Super Powereds: Year 2 (94 page)

“You don’t feel bad about it?”

“I don’t feel bad about most things. Until I got here I could say I felt bad about almost nothing. For all the things I have begun to experience guilt over, this will never be one of them. Yes, I gave you the fuel for some nightmares, but you already have plenty of that. Yeah, I added some guilt to the burden you walk around with, but it’s a fraction of what was already there. That stuff sucks, but you know what doesn’t? Right now everyone is talking about how to deal with me, and whether the battle system needs reform to stop the kind of hijinks I used from being repeated. You know what not one person is talking about? Vince Reynolds being cut from the program. Because after what you did in that arena, no one is so fucking stupid to think that suggestion could get any traction.”

“What I did in the arena,” Vince repeated. “What I did in there was brutal. It was horrible. I didn’t even think about if the enemies I was attacking could withstand the attacks I was giving them.”

“Yet everyone survived just fine,” Nick pointed out. “I’ve been telling you, these people are stronger than you give them credit for. That said, when you finally went at it full force, you were unstoppable.”

“I was a monster,” Vince said, his voice somewhere between a whisper and a pained sigh.

“Vince, do you know what the difference between monsters and angels is? It’s whether they’re on your side or not.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“Sure it does. Let’s take you, for example. You say that you were a monster out there. I won’t deny that. The power you displayed, the things you accomplished, they were inhuman. So yes, when you stop holding back, you could most certainly be considered a monster. Now, let’s look down the line. One day, ten years from now when you’re a professional Hero, you get a call about a Super trying to rob a bank and taking hostages. You show up, pissed off, and you show him the same beast that everyone saw today. To that criminal, to that poor stupid bastard, you would certainly be a monster that haunts him for the rest of his life.”

“If you meant this to be comforting then you really missed the mark,” Vince interrupted.

“Let me finish,” Nick said. “The point is that to him, you are a monster. To the hostages in that bank, on the other hand, you would be an angel. The same things that make you so scary to the bad guys will make you comforting to the innocent people. When someone says you’re on the way, everyone in the right will know things are going to be okay, and everyone in the wrong will be getting on good terms with any god that will have them. Don’t be afraid of how dangerous your power makes you. That fear belongs to the people who have to reckon with you.”

“You have a knack for speeches,” Vince said, shifting his gaze slightly.

“One of my many talents. So, do you forgive me?”

“I thought you weren’t apologizing.”

“I’m not. But since when have you needed an act of contrition to forgive someone?”

Vince smiled at his friend. “I forgive you. And thank you for helping me. Not to mention showing me what I could do. For the life of me I can’t figure out how you knew I had all that in me. I didn’t even realize I could absorb sound or created energy.”

“Honestly, I didn’t know any of that either,” Nick admitted. “I just had faith in you.”

“That is some impressive faith.”

“I learned from the best.” Nick patted his best friend on the shoulder. He was going to miss this crazy bastard. Vince definitely made things less predictable. “You know that from now on things are going to get harder, right? I’ve worked in the background to try and keep you guys sheltered from a lot of crap, but I won’t be able to do that anymore.”

“Well, I’ll say this much,” Vince said. “After watching that video and seeing the way people are acting around me, I’m feeling strong enough to handle any challenges that come our way.”

Nick dearly hoped his friend was right.

190.

“How’d it go?” Professor Pendleton asked as Nick emerged from the infirmary. The visit had been quicker than he anticipated, yet Nick seemed considerably more upbeat leaving than he had going in. Certainly he was happier than he should have been, or than Professor Pendleton was feeling. In the year he’d been teaching he’d come to care about many of his pupils; however, Nick was something special. It galled him to see his prized student being flung out the door, but there was nothing to do for it. Nick had chosen his path and he’d structured it so well that it was all but impossible to stop him.

