Super Powereds: Year 2 (77 page)

“Sorry, Britney, I’m afraid you’re out,” said a familiar voice just as a hand landed on her shoulder. She turned around to find Professor Pendleton looking down at her. His gaze was a bit off, which made sense when she realized he couldn’t see her face. She was right that he’d changed clothes: now he wore a button-down and a blazer, but that didn’t explain how he’d managed to circle back on all of them. Of course, even that wasn’t the most pressing question at hand.

“How did you find me?” Britney realized her voice was thicker than normal. She was glad no one could see her: from the warmth cascading over her skin she knew she was blushing fiercely.

“I chose an outdoor mall for a reason. For one thing, there are puddles from last night’s rain storm, which still splash when you walk through them. For another, lots of open spaces where shadows can be seen. Didn’t you ever notice?”

Britney looked at the ground, very confused. She didn’t cast a shadow while invisible, she already knew that. As her eyes bore into the ground, she did actually notice something. There was a very minor shimmer, like a heat distortion, in the spot where he shadow should be. It was something she’d never caught before, given that it was so subtle she could only barely see it now.

“Invisible people don’t cast shadows, but they aren’t completely translucent either. They cause a small disruption in the light, almost impossible to find unless you know what you’re looking for,” Professor Pendleton explained. “Which, obviously, I do. Still, good effort.”

“Why come after me? You can clearly see the others, so why target me first?”

“Because they know they can be seen, so they are paying extra attention to their surroundings in case I try to approach. You trusted in your ability too much and let your guard down as a consequence.”

Britney started to protest then realized he was right. She was so certain she was safe that she’d only focused on following, not on watching out for him. It had been a mistake, and Britney wasn’t a captain because she was too stupid to learn from her failures.

“I guess I did. Can you tell me how you managed to get out of the store without us noticing at least?”

Professor Pendleton gave her a comforting smile. “Sorry, no can do. A magician never reveals his tricks.”

“Well, do me one favor then.”

“What’s that?”

“Make sure I’m not the only one to get eliminated this way. That would be humiliating.”

“Now that much I can certainly oblige,” Professor Pendleton assured her.

* * *

Nick looked down at the professor seemingly talking to empty air from his hiding place a few floors up. Either his teacher had gone off the deep end into crazy, or Britney was now out of the running. Not surprising; she’d hardly been discreet as she punched her way through the crowd, leaving a trail of confused faces behind her. She’d likely assumed they wouldn’t notice one more body amidst the crowd pressing in around them. That false theory had made her exceptionally easy to track, at least as far as her general location. Add in that Alice was jerking her head around every few seconds, making her look insane but also rendering her nearly impossible to catch unaware, plus Will’s easy manner which indicated he had something up his sleeve, and the rest of them had been far more difficult targets.

Not that Nick was under any misimpression that Britney would be the last one tagged out. The others were doing well, but from Professor Pendleton’s disappearing act, it was obvious he’d decided to step things up a level.

That was fine with Nick; he’d been getting bored anyway.

153.

Dean Blaine forced himself not to look at the clock on his desk, slowly counting away the minutes. He was also unwilling to give attention to the phone, which he thought he heard ring at least twice every half hour. It would be fine. Nothing would go wrong. The proper permits had been filed, the proper response teams were on standby, and the parameters of the exam had been clearly outlined. This was Sean Pendleton he was talking about; there was a time when Blaine would have trusted that man with his life in the span of a heartbeat.

Of course, things had changed a great deal since then. Others he would have laid down his own life for were now barely willing to speak with him. Sean was far from the idealistic young man he’d been at their graduation. Blaine himself had done things he’d never expected when donning that white cape and looking out at his family, eyes brimming with pride. So much had changed since then, and that was without even counting the most unexpected curveball of them all.

* * *

“Nervous?”

