Cape High Christmas: A Side Story (Cape High Series) (16 page)

Nico waits until they're gone to clap his hands and bring up a hologram. "Hello, Jolly Man," he says with a grin. "I suggest you suit up, because you're about to be invaded."

"What?" Santa asks, jerking slightly. "Why?"

"Because my cutest kids are about to breach your territory and Dad won't do a THING to stop them. You'll be lucky if he doesn't give them a hand," Nico says with evil glee. "You started this game, you're going to finish it, in proper Christmas spirit."

"I really doubt they'll get past my security, unless you sent an army," Santa says. "I do hope they don't get too cold searching."

"But Santa," Nico says cheerfully, "I don't need an army--I've got twins. Actually, I'm saving Sunny for the Easter Bunny, I think he'll enjoy that. But Zoe is more than enough to find you."

"Speaking of Zoe," Santa says. "I'd be willing to--"

"Not a chance," Nico says, hanging up.

***

There's snow and ice for as far as the eye can see. The three girls look around curiously, and Carla suddenly realizes how huge a place it is. "This is going to take ALL DAY!" she says, groaning. "Even at top speed--"

"Wait, relax," Zoe says, patting her on the arm. "First off, Santa has to have a LARGE facility, right? He's got to make presents for all the kids in the world, and that isn't going to happen in a tiny spot. And according to Ace's story, the North Pole is actually underground, right? That's what happened after the fight between Jack Frost and the very first Santa. So all we need is to find an underground base somewhere around, um... here, I hope. Grandma and Grandpa's place is right over there," she adds, getting her bearings. "That means north is... this way," she declares, turning to the right.

"Um, what should I do?" Malina asks.

"Carla?" Zoe asks, turning to the youngest of the group. "This is your trip, what do you think we should do?"

Carla hesitates, knowing that if she just leaves it up to Zoe, they'll find Santa's workshop in no time. But... "You said it's underground, right?" she says, her mind whirling. "Malina, can you feel how deep the snow is beneath you?"

"I can!" Malina says, looking a little surprised.

"Well then you look for a really shallow area--like there's something underneath that shouldn't be," Carla says. "Zoe, you start looking for machines. They can't build toys without machines, right? Not nowadays, anyway! Well, unless they've got a ton of technopaths working for them..."

"I really doubt it," Zoe says, "but they might. I'll see what I can find!"

"And I'll start looking for secret entrances!" Carla says. "Everyone have their earbud in?" she asks, touching her ear. When they nod, she goes, "Let's move--"

The snow under their feet shifts and all three are thrown off as a massive beast of a creature stands up. It stands well over ten feet tall and has thick white fur covering its body. "POLAR BEAR!" Malina yells, tackling Carla as a paw goes swinging--at least she TRIES to tackle her. Carla's already gone. She turns, watching Carla jump in the air and kick the--that's not a polar bear, she realizes.

"Abominable Snowman!" Zoe says as Carla's foot slams into the creature's face, sending it slamming into the ground.

"You stay away from my friends!" Carla yells at it as it awkwardly gets to its feet again. She stands in front of the others, her hands in fists, her eyes narrow.

"He's probably working for Santa," Zoe says as he starts for them again, "so don't hurt him too bad--he's GOT to be on the endangered species list--" she stops, though, as three others sprout out of the ground, surrounding them. "Okay, forget the not hurting part," she says, turning so their backs are to each other's. "Ladies, take them out, but don't kill them, and try not to break anything, this is Christmas," she says, bringing up her fists.

"Winter Wonderland setting on the apocalypse field?" Malina says.

"That one's my favorite!" Carla says excitedly. The Yeti look at each other, worriedly. Before they can do anything, the three girls shoot forward in three different directions, attacking one each, or in the case of Zoe, two. Soon all of the Yeti are laid out on the ground, with Carla taking the time to crouch over each of them and pat them on the head. "You'll be okay," she tells them, "we train EXTRA hard to not break things. But we can always bring up a healer if you're too bruised, okay?" she adds.

The Yeti whimper in pain. The three girls head on, watching the snow closely. "They had to come from somewhere close--honestly, whether they were wild or working for Santa, I don't know," Zoe says as they trudge through the snow, "but it seems rather strange for them to show themselves all of a sudden. Yeti are usually really hard to find, right?"

