Daddy's Girl: Cape High Book Five (9 page)

"Makes sense.  I was in the South Branch at the time--"

"Quiet!" half the room yells as Nico steps up to the platform, wearing a blue and silver uniform.  Our attentions are glued to him.  I bet most of the world is, right now.

"Hello, everybody," Nico says, leaning against the platform in a bored manner.  He doesn't look too excited to be there.  "As Mastermental said, my name is Technico and I'm a recovering super villain.  Nice to meet you all."  It sounds exactly like a line from a television AA meeting, I think.  What in the world is he plotting?  "Before you ask, yes, I am a technopath.  I manipulate electronic machinery, I'm good with building machines and computers.  Now, I'm supposed to answer questions, so..." he waves at the crowd in a bored manner.

"Do you have any other special powers?  You were seen flying before," a man in the audience asks.

"I can fly, have super strength, all the basics," Nico says.  "My main ability is with machines."

"How strong are you?" a woman asks.

"Stronger than all of you," Nico drawls.  A few laughs are heard, although they sound a bit awkward, as if not sure he's joking.  "Honestly, I will confess one relationship that you might not know," he goes on.  We see the crowd at this, their faces either confused or anticipating.  "I have a half sister in the Hall already."

"Who?" a man asks.

"Firefly."

The crowd lets out a low roar as they try and deal with that.  Firefly is one of the few S class supers in the Hall, so now I'm positive they're trying to figure out Nico's ranking.  I can practically see them noticing the similarities.  Nico and Firefly have similar faces, even mannerisms, especially when doing a press release.  "If you're Firefly's brother, why were you a super villain?" a man practically yells to be heard.

"My sister wasn't even a working cape at the time I was arrested," Nico says.  "Her choice to become a super hero was after that.  For good reason, honestly.  The food in the cells is terrible."  That gets another laugh, one a little less awkward than the first one.  "I'd like to go on record now, though, saying that I'm not planning on going super villain again."

"Is that why you joined the Hall?" a woman asks. 

"I joined the Hall because--" he hesitates and looks at the cameras, as if contemplating something.  "I'm needed for a new project that's started," he says.

"And what project is that?"

"We call it Cape High," Nico tells them.  "It's a special school for budding supers.  We oversee their training and their growth."

"And why are you qualified for that project?" a man asks, his tone bristling.  "I don't think we should allow a super villain to train our future super heroes--"

"But I already have," Nico says, leaning forward again.  "Who do you think taught Firefly everything she knows?"  The shock can be heard even from this side of the television screen as Nico straightens.  "I think that's enough questions.  Thank you for your time," he adds in a bland tone before walking away.

"Well, then," Blackjack says, glancing at Banshee.  "Looks like we're coming out."

"They'll want press releases from the rest of us to make sure it's not just Nico running the place, of course," she agrees with a sigh, crossing her ankles in front of her.  "I'm going to have to dig out my old uniform.  I never did get Jack to fix the dents," she complains.  "But on the other hand, it'll take the focus off of Mega's new movie.  That upstart's been getting a bigger head than usual over that."

"Oh well," Blackjack says.  "I guess I saw it coming."

"Mega's big head?" Banshee asks.

"No, having to do a press release.  Mega's big head wasn't coming, it always was."

Banshee laughs at that and the rest of the group starts talking about the interview and how the school is now known about all over the world.  I can just relax a bit, knowing that it's changed the subject from me and my dad.  For most of them, that is.  Noelle and Justin are just watching me, with serious looks on their faces.  It looks like they haven't forgotten at all.

***

"So," Justin says.  Why he's in my room, I have no idea, but he is.  Everyone's already eaten dinner and gone their own ways to do homework or just hang out.  That leaves me vulnerable for an ambush, if Justin and Noelle's presences is any indicator.  "Your dad's in the Cape Cells."

"Thank you Mr. Obvious for being so discreet," Noelle drawls, giving him a dark look.  I think he just lost his pedestal position in her eyes.  I hope so, at least.  A girl can hope, right?  "She's having a really hard time right now, you know?"

