Coyote's Howl (Cape High Series Book 17), page 22
***
“I have been thinking of this for a while, now, and I believe that we have been far too quick to strip supers of their powers. When we spoke to Bombastic and his wife, I realized that there is very little chance of rehabilitation in our current system,” Negatia says as the Hall leaders, Max, and Nico, take their seats. They’re in a smaller room of Central Hall, complete with comfortable couches and a coffee machine. Each of them has a cup in their hands, as well as a donut. “That is not right. I’m not trying to sound moralistic, or self-righteous. I was extremely eager to take Deathblow out of the system for my own personal reasons, but… I will admit to feeling uneasy about how things are going.”
“So you think we should leave Badmoon his powers and… try to rehabilitate him?” Nico asks.
“Can you keep him captive?”
“Of course I can,” he says. “I rebuilt it with better security. Even another technopath wouldn’t be able to shut it down.”
“Then we should at least attempt to help him find a better path before giving up completely,” she says. “And truthfully, there is another reason for this. We need those Cape Cells open, and fully functioning, which will not happen if we strip all of the escaped convicts of their powers. There is always a chance of running into a cape that the serum doesn’t work on. If we don’t have a place to put them, we would have a very big problem on our hands.”
I would say the same for Atlanti,” Mastermental says. “It would be a loss to strip her of her powers. We do not have many water based shifters. If we were able to rehabilitate her, or even just get her working with the system, she would be quite useful to the world.”
“He tried to kill one of my students,” Nico says. The room goes quiet before he sighs. “Fine, I’ll double up on his security, and we’ll… play it by ear. Are there any other subjects that need to be discussed?”
The Hall Leaders look at him a bit dryly. “I believe that’s his cue to go home,” Century says, finishing off his donut. “Unfortunately, there is one more issue to deal with, Star Born.”
“What about her?” Nico asks.
“She’s still in the Hall, even though you only brought her here to do something we didn’t even need her for,” Mastermental sums up. “I’ve been informed that Panther successfully brought back Lance’s mother’s animal forms, correct?”
“Yes, but—”
“So why are we not using the Cape Cells for what they were created for?” Negatia asks.
“Because Star Born is useful,” Nico says. “Even if she wasn’t useful in this particular instance, she’s still useful. Also, I’ve arranged for Ginger Hanks to oversee her work. If we allow that to go on for long enough—”
“We can send Star Born back to the Cape Cells and have Ginger Hanks act as our resident geneticist?” Isotonic says.
“Exactly,” Nico agrees. “We all know what happened to Ginger—that wasn’t our fault, exactly, but we are still partially responsible for it. If we can give her a job that benefits us and pays well, shouldn’t we at least try? And since Pan was able to help Lance’s mom, maybe we can arrange for him to show her a few things as well.”
“I see,” Negatia says. “She won’t live very long, though. She’s a norm, correct?”
“She’ll live long enough,” Nico says. “Once she’s up to speed, we’ll bring in other scientists for her to train, preferably our own capes. I might even have her come in and lecture any students that would be interested. I obviously can’t do that with Star Born.”
“And then there’s the issue with… Tank, wasn’t he called?” Marigold says. The room goes quiet and everyone looks over to Mastermental.
“It’s possible… we might have Star Born look into fixing his problem,” Mastermental says. “That would also help relieve Ginger of her guilt.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Nico says. “Now, if that’s all that I need to know, I’ll just be checking in at the Hall and heading to school.”
“Agreed,” Mastermental says. “Max, you’ve been extremely quiet. Do you not have anything to add?”
“I think we should have long johns next time,” Max says, looking at his donut before shoving it into his mouth. He licks his fingers before adding, “And Lance is going to get his forms back, right?”
“Yes, he is,” Nico says.
“Good. He’s a good kid. I look forward to working with him.”
“Sorry, son, he’s already strictly South,” Century says with a little smile.
