So Not a Hero (17 page)

He nodded and pointed at the mess. I noticed that his fingers were thick and gigantic, the nails blackened into wicked talons. “I broke all that stuff. And I hit you. I didn’t mean to. I’m just scared.” Another sob broke out from between his lips and he looked down at his hands. “I only wanted some cocoa.”

“Bobby, how old are you?” I had a horrible suspicion the answer was not going to be pleasant.

“Eleven,” he said. “My birthday’s in July. I’ll be twelve then.”

I heard Alexis gasp and I winced. Enhancement can happen to anyone who’s been through, or going through, puberty. For some unknown reason, the majority of people who are going to Activate do so between the ages of eighteen and thirty. It was very rare for it to happen to anyone younger. At seventeen, Alexis had been old enough for it to be barely worth mentioning. This kid, however, was a major anomaly.

“Can you tell us what happened?” Alexis asked.

He nodded. “I was waiting in line. Mom lets me stop here on Fridays instead of coming straight home from school. And this man cut in front of me. I told him that it wasn’t nice to do that and he just looked at me and laughed. He was being so mean and I got mad and … and …”

I sighed. “And you suddenly got big enough to make the man wait his turn.”

Activations came in one of three flavors. Event-Driven Activation was when something catastrophic or life-threatening made someone become Enhanced in order to survive. It’s what had given Alexis the ability to survive her building coming down on top of her. The second type was Spontaneous Activation. In those cases, the Activation wasn’t even realized until it got used. Some, guy woke up feeling normal and by lunch discovered he manifested x-ray vision or something. The last was Stress-Induced Activation. A situation became too emotionally overwhelming and the person’s Enhancements suddenly kicked in at full power. I knew how upset and disoriented the kid was feeling, since I’d been there myself.

“Nobody’s going to arrest you, Bobby,” I told him. “What happened wasn’t your fault. The policemen outside just need to take you someplace safe until your parents can come and get you. Understand?”

“Where will they take me?”

Alexis looked over at me and mouthed the word ‘Max?’ I shook my head to her and reached out to put my hand on Bobby’s forearm. “It’s a place called the Superhuman Containment Center. But we refer to it as The Shack.”

“And they won’t hurt me?”

The teen shook her head and returned to a solid state. I held my breath, readying myself just in case the terrified boy attacked again. “No,” she said. “They won’t hurt you.”

“Will I be able to get some cocoa while I’m there?”

I smiled. “I’m sure you can. Let’s go outside, okay?”

Bobby nodded and looked around the room again. “I’m really sorry for the mess.”

Outside, Bobby allowed the officers to put him in the holding area of the transport craft. Alexis volunteered to ride with him—in her ghost state—to the Shack. As I watched the ship lift off the ground, I sensed someone standing right behind me. I turned around and saw the mouthy detective from earlier. His beady eyes were focused on me and the expression on his face set my teeth on edge.

“Good job,
hero
,” he said with a note of disdain. “You managed to get Little Tank subdued without tearing down the rest of the building. Isn’t that against your usual policy?”

“His name’s Bobby and he’s just a scared boy who went Active. Not some supervillain.”

The officer shrugged. “Whatever. He’s bagged, tagged, and now an EAPF problem. You’ve done your job, now we’ll do ours.”

I stepped closer, bringing my nose a few inches from his. “Listen up, shithead. My partner is with that boy and she’s going to stay with him until his parents arrive. If she comes back and informs me that you or any of your asshole buddies were mean to him, I’m going to take it very,
very
personally.” I held up one hand and squeezed my hand into a fist, cracking the knuckles.

The detective’s eyes widened and he took a step backwards. “You can’t do that. You’re a hero.”

“So people keep saying. The funny thing about that is that I’m still not completely convinced they’re right. So let’s just say you err on the side of not finding out if I can stuff you into a soda can, okay?”

He took another step towards his vehicle. “You’re crazy. I’m a police officer. You can’t talk to me like that. I’m going to call Mister Manpower about this.”

I smiled. “And I’ll discuss your behavior with Lieutenant Braddock. Isn’t he your superior?” For all I knew, Kurt wouldn’t think his man had been out of line. I’d met a lot of EAPF officers who felt that the Enhanced were nothing but ticking time bombs better off locked away from polite society. However, seeing as we were going out on a date the next evening, I was betting that the good detective was of a different opinion.

“Braddock,” the officer practically spat the word. “Fine,” he said glaring at me. “You keep your mouth shut and I’ll do the same.” He straightened his tie and stomped over to a small crowd of people on the other side of the barricade. He took a pad from inside his jacket and gave me one last glare before beginning the process of gathering witness statements.

I walked away from the scene and turned the corner. I pressed my finger against my ear, activating the communications link. “Power Brain, you there?”

“I’m here. Phantasm just reported in and told us what happened. Mister Manpower said to tell you that you two did a good job.”

“I’m going to make another sweep around the area before heading back. Kayo out.”

“I must say, playing the hero really does seem to suit you.” The voice that came from behind me turned my blood to ice and made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

I turned to see the face I could have gone the rest of my life without running into again. Not that it was a face hard to look at. The immaculate black silk suit with a light blue tie he wore hid the chiseled torso I knew intimately. Doctor Maniac stepped out of the alcove of the building behind him. His sandy blonde hair was a little longer than I recalled and there might have been a few more gray hairs as well. Otherwise, he still had the determined chin and the wry smile that had taken my breath away years ago, when I had seen him for the first time and been instantly smitten.

I really couldn’t give him a thorough examination, due to my attention being pulled to the two well-endowed blondes that stepped out behind him. “Martin,” I said, trying not to scream the word. “What the hell do you want?”

He held up his hands in a gesture that seemed to say ‘I’m harmless.’ However I knew better. “Just to see you, darling.”

