Chapter 5

I floated up and moved around where she could see me. I had never seen her like this, and it was freaky. Kind of sexy too, but no way I would say that out loud, I wasn’t suicidal. Instead, I smiled at her.

“I don’t think killing him will look good on your review, babe.” I said softly. Rapido and Lady Steel were the only ones close enough to hear me easily, though I am sure several others had the abilities to listen in. “Spank him and send him home to his mama if you want, but we got a big storm coming in.”

She leaned forward until we were eye to eye. To everyone else, we must have looked a sight, me floating there in front of her, a short little woman with ghostly wings, and her a steel warrior princess with a vanquished enemy in her hands.

“Okay, sweetie. I wasn’t going to kill him anyway, but everyone shouting in my head almost made me clench my fist and it made me mad. Sorry about that,” she whispered, then moved that little bit closer and gave me a kiss on the lips.

“Why, Lady Steel, I didn’t know you cared! We simply must talk later, girl to girl.” I vamped, speaking loud enough for everyone to hear. There were a few titters, an actual laugh from someone at the rear of the group, but most folks just sort of relaxed a bit, now that the hint of danger was gone.

Lady Steel still held Rapido off the ground with one arm, palming his skull and leaving his toes dangling several inches above the parking lot.

“Who here can take a complaint about sexual harassment? I told this ... thing, that I was not interested in his lame come-ons and he followed me anyway, putting his hand on my ass uninvited.” She asked in a loud voice, making sure no one mistook how serious she was.

Texas Star stepped forward. He was the number two Hero in the Texas League, Miracle Girl’s second in command, and he seemed pissed too.

“That is hardly the way we prefer to handle complaints, Miss... ?” he asked with a drawl, hands on his hips.

“Too bad. I am a fifteen-year-old trainee, and associate member of the League, and I was told I had the same rights and protections as the full members. Was that not correct?”

Texas Star sighed and rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes, of course you have the same rights, I am just saying that whipping the poor boy around by his head could cause serious damage, hardly commiserate with a slap on the behind.”

“You Pompous asshole!” I was furious! My volume control was not the best when I was mad, and it was a miracle that I even stayed in character. My projected voice, that of a young lady, blasted hard enough to rattle the windows on the command vehicle. “If that is your attitude, then you can fuck right off. I will be leaving with Lady Steel if this is how you treat women. I would have bet my life that Miracle Girl would not have stood by and let some asshole sexually assault her, and that she would not let her second in command be a sexist pig.”

Folks were backing away now, but there were a few nods from other female Heroes in the audience. It was then I started to feel a bit odd about this, almost schizophrenic. I was taking the part of the girls, but I was definitely an imposter here! What was I getting myself in to?

“I am kind of wondering about this myself.” A voice said, coming from overhead. There, bathed in the soft light that was as much her trademark as her chrome uniform, was Miracle Girl. “Marcus, what the hell is going on?”

“Jesus H. Christ on a crutch, Sally, he smacked her on the ass and she damn near killed him. If I hadn’t asked Diamante to keep an eye on his health, he would already have whiplash and permanent damage to his spine. What she is doing is not a measured response to the infraction.” Texas Star said, not backing down.

Miracle Girl just looked disgusted, running her hands over her face. Turning to Lady Steel, she asked quietly, “If you would set him down, please, to prevent any further injury, I would consider it a favor.”

Lady Steel let him go, dropping him like sack of potatoes. He hit the ground pretty hard, but was back on his feet in an instant, looking like he was ready to fight with her. That shit wasn’t happening, and I set up a loose TK wall around the speedster. If he attempted to go anywhere, or even throw a punch, he was going to be in for a big surprise.

“Okay, so. Rapido, Marcus, Lady Steel, let’s step over to the side and see if we can handle this without any bloodshed, shall we?” Miracle Girl suggested, waving her hand towards the beach. The winds were rising now and it looked to be a little uncomfortable for some of the people in the parking lot. The sand blowing in off the beach could feel like sandpaper to unprotected skin. That didn’t affect any of us, I wouldn’t think, except maybe Texas Star.

