“I blamed it on Alyssa,” he says. “I didn’t… it was EASIER to say that she could have just sucked it up and kept doing what she was doing, especially after I found out that she was runnin’ around to all these hospitals, and doin’ things that were even WORSE than broken bones and sprains. Why couldn’t she have done it for us? What makes THEM more special than the football team? But…” he groans, running a hand over his face. “I… I didn’t want to believe she was actually my little sister,” he admits. “It was easier to do if I told myself she was replaced at birth, or adopted, or something. I mean, who knows where supers really come from in the first place? I wasn’t a super, my parents weren’t supers! How would one be born into a perfectly normal family like ours?”

  “You’re a super, now,” Harvey says. “And I bet if what happened to you happened to one of your parents, they’d start having powers, too.”

  “It never did!” Rylon says. “Alyssa touches them all the time, checking up on their health, or whatever. She likes them a lot more than she likes me.”

  “Yeah, wonder why,” Rosemary says, sarcastically.

  “What?” Rylon asks.

  “You basically just told us that you used your healer little sister to patch up an entire football team, right?” Rosemary says. “Do you REALLY think a big brother should do that to their own sister, adopted or not? Get a clue, Rylon. It’s no wonder she doesn’t like you. What the real wonder is, is why she’s bothering to do what she does now, in the first place. She’s perfectly capable of telling the world to go screw itself and getting a job that pays a lot of money for her to do nothing at all. That’s pretty much what the Hall does, right?”

  “Pretty much,” Mack says. “They pay us good money just to fix potholes, it’s not like they’re lacking cash.”

  “The work you do is considered part of the cleanup work that’s been implemented by the Hall,” Jadyn says. “It all falls into the same budget. They put a LOT of money into that budget.”

  “Why?” Rosemary asks.

  “Because if we have good streets, we have more people willing to come and see the shows,” another black suit says. “Now load up, it’s time to get back to the apartments.” He looks at the sky with a frown. “There was a real cape involved in that, wasn’t there?”

  The entire group nods in agreement. “Freaked the crap out of me,” Mack admits. “For a second I thought that Technico was coming after us.”

  They go silent, getting to their feet and heading for the bus, until Harvey says, “Wasn’t that politician a guy like Technico? Think he got out of… wherever he is?”

  “Who knows?” Mack says. “Maybe?” They’re almost to the bus when they hear the sound of gunfire. They turn, looking at where the power suit wearing assailants are being loaded into cars, and see a man facing off against the cops.

  “Crap,” Harvey says, starting to run towards them. Before he can, the man grabs one of the power suit users and disappears. “What the heck was that about?” he demands as the cops start spinning around, searching for the super.

  “That… he just grabbed Michael,” Rylon says, and then lets out a curse.

  ***

  *The Space Crawler*

  “Okay,” Nico says, finally dropping down into the pilot seat. “Someone is actually worse than I am at playing with weapons of mass destruction while watching TV,” he mutters as he starts tapping on the control panel. He plans to shut down the remote control, so that Stellar will be trapped on Earth. That will make it a lot easier to figure out what in the heck the guy is thinking right now—

  He stops as he sees several files in the corner, bringing them up on the main screen. There’s a direct link to what is most likely Stellar’s main ship. He brings up that information, staring at it for a long moment before letting out a low whistle. “You could put an entire species on that thing,” he says with admiration. “Someone’s had a lot of time to add on, hasn’t he?” He starts scanning the files, looking for crew members, or even vacationers that are paying him to stay there, but there’s no one.

  For a long moment, Nico just stares at the empty files. The planet was destroyed a very long time ago, and yet there’s no one, either in the present or the past, who has stayed on Stellar’s extremely huge ship with him. Nico had been stuck in the Cape Cells for fifteen years, only seeing another living being once in a rare while. He had almost gone insane, and he isn’t exactly the social type. What would being alone for almost a hundred years do to a man’s sanity?