“We’re good,” Nick replied. “Although I’m not sure what his sentiment will be toward me once he finds out the full extent of my punishment.” The two began walking down the hallway. Professor Pendleton was officially his escort, unofficially his prison guard. Not that anyone really thought Nick would make a run for it after going to such great lengths to put himself in custody, but they’d all been around him long enough to know that the minute you thought you knew what Nick was planning was the moment he had you right where he wanted you.

“You didn’t tell him about the policy?”

Nick shook his head. “He’ll find out soon enough. No reason to break it to him without his friends around.”

“It’s not too late,” Professor Pendleton told him. “You could still lobby for just failing the year rather than a full expulsion. The wipe is far less extensive for that.”

“Good to know, but I’m okay with this. It’s the best way for me to leave.”

“With no memory of your experiences or your friends?”

“Look, I just willingly gave up a sweet cover I’d maintained for two years and got myself booted from this program in order to help someone, all with no payoff for me,” Nick grumbled. The duo took a turn and began walking down a different hallway. “These people, this place, all of it has infected me with... sentiment. It’s been fun, but I have to go back to my real world now. And going back as a softer, kinder Nick is likely to get me in serious trouble. If I’m going home, it’s better I go back as the cunning and efficient version of myself.”

“You really want to burn away all the progress you’ve made in your time here?”

“That’s why I built a pyre. What you witnessed in that arena was the funeral of Lander’s Nick Campbell.” They took another turn; it was only a few minutes to the room where Nick would make his final exit from Lander. “For what it’s worth, thank you.”

“Because I tried to talk you out of it?” Professor Pendleton asked.

“Because you really went out of your way to be a good teacher to me,” Nick explained. “Even though my cover made it hard, you still made sure I got a solid education. I wish I could say I won’t forget that, but we both know it wouldn’t be true.”

“You’re welcome,” Professor Pendleton said. “As a student you are a colossal pain in the ass, but you also have more skill and potential than I’ve ever seen in someone your age. I was looking forward to teaching you next year.”

“Maybe one day in the future,” Nick said. “Speaking of future, I have a goodbye present being delivered to you later today. Consider it my version of an apple on the desk.”

“That’s an unexpectedly kind gesture,” Professor Pendleton said.

“Wait until you see it before you say that,” Nick rebutted.

“Well, it at least evens the score for us. I got you something, too.”

They turned the final corner; however, instead of just an open hallway leading to a thick door, there stood a blonde girl five feet down it, tapping her foot on the ground and looking fifteen shades of pissed off.

“You dick,” Nick muttered. He raised his voice to deliver his greeting. “Hey, Alice. How’s it hanging?”

“I’ll leave you two to talk,” Professor Pendleton said. “I think I’ll stand a few feet down the last hallway. You’ve got a couple of minutes.” With that, he turned around and headed back in the direction they’d come from. His coat had barely vanished behind the corner before Alice spoke.

“You’re leaving.”

“It seems you caught me,” Nick admitted.

“You’re leaving without saying goodbye.” She began walking toward him, posture somewhere between preparing to deck him and grabbing him in a hug.

“School policy. They tend to be brutally efficient when kicking someone out the door.”

“They also tend to fog over their memories so they can’t divulge any other students’ identities,” Alice added, her approach slowing as she drew within arm’s reach of him. “Didn’t think I’d know that, right?”

“Your father filled you in, I assume,” Nick sighed. “Did you tell the others?”

“No, but I would have if Mr. Transport had told me what was going on. Evidently Professor Pendleton sent a message to get me down here with no explanation. I put the pieces together while I was waiting.”

“Alice Adair, always too smart for her own good.”

“So you were just going to leave us? No hugs, no notes, no nothing?”

“Like I said, policy,” Nick defended. “At least they were nice enough to let me talk to Vince. As for the rest of you, well, I left something as a sort of farewell. You’ll see later tonight.”

“You knew you were doing this. You could have said something before it all went down.”

“Actually, I couldn’t have. Keeping you all in the dark was the best method I had for protecting you. None of you knew what I had planned, so they can’t try and spread the blame around. It was all me. I did the crime, now I’m doing the time.”

