33 Cape High Mega Me, page 29
part #1 of Cape High Series
He pulls to a stop as he reaches a dead end. He’s there, he thinks, running his fingers over the wall he’s just reached. There should be some sort of weakness or groove in the wall that he can pry his fingertips into—
The wall opens before he can find a good hold, pulling out with a metallic screeching sound that gets on his nerves at the moment. Oh, sure, he doesn’t mind that sound when HE causes it, but right now, he’s not the reason. The dark skinned Lerrestian man is standing right in front of him, still holding the metal panel. “Found him,” he says, not even looking over his shoulder.
“You really think this is the best for you?” Herold asks. There’s always an odd sensation when meeting another technopath, he realizes now. It’s sort of like looking into a twisted mirror, or when two magnetic ends meet—and usually they’re the same polarity, he thinks as a fist slams hard into his face, sending him flying backwards through the other side of the wall that the tunnel went through.
“Did you really have to do that?” a Cosmic asks as he steps into the tunnel and then looms over the fallen Herold.
“Something about him just made me want to,” Stellar says. “I honestly have no idea what it was.”
Herold kicks out, knocking the Cosmic’s legs out from him and shoving to his feet to make another run for it. He can still get into the docking bay, he just needs to go down this hall and turn this way, and then—
The doors to the docking bay open for him, and he feels a smile trying to cross his face as he steps inside. He just needs to get to one of the ships, which are literally within steps away from him! He starts forward, only to glance up as an alarm goes off.
The doors leading out into space start opening, signaling that a ship is about to enter. Usually this wouldn’t be a problem for Herold. He’s strong, he—
He gets sucked off of the floor and goes flying out the docking bay doors. There’s a glowing blue and metal ship floating right in front of him, but he’s too busy trying to hold his breath to notice.
“Herold?” he hears Nico ask from the ship. “Should I just leave him out there?” he asks.
With his last, (possibly) dying breath, Herold lifts his hand, making a rude gesture before his consciousness fades away, completely. That had NOT gone the way he’d planned.
***
Nico stares at the man floating in space, unconscious, and several different thoughts go through his mind. Too many, actually, because by this point, both Mega and Reaper are giving him looks. “If you leave him, it’ll be on your record,” Mega says, finally.
“I know, I know,” Nico says, “but he’s caused a lot of problems in his time, and it’d almost be worth it. Fauna, kid, tractor him in, would you?” he says. A light shoots out from the side of the ship and Herold gets dragged in by a leg. A hole opens in the side of the ship and a table sprouts up out of the floor to catch the man.
‘Can I, Grandpa?’ comes over the screen.
“You want to practice your healing techniques on him?” Nico says. “Sure, kid, but land us inside, first.” The ship goes through the docking bay doors, landing in his usual spot. A few vines come out of the side as Cosmics bring him new energy boxes. “You’re getting downright spoiled out here,” Nico says. Although, honestly, he’s satisfied with that fact. “Reaper, mind acting as guard while he experiments on Herold?”
“Of course, although I’m probably not the best man to have around in this case,” Reaper says.
‘He would recover quicker if he didn’t have the collar,’ Fauna points out.
“Do the best you can with it,” Nico says. “I’m not about to take the collar off of him.” He hesitates, because he knows just how tempting his grandkid ship is. “If he makes one move to try and steal Fauna, you know what to do, Reaper,” he says almost reluctantly.
“If I knock him out with my powers now, he won’t be waking up,” Reaper says.
“Who said anything about powers?” Nico asks. “A quick jab to the temple will work just fine.” Then he looks at Mega, taps on his E.P.B. and steps out of the ship. “You coming?” he asks.
“Of course I’m coming,” Mega says, following on his heels. “You just LET my son get off of the ship and toss himself into a fight—“
“I didn’t see you stopping him,” Nico points out. “How’s everything going?” he asks the Cosmics as he heads for the doors to the outside.
“We managed to capture the escaped power hunter thanks to your student,” one calls out. “Is HE looking for a future job?”
