34 Cape High Fire Spin, page 13
part #1 of Cape High Series
“Lorelei, honey, your… sper—“
“You’re NOT calling me that,” Yester says before Vixen can go on. “Princess, I’m sorry, I was out chasing after my cousin and I didn’t find out until—“
“Family drama should be done privately, don’t you think? Why don’t we go to the Hall and let you three talk?” I ask, getting to my feet.
“I don’t want to be a hero,” Addie says. “I have enough trouble just fitting in, in public, and my powers are stupid.” She reaches up, fiddling with the metal bracelet she’s wearing, that keeps changing shape, but stays wrapped around her wrist while it does.
Riddle looks at her for a long moment before letting out a sigh and standing. “We’re going into the field,” he says.
“What?” the rest of the group says.
“We’re going to show our kids just WHAT we can do, and those upstarts in the working group, as well,” he says. “That way my little girl will understand just who the Riddle-Me line is.” The world around us seems to blip, with things flipping or switching around, only to go right back to how they were in the first place—save for a lot of dirt on all of the plants in the room.
“You flipped my houseplants, Riddle,” Vixen complains. “Don’t you realize how much that traumatizes them?”
“He has a point,” Gibby says, sighing as she stands. “It’s one thing to want to avoid the annoying parts, it’s another for our kids to be ashamed of who and what they are.”
“But—“ Addie says, her eyes huge with worry.
“Fine,” Yester says, “but we’re STILL not letting our little princess into the game, who knows what sort of creeps would start stalking her?”
“But… I want to play with mermaids,” Ariel says. “You can play with me, right?” she asks, floating over to Vixen and looking up at her hopefully.
“We only get the super crazy stalkers, if it makes you feel better!” Skye says. Everyone in the room looks at her.
“It doesn’t make us feel better,” they say, almost perfectly in sync.
“Wait…” I say, realizing something. “Did I… ah… just make things worse?”
“You ABSOLUTELY made things worse,” Doris says, “but it’ll be interesting! I should call Reaper; he’s going to want to watch this.”
***
*West Hall*
Indigo grunts, laid out on the floor once again. He’s starting to get sore from being tossed around like this. “Again,” he mutters, getting to his feet. The guy they’d brought in isn’t a working cape—well, he is, but it’s as a cameraman, right? So why is this so freaking hard? What makes it worse is that this “Gecko” guy doesn’t even look winded. He’s crouching on the nearest climbing object, checking his phone.
“Yeah, I got it, but I still gotta lose, Jen!” he says. “He’s going to be a headliner someday, right? We can’t just waltz into his Hall and toss him for a loop because he’s jumping the gun—“
“Sure you can,” Maximum says.
“I do it all the time,” Cold Steel agrees. The two are sitting on a metal surfboard, eating popcorn as they watch this, like it’s a cheap show.
“Okay, I gotta go, it looks like he’s up again,” Gecko says, flipping off of the stand and landing lightly in front of Indigo. “You’ve got a decent base, but you’ve never fought against a guy like me, have you?” he asks. The hint of compassion in his tone makes Indigo feel sick to his stomach. He’s being treated like a kid! This guy isn’t that much older than he is, is he? Sure, he looks like an older teen, but he’s still a teen!
“So?” Negatia says, making them all look over. “Is he ready to debut?”
“No?” Gecko offers. “He’s ready to be TRAINED to debut, but he’s not ready to be out on the field, yet. I mean, he’s got a lot of promise, I swear! But just… not…” he trails off as both Laserblast and Indigo stare at him. “He’s fledgling-class,” he says.
“And so, according to the feed from Vinny, is that Shane kid,” Maximum says, tapping on his watch and bringing up a video. Indigo stares in shock as he sees the kid he’s MOST worried about being tossed around like a toy by Fire Hazard. “Vin didn’t even have to flame on for that,” Maximum says.
“Wait… um…” Indigo says, his eyes glued to the feed. “That… but he’s HUGE!”
“Well, yeah, he’s a Maui kid, right?” Gecko says. “Actually, he’s pretty small for a Maui kid, isn’t he?” he says to the others.