When I made to follow, Miracle Girl attempted to wave me off, but I ignored her. No way I was going to be separated from my girl. When I continued to follow, she actually stopped and glared at me. Before today, I might have quailed at that look ... Miracle Girl was one of the top three Heroes in all of the United States of North America, and one of the original Heroes to step up after The Day.

“This involves me. I will not be shunted aside.” I told her, speaking in her ear so only she could hear me. She stared at me for a moment, then looked over towards the command center vehicle. There, standing outside the RV, was a man in a suit who looked familiar. It wasn’t until I saw three or four men, all in dark suits and all looking very nervous, that I realized who it might be!

The Vice President of the USNA was a retired Hero named Stinger. He had low-level telepathy and was incredibly tough, but his primary power was similar to Diamante’s in the ability to wield coherent light. He could send anything from precise laser beams to light bursts and massive blasts with the power to level a building. Not sure why he was here, unless it was in his political persona, but he evidently still had some pull with Miracle Girl.

Ignoring me, she turned back to Texas Star, Rapido, and Lady Steel. I adjusted my shield around Rapido so that it was only between him and Lady Steel, not wanting to interfere if anything happened between the leader of the Hero League and the jackass.

“First, you ever do something like that again, to a Hero, a trainee, or even a normal human, and I hear of it? I will break your arms myself and forbid any of the bios from healing you. You can wait the six or eight weeks for them to heal on their own. This is your only warning. That is animalistic behavior and it is unacceptable by any standard.” She said to Rapido, getting in his face. The man had the smarts to capitulate and step back, his hands behind his back and, for now, out of her reach.

“You...” she said, turning to Lady Steel. “You are a trainee and fifteen?” she asked, looking the younger woman up and down. Lady Steel stood head and shoulders taller than Miracle Girl, but the older Hero was not in the least hesitant about meeting her gaze. “You get a pass, this time, but almost killing him for touching you is not an appropriate escalation. One of the toughest things we teach Heroes is the appropriate use of force. When it is allowed, and in what measure it is appropriate. If you had broken his hand, his arm, those would have been understandable. Snapping his neck by dangling him like a chicken you are about to pluck? Not appropriate. We clear on that?”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Lady Steel said, transforming back to Jill again. “In my defense, my original breakthrough was because sex slavers tried to grab me, and I have no tolerance for that kind of thing. I will work on my temper where sexual predators are involved.” There was no forgiveness and no backing down in Jill’s stance, and I was way impressed!

“Marcus, you and I are going to have words about this after the emergency is over,” was all she said to her second in command. The man scowled, but didn’t respond. I had a feeling this was not the first time they had butted heads over something similar.

“And you, what the hell are you even doing here? If Stinger had not suggested I let you stay, I might have even sent you home. Who are you?” she asked me, sounding exasperated.

“Another fifteen-year-old trainee,” I said clearly. “I wanted to know if I could trust the League to deal with this. If not, I would be leaving with Lady Steel, you can bet on that. She is important to me and where she goes, I will follow.”

She snorted and shook her head, throwing her hands up in the air. “Someone, save me from teenagers,” she growled, turning and stomping off. Rapido was in her path and, as soon as he realized it, he was gone, leaving a faint popping of displaced air behind. Luckily, he chose a route that did not take him by Jill or he would have had a rude awakening!

Texas Star stomped off too, grumbling about something, but too low for me to make out, even if I had cared enough to try.

“So, you come here often?” I asked lightly, smiling at my girlfriend.

“Yeah, but usually it is lighter out, with less wind and fewer assholes.” She said, and smiled in return.

The storm was really picking up and, when we looked at the screen on our communicators, we could see radar track had the first thick bands hitting us any time now. We hurried back over to the command area and spent the next ten minutes waiting for someone to tell us what to do!

When they finally passed out assignments, I was more than a little disappointed when I was assigned an outer Zone patrol. The area that was going to feel the impact of the storm was segregated into zones by the command team. Each zone formed a circular area about a mile wide, all centered on the projected point of impact with the shoreline. From ground zero to an area one mile around was Zone one, another mile out was Zone two and so on.

