Encrypted

by Weaver, Nicole

  The remains of the crumbling staircase was the only way down. Maybe she has a phone I can use to call for help.

  Samantha glanced at the woman again just as Screamdream went into a seizure, her hands tightened around the bar in her face, legs flopping wildly before her whole body went still.

  Samantha's stomach heaved, spewing everything into the open foundation and onto the body below. Awesome, puking on the cop I just killed. No DNA left around here, it's like the perfect crime. She wiped her mouth clean on the bottom of her shirt. At least no one else was around to see it. What am I going to tell Eddie?

  "What have you done!" Jackie yelled from nearby.

  Never mind. I'm beyond screwed. She wiped a bare hand across her mouth.

  "You killed that nice social worker. I saw it, you horrible girl." Jackie hurried towards her, waving a heavy stick accusingly at Samantha. "I'm gonna tell everyone about you. You won't escape justice!"

  "I tried to leave, but she wouldn't let me go. She attacked me first," Samantha said.

  "Murderer!" Jackie raised her stick like a club and charged.

  Samantha ran back to her lair, numbly sweeping up her bags as she headed towards the zig-zag road out of The Pit.

  "I knew it. I told my puppers you were bad news! I was right." Jackie followed behind, huffing, and gasping for breath. "You...are...a...monster!"

  "All I want is to find my family. Leave me alone, or you'll regret it," Samantha yelled over her shoulder. Laden with her belongings, she stumbled directly up the hill, cutting across the dirt track.

  She stopped just below the tree line and dropped her bags on a big flat rock. I can’t let her follow me to Lucky, but she's not going to stop. They never do.

  The pursuing woman followed the turns of the dirt road, waving her makeshift club the whole way. Her dogs were out of sight, probably still locked in her ramshackle house.

  Samantha used her foot to dig at the sandy soil, working loose a rock about the size of her two fists put together. "Please stop, Jackie. I don't want to do this." Why do they want to hurt me so much?

  The curve of the road finally brought Jackie into range. She stopped about fifteen feet down the hill to lean on her stick. "You are going to jail where you belong," she panted.

  "This was none of your business, Jackie." Samantha blinked hard, holding back tears. "You could have stayed home where you were safe, but you didn't. I could have gone with her and let her control me, but I didn't. I am not a monster, Jackie. I'm a Villain...and you, you are my victim." A single tear slipped free, its wetness sliding slowly down her cheek.

  The rock broke loose at her kick. It bounced twice before dropping low to hit the woman. Samantha made herself watch.

  For a second, Samantha thought the massive crack was Screamdream shooting at her, and she looked to the broken foundation. Nothing else moved in The Pit.

  Then the screaming started.

  The woman lay half on the road and half off of it, shrieking and writhing in agony as she clutched her split leg. A massive purple bruise already showed around the bloody rip in her jeans where the rock had torn into her thigh. The way she was screaming, it might even be broken.

  There was no one waiting for the Villain at the top of the hill. No Officers, no Mobsters, and no Heroes.

  Samantha picked up her bags and continued the long hike out of the overgrown Pit. The family she’d chosen waited for her elsewhere. A team is like a family, isn't it?

  Windswept clouds cast their shadows across the sky, periodically blanketing the ramshackle buildings she'd left behind. Dust devils appeared in places, picking up leaves and brambles in a swirling cone, before spreading out and dropping the debris.

  How did I ever think I could build this into a lair, a home?

  Amid it all, Jackie continued to wail.

  I hope she can get out okay. I think that club will work as a crutch to get her up the hill.

  The dirt track ended beneath a wildly overgrown tree at the main road, which was probably the only reason the cops didn't see her as they drove by.

  She dropped her bags and dove behind the tree, heart pounding.

  They didn't stop. Another cruiser followed soon after, driving more slowly, as if looking for someone. Crap. Looks like those guards called the cops after all, and they are going to stop me for questions, as messed up as I am right now.

