The Distort Arc: Cape High Books 1-4 (Cape High Series Omnibus) (53 page)

"No cavities," Trent points out as he gets up and heads for the bathroom.

"How is everyone taking this so easily?" I ask Jeanie.

"Oh, honey, we were born this way.  We see strange things all the time," she says as she puts a massive plate in front of me.  "Now eat up, you're going to need your energy for school.  I'm not sure what Nico will have you doing the first hour.  Probably strength or speed training."

I start eating, wondering about this school again.  I can't help but think I'm going to wind up just like I was at my old school, hated by almost everyone.  They'll piss me off, I'll deal with the problem, more of them will gang up on me--it's just how things always go with me.  I've already got at least of few of them out for my head, so it's pretty much already started, right?  I glance up as Trent comes out of the bathroom, dressed and ready to go.

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

"Have a good day, you two," Jeanie says as I stand, grabbing another piece of bacon from my plate and chasing after him.  We reach the steps and I stare down them for a second before sighing and starting down--only to almost fall forward as someone drops onto my back.

"Sunny, wrong guy," Trent says, pulling the kid off of my back.  All Sunny does is look up for a brief second before climbing onto Trent's back instead.  Then he snores.  I'm so busy staring at that that I don't even notice Zoe stepping beside me.

"We need to talk," she starts out.

"You turned me down," I say flatly.  "Nothing more to talk about."

"But--"

"What happened to me--you weren't worth it," I say, turning to look her straight in the eyes.  "No one is.  So honestly, trying to 'talk' about it?  All it does is remind me of things I don't want to think about."  I start down the stairs, just to get away from her.  It's easier to move today, I think as I reach the next floor and keep going.  Maybe I'm getting used to the weight.

"So," Trent says.  I glance up at him.  He's right behind me, carrying Sunny piggy-back down the stairs as if he weighs nothing.  "I gotta warn you, Zoe and Max are in all your classes.  We all are.  And if you start a fight you get extra training time--a lot of it."

"How do I get kicked out?" I ask.

"You don't," he says.  "You get stuck in the super villain training, I bet.  Nico will toss something like world domination duty on you."

"World domination duty," I repeat.

"Or grunt work," he says.

"I'll take him to the junkyard and use him as a metal collector," Nico says from behind us.  I glance back, seeing the man in question wearing a t-shirt, jeans, and a pair of flipflops while carrying a cup of coffee.  "That way I don't break a nail."

I stare at him before letting out a laugh.  "You're kidding, right?" I say.

"I have a beautiful lady to impress," he says with a little grin, "you can't do that with ugly hands.  Thankfully, you won't have any problems with messing up your hands, so it's a perfect way to train you and get me parts!"

"Would it just be me?" I ask after thinking about it for a moment.

"If you want."

"I'll think about it."  Because it sounds like I'm going to be stuck watching Zoe clinging to Max all day long and the idea makes me feel sick to my stomach.  I'd rather be digging through old car parts than watching that.

"Can I come, too?"

I jerk as I hear the quiet question, looking up at Aubrey blankly.  She blushes as she sees me looking at her.  "I just--I do my extra training after school," she says.  "Not when everyone else does theirs.  So I'm just stuck sitting around being useless--so... can I come?  It might be interesting."

"You'd be stuck 'sitting around being useless' there, too," I say bluntly.  "He's joking about messing up his nails, but you really would, right?"  I start back down the stairs, reaching the main floor and heading for the door.  There's a panel there, which I press my hand to, only to get the word "WAIT" flash over and over on it.

"I like to go out first," Nico says as he steps forward, pressing his hand to the panel.  The door opens and the glowing footprints appear, which he steps onto.  I follow, wondering why I feel guilty for what I just told Aubrey--and more importantly, why Nico's just ignoring it.

I step out of the force field thing that fries passing birds and look up, watching the supers that seem to appear from all directions.  I... "Holy crap is that Banshee?" I ask, completely distracted by the sight of the long haired brunette floating overhead.

"Yeah," Aubrey says, making me glance back at her.  "She's our music teacher."

"She was my first crush," I admit, looking back at the woman with awe.  "I think I was like, seven."

"She's old enough to be your mother's aunt," Nico points out.

"Yeah, I get that now, but still," I say, staring up at her with my hands in my pockets.  "She's... Banshee."

"Yeah, yeah she is," Nico says with a slight grin.

"Hey, who's the lady you're trying to impress?" I ask him.

"Lady Rose.  She's Zoe and Sunny's mom."

