by R. J. Ross
The dormant volcano looms over him and he wipes away a bit of ash from his face, looking at the hole he's just dug. Somewhere, according to his little machine, there should be a pocket of diamonds around here. Oh, sure, he could have gone to his old man and asked for the thing, but what kind of story would that be? No, if you're going to bring a woman a diamond, it's better to be the one that dug it up with your own two hands. He checks his machine, running a light over the wall of the tunnel until he hears a beep. "Here we go," he says, digging gingerly at the area and pulling out a large rock.
He taps on it, looking thoughtful for a long moment before sticking it in the bag he brought with him. He doesn't know anything about diamonds, other than how to find them--a good diamond is made up of the same elements as a crappy one, right?
He takes to the air, heading for the mainland. HE doesn't know anything about stones, but that doesn't mean he can't find someone that does! In fact, if he recalls correctly, there's a certain villain in the East Branch who specializes in everything underground. He turns, heading for the East Hall, while mentally checking his inner clock. It'll be time to get back to school soon for another day of the Advent Calendar.
"You're trespassing in my territory, Technico," Marigold says as she appears in front of him. "I expected better of Mastermental's golden child."
"Really?" Nico asks. "You really should have lowered your expectations around the fifth or sixth time I came here," he muses. "I mean once or twice, I can understand, but by now I would have thought even you would have caught on--"
"What do you want?" she asks, going straight to the point.
"I'm looking for Diamond Dust," he says. "She's on your payroll, I'm sure."
"She's a villain."
"So? All I need is her coordinates and I'll be out of your hair soon enough," he says.
"Are you planning on attacking her?" she asks. "She's not on duty until next week, and even then, she's strictly to go against my Hall members only--"
"I want a simple appraisal, and if she's willing, I'm going to offer a job to her--a one-time thing, before you start yelling," he says as he sees the look on her face. "Purely personal in nature."
"Personal?" Marigold asks.
"Yeah," Nico says.
"Fine, but if I hear you've been trying to poach her, I will have some complaints for your boss. I don't tolerate many super villains. Diamond Dust happens to be a personal favorite of mine." She heads inside, not motioning for him to follow at all. So he stands there, looking at the building a bit curiously--and then a bit more closely.
"If you're hacking my computers, I will cause problems," she says as she comes out, a piece of paper in her hand. "I've heard all about how you do things, Technico, and I'm not like Century. I don't just wave it off."
"I would never dream of it," Nico says, taking the piece of paper from her. "At least not without being paid. You could definitely use an upgrade to your security system."
"I'll keep that in mind," she says a bit dryly as he flies off.
The next stop is at a small hole in the ground--a LITERAL hole in the ground. He wouldn't have even noticed it if he didn't have the coordinates in his hand, he thinks as he lands. He crouches down next to the hole, peering into the pit. "Diamond Dust?" he calls. "This is Technico--"
The ground rises up and a sharp looking crystal shoots out, almost hitting him. It would have hit, had he been slower, he notices as he floats overhead. The ground shudders and shakes before another crystal shoots out at him. He catches it, shattering it in his hand.
"I didn't come to fight, Dust," he says. "I came to ask a favor--"
"I don't do favors for the Hall's favored son," she says, stepping out of the hole he'd stopped at.
"I should have said I came to offer you a quick job," he says. "I need a ring. I've already gotten the stone for it."
She goes still and the crystal defenses slowly sink back into the ground. "A diamond?" she asks, her eyes going to the bag on his hip. Now that she's not trying to kill him, he takes a moment to admire her uniqueness. Her hair is made of crystal, long dreadlocks-like chunks that hang over her shoulders. Her skin gleams like a polished gem. If anything, he thinks, he would like to check to see if she has some sort of relation to Sandra--but right this instant is not the time for it.
"Diamond," he agrees. "I need an engagement ring--and if I'm lucky, a wedding ring. I can get you any materials you need, or build you whatever tools you need to shape it, but I don't have the ability to tell a good stone from a bad one. You can."
