Sunny Daze (6 page)

“NO!” Jack says, looking panicked.  “I’m STILL in the doghouse over the donut thing!”

“Then you might consider giving me a hand to keep me from doing it,” Max says, evilly.  “Until the bases are done, I propose a truce among all of us--allowing us to trade favors.  It can be broken as soon as the last base is finished.  Super villains are allowed to do the ‘you scratch my back’ thing, right?”  He looks at Pan.

“You’re negating the idea of building your own bases by hand,” Pan points out dryly, “but I’ll admit it does work if you apply the temporary alliance rule--as long as both parties feel they’ve benefited more than the other.  You have today to build the bases.  If they aren’t finished by the end of the day, all truces are off.  Also, five points to Maximum for circumventing the rules with style.”

“One day will be plenty, so fine,” Max says.  We repeat him, even Cubby nods.  We go our own ways.  I’m a bit surprised to see Pan take off first--heading for the base we already built.  When he jumps out holding the fire-pit, though, I understand why.

“This is mine, now.”  I can’t exactly blame him--that fire-pit is awesome.  I bet he plans on taking it home when we’re done and setting it up by the tree swing.  It’d make for some awesome parties.

“Think that’s why he insisted on killing our shared base?” Ace asks, not bothering to whisper.

“Probably.  Who’s willing to trade for another one?” Jack asks.

“I am!” I say.

“Set me up another floor, would you?  I’ll go get the stuff.”

The others jump on it, each arranging for a fire-pit of their own.  By the time we’re done, we wind up having to build most of Jack’s base for him.  Oh well, I decide, at least I can cook now!

***

“Not exactly what I was hoping for,” Kunnins says mildly for the fiftieth time as he looks around the underground base.  The hotel had been excellent--at least it had until Voltdrain started sniffing around.  Kunnins scowls as he remembers that little scene.  The chances of Herold helping him again are slim to none, and his own reserves are almost completely tapped.  He can’t even go back to his old home to see what’s salvageable.

The place they’re in now is one of the government secrets that most of the government doesn’t remember.  Underground bases had been set up all throughout America during the Cold War.  They were guaranteed to keep even the strongest of supers from noticing them--supers like Tatiana.  This one comes equipped with generators, uncomfortable cots, and running water piped from underground and filtered through ancient machines.  The water tastes funny, the cots came complete with mice, and the smell is terrible.  Sure there are air vents connected to the surface, but they don’t help the staleness enough.

“How is Ginger coming?” he asks one of the huge, muscular male nurses.

“She’s asking for more animals to experiment on,” the nurse replies.  “She says she doesn’t agree with experimenting on animals, but it’s either them or the kid.”

“Send someone to the local pet store,” Kunnins says, waving a hand.

“Wouldn’t it be faster just to trap some of the animals up top?” the nurse asks.  “We found some traps in the back, the no-kill type.  We’ve already got the mice that were living in the cots.”

An ear-bursting shout makes Kunnins’ right eye twitch as the twins race past them, pretending to shoot each other with ancient (and probably not loaded) rifles.  The only ones in the group that actually like this place are the twins.  They’re the source of the massive headache Kunnins has been fighting for the past week.

“How about you take those two with you?” he says.  “They’re already half wild, hunting small animals might be good for them.”

“What if they make a run for it?  Try to tell someone about us?” the nurse asks.

“Tell them the moment they step out of sight is the moment you come down here and shoot their mother,” Kunnins says.

“But we need their mother--”

“We don’t need her capable of walking.  We’ve got plenty of wheelchairs,” he says in a bland tone.  The nurse barely hides a wince at the cold-blooded comment.

“Yes sir.  Boys!  We’re going animal trapping!” he yells at the two.  They stop mid-battle, turning to look at him.  “That means fresh air.”

“Let’s do it!” the twins say.

***

So now I’m standing in the area I picked for myself and Cubby, staring up at the biggest tree in the forest with a sense of awe.  Look, I know Pan said it should be temporary, and I’m sure Cubby can make his own base--if he couldn’t, Pan would have never told him to.  Maybe I should just build him a floor not too far from my own, just so, you know, he’s doing his work, but I know where he’s at.  Yeah, that works.

