Chapter 25 Semester 2 Week 7

Glory should have been ecstatic from her victory over Dark Lothario. Patricia had hugged her and thanked her the entire ride back to campus, where they switched cars and took her home in Black’s sedan. KP, Torch, and Righteous had stayed behind, and honestly, she was glad. She didn’t want to see KP ever again, as far as she was concerned. She didn’t know what had happened between him and the Mistress of Minds, but she didn’t care. One simply did not let their boyfriends get away with kissing super villains. She just had Black drop her off at home, where she cried until Lola came home on Sunday evening.

“You’re still alive, so I take it everything went okay?” Lola said, looking less put-together than usual. Her hair was unbrushed, pulled back into a pony tail, and she wasn’t wearing any makeup.

“I think I broke up with my boyfriend.”

Lola put her hand back on the doorknob. “Do I need to go out for ice cream?” Glory felt a prickle of tears in her eyes and nodded.

Lola disappeared and came back with five flavors of the most expensive brand the neighborhood gourmet grocery store had. She set them in a row in front of Glory at the dining room table and handed her a spoon. “So tell me about it.”

Glory ate her way through a large portion of the chocolate raspberry truffle pint while she told Lola what had happened during the rescue.

“Clearly he is an idiot,” Lola said finally. “He just doesn’t appreciate the glory that is you.”

“I know,” Glory agreed. “He had no right to do that.”

“All the same,” Lola continued. “Shouldn’t you at least ask him about it?”

“But why didn’t he lie?” Glory asked. She had thought about it. The Mistress of Minds. He could have told her she made him kiss her. Why hadn’t he done that? Any normal boy would have lied.

Lola shrugged. “I don’t know.”

******

Lawrence would have walked away from it all as soon as they got back to the university Saturday night. Walk into a party hosted by Dark Lothario? What the hell was wrong with him? America was what was wrong with him. He’d go and do anything for her--even nearly get himself killed. The League of Heroes? What a joke. He was not the hero type. He was the book and computer type.

“I’m quitting,” He told torch Sunday night, giving himself a day to think about it, knowing it made no difference.

“Quitting what?” Torch was sitting in the middle of his flame-proof bed lighting and extinguishing a candle without touching it.

“The league.”

Torch lit the candle and let it burn. “C’mon. You don’t want to quit. The League has been so good to you.”

“I’d argue that point,” Lawrence said. “I suck at combat training. My powers are nowhere near where they should be--”

“Which is why you’re getting training for that. It’s wonderful. Look at what I can do!” He gestured at the candle, which flared up momentarily and then settled back into a normal flame. Lawrence looked at the candle. Torch was getting what he needed, and that was great. But he wasn’t Torch. They didn’t need the same things.

“I just want to be normal again,” Lawrence admitted. “The League seemed like a good excuse to not do what my mother wanted me to do. I was dumb to even consider it. This isn’t for me.”

“Just think about it,” Torch insisted. “Don’t give up the best thing that could ever happen to you on a whim. Think about it.”

“Yeah,” Lawrence said, more than ready to drop the conversation and sorry he had brought it up at all. “I’ll think about it.”

******

Glory skipped her first League meeting ever, positive that she could not stand looking at KP for even a moment. Every time she thought of him the image of her boyfriend kissing the enemy flashed into her brain and she had to stop what she was doing and remind herself that she was a super hero, she was Glorious, and that everything was going to turn out fine. But nothing felt fine, not even when she went to her hand to hand class on Wednesday and Captain Righteous and Black gave her the confident, knowing smiles of people who had gotten away with something big.

Before class started KP came up to her, looking more than a little unsure of himself. “I guess--I’m--I’m sorry.”

“You guess you’re sorry?” Glory burst out.

“No--I don’t mean that--I mean, I am sorry. Very sorry. It just happened. I made a mess of things--you have no idea how big of a mess. I know I hurt you and its wrong and I don’t have an excuse. I’m sorry.”

“Apology not accepted,” she said. “What on earth were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t thinking, it just happened. I’m sorry it happened, and I’m sorry you saw it. I think its right for us to break up though. It wasn’t going to work.”

“Because you’re a jackass.”

“Among other things, yes, if it makes you feel any better.”

“It doesn’t,” she said. “Why wasn’t it working?”

“You know why,” he said. “Because you’re better at this than I am. Because you want it more. In time you’d realize that you didn’t want me holding you back. Dragging this out wasn’t going to help either of us.”

Glory realized this was true, and she didn’t like it, because suddenly he wasn’t a cheating bastard--they were just two people that weren’t compatible anymore. And that didn’t make her angry, just sad. Her first real relationship, and it hadn’t even lasted the entire school year. “It was fun while it lasted,” she said finally. “And I’m still furious at you.”

“Understandable,” he said. “I’ll stay out of your way.”

“Appreciated,” she told him, and turned away.

During class, as she was sparring with Captain Righteous, it was very difficult not to cry, and he pulled her away from everyone else after they were done. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, of course,” she said, knowing she sounded miserable. She had wanted her first love, romance anyway (the more she thought about it, she realized their relationship had never been about love), to be perfect, and instead it was a mess.

“He never deserved you,” he told her. “You know that, right? He’s just a little twerp--and a terrible hero.”

“I know,” she admitted. “But somehow that doesn’t make me feel better.”

“Want to talk about it?”

She shook her head. “I’m okay.” She said it, and knew it was true. She might have to go home and eat some more of Lola’s ice cream and cry a bit more, but it was going to be okay.

“Are you sure?

“Thanks,” she said, doing her best to smile at him. “But I really am going to be okay.”

******

The feelings of guilt Lola had been feeling did not go away after dropping forty dollars on gourmet ice cream. Not guilt that she had kissed Glory’s boyfriend--guilt that they had been caught. She should never have done that with Glory so close. But maybe that was why she did. Had she wanted Glory to catch them? What a horrible idea. She hated causing Glory any more pain than she already was simply be existing as the Mistress of Minds.

Between Lawrence and Glory and the trouble she was probably in with Dark Lothario, Lola could hardly sleep that night, and went to class the next day feeling as though she were hung over. The next day was only slightly better in the morning, until she remembered that she would have to see Lawrence in class.

He seemed normal enough when she sat down next to him, but that didn’t mean anything to people like them. “How was your weekend?” she couldn’t help asking when she sat down next to him.

“Don’t ask,” he replied. “Hey--I know you hate me and all, but do you want to get coffee or something after class?”

“You are unbelievable,” she said, wishing she’d never spoken. “Problems keeping your girlfriend?”

“How’d you know?”

“Lucky guess.”

“Look, I told you I was sorry. It’s not going to matter at the end of the year anyway.”

“Why not?”

“I’m transferring out of here. I can’t take this place any more.”

What about the League was on the tip of her tongue, but she managed to bite it back. “Oh,” she said instead. “Well, nice knowing you--have a nice life.”

“But I’m not gone yet,” Lawrence said. “Don’t you like me even a little bit? You used to.”

“I’m so over it,” Lola said simply, and took her book out of her bag and ignored him the rest of class.

*****

One of Dark Lothario’s henchmen showed up at Lola’s lair a few days later. She had been doing her homework there every evening waiting. She had been in agony, unsure of what he was going to do, so when the man arrived it was almost a relief. She went with him in a limo to the Belle Grand and met Dark Lothario at the door of his penthouse.

“It was very wise of you to accept the invitation,” he told her as he led her to his office and sat down at his desk. “And also foolish. You and I both know that you’re the one behind the mess with those hero kids.”

“You can’t prove anything.”

“I don’t need to prove anything--I’m not the police, I’m not a lawyer or a judge. I am above the law, and I don’t appreciate it when people try to cross me. I don’t like being humiliated in public. These little power plays of yours stop now.”

“What does that mean?”

“You’re fired. And if you have any sense you’ll leave town and let my operation alone.”

“What will happen if I don’t?”

He sighed. “Nothing. Nothing will happen.” He leaned back in his chair with a groan. “I’m too young to have children.”

Lola felt a heaviness settle onto her chest. “The test came back positive?”

“Did you have any doubts?”

