Fire Hazard: Cape High Book Eight (Cape High Series 8) (10 page)

I bring up my own fists, rushing forward and slamming one in his face, only to take a heavy hit straight to the solar plexus.  “PYRO!” he bellows, raising his fists into the air and starting to bring them down, aiming for my head.

Jimmi races forward, jumping up to grab his arm.  I think she’s taking the juice he used from her, along with the flames that are trying to engulf him.  “Jimmi--” he says, glaring down at her drunkenly as his arms slowly lower.  “You unfaithful--”

Jimmi glares at him with rage.  “You’re not worthy of being faithful to,” she says coldly as he falls flat on his face.  She steps back, looking at him with a dark expression.  I almost get the feeling she wants to kick him.

“Mask her!” Trent barks at Carla, holding a mask in the air.  The mask appears on Jimmi’s face a second later.  It’s just in time for the news reporter that showed up when I wasn’t paying attention to come forward, a mic aimed at me.

“Who are you?” the news reporter lady asks me.  “Where do you come from?”  I look at Trent, who nods slightly.  I grab the mic.

“I come from Cape High,” I say, turning to look into the camera.  “I’m a teenage cape.  We heard about a group using some sort of drug to imitate us, making us look bad,” I say, pointing at the still unconscious Tank.  “We don’t appreciate that sort of thing.”

“You’re a Cape High student?  Is that the school Technico mentioned?” she asks.

“He’s our principal,” I tell her. “But we’re not done here.  Speed, we’re coming after you, next,” I say into the mic, staring straight at the camera.  “Either hand over the sticks or what happened to Tank will happen to you.”

“What’s in those sticks?” the news lady asks.  “Do you know?”

“I’m afraid that’s a trade secret,” I hear from above.  I look up at Flint, who’s floating overhead in full uniform.  He drops down next to me, dropping a hand on my shoulder.  “But the South Branch is pleased to cooperate with the Cape High students.”

“Flameblaster!  I noticed that this young man was using fire--is there a relationship between the two of you?” she asks. 

I look at Flame and then shrug slightly before speaking up.  “Flameblaster has volunteered to help with my training, ma’am.  We don’t have a pyro type in Central Hall.”

“So the South Branch supports the new Cape High?” she asks.

Flint speaks this time, “We support any form of proper training for our children--whether it’s being trained by their parents or a school.  A properly trained cape is an important factor for everyone, regardless of whether they’re capes or normal citizens,” he says, his hand still on my shoulder.

“I can’t help but notice your shirt,” she goes on, looking at Trent.  “Would you happen to be--”

“I’m acting as assistance in this job, ma’am,” Trent says with a crooked grin that looks a lot like his father’s, “not the limelight thief.  This is a special training for my classmate.”  He nods at me, and I nod back.

“And do you have a name, then?” she asks me.

“Fire Hazard,” I say, grinning wickedly.  What?  I like that one!  I look over at Jimmi.  “Did he call Speed?” I ask quietly as Flint steps up to the mic to talk.

“I don’t know,” she admits.  She walks over, poking him lightly with her foot, then sighing and pulling out her cell phone.  She waits impatiently, tapping her foot, and then hangs up, shrugging at me.

“Looks like we’re going to have to hunt them down,” Trent says silently as the cops and an ambulance finally show up.  We watch as they strap Tank to a gurney.  The ambulance leaves, leaving a familiar looking cop watching us be interviewed--oh crap, when did Carla get the mic?

“I ah, can’t help but notice your... toy?” the news lady asks Carla, who had grabbed her pony sometime when I wasn’t looking.

“It’s Rainbow Dash,” she says happily, holding it up for the camera.  “And don’t tell me I’m too old--the show is amazing!”

“That’s good to know,” the news lady says.  “Do you have a name?” she asks.

“Not yet,” Carla admits, “they told me I can’t debut until I’m older.” 

I race over, gently pulling her behind me.  “I’m afraid we need to go,” I tell the news reporter.  “We’ve still got some cleaning up to do before we’re done.”

“I see--but one last question before you leave.  Are the teens you’re chasing the vandals wearing the glow-sticks?”

“Yes, ma’am,” I say.

