Ch. 14...
When Bells wakes up again, there’s snow outside, blanketing the ground and clumped in thick masses in tree branches. He winces; every inch of his body is sore.
“Don’t strain yourself,” Jess says, handing him a canteen. “Take it slow.”
Bells blinks, groggy. “Where are we?” His mouth feels like sand, and he chugs the water gratefully.
“Stolen car. Somewhere in the Rockies,” Abby says from the driver’s seat.
Emma and Brendan are asleep with the parts of a makeshift computer console scattered across their laps; Brendan is drooling on Emma’s shoulder.
Jess hands Bells a protein bar. “Here, eat up. How are you feeling?”
Bells takes stock of his body; he doesn’t feel any cuts or bruises, but he can barely move. It feels as if he’s been running for days, and all his muscles are screaming for attention. “Awful,” he admits.
“You saved our lives,” Abby says. “I mean, I knew you could shift anything you touched, like clothes, but… I didn’t know you could do that.”
“I didn’t either,” Bells says, yawning. “Did I look cool?”
“The coolest,” Jess says, smiling at him.
“Stolen car, huh,” he says, taking a bite of the protein bar. “And the food, too?”
Jess holds up a handwritten list. “I’ve written down who these things belong to. When this is all over we can pay everyone back.”
Bells pats Jess on the back.
“Jess is an optimist,” Abby says, chuckling from the front seat.
Jess rolls her eyes. “Shut up, you like it.”
“So why the Rockies?”
“We’re all wanted now,” Abby says. “We disabled this car’s connection to the Net, as well as any devices we’ve gotten, but when we passed Middleton there were some disturbing broadcasts being made.”
“The Collective can’t make you all out to be villains,” Bells says.
“Well, no. We were reported as missing, but they showed our faces. I mean, if anyone sees us, they’re supposed to report us to the Authorities immediately.” Jess sighs. “We’re headed toward safety, for now.”
“What about the Registry?” Bells asks. “We still going to steal it?”
Abby breaks into a smile. “Good news,” she says. “We figured out the message from Jess’ parents. It’s the location of a place I’ve never been, but I’ve heard a lot about from my mom. We’re gonna have so much help, you guys!”
Genevieve meets them at the trailhead and wraps each one of them in a hug. There’s a tearful exchange with Abby, and Bells lets them have their space.
They plod along in the snow, one foot at a time. There isn’t much to carry, just the scant supplies that were lifted in the few towns along the way.
“Hey,” Emma says, nudging Bells. “I wasn’t sure what the name of your stuff is called, and Jess said stealing from a pharmacy was definitely putting ourselves in danger we couldn’t afford. But I did find this when we were at the mall in Middleton.”
Inside the bag is a fresh change of clothes, a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, and a brand new binder.
“Aw, thanks, Em,” Bells says.
She grins. “I mean, you’re gonna be the only one of us who actually looks good, since you made it out wearing your jacket and all. The rest of us were in pajamas.”
Bells laughs. The four of them are wearing puffy neon jackets, while he’s in his leather-look jacket. “We look like a band. Bells and the Neons,” he jokes.
“Jess found the jackets,” Emma says, jerking her head at Jess, who is hiking ahead of them with a set, determined expression.
“Gah,” Brendan says, struggling to keep up. His pack is almost bigger than he is. “The outside world is the worst,” he grumbles.
The unofficial United Villain’s Guild headquarters is in another set of pre-Collective tunnels, deep inside the mountain.
Bells quickens his step and shivers a little. It’s cold down here, all damp earth and heavy air. Water trickles down the earthen sides of the tunnel, and, unlike the dry desert canyon corridors in Nevada, these paths are filled with the echo of water bubbling back and forth. The dark is illuminated by bioluminescent glow scattered across the walls. Ahead of them, Abby stares at the lights. “How come you never brought me here before? You and Dad used to come at least once a year.”
Genevieve wraps an arm around her daughter’s shoulders. “I didn’t want you part of this world, Abby. You know that we worked so hard for you to be a hero. You didn’t have to be one of us. We wanted something better for you, you know that.”
“Aren’t the UVG headquarters in Quebec, though?” Bells asks.
Genevieve waves her arms. “Headquarters… we had so many. So many places for the League to find, to report to the public that they were doing well, keeping us villains in check.”
Jess nods. “So everyone in the Guild knows, then.”
“Yeah. They keep it pretty hush-hush in the League itself, but well… we all know.”
Finally, they enter a grand, spacious cavern lit by sconces filled with the bio-lichen. Pockets of dappled sunlight reflect through a series of mirrors, and bright squashy armchairs and bits and pieces of tech are everywhere. The warm, rich smell of coffee and baked goods comes from another corridor. There’s a kitchen somewhere nearby offering the scent of fresh… cookies? Cheesecake?
