“Yeah, I think I am,” said Lisa, “But it kills me inside to think I’m just letting that jerk get away with all that he’s done. For me it’s personal. Besides, what have I really got to lose?”
“You have a point. Honey, this is your decision, of course. Far be it from me to talk you out of courage toward a good cause. I’ll tell you what. Maybe that is where I can be of help. I’m here to shop anyway. I’ll be around in case of an emergency. You know, I’ll be able to hear or see if anything does happen. Here I feel okay about using my powers. You are the one taking action, and I’m sure you will act with integrity. All I will do is look out for your safety.”
“Wow! Thank you. But now, you know what? I have no idea what to do about this. I feel like I’m back to square one.”
“This is tricky. If you’ve already gone through the appropriate channels, then I’m not sure of your next step. It would be easier if there were a union, but…”
“No way!” laughed Lisa with ill humor, “Not in this store. Training in The Big Box includes a big anti-union video.”
“Right,” said Betty, “Shame, but unfortunately this is where they’re blocked. But even so, this situation is hurting the store whether the manager realizes it or not. It’s a huge blow to productivity when employees don’t even feel safe around their supervisor. That causes huge turnover, and poorer work habits among those who stay, and low morale even among the most faithful…”
“…And of course, our wonderful store manager blames the low morale of the employees on the employees.”
“Very short sighted. And that’s the tip of the iceberg. Companies get sued over these things. They really should be aware of it. Your supervisor is also behaving very unprofessionally, and you know something? He’s cheating the store. I’m sure your store manager would find that very interesting, don’t you? I mean, that kind of shenanigan would get her in trouble too if it was going on under her nose and she didn’t discover it.”
“So what do I do?”
“Well Lisa, whatever you think of is best. I trust in your wisdom. But do you want my suggestion? Is there anyone you trust, with at least a little more status?”
“I’ve been talking to Maria. As the runner, she’s one step above me.”
“Then maybe you can try conferring with her first. You can even see if she’ll go in to talk to the store manager with you. That will at least give the matter a little more weight. Look, try it. The worst you can do is fail.”
“Sounds a little overwhelming.”
“It won’t seem so much so once you do it. You aren’t alone. But please, before you do anything, remember that this is your decision. You are under no obligation. Do you want to do this?”
“You know what Mrs. B? I do!”
“Then I’m proud of you!” declared Betty. “Remember. This is your mission. And my dear, you are up to it, I promise. You know right from wrong, and you have the conviction to follow your conscience. You are honest and decent, and courageous too. You are a woman, and if that’s not good enough then nothing is.”
“Thank you so much, Mrs. B!”
“Always, my dear.”
“I do have a question though. When Hal punched out, he was just taking his break between split shifts, and he was supposed to come back after three hours. When Bonnie punched out, she said to expect him back for his late shift. Now if she’s taking him into space, how is she ever getting back with him in three hours?”
“What?! Three hours? How would she…”
“Is that bad?”
“You know what? Let me worry about that. You now have a mission of your own, and that is what is most important to you right now. In fact, call me later, and we’ll debrief about it.”
“Okay,” said Lisa nervously, “I guess I’m on my way.”
“One moment dear,” said Betty, “You know, Bonnie does have something she says when she transforms. I thought it was silly and unnecessary…”
“Oh yeah. I remember. You told me.”
“Now that I think about it, there is some point to a little motivation. Up to you, dear. Obviously it won’t give you superpowers, but…”
“Why not. Here goes.”
Lisa took a deep breath, and stood up straight. She said the words out loud, “Infinite Power!”
Nothing happened outwardly. Lisa Lin was still Lisa Lin, a short young woman from Queens in a Big Box shirt and khaki pants. But inwardly, as far as she was concerned, she had just transitioned to hero mode.
“Alright Mrs. B,” she said confidently, “I’m ready.”
As Lisa started back inside, an idea came to her. As soon as she thought of it, she stopped short. It scared her. Everything about it made her uncomfortable. For a moment, she was filled with dread.
