Monday, February 21, 2011

Chapter 21 Sem. 2 Wk 3

“You get to have all of the fun,” America told Lawrence for the fifth or so time as they watched the news in the common room. He and America had the couch while Cloud and Blue were sitting on the love seat and Torch leaned against the couch on the floor.

“I know,” Blue said. “We just watched Romeo signing autographs all afternoon. Even the criminals wanted his signature.”

“And some hooker offered him a freebie,” Cloud added with a scowl.

“We didn’t see anything,” America said with a sigh. “I really need to catch Dark Lothario this time,” she said. “He can’t keep doing this.”

You need to catch?” Blue asked. “You’re not going to catch him. You’re just a kid, like the rest of us. We don’t know what we’re doing yet.”

Lawrence nodded in agreement. Glory took all of this so seriously, when the truth was, they didn’t know what the hell they were doing. He couldn’t even look Stone in the eye after the disaster the previous weekend. Torch had gotten all of the points--everyone was so thrilled for him, catching the bad guy. Not that Ratface Jones had been so bad. He’d been mostly pitiful…

Lawrence heard the door open and turned his head to see Black enter the room. He’d been with the girls and Romeo all Saturday afternoon. That must have been fun. “KP,” Black said. “Can I borrow you for a minute?”

“Sure.”

“More secrets,” America said. “What are you two up to?”

“It’s classified,” Lawrence muttered as he got up. “I’ll only be a few minutes.”

He ignored America’s dirty look and followed Black out to the loading dock. This time Black got as far as making him get into his car. “Well,” Black asked once they were settled in the front seats. “Anything weird about this Ratface guy?”

“He and Stone seemed to know each other,” Lawrence said. “He seems to be a repeat offender. They were almost friendly, except that Stone hit him a couple times. Stone said Ratface wasn’t lying. What’s going on?”

“Probably nothing,” Black said. “Thanks. You were a big help.” Black gestured that he could get out of the car. “And remember,” he added as Lawrence opened the door. “Trust no one.” Lawrence paused to stare at him. Black smiled. “That was a joke.”

“Oh. Great.”

“Really, everything’s fine.”

When Lawrence got back to the common room Captain Righteous had taken over his seat, and America was beaming at him as he told stories about fighting crime with his father, Captain Honor. Lawrence pretended he wasn’t annoyed with this and went over to the kitchen to find something to eat.

*****

Lola clutched the bag of Chinese food in one hand, and a bag magazines in the other as she made her way through the warehouse. The henchman guarding the door opened it for her without comment, and Patricia got up from her cot, setting aside the magazine she had been reading. She was wearing a purple sweat suit and her hair was clean and pulled back into a French braid, looking much better than she had the first time Lola had seen her. After talking to a few of the guards an agreement had been reached, and she and Patricia were beginning to develop a rapport.

“Hey,” Patricia said. “Did you remember the extra egg rolls?”

“Yep,” Lola said. Patty sat down at the desk shoved into one corner of the room and Lola pulled up an extra chair to the other side. “Did they get your cable hooked up?”

“Yeah,” Patricia said. “I got to watch news coverage of my own kidnapping.” She reached into the bag and pulled out a container of fried rice. “Poor daddy.” She sighed. “He just doesn’t have the money for the ransom--but Dark Lothario knew that.”

“He did,” Lola said.

“You know, it’s not so much the sex that bothers me,” Patricia said. “I mean, besides being evil he’s not so bad looking, and I’m an open, modern sort of girl. It’s the videotaping. Can’t you convince him not to tape it? I don’t want to end up a bad internet joke.”

“Some people would love to be an internet joke,” Lola offered, both of them knowing how fruitless this conversation was. Patricia was doomed, and by letting it happen, Lola felt doomed herself. “Look, I brought you the new Cosmo, and the New Yorker if you want something a bit more intellectual…”

“Goody. More magazines.”

“It’s only for a few more weeks,” Lola offered. “Do you want some books? What do you like to read?”

Patricia let out a short laugh. “I told my father he should have taken the deal when Dark Lothario offered it to him.”

“What deal?” Lola asked, interested.

Patricia took a bite of her egg roll before answering. “I know it’s a bad habit, but I have this thing about listening to phone calls on the other line. You hear some interesting stuff as the mayor’s daughter. Dark Lothario has been buying up large portions of the west side, and he wanted to get hold of some city-owned buildings. My father and the city council of course said no. And I have to pay for it.”

“What on earth does he want with the west side? It’s junk.”

“My guess? Nothing says power like owning an entire city. And whatever Dark Lothario wants, he gets.” She stabbed a piece of sweet and sour pork with her chopsticks. “Including me.” She glanced over at Lola. “And you.”

Lola nearly choked on her food. “What? No, not me. Never.”

“He’s still got you,” Patricia said. “Just not the same way. Do you like it? Being his minion?”

