Super Powereds: Year 3 (79 page)

                “Exceptionally so,” Professor Stone agreed.

                “Well then, let’s not beat around the bush: what were the results?”

                “All of them.”

                “You’re certain?”

                “I’ve been doing this long enough to know a resistant mind when I feel one.” Professor Stone didn’t quite snap at the dean, but her tightened expression made it clear how she felt about being questioned. “Even dragged into a dream by Mary, each and every one of their minds was unnaturally resistant to being broken into. I had ample time to check it out while talking with them, and while each could be accessed with enough effort, it took far more effort than it should with any normal person or Super.”

                “Mental resistance is not unheard of, even among humans,” Dean Blaine pointed out.

                “But it’s rare, very rare, and for it to be present in five people unrelated by anything save a mysterious procedure . . .”

                “No, you’re right. We have to assume it’s connected.”

                “The question is: what does it mean? I’ve never heard of anything besides meditation exercises that could increase a person’s mental defense. There’s not a single physical technique I’m aware of that could do such a thing.”

                “True, but up until three years ago, there was no technique to turn a Powered into a Super either,” Dean Blaine said. “I think it’s time we got a little more aggressive in finding out exactly what was done to those children.”

                “About time. I was wondering how long you were going to let that mystery slide,” Professor Stone replied. “When do we start?”

                “After Christmas,” Dean Blaine said. “We’ve had a long semester, and I think a little downtime will be good for everyone.”

                “Plus, Miriam will hang you out to dry if you miss the holidays,” Professor Stone added.

                “Yes, that too.”

147.

               “We’ve got 
The Pulp Flesh 7, Die in the Daylight 4: Daylight’s Revenge,
and
Squish Squish Thwomp: The Wet Noodle Killer
.” Nick set the three DVDs on the ground, then reached back into his small duffel bag to root around for more.

                “If you’d told me that the night after junior year exams, we’d be spending it watching yet another series of schlocky horror movies, I never would have believed it,” Hershel said. He’d finally returned a few hours prior, as, after hearing what the night’s plans were, Roy had no desire to keep control of the body.

                “Me neither. Isn’t it awesome?” Only Vince could say such things with both honesty and sincerity, and even then, only in this very rare set of circumstances.

                By the time their various discussions with the professors ended, the few remaining classes of the day had been finished. Lacking anything else to do, they elected to keep the plans Vince and Nicholas had made, meeting at the apartment that now belonged to Nick for movies and a night of shared company. It was surreal to go from battle, to life or death struggles, to sitting around and watching Nick dig for terrible films, but not one of the HCP students found themselves troubled by the transition. Their time training at Lander was conditioning more than just their bodies, and that was not by accident.

                A light, flippant ring echoed through the room as Nick’s cellphone glowed on the coffee table.

                “Leave it,” he said, not even bothering to look up. “It’s Jerome or Eliza, and I don’t want to talk to either of them tonight.”

                “They’re worried about you,” Mary said. “You went into a coma, then we barged in and appeared to pass out, and then we all vanished from the room when they weren’t looking. You can hardly blame them for being concerned.”

                “I don’t blame them at all, but that’s not the same as wanting to deal with them.” Nick finally stood from the ground, DVDs in hand, and took a stretch so long that his back popped in several places. “I’ve got a long winter break ahead of me. Between Ms. Pips, those two, and my Nathaniel problem, it’s going to be day after day of cat-and-mouse games.”

                “You say that like you don’t like those,” Mary pointed out.

                “I love them like Alice loves makeup. But there will always be time for such games. Tonight, for the first time in over half a year, I’m finally in the driver’s seat of my own head and back with the only people in this world I consider friends. I intend to enjoy it, uninterrupted by my Vegas problems.” Once upon a time, Nick would have been ashamed to voice such sentiment, or would have at least masked it with sarcasm. After the events of the afternoon, he no longer saw any point in such a facade. These people had been willing to throw away their very minds and memories for him, and Nick was finally realizing that such bonds weren’t always a weakness. In fact, they could very well be the epitome of strength.

                A soft ding came from the kitchen, this sound far more pleasant than the sharp trilling of Nick’s cell phone.

                “Finally, if those pizzas took any longer, I was going to eat a pillow,” Alice declared, rising up from the couch. “Nick, want to be a gentleman for a change and give me a hand?”

                “Back for less than six hours and already you’re trying to boss me around. Glad to see nothing’s changed in my absence.” Nick grumbled this out as he crossed the living room and stepped into the kitchen. He might be daring enough to complain about an order from a hungry Alice, but he was far too smart to contemplate ignoring it altogether.

                When he arrived, the blonde girl was already in the kitchen with the oven door open. Before her were three pizzas floating in the air, the fourth just beginning to rise from the rack. It sizzled slightly as it lost contact with the heated metal, then began a slow ascension toward its sauce-covered brethren. Alice kicked the oven door shut as soon as it was clear, and then glanced to Nick.

                “You going to stand there like an idiot, or you going to get me some plates to put these on?”

                “I figured you’d just gravity them out of the cupboards.”

                “I’m good, but for that kind of delicacy, you need a real telekinetic. Now, get me some damn plates already.”

                Nick obliged, grabbing four of his largest plates and setting them on the counter. Alice floated each pizza to a plate and lowered it down carefully, centering them so that no pizza had enough crust hanging off the edge to fall entirely.

                “You’ve gotten a lot better at that,” Nick said. “Just, in general, it’s impressive how much your power has grown.”

                “If you were still on our team, what kind of card would you give me now?” Alice pulled out a pizza cutter and began sectioning each pie into slices.

