Steel Life (Cape High Series Book 25), page 17
He’s outside of the school campus when he remembers something. He taps on his earbud. “Shadowman,” he says. “He took one of my kids.”
“Which one?” Shadowman asks.
“Cold Steel.”
“Thank you for this extremely useful information,” Shadowman says with satisfaction. Nico knows he should tell him not to do it—but he keeps his mouth shut.
Herold has gone too far.
***
Jack lets out a curse as he’s dropped in the middle of a field. He looks up at Herold, glaring as hard as he can. A long, long time ago, Zoe had warned him that he had no chance against Max. Oh, sure, he’d known it was true, but it had still offended him. Now, well, he’s in the exact same position, even with his new abilities.
“Yeah, like I give a crap,” he says aloud, shoving himself to his feet and bringing up his fists. His metal skin shifts, blades coming out of his forearms, calves, and back. They’re curved, and so sharp they can slice hairs in half. He’s tried it.
“That is absolutely fascinating,” Herold says, watching him with a pleased expression, “gorgeous, as well, although I hesitate to use that when describing another male. I wouldn’t want to offend you. But truly, I can’t seem to think of a better word.”
Jack ignores him, searching for some metal. There is none for miles around… he can just barely feel a hint of it in that direction, he notes. But for the moment all he has is himself. Even his board is out of calling reach. He shrugs it off and rushes—towards the hint of metal and away from Herold. Oh, sure, if he was protecting someone he would rush forward, attacking, but there’s no one here except for the two of them, and frankly, he—he barely manages to pull to a stop before crashing straight into the man.
“Oh, no, metal boy,” Herold says, “I’m not going to let you go that easily. I’m risking a lot just doing this. Now, give me that living metal on your wrist and… oh, a bit of hair should do—”
Jack’s arm lashes out, far faster than he’s actually supposed to be able to move. It leaves a thin slice in the shirt that Herold’s wearing, one that only separates after a long few seconds, revealing a completely unmarred chest.
Before the bottom half of the shirt is fully down, Jack kicks out, following it up with a flurry of uppercuts and elbows. It isn’t like his brawling style. This is the style that he’d learned from Superior once Superior found out about the blades. It isn’t one he’s supposed to use in shows, especially not against debuting heroes, but…
“Son of a—” Herold curses, jumping back. He looks down as the remains of his clothing drops off of his body. “You’re faster than I’d thought,” he admits. Before he can say anything, though, Jack makes a run for it, heading straight for the source of metal. Even if he can’t get far, he can still get closer.
Herold appears in front of him again, grabbing his wrist and ignoring the sharp spikes that shoot out of the wrist to keep him away. “You keep running,” he says, ripping off a few of the spikes to get closer to the watch. “I would have thought a big, strong super villain like you would—” Jack kicks him, throwing his weight abruptly and pulling out of his hold. “You’re starting to irritate me, boy,” Herold snarls.
“I’m trained by Superiors,” Jack says. “You talk too much.” He slams a heavily spiked fist into Herold’s stomach—or tries to. His arm slows. He hasn’t had this sensation in years, but he knows exactly what it is. “The…” he grits out as he tries to move forward. The E.P.B. isn’t working, any longer. Maybe it hasn’t been since the start. If he can block the transmissions, he can hack into the E.P.B., too, can’t he?
“I spent quite a while working with Technico’s toys,” Herold says. “I know his code, I know how he operates. Do you really think he’s such a better technopath that I wouldn’t learn his M.O.?”
Jack glances past him for all of a second, seeing some faint movement. “You don’t know everything,” he says, more to keep Herold distracted.
“Yes, that’s true. I didn’t know about this,” Herold says as the living metal pulls away from Jack’s arm and floats over to him. “I want this. I want much more than this, though. I wonder if they’ll be willing to trade it for you.”
“If you’re as good at Technico is, why haven’t you made something like that, yourself?” Jack asks, tempted to spit at him.
