Sunny Daze (3 page)

“Good boy,” he says, messing up my hair and heading forward to assist his wife.  I blink as Dad moves into the place he just left.

“Don’t worry, Sunny, you’re my experiment, not his.”  I give him the dirtiest look I can manage, making him laugh.  “Are you packed?” he asks me.

“Yeah, I guess,” I say.  “Adanna wrote down a list of stuff I’ll need, so I just went by that.”

“Smart,” he says, watching as Grandma picks up a gigantic suitcase single handedly and heads for us.  “I do love her, but that woman would stand out from outer space,” he says silently, almost making me laugh.

“Not as much as Su–um, Grandpa does,” I have to point out, looking at the people staring at Superior.  Then again, we’re getting some strange looks too–and Mom keeps moving discreetly to avoid pictures being taken of her.  The snap of phones taking discrete shots is really loud.

“We’re ready,” Grandpa Superior (yeah, that works for me) says, heading for us with his own luggage.  “Your mother did all the packing,” he drawls when he sees Dad just look at them.

“I figured,” Dad says.  “How long do you plan on being here, anyway?”

“Until we’ve taken care of Kunnins,” Grandpa Superior says bluntly.  “For real, this time, no fake outs.”

“Then we really should get going, right?” Mom says, heading for us with Zoe in tow.  “Zoe’s been getting far too interested in the machines for our own good.”

“I can’t exactly help it,” Zoe says, glancing around.  “All these flashing lights just sort of draw your eyes, right?”

“I am ready!” Grandma says cheerfully, now carrying yet another two massive pieces of luggage over her shoulder.

“Mom, use the rollers,” Dad says quietly.

“Oh, yes, but they are just so dinky,” Grandma complains as she puts her luggage down and starts dragging it behind her.  We head out, heading for the illegally parked van on the curb and opening the back to put the luggage away.  Soon we’re all packed into the van like sardines, with me, Aunt Liz, and Zoe stuck in back and Grandpa and Grandma in the middle.  Their knees are touching, I notice.  They don’t seem to mind–in fact Grandma takes Grandpa’s hand.

“So tell me, Liz, do you have a family of your own?” Grandma asks Liz, turning to look at us.  “Children?”

“Um, yeah, actually,” Liz says.  “I’m a foster mom for two of the girls in Nico’s school.  I consider them my own.”

“Aubrey and Emily,” Zoe says.  “Aubrey’s a healer and Emily’s a duplicator.  Liz’s also dating Taurus.”

“Taurus?” Grandma repeats curiously.

“A shapeshifter,” Grandpa Superior says.  “He’s the black man with the strange hair that you started watching on the news, remember?”

I really find it hard to combine that strange description with Taurus.  I guess it fits?  I mean, personally I would say the massive black guy that turns into this amazingly cool Minotaur--I’ve got all his comics, AND the cartoon set.  What?  Taurus is awesome!  Plus, dreadlocks aren’t strange, okay?  Maybe someday I’ll do them!  Although, honestly, white guy dreadlocks just aren’t as cool--

“Oh!!” Grandma says, her eyes lighting up and a brilliant smile crossing her lips.  “The Minotaur man!  He is quite handsome!  And powerful–you have chosen a wonderful husband!” she says, looking quite enthused.  “When is the wedding?”

“We’re ah, not quite that far along,” Liz admits. She’s blushing, I note evilly.  “So... um... how is it, living in a fortress of solitude?” she asks.  I’m pretty sure she just wants to change the subject.

“There is a town not too far from us,” Grandma says.  “They are wonderful people, and so very welcoming!  I go there at least once a week to shop and see my new friends.”

“Have they figured out what you are?” Dad asks.

“They know I am a retired super hero,” Grandma admits with a shrug.  “They do not care–it seems to be quite a popular place for our kind.  There are others that live nearby, as well!”

“Cosmic is just a hundred miles away,” Grandpa Superior says.  “We go fishing on Thursdays.”

“So it’s a nice place?” Mom asks.  It’s like we’re talking about a retirement home instead of a massive field of snow and ice.  “You like your neighbors and there’s plenty of food?”

“Get a bit sick of fish,” Grandpa Superior drawls.  “I’m taking a few cows home when we leave.”

“Can you raise cows in that cold of an area?” Dad asks.

“No, but you don’t have to worry about finding room in the freezer.”

“Good point.”   

“So what about you two?” Grandma asks.  “When is the wedding?  I assume, since you are on the same team, it will be a huge affair!”

“Um, well,” Mom starts out hesitantly, looking over at Dad.

