“Hurry up,” the one behind them says.
Billy reaches into his pocket. He holds up his wallet. “Here it is. Just take it and go.”
“What about the little bitch here? What’s she got?”
“She doesn’t have anything.”
The man behind her cops a feel of her breasts. “She ain’t got anything all right. She your little sister or something?”
“She’s my friend. Leave her alone.”
“Or what you going to do about it?” The man shoves Starla to the ground. She lands hard on her backside. If she were still Apex Girl she would already have both of these men tied up and on the way to the police. But now there’s nothing she can do except sob on the sidewalk while the two armed men loom over Billy.
“Look, you got your money. Why don’t you take it and go?”
“Maybe money isn’t all we want. Maybe we’d like to pop your girl’s cherry while you watch.”
“You do anything to her—”
“And what? You gonna run home and tell your mommy on us?”
They advance on Billy. They have guns, but she figures they aren’t going to use them, not right away. First, they’ll beat him up with their fists for the fun of it. Then, after they’ve beaten him to a pulp and probably done terrible things to her in front of him, they’ll shoot them both.
Starla’s fists clench. She might be a tiny, scrawny girl, but she can’t let them do that to Billy. With a scream she launches herself at one of the men. She climbs onto his back, to punch and kick at him futilely while he tries to buck her off.
All she manages to do is make them angrier. The other man whips her across the face with his pistol. She collapses onto the ground. As she lays there, she tries to think what Robin would do in this situation. She would probably use some of that kung fu of hers or pull out some fancy device. No, Robin wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place; she had better sense than to be out in a neighborhood like this at night.
From the ground she sees a familiar yellow-and-red shape descend on the scene. Apex Man grabs both offenders by the back of the sweatshirt to hoist them into the air. As if they were rag dolls, he hurls them into a wall.
Billy rushes over to help Starla to her feet. Apex Man turns to face them. He flashes a smile to them. “You should get this young lady home.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you.”
“Just doing my job.” Then Apex Man grabs the criminals again. In no time they’ll be at police headquarters.
Meanwhile, Starla trembles and sobs in Billy’s arms while he hugs her tightly. “Let’s get you home,” he whispers. She nods slightly, grateful to have him here. It occurs to her now how often she was on the other end of this equation, how many times she’d grabbed criminals and flown off, leaving emotionally devastated people in her wake. Why hadn’t she ever stuck around to help them? At least she could have given them a ride home. She could have given them the number of a counselor to help deal with the emotional stress. But she hadn’t. She had just assumed taking the bad guys away was all she needed to do.
She stops him in front of Greta’s house. “Thank you for sticking up for me back there,” she says.
“I didn’t really do anything.”
“No, but you tried.”
“So did you.” He smiles at her. “I’m the one who should be thanking you.”
“I guess we’re even then.”
“I guess.” They lean forward at the same time. Their lips meet in the middle. It occurs to her this is her first kiss as a girl. Physically it doesn’t feel different than her few kisses as a man. It’s inside that she feels different. There’s a level of fulfillment she never felt with anyone else, a contentedness that settles over her after Billy pulls away.
That’s when she knows she loves him. It’s too early to say that, so she says instead, “Come inside and we’ll call a cab for you.”
“I can walk. What are the odds of getting mugged twice in the same night, right?”
“Billy, please. For me?”
He runs a hand through her hair and then nods. “Sure. It’ll be quicker, right?”
She presses close to him again as they go inside. She’s sure Greta will be surprised to see them together like this, but at the moment she doesn’t care.
Chapter 13
It’s bad enough Allison has to share a bedroom with this supposed Alan Bass, but now she has to share her lab with him too. He studies the diagrams of the alien weapon Dr. Roboto had managed to reactivate, the one that had turned the first Alan into Allison. “So this is what did it?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re still not sure how it works?”
“It’s an alien weapon. It runs on a whole different set of principles.”
“Physics is still physics.”
“Not exactly.” She relates one of their latest theories that this weapon might not only come from an alien world; it might also come from an alien dimension. “In another dimension, everything we know could be completely different. Up could be down or black could be white.”
“That seems like a good way to cover your ass. If you can’t explain it, make up some ridiculous theory to excuse yourself.”
“Look, I didn’t ask you to be here. There are plenty of other projects you could work on around here.”
“Like maybe one to prove who’s the real Alan Bass?”
“That would be a good start.”
“How do you propose we do that?”
“If one of us is a clone, there should be a slight difference on the subatomic level. We need to get samples from both of us and then examine them down to the tiniest particles.”
“You think I’d trust you to look at my DNA?”
“No more than I’d trust you.”
Alan plops down on a stool with a groan. “We both know what this is really about. It’s not about which one of us is real or not. It’s about who gets Sally and Jenny. So, how about a compromise?”
“Like what, cut them in half?”