  He gets to work, turning off the auto-recall functions and shutting down the system from the inside. Once he’s done that, he teleports back to Fauna, bringing up the tractor beam that he’d added recently, and hauling the small ship towards the Cosmic base.

  Stellar can’t go on like this, he decides. If not for Stellar’s own well-being, he should at least do it for the safety of the universe. Who knows what sort of crazy ideas a technopath would get from just watching television alone. (That HE’S the one who thinks that is a bit ridiculous, but he ignores that fact firmly.)

  “Dad?” a call comes over his comm, making him look at his wrist. The sound quality is crackly. He’s not far enough away for the signal to try and give out like that. He claps his hands, bringing up the Technico system. It only takes a quick glance to see what happened.

  “He crashed our system?” he says.

  “He crashed our system,” Zoe agrees, sounding irritated. “Aunt Skye and I had him cornered, but he’s got teleportation, too. And ever since he disappeared, Skye’s been trying to find him, and can’t, so I think he’s figured out how to block her tracking ability.”

  “We shouldn’t be that surprised,” Nico says as he reaches the Cosmic Headquarters. Several of their ships come out, and he turns off the tractor beam, leaving them to collect it. Then he finally speaks to Fauna. “Okay, kid, take us home.”

  They’re gone in a burst of light, leaving the Cosmics and heading back to Earth.

  ***

  *Earth, Another old Warehouse*

  “So this Technico is female? I’ve seen the videos of a man claiming to be Technico, but that was definitely a Lerrestian-type technopath,” Stellar asks Michael, all the while looking at the damage that’s been done to the prototype power suit. “Does she usually use an illusion?”

  “Technico’s a guy,” Michael says, only to yelp as his suit starts sparking again. “Hey! Don’t blow me up! I almost DIED out there, thanks to you!”

  “I hardly think it was thanks to me,” Stellar says, removing the power source from the suit and holding it up to the light. “Some sort of… claw? How did they destroy this, anyway? The damage is ragged, but extremely deep.”

  “How should I know? I was almost dead at the time!” Michael says. “YOU should have had my back!”

  “What would I do with your back? I have my own, thank you, and it’s far more useful than yours is,” Stellar says, waving off the strange turn of phrase.

  “I meant, we’re supposed to be a TEAM, and you just let that little witch—how did she do that, anyway?” he asks. “She’s not a real super! She’s one of those namby-pamby ‘healers’ who can’t do anything interesting! But she—” He goes still, almost shivering as he remembers the moment. “That was NOT something she could do in the past!” he says, shoving his moment of fear aside. “It must have been Technico,” he decides. “They’re probably not real supers to begin with, he just takes random kids off the streets and sets them up with outfits like this one—”

  “There was no one wearing a power enhancement suit outside of you and your friends, they were wearing something else,” Stellar says. “Although… are you certain that Technico is a male? That female child was definitely a technopath. I don’t know anyone else who would carry such an assortment of junk in specially devised belts… then again, I’m finding out that terrestians are all extremely strange in their own right, regardless of how strong they are. Why in the world would they be obsessed with a small amount of others who have nothing to do with their own day-to-day life?” Then he stops, coughs, and looks away a bit awkwardly. “Anyway, so that girl—”

  “The one that knocked me out?” Michael asks.

  “No, the girl who is clearly a technopath. She must be partially Lerrestian, isn’t she?”

  “What, like you think Superior was? Yeah, probably. That was Lady Tech, I bet. But she’s not important! What’s important is that that little witch picked up a new ability, and your stupid suit wasn’t strong enough to block it! You need to FIX it!”

  Stellar stares at him, his irritation showing. “You think that a mere healer with a bit of a heavy punch is the problem in this situation?” he says. “They have TWO ships of Lerrestian creation—no, one of Lerrestian creation, another that is a monstrosity! Both are fully capable of destroying this entire planet with a single shot. How are you so obsessed with your own petty little grudges that you don’t understand?”

