Cape High Christmas: A Side Story (Cape High Series) (25 page)

"What just happened?" Doris asks. "Why are you hugging her, Skye?"

"She's the best!" I declare. "She has the COOLEST POWER--well, you know, other than mine," I admit. "And Ruckus is going to be the muscles! So I like her, too!" I declare, jumping over to hug her, as well.

"Not cool," Ruckus says. "SO not cool--you expect me to take all three of them on while you're out here?" she demands, getting in Dolly's face. "Do you know what she is?" she demands, pointing at me.

"I--" Dolly says, looking pathetic.

"She's a freaking SUPERIOR!" Ruckus yells. "S-Class, carrying the SUPERIOR name! I can't take on all three of them! I want a new partner!" she says to Century.

"Skye, are you willing to play by their rules?" Century asks me.

"YES!" I say. "Hey, hey, can we do one of the haunted houses? Then can you throw in scary sounds and doors opening and shutting?" I ask Dolly. "We can TOTALLY do a Scooby Doo thing! I call Velma!"

"You'd be the worst Velma, ever," Doris says dryly, now sitting on a table and drinking the beer she just stole from Century.

"Where did the dollhouse go?" Ariel asks, looking under the table Doris is sitting on. "I want to see it from the outside!"

"It was ADORABLE!" I tell her. "But I think it disappeared when I tried to hug Dolly."

"No hugging the nemeses if it ruins the playing field," Doris says. "That was pretty interesting," she goes on. "What do you think, Ariel? Want to play house with them?"

"How will they get the cameras that tiny?" Ariel asks. "Can you shrink the cameras, too?" she asks Dolly.

"I think so?" Dolly says, as if questioning it, herself. "It's all about mass--I can only shrink so much, you know, but drones should be small enough to toss in."

"You're totally ignoring something," Ruckus says. "We can't beat them," she tells Century.

"You don't have to," he says. "You just need to look like you come close. The Deadly Darlin's seem to be interested."

"I notice that you cleared out the bar for the night," Clovis says.

"I do apologize for that," Century says. "I'll pay whatever you lost in profits. I needed to see how this would go. I will offer this, though," he says to Ruckus, "I'm trying to get another tank female--she's still young, and she's a bit self-conscious, but she would be perfect for your team."

"Is it Sandra?" I ask, excitedly. "Oh, but she needs to graduate first."

"We were hoping to get Hypersonic Rainbow," Dolly says.

"She's young, too," Century admits. "Once in a while she might be able to join you, but she's got a lot on her plate, since she's part of two Halls. But if I can get Sandra, you three might be more equally balanced."

"Who is Sandra?" Ruckus asks.

"She's a gargoyle!" I say.

"You realize," Rochester says mildly, "I was right in there."

We all look at him. "You're cute," Ruckus says. "but this is a girls-only game, right, Century?"

"Sorry, son, but ladies-only fights are the next big thing in supers. We need to jump on the bandwagon before the Halls actually headed by ladies catch on. Unless I establish a nice little routine before they do, I'll forever be written off as the sexist male leader," Century says cheerfully. "I'd rather leave that title to Isotonic."

"Gin and Tonic?" I say. "But he doesn't use all the pet names, so--"

"You're more sexist," the rest of the group say, both the heroes and the villains.

"Mmmm... I dunno," Rochester says. "He calls me 'son' all the time and I'm almost forty," he points out. "I've heard him call Voltdrain that, as well. Is there somethin' like... equal opportunity sexism? Or is that ageism?"

"Now, son--" Century starts out.

"Forget about the whole sexism thing," Dolly says. "We have a bigger problem. I can't hold Skystep in. Maybe we shouldn't be the ones that go up against them." She looks at Ruckus, a bit guiltily. "Maybe we should go back to where we came from--"

"I refuse!" I say. "We like you!" I tell them. "Right girls?"

"She hasn't thrown a fit over our spring break being ruined yet," Doris admits. "That means she's happy."

"If Skye's happy, I'm happy," Ariel says. "And if you run, she'll chase you. She can be a real pain when she's chasing you."

"She can find ANYONE," Rochester agrees. "It's part of her abilities."

The two heroines look at each other, looking a bit worried. "They won't just LET us beat them, will they?" Dollface says.

"Sure we will," Ariel says. "Right, Darlin's?"

"It's part of the job. I mean, I'm a bit surprised they're not making us do debuts like they do the Cape High kids," Doris agrees.

