Arena 91, Thursday afternoon, Oct 18th, 2007
I crouched down on the edge of the rooftop, looking down at the ground several stories below me. From this high up, the people all looked like ants. Well, they actually were ANTS, robots that were designed to simulate people in the arena.
While I scanned the streets for my opponent, I quietly sang, “Where oh where has my little cat gone, where oh where can she be…?”
Then I spotted my opponent and began to grin. Tabby Cat was dressed in her professional costume, which consisted of a sexy black outfit, which was lined with a bit of fur trim. She was in great shape, especially for being the mother of a teenager. However, that kind of thing could be expected of an exemplar.
For a moment, I let myself bask in the smugness of having found my opponent before she could find me. After all, she might be sneaky, but I was sneakier. However, I had to remind myself not to get cocky. Getting overconfident against someone like Tabby Cat, who was an active hero and a member of S.T.A.R. League, was a good way to lose.
The smart move would be to carefully follow Tabby Cat, and then when the perfect opportunity arose, ambush her. But then again, that might be the smart strategy, but it wasn’t nearly as much fun as what I had in mind.
With that, I dropped my chameleon field and stood up, calling out, “Here kitty kitty…”
Tabby Cat looked up at me, though her mouth immediately dropped open. I grinned at that, as I’d obviously stunned her with my magnificence. At the moment, I was currently wearing a variation of my usual costume, except that it was bright red. I had laser pointers strapped to each of my wrists, and I wore a utility belt, which had catnip mousies and a ball of yarn hanging from it.
“It is I,” I called out dramatically, “Your archenemy…the Red Dot. You will never catch me…”
Tabby Cat blinked at that and then closed her mouth. Then she stood there with her hands on her hips. “Really Imp?” she called out. “Really?”
At this point, I could have changed tactics and behaved like a mature professional…but why start now? Instead, I blew Tabby Cat a raspberry, then called out, “Eat exploding mousey…”
I threw one of the catnip mice at Tabby Cat, who dove to the side in order to avoid an explosion. Of course, it was just an ordinary mouse, of the non-exploding variety, but this gave me a great distraction to run and vanish.
As soon as Tabby Cat realized that she’d been had, she called out, “I’m coming for you Imp.”
“That’s Red Dot,” I called back with a laugh.
Once I was far enough away, I pulled out the laser pointers and beamed the red dots to the ground in front of her, wondering if she’d give into her feline instincts and chase them. Much to my disappointment, she didn’t. Nor was she distracted by the catnip mice I tossed at her.
“Here kitty kitty,” I taunted the hero, grinning maniacally as I did. Tabby Cat and I had talked about sparring for a couple weeks, and now we were finally doing it, and I was having a blast. “Remember, Bob Barker says to spay and neuter your pets…”
Just then, I suddenly realized that while I’d been taunting my opponent, she’d used one of my own tricks, to take advantage of the distraction and vanish. I looked around, not seeing any sign of the hero, though I knew she was close. In fact, I was pretty sure that she was carefully sneaking up on me. And if I was going to ambush me, where would I come from?”
“My Imp senses are tingling,” I said.
There was a sudden movement from behind me, but I was expecting this and dove to the side, while simultaneously focusing my PK aura to create a shield along my back, right where a pair of claws struck. Between that and my momentum, I slipped out of Tabby Cat’s reach, then leapt up to a wall, where I began to quickly climb.
“Never underestimate the power of the Imp Force,” I called out, wagging my tail at Tabby Cat.
“So, you want to play cat and mouse,” Tabby Cat called back with a grin. “I’m all for that. Remember who usually wins in those games…”
I laughed at that, then blew her another raspberry. “If Saturday morning cartoons have taught me anything, it’s that the mouse does.” Then with an grin, I exclaimed, “Arriba! Arriba! Andale! Andale!,” and took off even faster.
Tabby Cat chased after me, scrambling up a fire escape at a surprising speed. She was faster, more maneuverable, and sharper than most of the heroes I played this game with. She was able to keep pace with me, and I was pretty sure that in a straight out fight, she’d be able to beat me. Fortunately for me, I preferred to avoid straight out fights whenever possible, which meant that she had to keep working to keep up.
“You know, you can’t avoid me forever,” Tabby Cat called out to me. “I’ve been in the game for a long time, and I’m not about to let you escape me, little mouse…”
I just grinned at that. Tabby Cat was mistaken, because this wasn’t a game of cat and mouse. This was a game of Cat and Imp, and that was an entirely different game, one which I excelled at playing.
Somehow, Tabby Cat managed to slip out of my sight again, which annoyed me, because that was my usual trick. However, it didn’t take long before she tried to pounce on me again, but I saw her coming and not only leapt out of her way, but responded by throwing a handful of catnip right into her face.
“What the hell was that?” Tabby Cat demanded, coughing and sneezing.
“Bad old puddy tat,” I teased her, using my best Tweety Bird impression.
“If you call my Sylvester,” Tabby Cat responded, “I will personally pluck every feather from your body.”
I burst out laughing at that, then gave her a Sylvester impression. “Thuffering thuccotash…”
For a moment, the two of us just stood there, taking a brief break. Tabby Cat shook her head to get some of the catnip out of her hair, then commented, “I think I’m actually starting to get a buzz from this…”
“Just don’t bogart the nip, man,” I responded in my best Chong voice.
Tabby Cat gave me an amused look, right before she leapt right at me with her claws extended. I focused all the energy of my PK aura to the spot she hit, creating a small shield that kept her claws from tearing into me. Then, I slammed her with my palm, shifting much of the energy from my aura into my hand so that I sent her flying back in surprise. Then with a wink and a bow, I threw another catnip mouse at her, bouncing it off her head before I turned and ran.
We continued our game, with Tabby Cat chasing after me, while we took turns trying to slip away so we could ambush each other. However, by this time, I’d already shifted the odds a little in my favor.
My opponent had certain catlike abilities, and I was pretty sure that this included enhanced senses, though I wasn’t positive. Enhanced senses were always a pain for me to deal with, because one of my best tricks involved making myself vanish. That didn’t work quite as well when my opponents could still smell me. That was why I’d thrown the catnip in Tabby Cat’s face. I hadn’t done it just to tease her, though admittedly, that was a great benefit. The main reason was that I was trying to overwhelm her sense of smell, making it more difficult for her to track me that way. And from how well I was able to pull my vanishing trick after this, that little trick seemed to have worked. Either that, or she never had an enhanced sense of smell to begin with.
Our game continued for a little longer, with neither of us getting a solid advantage. When the buzzer went off, announcing that we’d run out of time, Tabby Cat and I stopped and called it a tie.
“Now that was fun,” I told Tabby as we left the arena.
Tabby nodded, then admitted, “I don’t know whether to be frustrated or entertained.”
“From my experience,” Elizabeth Carson pointed out wryly, making me nearly jump in surprise since I hadn’t realized that she’d come to watch, “that’s the usual reaction from dealing with the Imp.”
“Hey, I resemble that remark,” I commented.
I gave Carson a curious look, wondering how long she’d been here watching our match. Carson and I had an odd relationship, because not only was she my current boss, she was also a former dance partner. Along with being the headmistress of Whateley, she happened to be Lady Astarte, a superhero whom I’d had the misfortune of running into during one of my jobs, a few years ago.
Carson leaned over to Tabby, and in a conspiratorial tone that I was obviously meant to hear, she admitted, “After the first time I ran into the Imp, in a real world situation similar to this, I was tempted to chase her down and strangle her…and I might have…if I could have stopped laughing long enough to do it.”
“So, my secret plan worked,” I commented.
From the way I remembered our encounter, Carson had NOT been laughing at the time. In fact, she’d seemed pretty offended by the way I kept mocking her, and calling her Ass Tart. Of course, now that she was my boss, it was probably better that I didn’t remind her of that.
“Did you need something?” Tabby asked Carson, giving her a curious look.
Carson just shook her head. “Actually, a meeting fell through, and since I suddenly had a hole in my schedule, I thought that I’d take advantage of this extra time to come and watch your sparring match. It was…interesting.”
“It wouldn’t do to earn a reputation for being boring,” I pointed out.
“I really don’t think that is ever likely to happen,” Carson said with a wry smile. “You are anything but boring.”
“Thank you,” I beamed cheerfully.
While Tabby and I briefly chatted with Carson, I noted that she hadn’t been our only audience. Tabby’s daughter Lily was standing around a short distance away, obviously not comfortable with the idea of interrupting Carson. However, as soon as Carson left, she hurried in our direction.
“And you want my team to go up against HER?” Lily quietly asked her mom, while giving me a wary look.
“It would be educational,” Tabby responded with a smile. “Remember, not all your opponents will use the same tactics, and if nothing else, Imp will help you learn how to deal with the unexpected.”
“Wondercute does that well enough.” Lily gave me another wary look, then sniffed. “What’s that smell?”
“Catnip,” Tabby admitted with a shake of her head.
Seeing an opportunity, I put an arm around Tabby’s shoulder and told Lily, “Your mother has been too embarrassed to admit that she has a catnip problem. But don’t worry,” I winked at Tabby, “there are some good twelve step programs to help you with that…”
Lily snickered at that while Tabby gave me a wry look. “I do not have a catnip program…”
“Admitting that you have a problem is the first step towards solving it,” I teased her. Lily began laughing harder at that.
With that, I left Tabby to talk with her daughter, while I went to the locker room to shower and get changed. I made sure that no one else was around before undressing. After all, it wouldn’t do to risk accidentally stunning some poor girl with my undressed magnificence.
Though I’d never admit it to anyone else, I was actually a little self-conscious about my body. I had a great body, which was lithe and athletic, with great muscle tone and just enough curves to be appealing. However, I also had a black devil tail growing out of my lower spine, and small black scales that covered my shoulders, as well as a few other places. There was a reason that I never wore long sleeves or revealing outfits.
I’d just finished showering, and was starting to get dressed again, when Tabby came into the locker room. She caught sight of me, with nothing but a towel on, but didn’t say anything about my GSD, much to my relief. I actually liked the woman, even if she was a hero, and wouldn’t have been happy if I’d been forced to put her on my list of people to seriously mess with.
Tabby began taking off her costume, undressing right in front of me, as though she had nothing to be modest about. Then again, she was an exemplar, and didn’t have anything to be modest about.
“Are you still going out of town this weekend?” Tabby asked me.
“Yes,” I responded with a faint smile. “I have some business to take care of back home.”
“Anything I should know about?” Tabby asked me with a raised eyebrow.
I just laughed at that. “If I was planning on pulling a job this weekend, I certainly wouldn’t tell you.”
“Spoilsport,” Tabby responded with a look of amusement. Then, as she went into the shower, she called out, “Sometime, we’re going to have to do a real match. A serious one.”
“Who says I wasn’t being serious?” I asked, casually tossing a catnip mouse in her direction.
Tabby picked up the mouse, gave me a wry look and said, “Have fun on your trip, and don’t do anything that will make me have to come after you.” And with that, she continued into the shower, with the mouse in hand.
“But where’s the fun in that?” I responded with a grin.
--------------------
The Imp Lair, Manhattan NY, Friday early evening, Oct 19th, 2007
As soon as classes had ended for the day, I’d left campus, and rushed to the airport as fast as I could. I had some important business to take care of, back home in Manhattan, and I couldn’t afford to be late. Fortunately, the plane made good time, and I arrived early enough that I actually had time to go home and clean up.
Now, here I was, back in the high rise condo that I referred to as the Imp Lair…AKA…home. It was good to be home, and not just in my tastefully decorated condo. After spending so much time lately in New Hampshire, it was nice to be back in a real city, with buildings that were of a proper height, and where I could bask in the familiar metropolitan sounds.
“Too bad I don’t have time for a good run,” I mused, considering how relaxing it would be to leap from one rooftop to the next, or to simply climb one of the towering glass walls. “But work comes first…”
I’d already changed into my working clothes, but this wasn’t the black and red catsuit that I wore as a thief, or even the slacks and blouse I wore as a teacher, though my current outfit was much closer to the latter than the former. Tonight, I wasn’t going to work as the fabulous Imp. I was going to work as Candice Kade, the artist.
“Not bad,” I mused as I looked myself over. “But I am missing one last touch…”
A moment later, I pulled out my most prized possession, a magic amulet which contained a masking charm on it. About two years ago, I’d done a job for a finger wiggler, in exchange for this amulet. As soon as I put it on and activated the magic, I was covered with an illusion, which hid my devilish good looks and unique features, and made me look like a normal person.
“Now to get into character,” I mused.
Even though Candice Kade was the name on my birth certificate, and the one that I’d used for the first fifteen years of my life, I no longer thought of myself as Candice. I was the Imp…or even Christine…but not Candice. Candice was just a fake identity, based on who I might have been, if things had been just a little different. However, it was a very useful identity, since I wouldn’t have been able to have my art career without it. For some reason, people don’t take art forgers and professional thieves very seriously as legitimate artists.
Once I was ready, I left the Imp Lair and made my way to the art gallery that was showing some of my pieces tonight, along with those of some other artists. This was a relatively new gallery, not one of the ones that I usually used. But on the plus side, it was also one that I’d never robbed either, which meant that I didn’t have to feel like a hypocrite for showing my own pieces there.
When I arrived, the first thing I did was greet Shelly Hamlin, the woman who ran this particular gallery, and who was responsible for hosting the current show. Shelly was in her early forties, with pale blonde hair that was tied back into an intricate braid. And when she saw me, she smiled and greeted me, “Candice… I’m so glad you were able to make it…”
“Me too,” I responded with a smile of my own. “It was a close thing though…”
“I’m just glad that you let us show your new paintings,” she told me. “I’ve been a fan of yours, ever since I saw A Glorious Shadow on display…”
“It was one of my favorite to paint,” I admitted, feeling pleased by the compliment. My tail swished back and forth, unseen by anyone, thanks to my magic necklace. “And recently, I’ve licensed it for a few products, which should get me a little more exposure.”
Shelly nodded at that. “I think that if you continue your fine work, than before long, you’ll be as well-known as Thomas Kinkade or Bev Doolittle.”
I laughed at that. “Doubtful, but I appreciate your confidence in me. Mostly, I’m just delighted to share my work with a wider audience.”
After talking with Shelly for another minute, I moved on and began to look at the artwork on display. Most of the pieces were quite nice, and I had to admire Shelly’s eye when it came to selecting which talent to display. Each of us seemed to have different strengths and weaknesses, which provided quite a nice contrast in displays.
I stopped in front of a painting by a new artist named Ian Duboise. He had a few nice pieces, but I wasn’t especially impressed. While he demonstrated a strong grasp of certain techniques, his works seemed a little…lacking in inspiration.
Another woman stood a short distance away, looking over the pieces, and seeming just a little more impressed than I was. She saw me looking and commented, “Duboise has a very nice touch with his brush strokes. It reminds me a little of Edgar Valentine.”
“True,” I said, nodding agreement. “But there is a reason for that.” I smiled faintly as I explained, “Valentine was Duboise’s mentor. Duboise learned Valentine’s techniques pretty well, but he’s only just starting to develop his own style… He’s got potential, but I don’t think he’s really there yet. I say, give him a couple more years to mature as an artist, and to really find his own stride, and he may become something special.”
“Really?” the woman asked, giving me a look of surprise. Then, she seemed to get just a little offended at my comments. “Well, I suppose it’s easy to pick apart someone else’s work when you don’t paint yourself…”
With a laugh, I pointed out, “Actually, I’m one of the other artists from the show.” I gestured in the direction where my paintings were hung. “I’m Candice Kade.”
That seemed to impress the woman, who suddenly began to gush about how much she liked my work. We talked for a few more minutes, then I slipped away to mix and mingle with a few other people.
I talked briefly with a couple of the other artists, and a few collectors who were looking to pick up new pieces. It was polite chit-chat, though it was still nice to talk to other people who were as interested in art as I was.
And then, I saw him. He was tall, blonde, athletic, and dressed in a nice suit. I took a moment to appreciate the sight of Ryan Chambers, who also happened to be Chickenhawk, the hero I’d been fighting for the better part of a decade.
After years of fighting each other, a couple months ago, something had drastically changed in our relationship. It had taken the kidnapping of Melissa, his daughter and my apprentice, to bring the two of us together. And to my shock and horror, by the time we’d rescued Melissa, I’d actually fallen for him.
Of course, being a woman of vast experience and wisdom, I did the mature and reasonable thing…and ran away from Ryan as fast as I could. However, even going as far as New Hampshire hadn’t been enough to get away from him, and two weeks ago, we’d run into each other again. After a nice dinner, and an even nicer conversation, we’d ended it with a kiss.
Last week, Ryan and I had met up again in Boston, where we’d had another nice dinner together, and even more conversation. It had been quite nice, talking about our shared interest in art, as well as talking about some of our previous encounters in costume. We’d enjoyed it so much, that we’d even scheduled another date for tomorrow night.
When I saw Ryan, I had the urge to rush up and give him a kiss, but then I reminded myself that, at the moment, I wasn’t the Imp, or even Christine. I was Candice. And Ryan didn’t know that Candice and the Imp were the same woman.
“Candice,” Ryan greeted me with a broad smile. “I’m glad to see you again.”
“It’s nice seeing you again too,” I responded, remembering that the last time I’d run into Ryan as Candice, had been back in June. That was the same night that I’d discovered that Ryan and Chickenhawk were the same person, and that Carson had come to my Imp Lair and offered me a job. “It’s been a long time.”
“I was just looking at your new pieces,” Ryan told me. “And they’re fantastic.”
“Thank you,” I responded, delighted by the compliment.
However, Ryan wasn’t finished. “That Shadowed Soul piece was especially good. I think it may be one of the best I’ve seen of yours.”
I beamed even more proudly at that, swishing my tail back and forth. I’d actually painted that piece right after Melissa had agreed to officially become my apprentice. However, I couldn’t exactly tell Ryan that his daughter was my inspiration.
“I was feeling especially inspired at the time,” I told him.
“And Regret,” he started, though he paused for a moment. “Regret was a particularly poignant piece. I suspect that this one was especially personal.”
“You…have no idea,” I admitted, forcing a smile, though I really wanted to wince.
Regret was a piece that I’d painted, right after I learned that Barney was now a teacher at Whateley. It was fueled by all the pain and regret over what I’d lost.
There was a moment of awkward silence, before Ryan said, “Thank you for that birthday present you gave Melissa. It was beautiful, and you have no idea how much she loves it.”
“I’m glad she appreciates it,” I told him honestly. Of course, she’d told me how much she loved that painting on several occasions.
Ryan and I talked for a few more minutes, which were pleasant yet awkward at the same time. I knew that he was Chickenhawk, but he didn’t know I knew. And of course, he had no idea that under this drab illusion, I was really the beautiful, talented, and fabulous Imp.
Eventually, Ryan excused himself so he could talk with another artist, while I was left to continue mingling. A couple minutes later, I found myself going back towards Shelly, where I planned to ask her about one of the other artists. However, she was already talking to a middle-aged man, who seemed strangely familiar for some reason. He was of average height, a little stocky, and he had dark hair that was starting to go gray.
“Where do I know him from?” I quietly mused, sure that I did know him from somewhere. Had he been wearing a mask the last time I saw him? If so, what kind?
But then, I got close enough to eavesdrop a little in their conversation, and heard the man ask, “Can you tell me where Candice Kade is? I came to this show specifically for her.”
“I take it that you’re a fan of her work,” Shelly responded.
“Not exactly,” the man said with a serious expression. “I’m… My name is Daniel Kade, and I think she might be my sister.”
“Danny Boy,” I gasped in stunned disbelief, now recognizing the brother whom I hadn’t seen in thirty years. My heart leapt up into my throat at the sight of him, and as I noted how much he now looked like our father. A moment later, I turned and raced for the exit as fast as I could.
--------------------
Superbad, NY, Saturday late morning, Oct 20th, 2007
It was too early for serious drinking, yet there I was, sitting at the back table of a local supervillain dive bar, with a drink in front of me.
Normally, at this time on a Saturday morning, I’d be cleaning up my classroom after my open classroom period. I should be shooing Dino out the door with a broom, giving words of advice to Alicia, or some encouragement to Darqueheart. Instead, I was nursing a beer, while considering how strange it was that I now considered Saturday art classes as ‘normal.’
“Danny Boy,” I whispered before taking a long drink from my glass.
The last time I’d seen my older brother, had been thirty years ago. That was before I’d become a professional thief, before I’d become the Imp, and even before I’d run away from home. At the time, I’d just been a scared teenager, still new to her GSD and her powers. Our last meeting was not one that I remembered fondly. In fact, Danny’s last words to me, was one of the reasons I’d run away from home, all those years ago.
Now, after three decades, Danny Boy somehow tracks me down. Well, that shouldn’t have been very difficult, not since I was actually using my original name as an alias for my art career. I should have expected that my past might show up to bite me in my tail if I did that.
“After all this time,” I mused with a sigh. “But why now?”
My life had recently gone through a drastic change, and I was still trying to get my head around that. I’d retired from my previous career and was now a simple art teacher. I had my own art career on the side, and it was taking off and doing quite nicely. And then, there was the strange thing between me and Ryan, which I was still trying to make sense of. Everything in my life had changed, and this seemed to be one more thing. However, I had no idea if it was good or bad…though I strongly suspected the latter.
“I need another drink,” I thought aloud. “Maybe something in the line of a Nuclear Waste…”
Of course, that was the kind of drink that Carl, the bartender at the Black Mask might make for me, not something that I could get at place like Superbad. The Black Mask was the other bar I tended to frequent, and a somewhat higher class establishment at that. However, with the way I was feeling, I’d come here because a dive suited my current mood a little better. Now I was starting to regret that choice.
Just then, a woman came into the bar and paused to stare at me for a moment. She was in her late twenties, with bleached blonde hair, and a number of visible tattoos on her arms. Though she wasn’t in costume, I recognized the Pink Piper. She was a smalltime villainess, who could control rodents, like mice, rats, and squirrels. Considering that we were in New York, where those kinds of animals were plentiful, that could have been a pretty effective power, if she was able to control more than a half dozen of them at the same time.
“Imp,” Piper called out to me in surprise. “I haven’t seen you around in awhile…”
“I’ve been out of town,” I explained, not bothering to mention that I was also retired.
“You’ve been gone for a couple months,” Piper commented, inviting herself to share my table. “It must have been a big job.”
“Pretty big,” I admitted with a smirk. “It’s a full time commitment.”
“Nice,” Piper agreed with a grin. “I just got a nice payday myself. A high-end restaurant just paid me a couple thousand to close down their competition…”
“The health department tends to frown on rats running across the floor,” I commented, knowing Piper’s usual racket.
“Yep,” Piper agreed. “And this pays better than my day job…” She shuddered at that. I wasn’t sure what her day job was, but I knew that she hated it, which was why she’d gone into the supervillain business to begin with.
Piper sat and chatted with me for another minute, then got up and hurried away to find someone else to talk to. As soon as she was gone, someone commented, “I know what kind of job you’ve been doing, Imp.” I looked over and saw Sunder, sitting a couple tables away. He’d been quiet and had been minding his own business, so I hadn’t really noticed him until then.
“Sunder,” I greeted the man. “You still owe me fifty bucks from that last poker game.”
Sunder chuckled at that, then reached for his wallet. He pulled out a couple bills, then came over and set them down on my table, before taking the seat that Piper had just vacated. “I heard that you’re an art teacher now.”
“Now, where in the world would you hear something like that?” I asked him, though the truth was, I already knew.
“My son goes to Whateley,” Sunder answered. “When he found out the new art teacher was a villain, he called me to ask what I knew about you.”
“Render isn’t in any of my classes,” I told Sunder. If he was surprised that I knew who his son was, he didn’t show it. “So don’t bother asking me to fix his grades or anything.”
“I wasn’t going to,” he responded with a snort.
For a moment, I just watched Sunder, noting the resemblance between him and his son. After I’d arrived at Whateley, and first learned about the Bad Seeds, I’d done a little research on them, and on who their parents were. At the time, I thought that it would be useful to know if I’d had any business dealings with their family members, and if any of them might have grudges against me. I’d done similar research on the members of a couple other campus groups as well.
“So,” Sunder asked after several seconds. “Did you really retire, or are you playing some game?”
“Everything is a game,” I pointed out, swishing my tail back and forth. “But in this case, I have indeed retired from the business.”
“Well, good luck with that then,” Sunder told me with a chuckle. He stood up and turned to leave, then paused to give me a curious look. “Oh, I figured that you might want to know, a couple people have been asking around for you.
“Oh?” I asked in surprise. “A couple?”
Sunder shrugged at that. “I don’t have any idea who they are or what they want…other than to find you…but the word is, they’ve been pretty persistent.”
“Thanks for the heads up,” I told Sunder, who gave me a nod before returning to his original table.
I considered Sunder’s words for a minute, wondering who could possibly be looking for me this time. I knew that Danny Boy had been looking for me, but he’d been looking for Candice, not the Imp. As far as I knew, my dear brother had no idea that I was the Imp, or that I’d gone into a less than legal career path. But then again, he might have found out somehow.
Then with a sigh, I stood up and stretched, deciding that there was only one way to find out what Danny Boy wanted, especially after so long. “It looks like I’ll just have to go ask him.”
--------------------
Manhattan NY, Saturday early afternoon, Oct 20th, 2007
Danny Boy was staying in a nice hotel. It wasn’t one of those top of the line luxury hotels, where only the wealthy could afford to stay, but it was still nice nonetheless. And it didn’t look like it had changed a bit since I’d pulled a job there about four years ago.
At the moment, I was clinging to the outside wall, peeking into Danny’s suite through a window. I wasn’t playing peeping Imp to get my jollies off or nothing, especially not with my own brother. EWWWW. Instead, I was trying to decide how I should approach him. At the moment, I was thinking of just letting myself into his suite, and singing, ‘Danny Boy.’ That would be appropriate…and amusing. At least to me.
Unfortunately, I’d spent too long making up my mind, because Danny grabbed his jacket and left the room. I scowled in annoyance at the missed opportunity, though of course, I could always wait for him to come back.
“Naw,” I mused to myself. “I don’t think so.”
I quickly scrambled down the wall, keeping my chameleon field up as I did so, just in case someone actually decided to look up. When I reached the bottom floor, I only had to wait another minute before Danny emerged from the hotel.
“Now, where are you heading off to?” I mused. “Are you still looking for me?”
To my surprise, Danny boy didn’t have the valet bring his car around. Instead, he began walking down the sidewalk, so of course, I followed. I kept my distance, remaining completely out of sight. A few minutes later, he went into a restaurant.
“He must be having lunch,” I said.
I watched the front of the restaurant for several minutes, then decided to take a closer look. But instead of sneaking over to peek into the window, I decided to try a different tactic.
After I found a nice out of the way spot, I dropped my chameleon field, opened up the backpack I was wearing, and slipped on the long jacket I had inside. That helped to conceal my old working outfit, and made me look more like a normal civilian.
“Of course,” I commented to myself, “I need to hide my devilish good looks.”
With that, I carefully pulled out my magic amulet. Normally, I’d never bring this with me when I went into a situation like this. The amulet was far too valuable for me to ever risk it being lost or damaged, but at the moment, it was also exactly what I needed.
As soon as I put the amulet on and activated the magic, the illusion covered me and hid my GSD. Instead of the fabulous Imp, anyone who saw me, would see plain and boring Candice Kade instead.
Next, I simply walked over to the restaurant. It looked like a nice place, with expensive food that came in portions that were just too small. And while I enjoyed gourmet food, I was also quite happy with just a well-made pizza.
I found Danny Boy inside, sitting by himself at a small table, looking grim and serious, just like how I remembered him. It amazed me just how much he now looked like our father. The very sight of him brought back memories, though they weren’t all pleasant ones.
Danny and I had never been close. He was nearly five years older than me, and as children, that had been quite a vast difference. However, there had been an even greater gulf between us, due to our drastically different personalities.
While we’d been growing up, Danny had always been serious and well-behaved. He’d always followed the rules, and had been eager to earn the favor of our parents. Because of that, he’d also been quite happy to tattle on me, whenever I did anything I shouldn’t…which admittedly…had been quite often.
There had never been any doubt that Danny had been our parents’ favorite child, since he never did anything to embarrass them in front of their peers, clients, or neighbors, and that was what they care about the most. I, on the other hand, had always been the problem child. I’d been the one who was always looking for something fun and exciting to do, and had always been getting in trouble.
“Some things never change,” I commented with a smirk. That drew my full attention back to my brother. “So why are you here now?”
I wasn’t happy about Danny Boy being here, intruding into my life. He’d come looking for me in my Candice identity, but had probably been expecting my Impish looks. My brother could bridge my two identities, and with just a single wrong word, he could reveal them to the world. With one wrong word from him, I could be exposed, and my entire art career would turn to ash.
“Damn it,” I snapped in annoyance. “Why did you have to show up now?”
Since there was only one way to find out the answer to that, I walked straight up to Danny Boy’s table, and sat down in the seat across from him. He gave me a look of surprise and confusion.
“Hello, Danny Boy,” I said, trying to look calm and relaxed, though I felt anything but. This was just as unnerving as my reunion with Ryan the other week, though in an entirely different way.
“What…?” Danny started, giving me a more intense look. “Who are you?”
“What?” I asked, giving him a look of mock offense. “You don’t recognize your own sister? It’s only been thirty years…”
Danny’s eyes widened at that, and he gasped, “Candice?”
“I prefer to go by Christine now,” I told him with a wry smile, “though I keep Candice just as a professional name.”
Danny stared at me for several more seconds, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to say something but just couldn’t quite get it out. He reminded me of a fish, and at any other time, I would have called him on that.
“You look…different,” Danny finally said.
With a smirk, I answered, “I had work done.”
“I see,” he carefully responded. “You look…normal.”
Instead of responding to that, I said, “I heard you were looking for me.” I gave him a steady look, noting that he was clearly nervous. “Why? The last time we talked, you made it perfectly clear that you never wanted to see me again.”
Danny winced a little at that, though he quickly tried to recover. “I never said that…”
“You called me a hideous freak,” I pointed out in a cold tone, “and said that you wished I’d never been born.” Those were the last words that Danny had ever said to me, and I’d never forgotten them. I narrowed my eyes and quietly demanded. “What do you want?”
My brother had the good sense to look uncomfortable. He tried covering it up and looking confident, but I’ve been reading professional thieves and liars for three decades, and he just wasn’t in that class.
“We’re family,” Danny started to answer.
“I don’t have a family,” I spat out bitterly. “I learned that a long time ago.”
“I need your help,” Danny finally admitted, looking ashamed. When he looked at me again, I could see the desperation in his eyes. He wouldn’t have come looking for me unless he thought that he had no other choice.
“You need MY help?” I asked in surprise, as well as a healthy amount of suspicion. “Why? Do you need a painting or something?”
Danny didn’t answer at first. He couldn’t even look at me. “I…I need a supervillain.”
“A supervillain,” I carefully repeated, staring at him intensely. “What are you talking about?”
My Imp senses were tingling, and I was suddenly worried that I’d walked into a trap of some kind. However, in spite of that, I didn’t run. Instead, I decided to play ignorant and see where this led.
“I…I saw you on TV once,” Danny admitted, still looking nervous. “On the news. They were doing a story about a supervillain called the Imp, who had just robbed a museum and escaped some superheroes…” He stared at me for a moment and gulped. “When they zoomed in on this Imp…I recognized you.” Then Dany gave me a weak smile. “You look…looked distinctive.”
For a moment, I remained froze, not sure how to take that revelation. Danny Boy knew I was the Imp, which meant that he was even more dangerous to me than I’d expected. I quickly scanned my surroundings again, just to make sure no one was sneaking up on me.
“I don’t think that this is the right place to talk about this,” I said, slowly standing up.
Danny stood up as well, looking alarmed. “But…”
“I’ll be in touch,” I told him with a grin I didn’t really feel. “Or I won’t.” And with that, I hurried out of the restaurant.
--------------------
Manhattan NY, Saturday late afternoon, Oct 20th, 2007
Barnaby’s was a small, hole in the wall restaurant, with an entrance that you’d never really notice unless you knew to look for it. The seating area was small, consisting of only six tables, but it was in the back and not visible from the street. And though the food was good, the best thing about the place was the privacy. It actually reminded me a lot of an old speakeasy.
And of course, Barnaby’s was mutant friendly, and completely neutral. They didn’t care if you were a hero, villain, or other. As long as you behaved and paid your bill, you were welcome. That made this the perfect place for Ryan and I to have our date.
I was sitting at my table, without any disguise at all. Before going to Whateley, that would have been quite a novelty, eating at a restaurant as myself. However, I’ve been a little spoiled as of late, since I’d been able to eat out in the open nearly every day for the last couple months.
Ironically, Ryan was the one wearing a costume. Admittedly, it was only a pair of glasses and a baseball cap, but it was an attempt to hide his identity. After all, Ryan Chambers couldn’t be seen in the company of the fabulous Imp. That would result in some questions, and could threaten his own secret identity.
Last week, when Ryan and I had been in Boston, we’d had similar issues. We spent most of the day wandering around Boston, checking out the tourist attractions and an art gallery, while I was dressed in my usual disguise of a long coat and big floppy hat. Then, we’d returned to his hotel room, for a nice room service dinner. After that, we’d kissed a little, but didn’t do anything more than that.
Ryan and I were sort of dating now, which came with a lot of complications. The most obvious was, that I was a retired supervillain, and he was an active superhero. The fact that he’d spent years trying to capture me, added a certain spice to our relationship now. But of course, there were other problems, such as my GSD and the problems that caused whenever I went out in public. It was difficult to enjoy dinner in a nice restaurant, when you could be thrown out at any moment, or attacked by an angry mob with pitchforks and torches. That actually has happened to me too.
“Why Chickenhawk?” Ryan abruptly asked me. “I mean, why give me THAT nickname?”
“It was either that or Superchicken,” I pointed out with a grin, swishing my tail back and forth behind my seat.
Ryan hesitated a moment, then chuckled. “I guess I got off easy…”
“Yep,” I agreed cheerfully. “You annoyed me, but you never really pissed me off. Well, except that one time….”
“I remember,” he responded with a wince. “You definitely take getting your tail pulled…personally.”
With a shrug, I pointed out, “It hurts like hell. It’s… Imagine if someone grabbed you by your twig and berries, and then yanked as yard as they could…and not in a good way.”
“Ouch,” Ryan exclaimed with a wince.
I nodded at that. “There’s a good reason I discourage people from pulling my tail.”
Turning my attention to my plate, I took a bite of my veal piccata, which was absolutely delicious. Then, I looked at Ryan’s plate and his chicken marsala, which also looked tasty. I was tempted to reach over and steal a little from his plate. Then again, I was a thief, so I reached over with my fork and swiped a piece of chicken. Instead of being offended by that, Ryan actually looked amused.
“I should have expected that from a professional thief,” Ryan joked.
“Yes, you should have,” I agreed cheerfully. Then, as a peace offering, I gave him a small piece of my veal.
After this, our conversation turned to art, one of the passions we both shared. We’d talked about various classic artists last week in Boston, but this time, the topic was new and upcoming artists.
“Have you seen any of Clarissa Moore’s work?” Ryan asked me. “She does a lot of vivid watercolors…”
“She’s fond of sunrises and sunsets in her work,” I commented, to show that I knew exactly what he was talking about. “What about Roland Shwartz?”
“I think he’s overhyped,” Ryan told me with a chuckle. “He’s popular at the moment, but he’s just a fad. I don’t think he’ll have any staying power…” Then in a conspiratorial tone, he added, “Just don’t tell any of my clients.”
“I won’t,” I promised with a smirk.
The kind of people whom Ryan worked with in his art buying business, were the same people I tended to relieve of artwork in my former career. In fact, some of his clients were also former clients of mine, having hired me to acquire new pieces for them, in a less than legal fashion. And though I’d love to point out this little fact, and even name a few names, that would have been unprofessional of me.
“What do you think of Candice Kade?” Ryan asked.
I was a little startled by that question, and for a brief moment, was afraid that he knew about me. Then, I realized that he was just continuing the conversation with yet another artist, without knowing that she and I were the same person.
“She’s one of my favorite painters,” I answered honestly.
“Mine too,” Ryan responded with a smile. “I have one of her pieces on my wall at home, and another in my office…”
“Really?” I asked in surprise. I knew about the one in his house, because Melissa had mentioned it to me before. However, I hadn’t been aware that he had another one of my paintings in his office.
“And for Melissa’s birthday,” Ryan continued, “Candice actually gave a painting to her. It was quite an amusing piece…”
“I’m sure it was,” I agreed, trying to hide my smirk, though my tail swished back and forth.
Once we were finished with dinner and dessert, I slipped my long jacket and hat back on to help disguise my appearance. It was kind of a pain in the tail, but it was necessary if I wanted to go out in public without drawing unwanted attention. Of course, I knew that there was another option, but I wasn’t about to reveal my amulet and my greatest secret.
“So, what should we do now?” Ryan asked as we left Barnaby’s. “What do you like to do for fun?” Before I could answer, he quickly added, “I mean, when you’re not stealing things.”
“Spoilsport,” I responded with a grin. “Let’s see… I check out art galleries and museums… I stay home where I watch TV…a LOT. And…” Then I paused and began to grin mischieviously. “Well, there is one other thing…”
“What?” Ryan asked, obviously confused and a little curious.
