The Distort Arc: Cape High Books 1-4 (Cape High Series Omnibus) (44 page)

Sunny smells something like that scene, I think a bit sleepily.  Like sunshine and spring with a leafy tree growing overhead.  Wait, Adanna, don’t start thinking about that, you’ll fall asleep!

I yawn.  This body is so quick to get sleepy, you know?  Especially when I haven’t slept nearly enough.  But this isn’t a romantic scene--you know that, right?  Don’t go picturing this as a romantic scene like Mama and Papa’s, where--

Where I curl up on Sunny’s chest, like so, and cover my face with my tail as such and--

Sleep.

My phone is ringing.  It's kind of confusing, really, so I don't think about it too often, but technically my phone is still in my pocket even though I'm in cat form.  Yeah, weird, I know, but it's woken me up and I stare blankly at Sunny for a moment before hopping off of his chest and shifting into human form.

"Hello?" I say, answering my phone.

"Kitty!  You haven't called and it's already well past three there," Mama says.  "Are you okay?  Nothing's happened, has it?"

Everything from last night and this morning comes rushing back to me.  I head for the chair and drop down on it, taking a deep breath.  "Mama?" I say.  "I'm really glad you left me with Nico," I say slowly.

"What's happening?" Papa demands.  "Did they come after you?"

"Not the people that are taking powers, Papa, but someone else--have you gotten the cat?" I ask.

"We're in the middle of negotiations, but we're going to stop and come home--"

"No!" I say.  "I'm safe, I swear I am.  I mean, I miss you and I love you, but I'm really, really well protected right now, I promise.  I mean I've got the Liberty family downstairs--and I know they're heroes, but I don't think they care about that with me, and Firefly and Taurus are here and Nico and--and Papa, Mama, they found Sunny's Mama, she's here too, and--"

"I see," Papa says, letting out a sigh.  "But I'd rather be there--"

"How is the cat?" I ask.

"Oh... well, you know how it can get," he says slowly.  "They don't know how to deal with it, so they tend to cage them up in too small of an area--it's not good, but who's coming after you?"

"We caught him," I say.  "He's at the Hall, locked up.  Papa, it's already over, really.  But they're still being paranoid here."

"Are you getting along better with your classmates?" Mama asks.

Am I?  "Yes, Mama," I say.

"How about that Sunny boy?" she asks.  "Are you feeling better about him?"

I look at him, realizing that he's awake now and watching me.  "I guess," I say reluctantly.  "He's still lazy, though," I add, sticking my tongue out at him.  He moves his arms, wordlessly protesting in an outrageously dramatic fashion.

"Well be patient with him, he's just a boy," Mama says.

"She doesn't need to be patient with him!" Papa protests.  "I think she should just ignore him.  She's too young to be patient with boys!"

"Chinaza," Mama says firmly, "she's fourteen years old, she's not too young!"

"What does my age have to do with being patient?" I ask blankly.  Now Sunny's moving closer, looking a bit too interested for his own good.  He sits down in front of my chair, right next to my legs, blatantly eavesdropping, so I poke him in the back of the head.

"Oh, you'll figure it out," Mama says.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I complain.  "He's just an annoyance."  Now he's turning and pouting up at me with huge green eyes.  It's really hard not to laugh at that face, so I shove him away with a foot.  It's like pushing against a tree. 

"Keep thinking that," Papa says.  "Even if he is Nico's son, he is nothing more than an annoyance, my love."

"Chinaza!" Mama protests, laughing.  "Kitty, don't listen to your father, he's being a brat.  You go and be patient with Sunny, he'll grow up soon enough."

"I would hope so," I say, making a face at him.  "He's really short right now."

He clasps his hands over his heart and falls over, pretending to be wounded.  "Extremely short," I repeat, making him jerk dramatically before pretending to be dead.

"But honey," Papa says, "are you sure you don't want us coming home now?"

"I'm positive," I say.  "I want that cat saved as much as you do, Papa.  And like I said, I'm safe here.  Nico is rather fanatic about the security system," I say.

