Super Girls (Cape High Book 13) (6 page)

"Is anyone else hungry?" I hear Skye ask. The lights stop and the music dies. "I'm starving."

"It's lunch time," Nico says. "Let's get lunch and then resume classes for the rest of the day. We'll finish up your G.E.D. test later."

"Okay!"

"Vinny isn't here to cook, so Nico brought in some black suits to do meals for us," Malina says. "It's not as good, but it's passable."

"Who's Vinny?" Olivia asks.

"Fire Hazard," Malina says.

"He's, um, our brother," Freddy says, looking at me a bit shyly. He gives me a little smile when he notices I'm watching him. "He's really good at cooking."

"I see," I say. I don't know what else to say—this is a guy I can't hear when he moves. That fact is blaring through my mind right now. I've never met someone I can't hear moving. It's as unsettling as going to a silent movie for the first time.

All I have is my hearing and a tiny bit of wind control, after all. What do I have if you take one of those things away? Even norms can blow wind.

"She totally avoided me for the rest of the day," Freddy complains as they head over to the new dorms that night. He glances over at Justin, shoving his hands deeper into his pockets as he waits for some sort of assurance. Instead all he sees is the older boy glancing back at the newest dorm dweller—Olivia. She's the only one that hasn't had time to get to know the other dorm kids.

"It's hard being the new kid in these dorms," Justin says.

"Not her, man! The blonde! Jennifer," Freddy says. "Stick to the topic—and I thought you were in love with Malina."

"It's not love, it's just another one-sided thing," Justin mutters under his breath. "Besides, she doesn't take me seriously at all. And I wasn't talking about flirting with her! She just looks lonely," he admits, shrugging.

"Carla will deal with that," Freddy says, blowing it off completely. "See? She's already moving in," he adds as the black girl heads for Olivia. "My problem is Jennifer," he says. "The more I tried to talk to her, the more creeped out she looked," he adds darkly.

"It's probably the hair," Justin says.

"But I like my hair," Freddy says, reaching up and patting the lizard on his head. "And she only stared at it for a moment. I dunno, it was weird… it was like, every time I approached her, she jumped."

"Wait, what's her power?" Justin asks, something clicking in his mind.

"I dunno, something about wind?"

"Oh. Then you're out of luck, man," Justin tells him, patting him on the back. "Try for one of the others."

"Is it because of how I smell?" Freddy asks, his eyes widening. He lifts one arm and sniffs. "That's it, isn't it? I took a shower two days ago! How picky can you get?" he demands.

"Two days?" Justin repeats.

"I took it on Friday," Freddy says.

"Man, I'M going to start jumping every time you come near," Justin says, sniffing. "You REEK."

"I'll take a shower after the meeting," Freddy mutters as red creeps up the back of his neck.

"It won't stop her from jumping," Justin says casually as they enter the new dorm building. The den room in the new dormitory is similar to their own, full of plush high-end couches and walls covered in flickering images. The biggest difference is the large oval table on the side. Superior, Nico, and several others are already sitting there, going through holographic images. To the right of the table, Skye and the healers are playing a game of Dance Dance Revolution.

"Why won't it stop her from jumping?" Freddy demands.

"It's a sound thing," Justin says. "I had trouble with it when I first met you, too—I just covered it better. Besides, I think she might—just MIGHT—hear better than I do, slightly," he admits.

"It isn't that she hears better," Nico says, "it's just she's trained herself better than you have."

"What?" Justin asks. "I spent years training to be a singer—I hear pitch perfectly!"

"I'll explain it later. Everyone take a seat," Nico says, motioning to the couches as he stands. "We're going to have a dorm/apartment meeting."

The group is small—the kids that don't live on campus or in the apartment aren't here, that includes Jennifer, Adanna, and Keliah. The ones still out on missions aren't here, either. There are almost as many adults as there are kids at the moment, actually. "You're probably wondering why I brought Superior in," Nico says, moving to stand in front of the group. "We're dealing with a difficult opponent right now, one that conceivably has the same powers as Superior. I'm going to bring the others back in as soon as possible, as well. The only problem is—she's going after the healers," he says.

