West Pacific Supers: Rising Tide (23 page)

Her wolf-like ears
perked at a noise coming from the forward berth. She dashed lightly forward and
quickly stripped the mattress off the bed to reveal the storage compartment
below. The hatch was stubborn, but she pulled hard, ripping it open to reveal a
child of perhaps eight years old cowering below. As his eyes met hers, he
started to scream. He didn’t stop until the Coast Guard arrived and a nice
human medic led him away.

Paul
looked doubtfully at the long strand of kelp around the cabinet door. “Looks
like seaweed to me,” he finally said, scratching his sunburned forehead.

Seawolf frowned.
“I’m sure it was the appendage of mutant
sealife
of
some sort. Earlier it was even responding to touch. It’s most likely from one
of the creatures I found underneath the water.”

“Right,” he said,
gingerly prodding the kelp, which now hung limp and unresponsive. “I believe
you - it’s just that we don’t have any bodies and well, you know how turned around
things can get down there.”

“I do not get turned
around! However, what I fail to understand is what happened to the bodies I
threw on the deck. I did defeat two mutant sea creatures of some sort.” She
stared hard at him, daring him to disbelieve her.

“Well, they weren’t
up there when we arrived,” he said with a shrug. “Listen, Seawolf, I don’t
doubt you. If you say that mutant
sealife
did this,
then mutant
sealife
did it. But for report purposes,
we’ve got three missing adults, one traumatized kid, and no mutant
sealife
. We’ll put an advisory on the area - that’s the
best I can do without more evidence.”

She nodded. It was
deeply disappointing that the bodies had disappeared. She didn’t think it
likely that the Coast Guard liaison with the team would be concealing
something; she had known Paul for too long. It was probably the work of another
mutant associated with the first two. Paul had suggested that the bodies had
simply slipped overboard, but that was idiotic given the configuration of the
deck. The only other possibility was that one of the creatures hadn’t been
completely dead, and that it had managed to propel both of them off the boat.
Of course, if she hadn’t stayed below with the screaming child, she could have
prevented whatever had happened from happening.

“We have to get this
boat back,” Paul said. He pulled absentmindedly at his faded blue Coast Guard
ball cap. “Hey, you want to get dinner or something this weekend? Maybe we
could catch a movie too; there’s a new one coming out about a typhoon.”

She stared at him,
dumbfounded. Paul suddenly looked very nervous.

“I don’t date,” she
said icily.

“Oh,” he said.
“Well, I just thought…but, okay. Maybe another time…You coming in with us?”

Seawolf glared
daggers at him. “No, I’m going to investigate the surrounding waters a bit
more.”

Paul frowned. He
still looked nervous, but he didn’t move. “It’s almost nightfall, Seawolf, and
it looks like it’s going to rain. If there is mutant
sealife
out there, this isn’t the best…”

“Don’t tell me my
business,” she snapped. Paul looked like she’d slapped him.

“Okay,” he said
finally. “I know I can’t stop you. But be careful. There’s something strange
going on here.” His shoulders sagged as he headed above.

She nodded,
uncomfortable in the face of his obvious concern. For a regular human, Paul was
a decent enough guy. He must be out of his mind though to ask her out on a
date.

She made
her way to the rocky islet as the Coast Guard got the sailboat and their rescue
craft underway. She had the island covered in 30 minutes and there was nothing
of interest on it at all. Which meant that either the mutants hadn’t come from
this area or that they operated primarily underwater. She sighed. It was dark
now and drizzling; even for her it would be stupid to begin an undersea investigation.
Paul had been right - this would have to wait for daytime. She looked
regretfully in the direction the Coast Guard cutter had gone. She couldn’t call
for a lift now, not after the scene she’d made. It was going to be a long, cold
swim home.

8:43 a.m.,
Sunday, April 21st, 2013

5825
Meadowearth
Lane

West
Pacific, CA

Camille
had almost forgotten how beautiful West Pacific looked from the air. Even with
this morning’s light drizzle, the view was incredible, especially the curve of the
harbor with the white-peaked waves playing against the breakwater. There were
new buildings on the skyline too. The Tomorrow Super Mall and Convention Center
was a mammoth glass and steel structure that looked like a fractured mirror
from above. She still remembered when Pacifica Super Mall had opened; they’d
called it the pinnacle of the modern commercial experience. Apparently, the
modern commercial experience had reached new heights. There was also the new
baseball stadium, named the Sarah
Minoli
Stadium in
honor of Supersonic Cat, who had loved the West Pacific Samurai and used to
throw out the first pitch of the Season. It seemed wrong though that they’d
used the name of her secret identity. Sarah had always been intensely private
and Camille thought she’d have mixed feelings about this particular honor.

Camille had been
dealing with mixed feelings ever since she’d arrived back in West Pacific. It
was exciting to be back on the team, of course, and the ultimate validation of
the position she’d taken back in 2007. On the other hand, so much had changed
since she’d left. There was a new headquarters building and so many new faces
on the team. The only faces that hadn’t changed were Dr. Sterling and Seawolf,
who was as irritable and irritating as ever. The new team members were either
young and in great shape - Cosmic Kid - or old but unwilling to admit it - Blue
Star. Annie had already made a point of telling Camille that she needed to
start taking her physical training more seriously. Sure, she had let things
slide a little up in Whitehorse, but she resented the implication that she was
letting herself go.