"I want to do debuts!" I exclaim.

"The last time I tried to let you do a debut you knocked the kid for a loop and your brother refused to take him in as a student," Century drawls. "The kid's on the waiting list for our branch to open, now."

"Who?" I say blankly.

"Exactly! You don't do well for debuts, Sugar," he says.

"Sexism!" Ariel says cheerfully, pointing at him.

"You terrible, terrible man," Doris says dryly, making him laugh. I stick my tongue out at her. "So, when's our first official gig?" she asks.

"Funny that you should ask," Century says. "I was thinking this weekend would be perfect weather for a grand premier."

"Wait... did I just shrink?" the woman with the purse asks blankly.

***

"Uniforms, check," Doris says, stepping out of the bathroom in her new skin-tight uniform. It's dark gray with blood red accents. The back has slits showing her skin, but that's just so her wings can come out when she transforms.

"How come you get a sexy uniform and I don't?" I demand, irritably.

"Your uniform is as skin tight as mine is," she points out. "Whatever sexy comes into it, it's got nothing to do with the uniform," she adds with an evil little smile.

"Ariel, if I beat Doris to a pulp do you think we can still do the job?" I call over to our other partner, only to blink as she steps into the room in an even sexier uniform than Doris is wearing. It's a shimmering material that seems to float around her, sort of like those old Genie uniforms with the tummy showing.

"Why would you want to beat her up?" Ariel asks, sashaying over to us, not looking bothered by how skimpy the uniform is. Then again, she DID spend a lot of time naked before Nico gave her the power-blocking bracelet. But she was a CLOUD at the time!

I look down, patting my rather flat chest. "It's okay, girls," I tell them. "You're still growing!"

"No they aren't," Doris says.

"If I say they're still growing, they're still growing!" I say, posing just because I can.

"Are they really?" Ariel asks, looking at my chest closely. "Um, what are 'they'?" she asks after a long moment.

"Her boobs," Doris says. "They aren't growing. Your metabolism is too fast for you to gain weight, even up top," she tells me. "But what does it matter? They just get in the way."

"It DOES matter! How am I ever going to get famous?"

They stare at me, and then point at the various "Skystep" posters that are plastered over the walls. "You're the most famous super villain in the South Branch," Doris says dryly. "And word has it you're starting to get a following in Central, too. You're the biggest draw in our new gig, too, and we all know it. Century wouldn't have put two relatively new heroes up against us if we didn't have you to draw the watchers."

"So... Dolly and Ruckus are relying on me?" I ask, my eyes starting to sparkle. (Okay, I'm lying, I've got no idea if my eyes are sparkling, but I've ALWAYS wanted to say they are!)

"Of course they are!" Ariel says. "You're the hero of this!"

"No she's not," Doris says. "She's the villain."

Ariel shrugs. "Whatever!"

I blink as my phone rings, pulling it out of my pocket and answering. "Hi! The amazingly undefeatable Skystep is speaking to you!"

"Hello, amazingly undefeatable Skystep," Nico says with a bit of dryness. "Did you manage to fit all of that on your cape?" he asks.

"I NEED A CAPE!" I say, shocked that I'd never thought of it before.

"No cape!" he says. "It was a joke! But anyway, the whole family's out here, waiting for your grand entrance--and has been for the past twenty minutes. Where ARE you, little sister?" he demands.

"Oh crap, we're late!" I say, almost dropping the phone. "Time to go, Darlin's!"

***

"That's Superior," Dollface says as they survey the crowd, still dressed in her civvies. "That's Superior just standing there, waiting for the show to start--he's reading a comic book--I can't do this, Ruckus. I thought I could, but I can't--"

"Dollface, BREATHE," Ruckus orders. "Besides, right next to him is most definitely THE Tatiana, isn't it?" she adds, looking almost as pale as Dollface does. "SHE'S the one you should be panicking over."

"Who's Tatiana?" Dollface asks blankly.

"Only the best female tank in the history of tanks," Ruckus says in an awed voice. "A Russian hero from the cold war--she was the one they thought could take down Superior."

"Ooooh--so THAT'S why the guy heading for them looks so familiar!" Dollface says.

"Technico is--oh. That really explains a lot, doesn't it?" Ruckus says, swaying slightly before shaking it off. "THAT is her big brother," she says. "The ex-super villain that's running a school for cape kids. The one that took down that Senator Herold guy. The one that Rochester said would kill him if she got drunk. What happens if we actually WIN?" she asks.