Bells forgets all about the smells of food when he spots his parents, rushing forward to embrace them. He never wants to leave this hug.
“I’m surprised you stayed away this long,” Nick says, ruffling his hair. “I actually thought you kids would be right on our tails.”
“Oh, hush, they were being responsible,” Collete says.
Bells laughs and hugs them again. It’s such a relief, telling them about their attempts to find the Resistance and then being attacked by robots. “It was a good thing you figured I’d come after you and you signed that independent study paperwork,” Bells says.
Nick chuckles. “Of course. And I figured just in case you had to leave in a hurry and you forgot,” he says, and pulls a small package out of his pocket.
Bells thumbs through the little case of T-patches and laughs. “Wow. You were really sure I was gonna be here, huh?”
“Absolutely, son,” Nick says, pulling him into another hug.
Across the huge cavern, Jess and Brendan are having a reunion with their parents, speaking rapidly in a mix of excited Chinese, Vietnamese, and English.
“Emma, tell us about your trip,” Nick says, drawing her into a hug. “Bells says he was out of it for most of the ride up here.”
Emma laughs and launches into the story. Bells relaxes. Everything is going to be fine. They’re here, and the adults know what they’re doing.
Genevieve returns with a tall, elegant-looking woman who introduces herself as Chloe. “Hello and welcome to our most secure facility,” she says. “Oh, I didn’t realize it was so dark in here.” She gestures, and more bio-luminescence blooms on the walls.
“Chloe is an absolute joy,” Nick says. “Her powers invoke growth in plants; it’s amazing!”
“Thank you, Nick,” Chloe says with a smile. “It’s lovely to meet you, Bells. Your parents have been invaluable helping get our underground farms set up. It’s been amazing seeing the work done to produce vegetables here.”
“Do you live here?” Emma asks.
“Chloe manages headquarters,” Genevieve says. “This used to be a place where we would gather and spend time together and train, have a space away from the League, and just be ourselves. It’s only this year that more villains—and meta-humans in general—have been hiding here, out of reach of Captain Orion and her experiments.”
“We currently house seventeen adults and three minors,” Chloe says. “We’re self-sustaining and generate our own—”
“Ahah! I knew that rumor of new folks was true.”
“Christine!” Bells exclaims.
She squeals and hugs him tightly around the waist.
Everyone has dispersed to their rooms after eating a late dinner. Bells is the last in the kitchen, lingering for a hot chocolate with Christine and catching up with her while helping clean up.
“Yeah, I had my travel all booked and then I was, like, you know what? I’m not going to be next, you know? I know you said everything you guys have posted on the Net disappears, and I’ve seen blogs and social media posts and forums get deleted left and right, but it doesn’t mean people aren’t talking about it. And it wasn’t just the villains that went missing. A few people reported their family members missing as well—all meta-humans.” Christine shrugs. “Remember Steven? He wasn’t at my party, but you shifted into him as a disguise?”
“Pink spot on the wall,” Bells says.
“He’s here too! Totally asleep. He narrowly escaped capture by Orion herself.”
“Really?”
Christine shrugs, laughing. “I have no idea how much he’s exaggerating, but I’m pretty sure whoever was after Steven wasn’t her, unless Orion can shapeshift, too.”
Bells laughs. It feels good, after such a stressful few days.
Around a rounded earthen corner, they bump into Emma.
“I was just getting some water.” Emma fiddles with her fingers and then smiles at them. “I think it’s great seeing you again, Christine. You must have missed Bells; long distance relationships can be so hard.”
“Oh,” Christine says, looking at Bells. “I, er—”
“We’re actually not dating,” Bells says. “I mean, we never were. I invited her to come with us that one time because I didn’t want to be the fifth wheel.”
“Oh,” Emma says. “Oh—that’s good—I mean—”
“Lights out were an hour ago,” a voice calls out from the alcove next to him. “Everything in this place echoes. Please go to sleep.”
“Sorry!” Bells whispers. Probably a bit too loudly. “Sorry again!”
They officially meet the other members of the Villain’s Guild and the other meta-humans under their protection in the morning. Bells thought the headquarters would be an elaborate master lair with tech everywhere and dim lights and people in uniform reporting for duty like clockwork. Instead, it’s people stumbling into the main cavern in various states of sleepwear, drowsily drinking coffee, and eating breakfast.
“Hiya,” comes a voice from the ceiling.
Bells looks up; a bit of scaffolding runs across the sloped earthen “roof” of the cavern, carrying pipes and electric wires and serving as built in shelving and storage space.
