Steampunk Time: Cape High Book Seven (Cape High Series 7) (5 page)

He has a daughter.  She's five years old and went
to her first parade a month ago.  During that parade his little girl had set her sights on the pink clad super heroine, yelling with joy as the huge woman landed on the street in front of her.  He'd had no choice but to let go as Stephanie--his daughter--raced forward and accepted a hug from the woman.  His wife had panicked, grabbing his arm tightly and asking him if he brought his gun, but he knew a gun wouldn't work on this woman.

Astonishingly, even as half the crowd seemed to panic like his wife was, Tatiana reached into her white hair and plucked one of the flowers that decorated it.  It was a beautiful pink lily, which she slipped behind Stephanie's ear with a smile.  "Thank you for the hug, kitten," Tatiana had said in a gentle, accented voice before flying back into the air to follow the parade.

"Daddy!  Daddy, she gave me a flower!" Stephanie cried in joy as she rushed back to them.  Now, Will thinks, it's hard to imagine releasing Matkey on a woman that gives hugs and flowers to little girls.  He can still hear the confused comments of onlookers from that day.  He had seen the scene on television that night, and it was the talk of late night television for the entire month.  People came out of the woodworks, telling about how she treated their daughters and sons.

Tatiana's reputation is slowly starting to change in America.  Doing something like siccing Matkey on her might turn out badly in more ways than one.  But he's just a grunt in this office--if he says something he risks losing his job.  So he does his job, handing over another paper and waiting as it's signed.

"Sir, if you don't mind," a man says as he steps into the room, "how do you plan on controlling Matkey once he is out?"

Kunnins hesitates, frowning slightly.  "Find out his weakness," he says to Will abruptly.  "Go talk to him.  Find out what he wants most in life--more than just his freedom."

"Yes sir," Will says, inwardly cringing.  He heads out of the room, heading for the hall that leads to Matkey's cell.  If he doesn't walk that quickly, well, no one says a word.

***

"Maaaan, I just don't know how to handle that lady," Taurus Sr. mutters, taking a deep breath and letting it go.  He looks at the man in bell-bottoms standing next to him.  "But seriously, why did you follow me?" he demands.

Why HAD he followed him?  Nico has a blank look on his face for a moment before he shrugs.  "You remind me of someone I trust," he says.  "You're not a Hall member, but I bet you know all about them, don't you?"

The black man hesitates, looking around at the spot they'd stopped.  It's an alley near the edge of downtown Kansas City.  There's no one to be seen, but he tilts his head, listening for a moment before speaking.  "I don't think I should tell a super villain anything."

Nico shrugs.  "I'm not one anymore," he says.

"So you WERE a super villain?"

"Yeah, sure, when I was barely in my twenties," Nico admits.  "I was tossed into the Cape--um--prison for a long time thanks to that.  I'm more neutral than anything, now.  Look, I need help.  My granddaughter is here and I need to get her back without anyone seeing me."

"You want to kidnap a girl and play it off like you're doing the right thing."

"No, because it wouldn't be kidnapping," Nico says.  "I just can't be seen."

"Why can't you?  Is it because you were a super villain a while back?"

The less he knows, the better, Nico decides.  "Yeah
, they might not believe I've gone straight.  I don't want the Hall coming after me just because of that.  What's your name?" he asks.

"I don't know if I should trust you with that information," Taurus Sr. says, a narrowed eyed look on his face.  "I don't think I should trust you at all, honestly.  And helping some super villain work against the Hall isn't likely to get me IN the Hall, now is it?"

"You've got a point," Nico admits, frowning.  "How about this--I don't want to be found by the majority of the Hall, but I'd be willing to talk to Double M--er, Mastermental.  Maybe I can get something sorted out for you.  Get you put in one of the other branches--"

"First you say you're an ex super villain, now you say you've got ties with the second in command of the Hall?"  He snorts.  "Are you trippin
’?"

