Super Girls (Cape High Book 13) (13 page)

“I swear ALL of the walls open up to something like that,” Justin says silently from behind me. That’s NOT reassuring.

“As I was saying,” Nico says, “there are two ways we can upgrade you—one is far more entertaining for me than the other. That’s why we’re going with it.” I look at Freddy, who’s grinning from ear to ear. I look over at where Olivia and Elidee are standing together. They look fascinated. So… I’m basically the entertainment for the day, huh? I sigh, reluctantly walking over when Nico motions him forward. The entire school body is here, isn’t it?

I dare to glance over, seeing Superior watching with utter fascination, standing next to a large blonde man that I’ve never met before—but he looks like Trent.

“You can meet Ken AFTER you try this on,” Nico says as a suit of sorts comes flying off the rack. It’s a typical super uniform, done in black and silver, I think with a hint of surprise. At least it looks like one until the parts separate and start to float around me. “I’ll change this when I’m certain I’ve got it right,” he adds as the parts close in on me.

“Wait, they just go over my normal clothes?” I ask as they start to snap into place around my legs. “This is going to make me look fat, isn’t it?”

“Like I said, we’ll fix that after we get it working,” Nico says a bit too cheerfully. I can’t reply—I’m too busy fighting claustrophobia. “And it’s on,” he says as the snapping sounds stop. I look down, staring blankly at the suit.

“It’s bulky,” I say, trying to move. It takes a second to get used to the extra weight.

“Mmm, you’re right,” he says, walking around me. He flicks a finger and several pieces unsnap from the uniform and float away. “We’ll start out with the school uniform version, first,” he says, leaving bracers around my wrists, boots on my feet, and a chest plate. “With Ace’s version we had wires, this one will work a bit differently, since you DO have a bit of power,” he says, bringing up a hologram screen and typing on it. “We can tap into that power and create the connections, like… so,” he says. The uniform parts start glowing slightly and I feel something like electricity wrapping around the exposed parts of my body. I suddenly feel a lot lighter, I realize with surprise. “Now try jumping.”

I look at my feet, bend my knees, and jump. The floor drops out from under me—no, wait, I’m pushing off of it. It doesn’t FEEL like I’m making an effort, though. Trust me, to get this high I usually have to put as much power as I can into it. I land, catching my balance quickly. “That was awesome,” I say.

“Not really,” Nico says, tapping on the hologram screen more. “That was barely B-class.”

“What are you aiming for?” Superior asks.

“Something better,” Nico says. “I can’t get away with this often—they’ll start asking questions, so I need to do it up right this time around.” I see the faint glow get stronger and feel even lighter than I did earlier. “Now try running. Wait—let’s see… Malina, run with her,” he says. That’s totally cheating, isn’t it? I look over at the much shorter female with a frown. She’s got really short legs—it’s not fair!

“But—” I start out.

“Okay!” Malina says, moving next to me and crouching in a starting position.

“Don’t go easy on her,” Trent calls out.

“I—” I start out.

“I won’t!” Malina says.

“And go!” Nico says before I can reply. Malina races away, leaving me in the dust in mere seconds before I start to run. Dang she’s fast! I speed up as much as I can, barely catching up with her on the first lap. This is AWESOME! I feel my eyes start to tear up from the speed until I’m blinded by it and have to stop.

“I need goggles,” I say, taking in a deep breath and letting it out. “Was that fast enough?” I add, looking over at the group.

“It was decent,” Nico says, still working. “We’ve got a steady B rating now. Of course Malina would be faster if her legs weren’t so short,” he adds.

“So sue me for having short legs,” Malina mutters, having stopped a few feet in front of me.

“You’re a Specialized A class, your speed doesn’t really matter,” Nico says, not even looking at her. “Especially when we get you assigned to a spot near a beach.”

She blushes slightly, a little smile on her face—probably at the idea of living near a beach.

“Next, strength,” Nico says, stepping away from the screen and looking around. “Everyone outside,” he says, heading out the door and expecting us to follow.