That means they hooked up, right?  Like, at least back before Zoe and Sunny were born.  So why's he trying to impress her now?  I... have no clue.  It's none of my business, either.  Instead I just follow behind him, glancing back once as the rest of the kids from the apartment come up behind me, talking cheerfully, or in Sunny's case, snoring.  I look at Trent.  "Does he do this every morning?" I ask.

"Yeah.  You wanna carry him?" he offers.

"Why would I want to carry him?" I ask.  "You're doing just fine.  Why are you carrying him, anyway?"

"Nico said he'd give me a detention if I don't," Trent says.  "Because as a working cape I'm supposed to save people from themselves."

"You're a working cape," I repeat.

"Kid Liberty.  I've got a uniform and everything."

"Man I slept through a lot," I complain.  Look, both you and I know that Trent probably doesn't like me, either, okay?  Don't go thinking I'm a moron who's declared the guy my new best friend just because we're stuck in the same house.  That doesn't mean anything.  I've been stuck in the same house as a lot of guys.  But I need someone to talk to that isn't Zoe or Aubrey.

What?  Aubrey doesn't know me, she's just picturing me as this body she spent working on for so long.  And... you know... if I do let her get close, she won't look at me like she is now, will she?  Yeah, probably not.  So sue me, I like her thinking I'm a nice guy, or whatever it is she's built up in her head.  I might not be one, of course, but it's nice to have one or two people deluded into thinking I am!  Unlike Zoe, who I'm pretty sure has an even uglier view of me than reality, if that's possible.

"So how'd that soap work?" Trent asks as we reach the yellow tape that surrounds Death Canyon.  I stare at it blankly before looking at him.

"Why are we here?"

"We're going to school."

"So... not only am I metallic, I'm going to be radioactive?" I ask.  Glowing green skin parts-- Huh, might look cool, actually.  But then again, getting to sleep with all the glowing would suck...

"It's not, the norms just think it is," Trent says as a panel comes up from the ground.  He touches it, jumps over the tape, and looks back at me.  "You coming?"

"Yeah, I guess I am."

I'm standing in front of the rest of the school in what looks like a gym.  That's not the problem.  "You want me to take my shirt off," I repeat, looking at Nico.

"I need flesh, not metal," Nico says, holding up a handful of what look like suction cups on wires.  "So unless you're feeling modest--"

I don't know half of the people in here--I barely know a handful of them, actually, but the idea of being called "modest" in front of them has me dragging off my t-shirt and tossing it to the side.  I hear several surprised gasps and comments from the crowd.  Even the teachers start talking to one another.  I feel a bit like an animal at the zoo, actually.

"So if we want to put 'kick me' signs on you, we can use a magnet, right?" Sunny says, still half asleep.

"Or we could use him as a mirror," Trent decides.  "Especially his head--wait, you can't, Sunny, you're too short."

"I'll get a step stool," Sunny says.

"Wouldn't it be easier to just find a mirror at the right height?" his girlfriend asks him.

"Depends on which is closer."

"You are so lazy," she complains.

"Hey, Jack," Sunny says, making me look at him questioningly as Nico starts sticking suction cups on my chest.  "Did you notice?"

"Notice what?" I ask.

"We've got a celebrity in our mix."

"Not at the moment we don't," Nico says, turning to his laptop and tapping away for a moment.  "Let's see... your healing ability has started kicking in, you've got extreme density..." he seems to be muttering to himself as he stares at a line drawing of me on the screen.  "And according to your power readouts it looks like... you could register in the Elementalist class," he says.  "Who woulda thought it?  Well, other than me."

"What celebrity?"

Sunny gives me the most evil grin I've ever seen.  "Justin."

I stare at him, lifting my arms when Nico pushes one up, my mind completely focused on that one word.  "Justin who?" I ask.  There's no way he's talking about that singer guy, right?  Please, God, tell me it's not that singer.  I HATE that guy with a passion.  Ever since one of the girls in our old foster home started listening to the same song by him.

Over.

And over.

And OVER AGAIN.

"Just Justin," Sunny taunts.  "Aren't we lucky?"

I want to slam my head into something.  The look on my face must have said something about how I feel, because both Sunny and Trent burst out laughing.  "His face!" Trent says.  "Oh man, I gotta get a picture of this!" he adds, bringing out his phone and snapping a picture of me. 

"Hey, I got a perfectly good reason to hate the guy!" I protest.  "Ever since Gina took up playing that dumb lover lover song over and over again--it was HELL."

"It was!" Sunny agrees, still dying.  Is it just me, or has he relaxed a lot since moving out of the home?  I watch him curiously for a moment, wondering about that.  A tiny grin pulls at my lips, reluctantly, because it is sort of funny.  I mean, he went through it, too!

