The Distort Arc: Cape High Books 1-4 (Cape High Series Omnibus) (42 page)

"Looks like you're busted," Falconess tells me.

"Rowr," I agree, looking sadly at the sausages.  I jump from her hold onto the tray and grab one before jumping off and heading down the hall again.  We came this way, turned down this hall and--here we go, I think, still carrying my snack, the meeting room.  I hop down the steps, stopping in front of a highly worried looking Sunny, then sit down to eat my sausage.

"Where were you?" he demands, crouching down in front of me.  "Is that a sausage?"

I move my paw, blocking him from taking my snack.  "Rowr," I say, showing teeth.  It's mine!

"Okay, okay," he says, sitting down in front of me.  "But you didn't run into that shadow guy or anyone, right?"

"We're in the Hall," Nico says from behind him.  "More likely she ran into the cafeteria.  Your mother's sleeping, so why don't we go get breakfast, ourselves?"

Sunny picks me up, giving me time to grab the last piece of sausage.  "Should Adanna change into her human form?" he asks.

"That's up to her.  Remember, she's still the daughter of a super villain, she might feel safer pretending to be a cat."

Yes, yes I absolutely do.  I wonder what Papa would say if he knew where I was right now.  I finish off the meat, wondering why I enjoy it so much more in this form, then jump onto Sunny's shoulder, feeling too much like a baby being held in his arms.  Then I have to dig in my claws to keep my balance and wrap my tail around his neck.

"You're going to have to start working out," Nico says.  "Otherwise your shoulders are going to be too skinny when she gets bigger."

I want to protest, tell them both that I'm not going to make a habit of riding around on Sunny's shoulders, but it's sort of hard to do when you can't talk.  Besides, it's his fault that I missed out on that platter of sausages with Falconess, I think, settling down on his shoulders.  He owes me a ride for that!

You know... I sort of think being in cub form too long effects me a bit.  Oh well, I'll think about it later.  "Myrrrow!" I demand, bringing up a paw to point forward.  Onward, steed, to the sausages!

Sunny lets out a laugh, yawning hugely.  "Okay, I'm going, but after that we get a nap, right?"

"Rrrmrrwwr," I say, trying to tell him that he gets far too much sleep on a daily basis, anyway, so he's not going to die.  Whereas I am a growing cub!  I need food!

"I'm pretty sure she's lecturing you again," Nico says, heading down the hall next to us with his hands in his pockets. 

"In cub form," Sunny agrees.

"Mmmrrrowr," I go on, since clearly he NEEDS to be lectured, regardless of whether he can understand it or not.  They both start laughing as we enter the cafeteria, even as I go halfway down Sunny's shirt, dig one paw's claws in, and turn and bat him on the cheek to make him pay attention.

"Okay, okay, I know I sleep too much," he says, grabbing me before I plummet headfirst into the ground.  "I get it.  You can stop the kitty lecture."  He's grinning, though, so I don't think he took me very seriously.  I look around, seeing Falconess sitting at a nearby table reading a book as if she knew nothing about me.  Oh, she's good.

***

Summer wakes up, lying on a hospital cot, surrounded by white, and she panics.  "NO!" she bellows, sitting upright and jerking out the needles piercing her skin.  "No!  I don't want to be--"  Zoe grabs her arms, turning her to look at her.

"Mom!  Calm down!  You're okay, you're okay," she says as the tension slowly leaves Summer's body.  "You're okay," she repeats, wrapping her arms around her.  "I shouldn't be here, though, something might blow up," she admits.

"Then someone take the machines out of the room," Summer says, looking to where an attendant is standing next to the door.  "Take them out--no, I'll leave," she decides, swinging her feet over the side of the bed.  She feels better, stronger.  In just one night she's regained at least half of her strength.  She wonders how.

"Careful," Zoe says, slipping her shoulder under Summer's arm.  "Mom, where were you?"