“I’m not--”

“Maybe my father was right to say no. If he buys out the city we’ll all be his minions. Whether we like it or not.”

A ruckus outside of the room made them turn their heads, and through the windows looking into the warehouse they saw the man himself, wearing a pinstriped suit and a fedora, playing the role of old-time gangster. He had a team of people with him, as usual. Lola met his gaze and he raised a hand and crooked his finger in a ‘come here’ motion.

“Busted,” Lola muttered, setting down her carton of rice and getting to her feet. Across the desk Patricia cringed. “All under control,” Lola lied, and went out to meet him.

“I didn’t authorize this,” Dark Lothario said, glaring at her.

Lola squared her shoulders but avoided looking him directly in the eye, just in case. “I don’t need your authorization to do anything.”

“You don’t, do you? You can pretend you’re not afraid of me, but we both know that’s just not true.” Lola didn’t reply. “If you weren’t afraid, that little girl would be gone, right? You don’t like what I do.”

“It’s depraved,” Lola answered.

“Is it? What about those little minions of yours? This is a dangerous game you’re playing. Let me guess--you programmed them for utter devotion, right? Would they die for you?”

“I--” The simple answer was yes. “They love me,” she said simply.

“Because you make them. You’re right to be afraid of me though. Maybe you can control weak minds, minds looking for direction, for purpose. But I am not weak, and I have a purpose. You are only here because you are useful. I suggest you stay that way, and not make trouble.”

Lola’s temper was flaming, but she managed to keep an outward cool. Maybe she was afraid of him, but it was a temporary situation. She was more powerful--they both knew it. “Mr. Lothario,” she said, giving him the sweetest smile. “I’m working with you right now because this is a mutually beneficial situation. You get my skills, I get the opportunity to be seen with powerful people. But my plans are bigger than your little town. You don’t impress me.”

Her heart was beating in her chest as she walked off, but glanced back to see the group of people descend upon Patricia. She would turn back if she thought she could do anything, but it would do no good.

*****


Glory came home awash in a super-hero glow. Captain Honor had never been one of her favorite heroes--gold armor was somewhat less flattering than Romeo Avenger’s poets’ shirt and tights--but listening to the stories Righteous had been telling them was fascinating, and not even KP, glowering in the corner for some reason, could bother her. She was a hero, like Captain Honor. She was going to make the world a better place.

Her mood darkened a little when she found Lola sitting on the couch with her books. Lola had felt a little distant since coming back from France, and Glory knew it was because of the argument they had had, but she didn’t know how to fix it. She couldn’t change the way she felt, and she knew Lola didn’t want to change either. Her friend wasn’t a bad person, not at all. But she and Glory, they weren’t the same, and now that Glory was in the league it was becoming ever the more apparent.

“Hi,” she said, sitting down on the other side of the couch. “Mind if I turn on the TV?”

“Go ahead,” Lola replied, barely looking up. Glory sighed, hitting the remote. The local news station blinked onto the screen. “Can’t we ever watch anything else?” she complained immediately. “A game show, a sitcom--anything!”

“--Breaking news this evening. We have received video from Dark Lothrio not ten minutes ago.”

“Sitcoms!” Glory cried. “Shut up!”

Glory remembered the happy, shining girl from New Years, in her white dress, her show-girl smile. All of that was gone when the video came up on screen. Patricia Wilkinson sat on a bed wearing an almost transparent red negligee and high heels. Her hair spilled over her shoulders, but she did not look the least bit wanton. Instead she looked frightened and pale, her mascara running from tears. “I won’t,” she was saying to someone off screen, and Glory winced when that someone reached into frame and slapped her across the face. Lola sat up straighter and set aside her books.

“Daddy,” Patricia said into the camera, blinking back tears. “I just wanted to let you know that I’m okay. They’re--they’re not mistreating me--much--” she shot the man off camera a dirty look. “I just want to come home.”

Dark Lothario stepped into frame, sitting on the bed next to her. He was fully dressed, his goatee perfectly groomed as he smiled at the camera. “John Wilkinson,” he said, putting a hand on Patricia‘s shoulder. “Do you see what happens, when I don’t get my way?” His hand slipped lower, towards her breast, but Patricia slapped it away.

Dark Lothario responded by grabbing her roughly by the back of the neck and forced her to kiss him. She struggled, beating her fists against his chest, but he was stronger than he looked, middle-aged and overweight as he was. As soon as he let her go she fled from the scene, and Dark Lothario stood up again, stepping closer to the camera. “The next time I do that,” he said, “she’s going to want
it. And the entire world will see it streaming live on the internet. Next time you might want to think twice before you tell me no.”

Glory didn’t realize she was crying until Lola touched her shoulder, but she pulled away from her friend. “Don’t touch me!”

“I’m sorry,” Lola said, sitting back.

