Super Powereds: Year 1 (76 page)

“Ooooh, we could go into town and do some shopping,” Alice suggested.

Vince and Hershel stared at her, their eyes unblinking.

“Screw you both. I’m a girl, I’m allowed to like shopping.”

“I’ll give you that,” Vince agreed. “But we’re boys. We’re allowed to really not like it.”

“Would you rather we let Nick organize another movie gore-a-thon?”

“The lady makes a point,” Hershel conceded. “I’m scared we’ll be seeing more than enough gore for my tastes tomorrow.”

“It won’t be that bad. We had to fight each other at the beginning of the year, and there were matches all through the first semester. Not to mention, we also had our daily sparring. I think the coaches have a good sense of what they’re doing and won’t let anyone get seriously hurt,” Vince assured him.

“That’s easy for you to say, you’re smart enough to quit when you can’t win. That’s a trait my alter ego lacks,” Hershel said.

“I think you give me too much credit,” Vince said.

“Oh, you’ll both be fine,” Alice snipped. “Remember, you two have actual powers. I just float.”

“It served you pretty well in the semester final. You outlasted both of us,” Vince pointed out.

“Not to mention it saved Nick’s life on the mountain.”

“Ah yes, what on earth was I thinking with that one?” Alice asked aloud.

“That we had a friend in need,” Vince said, giving her a smile and plopping down in a chair near the couch. “It’s kind of weird, though, you know?”

“That I saved Nick?”

“No, I mean being here, at the end of the year,” Vince said. “Thinking back to how things were at the beginning, it feels like so much has changed.”

“True,” Alice said. “I was terrified of living next to a telepath. Now Mary is a dear friend.”

“Roy was completely unmanageable. Now he’s... well, still pretty unmanageable, but at least he’s motivated to put in effort,” Hershel said.

“I was so scared of my power I went into the initial test with nothing more than a single lighter’s worth of energy,” Vince said.

“How much do you have now?” Hershel asked.

“About two and a half,” Vince replied.

“Oh yeah, the world is completely flipped on its head,” Hershel chuckled.

Vince shrugged. “I’m just not one to take unnecessary risks.”

“So some things haven’t changed,” Alice said. “That’s a bit reassuring.”

“Just weird to imagine, if this is how different things are after one year, imagine what it will be like after four,” Vince mused.

“I think that’s the entire point of the HCP. Bringing us from Supers we started as and radically changing us into Heroes,” Hershel said.

“Yeah, except for the whole ‘starting as Supers’ part of it,” Alice said.

“We were Supers when the school year started. It counts,” Hershel replied.

“Very true. And given how many years of practice everyone else had on us, it’s amazing we’ve all hung in this long,” Vince said.

“I don’t know, I think being Powered for so long gave us an edge over the rest of them,” Hershel said.

“And that is?” Alice asked.

“We know what it is like to lose. We know what it is like to not be the cream of the crop or the top of the class. We’ve spent most of our lives considered pariahs while they were hailed as demigods. Long story short, we had vastly more motivation to work for the Hero title than the rest of them.”

“I can see that,” Vince agreed. “With a few exceptions. Shane is certainly one determined Super.”

“Credit where it’s due, Chad is a pretty relentless guy as well,” Hershel admitted.

“Yeah, what is that guy’s deal?” Alice asked. “I mean, I rarely ever see him smile, or laugh, or do anything besides train.”

“He and Roy trained together for a while. I can’t say for sure, but I got a strong impression that whatever his motivation is, it had something to do with his father,” Hershel said.

“Eh, who isn’t at least a little messed up from their parents?” Alice said. “Anyway, gents, we’ve strayed from the main point of this conversation.”

“How different things are?” Vince asked.

“No, figuring out what the shit we’re going to do until tonight,” Alice said.

“I have all my Dungeons and Dragons books,” Hershel volunteered softly.

“Let’s table that as Plan B,” Alice said.

“You have a Plan A?” Vince asked.

“Did you miss the whole ‘let’s go shopping’ thing?”

Vince and Hershel groaned together.

“We could get some of the others together and see what they think,” Hershel said.

