In a few seconds I’m several thousand feet up, and keep going. When the world below disappears behind clouds, and even the Willis Tower looks like Lego blocks, I slow down and level off.
I’m dimly aware of the sun in front of me and to my left, but I’m not really looking anymore. All I see is clear blue skies and the blink of lights as airplanes soar to their destinations. I look at my arms as I thrust them in front of me, and that’s when I realize that I’m not in costume.
I stop in the air and remove my Chinese lucky cat backpack, and quickly change into my Cosmic Girl costume. I remove my colored contacts and put them in their case, and slip my pink glittery eye mask on over my head. I secure the backpack in place, then take off again.
I don’t know where I’m going. I just need to get some air. I think better up here. No distractions.
One thought is dominating all others.
I’ve been talking to myself in class?
What the hell have I been saying?
Why don’t I remember any of this?
A familiar roaring noise reaches my ears. I look below me. A fighter plane is heading in the same direction, but is a couple of thousand feet below me. Its dull grey exterior really stands out against the white clouds below it. The sun reflects brightly from the canopy, so I can’t look at it for too long before my eyes start watering. I maintain my speed and begin to descend slowly.
When I get low enough, I knock gently on the canopy. The pilot’s red and yellow striped helmet tilts back as he looks up at me. The jet fighter swerves wildly for a few seconds, before the afterburners light up and he accelerates away from me.
Oops. I didn’t mean to spook him.
I accelerate after him. I just want to talk to the guy. Tell him I’m not an enemy or something.
As soon as I get closer he accelerates even more. I hear the first sonic boom as I catch up with him again.
“Hey, I just want to talk.” I yell as I fly overhead and look down into his cockpit. I knock gently on the canopy and wave and smile when he glances up at me for a second. “Friend.” I yell and point at myself.
He looks at me a few more times, then the aircraft begins to slow down. I give him the thumbs up as he slows down some more.
He detaches his breathing mask and lets it hang loose, and frowns at me.
“What the hell are you doing?” He shouts through the canopy.
“Sorry. I just want to talk.” I yell back and smile apologetically.
He checks his watch then looks at me as I glide over and fly alongside him. “I can’t talk long. I’m on a mission. It’s kind of time sensitive.”
“That’s cool.” I yell. “It’s just….how do you deal with the stress?” I ask.
He looks puzzled for a second. “I don’t know. You just do.” He shouts through the canopy.
“But even if you know you’re going somewhere that’s really dangerous, and you might be killed. How do you deal with that?”
“You can’t think like that. If you do, you die. I think about my mission, my buddies who are with me, and that we’ve all got each other’s back. You only think about things afterwards.” He yells and smiles sweetly at me. “Are you scared about something?”
Scared? I can’t afford to be scared. I merely shrug as I fly next to his cockpit.
“Everyone gets scared, you know. There’s nothing wrong with being scared. It means you’re smart.” The pilot yells and gives me the thumbs up.
“How do you get over it?” I yell.
“You don’t.” He yells back. He salutes me with his right hand. “I got to go. Stay strong.” He yells, then banks to his left and flies away. I stop and hover as I watch him fly away.
I salute him, then wave goodbye.
“Where the hell am I?” I say aloud, as I look down at the dark blue water far below that I see through breaks in the clouds.
I eventually make my way home from the middle of the Pacific. I fly though my bedroom window and get undressed and take a long shower. I pick out a nice outfit, and get to work drying my long brown hair. I leave my costume and backpack behind, and super-speed to Mitchell’s parent’s house.
I knock gently on the door while the adrenaline begins to subside. The door opens after a few minutes.
“Oh, hi Britney. You’re early.” Mr. Reed says as he opens the door and steps to one side.
“I can’t miss Mrs. Reed’s famous pot roast.” I say and grin as I enter.
He looks at me warily, takes a step back and runs his hands through his thinning hair and closes the door.
“She’s here.” Mr. Reed calls out before turning and heading back into the living room. I hear some footsteps upstairs, then Mitchell super-speeds downstairs.
“Hi. You okay?” Mitchell asks and takes my hand.
I try to smile, but his dad’s reaction to me is bugging me. Mitchell leads me into the kitchen, where Mrs. Reed is stirring a pot with a wooden spoon.
“Oh, hi Sweetie.” Mrs. Reed says and gives me a one armed hug, then gets back to stirring. “I hope you’re hungry.”
“Starving.” I reply and smile as I inhale deeply the beef aroma coming from the table. A wooden board lies on the table, covered in aluminum foil. Thick gravy is bubbling loudly in a pot on the stove, and Mrs. Reed stirs a pot of creamy mashed potatoes, before turning her attention back to the gravy.
“It smells amazeballs.” I say and lick my lips.
“Where did you go earlier?” Mitchell asks as he sits down at the table.
“I just needed to get some air.” I reply and sit down next to him.
I hear Mrs. Reed smirk from the stove.
“Did you call the Feds?” Mitchell asks while giving his mom a funny look.
“Yep. They thanked me.” I say.
“And?” He asks.
