by R. J. Ross
“That’s really sad,” she says, giving him a pitying look. “Family is one of the most important things in the world.”
“You clearly have never spent time with my mother and uncle,” he says flatly. “If you’re trying to get some sort of information out of me by pretending to be compassionate, it won’t work. All I really need to know is when my nanobytes will be returned to me.”
“I would like to take a look at these nanobytes, myself,” she says thoughtfully. “How long did it take you to create them?”
“Two years,” he says, looking away. It probably would have taken her a fraction of that time, he realizes. She’s a technopath. What takes him months of planning and programming would only take a wave of a hand from her. He stares at her for a second. It isn’t fair. He’d been born with all this intelligence, but she makes him look like a fumbling idiot just by existing.
“At your age all I could do was run a little fast,” she says. “I didn’t really start coming into my powers until I was fifteen, and even then everything blew up on me for a while. You’re going to be extremely impressive when you’re older.”
“I don’t need you to be condescending,” he says, his expression cold. “You’re a technopath, like the one that built the security field. I realize just how low on the food chain I am.” It makes him feel useless and frustrated. He’d spent all his life with the belief he was gifted, that he was easily one of the most intelligent people on the planet, and then he comes here, where the REAL intellects had started stepping up, with powers to boot.
She’s watching him with a frown on her face. “Davis,” she says quietly, “is there something bothering you? Other than what’s happening with your uncle?”
“Nothing,” he says. “Just find out when they’re going to get my nanobytes back.” He turns and walks away from the panel, since he doesn’t know how to hang up on her. He would slam the phone down, if he had one. It’s really not satisfying this way.
***
*Skye’s “Secret” Base*
“Should we go out and find her?” Ariel asks as she hangs another streamer. “I mean, I know she’s going through a lot, so what if she gets into trouble? We won’t be there in trouble WITH her, and that would be really sad. We should always be in trouble together!”
“Her brother is in town, and so is her dad, right? They said as much over the comm-link. We can leave her to them while we set this up,” Doris says.
“I’m on my way, now, actually!” Carla says over the speakers in the wall. “We had a mess with this mud guy, and… I’m not sure it’s really over, but it is for now. Do you mind if we do it tonight, instead?”
“Well, we’re setting up for you to come, now, so why not?” Doris says. “How’s Skye?”
“She’s on her way, too,” Carla says. “I guess I should apologize to the people at school. I’ve missed WAY too many classes.”
“You’ve been working,” Ariel says. “We’ve gotten fan letters talking about you, didn’t we Doris?”
“Yeah,” Doris says. “They think we should bring you over to the villain side and dress you up in costumes.”
“I think they want us to brainwash you, but none of us have brainwashing abilities. And it didn’t work when Max tried, right? So it’s pretty silly,” Ariel says.
“Yeah, it’s official that I can’t be brainwashed,” Carla says.
Ariel and Doris look up as Skye comes through the ceiling. Before they can say anything, though, Carla goes on. “Um, we need to talk to Skye about something when I get there, okay?”
Ariel and Doris look at Skye, who holds a finger up to her mouth. “What’s that?” Doris asks.
“Well… I…” Carla says, hesitating, “I went through the whole hating the bad guy thing when I first got out of the zoo, and it didn’t do ANYTHING but make me feel sick to my stomach, because the Collector wasn’t even aware of it, well, he wasn’t even AWAKE, but that’s not the point. I just… I don’t want Skye going through that, too. I mean, she’s probably GONE through that for a very long time, but she really needs to stop. It’s not good for her! Hating someone is like you drinking the poison that you want the other person to drink, or something… I can’t remember the saying right off the top of my head. But it’s terrible, and it causes so many problems for you, including how you deal with other people.”
Doris and Ariel look at each other, and then at Skye. “I think that might be a lecture you need to give all of us, Carla,” Doris says with a sigh. “Are you on your way?”
“Yep! I should be there in point zero—oh, I’m here. Can I come in?”