“Stay here for a minute,” I told him, right before running into a convenience store. I came back out a minute later with a plastic bag in hand, which contained my purchase. “Come on…”
“Okay,” Ryan responded, giving me another curious look. “Where are we going?”
“I’m not gonna tell you,” I responded in a teasing, sing-song voice.
With that, I hailed a cab, and a short time later, it dropped us off at our destination. I was just thankful that it was such a short ride, because I wasn’t comfortable riding in cars for very long. They always made me feel trapped.
“Here we are,” I announced, walking into the front lobby of the old skyscraper.
“And where is here?” Ryan asked.
I gave him a wink. “Wait and see…”
It was only a short walk to the elevators, then a long ride up to the top. We arrived at the highest level the elevator would take us, then went out onto the observation. There was a chain link fence all around it, to keep people from jumping, or from throwing things. However, there was also another platform two stories above us, one that wasn’t accessible from the elevator. This wasn’t an official observation deck, but a small part of the roof, which wasn’t normally accessible by anyone but maintenance. After making sure that no one was watching, I scrambled up the wall to the next platform, while Ryan used his powers to float up and join me.
“Here we are,” I announced, gesturing around the open area. “One of my favorite places to just come and sit.” I went over to a corner and pulled out the folding chair that I’d hidden up here. There was only one chair, because I’d never brought anyone else. “Do you want a seat?”
“You have a good view from here,” Ryan said, looking out at the scenery with a smile.
Ryan wasn’t quite as impressed as I’d hoped, but I realized that I should have expected that. After all, he could fly, and was capable of getting up even higher whenever he wanted, and getting an even better view. Still, he seemed to be enjoying himself.
I looked around, quickly seeing something in the air, going past us. With a grin, I pointed towards grey and blue clad figure, and announced, “Look up in the sky. It’s a bird. It’s a plane… Oh wait…it’s only a bird brain.”
“That’s Pigeon,” Ryan said, recognizing the superhero.
I’d heard of the Pigeon of course, since I did my homework on all the local heroes, though I’d always avoided this particular one. He wasn’t very powerful, and was considered to be a joke, since all he could do was fly and control pigeons. However, no criminal really wanted to face him, because they’d get so disgustingly messy, that it just wasn’t worth the effort.
“Now, this is what I do for fun,” I said, reaching into the bag from the convenience store and pulling out a carton of eggs.
With an evil grin, I took one out, and carefully focused the energy of my PK aura. If I pushed too much, the egg would just explode in my hand, and that would defeat the entire purpose of this exercise. A moment later, I threw the egg, using a little extra PK oomph to send it flying far enough, that I could hit the Pigeon. As soon as the egg exploded on his side, I immediately burst out laughing.
“Duck,” I said, dropping to the ground and pulling Ryan down with me. If I’d been on my own, I simply would have used my chameleon field instead.
“No,” Ryan responded with an amused look. “Pigeon.”
I laughed at that. “Good one.”
I continued watching the Pigeon for a moment. He’d stopped and was now hovering in the air, wiping the egg off his costume and looking around for the source. He didn’t see me though, and after a minute, he flew off, continuing on his way.
Once the Pigeon was gone, Ryan and I stood back up again. He stared at me for several seconds before saying, “So, you’re the one who’s been egging all the heroes…” Then he let out a deep sigh, probably remembering the times he’d been hit with mysterious eggs that seemed to come out of nowhere. “I should have known…”
“Yep,” I agreed cheerfully as I handed him an egg. “Now, it’s your turn.” I pointed to another figure that was flying in our direction. “Unless I miss my guess, that’s Silver Storm, and he’s a villain…”
“You want me to egg a villain?” Ryan asked me in surprise. I responded with a grin, one which he matched a moment later. “Why not…?”
Ryan’s egg missed, falling short by a good distance. He didn’t have my PK aura to boost his throw, though I suspected that with the right application of his gravity power, he could probably do just as well. Silver Storm didn’t seem to realize that someone was throwing eggs at him, and he flew off without ever stopping.
“This area,” I explained to Ryan, “is an intersection for that invisible road in the sky. Nearly every hero or villain in Manhattan, flies past this building while crossing over from one side of the island to another.”
Ryan’s eyes widened in realization. “Then this would be the perfect spot to ambush people…”
I nodded at that. “If you wait here long enough, nearly every flying cape in Manhattan comes through here.”
“I don’t know how many times I’ve flown through here,” Ryan admitted with a thoughtful look. “I’ve never really noticed it before.” Then he gave me a wry look before continuing, “Though I do know a number of heroes who’ve complained about the mysterious eggings.”
“It’s therapeutic,” I told him with a grin. “Great stress relief.” Then, I held out one of my throwing spikes, and added, “And a lot less damaging than if I threw these instead.” His eyes widened again, as he realized just how nasty things could have been, if I’d been interested in actually hurting the heroes, rather than playing a few harmless pranks.
After this, Ryan and I sat down on the ground, not bothering with the chair since there was only one. We leaned up against each other and simply watched the scenery and the occasional person who flew past, leaving the rest of the eggs untouched. At first, we merely talked. Then we began to kiss. This was a wonderful date.
--------------------
Manhattan NY, Sunday morning, Oct 21st, 2007
“Oh, Danny boy,” I sang out, “the pipes, the pipes are calling…”
At the moment, I was in Danny Boy’s hotel room, having snuck in when he’d gone into the bathroom. I was making myself comfortable in the recliner, though I remained hidden with my chameleon field.
“From glen to glen, and down the mountainside ” I continued to sing, until Danny Boy burst out of the bathroom to see what the noise was.
“Who’s there?” Danny Demanded, holding his electric razor as though it was a weapon.
The sight made me smile. “The summers gone and all the roses falling,” I sang a little more, while watching my brother spin around, looking to see where it was coming from.
“Candice?” Danny demanded, now looking nervous. “Is that you…?”
I waited until my brother was facing the other direction, then I dropped my chameleon field. That was a trick that I’d learned after running away from home, so he didn’t know about it, or most of my other tricks, and I had no intention of cluing him in. Still, not only was it useful, it was also fun.
“Hello again, Danny boy,” I said.
Danny snapped around, only to freeze as he saw me. This time, I wasn’t wearing my amulet or disguising myself in any way. In fact, I was dressed in my working outfit, the black and red catsuit that I used with my criminal profession. Yesterday, Danny saw Candice. This morning, he was seeing the Imp.
I’d swept the room for bugs before doing anything else. And while I’d been at it, I’d looked for any weapons or signs that this was a trap. Since I hadn’t found anything dangerous, I’d decided to go ahead and make my move, hence the dramatic entrance.
“Candice,” Danny started, surprised by my appearance.
“I told you yesterday,” I reminded him with a forced smile, “I go by Christine now. Or Imp. In fact, most people call me Imp. Only my friends call me Christine.”
Danny visibly gulped, then said, “You look…”
“Like me again,” I stated. “Yesterday, I was in disguise. Today, I’m not.” I winked at him, and in a conspiratorial voice, I added, “Shhhh. Don’t tell anyone.” Then, in a serious voice, I said, “I mean that. Not a word.”
“How did you get in?” Danny asked, looking nervous. He glanced to the locked door, probably not realizing that I’d come in through the window. We were a few stories up, so most people wouldn’t consider that.
“Um, hello,” I said, standing up and rolling my eyes. “Professional thief and supervillain here…”
Danny backed away a little, as if afraid of me. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I didn’t like people being afraid of me, not even people who’d been total jerks. Of course, as with most things, there were exceptions.
“What do you want?” I asked my brother. “You said you needed a supervillain.” I narrowed my eyes.
“Yes,” he admitted awkwardly.
Danny went over to the tiny bar and grabbed one of those miniature bottles to pour himself a shot of whiskey. It was a little early for drinking, but at the moment, I wouldn’t mind one either.
“I’m not in that business anymore,” I said. “I’m a high school teacher now.”
Danny snorted at that, obviously not believing it. For some reason, almost nobody believed that I was really a teacher.
“I need help,” Danny said, looking ashamed. “I’m caught in a bad situation, and I need someone who knows how to deal with criminals and superheroes.” He couldn’t bring himself to look at me as he added, “You’re the only person I know who might be able to help.”
“You need MY help?” I exclaimed, as thirty years of bitterness that I hadn’t realized I’d been holding, bubbled up to the surface. “Where were you when I needed help? Where were you when I was living on the street and begging for food? And where were you when the cops started shooting me for the crime of having horns? I don’t owe you anything.”
When I got up this morning, I’d been in a great mood after my date last night. It had been incredible, just sitting on top of that building and kissing Ryan. But now, my good mood was gone entirely.
Danny took several steps back, looking worried and ashamed. However, he looked up and met my eyes, and along with all that, I saw desperation. He’d come to me because he had no other choice.
“What do you need?” I snapped at him. “Why come looking for me after thirty years? It sure as hell isn’t for some family reunion.”
“I…I’m in trouble,” Danny finally said. He downed his whisky in a single shot.
With a wry smile, I said, “That much is obvious.”
“Do you know that Mother and Father are dead?” Danny abruptly demanded. “Did you even know that our father died of a heart attack, or that our mother had a stroke? They’ve both been gone for almost twenty years.”
“Yes,” I answered grimly. “Yes I knew.”
“You didn’t come to their funerals,” Danny accused me.
I wondered if he was trying to turn this whole conversation around, to make me out to be the one who betrayed the family, instead of the one who’d been betrayed. It might be an attempt to feel self-righteous, or to guilt me into helping him with whatever it was he wanted.
“And they would have preferred it that way,” I stated in a cold tone. “You know that as well as I do. Now, what does that have to do with why you came here?”
Danny scowled at that, but he didn’t argue with me. Instead, he said, “After they died, I inherited the gallery, and I’ve been running it since.”
I nodded at that since I already knew Danny Boy now owned the family art gallery. I had a lot of fond memories of the place from when I was a little girl, but I hadn’t been there in three decades. Once, I’d even turned down a job to rob the place.
“Business wasn’t doing very well,” Danny said, staring out the window. “It hadn’t been for a long time, and things only got worse. We were deep in debt, and I was about to lose everything when…” He turned to look at me again. “Then some investors showed up with a lot of money…”
Warning bells rang in my head, and I suddenly had a pretty good idea of what was going on. “They wanted to use the gallery for money laundering.” I’d seen this kind of thing before.
“I didn’t know that at first,” Danny admitted, looking ashamed. “I only found out later, after they were already doing it. After it was too late.”
“And if you interfere,” I said in understanding, “they kill you and your loved ones.”
“They promised they would,” Danny said in whisper. “And now, there’s a superhero after me too. He thinks I’m in charge of the whole thing, and he wants to send me to prison…”
“And if you tell him what you know,” I thought aloud. “If you go to the police or offer to testify against your investors…”
“Yes,” Danny agreed with a wince. “If they think I might turn them in…”
“So, you’re caught between a rock and a hard space,” I mused, “and you want me to pull you out.”
Danny hesitated a moment before nodding. “Yes,” he admitted. “Please… I know you’re a supervillain, so if you can deal with this hero…”
I stared at Danny for a moment, realizing that he was missing the picture. If I dealt with the hero, then he’d still have the investors holding a gun to his head, and they were likely to pull the trigger.
“You’re in deep doo-doo,” I told Danny. “I mean, hip wader deep, and it’s gonna take a whole lotta shoveling to get out.”
“But will you help me?” he asked, staring at me with pleading eyes.
For a moment, I considered the situation, and whether or not I even wanted to help Danny. I’d cut ties with my family a long time ago, so this wasn’t any of my business. Whatever trouble Danny was in, he’d brought it on himself.
“Shazbot,” I spat out, glaring at Danny Boy. “I’m not a superhero, and absolutely nowhere in my job description, does it say that I do good deeds.”
Danny didn’t say anything to that. He just stood there, looking like some poor schmuck in court, waiting for the verdict to be read. Though he was trying to look dignified, it didn’t really work, and in spite of myself, I actually felt sorry for him.
After a minute of consideration, I gave Danny Boy an evil smile. “Time to make a deal with the devil,” I said, tapping my fingers together. “I’ll help you, but I want something in return.”
“You want the gallery,” Danny said with a sigh.
“No,” I responded grimly. “What I want, is to be left alone. I want you to keep quiet about me, and about the fact that Candice Kade and the Imp are the same person. I have an art career…and am being taken seriously as a legitimate artist, and I don’t want to lose it all because you tell someone that your long lost sister is a mutant supervillain.”
“Deal,” Danny quickly said, looking relieved.
Danny Boy and I shook on our agreement, then I told him, “I’ll look into things and see what I can do, but don’t expect an overnight solution.” Then I nodded to him and said, “I’ll be in touch.”
With that, I turned to leave, deciding to give an appropriately dramatic exit. A moment later, I threw a small smoke bomb to the ground, and used the smoke as cover to pull off my vanishing trick. In mere seconds, I was out the window and gone.
--------------------
New York, Sunday early afternoon, Oct 21st, 2007
I was sitting at my table in the Black Mask, the best supervillain bar in New York, in my humble opinion, and one of my usual drinking spots. It was a bit early in the day to be hanging around a bar drinking, but after dealing with Danny Boy this morning, I really needed a strong drink. At the moment, I was drinking a glass of ‘radioactive acid’. I had absolutely no idea what was in it, but it tasted great.
After meeting with my brother, I’d made a few calls and set a few wheels in motion. For the most part, I just wanted a little more information about the ‘investors’ who were using the gallery, and the hero who was now putting pressure on him. I didn’t trust Danny enough to tell me the full truth, and I was going to need that if I was going to stick my nose where it didn’t belong.
“Poking hornet nests can be fun,” I told myself with a wry smile. “But only if you have some kind of protection, or an exit strategy.”
Then I finished off the rest of my drink, reminding myself that in just a few hours, I’d be back at Whateley, where my biggest concerns were dodging Barney and grading papers. I had just enough time for another drink, before I’d have to go to the airport and catch my flight. Of course, this time probably would have been better spent, if I’d used it to go say goodbye to Ryan instead.
“Too late now,” I said with a sigh of disappointment.
I was just standing up to leave, when I noticed a large man walking towards me. Muscle was a shifter, who could increase his height and muscle mass at will, making himself a lot stronger in the process. However, he wasn’t powerful enough to have ever made it into the big leagues. Still, he was strong, looked intimidating, and had a reputation for both professionalism and discretion, which meant that he was rarely short of work opportunities.
“Imp,” Muscle greeted me with a nod. “I haven’t seen you around here in awhile.”
“I haven’t been around in awhile,” I responded with a cheerful smile and a swish of my tail.
Muscle nodded at that, asking, “Laying low, or have you been working a big job?”
“A bit of both,” I admitted with a smirk. “But I doubt it’s the kind of job you’re thinking of.”
“I just wanted to give you a heads up,” Muscle told me. “A couple people have been asking around about you.”
“Someone mentioned that to me yesterday,” I said with a scowl. “Do you have any idea who?”
Muscle shrugged. “Some woman I’ve never seen before, and Crash Test Dummy was with her.”
“Crash Test Dummy?” I repeated in surprise. “Is he still holding a grudge?”
With a laugh, Muscle reminded me, “You did cut off his hand. And even worse, you changed his name and made him into a laughingstock…”
“He did that himself,” I responded with a dismissive wave. “The laughingstock part that is.”
“Either way, it might be a good idea to watch your back,” Muscle warned me.
“Thanks for the heads up,” I said, giving him a nod of acknowledgement.
Muscle gave me a nod of acknowledgement back, then went back to his own table, where a couple of his friends were waiting. I waited a minute, then got up to leave, stopping just long enough to talk to Carl, the bartender.
“Muscle’s next couple drinks are on me,” I said, putting a twenty on the counter, and then leaving.
Less than a minute later, I stepped out the door of the Black Mask and let out a sigh. I had enough time to get back home, pick up my luggage, and then make it to the airport. I was not looking forward to the hassle of airport security…not that I really dealt with it much. I tended to use my chameleon field to slip around certain annoyances, like the entire ticket and security process, or I’d board as Candice Kade, which simplified things in other ways.
I’d barely walked a dozen yards from the Black Mask door, when I suddenly noticed a bright red glow from the corner of my eye. An instant later, I reacted out of pure reflex and leapt to the side, but only barely managing to do so in time. Something smashed into the spot where I’d been standing, creating a small explosion that sent me tumbling back.
“What the…?” I started, though I was already reacting to this unexpected attack. As soon as I came to a stop, I was back on my feet, tensed to react as soon as I needed to. But first, I wanted to know what I was dealing with.
A man was standing in a small crater, right where I’d been mere seconds ago. He was dressed in dirty jeans and a battered old jacket, street clothes rather than a costume. However, his entire body was surrounded by a glowing red aura, which warned me not to underestimate him.
“Imp,” the man snarled, his voice filled with cold hatred. “I’ve dreamed about this moment for a very long time…”
“Wow,” I responded with a grin that helped to hide my wariness. “You must have some really messed up dreams. Have you talked to a shrink about that? You look like someone who needs to talk to a shrink.”
My attacker charged at me, but I dodged to the side, then ran back to keep my distance. I didn’t know who this guy was, or why he was coming at me, but I wasn’t about to let him get close.
“You took my life from me,” the glowing man exclaimed. “I’m going to kill you…”
With those words, he held out his hands, and suddenly, his entire glowing aura seemed to be pulled into his hands…then released as a blast of red energy. I focused all the energy in my PK aura to my legs, just in time to give me an extra boost to my jump. I barely managed to avoid being hit by that energy blast. A second later, I hit the ground and came back to my feet, only to stare at my opponent in realization. I knew that power, and I knew the man using it. I hadn’t seen him in years, and he looked older…more worn down. But I knew who he was.
“Well, well, well,” I said with an evil grin. “If it isn’t the Crimson Kid. The last I’d heard, you were drowning your sorrows in a bottle…”
Once, the Crimson Kid had been a superhero, or at least, people had called him one. However, in his reckless attack on a villain, he accidentally killed an innocent bystander. It was a tragic mistake, which he compounded by intentionally killing another bystander who’d witnessed the event, all in order to protect himself from the consequences of his mistake.
Then, as if that hadn’t been bad enough, the so-called hero had made the worst mistake yet. He blamed both deaths on the villain he’d been fighting, a man named Monster Max, who’d suffered from GSD, and was a known rager. Because of that, the kangaroo trial was done and over with in the blink of an eye, without anyone even questioning his guilt. As a result, Max had been executed in nearly record time.
Monster Max had been a friend of mine, and I took his fate rather personally. My truly vindictive side made a rare appearance, and I’d gone after the Crimson Kid, destroying both his personal and professional reputations, then setting all of Max’s other friends loose on him. The last thing I’d heard, the former her had been living on the streets in Chicago, homeless and drunk. Obviously, something had changed.
The Crimson Kid was no longer glowing, at least for a couple seconds. Then, the red aura began to reform, reminding me of his powers. He was an energizer, who could use his energy field like a PK shell, and he could also release all the energy at once as blasts. Right now, he was recharging so he’d be ready for another attack.
I’d never fought the Crimson Kid before, at least not in a direct fight. Instead, after he’d killed Max, I’d come at him a somewhat more subtle direction, hitting his reputation rather than him. Because of that, I was now facing an opponent that I’d never actually dealt with like this before.
“You ruined my life,” the Crimson Kid exclaimed. “You took everything… I was a hero…”
“I hate to tell you this, Red Goat,” I responded, “but heroes don’t go around killing innocent people, and then framing others.” Then I grinned evil, “Blah blah blah…or is that baa baa baa?”
The former hero charged at me again, raising his fist to punch, though I easily dodged him. He’d obviously been out of the game for a long time, and was more than a little rusty. I could probably beat him without much effort, but the question was, why should I bother. After all, it might be satisfying to smack him around for a bit, but there wasn’t any real benefit to risking myself like that. Because of that, I decided that the best move, would simply be to get a little distance between us and then pull my vanishing trick.
A moment later, I turned and ran, though I reached into a pouch on my belt for a smoke bomb. But before I could use it, something suddenly slammed into me from the side, and I felt a burning pain even as I was flung through the air. I hit the ground hard enough that half my body was going to be bruised. But in spite of that, I quickly scrambled back to my feet. I’d learned a long time ago, that sitting around in the middle of a fight, was a good way to get myself killed, even when it was because I was hurt.
“I got her,” a man exclaimed, though that wasn’t the Crimson Kid’s voice.
I looked at the source, and saw a man dressed in a green and gray costume, which looked like a cross between tactical gear and some kind of lightweight armor. A mask covered his entire face, so I couldn’t make out any of his features, however, I did notice some high tech equipment strapped to his costume, including a metal gauntlet on his right hand.
“Now,” the newcomer announced, holding out the hand with the gauntlet, which began to glow green. “The ugly bitch dies…”
The newcomer fired some kind of shockwave blast out of his gauntlet, and I dove to the side and ducked behind a car to avoid being hit. Another blast came, this time of red energy as the Crimson Kid took a turn. I jumped and ran, trying to get some distance between me and my attackers.
Suddenly, I slammed into an invisible wall, and when I snapped around to run in a different direction, I realized it wouldn’t do any good. I was caught inside some kind of force field trap. The ground around me was glowing in a circle that was about six feet across. No, I realized a moment later. It wasn’t in the shape of a circle. It was in the shape of a hexagon.
Before I could decide my next move, the Crimson Kid and the man in green came forward and raised their arms for another attack. I tried to leap up and out of the way, but hit the invisible wall again, just an instant before their attacks hit. My body exploded in pain and I fell to the ground, dazed and hurting too much to move, much less get back to my feet.
“We got her,” a voice called out, from what seemed to be a great distance.
Then, when I thought I couldn’t hurt any more, I felt a new pain…a sharp agony that shot through my lower spine. I screamed out, now finding the ability to move, though barely. My eyes snapped open, and I saw Crash Test Dummy standing over me. In one hand, he was holding an energy sword, but in the other, he was holding my severed tail.
“Now, let’s see how YOU like it,” Crash Test Dummy demanded with a gloating laugh.
“She cut off my foot,” the man in green snarled. “She stole my powers. She destroyed my reputation and my life…”
I stared up at the man in green, hurting so much that I had a hard time focusing. However, I still recognized that voice. I’d never seen that costume before today, but I definitely knew that voice.
“Jack Ass,” I managed to gasp, in spite of the fact that it hurt to breath, much less speak. The man in green was Jack Rabbit, a ‘hero’ whom I’d tangled with a couple months ago.
“We all have reasons to want the Imp dead,” a woman said in a grim voice.
That drew my attention to the fact that I was now surrounded by five people, none of whom looked friendly. The Crimson Kid, Crash Test Dummy, and Jack Ass had already made themselves known, in violent and painful fashion. Then, there was a figure in a red cloak, with the hood down to obscure the face. However, I didn’t miss the golden brooch, which was shaped like a hexagon. And then, there was the woman who spoke a moment earlier.
The woman was blonde, busty, and absolutely gorgeous…if you were interested in that whole statuesque and stacked blonde look. From her appearance, my guess was that she was probably an exemplar. She was also wearing a white costume, with some gold metallic trim.
“Who…are…you?” I gasped, desperately trying to buy myself some time.
“You know very well who I am,” the woman snapped, which confused me a bit since I had absolutely no idea of who she was.
“Sorry,” I responded with a forced smirk, “but you busty blonde types all look the same to me… I mean, if you’ve seen one blonde bimbo, you’ve seen them all…”
The woman glared at me, anger burning in her gaze. I had to fight back a smile, but not too hard since I was in so much pain. I could feel a monologue coming, which would not only buy me some more time, but hopefully, give me a few answers.
“You’ve made a great many enemies, Imp,” the blonde exclaimed, spitting my name out as if it was a profanity. “It was a simple matter of finding a few, who were eager for a chance at revenge.” She gestured at the other four people who surrounded me, sneering, “So here we are…an Imp Revenge Squad, if you will…”
“But what if I won’t?” I asked, wincing from the pain. “I get why Crash Test Dummy, the Red Goat, and Jackass are after me…” I looked at the figure in red, now getting a good enough look to tell that it was a woman. The golden hexagon shaped brooch gave me a nice clue about her motives. “And let me guess, you’re Hexagoner two point oh…”
“You killed my mentor,” Hexagoner 2.0 said in a cold tone. “I’m honor bound to avenge his death.”
With a chuckle, Crash Test Dummy added, “And Hexagon’s will says you have to take out his killer if you want to inherit anything.”
“I didn’t kill Hexagoner,” I said, though I was pretty sure it wouldn’t do any good. I looked back at the blonde, “And what’s your story? Let me guess, you’re so jealous of my ravishing good looks, that you want to kill me so that you can be the fairest in the land…”
The blonde snarled, “Don’t you even pretend that you don’t know who I am. You ruined my wedding day, destroyed my father, and humiliated my entire family…”
“Sorry,” I admitted, giving a painful shrug. “But that doesn’t ring a bell. I’m afraid you’ll have to be more specific.”
“We’re going to tear you to pieces for what you’ve done,” the woman exclaimed, looking like she was about to start a full blown diedricks rant. Then she looked at Crash Test Dummy and commanded, “Start with her arm…”
“I already started with her tail, Heaven,” Crash Test Dummy responded, though he turned his attention to me anyway, and then swung his energy sword.
I saw the sword coming, and desperately channeled every ounce of energy in my aura, to the palm of my hand. Then, I reached out and caught his energy sword in my hand, relying on the focused PK shield to protect my hand, at least for a couple seconds. While Crash Test Dummy gasped in surprise, I leapt up to my feet, pushing the glowing blade away from me…and through Jack Ass’ side, though unfortunately it didn’t go very deep. He screamed, I released the energy blade, and used my claws to slash at the Crimson Kid’s eyes. That gave me enough of an opening to break free of the group.
The blonde, who Crash Test Dummy had referred to as Heaven, shouted, “Don’t let her escape…”
For a brief moment, I considered my options, but unfortunately, there weren’t many good ones. I was badly outnumbered, seriously injured, and in absolutely no condition to fight. Hell, without my tail, my balance was messed up too.
I thought about running back into the Black Mask, but there were several problems with that. First, I’d have to get past Hexagoner 2.0, Heaven, and Crash Test Dummy, just to run in that direction. And second, if I ran through those doors now, I’d be announcing to everyone inside, that I was currently weak and injured, and all the vultures would start circling. If I ran for cover in the Black Mask, my reputation would take the kind of hit that it might never recover from.
A situation like this one demanded a smart-ass comment or a clever joke, something I could use to amuse myself, while mocking or distracting my opponent. Unfortunately, I was hurting far too much to come up with anything. Instead, I threw several of my throwing spikes, followed by some smoke bombs. In the cloud of smoke that followed, I ran as fast as I could.
“Where’d she go?” Hexagoner 2.0 demanded.
The Crimson Kid fired an energy blast in my general direction, missing me but hitting a parked car. Small pieces of shrapnel went flying, and a couple pieces hit me, tearing into my shoulder and thigh. I bit back the scream of pain and continued getting away as fast as I could. Then, once I was far enough away and crouched down behind a car, I used my chameleon field to vanish.
“WE HAD HER,” Jack Ass shouted in anger and frustration. “I warned you she was slippery…”
“We’ll find her,” Heaven responded. “She’s injured and can’t have gone far…”
My attackers began searching for me, splitting up to do so. I remained where I was, crouching down behind a car and using my chameleon field to remain hidden. As hurt as I was, it wasn’t easy to stay focused enough to do this, but somehow, I managed. Two of them even walked right past my hiding spot without seeing me.
Once they were all gone, I let out a sigh of relief and muttered, “The Imp Revenge Squad. What kind of a stupid name is that?”
With a grimace, I slowly got up and began moving towards a nearby alley. I was hurting too bad to keep my chameleon field up, which meant, I’d have to use some more traditional methods of hiding.
“The Imp Revenge Squad,” I repeated again, snorting as I did so. “But when this IRS says that they want to take an arm and a leg, they mean it literally…” I winced at that, fully aware of my missing tail. The horrible pain was a reminder that I couldn’t very well ignore, though I was doing my best to distract myself from it. “Imp versus the IRS. That sounds like a good title for a book…”
The IRS had been waiting for me. They’d been waiting outside the Black Mask, just so they could ambush me. I didn’t need to wonder about why they chose that location, or how they knew I’d be there. Crash Test Dummy knew that I was a regular there, or at least, that I had been when I’d still lived in the area full time. It wouldn’t have taken much for him to realize that if they kept watch on the place, then sooner or later, I’d show up.
I staggered down the alley, wincing in pain with nearly every step. In spite of that, I kept moving, and I kept looking around for any sign of my attackers. Crash Test Dummy momentarily stepped into the alley for a look, but I was able to form my chameleon field again, just long enough for him to leave. Then, I continued to hurry away as quickly as my body would allow me.
At the other end of the alley, I found a homeless guy curled up and sleeping in a doorway. A dirty old parka was folded up beside him, and it seemed to smell about as bad as he did. However, beggars couldn’t be choosers, so I took the jacket, since it would help to hide my unique features.
“Sorry about this,” I whispered, feeling bad for stealing from someone with so little.
I didn’t feel even a twinge of guilt for stealing paintings, but this was different. I reached into my utility belt and pulled out some of my emergency funds, leaving a small stack of bills in the man’s hand.
“That should more than cover it,” I said, before I continued on my way.
Every movement was an agony, but I didn’t dare stop and rest. My entire body was severely bruised, and this probably included some of my internal organs. I was pretty sure that at least one of my ribs were broken, and I had several deep gashes, which were still bleeding a little. And then, there was my tail, or lack thereof.
“I’ll heal,” I whispered, knowing that my regeneration would take care of everything. I just needed a safe place to lay low and rest.
My first thought was that I had to get back home, to the Imp Lair, but then I realized it was too far away. In the shape I was in, I’d never make it that far. My safe house was closer, but even that was too much distance for my current condition.
However, there was one other place I could go, one that was closer than even my safe house. With a grimace, I pulled the filthy parka closer to me, then focused on simply taking one step after another until I could find a bus or taxi.
I reached my destination a short time later, and stood in front of a door. My hand shook as I rang the doorbell, and it was all I could do to remain standing.
When the door opened, Ryan stood there, staring at me in surprise. “Imp?”
At this point, I couldn’t remain standing any longer and collapsed, right into Ryan’s arms. “Christine,” he gasped in horror, suddenly noticing my state. “What happened? Who did this to you?”
“Some bad old puddy tats,” I muttered in response. At that moment, I felt safe in his arms, so I allowed my eyes to close and darkness to descend.
Whateley Academy, Monday morning, Oct 22nd, 2007
School, the final frontier. These are the adventures of the teacher Imp. Her daily mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new amusements, to boldly go where no Imp has gone before.
I was in my classroom, standing next to my desk and leaning against it for support. My eyes slowly scanned the room, as I took in all the students, marveling yet again how strange and alien some of them were.
“Only a real alien would wear an outfit like that,” I mused at one girl, who’d chosen to wear some brightly colored socks and a bow, which clashed horribly with her school uniform. “Or maybe Jericho. I wonder if she might be his protégé…” Of course, that same girl frequently liked to dress a little quirky, but she’d never come close to Jericho territory before now, so I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.
A moment later, I let out a loud yawn, then took another sip of my devisor coffee. It was about the only thing strong enough to get past my regeneration, and to give me some benefit of the caffeine. Since I didn’t sleep a wink last night, I could use the caffeine.
Yesterday, I’d been ambushed by the Imp Revenge Squad…the IRS, and they’d messed me up pretty good. Still, I’d managed to slip away with my usual skill and brilliance, and had ended up knocking on Ryan’s door, then collapsing right into his arms. That had been a little embarrassing.
Ryan knew that I was a regenerator, so he hadn’t bothered taking me to the hospital. Instead, he’d patched up most of my injuries, put me to bed, and watched over me while I slept for half the day. The fact that he’d done all this for me, filled me with mixed emotions. While it was embarrassing, it had also been kind of sweet and romantic.
Though that rest gave my regeneration a chance to heal a lot of my injuries, it hadn’t been enough to fix everything. Ryan wanted me to stay longer, until I was fully recovered, but I couldn’t do that. As strange an idea as it was, I had responsibilities to take care of. I had students to teach. Because of that, I’d left to catch a red-eye flight, and had arrived back at Whateley only a few hours ago.
I closed my eyes, thinking about the look on Ryan’s face. He’d asked…nearly demanded to know who’d done this to me, but I hadn’t told him. Those idiots were my problem, and I didn’t want to drag him into the mess.
Of course, there was another reason too. Jack Ass had been one of my attackers, and Ryan had just as much of a grudge against him as me, if not more. After all, it was his daughter whom Jack Ass had previously kidnapped and mind controlled. If Ryan went after Jack Ass in revenge, I feared that he might do something that he’d never forgive himself for.
Class started a minute later, so I took another sip of my coffee before turning my full attention to the students. “Good morning and a happy Monday to everyone.”
“Boooooo,” one of the students called out.
I walked away from my desk, though my steps were a little slow and awkward, partly due to the remaining ache in my ribs and backside, and partly due to the fact that my tail usually helped with my balance. I could have just spent the entire class sitting behind my desk, but not only was that not my style, sitting for any length of time was also uncomfortable at the moment.
“Okay,” I announced in a cheerful tone. “We’re going to work a little more with watercolors today…”
Suddenly, I heard a gasp of surprise, and Monkeywrench demanded, “What happened to your tail?”
I turned to look down at my tail, which had regrown a little since yesterday, though it was only a foot long. It was small, and not nearly long enough to qualify as a decent tail.
“Shrinkage,” I answered with a forced smile. “You know about shrinkage, don’t you?”
There were some laughs at that, including from Monkeywrench. “Not personally,” he responded with a grin. “But I’ve heard of it.”
But in spite of the joking, Monkeywrench was still giving me a worried look, probably thinking about how he’d feel if his furry tail suddenly got a lot smaller. At the same time, a few of the other students were giving me similar looks of curiosity and concern.
“Imp,” Melissa called out, looking really worried. Her eyes were wide.
I gave Melissa a reassuring smile, then announced, “Melissa, come on down. You’re the next contestant on the Imp is right.” Then I grinned and said, “I need you to start handing out supplies…”
Melissa teleported to me and reached for the supplies on my desk, though she still looked worried. “What happened?” she asked quietly.
“I took a bath, and it shrunk in the wash,” I told her, though for some reason, it didn’t look like she believed me.
There was no way that I was going to tell Melissa that Little Bunny Foo Foo was back. That prick had done some nasty stuff to her, made even worse by the fact that he called himself a superhero. She still had some nightmares over what he’d done, and I wasn’t about to do anything to make her afraid that he might come after her again.
“But,” Melissa started.
“Yes, I do have a rather nice butt,” I responded with grin, reaching over for the stack of papers and handing it to Melissa. “Don’t worry about it. I’m fine. Now, get these handed out to everyone.”
After this, class continued pretty much as usual, though a number of the students kept giving me odd looks. I could feel them staring at my tail and wondering what had happened to it.
A couple hours later, I was sitting in the faculty cafeteria, wishing I had a cushion to sit on. This wasn’t the first time I’d lost my tail, but something like that wasn’t something you just shrugged off.
“Christine,” someone called my name.
I looked over, already knowing who I’d see. “Maria,” I responded with a smile, greeting my neighbor in the village. “What’s up?” Then I glanced to the young woman walking beside Maria. This was Donna, Maria’s roommate. “Hey, Donna.”
“Hello,” Donna responded. She gave me a faint smile.
Though she’d never said anything, I knew that I made her a little uncomfortable. Whether it was my criminal background or my GSD, I had no idea. Then again, maybe she was just overwhelmed by my sheer awesomeness.
“Are you okay?” Maria asked, sitting down at my table with her own lunch. Donna immediately sat beside her. “I heard something about you walking with a limp, and having a…shrunken tail.” She gave me a curious look, obviously wondering how much truth there were to the stories.
“Yeah,” I admitted with a wry smile. “I lost my tail…” At her look of horror, I added, “I was going to check lost and found after lunch.”
“What?” Maria gasped, looking stunned. “What happened?”
I hesitated a moment, then admitted, “Yesterday, I was in New York, taking care of some business, and I got ambushed by some people with a grudge. They cut off my tail.”
“No,” Donna gasped. “Are you okay?”
I shrugged, trying to act like this was no big deal. The truth was, losing my tail was not only painful, but humiliating. Fortunately, it wasn’t as painful as when someone pulled it really hard, which was kind of ironic when you thought about it.
“I’ll be fine,” I assured them. “It’s already growing back, and will probably be back to normal tomorrow.”
“It sounds like yesterday was a very bad day for you,” Donna said sympathetically. “I’m really sorry to hear it.”
With another shrug, I told her, “I’ve had worse.”
That reminded me that a certain anniversary was coming up, and getting far too close for comfort. I scowled at that, wondering if I could call in sick on Thursday, and spend the whole thing in bed.
“You can’t keep a good Imp down,” I announced. “Or do I qualify more as a bad Imp.” I grinned, standing up and doing my best impersonation of Glinda. “Am I a good Imp, or a bad Imp?”
“You’re a crazy Imp,” someone else exclaimed from another table, earning a few laughs from those nearby.
