by Bryan Cohen
Ted scrunched up his face before relaxing his features. "I could've run away, you know. I had a chance to fake my death in Florida. Maybe I could've gone somewhere where nobody would know me."
Erica ignored the anger that bubbled up. Confronting him about this new piece of information wouldn't make the situation any better. She rubbed his back. "I'm glad you didn't."
Ted's voice broke. "I could make everyone forget. Just change everybody's brain so they don't know I'm a hero."
Erica felt a knot in her stomach. She leaned over and kissed Ted on the cheek. "I don't think that'd be a good idea."
Ted forced a smile and kissed Erica back. "I know." He took a deep breath and let it out. "I won't. It just all seems too unbearable sometimes."
Erica turned Ted's head toward her. "You can handle all of this, Ted. There'll be moments when it's too much, but if you can deal with it 90 percent of the time, you'll be better than any living soul there ever was."
Erica felt Ted's fingers brush against hers. She was divided right down the middle between wanting him to go and wanting him to curl up next to her in his bed.
Ted looked up as if he heard something through the silence. "Duty calls."
Erica narrowed her eyes as the loudspeaker interrupted her thoughts. "Ted Finley to the principal's office. Ted Finley to the principal's office."
Erica wondered how often Ted was using his new mind reading abilities on her. "They're here?"
Ted nodded. He offered his hand to her, and she took it. They walked down the hallway for what could be the last time in a long while. A few students, assuming Ted was in trouble, let out a few accusatory howls. Erica figured this wasn't the part of school he'd miss the most. Everything they had to convey to each other was done through the pressure of their joined hands. By the time they reached the office, Erica was squeezing Ted as hard as she could.
Agents Vott and Harding were sitting in the office when they arrived. Harding turned his head to the side, as if he didn't expect Erica to be there. She gave him an evil eye in response.
"Enough, you two." Vott took out a folder and passed it to Ted. "There's been another attack. This time in North Carolina. We're moving things–"
"I know." Ted squeezed Erica's hand back. "It's time to go."
"We'll give you two a minute." Vott nodded to Harding. "No flipped tables this time, okay?"
Erica wasn't sure if her eye could get much more evil. After the agents left, Erica wrapped her arms around Ted and pressed herself into him. He did the same and they stayed like that for over a minute.
She pulled back to look him in the eyes. "Call me when you get there."
He took a deep breath and smiled. "Yes, ma'am. I wish you could come."
"Don't worry." She kissed his neck. "You'll be back soon."
Erica wished she knew that statement was a certainty. Ted walked through the office doors, and before long he was gone.
The rest of the day was a blur. Erica didn't retain any information that was sent her way by teachers explaining the next eight months. She barely recalled a single word of the high-pitched yammering of Winny and Beth after school. Erica put off a group meeting with Dhiraj and the gang until the following day. She needed time for some mental recovery. Later that evening, Ted's call to let her know he'd arrived was brief. She recognized the description of the Lychos immediately and gave what pointers she could for their apprehension.
She lay awake in bed well past midnight. The cushy mattress pad beneath her might as well have been concrete. There was only one person in her bed that would soften things, and he was several hundred miles away. As she considered going downstairs for a snack, she heard a noise in her bathroom. The instinctual fear and readiness that came with the chance for battle made her smile.
Home invader, you picked the wrong chick to cross.
She rolled out of bed slowly and crouched down low. The door to her bathroom began to creek open. When the dim figure crept into view, she waited until just the right moment to strike. With a swift kick through the legs, the man toppled to the ground. Erica tried to jump on top of him, but the intruder rolled away at the last second and kicked up to his feet. She popped up off the ground and rapidly punched at him. He blocked two blows before a third one knocked him on the jaw. When he tried to swing back, Erica ducked his arm and leapt onto his back. As she began to squeeze, the man turned on the bathroom light.
Erica could see in the mirror that she was choking the life out of Yoshi. She growled, hopped off and pushed him into the sink. "Damn it, Yoshi."