"Yeah, but it's why we're here, right?" he says.  "We're doing an intervention or whatever."

"An intervention," I repeat.  "For what?"

"To... I dunno, fix things," he says.  He looks a bit red right now.  Is he embarrassed?  He should be, I mean, seriously, where in the world did he get "intervention" from?  "How long?  I mean, how long has he been in the... cells?"  What was he planning on saying before cells?  Slammer?  Big house?

"Since I was ten," I say a bit too sharply.  "He got caught on camera taking out a super hero."  I don't look at them as I drop on my bed.  I can't.  "I mean, it's pretty hard for the world to miss a super hero going unconscious and a white guy turning black."

"He turned black?  How?" Noelle asks.

"He doesn't just take their powers, he takes their appearances and their memories and--it just wasn't pretty," I admit, shrugging.  "They couldn't let a guy like that stay on the streets--even if it was an accident.  So... I lost a dad and got tossed into the system, until Collector collected me."

"But--but if he hadn't had that accident he wouldn't have been caught, right?" Noelle says.

"I don't--I mean, I don't think you understand," I admit.  "He isn't... he's not a good guy."

"But neither is Nico, right?  He was in the Cape Cells," Justin says.  "People can change."

"If he knew what would happen, that you'd be separated and you'd only see each other once for the rest of eternity, he would have been more careful, right?" Noelle says urgently.  "You'd still be with your dad now, and you'd not have been caught by that other guy, right?"

"I dunno," I say.  "Maybe?"

"You'd definitely not have been!" she says.  It's pretty clear she's got it stuck in her mind.  "You could convince him that his abilities could be used for good!  Like Nico!  They could--they could use him in the Hall!"

Justin speaks before I do.  "What do you mean, 'she could'?" he asks.  "It's already happened.  It happened a long time ago, when she was just a little kid."

"Yeah... but she's not, now," Noelle says.  I stare at her, the feeling that what she's about to suggest is definitely wrong, or dangerous, or something.  "We could at least try, right?" she says, looking me in the eyes.

"I don't think--"

"You're talking about going into the past?" Justin demands.  "No way--you don't even have your watch, right?  It broke and you got stuck here, in your past!  Who's to say that even if you DID still have the watch, and it worked, that it wouldn't break in the past, too, and you'd both be stuck there?  Or what about the rules?  The time travel rules!  Everyone knows those!"

"Movie rules," Noelle says.  "I mean, I'm in the past right now and nothing's happened!  How do we know that we aren't DOING what we've already done and if you don't do it then you're messing everything up?"

"That's so convoluted," Justin mutters.

"It doesn't matter," Noelle says.  "What matters is that we have the ability, we should at least TRY!  It's just one tiny talk, one tiny little thing that needs to be changed--who would even notice it?  Other than, you know, Morgan?"

Lots of people, I think.  What happens if we change the past?  If I never get captured because my dad is watching out for me?  The zoo kids would probably still have been saved, since Collector still would have gone after Adanna, right?  They don't need me... but...

Noelle doesn't know everything my dad's done.  I do.  There were more lives than just Detriment's that were ruined by Dad.  Like my mom's... and her husband's.  If Dad hadn't done what he did, would they still be living happily together now?  Would they have kids--kids that don't have messed up powers like mine?  Maybe a dog, a little house, all the things I'd dreamed of when I was in the system.

If I was going to go back in time... shouldn't I fix the problem from the very beginning?  Dad ruined Mom's life, long before he ruined mine.  But--but if I did that, I wouldn't even exist now.  But if I didn't exist I would never have been stuck in the zoo, or tossed around like an unwanted doll, or even worry about becoming my dad!  I--I just--

"We need to find a way to get my watch back," Noelle says, jerking me back to the present.  "But I don't even know where it is.  Or if he's fixed it."

"I do," I say.  "I know where it is... but it's not fixed yet."