Alice shook her head. “They’re as bad at this as we are. By then Nick will be up and we’ll all just go along with whatever asinine activity he pitches.”

“Someone call?” Nick said, walking in to the room.

“We were just going over our plans for the dead day,” Vince said.

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Nick said. “It turns out there is a
Skull Splitter
marathon at the Cineplex downtown. They start with the original
Skull Splitter
and go all the way through
Skull Splitter 5: Daughter of Son of Skull Splitter
.”

Vince and Hershel cast glances at Alice, hoping against hope she had come up with some idea in the last ten seconds that would deliver them from this terrible fate.

“As much fun as that sounds, we’ve already come up with a way to burn the day,” Alice said.

“Oh did you?” Nick asked.

“Yup,” Alice confirmed. “So Hershel, go get your books.”

“Really?”

Alice looked at his excited face, then at Nick’s cocky grin, then back at Hershel.

“Really.”

139.

“Holy crap,” Alice said, her eyes taking in the full array of festivities. Mr. Transport had just dropped off the five Melbrook students in the central area underground, which wore a significantly different look than its usual cold stone veneer. Instead there were bright colors hanging from the ceiling in the form of streamers. Large pictures of famous Heroes had been hung along the walls, and several oversized signs directed the students to different locales within the area.

“A midway?” Nick said, skeptically reading one such sign aloud. “I thought they were kidding about the games.”

“Evidently not,” Hershel said. He was dressed more nicely than usual, a collar on his shirt and slacks rather than jeans. The lovely girl whose hand he was holding, Mary, obviously, was also adorned in a slightly fancier fashion. The two of them had decided to treat this evening like a date night since it was quite possibly the last one they would have before summer break. That was, of course, ignoring the possibility that one of them might not be invited back after the semester’s end.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m supposed to meet Sasha in the dancing area,” Vince said. He was also wearing a collared shirt, though his pants were still of the blue jean persuasion.

“Dancing, and I’m sure with a DJ no less,” Nick sighed. “So much for life after high school.”

“Actually, I think it’s kind of nice,” Mary said. “A lot of us didn’t get very normal high school experiences, being Supers in a school full of humans. This is a good fill in for some of the things we missed.”

“That’s one way to look at it,” Nick said. “You go find your girl, Vince. I’m off to check out the games.”

“Count me in with you,” Alice said. “I’d be more comfortable throwing ping pong balls at fish than huddling around a punch table.”

“What about you guys?” Vince turned to Hershel and Mary.

“I think we’ll take the punch table,” Hershel said, not quite controlling his idiotic grin. He couldn’t help himself; it was impossible not to be smile-happy when he had such a wonderful girl on his arm. Had Mary been listening to his thoughts, she would have blushed. Then again, had Mary been listening to many people’s thoughts, things certainly would have played out very differently that night.

“Okay then, we’ll catch up to you later,” Vince said. He gave Alice and Nick a perfunctory wave and headed off toward the gym where the dance area was set up. Hershel and Mary followed suit, though not before Mary shot a sly, knowing look at Alice.

* * *

The gym hardly seemed to be the same place as the temple of sweat and pain the students had toiled in throughout the year. Instead there was a series of refreshment tables, paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling, and an impressive sound system woofing from the walls. This controlled noise was directed from a small booth near the corner, currently manned by a junior in a grey uniform. The occasional authority figure, be it Dean Blaine, Coach George, or an adult none of the freshman recognized, dotted the landscape. They were experts at blending in, making their presence known only in the capacity that they existed, not in that they intended to interfere in the night’s revelry. It was, in truth, a little overly high school for the maturity level of the attendees, but it resounded with many just the same and the overall spirit could be described as boisterous.

One such cheerful soul was Vince as he scooped up Sasha into a spinning hug, the outer layer of her bright pink skirt (it matched the tips of her hair) was sent twirling about behind her. They kissed briefly and Vince set her back to the ground. The music was loud enough that talking was possible, if a bit uncomfortable. Fortunately, Vince and Sasha had little to say that required words. They looked into each other’s eyes as her feet made contact with the floor and she kissed him again. This one was less brief.