Yoshi wore a sheepish grin as he rubbed at his throat. "Sorry, Kikuchiyo. I didn't mean to startle you."
Erica ran her hands through her hair and walked into other room. Yoshi followed. They sat on the edge of her bed.
"It's Erica." She shook her head. "What are you even doing here?"
Yoshi brought his hands together and sat up straight. "I think you need to see this." He removed a photograph from his pocket.
Erica snatched it out of his hand. "You could've called." She looked at the picture in the light.
She'd seen the image shared all over social media. It was Senator Kable and Sophie Kent.
"Yoshi. In the modern world, when you want to share a picture with someone, you post it on their page. You don't break into their house in the middle of the night."
Yoshi grinned. "Facebook isn't allowed in the Academy, but evidence is."
Erica looked at the picture more closely. "Why is this evidence?"
Yoshi took the photo back and tucked it away. "There were over 100 pictures taken of the senator in the hospital. The picture with the girl was the only one without multiple patients."
Erica felt her heartbeat start to decrease after her fight or flight response dissipated. "You think the senator had something to do with her disappearance? It's not a lot to go on."
Yoshi nodded. "I'm going to Florida to investigate. Leave school. Come with me."
Erica's instinct was to tell Yoshi he was crazy. If she kicked him out now, there was still a chance she could get an hour or two of shuteye. Once that feeling passed, she let herself ponder the thought. With Ted off working for the government, potentially for the rest of senior year, did she even need her high school cover any longer? Besides, the government knew who she really was anyway and there was no telling how they'd treat her going forward if the war were to escalate.
"I don't know, Yoshi. I've got a life here."
Yoshi probed her with his eyes. "One that wasn't even yours to begin with."
He has a point.
Yoshi stood up and shook out the leg she'd kicked. "I want to leave as soon as possible. Let me know your decision." He walked to the window and turned back. "You can't protect him right now, so please, protect me."
With that, Yoshi opened the window and leapt out.
Erica lay back down on the bed. Now her chances of getting a few winks before school were even less likely. Yoshi's offer to investigate the Florida incident was tempting. She knew that if she did so, there was no way she'd put her former inhabitant's parents through the same hell again. Erica couldn't run away. If she planned to go she'd have to tell them the truth.
Chapter 20
On the second day of school, Natalie felt a major energy dip in the Treasure High hallways. She could've attributed it to the other students realizing that they weren't just back to see friends but to do work. In reality, she knew it was because resident superhero Ted Finley had left with no definite return date in sight. Aside from their brief encounter in the hall, she hadn't seen much of her ex-boyfriend since he returned to town. Natalie didn't know how to feel when Ted so willingly accepted Travis as her boyfriend. Did she want to see jealousy in his eyes? Maybe. She guessed that since she didn't have many lingering romantic feelings for him, it was fair of him not to throw a hissy fit.
During fifth period study hall, she received a note that had made its way around the room. It didn't survive without a little doodling graffiti of an eagle wearin
g Viking horns and a separate picture of what may have been a bare butt. Natalie opened the note. It was typed, so she couldn't tell who it was from, though she imagined Travis wouldn't have gone to the trouble. With Ted out of the picture, there was only one likely candidate, and that person wanted to meet her in the audio/video room after last period.
"Great. Just what I wanted after my last period lecture. Another lecture."
Natalie considered blowing off the requested meeting, but sure enough, she found herself outside the audio/video room a few minutes after the final bell. Jennifer leaned on the wall beside the door. She was completely oblivious until Natalie tapped her on the shoulder. Jennifer's eyes sprung open as if she'd been in a deep trance.
"Oh, hey."
Natalie leaned beside her. "You alright?"
Jennifer sighed. Natalie had heard all about the field hockey scuffle from her former teammates. To say it was out of the ordinary for Jennifer to beat up an opponent would be an understatement.
"Yeah." She looked at the A/V room door. "Dhiraj doesn't know about the fight. Or the suspension. Please, don't tell him."
"I'm not in the habit of lying to my friends."