"Let's go find him and you'll find out for yourself," Nico says.  He has to do it fast, he thinks.  The last thing he needs is for Superior to kill off Mimic.  Everything would change in the future.  And he'd finally gotten life to how he liked it!

He's staring at me.  Grandpa ran off to do something, just leaving me here with Jason, waiting for him to return--and Jason is sitting there, staring at me with a dark look on his face.  "This is all your fault," he says abruptly.

"What?  How is this all my fault?" I demand.

"You're the stupid idiot that ran off time traveling before we started school!" he says.  "You could have just waited, but noooo, you had to run off!  And I shouldn't have been dragged back here just because the freakin' PRINCESS decided that she was too good for school!"  He's on his feet now, nose to nose with me.

"Your breath stinks," I say, not about to back down even though every single piece of me wants to.

"Yeah, well YOU stink!" he growls.  "What were you thinking?  That Cape High wasn't good enough for you?"

"If you're going there, it definitely isn't!" I yell.  Oh man, lightning's going to come down and hit me for a lie that big--and I wouldn't blame it.  My mom's school!  The school my grandpa built!  I--

I grunt as he punches me in the stomach, sending me flying back through the air.  I lay where I land for a moment, getting my breath back as I stare at him in shock.  "You punched me?" I ask.

"Yeah," he says, his fists still up, "I did.  Now, since you're such a special little girl--" the sneer on that sentence really makes me mad, by the way, "what are you gonna do about it?" he demands.

I--I'm getting my powers now, right?  That punch didn't kill me, although it hurt--but I can take him.  I can absolutely take him!  I push to my feet, dusting the dirt off of my skirt and bringing up my fists. 
That makes him laugh--at least it does until I plant my fist in his face, sending him back a few feet and into a tree.

"Not so funny now, is it?" I demand, only to wince and wave my hand.  That hurt!  You're not supposed to hurt HITTING the other person, are you?  It's because his head is so hard, I decide.  He gets up, wiping away a tiny bit of blood from his mouth.

"That all you got?" he demands.  "You think that sort of punch is going to take me down?  You'd be wrong, curls.  I'm the next Cold Steel!"  He launches himself at me and I barely dodge, getting hit in the arm instead of the chest.  I twist, grabbing him and tackling him to the ground.

We roll around, not getting any good punches in but messing up our clothes and getting extremely dirty.  He pins me to the ground finally, and pulls back a fist.  "This is all your fault!" he snarls.  "I've been waiting my entire LIFE to get into Cape High, only to have you pull this stupid stunt--"

"I'VE WAITED JUST AS LONG!" I bellow, tears starting to fall.  "I've waited just as long as you have!  I just never got--never got my powers," I admit, wiping futilely at the tears.  "They never came--I'm about to turn fourteen and they still weren't showing up--"

He's gone perfectly still, a stunned look on his face.  "What?" he finally says a bit stupidly.

"I never got my powers until--until I was kidnapped by some freak from our time that came back in time, who abandoned me even FURTHER back in time!" I tell him.  "Get off," I add, shoving him off of me.  I turn away from him as soon as I can sit up, not wanting him to see me cry. 

"Start from the beginning," he orders.  He hasn't even apologized for punching me, the jerk.

"I have no reason to," I tell him snottily, only to ruin it by sniffing.

"Start from the beginning and I'll fix your bruises," he mutters.  I look back at him, a bit shocked.  "What?  I can heal a little
--nothing big, like my mom, but a little.  What happened?  Why are we in the past?"

"I... um..." I look down guiltily.  "I wanted to see what I looked like with powers," I say slowly.  "So I used the time traveling watch to go into the future... but--" I hear it all pouring out of my mouth, all the details, even the stupid ones like telling Vinny that men in the future wear panties--Jason laughs his head off at that one--and then watching as Grandpa Nico from that time was beaten by Mimic, and how Mimic abandoned me in this time.

