The Distort Arc: Cape High Books 1-4 (Cape High Series Omnibus) (12 page)

"Man I hope they're girls," Sunny says.

"This isn't some super power dating circle, you know!" I protest.  "Sheesh, there's more to life than getting a girlfriend!"

"She can only say that because Max is practically leashed already," Trent comments.  I thought I was red before, but now I swear I'm bright enough to be seen in the dark.

"Max and I aren't dating!" I protest.  I stop, looking around again.  "I feel like we're being watched," I say quietly.

"We probably are," Sunny says.  "Come on, guys, I'll race you home."  He slips out of my hold and starts running without even giving us a "go."  The jerk.  I start after him, not offering the other guys a "go" either.  What?  I want out of there, plus I doubt I can outrace the others without cheating a bit.

Sorry Mom, but this time you can understand, right?

***

"So did you find anything?" Ken asks.  He's sitting on Nico's couch, drinking a pop as if he's his best friend, Nico thinks with a mix of amusement and irritation.  It had never occurred to the super villain before that he'd wind up with the most upright hero in the Hall hanging around.

"No.  The guy was long gone," Nico says, drinking a beer.  There are several reasons to drink a beer--the most important being the urge to get on Ken's nerves.  A good preacher boy doesn't approve of drinking, right?  "I'm still not sure if he was there or not, honestly."

"You don't trust your daughter?" Ken asks, glancing at the door.  "Wonder what's taking them so long, anyway.  I want to meet Lady Rose's boy, too."

"He's my kid, too, you know."

"So you're claiming them already?" Ken asks.  "I didn't know that they'd already done the tests."

"You'll see," Nico says.  "Can't really deny it, actually."  Silence stretches for a moment before Nico points at the television and it flips on.  "I wonder if they found the kid..."

"The kid?  You mean the one that went to try and get powers?" Ken asks, watching as the channels flip without even needing a channel changer.  "They won't find him."

"Yeah, I know," Nico says, kicking his feet up on the coffee table.  "But she's not going to let it go.  She takes after me," he admits, scowling.  "How can you take after a guy you never met until you were fifteen, anyway?" he asks the other man.

"Don't know, but I figure a mix of hardheadedness and the desire to help people isn't a bad thing to have," Ken says.  "Trent likes your kids," he goes on, finishing off his coke, smashing the can and throwing the aluminum into the trash across the room.  "It's the first time he's come home and actually talked to his mom and me.  For years he's gone straight to his room, usually breaking something along the way."

"So even preachers have trouble with their kids?"

Ken scowls, looking forward for a moment.  "Being alone when you're a cape and a teen... I couldn't let him join sports, not when he's still getting control of his abilities.  He would have been a great football player," he says quietly.  "He doesn't connect with norms.  None of us really do, no matter what side we're on."

"So who's his mom?" Nico asks.

"Star Spangled," Ken says.

"You're joking."

"Honest to God," Ken says.

"Star Spangled--she's a preacher's wife?" Nico says, trying to picture the skimpily dressed blonde in her Sunday best.  "Seriously?  She wore that miniskirt that flew up--"

"I loved that outfit," Ken says a bit mournfully.  "Why do you think I asked her to marry me?  She switched to pants about ten years ago."

Nico stares at him then promptly throws a couch pillow at him.  "Quit bragging," he mutters as Ken starts to laugh.

"Hey, Lady Rose was gorgeous," Ken says with a grin as the laughter faded.  "I'm... really sorry about that."

"We were just a fling," Nico mutters, not looking at the other man.  Something tells him that he's not fooling anyone.

"Really," Ken says.

"Yeah."

"Why don't I believe that?  You're not the type to cross boundaries for just a fling, are you?"

"What do you want me to say?  It's all some sixteen years ago and she's... probably dead now, right?  So it's not like it even matters."

"It will to your kids," Ken says.  "Don't you think they'd want to know if you loved their mom?"

Nico falls silent.  Every time he looks into Zoe or Sunny's eyes he sees their mother.  It's both painful and amazing, looking into those brilliant green eyes.  He can picture her face now, picture that expression of amused frustration that she constantly wore around him. 

"That's up to them to ask," he says finally.  Before he has to go on, the door swings open.

"Look, he is here," he hears Sunny say as he turns to look up.  There's his kids, followed by Max, who looks faintly like Double M, and a kid that looks almost exactly like Ken.

