Super Girls (Cape High Book 13) (3 page)

"Agreed," Nico says. "But you realize this means I get a free subscription for life, right?"

"When have you ever paid for a channel in your life?" Andre says. "Villain TV will be no different."

I glance back as the back door of the car opens and Elidee slides in. She doesn't look happy at all. When she sees me looking back at her, her expression turns into a flat-out glare. "This is all your fault, Jen," she accuses me. "I could still be in my REAL school. Do you have any idea how much time it took for me to get where I wanted there?"

"A day?" I offer. "Trust me, Elidee, this will be better," I lie. I have no idea if it'll be better or not. All I know is that I hate the idea of going back to my old school more than the idea of going here. Pretty sad, huh?

"I really can't be seen with you if you're going super villain, you know," Elidee says. "No offense, but if you could duck down and sneak out the other door when we get there—"

I wave a hand and wind blows through the car, even with the windows up. "MY HAIR!" she yelps as it gets messed up.

"You were asking for it!" I say, laughing. Yes, I'm older than she is by almost four years, but still! She totally asked for it.

"We'll arrange for you to drive yourself when we get there," Aunt Barbara says as we pull to a stop in front of the canyon. "I'm sure we can find a place for you to park."

"Do I need to pick up Elidee on the way?" I ask.

"I can walk," Elidee says, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You can pick her up," Aunt Barbara says firmly. "I don't think they have a bus, or anything, which I suppose makes sense. They can't exactly advertise where they are." She gets out and we follow suit, looking at the rather bare looking area and yellow tape. "So… um… if EITHER of you wants to come home, or anything, just call me, okay? If it gets too tough or they try to kill you, I'll be there before you can count to ten, I promise," she says, turning to us and placing a hand on my shoulder. "Don't hesitate to run, got it? Oh, but don't run into the lasers, that would be bad."

"We'll be fine, Aunt Barbara," I say, sighing—and hugging her, just because she looks so pale. "We'll watch out for each other—and if it really gets bad, we'll just look for the nearest hero, right? They said all of the teachers are actually retired heroes."

"I know, but you're my girls!" Barbara says, dragging Elidee into the hug, even though she's still trying to fix her hair. "I can't help but worry!"

"We'll get them a ride," I hear someone say from behind us. I turn, looking blankly at a tall black man and his daughter. "I'd be more than willing to offer my services, if you're interested. I'm sure my wife would insist, actually," he says.

I have no idea who he is, but by his build and the fact he's here, he's obviously a super. "Pa—Panther?" Barbara asks, looking pale. "I—I'm sure it'll be perfectly safe—"

"We protect our children," he says, dropping a hand on his daughter's shoulder. She's beautiful—probably the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, I think, fighting jealousy. I glance at Elidee—she's not fighting her jealousy at all. She's glaring at the girl.

"Elidee," the girl says.

"Adanna," Elidee says, darkly. "Where's your boyfriend?" she demands.

"He's coming," Adanna says. "And you are?" she asks me.

"Um—I'm Jenn—Jennifer," I say, almost saying "Jenna." I hold out a hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Adanna Panterus," she says, shaking the hand I offer. "Elidee's mother and mine know each other. She and your daughter would be perfectly safe coming to school with us, ma'am," she adds to Aunt Barbara.

Why haven't I met her before? I glance at Aunt Barbara, and think about it for a moment. I suppose it's because she's overprotective. Knowing that I'm a weak cape, she wouldn't want to introduce me to a super villain she doesn't know or trust--even if a friend of hers trusts him. I guess I can't blame her for that, really.

"I—um, well, I'll consider it," Aunt Barbara says hesitantly, still peeking at Panther. He's out of uniform, so he doesn't look all that scary, really. He's one of those super classy looking guys in pressed slacks and shiny shoes--you know the type. I could easily see him as a college professor or something.

