The Distort Arc: Cape High Books 1-4 (Cape High Series Omnibus) (13 page)

"Considering what?"

"The elemental thing.  Certain powers require that you come specially dressed," Dad goes on.  "Like technically Zoe and I should at least have some silver in our uniforms.  You would need green, my sister needs either yellow or blue--she can get away with blue.  It goes on like that, of course.  But the details, the cape or no cape, the major color, that's all up to you and your fashion designer."

"Fashion designer," I repeat blankly.

"Sure.  The Hall has one or two, the villains tend to go to them as well--off the books, of course.  It has to be durable, stylish, yadda yadda, but most importantly, it has to be something that catches the public's eye."

"More photo op than black op," I say, remembering what Max had said earlier.

"Exactly.  Which is seriously why you need to go villain, kiddo," Dad tells me.  "It also means you need to get over this whole 'good girl' issue and face facts.  You're the perfect super villain--even the Hall would back me up on this," he says. 

Then he looks at Sunny.  "You, though, you'll actually be needed in real problems," he admits.  "We can send you into the field when there's natural disasters, regrowing forests, dealing with oil spill problems, possibly--well, the parts that wind up on land," he says.  "You don't even really need to wear a uniform, although I'm sure the Hall would complain--"

The doorbell rang and I glanced at the others.  "Do I get that?"

"No," Dad says, getting to his feet.  "I do."  He crosses the room and heads for the door, looking through the peek hole for a second before opening it.  "Really, Max, it's not even eight yet--shouldn't you be heading for school?"

"I'm transferring," I hear Max say.  "I figure you can pay me, oh, thirty dollars an hour for construction work."

"Thirty bucks."

"I have gravity powers," Max says.  "I can lift twice or more than what the average super can lift--and I do it without sweating."

"A little sweat never killed anyone, you know," Dad points out.  "Admit it, you're just after looking good in front of my daughter."

"Okay, fine, I admit it."

"Then you can work for free!" Dad announces cheerfully. 

"Dad!" I yell.  "Don't you dare make Max work for free, that's abusive!"

"I was planning on doing it to you two, too," Dad says almost innocently.

"That's child abuse!" I bellow.

"It's training!"

"Construction work is not a form of training!" I say, getting to my feet and crossing over to the door.

"Hi, Zoe," Max said, giving me this grin that is absolutely mind-blowingly cute.  Instantly I decide he's up to no good.

"What are you after?" I ask him.

"Thirty bucks an hour," he says.  "Or we could skip work and go out for pancakes!"

"I'll take pancakes!" Sunny calls from the table.

I look at the table--only to have Dad head past me.  "Pancakes it is," he says cheerfully.

"At least put up the milk before we go!" I say, giving up easily enough.  I could go for some Ihop, maybe some chocolate chip pancakes.  Yeeeeah, that sounds good. 

"I got it," Sunny calls, closing the refrigerator door and heading for us.  "Nice idea, Max.  You're paying."

"What--if Technico is coming--"

"Hey, hey, heeey, if you're trying to impress my kid, you really should try and get on my good side," Dad says shamelessly as he locks the apartment door behind Sunny.

"Dad, seriously, have you talked to Mastermental about all those designs they sold yet?" I say, rolling my eyes as we head out of the apartment. "You should have money."

"Good idea," Dad says.  "Your dad back in town yet?" he asks Max, draping an arm over his shoulders.

"No sir," Max says.  "If I help with the construction work can I take your daughter on a date this weekend?"

"No.  But you can come over and watch a movie with us."

"For today's work--not for the rest of the project."

"Deal," Dad says.  "But seriously, I'm broke until I talk to your dad, so you're springing for the meal."

"Fiiiine--for Zoe--"

"Hey!" I say, belatedly.  "I am not a bargaining chip!
"

"Do you want pancakes or not?" Dad asks me.

"I want pancakes," I say after a long second of hesitation.  "But they need to be chocolate chip!"