Summer goes still for a second as the memories rush through her mind.  "I... was captured," she says quietly.  "Honey, can we discuss this when everyone's here?  Where's--where's your father?" she asks, wondering why it feels both awkward and surprisingly gratifying to ask that.  No, she hasn't forgiven him, she tells herself.  They were working so hard to hide it, working so hard to make a life together under the radar--yet he had gone and gotten himself put in the Cape Cells!  "That idiot," she mutters.

"Mom?" Zoe asks.

"Oh, honey, your father is a genius," she says, wondering how to explain how she felt.  Should she?

"But he's an idiot," Zoe finishes for her.  "I think I've figured that out already.  Do you... do you still love him?" she asks with a hint of hope she's failing to hide.

"It's been a very long time, Zoe," she says as they make their way down the hall.  She doesn't really need the support, but it feels good to be so close to her daughter.  "I do know he gave me the two most important things in the entire universe, though," she says, tugging Zoe's head closer and kissing her temple.  "For that I'm grateful."

"He still loves you," Zoe says quietly.  Summer goes still, that sentence shocking her to her very core.  They walk down the hall, heading for the meeting room only to find no Nico or Sunny, just a few of the others still asleep.

"Maybe they went to get some food," Zoe offers.  "Where's the cafeteria?"

"This way," Summer says, starting down the hall.  "Zoe, I want you to be extremely careful--there's some very dangerous people out there--"

"We know," Zoe says.  "Double M's been looking for--Mom, did they have you?" she asks, her eyes widening as things clicked.  "The tall, skinny woman with the glowing eyes and the anti-Dad?"

"You've seen them?" Summer asks.

"Yeah, yeah we have."

"We need to leave.  We need to leave right now," she says, grabbing Zoe's hand.  "We'll get Sunny and leave," she says, heading into the cafeteria to where her son is standing with a panther cub perched on his shoulders.  "Sunny, we're leaving," she says.

"What?  Where to?" Sunny asks.

"Away from this place.  Away from them."

"Away from who?" Nico asks, looking on guard.

"Star Born and Distort," she says.  "We need to get away from them now.  They've lost me--they'll be looking for a replacement."

"Where are they?" Nico asks.  "Where did they have you?"

"They're in the city--in an abandoned building on Holmes--but you can't--" she stops as he pulls a mask out of his pocket.  "Nico, what are you doing?"

"I've seen what they did.  I'm not going to let it keep happening," he says, slipping the mask on and heading for the door.

"Wait!" she says.  "Take me with you.  I can show you where they're at."

He looks at her then looks at Sunny and Zoe.  "I can't," he says.  "But I can let you guide me," he goes on, pulling a transmitter with a small screen attached out of his pocket.  "Here, you can see what I see on this," he says, handing it to her before pulling out another earbud from his pocket.  "I'm not going to give them the chance to get you again."

She takes it, slipping it on.  "Take some others with you," she says.

"I'll go," Mega says, standing.

"Me, too," Falconess agrees, getting to her feet and pulling on her gloves.

"I want to go," Sunny says.

"No!" Summer says.  "No.  You're staying here.  When you're older--when you're older you can do things like this, but not yet.  Honey, they just lost me, they'll want to replace me.  And you, Sunny, are the one they would want."

"But they took you from us," Sunny says.  "They took all we had.  They left us in the norm system, living in a foster home which was like hell, Mom.  We thought you were dead--that we had nothing.  They deserve to pay for this, Mom."

"Honey," Summer says, "you aren't ready for something like this.  Distort is--he's as strong as Nico, and he's--he's not all there.  Please, Sunny.  I need you here."

He hesitates, looking at Nico, but Nico is already heading for the door.  "Stay with your mother, and guard Cub," he orders over his shoulder.

"Yeah," Sunny says, reaching up and petting the panther.  "I will."

Nico leaves, followed by Mega and Falconess and the rest of the heroes in the room.  Soon the only ones standing in the cafeteria are Sunny, Zoe, Adanna and Summer.  Even the attendants are gone.