“Nah, you’re just forgetting how little Kaden was when he first got to school,” Cold Steel says. “He’s going to be a decent size when he gets older.”
“He’ll be a good villain in, what, two or three years? With the right training, that is,” Maximum says. “I’m jealous, I want him.”
“Denied,” Negatia says. “And so, I’m afraid, is the debut. Indigo, your training is going well, but you aren’t ready, yet. You have a lot of promise, but this is not the time.” She looks tired. That, and the video of Shane getting tossed around like a rag doll are both starting to sink into Indigo’s mind. What if… what if he’s…
A chime comes from Negatia’s bracelet, and she taps on it. “Negatia,” she says.
“We’re going into the photo-op,” a man says over the call. “Set me up for the first show.”
“Riddle?” she says. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m going to show my little girl just who and what we are,” the man says. “I’ll do the villain routine, if you want, it doesn’t matter, but set it up.”
Indigo looks over at his dad, seeing his jaw tighten dangerously at those words. “Fine,” Laserblast says. “Then the debut will wait. Indigo, we’re leaving,” he snaps. Indigo nods, feeling a bit awkward, now.
“Indigo, seriously,” Gecko says, “you’ve got a lot of promise, I swear, but you’re still not… I mean… just keep training, okay? It’s something we all gotta go through, and I’m not even going to BE in the photo-op that much.”
“But… you SHOULD be,” Indigo hears himself say. “You’re really good. You’re… you know, flashy.”
Gecko grins. “Yeah, but…”
“He’s in loooooveeee,” Cold Steel calls out, tauntingly.
“Who’s the engaged one, here?” Gecko says. “You’ve already built your house, man!”
“Which is why I can tease you!” Cold Steel says shamelessly. “Gecko doesn’t wanna let Blackbird run around doing dangerous things alone,” he tells Indigo. “She’s only a Specialized-C, right?”
“Yeah,” Gecko admits, rubbing the back of his neck. It’s a bit red from embarrassment. “I figure that’s more important than being a big name, or something. Plus, it’s a lot of fun.”
“And what do your parents say about that?” Laserblast asks. “You’re throwing away your family line for some silly TV show—“
“I don’t have any,” Gecko says. “And you and I both realize that everything capes do is for some silly TV show, I just like being behind the screen more than in front of it.”
Laserblast has no reply to that, so he just shoots Gecko a dark look and heads out the door, leaving Indigo to chase after him. “Dad—“ he starts out.
“Don’t say a word until we’re two miles away,” Laserblast says as they exit the back of the building and start running. Laserblast pulls out his phone, making a call. “Gather the true Hall,” he says. “We have a problem.”
Indigo falls silent, feeling his stomach churning, only to realize that his dad is running too fast, and he’s having trouble keeping up with him. He grits his teeth, still exhausted from the sparring, and speeds up as well as he can. Laserblast doesn’t even seem to notice how much trouble he’s having, but he doesn’t dare to mention it, himself.
“I’ll explain when we get the group together—yes, the villains, too,” Laserblast says, hanging up and looking at Indigo. “Are you tired, already?” he asks.
“I just… sparred… for an hour,” Indigo wheezes.
“Fine, we’ll slow down,” Laserblast says, slowing down his speed. “What do THEY know, anyway? You’re perfectly fine at this stage. You’ll be a headliner in no time. He was probably just looking down on you because you’re West Hall. But that’s Central for you. They’re full of elitist jerks,” he says, pulling to a stop on a corner and motioning to a bench. “Don’t EVER let someone look down on you, Indigo, especially not the Central Hall, and definitely not the Foundation, got it?”
Indigo sits down, getting his breath back. “I know, Dad,” he says. “I won’t.” But… he still sees Shane being tossed around just like he had been in his head, and it doesn’t feel as… you know… bitter? If anything, he’s almost positive that Shane got it worse than he did, like, the guy sparring with him hadn’t even THOUGHT about how to toss him, first. He looks at his dad, wondering if he should point that out, but his dad is too busy looking at his phone.
