Super Powereds: Year 2 (58 page)

He narrowed his eyes and increased his brain’s level of perception. The world around him seemed to slow as his neurons began firing faster and faster. Mental overclocking too much was dangerous, even for someone with his power. If he accidentally damaged his brain, he wouldn’t be able to focus enough to fix it. Still, he was well below the limit of how high his perception could rise. He hurled himself forward, a hot knife through a world stuck in molasses.

This time he saw what happened, and he understood how he’d missed it earlier. Nick waited until the very last moment of Chad’s charge, when it seemed like he was inescapably caught, before turning his entire body on his heel at a precise angle and shifting away. It was similar to the technique used on rushing bulls, though because of Chad’s speed, Nick had to be hundreds of times more exact when he spun. For someone without a physical power it should have been impossible.

“How did you do that?” Chad brought his body to a halt and let his mind come back to regular speed.

“What can I say? I’ve always understood the importance of good timing.”

“Seriously. I move much too fast for any untrained guy to just step out of the way.”

“First off, I’ve been in HCP for a year and a half, too. I might not be lifting cars or punching invincible people, but I did pick up some training here and there.”

“Not that much,” Chad accused.

“Secondly, it’s not like I’m not banking on a little luck with my movements,” Nick replied.

“Luck doesn’t matter in a fight.”

“Luck matters in everything.”

“No, it doesn’t. Knowing when to dodge requires judgment, timing, and experience. Luck could never compensate for all of that.”

“It could, if it was all I was using.” Nick reached up and gently plucked his trademark sunglasses off of his face. Chad was curious to see what the always hidden eyes looked like, but in that regard he was disappointed. Nick’s eyes were firmly shut, not a speck of light going out or getting in.

“You were fighting me with your eyes closed?”

“No wonder Roy says you’re so smart. Got it on the first try.”

Chad felt something bubbling in the pit of his stomach, an unpleasantly hot sensation. Had he been more emotionally actualized he would have understood it was anger and hurt pride at Nick’s taunting words. Chad wasn’t self-aware enough to realize that, but he was far enough along to understand he wanted to end this fight. His brain sped back up as Nick put his sunglasses on. It was time to get serious.

This time Chad didn’t just barrel forward, he did a controlled charged that slowed once he got near Nick. The sandy-haired boy tried to pedal backwards, but once he was in range, Chad could easily stop the distance between them from widening. Even at this range, however, Nick kept nimbly slipping away. He twisted, folded, ducked, bent, and slid at just the right moment every time.

“You can’t keep this up forever,” Chad spat through gritted teeth.

“Oh, definitely. I don’t have your stamina. In fact, I doubt I can last another minute,” Nick agreed.

Chad didn’t have the patience to wait that minute. He brought his perception up by several more degrees, far more than he ever should have needed against someone like Nick, and let fly a flurry of attacks. This time even Nick’s luck couldn’t save him: his arm was ensnared by Chad’s powerful hand. After that, it was a matter of seconds before he was bent to the ground, Chad trying hard not to accidentally break his arm while keeping the submission hold.

“You win,” Nick said immediately. “I give up.”

“The winner of the first match is Chad Taylor of Team Two,” Professor Fletcher’s voice boomed from the wall.

Chad released his adversary and offered him a hand up. Nick took it gratefully; his own arm felt a bit wonky despite Chad’s evident restraint.

“Why in the hell didn’t you just do that in the first place?” Chad asked.

“You know, there are a lot of bullshit reasons I could feed you right now. I could say it’s because I like challenging strong opponents who make me grow, or because I had too much pride to give up without being properly beaten. Stuff like that, stuff I’m sure you’d swallow without hesitation. But I like you; not many people with your kind of power are decent enough to also respect those weaker than they. So just this once I’m going to do something out of character and tell you the truth. I did it to steal your overwhelming victory.”

“But you lost.”

“And you won. What you didn’t do was crush me, or anyone else on my team. You didn’t manage to demoralize us like you were hoping.”

“That more seems like you negated it than you stole it,” Chad pointed out.

