by Drew Hayes
“Step right on up, my bold challenger. I promise, you ain’t never had a fight like me.”
Helen took her time putting Penelope to bed. They sang songs, had a long tub time, and even did rereads of some favorite stories. It felt good to be here—human, and home. She reveled in being around someone who had little care for Lodestar, powers, superheroes, any of it. To Penelope, Helen would be Mom above all other titles, and after days like this, she needed that. As all children do, however, Penelope eventually gave in to slumber.
Part of her—no, much more than a part—wanted to call Ivan. He understood what it meant to be at the top. The solitude, the distance, the pressure. But it wasn’t fair of her to add to his burdens. He was already carrying enough. She was the Lodestar; she could haul her own mental crap around. Setting her resolve, Helen wandered into the kitchen and poured a glass of wine.
The last drops were nearly fallen when her phone chirped. She knew the sound—not many people had their own custom tones, but there were those who warranted the distinction. Yanking it out, she prepared for Ivan to tell her something about the Starscouts, or perhaps offer some insight into Tori’s kidnapping.
Are you free?
Well... that was unexpected. Blunt, which did fit Ivan, though he tended to err on the side of formality, at least since taking on his civilian role. Her thumb wavered, unsure of what to write back. Yes, she was free. Yes, she wanted to see him, to share the events of her day. That was the trouble. She liked Ivan, liked being around him. When she’d been living as just Helen, that was one thing. Now, the issue was more complicated. In the end, Helen decided that since there was a chance this could be related to official business, she had a duty to investigate.
Even Lodestar was allowed a small bit of self-delusion.
For the moment. Something up?
She didn’t even have time to put the phone down before his reply came.
In person.
Damn. If he couldn’t talk about it even over their secured lines, then this was indeed serious. All thoughts of relaxation and light flirting bolted from Helen’s mind as she tried to predict what threat they might be facing.
Come over and read me in.
Again, she didn’t set the phone down in time. Another chirp, another message. Reading it twice, Helen lifted an eyebrow and walked through the house to her back door. Popping it open, she stepped onto her porch to find Ivan already sitting there, staring out at the night sky. There was something in his expression, a pain she’d seen prior incarnations of, though never to this degree. A joke about personal property faded on her tongue. This was no laughing matter.
“Ivan, what’s wrong?”
She expected him to need some time, but that made little sense. Ivan had come to her to talk. He wasn’t going to hold back when the chance finally arrived.
“Rick has started to remember the beach. Enough that he asked about it, and I told him the truth of that day. He still hasn’t asked the big questions yet, but it’s only a matter of time.” Lowering his gaze, Ivan pressed his hands against his forehead. “My son is going to see me as a monster, and I don’t know how to stop it. Or even if I should stop it. He has a right to know my history; the people with grudges certainly will.”
Taking her time, Helen went into the house, scooping up a pair of old quilts. Stepping back out, she hunkered down in the chair next to Ivan, handing over the blanket. “Summer is ending. The nights are starting to chill. Remember, have to look human.”
While Ivan worked out which part of the quilt was the top, Helen continued. “I don’t know what to say about the Rick stuff. That bites the big one? No, bad call, forget that. It just... sucks, Ivan, and I wish I could say something to make it better. Except, the truth is, this was always a hurdle you two had to climb. Eventually, our kids will find out we’re more than just their parents. Some have an easier adjustment to make than others, but Rick is smart. He’ll be able to see the bigger picture. Whether or not he can make peace with it... that’s up to him to decide.”
“Sadly, I am all too aware.” Ivan had finally managed to get the blanket oriented appropriately, letting it sit at his waist like an elderly man at a chessboard. For a moment, Helen tried to imagine old Ivan. It didn’t work. He, like her, was largely unchanging, save only for when he made the big changes. She couldn’t imagine Ivan living to an old age any more than herself. Superheroes and villains alike, they were both fated to go out with their masks on.
