Guitar Hero (Cape High Series Book 12) (3 page)

“That...”

“That’s awesome,” Lonny says. “Wait, what do you do?” he asks Malina.

“I play with water,” she says, shyly.

“Like water guns or something?”

“Sort of,” she says. We turn to stare at her, because that’s the lamest comparison I’ve ever heard.

“You--” I start out, only to see her shake her head slightly. “Okay, fine, but you’re still going to be doing the show, right?” I ask her.

“It’s part of the mission, right?” she says, looking down. “Nico says he’s not treating me special, so I need to do my part properly.”

“Nico’s never going to give you special treatment,” Emily says, earning sharp looks from the band.

“Why wouldn’t he? That seems pretty rude,” Brian says.

“You don’t get it,” Emily says, “EVERYONE will want Malina--Century said to put in a good word for him, and he said Negatia would love to have you, and I bet the other branch leaders would kill to have you, too,” she says to Malina. “In fact, it’s only our branch that’s probably not going to get into the fight--”

“That’s because for now we already have you,” Falconess says with a little smile. “But more importantly, those with coastlines will need you a lot more than we do.”

“Century wants me?” Malina asks.

“He said you could work in children’s welfare as well, if you want--we’re allowed to have side jobs,” Emily says. “If anything, he’d bend over backwards to make sure you’re happy--but it also means dealing with Skye on a semi-regular basis, as well as all the other South Branch villains.”

Malina has that same hunted look on her face she had when I was trying to convince her to go on the road with me. “Hey,” I say, catching her attention, “you haven’t graduated yet--until we’re out of Cape High, we’re not up for grabs.”

“Oh, you’re not up for grabs,” Emily tells me. “You’re going back to the West Branch unless you form a contract with one of the others, that’s what Century says.”

“How do you know Century that well?” Cole asks her.

“He’s, um, like an uncle?” She shrugs. “But anyway, Malina, Nico’s going to expect you to keep up with the rest of us--if not surpass us. This isn’t your debut, but it IS your first showing for the other Hall Leaders. They’re going to be watching all of us really closely, especially you and Freddy. He told me to make sure you both get plenty of exposure on HTV, because we’re going to get you both your pick of Halls and positions.”

“What about you?” Brian asks her. “Don’t you need to look good for the camera?”

“Sure, but I’m a Liberty Girl,” Emily says with a shrug. “I’m lined up to sort of take Star Spangled’s place when she’s retired.”

They stare at her, their jaws dropping.

“It’s true,” Falconess says. “Which is why I’m really hoping your boyfriend can talk Keliah over to our side--otherwise I won’t have a replacement and I won’t be able to retire to Mom’s little island in the keys.”

“He might,” Emily says with a shrug. “I can’t promise anything, though.”

The bus pulls to a stop and the door swings open, making us all look up as a slender Asian man walks in, carrying a briefcase. “I was sent to be your agent,” he announces, heading straight for me and offering his hand. “Nathan Pao.”

“Nice to meet you,” I say, shaking hands.

He heads to Falconess next, smiling slightly. “I’m a huge fan,” he says, obviously recognizing her.

“Thank you,” she says. “Please, make yourself comfortable, this is going to be a bit of a drive.”

He nods, introducing himself all around before finding a spot in the back to look through his paperwork.

***

Malina says nothing as the tour bus starts rolling. She’s got a lot on her mind, worry about her part of this job at the forefront of her mind. What if she looks stupid? What if nobody likes the water dance? What if she accidentally drowns someone? She’s not sure HOW that could happen, but it’s definitely a possibility! Whenever there’s water, there’s that possibility, right?

Idly she moves another checker piece across the board before glancing out the window. For a moment nothing registers. It’s beautiful, in a flat, boring sort of manner. Fields spread out as far as the eye can see, even hers. She sees windmill turbines slowly spinning in a group, and she smiles slightly. They’re sort of pretty, she decides—

A shadow crosses over the street next to her, drawing her attention back. For a moment she feels a chill run down her spine. It’s back. The cloud that’s been lurking over the dorms, it’s following her. A part of her swears she’s going crazy and that it’s obviously a different cloud, but another part has her shoving the window open and sticking her head out. She has to stand on the chair to do it, but she does.

“Malina?” Justin asks. “What in the heck are you doing?”

“Nothing,” she lies, twisting her body and looking straight up. A cloud hangs overhead, but it’s too far away for her to be certain. For a long moment she stares at it, giving it her most evil eye, as if daring it to do something funny.