Jennifer nibbled at one of her fingernails. "I'm not either, okay? The suspension lasts another couple of days. I promise I'll tell him soon."
Natalie let out a deep breath. "Your secret's safe with me." She opened the door to the room. "Let's just get whatever this is over with."
Jennifer nodded and led Natalie inside. She spied a museum's worth of old equipment as she walked in. She heard a noise on the other side of the room. Natalie's surprise level hit zero when she saw Dhiraj in the corner fiddling with a digital video projector. Jennifer sat down beside him.
Dhiraj clicked the final plug into place. "There we go. Hey, Nat."
Natalie threw her backpack onto an empty chair on the far side of the room. "Hi. Should I expect to be here a while?"
Dhiraj grinned. "As long as it takes."
Jennifer gave Dhiraj a disapproving look and pointed at her watch.
Dhiraj pointed at her. "Right. I meant 20 minutes until Student TV comes in here."
Natalie slumped into the chair beside her bag. "Good. Wasting 20 minutes doesn't sound so bad. Can we get this over with?"
Dhiraj pulled his lower lip over his top one. "Don't hate, Natalie. Don't hate." He pushed a couple of buttons as the lights dimmed and a video began playing.
Natalie recognized the music and black and white text almost immediately. With election season on the horizon, the attack ads had already begun. Only, this one had nothing to do with politics. A black and white picture of Travis appeared on the right side of the screen.
"Travis Conner willingly joined the Go Home Alien movement even though he knew the truth about Ted Finley."
The voice was obviously Dhiraj trying to do the deep "attack ad" voice. Natalie couldn't help but laugh at his high-voiced effort to find his lower register.
A particularly unattractive photo of Travis fighting for position in a football game popped up on the screen.
"When Travis Conner had the choice between honors classes and busting heads on the football field, he picked helmet-to-helmet combat."
A third image came up, this one of a bloody wrist bandage.
"Travis Conner has gotten in six reported fight incidents in the last three years, not including his attempt to corner Dhiraj Patel in the bathroom, with two other friends as backup."
Natalie sighed and watched the last image pop up on the screen. It looked like it was snapped at some party, given the drunk face Travis was making.
"Is this the guy you want by your side this senior year? Vote against Travis for boyfriend."
The voice sped up as a sentence appeared at the bottom of the screen. "Paid for by the Natalie's Friends Against Travis Conner Fund."
When the video came to a close, Natalie grabbed her bag and reached for the door handle. Dhiraj sped across the room and put his shoulder into the door before she could open it.
"Hey! You're not even gonna comment on the production value?"
Natalie retracted her hand and stared into Dhiraj's eyes. She went about her usual practice of hoping she could set fire to his face using her look alone.
"You shouldn't have spent the money."
As she reached for the handle again, Dhiraj wedged himself between her and the door. She threw up her hands and sat down on an empty chair.
Dhiraj followed her to her seat. "I don't understand how a guy who was in an anti-Ted cult and who tried to punch me in the face is suitable dating material."
Natalie knew this was what would face her if she revealed the relationship. She'd pretty much ignored Travis after the incident at the GHA headquarters for the rest of junior year. When the two of them found themselves at the same college for concurrent basketball and football camps, they literally ran into each other in the cafeteria. Travis' tray smacked into Natalie's so hard that her plate of spaghetti and meatballs ended up all over her shirt. While Natalie just wanted the incident to be over, Travis' coach demanded that the linebacker immediately wash the stain out before it set. She pulled on a practice pinny from her bag and headed through a large, swinging door. When the two of them went into the kitchen together, it was the first time they'd been alone since he shot her in the back in the GHA lobby.
"Sorry about the shirt." Travis didn't look up at her as he rinsed out the red stain under the warm water.
He had a swollen bump on the side of his cheek. She assumed it was the result of a tackle gone wrong. Natalie wanted to stop looking at it, but she felt drawn to his face.
"It's fine." Natalie looked around the room to make sure they were really alone. "I never got to thank you."
Travis finally looked at her. The look of confusion on his face was so apparent, Natalie almost had to laugh.
