Super Powereds: Year 2 (21 page)

“That tells us something,” Nick said. “Those two were never close, so she can’t feel bad about abandoning him after the revelation, and she’s not friends with Sasha so there isn’t any connection there. Whatever she feels about Vince must be tied to something she is either going to do or going to let happen.”

“So we should keep an eye out for Vince on Monday?”

“No, we proceed as planned,” Nick corrected.

“But what about-”

“Whatever Britney thinks she might have to do or let happen, I’m not worried about it,” Nick said. “Vince may need looking after in many contexts; however, on the battlefield is definitely not one of them.”

“You sure? She’s got Michael, after all. He’s ranked number three and Vince is only eight,” Mary pointed out. “Maybe we should give him some warning.”

“If Vince doesn’t know to watch out for Michael by now then nothing we say is going to make him keep alert. Aside from that, neither of those rankings has been accurate for a long time,” Nick told her.

“Then why haven’t they been changed?”

“They were supposed to be, after the final exam last year. My guess is our absence and the fiasco fouled up the system too much to make an accurate ranking. Or maybe it is because they want people operating under those old assumptions,” Nick explained. “As to why, well, it might make people create a few errors in their plans and match-ups. The smart money says those kinds of errors will be evaluated on the leader’s part as much as the individual fighting’s failure to win.”

“Seems overly contrived just on the off chance it might foul someone up,” Mary observed.

“Yes, well, it seems to be what they do best here. Speaking of contrived, have we confirmed that Chad legitimately thinks he is here in an innocent context?”

“Hard to say for certain since I’m deaf to him, but everyone is collectively leaning toward an affirmative.”

“Shocking, quite shocking. Also, kudos to the elder DeSoto.”

“Oh yeah, I’ve been listening to her quite a bit tonight and the girl is positively diabolical. She’s got a whole little plan for wooing Chad without his noticing,” Mary said.

“Smart girl. A direct approach on a guy as focused as Chad would only meet with distance. I sometimes wonder what’s going on in that boy’s head to make him so relentless.”

“Go figure, I can’t hear his thoughts and you can’t deduce his motives. Who’d have believed there was someone so well-defended that even the two of us can’t get in their brain?”

“I would have,” Nick said, taking a sip from a beer he’d set on the table. Despite hollow words said about only serving those of age, as soon as the local police had done their pop-in the bar’s serving scruples became visibly lax. “I’ve seen firsthand just how exceptionally guarded a motivated person can make their head.”

“You are quite the little mental tank,” Mary complimented. “Except for your interaction with Alice earlier, I mean.”

“I wasn’t talking about myself. And you heard that?”

“Alice is my best friend and, suffice it to say, it’s been on her mind.”

“Of course it has,” Nick sighed, taking a deeper sip.

“You know, if you ever want to talk to someone about all of this-”

“Let’s keep it professional,” Nick said, cutting her off. “I’m not the kind of person who really opens up and spills my heart.”

“Never hurts to try.”

“On that account, you are so very wrong,” Nick replied. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a fresh beer to open and a blonde girl to try and convince I was messing with her.”

“Don’t do that,” Mary cautioned.

“Why? Because such complications make life worth the living?”

“Well, yes. But mostly because I know you’ve been trying to repair some semblance of trust between the two of you.”

“So?”

“So, I don’t generally talk about what other people are thinking or feeling out of respect for their privacy, but I’ll at least say that right now is the closest you’ve been all semester to achieving that goal.”

“Ah, yes, I suppose I should have tugged on her heart strings earlier.”

“No, it’s because you told her something sincerely and spontaneously honest. Alice may not be telepathic or skilled in emotional manipulation, but she’s good enough at reading people to see that much. If you go try and lie about it then I don’t know how she’ll take it, but I guarantee it won’t put you any closer to a friendship.”