Lola shook her head, but at the same time her emotions reeled inside her. It was one thing to think Dark Lothario was her father, but entirely another to know it. Now she knew. This was the man who had been missing from her life the last nineteen years. This man--powerful, controlling, cruel, manipulative. “So now what?” she asked.

“You can’t work under me,” he said. “You don’t approve of my work or my methods, and your insubordination is unforgivable. I’ve killed men for much less. So.” He folded his hands on the desk in front of him. “What do you want to do?”

“What--what do I want to do?”

“Yes. Are you going to be my enemy?”

Lola sat down in the chair opposite him. “I don’t want to be,” she said carefully. "I had to rescue her. It was nothing against you--it's just that Patricia is my friend.”

“You want to be a super villain. We don’t have friends.”

“I want to change the world,” Lola corrected him. “I want to use my powers to force people to make this world a better place. I know I’m young and I don’t know what I’m doing. But that is what I want.”

“To rule the world.” Dark Lothario shook his head. “I wanted to do that once. I got over it quick.”

“But I can control anybody,” Lola hissed. “And I’ve been getting stronger all year.”

“Can you control the heroes?”

Lola thought of Lawrence. Sometimes he did as she commanded, but sometimes he did not. And she had never tried to control Glory. “I’m getting stronger,” she repeated.

“Consider living a comfortable life instead of a great one,” Dark Lothario. “There’s some fatherly advice. You want to control something, find yourself a nice town or small city--”

“Like this one?”

“This one is taken,” he answered abruptly. “But if you’d like, I’ll put you in my will.”

“Thanks for the gesture,” Lola said, standing. “I have to go.”

He waited for her to turn away before saying anything. “What’s your name?” The question was unexpected, and she turned and stared. “What? I can’t keep calling you ‘little girl,’ can I? Or Mistress of Minds.” he made a face. “It’s just creepy.”

She half smiled at his awkwardness. “It’s Lola,” she answered. “Dad.”

“Don’t call me that,” he replied as she walked away. “It makes me sound old.”

Lola walked out of the hotel smiling.

*****

A/N: I have no excuse other than this week is the first week I've actually enjoyed writing in about 3 months. I'm working on another project besides this one and am feeling good about my writing in general. Expect things to get more regular--I promise.

Ch 24 Sem 2 Wk 6 pt 2

Lola sat on the edge of the bed with Patricia holding her hand. “It’s going to be okay,” she promised, hoping she could keep the promise, that she wasn’t making a terrible mistake. She had put everyone she cared about on the line with this one. Glory, Patricia, even dumb Lawrence was on the line. And she was. “Just stay calm and don’t do anything stupid,” she continued. “We can’t do anything stupid.”

“Are you okay?” Patricia asked her. “You look a little pale.”

“Everything will be fine.” Lola stood up and started pacing.

“You’re making me nervous,” Patricia said.

Lola spun around and gave her friend her best smile. “I have to go check on the caterers.” she left the room, careful to lock it behind her. Dark Lothario had cameras everywhere.

Out in the large living room there was bustling everywhere as the buffet was being set up, flowers were being brought in, and last minute cleaning was being carried on by the regular hotel staff. Her patsy, Roy Gillespie, was standing around drinking coffee with a couple other security guys, half private, the other half working for the hotel, Roy among them. Many of the staff at the Belmonte Grande had criminal records. Roy’s record included multiple counts of domestic violence, arson, and possession with the intent to sell. And that was just what he’d been caught doing. Anything that Dark Lothario might do to him as punishment for letting the heroes in, well, he deserved it.

In a few short days with Dark Lothario Lola had discovered that there was a dark side to every industry in the city. While the catering company hired to do the food worked all sorts of mainstream events, the owner of the company was a retired super villain. The musicians were a group of henchmen who liked to get together and jam, and the film crew worked for Dark Lothario exclusively.

A round bed had appeared in the center of the room, and an area had been taped off for the camera equipment. The show would be broadcasted live for free that night only on the Dark Lothario Presents website, and after that it would be available for download for the discounted low price of $9.95. Lola wanted to throw up at the very sight of the bed and turned away.

Refrigerated cabinets and hot boxes were beginning to line the hall leading to the emergency stairs, and Lola slipped between them to check the door, as though the lock would jam or something. As soon as she shut the door again she heard Dark Lothario’s voice in the main room. She quickly opened one of the coolers and grabbed at the first pastry she saw.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Dark Lothario asked her as she stepped back into the main room, biting into the fruit tart she’d procured. It was peach--she hated peach. “You’re going to get too round for your costume,” he said with a laugh.

“Like you’re one to talk,” she countered, and he laughed harder.

“I like your nerve,” he said. “It’s not very smart of you, but I like it all the same. How are we doing?”

“All exits are secure,” she lied. “The catering staff will be here in an hour, the band is due any minute, and I called Lou the camera guy. He’s stuck in traffic but will be here in plenty of time to set up for the event.”

“Wonderful. You’re better at this than Spider,” he complemented. “He never knew what was going on before a party.

“My mother likes to throw parties,” she explained. “She doesn’t like to do the work that goes into one.”

“That sounds like your mother. Is she still a bank robber?”

“She is,” Lola said, feeling strange. She wasn’t used to talking about her mother as Mesmera.

“She had so much promise--but no drive, no ambition.”

“Not really.”

“You are nothing like her,” he said thoughtfully. “You don’t even look like her.”

“She always said I was my father’s daughter.”

Dark Lothario made a breathy “humpf” sound and turned away. “I’ll be in my room, getting ready. Let me know when the guests begin to arrive.”

“Yes sir,” she answered, distracted momentarily by her phone buzzing. “Excuse me.”

She escaped into the outer hallway and fished her phone out of her costume. It was Glory. “Where are you?” she cried into the phone, her voice an octave higher than usual. “I have to go on my biggest mission ever and I’m freaking out!”

“I’m sorry,” Lola said. “I’m busy.”

“Busy with what! You know how important this is--how can you be busy.”

“Take a deep breath and you’ll be fine,” Lola offered, hating herself a little. “I’m sorry,” she said, thinking fast. “My mom finally came home. I’m on my way home to see her.”

Glory was silent on the other line. “Your mother?” she said finally. “You decide to pick
now to care about her?”

“She is my mom,” Lola said.

She could hear Glory sigh. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“Me too. But you’ll be fine. Glorious.”

“I don’t feel very glorious right now.”

“You are. I’ll be thinking about you. I’ll send positive vibes your way.”

“Okay.”

“You’ll have your friends with you--you’ll be fine. Nothing bad will happen.”

“I hope not.”

*****

Glory tried not to be angry with Lola as she got ready for the rescue attempt of a lifetime. She tucked her hair up into the short brown wig Lola and gotten her, and put on a pair of Lola’s glasses. Lola was nearsighted, but only slightly, and after wearing the glasses for a few minutes Glory’s eyes began to adjust. She buttoned up her vest and put on the matching bowtie. She hoped she looked like a nondescript server. She felt like a super hero in disguise.

She jumped at the knock on the door and ran to open it. KP and Torch were there dressed in their catering outfits. She still couldn’t get over the idea of KP without a mask. She had imagined his face over and over again over the months, but she hadn’t expected someone so…young. She tended to forget that they were all only nineteen. She felt so much older most days.

“Hi guys,” she said.

“Black and Righteous are already in the van downstairs,” KP said. “Let’s go.” He had been distant all the night before, but it was probably just jitters. She knew she felt them.

“Van?” she questioned, leading the way downstairs. The League’s white van was parked in her driveway, Black at the wheel.

“Borrowed it without permission,” he explained when she and the others got in. “I thought it would look less conspicuous in a hotel loading dock.”

“Good idea,” Glory said, pleased that she had decided to let Black in on the plan. He looked cool and in control, which was more than she was feeling. The drive over to the hotel was a tense one. Righteous kept tapping his fingers on the dashboard, and little puffs of smoke kept appearing in front of her. Glory looked over her seat and saw a collection to cigarette-sized burns on the seat next to Torch.

“You cool?” she asked him.

“Yeah,” he replied. “I got the easy job. Keep the engine running, call you if I see any trouble.” Torch had volunteered as the get-away driver, even if he wasn’t comfortable with actually going inside.