“They’ll handle it from here.” I say and rest my cheek on my hand.
Another smirk comes from Mrs. Reed.
“Okay.” Mitchell says and looks at his mom quickly, before turning to me again. “How do they plan on handling it?” Mitchell asks and does the finger quotes on the last part.
“They wouldn’t say. Need to know basis, I guess.” I say and shrug.
“Typical.” Mrs. Reed says then switches off the stove. She walks over to a cupboard and retrieves a medium sized bowl.
“So, is that it? We’re done?” Mitchell asks.
“Hardly.” I say despondently. “When he hits New York, a lot of people are gonna die. Unless we stop him.” I say.
“How do we stop him? We’re not even sure what this guy can do.”
I shrug. “I have no idea.”
“How about poison?” Mrs. Reed says as she spoons creamy mashed potatoes into a bowl.
“Mom!” Mitchell says in shock, but I can’t help but giggle.
“Just saying, is all.” Mrs. Reed says and places the bowl on the table. “He may be tough on the outside, but he’s still human inside, isn’t he?” She says and turns to get the pot of gravy.
“Actually, she has a point.” I say. “I still feel the coldness of ice cream when I eat it. Don’t you?” I say to Mitchell.
“Let’s test it shall we?” Mrs. Reed says and takes a teaspoon and dips it into the hot gravy. “Here, touch this?” She tells Mitchell.
“I don’t feel anything.” He says when he touches it with his finger.
“Now put the whole thing in your mouth.” Mrs. Reed says.
“Okay, but I don’t see how this…..Yow!” Mitchell says then almost leaps out of his chair when he puts the spoon in his mouth. “Hot, hot, hot….aagh.”
Mrs. Reed fetches him a glass of cold water. “Here, Honey.” She says as she gives him the glass. He downs the water, then exhales slowly.
He looks at us each in turn with an annoyed expression, then his expression turns to amazement. “Mom, you’re a genius.”
“Not just a pretty face.” Mrs. Reed laughs then turns back to the stove. “So, poison?” She asks.
“Mom
! No.”
“A sleeping agent, maybe?” I suggest.
“Food’s ready, Darling.” Mrs. Reed calls out.
The food is amazeballs. I savor every mouthful. Mr. Reed kept giving me the evil eye throughout dinner, but I didn’t care. For the first time in months, I could see a glimmer of hope. Maybe there is a way to stop Devlin after all.
Seventeen
It’s the weekend, and I know I should be trying to relax and have fun. Hell, I should be making out with Mitchell at the beach. But I can’t relax. I’m on edge.
After breakfast, I sit in the living room and flick through the news channels for anything Devlin or New York related. But after an hour of this, Jessica gets annoyed with me and kicks me out of the house.
I head over to Mitchell’s, and decide to take a more human pace. It takes me over ten minutes to walk one block, which feels weird. I’m so used to super-speeding everywhere I go these days, that it feels odd to just walk. But, at least I don’t have to concentrate so much.
I can appreciate the life going on around me as I breathe in the air, which feels a little cool in my mouth, I notice.
The sky is overcast, and I feel the first drops of rain as I stop and watch a couple approaching. I don’t know them, and they don’t seem to notice me at all. They’re both lost in each other. They’re holding hands and talking, and I smile as they walk on by.
Wouldn’t it be nice if I could just forget about being super, and lead a normal life?
Of course, then I wouldn’t be able to help people like I do.
Just as I turn to walk on, I hear a screech of tires. I instantly tune in to where it’s coming from, and turn one eighty. A black four by four is careening out of control, and is heading for the sweet couple.
They’re too into each other to notice just yet, but they have just seconds before it hits them.
No time to think about things. I launch myself at the couple and reach them just as the jeep is about to hit them.
It hits me instead, or I hit it, a little of both I guess. My hands go straight through the chrome grill until I hit the engine block. There’s a metallic crunch, a hiss, then the engine stalls.
The couple scream and jump backwards and fall on their butts.
I disengage myself from the twisted metal and push the jeep off the curb.
“Are you hurt?” I ask as I keep my back to the couple.
“What? Umm, oh, no, I don’t think so. Thank you. Thank you so much.” The girl says. I can hear the fear in her voice.
The driver is holding his head and groaning.
“The driver needs help. Can you dial 911?” I ask as I survey my top. I thought a long sleeved top would make a nice change. Life had other plans. My sleeves are shredded.
“Take care.” I say and take off at super-speed down the paved sidewalk. I tear my sleeves off and cast them away, turning my top into a makeshift tank top.
I stop outside Mitchell’s door and knock gently. My hands are filthy. They’re covered in oil, and something else that stinks. The door is opened by Mitchell’s dad, who glares at me silently for a few seconds before calling out for Mitchell.
“Hey.” Mitchell says happily as he zooms to a stop by the door. He notices my dark grimy hands, and raises an eyebrow.
“You got anything that can get oil out?” I ask and hold my hands up.
“Come on in.” Mitchell chuckles and leads me into the kitchen. “Don’t touch anything. Mom will kill you.” He says seriously as he opens a door below the sink and begins rummaging.