“Thank you,” I responded with a bad Elvis impersonation and doing a bow. “Thank you very much.”
“Who are these people?” Maria asked me a few seconds later. “Why would they attack you?”
“They’re the IRS,” I explained. “And they wanted to do an audit. I’m lucky that they only took my tail, because they wanted to charge me an arm and a leg…”
Maria rolled her eyes at that. “Of course, I shouldn’t have expected you to give me a straight answer.”
“What fun would that be?” I asked cheerfully.
For the rest of lunch, Maria tried to get me to tell her more about what had happened, but I was actually too focused on my food to give her much information, even if I’d been inclined to do so. Healing from a lot of damage tended to burn calorizes like crazy, and since I had to grow a whole new tail as well, my food intake was currently through the roof. I figured, that this was what it must be like being an energizer.
When lunch was over, I hurried to my fourth period class, Art 2. I always enjoyed teaching this class, because I could go into more advanced techniques than with my Art 1 class. Of course, it also didn’t hurt that Dino was one of my students in this class, and he was one of the most amusing kids in the entire school.
A lot of my students looked tired, and suffered from the after lunch nods. I decided that I’d have to wake them up a bit. It was just too bad that I couldn’t use the air horn, but that just wouldn’t be a good idea with Dino in class. His sensitive hearing didn’t do so well with that kind of noise.
“Happy Monday to you,” I began to sing, to the tune of ‘happy birthday’. “Happy Monday to you. Happy Monday dear students, happy Monday to you…” As expected there were groans and even a snicker or two. I just smiled and pointed out, “Imagine how much more imp-ressive that would have been, first thing in the morning.”
“Your singing sucks,” someone called out from the back.
I flashed the class my best innocent look. “Are you saying I need to imp-rove?”
“Your puns suck even worse,” someone else exclaimed.
My response was just to grin. “Imp-ossible. My puns are totally awesome, just like me.”
There were more snickers at that, and Dino began laughing in that weird chirping way that dinosaurs do. Then he paused and began to stare at me, sniffing the air the way he sometimes did. Suddenly, he began to chirp and growl frantically, though I didn’t speak dinosaur, so wasn’t sure what he was saying. At least not until he pointed at my tail, which was now about a foot and a half long.
“Oh, that,” I said wryly. “I lost my tail in a poker game…” Dino clearly didn’t believe me, and made a few more barking chirps. “I thought I had a winning hand, but came up a little short…”
I was pretty sure that Dino didn’t believe that. There were a few other students around the room who were giving me curious looks too. However, I wasn’t about to tell them what really happened.
Just then, my classroom door opened, but instead of a student arriving late, it was a girl who wasn’t in any of my classes. More than likely, she was a student runner, coming to deliver a message from admin. I wondered if one of my students had gotten into trouble, or just had some kind of appointment
“Ms. Imp,” the girl said nervously. “I have a message for you…”
“Is it a singing telegram?” I asked with a grin, just to tease the girl. “I love singing telegrams…”
“Um…no,” she responded awkwardly, earning a few chuckles from the classroom.
I took the message and looked it over, frowning slightly as I did so. This message didn’t concern any of my students, but me. It was from Chief Delarose, who wanted to see me in Kane Hall as soon as convenient, so I could fill out a report on what happened yesterday. I let out a sigh of annoyance, realizing that I should have expected this. Whenever students got in trouble off campus, they had to report in with security. Why should teachers be any different?
“Thank you,” I told the girl, then sent her on her way. With that, I turned my attention back to my students and rubbed my hands gleefully. “Now, for today’s lesson…”
--------------------
The Village, Tuesday late afternoon, Oct 23rd, 2007
Classes were over for the day, and like the students, I was taking advantage of that fact to relax and unwind a little. I was sitting on a stool in the Flying Blue Squirrel, sipping on a glass of beer.
My tail slowly swished back and forth behind me. It was still an inch or two shorter than normal, but that last little bit would be corrected before long. There was no doubt, that the last physical signs of my injuries the other day, would be healed before I went to bed tonight.
“Regen is definitely the best power ever,” I announced. Then, I looked at my beer, remembering the small fact that it wasn’t nearly strong enough to give me a buzz, much less get me drunk. “Sometimes.”
After finishing off my beer, I turned my attention to the small stack of papers that were sitting in front of me. One of my professional contacts had given me these reports, a couple days earlier than I expected as well. This here, was everything that they could find out about Danny Boy’s investors. In addition, I also had a report on the superhero who’d been snooping around his gallery as well, though there was a lot less information in that.
As far as my contact was concerned, I was simply investigating another gallery, in preparation for a job…just as I’d done countless times before. No one except Danny Boy and me knew that this particular job was more on the personal side of things than the professional. And if Danny Boy kept his part of the agreement, no one else would ever find out.
The investors didn’t appear to have any superhuman working for them, were not connected to the Syndicate, and didn’t seem to be part of any large crime family. That all simplified things a great deal, since I wouldn’t need to worry about doing negotiations through the Syndicate, or facing off against the entire mob. However, they were laundering money for a fairly-small time gangster, who could still be problematic.
As for the hero, I was going to have to do a little more research on him. So far, about the only thing I had on him, was his codename. The Asterisk. Somehow, I didn’t think I had much to fear from a superhero named after a button on my keyboard, but it was a good idea to find out more anyway.
What really concerned me at the moment, wasn’t Danny Boy’s problem, but my own. It would be nice to have a set of files like this on the IRS, but for the moment at least, I’d have to go with my own knowledge and experience with them. Fortunately, that gave me a bit to work with.
Crash Test Dummy wasn’t especially powerful or bright. He made a living acting as a guinea pig for mad scientists, testing high tech weapons for gadgeteers and devisors under field conditions, and using them to commit crimes for further profit. Since he often got to keep the prototype weapons as his payment, and he had a lot of professional contacts, there was no telling what kind of weapons he might bring to the fight.
The human lab rat hated me because I’d changed his codename to Crash Test Dummy, which was probably a lot more accurate than his previous codename, whatever it had been. For some reason, he took that rather personally. And of course, I’d also cut off his hand. That had been self-defense though, since he’d forced me to disarm him in order to keep him from killing me.
Since Crash Test Dummy had both hands again, during that fight on Sunday, he’d either had it reattached, had some devisor grow him a new one, or he was using a prosthetic. Considering how many gadgeteers and devisors he knew, it could have been any of those.
Jack Rabbit, AKA Jack Ass, AKA Little Bunny Foo Foo, had been a hero, or at least he’d claimed to be one. Since he had a history of making criminals disappear, not to mention brainwashing kids and turning them into cannon fodder, I would hardly call him a hero. The two of us fought a couple times over the fact that he’d kidnapped Melissa. However, the last time I saw him, he’d lost all the power gems that gave him his abilities, and I’d cut off his foot. Rabbit feet were supposed to be lucky, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
As with Crash Test Dummy, Jack Ass somehow had his foot back. It is entirely possible that Crash Test Dummy hooked Jack Ass up with whatever method that he himself had used to get his hand back, and it’s also possible that he was the one who provided the weapons that Jack Ass had been using. Then again, it’s also possible that he was using weapons that he ‘confiscated’ from one or two of those missing criminals. That glowing gauntlet sounded like something the Green Gauntlet, one of those missing criminals, might have used.
The Crimson Kid is another one who had a personal grudge against me, and was someone I’d never expected to see again. I hadn’t cut off any of his body parts, but after he’d framed Monster Max, and got him executed, I’d decided to return the favor. I’d framed the kid for a couple crimes, in both of his identities, and then I’d spilled his real identity to a few other villains, who also had issues with his framing Max. The kid had gone on the run, and into hiding, eventually becoming a homeless drunk. But now, he was back.
Then there was Hexagoner 2.0. I had no idea if she was using Hexagon’s old codename, or if she had one of her own. What I did know, was that she seemed to be a magic user with similar tricks to his. However, that was no surprise though, since she’d said he was her mentor.
Hexagoner, the first one, had worked out of California, and he’d had some kind of organization there. Apparently, his apprentice had betrayed him, took over his organization, and chased him out of the state. I wondered if Hexagoner 2.0 was that same apprentice. If so, then her coming after me for revenge was even more screwed up and hypocritical than I’d first thought. Then again, Crash Test Dummy had something about her needing to avenge his death, in order to inherit anything, so her motivations might be purely mercenary rather than personal.
“Not that it changes much,” I mused.
The last member of the Imp Revenge Squad, or at least, the last that I’d seen, was that blonde, Heaven. Blondie was the biggest mystery of the entire group, since I had absolutely no idea who she was, or what she had against me. However, it certainly seemed to be personal.
“Now, if I only knew what her powers were,” I thought aloud, remembering that she hadn’t actually demonstrated any abilities at all during the fight. “That might help me figure out how to deal with her.”
For a few seconds, I wondered if I should ask Amelia Hartford to dig up anything she could on Heaven and Hexagoner 2.0. If there were any computer records out there on those two, then Hindmost would probably be able to find them for me. However, I wasn’t sure that this information would be worth the favor I’d owe her in return. That was something I’d need to think about some more.
Just then, a voice asked, “A penny for your thoughts?”
I looked up and saw Louis Geintz sitting across from me. He was holding up a shiny penny. Of course, the penny wasn’t real. It was a psychic projection, just like he was. The real Louis was bobbing along in a fish tank beneath Hawthorne.
“Can’t you just take them for free?” I asked him.
“I could,” Louis admitted with a shrug. “But I try not to do that kind of thing. It’s frowned upon. Professional ethics and all.”
I nodded at that, since I could definitely understand professional ethics. Regardless of what your profession was, there were certain rules and guidelines that you had to follow in order to be considered a professional. Even art thieves and supervillains had their own code of professional ethics.
“How are you feeling?” Louis asked me, looking concerned.
“Isn’t that something Dr. Scratchensniff should be asking?” I responded. “I mean, it’s such a shrink question…”
Louis chuckled at that. “I’m sure that Alfred would ask you that, if you were one of his patients.” Then he gave me a serious look. “But I’m asking as a friend.”
There was no need to ask what Louis was referring to, since I’d already talked to Carson and Delarose about the attack on Sunday. I’d told both of them the same thing that I’d told Ryan, that a group of old enemies had attacked me, and that I’d take care of it. Neither of them seemed happy about that response, any more than Ryan had been.
“It was a busy weekend,” I admitted with a sigh. I gestured to the bartender. “I’ll have a scotch on the rocks.”
“So I’ve heard,” Louis said.
Once I had my drink in hand, I took a long sip, then said, “I ran into my brother.”
“What?” he responded, giving me a look of surprise. “I didn’t know you had a brother.”
I gave Louis a skeptical look at that. I was pretty sure that he knew quite a bit more about me than he let on. In fact, suspected that he’d been involved in the vetting process with Carson and Delarose, about whether or not to hire me. There was little doubt in my mind, that he already knew my original name, even if it hadn’t been from reading my thoughts.
“I hadn’t seen him in thirty years,” I admitted with a sigh. “It was…rough.”
Louis nodded at that. “I can imagine. I know that you don’t talk about your family very much...”
“My family cut me off,” I explained with a shrug. “I learned a long time ago, that I don’t have a family anymore… I haven’t had one for a very long time. Then BAM, there he is. My brother, who called me… Well, who was less than enthusiastic about my being a mutant, comes begging me for help.”
“That must have been…strange,” Louis said. He had a beer in his hand, which he took a long drink of. Of course, it wasn’t a real beer, but another part of his psychic projection.
“Yep,” I agreed, swishing my tail back and forth, giving him a wry smile. “Pretty damn strange.”
“And of course, you agreed to help him,” Louis commented.
“How do you know that?” I asked, about to call him on reading my mind, in spite of the professional ethics he’d claimed.
“Because,” Louis said, giving me an amused look. “In spite of your previous career, you are generally a good person.” Then he quickly added, “Of course, I can imagine you robbing him blind, or just humiliating him, but I have a hard time seeing you turn down someone who genuinely needed your help.”
I let out a snort at that. “You really don’t know me very well then.”
“Maybe not,” Louis responded, though he still seemed confident in himself. “And what about these people who attacked you?”
“I’ll deal with them when the time comes,” I answered, giving him an evil grin. “After all, vengeance is mine, sayeth the Imp.”
“Then I’ll leave you to it,” Louis told me. He got up and started to leave, which was purely for show since he wasn’t actually there. Then he paused and gave me an odd look. “You know, you don’t have to project annoying songs when we talk, just to keep me from reading your thoughts. Getting them stuck in my head is rather…annoying.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I lied, giving him my best innocent look while swishing my tail back and forth.
Louis shook his head, then walked out of the Flying Blue Squirrel, quietly singing, “Don’t tell my heart, my achey breaky heart…”
Once Louis was gone, I burst out laughing, wondering what other ear worms I might be able to use in the future. However, I had more important things to deal with at the moment, so took a sip of my scotch, then turned my attention back to the files in front of me.
--------------------
Whateley Academy, Thursday morning, Oct 25th, 2007
My first period art class was usually one of the highlights of my day. This was Art 1, where I could introduce my students to new types of art and expression that they’d never experimented with before. There was a certain delight to seeing the excitement in their eyes, when they discovered a new talent, or realized that they loved drawing, painting, or sculpting.
This class also contained some of my favorite students. Melissa was not only my apprentice, but in some ways, I thought of her as the daughter I’d never had. She wasn’t particularly passionate about art, but she always approached it with energy and enthusiasm, just as she did everything else.
Alicia Thacker was my very first art student, whom I’d begun teaching months before I ever came to Whateley as a teacher. She’d taken a strong interest in painting, and it filled my heart with joy and pride to see the passion in her eyes, and to watch her progress.
And then there was Monkeywrench, who was silly, good-natured, and as much fun as a barrel full of monkeys. Life had given him a rough hand, with GSD that made him look like a monkey, and a future that would not be easy. I knew first-hand, how the world treated those with GSD. But in spite of that, he never let it get him down, and he took great pride in those things that made him different.
I walked through my classroom, looking over the watercolor paintings that the students were working on. Suddenly, there was a loud fart sound, coming from Monkeywrench, and the air was immediately filled with the scent of bananas. It only took a moment to realize that he’d used a whoopee cushion, and some banana scented oil to get that effect.
“Sorry,” Monkeywrench said with a laugh. “I need to cut down on the bananas…”
I didn’t bother responding to his joke, in spite of the fact that Melissa and several other students were laughing. At the moment, I just didn’t feel like laughing. In fact, I didn’t feel like teaching either. If I hadn’t been responsible for teaching these kids, I probably would have just stayed in bed all day. All I wanted, was for this day to end as fast as possible.
“Are you okay?” Melissa asked, giving me a worried look.
“I’m fine,” I answered, without much energy. I looked over her painting and said, “That’s very…colorful.”
“Thanks,” Melissa responded with a broad grin. “I like it too…”
I continued walking around the classroom, looking at the paintings and offering suggestions and advice. I didn’t have as much energy in me as usual, and I was pretty sure the students noticed. Unfortunately, I didn’t really have it in me to care too much at the moment.
When the class ended, almost the moment that the bell rang, Monkeywrench leapt out of his seat and exclaimed, “Reach for the sky.” He was pointing a banana at Mischief as though it was a gun.
“Oh no you don’t,” Melissa responded, blowing Monekwrench a raspberry.
The furry boy fired his banana, somehow launching the fruit at Melissa, while keeping the peel in his hand. She easily dodged the banana, so Monkeywrench let out a sigh if disappointment and casually dropped the banana peel to the floor.
“Oh well,” Monkeywrench said. “The idea had a certain a-peel, but didn’t work out.”
“My turn,” Melissa announced, teleporting behind Monkeywrench, and moving to give him a wedgie until she slipped on the banana peel and fell onto her butt. “Ouch.”
“Well, what do you think of my new banana gun?” Monekywrench asked me with a broad grin. “Is it imp-ressive? Is there anything I can imp-rove…”
“Very nice,” I responded with a forced smile.
Melissa jumped back to her feet and exclaimed, “She didn’t laugh…”
“She didn’t pun,” Monkeywrench gasped. Then as one, both of them pointed at me and blurted out, “Imp-oster…!”
“Your skit was pretty funny,” I assured them, since I didn’t want to hurt their feelings. “I’m just not feeling well today…”
Melissa and Monkeywrench shared a worried look. “Is it because of what happened last weekend?” Melissa asked. “Is it because of your tail…?” she looked at my tail. “It looks normal again…”
“It’s not my tail, and it isn’t about what happened to me,” I said, getting a little impatient. “Now shooo. You two have classes you need to get to.”
As the two of them turned to join the rest of their classmates, who’d already left, I heard Monkeywrench whisper to Melissa, “I think there’s something wrong with Ms. Imp…”
“Yeah,” Melissa quietly agreed, giving me another worried look before leaving the room. “Definitely.”
--------------------
Whateley Academy, Thursday early afternoon, Oct 25th, 2007
Lunch was over, not that I’d eaten today. In fact, I’d avoided the cafeteria completely, and had remained in my classroom, grading quizzes for my art appreciation class. But now, the lunch period was over, and my fourth period Art 2 class was in full swing.
Dino was up to his usual antics, or perhaps, it would be more accurate to say he was up to some more unusual antics. Today, he had some kind of puppet or ventriloquist dummy, that looked like a skeleton dinosaur with a towel wrapped around its head, and it was sitting on his desk, where he kept having conversations with it. Of course, both he and the puppet kept growling, snarling, and chirping to each other. The rest of the students kept looking at him as though he was insane. Normally, I would have gotten a huge kick out of this and played along, but today was not a normal day.
Today, I didn’t have the energy or motivation to give a good lecture, and especially not to entertain the students. So instead, I had everyone working on their class projects, while I walked around and answered questions.
“Ms. Imp,” Jadis Diabolik called out to get my attention.
“Yes,” I responded, giving the girl a curious look.
“Can you ask Razorback to please stop hoarding all the supplies?” Jadis asked politely.
I glanced over to Dino, who did have a small pile of supplies, stacked up on his desk. “Dino,” I said, raising an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”
“It’s not me,” Dino said, using that digital vocoder thing that he carried with him. It was a flat, electric, monotone voice, but it was a little more understandable than his usual chirps. He gestured to his puppet and continued, “Ahmed the Dead Dinosaur says he’s going to blow them all up.”
“I see,” I responded, wishing that he would have tried this yesterday, or even tomorrow. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t appreciate it today.
“Silence,” Dino said with the electronic voice, though he moved the puppet’s mouth to show that it was supposed to be the one talking. “I chomp you!”
“Share the supplies,” I told Dino with a sigh.
Dino stared at me for a moment, then began chirping and growling frantically. Then, after a minute, he switched back to the vocoder. “Help,” he said. “Someone stole the Imp’s sense of humor.”
“Maybe you just aren’t funny,” someone responded with a snicker.
“Impossible,” Dino responded.
“Back to work,” I told them all, before going back to my desk to sit down. I rubbed my temples, wishing that this day would just end already.
I remained at my desk for the rest of the class, only getting up once to check on everyone’s work. Dino continued watching me, as well as playing with his puppet. When I didn’t respond, he gave me odd looks. Then, when I got close, he sniffed me and made some frantic chirps. I couldn’t understand what he was saying, but he seemed worried.
As soon as class ended, Dino came up to my desk, sniffed at me again, then plopped his head right down on my desk and watched me. I might not understand his dinosaur language, but I could guess a lot from his body language.
“I’m fine,” I told the velociraptor, giving a forced smile. “Now go on, you’ve got a class to get to.”
Dino gave me a skeptical look, but he turned to leave. Still, he passed at the door, long enough to speak to another student using his vocoder. “Someone broke the Imp,” he said, somehow managing to sound worried, even though the digital voice was flat and emotionless. “Do you know where I can find Imp glue?”
Once everyone was gone, I leaned back in my chair and let out a long sigh. Now, I had my free period, so I could spend a little time brooding in private.
Just then, a familiar voice asked, “Penny for your thoughts?”
“They aren’t worth that much at the moment,” I answered grimly.
I looked up and saw Louis standing in the middle of my classroom. He stared at me for a few seconds before carefully saying, “You aren’t acting like your usual self, and several people are starting to get worried.”
“I’m fine,” I said, getting annoyed at having to keep telling people that. Maybe if I said it enough times, I’d believe it myself.
“Christine,” Louis said in a gentle tone. “I’m not reading your mind, but you’re radiating so much depression, that any psychic near you is going to pick it up. A couple students noticed this and have expressed some concern.”
“Everyone has a bad day now and then,” I responded grimly. “Even us fabulous Imps.”
“It’s obviously more than that,” Louis told me. “I imagine that having your tail cut off would be difficult…”
I snorted at that. “This has nothing to do with that.”
“Then what?” Louis asked, looking concerned. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“If you really want to help,” I stated with a snarl, “you can keep Barney away from me, and well out of my sight.”
Louis blinked at that. “Are you and Roland fighting again? I thought you had a truce…”
I just met Louis’ gaze, and told him, “If that asshole comes after me today of all days, I’m likely to forget myself and skin him alive.”
“Oh,” Louis responded quietly. “I think I understand.” He bowed his head to me and added, “I’ll give you some privacy.”
A couple seconds later, Louis just vanished, as though he’d never been there. I just lowered my head and rested it on my desk, fighting back the tears that wanted to come.
--------------------
Whateley Academy, Thursday late afternoon, Oct 25th, 2007
“Come on,” Melissa called out as she ran across the courtyard. “Keep up…”
“Why don’t you slow down?” Monkeywrench called back as he ran after her. “I can’t teleport or run through obstacles, you know.”
Melissa was about to respond, then saw the person she was looking for. Without even glancing back at Monkeywrench, she teleported ahead, appearing right in front of Darqueheart.
“Hey, Darqueheart,” Melissa exclaimed.
Darqueheart jumped back, startled from the other girl’s sudden appearance. “Watch it, pretty,” she snapped. Then she gave Melissa a suspicious look and demanded, “What do you want?”
“It’s Imp,” Melissa blurted out. “There’s something wrong with her. I mean, something really really wrong with her…”
That was enough to make Darqueheart pause. “What do you mean?” she asked, the hostility dropping from her voice. “What’s wrong with the Imp? Is she hurt again?” She began to sound worried.
“I don’t think she’s hurt,” Monkeywrench said as he caught up. “But she’s acting…all wrong. Totally not like the Imp.”
“Yeah,” Melissa gushed out. “She was acting like a total pod person this morning. I think she might be some kind of imposter… Like maybe a robot, or one of those clones, or something…”
“Are you on drugs?” Darqueheart demanded, with the hostility starting to return.
Monkeywrench put a hand on Melissa’s shoulder to stop her, then explained, “This morning, Imp was acting completely different. I mean, no jokes, no puns, and like, no sense of humor at all…”
Melissa nodded emphatically. “It’s like a fun vampire sucked all the fun right out of her. I’ve talked to a bunch of other people, and they all say that she’s been like that all day… There’s something really wrong…”
“Imp didn’t even stop joking when she lost her tail,” Monkeywrench pointed out. “But now, it’s like… Well, she’s not acting anything like normal.”
“Is she all right?” Darqueheart demanded, now looking worried.
“I know you like the Imp,” Melissa told her. “And she likes you, and that you’d want to help her too.”
Darqueheart blinked at that. “But how? We don’t even know what’s wrong…”
“I know,” Melissa exclaimed, nearly bouncing in place. “We go to her apartment and keep knocking on the door until she tells us what’s going on. Then, we figure out how to cheer her up…”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Monkeywrench said. “Maybe we can bring something… I know… We can bring her pie…”
“Pie?” Darqueheart asked in surprise, as well as a little confusion.
“Banana cream, of course,” Monkeywrench responded with a grin, earning a giggle from Melissa and an eye roll from Darqueheart.
The three of them started walking towards the Village, the area of the campus where all the teachers lived. Normally, students weren’t allowed to go there without a teacher escorting them, but they figured that this was an emergency, so it wouldn’t be a problem.
However, as they approached the Village, a beautiful woman with black hair, stopped them. “Where do you kids think you’re going?”
“We’re gonna go see Imp,” Melissa insisted. “There’s something really really wrong with her today, and we want to make her feel better.”
“While I appreciate the sentiment,” the woman told them in a gentle tone. “You kids don’t belong over here…”
“But we’ve gotta talk to the Imp,” Melissa protested, giving her best puppy dog eyes.
The woman smiled. “That doesn’t work when my daughter does it, so it won’t work for you.” Then she paused to stare at Melissa for a moment. “You’re Imp’s apprentice, aren’t you? You’re Mischief.”
“Yeah,” Melissa responded. “You’ve heard of me?”
With a laugh, the woman admitted, “Imp told me a little about you.”
“I’m Darqueheart,” the devilish looking girl offered, giving the beautiful woman a look of envy and distrust.
“I’m Monkeywrench,” the boy said. “I’m just worried about her…”
For several long seconds, the woman just looked at the three students. “I can’t let you just walk into the Village,” she said. “But I’ll tell you what. I’ll go check on the Imp and see if she’s okay. If you’re still worried about her after seeing her tomorrow, you can talk to her then.”
“But,” Monkeywrench started.
Suddenly, the woman turned to Melissa. “No, you are not going to teleport past me. If the Imp is having a bad day, then she probably wants a little peace and quiet right now. Now, go on back to your dorms, and I’ll make sure Imp is all right.” She fixed them with a firm look. “Now shoo…”
Melissa pouted as she reluctantly turned around and began walking back towards the main campus area. Monkeywrench and Darqueheart went with her, though neither of them looked any happier about this than she was.
“Let’s go get dinner,” Monkeywrench suggested.
Melissa brightened up a little at that, then turned to Darquheart. “Do you wanna eat with us today?”
Darqueheart looked surprised at that, and heisted for several seconds before cautiously nodding. “Sure.”
--------------------
The Village, Thursday late afternoon, Oct 25th, 2007
I was in the Flying Blue Squirrel, sitting at the table in the far back corner, as far away from everyone else as possible. Though I wasn’t in any mood for company or socialization, I still wanted to have a strong drink or two.
Two empty glasses were spread out on the table in front of me, along with one full glass. I took a long sip of scotch and sighed. This was one of the few times when it sucked to be a regenerator. Sure, I could heal from severe injuries, without a scar, and even grow back my tail. However, I simply couldn’t get drunk. Not with normal booze, at any rate.
With that, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a flask, which contained some devisor booze, made by a uniquely talented student on campus. Then, I poured the contents into one of my empty glasses. Now this stuff could actually have an effect on me.
A few seconds later, a familiar face stepped into the bar and looked around, as though searching for something specific. Tabby saw me, and immediately began to walk towards my table.
“Is this seat open?” Tabby asked, sitting down in the chair across from me without even waiting for an answer.
“I’m not in the mood for company,” I said a bit gruffly.
Tabby raised an eyebrow before commenting. “So I’ve heard.” She gestured for the bartender’s attention, and when he came over, she ordered her own drink. It wasn’t until she had her drink in hand and had taken a sip, that she told me, “I ran into a group of your students, while they were trying to sneak into the Village to see you…”
“Oh?” I said, a little surprised by that.
“One of them was Mischief,” Tabby continued with an amused smile. “She seems like a nice girl.”
“She is,” I agreed, then I smiled faintly. “The first time I met her, was after she robbed an art gallery and framed me for it…”
Tabby’s eyes widened at that, then she burst out laughing. “Now this sounds like a story I want to hear.”
“Maybe later,” I said, taking a sip of my drink.
“Those kids are worried about you,” Tabby said, giving me a concerned look. And though she didn’t say it aloud, there was an unspoken, “And I am too.”
“I’m fine,” I said with a scowl.
Tabby gave me a skeptical look, then carefully said, “Your injuries last weekend… I can’t imagine what it must have been like, having your tail cut off…”
I gave a sharp, bitter laugh. “This isn’t about that… Sure, it was painful and humiliating, but it isn’t anything that I haven’t dealt with before. Hell, there’s one teacher at this school, who injured me far worse than that…”
“Really?” Tabby asked in surprise. Then her eyes narrowed and she asked, “Williams?”
I merely nodded at that, not trusting myself to actually say anything. Tears started to form in my eyes, though I tried to ignore them.
“No wonder you don’t like him,” Tabby said.
“You have no idea,” I responded with a snarl. “You have no idea that that bastard cost me.”
Tabby gave me another look of surprise, though there was calculation in her eyes as well. That reminded me that Tabby wasn’t just a part-time teacher and a new friend, she was also an active hero. You couldn’t survive in that business as long as she had, without being either very powerful, or very sharp. With her, it was definitely the latter.
“Today is an anniversary,” I quietly stated, focusing on my drink rather than on her. “October twenty-fifth is always rough on me.”
Tabby stared at me with a sympathetic expression, and quietly asked, “The anniversary of what?”
“The biggest regret of my life,” I answered, downing the rest of my drink.
I emptied the rest of my flask into the glass, then ordered another drink from the bartender. Tabby and I drank in silence for some time, with neither of us speaking. At the moment, I preferred it this way. And while we drank, I kept glancing at Tabby, feeling a stirring of envy as I did so. I wasn’t jealous of her exemplar looks, since my devilish good looks were more than impressive enough. No, it was something else she had, which stirred these emotions.
Finally, the words slipped out of my mouth, almost without my realizing. “What’s it like?”
“What’s what like?” Tabby asked, looking a little confused.
I took a deep breath, not able to look her in the eyes as I quietly asked, “What’s it like…being a mother?”
Tabby looked a little surprised by my question, though she quickly recovered. “Well,” she answered carefully, “It’s a little hard to explain…” For several seconds, she sat there with a thoughtful look on her face. “It’s time consuming and frustrating. It’s ridiculously expensive, and sometimes a bit heartbreaking.”
“Oh,” I started.
However, Tabby continued, smiling faintly. “But it’s also…incredible. It’s rewarding, and joyful, and heartwarming…” She shook her head at that and gave me a wry smile, before admitting, “At one time in my life, I couldn’t even imagine that I would ever be a mother. If someone had suggested such a thing, I would have laughed at the sheer absurdity of that idea…or shuddered in horror. But now, I can’t imagine what it would be like to not be one.”
“Oh,” I said again, not sure what I could possibly say to that. My heart clenched up in my chest and tears started to form again.
“Why do you ask?” Tabby asked me gently.
For half a minute, I remained silent, and then, I finally answered. “I could have been a mother,” I whispered, my voice cracking a little. “But I lost my chance. Fifteen years ago…today.”
“Oh my…,” Tabby gasped, her eyes going wide. “I’m so sorry…”
“It’s for the best,” I responded with a bitter smile. “Can you imagine ME as a mother? No kid of mine would have ever had a chance.”
“Christine,” Tabby whispered, now staring at me with a look of pity. I hated it when people looked at me like that. It was even worse than when they were afraid of me.
With that, I downed the rest of my drink and stood up. “I’ve got to go…”
Tabby got up and threw her arms around me in a firm hug. “I’m here if you want to talk…”
“Thank you,” I said, giving her a forced smile. “But don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”
A few seconds later, I made my way out of the bar, pausing just long enough to slap a couple bills down for the bartender, to pay my tab. Then, I made the short trek to my apartment, where I promptly locked myself inside. Once this was done, and I was completely alone, I collapsed into my recliner and let the tears flow freely, as I cried over what could have been.
--------------------
Whateley Academy, Friday morning, Oct 26th, 2007
“Welcome,” I cheerfully announced, holding my arms out wide as I welcomed my first period students into the classroom. “Entry freely and of your own will. Come on, I won’t bite…much.”
My students came into the classroom, looking around warily. Some easels were set up, and I had a few more supplies out than usual. I also had some other equipment scattered around the room, which was obviously stirring some curiosity.
Melissa came in and stared at me for a moment, before she broke into a broad grin. “Imp,” she exclaimed in excitement. “You have your humor back…”
“I found it behind the couch,” I told her with a grin.
Suddenly, Melissa teleported to me and wrapped her arms around me in a hug. “Are you okay?” she blurted. “Are you feeling better now?”
“Yes, I’m feeling better,” I responded, feeling touched at her concern.
It was probably against the rules for me to be hugging a student in class, but the hell with it. Since when have I ever cared about rules or propriety? I hugged Melissa back, smiling gently as I did so.
“Thank goodness,” Monkeywrench said. “I was afraid we’d be stuck with Ben Stein teaching us or something…”
I looked around the room at my other students and announced, “I sincerely apologize for the lack of energy yesterday. You all deserve a much more interesting learning experience than that. I have no excuse for that except…it was an imp-oster. Someone was imp-ersonating me…and badly at that.”
There were some giggles and laughs around the room. “Well, ah’m glad to have you back, Ms. Imp,” Alicia said.
“And I’m glad to be back,” I replied. “Now, I imagine that you’re all wondering what’s going on…”
“You can say that again,” Melissa said, her eyes twinkling with mischief as she was obviously setting up a gag for me.
“Now, I imagine that you’re all wondering what’s going on,” I repeated, earning some more laughs.
One student raised his hand and called out, “Are you building a dungeon for anyone with bad grades?”
“Oh no,” I responded with a grin. “I’ve already got one of those in my other classroom…”
Most of the students went silent at that. The existence of my other classroom, was fairly well known among the students by now. After all, I’d hired a few students to clean it up for me, and the Teletubbies hadn’t exactly been keeping its location a secret. And on top of that, I’d also held a two hour seminar on lock picking there, with a small group of students who were interested in the subject.
“As you are all undoubtedly aware,” I explained cheerfully, “tomorrow is Parents Day. In fact, many of you even have family members who are going to be here, so I thought that we’d try to make a good imp-ression with them. We’ll hang up some of your best work so far, to show off, and if you aren’t satisfied with what you’ve already done, well, there are supplies out, so you can imp-rove upon your portfolios.”
Once everyone had been put to work, I began to wander around again, checking on their progress. My thoughts began wandering, and I found myself thinking about Dino’s little act yesterday, with the puppet. Though I hadn’t been in the right mindset to appreciate it at the time, that had been pretty funny.
“I wonder,” I mused, as an idea began to form.
I suddenly began to wonder, if there was anywhere on campus, where I could get a custom puppet made on short notice. I could just imagine the look on Dino’s scaly face, as well as everyone else’s, if I had my own Imp puppet to teach the class for me today. With that in mind, I began to grin mischieviously.
--------------------
Whateley Academy, Saturday late morning, Oct 27th, 2007
“Begone foul demon,” the tiny woman commanded, holding out a small crucifix as though I should be afraid of it. The woman was barely five feet tall, but she glared at me with as much fierceness as any hero I’d met.
“Really?” I asked wryly. “Again? This is the second time this morning…”
A teenage girl stood beside the woman, looking absolutely humiliated. “Mom,” my student pleaded with the tiny woman. “Please… Ms. Imp is my art teacher, not a demon…”
“Go back to the pit whence you came from,” the woman continued.
“You know,” I commented, “I do believe she just told me to go to hell…” Then I looked the woman in the eyes and smirked. “Sorry, but I’m from New York, not Jersey…”
The woman seemed confused by the fact that I wasn’t backing away from the cross in fear, or vanishing in a puff of smoke. Unfortunately, I’d had the same reaction from another parent, earlier this morning. However, that one had been pretty rude. He’d used a lot of profanity, including a few phrases that I’d never heard before. Of course, I’d stopped his rant and asked him to repeat them, so I could write them down. For some reason, he hadn’t appreciated that.
“Come on, Mom,” the girl said, practically dragging her mother out of my classroom. She looked back at me, looking absolutely mortified. “I’m sorry about that…”
“Don’t worry,” I responded with a dismissive wave. “It’s not your fault.”
Once the woman was gone, I let out a sigh of relief. I’d thought that Whateley would be different, that I wouldn’t have to deal with that kind of reaction anymore. Unfortunately, it seemed that even a school for mutants wasn’t immune from that kind of behavior.
“The problem with Parents Day,” I thought aloud, “is the parents.”
“I hope that doesn’t go for all the parents,” a familiar voice said from the doorway.
“Ryan,” I responded with a broad grin and a swish of my tail.
“Hello, Christine,” Ryan said, smiling back at me. However, it dimmed a little and he asked, “Are you okay?”
I continued to smile as I answered, “Fine and dandy, dandy and fine.”
“I mean, how are you feeling?” he asked giving me a concerned look.
“I’m all healed up,” I assured him, waving my tail around to prove it. “See. Good as new.”
Ryan looked relieved at that. “I’m glad to hear it…”
For several seconds, Ryan and I just stood there watching each other. I had to resist the urge to run up and give him a nice long kiss, because Melissa was standing a short distance away, and she didn’t know that her dad and I were sort-of dating now. Neither of us was quite sure how to tell her either.
“Welcome again to my classroom,” I announced with a dramatic sweep of my arm, more to break the awkward silence than anything. “Over here, we have a nice example of Melissa’s work…”
“I made a watercolor painting,” Melissa bragged, running over to the spot where her painting was hanging on the wall.
“Oh, that’s beautiful,” Ryan told his daughter, who beamed at the praise. I just watched the two of them with a smile, swishing my tail back and forth as I did so. “Do, do you have any other art to show me?”
While Melissa was showing Ryan her portfolio, several other students came wandering into my classroom with their families. There were parents, of course, but also a couple younger siblings, who hid behind their parents when they caught sight of me.
