Cape High Villainy_A Side Story Read online

  Cape High Villainy:

  A Side Story

  by

  R. J. Ross

  Cape High Villainy: A Side Story

  Amazon Edition

  Published by Book Candy Publishing

  Copyright © 2017 by R. J. Ross

  All Rights Reserved

  Cover design by Leslie Zielinski

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  ~Other works by R.J. Ross~

  The Winstead Files Series

  Courting the Beast * Snow White, Snow White

  Seasons of the Fae Series

  Raven's Return * Death of a Dryad * Water Wielder

  Cape High Series

  Super Villain Dad * America's Grandson * Hello Kitty * Don't Know Jack * Daddy's Girl * Aces Wild * Steampunk Time * Fire Hazard * Ditto Ditto * Sunny Daze * Life Light * Guitar Hero * Super Girls * Shadow Boy * Super Villain Grandpa * Mic Drop * Coyote’s Howl * Rocky Road

  Cape High Side Stories

  Cape High Christmas: A Side Story * Cape High Villainy: A Side Story

  PANTHER

  THE BLACK CAT FILES

  The Trial

  Black Cat and the Mega-lomaniac

  Black Cat and the Bird

  Black Cat and the Lightning Bolt

  Black Cat and the Mecha-man

  SKYSTEP

  I Am SKYSTEP

  THE DEADLY DARLIN’S

  Deadly Darlin's

  Skye’s the Limit

  Beach Darlin’s

  Child o’ Mine

  Big Brother

  SHADOWMAN

  Shady Conversations

  PHOEBE WOODS

  Two Faced

  REAPER

  Dead Beats

  CUBBY

  Everybody Loves Cubby

  THE CAPE CELL INMATES

  Cell Class

  Graduation Gig

  CAPE HIGH VILLAINY: A SIDE STORY

  The book you’re about to read is a compilation of stories, some which have been published before, some of which were written specifically for this book. The stories all have one thing in common; they focus on the villains of the Cape High universe. If you’ve been following the series so far, you know that the super villains are as important in my world as the heroes are—actually, according to Max, they’re MORE important. Without a good villain, all you have is a man or woman running around in tights.

  For this side story book, I want to focus on a very particular set of villains. As much as I love the three stooges of evil (Max, Jack, and Ace) today we’re going to get a closer look at our side character villains, because let’s face it, every villain should have his or her day, right?

  PANTHER

  We start out with a tale that takes place relatively early in the series. In book four, Adanna was almost captured by a crazy norm who liked to keep burgeoning supers in cages like pets. Of course this led to the freedom of the “zoo kids,” but it also really angered Adanna’s papa, Panther. Panther had a little “chat” with the Collector, which wound up with Collector stuck in a hospital bed, unconscious. And while Panther’s punishment for this attack is briefly mentioned in the books, it was only seen on my blog, and now, here. (As an interesting note, this story is the first time that all of the Hall leaders were introduced.)

  So may I present to you, revised and lengthened, “The Black Cat Files.”

  THE BLACK CAT FILES

  The Trial

  The slender man walking into the hospital looks to be, at oldest, fifty. He’s one of the most handsome older guys that she’s ever seen, Betty silently assesses as he approaches her desk. “Hello, my dear,” he says with a little smile. “I’ve come to visit a business acquaintance. Mister Charles Colleck.”

  “Oh--um--yes--I just,” Betty finds herself stuttering, even though she’s done this job for years. She starts tapping away on the computer to give herself something to focus on. He’s better looking up close. He has to be one of those classy rich men that run a business, she’s positive. He probably has a beautiful trophy wife and two or more ex-wives behind her. So she needs to focus on the task at hand, not at glancing at his left hand… which has no ring on it.

  “Oh, yes, I’m afraid he’s still not responsive, Mr.--“

  “Monet. Frank Monet,” he says. “I know, it’s been almost a month now, hasn’t it?”

  “Yes, it has,” she says, throwing in a good dose of sympathy.

  “I would still like to check on him, if I might,” he says. “His room is--“

  “He’s still in 309,” she provides.

  “Thank you,” he says before walking away. For a moment she feels the urge to protest. Something... what was it? She frowns and settles back into her chair, her eyes completely skipping over the clock and the sign on the desk.

  No visitors allowed.

  ***

  Now, of course he really does need to deal with Panther’s assault on a norm. It’s expected of him, Mastermental admits freely--to himself. But this isn’t the first time he’s visited this particular villain. No, there’s no “super” attached to that title when it comes to Collector--the man barely has a spine, much less a super strong one. Double M knows the truth.

  Double M steps into the silent hospital room, heading for the rather large bed in the middle. He looks at the machines connected to the man first, seeing that the blood pressure and heart rate are in no danger of falling, nor are any of the other vitals listed. Then he looks to the man himself, reaching down and pulling one of the bandages up. The scars, well, of course there would be, considering, but they have mostly healed. They’re all claw marks that barely dug past the surface as they crisscrossed the large man’s ample stomach.

