Aces Wild: Cape High Book Six (6 page)

I glance at Nico, who's now lounging on top of the swing set, drinking a beer.  The music changes to something else fast paced and I almost jerk as someone in the crowd grabs my jacket sleeve, pulling me into the group of kids.  I find myself dancing with Morgan, who's grinning widely as she bounces around.  I have no idea how to dance, so I just sort of mimic her, moving with the thumping beat that is loud enough to be felt.  She spins, her arms over her head, that huge grin contagious.  My cheeks are hurting.  I'm almost shocked to realize that
I'm actually grinning back. 

For a moment, as I watch her dance, I forget what we're here for.  It's only when a flash of light catches my eye that I remember.  I glance over, seeing Jack dancing with a softer looking girl.  He's laughing as she forces his arm up so she can spin while holding onto his hand.

We're not here for a party, remember?  But as soon as I think that I'm dragged into a group dance, which spreads like wildfire.  I think it's called shuffling, but I've got no clue.  All I know is that I suck at it, but it's really fun.  I've never felt like this before, even when I go to the clubs.  In the clubs I pretend I'm like the others, but here... here I really am, right?

The music stops abruptly with a screech as the cheap speaker gets broken.  "I've finally found you," I hear Jetta say.  She's standing on top of the playground tower, her hands on her hips.  For a moment she looks confused, staring at the group below.  I can see what she's thinking, since the worst thing that Jack is doing is dancing with a girl--who looks downright irritated at the interruption, if that expression on her face is an indicator.

Jack isn't nearly as thrown off as either female.  He steps out of the crowd, his long coat flapping slightly in the wind.  "You're looking for me?" he asks.  "You must be looking for me, I don't figure anyone else had an appointment for the night."

"I might have," I hear someone say.  Jack looks over his shoulder.

"No you didn't," he says.

"How do you know, you didn't ask."

"Seriously, Sunny, shuddup," Jack says.  "So what's this about, blondie?"

"You're a super villain.  It's my job as a hero to take you out," she says, pointing at him dramatically.

"We've got media in five," Nico calls almost lazily from where he's still lounging.  "Make it look good, kids, we're doing this debut up right.  I want to see terror and hear squealing, got it?"

"Wait, what?" Jetta asks.  "You mean this--"

"Cape High kids," Max's girlfriend says.  "So nobody will get hurt."

"Three minutes, forty seconds," Nico says.

"I'll be careful," Jack says to Aubrey, getting a kiss on the cheek.

"You'd better be," she says.

"Oh, how sweet," Jetta drawls.  "Afraid I'll hurt you?"

"Nope.  Afraid that I'll hurt you," Jack says, digging in his pocket and slipping his earbud on.  He turns, looking straight at me.  "You ready?" he asks.  I realize I'm still wearing mine.

I nod, silently, not sure what I'm supposed to do. I can only think that she's got one up on him.  I doubt he's faster than--I glance to my right as he sticks out his hand.  A sewer lid, one of those super heavy ones meant to keep kids from getting it off, rattles and takes to the air, flying over to the metal teen.  It hovers next to him and he steps on top of it.

"I said I don't run fast," he says over the com.  "I didn't say I couldn't move."

"That's cheating!" Jetta says, only to turn red as the entire group looks over.  "I can't fly yet!"

"So?" Nico asks.  "Your family asked for my most prominent villain.  Max declined--"

"I absolutely did," Max agrees.

"So you get the school's tinman," Nico goes on.  "We only have two, you know.  But asking for my best means he gets to do his worst.  Now, have at it, the media's here."  And then he's gone, leaving just the teens and the two who are about to fight.

"So basically," Jack says in my ear, "we're being used to showcase the capes raised traditionally, because there aren't many teen super villains."

"Who are you talking to?  You're not going to use these kids as help, are you?" Jetta demands, her expression angry.  "It's bad enough that you have that stupid sewer lid!"

"I'm not the one getting help," Jack says cheerfully.  "You are.  Now get in character, I can feel a van pulling into the parking lot.  They'll be here any moment."

"Wh--"

"Your lines, blondie.  You have them, right?" he demands, looking almost bored. 

The sounds of car doors closing make me glance over as a woman with big hair and a designer coat rushes over.  She turns so her back is to us and faces the camera.  Then she checks her hair, patting it to make sure the wind isn't tugging too hard on the plastered together strands.  "Okay, in five, four, three--"

Jetta strikes a pose.  Holy crap, did you know they actually did it this way?  I mean, I've always sort of wondered, but this is ridiculous!  It's more like they're actors than super--

"This is Mary Cunick from Fox Ten," the reporter starts out in a dramatic tone.  "We're here where a
lovely, if naive, young cape is calling out the dastardly Cold Steel--"

Jetta launches off of the tower, racing for Jack and slamming into him with a tiny fist--or she would have, had he not just dodged her completely.  She catches herself nicely, twisting so she lands on her feet.

