Counterparts Page 18

  But then Talon heard Mom say, “Jennifer!” and looked at the couch where she and Mom had spoken a few days ago.

  Mom sat on the couch, but she looked completely different from the mess that she had looked like not long ago. Her hair was straight and clean, with not a hair out of place, while her blue eyes were as bright and energetic as they used to be, without any sign of bags. Her clothing, too, was more stylish; a black blouse and gray sweater, along with her wedding ring on her left hand. She sat with a cup of tea in her hands and gestured for Talon to come over and join her.

  “Mom?” said Talon, walking over to the couch. “You look—”

  “Clean? Stylish? Like my old self again?” said Mom. She laughed. “Yes, I look better, but I also feel much better. I feel young again.”

  “What happened?” said Talon as she took a seat on the comfy chair opposite the couch. “When I got your email yesterday, I thought that something else had come up. But you look fantastic.”

  “As it turned out, talking to you was a great stress reliever,” said Mom. She sipped her tea. “It helped me to figure out what was stressing me out so much. I spent the last few days cleaning out my office. I did a lot of the work myself, although Alice helped a little bit every now and then. It was good to do it myself, even though I normally have a janitor to clean up my office. It was a lot less stressful than you might think.”

  Talon couldn’t help but shake her head. “And here I thought that you were going to ask me to take over the company again. I guess not.”

  That was a relief to Talon. After the events of the last week, Talon didn’t want to have to think about as important a decision as whether to take over Mom’s company or not. She had only come because of the email she had received from Mom asking her to visit if she wasn’t too busy, but it seemed like Talon’s visit might have been unnecessary, if Mom was in such a good mood.

  Unfortunately, however, Mom lowered her teacup and said, “Actually, I was going to ask you about that. I hadn’t heard from you in a week, so I wanted to know if you were still thinking about it or not. But first, how are you? You look like how I looked before I got refreshed.”

  Talon blinked. She glanced at a nearby mirror and saw that Mom’s comments were not far off the mark. There were heavy bags under her eyes and she still had a few bruises on her face from her fight with the monster under the Mann Building. She rubbed her eyes, but did not look at Mom again. She wasn’t sure if she should tell Mom that she had been working with Dad’s murderer; it just seemed like too touchy a subject, especially since Talon had failed to actually capture Electrica. On the other hand, she couldn’t keep it a secret forever and she didn’t feel right about keeping secrets from Mom anyway.

  So Talon said, “Just the mission my friends and I were on recently. It was rather stressful.”

  “I can imagine,” said Mom. “Your father suffered from a lot of stress when he was still alive. Considering everything you superheroes do, I’m surprised more of you don’t have nervous breakdowns and have to end up in mental institutions because of it.”

  “It was rough for more than just the usual reasons,” said Talon. “You see, Mom, I ended up working with … with the supervillain who murdered Dad ten years ago.”

  Mom, thankfully, did not drop her teacup; however, her face did seem to become slightly paler. “Do you mean Electrica?”

  Talon nodded. “Yes, but it was because I had to. I didn’t want to. I didn’t like her. I still don’t like her. But if I hadn’t worked with her, the mission would have failed and innocent people would have died. And I didn’t capture her, either. She’s still free, still out there somewhere, but only because I wasn’t in a position to capture her, not because I want her to be free or anything like that.”

  Mom was silent for a few seconds, but the time seemed to stretch on for longer than that. For the first time in her life, Talon did not know what Mom was going to say. She expected Mom to start shouting and screaming at her or maybe even order her to leave the room and never return. She would have understood. She had had the chance to arrest her dad’s killer and bring her to justice and she had failed.

  Mom sipped from her tea briefly before lowering it again and saying, in a softer voice than usual, “I see.”

  “’I see’?” Talon repeated despite herself. “Is that all you are going to say to me? You aren’t going to scream and shout at me or disown me or anything like that?”

  “Why would I do that?” said Mom. “You are still my daughter. Why would I disown my only family?”

  “But …” Talon tried to organize her thoughts into a coherent form. “But I let Dad’s killer get away. She’s still out there somewhere. She might kill again.”

  “I know,” said Mom. “But I also know that you would never have worked with her if circumstances hadn’t forced you to do it. I know you didn’t work with her because you liked or trusted her. And I also know that you would never let her get away unless you could stop her, either.”

  Talon felt tears starting to form at the corners of her eyes, but she blinked them back. “You mean you aren’t angry at all?”

  “Not at all,” said Mom. “I would love to see that … that woman arrested and thrown behind bars for the rest of her sorry life, but what’s important is that you are still here and are still safe. That’s what matters to me in the end. Besides, I’m sure someone will catch her eventually, whether you or another superhero.”

  Talon sniffled despite herself. She felt so relieved by Mom’s reaction that she almost forgot why she was here in the first place. “Thanks, Mom. I really appreciate it.”

  “No problem,” said Mom. “Now, let’s move onto the real meat of the matter: Your decision to take over the company or not.”

