The Distort Arc: Cape High Books 1-4 (Cape High Series Omnibus) (33 page)

"I..." I grit out, clenching my jaw and forcing my leg to come up.  It does, a mere inch off the ground.  "Can... keep... going."

"I can make it heavier... maybe," he says.  But something's happening.  It's like the gravity lightens, then gets heavier again.  I'm almost positive he's starting to lose it.

I move my foot forward, stepping towards the rock.  It's like carrying a planet, I think as I try not to crumble.  But I can do it--

The gravity stops so quickly that I find myself floating in the air because I was resisting so hard.  For a moment my eyes widen as I realize that I'm flying--then I plummet to the ground, landing on my butt.  I'm almost not surprised when Max falls to the ground, unconscious.

So that's how you beat him, I think, even as he regains consciousness again.  He sits up quickly, looking a bit panicked.  "What just happened?" he asks.

"We found your limit," I tell him.

"I--" he stops, looking stunned.  "I didn't see that coming," he admits, falling onto his back.  "So... you really could beat me already..."

"But you're getting stronger, too, right?" I say.  "It's like your dad.  He's a lot stronger than when he was a kid, I bet.  Plus you weren't using any tools.  I bet it'd be a lot heavier if you actually used something as a focus, right?"  Really, as the guy that barely managed to stay upright just then, should I be mentioning these things? 

"Yeah... yeah, maybe," he says, but his expression isn't saying the same.  "I guess you won."

"Nah, it was a tie.  I barely managed to get a step in.   But I say we call it quits for the day," I say.  I want to check up on Emily, okay?  If I can move, that is.  Not that I'm going to say I'm worried about Sunny--but I am.  Max's logic about the whole "if Zoe's cute to me Sunny should be cute to girls" is repeating in my mind and I'm trying not to picture the two of them getting along perfectly.  Thing is, if I like Sunny as much as I do and like Emily as much as I do, doesn't it make sense that they would like each other, too?

"Oh, right, don't want Sunny stealing your girl, huh?" Max says, amused.  "So it's official, now, right?  She's your girlfriend?"

"Er... well..." I say, feeling a bit sheepish.  "Not exactly?"

He stares at me, deadpan in expression.  "So you expect her to ignore Sunny when you haven't even asked her to go out with you," he sums up.  "Are you a moron?  Back when I was still chasing Zoe you were my biggest worry!  I did everything I could to make sure she knew how I felt, I still do!  But you--you've got this perfect little Liberty girl in the making and you haven't even--you're a moron."

"She's fourteen," I protest.  "She's also going through a lot--I can't just force her into something--"

"So you just don't say anything at all--but claim her as your future partner, huh?" Max says.  "That's way more serious than asking her out for ice cream.  Even if she doesn't have a clue what it implies, she's going to figure it out sooner or later, you moron!"  He seems stuck on that word, I think, and he's poking me in the forehead, even though he has to reach up for that.

"Okay, okay!  I'll ask her out!"

"Ask who out?" I hear Emily and Ditto ask from behind me.  They're several feet away from me and I figure they haven't been there that long, but they look worried.

"Um--" I say, forcing myself onto my feet.  Man I'm sore.  But that's not the important part.  Do you have any clue how embarrassing it would be to be turned down in front of Max?

"We need to talk to you," Ditto says before I can figure out what to say.  "In private," she adds.

She's letting Ditto talk for her again, I think a bit darkly.  When Ditto does the talking it's a sure sign that Emily's thinking something she doesn't feel bold enough to say aloud. 

"I'll just go check on Zoe," Max says, getting up and slapping me on the back of the head lightly before walking away.  I watch him leave, wondering if I really want to have this conversation at school.  What if she turns me down?

"Okay," I say, shoving my hands into my pockets.  "What have you two decided?"  They're the same girl, right?  So why does it feel like they're going to be twice as much trouble?  Probably because they will be, I admit, remembering the incident with the skirts, or the time they threatened to beat me up.

"We want to move into the dorms," Ditto announces.

"Why?" I ask.

"Because--because--"

"You'd be all alone," I say.  "Mom would be heartbroken, Dad would be worried out of his mind, I would be--"

"Because we aren't a part of your family and you're going to get tired of us!" Emily bursts out.

