Chapter Eight
Apparition and Mythcreant walked the rest of the way to their hotel room in silence. When he opened the door, she could immediately tell he’d been back for some time. His suitcase was on the bed, half unpacked, and several gadgets were lined up on the table, most of which she couldn’t identify.
“Where were you?” she asked.
“I had to meet with a supplier. After our first encounter with Surge, I realized we wouldn’t be able to take him down on our own without a little ammunition.
The kid’s had too much training.” Her dad approached the table and picked up a device that looked a little like a gun, only with a wider barrel.
“This is a net shooter. Even better, the nets are enhanced with a charge that disrupts most sable abilities.” A grin spread across his face. “Here, I’ll show you.”
He turned towards her and pulled the trigger.
A mesh of thin wires shot from the barrel and wrapped around Apparition’s chest, holding her arms to her sides.
She gasped in horror as a prickling, biting energy seeped through her clothes and into her skin.
Trying to escape she writhed and twisted before toppling backwards onto the bed.
“Let me go!” she gasped. “It hurts!”
“Don’t be a baby. It’s a mild charge. Not even half as strong as the disruptors DOSA uses to control supervillains in their custody.
” He set the gun down and came to stand over her.
“I wish I’d had one of these when you were a toddler.
Would’ve made keeping an eye on you easier.
Try to use your powers. See what happens. ”
Afraid she’d tear up, Apparition focused on blurring her face and hair into something else. The energy from the net increased. She gasped in pain. “I can’t.”
“Exactly.” He hit a button on the side of the gun, and the net went lax.
She pushed it off and jumped to her feet, quivering.
Mythcreant put the net shooter down before picking up a small metal disk.
“And this is the first part of the next stage of our plan. Originally, I wanted to take him down during the commission of another crime, make it look like just one of those things. DOSA sable gets killed trying to stop a robbery, no one thinks about it too hard. However, I didn’t count on the lack of targets in this town.
Also, now that DOSA knows we’re here, it’s only a matter of time until they send the kid backup.
What we need to do is create a situation where we get him alone, not expecting a fight, and then we take him down.
We can stage it after the fact to make it look like some sort of crime. ”
Every inch of Apparition’s body went numb.
She remembered Shawn smiling at her from across the table less than a half hour before.
If her father succeeded, Shawn wouldn’t exist any more.
He wouldn’t be around to walk Ears. The sisters he talked about wouldn’t have their brother. His parents would be brokenhearted.
How can I be a part of something so awful? How did I even let this get this far?
She opened her mouth then shut it again. No. Talking to Dad wouldn’t do any good. She had no power to change his mind, and if he knew she was doubting the mission, he might prevent her from warning Shawn.
That’s what I have to do. I have to warn Shawn.
When I’m done, he’ll hate me, but I don’t have another choice.
I can’t let him be hurt—oh, but once I do, Dad isn’t going to want anything to do with me.
Where will I go? And how can I warn Shawn without Dad finding out or Shawn immediately trying to arrest me for being a supervillain?
“Tomorrow you’re going to break into his apartment and plant this.
” Dad exhibited the metal disk. “It’s a bug.
Having his cell phone cloned has helped me get some idea of his comings and goings, but I know for a fact his father visited him after our first fight.
I have no idea what information they exchanged.
We’re not ready to face Verve, trust me. ”
He pressed the bug into Apparition’s hand.
“Are you working tomorrow?” he then asked.
She shook her head.
“Good. If his class schedule stays the same, he should be out of his apartment all morning.”
She blinked. “You want me to do it?”
“I didn’t teach you to pick locks just for the fun of it.” He scoffed. He strode into the kitchenette and poked around the fridge. “You didn’t bother to go shopping at all while I was gone?”
“I didn’t have time.” She shifted from foot to foot, an idea forming.
If Father wasn’t in the apartment with her, she could leave a note for Shawn explaining everything.
She could leave it there and then escape afterwards.
She’d never see Shawn again, but he’d be safe without her having to go to jail.
Yeah, she had no idea what she’d do with herself after she ran away, but that didn’t matter.
All that mattered was that she wouldn’t have to hurt Shawn.
“I’m going to get ready for bed,” she told her father.
