Super Girls (Cape High Book 13) (18 page)

"Yeah, once the trees started moving I traded places," I hear Ace say over the earbud. I look over at the concrete pinning him to the ground, watching as Hard Knocks heads to it, pulling it off of his fallen body.

The body turns into smoke and blows away.

"This isn't the end of this!" Hard Knocks bellows for the cameras. The sound of Ace laughing echoes from all around.

"Time for us to make a strategic retreat," Freddy says, racing away. I hesitate for a second, wondering if it'll work from the ground, and spread my arms and legs, activating the wing suit.

I call up the strongest wind I can manage, and fly away.

"THAT WAS AMAZING!" Elidee screeches as soon as I walk through the force field. She throws herself into my arms, only to go still. "I mean, you know, for your first time," she adds, pulling back and fixing her hair.

"You're amazing," Jules says, standing a few feet away on the platform and staring at her in awe. "I mean--yeah..."

"Amazing," Mitchell agrees, sighing happily.

"Did you brainwash them again?" I demand.

"I did NOT! I haven't even talked to the little rugrats," she says, shooting them a scowl. "They're doing this all on their own!"

"How's our dad?" Mitchell asks me, snapping out of it slightly. "We saw it all on that wall over there, but did you fix his brainwashing?"

"Yeah, Superior did it," I say, looking around. He had left right after fixing Hard Knocks and I hadn't even realized it until just now. I blink as a pair of arms wrap around my waist and look down at Olivia, who's sneaking a hug.

"It was scary," she says, pressing her face against my shoulder. "Hard Knocks is a lot stronger than you are, right? So why'd you fight him? You should have left it to Dragon!" She looks close to tears, so I wrap an arm around her waist, pulling her closer.

"I was safe, I swear," I tell her. "Heck, half of the time Superior was standing right next to me. And it's not like I actually got into the fist fight part of it!"

"The tree grabbed you, though!"

"Eh, I was just stuck there when the concrete started to be tossed," I say. "I think it was how Hard Knocks planned to keep me from getting hit." We've only known each other for a short amount of time, so it's really nice to feel so loved, I think.

"But you flew, which is awesome," Freddy says as he walks in behind me. I turn, giving him a little grin.

"Yeah? Well so did you," I say. "It's not exactly the biggest show of power, considering norms can do it, right?"

"Not from the ground, they can't," he says. "I jumped as high as I could and I still couldn't get air born, so I'm guessing that's a Blackbird specialty, right there."

Blackbird. It's not nearly as hardcore sounding as Falconess. In fact, it's sort of ordinary sounding. You see blackbirds everywhere. I mean, I guess I could go by Crow, or Raven, but... "Think I should dye my hair?" I ask, thoughtfully.

"Ace could make it look like a bird!" Freddy offers.

"NO!" most of the people around us say.

"I don't plan on any hair sculpting," I tell him. "It might work for you, but I'm just not cut out for it."

Olivia groans. "That was a terrible pun," she complains.

"Yeah, yeah," I say, only to frown. "Mother's still out there. We didn't capture her, we didn't do anything, really, except put on a show--"

"You did do something," I hear someone say from behind me. I turn, watching as Hard Knocks walks into the campus. "You saved me. And you did it without exposing my problem to the super world, much less the norms. If the norms knew that we could be brainwashed and used as weapons, the entire push of the Anti-Supers would gain far more momentum than we could handle," he says as a boy that looks a lot like his son steps out from behind him. He turns to the boy, smiling and holding out his hand. "Thank you."

The boy seems to morph as the illusion drops and Ace takes the offered hand. "Not a problem," he says. "It's what I do."

"I can see that," Hard Knocks says, frowning slightly. "You know, I thought it was a joke, when he started talking about the villains during the tour, but there might be something to it. I really don't think that what just happened would have worked out so well if a hero faced me."

"Your rep would have been a little tarnished, but nothing too bad," Nico says as he heads for us. "We would have wrote it off as a misunderstanding. But it was still easier to use Ace for the job. Now, I know Superior said he fixed your brainwashing, but I'm paranoid, so you, you and you," he says, motioning to the Hard Knocks family. "Come here and watch this video, we'll see if there's anything left. Also, did you tell her our coordinates?" he asks as he leads them away.

"No. I would never tell anyone that hasn't been given them by you--it goes against my code, since this is a Hall facility. I don't think she could make me do anything I wouldn't have done normally."

"Good."

I step back, watching the three stare intently at the video that Nico shows them, and jerk slightly as my phone rings. I did not expect that, I think as I gently free myself of Elidee and Olivia. I walk down the steps as I answer the phone. It can only be someone that Nico knows, so I'm not worried, but a little privacy is always nice.

"Hello?" I say.

"Are you okay?" Andre Harrison asks. I hear another line trying to ring through. I bet it's Aunt Barb. I'll call her back.

"I'm fine," I say, letting out a laugh. "It was actually a lot of fun," I admit. "We saved the day by being villains, Mr. Harrison--I never actually believed that could happen!"

"Nico has a strange way of looking at the world," he says, his tone turning amused. "You looked amazing, by the way. Was it all illusion?"

"Well, a lot of it was--the stuff I used, at least. But I think we're going to add it to the uniform that Nico's building me. I was the one that made me fly at the end--with the help of the wing suit. And I'm really getting fond of the bow and arrow, but Nico said something about rockets, so I have no idea what my final weapon will be. Maybe I'll just stick with trick arrows, you know?" I drop down on the steps, still running on adrenaline. "I just acted like a working cape, Mr. Harrison!" I say excitedly.

"You did," he agrees. "Do you want to give up on the reporter part?"

"No way--I actually interviewed Ace right before we did this--just for the school, sure, but I did it! If there was a way to combine the two--you know, like acting as a villain and getting scoops on the other villains, that would be the perfect job!"