“The only upside is I can offer comfort on one level: you don’t need to worry about Rick or Beth being targets. Not from the AHC, and not from anyone within punching distance of me. We don’t ever talk about how much you’ve done for me and Penelope—”
Ivan interrupted her. “I was paying back—”
“Cut the crap,” Helen interrupted right back. “Paying me back for helping you get the freedom you’d earned doesn’t entail a tenth of what you’ve done over the years. From the very start, you were the one who gave me the downtime to have her, and since then, you’ve been a constant help, one I probably leaned on too much during the rough times.”
It was always surprising when Ivan could somehow manage to look even more serious than he normally did, yet as he stared Helen down, she was nearly captured by the gravity in his gaze. “Trifles and pittance. Everything I love, I have in my life because of your help. There is no way to repay that debt, though I owe you a lifetime of effort in trying.”
“Guess what, that feeling flows both ways.” Finally fiddling with her own blanket, Helen snapped it out in a single movement, letting it settle naturally over her chair and body. “After all you’ve done for Penelope, I owe at least that level of care to your kids. So whatever else you might be scared of in all of this, try not to worry about their safety. I’m not perfect, nor infallible, but so long as the power is mine to wield, your kids will always have Lodestar in their corner.”
It would have shocked most people, to see Ivan relax at those words, even slightly. He was not a man of casual ease, nor one prone to trusting. But he knew more than most of the world; he’d seen how much power Lodestar could truly wield, when the need arose. For the moment, Ivan allowed himself a minute measure of peace. Likely the very thing he’d come here hoping to find.
“Much as my pride wants to decline the gesture, for the sake of my children, I thank you sincerely.” Ivan lowered his head, almost managing a bow despite their seated positions. “And I’m sorry for interrupting your evening so abruptly.”
“Given the situation, I get it. Honestly, I’m sort of glad you showed up. My day was a pain, as well. It’s nice to sit with an old friend.”
An old friend, an old enemy, an old rival, an old asset, even an old partner for the occasional shared adversary. After all these years, there were few roles they hadn’t filled for the other at some point along the way. Only a few were left purposefully, willfully, untouched—no matter how much either of them might wish to be sharing a single quilt.
“Anything interesting? I could use a distraction.”
This question, thankfully, Helen had an easy response to. “I got shot in the face by a bunch of birds.”
A sincere, contemplative look fell over Ivan’s face. “Do you mean you were hit by a large amount of birds, or a flock of them banded together to actually shoot some sort of tiny guns at you?”
There was no particular reason why that got her, but seeing the man once known as Fornax ask such a question with a straight face sent Helen into convulsions of laughter that took a full minute to fade.
Chapter 51
Sunday evening arrived too soon for Tori, who’d spent nearly every spare second since her meeting with Doctor Mechaniacal down in the lab, hard at work. She needed to get a fully functioning prototype built so she’d have actual specs. Until they knew the exact size and shape, she couldn’t very well tap Beverly to start much of the design work. It had been one thing when this was all an idea, just some fun notion to sink her energy into rather than dwelling
on everything that had happened. Having Indigo Technologies provisionally on board changed things. Now, it had the potential to be real, and Tori was determined not to let the chance slip away.
When Beverly finally dragged her out of the lab, it was a blessing. She’d been at it for a long time without any breaks and was starting to slow down mentally. Changing gears would give her brain time to rest. It wasn’t as if game night with the New Science Sentries would demand the same level of intense focus.
After a shower and a few cups of coffee, Tori was more or less as functional as she got outside of things that interested her. She expected to coast her way through the evening in a subdued manner, letting the more boisterous members of their social circle pick up the slack.
Once the knock on their door came, however, the flaw in that plan became apparent. It was a weary foursome that arrived at their door. None looked especially well rested, and their overall energy was somewhere on Tori’s level, which was worrying. The sole member putting up the appearance of pep was Austin, who greeted Chloe cheerfully when she let them in.
“Good evening, and thank you again for having us. We brought some playing cards, wine, and a batch of homemade cookies for dessert.”
