Steel Life (Cape High Series Book 25), page 22
“What the—” Jackson yelps as sparks fly down. “Wait! You don’t need me anymore! You’ve got your freaky suit, already! Isn’t that—”
The sound of a cat’s cry makes both of them stop and look around. Herold frowns and then taps on the living metal covering his arm. A hologram appears over it, showing a strange, metallic guinea pig. “Nyaaaa,” the guinea pig says.
“Micro?” Herold says.
“What in the heck is that?” Jackson demands, looking more freaked out by the guinea pig than he had been by the metal suit. After living in Missouri for so long, strange uniforms aren’t THAT big of a shock. Robot guinea pigs with glowing eyes, on the other hand? That’s a new one.
“Are you truly Micro?” Herold asks. “Because I wouldn’t put it past Technico to use an imitation.”
The guinea pig meows and a long line of binary code appears over his head. Herold reads silently before nodding.
“I see,” he says. “I would thank this Clinky fellow, but I have no plans to meet him.” The guinea pig meows again, and a strange little smile pulls at Herold’s lips. “Yes, but since you found me, Technico will find me soon, as well. No, you’re right, I do miss you. Your loyalty is exemplary. Your code is… inspired, as well. Tell me, my boy, how attached are you to your present form?”
“Nyuu,” the guinea pig says.
“Then come, my friend, and join me,” Herold says, tapping on the hologram for a few seconds. On the feed the guinea pig’s eyes go dark and the body goes still.
“Did you kill him?” Jackson asks, although he’s not certain something like that CAN be killed. Turned off, maybe?
The suit that Herold’s wearing changes colors, and for a moment he sees the 2D image of a gray cat climbing over the man and draping over his shoulders. It disappears, leaving Jackson to wonder if he’d actually seen anything at all.
“Much better,” Herold says. “Yes, it is risky having his programming in my system, but it won’t make a difference once I am in space. Micro, you will now become the ship’s computer. Are you prepared?”
“Nyaa!” comes from his suit.
“That’s good to hear,” he says. He’s so distracted that the metal holding Jackson loosens slightly without him noticing. Jackson almost says something; he only stops because he’s suddenly dropping to the ground. Unfortunately, Herold notices the moment he makes a run for it.
“Really,” Herold says, turning to the door. “Did you really think I wouldn’t notice you there, kid?”
Jackson blinks, thinking that he’s talking to him, but then he sees Cold Steel step out of the shadows.
“You don’t need him anymore,” Cold Steel says. “Let him go.”
Jackson stares, shocked as he realized what had really happened. Cold Steel had been the one that loosened the metal. He’d been trying to get him free. Even after all the crap Jackson had said to the guy, he’s still trying to save him.
Wow… supers are really stupid, aren’t they?
“Oh, no, the big bad super villain is telling me what to do,” Herold says, “why don’t I just hand myself over to the Hall now, and save us all the trouble? Is that what you’re going to say, next?”
“No,” Cold Steel says, “But I can if you want me to.”
“If you want him, give me back my monkey,” Herold says. “I think that’s an even trade, don’t you? No, it’s true he’s nowhere near as intelligent as my monkey. Ah, tell me, why isn’t the woman I hired in the Cape Cells? She’s annoying. Besides, the boys in there could use more eye candy. Atlanti can only go so far, and now that I’m gone, they’re severely lacking.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Jack says after a long moment of staring at him.
“I happen to have an exceptional body and face, thank you,” he says, arrogantly. “It really did help when I was in politics. People like seeing attractive people, regardless of their gender. Just like I find you astonishingly beautiful,” he says, holding out a hand. “I think I’ll take you along with me,” Herold says.
“Leave my boyfriend alone,” a girl says, stepping into view. She’s wearing a mask, but… well… she looks so average that Jackson’s certain that the mask is a bluff. All supers are what Herold just said, right? They’re attractive people that everyone else likes looking at. She’s not ugly, or anything, but she’s no Star Spangled, either.
