Steel Life (Cape High Series Book 25), page 4
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jake,” Superior says, as if he hadn’t just been plotting a kidnapping. “Aubrey’s told me a lot about you.”
“I—ah—wish she had told me more about you, if I’m going to be honest,” Jake says, grabbing his chest. “Good thing you fixed my ticker, otherwise it would be going out, again, right now, honey.”
“Well…” Aubrey says, hesitating, “you HAVE been known to pull the ‘My granddaughter’s a super’ line on the ladies at the retirement village, Granddad,” she points out.
“Tish tosh,” Jake says, “They never believe me!”
“Mmhmm,” she says, dryly.
“Might I ask just what the relationship is?” Jake asks, looking from one face to the next.
“Well…” Aubrey says, “Jack, here, is my boyfriend.” She grabs Jack’s hand, looking nervous.
“Oh, I knew about that,” he says, waving it off. “The entire world saw you two smooching on television. I heard all about how he’s a super villain, but I raised you right. You have some reason for liking him.” She beams at this, she’s so grateful. “My question is… well, obviously you’re going to keep the fact that Superior’s still alive a secret…”
“Superior’s alive?” Jack asks Superior.
“News to me,” Superior says.
“Okay, then,” Jake says after looking at them both for a moment. “Superior just LOOKS to be alive at the moment,” he “corrects” himself. “I’m sure he’ll be good and dead as soon as I step off of this island, again.”
“I like this one,” Superior says as Jack starts laughing.
“Well, Granddad,” Aubrey says, “you know how Liz is my foster mother, right?”
“I do,” Jake says. “Are you going to tell me he’s… Liz’s foster father?”
“A bit closer than that, actually,” Superior says.
“He’s her dad, Granddad,” Aubrey says. “Blood related, and everything.”
“Not that we’re that picky about blood relations, in the long run,” Superior says, “because I’m extremely proud to say that we share a granddaughter.”
“As am I!” Andre calls from across the room.
“That’s Andre Harrison, Granddad, he’s Taurus’s dad, and my other grandpa,” Aubrey explains. “He was behaving, so I was going to introduce you later—” Andre starts laughing as he walks over. “Grandpa Andre is the owner of HTV,” she adds, taking his hand with a smile.
“Shall we?” Superior asks Jack, since she’s distracted.
“You are NOT kidnapping Sparky and leaving her halfway across the world,” Aubrey says, stopping them in their tracks.
“You’re right…” Superior says.
“I’m so glad you’ve come to your senses—”
“Reaper!” Superior calls out across to the tall super villain. “How much to drop her off on another planet?”
“Hmmm… I’ll have to think about it,” Reaper says. “How many light years are we talking about?”
“Clifford.”
“I think I’ll just be—” Jack says as he hears the very familiar voice behind them. Before he can move, Tatiana has her hand on his shoulder. “Ah… hey, Tatiana,” he says, his voice full of dread as he looks back. She’s reaching over the bar to do this, but he still can’t budge an inch. Superior is in the same position, but he lets out a groan as he turns to his wife.
“Hello, honey,” he says.
“Why is Sparky on my island, Clifford? And why are you two planning abduction at our daughter’s wedding?” she demands in a thick Russian accent, one that says she’s about to lose her temper.
Aubrey looks at her Grandad, seeing how fascinated Jake is by all of this. “Granddad, this is Grandma Tatiana, by the way.”
“Yes, honey, it’s hard to forget Tatiana,” he says. “You don’t happen to have any popcorn, do you? It’s terrible with my teeth, but this really calls for some.”
“We were just going to get her OFF the island, honey,” Superior explains. “Isn’t that right, Jack?”
“We were doing it with you in mind,” Jack agrees.
“You knew Tatiana?” Aubrey asks Granddad Jake.
“I’ve seen several interesting supers, honey,” her granddad says. “Tatiana caused quite a ruckus when she came over to the states, I won’t lie. She was always on the news because people were waiting for her to turn on us. I did NOT know she was together with Superior, though.”
