There were three stages to the supervillain game, really.
1. The stage where you worked to make your evil plan happen.
2. The execution.
3. Aftermath.
Deca’s modus operandi, as probably one of the most feared and powerful supervillains in the world, seemed to be destroy a massive areas, cause chaos and havoc. However, he did so fairly infrequently. Mainly because he was, if anything, an expert planner and worker who was very dedicated to his craft. His meaningless rounds of murder and destruction were very hard to put together. His next plan had taken him 8 months, really, to put together. Putting in mostly 20 hour days. There were still plenty of people in America who would be very impressed with his work ethic.
Deca drove a truck going up to a security gate. His headquarters were in a desert in one of the surprisingly empty quarters of Orange county. He drove forward it and the door opened allowing him to enter. He proceeded to a building in what looked to be a disused electronics office.
He was nervous. In movies or TV, when a villain hatches an evil scheme the transition between going from the working to the execution was dangerous. That’s always when James Bond came in to stop them from using the Heiliocent Device. Deca wasn't a stupid man, and he knew the world would try to stop him. He didn't super begrudge the world for it either - but he was so close...so very close...
But wel llife . Richard Maclaine was a former Stock Trader, with incredible Telepathic power. He went to UCLA, where he learned about money and how people think-well litterally he was a telepath that was the main trick. He could read minds there passions and what they planned to do with companies and stocks.
And as he learned was often wrong about it. That was the big lesion. He went out to New York for a week to listen to the minds of the stock exchanges and private clubs- to read in some cases fortune 500 companies ceos minds---and even with perfect knowledge of the world fucked it up a lot in his first six months. He lost money when a big deal he tried to short based on a lower earnines report on a Tech Company ended up overall raising the value of the stock.
It was a humbling experience-but by and by over the next view years he learned to do more-to take the unexpected to balance desires and fears, hopes and dreams-and take all of them.
Somehow it had lead him here as he entered the main floor
Deca watched the group toil.
Robots; all of them robots.
It wasn't that he didn't trust people - that was the wrong word. His superpower was fundamentally super-honesty. He knew what evil lurked in the hearts of men, and he trusted that. No. He mainly used machines because of...well philosophy may be one word, credo may be better.
If he made something, he did it. He was responsible for it. And he wanted to be responsible to have stake in his action. A general of men stood on the backs of his men - Alexander was just a little Greek guy who took credit - but he...well, his robot minions were an extension of him.
It was arguably the ultimate extension of a Rand philosophy, complete with a fair amount of racism against Hispanics.
Of course there where people - he just didn't surface them - tons of workers who made the first robots, plenty of people who did the actual work. And Of course his money had come from stealing information and a little bit of other stuff from people who had worked for them, or at least invested them wisely. Or poorly on gimmicks. He was at heart a simple thief. Like the government, except unlike the government he didn't give people roads or Columbus Day.
And besides, taking apart Rand’s philosophy was pretty tiresome.
He shrugged. Ahh...it was life. And in the small corner of his mind that would still register human emotion he liked Columbus Day. He didn't have a good reason for it, as he thought Columbus was a dirty Italian.
His robots were neither dirty nor Italian.
And he actually wasn't really an objectivist or anything, he was far crazier then that. Which said something.
He shook his head and went back to his work: programming an override to Airspace control protocols. It was hacking, but well...that was another thing that took of planning to do properly. And also involved both stealing information from air traffic controllers heads, and paying a couple of them off. Ahh, well...
Deca’s eyes glazed over a bit. At some point in his life he had decided to become a machine-based supervillain - which meant he had to learn a lot about machines, and how to program them. It could be interesting actually. He did have some genuine interest in it. But it could be very tedious, looking at numbers on a screen. It had very little do with destroying a city or to draw out his foe, and watching the life be sucked out of her. Well, abstractly it did, yes, have something to with that, but not really.
His first battle with mazing girl was really his second major event. his first major battle had built his first metal suit and attacked fairly randomly he would admit a Shopping center in Artesia(why artesia he didn't have a good anwser). It had went better then he expected. Police showed up if not swat and he managed to defeat about five cop cars-killing about 26 or so in the process. He had killed before, but never on scale. The metal suit that he had spent about 9 months devoloping work liked a glove- better when the bullets bounced-well..
The real fun part he remembered was destroying the parking metters next to the place- it was fun when he ripped them out and smashed them good in a nice long row. it appealed to his ocd side.
his next attack six days latter when he attempted to destroy a school-well thats when he met her. Thats when he was forced to take a boy hostage to escape, and thats when she managed to save the boy he took hostage, even if he got away. failure.
Decas name came from the fact that his suit was as powerful as 10 men. Well there was a design flaw in there guess what?
Two days letter the FBI peirced together the clues-and sennsibly brought her in as opposed to the army. he had repaired his suit increased its strength as best as he could but she beat him. it was in a small park outside of his home. she jumped in through the trees, which he didn't expect. He punched her a couple of times-and this time, this time he managed to knock her back .Set his auto cannons, and for a second-just 5 seconds really he though he beat. he though the muzzle flash of the guns and the bullets was really going to do her in-
But then she got up. shaken yes but she got up. Yes mazing girl was to powerful for him, she could walk through the hail of bullets and grab him and rip his arm off until he was nude- even the gortex base layer she ripped off and left him naked and humilated defeated as she looked down at him, so big so supperiror so......
When a red alert went off on his desk.
And something popped up on his screen. It was a security monitor showing a giant bull-like creature with a green mask and an odd outfit. He was standing on top of his building, little lights coming out of his arm cannons.
Blizzard. The champion of Orange County. The hero inspired by World of Warcraft.
Fun.
*****
Blizzard looked around, uncharacteristically cautious. There had been something about this place that didn't quite feel right. A check of records suggested that this old building hadn't been used in months - but it was unusually clean.
Then he heard a noise.
"HI," said a voice.
Blizzard turned his head and body to see a gigantic mechanical man 7 and a half feet tall and covered in horrible plating that formed circles around his body in silver. A black cape, an eyeless helmet. He had never met him, never seen him, but he knew who it was. Deca. Standing 20 feet away.
It meant ten Blizzard thought. It was funny how thought processes went
"I"VE NEVER ACTUALLY TESTED THE NEW ARMOUR AGIANST A REAL FOE. THIS WILL BE USEFUL."
Blizzard considered. He knew he couldn't be cautious. He knew he couldn't be scared. But fear filled a small part of his heart.
Then he screamed.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" he screamed, running towards Deca. He pulled from his back a giant AX. He pressed a button to electrify it to its highest level.
"Electrical attack!"
It hit Deca on the shoulder.
And did nothing at all.
Deca swatted him away, knocking him across the roof.
"ELECTRICAL? I KNOW THAT’S NOT GOING TO HURT ME AT ALL. THAT’S JUST TO PROTECT ME AGIANST A SHORT. I THOUGHT YOU WHERE A COLD BASED HERO."
Blizzard pulled up his gun. Out of which came a giant bullet of liquid nitrogen. He hoped the aiming computer was really good.
It hit Deca in the face.
"GOOD TARGET....BUT...DIAGNOSTIC PROGRAM RUNNING.....AHH, NOPE. NOTHING."
Blizzard started to run, both arms stretched toward his target shooting bullet after bullet. Some hit. Some didn't. But Deca was pelted.
And started to walk forward.
"THIS IS BEGINNING TO BORE ME."
Blizzard got up, his legs hurt a lot from the throw, and just punched Deca’s chest as he came at him. Blizzard realized that was a mistake. He had broken his hand. It didn't hurt too much. Yet. Shock really, but...
"IT’S NOT YOU," Deca told him. "I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU ARE A CREDIBLE THREAT...”
Deca punched blizzard in the face...and the green mask cracked and fell to the ground. As did Blizzard, now a pitiful heap. Deca looked at his opponents face. My god...
"BOBBY KOTECK!" Deca marvelled. "PRESIDENT OF ACTIVISION/BlIZZARD!"
"Do what you will," said Mr. Koteck.
Deca grabbed him in his hands, holding him like a piece of limp cheese, as his own mask pulled down to revel his real face.
He looked at the poor mass in front of him.
"Have you told anyone where you are?"
"Plenty," bluffed Blizzard.
"No. You’re lying. I can read your mind. Going out on a lie. That’s a shitty thing," said Deca.
Then he ripped off Blizzards head with a single movement of his arm.
Deca sighed.
Murder was something he generally enjoyed. In the moment.
Dead bodies were tricky - and by god he couldn't quite find Blizzard’s head.
The mind-read suggested that Blizzard didn't have any particular steps in place if he disappeared, but a man like him was...well, he was the head of one of the top 100 American companies...he probably couldn't stay missing for long.
He could hide the body somewhere – but, well...no head. And people expect that.
He sighed. He liked the pleasure of telling the world what stuff he did - like killing one of the two major heroes in the county...but if put his body out at the front gate people would start snooping - well pretty much anywhere - people would start snooping. This was going to be a hassle, even if he just hid it.
And if he did that, no one would find out that the orc clad superhero of cold justice was really a pudgy business executive in his mid 50s, who had once been in the Brad Pitt movie "Moneyball" as the nebish team owner. And he’d been good in it to.
It was kind of funny really, and Deca wanted to share the joke with the world.
But no head...
********
Deca built a metal box. A casket of sorts really, though no real funeral was held. He hid into his new...device.
He didn't expect the device to survive his big attack. But that’s okay. Only robots or dead bodies would be there, and there would be many more dead bodies.
However with luck they would find Blizzard...and know.
Deca liked the idea of it.
And he was extra pleased when a small robot came in holding the head.
"GOOD JOB!"
He patted the little thing, though it was just a machine.
Showing posts with label Superhero. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Superhero. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
William Tell Overature
Sarah had once estimated that she was 'Mazing Girl maybe 25% of the time. This was a good balance, she thought. It allowed her a job, a bit of a life, and while one could abstractly say that these were distractions, she felt at least without perspective she would have been a very bad 'Mazing Girl. Though that's kind of a contradiction in terms, if one took, as was commonly thought (mazing was a contraction of amazing) and not as she maintained (that mazing was its own word). However, she thought she'd found the fine line.
So most of the time she was just a normal woman living in LA.
She had however several elements of her life that weren't normal.
- Sarah hadn't been to a dentist since she was 13. Her teeth were perfect. No cavities, no tooth decay. She did brush her teeth, but did so more for cleanliness...when she remembered to. She was, for all practical purposes, invulnerable - including her teeth. Which affected her in a lot of ways. She vaguely remembered going to dentists, and did occasionally get toothbrushes as presents, but didn't really have any fear of them, or any notions of them. They were for other people. Dentists were one of the weird exotic people she went to appear like other people, and who she occasionally met socially. She had a very brief relationship with one, right out of college, that never evolved more then 5 dates and 2 fucks. She remembered the brief relationship mostly for his comment of how pretty her teeth were. When he mentioned that, unlike a doctor, he could legally treat her, Sarah had wondered if that would become a problem later. But it all sorted itself out when she learned he laughed a too little loud at movies.
- Sarah was fairly pale. When people quizzed her on it, she said she had Irish blood in her - which was true - but in truth, no amount of sun would cause her to tan. In fiction there are stories of perfect maidens of might flying off into the cornea of the sun. That seemed like an awful bother, and she could be kind of lazy. Better to look quasi-goth. Except she had red hair.
- Sarah's skin prevented her from getting any tattoos. In college Sarah liked tattoos on guys, and gotten several temporary ones - but nope. Her skin didn't let it work at all. Which was okay. It was ironic, as she worked in one of the few professional industries where a lot of visible tattoos is not going to hurt your employment
- Same for piercings. She didn't have earrings. When she she did wear them they were clip-on. For an art geek she had fairly limited knowledge of it. Both of these together were why she had never seriously gone punk. It would look kind of silly on her.
-Sarah's metabolism was kind of screwy. She ate a fair amount, and had at times tried to diet, but how much she did eat rarely effected her that much. Sarah tended to gain and loose about 15 pounds and two pants sizes with some frequency - sometimes within a month, going from 'plump', to the 'large side of average'. She usually tended to stay at rubenseque, and yes over the last 5 or six years she had gained more - but she attributed it to her superheroing and the constant constant excretes that entailed (on an average night she ran maybe 100 miles) to her gaining a lot of muscle - but some was certainly fat.
- This was particularly noticeable on her boobs. For those who have paid close to the stories, you will note that her boobs are sometimes described as D cups, or E. This isn't a mistake. Her breasts, sometimes on a day by day basis, grew and shank. Not dramatically, but noticeably on her foundation garments.
-This meant she had actually three sets of clothing that she took in and out of storage on a regular basis. It was one of the reasons that, for the most part, none of her outfits were all that expensive. It would get to her. However, she could rotate things better this way, so for a woman some of her clothing was fairly old for a 27 year old.
- It also meant that she looked to be maybe a 160 pounds to the average person. She actually weighted 320. Her muscles were very big, and very strong. But that was just a number.
These were the things she primarily noticed day to day. However, the stuff you might think, her strength, her stamina, didn't weigh on her mind so much. Average society had cars, trucks-it encouraged a kind of sedentary lifestyle which meant one rarely actually lifted very much weight. Sarah lived in a city and in an industry that encouraged a kind of bodybuilders mentality, of lifting 100s of pounds to achieve sweaty perfection. The shows producer, Robert Haskins, looked damn swollen, like someone out of a muscle of fitness magazine. But how much did he actually use this sitting behind a desk?
This was despite the fact that her job did involve a certain amount of lifting, it was never that much. The definition of a prop was something someone lifted - which meant it was liftable. Or if not liftable by an average person, lighter. The guns she used where mostly fake ones that weighed maybe a pound. Boxes labelled 'Heavy' were just empty boxes.
Once, when they did an episode of the show in a gym, she posed for a photo carrying a 500 pound weight over her head, with one hand, laughing.
Of course, it really weighed maybe 5 pounds.
Now this was abstractly not all that funny. A stupid sight gag. Out of something from Johnny Carson.
But to her it was hilarious! It had been the wallpaper on her computer for a couple of months. Which was perhaps yet another sign how different she was from other people.
However, her wallpaper was eventually replaced with a picture of her cat, so it all worked out in the end.
