Holy guacamole!
On the screen are images of other supers. But I haven’t seen these guys before. I count the images. There are twelve. Some have costumes, but there are a few who are just in normal clothes wearing eye masks.
“Umm, I don’t actually know who they are.” I say and shrug.
He presses a button, and the images become video footage.
Whoa. One of them is actually grabbing a ladies bag and then vanishing in a blur. He looks fairly young. Slim build, long black hair, dark skinned, maybe Hispanic. Hard to tell.
Another video shows a young girl, maybe my age. She’s walking across the road away from the person filming her, so I only see her back. I see a taxi bearing down on her, but before it hits, there’s a flash of what looks like light, but it’s black in color, then she’s gone.
One scene shows people looking up at a tall office building. Someone points up. The person filming leans back and the camera shows the top of the building. It’s blurred at first, then the camera auto-focuses and there’s a man standing on a ledge. A jumper? People scream as he hurls himself off.
A couple of seconds later, his body hits the sidewalk with a sickening crunch. People gasp in horror, then gasp in amazement as he starts moving. He climbs awkwardly to his feet, looks around and then staggers away. His face looks disappointed.
“Wow.” I’m completely shocked by what I’ve just seen.
“It seems Chicago is not the only home for supers. These were taken from all over.” Terrence says and points to an image of a young man flying. “This was taken in Seattle.” He points to another video image showing an older woman, maybe in her thirties, lifting a fallen tree from a heavily damaged car, with just one hand. “That was taken in Oklahoma.”
I nod in understanding.
“I knew we weren’t the only ones who Devlin experimented on.” I say.
“What did he do?” Terrence asks and sits forward in his chair.
“It’s not something I want to talk about, if I’m honest. I don’t want to give another madman any bright ideas.”
He looks a little deflated by my response. But I stand by what I said.
“That’s a fair point. Okay. Now what would you like to say to people out there, who are scared about you and your powers? I mean, there has been talk that you have been a little heavy handed.” He says and sits back in his chair behind his desk.
“With some people, maybe.” I agree.
“Six men were admitted to hospital with broken arms, a fractured collar bone and several broken ribs. They blamed you for their injuries. Would you care to comment?”
“If it’s what I’m thinking of, then yes, I was. But that was when I had just gained my powers. It was all still new to me. I didn’t know how strong I was back then.” I say quickly.
“Things are different now. I hope people will see that I’m just trying to help. The police are stretched pretty thin. They can’t get to every situation. That’s where we come in. I hope that in time, people will begin to trust us.” I add.
My palms are beginning to sweat inside my purple gloves.
“I’m not going to judge you. There are always two sides to every story. But what would you like to say to these individuals?”
“Well, I think that I would say....” I turn to one of the cameras. “If you hadn’t shot and killed a young boy, nothing would have happened.”
I hear an ‘Ooh’ from the audience, and a few guys yell, ‘Hell, yeah’.
I turn back and smile at Terrence. He swallows a chuckle, and then composes himself.
“I’d like to talk about what happened in Las Vegas.” Terrence says cautiously.
Oh, yeah. That.
“I just needed to ask someone some questions. That’s all.” I say innocently.
In truth, we stormed The Bellagio and interrogated a mob boss and scared some staff. Nothing major.
“And the shooting?” He asks and points to the screen behind me.
I look up and it shows Paul in full costume with his white-gloved hands stretched out in front of him. A dozen security men are shooting at him.
“Oh, that? A simple misunderstanding. I guess we gave them the wrong impression.” I say and smile sheepishly at the camera.
“Apparently, you are now banned from the state of Nevada.” Terrence adds as he reads a slip of paper on his desk.
“That’s a shame.” I say. I doubt I’ll be going back there anyway.
“And what happened with Devlin De Marco?” He asks. “Is it true you destroyed his private jet?” He adds after a few seconds.
“No. That was Devlin. He started shooting, and then....” I make an explosion with my hands.
“So, how do you feel about his escape? I mean, you tracked him down, and now he’s loose again.”
I feel annoyed, angry, upset, frustrated.....
“It surprised me.” I say instead.
“Now that all of his assets have been frozen, what do you think he’ll do now?”
“Devlin is a very dangerous man. He’s capable of anything. But I don’t know what he’s going to do. Whatever it is, it’s not good.”
“He can fly, and looks pretty powerful. How are you going to catch him?”
The billion dollar question. How do you stop a super?
“I caught him once. I’ll get him again.” I say casually.
‘Better wrap this up. Police have entered the building. ’ I hear Beth’s sultry voice inside my head.
I get up from the couch.
“Which camera is it?” I ask Terrence.
He points to a camera on my left. I see the red light beneath the lens. I turn and look into the camera.
“If you’re seeing this Devlin. I’ll be seeing you, real soon. If anyone sees Devlin, do not approach him. He is extremely dangerous. Please, just alert the authorities.”