Lady Steel and I were both assigned to a wedge of Zone Four, from about forty-five to ninety degrees as seen from ground zero. We had five other newbies or lower powered Heroes in our section since, while we were the farthest out, we also had the largest area to cover.

Despite our, admittedly childish, desires to be in the thick of it, we both knew we had important work to do. I spent a little time before I left, and stocked my dimensional pocket with emergency supplies. First aid kits, ponchos, emergency blankets, bottled water and some MREs. By making sure I didn’t take anything of metal, I could have one of just about everything and, if absolutely needed, could duplicate items when I ran low.

Despite my visions of flying to rescue storm-tossed ships and drowning damsels, we were actually kept very busy. From helping secure the roof of a house to keeping the flood water back from the hospital while volunteers filled sandbags, we were kept hopping damn near all night.

From when the initial wave front broke on the beach to when the eye of the storm landed was almost eleven hours and we stayed busy for all of it. The eye seemed to pause when it hit land and the storm stuttered, jolting northward a bit as the land changed its trajectory. Not much, but enough that we ended up having to travel with it.

I hadn’t seen Jill or, more properly, Lady Steel, in hours and, in about the ninth hour when I got a break to eat something, I made sure to track her down using her communicator. I had created my own umbrella shield, more of a ball, really, and was eating a sandwich while sipping soup, and while flying to where her communicator had her located.

She was helping to fill sandbags at a senior center and, I lent hand, using my TK to hold bags while she shoveled. She was a blur, moving so fast that it was hard to keep up. When she slowed, slumping down to her knees, I was horrified to see how skinny she appeared, even with her metal skin!

Picking her up, I carried her inside the nursing home and lay her on a couch in the lobby, calling for some food, drink, anything to give her some calories. She had been using up her internal stores all night and burning calories at a furious rate!

When we tested in Austin, she told me she lost five pounds during the testing by doing the same thing, and that she had taken to carrying energy bars and protein drinks on patrols. Here, she had gone through those hours ago and had been too busy to take time off and get more. While the nursing staff and even the older folks at the home flocked around her, practically force feeding her cookies and cake and puddings, I called in to the Command crew.

“Seraph here, I have important info that I need to share. If your speeders are not taking regular breaks to restock their energy, they should be. Lady Steel is down about thirty pounds because she ran out of energy bars and protein drinks. She was too busy to stop and was eating herself up. I pulled her inside and will take up the slack for her until she gets her strength back, but I’m worried about any others, even that jackass, Rapido.”

The voice on the other end of the phone thanked me for reporting in, saying they would be sure to follow up on it.

In the meantime, I went back out and continued filling sandbags for the next couple of hours, though I got several cups of cocoa and another sandwich delivered by the staff of the nursing home while I did it. They were a great bunch, looking out for all of the folks outside.

When the home was as protected from the rising water as we could make it, I continued my patrol, leaving Lady Steel there to recover more. She promised she would stay and protect the elderly residents, and, as much as I wanted to protect her, there were others out there who needed help too.

The next three hours were a blur of clearing fallen trees, helping folks who had been in accidents and, in several cases, out of vehicles that had been overwhelmed by rising flood waters. Several of the vehicles were just driven by idiots though, as they headed into large bodies of water already dotted by the mostly submerged hulks of other vehicles who didn’t make it! How could someone driving a Kia think they would make it through when a lifted pickup couldn’t?

Probably the most dramatic event of the night was the collapse of the roof on the First Baptist of McAllen church. I had been passing by overhead when I saw the roof sag in a big way, and there was a line of people filing in to the building, seeking refuge from the storm! It was a massive building with room inside for hundreds and hundreds of people to worship.

I swooped, yes, swooped, down and despite a few squawks, threaded through the people in the doorway and into the sanctuary. Above, I could see drops of water falling from the roof and, in one section, water spreading rapidly.

I used my voice projection, pushing as hard as I could and amping up the volume.

