A side door opened and a young woman with a wide face and bright yellow eyes came out. “Welcome to MDS!” she said with a broad smile. “My name is Carol. Are you here for an intake interview?”
“No. I mean, not really. I just wanted to pick up some information,” Seawolf said awkwardly.
The young woman beamed at her. “Well, we have brochures, but since you’ve already come all the way downtown, why don’t you fill out some forms and then we can do a quick intake? I’ll answer any questions you have and enter you into the system, so if later on you decide to enroll in the program, you’ll already be ready to go.” She held out a clipboard loaded with papers and a ballpoint pen.
“I guess so,” said Seawolf as she reluctantly took the clipboard.
It took longer than she anticipated to fill out the form, more due to her own anxiety than the questions being asked. She finally handed everything back to Carol, who gave her another brilliant smile, and invited her into the side room, which was a smaller office with a desk and computer. Carol sat down on the far side and Seawolf nervously took a chair.
Carol looked at her through strangely unblinking yellow eyes. “Now, we have a whole list of questions to go through, which I know might be a little tedious, but they really do help us help you. I’ll just read them off one by one and you can tell me if I’m going too fast or if you’d rather not answer any of them, okay?”
“Okay,” said Seawolf, bracing herself.
“First, let me read over the demographic information you filled out. Stop me if anything’s wrong.” She picked up the form that Seawolf had filled out and typed the answers into her computer as she talked. “Okay, so you’re 39, female, a professional superhero and non-practicing Greek Orthodox, with two years of college and interests listed as swimming, fishing, and water sports. And you prefer to go by the name ‘Seawolf’. Is that all correct?”
“That’s what I wrote,” said Seawolf gruffly.
“Excellent, alright then. Let’s get into the nitty gritty!” She smiled broadly again. “Heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual?”
“Heterosexual.”
Carol nodded and inputted the information. “What are your mutant factors?” she asked.
“I have fur and scales if that’s what you mean,” Seawolf said with a frown.
“Special abilities?”
“Superior senses, better than normal strength, excellent underwater abilities.”
“Any special disabilities?” Carol said, her yellow eyes bright and sympathetic.
Seawolf stared back blankly. “Special disabilities?” she asked.
Carol slid her chair out from behind her computer so that she could give Seawolf her undivided attention. If the woman looked any more sympathetic, she would melt, Seawolf thought with annoyance. “Do you have a mermaid problem?” Carol asked, her voice thick with compassion.
What the hell? Seawolf had a mental image of mermaids swarming her lighthouse. If that happened, she’d call the team, or perhaps exterminators, not the Mutant Dating Service. “What’s a mermaid problem?”
Carol straightened up, looking a little relieved. “Well, if you don’t know what a mermaid problem is, you probably don’t have one,” she said with a smile. “It’s when you can’t… well, it’s when you have a special disability that prevents you from being intimate with someone else. Not that MDS is only about sex,” she quickly added. “We’re here to help you make an emotional connection with a special someone, regardless of your sexual orientation, life goals, mutant factors, or any special disabilities you may have.”
“No mermaid problem,” said Seawolf curtly.
“Excellent,” said Carol, returning to her computer with a smile. “Speaking of life goals, what are yours? Specifically, what are you looking for here at MDS: a relationship, a life mate, the future father of your children?”
Seawolf flinched. “I don’t want to have children,” she said. “I’d just like to date, with hopes of finding a life mate, I guess.” She felt awkward saying the words aloud. “Wanting children isn’t a requirement, is it?” she asked as an afterthought.
“Nope, not at all,” said Carol, though Seawolf thought she looked slightly disappointed. She wondered if MDS employees got a commission for every mutant baby that resulted from their matchmaking efforts.
“Alright, now enough about you; let’s talk about what you’re looking for,” said Carol cheerfully. “Would any of the following be obstacles to your emotional attachment to another individual: exotic appearance, powerful mutant abilities, strong odors, unusual skin color or texture, wings, or other extra appendages?” She looked up at Seawolf brightly, waiting for her response.
