Evolution

by Dave Nesbit

  As Rachel caused the wood to warp around our adversaries hands, the team of mooks in masks came out of the vault. They raised the automatic weapons they were carrying and began to point them in my direction.

  Right, metal guns. Me. Gotcha.

  It went about as well as you'd think it would. With a gesture, I pulled the weapons from their hands and sent them to the other side of the room. I took off my mask to make talking easier. “Okay fellas, why don't you all just put your hands behind your head.”

  “Why don't you go fuck yourself?” One of the guys snarled and charged me.

  Time to try a new trick. I felt the air around me as he charged then waved my hand to get the feel of the air currents. With a thought I gripped the current in my mind. Then I pushed it, blasting him with a wave of compressed air that sent him flying back into his buddies There was a sudden popping sound as all of them fell to the floor looking dazed.

  “Pay attention guys.” Ramon said. “It's all over, put ‘em up.” He stood there, holding out a hand that held a ball of flame inches over his palm.

  The four guys looked deflated by the realization that this wasn't going to go well. Soon we had a pile of guys on the floor, and a very happy looking Ramon standing watch over them.

  “Okay, you can send in the cops.” Rachel said over the radio. Now there were a bunch of people standing around looking confused as to what to do. The etiquette of what to do after a failed bank robbery isn’t the kind of thing you deal with every day. Thankfully the police gave the whole area a little order. Sorting out the tellers and bank personnel from the customers, as specially suited federal agents grabbed Vasily, our old pal Jimmy and their four accomplices.

  Hamilton watched as Jimmy was led out on a gurney and our Russian friend was carefully loaded into the back of a very large van. Then he turned and looked at us. “Not bad, we're getting the video from the security cameras but for now let's get you all back to the school for a debrief.”

  “Who's gonna handle making sure they get to lock down?” Rachel asked.

  “We have a special unit tasked for that.” Hamilton said.

  “They have any experience with people with powers?” I responded. I did not spend all day freezing my ass off to let these jerk offs get away.

  “Yes, they do.” Hamilton said with a smirk. “Not to worry, we have planned for this part of the game.”

  “If you say so boss.” Ramon said. He looked at me with a cocked eyebrow. We shared a look for a moment, both of us acknowledging that something about this seemed off.

  We walked out into the cold Chicago air, the street was now packed with people and news crews. Watson was addressing the news people, talking about how the program had assisted in capturing two super powered criminals. Skipping over the details and speaking in vagaries the whole time.

  I saw it in passing, at that moment I was glad to be in a vehicle with heat. The van took us the short drive back to the school, and from there we sat down for a debrief. Hamilton and Watson came in along with Dr. Ng.

  “Nicely done.” Watson said. “You handled the situation very quickly with a minimum of damage to the building. No civilians were injured, and you took care of the two primaries with no real issues.”

  “Ohh good can we go home now?” Rachel asked. “My feet are cold.” She pulled off a boot and her socks were soaked from the shower the sprinklers had laid out for us.

  “Not before we go over a few things.” Hamilton said, laying a magazine from one of the weapons the mooks had been carrying. He popped a few rounds out of it. “This is worrying.” He handed each of us a round.

  I looked it over and saw it was not your usual bullet. It seemed to be made of a material that wasn't entirely opaque. It felt harder than the lead or copper that usually make up a projectile it also felt lighter than I thought it would. I let my senses feel it, and noticed that I had a hard time registering it with my sense of magnetic fields.

  “What is this?” I held it up to the light.

  “It's a round the Department of Defense has been experimenting with.” Watson said. “The bullet is made from hyper dense glass. When it hits it will pass through most body armor and fragment, it also seems to be difficult for people who have been ‘Touched’ to sense.”

  “Now where did those guys get these bullets?” Shawn asked.

  “That, is a very good question. One we're going to ask your playmates about.” Watson said rubbing the back of his head with his hand. “Our fear is that this was less an opportunity for a couple of bad guys to make a quick buck, then it was for some unknown group to test their latest toys on a group of ‘Touched’.”

  Hamilton took over the next part of the briefing. “Between the idea that the people at Adidas knew where Ryan would be flying to and that these rounds seemed to be catered to Ryan and Rachel's power sets, we have reason to be concerned that there is an information leak in the school.” He paused for breath. “From now on operational information is going to be kept on a tight leash.”

  Watson continued. “From here on out we're treating it like any law enforcement group. I'll handle overall coordination and hand out assignments. Mr. Hamilton will handle operational organization, and planning will be handled between you and him. I must stress this. No information about planning or operations is to leave your group.”

  We all looked around the table. The idea that anyone in the school's organization was feeding information to a third party was scary enough. That the third party in question wanted to use as a means of testing new weapons just made that fear palpable.

  “Any questions?” Watson eyed us as a group. We all looked around. No one had anything to say. “Good. The FBI will be by to get statements from you, after that you've got the weekend free.” You could hear the collective sigh of relief as he said that.

  “Adidas?” Ramon asked as we walked out.

  “It’s complicated. Apparently they want me to wear their shoes.”

  “Could be worse.” Ramon said. “Besides after the lingerie shop thing I figured you might get a Victoria Secret deal.”

