by R. J. Ross
Mr. Cage lets out a curse and reaches for his belt. His pants drop to the ground.
***
Skye’s going to find him soon, Clay knows that. She’ll pick up on his energy now that he’s in full form, and come running, bringing the Hall along with her. If that happens, he’ll never be able to sit down and talk with her rationally before she attacks again. The very idea of that happening makes him feel sick to his stomach. A part of him wants to call the real Penski and probe his mind, just like he had over the past fourteen years. Penski always willingly told him everything he needed to know. Of course, the longer he lived on this planet, the less he needed to know. So he might have, possibly, neglected the scientist towards the end, but it hadn’t killed him! He’d needed to lose some weight, anyway. The man never exercised.
Clay heads to the stairs that lead to the basement, tapping in passcodes that he’d programmed, himself. He pauses at the bottom of the steps, looking at the now-empty area. They’d wiped out everything. He doesn’t know why, but he has mixed feelings about it. The part of him that had been stuck in the glass cage feels satisfied, but the part of him that had pretended to be a scientist for so long feels regret. There had been a lot of research and information down here. It was probably Cage that had wiped it all out. A real scientist would have hesitated.
He shoves the thought aside and heads for one of the walls, making a fist and slamming it straight through the concrete. He hits it again, making the hole larger. Finally, when it’s large enough, he jumps through, completely ignoring the fact that he’ll get his stolen clothes dirty. He can form clothes out of the special mud, anyway. He’d just found it funny to steal Cage’s pants. He wishes he could see how Mace reacts to finding him pantsless in a female scientist’s office.
Now, he thinks, to pick up one last thing and go find his little sister. He knows exactly how he can make her stop long enough to listen.
***
Superior is napping. Nico looks over at his father with a hint of irritation. They’re miles in the air, and if a plane comes through, they’ll be noticed, but his old man is taking a catnap in the sun.
“It’s a good thing you’re retired,” Nico says. “Falling asleep on the job like this…”
“Excuse me if I don’t get much sun where I live,” Superior says without even opening his eyes. “This feels amazing. Did you know that some norms thought that I was solar powered?”
“Solar powered? Really?”
“I never bothered to correct them,” Superior says. “But since I have your attention, I might as well put in a complaint. We need official guilds in the game, son. Think of it like the branches.”
“It’s on my list of special features to add,” Nico says. “The kids have been bugging me about that and a shopping district…” he stops, his eyes lighting up. “Found them!”
“What?” Superior says, opening his eyes and moving out of his lounging position. “What changed?”
“I’m not sure,” Nico says, “it’s like they weren’t there one minute and were the next. They’re… right there,” he says, pointing at the ground. “That’s…”
“Do you know, I met the elder Cage once,” Superior says as they both stare at the SITEC building. “I got the feeling he would steal the uniform off my back if he could get away with it.”
“And yet you still let them start that business?” Nico asks.
“You have to admire a guy that brassy,” Superior says with a shrug. “At least he would have done it with a professional smile on his face.” The two look at each other and Nico’s mouth twitches.
“You honestly just said that,” he says.
“If I’d been lucky, he MIGHT have let me keep my boxers.” The two start making their way to the SITEC building. At the exact same time their expressions turn serious, at least for a second, that is. “We’re going to have to teach Sunny to guard his expressions.”
“Nah, if I was bringing a kid into this situation, it’d be Zoe,” Nico says as they land in the parking lot and head for the front door.
“What, you’d really bring my adorable little granddaughter to a place like this?”
Nico shoots him a look. “You’re right, she’d probably terrify them.”
“When she’s full grown, maybe,” Superior says as they walk through the door and find themselves surrounded by security guards. “Ah, right, this is your part of the job,” he says to Nico.
“I’ve come for the nanobytes,” Nico says, not bothering to be polite.
The guards turn slightly as a door behind them opens and a woman walks out. She’s wearing a business suit and has a professional smile on her face that makes Nico think of what Superior had just said. Maybe she learned it from the elder Cage. “Technico, what a surprise,” she says. “I’m a big fan of yours.”
