Super Powereds: Year 2 (8 page)

“She’s good friends with the other three. I guess they all had the same sentiment toward helping us,” Vince said. He turned to Camille and gave her a reassuring smile. “Thank you, by the way. I know someone with your ability could have had their pick of teams to work with.”

“No, I... I’m happy to be here,” Camille said, her soft voice piping up with more enthusiasm than she’d expected. She really was happy, too, that much was clear to everyone with training or telepathy. Alex already suspected the actual reason, but it was Mary who proved to be the more curious. So much so that she opened up her own mind and listened in to Camille’s thoughts for a moment.

“Whoa,” Mary said, taking a step backward and shaking her head. Whatever she’d been expecting, she hadn’t expected it to come with that much force, that much feeling. It was crazy that such a meek girl could be ratcheted up to that level of intensity.

“What whoa?” Alice asked.

“Oh, um, just whoa, I’m really excited about our team,” Mary lied lamely. “I can’t wait to get together and do some training.”

“Nor should we,” Nick leapt in. “We have a weekend before us, so I say we do a little team building event.”

“I swear to god, if you say the words horror movie I’m going to forcibly remove your baby-making equipment,” Alice said.

“Perish the thought,” Nick replied. “No, I was thinking more along the line of an outing, an excursion if you will. Something fun for us all to do together. Shall we say tomorrow night?”

“What did you have in mind?” Alex asked.

“A classic training technique to help us learn to work fluidly and seamlessly,” Nick told her. “Wear something nice and meet at Melbrook around eight.”

“I’m terrified, but curious,” Vince admitted.

“Have no fear, I guarantee a night that will culminate in both training and entertainment,” Nick assured him.

“I’m pretty sure that’s the part that terrifies him,” Alice said. “Well, that gives us tomorrow night, I say we get our schedules and relax a little with our evening.”

“Sounds good,” Mary agreed.

“Yeah, I’m down,” Vince said. “I’ll meet you guys there. I need to run a quick errand first.”

“We’ll try to survive without you,” Nick assured him.

* * *

Michael Clark was halfway across campus, heading toward the nearest dining hall, when he realized he was being followed. He kept his head trained in the same direction and tried not to give any indications he was aware. There weren’t many people around – regular classes didn’t start until Monday this year, so he didn’t have to worry about any bystanders if things got violent. Not that he would have anyway. No, his only real concern was if things got wild and he used his powers he might get identified. That was still a big no-no, so he’d try to restrain himself.

Michael slowed his pace by a few steps, letting the muffled gait of his pursuer draw closer, then spun around on his heels with his fists up, ready to deal with the threat by any means necessary. What greeted him was a figure with familiar hair and a slightly startled expression on his face. Michael didn’t let his guard down one bit. If anything, he grew tenser.

“Trying to sneak up on me, huh? Can’t say I’m surprised,” Michael spat.

“I think I’ll gloss over the irony of that particular statement,” Vince said. “I’m not trying to sneak up on you or attack you.”

“Sure, then why are you following me?” Michael asked.

“Well, I needed to talk to you,” Vince explained.

“You’ve been following for a while just to talk.”

“I wasn’t really sure how to start things off,” Vince said. “So I kept trying to think of a good way, but stayed close so I could and then... I suppose you started things for me.”

“Uh huh,” Michael said skeptically. “Fine, then. I’ll play along: what did you want to talk about?”

“Two things, actually. First off, I wanted to know how you found out about us last year.”

“Lots of research and putting the pieces together.”

“No, that’s how you proved it to everyone else. I wanted to know what tipped you off in the first place.”

Michael stared at his opponent fiercely. There was nothing aggressive in his body language, nothing to suggest this request was coming with a threat of violence if not complied with. Still, Michael didn’t owe this freak any favors.

“There was always something off about you,” Michael lied. “I just trusted my gut and kept digging until I found the truth.”

Vince sighed. “If that’s what you want to stick with then I can’t force you to tell me. We will find out eventually. I’d just hoped you would have been a little more helpful.”

“Hope is a beautiful thing, you hang onto that,” Michael said. “What else did you want?”

“Oh, well, the other thing I wanted is to say ‘thank you’.”