The loss of Mr.
Awesome hung over everything. He truly had been the father she’d never had.
People frequently assumed that Camille had that sort of relationship with Dr.
Hodges because she’d been one of the troubled Academy teens. So many of those
who had come through the Academy idolized Dr. Hodges. Seawolf was like that;
Camille knew that she blamed Camille for somehow coming between her and Dr. Hodges.
But nothing could have been farther from the truth. In actuality, it was Dr.
Hodges’ relationship with Sarah that had caused all the problems. Camille had
been one of the only people to know they were a couple. At the time, Camille
was 19 and the whole thing seemed exciting and romantic. Looking back, she
realized it had been a publicity disaster waiting to happen. Sarah had been 25
and team leader; Dr. Hodges had been 60 and team president. It was actually
kind of creepy. No wonder he had always been paranoid that someone was going to
find out.

She was flying out
to Dr. Hodges’ house now. During the first team meeting, when Starfish and
Annie had sprung on her the idea of helping Matthew plan the team party to
welcome Starfish back, she’d been taken aback and actually rather angry. But
the more she thought about it, the more she decided it was a great opportunity.
She hadn’t had a chance to see Matthew since the funeral and that hadn’t
exactly been the right time for catching up. It seemed like a lifetime since
the two of them had just hung out. But now that she came to think of it, the
two of them never had just hung out. The reason Camille had spent so much time
with Matthew and Sarah back in the day was to give them a cover for what had
been really going on. In retrospect, she felt kind of used.

Dr. Hodges opened
the door, holding a pair of water wings. “I’m thinking of leaving science for
party planning,” he deadpanned to Camille. He sounded out of breath and looked
shockingly older than he had last month when she’d seen him.

“I wouldn’t turn in
your lab coat just yet,” she said with a smile. “Matthew, it’s so good to see
you again.”

He gave her an
awkward hug and led her into the living room, which was in chaos. Bags of
chips, cartons of soda, and pool toys littered the floor and couch. “It’s
looking festive,” she said, clearing away a pile of neon diving sticks in order
to make room on the couch.

“Oh, it’s a mess,”
he said, collapsing into an armchair. “I’m hopeless at this sort of thing.”

Camille laughed.
“Don’t worry about it. The two of us could put together a plan to save the city
from alien invasion in less time than we’ve got before this party gets
started.”

“Honestly, that
sounds like more fun. I’m glad you came. Annie should be arriving around 11 to
get the grill set up. It’s all her fault anyway. I wanted to have a team
dinner, but she said that you’re all a bunch of young people now and I have to
get with the times. Give you all an opportunity to hang out, show off, and play
around, as she put it.”

“I can’t exactly see
Seawolf playing around.”

“Maybe not, but
Annie’s right, you know. The team has changed. Cosmic Kid and Gabrielle are
both under 30. You and
Matteo
have children, Blue
Star is bringing his granddaughter… ”

“Are you saying I’m
not young anymore?” she teased.

Dr. Hodges looked at
her fondly. “You’ll always be 19 to me, Camille. I still remember when Sarah
first talked about bringing you on the team. I had my doubts - you were so
young. But already so talented. You’ve had a hard few years since you left West
Pacific, though.” He sighed. “I’m still haunted by what happened. If I had
pushed the Board more… ”

“Don’t worry about
it,” she said, forcing a smile. “2007 feels like a lifetime ago. I’ve moved on.
Or more accurately, I’ve come full circle. The ironic thing is that none of the
2007 Governing Board is still in place. So I guess I’ve proved them wrong after
all. Remember that woman – what was her name? Nina something. The one who said
that my refusal to wear a miniskirt spelled the end of female heroics as we
knew it? Well, it appears that pantsuits did not in fact destroy the world.”

Dr. Hodges nodded.
“I’ve lived long enough to know that very few crises actually are. The problem
is being able to remember that when you’re in the middle of another one.” He
fell quiet and stared across the room at the mantelpiece, which was covered in
pictures of Sarah, in and out of costume. Over everything hung a giant photo of
the 2002 team. It was eerie that he hadn’t changed anything since she had last
been here more than six years ago.

Camille could barely
bring herself to think about Mr. Awesome and Jason’s deaths, but she had to say
something and she might as well get it over with. “How is Patricia and – I’m
sorry, I don’t remember Jason’s wife’s name. She wasn’t at the funeral. How are
they doing?”

“Jessica,” he said.
“It’s rough of course. Patricia – well, she’s holding in there. At least she
still has Abigail and John. She blames me though for not pushing Ben to step
back from field work earlier. Jessica is in a lot worse shape. She’s been sick
for a while now, you know.”

“Last I heard, she
was in remission,” said Camille with a
tinge
of
guilt. After she’d been forced off the team, she’d cut ties with almost
everyone. She’d taken out her anger with the Governing Board on her former
teammates, which she had to admit had been pretty childish.