One stocky man came straight up to me, and didn’t even hesitate before holding out his hand and announcing, “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Donald Pryce.” He gestured to one of my students, a boy with minor GSD named Grit. “My son Hugh said that you’re his favorite teacher.”
“Really?” I said, brightening up. “I try to keep classes interesting.”
Grit blushed, though it was hard to make out since he had greyish skin, that was gritty like rough sandpaper. “She’s really funny,” he told his dad.
I blew on my nails, then buffed them against my shirt. “It’s nice to be appreciated…”
Donald chuckled at that. “Unfortunately, my wife couldn’t be here, but I think she would have appreciated this opportunity to meet Hugh’s teachers.”
I chatted with Donald for a few minutes, telling him about how Grit was doing in class. Then, I showed him some of Hugh’s work, which seemed to please him. Grit wasn’t a very talented artist, but I guess that kind of thing didn’t really matter to a parent.
After Donald wandered off with his son, I briefly chatted with a couple of the other parents, though they all seemed a little nervous. I didn’t know if it was my GSD, or the whole supervillain thing, but I was obviously making them uncomfortable.
Then, I saw Alicia coming towards me, with a couple who I assumed were her parents. It wasn’t until that moment, that I remembered a small but important detail. I’d broken into their hotel room last spring.
The woman, who I assumed was Alicia’s mother because of the resemblance, came right up to me and looked me straight in the eyes, before abruptly announcing, “My daughter says that you’re the supervillain who saved her life…”
“Mama,” Alicia started.
“That would be me,” I cheerfully agreed. Then with a sweeping bow, I announced, “I’m the fabulous Imp…”
Before I could say another word, the woman suddenly grabbed me in a hug. I was surprised as well as a bit confused by this. Thankfully, she let go before things started to get really awkward.
“Thank you,” the woman exclaimed. “Thank you for savin her life. You’re a hero…”
I recoiled in horror while Ryan burst out laughing and Melissa began to giggle. “Please don’t say that,” I pleaded. “If the supervillain union hears that, I’d never hear the end of it…”
“Ah’m not sure ah like the idea of a supervillain teachin mah daughter,” Alicia’s dad said, giving me a suspicious look.
“But Ms. Imp’s a great teacher,” Alicia protested.
“I’m retired from my old profession,” I pointed out. “Now, I’m just a humble art teacher…”
“You’re anything but humble,” Ryan pointed out with a smirk. I shot him a glare.
“Well, you did save her life,” Alicia’s dad mused with a thoughtful look. I noticed that his accent seemed to have softened a little. “And Alicia has gotten interested in paintin, thanks to you.”
“Well, as utterly fascinating as I am, I don’t think you came here to talk about me.” I flashed a grin and gestured to Alicia. “Alicia’s a good student, and pretty motivated. She’s always eager to try out the new techniques I teach, and she usually comes in for my Saturday morning open classroom, for a little more practice…”
“Only when mah training team isn’t busy,” Alicia added.
I gestured towards the wall, and said, “If you come over here, you can see some of Alicia’s works. We haven’t covered any oil painting in my regular class, but she’s been working on these during my open classroom…”
Before long, Alicia and her parents left, with them complimenting her on her art. Ryan just stood back, watching me with a strange expression on his face.
“What?” I asked.
“You seem to be pretty good at teaching,” he told me.
“She’s the best,” Melissa exclaimed, nearly bouncing in place.
Ryan smiled at that. “However, I’ve heard that you have another classroom…”
“Oh really?” I responded, looking at Mischief, who was trying to do an innocent look but not really succeeding. “I wonder where you heard that from.”
“If you don’t mind,” Ryan said. “I’d like to see that one too…”
With a shrug, I responded, “Sure. Why not?”
I put a sign on my classroom door that said, ‘THE IMP IS OUT TO LUNCH AND WILL BE BACK SHORTLY.’
A minute later, I led Ryan down into the basement of Dunn Hall, and then to the tunnels that connected to it. My second classroom was right off one of the main tunnels, and was immediately recognizable as mine, due to the fact that my logo was now painted on the door. It was a black circle, with little devil horns and a squiggly devil tail on the bottom. And then, to my own surprise, I saw that someone had recently added a sign to the door that said “LARCENY 101’.
“Larceny one oh one?” Ryan asked, giving me an odd look.
Instead of admitting that the sign was new, and probably someone’s idea of a joke, I just shrugged and went with it. “Welcome to the local Imp Lair branch office.”
I opened the door and stepped inside, letting Ryan get a good look. The classroom was nice and spacious, with my desk in one corner while shelves and materials were organized against the walls. My logo was also painted on the walls, making it clear to anyone who looked, that this was my space.
“Isn’t this awesome?” Melissa exclaimed, nearly bouncing with excitement. “Over here is where Imp was teaching me to pick pockets, and there’s a safe, that she says she’s gonna teach me how to open one day…”
Ryan gave me a flat look. “Really now? And the school is fine with you teaching kids this kind of thing?”
“Oh, Carson does more than just look the other way,” I told Ryan with an evil grin. “She actually encourages it…”
“What?” he asked in surprise. “Really?”
I nodded at that. “Did you know that Melissa is taking a survival course as one of her classes?”
“I saw it on her schedule,” Ryan said, giving me a curious look.
“Do you know what that class entails?” I asked. Then, before Ryan could really answer, I explained, “It teaches students how to survive a wide variety of threats. How to run away, how to hide, and how to deal with various situations they may run into. This includes learning to do things like pick locks, pick pockets, and play dirty. What I’m doing here,” I gestured around the classroom, “is just a more in-depth look at some of that material. I can help the kids by going into the subject in more detail, and there are also a lot of kids who don’t take survival, but who could still get a lot of use from these skills…”
“It sounds like survival would be a natural class for you to teach,” Ryan pointed out.
“She’s really good at it,” Melissa added.
I just gave Ryan a wry smile. “I sometimes sub for that class.”
Ran nodded and looked around. “So, you’re not teaching kids how to pull a heist?”
“Not yet,” I responded cheerfully. “But that’s going to be a winter semester class that I’ll be teaching…”
Ryan stared at me for a moment, then said, “I don’t know what it says, when I have no idea if you’re joking about that or not…”
“Oh, I’m not joking this time,” I grinned evilly, swishing my tail back and forth behind me. “That class is going to be awesome to teach…”
Melissa giggled at that. “I’m gonna sign up for that one.”
Ryan gave me a worried look, so I decided to take pity on him. “I’ve been giving Melissa a lot of personal lessons too, but I assure you, I’m not trying to turn her into a criminal. In fact, I already made her promise me that if she ever does decide to go that path, she won’t do it until she’s at least eighteen.”
“Then why teach her these things?” Ryan asked me. “Picking locks and breaking into safes, aren’t the kind of things you need to know unless you’re a criminal.”
“Humanity First,” I said, holding up one fighter. “The MCO.” A second finger. “Jack Rabbit.” A third finger. And then I held up a fourth. “Paradigm.” I looked Ryan in the eyes and explained, “The world can be a pretty hostile and dangerous place, especially for mutants. I just want to give her all the tools I can, so she’ll be prepared to deal with it. If someone locks her up, I want her to be able to slip the cuffs, get out of her cell, and get away. And besides,” I grinned at him, “I really enjoy teaching her.”
“How can I argue with that logic?” Ryan asked wryly. Then he stared at Melissa with a thoughtful expression before saying, “I can’t think of anyone more qualified to teach her how to get away from people who are after her…”
“I’ll do my best,” I promised him.
“And how is Melissa doing?” Ryan asked, giving me a serious look. “How well is she learning this stuff?”
“Well,” I said, looking at Melissa, who was now on the other side of the room, playing with a set of handcuffs. “She has the attention span of a goldfish. She’s reckless, jumping into dangerous situations without even thinking about it. And she has absolutely no patience at all.”
“I see,” Ryan responded with a scowl, not looking happy about that.
“I was exactly the same at that age,” I told him with a chuckle. “But she’s also very creative, a lot sharper than most people give her credit for, and doesn’t hesitate to help her friends. Melissa has a lot of potential, and she’ll eventually grow out of her bad habits, with a little time and experience. I can help with that.”
Ryan just stood there, staring at his daughter with a look of parental pride. It warmed my heart to see that expression on his face, though it also made my heart ache a little at the same time, as I remembered my own lost opportunities for that kind of thing.
Once I was done giving Ryan the nickel tour, I locked up the classroom and started back up to the surface. As useful as the labyrinth of tunnels beneath the school was, that wasn’t the kind of thing you really wanted to show the parents. For one thing, the tunnels were long and confusing, and for another, they might start to worry about a minotaur.
“Thank you for showing me both your classrooms,” Ryan told me. “Now, I guess I have to go see Melissa’s next class…”
“And my friends,” Melissa added excitedly. “I can’t wait to introduce you to my roommate Maxine…”
Ryan just chuckled at that. “I had the general tour around campus a couple weeks ago, but this time, I’ll actually have the opportunity to talk with Melissa’s other teachers.”
“Well, good luck with that,” I told him with a grin.
“I’m afraid that I’m going to need it,” he admitted wryly. “I know that my daughter can sometimes be a handful, and I’m afraid that I’m going to hear all about that…”
“Undoubtedly,” I agreed cheerfully.
Ryan hesitated a moment, then glanced towards Melissa, who’d already gone on ahead. “Maybe we can have dinner again this evening…”
“That sounds good to me,” I responded with a grin, once again wishing that I could just kiss him and get it over with. “Whenever you’re done, you can probably find me in my classroom… My first one.”
“I’ll see you then,” Ryan said with a smile, before he hurried off to catch up with Melissa.
--------------------
Whateley Academy, Saturday afternoon, Oct 27th, 2007
Crystal Hall was absolutely packed. The student cafeteria was always a busy place, but today, parents and other family members were eating with the students, so the building was nearly overflowing.
Normally, I ate at the faculty cafeteria, which was less crowded, and where the food was even better. However, today was a little different. I’d seen Ryan and Melissa walking towards Crystal Hall, so I’d followed from a distance. For a minute or two, I’d even thought about inviting myself to eat at their table, but then, I thought better of it. They were having some father/daughter bonding time, and I didn’t want to mess that up for them.
Since there wasn’t really any place to sit, unless I wanted to eat with some random students and their families, I just grabbed some food to go. However, just as I was leaving Crystal Hall, I heard someone call out, “Imp…”
“What?” I asked, turning and looking for the source.
Almost immediately, I noticed the woman walking towards me. She was beautiful, in that blond exemplar way, and only an inch or so taller than I was. This woman was also someone I recognized, since we’d done a job together a few years ago.
“Setup,” I said in greeting.
“I heard a rumor that you’d decided to retire and become a teacher,” Setup told me with an amused look. “But to be honest, I never believed it.”
With an exaggerated roll of my eyes, I asked, “Why is that everyone’s reaction when they find out I’m a teacher?”
Setup gave me a wry look. “Because the last time I saw you, you’d just dumped tar and feathers onto a superhero, and were clucking at him like a chicken…”
“Well, he had it coming,” I pointed out defensively.
The teenage girl who was standing beside Setup, began laughing at that. I turned my attention to her, noticing that she looked exactly like Setup, only younger. The family resemblance was uncanny.
“Have you met my daughter, Martina?” Setup asked.
“No,” I responded, looking the girl over. “She’s not in any of my classes, but I’ve seen her around and noticed the resemblance.”
The girl, Martina, gave me a somewhat self-conscious smile and said, “It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Imp. I’ve heard a couple girls in my cottage talking about your classes…”
I grinned at that. “If you’re interested in art, you should sign up for one of my classes next semester. And if you have any interest in going into your mom’s line of work, I have classes for that too…”
“You…,” Setup said with a sigh. “A teacher.” She shook her head and admitted, “I still have a hard time believing it.”
For a moment, I just chuckled at that, then I began to look around, trying to see if I could spot another familiar face. “I was just wondering if Pinball was around,” I explained to Setup. “Her kid sister is a student here…”
“Oh,” Martina said, drawing my attention back to her. “Dana said that her sister couldn’t make it today.” Then, she quickly added, “Dana…Pinball’s sister, lives down the hall from me.”
“So, you’re in Poe,” I said, grinning at the girl. I liked Poesies, since some of the most interesting students on campus lived in that cottage.
Suddenly, a woman nearby, exclaimed, “NO! It can’t be...”
I looked at the woman, who was tall and well-muscled, looking like she could be a fitness model or something. She had short dark hair, and the kind of naturally tan skin that was almost caramel in color. And at that moment, she was staring at me with a look of surprise, which was quickly turning to one of anger.
“YOU!” she snarled, her eyes sparking…literally.
“Do I know you?” I asked, already seeing that this was about to get messy.
The woman pointed at me and announced, “You’re under arrest.”
“Really?” I asked, looking up and smirking. “I don’t see a rest…”
“Three years,” the woman snarled. “I’ve waited three years to get my hands on you…”
“Aunt June,” a boy near her blurted out. “Please don’t…”
I grinned, swishing my tail back and forth. “Wow, that’s a long time to hold a crush. But it’s totally understandable. I mean, I’m the fabulous Imp, so who wouldn’t want a piece of this goodness…”
“This should be interesting,” Setup commented, stepping back and pulling her daughter with her. “Now Martina, watch and learn.”
Sparks of electricity suddenly began to arc around the woman, and then she charged at me. Of course, she telegraphed her attack from a mile away, so I easily dodged and slipped out of her reach. She punched at me several times, but I continued moving back.
“Really?” I asked. “In Crystal Hall…with a bunch of kids watching?”
“You aren’t getting away from me this time,” my attacker stated. Then she came at me again.
I wasn’t about to fight this woman in the middle of Crystal Hall, where people could be hurt. In fact, I didn’t intend to fight her at all. So, after blowing her a raspberry, I turned and ran for the exit. And as I expected, she chased after me.
Once we were out of the cafeteria, I looked for an opportunity to pull my vanishing trick. However, before I could do that, a bolt of electricity came at me from behind. I just barely noticed it in time to leap aside. And while I was doing this, my attacker caught up to me.
“You’re going away for a long time, Imp,” the woman announced in the self-righteous and arrogant tone that was a hallmark of many heroes.
“Well, well, well,” I said with a smirk. “If it isn’t Sparky… It’s been what…three years? Wow, it’s amazing how time flies…”
At this point, I knew exactly who this woman was, even though she wasn’t wearing the costume I was familiar with. Her physique, skin color, and powers were all good clues, and her mention of it having been three years was the final one.
Sureshock was a small time hero from Chicago, who’d been auditioning for a spot on a big league team. Because she was trying to impress them, she tried to show off by coming after me on her own. Needless to say, she’d overestimated her own competence, and I slipped right past her, with my prize in hand. I found out afterwards, that she didn’t pass the audition.
“You won’t get away from me this time,” Sparky insisted.
Sparky was a mid-level exemplar with some kind of electrokinetic aura. Her aura sparked to life, arcing more forcibly than before. I knew better than to touch her now, or to let her touch me. At best, it would be like getting tasered. At worst… Well, I wasn’t about to find out.
“You know, Sparky,” I told her. “Attacking a teacher at Whateley is a bad idea. I mean, not quite on the level of playing hopscotch through a mine field, or hot potato with a hand grenade, but its right up there with letting a blind devisor pick your wardrobe…”
Sparky snarled. “Don’t call me that, you ugly freak…”
With that, Sparky came at me again, trailing a shower of sparks as she moved. Suddenly, her entire aura exploded outward, becoming a short ranged electrical barrage. Fortunately, I’d seen this move before, so I leapt out of range the moment it began. As it was, I caught just enough of it to get a painful zap.
“Neener neener neener,” I responded, blowing the hero a raspberry as I moved back out of range. “Do you want me to find you a barn so you can try hitting its broad side?”
Sparky’s aura began to zap and charge again, while she just glared at me, obviously preparing for another attack. “I’m taking you in…”
I let out an exasperated sigh. “Don’t make me smack you upside the head with a rubber chicken. I don’t have a very high opinion of most heroes to start with, and you’re lowering it with every second…”
Suddenly, a voice yelled out, “Halt! Stop right there…”
Samantha Everhart was running up with an intimidating looking gun in her hands, and she had four more security guys behind her, each of whom was armed. I suddenly hoped that Everhart didn’t hold any hard feelings over that Green Eggs and Ham thing.
“Stop this fight right now,” Everhart commanded.
“This woman is a notorious supervillain,” Sparky stated in a smug tone. “Take her into custody…”
“We’re not going to be doing that,” Everhart said, fixing her gaze on Sparky.
“No, they most certainly are not,” Carson said, from where she was floating in the air a short distance away. She landed on the ground and glared at Sparky. “You just attacked one of my teachers without provocation, and I am NOT going to tolerate that…”
Sparky looked surprised at that. “I don’t think you know who this woman is…”
“I know exactly who the Imp is,” Carson responded with a scowl. “And I am quite familiar with her previous profession. But in spite of that, she is now an art teacher at this school. In fact, she’s one of the best art teachers that Whateley has ever had.”
Now, it was my turn to stare at Carson in surprise. Not only had she taken my side against a superhero, but she’d also praised me at the same time.
“I will not allow visitors to attack my teachers,” Carson continued, looking angry. “And especially not while using potentially lethal force. I’m afraid that you are no longer welcomed on school grounds. Security will escort you out.”
Then as Everhart and her people escorted Sparky away, the boy from earlier ran up to the hero and exclaimed, “I can’t believe you did that, Aunt June… I was gonna take art appreciation next semester…”
For several seconds, I just stood there, feeling a little stunned and trying to absorb what had just happened. This was the first time in my life, that any kind of cop or armed security, had ever come to help me. Obviously, I didn’t need their help, but I still appreciated it nonetheless.
“Well,” I told Carson with a grin. “That was entertaining.”
“You do have a way with people,” Carson commented wryly.
I made a show of blowing on my nails and then buffing them on my shirt. “It’s a talent.”
Carson shook her head, then went to talk to some of the parents and guests, probably to reassure them that everything was all right and that they were never in any danger. Some of the people watching were giving me nervous looks, probably thinking that security should have hauled me off instead.
A moment later, Ryan and Melissa came towards me. “That was…interesting,” Ryan said.
“You saw that?” I asked, not sure how I felt about that.
“It was different,” Ryan admitted, “watching you fight someone else, from the sideline. Let’s just say, it brought back a lot of memories…”
“That was awesome,” Melissa exclaimed, suddenly throwing her arms around me in a hug. “I wanted to come help you, but Dad wouldn’t let me, because he said that you could take care of that zappy lady all by yourself…”
“Really?” I asked, giving Ryan a curious look.
Ryan smiled faintly. “I’ve fought you enough times, to know that you were more than capable of dealing with that woman on your own.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I told him with a grin, once again fighting back the impulse to give him a hug and kiss. I wasn’t exactly known for my self-control, so this wasn’t exactly easy. “Now, has anyone shown you the arenas? Trust me, they’ll knock your socks off…”
--------------------
The Village, Saturday evening, Oct 27th, 2007
The Flying Blue Squirrel was busy, which was no surprise. It was Parents Day, and I wasn’t the only staff member at the school who wanted to spend a little time socializing with some of the guests afterwards. I’d actually tried getting a seat in the Brown Moose next door, but there were no tables available, and I hadn’t felt like waiting.
“What are you drinking?” Ryan asked, indicating my neon purple cocktail.
“A grape ape,” I answered with a smile. “And before you ask, I have no idea what’s in it.”
Ryan gave my drink a suspicious look. “I’m not sure I want to know.”
With a laugh, I responded, “Probably for the best.”
“About that excitement earlier today,” Ryan said, giving me an odd look. “That woman was reckless… There were a lot of people nearby who could have been hurt.”
I nodded agreement, not bothering to point out that a lot of heroes behaved like that. They wanted to take down the ‘bad guys’ at all costs, with no concern for collateral damage. And most of the time, when they were done, they’d blame the ‘bad guy’ for all the damage they caused. We were easy scapegoats that way.
“That’s why Carson was so pissed at her,” I said instead. “Sparky screwed the pooch this time.”
Ryan chuckled faintly at that. “I saw what you did. You led her out of the cafeteria and away from the bystanders. You could have just pulled your usual vanishing act, and avoided the whole situation, but you didn’t. Instead, you kept her attention focused on you until security could arrive to help…”
“That wasn’t really my intention,” I lied. The truth was, I’d expected security to show up and blame me, but figured that their presence would at least stop Sparky in the process. “I was just having some fun.”
For some reason, Ryan didn’t look like he believed that. “You know,” he said carefully. “If I hadn’t known better, than I would have thought you were a hero…”
I snorted at that. “Then it’s a good thing you do know better.”
There was a long pause before Ryan abruptly asked me, “Why didn’t you tell me that Jack Rabbit was one of the people who attacked you?”
After a brief pause from surprise, I asked, “How did you find out?”
“I’m not a detective,” Ryan admitted. “But I do have my own contacts. And besides…this Imp Revenge Squad has been making a lot of noise, bragging about how they took you down, and asking where you’re hiding.”
“I’ll bet,” I said with a scowl.
Attacking me in an ambush was one thing, but bragging about it afterwards was another. Now, they were putting me into a situation where my reputation was at stake. A professional, even a retired one, relied on their reputation. There was no way I could just stand back and let them ruin mine. Even if I didn’t have reason enough to go after them before, this alone would have given me no choice.
I turned my full attention back to Ryan, considering his question. I could have dodged the question and made a fun game out of doing so, but I decided not to. “I didn’t want you involved,” I admitted with a sigh. “This is my problem, so I need to deal with it myself.”
Ryan looked a little upset by that. “Didn’t you think that I should know that Jack Rabbit was out of jail and back in town? If he’s coming after you, then he might come after me and Melissa as well…”
“I…didn’t think of that,” I admitted quietly. “You’re right.”
“Seeing you hurt like that,” Ryan said, his voice cracking a little. “I hated seeing you like that. Even if I didn’t have my own issues with Jack Rabbit, I’d still want to help you with this.”
That made me blink in surprise. “What?”
“You…,” Ryan started, staring at me with an odd look. “Trust doesn’t come easy for you, does it? I guess that makes sense, considering your career.”
“Not really,” I admitted with a forced smile.
Ryan continued to stare at me for several long seconds, before carefully saying, “I trust you with my real identity, and even more importantly…my daughter’s safety. You’ve already trusted me, when you didn’t need to do so. You told me things about your power, about your tactics, and about your life, that could have come back and hurt you… You risked all that, to help me save Melissa. Now, let me help you. Please, trust me with that…”
“Sure,” I responded with mock exasperation, because I didn’t know how else to respond to his offer. As it was, I was almost starting to get a little teary-eyed from it. “Be all reasonable and everything…”
“I’ve found out a few things about this Imp Revenge Squad,” Ryan told me. “Why don’t you tell me what you know?”
I let out a sigh, and admitted, “I was hoping to talk about something other than business, but I suppose…”
Ryan seemed amused. “People try killing you, and you call it business?”
“Risks of the profession,” I responded with a shrug. “Sometimes people take things personally and come after you. In fact, I once had a couple hit men following me around for about five years, trying to collect the bounty on my head. This isn’t really much different, except these guys are less competent.”
“I know about Jack Rabbit,” Ryan said, to nudge the conversation back on course.
“He’s lost his powers,” I explained, “and is using tech to compensate. In fact, I think he’s using Green Gauntlet’s old gear.” I shrugged at that. “The other former hero of the group, used to go by the name of the Crimson Kid.”
“The Crimson Kid?” Ryan repeated in surprise. “I’ve heard of him…”
“A reckless punk who went to the dark side,” I said. “He made a mistake, killed someone to cover it up…then got a friend of mine executed for it. I showed him the error of his ways, and never expected to see him again.”
“I heard that Hexagon might be involved,” Ryan said grimly. “I don’t see how, since I saw him die.”
“This one is his apprentice,” I explained. “She doesn’t seem as personally invested in this as the others, but that doesn’t mean she can’t be dangerous. Crash Test Dummy had been working for Hexagoner during that whole thing, and he’s holding a grudge over it.”
“So, Crash Test Dummy and this new Hexagon may both hold grudges against me too,” Ryan pointed out grimly.
“And then there’s Blondie,” I said with a scowl. “The others call her Heaven, and she seems to be the one who put the whole IRS thing together. She seems to have it out for me pretty good, but honestly, I don’t know why.”
We talked about the IRS for a few more minutes, then began to drift to other topics. For the moment, it seemed enough for Ryan, to see that I was willing to share what I knew, and let him help. I honestly had no idea of how he could help me with the IRS, at least at the moment, but I didn’t know what I was going to do about them yet either. That was something that we’d need to work out later.
“So,” Ryan asked me with a smile. “Would you be interested in spending the day with me tomorrow? I’d like to check out Berlin and some of the local area…”
“I wish I could,” I responded, letting out a sigh of disappointment. “But honestly, there’s some business I need to take care of, out of town. I’ll be catching a flight out early in the morning.”
“That’s too bad,” Ryan said, looking disappointed too. “What kind of business?”
Ryan gave me a curious look, and I could imagine what he was thinking. He probably thought that I was going back to my old line of work. Well, what I had planned was more in line with my old career than my current one.
With a wry smile, I said, “I’ve been asked to mediate a dispute.”
“Mediate a dispute?” Ryan asked, looking a little surprised, and perhaps even confused.
“A businessman got caught between a hero and some criminals,” I explained, deciding that in this case, the truth would work. Just not all of the truth. “And he asked me to help him out, in exchange for a favor.” I shrugged at that. “So, I’m going to try negotiating a solution, where he gets to walk away, alive and free.”
“Now you really have me curious,” Ryan said.
“Sorry,” I grinned at him, swishing my tail behind my chair as I did. “I can’t tell you more than that. Professional considerations and all. However, I can promise that I’m not going there to steal anything.”
Ryan laughed. “I’ll trust your word on that.”
For a minute, the two of us just sat there, watching each other in silence. It should have been awkward and uncomfortable, but for some reason, it wasn’t.
“Six months ago,” Ryan said. “If someone had suggested that I would one day be dating the infamous Imp, I would have thought they were insane…”
“That’s fabulous, not infamous,” I corrected him with a smirk.
“My apologies,” he replied with a chuckle.
“Apology accepted,” I said with a grin. “And if someone had told me that I’d be dating Chickenhawk, I’d have thought they were completely and utterly bonkers. Yet here we are.”
“Yes,” Ryan agreed, smiling at me. “Here we are. I just wonder, where do we go from here…”
I hesitated for a moment, then quietly admitted, “I’m not really sure that there’s anywhere we can go…”
“What do you mean?” Ryan asked me.
“I love spending time with you like this,” I told Ryan, feeling a little uncomfortable at revealing my emotions like this. “I get a real kick talking with you about the business, and I absolutely love that I can talk to you about art…and you get it. But…”
Ryan’s expression was guarded now. “But what?”
“But how can we have a real relationship, when we can’t even go out in public together?” I asked quietly. “Sure, it doesn’t matter much here at Whateley…but in Manhattan? You can’t risk being seen with an infamous art thief, without getting a lot of awkward and risky questions.”
“What about a fabulous art thief?” he joked, making me chuckle at that.
“Well then,” I responded. “That’s entirely different.” However, as out of character as it usually was for me, I turned serious again. “The fact of the matter is, it would be great if we could go out to a nice restaurant, without either of us having to wear a disguise…but that just can’t happen. I understand why. It’s just one of those facts of life that I’ve long since gotten used to. But that doesn’t mean I like it.”
Ryan stared at me with a strange expression, then began to say, “Christine, I really enjoy spending time with you…”
“You just think I’m a hot piece of tail,” I joked. This caused Ryan to start choking up with laugher.
“You are certainly…unique,” Ryan said with an amused look. “And regardless of what the future holds for us, I want to continue spending time with you. Would you be interested in doing so next weekend?”
I grinned at that, swishing my tail back and forth. “Well, I’m going to be in New York again next weekend anyway, to deal with the IRS, so that would be absolutely perfect…”
Ryan and I reached out to touch each other’s hands, and it was a nice romantic moment, at least for a couple seconds. Then, someone called out, “Christine…”
“Oh no,” I muttered, looking up and seeing Tabby walking towards me, along with a handsome and athletic man.
“Trouble?” Ryan asked quietly.
“Oh, definitely,” I responded with a smirk. “But the fun kind.”
When Tabby reached us, she smiled. “Hello, Christine.” She gestured to her companion. “This is my husband Robert.”
“Howdy,” I said to Robert. “Nice to meet you.”
Robert gave me a polite nod, though he watched me with a look of narrow-eyed suspicion. Of course, that wasn’t too surprising. If Robert was Tabby’s husband, then that meant he was also the superhero known as Falcon, which also meant that he’d naturally be suspicious of a former criminal like myself. I had a sudden urge to ask him where Dynomutt was, though I somehow managed to squash it…at least for the moment.
Looking to Tabby, I gestured to Ryan and said, “This is Ryan…Melissa’s father. We were just discussing his daughter’s training.” And to Ryan, I said, “This is my friend Tabitha. Her daughter is a student here too…”
“Nice to meet you both,” Ryan said, shaking hands with Robert and Tabby.
“Do you mind if we join you?” Tabby asked us, gesturing to the table. “All the other tables are full.”
I glanced to Ryan, who didn’t seem to have a problem with it, and responded, “Sure. Pull up a chair.”
A few seconds later, I was leaning back in my chair and looking around the table with a faint smirk. Other than me, everyone here was an active superhero, which made this a pretty strange experience for me. And to make it even more amusing, Ryan had no idea that our unexpected companions were heroes, any more than they knew about him. If nothing else, this Parents Day had turned out to be anything but boring.
Buffalo NY, Sunday late morning, Oct 28th, 2007
The last time I’d seen the Moonrise Gallery, had been three decades ago. It looked almost exactly the same, on the outside. The inside, however, had been remodeled some time ago, and looked quite a bit different.
At one time, the Moonrise Gallery, my family owned gallery, had been like a second home to me. I had a lot of pleasant memories of this place, of wandering the halls and admiring the pieces of art. This was where my love of art had begun, and after I’d run away from home all those years ago, I’d missed this place even more than the house where I’d grown up.
I’d arrived at the gallery pretty early, well before any employees had shown up, much less opened the doors. And though I could simply have asked Danny Boy for the keys, there was no fun in that. Because of that, I’d slipped in and looked around on my own, the same way I had other art galleries and museums over the years. The main difference was, this time I hadn’t come to steal anything, or to even scout the place for a job. I simply wanted to see my old stomping grounds again, and see how they’d changed.
Once I was done looking around the gallery, I slipped on out and went up to the roof. I always felt more comfortable, moving by rooftop rather than walking on the ground. From up here, I could see everything going on below, which included possible threats. Another advantage, was that most of those same potential threats, had a harder time reaching me. Of course, that all went out the door when flyers were involved, but the advantages were still well worth it.
I was in the middle of walking around the rooftop, looking for a good spot to sit and wait, when I saw some movement from the corner of my eye. Snapping around for a better look, I saw a man standing on the other side of the rooftop. He noticed me at the same time and carefully came in my direction.
The newcomer was wearing a spandex type costume, which was primarily a mixture of dark green and white, but there were a few bits of metallic gold trim. A dark green mask covered his entire head, so that I couldn’t make out his features, hair color, or even skin color. And then, in the middle of the white that covered most of his chest, there was a dark green symbol, which I was quite familiar with from my computer keyboard. It was an asterisk, or as a lot of people tended to say anymore, a ‘splat’.
“Halt, evildoer,” the man exclaimed in an overly-dramatic tone.
“Evildoer?” I asked, standing there with my hands on my hips and giving him a wry look. “Really? Is that the best you can do?”
The hero continued to approach, but I had the impression that he was grinning beneath his mask. “Bad guy. Robber. Criminal. Thief. Delinquent. Ne’er-do-well…”
“Ooooh,” I responded with a smirk. “Someone has a thesaurus…”
“Is that a type of dinosaur?” he asked, sounding amused. “If so, I want one… Can you imagine… Halt evildoers…ne’er-do-wellers, or I’ll sick my thesaurus on you…”
That was enough to make me burst out laughing. “Oh, you’re a snarky one. I like that.”
The hero bowed in exaggerated manner. “I have a black belt in snark fu…”
“Your snark fu is strong,” I responded, speaking like a badly dubbed martial art’s movie, so that my lips didn’t really match the words. “But it is no match for my mine…”
“We shall see, evil one,” he stated, taking an exaggerated martial arts stance.
Since the hero seemed happy to square off with words rather than fists, I decided to have some fun and play along. After all, this was my specialty.
“So,” I asked, pointing to the symbol on his costume. “Why do you have a cat’s butt hole on your chest?” Then I gasped in mock realization. “You must be the Sphincter.”
The Sphincter took a step back, gasping as though I’d just hit him. “No… I am the mysterious…the awesome…the incredible…”
“The long winded,” I added cheerfully.
“Asterisk,” he finished, giving a sweeping bow.
“That’s quite a mouthful,” I pointed out with a smirk.
Asterisk laughed. “I can give you a lot more than just a mouthful.”
“Sorry,” I countered. “But I’m not into little smokies.
“Hey,” he protested. “I’m at least a kielbasa.”
“And what kind of name is Astrix?” I asked, trying to keep up the momentum. “Isn’t he that midget cartoon viking, with the big dumb sidekick?”
Sphincter gave a gasp of mock insult. “The outrage. That cartoon is a classic…”
And while I agreed with Sphincter, that Astrix was a classic cartoon character, I wasn’t about to roll over and take a hit. “Far too good a name for you then, Sphincter. I think Sphincter is a much more appropriate name…”
“Oh, and I suppose yours is better?” he asked.
“Of course,” I responded, before announcing, “I am the beautiful, talented, and fabulous Imp.” Then, I took a sweeping bow.
“Talk about a mouthful,” Sphincter joked. Then he said, “I know who you are, Imp. I used to be a big fan…”
I grinned at that. “Why, thank you…”
“Back when I was a little boy,” he finished. “Wow, you look good…for your age.”
I blinked at that. I wasn’t THAT old. I was only forty-fi…thirty-nine and holding… No, I was twenty-nine and holding.
“Tsk tsk tsk,” I responded with a forced smile. “It’s not nice to make fun of a lady’s age…”
“Oh, I’d never do that,” Sphincter replied. I had the feeling that he was grinning evilly beneath his mask. “If there were any ladies here…”
For a moment, I was actually starting to get irritated by that, until I suddenly realized what he was doing. He was pushing my buttons. He was trying to get me upset and distracted, so I wouldn’t be able to think or act as well as I should. The Sphincter was trying to pull an Imp on ME.
I burst out laughing. “It’s been a long time since I’ve run into a hero who could hold his own in a battle of wits…”
“I can do more than hold my own,” Sphincter responded smugly.
With a roll of my eyes, I said, “With the size of your little smokie, I’m sure you can hold a full dozen of them…”
“Hey,” Sphincter protested, but I’d already turned and ran, giving myself a little boost with some concentrated PK energy, so that I leapt from the roof and was able to make the jump to the next one over.
“Sorry to joke and run,” I called back. “But I have business to take care of…”
To my surprise, Sphincter ran to the edge of the gallery roof…and kept running through mid-air, until he came to the roof I was on. Then, he did a leap and a flip through the air, landing right on the other side of me, as though he was going to keep me from getting away.
Before I’d come to Buffalo, I’d done my research on the hero who’d been snooping around the gallery, so I already knew a few things about the Asterisk. I knew his codename and what his costume looked like, but more importantly, I knew a little about his powers. He was supposed to be either some kind of null or warper. From what I’d been able to find out, he could make himself immune to other people’s powers, and he could even make himself immune to certain laws of physics, such inertia, conservation of energy, and obviously, gravity.
“I’m too smart for you to escape that easily,” Sphincter announced in a smug tone.
“Oh?” I responded with a cheerful grin, considering my next move. “And how smart are you?”
“Have you heard of Plato? Aristotle? Socrates?” he asked. “Morons.”
“Well, never go up against a Sicilian when death is on the line,” I responded with a broad grin and a swish of my tail. For a moment, we stood there staring eat other, before simultaneously exclaiming, “INCONCIEVABLE!”
After Sphincter and I both stopped laughing, he said, “As much as I enjoy the witty repartee, I still have to take you to jail…”
“No you don’t,” I responded, reaching into one of the pouches on my belt and pulling out a card, which I handed to him.
Sphincter looked at the card, then started laughing again. “I can’t argue with this,” he said wryly, holding up the ‘GET OUT OF JAIL FREE’ card from a Monopoly set.
“No you can’t,” I agreed with a grin. “Besides, I didn’t do anything illegal…” Well, I did do a little breaking and entering, but he didn’t need to know that.
Though I couldn’t see Sphincter’s face, I could imagine his skeptical expression. “You’re a notorious art thief, and I caught you on the roof of an art gallery…”
“But you didn’t catch me with any art in my possession,” I pointed out. “I haven’t stolen anything from this gallery, nor do I intend to. In fact, I’m here today by invitation of the owner…”
“Somehow, I find that hard to believe,” Sphincter said. “That’s like the chicken asking the fox over for dinner…” He paused at that, obviously remembering that he’d been investigating Danny Boy for money laundering. “Then again…”
I quickly considered my options, then decided on a partial truth. “Daniel Kade promised me a painting from his private collection, if I did him a little favor. You see, some criminals weaseled their way into his business and have been using it to wash and dry their cash, and he wants me to get rid of them.”