“Because I didn’t have you,” Herold says, reaching out and patting him on the shoulder. Jack inwardly rages, wishing that at least one of his many kicks and hits had actually made a dent on the man. He looks him over, seeing that he’s wearing one thing, still. “Is that why Technico didn’t sense you?” he asks, nodding to the strap across Herold’s chest.
“Not bad, huh?” Herold says. “Colleck had a little toy that kept B-class capes from being noticed while allowing them to access their abilities. It needed a bit of a boost, but I was more than—”
Jack just barely looks over his shoulder as he sees movement, but Herold sees it, this time. He turns, just as Shadowman is about to shove his hand into his chest.
The moment of distraction is just long enough for Jack’s watch, which has actually been embedded into his metallic skin, to reboot, the code randomizing again. Jack rushes forward, slicing through the strap that Herold has wrapped around his chest. The power blocker drops off and Shadowman grins, evilly.
Herold lets out a curse before he grabs the blocker and disappears, leaving Jack and Shadowman standing there. “Can you find him?” Jack asks, pulling strips of his own clothing off and letting them drop. His pants have the slits for the blades already in them, but his shirt had been a cheap one. It’s a lost cause.
“I can find him,” Shadowman says. “You get hurt?”
Jack looks at him, a bit dryly, “Since when have you cared?” He looks at his wrist, where the living metal used to be. “He got the metal,” he grits out, angry with himself. “I’d feel better if I had actually done some damage,” he admits.
“Well… you did strip him down,” Shadowman offers before stepping into a shadow and disappearing. Jack snorts, and then looks around, only to curse as he sees a few chunks of his own metal lying on the ground. He reaches down, scooping it up. It’s from the spikes that Herold had ripped on his wrist… but not all of them, he realizes, comparing it to his wrist. He must have gotten some of those, as well.
He reaches up, tapping on his earbud. “Nico?” he says.
“I’m already on my way, kid. Good to hear you’re okay.”
“Yeah, but not all of me made it out,” Jack says, staring at the chunks. “He got a few chunks of my metal, and the living metal that was around my wrist.”
“What about the rest of it?” Nico asks.
“Don’t think he noticed it,” Jack admits. Metal creeps up, covering his chest and taking the form of a t-shirt. He runs a finger around the collar and it widens on order. “Since this is more me and normal steel than tech, right?”
“Yeah, kid, that’s probably why. Your parents are on their way.”
Jack nods, not able to say anything as his parents land and haul him into a tight group hug. He feels a hot tear drop on his shoulder, but he doesn’t say anything. He does smile a bit as he hugs them back just as tightly.
“I’m STARVING,” he says a second later.
***
Micro looks at Clinky, seeing that he seems intent on getting back into the tubes. But Micro isn’t stupid. He knows exactly who Nico is chasing after. He lets out a little chirping sound and hops off of the table, intent on finding a way out of this place and getting back to his master—the one person who actually loves him.
“Squeak!” Clinky says.
Micro looks up at him, shakes his head, and scampers away. He’s so close—so close to being with his master! How can he NOT try?
Clinky looks from him to the tubes, hesitating. He doesn’t NEED sleep, sure, but he enjoys it! He even “dreams!” Well, it’s sort of dreaming. Basically his system scans all of the videos from the entire school, even things from before he was created, and plays them out like movies. He’s got several that he loves a LOT, like the time Sunny grew a tree and Adanna got caught up in it—
By this point, though, Micro has already left the room and is out of sight of the dithering guinea pig. Clinky lets out a little cry and hops off of the table, running out the door and looking around in confusion. He could tell Nico? But if he tells Nico, then… then he’s going to be in SUCH big trouble! He’s the one that insisted on giving Micro a body, in the first place!
This is just like that one episode of Super Hall Kids! The one where Technico decided to build a clone! He squeaks, pausing and wondering if Nico knows that he’s one of the characters on the show, since it’s a new season. He should probably tell him, since Kid Technico is his favorite, and he wants that autograph, too!
