The Distort Arc: Cape High Books 1-4 (Cape High Series Omnibus) (37 page)

"We're supers, my love.  Even if the plane wrecks, we'll be perfectly fine."

I laugh, hugging tighter for a second before letting go to crouch down in front of Cubby.  "You be good for Mama, okay?" I say as he shoves the flower in my face.  I laugh, leaning forward and kissing him on the cheek.  "Bye bye, Cubby."

"Bye bye, Danna," he says, leaning forward and kissing me on the lips.

"Mama, he did it again," I complain as he runs for the car, laughing.

"I know, I know," she says.  "But he's just a baby, you can't blame him.  He loves his pretty big sister.  Now goodbye, kitty.  You be good!"

I roll my eyes and wave as she gets in the car and the driver takes off, then get in line for the security check leading into the school.  "I didn't mean your brother's going to be ugly," Sunny says guiltily from behind me.

"Of course he won't be," I say.  "Both of my parents are very good looking."

"Yeah, and you're--" he stops abruptly and I glance back at him, questioningly.  "Um... really pretty," he says, not looking at me.

I feel a blush coming on as I turn and touch the panel to enter the school rather than responding to that.  He's probably just thinking that because he saw my mother, you know.  Sometimes people get ridiculous around me after seeing Mama, although I have no clue why.  I'm just me.  I'm not nearly as beautiful as Mama is, not with my simplistic braids and boyish body.  I've got good muscle structure, not curves.

"Go on, self study time," Nico announces as we go down the steps built into the canyon wall.  "Cub, I've set your playground up behind the science building, since you like it so much--"

"I want to see it!" Sunny says, yawning again.  "I can stay awake that long."

I don't want him seeing it.  I'm pretty sure it's going to be another one of those cat towers like we have in the sanctuary.  But he did just help me out a lot, so it would be really rude to go "no, you can't come and look at something your father made for me," right?  So silently I trudge along behind Nico as the entire group heads to my little area behind the science building.

It looks like a tree house village, I think, staring in shock at the three small huts built at several different levels on poles.  They're big enough for humans, with wide porches all around and connected by ramps and ladders and even rope bridges.  There's even a few hammocks hanging from the porches of the huts, swinging lazily and large enough for me to use in human form, much less my cat form.  And there are toys everywhere.  They hang from the buildings and scatter the ground below.

"Taurus helped," Nico says.  "Since none of this is mechanical it's not something I can put together as easily as I usually do."

"Oh, wow," Zoe says.  "This looks amazing!"

"I call the hammock!" Sunny says, only to get grabbed by Nico.

"You sleep in the sun on the dirt," Nico tells him.  "Leaving you in the shade and out of reach of the dirt is pointless for your growth.  Now go take your nap."

"Yeah, yeah," Sunny says, looking mournfully at one of the hammocks before walking away.

"The rest of you," Nico says.  "Git."

They head off, leaving him, me, and Taurus, who's lounging in the shade of the tree.  Somehow the tree Sunny pulled out of the ground has gotten bigger since yesterday.  It's large enough to cast a decent shade over the playground.  I look at them both, then down.  "Thank you," I say.  "But I don't know how much use I'll be able to get out of it--"

"You'll get plenty," Nico says, patting me on the head.  "Maybe not at first, but when you get older.  And once you're too old for it, your little brother won't be."

"You're right.  Cubby will love it," I say, grinning.  Impulsively I hug Nico.  "Thank you," I say before pulling back and heading for the first hut.  I climb up the ramp and slide down into the hammock, getting my balance before I shift into my panther form.

"I do believe she just said the hammocks are all hers," Taurus says with a laugh.  I can't help the smug feeling I have as the wind gently rocks my hammock.  It's so big that I feel no fear of falling out, so I roll over onto my back, knowing I'm hidden by the tarp material, and promptly take my own nap.

What?  Just because I disapprove of Sunny sleeping all the time doesn't mean it sounds like a bad idea!  And technically I'm practicing!