All of this meant one thing: That when Sarah was out and about - as she was one day when she went shopping in a Target store at Manhattan Beach - that when circumstances required her to have superpowers - it sometimes forgot her.
(Note for non-American audiences: Target ia a large retail chain, selling stuff like clothing, children's bikes, garden supplies - things you wouldn't find in a grocery store. Except recently it had moved very heavily into groceries. It was a store that lacked a lot of focus. Also technically speaking, it ruled about 1/3 of Canada. However, this rarely came up)
Sarah was shopping there for things one bought at Target. Her list included bras, oil for her car, soda, and possibly some jeans if she was in the mood.
None of these items were in her cart.
She was in fact in the DVD section. Target had a fairly good selection actually. In an industry that was drying up the target selection was pretty much the place to go if you wanted actual DVD's, and didn't want to go to Amazon - no more Blockbusters, Barnes and Nobles, or Sam Goodies - just, well... This was somehow heartening really - yep, it still existed.
And there was a copy of the movie Lone Ranger in Sarah's hand.
Sarah hadn't seen it, which was slightly troubling. The Lone Ranger was a superhero movie, and she usually watched pretty much every one of them that came out (and Sarah would have been interested to know there had been 60 in the last 10 years). Yep, she had watched them - even Super Capers, a movie that played about 20 theatres, stared the star of Dungeons and Dragons, and was pretty, cheapily, terrible) But she hadn't seen that one yet.
She knew that it didn't review well, though, and she had heard it was mostly an excuse to give Johnny Depp to play Weird Redface. She was still going to watch it.
The question was: Would she spend 25 bucks for the privilege, to own a physical copy she could watch any time?
She considered it.
The DVD case itself was pretty nice, and she had thought the second trailer was kind of visually interesting in a western way without going too heavily into steampunk, which was getting a tad tiresome in mainstream movies.
So she considered a little longer. Definitely not the Blueray. She didn't like paying extra for Blueray.
It was at this time that a loading truck hit one of the aisles, an aisle that wasn't properly bolted to the ground, and knocked it over. The aisle holding a great quantity of decorative rugs...
And there was suddenly a great amount of screaming in the store.
Which is where the story came to a fore. Sarah went from busy reading the DVD copy about a superhero, to actually being a superhero.
She shook her head.
Sarah reached into her grocery cart, and pulled out her costume bag.
And looked around.
People seemed to be lost in a panic, and it wasn't that crowded, which was good.
Because she was starting to hum the William Tell Overture...
Sarah grabbed her bag and ran into the pet food section. "Dah dadadh dahdadha, dah dadah dahdahdha, dah dadadahd dahdadh, dahdahddhahdah..."
The pet food section was empty. She was pretty quick at this, and in a few seconds she was down to her bra and panties.
She was going to get a new set actually. Should she slip over and take one? No, no...that would be dishonest. These would have to do.
She pulled up her pants and tugged on her boots - but just as she was going to put on her top an old man walked in.
"What the...?"
"Can you excuse me?" asked Mazing Girl. "I could use a little privacy here!"
And he turned and walked away. Which was pretty decent of him.
"Dah dadadh dahdadha, dah dadah dahdahdha, dah dadadahd dahdadh, dahdahddhahdah..."
'Mazing Girl ran through the store.
The aisle was half on its side, hitting the other side as it did. People were crawling out underneath.
Sarah grabbed hold of the 5 tons of plastic and steel (and semi quality carpeting) and pulled it to the side. It was stable enough now.
She looked in. There appeared to be someone buried in pillows. Though probably he or she had hit their head.
"Do dedededo do, Do dedededo do"
She ran over towards her (it was obvious about 20 feet that it was a woman) though she looked to be kind of punkish lesbian where one might initially be confused, like when Sarah's vision was slightly out of focus from taking off her glasses off, or you where being homophobic(and given sarahs recent life decisions...ahh). what she was doing in the throw pillows aisle at Target wasn't sure.
She pushed the pillows off to see her face - the woman was out of it, unnnscious from a pretty bad concussion. She was, however, breathing.
"Someone call an ambulance!" suggested someone who came up behind her.
"Good idea!" agreed Sarah. "You do that."
"I came to buy a new cellphone. I lost mine yesterday at Jewish delicatessen"
Sarah seethed slightly. The fact that it was a Jewish delicatessen wasn't something she needed to know. I mean, was there even such a thing as a non-jewish delicatessen, to serve unkosher meat? She supposed that Halal was kind of the same thing, but not really. And anyway, markets weren't called delicatessens, but were typically just called markets.
And there she went thinking stupid stuff. What kind of adventure was this?
Badah bum.
"Hey!" another man said. "Something weird is going on at the front of the store."
"Dah dadadh dahdadha, dah dadah dahdahdha, dah dadadahd dahdadh, dahdahddhahdah."
Sarah rushed forward...and then tripped on some pillows.
"Dah dadadh dahdadha, dah dadah dahdahdha, dah dadadahd dahdadh, dahdahddhahdah..."
She got up and looked at her knee. It wasn't skinned or hurt, it just looked normal - which was something that was slightly shocking to her, but still...
"Do dedededo do, Do dedededo do, do dedoedeodeodedoedeodeo.....dooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"
This was the back of the store, the ceiling was 20 feet tall - not really enough space to jump. But all Target outlets have a huge menacing aisle that usually held strollers and Nature CD's. She jumped over it in a quick leap, bending her head slightly.
Badad bum.
She saw what the guy was talking about. 10 or so thieves - not wearing masks and white stripped shirts - (again, not with the shirts) were at the cash registers. They had guns. The security guard had probably heard the commotion in the back - which they had caused - now they're free to do their business. Except...
"dah dadadh dum dum dud, dah dadah dadumdum, dah dadadahd dummmmmm, dahdahddhahdah"
She spoke loudly in the middle of the aisles, where according to probability theory the most traffic was, "Stop you thieves! Or..."
One of the thieves very quickly put a gun to a cashiers head.
"Or what?" he asked.
Dededededededededed de de de de deeeeeee de de dedeeeh de dede dedede de do do do do.
She just played the tune in her head, as humming at this point would be kind of crass.
Sarah felt that talk would be useless now, as well.
So she grabbed a pair of jeans off a nearby rack - not her size, they were just convenient.
DEDEDED DEDED DEDEDEDEDE. Ded du...
Then she paused. This wasn't going to help..
The thief looked perplexed, and he moved his gun ever so slightly..
DE de dede deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee,ded dededededededede.....
Sarah saw a shopping cart and pushed it forward, springing a large amount of merchandise everywhere...as it hit the guy straight in the chest.
dah dah dah dah dah dah dah dah dah dah..dah dadada. Dadadaha.da da dad dada dadad dadaddada ......
He hit a cash register and was knocked out.
The other robbers all looked at each other, and raised their hands in surrender.
daha dad da dah dah dah ded dededed de ded dedd.........
DUmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmM!!!!!!
And Sarah looked around looking for cheers at the end of the music. except no one was actually hearing it except her.
******
That night Sarah did buy the DVD, even if she ended up picking her backpack up and going to another Target. The movie was actually very good. Arnie Hammer was a good actor, and he had the chops to play an action hero better then a lot of big actions heroes. He seemed to realise that his career as a leading man was at stake, and had given it a good college try. The box office takings, and some of the other performances that didn't live up it, notwithstanding, it was good, fun movie.
And when they played William Tell Overture, she hummed so loud her cat left the room.
But it was fun, because no matter what powers she possessed, anybody could hum the William Tell overture, and be human. just like her.
Despite the fact that she forgot to brush her teeth that night and suffered no ill consequences whatsoever.
None.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
A Delightful Day at the Musuem...and Nothing Else
Sarah opened her eyes. There wasn't alcohol clouding them but somehow she felt confused. She wasn't in her own bed, that much was for sure. This room had light coming in through windows that weren’t covered by thick curtains, in general it was lighter...more refined, with an air of subtle sophistication. The room was judging her and she hadn't spent a conscious minute in it. That was unfair.
Sarah then looked over. A shoe was about to drop she knew. Someone was next to her, under sheets that Sarah could already determine smelt a bit like sex and fear. Despite herself and her foggy mind Sarah found this rather enchanting. It was a mystery...a wonderful surprise in a way. Who was this enchanting delight that was part of her delightfully fucked up life? One of the treats.
Next to her, wrapped up surprisingly tight in blankets, was the Flame. Her long brown hair was put over Sarah’s shoulder and she wore a smile of contentment. Flame was nude of course, and Sarah got a look at her very flat narrow back. In a way it was pretty. As were her arms that looked like tent-poles compared to Sarah’s.
Eternal Flame: ‘Mazing Girl’s superhero cohort; the psychic who created fire from nothing. The Flame the eerie looking girl who saw right through Sarah. The Flame...the gingham dressed heroine that frankly looked like something from a Tim Burton film. Woman. Female. Possessor of Oviares. That Flame. As Sarah looked around the room, she had thought it would be gothier. There was a lot of tasteful white furniture and subtle colors.
Sarah had a sensation there were several options here. Though in the last couple of months they had grown to know each other a bit, she still... well, Sarah was kind of creeped out by the girl who talked in a singsong voice that suggested murder. Yet here Sarah was, with a vigina that felt gushy...obviously something had happened that she had no reason to forget, but her mind wasn't quite remembering. Perhaps a little panic would help.
But she couldn't quite work her way up to panic. Instead she decided to be more neutral. She leaned over and hugged her new lover from behind, wrapping her arms around the woman who was as flat chested as a board. She nuzzled into her. Sarah cupped her breasts - or what there was of them. Flame had the kind that suggested yes, this was a breast...but nothing more. Sarah traced her stomach and several ribs, finding the smallest hint of abdominals. I mean she had to work out to be a hero...how could she be this thin? Then a finger went between her legs.
"It’s too early," said Flame’s voice. And Sarah agreed with that.
She closed her eyes and tried to remember...
********
Last night she had been thrown roughly into the room...her arms tied behind her back, her body beaten, her spirit had been crushed. Well, it was a hard spirit to crush, but it had been given a pounding.
She had been patrolling the city, feeling rather happy with herself, when she got shot in the ass. Normally that was a pain...in the ass, but this one was a very strong dart, that injected her with what she had been told was enough tranquilizer to bring down a pack of elephants.
The force of the hit disrupted her jump, and as she spiralled into the side of a building. The impact didn't do wonders. She landed on the ground in a heap...and while she tried to get up she was starting to feel really ’Mazingly groggy. Alcohol did affect her, but she was feeling worse now then she ever did in her life.
A group of thugs - anything more then their groupness and their thugness was lost on her - came at her and beat her up some more. Frankly the drugs were taking effect and she really didn't feel most of it as she half heartedly put up a fight.
She remembered throwing up on one of the thugs shoes. Take that shoes. That’ll fuck em...
She found herself being brought into a building -again a building – and into an office.
"Ahh!” said a man waiting in the office. “The mighty ‘Mazing woman,"
"Wait till I get your hands on me," said ’Mazing Girl, almost instantly aware that hadn't really made a lot of sense.
"Charming as always," the man observed. Did she know the voice? She thought she did. Her eyes just weren't working properly.
"Set the chain," the man ordered.
She felt her hands being brought behind her back, and something put around that the informed was: "Tripple strength titanium based alloy. That strut could hold up the Empire State Building."
"So. Come on...tell me your evil plan," urged ‘Mazing Girl. It was good to fall back on what you know.
"You'll figure it out. It does involve you staying alive, so that’s something in your favor. You’re worth a lot to me alive...well, worth more to other people."
Then she put it together. "Kraygen."
"Yeah we've met" he said
Kraygen was a mercenary. She hard heard from various sources that he used to work for the Canadian government, in their secret service, which really made her give it up for Canada. He was somewhere between a thug and a criminal mastermind, depending on the day of the week. He was the kind of the guy who could, say, shoot down a flying superheroine with a high powered dart and capture her and take her to a building. It all added up.
"Put her in the room," he said. "You look like you lost some water in the process. We’ll get you some. Don't worry, I want you alive and healthy.”
By this time ‘Mazing Girl was only just shy of unconsciousness. Still she soldiered on and managed to step on the foot of the thug behind her. There was no real power in it, but that will show em. His shoes must be really messy.
*****
So she was thrown in a small storage room. Most stories like this featured an abandoned warehouse. This looked more like a small office space. She was tossed on the floor.
"who is that?" a voice asked quietly.
This voice Sarah was able to identify more readily.
"Flame! You’re the Living Flame!"
"eternal flame," said the voice. "but points for effort."
The Flame looked Sarah over. “’mazing girl. good finally they got you."
"What?" said ‘Mazing Girl, really not feeling it.
"captured...brought here. Ttey got me two days ago when I was on patrol, the wretches. dart to the back of the neck. It put me down, but only for a short time. been fully conscious for a day or so and planning my escape. however, a big part of my plan was for them either to capture someone else like you, or..."
“How did you know they were going to?"
"i am a telepath."
Then the voices outside Sarah’s head stopped, and the voices in her head started.
((we should probably communicate this way anyway, it’s safer. as I was saying, i'm a telepath. i can read that beast Kraygen’s thoughts. such a ghastly inhuman sort. he has made come contacts in what might be called the white slave trade in asia and wants to sell heroes there for some type of underground setup.fighting maybe, sex...even he’s not sure. but he wants to get about five of us. I knew his next target was you.))
"That was your plan?"
((talk like this)))
((That was your plan?)) ‘Mazing girl thought. ((Have me get captured?))
((to help me. I know your groggy. they probably plan to keep you like that. their plan for me was to tie me up and keep me in an inflammable room, however i think with both our powers together, we can escape.))
((How?))
Just then she heard and felt drums in her ear, something coming close to her... moving. She opened her eyes to see that Flame was over her. Flame’s hands and legs where both bound up.
((i need straight contact with your skin to do this. it’s not going to be pleasant, i’m afraid. But be a good sport and buck up.))
Flame leant down as if to kiss her...however all she really did was nuzzle her neck with her face. Rather awkwardly, as she felt a nose somewhere.
It was then she felt it...a huge rush of chemicals going through her mind as if every alcoholic drink she had ever experienced was rushing through at once. It was incredible. It only lasted about a second...and then Sarah fell unconscious.
