He tried to focus. “Let’s start with the more recent past. Tell me more about your super power.”
She stared at him for a moment. He could see she was weighing the wisdom of confiding in him. He tried to look open and friendly.
“What are you smiling about?” she asked suspiciously.
He rolled his eyes. So much for trying to win her over. He resorted to what worked for X. He invaded her space, hands on hips, and stared down at her. “Please.”
She took an irate step forward, imitating his pose, nearly chin-to-chest with him. It almost made him laugh.
“Apparently I can make people do things,” she said. “But I don’t know how it works, how to turn it on and off. I don’t know why it worked on a drug addict, or why it didn’t on a mugger, or why it only sort of did on a drunk.”
Joe wanted to interrupt and ask who were all these people. But she was working herself up and he was a little afraid to stop her.
“I don’t know why it worked exceptionally well on Scruffy. And I don’t know why I can even use it on myself!”
She was yelling now. X took half a step back, hoping no one could hear her on the street.
“There! That’s everything! Happy? I have no idea how to be a superhero, or even if I want to be one!” She advanced on him. “And nobody will help me figure it out!”
“I’m going to help you if–”
“Really? Really? Because you said, hang something on the back door and meet me in Gaffney Park, and I did, but you didn’t show up! I waited for you for hours!”
What was she talking about? “When?” he asked, allowing some belligerence into his voice. Of course he would help her if she asked him.
“Saturday!”
He shook his head. “Saturday we weren’t even–” He snapped his mouth closed before he finished his sentence: we weren’t even home.
He put his palms out, placating her. “Okay, just calm down. I only–”
“Don’t tell me to calm down, Mr. Big Strong Superhero! If I don’t figure out how I got down this rabbit hole, I’m going to jail!”
X let his hands drop, along with his jaw. Jail? “How could you go to jail?”
“They said since I’m not on a superhero team, they don’t know who I’m working for, and I might be a criminal, and they don’t want to but they’ll arrest me! Even my husband thinks I’m a villain!” Tori turned and covered her face with her hands.
Without thinking, he pulled her into his arms. Why would Art and Casey threaten to – then he remembered. He’d told them at the last meeting that anyone with powers not associated with the Paladins Guild would be considered a potential enemy. Apparently, they’d taken him seriously.
He didn’t know what to say, where to start. “I’m sure your husband doesn’t think you’re a villain.” Was his protestation too little, too late? No, he’d make sure she believed him. He’d find a way to convince her. He couldn’t lose her. Not now.
Tori pulled away. Wiping her hands over her wet cheeks, she said, “I’m stronger than you think I am. I don’t need to be rescued. I didn’t need to be rescued those other times, and I don’t need it now.”
“That’s not what it looks like from my perspective.”
Apparently the wrong thing to say.
She lashed out at him again. “Having my purse stolen isn’t the worst thing that can happen. Yes, I need to try harder to avoid walking alone at night in my neighborhood. But I didn’t need some overly-macho super-savior to come rushing in and start tossing muggers around like bags of apples. A simple ‘Excuse me, ma’am, may I escort you home’ would’ve done the trick.”
“I didn’t toss–”
She poked him in the chest with her finger. “And I don’t need to be humiliated by another superhero when I’m in the middle of – of – whatever it is I’m doing.”
“I didn’t hum–”
“You did! You rushed in again and acted like I’m completely incapable of handling the situation!”
X clenched his fists. He wanted to throttle her. “Again, from my perspective,” he tried to speak calmly, to be the better person here, but he heard his voice shaking around his clenched teeth. “It looked like a woman was being accosted by a man. Again. I was raised not to let things like that happen.”
She poked him in the chest again. “But you act like I can’t take care of myself. You did it today.” Poke. “And you did it last week” –poke– “and the week before that!” Poke, poke.