“Smart. Big day tomorrow.” He pulled out her leftover tomato soup and poured it into a bowl.
Apparition hid in the bathroom. Yes, if her plan worked, she’d be all alone, and she’d never see Shawn again, but Shawn would be safe, and she would be free. That was the closest this whole mess could get to a happy ending.
THE NEXT MORNING DAD walked Apparition to the outside of Shawn’s apartment building.
He stopped on the corner and nodded towards the entrance.
“No doorman or code for the elevators from what I could see. You should be able to take it from here. Based on his Friday schedule, you have at least two hours until he’ll be able to make it back here.
I’d suggest being quick, though. I can’t risk waiting around for you out here, so text me when you’re done. ”
Apparition forced a stony expression as she nodded. She hadn’t written Shawn’s note yet for fear her father would find it and stop her. That meant she’d have to write it while she was in Shawn’s apartment.
“Get it done.” Her father turned and walked away.
Apparition drew a deep breath before walking up to the nearest alley way and stepping inside to conjure a disguise.
With a new face, hair color, and outfit, she walked confidently into the building and took the elevator up to Shawn’s floor.
His hallway was empty, and it only took her a minute to pick the lock to his room.
The door popped open. Immediately Ears rushed her, barking.
He skidded to a halt at her feet, sniffing her shoes. He gazed up at her in confusion.
“Easy, boy! It’s me.” She shut the door behind her and dropped her disguise. “From last night, remember?”
Ears’s nose tickled her hand before he huffed out a satisfied sigh and returned to his bed.
Not exactly a great watchdog. Okay, first things first. If I don’t plant this bug, Dad will be suspicious.
Apparition knelt down and stuck it to the frame of the futon. That accomplished, she could concentrate on her real purpose.
She fished her sketchbook out of her hoodie pocket along with a pen and started to write.
Shawn, you’re in danger. Mythcreant, the supervillain you encountered at the convenience store robbery, wants you dead, and he’s not going to give up until you are.
I wish I knew why. She paused. Here was where she had to make a choice.
Did she tell him about her involvement? Admit that Nikki was a lie and hope it didn’t hurt him too badly?
Or just leave that part out and disappear from his life when her dad inevitably had to flee College City, dragging her along?
Either way, she’d never see him again. Her eyes watered.
Why do I care if I never see him again? He’s just some silly boy. Stupid DOSA sable.
She rubbed at her eyes, and a tear dropped on her note.
She didn’t know how to tell him about her part in this in a way that didn’t make her sound terrible.
Maybe because she was terrible. She never should’ve let it go this far.
She started to tear the sheet from the notepad then paused and quickly added, By the way, your apartment is bugged. Sorry.
This done, she looked around for a place to leave the note where he’d be sure to see it.
Her eyes fell on a bookshelf in the corner, and her jaw dropped.
There, stacked on the shelves, were nearly a dozen paper coffee cups.
Each had “Shawn” written in her handwriting along with a doodle.
Swallowing, she came closer. There was the basset hound she’d drawn for him first, the squirrel in the little car, and the crow in the top hat.
Her head felt light. Why was he keeping those stupid things?
Vision blurring, she shoved the note in her pocket. Footsteps sounded in the hall, and Ears jumped from his bed, tail waving. Apparition sprinted across the room and re-locked the door. She then stepped into the corner and camouflaged herself to look exactly like the wall.
The key grated in the lock then the door opened. Ears barked buoyantly.
“Hey, bud, I’m back early!” Shawn laughed. He put his laptop bag on the futon and knelt down to pet his dog.
Her heart pounded. Why was he here? He was supposed to be in school.
A phone rang, and he pulled his out of his pocket before collapsing onto the futon.
“Hey, Dad.”
“I missed a call from you. Are you all right?” a voice asked, presumably Shawn’s father.
“Yeah, professor got a stomach bug so class is canceled. I thought since I had a few hours free, I’d see if you had some time to talk.” Shawn scooped Ears up and set him on the futon beside him, staring at his phone.
Apparition drew slow, steady breaths, trying not to hyperventilate. How long could she hide like this?
“I’m free. There’s a DOSA training exercise in about an hour, but I’ve got a while until I need to suit up.”