I start forward, blinking slightly as the large blonde man falls into step next to me. “Nice to meet you, Jennifer,” he says, offering a hand. I shake it, finally realizing who he is.

“America’s Son, right?” I say.

“You’ve heard of me!” he says, grinning.

I start to laugh, completely taken off guard. “Who HASN’T?” I ask. “Shouldn’t you be at work now, though?”

“Taurus is on rounds today,” he says, waving it off. “I’ve wanted to meet you for a while, so I decided to stop by.” He stops as we step out into the light, his eyes going over the crowd and landing on Skye, who’s floating over head. “There are a lot of interesting changes happening right now, so it seemed like a good time to stop by.”

“Why did you want to meet me?” I ask.

“Because,” he says with a little smile, “unlike a lot of them, you can choose.”

“Jennifer, over here,” Nico calls, motioning me to where several rocks of varying size have been lined up. “We’re going to test both strength and stamina, so start with the smallest first.”

I nod, heading for the first rock and picking it up. My mind, though, is still stuck on what America’s Son said. I can choose. I can walk away from this all and live a normal life, and nobody would blame me. I knew all of that.

But what really sticks in my mind is that he thinks the others can’t. I glance around, seeing them grinning as they watch me lift stones, and realize he’s right. The norms notice the difference—it might be unconscious, but they do. I mean, Ace is the perfect example. He never fit in at our old school. People would get out of his way when he passed, and you could literally FEEL their knee jerk reaction whenever he talked. How much worse must it be for the S class?

“Nice,” Nico says, alerting me to the fact that I picked up the largest stone. I didn’t even realize it, I think with shock. It’s the size of a truck, and I’m holding it a good three feet off the ground! “You can put it down now.”

I put it down, blushing brightly as the group starts to cheer. I KNOW it’s not my power doing it, okay? It’s the suit. But it’s still pretty awesome! “So, um, this is my school uniform now?” I ask, motioning down to it. “How do I take it off?”

“Button on the right forearm cuff,” Nico says. “Take it off now and I’ll get it set up so it's voice controlled--your voice only, of course. Otherwise you'd have a lot of awkward moments on the field.” I push the button and the pieces fall to the ground.

“That’s not going to hurt it, is it?” I ask worriedly. I don’t want it breaking every time I take it off!

“Nah, it’s built to handle A class force,” he says as the cuff with the button floats over to him. “We’ll start on your weapons system tomorrow.”

“Isn’t it a bit early for weapons?” America’s Son asks. “She hasn’t gotten used to the uniform yet.”

“She might as well get used to both quickly,” Nico says. “She’s got a job prospect lined up and only a year left of school.”

“A job prospect? Not a Hall?” Malina asks, looking interested.

“Yeah,” I say. “I’ve got a job that I’m training for.” It is SO AWESOME to be able to say that. I mean, sure my big sister is out there saving the day under Marigold’s watchful eye, and she’ll probably have her own comics someday, but I am going to be seen on a daily basis in every super home around, as well as all the Pay-Per-View shows that the norms can buy!

“That’s cool,” Malina says, her curiosity showing clearly.

“Yeah,” I say simply, with a smile.

***

“Couldn’t we have just brainwashed Skystep again?” Shadowman demands as he slings a healer woman off of his shoulder and drops her onto a broken down couch. This is nothing like the abandoned building they were in earlier—now they’re in an abandoned hospital. Okay, so it’s a LOT like the previous building. Just creepier, he thinks as he looks at the broken remains of the ancient hospital, A LOT creepier. He’s a bit surprised it hasn’t been torn down yet. It’d serve her right if a wrecking ball came through the wall while she was using it, he thought evilly. “She’s got the ability to hunt down capes just like I do.”

The female he just brought in gives him a dark look. “Why are you kidnapping us in the first place?” she demands as he takes her gag off. “I’m not a super! I’m an accountant!”

“You’re a healer,” he says.

“I’ve never healed anyone in my life!"

“Quiet, please, I’m watching Marvin talk,” Mother says from where she’s perched on the nurse’s desk in front of a tiny television. “He has such a wonderful television presence. He’ll make a wonderful president,” she says. “Shadowman, sweetie, did you get me something to eat while you were out? I’m starving!”