“I’m sure,” he says, dryly. “Don’t try lying to me. I know right where they are.”
“Yes, but we’re the ones that have been commissioned with disposing of them,” she says. “I dislike having to remind you of our contract with the Hall, especially with anything found in the South Branch… but we really can’t just hand evidence over to the first super that walks through the door.”
Nico looks over at Superior for a second, irritated. He’s positive that his old man had some say in that contract. “Then I’ll just call Century,” he says, tapping his earbud.
“Why don’t I go get Mr. Cage?” she asks. “I’m sure that the two of you can work something reasonable out between you. I’m just a mere secretary.”
“They don’t use terms like ‘secretary’ anymore,” Nico says silently as she walks away. He makes note of how the guards react to her leaving, straightening their stances and doing everything short of saluting. “If she’s a secretary, I’m a tinkerer.”
“Mmmhmm,” Superior says, looking around the room curiously. “They have some very interesting toys, here,” he says, not bothering to whisper. The guns that the guards are holding come up, again, and Nico sees a faint shaking of their barrels.
“I thought this place worked well with supers,” he says.
“We work well with the ones that make appointments,” the guard nearest him says. “We’re not very fond of the uninvited type.”
“I see.”
***
The knock on the door would have Cage jumping out of his pants, if he was wearing any. Sadly enough, he’s still sitting in his boxers, waiting for his butler to come with a change of clothing. During this time, though, he and Farkinkle have been joined by a rather heavy set scientist named Floyd Grahmm, with something so fascinating that Mr. Cage has forgotten that he’s pantsless at the moment.
“And you say it’s unlike anything you’ve seen before?” Mr. Cage asks, looking at the Petri dish. “You are our resident expert in plants, so I’m not calling you a liar, but… perhaps you just need to do a bit of brushing up on your studies?”
“If it was from this planet, do you really think they would bring their uniforms here?” Floyd asks. “Sir, I think we might have found an entirely new strain of plant. I need your permission to cultivate a sample.”
“It’s a shame we took out the glass cages downstairs, they would have made a good hothouse…” Mr. Cage says, thoughtfully. “Fine, permission granted. Of course, I expect to see results, Grahmm.” Grahmm is about to say something when the door opens and Ms. Mace appears. She stares at them, her eyes lingering pointedly on Mr. Cage’s silk boxers.
“This is hardly the right place, sir,” she says, unemotionally.
“Ah…” Mr. Cage looks down, silent for a moment. At least Grahmm was here, he thinks, glancing over at the now-blushing man. “Why are YOU the one embarrassed?” he asks him. “Farkinkle is perfectly fine with me being pantsless.”
“I was trying to repair my broken soul by watching the Deadly Darlin’s, sir,” Thelma says, from where she’s glued to her computer monitor. “I was so close, too.”
“That possibly might be too much information,
Farkinkle,” Mr. Cage says, standing. “Is there a reason for your intrusion, Ms. Mace?”
“Yes, sir. Technico and… a friend of his are here. He’s demanding the nanobytes, which I was unaware that we had,” she says, sneaking in a rebuke.
“Ah, yes. They’re new,” he says. He looks around the room, and then, with a slight shudder, at Grahmm. “When was the last time you washed your pants, Grahmm?”
“Huh?”
“No, even I’m not that desperate,” Mr. Cage says, looking a bit green at the very idea. “Keep them occupied, Ms. Mace. My butler should be delivering a new pair of pants, soon. Besides, what right does he have to them?”
“Respectfully speaking, sir, what right does he NEED?” Ms. Mace says, her eyes shooting daggers at him. “He’s threatening to call Century.”
“Ah, yes, of course he is,” Mr. Cage says, heading for the door. “Take them to the special waiting room and tell them I’m in a meeting, and will see them in ten minutes.”
“Will your pants be here before then?” Farkinkle asks.