"Do you really think I'd let you ruin these kids' fun?" she demands.  "What are you planning on doing with them?  Hostages?"

"Actually I was thinking I'd turn them into lackeys," Jack says with an evil grin, going higher in the air on his sewer lid.  The metal playground equipment starts to rattle all around us and I glance back as I hear a screeching noise.  One of the smaller rocking toys has been pulled off of the spring and is floating behind Jetta.  "You think you can take it?" Jack asks me over the earbud.  "
Since you already took a fist to the face with no problem."

"This is bigger than a fist," I mutter.  Jetta races forward, jumping into the air and grabbing the sewer lid.  She doesn't even seem to realize what's going on behind her.  "I'll take it," I say as the toy starts forward.  "NOO!" I bellow, jumping up and taking the hit of the toy full on.

"Dramatic," Jack says as the blonde turns and stares at me.  I send the toy off course, holding on tightly as it plummets to the ground.  She turns back to Jack, grabbing his pants to pull him off of the sewer lid and slam him to the ground.

"I told you these kids aren't for you!" she says, towering over him dramatically.  "I won't allow evil like you to terrorize the youth of America!"  Then she runs over to me, pulling me up from the toy and looking me over.  "Are you okay, citizen?" she asks, looking concerned.

"Yeah, I think," I say, staring at her.  What?  Okay, we all know I'm playing the damsel in distress right now, but seriously--she's still really hot.

"He's getting away!" I hear someone say even as Jetta's moving closer.  Dude, she's totally going to kiss me or something, right?  I--

"I need to catch him," she says, pulling away.  "Be more careful, next time," she tells me.  "This is hero work, not civilian work."  Then she races off in a dramatic fashion, leaving me totally abandoned.

Fun.

"Don't relax just yet," Jack says over the earbud.  The media is packing up their things, the gang is cleaning up the broken stereo, but I sit up at the words.

"What's happened?" I ask.  I feel like I'm part of the team right now.  It's a foreign sensation.

"She's following me.  Pretty fast for a B class, too.  I can't exactly go back to the apartments with this annoying little blonde on my heels, you know."

I hear Nico let out a curse and realize he's listening in.  "Okay, she's trying to herd you, isn't she?" he asks.

"Seems like it.  She gets on my heels when she doesn't like where I'm headed.  What should I do, go higher?"

"No, there's probably cameras picking up on this," Nico says.  "Who do we have on hand?"

"Me," I say.  "I'll help."

"Change your clothes and get a hat, then meet me in the Power and Light District," Jack says.  "I'm pretty sure that's where she's pressing for."

"Or send over someone else," Nico says.  "We're not going to force you to do the dirty work when you aren't even officially a student, Ace.  Your dad would try and kill me."

"Try?" I repeat.

"Try," Nico confirms.  "You've had a rough day--"

"Not to interrupt the touchy feely moment here, but either I run or she's going to catch me," Jack says.  "Can I get an answer now?"

"Let her catch you.  If she managed to get that far, she deserves drawing out the fight a bit," Nico says.  "But be careful about damage, we weren't scheduled for that area.  Ace, if you're in, get there now and try and distract her somehow, pull off a damsel in distress again.  I'm going to alert the resident business owners."

"Do you see me wearing a skirt?" I complain even as I grab a hat off of one kid's head.  "Gimme your shirt, Trent," I say as I tug the hat on.  He shrugs it off and I trade it for mine before racing off.  I know exactly where the Power and Light District is.  This is going to get messy.

"No, but I can see you wearing eyeliner," Jack drawls.

"It's fashion," I mutter, feeling my neck get hot.  It's not because I'm running again, either.  I've done eyeliner before, okay?  I was hoping it would make people certain that the creepy black eyes were just contact lenses to make me look more goth.

"You've seriously done it?" he asks, starting to laugh.

"Shut it.  I had a reason!" I reply, coming into sight of the brightly lit party area.  I look around, catching sight of the crowd watching Jetta first.  She's running across the roofs of the building, chasing after Jack.  I look at Jack.  "So what do I do next?"