"'Daaaannnaaaa," I hear someone call from behind us. I turn, staring a bit blankly at the two guys heading for us. One is huge, blonde, and blue-eyed. He looks like a text book case of super hero. For a moment I'm sure he's the one that Elidee is so jealous of. He's got to be a Superior—but the smaller guy riding on his back drops off of him and heads straight for us. He stops right next to Adanna, looking at us all sleepily. "Who're you?" he asks.

"You've already met Elidee, Sunny," Adanna says dryly.

"Eli… Elidee… Oh! Right!" Sunny says, grinning at Elidee boyishly. "Sorry, we just got back from clean-up duty in Texas," he admits with a yawn. "Welcome to the school. And who's this one?" he asks Adanna, pointing at me. "Have I met her, too?"

"You are…" the blonde teen says, heading for me, "Jetta's sister, right?" he says, offering his hand. I try to hide my wince at that description. "Jennifer. They told us you were joining the school a month ago."

"I had some… family issues to deal with before coming," I say a bit blandly as I take the hand offered. It's probably the lightest handshake I've ever been given. I look at his hand, and then up at him. He gives me a sheepish smile.

"I have to be careful," he says.

"ADANNA!" the shout echoes through the air as someone rushes past me and tackle hugs the black girl in question. "You're home!" a petite redhead says excitedly, squeezing Adanna tightly.

"I am, but why are you?" Adanna asks, blushing slightly.

"Oh, we found our healer and then Justin got put on Mother's Most Wanted list, so we're out of the fieldwork game for now," the redhead says, still clinging. "But you could have CALLED me!"

"We got home late last night, sorry, Emily," Adanna says. "But we really should go inside school before speaking."

"Yeah, I guess. Nice to meet you, new guys," Emily says, letting go of Adanna and offering her hand. "I'm Emily Dreyton, the big guy is Trent Styles—he's my boyfriend."

Elidee looks from Sunny to Trent, and I grab the back of her shirt, tugging her away. She's going to get us both hated before they even realize how pathetic a cape I really am. "We'll go first, since you guys seem to have some catching up to do—Aunt Barb, it'll be fine if we ride with Mr. Panterus, right? You need to get to work—you're late already."

"Oh, right. Of course," she says. "Love you, honey, have a good day!" she yells over her shoulder, already to her car.

"You too," I call back, blushing slightly. Most girls my age don't act openly affectionate with their guardians, right? Well, it's awkward for me, too, but… she's the only one that actually SAYS she loves me. I can't let awkwardness get in the way of hearing it. Not after how my life has gone.

"You two are just SO sappy," Elidee says, rolling her eyes as we head for the panel. "It's just like one of those stupid TV shows from when my MOM was a kid. I'm surprised she hasn't put you in skirts and pigtails."

"Oh shut up and go in already," I say, pushing her into the panel. We head down the steps, and I'm so focused on not tripping and falling down them that I don't even realize there's a group of people standing at the bottom. It's a bit astonishing that I didn't I think as soon as I see them. They're quite an impressive group.

"Nico?" I hear Trent ask behind me.

"Boys and girls, meet your substitute teachers," Nico says, moving past our group to stand next to the line-up. "First off, my littlest sister, Skystep."

"SKYE!" Emily shouts, racing over and tackling the woman in question. "I thought you were undercover," she says, hugging her tightly.

"I got my cover blown," Skye says, shrugging, "but it's okay, I get to spend time with my FAVORITE nieces EVER!" she says, hugging Emily just as tightly. "Aubrey and the healers are in the dorms," she adds.

"Ahem," Nico says.

"Sorry, Nico, you can go on now," Skystep says. I know her, I think. She's a super villain, right? Maybe he brought her in for my training?

"Skystep is going to take over Blackjack's first hour," Nico says. I hear the guys behind me squirm slightly and dare to glance over at them. They look confused. "And I'm going to let her teach whatever she feels like telling you about—EXCEPT art," he says to Skystep.

"But—"

"No art. You suck at art. Tell them about all your trips into science."

"Okay!"

"You might be surprised to find out that Skystep has forgotten more about the physical sciences than most people will ever know," Nico says with a hint of amusement. "She knows anatomy, biology, and geology inside out."