“I... ah fuck, I guess I already knew that deep down,” Alice said, her voice dropping several octaves. She reached out and took his hand, gently resting it in hers. “I realize you did all of this for Vince, and for us. What about you, though? What about the things you said on the beach? How even a man like you once wanted to be the hero. To make the world a better place.”

“Alice, this was that moment. Someone like me could never really cross over, never let go of how he was raised and the things he’s done. Even if I had made it to Hero, I wouldn’t have done the role justice, not the way Vince could. So I put all my chips on Silver. If he makes it, then I get to know that every life he saves is in part because of me.”

“That sounds far more noble than the Nick I know,” Alice chuckled, moving in closer.

“Like I said, too smart for her own good,” Nick agreed. They were very close now; he could smell the shampoo coating her long hair and spot the red areas around her eyes that told him she’d been crying. “Alice, you know I won’t remember any of this.”

“I know.”

“But you will.”

“So be it.”

With that she closed the gap, and for the first time in over a year, they were kissing. It was slower than last time, less frantic than in Alice’s intoxicated attack. This wasn’t a kindling or a beginning. This was a kiss goodbye.

It is impossible to say how long they were like that, only that they were interrupted by the coughing of Professor Pendleton. The two pulled away from each other, then exchanged a glance more awkward and genuine than either would have believed themselves still capable of. Professor Pendleton started forward, heading toward the room.

Time was up.

Alice started to move away, but Nick pulled her in once more, placing his lips carefully against her ears and speaking in the softest of whispers.

“Never forget who I am.”

Then he was gone, closing the gap to Professor Pendleton and walking through the door that would seal his fate.

191.

Mr. Numbers stepped carefully around the workers diligently packing away Nick Campbell’s belongings. They’d just arrived, but from the speed with which they were moving, it wouldn’t be long until they were finished. It made sense; the HCP booted a lot of students in their freshman year. Having a competent moving staff would be an absolute necessity. Mr. Transport had agreed to teleport the cargo to Vegas once it was ready; at least they could save Nick the trouble of hauling it in his small car.

Weaving through the rapid workers, Mr. Numbers made his way to a modest shelf positioned above Nick’s computer. Stacked neatly, in alphabetical order, were at least two dozen DVDs, all of them terrible slasher films perfectly suited to Nick’s tastes. Reading through the titles, Mr. Numbers located the film he needed,
Brazilian Bloodsuckers 6: The AB Negative Wars
, and pulled it from the shelf. It made a brief journey into his coat pocket, and he turned to exit the room. No one made any move to stop him, nor had he expected them to.

Mentally, Mr. Numbers checked the item from his to-do list. This was his only acquisition; the next three tasks were deliveries. Normally he was not the type to run errands for others, but in light of Nick’s actions, he had allowed himself to be talked into it. Still, when Nick had given him the sealed envelope of instructions and the two packages, he’d never expected the sarcastic student to actually go through with any of the plans that got him thrown out. He was certain there would be some last minute twist, which only went to show that despite his age and ability, even Mr. Numbers could occasionally be surprised.

* * *

“Nick Campbell,” Dean Blaine said, his voice purposely raised and clear. There were only four people in the room, so it was a bit more effort than was necessary, but he made a point to keep everything in these proceeding as open and filled with clarity as possible. “For the violations to which you have confessed, you are being expelled from the Hero Certification Program. This means that you cannot reapply for junior year, or any year, at any location. You are forever barred from this program. Do you understand?”

“Crystal clear,” Nick said. Professor Pendleton sat next to him, trying to keep his face neutral. It was more effort than he would have expected.

“Good. Now, whenever a student leaves our program, it is necessary to take certain precautions to ensure they cannot divulge information about the facilities or their fellow students. Professor Stone is here to facilitate those precautions.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re going to wipe my memories so that I won’t know the secret identities of any of the Supers I trained with in case some make it to Hero.”