35 cape high crystal cle.., p.1
35 Cape High Crystal Clear, page 1
part #1 of Cape High Series
CRYSTAL CLEAR
BY
R.J. ROSS
Crystal Clear
Amazon Edition
Published by Book Candy Publishing
Copyright © 2022 by R. J. Ross
All Rights Reserved
Cover art and design by Leslie Zielinski
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
~Other works by R.J. Ross~
The Winstead Files Series
Courting the Beast * Snow White, Snow White
Seasons of the Fae Series
Raven's Return * Death of a Dryad * Water Wielder
Cape High Series
Super Villain Dad * America's Grandson * Hello Kitty * Don't Know Jack * Daddy's Girl * Aces Wild * Steampunk Time * Fire Hazard * Ditto Ditto * Sunny Daze * Life Light * Guitar Hero * Super Girls * Shadow Boy * Super Villain Grandpa * Mic Drop * Coyote’s Howl * Rocky Road * Rainbow Rush * Rise and Shine * Burn Out * Stringless Puppeteer *America’s Firewall * Mimic You * Steel Life * Aloha Boy * Boogey Blitz * Deadly Road Trip * Kitty’s Pride * Sons of Lerrestia * Healing Touch * Beach Bunny * Mega Me * Fire Spin * Crystal Clear
Cape High Side Stories
Cape High Christmas: A Side Story
Cape High Villainy: A Side Story
Reaper’s Darlin’: A Cape High Side Story
Cape High Kindergarten: A Side Story
Cape of Cheer: Cape High Christmas II
Cape High Family Ties: A Side Story
Cape High: Days Past
Ringmaster (Toodles)
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER ONE
*Nearly Forty Years Ago*
He had found his cousin. But the moment that his cousin realized he’d been found, he’d made a run for it. Yester groans, running a hand over his face and contemplating chasing after him AGAIN. He’s getting tired of it, and his uncle is still around to take care of the island, so it’s not pressing, right?
His lady, Vixen, is waiting back home for him, and he’s got a gig for a magician coming up. That’s important, right? So why is he standing here, watching the building where supers are supposed to be building a “Hall”? Probably because he’s in KC, already, he thinks, leaning against the building behind him. He’s had to move a few times to keep people from running into him, but he’s not paying any attention to that.
This is where the supers are. They’re the ones that the entire world will know, or already do know. They’re doing TV shows based loosely on the life of that Superior guy, and there are kids’ toys in all the windows of him, and of Mastermental. They’re not any more super than he is, though, right?
He raises his hand, waving at the norms that walk past, but they don’t see it. He straightens, walking right past others, and they STILL don’t see it. He’s invisible. He’s THE invisible man. There have been books written about men being invisible… but he really doubts they look like he does—
Well, he thinks with a hint of amusement, right now they do—since he’s invisible.
“I can smell you,” someone says from behind him. It almost startles Yester out of his invisibility. “You’re Crystalline’s family member, right?”
“I am,” Yester says, turning to look at Andre Harrison. He’s just standing there with a bittersweet smile on his face.
“I know what you’re thinking,” he says to Yester. “And you’d be an amazing super… but… there are things keeping it from happening, right now.”
“You mean the supers don’t like us,” Yester says.
“No… it’s a bit more… dirty than that,” Andre says, sighing.
“You mean Superior doesn’t like us,” Yester says. “He’s the picture-perfect cape. The whole world is leaning over to kiss his behind. We can’t have more interesting abilities than he can, we might steal the limelight.” He snorts, shrugging it off. “It doesn’t matter. I can’t take my lady away from the water, anyway. It’s enough that she’s estranged from her family, already.”
“One day,” Andre says, “things will be different. We’re already on our way. We just need to hold on.”
“And how do you know that?” Yester asks.
“Because I got a glimpse of the future not that long ago,” Andre says, grinning slightly. “But since you’re here… would you mind loaning me a hand?”
“Doing what?” Yester asks.
“Stealing something from the Hall.”
Yester looks at him in shock before bursting out laughing. “Why not?” he says. “I’ve got a little time.”
***
*The Present*
Stand perfectly still, don’t breathe too loudly. If possible, don’t breathe at all. It’s a good thing I took a shower, because these little guys have the sense of smell of a wild animal.
I watch the Panther brothers from the shadows of the trees that Ace has created in the gym, just waiting to see what happens. Robo is looking around, and for a second I see his eyes change color from blue to red, and I realize—
“No cheating!” Cubby says, poking his brother.
“I’m not cheating! Brandon’s cheating!” Robo says, poking him back. The two are going to break into a brawl, any second—yep, there goes the shoving.
“Ms. Ashlynn! Cubby and Robo are fighting again!” Hana calls from where she’s searching for Lance. Lance is hiding halfway up another tree in mouse form. He’s probably going to freak the little girls out—well, maybe. Rocco says that Evie keeps trying to pet the shadow-dinos whenever they go down into the Shadowlands.