  Michael stares at him, his mouth opening slightly a few times as he tries to think of a reply. Finally, he throws his hands up in the air, “The supers don’t have any plans to blow up the planet! Are you a moron? Even little kids know that they’re more obsessed with taking care of it than the rest of us are! They’re constantly rebuilding crap! They’re constantly doing stupid shows about cleaning up the oceans and hugging trees! I just joined the Anti-Super-Society because I HATE supers! And that little witch is right there at the top of my list!”

  Stellar stares at him. “And here I thought that you were one of the people that knew what was really going on,” he says. “I’m not working with you, any longer.” He turns, starting for the door of the warehouse.

  “Wait!” Michael says. “How are you going to deal with all of them on your own? You’re not a fighter. You ran the moment things started turning on you! You need me!” Stellar goes still, but doesn’t turn around. “Oh, sure, you know about computers, but that’s ALL you know, isn’t it? You don’t have any idea of what Earth is really like! Without me, you’ve got no chance! You’ll be hunted down like a dog by the supers, because there’s an ARMY of them, and only one of you.”

  Stellar takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “I’m more than a match for an army,” he says, still not turning around.

  “That girl you’re so worried about,” Michael says, “I know who she is. The entire world knows who she is. She’s the daughter of Technico and Lady Rose. They’ve got a son, too. He’s some sort of tree hugger—except he can make the trees obey him. There is MORE than just Technico, you know—”

  Before he can go on, the warehouse door opens, and people wearing the same symbol filter in, looking grim. They’re older than Michael, with bitter expressions. The only one that even seems remotely familiar is George, the leader of the Anti-Super branch that Michael was a part of.

  “We’ll take over from here, Mike,” the man says.

  “What are you doing here? What are THEY doing here?” he demands of Stellar.

  “They’re doing the job that I asked YOU to do,” Stellar says, finally turning around. “You’re right. I don’t know this planet, and I don’t feel like taking on an army, but the only reason you joined me was to get revenge on a little girl who probably thinks she’s working hard to HELP people. You’re out, Michael. You’re no longer part of this work, and neither are your friends. Your petty little grudges are going to destroy everything.”

  “You’re working with a super, did you know that?” Michael tells the Anti-Super members. “He’s a super! He’s not even trying to hide it. He’s the exact same species that Superior was, but a lot weaker, because all he does is play with machines and run away with his tail between his legs. But you! You’re SELL-OUTS!”

  “I’ll be leaving once I deal with the problem at hand,” Stellar says. “I refuse to allow the Lerrestians to take over a planet that belongs to people like this. It’s something that could put the entire universe at risk.”

  George looks at Michael, a sharp expression on his face. “You should understand exactly what we’re thinking, Mike,” he says. “Sometimes the ends justify the means. That’s how you work, why do you think we’ll be any different?”

  Michael lunges for him, intent on punching him in the face, but his fist is stopped by Stellar’s hand. He tries to get free, gritting his teeth tightly as he jerks and struggles. He’s tossed aside a second later, and Stellar shakes his head.

  “This brash temper of yours is exactly why we can’t keep working together,” Stellar says.

  Michael sees the others starting to surround him, and suddenly he realizes that he’s at a very large disadvantage. He runs, almost tripping as he barely makes it out of the door. It slams closed behind him.

  ***

  Max and Mastermental walk into the police building, stepping up to the counter where there’s a receptionist working. They’re dressed in civilian clothing, so she doesn’t look up for a moment, merely goes through some of her paperwork. “Please fill out the forms for the accident—” she starts out.

  “It was not an accident,” Mastermental says, bringing out his wallet and laying his super license on the counter. He presses a finger to the spot and a hologram of his super-clothed form appears floating above it. “We are here to speak with the group that attacked our street construction crew.”

  She hesitates, looking at the hologram, and then at the young man standing beside him. “And you are?” she asks.

  “I’d rather you kept it to yourself,” Max says, bringing out his own card and doing the same thing Mastermental had. “We try to keep my official position close to the vest.”