"You really think that?" I ask.

"And you're already planning on asking someone out--and I don't want to be there while you date someone!" she finishes, her hands fisted at her sides. 

"You sort of have to be there, though," I say, wondering why I feel so calm.  A part of me is panicking, I think, but it's only a tiny part.  Most of me is going, "So you're jealous?"

Wait, I just said that out loud.

"Of course we're--" Ditto starts out.

"Yes!  I'm jealous!" Emily bursts out.  Then she stops, looking shocked.  She looks at Ditto, who's looking back at her, their expressions exactly the same.  "I'm supposed to be your partner, but you just stared at the new girl--and I know she's pretty, okay?  But she's a super villain and she doesn't like heroes and you won't get anywhere with her so you're just going to get turned down!  And you'll deserve it!  And I won't feel sorry for you!"

"Yeah, I stared at her," I admit.  "Then I woke Sunny up, remember?  Sunny wants a girlfriend, and seriously, who better for a plant grower than a panther shape shifter?  They're both nature based!  And I felt guilty because I wasn't going to let him have a chance at flirting with you."

"What?" they both ask.

"We had this whole argument over whether capes should date norms or not, but if I'm going to be a proper Liberty, well I'd prefer a cape as a partner... and as a girlfriend.  But I was going to give him a chance at first.  He's my best friend, you know?  I owe him more than he'll ever guess.  But then you!  You two sit on my bed, grin at me, and tell me that you're going to beat me up if I mess up.  I wanted to see it happen," I say honestly.

They're staring at me.  "You're really weird," they say.

"Yeah, I know," I admit.  "So I cheated.  Claiming you as my future partner is absolutely cheating.  See, I should have asked you out first."

They look at each other, she looks at herself--how exactly are you supposed to put that, anyway?  Ditto poofs out of existence, leaving Emily standing in front of me, looking extremely vulnerable.  "When you say partner..." she starts out slowly, "does it mean I should pick a name like Divine Justice like Mastermental said?"

"We'll get you a hammer," I say.

"Why a hammer?"

"Because it can be called the Hammer of Justice."

"Super heroes are weird, too," she says.  She's not looking at me, she's looking down, and her face is bright red.  "But--but if we're boyfriend and girlfriend and living in the same house--it's just... it doesn't seem right," she says, flushing again.  "That's even more reason for me to move into the dorms and--"

"If it's that big of a problem you can move in with Aunt Liz," I say.

"What?"

"She's moving into the apartment next to ours anyway," I explain, shrugging.  "It's not like it'll be so far that Mom worries or that you can't come over for dinner whenever you want, right?  I mean we'd have to ask her, of course, but I doubt she'll mind.  And Liz gets lonely," I add.

"She won't mind?"

"She's already told me she likes you a lot," I say honestly.  "She thought that skirt thing you did was awesome.  Then again, she was raised by Nico, so you kind of have to take her sense of humor with a grain of salt.  But--I forgot.  Will you be my girlfriend?  No running away, no thinking I'm going to chase Cub, I mean, seriously, half the time there's two of you bugging me, I think I've got enough trouble on my plate--"

"You just admitted it!" she accuses me.

"Admitted what?"

"You called me trouble!"

"Em," I say patiently, "you ARE trouble."

"But you didn't have to admit it!" she says.  "How would you like it if I called you hardheaded?"

"I am hardheaded," I say.  I'm not about to deny that one, especially after that fight with Max. 

"Or overbearing or heavy handed or a pain in the butt?"

"All of those things?" I ask, feeling a bit wounded.

"And a flirt!" she says, pointing at me.  "That thing with the stairs and the foot and--and your dad walked in on us!"  Which sounds really bad when she puts it that way, doesn't it?  But it was perfectly innocent!  You know, you saw it!

"There's nothing wrong with flirting with you!" I protest.

"You almost gave me a heart attack!" she accuses me.  "You--you--
player!"

"I'm
not a player!"  I hear the faintest of "poofs" behind me and turn just in time for Ditto to launch herself at me.  While she's doing that Em jumps me from the other side, trying to dogpile me--and failing.  What?  I doubt she weighs a hundred pounds soaking wet.

"And how are you so comfortable with there being two of me?" Emily demands as they try and wrestle me down.  It's not working very well.  "You pervert!"