The cloud just floats there, just like the rest of them, and she gets pulled back into the bus. She gives Justin a dirty look, but he doesn’t seem to notice. He looks confused. “You weren’t trying to jump, were you? Because last I checked, you couldn’t fly.”

“It—there’s—” she starts out, only to stop herself. “Nothing,” she says again, plopping down on her chair and staring at the checker board instead. It had started out with the first pool party. The cloud had hovered over their heads—the only cloud on a perfectly clear day. She’d wondered about it, but dismissed it quickly. A cloud is just a build up of dirt and water in the atmosphere, or something like that. It’s not a stalker.

How can a cloud be a stalker? She doesn’t know, but she’s almost positive that she’s seen the same cloud a few other times. She looks around, her eyes falling on Falconess. “Give me a second,” she says to Justin before hopping off her chair and walking over to the hero. “Falconess, can I ask you something?”

“Hmm?”

“Are there any supers that can turn into clouds?”

“I… don’t know of any, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t,” Falconess says. “Is there a problem?”

“I don’t… I think I’m just paranoid,” Malina admits, looking at the window. The shadow outside is gone. “Yeah, just paranoid.” She heads back to her chair, peering out the window for a long moment. “It’s just a cloud,” she tells herself quietly. “Just a cloud.” She can feel Justin staring at her and she blushes, feeling like an idiot.

She turns back to the board game.

*The Arctic Circle*

According to his schedule, Nico thinks as he checks his mental clock, Emily should be delivering Skye to the Arctic as part of her teleportation training. Just as expected, there's a poof and Nico looks up just in time to see Ditto and two other females appear in the middle of his Arctic Circle apartment. Ditto waves cheerfully at him for a second before disappearing again. He turns his attention to the two females standing in front of him, trying to ignore the sound of his phone ringing in the background. Aubrey or Alyssa will get it—he'd moved them to their own special room so he has more room to work in this one.

“Who's she?” he finally asks when no explanations are offered. He'd expected Skye, but this long haired girl wearing tattered clothing? He's never seen her before, that he can remember.

“This is Doris, she's my roommate! Century says you have to train her how to be a proper super villain!” Skye says, almost bouncing where she stands. “Doris, this is my big brother Nicolas--”

“Nico.”

“He’s Technico. He’s ANCIENT, too--he was stuck in the Cape Cells before I hit puberty--”

“Which is TMI.”

“But he’s also my big brother because Emily’s my niece, so that makes Liz my sister and Nico my brother, so we can trust him NOT to toss you in the Cape Cells. We can, right?” Skye demands, getting right in Nico’s face with a scowl.

“What are we doing in the middle of snow and ice?” Doris finally asks, looking around blankly. "Did you just teleport us all the way from our base?" she demands of Skye.

“Wasn't me! Emily did that,” Skye says cheerfully. “Well, actually that was her doppelganger, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, that was Ditto,” Nico says. “Have you told her who ELSE is up here?” he asks Skye.

“Oh, right! Aubrey’s here! Aubrey!” Skye bellows, racing away. He starts to stop her, but just as quickly gives up.

“Who are you?” he asks instead, looking at the long haired female for a long moment. “Why are you with Skye?”

“She’s not your sister!” Doris says sharply. “She might say she is, but she smells nothing like you!”

“She adopted herself and Mom agreed. I’m not about to fight with either of them over it,” Nico says with a shrug.

“Playing family is the stupidest thing a super can do! You’re leading her on, and I’m going to stop it right NOW,” Doris snarls, her hands starting to shift into claws. She races forward, swinging at him.

“Do you really think you can beat me?” Nico asks, taking a defensive stance and blocking her hits. Various metal and electrical parts start to float around him. “Do you have any idea who I am?”

“You’re the person who’s going to break her heart!” Doris yells, shifting completely into her Jersey Devil form. She lets out a scream that causes the ice walls to crack. Nico barely manages to plug his fingers in his ears, cursing loudly until she stops. Her fist slams into his face--just as Superior walks into the room with a cup of coffee in his hand.

“That hurt,” Nico complains.

“Nice job, son,” Superior says, making himself comfortable by leaning against the wall. “Why don’t you let her kick you, as well?”