“And why would he ask you for help?” Sphincter asked. “You’re a criminal too…”
“Well, duh,” I responded with a roll of my eyes. “For one thing, you’d arrest him before even hearing him out, and that would create a lot of problems that he just can’t afford to deal with. For a second, he figured that someone in the business had better odds of negotiating the problem away, without escalating things into a war that would destroy his business. And finally, he’s flat broke, and I agreed to accept a painting in lieu of cash. It’s a really nice painting, and I don’t even have to steal it.”
“Why should I believe you?” Sphincter demanded.
I rolled my eyes again. “You shouldn’t. But maybe, you should dial the number on the back of the card.”
Sphincter looked at the ‘GET OUT OF JAIL FREE’ card I’d given him, and saw that there was a hand-written phone number on the back. While he was distracted by that, I pulled my vanishing trick and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
--------------------
Buffalo NY, Sunday early afternoon, Oct 28th, 2007
I quietly chuckled to myself as I thought about the Sphincter and our ‘fight’ a couple hours ago. It wasn’t often that I ran into a superhero with a good sense of humor, much less, one that was so similar to my own.
“But what kind of tool names themselves after a punctuation mark?” I mused. “What next, the period? The fearsome Comma? The Exclamation Point? Or maybe…the awe inspiring Hashtag.”
But in spite of naming himself something as silly as the Asterisk, Sphincter had actually been a lot of fun to fight. There had been no violence, no risk of pain or death, merely some good, old-fashioned smack talk.
“Witty banter is a waning art form,” I said with a sigh. “Maybe I should teach a class or two on it. That might make a great class for winter term.”
The Sphincter had been so amusing, that if I wasn’t retired, wasn’t based out of another area entirely, and hadn’t already invested so much time into my relationship with Chickenhawk, I might very well have considered taking him on as an archenemy. If nothing else, an archenemy like that, would make things a lot more amusing. Then again, it might be too much like going against myself, which would probably get old eventually.
Then with a sigh, I forced my thoughts away from the Sphincter, and on what I was doing at the moment. After all, it wouldn’t do to get distracted when I had work to do. That would be an easy way to get myself killed.
I was currently inside an old office building, that looked pretty legitimate from the outside. However, I’d been hanging around inside for the last hour, hidden by my chameleon field, and I’d seen enough to convince me that this wasn’t the case.
Once I’d gathered enough information, I decided it was time to make my move. I easily slipped past the guards, who were all dressed up to look like normal office workers, and made my way back to the main office. The door was closed, but that had never stopped me before.
Making sure that no one was watching, I slowly crept up the wall, to the very top of the door, while remaining hidden with my power. Then, I knocked on the door. As soon as it opened up, I slipped into the room, right over the head of the occupant.
“Is someone trying to mess with me?” the man demanded.
Several people in the hallway gave each other blank looks, before one man said, “I don’t think so…”
The room’s occupant scowled, then went and sat back down behind his desk. I slowly moved around the room, being careful not to go fast enough for him to actually see me. That was one downside of my chameleon field. If I moved at any real speed, it couldn’t adjust to my environment fast enough, so that instead of being invisible, I became an Imp shaped blur.
The man behind the desk was Richard Dunn, a skinny man with a severely receding hairline, and wearing a thick pair of glasses. Dunn looked more like an accountant than a mobster, but I supposed that was appropriate since he was actually both. He was the head of the small ‘investment group’ which had initially bailed Danny Boy out of his financial trouble, and had then begun using the gallery for money laundering.
After waiting a couple minutes, until Dunn got comfortable and settled in again, I said, “We need to have a talk.”
Dunn immediately leapt to his feet, reaching for the gun that was hidden beneath his desk. However, I’d already removed the gun a minute ago, to prevent any unfortunate ‘accidents’. He snapped around the room, and as soon as his gaze was past me, I dropped my chameleon field and now stood visible, in the corner of the room.
“I’m not here to hurt you,” I said, stepping forward and holding my hands out to show that I was unarmed. “You can yell for your people if you want, but if you do, they’re likely to start shooting, and you’re a lot more likely to be hit than I am. The advantages of being able to turn intangible.” Of course, intangibility was NOT one of my many gifts, but he didn’t know that.
“Who are you?” Dunn demanded.
“I am the fabulous Imp,” I announced, giving him a dramatic bow. “I am primarily an art thief and forger by profession, and I’m here to talk business.”
“Oh, you are?” Dunn asked, giving me a wary look. I could tell he was thinking about calling out for help, though he gave me a curious look, which suggested that he wanted to know why I was there.
“The Moonrise Gallery,” I stated, watching Dunn carefully as I did so. “I had some plans for it, but while doing my research, I found that you were already using the place.” I shrugged at that and tried to look casual. “I figured, no big deal. I could cut you in and we could come to an understanding.”
“Now, you have my interest,” Dunn said, adjusting his glasses. “What kind of an understanding, and what kind of percentage are we looking at?”
“Well, that WAS the plan,” I responded with a dismissive wave. “Before I found out that the whole place was infested with feds…”
“What do you mean?” Dunn demanded, trying to act calm and in control, but I had him worried now.
I held back a grin, though my tail still twitched a bit. “You didn’t know? The feds are onto your operation, and have been digging into it for the last month. So far, they think that Kade is the ringleader, so you’ve got that going for you…”
Dunn adjusted his glasses again and carefully controlled his expression. “Of course, I was already aware of this investigation and have taken steps to deal with it. However, I am curious how much you are aware of.”
Of course, Dunn was obviously lying, trying to make himself look strong and in control of the situation. I wasn’t offended though, because I was lying too. As far as I knew, the feds didn’t have a clue about what was going on in the gallery, though I doubted it would be long before someone figured it out.
“Well, you’ve also got that superhero nosing around,” I continued. “The Asterisk.” Dunn nodded at that, confirming that he actually was aware of the Sphincter. “I know that he’s about ready to come down on Kade like a ton of bricks. The only reason he hasn’t, is that he’s waiting to see if the feds make a move. Either way, I figure you only have a couple weeks at most before your entire operation there collapses.”
“As I said,” Dunn told me, “we already have steps in place to deal with the situation.”
From what I knew of Dunn and his people, those steps were either throwing Danny Boy under the bus, so he went to prison for their crimes, or putting a bullet through his brain so he couldn’t possibly testify against them. Then again, they could just point the finger at him, while he had an ‘accident’, giving them the best of both worlds. None of those options were good for my brother.
“I’m sure you do,” I commented in a casual tone. “And I’m sure those steps will cut your losses, but won’t actually provide any profit, nor will they do me any good. So, I have an alternate suggestion.”
Dunn gave me a suspicious look. “Oh? Please explain.”
“Your operation at the Moonrise Gallery is done for, one way or another,” I explained. “Even if the feds…and that pesky hero just up and leave, there’s already too much attention on your business. At the very best, you pull out before they close in, and open up again elsewhere. At worst, your entire organization could suffer serious damage.”
“And why do you care?” Dunn asked.
“Because I still have an interest in the gallery,” I answered with a grin. “If this hero and the feds come busting in, then the gallery becomes useless to me. But if you leave quietly, before the trap snaps shut, then I can be patient and still make use of the gallery once all the attention fades away. It might be year or two, but I can afford to wait. You, however, can’t.”
Dunn gave no reaction to my words, though he continued watching me for several long seconds before asking, “Why would you be interested in the gallery?” I remained silent, giving an enigmatic smile instead. “You said that you’re an art thief and forger… You either want access to the artwork you can acquire through the gallery, or you want to use it for distribution… Forgeries or your stolen pieces, perhaps both. Perhaps through the auction house…”
It was interesting to see Dunn’s line of thinking, especially since it made sense. For an art thief and forger, an art gallery and auction house would provide a number of useful opportunities. In fact, I’d once tried something along those lines, though it hadn’t lasted long, before some nosey do-gooders ruined things.
“I would have gotten away with it too,” I mused, “if it hadn’t been for those meddling kids.”
“Regardless of what I want the gallery for,” I said, giving Dunn a somewhat friendly smile, “it’s a problem for you. So, I propose we make a deal…”
“I’m listening,” he responded, still trying to mask his reaction.
“I provide you a small…relocation fee,” I explained cheerfully. “You sell me your interest in the gallery and pull out, before the hammer drops. You avoid the feds and the hero nosing into your business here, and I get a gallery that I can use once the interest fades.”
“That sounds like it might be profitable for us,” Dunn admitted. “In theory. However, we still have to clean up a few loose ends.”
“I’m afraid that I need Kade,” I said, knowing that he was the loose end that Dunn was talking about. “He’s a useful piece for my plans, or at least, he will be once the feds and that hero are no longer watching him. It shouldn’t be too much of a problem, as long as business is no longer being conducted through the gallery. And as a bonus, he’ll owe me big for it. Enough to do what I require, and keep his mouth shut too…”
Dunn considered this for a moment before asking, “What kind of relocation fee are you thinking?”
I was pretty sure that no matter what I offered, he was going to make a counteroffer, demanding a larger amount. However, that was to be expected. We talked numbers and negotiated a tentative deal.
To my relief, Dunn didn’t go looking for proof of the feds snooping into his business. He was paranoid enough that he expected them to eventually get involved, and he saw Sphincter’s involvement as evidence enough.
Once we were finished, I said, “Then I’ll see you tonight to finalize things.”
“Just make sure you bring the money,” Dunn told me.
“Of course,” I agreed. And with that, I went to his window, opened it up, and said, “I’ll see you then…” And with one final nod towards Dunn, I climbed out the window and left.
--------------------
Buffalo NY, Sunday afternoon, Oct 28th, 2007
I felt a little nervous, standing out in the open like I was, especially here and now. Without much conscious thought, I pulled my large coat closer to my body, then reached up to adjust my hat.
With a deep scowl, I whispered, “I shouldn’t be here.” I couldn’t afford the risk of someone recognizing me as the Imp, and certainly not here. But at the same time, I had to come. “I never should have come.”
My eyes fixed on the two stones that were set into the ground in front of me. Tombstones. One read ‘Elizabeth V. Kade’, while the other one read ‘Gregory E. Kade’. These were the graves of my mother and father, whom I hadn’t seen since running away three decades ago.
At that moment, my heart felt heavy with the weight of regret and bitterness. And admittedly, there was even some grief too. My parents had never understood me, or even wanted to. Frank had been more of a father to me than my own ever had. But in spite of that, I’d still mourned them when they died.
I felt like a hypocrite, standing there at their graves. I hadn’t wanted to see them when they were alive, so why should I be here now? And I had no doubt that they wouldn’t have wanted me to come either. Even now, I could hear them gasping in shock and horror over what the people in the neighboring graves would say, about them having a mutant daughter.
“So, here I am,” I said. “I know you’ve both been dead for a couple decades now, but better late than never, I guess.”
After this, I wasn’t sure what else I should say. “Hey, it’s me, the daughter you wished had never been born.” or maybe, “I’m a professional criminal and supervillain. And I bet you didn’t think you could be even more disappointed or ashamed of me.”
“I’m sorry,” I finally said. “I’m sorry I wasn’t the daughter you wanted, and I’m sorry you weren’t the parents I needed.” After that, I stood there for at least a minute as the emotions rolled through me. Then, I wiped away the tears that were starting to form and simply said, “Rest in peace.”
I turned and began to walk away, lost in my thoughts and memories. However, I’d only taken a couple steps when someone called out, “Candice? Is that you?”
Looking up, I saw Danny Boy walking towards me. He was wearing a nice suit and had a somber expression on his face. Of course, I remembered him almost always having a serious expression. As a little girl, that was one of the things that had annoyed me the most about my big brother. He’d always been way too serious, and he’d always seemed offended that I wasn’t.
“You shouldn’t be here,” I told Danny Boy. “You should be bunkered down somewhere until this is all over with.”
“I’m surprised to see you here,” Danny said, gesturing to the graves. “I didn’t think you cared.”
I gave Danny a flat look. “In spite of my devilish good looks, I’m not some heartless demon.”
“Maybe not,” Danny responded. “But you are a supervillain. When I saw you on TV, I couldn’t believe it. I nearly had a heart attack.” He shook his head at that. “It’s a good thing that Mother and Father never saw that, because they would have been heartbroken.”
“Honestly,” I said, looking Danny in the eyes. “Sorry, I’m all out of fucks. They lost the right for me to care what they thought, a long time before they died.”
Danny looked offended by that. “They loved you…”
“No,” I responded in a cold tone. “They loved you. Me, they stopped loving me the moment I grew a tail.” I flicked my tail in emphasis.
“You don’t know what you’re taking about,” he started.
“Don’t fool yourself,” I snapped. “You were always their favorite child, the one they were proud of, and who they showed off to their friends and neighbors. Even as a little girl, I was nothing more than a disappointment…and an embarrassment to them. And after I manifested, well, they were so ashamed of me, they tried to lock me up and hide me from the world. After all, it wouldn’t do to let anyone find out that their daughter was a mutant. What would the neighbors think?” I let out a loud snort at that. “Well, nobody puts baby in the corner.”
Danny Boy stared at me with a look of wide-eyed shock. “Is that why you became a villain? To spite us?”
“No,” I told him with a roll of my eyes. “I didn’t care enough about your opinions to bother spiting you.”
I’d become a criminal partly because I fell into the career, and partly because it seemed to be the only career available for someone who looked like me. The last time I’d actually gone and tried getting an honest job, I got shot for my trouble, and then arrested.
“My job is fun and exciting,” I explained with a cheerfulness that I didn’t really feel. “The pay is great, I have lots of travel opportunities, and the benefits are amazing. I mean, I only have to obey the laws I want to.”
“You’re insane,” Danny gasped.
“I also happen to be damn good at it,” I stated as a simple fact.
Since Danny Boy was being so judgmental about my previous career, I decided not to tell him that I’d actually retired and was working as a teacher. Then again, nobody else seemed to believe that, so why should he?
“And your art career?” Danny asked me.
I shrugged at that. “Nobody wants to buy art from a professional thief and forger, so it’s nice having another identity I can do that with.”
“Your pieces are nice,” Danny grudgingly admitted. “You’re talented.”
A faint smile formed on my lips, almost against my will. “Thank you.”
Danny stared at me for several long seconds with a strange expression on his face. “It might not be my place anymore,” he said carefully. “But that kind of life sounds like it might be lonely.”
“You’re right,” I replied. “It isn’t your place.”
“Are you alone?” Danny asked, giving me a look of concern and pity. “Do you have anyone in your life?” When I didn’t answer, he asked, “How can you live like that?”
“How I live isn’t any of your business,” I told him sharply.
“Candice,” Danny said in a soft tone.
I didn’t like the way this conversation was going, and after thirty years, I certainly didn’t feel comfortable enough with Danny Boy to spill my guys to him. And even if I did trust him enough to get all personal, he’d lost that right a long time ago.
“Time for me to go,” I announced. “I still have a few things to take care of if I want to get you out from between a Sphincter and a shit pile. Now, while I go and take care of that, you should find a nice out of the way place to lay low.”
Then, I tipped my hat to Danny Boy and began walking away, while whistling the tune for the song, ‘Danny Boy’.
--------------------
Buffalo NY, Sunday late afternoon, Oct 28th, 2007
I was crouched down on top of a two story building, hidden by my chameleon field, as I carefully watched the courtyard below with intense scrutiny.
Richard Dunn had just arrived, with a briefcase in hand. A dozen of his people were already present, scattered about and guarding the area, as well as providing a show of power. Dunn wanted to remind me that he wasn’t just a businessman and accountant, but also someone who would be dangerous to cross.
Dunn’s thugs amused me, because I’d been in the business for a long time, and I’d rarely seen minions who were dressed so nicely. Most of them were dressed as office workers, with nice shirts and ties. One large guy, who looked like a typical legbreaker, was wearing a polo shirt and khakis. However, all of them were armed, so I knew I shouldn’t underestimate them.
As usual, I’d arrived to our meeting spot quite a bit early, which gave me plenty of time to scout the area and watch for potential funny business. We could have skipped this whole clandestine meeting thing, and simply completed our business in Dunn’s office. That had the advantage of being neat and professional. However, it was also firmly in his territory, which gave him several advantages. I’d insisted on a more neutral spot instead.
When the time for our meeting arrived a minute later, I used my best Beetlejuice voice as I loudly called out, “ITS SHOWTIME!”
With that announcement, I set off a couple of my smoke bombs at once, and stepped forward, making it look as though I’d suddenly appeared in a burst of smoke. Dunn and his men were all focused on me now, though Dunn was scowling. He didn’t seem to appreciate my dramatic entrance, but it had served its purpose. I’d just reminded him that I wasn’t just some local wheeler and dealer. I was a genuine, bonafide supervillain, someone whom he did NOT want to piss off. I didn’t usually like to think of myself as a supervillain, but there were times when the label could be useful.
“Imp,” Dunn announced. “If you’re finished with the theatrics, I would like to conclude our business.”
“No problem,” I responded with a cheerful grin. “I’ll be right on down.”
A moment later, I held up the briefcase that I was carrying, then simply stepped off the side of the roof. I focused the energy of my PK aura into my legs, so when I landed, I was able to absorb most of the impact. I knew from experience that this made me look pretty damn cool to anyone watching.
“If you’ve got the paperwork,” I said, “I’ve got the cash.”
Dunn nodded. “Everything is in order on my part.”
I slowly moved towards Dunn, fully aware of his armed goons, as well as the would-be sniper a couple roofs over. I’d seen the guy during my scouting, and knew exactly where to stay if I wanted to keep some obstacles between us. Since I seriously doubted that he had any professional training, he wasn’t nearly as big a threat as he could be. I stopped, right before stepping out of the protected area. Though I was fairly confident that Dunn wasn’t setting me up to kill me, I wasn’t going to take a chance.
“I think that this should do it,” I said with a grin. “I don’t want to make it too easy for your guy.” I gestured in the direction of the would-be sniper.
“The money,” Dunn asked.
With a nod, I popped open my briefcase and showed the cash I’d brought with me. If Dunn was going to try anything, this would be the ideal point. He knew I had the cash right here on hand, and he hadn’t given up anything yet. Fortunately, I’d done my homework on Dunn, and knew that he had a certain reputation for professionalism too. That was why I’d decided to deal with him this way, rather than doing something a little more dramatic and fun.
Dunn opened his briefcase and pulled out a stack of papers. Then, as I watched, he signed in a couple spots. Once I’d looked the papers over and verified that everything was acceptable, he returned them to his briefcase, and then we simply exchanged cases.
Until now, Danny Boy had officially been the official owner of the Moonrise Gallery, and the unwitting scapegoat for when things inevitably went wrong. Dunn had been the silent partner, owning a controlling interest under several different names and shell companies. As of now, I was the one who owned that controlling interesting. I didn’t know if my parents would have been delighted to have the whole thing back in the hands of the family, or if they would have been horrified that those hands were mine. The truth was, I didn’t really care. I wasn’t doing this for them.
Since our business was completed, I was about to slip away when I suddenly heard a voice call out, “HALT EVILDOERS!”
“Sphincter,” I said with a sigh, turning to look at the source of the voice.
The hero was standing atop a building, one opposite of where I myself had been perched a short time ago. He was doing the standard ‘hero pose #1’, which was standing there with his hands on his hips, trying to look imposing and heroic.
“Or maybe that should be freeze, criminals,” Sphincter continued, “Cease and desist, outlaws. Or maybe just a general stop where you are, bad guys.”
“Who the hell is this guy?” one of the nearby thugs asked, looking confused.
“If you do not,” Sphincter announced, “I will be forced to unleash my thesaurus on you, and it will bite, chomp, or gnaw your butts off.”
I laughed at that, then told Dunn. “You go ahead and take off. I’ll deal with the Sphincter.”
But in spite of my instructions, one of Dunn’s men opened fire, using some kind of grenade launcher to shoot at Sphincter. His shot came short, and he hit the side of the building, but it caused enough damage to send the hero falling over the edge. Sphincter let out a version of the classic ‘Wilhelm’ scream, very reminiscent of Goofy, as he fell towards the ground. Then, right before he hit, he abruptly came to a complete stop, mere inches above the ground.
“Air breaks,” Sphincter commented, before abruptly dropping the few remaining inches, and immediately scrambling back to his feet.
Unable to help myself, I actually began clapping, which earned me a look of disbelief from Dunn. “What can I say?” I told him with a grin. “I’m a sucker for the classics.”
“Everyone, leave,” Dunn ordered his people, before they immediately began taking off, him included.
“Sphincter,” I exclaimed, as if greeting an old friend. “Long time no see.”
“Imp,” Sphincter responded in a similar tone. “The Impster… Imperoonie… The Impmeister…” Then he paused, and I had the feeling that he was grinning beneath the mask. “Or maybe I should just call you a naughty little Imp…”
“Why?” I teased. “You feel like spanking me?”
Sphincter laughed. “Maybe I should call you a horny little Imp instead.”
“Sorry,” I responded with a smirk, “but you’re just not my type. I’m just not interested in little smokies. They just don’t have enough meat.”
“I get no respect,” Sphincter said in an obvious Rodney Dangerfield impression. “No respect at all.”
“So, Sphincter,” I started, only to have him interrupt me.
“My name is Asterisk,” he reminded me. “As in the most awesomely amazing punctuation mark…the one that often annotates an exception to the rules. After all, I am totally exceptional.”
“Ass Terisk,” I repeated with a smirk. “Well, Mister Terisk, do you mind if I just call you Ass?”
“Why?” he asked, sounding amused. “Do you like my ass?”
With a shrug, I responded, “Not bad, but I’ve seen better.”
There was a few seconds of silence, then Sphincter commented in an almost casual tone. “I called the number on that card you gave me. Imagine my surprise, when I get some woman, who claims to be Lady Astarte, and who vouches for you.”
I just grinned at that, thankful that I’d filled Carson in on what I was up to, before I’d left the school. Since I knew that I’d be running into a local hero, I figured it would be a good idea to take a few precautions. “I’m sure your reaction would have been entertaining.”
“She told me that you’d retired from being a supervillain,” Sphincter continued. Then he teased, “Did you reach mandatory retirement age?”
“Naw,” I responded. “I just took an early retirement in order to enjoy my ill-gotten gains.”
“Then what are you doing here?” Sphincter asked. He looked around, then said, “This doesn’t look like the French Riviera, or some non-extradition country like Karedonia.”
I just laughed at that. “Retirement job, but a little better than greeting at Walmart. I figure, I’ll do a simple job for Kade, one that doesn’t require me to really come out of retirement and do anything supervillainy, and in return, I get a painting that I’ve had my eye on for awhile.”
“Then what was all this about?” Sphincter asked, gesturing to my briefcase and then the general area. I figured that he was referring to my meeting with Dunn.
“Just a simple business deal,” I answered with a grin. “I just bought out Dunn’s interest in Kade’s gallery, so he doesn’t have to worry about it being used for laundering, or about getting shot for saying anything. Kade gets his freedom and gallery back, I get a nice painting, and Dunn gets a bit of cash. Sounds like a win-win for everyone.”
“Except me,” Sphincter replied. “I admit, meeting you has been quite an entertaining experience, but not quite what I had in mind. Its cwiminal season, and I aim to gets me a cwiminal.”
I grinned at that, letting my tail swish back and forth. “Well, I’m no snitch, so I can’t tell you where Dunn hangs his hat. However, I can make you a deal…”
“You wanna play Let’s Make a Deal?” Sphincter asked with mock excitement. “I love that game.”
“I think you’ll like this one,” I assured him. “Kade isn’t worth you going after. He’s not a criminal, just some schmuck who made a bad business decision, then got squeezed because of it. You leave him alone, and I’ll give you this shiny ticket, to some of the greatest entertainment you’ve ever seen.” I held out a ticket and waved it back and forth in front of Sphincter.
“What kind of entertainment?” Sphincter asked, sounding vaguely curious, but also a bit skeptical.
“Juggling,” I answered cheerfully.
“Juggling?” the hero repeated. “I hope its flaming chainsaw juggling, or something cool like that, because that sounds like a really lame deal.”
“Nope,” I replied with an evil grin. “Numbers. Lots and lots of numbers.”
I let that sink in for a moment, and I could almost feel it click in Sphincter’s head. This ticket happened to be for a business, where Dunn was doing the same kind of money laundering that he’d been doing at the gallery. However, this was an older operation, and one with a lot more records tied to it. If the Sphincter wanted to take Dunn down, then this would be a much better place to start investigating.
There’s an old saying about honor among thieves, and in certain circumstances, there actually can be. Among professionals, keeping your agreements is important, because not only does your reputation depend on it, but so can your life.
However, I had absolutely no problem turning Dunn over to a hero. After all, not only had Dunn squeezed my brother and threatened his life, he’d also messed with a place that had been like a second home to me while growing up. That alone had earned him a little somethin somethin. But more practically, if Dunn was busy dealing with law enforcement and heroes, then he’d be too busy to bother with Danny Boy.
“I’ll take that deal,” Sphincter said, snatching the ticket out of my hand. “But if Kade is a bad boy and gets his nose dirty, then all bets are off.”
“Fair enough,” I agreed.
“Now,” Sphincter mused, looking in the direction that Dunn and his people had run off. “Which way did he go, George? Which way did he go?”
“He went, thataway,” I responded, pointing in that general direction.
Sphincter chuckled at that. “It was interesting to meet you, Imperoonie…”
“And you too, Sphincter,” I responded. “Now exit, stage left even…” And with that, I threw a smoke bomb at the ground and pulled my vanishing trick. As I slipped away, the hero even clapped in appreciation, which brought a grin to my face.
--------------------
Crystal Hall, Monday late morning, Oct 29th, 2007
Chris Matthews sat at his usual table in the Crystal Hall, staring down at the tray containing his half-eaten lunch. Then, he let out a loud sigh.
“Is there something wrong with your burger?” asked the boy sitting across from him.
“No,” Chris answered, looking up at his friend Jon, who was better known around the school by his codename of Voodude. “Just frustrated is all.”
“What in the world do you have to be frustrated about?” Jon asked with a chuckle, which made it clear that he knew exactly why Chris felt that way.
Sometimes, Chris wondered how he and Jon had become friends, since they had so little in common. He was a white boy from the East Coast. Jon was a black kid from the West Coast. He liked sports and athletics. Jon was into music and magic. He had an aggressive ‘go get em’ attitude, while Jon was much more easygoing and laid back. Perhaps, Chris thought, they were friends because they were so different. They tended to balance each other out a bit.
“You know, I’ve been trying to get into the Future Superheroes of America,” Chris complained. “But they don’t take me seriously. Nobody does. And every time I try to prove that I have what it takes, it blows up in my face…”
“Yeah,” Jon agreed, giving a sympathetic look. “It totally sucks.”
“I’m trying as hard as I can,” Chris added.
“Maybe that’s the problem,” Jon suggested. “Maybe you’re just trying too hard.”
Chris snorted at that. “In my experience, there’s no such thing as trying too hard. As my old coach used to say, you’ve gotta give a hundred and ten percent, at the bare minimum…”
Jon chuckled at that. “Now that sounds like a total jock thing.”
“I am a jock,” Chris reminded him. “Or at least, I was, until I manifested.”
Chris shook his head at that and let out another sigh. At one point, he’d been the best athlete in his entire school, and it had seemed like he was destined for fame and glory on the football field. But then, he’d manifested as a mutant, and was no longer allowed to compete. All his dreams had crumbled to dust, until he’d found a new dream. If he couldn’t be a sports hero, then he’d be a superhero. Chris was determined to achieve that goal, and he was going to give it everything he had. But first, he had to get past his slump and earn a position on the team.
Suddenly, Jon exclaimed, “Look at that ass…”
Chris snapped around to see who Jon was staring at, but instead of a hot exemplar girl like he’d expected, he sat that it was an exemplar boy who was walking past. Chris gave Jon a look of annoyance. “I hate when you do that.”
“Do what?” Jon asked with a look of innocent.
“When you try getting me to look at a guy,” Chris said, giving Jon a look of annoyance.
The other boy just chuckled, not the least bit ashamed of it. Jon was pretty open about being bisexual, and he didn’t seem to care who knew. At first, that had made Chris a bit uncomfortable, but since Jon never really hit on him, he’d quickly been able to get over it. After all, this was just part of who Jon was.
“Are you jealous that I’m not checking out your butt instead?” Jon teased him. “You know, if you weren’t straight, then I might consider asking you out.”
“Then it’s a good thing for me that I am straight,” Chris replied with a chuckle of his own.
“Well, what you need is a girlfriend,” Jon abruptly said. “There’s gotta be someone you like.”
Chris shrugged at that. “Not really.”
There were a lot of hot exemplar girls around school, and if he’d still been as popular as he’d been at his last school, he might very well have asked one out. Unfortunately, he’d gone from being a big fish in a small pool, to being just a minnow in a lake, and he was pretty sure that none of them would want to hang out with him now. Not until he proved that he could be a hero, and joined the Future Superheroes of America. Then, things would change. Then, everything would be better.
“Roulette isn’t bad,” Chris thought aloud. She was a pretty good looking exemplar, and she seemed really nice. She didn’t come off as stuck up and full of herself like a lot of the other exemplar girls were.
Jon chuckled at that, amused for some reason that Chris didn’t get. “Sorry, but she’s already dating someone back home.”
“Figures,” Chris grumbled. “Maybe Peacock. With that hair of hers, she really stands out, even at this school…”
“Oh, Peacock is a special girl all right,” Jon agreed with a grin. “But I don’t think you’re her type. How about Mischief? She seems kind of cute.”
Chris gave Jon a wry look. Mischief was definitely cute, and she looked like she might grow up to be pretty hot one day. But in a school full of exemplars, simply being ‘cute’ wasn’t enough. And even more importantly, Chris suspected that she might be a bit insane, and his dad had warned him to never date crazy.
After they finished eating, they dropped off their trays and left Crystal Hall, so they could head to their fourth period classes. However, almost as soon as they began walking through the Quad, Chris noticed some trouble a short distance away.
Unstoppable was a large boy and a well-known bully, who definitely looked the part. He was huge and muscular, especially from the waist up, but his upper body was noticeably larger than his lower, giving him the exaggerated proportions of a cartoon gorilla or thug. At the moment, he was towering over two little girls, who appeared to be about ten years old, who Chris recognized as Miranda and Ember, from Hawthorne. From the cruel smirk on Unstoppable’s face, he was having fun intimidating the girls.
“These are our cookies,” Ember exclaimed. “Amy made them for us…”
“And I think you need to share them,” Unstoppable said with a gruff laugh. “Give em here…”
“Not on my watch,” Chris stated as he puffed himself up. Someone had to help those girls, and he was the right person for the job.
“Not again, dude,” Jon said in warning. “If you keep this up, you’re gonna earn yourself a UV badge in no time… Let security deal with it.”
“That’s not gonna happen,” Chris responded, already starting to move forward. “I’m a hero, and this is my chance to prove it. Time to show everyone why I’m called Aegis.”
Chris put his game face on and went straight towards Unstoppable. The much larger boy turned to look at him with an almost bored expression.
“Oh, it’s you again,” Unstoppable said with a smirk that reminded Chris of how badly their last encounter had gone for him. However, Chris was never one to let a minor setback like that stop him. He just had to push forward even harder, and give it even more effort. There was absolutely no way he was going to back down or lose to a bully and future supervillain like this.
Chris snarled, “This time, you’re going down…”
Unstoppable immediately swung a fist at Chris, who saw it coming. Chris responded by immediately tensing up his power, so that it glowed a golden color, sure that he was tough enough to shrug off the hit. For a brief moment, Chris stood there with a smug confidence in his power, until his nose suddenly exploded in pain and blood.
Chris yelled in pain and collapsed to the ground, holding his broken nose. Blood gushed through his hand, while Unstoppable just laughed.
“Looks like you’re the one who went down,” Unstoppable said, right before giving Chris a swift kick in his ribs. Even with Chris’ powers protecting him, the kick still hurt, enough to make him fear that his ribs had been broken. “What a wuss…”
“You leave him alone,” one of the little girls demanded.
“Yeah, you big bully,” the other one added.
Suddenly, Unstoppable’s clothes burst into fire, making Chris’ mouth drop open in surprise. A moment later, the large boy shot up into the air, only to come crashing back down again, twenty yards away.
“We did it, we did it,” Miranda cried out.
Ember jumped up and down as she finished, “We saved him from the bully…”
Chris just gaped in shock, horror, and complete humiliation. The little girls he’d been trying to save, had just saved him instead. He’d been rescued by two girls, who couldn’t have been any older than ten. As much as his body hurt at that moment, that was nothing compared to the pain suffered by his pride.
“My reputation is ruined,” Chris whispered with a horribly sinking dread. “The Cape Squad will never take me now…” He closed his eyes for a moment, wondering if his day could possibly get any worse. Then, he opened his eyes and saw security.
--------------------
The Village, Monday late afternoon, Oct 29th, 2007
I was sitting in the Brown Moose Café, enjoying a delicious dinner of grilled salmon, asparagus, and potatoes au gratin. Rick and Dave, the proprietors of this fine establishment, had outdone themselves tonight. And with a nice glass of wine to go with a meal like that, I was currently a very satisfied Imp.
Sitting across from me was Maria Ricardo, my neighbor, fellow new teacher, and friend. Normally, as of late, she would have had her roommate Donna with her, but Donna had to work late, so tonight, it was just the two of us. Three, if you counted the psychic projection that appeared to be occupying a third seat at our table.
“So, how was your trip yesterday?” Louis asked me. He took a bite of his own dinner, which was just as much an illusion as that body.
“It was trippy,” I answered in an even tone.
I didn’t really feel comfortable sharing my personal business with Louis, or anyone else. Carson was one of the few people who knew where I’d gone yesterday, and the only one at school I’d told the real reason to. And then, the only reason I’d told her that much, was that she already knew my original identity, and I needed her to back me up in case I got in trouble.
Going back to Buffalo had been strange, and more than a little uncomfortable for me. Being there brought back memories and issues that I’d thought were long since buried and forgotten. I hadn’t been very happy, being forced to revisit those parts of my past, which were better left forgotten. So, as soon as I’d finished with my business, I’d rushed to the airport and returned to Whateley.
“You know how it is,” I said, cheerfully chatting away. “They begged me to come to the art forgery convention as a guest speaker, but when I arrived, someone was imp-ersonating me, and forging my signature on all their fake copies of my…duplicates.”
“So,” Louis said, “they forged your signature, on the forgeries of your forgeries.”
I grinned at that. “Exactly.”
Maria laughed at that. “That sounds completely and utterly ludicrous, which is why I’m tempted to actually believe it.”
“Nobody else pulls off ludicrous quite as well as Christine,” Louis said in agreement.
“I am an Imp of wonder and mystery,” I said. “And it is not wise to dig too deeply in the greatness that is the Imp.”
“You’re full of it,” Maria told me.
Louis just smiled and asked, “Any more words of wisdom, oh fabulous Imp?”
“Life is like a box of chocolates,” I stated in a sage tone. “Leave it out in the sun, and it becomes a gooey mess.”
“Yep,” Maria said. “You are definitely full of it.”
“Oh, Imp definitely has her surprises,” Louis told Maria. “If you go back far enough, I’m sure you’d be completely shocked at what you find…and so would Liz.”
I gave Louis a flat look and mused, “Lime jello is awesome. Do you have a favorite flavor?”
Louis made a show of zipping his mouth shut, though he started chuckling a few seconds later. “Well, ladies. As much as I’ve enjoyed the dinner conversation, I’m afraid that I have to get going. A couple children are playing a little too close to my pool for my comfort, so I need to make sure there are no accidents.”
“Later then,” I said.
“Adieu,” Louis responded, standing up, making a show of brushing off his clothes, and then giving a polite bow. A moment later, he was gone.
“Even after four years here as a student,” Maria commented. “That still amazes me, every time he does it.”
“This place is a madhouse,” I said in agreement, swishing my tail back and forth. “I like it.”
“You would,” Maria pointed out with a smirk.
I finished my dinner, then gestured to Dave. “I’m ready for dessert. I’ll have the tiramisu.”
Maria finished her own meal, then let out a sigh. “It’s hard to believe that Halloween is in only two days. It doesn’t feel like it should be time for it yet.”
I just smiled at that since Halloween was my favorite holiday. “Ah, trick or treating.” I rubbed my hands together gleefully and gave an evil chuckle. “Oh, this is gonna be so much fun.”
Maria shook her head. “I don’t know. After what happened last year, I can’t imagine everyone just forgetting about it…”
That made me give Maria a curious look. I knew that last year, the Syndicate had actually attacked Whateley on Halloween, which was a major no-no on almost every level. Since people had died, I was pretty sure that there had been some serious retaliation behind the scenes. After all, with people like Lord Paramount on the board of directors, they weren’t going to just sit by and take it. Not without returning the favor in spades.
Maria, apparently eager to change the topic to something less depressing, abruptly asked, “What are you going as to the Halloween party?”
I blinked at that, since I hadn’t even considered that, then grinned. “Why, I’m wearing the best costume ever. I’m going as the fabulous Imp.”
“Come on,” Maria urged me. “It’s Halloween. You HAVE to wear a costume.”