“What about you?” she asked Lawrence, who was staring out the window.

“I’m great.”

“Good.” She said, not feeling any better.

They pulled into the back of the hotel right next to a white catering truck. They would blend well. They all got out of the van and Torch moved to the driver’s seat. “Do this fast,” Torch said. “If you’re not out in an hour, I’m calling Romeo Avenger.”

“That’s not fair!” Glory exclaimed. “You said you wouldn’t tell.”

“I don’t want you dead either,” he said. “One hour before I call for backup.”

She opened her mouth to protest but Black touched her arm. “It’s a good idea,” he said. “Does everyone know what they’re supposed to do?” he asked. They all nodded Glory most
emphatically of all as she set her jaw in a grim expression. Black nodded at Glory. “This is your show, America. Lead the way.”

*****

I am going to die, I am going to die, Lawrence thought as he followed America up the winding stairs. He was getting winded, but America thought it would be a bad idea to take the elevator even part of the way up. The elevator was monitored--the stairs had no cameras that he could see. It didn’t matter as far as he was concerned. How was he going to crash a super villain’s party, kidnap the guest of honor, and get out again without being caught? This was crazy, and stupid, and he was about to turn around and wait in the car with Torch--

“Thank you,” America whispered to him suddenly. The stairwell echoed and the other two could hear her. “For believing I can do this.”

Hell. “Of course you can.” We’re all going to die.

They finally reached the top of the stairs. It was a fireproof door, but he could still hear loud music through it. “This must be the place,” America said quietly. “Everyone ready? Remember, ten minutes and we meet back here.”

Lawrence hoped the door would be locked and they could abandon the caper before it really began, but America’s contact on the inside (she never did say who) had come through, opening the door after one soft knock. “Roy Gillespie?” Righteous asked the hotel security guard on the other side. The man nodded. “Sorry about this.”

The thud of Righteous hitting the man seemed to fill Lawrence’s ears, and he looked around. He didn’t see much. He was in a hallway full of catering boxes. Lawrence moved quickly and circled to the front of the nearest box, opening the doors to hide Righteous as he beat Gillespie unconscious. There was something very wrong about that. Lawrence quickly pulled out a tray of hors d’oeuvres and balanced them on one hand. His job was to watch the crowd and make sure no one started watching them. He took the tray up to a small kitchen area tucked into the back corner of the main room, setting it on the counter and washed his hands. The penthouse had close to a hundred people milling about, Lawrence figured. Servers wearing black vests identical to the ones Glory had passed out to them were circling with trays. Guests in masks talked and laughed like normal people, and there were lots of people dressed in normal clothes as well. Dark Lothario was one of them in a white tuxedo. Lawrence spotted him right away, with matching blonds on either side of him.

A moment later Righteous joined him, looking a little green. There was a fleck of blood on his cheek. “Here,” Lawrence said, wetting a bar towel and handing it to him. “You okay?”

“I never had a guy just lay there as I beat them into a bloody pulp,” Righteous said. “I don’t get why he would let us do that.”

Lawrence handed Righteous the tray of food and pretended the other hero’s hands weren’t shaking. “Yeah, well…” his eyes scanned the crowd in the room. The entire place seemed to be enjoying themselves--dancing, gathering around a bar set up next to a wall of windows…making out on the sofas. One person was not having fun. She was a on the curvy side, wearing black leather, her face covered by a leather mask. America loved to complain about her. The Mistress of Minds. She was standing at the bar and looking right at them. “I think I found America’s secret informant.”

“That guy at the door was brainwashed?”

“He let you hit him. Criminals don’t usually let people hit them.”

“Why would America trust someone like her? I don’t--”

“Shut up and look like a server,” Lawrence said quickly. “She’s coming over here.”

“What? I--”

“Go serve,” Lawrence said, giving Righteous a shove. The big blond shot him a dirty look and disappeared into the crowd, leaving Lawrence alone at the sink. The Mind Mistress pretended to wander, but made a beeline towards him. She brushed up against him to set her empty glass in the sink, and he felt he was going to swoon out of nervousness.

“Am I paying you to stand around and people watch?” she asked. “Come with me.“ Without thinking Lawrence obeyed, following her into the hallway. It was void of the others, except for Roy unconscious on the floor. Lawrence could see his boot sticking out from under a hot box. The hall opened up two ways--open into the main room, and a door leading down another hall to the bedrooms, where the others had gone.

“Well. Now that we’re more or less alone…”

“I had better get back out there,” he tried to mumble, but the hall was narrow with the catering boxes, and she was very close.

“No hurry,” she almost purred. “Why are you here?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” he answered, figuring it was best to play dumb.

“Are you here to fight crime, or are you here because she wants you here?”

“I--” It wasn’t the question he was expecting. “Because she asked me.” It was an easy answer. Why on earth would he want to fight crime?

“So you love her?”

“A little,” he admitted. “Who could resist?”

“I know,” she said, her voice a little wistful. “She is something else.”

“How do you know America?” he asked.

The wistfulness was gone from her voice immediately. “You don’t need to worry about that.”
He was pretty sure he did, but decided to drop it for the moment. “Why are you doing this? Letting us in, talking to me?”

“Maybe I like to play with my food,” she answered, cat-like. “Or maybe I’m not all bad. Who knows? Come here.” Before he could obey she pulled him to her and kissed him softly. He could have pulled away, but he didn’t. There was something familiar about the kiss, as though he had been there before. He kissed back.

*****

Glory’s heart was beating so hard she could feel it pounding against her sternum as they moved down the hallway towards the bedrooms. The walls muffled the party sounds, but it despite all of the noise of pounding music and pounded hearts, she could still hear a girl crying behind one of the bedroom doors. “This one,” she whispered to Black, who knelt at the lock.

“He didn’t get anything fancy for this door,” he said, taking a small leather case out of his pocket. “He must not be used to keeping prisoners here.” He opened the case and chose a bit of wire from it. Glory had seen him showing Torch how to pick locks a few weeks ago--it was the main reason she had called him in for the plan. Besides, he had a streak of rebellion in him but seemed to know what he was doing. He was going to make a good hero some day.

“Who’s there?” a frightened voice on the other side of the door asked.

“We’re here to help,” Glory answered softly. “Just hold on.”

Black made quick work of the lock and it popped open easily. Glory didn’t know what she expected to find there--some sort of torture chamber, maybe. But it was just a normal (expensive) bedroom with a frightened girl wearing skimpy black lingeree and too much makeup standing on the other side of the door.

“Who are you?” she demanded.

“Patricia, I’m Glory. I’m here to help. Do you have other clothes in here?” She nodded.

“Good--get dressed, and hurry. Black--watch the door.” He nodded and turned away while Patricia pulled on a purple sweat suit.

“I can’t believe she really did it,” Patricia said in an excited whisper. “She promised me she would get me out, but I didn’t think she would really go behind her father’s back--”

“Father?”

“Dark Lothario. They’re totally related. Just look at them.”

Glory coldn’t take the time to care. “Nevermind. Lets get you out of here before someone notices us.”

Outside of the room Glory saw Black staring up at a black globe on the ceiling. “Camera,” he said unnecessarily.

Glory stared up at it, aghast. “Run.” The three of them all tumbled down the hall together, Glory forcing herself to move slowly so that she didn’t leave them behind. Still, she reached the door first, flinging it open.

*****

Lawrence pulled away quickly at the sound of the door swinging open, but it didn’t matter. As soon as he pulled away from the Mistress he saw the look on America’s face. He was vaguely aware of the frazzled girl with too much make-up and Black staring at him from behind her, but mostly he saw the shocked look on America’s face. “Did she make you do it?” America asked, her voice stiff. Time had seemed to stop around them. It would have been so easy to say yes, but also so very hard. Stay with America and have a bunch of blond super hero babies, a day job he worked so hard in, only to go out and fight crime on the weekends?

“No.”

“Oh.” He really wished they were wearing masks and he didn’t have to see the hurt look on her face.

“Sorry kids,” Black said, bringing him and America back into the real world. “We’ve been spotted on the camera--get out of here--I’ll get Righteous.”