“A King will always beat a Two,” Nick said. “It almost doesn’t matter what game you play. But it’s a given; no one expects any different.”

“I’m missing your point.”

Nick stopped walking toward the door and stared at Chad. Despite the sunglasses, Chad could feel Nick’s eyes boring into him. “A King will always beat a Two. The difference between them is so great that it should be as effortless as killing a bug. You beat me, there’s no question about that. But you didn’t do it all that easily. What my team, and yours, just saw was a Two managing to keep pace with a King. They just saw the weakest member of the HCP force the strongest to really work for an unsatisfying victory. Now you tell me, do you think something that impossible has my team feeling particularly demoralized? Or do you think it made them believe that if lowly little old me can do something so impossible that we might have a real shot at winning this thing?”

Chad took a moment before speaking. “You are much more dangerous than I expected.”

Nick smiled and began walking again. “This is only the first match. Wait til you see what I do with the others.”

113.

“That was incredible!” Vince bounded forward to clap Nick on the back as he entered the room. The others weren’t far behind, offering similar tidings of congratulations. Nick wasn’t sure whether it said more about how strong everyone thought Chad was or how weak they viewed him to be that merely not getting annihilated drew such a reaction. Given that it was what he’d been banking on, however, he supposed either one was acceptable.

“I still can’t believe you dodged him by closing your eyes,” Alice muttered.

“Trust me, no one is more surprised that worked than me, with the possible exception of Chad,” Nick replied humbly. “I take it you folks overheard our little adversarial chat?”

“No, Mary gave us a sort of narration based on your thoughts and what you were doing,” Alex explained. “Unless you’re hooked up to the mike and speaker system those cells are completely soundproof.”

Nick stepped away from the crowd and looked through the relatively thin slit that comprised their window. Across the cell he could see into the other team’s prep room; they were huddling together and congratulating Chad. The blonde captain didn’t look as sure of himself as he should be after a win. A warm glow of satisfaction cascaded through Nick’s mind. He’d successfully planted the seeds of uncertainty; now he had to capitalize on them.

“Chad is the one making all the decisions,” Mary said, sidling up next to him and lowering her voice. “They figured out that strategy before he was done with the fight. Since I can’t read his mind, we’re going to be working as blind as they are.”

“Not entirely. We still know who they are on a personal level. Telepathy is well and good, but I’ve been predicting people’s actions long before I had access to a mind reader.”

“I take that to mean you’ve come up with a plan?”

“You know me so well. It’s going to get very rough. Can you keep them together?”

“Find a way to keep us in this thing, I’ll make sure they keep at it.”

“Let’s hope so, because this next one will be bad,” Nick warned. “Hey, Camille!”

The small girl turned and looked at the pair curiously. “Yes? Do you need some healing?”

“Nah, not right now. You have more important things to deal with. Mary and I talked it over and decided you’re our pick for the next round.” Nick took advantage of the stunned silence that followed to shift his position and brace himself. There was a good chance he really might need some healing before Camille was out of the room.

“What?!” Vince blurted as realization finally struck home. “You’re pairing her with someone, right? That’s why we agreed to do a two-person round, so we could couple a strong offense with Camille’s healing ability.”

“Vince is right; that girl has no place being in the cell by herself,” Roy echoed. “You’re one thing, but she could get really hurt.”

“And if the healer gets injured then who helps her?” Alex tacked on.

Mary held up a hand to silence them, and surprisingly they complied with minimal grumbling. “I hear your concerns, I really do. But Nick made a compelling case, so hear him out before you decide he’s wrong.” Mary turned, ready to actually hear the case she’d pretended to know and endorse.

“We’re probably going to lose this event,” Nick said, his face unusually straightforward. “I told you all that from the beginning. Even in this format we’re at a disadvantage. I’ve run through the lineup combinations in my head dozens of times, and in the vast majority we lose four out of six matches. There are a couple - a very slender few – of exceptions. The only arrangement of those we have any reasonable shot at still requires a very precise order of execution, which is remarkably harder, given that our opponents get to choose their participant in three of the matches. I think I can get us there, but only if you all trust me and go in the order Mary and I decide.”

