Sunny Daze (11 page)

She stops as she hears footsteps, a bit shocked.  It had completely slipped her mind that people might actually be down here already!  No, she’d already been planning on where to put her weapons collections!  Not that she actually USES weapons most of the time, but every super villain is supposed to HAVE them!  Giant bombs and weapons of mass destruction--all those goodies!

She’s so busy thinking about her weapons and toys that she’s just standing there, pressed against a wall, as two twin boys stop in front of her.  For a moment she looks at them blankly, wondering where they’d come from.  One of the boys holds out a half-eaten candy bar to her.  “Want some?” he asks.  “We found a TON of them--they’re ancient, but they still taste...”

“Like crap,” his brother supplies.

“Well, yeah,” the first says.  “Are you working for the old man?”

“No,” she says, slowly relaxing.  “I’m secret base hunting,” she tells them. 

The two look at each other, silently communicating.  “So... You’re like, a super villain or something?” one asks.

“Yes.”

“What’s your name?”

“Skystep.”

“What’s your power?”

“I can phase through matter,” she says, just falling into their pace, especially as they started getting enthusiastic.

“That’s so cool--” one said.

“It’s sort of like Shadowman, though--” the other said.

“I am FAR better than that hack!” Skye declared vehemently.  “I don’t need any shadows whatsoever!”

The two look at each other, nodding before they grab her hands.  “Hey, can you take OTHER people with you through stuff?” one asks, ever so innocently.

“Of course!”

“Can you help us and our mom leave?” they asked seriously, speaking in tandem.

“I... guess?” she offered.  “Why you’d want to leave this amazing base, I’ve got no idea--but I’ll only do it if you give the base to me!”

“Deal!”

It’s so wrong to want a bag of popcorn right now.  Really, just the sight of Shadowman and Panther circling each other is straight out of the movies--two super villains going toe to toe--this is like, legendary!  Except it wasn’t scripted, and there’s a very real chance that someone could get hurt.  If it was just Shadowman that would get hurt, I wouldn’t care, but there’s a chance Panther could be.

“I was wondering what teenage super villains were doing here,” Shadowman says in a casual tone, although his fists are up and he looks like he’s expecting an attack at any moment.  “To think there would be an actual big-name super villain here, as well!  What is this, some sort of daycare?”

“It’s a summer camp,” Max says, taking to the air.  “You’re interrupting our training, Shadowman.  I could have sworn I told you we would take you out completely the next time we saw you.”

“Do you really think I remember something so unimportant?” Shadowman asks.  “But I seem to be at a slight disadvantage--or not,” he says, slipping back into the shadows of the trees and disappearing entirely.

“Get to the top of the trees!” Pan bellows.  We shoot up, but I’m the slowest since I can’t fly.  I feel a hand wrap around my ankle as I jump to the nearest tree branch, and am pulled down.  I slam to the ground face first, the air knocked out of me.  “SUNNY!” Pan bellows from above.

I get to my feet as the hand holding my ankle lets go.  I look around, my hands in fists as I try to find him.  He could be anywhere--how am I supposed to find--

There, I think, bringing up one hand by instinct.  The tree Shadowman is about to step out of moves, slapping him hard with all of its branches.  I hear him curse and feel him leave the tree.  My eyes close, since looking isn’t getting me anywhere.  I focus on the trees and ground.

He’s below me.  I jump up and come straight down with a fist, hitting the top of his head as he starts to come up.  I hear him curse as he sinks back into the shadows.

“What IS that kid?” I hear him demand from the top of a tree.  I open my eyes, looking up at him.

“Technico and Lady Rose’s son,” Panther says before launching off his own tree and slamming into Shadowman in full panther hybrid form.  He’s massive in this form--almost as big as Taurus’s Minotaur.

“Not the TREE!” I wail as I hear it start to crack with the weight of the hit.  I’ve already killed enough trees today!  I race over to the trunk, pressing my hand to it and forcing it to bend with the weight rather than break.  I won’t have another tree murder on my conscience, okay?  I glance up as a sharp light blinds me, seeing Jack race past to grab Shadowman from Pan and haul him into the sky.

“Nice, Steel!” Max calls over.  “Hold him there.  We’ve got questions to ask.”

Panther shifts out of his massive form, checking the tree before jumping to the ground.  “Good job, Sunny,” he said.  “Now, Max, Ace, ask him where his boss is.”

“I’m not telling you anything,” I hear Shadowman say.