The mayor’s daughter pushed past them and pulled open the stairwell door, not caring that she hit Roy in the head with it. Lawrence turned around to find the Mistress gone, so he grabbed America by the hand and pulled her after Patricia.

America wrenched her hand away as soon as they were on the stairs, and flew ahead of him to catch up with Patricia. Lawrence found himself slowing down as soon as the girls were out of sight, the realization that he had just broken up with his girlfriend more important than escape. By the time he had gotten to the bottom of the stairs Black and Righteous had caught up with him.

“We’re not being followed,” Black said, his usually stoic voice sounding a little incredulous.

“The Mistress,” Lawrence answered, a dull feeling surrounding his brain.

“Ah, the Mistress,” Black said as they made their way through the bowels of the hotel to the loading dock. “Are we on personal terms with the Mistress?”

“What?” Righteous asked.

“I don’t know where that came from,” Lawrence snapped. “Just drop it.”

“Drop what?” Righteous demanded.

In the van America and Patricia were both holding each other and crying. Lawrence sat in the front seat so he wouldn’t have to look at them. “Everything go okay?” Torch asked as they pulled away and headed for campus.

“Perfectly,” Lawrence answered, and turned away to look out the window.

*****

Lola expected a huge explosion when Patricia was discovered missing, but at first she didn’t notice anything at all, too tied up with her own thoughts to care that extra hotel security guards had come in. Why had she kissed him? She didn’t like him, and he was dating her best friend. But in secret disguise, she couldn’t resist. She stood at the window sipping a glass champagne while a quiet search was carried on behind her. Finally the Lothario himself grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her away from the window. “I know you are behind this.”

“What’s wrong?” she asked, trying to pull her arm free, but he didn’t let go, instead dragging her to the security room where the man in charge of watching the many cameras was passed out drunk. “Did something happen?” she feigned innocence.

Dark Lothario pressed a few buttons on the key board and brought up the black and white image of Glory and her friend escaping down the hall way with Patricia in tow. They disappeared off camera quickly, and, Lola knew, just as quickly out of the building. “I know you had something to do with this.”

“Prove it,” she said, and stalked out of the room again, more than ready to go home.

*****

A/N: School is officially over, forever. I'm never going back. :) So we are back to our regularly scheduled updates. I feel really awful for taking so much time off. I did the math--I wrote less than 3,000 words last month, which is *horrible.*

So...yeah. We're back--thanks for everyone's patience. Between losing my house, my cats, and finishing school (I'm down to 3 cats from 16 and living in my grandmother's basement right now) I was in no shape to do anything other than watch season after season of Doctor Who and try not to fail my classes.

1/2 way through the last week of classes. Papers due friday, exams next week. Expect a return to our regular schedule next week. Hope everyone is still around, and sorry for the delays.

chapter is almost done. I just need a few more days. 3 1/2 weeks left in the semester. I will have a degree, my stress level will drop, and I'll have a lot more time on my hands. :)

just so you know...

I'm faithfully writing about 100 words a day. :) The Inquisition went well. Now I have a linguistics project and two english papers, all due in the next 4 days. After that, hopefully I will have some breathing space to write.

Ch 24 Sem 2 Week 6 pt 1

Lola waited for Dark Lothario to contact her after her confrontation. She spent most of her free time at her lair in case he wanted to come to her in person, sitting at her desk with her school books, studying as though she were at the library or her own apartment. Several days passed before her phone rang with an unknown number coming up on the caller ID.

“Yes?”

“Dark Lothario requests an audience with you,” an unfamiliar voice said.

“Okay….”

“A location is being texted to you. Be there in one hour.” The line went dead, and a moment later the screen beeped an incoming text. The address was of the biggest, most expensive hotel in Acropolis. She felt very exposed when she entered the lobby with the high ceilings and open spaces. There were only a few people milling around, which made her feel even more vulnerable.

Her instructions told her to take the elevator to the top floor, which consisted of only one penthouse suite. Dark Lothario’s thugs were waiting for her when the elevator doors opened. She immediately went on guard, wishing she had brought Ratface and his guns with her, but all they did was usher her into the penthouse.

The space was modern, decorated in neutral colors and minimalist furniture. The living and bar area were huge, but she was led down a hallway to an office that reminded her a bit of her lair except more expensive, and Dark Lothario was sitting behind a desk just like her own. “Leave us,” he said to the guards, who backed out without a word.

“Something to drink?” he asked as he stood up and walked over to a small bar set into the wall.

“That’s okay.” He poured scotch for himself. “This is a nice place.”

“I own this hotel, after a fashion.”

“After a fashion?” she questioned.

“Under one of my identities, buried deep inside a real estate company. Somewhere in the mess I own it.” He took a sip of his drink. “I would have to talk to my accountant to figure out exactly how.”

“That’s great,” Lola said.

“So, little girl, you think that I am your father?” He wasn’t smiling, but she didn’t know what that meant.

“I have a hunch.”

“An educated guess, you mean.”

“So you were with my mom,” she said. He nodded and she felt something akin to both revulsion and eagerness. “I don’t look anything like her,” she said quickly. “She always said I looked like my father--”

“Yes, yes,” he studied her face. “But accusing someone of paternity is a messy business, and I think you went about it the wrong way, sending my best man to jail.”

“Your ‘best man’ smashed my face into the floor and tried to rape me.” Her voice was not as even as she hoped it would be, but she was fairly certain she found a flash of real emotion cross his face.

“I don’t do things that way.”

“I never said you did. But he did. You don’t want to be associated with someone like that, do you? It could make you look bad.”

“I am already bad. Alright. I will consider letting you work for me--”

“I’m no minion,” she said quickly. “I want the pay, all of the perks he had.”

Dark Lothario laughed. “I’ll let you work the Valentine’s Day event. We’ll see how it goes.”

“Which brings me to another thing--where’s Patricia?”

Dark Lothario left the room and she followed. Down the hall he took a key from his pocket and unlocked a door. Patricia was sitting on the bed, and at the sound her head turned. When she saw Lola her face broke into a smile and she rushed to her, wrapping her arms around Lola’s neck. “Thank god! After you left that last time they beat up that spider guy right in front of me. I was so worried when I heard that bastard blaming you, talking about wanting to kill you--”

Lola hugged Patricia back. She had cared about what might have happened to her, even though Lola hadn’t given her her freedom, though it was in her power to do so. At first she had just felt sorry for the other girl. Now she was fairly certain they were friends. And friends didn’t let other friends get seduced by their possible father.

“Your little friend goes free after Saturday night,” Dark Lothario said. “As long as things go smoothly. That’s your job. To make sure things go smooth.”

“Okay,” Lola said. “I can do that.”

Behind them a bell chimed. “And that’s Dr. Terrible here to collect DNA samples.”

“DNA?”

“You don’t think I’m not going to double check your ridiculous claims? Me a father!” He laughed as he disappeared into the hall.

“Are you okay?” Lola asked, turning her attention back to Patricia.

“Yeah. And you?”

Lola’s hand rose up to touch her cheek, now healed. “Fine. I took care of Spider.”

“I know--this place might be fancy, but the walls are as thin as any crappy apartment. He’s been raging about you for days.”

“Dark Lothario lives here?” Lola said, dropping her voice to a whisper.

“I don’t think so, but there’s another bedroom, and he’s definitely brought women over here at night.”

“Are you allowed out of this room?”

Patricia shook her head. “A bathroom connects to both rooms--three times a day someone leaves food in the bathroom for me, but I haven’t really seen anyone--just heard people talk. They’re going to film here,” she said. “And there’s going to be a big party and a live performance. I can’t do this--you can’t let him--”

Lola pulled her into another hug to whisper in her ear. “I’ll get you out. I promise.”

“Thank you.”

*****

Glory couldn’t get excited about Valentine’s Day that year. As a very popular girl in high school the day was full of flowers, chocolates, and silly cards from her friends, but knowing what would happen to the mayor’s daughter on Saturday hurt her deeply. She spent the days leading up to the event moping. Lola noticed. “It’ll be okay,” she told her when Glory came in after her last Friday class.