“Hopefully, but if not, I have a very large desk.” Both Thelma and Floyd jump to their feet to watch him saunter boldly down the hall in his boxers and a dress shirt. The looks on their colleagues’ faces is enough to have them choking on laughter for the rest of the day.
“That man,” Ms. Mace says, shaking her head. “Everyone, return to what you were doing! We do not pay you to watch… that.”
“That was Farkinkle’s office, right? You don’t think—“
“Excuse me, but I was in there as well,” Floyd volunteers. “His pants were…”
“Destroyed!” Thelma says, quickly. “I was showing him my latest attempt at phase technology. It got a little messy.”
The other scientists turn and look at the two before heading back into their offices. There are some things better off not questioned when you’re in this line of work.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“This is SO good!” Skye says happily. We’re right smack-dab in the middle of a nautical themed restaurant. If I had been with any other group of super villains, we might have gotten paranoid looks and a lot of empty tables all around. If I was with Nico, I definitely would have gotten that. But since it’s Skye, Ariel and Doris, well...
I turn and watch as a group of little kids holding paper menus tip-toe closer, surrounding Skye with big, expectant eyes. She ignores them for a moment, scraping the bottom of her bowl for the last bit of broth. One of the boldest reaches out, tugging on her shirt.
“WHAT?” Skye demands, turning to her.
“Sign?” the little girl asks, cowering behind the menu, only to peek around it. “Pweeeeeeassse?”
Skye stares at her before saying, “And what are you going to pay me?”
The restaurant goes quiet, and I start to say something before the little girl reaches into her pocket. “I got candy?” she offers.
Skye grabs the candy and the menu, pulling out her permanent marker and scribbling her name. “NEXT!” she says, holding out a hand to the next bravest child.
“I got… um… a bouncy ball?” he says, digging a handful of junk out of his pocket and offering it. She takes the ball and his menu, repeating the process. Doris shakes her head as I look over at her, until someone tugs on her shirt as well. It’s the same girl that had just given Skye candy.
“You just gave her your candy,” Doris points out. “How are you going to pay me?”
Soon the little kids are pulling out their pockets, or running to their parents to get some other form of payment. A huge pile of tiny toys and candy starts to build up on the table as all three of the Deadly Darlin’s get roped into signing.
“It’s just criminal making little children pay for signatures,” I hear someone complain.
“Are you kidding? Those are the Deadly Darlin’s. We’re lucky they haven’t robbed us blind,” someone else mutters. “Besides, that kid just paid with a shiny rock. Raindance looks like she’s in love with it.”
“Think it’d work if an adult tried it? I would LOVE to get their autographs.”
“Go try!”
“ENOUGH!” the white haired lady that had told us about the place says, coming out of the kitchen. “You little scamps stop bothering paying customers!” she waves a wooden spoon in the air, and they all scamper off to their own tables, giggling. “How have you enjoyed Nana Rae’s cooking, girls?” she asks us.
“It’s AWESOME!” Skye says, getting up and floating over the table to give her a hug.
“And how are you gonna be paying tonight?” she asks, pointedly.
“Send the bill to the Hall,” Doris says, shamelessly. “We’re not working today, so we can’t do a dine and dash, but you can always TELL them we did!”
“We have a reputation to protect,” Ariel says, only to pout at me as I hold up a hand.
“I can take care of it, Nana Rae,” I say, waving my phone in the air. “I still have Max’s account on my phone!” I tell the girls.
“Do you seriously?” Skye asks, getting excited. “Girls, we’ve got to go shopping!”
“And who is this Max you’ll be making pay?” Nana Rae demands.
“Maximum?” I offer. She looks at my “Deadly Darlin’” outfit and lets out a laugh.
“If it’s declined, I’ll be calling Century, myself!” she threatens as she waves to a girl that looks like she could be her granddaughter. “Bring them the bill, we’ll see what happens.”