  The trip to the mall left her sweaty and jittery. She'd spent more time hiding in the trees and tall grass than walking. Two more squad cars passed before she made it down among the stores of the shopping center.

  I really hope this phase of my life is about over. Being hunted really sucks.

  A poster caught her attention, one edge flapping in the light wind. Its garish red writing and huge fonts on a black and white background was meant to be noticed. Someone had updated it since she'd seen it last.

  "REWARD: $500 for information leading to the arrest of the leader of the shoplifting gang." Samantha's picture, with brown hair and her real nose, was front and center. Along either side were grainy images of her disguises, red hair and black hair listed as separate people. There was a new poster plastered across the front of every store.

  Trying to sneak, without looking like I am sneaking, isn't as easy as I had expected. She jotted down the poster's phone number for later, then hurried towards the meeting place at the other end of the shopping center.

  Sliding to a halt at an alley between stores, she backpedaled and dropped to sit against the wall. Clutching her bags close, she bent her head down to watch the ground at the mouth of the alley.

  A pair of uniformed officers stepped out. They glanced both ways, but neither looked down at the cowering girl.

  The female officer was speaking. "—we have her on camera, coming and going all around here."

  "That's not admissible in court. Besides, after a fight like that, I doubt she's dumb enough to run around in public, especially with Starstuff on high alert." The male officer glanced around again, but still didn't look down at Samantha. "I hear the new guy, Battleplan, is out for blood after what she did to him."

  "Doesn't matter really, if the team doesn't get her; the PCA is going to hunt her down, and they aren't going to be nice about it," the female officer said.

  "Let’s get moving. I'd rather not run into a Villain in a literal dark alley," He cleared his throat. "I wasn't issued a big enough gun for that."

  The female officer led the way into the parking lot. "Scary how they can hide among us just like that. Anyone could be a Prime," she paused. "Do you think earplugs would help?"

  "I doubt it, or they would have issued us some. Let’s get out of here."

  They strolled quickly to their cruiser and left.

  Is there anyone who isn't looking for me?

  Suzie's Burgers sat nestled slightly behind the other businesses, leaving enough room for outdoor seating in the front and open access to the parking lot to one side. The franchise had only recently opened in a bunch of locations across Idaho, but it was quickly becoming the most popular food chain in Arbor City. Today was slow, with a few customers inside and only one perched in the patio area.

  Snuggled in the corner, her back to the brick wall, a young woman had stuffed her athletic frame into a lilac sundress, complete with a floppy woven hat, strappy sandals, and large black sunglasses.

  It was the worst disguise Samantha had ever seen.

  She tossed French fries to a small group of squirrels hanging out around a nearby tree. It was part of a line of greenery snaking its way across the parking lot, forming little islands of vegetation. A small group of the little creatures crowded around the edge of the grass, fighting for the fries and tumbling over each other as they scrambled for their share.

  The bits of food flew in wildly improbable arcs the whole group chased, but then whipped back to land in the same place every time, sending the hungry animals scrambling around to where they started.

  Lucky was waiting for her.

  Cha
pter 34

  Two weeks ago

  The girl didn't even check her phone when Lucky handed it back. Poor kid is far too trusting. We are going to have to teach her to be more suspicious.

  Lucky loved the banter of being a Villain the most. She'd grown up on badly acted movies about superheroes, and now that she had powers of her own, she felt the dramatic tension should be ramped up whenever possible. If you aren't having fun, you are doing it wrong.

  She headed back to the guys after bidding the kid goodbye. Their utility van waited a few blocks away in a store parking lot. She'd texted them to drop their own surveillance and wait for her as soon as the girl had shown up.

  Strategically parked near an underground network line, a thin grey cable snaked from the van and into a nearby light post with a security camera on top. The cable was unnoticeable if you didn't know where to look. It wasn't really an outing if Battlestar didn't hack or otherwise mess with someone's security system. The things weren't as ubiquitous as they used to be, thanks in no small part to Battlestar and his hacker buddies, but some places still used them.