“That’s good. Did you find out any more about the team that struck the convenience store here?” Shawn rubbed Ears’s back.
“Not much of use. Mythcreant seems to have appeared out of nowhere a few years back, but he’s too experienced to have only been in the business that long.
He either managed to evade detection for several years, or maybe he was known by a different identity.
Shifting is a pretty standard talent, though the way he uses his powers is particular to him.
Apparition, the woman he’s been pairing with, I do think she’s a new face.
More powerful than him but obviously less experienced and letting him call the shots.
Why they’re in College City, though? Still no clue. ”
“So basically nothing new.” Shawn sighed.
“No, but I got DOSA to agree to loan you some back up, so don’t feel like you have to fight them alone if they show up again. They’re sending you two sables from the Chicago team. They should be there this evening.”
“That’s good.” Shawn stretched his legs out, resting his feet on the coffee table.
“That all you wanted to talk about?” his dad pressed. “How are things going with that barista of yours?”
Apparition stiffened.
“Good, I think. We kind of had a date last night.”
“Kind of?”
“Yeah, well, I thought it was a date, but from the way she reacted, I’m not sure she knew it was,” Shawn said wryly.
His father chuckled. “It’s kind of your responsibility to make sure a girl knows that you’re asking her out, son. That’s kind of dating 101.”
“Yeah, well, Nikki—it’s hard to explain, but it’s like she doesn’t think very much of herself, which is weird because she’s gorgeous and sweet and super talented. Remember those pictures I sent of the drawings she does?”
“They were clever.”
A chill crept through her. He’d shown his father her drawings? He was telling people about her? In a nice way?
“It’s weird. I feel like I spend half the time I’m around her trying to figure out how to convince her how amazing she is, but I can’t find ways to say it that don’t sound cheesy or creepy.” Shawn rubbed his chin with the hand not holding his phone. “She is, though—amazing, that is.”
Apparition stared at him, her heart fluttering. Shawn thought she was amazing?
“She sounds like a great girl. I hope I get a chance to meet her.”
“I hope you do, too. Oh, did you see the game last night? I only caught the highlights online—”
As Shawn and his father continued to chat, Apparition shrank into herself.
Her skin started to grow numb, a side-effect of the fatigue of holding an unpracticed illusion for too long.
She ignored it, completely consumed by what Shawn had said.
It was ridiculous. She wasn’t the sort of girl a boy would want to introduce to his parents, that anyone should think was amazing.
It’s all a lie. He doesn’t really know me. He knows Nikki. Nikki isn’t me ... but if she’s not me, then why do I feel so much more me when I’m pretending to be her?
She put her hand around the crumpled note in her pocket. There had to be a way to stay Nikki, to save Shawn but not have to run away with her father afterwards.
But it won’t be real. No matter how much he thinks he likes me, I’d always be living a lie, one step away from losing everything if he found out the truth.
And if Father found out she wanted to leave him for a normal life with Shawn, he’d make sure Shawn found out the truth.
She knew that somehow. He wouldn’t let her be happy in a life other than the one he’d chosen for her.
For now he was convinced that her interactions with Shawn were part of the plan, but the moment he caught on that it was more than her leading Shawn on, drawing him to his inevitable doom, he’d put a stop to it.
At least since her father had encouraged her to get closer to Shawn, this wouldn’t look suspicious . .. yet.
That left her with her two original options: tell Shawn the truth and hurt him ... or just tell him a half truth and sneak away, which would probably also hurt him. Either way she’d be miserable, so which would hurt him less?
There has to be a way.
Shawn ended the call with his father and knelt in front of Ears. “How about a walk, boy?”
Ears’s tail thumped noisily.
A few minutes later, Shawn was gone, leaving Apparition in an empty apartment. She released her illusion like letting out a breath. Her skin tingled back to life.
She pulled out the crumpled note. Then a thought struck her.
Dad didn’t plan to attack Shawn right away. After all, he wouldn’t have bothered planting a bug if he were going to take immediate action. No, he wanted more intelligence first. That gave her time. Time she could use to think of a way to be with Shawn, to be Nikki for real.
Something within Apparition sprang to life. For the first time in longer than she remembered, she wanted something for herself, something real and good. She wasn’t going to give up yet.
All I need is a plan.