“Okay, okay,” I say as Robo gets shoved a bit too hard. I shimmer into view, moving between the two of them. “We said powers were allowed—and apparently Robo has a new power, don’t you?” I say to the A.I. child.
“I’ve got therm eyes!” Robo says. “I found Brandon!” he adds, wrapping his arms around my waist. “Five points!”
“That’s not a find! He came out first!” Cubby protests.
“Why don’t we try a different game for a bit?” Ashlynn asks, clapping her hands. Super kids pop out of everywhere, even dropping down from above, and the four little kids start laughing as the entire room changes from a jungle back into a gym, and the gigantic dragon head disappears after blowing a smoke ring at them.
“You two,” Adanna says, and I almost groan as the brothers look at each other before jumping on me, Cubby on my back, Robo in the front.
“Disappear!” Robo urges me. I give Adanna a sheepish grin—and disappear, taking the brothers with me and running away. I shouldn’t have, I know, but it was too funny to pass up.
Ah, right, this is about the time I introduce myself, isn’t it? Not that I plan on going into the photo-op, really, but it’s not a bad idea to practice. My name is Brandon. I’ve had a few different last names, over the years—or at least two, but I don’t have any reason to claim them, anymore, so I won’t bother to mention them. I am a super. I go to a school for supers. I’m also what we call a ‘zoo kid.’ That means that a few years ago, a crazy norm decided that he wanted a group of super powered teens on display, and I was one of them. I don’t display well, you know, because I have the ability to go invisible. He didn’t seem to care about that fact.
“Brandon,” Adanna says, right on my heels. “You realize I can both smell and hear you, don’t you?”
“Yep,” I say, and head for the stairs, still running as the brothers cheer right next to my ears. A second later I step onto the second level, where the science classroom is, walking through the door.
Nico is sitting at his desk, with several different metal pieces floating in the air. Adanna comes in behind me, only to stop and look around curiously. “We were supposed to be starting a new game, but my brothers grabbed Brandon,” she says.
“Playtime is almost over, so we’ll have to go back, anyway,” I admit as I become visible again. “But I wanted to talk to you before you leave, you know? I have some questions.”
“I figured you would,” Nico says. “But first, you all need to get back to your class before they decide to come up here, instead.” The door opens mere seconds after he says that, and almost all of the school pours in.
“We found Robo and Cubby!” Evie says, pointing at them. The timing is too good to ignore, seriously—so I disappear, and m
I’m getting stronger, you know? I grin down at the two girls, who look shocked that they can now see me, and lift a finger to my lips to indicate they should be quiet. They look startled, and then excited, and now they’re trying very hard not to giggle as I scoop them up as well, and start for the window.
“Nope, enough playing,” Adanna says, blocking our escape route. She looks stern, but there’s an amused gleam in her eyes. “You are a troublemaker, Brandon,” she tells me.
I shimmer into view again, and all four kids start complaining. “Playtime’s over, though, guys,” I tell them. “You’re supposed to go get your things and get ready to head home, remember?”
“I want to be invisible more,” Evie says. “Cubby and Robo got to do it longer.”
“Next time,” I tell her.
“I can make invisible clothing when I’m older!” Hana says. “Then we can run around being invisible all we want!”
“Ah, actually—“ I start out, glancing over at Nico, who’s trying not to laugh. Oh, it doesn’t show to the people who don’t know him, but it’s pretty obvious to those of us who have been around this long. “Well, you can figure that out when you’re older,” I tell her, patting her on the head. She gives me a huge grin—her teeth are almost all completely grown in, now.
“Time to get these guys back to their classroom,” Freddy says, scooping up the two little girls. “Ms. Ashlynn is probably getting irritated by now.”
“I stayed in the building, that was part of the game,” I point out.
They just shake their heads, and the other two are grabbed. They head for the other building, but I stay where I am. “I wasn’t going to hurt them, you know,” I say as Adanna goes past me.
“I know,” she says. “I knew where you were going, as well,” she adds. “You do not strike me as a kidnapper, Brandon. Well, not without a very good plot involved.”
“Um… thanks?” I offer.
“You will be a very acceptable villain,” she tells me, and then heads out the door before I can protest. Well, I mean, maybe I would protest. I’m sort of up in the air about all of that, right now.
“Okay, let’s talk,” Nico says, and I head to the front desk, sitting on it. “You’re seriously considering Yester’s offer of adoption, aren’t you?”
I look at my hands, and then back at the door, trying to hear if anyone’s still hiding by the door. “I’m considering it,” I say. “But I’d never even heard of the guy until Vinny went over to the West Hall, so… I mean, what am I supposed to say? Who is Yester, Nico? Seriously. I mean, he told me that he didn’t go into the game until the sixties—“
“Which is rather typical for African American supers, I’m sorry to say,” Nico says. “What else did he tell you?”