“We’re not to that stage, yet,” Dad says.

“You have two teenage children with super abilities,” Grandma says dryly.  “The entire world will know as soon as one makes their debut.  You cannot tell me that you would have the entire world looking at you as–“

“Shacking up?” Grandpa offers.

“Shacking up!” Grandma repeats with a perfectly dramatic tone.  “I was so looking forward to pictures to show my quilting group,” she adds, crossing massive arms over her chest, “and my computer group, and my beading group, as well!”

“She’s found the local YMCA type group,” Grandpa drawls.  “She’s got at least four classes in a row.  Why do you think Thursday is fishing day?”

“I tell him, ‘You will enjoy beading!  It is very relaxing,’” Grandma says, looking at us.  “He looks at me like I am crazy.  It is very entertaining.”                              

The three of us burst out laughing, even Aunt Liz.  Grandma’s just got this wickedly amused expression on her face that I can’t help but find funny.  That and the image of Grandpa Superior trying to hold those tiny beads in a hand to string–oh yeah, that’s hysterical!  She seems to think so, too, because she shoots that same grin at Grandpa, who lets out a burdened sigh.

“Cosmic’s wife is in the same clubs, isn’t she?” he asks, changing the subject.

“Oh yes, Felicia is a wonderful woman!” Grandma says.

“Felicia?” Dad asks.

“Oh, she is a duplicator–she was a super villain, she called herself Duplicitous, I believe?” Grandma says in a very casual tone.

“You know Duplicitous?” Liz asks, getting excited.  “Can I bring my daughter out to meet her sometime?  She’s been doing a lot of research on her work!”

“Of course!  I will be happy to have you come!” Grandma says.  “It is hero villain relationship–quite scandalous, no?  This is why they retired,” she admits.  “You cannot have a world renowned super hero such as Cosmic married to a super villain, at least not in my time.  It is simply not done.  But it was done all the time, if you know what I am saying,” she adds with a wink.

“Nothing as permanent as marriage, though,” Grandpa Superior says, “a few secret dates, that sort of thing.  If I remember correctly, Falconess had a fling with her super villain–not your Falconess, her mom,” he says, glancing back at me and Zoe.  “I always did wonder if he might have been Missy’s–“

“Clifford!” Grandma says.  “We do not speak to children about such affairs.”

“Um... Dad was a super villain when we were born,” Zoe says hesitantly.  “It’s not that big of a surprise, you know?”                       

“Yeah, she’s got a point,” I agree.  “And
our
Falconess’s daughter wants to go super villain, right?” I say to Zoe.  “She’s kind of annoying, though.”

“She’s got a crush on Jack,” Zoe drawls, “it’s more like she’s kind of delusional.”  I snicker, since I know exactly how Zoe feels about people crushing on Jack.  Oh, she likes Aubrey just fine, don’t get me wrong–she just questions her taste in boyfriends.  I don’t think she’ll ever forgive Jack for being... well, Jack.

“Yeah, but that’s not the annoying part,” I say.  “It’s the whole ‘I’m going to be a super villain, so look at me,’ thing she’s got going on.”

“Eh, she’ll outgrow it,” Dad says.  “She’s still a baby, you know–about the same age as Carla.”

“What, seriously?” I ask, stunned.  “She’s only thirteen?”

“Just came into her powers–actually Carla’s older than she is.”

“Huh.”  We pull to a stop and I look out, expecting to see the apartment building.  Instead we’re parked in front of the campus, where a gigantic RV is parked.  I can see Dad’s hand in its design, because there’s a giant satellite dish sticking out of the roof.  It’s long, black and silver in color, and probably has several weapons hidden in strange places.  “Looks like your ride to camp is here,” Dad calls back to me.  “Get a move on it, Panther will leave you here if you take too long.”

“I’m getting out, too!” Zoe says, squirming out of the seat and heading forward.  “I want to tell Max goodbye.”

“How long are they going to be gone?” Grandma asks, frowning out the window slightly.

“A week or two,” Mom says, sighing.  “Sunny, if you want to come home early, just call,” she adds as I make my way to the nearest door.  I have to climb over Grandma’s lap, but she doesn’t seem to notice.  She’s watching Zoe race over to her boyfriend for a hug. 

“So she’s dating Mastermental’s boy?” Grandpa asks, “Already?”

“They get along pretty well,” Dad says casually.

“It’ll make for some interesting powers,” Grandpa Superior says.