“Well, excuse me for trying to impress you!” X grabbed her hand and shoved it away. “Heaven forbid I try to take care of you and keep you safe!” X shook with suppressed emotion. She might be a little right. He might’ve been a little overbearing. But only because he wanted to keep her out of harm’s way. She didn’t realize he had a voice in his head scaring him, making him wonder if she was in danger.
She sighed and shook her head. “I can’t believe my mother was right,” she said softly. “I really didn’t think she was, but…”
She turned and walked away. Not a few steps this time. She was nearly to the fire escape before he realized she was leaving.
“Wait! Tori, come back!” In a few strides, X was at her side. He started to reach for her arm, but stopped himself. It occurred to him that manhandling her wouldn’t force her to respect him.
He prayed for wisdom, unsure how to proceed.
“What is your mother right about?” He knew the answer though. Joe knew. “About superheroes? You think they don’t try to help? You think they aren’t real? Tori, if you really have a super power, if you’ve been trying to help people yourself, you should know. Sometimes you have to walk in someone else’s shoes to understand their life.”
X paused, ashamed by the realization that he hadn’t tried looking at things from Tori’s perspective. “Maybe I’ve tried too hard to impress you. Made some assumptions about what would please you. I thought women liked to be taken care of.”
Tori didn’t move.
X waited. “I’m sorry.”
That seemed to be what she was waiting for. She sighed heavily and turned around. She held out her hand. “Maybe we can start over. I’m Tori, I think I have a super power, and I could really use a friend.”
CHAPTER 16
TORI smiled as she drove the car she’d borrowed from Hannah through the post-rush hour traffic. She could still feel the bear hug Superhero X had given her when she’d offered a handshake. But then X’s wrist-thingy had started to beep. He told her he had to be someplace, but that they needed to talk, so they agreed to meet at seven o’clock tonight at Pacific Park.
When Tori called Joe's cell phone to tell him she’d be out till late tonight, she got his voice mail. She’d let out a breath in relief. Then promptly felt guilty. But hey, they weren’t talking to each other anyway. And with any luck, X would help her figure out how to handle Joe.
She pulled into the park at ten to seven. Superhero X was already waiting. That fact made her happier than it should have. They exchanged a smile as she got out, and together they walked to a bench tucked away in the middle of the park. Snow crunched under her boots as they left the path, the sound conspicuous in the quiet night.
Tori felt a little shy now that she could ask all her questions. What if he thought they were stupid? Hadn’t Hayley said that she heard people realized they had powers in their teens? And Kane had said something about powers revealing themselves in childhood. What if X didn’t believe her? Would she have to use her power on him to prove it?
“So…” he said. He chuckled, sounding self-conscious to Tori. “Now that we’re here, I’m not sure where to start.”
Tori smiled in agreement. She tucked her legs underneath her on the bench and faced X. “Maybe we could start with ‘how in the world does this work?’”
“Your power?”
She nodded.
“It’s hard to say,” he said with a shrug. “It’s different for everybody.”
Tori played with the zipper
on her down coat. She hoped he’d be more helpful than that. Maybe she should tell him what Kane said. But if it turned out Kane was some kind of bad guy, she didn’t want X to know she was related to him until she could prove that she wanted to be one of the good guys.
“What?” he asked gently.
She looked up, surprised that he seemed to be reading her expressions and body language in the dark. Something had changed since their rooftop fight earlier today. The compassion she found in his face helped her to relax. She really did need a friend.
“I told my husband about this, about my super power,” she said, fiddling with her zipper. “He said…”
He gave her a moment, but when she didn’t continue, he prodded her. “Tell me.”
“He said only villains have this power,” she said quietly, keeping her eyes on her coat. “Is that true?”
He didn’t say anything. Tori finally raised her head to try to see what he was thinking. X was staring out into the park. After a moment, he met her eyes and said, “Maybe he doesn’t know everything. Think you can forgive him for that?”
The right side of her mouth quirked into a half-smile. “Sure. If we ever start talking to each other again.”