                “Not a four, that’s for damn sure. I’d have to gauge the rest of the class’s abilities to get an accurate sense of where yours lay, but after what I saw you do to Nathaniel, if you aren’t at least a Queen, then you’re part of one of the strongest classes in history.”

                Alice blushed, just a touch, at the mention of her encounter with Nathaniel. That whole night had been so strange—spending an evening with Nicholas because she thought Nick was forever beyond her grasp. It was almost embarrassing now; she never would have spoken with Nick the way she did Nicholas. Embarrassing or not, Alice had learned a lesson about missed opportunities this past semester, and she wasn’t going to be making the same mistakes. Of course, that wasn’t the only thing she’d learned.

                “Speaking of our date,” Alice said, owning the word and the implication that came with it, “I seem to recall Nicholas acting shocked at the idea of going to a horror movie, as though he couldn’t stand the things. But tonight, you just dug three DVDs out of a bag you brought from Vegas, which means either he was bluffing and you really do love horror movies, or he thought he’d have to pretend to be you and stowed some just in case.”

                “Quite the conundrum.” Nick lifted two of the pizza-laden plates off the counter, waiting for Alice to do the same.

                “Isn’t it just? So many little mysteries about you still remain. But I plan to get you to spill all of them, eventually.” Alice’s eyes hardened as the smile abruptly left her face. “All of them. Even the one you’ve clearly been avoiding talking about with me.”

                “That is a discussion that would need to take place in a far, far more secure area, and preferably on a less festive night.”

                As quickly as she’d come, Serious Alice vanished and Cheerful Alice retook her place, carefully lifting the remaining two plates. “I understand completely. Just wanted you to know where we stood, for now.”

                “I appreciate the upfront honesty,” Nick said. “Tell me something, though: if you ever do unlock all of my secrets and mysteries, do you think you’ll still find me quite so enrapturing?”

                “Sounds to me like that’s a mystery you’ll have to solve,” Alice said. “Now come on, we’ve got hungry friends waiting in the other room.”

                Nick’s face seemed to glow softly in the florescent kitchen lights, as a slow smile crept across his face. “I never thought I would hear myself agree with such words again, but yes, we do.”

148.

              “Got everything packed?” Hershel asked. His own body was laden down with various bundles and bags, some hanging at peculiar angles on his increasingly shrinking body. As much weight as Hershel had lost over the summer, he was even leaner after a semester of constant training. Finally becoming a part of his own ability had lit a fire in Hershel that drove him daily. He still wasn’t as fit as an HCP student or devoted athlete—no amount of effort could close the two-year handicap he was working with—but he could easily pass for in-shape among regular people.

                “Pretty sure I’ve got everything,” Vince said. He pulled his usual backpack onto his shoulder, and for the first time, had a second bag clutched in his hand. Despite the nagging urge in the back of his mind to travel as lightly as possible in case he had to flee, Vince had quelled his instincts. When he went to Chicago with Hershel, Sally Daniels treated him like family, and he didn’t need to be ready to run from that home.

                The two exited the boys’ lounge to find Alice, Mary, and Chad already waiting in the common room. Next to them were Mr. Numbers and Mr. Transport, the latter of the two holding a small pad of paper.

                “There you are,” Mr. Transport said. He glanced down at his notepad. “So then, Alice is driving her own car home, but Mary, Hershel, and Vince all need teleporting. Chad, what about you?”

                “I thought such niceties were only for your actual charges,” Chad said.

                “Mr. Numbers double-checked the exact wording of our assignments, and technically, we can do it for any of the Melbrook residents.”

                “Your offer is generous and appreciated, but I must decline. I have already secured transportation home.” Chad was as polite and detached as always. When Mary had gotten home after the night of terrible films and rescuing Nick, she’d expected Chad to pepper her with questions about what had gone down. Instead, he’d told her that he was happier not knowing at the moment, even going so far as to turn down her offers of explanation. She didn’t know what had changed since they parted that day, and his immunity to telepathy meant she had no way to find out.

                “Very well then, first is Mary,” Mr. Transport announced.

                The small girl picked up her bags and turned to Alice. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with me?”

                “No, thank you. Even my father will get suspicious if I miss Christmas, not that I’m even sure he’ll come home. I’m going to have to be around him sooner or later, better to get it out of the way now.” Alice was, in truth, still nervous about seeing the man who’d apparently been lying to her about her mother’s death all her life, but she refused to run away from it any longer. If she wasn’t willing to start facing these questions head on—as well as the people who had answers—then she might never find out the truth.

                “I understand.” Mary walked over to Mr. Transport, pausing long enough to give Hershel a quick peck on the cheek. They’d already said a more tender goodbye that morning, but neither was big on public displays of affection. She made it to her tall, well-dressed teleporter and turned to face her friends.

                “Vince, it’s for you.”

                Then they were gone, and just as Mr. Transport and Mary vanished, a bell rang through the dormitory, signaling someone was at the front.

                “I, um . . . I guess I’ll go get it,” Vince said. Even as long as he’d lived around Mary, there were some aspects of being around a telepath that still took him by surprise.

                He headed out of the common room and down the front hall, pulling open the door to find Camille standing in the cold. She wore an oversized, puffy white jacket and a knitted cap that covered her ears. Just looking at her, if anyone had told him this girl had managed to bring down the robotic equivalent of nine Supers, he’d have surely thought them a liar or a madman. But then, that was what made Supers so dangerous; one never quite knew what dwelled beneath the surface.