"Then you should hate him, too, right," I say.

"Nah, don't know him," Sunny admits with a shrug.  "He's barely said a word since coming here.  I heard he had a problem at his last show, so he was forced to come here."

"What problem?"

"He accidentally lost control of his powers," Nico says.  "Okay, looks like you won't die," he says, starting to tug the suction cups off of me again.  "Everyone, this is Jack, Jack, this is everyone.  Jack's a special case, so if he comes off as a jerk it's because he needs oiled again--"

He really did just say that.  I heard him.

"So we'll be putting bottles of WD40 in every classroom, located next to the door," he finishes.  "If, by chance, you run out of oil, please call the nearest teacher to get a refill."

I stare at him, even as he pulls a spray bottle of WD40 off of his desk and shows it to them.  "You're joking, right?" I say finally.

"Nope, not at all," he says.  "So I suggest you watch yourself, otherwise you'll be covered in the stuff."

That's totally demeaning.  But at the same time--I grab the bottle and spray my hand, seeing if it would work.  "Huh," I say.  This time the entire group starts laughing at me, especially when I rub it on my shoulder.  What?  Being mostly metal makes you stiff!

The door of the gym opens and I glance over as a guy about my age walks in, looking like this is the last place he wants to be.  Wait, wasn't I supposed to be the surly guy in this situation?  And that--that's definitely that Justin guy, isn't it?  I'm positive I don't like him, now.  He's trying to take my job!

"Nice of you to join us, Justin," Nico drawls.  "You're only fifteen minutes late."

"Wish I'd been later, I could have missed the naked guy show."

"Shirtless isn't naked, unless you're a chick," I say, walking over and grabbing my shirt from the floor.  "But that might explain some things."

"Jack," Nico says.  "Tell me now if you want gloves for your junkyard work."

Wait, wasn't he supposed to yell at me for the comment about being a chick?

"He just accused me of being a girl, and you're ignoring it?" Justin demands.

"I want gloves," I say.  "I still have some flesh on my hands."

Nico pulls a pair of kevlar gloves from his table and tosses them to me.  "Then let's head out.  Blackjack, you get the cameras today, I'm going to oversee Jack's training."

"Are you just ignoring me?" Justin demands.

"Yeah," Nico says, grabbing a few small metal pieces and walking past Justin.  "I am."  I follow behind him, glancing at Justin for a moment.  I should be gloating, but I don't really feel like it.  I'd just had an adult take my side, one that isn't Marge or a complete idiot.  I'm not sure how to handle that feeling, honestly.

"Morning, Double M," Nico says, alerting me to the fact that he's on the phone.  "Did I wake you?  Sorry bout that.  Can you send me a half dozen black coats to the junkyard?  Yeah, the one by the Cape Cells--" he stops, glancing back.  "Make it a dozen, Aubrey's coming, too."

I glance back, seeing the brunette following along behind us with a determined expression on her face.  "Are you sure a dozen is enough?" I ask.

"They'll only be there until I set up the field," Nico says.  "Aubrey, are you certain about this?" he asks as she moves to my side.  "I didn't get gloves for you."

A part of me wants to yell at her, tell her she's a moron for chasing after us, for thinking whatever crazy thoughts she's thinking... but the other half of me is handing over the gloves.  "Just today, okay?" I tell her.  "You got more important things to do than grunge around in a junkyard, right?"

She gives me a grin that's practically blinding and hugs the gloves to her chest.  "This is important," she tells me.  "I want to be there in case things go wrong.  I don't want you to start bleeding again.  I feel responsible."

"You shouldn't," Nico says before I can.  "You got him to where he's at.  There shouldn't be any more problems.  He's no longer your patient, Aubrey.  He's just another classmate."

"I know," she says quietly, looking down at the gloves.  It's like a light switch has been turned off, though, because she clams up for the walk to the apartment, not even speaking as she climbs into the back of Nico's car.  Now I feel guilty.  I didn't feel guilty giving Justin crap, but I feel guilty now.  I wasn't even the one that said anything!

"Hey," I say, turning in the chair and looking back at her.  "Don't--you know..."  I have no clue what to say.  Stupid.  I'm an idiot.  "Thanks," I say, instead.  "You're gonna get bored and you might hurt yourself, though, so, um... try not to."

Lame.  That had to have been the lamest thing I've ever said, but she gives me a tiny smile, so it was worth it.  You don't think, you know, that I could be crushing again, do you?