“He’s already got all of the Halls vying for him, you don’t have a chance,” Nico says. “Let’s face it, boys, I’m not planning on giving you any of my kids, save for Chi’la and Poj. You’ll even have to fight me to get the twins, even if they DO have your powers.”
“That is definitely going to be a problem,” one says. “The twins are our pride and joy!”
“And I’ll make sure you remember that fact,” Nico says as the doors slide open. “You could have at least TRIED to grab him, you know,” he adds before stepping out into space.
“Why didn’t they?” Mega asks as he joins him.
“Because they never claimed to be heroes,” Nico says. “That, and they’re tethered whenever they work in that room. I doubt they could have reached him without opening a portal, but I can’t swear to that fact. Carla, Ward, Mega and I are on our way.”
“Take your time! No hurry… on my half…” Ward replies over the comm.
“Then things are going well?” Mega asks.
“Sorry… sarcasm doesn’t… work when I’m fighting,” Ward replies, amidst grunts and other fighting noises.
“That’s something else we’ll be adding to your practice,” Nico tells him, with a hint of amusement on his face.
“You shouldn’t encourage him so much, he’s going to be a hero soon,” Mega points out as they rush towards the flashing sparks of battle in the distance.
“He doesn’t need encouragement, that smart-aleck attitude comes naturally,” Nico says as they reach Negatia. “How are things going?” he asks her.
“I’ve negated some of her more powerful abilities, and they’re doing an amazing job working as a team,” Negatia says.
“That’s not the same as stopping her,” Mega says.
“This is being recorded, isn’t it?” Negatia says. “All of the Cosmics are watching it, or will watch it in the future. I want them to see what Earth is capable of doing, especially the children. As long as I make sure she doesn’t do something beyond them, this is…” she stops, and shakes her head. “No, what am I saying? This is wrong. This isn’t a show on Earth, this is a real fight, with a woman that would willingly kill them—“
Nico places a hand on her shoulder, and she looks at him. Tears make her eyes gleam. “What have I become, Nico?” she asks. “I’m treating this like a show, just like I treat everything on Earth, and—and I’m justifying it because—“
“You can stop her in a heartbeat, right?” Nico asks.
“But if I do, she will… she will die, as will the baby she’s carrying,” she whispers. “Is this why Reaper only does certain jobs? Does he have this dilemma every time he joins in on the photo-op?” She looks at her hands, seeing them tremble ever so slightly. “There’s a little girl in there who wants me to be… to be her mother, Nico,” she whispers. “And these hands carry too much responsibility—no, too much BLOOD to—“
“Negatia,” Nico says, interrupting her. “Relax.”
“I just told you that if I—“
“Do you really think I would be standing here if I thought they couldn’t do it?” he says. “We’ll talk about your new daughter later, right now you have backup. Also… did the kids seem to have too much trouble?”
“No, of course not,” she admits. “They’re both extremely competent in fighting as a team, that’s another reason I should put in a bid for their joining my Hall. Ward is…”
They both look over, seeing Ward growing massive in a second as Carla distracts the power hunter, and then slamming down on the woman with both fists as Carla zips out of range. He switches back to his normal form, and then shrinks even more as the power hunter shakes it off and looks for him, wildly—that lets Carla rush in from her blindspot and start the whole thing all over again.
“I should go help, but…” Mega says, and they both look at him. “You’re filming this properly, right?” he says to Nico. “This is absolutely beautiful, his techniques for applying the Gigantess abilities are… awe inspiring, they really are. You’re right, he deserves to be a headliner—more than a headliner, he’s a piece of art as a super, ignoring the attitude—“
“The attitude stays,” both Nico and Negatia say. “For a man who became famous for being an egotistical super, you should understand how attitude can make us stand out,” Negatia says. “He is without guile—“
“Dad, weren’t you supposed to SAVE me by this point?!” Ward yells out. “I’m starving!”
“Except for that little habit… that could use a bit of work,” Negatia finishes wryly as Nico bursts out laughing. “He isn’t even having difficulty, is he?”
“Not at all,” both males say, although Nico looks far more amused by that fact than Mega is. “Does he do that often when he’s training in class? I mean, the asking for help thing,” Mega asks. “Is it related to his trauma?”