“What do you care? You don’t care--you think he’s funny, a joke. You think--”

“Don’t tell me what I think, Glory,” Lola spat back. “You don’t know what I think--you have no idea.” She pointed at the television. “I do not like that man, okay? He’s a controlling, self-important, condescending asshole. I want him taken down as much as you do. So give me a break, okay?”

Stunned, Glory could only stare at her friend. “Okay.”

“I’m going to help you take him down, Glory. Don’t worry.”

“How are you going to do that?”

“I don’t know.”

*****

A/N: Late again, I know. This semester is just draining me, between taking 15 credits, losing my house and my cats. Whenever a chapter is late, assume it is because I'm having a nervous breakdown (that's only half joking). So this is chapter 21, and I have plans for 33 total, so that means twelve more weeks of this story. It took 3 drafts of outlines to get me to the point where I'm happy with my second half. I tend to outline too big and then have things fall apart at the half-way point, but this one I think is going to hold together.

After that, who knows. I'm working on two other projects now--a fairly mainstream fantasy piece and a definitely not mainstream coming of age story. Dunno if I'm going to post either online. We will see.

Fiona--thanks for the awesome review on Web fiction guide. You describe my story so much better than I do. And it's not white on black--it's off-white on grey. :)

Friday, February 11, 2011

Ch 20 sem. 2 wk 2

Glory felt a little nervous going into their class with Valkyrie and Stone, and clutched at Lawrence’s hand when they walked into the room. Valkyrie was already there, drinking coffee and leaning on one of the chairs. Glory did not like it at all. Normally her teacher stood tall, hands on her hips or behind her back, focused only on the subject at hand. Stone was nowhere in sight, and three minutes after class was supposed to begin Valkyrie sighed, put down her coffee, and turned to the class.

“I hope everyone had a good vacation,” she said. “And you’re all ready to dig into your second semester.” They were silent and staring, all fully aware of what had happened on New Years, even if the others hadn’t been there.

“This second semester will be the most important months of your training, and at then end--oh for Christ’s sake.” Glory looked around and saw that Righteous was ducking his head, Blue was doodling on her notebook, and even Lawrence was looking at her instead of Valkyrie. Glory was the only one willing to look her in the face.

“Look you guys, I’m sorry I disappointed you. Not every crime turns in our favor.”

“But you just stood there,” Righteous said.

The room turned as icy as Valkyrie’s glare. “Ask your dad about his encounter with Medusa. Ask him about the time Doctor Paradise nearly phased him to death and I had to freeze the particle accelerator in it’s path, or when Time Warp sent him back to 1987! That was not a good year!”

“I’d rather not,” Captain Righteous said in a small voice.

“It’s very rude to point out a hero’s shortcomings in their prescience,” she continued. “We are not sitting on our hands doing nothing. Every action is being taken to track down Dark Lothario and his accomplices, The Mistress of Minds and Trapdoor Spider.” So that was the other guy, Glory thought.

Her hand shot into the air. “Please, can we help?”

“Yes.” That wasn’t what Glory had been expecting, but she, and everyone else in the room, was pleased. A low murmur broke out among them and Valkyrie had to hush them. “One of our first assignments this year is to go out into the streets. You‘ll be broken up into groups, and a teacher--” Valkyrie cut off when Stone entered the room. She looked like she wanted to lash out, and Glory could see frost building up on the window behind her. Glory waited to see what would happen, but Stone just picked up where he interrupted Valkyrie.

“You’ll be broken up into three groups this week,” he said. “Saturday, instead of your combat class, we will go out into the west side and patrol for crime. This will include hunting down information on the mayor’s daughter.”

“America and Captain Righteous will be with me,” Valkyrie said, and Glory felt a warm, fuzzy feeling, to work with Valkyrie. “Black, Cloud, and Blue will go with Romeo Avenger.”

“Which means Torch, Chameleon, and KP will be with me,” Stone finished. “Now, just because we’re letting you off your leashes doesn’t mean you’re ready to fight real crime. You stay with your group and do what you’re told, or you’re out of the program. Understand?”

Glory sat back in her chair, not happy. Everything gets you kicked out of the program.

*****

Lawrence walked down the hall with America, heading towards the lounge with some of the others, when Black surprised him by falling into step next to him. “KP, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Uh, sure.” Black barely talked to anybody.

“In private.”

“I am private,” America protested.

“It’ll only be a minute,” Black promised her, and KP found himself being pulled down the hall and outside.

“Is there a reason we’re out in the cold?” Lawrence asked, pulling his coat on.

“I don’t want to take any chances,” Black said in a low, soft voice. “Can you do me a favor?”

“Probably.”

“Just…keep an eye on things this Saturday, okay?”

“Uh…sure. Am I looking for anything in particular?”

Black adjusted his tie. “Not really.”

“Can you tell me why I’m doing this?”

“Well….”

“Okay, I get it. Classified, right?”

“It’s just a costume,” Black insisted, voice monotone. “I knew I could count on you, KP.”