"Hey," the kid says.  "We're uh--Dad?  What are you doing here?" he asks.

"Bothering Nico," Ken says cheerfully, raising
a hand in greeting.  "He's not nearly as hard to get along with as Mega is!"

"But you're still wearing the Mega shirt," Nico points out.

"It's still a shirt I got for a buck," Ken says shamelessly.  "When I find your shirt for a buck, I'll wear that one instead."

"They don't make super villain shirts, do they?" Nico asks.

"Wait--you mean you're America's Son's son?" Max interrupts.  "So that's why you never told me!  We've been hanging out with America's Grandson!"

"Shut it," Trent growls.  "Mini M."

"Oooh, that was low," Max mutters.

"Dad, did you find him?" Zoe asks, heading for the couch and sitting down on his armrest.

"No."

"We didn't find Jack, either," she admits.  "Did you eat?  Max got us burgers."

"Not yet," he says.

"I'll make you something," she says, much to his shock, hopping off the couch and heading for the kitchen.  He turns, watching her curiously then watching the boys who are watching her curiously instead.

"It's fine," he says a bit belatedly.  She's already tossing a burger into a frying pan.

"It's my fault you were running around after working construction, right?" she says.  "You need to eat."

What can he say to that?  He closes his mouth and faces forward, letting her do what she wants.

I've got an audience.  It's really awkward being stared at by everyone other than my twin brother like I'm a foreign object.  I shoot them all a dirty look.  "What?  We just went downtown--he went halfway across the country.  So shut it."

Is it really that shocking to do something nice for someone?  Sheesh.  I flip the burger before going to dig through the fridge for what to put on it.  "Lettuce, ketchup, mustard--Dad, what do you like on your burger?" I call over my shoulder.

"Anything's fine."

I grab a tomato and an onion, wondering who stocked the fridge for us for a moment before taking all my things back to the counter.

"Does she do this often?" Max asks Sunny.

"She used to," he says.  "Before Mom... disappeared, she didn't get home in time to cook dinner more often than not, so Zoe and I took turns cooking.  She's better at it than I am."

"Not on a grill," I say.  "Sunny's great at grilling chicken and stuff."

"I changed my mind," Trent says.  "Zoe, will you go out with me?"  He goes flying backwards a few feet and I turn to glare at an innocent looking Max.

"Don't break anything!" Dad yells.

"Hey, you try and find a girl that's got powers and can cook!" Trent complains, getting to his feet.

"Would you two stop it?" I demand.  "I don't like all this harping on having to have powers!  Supers should be able to date norms if they want!"

"So you want to date Jack?" Max asks.

"Ewww, no!  I just--it's stereotyping on both sides!"  It's starting to frustrate me--and all of a sudden Dad is coming to the kitchen to tear up the lettuce and barge in on the conversation.

"You can date norms, sure," he says.  "I've dated one or two in the past.  It just doesn't work out that well."

"Like it worked out well dating our Mom," Sunny mutters in a surly tone.

"It..." Dad frowns slightly.  "It was better than the norms, that's for sure.  But her being a hero--although one that specialized, and me being a villain, well, it wasn't like we could walk down the street holding hands or anything," he admits.  "Which is why Trent would be a better choice than Max!"

"Even you're out to get me?" Max says.

"Heroes and heroes dating is socially acceptable," Dad says.

"He's right," Ken says, heading over to drop on one of the barstools next to the kitchen bar.  "Except if you break up.  Then you're stuck working with each other... man, the first time me and Jeanie had a fight, work was terrible," he says, shaking his head.  "I found myself knocked out at least three times that week."

"Mom did it?" Trent asked, looking surprised.

"Well, she's fast enough not to get caught," Ken admits. 

"Seriously," Dad says, staring at the blonde man blankly.  "She knocked you out in the middle of work?"

"Well she was convinced I'd been flirting with Falconess," Ken says. 

"Were you?" Trent asks.

"Ah... well..." Ken says.

"You were!" Dad says, bursting into laughter.

"We'd not made it official or anything!  We'd only gone on a couple of dates at the time!" Ken protests.  "So I had every right to flirt!"

"If I were Mom I would have knocked you out, too," Trent mutters.