“For now,” Max says. They stare at each other, with matching smiles. Mastermental clears his throat, but there’s amusement in his eyes as he taps a pile of papers on the table.
“Now, since everyone’s here, let’s go to the next order of business,” he says. “Nico, you’re dismissed.”
***
“What’s going on, here?” Nico asks as he steps into the room where Ginger is working.
“Oh! Technico!” she says, pulling away from the screen to give him a brilliant smile. “This has been so fascinating—Star Born is a genius, and since Nate says that the outfit and collar stop her from using her super abilities, I’m even more impressed! Oh, but don’t worry, she’s been doing exactly what you wanted her to do. She’s almost completely done.”
“She is, is she?” he says, only to walk over and tap the button next to the mic. “I thought I told you that we weren’t going to need that, anymore.”
“Yes, but it’s still a good mental challenge,” Star Born says, not even blinking. “I also wanted to see what I have to work with. It’s a decent setup, but I have a few requests. I’ll write you a list.” She casually pours a drop from one beaker into another and then swirls it together, looking thoughtfully at the results. “Besides, it isn’t hurting anyone, and your precious little norm is watching. I’m sure you plan on her taking my place. Well, not this place, of course. We wouldn’t want your precious little norm thinking she was a hostage of the capes, even if she WILL know how to kill you by the time we’re done.”
“I would never!” Ginger snaps angrily, getting up from her chair. Nico touches her shoulder, silencing her.
“You always have such a way with words, Star Born. But we don’t need what you’re working on, so put it away.”
“And what do I do with the serum I’ve developed?” she asks, shaking the vial in her hand. “Pour it down the drain? What a waste of the taxpayer’s money!”
“One, you sound patently fake, there, congratulations, and two, this part of our work isn’t funded by taxpayers.”
“That’s fascinating. Who does fund the Hall, Technico?”
“We do,” he says. “We’re famous. Now pour it down the drain, Star Born. Science lab is over for the day.” He waits until she’s poured out the serum, and then waves a hand. The lab she was working on slides back into the wall and the lasers come back up.
“I’m so sorry—” Ginger starts out as Star Born walks away from the camera.
“Room service! I’m waiting for my dinner, here! It had better not be cold, either!” the woman yells through the laser wall. Technico looks at Ginger.
“This wasn’t your fault,” he says. “You didn’t know, and she took advantage. I can’t exactly blame her for it, either. I would have done the same.”
“You would never have—”
“If I had the chance to get my hands on something I loved to do, after spending so much time away from it, yes, I would have,” he says simply.
Neither of them notice the tiny, half full vial of serum rolling to a stop in front of Badmoon’s cell.
***
“I know… I don’t have much to offer as a tenant of yours, but—” I hear Mom say as I enter the apartments. I run up the stairs, heading for the Master’s penthouse. The door is open, but I still hesitate for a moment.
“Come on in, Lance,” Sunny says. “We’re working out the details of your mom’s new place.”
“I can pay for it!” I say, walking in. “It’s the least I can do—” I stop as Summer holds up a hand, feeling like a kid in class. I might not have mentioned it before, but Summer is probably the hero I look up to most in my life. She can grow entire forests. She helps grow the world’s harvest on the weekends, and she’s beautiful, to boot.
“Lance, sweetie, that’s not what we’re asking for,” she says. “You know that we built a little greenhouse for Christmas. We were hoping to bring in a few exotic birds and other animals, to make the place feel more alive.”
“Oh,” I say, looking from them to Mom. “You were hoping… um, to make Mom one of those animals?”
“Oh, no, not unless she feels like being one at the time,” Summer says, laughing.
“We were hoping she’d take care of them,” Sunny explains. “Dad and the Hall can get permission to take in creatures that have either lost their home, or are in danger, anything that needs a semi-wild home. A lot of what we’d be taking in are the older birds. They live a lot longer than some norms expect them to, you know? There are also birds that might be too injured by circumstances to survive out in the wild. We can set up the greenhouse to work for the various types, it won’t be too hard.”
