a pause. Peter's eyes darted around; no one had noticed the wanted man casually sitting in the diner. Clever Jack wore a baseball hat and a denim New York Yankees jacket, blending in with the other customers so that even Peter, Keepsie, Michelle and Ian hadn't noticed him.
That's real powers for you.
"Did you tell the heroes I said hello last night?" Clever Jack asked, grinning.
"No, we were too busy trying to not get arrested, thanks," said Ian.
"Yeah, sorry 'bout that." Clever Jack didn't sound very sorry at all.
"Thanks for letting me go, by the way.” "I'm not sure I did the right thing, there," Keepsie said.
"Can I join you?"
Everyone looked at Keepsie, who looked uncomfortable with the leadership thrust onto her shoulders. She paused, and Michelle took up the role.
"Sure. Five minutes, Jack, that's all," she said. "We wanted to enjoy our food."
"Now that's bullshit and you know it," Clever Jack said. He slid out of his booth and snagged a spare chair from a vacant table. He put the chair at the end of their booth and was in it before Peter could blink. He moves like mercury. Peter got a distinct feeling that they should not anger this man. Still, no one in the diner seemed to notice Clever Jack.
The villain reached forward with both hands and grabbed a piece of bacon from Ian's plate with his left and Michelle's folder on the Academy with his right. Keepsie looked at him with obvious dislike, but he ignored her as he munched and flipped through the folder.
"Oh yeah, sure, go ahead, take my bacon," Ian said. "And you say you're not a villain."
Clever Jack looked over the folder at Michelle. "You're pretty smart to pull all of this together."
She smiled, tight lipped, at him.
"But you got one major thing wrong, miss. You got it right where I came from, but not why I left the teat of the Academy."
"My mama's from Elk Park, NC. She got knocked up by her prom date,"
Clever Jack said. "There was nowhere local to have an abortion back then, so she drove to Charlotte to get help. In the Planned Parenthood office, she ran into an Academy official who was stalking the waiting room. This woman offered my mama free health care, free pediatric care, a future for me and even a college education for her, if she would just have me in Seventh City and allow the Academy to adopt me."
"But I thought heroes were the ones with poor mothers getting prenatal care?" Ian asked.
Clever Jack gave him a withering look. "You're not too bright are you? I was raised in the Academy; I was engineered to be a hero."
They looked at each other. "What happened?" Michelle asked finally.
"What happened?" Clever Jack looked at her as if she were an idiot. "I didn't want to be their lapdog. They studied us, tested our powers, trained us, yeah, but they also gave us ethics courses, told us how to think and how to serve and what to do in this or that case.
"We were bred to this, like horses. What happens with a thoroughbred decides not to run? They will give it extra attention. Then they will beat it.
Then, if it still won't run, they might put it out to pasture for stud duty, if they want to risk continuing the undesirable personality quirk. But what if," Clever Jack leaned forward in his chair, whispering intently, "what if that horse could melt metal with his mind, or influence the tides, or could fly faster than sound?
Do you think they would just put it out to pasture?"
Keepsie was very still. "No. They'd put it down."
Clever Jack exhaled loudly. "Finally, someone with a brain. Yes. There were some of us who did not embrace our destinies with open arms. From time to time, the best were apprenticed to the heroes. Well, of course White Lightning and the others got their apprenticeship, and the rest of us were treated like second-rate heroes, then like criminals. Being better than any normal human at something was just not enough for them."
Peter stiffened. Michelle and Keepsie exchanged glances, and Ian slammed his fist onto the
That's real powers for you.
"Did you tell the heroes I said hello last night?" Clever Jack asked, grinning.
"No, we were too busy trying to not get arrested, thanks," said Ian.
"Yeah, sorry 'bout that." Clever Jack didn't sound very sorry at all.
"Thanks for letting me go, by the way.” "I'm not sure I did the right thing, there," Keepsie said.
"Can I join you?"
Everyone looked at Keepsie, who looked uncomfortable with the leadership thrust onto her shoulders. She paused, and Michelle took up the role.
"Sure. Five minutes, Jack, that's all," she said. "We wanted to enjoy our food."
"Now that's bullshit and you know it," Clever Jack said. He slid out of his booth and snagged a spare chair from a vacant table. He put the chair at the end of their booth and was in it before Peter could blink. He moves like mercury. Peter got a distinct feeling that they should not anger this man. Still, no one in the diner seemed to notice Clever Jack.
The villain reached forward with both hands and grabbed a piece of bacon from Ian's plate with his left and Michelle's folder on the Academy with his right. Keepsie looked at him with obvious dislike, but he ignored her as he munched and flipped through the folder.
"Oh yeah, sure, go ahead, take my bacon," Ian said. "And you say you're not a villain."
Clever Jack looked over the folder at Michelle. "You're pretty smart to pull all of this together."
She smiled, tight lipped, at him.
"But you got one major thing wrong, miss. You got it right where I came from, but not why I left the teat of the Academy."
"My mama's from Elk Park, NC. She got knocked up by her prom date,"
Clever Jack said. "There was nowhere local to have an abortion back then, so she drove to Charlotte to get help. In the Planned Parenthood office, she ran into an Academy official who was stalking the waiting room. This woman offered my mama free health care, free pediatric care, a future for me and even a college education for her, if she would just have me in Seventh City and allow the Academy to adopt me."
"But I thought heroes were the ones with poor mothers getting prenatal care?" Ian asked.
Clever Jack gave him a withering look. "You're not too bright are you? I was raised in the Academy; I was engineered to be a hero."
They looked at each other. "What happened?" Michelle asked finally.
"What happened?" Clever Jack looked at her as if she were an idiot. "I didn't want to be their lapdog. They studied us, tested our powers, trained us, yeah, but they also gave us ethics courses, told us how to think and how to serve and what to do in this or that case.
"We were bred to this, like horses. What happens with a thoroughbred decides not to run? They will give it extra attention. Then they will beat it.
Then, if it still won't run, they might put it out to pasture for stud duty, if they want to risk continuing the undesirable personality quirk. But what if," Clever Jack leaned forward in his chair, whispering intently, "what if that horse could melt metal with his mind, or influence the tides, or could fly faster than sound?
Do you think they would just put it out to pasture?"
Keepsie was very still. "No. They'd put it down."
Clever Jack exhaled loudly. "Finally, someone with a brain. Yes. There were some of us who did not embrace our destinies with open arms. From time to time, the best were apprenticed to the heroes. Well, of course White Lightning and the others got their apprenticeship, and the rest of us were treated like second-rate heroes, then like criminals. Being better than any normal human at something was just not enough for them."
Peter stiffened. Michelle and Keepsie exchanged glances, and Ian slammed his fist onto the
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