The room feels extremely empty.

Suddenly I'm not hungry.  Sunny's practically radiating nervous energy and I can feel it almost as if it's my own.  I don't know what to do other than try and comfort him, so I rub against his neck and go, "Myrr."  Not very good, I'll be the first to admit, but I doubt my human form could do much better.

He reaches up, petting me.  "He's going to be fine," he says, but he doesn't sound very confident.  "Dad's strong, right?"

"One of the strongest," Summer says.  "Why don't we join your friends?  They're in the meeting area, right?"

"Yeah," Sunny says.  "Okay."  He follows his mom and his sister down the hall, carrying me with him.  I can still feel his tension, can tell that part of him wants to turn around, to chase after the adults, to make them pay for what they've done.  I can't let him do that, I think.  He's strong, yes, but he's barely trained.  He doesn't even have proper self defense training, much less the ability to take on a man as strong as his father.

I don't want him killed.  In fact, even the idea of him getting hurt makes me feel a little sick to my stomach.  When he turns, looking back, I shove against his face, forcing him to look forward again.  I... maybe I don't hate him as much as I thought I did, huh?

"But--" he whispers.  I press a paw against his face, keeping him from turning again.  His shoulders slump and I dig my claws in to keep from getting thrown.  "Okay," he says with a sigh.  "But I hate this."

I nod, knowing exactly how he feels.

***

She understands how he feels, Summer thinks as she enters the meeting area and heads to the curved tables.  She knows that a part of her, the part of her that's quickly overcoming the stress and fear she's dealing with, wants revenge even more than Sunny does.  She wants them to suffer for what they did to her, what they did to the people she only vaguely remembers hearing in her dreams.  Star Born, especially.  Star Born is evil, pure and simple.  Any creature that so willingly experiments on other human beings without caring if they die--be they norm or super, and takes away their freedom and their lives, they are evil and deserve to be punished.

She should have gone, she realizes, regardless of what Nico says.  But instead she sits down in one of the chairs and pulls on the strange device Nico gave her.  "I'm here," she says.

"Good, we're on Holmes," Nico says.  She can see what he can see, she realizes, on the screen covering her right eye.  "We've got enough capes to take out an entire country.  This could be considered massive overkill," he drawls.  "But after what they did to you, I'm willing to use it."

She feels a blush creep across her face at that.  "Head to your right," she says.  "It's a boarded up building on a street corner."

"I see your touch," Nico says as he gets to the building.  It looks like there's a tree growing out of it.  He lands, glancing over briefly as the others land all around him.  "Be careful, the guy that looks like me tends to make the world twist around you.  If you get caught in it it can mess up your head.  And the chick, make sure she doesn't hit you with a needle.  She can take your powers."

He steps forward, knocking down the branch that's blocking the front door and stepping into the building.  It's abandoned, but that floor always was.  He looks around, and to her surprise she sees the world through what appears to be infrared, scanning for heat.  There are several lines of yellow, which she can only assume are power lines.

"Did you program this thing to do that?" she asks.

"Do what?" he asks.

"You mean you're seeing things like a computer?"

"What, you can't?" he asks.  "No one on this floor, spread out."

"There's stairs to your right," Summer tells him.  "They lead down into the real place.  Be careful, Nico."

"I'm not going to die now," he says grimly.

"But you don't know what Distort is--"

"What is he?"

"I don't know for sure, either," she admits.  "I mean, you don't have a brother, do you?"

"Who knows?  He sure looks like a Superior.  Summer, after this is over, what do you say to a date?"

"What?"

"You, me, the kids, we'll bring Cub, too, let's go out for pizza, whaddaya say?  Of course Max will want to come, too, then--"

"Nico?  Focus on the fight ahead of you," she says.  "And honestly, I'd rather have delivery."

"Can't, the pizza guy would fry going through the security system."