Someone's scratching my chin.  I feel my back leg twitch as I wake up slowly, looking up at whoever's petting me.  Sunny looks back down, grinning slightly as he pulls his hand away.  "We came to visit," he announces.

"This place is awesome," Emily says, walking across the rope bridge that leads to the hut I'm at.  I sniff.  Not Emily, Ditto.  I wonder if she realizes I can tell the difference between them.  Then Emily peeks out of the hut.  "They have more cat toys in here, Adanna!  And what looks like a tunnel!"

I roll over, a bit irritated at being caught off guard so easily, and scramble up the hammock and onto the porch.  A flash of light catches my eye as it flicks back and forth in front of me.  A part of me wants to yell at her for trying to treat me like a--a--

I pounce, trying to catch the light.  I hear Emily laugh as the light slips away again, but I find myself following the light, my tail twitching behind me as I stalk it.  I've never realized how fun this game was when you're in cat form.  I pounce as it goes still for a second, only to roll head over tail when I overestimate the distance.  A hand reaches out, stopping me from going over the edge.

"Whoops," Sunny says.  "That would have been bad."  I sit up, get to my feet, and stick my nose in the air, strutting past him with my tail raised high.  I clearly meant to do that!  Not.  I am so embarrassed, even more so as he starts laughing.  I head for the ramp, wondering why it's suddenly easier to move.

"That nap really helped, didn't it?" Taurus asks, appearing next to the ramp I'm walking down.  "You didn't shift back once."  I'm still having a bit of trouble with uneven surfaces, I think, trying to keep my balance as I start down.  There's another hut in front of me, and I hop onto the porch as soon as I'm sure I can make it, grateful that it's an even surface.  Ditto appears in front of me, poofing into existence and making me sneeze at the sudden smell change.  I look at Taurus.

"I can make them leave if you want," he offers.  "But they offered to help you learn to play.  Do you want to take them up on it?"

Light flashes in front of me, dancing over the wooden planks and I look at Ditto and her mirror--then go cross-eyed as the light climbs up my nose and stops between my eyes.  She lets out a laugh.  "It'll be fun, Adanna!" she says.  "And it'll help you--and if I can watch you, maybe I'll be able to change into an animal someday," she says seriously.  "It'd be really useful, right?"

So it was a mutually beneficial thing?  I hesitate, glancing over at Taurus, who's just standing there leaning on the ramp and waiting for my reaction.  Then I look at Ditto and nod.  Then I look at Sunny--who has fallen asleep in my hammock with one leg hanging over the side.  MY hammock.  I head up the ramp back to the porch and jump down on him from above with a nice, loud, "ROWR!"

Somehow it doesn't seem as impressive as I planned it, I think as he wakes up and starts laughing.  It will be impressive!  It will!  In... probably two years or so, okay?  Right now he's rocking the hammock he's laughing so hard and I'm digging my claws into his shirt to keep from losing my balance.  I climb up his chest, digging and releasing my claws on his shirt until I get to his face.  Then I swat his chin.  "Rowr!" I say in my best scolding tone.

"She got me," Sunny says dramatically, his head falling back, his arms going down at his sides.  He closes his eyes and turns his head, sticking his tongue out the side of his mouth and playing dead.

"You killed Sunny!" Emily says, peeking down from the porch.  "Adanna wins!  WHOOT!"

I poke Sunny with my paw a few times, seeing if he'll respond, then clamber over his face and sit on his head.

"You kill me, then sit on my head?" Sunny asks, snickering.

Why do I find it easier to play like this than I expected?  Especially with Sunny?  I'm not that surprised at the fact I'm playing with Emily, but I don't like Sunny!  He's lazy!  I bat him in the face with my tail, absentmindedly, then climb up the hammock and onto the porch again.  I'm tired, I realize.  The muscles in this form are delicate and undeveloped, so I plop down on the porch and let out a sigh.