“Sort of. It’s obvious Jenny loves me and it’s obvious Sally loves you. It would make sense then to split things along those lines. Sally and I can get a divorce. She can keep you and I take Jenny.”
“You really think Sally would go for that?”
“I think she’ll like it better than the alternative.”
“Uh-huh. And you think I’m going to let my daughter live with you?”
Alan shoots to his feet. He glares down at Allison. “She’s not your daughter. You’re nothing to her. She wouldn’t even notice if you disappeared.”
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s a fact. Jenny only tolerates you because of Sally. If you left, she wouldn’t shed a single goddamned tear.”
“That’s not true.”
“You know damned well it’s the truth. I’m her daddy and she knows it.”
Allison’s fists clench. She’s about to deck her male counterpart when the ground shakes. An earthquake? She thinks that for about another thirty seconds, when the ceiling is peeled away like tinfoil. One of those ten-foot robots from New Zealand glares down at her. This one is slightly different in that there’s a transparent bubble in the head.
Inside the bubble is Carrie Dalton.
“I think you have something that belongs to me,” she says.
***
Robin looks over the information taken from the cameras on her plane before it went down. After a week of analysis she still can’t figure out how the robots kept appearing seemingly out of the blue. About all she can guess is it’s another damned alien weapon.
She shakes her head. When she first decided to fight crime she thought it would be pretty straightforward. She thought she would be punching out purse-snatchers, thwarting bank robberies, and putting a dent in organized crime. That’s the kind of stuff an ordinary person with martial arts training and a lot of fancy gadgets can handle.
Then along came Apex Man, a being from another world who could do all sorts of crazy
things, even breathe fire. That, as they said, was a “game changer.” Since then the universe has kept shrinking as more and more alien technology appears. Most of it seems aimed more at hurting the human race than helping it. That or it seems to have a nasty habit of falling into the wrong hands.
At times like this she wishes she could build a ship to find some of these alien races. Maybe she could head off some of these problems. But Starla was the only one who could go into the stars and she hadn’t liked to do so because too much time away from Earth’s sun would weaken her. Now she’s gone with that impostor in her place.
The iPad signals she has a call. It’s Melanie of course; no one else calls her on Skype. She taps a button to bring up Melanie’s face. She doesn’t look too bad, which is better than a couple of times when she has called in tears. “Hi,” Melanie says.
“Hi.”
“Whatcha doing?”
“Just looking over readings from that thing in New Zealand.”
“It’s too bad I missed that one.”
“Not really,” Robin says as she thinks of that robot swatting her plane like a fly. If Melanie had been there, she might have been killed. If nothing else, Robin would have wound up drenched in barf after that spin.
“What are you stuck on?”
“Trying to figure out how those things showed up without anyone knowing.”
“Why don’t you send me the data? I can analyze it. Maybe I could run it past some of my professors—”
“Do any of them have Top Secret clearance?”
“No—”
“Then leave them out of it. This is hush-hush stuff.”
“Oh, I see.” Melanie’s smile fades for a moment. “So, are you going to come up this weekend for homecoming? I know you have important things to do—”
“I might. If nothing pressing comes up.”
Melanie’s face brightens. “Really? That’s great! I’ll have Mom buy us tickets to the game and then I’ll have to get my hair done—”
“Don’t go overboard. I said I might come.”
“Sorry.” Melanie’s lower lip trembles as if she’s about to cry. Robin resists the urge to roll her eyes.
“I will try really hard to be there, all right?”
“Sure. I wish I were as important to you as all this superhero stuff.”
“Oh come on, don’t start that again. You’re the most important person in my life.”
“There’s not much competition, is there?”
“I love you. Can’t you accept that?”
“I love you too, but part of loving each other is spending time together.”
“I’m not the one who decided to go to MIT.”
“Maybe you should have.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I mean maybe it would have done you some good to come with me. You could at least try to live like a normal person.”
“I was doing that, remember? You’re the one who wanted us to get back into the superhero game. All we had to do was say no to Storm when he called and that would have been it.”
“So this is my fault?”
Now Robin rolls her eyes. “You know that’s not what I’m saying.”
“It sounds like it.”
“Why do you keep doing this to me? It’s like we’re an old married couple already.”
“I’m sorry. I miss you.”
“I miss you too.”
“So come up this weekend. Please?”
“As long as nothing comes up—”
An alert sounds on her iPad. Something has come up. “I’ve got to go.”
“Robin, be careful.”
“I’m always careful.”
Though she hates doing so, she purses her lips as if to kiss Melanie. Then she touches the alert icon to bring up a message. Focal City is under attack. More of those damned robots. Probably showed up out of the blue again.
She takes the elevator down to the bunker. At least the impostor hasn’t walled up all the entrances yet. When the doors open she finds him grabbing some items from the armory. Without a word, she begins to suit up in her costume.