“You’ve heard it here, ladies and gentlemen.  The Glowstick Gang has caught the eye of some very impressive supers.  I know I feel safer already.  This is Nina Cortez from Channel 10, signing off.  And we’re done,” she says, putting her mic down and turning to Flint.  “Thanks for the heads up, Flame,” she says.  “Are you sure you two aren’t related, though?” she asks, looking from him to me and back.  “You both have the same chin.”

“Supers tend to have a chin like this,” Flint says blandly.

“Well, whatever,” she says.  “Thanks for the interview, cutie.”  She winks at me, grinning widely.  “And you!  Can I get your signature?” she asks Trent, digging out a pad of paper and a pen.  “My five year old just LOVES Kid Liberty.  He’s got your posters everywhere--including on his backpack.” He takes the pad and paper with a shrug.  “His name is Alex,” she adds as he starts to write.  With her occupied, I turn my attention to Carla, who’s sitting on the ground again, poking her shoes.

“V--Hazard, the tread wore off already,” Carla says.

“Oh, right.  Flame, can I ask a favor?” I ask. “Can you take Carla to the South Branch tailors and get her some shoes made for a speedster?  She’s gone through two pairs already.”  I move closer.  “And I don’t want her involved in this when Speed shows up with the gang.”

“If he’s like the tank kid, you might have no choice,” Flint says quietly.  “Speedsters are a lot more dangerous than you think, especially to fire types.”

“I don’t want her hurt,” I say, watching Carla.  She looks straight at me and sticks out her tongue.

“I’m tougher than you think--I’m second in command!” she says, getting to her feet and walking over.  “And when Morgan’s not here, somebody’s got to protect you--that big lug just watched!” she accuses Trent.

“He could take him,” Trent says with a shrug.  “This is Vi--Hazard’s training, remember?  We have to let him show off his stuff.  He’s due to take on my brother when we get back home. If he can’t take out a fake tank he’s got no chance of beating Cold Steel.”  He looks around.  There’s a circle of norms behind a line of cops that catch his attention.  “Time to leave, guys.  I’ll carry your bike, since I broke it,” he adds.

“Either you’re fixing it or you’re bringing your brother down to do it for you,” I tell him, still wincing over that.  “Let’s run.”  I take off, followed by the others, even Jimmi, as we race across town--Trent carrying my bike over his back.  I wind up following Flint, since I still don’t know the place that well, and we stop at the back of what I’m sure is the South Hall.  It’s a massive brick building with security cameras everywhere.

He leads us to a blank wall, which swings open with a word and we walk in, only to be stopped by several guards with guns.  “You’ve got to go through the scanner,” Flint says as Trent puts the bike down.  “Get that fixed, would you?” he tells one of the black suits, who rush forward to wheel the bike away.

Carla’s already gone through the scanner--several times.  She keeps going in and out and looking at the image from behind the guy operating the scanner.  I sigh.  “Carla, he’s not looking at your bones.”

“Yes he is!” she says cheerfully.

“We’ll have him take a picture, then--AFTER you hold still in the scanner long enough,” I say.

“Okay!”

I blink as someone grabs me, jerking slightly as I look over.  Jimmi is standing next to me, her hand wrapped around my wrist.  She’s not looking at me, instead she’s watching Carla.  She takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly.  “I’m sorry,” she whispers as she lets go.  She heads through the scanner once they’re done with Carla, leaving a hot spot on my wrist where she’d touched.  She doesn’t look at me once.

“Can I ask why you’re here, Flameblaster?” one of the black suits asks.

“We need a pair of shoes for the speedster girl, and a non-friction jumpsuit, I’d think,” Flint says, watching Carla with a hint of amusement.  “And something fireproof and conductive for Fire Hazard.  He’ll get his official uniform when he gets back to his own branch, but I’d say something in gray and orange.  Honestly, for a fire mimic you only see the flames, so it doesn’t matter what it looks like.”  He looks at Trent.  “That one doesn’t need a thing--other than for you to fix Hazard’s bike for him.”

“And the girl?” the black suit asks, looking at Jimmi.

Flint hesitates, looking at Jimmi.  “What do you want, Jimmi?”

“I started this,” Jimmi says, “I should help finish it.  Can I get a uniform?”

“What colors?” the black suit asks.  “I’m assuming she’s from our branch since you’re offering a full--”

“Voltdrain’s colors,” she says.