  He was maimed, yes, but not as severely as the reports have it. In fact, Double M knows exactly why the man is still unconscious after all this time, and it has very little to do with Panther--and everything to do with a misplaced step and a very hard table corner.

  “You keep coming at odd times,” a male says from behind him. “Waiting for him to wake up?”

  “Is there any other reason to visit an unconscious man?” Double M asks, turning to the male nurse with a blasé smile. “Good evening to you, Nurse Hendric. It’s good to see you looking so... stern, as usual.”

  “You don’t belong in here. This is a no visitor area.”

  “Why yes, the weather is quite lovely, thank you,” Double M goes on, completely ignoring that comment.

  “Don’t try lying to me like you do the desk ladies,” Hendric snaps. “I know what you are.”

  “You do, do you?”

  “You’re a lawyer of some sorts. Out to cash in on the obvious super attack here. But if you ask me, he deserved it. I saw on the internet where they broke those kids out. This tub of lard was behind it.”

  “I hardly think it appropriate to call anyone a ‘tub of lard,’” Double M points out mildly.

  “I don’t have anything against fat men, I’m not that slender, myself, but that--“ he looks at Collector, “being,” he spits out, as if he’s offended at having to use even that word on such a vile creature, “was capturing kids
. Super or not, I figure a kid is a kid, right?”

  A little smile pulls at Double M’s lips. “You’re very right.”

  “Besides, it’s the huge knot on the back of his head that put him in a coma, even the doctors know that,” Hendric goes on, warming up to the topic. “Sure, I figure it was Panther, or someone with claws that did it, but the cuts weren’t deep enough to kill him, and they didn’t hit any of the main arteries. He wasn’t out to kill, although it might have been harder with the excess body fat.” He walks over to the unconscious man, looking him over.

  “Yes, as I’ve concluded, myself,” Double M says. “But it’s very reassuring to have the word of a medical expert to back me up. Now I will leave you to your work, and neither of us will say anything of this little visit, as usual.” A lie, he fully plans on reporting to the other branch heads at the meeting. He has been hounded by them for the entire month, after all. Now he must, finally, deal with the issue that’s been lurking under the surface.

  ***

  “Chinaza Michael Panterus, AKA Panther the tenth, I believe, please approach the council.” His voice echoes, Double M thinks with a sigh. He hates those times when his voice echoes. He watches silently, not looking to the left or to the right as the large African man in chains approaches the circle of chairs. The council is made up of the leaders of each branch of the Hall; North, South, East, West and Central, which has Double M sitting right in the center, as usual. That none of them really like each other? Well, that’s a story for another day.

  Pan stops in front of him, ignoring the others as well, his eyes meeting Double M’s boldly even though his arms are hooked behind his back and a power inhibitor collar is around his neck. For a super’s trial, all precautions are taken.

  “It has come to our attention that you have willfully attacked and harmed a normal citizen,” East Branch’s Marigold says, her voice sharp and shrewish. She has never agreed with Double M’s take on super villains, she thinks it is foolish and irresponsible. “How do you plead?”

  “Guilty,” Pan says, “as long as you understand the full circumstances for this situation.”

  “There are no circumstances great enough to--“

  Double M lifts a hand, stopping her. “I have heard these circumstances. I believe they’re in the file I sent to you before this council was called, Marigold?” he adds mildly, looking at the large woman finally. She blushes faintly, glancing at the file that has barely been touched in front of her. “But, since this is a fair trial, please tell us your side of the story, Panther.”

  “I am a father and a scientist first,” Panther says proudly, his eyes going from one branch leader to the next. “I do not know if many of you know this, but in my personal life I run a large cat sanctuary, one that takes in and protects wild creatures unlawfully brought into the country as pets. I was informed that one was in need of a new home--“

  “Please get to the point,” the North Branch leader, Isotonic, says in a bored tone.

  “Deciding to go to fetch the cat I left my only daughter with a very good friend of mine, Technico. While she was with Technico, there were attempts to kidnap her.”

  The council--those that haven’t bothered to read the file--look at each other in surprise. “Your daughter... is she a super?” Marigold asks quietly.

  “Yes, ma’am, my daughter is a very promising shifter. She is my pride and joy, and I would do anything for her. It speaks just how much I trust Technico when I say I left her with him--and how much that trust is rewarded when I say that she was protected and saved more than once during my trip.”

  “Technico... Technico is that new boy of yours, right, Mastermental?” Negatia asks.

  “He is,” Mastermental says. “He’s also Superior’s only son.” That sends a wave of shock through the group, which he had anticipated, and now enjoys.

  “This kidnapping attempt was by Shadowman--but it was because he was hired. Nico found out that it was done by the norm Charles Colleck. And not only was he out to kidnap my precious daughter, he had kidnapped several other young supers, as well,” Pan says. This got an outright gasp from Marigold, which she promptly looked ashamed of.