“No problem,” he said, more confused than anything.

“And KP? Don’t mention this to anyone else. I don’t want people asking a lot of questions about what’s going on.”

“What is going on?”

“See you later, KP.” Black hurried off down the quad, and Lawrence went back inside, where no doubt America would try to pry the conversation out of him, and he had no idea what it had been about.

*****

Lola was feeling very contrary as she sat next to Lawrence during English Comp on Thursday. “I hate you,” she whispered to him in the middle of class.

“Well, I’m not too happy with you either,” he replied.

“With me! I’m not the one with the girlfriend behind my back!” Or a secret identity as a super hero.

“Why did you come to my dorm room? It wasn’t because you’re so desperately in love with me, so what’s the big deal? I can’t believe I betrayed her like that--I didn’t even want to--”

“Excuse me, Mr--” Professor Murphy looked down at his seating chart. “Lawrence. Perhaps you and Ms.--” Another glance at the chart, “Ms. Merriweather would like to break up in the hall instead of the middle of my classroom?”

Around them the class laughed, and Lola felt herself flush. “We’re done sir,” she answered.

“Yes, you are. Get out of my class.”

Lola made sure she made as much noise as possible leaving the room, and felt a little better for it. She glared at Lawrence out in the hallway. “Now see what you’ve done?”

“What I’ve done! You--” he stopped himself mid-sentence. “Look, lets go get some coffee.”

“I don’t want any freakin’ coffee,” Lola replied, yet somehow she found herself following him.

They settled into a corner of the cafĂ© in the student center, their conversation masked by the noise around them. “I didn’t mean to hurt you,” Lawrence told her. “I didn’t know what I was doing, and I fixed things the best I could.”

“By dumping me.”

“We weren’t dating--we were making out in your car. I’ve got a lot on my plate right now, and I’m doing the best I can. I’m sorry.”

“Well, screw you.“

“That’s real mature.”

Lola crossed her arms over her chest. Of course dating Glory would be easier on him. No secrets, no difficulties. Well, she knew all about keeping secrets. She felt like she was keeping everyone’s secrets, and she didn’t know why. The explosion of putting it all out in the open would be terrible. Lawrence’s love triangle, all their secret identities revealed. Glory and Lawrence would finally see the three of them in the truth that Lola had to live with every
day.

She wondered who it would destroy the most. Glory, Lawrence, or her.

*****

Lola’s bad mood continued that afternoon when she stalked into the Red Door Club, Kioshi and Hannah flanking her in their matching black coats. Dark Lothario and his men had been making themselves scarce since the kidnapping, and Lola was not happy. She wanted to check on Patricia, to make sure she was okay. She was a part of the kidnapping--they had no right to leave her out of the loop.

She was in luck--Trapdoor Spider was at the bar when she entered the club. Approached him from behind and kicked the stool out from under him. Spider lurched forward and hit the bar, splashing his beer across the top.

“What the hell was that for?” he demanded when he got his footing and turned around. As soon as he saw who he was dealing with his eyes dropped to the floor. “Oh. It’s you. The Lothario said I would have to deal with you eventually. And look--you brought some brainwashed pets.”

“Where’s Patricia?”

“Somewhere safe.”

“I want to see her.”

“Not going to happen. The Lothario doesn’t trust you. You’re too…moral.”

“This is my deal too,” Lola countered. “You couldn’t have pulled it off if I hadn’t worked crowd control. There were four heroes in training wedged in there. I kept them at bay.”

“How do you know that?” Spider’s head shot up, and Lola knew she had made a mistake. “Four? More than that blond bitch? What do you know? Who do you know?”

“It’s time to go,” Lola said, thinking quickly. There were at least a dozen people in the bar. For all she knew they all worked for Dark Lothario. But when she tried to leave, only Spider followed her.

In the alley Spider grabbed her. “He’s going to get you for holding out on him. If you have information about the League-

“Hannah, Kioshi,” Lola said, and the two grabbed him, Hannah holding his arms behind his back and Kioshi wrenching his head up so Lola could look him in the eye.

“You are not going to tell Dark Lothario Anything about me.”

“Lemmie go--”

“I don’t know anything about the league. And you’re going to take us to see Patricia.”

“I hate you,” Spider said when she released him. “Whatever you just did to me, you’re not going to get away with it.”

“We’ll see about that,” Lola said. “Now, Patricia?”

“This way,” he grumbled, and they followed him out of the alley.

Spider took them to a warehouse a few blocks away. Lola noted that the boxes were all marked Wyler Industries. She might have cut the head off the company the fall before, but Dark Lothario had obviously worked that to his advantage. Was there no way to win against him?

They were keeping Patricia in a windowed office. There was a desk, a cot, and a television in the room, but nothing else. The girl stood up when she saw Lola. She was still wearing the same dress she had been kidnapped in and her hair was unbrushed, pulled into a messy ponytail.