I turn to Terrence, just as the studio doors at the rear burst open. Police officers in full combat gear head toward us.
“I don’t want any trouble!” I call out to the police officers.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. What the hell?” Terrence says as he stands up.
“You are the fugitive known as Cosmic Girl?” A tall burly police officer shouts while aiming his assault rifle at my face from twenty feet away.
“I’m not a fugitive.” I reply, and hover in the air with my purple-gloved hands on my hips. “I’ve done nothing but help people.”
“Please stay where you are. Don’t move.” He barks at me.
Beth. A little help, please?
The lead police officer with the assault rifle takes a step forward, before crying out in pain and dropping to the floor. The other men behind him all do the same.
What did you do, Beth?
‘I call it a mind blast. It won’t last long. You better go.’
“I’m really sorry about this. I hope you got something useful.” I say and hold out my purple gloved-hand to Terrence.
He looks at the police officers with an expression of shock mixed with curiosity. He gingerly takes my hand, and I shake it gently.
“Thank you.” Terrence says, and I smile back before turning and flying back towards the curtains.
I make it back into the corridor and glide swiftly to the rear door. Once outside, I spot some armed policemen heading towards me.
They stop abruptly and we look at each other for a second. I wink, before shooting straight up. In a couple of seconds, I’m already above the clouds and looking into a beautiful clear blue sky.
Well, I think that went well. It showed a different side to me. I’m not always scary. At least, I hope I’m not. Well, people can make their own minds up now. At least I got a chance to tell my side of the story. That reminds me. I need to see Mitchell. He’s been holding out on me.
How is it that he’s completely bulletproof?
I’m glad he is. But why has he been hiding this from me?
Four
“I didn’t want you to feel bad.” Mitchell says ov
er his cup of cappuccino.
We’re sitting in a Starbucks at a table near the back. There’s only a few people sitting nearby. A lady has her nose stuck in a book, while a guy is glued to his laptop.
“Why would I feel bad? Bullets don’t hurt you. That’s great.” I say.
“Look, it’s not a big deal.” Mitchell says and waves his hand dismissively. “Anyway, how did it go today?” He says and takes another sip of his cappuccino.
“Okay, I think.” I say and shrug. “Of course, police waving guns around didn’t help. But I hope that people can see that I’m not some lunatic on a power trip.”
“Beth told me about the other supers out there.” Mitchell says. “Devlin’s really started something, huh?”
“I still don’t get why.” I shake my head. Then I lean closer over the table between us. “There were supers committing crimes. One guy tried to off himself.” I say and roll my eyes.
“Honestly, some people...” I say and trail off as I stare out of the window. I scan the streets quickly, and listen carefully for anything out of the ordinary.
“I guess not everyone’s a comic book fan like you.” Mitchell says.
“You’re not a comic book fan.” I point out. “You’re not robbing people.”
He merely shrugs and sits back in his seat.
“I guess we’re going to have to keep an eye out, if any of them show up here.” Mitchell says after a few seconds.
“I don’t want these people giving us a bad name. It’s bad enough as it is.” I complain and pout.
“Not sure what we can do about it. Just try and keep our noses clean, I guess.”
“Easier said than...” My cell phone starts ringing.
I dig it out from my Chinese lucky cat backpack, and check the number. It’s not displaying a number.
“Huh?” I flip it open. “Hello?”
“Miss Brookes, we need your help.” A stern male voice says.
“Who is this? How did you get this number?”
“That is not important. I must speak with you. It’s imperative that we meet.”
“Look mister, I think you have the wrong person, I can’t help...”
“Please, Cosmic Girl. Your country needs you.”
I quickly hang up. My heart is racing. He knows who I am?
“What’s wrong? You look pale.” Mitchell asks and reaches for my hand across the table.
“He knew who I was.” I say numbly as the information is still being registered.
I feel sick.
I lay my cell phone on the table and look at it suspiciously.
It looks like my phone. I don’t think anyone could have gotten to it without me noticing. How the hell did he get my number, and how does he know that I’m Cosmic Girl?
“How? We’ve been careful. How did he get your number?” Mitchell asks.
I shake my head and slowly sip my cappuccino. I look up out of the window, and notice above the streetlight something I haven’t noticed before. A small security camera.
“Oh, no.” I say, and point up at the camera.
Mitchell turns and looks up through the window.
“Damn. I haven’t noticed them before.” Mitchell says and then sits back looking grimly at the table. “I don’t remember seeing that last week.” He says and then takes another look. “Yeah, it looks new.”
“It has to be the Feds.” I say and place my cup down shakily. “Or do you think it’s the C.I.A.?” I add.
“I don’t like this.” Mitchell says and drains the last of his coffee and then sets his cup down. He cracks his knuckles and a small crooked smile appears on his handsome face. “You wanna get rid of them?” He asks.