But then she thought about her fear, and realized why she was afraid. This wasn’t about foolish or reckless behavior. It wasn’t something that would harm her senselessly. This was the fear of things that carried risk, but which had to be done. This was that fear that courage was made for, the fear that she had to conquer. On the other side of that fear, there was her goal.
Lisa entered nervously, expecting comments on the earlier incident. However nobody seemed to notice her arrival amidst the growing activity of the evening rush. After a moment, she was approached by Maria.
“Lisa,” she said, “I’m glad you’re back.”
“Uh…yeah,” said Lisa, “I’m going to need to talk to you in a couple of minutes.”
“So, I know you’re in trouble with Denny. But whatever he tries to do, remember he hasn’t actually fired you unless you go through the exit interview.”
“Actually, I don’t know what might happen. In a few minutes, those distinctions might be irrelevant.”
Quietly, Lisa sneaked into the electronics section. She saw Teddy straightening up by the video cameras. As she came closer, it became clear that he was mostly just trying to look busy.
“Teddy,” said Lisa, “How goes it?”
“Yo Lis!” said Teddy, “That was awesome what you did to Denny! We were just talking…”
“Shhh! Thank you. But Teddy, can I please ask you to speak quietly? I have a favor to ask.”
Lisa buzzed by customer service. It didn’t take long before she saw Denny.
“I thought I sent you home,” he said crossly.
“Oh, you did,” said Lisa, “I’m off the clock now. But there’s nothing stopping me from talking to Yvonne.”
“I can stop you. You do, and you’re fired.”
“Well, nobody can ever accuse you of being too subtle.”
“Did you hear me?” shouted Denny, “I’ll do it right now! I have the power to fire anyone. You won’t even make it to Yvonne’s door.”
“Okay,” said Lisa, “Actually that’s great. That makes me a customer. I’m going to complain to the store manager about the service here. I hear the head of this department is never around when you need him.”
Lisa continued walking towards the back. Denny looked very nervous. Before she got more than a few feet past the registers, he shouted to Lisa, “I need to talk to you!”
“What do you want?” said Lisa.
“I’m sure you want to hear this,” said Denny. He motioned to the wall and said, “Just over here, okay.”
“Okay, but I don’t know what you can say that can fix this.”
As Lisa and Denny stalked over to the wall, Julia watched from behind the customer service desk. There was ominous whispering behind her, in the electronics department.
“Look,” said Denny quietly, “I don’t think either of us wants this whole thing to get out in the open. I don’t want it. You don’t want it. Am I right?”
“So…?”
“So, I think we can work out a little something to make this better for you, so we can both forget about the whole thing. Are you listening?”
“I think listening is what I’ve been doing this whole time, but if you mean…”
“Why don’t you pic
k out a few items, a bunch of nice things. I’ll check you out, and you’ll get a big discount.”
“So you want to bribe me now?”
“Now listen, this isn’t gonna be like that. I just want to do you a favor…”
“But let’s be clear. You want to help me steal a lot of things so I’ll shut up.”
“Well, that’s not what I…”
“Forget it! I’m not going to be part of this.”
Denny began to get threatening. Getting closer to her, he whispered in an angry tone, “You’d better think about this, little girl! I’m tryin’ to do you a favor, but you’re tryin’ to be some kind of bitch. If you’re gonna try to mess with me, there’s gonna be consequences. You think you can get away with this…”
“You’re kidding! You think I have to be concerned about what I might have to ‘get away with?’”
“Shhh! Now hold on!” said Denny, still in a whisper.
“Yeah. You want me to…”
“You better stop right now!” he said, now above a whisper, “You’re in bigger trouble than you think.”
“Oh no!” said Lisa, “I’m in trouble with Denny!”
“Don’t you talk to me in that tone, you little skank!” snapped Denny.
“Oh! Keep saying that. I think the whole store needs to hear this.”
