Then she passes out.
***
Elise hates trying to swim from the Pacific to the Atlantic. There’s no easy way to go about it. Either she has to go through the Suez Canal or the Panama Canal. Neither option is much fun, but the former is especially unpleasant with all the military vessels in the region.
So she opts for the Panama Canal. Instead of trying to swim through the locks, she decides to go on foot. She wishes she had some money with her for a cab. Maybe she should find some rich guy, offer to sleep with him, and then knock him out. She looks around her for a viable candidate. Her eyes settle on a blond guy in a lightweight white suit who’s grinning at her—Ellis Pate.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she says.
“I could ask you the same thing.”
“It’s none of your damned business.”
“Is that any way to talk to your king?”
“We’re not in Pacifica, so you can cram it.”
“You are a citizen of Pacifica, therefore your allegiance is to me no matter where you go.”
“Why do you have such a hard-on about my allegiance to you?”
“Because you need to learn your place.”
‘“My place?’ Is this the goddamned 1950s or did you join up with the Taliban?”
“I can’t believe I would ever take to being a girl so easily. It barely took you two months to get yourself knocked up. Disgusting.”
“Maybe you should try it. You might find it liberating.”
“I doubt that. How did Paul take the news when you broke it to him?”
“Not well, but he got over it.”
“I’m sure he was ecstatic to hear I returned.”
“You stay the hell away from Paul.”
“Why? Not like you’re going to do anything with him. You’ve got your husband at home. Why don’t you go back to him, put your apron on, and then cook up some more of his disgusting babies?”
That does it. The bastard can insult her all he wants. He can even make his veiled insults about Erek. But Ariel is off limits. Now he’ll see what a mama bear does when provoked.
She doubles him over with a punch to the stomach. It gives her a giddy thrill to see his look of surprise. Didn’t see that one coming, did you? She follows it up with a knee to his face. When he tumbles to the ground, she kicks him in the ribs a few times. “Don’t you ever talk about my daughter like that again!”
She wants to kick him a few more times, but someone grabs her by the shoulder. She tries to shake the hand away, but it’s too strong. “I think you should come with me,” Apex Man says.
Chapter 16
Starla can’t remember the last time she has spent so long inside a vehicle. It probably hasn’t been since Ma and Pa took her across the country to the Grand Canyon. That had been when Stan Shaw had been ten years old. Not long after that he gained the ability to fly, which meant he no longer needed to rely on traditional conveyances.
As it is, she wishes Billy had rented a bigger car. Even for a shrimp like her there’s not much leg room. It’s just as well she doesn’t have much in the way of luggage to pack since the trunk is pretty much nonexistent. She feels bad if this is all Billy can afford; she’ll have to find a way to pay him back.
Once they’ve left the city behind, she rolls down the window. She sticks her head outside like she’s a dog, though she’s careful enough to take her glasses off first. She closes her eyes as she takes in a few deep breaths of the clean country air. It has been far too long since she took time for that. Atomic City’s air barely met quality standards while the air up at the Lair is so cold it’s devoid of any smells of life.
When she leans back in, she finds Billy looking at her. “What was that about?”
“I wanted to take in the air.”
“I’d try that but I have to drive.”
“I can hold the wheel.”
“I’d better not.”
“There should be a rest stop up ahead. At least there used to be.”
“Sounds great. I could use to stretch my legs.”
It’s not really a rest stop; the sign calls it a “scenic overlook.” There’s not anything to overlook since the whole place is covered with trees. They use the bathrooms—outhouses really—and then wander the grounds. Billy reaches out to take her hand as they enter the forest.
The trees are beginning to change colors so there’s still some green amongst the leaves. Mostly it’s a sea of yellow and orange above them that makes her think of a sunset. She wonders why she never found time to come out here in the fall before. By the time she came out to visit Ma and Pa for Thanksgiving the leaves were gone.
She starts to laugh. Being earthbound has made her appreciate all the things she used to take for granted when she could fly through space if she wanted. She had vision more keen than any normal person’s and yet she had missed so much.
“What’s so funny?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.” She squeezes his hand. “I’m happy.”
“I’m happy too.” He leans down to kiss her amongst the trees. This is something else she took for granted all those years she had pined for Kate. Why had she denied herself this joy the last year when it was right in front of her?
Her good mood wears off when she sees the first sign for Rockford. Then the nerves begin to settle in. She still doesn’t know what she’s going to do in town. The best plan she can think of is to try to find someone’s identity she might assume. Maybe someone close to her age has gone missing.
The problem with that is if the missing person has a family. She couldn’t bear to be “reunited” with a stranger’s family. She couldn’t play with their emotions like that. But what else can she do?
“You all right?” Billy asks. “You look a little green.”
“I think it’s that tuna sandwich.”
“Guess you should have ordered the chicken salad.”
“I guess.”
“You need me to pull over?”
“I’ll be fine.”