By the time she’s finished, he’s in the hangar, warming up the jet he came in. It’s a pretty good imitation of the Mark II she wrecked about five years ago. She can’t imagine where he got it from. At least it has two seats. “Mind if I get a lift to Focal City?” she asks.
“I don’t work with kid sidekicks.”
“I’m not a goddamned sidekick.”
“You look like it from here.”
“Listen, you shit, I was fighting crime before you were a gleam in the eye of whatever shithead alien created you.”
“You’re the one who was created by some shithead alien.”
“Nice comeback.”
“It doesn’t change anything. You can stay here and write in your diary or whatever it is you do.”
“You sexist son of a bitch!”
He pulls the fuel line away from the plane. This gives her the chance to scurry up the ladder. Except before she can make it, something wraps around her ankles. Without looking she knows it’s a bolo, one of the weapons from the armory.
She tries to pull herself up the rest of the way, but she can’t. He grabs her by the cape to yank her off the ladder. She reaches for the Taser on her belt, but he swats this away. “If you know what’s good for you, you won’t try that again.”
“This isn’t over,” Robin growls, but she knows it’s not true.
“See you, kid.”
She rolls across the hangar seconds before he cuts in the vertical lift jets that would have burned her into a crisp. She hates herself for crying like a baby as he lifts off without her. “I’ll get you for this!” she shrieks, but she knows he can’t hear her.
***
Elise watches Ariel sleep on her stomach, her thumb in her mouth. At times like this her daughter looks so peaceful that it’s hard to fathom how terrible the world outside this room can be. When Ariel moans, Elise wants to swim over to her, but a second later her daughter is still again.
She feels an arm slip around her shoulders. “She is a beautiful child,” Erek says. “So much like her mother.”
“And her father.”
“I never considered myself beautiful before.”
“You are to me.”
They kiss, though not very passionately with their daughter in the room. It won’t be much longer until Ariel will be able to swim on her own, which will make privacy that much more difficult. Elise doesn’t mind that, not like she might have a year ago when she was still a man. Back then she had no idea how wonderful it is to be a mother. Even with the drawbacks, she wouldn’t go back to her old life for anything.
She and Erek slip out to the living room, where they make themselves comfortable on a coral sofa Erek had carved. With no television or radio there’s not much to do at times like these except to stare outside the window to watch the sea life drift past. She snuggles closer to Erek to let the warmth of his body comfort her.
“Is something wrong?”
“There are times I wish I hadn’t married such a perceptive man.”
“Whatever’s wrong, you can tell me.”
“I’m worried about the king. You saw how he embarrassed me in front of everyone.”
“I know. I wish I could have done something to help you.”
“If you had we’d all be dead right now.” Elise shakes her head. “I’m worried we aren’t safe here. I keep thinking of what my father told me—my biological father. He said my mother sent me to the surface because she worried someone would hurt me.”
“And you think we should send Ariel away?”
“No, of course not. But maybe we should move somewhere else, somewhere out of the way. There are seven oceans on this planet; we could live in any of them, couldn’t we?”
“Yes, of course.”
“I know it would be a big change—”
“You don’t have to worry, my darling. I unders
tand perfectly.”
“I thought you might. You’re too good to be true sometimes.”
“Only sometimes?” he teases.
“I was thinking of going up to the surface for a day or two. I could do some research to find somewhere far away and that has coral nearby. Maybe the Caribbean? It should be nice and warm there and on the other side of the world from Pacifica.”
“It sounds lovely.”
“You really won’t mind?”
“I think you’re right. We need to do this for Ariel. Her safety is everything.”
“I’m glad we agree.”
They’re kissing again when her communicator goes off. It’s a message from Major Hall. Focal City is under attack.
“I’d better go. Allison and Robin might need me.”
“Of course. Just be careful.”
“I will.” She gives him one last kiss on the cheek before she swims away, leaving her family behind again.
Chapter 14
With two of them, it’s easy enough to make off with the pieces of Dr. Roboto’s weapon. The computer files they’ll have to leave behind, but they won’t do Dalton any good. Allison takes off in one direction while Alan heads in another.
The question now is what to do with the pieces in her hand. She can dispose of them anywhere; she could even toss them into a volcano if she wants. Maybe she should to make sure the weapon can’t fall into the wrong hands again. But then how will she ever be able to change herself back? How will she ever be able to be the real Alan Bass again?
It takes her only five seconds to get up to Seattle. She hides the pieces in an abandoned factory. She leaves her clothes on top of the pieces to retrieve later. It’s a good thing she wore her costume underneath her clothes today.
She speeds back to Focal City. With her targets gone, Dalton and her robots have taken to laying waste to the city. Dalton probably figures she can draw Allison and Alan out that way so she can capture them. It is a pretty good strategy.
It’s not the kind of thinking Dalton should be capable of, not the Dalton they’d seen during her trial. That woman could barely tie her shoes without assistance. That woman also had died when her convoy was practically vaporized.
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