"A wedding ring?" she asks. "Who are you planning on proposing to?"
"Lady Rose," he says. "You must have heard by now."
"THE Lady Rose?" she asks, her sharp expression turning excited. "You're really going to marry THE Lady Rose? I'm a fan of hers!" She goes still, looking a bit embarrassed. "It doesn't count if she's a specialized hero, you know."
"I know. Look," he says, digging the stone out of his pocket, "this is what I found. I have no idea if it's a decent stone or not, I'll leave that to you to decide. But I need to know soon. I need this by Christmas day." He throws the stone to her and she catches it, looking at it thoughtfully. "So what do you want as payment?" he asks.
She looks at him, a gleam in her eyes that has nothing to do with the fact they look like emeralds. "What are you willing to pay?"
***
"You're late," Summer says as he walks through their apartment door. "Where were you? And why are you so dirty?" she asks, her expression changing from irritation to confusion.
"I need a shower," he says. "Gotta make it quick, the Advent day is about to start." He kisses her on the cheek and walks right past without explaining anything. He can feel her brilliant green eyes on him, but he ignores it. It's not like he did something stupid!
"I don't like it when you hide things from me, you know that, don't you?" she calls through the bathroom door a few seconds later. "You had just better PRAY it won't get you tossed back into the Cape Cells."
"It won't!" he calls back, laughing a bit as he finishes up a super fast shower and dries off. He steps out, fully dressed, a second later. "I promise, I'm just getting ready for Christmas."
Her expression softens and a little smile pulls at her lips. "You're really enjoying the holiday, aren't you?"
"Shouldn't I? The Advent Calendar thing is going better than I could have dreamed of. Now I really do need to go. I've got to change the bus for Malina," he adds, heading past her.
"There's a sandwich on the table. I'm going to be out looking at prospective sites for my new shop, so if anything happens, call me," she says.
"Be careful out there," Nico says, going serious.
"I'll be fine," she says. "I'm not defenseless, you know."
"I know," he says, still watching her. There's a lot he wants to say, but he doesn't have time and she doesn't want to hear it, anyway. It still gnaws at him, what had happened to her. If he hadn't been in the Cape Cells--
But he had been, he tells himself ruthlessly. He'd been in the Cape Cells and she'd been captured by his father--even if he hadn't been himself at the time. Nothing would give back the years he'd been stuck there, and nothing would give back the eighteen months she'd been gone from their children's lives. All he can do now is try to make the future brighter.
He heads out, seeing his kids standing at the exit, looking excited--well, at least Zoe does. Sunny's asleep on Trent's back, like usual.
"He even slept in," Nico says with a shake of his head.
"It's the winter weather," Zoe says. "I think he's trying to hibernate. So? How'd your late night trip go?" she asks.
"The walls have ears, kiddo," he says, glancing up the stairs before heading out the exit. "But it went well. My new friend says I picked a decent one."
"Decent what?" Emily asks.
"Secret mission," Zoe says, "means that what he went to get is a secret."
"Ooooh," Emily says. "Sounds mysterious."
Nico ignores th
em, heading for the school bus sitting in the parking lot and changing the decor. He can only hope that he got the stone soon enough. The last thing he wants is to be late, again.
***
"Is there a reason you keep coming in the middle of the night?" Diamond Dust demands as he gets there the next night. "Some of us like to keep normal hours--"
"You're a super villain, all of your work is done at night," Nico says dryly. "I'm here to set up any of the machines you need."
"I don't," she says.
"You don't?" he asks. "Don't what?"
"Don't need any machines. Not to make the ring, at least. But I DID decide what I want in payment," she says. "A full blown super villain computer set up," she says. "If you can't do that for me, we've not got a deal--you can find some other sucker that can make two diamond rings in ten days from a lump of rock."
"That all?" he asks. "I'll have to come down and see what I've got to work with," he says, dropping to the ground and heading for her front "door."