Denny was now shouting, and again getting in her face, “You better shut up right now, or you’re in deep trouble!”
“Trouble for what?”
“Oh, don’t worry!” said Denny, “I’ll find something, even if I have to make something up!”
Lisa looked across customer service to Teddy, who was holding a camera just over the low wall in electronics. “And scene!” she announced.
At the sight of the camera, Denny became furious. He ran to the wall by Teddy and shouted, “Give me that!”
Teddy ran away from the partition, just far enough to be out of reach. Denny shot Lisa a look to kill. Lisa barely acknowledged him. She moved closer to Teddy and shouted, “Did you get that on the monitors?”
“Oh yeah,” said Teddy, “Every word.”
“Are you crazy?” shouted Denny, “You’ll get in trouble for that!”
“Oh yeah, Mistah!” said Lisa mockingly, “I’m cray cray like you never seen!”
At that, Julia shot Lisa a look of surprise, rather like one who has just seen a parakeet chase a cat. Meanwhile, Rafi came running up from electronics, yelling at Teddy. “Do you realize what you just did? Come over here right now!”
“Okay,” said Lisa, “Maybe I shouldn’t have involved him.”
Customers were beginning to gather around to see the spectacle. Denny was furious, but beginning to find hope in Lisa’s foolish move. “Yeah. You’re going to lose your job. Yvonne will hear about that. She’s gonna fire you.”
“I wonder,” smirked Lisa, “Will she? She does seem to miss an awful lot. I mean, I heard what your friend said. Hal was almost killed by that guy last week, the robber who got right past because they had the cameras off. You know, because you told them to.”
Suddenly Yvonne’s voice came over the loudspeaker, “Lisa Lin, please come to the store manager’s office.”
Denny shot Lisa a look to kill. He tried to keep his composure, directing venom at her, “Now you’re definitely going to lose your job.”
“And guess what,” taunted Lisa, “Now I have nothing to lose. I’m telling her everything.”
Maria clapped her hands and cheered. “About time someone went ahead with this! I’m going with you.”
“That’s awesome!” said Lisa, “Let’s do this!”
They started back towards Yvonne’s office. Lisa half expected Denny to chase her, but he just stormed away, apparently heading for security. Though he was scarcely being watched, he was intercepted along the way by Bobbi.
Lisa smiled at Maria as they walked, but she felt some nervousness inside. She wondered if she might be in over her head. She thought about how many other secrets she might stumble on now. Was she about to discover some more hard truths?
Nadine was listening intently to the commotion from a few feet away. As Lisa and Maria began to move toward the back, she came to a decision. Seeing Isha returning from the bathroom, she pulled her aside.
“Isha, can you handle the my line?”
“Sure, but what are you…”
“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll be back.”
Isha took over Nadine’s line. She watched Nadine as she joined Lisa and Maria, perhaps thinking of joining them herself. But her attention was diverted when she saw Denny approaching the customer service desk.
Listening to the commotion as she shopped, Betty felt a certain pride in Lisa. Yet she also felt a great weight upon her.
“That girl of mine!” she said under her breath, “When I’m done talking to her, she’s going to wish she was dealing with Misery.”
But when she thought about it, she wasn’t really angry. If she was honest with herself, this had everything to do with her too. She had acquiesced in her daughter’s headstrong behavior, even quietly aided and abetted it. And now Bonnie was being very reckless, taking a human with her on a dangerous mission, and then working a strange time manipulation on top of that. She was beginning to wonder if she was right to trust her to use her powers publicly at all. But now it was too late. She only hoped her daughter’s actions would not result in dire consequences. Her only consolation was that apparently the whole mission would be ending soon, for better or worse.
As she turned a corner, she faced the customer service desk from a distance. She suddenly noticed something that looked wrong. As she used her super senses to look closer, she could confirm that there was something very strange indeed.