“I love Halloween,” I admitted, “but I haven’t worn a Halloween costume in thirty years. It’s the one day of the year when I can walk around as myself, and not worry about freaking out the muggles.”
Maria stared at me for several seconds, then pointed out, “Um… You walk around as yourself, every day…”
I blinked again, realizing that she was right. Living at Whateley Academy meant that I had been able to walk around in the open as myself, without having to wear a costume. Until now, that kind of thing had been a real special occasion, but now it had become almost common.
A grin slowly formed on my face, and my tail swished back and forth. “You have a point,” I admitted. “I just might have to get a costume after all…”
“So, what are you going to come as?” Maria asked me again.
I just grinned. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”
It was about this time that I noticed Carson stepping into the café. Her gaze swept over the place, and then she immediately came towards my table.
“Christine. Maria,” she greeted us.
“Liz,” I responded with a nod. If she was going to be casual, I could be too. “You should try the salmon. It’s really good tonight.”
“I just might have to do that,” she responded. “But unfortunately, I’m here on business.
“Oh?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “What kind of business?”
Carson’s eyes went to Maria, then back to me. Maria immediately got the hint. “I’m done, so I’ll get going.” She nodded to me, “See you later, and I look forward to seeing your costume.”
Once Maria was gone, Carson sat down in an empty seat, the one that Louis had previously ‘occupied’. She set a folder down in front of herself and then looked me in the eyes.
“I’m afraid that I need to ask you to take on a special project,” Carson said.
“I’m listening,” I replied, curious about what she was up to.
If Carson wanted to assign me some work, it probably would have been easier to call me into her office. Instead, she comes to me while I’m having dinner. That meant, she wanted me in a good mood, to be more receptive.
“I have a problem student, who is quickly becoming more problematic,” Carson stated, sliding the folder over to me.
“Aegis,” I said, reading the name on the file. As I flipped through it, I asked, “Isn’t he that overzealous hero wannabe?”
Carson gave me a wry look. “I’m afraid so.”
“Okay,” I asked. “What does this have to do with me? He isn’t in any of my classes.”
“As you said,” Carson explained with a look of annoyance, “Aegis is overzealous. He keeps jumping into situations without looking, and getting in over his head. He’s only been at Whateley for two months, and he’s already been in more fights than most students get in during their entire four years. At the rate he’s been going, it’s likely that he won’t survive until graduation.”
“It sounds like he needs an ultraviolent band,” I observed.
“I’m considering it,” Carson admitted. “But some of the situations, like one from earlier today, happened without him making a single offensive move. Or defensive. He just stood there and let a much stronger boy punch him.” She shook her head at that.
I chuckled at that. “If you want to complain about a wannabe hero, I’m happy to listen,” I told her. “But I have a feeling that this isn’t why you’re here.”
“No, it isn’t,” Carson agreed. “When I see a problem, I prefer to find a solution, rather than just complain.”
“And I have a part in this solution, I take it.” I took a bite of my dessert, smiling in delight. “You’ve got to try this.”
“Maybe later,” Carson told me with a wry smile. “And yes, I do want you to play a part in the solution.”
She paused for a moment, looking like she was considering what she wanted to say, or at least, how to word it. I still wasn’t sure what Carson had in mind, but she was good at grabbing my curiosity.
Carson explained, “I have several problems when it comes to Aegis. The first is discipline, which I will take care of. Unfortunately, I can slap a UV band on him and give him detention until the end of the year, and I don’t think it will change his behavior. So, I also need to give him a better chance of surviving these encounters.”
“And that sounds like Mister Miyagi’s job,” I said.
“Aegis is taking basic martial arts,” Carson said. “But Tatsuo tells me that he refuses to learn. Whenever he gets into a fight, he seems to forget everything that he’s been taught, and simply charges right in without thinking. Tatsuo is going to try pounding the lessons into his head a little more firmly.”
“And my part?” I asked.
With that, Carson flipped the pages in the file, opening it to a section on Aegis’ power testing results. I read through the notes and realized what she wanted of me.
“I see,” I mused, not exactly happy at this revelation.
“I’m not going to order you to help with this,” Carson told me. “But I honestly believe that you may be this boy’s best chance at surviving until graduation.”
For a moment, I just stared at Carson, hardly able to believe what she was asking of me. Then, I let out a sigh and nodded my agreement. “Fine. Count me in.”
-------------------
Arena 91, Tuesday afternoon, Oct 30th, 2007
Aegis wasn’t a bad looking kid, being a little taller than average for non-exemplar boys his age, as well as noticeably athletic. His hair was bleached blonde and brushed straight up, in a manner that probably required a good amount of hair care product, and which made him look a little like some kind of frat boy douche.
Even though Aegis wasn’t in any of my classes, I was pretty familiar with the kid. I’d already heard a few stories from students and other faculty, about the kid who was so intent on playing hero, he kept charging in when it isn’t needed and getting in way over his head. He’d only been at Whateley for two months, and in that time, he’s developed a reputation for accusing GSD students of being monsters, badmouthing the Bad Seeds about their parents, and generally being a punk to anyone he thought of as a ‘future villain’.
From what I’d heard about Aegis, I had a bad feeling that he was on the path to become another ‘hero’ along the lines of T Rex, the Crimson Kid, or Jack Rabbit. The idea of helping him put a bad taste in my mouth, but the idea of just turning my back on a kid over what he ‘might’ do sometime in the future, was even worse.
The boy wasn’t exactly here because he wanted to be, but because Carson told him to come here, at this time, as part of his punishment. However, in spite of what Aegis might think, this was less about punishment than about helping him.
At the moment, Aegis had no idea that I was here, watching him from my hiding spot. He’d only arrived at the arena a couple minutes ago, where he’d been met by Gunny Bardue. Now, he was getting his briefing, as short as it was.
“Your mission is simple,” Bardue told Aegis. “A supervillain just stole the MacGuffin Gemstone, and your job it is to catch the villain and get it back. Any questions?” But before Aegis could ask any, Bardue continued, “Good. Now go get your ass in gear.”
With those words, I slipped away and hurried to get in position. A minute later, I was inside the arena, which was currently set up to look like a cityscape, and perched atop a building near the entrance. I wrapped a purple cape around myself, put on a hat, and simply waited.
A minute later, Aegis entered the arena play area, so I decided it was time to make my dramatic entrance. I stood up at the edge of the three story building, where he could easily see me, and loudly announced, “I am the terror that quacks in the night.”
“What?” Aegis exclaimed, staring up at me with a look of surprise and confusion.
“I am the popcorn kernel that gets caught between your teeth,” I added in a dramatic tone. Then, I flung my cape open and made a dramatic pose, finishing with, “I am Darkwing Imp.”
Aegis froze, staring up at me with his mouth agape for several long seconds. Then, he glared at me and exclaimed, “You’re that supervillain teacher…”
With a grin, I dropped the cape and hat, since those props were no longer necessary. “And you’re a Bart Simpson lookalike.”
“What?” Aegis gasped, reaching up to touch his hair a little self-consciously.
“Don’t have a cow, man,” I said with a laugh, which earned me another glare. Then, I grinned evilly as I held up a large red crystal the size of a baseball. This was the ‘MacGuffin Gemstone’ that Aegis had been tasked with recovering. And of course, I’d give one good guess as to who the supervillain was.
Aegis continued glaring at me for a few more seconds, with a look of fierce determination forming on his face. Then, he ran towards the fire escape on the side of the building and began scrambling up it as quickly as he could. I remained where I was, giving him time to reach the top.
“I’ve got you now,” Aegis announced in a cocky tone. He glanced around the rooftop, obviously thinking that I was trapped there. The poor naive kid. It looked like I was going to have to show him otherwise.
“Ay caramba,” I exclaimed in mock concern, before I flashed him a grin and ran. The look on his face when I leapt from this roof to the next one over, was priceless.
“You won’t get away from me,” Aegis exclaimed, sounding like so many heroes that I’d run into over the years, and all of them had been wrong too.
“Then come and get me, El Barto,” I called back with a smirk.
Aegis snarled and charged at me, leaping from the rooftop, much the way I had mere seconds earlier. However, his jump was far too short, and he fell down, smacked into the wall of the building I was standing on, and then he fell all the way to the ground.
“Oh, Bart fall down go boom,” I teased, sure that Aegis was all right. His PK shell would have absorbed most of the impact, though it probably wasn’t strong enough to protect him from everything. “Poor Bart.”
Aegis scrambled back to his feet, looking pissed. “You’re gonna pay for that…”
“Would you like Mastercard or Visa?” I asked. Then I held up the sparkly jewel. “I’ve got enough cash to go around…”
That only seemed to piss Aegis off even more, which had been my intention. He scrambled around, looking for a way to get up to me. This building didn’t have a fire escape, so he ended up going inside and using the stairs. I remained where I was, giving him a chance to catch up to me.
As soon as Aegis got to the roof, he charged straight at me. He threw a punch, which was slow and easy to dodge. He tried several more, but I kept skipping back and out of his way. Obviously, Carson was right. Once he got into a real fight, he forgot everything that Ito taught him, and simply relied on brute force. That kind of thing might have worked in his old school, where he was only going against other untrained baseline kids, and he was the strongest one there, but it wouldn’t work at Whateley. And in the real world, it would just get him killed.
“You’d better not lay a finger on my Butterfinger,” I taunted Aegis.
“You won’t get away with stealing that,” Aegis exclaimed, looking so serious that I had to laugh. It seemed that he’d gotten so caught up in our little game, that he forgot that this was just a prop. “You’re going to prison for a long time…”
“You sound like the Teletubbies,” I commented wryly. “Come on Bart, you can do better than that…”
With a broad grin, I stepped back to the roof ledge, waved at Aegis, and simply stepped off. I focused the energy in my PK aura to my legs, using it to absorb most of the impact, but I still rolled with it as well. Then, I looked back up and blew a raspberry to the furious Aegis.
To my surprise, Bart actually jumped off the roof, trying to follow my path down. However, he hit hard, rather than taking my smooth landing. I winced at the impact, pretty sure that he was going to have some serious bruises as a result. Well, it would serve him right, and might actually help him learn. I’d give him one thing though. The kid was persistent. If he was an exemplar, I’d probably think that he had Galahad Syndrome or something.
“You’re not gonna get the shiny back by laying down on the job,” I said.
Aegis slowly got back to his feet, giving me a look of hatred, as though it was my fault he’d jumped off the roof. Then, as I expected, he came charging at me again. This time, I turned and ran, letting him chase after me. I leapt over the hood of a parked car and then went down an alley, where I hopped a fence. Aegis followed after me, but his running method was slow and sloppy, so I actually had to slow down and let him catch up.
“I’ve got you now,” Aegis exclaimed, once I’d actually come to a stop.
“Really?” I asked with a smirk. “Are you sure about that?”
With that, I focused my aura around my tail, forming an invisible PK blade. Then, I snapped my tail around, slicing right through a light pole, which fell over, right towards Aegis.
Instead of jumping out of the way, Aegis tensed up and his PK shell began to glow with a golden blaze, right before the pole hit him. He took a pretty good hit from it, but didn’t go down. Instead, he started coming towards me. I hopped back, formed a pair of invisible PK claws from my fingers, and sliced open the side of a parked car, which caused him to pause and look at that damage with a worried expression.
“That doesn’t matter,” Aegis stated, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself than me. “Your claws can’t get through my PK shell…”
Aegis charged at me again, swinging his fist. I’d already played dodge with him, so this time I did something different. I focused all the energy of my aura into my hand…and simply caught his punch. It hurt my hand a little, but the look on his face was well worth it. Then, before Aegis could do anything else, I punched him, putting as much added oomph as I could into it. Aegis went flying back, though I knew his shell would have absorbed most of the impact, so he wouldn’t really have been hurt.
“You’re really gonna have to do better than that, Bart,” I said. Then, as he got back up, I announced, “Ninja vanish,” as I threw a smoke bomb at the ground and performed my vanishing trick.
“Where’d she go?” Aegis gasped in surprise.
“Over here,” I responded seconds later, as I came back into view right next to another building. “Come and catch me…if you can.”
With that, I quickly climbed the wall, while Aegis scrambled to come after me. He couldn’t take my path, so he ran around to the side and started using the fire escape. By the time he reached the top, I was ready to leap to the next building, leaving him to follow after me. This time, the distance was a lot shorter, so Aegis made the leap. I continued running, going through the open door, and down into the building. Aegis followed, and a couple minutes later, we both emerged again at street level.
“Get back here and fight me,” Aegis demanded.
“Why in the world would I do that?” I called back.
A minute later, I ran into a large construction site, which offered me a lot of potential. Aegis came after me, of course, which was what I’d intended from the start. There were lots of obstacles, which I easily danced around, though the hero wannabe had a much harder time. Then, I decided that it was time to have some more fun, so slipped out of the kid’s sight.
“Where are you?” Aegis demanded, his voice radiating the frustration.
Since Aegis was close enough to where I was hiding, I didn’t bother giving him a clue. A couple seconds later, he turned the corner and saw me. I was standing out in the open, wearing a top hat and holding a stick cane.
Aegis paused to look at me in confusion. “What the…?”
Seeing my cue, I immediately began dancing, while loudly singing, “Hello my baby, hello my honey, hello my ragtime gal…”
For a moment, Aegis just stood there with his mouth open, looking stunned and confused. “What are you doing?”
I stopped my routine and stared at Aegis in horror. “Don’t you know a classic when you see it? Pfffft. Education today. I guess since I’m a teacher, it’s my job to correct that oversight.”
With a snort of disgust, I tossed the cane and top hat aside, then continued running through the construction site. Aegis immediately came after me, once again yelling for me to stop and face him. I just laughed at that.
“Eat my shorts,” I called back, then mused aloud, “When I’m done here, I think I’ll go hit up Moe’s Tavern for a drink.”
Suddenly, I heard a yell from behind me, followed by a crashing sound. I turned around and saw that Aegis was no longer on my tail. However, what I did see, was a large hole that had been dug, and which I’d easily crossed via a heavy beam that was laid across it. Screams and profanities could be heard, coming from the bottom of the hole.
“Ooops,” I said with a smirk. “It looks like someone lost their balance and fell…” I moved closer, then bent over to look down into the hole. Aegis was at the bottom, appearing to be embarrassed and angry, but otherwise unhurt. Of course, this provided another opportunity for taunting, which I just couldn’t ignore. In a childish tone, I announced, “Bart go down the hoooole.”
Aegis snarled and tried to leap out of the hole, but it was too deep for that. “When I get out of here,” he called out angrily.
“Well, Bart, you’d better hurry then,” I called back. “Time is ticking.”
Aegis continued trying to get himself out of the hole, but it didn’t do much good. If he’d been able to climb a sheer wall the way I did, then he would have been able to get out without any problem. But he couldn’t, so he didn’t.
I stood back and waited to see what Aegis would do, and after a couple minutes, a bell rang out, announcing that time had run out and that this game was over. That was fine with me, because I’d accomplished my purpose, and saw what I needed to. Taking pity on Aegis, I tossed him a rope so he could climb out, then I turned and left the training area.
A short time later, Aegis was standing in front of Bardue, getting debriefed on his performance. I was in the next room, out of sight but listening in. Bardue ripped into the boy, using words like ‘lackluster’ and even ‘incompetent.’ I nodded along in complete agreement on nearly every point.
“You used your powers in only the most straight-forward and brute force way possible,” Bardue told him. “After watching that piss poor showing, I’d swear that you didn’t even know how to use your own powers at all.”
Aegis bowed his head in shame, then awkwardly said, “Mrs. Carson said that you’d teach me how to use my powers better…”
Bardue snorted at that. “I’m afraid that there’s been a bit of a misunderstanding, Aegis. I’m not going to be your tutor. SHE is…”
With that cue, I stepped into the room. Bardue was gesturing towards the doorway, with a barely concealed look of amusement. Aegis stared at me with a look of shock and horror, which made this whole thing well worth the effort.
“But she’s a SUPERVILLAIN,” Aegis blurted out, glaring at me as though I’d just kicked his dog, or like I’d just spent the last half hour mocking and humiliating him.
“The Imp is a teacher,” Bardue responded gruffly. “One with a lot of experience, and who has agreed to take time out of her own busy schedule, in order to tutor you on how to use your powers more effectively.”
I casually tossed Aegis the shiny crystal that I’d been using as a prop, while looking him over. The truth was, I was less than impressed by any aspect of his performance. Aegis had the kind of reputation, which made me think that if he somehow survived until graduation, he would go on to become the kind of ego-driven hero I despised. After seeing him in action, I was even more certain of it.
“So, you want to become a hero,” I said, perhaps letting a little too much of my contempt slip into my voice. “You’re not off to a very good start.”
“What would YOU know about heroes?” Aegis demanded, glaring at me as though he wanted to take a punch.
“A lot more than you,” I answered. “I’ve been in the business for a long time, and I’ve met countless so-called heroes, and only a handful of them were really worth a damn.”
Aegis snarled, looking even more furious. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he spat out. “You don’t know ANYTHING about being a hero.”
“Don’t I?” I responded, looking the kid right in the eyes and making him squirm. “I’m the one who has to deal with every overblown ego and vengeful psychotic, who thinks that putting on a cape and calling himself a hero, actually makes him one. I’m the one who sees what these ‘heroes’ do when the cameras are off and nobody is watching them.”
“Imp,” Bardue started, but I gestured for him to keep out of it, so he nodded faintly and stepped back.
I moved a little closer to Aegis, still looking him straight in the eye. “I’m the one who saw a hero murder two innocent people, then frame someone else, and get him executed for the crime. I’m the one who saw a hero kidnap children, mind control them, and then send them off to die as cannon fodder. I’m the one who saw a hero recover the money from a bank robber, and then tell everyone that the thief got away with the loot. I’m the one who watched a hero attack criminals and mug them in the street, time and time again, while all the other heroes looked the other way.”
“You’re lying,” Aegis exclaimed angrily. “You’re just making that up.”
“And I’m the one,” I finished in a cold tone, “who was there when a so called hero, attacked a pregnant woman from behind, beat her half to death, and then tried to kill her.”
Aegis gasped at that, and I saw anger on his face, along with shock at my words. I wasn’t sure if he was really listening or not, but at that moment, I didn’t really care. I was on my soap box and ready to rant.
“A lot of people become heroes for the wrong reasons,” I stated in a cold tone. “Because they want fame and glory. Because they want to show off how strong or powerful they are. Because they’ve got a lot of anger and other issues, and they want to take it out on other people legally. And then, very rarely, you get one who’s in it because they legitimately just want to help people. I’ve seen more than my share of each of them, up close and personal.”
I paused at that to stare at Aegis. From his attitude, his lack of skill, and the way he simply charged in without looking or thinking, someday, he was going to get someone killed. If he was lucky, it would only be him.
“My job isn’t to tell you to be a hero or a villain,” I continued, easing my tone a bit. “That’s the kind of decision that you have to make for yourself. My job is to help you learn how to use your powers, so you don’t get yourself killed while doing it.”
“I AM going to be a hero,” Aegis stated defiantly, almost as though arguing with me.
“If I’m going to help someone become a hero,” I said, still looking Aegis straight in the eyes. “I want it to be the kind of hero I can be proud to have taught. When you go home, I want you to ask yourself why you want to be a hero. I want you to think about what kind of hero you really want to be. You don’t have to tell me, or anyone else what you decide, but I want you to think about it.”
“How come you’re the one who’s supposed to tutor me?” Aegis demanded, challenging me with the suggestion that there were more qualified people. I ignored the question.
“I can help you with your powers,” I stated, as though it was a simple fact. “I can help you learn to use them to their full potential, and in ways that you probably never considered. However, I’m not going to waste my time with someone who doesn’t want to learn, or who refuses to listen to me.” I looked Aegis in the eyes again. “If you want my help, and if you’re willing to learn from me, then come to my classroom Thursday after classes.”
Aegis stared at me with a defiant expression, though I saw flicks of nervousness. “Which classroom?”
Obviously, Aegis had heard about my special topics classroom. “My main one,” I answered. “My art classroom.”
A moment later, I turned and walked out of the room, not bothering to look back at Aegis. I was pretty sure that this was the last time I’d see him.
--------------------
Whateley Academy, Wednesday afternoon, Oct 31st, 2007
Halloween was my favorite holiday, which wouldn’t surprise anyone who actually knew me. It was a day of mystery and spooks, of tricks and treats, and of costumes and disguises.
At a school like Whateley, which was filled with devisors, magic users, and people with other powers, the classic elements of Halloween had the opportunity to be taken to the next level. I was bursting with excitement as I arrived at the campus party, eager to see what thrills and amusements awaited.
A couple students saw me, stared for a moment, and then began to snicker. I just grinned and waved, basking in their admiration for my costume. Or at least, their appreciation of the irony.
I saw a couple of familiar and friendly faces, so made my way over to join them. Louis was wearing a Star Fleet uniform, from the Next Generation, and he was talking to Lillian Dennon, who was dressed as the Queen of Hearts.
“Off with his head,” Dennon said, holding up a wicked looking battle axe. I hadn’t heard any of the conversation before this, so I didn’t know who she was referring to.
“Greetings and salutations,” I greeted my fellow teachers, and in Dennon’s case, she was also a former member of the black hat club.
Louis stared at me for a moment, then burst out laughing. “That costume is quite…fetching.”
Dennon gave me a look of amusement. “And ironic.”
“You think so?” I asked, posing a little.
I was currently wearing a flowing white dress, along with a pair of white feather wings and a halo, which I’d ‘borrowed’ from the theater departments prop room. My being dressed as an angel definitely went against my usual reputation, and may not have had the full effect since my horns and tail were still showing.
“Coming dressed as a devil would have been too easy,” I said cheerfully. “Besides, my pitch fork was a little slow in getting here…”
“Somehow, I suspect you already have a couple more,” Louis commented.
“True,” I agreed.
Dennon shook her head, and commented, “I remember that pitch fork you used to carry around on your jobs…”
“It looked pretty cool,” I responded with a grin. “And it made a great weapon. But it was hard squeezing through ventilation shafts with that thing. Trust me, it didn’t last long.”
“An angel,” Dennon said with a chuckle. “I can almost imagine the look on Roland’s face when he sees you…”
I grinned at that. “Actually, I’m dressed as shoulder angels, but I couldn’t decide whether to be the devil or angel, so I came as both.”
“Don’t mention shoulder angels around Liz,” Louis told me with a chuckle. “Somehow, I don’t think she’d appreciate the reference.”
“Actually,” I admitted, “I’d considered coming as Lady Astarte, but somehow, I don’t think our esteemed boss would have found that funny, and I do want to eventually get a raise.”
Louis burst out laughing. “She might have found it more amusing than you’d think.”
I looked around, taking in the sights, and appreciating the costumes that some of the kids came up with. Some of them were pretty impressive, and I wouldn’t have been at all surprised if the kid dressed as Gandalf, could really throw fireballs.
Then, I suddenly caught sight of a girl who was wearing a black and red catsuit. She had black horns on her head, which were probably just plastic props, along with a black devil tail popping out of her backside.
“Is that girl dressed as you?” Dennon asked in surprise.
My first thought was that it had to be Melissa, wearing a dark wig, since she’d done something similar the first time I ever met her. However, a second glance revealed that this wasn’t Melissa, but another girl I recognized from one of my classes.
“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” Louis told me with a broad grin and a laugh.
“Imp-oster,” I called out. “Imp-ersonator…”
The girl was dressed as me, turned and gave me a self-conscious look, until I winked at her. Then, the girl grinned broadly and ran off with her friends.
“Well, that was a surprise,” I commented.
A few seconds later, I noticed a group of kids walking towards the stage with some instruments in hand. They were rather noticeable, since almost all of them had severe GSD. And of course, one of their members was Dino, one of my most amusing students.
“This should be interesting,” I mused, as the group known as Outcast Corner began to play.
Their music was wild, loud, and energetic, which seemed to suit them perfectly. I watched in fascination as a dinosaur went at it on the guitar, completely shredding it…in the musical way.
“They’re good,” I commented.
Louis nodded agreement. “They like to practice beneath Hawthorne, so I get to hear them quite often.”
The band was about two songs in, when a couple of my favorite students started walking towards me. I immediately recognized Monkeywrench and Melissa, both of whom I’d been keeping an eye out for.
“Hey,” Monkeywrench exclaimed waving to me for my attention as they came over.
Monkeywrench was currently wearing a red baseball cap, along with a red shirt that had a yellow star on it. I wasn’t really into video games, but I still recognized his costume.
“Diddy Kong,” I greeted Monkeywrench with a grin. “Where’s Donkey Kong?”
The boy grinned broadly, obviously pleased that I’d recognized his costume. “He’s back home, passing out bananas to all the trick or treaters.”
Then, I turned my attention to Melissa, who was wearing old-fashioned clothes, including a poodle shirt, that made her look like she’d just come from a sock hop. However, not only were the clothes all white, and glowing just a little, but so was she. She’d covered her hair and skin with some kind of glow in the dark paint.
“I’m a ghost,” Melissa announced proudly. “Wanna see me walk through things or vanish, because I can do it?”
I laughed at that. “Good way of including your powers into a costume.”
“Isn’t it awesome?” Melissa asked, twirling around. “Trixie gave me the makeup, and paint that glows in the dark, and looks really cool…”
“It looks great,” I assured her, suddenly having an idea of what I could do with that stuff. I just imagined Melissa running around Manhattan, in the middle of the night, scaring everyone who saw her and thought she was a real ghost. I burst out laughing, which earned me a couple odd looks. “I just had a great idea for a prank…”
Melissa’s eyes went wide in eager anticipation, while Dennon gave me a worried look. “Somehow, I suspect it will only lead to trouble.”
“Probably,” I agreed with an evil grin and a swish of my tail, neither of which probably went well with my costume. “But that’s half the fun.”
After this, I excused myself from Louis and Dennon, and began wandering around, just to check out all the costumes. Some of them were really amazing, and impressed me with what these kids could pull off. But on the other hand, some were just plain lame.
I saw Barney a short distance away, though fortunately, he hadn’t noticed me. At the moment, he was dressed in the blue and gold uniform of the old US Cavalry. I suddenly hoped that he’d go mess with Charlie Lodgeman, Billy Two Knives, or those kids in the Nations, and pull a General Custer.
“Is it so wrong to wish another teacher to be scalped?” I quietly asked myself.
It wasn’t long after this that I saw the second person who’d come to the party dressed as me. She wore a black and red catsuit, identical to my own, which included the belt full of pouches. And to my amusement, she even had fake horns and a tail. However, what really surprised me, was that this was Elizabeth Carson.
I quickly made my way to Carson and announced, “You look absolutely fabulous.” I flashed her a grin.
“Thank you,” Carson responded wryly. I was pretty sure that she was a bit self-conscious, but she was covering it up well. Then, as an explanation, she said, “I lost a wager.”
“Really?” I asked with a grin, wishing that I had worn the Lady Astarte costume after all, because that would have been hilarious. “What kind of wager was this?”
“Merely one on how the Intelligence Cadet Corps would react in a certain situation,” Louis commented with a grin as he came over to join us. “The terms were, that the winner got to decide what Halloween costume the loser would wear, within certain limits.”
I raised an eyebrow at that. I’d heard that when I was dealing with the Teletubbies, that some of the faculty were making bets on how things went. I wouldn’t have thought that Carson would be one of those betting, at least not without being sure of victory.
“Then, it looks like you’re the real winner,” I told Carson with a chuckle. “You get the honor of dressing like me.”
“I won’t forget this,” Carson told Louis, who merely smiled.
“Well, I certainly hope that you don’t,” he responded.
As I looked Carson over again, I began to smirk, imagining how Barney would react to the sight. My tail twitched at that, and I began to grin more broadly, remembering where I’d last seen Barney. This was definitely promising to be a fun Halloween.
--------------------
Whateley Academy, Thursday afternoon, Nov 1st, 2007
I was in my classroom, staring at Melissa, and trying hard not to laugh. The glow in the dark paint that she’d used last night for her costume, was still covering her skin and hair, though admittedly, there was a lot less of it. Still, enough remained that it was quite noticeable.
“It won’t come off,” Melissa complained, pouting a little as she stared at the back of her hand, which still glowed a little. “I took, like, four showers already…”
“Well,” I responded with a faint smile of amusement, “you should have known better than to get your skin paint from someone who has been pranking you since school started.”
Melissa continued pouting, but she nodded agreement. “So, what am I gonna do?”
“The paint is definitely a lot lighter than last night,” I mused, looking Melissa over again, and a lot of it has come off. I figure, give it a day or two, and the rest will come off too…”
“But until then, I look like a night light,” Melissa grumbled.
“Or a glow stick,” I added with a chuckle. “If nothing else, you’re all set to go to a rave…”
“REVENGE,” Melissa abruptly exclaimed. “I need to get revenge on Trixie…”
“Well, of course you do,” I responded, since that was obvious. A prank of this caliber demanded an appropriate response. In fact, failing to respond could be seen as an act of surrender, or as an insult, depending on the circumstances and the prankster. Considering the two girls involved, it could go either way.
Melissa had stopped pouting, and was now bouncing with energy and excitement. Sometimes, I wondered at the girl’s rapid changes of mood. “I’ll get even with her,” Melissa exclaimed. “I will have my revenge…”
“That’s the spirit,” I encouraged her. “But remember, be careful of what you do unless you want to seriously escalate the situation, and be careful not to do anything that will make the faculty get involved.”
“Do you have any ideas?” Melissa asked me.
“Lots of them,” I assured her. “But this is something you’ll need to figure out on your own. If you want to bounce ideas off me, I’ll help you with that, but it has to be YOUR revenge, not mine.”
Melissa nodded emphatically, and I could see from the gleam in her eyes that she already had an idea. I was eager to hear what it was, and to see the results.
Before Melissa could tell me what she was thinking, my classroom door opened and another student walked in. Since classes were over for the day, I didn’t get a lot of students coming to see me, but there were often one or two with questions about their projects, or who just wanted to chat. However, when I looked up, I was startled to realize that this one was Aegis.
“Well, I’ll be,” I muttered in surprise, because I’d been sure that Aegis wouldn’t show up.
Aegis stood inside the classroom, looking self-conscious and a bit nervous. He glanced around my classroom, as though not sure what to expect. I supposed that made sense, since he wasn’t in any of my classes, and this was probably the first time he’d been here. I gestured for him to come in, then turned my attention back to Melissa.
“Well, I’m looking forward to hearing how it goes,” I told her. “But for now, I’m afraid that I have an appointment.”
Melissa nodded at that. “Okay. Thank you. See you tomorrow…” Then, she turned, gave Aegis a curious look, and then hurried out of my room.
“Come on in,” I told Aegis with a grin. “I don’t bite. Often.”
“I’m here,” he said unnecessarily.
“I see that,” I replied, giving him a curious look. “Honestly, I didn’t expect you to show up.”
Aegis squirmed uncomfortably as he admitted, “I almost didn’t.”
“Then what changed your mind?” I asked.
There was a long paused before Aegis answered. “I’m tired of always losing…of being humiliated.” He spat the last out with sharp bitterness.
Carson had told me about Aegis’ fight on Monday, if it could even be called a fight. From what I’d heard, it would more accurately have been called an ass-kicking, from which he was rescued by a couple little girls. That would definitely have to be humiliating, and was probably hitting a new low, even for Aegis. It was no wonder he was desperate enough to come to me for help.
“Then I can help you with that,” I said. With that, I went over and locked my classroom door, explaining, “So we don’t get interrupted.”
Aegis nodded at that, still giving me a wary look. “Now what?”
“The first thing we do,” I explained in a cheerful tone, “is review your placement test.”
“Placement test?” Aegis asked in confusion. “What placement test?”
“The one you took the other day,” I responded with a smirk. “What did you think that whole thing in the arena was all about? I wanted to see you in action, and find out exactly how you used your powers.”
Aegis just stared at me in surprise, as though he’d never considered the reasons for why he’d been sent to the arena. Did he think that I’d called him there, just to mock and humiliate him? Well, that did sound like something I might do, but there were more practical reasons at the same time.
“Whenever you used your powers,” I said, looking Aegis straight in the eyes, “you only used them in the most straight-forward and brute force method possible. When you attacked me, you just threw some punches. When you defended… Well, when I dropped the light pole on you, you didn’t even step to the side. You just stood there and let it hit you…”
“So, you’re going to teach me how to fight better?” Aegis asked, looking a little confused.
With a shake of my head, I corrected him. “Ito will teach you how to fight. I’m here to help you learn how to use your powers to their full potential. Sometimes that will help your offense or defense, and sometimes not.”
“I already know how to use my powers,” Aegis protested defiantly, but the fact that he’d come today, was proof that he already knew otherwise, at least on some level.
“Do you have your MID on you?” I asked.
Aegis hesitated before holding it out for me to look at. It said he was a PK 3 and a Regen 3. I already knew what he’d been rated, since I’d seen his power testing results.
“You are a PK 3,” I told Aegis, pointing to his MID. “This means that you have a PK shell, just strong enough to make you a light brick, but not a very strong one. To put it in terms that you might understand, you charge into a fight like you’re the Hulk…like you’re the biggest and strongest one there. But you aren’t. You keep overestimating just how strong your powers are. With your powers, you should be fighting more like Spider Man. You should use your shell to help deflect hits and shrapnel, not rely on it to make you invulnerable.”
“What do you know about my powers?” he grumbled defensively.
“Quite a bit, actually,” I answered. “I’ve seen your power testing results. You’re only a PK 3, but your tests indicate that your shell is a lot more flexible than most PK’s shells. You should be able to do a lot more with it than just make yourself strong and tough the way you have been.”
I stared at Aegis for several seconds, but I saw that he still didn’t get it. I let out a faint sigh, then considered how I could get through to him. Melissa was pretty ADHD most of the time, and I had to be flexible to get through to her. And if I could do that, I should be able to reach Aegis too.
“You saw me in action,” I said, looking Aegis in the eyes. “What are my powers?”
Aegis blinked at that, obviously startled by the sudden change of direction. “I don’t know,” he answered after a couple seconds. “You have a lot of different ones… You’re really strong, and tough, and can climb walls. Your claws are really sharp, and so is your tail. And you can teleport.”
I grinned at that, since I always got a kick out of it when people thought I could teleport. Then, I turned serious and said, “I’ve been in the business for a long time, and heroes are always trying to guess my powers…and guessing wrong. You see, I don’t brag about what my powers are. If you go into a fight, bragging about what you can do, you might as well be telling them your weaknesses too. It’s better to keep your enemies guessing, so they don’t know how to really respond to you.”
“Okay,” Aegis said, looking even more confused by this.
“I’ve never come out and told anyone exactly how my powers work,” I continued, “because if I did that, they’d know how to beat me. And in my old career, that could get me killed. In fact, I still have a lot of enemies on both sides of the business, so that knowledge is still very dangerous. I want you to know that, so you understand why I’m asking you to keep it to yourself.”
“What?” Aegis asked, giving me another look of surprise.
With that, I set my own MID down on the desk in front of Aegis. It wasn’t actually a real MID, since I didn’t trust the MCO or the DPA with my information. Instead, I’d made up a number of forgeries, which listed me as having a variety of different powers, for misdirection purposes. My various MID cards listed me as a mage, devisor, avatar, and I even had a couple that listed me as a baseline imbued or power gem user. However, the one I’d just set down was unique in that it was actually accurate.
“PK 3 and Regen 4,” Aegis read it off in surprise. It probably would have been more accurate to say that I was a low level PK 3, and a low level Regen 4, but this was close enough to get my point across. “That’s almost the same as mine…”
“And THAT is why I was asked to tutor you,” I explained. “Everything you saw me do in the arena, was simply different applications of my PK power… You see, I am undoubtedly the most qualified person in this school, when it comes to teaching you how to use your powers more effectively.”
Aegis just stared at me with his mouth open in a look of stunned disbelief. Maybe he was shocked to learn that my powers were so similar to his own, or perhaps because I’d actually told him what they were. I really hadn’t wanted to do that, but I’d agreed to teach Aegis, and this was the only way I could get through to him that I knew what I was talking about. I just hoped that I hadn’t made a serious mistake in the process.
“I am a PK,” I explained, “but I don’t really have a PK shell. Mine is more of a PK aura instead. It isn’t as solid and stable as a shell, so I can’t really do the brick thing, but it is a lot more flexible, which lets me do a lot of other things that most PKs can’t. You do have a shell, but it’s a very flexible one, so you should be able to learn how to do a lot of my tricks.”
“But how?” Aegis asked, looking confused again. “Everyone knows that being a PK just means that you’re strong and tough, and if you’re lucky, you can fly…”
“Those are the most standard applications,” I agreed, “but a lot of people with shells, can learn to do other things with them too…like filter out poisons, psychokinetically hold onto objects or walls, spread it out to cover their clothes or weapons, or even harden it into PK weapons like claws or blades.”
With that, I picked an apple off the corner of my desk and formed some invisible PK claws, and used one to slice the apple in half. Aegis’ eyes widened in amazement at that, especially as I continued slicing through the apple, where my clawed nail didn’t even actually touch it.
“I’m not especially powerful,” I admitted, “but what I lack in power, I make up in versatility. I don’t have a real shell, but I can do almost all those little extra tricks that other PKs can do.”