The atmosphere goes tense. "What does she want with healers?" Olivia asks. "It's that Mother lady, right? The one that was on TV and made everyone go insane?"

"That's her. And to explain what she wants with healers… Kirsten, you were captured by her, do you know?" Nico asks the purple haired healer.

"I honestly don't know," Kirsten says. "She tried to brainwash me and it didn't do anything, and she tried to change my weight and that didn't do anything, either—at least not for long. It's not like she wanted me to heal her, so… I really don't know," she repeats with a shrug.

"She didn't want you to heal her, sure, but she didn't want you to heal anyone else, either," Skye says. She's stopped her game and is now floating above them. "It was pretty obvious," she adds when everyone in the room looks at her. "If I was going to do a REALLY big job I would get rid of the healers, too—but not you, Aubrey, I looooove you!" she adds, dropping down to hug the girl in question from behind. "I'd keep you with me!"

"Awww, thank you, Skye!" Aubrey says with a little smile. "But I'm not happy with the idea of stealing my healers at all," she adds, her expression going serious. "Grandpa should be out there looking for her, if that's the reason you brought him here," she goes on. "If she is the same as he is, who else can take her on?"

"I thought of that," Nico says. "Honestly you have a point—Dad's the best bet against her, but at the same time, what do you think happens when you pit two S-class heroes against each other in a fight?"

"It gets dramatic, there's lots of smack talking, and the villain takes the fall," Trent says.

"USUALLY that's what happens," Nico agrees, "but this isn't a usual case. Let's look at some other aspects," he says as a hologram appears in front of the group. "First off—her calling herself 'Mother.' She makes all of her brainwashed people call her that. The only one we've seen calling her that without the glazed look in his eye is Senator Herold. He's also, if what Doris told me is correct, a technopath."

The entire room jerks, including some of the adults.

"So what are you saying?" Superior asks, speaking up for the first time.

"We've already got proof that your race mixing with humans results in technopathic abilities," Nico says. "You're looking at it," he adds, motioning to himself. "That's what leads me to believe—"

"Herold's her real son!" Skye says cheerfully. "You can totally tell by the noses. They've got the same nose."

"And that, too," Nico drawls. "He's old. He's at least close to eighty, maybe older. Since that's the case, Mother—or whatever her real name is, is even older than that. So why hasn't she made herself known before this?" he asks.

"She was planning all of it for a really long time?" Emily offers.

"That's possible, or it might be something else. I want to find out why—I also want to completely crush Herold," Nico finishes. The out-of-the-blue statement has the room staring at him incredulously.

"Taking it a bit personally, aren't you?" Superior says.

"He's the biggest hypocrite I've ever seen," Nico says, turning to Superior. "It's one thing to be a villain, I used to be one, myself, but to go on television ranting and raving about norm's safety from supers, when he IS one? That was strike one. To get people up in arms over my students, that's strike two."

"What's strike three?" Skye asks.

"He went after family," Nico says, looking her straight in the eye. "Technopath or not, Herold needs to be taken down."

"Are you going to confront him head on?" Liz asks, frowning.

"For a battle of technopaths?" Nico asks, smiling slightly as he turns to her. "Where's the fun in that?" She rolls her eyes. She doesn't look that surprised, though. "But it's almost too easy," he says. "Right now he's in the spot light almost twenty four seven."

"Whatever you do, don't get tossed into the Cape Cells again, please," she says.

"Duly noted," he agrees. "Now, are there any questions?"

"Yeah, what are WE supposed to do?" Sunny asks. "This group right here. We're not out searching for healers, so what's our job?"

"You'll be doing the same job as Superior is. Guarding our healers and keeping an eye on our new students. The more Herold brainwashes the average citizen against heroes, the more the supers living in hiding will send their kids to us. It's too dangerous with the hero-hating going on."

"Hey, why can Jennifer hear better than I can?" Justin asks. "Is she higher than B-class?"

There's a sudden tenseness in the room as they wait for Nico's reply. He looks honestly hesitant to say it. "No," he says slowly, "she's not above B…"

"Then what is she?"

"She's doing the best with what she has," Ken says, speaking up for the first time. "I'd like to meet her. From what I've heard, she's quite an admirable girl," he adds with a pointed look at Nico.