“It’s not okay,” Glory said, dropping onto the couch with her friend.

“I think it is.” She handed her a folded piece of paper. “This was under the door. It wasn’t postmarked so technically I did not tamper with the mail by reading it.”

Glory grabbed the letter away and unfolded it. It was typed, the font was Arial, which she hated (too plain), and there was no signature at the bottom.

Dear Glory,

Don’t be alarmed. I know who you are but I am not a threat to you. I know that you want to take down Dark Lothario. I don’t know if we can do that, but I do know how to get you into the party Saturday night so that you can get Patricia Wilkinson out. It will take place in the top floor penthouse at the Belmonte Grande--the fire stairs go all the way up but they can only be opened from inside the penthouse. There will be a man waiting for you in the stairwell with a key card. Don’t worry about him--he wont betray you, but if you are questioned by anyone later, his name is Roy Gillespie and he deserves anything that happens to him. Don’t feel guilty about giving him up to Dark Lothario if you need to save your ass.

The party starts at eight with the ‘deflowering’ scheduled for midnight. Patricia is being kept in the second bedroom on the right. The wait staff will be wearing black vests and red bowties. I suggest you wear a wig.

Love,
The Mistress of Minds

Glory read the letter twice before she looked up at Lola. “She wants me to break into the party and get Patricia out.”

“I know--I read it.”

“How am I going to do that?”

“Tomorrow we’ll go out and get you a good wig and a black vest. I’ll loan you the money.”

“I can’t walk into a Dark Lothario party without a mask and kidnap his kidnap victim!”

“Why not?”

Glory sighed. “I can’t do it alone.”

“Are you going to tell Valkyrie?”

Glory shook her head. If she told Valkyrie she wouldn’t let her go, and she needed to go. “Give me the phone,” Glory said. Lola passed it over to her. She dialed KP first. “Ever want to crash a Dark Lothario party?”

******

Lawrence sat silently in his desk chair staring at the calculus book open in front of him, but he wasn’t paying any attention to the book. America had ordered him, Torch, and Black to meet her at the loading dock at Memorial Hall. Dark Lothario. He so wasn’t ready for that.

He heard a key in the lock and Torch came in. “You look like your book just told you someone died,” he said. The keys hit the floor. “Did someone die?”

“I hope not,” Lawrence answered. “America wants us to crash Dark Lothario’s Valentine’s party and rescue the mayor’s daughter.”

“We can’t do that. We don’t have the training.”

“And yet,” Lawrence said. “C’mon. We’re supposed to meet her at Memorial Hall. We gotta talk her out of this.” Lawrence grabbed up his coat and they went back out.

America was already there with Black when they showed up, and they had been talking. Lawrence did not like the determined look on Black’s face. “You can’t be serious,” Lawrence said when he saw them. “We can’t go barging into Dark Lothario’s party like this. How do you even know where its going to be?”

“Roy Gillespie,” America answered immediately, and continued on despite the confusion the name brought to everyone. “He’s going to let us in. All we need are disguises. My roommate is out getting us uniforms to blend in with the wait staff.

“You’re forgetting one thing,” Torch said. “We’re supposed to be in masks. We’re not supposed to fight crime without a teacher. We can’t go off doing this.”

“I have to,” America said. “I saved one of his victims in December--this is my fight.” She grabbed her red mask and pulled it off in a sweeping movement, and Lawrence couldn’t help but stare. She’d always been beautiful, but seeing her entire face…wow. “If you don’t want to help me, fine. Just don’t say anything to anyone, okay?”

Torch remained silent. “If you don’t come back out, I’m letting the League know.”

“I’m in,” Black said immediately, whipping off his sunglasses. Behind them his eyes were vivid green, and he looked…older. “Lets get that girl out of there.”

Lawrence started at them, so determined, strong, ready to fight against evil for what was right. He didn’t feel that determination, just a sick feeling that if he went in there with them, something terrible would happen. He wasn’t ready. He thought of his calculus book back on his desk. That was what he should be doing. Not this. This was ridiculous. It was crazy. He looked over at America.

It was what she believed in.

“Okay,” he said. “But if we can’t do it, we sneak back out again. Dark Lothario never kills any of his victims, so if we can’t do it, we gotta drop it. The girl will survive, and I don’t want you to get hurt. Okay?”

“Okay.” She gave him a short nod, and with a sigh he pilled off his mask. America smiled a little. “You do have a baby face, don’t you?”

“I can change my mind,” he threatened.

“Change your minds about what?” The voice called out from behind them, and Lawrence immediately let out a breath of relief. They had been busted, and there was no way Captain Righteous wasn’t going to squeal on them. “Hey,” Righteous said, slowing down his walk towards them. “Are you--where are your masks?”

America rushed forward, grabbing Captain Righteous by the forearms. “You can’t say anything--swear you wont.”

“America, is that you?”

“Of course it is you idiot!”

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing concerning you,” Black said, stepping forward. “We saw how helpful you were last time.”

“Last time what?”

“Being too much of a coward to bend the rules and help out. Patricia Wilkinson is in this mess because you chickened out. And now we have to fix it.”

Righteous stared at America. “You’re going to rescue the mayor’s daughter?” She nodded. “America, that’s stupid.”

“Not if you come too.” Lawrence watched in disbelief as America ran her hands up Righteous’ built arms. “You’re so strong and fast--we’ll have no trouble getting in and out with you there to help us.” She looked up at him and actually batted her eyes at him. Lawrence turned away in disgust, and Torch grabbed him by the arm. If it was meant to comfort, it didn’t work. He turned back--America was staring up into Captain Righteous’ eyes now. “This is bigger and more important than our training. This is about making a difference and saving the girl. Like we weren’t able to before.”

“And if you don’t do it, you’re a bigger coward than I thought,” Black added.

Righteous glared at Black, and Lawrence’s jealousy burned as Glory continued to hold him by the arms. “I’m in,” he said, ripping off his mask to reveal his perfectly sculpted face--Lawrence didn’t stand a chance.

America let out a small squeal of excitement and gave Righteous a hug, further injury as far as Lawrence was concerned. “Okay boys,” she said. “We have a lot of planning to do.” She stepped away from Righteous and snatched her phone out of her pocket. “Hey,” she said when the person on the other line picked up. “We’re going to need one more outfit. What size?” The measuring look she gave Righteous made Lawrence want to spew. “Broad.”

*****

A/N:
Two posts in one week! Shocking! This chapter is probably going to be close to double length when I’m done, but I don’t want you guys to have to wait, being as I’ve been so bad at updating these days, so you are getting it in two parts--hopefully I’ll have the other half up before the end of the week, but I have a date with the Spanish Inquisition, so who knows.

If Glory and Righteous are a surprise, they are to me too, but it makes sense. The second half of the story has had some major revamps from what I started out with last fall. It has been nothing but issues ever since. My biggest problem I think is the pacing, but there’s really nothing I can do about it right now. You guys will have to tell me how it works as we get towards the end. (9 more chapters after this one, which feels a little weird since this is kind of climax-y, but I assure you it’s not.)

Ch 3 Sem 2 Wk 5

It took the whole weekend for the swelling to go down in Lola’s face, but even by the following Tuesday the bruises still remained, dulling to a sickly green-yellow that made her look like some sort of rotting zombie. She tried her best to cover it up with makeup, but even that only went so far. “What happened to your face?” Lawrence asked immediately when he sat down next to her in English Comp.

“Shut up,” she snapped back. She was so sick of people asking what had happened--people who had never spoken to her before. She’d told the stupid story about falling down the stairs so many times that she didn’t think anyone could possibly believe it was true.

“I looks like someone hit you.”

“Actually it was a cement floor, but thanks for bringing it up.”

“Who hit you in the face with a cement floor?”

“No one. I fell.”

“Doesn’t sound like you fell,” he said quietly, but didn’t say anything more when Professor Murphy started talking. Lola quickly gave up paying attention to him, instead dwelling on the fact that Glory had a League class that day, and if everything went according to plan Spider would be in custody by nightfall.

