Super Powereds: Year 3 (80 page)

                “Glad I caught you,” Camille said. “Do you have a minute to talk?”

                “Sure. Even if they leave without me, I’m pretty sure Mr. Transport won’t mind coming back to get me. He always seems cheerful when he teleports to or from Hershel’s house. I think he likes Chicago.”

                “I’ve heard it’s nice.” Knowing Vince’s ability to read situations, Camille would have put money down that Mr. Transport had a lady in that town that he managed to duck over and see whenever he passed through. Then again, perhaps that’s where her mind went simply because of why she’d come to see Vince in the first place.

                The two stepped out of the dorm into the brisk December air. They hadn’t gotten any snow so far, but the biting copper tang in the air seemed to always be hinting at the possibility. Luckily, Vince was already dressed for the Chicago cold, so the environment didn’t bother him at all.

                “I wanted to talk to you about . . . us,” Camille said. She was thankful the chilly air had already burned her cheeks with a slight tinge of red; it made the inevitable blushing harder to discern. “I mean, I know you and I aren’t an ‘us,’ we’re just a pair of friends, but I think maybe we’re more and . . . .”

                Camille stopped herself, took a deep breath, and forced herself to be calm. She’d let her torso get crushed by giant robot hands just for the chance to counterattack. She could damn well manage to talk to the man she had feelings for.

                “I like you. I’ve liked you since you saved me from those bullies and then kissed me in front of my house. When I met you at Lander, part of me expected that you’d have changed, and I’d lose the memory of my first . . . kiss, but you hadn’t. You’ve just gotten more, well, you. I think you know I have feelings for you, but I also know you’re the kind of man who doesn’t count something until the person voices it. Until they make the choice to act. This is me making that choice. I really like you, Vince, and if you feel the same way, then I want to be more. If not, then we can go back to just being friends, but I refuse to lose you to some other girl only because I was too scared to speak up.”

                Camille’s voice finally died away, the sheer number of words she’d spoken seeming to drain her tremendously. She wanted to stop there, to let it be, but she knew she had to push through and finish. Vince opened his mouth to reply, but she continued before he could.

                “I don’t want an answer right now. That’s why I’m telling you before we go on break. We don’t have to act immediately; this isn’t a now or never situation. I know how you are, and I know you need time to process. Any answer you give me today, good or bad, is going to be coming from the spur of the moment. I don’t want that. I want you to be sure of whatever you tell me. Take the break, take longer if you need. I don’t need an immediate answer; I just needed you to know the score. Officially.”

                “Thank you.” Vince crossed the divide between them and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her much shorter body. For a moment, despite the cold, all she could feel was his warmth. Then, all too soon, the embrace ended, and they were once again standing apart in the cold.

                “Thank you,” Vince repeated. “I admit I had my suspicions, but hearing it from you makes a world of difference.”

                “Save it for after the break,” Camille said. “I’m going to head back to my dorm and start the drive home. I’ll talk to you when I get back.”

                “Be safe.” Vince’s words were closer to an order than a pleasant goodbye.

                “Me be safe? You’re the one who’s always getting into some sort of trouble. Try not to get banged up too bad without me around.”

                “I’ll do my best,” Vince promised.

149.

               Mary felt a strange combination of emotions as Mr. Transport vanished from her side, leaving her alone in the clearing of her woods. She was both relieved, and a bit unsettled. The relief came, no doubt, from finally being back in her sanctuary of solitude, able to be alone with no thoughts but her own. Despite being able to control her abilities, necessity still demanded she keep her telepathic channels open most of the time, resulting in a constant hum of background thoughts. Here, at last, she could be completely alone for the first time since the previous winter. Much as she loved Alice, this was always meant to be a single-person abode.

                The fact that she was unsettled bothered her, though. This was her retreat, the place where she should feel most at home. Instead, it felt a bit creepy and strange. For nearly a decade, this had been her shelter from the world, and only now was she beginning to realize how cut off that truly left her. True, there was nothing in this forest, beast or man, that she had to fear, yet all the same, she felt less comfortable than expected.

                Mary went into her trailer and started up the heat, but in her mind, she was already planning when to go down and visit her parents. Perhaps this year would be more than a few quick words to the family and a hasty bite of turkey. Rough as things had been during her childhood, maybe it was time to come out of the woods for something besides Lander. She had, at best, a year and a half left there, and if she didn’t start pushing herself into the bigger world now, it would be all too easy to retreat back into this isolated clearing in the woods.

                The generator kicked on, and Mary pulled out the special extra-powerful satellite phone she kept for calling out from the forest. With a few quick presses of a button, she dialed her parent’s number.

*             *             *

                “You’re really not going to tell us what happened?” Eliza said, not for the first, second, or even fifteenth time during the drive from Lander to Vegas. It would, thankfully, be the last for now, as Jerome eased the car into a parking spot outside Ms. Pips’ casino. The trip was finally over.

                “Nope,” Nick said. “The situation has been handled, and I’m going to make sure it never happens again. That’s all you need to know. Everything else gets told to Ms. Pips, and she can decide how the information gets disseminated.”

                Eliza narrowed her eyes in a hateful glare, but said nothing. Deciding to let the head of the Family decide how to handle sensitive information wasn’t exactly the sort of judgment call she could take a stand against. The young woman might have a sharp tongue and quick temper, but she knew her place in the organization. Nick often wondered just how Ms. Pips had corralled a personality like hers so effectively—unlike Jerome, she’d joined when she was sixteen. Knowing Ms. Pips, it was either bribery, blackmail, or sanctuary. Those were her favorite recruiting methods for young criminals with potential.