“I can see how worried you are for my safety,” Nico drawls as he lunges forward, wrapping his arms around Doris. She jerks wildly, scratching at his arms and tearing up his coat before turning and screaming again, right in his ear. Nico lets go, staggering back a few steps and shaking his head as his ears start to ring. She hasn’t burst the eardrum, but it did take quite a hit. He notes, blandly, that Superior’s coffee is now floating as his father plugs his ears with his fingers.

“Just knock her out already!” Superior shouts, not that Nico can understand. He’s deaf at the moment. It doesn’t matter. The floating machines finally snap into place. Just as he reaches for the gun, she tackles him. They both crash through the thick ice wall and out into the snow.

“Would you STOP already?” he demands, grabbing her wrists with one hand and holding them above her head. The gun he made drops into his other hand and he holds it to her face. Her mouth opens. He pulls the trigger.

The scream she lets out this time is perfectly human--as is her form as it switches back. She stops screaming, a shocked and terrified expression on her face. “Where did you get that?” she demands.

“I made it.”

“You’re lying--you got it from Herold--you’re a traitor to your own kind!”

"It was built right over your head. You would have seen it if you hadn't been trying to kill me," he points out. “I’m a technopath--I’m the designer of the collars used in Cape Cells, too. I don’t need to get anything from anyone.”

“You realize you’re going to have to fix this wall before your mother finds out,” Superior says, stepping out of the hole in the ice wall and looking at it. He’s got his coffee back.

“Are you done using me for your own entertainment?” Nico asks, not bothering to look over.

“Not quite, but you cut it short, so I guess I have no choice. Have you heard from Emily lately?” Superior asks.

“Emily?” Nico repeats. “Why Emily?”

“Because I’ve checked in on all the grandkids--and she’s the only one that didn’t answer her phone,” Superior says.

“Huh... Well, they are working nights in that group,” Nico says, standing up and picking up the now shivering Doris. “Try again in a few hours.”

“Are you going to kill me?” Doris demands through chattering teeth. “Do it--I dare you!”

“Kill you? I didn’t even hit you,” Nico tells her bluntly as they go back into his room. “You need to explain what you’re thinking, now, or I’ll take you back to the South Hall and let Century deal with you, got it?”

She stares at him. “Tell Skye she is NOT your sister,” she demands.

“Father?” Nico says, instead, looking over at Superior.

“The one that can go through walls?” Superior asks.

“Yeah.”

“If Tatiana wants her, she can keep her,” Superior says with a shrug. “She accepted Liz, I’ll accept her random adoptions.”

“Liz wasn’t an adoption,” Nico has to point out.

It’s about this time that Doris even seems to notice Superior. “Tatiana?” she repeats, her eyes huge. She takes a step back, and then another. “Tatiana is HERE?”

“Tatiana is Skye’s new adopted mother,” Nico says calmly.

***

*Denver Colorado*

“Hello, Denver Colorado!” I say over the mic.  We’re standing in front of an old church building facing the biggest field I’ve ever seen—I'm not sure if Nico bought it or just rented it, actually. Regardless, after he sent in the black suits to clean it up, it makes for a pretty awesome concert backdrop. Sure, Tom would have gotten a sports arena, but I think I like this better. The stained glass windows add a really dramatic effect with the right sort of lighting from inside. “I thought for sure there’d be less people here,” I say with a grin, “what with all these glass windows at risk.”

They laugh, but I see the band members glance behind them with suddenly worried expressions. “Don’t worry, I’ve got a better handle on it now,” I add. “But before we start the concert--” The band Tom had said would open for us called and canceled. I’m not surprised. “I’d like for all of you to step back for a bit while the black suits prepare a little special something for all of you.”

The crowd starts looking around questioningly, and one of the bolder girls dares to yell, “Are you going to kidnap us? That’s what the news said you would do!”

“I’ll go!”

“Me too!”

“No, I’m not going to kidnap you--I don’t have enough room in my tour bus,” I say. Slowly they start moving away from the wooden platform, allowing six black suits to step in. They’re carrying three large barrels of water, which they set in a triangle. Malina walks in after them, wearing her white and gold uniform. She steps into the middle of the triangle, her attention going from one barrel to the next. When that doesn’t seem to be enough for her, she walks over to one, standing on tip-toe to look inside.

“What’s going on?” someone demands. “When does the music start?”

After peeking into the first Malina positively dances over to the next one, a huge grin on her face as she looks in it. After checking the third barrel, she moves to the center again and lifts her hands.