“That’s--”

“Fine,” Flint says, “give her Voltdrain’s colors.  Make it obvious, too.  I want people looking at her and knowing exactly who she is.  That is, if you know who you are yet?” he asks Jimmi.

“I know,” she says.  “I know exactly who I am, now.”

“Good,” Flint says.  “Everyone follow this guy here, he’ll take you to the fitting area.”

“Thank you, Flame,” I say, holding a hand out to him.

“You’ve done good,” he says, shaking my hand.  “I figure we’re going to have to figure out how to continue your mentoring when we’re in two different branches.”

“You can fly,” I say shamelessly.  He gives me a dirty look that shows even with his mask.  I laugh as I walk away, following the others.  We’re about to get suited up for war.  I look at Carla, and then reach up, dropping a hand on her head.  She glances up at me, grinning widely.

“This is going to be fun,” she says.

“HEY!  I SAID TO SHUDDUP!” Speed bellows at the group horsing around in his messy front room.  The house they’re in is tiny, but it’s the only thing he can afford.  Somehow most of the gang winds up sleeping there, regardless.  It’s not that big of a deal, most of the time.  He prefers all the noise to the unnerving silence he has when he’s alone--except when he’s watching television. 

“What’s the big deal, Speed?  It’s just the news,” one of the guys says, holding the last pizza slice far over the head of the guy in front of him.

“It’s news about Tank,” Speed snaps.  The entire house goes silent, since no matter which of the three rooms they’re in, they can hear him.  All of a sudden there’s a rush to see the television.  The screen shows Tank’s burnt up body on the concrete, completely unconscious.  The camera pans over to the news lady and--

“Pyro,” Speed says, sighing.

“Man, you KNEW that was going to happen,” one of the boys says.  “It was just a matter of time before she got tired of his lame--”

“Speed,” Pyro says on the screen, “we’re coming after you, next.  Either hand over the sticks or what happened to Tank will happen to you.”

Speed watches for a moment longer before flipping off the television.  He sits back, contemplating what he’s just seen.

“That guy in the background... that was Kid Liberty, wasn’t it?” someone asks.

“Yeah, looked like him.”

“But there are only three of them!  Counting the kid with the toy--”

“Four,” Speed says.  “Jimmi’s on their side.”

“What do we do, Speed?”

“I don’t want to give up my stick!”

“We should fight!”

“If that group can’t beat us, they’ll send more,” Speed interrupts.  “They’ve got an entire school of them, and you saw what happened to Pyro when Jimmi gave him a boost.”

“So you think we should just hand over the sticks?”

Speed lets out a sigh.  “Get the box,” he says, stretching his legs out in front of him.  “We’re going to need it.”  The roar of approval is deafening.  Speed ignores it, wondering just how long they’ll wind up in prison for this.  Jimmi will probably drain their sticks. Actually, there’s a good chance those other super kids don’t have enough control--his group might wind up dead before she gets the chance.

He just has no choice, not at this point of the game.

***

The steady sound of a cane hitting the tiled floor of the hospital seems to ring through the ward.  The nurses look up, watching as an old man makes his way to the desk.  He’s got a glint in his eye that says he knows exactly who and what he is.  “Excuse me,” he says, stopping at the desk.  “I’m looking for a Wesley Will.  He was admitted earlier.”

“Wes--”

“They might have brought him in under the title of Tank,” the old man says.

“And you are?”

“His... guardian.”

***

“Look, Vinny, look!” Carla yells as she speeds past me for the fortieth time in the past minute or less.  “These shoes are AWESOME!”

The room we’re in is a massive training room, empty of practically everything except a small workout station in the corner.  There’s burn marks on the walls that I’m certain Flame put there, and several dents and craters put there by other capes.  We’re here to try out our new outfits.

I look over at Jimmi, who’s wearing a hoodie like top with cat ears that glow.  I... have no idea why.  She flushes slightly.  “Um, they set up a special battery in the coat--and since it had to glow, I thought, you know, something cute would be fun--”

I walk around her, seeing the various glowing parts in her uniform.  “This looks familiar,” I admit.

“That’s because I gave them a hand,” Nico says, making us all look up as he walks in.  “I saw the news and decided to come down.  Vinny, Trent, Car--” he blinks as Carla slams into him with excitement, wrapping her arms around his waist.  It says a LOT that he doesn’t even budge with the impact--he must have seen it coming.