***
She then woke up, opening her eyes.
"What happened?" she asked, looking around. She felt fine now. Dehydrated, but as if the cloud was gone. Also, she had peed her costume.
((i helped you clear your mind. i have the power to get inside your head a bit...your body. i sped up the drugs about a 100 fold. it hit you hard, but you should be fine now. Now use your super-strength and we can effect an escape.))
‘Mazing Girl smiled and laughed just a bit. She felt her hand. she had been told the metal was designed to hold up the Empire State Building.
However, she had found that with enough pressure metal of any kind was really sort of weak when she pushed it. Well...after about twenty seconds of tugging and grunting...she was free.
“okay,” Flame said "they have a camera. get me, and let’s get out of here before they come in.”
‘Mazing Girl grabbed the manacles holding Flame’s hands together. They were a standard set of handcuffs. She just broke the chain, she would worry about the cuffs later. She did the same with Flame’s feet
"You okay?"
"stiff, but workable" Flame told her as she got up, moving and stretching her arms. "there. they almost certainly have more of those tranquilizers they got you with before, so be careful."
Mazing girl nodded. She approached the metal door.
"stop!" Flame warned. "i can read their minds. they’re waiting for us to bust through the door to get us. there’s five of them. kraygen. can you do me a favour?"
"Sure."
"i want you to make a small hole in the door...maybe 6 feet up. I want to see in there."
‘Mazing girl punched the door near the top, making a small hole. A bunch of bullets blasted at it, but the metal door stopped them.
Flame went over. "give me another hand. A hand up."
‘Mazing Girl leant down and made a bridge for the diminutive heroine in gingham. She noted she was just wearing a gingham dress. It wasn't a fake made of Kevlar like most superheroes wore. It was just maybe a 1/8 inch of clothing. And yes, underneath she was wearing panties. Very sensible ones.
Flame looked through the hole. And then ‘Mazing women heard a cry. And the sound of fire.
"making the room more cozy. i forgot to ask. I myself am quite fireproof, but what about yourself?”
"I'll do. And I got an idea."
"then effectuate it partner."
‘Mazing girl grabbed the door handle, and pushed. The hinges gave way pretty quickly, pulling free even as she kept pushing.
Within a second the door wasn't in the wall, and she had a shield.
The room was on a lot of fire. Flame of course didn't actually set any of the men on fire...but several desks, plants, and other things weren't so lucky. Sarah felt the almost deafening impacts of felt like rockets hitting the door. Must be the launcher.
She moved up and swung the door at the source, and the man. Both flew to the side. Another met the same fate. Flame was, despite her size, good enough in a fight. She managed to disable one of the men with what looked to be very precise use of judo, even as another fled the room with his toupee on fire.
That left Kraygen. He pulled out a gun.
‘Mazing girl dropped her shield.
“I'll shoot," Kraygen threatened.
"Oh come-on. Why don't you just stop now and throw the gun at my face?" ‘Mazing Girl suggested.
"I’ll shoot her!" He then turned, and he did pull the trigger. But the gun exploded in his hand.
‘Mazing girl punched him as he dropped the gun in shock.
"lots of very flammable things in guns, i’m afraid" said Flame. "dull sort, I have done that before. I would assume it was on a fact-sheet somewhere."
****
They waited for the police to come up, put the rest of the thugs in a more presentable order...and well, talked a bit. Sarah had thanked Flame. Then Flame thanked Sarah. Both, it turned out, felt indebted to the other for others help in their predicament. It wasn't the debt, it wasn't that precisely. Or drink. ‘Mazing Girl felt, if anything, too sober. As if reality had taken an extra sheen.
Well, it somehow ended up back in Flames house in the mid Wilshire Distrct, where they had spent quite a few hours eating each other out. Very well, in fact. I mean...that was a hell of a tongue on that woman.
Which lead to some real good sleep. which she undoubtedly needed. And eventually it lead to her waking up. And then Flame waking up with Sarah holding her.
"Good morning," Flame offered, when at last she fully waked up.
This was good as Sarah really wanted to go to the bathroom. Yet somehow she didn't want to leave Flame in bed by herself. No, a part of her really really wanted to go right now, but another part of her felt that would be seen as rude, and she didn't want to insult a woman who could burn her up with her mind.
"I’m going to the bathroom. Is that alright?" asked Sarah.
"Of course," said Flame. "First door on the left.”
Sarah got of bed gingerly separating their limbs as she did. They were rather entwined, in fact.
She went in and pissed like a mother. She had drank a lot of orange juice after another and not all of went into curing her dehydration.
"May I ask you what your real name is?" inquired Flame through the door. "I apologize...you may have offered it last night...but I don't remember."
"Can't you just read my mind?" said Sarah. Then paused. This was a step. A big step. But...
"My name is Sarah."
"Nice name," said the Flame. "Reliable. Strong. Just like you. My name is Lana, but you can probably find that from all the magazine subscriptions in there."
Sarah left the bathroom. She looked at the still nude Lana. "Do you want a robe? They will probably fit you though you are a...”
"Much bigger girl then you."
“Didn't want to say, but these tend to be one size fits all. I have this very nice kimono," Lana explained as she went to her closet. "Picked it up in Japan several years ago.”
Lana returned with the Kimono. Sarah looked at her...well what was she? Associate...that much was obvious. They worked in the same field. At times there had been moments where they had been friends-but the kind of friend you don't actually know the name of. They now fucked each other. Lana herself, whatever her last name was, was still so small and tiny. Sarah admired her. Even without her ’Mazing strength she could have broken her in half. Her waist must have been 17 inches and not a lot of her body was that much more shapely than that. She was a small girl of bone and sinew. From the brown hair on her head to down bellow. That Flame did smile at her suggested friendliness, so at least there was that.
Lana handed over the silk kimono. It did fit well enough, covering Sarah in rish light blue cloth. "You look rather smashing, I must say. Charming even."
Lana put on a light blue robe of her own. "I must admit: I have always thought you were rather beautiful ‘Mazing...well, Sarah. Not a fake model, but your curves, the wash of your face, yes...I must say your gorgeous in a healthy way. I myself can't gain an ounce of weight with my metabolism, but I do envy your curves."
Sarah blushed. That was sweet. She had no idea how to end this encounter, and had the desperate desire to do so, but this was sweet, even if her eyes still looked through her.
"You look nice to."
"Thank you, from an old stick and bones," said Lana. "I can make you breakfast if you want."
Sarah paused. A million things went through her mind. This was a superhero. She made a rule never to fuck superheroes. Or supervillains for that matter. She wanted a separate, uncomplicated, life and secret identity. Of course, these were words; titles. And Sarah did sleep around a bit. Now she was sleeping round, but this...Nighthawk would know. Everyone would know. And they would whisper. And that would be no good. The fact that she was a girl too wasn't going to help anything either.
She lowered her head. "Sure."
"Are you okay?" Lana asked. The Flame, if anything, was good at keeping her emotions in check. what she was actually feeling, if anything, was a mystery to Sarah. She could be thinking the same thing, or the exact opposite. This was a mistake Sarah knew...but a person like this you didn't want to tell. You didn't want to make a person mad when they could set the house on fire with an angry thought. But something in Lana’s character told Sarah she would never do that...and besides it was Flame’s house.
And a very nice house at that. They walked down to a large airy kitchen, full of pale whites and tasteful furniture. It looked like a mansion or a mini version of that.
"Hope it’s clean enough," said Lana "I don't have any housekeepers or anything, I don't want to risk them finding anything."
Sarah paused. The flame wore no kind of mask. She wore a kind of costume one could wear anywhere, in fact, in a look normal enough kind of way. How did she actually keep a secret identity? It was a question she never actually got a decent answer to.
And the house itself looked cleaner then she ever could possibly imagine any real property looking. Fuck what a tidy fucker.
Sarah shook her head. "You have a beautiful house."
"Oh thank you," said Lana, as they walked into a kitchen of steel and light paints. "Bought it a couple of years ago. It’s serviceable. Works as a house...sometimes as an office, and I suppose my lair. I sometimes call it my candle." She shook her head. "I don't have people over often."
Sarah, as a woman of a certain moral repute, and age, in the city of Los Angeles...had woken up in some real shit houses. With guys doing blow in the bathroom. Not today. This could be considered a treat. An awkward treat. But, well...
Sarah sat down at a breakfast table. "Do you have any coffee?"
Lana nodded and went to a grinder that looked more expensive then Sarah’s car. "Oh, I get Sumatra beans from a shop in silver lake. Do you want a French grind or something smoother this morning? I want a bit of thickness, I need the caffeine, as if you couldn’t tell."
Lana looked, well, energetic was the wrong word, but if the one setting on her motor was functioning properly.
"That sounds good" said Sarah. She got her coffee from a can pre-ground. Though she did use little white filter cups, thank you.
"What do you want for breakfast? I usually eat granola bit of fresh fruit, but now I’m entertaining a lady caller for this meal, so perhaps I should get more elaborate."
"Do you have any eggs? And, like, some bacon?"
"I am vegetarian, but I do have some eggs I think still. Buy them from the farmers market." She opened the refrigerator "Scrambled? Poached? An omelette with some fresh tomatoes and basil?"
"That sounds good," said Sarah. This was really odd. The sex, the house everything.
Lana busied herself prepping ingredients behind Sarah.
"Do you need any help?" asked Sarah.
"No, I can manage," said Lana. "You know I get The Times - both the local and the New York version. Do you want to read the paper? It’s Sunday.”
It was Sunday. Sarah had no excuse...no work to go to. Which was okay, as she probably would have been late already.
"I bet it probably has some account of our exploits. How do you feel about reading your own stories? It always makes me feel a bit awkward I’m afraid."
"me too," Sarah agreed with genuine solidarity. "It’s such a weird thing. And I just don't know how to talk to the press.”
"It’s not natural for me either. Still the press loves you, and thinks me perhaps rather odd. Like I am some ghost from Chatswim. That is the effect I am going for. Still the world does need us so we must oblige. you get to be supergirl, I guess I’m The Shadow."
Within a couple of minutes there were omelettes on the table. And toast. And Orange juice. They ate in silence for a few moments.
"You know," said Lana, "It is Sunday, and I have a membership to the county museum of art. Would you like to go today?"
"I went there a couple of years ago, they had an exhibit on Jack Kirby’s art."
"No, I think you’re confusing the county with the museum of contemporary art. MOCA. That’s different, though with the problems they've been having maybe not for long."
Sarah paused, and thought, as she ate what was a very good omelette.
"You know, I came here in my costume. And I can't very well wear that to the museum.”
"Nothing I have would fit you," said Lana. "That isn't an insult, except to me."
What was she thinking? Perhaps there was just a glimmer of hope and disappointment. Or it could have been Sarah’s imagination.
Clearly the invitation meant that this wasn't a mistake. Breakfast could be a curtesy. A trip to the museum was not. The Flame thought they were enough of something to go to the museum together, enough of a ...what precisely?
Sarah realized that this could be a mistake. This entire episode had been a mistake.
But what the hell? She didn't have any plans for the day.
"I'll go home and change, then meet you there at let’s say...what time is it?"
"11:00"
“11? Jesus. Say 12:30 then?"
"That sounds like quite a lot of fun," said Flame. Yes...it was a smile, as big as this strange person sitting across from Sarah at the table could give.
Sarah smiled back.
And they spent a happy afternoon walking through the museum, looking at art from Mesopotamia, old European masters, and Japanese contemporary pieces. It was one of those things in LA that you would never quite do without company.
(to be continued)
Sarah then looked over. A shoe was about to drop she knew. Someone was next to her, under sheets that Sarah could already determine smelt a bit like sex and fear. Despite herself and her foggy mind Sarah found this rather enchanting. It was a mystery...a wonderful surprise in a way. Who was this enchanting delight that was part of her delightfully fucked up life? One of the treats.
Next to her, wrapped up surprisingly tight in blankets, was the Flame. Her long brown hair was put over Sarah’s shoulder and she wore a smile of contentment. Flame was nude of course, and Sarah got a look at her very flat narrow back. In a way it was pretty. As were her arms that looked like tent-poles compared to Sarah’s.
Eternal Flame: ‘Mazing Girl’s superhero cohort; the psychic who created fire from nothing. The Flame the eerie looking girl who saw right through Sarah. The Flame...the gingham dressed heroine that frankly looked like something from a Tim Burton film. Woman. Female. Possessor of Oviares. That Flame. As Sarah looked around the room, she had thought it would be gothier. There was a lot of tasteful white furniture and subtle colors.
Sarah had a sensation there were several options here. Though in the last couple of months they had grown to know each other a bit, she still... well, Sarah was kind of creeped out by the girl who talked in a singsong voice that suggested murder. Yet here Sarah was, with a vigina that felt gushy...obviously something had happened that she had no reason to forget, but her mind wasn't quite remembering. Perhaps a little panic would help.
But she couldn't quite work her way up to panic. Instead she decided to be more neutral. She leaned over and hugged her new lover from behind, wrapping her arms around the woman who was as flat chested as a board. She nuzzled into her. Sarah cupped her breasts - or what there was of them. Flame had the kind that suggested yes, this was a breast...but nothing more. Sarah traced her stomach and several ribs, finding the smallest hint of abdominals. I mean she had to work out to be a hero...how could she be this thin? Then a finger went between her legs.
"It’s too early," said Flame’s voice. And Sarah agreed with that.
She closed her eyes and tried to remember...
********
Last night she had been thrown roughly into the room...her arms tied behind her back, her body beaten, her spirit had been crushed. Well, it was a hard spirit to crush, but it had been given a pounding.
She had been patrolling the city, feeling rather happy with herself, when she got shot in the ass. Normally that was a pain...in the ass, but this one was a very strong dart, that injected her with what she had been told was enough tranquilizer to bring down a pack of elephants.
The force of the hit disrupted her jump, and as she spiralled into the side of a building. The impact didn't do wonders. She landed on the ground in a heap...and while she tried to get up she was starting to feel really ’Mazingly groggy. Alcohol did affect her, but she was feeling worse now then she ever did in her life.