Seawolf wasn’t sure what was worse: the thought that she was about to cross out from consideration whole categories of mutants whose only offense was their physical appearance, or the thought that somewhere else right now some other mutant might be doing the same thing to her. It was bizarre really. She had come to MDS to get away from being objectified, and yet here she was being required to objectify others.
Carol noticed her hesitation. “I know that these are hard questions,” she said, “but it’s important to be honest. It’s better to nix someone here for a physical factor than to do it in front of them. If you absolutely know that there’s no way you could be attracted to someone who looks like a giant cockroach, it’s a lot better if you tell me now rather than having to sit through a really uncomfortable date, because that’s not fair to either of you.”
Seawolf nodded. She had met her fair share of mutants that she would never honestly consider going out with. Cicada Man, for instance - great guy, but…“Strong odors could be difficult,” she admitted. “I have a very good sense of smell. And a giant cockroach, well…” her voice trailed off. She felt petty.
“It’s okay,” said Carol reassuringly. “Insect mutants have a hard time, but it’s not your responsibility to date them. We’re here to take care of you today, okay?” She smiled broadly and Seawolf nodded. She couldn’t help glancing at the clock on the wall. She had never imagined that this would take so long.
“Don’t worry - we’re almost done,” Carol reassured her. “What about employment status and educational level? Would you be able to develop an emotional attachment to someone who was corporate, government, military, a super team member - or even unemployed?”
“I’m not shopping for a business partner,” retorted Seawolf. “I could care less what he does.”
“Great,” said Carol. “Last thing: Are you willing to leave West Pacific? And if not, how do you feel about a long-distance relationship? “
Seawolf considered this. Leave West Pacific, the team, her lighthouse? “I don’t want to move,” she finally said. “I suppose a long-distance relationship would be acceptable in the beginning, but if it became serious, he would have to move here.”
“Alright then!” said Carol, typing a bit more than seemed strictly necessary to record what she’d just said. “Well, we’re currently putting together a West Pacific group and I think that within a couple weeks we’ll be ready to go. We usually do two types of events: daytime speed dating and evening socials. Most likely, I’ll be contacting you first about one of the speed dating sessions to see if you’re interested in joining in. Have you ever done anything like that before?”
Seawolf shook her head, feeling slightly sick to her stomach.
“It’s very low pressure, just a group of guys and girls who have all been preselected by MDS. Everyone gets a chance to spend a little time with everyone else, one on one, to see if there is a connection. There will be facilitators there to keep everything moving and if you like someone, you can let the facilitators know afterwards when they call you. Then if the same person has expressed an interest in you, the facilitators will help you set up a date. Simple, right?”
Seawolf nodded; her mouth had gone dry.
“And don’t worry if you don’t meet the right person the first time,” said Carol cheerfully. “I went to five or six s
essions before I met Alicia. Some people have better luck at the socials. They’re a lot of fun, even once you’ve started dating someone. It’s a great, supportive environment to bring a date for a little food, dancing, and just hanging out. Well, it’s been great to meet you! Here’s my card; give me a call as soon as you’re ready to proceed, okay?”
Seawolf took the card and shook Carol’s hand again in a daze, wondering what in the hell she had just gotten herself into.
She had barely closed the MDS office door behind her when she heard someone say “Seawolf?” The man’s voice sounded incredulous and sickeningly familiar. She briefly considered pretending she hadn’t heard him and ducking back into the office, but that would be cowardly. Maybe it wasn’t him… She turned. It was.
“Paul, this is a surprise,” she said. He looked as surprised as she felt and about as awkward. He was wearing a dark blue dress uniform with a blue tie that seemed to be tied too tight, for his face was more pink than usual. He had done something different with his hair - combed it over, perhaps - and it didn’t suit him.
“Wow, look at you,” he said, staring at her - in admiration or horror she couldn’t tell.