"I want to be able to see the HTV channels--ALL of them," she says, feeling a bit thrown-off guard by how quickly he agreed to it. "You can do that, right?"
He stares at her, raising an eyebrow slightly. "I have a lot to do and only a little amount of time to do it," he says. "Let's get this set up. This way I can check in on you easier, anyway," he declares, dropping down into her underground layer. It glows, faintly, thanks to the crystals that make up the walls. He looks around before deciding where he wants to place her new system.
"That's not--"she starts out, only to give up. "Do you need electricity? I don't exactly live on the grid--"
"You'll provide enough," he says, looking over the area and promptly slamming a fist through a few crystals and shattering them. Then he runs a glowing, sparking hand over the flat area. Soon the wall is smooth as glass. "This will work. I'll be back, you just keep working on the ring," he says, leaving her.
She stares at the rubble on the ground for a moment before sighing and going to her work station. Not once has he looked at her like she's scary, she thinks as she delicately carves the diamond with a fingernail. In fact, he didn't even look that surprised when he first saw her--
"I'm coming down," he calls from the entrance. She looks up, watching as he enters her secret base with what looks like floating junk. It floats through the air, breaking apart and being rebuilt without him even touching it.
"So... how did you and Lady Rose meet?" she asks after twenty minutes of them both working silently.
"She stopped me from turning a national park into a secret base," he says, grinning for the first time since she met him. "She's the mother of my kids--they're sixteen, now."
"You have... kids?" she asks, feeling a knot in her stomach.
"Yeah," he says. "Do you?"
She goes still, seeing a strangely knowing look in his eyes. There's a pause just a bit too long before she says, "Of course I don't."
"The thing is," he says, as if she hadn't just said that, "you remind me of someone."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," she says, turning her back on him to stop the conversation in its tracks.
"Have I mentioned that I run a school for cape kids?" he asks. She goes still, clenching her teeth and putting the diamond down.
"I need to get something," she lies, heading for the exit.
"Sure," he says, casually. When she gets back, he's gone, leaving a wall of flickering HTV channels and a keyboard, a mouse, and a channel changer sitting to the side.
***
"You look exhausted," Summer says as she walks into the apartment. "When was the last time you got some sleep?"
"Tonight," he says, rather than argue over sleep. "I'm going to get some sleep tonight. I just..."
"Have a lot to do, I know," she says, walking over and looking up at him. "Even a Superior needs to take care of himself, though."
"Why should I," he asks, giving her a little smile, "when you do such a good job of doing it for me? Did you find a building yet?"
"No," she says, sighing. "I'm still looking. I want it to be perfect, but I can't afford to build it from the ground up."
"You just have to ask, you know--"
"I want it to be under my real name, Nico, to do it the norm way. Can you blame me for wanting to do it on my own?"
He looks at her. "I have a lot to make up for, Summer," he says quietly. "At least let me try."
"Get to school," she says, poking him. "You've got work and I've got a building to find. And don't forget your promise to go--" she hesitates, reaching up and picking a piece of crystal out of his hair. "What's this?" she asks.
"Debris," he says. "I've been doing some digging, remember? But you're right, I can't leave Rocco waiting."
She nods, but her eyes are glued to the crystal and he wonders if he's not going to be cursing himself for a while over that one.
***
There's something about the crystal that bothers her, Summer thinks as she pulls into a parking lot of a small mall. She looks at the crystal piece sitting on the seat next to her, wondering why she brought it with her, and then at the tiny set of stores, mostly empty. This is the same strip mall that Ken and Jeanie have their church in. It would be nice to work close to friends--in fact, she thinks abruptly, she still has some thirty minutes, right? She can just see if Jeanie's at the church getting ready for the big Christmas day. Her hand shoots out, grabbing the crystal piece before she heads for the church.
"Hello?" she calls, peeking her head into the building. "Is anyone here? The door's unlocked, so I just assumed that you might be--"
"Summer!" Jeanie says, stepping into sight. "I wasn't expecting you! I was just cleaning and restocking the food pantry. What brings you by?"