A group of thugs - anything more then their groupness and their thugness was lost on her - came at her and beat her up some more. Frankly the drugs were taking effect and she really didn't feel most of it as she half heartedly put up a fight.
She remembered throwing up on one of the thugs shoes. Take that shoes. That’ll fuck em...
She found herself being brought into a building -again a building – and into an office.
"Ahh!” said a man waiting in the office. “The mighty ‘Mazing woman,"
"Wait till I get your hands on me," said ’Mazing Girl, almost instantly aware that hadn't really made a lot of sense.
"Charming as always," the man observed. Did she know the voice? She thought she did. Her eyes just weren't working properly.
"Set the chain," the man ordered.
She felt her hands being brought behind her back, and something put around that the informed was: "Tripple strength titanium based alloy. That strut could hold up the Empire State Building."
"So. Come on...tell me your evil plan," urged ‘Mazing Girl. It was good to fall back on what you know.
"You'll figure it out. It does involve you staying alive, so that’s something in your favor. You’re worth a lot to me alive...well, worth more to other people."
Then she put it together. "Kraygen."
"Yeah we've met" he said
Kraygen was a mercenary. She hard heard from various sources that he used to work for the Canadian government, in their secret service, which really made her give it up for Canada. He was somewhere between a thug and a criminal mastermind, depending on the day of the week. He was the kind of the guy who could, say, shoot down a flying superheroine with a high powered dart and capture her and take her to a building. It all added up.
"Put her in the room," he said. "You look like you lost some water in the process. We’ll get you some. Don't worry, I want you alive and healthy.”
By this time ‘Mazing Girl was only just shy of unconsciousness. Still she soldiered on and managed to step on the foot of the thug behind her. There was no real power in it, but that will show em. His shoes must be really messy.
*****
So she was thrown in a small storage room. Most stories like this featured an abandoned warehouse. This looked more like a small office space. She was tossed on the floor.
"who is that?" a voice asked quietly.
This voice Sarah was able to identify more readily.
"Flame! You’re the Living Flame!"
"eternal flame," said the voice. "but points for effort."
The Flame looked Sarah over. “’mazing girl. good finally they got you."
"What?" said ‘Mazing Girl, really not feeling it.
"captured...brought here. Ttey got me two days ago when I was on patrol, the wretches. dart to the back of the neck. It put me down, but only for a short time. been fully conscious for a day or so and planning my escape. however, a big part of my plan was for them either to capture someone else like you, or..."
“How did you know they were going to?"
"i am a telepath."
Then the voices outside Sarah’s head stopped, and the voices in her head started.
((we should probably communicate this way anyway, it’s safer. as I was saying, i'm a telepath. i can read that beast Kraygen’s thoughts. such a ghastly inhuman sort. he has made come contacts in what might be called the white slave trade in asia and wants to sell heroes there for some type of underground setup.fighting maybe, sex...even he’s not sure. but he wants to get about five of us. I knew his next target was you.))
"That was your plan?"
((talk like this)))
((That was your plan?)) ‘Mazing girl thought. ((Have me get captured?))
((to help me. I know your groggy. they probably plan to keep you like that. their plan for me was to tie me up and keep me in an inflammable room, however i think with both our powers together, we can escape.))
((How?))
Just then she heard and felt drums in her ear, something coming close to her... moving. She opened her eyes to see that Flame was over her. Flame’s hands and legs where both bound up.
((i need straight contact with your skin to do this. it’s not going to be pleasant, i’m afraid. But be a good sport and buck up.))
Flame leant down as if to kiss her...however all she really did was nuzzle her neck with her face. Rather awkwardly, as she felt a nose somewhere.
It was then she felt it...a huge rush of chemicals going through her mind as if every alcoholic drink she had ever experienced was rushing through at once. It was incredible. It only lasted about a second...and then Sarah fell unconscious.
***
She then woke up, opening her eyes.
"What happened?" she asked, looking around. She felt fine now. Dehydrated, but as if the cloud was gone. Also, she had peed her costume.
((i helped you clear your mind. i have the power to get inside your head a bit...your body. i sped up the drugs about a 100 fold. it hit you hard, but you should be fine now. Now use your super-strength and we can effect an escape.))
‘Mazing Girl smiled and laughed just a bit. She felt her hand. she had been told the metal was designed to hold up the Empire State Building.
However, she had found that with enough pressure metal of any kind was really sort of weak when she pushed it. Well...after about twenty seconds of tugging and grunting...she was free.
“okay,” Flame said "they have a camera. get me, and let’s get out of here before they come in.”
‘Mazing Girl grabbed the manacles holding Flame’s hands together. They were a standard set of handcuffs. She just broke the chain, she would worry about the cuffs later. She did the same with Flame’s feet
"You okay?"
"stiff, but workable" Flame told her as she got up, moving and stretching her arms. "there. they almost certainly have more of those tranquilizers they got you with before, so be careful."
Mazing girl nodded. She approached the metal door.
"stop!" Flame warned. "i can read their minds. they’re waiting for us to bust through the door to get us. there’s five of them. kraygen. can you do me a favour?"
"Sure."
"i want you to make a small hole in the door...maybe 6 feet up. I want to see in there."
‘Mazing girl punched the door near the top, making a small hole. A bunch of bullets blasted at it, but the metal door stopped them.
Flame went over. "give me another hand. A hand up."
‘Mazing Girl leant down and made a bridge for the diminutive heroine in gingham. She noted she was just wearing a gingham dress. It wasn't a fake made of Kevlar like most superheroes wore. It was just maybe a 1/8 inch of clothing. And yes, underneath she was wearing panties. Very sensible ones.
Flame looked through the hole. And then ‘Mazing women heard a cry. And the sound of fire.
"making the room more cozy. i forgot to ask. I myself am quite fireproof, but what about yourself?”
"I'll do. And I got an idea."
"then effectuate it partner."
‘Mazing girl grabbed the door handle, and pushed. The hinges gave way pretty quickly, pulling free even as she kept pushing.
Within a second the door wasn't in the wall, and she had a shield.
The room was on a lot of fire. Flame of course didn't actually set any of the men on fire...but several desks, plants, and other things weren't so lucky. Sarah felt the almost deafening impacts of felt like rockets hitting the door. Must be the launcher.
She moved up and swung the door at the source, and the man. Both flew to the side. Another met the same fate. Flame was, despite her size, good enough in a fight. She managed to disable one of the men with what looked to be very precise use of judo, even as another fled the room with his toupee on fire.
That left Kraygen. He pulled out a gun.
‘Mazing girl dropped her shield.
“I'll shoot," Kraygen threatened.
"Oh come-on. Why don't you just stop now and throw the gun at my face?" ‘Mazing Girl suggested.
"I’ll shoot her!" He then turned, and he did pull the trigger. But the gun exploded in his hand.
‘Mazing girl punched him as he dropped the gun in shock.
"lots of very flammable things in guns, i’m afraid" said Flame. "dull sort, I have done that before. I would assume it was on a fact-sheet somewhere."
****
They waited for the police to come up, put the rest of the thugs in a more presentable order...and well, talked a bit. Sarah had thanked Flame. Then Flame thanked Sarah. Both, it turned out, felt indebted to the other for others help in their predicament. It wasn't the debt, it wasn't that precisely. Or drink. ‘Mazing Girl felt, if anything, too sober. As if reality had taken an extra sheen.
Well, it somehow ended up back in Flames house in the mid Wilshire Distrct, where they had spent quite a few hours eating each other out. Very well, in fact. I mean...that was a hell of a tongue on that woman.
Which lead to some real good sleep. which she undoubtedly needed. And eventually it lead to her waking up. And then Flame waking up with Sarah holding her.
"Good morning," Flame offered, when at last she fully waked up.
This was good as Sarah really wanted to go to the bathroom. Yet somehow she didn't want to leave Flame in bed by herself. No, a part of her really really wanted to go right now, but another part of her felt that would be seen as rude, and she didn't want to insult a woman who could burn her up with her mind.
"I’m going to the bathroom. Is that alright?" asked Sarah.
"Of course," said Flame. "First door on the left.”
Sarah got of bed gingerly separating their limbs as she did. They were rather entwined, in fact.
She went in and pissed like a mother. She had drank a lot of orange juice after another and not all of went into curing her dehydration.
"May I ask you what your real name is?" inquired Flame through the door. "I apologize...you may have offered it last night...but I don't remember."
"Can't you just read my mind?" said Sarah. Then paused. This was a step. A big step. But...
"My name is Sarah."
"Nice name," said the Flame. "Reliable. Strong. Just like you. My name is Lana, but you can probably find that from all the magazine subscriptions in there."
Sarah left the bathroom. She looked at the still nude Lana. "Do you want a robe? They will probably fit you though you are a...”
"Much bigger girl then you."
“Didn't want to say, but these tend to be one size fits all. I have this very nice kimono," Lana explained as she went to her closet. "Picked it up in Japan several years ago.”
Lana returned with the Kimono. Sarah looked at her...well what was she? Associate...that much was obvious. They worked in the same field. At times there had been moments where they had been friends-but the kind of friend you don't actually know the name of. They now fucked each other. Lana herself, whatever her last name was, was still so small and tiny. Sarah admired her. Even without her ’Mazing strength she could have broken her in half. Her waist must have been 17 inches and not a lot of her body was that much more shapely than that. She was a small girl of bone and sinew. From the brown hair on her head to down bellow. That Flame did smile at her suggested friendliness, so at least there was that.
Lana handed over the silk kimono. It did fit well enough, covering Sarah in rish light blue cloth. "You look rather smashing, I must say. Charming even."
Lana put on a light blue robe of her own. "I must admit: I have always thought you were rather beautiful ‘Mazing...well, Sarah. Not a fake model, but your curves, the wash of your face, yes...I must say your gorgeous in a healthy way. I myself can't gain an ounce of weight with my metabolism, but I do envy your curves."
Sarah blushed. That was sweet. She had no idea how to end this encounter, and had the desperate desire to do so, but this was sweet, even if her eyes still looked through her.
"You look nice to."
"Thank you, from an old stick and bones," said Lana. "I can make you breakfast if you want."
Sarah paused. A million things went through her mind. This was a superhero. She made a rule never to fuck superheroes. Or supervillains for that matter. She wanted a separate, uncomplicated, life and secret identity. Of course, these were words; titles. And Sarah did sleep around a bit. Now she was sleeping round, but this...Nighthawk would know. Everyone would know. And they would whisper. And that would be no good. The fact that she was a girl too wasn't going to help anything either.
She lowered her head. "Sure."
"Are you okay?" Lana asked. The Flame, if anything, was good at keeping her emotions in check. what she was actually feeling, if anything, was a mystery to Sarah. She could be thinking the same thing, or the exact opposite. This was a mistake Sarah knew...but a person like this you didn't want to tell. You didn't want to make a person mad when they could set the house on fire with an angry thought. But something in Lana’s character told Sarah she would never do that...and besides it was Flame’s house.
And a very nice house at that. They walked down to a large airy kitchen, full of pale whites and tasteful furniture. It looked like a mansion or a mini version of that.
"Hope it’s clean enough," said Lana "I don't have any housekeepers or anything, I don't want to risk them finding anything."
Sarah paused. The flame wore no kind of mask. She wore a kind of costume one could wear anywhere, in fact, in a look normal enough kind of way. How did she actually keep a secret identity? It was a question she never actually got a decent answer to.
And the house itself looked cleaner then she ever could possibly imagine any real property looking. Fuck what a tidy fucker.
Sarah shook her head. "You have a beautiful house."
"Oh thank you," said Lana, as they walked into a kitchen of steel and light paints. "Bought it a couple of years ago. It’s serviceable. Works as a house...sometimes as an office, and I suppose my lair. I sometimes call it my candle." She shook her head. "I don't have people over often."
Sarah, as a woman of a certain moral repute, and age, in the city of Los Angeles...had woken up in some real shit houses. With guys doing blow in the bathroom. Not today. This could be considered a treat. An awkward treat. But, well...
Sarah sat down at a breakfast table. "Do you have any coffee?"
Lana nodded and went to a grinder that looked more expensive then Sarah’s car. "Oh, I get Sumatra beans from a shop in silver lake. Do you want a French grind or something smoother this morning? I want a bit of thickness, I need the caffeine, as if you couldn’t tell."
Lana looked, well, energetic was the wrong word, but if the one setting on her motor was functioning properly.
"That sounds good" said Sarah. She got her coffee from a can pre-ground. Though she did use little white filter cups, thank you.
"What do you want for breakfast? I usually eat granola bit of fresh fruit, but now I’m entertaining a lady caller for this meal, so perhaps I should get more elaborate."
"Do you have any eggs? And, like, some bacon?"
"I am vegetarian, but I do have some eggs I think still. Buy them from the farmers market." She opened the refrigerator "Scrambled? Poached? An omelette with some fresh tomatoes and basil?"
"That sounds good," said Sarah. This was really odd. The sex, the house everything.
Lana busied herself prepping ingredients behind Sarah.
"Do you need any help?" asked Sarah.
"No, I can manage," said Lana. "You know I get The Times - both the local and the New York version. Do you want to read the paper? It’s Sunday.”
It was Sunday. Sarah had no excuse...no work to go to. Which was okay, as she probably would have been late already.
"I bet it probably has some account of our exploits. How do you feel about reading your own stories? It always makes me feel a bit awkward I’m afraid."
"me too," Sarah agreed with genuine solidarity. "It’s such a weird thing. And I just don't know how to talk to the press.”
"It’s not natural for me either. Still the press loves you, and thinks me perhaps rather odd. Like I am some ghost from Chatswim. That is the effect I am going for. Still the world does need us so we must oblige. you get to be supergirl, I guess I’m The Shadow."
Within a couple of minutes there were omelettes on the table. And toast. And Orange juice. They ate in silence for a few moments.
"You know," said Lana, "It is Sunday, and I have a membership to the county museum of art. Would you like to go today?"
"I went there a couple of years ago, they had an exhibit on Jack Kirby’s art."
"No, I think you’re confusing the county with the museum of contemporary art. MOCA. That’s different, though with the problems they've been having maybe not for long."
Sarah paused, and thought, as she ate what was a very good omelette.
"You know, I came here in my costume. And I can't very well wear that to the museum.”