It was true; she was in no position to judge appearances. It hadn’t seemed appropriate to wear a wetsuit to the MDS office, and she’d gone through a dozen outfits before settling on this one: a flowered blue dress, peach-colored shawl, and her specially made shoes that bore an unfortunate resemblance to combat boots.
“Imagine running into you here,” he said, giving a questioning look at the door that she had just exited. Thank God the office was marked only by a sign reading “MDS”.
“What are you doing here?” she asked him blankly, though he clearly was wondering the same thing about her.
“Homeland security conference,” he said, adjusting his tie and only succeeding in making it tighter. She wondered if she would be required to resuscitate him if he passed out. “Off-shore threats, that sort of thing. I was presenting on the Coast Guard response to the Avalon One situation. What about you?”
She paused for a moment, looking around as if the answer to his question would magically appear on the wall. She could lie and tell him she was here on team business, but if that were the case, she would be in costume. Plus he probably knew she was on Injured Reserve, so he wouldn’t believe her anyway, and if he did and then mentioned it to Starfish, she’d get hell from Sterling. But there was no way she could tell him the real reason.
“I have to go,” she said abruptly. ‘I’m late.”
“Oh, okay,” he said, his face falling. “Well, good to see you!”
She nodded curtly and stalked off down the hall, very aware that he had turned to watch her go. She felt incredibly self-conscious. I wonder if this is what it’s like to be checked out, she thought suddenly and flushed.
Chapter 33
11:19 p.m., Wednesday, June 26th, 2013
Melville Street
West Pacific, CA
Cosmic Kid, Camille, and Starfish were in the back of one of the team vans, being driven out to meet with the WPPD who they were going to support in a raid against the Infinite Circle.
“So, everyone ready for action?” asked Cosmic Kid amiably. He was feeling good. They were only supposed to be supporting the WPPD, which had actual tactical command for the mission, but he was still field leader, even if the title had a lot of asterisks next to it.
“I suppose, though I would feel a lot more ready if I knew what it was we were doing tonight,” complained Starfish.
“We’ll get the full details once we arrive at the rendezvous,” said Cosmic Kid who realized that Starfish was annoyed that he hadn’t been told about the mission in advance.
“But you already have the details,” countered Starfish. “It would be more effective for you to debrief us now while we’re in transit.”
Cosmic Kid had been briefed an hour ago, but Dr. Sterling had given him strict instructions that he wasn’t supposed to tell anyone anything until they met up with the WPPD. Apparently, she was concerned that the mole on the team could be among the operations, communications, or driving staff; given her paranoia, it was a wonder that she had even gone along with Blue Star in making him field leader.
“You see how it is, Camille,” said Starfish. “They don’t trust us.”
Camille frowned. It was her first mission since the publicity fiasco and she seemed distracted. Cosmic Kid hoped that she would get her head in the game before actual combat took place. “Caution is a good thing, but keeping field agents in the dark is not,” she finally said. “If Sterling doesn’t trust us enough to debrief us properly, then she shouldn’t be sending us on the mission in the first place.”
Cosmic Kid reminded himself that he really needed to make a positive connection with Starfish tonight to compensate for the disastrous patrol last week. He could tell that both Camille and Starfish were unhappy – probably not just with him, but with the whole team. “It’s not a West Pacific Supers operation per se,” he told them. “We’re just supporting the WPPD.”
“Well, that makes more sense,” said Starfish. “I didn’t think that you could have already ingratiated yourself with Annie enough to be given actual field command. Though I suppose if she can make Camille acting team leader for two weeks, anything is possible.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” snapped Camille.
“Nothing at all,” said Starfish innocently. “After all, you led us to fame and glory out at Avalon One.”
Cosmic Kid shook his head; this wasn’t going well. He hadn’t expected either Starfish or Camille to be happy under his command, but he hadn’t expected insubordination either.
“Are we sure that the WPPD is in the clear?” asked Camille, clearly making an effort to ignore Starfish’s barb. “Wasn’t there some concern that there might be an Infinite Circle connection from their angle?”