She stares out the window as the scenery becomes familiar to her. They pass by the Glavinic’s farm. Pa used to take her there about this time of year for pumpkins to carve. She points to the orange globes in the fields. “We should stop for some pumpkins on the way back.”
“That would be neat,” he says. She likes that he’s enough of a nerd to call things “neat.”
“They’d liven up the shelter a bit.”
“They sure would.”
She’s glad they don’t go past Ma and Pa’s place. She’s equally glad her vision is so poor that she can’t make out any of the buildings from the road. Despite her earlier fantasies of returning to them, the situation is more complicated now that Stan Shaw is back. Has he already told them? Surely they’d have to know their son is alive; they’d have seen him on the news. It’s better for them to think they only have a son instead of a son and a daughter. Things must be strange enough for them already.
“Downtown” Rockford is the same as she remembers. A few of the shop windows are boarded up, but most everything is still there. They pass by the window of the newspaper where she worked as a delivery boy; reading those papers had helped to interest her in journalism. And there’s the restaurant where she worked in high school.
There’s only one stoplight, which conveniently turns green for them. “So where’s city hall?” he asks.
“Should be up ahead. Unless they moved things.”
Of course city hall is still where she remembers. All the city’s services are housed in the one complex: the administration offices, fire department, police department, and the library. She supposes the library is where she should start if she wants to pull this off.
She looks over at Billy. When she does this, there’s no going back. She’ll be that person for the rest of her life. She’ll have to keep that secret from him and from everyone else forever. But what kind of relationship can they have if she’s lying about something so simple as her name?
> She takes a deep breath. “I can’t do this.”
Billy takes her hand. “It’s all right, Star. I’ll be right beside you.”
“It’s not that, Billy. It’s…My name isn’t Star. It’s Starla. Starla Marsh.”
She’s not sure how he’ll react. She worries he might scream at her. He might laugh at her. He stares at her. After a minute he manages to say, “That’s impossible. You can’t be Starla. She was…different.”
“I know.” She takes another deep breath. She has gone this far, so she might as well go all the way with it. “This is going to be hard for you to accept, but…I’m Apex Girl. Or I used to be. Starla Marsh was the cover name the government set up for me. I really come from a planet far away from here, one that’s destroyed.”
“But you’re not Apex Girl anymore?”
“No. I gave it up. Kate was right that I was doing a lousy job of protecting the world. When that convoy was destroyed and all those people were killed, I went up to my secret place to talk to my real father. He made a formula that allowed me to become normal. And, well, this is what happened.”
“This is crazy. You mean all this time you’ve been lying to me?”
“I didn’t think you’d believe me.”
“Well, you’re right. I don’t believe you. It’s terrible to pull a stunt like this.” She’s surprised to see tears in his eyes. “I really did love you.”
“I love you too, Billy. That’s why I had to tell you. I didn’t want to keep lying to you. You have to believe me.”
“I don’t think I can.” He turns the car off and then opens his door. He begins to shamble down the sidewalk like a zombie. Starla watches him go until tears cloud her vision.
***
When Allison wakes up, she can’t feel anything around her. It’s like she’s floating in air. She opens her eyes to realize that’s exactly what’s happening. Someone has suspended her in zero-G, the only way to keep Velocity Gal in place. She’s surprised to see Elise floating in a compartment next to her. Elise is still unconscious, but looks none the worse for wear.
Someone clears his throat. She turns to see Colonel Storm sitting outside the compartment in a wheelchair. His face is sporting a few new scars, which only add to the stoniness of his expression. “How are you feeling?” he asks.
“A little sore.” She paddles forward, towards the glass. She should be able to accelerate her molecules enough to shatter it—
“Everything in there is coated with the same frictionless stuff as your suit. You won’t be able to break it.”
“We’ll see.” She puts her hand against the glass. She tries accelerating her molecules, but he’s right that she can’t break through. She floats away from the glass.
“What the hell is going on here?” Elise shouts. “Where the hell are we?”
“You’re in a secure facility,” Storm says.
“What for?”
“Officially this is a routine debriefing. Unofficially you’re being put out to pasture.”
“You’re going to kill us?” Allison asks.
“No. Some people wanted that, but I think that wouldn’t be right after all you attempted to do for your country.”
“It’s not my country, asshole,” Elise growls.
“True, but you were an asset. One we no longer require.”
“You son of a bitch! You’re part of this, aren’t you? That whole attack on the convoy was a setup. You can probably get out of that wheelchair anytime you want.”
“My doctors would disagree with that assessment.”
“If you’re not going to kill us, then what are you going to do?”
Major Hall’s voice says, “One of our new friends came up with something to take care of this problem.” He comes to stand next to Colonel Storm, a syringe filled with something silver in his hand. “Your buddy Starla is the one who came up with it. This stuff here made her as ordinary as any real human. Or maybe it killed her. We can’t be sure. But we figure if it worked on her, it should work on you.”
“But she’s an alien. We’re not,” Elise says.
“Our physiology is completely different. For that matter mine is completely different from Elise’s.”