"True, he's always been a bit overly paranoid," Papa says reluctantly.  "But the moment things get too tough, I want you to call me."

"I will, Papa."

"And Sunny," Papa says, making Sunny sit up abruptly, "don't think that I am not keeping an eye on you."

"Yes sir," Sunny says, looking around as if expecting a camera hidden somewhere.  "I'll behave myself!"

"You had better.  I'm not called a top class super villain for nothing, you know."

"Sir, yes sir!" Sunny says, saluting.

"Goodbye Papa, Mama--tell Cubby hi, okay?" I say, rolling my eyes.

"We love you, kitty," Mama says.

"I love you, too," I say before hanging up.  I shove Sunny with my foot.  "He's not really watching you, doofus," I say.

"Hey, when you've got a dad like mine, you start wondering!" he says, leaning against the chair again and then leaning his head against my knee.  "I'm still tired."

"But I'm not your pillow," I complain.  "You are way too pushy, you know.  I can't believe you pulled that couch thing on me!"

"Hey, it worked, right?  Nobody showed up and kidnapped you!" he says.

"Because we're on the top floor of a building surrounded by killer lasers," I say.

"And I was there!" he says.

I stare at him.  When that doesn't work I poke him again.  Then again.  "You're such a pain," I complain when he just grins up at me.

"I like you," he says.

"Yeah, yeah, you like everyone, though."

"Not like I like you," he says, looking serious.

I stare back at him for a long moment, feeling completely thrown off.  He's going to start laughing soon, right?  It's a joke, right?  He can't like me!  Like--like me!  I know Emily said that, but-- "You're just confused," I tell him finally.  "Maybe you got hit in the head during that fight and just didn't notice."

"I'm not confused," he says.  "I really like you.  I think you're a lot of fun to hang out with, both in your human form and your cub form, and you're dishonest, sure, but only in a way--like you like to lecture us on how bad you are and how heroes and villains are supposed to be, but I think you're loosening up, you know?"

What do I say?  Why is it hard to think right now??  My hands are clammy and I feel like I'm going to start hyperventilating any moment now--what do I say to this?  "I--" I start out slowly.  What comes after that word?  Think, Adanna!  "I... don't..."

"Stop!" he says, holding up a hand in front of my face.  "Stop right now, because I already know what you're going to say."

He does?  Why don't I?

"You're going to tell me that you don't like me, that I'm too lazy, that I'm too short, that you think I'm crazy right now because I'm going to be a hero and you're going to be a villain and it would never work out--" he says, reading thoughts that should be going through my mind but really aren't.  "But I think you're wrong," he finishes.

"What?"

"You're wrong.  One, I'm growing, not lazy.  I think Trent's right and I'm solar powered, it makes sense in a weird way.  Two, I'm going to get taller!  I mean, look at my dad and mom, there's no way they'll have a midget for a kid, right?  In a year, maybe two, I'm going to be taller than you, no problem," he says.  "So... I probably should have waited until then to do this, huh?"

He just turned himself down for me, possibly?  I don't know!  I'm still completely thrown off right now, don't expect actual logical thought out of me right now!

"And three!" he goes on, "I might be technically a hero in what I'm going to do, but it's not like people will even know my name.  I'm not going to be the type of hero that's wearing a cape or even seen most of the time, you know?  I figure I'll go in wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, do what needs done, and walk out again without anyone even noticing until later.  It's not like you'd be dating Kid Liberty or whatever, see?  So you can't say no because of those things.  You need to come up with something else."

"I--" I say again, because he's looking at me so expectantly.  "I'm... not... really... sure what to say," I admit, not looking at him.  "Can I think about it?"  Because he just wiped out the only arguments I could possibly have come up with at this moment, and coming up with new ones means being able to think logically, which, as we're all aware of by now, isn't going to happen!

"I don't know if I should let you," he admits.  "I mean, knowing you, you'll just come up with some ridiculous reason that I can't argue against and then I'll be stuck.  But at least you're not jumping out the window like Zoe did with Max, so maybe it's not quite as bad as it could be."

"Zoe jumped out a window?" I ask.

"Yeah," Sunny says.  "She was really dramatic before they started dating."

