Ditto Ditto (21 page)

“I agree,” Century says.  “Is there a reason for this visit?”

“We’ve come to collect my kid,” Taurus says, letting me down.  There’s a sharp look on his face as Century looks at him in surprise.  Century looks at me, as if confirming what Taurus just claimed.

“To be,” I admit, leaning into Taurus’s side.  “As soon as we can get Liz to commit.”

“You had my other girl earlier,” Taurus says.  “I’d appreciate you giving us more of a warning before you try to get either of them next time.”

“Life Light’s my sister,” I clarify.

“I see.  I’ll do what I can,” Century says.  He looks at me, holding out a hand.  “I still…” he starts out slowly, a mournful look in his eyes, “wish things had worked out differently.”

“I… don’t,” I say finally.  “I mean, the end results--I’m happy now.  There are things I would change, sure, but… I’m going to be okay.  I’m loved.”  I look at all of the Central Hall supers that surround us, smiling slightly.  “Can we go home now?” I ask, looking over at Andre.

“Absolutely,” he says.

***

The flight home was spent leaning against Trent’s shoulder, our fingers entwined as Taurus and Andre sat across from us, telling stories from Taurus’s childhood.  He played football for all of a season before he had to quit--people were starting to question his abilities.  Trent really got into that conversation, leaving me to listen silently. 

Now we’re getting off of the plane.  I pull to a stop as I see a familiar white haired woman waiting in front of us.  A hint of dread chases down my spine, especially when I see Falconess and Aubrey standing next to Liz.  I am SO grounded, I think with a sigh.

“You are SO grounded,” Liz says, her hands on her hips.  “No teleporting for the next ten years, young lady!”

“Now, Liz,” Taurus says, heading over to her, “ten years is a bit too long--plus she’s going to have a debut soon.”

“And YOU!” Liz says, turning on him and poking him in the chest.  “You were already heading down there before I heard a single word!”

“Well, you’re on house arrest, honey--”

“Don’t ‘honey’ me,” she says, poking him in the chest again.  He’s got both hands up and his most innocent expression.  “I should have been the first person you called, house arrest or not!”

“I didn’t want you finding out,” I admit, heading straight for her and hugging her tightly.  “I didn’t want you breaking house arrest and getting tossed into the Cape Cells!”

“Oh, I wouldn’t have been tossed into those,” she says, waving it off with a snort.  “I’d have gotten a slap on the wrist and stuck with some ridiculous duty Double M knows I hate--I’ve already got to do the next parade that comes up.  I hate parades.”

“It’s okay, though,” I say, taking advantage of her distraction.  “We have more important things to talk about--and I really want to go home.  I have a sleepover planned, you know?”

“You’re still going to do the sleepover?” Aubrey asks.  “CAN you do that when you’re grounded?”

“Absolutely not!” Liz says.

“Adanna made cookies, though!” I say.

“Oh… well… she makes great cookies, doesn’t she?” Liz says thoughtfully.

“Before that, let’s go home,” Nico says, a dark look on his face.  “Unfortunately I need to call our old man.”

“What?” Liz yelps, looking shocked.  “What for?”

“Because Kunnins is alive after all.  If he finds out from someone other than me, we’re going to have trouble.”

“But that means he’ll come back!” Liz complains.  “I don’t want him back--and I DEFINITELY don’t want to meet Tatiana!  Do you know how big of a gasket she’ll blow when she finds out about me?”

“Nah, she’ll like you just fine,” Nico says.  “It’s Father that’ll get the gasket blowing up on him.”

“Oh… you sure?” she asks.

“Worth a try if it gets him in trouble!” Nico says shamelessly.  Liz just stares at him.

“Don’t worry,” Taurus tells Liz, “I’ve got your back.”

Liz looks at him, letting out a sigh.  “You had better--you’ve got a LOT to make up for after today.”

I grab her hand, looking up at her seriously.  “Liz--Mom?” I say.