“Finally!” Patricia exclaimed when one of Dark Lothario‘s henchmen let Lola into the room. “You gotta get me out of here.”

“I can’t,” Lola lied, knowing that she could, but what good would that do. “Are they treating you okay? You look terrible.”

“They treat me okay as in food and bathroom, but that’s about it,” Patricia scowled. “I want a shower! I want clean clothes, and this TV only gets in PBS! Look, break me out and I’ll make it worth your while. My father has friends in high places--you wont be charged--”

“I would if I could.”

“I’m not happy,” Patricia said, her bottom lip quivering.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

*****

Glory listened to the clanking of Righteous’ gold armor as they walked through the West side, following behind Valkyrie. It was cold and there was no one around, proving that Acropolis’ criminal element had enough sense to go inside when it snowed. “I’d love to get my hand s on that Mistress of Minds,” Righteous said.

“She’s not that good looking,” Glory snapped, annoyed with the cold, with the lack of suspects. She wondered if the other groups were having any better luck. She picked up her pace until she was a few steps in front of Righteous.

“Oh, I don’t care about that,” Righteous said. “It’s what she does--the way those cops just stood frozen in their place. Mind control,” he clanked with a shiver. “It’s the worst thing you can do to a person.” Glory stopped, and Righteous, peering into an empty window, ran into her. “Hey!”

Glory spun around, looking at Captain Righteous in a completely different light. “It is the worst thing,” she said. “I completely agree.”

*****

“Why--” Gasp. “Didn’t we--” Gasp. “Get a person with super speed?” Lawrence tripped and nearly sprawled across the pavement. Torch, also struggling to keep up, stopped next to Lawrence and glared at the guy they were chasing. Stone almost had him, but the guy was small, fast and wiry--much better at maneuverability than the heavy, clomping Stone.

Torch held up his hand and closed his eyes, and Lawrence nearly yelled when a small explosion erupted from the dumpster their guy was about to climb over. He yelled and fell backwards, giving Stone a chance to catch up and grab him by the collar.

“That was amazing! When did you learn how to do that?” Lawrence asked Torch as they jogged to catch up.

“I dunno. I’ve just felt calmer the last few weeks. I have more control.”

“Good job, Torch,” Stone told him when they reached the dumpster. Only the garbage had been burned, the dumpster intact, and Stone had the henchman shoved up against it.

“That was the coolest,” Chameleon’s voice said from somewhere, and Lawrence caught some movement as a brick colored figure stepped closer.

Torch shrugged. “No big deal.”

“It is a big deal,” Stone said. “Did it occur to either of you to use your powers?”

“What was I supposed to do?” Chameleon asked. “If you hadn’t started chasing him without warning I could have gotten ahead and grabbed him as he tried to run. I do best in stealth situations.”

Stone nodded, seeming to accept her excuse. Lawrence, however, did not have one. He should have thrown a garbage can at the guy or something. The Golden Swami would have been able to lift the guy up by the ankle and leave him hovering until the others caught up. “I’m sorry,” Lawrence mumbled. “I didn’t think about it.”

“Well, next time, think.”

“Excuse me,” the henchman interrupted, “but I don’t have all day. So if you could just beat whatever you want out of me and give me a ride to the hospital, that would be great.”

“I’m teaching,” Stone told him.

“I bet you’re a wonderful teacher,” he laughed. Stone slammed him against the dumpster again. “Ow!”

“This is Ratface Jones,” Stone explained to them. “He’s the smallest of the small fry, but he likes to be around people more important than he is.”

“Pleased to meet you kids,” Ratface said. “Lets make this easy. I don’t know nothing about Dark Lothario, okay? I’m too low to shine his shoes.” He glanced at Stone. “You know it’s true.”

“Who said anything about Dark Lothario?” Lawrence asked.

“Who else would you be looking for? Like the man said, I ain’t important.”

“C’mon,” Stone said. “I’m sure you can give me something.” Stone’s punch to Ratface’s stomach made Lawrence wince. Being hit by the Granite Man had to be worse than a normal fist. “Try again.”

“I’m outta work, Boss. Times are hard, and you know I‘m not the most popular guy--I think it‘s because when I was a kid--”

“You’re babbling,” Chameleon said. “Can I hit him?”

“Be my guest,” Stone said, stepping aside but still holding onto Ratface.

“C’mon, don’t be like this--” Chameleon went for his face, hitting him dead on in the nose hard enough for his head to bang up against the dumpster behind him. “Ow, okay? Ow. That’s enough. If I knew anything I would tell you.”

“We know you work for the Mistress of Minds,” Stone told him. “You were caught on video with her when she took over the police station.”

“A one-time gig. C’mon Boss. She doesn’t like henchmen. She likes minions, you know? Zombie types that hold on to her every word. That chick is into control, you know? I’m not exactly her type. The chick may be hot, but she’s a cool customer. Doesn’t like surprises. She does, however, let me shine her shoes if I ask nice…”

Stone let go of him. “You’re useless. Get out of here.”

