“Well,” said Jimmy from across the table, “I’d hate to brag…”
“You weren’t so bashful when you were my pledge master,” said Johnny, “Anyway, Jimmy has found himself a nice, big supply of unstable young men. The mayor knows that the minute he disagrees with us, we arm one of them and set him loose around the area of Northwestern. Mayor doesn’t play ball, we’ll do it again, but this time with five of them, then ten, then twenty. We will blow the whole city up if we have to. Anyway, he seems to understand, and the first payments are expected tomorrow.
“Now Los Angeles. That’s a little trickier. They are, let’s say, less concentrated than the other cities back east. So Mort? Where are you? Can you please stand up?”
“Here I am, Johnny!” said Mort, “I’m not wasting my chance for your attention.”
“My man Mort will be continuing our good work of reminding our fellow Americans of the danger of terrorism. So if something has to happen in one of SoCal’s great malls, he will be my man.”
“I love you, Johnny! You know that!”
“This man!” said Johnny as he spooned Mort, “This man isn’t just a genius at hiding small explosives. He is like my brother! And this whole thing couldn’t have gone off without him! Every time I have needed him, there he was with a well-placed M80.”
“Wait,” said Miles, “Like at the Whitestone Bridge?”
“Don’t bring that up now!” snapped Johnny, “I told you I took care of her.”
“I do hope that this is certain,” said Joseph Roach, speaking from the back corner, “You understand that our help does come with conditions, and our patience is not boundless.”
“And I assure you,” said Johnny, “that I have delivered. Don’t let Miles worry you with his crazy cold feet.”
“Listen Johnny,” said Miles, “I love you. Of course I do. You were the best man at my fifth and sixth weddings. But we are talking about someone who flies and tears cars in two. Are you completely sure that this Ms. Infinity is gone? Bless you Johnny, but you have to understand if I have my doubts.”
“You moron!” snapped Johnny, “Don’t you ever talk to me like that, or next time you’ll be the one living in Rikers Island! I killed Ms. Infinity! She’s never coming back!”
Lisa nervously rang the doorbell of the Borings’ house. To her surprise, Bonnie opened the door. She seemed to be limping, and she was partially covered in burns. “Lisa! Hi,” she said.
“You’re alright!” cried Lisa.
Bonnie was silent.
“I…Bonnie, you don’t know how worried I was. I don’t know what happened, but…”
“Well of course…Why shouldn’t I be…I mean nothing to talk about there. I just, I mean….”
“Bonnie, I’m just relieved to see you…”
Bonnie became ever more tense as Lisa spoke. Lisa finally stopped, and looked down in disappointment. “Oh, never mind!”
“Are you okay?” asked Bonnie.
“Never mind!” said Lisa once again. She then turned and walked away.
She was about to cry when her phone buzzed. She took it out of her purse and saw a text message from Betty.
She is fine, and I am as relived as you are. You can talk to me if you need to. Thank you for all you have done. You are always family to us.
Lisa closed her eyes and sighed deeply. “At least somebody appreciates me there.”
Betty closed her eyes in a gesture of pain as she put away her phone. She stepped lightly out of the kitchen and into the living room, where Bonnie now lay on the couch with her remote, nervously flipping through the channels. Betty stood over her daughter and spoke stoically. “Bonnie dear, we really have to talk. Let’s turn off the TV.”
“Oh come on, Mom. I’m into this now.”
“Into what? The speed-channel-changing show? Turn it off, dear.”
Bonnie shook her head in annoyance, then sat up reluctantly and turned off the TV. She looked at her mother with a look of mild resentment and vague anxiety. “So what is it?”
Betty sat down next to Bonnie on the couch and looked at her daughter cautiously. “Bonnie my love, I just saw you nearly killed. Isn’t that enough to warrant a serious discussion?”
Bonnie flinched, but tried to sound more impatient than scared. “Mom, come on, I…”
Betty placed her hand on Bonnie’s shoulder. “Honey, I love you more than life itself. I am not letting this go. You are putting yourself in very serious danger, and I’m frightened for you.”
“Oh please!” said Bonnie, looking down, “I’m Ms. Infinity! That’s all!”