  The door slid open before she arrived, her burly captain waving her inside. His armor was impractical for fighting. A black under layer covered with thin metal plates and topped with something like a motorcycle helmet dotted with short little antennas. She'd asked about it once, and he'd mumbled something about signal boosting and reducing microwave emissions. Nothing important—at least, nothing Lucky cared about. She suspected he had designed the helmet to protect him from social interactions more than anything else.

  "Damn it, you weren't supposed to tell her so much about us," he huffed. "You didn't need to tell her we aren't Heroes either. It's going to be a lot tougher to stay off the radar if she goes to the cops now."

  "Chill out, big man, I got a read on her...and she let me load the tracker without any fuss. Full call audio, texts, and location data, but then I bet you have it buzzing in your ear already. That has to be worth the risk." She flashed her eyelashes coquettishly at him. "Even if GG's people snatch her up, a big strong hacker like you can still find her, can't you?"

  Slightly mollified, Battlestar didn't react to her flirting. "You do good work Lucky Strike. Just please be a little more secretive next time we go recruiting."

  "For you, anything." She hopped into the passenger seat, leaning over to blow kisses at their driver. "Phalanx, baby, how you doin?"

  "Don't call me baby," he said, a rote response.

  Battlestar's gruffly cleared throat distracted her from her teasing.

  Phalanx started up the van and pulled onto the road.

  Damn it, how are we going to be a solid team if the boss won't let us tease and taunt each other? It's a tried-and-true formula for group cohesion! "Sorry boss. Mission was a total success and I think she's a good fit for the team."

  Battlestar chuckled. "A good fit? The girl has authority issues so deep she has problems listening to herself. She will argue with the orders she likes, and probably try to rally the team against me if I ask her to take out the trash. She's a walking challenge to anything more than pure anarchy."

  "Oh, pshaw." Lucky said. "She's going to like you, as handsome as you are under all that metal— and even you have to admit I had her eating of my hands after half an hour. She wants to learn, and we can teach her."

  "She will gleefully disobey me and plot endless pranks designed to express her displeasure." he grumbled.

  "Exactly. I need backup or we are never going to get that stick out of your ass." She laughed.

  Phalanx coughed into his hand while Battlestar eyed him suspiciously.

  Still covering his smile with one hand, Phalanx said, "Her power is useful, but I'm not sure she's good for the team. She spent most of her life relying on herself and no one else. If that tendency to ignore or attack authority isn't resolved quickly, then I agree with Battlestar."

  Lucky and Battlestar exchanged looks of disbelief.

  "Baby, I think that's the most you've spoken at one time since we picked the team name. Do you have a fever?" She mimed popping open the med kit and pulling out a thermometer. "Hold still, I'm going in rectally."

  "Lucky! Try to stay focused." Battlestar waited until she looked at him. "I have to agree in one particular; there are no better spies than a Metamorph. We've been limping along with you covering most of the infiltration work, but this could mean we can hold you back for close combat jobs and extractions…if she can stick to a plan."

  "If I can handle your leadership style, so can Samantha. If you were some hardcase barking orders, you and I would have a lot more problems." She sighed. "You are both right of course, but she needs us, and she can learn to be part of a team. The poor girl's been searching for stability most of her life, and I think she will be friendlier to the idea of the team functioning like a family. Besides, we are already kind of a big happy family," She patted Phalanx's shoulder. "You can be the over-worked dad and Phalanx can be the grumpy uncle."

  He flipped her off without taking his eyes off the road.

  "See, everyone likes the idea, and I can be the fun aunt who drinks vodka all day!" She bounced in her seat, stretching the five-point harness to its limits. Suddenly serious, she glanced back to Battlestar's tech throne that filled most of the back area. "She's all alone, boss. We can't just leave her for GG and Screamdream to sink their claws into, like they did Honeydew. They will, too, as soon as they realize what they are dealing with. If we don't stop them, they will break that little girl in ways that time can't fix."