"She's a certifiable genius," the large man standing next to her says. He looks a lot like Nico. "Trust me, I've scanned her brain."

"Awww, thank you, Pop!" Skystep says, hugging him.

"This," Nico says, moving on to the large man, "is Superior. He's going to be in charge of security and security training—especially for you, Trent. Since I dragged him down here, I might as well make him work."

"I just happen to be his father, as well," Superior says dryly, one large arm draped over Skystep, as if a retired hero hugging a super villain is a daily thing.

"This lovely lady is my mother," Nico says, heading to the next in line. The woman is almost as tall as he is, and almost as broad through the shoulders. If you've ever seen those muscular women that do the poses—well, picture that, but a LOT bigger. She has white hair and is wearing a pink t-shirt with kittens on the front. "Ms. Tatiana will be in charge of languages. Learning Russian will be good for you," he says to us. "And last in this group, but not least, is Doris. Doris will be going through the villain training classes with anyone that wants to join. She's lined up to be Skystep's partner-in-crime down south after the current situation blows over."

"So Mom's not teaching?" Emily asks.

"Liz is on Hall duty, now that she's back home," Nico says. "Now, you also have some new classmates—the healing class has come down, as well," he says as a group of teenagers come from behind them. "This is, for those that don't know her, Aubrey. She's the head of the healer training group. The others are Alyssa, Bobby, and Kirsten," he says, motioning to each of the rather normal looking kids in turn. "They'll be staying in the new dorms, only because I need to justify the massive mansion my parents decided to build for their temporary stay. The girls will be on the first floor, the family on second, the boys on third. Once my parents move out, we'll move them to the first dorms until we can get more supervisors."

"New dorms?" Sunny asks from behind us.

"We built a new building behind the older dorms," Superior says. "Are you awake yet?" he adds. To my surprise, I see Sunny's eyes widen.

"Grandpa! When'd you get here?" he asks, rushing past us to hug him.

"It's before nine, isn't it," Superior says dryly as he hugs the teenager.

"I'm surprised he even noticed the comment about dorms," Nico says.

"Your boyfriend is strange, Adanna," Elidee whispers to the other girl.

"He is not strange, he is just lazy," Adanna says, not bothering to whisper. "His brain doesn't actually function until nine in the morning, unless he's been sleeping outside."

"So…
he's
a Superior?" I ask, staring at the boyishly cute guy greeting the people in front of us. He's just, like, the epitome of "cute." Don’t get me wrong, I don't have anything against cute boys. I've just always preferred the tougher looking ones. But if he is a Superior, that makes him REALLY tough, right? He doesn't look it.

"He is." I look up, seeing Superior looking straight at me. "Sunny is the only elementalist in the Superior bloodline. He'll grow into the look," he adds with a glance at Nico.

"Not any time soon, though," Adanna says silently. I glance at her, seeing her eyes glued to the boy in question. There's a hint of a smile on her face—I get the feeling she likes how he looks. The romantic part of my brain (that I've been trying to kill) is squealing over just how cute that is. I shove it down. I'm a future super villain, darn it!

"So, since we've taken up our personal training time with introductions, we'll go straight to first hour," Nico says. "Skye, you know where your class is, right?"

"I'll show her!" Emily says, taking Skye's hand. "This is going to be awesome—but I always fall asleep during this class, so don't take it personally," she says.

"Oh, that's fine," Skye says cheerfully. "I'm awake WAY before my usual time—it'll be a lot of fun to force you to stay awake, too!"

"What?" Emily asks, pulling to a stop as Skye heads on ahead of her. "She just—that—"

Trent grabs her hand and hauls her along, saying, "Time for class, Em."

***

*Kansas City Zoo*

Hard Knocks, AKA Julian Kuro, pulls his sons to the side as yet another group of kids come to see the massive polar bear. "Don't block the way, boys," he says quietly.

"He's huge," Mitchell, his youngest, says. "His paws are as big as my head."

"He is," Julian says with a little grin. "But we need to get going soon—your mom will only tolerate us vacationing for so long, you know."