"Become my hostage," he says, veering down.  The norms jump out of the way, dragging others that are too drunk to notice.  I grunt as Jack's arm catches my waist, hefting me off the ground and onto the sewer lid.

"Has anyone seen Noelle?"  No, it's not Jack that just asked that, it's Nico.  For some reason the question makes me feel a bit uneasy, my mind going right back to that strange sensation I felt when I first saw the girl.  But I've got no time to worry about it, because Jack is floating over the crowd, holding me by the waist with a finger pressing gently to my temple.

"You really think that'll work?" I whisper.

"I didn't happen to bring a gun with me, okay?" he mutters in return.  "I'm warning you, Jetta," he calls out to the blonde on the ground.  "Take one step closer and I'll finish him off."

"With your finger?" she asks blankly.

"You'd be surprised what I can do with a single finger," Jack says braggingly.

"What, like pick your nose?" I ask silently.

"That, too," he says.

"Dude, gross," I say, jerking my head away from the finger in question.

"Let the hostage go!" she orders. 

I almost don't see it.  There's an entire crowd of people below, one shouldn't stand out, but this one does.  I watch in confusion as Noelle steps up behind Jetta.  Jetta is completely oblivious, even as Noelle raises a hand.

"Let go," I say, my instincts screaming that something bad is about to happen.  Why?  Noelle is just a girl!  Sure, she's a super, but she's still just a teenager--the hand lands on Jetta's shoulder and I stop thinking logically, giving into my instincts.

"DON'T TOUCH HER!" I bellow.  The sky turns dark abruptly, cracks of lightning flashing even without rain.  I don't know what just happened, but I'm jumping off of the sewer lid and crashing into the two girls.  A lightning bolt hits Jack behind me, but I barely even notice as I jerk Noelle away from Jetta.

The grin on Noelle's face doesn't fit.  It's too large, too creepy, and followed by a tiny hand that reaches for my face.

The world goes black as I get slammed into unconsciousness.

The sharp, snapped out curse makes the entire group glance over as Nico races from the shadows and leaves them all behind.  For a moment they stand there, looking at each other, then Max heads over to Morgan.  "Take your group back to the dorm," he says.

"But Ace--" she starts out.

"Nico's on it," he says.  "We need to get everyone somewhere safe.  Like he said, Mimic is still out there."  He must see her look of guilt because he drops a hand on her shoulder.  "Now isn't the time to worry about it.  Now is the time to focus on what you can do as a leader, right?"

"Do we even know what happened to send Nico running off like that?" Vinny asks.  "I don't think he usually does that for anyone."

"It must have something to do with Noelle," Morgan says.  "Maybe she got caught up in something she shouldn't have.  I wouldn't put it past her."

***

It's too late, Nico realizes as the crowd parts in front of him, letting him through.  Jack is somewhere hiding, he'd sent him off rather than let him stick around like he wanted to.  The little blonde is crouched over Ace's body, looking panicked.  She looks up at Nico, her mouth opening.

"Don't," he says, holding up a hand.  He crouches down next to the boy and touches his throat, checking for a pulse.  "Tell me exactly what happened," he orders after a second of counting.  He's alive.  He's just unconscious.

"Cold Steel had him hostage, but all of a sudden Ac--this guy started shouting and jumped on me and this other girl, one in a strange fluffy skirt.  She had black curly hair," Jetta says.  "I don't know what happened, I mean, the sky went dark and lightning hit Cold Steel, but--the girl, she touched his face and he went unconscious," she finishes.

"Where's the girl?" Nico asks.

Jetta jerks, looking around.  "I--I don't know," she admits.  "I was so shocked when he fell--"

"It's fine," he lies.  It's not fine.  Mimic had been right under his nose--hiding in his own school--and he hadn't even noticed!  But... why had he waited to make a move until Ace came around?

An ambulance siren catches his attention and he looks up, seeing a norm's ambulance heading for them.  Someone must have called them.  He snorts and picks the boy up in a princess hold.  "Get rid of them," he says to Jetta.  "I'm taking him to our healer."  He takes to the air before she can protest, racing through the air back to the canyon. 

"Healer?" she repeats,
blankly watching them go.  "You've even got a healer?"  The only reply she got was the rise in the siren's screams.

***

Mimic pulls to a stop miles away, standing in front of a grungy looking gas station.  He looks at it, then looks around.  There's only a few cars in front, the rest of the lot is empty.  It'll do.  He heads inside, glancing at the people behind the counter. 

"I need the restroom," he says, testing out Ace's voice.  It's not as deep as he remembered it being on television, then again he's a lot younger than he remembers. 