"That's actually what I had in mind," he says. "It's to be assumed that not all villains will willingly sit down for a chat--that's why we only have a small amount of villain interviews on HTV. We try to get more, but more often we get second-hand ones, or none at all. With you, and any of the others we get, we can send you in to spy on them. And if you get caught, well, you're just the competition, not an actual threat."

"And by going to Cape High, I get the chance to become friends with the up and coming big three, right?" I say. "Or, in some cases, their girlfriends, right?" I grin, leaning back and crossing my legs as I admire the plan.

"We won't mind," Ace says. I literally jump, turning to look at him. He's just sitting a few steps up from me, and I'm pretty sure he's been there for a while. "I mean, seriously, the latest trend in villainy around here is personalized mics. In fact, if I called Max he'd be stoked to hear we're getting our own personal reporter."

"Really?" I say. "So... I can call you guys up and say I want an interview, and then we can make it LOOK really dramatic, like I'm spying on your latest plans?"

"Sounds fun," he says, grinning.

"How about your love life?" I ask evilly.

"Keep your nose out of that," he says.

"But I really want to meet Morgan now!" I say. "Oh, Mr. Harrison, Aunt Barb has been trying to call me for a while. Can I call you back after I tell her I'm okay?"

"Sure," he says. "And you did well. I expect you'll be making a few more mini-debuts in the future?"

"I want to get some more training in--this was sort of out of left field, but I definitely plan on it!" I say.

"And have you thought of a name?"

"Yeah," I say. "I'm going to be Blackbird."

"Simple, but I like it," he says. "Now, before I let you go, I'm going to give you your first assignment."

"What?"

"Talk that Freddy boy into working for us. Nico says he'll make a great cameraman for you."

"Talk--but--" I turn bright red, hearing him laugh knowingly.

"I'm sure you can convince him easily enough. Say hello to your aunt for me," he adds before hanging up.

I groan as Ace starts laughing. I give him a dirty look, even as my outfit changes back to normal. "Oh shut up, it's not the same as asking him to date me!"

"Sure it is--worse, even," Ace says. "It's asking him to be your future partner. Ask Trent about that sometime."

"Whatever," I say, knowing that my face is bright red. "I can fly," I say after a second, my mind going back to the biggest revelation of the day. "Sure, I need special equipment, but not much." I feel a thrill race through my body and I jump to my feet. "I need a new uniform! It should be the same silent material, but it needs to connect when I want it to, so I can take off! This is so awesome! Thanks, Ace!" I give him a brief hug before racing up the steps and looking for Nico.

I come to a stop at the sight of Freddy standing there. "Hey--" I start out.

"Do you like Ace?" he asks.

"Um, I--" I say, thrown off guard. "Well yeah, I mean--"

"Then I'll stop bugging you," he says.

"What?"

"I mean, I don't think you've got that great a chance, since he's got a thing for Morgan, but--"

"I don't like him like that!" I say, shocked. "I like him as a friend, and just a friend."

"But you just hugged him--"

"He showed me how I can fly--I would hug ANYONE that did that," I say bluntly.

"So... does that mean I still have a chance?" he asks.

"I don't know. Do you?" I ask him, walking right past him. When I don't see him anywhere, I head back down the stairs, yelling, "Nico! I get a say on my colors, right? I'm thinking shiny black and maybe a bit of dark blue, but I want it in that silent material like Freddy wears!"

I don't dare to look back at Freddy until I'm halfway across the campus. He's still standing there with a confused expression on his face.

I still fully believe that boys are nothing but trouble, don't get me wrong--but it looks like I'm going to be really, really good at trouble from here on out.

Maybe, if he plays his cards right, I MIGHT give him a chance.

***

For a moment she got to play family, Mother thinks as she sits down on the table of her little headquarters. It was a lie, of course, and the children hadn't actually liked her that much, but still, it had been entertaining. A husband, kids... she'd spent so long focusing on that sort of thing.

"It failed," Shadowman says blandly. "Really, what were you even planning with that one? Other than wasting a bit of time?" He'd been the one to watch the thing first hand. She'd had to rely on what he told her. She looks at him for a long moment, wondering if he'd told her everything. She really doubts it.

"Hard Knocks is a well-known, respected member of the super society, isn't he? If I could use his children to infiltrate the school, I could get the younger generation of supers on our side. It's just a matter of manipulation and time. Or barring that, I could try and convince him to attack the school for no reason and show that even the heroes are unstable and shouldn't be trusted--it would have taken a bit of work and a lot of misdirection, but I think I could have managed," she says. "But most importantly, he was heading for Cape High. The entire world knows that Cape High is run by Technico, who, as we now know, has a relation to Superior. I need to find Superior--which would be easier if you would just TELL me where he is."

"Superior is dead," Shadowman says, looking her straight in the eye. This time she KNOWS he's lying to her. "Superior died a very long time ago, and regardless of all those cliché 'back from the dead' plotlines the capes pull, they never really do come back from the dead. Almost dead, sure, but not DEAD, dead. Only one guy in history did that, and He was a God, not a super."

She stares at him, trying to get into his brain. But he's grown completely immune to that in this short amount of time. It's extremely annoying. "You're lying, and we both know it, but if you won't tell me where he is, I'm going to do whatever I can to find him--and his son is the best way to do that."

But really, she had seen a handsome man with adorable children and just couldn't help herself, she thinks silently. She misses that family feeling, pathetic, but true. "Enough of that," she declares. "Bring me a computer."

"For what?"

"What does it matter, Shadowman?" she asks, looking him in the eyes. "Bring. Me. A. Computer."

He sighs and heads out, grumbling the entire way.