“Yeah?” she asks, looking startled.

“I’m sorry I lost control of Repeat and teleported across country,” I tell her.  “I seriously didn’t mean to.  I’ve got no plans on going back to Texas--like, ever.  But you shouldn’t be mad at Taurus--he brought me back.”

She just looks at me before letting out a heavy sigh.  “Okay, fine.  Now come on, we’ve got one of the black suit vans in the parking lot.  If I get caught flying, who knows what sort of punishment Double M will slap on me.”

“You know, I bet you can go out if you get a wig or something and act like a norm,” I say casually.  “Maybe on a date?”

“You want to go on a date with me?” she asks, looking all sorts of excited.  “We can go out to dinner and then a movie--Aubrey, you can come with us!”

“I meant with Taurus,” I say, rolling my eyes.

“How about we all go?” Taurus asks, draping an arm over Aubrey’s shoulders.  She grins up at him.

“You did promise to come to dinner with me sometime,” Andre says from behind us.  “I wouldn’t mind a movie, as well.”

“Let’s do it!” I say.

“Now?” Liz asks.

“Now,” everyone agrees.

***

“I’m afraid it will be this way until we find your hijos, Señora Hanks,” Voltdrain says as Ginger steps into a small house that isn’t her own.  “You will be under constant supervision--but it is for your own safety.  I do not wish you to feel pressured, so--”

“It’s fine,” Ginger says, her frustration causing her hands to clench for a moment.     She feels so helpless.  Her boys are out there with a ruthless monster of a man--one that had made her do things that went against her personal values--things that she feels dirty even thinking about.  If he’s so willing to contemplate changing his own grandson, what would he do to two kids not even related to him?

She can’t help but fear him turning her sons into test subjects.  She had feared it earlier, but not as much as now.  Earlier, they had been leverage against her--now--

“I will leave you to yourself,” Voltdrain says gently, touching her shoulder and making her look at him.  He has a look of compassion in his eyes, one that almost makes her cry.  “If you have need for anything, there are two black suits in the main room.  They will arrange things for you, Señora.”

“Thank you,” she whispers.  She turns away from his look, not capable of seeing it any longer.  She hears the door open and close.  Voltdrain is gone.

For a long moment there’s silence, and she looks around the empty room.  It’s spacious, but rather sterile in appearance.  There’s a bed, a table, and a chair--which she heads over and sinks into, letting the tears fall.  Will she ever see her boys again?

“This is rather depressing,” a familiar voice says from the corner.  Ginger jerks, her eyes widening with shock as she sees Shadowman leaning casually against the wall, examining his fingernails.  “Kunnins is looking for you,” he says as her mouth opens and closes without a word.  “Those two boys of yours are causing a lot of problems without you there--the last time something caused him trouble he used it as an experiment, according to the muscle boys.”

“I didn’t--I wasn’t--” Ginger says.  “Has he done anything to them?”

“Not yet,” Shadowman says, “and if you come quietly, he might not.”

She hesitates, looking at the door leading to the main room and back to him.  She gets to her feet.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” Shadowman says, taking her hand.

***

I fell asleep halfway through the movie.  At least I think I did.  Right now I’m waking up in my bed, dressed in my ever-so-classy “Firefly Rocks” pjs.  I take that as a sign of Liz putting me to bed.  She’s constantly buying me clothes with her logo on them.  I feel better, I realize as I stretch.  A night’s sleep is enough for my healing factor to let me completely recover.

“Em, you going to school today?” Aubrey calls through the door.

“Yeah, I’m coming!” I call back, hopping out of bed and heading for the bathroom.  Shortly I’m cleaned up, fed, and heading down the stairs with the rest of the group.  To my shock, Zoe jumps me from behind as we reach the bottom floor.

“You stood us up!” she says.

“Sorry--I mean--tonight?” I offer, guilt hitting me sharply.