“A pleasure doing business,” Ratface said to him. He turned to Chameleon, who was beginning to fade into the background again. “You did a wonderful job hitting me. And fire-kid? I’ll tell Inferno to watch out for you.”

“Great,” Torch replied, and Ratface scurried off.

“Did we learn anything?” Lawrence asked. “How do you know when he’s telling the truth?”

“You’ll start interrogation techniques next semester,” Stone told him. “You’ll learn to tell the difference between a lie and a truth. Come on. Let’s get out of the cold. I’m disappointed in you, KP. You should have done better back there.”

Lawrence walked back a the rear of the group, both ashamed at being called out in front of everyone, and disappointed in himself too. Stone was right. He could have done better.

*****

A/N: Sorry for the lateness with the second half of the chapter. It's been a long weekend. (and not in a good way)

Monday, February 7, 2011

Ch 19: Sem 2, wk 1

Lawrence felt a certain sense of foreboding as he and Torch drove back to Acropolis the day before the new semester started. They were wearing masks again--it seemed so strange now. He had quickly grown used to Torch’s scars--he barely saw them when he looked at his friend, but Torch seemed more confident with his mask back on. “Dark Lothario is not going to let this one go,” he was saying as they drove into town. The car’s radio was playing the local news, with people calling in to give their opinion if the whole Dark Lothario fiasco:

The problem is the legal system,” one caller was saying. “They put freaks like him in the looney bin, only to release them in a few months or a year. The man isn’t crazy, he’s a criminal. We need to treat him as such.

“The dude has a point,” Torch said.

“The whole system is corrupt,” Lawrence agreed. “No doubt he buys off juries, the prosecutor, hell, even the judge. Between the ransoms and the sales of his DVDs the man must be the richest in the city. I would say the corruption goes all the way up to the mayor, if his own daughter hadn’t been kidnapped.”

Torch shook his head. “You’d think the league would be more on top of this.”

“For all we know, he’s passing them money too,” Lawrence said, reacting instead of thinking.

“Not possible,” Torch said, and Lawrence quickly amended himself. The rest of the drive was done in near-silence.

*****

Glory had been watching the television all week. While they played the footage of the kidnapping over and over again, and everyone talked about it, there was no actual news. No phone calls stating Patricia was okay, no information about a ransom or deadline--at least not any Mayor Wilkinson was willing to share.

She also visited Memorial Hall every day, hoping to find Valkyrie and talk to her, to know she had done right. She could have saved Patricia. Dark Lothario’s men seemed pretty confident that they were going to get away with the kidnapping--she could have snatched up the girl and taken them completely by surprise. Instead she had saved her teacher.

The day before classes started back up Glory jogged to campus. The eerie emptiness from the week before was gone as students moved back into the dorms and went to the campus supply store to get their books. She was waiting for KP to call her, even if she didn’t really know what to say to him, and waiting for Lola to call her for a ride from the airport.

Memorial Hall was still empty even as the campus filled up. Glory ducked into the stairwell going up to the second floor but she paused when she heard voices over her head.

“Where the hell have you been?” Valkyrie’s voice was shrill and echoing. “The shit hits the fan, I’ve got students backing me up out there, and you’re off in parts unknown for a full week?”

“Romeo wasn’t here either--I don’t see you ripping him a new one.” The other voice was Stone, his tones harsher than usual.

“He was supposed to be in New York. We talked about it. But you were supposed to be here, with me, keeping an eye on things.”

“Well, excuse me if you couldn’t handle something as simple as a public kidnapping. It’s not my fault you can’t do the job.” They were coming downstairs, and Glory wanted to jump out in front of them, to demand an apology from Stone, but instead she ducked under the stairs. “You’re weak. That’s why you couldn’t save the girl.”

Glory felt the temperature in the stairwell drop ten degrees, and Stone slammed the door so hard some of the tiles on the wall cracked where it hit. Valkyrie didn’t follow him and after a moment Glory crept out from her hiding place.

The older woman was sitting on the steps, arms wrapped around herself. She looked up as Glory stepped into her line of sight. “You’re not weak,” Glory said. Valkyrie gave a short laugh and wiped a tear from her eye. It clinked on the steps--ice tears. “You’re not.”

“You don’t know yet,” Valkyrie said. “You’re just a baby.” Glory sat down, not sure how to comfort her. “When you save someone--its exhilarating.”

“I know that,” Glory said, remembering her close call the month before.

“But each failure is like the end of the world. You get so used to being the best. I’m sure you’ve always been the best, right? The golden girl that could
do no wrong?”

“I’m not so great at school stuff,” Glory admitted. “But yeah.”