“Oh, perfect! We just ordered pizza for dinner. I didn’t know everyone’s preferences well enough to cook.” Chloe accepted the cookies from Austin while Tori ambled over to help with the wine. Beverly was still getting ready, or maybe wanted to make an entrance. Tori never understood the rules of the fashionable.
Taking both wine bottles from Kyle, she noticed he was especially subdued, even by the group’s current standards. The easier play would be to let it go unsaid, leave the issue alone since it was almost certainly cape-related. Except, she was supposed to be friendly, and this was way too obvious to pretend it wasn’t there. Ultimately, Tori opted to split the difference. She’d give Kyle a window; if he didn’t use it, that was on him.
“Come help me uncork these bad boys. With this many people, we’ll go through both fast.” Leading Kyle over to the kitchen, leaving the other three chatting with Chloe at the entrance, she walked him to the junk drawer and popped out a bottle opener. “Want to talk about it?”
“Huh?” He hadn’t been braced for that. The question appeared to be the first thing that had jarred him into paying attention. “Sorry, what?”
“I’m asking if you want to talk about whatever dark cloud is hanging over all your heads. ’Cause if so, do it now. I’m not interrupting a winning streak because you get a case of feelings.” A little harsher than she’d intended, Tori took a breath and dialed it back. “I mean, something is plainly up. You don’t want to talk about it, your call. Just making an offer to listen while we wait for Beverly.”
The slight pop behind her was all the warning Tori needed. Without turning, she held out a glass of poured wine slightly to her rear, where Ike accepted it as he walked around to Kyle’s side. “He’s miffed because we had an evaluation at the Alliance of Heroic Champions, and our team wasn’t able to overcome the challenge presented. Which is the polite way of saying we got our asses kicked.”
“Not... we didn’t do that badly. We just didn’t succeed at the task assigned, despite coming close a few times,” Kyle corrected.
“Coming close? I never even got a hand on that rock. Austin came nearest, and that was right before the time limit. We might have fought until the end, but we were far from success.”
The conversation only seemed to be riling Kyle up, which was admittedly better than the morose version. Tori thrust a glass of wine over. It wouldn’t be able to affect someone with his metabolism, but the routine act of drinking sometimes helped to calm people down. “Were you up against some sort of monster, or giant murdering robot?”
“What?” Kyle asked, swinging his head around. “Of course not. Who would test their new members with that kind of opponent?”
Clearly someone had never been through villain training. Tori enjoyed a whole three seconds of feeling superior about the hurdles she’d cleared—right up until Kyle named their actual adversary.
“We had to test ourselves against Lodestar.”
Setting the wine down, Tori went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of beer. She’d never been much of a wine fan, and there was no reason to change that tonight. Popping the top, Tori clapped Kyle on the back lightly. “I’m pretty sure you don’t have to feel bad about losing to the person famous for being unbeatable. She’s the fucking Lodestar. What else did you expect? Who’s going to come out on top against her?”
“Cyber Geek’s team, for one.” Ellie had wandered over, leaving Austin and Chloe still catching up by the door. The man was dedicated to his polite small talk, Tori had to give him that. Ellie drew more attention, though, as she poured herself a very full glass of wine. “We didn’t have to fight her, per se. We had to take something she was guarding. And since she matched her power with whoever she was fighting, the stronger you are, the harder your challenge. So at least we can take comfort in how weak that squad must be.”
Ellie lifted her glass, and Ike clinked. Only Kyle resisted the urge to join, showing unexpectedly good judgment, given his track record.
“Look, I’m sure there’s all sorts of rivalries and pissing matches going on in the AHC, but let’s lay one thing out right here and now: Cyber Geek is a friend of mine. We worked together, we fought together when our office was attacked, and he saved a whole nightclub full of people, me included, when Nexus let a monster loose on the dance floor. You’ve got beef, fine. Keep it between yourselves. But that’s going to be the last time you shit-talk my friend in my presence. Anyone got an issue with that?”