I get out and head over to the others, not wanting to think about kids or super powers.  Instead I stare at Jack’s shirt, tilting my head slightly as I study it.  It’s not nearly as bad as I thought it would be, I decide. It’s black, but that’s sort of expected with super villains, right?  “What?” Jack asks.  “Max gave it to me–I go through a lot of shirts, you know?  No point in turning one down.”

“I think I like it,” Ace says, pulling his own shirt out and looking at it.  It’s got the words “Cape High SVSC Super Villain Summer Camp” across the front in white.  “It’s got my name on the back,” he says, turning so I can see “Dragon” written across his shoulders.  Jack turns without me asking, showing off his “Cold Steel.”

“Here’s yours,” Max says, tossing me a dark green version.  “Wear it proudly, you’re the only non-villain on the trip.  I even made one for Cubby,” he adds, digging out a tiny kid’s version of the shirt.  “Cute, huh?”

I look over at Ace and Jack, who sort of shrug, as if this were only to be expected.  “So um, where’s Pan?” I ask, shrugging out of my t-shirt and putting the new one on.  I’m such a follower.

“He’s over there talking to your dad,” Jack says, motioning to our car. 

“Oh crap,” I mutter, racing over.  It’s too late, the back door opens even as I stop, and Superior steps out, standing in front of Panther.

“I am Panther,” Pan says with a courtly bow.  “I am the terror of Central Hall.”

“He’s my girlfriend’s dad, Grandpa Superior,” I say quickly.  “Getting into a fight would really mess up my chances to get a date–“

They ignore me completely, and I stare in horror as Grandpa Superior’s hand comes up.  I only remember to breathe when they shake.  “I knew your father,” Grandpa Superior says.  “He was a quintessential example of super villainy.  You look a lot like him.”

“Thank you,” Pan says, smiling.  “Father was my prime example.”

“So you will be training the super villains of the future?” Grandpa Superior asks, glancing over at the three guys in matching t-shirts. 

“Just for a few weeks,” Pan admits.  “Your son is a very good trainer for them. He’s got an impressive past of his own.”

“He got caught.”

“Well, there is that,” Pan admits.  “But he still has a strong foundation.  I merely plan on adding to it during the camp, of course.”

“And the reason my grandson is joining you?” Grandpa Superior asks, placing a hand on my shoulder.

“Sunny and Adanna plan on going to work in the forests scattered throughout the world,” Pan says.  “Seeing as he’ll be living out in the woods a lot, I thought this trip might help in his training.”

“Where are we going, anyway?” I ask.

“Texas,” Pan says with a perfectly bland look on his face.  I stare at him in shock, wondering why we need to go all the way to–

“That’s South Branch’s territory, isn’t it?” Max asks, appearing behind us.  “Why are we going all the way there?”

“I thought it would be more interesting to take you away from everything you’re familiar with,” Pan says.  “Now load up, please, we need to start out now if we plan on getting there by morning.”

“What happens in the morning?” Jack asks, picking up his pack.

“You start building your war bases, of course,” Pan says.  “It was a pleasure meeting you, Superior.  I will take care of your grandson as if he were my own child.”

Yeah, but his daughter can kick my butt in a fist fight on a regular basis, so I really doubt that treatment includes the comforts of home.  “But my stuff is–“ I start out.

“Mom told me to bring it along,” Jack says, motioning to the bag tossed to the side.  “Let’s go.”

“Um... see ya, Grandpa, Grandma, Mom, Dad, Zoe,” I call over my shoulder, waving at them as I grab the bag and race for the RV.  “I’ll try not to die!”

“He’s got some high aspirations there, doesn’t he?” I hear Dad say as I head inside.  This RV is nice.  There are bunks lining the walls which Jack walks over to and folds up.  There’s a small kitchen past that, complete with a stove, and there’s a computer area.  Before I can blink, Max pushes a few buttons and comfortable looking padded metal seats come out of the floor.

“So…” I say, looking at the three.  “Who gets top bunk?”

“Not Jack,” Max and Ace say without a second of hesitation.  “He weighs too much,” Ace adds.  “Even if he DID build half the thing, we still don’t trust him not to capsize the bunks.”

“I’m a svelte four fifty, thank you,” Jack says dryly.

“How do you even move?” I ask him, staring at him a bit incredulously.

“Super strength, it came with the package deal.”

You know, I’m starting to think there’s a connection between these three that I hadn’t seen before.  In fact they drop down in the chairs as if they’ve already settled who sits where.  It leaves me looking around for a place to sit--and staring blankly at the little boy peeking out from under Jack’s chair.  When did he get under that?  With his speed and hide-and-seek abilities, who knows?