"But!" Ken says, clearly wanting to change the subject.  "It's not unheard of for a hero and a villain to get together.  Once you take the mask off you're both alike in a lot of ways, you know?  Just one of them has taken the wrong path in life."

"Dad says it's fine for me to be a super villain," Max says.  "As long as I just make things look dramatic, not actually be that way.  It's funner being the bad guy.  And besides, Zoe's powers are more inclined to being the villain, too."

"I'm not going to be a super villain!" I protest, scooping the burger up with a spatula and putting it on paper towels. 

"You'd be a cute super villain," Dad says.  I shoot him a glare.  "I'm just saying," he says.  "You could build massive robots and sit on their shoulders--it'd give the heroes something to beat on.  It'd make for a good show."

"Don't talk your extremely good daughter into being a bad guy just to make for a good show," Ken says.

"She's not that good," Dad says.  "Seriously, Zoe, you're not that good, are you?"  He's practically begging.

"She's that good," Max says before I can reply.

"When did being good become bad?" I demand as I hand over the burger to Dad.  He's already gotten his bun ready.  "I--I have my reasons, okay?"

"But it's more like acting than really being bad!  Well, for most of us.  There's a few psychopaths out there with powers, I'll admit."  Dad takes a huge bite of his burger.

"Hey, I want to ask you guys if you'd be willing to come to church this Sunday," Ken says, making us all look at him blankly.

"Da-ad!" Trent protests.

"We've got a youth group--but lately Trent's been skipping."

"Because they all saw me when I started showing abilities," Trent mutters.  "Now they don't know how to deal with me."

"He's paranoid," Ken says.  "But a few of the younger ones keep demanding to know when he's started flying.  I think they want to use him as a roller coaster."

"I'll go," I say.  I went to church when I was little, but around junior high we stopped.  Mom was trying to open up a business and weekends were important for selling flowers.

"I'll go, too," Sunny says, glancing at me.  "But that means we can't sleep in..."

"You can deal with it," I say.  "Mom would want us to go."

"...Yeah," he says.

"I'm not going," Dad says bluntly.  "The idea of a super villain going to church every Sunday--"

"You're an ex-super villain," Ken says sharply.  "Besides, I'm not asking you to go in full uniform.  But fine, Zoe, Sunny, I'll pick you up on Sunday and we'll go out for pizza after church."

"What time?" I ask.

"How about nine?"

"We'll be ready."

My Dad is staring holes in my head--well, not literally.  I wonder if he can do that literally, actually.  I give him a dark look.  "Don't say a word," I tell him.

***

"And here is where we will have you stay until the preparations are complete," the woman--Star Born, says as she leads him to a room.  For all intents and purposes it looks like she's leading him to a first class apartment, but when he looks in the room he realizes there's not even enough room to hold his arms out straight at his sides.  It's tiny, cramped, the floor looks like it's been scratched at with a machete, and there's a faucet dripping in the back.  He can only assume that it was once a janitor's room.  Er, from the faucet--not the scratches.  He’s trying to ignore the scratches.

Right about now he’s starting to wonder if he's done the right thing after all.  Impressing a girl--one that hates him, even--shouldn't include a room that screams torture.  He finds himself shoved in as he's studying a strange dark spot on that wall that he's almost certain was once blood.

It stinks.  It takes him a second to notice the cloyingly sweet smell of death, but by the time he does the door behind him is slammed shut and the sound of a lock clicking into place echoes in his ears.  The only thing he can think as he rushes for the door, slamming into it with his shoulder, is that he really shouldn't have signed that sheet of paper.

Again and again he shoves into the door, uncaring that his shoulder is about to go out of the joint, uncaring that his shirt is tearing, as is his flesh, only when he faints from exhaustion, his voice straining from shouting for them to let him out, does he stop, slumping to the nasty, stained floor.

Really, he thinks as the world slips out of focus, no girl is worth whatever's about to happen to him. 

***

It's morning.  I find myself waking up at seven, even though it was decided last night that we aren't going to school.  I just can't sleep.  I had nightmares.  Creepy nightmares where I'm inside my foster home again and there's a man outside the door, screaming for me to let him in.  I don't recognize the voice, but I do realize that the lock on the door is starting to turn on its own.  I reach down, turning it so it stays locked, but it keeps twisting under my fingers, unlocking every time I lock it.

