by Ross, R. J.
“Honey, we need to go to the grocery store first, right?” Ben asks as she comes into the main room. He glances over, looking stunned. “You look great,” he says. “Although I sort of feel like I’m cheating on you, now.”
“Don’t get used to it,” she scolds him, smiling slightly. “Are you sure about that outfit, though? I mean, jeans and a t-shirt—and for the t-shirt to be a super hero… shouldn’t you try for a more professional look?”
“It’s how they dress,” he explains, looking down at the Century shirt he’s wearing with an awkward expression. “Ken was running around in a Mastermental t-shirt.”
“Is Ken Kid Liberty?” Phoebe asks.
“No, he’s America’s Son—but I can’t tell you if it’s his real name or not,” he says. “It’s not like Ken is that unique.”
“America’s Son runs around in character tees?” Phoebe asks as they head out the door. His hand is on the small of her back, but she ignores it. “I would never have pictured him as being like that.”
“Me either, but apparently it’s the thing around here. Both Trent and Jack had t-shirts like that on, as well.” They head for the little car that she’d rented, and he gets into the driver’s seat. “Now, do we know where the nearest grocery store is?” he asks.
“We would, if you’d let me drive,” she mutters a bit irritably. “I mean, I think it’s that way, you know, where the sign is?” she says quickly, trying to cover her irritation. This is wasting time, but it’s necessary. “So? Are you going to do any interviews while you’re out here? Since you’re hanging out with the big leagues of the Hall, I bet all those pretty HTV interviewers are following you around, right?”
“Not that I’ve noticed,” he says. “That would be really cool, though, wouldn’t it? I mean, everyone would see how hard I was working—“
“Only the supers would see it, sweetie, they don’t let just anyone see this sort of thing.”
“Huh… well, it’d still be a bit of advertisement, right? Especially for the interview. It might be pretty impressive to the director, if he sees it, right? Maybe they’d let me get a copy?”
“I’m certain they would! We just need to let someone from HTV notice what you’re doing,” she says, smiling a bit wickedly. She knows JUST who that person should be.
***
“We’ve just gotten an anonymous tip on the Liberty boys,” Barbara’s administrative assistant says, holding out a note to her. “It’s not very interesting, but things have been quiet lately, so I figured I’d let you choose what to do.”
“Thank you so much for that,” Barbara says dryly, taking the note. She looks at it for a moment, leaning on his desk. “It sounds a bit interesting. I mean, it isn’t every day that we get to see the three of them together.”
“Sure it is, just not hanging out in public like that,” her secretary says. He’s young, good looking, and planning on taking her job someday, but she ignores that. His passion makes him eager to find the most interesting jobs. “I can go and look into it, if you don’t want to,” he offers.
“Thank you, but no, I can take a second to check it out.” She waves the piece of paper as she walks away. “Good job, Charlie, I’m sure that sooner or later you’ll be chasing down your own leads.”
“I sure hope so. This job is so boring,” he mutters, falling back in his chair and going back to trying to balance a pen on his nose.
***
“This is it?” Phoebe asks as Ben pulls to a stop twenty minutes later. The entire back seat of the car is full of overflowing grocery bags. The place in front of them is a small area next to a tiny lake. It has a grill to the side and picnic tables under a metal roof. It’s quaint, and empty, save for three large males sitting on or next to one of the picnic tables.
“This is it,” Ben says, getting out and opening the back door to grab a few of the grocery bags.
“Here, we can help with those,” the oldest man sitting at the table says, getting up and walking over. Ben willingly hands him the bags, and then hands another few bags to the teenager that follows. Within a second, the back seat is empty. “And this must be your lady friend. I’m sorry--I don’t think Ben told us your name?” Ken says to Phoebe.
“Mary,” she says with a smile, holding out her hand. “Mary Jones.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mary,” Ken says, shaking her hand gently. “I have to thank you for coming this far out of your way, but since this is a barbecue, I’d be happy to do the cooking.”