Nick bit back the witty retort that tried to leap off of his tongue. Instead he merely said, “Advice appreciated,” and headed toward the bar. He wasn’t sure he agreed with Mary’s assessment, but he’d be a damned fool to ignore a telepath completely. At the very least he could ride this apparent positivity of Alice’s through Monday’s match. After that he would decide on the best course of action.

It was the simple, logical choice. That’s what he kept assuring himself as he carefully watched Alice clumsily swaying with her friends on the dance floor.

38.

Monday morning found the sophomore students gathered in the gym, working hard to downplay their nerves and project auras of confidence. It worked about as well as a pigeon pretending to be a peacock, but since everyone was so inwardly focused, few took notice of the others. All of their professors, along with Dean Blaine, were gathered at one side of the room, speaking quietly. Soon they would break apart and the match would begin. Until that time, all that was left for the students to do was sweat.

Nick adjusted the knapsack on his shoulder. It was so heavy that the strap kept digging into him. He doubted he would be allowed to bring all of his supplies into the test; however, it hardly made sense to have a Weapons course and disallow the use of all of them in combat possible situations.

The others prepared in their own ways. Mary was quietly listening to all of those around her, Vince was stretching, Roy was downing additional whiskey, Alex was doing some weird breathing thing, Camille was glancing around nervously, and Alice was twisting her hair around her finger. At least the other teams were showing similar tells of fear and uncertainty. Nick noted that, predictably, Chad’s team seemed the most secure. He was glad they weren’t facing the blonde boy’s battalion today; it would have been such a swift loss he doubted it would even qualify as a match.

“Listen up!” Professor Fletcher said, stepping forward as the administrative crowd parted. “In a few minutes, we’re going to take you down to the levels where you will be facing each other. The events will occur simultaneously on different floors, and we will be monitoring both closely. Before we depart, I’m going to go over the rules.”

If one were so inclined, they could have listened closely and actually heard tensing of muscles and crackling of bones as the students leaned forward to hang on Professor Fletcher’s every word.

“Today’s match will test both your combat and strategic skills. As such, we’ve opted for an activity that allows the use of both, depending on one’s technique. You’ll be playing a simple game of Capture the Flag.”

Not one student was so stupid as to believe there was anything simple about the game they were about to play.

“Now, obviously you won’t be eliminating one another with flags or paintballs as that would be too easy. No, if you want to take a player out of the game, you’ll have to physically incapacitate them. Be careful; while broken bones and concussions are easily mended, anyone using intentionally lethal force will automatically be disqualified. Not only does your team lose, but I can assure you we will be taking a hard look at whether or not any violators of that rule belong in the program. Beyond that, the rules are simple: all you have to do is grab the other team’s flag and you win. I know that normally there is a component of returning it to your own base area; however this game is a bit more sudden-death style.”

The students looked at their teammates, eyes silently trying to convey ideas and tactics before such communication was feasible to transmit covertly. Every second counted; that lesson they’d already learned from their time at Lander.

“As to how you obtain the flag, that is entirely up to you. Fight the other team, sneak past them, trick them, do whatever you like. The team can defend the flag however they see fit, but they aren’t allowed to intentionally move or touch it in any way, so the flag’s location is a constant. If you win, all that matters is the results. If you lose, well, then we’ll examine the mistakes you made and who was responsible for them. Something to keep in mind. So, any questions?” Professor Fletcher asked in closing.

A myriad of hands flew into the air, each stretched as far as the muscles and bone would allow.

“Good. Hopefully you find your answers in the thick of the action,” Professor Fletcher said with a grin. “All right, everyone, follow me.”

* * *

“You have got to be kidding me,” Nick said, his eyes taking in the lush landscape spread out before them. If they hadn’t just taken the lifts down several levels he would have sworn they were back outside. Rolling hills, thick clusters of trees, even a brook that could be heard in the distance. Someone had even gone to the effort of painting the ceiling varying shades of blue to give the effect of a genuine sky.

“It is very impressive,” Mary agreed, her own amazement more subdued.

“I am seriously beginning to wonder just how many floors down this whole complex really goes,” Alice speculated. “And how it can possibly be structurally sound.”