"Nothing I have would fit you," said Lana. "That isn't an insult, except to me."
What was she thinking? Perhaps there was just a glimmer of hope and disappointment. Or it could have been Sarah’s imagination.
Clearly the invitation meant that this wasn't a mistake. Breakfast could be a curtesy. A trip to the museum was not. The Flame thought they were enough of something to go to the museum together, enough of a ...what precisely?
Sarah realized that this could be a mistake. This entire episode had been a mistake.
But what the hell? She didn't have any plans for the day.
"I'll go home and change, then meet you there at let’s say...what time is it?"
"11:00"
“11? Jesus. Say 12:30 then?"
"That sounds like quite a lot of fun," said Flame. Yes...it was a smile, as big as this strange person sitting across from Sarah at the table could give.
Sarah smiled back.
And they spent a happy afternoon walking through the museum, looking at art from Mesopotamia, old European masters, and Japanese contemporary pieces. It was one of those things in LA that you would never quite do without company.
(to be continued)
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Three Cheers
‘Mazing Girl had made a mistake.
Well, other then getting the wrong calibre blank bullets the other day - that could be expensive but she could use them in a later episode.
And the fact that she had ordered a really bad sandwich at Pantera Bakery - but that could be educational, and the muffin she had ordered for desert was pretty good. Not great, but pretty good.
No, her big mistake had been stoping.
‘Mazing Girl had just rescued three people from a burning car, and one person on a cellphone from a non-burning car. In a real nasty accident. No one was dead, but yeah. people were going to be spending time in the hospital. At least one broken leg a lot of burns - yeah.
The irony was abstractly that from a legal standpoint, as ‘Mazing Girl understood, the cellphone guy was not responsible (the non-cellphone car had hit him), despite the fact that driving with a cellphone was illegal. Ahh, she didn’t want to think too much about that.
But afterwards, as ambulances and police arrived at the busy Westwood intersection, well...people came.
They were cheering...screaming.
And she was covered in blood.
Groups of college students and their allies were coming at her.
Well, ‘Mazing wasn’t covered in blood, but she was quite bloody. Humans contain only so much blood, but its more then you think though less then in a Tarantino film. She suspected that if you were to go to a blood bank and gave this amount of blood, you would walk out pale...
She shook her head.
"’Mazing Girl," an awestruck man gawked.
She smiled.
"Great."
She could have been clear of the scene in, like. 2 seconds. But didn't. That would be rude. Instead, she gave a wave.
"Wow that was....well, not amazing...but fantastic!"
Waving was not her strong suit.
"You’re the greatest."
There was an ambulance there. "Can you get me a towel?" she said to the crowd.
"You’re the best!"
"Wonderful!”
"You save this town!"
Sarah eventually got a towel and started wiping herself off.
A fan came right up to her. "Hey! Can I have your towel?"
Sarah looked at the towel in her hand, there was now a fair amount of blood on it. "It belongs to the fire department," seemed a better more diplomatic response then "No, you ghoulish little fuck". Sarah knew what diplomacy was.
"Can I have your autograph?"
This woman at least had taken the time to get a pen and pad.
Sarah took it, though she slightly regretted it. She liked that people loved her. This was good. The girl was cute, in the way 20 year olds were cute who had reached the specific age when cute - not pretty, not sexy, not gorgeous - but cute was what they were looking for...this girl had found it. And she got ‘Mazing Girl’s autograph.
Then Sarah saw that there were more of them. Lots more.
A fire-fighter came over, hopefully...to...stop...it...but he dashed Sarah’s hopes with seven words: "Let’s form a single file line here."
Sarah sighed. That was very thoughtful and the crowd, to its credit, quickly complied. It was a good scene, abstractly. People in LA could be pushy and mean just like anywhere - but well, they could also be friendly and nice.
Just, well, her costume had blood on it. She moved away from the accident. Someone gave her a pen and let her keep it. Thoughtful...then pieces of paper, college notebooks, all came up as a line of about 50 formed in front of her...and kept growing as she went through.
"Your the greatest, I want to be like you when I grow up," a 12 year old told her. Sarah had been 12 when she first did her first official act, but thanked her for her work.
Sarah sighed. People loved her. She abstractly knew this. She was a paragon, the cities champion, it’s god. Well okay not a god...well maybe. It was, however, easy for her to ignore it. She was a prop designer on an anonymous show, that she knew personally few people watched. She had friends who liked her fine as Sarah, either as a nerd, as a prop master, or both. As ‘Mazing Girl she dealt with the police who treated her okay, sometimes criminals who didn't, but that was real, that was honest and she didn't begrudge the criminals for throwing their guns at her in frustration after shooting her. Yeah, occasionally reporters - but this...just this.
Just the people.
She posed for photographs. Great thing about iphones. Great for taking photos.
Sarah smiled.
"Hey! Can I take a photograph?"
Sarah turned. It was Jamey. Knife Girl. Except instead of a Zorro costume she wore a surprisingly small tank-top and jeans. And a hat. And abs...
Sarah smiled through clenched teeth. Jamey handed her phone to a guy who had taken the role of crowd photographer.
"So, what you doing here?" asked Janey.
"Stuff" said Sarah.
"Want to get dinner?" said Janey.
"Nope," said Sarah. "I hate you."
She smiled.
And then the guy with the iphones ran off. Sarah realized he had about three of them from a other people ib the line.
Sarah shook her head.
"Give me a minute."
Sarah watched his pattern down the Westwood Street...then she leaned down and jumped.
100, 150...175 feet. Time slowed.
She landed in front of him. And a Pinkberries. That was one of those chains she had always wanted to try out but..
"Give ‘em back to me," Sarah offered, "and I'll let you go."
The guy looked at her, foolishly turned and ran down an alley.
She ran after him - if this was a movie this would take a while, but he barely got 10 feet before she grabbed him. I mean, he was running at human speed. She wasn't.
"Same offer; last time."
The guy sighed...and handed the phones over.
She let him go and jumped back.
This created another shock, another wave in the crowd.
"Okay. Who had the iphone 4g?"
And a loud cheer went over the crowd.
***
Sarah sat in her apartment that evening. she was lucky to have a built in washer dryer-which was good as you want to wash a super suit individually and you didn't want to do in a pile in public laundry.
She sighed. She was feeling sulky. Just sulky. She lay on bed in the mood of a snit.
However, she had no-one really to snit was the annoying people in Westwood going to see her in her crappy little two bedroom in El Segundo.
she looked out the window. She could see a small garden outside. She looked it over. She had never really been in it as it wasn't hers, but every couple of months she did look at it through the window. It was for some people with a rich house. It had a large pond with water lilies a large vegetable bed, and several gorgeous strands of trees. There was a beautiful stone bench next to the pond that looked as if it was from Europe. When Sarah first moved in she looked at with envy - she wanted that garden - but as she matured she realized things were fine the way they were - she was enjoying the garden as much as she would have if it was hers, and gardens were a bitch to maintain.
So she just watched.
And as she did, she saw the cute girl from earlier sitting there wearing a cute tee, cute jeans, cute ahir, and cute glasses. You may be picking up on a theme here...
She was just sitting there next to the pond, looking lost in thought.
Sarah watched her. Was the girl thinking about ‘Mazing Girl? Thinking of their encounter, their chance meeting where she gave her an autograph. Or was that egotistical? Maybe she was thinking of her boyfriend, or school, or any number of things. LA had a huge number of celebrities, it wasn't hard to find them, get your picture. Was she that special? That...amazing?
(Sarah had considered, but never installed. a swear jar where she would put money every time she used the word amazing)
The girl had told Sarah her name, but Sarah forgot it - which was a shame as she really wanted to know it right now. She didn't know anything about the owners of the garden, despite living right next to them. She looked. Yeah, a UCLA student in college, seemed about right for this place.
Sarah fantasized.
She got in her costume, jumped out her other window and landed in the garden. "Hey!" she would say. "I saw you earlier...and I was wondering...can I have you autograph?"
They would laugh and they would talk, and they would go to a semi-fancy Korean barbeque restaurant and become best friends. Sarah would be maid of honor at her wedding, and have children together playing, and go on long vacations together to the Poconos (Sarah had been to the Poconos - surprisingly nice place). It was a beautiful life together, full of adventure and excitement...and amazing (-25 cents) things.
Sarah smiled and looked out the window, and didn't do any of it.
But somehow felt better for all of it...as she looked down at her like a god - or from a second storey window of a shitty condo. Sometimes it was nice just to want things, to dream of things.
The girl looked up at the sky.
Well, other then getting the wrong calibre blank bullets the other day - that could be expensive but she could use them in a later episode.
And the fact that she had ordered a really bad sandwich at Pantera Bakery - but that could be educational, and the muffin she had ordered for desert was pretty good. Not great, but pretty good.
No, her big mistake had been stoping.
‘Mazing Girl had just rescued three people from a burning car, and one person on a cellphone from a non-burning car. In a real nasty accident. No one was dead, but yeah. people were going to be spending time in the hospital. At least one broken leg a lot of burns - yeah.
The irony was abstractly that from a legal standpoint, as ‘Mazing Girl understood, the cellphone guy was not responsible (the non-cellphone car had hit him), despite the fact that driving with a cellphone was illegal. Ahh, she didn’t want to think too much about that.
But afterwards, as ambulances and police arrived at the busy Westwood intersection, well...people came.
They were cheering...screaming.
And she was covered in blood.
Groups of college students and their allies were coming at her.
Well, ‘Mazing wasn’t covered in blood, but she was quite bloody. Humans contain only so much blood, but its more then you think though less then in a Tarantino film. She suspected that if you were to go to a blood bank and gave this amount of blood, you would walk out pale...
She shook her head.
"’Mazing Girl," an awestruck man gawked.
She smiled.
"Great."
She could have been clear of the scene in, like. 2 seconds. But didn't. That would be rude. Instead, she gave a wave.
"Wow that was....well, not amazing...but fantastic!"
Waving was not her strong suit.
"You’re the greatest."
There was an ambulance there. "Can you get me a towel?" she said to the crowd.
"You’re the best!"
"Wonderful!”
"You save this town!"
Sarah eventually got a towel and started wiping herself off.
A fan came right up to her. "Hey! Can I have your towel?"
Sarah looked at the towel in her hand, there was now a fair amount of blood on it. "It belongs to the fire department," seemed a better more diplomatic response then "No, you ghoulish little fuck". Sarah knew what diplomacy was.
"Can I have your autograph?"
This woman at least had taken the time to get a pen and pad.
Sarah took it, though she slightly regretted it. She liked that people loved her. This was good. The girl was cute, in the way 20 year olds were cute who had reached the specific age when cute - not pretty, not sexy, not gorgeous - but cute was what they were looking for...this girl had found it. And she got ‘Mazing Girl’s autograph.
Then Sarah saw that there were more of them. Lots more.
A fire-fighter came over, hopefully...to...stop...it...but he dashed Sarah’s hopes with seven words: "Let’s form a single file line here."
Sarah sighed. That was very thoughtful and the crowd, to its credit, quickly complied. It was a good scene, abstractly. People in LA could be pushy and mean just like anywhere - but well, they could also be friendly and nice.
Just, well, her costume had blood on it. She moved away from the accident. Someone gave her a pen and let her keep it. Thoughtful...then pieces of paper, college notebooks, all came up as a line of about 50 formed in front of her...and kept growing as she went through.
"Your the greatest, I want to be like you when I grow up," a 12 year old told her. Sarah had been 12 when she first did her first official act, but thanked her for her work.
Sarah sighed. People loved her. She abstractly knew this. She was a paragon, the cities champion, it’s god. Well okay not a god...well maybe. It was, however, easy for her to ignore it. She was a prop designer on an anonymous show, that she knew personally few people watched. She had friends who liked her fine as Sarah, either as a nerd, as a prop master, or both. As ‘Mazing Girl she dealt with the police who treated her okay, sometimes criminals who didn't, but that was real, that was honest and she didn't begrudge the criminals for throwing their guns at her in frustration after shooting her. Yeah, occasionally reporters - but this...just this.
Just the people.
She posed for photographs. Great thing about iphones. Great for taking photos.
Sarah smiled.
"Hey! Can I take a photograph?"
Sarah turned. It was Jamey. Knife Girl. Except instead of a Zorro costume she wore a surprisingly small tank-top and jeans. And a hat. And abs...
Sarah smiled through clenched teeth. Jamey handed her phone to a guy who had taken the role of crowd photographer.
"So, what you doing here?" asked Janey.
"Stuff" said Sarah.
"Want to get dinner?" said Janey.
"Nope," said Sarah. "I hate you."
She smiled.
And then the guy with the iphones ran off. Sarah realized he had about three of them from a other people ib the line.
Sarah shook her head.
"Give me a minute."
Sarah watched his pattern down the Westwood Street...then she leaned down and jumped.
100, 150...175 feet. Time slowed.
She landed in front of him. And a Pinkberries. That was one of those chains she had always wanted to try out but..
"Give ‘em back to me," Sarah offered, "and I'll let you go."
The guy looked at her, foolishly turned and ran down an alley.
She ran after him - if this was a movie this would take a while, but he barely got 10 feet before she grabbed him. I mean, he was running at human speed. She wasn't.
"Same offer; last time."
The guy sighed...and handed the phones over.
She let him go and jumped back.
This created another shock, another wave in the crowd.
"Okay. Who had the iphone 4g?"
And a loud cheer went over the crowd.
***
Sarah sat in her apartment that evening. she was lucky to have a built in washer dryer-which was good as you want to wash a super suit individually and you didn't want to do in a pile in public laundry.
She sighed. She was feeling sulky. Just sulky. She lay on bed in the mood of a snit.
However, she had no-one really to snit was the annoying people in Westwood going to see her in her crappy little two bedroom in El Segundo.
she looked out the window. She could see a small garden outside. She looked it over. She had never really been in it as it wasn't hers, but every couple of months she did look at it through the window. It was for some people with a rich house. It had a large pond with water lilies a large vegetable bed, and several gorgeous strands of trees. There was a beautiful stone bench next to the pond that looked as if it was from Europe. When Sarah first moved in she looked at with envy - she wanted that garden - but as she matured she realized things were fine the way they were - she was enjoying the garden as much as she would have if it was hers, and gardens were a bitch to maintain.