“We have son!” Tatiana says proudly. “Where is Nicolas? He is to be cleaning up the bumpy parts of our daughter’s wedding.”
“But…” Aubrey says, hesitantly, “She’s Sparky’s daughter, too.”
“Who’s Nicolas?” Jake whispers to her.
“Technico, Granddad,” she says, patting his hand. “Technico is the son of Superior and Tatiana.”
He looks thoughtfully at the pair, and then comments, “I did think he looked a bit familiar.”
“Sparky has forfeited the right to be mother,” Tatiana says, her eyes ice cold. “You do not abuse one of mine and expect to come prancing back into life as though nothing has changed. My son does not react as he did without reason.”
“But… it’s been over twenty years, Grandma,” Aubrey says. “She could have changed.”
“I am smelling the fish,” Tatiana says. “I have very good nose for the fish.”
“Well… we ARE on an island,” Jack points out. “Hard not to smell them.”
“She means something smells fishy about this situation,” Superior says, “and she’s absolutely right. Where’s Liz?”
They look around, only to stop as one of the teens raises a hand. “Ah, Jennifer can find her!” Tatiana says. “Jennifer, my friend, where is my daughter?”
The group goes silent as Jennifer tilts her head slightly, holding out her hands. “That way,” she says, “she’s with Taurus right now,” she adds, bringing out her notebook. “I was thinking of interviewing the villains, by the way, to show just how you feel about two super heroes getting married.”
“Who cares?” Jack asks blankly.
“It means they’ll be having heroic children that will challenge you in the future,” she says.
“Oooh… sounds fun,” Jack says, cheering up.
“That’ll be your brother or sister-in-law, honey,” Aubrey points out.
“It’s all good,” Jack says. “I fight my real brother all the time.”
“So… Tatia, honey, how did you find out Sparky is here?” Superior asks, going back to the main topic as Jennifer jots down notes and motions Freddy over to record. She looks so enthusiastic about this that nobody bothers to stop her. Andre even pats her on the back, looking proud.
“It is on the video screen,” Tatiana says. “We are decorating, yes, but we can still be watching!”
“Shouldn’t we actually go find her, then?” Jack asks, stunning all of them. “What? I’m a super villain, I gotta keep track of enemies. It’s part of my grade.”
“She is looking for Liz,” Tatiana says darkly. “I am not liking this.”
“Then I’ll just have to write Reaper an I.O.U.,” Superior says. “Jack,” he adds, glancing over. Jack nods, digging out a pair of leather gloves from his trench coat.
“I’ll take it,” Reaper says, not bothering to raise his voice. There’s a slight chill that runs through most of the group—until a girl tugs on Reaper’s Zoot suit coat. “What’s up, Sweetpea?”
“Don’t hurt her,” Piper says, and then yawns.
“Of course not,” he says, patting her head before straightening his coat and nodding to Superior. The two men and Jack leave the group, who are silent for all of a moment before starting to chatter again.
“So,” Jennifer says, “Can I use this wedding for the first official interviews of VTV? I know we’ve been putting out little things here and there, but the station should be official soon, right?” She looks up at Andre, expectantly, who turns and looks at Freddy.
“That depends on if I can hire your cameraman,” he says, pulling out his phone. “I have a bit of paperwork to go through, as well as some permissions to get, but thankfully Mastermental is already here. Freddy, would you like to work for Villain Television?”
“Villain what?” Prisma asks, shocked.
“We’ll call it the Blackbird and Gecko show,” Freddy says.
“I don’t remember giving you billing rights,” Jennifer says.
“Sounds like a great title,” Andre agrees as he heads over to Mastermental.
***
Liz and Taurus sit on the beach, watching the waves come in as she tries to wrap her brain around everything that’s going on. A part of her wants to go hunt her mother down, to tell her that she’s not welcome here, or to ask her what she’s been doing for these past twenty some years. She isn’t sure which, really. She winds up doing neither, merely hugging her legs to her chest and leaning into Taurus’s side, wondering why things have gotten so complicated.