“NICO!  I GOT SHOES!” she yells.  Then she goes completely still, her expression shocked and abruptly embarrassed as she realizes that she’s not that close to the principal at all, but she’s hugging him.  “I--I mean--” she says, bright red and trying to back up. 

“It’s okay, Carla,” he says quietly, patting her on the head and giving her a little grin.  “I heard.  Let me see them?”

“Okay!” she says, holding up one foot.  Then, since that seems awkward, she pulls the shoe off and hands it to him.  “I should be able to run all the way home with these with no problem!” she adds proudly.

He looks it over, turning it this way and that.  “They’re good,” he says.  “We’ll see about getting you more when we get home, okay?”

“Really?” she asks excitedly.  “In different colors?”

“You don’t like the purple?” he asks.

“I do!  I picked it!  But I want other colors too!”

“Okay, okay, different colors,” he agrees, handing back the shoe as he turns to me.  I’m wearing my new uniform, the charcoal gray and orange one.  The gray suit is outlined in a bright orange, as is the mask.  “Have you tried lighting up in that?”

“No,” I admit, “I was too busy getting dizzy from Carla running in circles.”

“Light it up,” he says.  “Let’s see how good they are down South.”

I feel like I should take my shirt off, I think as I look down.  I take a deep breath and let it out slowly before holding my hands out to either side.  They light on fire.  My hair goes up next.  Slowly my arms light up.  The sleeves are still there, I can feel them.  “I’m good,” I say, letting the flame leave.  My sleeves don’t even look singed.  “This will work.”

“Good,” Nico says before looking at Trent.  “I brought your uniform, since it looks like it’ll be a battle.  They’re in the changing room.”

“So I have permission to interfere?” Trent asks.

“We’ve actually accomplished everything I wanted--save for your training,” Nico says, looking over at me.  “Cleaning up this little mess is just a side job and the sooner it’s done the better.  In fact I had several volunteers wanting to come down with me--Morgan, Justin, Ace, Max, Aubrey--basically the entire school.  If you get beaten, I won’t stop them,” he admits.

“Justin offered to come down?” I ask, feeling a bit stunned.

“Yeah.”

“Wow.”  I look down, not knowing what to say.  Look--we all know that the zoo kids didn’t like Justin that much when he showed up, but recently he hasn’t been that bad, okay?  And since Ace has been dropping by to hang out with him Justin’s been downright tolerable.  Not to mention it isn’t completely bad to have a guy that sings and plays the guitar hanging around, now that he’s stopped hiding in his room all the time.  We get free concerts!

“Want me to go get him?” Nico asks.

“No, if I was going to ask for more backup I’d ask for...” I hesitate, looking at the two I brought here.

“Lance!” Carla says.  “He could shape-shift into a dinosaur!”

“I vote Zoe or Sunny,” Trent says, making me glance over at him.  “What?  Sunny could surprise you.  Or how about Aubrey?  She could heal everyone, right?  Even Tank.”

“Mastermental doesn’t want Aubrey anywhere near here,” Nico says.  “Healing a kid that’s been terrorizing the area isn’t worth bringing her to anyone’s attention, in either his eyes or mine.  If you get hurt, we’ll tape it up and take you home to be healed.”

“I think Morgan would be good,” I say finally.  “Can I get Morgan?” I ask Nico.  “Would she work in this instance?”

“You could,” Nico says, for some reason glancing at Jimmi.  “She did offer to come.”

“Who is Morgan?” Jimmi asks.

“Morgan’s the greatest,” Carla says.  “She’s our leader--she can steal people’s powers!”

“Oh,” Jimmi says, glancing at me before looking down at her dark purple and orange uniform.  “I guess you wouldn’t need me, then, would you?”

Probably not.  It’s the first thing that goes through my mind, and then I realize I’m wrong.  “No,” I say slowly, looking at her thoughtfully for a long moment before turning to look at Trent and Carla.  “We don’t need any backup with you here, do we?” I decide.  It’s true.  With this crew amped up, we could take ALL of the Glowstick Gang down.  I hope.  I wonder why she’s staring at me like that, though.  Or why Trent is suddenly looking at both of us a bit strangely.