“Do you see ANY walls out here to give him claustrophobia?” Nico asks. “The kid’s just passing the buck because you’re right here, doing nothing.”
Mega just shakes his head. “I suppose, as his father, I should do my job and rescue my poor, endangered son—“
“I could use a cheeseburger, too!” Carla calls out as the power hunter finds Ward again. “Or four! Or maybe five, and a milkshake! And fries, don’t forget fries—“ she’s about to add more, but the power hunter turns her attention back to her.
“I can see the… code,” the power hunter says, and manages to grab the comm that Carla’s wearing. Her eyes glow, and Nico jerks, his own eyes widening for half a second before narrowing. He starts forward, but Carla slams a fist into the power hunter’s throat, several times, enough to force the woman to let go. Carla flips, taking advantage of the lack of gravity to kick the woman as hard as she can and send her flying. The woman catches herself, and then lunges straight for Ward, who’s closest to her.
***
“I have you—no, SHE has you,” the woman whispers as her hand wraps around my comm. There’s a strange glow around her hand, that sort of reminds me of portals, and her eyes glow ominously as she starts to scream in pain. I feel my body start to shake as I rapidly grow weaker and weaker. What in the heck is going on? She’s—
“I’m trying to stop it,” I hear Negatia says, “but it doesn’t seem like—“
“GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HIM!” I hear my dad bellow, but before he can make a move, someone slams into the power hunter, hauling her off of me and through space. I float there, barely breathing. There is no gravity, but I still feel as if every inch of me weighs more than I can handle at the moment. She stole my powers, even though I was wearing the E.P.B.. I can only be grateful that she didn’t turn off the life support part of the system, but right now I’m not FEELING very grateful.
A tear escapes me, trickling down my cheek. I want to wipe it away, but that’s futile. If I try to, the E.P.B. will block my arm from reaching my cheek. That’s got to be the epitome of pathetic.
“Ward,” Dad says, and I realize he’s holding me, now. “Ward, you’re going to be okay. Just stay with me, now. Don’t go into the light, got it? Tell the Big Guy that He doesn’t need you up there, just yet.”
I want to tell him that I’m not going to die, I just lost my powers. I… I’m not, right?
“Ward?” Carla says, and I can hear the worry in her voice. “I’m calling Aubrey, she’s going to fix you right up, okay? Just… um…”
My eyes are growing heavier.
“How did she do that?” I hear Dad demand. “HOW? She got through the E.P.B. before—“
“Enough talking, move, please,” Negatia says, and I feel myself pulled from his arms before I lose consciousness, entirely.
***
“And he’s waking up, now,” I hear someone say. “There we go, back to normal. Ward, I apologize. I didn’t realize that she was going to—“
I let the words tone out, focusing inward. I’m staring at a ceiling, which means I’m lying down. Negatia is next to me, talking. There’s a strange beeping sound—
I sit upright, only to realize I’m wearing nothing but a blue sheet, and I’m surrounded by people. “Can I get some pants, please?” I ask, quickly wrapping the sheet around me.
“You were in the medi-box,” Negatia says. “You took quite a hit—Ward, I am SO sorry, I didn’t realize she had enough technopathic abilities to get through the external power blocker—“
“She shouldn’t have,” I say, looking at her. “Nico’s redone them so many times that even HE has trouble doing that, right?” I say, looking around for someone to verify it. Rocco and Carla are standing to the side of the room, holding hands. Before I can comment on that fact, Carla lets go, making her way through the Cosmics to throw her arms around my neck and squeeze.
“We thought you weren’t going to make it,” she says, her voice muffled against my hair.
“She just stole my powers,” I say. “Do I… um… are they gone, still?” I ask, looking at my hand over her shoulder. “I can’t feel them, at least… Is Aubrey going to give them back?”
“She will be here as soon as she can, Ward,” Negatia says, and I look over at her. “But I will see if I can do something in the meantime.”
“Look,” I say, intent on getting this out. “She said something weird to me when she grabbed me, you know, before she started screaming. You tried to stop her, right?”