“I’ll go,” Camille said, so softly that it would have been inaudible had the room not been stricken silent.

“You don’t have to do that,” Vince told her.

“She does if we want a shot at this thing,” Nick rebutted. Vince threw his friend a look dirtier than Nick would have believed him capable of conjuring.

“I’m doing it,” Camille insisted. “I’m not at this school just to heal everyone else, you know. I’m here to learn, and to fight, and to get stronger. I’m here to become a Hero, and Heroes don’t have the luxury of sitting out a fight just because it’s hard.”

“But-”

“We’re done talking about this.” Camille turned toward Nick, less because she actually wanted to speak to him and more because she couldn’t bear the look of worry on Vince’s face. “Anything I need to know?”

“I’m betting you have the same guess as me on who they’ll send against you, right?”

Camille nodded. No matter what they were planning, some opportunities were too rare to pass up. She knew who would be gunning for her.

“Then I’ll just say this: I don’t support pyrrhic victories as a rule, but on this occasion I think there might be a bit of value to the concept,” Nick instructed, his eyes scouring Camille’s face for any signs of comprehension. The small girl was smarter than most of the others; he could only hope she knew what he was talking about. Her lashes went up and she let out a quick breath. He wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but he’d given as much as he could with this many people in earshot.

“Good advice,” Camille said without commitment. She turned and walked out the door, leaving behind a rising babble of voices as she exited. She could already hear them badgering Nick for more information, but she doubted he would give anything up. That boy was disturbingly clever.

Camille could see the surprise ripple through the opponents’ room as she entered the cell. Whatever they’d been expecting, it wasn’t her. That was the whole point, after all. This match’s strategy was insanity: keep the others off-balance and make it impossible for them to predict what Team One would do next. So far, so good. She hoped.

It didn’t take long for the cell door to open again. Camille considered feigning surprise then thought better of it. This was a rare opportunity for them to face one another plainly, with all feelings and thoughts laid bare. She wouldn’t be the one to sully it with cheap ploys.

“Good morning, Sasha. Thanks for not keeping me waiting.”

“The least I could do,” Sasha replied. “After all, if there’s one thing someone with my ability should be, it’s punctual.”

114.

Camille had never fought someone with super speed before. She’d expected the fast movements, obviously, and she knew enough about them to be aware that Sasha would be more resistant to injury than most. What Camille hadn’t anticipated was how hard her opponent could hit, which was unfortunate.

“Ooof.” Camille let out a guttural gasp as Sasha’s fist buried itself in her diaphragm. Before she had any semblance of a chance to recover, a quick jab to the cranium sent her tumbling to the floor. A punch like that should have at least cracked her attacker’s hand bones, but as she stared up at Sasha, it was clear the girl with pink-streaked hair had barely even felt it. Bitch.

“I have to say, I was expecting a little more,” Sasha chided. “I mean, I know you’re just a healer, but I would have thought all that time in Close Combat would have taught you a few tricks.”

Camille sucked in a slow breath that made her ribs ache. She’d hit the floor hard enough to bruise them, but she was pretty sure nothing was broken. Her head was largely okay; thankfully, Sasha had struck the densest part. Slowly, she staggered to her feet. These injuries would be nothing to heal, take almost no effort at all. That would work against her, unfortunately, and Camille was determined to strike her own version of victory.

“That why they sent down a heavy hitter? I have to say I’m surprised Chad was willing to squander such a strong fighter on little old me.”

“I convinced him. Captain or not, he understands the need to work out personal grudges with one’s fists.”

“So it’s a grudge now?”

“Not really,” Sasha replied. She flashed forward, moving too quickly for Camille to react, and swept the smaller girl’s legs while pushing back on her head. Camille was able to shift her weight mid-air to avoid a headfirst impact, but as she crunched to the ground, she knew something in her shoulder had broken. “I just thought we ought to have some girl-talk time.”