“We would be married by now if we’d just done what I’d planned, you know,” she points out. “No relatives crawling out from under rocks—”
“She didn’t strike me as someone that’s been under a rock all this time,” Taurus says. She elbows him lightly and he lets out a laugh. “Honey, look at me,” he says, touching her cheek. “This is NOT about your mother, or my mother, or anyone else. This is about you, me, and the girls. We’re going to spend this time enjoying the family that we’ve made, not the family we’ve lost, okay?”
“That would be a lot easier if she would just stay lost,” she mutters, pouting. “Is your mother coming?” she asks, changing the subject.
“We managed to get a call through,” he says, hesitantly, “but she couldn’t make it. She’s in the middle of something, again.”
“Yeah,” Liz says, sighing. “I’m sorry, Devon.” She takes his hand, lacing her fingers through his and then just staring at the clasped hands. This is something she had never dreamed of before her brother got out of the Cape Cells. She had always assumed she would be single for the rest of her life, no children, no--
“SURFING!” Skye bellows, right then, racing past her along with the other two Darlin’s. Skye and Ariel are carrying surfboards, Doris has a rope. They don’t even seem to notice the pair sitting on the beach having a romantic moment. Taurus bursts out laughing as the waves that had been mild moments ago start getting taller.
“Don’t you dare tsunami my wedding, girls!” Liz yells to her “sisters.”
“We’ll try not to!” Ariel calls back. “But it’s tomorrow, right? So how could we?”
“I’m counting today as part of it, too!” Liz says.
“Awww,” both Ariel and Skye say.
“We won’t,” Doris says, shifting into her jersey devil form. She tosses one end of the rope to Ariel and spreads her wings, lifting into the air.
“Hey! Moms! I want to go parasurfing, too!” a teen shouts, racing out into the ocean to join them. A chupacabra runs past, pelting the couple on the beach with sand in his haste to jump into the water.
“There is no privacy on this island whatsoever,” Liz says as she dusts the sand off, only to pull out her phone and take pictures. The sun is bright, the breeze is perfect, and the only reason she’s not completely happy with how things are going is—
“Liz,” she hears someone say. She turns, seeing the fly in the ointment right there. “Can we talk?” her mother asks. Liz stares at her, trying to figure out if she even wants to try. Taurus is nudging her, but she barely notices. Right now a part of her is reverting to the little girl she once was. All of a sudden she’s no longer THE Firefly, the S-class lightning mimic who the world watches so closely. Now she’s the little girl that her mother smacked around, trying to awaken her super powers early. The sharp sound of flesh against flesh seems to echo in her mind, even now, years after it had happened.
“Liz,” Taurus says softly, right next to her ear. Her hand tightens on his as unreasonable fear rushes through her. At this moment he’s the lifeline that’s keeping her from drowning. “Liz, honey, breathe.”
“I don’t want you here,” she whispers, unable to look away from the woman. “I didn’t say it earlier, because a lynching is a terrible way to start a wedding, but you hurt me. You said you were training me, but you hurt me. That was never about me, it was always, ALWAYS about you.”
“Liz,” Taurus repeats as her hair starts sparking.
“Why did you think showing up now is a good idea?” Liz asks, not even hearing him. “What gave you the right to interfere on my big day? This is MY wedding, Sparky! I’m going to get married, and raise my daughters and any other kids I get—”
“I realize,” Sparky says, stopping Liz, “I realize that you don’t want me here. But you’re all I have in this world, Liz, and I… I can’t keep going like I have been.”
“What have you been doing, Sparky?” Liz asks, not willing to use the word “Mom.”
“I—that’s not important right now,” Sparky says. “Right now the thing most important is that I’m the only parent you have, and this is your big day. I want to… I would be honored to, I should say… walk you down the aisle.”
“Sorry, that position is filled,” Superior says coldly as he steps into sight behind Sparky. His hand drops down on her shoulder as she looks up in shock.