“No doubt Annie has given them false information as well and she’s going to spring something entirely different on all of us when we meet up,” said Starfish. “Wasn’t the Grand Colonial mission supposed to be a fire-rescue training operation? Perhaps tonight we all think we’re doing a joint operation against the Infinite Circle, but actually we’re all going to go to a karaoke bar and have a sing-off.”
“There is an actual mission,” said Cosmic Kid, feeling frustrated.
“Oh, it makes me feel so much better to be able to take your word for it,” said Starfish derisively. “I suppose the new team hierarchy is information-based. Take White Knight’s secret identity, for instance. I was completely out of the loop on that one. Though I suppose you must have known, Camille. Sterling must have told you when she made you acting team leader, right?”
“No, she didn’t,” Camille said shortly.
“Ooh, that has to hurt,” said Starfish.
“Listen,” said Cosmic Kid, “I don’t think that we should be…”
“What?” broke in Starfish. “Socializing? If we had mission details to discuss, we could do that, but since you’re being such a good boy and not talking, the rest of us peons are stuck with idle gossip. Don’t feel badly, Camille. Sterling doesn’t tell anyone anything – and that includes our esteemed team leader Blue Star. If you ask me, she hasn’t fully recovered from Mr. Awesome’s untimely demise.”
Cosmic Kid realized the conversation was spinning out of control. “Speaking of Mr. Awesome,” he said, “any news on the Boardwalk explosion investigation?”
“You’d probably know better than we would,” snorted Starfish. “We’re not in Annie’s special friends club.”
“I’m not in any special club,” said Cosmic Kid testily. He realized that Starfish was probably upset that the team had made no progress on bringing in those responsible for nearly killing him. Fortunately tonight they were going to do exactly that, so if they could just make it to the rendezvous and get debriefed, Starfish would be in a better mood.
“I’m sure Blue Star is conducting an investigation,”
said Camille.
“Not likely,” said Starfish. “He’s too busy finding a steady girlfriend. Dr. Sterling is probably leading the investigation herself and not telling anyone. She’s too smart for her own good. I should be heading up the Boardwalk investigation.”
“You would make it personal,” said Cosmic Kid.
“Better personal than not happening,” said Starfish.
“I’m sure Dr. Sterling is conducting a determined investigation.” Cosmic Kid was a little surprised to find himself as Dr. Sterling’s defender.
“But if she isn’t using the team for the investigation who is she using, the WPPD?” asked Camille.
“Most likely White Knight and her dear vigilante friends,” said Starfish. “I believe Dr. Sterling moonlights by providing assistance to some of our local vigilantes and I imagine that Gabrielle is the contact person.”
“That’s a dangerous game,” said Camille suddenly. “I mean, I’m all for vigilantes, but involving them that closely in team business is, well, risky.”
“Such is the hubris of genius,” said Starfish. “I have two doctorates and can usually claim to be the brain of the team, though when it comes to technology, Dr. Sterling probably surpasses even my abilities. She designs tech for both Daedalus Consulting and West Pacific Labs. She studied at C.I.T. and Stanford and has been with the team longer than even you, Camille. That sort of record can make one overly self-confident.”
“She’s very private,” mused Camille. “But she’s the one person who really grasps Dr. Hodges’ vision for the team.”
“Very true,” agreed Starfish. “She’s like a daughter to him, or perhaps she actually is his daughter; from what I’ve been able to find out, Dr. Hodges and her mother were very good friends. All of which should make Annie above suspicion – but that’s suspicious in itself, isn’t it?”
“You can’t suspect Dr. Sterling was involved in the Boardwalk attack?” asked Cosmic Kid incredulously.
Camille laughed. “That’s ridiculous. She might be ambitious, but she’s no traitor. She and Mr. Awesome were close personal friends. I can’t believe though that she’s Dr. Hodges illegitimate love child, if that’s what you’re implying – that’s even more ridiculous than suggesting she’s some sort of supervillain.”
West Pacific Supers: Rising Tide Page 33