Michael tilted his head in skepticism.

“No, I mean it. Not only for setting me free from living a lie, but for helping me see how wrong I was last year,” Vince said.

“What do you mean?”

“I kept thinking that by limiting my power intake I was keeping everyone else safe. I was so scared of losing control that I purposely kept myself as weak as possible. But if you hadn’t stirred up the whole campus, I doubt George and Persephone could have slipped off with our friends and in that whole fiasco I realized something important: I can’t keep anyone safe if I’m weak. I have to get past my fear of losing control and start using my power to its limit and then some. If I really want to keep everyone safe then I’ve got to be stronger than everyone and everything else,” Vince explained. “So, for that lesson, I sincerely do want to thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Michael said with a sneer. “Let me know if there’s anything else you want me to teach you.”

“Oh, I don’t think there’s any need for that,” Vince replied. His voice was the same, as was his stance, but something seemed to shift to Michael. He couldn’t put his finger on why, however he was certain something about this situation had become vastly more dangerous.

“I took that lesson to heart, Michael, and I think you’ll find I’m now far less hesitant about how much power I keep held within me. I genuinely meant that thank you, and I do hope one day you and I can become mutually respectful peers, if not outright friends. That said, until you get past whatever issues you seem to have with me, you should stay away. From me, and especially from my friends.”

“Big talk from a freak,” Michael said. “I think someone needs to be reminded which of us always wins our fights.”

Michael took a step forward and readied himself to charge. Suddenly he felt his breath slip out of his chest as the air around him rippled with heat. In less than a second the temperature had leapt up by tens of degrees and it was only getting hotter. He tried to gulp down new air but it burned at his lungs and gave him little relief. He fell to a knee in hopes of seeking cooler air closer to the ground. Then, just as soon as it had started, it was over. The heat dissipated and Michael was able to take several ragged breaths to sooth his pounding heart.

“I’m not here to fight. I just wanted to ask you a question and say thanks,” Vince said calmly. “I don’t have interest in fighting you, Michael. I never did. The difference is that I’m not going to put up with your antics anymore either. Please keep that in mind next time you decide to ambush me, because I’m done pulling punches.”

Vince turned and headed off toward his dorm, leaving Michael still panting for air and fuming with rage.

11.

It was later than he expected when a series of sharp knocks rang against Nick’s door. He glanced at the clock and saw the glowing digital numbers flashing nearly midnight. He supposed it was a Friday night, and Mary and Hershel would want to get some couple time in after all. Still, it was a good thing he was a night owl or else Nick might have been perturbed at the intrusion.

He opened to door to reveal Mary, dressed for the night in sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt, who walked briskly past him and plopped down in his desk chair.

“Can I help you?” Nick asked.

“You sure can,” Mary replied. “We need to talk about the team.”

“Wouldn’t that require the rest of the aforementioned team to be present?”

“Don’t be an ass. I trusted your judgment on picking Camille and Alex today. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to know why you thought they were the best choices,” Mary said.

“Someone is feeling nosy.”

“Someone is feeling responsible. I got selected as Captain, which means the hard choices fall on me to make. I think I’ve got a better chance of doing that if I have the best understanding of my team possible.”

“Why, Ms. Smith, are you saying that I can offer insight even to a telepath?”

“I’m saying you’re a better tactician and strategist than anyone else in our group. And yes, part of being a good leader is surrounding yourself with smart people and then actually listening to them,” Mary shot back. “Now, can we please end this little dance? You knew I was coming over for this, and I knew that you knew, which you knew, and blah blah blah.”

“I suppose that’s fair,” Nick said, sitting on the edge of his bed and facing Mary. “So you want to know why I picked Alex and Camille. Well, let’s get the obvious out of the way first: Camille is the only healer in our class. Having her means that we are literally the lone team in any game that can bring pieces back onto the board after they have been eliminated. That single fact would have made me pick her, but she actually brings more to the table than that. She’s socially awkward enough to be accustomed to the ostracization that will accompany siding with us, and she’s one of the few people whose loyalty we will never have to question.”

“What makes you say that?” Mary asked.

“Because she’s in love with Vince.”