“So you expect her to amp all three of you up, right?” Nico asks.  “With that coat she might be able to for a bit, but I think we might need a bit of reinforcement,” he says.  “Come on, one last toy before I toss you out for your first battle.”

“We can stay here while you take Jimmi,” Trent says.  “Since she’s the one that needs it, right?  I need to change into my uniform.”

“Sounds good,” Nico says, heading out.  “Come on, Jimmi, before they realize I’ve been messing with their computers this entire time.”

“You what?”

“What do you think of knee high combat boots?”

The rest of us look at each other silently until they’re gone, only laughing when we’re sure no one is listening.  “I heard he’s hacked the Central Hall so many times they call it being Technico’d,” Trent says before strolling over to me and draping a heavily muscled arm over my shoulders.  Is it just me or has he gotten bigger since I left for Texas? I know for a fact that he’s bigger than he was when I first started going to Cape High. “So?” he asks.

“So what?”

“You and Jimena, there’s a thing, right?” he asks.  “It’s pretty obvious.”

“What?  It’s not obvious to me!” I say, shoving his arm off of me.  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“She’s got a thing for you,” Trent says.  “You see her face when you said she was all we needed?  She looked like she was going to hug you.”

“It was a logical conclusion.  She has the ability to amp our powers--that’s how I did my first full body burn.  If we amp a Liberty boy, what do you think we’ll get?” I ask him.  He pulls back, looking stunned at the very thought.  “Exactly.  And I’m not even sure we SHOULD amp Carla--we gave her coffee once and she burnt all the carpets in the dorm from friction.”

“Wasn’t. My. Fault,” Carla says in several passes as she races around the room.

“See what I mean?” I say, watching her--or trying to, at least.

“Doesn’t change the fact that Jimmi saw it as a compliment,” Trent says.  “She’s got a thing for you.”

“She just dumped her boyfriend an hour ago. She’s not going to start looking for a new one this early!” I protest.  “And I’ve given her no reason TO like me,” I add.  “I even hacked her phone.”

“How about coming all the way out here to save her from a gang?” Trent asks.  “Pretty hard to beat that.”

“I did it for the bike,” I say.

“So you don’t like her at all?”

“She’s a spoiled brat.  I told you all of this already!”

“But she’s willing to fight with you,” he says.  “A girl willing to fight with you isn’t one a cape can turn down that easily, Vinny, either as a friend or a girlfriend.”

I just look at him dryly and then shake my head.  “No.  I’ve already decided what I want out of this life--a spoiled brat girlfriend isn’t on that list.”

He just gives me a slight smile, clapping me on the shoulder twice with an extremely heavy hand.  I grunt with the hit, but he ignores it.  “Let her grow up before writing her off completely.”

“She’s older than Emily.”

“Emily had to grow up far earlier than she should have--although, seriously, she’s not THAT grown up, still watching My Little Pony and Pokemon.  Then again, Aunt Liz watches it too.”

“I’m not dating Firefly, either,” I have to point out before he says anything about it.  He starts to laugh.

“She’s dating Taurus,” he says.  “You wouldn’t have a chance even if you wanted to.”

Before I can answer that, Nico comes in again.  “We have news,” he says.  “The Glowstick Gang is making a mess at a smoothie store.  Time to head out--Trent why aren’t you changed yet?”

Trent speeds off to the restroom, changing and coming back in a few seconds.  It’s surprisingly reassuring to see him in full uniform for this.  “Carla, your mask,” he calls out to Carla, who pulls to a stop and slaps her mask on.  “Good.  Jimmi, your mask,” he adds to the other girl.

“Oh, right,” she says, pulling out a dark purple mask and putting it on. 

“Vinny, you’re still in charge,” Trent says.  “You know what to do?”

“Not a clue,” I admit, “I’d be happy to hand over the reins.”

“Nope, your job, you finish it.”

“I can do it if you don’t want to,” Carla offers with a huge grin and a pat on my arm.

“I think I can handle it,” I tell her, giving up.  The idea of Carla in charge of a battle is a terrifying thought.  “Carla, there’s going to be several of those guys like we just fought--the tallest one is the one I want you to watch out for.  He calls himself Speed, I figure it means he becomes a speedster like you.”

She nods, frowning slightly.  “That’s something I’ve never ran into,” she admits, her grin falling as she thinks about it.  “Can I beat him?” she asks me.