“The roof is about to collapse, start moving towards the doors in an orderly fashion. The roof is about...” and I kept repeating it as loud as I could, even as I began projecting a dome above them, between them and the roof. It was only, at best, a partial cover because of the shape of the building, a sort of truncated cross. Working quickly, I shifted the shield shape to cover all of the roof from the inside, but it was a pretty big strain even with just a few leaks at this point.

Since I had to allow them out, I couldn’t rest the edges of my cover creation on solid ground. Instead, I used my training to build columns and supports, buttresses and braces. Finding every open floor spot I could identify and placing a support there it seemed to help, but the unusual shape and allowing for corners and slopes affected my ability to keep the protection strong enough.

Another issue was that my shield wasn’t visible, it was a manifestation of my mental power so, after several incidents of people running into the invisible columns, I had to add in some illusory color too, and I was starting to really feel the strain.

My eyes closed, all of my concentration shifted to supporting the roof, maintaining the columns, protecting the folks in the church. I could hear them; some crying, children screaming and others praying. They were moving, but too slow! I wasn’t sure I could hold up the entire roof forever, and the water was making it even heavier. I was startled when someone draped a poncho over me and I opened my eyes, seeing the pastor there, patting me on the shoulder even as he waved people on, directing them to the doors.

It seemed like hours and I felt like I was losing it when he gave me the word.

“They are all out, we can go now!”

I started collapsing the dome in sections, starting at the far edge and leaving a slowly receding slope between us and the rapidly collapsing roof left in its wake. The water and debris took the path of least resistance and, when hitting that slope, slid away from us at an angle as we moved. The entire building looked to be collapsing behind us but, as my shield shrank, it actually became concentrated, stronger, and allowed us to get out of the building before it was too late.

Once outside again, in the wind and pouring rain, I could relax, and found myself sitting, tailor-style, on the muddy grass. The pastor was crouching next to me with his hand on my shoulder.

Leaning down so he could be heard, he said, “I am not sure that I am buying the angelic visage, but you were certainly the vehicle for our salvation tonight.” His voice was warm and full of humor. “Is there anything I can do to help you?”

I just shook my head tiredly, projecting my voice so he could hear without me having to yell. “No, I have much more to do tonight. I just need to catch my breath, but thank you. Go look after your people, I am okay.”

With one more pat, he stood and shooed away a few stragglers, pushing them towards the other buildings that were still standing. Once I had my breath back and didn’t feel like I was going to pass out, I pulled a shield around me to keep the rain off for a while and stood, before taking slowly to the air.

It took three days for the storm to be gone and the heaviest cleanup to start. Once we were certain there were no lives hanging in the balance, they started letting us take some down time. Tents were set up in the cleared parking lot at the beach and we could crash on some bunks under the tents. I made sure to call home and check on Mom and Billie, Sherrie too, since she was staying at my house with her girlfriend.

Everyone at home was doing well, and Billie even said that Mom was better. Mom had seen me on the news, lifting a fallen roof off a pair of teens. They had been hanging out, watching the storm from the dubious safety of a big gazebo, bandstand thing, in a park near the college. The storm had tossed a tree into the uprights, toppling the roof down on them. Thankfully, the built-in wood seats gave them enough cover that they were not crushed, just trapped.

Billie said mom saw me and yelled, bringing everyone else into the room. Mom even talked to them a bit, telling them how proud she was of me, and saying that she wished dad could see me. She broke down again then, but it was a more natural grief, Sherrie told me, not the catatonic, silent tears she had been crying the other day.

I slept until they woke me, and have no read idea of how long it was. I know it was dark when I lay down, and it was almost dark again when I woke up, but it could have been a single day or a week. Starved, I looked for Jill, but she had already woken, I guess, so I hunted, and found, the chow hall.

Jill was sitting with Diamante and a young woman I didn’t recognize. They were eating and chatting, and didn’t notice me until I sat down at the table with my own tray.