"Well, unless you're one of those TV monster hunters," Malina says. "Then they show up weekly!"

"I don't remember becoming a monster hunter," Carla says. "But it'd make an awesome show, don't you think? Three girl capes hunting down monsters!"

"We could TOTALLY pull it off," Zoe agrees. "But it's sort of species-ist, really. I mean, Aunt Skye's friend Doris could be considered a monster, and hunting her would be just plain wrong."

"What have you done to my babies?" a woman demands, dropping from the sky in front of them. She's dressed in red and green, and bells tinkle lightly as she storms up to them. "You could have killed them!" she declares angrily.

"They attacked us first!" Malina says, nose to nose with the woman--she blinks when she realizes that. "You're a little person, too?" she asks blankly.

"Elf," the woman says. "I am Toodles the Elf, and I'm in charge of the magical animal division--do you know what that makes me?" she demands.

"Mrs. Claus?" Carla asks. Toodles turns BRIGHT red.

"N--no! I--I would never--that is--I am-What that MAKES me is second in command of the North Pole, and first in command of the defense!" she declares.

"See that stutter?" Zoe whispers theatrically. "Someone has a crush on Santa, don't they?" she teases evilly.

"Don't worry, Toodles, we're not height-ist," Carla says very sweetly. "If you love Santa, we'll support you ONE HUNDRED percent--well, unless he's married. Is he married?"

"He is NOT! I would NEVER even think--" Toodles says, still bright red. She breathes in and touches her chest with a fist, and then lets it out, her hand moving forward in a sweeping movement. "Okay," she says.

"Oh my gosh--You're a Pega-sister!" Carla says, practically bouncing. "SISTER!" she declares, hugging the elf, who looks extremely awkward for a moment, and then sighs loudly before bringing out a tiny phone.

"Santa?" she says. "They defeated me."

"That quickly?"

"Well, Carla and I ARE Pega-sisters," she admits shamefully. "I think it was the hug." The other two jump in, hugging her as well. "But they HAVE to tend to the poor Yeti! They gave them quite a beating!"

"We only bruised them!" Zoe says quickly. "But we'll do what we can--I'm afraid we left our healers back home."

"Okay, okay, bring them in," Santa says, sounding dryly amused. "But only once they close their eyes and PROMISE never to tell how they get in."

"We promise!" all three girls chime. They close their eyes and cover them with their hands, waiting until Toodles tells them to open them again.

The room they're in smells like gingerbread and peppermint, and Carla's the first to react as she looks around. Her eyes grow huge and her hands clasp at her chest for a second before  she starts racing around wildly from colorful, Christmas-y work station to work station. The elves--supers of all sizes and power types--get a bit startled as she appears right beside them, asking what they're doing. She runs off before they can finish their explanation, leaving a few of them choking on laughter.

"HO HO HO!" Santa says, making all three girls go perfectly still before turning. For a long moment they stare at him.

"CENTURY?" Zoe demands.

"Wait, when did he have a beard?" Malina asks.

Advent Calendar - Day Twenty-Four

“This is CARLA’S day,” Vinny snaps, getting in Nico’s face. “She would never be late for her own day–where IS she?” he demands. His hair catches on fire and his hands fist, lighting up as if he’s going to attack their principal.

“VINNY!” Morgan snaps. “Calm down. I’m sure Nico has an explanation.” The rest of the school is watching Vinny a bit warily. Seeing the most laid-back guy in the dorms getting all fired up is startling, to say the least. But it IS Carla, they think after a second. Of them all, Vinny is most protective of the baby of the group.

“She’s perfectly safe,” Nico says. “Most likely he put her to work,” he adds, snorting.

“Who?” Vinny demands. “WHO put her to work?”

Nico hesitates, and then shrugs. “I’m already on the naughty list, so why not? Santa,” he says, “Zoe, Malina and Carla went up to find Santa.”

The room goes still, and the kids look at each other for a moment before starting to laugh. “You could have just said that first thing,” Vinny says, his fire gone in a second. “Come on, guys, we won’t see them until tonight, or after Christmas if they really get scammed.”

“Act like it’s a surprise, all right?” Nico says.

“We will!” the group replies, waving it off.

“Emily,” Nico says, motioning the redhead over. “We need to arrange for you to do a bit of teleporting when they do get back, so come with me.”