By this point, though, the chances of finding Micro in a school this big are a LOT smaller, unless he accesses the school video system. Of course, he’s not even thinking of that right now—he’s too busy remembering the episode where Kid Technico almost blew up the Hall. That was a really good one!
***
Jack drops down in front of the apartments, stepping off of the board. Before he can pick it up, though, Aubrey comes rushing out to throw herself into his arms. He lets out a laugh, hugging her back. “I’m fine, Aub,” he says right next to her ear. “But he got a bit of the living metal, which isn’t good.”
“He could have done—”
“But he didn’t,” Jack says. “I sliced his clothes. I used the same technique Superior taught me.”
“The hedgehog?” she asks, teasing him with a slightly watery smile.
“I ain’t callin’ it that, no matter what he calls it!” he says.
“But even so,” She says, her eyes lighting up and her hair floating. A second later she grabs his wrist. “You didn’t tell me he ripped it off!” she complains, looking at the ragged metal there. It’s already almost healed, but she doesn’t seem to care. “This wasn’t one of your shows, Jack! You know that, right?”
“I know that,” Jack says. “If it had been, I’da been embarrassed,” he admits, easily. “I was tryin’ to get closer to the only metal I could feel. But… he ain’t a Superior.”
“He has the same abilities—”
“No,” Jack says, “if I’d been up against Nico, I wouldn’t have gotten away with just a few ripped off spikes. He’s a talker, not a fighter. Sure, he can move, but I don’t get the feeling he’s been in a real fight… well, he was in one with Nico, once, but it wasn’t enough.”
“He’s an intellectual,” Nico says over the comm. “Which means he’s extremely good at running away. Shadowman’s lost him, as well.”
“I know why,” Jack says. “He’s got a piece that Colleck made and he made better. It’s a power blocker, sort of, but it lets him still use his abilities.”
“Yeah,” Nico says, “but now he has our nanobytes.”
“Can you find him with those?”
“I’m picking up a faint signal from them,” Nico says. “That’s good enough.”
“But… didn’t you clean out Colleck’s old stuff?” Aubrey asks.
“Not thoroughly enough, apparently,” Nico says. “I should have taken Rochester with me to the island.”
“I’ll do it,” Aubrey says. “I can use the teleportation watch, grab him, and get there while you’re chasing Herold. We’ll see exactly what he has and be prepared.”
“Aubrey, you’ve been working all day,” Nico says. “You’re right about sending someone in, but it won’t be you. Jeanie—”
“I’ll go in,” Jeanie says. “I don’t have a teleportation watch, though. Do you think—”
“Call Mastermental, he can do it,” Nico says before she can go on. “I want all hands on deck in case Herold realizes that there’s a lot more of the metal right there, and it’d be easier to steal than it would be to recreate. And get Voltdrain over to the South campus. I want Davis watched like a hawk.”
“Davis?” Jack repeats.
“The living metal isn’t just the two of us, Jack…” Nico pauses, and then lets out a curse. “He figured out how to hide the signal,” he says. “I’ve lost him. Shadowman—”
“I’m going to keep looking,” they hear Shadowman say. “Send out my kid—no, he stopped the E.P.B. on the metal kid, he’d stop it on Rocco, too, wouldn’t he?”
“I’ll fix it,” Nico says, “but I’m going to need everyone to come in, including you.”
“Fine,” Shadowman says. “But if he does something while we’re wasting time, it’s on you.”
“He has a new toy. He’s going to take his time messing around with it,” Nico says.
Aubrey is silent, but she’s staring at her bracelet with a slight frown on her face. Jeanie places a hand on her shoulder, looking to the front door of the apartments, where Summer is standing. “You need to get some sleep, sweetie,” Jeanie says. “We have a big day ahead of us.”
Aubrey nods, lowering her hand and heading for the entrance. Jeanie is right. She’s exhausted. She looks over at Jack, and then runs over, wrapping her arms around him, again.
“You know I’m plannin’ on goin’ in and getting some food, right?” he asks, literally picking her up because he’s making his way for the entrance and she was going to stop him.