“That’s all? Really? You’re still my daughter, and there will always be much more to you than a title.”
Bonnie sat up firmly, but her eyes betrayed an anxiety that she could scarcely contain. “You know what I mean. I’m a superhero. That means I’m always alright…”
“…Nonsense! You need to wake up and face your own mortality. Sure you have a fancy set of powers. You can fly, transform, bend steel, convert a spaceship to a resort…”
“…Mom, I really wish you’d give that a chance. That pool is pretty nice.”
“Not my point! My point is that none of this makes you invincible. So you put on a superhero costume. It doesn’t change reality, dear. The people of this world have an ancient legend about someone who flew too close to the sun…”
“Well don’t worry about me pulling that stunt. I’m not that dumb….”
Betty finally lost her patience. “Stop interrupting me this minute, young lady. That’s not the point of the Icarus legend, and you know it! This is about excessive pride. This is about an inflated self-image. I want you to think with me here. If a human puts on a superhero costume, it does not enable her to fly. Well guess what, Bonnie Boring. The same is true of you, even if you can fly. In the bigger picture, what is really the difference?”
“Honestly Mom, if you’ve read my comics, I’m easily at the top of any pantheon in power levels.”
Betty looked at Bonnie in sadness and spoke gravely. “If that is how you see it, then you truly do not understand my point at all. I’m sorry honey. I’m really sorry.”
Bonnie looked at Betty with a sudden alarm. “Wait. What are you saying now?”
“I’m afraid this is over.”
“Over? I’m an adult! How can you…?”
“You still live by my rules. My blessing is rescinded. Ms. Infinity is over.”
Bonnie looked at her mother in contempt, though there was fear evident in her eyes. “Come on Mom, you can’t stop me.”
“Bonnie!” said Betty abruptly, “Don’t you ever take that tone with me! How dare you!”
Bonnie tried to hold to her defiance, but she could not hold it for long. It wasn’t that Betty could technically stop her. Bonnie was still all that she ever was, superhuman abilities and all. The power that Betty had over her was no different than that any mother has over her child. If anything about it was greater than other American families, it was due to cultural factors. The world of their origin was a conservative place, where obeying one’s parents was an ironclad rule that was followed even in adulthood. And while this pair had profoundly rebelled against Center’s gender norms, nonetheless the standard of parental supremacy remained, and would remain for life, no matter how much Bonnie might outwardly maintain a veneer of personal rebellion. All she could do now was make one last, weak plea. “Please Mom?”
“There is nothing further to discuss.”
Betty left her, quietly walking up the stairs to her room. Bonnie sat in shock.
Bonnie floated up the stairs, her head hanging down. She turned slowly and sadly into her room, where she kicked the door shut before landing in her bed and pulling all the covers over her head. A part of her wished Gunn had succeeded in killing her. She felt half dead inside anyway.
Eventually she picked her head up out of the covers and looked at her clock. It might have told her how long she had been crying if she had remembered the time in t
he first place. She sat up and resolved to stay there a long time in protest.
Soon she could sit no more. “Time to get ready for work,” she said, “Why do I listen to her? I guess because she’s Mom. That’s all it takes. Mothers, more powerful than any superhero.”
Bonnie tried to use work to forget her troubles, but she felt an ever-present weight at the back of her mind, a feeling that an enormous part of herself was missing. Often, she found herself holding back tears. She was also still limping slightly, and there were still vestiges of the burns on her neck and arms.
After a few minutes, Nadine came up to her and spoke cautiously. “Honey, are you alright? I hope I’m not prying, but if it helps, I can tell you that there is no man anywhere who is worth…”
“Oh!” interrupted Bonnie, “No! Oh my god! Nadine, I promise you it’s nothing like that! Ugh, now I’m embarrassed. Look, I can’t exactly…”
Lisa walked up at that moment. “Hi, Nadine,” she said, “I heard. I was there with her when this happened. You know what, girl? I’d rather not talk about it either! What a night! I’m still aching myself!”
Bonnie looked down nervously, unsure of whether to be grateful or more apprehensive than before. “Uh, yeah. It’s uh…It’s going to be a story for the grandkids.”