I should have killed him, she thought, staring at her notebook on the tabletop. It was an idea that had haunted her for several nights up to that point. She’d never wanted to kill anyone before, and the idea that she was pretty sure that she was angry enough to do it both thrilled and frightened her. Maybe that was all she needed to do to make Dark Lothario take her seriously. No more Mr. Nice Mistress.

Lawrence slid a note across the table to her and her first instinct was to ignore it, but curiosity won out. If you need to talk about anything, it read, I’m here.

Even more fury burned inside of her. What right did he have to be concerned about her welfare when he didn’t want anything to do with her? “I fell down the stairs,” she whispered to him. “That’s all. You’re going to get us kicked out of class again.”

He didn’t say anything more.

*****

As soon as Professor Murphy released the class Lola bolted from the room, but Lawrence followed closely after. He couldn’t help staring at the bruise across her cheek and the more he looked at it, the worse he felt about it. The bruises might have been evidence, but the real truth was in her tone of voice when she denied being hit. No one got that agitated over falling down the stairs.

He followed her down the hall and out of the building, where there was more space in the open air. “Lola, if you’re seeing someone else, if he’s hitting you--”

She stopped and turned to face him. “What? Are you going to be a hero and save me?” He winced at her word usage. He hadn’t been feeling like much of a hero lately. “I can take care of myself. I don’t need your help.”

“Okay,” he said, knowing better than to push the issue. “But if you need help, just call me.” He didn’t know if he could do anything, but if she wanted his help, he would be there. He owed that much to her.

“I’m fine,” she said, and tried to smile. “Really.”

*****

Glory was feeling just fine as she left Memorial Hall later that evening. Her coat hung open over her costume, blowing in the breeze like a wool cape, and she strutted with confidence. She was getting better and better with every combat class she took, even as KP seemed to be falling further and further behind. KP was trailing behind her, less than content with that night’s class. Romeo Avenger had decided that as a sparring partner, KP was slowing down Torch, who was improving almost as fast as Glory. He was working with Blue now, and Torch was working with Cloud.

“Are you coming or what?” she called, turning back to face him. “I cant get into your dorm without you--you have the key.” Torch had hinted that he wanted to stay late and watch TV with Cloud in the common room. Glory certainly wasn’t complaining.

“I dunno America,” he said, trudging down the marble steps in front of the building. “Maybe we should just call it a night. I’m tired.”

“I’m not--c’mon. We don’t have your room alone very often.” She gave him her best smile. “You know, wearing underwear ruins the lines of this outfit.” KP managed to muster up a smile, and she felt better. “C’mon--it’s freezing out here.”

KP caught up to her and she turned back towards the dorms. A scream of surprise caught in her throat--there was a man in black standing in front of them, and he hadn’t been there a second before. “Who are you?” she demanded.

“I’m Trapdoor Spider,” the man said in a doleful voice. “I’m here to turn myself in.”

“Yeah, right,” KP said, coming up beside Glory. “Get out of here you freak. You don’t know who you’re messing with.”

“Wait,” Glory said. “It is Trapdoor Spider. I’ve seen him before, and he looks just like his picture on Acropolis Crime Watch. You really need to spend more time studying.”

Spider had not moved an inch during this exchange. “Please,” he said. “Arrest me already.” He held out his wrists for handcuffs, which Glory of course did not have.

“KP, go find Valkyrie or Romeo.”

“I’m not leaving you alone with this freak,” KP insisted.

Glory rolled her eyes. “Yeah? And what would you do? Float a book at him?”

“That’s harsh,” he said, and turned away. Glory felt a little guilty, but Trapdoor Spider was sufficiently distracting.

“Why are you turning yourself in?” She asked as soon as KP was gone.

“I’ve been trying not to,” Spider said, and Glory was certain she saw tears in his eyes. “I keep trying to leave town, but every time I get past the city limits this nagging, overwhelming urge to see you comes back until it fills my brain and I can’t think of anything else. It’s maddening.”

“Why me?” Glory demanded.

“I don’t know--I just do as I’m told. Will you please cuff me and take me to the police already. I can’t take it anymore and I just want it over with!”

Glory caught a flash of silver metal in the streetlights fly through the air and something landed at her feet with a heavy clinking sound. A pair of handcuffs. The Mistress of Minds stepped out of the shadows created by Memorial Hall’s recessed doorways. “Go on. Cuff him,” she said, her voice sultry and low as ever. She was wearing a new mask--this one covered more of her face, covering from the bridge of her nose over her cheekbones. She was also wearing Spider’s leather jacket with the red painting on the back over her costume.

“What’s going on?” Glory demanded, now wishing she hadn’t sent KP away. She wasn’t sure if she could handle two against one.

“Spider is retiring. He wants to pay off his debt to society.”

Glory glanced at Spider. He had dropped to his knees and was scrambling on the ground, snapping one cuff on his wrist himself. He was crying openly now. “You’re making him do this,” she exclaimed, stepping away from both of them with growing revulsion.

“He deserves to be brought to justice,” the Mistress said.

Spider was crawling on his knees towards Glory now, and she felt like he really was some sort of creeping arachnid. “Not like this,” Glory said, wanting to cry herself but knowing she couldn’t show that weakness in front of the enemy.

“You have no idea, the things that he’s done,” the Mistress said. “He’s the lowest scum on the planet. Worse that Dark Lothario.”

“I doubt that,” Glory couldn’t help but say.

“Do you want him to list his crimes? I can make him--”

“I believe you!” Glory said quickly. “Why me?” she asked again, this time questioning the Mistress of Minds. “Why are you giving him to me?”

“You were the only one who managed to do anything on New Year’s Eve,” she told her. “You’re worthy, and I know you care. Here’s your chance to make a difference. You can take him off the streets, prevent him from hurting anyone else.”

“I thought he was your friend.”

“He’s not my friend,” she said. “None of them are my friends--remember that. I don’t place nice with thugs and people who exploit women for profit. We have that in common, you and I.”

“We don’t have anything in common,” she told her. “You and Dark Lothario--I hate what you do.”

“Just take him down to the police station. Do the right thing. Be Glorious.” The doors to Memorial Hall slammed open, and the Mistress of Minds turned and ran. Glory could have caught her in seconds, but she stood rooted to the spot, Spider clinging to her ankle. Be Glorious. The most dangerous criminal in Acropolis--a super villain--knew who she was.

Romeo Avenger was pulling Spider off of her, and KP had his armed wrapped around her shoulders asking her if she was okay, but all Glory could do was stare at the empty space where the Mistress of Minds had been standing.

*****

The rest of the night was a blur. KP held her while Romeo called the police, and she went down to the station and gave them her statement. No one else had seen the Mistress of Minds, and she didn’t want them to know what had happened. She didn’t want them to know someone so powerful, so evil, knew her name. She was sure to get kicked out of the league, and she needed to stay in training more than ever--she needed to take down the Mistress of Minds, before she changed her mind and went after her.

When Glory finally got home Lola was sitting on the couch in her pajamas eating popcorn and studying one of her psychology books. She looked up as soon as Glory opened the door. “Hey--are you okay?”

The tears she had somehow managed to hold in burst out like a flood, and Lola immediately jumped to her feet and put her arms around Glory. “What happened? Did your boyfriend dump you?”

“Of c-course not,” Glory managed to say through her sobs. “We’re having sex all the time--I’m c-crying because I’m in big trouble!”

Lola steered her to the couch and handed her a tissue. “Go ahead and cry,” she instructed. “Do you want some hot chocolate?” Glory managed a nod, and Lola scrambled to the kitchen, getting out mugs and heating water. She was so lucky to have a best friend like her--they shouldn’t fight anymore. The thought sent a fresh wave of tears, and it wasn’t until Lola had handed her a mug of cocoa and set a plate of cookies in front of her that she was able to speak, her story accentuated by fresh sobs.

Lola sat quietly until Glory was finished. “So you’re not hurt?”

“We just talked, Lola, it was so creepy!”

“I’m sorry. But she doesn’t seem to want to hurt you--”

“She’s using me for her nefarious plans, whatever they are--that’s ten times worse. And she knows who I am! She could come in here any minute--how did she know?”