“Jack, turn so the board and you are reflecting sun,” Pan called up to Jack.  I see Jack nod and shift, making Shadowman curse.  “Don’t think I haven’t heard exactly how to deal with you, Shadow--I know your weaknesses.  Now, before Max shows you just how good his gravity control has gotten, why don’t you tell us where your boss is?”

“Why do super villains want to know?” Shadowman demands.  “This is none of your business!”

“You attacked us, first,” Ace says.  “And regardless of what side we’re on, you’re the one interrupting our training time.”

“Do you KNOW how rare it is to get a chance to be trained by Panther?” Max demands, glaring at the man.  “This was going to be epic!  But you just HAD to butt in on it--you are absolutely on my list,” he snarls.

“Yeah, whatever,” Shadowman says, snorting derisively.  “Fine!  I give!  He doesn’t pay me enough for this gig--but I’ll only tell you if metal-mouth here lets me down first.”

“He’ll let you down when you tell us where Kunnins is,” Max says.  Yeah, it just totally figures he knows all about what’s going on.  I don’t.  I never do--and I’m Nico’s own flesh and blood!  Well, yeah, okay, so Max is Mastermental’s flesh and blood.  I guess that sort of DOES trump me in status and all that--“If you don’t, we’ll let Sunny use you as training again,” Max adds, shocking me back to paying attention.

“He’s the guy that caused the earthquake, you know?” Ace says cheerfully, floating on his little circle of light with his hands in his pockets.  Ace hadn’t even been there when we faced off against Shadowman last time, but he obviously doesn’t like the guy already.

“What IS he?” Shadowman asks, looking down at me again.  I give him my cheesiest grin and wave at him.

“A Superior elementalist,” Pan says.

“Cute, ain’t he?” Max adds cheerfully.  “Let me think--wasn’t it a Superior that took you down last time?  When you were--oh, that’s right, trying to kidnap Sunny’s girlfriend!” he says, as if only just now remembering.

He DID try to kidnap Adanna!  It’s been a while, okay?  She never mentions it and I’ve practically forgotten.  “Let him down!” I call up to them.  “I want to see what happens when he tries to drag ME underground,” I add with a vicious smile.

“Underground?” Shadowman asks blankly.

“He’s a dual elementalist,” Jack says.  “He’s got earth, too.”

“I see... Okay, fine, he’s down there,” Shadowman says, pointing straight down.  “Now I’ve told you, let me go.  Super villains don’t go around capturing other super villains.”

Jack looks at Pan, who nods.  He lets go of Shadowman, who drops down--right in front of me.  I stare him straight in the eye, my hands in fists at my side.  And then I realize--“I’m not a super villain,” I say, slamming my fist into his gut as his eyes widen.  It sends him flying back through the air and crashing into a tree.  He sinks into the shadowed trunk.  I can feel him for a moment before he’s gone entirely.

“He’s gone,” I say.

“He usually jumps ship about this time,” Max says.  “Looks like we’re going to have to save Skystep, huh?”

The same look crosses all of our faces.  “Wouldn’t it be more ‘saving them from her’?” Ace asks after a long second.

If I laugh, well, can you really blame me?

***

“They’re coming,” Shadowman says as he appears in the small hospital set-up, “and I’m leaving,” he adds, grabbing his bag of things.

“Wait!  Take us with you,” Kunnins demands.

“No time--they’ve got too much power as a group, and frankly, you’re not paying me well enough for this,” Shadowman says bluntly.  He walks past them and through the wall, leaving them behind.  Ginger is still holding a guinea pig in one hand and a needle in the other.

Kunnins looks at the needle.  “That’s enough, there’s no more time.”

“What?” Ginger asks.

“Use it on the boy,” Kunnins says.  “We’ve got no choice--that’s his only chance--OUR only chance.”

“I can’t DO THAT!” she says.

“Either you do it or I tell the nurses to take out your brats,” Kunnins says in a cold voice, getting in her face.  “No, I’ll do it myself while they finish you off,” he threatens.

“You wouldn’t,” she whispers.

“Watch me,” he says.

“Fine--I’ll do it,” she says, putting the guinea pig back in the cage and heading for the teenager on the bed.  Guilt rushes through her as she picks up his wrist, sliding the needle into his vein.  “I’m sorry,” she whispers to the boy before slipping the needle out of his flesh and stepping back.  For a long moment the two just stand there, watching the teenager for some sign of reaction.  The beeping of the machine monitoring his heart speeds up for a moment before calming right back down.

“It didn’t work,” Kunnins says.

“I don’t--I mean--” she stutters, shocked.  “I was positive--”

The ceiling starts to crack.  They both look up, watching as a root shoots through the thick concrete.  Ginger hears Kunnins cursing as if from a distance.  The sight has her heart pounding so hard that the blood is rushing in her ears.