"Natalie Dormer wants to thank me? I feel like that's less likely than winning a state championship."
She smirked. "Okay. Okay. You were obviously an idiot. And you shot me in the frickin' back."
Travis turned off the water and gritted his teeth. "That's true. But it was just with a rubber bullet."
"Anyway…." Natalie attempted to push out the memory of the sharp pain that bullet had caused her. "You got yourself kicked out of the cult to save us. It was a selfless act."
Travis poured some more soap on the stain and attempted to scrub away at it. "Not completely selfless. Even though you pretended to have feelings for me, I wasn't pretending. I cared about you."
Natalie grumbled and spoke under her breath. "I wasn't pretending."
Travis leaned in. "What was that?"
Natalie looked toward the exit and then back at him. "I liked you. For real. I don't know why, because you're a terrible person."
Travis smiled at that.
She continued. "Lord help me, I actually missed you afterwards. It must've been a bout of insanity. One that I'm thankfully cured of."
Travis sprayed water all over Natalie. She suppressed a shriek and blinked to get the liquid out of her vision. Before she could retaliate, she was completely drenched. Natalie pounded on Travis' chest with her fist.
"You jerk!" She slammed the other fist into him as well. "I'm gonna destroy you."
Travis scowled. "Not if I destroy you first."
They locked lips and started making out right there in the college cafeteria kitchen. Natalie's fists became flat and felt for his chest and his back. Travis tossed away the shirt and lifted Natalie up onto the edge of the sink. She felt the passion coursing through her body and wanted nothing more than to have Travis close to her. That feeling didn't go away all summer long.
Natalie rubbed her hands together as Dhiraj waited for an answer.
Jennifer stayed a few feet behind her boyfriend, as if trying to keep herself safe from the confrontation. "I hate to say it, Nat, but Dhiraj has a point."
Natalie snorted out of her nostrils. "First of all, I want to point out that Travis
and I have been dating all summer long and you two didn't notice because you were so lovey-dovey."
Dhiraj and Jennifer shared a happy glance.
Natalie stretched out two fingers from one hand and tapped them on the other.
"Number two, people can change. Jen, you used to have to worry about Erica drinking too much or doing something stupid 24/7. And Dhiraj, Ted couldn't even open a jar of peanut butter and now he's off saving the world." Natalie leaned her back against the wall. "Can't a massive douchebag turn over a new leaf?"
Dhiraj opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He looked back at Jennifer and she shrugged her shoulders.
He tried a second time. "Look, Natalie–"
"Go on a double date with us."
It took Natalie a second to realize that she'd been the one who made the ridiculous suggestion. Maybe her friends' approval mattered more to her than she realized.
Dhiraj raised his eyebrows. "A double date?"
She groaned. "Yeah. Who knows? Maybe we'll even have fun."
Dhiraj seemed like he was about to launch into another rant, but Jennifer gripped his shoulder before he could start.
"Let's do it."
Dhiraj looked uncomfortable. "Fine. We'll do it. But we're probably not gonna like him."
Natalie felt a sense of pride over beating back the intervention. "Good. And I probably still won't care."
Chapter 21
Sandra felt warm around the hundreds of people crammed into the college auditorium. She couldn't imagine how hot her husband must been have behind the podium with the lights shining off his face. She kept her face as neutral as possible as President Blake delivered a response during the first Presidential debate. Her husband's demeanor on the other side of the stage was calm with a slight smile. He looked as if he were in on a joke that he wanted to clue millions of people into. Sandra smiled and glanced down at her attire.
Her light blue dress was more expensive than her entire wardrobe combined had been when she was a waitress. The diamond from her massive engagement ring glistened in the light. She recalled the days she'd spent toiling in the back of Page's Diner, her wrists aching from the heavy trays she lifted from the kitchen. The only pain she'd felt since then was the five-story fall to her death and the beating she'd taken from Erica LaPlante. If her husband's plan went off without a hitch, she might never need to feel any kind of pain ever again.