“So where are we going?” Jack asks, completely oblivious to the big blue eyes peeking out between his legs.  “Some sort of forest, right?”

“Texas,” I say absently, heading for him.  He jerks back in shock as I get down on my hands and knees in front of him.

“What in the--”

“Cubby?” I say softly, holding out a hand.  “Come on out, buddy.”

The other three go perfectly still, not even breathing.  I ignore them as Cubby slowly takes my hand and crawls out from under the metal chair.  “Hey, man,” I say, sitting down on the ground and grinning at him.  He gives me a shy smile back and promptly crawls onto my lap.  He’s staring up at the three with huge blue eyes full of worry.  “You might be a super villain-to-be, but these guys are scary, huh?” I ask him.

He looks up at me and nods slightly.  “Don’t worry, they just play the bad guys on TV, I promise,” I tell him, patting his ‘fro.  Yes, Cubby has an afro.  He’s got to be one of the cutest kids I’ve ever seen.

“Dat’s Cold Steel,” he says in a raspy voice, pointing at Jack.

“Yeah, he is,” I agree.

“An’ dat’s Max--Maximum.  An’ dat’s--”  He looks at Ace for a long moment, frowning thoughtfully.

“Dragon,” Ace provides.

“You don’t look like Dragon,” Cubby says, only to jump three feet in the air as Ace creates that dragon head illusion he uses for public shows.  The poor four year old lands on my head and is still trying to climb me like a tree.

“Sorry, I won’t do it again, I swear--” Ace says, looking a bit panicked.

“Cubby,” I say, although my voice is muffled because his stomach is on my face, “it’s okay, buddy, it’s just an illusion.  Ace, turn into a ninja turtle,” I tell him.  I feel Cubby twist, turning slowly to look at Ace again.

“Mikey!” he says excitedly.  I pull him off of my head now that he’s not clinging so hard, and put him down on the floor.

“Is that better?” Ace asks, still looking like Mikey.  He blinks as the little boy throws himself at him, hugging him tightly.

“Cubby loves the turtles,” I say with a shrug.  “He’s also a Mega fan, but we don’t mention that in public.”

“Yeah, I know those feels,” Jack says.

“You’re a Mega fan?” Max asks him in an incredulous tone.

“Well… not fan so much, but he IS my uncle, you know?” Jack says with a shrug.  “He’s not that bad when he’s around my parents--you can’t exactly act like a prat with them right there.”

“Prat,” Ace repeats, snickering.  “Who uses the word ‘prat’ in America?”

There’s a thoughtful expression on Max’s face.  “I think I like it,” he says.  “I’m going to start using that!”

“It was mine first!” Jack protests.

“You look like a prat when you say it--I can actually pull it off.”

A metal ball speeds across the room, only to get grabbed by Max and thrown back.  “Hey, stop it, guys, you might hit Cubby,” Ace complains, bringing up his hands to cover the little boy’s head.

“That prat started it,” Jack mutters guiltily.

“You’re the prat,” Max says.

“Prat,” Cubby says cheerfully, pulling away from Ace to get in the middle of the argument.  I think he thinks it’s a game.  “You da prat!”

“Now you’ve got Cubby saying it,” I groan, feeling a headache come on.  “His dad’s going to kill us.”

“Jack started it!” Max says cheerfully, completely passing the blame.  Those two never have liked each other that much.

Before I can reply the door of the RV opens and we all turn and stare as Panther steps in.  The problem is that Cubby is still dancing in the middle of the room, pointing at everything in sight and going, “Prat!  Prat!”  He used to be such a quiet three-year-old… turning four changed him.

“I see you’re increasing my son’s vocabulary already,” Panther drawls, staring pointedly at Ace--who still looks like Mikey, “and bringing in pop culture references.”

“I accidentally scared him with my Dragon head,” Ace admits, “I was making it up to him.”

“Prat, Papa! Prat!” Cubby says gleefully, completely not picking up on the vibe of the room.  He’s too excited by his new word.  Remind me to prank Jack for that one later, would you?  Maybe I’ll ask Justin what he HASN’T done yet.

“Yes, Cubby, I know,” Panther says with a hint of hidden amusement.  It took me months of going over for dinner to pick up on that expression.  He walks over, picking the boy up and carrying him to a booster chair that comes up from the floor when he pushes a button.  It looks as if it were specifically designed for the boy.  There’s even a tablet on a mechanical arm that comes up when he’s buckled in.  Cubby starts tapping on the screen, completely distracted.  “Now, everyone buckle in--meeting Superior took a small bite out of our time.”