“Where to?” Emily asks. “I would have liked to meet Santa,” she adds, pouting slightly. “They could have TOLD me!”

“You need to get Carla’s little brothers and sisters when it happens, since the girls have the teleportation watch,” Nico tells her. Her eyes widen and a grin spreads over her face. “Which is why I’m going to show you where to go.”

***

“This is interesting, but all wrong,” Zoe announces, standing in front of the more tech-based toy stations. “Here, I’ll rebuild them and you reverse engineer,” she says, walking to one and fixing the first toy. She hands it over and goes to the next, repeating the process over and over again. Soon the elves are taking the new toys apart to see how they work. Zoe yawns and looks over at Carla, who’s doing the work of twenty elves at once. The girl seems to blur from section to section, fixing this, painting that, a flurry of activity.

“Hot chocolate!” Malina says, going from station to station with a massive tray of mugs. “Piping hot chocolate!” One of the elves takes a mug, drinks absent-mindedly, and then jerks.

“This is the best cocoa I’ve ever had!” he says, looking at her curiously. “Who are you?”

“I’m Malina–I control water,” she says.

“Malina!” Santa says, making her look up. “Come here, my dear.”

“Are you SURE he’s not Century?” Carla whispers, appearing next to Zoe a second later.

“He looks almost exactly like him–you know, if Century had a beard, but I scanned him,” Zoe whispers, “when he was taking another nap. They’re different–besides, I saw Century just a little while ago, he was completely clean shaven, although I suppose he could grow– Well, ANYWAY, would Century know how to teach Malina how to make snow?” she asks, motioning over to where Malina and Santa are watching snow fall in the middle of the nice, cozy room.

“Oh my gosh, she’s making it snow!” Carla says, racing across the room and hugging her best friend. “BEST DAY–” and then she stops, still holding Malina off the ground. Her expression is devastated. “It’s MY DAY!” she wails. “And I’m missing it! I totally blew it–what am I going to tell all of my siblings? What am I going to–” she gently puts Malina down and tries to not have a panic attack.

“HO HO HO! Carla! Breathe, my dear!” Santa says, placing his hands on her shoulders. “We’ll get to your school just on time, I promise, but first I need to ask you three something,” he says with a wide, twinkling smile. “I’m looking for exceptional supers to work as elves! You see, I’ve been watching your Advent Calendar–”

“Wait,” Zoe says as it all clicks. “That was YOUR idea, wasn’t it? You’re the one that talked Dad into setting up the Advent Calendar! Are you using it to recruit supers in the school?”

“I am!” he says with a giant smile. “I’m looking for supers that have the true Christmas spirit, my girl,” he tells her. “I need new elves. But don’t think that I would treat them poorly! My elves are my family! But I promise not to try for the ones that have important futures in your world,” he promises, his silver blue eyes twinkling.

She looks at him, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow. “Then why were our big names on the list?” she asks.

“You only have so many students, my dear,” he says. “And didn’t your friends find it enjoyable, giving to their classmates?”

“Who are you aiming for?” she demands, not about to step down, even if it IS Santa. Carla jerks, grabbing her hand and tugging her down to whisper in her ear. “I KNOW he’s Santa,” Zoe replies, not bothering to whisper, “but this is my school–or it will be, soon. I’m going to have some say in who he recruits and how it’s done.” She looks like an avenging angel, and the elves look at her hesitantly.

“Miss Zoe,” Toodles says, moving forward, “it’s a huge honor to be one of the Christmas elves. We have food, board, and we help the children of the world–”

“I get that,” Zoe says, giving her a smile as she realizes she’s being intimidating, “but I think we should… have a more straightforward arrangement between Cape High and the North Pole.”

“I really think your father–” Toodles starts out hesitantly.

“Do you honestly believe Dad would have sent me if he didn’t think I could handle this?” Zoe asks her. “First, you’re going to introduce yourself to the students. We all enjoyed the Advent Calendar, so I’ll forgive you for that, but AT LEAST once a year you’ll come to our school and announce yourself and your intentions to my students. Then, those that are interested will discuss it with their current sponsor, and will work out the details through them. Do we have an agreement?” she asks, holding out a hand. “In fact, I might have ALL of the Hall Leaders do that.”

“Zoe! You don’t make agreements with Santa!” Carla says. “Not when we came all the way up here just to ask him to be my helper!”