table. Clever Jack jumped.
"Now you're speaking a language we can understand!" Ian said. "So you were treated like we were? By the Academy that raised you?"
Clever Jack looked in turn at all of them. "I don't know how you were treated. I was in a cell in the lower levels of the Academy for ten years. But if you tried to get acknowledgment for your lesser abilities from the Academy I'm sure it went about as well as farming tobacco at a mile above sea level."
Peter shook his head in amazement at the comparison. "We were all rejected from the Academy for being of insufficient power, yes. If you didn't know this, how did you know we had powers to begin with?"
"Doodad told me," Clever Jack said. "He'd been out of his cell for a lot longer. I broke out several years ago, but headed home to the mountains of North Carolina."
"To find your mother?" asked Michelle.
Clever Jack looked down at the table. "I suppose. She wasn't there. I don't know where she went after the Academy gave her the 'Get Out Of The Mountains Free' card. She could be dead now, for all I know. Internet searches don’t help much; the Academy didn’t tell us our parents’ names."
"Did most of the women leave their babies to be raised by the Academy?" asked Keepsie.
Clever Jack sipped at his coffee. "All of them."
Michelle choked on a bite of scrambled eggs. "You mean they all just abandoned their babies at the Academy, took their checks and ran?"
"Most of these women didn't want their babies anyway," Clever Jack said, his voice dull. "And the Academy didn't do anything to encourage them to have contact with us. Like those surrogate women who don't hold their babies after they have them -no connection."
Peter was moved, but the image of the violence Clever Jack had brought to Seventh City remained with him. "So instead of going on Oprah, you decided to harm innocent people?"
Michelle, Ian and Keepsie looked at him in surprise. "Dude, that's cold,"
Ian said.
Clever Jack gave Peter an appraising stare. "If you want to look at it that way, yeah, I hurt innocents. I hurt anyone I could in order to escape the cell they threw me in when they realized I couldn't be a hero. I high-tailed it out of town and headed to the only home I could claim."
"And Doodad called you back?" Peter said.
"Yes. He needs that device back, Keepsie," Clever Jack said. He put his hand on hers, and she pulled it back quickly.
"Why did he give it to me in the first place?" she asked, not looking at him.
"He knew you could keep it safe while he had other business to attend to. You were the only one he knew couldn’t be forced to give it over to Timson and her lapdogs - and he knew you were unlikely to be convinced to do it."
"Wait, how much do they know about Keepsie?" Ian asked.
"More than you think," Clever Jack said. "They keep track of all First and Third Wavers, watching for vigilantes. Since your bar is right on their doorstep, you're pretty easy to keep an eye on."
"But heroes never come in the bar," Keepsie said.
"Heroes don't, but they're not the only people associated with the Academy," Clever Jack said. "Now, don't ask me who the spy is, cause I don't know, but Doodad says there are some pretty fat files on all of you."
Peter watched Keepsie carefully. She stared at the table and fiddled with an artificial sweetener packet. Instead of seeming upset, she appeared to be thinking something over very hard.
She raised her head and looked at Clever Jack. "I still need some time.
Come to my apartment tonight at eight o'clock. I'll have an answer for you then."
With his characteristic liquid grace, Clever Jack stood and slid the chair back under the table. "Done.” He pulled his baseball cap low over his eyes and headed out the door.
"What are you going to do, Keepsie?" Michelle asked.
"I don't know," Keepsie admitted, draining her coffee mug and grimacing.
"But I'll know tonight. I'll need your help, though."
"You've got it," Peter said at once.
She
"Now you're speaking a language we can understand!" Ian said. "So you were treated like we were? By the Academy that raised you?"
Clever Jack looked in turn at all of them. "I don't know how you were treated. I was in a cell in the lower levels of the Academy for ten years. But if you tried to get acknowledgment for your lesser abilities from the Academy I'm sure it went about as well as farming tobacco at a mile above sea level."
Peter shook his head in amazement at the comparison. "We were all rejected from the Academy for being of insufficient power, yes. If you didn't know this, how did you know we had powers to begin with?"
"Doodad told me," Clever Jack said. "He'd been out of his cell for a lot longer. I broke out several years ago, but headed home to the mountains of North Carolina."
"To find your mother?" asked Michelle.
Clever Jack looked down at the table. "I suppose. She wasn't there. I don't know where she went after the Academy gave her the 'Get Out Of The Mountains Free' card. She could be dead now, for all I know. Internet searches don’t help much; the Academy didn’t tell us our parents’ names."
"Did most of the women leave their babies to be raised by the Academy?" asked Keepsie.
Clever Jack sipped at his coffee. "All of them."
Michelle choked on a bite of scrambled eggs. "You mean they all just abandoned their babies at the Academy, took their checks and ran?"
"Most of these women didn't want their babies anyway," Clever Jack said, his voice dull. "And the Academy didn't do anything to encourage them to have contact with us. Like those surrogate women who don't hold their babies after they have them -no connection."
Peter was moved, but the image of the violence Clever Jack had brought to Seventh City remained with him. "So instead of going on Oprah, you decided to harm innocent people?"
Michelle, Ian and Keepsie looked at him in surprise. "Dude, that's cold,"
Ian said.
Clever Jack gave Peter an appraising stare. "If you want to look at it that way, yeah, I hurt innocents. I hurt anyone I could in order to escape the cell they threw me in when they realized I couldn't be a hero. I high-tailed it out of town and headed to the only home I could claim."
"And Doodad called you back?" Peter said.
"Yes. He needs that device back, Keepsie," Clever Jack said. He put his hand on hers, and she pulled it back quickly.
"Why did he give it to me in the first place?" she asked, not looking at him.
"He knew you could keep it safe while he had other business to attend to. You were the only one he knew couldn’t be forced to give it over to Timson and her lapdogs - and he knew you were unlikely to be convinced to do it."
"Wait, how much do they know about Keepsie?" Ian asked.
"More than you think," Clever Jack said. "They keep track of all First and Third Wavers, watching for vigilantes. Since your bar is right on their doorstep, you're pretty easy to keep an eye on."
"But heroes never come in the bar," Keepsie said.
"Heroes don't, but they're not the only people associated with the Academy," Clever Jack said. "Now, don't ask me who the spy is, cause I don't know, but Doodad says there are some pretty fat files on all of you."
Peter watched Keepsie carefully. She stared at the table and fiddled with an artificial sweetener packet. Instead of seeming upset, she appeared to be thinking something over very hard.
She raised her head and looked at Clever Jack. "I still need some time.
Come to my apartment tonight at eight o'clock. I'll have an answer for you then."
With his characteristic liquid grace, Clever Jack stood and slid the chair back under the table. "Done.” He pulled his baseball cap low over his eyes and headed out the door.
"What are you going to do, Keepsie?" Michelle asked.
"I don't know," Keepsie admitted, draining her coffee mug and grimacing.
"But I'll know tonight. I'll need your help, though."
"You've got it," Peter said at once.
She
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