“Come on in, Carla,” Skye says. Carla lets out a little “eep” as she hears it.
“Oh, um, okay,” she says as the door to the underground base opens and she comes in. “Did you hear all of that?” she asks as they turn to greet her. Chooperic lets out a tiny “woof” and races towards her, jumping into her arms.
“Every word,” Skye says. “So… welcome to our secret base?”
The mood is completely wrong for the party setting that they’re in. Streamers, glitter, and candy is everywhere, and two dozen brightly colored balloons float around the room at different heights.
“Oh, wow,” Carla says, looking around, still absently holding the chupacabra, who leans his head on her shoulder and stares up at her happily. “Is this all for me?”
“Yep,” Ariel says. “Do you like it?”
“I LOVE it,” she says.
***
*The Farmhouse*
The knock on the door makes both Dolly and Ruckus look up. The scene of the dirt man being swept up is playing on the wall. Both females look uneasy. “I’ll get it,” Ruckus says, standing. Dolly nods and picks up the dirty plates from the coffee table to take them to the kitchen.
On the wall, much to their surprise, the screen changes to show who’s standing patiently on their front step. “Did you know it did that?” Dolly asks Ruckus.
“I had no clue,” Ruckus says, but she visibly relaxes. “You can come on in, Voltdrain,” she calls out. “The door isn’t locked.”
The door opens and Voltdrain walks in with an aluminum covered tray in his hand. “I have brought a gift,” he says. Ruckus walks over and takes it with a smile.
“Thanks, we’re always up for free food,” she says. “Come on in. Is there something wrong? We’re still on for tomorrow, right?” She heads into the kitchen, putting the tray on the counter as she waits for his answer. He’s taking his time, looking around with a curious expression, before he heads into the front room and stares at the wall with glowing orange eyes.
“Yes, we are still working together tomorrow,” he says, obviously distracted. “This is Nico’s system?”
“Yeah, he put it in, not that Carla’s stayed over, yet,” Ruckus says. “We might have done it all for no reason.”
“No, it is very good to have,” he says, admiringly. “I will have to see if I cannot get the same system.” He turns and looks at them, his pleased expression turning serious. “I have much to speak to you about.”
“I’ll just go on to my room, then,” Dolly says, only to stop as he holds up a hand.
“No, Dollface, I desire to speak to you, as well,” he says. “This is about the cameras.”
The two women go silent, glancing at one another before Ruckus speaks. “I guess that makes us look pretty pathetic, doesn’t it? You probably want to tell us how stupid we were for not even noticing them—”
“I should have come by, earlier,” he says, waving her statements off. “I must apologize for my negligence. I ask that you forgive me.”
“How was it your negligence?” Dolly asks. “We’re full-grown supers. We should have noticed it, ourselves. Right, Ruckus?”
“Yeah,” Ruckus says.
“You are grown supers, yes,” Voltdrain says, “and I am very pleased to have you on our team. You are very capable in your own rights. But the cameras are not your areas of expertise, they are mine. I have
also come to tell you that today we have found out who is responsible for what has happened.”
“Was it that mud man?” Ruckus asks.
“We have captured him… we believe,” he adds, honestly. “There is much confusion about his capabilities, and we are still missing some parts of what we were searching for, but rest assured, senoritas, we will make sure that all is taken care of.”
“So… now we’re supposed to thank you with tears in our eyes, right?” Ruckus asks. “I hate playing the victim.”
“I do not expect you to,” Voltdrain says, looking her in the eye.
“I HATE feeling vulnerable,” Ruckus says, starting to rant. “I’m a TANK, Voltdrain! I’m one of the toughest supers out there—except I’m not, now am I? All it takes are a few tiny computers that I could crush with a finger to make me feel like I’m that weak little girl in the dirty apartment building again! Is it because I’m a female? Maybe I’m secretly hysterical because I don’t have a Y chromosome—”
To her shock, he walks over, pulling her into a hug. “Shh,” he says as she goes stiff for a second before reluctantly leaning her forehead against his shoulder. “Anyone would feel vulnerable, Breanna,” he says, holding out an inviting arm to Dolly, who rushes forward to join the hug. “Your privacy has been violated.”