A slender woman with an easy smile drops to the floor to land gracefully in front of them. “Tree Frog!” Jess shouts. “You went missing last year!”
“Yep, held in one of Orion’s facilities. Your parents busted me out last month,” she says, waving brightly at them.
A surly looking man shoves past Bells and gives him an annoyed look.
“That’s Michael,” Tree Frog whispers loudly. “His powers make it difficult for him to sleep.”
Michael glares at them over his coffee. “Just because someone dreams entirely about donuts, which, as you can see, we do not have!”
Breakfast is instant oatmeal, coffee, and fruits, and, after watching people help themselves, Bells shrugs at his friends, who are hesitating in the doorway, and just dives in, grabbing a bowl and making his own plate.
Bells doesn’t recognize most of the people until they introduce themselves and their codenames, but finds himself immediately endeared to them. Plasmaman, a man Bells has impersonated a few times during combat training, keeps trying to hide behind his oatmeal and finally shyly introduces himself as Cass. Bells eats his oatmeal slowly, trying to keep track of names and codenames and follow the threads of conversations.
His parents are talking to Chloe, and Bells shakes his head, watching his dad gesture wildly. “Just think about it, if we clear the eastern cavern, we would have enough space for a few trees, and we have enough solartech already…”
Bells hasn’t seen the entire headquarters yet, but they passed some of the underground gardens. He wonders how much of that was already happening and how much was his parents’ idea. Bells smiles; he’s always been proud of his parents, but it’s cool to see them being recognized by this talented group of people, too.
“Uh, hi. My powers are… direction.” Jess sounds hesitant, glancing at Emma and then back at the two men standing with Li Hua. “Kind of useful, I guess.”
Emma laughs. “Kind of? Jess is amazing, okay. She can know where anything is, anytime.”
Jess frowns. “It kind of has its limits? I mean, I don’t know how far and if…”
Over by the heater, Bells spots Victor introducing Brendan; Abby and her mom are wrapped up in conversation by the fruit.
“So wonderful to meet your lovely daughter at last,” Cass says, shaking Abby’s hand. “Gena’s told us so much about you!”
Bells can’t hear the rest of the conversation, but he can tell Abby is uncomfortable from the way she’s ducking her head. He wonders how much Genevieve’s told the other meta-humans here about what happened at the base. She must have told them about Orion and the serum, if she updated the Guild about the current threats and dangers.
Abby’s arms are folded; she shakes her head and then stares into her oatmeal bowl as if it contains all the answers in the world.
“This is so cool,” Emma says, next to him. “I just met some of the most famous villains from all over the Collective.”
Bells chuckles. “Really? I mean, you’ve only known me, like, your whole life.”
Emma rolls her eyes. “Okay, but you’ve only become a famous villain recently. I mean, these guys are legends!”
Bells nods; he doesn’t know most of the villains’ stories as well as he does the exploits of Master Mischief and Mistress Mischief, but they all follow a similar vein of silly pranks and generally being a nuisance to the local hero or heroes by stealing various artifacts and then getting “caught” by their heroes.
“Ugh, this is so awkward; these guys know so many stories about me because my parents have been coming here for years,” Abby says, joining them. “I believe they always thought I would actually get to be seen as a hero, but…”
“You don’t need your powers for that,” Bells says.
“I guess.”
Bells hasn’t seen the most famous villain in the Collective—Dynamite, from New Bright City, who’s gone head-to-head with Captain Orion so many times, but who vanished from the news just about when the League denounced Orion as a villain. Supposedly he’s in Corrections, but Bells has long since learned that who the League claims to be where isn’t necessarily true.
“Is Dynamite here?” Bells asks. According to the press, Dynamite is the Commander of the United Villain’s Guild, but Bells can’t imagine the man who threatened to actually hurt people with his powers eating breakfast with them.
“Oh, no,” Genevieve says. “He’s the only one of us who actually enjoys his role as the League’s lapdog. Thinks our little club is just for ‘whiners.’ He took his role as ‘villain’ too seriously.”
Tree Frog nods. “Yeah, no one’s supposed to get hurt.”
“The actual United Villain’s Guild—as you’ve seen—is our network. More of a support group,” Genevieve says. “We’ve welcomed Shockwave and Smasher, of course, now that they’re in the know, and they’ve been a great help, your parents, too, in getting meta-humans to safety.”
Bells nods. Right. Captain Orion’s experiments. He cracks his knuckles and he can see Abby set her jaw. Jess’ eyes are lighting up, and Emma is standing taller.
“Oh, yes, now that we’re all here,” Genevieve taps her coffee cup with a spoon.