"Oh. 
Well, it shouldn't take too long," Noelle says with a shrug.

"Why wouldn't it?  He said he'd never seen anything like it before," I say, trying to follow her logic.

"Well, yeah, because he hasn't invented it yet," she says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.  Both Justin and I stare at her.  "What?" she asks.

"Why do you have a watch that Nico invented--or is going to invent?" Justin asks.

"Um... that's not important right now!" she says, blushing brightly.  "What's important is that we figure out how to do this--and we need to do it quick, because once he does get it fixed he's going to bring it to me and I'll go back to the future and nothing will have happened.  Morgan, you know you want to try, at least, right?"

Do I?  No, not what she's planning... but if I got the chance, would I go back and stop him from taking down Mom's husband?

"You do, right?"

"I... I might," I say.  "Maybe."

"Then we need to get that watch."  I shake my head, deciding with that statement that this is absolutely an insane idea.  Absolutely.  Like, so absolutely that I'm too busy freaking out to come up with another word than "absolutely."

"Can't, not gonna happen, no way, no how, just won't work," I say, shaking my head urgently.  "You don't know where it is--"

"But you do," Noelle points out.

"Which is why I KNOW it can't be stolen!" I say.

"Where is it?" Justin asks.  I'd almost forgotten that he's here.  I glance at him, hoping he'll see the reasoning behind my logic.

"At the apartments, in Nico's private lab," I say.  "That means we've got to find a way to get through the campus security, then through the apartment security, then back, then have private time away from Nico's cameras to use the watch--it's way too hard.  I mean, we'd get fried.  Literally."

He frowns and I feel a hint of hope rising.  He's going to say it can't be done--"The zoo trip," he says.  "Remember?  They're going to take us to the zoo sooner or later, right?  That means you'll get out of this one and have time away from the cameras... but getting into the apartments..."

"Aren't you friends with one of the guys that live there?" Noelle asks.

"Yeah?  Aubrey's my best friend," I say.

"Then suggest a sleepover," she says.  "The night before the zoo trip.  Would they let you?"

"Well, maybe... but she lives with Liz," I say.  "There's no way I can get past Liz and into Nico's lab..." but I probably could.  It's not the same as trying to sneak through a force field, right?  But what if I get caught?  Or what if I steal it and Nico hasn't fixed it at all?  Then it'd be useless!  There's too many chances in this plan... but Noelle's right, isn't she?  I mean, she probably won't even be born until I'm an adult and Dad's dead, or something, and I'll never have this opportunity again.

"When is the zoo trip?" I ask finally.

"Saturday," Justin says.  "But this is a really stupid idea--like seriously stupid.  What if you get stuck in the past?"

"Then we'll..." I frown, thinking.

"Go to Nico in that time," Noelle says.  "But we haven't because he would know how to fix the watch now if we had, so we know nothing will go wrong!"

"Again, that's the most convoluted logic I've ever heard," Justin complains, looking from her to me.  "Are you sure about this?  Do you really want to do it?" he asks.

Stop asking me!  If you keep asking me that I'll chicken out!  But I can't say that.  I really wish I could.  Thing is... I was born a super.  I decided a long time ago I would be a hero.  As a super hero my entire life is meant to be spent risking life and limb to save others, right?  That's how I've always seen it, after all.  What's more heroic than saving my own mother?  Even if it does mean I'll never be born?

"I want to do it," I say, looking down.  "I HAVE to do it."

Noelle squeals and jumps onto my bed, hugging me happily.  "This is going to be AWESOME!"

***

The week seems to take forever, yet pass by in a blink.  I'm pretty sure that the rest of the group has noticed, I mean they're sticking closer than ever.  I've been moved to the center of the group during classes, with Vinny on my right and Ward on my left, with the rest of the zoo kids taking up the other chairs.  I almost feel smothered, really, but I can't say anything about it.  Maybe they know they're about to lose me on some level... or maybe they'll never have had me.  I don't know, I'm as confused by this time travel logic as anyone else is.