Even my ears turn red at this one.  "I--I am not a pervert!"

"He's way too comfortable with two of us!" Ditto agrees.  "He's thinking two girlfriends in one!"

"I'm thinking twice as much trouble to deal with is what I'm thinking!" I protest.  "You're lucky that I'm so understanding and helpful!"

"He just called us trouble again!" Ditto complains, tugging on my ears.

"Man am I glad I'm a tank," I mutter as I hear someone laughing behind me.  I turn, Emily and Ditto both hanging off of me, and look at practically the rest of the school just standing there, enjoying the show.  "Is school over yet?" I say, shoving my hands in my pockets as the two try their hardest to wrestle me to the ground. They press their feet against my back and tug as hard as they can on my shoulders.

"Why. Won't. You. Fall?" they demand together.

"I'm pretty sure he already has," Mega says, shaking his head.  "And yes, school is over for the day, we'll start the actual classes tomorrow."

"Where's Sunny?" I ask as one of the two hanging on me tries biting my neck--hard.  "Hey, now, no biting!" I say, tugging at her.

"Take back the trouble comment," the other demands.

"Okay, fine.  You are a sweet, understanding girlfriend that will cause no trouble whatsoever--now stop biting me!"  She stops biting.  "Where's Sunny?" I ask.

"Asleep behind the science building," Nico says as he joins the group.  "I'll get him in a bit."

"Why?"

"I think growing the tree knocked it out of him."

"He grew a tree?  Oh, wait, Adanna's not here either, is she?" Emily asks.  "Where's she at?"

"She's stuck up the tree," Nico says, completely straight faced.

I wind up carrying Sunny home.  Unfortunately Adanna shifted back to her human form and escaped the tree before we got to see what happened, but I'm positive that somehow Nico has it on tape somewhere.  I really wish I could have seen it, I think as my best friend snores right next to my ear.

"So Nico's taking Adanna home, right?" Emily asks, her face still flushed.  I think she's a bit embarrassed now that everyone (except Sunny, he never woke up) knows that we're dating.  Not that we can really go out on a date with how things are, but you know what I mean.

"Yeah," I say.

"I should ask Liz about moving in," she says.

"Yeah.  She'll say yes, though."

"But Jeanie won't mind, will she?"

"She might," I admit.  "I think she likes having a daughter."

"But I'm not her daughter."

"You're close enough," I say.  "Sunny, seriously, do you have to drool on my neck?" I complain as we get to the apartment building.  Something makes me stop, glancing around, then up.  Taurus is sitting on the roof of the building next to our apartments.  Knowing that it's just him I let out a sigh of relief.  "Wake up, man, we're home."

"Kitty," Sunny mutters against my neck before sliding off, stumbling to the panel and tapping his hand against it before going through the security.

"Kitty?" I ask Emily.

"Maybe he saw Adanna's panther form?" she offers.  "I dunno."

We both head into the apartment building.

***

"So you two are finally officially dating, huh?" Dad asks as we step into the apartment.  "It's about time!  But we have some rules to lay down before we go any further--"

"Emily wants to move in with Liz," I say, heading for the couch to drop the sleeping Sunny down.

"What?" Mom asks.  "And shouldn't you take Sunny to his room if he's going to sleep?"

"It's another floor, and I figure he can sleep through anything, so why bother?" I say as Emily comes in behind me.  I head over to her, draping an arm over her shoulders.

"What's this about moving out?" Dad asks.

"It's um--well, if we're dating, don't you think it's too early to be living in the same house?" she says.  "I mean, we just started dating and--I don't know.  It seems like a really big step... even though we already were living together but we weren't dating so--"

"Oh, you're so adorable," Mom says, wrapping her arms around Emily in a hug.  "I'll call Liz and we'll discuss it, okay?  But you can come over whenever you need us, okay?  You don't have to knock or anything, got it?"

"Yeah," Emily says, grinning widely.  "Oh, but if Liz doesn't want to--"

The door opens and Liz steps in, looking excited.  "I'll do it!" she says.

"You--wow you move fast," I say.  "How long have you been eavesdropping anyway?"