“And you think I can learn how to do that too?” Aegis asked, gesturing to the apple.
I popped one of the apple slices into my mouth, nodding as I did so. Once I finished swallowing, I said, “Probably. From what I’ve seen of your testing results, your shell isn’t as flexible as my aura, so you probably won’t be able to do everything I can. However, you should be able to learn a few of my tricks, which will give you a lot more options, besides just punch and get punched.”
“No way,” Aegis gasped, suddenly looking excited and eager to learn.
“It took me a long time to really master my powers and what I could do with them,” I told Aegis, so he didn’t get his hopes up and expect too much. “And it took a lot of trial and error, since I had to figure them out on my own. Lucky for you, you actually get someone to help with that.”
“So, what now?” Aegis asked.
For a moment, I just stood there staring at Aegis, remembering all my concerns. However, it was too late to be dwelling over them now. I’d already told him about my powers and made it all official. Aegis was now my student…and my problem. If I was lucky, I might be able to keep him from becoming the next T Rex or Crimson Kid. If I could do that, then dealing with this overzealous hero wannabe, would be well worth it.
“First,” I answered, “we’ll do some exercises to see how much control you currently have over your shell, then we’ll work on expanding that control and seeing what you can do with it…”
Part 4
New York, Friday evening, Nov 2nd, 2007
It was Friday evening and the official school week had been over for a few hours. The moment the final bell rang, I was out the door and racing to the airport to catch a flight.
Lately, I’d been flying a lot more than I was comfortable with. I wasn’t one of those people who were afraid of heights, or worried that the plane would crash. My issues with flying tended to do more with security, and how I always had to slip past it and onto the plane without being seen. Fortunately, my magic amulet gave me another option, so today, I’d actually flown first class, as Candice Kade, rather than as the Imp.
After I landed in New York and got off the plane, I kept a close watch on my surroundings. After all, the Imp Revenge Squad was still out there, and I couldn’t take it for granted that they wouldn’t somehow figure out my other identity, or where I was.
It was only because I was watching for the IRS, that I noticed someone standing on the other side of security, outside of where my arrival gate let out. To my complete surprise, Ryan was there, holding up a sign that read ‘CHRISTINE’.
I froze, feeling a surge of worry. If he saw me now, there’d be questions about why Candice had just arrived on the flight where he was somehow expecting Christine. Those were questions that I was not about to answer.
A moment later, I changed direction and slipped around, using a couple other passengers as cover to keep Ryan from seeing me. I quickly made my way towards the exit, though instead of leaving, I ducked into a restroom and locked myself into a stall.
“I should be using a phone booth for this,” I mused as I removed the long jacket and hat from my luggage, and then took off my magic amulet. “But good luck finding a phone booth.”
When I left the restroom a couple minutes later, it was in my usual disguise, rather than in my Candice one. I had on my long coat, my wide-brimmed hat, and a pair of oversized sunglasses.
Then, once I was in the proper disguise, I pulled out my cell phone and made a call. “One ringy dingy,” I counted. “Two ringy dingy…” As soon as Ryan picked up, I exclaimed, “Hey, cutie. I just got back into town and was wondering if you were up for dinner?”
“What a coincidence,” Ryan responded from the other end, sounding rather smug. “Guess where I happen to be?”
“The bathroom?” I joked.
“Afraid not,” he responded with a faint chuckle. “I’m actually at the airport, waiting for you.”
“Really?” I asked in mock surprise. “Well, you can meet me by the exit. Oh, and can you grab me a Dr. Pepper from that soda machine behind you? I’m pretty thirsty…” Then, before Ryan could respond to that, I hung up and waited for him with a grin.
Ryan arrived a couple minutes later and gave me a curious look. “How in the world did you slip past me?” He paused and then shook his head. “Nevermind. Stupid question.”
“The real question is,” I responded, “how did you know I was going to be here?”
“A phone call from my daughter,” he answered with a wry smile. “She said that as soon as classes were over, you left to come back here. I just checked all the flights arriving from your neck of the woods, and decided on the best option.”
“Not bad,” I said, impressed with his detective work.
“Oh, by the way” Ryan told me, before suddenly switching into an obvious impression of a very specific cartoon bird. “I finally caught me a chicken.”
I stared at Ryan in momentary surprise, before I burst out laughing. For years, I thought my old enemy Chickenhawk had no sense of humor, but as I’d learned, under the mask he definitely had one. It was a bit more understated than my own, but still there.
“Ah say… Ah say boy, ya caught me,” I responded with a grin.
Ryan smiled at that, then after a few seconds, he asked, “So, do you have any leads on this Imp Revenge Squad that attacked you?”
“Not a lot, yet,” I admitted. “Or at least, not on where they’re at, but I do know just the person to ask.”
“Is this that Bob guy?” he asked, reminding me that I’d introduced Ryan to Bob Zabrowski, my best source of information.
I nodded at that. “I tried calling, but haven’t been able to reach him, which means, I have to go see him in person.”
“And you know where to find him?” Ryan asked.
With a nod and a wry smile, I answered, “Yep, but you won’t really be welcomed there. Superbad.”
“Then it’s a good thing I’m not in costume,” Ryan pointed out wryly. “And I do have my skin mask too.”
I nodded at that. “Sounds good to me then. We can stop and grab some dinner on the way.” Then I gave Ryan an evil grin. “Unless you want to eat dinner at a villain dive bar.”
Ryan looked almost pained at that. “I think it might be better if we didn’t.”
“Now who’s the chicken?” I teased him with a grin. “Bok bok bok.”
Ryan and I left the airport a few minutes later, taking his car since he’d been so generous as to volunteer himself to play taxi. We stopped off briefly at a fast food place to grab a couple burgers, then ate them in the car. It was easier than dealing with the hassle of going inside and risking an incident. Unfortunately, those happened far too often when I went out in public.
When we reached Superbad, I had Ryan park down the street, where his car wouldn’t be nearly as noticeable. Then, we waited another couple minutes while he put on his skin mask, and once again looked like ‘Ben’, the identity he’d used when we’d gone searching for Melissa together back in June.
“You ready, Ben?” I asked him.
“I’m ready when you are, Christine,” Ryan responded.
“Imp,” I corrected him wryly. “Nobody here knows me by Christine.”
As we climbed out of the car, I carefully scanned the area for any threats. The IRS had jumped me outside of the Black Mask, so it wasn’t out of character for them to set up an ambush here too. Fortunately, I saw no signs of an ambush, though I continued keeping watch until we’d stepped through the doors into Superbad.
“Welcome to this wretched hive of scum and villainy,” I commented as I looked around the bar, making sure there were no unpleasant surprises waiting for me.
It was Friday night, so Superbad was pretty busy compared to most times. I recognized a few of the other customers as being in the business, even though they were out of costume at the moment. Some of the other customers were completely unfamiliar, and I figured that they were walk in customers, probably from the neighborhood. Since I didn’t see anyone in obvious costumes, or any IRS members, I allowed myself to relax just a little.
“Do you want me to get the Falcon ready for takeoff?” Ryan asked in a wry tone.
With a chuckle, I responded, “I don’t think that will be necessary.”
One large man, who I suspected to be one of the walk-ins, gave me a look of surprise and concern, and started to stand up. I got the feeling that he didn’t like mutants, or at least not obvious ones like me. However, an even large man put a hand on his shoulder, and gently but firmly, pushed him back down into his seat.
I looked at the larger man, whom I recognized as Concrete. Or at least, he used to go by the name of Concrete, back when he’d been in the business, though he’d hung up his costume a couple years ago. He still showed up at Superbad on occasion, mostly to reminisce about old times. I gave him a nod of acknowledgement.
“Where, oh where, has my little Bob gone,” I quietly sang out. “Where, oh where, can he be?”
Bob Zabrowski wasn’t sitting at his usual table, which was a surprise, in and of itself. On Friday nights, Bob was almost a fixture of this place.
Spotting the Pink Piper, sitting at a nearby table, in civilian guise, I wandered over. “Hey Piper,” I greeted her. “Have you seen Bob around?”
She glanced back to his usual table, which was currently occupied by some unfamiliar faces, and shook her head. “Nope. I haven’t seen him in a couple weeks.”
“He said something about Jack Rabbit being back in town,” a man at the next table over said. “He said he was going to lay low for while…”
“Damn,” I muttered.
For a moment, I was tempted to go track Bob down, but I knew that it wouldn’t do much good. If there was anyone who was able to find himself a hiding spot where nobody could find him, it would be Bob Zabrowski. Unfortunately, I needed him to find me some information.
“Is this about those people who are looking for you?” Piper asked me.
“Yep,” I answered cheerfully. “I was hoping Bob might help me answer a few questions.”
“I heard they nearly killed you already,” the man with Piper added, giving me a curious look.
That annoyed me a little, because if people started to believe that I was that easy to kill, then that could encourage more to try. For someone in my career, even retired, developing a reputation for being a pushover was a serious problem, which could get me killed. That was one reason why I couldn’t allow this IRS nonsense to continue. Of course, the other reason was that they were trying to kill me, and that just simply had to be nipped in the bud.
“So, what now?” Ryan asked me quietly. He’d been standing back a little and letting me take the lead in this, while watching my back. It wasn’t really necessary here, but I appreciated the thought nonetheless.
“I’m not sure,” I admitted.
Just then, I noticed the bartender waving for my attention. I went up to the bar and announced, “I’ll have a sarsaparilla.”
“You know we don’t carry that here, Imp,” he told me.
“Did I forget to pay my tab?” I asked with a look of mock innocence.
The bartender snorted. “Yeah, I’m adding a new charge on it.” He scowled for a moment before continuing, “One of our customers just made a call, letting someone know that you’re here. Those people who are after you, are offering a reward for your whereabouts, so be careful.”
“I will,” I told him with a nod of appreciation. “And thanks.”
“You can thank me by paying off your tab,” he responded gruffly. As soon as I slapped a couple hundreds onto the bar, he snatched them up and said, “One more thing…”
“Oh?” I encouraged him to continue.
The bartender reached under the bar and pulled out an envelope. “Zabrowski said that if I see you, I should give you this.”
“Thank you,” I said, not bothering to look inside the envelope just yet. I gave him an exaggerated bow, before I turned and left Superbad with Ryan following close behind.
The second we were outside the bar, Ryan said, “I suggest we get out of here as quickly as possible. While we want to find this Imp Revenge Squad, it would probably be better to do so under our terms…”
“Agreed,” I said, glancing around me. I doubted that they’d be popping up on such short notice, but if they were waiting nearby, that could be a possibility.
We reached Ryan’s car and left without any trouble. It was only then that I opened the envelope to see what Bob left me. I wasn’t at all surprised to see that it was just a sheet of paper with an address on it. However, whether this was the address of where Bob was hiding out, of where the IRS was, or something else entirely, I couldn’t be sure.
“Shall we go check it out?” Ryan asked me.
I hesitated a moment at that, since I’d prefer to do that kind of scouting on my own. However, he was already involved, so I gave a reluctant nod. “We might as well.”
The address turned out to be for a building that was only a block or so from the Black Mask, or at least, from where the Black Mask usually had its door. Since the Black Mask’s door kept moving, appearing in different places in the same general area, no one was quite sure where the Black Mask itself was actually located.
At the moment, I was less interested in my favorite drinking spot, than I was in the building at the address Bob had supplied. It was old, three stories tall, and made of brick. Officially, it also happened to be vacant, being locked up with ‘FOR LEASE’ signs on the front.
“Now, that isn’t suspicious at all,” I commented wryly.
Ryan looked over the building, musing, “I can fly up for a better look…”
“And maybe get seen,” I pointed out. It was dark out, but he could still be spotted, which would give away any element of surprise. “I’ll sneak in and take a peek. Once we have a better idea what we’re dealing with, we can make a plan.”
Ryan chuckled at that. “It still surprises me to see that you aren’t quite as reckless and impulsive as I’d always thought…”
“Are you trying to imp-ly something, “I asked with a grin. “I’ll have you know, that I am very imp-ulsive. Imp-ressively so.”
“Go on already,” Ryan responded with a roll of his eyes.
I gave Ryan a look of mock offense. “You think I’m just a hot piece of tail…” Ryan began choking at that, so I winked at him, then hurried off before he could think of a comeback.
I slipped into the building with ease, and on first glance, it really did seem to be vacant. However, that didn’t explain the trip wires and motion detectors that I found scattered about. The place looked empty, but someone had taken the time to secure it. Because of that, I took my time and was careful to not only avoid the tripwires and motion detectors, but to look for other traps as well.
On the top floor, I found what I was looking for, evidence that people had actually been staying here. In one room, there was a stack of old pizza boxes, and a pile of various other takeout and fast food wrappers. Someone had left a nice little garbage pile, turning this entire room into a small dump. And then in other rooms, I found several cots and mattresses set up.
“Papa Bear said that someone has been sleeping in my bed,” I mused to myself as I looked over the sleeping arrangements. “And Mama Bear said that someone has been sleeping in my bed…” Then I shook my head and added, “But I’d bet my tail that none of these is just right.” I shuddered, imagining, fleas, bedbugs, and other things that I might catch if I even tried sitting on them.
In the largest open space, of what might once have been an office floor, a TV was set up along with a few chairs. There was also a table, which had a couple pictures of me spread out on the surface. Obviously, I’d found the right place. After making a quiet sweep of the building and making sure that nobody was actually there, I slipped back out and returned to Ryan.
“It looks like this was where the IRS was setup in a stakeout, waiting for me to show up at the Black Mask,” I explained, thinking about a pair of binoculars that I’d found next to one of the windows. “From the amount of trash, they’ve spent a lot of time here.”
Ryan scratched his chin, then said, “From your reaction, I assume that they’re gone now.”
“The lights are off and nobody’s home,” I agreed. “However, from how recent some of the trash is, they haven’t been gone very long. In fact, I saw a receipt with a time stamp from yesterday afternoon…”
“So, they’re still using this place,” Ryan said, giving me a look of surprise.
I grinned at that. “Yepperoonie. My guess is that since I’ve been out of town for the last two weeks, they got tired of waiting for me to show up again. They’re probably off doing their own thing, and sleeping in better accommodations. At most, they might be doing shifts, showing up to keep an eye on the neighborhood in case I make another appearance at the Black Mask. But since I was spotted at Superbad tonight, you can bet your patootie that they’re going to become a little more active now.”
“Since we know that sooner or later, they’re going to come back here,” Ryan mused, “this would be a good spot to set an ambush.”
“My thoughts exactly,” I responded with an evil grin. And since this was the spot from where the IRS had previously ambushed me, I found a certain sense of justice in using it against them.
Ryan stared at the building with a deep scowl. “So, for our next step…”
“I need to make a few phone calls,” I said thoughtfully, “and get a few things lined up for tomorrow. But if everything works out, then by tomorrow afternoon, the IRS will be out of business.”
“That sounds good to me,” Ryan said. He then turned and stared at me for several long seconds, with a strange expression. “I know that this isn’t a good time, not with what we have planned for tomorrow…”
I blinked at that, just a little confused about where Ryan was going with that. “What?”
“Would you care to have dinner with me tomorrow evening?” he asked, making it sound almost like some kind of formal invitation.
Ryan was right, in that considering what we had planned for tomorrow, this wouldn’t be very good timing. However, in spite of that, I gave him a broad smile and answered, “I’d love to.”
“Great,” Ryan responded, looking quite happy. After this, we kissed for nearly a minute, before he said, “And dress nice.”
--------------------
New York, Saturday late morning, Nov 3rd, 2007
“Barkeep,” I announced as I stepped into the Black Mask. I looked at Carl, my favorite bartender in the place and said, “I’ll have a cherry bomb, with extra BOOM.”
“I’ll have it out in a minute,” Carl told me, already going to work.
I took a seat at the bar and smiled in anticipation. It wasn’t in anticipation of the drink, but in what was going to happen afterwards. The last time I’d come to the Black Mask, the IRS had ambushed me and cut off my tail. Well, I was back at the Black Mask, making a clear statement that I wasn’t afraid of them, and that I wasn’t going to let them chase me away from my favorite drinking spot.
A minute later, Carl set my drink in front of me. I took a cautious sip, trying to decide whether or not I liked it. It tasted sort of like a good quality cherry cola, mixed with some strong booze that practically smacked me. For most normal people, a few sips of this would have them plastered. Lucky for me, I was a regenerator and could handle it. There was definitely a bite to it too, maybe from jalapeno vodka. I couldn’t be sure, since I hadn’t paid a lot of attention to Carl when he was making it, because I’d wanted to enjoy the surprise.
“Strong,” I told Carl with a grin and a nod of appreciation. “Impy like big boom.”
After finishing my drink, I ordered another, an old fashioned ice cream soda. I suddenly felt like I was a kid again, going to the old soda shop down on the corner. Of course, when I’d actually been a kid, I’d never gone to any soda shop, but I had seen them on TV, and they sounded awesome.
“Maybe that’s the next big thing,” I thought aloud. “Instead of just a supervillain bar, you guys should open up a supervillain soda shop too…”
“I’ll pass your suggestion to the management,” Carol told me with a look of amusement.
About the time I finished my ice cream soda, the Pink Piper came in and sat down beside me. She was wearing her costume, which was almost entirely pink, and included a cloak. I found myself humming the ‘Pink Panther’ tune.
“Wow, this place is a lot nicer than Superbad,” Piper said, looking around like a tourist.
“This is nothing,” I assured her. “You should see Moriarty’s. It’s like a really snooty, high end restaurant.”
“So, I’m guessing you aren’t welcome there,” Piper pointed out with a smirk. Then she quickly added, “Thanks for getting me in here…”
I nodded at that. “So, have the marks arrived?”
“Yes, they have,” Piper responded with a smirk. “The last one just showed up.”
“Good,” I responded, sliding a hundred over to Piper.
Last night, I’d hired her to help me deal with the IRS. She wasn’t very powerful, and her abilities were nearly useless in a fight, however, being able to have a rat or two spy on building that the IRS was using as a safehouse, was quite useful. Now, thanks to Piper, I knew that all five of them had arrived.
“That took less time than I expected,” I mused.
Earlier this morning, I’d been hidden nearby, keeping an eye on that building until I saw Crash Test Dummy arrive. After that, I’d made a show of walking into the Black Mask, where he’d be able to see me. Of course, he immediately called the rest of the IRS for backup.
The Black Mask was a great place to hang out, where I could get some nice drinks and talk business with others in my profession. However, this morning, I’d come here for another reason. I was here as bait.
“If they’re all in place,” I told Piper, “then begin phase two.”
“Ahem,” Piper responded, holding out her hand for the rest of her payment.
Without saying a word, I handed her a couple more hundred dollar bills. Piper was making five hundred bucks, and getting an introduction to the Black Mask, for very little work. It was a good deal for her.
Piper quickly slipped the money into her pocket and nodded in satisfaction. Then, she closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment, before saying, “Done.”
Even though I couldn’t see what was happening with the IRS, I could picture it clearly in my mind. A few rats would be crawling out of the woodwork, carrying small canisters that they were taking right up to the IRS, and then they’d detonate the canisters by gnawing off the caps.
“That should wake them all up,” I said with an evil laugh.
I waited a few minutes so that the contents of those vials would have their maximum effect, then I got up and walked out of the Black Mask. I stepped out into the sidewalk and looked around. The only person close by, was what appeared to be homeless man curled up in a door stop across the street.
“Come on,” I muttered impatiently. “Hurry up already. I don’t have all day.”
In spite of the overwhelming distraction that I’d already created, I didn’t have to wait long before my opponents arrived. Their opening attack came from Crash Test Dummy, who had some kind of energy rifle. A pulse of energy came at me, though I was expecting the ‘ambush’ and easily dodged the attack.
“IMP!” Heaven yelled from above.
“What…?” I started, looking up and being surprised to see Heaven flying. She had a pair of big feathery wings, that seemed to be made out of golden energy. In her hand, she held a broadsword made of the same energy as her wings. “Well, I guess that explains her name.”
Heaven swooped down, swinging her sword at me. I slipped back and dodged out of the way, and when she took another swing at me, I was able to concentrate my PK aura in one spot, so her sword hit my arm and bounced off, much to her surprise.
“Neener neener neener,” I called out, blowing her a raspberry.
Then, I caught a whiff of Heaven’s scent and began to choke and gag, just as she herself was doing. I scrambled to get back and out of her reach, as much to avoid the smell as the sword.
“Wow,” I gasped, my eyes stinging a bit. “Trixie really does make the best stink bombs.”
I’d brought a couple high quality stink bombs with me from Whateley, but didn’t have enough to reliably cover the entire top floor of that building. Because of that, I needed to rely on a more directed delivery method, which is where the Pink Piper and her rats came in.
“What did you do to us?” Heaven screamed. Her eyes were red and running, while she kept choking and gagging. It looked like the stink bombs were proving exactly the kind of distraction that I’d hoped they would.
“DIE YOU BITCH!” Crash Test Dummy yelled, opening fire with his energy blaster.
“I don’t see what you’re complaining about,” Jack Ass snarled bitterly. “Your helmet has a filter built in.”
“And it’s still getting in,” Crash Test Dummy exclaimed.
I burst out laughing at that, which seemed to piss my attackers off even more. “Today is a day that will live in infamy,” I called out. “Now, to punish you for the imp-udence of attacking me. If you think you can beat me now, you’re mistaken. It’s imp-ossible.”
The Crimson Kid charged at me with his glowing red aura, not saying a word. He was using one hand to hold his nose, which was pretty funny. When a smelly homeless guy has to plug his nose, you know it’s bad.
Suddenly, the homeless guy in the doorway stood up and began to grow larger. He tossed off his hat and oversized coat, revealing a large and muscular man in a dark blue costume.
“I think not,” Muscle announced as he ran forward and punched the Red Goat, sending him flying back.
Then, Muscle flexed his bulging muscles, and grew even larger. His already massive muscles swelled to twice their previous size, and at eight feet tall, he now towered over everyone present.
“Why are you helping her?” Crash Test Dummy demanded of Muscle. “We fought against that bitch together…”
“That was just business,” Muscle stated as he stepped forward. “And so is this. Imp hired me to be a bodyguard and leg breaker today. Specifically, I’m to guard her body and break your legs.”
“Attacking a poor defenseless little Imp, five to one,” I said, tsking Heaven. “Not fair. Not fair at all. So, I decided to improve those numbers…”
Suddenly, Hexagoner 2.0 began screaming, and I spared her a glance, to see several rats running up her legs. She was totally freaking out, and if Jack Ass wasn’t coming at me, I probably would have been rolling on the ground laughing.
“I’m going to kill you,” Jack Ass exclaimed, holding out his high tech gauntlet and firing a concussion blast at me. I dove to the side, then ran behind the Red Goat, so the next blast hit the other former hero, sending him flying.
“You’re gonna have to do better than that, Jack Ass,” I called back. Then, with an evil grin, I began singing, “Little Bunny Foo Foo, hopping through the forest…”
“SHUT UP!” Jack Ass yelled, firing another blast at me, though I leapt aside and blew him a raspberry, which seemed to piss him off even more.
Hexagoner 2.0 had knocked the rats away and had finally entered the fight. She held out a staff with a hexagon shaped symbol on top, and it fired a beam of red energy at me. I dove to the side, then dodged another blast.
“You took everything from me,” Jack Ass snarled. “I was a HERO!”
“You were a freaking psycho,” I responded. “Still are.”
Jack Ass came at me, swinging his gauntlet covered fist. From what I knew of the Green Gauntlet’s gear, I probably wouldn’t be able to survive a direct punch. It was a good thing that I had no intention of just standing there and taking the hit. After all, I wasn’t like Aegis.
But before I had a chance to deal with Jack Ass, he suddenly went flying back until he slammed into a nearby wall. It looked like a painful impact, even with the lightweight armor he was wearing. I hoped he broke something, though I doubted I was that lucky.
“Jack Rabbit,” a voice called out from above.
I looked up and saw Chickenhawk floating in the air, fully geared up and ready to go in his dark blue and white uniform. He was glaring down at Jack Ass, looking pretty damn fierce at the moment.
“You kidnapped my daughter,” Chickenhawk stated. “We have unfinished business…”
Muscle held the Red Goat over his head, and paused to give me a curious look. “You brought in Superhawk?” He sounded shocked, which was no surprise. Chickenhawk and I had a long history as adversaries, and Muscle wasn’t aware of the recent change in our relationship.
“Chickenhawk wants Jack Ass more than he does me,” I responded with an evil grin. “So, I decided to take advantage of that and tipped him off to where Jack Ass was gonna be. I figured, it’s a good way to get some unwitting and free backup.”
“Good idea,” Muscle responded with a laugh, right before he body slammed the Crimson Kid into the ground, hard enough that I actually winced. “These guys stink.”
I just grinned, knowing that Muscle wouldn’t be the only person who approved of my ‘tricking’ Chickenhawk into helping. Using hired minions and unwitting pawns were traditional and well-respected tactics of the villain set.
Chickenhawk fired a glowing blue ball at Jack Ass, just as the former hero was getting back to his feet. As soon as the ball of warped gravity hit Jack Ass, he flew up into the air, where Chickenhawk caught him, and then flew him down into the ground.
“Ooooh, that’s gotta hurt,” I said.
Chickenhawk turned to look at me, and said, “Once I’m done with this one, you and I have unfinished business too.”
“Only if you can catch me,” I called back.
Since Chickenhawk was dealing with Jack Ass, I scanned the rest of the fight. Heaven was frantically trying to knock a couple rats off herself, while Muscle had a good hold on the Crimson Kid. However, Crash Test Dummy and Hexagoner 2.0 were trying to position themselves for a ranged attack, that didn’t hit their teammates.
I dove to the side, flinging several throwing spikes, each getting a little extra ‘oomph’ from my power. One of them hit Crash Test Dummy’s shoulder hard enough to punch through his armor and at least an inch into his flesh. He let out a howl of pain.
My other spike was sent flying at Hexagoner 2.0. Suddenly, a shield of glowing red energy appeared in front of her, shaped like a hexagon, of course, and it blocked my spike. I was vaguely annoyed at that, so threw another spike, this time at Heaven. She was too distracted by the rats to dodge or block, and screamed as the spike went right into her thigh.
“I find it hard to believe that YOU managed to kill Miles,” Hexagoner 2.0 spat out in contempt.
“I didn’t,” I responded cheerfully. “A roof fell on him.”
“Regardless,” Little Miss Sequel responded in a flat tone. “I still have to kill you.”
“Really?” I asked with a grin. “First, you have to find me.”
With that, I threw a smoke bomb down at my feet, and when it exploded, I dropped flat to the ground, using my chameleon field to blend in. By the time the smoke had cleared, I was completely invisible, and appeared to have vanished.
“Where did that bitch go?” Crash Test Dummy demanded. “I HATE when she does that.”
There was a flash of red light, and Muscle was suddenly sent flying back, to where he slammed into a wall. The Crimson Kid got back to his feet with an angry snarl on his face, and charged right at Muscle, hitting him hard enough that he slumped over and twitched. It was easy to forget that, while Muscle was strong, he wasn’t invulnerable.
Jack Ass seemed to be down for the count, so Chickenhawk was turning his attention to the other members of the IRS. By this point, Heaven had shaken the rats loose and was floating up in the air so they couldn’t get to her again. And unfortunately for me, that also meant she wasn’t putting weight on her injured leg.
“I’m going to kill you, Imp,” Heaven yelled out, looking around and trying to find me.
I was still in hiding, until I saw an opportunity. Crash Test Dummy had wandered a little too close to me, so with another puff of smoke, I leapt out behind him, threw my hands over his eyes, and exclaimed, “Guess who…”
“Get off me,” Crash Test Dummy demanded, which only made me laugh. He tried swinging around to hit me with his gun, but I used my tail to knock it out of his hands.
“Come on, Crash Test Dummy,” I taunted. “We’re old friends.”
“My name is THE PROVOKER,” he exclaimed.
“The Provoker?” I asked with a laugh. “Wow, that’s totally lame. Crash Test Dummy is WAY better. I mean, you might as well have called yourself Poke it With a Stick Man. LAME.”
“I’m gonna kill you,” he snarled furiously.
I rolled my eyes at that. “You should THANK me for changing it for you. By the way, you’re welcome.”
Crash Test Dummy activated some kind of force field, and suddenly I was thrown off him. I hit the ground and rolled out of the way, only a moment before he swung the blade of his energy sword through the spot where I’d been.
“You cut off my hand,” he accused me. “You turned me into a laughingstock…”
“Well, you did that second part yourself,” I replied, sticking my tongue out at him.
He swung his sword at me again, spitting out, “I’m going to cut off your head, the same way I cut off your tail.”
I felt a flash of anger at the reminder of my pain and humiliation. “You shouldn’t have reminded me of that,” I responded in cold tone.
Crash Test Dummy had already pushed the limits of my patience, and since he was trying to kill me, I didn’t feel the least bit guilty over what I was about to do. I waited until he charged forward, swinging the blade again. This time, I simply dropped down and swung my tail, with my PK aura hardened into a blade around the end, so it sliced right through his leg, severing it just below the knee.
My opponent screamed and grabbed at the stump of his leg, even using the replacement hand from the last time we fought. “Ooops, I did it again,” I sang, kicking the sword away from Crash Test Dummy, and then giving him another swift kick, right in the face.
Before I could properly gloat over Crash Test Dummy, Hexagoner 2.0 and the Red Goat both came at me. I suddenly found myself trapped inside a glowing red hexagon on the ground, while the former hero charged right at me, clearly intending to hit me point blank.
I’d dealt with the first Hexagon, so already had a pretty good idea of how to work around his powers. However, his replacement had never really fought me, and she had no idea what she was getting into.
Reaching into a pouch on my belt, I pulled out a handful of iron shavings and threw them in front of me. The iron messed with the spell, creating an opening that I used to leap out of, right before the Crimson Kid would have hit me.
As I dove to the side, I began singing, “Ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty or more, the bloody red moron, was rolling up the score…”
“Do you ever shut up?” he demanded, taking a swing at me.
“Not really,” I responded in a cheerful tone. “You know, Monster Max was a good buddy of mine, and I’m really not happy with you for getting him killed. I had been willing to walk away and let you live the rest of your life in relative peace, but you had to turn around and pull this shit on me. Yep, you’re really rolling up the score on ways to piss me off.”
“Get out of my way so I can hit her,” Little Miss Sequel yelled out, holding up her staff. “I’m giving this one everything I have…”
She fired a blast of energy, but I grabbed the Red Goat and spun him around, so the blast hit him instead. He screamed as the blast hit is arm, which instantly blackened and crumbled away.
“No,” Hexagoner 2.0 cried out, realizing that she’d hit her ally instead of me.
“Yes,” I responded, kicking the Red Goat in the balls and dropping him the rest of the way to the ground.
Hexagoner 2.0 tried turning her attention back to me, but several rats ran towards her and she began screaming and firing blasts at them, seeming to forget all about me. I took advantage of the opportunity to pull another disappearing act, vanishing in a puff of smoke, with the hopes of sneaking up on her without being seen. I was a thief, not a fighter, and really didn’t like this kind of straight up fight. A few seconds later, Hexagoner 2.0 had created a glowing hexagon on the ground beneath her, similar to what she’d previously used to cage me. However, this time, she was using it to keep the rats out and away from her.
I’d only made it about halfway to Little Miss Sequel, who was still squealing like a frightened schoolgirl over the rats, when Heaven suddenly smashed into the ground, courtesy of Chickenhawk. She staggered and tried getting back to her feet, revealing that her golden energy wings were now flickering and fading away. She looked tired.
“Why are you defending this IMP?” she demanded of Chickenhawk.
“I’m not,” Chickenhawk answered. “As soon as I’m done dealing with you, I’m going to take her in too…”
I smirked at that. Chickenhawk was really playing the role, which shouldn’t have been a surprise, since he was just acting like he always had before, like a stuck up hero with a stick up his butt. Good thing that I now knew there was a lot more to him than that beneath the mask.
Heaven looked to Hexagoner 2.0 for help, and scowled when she saw that the other woman was too busy fighting off the rats to bother with a superhero. Then, she looked at the rest of the IRS, who had been taken out of action due to their injuries.
“I don’t know where you’re hiding, Imp,” Heaven snarled, looking around but not seeing me, thanks to my chameleon field. “But I’m going to destroy you for what you did to me. You can count on it…”
With that, Heaven held her hands out wide, and golden energy swept out, spreading over the battlefield in an eerie golden fog. Then, it all concentrated around the various members of the IRS, until each and every one of them was glowing with a golden aura. An instant later, Heaven and all four of her allies suddenly vanished. The only thing that remained of the IRS, was a severed leg and a lingering stench.
“Teleported,” I mused, dropping a smoke bomb and my chameleon field, so I could make a theatrical reappearance. I looked to where Heaven had been standing and commented, “You know, I still have no idea what she has against me.”
“Why am I not surprised,” Chickenhawk asked as he landed a short distance away, “that you’ve made so many enemies, that you can’t even remember them all?”
“I’m just imp-ossibly talented, I guess,” I responded with a broad grin. Then I cut loose with a maniacal laugh, which was my trademarked supervillain laugh number four, and smugly pointed out, “They paid a heavy price for coming after me.”
“Yeah,” Chickenhawk agreed in a wry tone. “They paid an arm and a leg.”
I gave him a look of mock offense. “You stole my line…”
Chickenhawk looked like he was about to burst out laughing, but he somehow contained it and stood there in self-righteous superhero pose number two, as he announced, “Now, you’re coming with me…”
“I’m afraid I’ll have to take a rain check,” I responded, taking several steps back. Then I gave a sweeping bow, and said, “Adieu,” before throwing a smoke bomb at the ground and pulling my vanishing trick.
Of course, Chickenhawk now knew how my trick worked, but he pretended that he didn’t. “The next time we meet,” he announced, looking around as though trying to spot me. “I will catch you.” And with that, he flew up into the air and left.
Once Chickenhawk was gone, I came out of hiding. The Pink Piper had also come out from where she’d been hiding, and had rushed over to check on Muscle, who was slowly getting to his feet.
“I’m getting too old for this,” Muscle grudgingly admitted. “Perhaps it is time for me to consider retiring.”
“Sipping mai tais on a Karedonia beach,” I commented. “Not a bad life.”
“That does sound pretty nice,” Muscle said.
“But you’re a local legend,” Piper exclaimed. “You can’t retire…”
I saw the way Piper was looking at him and smiled at that. And though I was tempted to play matchmaker, and give them a little push, I decided to keep my nose out of it for now.
“I’ve already sent your payment to your account,” I told Muscle. Then I looked to Piper. “And I’m going to double your payment, as a bonus for the good work.”
“Thanks,” Piper responded with a broad grin. “At this rate, I’ll be able to quit my crappy day job in no time…”
After this, I said some quick goodbye’s to my associates, and hurried away from the area. I didn’t think that the IRS were likely to come back, not for some time at least, but it was possible that all the noise might have attracted some cops or heroes, and that was trouble I wanted to avoid.
I felt a certainly satisfaction that I’d been able to hit the IRS back, and get a little revenge for their ambush a couple weeks ago. However, I was also disappointed that I hadn’t been able to resolve the situation with them a little more permanently. After all, they might have taken some good lumps, but they were bound to be back, even angrier than before. I once spent five years ducking professional assassins and hitmen, who were after a price on my head, so I wasn’t too worried about these jokers. When they did show up again, I’d be ready for them.
“But enough of that,” I mused, grinning to myself as I considered what I had next on my schedule. “A nice long soak in a hot bubble bath, and then, I have to get ready for my date.”
--------------------
The Imp Lair, Manhattan NY, Saturday evening, Nov 3rd, 2007
“I’m too sexy for my tail, too sexy for my tail, I’m too sexy to fail…,” I sang while dancing around my apartment, getting ready for my big date. “Bum, bum bum bum bum. Bum, bum bum bum bum…”
I was filled with a mixture of nervousness and excitement as I got ready. Ryan had asked me out on a real date, and not just for a casual dinner. He’d even told me to dress nicely. I hadn’t been on a dress-up date in over fifteen years, and I was trying hard not to think about how that relationship had ended.
At this point, I was already wearing a little black dress that showed a little more skin and scales than I was really comfortable with. However, if Ryan really was interested in me, then he’d have to deal with the fact that I had a few patches of scales on my body. This dress was as much a test as it was a treat, because if he couldn’t handle my GSD, if he couldn’t handle the real me, then this relationship couldn’t go any further.
Once I was dressed, which included a pair of low heeled black pumps, which would be easy for me to move in, if anything went wrong, I sat down at the makeup table in my bedroom. I rarely used the makeup table or the well-lit mirror on the back of it. After all, I rarely bothered with any kind of makeup.
I looked over my nails, which were naturally all black and clawlike, though it would probably have been more accurate to refer to them as talons. Since my nails had their own natural color, it seemed silly to put colored polish on them. However, I did buff and polish them, giving them a glossy appearance, so they looked almost like I’d put some kind of clear coat on them. While I was at that, I’d also buffed and polished my horns, so that they’d look nice too.
Then, I stared at my face in the mirror, looking right into my own slitted-yellow eyes. Tiny black scales covered most of my upper face, especially on my forehead and cheeks, so that from a distance, it almost looked like I might be wearing some kind of mask. Unfortunately, those scales made it pointless to try putting on any eyeshadow, mascara, or blush. In fact, the only kind of makeup that really worked well for me, was lipstick. I carefully applied some, which was a dark red, which could easily appear black in the shadows. It went well with the color of my horns, scales, and dress.