“You’ll have to talk Adanna into it.  I think Sunny ate all her cookies.”

“Darn you, Sunny!” I yell at the teen in question.  “Those cookies were mine!”  He has the gall to laugh!  How rude.  We head through the security and for the campus, chatting casually as we wake up.  Adanna joins us as we get to school, heading straight for me with a dark look on her face before she hauls me into a hug.

“Now that you know how to teleport, I expect you to come over to my house more often,” she orders me.

“Liz grounded me,” I say, a bit depressed over that thought.  Going over to Adanna’s whenever I want sounds AWESOME.  She’s got this huge cat sanctuary in her backyard.  “Maybe when I’m thirty?”

I glance up, distracted as another car pulls up to the school.  Keliah comes out, carrying a box.  My eyes widen as I see the words “Krispy Kreme” on the side.  Oh no she didn’t!  “Now remember, you’re sharing with everyone,” Falconess calls through the window to her.

“I know, I know,” Keliah mutters, looking at her mother darkly as the window rolls back up and Falconess drives away.  Today isn’t a mentoring day--I think she’s got rounds to make.  Keliah looks over at us, her eyes going straight to Jack, who is staring at her… Well, more like he’s staring at the donut box.

This is DEFINITELY trouble. 

“Donuts,” Trent says from behind me.

I look at Aubrey, Aubrey looks at me.  Looks like our boyfriend protection job isn’t anywhere close to done, I think.  “Hey, Jack, did you ever come up with a name for your dog?” she asks.

“I think we should name him Donut,” Jack says, his eyes glued to the box.

“I like Donut,” Trent agrees stupidly, “or maybe Krispy.”

“Krispy’s good, too.”

Aubrey and I groan.

####

Bonus Material:

Emily the Spy

I’m looking for Ace.  I figure if I can corner him for long enough he’ll agree to plot out my debut with me--if it’s plotted out, I MIGHT just be able to talk Nico into letting me do it.  I head up the stairs to the second floor of the main school building, where the villains spend their free hour.

“You know, if that whole donut episode with the mini blonde gets you dumped--” I hear Ace say.

“It’s not going to get me dumped!  All I did was eat a donut or two!”

“You ate half a dozen of them, and that’s only because your brother got the others,” I hear Max drawl.

“Whatever, I don’t see what the big deal is--”

“Aubrey’s totally going to toss him to the curb,” Max says.  “That little blonde was practically sitting on his lap as he shoveled them down.”

“I’m going after Aubrey when she does,” Ace finishes.

“Emily’s more likely to dump Trent than Aubrey is me,” Jack mutters.  “You can go after Emily.”

“Nah, Emily’s way too much for me to want to deal with--there’s THREE of her, now,” Ace says.  “It sounds cool, but that’s two too many for my taste.  Plus, who knows how many there’ll be when she’s an adult?”

“So you totally gave up on Morgan, huh?” Max asks.  Okay, I know I shouldn’t spy, but this is WAY too interesting to pass up.  “You chicken.”

“Not a chicken, just not stupid,” Ace says.  “Justin is going to ask her out.”

I hear someone choke on something, complete with a spluttering sound.  “You’re kidding me, right?” Jack asks.  “She’s going to turn him down so freaking fast--”

“What do you mean?” Ace asks.  “How do you know?”

“I’m dating her best friend, remember?  Aubrey would have said SOMETHING about her being into him.  She never has.  I think Morgan’s like… asexual or something.  Or maybe she’s just got taste.”

“She won’t turn him down,” Ace says, his tone a bit dark.  “Even she’s smart enough to realize he’s a famous singer.  Girls go for that sort of thing.”

“Won’t happen,” Jack says again.  “She still calls him boyband boy.”

“Ten bucks she says yes.”

“I’ll take that bet,” Jack says, sounding far too smug.  “What do you say, Max?  Think she’ll go for it?”