“Given that they have access to some of the most powerful Heroes in the world as alumni, I’m guessing they may have pulled a few fast ones on physics to make this happen,” Nick said.

“No matter how they did it, it’s amazing,” Vince said in awe.

“Yeah, super nice. You do remember we need to get to our flag before the match starts, right?” Roy asked pointedly. He had never been much for appreciating the beauty of the world around him, unless of course said beauty involved long legs and an amply curved chest.

“Roy is right,” Mary said. “We need to do less gawking and more hustling. Once the starting bell sounds if we aren’t in location we can’t very well protect our flag.”

“I can fly up and scout ahead,” Alice offered. “I’m sure that will be easier than using the map.” Professor Fletcher had dropped the teams off in different areas, giving both team captains a small slip of paper that contained instructions on how to get to their flag then had headed off with the other two teams to another floor. Mary had taken one glance at the parchment and immediately plotted their course.

“I’m actually pretty good with wilderness navigation,” Mary replied. “Besides, right now we don’t know where the other team is, only the direction they left in. Depending on how close they are, it’s possible they could see you in the air and get an idea of our location.”

“Oh yeah,” Alice said, a smattering of dejection in her voice.

“Of course, that’s only while we find our own spot. You’ll be absolutely essential in helping us track down their flag,” Mary continued.

“Right,” Alice said, perking up. “No worries, you can count on me.”

“So glad you two could have this heart to heart; now, unless my eyes deceive me, I think I see a red strip of fabric waving at us through the trees,” Nick pointed out.

Mary saw the flag too and paused briefly before heading forward. She turned back and took a hard look at her team. They were nervous, excited, scared, and unwavering all at once. There was also one trait that shone through in all of them, and that was determination. They knew odds weren’t exactly stacked in their favor and that no one was rooting for them to come out on top, yet staring into their eyes, Mary could tell they’d do everything they could to win, odds be damned. Despite what Nick might think about their capabilities compared to other ensembles, at that moment Mary wouldn’t have traded any one of them, not even for Chad.

“All right, team, stick to the plan, follow instructions, remember the flag is the primary objective, and do your best,” Mary encouraged.

“That, and make sure you kick the ass of anyone you come up against,” Roy tacked on.

Mary gave a gentle smile. “Yes, that, too.”

39.

Team One gathered around their flag, doing a quick scout of the area and getting a sense of the land. They were quick and efficient, simply because they had to be. The other team would be moving soon and time wasted was advantage lost. It would have been easier if they could have tasked someone to carry or bury the triangular shape of cloth, but one of the few rules of the game was that no team could move or touch its own flag. In a matter of minutes the seven students had drawn all the conclusions they could and broken into their assigned units.

The core of Nick’s strategy was delegation into set teams. Vince, Camille, and Alex composed one, while Alice, Roy, and Mary composed the other. This gave each team access to a telepath, a combat-oriented person, and someone with skills useful in the field. Nick was assigned as a free radical, floating between the groups as tasks required. Should a situation call for a greater division, Alex and Mary could go off on their own, as they possessed both field and fighting skills. This was why Nick had chosen the playing card system to explain things to his team. The goal was to make sure that at any given time every unit was equal to an Ace, either by virtue of being one or by pairing people who were respectively each a number and face card.

For this match they came to the consensus that Vince, Camille, and Alex’s unit should defend the flag while the others pursued offense. The main reason was that while Alex would still gain telepathic warning when they were being approached, Mary’s level of detailed hearing would be more useful in gleaning hints at the opponent’s flag’s location. They opted to split into two further teams, Nick and Mary going one route and Alice and Roy taking another to increase chances of finding the flag before the other team could track down theirs. Words were brief, obedience automatic, and tactics well established. The whole strategy had been kept fluid precisely for this reason. People knew their overall unit; all that remained was assigning them specific tasks to complete. It was a methodology Nick was confident his people could execute. All that remained to be seen was if the other team employed a better one.