“I did,” she says. “No, I DID stop her, but…”
“She said ‘I’ve got you—no, SHE’S got you,’ to me, and her eyes and her hand was glowing strangely, like when one of the Cosmics open a portal, and the scream—I bet the E.P.B. WAS working—on HER,” I say, ignoring the whole dramatic trail off thing she’s doing. “She told me she was pregnant, right? Well, what if it wasn’t the mom that was stealing my powers, what if it was the kid? What if the kid combined portal powers together with the technopathy, and somehow figured out a… I dunno, a loophole of some sort?”
She stares at me. “From inside the womb?” she asks, finally. “That seems a bit… far-fetched, don’t you think? A child that young wouldn’t be able to comprehend—“
“Kodiak,” I say, simply.
“No, even he wasn’t—“
“He was, we think,” Carla says. “We spent a lot of time filming him thanks to the baby bands, so we saw him react to all sorts of things, like voices and mentions of certain types of food—Nico’s a very silly daddy, so he was intent on getting it all down on video! But he was always interested when food was coming, you know?”
“So… you think…” Negatia says, “that the baby was the one who did it?”
“Pretty much,” Carla and I agree.
“That child is… it’s going to grow up to be a…” she whispers.
“Don’t say it,” I say, running a hand over my face. “We can’t say that over a baby, not when it hasn’t even had a chance to decide what it’ll be. Powers don’t make people monsters, their choices do.”
“Yes… no, you’re right,” she says, shaking her head. “But that doesn’t change the fact that it could become a threat in the future, if we do not handle this properly.”
“What would you have us do, Negatia?” Meteor asks. I turn, seeing that he’s standing in the doorway. “Because right now, if Ward is correct, we are in a very delicate situation. We must handle this in a way where life is preserved as much as possible, including our own.”
“I… perhaps it’s possible to take the power hunting ability from them?” Negatia says, frowning thoughtfully. “You captured the male, correct? Bring him to me and I will see—not here, of course, Ward still needs to recover.”
“And pants. Ward needs pants,” I say, holding onto my sheet quite tightly. “And possibly some underwear, while you’re at it. Shoes, socks, a shirt wouldn’t be bad—“ I go on, only to stop as a small box is handed to me. “What’s this?” I ask, blankly. “My old clothes would do just fine, you know? Kim tailored them to work with my powers.” Okay, yeah, I just hurt myself with that comment. Ouch.
“Your clothing is being cleaned,” the Cosmic says. “Until then, you can wear a cadet uniform. I do not believe we have one that grows with you, but for the moment that should not be a problem?”
“Yeah, okay, I’ll… wear a box.” I have no idea how you wear a box. He seems to realize this, because he reaches down and points at a spot on the box.
“You can press this spot once you are in a… less populated area,” he explains. “The things you had in your pockets will be supplied, as well, so do not worry. The Cosmic uniform is exceptionally good at pockets.”
“Yeah, okay, can I get some privacy to get some clothes on?” I ask. They filter out of the room, leaving me to look around for a second. There’s a curtain hanging over to my right, so I guess that’s meant to be changed behind. The room I’m in looks a little like a hospital room, complete with these gigantic tubes to the left that have strange symbols on them—my comm translates it for me;: the medi-boxes. So I was in one of those tubes? With nothing on?
Dang that’s embarrassing. Did everyone SEE me? At least tell me there’s an iced glass setting, or some sort of privacy bar, I don’t care, but the last thing I want to know is I was hanging out naked in a tube for a while—
Well, almost naked, I realize as I look at my comm. I still have that on. I step behind the curtain, still holding onto the sheet, and press the button. Strings of material shoot out of the top, wrapping around me tightly. It takes about a minute before the box lets out a little ding and the strings stop coming. I look down, and then wish I hadn’t. It’s a bodysuit. I was trying to avoid bodysuits until I was, you know, in my twenties or something. The colors are dull, at least, dark blue and gray, and other than the form-fitting problem, it’s not utterly terrible. The boots are more like socks, though. I step up to the nearest wall.