"Since you came in," she says, crossing over to Emily to tug her out of Mom's arms.  "I've always wanted to be a mother!" she says happily.  "We'll go shopping for clothes together and train together and cook together--"

"Can't... breathe..." Emily gasps, looking a bit overwhelmed. 

Liz loosens her hug, patting Emily's head fondly.  "Sorry, sorry, I'll be more careful until you're older," she promises.

"So you don't mind?" Emily asks her.

"Mind?  I'm excited!" Liz says.  "It gets really boring living alone, you know, but Nico wouldn't let me move into his apartment, saying all his rooms were already taken.  And this way you can come over here whenever I'm working late, so you won't get lonely, either."

I move over to Dad's side, leaning closer to whisper silently, "This is okay, right?"

"Liz practically lives with us whenever she's not working, anyways," he whispers back just as silently.  "I think it'll be just fine."

"Good," I say, grinning.  "So how am I going to take her out on a date when we're stuck in the apartment, anyway?" I ask, going straight to the problem.

"You'll come up with something," he says, messing up my hair with a grin.

***

Panther had invited Nico to
stay for dinner, but Nico had to turn him down.  And explaining to a super villain about another super villain hunting their children, he thinks as he pulls to a stop in front of the apartments, it hadn't been easy. 
There are rules
, Panther had said so sharply that Nico felt guilty and he wasn't even the one doing it.  Their children were supposed to be safe from the dangers of being capes.  Their children were to be protected.

And they will be,
Nico had sworn to his friend. 
As the son of Superior himself,
although he felt no need to mention just how useless Superior had been to his own children.  But now Nico is the father, and as the father he finds himself swearing such things because it carries the weight he needs it to.

His daughter is beautiful.  A masterpiece of technopathy in the making, one that will have no limitations in the future.  His son is a masterpiece as well, the complete opposite of his sister yet just as amazing.  In just a few weeks, he thinks with amusement, he's fallen head over heels for the kids, willing to take on the entire super world for them.

And one of that world is sitting on the roof of the apartment right next to his.

"Taurus," he says, landing on the rooftop next to the large minotaur man.  "I think they're safe now."

"Technico," Taurus says, looking up at him.  "How can we trust you?"

The question shouldn't have been as surprising as it is, Nico thinks as he looks the huge minotaur in the eyes.  Idly he reaches into his back pocket (yes, flying while in civvies--but he used the mask, he thinks, that should count for something) and pulls out his wallet.

"Are you trying to bribe me?" Taurus asks.

Nico pulls out a small circular disk, tossing it down onto the roof and hitting it with his power.  The disk starts to spin, bringing up a hologram between the two of them.  "Hey Dad!" the image of Zoe says.  "You forgot to eat again, didn't you?  What do you want?  I'm only going to ask once, and if you don't reply I'm making you a bowl of cereal, got it?"  The image changes, and Sunny stands there where Zoe was.  "Hey, Dad, would you STOP putting flowers next to my bed at night?  Sheesh, I know Jeanie asked you to, but they keep trying to crawl into bed with me!"

The recording stops and he leans down to grab the disk again.  "I made this," he says, holding it between two fingers, "in case they stick me back in the Cells.  If I go, this is the only way I'll ever be able to see them again.  Knowing that," he goes on.  "Do you really think I'm going to risk it?"

"I see," Taurus says quietly.  "Do they know about that?"

"No, Zoe would want to know how it works and explode it," Nico says, grinning slightly for a second before going serious again.  "This game we play, usually both sides follow the unspoken rules.  Even Pan was outraged at the idea of our children being hunted, did you know that?  But my... brother, and his partner, they're not playing by the rules.  And when it brings my kids into play--well, if I need to, neither will I.  So I'm going to return that question, Taurus, and add a bit of weight to it.  Those two are the most important things I have in this world.  How can
I
trust
you
to keep them safe?"

"It's easy enough," Taurus says, shifting into his human form and smiling slightly.  "Because I'm pretty sure I'm in love with your little sister."

"What?"

"Ever since the day I met her fifteen or so years ago, right after you were tossed into the cells and she was brought to the hall.  I was eighteen at the time, she was fifteen or sixteen.  She looks at me, this gawky, skinny black kid that's only starting to grow into his shifting, and dismisses me completely."

"Why?"