“Don’t know,” Max says thoughtfully.  “I’ll put ten on her avoiding him until he gives up like chicken boy, here.”

“It’s a bet,” Ace says, not sounding too enthusiastic.  “I got this one in the bag, though, so you’d better keep the cash on hand.”

“So where do you plan on taking Aubrey for your first date?” Max asks.

“I will beat you like a drum, man,” Jack says.

“I was thinking the movies,” Ace says, cheering up.  “I mean, look at the standard she’s got--beating it shouldn’t be a problem!”

“Do you seriously think the donut thing is going to get me dumped?” Jack asks after a long moment of silence.

The sound of them laughing covers the sound of me racing away.  Justin is going to ask Morgan out?  I have GOT to get this on video!

I find Morgan at Adanna’s tree house, surrounded by half of the dorm.  They’ve left one of the hammocks to my best friend (how kind, considering it’s her place) and I head straight for Adanna, climbing up the ramp and sliding into the hammock with her.

“What--” she starts out. 

I lean over, knowing how good her hearing is, and breathe, “Ace says Justin is going to ask Morgan out.”

She pulls back, staring at me blankly before starting to laugh.  “I’ll believe it when I see it,” she whispers back.

“What’s going on?” Carla asks, her head popping out over us.  “Whatcha whispering about?”  She is just so adorable.  No, seriously, those little poof pigtails, a huge grin, big golden eyes--I just want to HUG her!  I blink as Ditto appears behind her, hauling her into a massive hug and getting an “EEP!” in return.

The rest of the group starts laughing, watching the two with amusement, especially when Ditto starts saying exactly what I was just thinking.  Poor Carla is so red that her ears are practically glowing.  She doesn’t run away, though, I notice with a little grin.

“Very nice distraction,” Adanna compliments me silently.

“Distraction from what?” I ask her.

For a long second she stares at me before shaking her head with amusement.  “Never mind.  So when will it happen?”

“I… have no clue.  I just wanted to get it on video.”

“You can’t exactly follow him around for the rest of his life until he does it.”

“I was hoping he would do it now,” I complain.

“Who would do what now?” Vinny asks, looking over the side of his hammock at us.  I hesitate, but he IS one of my cooking teachers, so I wave him over.  He lazily gets out of the hammock and heads over to ours, leaning over to hear me whisper.

“Ace says Justin is going to ask Morgan out,” I tell him as silently as possible.

“Nah, won’t happen,” Vinny says after a long second of just staring at me.

“What won’t happen?” Morgan asks.

“It doesn’t matter, since it won’t happen,” Vinny replies.

“Hey, Adanna, I got the candy!” Sunny says as he comes around the building, his arms laden with snacks.  “Hey, Em, what’s up?” he asks as he hands over the candy to his girlfriend.  I grab a few, since I’m here.

I look over at Vinny, who’s giving Morgan a hard time, and lean down, whispering in Sunny’s ear, “Ace says Justin’s going to ask Morgan out.”

“He DID?” half of the dorm asks, alerting me to the fact I might have whispered a little too loudly.

Morgan jerks Vinny’s fingers out of her ears.  “What is going on, here, people?” she demands.

“I don’t think it’ll happen,” Ward says.

“It might!” Carla says.

“I think Ace should do it, instead,” Vinny drawls.  Morgan gives him an extra dark look for that.

“What. IS. GOING. ON?” she demands--right as Justin walks around the corner, his hands in his pockets.

The entire area goes silent, staring at him expectantly.  He hesitates, looking behind him but not seeing anyone.  “What?” he finally asks.  “Actually, on second thought, I’ll just be going,” he says, turning on his heel and walking away.

“I’m going to follow him!” I announce, grabbing my phone only to grunt as Adanna hauls me back into the hammock.

“Not now,” she says, sighing.  “What were you talking to Ace for, anyway?”

I stare at her in surprise.  “I totally forgot to ask him about my debut!”