“Well, turn on the TV. You can see me there all the time.”

“Maybe I prefer to lay eyes upon you in person.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Maybe I’ll lay my hands on you,
in person
, and haul your ass to jail.”

Martin’s eyes swept back and forth over me and his grin widened. “You haven’t changed a bit. Still as feisty and beautiful as ever. Of course, we both know you won’t arrest me. It’s not worth the risk.”

I clenched my jaw and stuck my chin. “Don’t be so sure. I might still be angry that you left me to rot in prison.” I didn’t think it prudent to inform him that my incarceration had been my own doing. “I never guessed you would abandon me so easily.”

“I didn’t abandon you. I merely assumed that the authorities would disapprove of my showing up on Visitation Days. I was going to break you out, really, but first one thing, then another happened. I got … distracted.”

I nodded at the blonde duo standing behind him. “Yeah, I can see that.”

He followed my gaze and then laughed softly as he turned back to me. “Oh, base jealousy doesn’t suit you, darling. Laura and Amanda have only been with me a couple of months.”

One of the two stepped forward and slid a slender arm around his waist. I wasn’t sure if she was giving a warning to me or if she was just reminding Martin that she was there.
What. Ever
. I got over my infatuation with Martin during my stint in prison. The other girl followed suit and took up a position on his other side. I pointed at them and arched a brow. They weren’t twins but looked enough alike to definitely be related. “Sisters?” I asked.

Martin laughed again and shook his head. “Actually, no. They didn’t even know each other until I introduced them. Uncanny, isn’t it? How similar they are in appearance?” I gave him a disinterested shrug and his smile faltered. He stepped back from their embrace and cleared his throat. “Girls, why don’t you show Karen your true faces?”

The two blondes looked at him and then to each other.  The air around both shimmied and warbled as the girl on the right shrunk several inches, her skin darkening to an olive complexion. The other remained the same height as before, but her hair turned dark brown shade and she seemed to gain about fifty pounds.

“Ta-da!” Martin spread his arms as if he’d just pulled off a grand magic trick. “What do you think? Pretty neat, right?”

I tilted my head to the side, studying the girls for a moment. Then I looked at Martin. “Light Manipulation?” Though if that was the case, they’d have to be at least a Class Four to make such a convincing illusion.

He shook his head. “No. They are true metamorphs.”

I blinked and couldn’t stop my mouth dropping open in surprise. True shape-shifters were rare. Almost as rare as Teleporters and Temporal Manipulators. Most could only make minor alterations to their physical appearance. Hair color. Eye color. That sort of thing. But being able to alter and hold hundreds of changes simultaneously? That was pretty damned impressive.

The two girls looked to each other again and resumed their busty blonde forms. I turned back to Martin. “True … your handiwork?”

He nodded. “Yes. It didn’t take a lot of effort to ramp up their powers and give them full control over their shifting. They can even do voices, too. Want to hear?”

I shook my head and looked at the girls again. “They aren’t identical. I figured they would be.”

He shrugged. “They were, at first. I thought the twin thing would be exciting and kinky. But then I kept calling them the wrong names and they got annoyed so …”

I really didn’t need to hear much more. I knew firsthand how adventurous Martin could be in the bedroom. And the living room. Not to mention the back of an armored car. I had lost track of the number of times he’d attempted to talk me into a ménage a trios. He was finally able to get what he always wanted.

For a moment, I wondered if he missed not having me as one of the participants in his realized fantasy. Then the horrid reality of the blonde bimbos’ abilities jumped to the forefront and I turned to Martin with a glare. “Please, please, please tell me that you don’t have one of them shape-shift into me.” I felt nauseous at just the thought of it.

“Of course not. I would never be so crass as to have
one
of them do such a thing.” Martin smiled a grin I knew all too well. One that said the evil you thought was coming didn’t even scratch the surface. “Ladies, if you wouldn’t mind showing Karen our new game.”

Both blondes sighed and the one on the left tossed in a groaning, “Fine.” They both blurred again for a moment before becoming identical images of me. Not as I was two years ago, but the version of me standing right there on the street in front of them. I couldn’t believe that he would have them morph into my replicas so he could get his freak on.

I balled my hands into fists and debated on if I should punch Martin or the girls. Part of me suggested all three. I cocked my hip to the side and gave him little sneer. “You could barely keep up with just one of me, Martin. How do you ever satisfy two?”

Martin’s smile widened. “I don’t have to do all the work,” he said and nodded to my “twins”. They moved closer to each other, embracing affectionately as they locked mouths in a deep, R-rated exchange of tongues. An unhappy feeling formed in my belly as I stood there in shocked silence and watched myself make out with … myself.

I was fairly certain I was going to hurl if they kept at it. I tore my gaze away from the amorous duo and narrowed my eyes at my ex. “You can either have them stop, Martin. Or I’ll stop them for you.” I held up my fist. “They might be able to look like me, but I doubt they’re as indestructible as me.”

He sighed and snapped his fingers. “That’s enough, girls. Let’s save some for when we get back home.” The two me’s broke apart—a bit too slowly, in my opinion—and shifted back into their busty, blonde, non-Karen forms. Martin continued looking pleased with himself and winked at me. “What would it be like to watch three of you do that, I wonder?”

I didn’t miss the invitation buried in his musing. “Forget it,” I said “Stand-ins and doppelgangers are the
only
way you’re ever going to see me naked again. Have fun with your dolls, Martin. I’m leaving.”

I strode past him and up the street before I lost control and attempted to see if I could use osmosis to push him through a concrete wall. Of course, just as pissed as I was about Martin trying to get back into my life, I was equally upset with myself for feeling a slight pang of jealousy about not being the one with him. Was I really so firmly entrenched in the love I’d once had that I wouldn’t ever be able to shake him off?