“And then how would Ben learn from you?” she asks. “No, I’ll do the cooking. You four can do all your training. I can’t thank you enough for this; Ben’s been so excited ever since you agreed to help out. He’s a wonderful actor, you know? I can’t wait to see him on the big screen.”
“Mary’s always been my biggest fan,” Ben says, draping an arm over her shoulder and giving her a fond smile. “Thank you for this, sweetheart, I’ll definitely make it up to you.” He kisses her temple before walking into the grass with America’s Son. Phoebe looks at the bags of food, and then over at the grill. She’s never barbecued in her life, she realizes belatedly. She walks over to the grill, looking at it blankly.
“There a problem?” a gruff voice asks from behind her. She turns, looking at the teen with the Mohawk. “Here, I’ll get it set up for you,” he says, digging through the bags and pulling out some charcoal, lighter fluid, and a lighter. She steps out of the way without a word, watching him closely.
“You’re…” she says.
“Cold Steel,” he says, twisting a knob and then groaning. “Freakin’ thing is so rusty that it broke off… Think they’d notice if I rebuilt it?” he asks over his shoulder.
“Go for it,” Trent says. “You can turn it back after you’re done, if you want to.”
Phoebe watches silently as the rusty old grill comes apart with a hand movement from the teen. The pieces float all around them, rust falling off like rain. “You… you were a created super, right?” she asks.
He looks over at her. “Yeah,” he says. He stops, glancing over at the road. “We’ve got a van coming. Pop, you might want to drop to the ground—“
The metal pieces fall to the ground and he and Trent move to stand in front of them, only to relax as a van with the letters HTV on the side comes down the road. Phoebe almost cheers at the sight of Barbara Gentry parking the van and hopping out with a notebook in her hand and a drone following along behind her. This is EXACTLY what she had hoped for! Behind her the pieces of metal start floating again.
***
It’s a gold mine, Barbara thinks as she gets out of the van and motions for the drone. “Liberty boys! How surprising to see all of you in the same place!” she exclaims, waving happily to America’s Son before heading to the teens on the patio. “Cold Steel, are you destroying public property again?”
Jack looks over as the metal keeps floating. “I like destroying public property just fine, but this is a barbecue grill,” he says, as if he’s pointing out the obvious. “I would never willingly destroy something we’re going to cook our lunch on.”
“You DO run on your stomach, I’ve noticed,” she says. She turns, looking at the redhead standing near him. “Are you cheating on that cute little girlfriend of yours?” she asks.
“Are you joking?” Jack asks, his eyes widening at the question. “This lady’s dating the guy up there.”
“My name is Mary,” Phoebe says quickly, holding out a hand and pasting a smile on her face. “I’m dating Crashtastic. He’s planning on being in the up-and-coming Liberty movie.”
“Oh! So that’s the reason for the family gathering?” Barbara asks. She motions the drone over to where America’s Son and a stranger are flying. “That’s some dedication, coming all the way out here.”
“Crashtastic is VERY dedicated,” Phoebe agrees. “Would you like to join us for lunch? One more won’t hurt! And I’m sure you’d like to talk to everyone, right?”
Barbara’s eyes gle
am. “If you’re inviting, I would LOVE to.” She makes herself comfortable at the picnic table, leaning back against it to watch Jack work and Trent dig through the groceries. “So, boys, tell me, are Jennifer and Freddy dating yet? She keeps telling me they’re just friends.”
“Not that I know of,” Trent says, grinning slightly. “Freddy’s a good guy, though, if you’re worried about it.”
“He’d make a good villain,” Jack says.
“How does that make him a good guy?” Barbara asks, plopping her purse on the table next to her. It’s clear that she’s extremely comfortable with this family.
“When a guy can climb walls like he does, do you see him duking it out or robbing banks?” Jack asks.