“What’s up with your dad? Doesn’t he like me?” I ask as I rise up from the kitchen floor and sit in the air.
“It’s not you. It’s the whole powers thing.”
“Oh. He’s not weird with you as well, is he?” I ask.
“He’s old fashioned.” Mitchell says as he stands up with a bottle in his hand. “He just needs more time.” He says and waves me over to the sink. “Apply generously, and scrub slowly.” Mitchell adds as he hands me a bottle of olive oil.
“Okay. If you say so.” I say and float over to the sink and pour some olive oil on to my hands. I rub and scrub my hands slowly, and eventually I begin to see skin.
Mitchell turns on the faucet, and I rinse my hands under the water. Wow. I mean it’s not all gone yet, but not bad.
“Here,” He says and passes me a green bar of soap. I scrub a bit more vigorously this time, then rinse my hands again.
“Much better.” I say. “Now can I touch things?” I ask.
“Sure.”
I wrap my arms around his muscular neck and pull him to me. I hover in the air in their kitchen as I kiss him.
“Ahem!”
We stop and I turn and look at Mr. Reed as he stands in the doorway tapping his foot.
“Sorry, does this make you uncomfortable?” I say and fly around Mitchell so that I’m behind him, and press my cheek against his.
He folds his arms and glares at me. “I thought I made myself quite clear, son.” Mr. Reed says slowly.
“You did, sir.” Mitchell says and folds his arms. I raise my legs so that I’m horizontal by Mitchell’s shoulders.
“No powers in the house. We agreed. You promised.” Mr. Reed says and points at me.
Hey, I didn’t promise.
“He’s right. I did promise.” Mitchell says and motions with his head for me to land.
“Let’s go.” I say and take his hand.
Mitchell stands motionless for a few seconds, despite me pulling him harder, then sighs and walks past his dad. I open the door and I skip to the sidewalk and wait for Mitchell.
He’s standing by the door having a quiet talk with his dad. I breathe in the morning air and look down the street at an old man walking his dog while I wait. Mitchell eventually joins me, and I grab his hand and start walking.
“Everything okay?” I ask as I look up at him. His face looks a little sullen.
“Ask me in a few years.” He says and smiles.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you something.” I say as the light rain begins to stop.
“What?” He asks as he strokes the back of my hand with his thumb.
“Did those bullets really hurt?” I ask.
“Geez.” He rolls his eyes.
“Those were larger bullets, right? Did they leave any marks?” I ask.
“You really wanna know?” He asks. I nod quickly. “It felt like being punched.”
“Is that all?” I say. Then another thought enters my head. “I’ve never known you to get into fights before. How do you know what being punched feels like?” I ask as I look sideways up at him.
“I just do, okay.” He sighs and then shrugs his shoulders. “Where are we going anyway?”
“You wanna see the Cubs take on the Braves?” I ask, and chuckle at his shocked expression.
“You’re serious?”
“It starts at 3:05pm. You wanna go with me?” I ask.
“Do I?”
When 3pm arrives, we get some drinks and some snacks, then we both get changed into our costumes. Mitchell holds our drinks while I carry him. I climb to a couple of thousand feet while I head towards the stadium.
I come down behind the lights and land gently on the roof overlooking the pitcher’s mound. I put my finger to my lips while I try not to giggle.
We lie down and arrange our snacks and drinks, then wait while we stroke each other’s hand. I feel very naughty, but I remember what George told me back in Hawaii.
It’s time we had some fun.
I stuff some popcorn in my mouth and grin at Mitchell as the game begins. It’s great just to see him smile, and not have that ridiculous helmet on.
His beautiful brown eyes are excited, and he looks like a teenager again.
I miss this.
I brush a tear from my eye, lean over and kiss him on the cheek.
“Everything okay?” He whispers as he turns to me quickly.
“Yeah, perfect.” I whisper back and squeeze h
is hand.
To be honest, this is the first baseball game that I’ve ever been to. What a great view for my first game. But the best view of all, is watching Mitchell. He’s really trying not to yell and holler, and it makes me giggle. Soon, he’s laughing with me as I playfully throw some popcorn at him.
He pulls me to him and tries to tickle me, making me squeal and squirm. As he lies on top of me grinning, I reach up and stroke his cheek. As his breathing becomes calmer, he gives me a look that I will never forget.
I run my fingers through his wavy brown locks and pull him to me. As we kiss, the whole stadium erupts in cheers as a homerun is struck.
The weekend passes without any major incidents. Devlin hasn’t been seen in days. Even Bill had no news.
“When was he last seen?” I ask Bill as I sit in the living room, cell phone pressed to my ear, while I tap my foot to some music on the television.
“The last actual sighting was the jail break. That was five days ago.” Bill says in his usual clipped fashion.
“He’s gonna hit New York, I know it. I just don’t know when. Look, we have some news as well.” I say.
Cosmic Girl: Looking For Trouble: superhero series for young adults - Book Two Page 13