“Yes,” she says.
“Then if you know that—” he starts out.
“I mean, yes, the answer to the question is yes,” she says. He stops, looking down at her with a little grin.
“Yeah, I know,” he says, almost laughing.
“I don’t care if Mom and Dad aren’t here. I’m saying yes, I’ll marry you—I’d do it tomorrow, if you promise not to scare me like that again.”
“Nope,” he says. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind the idea, but we got stuff we gotta do, first. I have a house to build, and we both gotta graduate. This one thing happened, Aub, and I know it scared you… wasn’t that easy on me, either, but doing anything because you’re motivated by fear is a terrible way to start out. I don’t want any of that lingerin’ over our relationship.”
She stares at him, a bit astonished at his line of thought.
“That’s my boy!” Ken says proudly. “Now, let’s get some second dinner.”
They look over at Nico appears with a poof in front of them, looking irritated. “He blocked my comms, he probably got a good look at your watch, too, didn’t he?” he says to Jack. He doesn’t even give Jack a chance to reply before he’s tapping on his earbud. “Zoe, kid, we’re pulling an all-nighter.”
“Already started drawing up the new schematics,” Zoe says over the comm, only to come out a moment later. “Let’s make it so he gets a headache just trying to look into it,” she says, walking right past Jack and jumping into the air.
“She’s mad, isn’t she?” Jack says.
“She’s absolutely livid,” Jeanie says.
Jack looks at her, suddenly realizing something. “You’re mad too, huh?”
“I’ll get over it,” she says with a little smile and a pat on his shoulder. “Inside, please. We should leave the technopaths to their work.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
He only has a short amount of time to work, Herold thinks as he lands in front of an empty warehouse. The first thing he’d done, even while flying, was get the strap with the power cycler back on. He’s naked, so, well, it’s a bit lower than it had been the first time. He looks down a bit wryly, wondering why he hadn’t thought to hide some spare clothes somewhere. He should have at least stolen that Jackson’s clothing before sending him into the hospital. He could have had the man claim he was mugged—well, technically, he would have been, by Herold.
Well, either way, he thinks as he walks into the place, he needs to find equipment to replicate the living metal, as well as the base material. A place like this should be—
He stops as he hears guns cock all around him, and watches a bit incredulously as a large group of thugs watch him.
“He’s naked,” one says a bit incredulously. “Look at that, boys! A naked cowboy just strolling into the place of our business!” he goes on, starting to laugh.
“Now I’m offended,” Herold says, memories of his first meeting with Century flashing through his mind. “I’m going to have to ask you all to leave,” he says.
They start laughing, and one of them shoots at the ground next to his feet. “Dance for us, cowboy!” one of them yells, as if it’s the funniest joke ever. Herold takes a step forward, and then another, watching as their laughter starts to fade, replaced by confusion. The one that had shot grows angry. “You think we won’t kill you, cowboy?” he demands.
Herold waves a hand and the ancient machinery in the building starts up, the lights coming on, as well. “I told you that I dislike being called ‘Cowboy’,” he says before launching himself forward.
A few minutes later the thugs lie on the ground, some of them groaning, others suspiciously silent. “Now,” he says, grabbing the shooter by the shirt. Herold looks at the clothes he’s wearing and changes his mind. “You’re going to do a bit of shopping for me,” he says. “Don’t think of running, though. I will find you.”
The man nods, swallowing loudly. “Her… Herold?” he says.
Herold smiles, the sight so chilling that the thug almost faints. “How nice of you to recognize me,” he says. “Now, I don’t need to explain why you need to keep that knowledge to yourself, do I?”
They both look at the bodies littering the floor.
***
Mastermental appears in front of the corn field where Cape High South is, looking around quite calmly. Technically, he’s trespassing, since he hadn’t bothered to call Century before coming. The thought has a tiny smile pulling at his lips as he searches for a rock. He’s never been to this campus, so he’s unsure of where the entrance is—