He glances at Herold, who has a strange expression on his face. He takes a step forward, and Jackson just happens to see a hand reaching through the shadow behind him. His mouth opens, but he closes it a second later, and makes another dash for the door. The best thing to do right now is leave this drama to the capes. He’s still not sure what Cold Steel and Herold even have to do with one another, other than Herold seems to really like how Cold Steel looks. That’s… well… you know, HE thinks Cold Steel looks awesome, too, so it doesn’t really surprise him that much.
He feels the metal wrap around his chest again and he lets out a curse as he’s lifted into the air. He’d been SO close—
“The little healer girl,” Herold says, “how fascinating. Now I can try that idea I was playing with, earlier!”
“NYAA!” comes from Herold’s suit, and he turns with a rush, seeing a man standing there with metal wrapped around his fists, cursing.
“Ah, good, you didn’t get lost along the way,” Herold says.
***
*London*
“So this is the guy that will find him for me?” Sparky asks as she walks into a room. She’s in the basement of a rather fancy hotel, where guests aren’t allowed to go. Her client had come through and gotten her in touch with one of the biggest super villains this side of the ocean. He goes by, and she had laughed her head off when hearing this, “Moriarty.”
Moriarty is a tall, slender man with a curly mustache. He looks SO stereotypical English villain that she’s certain he had done it on purpose. Actually, once in a while he seems to flicker, ever so slightly, so she’s almost positive it’s a disguise. Truthfully, she bets that’s not even his real super name. She just doesn’t care. All she wants is the location of Herold, because as much as she wants to destroy her daughter’s reputation, she needs to get paid, first. He’s been ignoring her calls for too long. Knowing Herold, he’ll act as soon as he has everything in place, and he’ll be in space, leaving her no way of getting paid.
“I don’t believe I have to answer that fully,” Moriarty says in a stuffy tone. “But yes, this is one of my most useful allies. Census is not the most powerful, in the traditional sense, but he has his uses.” He opens the door of a small room, revealing a small, hunch-backed being sitting in a chair, playing video games on a big screen TV. “Census, we need your assistance.”
“I’m busy,” Census says—and then his character dies. He frowns, putting the controller down. “You’re in luck, I’m less busy,” he says, turning so he’s facing them. Sparky stares at his rat-like face, stunned. In her long time experience, most supers tend to be extremely attractive. Census glares at her, making his already unattractive face look even worse. “What are you looking at?” he demands, shoving his plastic rim glasses up his nose.
“Glasses?” she asks. “Shouldn’t a super have perfect eyesight?”
“He wears them in an attempt to hide his face,” Moriarty explains, not bothering to whisper.
“You’re one to talk, you never show anyone your true face,” Census says. His large glowing eyes look even bigger behind the ugly glasses, and he stares at Sparky for a long moment before he turns back to the computer without a word.
“I have a… favor to ask of you,” Sparky says.
“You’re not really Firefly,” Census says. “You’re an old has-been. I only work with real supers.”
“I GAVE Firefly her powers!” Sparky snaps, offended at that summery.
“Doesn’t change anything. Even if she’s a hero, I like Firefly, I don’t know you. You can leave.” He starts up his game again, and she loses her temper, holding out her hand and causing the big screen to start popping and sizzling dangerously. He turns, glowering at her with rage.
“You killed my game!” he says.
“You need to find a man for me,” she says, storming over and grabbing him by the grubby shirt he’s wearing. “If you don’t, it won’t just be your game that gets blown up.”
“If you blow up my television I can’t do my thing,” Census says through gritted teeth.
“He’s speaking the truth,” Moriarty says. “I’m not sure how he does it, but he’s quite accomplished. I realize that throwing a hissy fit has worked for you thus far, but if you persist, you will find yourself at a dead end.”
“Thus?” she repeats. “If you really expect me to think you talk like that all the time, you’re crazy.”
“I don’t like her,” Census says in a surly tone. “We should hand her over to Knight, she can be his problem.”