"Poor Adanna," Emily says, crouching down in front of me.  "Beating Sunny up is hard work, huh?"  She scoops me up in her arms, cradling me against her chest.  "I thought you were trained in all sorts of fighting, though."

"Her human form is," Taurus says.  "Her cub form is extremely new--and just like a real cub, gets tired quickly.  This is the most she's moved around as a cub, too, so it's no wonder she's sleepy.  That's what the hammocks are for."

"They're really comfortable," Sunny says.

"They're also Adanna's," Taurus says.  "I don't blame her for yelling at you."

Emily is sliding down into one of the other two hammocks, still holding me, and I look at her seriously for a long moment as she sits me down next to her.  "There, I'll keep Sunny from bugging you," she says, scratching me behind the ear.  "I didn't think you were really mean, you know," she says, making me lift my head and look at her.  "I've been bullied before," she explains.  "But you're always lecturing me about being careful about super villains.  You've never even looked like you wanted to hit me."

Someone had hit her?  Someone had dared hit this adorable girl that keeps trying to make friends with me?  I will slaughter them, I think, my lips curling back to reveal fangs.  "Hey, why are you so mad?" she asks me, pulling her hand back.  "Did I say something wrong?"  I reach up, patting her on the leg twice, then start to climb out of the hammock.  "Where are you going?" she asks.

I shift back to human form, looking at her.  "I am going to take care of your bullies," I say.  "It's okay, I know how to clean up afterwards."

She stares at me in shock for a moment, her mouth hanging open, then she grabs the back of my shirt, hauling me back into the hammock.  "No!  Absolutely no!" she says, wrapping her arms around me to keep me from leaving.  "They've already been taken care of.  No excess 'taking care of' people!"

"Your boyfriend has taken care of them?" I ask.

"Well, he flicked one of them and sent them flying--they were supers.  But what happened is a lot worse," she admits, looking down.  "There's a bad lady in the area--we don't know who she is, but she's a super.  She took their powers away somehow."

"I see," I say.  "I didn't realize that was possible."  It's worrisome, too.  "Emily?" I say after a second.

"Yeah?"

"I don't think this hammock was built for two."

"It's okay, you fit fine in your panther form!" she says, still hugging me.

"I take it that's a hint," I say with dry amusement.  She grins at me shamelessly and I sigh before shifting into my panther form.

"Heeey, I'm feeling abandoned here," Sunny calls out.  "And if I fall asleep my Dad will yell at me for not sleeping in the proper place!"

I look at Emily, then climb out of the hammock and trot up the ramp back to the porch that Sunny's hammock is hanging off of.  "ROWR!"

And I pounce him again, because he deserves it.

***

"She made several great breakthroughs today," Taurus says to Nico as we finish up our obstacle course class at the end of the day.  "The cat tower is a big success--although I think part of it was the chance to launch attacks on Sunny whenever she wanted to without getting in trouble," he admits.

"I noticed," Nico says.

"He might need to be warned about egging it on when she gets older, though," Taurus says.  "Those teeth of hers won't be for show by then."

"He likes the attention.  Otherwise he'd never wake up that early," Nico says, not even bothering to pretend to whisper.  I flush as I stretch, wondering what will happen next.  I'm supposed to go back with them, right?  I won't be going home to my own house, to see Mama, Papa, Cubby, or even the cats... I feel really lonely right now, honestly.  I've never slept anywhere but at home or on vacation with my parents.  But now it's just me and people I've only known for a little bit of time--

"I'm so jealous," Zoe says, making me jerk as I realize she's standing next to me.  "I mean, I really like my morning training, I get to actually be in the games I play, but it sounds like yours was a lot of fun."

"It was okay," I say.

"Sunny got to go, right?"

"He managed to actually wake up for once," I say.

"Will you show me your panther form sometime?" she asks.