“Perfect,” I announced, blowing myself a kiss. “But I could use a little oomph…”
Next came the jewelry. I almost never wore any jewelry, other than a pair of stud earrings at most. In my line of work, dangling jewelry could be a serious problem, but tonight, I was making an exception. I put in a pair of earrings, which dangled just a little, though I had to punch new holes in my ears. The problem with being a regenerator was that every time I removed my earrings, the holes would close right up.
“Let’s see,” I mused, slipping on a pair of slender bracelets and a necklace, which were standard fare as jewelry went. Fortunately, I in my magnificence, was anything but standard.
A moment later, I opened the drawer that contained my special jewelry, items which would only work for someone with my more uncommon physical features. I pulled out a couple small bracelets, which were too small for my wrist, but the perfect size for my tail. If I put both of them on, I could snap my tail, and the bracelets would slide along its length, crashing into each other like little cymbals. That was always fun, but the constant jingling when I walked could be annoying. Because of that, I put both bracelets onto my tail, about six inches apart, and fixed them in place with a little spirit gum.
Finally, I pulled out a small collection of rings, which were sized to fit my horns rather than my fingers. I hesitated a moment, then put them back into the drawer. After all, I didn’t want to overdo it and come off as gaudy, like some overly decorated rich woman, who wanted to show off her wealth. Heaven knows, I’d robbed enough women like that, that I certainly didn’t want to be one.
“Dahling,” I said to the Imp in the mirror. “You look mahvalous.”
Once I was ready, I put on my overcoat and hat, covering up the fabulous sight that was me, then slipped out of the Imp Lair. I didn’t like driving, but an event like this demanded something much better than a bus or subway. After all, I couldn’t risk my hair getting messed up any worse than what my hat would do, nor would I risk ruining my dress. Before long, I parked near Ryan’s home, then went up to knock on the door.
The door opened and revealed Ryan, who was dressed in a nice suit. He looked distinguished and handsome, and as I gave him the once over, I smiled appreciatively. Very nice.
“Christine,” Ryan greeted me with a warm smile. He looked me over as well, then said, “I don’t think you’re going to need the disguise tonight…”
“Ooooh, dinner in,” I said with a smile, imagining a nice romantic dinner, with Ryan cooking just for me. I carefully took off my coat and hat, letting Ryan get a good look. “I can’t wait.”
However, instead of responding, Ryan just stared at me for several long seconds. From his expression, it seemed that he liked what he saw. “You look… Wow…”
“Thank you,” I responded with a blush. “You clean up pretty well yourself.”
I started to go into Ryan’s home, when he said, “Actually, I have reservations for us.”
“Reservations?” I asked, a little surprised at that.
I began to put my coat back on, but Ryan held up a hand. “I told you, you won’t need that tonight…” Then he held out his arm, indicating I should take it. “Shall we?”
Ryan led me out to his car, then we drove to the parking garage next to a high end restaurant. My eyes widened slightly at that and I reached for my coat again, but Ryan shook his head and said, “Trust me.” I gave him a wary look but nodded my agreement.
It was strange, leaving my hat and coat in the car, and walking into the restaurant, arm in arm with Ryan, with neither of us wearing a costume. I got a couple odd looks from other customers when we went inside, and a couple looks of obvious disapproval, but nobody actually said anything, at least not in my hearing.
“Someone told me that this place has a reputation for being mutant friendly,” Ryan told me. “The staff won’t allow anyone to harass us.”
“That’s good,” I said, still warily looking around. “I still kind of expect the cops to bust in…”
Ryan smiled faintly at that, then assured me, “I don’t want to bruise your ego, but most normal people have absolutely no idea that the Imp even exists, much less what she looks like.”
I just smiled politely at that, not pointing out that knowing who I was, wasn’t necessary. It was enough to know that I was a mutant with GSD, and that I looked like some kind of demon. Most people seemed to have a bad reaction to one or both of those things, and would often call the cops or MCO on me at first sight. And then, there were the times they decided to deal with the ‘threat’ themselves. I’ve had more than one encounter with a spontaneous lynch mob over the years.
“This is really nice,” I said, appreciating the fact that Ryan was taking me to a place like this, and without either of us being in disguise. While I was nervous about this, it was strangely exhilarating as well. “Thank you.”
“Last week,” Ryan said carefully, “you said you were worried that we might not have a future together, because we couldn’t even afford to be seen together in public. Well, I’ve thought about it, and think that it’s worth the risk.”
I just stared at Ryan in surprise, suddenly getting all teary-eyed. Obviously, I got something in my eyes. And since I wasn’t sure what to say to that, I didn’t say anything.
Dinner was both expensive and delicious, though to my delight, the company was even better. Ryan and I avoided talking business, or at least, the superhero and criminal kind. Instead, we talked about art, about our favorite styles and artists. It was a great conversation, and for awhile, I was able to pretend that I was a normal woman, out on a date with a handsome man.
By the time dessert arrived, nothing shocking or unexpected had happened, so I was feeling pretty relaxed. Somehow, my tail had ended up in Ryan’s lap, and since he didn’t seem to know what else to do with it, he began to pet the flat blade at the end. It felt nice, sort of tickling, but in the good sort of way.
“You know,” I teased Ryan with a mischievious grin, “The blade of my tail there is an erogenous zone.” Ryan suddenly yanked his hand away from my tail, and I burst out laughing. “Just kidding.” I wasn’t. Now, I wished I’d kept my mouth shut, because I’d been enjoying that.
When we were finally done and were starting to leave the restaurant, I noticed a man at one of the tables, who was staring at me with a look of recognition. He looked vaguely familiar, though it took a few seconds before I remembered where I knew him from. Charles Sorren was a former client, who’d hired me to acquire a specific piece of art for him. As I walked past, I gave him a polite nod.
Ryan and I went to a small park across the street from the restaurant and began to walk around. It was eerie being out in the open with Ryan like this, and also kind of romantic. But then, it began to rain.
“Sorry that didn’t work out,” Ryan told me as we rushed back to the car. “How about we just go back to my place and have a few drinks?”
“That sounds good to me,” I practically purred in his ear.
It didn’t take long for us to get back to Ryan’s place, where he promptly pulled out a nice bottle of wine, and we continued our conversation from the restaurant. The one about art, not my tail.
Sometime during the conversation, Ryan got up and went around behind me, and to my surprise, he put his hands on my shoulders. With the dress I was wearing, the tiny black scales that covered much of my neck and shoulders were visible, and he hadn’t hesitated to put his hands on them.
“Your scales,” Ryan said in a gentle tone, as he began to squeeze and massage my shoulders. They’re soft…and smooth.”
“Don’t stop,” I told Ryan with a purr, enjoying the massage. “I never knew that massage was one of your powers…”
Ryan chuckled at that. “Well, you aren’t the only one who keeps a trick or two in reserve.”
“Well,” I responded with a sigh. “If you’d pulled this one out earlier, you might have caught me years ago.”
“Better late than never,” Ryan told me, before bending over to give me a kiss. Our brief kiss ended up becoming a much longer and more passionate one, and I was eager for more. Unfortunately, he let out a sigh and said, “Please excuse my bad timing, but my bladder needs some attention.”
After Ryan went to the bathroom, I decided to do a little snooping. I didn’t have much time, so I went to the ipod that was hooked up into his stereo system. I thought that since I didn’t have time for any serious snooping, so I’d start with his play list. After all, if I discovered that he had a secret and abiding passion for polka, our relationship might be in serious jeopardy.
“Not bad,” I mused, appreciating the fact that a lot of the songs were 70’s and 80’s pop and classic rock. “I can definitely deal with this.”
Then, I noticed one song title that caught my attention, because that song happened to be a perfect match for what I was feeling at that moment. I glanced in the direction of the bathroom, then began to grin.
As soon as Ryan returned, I hit play, and Madonna’s voice began to fill the air. I immediately began to dance in the middle of the living room.
Get into the groove
Boy you've got to prove
Your love to me, yeah
Get up on your feet, yeah
Step to the beat
Boy what will it be.
Music can be such a revelation
Dancing around you feel the sweet sensation
We might be lovers if the rhythm's right
I hope this feeling never ends tonight
Only when I'm dancing can I feel this free
At night I lock the doors, where no one else can see
I'm tired of dancing here all by myself
Tonight I want to dance with someone else
Ryan stopped and stared at me as I danced, and from the look on his face, he definitely appreciated what he saw. I smiled at that, though by this time, I was really caught up in this music, which seemed to echo my own thoughts and feelings, announcing them in a way that I’d never be able to phrase on my own.
Get into the groove
Boy you've got to prove
Your love to me, yeah
Get up on your feet, yeah
Step to the beat
Boy what will it be
Gonna get to know you in a special way
This doesn't happen to me every day
Don't try to hide it love wears no disguise
I see the fire burning in your eyes
Only when I'm dancing can I feel this free
At night I lock the doors, where no one else can see
I'm tired of dancing here all by myself
Tonight I want to dance with someone else
I continued dancing, putting my heart out for Ryan to see. In a way, this was something that was extremely difficult for me, because I had a hard time trusting people, and an even harder time letting them in. But at that moment, it came out far more easily than I could have imagined.
When I looked Ryan in the eyes, I could see the passion burning there, and it filled me with more courage and confidence in what I was doing. I smiled and gestured for him to join me.
Ryan stepped forward, and a moment later, he was in my arms, dancing along with me.
Get into the groove
Boy you've got to prove
Your love to me, yeah
Get up on your feet, yeah
Step to the beat
Boy what will it be
Live out your fantasy here with me
Just let the music set you free
Touch my body, and move in time
Now I now you're mine
Ryan and I were arm in arm, dancing so close that I could feel his body pressed against me. I could feel his heart racing, the beat almost matching my own. At that moment, nothing else existed beyond the two of us.
Live out your fantasy here with me
Just let the music set you free
Touch my body, and move in time
Now I now you're mine
Now I know you're mine, now I know you're mine
Now I know you're mine, now I know you're mine
As the song came to an end, Ryan and I drew even closer, until we were holding each other firmly and kissing with a burning hunger. Without saying a word, we began moving back towards his bedroom, though neither of us took our hands off the other in the process.
Later, I was in was in bed with Ryan closely pressed up against me. I could feel his body heat, and hear the comforting sound of his breathing. My tail was wrapped possessively around his leg, making sure that he remained where he was.
At that moment, I felt a deep sense of contentment, perhaps more than I’d ever felt before in my life. I smiled in satisfaction, and whispered, “Mine.”
--------------------
Manhattan NY, Sunday morning, Nov 4th, 2007
I awoke with Ryan’s arm draped over my body, which was an oddly comfortable position to wake in, yet also a very strange one. It had been over fifteen years since the last time I’d woken up next to someone like this, so I wasn’t used to this kind of close contact with another person.
After remaining where I was for some time and simply enjoying the novelty of this, I carefully began to extract myself from Ryan’s gasp, trying not to wake him. Then, I made my way to the bathroom to relieve myself and get cleaned up.
The whole time I was doing this, I remembered last night, and grinned like an idiot. It wasn’t just the sex. That had been great, but it had just been the cherry on top of a perfect evening. Ryan had taken me out to a nice restaurant, and he’d treated me like a real lady for the evening. But even more important than that, was the fact that he’d been willing to actually be seen with me, without any disguises. I couldn’t remember the last time anyone had taken me out on a date, and had been willing to do so that openly. In fact, I was pretty sure it had never happened before.
Last night had been fantastic, but in spite of that, and the fact that I was beautiful, talented, and fabulous, I still had a small niggling of doubt. What if he saw me this morning and regretted what we’d done? What if he had second thoughts? It wouldn’t be the first time that kind of thing had happened to me.
Once I was done with my shower, I dried myself off but didn’t bother getting dressed. I refused to be embarrassed or ashamed of who and what I was, so if Ryan had changed his mind about wanting to be with me, then I wanted to know it as soon as possible. It might not have been very fair to test him like this, but at least this way, I’d know for sure. In spite of all this, I remained in a good mood. After all, even if the worst case scenario did happen, I still got a great night out of it all.
Since I was up and hungry, I went to the kitchen and began looking around. I was amazed at just how much food was packed into the fridge and cupboards. For someone like me, who got so many of her meals from takeout or delivery, this was quite impressive. In fact, it was impressive enough that I actually felt inspired to make breakfast. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, but that had never stopped me before.
“Let’s see,” I mused as I began pulling things out of the fridge and cupboards.
While I was getting everything out, I began dancing a little, and singing in mock Swedish. I didn’t speak a word of real Swedish, but I was fluent in the mock variety. I finally held up a pan and finished my song with, “Bork bork bork.”
Suddenly, Ryan burst out laughing from the entrance of the kitchen, where he also began to clap. “So,” he said with a grin, “you still do that kind of thing when you’re by yourself…”
“Of course,” I responded with a broad grin. “I am my own biggest fan after all.”
“I can believe it,” Ryan said as he came into the kitchen and looked over everything I’d set out. “I didn’t know you could cook…”
“I am a woman of many talents,” I bragged. But then, I paused and gave him a chagrinned look as I admitted, “But cooking isn’t one of them.”
Ryan seemed amused by that. “Then maybe I should help.”
“Please do,” I told him. “At least if you want anything edible for breakfast.”
However, instead of immediately rushing forward, Ryan remained where he was, giving me an appreciative look, which made me blush and smile at the same time. It seemed that my worries were for nothing, because he was obviously still interested. This was a fact that he proved by giving me another passionate kiss.
After this, Ryan took over the cooking duties, while I used my tail to give him a playful swat on his butt. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Can you shred some of that cheese?” Ryan asked me.
Before long, breakfast started to come together. Cheesy scrambled eggs were being finished up in one pan, while bacon sizzled away in another.
“Mmmmmm, bacon,” I said with a mock drool, in my best Homer Simpson voice.
I reached for a slice of the still sizzling bacon, but Ryan gently slapped my hand away. “Not yet…”
Ryan turned to the pan, then looked back at me and blinked in surprise. I took a bite from a slice of bacon and gave him a look of mock innocence. “What?”
“How did you…?” he started.
“Um…world famous thief,” I reminded him with a smirk. “Surely you didn’t think a piece of bacon would be a challenge.” Then, to rub in in a little, I took another bite. “Om, nom nom nom nom.”
Ryan shook his head at that. “I should have known better.”
“Yes, you should have,” I responded with broad grin.
The bacon was tasty, as were the scrambled eggs, which Ryan topped with chopped scallions. This was definitely a much better breakfast than I ever would have been able to make on my own, though not as good as what the Whateley chefs usually whipped up, not that I was going to tell Ryan that.
When we’d finished eating, we began to clean the kitchen and the dishes, which somehow led to a morning quickie, followed by another shower. By this point, I was ecstatic, since Ryan had convinced me that last night hadn’t just been a fluke, or some impulse on his part. He really was into me, in more ways than one.
Eventually, once we were both dressed, me courtesy of some spare clothes from my car, Ryan asked, “So, what are your plans for today?” He gave me a curious look. “Track down this Imp Revenge Squad?”
“Not today,” I responded with a languid smile. “Though I will put a few feelers out for them. I have a feeling that they’ll be licking their wounds for awhile, but they aren’t gone for good.”
“Too bad,” Ryan said with a sigh. “I’d really hoped that I’d seen the last of Jack Rabbit in Wisconsin.”
I nodded in agreement, sharing the feeling. “There is something I need to take care of today,” I said carefully. “You’re welcome to come along, if you’d like.”
“Sure,” Ryan told me with a smile. “I don’t have anything better going on.”
A short time later, I left Ryan’s place, though he was in the passenger seat of my car, so I didn’t have to say goodbye. Ryan and I had been in a car together on a couple occasions, but this was the first time that it was my car, or that I was the one driving. He had absolutely no idea where we were going, and though he was obviously curious, he didn’t bother asking. He probably figured that instead of giving him a straight answer, I’d make some kind of joke of it. He knew me so well.
I drove into a parking garage, and then parked my car on a back corner, where most people never went. It was near a service elevator, which was usually locked. That was no problem for me, nor were the security cameras, since I’d long since installed a devise, which would loop the footage for a few minutes. Because of that, Ryan and I had some privacy as we rode the elevator up.
“Where are we going?” Ryan finally asked, unable to contain the curiosity any longer.
“Crazy,” I answered with a grin.
The elevator stopped on the seventeenth floor, then I stepped out and looked around the open hallway, making sure that no one was watching. Since this was the back area of the floor, well away from the main elevators and stairs, very few people had reason to come back this far, which was a definite advantage, and one that I counted on.
After I was sure that the coast was clear, I went to the next door over and opened it with a key. However, I didn’t open the door very wide, only a few inches. I slipped my fingers inside the opening, felt for the hidden switch, and flipped it, deactivating the security and the other lock, which would prevent the door from opening any further than this.
“Come on in,” I told Ryan, as I stepped into the spacious and tastefully decorated condo, that was my home away from Whateley.
“Where are we?” Ryan asked, looking around curiously.
“This is the Imp Lair,” I proudly announced. “The Imp Cave. The Fortress of Sol-imp-tude…”
Ryan gave me a look of surprise. “This is where you live?”
“Yep,” I agreed. “Welcome to my home.”
“It’s…nice,” Ryan said carefully. “Not quite what I would have expected…”
“Why is that everyone’s first reaction?” I asked with a wry smile. “I do like nice things, you know…”
“Is that a real Monet?” Ryan gasped, pointing a beautiful painting that hung on the wall.
“A replica,” I answered. After Carson had found this place, I’d moved my stolen pieces to a safehouse as a precaution, including the original painting that this one had been copied from.
Ryan gave me a wry look. “You mean a forgery.”
“Po-tay-toh, po-tah-toh,” I responded cheerfully. “Besides, it’s only a forgery if I’m trying to pass it off as the original. In this case, I’m not, so it’s just a replica.”
“Very nice,” Ryan commented, still looking around. I stood back and let him explore my living room a bit, watching him with amusement. He stopped in front of a display case and asked, “Why do you have an empty scotch bottle here?”
“That,” I explained proudly, “is a special souvenir. I stole the unopened bottle from Bruce Goodkind’s office.” That earned me a look of surprise from Ryan. “And I finished the bottle with Elizabeth Carson, with Lady Astarte, the night she offered me a job at Whateley.”
Ryan gave me a curious look before smiling. “I imagine that you’ve probably collected a few interesting souvenirs.”
“A few,” I agreed. Then I winked at him and added, “Some of them were even obtained legally.” We both chuckled at that.
“I imagine you don’t get many visitors here,” he said, giving me another curious look.
“You’re only the fourth person I’ve ever invited here,” I admitted. “All within the last six months.” Then I paused for a moment before correcting those numbers. “Actually, one of them was uninvited, and just sort of showed up on my doorstep.” It had actually been at my window, but there was no need to nitpick. “And one of the others, was your daughter.”
“Melissa told me that she’d been to your home,” Ryan admitted.
Ryan stared at me for several seconds, and I could see the understanding in his eyes. I’d brought him back to my home, which was a great show of trust on my part. I didn’t show just anyone where I lived. In fact, he was the first person that I’d ever shown how to get here.
While Ryan stared at me, I stared back, until I made my decision. “I’ve collected a lot of souvenirs and treasures over the years,” I said, indicating my display case and a few other items around the room. “But this… This is my most prized possession…”
With those words, I opened a small box and revealed the magic amulet inside. I held it up enough so that Ryan could get a good look at it, though it was obvious from his expression that he had absolutely no idea why that would be my most prized possession.
“This was the payment for a job I did about two years ago,” I said, carefully holding the amulet up, though I made absolutely no move to put it on. “It’s magic.”
“Magic?” Ryan asked, now staring at the amulet with more interest.
“It has a masking charm on it,” I explained, giving him a wry smile. “Basically, it creates an illusion that hides my GSD. It…makes me look the way I would, if I didn’t have GSD. If I wear this, I can look normal.”
Ryan stared at me in surprise, as well as with a bit of confusion. “If you can hide your GSD, then why don’t you use it? I can only imagine how much easier this would make things…”
I was silent for several long seconds, trying to think of how to best explain this. “This is not only my greatest treasure,” I said carefully. “It’s also my greatest secret.” I held up the amulet. “This does more than just let me walk down the street without freaking people out, or let me go onto an airplane as a customer, without having to sneak on board… With this, I can sell my own original artwork, and actually be a legitimate artist instead of just a forger.”
“You…created an alias,” Ryan said in understanding. “You couldn’t risk blowing your cover…”
“I…I gave up a lot of my secrets when we were searching for Melissa,” I explained quietly. “Enough, so that I probably couldn’t have continued in my old career, even if I hadn’t decided to retire.”
“And this was your escape,” Ryan whispered.
“Something like that,” I responded with a forced smile. Then, I decided to change the subject. “So, do you want the nickel tour?”
Ryan blinked at that, then gave me a smile. “Sure.”
I led Ryan to the hallway, pointing to one door. “The guest bedroom, where Melissa stayed when she was my guest. And over here is my bedroom, which you might get an even more personal tour of later…”
“I can’t wait,” Ryan announced, giving me a suggestive look. “I’m definitely looking forward to that personal tour.”
“Me either,” I admitted. Then, I pointed to the third, which I opened up. “And this is my workshop, where all the magic happens…”
We went into the room and Ryan paused, looking around in surprise. I imagined that he’d been expecting a workshop for a professional thief, containing things like lock picks, safe cracking tools, and various other implements of larceny. What he probably hadn’t expected, and should have, was that this was an art studio, with various easels, paints, brushes, and even completed paintings.
“Over here are my finished replicas,” I said, pointing to a collection of paintings that were carefully placed against one wall. “Or forgeries, if you prefer.” Then I pointed to another collection of paintings that were leaning up against the opposite wall. “And these ones are my original pieces.”
“Your original pieces,” Ryan said, his eyes gleaming with interest. He immediately went over to those paintings and began looking over them. “I think you mixed in a few of your forgeries, because these look like Candice Kade works…”
“I should hope so,” I responded a little nervously.
Ryan turned to look at me and froze, his mouth dropping open. I was now wearing my magic amulet, which was hiding my GSD and making me look like a normal person.
“That is the name on my birth certificate,” I finished with a nervous smile.
“Candice,” Ryan gasped in stunned disbelief.
“Candice Christine Kade.” I said, putting a little extra emphasis on my middle name. Then I smiled a little more and exclaimed, “Surprise…”
“You’re…,” Ryan started, though he paused to stare at me and blink. “How…?”
I rested my hand on the amulet, and explained, “When I got this, and decided to create a new identity so I could sell my paintings, I knew that I needed a name. Well, I happened to know of one that hadn’t been used in nearly thirty years, and which had a birth certificate and other paperwork tied to it.” I gave Ryan a wry smile. “And, I figured that since I was going to look the way I would have if I hadn’t been a mutant, I might as well use the name I would have had. So, I used my original name as an alias…”
“Candice,” Ryan started.
“Christine,” I corrected him, perhaps a little sharply. “I haven’t thought of myself as Candice in a very long time. That might be my original name, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s just an alias, not who I actually am.”
“You’re the Imp,” Ryan said in understanding.
“That or Christine,” I agreed.
I carefully reached out for Ryan’s hand, then raised it up so that he could feel my face. He could feel my scales and horns, and understand that I might look like Candice, but underneath, I was still the Imp. This was just an illusion, not who I really was.
“Last June,” I told him with a nervous chuckle. “We were at that art show, and I was showing you my new pieces…”
“I remember,” Ryan said after a few seconds. “You disappeared without warning, and nobody knew where you went…”
With a nod, I reminded him, “While we were talking, Melissa showed up, and you introduced her as your daughter…”
Ryan’s eyes widened at that. “So, that’s how you figured out my identity.”
“Yep,” I agreed, grinning at that. “And oddly enough, that was the same night that Carson came knocking at my door, to offer me a job at Whateley.”
“Oh my God,” Ryan gasped, staring at me with a strange expression. “When Melissa finds out that her favorite artist is also her favorite teacher…”
I burst out laughing. “She already knows.”
“What?” Ryan asked in surprise. “You already told her?”
“Not exactly,” I responded with a smirk. “She figured that out on her own. In fact, she figured out that Candice and the Imp were the same person, at the same time that I figured out that you were Chickenhawk.” I gestured to my original pieces, explaining, “Melissa saw the new pieces I was showing, when she was here as a guest, and figured it out.”
“So,” Ryan said, still looking a little stunned. “When Melissa invited you to her birthday party…and when you gave her that painting…”
“She knew,” I finished with a wry smile.
Since I’d already made my point, I carefully removed my amulet, breaking the illusion so I once looked like my usual, and fabulously attractive self. Then, I stared at Ryan, holding my breath, metaphorically if not physically.
I’d just revealed my original name to the man who’d once been one of my greatest opponents. I’d revealed one of my greatest secrets, and had made myself vulnerable in a way I’d very rarely dared. Ryan now knew that I was Candice Kade, and with a single word, he now had the power to completely destroy my art career and that part of my life. It wasn’t easy for me to give that kind of trust to anyone, but I knew that if I really wanted a relationship, I needed to take this step.
“So,” Ryan said, looking me straight into the eyes. “My favorite artist, and my favorite lady, happen to be the same person. Admittedly, it’s a bit of a surprise, but I think I can consider this a win win.”
Seconds later, Ryan and I were holding each other in a firm embrace, and kissing passionately. At that moment, I felt all warm and gooey, from my lips to the tip of my tail, and I was suddenly certain that I’d made the right decision.
--------------------
Manhattan NY, Sunday late afternoon, Nov 4th, 2007
Time was rapidly running out on my weekend, and in just a couple hours, I had to catch a flight so I could return to Whateley. Strangely enough, I actually had mixed feelings about that.
This weekend had been absolutely great so far. I was able to come back to my home stomping grounds, have fun messing with the IRS, and best of all, I’d spent some pretty intense time with Ryan. I was still a little stunned and amazed by how things had turned out, and that I’d actually told him my original name. My Candice identity was something that I’d never intended to share with anyone, but for some reason, it felt right to share it with him.
But as much as I loved being home and spending time with Ryan, I was also eager to get back to Whateley, where I could walk around in the open, forgoing disguises entirely. And even more importantly than that, I was looking forward to returning to my students.
My students needed me, some more than others, and I took a great deal of pride in helping them learn. Melissa was my apprentice, and I was teaching her the skills of a cat burglar and thief. Monkeywrench had a great sense of humor, and he needed someone to encourage and foster it. Darqueheart wasn’t officially one of my students, but it was still my personal mission to help her, so that she didn’t go into that dark and self-destructive place that I’d seen so many others go before. And then, there was even Aegis. There was no way I could simply abandon them or any of my other students, even for Ryan.
“It’s going to be quite a juggling act,” I mused to myself, wondering how I was going to balance my love life with my teaching responsibilities. It probably wouldn’t be easy, not when our relationship would have to remain long distance if I was going to continue teaching, but Ryan and I were both determined to try.
I still had a couple hours until I needed to catch my flight, but unfortunately, I couldn’t spend that time with Ryan. Whether I liked it or not, I still had some business that I needed to take care of before I could leave, and this was business that I wanted to keep Ryan out of. He might know about my Candice identity, but there were some things I still wasn’t ready to share.
At the moment, I was sitting in a nice restaurant, in my Candice guise. I had a small table, where I was currently sitting by myself. I took a sip of my wine while watching the entrance. I didn’t have to wait much longer before my dinner companion arrived.
“Danny Boy,” I greeted my brother as he sat down across from me.
“That’s Daniel,” he corrected me. Then he let out a sigh. “Hello, Candice.”
“That’s Christine,” I corrected him.
Danny merely nodded acknowledgement. He stared at me for a moment before saying, “Thank you for getting those…investors off my back.”
I took a sip of my wine, then commented, “I bought out their investment in the gallery, and then arranged for them to be too busy to worry about you.”
“Thank you,” Danny repeated quietly.
“You might not want to thank me just yet,” I told him, which earned me a nervous look. “I have no interest in owning a gallery, and I wanted to recoup the money I spent to buy out Richard Dunn, so I turned around and immediately sold the investment…”
“What?” Danny gasped, his eyes going wide with worry.
“Don’t worry so much,” I reassured him with a wry smile. “I spread it out among several legitimate investors, and they’ve promised to remain hands-off. You still own the largest share, and none of the new investors owns a large enough piece to have much leverage.”
Danny hesitated a moment before nodding his acceptance. “I can live with that. In fact, I can live quite well with that.”
“I thought you might,” I responded wryly.
What I didn’t tell Danny, was that each of these ‘investors’ was a fake identity or business, which was really controlled by a single individual. Me. The smart move would have been to get rid of the investment completely, to do exactly what I’d just told Danny that I’d done. In fact, that had been my intention. However, nostalgia over the Moonrise Gallery’s place in my past, and in sparking my love of art, made me reluctant to do this. So whether Danny Boy knew it or not, the gallery remained entirely in the family, with me as his silent and invisible partner.
After this, Danny and I both ordered, though we ate in an awkward silence. I would have thought that after thirty years, we’d have more to talk about than we did. We’d never had much in common, even as kids, and after so much time, we were now almost like strangers.
Still, we kept giving each other sidelong looks, staring while trying to seem as though we weren’t. My brother was probably trying to figure out how I made myself look normal, while I was marveling over how much he looked like our father. It was actually kind of eerie.
Finally, Danny looked me in the eyes, and quietly said, “For what it’s worth…I’m sorry.”
“What?” I asked in surprise.
“I’m sorry that I wasn’t a very good brother,” Danny told me with a regretful look. “I’m sorry that I never even tried to understand what you were going through, and I’m even sorrier about the things I said. I was a dumb kid, not that this is any excuse.”
“That…was a long time ago,” I said, trying to sound as though it had been no big deal.
“At one time, I never would have thought it possible,” Danny continued quietly, “but I’ve missed your laugher and crazy antics.” At this point, it almost felt like he was giving a confession more than he was talking to me. “I don’t think I truly understood what I’d done, until I saw how my own daughter was treated for being different.”
That caught my full attention, and I gasped, “Your daughter is a mutant too?”
“No,” Danny responded with a faint smile and a shake of his head. “Lizzy has Down’s Syndrome.”
“Oh,” I responded, not sure what I could say to that. I was vaguely aware that Danny Boy had a family of his own, but I didn’t know any specifics. In fact, I’d intentionally avoided learning about them. It was strange, to suddenly realize that I had a niece, whom I’d never even known about.
“At first,” Danny admitted, looking ashamed, “I wondered if God gave her Down’s to punish me… But now, most of the time, I think he gave her to me, to give me another chance. A chance to be more understanding. I like to think that I’m a better father than I was a brother.”
My heart felt like it was jumping up into my throat, and I tasted an odd mixture of sympathy and old resentments. I felt sorry for the girl, for Lizzie, and I hoped that Danny really was a better father than he’d been a brother. And at the same time, the thought of Danny having a child, reminded me of that particular absence on my own life.
“How old is she?” I asked, not sure if I even had the right to ask.
Danny gave me a proud smile. “Seventeen. And Lizzy is the sweetest girl you’ll ever meet.”
We were silent for nearly a minute, as neither of us was sure where to go with the conversation. Then, Danny abruptly said, “The Asterisk came to see me.”
“Oh?” I responded, narrowing my eyes. “He promised me that he’d leave you alone.”
“He just asked if I’d be willing to testify against Dunn,” Danny said.
I gave him a curious look. “And?”
“And I told him I’d think about it,” Danny admitted. “But only if Dunn and his people couldn’t hurt me or my family.”
“I assured Dunn, that you wouldn’t be a problem,” I warned, “so don’t do anything to draw his attention back to you.”
Danny nodded his understanding. “While Asterisk and I were talking, he said that you told him, that I was paying you with a painting from my personal collection.”
“Well, I couldn’t tell him why I was really helping you,” I responded, giving Danny Boy a wry look.
“No,” he admitted. “You couldn’t.” Then, he stared at me for several seconds before adding, “But I suppose that story is rather appropriate, considering this…”
Danny Boy held up a cardboard tube that he’d brought into the restaurant with him, then handed it to me. I accepted the item, feeling a little confused.
“I’m sorry for how I behaved when I was younger,” Danny told me as he got up from the table, giving me a sad look. “And I’m even sorrier that I lost my sister because of it. I can’t really imagine what kind of life you must have lived, or what your life is like now. All I can do is wish you good luck.”
“Thank you,” I responded, giving a faint smile.
“Goodbye, Candice,” Danny said as he turned to leave.
“Goodbye, Danny Boy,” I responded quietly.
Once Danny was gone, I waited nearly a minute before my curiosity got the best of me and I opened the cardboard tube. It was a poster case, with some prints rolled up inside. No, just some posters.
When I rolled open the posters, I saw that the one on top was an old Led Zeppelin poster, which confused me a little as I couldn’t imagine why Danny Boy would give me something like that. Underneath that was a poster of David Cassidy. At this point, I was starting to get a sense of deja-vu, as both posters seemed real familiar.
Then, I looked to the third and final poster, and immediately let out a gasp of surprise. It was a poster of Ms. Might, which had only been offered to members of her fan club, which I had been at the time I’d first been given this poster. There on the bottom corner, was her autograph.
For a moment, I just sat there, staring at these posters. I remembered buying the first two along with my friend Suzie Q, and the last… At one time, this autographed poster of Ms. Might, had been my greatest and most valued treasure. However, I’d left it behind when I ran away from home, along with nearly everything else I’d owned.
I couldn’t believe that Danny Boy had somehow held onto these posters for all these years, or that my parents hadn’t thrown them out after I’d left. I felt a little teary eyes, though I wasn’t quite sure why. Then, I shook my head, rolled the posters back up, and carefully placed them back into the tube.
“Wow,” I said, my voice shaking just a little. “I never thought I’d see that thing again.”
After this, I quickly paid my bill, then got up to leave. I still had a plane to catch, but now I was going to have to make a stop back at the Imp Lair before going back to Whateley. I needed to put these posters in a safe place, and one where nobody at Whateley would ever see them.
“If Carson ever learns I have that poster,” I said with a sigh, “I’ll never live it down.”
--------------------
New York, Tuesday, Nov 6th, 2007
The woman called Heaven looked around the hotel room, where most of her allies were gathered. It had taken a great deal of time and effort to track down enough people with strong grudges against the Imp, and even more to convince them to join her in a mutual quest for revenge.
Heaven was furious, that after her work and preparation, the Imp still lived. And to make the situation even worse, was the fact that they’d suffered serious injuries, ones that would make further efforts against that hellspawn more difficult.
Mistress Hex had escaped from their last encounter unscathed, save for several rodent bites, which required tetanus shots and minor treatments. However, her pride had been damaged, and until Saturday, she alone had been without a personal grudge against the Imp. That had now changed.
The one called Crash Test Dummy was sitting down in a chair, with his helmet on the ground beside him, right next to his crutches. His leg, or what was left of it, was heavily bandaged, and served as a grim reminder of just how dangerous their prey could be.
“The Black Cross,” Crash Test Dummy told the Crimson Kid. “He’s one of the best medics you can find for the black hat set, and he can work wonders.” He held up his hand and said, “He’s the one who hooked me up with this prosthetic, and once I can get in to see him, he’ll take care of my leg.”
“Do you think he can do something about THIS?” the Crimson Kid demanded in an angry tone, holding up the stump of his arm and giving Mistress Hex a venomous glare.
“No problem,” Crash Test Dummy told him. “Just as long as you’re able to pay his fee. Trust me, you don’t want to screw him on his payment. The man is a miracle worker, but he doesn’t exactly follow the Hippocratic oath.”
“Where is Jack Rabbit?” Heaven demanded. “He knew we were supposed to meet here to discuss our next move.”
Seconds later, the door opened and Jack Rabbit entered the room, only to pause and look around. A look of disdain crossed his face when he saw Mistress Hex and Crash Test Dummy, both of whom were professional criminals. He actually seemed to like the Crimson Kid, because of their similar background as heroes, though he was undecided about her.
“Jack Rabbit,” Heaven said, fixing her gaze on him. “You were supposed to be here twenty minutes ago.”
“Don’t call me that anymore,” Jack Rabbit responded bitterly. “Jack Rabbit was my hero name, and that ugly bitch took that away from me, along with my powers and everything else.”
“So, what do you want us to call you?” Crash Test Dummy asked. Of course, Heaven thought, he would be sensitive about using someone’s preferred name.
“Jackalope,” the former hero anwered. “From now on, I’m Jackalope.”
“Well…Jackalope,” Mistress Hex said. “Now that you’re here, we can begin.”
“Actually,” Jackalope said with a smirk. “I’ve got a good reason for being late.”
“And that is?” the Crimson Kid asked him.
Jackalope seemed to puff himself up a little as he began to explain. “I put word out to some of my old associates, that I’m looking for the Imp. I’m late, because I was talking to one of them.”
From Jackalope’s pleased expression, Heaven was sure that he had good news. “Yes?” she encouraged him, eager to hear what he’d learned. “You have something?”
“Yes,” Jackalope responded with a malicious smile. “Sureshock told me that we can find the Imp at Whateley Academy.”
THE END