“No, you’re stereotyping, Jack,” Trent says, taking a huge bite out of an apple he’d found. “He could go hero, but if he was going to, I think he’d have said something by now. He’s a little older than I am. He’s probably got an idea of what he wants to do by now.”
“Who is Freddy?” Phoebe asks.
“He’s one of our classmates,” Trent says, leaving it at that. “Hey, Barbara, I bet Dad and his friend are a much better story than we are. I mean, the entire world knows that we eat a lot.”
Barbara lets out a surprised laugh and stands. “And neither of you are willing to fess up about your love lives, right?” she says, motioning for the drone. She walks towards the posing capes, leaving her purse behind her. With one of the biggest teen names in hero-ing right there, she doesn’t need to worry about purse thieves, right?
***
“So… I have yet another thing to thank you for. So, thank you. I didn’t even think about how I’ve never used a grill before,” Phoebe says, unfolding the table cloth she’d brought. She’d easily let them take over the cooking, and made herself busy—right next to Barbara’s purse. Casually she moves the purse to the bench, not doing anything more just yet. She can practically taste her victory, it’s so close, but she has to hide it.
“It’s no big deal, but you’re welcome,” Trent says, looking at her with a slight frown. “You live in Hollywood, right? What do you do?”
“What does anyone do in Hollywood?” she asks with a laugh. “I’m a would-be actress, just like everyone else. You might recognize me from commercials! I was a beleaguered mother whose child made a mess?”
“There are a lot of those,” Jack says.
“Yes, but I like to think I was the best,” she says. “Can I help you with that? I really feel guilty just handing all the work to you—“
“It’s fine,” Trent says, flipping a burger. “We’ve got a lot of experience with grilling. We should be thanking you for bringing the food.”
“Well, you’re welcome,” she says, sitting on the picnic bench next to the purse. She crosses her legs and leans back, draping her arms over the table. “I can’t tell you how honored I am to be here. I’m a HUGE hero fan. Well, you probably figured that out considering who I’m dating.” She glances over at the practicing supers, but neither of the boys seems to care what they’re doing or who she’s dating, even. They’re too busy focusing on the food.
“You brought some fruit,” Jack says, digging through the bags. “Dessert?”
“I thought I would make a fruit salad,” she says. “It’s the perfect weather for it, right? Are all of your winters this mild?”
“Nah, it’s sort of a crap shoot in KC,” Jack says, digging out all the fruit. “One day it’s warm, the next we’ve got an ice storm, and it’s got nothing to do with the supers living here. Mind if I sharpen your knife?”
“It’s still in a package, are you saying it’s already dull?” she asks, looking over.
He shoots her a little grin. “Metal elementalist, remember?” He opens the knife in question and runs a finger over the edge. While they’re both distracted, she uses one hand to rifle through the purse next to her. Her heart speeds up slightly as she sees the card just lying there, practically on top.
She slips it out of the purse, hiding it in the sleeve of her shirt until she can put it somewhere safer. Step two, accomplished. Now, she just needs to find another sucker to take her in to talk with Star Born. “Ben? Honey, can I speak with you for a minute?” she calls out. It’s time to leave, and she needs to do it quickly.
***
“I’m so sorry for leaving early, but I have to get some rest, Ben,” Phoebe says, leaning back in the car chair and sighing loudly. “It’s hard to keep up with all you super people. I thought I was in good shape, but apparently I’ve overestimated myself.”
“You did wonderful, honey. I think the boys really liked you,” he says, pulling into a parking spot outside their hotel room. He says that, but he’s got a confused expression on his face as he looks over at her. “You go take a nap. I’ll be back as soon as lunch is over.”
“Take your time,” she says. “I doubt I’ll be awake when you get back.” She gets out of the car, clutching her purse to her side. She needs to get in to speak with Star Born now, before something else happens. She shouldn’t use Barbara’s face, and she knows it, but… well, time is of the essence. Ben is almost done. He’ll expect her to go back to Hollywood with him, and she has no excuse not to. She has to risk it. She has to do this quickly.