"As long as I don't jump out any windows, can I think about it?" I ask.  "Otherwise I'm absolutely going to say no, just because that's even pushier than forcing me into that nap," I point out.

"Alright, I'll let you think about it," he says with a reluctant sigh.

Nico's bedroom door opens and he steps into the room.  "Well, then, are you two the only ones up?"

"Yeah," Sunny says.

Nico heads for Zoe's door, knocking on it twice.  "Wake up," he says.  "It's past time we eat."  He heads to the kitchen when we hear people moving around in the room, digging through the fridge.  "We've got... ketchup.  And something green," he says, looking at us.  "I'm going to go get some pizzas."

"I'll go with--" I start out.

"No you won't," he says.  "You're staying right here."

"But he's locked up, so it's over, right?" I say, heading for him.  "And you'll be there, right?  Please?" I glance back at Sunny, who looks innocent as can be.  "I'm not used to being surrounded by walls all the time," I add, not able to say that I need to get away from Sunny so I can think.

I see him hesitate, then glance at Sunny and sigh.  "Fine," he says.  "But you do exactly what I tell you to do, no questions, got it?"

"I got it," I say.

"Let's go," he says, heading for the door.

"But--" Sunny starts out.

"She'll be fine," Nico says.  "Don't worry, I'm with her, right?"  We step out of the apartment before he can protest and I let out a tiny sigh of relief.  Now, don't get me wrong, I know this is sort of like jumping out the window, but being stuck in there with him watching me with big, expectant green eyes seems more than I can handle at the moment.  I need to think, okay?

We stop on the next floor, where Nico takes orders and cash for pizza to bring in, then head out of the building, taking the lighted steps and out of the security system.  It's only then that Nico speaks, draping an arm over my shoulders.  "So," he says, "he's getting to you, huh?"

"You heard that?" I ask guiltily.

"Every word.  But I saw it coming," he says, making me glance up at him in surprise.  "Listen, Cub, there's only a handful of super kids in the world, half of them are males, one of them is his sister, and one other is dating his best friend.  But," he goes on before I can say something, "that's got nothing to do with this."

"What?"

"Not a thing," Nico says.  "What this is all about is he's a fifteen year old boy with an extremely cute girl that he sees on a daily basis and has a lot of fun with--especially in her cat form.  So, your best hope, if you don't want him chasing you around, is that some other cute super girl shows up and distracts him.  Unless you really hate him, that is.  To the point where you beat some sense into him."

“I--“ I say, stunned that he’s actually even suggesting that I beat up his only son.  “You really are a super villain,” I say after a second.

He laughs.  “Oh, Sunny’s a lot tougher than he looks.  You might throw him for a loop, but it won’t be because of pain.  He’ll feel betrayed, sure, but you’re a super villain in the making.  You’ve already warned them all several times that it might happen, right?”

“But--“ I say, looking down.

“Think about it before you make any decisions,” he says.  “Don’t forget, you are Cub.”

“No I’m not--“ I protest, looking up at him.  He’s looking around, watching the shadows.

“You are Cub,” Nico repeats.  “If they really have a problem with it when your brother’s older, just beat your brother.  You can do it easily enough.  If you truly want your family’s name and title, take it,” he says, turning to look me in the eyes.  “Show them just how much you deserve it.”

“But I'm female,” I say.

“Who cares?” he asks, going back to his shadow searching.  “You worked hard for that title.  You were acceptable as an heir before your brother was born, right?  Well if you exceed as much as I know you will, you’ll be acceptable even after it.  But none of this bowing down, none of this letting people take what you want or force what they want on you.  You're a super villain, you do what you want.”

I’m so shocked that I barely even notice him pushing me behind him and stepping forward, his hands coming up in a strangely dangerous motion.  “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” he says.  “If you’re after my little kitty, the least you can do is show your face.”

Arms wrap around me tightly and I'm dragged down through the concrete below, only able to make a small squeak of surprise before I find myself in the sewers.  It stinks, I think as I twist, shoving my elbow into the gut of my attacker.  It goes through thin air.