"They congratulate her for a game well played," Century says from behind them. Both females turn, looking at him. "Ladies, you need to relax. The biggest, most well-known super villains in the world are either related to, friends with, or being taught by that man right there. He knows the game better than anyone."

"They've made us wait for twenty minutes," Dollface says.

"WHY are we at a toy store?" Ruckus asks Century. "What sort of super villain group robs a toy store?"

"One led by Skystep," Century says, simply.

"Oh. But am I supposed to shrink THEM, too?" Dollface asks, motioning to the group in the store. It's mostly empty, save for another woman and two teenage kids.

"If you can," he says, frowning slightly. "Honestly, it might be a bit much trying to hold that many S-class, wouldn't it? Take the kids if they're close enough--she'll love showing off for them," he says. "Leave the adults out of it."

"Will it make them mad?" Ruckus asks.

"Not if they can watch what's going on, and with Nico around, they should be--" the door slams open. "They're here," he says, fading into the background. "Do your thing, ladies."

"You mean we wait until they do their thing, first," Dollface says with a little sigh.

***

"HANDS IN THE AIR, EVERYONE!" I shout, waving my "finger gun" in the air as if I was actually armed. "This is a stick up!"

"No it's not, it's a finger up," Ariel says, floating over my head. "Jersey, did we bring any sticks?" she asks Doris, who's already shifted into her monster form and is trying to look dangerous. It sort of fails at that question.

"I didn't--that's not what she meant, Raindance," Doris says. "She means we're robbing the joint."

"But if we rob them first we won't get to play with the toys," Ariel says. "I thought that's the whole reason we came here!"

"But if we steal the toys we can take them back to the base--" I say.

"Hold it right there!"

I turn to see Ruckus and Dollface standing in front of the door, dressed in brightly colored uniform and posing against one another.

"Oh noes! It's heroes!" I say. "How come we don't have a pose?" I ask Doris and Ariel.

"This isn't the TIME for poses, Skystep," Doris says, striking a fighter pose. I want to complain that she's lying through her teeth, but fighter pose is better than nothing! I strike one, bringing my fists up like a fifties' boxer.

"Put'em up, put'em up!" I say, dancing back and forth.

"Let the hostages go," Dollface says.

"We have hostages?" I ask the other two. There's a moment of silence as they look around, a bit pointedly. "Oh! Hostages!" I say, excitedly. "Hi, hostages! How's everyone doing tonight?" I jump to the nearest one, wrapping my arms around Nico's throat and pressing a finger to his temple. I have to float to hold him like this, but seriously, who cares? Big brother hostage, yay!

"Leave or this guy gets it!" I declare. He doesn't even blink. Think he saw it coming?

"Let the hostage go," Ruckus says, starting to glow slightly as she begins to use her power. I'm not sure WHAT she's doing, but it looks like it'll be cool! "And put the finger down."

"Ooooh, can we steal this?" Ariel asks from the side. I glance over, my eyes widening at the shiny new game system she's looking at.

"I want it!" I say, letting go of Nico and racing for Ariel. The world twists around us and I glance over at Dollface, watching as she grows larger. AWESOME!  "What are you--" I say before we're sitting in the middle of a plastic looking copy of the toy store.

"Oh, poo, it doesn't work anymore," Ariel says, still poking at the controller.

"Where are we?" Doris asks, taking a swipe at a toy stand with her claws. "Plastic," she declares, looking around. "Where are the hostages?" she asks. "Where are the heroes, for that matter?"

"I don't know," Ariel says, floating down one of the aisles. "Oh, hello, mister man!" she says. I race over to see what she's found.

"It's a--a Superior doll?" Doris asks, staring blankly at the toy that's a good foot taller than us.

"Ooooh," I say. "He's got a cape!" I tug on it, searching for the snaps and undoing it. "I claim it!"

"I like his boots," Ariel says. "Think they'll fit me?"

"You can try!" I say. Soon the two of us have him stripped down and are wearing his uniform--sort of. "I feel SUPERIOR!" I declare with a dramatic pose. The cape? It touches the ground. And his top is hanging off of me, but I don't CARE. This is awesome!

I hear a grunt and I start to turn, knowing Ruckus has found Doris, but then the strangest thing happens.