“Mike! I didn’t know you were here!’ Diamante said with a grin, waving at me while I was stuffing my face. Jill put her arm around my shoulders and hugged me, kissing me on the cheek, but scrunching up her nose.

“You need to shower, babe, you stink!” she said with a laugh, pretending to cringe away from me.

The girl across from Jill looked surprised and a little uncomfortable, her eyes going from Jill to me and back again. “I thought, I mean, you and Seraph, aren’t... ? You know what, none of my business, sorry!” she finished with a blush, looking down at her tray.

Jill and I exchanged a glance. I hadn’t been wearing my illusion when I woke up and it never occurred to me. I had gotten really good at keeping it up, even asleep, but I guess I had been so tired when I went to bed that it faded!

“Hi, my name is Mike, and.” I switched to my illusion avatar, “I am also Seraph,” I finished in my character’s voice.

The girl looked shocked, but Diamante started laughing. “You prick! I wondered why I hadn’t seen you and why you hadn’t been helping, and I also wondered about the new Hero! I don’t get to meet all the new Heroes, but usually enough that I hear about new ones at least. And the first night, you were all, ‘Girl Power!’ on that asshole Texas Star. What the hell was that about?”

While my Avatar didn’t blush, being a figment of my imagination, I had learned to make it match my outward, emotional state ... and my outward, emotional state as Mike, was blushing like mad.

“I want to have a private life, so this was my solution. Not many people know that the skinny geek is really the androgynous angel.” I told her, spreading the ghostly wings behind me. “I found my other skills since I met you. The Dimensional portal is handy to have, but illusion with a sound component and some very weird telepathic projection are my others.”

“And the girl power thing?” Diamante asked, raising an eyebrow. She wasn’t going to let that go.

“I got carried away, okay? Jill and I are dating, and I was pissed too, then that douchebag started acting like it was nothing and I wanted to pound him as well. I ... I got carried away and let my avatar kind of take over. I know it sounds crazy, but when I am in character, it helps to really be in character.”

Jill was laughing now, leaning up against me for support, and the girl across the table, who still had not been introduced, seemed to be amused by it all.

“Hmm ... I could have taught you more than how to fly, if I had known you had a feminine side.” She joked, sticking her tongue out at the glare Jill gave her. “Anyway, this is Flamme, she’s a French Hero who was over here as an exchange, seeing how we do things. She volunteered to stick around for the big storm and has been a great help. She’s a natural heat rock and spent a lot of time in the hospital tents, keeping the victims comfortable. She’s a flame elemental with flight and some light TK, though nothing in your class.”

“Nice to meet you Flamme, thanks for sticking around and helping out.” I said, reaching over and shaking her hand. She seemed shocked and looked at her hand in confusion when we were done. My handshake was something I had worked hard on, and I used my TK instead of my real hand, because my real hand was so much larger than the avatar’s!

“How ... I mean, I ‘ave to assume it is the telekinesis, yes? But such fine control, it is absolument incroyable! You can teach me, yes? We will get un lecteur d’esprit, a mind reader, to help, no?”

“If we can do it that way, I would be happy to show you. You will be here for a while still, right? A few days?”

“Certainement, if that means I can learn from you. I will stay as long as needed,” she said with a smile, but looking at Jill.

Jill just shrugged and smiled, not seeming worried. It is a good thing, because I was head over heels in love with Jill and no hot little number from France was going to have a chance! When I cast my whisper into Jill’s ear, telling her exactly that, she blushed and gave me another kiss.

Jill still looked a little thin, but she told me they had her on an IV drip all night, and she had put away two breakfasts already this morning, so she was fine. With that, I finished my own food and headed off to the showers.

And I walked right into the men’s shower. Yep. Dicks everywhere. Fine with me, I wasn’t bothered, but several of them started yelling when a fifteen-year-old angel walked through the door. What was I supposed to do, go to the girl’s? They would have my balls if I did that and they found out I wasn’t a girl!

I slipped out again, running around the trailer and making myself invisible for a few minutes, hoping no one followed. Then, looking around, I dropped the avatar and walked back to the showers as myself, not even raising an eyebrow.