I don’t like the idea of vandalizing government property, but I don’t see how I have a choice. I’ve got to have my freedom. I can’t have someone looking over my shoulder, watching my every move.
I nod in agreement. Mitchell pays the check, then we both get up and leave.
I don’t trust my cell phone anymore, so I call out to Beth in my head.
Beth? Can you tell everyone to meet us at the beach tonight after midnight? Oh, and make sure everyone is in costume.
‘Sure. What’s up?’ Beth’s sultry voice asks inside my head after a few minutes.
I’ll tell you all when we meet. See you later.
‘Okay. See you.’
“We’ll take care of our little problem tonight.” I say to Mitchell as we stand on the sidewalk and look up at the CCTV camera on top of the streetlight.
“I wonder how many there are?” He replies and smiles down at me.
“I guess we’re gonna find out.” I reply and grin up at the camera as I flex my fingers, then clench them into fists.
It’s just after midnight when I open my bedroom window and poke my head out. I’m already wearing my Cosmic Girl costume with pink glittery eye mask. I snap my Chinese luck cat backpack in place, then will myself up from my pink carpet. I fly out through my window and look up at the stars as I rocket towards the heavens.
I only travel at three hundred miles per hour. I don’t want to wake my dad. He hasn’t been sleeping well lately. He hasn’t said anything, but I can tell by the dark rings around his bloodshot eyes.
I wish he would talk to me. I know it’s because of me and what I’m getting up to now. I hope he doesn’t find out what I am going to do tonight.
Oh, god. What if he does find out?
I sigh as I fly towards Lake Michigan, which is no more than a huge expanse of blackness up ahead in the gloom. I can picture his disappointed face looking down at me as I own up to mass vandalism.
I really hate that I have to do this. It goes against everything that I was raised to value. But I can’t risk someone else seeing us getting changed into our costumes with these stupid CCTV cameras.
One man knowing who I am is bad enough, whoever he is.
I wonder if he knows about my friends? No more time for that now.
I descend towards the beach quickly and touch down lightly on to the firm wet sand. The others are waiting in the shadows.
“Hey, guys.” I call out as I walk towards them.
“So, where do we start?” Stuart asks as he steps forward in his blue and white unitard. Lighting crackles around his hands and his eyes glow white behind his blue skiing goggles.
“You guys know the score?” I ask as I get closer.
“Big Brother’s watching? We can’t have that.” Paul says and cracks his knuckles. He’s decked out in his magician’s costume, white cotton gloves, and, oh yeah, the black cape complete with red lining.
I shake my head as I approach. “You’re still rocking the cape, huh?” I ask.
“Someone has to. We’re Supers.” Paul says and rises slowly from the sand. His cape billows slightly in the night breeze coming off the lake.
I turn my attention to Mitchell when he saunters over to me wearing his black and red motorcycle outfit, complete with helmet. His visor is already down. The outfit accentuates his already impressive physique, making him look even bigger than he already is. I’m always surprised when criminals don’t just turn and run when they see him.
He reaches out with his gloved hand and strokes my cheek.
“I-Spy. We’re going to need you to co-ordinate. Make sure we don’t collide at high speed.” He says in his deep muffled voice as his visor looks down at me.
“Yeah. That might hurt.” Paul agrees and nudges Beth with his elbow playfully.
“I’ll try and keep up.” Beth replies with a sour expression.
“Volt. Can you feel how many there are out there?” I ask as I tear myself away from Mitchell.
“If we can find one, then maybe I can get a feel for what it sounds like.” Stuarts says, and begins walking towards North Shore Drive.
We follow Stuart as he heads towards a streetlight. I look up, and sure enough, there’s a small CCTV camera perched on top. The camera is rotating from left to right as it stares down at the sidewalk. We stop a
good distance away.
Stuart looks up at it and tilts his head to the right, as if listening. I watch as he raises his right hand up at the camera, then his hand begins to glow blue before pulsing.
Stuart rotates his hand so that it’s now palm up, then he flexes his fingers.
It’s hard to describe what I’m seeing. I’ve never seen Stuart do this before. A pale light, almost like a moonbeam, shoots out from his hand and hits the camera. The camera jerks to the right a couple of times, before it snaps up and gazes at the buildings opposite.
“Interesting.” Stuart murmurs quietly. He moves his fingers back and forth in a tickling motion. He then clenches his fist and the camera emits sparks before tilting downwards.
Stuart turns back to us with eyes blazing white.
“There are thousands, guys.” Stuart says and blinks a few times. “It was really cool.” He says and grins. “It was like the entire city was a circuit board, and I could strip away the layers and find the small capacitors.”
“Umm, yeah, okay.” Paul says and gives Stuart a toothy grin.
“Thousands?” I grumble and look up at the now dead camera. Well, that’s one down.
Cosmic Girl: Looking For Trouble: superhero series for young adults - Book Two Page 3