The girl starts to walk over as the crowd laughs and asks how I got Maximum’s information. I’m about to tell them that I know his girlfriend when the girl trips, falling. The floor is shaking, making the silverware chime as they’re thrown about. I jump to my feet, grabbing the girl before she hits the ground and putting her back on her feet. The room is starting to shake wildly. I hear a dangerous cracking sound from the ceiling and I rush over, grabbing the couple that’s sitting right below the falling plaster.
“Everyone! Remain calm and find a secure place!” I yell, my voice modulator taking care of slowing it down for me. I almost stop as I see Skye floating in the middle of the room, enraged. “Skystep! This is an earthquake—”
“This is no earthquake,” she says.
“What do you think you’re doing? I was not told we would be having visitors today—” Nana Rae says. The ground beneath her shoots up and I race for her, grabbing her before she can go flying very far. “Who are you, little one?” she asks me, looking stunned.
“Hy-bo,” I say, giving her my best trademark smile before racing out of the building with her. “You stay out here, okay?”
“But my restaurant!” she says. “It’s going to be my daughter’s!”
“We’ll get it fixed up, I promise,” I tell her as I run back in. I get there just in time to see Skye slam her fist into the floor so hard that the impact causes the windows to blow out.
“GET OUT HERE!” she bellows.
“Not yet!” I yelp, as the norms rush for the door. I see a child, the same child that had so bravely bribed the trio for their autographs, hiding under a table, crying. I can’t leave her like that. I run over, shoving the table over and grabbing her. She looks at me, and then looks past me with a look of terror on her face.
I turn, seeing what she’s staring at. The concrete has risen up, broken and vaguely resembling a man. There are thin veins of mud covering the surface. “Skye,” he says, one rocky hand lifting to her. Before he can say anything else, Skye punches through his head, breaking the concrete as easily as if it was Styrofoam.
“Hy-bo! Get her out of here!” Doris yells. “Skye’s about to lose it!”
“Ye-yeah,” I say, shaking off my shock and looking at the mess of people trying to climb over each other to get out. They’re going WAY too slow, I think as I look around. I head for the wall, putting the girl down and moving a booth chair between her and me. I start hitting the wall, rapidly, pretending that I’m a jackhammer. It’s not quite as impressive as Skye’s one-hit
dust making shot, but hey, I’m still young!
It’s taking too long, I think as I hear screaming, one second, two seconds, they’ve never seemed longer in my life. I step back as light hits me and move the bench chair to pick up the girl. “Come on, everyone! Leave in an orderly manner!” I call through the voice modulator. I’m doing this in Deadly Darlin’s garb, and it’s going to be plastered all over the news, I’m sure. I’ll be yelled at by the Hall for being seen this way, and my little siblings will see me hanging out with villains, but none of that matters right now. I have to save the people.
The ground shakes so hard that even I have trouble keeping my balance. The norms are rushing for the hole I just made, and I glance up as the walls and ceiling starts to crack. Um, maybe that extra hole isn’t helping the whole stability thing, huh? Especially since we already took out most of the floor, thanks to the concrete guy. Well, it’s too late to worry about that.
“Ariel, get the ceiling,” I hear Doris say as she shifts and grabs one of the walls that are caving in. “We need to get these people out of here as fast as possible.” She lets out a curse. There’s mud creeping up her leg.
“On it!” Ariel says cheerfully, rising into the air and changing into water. Soon, a transparent dome appears over our heads, catching the ceiling that’s caving in before it lands on everyone.
Some of the norms pause, trying to take pictures, and I can’t help but yell at them, “Keep moving, PLEASE! This is not a show!” They move a little faster, only to stop completely as Skye goes flying, slamming into the wall next to my hole. They stare, shocked, as she slides down a few inches before regaining her balance.
“How did he hit you?” Doris demands, distracted from the mud that’s reached her hip.
“He sprayed me,” Skye says. “Ariel, wash me off!”
“I sort of have my hands full, but I can try,” Ariel says from above our heads.
“What did he spray you with?”