  She nods, not looking THAT surprised. “We usually wouldn’t do this, but the costumes they were wearing have been declared to be under super law. An officer will come to get you, sirs. Until then, please wait here.” She turns and heads into the back, leaving them standing in an empty room. A few minutes later a police officer comes out from a side door.

  “This way, please,” she says, leading them into the building. “At the moment they’re still being questioned. We were assured that their special suits were no longer working, but just in case, we ah…”

  “Stripped them?” Max offers.

  “Provided alternate clothing options,” she says, the tiniest of dry smiles playing on her lips. “You would be surprised how often we have to offer that sort of service in KC.”

  “Not particularly,” Max says, but he doesn’t expound. He glances around, but no one seems to even notice them as they make their way to the holding cells. Everyone is too busy with work to think a thing about it.

  “Are you not used to being so invisible?” Mastermental asks him, not even bothering to speak telepathically.

  “Somewhat, yeah,” Max admits. “You have to admit, I tend to turn a lot more heads, even at the Hall.”

  “Do you work for the Hall?” the cop guiding them asks as she reaches a hall. She deals with the security protocols as they look away, politely.

  “You could say that,” Max says as they step into the hallway. To either side of them are holding cells.

  “We have a few of them being questioned now—I was told you have clearance to listen in?” she asks, although she frowns at that thought.

  “It is fine,” Mastermental says, walking up to the cells. “We just need to see the ones in the cells for a few moments.”

  Max heads to the other cell, standing there, as well, his eyes moving from one person to the next. Neither he nor his father say a word, they just stand there. The cop looks worried by the time they both nod and look at one another.

  “Thank you for your assistance,” Mastermental says to the cop, bowing slightly. “We have what we need to know.”

  “I have to ask… is Technico behind this?” she asks as they leave the hallway and start for the front. “Has he suddenly decided to dress up criminals in power suits—”

  “Technico’s not even on the planet right now,” Max says. “He’s on a wild goose chase out in space, again.”

  “Again?” she repeats.

  “He’ll be back soon and clean it all up,” Max says.

  “Isn’t that your job?” she says, growing bolder. “You—” she points at Mastermental, “You’re Mastermental, right?”

  He just gives her a little smile. “We thank you for your assistance, Officer,” he tells her, and then they disappear, leaving her standing there, frustrated.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  *Cape High*

  We all went back to the school once the cops entered the situation, we even called Boogeyman back in from his search. But now that I’m here, all I can think is that I need to go check on Rylon. If I don’t, I’m sure it’ll come back to bite me; but every time I start for the school exit, someone blocks my way. That might not have been a problem if that “someone” wasn’t Superior.

  “I came all this way to check out your new skill set, and you’re trying to run off on me?” he says.

  “Grandpa,” Zoe says. “Quit bothering Alyssa.” He ignores her, completely, and holds up a hand to me, as if asking to shake.

  “Let’s see what happens, shall we?”

  “Wasn’t this supposed to be about finding out about the spaceship?” one of the alien girls asks the other.

  “You know how we figured Nico would get distracted?” the other says. “Pop’s exactly the same, just with different things.”

  “It looks like it,” the first agrees.

  “It’s ABSOLUTELY that,” most of the school calls out, surrounding them to make introductions. I would rather be over there.

  “I only have room for two S-class,” I tell him, holding up two fingers. “One is Reaper’s power, the other is Boogeyman’s. I don’t want to start going crazy and messing up the atomic level of the world on top of that.”

  He looks thoughtful. “I’d fix it back,” he decides finally, still holding out his hand again.

  I groan, and then let out a laugh. “No, thank you,” I tell him firmly, and walk around him as he starts laughing. It’s a little terrifying telling THE Superior no, even after knowing him for this long, but I’ve heard that he’s calmed down a lot in the past few years. I stop as I see Sandra and the orc-like female standing nose to nose, and let out a groan.

 

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