“That he was working as a Vegas criminal before that—he helped with heists and magic shows. He’s got a wife—well, she’s going to be his wife soon, and a cute little mermaid daughter,” I say. “He’s an old pal of Reaper, and he’s been looking for my dad for thirteen years without stopping.” I stop, thinking about that for a long moment. “But he didn’t say WHY he was looking for him for that long, and that one’s bugging me. Do you really need to look for a guy for that long, knowing he can go invisible? I… yeah, there’s something going on that he’s not telling us about, isn’t there?”
“There’s something going on, yeah,” Nico agrees. “Good that you noticed that.”
“It just didn’t make sense, is the thing,” I admit. “His wife-to-be is absolutely gorgeous, and she seems really cool, and he missed out on his kid’s birth and childhood—“ then I flinch, because we all know about how Nico didn’t know about the twins until they were fifteen, or so. “But HE wasn’t in the Cape Cells. He could have at least popped back home on a regular basis.”
“There’s an island involved,” Nico says, tapping on his invisible keyboard. “And you’re right, it struck me as strange, too, so I did a bit of digging. This island should have been inherited by your dad, by the way. Unfortunately, he was nowhere to be found, and the next to inherit would be… well, either Yester or you, now that they know about you.”
“Wait—so he’s just trying to give me an island? That’s why he’s going to adopt me?” I ask. Then I stop, because I’m still confused. “What’s so wrong with inheriting an island? That one your parents have is really pretty awesome.”
“I wondered THAT, as well,” he says, bringing up a holographic map of an island on the table next to me. “So I found out the problem. You’re not inheriting some random island, kid. You’re inheriting THIS island.”
I look at the island, and stare blankly as a cloud of some sorts disappears from over it, revealing massive buildings, or gorgeous huts, and beaches with people lounging on chairs—or just plain floating in the air. Most of them are in swimming suits.
“This island,” I repeat. “It’s a resort?”
“It’s a retirement resort,” Nico says. “This is the Piña Colada island, as my sisters call it—the home of almost all of the permanently retired supers out there, and it looks like your family line owns it.” He leans back, resting his fingers on his stomach as he kicks his feet up on the desk again. “He’s probably looking for someone to help him with the island upkeep… but,” he says, holding up a hand, “that honestly doesn’t make him a bad guy, before you go jumping to conclusions. My daughter helps me with the schools all the time, and my son helps my wife with all of the large crop farmers in the bible belt.”
I have to argue, because there’s an obvious difference. “He could have at least TOLD me that was the problem,” I point out. “Instead, it felt like he was just inviting me to be a part of the family! He’s being sneaky, and I don’t like it! I—I was honestly considering it, but now, no. Not a chance. I’m better off just working in the background for all of the Hall leaders.”
“Does it really seem like they need someone there for every little job, though?” Nico asks, motioning to the island. “If you kids can fix the plumbing without any problems, then they can do it a heck of a lot faster. You probably won’t be some glorified handyman.”
“I’m still not falling for it. He should have just straight out told me he wanted to foist an island full of retired supers off on me.” I feel the urge to go invisible right now, I really do, but I’m trying NOT to do that every time something irritates me, for one, and for another, Nico can see me, regardless.
“Well, it isn’t exactly something you drop on a kid you’d just met,” Nico has to point out. “Something like this isn’t just told that easily. The security of our retired supers is pretty important—especially for the ones that are older than dirt.”
“Okay… I get that, it’s sort of like Cape High, but still! You don’t just offer ADOPTION to a kid you’d just met, either, but he did! He could have come out on ALL of the points, if he was going to do that! And that’s not all!” I say, stuck on this. “I don’t like being USED, Nico. I really… really hate it when people try to use me for something. I’m not some display for entertainment, and I’m not some tool to take care of people’s…” and then I stop, because he’s just smiling slightly at this point. “Dang it,” I mutter, turning away from him.
“You’re a super, kid,” he says, but I can hear the sympathy in his voice. “That’s a big part of the job, and I’d hoped I’d taught you that before now.”
I groan, because he’s right. The definition of “super” practically IS “being a tool used to take care of people’s problems.” I can’t even protest that he doesn’t have that problem, because Nico winds up solving problems for other people ninety percent of the time. (The other ten percent is because he caused the problem in the first place.)
“He… he could have just ASKED me to help with the island, you know, without tossing in the stupid family thing,” I say, the words bubbling up from deep inside. “I…”
“You know…” he says, looking at me thoughtfully for a long moment. “Maybe I should have pushed for more of you to be adopted.”
“Why?” I ask. “I mean, yeah, I guess… it’s…” I’m not the best communicator in the group, and my lack of interacting with people is starting to REALLY show right now. I have to figure out how to put this in words, though, because he’s just waiting for me to go on instead of changing the subject.