So she just watched.
And as she did, she saw the cute girl from earlier sitting there wearing a cute tee, cute jeans, cute ahir, and cute glasses. You may be picking up on a theme here...
She was just sitting there next to the pond, looking lost in thought.
Sarah watched her. Was the girl thinking about ‘Mazing Girl? Thinking of their encounter, their chance meeting where she gave her an autograph. Or was that egotistical? Maybe she was thinking of her boyfriend, or school, or any number of things. LA had a huge number of celebrities, it wasn't hard to find them, get your picture. Was she that special? That...amazing?
(Sarah had considered, but never installed. a swear jar where she would put money every time she used the word amazing)
The girl had told Sarah her name, but Sarah forgot it - which was a shame as she really wanted to know it right now. She didn't know anything about the owners of the garden, despite living right next to them. She looked. Yeah, a UCLA student in college, seemed about right for this place.
Sarah fantasized.
She got in her costume, jumped out her other window and landed in the garden. "Hey!" she would say. "I saw you earlier...and I was wondering...can I have you autograph?"
They would laugh and they would talk, and they would go to a semi-fancy Korean barbeque restaurant and become best friends. Sarah would be maid of honor at her wedding, and have children together playing, and go on long vacations together to the Poconos (Sarah had been to the Poconos - surprisingly nice place). It was a beautiful life together, full of adventure and excitement...and amazing (-25 cents) things.
Sarah smiled and looked out the window, and didn't do any of it.
But somehow felt better for all of it...as she looked down at her like a god - or from a second storey window of a shitty condo. Sometimes it was nice just to want things, to dream of things.
The girl looked up at the sky.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Giving Thanks To Alien Nation
Thanksgiving was an autumnal holiday.
The one quality one could ascribe to Los Angeles was it did not really have an autumn - or a fall. It did have seasons; about six of them. However, the season that late November fell (the transition between the muggy months after summer and early winter) was not what one would call 'time to bring in the harvest'. This is not to say that southern California didn't have harvest - there was still smidges of agriculture here and there - but most of the crops that LA had, oranges, strawberries, stone fruit, lemons - got picked earlier in the year and...
Well not a lot happened in November. But still, the calendar said thanksgiving. And there was still expectation.
Which Sarah found tricky.
The show she worked on gave her two days for thanksgiving, same as a legal holiday. Two weeks for Christmas. Series television was not a job that gave a lot of time off so, well she was glad for what she got. Some shows gave you a full week - but glad for what she got.
Which meant in her case, going to her parents in Florida was out of the question and having them over would be tricky. The first year she had worked on the show they did, to their credit come out to LA, but, well...they all got on each others nerves.
She was also romantically alone - but thanksgiving was a holiday that was not designed around being with a significant other. Actually, in her second year on the set, she had been with someone who was similarly alone in LA without family and that, if anything, made it more awkward.
So....
Sarah found herself alone on thanksgiving not quite sure what to do.
Well, technically speaking it was the Wednesday before thanksgiving, at around5:00 PM, and the day was almost over when she wasn't quite sure what to do.
Well, there was a theatre in West LA that may or may not be owned by Quentin Tarrantino (she had heard conflicting reports on that...maybe he was a minority owner) was doing a screening of Alien Nation and she was tempted to go. She wondered if any of her friends from her ‘hey, let’s watch movies made when she was an infant, and didn't quite live up to their interesting premise’ rolodex would come with. Maybe they could get pizza before hand...
She texted some people, and the answer appeared to be no. It was either Holiday plans or ‘hey, this was super last minute, why don't you plan ahead, no-one mentioned Alien Nation with James Caan and Mandy Patkin as the alien, you vicious monster, why didn't you tell me about this earlier?"
So she decided to pass. Which was a shame, as she just had a long conversation about if after watching Elysium (whose director previously made District 9), about District 9, which was basically a remake of Alien Nation, and wanted to catch up on it (this particular friend believed she was monster). She had recently used a reference to Alien Nation in her other job as ‘Mazing Girl.
‘Mazing girl.
Yeah, that was a good thing to do. Better then watching a movie she had already seen.
Besides, Alien Nation could never quite figure out a plot to go with it’s interesting characters and cool concept, even if it was ultimately a more humanistic take on the concept. It was better to save the world then see it again.
And if the gods in answer to her, as she got to her car in soundstage parking her cellphone beeped.
Code Red.
Emergency.
And Sarah smiled as she drove her car out of the parking lot, drove three blocks away to an alley she knew...and...
45 seconds later ‘Mazing Girl soared into the darkening sky.
*****
In 20 minutes Sarah was in Valencia, a small city at the north of LA
Her old town actually. She used to live here in college. She shopped at the Ralph’s she just jumped over. Weird place to get nostalgic, as Valencia was as soulless a pre-planned zombie suburb as you got in Southern California, but there you go.
However...no time for that. She landed in a parking lot at the forest service.
Lots of fire trucks were there.
Lots of them.
"Mazing girl! I am so glad you could come," said a fire captain, walking over. "We really need you."
"Of course, how can I help?" said Sarah, in a voice she often was surprised had come out of her mouth. ‘Mazing Girl was - or could be - so fucking damm professional sounding. A do-gooder who cared, and helped people. A paragon of truth and justice. And that was her. And she could say that. Ahh, well. Fuck.
"Hey Bill can you get the map...hey! Don't you come here..."
"Don't have one," said Bill
The problem with exposition in real life was it took longer then you thought it would - or simply to setup - I am not going to bore you with the about five minutes it took for Sarah to get to a map. But they did. And it was just a map. Nothing fancy, though it did have those weird lines that declared the elevation, lines that Sarah never quite figured out how to read.
And she saw Angeles National Forest. Angeles National Forest was a large...well, forest was a bit of a stretch, it was in fact occasionally wooded scrubland north of LA. It was about half the size of a US State, But the US contained Rhode Island, and California was a state designed to have things that were bigger then Rhode Island. And it was November, and LA hadn't had a real good drop of rain in a long time, so...
"The fire started earlier this morning. Its not super big...about 100 acres. But it’s formed a distinct circle around **** Mount St. Cian in the east of the park. St. Ciarn is more alpine so its not quite as flammable – however, there’s a backpacking site on the slope of it...we have report about 20 people are inside there right now.”
Sarah wanted to say 'Fuck', however ‘Mazing Girl (at least around fire brigaders who could be so very serious) wasn't about to say that.
"We normally would send in smoke jumpers...and may...but honestly, we don't think the mount ion is saveable...so..."
Sarah nodded. She suspected if she didn't exist that, yeah, there would be a scenario here where they would probably risk a lot more lives to save people. But she was here, so she was a hero.
"I am going to need a clear start and stop point, easy to spot, there’s going to be a lot of smoke."
Sarah looked at the map. If this had beencool and a movie she would see a 3d presentation of how this all worked. But no. Just a paper map on a white board.
The captain nodded. "We’re building up Setters Point; it’s a hill on the edge we’re using as a waypoint. Got crews there, can get ambulances in."
Sarah considered. "Oxygen masks...tanks. Give me a gross in, like, a bag...don't worry about the weight. Also, an electric lantern and water."
Wow. She was sounding professional today. For someone who was 10 minutes ago, while travelling through the Sepulveda Pass, was trying to remember what the alien nation was called in...Alien Nation.
"Lt. Haskins is there. We will radio to get read for you...how fast can you get there?”
"Where is here?" asked Sarah, breaking the spell a bit about her professionalism.
(And it was the Newcomers)
"Here. It’s okay...it’s about 30 miles away."
"15 minutes."
"We’ll be ready...get going. I think we have maybe 45."
Sarah nodded.
And leapt up into the night sky.
Professionally. Very professionally. Certainly not thinking about the various logical holes in the plot of District 9. That would be silly in a crisis.
******
Sarah stood at the edge of a mountain. Behind her were dozens of firemen who gave the distinct impression were looking to her. Watching her, expecting her to be the great hero. And hopefully not just staring at her ass.
(Ahh she wondered. Her ass was quite good, so well...she wondered)
In front of Sarah was a gigantic inferno.
It helped to think of her ass as it helped with any residual fear she might have, as she was 100 percent fireproof.
She did, however, have an oxygen mask on because she wasn't quite smoke proof. And smoke is what really killed you in a fire.
The fires were huge - there was something about giant fires in the middle of the night - and this was *big* it filled the entire horizon except a small island of a mountain in the middle - it looked like something out of a fancy novel, an ocean of flames. It was quite beautiful in a freaky way.. from a distance .
Ahh, well...
Sarah leaned down, bending her legs...and jumped.
And then she was in the sky. Flying through extremely thick smoke.
And then, she hit the mountain...with a clumsy landing. Flying through a tree –literally: she hit a pine tree and knocked it over – Sarah hit her head and flopped, barely getting her feet and having to take several steps. Not a good landing. If she was going to carry people she would have to do better.
And where were the people?
"HELLO!" ‘Mazing Girl shouted. "THIS IS ‘MAZING GIRL! I'M HERE TO HELP!!"
She tuned her ears.
And heard nothing.
Okay...
She still had her big box – and, well...
She figured there was about 3 square miles on the mountain that were above the fire line.
And she had about maybe an hour before the smoke got too thick...
And, well...
This was going to be tricky.
Still, she got out her cellphone (which had a built in GPS unlike the fire department) and saw she was about a quarter mile away from the camp, which was a good place to start to look for stuff.
****
"So, do not panic, do not fight to go first. I am going to take 2 at a time and we should be able to evacuate in an orderly manner.”
Professionalism.
Sarah was standing in front of about 15 people who were in the camp. Two families, a couple of hippies and 5 people who looked like they might be homeless. The fire department had dropped a beacon telling them to stay where they were, that help was on the way...but an hour ago. Yet they had stayed.
"Take the oxygen - you guys help your kids.”
"Take them first," pleaded a mother.
There were three children.
"Okay. I’m not going to fight you."
"No! Take Frank!" begged the other mother.
One family had two kids, the other had one.
"We’re not having a fight."
She picked up the first mother’s kids. The way to divide up Solomon’s baby was to go to the one who spoke up first. Tough, but fair.
And Sarah jumped up before there was any room to argue...
Landing back at the fire department.
And then she jumped back...
...and hit another tree.
******
It took about 30 minutes to get everyone to the base. Thankfully it was smoke-free on the way back and she avoided foliage. The last one - the mother who asked first, who she suspected had a martyr complex (wow, a superhero...what would they know about a martyr complex?) went last.
"There was this group of like three...they were staying there. When the fire started they ran up the mountain."
That was really dumb. Like in a horror movie, when some fool goes up the stairs. Running out of the park before the fire, that made sense. But up the mountain? Was there a scene like that in Alien nation?
(No...but she remembered that the climax took place at the docks where the aliens [who dissolve in salt water] thought was a good place to setup a drug deal)
((And why Drugs? She knew that the aliens where kind of a metaphor for Latinos -but alien super drugs? At least it was cool that it turned out to be detergent.))
Sarah returned to the backpacking camp - what were they doing there the day before Thanksgiving? Didn't they have places to be?
Oh.
And she started to climb.
The good thing about the mountain was that it was steep - so if you were a normal human there were only so many routes. Of course Sarah didn't have a lot of experience mountaineering, or knowing what normal humans could do, so this particular insight wasn't that useful to her. And it was now approaching 11pm, and was very dark and smoky.
And well, she hoped they had doubled back down the mountain, and somehow got out of here because she wasn't feeling very optimistic.
She remembered the president had once called her "A shinning hope...a beacon".
Well live up, Live up.
There was the chance that the fire just couldn't climb this High, but hope wasn't always a useful thing.
She stood on a rock outcropping.
"CAN ANYONE HEAR MY VOICE?"
She realized she should jump back and get a megaphone...
...and then the rocks underneath her slid out.
Fuck.
It was the start of a definite rockslide. On a mountain, right into the fire.
Sarah jumped off the rock landing awkwardly on the ground - and a big rock rolled over on top of her and stoped.
Fuck.
She punched the rock, more out of frustration then anything, and heard it turn to pebbles. Loudly.
Huh?
She started to hit the ground rhythmically with her foot - and more rocks fell. It would be nice to say she didn't quite know it, or remember it, but she was actually doing a vague impression of the theme music from the Alien Nation credits (which was very good).
But it was actually more like Polly-Waddle-Doodle.
And with her incredible power it was loud.
She heard a voice.
"HEY!"
Very weak.
Very distant.
But well, she was ‘Mazing Girl.
******
Sarah sat in the fire department base, half asleep.
It was 1am.
She didn't realize how singed her costume was - so smoky and dirty. Her knee seemed twisted from the big rock in a way that would hurt later. On Saturday she had thought about going to a Warhammer painting club...but well, she hurt.
Everyone else seemed to be okay. One of the assholes at the top of the mountain was apparently being treated for hypothermia the weirdo. But, everyone would be okay.
Well, everyone she could figure was, at least.
She just hurt.
This was part of the job that was the reward - the knowledge of a job well done.
But...
"you did excellent work."
Sarah knew that voice.
A fire department official took off her mask - her oxygen mask at least - to reveal The Flame.
"You work here?"
"it’s not quite the MO, but I like to help the fire department when i can. i can control fire you see. not one this big, but well....i keep it more anonymous."
Sarah grunted. "Must be easy in a time like this to put on a fire fighters suspenders and..."
"harder then it used to be, but your point stands." Flame nodded, and sat next to Sarah. She looked at the fire, it was still beautiful. Sarah looked at her companion - she had seen her when she was just wearing normal clothing, but never seen her sweaty tired, her face, like Sarah’s own, covered with soot. Even with the sing-song voice there was a touch of humanity in her face - not doubt or fear, but humanity. She wondered if Flame wondered, she wondered if all of this was worthwhile and the pain and the suffering mean anything. "If you really were fire-fighter, that would..."
"I cleared 150g last year," said a random fighter. "And the dental plan..."
"you can see the fire lines all around the blaze now," observed Flame. "they did a good job of catching it...no homes, not the highway...10 hours maybe before it’s contained."
Sarah nodded wearily.
"your knee?" inquired The Flame.
Sarah moved it over, closer to The Flame.