"Then you sit next to me at the restaurant," Max declares.

Wait.  Really?  That's all he's going to ask for?  "Okay," I say.  "But no stealing my pancakes, got it?"

"Deal," Max says, grabbing my hand.  I almost want to protest that the handholding isn't part of the deal, but I don't really mind.  I mean, a guy offers to feed three people just so he can sit next to you, you can't help but feel a little flattered.

Stop, Zoe, you've already decided that he's a flirt, remember?  I glance over at him, flushing as I realize he's looking at me.  I almost jump as he reaches up with his free hand to push my hair behind my ear.  "There.  That's better," he says, looking quite satisfied with himself.

"You're making it so people stare at me," I say darkly.

"With Technico walking in front of us, do you really think people will even notice?" he asks.  I glance at Dad, then shrug and look down at Max's hand holding mine.  Max's skin it at least four times darker than mine, I feel remarkably pale compared to him. 

"I think I'm going to gag," Sunny says from behind us.  "Seriously, you two, get a room or something," he adds, walking past us to walk beside our Dad.

"Sup, Sunny?" Dad says, draping an arm over Sunny's shoulders.  "How about we have an eating competition?"

"Don't even think about it!" Max says, totally distracted from me.  His hand slips out of mine as he moves forward to argue with the other two.  I can't help but feel a bit abandoned, even though I know I should be relieved.  I shove my hands into my pockets, following everyone down the stairs and out the building. 

So... you know it's probably the first time I've had a crush this big.  I mean, sure, when I was little I would think so and so was cute, or that I really liked this boy in my class, but that was easy.  They never had to know that the freaky girl with the skunk hair thought they were cute.  I wound up avoiding them more after getting a crush, I realize as I absently push my hair back over my ear, hiding the white part.  I know that Max and Dad and even Trent have complimented my hair, but who are they to decide?  Growing up in super families they've probably got really strange tastes or something.

Honestly, I don't think I'm really all that special.  I mean, the moment another super powered girl shows up, I'll probably be forgotten about--

"Zoe--"

And Max will start chasing her and I'll be the stupid one left with a major crush on a guy that's already gotten tired of me--

"ZOE!"  The bellow combined with hands on my upper arms makes me look up blankly into my father's face.  "You just blew up the stoplights," he says, making me glance above us.  We're standing in the middle of a four way stop, the light above us is sizzling dangerously and Max is floating next to it, his hands out and several cars floating in the air in front of him.  I... have no clue what just happened.  "You can put them down, Max, you're not supposed to be flying out of uniform, remember?" Dad calls when he's certain he has my attention.

"I--I--I'm sorry," I say, realizing that I could have done some serious damage.  There's a woman in one of the cars, she looks about seventy--I could have gotten her killed.  I could have gotten--

"Don't panic, kiddo, just breathe," Dad says in a patient tone.  "Breathe."

I'm trying to.  My heart is pounding a mile a minute as I focus on just what could have happened because of me--because of my stupid powers.  Blowing up the television is one thing, but risking peoples' lives?  "I can't--I don't think I can hand--handle this," I say, starting to shake.  "They could have died--"

"No, it's fine, it's fine," Dad says, dragging me into a hug.  People are starting to honk at us, which is ridiculously stupid, I can't help but think.  "No one got hurt.  Max might have gotten his picture taken, though," he admits before pointing a finger at the cars.  I hear several small popping sounds.  "There we go, no proof," he says.

"This is more important than keeping our identities--"

"No," Dad says.  "It isn't.  Stoplights go out every day, whether you're there or not.  Now let's get going, we still haven't gotten to eat."  I try and pull from his grip, but I can't.  There's a knowing, sharp look in his eyes.  "No running off to pout," he says, dragging me along.  "In this mood you'd probably mess things up more."

I tug again, but seriously, he's stronger than I am.  He's also probably right.  I glance over at my shoulder as Max follows, a thought flashing through my mind.