“We’ve got the meeting place,” Laserblast says, abruptly. “Do you need a piggyback ride?”
“No,” Indigo says, shaking his head a bit too much. “I’m not going to show up looking weak like that.” He’s not the only kid in his age range in that group. Kinetic’s kid, Grace will be there, he’s sure. He’s not about to show HER signs of weakness. She’ll never let him live it down.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Yes, I understand,” Negatia says. She’s in her office, calling her heroes to try and set up the thing for Riddle. He wants to go into the photo-op, and she honestly has no idea why, but she’s not about to tell him no—except she might have to. Every single one of her heroes has turned her down for the job. If she was a lesser cape, she would have a pounding headache by this time. “No, I understand. I’ll call someone else.”
She hangs up, being very careful to not slam the phone down. She looks at the three teens from Cape High, who are just hanging out in her office, watching all of this. “Isn’t it about time that you head home?” she asks.
“We’re keeping an eye on you while Vinny is busy,” Max says, tapping on a hologram over his wrist. A light shoots out, scanning over her. She gives him a dark look, and then leans back in her chair, rubbing the bridge of her nose.
“You need a hero, right?” Jack asks.
“I can do it, myself, I suppose,” she says, and then frowns, because she hasn’t actually DONE fieldwork in years, and she isn’t sure she’s… well… in the right mindframe to go up against someone like Riddle.
“Use Vinny,” Jack says, as if it’s obvious. “You got him as a temporary second-in-command, right? Well, you need to let the world see that fact, and he ain’t got some sort of grudge against the guy. He even fed him when he showed up to spy. I figure that neither of them will have a problem makin’ the other look good.”
Negatia goes silent for a moment, thinking it over seriously. “I… see, that isn’t completely wrong,” she admits, “but I’m not sure that Vinny is completely prepared to deal with Riddle.”
“He’s a thinking villain, isn’t he,” Max says. “We’ve had a few classes, and Pan even came in to give us some lectures on it…”
“But Vinny’s never actually been up against one—you don’t count,” Jack says, pointing at Max. “Sure, you do a few logic twists, but it ain’t PANTHER level mind puzzles—“
“The Colleck boys do them in the game, though,” Freddy says.
“Riddle turns everything into a puzzle,” Negatia says. “When I say that, I mean that the room literally turns into puzzle pieces, and you must pick out the right actions in the right sequence, or the entire building will fall. That’s his favorite technique, but he can do more. Locked boxes, life-sized gameboards, and those are only the things he SHOWS people. His other abilities are much more… troublesome.”
“So… he’s a psychic?” Jack asks.
“No,” she says. “When I say the entire building will fall, I truly mean the entire building. We often had to buy impounded buildings and even malls before we arranged for one of his gigs. Truthfully, I have no idea what spurred this decision, since he is perfectly happy being a single father—“
“Hey… who IS Addie’s mom, anyway?” Max asks.
“Riddle was married for a short while to a lower-level super from the East Coast,” she says. “It didn’t work out, and the woman decided that he would have more time to raise the child since she was still a working cape.” She takes a drink of water, her mind going back to more important things. “I wish,” she says, feeling silly for even voicing this, but these three aren’t from her Hall, “that I could just get them to TRY and work together.”
“Vinny could probably pull it off,” Max says.
“The fight against Riddle?” Negatia asks.
“Getting them to work together,” Max says, “but I won’t swear to it. There’s a lot of resentment on the side of the working group, resentment and fear.”
“And on the Foundation side?” she asks, curiously.
“They appreciate them, for the most part—unless they actually have to talk to one of them,” Max says. “You basically have two Halls, here, you know that.”
“Yes, I realize that fact,” she says, her irritation leaking into her voice. That’s not good, she thinks, and taps on her comm, bringing up the feed of Ho’pa’s room. She’s a bit surprised to see Justin and the little girl sitting on the floor, with a guitar. They’re singing a song together as Justin strums along. “Is… is there a way to record this?” she asks, feeling a bit embarrassed by the request, but she had never thought the two would get along so well—and she had never imagined he would get Ho’pa singing in English so quickly!
“It already is,” all three guys say.