I really had to learn to keep on top of that stuff!

Cleanup was a drudge. I was, at best, a flying bulldozer and crane. Shift this, lift that, move those other things, fill that dump truck!

It was work that needed to be done though, so I wasn’t going to skip out. A few of the Heroes had already done that, not wanting to dirty their hands with the drudgery, I guess, and I could tell those they had left behind to carry the load had lost a lot of respect for them.

Diamante was quick to point out that some of them had other emergencies to attend to, and regular jobs, but we could tell who was ducking and who was just shifting to other responsibilities. Texas Star.

It was several days before the power was back on to the coastal areas, but there had been only seven deaths up and down the entire gulf coast and, considering the size of that monster storm, that was a freakin miracle! Similar storms shortly after The Fall had killed tens of thousands.

When I finally made it home again, after a tearful ‘Call me!’ with Jill, I was drained physically, mentally, and emotionally. Mom was doing better, but she clung to me like a limpet, as if afraid to let me out of her sight. She even came and cuddled up with me in my bed, fully clothed thankfully, and let me hold her while we slept.

Life slowly got back to normal and Mom got better. Not well, mind you, but better. She was having a hard time dealing with dad’s death, I could see, and I tried to make her life as easy as possible. There was little I could rationally do for her though, she was back to work, and I had both school and my patrol schedule.

Jill was there for me and her family proved to be a surprisingly big comfort to me. Not in a replacement sort of way, but just by being supportive and allowing Jill to spend so much time with me.

The remainder of the fall passed into winter with no issues and Christmas was just around the bend. I had put off Christmas shopping until the last minute since mom was totally not in the mood for Christmas this year. With the loss of dad, we hadn’t even pulled out the tree and that was depressing.

Tonight, mom was supposed to go out for a girls’ night out with Maddy Washington (Milt’s mom), Clarissa Granville (Billie’s mom) and Liz Wilder, (Sherrie’s mom) so the girls, meaning Billie, Sherrie and Jill, were all coming over to raise the tree and decorate.

That was this evening though, and I had my marching orders to pick up some new decorations because, somehow, new decorations equal new memories, even if most of the decorations are older than I am, which is also cool because tradition and vintage ... or something. Anyway, I was shopping, and I had to buy gifts for the people in my life as well as decorations.

Mom was hard to shop for. I wanted to give her something personal, but that wouldn’t immediately cause her to think about dad. So, no robes or nightgowns, or framed pictures, nothing like that would work. I finally settled on a full spa day at a newish fancy spa down by La Plaza Mall. While I was in the area, I ducked inside the mall to look for decorations and something for Billie.

Jill was taken care of with a really cool heart-shaped locket that opened up twice, not once, and ended up looking like a four-leaf clover. I had it engraved on the back with, “You are my good luck charm!” I thought it was cute enough, and romantic enough, that I could get away with it. In reality, we had been dating now for about eight or nine months, so I don’t think she was expecting an engagement ring or anything ... and this wouldn’t get her dad up in arms or worried about us moving too fast!

For Billie, I was thinking about a charm bracelet. One of the girls at school had one, and she was putting things on it that meant something to her. A cheerleader’s megaphone when she made the cheer squad, a little yorkie shaped charm for her dog and things like that. I was looking online, and I found one of the jewelry stores at the mall advertised an X-Box controller charm that would be perfect for Billie. It would be girly and guy friendly as well, perfect for our new, odd, relationship.

The jeweler, a national chain called Gerald’s, is one of those stores that have access from the mall side indoors, and from the parking lot outdoors too. It was a pretty big business with lots of glass-topped cases with rings and necklaces and watches and whatnot. It was pretty busy too, with Christmas right around the bend, and a lot of the customers were guys like me, wandering around looking lost and confused.

“Can I help you find something?” A smiling, older lady in a form fitting dress and wearing a very festive Christmas broach approached me, quietly though, as if not wanting to scare me off. I fought the urge to giggle, that not being very manly, but I was imagining myself as a fawn and she was a hunter.