Nadine looked at Bonnie and Lisa and laughed. “I’m sorry. I’ll stop probing. Oh, to be young again like you two!” She then walked away.
Bonnie looked at Lisa nervously. “Uh, thanks. You know, this is uh, nothing. I just had a little accident.”
Lisa shook her head. “I know. A little accident.” She then sighed and walked away.
As the day wore on, Bonnie found herself determined to get her alter ego back. Alright, I’ll be Ms. Infinity again soon. I just have to prove to Mom that I’m okay. I’m sure she’ll come around. As she was thinking these thoughts, she was suddenly shaken into alertness when she saw a familiar woman walk into the store. It was Jenna Storm!
Bonnie felt a nervous chill inside. As long this acquaintance of her alter-ego was in the store, she couldn’t relax. Maybe she’ll be quick, she thought, and then she’ll use some other register. In fact, neither of these things came true. Jenna was shopping for nearly an hour, during which Bonnie struggled to conceal her nerves. Julia looked at her curiously, then smiled. “Ah don’t worry Bonnie,” she said, “Ricardo’s off. I’m totally taking it easy.”
Finally Jenna appeared at the registers, and sure enough, she chose Bonnie’s. “Don’t mess this up,” she said, “I check the receipt afterwards.”
Bonnie put her head down, trying her best to be inconspicuous. She scanned Jenna’s order carefully, and read her the price as earnestly as she could. “One hundred fifteen dollars and twenty-seven cents, miss.”
Jenna looked at Bonnie for a moment, then stared at her in shock. “Is that all you have to say to me?”
Bonnie tried not to freeze up. “Beg your pardon, miss?”
“Excuse me? You’re calling me ‘miss?’ There is no way you don’t recognize me!”
“I’m sorry, I…”
“Come on. You know who I am.”
Bonnie was sweating and hyperventilating, her mind racing with thoughts, wondering how Jenna Storm could possibly have seen through her transformation. But before she could say another word, Julia broke in.
“Bonnie! Duh! That’s Jenna Storm from A-NY!”
“Thank you!” shouted Jenna, “Hello! World famous reporter here!”
“You are so cool!” said Julia to Jenna, “What are you doing in Woodside?”
“Oh, you know,” said Jenna, “I’m on my way to visit my folks on Long Island, and I just thought I’d pick up a few cheap things.”
“You have totally met Ms. Infinity!”
“Yes I have!”
“I mean, I can’t even imagine what it’s like to be right next to her. That’s gotta be so cool.”
Bonnie’s face was now red as an apple. Relieved as she was that she was not discovered, she was finding the conversation hard to take. All she could do was hold her tongue and look away.
“She’s amazing,” said Jenna, “I saw her fly, and that was something, but she’s really unpretentious. It’s like she could almost be your friend from down the block.”
“Oh my god!” said Julia, “I would totally be her best friend. I’d be like, every Saturday night, me hanging out with Ms. Infinity!”
Bonnie rolled her eyes, thinking of the chance Julia had recently blown to hang out with her. Maybe Julia didn’t deserve Ms. Infinity’s friendship.
“Well, it’s not like she hangs around with me either,” said Jenna, “She disappears after every interview. I’ve tried to figure out more about her, but…” She gave Bonnie a brief, curious glance, then looked back at Julia. “I don’t know.”
“Can I get your autograph?” asked Julia.
“Of course! What’s your name, sweetie?”
“My name is Julia. My friend here is Bonnie. She should get one too.”
“Thank you,” said Bonnie, warming up to Julia once again, even as her nerves picked up, “I’ll add it to my collection.”
Bonnie saw Jenna Storm again that night on TV, as well as her own alter-ego, when the interview aired from the other day. At first, it seemed alright. Jenna showered praise on Ms. Infinity, and clearly supported her answer to Gunn’s accusations. Indeed, as she spoke of her concern for human life, the visual was of her carrying the school bus over the East River.