I don't even like Cold Steel and I just got in a fist fight with this guy, so WHY am I telling him all of this?  I've got no clue, but he's listening to all of it, even asking questions when I try to gloss things over.  And when I'm finished he comes over and places a hand on my arm.  His eyes turn white and I suddenly feel a little better--still sore, but a little better.  I watch him as he moves away, frowning.  "Why did he drag you back in time, though?" I ask.  "I mean, I know why I'm being taught back here... but why are you?"

"I don't know, it's irritating," he mutters, looking around with a scowl.  "I had it all planned out, too.  I'd
start school, get a super villain girlfriend, start playing Superball--it was going to be awesome.  But no, I'm stuck in the past with the Princess of Cape High."

"Why do you call me that?" I demand.

"Your mom's the principal, right?"

"Well, yeah, but--"

"And your old man's the head of Central Hall, right?"

"Yeah, but--"

"And you're the grandkid of both Mastermental and Technico, right?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't make me a princess!"

He stares at me.  "They probably have your Prom Queen crown measured already," he drawls.  "Technico shoulda brought Tristan back instead of me.  Tristan woulda been perfect."

"Tristan?" I repeat.

"My cousin," he says, "my perfect little Liberty cousin--Liberty's kid.  You two coulda been a matched set--well, other than he's a blonde," he adds with a shrug.  "But no, I get stuck back here with the princess while he's probably flirting with all the cute ones.  Man this sucks."

"If you're so quick to punch a girl, you wouldn't have any luck, anyway," I snap.  He's irritating me.  "It's probably because you're an elementalist," I add.  "My cousins are
most likely going to be that, too, but they're too young to start school."

"What's wrong with being an elementalist?" he demands.  "It's no reason to send me back in time!"

"You'll probably destroy massive areas of land," I tell him, waving a hand in the air.  "You're dangerous, and since it's metal it might be worse--you'll have long buried weapons coming out of the ground.  You might even get stabbed to death," I tell him.

He... doesn't look worried like I was hoping for.  "That'd be AWESOME," he breathes out, his eyes gleaming in anticipation.  "I mean, Dad does stuff sort of like that, but usually it's just calling his airboard and other work stuff.  Except he made me an absolutely killer playground when I was little.  Only problem was the really hot days."

"Really hot days?"

"Yeah, I used to take eggs out and cook them on the slide," he says with a shrug.

"That can't be sanitary," I mutter, easily picturing it.

"So?"

"Did you EAT them?" I ask.

"Sometimes
, other times they got too burnt."

"You should
have used oil."

"I'll remember that next time."

***

The view below
Superior is oddly familiar.  This time doesn't seem as far behind him as one would think--then again, those twenty years of being unconscious, or dead, or whatever you want to call them, had cut a lot of the time difference out.  Superior can see all of America from where he floats, the gorgeous sunset, the rolling hills, the glorious mountains, the beautiful land that he still loves.  The norms only get to see this view when up in an airplane.  That's a terrible loss, he thinks.  Seeing it plainly without anything blocking the panorama is the best way to go.

A part of him knows this is dangerous.  At any time one of the old Hall members could notice him and decide he's an unknown, perhaps even a threat.  The last thing he needs is to get into a fight with the old gang.  They wouldn't recognize him with the hair and clothing he's wearing.  He'd not been joking about the cloning thing.

His best bet is to find Mimic--wherever he is--and kill him.  With Mimic dead no one would even realize that Tatia is being targeted.  She and the Superior of this time will continue their lives peacefully, living out the lives he'd always planned on having.  Two or three kids, a dog, white picket fences.

A tiny tear trickles down his cheek and he jerks, shocked by the sensation.  He's crying?  Why?  He is Superior!  Superior doesn't cry!  Superior changes things--he makes things right!

"I must ask who you are," a cold, but so familiar voice says behind him.  "This is not my country, but it is my responsibility.  I will not allow unknown supers to have their way with it."