“And a simple hug is supposed to make us feel better,” Ruckus mutters.
“I like hugs,” Dolly says. “It’s making me feel better. I would have asked for one, earlier, but I don’t know Technico well enough for that.”
“I’m not sure we know Voltdrain well enough, either,” Ruckus says, but she doesn’t move.
“Oh, please, you’ve known Voltdrain all your life. You have some of his oldest comic books framed on your bedroom wall,” Dolly says. “Right now you’re being hugged by your childhood hero. It reminds me of Santa. I grew up on Santa hugs. He smelled like cookies and hot chocolate, but this is still good.”
Voltdrain laughs a little before pulling back. “We will deal with the man who filmed you,” he promises them. “But regardless of what has happened, you are both strong, powerful women that are capable of doing anything you put your minds to, right?”
“Yeah…” Ruckus says. “Do you talk to your daughter like this?” she asks.
“You have caught me,” he says, but he doesn’t sound very guilty. “Dolly, would you wish to come with us tomorrow?”
“I—” Dolly looks over at Ruckus, chewing on her bottom lip as she hesitates. “I would hate to interrupt…”
“You can come,” Ruckus says. “If you want, that is.”
“Then yes, please! I would love to see what you do!” Dolly says, excitedly. “Oh, but should we ask Carla? She’s part of our group right now, even if it’s temporary.”
“Carla is staying with the Deadly Darlin’s tonight,” Voltdrain says. “She has had a rough day, and needs their support.”
“Are they really the people she should be going to for that?” Dolly asks. “I mean, they’re a lot of fun, but they don’t strike me as the most… supportive.”
“They also have a teleportation device, in case she desires to go home,” Voltdrain says with a smile. “But they are more supportive than you think. They are quite happy with their teammates. They would willingly do whatever the others need, regardless of what it costs them.”
Ruckus looks at him. “Was that some sort of gibe?”
“I do not make gibes,” Voltdrain says. “If it is a bother to you, you should ask why. We can arrange for someone to help you work through it.” He looks at his watch, a bit pointedly. “I expect both of you to be at the Hall at seven tomorrow morning, in uniform, por favor.”
“Yes, we’ll be there,” Dolly says before Ruckus can reply. “Thank you, Voltdrain.” He nods and gives them a little smile before leaving.
“That was totally a jab at us,” Ruckus says after the silence stretches a bit thin. “What right does he have?”
“The right of one of our Hall leaders?” Dolly says, with a hint of sarcasm. “He’s not blind, Ruckus. I’m not surprised that they know we’re having… partner issues.”
“We’re not married,” Ruckus says, glaring at her.
“No, we just work together, fighting people that are more powerful than we are on a regular basis. If this was real, like you wish it was, one of us would be dead already,” Dolly says. “It would most likely be me, because it’s really easy to get the drop on a person that can’t move when they work! We’ve already seen a twelve-year-old do exactly that!”
“That was not my fault,” Ruckus snaps. “I’m too busy dealing with the people inside the dollhouse to come out and watch your back!”
“I don’t NEED someone to watch my back, because the Deadly Darlin’s would probably do it, if I needed them to! And they’re not even on our side!” Dolly shouts.
Ruckus stares at her for a moment. “I’m… not even sure what we’re fighting about right now,” she admits.
“We’re fighting about the fact that I will never be able to do what you think a super hero should do—”
“No, you would be fine,” Ruckus says much to Dolly’s shock. “I wouldn’t go into the dollhouse if we were capturing real supers. I’d watch your back while you kept them confined. Once the black suits showed up we’d use a power blocking collar and have them dragged off to the cells. The only reason I go into the dollhouse is because it makes the fight more entertaining.”