“You did rescue that woman out of costume,” Lola said.

“The league stopped it from hitting the news,” Glory protested, a nervous lump forming in the pit of her stomach.

“There were people taking pictures all over the place. One or two of them must have reached Dark Lothario somehow.”

“I should move out. It’s not safe for you to stay with me--”

“Glory, it’ll be okay. You’re not going anywhere. I want you to stay.”

“Really?”

“Don’t get too stressed out. From what you just told me, Dark Lothario doesn’t seem to be her friend, and she gift-wrapped that thug for you. Maybe she’s on your side.”

“We’re not on the same side,” Glory insisted. “We can’t be.” She settled into the couch cushions and drank her cocoa, trying to calm down. Lola was probably right at least in the idea that the Mistress of Minds didn’t seem to want to hurt Glory. But what if she wanted to brainwash her into becoming her secret minion? What if she had done it already and Glory just didn’t remember? No matter what her motives were, whether she was good or bad, the Mistress of Minds had to be taken down, just the same as Dark Lothario.

*****

Lola found Dark Lothario at the Red Door Club the next night. She walked up to his table with Hannah, Kioshi, and Ratface in tow, all three of them armed with small, easily concealed arms, just in case things got messy. She was considering ordering them Kevlar body armor. She wore Spider’s jacket again. It felt like a trophy, and as soon as Dark Lothario saw it he stood up and ordered the women longing around him to disperse. He had two large body guards still standing behind him.

“Would you like a seat?” he asked her. She nodded and they sat down at a small table. He snapped his fingers and one of the men stepped forward. “Get me a scotch,” he said. “And for you?” he asked Lola.

“Nothing, thanks,” she said to the bodyguard. He disappeared into the crowd, which, oddly, had grown quiet and was staring at them. Music still blasted from the speakers, but there was no hum of human speech in the room.

“What did you do to Spider?” he asked her.

“I took care of the creepy crawly. I don’t think he will be bothering anyone ever again.”

Dark Lothario stared at her for a moment, his chin resting on his folded hands in contemplation. “What do you want?”

Butterflies fluttered in Lola’s stomach. “His job.”

Dark Lothario laughed. “That is not going to happen.”

“I think that’s exactly what’s going to happen. Or you’ll find more and more of your men starting to disappear, and they might not be as tight-lipped as Spider when they get dropped off at the police station. He’s not going to tell anyone about what he did for you--but the others just might.”

“I should kill you right now and get you out of my way.”

“I don’t know about that. I think I’ve already proved how useful I am. Besides, you won’t kill me. I bet I remind you of someone you used to know. That’s why you like me so much.”

“I don’t like you at all, you little brat.”

Lola got up. “Almost twenty years ago you knew a bank robber named Mesmera. She’s my mother, but I never knew my father.” She turned away before he could react. “Come,” she ordered her minions, and they followed like obedient dogs.

Outside all three of them stared at her. “Dark Lothario is your father?” Hannah asked finally.

Lola shrugged. “We’ll have to wait and see what he does.”

*****

A/N: Sorry again everyone. This has been finished for a few days, but I've been busy. I moved into my grandmothers basement and I took 10 cats to a shelter (a really nice no-kill, foster run program) last week, so I'm a little shell-shocked. I'm hoping to get back on a regular update schedule again now that the worst of losing my house is over with.

Ch 22 Sem 2 Wk 4

Lola returned to the warehouse a few days later, bringing Patricia new reading materials and fresh take-out. There was no one guarding the door, and as soon as she entered the building she knew she would not find Patricia there.

The open space was eerily silent, Lola’s steps echoing though a room void of people and holding only boxes. The door to the office where they had kept Patricia stood open, but it was empty of all of the things Lola had brought her, and there was only Spider, sitting slumped in one of the chairs, wearing a pair of dark glasses.

She set her bags down on the floor. “Why don’t you just tell me where she is and get this over with,” Lola said to him.

“I don’t know where she is,” Spider said. “For some reason the Lothario wouldn’t tell me--he hasn’t told anyone because of you.” He stood up. “I don’t like you.”

“Few people do,” Lola agreed. “It’s one of my many gifts.” She couldn’t see his eyes, and she didn’t like that, unable to see exactly where his eyes were resting. He slipped off his jacket and stepped forward. Even though she was a few yards away Lola stepped backwards on instinct. Lola glanced down and noticed he had a slight limp and a wincing expression in his face.

“You’re the one he can’t control,” Spider said stepping closer. “And I’m the one who suffers for it.” He unbuttoned his shirt and Lola could see the bruises on his torso, purple and ugly. “He’s not just a freakshow you know,” he told her. “The Lothario means business, if you try to cross him. Or betray him.”

Lola’s gaze settled on the bruises across his skin. Did Dark Lothario beat on Spider because he betrayed him, or did he do it to prove a point to her? Perhaps he meant her to see what he was willing to do to someone who wouldn’t cooperate with him. “Bad luck for you,” she offered.

“Or you. Do you know why they call me Trapdoor Spider? I like to set a trap…and pounce on my prey.” His lips curled up into a smile that she did not like. “That’s you, in case you were wondering.”

Lola spun around to run away, but even injured Spider was faster, not having the deterrent of spike heeled boots. He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back, her scalp stinging as she stumbled backwards into him. They both crashed to the floor in a heap. Spider was used to unwilling victims, but Lola had never been a victim to anyone, giving him the advantage. She struggled to free herself from his grasp but with his fingers still wrapped in the curls of her hair he slammed the side of her face hard into the concrete floor.

Pain shattered across her cheek and jaw, disorienting her. “Stop it,” she tried to say even as her mouth filled with blood, clawing in vain at his forearm. A second blow came to the back of her head, and the pain reverberated through her skull for only seconds before the world blinked out around her, a light bulb going dead.

*****

Glory sighed, laying her head on KP’s bare shoulder, slightly sweaty and naked except for her red mask, her hair a tangled blond mane around her. KP was wearing only his mask too, and she traced the edges of it with her finger. “I like the mask,” she said. “Gives you an air of mystery.”

“Mystery?” KP said. “There’s not much mystery here,” he joked, lifting the blanket.

They had his dorm room to themselves for a few precious hours while Torch spent the evening taking extra lessons to control his fire powers. It was the seventh time they had had sex--Glory was counting--and she was really starting to enjoy herself. She sat up and let the blanket fall away. “We don’t know each other that well,” she said. “There’s plenty of mystery left.”

She didn’t worry about it the way she used to. She had learned to be content with what they had. She felt a sense of calm after being with him, and it made the rest of the world--school, Dark Lothario--bearable. “I wonder what it will be like, years down the line.”

“Years?”

“Yeah. Once we’re settled in the League--full time heroes. You can be a nerdy professor by day, and a dark warrior by night.” Dark warrior--she liked the sound of that, though admittedly it did not bring her images of KP in his Kevlar lined tweed. “I will do something no one would ever suspect--work with kids maybe--but secretly I will be crime fighter extraordinaire.”

He sat up too. “I can’t imagine do this forever. I was pretty useless when we went out into the field. ”

“You were just nervous,” Glory said, explaining away the sudden dull feeling in her stomach. “You’ll fall into this in no time, I‘m sure of it.. We’ll be the perfect crime fighting team. And our kids will be amazing--”

“Kids, huh?” he said. “Aren’t we getting ahead of ourselves?”

“It’s just a fantasy,” she said. “Two I think--one with your powers and one with mine. Of course we’ll start training little Kinetic Junior early so he isn’t so far behind when he joins the league--”

“America--”

“We’ll name the girl Liberty, after the Statue of Liberty--she’ll need a strong role model to look up to--”

“America, stop.”

“What?”

“Stop planning my future. It makes me uncomfortable.“ He grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her back down beside him. “We only have an hour until Torch comes back from his training, and I have one condom left. Let’s make use of it. No talk of kids right now.”

She leaned over to kiss him. “Definitely not. My mother would kill me.”

“Yours and mine both,” he said, and grasped for the foil wrapped packet.