"It's over there," he says, pointing to the restroom door.  Mimic nods and heads to the bathroom, locking the door behind him.

Ace King, he thinks, staring in the mirror with something almost close to wonder.  Of course it's not at his most powerful, but it's still Ace King.  Even in the cells he'd heard about the specialized S class illusionist.  Sure, Blackjack wasn't bad, but this kid, he thinks as he moves closer to the mirror
, this kid has so much untapped power that it's amazing.

With his abilities, Mimic can be ANYONE, even without touching them.  He won't have their abilities, of course, but he'll have their forms.  And more importantly, he'll have Ace's abilities. 
Ace has the capacity for psychosomatic illusions.  They can actually feel like real attacks--which means Mimic can make it LOOK like he has their abilities.  That in itself is worth giving up his room with his daughter.  Plus, he had been treading a very thin line as Noelle.  Keeping in her small form for any length of time was taxing, and every time he shifted back to his own form he risked getting caught.

He will miss being so close to his daughter, he assures himself.  Unfortunately it's a price that must be paid to move on in his life.  In his goals.  He stares in the mirror, focusing on drawing out the power in the boy's form.  He's been an illusionist before, otherwise he wouldn't know how.  Ace doesn't. 

The image in the mirror blurs, then changes, growing larger through the shoulders and chest, the hair growing longer and changing colors.  White, now, he thinks.  With a streak of black in the front.  Yes.

"Hello, Superior," he says with a little smile.  "It's been a while."

***

"What happened to my SON?"  The words are barely kept from being a bellow as Blackjack slams into the dorm, a mix of fear and rage on his face.  "He's not even officially enrolled yet and you're already turning him into a tool for one of your stupid games?" he demands, grabbing Nico by the shirt.

"This is my fault," Jack says, stepping up to the taller man.  He's already been checked by Aubrey, who healed the after-effects of the lightning and yelled at him for not dodging.  "I asked him to help with a regular debut gig.  But I swear he wasn't going to get hurt--"

"Shut it, Jack," Blackjack snaps.  "This is all Nico, don't tell me otherwise."

"It is," Nico says, glancing back at the boy on the couch.  He's surrounded by teens, with Aubrey crouching down next to him.  "He'll be awake in a moment to tell us exactly what he was thinking, but this is my fault.  I should have noticed what was going on earlier."  There's a stark expression on his face, and his hands are fisted at his sides.

"WHAT is going on?" Blackjack demands.  "And can you let his mother in?" he adds in a more mild tone.  "She's already out for my head as it is."

"Yeah, sure, just--come with me while we go and do that," he says.  "I'll explain.  Aubrey, how's it coming?"

"It's going to take a few minutes," Aubrey says.  "I'm not sure what she did to him, but he's out.  I can get him back, though, don't worry," she says a bit too quickly as she sees Blackjack's face.  "I've already done it once, but--I'm not sure--I mean, did Noelle have those abilities?"

"She said she didn't have any abilities yet at all," Morgan says, sending a silence through the entire group.

"She doesn't," Nico says as he heads out the door.  Blackjack looks torn, his eyes going from the technopath to the boy on the bed and back.  Finally he chases after Nico.

"Take good care of my boy," he calls over his shoulder before stepping out of the dorm.  He can see his wife--no, his ex-wife--standing impatiently at the top of the canyon.  He can even see the tears glinting in the moonlight.  The guilt that races through him actually hurts.  He's a failure, he thinks silently.  A failure as a husband and as a dad.  Some super hero he is.

Nico is already at the canyon entrance so Blackjack heads up the steps, stopping next to him.  "What I need to tell you," Nico says almost silently, "is that somewhere--probably not even in this time--is my granddaughter, unconscious and completely helpless, and I let that--"  He grits his teeth and the force field, usually invisible, starts to spark dangerously.  "I once told you and the others that I don't want to go back to the cells, but there are certain things I'm willing to do, even if it gets me tossed back in."

"And we said we'd do everything we could to keep it from happening," Blackjack says, knowing exactly where this is going.

"Right."

"Then I'm in," Blackjack says.  "Whatever needs to be done.  Mimic is going down."  He feels almost better, he thinks as Nico pulls up the panel and they go out to see his wife.  If he can't stop it before hand, the promise of getting vengeance helps.

Now if only he can explain that to Viv, he thinks as he steps out of the force field and walks over to her.  The slap across the face is expected.  The clinging hug that follows it isn't.  "Is he going to be okay?" she asks through sobs.