"Nico... I don't even know what to say to that," Summer says with a sigh.

***

We sit in a circle, the students from the school.  Except for me, actually, Emily grabbed me the moment she woke up and is cuddling me on her lap.  I should get off, I think, especially when Trent reaches over and scratches me behind the ear.  "So, why are you in cub form?" he asks.

"Myrr," I say.

"She's hiding her identity from the adults," Sunny says.

"But everyone left for the big battle, so you can probably stop," Max says.  I look at him, then hop off of Emily's lap into the middle of the circle to shift back.

I make a face.  "I think if I spend too long like that I start dreaming about meat," I say, shaking my head as I crouch there for a moment.  Sunny scoots away from Emily and I drop down in the open spot, hugging my knees to my chest.  I glance over at Summer, frowning slightly.

"It's going to be fine," Max says.

"Why aren't you out there?" Sunny demands.  "You could be helping--"

"I can't," Max says.  "I'm officially a super villain.  Plus, we need guards here, too."  He glances at Summer as well.  "They might be looking for her."

"Right... right," Sunny says, calming down.  I feel him shaking slightly, just for a second.  Is he afraid?  I glance over, looking at his face.  He's not afraid.  He's angry.  I look at Zoe, who's expressionless, but her green eyes are worried.  Sunny shoves to his feet so abruptly that I jerk.

"I hate this," he says, starting to pace.  Nobody moves to stop him.  His best friend just sits there, watching him, his sister doesn't even seem to register he's doing it.  Sunny's going faster and faster, until he's literally running in circles.  I sigh and get to my feet, stepping in front of him with my arms out--and get run into.  I have to brace myself to keep from getting ran over, and even find myself being pushed back several feet before he stops.  I wrap my arms around him.

"It's okay," I say, hugging him.  "Do you have faith in your father?"

"I--"

"Do you think he can be taken down?  Especially when he's got most of the Hall behind him?" I ask.

"No."

"Nothing's going to happen to him," I promise.  "He's going to come back with the bad guys in tow--"

"What do you mean there's nothing there?" Summer asks.  "Have they already run away?"

Sunny pulls from my hold and races over, followed by the rest of us.  I can hear Nico speak.  "There's no--wait--" he says.  "I see something."

I'm so intent on his voice that I don't notice the sound of someone taking a step behind me until a hand wraps around me, covering my mouth.  I'm starting to sink into the ground--

I bite the hand, hard.  "LET GO OF ME!" I bellow, jerking at the hold.  If only I had my feet on the ground, I think, instead of in it, I could toss him again--

Someone slams into both of us, knocking us back onto the floor and sending me flying. Trent--no, I realize with surprise.  Sunny.  He just tackled the guy that grabbed me, the same guy from the hospital.  And he--the man phases through Sunny just as he had the floor.

"Well, then," he says.  "Looks like I've got a bit of a work on my hands.  But I'm surprised.  Do you really think a bunch of teenagers are going to beat me?"

A table slams into him so fast that he gets slammed back.  "I don't know," Trent says, already holding the next one, "why don't we find out?"

"Ouch," Shadowman says, phasing through the table.  "You look familiar," he says, frowning at Trent, only to slam back against the wall behind him so hard he makes a dent.

"Does he?" Max asks with a small grin.  "I wonder if I do, as well."

The man phases backwards into the wall he just slammed into, and I find myself surrounded by the others, their backs to me.  I jerk as I feel a hand wrap around my ankle and pull out my metal staff, slamming it hard into the hand.  "Let go," I snarl.  The others turn and Max grabs me, flying upwards and hauling the attacker through the floor underneath me.  As soon as his feet clear the floor Trent slams into him like a football player, tackling him to the ground--only to go through him before hitting the cement floor.

A vine shoots out from behind me and I glance back, seeing Summer holding a sprouting seed in her hand.  It turns into spikes, slamming through the man and twisting, trying to capture him.  "You will not get one of my kids," Summer snarls as the man slips away from the branches, cursing.  He looks a bit beat up, I noticed.  Good.