“Hello, beautiful,” I say, heading up to the tree and placing my hand on the trunk.  “You’re amazing, did you know that?  Wow, would you feel that life force,” I say, almost to myself as I look at my hand.  It’s like a steady flow of warm energy flowing through the huge tree.  “Can my little buddy and I spend some time with you?  Just for a few weeks, really.”

Look, trees don’t talk.  I know that--I’m not crazy, or anything.  But if you’re planning on staying in a living thing for two weeks, it’s a bit rude not to introduce yourself, right?  I really should have introduced myself to the trees last night, but I would have looked like such a dork in front of the guys.

The tree I’m touching is starting to respond, the limbs are moving gently, slowly shifting to reach for me.  Even the most rigid trees start to move when I ask them, or even when I look at them too long, sometimes.  The branches move lower, coming down and forming stairs all on their own.  “You ready, Cubby?” I ask the boy.  Cubby stares in wonder at the tree, nodding almost absently as I tug him along.

The tree slowly stands, leaving us at least fifty feet off the ground.  I look around, heading for one of the largest branches and stepping on it.  Automatically the branches move either up or down, bunching together to form a floor, walls, and a roof.  It forms into a small, cozy little nest right in the middle of the branches.  It’s perfect for Cubby to work with.  I just need to find another branch for myself and we’ll be good to go.  I didn’t realize it would be this easy--I’ve never actually tried this before.  Good to know, though!

“Hey!  Sunny!” I hear Jack bellow from below.  I step out of the place I built for Cubby, going further down one of the branches and looking down.  Jack’s got a fire-pit in his arms--it’s different from the ones he built the others, it looks like a ball with holes in the sides.  “I figured you’d want even less chance of sparks,” he says, holding it up.  The base holding the ball is wide and curved slightly to stand on a branch.

“I appreciate it,” I say as he steps on his metal surfboard and comes up.  He hands it to me, looking at the tree curiously.

“I don’t see much difference,” he admits, sounding a bit disappointed.

“Good,” I say.  “Thanks for this, by the way--” I blink as Cubby races past me, jumping onto Jack’s board and holding up his hands.

“What?” Jack asks blankly.

“I need a knife,” the little boy says.

“Do you GIVE a four year old a knife?” he asks me, looking a bit off-balance.

“He knows how to use weapons better than you do,” I say with a shrug.

“Okay.. um… wanna trade for something?” Jack asks Cubby.  “I don’t give things away for free, you know.”

Cubby looks thoughtful for a moment before he digs through his pockets.  Finally he pulls out a worn looking pile of twine and holds it up to Jack.  “Twine?” he offers.

Jack looks at it thoughtfully for a moment before shrugging and digging through his own pockets.  He pulls out a scrap of steel and both Cubby and I watch in wonder as it starts to warp, changing into a small dagger.  “You’re gonna want to wrap something around the handle,” he tells Cubby, holding it out handle first.  Cubby nods and jumps back into the tree with his new blade.  “Still not sure about that,” Jack says with a frown.

“He knew what to ask and who to ask from,” I say with a shrug.  “He’s not a normal four year old, you know?”

“What do I do with... string?” Jack asks, looking at it curiously.

“Hang things?  Hunt for things?  I dunno, you’re the one that took the offer,” I say with a shrug.  “Thanks for this, by the way--I gotta go make my own base now.”

“You need any help?” Jack asks.  “I’m willing to toss in a slide out of there, if you want.”

“Why so helpful, Jack?” I ask, looking at him curiously.  “What are you after?”

“Just thought that if I helped you now, you might help me later.  I’m not the most camouflaged in the group, you know?”

“Use mud,” I tell him, “it’ll dull down your shine real quick.”  I see him wince, but he nods. 

“Yeah, good point.”  He pulls away, flying off without asking for anything else.  I head back into the tree branches, finding Cubby in his little nest, sharpening twigs with his new dagger.

“Cubby, what are you doing?” I ask him.

“Squirrels,” he says.

“You’re… sharpening sticks to deal with squirrels?” I ask.  He nods emphatically and keeps sharpening.  “How does that work?” I ask him.