  Talon rubbed the back of her neck. She really didn’t want to answer that question right now; indeed, she had dreaded answering that question almost as much as she had dreaded telling Mom about her uneasy alliance with Electrica. Still, she had known that she was going to have to answer it eventually. Better to do it now than never, she supposed.

  “I’ve given the matter a lot of thought,” said Talon in a careful voice. “It wasn’t an easy choice to make.”

  “I know,” said Mom. “So what is your answer?”

  Talon took a deep breath, looked Mom straight in the eyes, and said, “I must decline your offer. At this point in time, I want to stay on the Young Neos. I don’t want to start running the family business just yet.”

  Mom looked briefly disappointed, but then nodded and said, “I expected you to say that, but I am still a little disappointed. Are you sure you don’t want to take over from me?”

  “I am,” said Talon, nodding. “I love the company as much as you do, Mom, but I don’t feel like I am ready to take over yet. Are you still going to sell it?”

  Mom shook her head. “No. Now that I’ve had time to recover, I’m still going to stay as the CEO; however, I am planning a vacation for next month. I think it will help with my stress levels if I can get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. I was thinking of going to the beach, somewhere nice and warm and not as cold and dreary as New York.”

  “All right,” said Talon. “Someday, I will be ready to succeed you, but not now, not yet.”

  “I understand,” said Mom. “Your father would likely agree with your decision, but I still wish you would change your mind.”

  “Well, someone has to get Electrica,” said Talon. “Maybe it should be me.”

  “I guess so,” said Mom. “But are you sure you can find her? She’s never been captured by any superhero before.”

  Talon smiled. “Oh, don’t worry about that, Mom. Electrica may think she can hide forever, but I’ll find her sooner or later. You can count on it.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  The Venetian known as Volto stood in the underground room beneath the Mann Building, looking at the frozen remains of the Gateway at his feet. He had picked up a piece of the Gateway and was turning it over
in his hands, a displeased smile running across his lips. Beside him, Bauta leaned against the wall, his arms across over his chest, his blue eyes glinting from behind his mask.

  “Well?” said Bauta. “What do you think? Can it be repaired?”

  Volto glanced at Bauta before tossing the frozen chunk onto the floor, where it split into several pieces upon contact. “No. Rime was thorough in his destruction of the Gateway. Rebuilding would take months, assuming we could even get the right materials in a timely manner.”

  “The master is not going to be happy about that,” said Bauta with a shudder. “When I told him about the destruction of the Gateway, he became angrier than I’d ever seen him. He didn’t attack me—didn’t even shout—but I now worry that if I tell him what you told me, he might just execute me on the spot.”

  “Don’t worry, Bauta,” said a familiar voice behind them, causing both Volto and Bauta to look over their shoulders to see who had spoken. “I am not a cruel master. I know better than to shoot the messenger.”

  John Mann was walking toward them, having apparently stepped out of the elevator without either Volto or Bauta hearing him. It was rare to see Mann down here; indeed, the last time Mann was down here to Volto’s knowledge was when the room was initially built five years ago. Despite that, Mann had always treated the room as the most important room in the Mann Building, keeping even his most loyal servants ignorant of its existence. Volto understood that. He was the only Venetian who really understood its purpose; even Bauta, as loyal as he was to Mann, didn’t know what the room’s real purpose was for.

  “Master, I did not hear you enter,” said Bauta in surprise. He pushed himself off the wall and quickly knelt, as did Volto, before the two of them rose again. “We didn’t think you were going to show up here in person.”

  “I would have come much sooner,” said Mann as he climbed the steps, though he had to do so carefully and slowly due to his age. “But I had some business to attend to that I could not ignore. I came down here to see the remains of the Gateway for myself.”

  “If you want my opinion, master, the Gateway is unrepairable,” said Volto, stepping aside to let Mann see the entirety of the Gateway’s fragments. “And with Colombina’s death, we Venetians are one less strong.”

  “Yes, Colombina’s death was certainly tragic,” said Mann with a sigh. “But she was always my least favorite Venetian, to be frank. Far too ambitious, if you ask me. She would have been a problem sooner or later, so her death is not as big a loss as it could be.” He leaned on his cane and looked down at the Gateway fragments. “Besides, she can be replaced, especially since her body was recovered, correct?”

  Volto nodded. “Yes, sir. Colombina’s body is currently on the floor above us. The ice in her blood has helped preserve it.”

  “Excellent,” said Mann. “Preserve as much of her body as you possibly can. We won’t resurrect her, but we may be able to retrieve her powers depending on the condition of her brain.”

  “Early brain scans indicate that her brain is still in decent condition,” said Volto. “Our surgeons may be able to remove it from her skull and the powers contained with it.”

  “Good to hear,” said Mann. He looked at Bauta. “And what about the boy you fought? Stinger, I think his name was?”

  “He got away,” said Bauta. He shuddered and rubbed his arms. “His paralyzing venom is no joke. Had security not showed up, I certainly would have ended up being captured like Zanni. Only, unlike Zanni, I don’t think I would have been able to escape.”

  “Quite true,” said Mann. He looked down at the Gateway fragments again, a strange expression on his face that Volto did not understand. “And Bolt, of course, is still alive. Rime did not kill him, as Colombina tried to get him to do.”