"I think, honestly, that I'm going to have to invite her to move into the dorms," Nico says. "You might get that chance soon."

"Into the dorms?" the zoo kids in the room ask. "Why?"

"Because that way there's less of a chance of her getting brainwashed between school days."

They go silent, looking at each other and then straight at Superior. He raises an eyebrow. "I only do that on Wednesdays," he says blandly, leaning back in his chair, "and holidays."

"Clifford!" Tatiana says, smacking his shoulder. "You should not lie to the children!" There's an audible sigh of relief from the room—until she goes on, "You have done it on other days as well!"

***

I didn't sleep last night. I tried to, I really did, but my mind was spinning like a top and I couldn't seem to stop it. There's just so much I need to take in. I tried making a list of pros and cons around midnight. Pro: no one found out I'm D-class, but that can change at any moment. Con: Freddy. Pro: I have two definite friends and a few prospects. Con: Freddy—no, that was mean. I mean, he probably doesn't even realize that he freaks me out. It's not like he looks scary or anything. Well, okay, sort of scary, if you don't like the punk thing, but—

"You're hyperventilating," Aunt Barbara says as I stare blankly at the plate of food in front of me.

"I'm not," I say, not quite lying.

"You're close enough. Do you want me to call in sick for you?"

"No. It's just—there's a kid in the school that I can't hear unless he talks," I burst out. Her eyes widen slightly with surprise.

"Really?" she asks. "Even if he gets close? No clothes shuffling, or anything?"

"Nothing. He moves completely silently."

"How is that?"

"I don't know!" I wail. "It's freaking me out, too. I even TRY to hear him and nothing happens!"

I jerk as someone knocks on the door. I glance at Aunt Barbara, who heads for the door with a slight frown on her face. I hear the door open. "Hi," I hear Nico say. "I wanted to have a talk with you and Prisma."

"I… is something wrong?" Aunt Barbara asks.

I get up, grabbing my bagel off of my plate and heading to the front room. Nico, Prisma, and Elidee are standing in front of Aunt Barbara. She looks a bit worried. I can't really blame her, even if Nico IS wearing a t-shirt with a picture of Mastermental and a lot of floating puppets dressed like some of the heroes. There's America's Son, Star Spangled and Mega all with foam bats in their puppet hands.

"You can't tell me he lets you wear that in public," I say before I can stop myself. Nico gives me a wicked grin.

"He hasn't seen this one yet," he admits.

"You should be on it, too," I tell him, since I haven't gotten in trouble.

"Oh, I am," he says, turning and showing me his back. A puppet in his uniform is tied up on the back with his own strings and a strip of duct tape over the mouth.

"That's a terrible statement, you know," Prisma points out. "If people knew who you were, especially."

"Only the kids and teachers see it," he says, dismissing it. "Besides, everyone expects me to be the rebellious son. Now, let's get to business," he says. "Your daughters are vulnerable. A lot is going on right now, with the Mother problem. I would like to offer a more secure setting until this problem has been taken care of."

"What do you mean?" Prisma asks.

"I'd like to move your daughters into the dorms," Nico says. "It'll be temporary, but it's safer in the dorms than it is in your homes, even if both of you are B-class capes."

I see Aunt Barbara turn pale. She looks at me, an abandoned expression on her face. I can't help but walk over and hug her. "I'll be fine," I say, looking at Nico. "I can't just leave Aunt Barb—"

"No," Aunt Barbara says, clinging to me in a way that makes her words a lie. "I love you," she tells me, looking me in the eye, "and your safety will always come first. It'll only be for a little while, right?"

I look at her, knowing she's telling the truth. Honestly, I might complain about my family kicking me to the curb, but I think this was the best thing that ever happened to me. Regardless of what happened in the norm school, the fact that I moved in with Aunt Barbara is something I would NEVER change. "It'll be over in no time," I promise. "And I'll call you every day, okay?"

"You'd better," she says.

"I'm not sure I agree with this," Prisma says. "My daughter is at a very delicate point in her growth—and she'll be living on a campus with boys, right?" she says to Nico. "Who's to say she'll not get herself in trouble?"