Hall says, “That’s all a little above my pay grade. Our friend Alan Bass thinks it will work.”
Storm grins at them, which is always a frightening change of pace. “If it works, then great. We’ll have a weapon to use should those freaks get out of hand. If it doesn’t, then we’ll flood those compartments with enough poison gas to take down a herd of elephants.”
“Why are you doing this? We’ve done nothing but try to help,” Allison says.
“This planet isn’t big enough for two Super Squads. From what I’ve seen it’s pretty clear which one is more beneficial.”
“You stupid son of a bitch! Those guys are setting you up! You’re dancing to their tune like a goddamned marionette.”
“I never wanted you girls around in the first damned place. That was Dalton’s work. Now we’re going to correct that.”
Storm motions to Hall. He places the syringe into a tube that’s sucked into Elise’s compartment. A robot arm grabs the syringe. In zero-G there’s nothing Elise can do but paddle around, trying to avoid the arm. In such a confined space, it’s only a matter of time before the syringe is jammed into her arm.
Elise lets out a scream. The silver liquid slowly drains into her. And then…nothing. Elise rubs the injection spot. “Is that it?”
“Poison gas it is then.”
“No, wait!” Allison shouts. During the exchange she notes Elise’s hair going lank and her muscles atrophying slightly. After a few more seconds her hair becomes perfectly straight while it darkens at the roots. Allison watches it turn from gold to a dull light brown, only a shade or two lighter than her own.
That’s the most superficial change. Elise’s body continues to shed muscle while at the same time her frame compacts. She screams as her body shortens probably four inches in the span of a minute. As well as muscle and height, Elise loses the mass in her breasts; they shrink probably two cup sizes. For the final touch, acne scars bloom across her pale cheeks.
Elise floats in the compartment, panting from the pain. Major Hall smiles nastily. “She sure got hit by the ugly stick.”
“Fuck…you,” she mumbles.
“Not for all the tea in China, honey.” He turns to Allison. “I guess it’s your turn next.”
“No, please. Don’t do this. I won’t interfere with you. I’ll go home and retire.”
“Afraid not, sweetheart. Now take your medicine like a good girl and maybe I’ll give you a lollypop.”
Having seen what happened with Elise, Allison knows there’s no point trying to fight it. She closes her eyes and waits for the prick of the needle. The contents of the syringe burn as they enter her veins.
She keeps her eyes closed until the pain begins. Then she can’t help but open them. A detached part of her scientific mind catalogs the changes to her body. Like Elise she’s getting shorter and thinner. Except she seems to be getting much shorter. Her breasts shrink until they’re practically invisible. Oh God, no, she’s becoming a child!
Her screams are cut off as a vise seizes her chest. All she can manage is a wheeze. It’s a familiar sound from her childhood, on up until college. Her asthma is back and given the shock to her body, it’s worse than ever.
She claws futilely at her throat. “She’s dying!” Elise shouts. “Help her!”
“Get her out of there,” Storm says.
“But—”
“Just do it. And get a damned medic here.”
Allison’s vision dims to pinpoints as gravity returns to the compartment. She’s dropped hard onto the deck, where she mercifully passes out. As she does, she wonders if she’ll ever see her family again.
Part 3
Chapter 17
Robin stands in line at the front desk of the motel, clad in a pink hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans that
make her look almost identical to the teen daughter of the family ahead of her. Maybe she has disguised herself a little too well this time; they probably won’t even let her check in by herself. She should have asked Jasper to come along to pretend to be her grandpa.
She selected the Hampton Inn because it’s rated a solid two stars. Her first thought was to find the sleaziest one-star motel in the area, the kind where you can rent rooms by the hour. Then she figured that would be the first place he would look for her. Her next thought was to do the opposite and rent a suite at the most expensive hotel in Boston. But then she thought he would probably try there next. The two-star motel seems like a decent compromise.
Her sweatshirt and jeans go perfectly with her fake driver’s license giving her name as Valerie Heap of Cheboygan, Michigan. She has a student ID for Lake Superior State to go with the driver’s license. It’s the kind of boring, unassuming identity that will make it difficult for anyone to track her down.
As she expected, the clerk does give her a once-over when she says she’s checking in. She takes out her fake license and the credit card she had issued to her fake identity. The clerk gives these both a long look, but then goes about her job.
While the clerk is going through her spiel about breakfast hours, Robin hears a familiar squeal. She barely has time to turn before Melanie is draped over her. If not for her martial arts training, Robin probably would have been knocked to the ground by this onslaught. “I knew you’d come!” Melanie shrieks.
Robin nudges her with an elbow hard enough to shove her back. “What have I said about that?”
“I’m sorry. I’m so glad to see you.”
The clerk gives Robin another look. “Is your friend going to be staying with you?”
“No. She goes to MIT. She’ll be staying in her dorm.”
“We do still have some rooms with double beds—”
“This will be fine,” Robin snaps and then snatches the key cards away from the clerk. She wishes she could stomp away, but she can’t with her wheeled suitcase in tow.
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