"that’s wasn’t telepathy...just observation," said Flame.
"Don't care. Hurts"
Pain, as has been observed, was bad. It overwhelmed whatever fear she had of her companion.
Flame started to rub it. "light ligament damage. this is a good sprain. Iill see what I can do."
Sarah closed her eyes as the Flame rubbed her wounded knee. "That feels good. Sometimes...it’s just nice."
Flame looked over. "i had my own adventures this evening."
Sarah looked over. "anything I can do?"
Flame shook her head. "Not really."
Sarah absently grabbed Flames small elbow and started to work even as she did. The superheroes were grooming each other. Wonder if she would find any ticks...
This lasted a moment...a long moment.
"What do you think of that movie Alien Nation?" asked Sarah.
"what?" said The Flame.
"Its a movie from 1987, with Mandy Patkin and James Caan,,,”
"he was The Godfather, right?"
"No thats was Marlon Brando, or Al Pacino. He was his brother...”
"i didn't see Alien Nation," said Flame.
There was an awkward pause.
"i am aware of The Godfather, but I’m not sure I saw that either."
Sarah was not sure if she believed that. There was an otherworldliness to The Flames mind that...
"Are we friends?" Sarah asked.
"i suppose," said flame.
"Well, that’s something to be thankful for," noted Sarah.
Flame smiled very slightly. But it was certainly a smile, and something of it touched Sarah’s heart. Of all the good deeds she had done that night, the things in this world somehow that gave her the most reward was just to give a little happiness to someone.
Sarah looked around.
"does anyone have any food?"
The same officer who talked earlier reached over and tossed her a candy bar. "Dental plan."
Sarah took the snickers bar and broke it in half.
"Here."
The Flame clearly did not carbo-load a lot, but she took it without comment.
"Happy thanksgiving, my friend," said Sarah.
"to you as well," responded Flame, toasting theire little bars of nougat.
As they watched Los Angeles (the forest) burn.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Two Vignettes in Costume
Halloween was one of the very tricky times of the year for Sarah. One was supposed to get a Halloween costume together - which itself wasn't that hard. Sarah had some skill at costuming. There was a world, in fact, Sarah Jennings: prop master, was instead Sarah Jennings: costume designer, a world that would not involve her wearing an evil goatee (which as a woman would very look very odd but very fiendish - wait a second that was a good idea. Put it on the maybe list.
No, that wasn't the hard part. The hard part was not simply taking her ‘Mazing girl costume and going to parties in it.
This was wrong, she knew, on a number of levels. The most important was that enough people saw her in the exact same getup that it would stretch her secret identity more then it was usually stretched - which was pretty stretched. She depended a lot on the awkwardness of people not saying "Hey are you...?" which wearing the exact same costume was just fucking with her friends at that point. In the comics people always say "Bruce, why, that’s a terrible Batman costume, ha-ha you look nothing like him". Nope she looked a lot like ‘Mazing Girl, thank you.
The second was, well, it was kind of gauche.
The third was, if you assumed it was funny - which Sarah kind of felt it was hilarious - it was the kind of joke you could do only once, and Sarah wasn't prepared to do it yet. Maybe when she was old and retired she could make that joke, and laugh. And laugh. And recall the glory days of her youth.
But in the midst of them she still needed a Halloween costume.
Old fashioned stuff - vampires, werewolves, policemen. She was in entertainment, and that was a little unambitious for her. Yeah, she could, but whatever.
She had seen once something super high concept of someone going as Youtube - (a large cardboard box with a screen on the front) that was clever to a degree, but nothing so clever was coming to mind.
Sexy? Sarah was in her 20’s, and there was the assumption that women in their twenties wore something sexy. She could do sexy - but sexy wasn't an instant trick.
Sexy ‘Mazing Girl? (Her costume wasn't all that sexy)
Wait a second... it was cheap, but she could go to a comic story and do a quick knock off ‘Mazing Girl - that could work. There was a certain irony to that.
Wait a second...
And in a spark of genius, Sarah decided on her costume.
**********
In your twenties costumes and Halloween really mean parties. If you’re in LA, and in the entertainment industry, it tended to mean a couple of hundred people at the kind of houses owned by people who really can't afford them, but buy them anyway. Right now she was going into the house of Ben Quazail, an actor on a US show she never worked on but had managed an invitation. He lived in one of those really big houses that clutched the edge of the mountions like a jewel, complete with a view of Downtown LA and the ocean. It was really expensive. She hoped, for his sake, that the loan he took out to buy it wasn't too big because you could not afford this on a US TV show salary.
But, well...it was nice of him to invite Sarah despite the fact that they had maybe exchanged five words over the years. He seemed like a nice enough guy, if a little big on the ‘I’m a celebrity’ vibe. But, well, the booze was free tonight.
Sarah parked her not extraordinarily nice car a ways away, and walked up a mountain to the party.
He was standing by the door. "Hey! Nice seeing you," Ben greeted her, without mentioning her name. He was dressed like Jamie Fox from the movie the Amazing Spiderman 2 - which was a reference she could get behind, in so much as the movie hadn't come out yet. He wasn't African-American, and Jamie obviously was, But she wondered if the light blue makeup was racist. Probably not, in Ben’s case. But Jamie’s. In any case, it was a good costume - it looked as if it was designed by someone who had a good look at the costume from the movie (which again, hadn't come out yet). So there. It wasn't a very good costume in a stand around in normal light sense. Ahh well.
Sarah walked in - wearing her Flame costume. The Flame, being the other major female superhero in Los Angeles, except smaller and a lot creepier - also with her power to create fire, much more more burny. But the costume...it consisted of a shortish gingham dress, and some light black shoes. Sarah, despite the numerous times she had interacted with the Flame, had never much paid attention to the shoes. They were kind of a classic early 30s number that she had spent a little bit of time tracking down. Superheroic shoes were a trick to pull off, she knew, and she kind of admired them for what they were.
The dress had been tricky. It was a costume that depended on lines, and Sarah’s lines were quite a bit different. She had curves, for starters. She was at least 50 pounds heavier, and 6 inches taller, and a lot of that was chest and thighs. which were both larger, and wider. She tried to capture it, but hints of a parody were creeping in. Sarah was big. The Flame was small. Such a difference could not be hidden.
"Pretty good," said Jane, a make-up artist on the show who was made up to an outlandishly silly degree. A bit thematic.
"Hey, that’s nice," said Max, who was wearing a tuxedo that kind of made him look like James Bond if he told you that was what he was going for. His wife (who should be remembered was a professional model) was wearing the same dress that Famke Jansen wore in GoldenEye - which was a pretty deep cut as far as bond movies went. She looked good though, as did he.
"Wow," a random man breathed as he passed. He wore one of those weird creepy masks from Eyes Wide Shut.
"Is that supposed to me?" a voice asked.
Sarah turned. She half expected, for just a second, to see the Flame. Which would have been awkward. The voice belonged to someone else.
It was a tallish woman with black hair. It took Sarah about 20 seconds to place her, though they had never met before.
"When I played the little sister in Bioshock?" Juliet Landeu asked curiously. "Or Drusilla in Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
"No," Sarah told her. "I’m that superhero the Flame."
"Oh," said Juliet and she wandered off with her husband, gladly not wanting to let the awkwardness drag out. Which was good for her. She was an underrated actress, and had a bit more range then she was given at times.
Sarah felt a little bad for it all. There was no such thing as creativity but still.
And the night went on. Sarah could be hot or cold on industry parties. They had the fun sense of being in a world she wasn't normally in, and meeting genuinely interesting people. Or they could be kind of slogs where she spent her time in the corner, sulking, talking to no one. There was a lot of networking going on at this party, which Sarah - being in the ‘bellow the line’ side of the industry - really didn't have to do much of. However, the house was nice, the booze was good (free) and there was a bit of a dance floor going, which was funny at Halloween. Also, Ben was a nice guy. Several times he complimented her, and hoped she was having a good time.
(Weird about her. She was famous for doing cockney accents. But she was not, herself, English. Ben was English, and had a very pronounced cockney accent which he hid on TV. Reality it was fun).
But she tried to take herself out of reality - to do, as the expression went, a little cosplaying. She did a lot of coworking normally, but playing? She went outside to the balcony and stood-and tried to burn up all of Los Angeles with the power of her mind. It didn't work. But it was fun. She tried to act a bit cold and emotionless, and vaguely...but not quite...evil. It had a sense of fun to it.
"Are you an actress" said Ms. Landieu as she walked up behind her. It didn't quite give Sarah a start, but yeah...
"No," said Sarah.
"You look like an actress," she said "Or at least a pretender. Not that that’s a critique."
"No" said Sarah.
Wait a second...Sarah paused. About a week ago she had met a Hollywood actor who was famous for playing a vampire, who it turned out probably was a vampire. Was this the same cosmic in joke?
Nope. Ms. Landeau had drunk a little too much beer to be a vampire.
"What are you then?"
"Prop master" said Sarah. It should be noted while the title implied the masculine, she had never once heard the title prop mistress used in serious conversation. That would be too cute.
"You have the air of someone trying on something else," observed Juliet.
"I suppose," said Sarah "Urrr...I shall use my powers to burn you up!"
"Ha!" said Juliet "ha."
Then she wandered away again. She was good at that. Maybe that was her superpower, knowing when to leave. That, and wearing an old fashioned pantomime lion costume really well.
She considered the question for a moment. It was something she wondered, on occasion. Who was she? The old joke about Batman was which was the mask and which was real person. The snidish dorky nerd, the upright superhero... or to put another face on it, the quiet competent professional prop master who was good at stretching a budget, or the practical think-with-her-head, even though she had all the muscle in the world, heroine. Or was she the very sexual being who wore glasses, whose bisexuality maybe less of a joke she presented...or the superheroine who was not always comfortable how her image (and to degree her sexuality) was presented to the world. Or was she the person from the deep south, living in a strange land who felt her southern 'values' a little bit conflicted sometimes, or the flying brick who did legitimately like how strong she was and how it made her feel, despite how little it could really change things.
Yes...she was many things.
Right now, slightly drunk was also on the list.
******
All of this actually took place on October 30th. Sarah wouldn't actually do anything Halloween specific on the actual date, because she knew that it would be a busy night for her...such as on the actual day.
*********
The fact that it was Halloween was not really interesting to Ellen Gonzales. She was driving home through the valley. She was at the age and economic value when such things seemed kind of frivolous. She was aware of it - maybe she would have a candy bar or something. It was late. She had worked a very hard Thursday at an insurance office, and accomplished very little of actual value to society.
Yet she was driving home with something that did. Eduardo, her six month old son, lsy in a car seat in the back. He’s what she lived for. He’s what she loved. Not much else in the world really mattered. She looked out the window to see some tricker-or-treaters. Ahhh. Someday she would have her own look over.
She drove down Resida over the Los Angeles River. There was a huge concrete ditch 50 feet down to what could be described as...well...a
Huh? A car was suddenly right in front of her.
Huh? She pressed the brake...
Huh? Not working...
Huh?
She swerved...her car hit the side of the bridge...
and.....
Huh?
She was falling. Straight down...50 feet bellow.
And out of nowhere something flashed into her screen...and she was no longer moving down.
She was still moving very, very fast. The fact that it was no longer completely vertical did not comfort her very much and...
They bounced against the ground.
Ellen should be screaming. Really she should. But she wasn't.
Why not?
She was moving about a hundred miles an hour...and...nope...they were slowing. They were going through the river, which was a long concrete ditch with a very small creek in the middle this time of year, her car still mostly vertical. Actually, maybe 45ish degree angle...
And someone was walking the car now on the ground turning it sideways and...
Ellen screamed. She screamed so fucking loud...
She screamed bloody fucking murder.
She closed her eyes and screamed.
Then she heard a knock on the door. And opened it.
"Hey!" said ‘Mazing Girl, looking in. "You okay?"
Ellen stoped screaming. It was the sensible thing to do.
"What just happened?"
"Your car’s brakes stoped working i think, you ran over the side. I grabbed you in time. We’re at the bottom of the river. Looking like the front took a lot of damage from hitting the railing though. I’m not sure it’s drivable."
"Huh?" said Ellen. "Can you give me a minute?"
"I can put your car up on the road if you want,” ’Mazing offered. “But you’re going to have to get a tow truck from there."
"Can you watch my kid for a second?” asked Ellen. "I got to do something.”
And Ellen walked away from the car in the middle of the river bottom. ‘Mazing watched her for a second, then realized what she was going to do.
She opened the back seat to look at the kid for a second. He was maybe 6 months old.
She watched him. Despite the fall. Despite the screaming - he wasn't. He looked completely fine for the experience. Chipper, even. Sarah often rescued babies in such circumstances, but rarely were they so calm She looked at him. He was wearing a diaper and a shirt, and had a surprisingly full head of Hispanic hair.
Sarah just watched him. There didn't seem very much she could do at the moment. He was strapped in as tight as probably was good for him, and didn't seem to want to be. His little hands seemed to be trying to get out, but she left him there. He tried to put a little teddy bear on the strap in his mouth.
she noticed a little pacifier attached to his thing. She picked it up and put it in his mouth.
And watched him.
She tried to ignore the sound of vomiting behind her. It served no purpose for the moment.
She impulsively put her fingers on his hands and shook them for a second.
"Pleased to meet you."
She smiled. Babies liked smiles. He looked up and smiled at her, and spat his pacifier out.
Babies liked that.
Sarah smiled back.
When she was about twelve, and a doctor explained things, the magical changes that were turning her into a woman...and a super being of immense power...one of the things he mentioned was that he doubted she could ever have children. The strong muscles of her uterus probably couldn't grab a fetus, in his medical opinion. Very damm little could cut her skin, probably not that(the werid fact that babies analogous to a sharks remora was brought up).
So....
Motherhood, as Southern Baptist women might define it, was probably out. But maybe it was possible. She had never really tested the theory. She would have made a fucking terrible mother anyway...she barely had her life together. How could she handle something else on top of all that? She was.....
She wasn't married. She was an old maid. She was single and lonely. She lived in a sucky condo. She didn't have a house. She had a job she kind of despised. Two really, at her most honest. She wasn't a mother, and had no one in her life like this little baby. And Juliet Landeu had been right: Sarah Jennings was a pretender.