I jerk, a bit surprised that she hasn't seen it.  "Um... it's sort of...embarrassing, but I guess?" I say.  I'm going to be sleeping in her room for a week, I should at least try and be--

Oh man.  I forgot entirely.  I race for my bags, searching through them for the bag of cookies I baked.  "Don't let Max leave?" I say to Zoe.

"Why?" she asks.

"I just need everyone to--I was going to--" I blush, feeling shy.  "I baked cookies," I admit.  "I forgot about them until now, but I wanted to thank everyone--"

"Oh, bring them with you!" she says.  "Max always sticks around at our place until dinner time--and half the time his dad is working, so he sticks around for that, too."  She reaches down, grabbing one of my bags for me.  "Come on, let's go home.  We put together a cot for you--it's more comfortable than it sounds, I laid on it last night to make sure."

"Thank you," I say.

"You're welcome," she says.  "You like meat, right?  Because we got chicken for tonight, but I don't want to--"

"Zoe," I say.  "I'm a panther shape shifter."

"Well, yeah, but it's never a bad idea to make sure, right?"

"Then yes, I like meat.  Do you need help cooking?  Or whoever does the cooking--"

"We take turns," she explains.  "But I'm cooking tonight so you can help, if you want!"

"I would like to--I usually help Mama do the cooking at home," I admit, a wave of homesickness hitting me again.  It's too early to be homesick, I tell myself.  I have to wait at least until tonight!  I stand, grabbing my bags and following her up the steps to the exit.

For now, my week with strangers has just begun.

***

Rita doesn't know how to speak English.  She doesn't have her greencard, either, but she does have several children at home and no one else to support them, so Rita does the work in front of her, knowing that it is evil, knowing that all her prayers the night before cannot atone for helping this woman, but prayers do not pay the bills, as her life has told her several times over.

She isn't the only one that has been hired for this work.  There are several just like her, speaking the wrong language in the middle of the country of English speakers, hiding from the law, working hard to earn half the pay of the citizens, and taking whatever jobs they can get.  She cleans up after atrocities, creatures neither human nor animals.  She tends their wounds when she can get close enough, and she takes care of the beautiful lady.

The lady is the one reason she feels she can come back each day.  She lies peacefully on her bed, in her sterile, comfortable room.  It's the moment Rita gets to clean after her that she feels she's doing something good--something proper, like a proper nurse.

But there's something wrong, Rita realizes as she enters the glassed in room.  The beeping is off on the machines--in fact they're not making any noise at all.  The lady is still there, though, sleeping peacefully, but--

Rita moves forward, looking closely at the machines beside the lady's bed.  There's a vine, she realizes as she crouches down, it's sticking out of the machines, woven in and out.

"
Silencio
," the lady whispers, turning and looking at her with eyes so green they outshine gemstones.  "
Por favor.
"

"
Sí
," Rita says, her heart pounding in her chest.  The lady has awoken.

***

He's watching me.  No, it's not who you expect, and I'm sure there's several people that come to mind right now--it's Trent.  Trent is just sitting there in the front room of Nico's apartment, watching me closely as Emily and Ditto sit on either side of him, talking a mile a minute with everyone else.  They tend to say the exact same things at the exact same time, so I'm not quite sure why both of them are here, other than the fact that sometimes they start arguing about strange things.

Either way, Emily and Ditto aren't the problem.  Trent is.  I move further into the kitchen to help with the salad as Zoe checks on the chicken.  Of all the students in my class, Trent's the one that makes me feel most worried.  He's got the same super pedigree as mine, but on the opposite side.  He's a bred super hero, not just born--we're talking America's Son and--

"You okay?" Zoe whispers as she comes over.

"I'm fine," I lie.  "Does Trent come over often?" I add silently.

"All the time," she whispers back.  "He lives downstairs.  And he's Sunny's best friend."

"I see," I say, going back to tossing the salad.  This week just got worse in my mind.

"I know he's a hero and you're a super villain--but he's really not that bad of a guy," she whispers with a hint of worry.  "I mean, you don't need to worry about him attacking you or anything, you're safe here."