  “That is no reason to take revenge on your own. As a norm he should have been put into the norm system, forced to pay for his actions--“ the South Branch leader (who had read the file) says.

  “I know the norm system, Century,” Panther says. “They would have been paid off just like everyone else he runs into. Or had he been put into the system, it would have not compared to the trauma he gave those young children in glass cages. I went there as a warning--one that he wouldn’t forget. I admit to roughing him up somewhat, but I did not put him in that coma. I wanted to put him in that coma, I won’t lie, but the man jumped to his feet, trying to bribe me as he backed up and stepped on yet another piece of trash in his room. His footing went out and he fell backwards, hitting his head on his desk.”

  There’s a look of disgust on Panther’s face at this. “I will plead guilty to assaulting a norm, but I did not, at any time, plan on killing him. If you must punish me with the Cape Cells, I ask only that you do not hold this against my children. Adanna desires to be a hero, and Cubby has only just begun to talk.”

  “She does?” Marigold asks. “And you support it?”

  “I suppose I must,” Pan says with a shrug. “She has lofty goals that I have to appreciate. She plans on saving large cats in their native lands, rather than saving them after they’re already caught.”

  “If you would take Panther out of the room for a bit, we will discuss this among the council,” Double M says to Mega and Falconess. “Do take him far enough that he won’t be able to hear, perhaps the soundproof rooms on the other end of the building?”

  “You’re joking, right?” Marigold asks.

  “I assure you, I wouldn’t be surprised if he could hear from there, as well,” Double M says with a hint of amusement.

  The group goes silent as the two heroes take the super villain away, watching him with curious expressions. “We can’t take the Cape Cells off of the table, regardless of his motives,” Isotonic says. “Not only did he assault the man, he did it through breaking and entering--“

  “Really, Isotonic, he’s a cat burglar, of course he did it through breaking and entering,” Century says.

  “What he did--tell me, they rescued the children, didn’t they?” Negatia asks Mastermental.

  “Yes, they did. I take it you all understand just how precious a super child is to us,” Mastermental says. The others nod slightly, looking forward at the spot where Panther had been standing. “Just the loss of one is a major assault to the super community. That a norm--that anyone, really--would dare to go out kidnapping them and keeping them in glass cages as Collector did... It’s hard to fathom.”

  “You have a son, don’t you, Mastermental?” Marigold asks.

  “I do.”

  “What would you have done had he been kidnapped?”

  “That’s a controversial subject in itself, Marigold,” Double M admits. “My son would have destroyed the place on the very first day. But I do know where the question is heading for those that don’t have prodigies for children. Those with children who can get captured before coming into their powers fully will find it weighing on their minds.”

  “I have a daughter,” Isotonic says quietly. “She’s only just starting to come into her powers--but with the right information, she could easily be held captive.”

  “How would you handle the situation, Isotonic?” Century asks, leaning his massive, muscular frame back into the chair so he can look at his fellow Hall leader.

  “My first thought is that I would have killed him, but of course I’m a hero, we don’t do that sort of thing. No... honestly, I wish to plead the fifth on that one.”

  “Regardless, I did question what happened in that room, so I did a bit of research,” Double M says, pulling a small circle of metal out of his pocket. “Nico is, obviously, very intere
sted in the outcome of this trial, and as such he provided me with a recording device.” Double M tosses the metal circle onto the table, where it starts to spin. Hendric appears in a hologram floating above it.

  ***

  The soundproof cell on the opposite side of the Hall actually is far enough away to keep Panther from hearing them. It's not really on Pan's mind. He's more focused on sitting in a soundproof room with two A-class super heroes and a power blocking collar around his neck. They've had a few run-ins before. Who's to say they aren't going to get a bit of revenge on him now?

  “So why did you do it, anyway?” Falconess asks, crossing her very long legs and leaning back as if this was a chat over tea. The woman is dangerous, Pan will be the first to admit, but she hasn’t made a move to attack him. Or even jab him when no one was looking. Mega had earlier, slightly.

  “I believe you heard my side of the story already,” Pan says in a deadpan voice.

  “Yes, of course we did. But you could have done things in a different manner. Sent some sort of warning, blown up a house he wasn’t in at the moment, traditional attacks.”

  “Those wouldn’t have shown him who he was dealing with,” Pan says. “I don’t believe he knew who Adanna’s father is.”

  “I see.”

  “And you wanted him to?” Mega asks.

  “My daughter is beautiful,” Pan says, and although he’s proud of that fact, he doesn’t say it proudly at this moment. It’s a statement of a fact. “She promises to be as beautiful as her mother. There were several... incidents in my wife’s past because of her appearance. People grow obsessed with someone that beautiful... they become stalkers. I’ve had to deal with a few of her stalkers before. I figured it was best to nip Adanna’s first stalker type in the bud before it truly got nasty. He very well could have kept trying to get her.”