“We want them to feel as at home as possible. Unfortunately, while we can communicate with plants, we’re not so good with animals; but I’ve been told your family can communicate with all animals?”
“We can,” Mom says, looking at me with a mix of hesitation and hope. “I’d be close to my son, this way?”
“Yeah, yeah, you would,” I say, starting to smile. “And you’d have the wild to live in, but we could build you a small house, too, if you wanted. We built one for Vinny’s uncle, or you could live in the second dorm. Vinny’s dad lives there, since he said there’s no point in letting it fall apart. There are lots of really nice rooms and a huge kitchen, there.”
“And when he graduates, we can set you up somewhere in the South Branch,” Sunny says, “unless you want to stay, that is, right, Mom?”
“I’m sure that if you stay where we’re offering, Nico will bring the children over for you to teach about animals,” Summer says. “If you don’t mind, that is.”
“No—no, that sounds wonderful,” Mom says, and I can hear her heart speed up. She’s excited. I start to grin.
“Of course we’d arrange for you to be paid,” Summer says. “You’ll be working hard, after all, and since Nico’s information says you can use telepathy, you can teach in whatever form you feel like!”
“I don’t need to be paid, you’d be providing so much already—” Mom says, holding up a hand. “Oh, but I would like to go with you to get the animals, if you don’t mind?”
“I would insist,” Summer says with a wide smile. “I have no way of explaining what’s happening to the animals, and I want them to be as comfortable as possible.”
“Then… I accept,” Mom says, reaching out and taking my hand and squeezing it. “You don’t mind me being one of your teachers, do you, Lance?”
“No, not at all,” I say. I might have, before all of this happened. It’s a bit awkward having your parent as your teacher, just look at Ace and Blackjack, but anything that makes her happy is good with me. I would actually be happy even if she chose to stay here after I graduated. As long as she’s somewhere she can be whoever, and whatever she wants, and have people that love her, well, I’m going to support it. I have no doubt that students now, and in the future, will definitely love her.
“I… can I speak with my son?” Mom asks.
“Of course! Here, Nico’s been setting up a room that’s silenced,” Summer says.
“For after the wedding,” Sunny explains. Summer turns BRIGHT red. “We don’t want to hear them talking in bed, you know?”
“Yes, a bit of privacy in this building is… difficult.”
“He set up Ken and Jeanie’s room that way, too,” Sunny says, grinning cheerfully, “because Ken snores so loud that the building shakes.”
“That is very true,” Summer says, the red fading as she laughs. “Here we go, you two take your time. I’m sure you’ve got a lot of catching up to do!”
We step into the large, luxurious room, looking around for a moment. It looks like a jungle in here, with huge windows that let the light shine in on all of the plants. The bed is round, and king sized, with green silk sheets. There are vines hanging from the ceiling around it. My jaw drops open slightly, but I think Mom is the most shocked.
“He… really pays attention to details, doesn’t he?” she asks, touching an orchid as she walks past.
“I’m pretty sure Summer did the plants part. It’s where he hid the computer screens is what I’m wondering,” I admit.
“I want to see their bathroom,” she says, heading for a beaded curtain towards the back.
“Shouldn’t we—” I start out, only to give up and follow. I peek around her as she goes still, staring at the massive hot-tub grotto. “Wow.”
“Wow is right,” she says. “Okay, enough being nosy. I need to apologize to your rock mimic friend after this, but first I need to explain—”
“You don’t need to explain anything,” I say. “I messed up back then. I shouldn’t have fought with you—you were right. Because I acted like a brat, I was easily caught by Shadowman—”
“Shadowman?” she repeats. “What—what does Shadowman have to do with this?”
I stare at her, stunned. “Mom?” I say, slowly, “I’ve got a LOT to tell you.”
“It sounds like you do,” she says, heading for the bed and perching on the edge. “Why don’t you start at the beginning?”