“It is a thought,” Moriarty admits.
“Your daughter got here, recently, didn’t she?” Census asks as he brings out a keyboard and starts pecking at the keys. “You told your wife you’d teach her things.”
“Ex-wife,” Moriarty says. “She’s here. She’s spending some times with the minions working on her evil laugh,” he waves it off. “But you knew that already.”
“I knew she was here, but she’s nowhere near the minions,” Census says. An image appears on the screen when he places his hand on a glass ball next to the keyboard. A preteen girl is sitting in front of a television, watching the Liberty Family movie with a sad expression on her face. “She’s going to want to go back if you keep ignoring her like this.”
Moriarty clears his throat. “Just find whoever it is that Sparky’s looking for, Census, and we’ll get on with Crystal’s training.”
“Okay, fine,” Census says, but he doesn’t look happy. The screen goes blank again. “Who are you looking for?” he asks Sparky, sounding irritated.
“His name is Marvin Herold,” she says. “Do the heroes know you have someone that can do this? How DO you do this, anyway?”
“That’s a trade secret,” Census says, tapping on the keyboard with one hand. She watches the screen expectantly, thinking they’ll show a live feed of Herold just as he had the kid, but all it brings up is a series of YouTube videos and a few files that are mostly blacked out. Census stares at it all for a very long time, clicking on the videos and playing a few of them over and over again. She waits… and waits… and finally sits down in the chair that Moriarty silently offers her, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at Census’s back.
He had better not be pulling her leg, she thinks angrily. This is taking far too long!
Just as she thinks that, the screen goes black, and then a strange image appears. Herold, wearing a strangely metallic looking body suit floats in the middle of a room. In front of him are two people floating in the air, and an older teen girl rushing for him angrily.
“Is this the man you’re looking for?” Census asks.
“That’s him,” she says, amazed. “Do you have his location? You don’t happen to have a teleporter in the group, do you?”
“We’re super villains,” Moriarty says, “we won’t EVER tell you what all we do or don’t have. This is what we were paid to do, and this is all you’re going to get.”
“One quick video of him in spandex is NOT enough for how much you were paid!” she snaps, her excitement turning sour.
“Give her the address,” Moriarty says. “The sooner she’s off my continent, the better.”
The image on the screen pulls back, showing the outside of the building and focusing on the address on the front. “There,” Census says. “You can go away now. I don’t like you.” He stares at her haircut pointedly, clearly disapproving.
“I really don’t see why you’re so protective of her,” Sparky says. “She might be my daughter, but she’s a useless brat.”
“She’s a million times better than you are,” he says angrily. She snorts and zaps into the nearest plug-in, leaving them to sit there in silence for a moment.
Moriarty shimmers slightly, his form taking on a new one, and Census changes form, as well, no longer hidden by Moriarty’s illusion. “She’s going to cause problems,” Census says. “And if you’re not going to train your daughter, I will.”
“Trained by the brother of Knight, himself,” Moriarty says. “That might be as impressive as sending her to Cape High… perhaps.”
“Oh, whatever,” Census says, walking out of the room. “And make sure you replace that game! I was getting good at it!” he yells over his shoulder.
“I like you better when you look like a rat,” Moriarty replies irritably. “Shouldn’t you be calling your brother? It’s obvious what she’s planning to do with that haircut.”
“My brother swore off doing anything for the American heroes until they agree to provide us with the school program they’re using,” Census says. “He’ll probably want to use this as leverage.”
“What will you do if they find out about your little talent?” Moriarty asks.
Census thinks about it for a moment. “It’s the only talent I have,” he says simply. “I’m the laughing stock of the family line, a child of the Knight Line that can’t even lift a sword. What would the Americans want me for?”
He leaves, closing the door behind him and completely missing the way Moriarty groans at that response.
***
Jack stares at the uniform that Herold is using. HIS metal laces through all of it, metal that’s his to control, not this freak’s! But none of that, not even Jackson and Shadowman being held captive, matters to him right now. The only thing that’s in his mind is that Aubrey is here, in the middle of this extremely dangerous situation, and he HAS to save her.