“How do you-”

“Oh, come on, it’s not that hard. The girl never even glances at him unless she absolutely has to, and when she does it looks like she just swallowed a live chicken that’s trying to work its way free. She blushes every time he’s in vicinity of her, and she gave up being a number one draft pick to join us. Frankly, it’s so obvious that really anyone could tell if they paid attention. Anyone other than Vince, I mean.”

“I suppose so,” Mary agreed. “I’m a little disappointed in myself for not knowing until today. I mean, I listened to her after we all huddled and... wow. I’ve never seen so much appreciation and dedication. I don’t know what the whole story is, but Vince must have done something incredible to leave an impression like that on the girl.”

“Though it pains me to sound so optimistic, that wouldn’t be much a stretch to believe, given that it’s Vince,” Nick said begrudgingly.

“Why, Nick, it almost sounded like you were showing faith in your friend for a moment there,” Mary teased.

“Moving on,” Nick said. “Alex was chosen for similar reasons, personality-wise. He is accustomed to being an outcast and has a high level of loyalty to our group. That will keep him from buckling under the coming pressure.”

“Yes, but the same could be said for Thomas, who would have brought abilities we didn’t already possess as well,” Mary pointed out.

“Thomas would have been good,” Nick conceded. “ However, the reason I chose Alex is precisely because we already have abilities similar to his. You see, you and he are the only people with any telepathic talents in the class, correct?”

“So far as I’m aware, yes.”

“You are. Which means our team now has on it the only people capable of hearing other students’ thoughts. While that does give us duplication in some respects, it does something far more important. It robs our opponents of any mind-reading. We are the only team that doesn’t have to worry about our strategies and plans being overheard, and we are the only ones who can pluck those same ideas from the brain of our opponents.”

“Ohhhh,” Mary said, comprehension dawning. “So it wasn’t about having Alex as much as it was about taking him away from everyone else.”

“Exactly,” Nick said. “Whether the team matches are maze-style encounters like our midterms or just out and out brawls, the ability to know our opponents’ actions before they make them is invaluable. Plus, Alex isn’t entirely duplication. He can do some things you can’t.”

“Such as?”

“It’s commonly understood that telekinesis can’t stop energy, right?”

Mary nodded. “There isn’t enough mass for us to interact with.”

“You should talk to Vince sometime about his and Alex’s fight with Thomas. I think you’ll find Alex has his own potential uses beyond just a backup for you.”

“I’ll do that. So tell me something, o ye who commands we pawns. You saw the other team compositions while we were in the gym, what do you think our chances against them are?”

“Better with some than others. Shane’s team is combat heavy; I mean, he got Stella, Violet, and Thomas, so if we’re put in a pure fight against them we’ll be in trouble. Britney’s is the inverse, more stocked with unique technique users like Gilbert and Adam. They’d have the upper hand if we did games that didn’t require conflict. Chad’s team is the closest to ours. He chose a good mix of both combat- and technique-oriented students so that he’s got a viable game plan for any situation.”

“So we have the best shot against his team?” Mary asked.

“Oh no, the worst. He composed his in the same style as ours, but with much stronger people. Rich, Sasha, Selena, we are talking about some Supers that are not to be taken lightly,” Nick explained. “As it stands now, we’d have no chance of winning against his team.”

“Hmm. I suppose that only leaves us with one option,” Mary surmised. “We have to get stronger.”

“Indeed we do,” Nick agreed. “Training starts tomorrow, so get some rest. I promise, it will challenge you in ways you never expected.”

Mary was tempted to peek into Nick’s mind and see just what he had in store, but she thought better of it. She had a feeling that whatever it was, hearing about it this late would not be conducive to a good night’s sleep.

12.

Nick flipped the cards onto his desk again, staring at the hand before him with a frown. There was no doubt about it: his assessments were spot on, but in a way he wished they weren’t. He might have liked to take solace in ignorance, to quiet the machinations of his ever-ticking mind. Since that option was not presented to him, he instead looked at the other hands on the table. There were four of them, each different from the last. The arrangement would have seemed random to anyone else, which indeed was why Nick had chosen this medium for physical observation. The others didn’t need to know what he knew, not yet anyway.