They’re going to die.  She hears people screaming, and she’s positive that the ones not in the room with her are running away.  She only wishes she could.

Where are her children?

***

The cracking sound of the ceiling being attacked by roots makes Skystep look up from the two boys showing her around the base.  “Oh no he didn’t!” she snaps.  They both jerk as she lets go of their hands and steps into the air.  It looks as if she’s walking up steps as she heads straight up and through the ceiling.  The two look at each other and race for the exit they’d gone through to go hunting.  There is no WAY they were going to miss whatever it was that was about to happen!

Skystep slips through the earth, heading straight for the little punk holding his hands out and downward.  “STOP THAT!” she bellows, slapping his hands.  “You’re ruining my new base!”

“What?” Sunny asks blankly, glancing over his shoulder at Pan.  “But we’ve only got so much time--”

“This is MY base!” she says, her hands on her hips as she glowers at him.  “I traded for it!”

“What did you trade?” Pan asks.

“I was going to get the two brats and their mother out...” Skye says in a mumble, because she HASN’T done it yet--she was going to!  She just got distracted!

“Then go DO THAT and we’ll go through the door,” Pan says.

“But you ruined my ceiling!” she complains.

“We’ll fix it later,” Max says.

“Remember, either you get the kids and the mom out or you don’t get the base!” Pan calls as Skystep heads down again.

“Can we give her the base?” Ace asks after a second.

“Not at all, but I’m sure we’ll find someone that can,” Pan says.  “Now come on, we can’t be certain that Shadowman actually left,” he calls, racing for the other entrance.  “Max, get Nico on the com--he’s going to want to hear about this.”

***

“They’re right THERE?” Superior demands, already wearing his white uniform.  “You sent my grandson straight to where that psychopath Kunnins is--”

“How was I supposed to know there was a place under a national forest, Father?” Nico demands as they fly over several crowded towns.  “I will, at least, thank you for not telling Mom,” he adds a bit dryly.

“She was busy having a tea party,” Superior waved off.  “As much as I enjoy seeing your mother lose her temper, I’d rather not draw attention to this.”

“You can’t kill him,” Nico says.  He stops mid-flight as Century appears in front of them.  “In fact, what you CAN do is talk to an old friend,” he adds, shoving Superior forward and racing on by.

For a long moment Century stares at Superior blankly, a look of confusion on his face.

“Nice to see you again, Charles,” Superior says a bit lamely.  He inwardly curses his own son.  He should have thought of this trick first!

“I thought you were dead,” Century says.

“Really, Charles, how often does that line get said in our line of business?  It’s practically a cliché.”

***

“It isn’t working,” Kunnins says almost silently, still staring at the boy on the bed.  “Why isn’t it working?” he demands, turning on Ginger.  “WHY ISN’T MY BOY BETTER?”

“I--it should work--but you didn’t give me the chance to--”

“No excuses!” Kunnins snaps, bringing up his cane.  “I’ll MAKE it work!” he snarls as he twists the top of the cane off and pulls it up.  A faintly glowing stick slides out of the wooden sheath.  He moves forward, grabbing Tank’s hand and trying to force the glow stick into the boy’s hand.  Before he can manage, though, the flickering orange light fizzes and disappears from the stick.  A clear, empty tube is all he manages to get into the teen’s unresponsive hand.

He stares at it, his shoulders shuddering.  “It--it’s gone,” he whispers, his head falling forward as he takes a shuddering breath.  “I’ve got more,” he says abruptly, straightening again.  “I’ll send someone to get them. I just--” he turns back to Ginger, only to see a familiar female pulling Ginger and the twins through the ceiling.  He reaches up, his fingers grasping for them and brushing the bottom of one of their shoes.  They’re gone.

He looks at the two on the beds in front of him.  Will, who is still unconscious, a prisoner in his own mind, and Wes... Tank... Whatever the boy was calling himself last, a shell of what he could have been.  And him, a silent voice whispers in a sneering tone, an old man clinging to a boy that’s not even his true flesh and blood.  He slowly lowers himself into the wooden chair between their beds, letting the glow stick slide back into the cane with a soft little thump.

It’s over, he thinks, his entire body shivering slightly as the tension leaves him.  All he’d worked for, all he’d been fighting so hard to get, all gone.  The geneticist he’d captured was incapable of bringing back his boy.  He had spent all of his money on this--and it had failed.  Now the supers he had tried so hard to keep in check will find him and most likely take him out.  He almost looks forward to it, he thinks bitterly.  This life has been a failure.