  "What about her defiance? Antics are fine outside of a job, as you remind me every waking moment, but we can't afford the liability during a mission. We've worked hard on our reputation and it's all at risk if she tries to argue when she gets new orders in the field."

  "I’ll help her adjust and make sure she's trained properly, I promise." She turned pleading green eyes on him.

  He sighed. "Fine. We bring her on board and get her settled in. If she can follow orders, she's in. If she can't, we will at least make sure she's safe from people like GG." He held up a hand before Lucky could get a word in. "After we finish our current job."

  "Fine. It's only a week, and no one is going to make a move for her until they are sure she's a Prime. What could go wrong?"

  ****

  Wednesday June 2nd, 2010

  "Holy crap, everything is blown to hell. It's like a tornado came through and flipped the whole town upside down. A tornado named Samantha." Lucky parked the truck around the backside of the diner. No sense in advertising ourselves if we have to make a fast getaway. Girl is a hurricane of random proportions.

  Battlestar was as close to gleeful as she'd ever heard him. "I did tell you."

  Pressing a finger against her ear bud while navigating the patio, she resisted the urge to stick out her tongue. He wouldn't see it anyway. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. Literally everyone who's anyone wants a piece of her. You know what is most significant though? No one has her. She's resourceful, and she's going to be putting that tenacity to work for us."

  "I'm not going to win this, am I?" he rumbled.

  "Only if you want to pull rank, and you remember what happened last time you did that." She grinned at a passing family, who snatched their child off the ground and hurried away.

  "I remember, and I'm still cleaning pennies out of my command center," Battlestar said.

  "Ha. Good to know my point made sense," Lucky said. "Don't worry, boss man, I'm at the place and it's in the bag."

  A press of the earbud shut off the call as she stepped inside to order a to-go bag. Girl's probably hungry but eating here isn't wise if the mob is still looking for her.

  Almost an hour later, Samantha dragged herself around the corner, hunched over like an old woman and covered in fresh dirt. She hefted a pair of bags with either hand, one fairly small, the other a large duffle bag. A medium sized backpack was slung across her thin shoulders. She seemed to have lost an unhealthy amount of weight in the last w
eek.

  The girl crept up to Lucky, as suspiciously as possible, her torn and dirty clothes drawing the attention of the few shoppers crossing the parking lot nearby. She kept looking around wildly, as if she expected to be jumped at any moment.

  Apparently, I’m going to have to remind her that bear fighting isn’t a good idea. Lucky did her best to maintain her façade of nonchalance, but it stung to see the girl so close at the end of her rope. I don't care what problems she's run into; we are helping her. The guys are just going to have to get used to her being on the team.

  Samantha’s sneakers were caked in dirt, possibly strategically to hide the shiny bits—which was a step up from the sparkling announcement of her presence they normally were. She's learning, slowly, but she is learning.

  Concerned, Lucky noted the thin layer of clothing didn't fully cover a couple of bruises that peeked through fresh tears around her knees. There was a little blood too. The poor child limped to the empty seat across the table and dropped her bags in a pile.

  "Hi," Samantha sighed heavily.

  Kid looks like she could use a laugh, I know I could. "Hey. I was thinking, since you are a famous Villain already, could I have your autograph?" Lucky said, undecided between hugging Samantha and murdering whoever hurt her like this.

  The embarrassed girl slowly flashed a light shade of pink from head to toe; it even tinted her hair for a few seconds before fading away. "I don't know what happened. One day no one knows who I am, and the next day everyone in town is looking for me. I didn't do anything, I swear."

  "Well, you look beat to hell. What happened?" Metamorphs usually heal fast, but Phalanx is going to have to check her out anyway. Infections are still a concern if she ended up with a slower rate of healing than average. Gotta love healing factors, bad if they are too slow, worse if they are too fast.

  "I'm alive, but, uh, I don't know how to say it." Samantha coughed into her elbow. "I think the cops are after me." The movement revealed her fingers were still shaped in half-inch long talons. Razor sharp by the look of them and crusted with blood on one hand.