X smiled back at her. “I bet he feels as bad about that as you do.”
Tori raised her eyebrows dubiously. “I doubt that. Not only did he say I have a villain’s power, but he told me I can’t be a superhero, and that I probably don’t have any powers anyway.”
She sighed, her thoughts zig-zagging around until they landed on her mother. Tori never would have believed she’d end up repeating her parents’ mistakes, marrying the wrong man and ruining her life. Only now she was the bad guy and Joe was the wronged party.
“If you don’t mind my saying so, I don’t think you should do it either,” he said.
Tori’s hands stilled as she looked at him in surprise. “Be a superhero? Why not?”
“Because you could get yourself killed, that’s why,” he said with some heat. “I’m serious, Tori. Do you have any idea how easily you could be hurt or killed? My powers physically protect me from most things, but if they didn’t, I’d’ve been dead about ten times now.”
“Well,” Tori paused, thinking. “I wouldn’t get into the same kinds of situations you would. And I’ve already been doing really helpful things.” She told him everything that had happened since the robbery. “I’d have to choose situations where my power is what would be the most useful. Don’t you do that?”
“Maybe,” he said, and Tori could tell from his expression that she’d scored a point there. “But I’d be–” He rubbed his hand over his jaw. “Your husband would be devastated if anything happened to you.”
She didn’t want to tell X, but her marriage had other problems. The chances of her getting hurt in a fight were infinitesimal compared to the chances of her getting divorced if she and Joe couldn’t come to an agreement. Family history proved it.
“You look like you don’t believe me,” X said, sounding angry. “I’m serious. This can be very dangerous work. I feel like I keep repeating myself and you keep ignoring me. I thought you wanted my advice.”
Tori didn’t want to fight again, so she teased him. “You seem keen on stopping me. Maybe you’re a villain and you don’t want me to join any fights where I’d beat you.”
X didn’t smile. “Why do you feel you have to do this? What’s wrong with your current life?”
Tori propped her elbow on the back of the park bench and leaned her cheek on her fist. She sighed. “I don’t know if I do want to do this, but I’m not doing anything important with my life. I don’t want to sit safely on the sidelines and watch life pass me by. I want to have a purpose. My husband is great, but…we could be so much more. I don’t know how to explain it, but I really think it’s true.”
She shook her head, frustrated that she didn’t know how to put it in words. “We’re good people, but we don’t do anything to make the world better. We could do more. We should do more. But now…” She didn’t want to cry in front of him, but her world was spinning out of her control.
“Today I may have lost the ability to choose a workable option. If I pursue this superhero thing, there’s a very good chance I’ll lose my husband. That’s how my parents got divorced. If I don’t pursue it, there’s a very good chance I’ll be arrested for a crime or crimes I didn’t commit. I don’t even know what the crimes are!”
Tori sniffled and glanced up at X. He stared at her in consternation.
“Your parents aren’t divorced. Why would you think you’re getting divorced?”
Tori frowned at him. Had he researched her? If so, not very thoroughly. “It’s complicated.” She didn’t want to talk to a stranger about Kane. And it was hard enough to tell even her best friend about some of the complexities of her relationship with Dixie.
X stumbled over his words. “Are you – do you think your husband – you just got married, didn’t you?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she said, looking away into the darkness. She did, though. She really did want to talk about it with someone who would understand. But her mother had insisted on absolute secrecy. Only Danny knew everything.
That’s what she’d do. She’d call her dad tomorrow, see if he had time for lunch. He always gave good advice.
“Tori,” X shifted closer, his thigh pressed warmly against her knees.
It felt good, her coat wasn’t keeping her legs warm. How did he stay warm in his superhero suit?
“Obviously, all these things are related somehow. Tell me. Let me help.” He rested his arm near hers on the bench, his hand on her elbow.