He reaches over and pulls a plastic tube out of his bag, showing it to me with a very serious expression.  “Blow,” he explains when I don’t look like I understand.

“You’re going to kill them with sharpened sticks and a blowgun,” I say, earning a nod.  “Okay.  Well I’ll just go set up my own place, okay?”  He nods, still sharpening his weapons.  What does the kid have against squirrels, anyway?  I shake my head, shrugging it off.  He IS part cat, I guess.  Sure he can’t shift yet, but Adanna once told me that the blue eyes as a baby are a sign that he’ll have the ability when he’s older. 

As I walk from his area, a path forms in the branches, almost like a hall.  You can hear them creaking and crackling slightly and I feel a bit guilty.  This isn’t a young tree.  It’s probably far older than anything else in the forest.  I can only hope that the guys don’t decide to attack it--I would hate to see this beautiful tree damaged.  Wait, there was a rule about not hurting the trees, right?  Good.

I find a gigantic branch and step onto it, putting my fire-pit down and waving my hands to make the room larger.  The leaves rustle and there are more little cracking sounds, but soon the room is large enough for me to lay down in.  It’s almost lunch time, but I’m tired.  I let out a yawn, letting my eyes drift shut for just a moment.  It seems like forever since my last nap!

***

“It’s still truce time,” Ace says as he follows Max through the woods.

“We’re not attacking,” Max says, looking at the trees thoughtfully as they pass him.  None look right, so he keeps going.  “We’re just scoping out the competition.”  He had brought in an abandoned bus from the junkyard for his base.  It was easier than trying to build a base out of twigs.  Ace had stolen most of the metal walls Jack built earlier and created a tent out of them.  The question now is what has Sunny done?

“Do you really…” Ace frowns and Max can almost see him thinking.  Ace has never really talked with Sunny, so it figures he’s a bit confused by the boy.  It also figures that there’s a good dose of worry.  “What’s he like?” Ace asks. 

“Sunny?” Max says.  “Why haven’t you tried to talk to him before this?”

“I dunno,” Ace admits, forming a crystal clear disk and stepping onto it to travel easier.  “I know he’s dating Adanna--and Adanna thinks he’s tougher than he looks.  I’ve thought about bringing him with me to the hospitals, but I heard he doesn’t want people to know who he is or what he can do.  He’s short, kinda pretty-boy looking, I guess… I mean, especially when I’m surrounded by your villainous mugs, the kid looks like an angel.  Why would he even want to join a super villain camp?”

“Hey now, my girlfriend thinks I’m really cute,” Max says.  “It’s Jack that has the villainous mug.  And yeah, Sunny’s… well…” He hears a faint creaking sound and looks up at the largest tree he’s ever seen.  He looks at the ground, taking in the wild flowers blooming spontaneously in all directions--you can actually see them sprout from the ground if you watch closely enough.  “See that?” he asks, glancing over at Ace.

“It’s like a freaking Disney movie,” Ace says in a stunned tone.  “You almost expect to see birds flying around, singing songs.  Doesn’t that drive him crazy?” he asks.

“Nah, it means he’s sound asleep again.”  Max steps up, taking to the sky and floating nearer the tree.  He tries to peek through the limbs, searching for his girlfriend’s brother.  A part of him is thrilled that Sunny came, honestly.  The very idea of going up against a Superior--an elementalist Superior, no less, is a bit mind-blowing.  That Sunny’s one of the laziest, laid back guys he knows means he’s never seen the kid raise a fist, much less fight.  Sunny won’t have a choice this time!

He stops, finding himself looking into the bluest eyes he’s ever seen.  They seem to gleam from the shadows.  They’re the only thing he DOES see for a moment, since the black boy’s skin and stillness blend into the tree limbs shadows so perfectly.  “Hi--” he starts out.

The boy brings a small tube to his lips, blowing on it.  A sharp little stick hits Max right in the forehead, followed by an entire volley of them, forcing him to back up.  He puts up his hands in a non-threatening move.  “Cubby, it’s okay--I’m just here to visit--” the boy hops up onto another limb, pulling something back.  Rocks fly out, pelting the poor super villain.