  “I’m never living that down am I?”

  “Not if we have anything to say about it.” Shawn added as he walked by.

  We all got up and walked back over to the house. Showers ran, clothes were changed and we all met in the kitchen to be debriefed by our own personal FBI agent. The questioning was pretty simple. Who did we see and when and what actions took place.

  To my surprise, it was relatively painless. As they walked out I saw the sun was still out and I had a Friday evening ahead of me. With a smile I grabbed my phone and hit Cathy's number on speed dial.

  “Well you've been busy.” She said as she came on the line.

  “It's been a weird day, was wondering if you had time for coffee or possibly a dinner date.”

  “Hmm it's last second, hang on let me check my schedule to see if I've been asked out by any other super powered guys who break up bank robberies and such.” She paused a moment. “Nope, schedule’s free, where shall we meet?”

  “Wise-ass.” I said.

  “You don't strike me as the kind that likes dumb dish rag girls.” Cathy said.

  “Well said. How about Atomic Records then we'll see where the night takes us.”

  “Oh they gave you all night?”

  “Well, I have to be back at school by midnight.”

  “Or you turn into a pumpkin?”

  “Or they ground me again.”

  “Same difference. I'll see you there.”

  I turned around and saw Rachel standing there. “Got a hot date?”

  “Not sure about hot but she’s easy on the eyes and very nice to spend time with.”

  Rachel grinned. “Good, just be careful out there, the world's getting weirder for us.”

  “I was noticing that.” I said and rolled my eyes. “All the more reason to enjoy it as best we can.”

  “True.”

  “What are you gonna do?”

  “L
ynn and I have plans, that girl could use lessons on things like makeup.”

  “Girls night in?”

  “Kind of like that, now stay out of trouble for God's sake.” Rachel said and walked past me to Lynn’s room.

  I walked off and grabbed my jacket, then called administration to get a car out of the school. It had been a strange and disturbing day. Downtime was needed.

  After the usual hoopla of trying to find a way to escape the press we made our way back toward downtown. The driver let me out a couple of blocks from Atomic Records. I asked him to meet me back there around 11 and he said he'd be waiting.

  The winter air surrounded me as I got out. Sure I could throw around stuff with my mind and had control over magnetic fields. I could bench press a small car. Hell I could, if the gods smiled on me, manage to solve a problem in algebra. But did my powers keep me from feeling cold? Nope. So I pulled up the hood on my jacket and walked to the shop cursing my decision to stick with sneakers for walking around.

  The streets were a bit crowded but it was heading into Saturday night; people were doing their Christmas shopping or deciding what to eat for the evening. Stores were brightly lit and I could hear music coming from the bars.

  ‘Oh to be 21.’ I thought as I passed by a place that advertised live jazz. The bouncer looked me over as I stood outside the door. His glance told me he could see how old I was and the idea of me walking into that place past him was amusing.

  I walked away smiling. A few hours ago I had broken up a bank robbery. Confronted people who had powers beyond mortal men, and disarmed people carrying automatic weapons. Yet here I was barred from entering a place because of my age.

  ‘The world is not exactly overburdened with sense.’ I thought, turning the corner and heading to the shop. The guy behind the counter nodded to me as I walked in. The rows of music called to me and I wandered aimlessly down the aisles. The holiday season was upon us as I looked for some stuff for my Mom and Dad. I picked up records by Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings for Mom and Miles Davis and Stan Getz for Dad. Then grabbed an Iron Maiden double live set and an Ohio Players record for myself.

  I was checking out a vinyl release of Nine Inch Nails’ “The Downward Spiral” when someone bumped into me. Looking up I saw Cathy grinning at me. “A lingerie shop eh?”

  “Uh about that.” I responded feeling myself blush. “It was the first place I found that I could duck into to change.”

  “Oh God you're blushing! That's great.” She said. “I was hoping it might be a present for me.” She said looping her arm in mine.

  “Well I thought about it, but it seemed forward.” I said. “And I don't know your measurements.”

  “I will have to introduce you to what girls like, for me it's two parts gentleman, which you have down. To one-part rogue, which we'll work on. Now come on, I want coffee.”

  The guy behind me at the counter looked over Cathy and winked at me as I paid for my purchases and we made our way out into the darkening day. The center of Chicago is no place to see a sunset, but the sky had a purple tinge to it that I could see coming from the general direction of the lake front. The wind had died down, so it was bearable to keep your head up.

  Cathy walked us into a small little cafe down the block. It was mostly deserted at that point. The lunch rush had left and people looking for dinner had yet to materialize.

  “This place has the best calzone in the city. Trust me.” She said as we sat down. I ordered a soda and a calzone made with Italian sausage and pepperoni. Cathy grinned. “No veggies?” She enquired after the waiter left.

  “The ones I like don't go well with Italian food. Besides, I'm a growing guy; I need my protein.”

  “You're telling me; your arm feels like a collection of cables.”

  “Well bench pressing cars will do that for you.” I said.

  “Seriously? They make you do that?”

  “Well not make, I did it on a bet, I bench pressed a Volkswagen.” I said trying to shrug it off.