“Oh,” Dolly says. “You’ve… really thought this out.”
“But even that wouldn’t work on Skye,” Ruckus says, heading for the gift that Voltdrain brought. “Nice, he brought us a cake!”
“Don’t change the subject! How would we take down Skye? If we were doing it for real?” Dolly asks, chasing after her.
“I… honestly don’t think we could,” Ruckus says. “We could take down Doris, easily, especially if we could catch her alone somehow. Ariel would be a little harder, but we’d just need to use some sort of air-locked area as the base for the dollhouse. If water can’t get out, she can’t, right? I would have done the same with the mud man they caught earlier.”
“Well, we don’t have to worry about that,” Dolly says. “They’ve already captured him—don’t use your fingers! I’ll get a cake server.”
Ruckus snorts and licks the frosting off of her fingers. Her mind is repeating the offer Voltdrain had made so casually. She had gotten angry, but maybe he was right. It DID bother her. “Maybe… we could try it…” she says.
“Could try what?” Dolly asks.
“Get some partnership counseling,” Ruckus bites her bottom lip. “If you’re interested, that is.” She feels so awkward right now, but they can’t keep going like this, even she realizes it. She had thought a third partner would fix it, but all that had done was make the fighting part easier. That’s a big part of her problem, sure, but not all of it.
“We can… ask him about it tomorrow?” Dolly says. “I’m willing if you are.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“Are you feeling better, now?” Century asks as he enters the hospital room where Richard Penski is staying. The cops had come, but the Hall had, ever so kindly, offered a free room at their personal ER for Richard to recover in while his house was treated as a crime scene. They’d even called his sister, much to his remorse.
“It’s quite nice to be clean,” Richard says, looking down at the blue cloth gown he’s wearing, “but the clothing is… not to my style.” He’s hooked to a few machines and has a double I.V. in his elbow, since his body is still malnourished. He glares at them for a second.
“We didn’t figure it would be,” Century says, not apologizing. “This is usually reserved for any cape that got on Skye’s bad side. Thankfully it’s empty at the moment,” he explains with a quick glance around the place. He pauses, looking a bit confused as he sees a clay doll sitting on the table next to the bed. He doesn’t ask. “I’m sure you won’t want to stay here that long, so it shouldn’t be a p
roblem.”
“Of course,” Richard agrees.
“Now… let’s get down to business. Who is that mud man that captured you?”
Richard goes silent for a moment. “His name is Clay. As far as we could establish, he’s an alien life form that landed on the planet several years ago. His actual form was, at that time, a gaseous ball, and a small rocky core, somewhat like Saturn. That form wasn’t sustainable on our planet. He nearly died when a strong wind blew, so he used his ability to form chemical bonds with natural objects, such as dirt and rocks, to create a… vessel, of some sort.”
“Like a suit of dirt,” Century says, “or the crust of the Earth.”
“Yes, exactly like that. And while it kept his core from being blown away, or worse, it wasn’t as easily manipulated as he would have hoped.”
“And that small rocky core? What does it look like?”
“It’s a glowing stone,” Richard says. “I didn’t get to study it nearly as much as I would have liked. But now that you’ve captured him, I’m sure you wouldn’t mind if I took another look, right?”
“A… glowing rock,” Century says, completely ignoring the rest of what Richard said. “Thank you for your assistance, Mr. Penski. I’ll let you return to what you were doing.”
“You did get the stone, didn’t you?” Richard asks.
Century doesn’t respond as he leaves the room.
“RICHIE!” Richard hears his sister shout, and he suddenly realizes why Century was so quick to leave.
***
“We have a problem,” Century says as he steps into the room where the two Superiors are.
“Yeah, they didn’t get the nanobytes,” Nico says, staring at the pile of dust in the holding cell in front of them. “We’re waiting to see if he recovers. We’ll get where he left it out of him, then.”