Blaine stopped fiddling with the clasp on his cape to look up from his chair and find Phil’s smiling face beaming back down at him. His own cape was fastened perfectly, of course, the rest of his outfit crisp and stylish enough for a job interview. Phil never had to deal with things like stains or cleaning. Everything he wore was always perfect. It was just one of the hundreds of real world applications his ability came with, ones that people like Blaine and Gerard didn’t have.

“That obvious?”

“We’re all nervous. Sort of funny when you think about it. We had to get through four years of training, torture, and testing to make it to this moment, and now the idea of being up on stage is causing more fear than most of us felt during our final trial.”

“Public speaking is the number one fear in the world. Comes in ahead of death. No reason why we should be immune, I guess.”

“A very valid point. Would you like some help with that?” Phil gestured to the clasp, still hanging crooked and only partially fastened. Blaine looked around the room to find the other eight graduates all had theirs on already, though he hadn’t paid enough attention to know if that was because of Phil or their own skills. Either way, the time to start was drawing up fast, and Blaine would like to get at least one thing right today.

“Please.”

“My pleasure.” A moment passed and nothing happened. “Um, if you wouldn’t mind easing back your field a bit, I can’t seem to help as it is.”

“Sorry,” Blaine said. A brief moment of focus reigned in the aura emanating from his body until it ran across the surface of his skin. He could neutralize it entirely if he wanted - if he couldn’t control it he would have been a Powered, after all - but he usually only did that when he needed healing. Blaine was accustomed to a world where he was the exception to every rule regarding Supers, and he didn’t let that go without very good reason.

“There we are,” Phil remarked as Blaine’s clasp unhooked in the air and then reattached in the correct manner. “If you want, I can make you feel a little more relaxed too. Joshua and I have been practicing with the chemical balance in brains.”

“Wouldn’t that only work while I was near you?”

“No more than your cape will come undone if I walk away. Sure, your brain will start to go back to its normal levels, but it isn’t an instant process. You’d at least feel good through the ceremony.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I think I’ll pass,” Blaine replied.

“Understandable. So who all is coming to see you today?”

“My parents and my grandmother,” Blaine replied. “You?”

“From outside the program? Just my mother. My dad died when I was very small.”

“I’m sorry,” Blaine said on reflex.

“No big deal. He was... let’s just say I don’t miss him. I might have been tempted to invite a few friends, if not for the family only rule.”

“Yeah. It’s a pain, but I see where they are coming from. We’re getting our Hero names without wearing any masks. That could be dangerous down the line.”

“No, no, I wasn’t saying I disagreed, just talking about what I’d do in a perfect world,” Phil corrected. “On the subject of names, thanks again for letting me have the one you came up with. You sure it’s okay that I use Globe?”

“Positive. It fits you better anyway. Besides, Zero has grown on me.”

“I always liked that one for you. It’s smart, and it makes it easy to underestimate what you can do,” Phil said. “There will be a lot of criminal Supers who regret making a snap judgment about the Hero named Zero.”

“I’ll do all right. I’m good, but I’m not in the same class as people like you or Joshua or Clarissa.”

“That’s where you’re dead wrong, Blaine. I admit our abilities are a bit more flashy, and they do come with more fringe benefits, but those are just perks. What’s the main purpose of Heroes?”

“To neutralize criminal Supers with as little collateral damage as possible,” Blaine recited automatically. It had been the mantra of their senior year, a credo that was a question on every exam, be it verbal or written. This was not a mission statement to be ignored: this was a binding contract each Hero swore their lives upon.

“There you go. The rest us can stop Supers, sure. But you do exactly what we’re all aspiring for. You neutralize them.”

“You can do that, too,” Blaine pointed out.

“Ah, but only if they are close enough, and stay in range, and don’t possess an ability like yours or Joshua’s that overpowers my own. I’m good, but as far as genuine stopping power, you’re better. You take away the very thing that makes them such exceptional threats. All of us are just working to get a little bit closer to what you can do naturally. You are the ideal Hero.”

“You were doing good, then you pushed it too far,” Blaine told him. In spite of his serious face, there was an undeniable hint of humor in his voice.

“Ah well. Can’t blame a guy for trying. Need help with anything else?”