  “What kind?” She asked with a grin.

  “A bug. Uh, one of the new ones.” I said back, looking past her. It's hard to explain to people how normal this kind of thing was at the school. It was like all of us were in a kind of toy store with our abilities. Each day revealing a new or hidden gift.

  Cathy rolled her eyes. “Is that your new normal?” She enquired. “I mean that and breaking up bank robberies and such?”

  “Saw it on the news?” I said, then realized how stupid that question had to sound. Every TV station in Chicago had been there.

  “It was hard to miss. The Federal Reserve getting knocked over had all the TV stations buzzing. That and camera phone footage from inside.” She grinned. “Didn't you see?”

  “I have really tried not to see any of the coverage on us, it's all too new to me.”

  She reached and took my hand. “Maybe you should. You and the crew are making quite a splash.” The waiter brought over the meal and I dug in. I was thankful for the break in the conversation. I liked the contact but it was hard to explain how I felt about all the stuff that came with the powers.

  We ate in relative silence. I will admit she was right about the place, my experience with calzone was limited but this set the bar to a whole new level. I enjoyed the meal and sat back feeling well and truly fed.

  I paid the bill, and Cathy took my hand. “Now then, I want to take my boyfriend clothes shopping. You need something other than band t-shirts to wear.”

  “Am I your boyfriend now?” I said with a raised eyebrow as we walked to the door.

  “I certainly hope so. I was hoping you'd show me that shop you stopped into after we were done getting you new clothes to wear.” She said.

  “Wait a second what’s wrong with the clothes I wear?”

  “Let me see. First time we meet, jeans and a black t-shirt with a band logo. Second time, jeans and a different black t-shirt. I think that one had a motorcycle logo. Third time...”

  “Okay okay, I might have a pattern.” I said with a laugh.

  “More like a problem.” Cathy responded with a grin.

  “I have a bunch of other things to worry about in a day rather than what to wear.”

  “Uh huh. You are a host of things, but you are not Albert Einstein.” She guided us into a department store. “If you play Ken for me, I'll play Barbie later.”

  “Well when you put it that way.” I said with a smile. You had to give her credit, she found the easiest way to get me to agree to a makeover.

  We walked past the perfume counter and managed to dodge the semi toxic mist that the ladies there reflexively fired our way. Then walked past the women's shoe aisle to the Men's clothing section.

  Look I don't just submit to any requests, if there's any doubt about that feel free to ask my parents. On the other hand, when a beautiful, intelligent woman who wants to go to a lingerie store after shopping asks you to try on clothes; I defy any other man to not run to the changing room.

  I let her have me try on various slacks, shirts and sweaters then a few jackets as well to round out the look. By the time we were done, I had the kind of clothes that made me look like “the winter collection” from a L.L.Bean catalog.

  I slid back into my jeans and T-shirt when she was done and took my selection to the nice lady at the counter who had been making suggestions and taking measurements. I reached for my wallet but Cathy stopped me.

  “I got this.” She said reaching into her small purse.

  I think I brilliantly answered. “Uh, okay.” Although I had just grabbed about six hundred dollars in clothes. The lady behind the counter took Cathy's platinum card and did her business. Soon I was walking away with an absurd number of bags. Feeling glad that my increased muscle density made the weight barely noticeable.

  “Where do you get the money to do that?” I ask. “The mother of all part time jobs?”

  She rolled her eyes. “My parents have more money than time. To excuse their absence, they give
me an absurd allowance.”

  “That's gotta be weird.” I said.

  “I wouldn't know. To me it's the way I live.” We walked out of the shop and turned toward the store I had been photographed walking into. “What are your folks like?”

  I thought about it; you don't really consider the people closest to you in any analytical way until someone brings it up. “They're good people. Mom's a nurse and Dad works as a sales rep. They're both home a lot, which is cool as we live right in the middle of nowhere.”

  She chuckled. “Really?”

  “Yep we're right between Kenosha and Racine County. Mom grew up in rural Quebec, I think she feels more comfortable in a place like that.”

  “I can't even imagine not being surrounded by buildings and people.”

  “It took me a little while to get used to it.” I said. “Once I got used to the background noise of the city though, it was all fine.”

  We got to the shop and I walked in. There was still an hour and half before it closed, and the same lady who had been there when I arrived before was there now. She looked up and smiled. “Hello. Glad to see you back.”

  “Thanks. I figured I'd come back to say hello and help this lovely lady shop.” I replied, acting far more confident than I felt. Mind you, my whole life since this mess started felt like one long exercise in the art of fake it till you make it.

  Cathy came forward. “I took him shopping to break up his wardrobe, he took it well so I figured I'd treat us both.” She then asked for a few items. I knew the words she was using were in English, but my knowledge of female underwear was limited to my exposure to seeing it on google image searches. My interest in it being mostly about how it fit the lady in question, or how to get it off of them.

  I'd had plenty of experience witnessing the first and sadly no real experience with the second.

  Things though, seemed to be looking up. The clerk and Cathy walked around as I took a chair, they collected various items that looked to be made of clouds or smoke and walked back into the changing room.