It didn’t take long before the rest of their friends had clustered around them. Will, Jill, Stella, Violet, and Thomas seemed to have all come as a singular unit. Alex surprised everyone, introducing them to his date for the evening: Selena. Her caramel skin looked all the deeper against the deep green of her dress and her long hair had been styled up expertly with just a few wisps left hanging down. Vince gave his friend a questioning look, which was met with a shrug and a smile as if to say, “Beats me how I pulled it off.” Vince laughed and squeezed the hand of his own date. The group stayed clustered for only a short while before giving in to the inevitable expression of high spirits and close friends.

They found their way to the dance floor and began to make utter fools of themselves. Limbs thrashed about, rhythm became a poor, downtrodden concept, and endorphins surged through their veins. In the shadows their supervisors smiled. Despite the harsh nature of the program, those selected to teach the HCP genuinely enjoyed the education process. One perk of that process was this time every year, when they got to see the young, happy sides of their charges, not the hardened warriors they were sculpting them into. It was both rewarding and heartbreaking, because each teacher knew that most would lose the ability to act so carefree. Probably by this time next year.

Another set of eyes watched the dancers, though these were not filled with such kind-hearted sentiments. No, these eyes were calculating and hard, but nearly brimming over with excitement. These eyes told the story of retribution long denied that was on the cusp of being unfurled. For the moment, all they did was watch. This moment had been so long in the making that there was no need to rush. It needed to be perfect, because the owner of those eyes had a feeling he would be savoring it for years to come.

140.

The various classrooms that dotted the underground area had been filled with carnival-style games of chance for the delight of those who considered themselves too refined for such frivolity as dancing. The music from the gym could still be heard thanks to a well-connected (but thankfully low in volume) PA system with speakers at each corner. Grey-uniformed middle classmen were tasked with manning the various booths, serving as free labor as well as a control should some of the youngsters get rowdy.

“This is ultra-lame,” Nick complained as he and Alice meandered the halls. “I mean, seriously, dart throwing? Haven’t we all spent, like, the past couple of months training in ranged combat?”

“I think it’s quaint,” Alice disagreed. “It’s a reminder of the normal world. It’s easy to get so caught up in all this that you forget what it’s like for the rest of the humans. Or the rest of the Supers, for that matter. I have trouble remembering a time when the HCP didn’t seem to dominate a majority of my life. This is a pleasant break.”

“Yeah, except that for some people that break might be a bit more permanent than they’d like,” Nick said.

Alice looked at him, trying in vain to see past the sunglasses into the eyes that lurked behind them. “Worried?”

“Just aware. Not everyone makes the cut, and I’m not exactly a ranked combatant. There’s nothing wrong with a little focus.”

“Pfft, a little focus my butt,” Alice said. “This from the guy who spent the entire two weeks of training watching television on the couch.”

“It was a part of my training regiment,” Nick replied.

“Only if you’re training for a bad sitcom trivia game show.”

“And the lady has uncovered my backup plan if the HCP doesn’t work out.”

“Uh huh, whatever you say there, slick,” Alice huffed. “I’m sure you have some secret scheme to slide through these tests with a passing grade. In the meantime, there’s a more pressing matter facing you.”

“What’s that?”

Alice pointed at a game some yards down the hall.

“They have giant bears and you are going to win one for me.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because I’m not above guilting you into dancing with me and then stomping on your feet all night.”

Nick sighed. “A bear for the lady it is then.”

* * *

As time slipped by, the group dancing gave way to the inevitable coupling up of partners. Vince and Sasha were the first to slip off, followed not long after by Alex and Selena, then Hershel and Mary. Thomas did double duty, switching between Violet and Stella as dance partner at their whims. Stella would never admit it but she, along with several other girls, wished it was Roy making an appearance tonight instead of Hershel. They were hard out of luck, though, because with all the training and prep work Roy had been putting in for the test, it had been no contest giving this night over to Hershel. Besides, Mary had been very adamant that she get to spend the night with the boy she was actually dating and the wagers of their bet still held effect for the next two days.