"Because it's really hard to live up to you."  He laughs.  "I thought I was long over that, too," he admits.  "I mean, sure, I followed all her jobs, kept a tape of the Hero TV reports and interviews... called it being a fanboy.  There's no one out there like her, Technico.  Thing is," he says, "I'm not a kid anymore.  I'm an A class hero, even without flight, your computer said so itself.  I'd like to think this time around it won't be that easy to dismiss me without hearing me out."

"So you think you can impress Liz?" Nico asks, grinning slightly.  "You know, you might just manage.  MIGHT.  She's hard to handle even on her good days, though."

"I'm willing to work for it.  I think having you accept it will give me a bit of a boost, not going to lie," he says.

Nico looks at him, thinking about everything he's seen on the man in front of him.  Taurus is, as Trent put it, a cape that even America's Son admires.  He's straight forward, hard working, and most importantly when it came to capes, close to sane.  "I think," Nico says finally, "I won't mind.  But Liz is a full grown woman, you know.  She'll make her own decisions.  And since you're being so honest, I will be too.  You and the others, I'm expecting you to keep me from having to do something that will get me tossed back into the cells.  Do you get what I mean?"

"We'll stop them," Taurus says.  "We'll put them in the cells."

"I'm not sure they'll hold them."

"Then we'll deal with that when it comes to it," Taurus says.  "As a group.  I'm going to keep you out of the cells, as long as you're willing to do what you're doing.  More kids will come, you know."

"Double M's got his eyes on one already."

"More than just the ones Double M grabs," Taurus says.  "I only wish I'd had a thing like this when I was a kid."  He stands, stretching for a second before saying, "I'll get going, then," and jumping off the roof to land lightly on the concrete street below.  He's gone the next second, leaving Nico standing on the roof alone.

Almost hesitantly he pulls out his wallet again, opening it and pulling out a disk much like the first one but older.  He stares at it, flipping it between his fingers in a manner that says he has done this many times before, then throws it to the ground, hitting it with his power.

"Nico," the hologram of the beautiful woman says.  She has thick red hair that cascades over her shoulders and eyes so green they outdo emeralds.  She's wearing a pair of fluttery looking skirt and a tunic like shirt.  "I love you, Nico."  Her hand reaches out, a ghost of a touch on his shoulder.  "I love you."

***

"And the earth shot up and there were flowers all around him!" the man says enthusiastically as he follows Star around her lab.  "It was amazing!  That's why more people need powers, right?  That way they can sleep wherever they go without needing a bed--I'm really tired of that cot, you know--"

"That's ni--"  Star stops, putting down the slide she was about to put into the microscope.  "Honey?" she asks, turning to him.  "Would you repeat what you just said?"

"I'm really tired of the cot?"

"No, before that."

"That way you can sleep--"

"No, it was something about the earth.  What happened with the earth?" she asks in a very patient tone.

"Oh, the sleeping boy--it helped him!" he says.  "It just shot up under him and made a bed, all on its own.  It was really cool."

"And the flowers?"

"They grew up all around him," he says.  "Didn't you hear me the first time?  You weren't listening, were you," he accuses her.

"Oh, I'm listening very, very carefully right now."

"Okay."

"So this boy, do you know who he is?"

"Um... he looked a lot like that man's daughter.  The one that isn't my daughter.  Maybe it's her brother?"

"I see," she says.  "So he's... an elementalist Superior.  I see."  She turns back to the lab counter, picking up the slide.  "Honey, why don't you go read your comics for a bit.  It sounds like you had a very busy day.  You need a break."

"Sure, that sounds good," he says, turning and starting out the door again.  Idly he reaches into his pocket, digging through all the strange things he'd found that day.  He pulls out a seed, looking at it curiously as he walks down the hall.

Something makes him stop next to one of the glassed in cells, and his eyes fall on the red haired woman laying sound asleep inside.  Absently he reaches up, touching the pad that makes the glass wall slide open, and goes in.

"Hi," he says, moving to her bedside.  "I brought you something."  He holds up the seed, looking at it with a slight smile, then reaches down for her hand, tucking it into the palm.  "Sleep well," he says softly before walking out of the room.  The glass slides shut behind him.  No one sees the hand holding the seed tighten into a fist.