Gravity hits him again, slamming him back through rows of chairs.  They go flying, breaking with his weight as he loses his phase.  I hear him curse as he tries to stand and I move, racing up the stairs and jumping with a twist, my bo slamming across his face so hard he spits blood.  Had it been a norm I would have broken his neck.  As it is, I hope he gets whiplash.

"Forget this," he mutters, spitting out a tooth before he phases through the floor again--or starts to.  His body is lifted, rising in the air and floating there.

"I don't think so," Max says.  “Who hired you?”

“Aren’t you Maximum?” Shadowman asks.  “You’re a super villain, why are you in the Hall?”

“None of your business.  Who hired you?” Max demands more loudly.  It seems to reverberate in my mind, but the man is reacting far worse, grabbing his head in pain.

“Stop!  Stop doing that!” he yells.  “It’s Collector!  He wants her!”

“Who is Collector?” Max demands.

“He’s this rich guy that likes to collect capes!  I don’t know his real name, I’ve never met the guy!  Please stop messing up my head!”

“You went after one of us,” Max snarls, taking to the air so he can look the guy in the eyes.  “Do you really think I’m going to let you get away with it?”

“How is she one of you?  Is it because she’s a super villain’s kid?”

“Adanna’s our friend,” Emily shouts, throwing one of the broken chairs at him.  “Stop trying to kidnap her!”

“How is she your friend?” the man demands.  “She’s a super villain in the making, right?  She’s going to try and kill half of you in the future!  The other half, well, she’ll be your competition.  Super villains don’t have friends!  And if she’s convinced you she’s your pal, she’s probably just plotting to find out your weaknesses for later on!  If you ask me, you’d all be better off with me taking her!”

That had been the plan, hadn’t it?

“Oh please, like Adanna could pull that off,” Sunny scoffs.  “She’s too busy lecturing us on how we shouldn’t trust super villains to try and convince us to trust her.”

“She does!” Emily says, laughing.

“But--“ Shadowman says.  The door opens and a dozen attendants come in, looking armed for war. 

“Dad?  Dad are you there?” Zoe asks, making me look over at her as the attendants deal with Shadowman.  She’s wearing the headpiece Summer had been wearing earlier.  “Dad, what’s going on?”

Sunny pulls it off of her, putting it on and walking a few feet away.  “Dad, are you there?” he asks.

I move closer, listening.  "Sunny," Nico says, sounding serious, "Kiddo, they left their failed experiments.  We're going to need more ambulances," he says a bit louder, as if speaking to someone else.  "I ran into Ken earlier, he didn't find Shadowman, but--"

"We have Shadowman," Sunny says.  "We caught him."

"Make sure they put a power blocker collar on him," Nico says.  "I don't want him escaping until I get to talk--get me a medic over here, I've found a norm!"

"Put a power blocker collar on him!" Sunny says, pointing at the attendants.  "My Dad wants to talk with him later."

"How's Cub?" Nico asks.

"She's safe.  She whacked him good, too, even after he got hit with a table by Trent and slammed into a wall by Max."

"Remind me to work on your teamwork plays more, it sounds like you need them," Nico says.  "How's Zoe?"

"I'm fine," Zoe says.  "But I wish you had found them."

"Yeah, me too.  Why don't you all go take a nap?  There's nothing we can do right now other than try and save these guys."

"Yeah," Sunny says.  "I don't think I can sleep, though."

Nico's laugh seems short, but honest.  "It must be a miracle."

***

Just because Star hasn't punished him for losing the pretty lady doesn't mean it isn't going to happen, Distort knows that.  He puts down the final machine, looking around their ramshackle new building, knowing that it's nowhere near the standards that Star wants, and knowing that it's his fault.

"It's a shame we lost our subjects," Star says as she brings in a file cabinet.  "But I think we can recover quickly enough in this area."