“Superior?” she breathes out. Her face, which is pale to begin with, turns pasty white. “You’re alive?”
“Sparky, I think we need to have a little talk,” Superior says. Unfortunately, the drama of that line is a bit negated as Jack and Reaper step into view behind him.
“I want to go along for the trip,” Jack is saying. “I’ve never been to space, before. Trent got to spend, like, a week out there, twice. He’s been holding it over my head ever since.”
“From what I’ve heard, you don’t plan to go out of Central, much less off planet, though,” Reaper says. “Where should we drop her off at? Anything outside of the Milky Galaxy will cost you more, I should warn you. It isn’t personal, of course. I just dislike mixing business with pleasure.” He pauses, looking up to admire Doris “parasurfing.” “And it looks like you’re making me miss a beach day.”
“Wait,” Liz says. “She still hasn’t told me what she’s been doing for the past twenty-some years.”
There’s a “poof” sound and they all look up as Nico appears. “She’s been robbing people,” he says, holding a handful of files in his hand. “Looks like she hired herself out to some very big names over the years. I guess it makes sense, with the wire-tripping ability. But if you expect me to let my little sister be walked down the aisle by a common cat burglar, well, you’ve got another thought coming.”
“You’re a thief for hire,” Liz says. She doesn’t even sound surprised. “I should have known.”
“And what do you expect me to do? My own step-son tossed me out of my own house! And don’t you dare say you would have let me come back, I know bloodlust when I see it. You would have smothered me with my own pillow in my sleep!”
Everyone looks at Nico, even Reaper.
“I’m not a killer,” Nico says. “I would have shipped you off to another country in your sleep. By that point I could have easily booked a flight and everything.”
The group nods, having figured he’d have it all planned out. “That does sound like him,” Reaper says.
“I would have thought he’d have bottled her up and tossed her into the ocean, instead,” Jack says. “Glass isn’t conductive.”
“I’d have had to figure out how to force her into her electric form for that,” Nico explains.
“And you! You never would have stood up for me!” she accuses Superior, tears starting to fall. “You took his side! I was your WIFE!”
“And he’s my son,” Superior says, clearly indicating which side he’d choose, even now. “And Liz is my daughter. Sparky, I never got to say this in the past, so I guess I should apologize, huh?”
“Say what?” she asks.
“I never really liked you,” he says. “You were self-centered and an airhead. I don’t mind airheads, honestly, but the self-centered attitude made you annoying. To tell the truth, if Banshee had been single at the time I would have picked her to raise my kids. Shame, that.”
Sparky looks like he just hit her.
“That was cold,” Jack says.
“Banshee could have been my step-mother?” Nico says. “That… well, no, wouldn’t have worked. I’m keeping Liz. That’s the one good thing that came from having you in our lives, Sparky, and it’s why I’m not launching you out into space for the rest of eternity.” He looks over as Jack chokes and starts coughing while Reaper casually straightens his tie. “Wait, is that what you were planning?” he asks. All three of the other males shrug slightly.
“It seems the best way to keep problems from developing,” Superior says. “We can send a drone with her, and she can record her adventures, if she wants. That way she can finally have her big break as a hero.”
“How can you be this callous?” Sparky asks quietly. “I loved you. I cried when you died. I thought I’d never see you again, and yet—”
“You never loved me, Sparky,” Superior says. “You loved the name ‘Superior.’ That’s why you tortured Liz, isn’t it? You wanted to prove to the world that you had produced another Superior, one better than the one Tatiana had. And while I will admit that Liz is a wonderful Superior…”
“I’m not as good as my brother is,” Liz says. She holds up her hand as Nico opens his mouth. “Oh, I’m good, don’t get me wrong, but Nico has a lot more tricks than I do. We both realize it.”
“On the other hand, I do like her better than her brother,” Superior says.
“I like her better than her father, too,” Nico says. The two give each other matching dark looks, but the grin that crosses Liz’s face, along with the color that returns, is worth it.