“I was a little too busy with the fat cape delivery system, Mother,” he says, drawling the word “Mother” out with as much scorn as possible.

“I am NOT fat!” the adult healer snaps.

“No, you’re just scrawny,” Shadowman tells her. “Look, why don’t I just go GET Skystep?” he offers, turning back to Mother. “I’ll hold her down, you brainwash her, we make HER do all this!”

“The last time you had a little run-in with Skystep, she destroyed my base with your face, sweetie. I really don’t feel like repeating that. Plus, Marvin DID make me promise.”

“How about that Hard Knocks guy you’ve got following you around?” Shadowman asks. “He’d do the job just fine—”

“I only have him for a short amount of time,” she says. “He has a different job to do.”

“Hard Knocks?” the accountant asks. “You mean from North Branch? He wouldn’t team up with you monsters!”

“Oh, he has,” Mother says. “He was easy. The focused ones always are. It’s the ones like Skystep that cause me problems. Did you know she was a genius?” she asks Shadowman curiously.

“A genius?” Shadowman repeats. “Not likely.”

“Oh, she is,” Mother says. “That’s one of the biggest problems I had with her—that and her lack of fear for herself. You, on the other hand, are a dyed-in-the-wool coward,” she tells him. “I don’t even have to brainwash you. I just have to keep you on a leash.”

He hates her, Shadowman thinks, his hands clenching for a moment. He hides his reaction quickly, his mind racing. “Very true,” he says almost blandly. “You have me pegged, Mother.” She laughs, pleased with how easily he admitted it. “Have you dealt with many cowards, Mother?” he asks her casually.

“Oh, no—at least not the ones willing to accept they are,” she says. “More often than not people pride themselves on their bravery.”

“That’s good to hear,” he says. “I’ll just go back to work, then,” he adds, sliding through the shadow on the floor and leaving her behind. It IS good to hear, he thinks as he strolls through the hellish Shadowlands. Someone that has no experience with cowards doesn’t know the most dangerous fact about them.

A coward can be the most dangerous person around when they feel cornered. They tend to plot their revenge far more thoroughly than the brave do.

***

I’m panting as we go through our final hour. Nico took my special suit, so I’ve got to do this without it. The healers are right next to me, except for Aubrey. Aubrey is probably the toughest of the group—she’s already climbed the massive rock wall twice and is halfway up it for a third go. I look at the other healers, taking in their expressions. Bobby is watching Aubrey with an awed expression, Alyssa is playing on her phone, and Kirsten is trying to look over at where Justin is going through the “big boys” course. She’s pretty obvious—I mean, I caught her staring at him almost all day long.

“Justin fan?” I ask her, taking a deep breath between words. I just got off the wall.

“It’s way more than just fandom,” she says dramatically. “We’re meant to be.”

“But he’s got a thing for Malina,” Bobby says, looking over at us.

“You’re a hypocrite, Bobby,” Alyssa says. “You’re totally in love with Aubrey, and she’s actually DATING Jack.” She doesn’t even look up from her phone to say that. I get the feeling they’ve had this conversation several times.

“Yeah, but at least I’m smart enough to know it’ll never happen,” Bobby says with a shrug. “Jack would kill me with one hand behind his back.”

“Cold Steel, right?” I offer.

“Yep,” all three say.

“Sorry, Bobby,” I say, reaching over and patting his shoulder sympathetically. “One sided love sucks.”

“Malina doesn’t like him back!” Kirsten says. “He’ll get over it and realize the truth!”

“Yeah, and then Skye will move in,” Alyssa says. “She’s got a thing for him, too.”

“Skye’s too old for him,” Kirsten mutters. “And she might be a genius, but she’s crazy.”

“Oh, her dad would never let that happen,” I say, unthinkingly. I find myself watching the other group, too. They’re at this large metal field with mechanical people attacking them. From what I hear, they have different training exercises to go through—everything from crowd control to zombie apocalypse. So far, only Trent’s had the zombie apocalypse setting. That one was SO amazing to watch.