But before long, it became clear that Jenna was using the interview to investigate her identity, and that she had made a few shrewd inferences. In the wrap-up, she spoke to Paul Kiefer, and “casually” discussed her findings. She had deduced that she lived in New York City—even going as far as guessing Queens. She was also certain that she had a secret identity, and a day job, and believed that it was in the service industry.
Bonnie’s nerves were picking up rapidly as she changed the channel. The next thing she saw was even worse, Johnny Gunn speaking to the press about his upcoming announcement.
“This is going to big! Huge! America is never going to be the same! We’re finally going to be winning again! You’ll see.”
“Mr. Gunn,” said a reporter, “Do you have any further comments about Ms. Infinity?”
Johnny Gunn paused briefly. “Uh, no. She doesn’t worry me. Really. I don’t care. What’s a girl superhero going to do, right?”
Bonnie leapt up from her bed and flew up to the TV. “You vermin! You unprocessed sludge! I would destroy the TV now if it did anything to you! I’m still turning your smelly butt off!”
She looked at her Wonder Woman poster. “Alright Wondy. Come on now! You can’t tell me this guy hasn’t earned the worst punishment in history! I should burn and freeze him at the same time, and maybe crush him under a few tanks! No, better. I should change into Mosquito Woman and bite him a million times. I mean, I know, compassion, but Gunn?”
She floated back to her bed and lay down uneasily. “Alright. Alright. I’m not vengeful. But the least I can do is seek justice. Wonder Woman would at least demand that much. You know what? I’m not letting this slide! It need not be by superhero power, but at least it must be attempted. Heck I’ll go old school. I’ll tell the feds. Mom can’t object to that!”
Ms. Infinity appeared quietly and secretly at the Brooklyn District FBI building. She soon found herself talking with Lilia Small, a low-level staffer.
“I’m sorry,” said Lilia, “You’re telling me what?”
“I was attacked by nuclear bombs in space.”
“That’s…an unusual claim. If I weren’t talking to someone who could fly, I’d never believe it. What are you asking from us?”
“I have reason to believe that the attack came from Johnny Gunn. I’m asking for an investigation.”
“I’m just curious. Not that I think you should be attacking a citizen, but I’m wondering why you aren’t handling this yourself.”
“You just answered yo
ur own question,” said Ms. Infinity, “I don’t break laws.”
“Alright,” said Lilia, “See what evidence you can get, and we’ll do what we can. However I wouldn’t expect miracles. You see, this is off the record, but…how do I put this?”
“Put what?”
“Well Ms. Infinity, right now you’re sitting in the Johnny Gunn wing. Get it?”
Ms. Infinity groaned. “I guess I do.”
Upon her return home, Ms. Infinity became Bonnie again. Her mother was waiting just outside her room.
“What did you just do?” said Betty.
“Slow your roll, Mom. I’m not fighting crime. I just reported Gunn to the FBI. Not that it did any good. They can’t do a goddamn thing! Gunn owns this whole country!”
Betty’s expression turned from impatience to sympathy. “Well Bonnie, I’m sorry.”
“It’s starting to feel like we never left Center! This place is corrupt as hell!”
“My love, I worry about you nonstop, but I don’t know that it’s that bad.”
“Don’t you think that maybe, just maybe, the country would be interested that he had his hands on some loose nukes, and just blew them on an enemy, just like that? Doesn’t that just scream, ‘abuse of power?’”
“It certainly does, dear. I’m just concerned. Honey, don’t forget, you’re not exactly without excessive power yourself. If you’re not careful…”
“Forget it! I’m sick to death of holding back! That woman at the FBI was right. I should take matters into my own hands!”
Betty was aghast inside, and was about to shout, but something held her back. She simply watched her daughter carefully.
“Seriously! You should have seen Johnny Gunn when I showed up at his office. That was nothing. Two nukes? I’ll show him the power of a thousand nukes. I can end his empire in seconds.”
Betty continued to hold her tongue, though she watched Bonnie ever more intently.
“Gunn’s the least of it! You know what? I can do so much more! I can fix this whole country! Racism, sexism, inequality, the shameful wastes of carbon emissions, I could end all of them almost like turning off the TV. Why the hell shouldn’t I!”
Ms. Infinity (Book 2): Where Infinity Begins Page 18