  “Should we hunt down Rime and kill him?” said Bauta. “Right now, of course, we can’t get him since he’s on Hero Island, but—”

  “Waste of time and resources,” said Mann. “Rime is not a threat to my plans. The Young Neos—particularly Bolt and his brother—are. The point of this plan was to take out their leader and leave them broken, but evidently it did not work, thanks in no small part to the intervention of that female supervillain.”

  “Not only did it not work, sir, but it also led to the destruction of the Gateway,” said Volto. “In my honest opinion, I fail to see how this plan was not an abject failure. It may have even struck a fatal blow to our overall plans.”

  Mann, however, shook his head. “Don’t be so negative, Volto. The plan is still going ahead. The destruction of the Gateway is unfortunate, to be sure, but the important thing is that neither the Young Neos nor their allies seem to understand what the Gateway was for or what this room is supposed to be. As long as they remain ignorant of that, we will be fine.”

  “But the Gateway—” said Volto, before Mann cut him off again.

  “Another one has been discovered in Egypt,” said Mann, without looking at Volto. “It was discovered by a team of archaeologists just this past week, actually, and it is already on its way here. Based on the pictures of it I’ve seen, it should work just as well as this one, if not even better, since it is in better condition than this one was when we first discovered it ten years ago.”

  “I didn’t know there were two Gateways,” said Volto, tilting his head to the side. “I thought there was only one.”

  “Ah, the Starborn had many ways of arriving and departing from Earth, Volto,” said Mann. “Most of their Gateways are gone, but a few still survive. And anyway, even with the destruction of this Gateway, it is still encouraging to see that it worked.”

  “Yes, I saw the security footage,” said Volto. He shuddered. “But what was that … that thing that attacked the Young Neos and their allies? One of the Starborn?”

  “No, the Starborn are nobler than that thing,” said Mann. “But it came from the same place the Starborn will come from. It may even be one of their creations, although the legends I’ve read don’t agree on whether the Starborn made creations in other universes in addition to their creations in this one. It could just as easily be a natural creature from some universe where the laws of nature as we know them don’t apply.”

  “What will be done with the new Gateway?” said Volto. “When will it get here?”

  “It should get here by next week,” said Mann. “It will be installed in here, in the same place as the previous Gateway. Once it is installed, I will send drones beyond it to give us an idea of how close the Starborn are to arriving.”

  “You mean you don’t know when the Starborn will arrive?” said Bauta in surprise. “Forgive me, sir, but I seem to recall you telling us that you have a special connection to the Starborn, don’t you?”

  Mann frowned and put a hand on his forehead. “I do, but it has grown steadily weaker over the years. Besides, I dislike relying solely on intuition when it comes to matters as important as saving the world. The only way we will be able to survive the coming purge is to know in advance as much about the Starborn as we possibly can and that includes going beyond the Gateway.”

  “Do you know what lies beyond the Gateway, sir?” said Volto. “Besides the Starborn, that is?”

  Mann was quiet for a few seconds. Volto had seen him this way before. He usually went quiet when he was contemplating an old memory, one he had not thought of in a long time. Volto would have demanded he hurry up, but he knew from experience that Mann did not take kindly to being hurried for any reason.

  Finally, Mann said, “Yes, I do. I saw it once, in a dream … and it will kill us all if we don’t kill it first.”

  -

  Stinger and Talon will return in Friends, coming June 2017.

  Glossary

  Kevin Jason (Bolt). Young superhero and leader of the Young Neos, the son of the famous superhero Genius and twin brother of White Lightning. He was the protagonist of the previous series, The Superhero’s Son. Powers: Flight, super strength, super speed, and electricity. First appearance: The Superhero’s T
est.

  Ronald Jason (White Lightning). Young superhero and member of the Young Neos, the son of the famous superhero Genius and twin brother of Bolt. Was kidnapped by the government as a baby and experimented upon for years until he was freed by Mastermind (see Genius). Powers: Flight, super strength, super speed, electricity, and minor healing factor. First appearance: The Superhero’s Prison.

  Emily Ricker (Blizzard). Young superhero and member of the Young Neos. She is Bolt’s girlfriend and essentially plays the role of Team Mom on the Young Neos. Powers: Can control ice and all things cold. First appearance: The Superhero’s Summit.

  Lawrence Homer (Shell). Young superhero and member of the Young Neos. He is the youngest member of the team. Powers: Has a thick, impenetrable shell-like growth on his back, although since he is young, it remains to be seen whether he will develop other powers. First appearance: The Superhero’s Summit.

  Christopher Greggs (Stinger). Young superhero and member of the Young Neos. Often acts as Bolt’s deputy on the team. Powers: Has insect-like wings that allow him to fly and stingers on his wrists that can inject a paralyzing venom into his targets. First appearance: The Superhero’s Summit.

  Jennifer McCullough (Talon). Young superhero and member of the Young Neos. The most beautiful member of the team and the one with the most fan boys. Powers: Has a minor healing factor and can create sharp claws that sprout from her wrists. First appearance: The Superhero’s Summit.