So I do.
***
“Since we’re all here, already, you get your hearing early,” Century says as Badmoon walks into the room, fully black uniform outfitted, collared, and wearing glowing cuffs. “And if it was up to me, I would do much, much worse than what we have planned.”
“Why is that?” Badmoon asks. “Did I make fun of your fake accent?”
“I earned this accent,” Century says, his eyes narrowing. “Lance is MY Hall.”
“So he has sold out the Coyote name, already,” Badmoon says. “It figures.”
“You hypocrite—”
“Charles,” Mastermental says, silencing the other leader. “Badmoon, AKA Moon Chaser, AKA… what was your stage name again? Darren Stone?” Badmoon just stares at him, not replying. The comment is a definite jibe on the “selling out” comment, and they all realize it. Century even smirks. “Well, whatever it was, you are accused of prison escape, assault, and attempted murder. How do you plea?”
“I don’t,” Badmoon says. “Do whatever it is you’re going to do. No matter what I say, nothing will change.”
“You’re wrong, of course,” Negatia says. “Depending on what you say, things could get much, much worse.”
Badmoon nods, keeping his mouth shut. “Now,” Marigold says, “if you’re not going to say anything, we might as well get straight to the point. You’re going back to the Cape Cells. We will be helping you to work through… your issues, but you will still be closely monitored. If you step out of line we will strip you of your powers. At your age, you won’t last very long.”
Badmoon’s eyes widen, ever so slightly.
“Yes, you will be keeping your powers for now,” Mastermental says. “I suggest you think on the fact that we thought very long and hard about removing them.”
Badmoon nods. “Then I guess it’s time to go back to the Cape Cells, right?” he says. “I’m all packed.”
They stare at him, not even a hint of amusement on their faces. He turns and looks at the black suits, expectantly.
“Get him out of here,” Century says. They haul Badmoon off, leaving the room silent and irritated. “So? What was he thinking?”
Mastermental is quiet, a slight frown on his face. “Of the moon,” he says, finally. “He was only thinking about the moon.”
“It’s true, he won’t be seeing it again for a very long time,” Negatia says. “For a man named Moon Chaser, I would expect that the loss is painful.”
“Yes, I believe it is,” Mastermental says. “This meeting is now adjourned. If you wish to stop by the school campus, you should speak to Technico, first. He can be reached by any wall in the building, I believe. He spent a few nights redoing them.”
“You always have the best toys,” Isotonic complains.
“I also have no say in what he does more often than not,” Mastermental admits. “While having a technopath, or two, actually, can be extremely beneficial, they can also be difficult to deal with.”
“You can insult Nico all you want, but watch what you say about Zoe,” Century says.
“I adore Zoe,” Mastermental says, “but you’ll find out exactly what I mean when you open the new school branch next month.”
“Is she coming down?” Century asks.
“She’s already informed me that she was going to oversee it, herself, yes.”
“I look forward to it.”
***
“I hope you’re comfortable back there,” the driver of the black van calls over his shoulder, “if you’re not, well, don’t bother complaining.” The bus bumps along the long road, but Badmoon doesn’t say anything, he just stares at the wall in front of him. The taste of the serum still coats his tongue. He doesn’t know if it worked or not, but he’s starting to feel strangely tingly and numb at the same time. His heart is pounding, he notices. It’s going much too fast.
“Don’t even think of trying something!” the man in the passenger seat says, looking through the grated window between their section and his. “We’ve got you surrounded, and those cuffs were made specifically for you.”
It’s pounding even faster, Badmoon notices. His head is spinning. A part of him feels like he’s going to throw up, but he takes a deep breath, centering himself. “Bob? Bob, something’s wrong with him,” the passenger says.
“He’s faking it,” Bob says. “He’s a super, they could live through anything.”
“No, he looks really bad—like he’s going to be sick. I think we should call the Hall, ask if he ate anything that could do something like this.”