"He's going to be fine," Nico answers for Blackjack.  Blackjack is too busy trying to figure out what to do with his hands.  Awkwardly he wraps his arms around her, holding her gently.  "He just needs to be woken up."

"But--you said it was Mimic!" she snaps, pulling back to glare up at Blackjack.

"It was," Blackjack admits.

"But we've got something no one else has," Nico goes on.  "We've got a healer.  He'll probably be awake by the time we get back to the dorms."

"He had better be," she says in a dangerous tone.  For a moment both males forget that she's just a norm as a chill runs down their spines.  Mothers are extremely scary people.

***

I can hear voices.  I'm not sure what's happened, the last thing I remember is a hand--a tiny hand reaching for my face.  Then... then what?  I think I'm lying down.  "Ace?"

What?

"Ace, come on, man, you need to wake up.  Aubrey says you should be able to, now."

You sure?  Wait, I think I'm just talking in my head.  I try to speak, but my thoughts aren't quite reaching my mouth and the guy that's talking to me is starting to fade from my mind.

Where am I?

The world seems to shift around me and I open my eyes, expecting to see the guy that was talking to me.  All I see is an empty field, one sort of like where I ran into the cows.  That scene, though, had been beautiful in a rustic sort of way.  This scene that surrounds me is gray and shadowed.  There's no animals--no life at all, really
, save for a few patches of grass here and there.

I start walking, looking for anything that might tell me where I am.  Some sort of sign that there's life.  For a second I see a flash of wings, and I turn, looking for a bird.  There's nothing there.  I stare in that direction hard for a long moment, feeling oddly empty, like something is missing.

"Ace, wake up."

I look around, expecting to see my mom.  I hear her.  But still there's nothing here, nothing at all.  "Ace!"  This time it's my father, I realize.  I vaguely feel something tap my cheek.  "Wake up, kid.  It's time to wake up."

But... there's still nothing here, I want to say.  It's empty.

Instead I wake up, staring into my dad's eyes blankly.  I almost wince as he pulls me into a tight, back breaking hug.  "It's empty," I hear myself say.  He pulls away, looking at me in confusion.

"What's empty?" he asks gently.

"My field.  It's empty," I say.  I think I might be more confused than he is, because his expression grows hard as he looks over at Nico.

"How long can he keep someone's powers?" he asks.

"I don't know," Nico says.  "I'm actually positive that he never took all of mine.  Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to go to the Hall.  I know that Morgan can only keep them for fifteen minutes, but--" he shrugs as he looks over at the girl in question.

"I'm sixteen," Morgan says.  "Da--Mimic is a lot older than that.  He's way stronger than I am.  I still can't believe he was Noelle..." she says the last as if to herself, and crosses her arms in a self-protective manner.  There's a look on her face that I can't quite read.  I wonder how she really feels about having stayed in the same room as that power snatcher in disguise without even knowing it.

"Wait, I'm confused," I admit.  "Why is my head empty?"  I hear a snort from the group of kids.  "Not thoughts," I mutter darkly.  "It's like... something should be there, but isn't."

"It's your powers, Ace," Dad says.  "You were in your head, you were looking at your-- well, we call it the paint room--it's the area where your illusions start.  It looks different for all of us, but it's the same basic place.  A large room where you can build your illusions before releasing them into the world."

"It wasn't a room," I say.  "It was a field.  There weren't any walls."

"I... see," he says.  "That big, huh?"

"And it was empty."

"We'll get it back," Dad says after a moment.  "We'll get it back," he repeats, hugging me.

"I can try and help--" Aubrey says, moving forward.  "I don't know if I can do much, but I ca
n try."

"Try it," Nico says.  I watch silently as she moves around my dad, grabbing my hand.  She doesn't look like a typical hero.  I mean, sure, I guess she's kind of cute, for a norm, but--I blink as her eyes turn white and her hair starts to float around her.  I can feel something happening, like heat flowing through my body.  It all starts at her hand.

A second passes.  Then a minute.  Slowly her hair stops floating and her eyes turn dark blue again.  "The only thing I did was fix his blood sugar level," she admits, looking over at Nico.  "I don't know how Mimic took his powers... but he literally took them.  They're not there TO fix."

"I see," Nico says.  "Even his basics?  Strength, speed?"

"All gone," she says.  "Even his eyes--they're just gray," she points out.  "Ace, until we get your powers back, I'm afraid you're a norm."

I feel like she punched me.

"Why did he choose Ace?" Blackjack demands abruptly.  "We were living in the same dorm!  I was right here for him to grab at any time!  Why didn't he take me instead of my son?"