“Sorry about that,” I say, rubbing the back of my head.  “Dad brought him and Grandma in because of the whole mutant dog situation, I guess.”

“What about Krispy?” Jack asks, looking worried.  “He’s not going to do something to my dog, is he?”

“Nah,” I say, “I think it has something to do with the guy that made him that way.”

“Huh,” Jack says.

“Regardless, we have training to do.  I’m certain that Superior and Nico can handle it with no problem,” Panther says, getting into the driver’s seat.  “Sunny, you’re in charge of Cubby while I’m driving,” he adds over his shoulder.  “Push the second button and your chair will come up.”

“Um, yeah, sure,” I say, suddenly realizing what I was really brought here for.  I’m the babysitter boy.  I push the button.

“He’s got snacks in the cabinet next to you.  Try to go light on the cheese curls, he’s a little too addicted,” Pan adds, checking the rearview mirrors and starting the RV.  Ace and I grab a seat as he starts to drive.  To my surprise, the moment I sit down in my chair, a tablet on a mechanical arm comes up.

“How do I get mine?” Max asks, looking over at us.

“Button on the right,” Jack says.  “You can’t actually stop Nico from pimping out a machine--half the time I caught him adding things without even looking, like all of a sudden there’s a computer console floating behind his back as he toys with the wiring on the other side of the RV.”

“Sounds like Dad,” I say, tapping on the screen and staring blankly at the list of online classes provided.  “He programmed this with college agricultural classes,” I mutter.  “Was this chair made for me?”

“We put you there so you can reach Cubby when you need to,” Pan calls back to me.  “Of the four of you, you’re the one I trust most.”

“He’s got a point,” Ace admits.  “I don’t even have cousins--I don’t think I’ve even dealt with a kid younger than me before, except when I visit the hospitals.  That doesn’t count, does it?”

“I have!” Jack says.  Everyone but Pan turns to look at him.

“So we’re all agreed, Sunny’s the best choice,” Max says blandly.

“Yep,” Ace says.

“It wasn’t up for debate,” Pan drawls.

“I didn’t try to flush all of them,” Jack mutters, crossing his arms over his chest.  The sound of muffled laughter comes from Max, but when I look at him he’s staring intently at his screen as if nothing happened.  Soon everyone has their tablets pulled up.  There’s a long stint of silence, until I stumble upon the games.

There’s an image of everyone in the room on the tablet, and a ball floating in the middle.  I glance up, looking over at Cubby.  “You wanna play ball, buddy?” I ask him, leaning over and bringing up the game on his tablet.  He lets out a delighted laugh and smacks the screen with his hand lightly.  Max jerks, looking a bit blank.

“There’s a ball in my screen.”

“Dad programmed a ball bounce game,” I say as Jack leans over to look at Max’s screen.  Soon all of us are tapping on the screen, throwing the digital ball back and forth--until Max discovers the weapons part of the game.  Now digital explosions are flashing on our screens and Cubby is laughing his head off.

So we’re a bit simple minded, okay?  At least the seriously long trip down to Texas will be entertaining!

***

“We’re here.”  The words jerk me awake--okay, I’m lying.  It’s not so much the words as the ice cold marbles that are rolling down my shirt.  Either way, I’m awake.  I jump to my feet, doing a stupid dance to get the marbles out of my shirt.  Max merely records me with his phone and I realize belatedly that Panther’s holding the marble bag.

“That was cold,” I complain as the last marble drops to the floor and rolls away.

“Your father told me how hard it was to wake you up,” he says simply.  “We don’t have time to coddle you this trip, so get used to it.  Everyone up, we’re here.”

“It’s the middle of the night,” Jack says, looking out the window, “and we’re surrounded by trees.  Shouldn’t we just pull down the bunks?”

“Who said you could use the bunks?” Pan asks.  “You’re going to provide your own sleeping places.  Now out,” he says, pointing to the door.  To my surprise, he pulls Cubby out of his chair and hands him over to me.  “Him, too,” he says.

“But--that’s--”

“I hand him to the one that’s most capable in this setting, it’s not child abuse.  It’s incentive--if my boy catches a cold, I’m going to be extremely irritated.”

“Sir yes sir,” I offer stupidly.  I’ve got a four-year-old and myself to take care of in the middle of woods I’ve never seen before.  Who knows what sort of wild animals are lurking in the shadows?  I don’t.  And while Cubby has great dexterity and whatever, he’s still not come into his true powers.  Well… crap.