"I'm trying to get the little store and lot at the end of the mall," Summer explains. "I thought it'd make for a good nursery--for plants, of course. But I--" she hesitates, wondering why she feels so awkward. "I need to talk to someone," she says, her hand tightening slightly on the crystal, "about Nico. He's acting oddly, even more oddly than usual."
"How do you mean?" Summer asks. "I know the kids are taking up a lot of his time with the Advent Calendar--"
"No, it's not that," she says, holding out a hand. "Have you ever seen a crystal like this? He had it in his hair--there was more than just this, too," she explains as Jeanie takes it from her. "There's something... strange about it."
"Well, you're the plant and earth--"
"No, I'm merely plants," Summer admits. "Sunny is the one that has both elements. I should ask him, but I'd rather not--I keep thinking that it's not exactly natural."
"Well... there's one other way to find out," Jeanie says. "Have you heard about Century's newest cape? He's a psychometric. We can find out all about what Nico's been up to if we take this to him."
Summer hesitates, only to shake her head. "No. I know I'm paranoid, but I owe him at least a shadow of a doubt, right? If he comes home covered in crystals again, well, then I'll ask him flat out what he's doing," she decides. "The last time he came home covered in dirt and rocks, though..." She frowns, remembering the weeks before he'd been tossed into the Cape Cells.
"I'm sure it's nothing that'll get him thrown into the Cape Cells, again," Jeanie says, as if reading her mind. "He wouldn't do that, not with you and the kids."
"He had better not," Summer says. "I should get going, I've got a meeting with my realtor in fifteen minutes. I want to look the lot over before she gets there."
"If you need any help building a greenhouse, don't hesitate to ask! I've always wanted to make one," Jeanie says, casually pocketing the tiny piece of crystal instead of handing it back.
"I've already turned down Nico," Summer says. "I want to do this the norm way. I'm sure I can pull it off."
"Good luck!" Jeanie says, waving as she leaves.
***
"I told you that I don't appreciate you hacking our files," Marigold says from behind him. It's been a few nights since
he came last, since Advent Calendar issues had come up--decorating the dorm for Sandra's day, and all, as well as getting some actual sleep, like he'd promised Summer. But now he's sitting on the roof of the East Branch Hall and searching records.
"They're not your files," he says, his hands still out to the world. "I'm looking for anything that might support a theory of mine."
"What theory is that?"
"The theory that Sandra is too powerful to be an aberration," he says, finally looking at her. "I want to know if Diamond Dust is her mother. Sure, I could scan her, but I think she'd notice it. If she notices, she'll get mad."
"And you don't want her mad at you?" Marigold asks, her tone questioning.
"I need her to finish what she's working on," Nico says. "It's important."
"What is she working on?" she asks. "Since you've made it obvious that you're still breaking into highly secure files from MY building."
"What else?" he says. "A diamond ring."
She blinks, and then, to his surprise, gives him a hardy slap on the back. "Congratulations!" she says with a broad grin. "Am I right in assuming it's for Lady Rose?"
"Of course it is," he says. "But keep it to yourself, please. I'm trying to keep it a--found it," he says, clapping his gloved hands and pulling them apart. "One Jane Doe left on the steps of a local firehouse--just a few miles from Diamond Dust's place, fifteen years ago. Named Sandra by the nuns that ran the orphanage she grew up in. According to the records she disappeared about the same time Sandra was caught by the Collector, stolen out of the system without any trace. It doesn't prove that she's her daughter, but it does seem a bit too convenient. According to the reports, leading up to that time Dust didn't work for over a year--no television, no news reports, nothing."
"And what if she is the girl's mother?" Marigold asks. "It's not easy raising a child when you're in that position. Those of us that can pass as normal have enough problems--just imagine how hard it would be for Diamond Dust." Her tone is both defensive and sad. "How could she take her to the doctors? Or put her in school? She doesn't even have a proper address."