*****

Pain shot through Lola’s head with every pulse of blood rushing through it. At first she didn’t want to open her eyes, but she felt a tugging on the laces of her corset, and her situation rushed back into her aching brain. “Goddamn laces,” she heard Spider mutter, and she was grateful she had such a complicated costume.

Afraid to move, she lay still to assess her situation. She tasted blood in her mouth, felt something wet and warm on her face that was most likely more blood. All of the pain was localized to her head, which was unfortunate because that was the only part of her body that was any good in a fight. She didn’t think she had been unconscious for more than a few moments. She felt him stand up, mumbling something about a box cutter. You are so dead, she thought, the room spinning as she sat up. Guns. I think I will change my stance on guns.

She saw Spider with his back to her, digging around in the drawers of the desk. Lola eased herself to her feet and managed to disappear into the stacks of boxes. The pain in her head did not lessen, but her mind seemed to clear. They were the only people in the building--it would be easy enough to simply slip out the door, but she wasn’t looking to escape. She was looking for revenge.

Lola bent down carefully, the blood rushing though her head making her want to throw up, but she managed to unzip her boots and pull them off. On flat feet she would have the advantage over the limping Spider.

Spider turned back to the empty spot on the floor where she had lain. “Aw shit,” he exclaimed. His body language shifted into an alert mode, and he glanced around the room. “Where are you little girl?” he called, holding the box cutter tight in his hand. “Why don’t you come out and let’s finish this like men.”

Lola tensed from her hiding place. She needed some sort of weapon, some way to get the drop on him. She searched the room. Boxes were stacked high in front of her and around her a wall behind her. “Do you really think a girl like you has a chance against a guy like me?” Spider called out. “You’re not a villain. You don’t know how to be. You’re just a spoiled little brat that needs put in her place.”

Lola’s eyes came to rest on a fire extinguisher hanging on the wall. She would have to run past a large gap in the boxes, but she was sure she could get there first. Lola dashed past the opening, and sure enough Spider shouted in recognition. She wrenched the extinguisher off the wall, surprised at its heft. A large, awkward weapon, but the best she could do under the circumstances.

Suddenly inspired, Lola pulled the pin and aimed the hose, turning around just as Spider reached her. The extinguisher jerked in her hand when she squeezed the trigger and a cloud of chemicals erupted from the end, aimed directly at Spider’s face. He wasn’t expecting a chemical attack and yelled as it hit his eyes. Lola lurched forward and slammed the extinguisher as hard as she could into his face.

Spider crumpled immediately, his body falling forward with a soft thud at her bare feet. Lola stared down at his still chemical covered form. She couldn’t manipulate the mind of an unconscious person.

*****

America had fallen asleep on Lawrence’s shoulder, and he couldn’t help but reach out and stroke her shining blond hair. Here was a super model naked next to him, and yet he couldn’t be completely happy with the situation. It wasn’t her fault--but he had a sinking feeling that he could never be what she wanted him to be. All he could do was hold on to her while he could, and be gracious when it was time to let her go.

*****

Spider moaned and rolled his head as he came to. Lola hadn’t had much time and after a quick search of the premise all she had was a roll of masking tape to her disposal (shouldn’t a lair of super villains be better equipped?), but was good enough. He was taped (mostly) upright in a chair. His unconscious body had been heavy and hard to maneuver, so he slumped a little and probably wasn’t very comfortable. Most importantly she had taped his head to the smooth glass wall of the office behind him so he could not look away from her. “Hello, Spider,” she said, looking him in the eye. She sat down in a chair opposite him so that they were eye level.

“Wha?” He attempted to stand up and found himself effectively bound. “Oh, no, no.”

Lola couldn’t help but smile through the pain in her head and the uncomfortable revulsion she felt towards him. “You’re all mine now,” she said.

“Let me go you freaky girl!” Spider struggled against the tape, but she had used quite a bit of it, and he was much more thoroughly injured than she was. She had not considered it bad form to put her boots back on and kick him a few times while he was out, circumstances being what they were.

“What shall I make you do to yourself?” She mused aloud.

“I hate you,” Spider said again. He attempted to spit at her but failed, drool running down his chin.

“That’s disgusting,” she said. “First of all, you’re going to turn yourself in to a hero in training named America the Beautiful. You can find her in Memorial Hall on campus. Tuesday evening. You will bring no one with you and tell no one where you are going. You will throw yourself to her feet and beg her to take you to the police, and cooperate with her fully. At the police station you will confess to everything bad you have ever done, except you will make no mention of anything or anyone in relation to me or Dark Lothario.” She stared hard at him. There was no guarantee that he would stay in jail once he was there, especially if Dark Lothario’s lawyers got involved. She had to do more. “Once in jail you will discover a fascination with the neuter subculture. Are you familiar with that?”

Spider shook his head. “No, not that.”

“Yes that. You’ll become obsessed with the idea, until you finally decide you have to cut them off. I’m sure some of your prison buddies will help with the procedure. And you’ll hate yourself the entire time, because you know everything you’ve ever done in your life was disgusting and depraved. You know you deserve it. You know you’re slime.”

“I hate you, I hate you,” Spider repeated, crying. “I’m going to kill you--”

“You are not going to kill me. You’re not going to hurt anyone ever again. In prison, when they’re beating on you, having their way with you--you’re not going to fight back. You’re just going to let them.”

“I hate you,” he said one more time, little more than a whisper.

Lola stood up. She saw his jacket still on the floor where he had dropped it earlier. She scooped it up and pulled it on. It fit just right. A trophy. She took his box cutter and sliced though the layers of tape holding him down. “I don’t care if you hate me,” Lola said. “You can’t do anything about it any more.”

*****

Lola moved slowly as she got out of the Lotus and climbed the stairs to her lair, feeling heavy, her head aching. She had narrowly avoided a terrible fate--that was bad enough. But now she had just taken Dark Lothario’s right hand man away from him.

Lola stripped out of her costume, fingers clumsy as she worked the laces and hooks holding her into the leather cat suit. She was glad she had a lair with a bathroom. Looking in the mirror she saw the ugly bruise forming across her cheek. Dried blood crusted around what was actually a very small cut, and the cut in the inside of her mouth when her face hit the floor was swollen and painful.
She looked pretty bad.

Lola got into the shower, the hot water soothing her even as it stung her face. She felt the lump on the back of her head and was grateful her hair covered it, because it was large and very tender. She was going to have a hard enough time explaining away her face.

Lola stood under the water for a long time before getting out and dressing in her street clothes. She stared at Spider’s jacket tossed aside on the couch. She had a strong urge to put it on and wear it home, but she resisted. Glory might recognize the jacket. Glory. She didn’t want to go home to her, but knew it would be even worse if she didn’t.

When she got home the apartment was dark, and she was relieved. She climbed into bed, exhausted, and slept.

*****

The next morning Glory was eating breakfast when Lola stumbled into the room. Her spoon dropped with a splash into her cereal and she somehow managed not to scream. “What happened to your face?”

“Ice on the stairs,” Lola mumbled through a swollen mouth. “I slipped. I’m fine.”

“You are not fine,” Glory said, getting up and rushing over to Lola. “Did you go to the hospital?”

“No, it’s not a big deal.”

“Your face looks like it’s been hit by a wrecking ball!”

“Does it?” Glory stared, aghast, as Lola picked up their tea kettle and looked at her metallic reflection. “Hm. It didn’t look so bad last night.”

Glory went to the freezer and got out some ice, dumping it into a dish towel and handing it over to her friend. “Here.” Lola winced as she applied the ice to her broken face. “You fell down the stairs you said?”

“Yeah. On campus.”

“But they’re really good about salting everything,” Glory said, her voice getting smaller. Was Lola still seeing that boy from last semester?

“It was a lesser used staircase,” Lola insisted. “I’m fine Glory, I promise.” She sighed. “I think I’m going to skip class today.”

“Good idea,” Glory said, still suspicious. But Lola wasn’t the type of girl that would end up in the kind of relationships that ended in the mess across her face. Of course it had just been an accident. Bad luck--that was all.

*****

A/N: Ugh. I hate writing action, and I'm glad this chapter is over. I'll try to post another part on friday/sat if I can. Thanks everyone for the patience and support.

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. :)

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 café 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)