She smiles, just watching the feed. The very sight is calming her down, and the faux headache that she’d been dealing with is practically forgotten. She reluctantly closes the window and looks at the young men. “I understand,” she says. “I will consider having Vinny do the job. Now tell me, of the two young teens that Gecko and Fire Hazard sparred with, which do you think shows the most promise?”
They look at each other, and then bring up feeds of the two sparring matches, watching them silently for a moment. “I want to say Shane,” Jack says, “but that ain’t right.”
“Why isn’t it right?” Negatia asks.
“Because you ain’t got a show without both sides,” Jack tells her. “A villain without a hero is just a thug, and a hero without a villain is…”
“Just a weirdo running around in tights,” Max finishes. “Of course, you could talk Addie into being a hero? Or let Shane be the hero and Addie the villain, but that Indigo kid’s actually very promising, once he gets past his anger issues. If he’d get over the resentment on that side, I bet they’d work well together.”
“And… perhaps it might be easier to start at that level?” she offers, seeing a hint of hope for the first time in a while.
“He reacted pretty strongly when we showed him Shane getting knocked around just like he’d been,” Max says.
“Yeah, I picked up on that, too,” Freddy says. “Maybe if we sent them both to Cape High, they might actually get to spend time, and learn to work together?”
“No… because Addie was in class with his little sister,” she says. “It doesn’t work. That just…” she sighs. “I’ll call Vinny and ask if he will do the show.” She starts to reach for her phone, only to pause as she realizes she doesn’t even know Vinny’s phone number.
“Use the comm,” Max says. “He’s got a phone, but he tends to leave it in his other tights more often than not.”
***
*Vixen’s House*
“So…” Yester says, as his daughter stares at him with several mixed emotions.
“Did you REALLY go invisible for an entire month?” she asks, “Just to get out of working?”
“You, ah, heard about that?” he asks.
“Aunt Gibby’s told me ALL about you,” she says. “She said I need to make sure I know ALL of the foundation members, even if they are chickens that ran off and left all the paperwork to the rest of them.”
Yester turns, looking very pointedly at Gibby, who gives him a shameless grin. “You and I both know that my husband chose to run around in a grass skirt instead of dealing with the IRS,” she says.
“Pika has enough trouble dealing with the HOA, much less the IRS,” Vixen says, waving it off. “YESTER did a stint as a lawyer for a decade! He should be perfectly capable of dealing with the government regulations.”
“Thank you, honey—“ Yester starts out.
“I’m still not talking to you,” Vixen says, snubbing him.
“But you and mom had um… a… thing?” Lorelei asks. “Was it like, a moment of romantic insanity—“
“What have you been teaching this innocent child?” Yester demands of Vixen.
“It’s not my fault! It’s television!” Vixen says. “Just where did you pick up that phrase, anyway? And NO, it was not a moment! Yester and I were…” she stops, floundering slightly.
“Princess, your mama and I have been together since back when they thought a black man like myself and a white woman like your mother loving one another was a scandalous ordeal,” Yester says.
“You don’t talk about that to a thirteen-year-old child!” Vixen says, glaring at him.
“Why not? It’s the truth,” he says. “And it’s also true that my phone stopped working practically the moment I got off the boat, and I had a heck of a time finding one that would call the states, or someone willing to LET me call them. If I could fly, I would have come back, I swear, but that cousin of mine… you know that the last time I found him he was living in a group home for out-of-work supers some forty or so years ago?” he says, looking irritated. “It was owned by a man named Andre Harrison, if I recall…”
“Taurus’s dad?” she asks excitedly. “You met the owner of HTV?”
“Is that what he became?” Yester asks, grinning. “He was a very ‘cool cat.’”
“He’s a bull,” Lorie says blankly.
“It means he was a very interesting fella, princess,” Yester tells her, still amused. “But the moment I found my cousin, he off and ran, just so he wouldn’t have to deal with family. I’ve been chasing him on and off for decades… I just didn’t realize I would miss something so important.” He reaches up, hesitantly, expecting her to flinch, but she just beams at him as he pushes her curly hair back.