                Nick exited the vehicle, pausing only to take a suitcase from the trunk, and headed toward the casino. He’d been tempted to have Jerome act as his porter, but the stoic man had been the least annoying part of his journey home, so there was no point in being spiteful. Besides, with the semester he still had coming up, there was a good chance he might need those two. Unlike Nicholas, Nick saw them as potential tools to be used rather than shackles Ms. Pips had placed around his ankles. Especially now that he knew about Eliza’s relationship with Vince.

                As Nick strolled through the casino floor, he spotted Gerry waiting for him by the elevators. The bald man gave him a warm smile as Nick drew near, and reached for the suitcase in his hand. Nick pulled it away as he pressed the button to go up.

                “Don’t even think about it. I might be off you-know-what training, but I’m still a lot stronger than you.”

                “Please, it’ll be a cold day in hell before you’ve got my kind of power or skill,” Gerry shot back. Despite his words, Nick noticed that his mentor looked a bit more worn than usual. His normally ageless face had bags under his eyes, and his skin seemed pale, even for a man who worked indoors most of the time.

                The elevator dinged, and the two men stepped inside. Nick pressed the button to the private floor, and they began to rise.

                “Have a good time at school?”

                “An interesting time, I’ll say that much. Made some good headway on rekindling my friendship with the old classmates.”

                “So Eliza and Jerome reported,” Gerry said. “Nathaniel give you any trouble?”

                “He took us by surprise once, but one of my assets was on hand to immediately return the favor. When he comes at me again, I suspect he’ll show far more discretion and planning. Should be pretty fun.”

                “I worry about your idea of fun.”

                “You don’t need to worry about me, Gerry.” Nick’s voice grew lower for the span of just one word. “Really.”

                “Maybe I don’t need to, but it’s still my prerogative.”

                “Fair enough. While you’re worrying, though, I need you to do two things for me.”

                “What’s that?”

                “First, I need you to burn the files I kept in the basement. All of them, scorched earth.”

                “Too late. I checked on them this morning, and every one of them is destroyed. Hidden backups too, even the ones you didn’t know about. We’ve overhauling our security system to make sure whoever got in doesn’t pull a repeat performance.”

                “I thought that might happen,” Nick sighed. “That school really does have an excellent set of procedures in place. Still, at least they saved us some trouble.”

                “So, what’s the other thing you need?” Gerry asked. The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open, revealing the lush hallway.

                Nick stuck his suitcase out to hold the doors, then turned back to Gerry. “I could use some sunglasses. Nice ones, the sort that would be comfortable if I wore them all day, every day.”

                Gerry arched a carefully sculpted eyebrow in a motion so fluid it seemed to happen instantly. “Sunglasses, huh? Going to wear them around the casino?”

                “No, but Lander’s in California. Lots of sunshine. Might just need to get back in the habit.”

                “Gotcha. I’ll have a nice pair ready by the time you head back.”

                “Thanks, Gerry.”

                Nick removed his suitcase, and the elevator doors slid shut, leaving Gerry alone inside. He didn’t say a word; he couldn’t risk it. Even in the elevator, there were cameras and listening devices everywhere. Gerry did smile though, a grin born of relief from a fear he’d been carrying ever since Nicholas came back at the end of the last year.

                It looked like his boy might be okay, after all.

150.

                Alice was unsurprised to step into a nearly vacant mansion. It was the holidays, and, save for security personnel, Charles Adair allowed much of the staff to take time off. It wasn’t as if they’d be needed beyond the basic tending of meals and cleaning for Alice. His Christmases at home were infrequent at best; all revolving around what deal needed closing.

                No, Alice was not surprised by the emptiness of the house. What did catch her off guard was how unbothered by it she was. The first year she’d come home to this place, she’d broken down in tears, overwhelmed by the loneliness. This time, it wasn’t even a blip on her emotional radar.

                She pondered why as she walked up the marble stairs, sneakers moving soundlessly. Perhaps it was because she’d been away so long that the place felt foreign to her. That seemed close to the source, but not quite there. As she reached the top of the stairs, she paused for a moment, turning about to figure out which way her room was.

                That was when she finally understood why this place provoked no reaction in her.

                Alice’s room wasn’t anywhere in this massive mansion. It was three hours away, in a small dormitory on the Lander campus. Her father’s estate no longer depressed her because it was no longer her home. Alice’s home was a place filled with laughter, and worry, and fun, and most importantly, people she loved. At some point since her last time in this place, Alice had mentally relocated. She didn’t belong here anymore, not really. Even if Lander cut her at the end of the year, she wouldn’t come back. She would make a new place in the world, one without empty halls and lonely memories.

                Her gait increased as she moved briskly down the hallway. Now that she knew her time here was temporary, there was no hesitation in Alice. It was just a few weeks away from home, nothing to get worked up over. Because it would end, and Alice would go back to the place where she belonged.

*              *              *

                The Daniels’ living room was filled with Christmas cheer as Mr. Transport, Vince, and Hershel all appeared. Sally Daniels enveloped both of the younger men in hugs before they’d even gotten a few steps away from the teleporter, squeezing all the worry she’d held for them into the embrace.

                “Glad to see you’re all still in one piece.” She pulled back a bit to examine them. Hershel had changed considerably since summer, muscle slowly taking the place of the fat he’d worn since childhood. He looked more like Roy now; though the two would never be able to pass for twins, they now resembled brothers far more. Vince’s body was much the same as the last time she saw him, perhaps with a bit more mass in the arms and shoulders. His eyes, on the other hand, had become a bit harder. Kindness still twinkled in them, but there was an undercurrent of violence willing to emerge. It both saddened and relieved her. Much as it was a shame to see Vince change; she’d been around enough Heroes to know that a certain amount of steely resolve was required to do the job.