“I’m set. Thanks, Phil.”

“Anytime.” With one last smile he moved on, walking over to a stuttering Victor who was fumbling with a set of cue cards. They had to make a speech at the ceremony, each new Hero giving thanks and stating what they hoped to accomplish in the coming years. This was more troubling for some of them than others. And for one of them, it didn’t appear to be a concern at all.

Blaine didn’t buy that; he’d known Phil for too long. The guy hated being the center of attention. Giving a speech would be something he dreaded far more than fighting villains. He worked his way amidst the others, giving encouragement or help as needed, always focused on taking care of everyone else’s concerns. It didn’t mean he wasn’t scared, in fact it meant the opposite: helping others was how Phil dealt with negative feelings. His natural reaction to something bad was to reach out and make the world better.

To Blaine, that made Phil the ideal Hero. Not that he would ever say such a thing out loud.

154.

By the time it was ten minutes to eight, Tiffani had been taken out and Will seemed to have completely lost the trail. Alice still didn’t know how Professor Pendleton had seen through Tiffani’s illusion of a large business man blundering amidst the crowd, especially since she was sure that man hadn’t been around for more than a few minutes. If she’d kept the same illusion then it would have been one thing, but Tiffani was smart. She’d obviously been changing it regularly so that no one person seemed to be tailing the professor along with his students. He’d still caught her, and with no sign of Will in the past fifteen minutes that meant it was down to her and Nick.

Whatever Professor Pendleton’s power was, it definitely lent itself to rapid relocation. He’d hopped between stores multiple times, changing outfits with each movement. It was only luck, frantic searching, and keeping one eye on Nick that had allowed Alice to stay in the game this long. She couldn’t figure out how he always knew when to walk off to a new area, or always seemed to see right through the professor’s disguises, but she was willing to bet that knowing their instructor’s ability didn’t hurt. So far her money was on teleportation, even if that seemed like a long shot. There were teleporters that became Heroes, but they generally had to be exceptionally powerful to make the cut. Something about Professor Pendleton just didn’t strike her that way, however at the moment she was at a loss for any better explanations.

Alice turned a corner, passing by a man in a giant cookie costume promoting a baked goods kiosk, and found herself with a sinking sensation in her gut. This was a straightaway, and even with three visible floors to search, she should be able to see at least Nick. Her eyes darted furiously about, hoping to catch a glimpse of one of them and knowing more certainly with each passing second that she wouldn’t. Damn it! She’d been so close. There were only seven minutes left until the professor stopped moving. She still had fifteen minutes after that to find him; however, in a place this size, that put her odds at pretty much crap.

A gust of wind tugged at her hair and Alice fixed it on instinct. Stupid outdoor mall, whose idea was that anyway? She turned her gaze from futilely scanning the crowd up to the sky, where the night was beginning to shine through the day with the ever-so-subtle twinkling of stars. In the corner of her eye, the man in the cookie suit was chatting up a girl who was fighting the wind to keep her skirt down at an appropriate level.

A gentle smile slid across Alice’s face. She wasn’t much of a football fan, but if she had been she would have known that what she was considering was commonly referred to as a “Hail Mary.”

* * *

Nick was the first to arrive in the gazebo where Professor Pendleton sat, his hands wrapped around a chocolate malt he’d picked up just before settling down to wait. The older man treated his student to a shake of the head as he sauntered into the finish line.

“Why am I not surprised?”

“Because you know me?” Nick tossed back. He slid onto a bench opposite of the professor. The gazebo’s seating accommodations were weathered and hard. Nick was glad they wouldn’t be there for very long.

“True. Used the mirrors to track me from a distance while also scanning a perimeter in case I doubled back?”

“Obviously.”

“What about the times when I left the area you could visually track? I changed entire sections of the mall more than once.”

“Sometimes I was able to angle the anti-theft mirror systems of the stores to expand my line of sight, sometimes I used a few techniques that are proprietary to my personal training, and once or twice I might have just gotten lucky.”