“So was I. And then I got accepted into the League. It was wonderful at first, but once I wasn’t able to save a little boy from getting hit by a car--I was too far away. And then there was the bank robbery that went horribly wrong, and the time I accidentally froze a dog to death--”

“I like dogs,” Glory said quietly.

“I haven’t been able to look one in the eye since.” Valkyrie admitted. “But nothing ever shook my confidence the way getting caught by Dark Lothario did. I took a six month sabbatical--I’ve been in therapy for two years now. If Romeo hadn’t had him caught and put in the Gorram Asylum I don’t think I ever would have come back. I can’t fight him, America. I just--freeze up. All he has to do is look at me and tell me I want him, and no matter how vile I really think he is…I do.”

“It’s not your fault,” Glory insisted. “And you’re not weak. You’re one of my heroes.”

“I’m everybody’s hero,” Valkyrie said, her voice short. “But I don’t know how much longer I can be. With Dark Lothario out there--”

“Get up,” Glory said, pulling Valkyrie to her feet. “We shouldn’t sit here in the cold--let’s go get some coffee. You gave me a second chance. I’m not going to let you give up after one little setback.”

“You’re a good girl, America,” Valkyrie said, letting her lead her out of the stairwell.

“And we will rescue Patricia from Dark Lothario,” Glory assured. “It’s my personal mission.”

Glory was glad she had chosen Valkyrie. If Dark Lothario had gotten her again, it would have destroyed her.

*****

Lola waited outside of the airport for the second time in a week, doing her best to pretend she was jet-lagged. Her suitcases were re-packed beside her, her hair was tied back and she was wearing what would be deemed at comfortable airplane clothes--jeans and a t-shirt. She felt strange. She had been sleeping on the couch in her lair for a week, using the kitchenette for the first time, and not going out as herself in case Glory would accidentally stumble into her. She was ready to get things back to normal.

Glory pulled up in the BMW and Lola tossed her bags in the trunk. Did you have a good trip?” Glory asked, getting out of the car to give her a hug and move to the passenger seat.

“The usual,” Lola said.

“And what do you think of your mom’s new boyfriend?”

“It’s hard to say--she just got a new new boyfriend last week.”

“Unbelievable.”

“What about you? How was your break?”

“Dark Lothario kidnapped the mayor’s daughter in front of the entire town!”

“Really?” She doubted she sounded the least bit surprised, but since Glory was all set to ramble on for the rest of the car ride it didn’t matter. Glory went over the whole night as though Lola hadn’t been there for every moment of it, though she had to admit, it was interesting to hear about it from a different perspective. Lola had spent the night getting the cops into position (not easy) and making sure Dark Lothario’s thugs didn’t actually hurt anybody. She had also made a deal with the man himself. Outlawing plastic grocery bags were supposed to be part of the ransom deal. It would have been more practical to just tell the city counsel to do it, but she thought it was important that she get something out of this deal, and to her surprise, Dark Lothario had agreed to it.

“…and I saved Valkyrie all by myself. The rest of my classmates were afraid of the guns, but they had been instructed not to fire.”

“Yeah.”

“That’s the funny part, isn’t it?” Glory said. “She didn’t want to hurt anyone, just contain them. Why?”

“Just because someone is a super villain doesn’t mean they want to hurt people.”

“Isn’t that the point?”

“Sometimes super villains just want to change the world.”

“Yeah, to whatever they want most. The woman is a freak. Mistress of Minds--it screams of an unbalanced control freak, and even worse that she has mind control powers. It is so dangerous. And that outfit!”

“I like her outfit,” Lola muttered. It hurt so much that Glory didn’t understand, and it hurt even more that Lola couldn’t tell her who she was complaining about.

“You would,” Glory shot back.

“What does that mean?”

“Well, you’ve got that cold, calculating thing down. I bet the two of you would be bestest buddies.”

“You’re my best friend,” Lola countered. The conversation was not going well, but the declaration had an effect.

“Of course I am,” Glory said. “I wish I could understand your point of view, but you don’t understand mine either. She has no right to tamper with anyone’s minds--”

“But those cops were okay, right?”

“Well, they didn’t stand down for almost two hours, and it was cold out, but yeah, they were fine.”

“So no one got hurt, and that was thanks to her, wasn’t it? She was trying to do the right thing.”

“By falling in with Dark Lothario. Right.”

“Not everything is black and white, Glory,” Lola said as they pulled into their driveway. “Just because someone is a criminal doesn’t make them evil, and not all heroes are perfect either.” She thought of Lawrence fooling around with her while Glory was completely oblivious to it all. Part of her wanted to tell her, to prove her point, but Glory was distressed enough.

“I do what’s right. For my country, this city--I believe in truth and justice. I believe in all of the gifts that God gave us. There is good and evil. If someone likes to think they’re a shade of grey, then they are deluding themselves.”

“What about me?” Lola asked quietly, looking at the steering wheel.