Ellie looked stunned, and even Ike appeared momentarily taken aback. Kyle, however, recovered for his team, showing off that speedy thinking for a change. “Apologies, Tori. It was inappropriate. We shouldn’t talk about a fellow superhero that way, and we certainly don’t have room to belittle the strength of a team that did better than us. It won’t happen again, though I do hope this policy flows both ways.”
“I guess it would, but he’s never really mentioned your team.” Only after she said the words did Tori realize how they might be perceived. That was the cost of knowing tech better than people, stumbling into errors that a more socially adept person could avoid.
“Oh? Then what is it you do talk about?” For once, she was glad to have Ike around. His ridiculous innuendo was exactly the pivot she needed from that last statement.
“Spreadsheets, combat tactics, our eventual inevitable battle to the death. The usual former office drone stuff.” Talking about it made Tori realize she actually hadn’t had more than a phone call or a brief chat with Donald in some while. She should reach out, make sure he was holding up okay. If this was how the New Science Sentries were faring, it had to be a rough time as a recent rookie.
Heels clicking along wood signified Beverly’s arrival, and Tori felt her head turn with everyone else’s even though she knew who was coming. That was Beverly’s knack; she could draw the attention of a room before even setting a foot inside. Once she actually arrived, Tori nearly coughed on a sip of beer. She was accustomed to Beverly, her roommate and friend, the one who always looked put together, but in a functional, office-appropriate manner. Tonight she hadn’t changed much, yet the effect was potent. A touch more makeup here, a slightly different cut to her blouse there, and suddenly Tori realized why Beverly could survive by simply writing about fashion. The woman knew her stuff to a terrifying degree.
What was more interesting was the enhanced appearance itself. Obviously, she hadn’t put in the effort for Tori or Chloe, which narrowed it down to the New Science Sentries. One glance at Austin’s near slack-jawed face told her which of the group was having the strongest reaction, and to Tori’s surprise, she caught Beverly clocking Austin’s face, too. First mystery solved easily enough; the second was more troublesome, unfortunately. Was Beverly actually making an effort, or just screwing with Austin for fun? She’
d never been the cruel sort—then again, Beverly didn’t hate many people the way she hated Professor Quantum. It was hard to imagine her seriously flirting with his successor. Perhaps she was using her wiles to win him over, hoping to gain useful information about the AHC?
Tori shook off the curiosity, all too aware she lacked the skills to crack this puzzle. The easier method was just to get through the night, then ask Beverly later. That was the perk of being outside the courtship dance; she wasn’t bound by any of the unspoken rules.
“My goodness, where did you get that top?” Ellie rushed over before Austin had recovered enough to speak. “I love it! I’ve been hunting all over Ridge City for wardrobe updates, mostly to no luck.”
“You have to know the good spots, plus a little tailoring. Nothing comes perfect off the rack,” Beverly explained. “Next time you have a day off, I can take you around to some favorites. Maybe with your help, I can drag these two along.”
Finally ambling over from the door, Chloe piped up. “Hey, I went with you once. I just rarely get full days off. We don’t all do freelance or get corporate hours.”
“Yes, you at least have an excuse.” Beverly narrowed her eyes at Tori, who met the glare with a casual shrug.
“My excuse is that I don’t want to.”
That deepened Beverly’s stare, but had no effect on Ellie’s enthusiasm. “That’s all right. I’d be happy just for the guidance and company.”
It was an interesting move. From what Tori could tell, Beverly had decided to embrace the friendship angle to a greater degree than herself. Then again, she’d asked Kyle what was wrong, so that was significant effort on her part. Maybe they were still playing the same strategy after all; she was just noticing the difference in how effective each were.
“I’ll try to tag along if the timing works out. I’ve got some new looks in mind I want to get outfits for.” Chloe was excited as well, and Tori wondered how many times she’d be walking in on gorgeous strangers as Chloe played with the newly discovered aspect of her powers.