She calls an Uber as soon as she’s changed and put her special makeup on. The black car swings to a stop in front of her a few minutes later. She gets in, telling her destination. It’s taking forever. If she had her powers, she would just run there, but now… well, this is the best she can do.
***
Mega pulls to a stop over the lake, his eyes widening as he sees two supers floating in the air, posing. A little grin escapes him, but he, of all people, can’t laugh. Posing is a very important part of the job.
“Mega!” America’s Son says, catching sight of him. “I knew you had rounds today, but I didn’t realize you were covering this area. Come join us!”
“I would love to,” Mega says, flying over. He stops for a second as he sees a familiar face below, and a hint of nervousness catches him off guard. Barbara Gentry is HERE! He still can’t quite shake off the strange feelings he’d had the day before. Maybe if he talks with her today, he’ll figure out what was wrong, before.
“This is Crashtastic,” America’s Son says, introducing the man next to him. “He’s aiming to play my part in the upcoming movie.”
“Ahhh, an aspiring thespian!” Mega says, smiling widely and holding out a hand. “I’m quite fond of actors. Have you met George Jackman? He played me in my last movie. He did a wonderful job.”
“I have not, but if I ever do, I’ll tell him you said that,” Crashtastic says. “I have to apologize for Mary, by the way,” he says to America’s Son. “I think the jetlag is still affecting her.”
“No, no, it’s more than fine,” America’s Son says with a smile. “You got back in record time, for driving. But I am worried about her. Has she not been feeling well?”
“She’s usually the picture of health,” Crashtastic says, frowning slightly. “It has to be jetlag.”
“Well, since you two are busy,” and he has no idea who they’re talking about, “why don’t I go keep the lovely Barbara Gentry company?”
Ken laughs. “She is pretty, isn’t she?” he says. “Have fun, Mega.”
Mega gives him a stellar grin before landing next to the woman in question. “Barbara, nice to see you,” he says, his mind going straight back to his latest worry. He has a son. Of course, he hasn’t told anyone, since his son doesn’t want to make a big deal about it, but it’s grown to be one of the biggest thoughts in his mind. He needs to set a better example for Ward. It doesn’t hurt that Barbara is quite a beautiful, intelligent, and capable super. He can’t let a fleeting moment of paranoia ruin what could be a very good thing, right?
“Nice to see you, as well, Mega,” she says with a smile.
“Are you still interested in getting that interview with Star Born?”
She stares at
him blankly. “Interview with Star Born? What interview with Star Born?”
He blinks, feeling as if the world is shifting slightly under his feet. “You asked me to get you into the security area to speak with her just yesterday.”
“No I didn’t,” she says. “Yesterday I was covering Falconess reading to school children.”
He goes pale. “Mimic,” he whispers.
“You think Mimic stole my identity?” she asks. “No, that’s not possible. If it was Mimic, I would be unconscious right now, right?”
“Yes, of course, I knew that,” he says, a little bit of the color coming back. He frowns, though, looking confused. “But she looked exactly like you, she even sounded like you.”
“I think we need to tell the Hall about this,” Barbara says, but she’s already flipping the page of her notepad, “after you tell me everything that happened, that is. This sounds like quite an interesting story!”
“You…” he says, looking at her with a hint of surprise.
“I?” she asks.
“You aren’t worried that there’s someone out there copying you?”
“Of course I am, but that won’t stop me from getting the story! I have people sniffing at my heels, trying to get my job, you know.”
“I like that. Tell me, Barbara, are you seeing anyone right now?” The surprised look on her face makes him smile.
***
The car pulls to a stop and Phoebe gets out, heading through the big, crowded front door and tugging her wide hat down so it shadows her face. She heads for the back, smiling at one of the people wearing black suits. “Hi, I’m Barbara Gentry? I came to interview Star Born.”
The black suit looks at her with a smile. “We’ve been expecting you!” he says. “If you would just follow me, I’ll take you to her. Do you have your ID this time?”