I'm staring at the ceiling now, listening to my own heartbeat pounding.  I can't seem to get that scream out of my head, wondering if I don't recognize it after all--

"WAKE UP!"  The shout seems to echo through the building, much less our small apartment and I automatically sit up straight, still creeped out by the dream, now more by the shout.  "Time for training!" Dad bellows.

I let out a groan, shoving my hair out of my face and wondering if I can apply for a new Dad with the Hall.  "Um, yeah, Mastermental, can I get a different father?  This one's mentally insane."

Maybe I can dye my hair and claim to be Falconess's daughter, I think as the door is slammed open.  "Do you mind?" I yelp, tugging my sheets up so my... okay, I'm wearing a t-shirt, so it's sort of pointless, but still.  "I could have been naked, you pervert!"

"So?  You got nothing to show," he says.  "Get up, we're going to work."

"Work?  What?"

"You're going to help build Cape High," he says.  "Go get breakfast started, would you?  I need to put together a blowhorn for your brother."  I shoot him a dirty look but he's already run off to find parts of a blowhorn.  Reluctantly I get out of bed,
digging through my bag of stuff for clean clothes.  I lock my door before changing then head for the kitchen to see if we have any cereal.  A few seconds later I hear a loud noise coming from Sunny's room.  Is it wrong that I laugh?  Probably.

I drop three bowls on the table along with the milk and a box of Wheaties, then go to stare at the coffee machine.  Don't get me wrong, I hate the stuff, but if I'm going to be stuck working construction all day I figure I'll need the caffeine.  Is it really true that it stunts your growth?  I bet Max has drunk it all his life, if that's the case.  Maybe I should ask him.

Sunny comes out about then, wearing his usual boxers and wife beater and looking remarkably skinny compared to Dad, who has yet to put on a shirt again.

"Would you please put some clothes on?" I demand, throwing a dish towel at him with a scowl.  "There is a lady in the apartment!"

He looks around blankly.  "Where?" he asks when it's not apparent. 

"Me!"

Even Sunny laughs at that one, and he's half asleep already.  I give them both a dirty look and pull the coffee carafe out of the machine.  "There's got to be some sort of mental distress issue caused by almost naked parents," I complain.  "You know, yesterday I could have sworn Fell checked out your butt, by the way," I add.

"First she's complaining, now she's talking about how her teacher checked me out," Dad mutters as he pours a bowl of cereal.  "Make up your mind, already."

"I have--that's even more disturbing than you being half naked," I tell him.  "Ms. Fell looking at butts--ewww."

"I'm trying to sleep here," Sunny mutters from where he's resting his head on his bowl.  "Don't make me nauseous."

"You're supposed to be eating here," Dad says, elbowing him lightly. 

"One or the other," Sunny says with a yawn.  "Neither should include the words Ms. Fell and butts, especially put together."

I grin, trying not to laugh, but Dad doesn't even bother to try.  He starts laughing as he pours himself a cup of coffee.  "We'll get your training started while we work," he announces.   "I want to see exactly what your powers comprise of, Sunny--I've got a good idea what Zoe will be able to do, after all."

"What, going to make me make flower beds for the school?" Sunny demands.  "Oh, look at the pretty posies, Poison Oak did those," he drawls sarcastically.

"Already figured out your super name, huh?" Technico asks with amusement.  "Should we go tight shopping after work?"

"Absolutely not," Sunny snaps, wide awake.  "I'm not about to dress up like Robin Hood for this."

"But you'd look so good!" I couldn't help but tease.  "You could do figure skating on the side or something, you'd already have the outfit!"

He gives me a burning glare and grabs the cereal, pouring his bowl.  It's probably not the end of the conversation, but I'm sure he's going to take his time coming up with a proper comeback. 

"Not bad, not bad," Dad says.  "Taunting is an important part of this job--you've already got the basics down.  A bit more work on tone should help, though."

"Isn't it the villain's job to do the taunting?" I ask.  "Would you quit trying to make me go villain?"

"But all the--it's the perfect--you'd look so good in black!" Dad says finally.

I give him a dirty look.

"Only the guys with the dark and broody past get to wear black if they're a hero," he says.  "Yours isn't dark enough."

"So you can wear black if you're a super villain, no matter what your past is?" Sunny asks.

"Practically a requirement," Dad says.  "You'd look good in black, too, but it probably would have to be green, considering."