23. Cruel Revelation
Ms. Infinity took off in a flash. She covered many, many parts of Starship Infinity, the vast majority of which Hal had never seen, but to no avail. She flew to every possible exit, then through, then through all the play areas, then the hallways. It was finally when her super hearing picked up a shriek that she flew in the right direction at last.
It was a hallway Hal had never tried before. It had been made inaccessible by the height of its entrance, for it led to danger. It connected to a vast, empty area that she had not taken any care in developing yet. At the very end of the hallway, there was nothing. It was darkness, a void only just subject to the ship’s atmospheric conditioning. There was no floor, no ceiling, and no walls beyond its entry limits. It was simply darkness.
Misery was floating some distance from the entrance with Hal in a headlock. He was looking terrified. His legs were kicking in a futile attempt at protest.
“Don’t struggle, pet,” said Misery, “There is no need. You can’t get away from me. It will be over soon enough.”
Misery’s hands groped him greedily. Hal was so terrified he could not speak.
“Yeah, I see what it’s about,” she said, “It’s fun to be the most powerful person around. She takes whatever she wants. Well I can do that too.”
She started to transform. Her face became a mask of vengeance, her eyes burning like fire, her teeth turning into sharp fangs. But then suddenly there was a voice behind.
“Damn, Misery. I thought I was bad at romance. But you, you’re not even doing ‘vampire’ right.”
Misery’s face changed back before she spoke. “You forget I had some of those idiot superhero comic books with me. I recognize the banter, and I hate it. Do that again, and I’ll kill this animal on the spot.”
“Then listen to common sense. This is your chance at freedom, and you’re messing it up. Let him go now, and you can still go home, no consequences. But you can’t possibly think that this will get you anywhere. It’s the death of you. As soon as you try anything, it will all be over. You know I am far more powerful than you.”
Misery’s face became twisted with rage. “You disgusting little slut! Do you know how much I hate you? I don’t care if I die! It will be worth it to see you su
ffer, even if it’s just for a second. I’d rather…”
Hal noticed a knowing glance given to him by Ms. Infinity. His arm became free as Misery ranted, and he used it to jab her backwards in the face. It did all but nothing to harm her, but she was startled. Immediately after that, she was hit with a sharp metal object like a boomerang. She instantly dropped Hal, and he went falling into the void. He would have screamed if he could have. But an instant later, he was in the arms of Ms. Infinity once again.
Ms. Infinity laughed as she caught her weapon. “She couldn’t have read the comics too carefully, or she’d know the whole point was to distract her. At least that was how I understand banter.”
“Oh thank goodness!” said Hal, “I can’t possibly thank you enough. But I thought you didn’t use weapons.”
“When did I say that?”
“Fine!” shouted Misery, “But I’m still free to go home.”
Ms. Infinity shot Misery a look to kill. Misery flinched, and flew away back through the hallway.
“Now that I think of it,” said Ms. Infinity, “She might have been going for ‘werewolf.’ That she had more or less down, except that she barely has to transform.”
“Where did you keep that weapon?” asked Hal.
“The kitchen.”
Ms. Infinity flew with Hal back to the main hall. Misery was not there, but it did not take long to guess where she was. There was one door closed, and it was the TV studio.
Holding Hal, she quietly floated to the outside of the studio. She then put him down and stood right outside the door and listened carefully. Here she was particularly dismayed at what she heard, and could otherwise surmise from the action inside.
Misery had her communicator; indeed she’d had it all along. But that was the least of her treachery right now. For now she was playing the video, but only the beginning section, the part where Ms. Infinity had been hit by the chunk of the asteroid. And within that video, Ms. Infinity had communicated in the matter of their people that she was Bland Beauty. And in that communication, her identity was indeed verified, for each person of Center had a unique signature that could not be mistaken. And so Misery was communicating to General Strongman that she had defeated Bland Beauty, and killed her. And the General’s reaction was as no doubt expected, but no less shocking for his cruelty.
Ms. Infinity (Book 1): Earth's Greatest Hero Page 24