Colored water rises from the barrels, twisting and spinning over her head. Pink, purple, blue, each barrel comes with a different color that’s lit up by the lights surrounding us. They come together in the center and she steps onto the small ball of water as if it was a platform. It lifts her into the sky, where she does a dramatic spin, laughing happily as the water shifts from one form to the next. Her hands come up and she mocks a conductor, making the water splash in time with her movements. The crowd is getting soaked, but they don’t seem to care. They’re cheering their heads off.

“One, two, one two three four,” I say, starting our first song.

“Get those barrels refilled,” I hear someone order from off stage. Black suits come rushing out with more water, keeping Malina happy as I start to sing. I can actually tell when she realizes she’s been playing too long. She jerks and looks over at us with a guilty expression and the water goes back into the barrels. The song finishes up and I glance back at the boys. “Mind if she talks?”

“Nope.”

“Cool,” I say. I can feel their eyes drilling into the back of my head for some reason. “Well, as most of you have probably guessed, I am a super,” I say over the mic. “In fact, I go to a special school just for kids like me--my new friend, here, is one as well. What did you think of her little show?” They start cheering and I crouch down on the end of the stage, motioning for Malina. “Why don’t you talk to the people?” I say.

She blushes but heads for the held out mic, taking it hesitantly. “Hi, everyone,” she says, only to frown and jump onto the stage. “Sorry, I’m new to talking in front of crowds. I would introduce myself, but I haven’t officially debuted, yet. But I CAN tell you I’m a student at Cape High. I’m also a little person--I’m sixteen years old,” she says. I’m a bit surprised, actually, I had her pegged at fourteen or fifteen. “So of all people, I should know what it means to not fit in. Um--even up here I can’t see everyone, so give me a second,” she says, waving a hand at the nearest barrel of water. A stream of dark blue water comes out and she steps onto it, floating above the stage next to me. “Hi,” she says, waving at everyone. “I’m from Cape High. It’s a school for teenagers with super powers. There aren’t many of us out there, you know? But there are some. One of them might even go to your school, or your church, or even be here at this concert, and you will never know.”

“Hear hear!” a familiar voice says from the back of the crowd. “You’re exactly right, raindrop,” Max says as he floats up above the crowd. “One might be here at this very concert.”

The look of shock on Malina’s face has to mirror mine--nobody said Max would show up today! What the heck is going on? “What are you doing here, Maximum?” I ask, not bothering with the mic.

“I heard you had Divine Justice here,” he says, “but I’ve changed my mind. Hello, little raindrop,” he says, flying to the stage and floating right in front of Malina. “I have a business proposition!”

“No thank you,” Malina says politely.

“Hey, now, listen to the full proposal before turning me down--don’t you guys think she should listen?” he asks the crowd. He gets a mixed response. “Listen to--that one, that one and that one,” he tells Malina, pointing to the ones that said yes.

“Okay, fine, what’s your business proposal?” she asks, looking at me as if I can help. I could--but I sort of want to hear what he’s come up with.

“I am thinking of starting a Hall of EVIL, or maybe a Corridor of Chaos! Or maybe even a Boudoir of Burglary!” Max says, “I’m still working on the name, really.”

“No thank you,” Malina says bluntly.

“I haven’t finished!” Max complains. “I’m going to give Dragon the North Hall, Cold Steel the East Hall, and you, little raindrop, can have the West Hall!”

“No thank you. I'm not a big fan of the desert,” she says.

“Okay, I’m open--I’ll give you East and give Cold Steel West.”

“You ARE evil!” she proclaims, sounding shocked.

“Of course I am! Wait, what for?”

“He would give everyone really bad sunburns!” she says. "We get enough complaints in Central!"

The crowd is starting to giggle at this. It’s how earnest Malina sounds when she says that. Even I feel a little grin pulling at my lips.

“So I should give him North?” Max asks thoughtfully.

“That would be even worse,” she says. “The sun reflects off of the snow, and then it would reflect off of him!”

“Okay, fine, I’ll fire Cold Steel and give West to my girlfriend, and East to you!”

“Stop trying to drag my companions to the dark side!” Emily yells, appearing on top of the massive speaker next to the stage. She’s got the perfect “Star Spangled” pose going on. I swear they have classes on dramatic poses when they do their “Girl Power” class once a week.

“No, see the problem is how sunny it’ll be,” Max tells her seriously. “If it were dark, I wouldn’t have to worry about Cold Steel giving people sunburns.”