"Thanks," said Ellen gratefully. "Do you think I would have....thanks. God...thank you so very, very, much."
Sarah looked away from the baby – no, she looked at the baby. He was smiling. He was happy and for a second she was too, and it didn't really matter that biologically he wasn't hers. In the sense that it took a village to raise a child he was - village being the second largest city in the country, and person being superhero. She was connected to that. She wasn't pretending.
"You must get this a lot," said Ellen. "You know...thank you."
"Not as much as you think" said ‘Mazing Girl. "Can I hold him?"
"You don't have a kid?" asked Ellen.
‘Mazing girl shook her head.
Ellen unhooked the baby and placed him in her hands.
And Sarah held him for a second, she shook in place just a tad. And felt love for someone she would never see again, or know again. Another anonymous face in the crowded city of LA, but he would always be part of her. Even the fact that his mother was even now taking an iphone picture of her didn't spoil the moment.
Sarah kissed him on his forehead and gave him back.
Then turned to leave.
Oh wait...she promised to help them get out of a ditch. This was awkward.
"Um...I'll fly you up out of the ditch first, then get the car."
And so went Sarah’s Halloween.
No, that wasn't the hard part. The hard part was not simply taking her ‘Mazing girl costume and going to parties in it.
This was wrong, she knew, on a number of levels. The most important was that enough people saw her in the exact same getup that it would stretch her secret identity more then it was usually stretched - which was pretty stretched. She depended a lot on the awkwardness of people not saying "Hey are you...?" which wearing the exact same costume was just fucking with her friends at that point. In the comics people always say "Bruce, why, that’s a terrible Batman costume, ha-ha you look nothing like him". Nope she looked a lot like ‘Mazing Girl, thank you.
The second was, well, it was kind of gauche.
The third was, if you assumed it was funny - which Sarah kind of felt it was hilarious - it was the kind of joke you could do only once, and Sarah wasn't prepared to do it yet. Maybe when she was old and retired she could make that joke, and laugh. And laugh. And recall the glory days of her youth.
But in the midst of them she still needed a Halloween costume.
Old fashioned stuff - vampires, werewolves, policemen. She was in entertainment, and that was a little unambitious for her. Yeah, she could, but whatever.
She had seen once something super high concept of someone going as Youtube - (a large cardboard box with a screen on the front) that was clever to a degree, but nothing so clever was coming to mind.
Sexy? Sarah was in her 20’s, and there was the assumption that women in their twenties wore something sexy. She could do sexy - but sexy wasn't an instant trick.
Sexy ‘Mazing Girl? (Her costume wasn't all that sexy)
Wait a second... it was cheap, but she could go to a comic story and do a quick knock off ‘Mazing Girl - that could work. There was a certain irony to that.
Wait a second...
And in a spark of genius, Sarah decided on her costume.
**********
In your twenties costumes and Halloween really mean parties. If you’re in LA, and in the entertainment industry, it tended to mean a couple of hundred people at the kind of houses owned by people who really can't afford them, but buy them anyway. Right now she was going into the house of Ben Quazail, an actor on a US show she never worked on but had managed an invitation. He lived in one of those really big houses that clutched the edge of the mountions like a jewel, complete with a view of Downtown LA and the ocean. It was really expensive. She hoped, for his sake, that the loan he took out to buy it wasn't too big because you could not afford this on a US TV show salary.
But, well...it was nice of him to invite Sarah despite the fact that they had maybe exchanged five words over the years. He seemed like a nice enough guy, if a little big on the ‘I’m a celebrity’ vibe. But, well, the booze was free tonight.
Sarah parked her not extraordinarily nice car a ways away, and walked up a mountain to the party.
He was standing by the door. "Hey! Nice seeing you," Ben greeted her, without mentioning her name. He was dressed like Jamie Fox from the movie the Amazing Spiderman 2 - which was a reference she could get behind, in so much as the movie hadn't come out yet. He wasn't African-American, and Jamie obviously was, But she wondered if the light blue makeup was racist. Probably not, in Ben’s case. But Jamie’s. In any case, it was a good costume - it looked as if it was designed by someone who had a good look at the costume from the movie (which again, hadn't come out yet). So there. It wasn't a very good costume in a stand around in normal light sense. Ahh well.
Sarah walked in - wearing her Flame costume. The Flame, being the other major female superhero in Los Angeles, except smaller and a lot creepier - also with her power to create fire, much more more burny. But the costume...it consisted of a shortish gingham dress, and some light black shoes. Sarah, despite the numerous times she had interacted with the Flame, had never much paid attention to the shoes. They were kind of a classic early 30s number that she had spent a little bit of time tracking down. Superheroic shoes were a trick to pull off, she knew, and she kind of admired them for what they were.
The dress had been tricky. It was a costume that depended on lines, and Sarah’s lines were quite a bit different. She had curves, for starters. She was at least 50 pounds heavier, and 6 inches taller, and a lot of that was chest and thighs. which were both larger, and wider. She tried to capture it, but hints of a parody were creeping in. Sarah was big. The Flame was small. Such a difference could not be hidden.
"Pretty good," said Jane, a make-up artist on the show who was made up to an outlandishly silly degree. A bit thematic.
"Hey, that’s nice," said Max, who was wearing a tuxedo that kind of made him look like James Bond if he told you that was what he was going for. His wife (who should be remembered was a professional model) was wearing the same dress that Famke Jansen wore in GoldenEye - which was a pretty deep cut as far as bond movies went. She looked good though, as did he.
"Wow," a random man breathed as he passed. He wore one of those weird creepy masks from Eyes Wide Shut.
"Is that supposed to me?" a voice asked.
Sarah turned. She half expected, for just a second, to see the Flame. Which would have been awkward. The voice belonged to someone else.
It was a tallish woman with black hair. It took Sarah about 20 seconds to place her, though they had never met before.
"When I played the little sister in Bioshock?" Juliet Landeu asked curiously. "Or Drusilla in Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
"No," Sarah told her. "I’m that superhero the Flame."
"Oh," said Juliet and she wandered off with her husband, gladly not wanting to let the awkwardness drag out. Which was good for her. She was an underrated actress, and had a bit more range then she was given at times.
Sarah felt a little bad for it all. There was no such thing as creativity but still.
And the night went on. Sarah could be hot or cold on industry parties. They had the fun sense of being in a world she wasn't normally in, and meeting genuinely interesting people. Or they could be kind of slogs where she spent her time in the corner, sulking, talking to no one. There was a lot of networking going on at this party, which Sarah - being in the ‘bellow the line’ side of the industry - really didn't have to do much of. However, the house was nice, the booze was good (free) and there was a bit of a dance floor going, which was funny at Halloween. Also, Ben was a nice guy. Several times he complimented her, and hoped she was having a good time.
(Weird about her. She was famous for doing cockney accents. But she was not, herself, English. Ben was English, and had a very pronounced cockney accent which he hid on TV. Reality it was fun).
But she tried to take herself out of reality - to do, as the expression went, a little cosplaying. She did a lot of coworking normally, but playing? She went outside to the balcony and stood-and tried to burn up all of Los Angeles with the power of her mind. It didn't work. But it was fun. She tried to act a bit cold and emotionless, and vaguely...but not quite...evil. It had a sense of fun to it.
"Are you an actress" said Ms. Landieu as she walked up behind her. It didn't quite give Sarah a start, but yeah...
"No," said Sarah.
"You look like an actress," she said "Or at least a pretender. Not that that’s a critique."
"No" said Sarah.
Wait a second...Sarah paused. About a week ago she had met a Hollywood actor who was famous for playing a vampire, who it turned out probably was a vampire. Was this the same cosmic in joke?
Nope. Ms. Landeau had drunk a little too much beer to be a vampire.
"What are you then?"
"Prop master" said Sarah. It should be noted while the title implied the masculine, she had never once heard the title prop mistress used in serious conversation. That would be too cute.
"You have the air of someone trying on something else," observed Juliet.
"I suppose," said Sarah "Urrr...I shall use my powers to burn you up!"
"Ha!" said Juliet "ha."
Then she wandered away again. She was good at that. Maybe that was her superpower, knowing when to leave. That, and wearing an old fashioned pantomime lion costume really well.
She considered the question for a moment. It was something she wondered, on occasion. Who was she? The old joke about Batman was which was the mask and which was real person. The snidish dorky nerd, the upright superhero... or to put another face on it, the quiet competent professional prop master who was good at stretching a budget, or the practical think-with-her-head, even though she had all the muscle in the world, heroine. Or was she the very sexual being who wore glasses, whose bisexuality maybe less of a joke she presented...or the superheroine who was not always comfortable how her image (and to degree her sexuality) was presented to the world. Or was she the person from the deep south, living in a strange land who felt her southern 'values' a little bit conflicted sometimes, or the flying brick who did legitimately like how strong she was and how it made her feel, despite how little it could really change things.
Yes...she was many things.
Right now, slightly drunk was also on the list.
******
All of this actually took place on October 30th. Sarah wouldn't actually do anything Halloween specific on the actual date, because she knew that it would be a busy night for her...such as on the actual day.
*********
The fact that it was Halloween was not really interesting to Ellen Gonzales. She was driving home through the valley. She was at the age and economic value when such things seemed kind of frivolous. She was aware of it - maybe she would have a candy bar or something. It was late. She had worked a very hard Thursday at an insurance office, and accomplished very little of actual value to society.
Yet she was driving home with something that did. Eduardo, her six month old son, lsy in a car seat in the back. He’s what she lived for. He’s what she loved. Not much else in the world really mattered. She looked out the window to see some tricker-or-treaters. Ahhh. Someday she would have her own look over.
She drove down Resida over the Los Angeles River. There was a huge concrete ditch 50 feet down to what could be described as...well...a
Huh? A car was suddenly right in front of her.
Huh? She pressed the brake...
Huh? Not working...
Huh?
She swerved...her car hit the side of the bridge...
and.....
Huh?
She was falling. Straight down...50 feet bellow.
And out of nowhere something flashed into her screen...and she was no longer moving down.
She was still moving very, very fast. The fact that it was no longer completely vertical did not comfort her very much and...
They bounced against the ground.
Ellen should be screaming. Really she should. But she wasn't.
Why not?
She was moving about a hundred miles an hour...and...nope...they were slowing. They were going through the river, which was a long concrete ditch with a very small creek in the middle this time of year, her car still mostly vertical. Actually, maybe 45ish degree angle...
And someone was walking the car now on the ground turning it sideways and...
Ellen screamed. She screamed so fucking loud...
She screamed bloody fucking murder.
She closed her eyes and screamed.
Then she heard a knock on the door. And opened it.
"Hey!" said ‘Mazing Girl, looking in. "You okay?"
Ellen stoped screaming. It was the sensible thing to do.
"What just happened?"
"Your car’s brakes stoped working i think, you ran over the side. I grabbed you in time. We’re at the bottom of the river. Looking like the front took a lot of damage from hitting the railing though. I’m not sure it’s drivable."
"Huh?" said Ellen. "Can you give me a minute?"
"I can put your car up on the road if you want,” ’Mazing offered. “But you’re going to have to get a tow truck from there."
"Can you watch my kid for a second?” asked Ellen. "I got to do something.”
And Ellen walked away from the car in the middle of the river bottom. ‘Mazing watched her for a second, then realized what she was going to do.
She opened the back seat to look at the kid for a second. He was maybe 6 months old.
She watched him. Despite the fall. Despite the screaming - he wasn't. He looked completely fine for the experience. Chipper, even. Sarah often rescued babies in such circumstances, but rarely were they so calm She looked at him. He was wearing a diaper and a shirt, and had a surprisingly full head of Hispanic hair.
Sarah just watched him. There didn't seem very much she could do at the moment. He was strapped in as tight as probably was good for him, and didn't seem to want to be. His little hands seemed to be trying to get out, but she left him there. He tried to put a little teddy bear on the strap in his mouth.
she noticed a little pacifier attached to his thing. She picked it up and put it in his mouth.
And watched him.
She tried to ignore the sound of vomiting behind her. It served no purpose for the moment.
She impulsively put her fingers on his hands and shook them for a second.
"Pleased to meet you."
She smiled. Babies liked smiles. He looked up and smiled at her, and spat his pacifier out.
Babies liked that.
Sarah smiled back.
When she was about twelve, and a doctor explained things, the magical changes that were turning her into a woman...and a super being of immense power...one of the things he mentioned was that he doubted she could ever have children. The strong muscles of her uterus probably couldn't grab a fetus, in his medical opinion. Very damm little could cut her skin, probably not that(the werid fact that babies analogous to a sharks remora was brought up).
So....
Motherhood, as Southern Baptist women might define it, was probably out. But maybe it was possible. She had never really tested the theory. She would have made a fucking terrible mother anyway...she barely had her life together. How could she handle something else on top of all that? She was.....
She wasn't married. She was an old maid. She was single and lonely. She lived in a sucky condo. She didn't have a house. She had a job she kind of despised. Two really, at her most honest. She wasn't a mother, and had no one in her life like this little baby. And Juliet Landeu had been right: Sarah Jennings was a pretender.
"Thanks," said Ellen gratefully. "Do you think I would have....thanks. God...thank you so very, very, much."
Sarah looked away from the baby – no, she looked at the baby. He was smiling. He was happy and for a second she was too, and it didn't really matter that biologically he wasn't hers. In the sense that it took a village to raise a child he was - village being the second largest city in the country, and person being superhero. She was connected to that. She wasn't pretending.
"You must get this a lot," said Ellen. "You know...thank you."
"Not as much as you think" said ‘Mazing Girl. "Can I hold him?"
"You don't have a kid?" asked Ellen.
‘Mazing girl shook her head.
Ellen unhooked the baby and placed him in her hands.
And Sarah held him for a second, she shook in place just a tad. And felt love for someone she would never see again, or know again. Another anonymous face in the crowded city of LA, but he would always be part of her. Even the fact that his mother was even now taking an iphone picture of her didn't spoil the moment.
Sarah kissed him on his forehead and gave him back.
Then turned to leave.
Oh wait...she promised to help them get out of a ditch. This was awkward.
"Um...I'll fly you up out of the ditch first, then get the car."
And so went Sarah’s Halloween.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)