“You’re too willing to accept both sides of an argument. It’s probably because you’re too rich to know better. It’s not your fault.” Glory got out of the car and went around to the back to grab Lola’s bags. “I like to think my influence is good for you.”

*****


By the time Lawrence and Torch got in that night he was too tired for anything, and America filling him in on the New Years fiasco over the phone made him even more exhausted. She was riled up over Dark Lothario and the new villain, Mistress of Minds. He had a feeling she was going to be insufferable while Dark Lothario had Patricia Wilkinson.

“When do you get done with classes tomorrow?” America asked finally, interrupting her own rambling.

“Early--noon.”

“That’s great,” America said. “Want to meet for lunch so we can catch up in person?”

“Sure.” He wondered if she would stop talking long enough to eat. Or to do…other things.

He hung up the phone and fell into bed, passing out almost immediately.


Lawrence had two classes on Monday--English Comp II and Intermediate Calculus. Calculus was interesting, but the English class was a joke--a writing class that all freshmen were forced to take. He only had fifteen minutes between classes and they were on opposite sides of campus, so he just barely slipped into his seat before the professor started talking.

“All right you little underage cretins,” the grizzled old man said, sitting heavily on a stool at the front of the room. “You, don’t get comfortable,” he said, jabbing a finger at Lawrence. “I’m Professor Murphy. I am old, my eyesight is going, and I can’t be bothered to learn your names, so here’s how its going to work. Seating assignments. Alphabetical order.” He pointed at the first seat in the first row, currently empty. “Abram, Ira.”

A boy shuffled up to the front and took the empty chair. Lawrence glanced at his confused face, and felt sympathy. This class was going to be hell. Anderson, Jessica was seated next and then Bennet, Clyde. Lawrence was displaced by Curry, Emily, and went to stand against the wall.

It was there that he noticed Lola glaring at the professor from the back of the room. No. Not her. She hadn’t seemed to have noticed him, and he wondered if it would be too late to escape the room and drop the class. Except he had only taken twelve credit hours. He needed the class to stay full time.

“Lawrence, Lawrence,” Professor Murphy called, and Lawrence hurried to his new seat in the fourth row. Lola was behind him now and he didn’t want to turn around to look at her. He realized he didn’t know her last name.

“Merriweather, Lola.”

For a few moments Lawrence begged for the unlikely possibility that there were two Lolas in the class, but she sat down next to him.

“Hello lover,” she said, an edge to her voice. He might be a super hero, but he had a feeling Lola could beat him to a pulp if she really wanted to.

“Hey,” he managed to say.

“How’s your girlfriend?” she asked.

“Lola--”

“Shut up,” she demanded, and even though he felt like he could explain himself further, he did. It was going to be a long semester.

*****


Glory didn’t have any classes on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday. She had talked to Valkyrie, and they adjusted her scholarship so that she was only taking two classes a semester. It would take her twice as long to get though school, but she knew that was the only way she could keep up with her league training without flunking. She was seriously considering getting an associates degree instead of a bachelors.

So she was waiting for KP at Memorial Hall, nervous butterflies in her stomach. She knew she had been rambling on the phone the night before to keep this nervousness at bay, and it was going to take some effort not to let her mouth run away from her again.

She hugged him in greeting and he kissed her with one of the overly passionate kisses he was so fond of, and she really wasn’t. She liked it when he was gentle and sweet, but sometimes when he was in one of his moods, she just felt like she was being devoured.

“What was that for?” she asked, pulling away.

“I missed you,” he explained, and that made her feel good.

“I missed you too.”

They made their way to the lounge, deserted so early in the day. Someone had re-stocked the kitchen right before the semester started, and the place had been left cleaner than it had been before Christmas. “Do you think there’s such a thing as super-janitorial staff?” Glory joked as she opened the fridge and found a container of strawberries.

“Probably,” KP answered. “C’mere.” She popped the container open and took one before sitting next to him on the couch. She bit into the strawberry and looked at him. “I haven’t told you how glorious you are in forever.”

“That‘s not fair,” she said, finishing the strawberry. “You know flattery goes a long way with me.”

“How far?”

She was wearing a button-up shirt, and she felt him use his telekinesis to undo the top button. He knew the trick got to her every time. “KP…I thought a lot about you over break.”

“And?”

“I know I don’t want to run away to Vegas with you any time soon.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means…it means I’m okay with what we have right now.”

He smiled. “Good. So am I.”

******

A/N: Really sorry about the lateness of this one. Writers block paired with bad weather and no internet kind of put a damper on things, and I still don't love this chapter, except Glory and Valkyrie's convo.

So...my house is in foreclosure and I have 13 cats. If anyone is in the vicinity of NE ohio and is interested in taking in a new cat, let me know. pics and profiles are at savethecatlady.blogspot.com. If you wanted to post the link on your facebook/twitter, that would be great, regardless of where you live (and ask your friends to pass it on too).