Tori went over her options. Owen didn’t seem keen to help until she talked to Joe. Joe was so upset about the whole thing that he wasn’t speaking to her. Hayley was willing to talk about anything Tori wanted to tell her, but how could she help if she didn’t know anything about superheroes? Casey and Art might want to arrest her more than help her. Her dad would help however he could, but she didn’t know how much that would be.
Maybe a superhero would be the best option. Of course, when he found out about Kane – if any of what Kane said was true – he might despise her and want nothing to do with her. Ever.
She felt his leg pressed warmly against hers. But if she did get divorced, maybe she and X could hang out. She squeezed her eyes shut. She didn’t want to get divorced! She loved Joe! Where was the guidebook for this messed up situation? How to know if your spouse is a louse – or is just afraid of you, page 134.
Brushing tears from her eyes, feeling X’s other hand rubbing her knee, Tori gave in. “My mom says my real father, my biological father, said he was a superhero, but he was a bum. He wasn’t really a superhero, he just couldn’t hold down a job.”
“Your father was a Pretender?” X didn’t try to hide his surprise.
Tori sniffled. “If you mean – yes, he pretended to be a superhero. They’re actually called that?”
“It’s kind of a nickname. Pretenders, Pop-Ups, Players, Thrillers, Flyers, Jacks.” He interrupted himself. “Forget about that. Are you sure he didn’t have any powers? That could explain…”
She thought about her last conversation with Kane. He obviously believed he was king of the universe, but what had she seen him do? Threaten and intimidate. That’s it. “Mom hates to talk about him. She said he didn’t have any powers. I don’t know. He’s very strange, and he says he has powers, but I’ve never seen him do anything unusual. Apparently, he loved the spotlight, but he was incapable of taking care of a family. That’s what Mom said. He left when I was two.”
X took her hand and laced their fingers together, squeezing it reassuringly. “But you’re not him. You’re not a Pretender who’s going to leave her husband in search of fame.”
“How do you know?” Tori cried. “My husband was mad at me before – imagine what would happen if he knew everything. And even if I can keep all this a secret, and agree not to be a superhero, it
won’t save my marriage because Casey said I’ll go to jail!”
She knew she was borderline hysterical again. So much for practicing strength and control. No wonder Joe didn’t respect her if she was always falling apart. “Is that even possible? Do they put unregistered superheroes in jail?”
“Of course not.” X pushed Tori’s knees to turn her sideways, then pulled her up against him.
“Because that’s discrimination. Bigotry! I could use my power to make laws so they can’t arrest people just because they don’t want to register with the police.” Tori’s self-pitying tears turned to righteous indignation. She could use her power for good.
X chuckled against her hair. “No one’s going to jail. I think the SLU was trying to scare you. I won’t let any of those things happen,” he said as he held her close. “I promise.”
Tori felt such relief, such comfort, that she allowed herself to lean into X. For once, she wasn’t alone. There was finally one person in the world from whom she had no secrets. After a moment, she pulled away, a guilty voice whispering in her head about being in another man’s arms. She reached into her purse for a tissue.
“I guess I know why your family hates superheroes, huh?” he asked gently.
She sighed and leaned her elbows on her knees. “Actually,” she said, not looking at him, “it wasn’t that strong an emotion for me until you kissed me and never came back.” She noticed X lean forward on his knees, too, but she wouldn’t look at him. “It’s no big deal anymore because my husband is an even better kisser than you.” She laughed a little and pushed his shoulder with hers, trying to break the tense moment.
“Is that so?”
She heard the teasing in his voice. Good. Difficult moment behind them.
“It is,” she said, feeling a little lighter. She turned to look at him as she laughed. “He’s probably better than you at everything.” The moon had gone behind a cloud and she couldn’t see very well in the dark. She could feel X’s breath. A heartbeat later, she felt his lips touch hers. White-hot lightning mixed with a flashing red alarm. The kiss was slow and warm and wet. Funny how after three months, his kiss could still feel so familiar. He kissed sort of like Joe.
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