the most evil grin I’ve ever seen and disappears, reappearing across the room. “Oh wait, this is—hey, everybody! I GOT COFFEE!” she exclaims happily before taking a drink.
“ROCCO!” the entire room bellows at me as she tears around the room excitedly.
“Well, then,” I say, turning and heading for the door. “I have training to get ready for. Sorry to dine and dash, guys, but—” I race through the nearest shadow, positive that I don’t want to be held responsible for this one.
That I’m laughing my head off is something only the shadow dinos and I need know.
CHAPTER FOUR
“Now,” Nico says as Vinny and I stand in the middle of the Apocalypse Field. The Apocalypse Field has a much more technical name, but nobody except maybe Nico and Zoe remembers it. We renamed it when Nico started dressing the robots up in rags and red paint, telling us we’re doing a zombie run. I really think the guy watches too many late late night horror movies or something—the cheesy ones in black and white, I bet. Either way, it also acts as a sparring field for the big names. I never thought I’d have to use it that way, though. “Since it seems to be Rocco’s fault that Carla’s still in Mach 3 mode—”
We all turn, watching as the blur races sideways over the wall of the canyon. “She’s literally bouncing off the walls,” Zoe says, sounding fascinated.
“She ran over the pool, earlier,” Max informs her.
“We recorded it, right?” Zoe asks excitedly.
“Of course we did,” Nico says. “That doesn’t change the stupidity of ordering coffee and not keeping your hand on it at all times,” he goes on, giving me a pointed look. “Rocco, you’re on dish washing duty today,” he tells me.
“I have a legitimate excuse, though!” I protest. “Elidee
brainwashed me.”
“That might be true, but you’re about to become a working villain. You really should get used to unfair circumstances.”
“It was an involuntary reaction!” I hear Elidee protest from the group. “He’s cute.”
I feel a bit of heat creeping up the back of my neck, but I don’t dare look over. “Okay, clean up duty, that’s fine,” I say. “Tony’s a great guy, it shouldn’t be that bad,” I add, glancing at Vinny. He smiles slightly but doesn’t say anything. His dad, Tony, is the janitor of Cape High—a norm that was in prison for stealing cars before this. He’s become one of the unofficial parent figures for the zoo kids in the past few months. I don’t know how well he and Vinny get along, though. That one’s a bit more complicated.
“Now, let’s go over the rules. This fight will be a bit different, Vinny. We want to show off Rocco’s special abilities at least three times in the fight: once when he shows up, as many times as he can pull off during the fight, and finally, the escape. Did you give him some of your new super grade boxers?” he asks.
“He did,” I volunteer. The last thing I want is to wind up bare-butted in a fight in front of the school.
“Now, in theory you should recover from burns quickly enough that it’s just an irritation,” Nico says to me. “We’ll find out if I’m right.” He steps back and claps his hands. “Nothing higher than ten feet off the ground, no fireballs, at least for now, and remember to make it showy, but don’t destroy anything. I’ve already got a gig lined up this weekend, so get used to each other fast, boys.”
“What? This weekend?” Vinny demands.
“Century offered up a few places in his territory,” Nico says cheerfully. “I asked if we could use his oil refinery, but for some reason he wasn’t feeling THAT generous,” he adds evilly, looking pointedly at Vinny. The place would go up in flames. “He did mention an attempted theft of the Stevie Ray Vaughan statue, to try and prompt the opening of a museum—”
“Who?” I ask blankly.
“I can disown him for that, can’t I?” Justin asks Malina. “That’s definitely a disowning offense.” I glance over and see her pat his arm in a consoling manner.