“We’re here to welcome some new people to our headquarters in these trying times. If you haven’t already introduced yourself, feel free to greet our new guests.” She turns to the teenagers. “You can use your name or codename if you like. You’ll find we’re a mix, some people prefer only a codename or are comfortable with either.”
Names and powers and hometowns are being rattled off, one by one, and Bells loses track of who is who. He’s going to have to ask everyone individually. Finally, it’s his turn.
“Hi, I’m Bells Broussard; you guys probably have met my parents already,” he says.
“They’re great!”
“We want to keep them!”
“Collette is fantastic at charades.”
“Never would have imagined we could grow so many vegetables!”
“Aw, yeah, they are great. And I’m glad to be here; we’re really excited to be working with you guys. Oh, and uh, I can shapeshift and stuff.” Bells lets a strand of his hair turn pink and he smiles.
Emma pshaws. “Bells forgets to mention; he’s the incredible Chameleon!” She smiles proudly at Bells.
Bells can feel everyone’s eyes on him. “Actually, it’s the Pretentious or Heinous,” he jokes. There’s a bit of nervous laughter and some interested looks.
“Chameleon?” Michael scoffs. “The League said he was the most powerful meta-human of his age and were planning for him to be the next Captain Orion. Chameleon defied them and forged his own path and rescued Mistress Mischief and has resisted capture for months. You’re just some kid with cool hair.”
“Are you calling my son a liar?” Collette stands up, glaring at Michael.
Nick takes her oatmeal bowl out of her hands, grinning in anticipation.
Bells winks at his parents. He wasn’t planning to transform, but he can’t resist it now.
He isn’t quite at full strength after the incident with the rogue MonRobots, but he finds his power steady inside him and pulls at the shift. He cycles through several different looks, lightning quick, turning himself into an exact copy of Michael, right down to his angular jaw and blonde hair and mismatched pajamas, then Abby, then Jess, and Genevieve, and then back to the look now immortalized as the Collective’s most wanted villain: Chameleon in his green, metallic, shimmering bodysuit.
He puffs himself up and makes himself a bit taller than usual.
Bells grins at the room and the slack-jawed looks of awe. Okay, that was totally necessary.
At the end of breakfast Chloe clears her voice. “Kids, feel free to ask questions and chime in on what you want to do to help. And the agenda for today…”
Bells catches Emma’s eye and nods. He can feel the energy of the room change; it’s charged with action, and he’s ready.
“So Michael and Tree Frog, you guys are in Cavern Three with the broccoli, and Nick and Collete, this apple tree idea is great, so if you wanna take Li Hua and…”
Bells listens to the whole agenda. It sounds like all housekeeping and farm duties and… they’re planning a karaoke night.
He perks up when Genevieve mentions a meta-human named Hudson who lives in Middleton whom they can bring to safety, but so far they’re just deciding who’s going to leave headquarters and access the Net.
“Really?” Emma asks. “This is how long it takes to get one person?”
“Locating meta-humans who are in danger from Orion is an arduous task,” Victor says. “We’ve been quite successful, as you can see.”
“Right, gathering people here in your super-secret hideout!” Bells says. “But Orion is going to get the Registry, and, if we don’t get it first, she’ll know exactly where every single meta-human ever registered lives!”
The adults are whispering.
“What about the Resistance?” Brendan asks. “We could work together and pool resources!”
Genevieve stands up. “Right now we need to focus on staying hidden. The League has infinite resources and the support of the Collective government. Orion going for the Registry is a long-shot; the location of the training center is a well-kept secret.”
Bells nods. “We have a good idea where to start looking. I was there last summer, right after they changed to the new location. We can easily all work together and make sure Orion never gets her hands on those names.”
“That isn’t a priority,” Chloe says. “We can’t risk our people on the chance that Orion might know something. What we should do is focus on is what we know for sure, who we can get to safety. We stay out of sight of the League; we stay alive. We stay safe.”
“Safe?” Jess echoes. “The new MonRobots are already attacking us!”
“And Dad! Dad is being forced to work with Stone,” Abby says. “Who knows what kind of upgrades they’re making him do…”
“The Authorities are looking for you, yes, and are sending these new robots after you, but they can’t find you here,” Chloe says.
“It’s an excellent point,” Genevieve agrees. “Yes, it’s a threat. We definitely can’t risk you leaving headquarters because they would find you immediately.” She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, then fixes everyone with a steady gaze. “We will handle Phillip and the situation in due time. Just be patient.”
All attempts to ask the adult members of the Guild to help, to take action, are met with non-answers and evasiveness. Why leave, why do anything when they are safe in their hideout?