“If you let the healer go, I’ll let you have the rest of my metal,” he says. “You can skin me, if you want, just don’t hurt her.”
“Prove it,” Herald says. “Take the E.P.B. off.” Jack doesn’t even hesitate; he rips the comm out of his arm and tosses it to the side.
“There,” he says, “I’ve done what you told me to do, so let her leave.”
“Jack, don’t be an idiot!” Aubrey bursts out.
“You’re not a match for him, Aub,” Jack says. “You’re a healer, not a fighter. She’s got no value for you, Herold, so let her go.”
“Not going to beg for the lives of the other two?” Herold asks. “Oh, right, you two do have an intimate relationship, don’t you? That makes her all the more tempting to bring along.”
Jack jerks slightly as Jackson starts screaming in pain. “What are you doing to him?” he asks, looking over. The other man’s shirt is turning red.
“I was wondering if I could recreate something like you,” Herold says. “The metal that I used to hold him is mainly composed of your skin, so I wondered if I could graft it in, so to say. I’m really just waiting for our last partygoers to show up. Or have you not cried out to your principal like I thought you would? That’s why you were so willing to ditch the E.P.B. isn’t it? You expect him to come and save you.”
“You actually WANT Technico to show up?” Jack asks, distracted. “What are you, an idiot?”
“Just a moment ago you were offering up the skin off your back to save your girlfriend,” Herold points out. “Tell me, Cold Steel, which one of us is the idiot?”
Jackson screams more, and Aubrey races over to him, tugging at his shirt. “Stop doing this! It isn’t working!” she snaps at Herold.
“But you could make it work,” Herold says. “That IS what you specialize in, isn’t it?”
“I do not!” she says, glaring at him angrily. She starts forward, only to find herself hauled into the air by her comm. She snaps out an order and the comm comes off, leaving her to slip the living metal bracelet off, and then toss her phone behind her. He holds out a hand to her, but nothing stops her as she rushes forward, this time—not until Jack lets out a little grunt. The comm she had just dropped goes flying, landing in Herold’s hand. He looks smug, but she doesn’t notice. She’s too busy staring at Jack. Jack is floating in the air, his arms above his head. He’s fighting the way his body is trying to contort. “Stop it,” Aubrey says. “Stop doing that to him!”
“Then make this little experiment of mine work,” Herold says, examining the comm with a curious look. “Fix the norm.”
“Let my boyfriend go and take the metal away from the norm and I will!” she says.
“Don’t do it,” Shadowman says through gritted teeth. “He’s just using you, kid.”
“That’s a bit hypocritical for YOU to say, don’t you think?” she says, glaring at him. He gives her a wry smile.
“Oh? Is there a relationship between you and Shadowman, as well?” Herold asks as he puts the comm on. “How fascinating. Tell me, do you have a relationship with the norm, as well? Oh, wait, not that norm… but perhaps this one?” he says, a smile lighting up his face as an image appears on his chest. There’s a little girl on the feed, and she’s crying.
“Life Light,” Kelly says. “Help! He captured me! He says he—he says he’s gonna—gonna experiment on me!”
“You kidnapped a child?” Aubrey demands. “Let her go, Herold!”
“I don’t wanna die! I just—I just got out of the hospital!” Kelly says, and then starts sobbing madly, her wails heartbreaking, and a bit ear-breaking, as well.
“Don’t you want to find the little girl, Life Light?” Herold asks. “But if you don’t help Jackson quickly, they’re both going to die on your watch.”
She stares at him. “You’re toying with us,” she says. “What are you really up to?”
“Should you be asking those sorts of questions right now?” he asks. “The boy is going to die from blood loss unless you help him. Cold Steel—”
“Take him down,” Shadowman says to her. “You know you want to. He’s gone too far, little healer girl. You, out of all of us, can shut him up the easiest.”
“You shut up,” she says, not even looking at him.