For everyone's sake it'd be better if I got over this stupid crush.

***

That night, worn out, sweaty, and extremely frustrated, Max steps through the door of the massive building he calls home.  He tugs off his coat and tosses it so hard that it tries to leave a dent in the marble, double enforced walls.  "What the hell?" he demands of the empty room.  "All of a sudden she's just ignoring me?"

He lets out a curse and heads for the stairs that lead up to the second floor.  He almost gets to the top before he realizes that a distinguished, slender man is standing there, looking at him with amusement.  His father, Mastermental, once named Kiyoshi, now goes by the bland name of "Frank" to those that know him well enough to be on a first name basis.  Max is probably the only one alive (other than Frank, himself) that actually knows his real name.  Then again, Frank is the only one other than himself that knows Max's real name, in return.  Basically, Max thinks, his dad is extremely paranoid.  Probably with good reason.

"Rough day?" his dad asks.

"I don't wanna talk about it," Max mutters, storming past Frank and into his room.  Unfortunately for him, his dad decides to follow.

"Problems with Zoe?" Frank asks as his son plops down on the massive couch in front of his huge flat screen television.

"How--quit reading my mind!" Max says, throwing a pillow at Frank.  Frank moves slightly, watching as it flies past and slams into the hallway wall.  "She confuses the heck outta me," Max mutters, clearly pouting.  "One moment I'm positive she likes me, the next I'm working my butt off for free for her and she's not even looking in my direction!"

"Was it the stoplight episode?" Frank asks.

"Wh--what?"

"Technico must be getting rusty--someone's already put it up on youtube.  Thankfully it's from an angle that you can't really see your faces," Frank says.  "But I would suggest you refrain from flying next time."

"I don't care," Max says, sounding like a petulant child.  "She could have been hurt."

"I'm not going to say I'm surprised," Frank says.  "I knew the moment I saw her picture that you'd be interested.  She's beautiful, promises to be powerful, and she's the exact opposite of your mother, isn't she?"

"She was scared of me at first," Max admits.  "Hey, you can read her mind--why don't you go over there and--"

"This is no reason to use mind powers, Max," Frank says, his lips twitching as he crosses over to the couch and sits down on the opposite end of the couch. He holds out a hand, watching as the fridge in the corner opens and a coke comes floating over, falling into the open hand.  He opens it and takes a drink.  "Tell me, how serious are you about her?"

A flush of red crosses Max's face and he stands abruptly, crossing over to the fridge that Frank has just raided.  He opens the door, staring into it for a long moment before grabbing a coke for himself.  "What's it matter?" he asks.

"When a girl who's just learning her powers gets emotional, things happen," Frank says.  "Actually, when a girl who has powers--regardless of whether she's learning them or not--gets cheated on, she can easily do very bad things to her boyfriend."

"Well that won't be a problem," Max mutters as he drops down in his chair again.  "I can't even get a first date."

"Take this seriously for a moment, would you?  I came back from Iraq for this father son moment, you know."

"Who would I cheat on her with?" Max asks.  "What girl in this entire world can top her?  She's gorgeous, she's sweet, she's powerful, she's like..."  He growls, looking frustrated.  "She's like... a dream come true," he mutters, letting his head hit the couch pillow.  "I mean, sure, there's probably other girls around my age that have powers, but... they aren't Zoe."

"She's that good, huh?"

"She frustrates the hell out of me!" Max bursts out, jumping to his feet again and starting to pace.  "She goes hot, she goes cold, she seems like she likes me one moment, only to pull away the next, she gets mad at me and runs halfway across the states, then comes back and talks me into doing things I don't want to do!  She's constantly making me jealous," he says, turning on his dad.  "Why didn't you tell me that America's Son's kid was in the area?  Do you have any clue how short I come up next to a freakin' do-gooder poster boy?"  He shoots his dad a dirty look.  "And no height cracks."