Dr. Hodges shook his
head. “The treatments were going well as long as she stayed away from Jason.
Even when he wasn’t using his powers, he emitted dangerous levels of radiation.
It was a very painful situation for everyone involved. Despite all our work, we
couldn’t give them a normal life.”

“Where is Jessica
now?”

“She’s back with her
parents on the reservation in New Mexico. She told me it was a good place to die.”
Dr. Hodges glanced back at the mantelpiece and then over at Camille. “You know,
I used to think that science could solve all of our problems. And then I
learned the hard way that it couldn’t, so I turned to social change. But there
are situations that social change can’t fix either. Sometimes, no matter how
much you want to fix something, you can’t. So what do you do then?” He stared
at her as if he expected her to have the answer.

Camille shifted
uncomfortably on the couch. “I guess you just do the best you can to accept the
situation as it is.”

“That’s true,” he
said thoughtfully. “You can always accept things.” He pointed up at the large
picture of the team. “I’ve been trying for years to get the 2002 team inducted
in the Super Hall of Fame,” he said with a smile. “That would be something,
wouldn’t it? It just seems like it needs to be done.”

Camille wasn’t sure
how this related to accepting things, but she nodded anyway. She had guessed
that Matthew would seem older, but she hadn’t expected him to have changed this
much. He had once told her that every time someone you knew was hurt or died, a
little bit of yourself went along with them. Matthew had lost so many people
over the years that it was a wonder that there was anything left of him at all.

“So what’s the grand
plan for this pool party?” she asked, trying to sound cheerful.

“What? Oh, Annie
told me to make it a beer and barbecue event. She’s coming over around 11 to
run the grill.”

“Right, you
mentioned that. It should be fun.”

“That’s the idea. It
took me forever to get everything. I don’t know if I’d ever been in a party
store before. They’re scary places, full of whining children and stressed-out
parents. Speaking of parents, how is your mother doing? Do you keep in touch?”

Camille was taken
aback. “We patched things up after I left West Pacific. She came up to Chicago
to see Meghan; she was back on the wagon then. But it didn’t last long, you
know how she is. Last I heard she was down in Texas with someone new. I haven’t
talked to her in a while though.” The subject made her uneasy. Last time
Camille had been on the team, she’d had to get a restraining order against her
mother. Now that her secret identity was gone, she prayed that her mom didn’t
show up again, or that if she did, she at least was sober.

Matthew nodded.
“You’ve always had an indomitable will to succeed, Camille. Just like Seawolf.
I know you two haven’t gotten along the best over the years, but given the
instability of your respective childhoods, I’m very proud of how well you both
turned out. You’re my great success stories.”

“Thanks,” she said.
She could hardly believe that Matthew had just taken credit for her success.
Perhaps he was responsible for
Seawolf’s
career, but
if anyone besides herself deserved accolades for her life, it was Mr. Awesome.
She had been wild when she’d joined the team and Matthew was too wrapped up in
Sarah to notice. It was Awesome who had included Camille in family dinners,
Awesome who had sat her down and bluntly said that she was going to lose more
than her good reputation if she kept running around.
This is why I hate talking about the
past
.

Matthew, however,
appeared to be in a mood to reminisce. “You know I haven’t even asked. How is
Jules doing?”

“Great,” said
Camille, forcing another smile. There was no need to go into how Jules had
reacted when he found out she’d unilaterally decided they were moving back to
West Pacific. Matthew and Jules had never gotten along that well anyway.

Dr. Hodges must have
been thinking along the same lines because he suddenly said, “I was wrong to
object to your marriage. That was far more about me and Sarah than about you.”
He sounded pained and Camille tried to cut him off, but he waved his hand for
her to stop. “No, it’s important for me to say this. I keep thinking about it
and I need to tell you. I should never have gotten involved. You just seemed so
young compared to Jules and it reminded me of how inappropriate Sarah’s and my
relationship was.”

“You loved each
other.”

“Yes, we did,” Dr.
Hodges said heavily. “It’s ironic really. I was always worried about being a
burden to her in my old age and then she died so young.” Camille was suddenly
afraid that he might actually cry.

“It was a terrible
tragedy. But it’s been a while now. Have you ever…”

“No,” he said
quickly. “I can’t imagine starting over. With all of my emotional baggage, I
could fill a storage unit. Seriously, I don’t know how Blue Star has the energy
to keep chasing new women.”

Camille laughed. “He
does have quite the reputation.”

“That he does.
Hopefully he has the sense to stay away from team members, but you should be
careful.” Matthew shook his head. “See, I just can’t stop myself. I’m too old
to be meddling in other people’s personal lives anymore.”

“You’re not that
old,” said Camille, but she could tell he didn’t believe that any more than she
did. She grabbed a bag of chips in one hand and an inflatable raft in the
other. “We’d better start getting these things out to the patio!” Matthew nodded,
but stayed in his armchair, staring at the mantelpiece, as she walked out to
the poolside.

By the
time Dr. Sterling arrived, Camille was feeling annoyed that Dr. Hodges had
apparently decided to drop the entire party in her lap when she was just supposed
to be helping out. Dr. Sterling, however, didn’t seem ready to sympathize.