No, I'm not THAT stupid.  I turn back to the front and stare out the windshield as we head down the street and into town again.  He's got to be going seventy.  I glance at the dash just to make sure.  He's going seventy-five, actually.  "So... are you really going to stick me in a junkyard every morning?" I ask.

"Don't worry, it's all metal so you shouldn't smell that much different when you get out," he says.  "But there's a shower in the boy's locker room if you need one."

"I was just thinking--why?  I don't know any super heroes that spend their time scrounging for scrap metal," I say.

"You want to be a hero?" he asks, sounding honestly surprised.

"You don't WANT me to be a hero?" I ask.

"You've got a metal mohawk and steel teeth," he says bluntly.  "You're not going to get many Wheaties boxes with those looks, you know."

"Trent will."

"Sure he will.  He's a born, bred, and brainwashed hero.  It's deep down in his very soul--are they trying to turn you into one?" he asks abruptly.  "Did they say something along those lines?"

"I did," Aubrey admits.  "I think he should be a hero!"

"Why?  What part of Jack shouts super hero to you?" Nico asks.  "Kids, I'm going to tell you a trade secret right now.  Being a cape?  It's more photo op than black op.  We need our villains, as long as they follow certain rules.  Although there's real villains out there."

"
Star Born," I say quietly, my hands tightening into fists.

"Exactly."

"And Panther," Aubrey says.

"Nope, not at all," Nico tells her, glancing over his shoulder at her.  "Pan's the epitome of the perfect super villain.  He's what I want the mini-villains in the school to aim for.  He's got class."  He swerves the car to a screeching stop in front of a fenced in junkyard, putting it in park and pulling out the keys.  "Alright, everybody out."

I get out, pulling the seat forward so Aubrey can climb out.  I'm already looking at the troop of black suits when she closes the door behind her and moves to my side.  "Spread out, make sure the only ones here are rats," Nico calls to the black suits.  "I'm training the tinman here."

"The tinman?" Aubrey repeats.

"Wasn't he the guy without brains?" I ask.

"No, that's the scarecrow," Aubrey says.  "The tinman doesn't have a heart."

Yeah... lucky punk.

***

After an hour of digging through large pieces of metal, tearing a few cars apart, and getting most of my finds tossed into a pile, I'm grimy and exhausted.  Aubrey's not much better off, I notice as we start for the car.  Nico pulls out a small box from his pocket and the force field glints twice before disappearing.  "Shouldn't you get the parts for that?" I ask him.

"No point, no one would recognize them from other pieces of trash, anyway," he says.  "That's what I made it out of, after all."

I shrug and pull down the car seat so Aubrey can climb in.  "You got ah--" I start out.

"Got?" she asks.

"A streak--y'know, over your nose."

She turns bright red and starts trying to rub it off as I get in.  Nico gets in and turns on the car.  "So," he says to me, "how many times have you been in a junkyard?"

I go still, wondering how he knew, then shrug.  "Derrick wanted a motorcycle," I say quietly, staring out the window.  "So we snuck into one or two... you know, looking for parts."

"Derrick?" he asks.

"Yeah."  I shut my mouth, not looking at either of them as we pull into the apartment building's parking lot.

"You know you're not a norm anymore, right?" Nico says as he parks.

"Yeah, but--"

"You need to remember that," he tells me, looking at me seriously.  "They will."

I get out, rather than reply to that.  He doesn't know Derrick.  Derrick won't have a problem with me being like I am.  Right?

***

"You OWE me, Derrick."  Derrick grunts as he's shoved against a rough brick wall, gritting his teeth to keep from biting his tongue.  He knows he shouldn't have borrowed from Tony, but--

"I can pay you back, man!" he says, grabbing the wrist of the arm holding him a foot off the ground.  "I'm absolutely going to pay you back!"

"I wish I could believe you, Derrick," Tony says.  He's not the one that beat on Derrick for the past twenty minutes, no, Tony has guys that are paid for that sort of thing.  "I really wish I could.  But you've got nothing to prove you'll pay me--"

"I do!" Derrick says rashly.  "You know that viral video?  The one that came out a while ago--the one with the metal guy and the guy in the mask?"

"No, I do not know that video.  Do you think I have time to stare at youtube all day?"

"I--I can show you!  Just make him put me down!" Derrick says, squirming to try and get free.

"Put him down.  Let's see what he's talking about."

Derrick lets out a sigh of relief as his feet touch the concrete again and digs out his cell phone.  "This guy," he says, searching for the video on his phone.  "I know him!  I know him really well--he's my best friend!" he says, holding out the phone to Tony.